Sunday 25th June 2017

Budget: Fashola’s Allegation Stirs up Executive/Legislature Spat Senate says minister ‘spreading half-truth’ James Emejo and Damilola Oyedele in Abuja The National Assembly yesterday denied that it underhandedly injected extraneous items into this year’s budget of the Ministry of Works, Housing

and Power. The Senate accused the works, housing and power minister, Babatunde Fashola, who made the allegation, of “spreading wrong information and half-truth,” and the House of Representatives labelled his allegation “very misleading and

House: It’s ‘calculated mischief’

calculated mischief.”

Fashola had alleged on Thursday in Abuja that the National Assembly inserted into his ministry’s budget projects outside its purview after the financial plan submitted by the presidency had undergone public hearing

and defence by the executive.

He said projects such as primary healthcare centres and boreholes had been unfairly introduced into the ministry’s budget. The minister also alleged that the legislators had cut funds from major projects, like the Lagos-

Ibadan expressway, Second Niger Bridge, Okene-Lokoja-Abuja road, Manbila power project, and the Bodo bridge, which links the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas station, without due process, and diverted to their constituency projects.

But in their separate responses yesterday, the two chambers of the National Assembly said they merely ensured the equitable distribution of projects across the country, and insisted that Continued on page 9

Anambra Election: We’ve Taken Note of Kanu's Threat, Says IGP ...Page 15 Sunday 25 June, 2017 Vol 22. No 8102

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Mubadala, Etisalat Foreign Directors May Face Criminal Charges over Unpaid Loans NCC, CBN scramble to save situation, as Vodacom SA, Orange, among others, eye network Kunle Aderinokun and Emma Okonji It emerged at the weekend that the banking consortium owed

by Mubadala Group and Etisalat Group may be planning to press criminal charges of reckless and fraudulent trading in Nigeria, United Kingdom and some

other places where Mubadala and Etisalat operate, owing to their failure to meet their obligation and pay their debt.

According to inside sources, the charges stem from the fact that they borrowed money from Nigerian banks, gave guarantees as foreign directors of Etisalat Nigeria, obtained facilities when

they knew they had no intention of paying following their decision to pull out of Nigeria altogether, leaving the banks, suppliers, vendors and service providers in the lurch.

This comes as Vodacom Group of South Africa and Orange Telecoms of France were moving to take up the 45 per cent share

owned by Etisalat Group and 40 per cent owned by Mubadala in Etisalat Nigeria. There had been protracted issues arising from Etisalat Nigeria’s repayment of $1.2 billion loan involving 13 local banks, including Access Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank and Zenith Bank over settlement of outstanding obligations on the

loan. Subsequently, one of the core investors, Etisalat Group, last Tuesday, announced at the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, its intention to pull out of the Etisalat Nigeria structure, and approved transfer of its entire 45 per cent shares in Etisalat to the United Capital Trustees Limited,

the legal representative to the consortium of banks. United Capital is the security trustee, which is the vehicle employed by the banks to hold the shares on behalf of the consortium.

The decision of the core investor to pull out of Etisalat Continued on page 9

At Eid-el-Fitr, Buhari Preaches Peace, Warns against Reckless Statements Olawale Olaleye in Lagos and Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, felicitated with Muslim faithful in Nigeria on the occasion of eid-el-fitri, the end of Ramadan fast, which is being marked today.

He used the occasion to preach peace and unity in the country, and warned against reckless statements capable of causing disaffection in the country.

The president, in his message made available to journalists by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja, said he was grateful to God for the successful completion of the Ramadan fast and prayed for the long lasting effect of Ramadan lessons, urging the citizens to live in unity and peace.

Today was declared as the eid-el-fitri following the sighting of the moon yesterday in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Malaysia and some other Arab countries.

Although India, Pakistan and Bangladesh might be sighting the moon on Sunday, according to an Aljazeera report, they commenced Ramadan on May 28, and as a result, Sunday would be the 29th of Ramadan for them.

But Turkey and Muslim communities in North America, Europe and Australia had previously announced they would celebrate Eid al-Fitr from Sunday June 25, based on astronomical calculations.

Eid al-Fitr simply refers to “festival of breaking the fast”, marking the end of the Muslim Continued on page 9

WELCOME ON BOARD ...

L-R: President/Chairman of Council, Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce, Prince Dapo Adelegun; President/CEO, Dangote Group, Alh. Aliko Dangote; and Past President, NBCC, Mr. Akinola Akintunde, during the decoration of Dangote as patron of ETOP UKUTT Nigeria-British Chamber of Commerce by the chamber in Lagos ....yesterday

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T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 25, 2017

PAGE NINE MUBADALA, ETISALAT FOREIGN DIRECTORS MAY FACE CRIMINAL CHARGES OVER UNPAID Nigeria has raised moral questions on the appropriateness of borrowing money, defaulting and then pulling out of the country, hoping that their shares would be used to write off the debts. This has also raised strong suspicion that they may have borrowed the money under false pretenses.

But the banks have said they wanted their money back and that they were not interested in the shares because they fear that they may be taking over liabilities, the extent of which they do not know. There are however fears that the failure to repay the loan may affect many banks.

Sources also pointed out that Nigeria was not the first country where Etisalat Group would try to play smart. They alleged that Etisalat had refused to repay loans in other countries such as Tanzania and India.

“The United Arab Emirates telecom operator, Etisalat, invested in Zantel in Tanzania with 85 percent stake in Zanzibar Telecom Limited (Zantel), and in India, 45 per cent stake in Etisalat DB, a joint venture between Indian player DB Group and Etisalat of UAE,” sources said.

In a confidential note obtained

by THISDAY, the EMTS Holding BV, had on June 8, stated that restructuring negotiations were ongoing between the syndicate

lenders and EMTS. It added that “in view of the extent of variance between the lenders last formal communication to EMTS and Mubadala Cyprus Holdings Limited’s proposal of 1 June 2017, we are mindful that the process of a successful restructuring are not as promising as the parties may have considered.

Also, EMTS is presently in a precarious cash position as is unpaid obligations to trade creditors materially increased in the month of May, vis-à-vis the end – April cash position.

“Taking the above into careful consideration, we believe that it has become imperative for EMTS and the lenders to jointly commence discussions around the contingency plan to be implemented in the event that (i) the restructuring negotiations breakdown irredeemably and/or (ii) EMTS is unable to continue to trade without incurring new trade debts which it has no reasonable prospect of paying.

“In view of the forgoing, we, EMTS Holding BV, hereby affirm our commitment to a collaborative approach working with the lenders to assure our orderly exit from EMTS should such exit become necessary due to the occurrence of (i) or (ii) above. We are mindful that a non-collaboration approach (such as a receivership or winding

up) would be disruptive to the business and lead to a further loss of value for all stakeholders, including in particular, the lenders.”

EMTS however stated that it would cooperate with the lenders to ensure that a non-disruptive approach is adopted in any handover process.

“We note that pursuant to the Deed of Share Charge entered into between ourselves and the Security Trustees (the “Share Charge”), we charge all our charge in EMTS in favour of the lenders. In this regard, should the lenders seek to take control of those shares, we would as appropriate, authorize EMTS to take all actions necessary for a seamless handing over to the lenders, including without limitation, the transfer of share and /or recomposition of the board of directors of EMTS,” it added.

The banks have however rejected the share holding offer saying they do not want to take over liability they do not know.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are currently scrambling to save the situation because they consider Etisalat a critical national asset, with its 21 million subscriber base.

Citing the Nigerian Commu-

nications Act (NCA), the NCC had last Tuesday stepped into the issue of transfer of ownership.

It reminded the consortium of banks that it could not take over Etisalat’s operating licence without its approval.

Etisalat Group, which holds 45 per cent stake in the Nigerian subsidiary had announced earlier on Tuesday at the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange that attempts to stave off the company’s takeover had proved abortive and that the lender banks were closing in.

Chief Financial Officer of Etisalat Group, Serkan Okandan, who made the announcement on behalf of the UAE group and operators of Etisalat Nigeria, said both parties had reached a deal to commence the transfer of ownership to the banks by 5 p.m. last Friday, a development that immediately caused ripples in the telecoms sector.

However, the NCC in a statement last Tuesday evening by its spokesman, Mr. Tony Ojobo, drew the attention of the parties to the provisions of the NCA, which provide that the issuance of a licence shall be personal to the licensee and is not transferable to a third party without the written approval of the commission.

Meanwhile, it also emerged at the weekend that two inter-

BUDGET: FASHOLA’S ALLEGATION STIRS UP EXECUTIVE/LEGISLATURE SPAT they acted within the powers of the legislature.

In a statement by its spokesperson, Senator Aliyu Abdullahi, the Senate said Fashola flouted extant laws and agreements on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway by voting funds for the project, which was already being executed under a public private partnership arrangement.

Abdullahi said the Bureau of Public Procurement and the Federal Executive Council had in 2013 approved the reconstruction, rehabilitation and expansion of the expressway as a PPPP project using the private finance initiative, with the government providing 30 per cent of the funding and the private sector contributing the balance.

"Even as at last year, the 2016 Appropriation Act voted N40 billion for the project on the insistence of the ministry and only N26 billion was released.

If we had known, the rest N14 billion could have been allocated to other critical roads across the country," the chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, said.

He added, "In the spirit of consensus building and effective stakeholder engagement, the leadership of the Senate met with relevant stakeholders, including the ministries of works and finance. It was agreed that we should give the private finance initiative a chance to complement government’s resources in the delivery of critical infrastructure assets across the country. Hence, in this year's budget, we have engaged with the government and private sector groups who have assured that they will resume funding of the project.

So, we only provided the fund in the budget that would ensure work does not stop before the funds from the private sector start coming in.

“What we reduced from Lagos-Ibadan expressway in the 2017 budget estimate was spread on Oyo-Ogbomoso road

in the South-west, Enugu-Onitsha road in the South-east, and two other critical roads in the North-east and North-west; and this was done to achieve equity.

The minister should realise he is minister for the entire country and not just that of Lagos State.

“It is our view that the federal government cannot fund the reconstruction and maintenance of all the 34,000 kilometres of roads under its care. We are looking for private funds for some of these roads, particularly, those with high potentials of attracting private investors. These include the Enugu-Onitsha road, KanoAbuja road, and Abuja-Lokoja road. It has been our hope that the Lagos -Ibadan road would be a model for private sector funding of infrastructure in the country."

Abdullahi said it was deceitful for Fashola to promise that the federal government could fund the Lagos-Ibadan road to completion by 2019.

“He should desist from spreading half-truths,” the senate spokesman said regarding the minister, adding, “When he said the National Assembly imported projects into the 2017 budget, he did not mention that these include the 26 projects which the federal government approved in the 2016 budget, awarded contract for them in January 2016, but totally omitted them in the 2017 budget. One of them is the Abuja-Kaduna road. These ones would have become abandoned projects. We reduced funds across board to make provision for these omitted projects that are of critical importance to the socio-economic development of the country in line with equity and fair play.”

Abdullahi accused Fashola of frustrating private sector financing initiatives due to the allure of contract award. “That was why he waited until he was arm-twisted on the Lagos airport road before he allowed the Lagos State Government

take up the reconstruction, using private funds. Same thing happened to the proposal for the Apapa wharf road, which was frustrated for over a year before the stakeholders reined in the ministry to grudgingly approve that Dangote and Flour Mills should take over the project,” the senate alleged.

Abdullahi stated, "It should also be explained that nobody introduced budgetary provisions for the sinking of boreholes and construction of clinics under the budget of the works division of the ministry. However, the housing division would ordinarily have provision for such facilities in its estimate, so as to meet the Sustainable Development Goals as provided for by the United Nations.”

He said the National Assembly already had an arrangement with the acting president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, to fund projects that could not attracted needed private sector finance through Virement and supplementary budget.

“However, with all these blackmail game and backbiting going on, they are already laying the foundation for the failure of the agreement with the executive," he stated.

Expressing the position of the House of Representatives, the chairman of House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Abdulrazak Namdas, said Fashola’s comments about alleged alterations in the budget was an attempt to blackmail the legislature and portray it as insensitive to the Nigerian people. Citing recent court pronouncements, Namdas said the legislature had powers to make alterations in the appropriation bill presented by the executive.

Namdas said in a statement by his special adviser on media, Hassan Turaki, “It is very misleading and calculated mischief to simply say that N5 billion was taken from the budget for Second Niger Bridge. The truth

is that in the 2016 budget, N12 billion was appropriated for the Second Niger Bridge and not a kobo was spent by the ministry.

Not a kobo. The money was returned.

“The ministry could not provide the committees of the National Assembly with evidence of an agreement on the public private partnership or a contract for the Second Niger Bridge. The National Assembly, in its wisdom, decided to fund other projects from the Southeast, leaving N7 billion for the Second Niger Bridge that may yet be unspent.”

Namdas listed the projects to include Enugu-Onitsha road, 9th Mile-Nsukka-Makurdi road, Otukpo-Makurdi road, and Ikot Ekpene-Aba-Owerri road.

He said the National Assembly had to intervene to fund some critical roads that were neglected in the budget proposal.

The House spokesman reiterated that there was a PPP arrangement on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. He added, “On the Mambila power project, the minister proposed a whopping N17 billion for only Environmental Impact Assessment. The National Assembly felt that N17 billion for EIA was misplaced and patently unjustifiable! The minister himself even wrote to the National Assembly to move some funds from this sub-heads to others."

Namdas stated, “On a general note, we need to remind the Honourable Minister that the budget of the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing is not his personal budget; it is part of the budget of the federation. The National Assembly and others are also stakeholders in this country, imbued with patriotism to fix Nigeria’s problems. There are certain matters, which the National Assembly committees discover during oversight activities that are corrected during the budget process.”

national telecoms companies, Vodacom SA and Orange of France, were interested in acquiring the shares relinquished by the core investor.

In eyeing the major stake in Etisalat Nigeria, analysts believe Vodacom may be using the opportunity to re-enter Nigeria’s burgeoning and lucrative telecoms market.

Vodacom, which is a leading African communications company headquartered in South Africa, made previous attempts to enter the Nigerian telecoms market up till 2004, in the early years of GSM, when it signified interest in Econet Wireless Nigeria, but retreated.

Although the South African telecoms company reportedly had issues with the deal, bordering on "inappropriate level of risk" and "good corporate governance, and trust", it was clear that it could not muster the courage to face the kind of risk the likes of MTN Group, its competitor in South Africa, faced. While many saw Vodacom's initial attempt to enter Nigeria’s telecoms market as an attempt to meet or surpass the performance of MTN, its South African rival, the latter had enjoyed tremendous growth and outstanding performance

through its investment as it is now the biggest telecoms operator in the country.

As for Orange, it is one of the largest telecoms operators in Europe and Africa and a global leader in corporate telecommunication services. Its operations span eight countries in Europe and 22 countries in Africa and Middle East.

Industry sources revealed that the two leading telecoms operators in Nigeria, MTN and Glo, initially had interest in the company when the news of its indebtedness to the consortium of banks broke. Both companies, it was gathered, had reasoned that acquiring dominant shares in Etisalat, the fourth largest telco in Nigeria with a subscriber base of about 21 million, would expand their subscriber bases and consolidate their leadership positions in the industry. While MTN has a subscriber base of about 60 million, Globacom subscriber base is about 37 million.

However, the negative media reports that trailed the loan repayment issue, which was believed to have eroded the share value of the company, made the two companies to have a rethink, THISDAY gathered.

AT EID-EL-FITR, BUHARI PREACHES PEACE, WARNS AGAINST RECKLESS STATEMENTS holy fasting month of Ramadan.

It is, therefore, an official holiday in all Muslim-majority countries across the world.

Buhari, who spoke from London, the United Kingdom, where he is presently observing his medical checkup, noted that, "I am immensely grateful to God for his mercy in guiding us successfully to conclude another Ramadan fast. My greetings to all Nigerian Muslims and our brother Christians on the occasion of Eid-el-Fitr! May the lessons of Ramadan namely piety, selfdenial, prayers and generosity to the poor and needy be with us for all time.

"I, again, appeal to all Nigerians to avoid reckless statements or actions against our fellow countrymen. We should all resolve to live in peace and unity in our great country, which is the envy of many less endowed nations," he said.

President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, while congratulating Muslim faithful on the successful completion of Ramadan, urged all Nigerians to imbibe the spirit of tolerance, peace, patriotism and love for one another as a way of building a strong and united nation.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki, who also spoke from Saudi Arabia, where he had been to observe the lesser hajj for the last ten days of Ramadan, said only tolerance, stronger sense of patriotism and love for one another will help the country sail through the present multiple agitations confronting her.

"We should put into practice the lessons of tolerance, perseverance, and love for our neighbours that we learnt during the Ramadan period to overcome the multiple agitations threatening the corporate existence of our country," On his part, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, also urged religious leaders to continue to preach and promote the virtues

of unity, love and peaceful coexistence for Nigeria to attain greatness.

In a statement yesterday, Dogara urged Nigerians to eschew divisive and hate tendencies, adding that Nigerians must learn to live in harmony, tolerate one another and see the nation’s diversity as a source of strength.

“For Nigeria to attain greatness and fulfill its potential, we must regard our diversity as a source of strength and continue to promote and strengthen the unity, peace and progress of the country at all times,’’ the Speaker said.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar, while also declaring today as Eid-el-Fitr festival after he had announced the sighting of the new moon of Shawwal in a broadcast in his palace in Sokoto last night, said the new moon was sighted in parts of Kaduna, Katsina, Borno, Adamawa and Sokoto States.

“In accordance with Islamic law, we have the honour and pleasure to announce that today, Saturday, the 29th Day of Ramadan, 1438 AH, which is equivalent to June 24, 2017, has marked the end of Ramadan and the beginning of the new month of Shawwal.”

He said reliable reports of moon sighting were received from Muslim leaders and religious organisations across the country, which were duly verified and authenticated by the national moon sighting committee.

“Consequent upon this, tomorrow, Sunday, the 25th Day of June, 2017, becomes the first day of shawwal, 1438 AH and is therefore declared the Sallah day for 2017 Eid-el-Fitr", he said.

He therefore urged the Muslims to sustain their prayers for President Buhari, other leaders, as well as for sustainable peace and unity in Nigeria and beyond.

He also called on Nigerians to continue to live in peace with one another irrespective of ethnic and religious differences.

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JUNE 25, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R

SUNDAY COMMENT

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

PULLING BACK FROM THE PRECIPICE

There is urgent need to address the present political structure which has increasingly become a recipe for uncertainty and instability

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n a season when hateful rhetoric is being peddled across the country, it is unfortunate that otherwise respected Nigerians that ordinarily should help in suing for peace are adding fuel to the fire with unguarded and provocative utterances. This is why we must commend the efforts of Acting President Yemi Osinbajo who has been holding high level consultations with critical stakeholders with a view to douse the growing tension in the country.

According to Osinbajo, while there were genuine grievances that needed to be addressed, it would be wrong of any group or individuals to approach such grievances by threatening the integrity of Nigeria. “Violence and war are not going to do anyone any good,” said Prof. Osinbajo. “They are easy to start but It is the duty of near impossible government at all levels to end. We are witnesses to the to create the enabling devenvironment that would unspeakable astation that war give the citizenry a true continues to inflict sense of belonging, across the world. No and indeed, faith in one who has seen the horrors of war— the assertion that this country belongs to all of even merely on its peoples irrespective television—would wish it on their worst of ethnicity or religion enemy. Our emotions must not be allowed to run wild in such a way as to endanger the lives of so many.” It could not have been better put.

Against the background that there are usually challenges in the process of integrating members of any society into a cohesive social whole, what confronts the nation are not peculiar nor are they unexpected, especially since recourse to separatist tendencies is most often fuelled by bad governance which is underscored today by high rate of youth unemployment. But the authorities must find a way to deal with the situation before it degenerates.

Meanwhile, it is unacceptable that two weeks after the “go home” order to the Igbos living in the north, in response to the agitations for an independent state of Biafra, not one of the “northern youths” has been ap-

Letters to the Editor

prehended by the security agencies. Such application of double standards in responding to a problem that is capable of disrupting not only public order but indeed the security and peaceful co-existence of the country, is to say the least, very unhelpful. It is also important to caution against the tendency in some quarters to make incendiary remarks against one ethnic group or religion or to call for the dismemberment of the federation at the slightest outbreak of crisis or security challenge. Such remarks and calls are not useful, especially at a time we need to face the challenge of poverty and underdevelopment.

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

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

hile many continue to locate the recent flourish of hateful and divisive utterances primarily as a response to the embarrassing display of partisanship and the parochial track at the apex of power in Nigeria today, facts on the ground also reflect that this is an old problem. For instance, it was in the wake of such strident agitations that former President Goodluck Jonathan in August 2014 held a special Council of State meeting amid reports that some citizens were being deported to their states of origin from a section of the country.

What that suggested very clearly is that the present political structure of the federation has increasingly become a recipe for uncertainty, insecurity and instability. That explains why we support all those who continue to advocate that restructuring the polity—not only for optimum performance but also to address the issue of citizenship—has become inevitable. But the restructuring that we advocate is one that will make Nigeria work for the vast majority of our people, whether they are in the East, North, South or West of the country.

While we exhort Nigerians not to give in to hate and needless recriminations that have been on the increase recently, we also call on the federal government to show more seriousness in confronting this dangerous national security threat. It is trite to say that it is the duty of government at all levels to create the enabling environment that would give the citizenry a true sense of belonging, and indeed, faith in the assertion that this country belongs to all of its peoples irrespective of ethnicity or religion.

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

THE MANY ADVANTAGES OF BEING A NIGERIAN

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n real life, people are told that quitters never win and winners never quit. That aphorism has proven true at the level of individual entrepreneurship and endeavour.

Most people have often found out to their chagrin that just after they quit, success just arrives. But how far nations can carry on, from what has been perceived as an unholy and uneven matrimony remains to be seen. The same is true with Nigeria, especially after the recent and successful stay-at-home call made on the people of the South-East by their de-facto leader and the reactions which followed.

Before we log on to the issue, let me quickly affirm my love for my fatherland. Nigeria is a great country.

Foreigners boast that our mangoes are some of the best in the world. Our women are beautiful and our young men strong. Our Jollof rice beats the Ghanaian and the Senegalese. I have had the privilege of travelling to the North, South, East and West of this

great country. I have met Northerners, Easterners and Westerners, and if they don’t speak their language they don’t look any different from the dudes on the other side. As a matter of fact, when I found myself in the North for my NYSC, I wanted to add a Northern aka to my name because of its phonetic and semantic affinity with my local name.

Therefore today, I manage to find my way with a dash of Hausa, Yoruba and some Ibo, and even though I am bothered that this triumvirate do not speak my language, I have carried on nevertheless. Sometime ago in Germany, I was asked to teach a group of journalists how we say good morning or afternoon or evening in Nigeria. At first, I was stuck with what to say. Here I am, a thoroughbred prince of the Niger Delta, born within the dense foliage of the South, and with the ancestry of my forebears deeply etched in my medulla oblongata, knowing that in spite of the contribution of my village, Uzere to

national menu, I cannot tell the Oyinbos that ‘Merigwue’ is how Nigerians greet each and one another. So, I settled for ‘Bawoni’, instead of Ekaaro, ‘Kedu’ and ‘Sannu’, instead of ‘Inaa Kwaana’, as greetings for morning, afternoon and evening. How in the world was I going to tell them that Nigeria has over 350 languages, each with its distinctive linguistic, ethnic and political cleavage?

It would have been possible to tell them that our strength lies in our diversity.

But the opportunity was brief.

Outside our shores then, all that it takes for me to get the attention of my African brethren together with that of other races and peoples is my nationality. Heads turn, for good or for the bad, whenever I’ve identified myself as Nigerian. Most of the times, I get stares, but hey, who the hell cares if these stares arise from the negative things which Nigerians are known for? Is there any nation or people out there without skeletons in their cupboards? Are there

no nations and peoples out there without challenges of imagery and thematic focus? Why then are we hell bent on messing things up with these frivolous quit notices we are hurling at each other?

Just after that successful sit-at-home call by the South-easterners, an ultimatum from youth of the North asked the Ibo to leave in 90 days. Most of all saw the confirmation video by some elderly Babanriga-wearing folk saying that they have already triggered a programme to carry out a census of all lands and landed property belonging to the Ibo, to be eventually taken over immediately the 90-day ultimatum expires. Perhaps seeking a piece of the limelight as well, a group of militants has asked all Northerners in the Niger Delta to pack up and leave by October 1, 2017.

But this is not the way to go. Because of space, I would have loved to tell you the story of how the matrimony between the Belgians and the Norwegians (which used to be one country) was eventu-

ally dissolved. Therefore, instead of meandering through the tunnels of history, let’s consider that the UK left the EU without firing a single shot.

What they did was a simple referendum, and which established the desire of the British people to leave the EU to determine their own destiny. I believe that the option of a referendum is a better choice than the very primordial methods being used to address issues of our continued existence as a nation.

If the Igbo or the North or anyone else wants to quit Nigeria, I think the agitation, really, would be to call for a referendum rather than address the deep issues which affect us with hot air, braggadocio, foul language and an acquisition of bayonets. We should opt for diplomacy, and the kind of tact which ensures that a relationship can still be forged if we decide to have a divorce.

––Bob MajiriOghene Etemiku, @ DsighRobert

T H I S D AY SUNDAY JUNE 25, 2017

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ UNE 25, 2017

SUNDAYNEWS

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

Anambra Election: We’ve Taken Note of Kanu’s Threat, Says IG Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Kpotun Idris, has said the security agency was aware of the threat by

the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, to instigate a boycott of the forthcoming governorship election in the Anambra State.

Idris, who said the Force had taken note of the threat, gave the assurance that the Police were ready to provide adequate security cover for the election in the state

scheduled for November 18. He vowed that the security agency would do everything necessary to ensure the exercise is conducted smoothly.

BRAINSTORMING ON SECURITY L-R: Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano and Anambra State Commander of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Mr. Sule Momodu, putting heads together on security issues in the state...in a meeting held in Akwa the state capital...recently

Ei d- el-Fit r: Ti nubu , Gov s, Others Advocate Unity, Peace

t Yobe gov places restriction on vehicle, Police ban rallies in Niger State Abimbola Akosile in Lagos, Michael Olugbode in Damaturu, Laleye Dipo in Minna and Victor Ogunje in Ado-Ekiti

As Nigeria and the rest of the world celebrate Eid-el-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, prominent Nigerians have called for unity and peace among all the citizens, in the spirit of the season.

Among the personalities, former Lagos governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called on Nigerians to ignore those calling for violence or issuing quit notice to other Nigerians to leave their areas. According to him, Nigeria could be a stronger, a more unified and a prosperous nation when citizens listen to the genuine concerns of others with a spirit of understanding.

He said it was necessary for those calling for Nigeria’s breakup to desist from such and seek ways of laying a foundation of dialogue and collective purpose for all Nigerians.

Tinubu said this in a statement entitled ‘Eid-el-Fitr Message: The Spirit, Strength of Our Diversity” which was signed and issued yesterday by his Media Adviser, Tunde Rahman.

He said: “Voices calling for violence must be roundly condemned for it is wrong to incite brother to go against brother and

neighbour to combat neighbour.

Voices calling for secession and break-up are wrong and should not be followed.

“However, in the spirit of understanding, we must listen to the genuine concerns of our fellow Nigerians so that we may make of ourselves a stronger, more unified and prosperous nation built on a foundation of dialogue and collective purpose.”

On the just concluded Ramadan fast and the Eid-el-Fitr celebration, the ex-governor said: “the spirit of sacrifice, self-discipline, goodwill, justice, tolerance, mercy, forgiveness and compassion inherent in the Ramadan Fast should remain with Muslim faithful to guide their day-to-day interactions and relationships with one another.

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, also urged Nigerians to embrace the virtues of tolerance, unity and cooperation regardless of their ethnic, religious or social status, saying that it was only in such atmosphere that the nation can make meaningful progress.

The Governor, in his Eidel-Fitr message, signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Habib Aruna, said “it is only by embracing peace, unity and fairness that Nigerians can put the country back on its leadership pedestal, urging them to imbibe the tenets of love, tolerance, forgiveness and brotherhood which the period of

the holy month symbolises.”

According to him, “Nigeria was in dire need of brotherly love and harmonious co-existence among her citizens above all other things as a means to overcome the numerous challenges threatening her fledgling unity, especially with the disturbing trend of hate speeches.” Ambode added that in the last two years, despite the economic challenges, the nation has witnessed appreciable level of development expressing optimism that more can be achieved if all hands are on deck. Continuing, he said: “As we celebrate this auspicious occasion, therefore, let us renew our faith in our nation and implore the Almighty God to restore to us those values that place high premium on human life, love for our country, love for our neighbour and sharing even as we ventilate our faith in the unity of our dear country and the possibility of her taking her proper place in the comity of nations”.

The governor thanked Lagos residents for their continued harmonious and peaceful coexistence in the midst of diverse ethnic origin and religious affiliation. He also wished all Muslim brothers and sisters in the State a happy Eid-el-Fitr celebration.

Also, Governor of Ekiti State and Chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP)’s Governors’ Forum, Ayodele Fayose has greeted Muslims across the

country at Ramadan, urging them to embrace peace, love and understanding for one another.

In a press release sent to journalists in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital yesterday by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, Fayose urged Muslims to remember that the annual “Ramadan fast is regarded as one of the five Pillars of Islam, others being testimony of faith, prayer, giving (Zakat), which is also support for the needy and the pilgrimage to Mecca: These are the framework of the Muslim life.

“Let us therefore, shun all attitudes, behaviours, and actions that promote hatred, religious intolerance, disunity and violence and embrace true love that would promote peace and unity among us as a nation to allow for meaning progress and development which our dear nation is in dire need of now,” he added.

Likewise, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has felicitated with Muslim faithful in the country and all over the world on the celebration of the Eid-el-Fitr .

The Minister, in his message by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Olayinka Oyebode, congratulated Muslims on the successful completion of the Ramadan fast, stressing that witnessing another Eid-el-Fitri was a special privilege from the Almighty Allah who has control over the destiny of man.

The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, had warned that elections would be boycotted in the Southeast states starting with the November 18 election in Anambra, if the federal government fails to hold referendum for the realisation of the State of Biafra.

In a speech in a video clip, Kanu said, “If the federal government does not agree with us on a date for referendum, there will be no elections in the Southeast, we are starting with Anambra come November this year. There will be no governorship election in Anambra State.”

However, in his reaction, the Inspector General of Police said: “Of course, from the security point of view we have taken note of the threat from the agitators, we have taken note of all other threats, but I can assure you that in those elections we are going to provide very strict security. I can assure you that in all future elections, you are going to have the best of security you can think of, that is the assurance I can give.”

Idris noted that he was recently in Anambra and Imo states and was highly impressed with the way the two governors were handling the issue of threats posed by the herdsmen marauders.

He said he was particularly impressed by the measures taken by Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, in which he adopted a community policing approach, using local leaders to solving the herdsmen/farmers conflict in the state.

“I was in Anambra and Imo states, those governments were addressing this herdsmen security issue adequately. You can see that we have never had the herdsmen threat. Previously it was there but now every-

thing has been neutralised,” he said.

The Inspector General also said a lot of success has been recorded in addressing issues of election malpractices and violence during elections in the country.

Compared with previous elections conducted before his assumption of office, the IGP said all the elections conducted in the past one have recorded a marked improvement both in the level of peaceful atmosphere and adherence to electoral rules.

“We have conducted elections last year in Edo, Ondo, Rivers, Imo, Kano and Kogi states and I think those elections by and large are free and fair compared to previous elections, apart from Rivers state where three of our officers were slaughtered. From the police side, I think we are making progress in addressing most of the abuse of process during elections,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it would further extend the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration exercise to ward levels in Anambra for one week, beginning from July 10 and ending on July 16.

Speaking to THISDAY in an interview shortly after making a presentation at parley organised by the Civil Society Situation in Abuja last Friday, the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said the commission had made significant progress in its preparation for the 2019 general elections, adding that work on budgetary estimates would soon be completed.

“Next year, as part of the Election Project Plan, we hope to make deployment for CVR one week per quarter at the ward level. So, this is the first time a continuous voter registration will be taking place in the actual sense of it,” he added.

Caleb Varsity Experience

The Vice-Chancellor of Caleb University, Imota, Lagos State, Prof. Ayandiji Daniel Aina, has said the university’s experience over the last few years strongly indicated the great potential in the school in instituting a rich learning context in educational opportunities, research and scholarship. Aina made the remark during a recent threeday ISTEAMS conference held at the school premises with the theme, ‘Scalable Innovative Multidisciplinary Research for Advancement and Economic Transformation’, where over 92 papers of academic research were delivered by scholars from within and outside Nigeria.

The Vice-Chancellor noted that the university was proud that its integration of the fundamental requirements, has provided a powerful synergy for employment in enabling the inculcation of intellectual and creative abilities via the platform of a solid commitment to selfdiscovery. The ISTEAMS’ conference was followed by the university’s second inaugural lecture themed, ‘Can Anything Good Come Out of Nazareth?: Synergising The Scalable Complex Adaptive Relationships Between Humans and the Cyberspace’, delivered by a Professor of Computer Security and Dean, Caleb Business School, Prof. Babatope Longe, who acknowledged the impact of ICT revolution in the country’s technological growth with software and internet penetration.

T H I S D AY SUNDAY JUNE 25, 2017

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t Nwodo laments policeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inability to arrest Arewa youths Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu

The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, yesterday took an initiative to neutralise last weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quit notice issued by Arewa youths to Igbo residents in the North by constituting and inaugurating a 100-member Planning and Strategy Committee, headed by former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Chukwuma Soludo, to design both the economic and political development agenda for Ndigbo.

This however came as the Ohanaeze President, Chief Nnia Nwodo, expressed regrets over the inability of the Nigerian police to make needful arrests since the

threat was issued, wondering if different standards were being used for different set of people in the same country.

According to Ohanaeze, the Soludo committee was also expected to come up with the best strategy that would enable the South-east zone become selfreliant in view of the alleged marginalisation of the zone.

Nwodo, who inaugurated the committee at the Nike Lake Resort Hotel, Enugu, however urged the committee to articulate and formulate sound strategic economic and political policies for Ndigbo, adding that the recommendations of the committee would be used by the Ohanaeze secretariat to formulate integra-

tive economic programmes for the respective states within the zone, in collaboration with the South-east governors as well as Governors of Rivers and Delta States respectively.

Particularly, Nwodo charged the committee to zero in on the articulation of integrated railway network linking all the seven Ohanaeze states; an annual growth of one million palm trees in each of the states within the next five years; a corresponding growth of attractive processing industries for the palm produce but on high, medium and small scale levels and a policy for maximisation of the zones coal resources for power generation.

Police Arrest Military Member of Evansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Kidnap Gang t Army, Police foil kidnap attempt, kill one in Aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Ibom Chiemelie Ezeobi in Lagos and Okon Bassey in Uyo As the police strive to unravel the mystery behind the notorious kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeje Onwuamadike, alias Evans, it was yesterday revealed that another member of the gang, this time a military personnel, has been nabbed.

The suspect, Lance Corporal Victor Chukwunonso, a soldier of the Nigerian Army with Force No: 09/NA/64/6317, was arrested by the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Nigeria Police.

Given the rich repertoire of information to be gotten from Evans on what made his syndicate thrive for over seven years, THISDAY gathered that the police was not in a hurry to arraign him in court.

According to the police, his revelations would assist police in busting several kidnap cases in the country and those behind

such incidents.

Acting Commissioner of Police, Lagos State command, DCP Dasuki Galadanchi, who addressed newsmen yesterday in Lagos, said more suspects have been arrested in connection with Evans and his gang.

Although Galadanchi could not disclose the identity of the arrested suspects, the story of the fresh arrest pointed to the soldier. He noted that since Evansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; activities are legendary, there was need to painstakingly investigate the matter before he would be charged to court.

Galadanchi said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is need to painstakingly investigate this matter. Evans has been a kidnapper for a long time and has been on the wanted list of the police in Edo, Abuja, Anambra and Lagos States. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He has a criminal gang.

Some have been busted in Enugu.

We need to understudy and debrief him and use all his acts

of criminality for innovation on how to curtail others. Eventually, he will be charged to court after investigation is concluded. Other suspects have been arrested after those with him.â&#x20AC;?

However, a situation report made available to THISDAY about the arrest of the soldier read thus; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nonso as he is fondly called is a serving Army Personnel who is a gang member of Evans, the most notorious kidnapper in Nigeria. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sequel to the arrest of Evans in his Magodo GRA Mansion in Lagos on June 10 and six his gang members, his confessions have helped. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He mentioned multiple kidnappings, armed robberies and collection of billions of naira as ransom and mentioned his remaining gang members at large including an Army Personnel, a serving Lance Corporal in the Nigeria Army, L/Cpl Victor Chukwunonso with Army No: 09/NA/64/6317.â&#x20AC;?

Oyo 2019: Akintola Deserves Our Total Support, Says Alaafin

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Soludo Heads Ohanaeze Strategy Committee

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Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi, has appealed to the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) at both state and national levels to ensure that the governorship ambition of Chief Adeniyi Akintola (SAN) received their blessings.

Oba Adeyemi made the remark at the weekend when the legal luminary paid him a courtesy visit at the former palace in the ancient city of Oyo town.

The monarch who described Akintola as a formidable pillar in legal practice, recalled that the aspirant had applied sheer legal prowess to save situations for the

progressives on many occasions, especially in the south western part of the country.

ObaAdeyeminotedthatthelikes of Akintola, whom he described as knowledgeable and God-fearing individualsshouldalwaysvieforand seize the reins of leadership across tiersinthecountry.

He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;If Niyi (Akintola) does not come out, someone else will.

When those who are wise and intelligent refuse to contest elections, fools will take over. When the party chooses you, we know the next move.â&#x20AC;?

Intimating Akintola of the enormity of the burden of leadership if

he eventually won the election, Oba Adeyemi said â&#x20AC;&#x153;You (Akintola) have come to work. Some of those who have been made governors, ministers, and commissioners are running into hiding today because they soon forgot what they were voted in for and deviated from the path. You have come to work. No rest till the last day.â&#x20AC;?

He commended the incumbent governor, Abiola Ajimobi for what he called his â&#x20AC;&#x153;socio-infrastructural renewal across the state,â&#x20AC;? noting that those who ensured a second term mandate for Governor Ajimobi have no cause to regret their action.

Daily Asset Hits News-stands June 26 Beginning from Monday, June 26, a new publication, Daily Asset with the motto â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Truth is Treasureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; will be at the News-stands across the country serving prospective readers and clientele with quality, reliable and refreshing information to assist decision makers form opinion or make choices in their daily activities.

The newspaper which is published in Abuja by Asset Newspapers Limited, will report all aspects of national life- Politics, Business and Economy, Agriculture, sports, Education, Science and Technology, literature and creativity, Foreign Affairs, Religion, crime, judiciary, Security, Bureaucracy, etc.

According to the Publisher/

CEO, Dr. Cletus Akwaya, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are courageously coming into the scene at a time the national economy is in distress with the hope that in the midst of the challenges, we shall explore and exploit the few opportunities that exist to our advantage and then carve a niche for the publication in the crowded newspaper market.

16

Í°ÍłË&#x153; Í°ÍŽÍŻÍż Ëž THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

OPINION The New Mosque in Louis Edet House Nurudeen Jacobs writes that the Force Headquartersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Mosque Annex is one too many

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f you know Louis Edet House, headquarters of the Nigeria Police Force in Abuja the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) very well, you will have a very clear picture of the landmarks I will be alluding to in this piece.

The Force Headquarters, by the way, is on the immediate Eastern flank of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Three Arms Zoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, the agglomeration of the executive, legislative and judicial arms of the federal government, in the capital city Abuja. That is if you are standing on the ever busy Shehu Shagari Way in the Central Business District, Abuja and facing the skyscraper directly.

To be sure, only a boulevard separates the left side of the complex, from the premises of the Court of Appeal headquarters, at the very heart of the federal judiciary. Almost directly behind the Force Headquarters is the Asokoro annex of Protea Hotel, which shields the famous Presidential Villa, Aso Rock, Abuja.

To facilitate the proximity of personnel to on-duty places of religious worship, a purpose-built mosque and a chapel, respectively, were conceived as part of the complex. The mosque has long been completed and put into use, while the chapel remains largely uncompleted.

It is not unusual, therefore during the specified times for religious prayers, to see officers and other ranks of both faiths, gravitate towards the rear of Louis Edet House, to observe their prayers.

In recent weeks, however, it has become commonplace to hear calls to worship, at a brand new facility, built across the road from Louis Edet House, within the precincts of the Force Headquarters Extension housing the Department of Finance and Accounts.

The implication of course, is that a second place of worship, has just been added to the existing Louis Edet House mosque, to serve, in specific terms, staffers of the Finance and Accounts Section of Force Headquarters.

So, blaring loudspeakers directed at the Police Commissionersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Quarters, adjacent the Force Headquarters, have become the new irritant in what should ordinarily be a serene working environment, bordered by what has been serially described as the most upscale accommodation ever conceived by the Nigeria Police, for its officers.

Within the immediate geographical radius of the new religious project, is the Police Officers Wivesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Association (POWA) Primary School, highly regarded for its instructional quality and discipline.

The Police are equally constructing a massive complex to house the headquarters of its Microfinance Bank, within the area.

I am actually at a loss how people are expected to work and

deliver optimally, live in the senior officersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; accommodation or learn, in an environment with so much noise pollution, bordering on orchestrated atmospheric terrorism.

Let me be clear here, this is not about my aversion for the preponderance of places of worship within the limited land area, of just a few hectares of land on which the Police Headquarters and its ancillary offices, are situated. After all, I am a practising muslim, observing the on going Ramadan fast. We hold the global medal, albeit dubiously, of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;most religious peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in the world and I bet the survey encapsulates just how much in physical infrastructure and productive man hours we devote, as a nation and a people, to religious preoccupations.

What with the mass of Evans Onwuamadikes, the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Vampiresâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, the drug couriers, the systems hackers and similar official and unofficial, known and unknown, we continue to spawn?

Rather, I am pained, that the Police Force which is a serial complainant, about the inadequacy of its aggregate fiscal resources to carry out its statutory obligation of protecting the rest of us, would prioritise the construction of a model place of religious worship, over and above the provision of working tools and conditions, necessary for the optimum performance of its personnel.

I am equally at a loss about why the operations of the edifice, have

I am pained that the Police Force which is a serial complainant about the inadequacy of its aggregate ďŹ scal resources to carry out its statutory obligation of protecting the rest of us, would prioritise the construction of a model place of religious worship, over and above the provision of working tools and conditions, necessary for the optimum performance of its personnel

remained an unrestricted noise hazard to its surroundings. Yet, the Nigeria Police Force is capable of delivering dividends on a good day. The capture of billionaire kidnap kingpin Evans has been wildly celebrated. But long before now, the Police had actually recorded landmark breakthroughs which attest to their capacity to rise to big occasions.

The accolades, trophies and recognitions which are deservedly bestowed on Nigerian Police officers and men whenever they are on United Nations, UN assignments, across the world, is testament to the quality our law enforcement agents are made of.

But the proliferation of religious monuments when there are a million and one pressing needs in the service, creates the erroneous impression of an overflow of resources, in need of vagrant expenditure sub-heads. If the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Kpotun Idris, intends to show sensitivity in the light of the recent avoidable and unnecessary fissions which ethnicity and religion have precipitated across the country, he should immediately direct the discontinuation of the operations of the duplication called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Police Force Headquarters Mosque Annex.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Louis Edet House does not need two functioning mosques to minister to the religious health of police personnel, specifically within work hours. Those who desire to spend more time in the sacred serenity of such places are at liberty to do so in their local places of worship after official hours.

The last time I checked, even the seat of government, the Presidential Villa, Aso Rock, had just one mosque which was built when the complex was conceived by former President, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. President Olusegun Obasanjo who assumed office six years after Babangida, added just one chapel to the presidential complex, in eight years.

Indeed, if IGP Idris intends to demonstrate the dispassionate secularity which his office and social embodies, he must, as a matter of urgency, ensure the immediate completion of the stillborn chapel in Louis Edet House, so that posterity will applaud him.

It is not for him as the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top cop to foster the erroneous impression of religious bigotry of any kind, especially at a time like this when strident efforts are being consummated to dispel suspicions of an ethno-secular agenda in the polity.

What to do with the structure? Assign it to the Force Imam, if he doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have an office. â&#x20AC;&#x201C;â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Jacobs, a journalist and public affairs commentator, wrote from Abuja.

Digital Economy and Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cyber Security There is an urgent need to overhaul laws on cybercrimes, argues Amakiri Welekwe

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n the last few years, various sectors of the Nigerian economy have been undergoing digital transformation. As the country gradually transitions from the margins to the mainstream of the digital economy, we are increasingly exposed to new risks that threaten our personal, corporate and national security. Some of the new risks posed by this increased digitisation of our society include: data breach, cyber heist, identity theft, etc.

In April this year, Kaspersky Lab published a report about the activities of a notorious hacking group known as Lazarus, allegedly responsible for the theft of 81 million dollars from the Central Bank of Bangladesh in 2016. The report stated that Lazarus group malicious software samples typically used for cyber fraud appeared in financial institutions in Nigeria and some other countries.

Furthermore, the Nigerian Senate a few weeks ago raised the alarm about the threatening dimensions of cyber-attacks on Nigerian firms.

Similarly, the Central Bank of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Governor, during the recently concluded Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF) Stakeholders Workshop on Cybercrime, called for an appropriate legal framework to tackle the increasing wave of all forms of cybercrime in the country.

The unfortunate thing about the law though is that it always plays catch up with technology and struggles to keep pace with changing times. In the light of the foregoing therefore, it has become imperative for Nigeria to close the wide gap that exists between law and technology. There is an urgent need to overhaul or possibly enact new laws and policies to tackle the increasing spate of cybercrime in accordance with international best practices. The existing cybercrime law is a good starting-point but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s definitely not enough. Thankfully, there are two key policy intervention areas that have the potential to offer hope in the face of the prevailing cyber security challenges in Nigeria: assignment of liability for security failures.

According to experts, computer systems are particularly prone to failure when the entity guarding them is not the entity who suffers when they fail. Professor Ross Anderson of the Cambridge University once said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Many hard security problems can actually be managed if we can appropriately assign responsibility when things go wrong.â&#x20AC;?

Victims of cybercrime often have difficulty finding out who is to blame because there are no clearly assigned legal responsibilities.

Software developers for example are often in a hurry to launch their products and online businesses in order to beat competition and in doing so, often times overlook security concerns. Who takes responsibility for the damages when hackers exploit the flaws in the software programme? Liability laws (used in a manner that does not stifle innovation) provide the necessary incentive to force software companies

to write secure codes.

Security researchers such as Tyler Moore and Ross Anderson have shown that many of the typical cyber security challenges we encounter are in some way a consequence of misaligned incentives.

ISPs, banks, telecom and webhosting companies and other intermediary institutions for example are in a good position to prevent, detect and block cybercrime; and to a large extent should be made liable when things go wrong. This is the kind of incentive that is required to force them to beef up security. It appears regulations or the lack of it favours most of these institutions including banks in Nigeria; especially when consumer protection laws are equally weak or nonresponsive to modern needs of consumers in the digital economy.

According to a renowned technology lawyer and former Director of Cybersecurity, office of the Nigeria NSA, Basil Udotai, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Issues around damages for data security and responsibility for breaches, which admittedly are matters for civil law, are left at the mercy of contracts.

Against operators and intermediary companies, customers have no chance at those contract negotiations, as all terms and conditions are predetermined, usually with regulatory sanction.

Thus, not only is there no liability for data security violations, there are no legally backed responsibility on the part of the operator to take any actions - even to alert data subjects or the public, following breachesâ&#x20AC;?. There would be a marked improvement in security if the responsibility for failures is clearly assigned to the entity saddled with the responsibility of protecting data. If cyber criminals are beyond reach of law and a third party is in good position to detect/prevent the crime, then indirect intermediary liability becomes a viable option.

It was said that back in the 1990s, regulations favoured UK banks over customers. Customers who complained about fraud were easily dismissed by simply claiming that their systems were â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;secureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Over time, fraud was no longer taken seriously as they could easily pass off the resultant costs to consumers. UK bank staff knew that customer complaints would not be taken seriously, so they became slothful and careless, leading to an avalanche of fraud even though they spent more on security â&#x20AC;&#x201C; this is what economists call moral-hazard effect.

Conversely, in the USA, banks were said to be generally liable for the costs of card fraud due to favourable consumer protection laws.

When a customer disputes a transaction, the bank must either refund the money or be left with the burden of proof.

This sort of consumer friendly policy intervention should be encouraged in Nigeria. Policies that clearly spell out responsibility for security failures could greatly improve our cyber security posture.

Data protection and breach disclosure law:

Nigeria does not have a comprehensive legislative framework on the protection of privacy and personal data. An all-inclusive data protection law that meets the minimum international standard would motivate companies and institutions to exercise due care when dealing with customer data stored on their systems. This has the potential to boost investor confidence. The Digital Rights and Freedom Bill which is hoped to address some of these concerns is still undergoing scrutiny in the National Assembly. However, the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Cybercrime Act, as well as the act establishing some governmental agencies such as NCC, NITDA, NIMC, and NIS provide some data and privacy-related protections.

But as far as we know, there is no mandatory legal requirement to report data security breaches or losses to the authorities or to data subjects. The International organisation for Standards (ISO) defines a data breach as compromise of security that leads to the unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to protected data. It is basically an incident in which protected confidential data has been accessed or stolen by unauthorised persons.

Data breach disclosure laws require an entity that has been subject to a data breach to notify their customers and other parties about the breach and take other steps to remediate damages caused by the breach. The first such law, the US state of California data security breach notification law, was enacted in 2002 and had since been adopted by most US states and countries around the world. These laws were enacted in response to an escalating number of breaches of consumer databases containing personally identifiable information.

Many organisations and institutions keep large databases of sensitive personal data that is attractive to cyber criminals. For instance, NIMC, INEC, SIM card registration and BVN databases are a goldmine for cyber criminals. But because these institutions perhaps donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t shoulder the cost associated with the theft of these data, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not economically motivated to provide optimal security for those databases or systems. If your personal data is stolen from their systems, they would much rather not report it in order to avoid bad publicity.

Security experts agree that most cyber security risk can be managed if it can be effectively measured. Financial fraud statistics are often hidden from public view, which makes it hard to estimate the true enormity of cybercrime risks. In the fight against cybercrime, policy makers have a role to play in ensuring consistent collection and dissemination of relevant incident data. Mandatory data breach notification law is one sure means of ensuring this. â&#x20AC;&#x201C;â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Welekwe is an IT and cyber security professional.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 25, 2017

LETTERS Time to Rein in Ethnic Irredentists

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hree popular sayings in Esanland, Edo State, herald this analysis on the hot-button issue of ultimatum by the Coalition of Northern Youth Groups for the Igbo, indigenes of the South-east zone of the country, to quit the Northern region within 90 days.

They are one: “A child does not know when sleep takes food out of his/her mouth.”

Two: “What beats the drum for the dove to dance is in the ground, and a day is coming when the drummer will reveal itself.” And three: “Be careful what you wish for” (which is also frequently used for quotes, movies, lyrics, documentaries, and indeed, forms the title of the fourth in the seven books in Bestselling author, Jeffrey Archer’s ‘Clifton Chronicles’).

If members of the youth coalition were expecting accolades when they gave that ultimatum, they received an allround condemnation instead.

If they thought their action would have no consequences and unchallenged, they got a dose of counter-threat from quarters not directly targeted or threatened.

And if they assumed that they had the force to compel compliance with their final warning, they met a greater force in a Coalition of Niger Delta Militants, which has honed and mastered the art of protracted armed struggles, and has the will, the determination and the gumption to advance its threat.

So annoying was the bravado displayed by these ego trippers that their 19 state governors, on the platform of the Northern Governors’ Forum, disavowed them and dissociated themselves from their action. And most Nigerians were no less offended by their brazen mischief obviously

Buhari aimed at causing mayhem, leading to bloodshed.

Did these uniformed youths forget the history of the Nigerian civil war: that it trod a similar path before the shooting started in 1967? Perhaps, they were too young to remember those catastrophic events in the North against the same Igbo of Eastern Region they are threatening Armageddon against with no justifiable reason other than that they are agitating for self-determination, as they did in 1967 on the back of a pogrom in the North.

It’s true the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) has no provisions for seceding from the country; hence, the oft-repeated warning particularly by officials of government that, “Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable.”

However, that

military-imposed constitutional provision should not warrant the threatening of indigenes of a state or group of states or of a particular ethnic stock to quit a section of the country or else get expelled, against the express

provisions of the constitution on discrimination and the right of the citizens of Nigeria to live and own property in any part of the federation.

Pushed against the wall, won’t such aggrieved and oppressed people, citing unprovoked aggression and/or actual attacks on their person and property, seek outside intervention for a separate country, by invoking international norms for a plebiscite or referendum, which the Nigerian government seemingly doesn’t want to broach?

To avoid such a scenario, the government, even with all its awesome powers, has been sketching the Biafra agitation, by employing more of the carrot than the stick approach via recourse to the courts.

And for all we know, the government has not delegated powers to any civil authority, least of all ethnic warlords, whether comprised of young or elderly persons, to foment trouble on its behalf or in its absence.

The public summation of the northern youths’ aggressive posturing was that they might not be acting of their own volition, and that it wouldn’t be

E

the state House of Assembly and the seven members of the panel to the two cases (bordering on Ekiti finances) that were still pending in court. He also sought an order of the court restraining the panel from going ahead with the probe based on the pendency of the two cases in the Ado Ekiti and Abuja High courts.

The government’s natural reaction was that the Minister was running away from justice. And this is what some commentators, including Yemi Adebowale (Thisday, June 17th), are inadvertently re-echoing. The fact, however, is that Fayemi is simply running away from the injustice that the inauguration of the panel represents.

As noted by Romanianborn American Jewish Writer and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, “There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest”. Fayemi’s recourse to the court is, and should be seen essentially as, a protest against the injustice which the panel, the Assem-

ment of welfare packages in the Amnesty Programme for ex-militants in the South-South; kidnappings, armed robberies and other criminalities all over the nation; and a biting economic recession with no end in sight yet for the citizenry.

It’s relieving, though, that Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, after meeting separately with Leaders of Thought from the North and Southeast last week, has scheduled a larger platform for this week, to enable both sides meet with the government and other stakeholders on the way forward out of the logjam.

But is the government overlooking, and excluding from the talks the Coalition of Niger Delta Militants, which, in “retaliation” to the threat on the Igbo in the North, also gave a quit notice for Northern indigenes to leave the Niger Delta by October 1?

What about the MASSOB and IBOP members, the originators of the current impasse?

They have queried being left out of the parley last week. So, by all means, get them involved this time. It’s a sign of the good things to come!

––Ehichioya Ezomon, Lagos

LAGOS AND THE DANGER OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION

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side terrorism, one main issue facing the world today is environmental degradation. The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction characterises environmental degradation as the lessening of the limit of the earth to meet social and environmental destinations and needs. They are those activities that render the environment unhealthy and unsustainable over time. At the point when the environment is wrecked or common assets are

exhausted, the environment is considered to be corrupted and harmed. Environmental degradation takes diverse forms, ranging from pollution and destruction of ecosystems to degraded fresh water supplies and arable land.

Globally, the size of the human population has grown exponentially and with population boom, we require more land, more water and more of everything.

Forests have almost disappeared because we needed to clear them to plant more crops, to give animals a place to graze and to

RE: KAYODE FAYEMI, PLEASE NOBLY HONOUR EKITI PROBE PANEL kiti State’s sociopolitical scenario has always been an interesting one.

And it is usually made more interesting by the array of interested parties and an army of commentators who daily labour to interpret developments in the state by simply taking a cursory look at the turn of events, while ignoring the underlying factors which are the very essentials.

It is in tandem with this tradition of hastiness that many have attempted to analyse the controversy that has trailed the Ekiti State Commission of Enquiry set up by Governor Ayo Fayose to investigate the tenure of his predecessor in office, Dr Kayode Fayemi, who is currently the Minister of Mines and Steel Development.

Governor Fayose had on May 22nd inaugurated the commission of enquiry based on a resolution of the State House of Assembly mandating him to do so.

Former Governor Fayemi on the other hand went to court to, among other things, draw the attention of the governor,

long for their sponsors to show their hands. And, surely, they did!

The drummers (backers) for the youth groups were the same irredentists - the Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF), led by Prof. Ango Abdullahi, a former vice-chancellor - that have, over the years, stoked hatred, discord and divisiveness, instead of working to find lasting peace and good neighbourliness in the country.

The government of President Muhammadu Buhari does not need additional problems on its crammed table. It already has the unenviable task of confronting a degraded but still deadly Boko Haram insurgency and the untold devastation in human and material resources it wreaks in the North-east; the agitation for independence by the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the South-east; the herdsmen and farmers’ clashes across the country; a restive Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) in the North-west; cattle rustling and banditry in the North; the lingering agitation for more inclusion and improve-

bly and Governor Fayose are in a haste to perpetrate.

While it is within the right of an administration to institute a probe of former administrations, it is also within Dr Fayemi’s right to insist that such should be carried out with due regard for the rule of law which entails fairness.

The rule of law in this regards entails that the two cases earlier instituted

by Dr Fayemi against the state Assembly and one of the spokespersons of the government, Lere Olayinka and a member of the House of Assembly, Dr Samuel Omotosho, need to be dispensed with before the Assembly can exercise its power to set up a panel to examine the same matters the two cases revolved round.

As Adebowale and a few others have rightly noted, the law empowering the Ekiti State Governor to set up a commission of enquiry to probe cases was signed by Fayemi in 2012. It must be stated however, that it was not designed as a tool of political vendetta and was never used as such. Its application

was also not intended to circumvent the rule of law as the current administration is set to do.

What Fayemi is simply saying is that the necessary conditions for fair hearing must be put in place before it becomes safe for him to appear before the panel.

And since the House has flagrantly disregarded its own provision which makes it inappropriate for it to discuss or take action on any matter pending before a competent court, it becomes quite logical for Fayemi to raise a poser and seek further interpretation of such an action in the court, which is the final hope of the common man.

I think concerned citizens like Adebowale should rather urge the Assembly and the state governor to toe the path of honour by waiting for the determination of the two cases pending in court before allowing the panel to go ahead with its assignment, and that is assuming the court gives its nod for such.

-Seyi Ibiloye Ado-Ekiti. Ekiti State

supply us with wood and other raw materials. The advancement of technology and industry has worsened the condition. Vehicle emissions, toxic waste, carbon emissions – all emit toxins into our atmosphere, causing air pollution.

These are all by-products of our inventions and ingenuity. This is what is causing global warming.

There are many effects of environmental degradation which the world is contending with today. First and foremost is the impact on human health. Areas exposed to toxic air pollutants can cause respiratory problems like pneumonia and asthma. Millions of people are known to have died due to indirect effects of air pollution.

The other is loss of biodiversity which is important for maintaining balance of the ecosystem in the form of combating pollution, restoring nutrients, protecting water sources, and stabilising climate. Deforestation, global warming, over population and pollution are few of the major causes for loss of biodiversity.

Ozone layer depletion is also another side effect of environmen-

tal degradation. Ozone layer is responsible for protecting the earth from harmful ultraviolet rays. The presence of chlorofluorocarbons, hydro chlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere is causing the ozone layer to deplete. As it depletes, it emits harmful radiations back to the earth.

The tourism industry equally suffers from environmental degradation. Environmental damage in the form of loss of green cover, loss of biodiversity, huge landfills, increased air and water pollution can be a big turn off for most tourists.

As the commercial and industrial hub of Nigeria and, indeed, West Africa, Lagos naturally runs the risk of environmental hazard. Its continuous increase in population exposes it to several environmental hazards. Waste management and sustainability are prevalent issues across the city and particularly evident in the numerous slums and shantytowns inhabited by the poor and the deprived.

––––––Yemisi Durosinmi, Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Lagos

NON-BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS IN URBAN CENTRES

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ot only have nonbiodegradable plastics messed up the landscape across all urban centres of Nigeria, they are also threatening soil conditions and freshwater sources. Yet, daily, Nigerians ignorantly put these “leathers” to varied uses and just carelessly dump them anywhere.

It is strange that we as a people have lost the sense of appreciation of order and beauty because we are really not bothered about the eyesores that this garbage creates around us. Worse still

are those who have shunned the use of toilet paper and prefer “pure water” sachets for their personal hygiene because they just clog their drain-pipes with accumulated mass of these nonbiodegradables. Yet, in the midst of all this poor national hygiene, Nigeria wants to be reckoned with in the international scene and have the temerity to call itself “Giant of Africa”. How terribly absurd!

Sunday Adole Jonah, Department of Physics, Federal University of Technology, Minna

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž Í°ÍłË&#x153; Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

INTERNATIONAL Self-determination in International Relations: Case of the Quit Order of Northern Youths Vs Ndigbo in Nigeria

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elf-determination is a compound word, a combination of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;selfâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;determination.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; The two words are quite interesting in terms of their ordinary and applied meanings. Ordinarily speaking, self can be used as an adjective and as a noun. As an adjective, it is generally used to form new words. It means â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;sameâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; or â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;identical.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; It also means â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;pure,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; unmixed.

As a noun, but generally used in the plural form (selves), it means â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;an individual known or considered as the subject of his own consciousness; anything considered as having a distinct personality.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; It also refers to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;personal interest or advantage.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Most importantly, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;selfâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;anything, class, or attribute that, abstractly considered, maintains a distinct and characteristic individuality or identityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (vide the New International Websterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Comprehensive Dictionary of the English Language). â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Determination,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; a noun, is synonymous with a firm resolution or decision. It is an authoritative opinion or conclusion in the context of a judicial decision. In the medical sciences, it is about â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;putting an end to.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; In other fields, it also means different things. In essence, it is not only an act of resolution, the act of taking the decision, but also about the firmness in taking the resolution. Consequently, self-determination is essentially about an individual taking a firm resolution or decision. In the context of international relations and law, the meaning is political and legal, though its origin was fraught with controversies.

Self-determination as a theory in international relations can be looked at from many perspectives. Psychologically, Richard M. Ryan and Edward L. Deci of the University of Rochester, have shown in their work, entitled â&#x20AC;&#x153;Self-determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-being,â&#x20AC;? that research guided by self-determination theory has three innate psychological needs: competence, autonomy and relatedness.

These three needs are required â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;for facilitating optimal functioning of the natural properties for growth and integration, as well as for constructive social development and personal well-being.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; With this definition, the conception of self-determination has a character of individuality, either as an individual person or corporate person, for development purposes.

From the perspective of international relations and law, self-determination was considered by US President, Woodrow Wilson, as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;an imperative principle of action,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; and therefore wanted it incorporated in the Covenant of the League of Nations at the end of World War I for purposes of universality. The US wish was to no avail until the making of the United Nations during the Second World War. At the San Francisco consultations, the former Soviet Union proposed the inclusion of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoplesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; as an amendment in the text of Article 1(2) and Article 55 of the UN Charter.

In both articles, emphasis is placed on the belief that peaceful and friendly relations among nations are largely predicated on self-determination. Consequently, self-determination was conceived as a political principle and not as a legal norm. However, with the negotiations and adoption of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Civil Rights (ICESCR), self-determination became a right, and no longer simply a political principle.

First, the 1960 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 1514 provides that â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;all peoples have the right to self-determination, by virtue of that right, they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Relying on Joshua Castellino, Cop and Eymirlioglu of the University of Nottingham and Bagaziçi University, have explained that â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Resolution 1514 links self-determination to â&#x20AC;&#x153;better standards of life and larger freedomâ&#x20AC;? and therefore this norm â&#x20AC;&#x153;was already accepted to a certain extent as being one that promoted better standards of life and freedomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (vide their article, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Right of Self-determination in International Law towards the 40th Anniversary of the Adoption of ICCPR and ICESCR,â&#x20AC;? Perceptions, Winter 2005, p.118).

Additionally, on 15th December, 1960, the UNGAadopted Resolution 1541 in condemnation of the Portuguese refusal to give report on its colonies. The resolution not only defined what constitutes a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;full measure of self-government,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; but also how â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;it must result in a decision where the people concerned vote in free and fair elections to decide whether to: a) Constitute themselves as a sovereign independent state; b) Associate freely with an independent State; or C) Integrate with an Independent State already in existence.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

VIE INTERNATIONALE with

Bola A. Akinterinwa Telephone : 0807-688-2846

e-mail: bolyttag@yahoo.com

Buhari Secondly, the ICCPR and the ICESCR were adopted in 1966 and they both provided for â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;right of self-determinationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in their Common Article 1. The two covenants are important from different perspectives: self-determination ceased to be simply a political principle.

It is now a legal right. The covenants reviewed the restriction of self-determination to oppressed and colonial peoples to include â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;all peoples.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Perhaps more importantly, the UNGA, in 1970, adopted Resolution 2625 in which it is stated that â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;by virtue of the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, all people have the right freely to determine... their political status,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; and also requires all UN Member States to respect the right of self-determination in accordance with the UN Charter.

Without doubt, many issues have been raised by virtue of adoption of self-determination as a political principle and as a legal right.

Many scholars now consider self-determination as a peremptory norm of international law, that is, ius cogens, which is not allowed to be derogated. The rationale for the consideration is that, Resolution 2625, entitled, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in Accordance with the Charter of the UN,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; was passed â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;with a wide consensus, with no vote against it.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; There is also the issue of territorial integrity versus self-determination. The 1970 Resolution 2625, which provided for the right of self-determination also provided for caution against the dismemberment of a State. As provided for, nothing in the Declaration â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;shall be construed as authorising or encouraging any action which would dismember or impair, totally or in part, the territorial integrity or political unity of sovereign and independent states conducting themselves in the compliance with the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples as described above and thus possessed of a government representing the whole people belonging to the territory without distinction as to race, creed or colour.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; In this regard, some scholars have argued that the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;selfâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in question

Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1999 Constitution, as amended, provides for non-divisibility of the country, and yet, a portion of the territory was ceded to Cameroon.What is Nigerian territory is not supposed to have been tampered with without plebiscite, unless the ceded territory was never Nigerian ab initio. More disturbingly, all the leaders of Nigeria, Presidents and Heads of State, always swear, on oath, at the time of taking over power, to defend the political sovereignty and territorial integrity of Nigeria.There is nothing to suggest, however, any respect for the oaths taken in light of the cession of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon under the pretexts of very controversial ICJ Ruling and GreenTree Accord

must be determined within the accepted colonial framework, while another school of thought has it that it should be within the existing sovereign states. The Canadian Supreme Court has ruled that the exercise of the right of self-determination should be exercised â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;within the framework of existing sovereign statesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and also noted the need for the maintenance of the territorial integrity of those states.

Put differently, as the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) distinguished between external selfdetermination and internal self-determination in which there is â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the right of every citizen to take part in the conduct of public affairs at any level,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; inability to take part in the conduct of national affairs can justify complaints and calls for self-determination.

Thirdly, there is the issue of secession from an already existing State. Some scholars have posited that self-determination can include the right of secession from a state. Some others have argued that there is uncertainty on the issue of secession as it is neither permitted nor prohibited under international law. However, even though UN Member States do not want unilateral secession, the truth remains that there have been many cases of unilateral secession in international relations: Kosovo, East Timor, Chechnya, etc. Besides, Cop and Eymirlioglu have pointed to two exceptional conditions that can also prompt claims for secession: the materialisation of secession within post-colonial context and the realisation of secession against undemocratic, authoritarian regimes violating human rights.

And perhaps more interestingly, Alan Buchanan has also argued that the right to secede should be regarded as a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;remedy of last resort for serious injustices.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Additional two cases that can justify claims of secession, Ved. P. Nanda, has contended, are â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;persistent and serious violations of individual human rightsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;past unrepressed unjust seizure of territory.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Grosso modo, the conception of self-determination is still ambiguous, especially in terms of who has a right to self-determination as provided for in many international human rights documents. Is it a group, a people, a nation? What is the content of the right to selfdetermination or what does it really confer as a right? Is it autonomy or statehood? Whatever is the case, Patricia Carley of the US Institute of Peace, in her report on â&#x20AC;&#x153;Self-Determination: Sovereignty, Territorial Integrity and the Right to Secession,â&#x20AC;? has noted that â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;it is impractical to assume that legal principles alone will resolve what are essentially territorial and political disputes.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; In other words, what is important to note is that the concept of selfdetermination has become a rule of general application, that the UN does not encourage arbitrary secession but does not also condone the abuse of human rights and dictatorship, and that self-determination is an ambiguous concept. Consequently, self-determination is permissible as a peremptory norm of international law, and therefore should not be derogated. Incumbent governments hardly accept selfdetermination even though their countries have signed international agreements requiring its protection.

For instance, there are some countries, like Turkey, whose constitutions do not allow for secession. However, acts of secession have occurred for various reasons of force majeure. The Turkish Cypriots is a good illustration of this point. Even in Nigeria, the story is not different. Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1999 Constitution, as amended, provides for nondivisibility of the country, and yet, a portion of the territory was ceded to Cameroon. What is Nigerian territory is not supposed to have been tampered with without plebiscite, unless the ceded territory was never Nigerian ab initio. More disturbingly, all the leaders of Nigeria, Presidents and Heads of State, always swear, on oath, at the time of taking over power, to defend the political sovereignty and territorial integrity of Nigeria. There is nothing to suggest, however, any respect for the oaths taken in light of the cession of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon under the pretexts of very controversial ICJ Ruling and Green Tree Accord.

This may not be the end. Further dismemberment of Nigeria appears again in sight with the quit order given by Arewa youths to all the members of Ndigbo residing in all the constitutive States of the North. The quit order not only raises the issue of internal self-determination, but also has the great potential of completely destabilising the whole country, if not permanently disintegrating it in such a way that there may not be any Nigeria at all.

The Quit Order and the Ndigbo There may not be any Nigeria at all because the geo-political dynamics of the unity of purpose that informed the understanding and cooperation between the South West and the North during the 1967-1970 war of national unity are no more there as at today. The Igbo, unable to understand Chief Obafemi Awolowo, when he said the Yoruba would go if the Igbo people leave Nigeria. In the interpretation of the Ibo leaders, the moment the Igbo people declare their autonomy, the Yoruba would simply do the same. This appears to be a wrong interpretation of what Chief Awolowo meant.

As explained by Chief Awolowo in an interview after the war, if the Igbo people had succeeded in going away, there was no way the Yorubas would not follow. As at today, the Oodua Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Congress is one of the chief advocates of an Oduduwa Republic, hence a proponent of self-determination. If there were to be a new civil war, the likelihood of Yoruba accepting to carry the battle to the door steps of the Ibos is remote. On the contrary, advantage will simply be taken of the new quit order issued by the Northern youths group demanding the Ibos to leave the North not later than October 1, 2017.

(See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

19

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 25, 2017

BUSINESS

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

LAST WEEK WEEK

Agriculture The federal government said that the country stood to benefit greatlyfrom signing up to theAfricanDevelopmentBank-funded ENABLE Youth (Empowering Novel Agri-Business-Led Employment) Programme. Being a signatory of the ENABLE youth programme will make Nigeria the third African country, after Cameroon and Sudan, to benefit from funds under the AfDB Feed Africa initiative. The ENABLE youth programme is modelled after the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture Youth Agripreneur scheme, which has seen a lot of success. The programme is expected to create business opportunities and decent employment for 1000 young women and men along priority agricultural value chains.

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo signing the 2017 Budget into Law while (from left to right), National Assembly Liasion Officer to the President, Senator Ita Enang; Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma; Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari; and Minister of Finance, Kemi Adesoun, look on at the State House, Abuja... recently

As the Nation Targets Jan-Dec Budget Circle...

Kunle Aderinokun

As a fallout of signing of the 2017 budget into law by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, the Executive and the National Assembly have agreed to return the Federal Government to a January–December budget calendar, starting from the 2018 budget.

To this end, the executive has made a commitment to submit 2018 budget to the National Assembly so that it can be passed into law before the end of 2017. This may not be unconnected with the effort to ensure timely and effective implementation of the budget.

While this is not the first time a timeline would be set for the appropriation bill to be signed into law before the end of December and implemented from January, executive-legislature disagreement or wrangling usually defeat the objective. The January-December calendar has been scheduled a number of times before and during the current administration.

For instance, during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, the government had stipulated submission of the appropriation bill by September for deliberation and early passage into law.

Besides, last year, the senate committee on reforming the budget process in Nigeria proposed a budget calendar that would ensure that the President assents to the appropriations law by the third week of December while the MTEF is submitted in the second week of July as the first step in the budget process.

The decision to return to the

ECONOMY January- December calendar has therefore attracted the attention of economic analysts who see it as a way to faithfully comply with the budget and ensure adherence to the fiscal policy.

According to the CEO, Nigeria Competitiveness Council of Nigeria (NCCN), Matthias Chika Mordi, it is a positive development that brings some certainty to fiscal policy.

Pointing out that it is instructive that we have crossed the halfway line in 2017 while waiting for the budget, Mordi stated that, “it begged the question on budget fidelity: Does the FGN comply with the budget?

“The budget is a statement of intent and requisite fiscal discipline in terms of compliance is equally important. On the budget itself, based on the available summarised headlines (we await the detailed budget) there is an encouraging but insufficient nominal increase in CAPEX, burdensome debt ratio (in the context of increased borrowings and deficit financing), and a reflationary theme that reflects recession reversal.

“If the absolute figures are weighted for inflation or converted to US Dollar terms, the CAPEX increases are marginal or an actual contraction. Another source of concern is the oil price benchmark.

We consider $50 to be a ceiling for oil prices over the next two years. Prices are likely to oscillate in the forties in cadence with US supply increases. It will be prudent to pick a lower benchmark price,”

posited, ….who is also the CEO of Accender Strategies.

Also reacting, Executive Director, Corporate Finance, BGL Capital Ltd, Femi Ademola, noted that, “The normal fiscal year in Nigeria is from January to December; hence the ideal is for the budget to also cover the same period.”

This, Ademola said, had been an issue in Nigeria especially since the return to democracy in 1999 when the separation of executive and legislative responsibilities was In addition to meeting the government budget Plan, the cycle helps businesses that depend significantly on government plans and budget to make seamless plan of their activities early enough in the year

restored. “This also necessitated the inclusion in the economic blueprint of the President Jonathan’s administration that annual budget will be presented to the National Assembly by September/October of every year. This was to ensure the passage of the budget on/ before the commencement of the fiscal year in January. So a return to January-December budget cycle is very apt.”

“In addition to meeting the government budget Plan, the cycle helps businesses that depend significantly on government plans and budget to make seamless plan of their activities early enough in the year.

A stable budget cycle will also aid economic progress through certainty of expected actions and

ease of raising needed funding for projects,” he said, To the analysts at Eczellon Capital Ltd, the decision to return the Federal Government to a January-December budget calendar was laudable and appropriate. In the same vein, many countries of the world operate a January 1-December 31 budget calendar.

They stated that, “The current budget calendar had been characterised with late/incomplete execution of capital projects triggered by delayed commencement of the budget process. Thus, most capital items in the budget which might have been impactful on the economy usually get the least percentage of implementation, whilst recurrent items with minimal impact get complete execution.”

The analysts further said,“We believe that the January 1-December 31 budget calendar would foster swift and complete implementation of capital and recurrent items in the budget.”

“The new budget calendar would imply a shift in revenue and expenditure reporting. Hence, there will be slight changes in the reporting of revenues from taxes and other sources of income to January 1- December 31. Definitely, the accounting books will have to be changed to reflect the new budget calendar proposed by the Federal Government.

Also, the new budget calendar will imply that government may merge revenues with core business in the country as more corporate organisations run a January1December 31 budget calendar.”

Capital Projects Minister of Finance Kemi Adeosun said the federal government was ready to release N350 billion as the first tranche for implementation of the 2017 budget. Adeosun stated this in Abuja at the public presentation of the 2017 Appropriation Act. She said the federal government had enough cash to commence theexecution ofkeyprojects and initiatives planned for the 2017 fiscal year. “We are ready, we are having a cash-plan meeting very soon and after that, N350 billion will be released as first tranche of capital releases for the 2017 budget,” she stated.

Internet Outage Some Nigerians are likely to face internet service disruption and possible outage, as a major provider, MainOne, announced that its submarine cable would be out of service for 14 days due to a fault. Chief Executive Officer of the company, Funke Opeke, said in a statement that the company experienced a fault on its submarine cable system, 3000km offshore Portugal, on Sunday, June 18.

Monthly Allocation Revenue from oil export was lower by about $57.12 million in May as the three tiers of government shared a total of N462.4 billioninthemonth.Thereduction in revenue was attributed to a slight drop in the average price ofcrudeoilattheinternationaloil market,from$55.38perbarrelto $55.18, as well as a decrease in the total export volume by about 1.023millionbarrels.Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Mahmoud Isa-Dutse, disclosed this while presenting details of the revenue shared during the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee meeting in Abuja.

Cocoa Industry The newly resuscitated Osun StateCocoaProcessingIndustry in Ede started processing cocoa in line with the industrialisation planofthecurrentadministration in the state.The company, which was inaugurated on October 17, 1982,hadstoppedproductionin 2001duetoobsoleteequipment and managementissues. Butthe Commissioner for Industries, Commerce, Cooperatives and Empowerment in the state, Mr. IsmailAlagbada,saidthecompany was now processing 20,000 tonnes of cocoa on a daily basis.

20

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 25, 2017

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

Improving Business Environment through Effective Legislation James Emejo reviews activities of the National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable (NASSBER) within the past one year of its establishment to, among others, help enhance the ease of doing business in the country

Senate President Bukola Saraki

I

t no longer news that the current business environment has been labelled as hostile by both local and foreign investors, a situation, which had among other things delayed governments efforts to effectively diversify the economy from oil.

All commitments by the previous administrations to expand the industrial base of the economy had not worked and small businesses, which are critical for the transformation of the economy are unable to thrive, partly because access to finance is difficult.

Some of the variables, which had contributed to the hostile business environment are power, multiple taxation, dearth of infrastructure including roads, exchange rate crisis, policy inconsistency by successive governments and lack of strong legal, regulatory frameworks for businesses as well as insecurity.

This could partly explain why the World Bank in its 2016 Ease of Doing Business Report ranked the country in the 169th position out of the 189 countries surveyed.

Worried by the development, and considering its role as critical to reversing the trend, the leadership of the 8th National Assembly had taken it upon itself to make legislations to position the country as investment destination of global economies by simplifying those things that make doing business a horrific experience in the country.

It was as a result of the foregoing that the legislature had recently contracted a team led by Prof. Paul Idormigie to conduct a Business Environment Legislative Review.

The outcomes of subsequent investigations identified institutional, regulatory, legal and constitutional instruments as major constraints to the ease of doing business in the country.

This eventually led to the establishment of NASSBER as a forum to support the

Minister of Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah

creation of an environment in which both large and small businesses can thrive.

It exists to prioritise the enactment and amendment of legislation in order to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and costs, which can stifle the growth of local businesses.

The platform afforded for the first time, the opportunity for legislators from the House of Representatives and the Senate to interact with representatives of private sector businesses to evolve the legal framework needed to create a supportive business environment.

In his recent evaluation of NASSBER, one year after it was launched, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, said the roundtable had made positive contributions towards improving the business environment, stressing that both chambers would promote legislations that would improve the country’s business environment.

He said:”Looking back the last 12 months, NASSBER is but a success story of novel synergy, dialogue and engagement between the legislature, development partner, the private sector, the bench, and citizens. The National Assembly will continue to play a central role not only in governance but also ensuring that we deliberate and act on frameworks that will improve Nigeria’s business environment through the review of relevant legislations and provisions of the constitution.

According to him, “A little over a year ago when NASSBER was inaugurated, we were very confident it was the right step to take if we were indeed committed to bringing our economy out of recession, and stimulating long-term economic growth that is inclusive and sustainable for the shared prosperity of all Nigerians.

He urged them to provide the strategic guidance needed to move NASSBER initiative forward, noting that they were on course to having the law as a proactive instrument to

promote development and, thus, influence and change present realities.

The speaker added that the outcome of the group’s efforts would lead to an agile private sector that can respond to global opportunities.

He said:”As a result of this effort, I am more confident that our economy would attract ‘agile private sector that can innovate and respond to global opportunities’, as contemplated in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of this government. “ Also, Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, said six infrastructure reforms bills including the Nigerian Railway Bill, Nigerian Ports and Harbour Bill, National Road Funds Bill, National Transport Commission Bill, National Inland Waterways Bill and the Federal Roads Bill currently before the National Assembly would modernise the nation’s infrastructure base and create at least 580,000 new jobs for Nigerians in the next five years when passed.

According to him:”The bills are also projected to cause a 2.5 per cent reduction in national poverty levels, as it will save lives, reduce wasted man-hours while reducing the cost of food and other essential goods and services as a result of cheaper logistical costs.”

NASSBER has largely taken credit for its inputs into the bills.

The group has also unveiled an ambitious plan to promote the Made-In-Nigeria initiative by working to modernise the country’s law to reflect the changing face of the economy; improve the competitiveness of Nigerian companies by strengthening weak infrastructure and regulatory framework.

In its annual report which was obtained

by THISDAY, it said:”NASSBER is young and still learning how to be most effective.

During the coming year, we will build on the achievements of this first year and develop our capability so that we can maximise the

efficiency and effectiveness of our activities.”

Essentially, it seeks to complete the passage into law of priority bills which have already made significant progress through the National Assembly.

The NASSBER platform has further led to accelerated passage of priority bills, better understanding of the significance of involving the private sector and reflecting practitioner views in the technical review of respective bills among others.

As at May 31, 2017, 13 priority bills were being worked upon by the group while the Secured Transactions in Moveable Assets Bill was signed into law by the acting President Yemi Osinbajo on May 30, 2017.

The objectives of the bill was to facilitate access to credit with secured movable assets, boost financial inclusion and facilitate perfection of security interests in movable assets as well as establish a collateral registry and provide for its operations.

Other bills as promoted by NASSBER are at various stages of progress.

The Nigerian Railway Corporation Act 1955 Repeal & Re-enactment Railway Bill, 2016 was passed by the Senate in July 2016, representing the first NASSBER legislation to be passed by either chamber of the National Assembly.

Also, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Bill was passed by the House in March while the National Inland Waterways Authority Bill was passed by the Senate in May. Furthermore, the Nigerian Independent Warehouse Regulatory Agency Bill has already been passed by the Senate.

Specifically, the enactment and implementation of the competition law in the country is expected to cause a 10 percent reduction in prices in uncompetitive sectors and almost N150 billion in income effect as well as well as 11.8 percent reduction in poverty levels over five years.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 25, 2017

21

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

Viable Option for Financing Nigeria’s Budget Deficit As the 2017 appropriation bill has been signed by the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo and implementation has commenced, there had been suggestions on the alternative funding for the expansionary budget. While the quest for solution to Nigeria’s burgeoning fiscal deficit has led the federal government to exploring some options of financing, floating Islamic bonds has been identified as one of the most credible. Kunle Aderinokun writes

T

he 2017 budget, tagged Budget of Recovery and Growth, is estimated at N7.44 trillion, an increase of 22.8 per cent from the N6.06 trillion of 2016. The federal government proposed, in the budget, a revenue projection of N5.08trillion and an aggregate expenditure of N7.44trillion, translating to fiscal deficit of N2.36trillion, which is planned to be financed largely by borrowing. The fiscal deficit is about 2.18 percent of the Gross Domestic Product While N1.985 trillion is expected from oil proceeds as revenue, additional N1.373 trillion would come from the non-oil sector.

In the revised budget passed by the National Assembly, N2.987 trillion has been allocated for non-debt recurrent expenditure of the MDAs that are not under statutory transfers club while capital expenditure is estimated at N2.177 trillion. For debt service, the federal government voted N1.488 trillion to service domestic debts; N175.883 billion for foreign debts; and N177.460 billion for sinking fund to retire maturing loans, totalling N1.841 trillion for debt service.

Financing the deficit, according to the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, will be through borrowing from external and domestic sources.“The budget deficit is to be financed mainly through borrowings, which have been projected at N2.32 trillion. Of this amount, N1.067 trillion (46 per cent of this borrowing) is intended to be sourced externally, while N1.254 trillion will be sourced domestically,” Udoma had disclosed during the budget breakdown in December last year.

Economic activities have remained sluggish, despite a slight increase in oil price and the launch of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan by the Federal Government. For the citizenry, the prevailing recession is yet to ease, a situation that has sustained the debate on how to effectively pull the country out of recession. Borrowing, which is an option, has been met with persistent opposition in some quarters.

Late last year, the Federal Government presented a $29.960 billion borrowing plan to the National Assembly for approval. The proposed facility, Nigeria’s single biggest loan request, including $575 million from the World Bank, would be used to finance key infrastructure projects across different sectors of the economy. But the plan was rejected by the legislature.The rationale from those opposed to Nigeria borrowing its way out of the recession was that such a loan would only heighten the risk of mortgaging future generations and there is no guarantee that the targeted projects would be assiduously executed.

Therefore, the search for options continues. Among many being vigorously advocated is Sukuk or Islamic Bond. Sukuk, unlike conventional bonds, are issued in compliance with Sharia/Islamic commercial principles.

Unlike conventional bonds, which attract interest, Islamic finance forbids the payment of interest. Instead, it permits payment to investors, profits and fees generated by underlying assets. In essence, the sale of Sukuk is the sale of a unit share of an asset. Also, Islamic finance encourages the sharing of profit and loss on any investment at pre-agreed ratios (mudaraba, musharaka), while prohibiting investment in certain businesses deemed haram, such as gambling, alcohol, tobacco, arms and pornography.

Sukuk originated in the Middle East and quickly spread to other Islamic countries in Asia, and subsequently to other parts of the world, including Europe and Africa. Malaysia, which still dominates the global sukuk market, issued the first Sukuk in 1990, followed

by Bahrain in 2001. Overall, the Middle East and South-east Asia remain the main hubs of Islamic financial institutions with Malaysia, UAE and Bahrain as the principal centres.

The Islamic finance market, offering a wide range of financial products, has grown at an outstanding pace. According to Head, Non-Interest Banking at Stanbic IBTC Bank, Iretiola Lawal, Islamic finance

Minister of Budget and Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma

is the fastest-growing ethical finance market with an annual average growth of between 10 and 20 per cent. Global Islamic financial assets under management are currently estimated at about US$2 trillion, according to The Economist, with annual growth between 2009 and 2013 at 17.6 per cent and a projection of 19.7 per cent by 2018. There are also over 300 banks and 250 mutual funds providing Shariah-compliant services across the globe, according to KPMG. Islamic bonds guarantee access to a larger investor base and provide potential lower pricing to bond issuers. As a result, it has emerged as vital instrument for raising funds and asset management as the world recognises the huge potential the market embodies.

Among a broad range of investors that the Sukuk market provides investment opportunities are central banks, pension fund managers and reserve managers.

The cutting edge of Islamic finance lies in the numerous benefits it offers, including attractive returns, better risk management, diversification of investments, reduction of financing costs, enhancing financial inclusion and prohibition of speculation. Also, by making people direct holders of assets in the real sector, Islamic bond reduces their aversion to risk.

From the early 90s, Sukuk has evolved and become an integral constituent of the mainstream global financial system. A forecast by Thomson Reuters projects that the global Sukuk market will reach US$250 billion by 2020, from a new issuance peak of US$139.2 billion in 2012, from US$92.7 billion in 2011. On its part, Ernst &Young foresees the global demand for Sukuk reaching US$900 billion this year.

Due to adoption of various means, notably Ijarah, Islamic project financing has emerged as an effective alternative to the conventional direct financing. Some projects that are unable to take off due to failure to meet conventional financing requirements are executable through Islamic project finance with hybrid financing modes. Also, Islamic finance is pivotal in executing projects that even though have immense economic impact, are unappealing to conventional investors. Such projects as independent power projects and waste treatment plants will likely attract Islamic finance. The Kuala Lumpur International Airport, which gulped a massive RM8.8 billion (US$2.84 billion), was built through Islamic project finance.

Islamic project finance, nonetheless, faces significant liquidity challenges, possibly its biggest constraint yet, due to a“disconnect between the short-term nature of deposits of most Islamic financial institutions and the long-term nature of investments in projects,” according to BSA Ahmed Bin Hezeem & Associates.

The African market, according to experts, has a huge potential for Islamic bonds or Sukuk to meet the continent’s funding requirements for infrastructure development. S&P, in its article, Africa’s Small Sukuk Market Shows Significant Promise, outlined the benefits of growing the Islamic bond market on the continent. A major highlight, the firm said, is that these Islamic bonds could be structured in a way to yield returns without infringing on Islamic principles.“We believe African sukuk can provide diversification benefits for Islamic investors as well as additional financing opportunities,”said Samira Mensa, S&P Global Ratings credit analyst.

Nigeria, Africa’s second biggest oil producer and home to about 78 million Muslims, will contend with Senegal, Egypt and South Africa in seeking to explore the Islamic finance industry.

Chief Executive, Personal and Business Banking at Standard Bank Africa, Terry Moodley, stated:“There is a substantial untapped market among Muslims, who make up a large portion of the population in Africa.”

“Islamic finance has emerged as an effective tool for financing development worldwide, including in non-Muslim countries. Major financial markets are discovering solid evidence that Islamic finance has already been mainstreamed within the global financial system – and that it has the potential to help address the challenges of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity,”the Global Islamic Finance Development Centre stated, in reiterating the importance of Islamic finance to economic development.

Non-interest banking or financing is not targeted at Muslims alone as the diversification of Nigeria’s economy will naturally entail development of financial services of all strands. Stanbic IBTC Bank’s Lawal indicated that the institution is ready to partner with the Nigerian government to harness the Islamic finance market.“We are also working on leveraging our Standard Bank expertise to work with the Nigerian government on Sukuk to finance this year’s budget deficit,” she stated, noting that the group was committed to making sure that Islamic Banking actually succeeds in Nigeria.“The bond market plays a central role in the deepening of financial markets not only for the diversity of products it offers but essentially its role in improving diversification of funding sources and increasing access to credit markets,”she added.

Lawal noted that Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited was appointed stockbroker to the Federal Government on FGN Bonds as well as primary market maker by The Nigerian Stock Exchange, in a clear affirmation of the company’s ability to deliver on its mandates as well as the Stanbic IBTC Group’s overall leadership in the various market segments.

Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited was also the issuing house and sponsor of the FGN bond listing on the FMDQ platform as well as financial adviser on the US$1 billion FGN Eurobond programme.

There is a widely held view, and rightly too, that Nigeria’s potential is severely subdued by infrastructural difficulties. Many roads, constructed decades ago, have in the light of frequent use and irregular maintenance gone into disrepair, while power remains an ever-pressing challenge. The road network could benefit from complementary rail networks, aiding in the efficient haulage of men and goods.

Perhaps, an International Monetary Fund staff discussion note, which highlighted the contributions of Islamic finance to economic development, would be helpful as Nigeria explores options on financing its budget deficit. The discussion examines Islamic finance in three dimensions: Islamic finance fosters greater financial inclusion; it places emphasis on asset-backed financing and its risk-sharing features as well as prohibition of speculation imply less systemic risk than conventional finance. Sukuk, in particular, is seen as well-matched for infrastructure financing as its risk-sharing feature could help in bridging funding gaps. Sukuk bonds could be listed on international exchanges and provide alternative financing for countries, regional governments and corporations, who are able to issue either sovereign or corporate sukuks to finance projects.

While the Debt Management Office plans to make debut with federal government’s N100 billion Sovereign Sukuk bond in the local market on June 28 to finance some road projects, it is imperative for the government to consider it a major veritable source of funding the budget and raise more sukuks locally and internationally.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 25, 2017

BUSINESS/ENERGY

A power distribution station

Regulatory Hammer Dangles over Power Discos Electricity distribution companies in Nigeria’s power sector are currently on a regulatory tightrope following various orders and tough talks from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, writes Chineme Okafor

R

ecent developments in Nigeria’s power sector may not have come quite pleasing to the 11 electricity distribution companies (Discos). Within the last couple of weeks, the Discos may have seen ample reasons and signs from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to want to be primed for probable but uncomfortable developments that are bound to come upon them.

First, it was the government’s declaration of the eligible customers’ regime on the counsel of the NERC thus approving bilateral trade relations between electricity generation companies (Gencos) and bulk power consumers. The declaration was with the intent to minimise Discos’ interference in such electricity trades.

Then followed a fresh order by NERC to maximum demand consumers without meters to henceforth stop payments of estimated bills to the Discos, but with no deliberate intent to make them lose revenues from the large power users, who constitute the most of their revenue base.

Following up on these two orders, NERC then disclosed that it would disband the boards of any of the Discos found guilty of poor operational performances since taking over their distribution assets.

Speaking at the 16th edition of the monthly power sector operators’ meeting which was hosted by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) Ltd, at one of its transmission stations in Ugwuaji, Enugu State, NERC’s Commissioner for Engineering Performance and Monitoring, Prof. Frank Okafor, stated that the regulator had initiated a regulatory proceeding that may lead to the sack of the management boards of the 11 Discos over their alleged poor performance ratings.

Okafor explained that the regulatory commission

was fed up with the operational excesses of the Discos, especially on their reported failures to abide by the performance agreements they signed with it in providing meters for electricity consumers in the country, and would in this regards initiate tough regulatory actions against them.

He noted that, at the moment, the Discos had failed to accomplish the terms in the metering plans they submitted to the commission, adding that they have rather resorted to unfair practices of estimated billing of consumers, a development it would no longer tolerate.

The Discos have in return accused the government of frequently interfering in the regulation of the electricity industry by the NERC, and then denying them cost reflective tariff. They’ve also stated that debts owed them by government MDAs have continued to pile up though the government has commenced efforts to pay off the debt.

The financial shortages that were built up by government’s interference in the market’s tariff have also been referred to by the Discos as a huge challenge to their operations.

Tough Talk While explaining the opinion of the regulator on the performances of the Discos, as well as its choice of action, Okafor said: “There are so many challenges, I will tell you, and I will also tell you that a lot of the Discos have not done well in metering people. They committed to certain level of metering every year, but they have not done that.”

“We are looking at very heavy sanctions including calling off the boards of some Discos and replacing the boards. It is going to be as bad as that very soon because NERC has a right just like the Central Bank does to the banks, to sack the board and put in a new board,” he stated.

According to him, “We cannot continue to suffer like this, and power as you know without it we cannot do much. If we are going to impose any

sanctions, it is going to be based on the performance agreements they signed. There are also commitment they made in this meetings and some of them have not done much.”

Buttressing the commission’s conviction on the poor showings of the Discos, Okafor noted: “Remember there was the NEMSF fund which was to beef up the metering commitment of the Discos but it doesn’t appear they are doing that and we are working to make sure that they have to do that.

“NERC developed a procedure for estimated billing, but what the Discos claim they do is definitely not what they should do and we are looking at that.

The metering rates should increase tremendously, and if you must estimate, it must be reasonable because there are ways of estimating and they know but want to reap where they did not sow.”

New Order In addition to the possible board disbandment, NERC also made to stop the Discos from profiteering from their maximum demand customers with its order stopping further estimated payments to them.

The order, which came at a time the Discos’ revenue remittance performances to the market have been extremely poor – an average of 25 per cent every month, would certainly affect the Discos’ financial status considering that this consumer class historically holds the juiciest end of their revenue base.

Accordingly, the MD customers are commercial and industrial customers, who consume high levels of electricity and contribute substantially to the revenues of Discos. The consumption threshold for MD customers is 45KVA, while their meters are connected on the 11Kv (high tension wire) electricity lines, mostly on dedicated transformers.

This class of customers include heavy users of electricity like commercial business plazas, large firms, and small-scale industries among

others. They, from the statistics provided by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, spend billions of naira annually to power their operations, and from which the Discos benefit.

Even though the power supplies in the country and indeed to this class of consumers have been poor, MAN, in 2016 disclosed that its members spent a whopping N9 billion to generate power on daily basis to keep up with their manufacturing activities.

MAN’s president, Dr. Frank Jacobs, had during a courtesy visit to the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, stated that, “From last year, nothing has changed in the sector. We all know that in terms of generating power, our members spend billions of naira in generating power and this is going up daily because we are daily increasing capacity. I think, it is more than N9 billion daily.”

Though Jacob did not disclose how much of the cost on electricity manufacturers pay to the Discos for supplies to them, past reports indicated that it was, however, in billions, meaning a loss of such huge revenue source would be heavy on the financial books of the Discos.

For instance, if the Abuja Disco which has a lot of government ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) under its service network, and which are under the MD category, fails to provide meters as directed by the NERC, it would for the period it is unable to do this, lose huge sums of revenue.

Justification Following from its June 2016 order to the Discos to fully meter their MD consumers by November 30, 2016 which was a mutually agreed time frame for the job to be done after which it will take regulatory actions against recalcitrant Discos, the NERC subsequently pulled the trigger last week and called on unmetered MD consumers to shelve paying their bills to the Discos.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 25, 2017

23

SUNDAY INTERVIEW KEMI ADEOSUN

Our Medium-term Plan is Based on Increasing Revenue Nigeria’s economy has been riding in a stormy weather for several months. Things came to a head in the second quarter of 2016, when the economy slipped into recession and since then, it has been struggling to swim out of the murky waters. While there are estimations by local and international analysts, International Monetary Fund and even government on the time, when the economy would exit the recession, the federal government has continued to implement an expansionary budget to spend its way out of recession. In this Interview with Kunle Aderinokun, Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, explains that the spending from the expansionary budget provides stimulus to the economy, says the fiscal and monetary objectives of the government are moving in the same direction for growth and sustainability, addresses the concerns on the nation’s rising debt, and sheds more light on the Paris Club refunds and issues arising from the TSA initiative

24

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 25, 2017

SUNDAY INTERVIEW

Fiscal, Monetary Policies are Moving in the Same Direction

Cont’d from Pg. 23

N

ow that the budget has been signed by the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, what are the plans for implementing it to the letter, especially when we’re half way into the year for a budget that would have ordinarily taken effect from January 1? How will the release meet the projects planned for the current fiscal year that had been begging for funding?

The signing of the budget is a significant event as it allows us to continue to provide stimulus spending to the economy in a manner that will not only allow us to exit the recession, but put us on the path to growth. I am confident that implementation will be strong; most projects are a continuation and finalisation of ongoing work, therefore, the delays in impact that were caused by the procurement process last year, should not occur. In terms of capital releases, ministers are being asked to prioritise projects according to the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan objectives and focus on project completion.

In terms of funding, we did very well last year, releasing over N1.2 trillion of the capital budget across all areas and the impact on aggregate demand has been strong. We have been able to pump funds into the economy and meet some long overdue infrastructural objectives. Now, we need to sustain that momentum and ensure that there is a multiplier effect, trickling down to the lives of ordinary Nigerians in a tangible way.

For last year’s budget, what is the level of implementation of the capital allocation?

We released and cash-backed over N1.2 trillion in capital releases to MDAs and we funded some very critical sectors like Power, Works and Housing N307,411,749,682, Transport and Aviation N143,121,925,241, Defence and Security N171,900,597,013. These are major sectors of the economy which will drive business growth. These sectors also employ thousands of people. Indeed, recently, I was talking to a major contractor, who said that before this administration came into office, their last payment was received in 2013 and they had laid off thousands of staff as a result. However, many of those people have now been re-engaged. The wider impact of these investments will be consolidated upon this year.

How optimistic is the federal government in getting funding from the multilateral institutions and other development partners for the budget and its deficit, given that some of them gave conditions in securing the loans, which include having in place an economic framework? Has the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan been accepted by the development partners?

We have always worked with the multilateral institutions and they have indicated strong support for us and the reforms we are driving to reposition the economy. For example, we are working with The World Bank on the Power Sector recovery plan, they sent down their most senior global power experts and we spent two useful days in Abuja. More recently was a meeting in Washington DC, which included myself, the Minister for Power works and Housing and the Senate and House Chairmen on Power. The World Bank has agreed to fund the power sector over a number of years and this is significant. We also have World Bank funding for our social intervention programme for work ongoing in the North-east as well as support for our state governments.

Equally, we are working with the African Development Bank on a number of areas, including agriculture and the recently-launched Development Bank of Nigeria. So, we have a good working relationship and they are all supportive of what Nigeria is doing in economic terms. When you mention conditions, you must remember that we needed time to develop an economic plan that was aligned to our own objectives for the economy. That work has now been done with the launch of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, which has been very well received.

There had been clamour for harmonisation of the fiscal and monetary policies by local and international economic analysts, market watchers and other stakeholders when it became obvious that there was a lacuna between the two, some months ago. Is there any harmony between the two now? How is the federal government improving on it?

What needs to be appreciated is that what Nigeria has been through and to some extent, is going through, is a shock - the dramatic drop in the price of the major foreign exchange earner in an economy, where there is an over-dependence on a single commodity.

Where there are inadequate fiscal buffers in terms of reserves, such shocks result in painful dislocations.

Adeosun

I think there were differences in policy approach but the objectives remained the same between the monetary and fiscal authorities at the Central Bank and Ministry of Finance, respectively. More recently, we have seen greater harmonisation, especially in the implementation of the foreign exchange policy

by CBN and we trust that this will continue. On the macro framework, we have set out our fiscal objectives and the whole nation is pulling in the same direction, making Nigeria grow and sustainably.

We had missed the opportunity presented by some of the highest oil prices ever. During that period of high oil prices, Nigeria experienced a rising debt profile, that was a period when we should have been worried about debt. In fact, we should have been alarmed. When income was high, we had no reason to borrow especially when we were spending just 10 per cent on capital. We increased our debt level from N6.5 trillion in 2011 to N10.9 trillion in 2015 and at the same time, reserves declined from US$45.6 billion to US$29.8 billion. That wasted opportunity created the ingredients for slow growth and recession

What is the update on spending of the Paris Club refund? Has the federal government been effectively monitoring application of the refund by the states for payment of salaries because there had been reports and allegations of diversion of the funds by some states?

The Paris Club refunds have been unnecessarily controversial and this is rather unfortunate as it detracts from a very noble initiative by Mr. President. This refund relates to claims made by the state governments since 2005, when they alleged that the debt forgiveness was partially funded by over-deductions from the states.

To fully understand his objectives, we must go back. You will recall, that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, inherited a situation where 22 states were unable to pay salaries and this was creating a drag on the economy and major suffering for people. As you know, in many areas, the state government is the largest single employer of labour and consequently, the primary driver of the economy. So, the situation was very, very serious.

Also, recall that in the last three years since the oil price decline began, allocations to state governments contracted by up to 40 per cent but unlike the Federal Government, they could not borrow to meet the gap.

Mr. President has been very considerate, first in the restructuring of debts undertaken by the Central Bank of Nigeria in July 2015. More recently, Mr. President approved the conditional Budget Support Facility and the Paris Club Refunds.

The overall aim of these interventions was to stabilise the states by providing immediate financial relief during a challenging economic situation in order to enable them meet their core financial obligations.

Specifically, you will recall that we introduced a 22-point Fiscal Sustainability Plan that required improved transparency, accountability and other reforms. Now, you see many states clearing ghost workers from their payroll, publishing their budgets and financial statements. These were conditions for the disbursement of the facility and have improved financial management permanently Now, back to the Paris Club refunds, as I said, the controversy is unfortunate. Many states had preexisting contracts with consultants, which needed to be resolved and this was a matter for the governors.

However, from our monitoring of the states, they adhered to the conditions imposed, which included that 50 per cent of the amount received must be used to meet salary and pension obligations. We recently published the actual figures state by state and this has also helped to provide greater clarity on the use of funds. Overall, I think that many states are realising that the days of ‘come and share’ are over. Some are really doing well in looking inwards

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 25, 2017

25

SUNDAY INTERVIEW

High Debt Service to Revenue Issue is Short-Term Cont’d from Pg. 24 many are trying to drive growth within their own states.

Nigeria’s domestic debt and external debt rose by 40.71 per cent and 45.98 per cent respectively, within two years and there had been fears over the sustainability of the debt because huge funds are being committed to servicing it, which is eating deep into the treasury. Are we not in trouble?

Not at all! It is important that we all understand the overall strategy.

When we came in, Nigeria was in trouble, there was no strategy to deal with our problems. We had missed the opportunity presented by some of the highest oil prices ever. During that period of high oil prices, Nigeria experienced a rising debt profile, that was a period when we should have been worried about debt. In fact, we should have been alarmed. When income was high, we had no reason to borrow especially when we were spending just 10 per cent on capital. We increased our debt level from N6.5 trillion in 2011 to N10.9 trillion in 2015 and at the same time, reserves declined from US$45.6 billion to US$29.8 billion. That wasted opportunity created the ingredients for slow growth and recession.

We looked closely at the situation and realised that in the short term, we needed to spend our way out of trouble, so we set an expansionary budget to provide stimulus spending. This has been successfully applied in many nations to reverse the downward trend by providing counter cyclical intervention.

This entailed increasing borrowings to fund capital expenditure and increase aggregate demand to turn the economy around. That was the short-term and very urgent imperative.

Our medium-term plan is based strongly on increasing revenue mobilisation. This is important because the preferred alternative to borrowing to fund our investments is to raise revenue to do so. Increasing our revenue is not something that can be attained instantly.

For example, in some cases like tax collection we needed data, we needed to sign some treaties and we needed tax policy reforms. We have been working hard on these measures. We recently started training our Community Tax Liasion Officers who will educate citizens and enroll more taxpayers. There are just 14 million taxpayers in Nigeria, it is not sustainable, and even those who are paying, are not all paying what they should pay. Next week, we are launching a major programme in tax compliance which we expect will raise significant funds and drive higher long-term tax revenues.

In other areas, we needed to work on blocking the leakages. You will recall that we started with auditing the revenue generating agencies, and identified over N450 billion in outstanding and recoverable operating surpluses.

Then, we issued new circulars, outlawing certain expenses that we deemed wasteful. The recent issuance of the Executive Order on the budgets of agencies is about generating revenue to support our reforms. By insisting that agencies submit their budgets for review, we have been able to strip out wasteful spending and this will increase operating surpluses that are paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund. Already, we are seeing the impact of our reforms.

Some agencies like JAMB had not been making returns because they were spending all that they generated but just last week, Jamb paid in over N5 billion in operating surplus. This is a function of our tighter focus on revenue.

Such reforms are permanent and we are just getting started, many agencies have been told to revise their draft budgets to align with our objectives. Our focus on revenue is total. Revenue generation is not as rapid as raising debt but it is permanent. Increased revenue will

Adeosun

ensure sustainability, will prevent us falling into a debt trap and will reduce our debt service to revenue ratio.

The International Monetary Fund and economic analysts, both local and international have stressed the fact that the revenue to GDP ratio of Nigeria’s debt is low but agreed that we’re still in the comfort zone of the debt to GDP ratio? How will the federal government balance the two?

upon?

The Treasury Single Account is a fundamental reform that was necessary to give the Federal Government better visibility and improve the management of its cash position. By closing thousands of accounts and merging them, the Federal Government has been able to save billions of naira in bank charges. An additional benefit is that there is greater visibility of the true revenues of government and this has enhanced accountability.

Those who have criticised the policy seem unaware that there are virtually no major economies where the federal government is the biggest customer of privately owned banks. Banks are the engine of the economy channeling funds from savers to borrowers. Already, government is the largest borrower, which means if government is also a depositor, it is borrowing back its own money. In the short-term, TSA may seem painful but in the long term, banks will adjust by driving financial inclusion by bringing in unbanked sections of the population and by lending more to the private sector.

Like any new policy, there is always room for improvement and we will continue to fine-tune the policy as we go along.

a case somebody in the foreign affairs ministry who was prematurely retired after whistleblowing but was recommended for re-instatement, the decision that has not been respected by the ministry after two months. However, we know that the Whistleblower Bill has been passed into law. Has the implementation not commenced? If not, what is delaying its enforcement?

The Whistleblower Policy is another new initiative of this administration As I said, our decision to focus on and it is one of the tools in our fight debt initially was due to the urgency against corruption and waste. So far, of our situation, we could have waited it has worked well but with any new to generate revenue but this would policy as previously mentioned, there have prolonged the recession. Our is a need for constant refinement. For medium-term focus is on revenue example, we had to work and legally and we have started in earnest. The define, ‘Who is a whistleblower?’, What high debt service to revenue issue happens when two people provide is a short-term one, and we have a the same information, How do we strategy to address it. It is now about safeguard the system against maliimplementation of that strategy and cious reporting? How do we pay the we have already started. whistleblowers without compromising their identity. So, in response, we have The TSA policy had been largely had to develop a legal agreement, which criticised. While some sections is executed between the information of the economy regarded it as a provider and the Attorney General of laudable policy, which has come to the Federation and it is designed to instill transparency and accountprotect both parties. ability, some others described it as It also places responsibility on a policy, which was introduced to the information provider for false or cause liquidity squeeze and stifle malicious information, which can lead There are still issues with the to prosecution. the economy. In your fair assessment of the policy, has it been whistleblower initiative because On the payment process, we had to successful? Is there any aspect of there are reports that whistleblowers set up a structure to prevent the use the policy that could be improved are losing their jobs; there was even of bank details of whistleblowers to trace their identity, which might have put them at risk.

Overall, I think that the Whistleblower Initiative has worked well. It is hard to comment on individual cases such as the one you mentioned since I don’t Our medium-term plan is based strongly on increasing have the full details but by its nature, is a contentious area and disputes revenue mobilisation. This is important because this are inevitable.

However, we will keep looking at the the preferred alternative to borrowing to fund our bigger picture which is the deterrent investments is to raise revenue to do so. Increasing effect, preventing looting and also in our recovery efforts. We our revenue is not something that can be attained helping continue to learn as we go, currently, instantly. For example, in some cases like tax collection we are reaching out to the Australian for some technical support we needed data, we needed to sign some treaties and government since they have a very well established and successful unit. We are going to we needed tax policy reforms work out what we can learn from them.

26

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 25, 2017

BUSINESS/INSURANCE

Rising Demurs over PENCOM’s Succession Template The recent disruption of an established succession template in the Pension Commission has continued to elicit protests from stakeholders, writes Olawale Olaleye

L

ong before the reform of the pension system in the country through the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2004, the sector was just another cesspool of organised graft, maladroitness with many years of unpaid arrears that virtually retired a majority of the retirees and consigned them to a life of avoidable poverty, ill-health, and sudden death, sometimes while queuing to be paid their entitlements after many years of patriotically serving their father land.

While the sector still has a long way to go, no doubt, the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2004 reform is believed to have addressed, albeit to a commendable extent, some of the critical issues confronting the pension system in the country.

The reform, for example, gave rise to the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), which has improved the nation’s pension assets from over N2 trillion deficits in 2004 to more than N6.5 trillion in 2017 as evidenced by recent statistics. Such investible funds in a recessed economy signpost promises, coupled with the fact that there have not been reported cases of corruption in the CPS. Such a record is certainly enviable by an average standard.

Also recorded in positive digits against the reform was the establishment of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), designed to stem the tide of corruption as well as foster regeneration in the Defined Pension Scheme (DPS).

Activated in 2013, the PTAD, today, boasts the record of having brought all the various federal government Pension Departments under one roof to ensure that the pension benefits of the retirees under the old scheme were centrally processed and paid directly into their accounts and based on biometrics-backed verifications.

In addition, the sector has won the confidence of both local and international stakeholders as well as investors. No doubt, the face of African pension systems, the PENCOM and Nigeria’s Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) had recently emerged tops in the past few African Pension Awards.

Thus, with strong and effective legal framework put together, some of the great feats so far recorded were made possible by what many would refer to as policy consistency and consolidation on the part of successive Nigerian governments, starting with the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who founded the initiative.

Obasanjo also gave fillip to this fact of history during the 10th anniversary of Pension Reform in 2014, when he commended one of his successors in office, former President Goodluck Jonathan, for not only upping standards and strengthening the Pension Act in 2014, importantly for not reversing the Act that established it, because, according to him,“In a country like ours, for us to make progress, we must build accumulatively on measures, structures, and where necessary, make amendments”.

Also supporting this are the strict and effective regulations by PENCOM as seen in the last few years. Although it is commonplace that laws and sound policies have never been an issue in Nigeria, the problem, truly from ages to ages, has remained implementation.

PENCOM’s regulatory standard, which had been acknowledged through international recognitions and awards even by the organised labour, such as the Trade Union Congress (TUC), is comparable only to what is obtainable in the National Administration for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in the days of the late Prof. Dora Akunyili.

Even more instructive is the fact that PENCOM itself has succeeded, largely because it had leveraged committed and stable leadership that have been immune to political changes as envisioned by Section 20 of Pension Act. And without any iota of doubts, it has also benefitted from ingenious headship with very good understanding of the new system.

A handy example of such leadership is Mr. Fola Adeola, who headed the Presidential Committee on Pension Reform and emerged its pioneer Chairman. Also, the recently removed DG, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, who served as a member of the Committee and became the pioneer commission’s secretary/Legal Adviser, putting cumulative 16 years into the system before her curious removal, gave outstanding performance.

Interestingly, Obasanjo, at the event mentioned earlier, had narrated how he personally led the search for the likes of Anohu-Amazu to put the modern pension system in place, noting also that she had proven that“whatever a man can do, a woman can do better”.

The former president shared that one of the lessons he learnt from the reform and the success since recorded was that “Within and outside Nigeria, there are Nigerians of world class that we can make to do world class work for Nigerians”, noting that“all the members of the Committee were Nigerians, and the work they produced is of world class, and the way it has been managed is of world class management”.

Therefore, when this is placed against the recent developments in the pension industry, following the brusque removal of the Anohu-Amazu-led Executive Management Team of PENCOM midway into its statutory tenure, it is niggling!

Apart from breaking what has come to be appreciated as the tradition of stable leadership and regulated tenure as guaranteed by Section 20 of PRA 2014, there are also issues of alleged non-compliance with Section 21 (1) (a)–(j) on cessation of office and Section 21(2) on filling of the resultant vacancies.

Section 21(2) provides that“In the event of a vacancy, the President shall appoint a replacement from the geo-political zone of the immediate past member that vacated office to complete the remaining tenure.”

Yet, Alhaji Aliyu Dikko from Kaduna State, North West, was initially appointed as the

Osinbajo

replacement to Anohu-Amazu, who was from Anambra State, South-east. But Chief Funso Doherty was later appointed the Chairman of PENCOM Board, while Nyerere Anyim, from Abia State, South-east was appointed as an executive Commissioner along with Akin Akinwale, Abubakar Zaki Magawata, and Ben Oviosun.

When this is tied with the disagreements over alleged breach of Section 19 of Pension Act on account of Dikko’s shareholding and chairmanship of the Premium Pension Limited, a PFA, it must have informed Acting President Yemi Osinbajo of the implication of his decision to replace Dikko with Mr. Funso Doherty, while the South-east nominee was appointed as mere commissioner, more so at a time the South-east is vigorously alleging marginalisation against the government.

It is believed, therefore, that the presidency is still begging the issue, which is why controversy has continued to cause resentment in the pension system. This is because the South-east still strongly believes the office of the DG belongs to it, and rightly so. The organised labour too has joined this needless agitation, because the N6.5 trillion pension assets belongs to about 7.4 million workers/retirees, who subscribed to the CPS. A statement jointly signed by frontline labour activist/Vice President of the 50-nation strong Global IndustriALL Union/Secretary-General of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers, NUTGTWN, Comrade Isa Aremu and President of NUTGTWN, Comrade John Adaji, raised concerns about the developments in the industry and insisted that“a labour market institution like PENCOM is a specialised field that should not be a place for political appointees”.

Adaji said:“We acknowledge the sensitivity of the Acting President to address the controversy following the abrupt termination of the appointment of the former Director General of PENCOM, Mrs. Chinelo Amohu-Amazu. However, the recent appointment of Funso Doherty by the Acting President as the replacement of Dikko Aliyu Abdulrahman will further lead to crisis of confidence in the leadership of PenCom. “The best way is for the federal government to return to due process by recalling the former Director General, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, to complete her tenure in accordance with the Pension Reform Act 2014.”

Office of the Acting President has however argued that Section 21 (2) of PRA 2014 did not arise in filling the positions at PENCOM since the entire management board was dissolved.

Curiously, this had triggered some newspaper editorials, which dismissed the argument as dangerous, self-serving, and inequitable.

Indeed, no part of the pension law empowers the FG to‘dissolve’PENCOM management team, but the five-year tenure for DG and Chairman and four-year tenure for the Executive Commissioners, clearly explain that the law did not envisage total exit of the entire management team at any point.

That would be against the spirit of continuity, many years of experience, and institutional memory, which has been described as the nucleus of PENCOM. But whether or not the presidency removes a person or everybody in exercise of its powers under Section 21 (1) (j) (to remove any member of management team if he considers the person’s continued stay in office inimical to the interest of the nation or industry), the fact is that ‘vacancies’ have occurred before the end of tenure.

And subsection 2 of the same Section states unequivocally how such vacancies are to be filled without subjecting same to avoidable debates.

But Osinbajo recently assured the South-east leaders of government’s commitment to“urgently and decisively address the agitation”and asserting that“Burying our heads in the sand and expecting the storm to blow over of their own accord is not an option”.

For the South-east, therefore, it could amount to conceding to others what the region has in the Muhammadu Buhari government and pretend as if nothing happened? It may not be out of place to wonder if the change of the PENCOM leadership was worth it after all, especially when critical stakeholders had agreed that it acquitted itself creditably and grew pension assets from N2.9 trillion to over N6.5 trillion in a record time.

However, when taken together, the federal government must embrace convincing initiatives to correct these evident anomalies, because to further delay this could mean an extension of the destabilisation initiative, which is believed to now bedevil the pension system as well as eroding the huge gains, confidence, and credibility its leadership had garnered over the years, while at the same time entrenching the agitation and the growing discontent in the country.

27

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R Ëž ͺͽË&#x153; ͺ͸͚Ϳ

MARKET NEWS

Conoil Plc Maintains Positive Performance in First Quarter Goddy Egene Conoil Plc has reported improved  financial performance for the first quarter ended March 31, 2017, thereby raising investorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; expectationsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; for another bountiful harvest at the end of the year.

The leading petroleum products marketing firm, had last Wednesday announced a profit after tax of N2.837 billion and proposed a dividend of 310 kobo per

share for the 2016 financial year.

Consolidating on that performance, Conoil Plc on Thursday reported a revenue of N24.474 billion for Q1 of 2017, showing an increase of 28 per cent over the N19.042 billion in the corresponding period of 2016.Gross profit jumped from N1.979 billion, to N3.318 billion in 2017.

Profit after tax stood at N174.458 million in 2017, compared with a loss of N944 million in 2016.

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

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

An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;sharesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; on the

Market operators said the positive performance indicates bright prospects ahead for shareholders of the company. Conoil Plc last Wednesday posted revenue of N85 billion, up from N82.919 billion in 2015. Cost of sale reduced from N71.381 billion to N70.8 billion in 2016, bring the gross profit to N14.14 billion, compared with N11.53 billion in 2015.

Conoil reduced distribution expenses to N2.534 billion, from N2.69

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

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

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

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 22-June-2017, unless otherwise stated.

billion after adopting a cost optimisation strategy. The companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s finance cost fell significantly from N3.75 billion to N1.76 billion.

As a result, Conoil ended the year with profit before tax of N4.28 billion, showing an increase of 24 per cent above the N3.44 billion in 2015. Profit after tax rose by 23 per cent to N2.397 billion to N2.837 billion. Earnings per share also increased by 23 per cent from 333kobo in 2015 to 409kobo in 2016.

According to the company, the improved 2016 performance resulted from its sustained culture of financial discipline, prudent and efficient execution of projects and plans, aggressive product development and marketing, supported by cutting-edge customer service delivery. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Amidst the challenging economic environment, our team proactively identified potential business risks and suggested quick fix solutions to optimally manage and

minimize the risks, which helped in achieving efficiency in the way we do our business,â&#x20AC;? the company said.

The Chairman of Conoil Plc, Dr. Mike Adenuga had last year assured shareholders that in the face of the gloomy economy, the company would always strive to be one of the fastest growing and profitable companies in the country.

He assured that it will consolidate its gains and ensure greater returns on investment for its teeming shareholders.

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

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

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

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 1 270 1680 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 160.08 161.21 26.24% Nigeria International Debt Fund 223.85 225.35 5.60% ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund 0.74 0.75 5.93% AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 18.83% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 16.07 16.55 30.14% ARM Discovery Fund 345.10 355.51 20.17% ARM Ethical Fund 24.89 25.65 11.43% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund 135.72 136.68 29.04% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 18.69% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 16.91% Paramount Equity Fund 11.30 11.59 20.73% Women's Investment Fund 91.10 93.44 7.69% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 19.16% FBN CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,076.70 1,077.83 6.52% FBN Heritage Fund 129.38 130.46 16.04% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 18.65% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional $108.43 $109.40 5.46% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail $107.68 $108.64 5.45% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 148.69 150.81 32.04% FIRST CITY ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD fcamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcamltd.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Equity Fund 1.25 1.28 34.57% Legacy Short Maturity (NGN) Fund 2.76 2.76 7.57% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund 2,628.96 2,675.10 19.35% Coral Income Fund 2,293.06 2,293.06 8.97% GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 16.08% INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 17.44% Vantage Balanced Fund 1.96 1.99 16.79% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 17.33%

LOTUS CAPITAL LTD ďŹ ncon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.07 1.09 8.39% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,036.14 1,036.14 5.28% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 12.83 12.92 32.67% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 17.88% PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.13 1.15 13.67% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 10.62 10.70 2.28% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 16.95% SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 122.60 124.08 20.65% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.32 1.32 5.76% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 2,068.08 2,079.98 12.94% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 160.45 160.45 4.22% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.92 0.93 20.13% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 200.90 200.90 7.50% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 162.17 163.73 24.70% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 18.50% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 8,923.52 9,025.72 17.66% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.28 1.29 8.07% United Capital Bond Fund 1.35 1.35 14.87% United Capital Equity Fund 0.82 0.84 0.38% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.16 1.16 11.26% ZENITH ASSETS MANAGEMENT LTD info@zenith-funds.com Web: www.zenith-funds.com; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 11.89 12.08 22.61% Zenith Ethical Fund 12.68 12.82 15.90% Zenith Income Fund 18.09 18.09 9.41%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

11.41 127.54

1.01% 2.88%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

10.03 95.98

10.13 97.76

14.16% 26.64%

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

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS Fund Name Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 Fund

VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697 Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva GrifďŹ n 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

4.00 8.11 15.72 19.65 130.11

4.04 8.19 15.82 19.85 132.11

44.64% 15.28% 31.72% 23.05% 0.94%

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund managerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website and FMANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

28

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾JUNE 25, 2017

36

SUNDAY, JUNE 25, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY TR

UT H

& RE A S O

N

LIFE LESSONS WITH AYO AROWOLO

ayo.arowolo@thisdaylive.com

09067059433 (SMS only)

USE YOUR BRAIN TO CREATE PERSONAL WEALTH

LESSON

4

–Dr. Samuel Adedoyin Bloomberg News, the US-based financial media empire, profiles Dr. Samuel Adedoyin as ‘a philanthropist, simple, diligent, intelligent, dynamic, shrewd and innate businessman who combines these rare qualities that differentiate him from his peers in industry and commerce’.

More than any of the adjectives, what creates an aura of mystery around the renowned industrialist is the apparent lack of correlation between his age (he is 85) and high energy he displays in his daily activities.

Adedoyin engages virtually every hour of the day to monitor closely all his businesses that cut across banking, real estate, import and export, hospitality among others. He exercises daily and can recall any dated events with accuracy and speed. I first interviewed Chief Adedoyin in 2002, and meeting him 15 years after I told him it was like something had frozen his aging process and he agreed: ‘Many would not believe it when I say that what I do now are more than what I was doing when I was 30 or 40.’ He attributes all this to the grace of God. Every statement from this Agbamu-born business mogul oozes with wisdom, and is rendered in Queen’s English style even though he had only Standard Four education. When I asked him to share the most important lesson he has learnt over the years, he said: ‘The most amazing thing I have discovered over the years is that every human being created by God is endowed with amazing talents on the inside, but we don’t use up to 10%. That is why I work the way I work to ensure that I cross that minimum.

Work is the miracle God has given to each one of us to bring out the very best he has deposited in us.’Please enjoy his other life lessons LESSON

LESSON

1

2

God owns the secrets to wealth.

This is one secret I discovered early in life, and I want to say that it is responsible for the little success I have achieved. At the beginning of the whole venture, I did not look like someone who would succeed. In fact, many people, including relatives and close friends wrote me off initially. But I discovered this truth: the secrets of making money belong to God. For anyone who wishes to be successful, the first step is to know God, obey him, serve him and praise him in everything. That is what can take you into wealth, health and long life. When you know God and you ask him for the things you want, He will give them to you. Mind you, I did not say when you know God, you will not have challenges in life. You will, but you will always overcome such challenges and difficulties.

Everybody has what God has prepared for him.

The problem we have is that some of us are in wrong places. Ask God to show you that thing, which when you touch, will turn into gold.

Silence is golden.

There is so much virtue in learning how to keep your mouth shut most of the time, and instead cultivate the habit of listening to others speak. That way, you gain wisdom.

This virtue has brought me fortunes. People think that I am foolish because when they are arguing and shouting, I just keep quiet and keep looking at them. I take time to listen to people to understand what they are saying and where they are coming from. Sometimes people think I don’t know what to say. No. If you are not a good listener and you rush answers without

mining granite from the river. I did it for three days; I couldn’t cope. I hadn’t done such hard work before. So I quit; it was not for me. People called me names, that I was lazy, that I was good for nothing, and so on, I didn’t answer them. I prayed. I said God, I ran away from my village not knowing where I would be, but here I find myself, you can see I cannot cope, please tell me what to do.

I can’t really remember how I started with one or two Pound Sterling. I bought keys and other small things and hawked on the road.

And within a year, I made money. It is always good to ask God for His guidance, wisdom and knowledge. He has a lot of it; he will give it to anybody who sincerely asks. You have to think and seek God before you go into any business.

You don’t just rush in because somebody has promised that you would get good returns.

thinking through, you are most likely to make mistakes. I don’t rush in giving answers.

LESSON

3

Always listen to and follow your inner conviction.

Many people have continued to move from one error to another because they fail to allow their inner compass to guide them. God has given everyone this inner light, but many are afraid to follow it. Instead, they want to do what other people are doing. I started with buying and selling at Kumasi, Ghana. When I first arrived there, I joined other young men in the popular work of those days which was

WHAT KEEPS YOU AWAKE Nothing, other than praising God

WALL OF GRATITUDE To God only. Sometimes I feel like rolling on the ground to thank God for keeping me alive and healthy. Many of my friends are dead; many are alive but battling one ill health or the other. But here I am healthy, so why would I not glorify His name?

SECRETS FOR HEALTHY LIFE Live a balanced life. You should also eat well and eat what will give you good health. I am not a doctor, but I know that fruits and grains will help a lot. Don’t eat fried things especially when you are getting older. You shouldn’t even try smoking; it is dangerous. If you watch what you eat, what you drink, where you go, it will help a lot.

You also have to exercise yourself regularly because you need to keep fit. I do this daily as time allows. If you are sitting down and you don’t exercise your body it can lead to a lot of things.

Exercise alerts your brain.

But as I said before, God owns the health and longevity of every man.

Favourite Books The only book I read is the Bible. I hardly read other books. But I read the bible, I listen to bible. I have read it over and over.

Do not think you cannot fail.

Whatever you are doing, do not think that you cannot make mistakes or that you cannot fail. But be persistent in what you believe in. One thing you need to know is that in any business there are ups and downs; don’t see a failure in one as a failure in all. I have diversified interests in business. If this one doesn’t work, others will work. You know I lost my bank (City Express Bank) to the Federal Government.

But today, that taking over has turned to be a huge blessing because the properties I gave to the bank have started bringing in multimillion Naira rents, which when the bank was there, I was not getting from them. Now, I make hundreds of millions from rents on those properties. So, every disappointment leads to a blessing from God; that is if you started with God of course.

LESSON

5

Trust your family into God’s hands.

Only God Almighty can raise families. It is not by wisdom. In my own case I have many children. Some of them are successful, some not so successful. We are still praying for all of them that God will lead them aright.

Nobody has the wisdom to what God will make of his children. What you can do is try and teach them the way of the Lord, how they will rely on themselves instead of relying on people or government contracts. I have played my part; the rest is left for them.

LESSON

6

Don’t bother your head over who will succeed you.

As far as I am concerned, only God knows who will succeed who. A lot of us are worried about what will happen when we are no more.

That is not your business. What you need is simply to make sure your business is set on the right principles and values. It is not your duty to determine who succeeds you. What if the person you have in mind is not interested, as I have experienced? What if he pretends to be interested, and as soon as you die, he squanders everything? All I can do is to tell God to show them where their talents are for them to be successful in life. These are my thinking and policy because only God knows tomorrow.

He owns wealth and gives it to those who He wants to give it to. All that you can do is just to advise them and help them to live an honest life.

LESSON

7

Use your brain to create wealth for yourself.

I am not saying there is no miracle. There is miracle, but you must help your miracle.

Many of our churches these days talk about miracles and miracles, but the real miracle is the brain God has given you; use it to create wealth for yourself rather than looking for miracles; you have to work for miracles. You cannot be sleeping in your bed and someone throws money at you.

So, you have to work very hard, think very hard, and ask God for direction on what you can do to become a successful person in life.

Brain is not made to rest. If you look at those who retired at 60 and are doing nothing, you find them having stroke or not being able to walk right and think right because they are not using the brain.

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WEEKLY PULL-OUT

DORIS SIMEON ON NOLLYWOOD & MARRIAGE

25.06.2017

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COVER

DORIS SIMEON

ON NOLLYWOOD & MARRIAGE Making a comparison between Yoruba and the so-called Nigerian movies in English is something she does not like to be drawn into. In this encounter with Nseobong Okon-Ekong, Doris Simeon barely hid her resentment for her pretentious colleagues who carry a chip on their shoulders; looking down on actors in indigenous language movies

N

ot having met her previously, she couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t recognise me, but I knew her. That is one of the good things about having a familiar face.

We had been talking on the phone to agree on this appointment at a hotel in Ikeja; where I had a function that was going to stretch from mid-morning into early afternoon. In between my grind for the day, she interrupted my business to ask for a postponement, with a plea that her team thought it best to have our meeting at another opportune time. I replied that I was fine with it. A little while after, she called back insisting she would meet with me to register her apology in person. This civil gesture immediately registered her as a courteous and thoughtful person.

Asking her to meet me at a time I was likely to be a bit distracted was tricky. I believed I would be done with my function when she arrived. Sure enough, the event that brought me to that hotel was over when she arrived; but not quite. There were a few things to tidy up. So, we went for some drinks to buy time. We had the company of another colleague, Funsho Arogundade.

I listened to her reason for pushing the interview into the future. Then I addressed her concern.

My response re-assured her and we agreed to go ahead with the original plan. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Do you mind spending another three or four hours with me?â&#x20AC;? I asked. â&#x20AC;&#x153;No, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not doing anything today,â&#x20AC;? she responded.

I had to get her understanding because my original meeting group had just moved to a restaurant in the neighbourhood and requested we join them for lunch. It was only after waiters had cleared the table and my company departed that Nollywood personality, Doris Omokereri Simeon, whose fame is growing in leaps and bounds, and I settled down to our own business.

I thought it wise to open the discourse with a permissive positioning. So, I made some sort of small talk about her original homestead, Okpella, one of three kingdoms that make up Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State. It is situated along Benin-Abuja Road. The town has attracted increasing attention in recent times for being the location of a Dangote Cement factory.

My earlier positioning was deliberate. I wanted to probe her connection to her roots.

It was a setting that would allow me ask, for instance, her given Okpella name. Without hesitation, she replied, â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is Omokereri, meaning, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;a child is the gift of life.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Why donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t you play up that name?â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is deep,â&#x20AC;? I commented.

She leaned forward because I motioned to her to raise her voice a few more notches so the recording device which lay on the table in front of her could capture her voice. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The thing is, a lot of people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really know how to pronounce the name. Some of them make fun of the name. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like that.

It is a name that I am very proud of. I have taken a part of it to form my Instagram and Twitter identity, @doriskere.

Building on my earlier established laissez-faire stance, I piloted her towards making a remark on the challenges of a non-Yoruba working in the Yoruba movie industry.

She said matter-of-factly, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think

there is any challenge. I see the Yoruba community accepting us. In fact, they have made us (from Edo) a major part of their larger Yoruba empire. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see us as outcasts. Rather, they celebrate a lot of us more than their own people.â&#x20AC;?

It didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t matter to her that she could be perceived as naĂŻve or lacking imaginativeness to make that kind of open concession. To her, it was public knowledge that the likes of Mercy Aigbe, Toyin Aimakhu, Fathia Balogun, Mercy Egose and â&#x20AC;&#x153;my sister from my home town,â&#x20AC;? Queen Blessing Ebigese, are not Yoruba but are doing very well in Yoruba films.

Dorisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; career path, so far, has been interesting for someone who did not start in the Yoruba film genre. Her work as an actor actually started on the set of the sit-com, Papa Ajasco. She only featured in three episodes, but it provided the much needed bragging rights to put her foot firmly in the doorway of Nollywood. This was in the year 2000.

Incidentally, Papa Ajasco also provided the springboard that shot her into Yoruba movies. She gave the account that changed the story of her life. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was on the set of Papa Ajasco that I got my first Yoruba script from my Oga, late Yomi Ogunmola.

From that

particular location, I went to a Yoruba movie set. On getting there, some artistes were like, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;is she Yorubaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;? I said, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;oh wellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;; you can say that we are Yoruba under the Oduduwa umbrella. From there, I started getting jobs in Yoruba films.â&#x20AC;?

Making a comparison between Yoruba and the so-called Nigerian movies in English is something she does not like to be drawn into; after all, she can comfortably handle a given role in either genre. She barely hid her resentment for her pretentious colleagues who carry a chip on their shoulders; looking down on actors in indigenous language movies. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I love the indigenous language movies more,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I wish I could speak more Nigerian languages apart from Yoruba; even my Edo language is not as fluent as my Yoruba.

We lived in northern Nigeria for a brief period, but I was too young and the time too short for me to speak Hausa.â&#x20AC;?

Her people in Okpella are

proud to have her as their ambassador in Yorubaland, but now they are beginning to demand that she returns home to repeat the magic with which she captivated the Yorubas.

That is going to be some feat for someone whose knowledge of Okpella customs is scant, but she is willing to try. Having lost her father, who was going to be the bridge on which she would travel back to her roots, nine years ago, she is still trying to find a reliable pedestal to build on in Okpella. She yearns to contribute to the nascent movie movement in Okpella language. So strong is her desire that she thought of changing her course of study at the National Open University, where she is in her second year of studying English language, to History; in order to learn more about kingdoms and the sagacious personalities that make them. This aspiration was simply to fulfil one quest-to enrich the storyline in her productions.

I DONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T THINK THERE IS ANY CHALLENGE. I SEE THE YORUBA COMMUNITY ACCEPTING US. IN FACT, THEY HAVE MADE US (FROM EDO) A MAJOR PART OF THEIR LARGER YORUBA EMPIRE. THEY DONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T SEE US AS OUTCASTS. RATHER, THEY CELEBRATE A LOT OF US MORE THAN THEIR OWN PEOPLEâ&#x20AC;Ś IT WAS PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE THAT THE LIKES OF MERCY AIGBE, TOYIN AIMAKHU, FATHIA BALOGUN, MERCY EGOSE AND â&#x20AC;&#x153;MY SISTER FROM MY HOME TOWN,â&#x20AC;?

QUEEN BLESSING EBIGESE, ARE NOT YORUBA BUT ARE DOING VERY WELL IN YORUBA FILMS

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COVER I was still trying to make her relax; be free from every caution of chatting with a journalist. So far, I had made little success.

What could be the ice-breaker? She wore a black T-shirt with the inscription, ‘Saved

by True Religion’ in shimmering letters. I made a note to return to her spirituality, but now, I was fascinated by her neat make-up.

I wanted to know if she painted her face by herself. I asked in the most playful manner.

Doris reacted rather surprised, looking back as if unsure the question was directed at her. “Yes, I did.”

“How long did it take?” I asked again.

She was laughing now. “Twenty minutes because I was in a rush to catch up with you, but if I was going on a date or on the red carpet, I take my precious time-up to two hours to make-up.”

“You don’t say! Two hours!?”

“I’m not joking. That is why we say these make-up artistes no go kill person with the way they transform people. I make the bridge of my nose appear longer and make it look as if I have a high cheek bone by creating contours.” As much as she loves to use cosmetics, she would never consider surgery to enhance her natural physical attributes.

To be sure, Doris is pretty and attractive, which is one of the genetic factors she got from her late mother. But an appealing persona is not all that she has. Many producers and directors have identified the huge talent in her which they keep exploiting, again and again.

From her first feature film, ‘Three Million Naira’ which was directed by her benefactor, Yomi Ogunmola, to other movies like ‘Iseju Marun’ and ‘Oloju Ede’, Doris has worked with different directors like Mr. Latin, Jide Kosoko, Saheed Balogun and Kinglsey Omoefe.

As it is often the case, Doris was on demand for roles that portrayed in a certain manner. It was becoming too stereotype and very predictable. And it did not help matters at all that following a stellar performance in ‘Oloju Ede’, she became known widely by that nickname.

To acquire some form of formal training in the creative arts, she studied Production Management at PEFTI. In 2006, she gained professional independence by producing her first movie, ‘Oni Temi’ which was directed by her ex-husband, Daniel Ademinokan.

‘Omo Iya Kan’ and ‘Asiri’ were to follow in quick succession. As an independent producer, she has produced eight movies to date. However, she has a pack of new works that she is itching to bring to the public this year.

Her failed marriage being a sore point, I made an effort to get around it without raking messy mud. I had raised a benign point during our preliminary chat, before the interview proper began. I asked her to Google herself and she did. The major content that her name was linked to on the internet are the trashy details of the end of her marriage. Although, we had an understanding to side-step issues around her former husband, I could not help asking if she would allow him direct her work.

“No.” I pursued a more elaborate response.

“What if you think he is the most likely person to bring out the best in the cast?”

“That most definitely won’t happen.

There are so many directors. The competition is high now. Everybody is always at their peak.” She was laughing.

So, I turned the question around. “What if he approaches you for work?”

Keeping a straight face (now, I didn’t know if she was serious or not), her response was part in pidgin English. She said, “Na money matter now. If he invites me to work with him, I will. The bargain has to be good.

No bad feelings. It is business. But I won’t invite him to work with me.”

If all her calculations fall into place, 2017 holds a load of good promises for Doris and her fans. She has four movies that are ready to go to the cinema. “I am working on the premiere for the two that are in English. The other two are in Yoruba and they are with the marketer who sponsored it. He will decide what to do with them. I have finished my work. The movies are titled, ‘Aseju’ and ‘Lori Ere’.

One of the movies is titled, ‘True Betrayal’. The other goes by the title, ‘Alone in the Dark’, which she co-wrote with Biola Adebayo. She thinks ‘True Betrayal’ is the most expensive work she has produced yet.

She shares writing credit with Titi Orire.

Also on the cards for 2017 is the return of her

television talk show in Yoruba, Faaji Extra.

As the chat got more intense, she revealed that she tried some modelling between 1998 and 1999. Even at 37 years, Doris is still very beguiling. She has always attracted loads of male admirers since her teenage when (she walked most times) from the Ojota neighbourhood where she was born to school at Maryland. The attraction became stronger when she entered into acting. But she has learnt to make light of male compliment; even if it is on the job.

“I know I am talented and the evidence is that people call me for jobs. It is not by a producer saying I should come sleep with him. Men make sexual advances at me, but it is not by force. It is normal for men to lust after women; whether you are in the movie industry or not. Any attractive woman will have a lot of male admirers. If you know you have this talent and God has said it is your time, you don’t need to jump into bed with everyone who asks you. Nobody can take your talent and self-confidence, people will definitely contact you for jobs. Sometimes, my sisters are in salon because people don’t know them, they will hear gossip about me.

These things get back to me through many sources. I am supposed to be dating some influential politicians.” She held up her hands in denial. “See me, my brother if I was going out with those people, I for don be bigger babe for town.”

“I see it as normal when men make overtures at me. If you are a woman and men are not chasing after you, then you need to go for spiritual cleansing; something must be wrong somewhere. It is a normal thing that would happen to a normal girl who walks on the street, whether you are an actor or not; men will approach and woo you; it is left to you to say, ‘yes or no.’”

I guess she knew I would ask the question. “Have you found love again?”

“Yes.” I thought I caught a twinkle in her eyes. I wasn’t sure and her next statement did not help either. “Should we expect a marriage?”

She shrugged her shoulder; noncommittal.

“Marriage is over-rated’” she said. “Let me just say for now that I am in love with a man. I do not know what will happen next.

There are so many ‘arrangee’ marriages in Nigeria now. At my age, I have to understand what I am getting into, otherwise people will say I am stupid. Marriage? Not so fast.”

Maybe it is all coming back to her now; in slow-motion. She had stammered and hesitated while recalling the pain her mother endured. “She was a quiet person. She endured a lot of pain. She was industrious.

She would try her hands on any legitimate business. She hated to sit at home and not do anything.” She skirted around what might have brought so much pain to her mother.

The fact was that her father had children from two other women.

She recalled her mother’s efforts in trying to take care of her children. Even in that vulnerable position, she left Doris with some life lessons. She told us, “No matter what happened between her husband and another woman, we should still love our siblings and our step-siblings and not hate and not feel that this one was trying to maltreat us because they had money and we don’t have money. That was what I meant by she endured a lot of pain.”

It is understandable then that she would consider the loss of her parents within one year as the worst thing to happen to her.

“My mother went first.” Always conscious of her mother’s admonition that they should remain closely knit, she is supporting her brother who is a member of a group of singers known as the Smooth Boys. “They have been singing for some years now. I am still trying to push them. They sang the theme song in the two films. They are Nigeria’s Boys 2 Men. Sometimes they sing acapella to bring out the harmony in their voices.”

With her followers on social media closing in on one million, Doris is humbled by the responsibility of such a huge fan base.

She is particularly worried that the internet has exposed teenagers and young adults to information and knowledge they may not need. “You don’t want to know what some of these people who should be focused on their education at that age worry about.

Mostly, they are concerned about what is trending; particularly fashion and such vain things. They want to look like the celebrities they see on social media. I am really afraid for them.”

Doris Simeon

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 25, 2017

ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

Bill Cosby: From Courtroom to Classroom Vanessa Obioha Following a deadlocked jury and mistrial in his sexual assault trial, the prolific entertainer is eager to get back to work. What better way to maintain relevance in a society where his fame is rotting away than to organise an education tour for young people. The series of town hall meetings will help educate young people about problems their misbehavior could create, according to Bill Cosby’s spokesman, Andrew Wyatt.

“We’ll talk to young people. Because this is bigger than Bill Cosby. You know, this issue can affect any young person, especially young athletes of today, and they need to know what they’re facing when they’re hanging out and partying, when they’re doing certain things they shouldn’t be doing.”

“Laws are changing,” added Wyatt’s associate Ebonee Benson. “The statute of limitations for victims of sexual assault are being extended.

So, this is why people need to be educated on a brush against the shoulder, you know anything at this point can be considered sexual

assault. And it’s ... a good thing to be educated about the law.”

It is not the first time Cosby is taking his message to the classroom. In recent years, the comedian and actor grew famous for scolding fellow African-Americans for poor grammar, sloppy dress and not valuing education, critiques that drew fire from some as elitist; the same way his planned seminar is being pilloried.

Wyatt revealed the tours will hold at Birmingham in July but specific dates and locations of other cities are yet to be revealed.

Cosby, who faced three counts of aggravated indecent assault, will be retried. According to the Associated Press, a juror disclosed that some jurors were concerned that prosecutors waited 10 years to charge him, expressing suspicion that politics had played a role in the case. The juror further revealed that the panel was almost evenly split in its deliberations, with a similar number of jurors wanting to convict the 79-year-old entertainer as well as acquit him.

Cosby

ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA HIRES LA LA LAND MUSIC DIRECTOR STX PICKS JENNIFER LOPEZ FOR NEW ROMANTIC COMEDY STXFilms is joining forces with Jennifer Lopez for its upcoming romantic comedy ‘Second Act’. Lopez will star and also co-produce the movie which storyline revolves round a big-box store employee who, after reinventing herself, gets the chance to prove to Madison Avenue that street smarts are as valuable as a college degree.

Written by Justin Zackham (The Bucket List) and Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, the project was developed specifically for Lopez whose starring roles in rom-coms like ‘Wedding Planner’ and ‘Maid in Harmattan’ are still nostalgic. Peter Segal, the director behind ‘50 First Dates,’ will direct.

Lopez is presently working to release a Spanish-language album, and most recently featured on her NBC series ‘Shades of Blue’ and the dance competition show ‘World of Dance’.

Jennifer Lopez

George Clooney

Simon Cowell

DIAGEO BUYS GEORGE CLOONEY’S TEQUILA COMPANY The new father sold a tequila company, Casamigos which he co-founded to Diageo, the company behind Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker and Baileys. George Clooney, together with Cindy Crawford’s husband, Rande Gerber and property developer Mike Meldman founded the company four years ago. Diageo which described the company as the the fastest-growing super-premium tequila brand in the US will pay up to $1bn (£790m) to the owners. An initial sum of $700m will be paid now and a further $300m based on performance over the next decade.

Diageo’s chief executive, Ivan Menezes, said the company planned to take Casamigos beyond the US and Caribbean to Europe and other markets to capitalise on the significant international potential of the brand.

The founders will continue to promote Casamigos, which is Spanish for “house of friends”. The firm sold 120,000 9-litre cases last year, mainly in the US, and is expected to reach more than 170,000 this year. The tequila comes in three premium varieties, priced at $45-55 a bottle.

Clooney revealed that he and his partners spent more than five years tasting and developing the tequila brand with a master distiller in the Jalisco highlands of Mexico. The trio – who own neighbouring homes in Los Cabos in Mexico.

SIMON COWELL DONATES £100,000 TO GRENFELL TOWER CHARITY Following the unfortunate fire incident at the Grenfell Tower recently, Simon Cowell alongside a host of other British talents released a charity single. Cowell assembled more than 50 artistes that include Robbie Williams and Rita Ora for the single as well as donated £100,000 for the fund benefitting victims.

Cowell in an Interview with the Mirror said he has never felt so emotional about anything like this in all his years.

Most of the singers took individual lines, from soul stars like Emeli Sandé and Jorja Smith, to rockers like Bastille’s Dan Smith and the Stereophonics’ Kelly Jones. Gareth Malone helped assemble a choir of local residents and survivors who join the soaring chorus, while musicians including Chic’s Nile Rodgers, the Who’s Pete Townshend and Queen’s Brian May add backup.

The song was released recently and is expected to raise funds for survivors of the incident.

LATE SPANISH SINGER, SELENA QUINTANILLA’S WAX FIGURE TO BE UNVEILED IN TIMES SQUARE Fans of the late ‘Queen of Tejano’ Selena Quintanilla will be captivated when her figure is unveiled at Madame Tussauds in New York. With the help of the late singer’s sister, Suzette Quintanilla, and fans, the memorable figure of the artiste will be on permanent display in the Times Square attraction.

The figure is a re-sculpt of the star’s original Madame Tussauds figure launched last August in Hollywood. Madame Tussauds worked in partnership with the Quintanilla family and The Selena Museum to replicate her pose, expressions, make-up and recognizable styling; celebrating her iconic concert performance held at the Memorial Coliseum in Corpus Christi on February 7, 1993, for the album “Selena Live!,” which won the Grammy Award for Best Mexican/American Album in 1994.

Suzette will travel across the country to be present for this memorable figure unveiling and the opportunity to meet her most dedicated fans.

The “Queen of Cumbia” catapulted to global adoration in the 80s and 90s and is the only Latin female artist to have had five albums simultaneously on Billboard 200.

Selena continues to win awards 22 years later, winning Female Artist of The Year at this year’s Billboard Latin Music Awards. Her top hits include ‘Dreaming of You’, ‘Amor Prohibido’ and ‘Bidi Bidi Bom Bom’, just to name a few. rSource: Latin Times

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R Ëž Í°ÍłË&#x153; Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

Í´ÍŽ

When African Designers Converged on Lagos Funke Olaode

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reathtaking, electrifying and superlative! That description appropriately captures the twoday Africa Fashion Week Nigeria 2017 held at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos recently.

The event attracted thousands of guests, exhibitors and fashionistas from across Nigeria and Africa. Not even the heavy downpour that has become a major attribute of the month of June could dampen the spirit of the designers and invited guests as the fourth edition of the Africa Fashion Week delivered the best of African designs in Lagos.

After three successful editions held in Eko Hotel, the organisers moved this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s venue to the National Theatre in a bid to continue to promote and showcase the African culture and heritage to a global audience.

This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s edition, which celebrated the works of African and African inspired designers, featured 56 designers and 40 exhibitors selected from various parts of Nigeria and Africa. Some of the designers that showcased their works include Modella, Kola Kuddus, Maufechi, Regalia by FAL, Blingshiki, Marobuk, Tash

by Tasha, Linda Ngwi (Cameroon), Sally Bawa, Alex Akande (Cameroon), Afrikawala (Zambia) Del, Africa (Jos), Eve Design (Senegal), BG Couture, Oma Couture, Lemah Hassan etc. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our long time growth of fashion industry is grounded in developing initiatives to ensure that Nigeria remains in the forefront of creativity, centre of fashion, style and innovation,â&#x20AC;? said founder of AFWN, Ronke Ademiluyi, adding, â&#x20AC;&#x153;which is why the best of Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s emerging and established fashion talents showcased at this historic monument to reflect dynamism of African fashion and our root.â&#x20AC;?

And for the fifth year running, the organisers continued to have Da Viva as its official textile partner.

The climax of the two-day fashion was a solo show held for the first time and sponsored by Nichemtex, maker of Da Viva and ABC Wax. For several hours, the audience was dazzled with breathtaking designs made with ABC Wax as models walked elegantly on the runway.

Praising his company for its vision and support for African fashion industry, Group Marketing Manager, Nichemtex, Mr. Steven Dutton, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are proud to support African Fashion Week Nigeria since its inception in 2011 because of our vision to support African fashion and encourage upcoming African designers as well. The exclusive show brings the exciting designs influenced by the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision of innovation and dynamism.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The design showcased were part of the new collection of ABC Wax, an iconic brand, which has been around for over a century ago in England but was moved to Ghana in 2006 because it is in the heart of consumers, especially in Nigeria. Today is made in Africa for Africa and wear by Africans. So the brand is being re-launched through AFWN 2017 because it represents the attribute of natural Wax.â&#x20AC;?

The event was graced by distinguished guests among

whom were representative of chairman of AFWN 2017, Oba Saheed Elegunshi; House of Oduduwa which represented the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi; renowned designer, Alhaja Abah Folawiyo; Mr. Segun Awolowo and wife, Bola; Erelu Abiola Dosunmu; Speaker, Lagos House of Assembly, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa; Hon. Funmi Tejuoso; Mrs. Helen Prest-Ajayi; Eunice Efolie; THISDAY Style Editor, Ruth Osime; and Mrs. Ego Boyo, among others.

After the Storm...Intrigues as Chagoury Brothers and Alpha Woman, Oyin Adeyemi, Bury the Hatchet Lanre Alfred

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ew months ago, they lunged and tore at each other like heat-crazed feral cats, but as you read, the bitterness and angst that reigned have disappeared without trace.

Indeed, as it is in politics where there are no permanent enemies but permanent interests, so it is in the seamy world of high-powered business.

In business, it is even easier to pull a dagger on an associate today and clink glasses and backslap tomorrow. Compromise is the rule of the game after all.

Oyin Adeyemi, the alpha-woman and the chief executive officer of construction giant, Still Earth Group, and the Chagoury brothers, understand this as much as accustomed politicians. Smarting from a business relationship that almost gone bad more than a year ago, the billionaires have come to realize that the sincere friends of this world are as the lights of ship on a stormy night. Very essential.

Very indispensable.

While people are still wondering how easy it was for them to quickly rally round in spite of the bitterness that trailed the dispute, it is now business as usual between the Still Earth boss and the Chagourys. Yes, they settled it! The top business people are wiser now. Having experienced the motions of the action and counteraction that ignites the reciprocal struggle of discordant powers, they have settled their differences and achieved harmony with the universe.

And their polarized friends, especially those who

Adeyemi

witnessed their hair-raising crossfire of barbs and disputation are happy that the dust has settled. Even happier is the youthful managing directorof Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe. Indeed, Oyin, Chagoury

and Access Bank have always done businesses together and it was a no-brainer that when Oyin and the Chagourys fell apart, easy-going Herbert reportedly had to bend double, reaching out to powerful Nigerians with a view to calling a truce but the blood of the warring parties had reached such boiling point that even a cauldron had nothing on it. Nobody was ready to shift ground. But all that is now in the past. The dust has settled and reason has prevailed. And all the parties involved have come to realize that they cannot be friends or business associates for long if they cannot forgive each other â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s failings.

Those who know the enterprising Oyin say the compromise reached is consistent with her thoroughbred, transparent character. Wealthy and connected, yet, modest and obliging, the Obafemi Awolowo University graduate has worked her way up the business ladder to allow just one bad business ruin her increasing legacy of entrepreneurial successes.

Oyin exemplifies a totally modern yet timeless construct of femininity that manifests as a blend of dashing individuality and noble pedigree. She worked hard to attain her current status and she is far removed from the contemporary alpha female stereotype that glorifies flamboyance, self-aggrandizement and narcissism above substance.

The self-driven entrepreneur and construction magnate comes across as an enviable amazon and achiever in an area and era where everyone seems to understate the role and worth of a driven woman.

T H I S D AY SUNDAY JUNE 25, 2017

61

62

T H I S D AY SUNDAY JUNE 25, 2017

The Regent School Abuja

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PGCEi Graduates with the honoured guests (L-R) PGCEi Course Facilitator Mr Akif Naqvi, Proprietress of The Regent Schools Mrs Amsa AbdulRazaq, Regional Coordinator of The Nottingham University Dr Jenny Elliott, Honourable Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Khadija Bukar Ibrahim, Headmaster of The Regent Primary Mr Graham Horton, Principal of The Regent Secondary Dr George Hickman and Ambassador of Japan His Excellency Mr Sadanobu Kusaoke

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ARTS & REVIEW A

A DELICIOUS DINNER WITHOUT THE MAIN COURSE (V) PAGE 66

PUBLICATION

25.06.2017

WITH KAKADU, IT FELT GREAT TO BE A NIGERIAN IN JOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;BURG Lugard and a dancer in Kakadu the Musical

EDITOR OKECHUKWU UWAEZUOKE/ okechukwu.uwaezuoke@thisdaylive.com

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JUN Ͱͳ˜ Ͱͮͯ͵ ˾ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

ARTS & REVIEW\\THEATRE

WITH KAKADU, IT FELT G TO BE A NIGERIAN IN JO’ It was not just a show. It’s a blue print for humanity to say no to war. Yinka Olatunbosun reports on th Nigeria’s Kakadu the musical in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Nightlife in Kakadu before the Biafran war

B

oth the beauty and size of Jo’burg Theatre in South Africa were amazing. It is equipped with four theatres and the destination for the Playhouse Initiative was Nelson Mandela Theatre, which is the largest in the building. The theatre is situated in the heart of business area and in close proximity with University of Witwatersrand and City College as well as museums.

The city of Jo’burg seemed to have stayed awake for Kakadu. Wrapped up in winter clothes, many night-crawlers who once preferred to stay indoors thronged to the theatre, as the local television stations trumpeted the award-winning musical done in collaboration with the Jo’burg theatre with support from MTN Foundation.

The cast and crew of Kakadu the Musical first needed to acquaint themselves with modern stage crafts such as the use of stage wagons and electronic flats. It was a delight watching as two parallel flats were lifted on and off the stage while actors are ferried off some scenes with ease using wagons.

One of the greatest criticisms against Kakadu the Musical is the pace of the drama. With the introduction of stage technology into production, the play was trimmed to appropriate size, reducing the length by almost 20 minutes. The director, Kanayo Omo acknowledged this in an interview at the early hours of the dress and tech rehearsals.

Strangely, the doors were opened to an audience who is willing to pay half of the ticket price on the dress and tech night. The show had better been good from that night as news about a show spread faster than wild fire around Jo’burg. One advantage that this journalist had above the audience was to tour the backstage where the

A war scene in the play costumes for the show had been arranged in professional order. The sight elicited gasps here and there. Sprawling out into the garage, the backstage alone can recreate eight more stages.

In some curious ways, the stage is reminiscent of Oduduwa Hall at Ile Ife. But the similarities are not too obvious to a casual observer. About seven hours later, while the performance was in progress, a soldier in the war scene just emerged from the stage centre floor with gun in hand. Yes, Oduduwa Hall was built with such stage facility but it is hardly used for the purpose.

On Kakadu’s much anticipated opening night, the Nelson Mandela theatre was filled to capacity. Some guests, presumably Nigerians, wore traditional Nigerian attires in defiance of the biting winter where temperature drops as low as three degrees on some nights. Having followed Kakadu performances since inception, the audiences in Johannesburg are probably the most receptive of the show.

“What do you think?” was the usual question from Nwokedi after each show.

But that opening night, it was a total tonguetied situation and as the actors said,” very emotional”. Kakadu finally got all the right ingredients in one pot. Bon appetit!

The next evening, no one was quite prepared for the type of audience temperament. It seemed a lot of students were inside the theatre. Mischief was in the air. Some of them sang along with the actors, dropped in a few interjections such as “Chineke” while chants that were reminiscent of Zulu warriors wafted in occasionally. Some screamed, “Hashtag’’ while others tweeted and retweeted the line, “Why watch Kakadu once when you can watch it twice?’’

And the moment where the central character Lugard Da Rocha (Ben Ogbeiwi) tore up his T-shirt in the agony of post-war distress

and his inability to find his family, the female audience broke into sexy grunts at the sight of his bare chest. For a professional, the reaction could be disturbing as it would imply that the emotion of the story had been lost on the audience. But that’s not true. In reality, there were many nights when some members of the audience really shed tears having seen the aftermath of war. From a theoretical angle, the use of wagons and placards in Joburg Theatre’s production of Kakadu the musical reminds one of that “Verfremsdungeffekt’’ made popular by the dramatist, Bertolt Brecht. It is meant to alienate the audience from the emotional attachment to the on-stage drama. Rather than empathise, it is created to make the audience rationalize the dramatic action and perhaps, provoke them to make societal change.

Having been performed in Nigeria and Davos, Switzerland, Kakadu had never been more relevant as a social commentary as it was in Johannesburg. As the show was running, the news from Nigeria said that some Northerners were agitating for the Igbos to leave Northern Nigeria. Meanwhile, this year marks the golden anniversary of the beginning of the Nigerian civil war where all Southeast states as well as the oil-rich Niger Delta were to be ceded to Biafra. But there’s nothing golden about any post-war region.

Mutual suspicions linger, hate simmers and economy crawls. That’s the story embedded in Kakadu the Musical, penned five years ago before Nnamdi Kanu woke up to new calls for Biafra.

The playwright, Nwokedi didn’t see these new agitations coming. All he wanted was to use the tool of entertainment to propagate social change, empower youths and spread the good image of Nigeria abroad. And that he did. At the nearby hotel where the cast and crew members were lodged, many tourists requested that the Kakadu dancers should

teach them a few dance steps. And if you didn’t meet anyone that wanted to know more about Nigeria at all, it means you have a remarkably stern face. South Africans became very inquisitive, asking questions about our weather and Nigerian theatre tradition.

Some of them argued that Nigerians don’t sing exceptionally and that most of Kakadu singers might have been imported from other countries. Thankfully, only one actress is from Botswana. Others are authentically Nigerians. One must understand that their experience of Nigerian music is mostly drawn from their knowledge of the Davidos.

Our pop musicians bathe in auto tunes and would never attempt the pitch and range of Kakadu’s sopranos.

One interesting feature of performances at Jo’burg theatre is that every three-hour show has a 15minute break for refreshment and small talk. Although a few members of the audience who were new to the theatre tradition almost walked away thinking that the play was over, a large number trooped to the theatre restaurant that parades mouthwatering cuisines, coffee and cocktails.

Every e-ticket bears the holder’s seat and row number to ensure orderliness which is a way of life in Johannesburg by the way. You get a number as you enter a banking hall or an eatery and you will get called by this number.

Perhaps, the only public place where no one gives you a number on entry in Jo’burg is the Nigerian food restaurant. It’s difficult to understand why anything associated with Nigeria ends up that way.

After each show, some would take selfies with some of the cast, commending them for putting up a great show. A family had once invited the 50-man cast and crew for a lunch. Others have debated how the story in Kakadu is similar to the political climate in their home countries. It seemed everyone could find a nexus with the musical’s anti-

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž E 25, 2017

ARTS & REVIEW\\THEATRE

GREAT â&#x20AC;&#x2122;BURG

e two-week performance of

war themes.

Joâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;burg Theatre is funded by the state and thrives on enabling infrastructure such as regular power supply, government subsidy and good road network.

The theatre entered into this collaboration with the playhouse initiative based on the published reviews on the play. So far, the reviews on Kakadu have been largely positive. A South African reviewer, Katlego Mereko in Joâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;burg Post writes: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have watched and written on quite a few theatre plays now, and if all of them were of good quality, then Kakadu punches way above that benchmark.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; For the Project Manager, Kakadu the Musical, Lolo Eremie, the production has served as a platform for the artists to be good ambassadors of Nigeria. Reflecting on working with the artists, she admitted that â&#x20AC;&#x153;the drama does not end on stage.â&#x20AC;? It continues after performance and it takes patience to work diligently. She had the enormous task of managing the travel logistics of more than 50 cast and crew members with the assistance of the stage manager, Aaron Ubong who ensured that everyone ate dinner and returned to the hotel safe.

One may think that being a Nigerian spells doom in South Africa, but with Kakadu the musical, the narrative has changed. From Muritala International Airport to Kigali International Airport and finally, O.R. Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, the immigration officers observed with measured respect when a Nigerian passport holder identifies himself as a member of the cast and crew of Kakadu the musical, with a letter of invitation from Joâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;burg Theatre attached to other travel documents. For the first time in a long while, it felt great to be a Nigerian.

The Inverted Pyramid; Adapted from a novel by Emeka Dike

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JUNE 25, 2017 ËžTHISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

ARTS & REVIEW\\MEMOIRS

A DELICIOUS DINNER WITHOUTTHE MAIN COURSE (V) In this concluding part of his narrative, Daniel Uwaezuoke recounts his first overseas training experience at the West Riding Police Headquarters in Wakefield, Yorkshire and, years later, at the Scotland Yard Fingerprint School in Chelsea, London under the fingerprint expert, Chief Inspector Bateman...

Courses of Study in the U.K.

I

n my autobiography, Destined to Triumph, I fleetingly mentioned my courses of study in the U. K. But as these courses spanned the 20-year period I spent at the Central Criminal Registry, it would be apt to give it some more attention in this new narrative.

The first course I attended was at the West Riding Police Headquarters in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England. It was a course meant for beginners in the study of fingerprints. So, one could easily appreciate why, as a searcher of about five yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; experience, I found it very basic in the duration of just over four weeks it lasted.

Nevertheless, I improved my skills on how to handle objects found at scenes of crime. Practically, we â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the students â&#x20AC;&#x201C; were co-opted into Scene of Crime teams to enable our on-the-spot learning.

One Mr Osborne, who took us through the course contents, was a very understanding man. I watched how he devoted time to patiently explain knotty fingerprint characteristics to beginners. I remember how he reacted most politely and thankfully when I chipped in my own way of explanation to help basic students mostly from the U. K. (Yorkshire) Police Forces.

In Nigeria, I only gained the limited respect of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Have-beensâ&#x20AC;? and nothing more to show or gain from it.

My second course of study saw me passing through the Scotland Yard Fingerprint School in Chelsea, London. It was in Spring 1963. The lecturer, who taught students from across the world and the U. K. Police Forces, was Chief Inspector Bateman.All his teachings were based on a very comprehensive book, written

by Frederick R. Cherrill (M. B. E.).

In fact, Chief Inspector Bateman was so adept in the study of fingerprints that the author of The Fingerprint System at Scotland Yard acknowledged him as his colleague.A scan through the course scripts, both basic and advanced, which Chief Inspector Bateman used in his day-to-day teachings, reveals their complementarity with the contents of Mr F. Cherrillâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s book.

It took Chief Inspector Bateman not more than a week to begin to show special appreciation of my grasp of what fingerprints was and how it should always be second to none as a means of identification.

To our Maker â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the Creator of the universe

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; belongs this unmatchable identity, which can tell a manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s identity from any of the billion others within a few seconds. With the present technology, machines can do this within a few seconds. Experts such as yours truly, who need to classify and go to an area of search in any given lot â&#x20AC;&#x201C; be in it billions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; can take minutes depending on the classification of the ten fingers or in a single finger mark as its single classification permits.

Chief Inspector Bateman, in one of his

frequent outbursts of appreciation of my grasp of fingerprints, told me that I just â&#x20AC;&#x153;came to England in a jolly rideâ&#x20AC;Ś because I find nothing to teach you.â&#x20AC;?

I retorted that I still had a lot to learn from the famous Scotland Yard Chief Inspector.

Throughout the duration of the course, which lasted almost two months, the chief inspector took me more as a special student from Nigeria and mentioned that to his recollection no overseas student had shown such a brilliant

understanding of fingerprint like me.

I would rather not go into further details of the affection my teacher had for me. But I remember that the Spring of 1963 was only 15 months to early Winter 1964 when I became an assistant superintendent of police.

What then could Chief Inspector Bateman have written about me that added to the Comedy of Events?

t $PODMVEFE 4JS %BOJFM MJWFT JO &OVHV

VISUAL ARTS

In Search of a Winner for Centenary Art Challenge Yinka Olatunbosun

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no longer news that the Union Bank Centenary Art Challenge for Nigerian professional and amateur artists has been launched. The bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brand identity of a stallion is the subject of this challenge. At the launch of the art challenge at the Mydrim Gallery, Ikoyi, it was revealed that contestants are expected to re-interpret and re-design that iconic stallion.

Organised as part of the 100th anniversary celebrations of the bank, the competition is a product of the partnership with One Draw Gallery, endorsed by the Guild of Professional Fine Artists of Nigeria (GFA).

The Chief Executive Officer ,Union Bank, Emeka Emuwa, disclosed that the competition would run till September. Meanwhile, in 2015, Union Bank had redesigned the stallion to reflect a more agile and energetic institution following its rebranding which also added some African motifs to the brand identity. This time, the bank will involve artists to make a creative difference. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Union Bank has a storied history in Nigeria and our 100th anniversary is a unique opportunity to tell our story

to different audiences. Artists are storytellers and this competition presents an opportunity for this community to help us tell our story from the vantage of our iconic white stallion. We are excited to celebrate the many stories that will come across through the works that will be entered in the competition,â&#x20AC;? he said.Entries rendered in paintings, sculptures or mixed media will be drawn nationwide while the panel of judges will shortlist the 100 works that will compete at the grand finale.

The CEO of One Draw Gallery, Segun Adejumo, declared that the ultimate winner will receive N1 million in the professional category while the first and second runners up will receive N500, 000 and N250,000 respectively. A sum of N250,000 is up for grabs by the winner in the student category. All contestants must not be younger than 24 years.

Head, Corporate Affairs & Corporate Communication, Union Bank, Ogochukwu Ekezie-Ekaidem remarked that the competition is aimed at talent development which forms a part of the bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s social responsibility programmes.

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CICERO

Editor Olawale Olaleye Email wale.olaleye@thisdaylive.com, SMS: 08116759819

IN THE ARENA

The Lagos Model College Kidnap Challenge There is an urgent need for all authorities to join hands and make the rescue of the six kidnapped students of the Lagos State Model College, Igbonla-Epe, a priority, writes Olawale Olaleye

O

n the night of April 14, 2014, 276 female students of Government Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State were kidnapped from their school. Three years after this unsavoury development that literally put the nation on a miserable part of the global map, only 106 of the abducted girls have so far been given back their lives.

This is the breakdown. Twenty-one of the girls were freed by their abductors, the Boko Haram sect, in October of 2016, two years after their kidnap. Eighty-two others were in May this year freed in prisoner swap deals. However, three of the girls escaped individually and in the following order: May 2016, November 2016 and January 2017. This still leaves 170 of the girls in the den of their abductors, three years running.

Needless to ponder the pain parents, friends and family members of the girls had been through. No psychological torture could be worse. To think that the destiny of the girls was first caught in avoidable politics of who should have taken responsibility spoke unkindly of the Nigerian leadership. What started like a child’s play would later dominate the world stage with volunteers from global powers to assist in the rescue of the girls.

A month after the third year of the Chibok abduction was ticked on the calendar, a similar tragedy struck in Lagos. Gunmen reportedly numbering over 15 had stormed the Lagos Model College, Igbonla-Epe and successfully abducted six male students, who were picked randomly while observing the morning assembly. The kidnappers had allegedly abducted two principals from the school, one each from the junior and the secondary schools.

While the identities of the students are still shrouded in secrecy, perhaps for security reasons, those of the principals, Mr. Bolaji Oyesola and Mr. Akinrinmade, have been revealed. The kidnappers had reportedly alerted the school authorities about their visit a week before striking.

Obviously, the threat was dismissed.

Although the police had on Monday assured parents of the kidnapped students of the safe return of their wards, it may not be as easy anymore as the kidnappers were said to have severed communications with the parents the moment they were paid some N10 million ransom.

The kidnappers had initially demanded N400 million ransom, but they later reduced it to N50 million for the six students, of which the parents rallied round and raised N10million and sent to them.

Assistant Inspector-General (AIG) in charge of Lagos and Ogun States, Mr. Adamu Ibrahim, after a meeting with Governor Akinwunmi Ambode at the State House, Alausa, Ikeja, had assured the parents during a session with the State House correspondents that all hands “are on deck to ensure the safe return of their wards. Security agencies were working tirelessly to ensure the return of the students and reunite them with their families.”

However disturbing is a growing belief that the recent arrest and parade of three kidnap suspects in Edo State

could be responsible for the continued hostage of the six students. Hopes had been high that the students would soon be rescued, given the collaboration between the Lagos State Police Command, the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) and the military. A month after, the hope seems forlorn!

This fear was further accentuated when the abductors of the children sent a text message to one of the parents and threatened to kill them if the balance was not paid.

This development had compelled the police headquarters to deploy the Inspector General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team (IRT) led by ACP Abba Kyari, to assist in the rescue. But the arrest of the three suspects in Edo State as well as the disclosure of their arrest by IRT sent others, including the abductors of the boys deeper into the creeks.

Although the Kyari-led IRT had reportedly received intelligence on the whereabouts of the abductors and moved in, culminating in the arrest of 25-year-old Egelu Endurance alias Jubby, 25-year-old Stanley Yomi Irabomini (Powei) and 24-year-old Bentel Endurance, all from Ovia South Local Government Area of Edo State, in Benin City.

After interrogating the three suspects, who had left the creeks and were heading to Edo State to visit a gang member, who was injured during a gun battle with security forces, the IRT was believed to have extracted sufficient information on the whereabouts of the boys and was on the verge of swinging into action.

But a disclosure on the arrest of the gang detailing their connection to the other gangs, who abducted the students, was however made available to the media and this had prompted the other gangs to relocate their camp to another site. And ever since, especially with the receipt of N10 million, they had severed further communication with everyone, the parents in particular.

The fact that the police reportedly shared sensitive information that could have sealed their effort was thoughtless and exposed their seeming naivety on the job.

For emphasis, the police have paid too much attention to celebrating their success of the arrest of kidnap kingpin, Chukwudemeje George Onwuamadike, otherwise known as Evans. In fact, the police have made the Evans arrest too much of a media trial with blow-by-blow narrations of the self-confessed suspect slipping into the public at intervals. There is no way such will not compromise to an extent, their ongoing investigation as well as vitiate other related assignments.

The police must, therefore, show a bit of circumspection, be more professional and get cracking. It would be a dent to the image and the current rating of the Lagos State government to have this assignment tarry for longer than necessary, more so for the safety and security of the boys and the sanity of their parents. The police should stop savouring their fleeting Evan’s victory and get on this really sensitive assignment. With the days and weeks in quick counts, a repeat of the Chibok experience is certainly bad news for Lagos.

P O L I T I CA L N OT E S

A Commendable Southern Unity!

T

Southern leaders at the meeting

he coming together, last week, of leaders from South-west, South-east and South-south to form a common front and stand against the quit order issued by the Arewa Youths’ Consultative Forum (AYCF) against the Igbo was a good move.

Good as this move may seem, their coming together must not be seen as an alliance to further expand the existential fault lines amongst the various ethnic nationalities but as a move to close the gaps and also work out

how the contending forces can continue to work together in oneness. Hence, such unity must be extended to their northern colleagues to enhance constructive engagement among all the zones.

It is clear that the people must have to come together to discuss the way forward.

It is a reality that cannot be run away from, given the issues at stake. But certainly not in a fashion that could disintegrate the beauty of the nation’s unity, because no matter what, like former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar said, “All of us is far better than some of us”.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 25, 2017

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BRIEFINGNOTES

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, flanked by National Assembly leaders and presidential aides, while signing the 2017 appropriatrion bill into law while

Appropriation Debate: Can N’Assembly Make Laws?

The recent bickering between the Executive and the Legislature over the power of appropriation has yet again raised the question on whether or not the National Assembly can make laws, writes Olawale Olaleye

A

day after assenting to the budget, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo sent a thank you missile to the legislature by criticising the legislature for altering the budget, which he claimed the legislature was not constitutionally empowered to do. Osinbajo, reports had it, said the power of appropriation was vested in the executive and not the legislature, adding that the alteration of the budget by the National Assembly had distorted the plans of the executive in implementing the 2017 budget.

Quickly, the National Assembly, which reckoned the acting president might have been quoted out of context, reminded Osinbajo that the constitution was clear on its powers to legislate and alter the budget, since it was not a rubber stamp legislature. The legislature particularly reminded Osinbajo that the power to interpret the constitution with respect to its powers on Appropriation was with the judiciary and not the executive.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, appeared to be more irked about this development, when he said the National Assembly had powers to alter national budget according to the desire of the citizens. He stated this during plenary after Representative Abubakar Lawal (APC, Adamawa) drew the attention of the lower chamber to Osinbajo’s remarks.

“This issue is left to the judiciary to interpret to us as to what arm of government has power to do what. For me, this is not an issue we should dwell so much on,” he said, adding that “I don’t want to believe that the Acting President made that statement, because when it comes to the budget, the power of the purse rests with the parliament.

“The executive is just one man; every other person in the executive arm is answerable to the president alone. The relationship is that of master and servant, but for the parliament, it is that of equals. Even, when the president hasn’t said anything, everyone is trying to read what the body language is; the basis of democracy is collaboration.

“In the case of the budget, if the parliament disagrees with the executive, the worst that would happen is that they will refuse to sign the budget. In that case, we can override the veto of the President and pass it into law. The worse the Executive can say is that they will not implement. The question then will be, is that the law of the land? Anyone with honour, who is in the seat, should know the right thing to be done,” he said.

But it didn’t end there as many of the lawmakers, THISDAY gathered, were still uncomfortable with Osinbajo’s comments. Some of the lawmakers, who appeared furious, were said to have insisted that Osinbajo had made his remark in bad faith, in order to pit Nigerians against the legislature.

Unfortunately, the agreement brokered between the two arms of government and which was meant to pave the way for a virement request as a pre-condition for the assent of the 2017 budget seems to be in jeopardy as the lawmakers had threatened not to entertain the proposed request for the virement of funds, or even a supplementary budget proposal from the presidency.

Osinbajo had during the budget’s assent disclosed that the executive arm of government and legislature had agreed to a virement request to reinstate several budgetary proposals altered in the Appropriation Bill by the National Assembly.

Some of the key projects affected by the National Assembly’s alterations included allocations to the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, the Mambilla power project, railway projects, and the Second Niger Bridge, among others.

Sources in the presidency had also told THISDAY that the legislature allegedly shaved off an estimated N500 billion from critical infrastructure projects and inserted 4,000 new projects that were not proposed by the executive in the 2017 budget.

This, the sources said, had raised concerns among the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) during the budget review, after its passage by the National Assembly, and was blamed for the delay in the presidential assent until a deal was struck between both arms of government for a

virement request to reinstate the alterations.

Even more annoying to the lawmakers now is that they were said to have been monitoring developments on the budget and had gathered that Osinbajo was seeking legal opinions from practically all the Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) in the President Muhammau Buhari cabinet.

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, had recently come out with an opinion on the matter, when he said the legislature went beyond its powers in certain parts of the budget. Fashola considered the development as a healthy debate in national interest and craved a one-off judicial interpretation to resolve the matter.

Professor Itse Sagay, Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption, too expressed similar opinion on the development and was naturally unkind to the legislature in his criticism. But the Senate had quickly come out to dismiss Fashola’s claims as half-truths and not consistent with the reality on the ground.

The latest, however, is that all the lawyers in the cabinet had been allegedly directed to produce their opinions as a memo to the acting president through his Chief of Staff, Mr. Ade Ipaye, who is also a lawyer, in addition to allegedly contacting some other constitutional law experts.

The fact that these moves are known to the National Assembly and reports that a suit on the issue to be filed at the Supreme Court is in the offing gives an entirely new twist to this avoidable debate.

And because the National Assembly does not want to be caught unawares or ambushed by the executive, it is said to be monitoring events and the leadership had decided that to respond appropriately to any of the moves by the executive.

Interestingly, the legislature, like Fashola too is said to believe that such a move would help to strengthen the presidential system of governance, the separation of powers as well as the rule of law, thinking also that the Supreme Court verdict would also settle the lingering issue once and for all.

However, taking this route as far as this very

matter is concerned is preparing the grounds for disharmony between the two arms of government, which could hamper the 2018 budget, due to be submitted later in the year. It would have been expected that the executive, after the delay experienced in the signing of the budget long after it was passed by the National Assembly would be keen more about implementation since time is no longer on its side.

This particular 2017 budget is so crucial that both arms should have known better than to engage in needless debate over who commands the power of appropriation. Importantly is the fact that the nation’s possible exit from the hard biting recession had been hinged on this particular budget. Yet, knowing this crystal clearly and still encouraging a needless and avoidable spat is to say the least, worrisome.

Although there is no doubting the fact that the matter would ultimately end at the Supreme Court for apt interpretation and with a view to putting paid on it, as it is now, it is sheer distraction that could breed preventable disharmony between the two arms of government. This is certainly not a good development in national interest. The two arms must review this untoward stand, considering the plight of the citizenry and work as a team as far as the 2017 budget is concerned.

In the final analysis, however, if it is generally taken that the National Assembly has the powers to make laws, the appropriation bill as an act of law is conversely not beyond it. It is elementary knowledge that the legislature has this power and contesting it with it in this version can only aggravate the seemingly no-love-lost relationship between them and at the end of the day, the people will suffer the most.

In the same vein, if governance is about planning and execution of policies and electoral promises, that too, is essentially an executive business, which has nothing to do with the legislature. This is why wisdom and shared working understanding are all that are required at this point and in this very debate.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 25, 2017

CICERO/REPORT

In Adamawa, ‘Dangerous Illiterate’is the Issue Either by providence or personal efforts, Alhaji Mansir Umar Toungo (a.k.a Dangerous Illiterate), a prominent politician in Adamawa State, is undoubtedly the main issue in the politics of the Southern part of the state. Daji Sani reports

H

e is popularly called “Dangerous Illiterate” because of his ability to hold firm the control of the political landscape of Adamawa State, especially the Southern senatorial district and in spite of his inability to read and write. This is no other person but Alhaji Mansir Umar Toungo, a man believed to be endowed with an uncanny wisdom to defeat even political scientists in the political chess games.

Toungo has been a political godfather and mentor to many politicians but has never occupied a political office in his life. He said he was comfortable being a political kingmaker and could not be desirous of any political seat.

Prominent among those who had benefitted from Toungo’s political generosity are the Deputy Governor of the state, Martins Babale; the senator representing the state Southern senatorial district, Alhaji Ahmed Abubakar Moallahyidi; the member representing Ganye, Toungo, Jada and Mayo Belwa at the House of Representatives and chairman, House Committee on Media and Publicity, Alhaji Abdulrazak Namdas, and the chairmen of the three local government areas of the chiefdom, among others.

Toungo recently revealed the secret of his political success and command in Adamawa State to THISDAY at his country home in Toungo town, the headquarters of Toungo Local Government Area of Adamawa State and border to the Republic of Cameroon, shortly after his coronation as the “Dan Maje” of Ganye Chiefdom, comprising three local government areas: Ganye, Jeda and Toungo.

In this rather revealing and interesting interaction, he traced his success to the wisdom God endowed him with to help others to achieve their ambitions in life. He further disclosed that it was his sheer philanthropy that further cemented his place in the political firmament of Adamawa today.

He opened up to THISDAY that he had trained more than 400 youths in various endeavors, some of them in schools, business and others in various skills acquisition, adding that he had also dug boreholes for communities in need of clean water as well as donated food items to the less privileged in the area.

Toungo said anyone’s success lies in making others and not in making oneself alone. He said the little he used to have from his farm and his business he usually shared among his relatives especially, those who were indigent.

He however recalled a certain day

Toungo....a political godfather and mentor to many politicians

when he had an inspiration from God that he should extend the gesture to others, who were not his relatives and is glad today that he did.

“Success lies in developing others to achieve their goals and also helping yourself. In those days, the little I earned from my business and farming, I used it to sponsor some youths to school and also distributed food items to the less privileged and the vulnerable in our society.”

Dangerous Illiterate believed that the thought to expand the frontiers of his generosity emanated from God, so he obeyed it and before he knew it, his business and farming activities started blossoming and his name became popular even as people started coming for counseling and advice from him.

“By the grace of God, today, our people believe in me to make decision for them politically and otherwise, because all the philanthropy works I did, by God’s grace, I did, not in return

for anything or political post from them.

“Today, no matter your riches and affluence, whenever you come to Ganye chiefdom seeking votes or a political position, the people will direct you to Alhaji Mansir Toungo. If I don’t anoint you, forget it, the people will not accept you,” he said Ganye Chiefdom is the largest kingdom in the Southern senatorial zone of the state, which implies that any political party supported by the members of this kingdom or its candidate would surely win election in the zone.

And true to this, political gladiators like former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who also hails from Ganye chiefdom, most times seeks Toungo’s support to achieve his political aim in the area. Interestingly, it is not because he could undo someone of Atiku’s stature, but because Atiku as a shrewd politician also knows how to court everyone, from the low to the high in serious mobilisation drive.

The member representing Ganye Local Government Area, Alhaji Alhasan Hammanjoda described Toungo as a mentor and political godfather to many politicians from Ganye, Jada and Toungo axis. He revealed that the reason Toungo is relevant in the political artery of the zone is because Toungo always makes consultations with the masses before supporting a candidate and doesn’t believe in imposition.

According to him, these character traits displayed by Toungo over the years have made the people in his zone to trust any candidate that he supports, adding that many candidates had lost elections to their opponents in the zone for neglecting Toungo.

“If ‘Dangerous Illiterate’ supports you, you’ll surely win election but if after winning, you refused to work for the people, you will be shown the way out in the next election, because Toungo believes that the masses are the major determining factor of election.”

The Gangwari of Ganye Chiefdom, His Royal Highness, Alhaji Umar Adamu Sanda, also lauded the contributions of Toungo to the people of Ganye Chiefdom and the state. He said it was for the same reasons the emirate gave him the title of “Dan Maje”, meaning a mediator among the illustrious sons and daughters of the chiefdom.

Sanda revealed that Toungo commands respect and is endowed with wisdom, which he has used very well in solving crisis in the kingdom, adding that, “he is one of my subjects that I am proud of, because he is very humble and kindhearted. Give him any assignment and he will execute it to the letter.”

A source also hinted that Toungo was deeply involved in containing the herdsmen versus farmers’ crisis in the

NOTES FOR FILE

For How Long Shall the PDP Wait?

It is a welcome development that nearly all members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), regardless of their respective camps, had resolved to accept whatever the Supreme Court decides as far as their leadership tussle is concerned. That is the way to go.

The seeming conspiracy to keep the PDP in the limbo for as long as the orchestrators desired is arguably undemocratic.

The PDP is the main opposition party, even though there is a legion of them stashed out there as approved by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The PDP just left office

after 16 years in power and is expected to manage a reversal of roles, which comes with its natural challenges. But the seemingly artificial tweaking of the ordeals of the party is not in collective interest as multiparty democracy is being put under threat.

This is why the Supreme Court must live up to billings by adjudicating expeditiously on the case that had long been put before it.

It cannot continue to delay the case without justification except the Supreme Court desires to be lumped up as part of the conspiracy to emasculate the PDP and further weaken the political space for the

ruling party, the All Progressive Congress (APC), preparatory to 2019.

Certainly, it is one wait that is too long and should be addressed forthwith. The breaking of the dawn of politics that would usher in another round of elections is just months away and the major opposition party may be seen as being “deliberately” put in simulated dilemma, when indeed, the leadership has only approached the court for solution.

The PDP and the rest of the country had waited long enough for this matter to be over and done with. Let the real competition (a healthy one) commence and let the better side stay atop of the game, please!

Onnoghen

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 25, 2017

CICERO/ONTHEWATCH

As Rivers APC Crisis Festers…

The crisis in the Rivers State All Progressives Congress is self-inflicted and could be counterproductive, writes Anayo Okolie

T

he Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) may box itself into a difficult corner in future elections if the current wrangling between two leading figures of the party, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, who is also the leader of the party in the state, and Senator Magnus Abe, an intending governorship aspirant in the party is not addressed.

APC is an opposition party in the state after losing to the incumbent, Governor Nyeson Wike, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015. There has been simmering feud between Amaechi and Abe even before the 2015 general election over the latter’s governorship ambition, which has yet to receive the blessings of Amaechi.

Amaechi and Abe, used to be enviable political allies.

Indeed, Abe, more than anyone else had benefitted from Amaechi’s political magnanimity. From being the Secretary to the State Government under him, Amaechi sent Abe to the Senate for two terms. But in addition, Abe desires the governorship too. Although they jointly battled the PDP for the 2015 elections, the good old days appear to be finally over as the two gladiators have now come out in the open for power contest.

Observers believed that Abe might have been emboldened to confront Amaechi because Wike did it too and got away with it. Wike, like Abe, was under Amaechi and started from being made local government chairman, courtesy the magnanimity of Amaechi and rose to be his chief of staff, minister and now governor. But they parted ways shortly after he became minister.

Although the situation between Amaechi and Abe did not come as a surprise to those who had long observed that all was not well in the party, the day Amaechi chose Dakuku Peterside over Abe as governorship candidate set it off finally.

He though pretended for a while, the cookies are finally crumbling now.

The problem took a new turn penultimate week, when Amaechi allegedly removed some leaders of the party loyal to Abe. Those affected included his former Chief of Staff, Chief Tony Okocha, who was removed as leader of the caucus in Obio Akpor local government area; his former Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Mr. Worgu Boms; Chief Allwell Nyesoh, and the member representing Ikwerre/ Emohua constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon Chidi Wihioka. They were accused of working to install Abe as the governorship candidate of the party for the 2019 general election.

At a meeting convened at the residence of former Chairman, Local Government Commission, Chief Nnamdi Wokekoro, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, Amaechi was alleged to have openly told party stakeholders he would not endorse the 2019 governorship ambition of Abe. Amaechi, sources said, told the gathering that as the leader of the APC in Rivers State, he would suspend any party leader supporting Abe’s candidacy for 2019. Immediately, the development took place, it had sparked reactions.

Okocha, who was Amaechi’s former Chief of Staff, said: “I was removed because I support Abe. The removal is just to confirm that APC belongs to one man. The man is turning it

No doubt, the success of the party in 2019 general would be determined largely by how Amaechi, who is the leader of the party in the state, is able to manage the many tendencies in the party. And of course, members of the opposition PDP are equally watching with keen interest to capitalise on possible fallout of APC mistakes for the re-election of Wike

Amaechi with Abe...when the going was good

to his private estate.

“But I am not worried because he also appointed me. The man who appoints has a right to remove. But my worry is the reason for which he was doing this; that we support Abe. He also removed the former Attorney General, Worgu Boms; the serving member of the House of Representatives and Leader of his LGA (Ikwerre), Chidi Wihioka. I am supporting Abe because I believe he has the mien, the clout and all that it takes to win election for APC,” Okocha adds.

Political watchers however hold the view that this is not the best time for Rivers APC to be enmeshed in self-inflicted crisis if the party desires to unseat Wike in 2019. And rather than fight Abe and his loyalists, many believe Amaechi should channel his energy to strategising on how to unseat Wike as a united house.

Observers hold the view that Amaechi and Abe had come a long way since the Peter Odili administration and need not allow mere political interest to affect their relationship. While Amaechi held firmly the state assembly for Odili, Abe was his commissioner for information. The two men have hitherto remained brothers. Abe was with Amaechi throughout the battle to succeed Odili and when Amaechi succeeded, Abe was appointed Secretary to the State Government.

Amaechi also played an important role in Abe’s re-election to the Senate last year. With the 2019 fast approaching, they both need each other to actualise the collective dream.

A chieftain of the party, Comrade Timi Frank, who was also not comfortable with the development, said if nothing was done urgently to resolve the ongoing disagreement between Amaechi and Abe over the 2019 election, the destruction of the state chapter may soon be in sight and called on APC national leaders to urgently resolve the impasse.

“Our leaders need to be proactive in resolving some of these crises. What is happening in Kogi, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Kano and many other states today is as a result of lack of capacity by the APC National Working Committee (NWC) under Chief John Oyegun, which I have always warned about. That of Kogi State has started claiming lives of people.

We will need their votes tomorrow. Therefore, Rivers State

should not join the league of crisis bedeviled APC state chapters, when we can urgently call the political gladiators involved to order.”

Frank urged Ameachi, who is the leader of APC in Rivers State, to allow internal democracy to thrive and follow due process if any of the caucus members is to be removed as alleged, saying, “the era of imposition is far gone.

“I believe that it is only God that can give power and not man, despite the power tussles. The imposition that has destroyed other parties should not be allowed in APC, not only in Rivers but across the country. The popular candidate must be allowed to fly our flag if we are truly practicing democracy.”

But in spite of the obvious crisis in the Rivers APC, the state Chairman of the part, Dr. Davies Ikanya, has insisted that there was no crisis in the party. According to him, changes announced by Amaechi did not affect the structure of the party at any level in the state. He said the caucuses were the political platform of Amaechi, so he had the powers to determine who held what position there.

His words: “All members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership in Rivers State are intact. From our ward officers to State party executives, no one has been removed or suspended from office. We are aware that our leader, the leader of the party in the state, Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, is making some changes in his personal political group, team or caucus in the state. It is his right and prerogative to make any leadership changes within his political team, group or caucus.”

Ikanya, however, assured that the party would create a level playing field for all aspirants on its platform in 2019.

No doubt, the success of the party in 2019 general would be determined largely by how Amaechi, who is the leader of the party in the state, is able to manage the many tendencies in the party. And of course, members of the opposition PDP are equally watching with keen interest to capitalise on possible fallout of APC mistakes for the re-election of Wike, even though the crisis in the PDP is even more defining than that of the APC.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 25, 2017

INTERVIEW

Emmanuel....yourexposure determines your vision

Photos: Kola Olasupo

Emmanuel: There Is No Alternative to PDP Yet Young, smart, cerebral and confident, the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, has turned out a terrific improvement of himself two years after assuming office. From the boardroom of the banking sector to the expansive and complex office of the governor, albeit with a stint at the office of the secretary to the state government, Emmanuel is just another proof that there is nothing cryptic about governance. A clear example of generational power shift, his capacity to tame the challenges that attend the office of the governor was first put to test by the economic recession that ushered in the present dispensation in 2015. As a banker, his experience and exposure came handy and today, Akwa Ibom is generally believed to have fared better than the days of the lousy ‘uncommon transformation’ with a relatively conservative but generously effective approach to governance. In this interview with Olawale Olaleye, Emmanuel relives his experience in office in the last two years and how he has been able to meander through the difficulties and demands of his office to delivering on his promises to the people of the state. He also speaks on several other issues. Excerpts:

T

wo years in office, what has the experience been like and was there anything that prepared you for this job?

God has prepared me for this job. I keep saying so. Nobody just wakes up and finds himself in the position of being a leader. You build up yourself to become a leader through your experience. If you remember, last time I said there are two types of politicians: professionals in politics and professional politicians. For us who are professionals in politics, it means we’ve been prepared for leadership over time.

You know your vision is limited to your exposure. So, I believe with the exposure that we’ve had over time, our training both in and out of the classroom and hands-on experience, our interaction with the outside world across the globe and even the field of the masses – the grassroots, by the time you put all of them together, they contribute in different areas.

Take for example, the heart you have towards the common man, what can trigger that is your experience relating with that common man. For example, despite compulsory education at present, at school hours, you get into some wards, some units, you still a lot of children who could not make it to school. And even if you say let’s go and arrest the parents for not sending them to school, the child will walk up to you and if you ask, why didn’t you go to school? He would say sorry, sir, I couldn’t go because I didn’t eat. At that point in time, goose pimples will be all over you.

How can you spend so much providing free and compulsory education and even when the child goes to school, he cannot still do well, because the basic things have not actually been tackled? So, it’s all these things put together that actually get you prepared for the job. You are willing to make sacrifices; you are willing to push.

In fact, we are afraid to celebrate. You can’t even celebrate anything you do, because you still believe you have a lot of grounds to cover because of what you see. I think those are the things that prepare

people like us for this job.

Looking back, are you fulfilled with the level of work done so far?

I just gave you an example of what will enable one to be fulfilled.

I can’t feel really fulfilled. That’s why I said a job well done needs much more jobs to be done. I can only be fulfilled any day I look at our per capita and it is comparable to what others actually achieved outside this place, because nobody has a monopoly of what it takes to run governance. Those per capital are in tens and hundreds of thousands of US Dollars; they don’t have a monopoly either. Those who have these things in excess, who have totally overcome the basic needs of life don’t have the monopoly. I can only be fulfilled when I see Nigerians at that level.

No matter what I do from inside and outside, I can only be

Continued on Pg. 72

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 25, 2017

72

INTERVIEW ‘There Is No Alternative to PDP Yet.’ .. Cont’d from Pg. 71 fulfilled if I provide free and compulsory education and every child will be jumping to go to school because the child must have had a balanced diet, must have eaten well, must have had enough protein that can actually enable that child to develop, so that when the child is in the class and is being taught, he will be able to feel happy going to school. However, not when the child is afraid that ‘as I’m coming back from school, won’t they even send me first to farm before I have my lunch.

So, even when we are moving towards providing school feeding system, it’s still not enough because there is a whole lot to be desired outside that. When the school is not in session, won’t the child still eat? When they are on long vacation, what happens? What happens on weekends when the child does not go to school? So, there is a whole lot to be done. It’s too early to start drumming up to say I’m fulfilled from inside of me. And that fulfillment will not necessarily be from the state that you come from. It will cut across the whole country. If you train your state indigenes and you don’t train your neighbours, know that even your children won’t be at peace because it must cut across. You don’t just train your child and leave your neighbour’s child and think your child will be at peace?

You once spoke about the politics of inclusion. How much has that achieved in moving the state forward especially, that you seem to be issuing handouts to the opposition for them to comply?

We don’t issue handouts. I don’t even know what you mean by handouts. I only know of handouts when we were in school and that was for us to read and pass exams. Then in what way have we ensured politics of inclusion? In all ramifications! Everything we do, we don’t deal with political party affiliations. We are not partisan on anything; what we do, we just look at our people, our state.

At the same time, if you look at the way we give appointments, a lot of people who did not even support me and what drives this is that the day election is over, it is governance. It has nothing to do with election again. This is time for governance. It’s no more time for partisan politics. These things are just the state of mind and once you can overcome it from your own mind, you can also conquer it. So, you embrace everybody and try to break those barriers of partisan politics. That’s the way we do it.

Recently, the Minister of Science and Technology said by 2019, the nation would start producing pencils and your state seems to be deeply into this. Is it just for your people alone as a test case?

Well, I didn’t hear the minister say so. But let me also say something here clearly. I’m not the one who brought out the statistics, but let me tell you what I heard about the statistics that Nigeria spent about N350 billion importing pencil. So, the question is, is producing pencil a wrong exercise? The answer is no. If you pay a visit to Akwa Ibom State, I have everything that it takes in terms of raw materials. I have all that you use in that pencil. Is it the bamboo, the wood, or is it the pieces of paper?

And you know, with the new attention on environment, you can actually get used papers to produce pencils that will be more environment friendly too. There are so many things that they are now using to produce pencil. It’s not as difficult as you made it sound. If you don’t also want to make use of wood to produce this pencil, you make use of paper. Can you get the technology from somewhere else, the answer is yes. You can actually share knowledge. But where you cannot, you can also borrow knowledge.

What matters most is do you have the people; do you have the material? The answer is yes. I’m one of those who believe that we can start this under small and medium enterprises scheme. These are entrepreneurial schemes that we are running for small and medium scale enterprises. Why? It is because I don’t see this as a major exercise. It doesn’t actually pay us as a country to import a whole pencil when we have so much unemployment and so much of those things we can also use in making our own. So, we have our blueprint and we are looking at not just pencil, even the basic plastic materials that we use on daily basis. Those are things that we believe that small and medium scale enterprises can produce on a daily basis, because those are the things that people use on a daily

PDP can never die. PDP is the largest party in Africa. Forget the propaganda, PDP is the only party that if you go to any ward in all the 774 local governments in this country, and you mention PDP, nobody will ask you what you are referring to. In fact, PDP in my state is like a religion. PDP is the only place that you can see quality leaders. Anything you hear of and you still believe in Akwa Ibom is PDP. So, how do you expect my people to leave PDP?

basis.

Coming to toothpick, any kind of bamboo, even from the raffia palm, will do it. Some people even use it for firewood. So, why should I import toothpick, when I can easily produce it. It’s the same bamboo that I’m going to import from another place when I can actually create value for the same local woman, who is cutting that bamboo for firewood. A man can also cut the same bamboo and use it to process toothpick, rather than importing it. That’s basic knowledge, nothing so special. It’s just for you to just look out and say what do I have and what I have is what I need.

So, why can’t the main bamboo tree now become a source of raw material? And even the raffia palm that we have all over the place in the swampy areas. That’s a major source of rubber materials. So, I don’t see a big deal in this. The only aspect I think we need to also look at as a people is those machines that process this. I think that’s where the main issue comes in. I think with time, Nigeria should be able to break into that also because I look at those machines, they can easily be fabricated by the people. It’s not that difficult. That’s why I say some of those technologies we can also transfer. That’s how I look at those areas.

How do you go about that?

First off, we identify that needs there. How many schools do I have? If I run a free and compulsory education and the people need something to write, why do I have to go and buy those things? Why do I have to import them? Let me first of all meet that need. It’s the same thing. The money I could have used to import them, let me use that money to manufacture them and in the course of doing that, I will employ a lot of people and create an economy.

By the time you look at the complete value chain, I’ve done something within the economy and the effect will be there. So, instead of just throwing away raw cash outside, I keep telling people that any country which imports everything, that country is a rich country. So, can actually look back and plough that money that we want to use for importation into some other small industrial businesses and it is in line with our blueprint.

How have you been able to balance your goals amid financial constraints?

As much as you prepare for leadership, you know God also prepares you for serving the people at a point in time. I try to let people know that in time of recession, two things must be defined clearly in your head and you must be able to define and separate them to know what matters at what point in time. There is a difference between cash and money. So, in period of recession, you must define what money can get for you and what cash can get.

In the time of recession, you won’t be able to get cash, but you can create money depending on what you are pursuing.

I know a lot of people still get highest revenue but at what revenue line? I only get when it comes to sharing from oil. For months, there was a time when we did not even lift a barrel of crude oil. Akwa Ibom produces almost 46 per cent of the entire oil this country produces. So, there was a time when we did not lift even a barrel of crude oil. You can imagine the impact of that on our revenue. So, in time of recession, we must differentiate what you can do with cash and what you can do with money.

I think for those that count payment of salaries as major achievement, it is because in a period of recession, what cash can do is an achievement. My workers work in a particular day and they get alert, not just salaries but pensions. So, we take those things for granted. Once you differentiate between what cash and money can do, you will know where you are going. I think that’s the edge we have over certain people who can’t create money. I think we can create money even in a period of recession, but we may not have cash. If you are looking at what cash can do, it will affect everybody.

But if you look at what money can do, it may not affect everybody because it’s not everybody that has the capability and the capacity to create money during a recession. But I think we do.

Specifically, how did you manage during this recession?

This thing has a lot to do with attitude. In every situation, there is always an opportunity. If you look at the opportunity in that situation and tackle that opportunity, you would have coped with that situation at that point in time. Even in the period of recession, there are lots of opportunities. So, why not address those opportunities and leave the setbacks. You must deliberately look at what are the game changers and then pursue those ones. I was just talking to one of your colleagues and we were sharing ideas.

If a human being can die and there is an opportunity, how much more a recession? If somebody dies now, while the bereaved are crying over their dead, the man selling casket is happy that there is going to be sales. It’s an opportunity for the man. So, in every situation, there is an opportunity. Even the recession you are saying, that is the time you can change the mental attitude of your people, because they are facing the reality of the time. Don’t wait. Don’t look at the global economy. Look at what you have. We use different teachings. Look at also where they are familiar with.

The easiest thing to talk to an African is religion, because in Africa, anything goes. The same man who is going to work in the morning is going to church in the evening. So, you can do leadership training.

You let the people know that with five loaves and two fishes, you can actually make a difference to enhance your potential. This is the time to launch a mental rebirth and a philosophy that could guide the people. So, by the time there is a period of abundance, that philosophy you can’t easily change it. They will now use that in the management of the resources at that point in time, because they are coming from a different mindset. So, in every situation, you always create an opportunity. That’s how we are managing.

In what ways are you improving the IGR of your state, because that is central to achieving these goals?

I know a lot of people say different things about rates, but there is a limit to what you can do because no matter how lovely your tax laws are, no matter how aggressive you are in driving collections, the ability to pay must be there. How many people would you lock up because they couldn’t pay taxes? The ability must be there.

Mind you, some of these taxes are not collected in advance. They are collected in arrears.

So, the people may have spent both your tax and his own earnings because a whole lot of state government IGR comes from pay as you earn. Some of them would have spent what they are earning this month because they live in advance. As time comes, the money

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73

INTERVIEW ‘There Is No Alternative to PDP Yet.’ .

Cont’d from Pg. 72

doesn’t even get to them. It must have vanished from the banks. So, how do you collect that kind of IGR? It’s so nice with words how to improve IGR, but does it work in real time? The answer is no. The reality is: these are your people. The ability to pay must be there. We can’t just lock somebody because the person didn’t have the ability to pay. There is a limit to what you can do and that’s why we are trying to do that shift in paradigm that there are other things that can earn revenue for you, not just the same PAYE concept.

So, what do you now do with that? You now look at the economy.

If the economy is buoyant, there will be many sources of IGR. You need to build the economy and then IGR will be added. You must build on something to get something. You cannot just build without foundation. The building will collapse. So, you first of all look at the foundation and then tackle that foundation. Once the foundation is strong, it will be easier to build and it will be sustainable.

Have you pondered the sustainability of your projects?

The answer is yes, because of the sense of ownership. For example, the coconut plantation we are doing, the communities own certain percentage of what we are doing there. So, there is that sense of ownership. Once we start earning revenue, some of the local government areas will participate actively in this thing, because a lot of people will be interested in being local government chairman, because of the sources of revenue. Ownership will be there. People protect what they own. Even when they don’t have the money, you give them certain percentage of shares from there. That is sustainable.

Second, we made these projects as pure business. Let me give you an example. What we did with cocoa, instead of us to start planting cocoa afresh, we started with the maintenance of the 26,000 hectares of cocoa that we have. All of them are individual ventures. And as support from government, we first of all brought consultants, who will show them the maintenance of that cocoa.

Immediately, we started that maintenance within a short period.

We told them, leave the farm to us for three to four weeks, then, come back. When most of them came back after six weeks, the way the thing had sprout all over, even a tree that they wanted probably to cut off, by the time they came back, the flowers were all over from the top to the base of the tree. They couldn’t just believe it. They started calling it magic. It’s not magic. It is about knowing what to do at every point in time. So, what we did was, the government pays the consultants, the people who have knowledge. Knowledge is power.

Your government is believed to be doing a lot in the area of agriculture. How far have you gone here?

Now, we are launching into improved seedlings for them to plant.

In doing that, you could see that it flows from the hands of the people into government. So, government is just creating an enabling environment, depending on the kind of produce you are looking at.

Like that cocoa, we do that. But things like palm fruits and so on, we leave those in the hands of individuals. We just provide the enabling environment. There are some that we need to bring the seeds like the maize farming that we are doing.

The problem that we had was that over the years, what we used to think were pests for corn plantation and they were not really pests. Research now shows that the seed that were planted are the great, great grandfather seed. How do you preserve seed in Africa?

Once you harvest corn this year, those domestic consumptions you’ve finished, the remaining ones, people now put it in this clay pot and then dry it in front of fire to preserve it. Those things are losing value.

After certain generation, when you plant it, it comes out as if they are being attacked by pest. It’s because those things have actually lost value. So, what do we do? As a government, we said no, we started running at out-grower scheme. We bought improved seeds in order to suck off those old seeds and then we give the seeds free.

Anywhere in the world, government must subsidize the basic life of people.

So, we bought the seeds for them. We also introduced two planting seasons in a year. We believe if they plant twice in a year, in 24 months, we will have a cycle of four. So, within three to four years, we would have actually eliminated the old seeds from the system and there will be new ones. These new seeds have improved starch, improved vitamins and it’s also sweeter. It’s a sweet corn.

In terms of rice production, I know without even improved seedlings or anything, our yield is one of the best. So, we started with what I call a demonstration system of 10,000 of hectares that is solely into the private bodies that are coming to grow in. Once they start growing, we will set up a mill and they will process that.

To also add to cocoa, we are also trying to bring a processing plant for the cocoa, because why our people are not getting value for cocoa is because the flavor does not stay in the international market.

What makes one particular type of cocoa different from the other is the flavor in the international market and that’s due to the drying system.

Once you go and spread it under the sun, that drying process loses the flavor in the international market. So, we are now coming up with the latest technology in processing. These are the enabling environment that you create for people and that’s why I think it’s sustainable. So, when you are asking whether it is sustainable, the answer is yes, they are sustainable, because you are actually teaching people the right approach, the right things to do that will make them sustainable. Once people start getting value out of this, they won’t let it go and they will try to maintain it.

There have been speculations that you were planning to join the APC, because you already have issues with your predecessor. Is it true?

The answer is no. I’ve never considered that. It is unthinkable that

a pillar of PDP like me will think of jumping the ship. In my entire lifestyle, I don’t jump ship. I’m a very loyal person. The church I was born into by my grandfather is the church I’m still maintaining till today. I’ve not changed. I keep saying that nobody has a monopoly of God. That same man who can read that same bible and understand it, the same ministry is available for me too. I can also read to understand it. So, I also know what to do to find fragrance in my own worship service too that will make my church sustainable and attract people, not to talk of political parties. I can’t go anywhere. PDP is my blood. So, I can’t go anywhere outside PDP. PDP can never die.

PDP is the largest party in Africa.

Forget the propaganda, PDP is the only party that if you go to any ward in all the 774 local governments in this country, and you mention PDP, nobody will ask you what you are referring to. In fact, PDP in my state is like a religion. PDP is the only place that you can see quality leaders. Anything you hear of and you still believe in Akwa Ibom is PDP. So, how do you expect my people to leave PDP? In my state today, if you ask anybody in the local community, who is the party chairman, they will mention the PDP chairman.

Even from the airport, ask them that you want to go to the party chairman’s house and see where they will take you to. It’s PDP chairman that they will take you to straight. Is there any other political party? The answer is no. It’s one party that I know and that is PDP. I don’t know of any other party. Anywhere you see me, know that you’ve seen PDP. So, is it true you have issues with your predecessor?

I’m not aware of that, depending on what you call issues. You know there are two types of issues – issues of development or negative issues. If you listened to my speech on democracy day, I said our politicking is pro-development. If you mean we are having issues of developing in the state, of course, that’s how we do our politics. But if you say issues, I don’t know of any other issue. The day I was voted into power, I was not voted to have negative issues.

I was voted to have positive issues and those positive issues have been part of development of the people and resources of our state.

So, we don’t have any issues in the direction that you are looking at.

Somebody told me one day that this is a banana peel and I said we won’t match that banana peel. So, when you read those things, just ignore. There have never been any issue and there will never be.

It has also to do with how you play these things. If the whole idea is about service to the people, your self-aggrandizement must come down for people’s interest to override that and once that overrides your self-aggrandizement, we don’t have issues at all. Our state is too precious for us to be thinking of any other thing. We have a very cordial relationship as expected. It’s left for you now to define as expected.

You were the chairman of the PDP committee that zoned the national chairmanship of the party to the North East and eventually to Borno State. Do you regret the emergence of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as PDP national chairman, given the crisis at hand?

I’m one person that if I take decisions, I don’t regret my decisions.

I took that decision at that point in time based on what was available for me at that time. So, it was the best of judgment at that minute. Situations change. It is only God that does not change. So, if situations have changed that could change the character of people, it doesn’t actually matter. So, you don’t sit back and regret that.

The question now is: when will your ingenuity in the management of crisis come in? How do you manage yourself out of that situation and remain unscathed? That’s where we are going towards and at the same time, we will go with the rule of law. So, it doesn’t call for me castigating somebody’s character. At the time we took that decision that was the best at that point in time.

You said earlier that the PDP is known for throwing up quality leaders. Does it include Senator Sheriff?

Before Sheriff was nominated chairman, the forum talked to so many other people. There was actually an interview process and everybody at that committee accepted that. At that point in time, was that the best decision to take? The answer is yes. Can that decision change in the next minute? The answer is yes. That’s why we are immortal. We are not God. So, we can take decisions today that might not look good to anybody in the next minute. But we must learn to stand by that decision and manage ourselves out of it. That’s what differentiates a man and who is not a man. So, when you hear people just sitting and criticising, they are recruits in this field. They are not yet Generals, because if you are a General, you should manage yourself out of that situation, not criticising that situation.

So, when I said PDP produces best leaders, I mean elected leaders under the PDP platform. I mean people elected under the PDP platform. It’s like if you have a house, there is a difference between your biological son and an adopted son, even though you might try to share your rights, biology and law are two different things. They don’t even belong in the same faculty.

Your state often boasts of having one of the best hospitals in the country and yet, prominent Nigerians, most of them politicians have never deemed it fit to patronize the hospital.

Is there a problem?

In life, we must respect our bosses. I have absolute respect for anybody who is on top of me. So, I don’t discuss anybody on top of me. The only person I’m allowed to discuss is only if the person is my biological father. But anything outside that, I respect the system.

But coming to Ibom Specialist Hospital, it is one thing to have facilities; it’s another thing for the facilities to get to where they produce optimum results. So, where we are today, we’ve gone somewhere.

But I can say that we have not fully equipped it to that level of vision that we have. That’s why we called on the minister that we need to partner the federal government. You remember within that period we made that statement, dollars dropped from N186 to over N500. So, it dropped by almost N75 per cent. You can see the paradox there. Cost increased to almost infinity. It didn’t balance.

(See the concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 25, 2017

CICERO/INTERVIEW

Princewill: Wike isTouting Mickey Mouse Projects Mr. Tonye Princewill, businessman and politician has aspired to the governorship of Rivers State on two different occasions, including the 2015 elections. The scion of King T.J.T. Princewill and a prince of the Kalabari Kingdom of Rivers State, Princewill was the Chief Technology Officer of Panasonic in the United Kingdom and served at the Global Asset Management desk of Citibank. His business interests cut across the upstream and downstream oil and gas, information technology, environmental waste management, aviation services and film production. In this interview with Shola Oyeyipo, Princewill, who is now in the ruling All Progressives Congress party, bared his mind on the current political situation in Rivers State. Excerpts:

Y

criticised me too. Very harshly! In the end, we went to the field divided and PDP supervised and won a war. It was not an election. We both lost. Ultimately, so did the whole state. In my statement on joining the APC, I said we cut our noses to spite our faces. With this reconciliation between Amaechi and I, the PDP must know what is coming.

As for my support for Jonathan, it was not only politically smart; it was based on a desire to help a man, whom I saw as innocent and under attack. But then he gave us Wike and was head of a government where we see the kind of looting that we see being revealed today. If you are a man who struggled to fight an election with little or no support from your elite, two years of thinking can open your eyes. I fought for him but he did not fight for me. Anyway, former President Jonathan is now gone. He is not the issue again. After my opposition to him in 2011, I have paid my dues to him in 2015. We are even.

ou seemed to have stayed away from politics for some time now, especially since after the 2015 elections. What have you really been up to?

That is how it appeared.

Even though I never left politics, I watched from a distance and opted to catch up on some things that had been left unattended. My fourth film (76) had been on the ice because of my focus on politics, so when things turned out how they did, it seemed like a good opportunity to bring out that kind of a film to the public. It was a very welcome distraction and I am glad it was very well received, winning many awards including best film in Africa at the 2017 AMVCA awards and generating foreign currency in a time of recession.

I also had a lot of catching up to do on other fronts. But now, my ducks are back in a row and the two year mark is up, so politics has to be more of a concern. This is what I promised my constituents. I said we will take a view at the end of year two. I recall how Awuse distracted Odili in 2003. I decided not to do that. I know how undue politics after an election can stifle a state.

Why the move to APC and not any other party?

For me, all politics is local. It’s the only option left to save my state. The main opposition to PDP in the last election was the APC and the Labour Party. That was Amaechi and I. We were divided. If the PDP was truly moving Rivers state forward, I might be tempted to maintain the status quo. But they are not. As I speak to you, businesses are leaving us every single day.

Cult violence, kidnappings and killings litter the state, the rural areas are no longer a priority and the urban areas are teeming with unemployed

As I speak to you, businesses are leaving us every single day. Cult violence, kidnappings and killings litter the state, the rural areas are no longer a priority and the urban areas are teeming with unemployed youths. Instead of jobs, Wike is touting Mickey Mouse projects. Well in my former life, I was a PRINCE2 certified project manager and I can tell you, he has no clue what he is doing

Princewill...Amaechi is a good person, politics aside

youths.

Instead of jobs, Wike is touting Mickey Mouse projects. Well in my former life, I was a PRINCE2 certified project manager and I can tell you, he has no clue what he is doing. He may have a segment of the media in his pocket, but some of us know better. You don’t throw a party over simply laying of a foundation stone. Unless you want to appear busy. So I have a choice; to stay silent or join forces to strengthen the opposition and save my state.

Once I had decided to now bury my governorship ambition, it was easy. I opted to join forces with my original party. I have to confess, reconciling with my friend and seeing the presence of Atiku, Asiwaju and Alaibe there, also did not hurt. Our minor differences aside, Amaechi is honestly a very good human being. I can be led by him. A stronger focused opposition will win the state, but even if we don’t, it will make Wike wake up. Rivers State will end up the winner. That is an outcome I can accept.

How can you move to APC and say you support Buhari when there are lots of complain all over the country that the Buhari administration has not performed, in fact, many say this administration has failed the youths that elected Buhari?

I didn’t vote for Buhari, so I was not expecting much from him. Maybe that is why I am quietly impressed by the little things turning around that I can see. I was in Maiduguri to see the improved security. There is now a genuine fear of corruption and new reduced loopholes available for it. It is clear the government has a much better understanding of the pains average Nigerians are going through and how to tackle it. I pride myself in not thinking like the typical beer parlour Nigerian.

I try to look ahead and put the country’s

interest before my own. I have seen propaganda and politics mar people and policies but I can see straight through all that. I don’t wear ethnic lenses. I know Nigeria is not built to succeed, but that is not an excuse patriots will accept. I especially like his VP, I like their chemistry, plus if the President can entrust him, like he has, it tells me something about both men. After a year plus of finding their feet, things are slowly turning around. They mean well and are prepared to take hard decisions.

They are not fantastically corrupt like some in the PDP were and I am more practical than most noisy Nigerians, so I don’t just kick out governments with my mouth. I ask myself, who else is better. For now, I can’t see such a person emerging from the PDP or whatever they end up actually calling themselves. All the APC needs to do is improve, find a sensible accommodation for proponents of our restructuring and they can still win the next election.

During the elections of 2015, you supported Jonathan and you were very critical of APC and Amaechi in Rivers State. What has changed that you are now moving to the party and supporting the man you attacked viciously during the elections?

What has changed is that our state is more important than our differences and our egos.

Wike was relying on people’s hate for APC in Rivers State and the region to guarantee his stay in power. But that again is largely misconstrued.

That, after all, is how he came in. I believe that when politicians put their egos aside, we will start to change that. I don’t advise we take decisions out of hate or anger. The state is way too important for that.

My criticism of Amaechi was more effective than what PDP came up with because it was coming from me. Amaechi and his team also

Specifically, during the elections, you alleged that Amaechi sold Rivers Power plants and used the proceeds to fund the APC/Buhari elections. With the benefit of hindsight, do you still maintain that stance?

You cannot detach what I said from the politics of that period. It was the season of election campaigns and there were lots of information and documents flying all over the place about the Amaechi administration. All the candidates were making different accusations and counter-accusations. I said what I said based on the information I had then. I have no powers to investigate and prosecute.

I expected Jonathan as President then or Wike as governor now to be also thoroughly interested in getting to the bottom of it. If Wike is now satisfied, having examined the facts, the EFCC is also satisfied and the National Assembly equally satisfied enough to approve him (Amaechi) as minister, then I have no choice but to be satisfied as well and agree that there is no substance to that allegation.

In your statement, you said you won’t be running for governor of Rivers State again, so, are you looking at, perhaps, going to the senate, National Assembly?

No. I am not. I have been leading national political parties in Rivers State for over 10 years now, since 2006, even though I am seen as a relative newcomer in politics. I’ve been a candidate twice with no government backing. Like my man, Michael Jackson, I had no childhood in politics.

Let me take a step back and learn to follow.

Unlike Michael Jackson, I have to know when to slow down. The leader of the party in Rivers State is Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. Amaechi is now my leader. And I must add that that he’s got truly amazing leadership qualities. Stubborn but smart. People sometimes miss it. Whatever role he wants me to play, I will. No expectations.

Just for a better Rivers State, post Wike.

How would you assess the performance of Governor Wike?

I give him credit for reopening the judiciary and engaging a serious contractor like Julius Berger, who have a reputation to protect, but that’s about it. Even a local government chairman can do that. I can take you through sector by sector and show you how he has fallen way below the mark. From education to health to finance to transport to security to the ultimate one for me, jobs.

I’ve travelled round the state and what I’ve seen troubled me enough, to pack up my ambition and join the APC. He has spent his time, playing politics. The final straw for me was when my state Labour Party Chairman was appointed a member of his Local Government Caretaker Committee. Even silence has its limits.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 25, 2017

CICERO/INTERVIEW

Okorie: Igbos Want Justice, Not Secession Chief Chekwas Okorie is the national chairman of United Progressive Party and former national chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance. Okorie says the huge success of the recent sit-at-home order by the Indigenous People of Biafra on May 30 across the South-east to mark Biafra Day is an indication that the majority of Igbos, though not on the same wave length with IPOB on secession, aligns with the group’s perception that the zone is being marginalised in Nigeria. He also speaks on UPP’s strength ahead of the November 18 governorship election in Anambra State, in this interview with Vincent Obia. Excerpts:

H

ow do you see the attitude of the federal government to the agitation by the Indigenous People of Biafra and Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra?

The government’s attitude is wrongfully headed. The government has remained adamant, despite wise counsel by well-meaning Nigerians across-the-board, not just Igbo leaders, that it should engage the leaders of these groups in dialogue. The federal government has refused to do that, whatever may be their reason. It is something they may allow to get out of hand, like the case of the Niger Delta militants and even Boko Haram. Now IPOB and MASSOB say they are non-violent. Maybe, they are being taken for granted. I believe the government ought to be aware by now that the agitation has spread among all levels of the people, not just young people, and it has been internationalised.

The world is watching. The sit-at-home order that was very successful was reported by every major media organisation in the world. That means it has drawn international attention, and the way Nigeria is managing the threatening cataclysm is making it worse. I have not seen any form of political sagacity or proper leadership provided by the Nigerian government in handling this crisis, and it keeps deteriorating everyday.

Don’t you think it is better for the Igbo to demand justice within Nigeria than seek secession?

Secession actually is not the option for people like us. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be championing the formation and leadership of political parties for a long time now. The reason why some of us have opted for the political option is to seek for a better Nigeria. The reason why each time there is a constitutional or national conference Igbo people take it very seriously is because we are looking for a better Nigeria. Igbo leaders have never gone to any of those conferences to tender any memorandum or move any motion suggesting intention to secede. But the younger ones can be much more impatient. However, if Nigeria has met the Igbo area even halfway, it could have helped to douse the tension.

The issue of secession is not the option for the average Igbo person. We have more investments in Nigeria than any other ethnic group.

We are more dispersed and live in different parts of Nigeria than any other ethnic group.

There is a place in the North where you have Igbo settlements that have existed more than 400 years. I have visited them there in 2000, the very year the caliphate marked its bicentenary celebration. That means Igbo people were already there more than two centuries before Uthman Dan Fodio entered Sokoto to establish the caliphate. Yet, the same Igbo people are regarded as non-indigenes in the North.

This marginalisation and outright exclusion have not helped matters. If you want to calm these young ones down and discourage them from seeking separation from Nigeria, you would hardly have sufficient logic, based on what they are seeing. The argument that they were not born during the civil war is defeatist.

In fact, that they were not born during the war is even the main reason why they cannot appreciate what we faced.

Some people have suggested a return to the former regions and abolition of the present states. Do you support this view?

No, I don’t support return to the regions because it would create more problems for the country. Many groups or sections of the

Okorie

country that had felt marginalised or dominated by others now have a certain feeling of liberty through the states. So if we try to collapse these states into regions, these groups are going to raise problems, and you will begin to go back to a problem you had earlier solved. That is one aspect.

The other aspect is that what we are looking for are federating units under a true federalism.

We already have the geopolitical zones. Instead of talking about regions, we should be talking about the geopolitical zones as federating units. But even in that, I can tell you that in the South-east geopolitical zone, Ebonyi State, in particular, has been vehemently opposed to the geopolitical zones as federating units. They want the states to remain the federating units. It was as a result of this that the National Conference recommended the creation of more states so that there would be a balance.

What should Nigerians expect from the UPP national convention this month in Awka?

There are three major things that Nigerians should look forward to. One is the non-election convention. We are not electing new officers.

Our next election convention is about December 2018. What we have lined up for the June 28 convention of the party is, one, to ratify the approvals of the National Executive Committee.

Those approvals include our updated manifesto, which contains provisions for self-determination by all the ethnic nationalities in Nigeria; true federalism; restructured Nigeria; resource control; citizenship rights; state police; community policing. In fact, we have reduced the highlights of the 2014 National Conference to a manifesto format, and that is what we are coming to ratify. Once it is ratified by the convention, it now becomes an article of faith and a social contract between the party and the Nigerian people because we will proceed to submit it to INEC, which will supervise the ratification. Two,

are the minor amendments we have made to our constitution. Minor in the sense that the constitution of political parties, as body of rules, must not be in conflict with the constitution of Nigeria and the Electoral Act. Whenever there is conflict, the constitution of the party becomes a nullity to the extent of that conflict. The minor amendments we made in our constitution are simply to remove areas that breed rancour so that we will continue to enjoy the status of the most peaceful party in Nigeria and to make the administration of our party more efficient.

The third one is to confirm or ratify the reconstituted state and local government structures of the party, at least in acting capacity, till the next election convention. What normally happens after every elections is the high mobility of politicians. The ones reported in the media are the ones that affect elected people who move from one party to the other. But there is much more mobility among politicians who don’t hold offices, who are simply in search of greener pasture. So as we lost some officers, we also gained more people. There is need for us to harmonise and reconstitute our executive at those levels to make our party more functional than it has been.

These are the three things that would come out of the convention. But I think the manifesto is the highlight, actually. The provisions we have in our manifesto cannot be found in any other party manifesto anywhere in Nigeria, and that is what we are going to sell to the Nigerian people. And that is what is going to be our strength in the democratic encounter of 2019, in fact, starting from 2017 in Anambra.

What are the unique advantages UPP would be taking to the Anambra governorship election this year?

Before now, we thought Anambra election would be a direct encounter between UPP and APGA, APGA in the sense that it is the party in government, which you cannot wish

away. We thought that way because there is no sensible person from the South-east, moreover Anambra State that is more or less a gateway to the South-east, that would vote for APC. APC has been very hostile to the Igbo and has not pretended about its disdain for the people of the area. I doubt if any sensible person will leave his house and go to the polling booth to cast his or her vote for APC. So APC is not in the race.

As for PDP, even without its crisis, PDP was in power for 16 years and there is nothing to show for it. Even when there was some nickname to the immediate past president on the PDP platform, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, they gave him Ebele, an Igbo name, just to endear him, that did not touch his heart to do anything, to have anything for which he would be remembered in the South-east, except his friends he appointed into positions who only succeeded in uplifting the living standard of their nuclear families. PDP has nothing to tell the Igbo or Anambra people for which they would receive support.

APGA has been decimated by crisis and, recently, an order of mandamus, which is a declaratory order of court compelling INEC to recognise Martin Agboso, who is vehemently opposed to Governor Willy Obiano continuing as governor. So as we speak, APGA is not available for Obiano for the next election. That leaves Anambra open. UPP will cut through Anambra like a knife through butter. It is an easy win for us. But we are not taking anything for granted. We are planning that even in our victory, we will be magnanimous. This is for the simple reason that the person speaking with you is the founder of both APGA and UPP. So if the two parties have the same DNA, an encounter cannot be vicious. It’s going to be like a family affair.

Do you have other things you want to tell Nigerians?

I will first express my disappointment in APC as a political party that is in government at the national level, a political party that controls 24 states out of Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. And a political party that has the majority in the National Assembly. Yet, this is the party that has caused the greatest division among Nigerians. Nigerians have never been so divided. I have never seen a party like this in all my life.

I have never seen a party that will promise Nigerians, canvass true federalism, which is even in the first paragraph of their manifesto, but that was the very first thing the president who won election on the party’s platform said he will not look at. When he said he will confine the recommendations of the National Conference to the archive, he has simply set aside the manifesto of his party. And all these leaders – I call them pseudo leaders – in APC who are posturing that they are for restructuring, have not raised a voice to tell the president, even privately, that his public pronouncements and body language are antithetical to the ideological beliefs of the party.

Nigerians have been misled and deceived, it’s like a 419 kind of political gimmick. So every Nigerian that feels dissatisfied with what is happening should go and get his voter’s card.

That is his weapon to liberate himself from this stranglehold that has kept most Nigerians miserable, so that during the next election, which is not far from now, they will be able to strongly determine who represents them, not just the president, but from the state assembly to the highest level.

Something is sweeping across the world at this time, and that is radical departure from the old order. In America, France, etc., this is happening. So Nigeria cannot be an exception.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 25, 2017

CICERO/INTERVIEW

Mimiko: Our Universities are Shamefully Behind their Counterparts in Other Climes Former Vice-Chancellor of Adekunle Ajasin University, in Ondo State, Prof. Femi Mimiko, was a delegate to the 2014 National Conference and member of the National Institute. He has just published a 514-page book book titled, ‘Getting Our Universities Back on Track: Reflections and Governance Paradigms From My Vice-Chancellorship’, detailing his experience as vice chancellor. In this media chat, he speaks about the book, and other critical issues relating to the nation’s educational system. Olaseni Durojaiye was there

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hat motivated you into writing this book?

There were basically three main reasons why I thought the book needed to be done.

First, running through the entire gamut of university governance as I did, I found out that the critical knowledge required for the administration of the universities had virtually thinned out among Nigerian professoriate. Many people simply do not know what to do when placed at different levels of the governance ladder in the university system, and I thought everyone who had a conviction on the appropriate manner in which to relate to the issues should commit their experience into writing to help hone the capacity of those who may bother to read them.

Secondly, with all sense of modesty, I was convinced I turned around the fortune of AAUA during my tenure as VC, and thought I needed to share the story of how I was able to negotiate the very slippery terrain of university governance to snatch that degree of success from the very bad situation that I met on ground in 2010. The third reason has to do with the fact that at AAUA, I had a peculiarly challenging situation that required me to take some very tough decisions, many of which some are wont to misinterpret for different reasons. I thought I needed to put the records straight so that nobody is left in any doubt why we did what we had to do, and what results we got therefrom.

This is a 500-page book. It must have taken you so many years to put together.

Come off it! Remember, I was VC between January 2010 and January 2015, indicating that I left office about two years ago. So, the question of ‘so many years’ does not really arise. Meanwhile, immediately after my tenure, I was privileged to be a participant on the Senior Executive Course 37, 2015, of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru. That course lasted for virtually the whole of 2015. By the way, the Kuru program was so expansive and engaging that I found no time at all doing any other thing other than the Kuru assignment. Much as I wanted to start work on the book at this time, I just couldn’t find the time. Indeed, that was one reason why I sought affiliation with Harvard University for the whole of 2016.

It was at Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States that I was able to put the work together. I started in earnest in February 2016, and by June of the same year, the manuscript was ready for publication. I thank God for the grace to do this. Let me also seize the opportunity to enjoin not just former VCs, but indeed everyone that has been privileged to hold high office in this country, to endeavor to commit their experience into writing. This is very important to up our game vis a vis public administration. It is also good for its research and historical value.

The title of your book, Getting Our Universities Back On Track, is quite suggestive. Are you saying our universities are off track?

for all tertiary institutions in the country.

A student of mine was on the Nigerian contingent to the London Olympics, and won several medals, including gold, in a number of other international sporting competitions. We threw a lot of funds into research with quite impressive results.

Scores of trainee academics were sent abroad for their PhD, thereby enhancing the human resource base and cosmopolitan outlook of the university. Mind you, for five years, I ran an admission policy that was predicated completely on merit.

There was no place for Governor’s List, no VC List, and what I found out was that this enhanced so much the selfconfidence of my students. It was a critical element in the superlative performance we began to see in their academics, and general outlook to life. Of course, we did quite well in terms of expanding the infrastructural profile of the university.

At a point, we had scores of projects, of different sizes and configuration, going on on our campus. We also ended up delivering the most modern, functional and aesthetically pleasing Senate Building in the country, in any public or private university. The iconic building was fully funded under our capital vote provided by the Governor Olusegun Mimiko government.

Prof. Mimiko

To say that our universities are off track is to say the obvious. If you look at how badly we are fairing in terms of research alone, which by the way, should be our major mandate, you will begin to see how much off the mark we are. If you consider the fact that our universities are now citadels of instability, and for several of them, gangsterism and all manner of vices, you cannot but admit they are off track. By the grace of God, I have been privileged to visit, lecture, or attend academic conferences in universities scattered all over the globe, on all continents, and I know exactly what a university should equate in this 21st century. We are far from that mark in Nigeria. Small wonder, we do not seem to be doing well in webometric ranking. Our universities are so shamefully behind their counterparts in other climes.

What do you think needs to be done to bring the universities back on track, as the title of the book indicates?

That is surely a more challenging question. Indeed, that was one principal reason that made me to write this book.

Often times, people talk about funding challenge. They say that our universities, indeed the educational system in general, faces inadequacy of funding. Yes, the gap is no doubt considerable, and we cannot begin to talk of the possibility of moving our universities forward if we are reluctant to invest in them. But my position is also that beyond money, a major factor in the underperformance of our universities is what I call the attitudinal challenge we that work the system represent. There is a whole lot that is wrong with the way we do things in the universities and indeed

all the higher educational institutions, which if we do not address, would keep our universities at the bottommost rung of the ladder for ever. I highlighted a few of these in the book. Just go to the average Nigerian university today and see the state of the work ethic. It is simply atrocious! Look at what we have made of our academic calendar by our penchant to go on strike on the slightest of excuses.

I am sick and tired of all of these, and I hope that VCs are positioned adequately in terms of capacity and resourcefulness to take the hard decisions prerequisite to getting our universities back on track.

What would you consider your principal accomplishments at AAUA? I mean, why did you consider your outing there such a success story that is deserving of writing this big book?

Thank you very much for that question.

The details of what we needed to do, and what we actually did to have a turnaround that AAUA represents are captured in the book. But let me give you a window to what we accomplished.

The university was noted for its incessant stoppage of operations, multiple strike actions by staff, and unlimited disruption of academic activities by students before I took over in January 2010. By the grace of God, I put the university on the path of stability. We ran our academic calendar unbroken for all of the five years I spent as VC. My students began to do very well all over the place. In 2014, we produced the candidate with the best bar examination result of the Nigerian Law School in the whole country. In that same year, my debating team came first in a federal Ministry of Education-organised debate

People are wont to suggest that you got so much done as VC because your brother was governor of the state at the time.

This is one reason why you should read my book. You know, Nigerians are given to idle talk, especially now in the age of the so-called social media where all manners of characters have the leeway to write and post anything that catches their fancy, without any responsibility whatsoever as to accuracy. It is indeed the age of power, media power, which you can exercise without responsibility.

It is akin to how the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development characterised transnational corporations in one of its reports in the 1990s, exercising power without responsibility. And so, people say a lot of things, mostly out of ignorance, but for many of them, out of pure mischief. Compounding this now is the incidence of acute mental laziness stalking the land. People no longer bother to be educated on issues. They simply assume what a particular reality should be and begin to propagate such. I demonstrated in my book, with the figures, that AAUA on my watch was not better funded by the proprietor, the Ondo State Government, than the other two tertiary institutions it owned at the time. What we saw at AAUA, with all sense of modesty, was evidence of correct vision, and courage to take hard decisions. I am greatly delighted that my students in those five years had a rewarding experience passing through us. I feel very proud that at the end of my tenure as VC, the National Universities Commission handed over to me the only slot for the entire Nigerian University System to attend the course at Kuru, the nation’s foremost think thank.

What further evidence of accomplishment could I have hoped for. All of these issues are given vent to in the book; and I think everyone with some form of responsibility for higher education in this country should read it.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 25, 2017

CICERO/INTERVIEW

Odedo:NgigeCan’tAspiretoAnambraGovernorshipAgain A former House of Representatives member, Hon. Charles Chinwendu Odedo, recently declared his intention to contest the forthcoming Anambra State governorship election. He spoke to Anayo Okolie about his plans. Excerpts:

R

ecently, you indicated interest to contest the forthcoming Anambra governorship election, what is the motivation?

I come with a lot of goodwill having been elected twice to the House of Representatives and performed exceptionally well. In the years that I served as a member of House of Representatives, I introduced 15 Bills and 10 motions including the very popular motion on the passing of Prof.

Chinua Achebe in March, 2013. Bills on telecoms Equity HB.680 and prohibition of repugnant widow practices HB. 734 among many other bills.

Down in the constituency, I developed the concept of Town-to-Town Representation, focusing on human capital development and empowerment.

I awarded scholarship to over 1,000 students (both University and secondary) from every community in my Constituency. My constituency projects were spread evenly throughout all the 17 communities that make-up Idemili North and South Federal Constituency.

My people were empowered with 50 vehicles including Toyota Camry, Sienna and Mitsubishi buses. In addition to about 40 full time employments, constituents were empowered with cash to start or expand existing businesses.

My decision to contest the governorship is therefore, borne out of my desire to continue the excellent service to my people. My track record of performance, my education and experience will be a great asset to this endeavour.

What is your agenda for the state if elected governor?

My Agenda for Anambra State will have as its foundation the potential, comparative advantages and capabilities of the state, both human and material resources in order to create wealth, create jobs, reduce poverty, empower our people, create the enabling environment and actively promote the private sector as the engine of growth.

I envision a befitting Capital for Anambra State and a major focus on six urban areas including Awka, Onitsha, Nnewi in the first phase and Abagana, Otuocha and Ewulobia in the next phase. Those are my 10 point priority Agenda for Anambra State. I am running to provide excellent service to our people. I have been educated in University of Nigeria and Portland University, USA. Elected twice to the House of Representative, performed exceptionally well.

The South-east people feel marginalisation in the APC-led federal government. Don’t you think it would affect your dream of becoming the governor of the state?

I belief that the cries should be looked into and amends begging immediately to follow. Every part of this country should benefit from the federal government. I offer myself as part of the solution to the problems of our people.

I will speak up and most important, I will negotiate to attract development to our people.

There have been a lot of defections from PDP to APC by prominent Igbo leaders and I sincerely think that this defection is good for APC. It will be critical to the party winning the forthcoming governorship election.

If you look at the 2013 result of the governorship election in Anambra State, out of the four (4) leading parties in that election, three have virtually merged

Ifeanyi Ararume, Senator Nkechi Nworgu, Chief Gbazueagu Nweke Gbazueagu and Chief Cosmos Maduba as members of the committee.

Things are looking good because so far, the committee has performed creditably well, screening all the aspirants, keeping issues in proper perspective, guarantying a free and fair contest and most importantly, bringing in the spirit of brotherhood into the contest. APC may end up in a landslide victory in the forthcoming governorship election on 18 November 2017.

Some APC leaders are advocating a consensus arrangement, do you buy into it?

APC in Anambra State is very lucky to have a group of highly qualified and experienced aspirants from Senator Andy Ubah to Hon. Tony Nwoye, Dr. Obinna Uzoh, Engr. Barth Nwibe, Chief Ralph Okeke, my humble self and many others. I believe that whatever formula that the party adopts, if it is fair, will be acceptable to me and I believe will also be acceptable to other aspirants as well.

As I said earlier, the integrity of the South-east committee is not in question and their activities so far are encouraging. If they decide on a consensus, I can assure them of my full support.

Odedo

with the APC. If the APC aspirants are managed carefully, this could be a landslide victory for the party.

What are your chances of winning the APC primary election ahead of other aspirants?

I come with a lot of goodwill, having performed exceptionally well as a two-term member of the House of Representatives. I am a foundation member of APC having been elected to the House of Representatives under the ACN platform in 2011, when most people did not give us a chance. I have

My Agenda for Anambra State will have as its foundation the potential, comparative advantages and capabilities of the state, both human and material resources in order to create wealth, create jobs, reduce poverty, empower our people, create the enabling environment and actively promote the private sector as the engine of growth

sponsored ACN/APC financially in at least five major elections, which the party won all in my constituency. For three years, I sponsored the ACN/APC party structure fully and financially in my constituency and also in part to the APC state party structure. APC members know me and my track record and I believe that they will vote for me.

There is this rumour that Dr. Chris Ngige will soon join the governorship race. Does he pose any threat to you?

Well, I think our leader Dr. Chris Ngige, is one of the very few Nigerians that have been blessed politically. He has been a governor, a senator and now a serving minister of labour. Less than 50 Nigerians fall into this category that people call GSM, meaning GovernorSenator and Minister.

Most of these GSMs are men now aspiring to be presidents and vice presidents. Ngige, belonging to this group should rather concentrate on moving higher. However, if he chooses to contest this Anambra 2017 governorship election, he risks failing in the election. He will rather be coming out late. Mind you, some aspirants have been working hard for over a year. That ambition may fail.

With about 14 aspirants on the platform of APC, how do you think the party can manage the various tendencies?

One thing you must know, our party APC is well organised and have already set up a committee to manage the situation. The South-east committee on Anambra 2017 election is made up of eminent personalities, led by the former Governor of Anambra State, His Excellency Dr. Jim Nwobodo, one of the pioneer GSMs in Nigeria.

Other members include Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu as Vice Chairman, Senator Azu Agboti, the Secretary and Senator

How do you assess the state government of APGA in Anambra State after a little over 3 years in office?

Thank you very much for this question. My honest assessment, using my 10-point criteria on a scale of 1-10 is as follows – security: 7/10, agriculture: 6/10, road infrastructure: 6/10, health: 4/10, education: 4/10, urban development: 4/10, power: 2/10, youth development: 2/10, erosion control: 2/10 and oil and gas: 1/10.

How do you assess the APC-led federal government after 2 years in office?

I will also like to use the scale of 1-10 in my assessment of key areas.

Fight against Boko Haram: 8/10, fight against corruption: 8/10, integrity and discipline leadership: 8/10, youth and social welfare: 5/10, development of South-east: 3/10 and power: 2/10.

As a successful businessman, why did you pick interest in politics?

I have always had interest in politics even at a very young age. I wanted to participate in the student politics during my time at University of Nigeria, Enugu campus. My Head of Department at that time, Prof. J.A. Umeh banned Estate Management students from participating in student politics. So, I became a perpetual campaign manager for other aspiring students. I think I learned the art of winning from that valuable position. I was in charge of developing strategies that can help other students to win their election. I became pretty good at it.

When I proceeded to the USA for a post baccalaureate programme at Portland State University, I immediately contested election and became the President of African Student Association.

That was my very first active participation in elective position. The highlight of my tenure was the invitation to the Nigeria Ambassador to the UN at the time, Ambassador Ibrahim Gambari, who came and spoke to us on the impending US war with Iraq. It was a very popular topic on campus, because of the many protests that students had held against that war. I was delighted.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ NE 25, 2017

PERSPECTIVE

Nigeria, Morocco and The Future of ECOWAS Mohammed K. Ibrahim

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he virtual absence of Nigeria from the 51st Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which took place in Monrovia on June 4, 2017 under the chairmanship of H.E. Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia, left behind a trail of surprise, disappointment and even anger in the minds of many Nigerians.

It also left heavy question marks on the future of ECOWAS, because of the receptive consideration given to the Morocco’s request for membership of the Community by the Heads of State in Monrovia.

ECOWAS has since its establishment been central to Nigeria’s foreign policy, because of the importance of the sub-region in Africa and the world. The Treaty establishing the Community was signed in Lagos on 28 May 1975, after several years of determined efforts by General Yakubu Gowon, who was then the Head of State of the Military Government of Nigeria and his Togolese counterpart, General Gnassingbe Eyadema of Togo. Since then ECOWAS has gone through thick and thin, and today it is the most active Regional Economic Community (REC) in Africa. If any country should take credit for this achievement, it is no doubt, Nigeria. It gave ECOWAS the financial, diplomatic, military and political support it needed to face the numerous challenges it encountered in last 42 years, especially during the conflict in Liberia and Sierra Leone, where it was estimated that Nigeria spent over US$7 billion.

However, recently Nigeria’s influence in ECOWAS began to wane as a result of lackadaisical foreign policy. Although Abuja hosts the Commission, fundamental decisions are often taken without Nigeria’s leadership input, or with very inconsequential contributions by some Nigerian apparatchiks.

This was evident from the absence in Monrovia of any Nigerian government official in a high leadership position.

If President Muhammadu Buhari couldn’t attend on health grounds, and the Acting President because of the likely political implications of leaving the country in the absence of the President, why couldn’t the Foreign Minister or the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs represent Nigeria? This was the first time such a thing has happened in the 42 years’ history of ECOWAS. Sadly, this was a Summit in which the Heads of State in attendance took some critical decisions, which if upheld would seriously harm our national interest!

Nigerians were not only shocked by the unprecedented absence of Nigeria’s political leadership in Monrovia, but also disappointed by the reluctance of the government to explain to them the reasons for this decision. The impression created in the minds of many Nigerians is that the country decided to boycott the Summit because of the invitation extended to Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister, to address the Summit, making him the first non-African to be so honoured. Information obtained indicates that the decision to invite Mr. Netanyahu was mooted since last year. In this case, if Nigeria was averse to the proposal, why didn’t she use her diplomatic skills and muscles to abort it right at the conception stage? Wasn’t the invitation discussed and agreed upon by the Council of Ministers before it was extended to the Israeli Prime Minister, or did Nigeria acquiesce to the visit until the last minute when it was too late to stop it?

At what stage did Nigeria know that the Prime Minister of Israel was invited to address the ECOWAS Heads of States?

What followed was the avoidable embarrassment of a Charge d’Affaires sitting on Nigeria’s seat, while other states were represented by their Presidents. Such a diplomatic faux pas can only happen when there is a huge gap between foreign policy formulation and execution. Unfortunately, this is not the first time our foreign policy has suffered such a setback in

However, recently Nigeria’s influence in ECOWAS began to wane as a result of lackadaisical foreign policy. Although Abuja hosts the Commission, fundamental decisions are often taken without Nigeria’s leadership input, or with very inconsequential contributions by some Nigerian apparatchiks

Buhari

this administration.

From all indications, the Netanyahu affair was a project of President Sirleaf and Mr. Marcel Alain de Souza, President of the ECOWAS Commission, both of whom visited Israel before the Summit. During President Sirleaf’s visit she received an honorary Doctorate from the University of Haifa for her work on “Promoting women’s equality and other human rights issues”, so it wasn’t surprising at the end of her Chairmanship, she seized the opportunity to reciprocate the Israeli gesture by inviting Netanyahu to address the Summit in Monrovia. According to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while Netanyahu held meetings during his trip to Monrovia with ECOWAS leaders, Israeli officials signed an MOU pledging to invest $1 billion by 2021, “to advance green energy and power projects in all 15 ECOWAS member countries”. The first project under this MOU will be a $20 million commercial-scale solar field at the Roberts International Airport in Monrovia, which will have the capacity to supply 25% of the country’s power.

Morocco’s Moves to Join ECOWAS It started like a bolt from the blue(s) barely a year ago, but it is fast becoming a reality after the Monrovia Summit, “Noted with pleasure, the request for membership from the Kingdom of Morocco”. The speed and seeming success with which Morocco is pushing its ECOWAS membership drive, especially after joining the AU, has left Nigeria’s foreign policy formulators, as well as implementers so dazed that some veterans like Professor Bolaji Akinyemi and members of the Association of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria (ARCAN) have found it necessary to pick up the gauntlet. In his article titled, “Morocco’s admission in ECOWAS is anti-Nigeria”, published in several Nigerian dailies last week, Akinyemi said, “Having failed to find any rational benefit to ECOWAS by expanding membership to Morocco, I can only conclude that the move is to whittle down Nigeria’s influence in ECOWAS”. He added that the only option left for Nigeria is to ask the West African Heads of State and presidents to drop this whole issue of expansion to the Mediterranean, or Nigeria should serve notice that it would terminate her membership of ECOWAS. ARCAN, through Ambassador Ignatius C. Olisemeka, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and founding chairman of the Association, also expressed its shock at the attempt to even consider admitting Morocco, a member of the chaotic Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), into ECOWAS. Like Professor Akinyemi, the Association also believes “Morocco’s moves are a calculated attempt aimed at whittling down the strength of Nigeria for her role in the admission of Western Sahara into the then OAU”. ARCAN wondered why the Federal Government has so far, not engaged in a vigorous campaign against Morocco’s move, and for this, it believes that the

government owes Nigeria an explanation. Hopefully, after the intervention of Professor Akinyemi, members of ARCAN and several other Nigerian foreign policy experts, the Federal Government would realise the need to shake off the lethargy with which it has been treating this vicious moves from Rabat. Morocco has the dubious distinction of causing dissension in any organisation it belongs; it has done that in OAU and AMU and given the chance it will do the same thing in ECOWAS. Recall also how last year it led eight other Arab countries to withdraw from the 4th Arab-African Summit in Malabo, over the insistence of AU on the participation of Western Sahara. This action nearly crippled the Summit.

Unlike in the treaty of similar economic communities, there is no accession clause in the ECOWAS Treaty, because of the belief that all the states in the West African sub-region are already members. In their own wisdom, the founding fathers of ECOWAS, defined the membership of the Community in the 1975 ECOWAS Treaty comprising, “States that ratify the Treaty and such other West African States as may accede to it”. It is clear from this that the founding fathers expected only West African states to be members of the Community. The 1993 Revised Treaty also does not have an accession clause, but (Article 2(2) says member states, “shall be the States that ratify this Treaty”, and this gave Morocco the audacity to think it can leisurely walk into the Community as a member. However, all over the world, accession into any REC is governed by legal, diplomatic, economic and political factors. Turkey has since 1987 been trying to accede to EU without success, as EU accession clause requires both unanimous approval of the Council of the European Union and the agreement of each existing member on the “conditions of accession”. ECOWAS is for the states in the West African sub-region and in this regard, the revised treaty defined the “region” as “the geographical zone known as West Africa as defined by Resolution CM/ Res.464 (XXVI) of the OAU Council of Ministers. This resolution does not consider Morocco as a country in the West African sub-region, and the United Nations does not also classify Morocco among the countries in this sub-region either. Instead, Morocco is classified among AMU States together with Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania and Tunisia. Morocco cannot, therefore, unilaterally reclassify the internationally recognised division of the states in the five sub-regions of Africa, by migrating from AMU to ECOWAS. This will constitute serious difficulties not only to AU, but also the UN. Both Professor Akinyemi and ARCAN highlighted how Morocco’s admission into ECOWAS would erode Nigeria’s diplomatic influence not only in ECOWAS, but also in the international community. The immediate diplomatic crisis that would arise from Morocco’s membership would be over our principled stance on Western Sahara, where Nigeria would be isolated in ECOWAS because at least 12 out of the 15 member-states support Morocco. However, the economic fallout would also be enormous. It is easy to see Morocco is also attracted by the huge ECOWAS market, 70% of which is Nigeria. ECOWAS membership would provide tariff-free access for Morocco’s products in the whole of the Community, including Nigeria. Considering that Morocco is an offshore manufacturing hub of many EU countries, this would only be to the benefit of the North African country. The harm is not directly coming from Morocco per se, whose GDP is less than one-quarter of that of Nigeria and industrial output slightly bigger than that of Lagos State, but her surrogacy of Europe. Nigeria’s reluctance in signing the proposed Economic Partnership Agreement between EU and ECOWAS would be useless, once Morocco, which has since March 2000 signed an Association Agreement with the EU, comes into ECOWAS. With ECOWAS weak Rules of Origin regime, Morocco would simply serve as a gateway for EU goods entering into Nigeria without tariff or quantitative restrictions, further worsening our balance of trade with the EU. This is what Nigeria has been avoiding by refusing to sign EPA. There should be no pretense; ECOWAS comprises countries of West Africa, which have different challenges and aspirations from the countries of North Africa. Morocco an Arab country should stay in AMU where it belongs, which incidentally has its headquarters in Rabat. Professor Akinyemi has gone to the extent of advising Nigeria to serve notice that it would terminate its membership of ECOWAS if the Community’s Heads of State are prepared to accept Morocco’s membership. With due respect to my former Minister, I take the position that under no circumstances should Nigeria turn her back on ECOWAS, after 42 years’ investment that has cost us billions of dollars, not to talk about the thousands of Nigerian soldiers who lost their lives in the service of ECOWAS. We built ECOWAS and we cannot leave it for Morocco and her new coterie of cheerleaders. The notice we should serve to other ECOWAS Heads of State is, Morocco’s membership is unacceptable to Nigeria. This administration has a duty and indeed an obligation on behalf of Nigeria, as well for the preservation of Buhari’s legacy to ensure that Morocco is not allowed into ECOWAS. ––M.K. Ibrahim is a retired Nigerian ambassador.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ NE 25, 2017

79

TRIBUTE

Gbajabiamila: Legislative Czar at 55 Wasiu Olanrewaju-Smart

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oday marks the 55th birthday anniversary of the Leader of the 8th House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila. In his usual, way this is just like any other day to give thanks to the Creator for the turn of events in his life and a sober moment to ponder on the challenges crippling the society around him.

Unusual man who has enjoyed a very unusual love of the people, it is unusual for a man to hold strong for 14 unbroken years in the parliament and still wax stronger in the hearts of his people.

Gbajabiamila represents a cosmopolitan Constituency, Surulere 1 of Lagos State, with people of mixed background and professional calls.

Gbaja, as he is popularly called in the South and Baban Jemila to the Northerner, came to the House in 2003 at the age of 41. He first served as House Minority Whip from 2007, and later became Minority Leader, a position he held up to 2015. It was Gbaja who charted the party from opposition to ruling party in the legislature.

Gbajabiamila’s indepth knowledge of law stems from his penchant for knowledge which saw him through his study of law both in Nigeria and United State of America where he bagged a Juris Doctorate Degree in Law. He is one lawmaker that commands a lot of respect from his colleagues largely due to the way he articulates his ideas and thoughts each time he speaks on the floor of the House as his colleagues listen with rapt attention whenever he contributes to any matter.

He contested for the position of speaker on June 9, 2015 and narrowly lost to Speaker Yakubu Dogara with 8 votes. He was later nominated to the position of House Leader. He has never held any position in the Executive Arm but in the legislature where he serves, he has become an authority of sorts, as far as lawmaking in Nigeria is concerned. He also has a big dossier of constituency outreach that reflects his close touch with his constituents.

In his memoir, ‘’Fearless’’ authored by foremost writer and former President of Association of Nigerian Authors, Dr. Wale Okediran, the author noted that “Perhaps the most popular action taken by Gbajabiamila till date was the rejection of his nomination as a recipient of the 2011 National Honors in the Order of the Federation of Nigeria (OFR) category.” Gbajabiamila declined his nomination as OFR on the ground that the national award process as at then lacked credibility and would not subscribe to it until totally refined to a standard where it would be easier for camel to go through the eye of a needle. That is Femi Gbajabiamila, a stickler to high principles.

An unassuming and quiet politician, he is reputed for his sponsorship of Interest-Free Student Loans Bill. When passed into law, the law will allow Nigerian students in tertiary institutions have access to interest-free loans through the Nigerian Education Bank and their school authority. The loan will be payable after graduation. He also sponsored the Nigeria Immigration Act, 2015 (amendment bill) which seeks to “restrict” the issuance of work permits to foreigners by the Federal Government in fields where Nigerians have adequate expertise. Another Bill he sponsored is the National Minimum Wage (Amendment Bill) (HB. 1028). The amendment is to compel the federal government to periodically review workers’ salary every 5 years among many other people oriented bills Gbaja sponsored.

Gbajabiamila The House Leader is known for his outstanding contributions to debate on the floor of the House. He and the current Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, usually thrill their colleagues with their arguments, but on most occasions, Gbaja would carry the day, though the later would not accept by virtue of his calling as Opposition Leader.

Apart from his contributions on the floor, Gbajabiamila has not abused his long stay in parliament or pride himself over people of his constituency. His name resonates in his constituency like a golden bird; Gbaja Market, Gbaja General Hospital, Gbaja Girls Secondary School, Gbaja Boys Secondary School and Gbajabiamila Primary Healthcare Center. These are Lagos State Government facilities that reflect name of the senior lawmaker.

He has utilised the opportunity given to him through projects he has attracted to his constituency and his name is registered in the heart of his people and largely Nigerians.

“I understand the challenges we are all going through as a country but we are working seriously to ensure that we get out of recession.

It’s a matter of time. We have done a lot and after this meeting I will be commissioning solar street lights we have installed at Rabiatu Thompson in Shitta, Olufemi Street, Mabo Street and Iponri Housing Estate”, Gbajabiamila said amid applause from his community town hall meeting in March, 2017.

He has matched his words with action and facilitated numerous

federal projects in his constituency including distribution of 500 E-Learning Tablets with 117 Textbooks for JSS 1 – 3, SSS1-3 and SAT candidates, Novels and WAEC Past Questions to outstanding secondary school students; distribution of 5 Fully Equipped Medical Ambulances to Akerele Health Center, Surulere; Gbajabiamila Clinic, Iyun Road, Surulere; Randle General Hospital, Surulere; Gbaja Maternal and Child Care Unit of Randle General Hospital; Coker Aguda Primary Healthcare Center; Free Medical Outreach; presentation of CCTV Tool Box to 50 Youth of Surulere 1 Federal Constituency trained on Installation and Maintenance of Closed Circuit Television; a new block of 3 classrooms at Ajigbeda Secondary School, Surulere, Lagos; organized Surulere Job fair, the first of its kind in any constituency in Nigeria which led to the employment of over 300 men and women in just 2 days. It was purely an interface between job applicants and employers of labour in the State, such as Mikano, Nafdac, Lagos Inland Revenue Service, etc. Also to his credit there are many other on-going projects.

In his role as the Leader of the 8th House of Representatives, Gbajabiamila quickly settled for legislative business after the politics and intrigues that led to his defeat during the 2015 Speakership election.

Gbajabiamila as a sportsman has been working seamlessly with Speaker Yakubu Dogara to deliver on the legislative agenda of the 8th Assembly which contains legislative roadmap required in achieving the aspiration of Nigerians who are impatiently yearning for good governance. Since his assumption of office, none of the executive bills he has presented on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari suffered any rejection on the floor of the House. He is a master lobbyist who has warmed his way into the hearts of his colleagues in the House.

Upon the mandate of the House, Gbajabiamila intervened in respect of the refusal of the Federal Ministry of Interior to compensate victims and families of deceased victims of the 2014 Nigeria Immigration Recruitment Stampede. Today they have been employed and serving in various state commands of the Immigration Service. The beneficiaries appreciated the House Leader, in a letter dated 10th February 2017 Similarly, he intervened in respect of the protracted delay in the implementation of Automatic Job Offer for the recipients of 2014 combined sets of the NYSC Presidential Honours Award due to change in government. After Gbajabiamila’s engagement with the stakeholders, the Buhari-led government fulfilled the promise made by former President Jonathan and the Awardees have been recruited into the federal civil service.

Again, Gbajabiamila led an intervention committee of the House that engaged Kogi State lawmakers on the crisis that crippled the state assembly in mid last year. He also led a special delegation of the House to meet with members of the South African parliament on the xenophobic attacks on some Nigerians resident in South Africa. The delegation engaged in legislative diplomacy to ensure the safety of Nigerians in that country and vice-versa.

The House Leader is currently leading an adhoc committee of the House investigating the safety of soft drinks consumed in Nigeria. This is apart from the success he has been recording in leading government business in the 8th House of Representatives.

As he clocks 55 today, one would only pray that Almighty Allah gives him good health and grant him wisdom to lead the House aright.

––Olanrewaju-Smart is a media aide to the Leader of House of Representatives

Sani-Omolori: A Craver for Enduring Legacies in N’Assembly at 56 Sufuyan Ojeifo

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lerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Alhaji Mohammed Ataba Sani-Omolori, attained the 56 years-old mark on Wednesday, June 7. Although the occasion was devoid of the characteristic pomp and ceremony, yet the quintessential bureaucrat never allowed the day to pass without obligatory introspection on the journey of life.

Deconstructing his curriculum vitae, one can safely surmise that in his trajectory from the lowest rung of the ladder to the peak of his public service career as typified by his headship of the bureaucracy of the National Assembly, it has been so far, so good. He has, at least, four more years to retirement.

When he set out on his public service voyage, he knew what he wanted at every intersection.

He has always gone for it and, of course, he has always got it. That would explain the seeming restlessness that was evident at the early stage in the offices he occupied as he was changing jobs with ease in his upwardly mobile public service career. One thing appeared clear from the outset: Sani-Omolori had his eyes sharply focused on the ball. Interestingly, the Ahmadu Bello University Law graduate, started out as a teacher with the Local School Management Board, Okene, after he passed his West African School Certificate in 1976.

As a prince of the royalty of the Okene kingdom, he offered his services in 1982, after the completion of his law programme and before he proceeded to the Law School, in the capacity of

Sani-Omolori

private secretary in the office of the chairman of Ebira Traditional Council.

After graduating from the Law School, he was posted to Sokoto State for his compulsory one year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme, where he served as Legal Draftsman/ Adviser in the Sokoto State House of Assembly from September to December 1983.

Following the overthrow of the democraticallyelected administration of Alhaji Shehu Shagari by the General Muhmmadu Buhari-led

military junta, and the consequent collapse of democratic institutions, he had to move over to the Headquarters of the 7 Mechanised Infantry Brigade, Nigerian Army, Sokoto, to complete his NYSC scheme.

Following the completion of his NYSC programme, Sani-Omolori had a brief stint in private legal practice from 1983 to 1984 before moving to Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited where he worked as legal officer for the next five years.

He moved on to the National Electric Power Authority in 1990 as legal officer, spent a year there before gravitating to the National Assembly in 1992 as legislative counsel. In 2002, he was appointed Acting Director of Legal Services Department. In 2007, he was confirmed substantive Director of Legal Services Department. SaniOmolori stepped in the saddle as Clerk to the House of Representatives in February 2010 and, for the next six years, provided, among others things, administrative and legislative support to members of the House as well as superintending over the affairs of the House services.

On May 13, 2016, following the retirement of Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa as the CNA, the lot fell on Sani-Omolori (Ciroma of Ebiraland) to step into the office in acting capacity. And on August 15 of the same year, the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) confirmed him as the substantive CNA. There are so many achievements and laurels that he has garnered on his way to the top.

All those do not need mentioning here in this tribute; what deserves to be mentioned is the catalogue of measures that he has put in place in the 13 months he has been in office as CNA to drive the administrative infrastructure, operation

and functionality of the National Assembly bureaucracy.

Sani-Omolori’s leadership has set out to redefine, redirect and refocus the operational bases of legislative practice in line with the “change mantra”; engender disciplined and motivated workforce to enhance its functionality as a hallmark for serious business.

Flowing from the premise supra, his leadership has organised retreats for management staff members for constructive dialogue and actions towards efficient service delivery.

In line with the policy of transparency and accountability of the federal government, his leadership has reorganised the accounting system to plug leakages and promote water-tight and efficient financial disbursements.

Significantly, the security architecture of the National Assembly has been reorganised through the procurement and provision of state-of-the-art security equipment for surveillance.

Besides, a more proactive and pragmatic arrangement has been emplaced to check the activities of miscreants who hitherto effortlessly thronged on the premises of the National Assembly complex.

Indeed, it is certain that Sani-Omolori is craving the institutionalisation of robust legacies of a proud, effective, efficient and notable National Assembly not only in the delivery of services by the bureaucratic wing but also in the overall legislative success by the political wing, which depends on the bureaucrats for support administration.

––Mr Ojeifo, Editor-in-Chief of The Congresswatch magazine, contributed this piece from Abuja via ojwonderngr@yahoo. com

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T H I S D AY SUNDAY JUNE 25, 2017

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ NE 25, 2017

INFOGRAPH

81 ADVERTISEMENT

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hief (Mrs) ‘Funke Arthur-Worrey turned 90 years old, recently.

A Thanksgiving Service, with Holy Communion, was held at Our Saviour’s Church (Anglican Communion), Tafawa-Balewa Square (TBS), Onikan, Lagos. The retired Bishop of Ifo Diocese, in Ogun State, The Right Reverend J. Akin Odejide, preached the sermon.The Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, S.A.N., GCON, was the guest-of-honour. Mrs. Arthur-Worrey was trained in England, where her late Nigerian husband, Mr. Steedy Arthur-Worrey, was a secondary school mathematics teacher. He later studied law. He joined the late Chief Godfrey Kio Jaja Amachree to set-up a law firm in Lagos). Chief Arthur-Worrey, who swims everyday, is a very active member of many charity organisations. Guests were entertained at the Nigeria Airforce Officers’ Mess, Victoria Island. Here are some of the personalities at the service.

Photographs by multiple award winning Director of Photography: SUNMI SMART-COLE

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 25, 2017

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SUNDAYSPORTS

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

Confed Cup: Cameroun Challenge Germany for Semis Spot ameroon will target a win over Germany and a place in the semifinals of the Confederations Cup when the teams meet today evening in Sochi.Theteams’finalGroupB clash is set for the Fisht Olympic Stadium. The Indomitable Lions have had a tough time of things in Russia thus far, losing their opening match 0-2 to Chile before drawing 1-1withAustraliaonThursday evening.

The West Africans had enough chances to bury the Socceroos, but Vincent Aboubakar was particularly guilty of spurning some wonderful opportunities. The results have left Hugo Broos’ team at the bottom of the pool with just one point, trailing co-leaders Germany and Chile by three points.

Yet a two-goal victory over Germany would be enough to see Cameroon leapfrog the Europeans on goal difference and probably secure progres-

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sion - assuming Australia don’t beat Chile in the other Group B match.

Yet even if Cameroon cannot beat Germany, Broos insists that the team has still come a long way in a short space of time. “A year ago we didn’t even have a team. Today you have a team that won the Africa Cup of Nations and that’s progress,” the Belgian coach said in the wake of the draw with Australia.

“You should not think that winning the Africa Cup of Nations means that you can win the Confederations Cup and next year the World Cup. That’s not how it works. Let this team grow, let it get some experience and if tomorrow I can find someone who scores goals with his eyes closed, he’ll be in my team.”

Cameroon have not beaten Germany in three previous meetings between the teams.

Their most recent clash was a friendly in Monchengladbach in June 2014 which ended in a 2-2 draw.

Ronaldo Helps Portugal into Semis, Russia Out

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ristiano Ronaldo scored a penalty as Portugal beat New Zealand 4-0 to seal their semi-final place at the Confederations Cup. Ronaldo’s 33rdminute goal was followed by strikes from Manchester City-bound Bernardo Silva, Andre Silva and Nani.

Mexico also progressed to the semi-finals as they knocked hosts Russia out of the tournament with a 2-1 victory.

Portugal ensured top spot in Group A as New Zealand finished bottom after a third straight defeat.

However, defender Pepe will miss Portugal’s semi-final after picking up his second yellow card of the tournament. And there will be fitness concerns over Bernardo Silva, who was substituted at half-time because of an ankle injury.

Ronaldo expressed his delight at firing Portugal into the semi final after netting his 75th international goal

in yesterday’s 4-0 thrashing of New Zealand. “I’m very happy to be in the semifinals.

We’re confident and want to win,” said Ronaldo, who picked up his third straight man-of-the-match award in Russia.

The 32-year-old has a court date in Madrid next month, accused by Spanish authorities of tax evasion, and the fallout has resulted in Ronaldo threatening to leave Real.

Despite the off-field turmoil and constant speculation about his future, the Portugal captain has dazzled on the pitch in Russia and scored two goals in three matches.

“I thought we played well in many parts of the game; in others, not so well. Overall though, it was a fair victory,” said Portugal coach Fernando Santos.

Ronaldo’s latest goal sent him level with Hungary great Sandor Kocsis and to within nine of the legendary Ferenc Puskas’ European record of 84 at international level.

Vincent Aboubakar (L) of Cameroon and Eduardo Vargas of Chile during the matcg between Camerron and Chile at the Confederations Cup 2017

Kvitova Reaches First Final Since Stabbing Two-timeWimbledonchampion PetraKvitovareachedherfirstfinal since returning from a careerthreateninghandinjuryafterLucie Safarova retired from their match in Birmingham. Kvitova, 27, was leading6-11-0intheAegonClassic semi-final when her fellow Czech quit with a leg injury.

Kvitova is playing in only her second tournament since she was stabbedbyanintruderatherhome in December. “I’m enjoying playing again,” said the former world number two.

Seventh seed Kvitova will play Australia’s Ashleigh Barty in today’s final. “I couldn’t play for

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managed just three goals in 18 appearances as a knee injury sidelined him for a large portion of the season.

Anichebe joins compatriot Leke James at the club, which is still reeling from the tragic death of Ivorian Cheick Tiote earlier this month.

“We are delighted with the signing of Victor, who played in the Premier League. It’s a positive de-

positive things. I’m trying to enjoy tennismoreandseeingthingsfrom a different angle.”

Kvitova looked close to her best

66 Ex-Militants Undergo Presidential Amnesty Football Screening Sixty-six Niger Delta former militants have been screened at the Oron Sports Stadium, Akwa Ibom as part of the on-going Presidential Amnesty Sport for Peace Initiative’s sports process in the restive region. They were screened between Wednesday and Friday by a three- man

Anichebe Joins Beijing Enterprises igerian striker Victor Anichebe has signed with Chinese second-tier side Beijing Enterprises.

Anichebe was recently released by Sunderland following their relegation from the Premier League.

The Nigerian was brought to the Stadium of Light last year by David Moyes but

Kvitova five or six months and I missed it,” added Kvitova.

“It wasn’t my choice to have a break but I always try to see

against Fed Cup team-mate and close friend Safarova, who was carrying the injury into the match.

Kvitova made an impressive start, dropping just one point as she raced into a 3-0 lead, breaking serveagaininthenextgamebefore Safarova held at the third attempt for 5-1.

Safarova, a former Wimbledon semi-finalistand2015FrenchOpen finalist, provided some resistance as Kvitova needed a fourth set point to serve out for the opener.

But Kvitova broke again in the opening game of the second set, before Safarova decided she could not continue.

velopment for our whole club,” said head coach Gao Hongbo.

“Victor hasn’t trained on the pitch since the Premier League season ended, so it may take a while for him to integrate into our team. We have to be patient with him.” The 29-year-old Anichebe has also played for Everton and West Bromwich Albion in his club career.

coaching crew of Sia-One Sports Academy, headed by Dipreye Teibowei.

Also on the entourage to Oron were Dennis Dimie Siasia, Head, Logistics/Admin from Sia-One Sports Academy and the Presidential Amnesty Liaison officer, Piriye Kiyaramo.

Teibowei said about 30 out the number will be selected for training at the Sia-OneAcademy.

The training, sponsored by the office of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Brig.

Gen Paul Boroh (Rtd) is part of the process of reintegrating ex-agitators back to their communities with sustainable source of livelihoods.

In attendance at the screening exercise, was the leader of ex-agitators in Akwa Ibom state, General Nico Sintei, who facilitated the process.

Former Super Eagles Chief

Leader of Ex-agitators in Akwa Ibom State, General Nico Sintei, (centre) receiving two footballs from the Lead Coach of Sia-One Sports Academy, Dipreye Teibowei (2nd left) and Head of Logistics/Admin of Sia-One Sports Academy, Dennis Siasia (1st from left) at the Oron Sports Stadium after the screening session

Coach who is also the founder of Sia-OneSportsAcademySamson Siasia urged the Federal Government to continue the good work is doing in reshaping the lives of the agitators in Niger Delta areas.

“We just did the screening of the

agitator 2 days ago in Oron . 66 of them came out to participate.

Federal government need to continue the support for this Amnesty programs that will change Niger Delta states for good”, Siasia disclosed.

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High Life

͎͎͜;ʹ͜͜ͳ;ͳͰ

...Amazing lifestyles of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rich and famous

Still Nifty at Fiftyâ&#x20AC;ŚGoddess of Highlife, Nkiru Anumudu, Hits the Golden Age

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lthough she has every reason to shake her garment like the branches of the teak in spring and let her joy glow like the fireflies that light up the fields and quiet meadows, but the top socialite and fashionista of note decided to shun grandiose celebration and observe her 50th birthday some days ago in a low key fashion.

For a woman who is regarded as one of high societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s queens, an enduring and endearing fixture on the social scene for the past almost two decades, and one of the top names that readily come to mind when preparing the guest list for a high octane soiree, it aroused series of questions

when the very fashionable Nkiru Anumudu clocked 50 and there was no celebration to herald it. Unlike Nkiru who doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait for such landmarks before calling people together for a whale of a time, her 50th birthday went uncelebrated.

Not even a dinner was organised by Willy, her auto magnate husband.

The posers have been unrelenting.

Sources say Nkiru decided against a party this time perhaps because of the Ramaddan season. However, those who know her are swearing by her social profile that the hazel-eyed, hat-loving beauty might have some aces up her sleeves, especially this weekend. Fingers are still crossed.

Taiwo Obasanjo

TAIWO OBASANJO FORGIVES ALL Echoes of the vituperations of Taiwo, one of the estranged wives of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and perennial newsmaker, in the run up to her sonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wedding to the daughter of Kessington Adebutu, still reverberate.

The fiery woman had written to the Methodist Church of Nigeria that if the wedding, fixed for May 11 and 13

held, it would be heralded by plane crashes, fire incidents, multiple road accidents, tankers and trailers killing people; cancers, diseases of kidney, liver, prostrate, eyes issues and more.

According to her, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The two dates were chosen and compelled by Satan for them to lure unsuspecting numerous souls to a banquet of death that will result in strange holocaust in our nation. After the wedding, you will be hearing and seeing incidents of plane crashes, fire incidents, multiple road accidents, tankers and trailer killing people, cancers, diseases of kidney, liver, prostrate, eyes issues and diverse health problem causing strange death in people and the economy situation will worsen.â&#x20AC;? While revealing that she was not against the wedding but only wanted the date postponed until after June 1, the ceremonies eventually held on the proposed dates. More than a month after, Taiwo said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have forgiven them as a praying mother. You cannot justify before God not forgiving those who offended you. I have been praying for a forgiving spirit, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s already done. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not something l want to be reminded of. It was a big pain that l donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to remember or talk about anymore.â&#x20AC;? She added, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have forgiven everybody and l want everyone to forgive me. The couple has apologised to me and I have forgiven my daughterin-law too.â&#x20AC;?

KING OF LIFETYLE... WHY JULIAN OSULA HAS MANY A BILLIONIARE EATING OUT OF HIS PALM Many a billionaire cannot be elegant even if they slave at it, so they choose to be extravagant. They forget that in matters of reputation and honour, style,

Nkiru Anumudu

rather than a deep pocket, is the most crucial thing. But Julian Osula, the Nigerian lifestyle king, is remarkably different.

He understands that if poise and panache could be taught by universal rules, it would no longer be poise or panache, and every middling fellow with deep pocket or otherwise may adorn themselves with the twin traits of sophistication and elite breeding.

Nonetheless, there is no gainsaying he possesses admirable poise and panache; a man of venerable taste in fashion, he effortlessly depicts style as

Julian Osula

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Celebrations Galore for Oando â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Birthday Boysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;ŚMofe Boyo Clocks 50, Wale Tinubu Prepares for His 50th Too

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alf a century is a long time in a manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life. And Mofe Boyo, deputy group CEO, OANDO, Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s preeminent energy solutions providers, understands and appreciates this, and how far he has come in life. When he turned 50 on May 26, the patently and decidedly self-effacing Delta-born corporate titan didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t receive a card from a chiropractor. Neither for him were the thoughts of Led Zepplinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s summation that age 50 is halfway up the stairway to heaven. He was however not unmindful of the fact that at 50, life now seems shorter; but in words and deeds, he evinced his gratefulness to God for the grace and good health to daily wake up without any aches and anxieties. Expectedly, he did not roll out the drums, settling only for pockets of minicelebrations by friends and associates. But he let his hairs down when

he could and basked in the blizzard of good wishes and felicitations that buffeted him.

Coincidentally, it would be the turn of his alter ego and lifelong collaborator, Wale Tinubu, to clock 50 on June 26, exactly a month after his. If Mofe typically chose to have a low-key 50th celebration, Wale, a fun-lover extraordinaire, would likely differ. After all, Ramadan is over! In fact, if he decided on an elaborate destination party, eyebrows shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be raised. He would just be acting true to type.

Besides, he wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be 50 twice in a lifetime. Wale and Mofe jointly run OANDO. Hand in hand, they have weathered many potentially debilitating storms and have come out victorious and stronger. They have been pelted and pilloried by those who canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fathom how two young men, both United Kingdom-trained lawyers, have evolved to be the pied piper of the oil and

an outward and inward sign of grace and character. Funnily enough, many a rich, privileged billionaire stumble into vogue but it takes a discerning man of class and ĂŠlan to mirror the girth and depth of burgeoning trends to the world. Osulaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wealth bears the sweet, dazzling glow of infinity; pundits would say itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s because he worked for it.

Even his detractors would acknowledge that he toiled really hard to chance on affluence. Thus his acceptance as a worthy king of luxury. Osula has been around for a long time. It would be recalled that he was one of late Gen. Sani Abachaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s loyalists back when the military dictator was in power. His ability to earn the trust of the ruling class owes to his infectious sociability and sophistication, according to a very close source to the luxury king. For instance, his love for luxury cars is legendary. Osula loves expensive cars.

Checkout his garage in the Victoria Garden City (VGC), and you will be accosted with a sight for sore eyes.

Osulaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s flaunts in his garage the most expensive cars from Brabus Mercedez to Rolls Royce and Bentley. Perhaps this explains the ladies love for him and his male peers mounting adoration of him. Osula is easily the darling of every billionaire magnate and socialite in the country. Osula is also the representative of Richard Mille, the prominent designer, in Nigeria. Osulaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s firm, Julianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Luxury, is undoubtedly Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premier high end luxury and lifestyle brand which has a distinctive and elegant presence at the prestigious, boutique hotel, The Wheatbaker, Ikoyi, Lagos. He never dithers from acquiring premium machines hence as you read, his picturesque mansion gives shelter to the most expensive automobile. Little wonder he cuts a perfect portrait of a man fully at home and at peace with his inner grandeur.

Mofe Boyo

Wale Tinubu

gas industry in Nigeria and on the continent. It is however a statement of their industry and innovativeness, never-say-die

spirit and courage of conviction that they remain towering figures in a cutthroat, dog-eatdog industry.

call irreconcilable differences. She eventually found solace in the hands of her rich Ijebu heartthrob, Adeshoye Balogun Adegboyega, who has been treating her to the best of romance and the good times. Interestingly, she has beaten a retreat from the social circuit.

No more does she court the limelight; she has ditched her old hard partying lifestyle and retreated into a quiet routine. This no doubt comes as a shock to most of her friends and associates who never imagined that there would come a day or period when Sade, the diehard socialite and their trusted buddy on the fast lane, would choose to go low profile. Findings, however, revealed that she decided to take it slowly as she turned a grand mother and the bend of youth and approached the corner stone of age. And with old age, they say, comes wisdom. She now attends every social event with earliterally though. Has anybody seen Folashade lately?

Shade Alesh

THIRD TIME IS A TREAT... SADE ALESH FINDS TRUE LOVE AT THE THIRD TRY ¡ HOW JEWELLERY MAGNATE DISCOVERED HER SOUL MATE

It is often the lot of mortals to encounter bliss even in the most crippling tragedy. Ask Folashade Aleshinloye, the Lagos famous jewellery merchant. She not too long ago chanced on bliss in the throes of misery. The brain behind â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Jewelry Affairs and a veteran socialite, who left her former husband, Rilwan Aleshinloye, didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to be furious to acquire her new lover and husband. She allegedly quit her 2nd marriage the same way she dumped her first husband, Fatai Ogedengbe: over what she would

IN HER FATHERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S STRIDESâ&#x20AC;Ś BELLA ADENUGA-DISU APPOINTED NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR IN JULIUS BERGER Yes, genius becomes the gene of the Adenuga clan. It seeps from one generation to the other, like the expensive but subtle fragrance worn by Kings and coveted by minions living too close to royalty. Genius, like pricey perfume, ennobles the lineage of Dr. Mike Adenuga, the Globacom chairman.

It swirls around Belinda Disu, swathing her in giddy scent; everywhere she steps out in to the world, she radiates a sense of self the world reacts to. The reaction is splendid and oft redolent of a fawning galleryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shrieks of awe and acceptance of the harmony and artistry of a grand orchestra. Bella Adenuga-Disu could be enchantingly sweet. When she talks, her voice wafts like rose-fragrance waltzing in the

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Ë&#x153; Ëž JUNE 25, 2017

HIGHLIFE

Another Year in the Bagâ&#x20AC;ŚJohn Obayuwana Celebrates Birthday Amidst Pomp and Circumstance

J

ohn Obayuwana rocks. The dashing businessman tickled Lagos from the base to the rafters, like a Victorian Lord, tickling the fancy of the Queen and a fawning nobility. There is no gainsaying John won the heart and applause of Lagosâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; high society with business, Polo Avenue. Last Wednesday, John added another year to his age, and to celebrate this, his loving and hardworking daughter, Jennifer, had a birthday soiree for him. Yes, it was a classy event.

The celebrant took charge of the party himself and endeavoured to treat every guest to a good time. The ecstasy of the event and innumerable treats made available to every guest, at Jenniferâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s behest, tinged the

atmosphere with a euphoric hue of sort.

It all felt surreal.

And not a few guests could attest to that.

The ambience of the party signified class, privileged circumstances and the enviable good taste of the celebrant. The Polo Avenue boss still pulsates with unrestrained joy as he basks in the afterglow of celebration and warm wishes he enjoyed on birthday.

John, once again, reaffirmed his worth and inestimable value in the eyes and hearts of his loved ones.

The guests thronged the venue in a circus of conformity on the d-day. However, they kept it casual and very simple with ĂŠlan, just the way the celebrant wanted them to appear.

The event was indeed a memorable one. share of supporters and is an inspiration to her peers. Educated at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, with a degree in political science and international relations, she resumed at Globacom owned by her father as a sales executive in 2004. But she learnt the ropes fast, worked in virtually all the departments and excelled and consequently enjoyed rapid promotion, rising to the position of a group executive director. Blessed with a razor-sharp intellect, even as a spinster, she was scandal-free, an attribute many say she imbibed from her very private father. Bella got married to Jameel Disu in April 2010.

Bella Adenuga-Disu

wind. In such blissful moment, she metamorphoses into a silhouette of delightful colors captivating everyone in the path of her charm, like an old minstrel delightfully pawing at her mandolin. But Bella is no minstrel neither does she feverishly paw at the strings of any mandolin; all she has is her charm and her smile â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which makes her a young woman to die for. Yeah, she evokes the wondrous tribute of ceaseless cheers by her ambitious strides in their father â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s footsteps. She has been appointed a non-executive director in Julius Berger. The names of Bella, as she is more popularly known, and Mrs. Gladys Talabi, the executive director, Legal/Security Services at Globacom, were, last Friday, sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange intimating it of the appointments. Beautiful Bella has her

A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCKâ&#x20AC;ŚFEMI AKINRUNTAN AT 40 Too many rich, spoilt kids do nothing that has permanence. They slither through life and the world, like the proverbial rattlesnake travelling across the rocks without an imprint or establishment of its presence on the rocky plains. But Prince Femi Akinruntan, the MD of Obat Oil, seems remarkably different. Femi is enviably inured to the rudiments of successful enterprise and persistently seeks to push new enterprise past all the barriers to success. Many say itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s due to his tenacious inner passion, which borders on calm resolve; many more claim he is simply cut out like that, like all innovative leaders-especially his father. Whatever anyone thinks, Femi, at 40, is a man accustomed to honourable pursuits. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s got panache and clout within and outside the shores of Nigeria as well as a generous dose of resourcefulness too, which makes him the delight of every successful magnate or business patron.

However, it then came as a shock and a surprise when easy-going Femi Akinrutan, son of acclaimed Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s richest king, Oba Obateru Akinrutan, the Olugbo of Ugbonla Kingdom in Ondo State, announced that he would turn 40 in July. Like the Yoruba would say, only the child that knows how to

John Obayuwana

wash his hands, gets to dine with the elders. Perhaps because of his affable and accessible persona, despite his wealth and education â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Femi attainment of the 40 took many by surprise. But what many cannot take away from him is his maturity and level-headedness.

More so, he had been prepared for leadership roles by his billionaire father who put him in charge of his business empire when he was just in his early 20s. Femi has indeed come of age and not for him are the distractions that come with wealth, power and position.

He is humble and homely and spends quality time with his beautiful wife, Folakemi, and children. To celebrate this epoch, Prince Akinrutan would, between July 16 and 18, offer free medical services to the people of his home state in Ondo. Thereafter, he plans to take friends and family members for a grand dinner holding somewhere in Lagos.

Femi Akinruntan

Sunday, June 25, 2017

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& RE A S O

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Price: N400

MISSILE Sen Sani to El-Rufai “The governor who in his memo accused President Muhammadu Buhari of running a failed government, has also failed woefully. Under El-Rufai, Kaduna has become a hub of kidnappers and a sanctuary for herdsmen. El-Rufai wants to be seen as an apostle of Buhari’s change but he is actually the Judas of change.”

– Senator Shehu Sani, who represents Kaduna Central senatorial district accusing Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, of not making any meaningful impact in the state other than sponsored media propaganda.

SIMONKOLAWOLE SIMONKOLAWOLELIVE!

simon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com, sms: 0805 500 1961

Restructuring Nigeria without Tears And Four

S

omething is wrong with anybody who says there is nothing wrong with Nigeria. We all seem to agree that something is not working.

We all seem to concur that this is not the best Nigeria can be. We all seem to believe that something major needs to be done for us to make progress. What we lack is a consensus on what the actual problem is, and what the solution should be. The diagnoses are different and the prescriptions are inevitable different. Those who think the problem is Lord Lugard want disintegration. Those who think it is the law want a new constitution. Those who think it is religion want to set up a caliphate. Et cetera, et cetera.

Alas, the political firmament is filled with hardliners — the “my way or the highway” brigade — and what hard-line positions do is to place emotions above logic and blind the mind to possibilities. One-track minds are a danger to any society. Politics is always seen by many as a zero-sum game — “your gain is my loss” — but there is always the chance of a third way where there’s a win-win. A multi-ethnic, multi-religious and volatile polity like ours can use some less hard-line positions in devising the best way forward. That Nigeria needs to be restructured to deliver better development outcomes is becoming more glaring by the day, and we can’t deny it.

I will place a number of restructuring proposals on the table today, all informed by my basic theory that at the very root of our frequent political squabbles is the gross underdevelopment in the land. When the vast majority of the population are living in poverty, denied the basics of living life meaningfully, we can’t have a better recipe for political instability than that. I believe we are doing such a bad job of navigating the political landmines on the road to development that we may not get there anytime soon. In short, I believe the political management of Nigeria is not working for all. The ethnic and religious tensions are provoked by political mismanagement, I should think.

The first item on my proposal agenda is “mental restructuring”. In my article, Restructuring the Debate on Nigeria (August 28, 2016), I pointed out the numerous development possibilities that currently exist which we are not exploiting because we keep blaming the structure of Nigeria.

I wrote: “I, too, believe Nigeria needs to be reformed economically and politically.

But listen to me: in spite of all the excuses we give for ‘why Nigeria is like this’... there is still a lot of lemonade we can make from these lemons. However, we are too lazy, too conceited, too deluded, too bitter, too parochial, too blinded to see the opportunities. All we can see are the problems.”

We must first liberate our minds to see the possibilities that exist for everyone.

Most agitations for restructuring today are designed to spite the north, to make them look like they are finished without the Niger Delta oil. The resistance from the north is also fuelled by the fear that they are finished without the oil (this is changing, though). Yet, the indisputable fact is that we are all parasites on this oil. Not too long ago, the downturn in oil prices, coupled with militant activities, brought the economy to a standstill. We were all in

Buhari

soup. If oil prices had not recovered and militancy had continued, Nigeria would be paralysed by now. We must first restructure our minds to see this truth.

If we do not restructure our mindsets, we would still not see great opportunities even in a politically and economically restructured Nigeria. We would remain the same. Restructuring will not put better brains in our heads. Any mindset that is configured to see oil as the almighty (or “oilmighty”) will remain in economic prison whether or not Nigeria remains one or is broken into 250 countries, whether or not there is “true” federalism or “false” federalism. It is in the mind. If we do not get our perspectives right under the current structure, what are the chances that we will suddenly reason better under a different system? That is one question that needs to engage our minds.

My second proposal is “political restructuring”. Mine is different: I am not proposing confederalism, balkanisation or “true” federalism. Those things are rather too complicated for me to understand how they work. However, the truth is that with the amount of resources and tonnes of policies that we have been throwing into the system for ages, the outcomes are still, at best, mediocre. There is a gross mismatch between input and output. If a problem is too big to handle, maybe you start by breaking it into pieces. I am of the opinion that the time has come for the federal government to shed weight. It is time to perform another experiment since the current system is not working.

In my “political restructuring” proposal, I am not canvassing the creation of more

states and more local government areas, neither am I suggesting a six-zone structure.

Maybe those things are very good and will do wonders to our development process, but I cannot say that for sure. Rather, I align myself with those who think the centre is too concentrated and needs to be diluted. I have always believed the federal government is too big and too powerful, but I have not always pushed this argument because I am also disappointed with the performance of other tiers of government. I often tell myself that there are no guarantees of better outcomes if we give more powers to the states.

However, one very disturbing fact is that we seem to concentrate so much on Abuja that we don’t even know what is going on in our states. We complain about “budget padding” in the National Assembly but hardly look at “budget padding” in the state houses of assembly. We protest about federal roads being in bad shape but ignore the state of the local roads. We shout all the time about federal universities and ignore the state of schools that are not under the federal government. We grumble about nepotism in Aso Rock and forget about the one in our backyard. We are so Abujacentric that our governors are getting away with murder.

The federal government takes 56% of the federation revenue while the 36 states of the federation take 24% and the 774 councils take 20%. I think we have to restructure this vertical sharing formula urgently.

Abuja will continue to insist on keeping 56% because of the responsibilities it is saddled with, but we can also relieve them of these responsibilities. Some have asked: what is federal government’s business with agriculture? It’s a good question. What is the business of federal government with secondary schools? There are so many items that can be handed over to the states. We need to make Abuja the least attractive of the tiers of government.

My third proposal is what I call “throat restructuring”. There is too much greed in public office and this has continued to deal deadly blows on our finances. I have heard many people argue that we should do away with the senate and operate a unicameral legislature. This, we are made to understand, will reduce cost. I beg to disagree. You can run a 109-member National Assembly that will gulp N1 trillion per year and a 400-member legislature that spends only N500 million. The constitution does not stipulate the allowances they award to themselves. The constitution does not stipulate the heavy allowances for the executive arm either. People just love to burn free money.

Let me summarise my arguments: one, we need to restructure our mentality so that we can recognise opportunities even within these present constraints; two, the federal government must shed weight and devolve more powers and more revenue to the states so that we can focus less on Abuja and look at our backyard; three, we need to restructure the throat of our public officers in all arms of government, so that the gluttony can be curbed, and we can free more resources for development. My proposals are not as complicated as “true federalism” and “regionalism”, so they can be a good starting point without much rancour. Other matters can come later.

Other Things...

THE CRIMEBUSTERS Police recently arrested Chukwudidumeme Onuamadike aka Evans, the alleged notorious kidnapper, and we now have a running soap opera in our hands. Where in the world do you conduct investigation into heinous crimes on TV? For all you care, the investigation has been compromised. Coconspirators and evidence could disappear.

Nigerians love drama — so this Evans show really excites them. You cannot find this in a civilised country, which is partly why they are more efficient at fighting crimes. And can someone tell Abba Kyari, the police officer who led the mission, to keep a lower profile? Crime busters are not supposed to be celebrities, are they? Weird.

THE IGBONLA KIDNAP On May 25, 2017, kidnappers stormed Lagos State Model College, Igbonla, Epe, and abducted six students. Reports said some officials of the school were also kidnapped. It is now a month and we are yet to get those unfortunate boys out of the paws of the kidnappers. Are we so preoccupied with other things that the case of the Igbonla Six has become irrelevant? Or have we seen so many crimes in this country that the kidnap of six teenagers is no longer worth our stress? I congratulate the police on the successful arrest of Evans the Notorious Kidnapper, but the job is not yet done. And we must get these hapless boys back by any means necessary. Imperative.

THE BACKSLIDERS One step forward, two backward. That’s usually the story of Nigeria in most aspects of national life. Two years after we celebrated the role technology played in giving us a fairly credible election (I use “fairly” advisedly), you wonder why anyone would want to take us backward. For the July 22 Lagos council polls, the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) chairman, Justice Ayotunde Phillips, has told us that the agency will not use the card-reading machine. She said the date for the elections were too close for the card reader to be used. We are, therefore, back to the bad old days when identity theft was the in-thing at polls. Setback.

THE ALARMISTS Any consumer of news in Nigeria will think Christian Religious Knowledge (CRK) has been removed from school curriculum while Islamic Religious Knowledge (IRK) is retained. And the plot to Islamise Nigeria is now at an “advanced state” because Arabic as a subject. In reality, CRK and IRK are in the curriculum of senior secondary school. At junior secondary, there is a subject called Religious and National Values which combines a choice between IRK and CRK with History and Social Studies. It was introduced in 2014 when President Jonathan, a Christian, was in power. Arabic, by the way, is not Islam; it is a language, just like French. Actually, I have seen an Arabic Bible before. Hysteria.

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