Saturday 30th September 2017 by THISDAY Newspapers Ltd

Museum Displays Over 3,000 Historic Photographs, Images of Benin Palace As Obaseki hosts US Ambassador to Nigeria Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City Over 3,000 collections of photographs and images found in the royal court of the Benin king's Palace were on exhibition yesterday, at the National

Museum in Benin, Edo State. The exhibited photographs were taken by Chief Solomon Alonge, photographer to the royal court of Benin over 50 years ago. The exhibition was organised

by the United States Diplomatic Mission and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art based in the United States. It followed a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the National Commission for

Museum and Monuments and Smithsonian's National Museum of African Arts of the United States which has the collections. Speaking shortly before the commencement of the exhibition, United States of America Consul-

General to Nigeria, F. John Bray, said Art, including photographs, represent freedom of expression in his country's democracy, adding that the Smithsonian's National Museum and National Museum of Benin have been

working for many years to carry out the exhibition. Commending the two National Museums and the Edo State Government for their support, Continued on page 8

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Boko Haram: 57 Percent of Schools in Borno Closed, Says UNICEF 3 million children in need of emergency education support

Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) yesterday

said the humanitarian crisis brought on the North-east by the protracted Boko Haram insurgency was dire, leaving

three million children in need of emergency education support. Speaking to journalists in Maiduguri after assessment tour

of Borno State, the state most hit by the crisis, the Deputy Director of UNICEF, Justin Forsyth said the humanitarian crisis was

beyond UNICEF and needed the collaboration of all including governments and international aids agencies.

He lamented that that 57 per cent of schools in Borno Continued on page 8

IPOB Leader, Kanu, Not in Our Custody, DHQ Insists Military never invaded his residence, won’t declare him wanted Ngwaukwu Kingdom: Ohanaeze should champion Igbo interest, not IPOB Emmanuel Ugwu in Umuahia and Paul Obi in Abuja Following the growing concerns about the whereabouts of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) yesterday said the IPOB leader was not under its custody and could not be responsible for his disappearance. Speaking to journalists in Abuja, the Director of Defence Information, Major General John Enenche explained that the military was not holding Kanu and that it was not the responsibility of DHQ to declare him wanted. "Nobody raided Kanu's home; not from the information I got, I was watching it live, I was monitoring it live and speaking with them (soldiers) on the ground. "The people that came out from there (Kanu’s house) that I saw were the Biafra Security Continued on page 8

SPECIAL JUMA'AT FOR THE NATION AT 57… R-L: President Muhammadu Buhari ; Senate President Bukola Saraki; Chief of Army Staﬀ, Lt Gen. T. Y. Buratai, and Chief of Air Staﬀ, Sadiq Abubakar observing special Juma'at prayers in commemoration of the 57th independence anniversary of Nigeria held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja …yesterday GODWIN OMOIGUI

CBN Injects Fresh $308.5m into Forex Market… Page 14

T H I S D AY SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 30, 2017

T H I S D AY, T H E S AT U R D AY N E W S PA P E R • SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2017

PAGE EIGHT

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (3rd left); Attorney General & Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem (2nd left); Executive Director, Women’s Rights & Health Programme, Mrs. Bose Ironsi (left); Alternate Chairman, Domestic & Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT), Mrs. Clara Omotilewa Ibirogba (3rd right), members of DSVRT, Mrs. Omolola Rotimi (2nd right); Mrs. Alaba Fadairo (right); Police Public Relations Oﬃcer (PPRO), SP. Dolapo Badmos (3rd right behind) and others during the DSVRT courtesy visit to the Governor, at the Lagos House, Ikeja… yesterday

IPOB LEADER, KANU, NOT IN OUR CUSTODY, DHQ INSISTS Service and Biafra National Guard. I think I later confirmed that there was nothing to actually justify the roadblocks mounted by IPOB. I saw the militancy, nobody told me and I saw the action there. We are still investigating." Enenche contended that it was premature to assume that the Abuja Federal High Court would hold the military accountable for the disappearance of Kanu, stressing that there was no need to jump the gun. On the alleged proscription of IPOB by the military, Enenche said: "The military did not proscribe IPOB. Due process was followed. The job of the military is to diagnose security issues and warn the public of consequences and that is part of our media operations. "We did our media operations very well, otherwise, that weekend would have been the longest weekend in this country and we were also very careful choosing our words; we know the law very well. "People had mindset and they were in a hurry to attack the military because of their mindset. Because of that, it is a pity to say that some people lost their

reputation." On Operation Python Dance 11 in the South-east, Enenche said: "It is to enlighten them, educate them and make them aware about what the military has been doing and will continue to do. "For your information, I was in that area and I served there 12 years ago. We have been carrying out several exercises in the same way with different code names; nothing like this came up. So, when they reflect on such things, it will encourage them. "There were activities we carried out like medical outreaches; reaching out to the needs of people. The operation is not negative.” Asked if the military would also launch another operation to tackle herdsmen and farmers clashes, which has led to brutal killings in many parts of the country, Enenche said there was no need for any special operation on the crisis, “given that the crisis is being handled by an ongoing operation.” He maintained that the herdsmen and farmers conflict had already been tackled under "Operation Mesa.”

Enenche cautioned that there was the need to categorise “identified” herdsmen on one hand and “unidentified” herdsmen on another hand, and "let us not put to all of them together". The Director also assured Nigerians that no group would carry out the threat asking some tribes to leave their region, as the military has put everything in place to checkmate such incidents. He assured Nigerians across the country that though, the threat had been withdrawn, there was no cause for alarm regarding October 1st declarations by tribal groups in the North and South. Kanu is expected in court on 17th October, 2017 over alleged treason offences against the federal government. The IPOB leader’s lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor has filed a suit at the Federal High Court, Abuja against the Nigerian Army and the federal government, asking them to produce him, “taking cognizance of the fact that his disappearance was as a result of the invasion of his residence in Umuahia, Abia State.” Ohanaeze must champion Igbo

interest, not IPOB, Ngwaukwu people insist In a related development, the people of Ngwaukwu Ancestral Kingdom in Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area of Abia State have said that the separatist group should not be allowed to fight for Igbo interest. They accused IPOB of usurping the powers of Ohanaeze Ndihbo, “which is the body authorised and in a better position to fight for the interest of Ndigbo within the Nigerian state.” Ngwaukwu people made their position known in a statement issued after a meeting held at the palace of Ezeukwu of Ngwaukwu, HRM Eze Bernard Enweremadu, during which they deliberated on 'the matters of IPOB and security challenges in Abia state. The traditional Prime Minister, Nze Joe Nwogu, who read the statement he signed with the palace secretary, Samuel Azumara, expressed strong fears that the activities of IPOB could spark another civil war. They said that their nasty experiences in the civil war of 1967-70 “are too fresh to be forgotten” hence they would “not

BOKO HARAM: 57 PERCENT OF SCHOOLS IN BORNO CLOSED, SAYS UNICEF alone are closed as a result of the crisis, even as the new school year had begun. He decried that across the North-east, over 2,295 teachers had been killed and 19,000 others displaced since the crisis erupted over six years ago. Forsyth said almost 1,400 schools were destroyed in the crisis with majority still unable to open because of extensive damage or because they are in areas that remain unsafe. He said: "Children in Northeast Nigeria are living through so much horror. In addition to devastating malnutrition, violence and an outbreak of cholera, the attacks on schools is in danger of creating a lost generation of children, threatening their and the country's future." Forsyth said some children living in camps for the displaced in Borno State are actually benefiting from education for the first time in their lives. He said in Muna Garage Camp on the outskirts of Maiduguri, for example, an estimated 90 per cent of students were enrolled in

schools for the first time. He revealed that in the three most-affected states of northeast Nigeria, UNICEF and partners had enrolled nearly 750,000 children in school this year, and have established 350 temporary learning spaces and distributed almost 94,000 packs of learning material that would help children get education. He said UNICEF was also working with partners to rehabilitate schools and classrooms and train teachers, to build a stronger education system for the future. Forsyth equally lamented that the Boko Haram insurgents had forced many children into marriages and raped many girls severally. He said while in Banki, a Borno border town with Cameroon, he met nine girls within the ages of 11 and 17 that were constantly raped by insurgents who had kidnapped them. While in Maiduguri, Forsyth met with families and children affected by the conflict who told

him their fear living under Boko Haram and the dire conditions they live in. UNICEF complained that lifesaving emergency programmes in North-east remain underfunded, with only three months left in the year, as 40 per cent funding gap in its need for 2017 had been recorded. It said that to date, nearly a million children had been displaced by the crisis and 450,000 children under the age of five are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition this year. The organisation lamented that the use of children as human bombs numbering close to 100 this year alone so far, has sown a climate of mistrust among communities in the North-east, and cholera outbreak had affected more than 3,900 people, including over 2,450 children. Army kills two insurgents in Lake Chad Also yesterday, the Army in a statement by its Deputy Director, Public Relations, in charge of the 8 Task Force, Col. Timothy Atingha said

troops had continued to deny the remnants of Boko Haram terrorists in the Lake Chad area freedom of action and access to logistics within the division's area of responsibility. Atingha said the troops responding to a distress call yesterday, intercepted terrorists mounted on 14 horses in Malamti village, Guzamala Local Government Area of Borno State. "In the ensuing fire fight, gallant troops killed two terrorists and recovered two AK 47 riffles, three magazines, 26 rounds of 7.26 ammunition and one hand grenade. "Other items also recovered include 18 mobile phones, three mini solar panels, soap and detergents, bundles of assorted clothes and eight horses. Unfortunately, two soldiers were wounded during the engagement and are currently receiving medical attention," Atingha said. He revealed that other terrorists who fled the fire fight were being pursued in the exploitation which followed the engagement.

be part of any move or activities that will make another outbreak of war inevitable”. To forestall the possibility of another war, Ngwaukwu people said that IPOB should stop pretending to be championing the interest of Ndigbo when a formidable apex organization the Ohanaeze Ndigbo is in a better position to lead the fight for equity and justice. “The quest/agitation for Igbo interests, especially in the area of justice, equity and manifest sense of belonging is acceptable as that is within the ambit of the laws of Nigeria,” Nwogu said. Arguing that Ohanaeze Ndigbo should take the driving seat of championing the Igbo cause, the Traditional Prime Minister said that it was the position of Ngwaukwu that Ohanaeze remained the best suited body to fight for Igbo interest.

“IPOB should not be allowed to be bastardising or contradicting the existence and efforts of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, which is a better organised, experienced and intelligent body/platform to ventilate Igbo issues, interests and agitations,” he said. Aside from rejecting IPOB, the people of Ngwaukwu also weaved a conspiracy theory around its activities, saying that the group posed serious threat to the governorship seat of Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, the first person from Ukwa/Ngwa section of Abia to become the state governor. In his remarks corroborating the position of his people the Ezeukwu of Ngwaukwu, Eze Bernard Enweremadu took the argument further by stating that the old Aba zone was entitled to 16 years in government house since the old Bende zone had taken 16 years.

MUSEUM DISPLAYS OVER 3,000 HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHS, IMAGES OF BENIN PALACE Bray said the exhibition was significant because it was the first time in the history, the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art, Washington DC was holding an exhibition in Africa. He said: "I think we are delighted because this first exhibition in Africa is not only in Nigeria, it's here in Benin City. So, this exhibition of Benin National Museum will go a long way in preserving the essential history of Benin people and exhibition of its leaders. The cultural heritage was a reminder of the contribution and experiences of the people. "The US Government seeks to show its respect for culture by assisting efforts to preserve cultural heritage around the world, including Nigeria. "In the year 2000, the US government introduced an initiative called the Ambassador Fund for cultural preservation. This initiative awards grants for cultural preservation. As at 2013, the fund has provided support for more than 850 projects to preserve cultural heritage in more than 125 countries including Nigeria. We have several projects in Nigeria". In his speech, Director-General of National Commission for museums and Monuments, Dr. Yusuf Usman, said the

Commission had series of collaboration with museums around the world, stressing that "what makes this exhibition significant is that it comes with materials that have been taken out of Nigeria.” "The Alonge archival materials left the country many years back and now we have a replica. We have replica and we are going to use this to tell the story of not just the Royal Court of Benin but also Benin City in the 19th century, to help us to understand where we are as a people, where we have been as a people," said Usman. Responding to a question on Benin stolen art works in foreign countries, a Director of the Smithsonian's National Museum, Johnnetta Cole said it was incredibly important in their museum to honour where each and every object has come from. Cole added: "We have two figures and went to the government of Mali saying we were prepared to send them back. They told us they know where they are and proud that it is in the National Museum of African Art. If every work of African Art is returned to Africa, how will the rest of the world know of your arts, know of your culture, know of your history?”

SEPTEMBER 30, 2017 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

RingTrue

Yemi

Adebowale

07013940521 yemi.adebowale@thisdaylive.com

Globetrotting Governor Abdulaziz Yari on My Mind

am traumatised that Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State is still showily parading himself as the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum despite the terrifying sleaze allegations against the leadership of the NGF. This association of governors, which Yari chairs, is under investigation for paying billions of Naira to ghost consultants after the governors collected Paris Club refunds. In sane climes, Yari would have resigned. It is sickening to note that the Zamfara governor was on the Presidential delegation to the recent United Nations General Assembly in the United States. A man that is under probe is perpetually gallivanting with a President who claims to be fighting corruption. What an irony! Many of those who promised us “change” are now enmeshed in corruption allegations. The truth that must be told is that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has spent the last four months trying to retrieve billions of Naira paid to the ghost consultants by the NGF for allegedly facilitating the Paris Club Refunds. Few months back, the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered an interim forfeiture of N500 million and $500,000, suspected to have been laundered by Yari using the ghost NGF consultant. According to the EFCC, huge sums of money were fraudulently diverted from the bank account of the NGF, allegedly on the instruction of Yari. These were fees due to the ghost consultants engaged by the NGF. The dues were subsequently disbursed to the specialists in a manner not transparent. In an affidavit, the EFCC alleged that the N500 million was diverted to offset Yari’s personal loan obtained from First Generation Mortgage Bank Limited. It also alleged that another firm, Gosh Projects Limited, got $500,000, which was allegedly used for the purchase of building materials for a 100-room hotel project in Lagos, owned by another serving governor. Gosh Projects was also suspected to have used part of the looted funds for the purchase of treasury bills and transfers to offshore accounts of this serving governor from the South-east. The sums had already been recovered from the two firms by the anti-graft agency, before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba gave the interim forfeiture order on June 30. For now, nobody has come forward to challenge the EFCC and Justice Dimgba is set to approve the permanent forfeiture of the

Yari

money to the federal government. Armed with fresh evidence of diversion of the London-Paris Club refund, the EFCC is back in court. This time, it applied for the forfeiture of over N1.8 billion paid to another set of ghost consultants by the Yari-led NGF. In fact, one of the consultants allegedly confirmed to EFCC detectives that he did not do any job for the NGF. This particular fictitious consultant (Mountain Crest) had $3 million transferred into his account by the NGF from the loan repayment to states. I am earnestly waiting for what this Zamfara governor has to say about these sleaze allegations. He has refused to disclose his relationship with all the companies the funds were seized from by the EFCC. The affected firms are not protesting. It is scandalous that all we have been hearing on this issue are humdrum explanations from the spokesman of the NGF, Abdulrazaq Barkindo. When will Yari speak up? This is clearly not the “Change” Nigerians voted for. These squandering governors visibly agreed to pay 5 per cent as consultancy fees because of an obvious game plan to kick back the

fees into their pockets. By my calculation, a whopping N38 billion must have been paid to the ghost consultants from the N766.53 billion so far released to the governors. Sources at the EFCC disclosed that Yari only coordinated the alleged looting of the Paris Club refunds. It was gathered that virtually all the governors nominated ghost consultants for the fees paid out to the specialist by the NGF. This is clearly a money laundering arrangement. I spent most of this week weeping after seeing the list of governors involved in the scam. Even those I thought were fairly decent were on the list. Hapless Nigerians are in a one-chance bus. The most depressing part of this Paris Club Refund fraud is that after some state governors paid the 5% fees to NGF ghost consultants, five of them allegedly went further to pay between 2.5% and 5% of their refunds to another set of ghost consultants picked by them. Let’s go back to globetrotting Governor Yari. The NGF scam is just the latest in the series of storm trailing this man. His tenure as Zamfara governor is riddle with controversy. Many will not forget in a hurry how he viciously killed moves by legislators to impeach him last year. He simply got operatives of the Department of State Service to harass the leaders of the lawmakers. This brutal governor got the DSS in Abuja to detain the Speaker, Sanusi Garba Rikiji, his deputy, Muhammad Abubakar Gumi, the Majority Leader, Isah Abdulmumini and the Chief Whip, Abdullahi Dansadau. The remaining 20 members of the Assembly fled to Kaduna to avoid arrest. Prior to this, Yari used miscreants to attack the Speaker. The intimidation worked, with the lawmakers withdrawing their impeachment notice. Notwithstanding, Zamfara legislators have made their point about Yari’s alleged ineptitude, misappropriating allocations to the state, corrupt usage of local government funds, failing to implement the budgets and non-remittance of pension funds to pension administrators. These are hefty allegations. Rather than addressing the issues, Yari, who is constantly abroad, resorted to political intimidation, arrest and detention of principal officers of the

Peter Obi Vs Willy Obiano The Governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano and his predecessor, Peter Obi, have been dancing naked in public in the last three weeks. These two men clearly authorised all the tart statements issued by their media aides, because none of them has come out to deny the reports. The bone of contention is Obiano’s bid for a second term. Obi, who installed Obiano four years ago, telling the whole world then that Obiano was the only man qualified for the job, has now ditched him. According to Obi, Oseloka Obaze of the PDP is now the man for the Anambra job. Suddenly, a startled Obiano wants us to believe that Obi ditched him because he refused to provide him N7 billion demanded as gratification for installing him as governor. So, why is he telling the nation this, just few months to the Anambra governorship election? Perhaps, if Obi had supported his bid for 2nd term, Obiano would not have unveiled this side-splitting story. On his part, former governor Obi has suddenly realised that he left N75 billion in the bank accounts of the Anambra State Government for his successor which Obiano allegedly squandered. When the going was good, he did not tell us this. Obi wants us to believe that he spent eight years saving money for his successor, while Ndi Anambra struggled with basic amenities like public water supply, quality health and educational facilities and roads. How many additional

Obi

Obiano

homes had access to public water supply during the eight-year tenure of Obi? In any case, is good governance all about saving money for one’s successor? We have had enough of these repulsive stories by Obi. If this former governor had been able to sort out his dispute with Obiano, he would not be telling us all these funny stories. The truth is that

Obiano refused to dance to the tunes of his hitherto godfather called Peter Obi. This former governor should concentrate on his campaign for his new boy, Obaze, and tell us what his PDP man would be doing differently. I suspect that Obi is currently spending part of the money he saved in a special bank for Ndi Anambra on Obaze.

House and other support staff. Again, Yari’s frequent trips abroad are evidently impacting negatively on the day-to-day running of the government, apart from imposing financial burden on the state. That was why elder statesman, Saidu Dansadau, petitioned Buhari last year, asking him to declare a state of emergency in Zamfara State. Dansadua, a Second Republic Senator, said: “The governor hardly stays in the state as he prefers to travel all over the world at the expense of the state resources and safety of the people. He has spent only about 20 per cent of that whole period (five years) in Zamfara State. He had utilised the other 80 per cent junketing from one part of the country to the other and shuttling around the globe. All matters of state that require action are kept waiting until he returns to the state. Consequently, intelligence and security reports are kept in abeyance. For instance, at a period, out of 60 straight days, the governor spent only two days in Zamfara State.” While Yari is living big, Zamfara bleeds. This state remains one of the most backward in Nigeria. Public water supply, quality public schools and health institutions are scarce commodity in this state. May Allah save Zamfara State.

Boko Haram Killings in Guzamala, Mashimari, Kurmiri, Rann Boko Haram terrorists are still rampaging. We must continue to draw attention to it; perhaps, the Buhari administration will wake up from its slumber and do the needful. About 33 people were killed by the sect in Borno State in this month of September alone. That is 33 human lives lost within 30 days. Just three days ago, the terrorists attacked three villages in Guzamala Local Government Area of Borno. Three people were killed, while scores of homes were burnt. The LG’s Information Officer, Modu Ganamani, confirmed the killings and listed the villages attacked as Goram, Lingis and Ajidari. Earlier in September, suicide bombing in Mashimari (Konduga) claimed 15 lives with 43 others injured, as confirmed by Head of Rescue Operations, Borno State Emergency Management Agency, Bello Dambatta. Some of the injured are still in medical facilities in Maiduguri. The scene of the Mashimari attack was not far from the Mandarari Internal Displacement Camp that was attacked in August. Three weeks back, the Chief Imam of Kurmiri village and four others were killed by Boko Haram as confirmed by the Caretaker Committee Chairman of Magumeri Local Government Area, Abubakar Abdulkadir. The terrorists invaded Kurmiri, brandishing AK-47 rifles. The slain Kurmiri Chief Imam, Ustaz Tabare, was the elder brother to a popular Politician in Magumeri, Mallam Goni Kundube. Magumeri has witnessed a series of deadly attacks this year, including the killing of 69 oil explorers. On September 20, the terrorists invaded some villages in Rann, Kala-Balge Local Government Area, killing nine farmers. The Chief Imam of Rann, Ba’liman Guja confirmed the killings, adding that some of the farmers who survived had fled to Cameroon. Others returned to the IDP camp in Rann with gunshot and dagger wounds. These are Boko Haram killings backed with facts and figures. Many local government areas in Borno State are no-go areas. This is why over 2.1 million IDPs can’t return to their homes. This is also why about 60 per cent of schools in Borno State remain shut. For how long shall this delusion by the Buhari administration continue? This is food for thought for all of us today.

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LAST RESPECTS... The Vice-president Prof Yemi Osibanjo; Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obaino and State Commander of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Anambra State, Sule Momodu of at IďŹ tedunu Anambra state for the burial ceremony of Mr Ben Akabueze mother

TCN: Egbin Plant Trip off Caused Thursday Night Nationwide System Collapse )LOHV IRU H[WUDRUGLQDU\ WDULÍž UHYLHZ WR VHFXUH VSLQQLQJ UHVHUYH Chineme Okafor in Abuja The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has given reasons why public power supply across the entire country went off on Thursday night. According to the TCN, generation outages from three units of Egbin power plant on that night resulted in a total collapse of the electricity system, hence the outage. It said in a statement on Friday

in Abuja, that at about 8:03pm on Thursday, its supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system picked up the development, adding that restoration of generation and supplies to the grid however started at about 8:22pm. â€œReports obtained from stations and the sequence of events generated by the SCADA system indicated that the system collapse was triggered by the tripping of Egbin units ST4,

ST6 and ST5 at â€˜20:03:15, 20:03:32 and 20:03:34â€™ respectively. â€œBy this incident, the Nigerian electric power grid lost generation completely before restoration commenced at 20:22hrs,â€? said the statement. The TCN further explained that a post mortem analysis of the event indicated that grid generation was shortened to about 4,262.7 megawatts (MW) prior to the inception of the

disturbance which it added was due to capacity under-utilisation and the fact that operational capability required to maintain grid stability had waned thus leaving the system vulnerable to the extent that distresses of such magnitude resulted in severe system frequency dip that culminated in system collapse. â€œThe analysis clearly indicated that there was insufficient level of spinning reserve provided by grid-connected

generation companies arising from low tariffs for providing ancillary services,â€? it added. Following from the lack of spinning reserves to jumpstart the system during instances of such collapse, TCN stated that it had applied to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for an extraordinary tariff review to incentivise power generation companies (Gencos) to provide

such services. It stated: â€œIn order to avert such incidence on a sustainable basis, the Transmission Company of Nigeria has filed an application to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission for an extraordinary tariff review as a means of ensuring that generation companies are incentivised to provide sufficient spinning reserves and other ancillary services that are critical for managing the national grid.

EEDC to Spend N80bn PANDEF, HOSTCOM Disagree Over Oil Pipeline Security on Meters for Customers Sylvester Idowu inWarri

David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, EEDC has said it would need N80billion to procure meters for its customers in the South east zone. The company said it had already spent N10 billion in metering its customers to ensure accuracy and exact billing power consumption pattern and would not relent until all its customers were metered. The Companyâ€™s head of communication, Mr. Emeka Eze stated this in Awka during a town hall meeting with customers of the company. Eze said the company inherited a metering gap of about 700,000 customers, which was supposed to cost about N80 billion, but having spent N10 billion already, the number of those requesting for it had reduced as it was still distributing them. â€œEven as I speak to you, we are

still distributing meters. We are doing it feeder by feeder, and that it has not gotten to you does not mean that we are not distributing. We will continue to do so until it goes round. We only urge our customers to go online and apply and not to give money to anyone as the meters are not for sale,â€? he said. Earlier, Mr. Samuel Onuoha, the companyâ€™s network manager explained to customers that meters ordered by the company had arrived the country and a fresh phase of distribution would start soon. He also assured that newly installed transformer at the companyâ€™s transmission station would soon be powered, and that it would boost the availability of power especially with the improvement in power generation. â€œWe now generate 7,000 megawatts of electricity, but the problem we have is distribution. Problems associated with estimated bills would be over soon too."

The plan by the Federal Government to recruit youths of the Niger Delta for security of oil and gas assets in the region is now being threatened with altercation between The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) and leadership of Host Communities of Nigeria, producing Oil and Gas (HOSTCOM) as to which group would be responsible for the exercise aimed at creating jobs as well as protection of the pipelines.

While PANDEF said the recruitment of the youths for the pipeline surveillance was part of its 16 point demands from the Federal Government, HOSTCOM claimed that the programme was its initiative while being member of the body until recently when it pulled out of Chief Edwin Clark led group. PANDEF, in a statement signed by its Coordinating Secretary, Dr. Alfred Mulade said yesterday that "The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) was taken aback by

a misleading story reported on page 12 of a national newspaper of September 22, 2017, with the caption: "N-DELTA: FG engages 10,000 youths in Pipelines Security", credited to one Amb. Benedict Opara, Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to one Prince Mike Emuh, self-acclaimed National Chairman of Host Communities of Nigeria, producing Oil and gas (HOSTCOM), in which various spurious assertions were made including the launch of what he called 'Operation Secure the Oil and

Gas Pipelines, OSOGP, Nationwide. "For the avoidance of doubt and for the benefit of Federal Government and all relevant stakeholders, the development and adoption of a comprehensive program for the security surveillance of oil and gas Pipelines in the Niger Delta Region is an item in what is now better known worldwide as the PANDEF 16 -Point Agenda, which has been adopted by the Federal Government as the Working Document for the new vision for the development of the Niger Delta Region."

Museum Displays Over 3,000 Historic Photographs, Images of Benin Palace Contâ€™d from Pg.1 Obaseki hosts US Envoy Prior to the commencement of the exhibition, the Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki hosted the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Stuart Symington, on Thursday night. Obaseki told the visiting envoy that law, order and justice were

major pillars of his administration, adding that building an equitable society must be anchored on peace and justice. He added that Edo State was an integral part of Nigeria, and as such, was in full support of Nigeriaâ€™s unity. â€œThere are certain things that are not negotiable.

Nigeria is not negotiable. But it is not just enough to say that Nigeria is not negotiable. Everything has to work for the common man. That is why we are prioritising wealth creation so that people are equipped to contribute meaningfully to society.â€? Mr. Symington said with

Nigeriaâ€™s population projected to climb to 450 million by 2050 amid concerns of rising youth bulge and other social economic implications, the country would stand a better chance to exploit its potential if it prioritises justice administration, girl-child education and delivery of good governance.

T H I S D AY SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 30, 2017

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COMMENTARY

ABUJAâ€™S UNOCCUPIED HOUSES AND ESTATES Erhisohwode A. Ovie urges the authorities to go after the owners of some luxury property

ccording to the UNODC STAR report 2014, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) annual reports describe in detail the variety and â€œcreativityâ€? behind money laundering mechanisms. An interesting feature of that â€˜creativityâ€™ is that different types of crimes tend to rely on different types of laundering mechanisms. Relying on reports from the FATF and the Egmont Group, Reuters and Truman (2004) have tabulated the laundering mechanism employed by each type of crime. They ďŹ nd that out of 580 cases analysed, nearly 25 per cent of them used wire transfers as the laundering mechanism and 13 per cent used front companies. The money laundering process involves four stages which include predicate crimes through corruption and bribery, fraud and other serious crimes. First the monies are illegally taken out of the common purse and via a backdoor, introduced into the stream of commerce. After they do that, they ďŹ nd a way of distancing the money from its criminal source either by moving the money to different accounts or moved to different countries. At the last stage of this criminal masterminding, the laundered monies are distributed back to the criminals and therefore create an appearance of legitimate wealth. Reports in the media have shown that a lot of houses and estates in the city of Abuja are empty. Most of them are proceeds of elaborate money laundering schemes. But tell me: how can an average Nigerian living within the limits of his earning afford to pay such sums as would be needed to rent those houses? Several instances wherein ill-gotten wealth has been allegedly used to procure property abound. Past and present public servants are alleged to own mansions in Dubai, the United Kingdom and the US, and property dotting the nooks and crannies of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. There is also a case involving a former Chief of Staff who spent the sum of N1.4billion allegedly stolen from the accounts of the Nigerian Air Force to purchase a mansion in Maitama, Abuja. For lack of exhaustive investigations, these

REPORTS IN THE MEDIA HAVE SHOWN THAT A LOT OF HOUSES AND ESTATES IN THE CITY OF ABUJA ARE EMPTY. MOST OF THEM ARE PROCEEDS OF ELABORATE MONEY LAUNDERING SCHEMES

properties have not been seized and confiscated. Therefore, if the report on Premium Times of Tuesday, September 5, 2017 is something we can put our finger on, that the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property may soon take over empty houses in Abuja and sell them, then we can all rejoice that indeed some change is coming. You will agree with me that if all these laundered monies were properly expended in our beloved nationâ€™s industrial, ICT and agricultural sectors, this country will be a centre of excellence and an attraction to foreign investors. Today, politicians send their children abroad for studies believing that our institutions are already crumbled and substandard. If all these laundered monies were used to enhance our educational system and promote good academic research in our universities, matters would be different today in Nigeria. To this end, I suggest that the federal government should look critically into the area of illegally acquired choice properties, both home and abroad. In the UK, British citizens cannot buy a home with cash. Rather they pay for a home via a mortgage system. But that same Britain, the US and other EU countries would accept large amounts of money from Nigerians to buy a home instead of helping Nigeria to fob off or arrest those stealing from public purses to buy homes abroad. Most of us were happy with the introduction of the Bank Verification Number (BVN) and which has saved the billions of naira which money launderers would have easily siphoned. For the criminally-minded amongst us, their one hope today is built on the landed properties and hotels acquired in and outside the country with looted funds. Politicians who acquire expansive and expensive landed property and erect choice hotels are not ghosts. They are human beings. They can be reined in for questioning and prosecuted accordingly. I urge the anti-corruption agencies to continue to pursue those who are using stolen public monies to build houses which the average Nigerian cannot afford to rent. Ovie wrote from ANEEJ, Benin City

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN GOVERNANCE (1)

The introduction of â€˜card for good livingâ€™ by the Mimiko administration in Ondo is commendable, writes Ima Matthew

n terms of social protection, Ondo State is the most progressive environment, in Nigeria, actually in Africa. When you look at the number of social intervention programmes, the quality, and the number of people beneďŹ ting from the programmes, and how long that they have been enjoying these social services, Ondo State is unbeatable in Africa. â€“ Tejinder Sandhu, Chief of Field Office of UNICEF, Monday, July 24, 2017 Mimikoâ€™s achievements in office, which spanned multi-sectors in eight years, have defied the norms of Nigerian politics. Thereâ€™s no denying, therefore, that any public official in Nigeria who is interested in driving real change would prioritise putting in place social safety measures to bridge the inequality gap and drive meaningful progress in the society. Recently some state governors announced plans to launch residency cards. Characteristically, buzzwords such as â€˜social safetyâ€™, â€˜social protectionâ€™ and â€˜pull citizens out of anonymityâ€™ litter the government press releases. For keen observers of public policy in the country, these press statements, which come straight from the PR engine room of the governments, have been met with a mix of scepticism and concern. At various times in the past decade, a number of state governments have initiated a residency card project or some other forms of identification cards. The Delta State (2016) and Edo State (2010) governments launched residency cards, which appeared to have gone defunct after colourful full-page adverts announcing the projects in national newspapers. In 2012, the Imo State governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha made a bizarre mention of a plan to introduce a state identification card for Northerners in the state to checkmate the violence perpetuated by the Fulani herdsmen militia. His intentions gave rise to widespread condemnation. The Nigerian Senate declared the project inconsistent with Nigeriaâ€™s constitution and he abandoned the idea. In a similar move, the Imo State Government introduced a â€˜smart ID cardâ€™ for civil servants in the state in 2013. The project was met with stiff resistance mostly due to the cost to the state workers. The Rauf Aregbesola administration of Osun State launched a smart card for civil servants in April 2014. It was to serve several purposes including being a source of identification. In August of the same year, it launched a students card. On the day of the â€œlaunchâ€? of the civil servants card, as it turned out, there was neither a database for the card nor proof that any citizen had been issued with one. None of these cards have been widely deployed till date. The Lagos State Residency Registration Agency was created in 2011. As at July 2017, records from

the agencyâ€™s website indicate that only 400,000 permanent cards are â€œready for collectionâ€?. LASRRA did not respond to e-mailed questions pertaining to current data on the project. However, if available information is correct, it means that 400,000 Lagos residents would have the residency card; this represents 6.7% of the stateâ€™s 22 million population. This penetration level cannot be applauded as a success. It is safe to say that past and on-going attempts by state governments to introduce residency cards have simply not worked. But, in the landscape of e-governance false starts, there is a leading light. Before we take a close look at this internationally acclaimed success story, it is useful to review the foundation for creating a database of citizens of any society. In 2009, when a World Bank report revealed that an alarming 2.8 billion people on the globe lived in poverty, of which one billion (about one in six people) were classified as living in extreme poverty, the chief executives of the United Nations System came together and created the concept of a Social Protection Floor (SPF). This high profile intervention put together by these leading international NGOs identified four essential social protection rights, which ideally, should be universal. The SPF contains four key components which are aimed at providing universal access to basic social services (like healthcare, education, housing, clean water, and others) and social transfers (in cash or kind) aimed at primarily guaranteeing income security and food security. The United Nations Systems Chief Executives Board for Co-ordination (UNCEB) identified governments, as the central actors for promoting social intervention policies that would reduce the extreme inequality around the world. At the time the SPF was coined in 2009, social protection programmes had been implemented, decades prior, in most of the developed world. It has been established, through observation and empirical research, that the most impactful governments were those that deliberately designed and deployed a social intervention programme. Also, the bedrock of an effective social protection scheme is the quality of data used in crafting policy, decision-making, and implementation. The most recent World Bank report on global poverty, published in 2013 and updated on October 2016, indicates that 10.7% of the worldâ€™s population lives in extreme poverty. Half of this 766 million people live in sub Saharan Africa. A vast majority of them in rural areas are poorly educated, and half of this number is under 18 years old. According to Nigeriaâ€™s National Bureau of Statistics, 100 million Nigerians live in â€œabsolute

povertyâ€? as at 2012. The World Bank puts Nigeriaâ€™s poverty level at 33.1% as at 2014. Leading development experts say that political stability, a crippling income inequality, ethnic conflict, corruption, and poor governance bring on this grim statistic. Thereâ€™s no denying, therefore, that any public official in Nigeria who is interested in driving real change would prioritise putting in place social safety measures to bridge the inequality gap and drive meaningful progress in the society. One obvious step in this regard would be to identify those people who live on the margins of society; the people who are often undocumented, living anonymously, â€œthe forgotten onesâ€?. No government can be effective at driving positive change without a credible demographic disaggregation of its people at its fingertips. Because, at the foundation of an effective social protection policy must be quality data â€“ not taken from a sample, but from the entire population. Credible data helps a government understand the people it governs; who they are, where they live, how they live, what they do for a living, how much they earn, how many children they have, where their children go to school, and how healthy they are. Since the return of civilian rule in 1999, several attempts have been made, albeit unsuccessfully, to capture a modern database of Nigerians. The last national census held in the country in 2006 was an analogue affair in which census officials who didnâ€™t use any electronic equipment on the field used the old-school, door-to-door method. Till date, the official population figures for the country are estimated. Multiple experts have called the population figures â€œdubiousâ€? and the statistician-general of the country has labelled the 170 million-census figure as â€œmere speculationâ€?. It is against this backdrop that Dr. Olusegun Mimiko came on the stage in 2009 with a clearly defined vision of what he wanted to accomplish as the governor of Ondo State. Pretty much reflective of those of the national statistics, Ondo State had poor human development indexes in 2009. With a population of about four million, school enrolment was the lowest in the Southwestern region and maternal mortality was one of the highest in the same region, in a country with an alarming average maternal mortality ratio. In his inaugural speech on February 24, 2009, Dr. Mimiko provided a glimpse into his vision with regard to social protection for his people when he told a jubilant crowd, â€œI want to know all of you by name. I want to know where you live. I want to know what you do for a living. I want to be able to talk to you one-on-one. I want to know the

exact number seeking employment and I want to know what type of qualifications you have. I need to know these and many other things to be able to catalyse the joint processes and mechanism for the realisation of our collective dream.â€? In a 2016 press briefing, Dr. Mimiko captured, succinctly, the backstory of the creation of the ground-breaking smart residency card, Kaadi Igbe Ayo. During his famed election tribunal, which lasted between 2007 and 2009, his legal strategy included using technology to prove that his opponent, then Governor Olusegun Agagu, had rigged the keenly contested poll. At some point, it was suggested that Mimikoâ€™s campaign organisation should buy a software from Korea that would help him to strengthen the evidence he presented in the trial. But when his campaignâ€™s Information Communications Technology (ICT) heard of this suggestion, they kicked against it and took up the challenge of creating a software that would sort out hundreds of thousands of ballot papers and match them with right ballot boxes. In 48 hours, our team produced a software with a small fraction of money that would have been spent on the foreign software,â€? Dr. Mimiko explained to journalists at the Ondo Governorâ€™s Office in February 2016. â€œThis confirmed what I had always known. That with the enabling environment, Nigerians, especially their youth, can do exploits in the field of technology and quite frankly, even surpass the worldâ€™s best. I always knew we would run a Social Democratic Government and the bedrock of a social protection programme is the ability to track your people, to know who they are, where they live, how they live, and what government interventions they need,â€? the then Ondo governor said at that event. Immediately Dr. Mimiko was sworn into office, the ICT team was one of the first he put in place to begin work on creating a multi-functional residency card that wouldnâ€™t just be a photo identification card or a biometric card, but a truly smart card that was â€œpracticable, scalable, affordable, and sustainable.â€? The project was part of a broad plan to deliver government services to the people. As the team set to work, they soon discovered that they had to work without the benefit of a credible benchmark to guide their processes. â€œIt turned out that Mimikoâ€™s vision of a robust multi-functional residency card had never been done anywhere in the world,â€? Tunde Yadeka, who served as the chairperson of the Ondo State Information Technology Agency from 2010 to 2017, said. Matthew, a journalist and blogger, is currently a ďŹ nal year student of the University of Calabar

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INSIGHT

Do we cry or laugh?

Lagos and the â€˜Resurrectedâ€™ Awo

n Othello, one of his famous works, iconic playwright, Williams Shakespeare, stresses the importance of good reputation with the following words: â€œGood name in man and woman, dear my lord, is the immediate jewel of their souls: Who steals my purse steals trash; â€™tis something, nothing; â€˜was mine, â€™tis his, and has been slave to thousands; But he that ďŹ lches from me my good name Robs me of that which not enriches him, And makes me poor indeed.â€? This, perhaps, amply describes what the motivation of late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, throughout his political and public service career in building for himself a rare reputation that was hinged on integrity, sacriďŹ ce, commitment and selďŹ‚essness. No wonder, 30 years after his demise, his name still rings a bell across the land and beyond, opening impregnable doors for members of his family as well as political associates. It is therefore not surprising when the late sage metaphorically resurrected in Lagos State recently with the state governmentâ€™s unveiling of a new statue in honour of the revered icon that many simply refer to as Awo. The striking sculpture located along Obafemi Awolowo Way by the Lagos Television (LTV) junction inâ€™, Agidingbi, Ikeja, is no doubt a befiting replacement to the old Awolowo statue that used to be at the Allen Avenue roundabout in Ikeja, Lagos. Standing at 20 feet, the new Awo statue reinforces the unwavering commitment of the Lagos State Government to appreciating the contributions of patriots whose deeds and ideals were instrumental to the social-economic and political wellbeing of Lagos State in particular and Nigeria in general. Designed and produced by Hamza Atta, the Awo bust represents and projects the true value of the late sage and calls the attention of everyone, especially students of history to the legacy of the leading statesman. Undoubtedly, the statue will serve as a constant reminder to all, especially future generations of the need to value the sacrifice of our heroes and strive towards upholding and promoting the ideals which some of them lived and died for. It is mainly in doing this that we can truly ensure that the labour of our heroes past is not in vain. Hannah Arendt, German-born US philosopher and historian, once said that the connection between history and nature is by no means an opposition. History receives into its remembrance those mortals who through deeds and words have proved themselves worthy of nature, and their everlasting fame means that they may remain in the company of the things that last forever. Immortalising our heroes, is surely one way of spurring present and future generation of Nigerians to effectively connect with our past with a view to committing them to the vision and ideals of our founding fathers. With several agitations for one thing or the other across the country, there is, indeed, no better time to do this than

this particular period in the history of our dear nation. In Nigeria, the subsequent drop in the quality of leadership inevitably is the result of decline and seemingly loss of hope by many in the nation. One of the most important ways of instilling patriotism and inculcating self-belief and a â€˜can doâ€™ spirit in our youths is through immortalising our heroes, both past and living. It is important that we regularly cull from the life of our heroes, great lessons in discipline, altruism, honesty, focus, perseverance, patriotism and hard work, among other useful virtues. It is hoped that by immortalising our heroes and ultimately calling attention to the ideals they hold in high esteem, our compatriots, young and old, would be encouraged to live a selfless life that is anchored on patriotism and integrity. These are some of the virtues that made Chief Obafemi Awolowo, one of the founding fathers of Nigeria, traversed the countryâ€™s sociopolitical landscape as a colossus for decades. Born in Ikenne, Ogun State, on March 6, 1909, the late sage has been variously described by different people in diverse ways. For instance, he was once described by late Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu as the â€˜Best President Nigeria never hadâ€™. Former military ruler, General Yakubu also dubbed him as a â€˜revered political leaderâ€™ while former military dictator, General Ibrahim Babangida, once referred to him as â€˜the main issue in Nigerian politicsâ€™. Tayo Ogunbiyi, Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Lagos

T H E SAT U R DAY N E W S PA P E R EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU DEPUTY EDITOR YEMI ADEBOWALE MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATIONâ€™S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN

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

In Praise of MusaWada

oday in Kogi a new type of professional has arrived with a difference. He is Engr. Musa Wada. Engr Wada was taught that the only thing not to do is to look out for oneself. If thy neighbour stumbles, reach down to help him up. That self-proďŹ t should not be a commandment is one of the basic lessons he learnt from his parents. Wada believes that the very dynamics of the current societal or individual developmental goals should not be to separate people from one another. Such mean isolation was never part of him and he did not allow it creep into his personality. The world has entered a new period where progressive, human reforms are not fashionable. We are told by the elite to be practical, to accept things the way things are. There is no struggle over competing ideals; we are told the current political economy is immutable. The only thing that matters is whether you master its dynamics to succeed or you sink and fall. To attempt to change things is as futile as trying to change the sky and clouds themselves. To Musa Wada this is a blatant lie. To him change is possible and change we must. He believes there is no such thing as having no personal ideology. He believes every personality is bound by one thought system or another. He refuses to accept the false premise that there is

no alternative to how things are done in a society. Engr Wada rather has chosen to help galvanise his professional experience to develop the society. This is the difference. Musa Wada is Kogi Stateâ€™s star at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). He has dedicated his life to the dream of making institutions strong in the country. He is a born philanthropist and has touched the lives of many ordinary folks in Kogi. He believes as in almost all social interactions, there are few acts devoid of subjective ideological colorations. The decisions each person makes determined how he would love the world to be - our very actions are determined by what we value so as to keep and what we are willing to discard when our ship is tossed either by storm or even navigation. This is the cardinal reasons for his philantrophy. In the hard sciences such as physics, chemistry or mathematics, one can speak of immutable principles and objectives formular. In the affairs of man, most things are subjective, virtue and vice, good and bad. Definitions change with the ideological and moral perspectives of each group. But Musa Wada believes in his principles and goals and these goals are the emancipation of his people. I am not enthused by the flaws of the political elite in Kogi State because the personality we are talking about in this write â€“ up is not known for any political activities. What I seek is a new type of Kogi State that emulates and appreciates those who have strenuously contributed enough to the upliftment of the Kogi society and its people. Today, it is a known fact that heroes are scarce, I mean heroes in the real sense of it. Comrade Musa Wada, Abuja

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NEWSXTRA

In Brief Fraudsters Clone Obasekiâ€™s Website

TheGovernorofEdoState,Mr.GodwinObasekihasraisedthealarmoverthe activitiesoffraudsters,whodefraudunsuspectingmembersofthepublicon fakedigitalplatforms,purportedlybelongingtohim.Obasekiexplainedthat thecriminalsuseallkindsoftactics,includingposingastheGovernorofEdo Stateorhisagents,whocangivejobs,contractsandotherfavoursforafee.He advisedhisgrowingnumberofsupportersonthevariousdigitalmediachannels tobecircumspectanddisregardtheanticsofthefraudsters.â€œOurattention hasbeendrawntothisextremelyfraudulentact.Asastategovernment,wedo notadvertisejobsorcontractsonmypersonalwebsite,Facebook,Instagram pagesortwitterhandle.

Uba: I'll Remain in, Work for APC

SenatorAndyUba,agovernorshipaspirantoftheAllProgressivesCongress, APCintheparty'sprimaryelectionhassaidthathewouldnotleavetheparty. UbawhoaddressedhissupportersathiscampaignheadquartersonFriday saidhehadresolvedtostickwiththepartyandalsoworkforitasitremained the best party that had the interest of the people at heart. Uba had earlier expresseddisenchantmentovertheparty'sprimaryelectionconductedby BornoStateGovernor,AlhajiKashimShettimainwhichUbahadbeendefeated by Hon Tony Nwoye. There had been fears that Uba who is regarded as an influentialmemberofthepartymayleavewithhissupporters.ButUbawhile addressinghissupporterssaid,"whateverIcandotomakethepartywin,Iwill do. I will work for the party, and I will work to ensure it wins. APC is our party, I havedonealotfortheparty,andIwillnotleaveitforanyotherpoliticalparty, thatismyresolve,"Ubasaid.

GOOD TO SEE YOU... L-R: wGovernor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state and the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Stuart Symington , during the dinner for the Ambassador, hosted by the governor at Government House Benin City on Thursday

CBN Injects Fresh $308.5m into Forex Market Obinna Chima

Fear of herdsmen attack has gripped Ndiolumbe Nvosi community of Isiala Ngwa local government, Abia State following the refusal of herdsmen to vacate farm lands, insisting that it was their right to choose where to graze their cattle. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has continued to sustain liquidity in the foreign exchange (forex) market as it intervened once more yesterday with $308.5m. This move was expected to further ensure liquidity and stability in the forex market. The CBN Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, who gave the figures in Abuja, announced that the latest intervention of the CBN in the retail

segment was part of the regular interventions of the central bank, in line with its commitment to sustain liquidity to meet genuine requests in the market. While warning against speculations in the market, Okorafor said the CBN had put necessary checks in place to guard against the activities of speculators. He stressed the determination of the Bank to continue its forex intervention. He urged genuine users of foreign exchange to approach their banks, as the banks had enough forex to meet their demand. While the naira went for N360 to the dollar on the Bureau De Change segment, it closed at N364 to the dollar on the parallel market yesterday. The central bank had opened

the week with a boost of $195 million. The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele had at Tuesday's Monetary Policy Meeting (MPC), noted the continuing improvement in Nigeriaâ€™s external reserves position and the equities segment of the capital market, adding that the foreign reserves position grew to US$32.9 billion at the close of business on September 25, while the All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 7.20 per cent from 33,117.48 on June 30 to 35,504.62 on August 31. â€œTotal foreign exchange inflows through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) rose by 1.98 per cent in August 2017, compared with the previous month. Similarly, total outflow increased by 7.03 per cent during the same period as a result of increased international remit-

tances, inclusive of public sector and JVC payments, which rose by 58.59 per cent in the period under review,â€? Emefiele had said. The MPC, observed the trend towards convergence between the rates at the bureau-de-change (BDC) segment of the FX market and the Nigeria Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEX) segment, as well as the stability of the exchange rate at the inter-bank segment of the FX market during the review period. â€œSimilarly, the committee noted the success of the Investorsâ€™ and Exportersâ€™ window (I &E) of the foreign exchange market and traced this not only to foreign investor confidence but also to the zeal and commitment of Nigerian exporters who have demonstrated preference for the window to the parallel market.

Police Nab Driver for Alleged Rape

Acommercialdriver,TopeOjolo,whoallegedlyrapedasickfemalestudentofthe CollegeofEducation,IkereEkiti,hasbeenarrestedbythePolice.Thesuspect committedthecrimeatabout8.00pmonSeptember17whileconveyingthe victim,whowassaidtobecomingbackfromahospitalwhereshehadgoneto receivetreatmentformalaria.Whiletakingtheladytoschool,Ojolowassaid to have suddenly veered into the bush and forcefully had carnal knowledge of the victim who was the only passenger inside the mini bus, known in local parlanceasâ€œakoto,â€?atthetimeoftheincident.Theallegedviolationofthegirl by the driver sparked a riot in Ikere, the following day when students of the collegewentonrampageandattackedcommercialdrivers.

Air France, KLM Celebrate Nigeria at 57

IncommemorationofNigeriaâ€™s57thIndependenceDayandalsotocelebrate itwithcustomers,AirFranceandKLMNigerialaunchedanIndependenceDay promotaggedten57.ThisIndependenceDaypromowhichstartedonThursday andwillrunfromtillOctober6, 2017forticketsaleswithatravelperiodfrom nowtillDecember13,2017.Statementsfromtheairlinessaidclientsplanning totravelwithintheperiodfromAbuja,LagosandPortHarcourt,wouldenjoy discount fares to various destinations. â€œMoreover, clients can enjoy a free stopoverinAmsterdamwhentravellingonKLM,orPariswhentravellingon AirFrance.ThispromoisofferedtovariousdestinationssuchasAmsterdam, Paris,London,Manchester,Venice,Rome,Milan,Madrid,Frankfurt,Lisbon,New York,Washington,Los-Angeles,Chicago,Toronto,Montrealandmanymore.

Sheraton Lagos, Abuja on Special Offers

To celebrate Nigeriaâ€™s 57th independence, both Sheraton Lagos Hotel and SheratonAbujaHotelaremarkingitwithspecialoffersandeventstocelebrate theday.AccordingtotheAreaGeneralManageroftheSheraton,FourPoints andLeMeridienHotelsinNigeria-Mr.BarryCurran,â€œourteamsattheSheraton Lagos and Abuja have carefully created room packages and offers that will guaranteeanilluminatingexperienceforourguestsduringtheIndependence celebrations.Tostartitoff,wehavecompellingdiscountedroomratesonoffer whichstartsfromN34,999attheSheratonAbuja.

Abdulsamad,OthersLead2017AABLANominees

N283m Exam Budget Fraud: Edo Kogi ASUP Decries Alleged Military Sacks Perm Sec, Suspends 3 Others Invasion, Detention of Students Edo State Government on Friday sacked a permanent secretary in the State Ministry of Youth and Special Duties, Dr. Osayuware Idahosa and three other civil servants over alleged padding budget for the conduct of primary school examination to the tune of N283 million. Dr. Idahosa who served as Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Education at the time the alleged fraud was committed, was referred to the State Civil Service Commission for appropriate action, according to the rules and guidelines of the service. The decision was the outcome of an extraordinary session of the State Executive Committee meeting, headed by the Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaskei, in Government House, Benin City. The other officers involved in the alleged fraud are Mr. S. A. Erhunmwunse Edokpayi, Mrs. E.I. Ero-Ugiagbe and Mr. Lucky Adagbonyin. The EXCO resolved that they should proceed on indefinite suspension without pay and their case forwarded to the State Civil Service Commission for appropriate actions according to the rules and guidelines

of the service. Recall that Governor Obaseki vowed to unmask the people that sent a N283 million request for the conduct of primary school examination in the state, which was eventually conducted at the cost of N30 million. Speaking to journalists after the meeting, the Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Rt. Hon. Paul Ohonbamu said that the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Yinka Omorogbe, submitted a report on the panel of enquiry on the conduct of the 2016/2017 Primary School Leaving Certificate Examination and after due consideration of findings and recommendations, the EXCO took the decisions. According to Ohonbamu: â€œEXCO also set up a committee to be chaired by the Honourable Commissioner for Employment and Wealth Creation, Hon. Emmanuel Usoh to investigate the delisting of about 350 private schools from the list of eligible schools to participate in the Primary School Leaving Certificate Examination and also the conditions that led to the relisting of these schools shortly after they were delisted.â€?

Yekini Jimoh in Lokoja

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, Kogi State Polytechnics chapter on Friday called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai to institute a high powered investigation into the alleged invasion and brutalisation of students and staff of the institution by some soldiers on the order of the state government. The accident occurred on Wednesday morning at Felele, an outskirts of Lokoja when a truck loaded with cement coming from Obajana and heading to the northern part of the country rammed into oncoming vehicles, killing about seven people including a female student of the state polytechnic. As a result of the incident, aggrieved students took to the gate of their school to protest the killings of their colleagues, while requesting managementâ€™s appropriate action. However, the Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP) Kogi State chapter, Mr. Gboloromi Sunday Samuel while speaking with newsmen in Friday

condemned the action of the Army whom he said allegedly stormed the campus, moving from classroom to classrooms, brutalising students and staff who were supervising the semester examinations. His word, "Soldiers who were armed to teeth stormed the campus, entered every corner, even our bedrooms, arresting both students, lecturers and non-academic staff, hounding them into detention, even as they were shooting teargas sporadically into classrooms and offices . â€? In fact, two heavily pregnant female students were forced to lay down on their tummies until they fainted before they were rushed to the hospital. Many of our colleagues were hospitalised, as the soldiers went from campus churches to mosque to arrest even the worshipers. â€?It is barbaric and those soldiers involved should not only apologise but should be brought to book. It is unfortunate that in a democratic setting, soldiers would storm an academic environment to brutalise and humiliate and arrest students who were protesting the death of their colleagues.

ForemostbillionairebusinessmanandNigeriaâ€™sfourthrichestmanaccording toForbes,AbdulsamadRabiuhasbeennominatedforthe2017WestAfrica BusinessLeaderoftheyearatthe2017CNBC/AllAfricanBusinessLeaders Award.Rabiu,CEO/FounderofBUAGroup,aNigerianfoodandinfrastructure conglomerate was named alongside other CEOs such as Jennifer Bash, the CEOAKTZindustries,andMwauraNdichu,theCEOInterswitchGRP,JoyceAnn Jawainaina, the CEO of Citi bank who are also in contention for various regionalawards.TheExecutiveChairman/CEO,BUAGroupwhoin2016won theCBNC/AABLAAfricanIndustrialistoftheYearAwardwasamongfinalists for this yearâ€™s award barely a month after commissioning BUA Cement $1 billionplantinEdoStateandsigninga$500milliontextileclusteragreement inKatsinaState.

Immigration, Business Seminars

Nigerianswillingtopursuecareers,investorstudyinCanadahavebeenadvised to always acquaint themselves with sufficient information about eligibility, proceduresandprocessofmigrationtoCanadaandotherpartofNorthAmerica beforeapplyingforvisa.ManagingPartner,TopmarkĂŠAttorneysLLP,aToronto, Canada-basedimmigrationandbusinesslawfirm,Mr.JohnsonBabalola,who gave the advice in Lagos, identified ignorance as one the challenges facing Nigerians proposing to travel to Canada. Speaking during a press briefing organised to announce the 2017 edition of the firm annual Immigration and BusinessSeminarspanningtodayandOctober4inLagosandAbuja,Babalola expressedconcernoverthewaysomeNigerianswerebeingswindledorput in dangerous conditions by scrupulous people, who present themselves as immigrationexperts.

Delta NUJ MournsTimi Ebikagboro

The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Delta State Council has expressed painoverthesuddendeathofoneofitsmembers,ComradeTimiEbikagboro. TheCouncilsaiditviewedTimiEbikagboroâ€™sdemiseascolossallossandtruly unfortunate.â€œTimiEbikagborowasagreatUnionistwhodemonstratedexcellent senseofloyaltyingoodandbadtimes. HisactiveparticipationintheUnionâ€™s activitiesandpromotingtheidealsofthejournalismprofessionwillforever remain fresh in our memory. He was a fine and dependable journalist who carved a niche for himself in uplifting journalism practice and sacrificed so muchfortheprofessionevenattheexpenseofhisconvenienceandresources.

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NEWSXTRA

Olisa Metuh: Court Orders DSS to Produce Dasuki in Court as Witness Alex Enumah in Abuja The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Friday ordered the Department of State Service (DSS), to produce former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki Rtd. before the Federal High Court to give evidence in the trial of former Spokesman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olisa Metuh, who is being prosecuted by the Federal Government. The Federal Government had arraigned Metuh on a 7-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust and corruption as well as for money laundering offences. Metuh who was arraigned on January 15, 2016, was alleged to have received the sum of N400, 00000 (Four hundred million naira) from Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki, being proceeds of fraud. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and the court also granted his application for bail to enable him prepare for his trial. However in the course of his trial, Metuh filed an application before the trial judge, Justice Okon Abang to subpoena Dasuki for him to come and testify in his (Metuh) defence, but the court turned down the request. Not satisfied with the decision of the lower court, Metuh then proceeded to the appellate court to seek redress. However delivering its ruling on the appeal yesterday, the Court in a unanimous decision by its three-man panel, ordered Abang to immediately sign the subpoena filed by the ex-PDP spokesperson. Justice Peter Ige, who prepared and read the lead judgement of the appellate panel, directed Justice

CHANGE OF BATON ... L-R: Rector, Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Dr. Margaret Kudirat Ladipo; Registrar, University of Lagos/ Guest Speaker, Dr. Taiwo Ipaye; Chairman, Yabatech Governing Council, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN; and outgoing Registrar, Yabatech, Ms. Biekoroma Amapakabo, at a valedictory lecture for Amapakabo in Yabatech, yesterday

Abang to indicate the date which the DSS must produce Dasuki in court and other subsequent dates. It would be recalled that Justice Abang had on the 23 of February, 2017 declined to grant an application filed by the embattled former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, praying the court to summon retired Col

Mohammed Sambo Dasuki by way of a subpoena to testify as witness on grounds that the application was lacking in merit and substance. The court had held that Col. Dasuki was not a compellable witness in the trial since the defendant did not make any effort to invite him and failed. The judge held that having gone

Obi Never Sponsored Obiano with N7bn Personal Funds, Says Umeh David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka The Director General of Governor Willie Obiano campaign organisation for the 2017 Anambra governorship election, Chief Victor Umeh has said that it was not true that former governor, Mr. Peter Obi spent his personal money to sponsor the campaigns of the Obiano's first term. Umeh said there was need to make the clarification because of the level of propaganda being peddled in the social media over N7 billion said to have been spent by Obi for Obiano's election in the 2013 governorship election. Addressing journalists during

a maiden press conference as the Director General of campaigns, Umeh said he was national chairman of APGA at that time, and that the party held fundraising ceremonies in some states and abroad, and people contributed money for Obiano's election, but Obi never accounted for any of the funds. He said there was evidence that Obi was demanding money from the governor as money used for his election as his (Obi's) mouthpieces were all over media houses in Anambra to tell the people of the state that those who sponsored Obiano wanted their monies back. Umeh said, "I have even heard

Obi on radio say that he sold his property in Abuja to sponsor Obiano, but that is not true. We raised funds in Lagos, Abuja and several cities, and Obi never accounted for them. I was the chairman of the party then, and I know these things." Speaking on the N75 billion which Obi said he left behind and has been squandered by Obiano, Umeh said the former governor was confused about how much he left behind. "He had in a different fora said he left N100 billion, in some other places he says N75 billion, so he is confused about what he left behind. We are not disturbed about this because we know Obi.

through the processes before the court, there was nothing before the court to show that the defendants had made any effort to reach the authorities keeping Dasuki and it was rejected. "it is not the duty of the court to compel anyone to come and give evidence in court when that person is not a compellable witness. "The name of Dasuki was

not included in the list of witnesses filed by the defendants. The question is, at what stage did the defendant make up his mind to include Dasuki's name in its lists of witnesses? "The application is made in bad faith and with the intention to delay the trial. The defendants have exhausted all the adjournment it is entitled to as stipulated in S

394 ACJA. The 1st defendant is no longer entitled to any adjournment in this matter having granted eight adjournment since the commencement of the trial. "Therefore, the application to issue a subpoena will not serve any purpose. The law it is no respecter of persons. This application is lacking in merit and is hereby dismissed,â€? he had ruled.

Diamond Bank Holds Tech Fest for Customers Diamond Bank has said it was going â€˜Beyond Bankingâ€™ again in marking Independence Day. The group announced that it was holding a full-day experience called â€œTech Festâ€? to bring together the best talent in Nigerian technology - one of the countryâ€™s fastest growing sectors. Tech Fest was announced by the groupâ€™s CEO, Uzoma Dozie. Giving insight into the event, Uzoma stated â€œDiamond Bankâ€™s philosophy has always been about connecting people and connecting markets. Technology is now driving these connections at a faster rate than ever before and this is improving the landscape for new businesses to start out, to be seen, to scale and most importantly to offer great customer experiencesâ€?.

Uzoma shared that while anchoring the Diamond TV programme â€˜Tech Turksâ€™, he had interviewed over 30 tech entrepreneurs in the last two years and it provided inspiration for something bigger - â€œIâ€™m so excited to bring together all of these businesses run by smart ambitious people to create a new energy at Tech Fest. For me, this is a platform that we can share with our customers to help them get the best of local technology and to partner together to run better businesses. If there is one thing we have learned at Diamond, it is that you canâ€™t do everything on your own and you need to collaborate if you are going to win and be the best at what you doâ€?.

Diamond Bank is throwing the event open to all of her customers who want to work together to create innovative new businesses that solve real problems for Nigeria. As well as hosting a live Tech Turks stage, the event will showcase its leading small business customers, its pick of â€˜fintechâ€™ leaders, platform providers and investors. The Bankâ€™s Head of Corporate Communications, Chioma Afe, revealed that the event will hold in the second week of January 2018 at the Landmark Centre in Lagos. Chioma said that â€œthis is not about telling our customers that we want to connect people and markets, this is about providing a platform to actually make it happenâ€?.

Benue NLC Shun Parley with Benue House of Assembly

Patronage of Local Products, Focus of Greenspring, Bank of Agriculture Summit

George Okoh in Makurdi

Bennett Oghifo

Members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Benue State yesterday turned down invitation by the Benue State House of Assembly to appear before it over its planned industrial action. The lawmakers had at their sitting a day ago, extended invitation to leaders of labour to appear before it so as to find solution to the impending strike action. Sources within the assembly said the union leaders turned down the invitation and refuse to show up.

The lawmakers waited for a long time but there was no show from the Labour leaders. Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker Bem Abunde who confirmed this to reporters said, â€œthe lawmakers waited for the labour leaders but they failed to show up. The meeting was supposed to be a crucial one because the house wanted to intervene in the ongoing salary issue between government and Labour especially the indefinite strike declared by Labour. They were communicating with the clerk of the house and did not give any reason for boycotting the meeting."

Abunde further said when the labor leaders refused to meet with the house leadership, the legislators hurriedly left for Government House where at the time of this report, they were in a closed door meeting with Governor Samuel Ortom. It will be recalled that the National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Comrade Ayuba Wabba and the Benue state government traded words over the labour's leader condemnation of the state government over its inability to pay workers in the state for seven months.

The positive effects of Nigerians buying goods and services produced in the country would be emphasised by experts at a special summit planned by Greenspring Communications Ltd, a media/ public relations and marketing consulting firm based in Lagos. The one-day Made-in-Nigeria Conference and Awards event is being called to add value to the present buzz created by the Federal Government to boost patronage of locally-made products and services.

The conference holds on Thursday November 23, 2017 at Protea Hotel, Isaac John, Ikeja, Lagos State. The MD/CEO of Greenspring Group, Peter Nwaochei said the summit was in partnership with Innoson, Bank of Agriculture, MedView Airline and other frontline entities involved in making the made-in-Nigeria mantra an astounding success. Nwaochei said he believed that the conference and awards event was in line with the firmâ€™s mission to drive local content and add value to clientsâ€™ patronage,

while promoting growth in the nationâ€™s economy. He said the conference, which had the theme â€œEffects of MadeIn-Nigeria Products on National Developmentâ€? would bring together business stakeholders, market enthusiasts, market analysts government agencies, IT practitioners, e-marketers, others, and would create a convergence of informed and educated players in various sectors of the Nigerian economy. It will also feature presentations and panel discussions from leaders of thought within the country.

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Biafra Debate Re-echoes as LAP Holds Roundtable in Lagos

Superior Taste Drives Consumer Preference for Chi Exotic Nectar

Kasie Abone

Ugochukwu Aliogo

Renowned industrialist, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa will this weekend interrogate the national question on restructuring at a round-table by the League of Anambra Professionals (LAP). Scheduled as one of the highlights of the Public Presentation of the newly elected LAP Central Executive Committee led by Mr. Chijioke Okoli SAN, Ohuabunwa's treatise on the restructuring debate would be dissected by panelists

including respected economist and former presidential aspirant, Prof. Pat Utomi. According to a statement by the Publicity Secretary of the league, Mr. Emeka Nwadioke, Ohuabunwa will address the topic: "Restructuring the Nigerian federation to unleash regional economic growth centres." The round-table will also interrogate the raging debate on "economic Biafra." Billed to hold today by 6 pm at high-brow The Colonades, Ikoyi, Lagos, the event would be chaired

by former Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) Executive Vice Chairman, Engr. Ernest Ndukwe. The Obi of Onitsha, His Royal Majesty, Igwe Alfred Achebe (Agbogidi) would be the Royal Father of the Day while Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano is the Chief Guest of Honour. The League of Anambra Professionals is an association of the cream of Anambra intellectuals and business czars who are committed to ensure that the State remains the leading State in the country through

focused development. Founded in 2004 and fiercely non-partisan, the association is a strategic partner to any government in power in the State towards delivering development and good governance to Anambra citizens. Also invited to the event are the Ohanaeze leadership and major Governorship Candidates in the November 18 Anambra Elections who are expected to brief the association on their manifestos and economic development plans in particular.

The recently launched Chi Exotic Nectar â€œI love the Tasteâ€? communication campaign currently being deployed on terrestrial television stations, digital platforms and Out of Home channels has continued to elicit reactions from consumers across Nigeria. While some have commended the campaignâ€™s high aesthetic quality, clarity of message and effectiveness of communication channels, the main thrust has been the consensus on the productâ€™s superior taste that has endeared it to them. With a great taste that is simply irresistible, Chi Exotic Nectar has warmed its way to the hearts of consumers with exciting fruity blends and variants to enjoy alone or mix with other drinks to enhance their taste. Be it in mo-

ments of socialization, relaxation and celebration, Chi Exotic Nectar comes in handy with an exotic taste to savour these experiences. Whether in schools, offices, bars, beach or at home, the growing popularity of Chi Exotic Nectar as the preferred beverage for various indulgences is evident as more consumers are becoming more familiar with and building affinity towards the brandâ€™s promise of superior taste and guaranteed satisfaction. According to Nike Sowoolu, a teacher with Community Grammar School, Surulere, many consumers are inclined to taking fruit juices because of the range of health benefits they provide. But more important is the fact that as we explore the array of fruit juices in the market, none can boast of the irresistible taste that Chi Exotic Nectar offers.

Glo Laffta Fest hits Onitsha on Independence Day

SAVING LIVES... First lady on Ondo State, Mrs Betty Akeredolu administering De-Worming elixir on children while flaging-off sanitation programme... Yersterday

Awoâ€™s Statue Piece of Artwork, Not Photograph, Says Lagos Govt Lagos State Government has clarified the ongoing insinuations and diverse interpretations given to the recently unveiled new Awolowo statue claiming that â€œIt is a piece of artwork expressing the Artistâ€™s impression of the late Sage and not a photographâ€™â€™, adding that it could be subjected to several interpretation. This clarification was made by Mrs. Adebimpe Akinsola, Special Adviser to the Governor on Tourism, Arts and Culture who stated that many sculptures had been made to illustrate the other essence of the late sage, particularly the ones that portray him as a â€˜dogged fighterâ€™ standing with his popular victory sign, but the new bust, depicting him in an entirely new mode, simply alludes to his multi-dimensional standing. â€œThe reality is that Chief Awolowo was a colossus who cannot be ste-

reotyped. Stereotyping such a highly intriguing personality only exposes the lack of depth of the totality of what the late sage represents,â€™â€™ she said. She stated further that great men all over the World, such as Abraham Lincoln, whose statue was sculpted by Daniel Chester French (1850â€“1931) and carved by the Piccirilli Brother, had been depicted in a sitting position. She said that rather than concentrating more on the artistic depiction of the Awolowo bust, what should be considered was the desire of the State Government to inspire the unborn generations about his legacies, adding that immortalising our heroes is surely one way of spurring present and future generation of Nigerians to effectively connect with our past with a view to committing them to the vision and ideals of our founding fathers.

The Special Adviser explained that the State Government unveiled the new statue to celebrate the late sage who had a larger than life image, and whose shoes till date had yet to be filled. Further reacting to the controversy, the Special Adviser posited that the late sage had become an institution, whose legacies should not be allowed to die, as such it should be daily celebrated to serve as inspiration to the unborn generation, which was why the Lagos State Government, unveiled this new statue in line with the policy of the current administration to immortalise and accord reference to personalities, heroes and heroines who have contributed to the development of the State in particular and the country in general. She listed such heroes and heroines that had also been recognised and

celebrated by the State Government as late Chief M.K.O Abiola, Prof. Ayodele Awojobi, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Late Kudirat Abiola, among others. â€œChief Obafemi Awolowo is one of the nationâ€™s nationalists, in which the Lagos State Government believes in his ideologies, policies and programme and as such will consider nothing too much to propagate his ideologies,â€™â€™ she said Meanwhile, the Awolowo family have applauded the statue and commended the Lagos State Government for the honour done to the family. Mr. Segun Awolowo (Jnr), in his reaction declared: â€œI love the statue and I think Hamza (the Sculptor) did justice to his memory. â€œAs for the large boot, I believe the symbolism is that his shoes are still too big to fill after all this while,â€™â€™ he said.

In 6 Years, Dickson has Touched all Sectors, Say Bayelsa Elders Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa Bayelsa elders yesterday rose from a meeting to periodically review the activities of government in the state and concluded that the state Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, had done well in touching all the key sectors of the economy. Leaders of the elders' forum under the auspices of the Forum of Restoration Caucus Chairmen (FRCC), urged the government to remain focused and continue with his vision for the state. Specifically, the elders led by

forum's Chairman and Leader of Ekeremor Caucus, Chief Thompson Okorotie and Yenagoa Caucus Chairman, Chief Godwin Odumgba, said the governor had done well in the areas of education, security, health, agriculture and road infrastructure. They said the recent opening of the Ijaw National Academy (INA), the model boarding secondary schools in the eight local councils with free feeding and books for students and the 25 mega primary schools constituted a â€œwatershedâ€? in the educational development of Bayelsa. "The forum notes with satisfaction

that there has been massive local and overseas scholarships for our children. Only a few days ago, in a national publication, Bayelsa State occupied the third position in the nationwide results of NECO. "Earlier, the State had occupied the sixth position in WAEC results. This is a healthy development for a state that was at the bottom of the ladder before the assumption of office by the present administration. "These developments justify Governor Seriake Dicksonâ€™s declaration of a state of emergency in education in Bayelsa state when

he was first sworn in as governor on 14th February, 2012", they said. They also acknowledged the efforts of government to assist the local councils pay their outstanding salaries with particular reference to primary school teachers. Aside that, â€œthe Forum observed with deep satisfaction the security architecture that is in place in Bayelsa State with the activities of the Operation Doo Akpor equipped with highly sophisticated security gadgets, coupled with the recent provision of numerous operational vehiclesâ€?.

The 57th Independence of Nigeria will be celebrated in style by Glo subscribers in Onitsha, Anambra State, as the mega comedy show, Glo Laffta Fest, berths in the bustling city on Sunday. It is the 25th edition of the much sought-after show, which commenced in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on April 16th, 2017. It has spread fun and mirth to 24 other locations across the country since then. The Onitsha edition of the show is billed for CJ Patterson International Auditorium Complex, All Saints Cathedral, Onitsha at 2pm and will feature some of Nigeriaâ€™s wittiest and best comedians, such as Bovi Ugboma, Godwin Komone, popularly called Gordons, Frank D Don and Senator, among others. The show will be graced by some of Nigeriaâ€™s best known Nollywood faces, such as Kanayo O. Kanayo, Patience Ozokwor, popularly called Mama G, and Angela Okorie. The Onitsha edition of the show will be anchored by the duo of Juliet Ibrahim and Uche Jombo, while dignitaries and very important personalities from all walks of life are expected to be in attendance. "It is going to be an extra-ordinary Independence Day celebration in Onitsha on Sunday. The show has gone round major cities in Nigeria, dispensing uncommon fun and excitement. Onitsha will be no different. People of Onitsha and environs should prepare to have fun like never beforeâ€?, Globacom said in a press release from its head office in Lagos. The comedians on the show in separate interviews promise fun lovers an unforgettable entertainment on Sunday. â€œOnitsha, get ready for us as we come on Sunday. We are going to give you like you like it, hot and spicy. Itâ€™s going to be fun like youâ€™ve never seen before,â€? said Bovi. The â€˜Bishop of Osusu Ministryâ€™, as Gordons is fondly called, said: â€œLet everyone in Onitsha tell everyone else that I am coming to minister on Sunday. Prepare for an unforgettable evening of fun. You cannot afford to miss thisâ€?. To attend the Onitsha show, Glo subscribers are expected to use up to N2,000 credit within one month and text LOL with the location name to the short code 240; for example,

"LOL Onitshaâ€? to 240. Subscribers who do not meet this criterion but who wish to attend the show are requested to go to the event venue with N2000 to purchase airtime for their own use. They will then be entitled to a ticket. After Onitsha, the show moves to Makurdi in Benue State before going to Ajah in Lagos.

CHANGE OF NAME

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LOUD WHISPERS POLSCOPE AUTO GLOBAL SOCCER FAIRGROUND FASHION FILE

pg. 20 pg. 24 pg. 26 pg. 29 pg. 36 pg. 41

Dolapo Phillips

My Journey from Engineering to Dancering

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMPBER 30, 2017

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I Didn’t Know Arts Exists in Me As a child my mind was wired towards engineering My parents didn’t object to my new found career I have amazing husband and supportive in-laws I am in the center of God’s will for me Her passion was somewhere else before she stumbled on arts. She never dreamt of becoming an artist as her mind and brain were wired towards engineering. Artistry runs in the family: Her father is Raymond Dokpesi, owner of the first independent broadcasting stations in Africa - African Independent Television (AIT) and Ray Power. Mother, Mrs. Moji Dokpesi, a society matriarch, an industrialist with a sprawling outfit in Apapa; uncle, Keke Ogungbe, ruled and still dominates the Nigerian entertainment industry after three decades. Dolapo Phillips’ like other new generation Nigerians pitched her tent with a terrain once not revered. From Nigeria, to the United Kingdom and faraway Japan, she got the best education money could afford. A visit to the pool side of Eko Hotel and suites awakened that talent in her. Today, she has embraced her passion for the arts. She speaks with Funke Olaode

hat was it like growing up in the famous Dokpesi’s family? Growing up was normal. My dad was an engineer who was very particular about education. Naturally, that was what I grew up with believing I was going to be. He was really serious about education and my formative years and part of my adult life was purely schooling. You mean your childhood didn’t prepare you for what you are doing now despite the fact that you were raised in ‘an entertainment circle’? No. As a child I was wired to be an engineer and that was the only thing I knew. In fact, my educational trajectory was tailored towards that line. I went to Corona Primary School, then Nigerian Navy Secondary School and moved to England for my Advanced levels in Kent after which I moved to University of Birmingham where I graduated with B.Sc. in Electrical and Communications Engineering and MSc in Entrepreneurship, Science and Technology - Notthingham University Business School, U.K CNA International Business Development, London, U.K – six months GEOS International English School Suzuka, Japan - English. - two years. While studying Japanese I was teaching English. I moved back to Nigeria and joined my mum’s company to run Whao Beverages Limited, now Whao Industries limited, a manufacturing company. The company originally produced bottled water and fruit drinks and then went into the production of plastics - performs, bottles and nylon film and recycling plastic waste to produce dustbin bags. I set up Alpha Fitness Nigeria in 2012 with the main goal of making people live healthier and fitter lives as well as boosting self-esteem and confidence. After 10 years working with my mum (Mrs. Moji Dokpesi) I quit my job in 2014 to pursue my passion in performing arts. At what stage did you develop passion for the arts? I discovered my hidden talent in the arts when I moved back to Nigeria after

my education in England towards the end of 2004. I left all my friends in England and didn’t have any friend in Lagos and had to look for hobbies. My routine is gym, work and church. I used to go for gym at Eko Hotel and Suites and in one of my visits to the gym I just heard a fascinating Latin music. I went to the pool side area and saw some people dancing. This was 2006. Right there, I met the guy who owns the group and joined them. It was something that started like a hobby and became a profession. In 2008, I had my first stage role in dance drama called ‘Eye of the Tiger’ performed at the American International School, Victoria Island, Lagos. From there, I just started getting calls for different jobs. Obviously, because I wasn’t a professional dancer at that time, I was acting based on learning and all that and had to start going for dance training. I would take a leave from work during weekends to go for dance training to perfect my arts. And when I clocked 10 years working for my mum, I just called her and said “Mum, I think it is time for me to move on’ and I quit.” Until recently, Nigerian parents perceive entertainment an ‘unserious’ profession. What was your parents’ reaction to your choice? Well, they first saw it as a hobby, or I am just doing it to entertain myself. And because I was still working full-time they didn’t see it as a profession. And of course, they were happy for me that I have made new friends and had a life. But when I left my mum’s job in 2014 that was when it dawned on them that I was serious. I also spoke to my father about it. Ironically, they had attended a few shows and were quite impressed with what they saw. Since then my parents have been extremely supportive; my mother didn’t stop me because I had had proper degrees, pursued a career in corporate sectors before my new-found profession so it was very easy for me. How did your husband and his parents take it? Well, my father-in-law owns one of the outstanding consultancy outfits in Nigeria, Phillips Consulting. How did they take it? Funny enough, they embraced me as well. To be honest, I have not really

SEPTEMPBER 30, 2017 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

PLUS

My Journey from an Engineer to a Dancer spoken to them about it but they were quite fascinated. Again, it was like ‘Dolly has a hobby that she enjoys’ but when they see how serious I was going abroad for dance training, they were coming to watch my shows and the shows were becoming more professional, they got used to it. And my husband? He is an amazing guy who is supportive of me. I am so blessed. Normally, Nigerians would not look at this profession as something serious and even because you dance with other dancers (female and male) they may be a bit averse to it. But my husband, Bamidele Phillips is being extremely supportive of my new vocation. How have you been able to juggle being a wife, mother and on artist? Again, I will give kudos to my husband. He takes my children as a project because he knows how busy and demanding my job is. He is also busy with his work but he doesn’t play with our kids. Again, we have two fantastic nannies. God has really blessed me with those women. One has been with me since my older son was a baby and the other lady has been with me for a while. Oh! My mum too is a mother in a million and my in-laws too are wonderful. My mother-in-law is based in England and every time I need to travel she is always there to take care of my children. She would take them off me so that I can go to America, France etc. for my dance training. How rewarding is tyour job? My life has always been tailored towards science and I didn’t know I have this artistic talent in my body. I can’t explain it because it is almost like I am in the centre of God’s will for me because the way I have grown on it is not natural. That is how I feel. It is like unseen hands (providence) pushing me. Every time bigger jobs come I would be amazed that ‘this is God in action’. I get calls from different directors. It is amazing. You recently featured in Bolanle Austen-Peters Production, Saro, The

Musical staged in London and sponsored by the MTN Foundation. Was it your ﬁrst international outing? I was part of the Wakaa the Musical in the same Shaw Theatre in West London last year. The experience was explosive. Nigerian entertainment industry is going global, showcasing Nigerian culture to the global audience. This is amazing considering the fact that Nigeria has always been painted in black light. Generally, when Nigeria is mentioned you see people’s reaction as if everything about us is ‘fraud and corruption.’ If the international community see the artistic side it can start to change the way they perceive us as a nation and people. That is why this stage play is very important. Yes our Nollywood movies go far but sometimes the content of our movies don’t project us in a good light. But theatre production’s story line shows improvement and the richness in our culture without doubt will project us in a good light. It is like taking a History class or taking non-Nigerians through historical lesson of Nigeria’s diverse cultures. And the more we do it the more it will bring and create that positive image everyone is craving for. I salute MTN Foundation for this initiative of supporting indigenous production. Are you planning to ﬂoat a company? Not really. But I have a pool of dancers that I can always call for any performance. Right now, our hands are full because we are booked till January (2018). After the London show, we have Wakaa in Abuja and MTN still has a tour of about three states in Nigeria. Bolanle Austen Peters Production (BAP) is unveiling another production in December and I am looking forward to that. So far, it has been a roller-coaster discovering my passion and talent. I am inspired by Mrs. Austen-Peter’s story, who is a lawyer and a diplomat. Now, she is fully involved in theatre production. If I had had my way I would have studied Theatre Arts but I didn’t even know that arts exists in me. For me, it has been a wonderful experience that I pray it continues.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ SEPTEMBER 30, 2017 with JOSEPH EDGAR (09095325791)

LOUD WHISPERS

Ambode

Akinwunmi Ambode : Let Me Buy You a Drink Looking like this egbon wants to turn me into a praise-singer o. In my entire writing career, I try my best not to be seen as a sycophant. I usually comport myself without unnecessarily going overboard in dishing out platitudes about public office-holders no matter what they have achieved. But this time, I will shout this oga’s praises from the rooftops. Mr. Ambode has performed excellently well and we in Shomolu remain so excited at his strides ever since he assumed power. Come and see what he has transformed Jibowu into. The place used to be a jungle but today it is so well constructed that you cannot help but marvel. As you drive around Lagos, you see action and energy that belies a civilian administration. Ambode , I swear. I am now truly a praise-singer and will continue to sing his praises until I collapse of exhaustion. Although there are still areas of improvement like in the chaos that is traffic in Lagos and the continuous dirts that litter our roads; on the whole Lagos is far better off under Ambode. I was having drinks the other night with Wale Oluwo. Wale is the commissioner for something in Lagos and the clarity with which he talked about the administration’s policies and plans left me in awe. Although he failed to pay for my drink, leaving me with a bill in excess of N5,000 for two bottles of Coca cola and a piece of cake – the cake no even sweet o. The gratitude I feel for these people will not let me yab Wale. Although I have kept the receipt in case either he or the administration would like to send a refund, the truth of the matter is that they have worked and are still working. Wale said something that struck me that day after I had asked if there were any fears for re-election come 2019, he said, ‘’Lagosians have not seen anything yet that we have reserved the most exciting programmes for the last two years.’’ I believe him o. Well your Excellency, the other day I offered to buy you a drink in Shomolu to show my appreciation for the job you are doing – have you guys been to Iyana Oworo recently - and you called to take me up on my request? I quickly went to Blue Spot on Morocco road near the Shomolu Local Government where you used to be a treasurer to make mouth. We have been waiting since o. If it is the money that you will spend that is worrying you, do not worry, it is on us as long as you do not come with more than five people. Shomolu people will pay for your drinks. So here goes another invite: kindly please come and have a drink on us. We need to say thank you. But sir, no come drink pass one bottle o. I get school fees to pay. Well done sir. Professor Itsay Sagay : Please Do Not “Vex” This baba has been on fire, shooting from the hip and not sparing the National Assembly and calling them all sorts of names to the point of even telling us that we have been clothing the distinguished senators and their colleagues in the lower chamber. But wait sef, before I even yab the baba, let me ask: why are we paying them clothing allowance? This is really annoying o. So every time I see one of the assembly members on TV, I will just be vexing so I am paying for the clothes they are wearing and some of them do not even wear better clothes outside the heavily starched guinea brocade they wear. No wonder baba is really vexing. Nobody is paying for his suits and he has been wearing the same ones since 1959. Why won’t he vex? He has contributed more to the country than all these senators put together and yet nobody is buying suits for him. Abi is it easy to be in every constitutional conference since the Richards conference in 1946 to date? Shey we can now see where the annoyance is coming from? You know Nigerians do not always want to look beneath to see the reasons behind people’s

Sagay

Abaribe

Command School Alumni Ayo Fayose : Let’s Do This As I watched the Governor of Ekiti State the other day playing a game of table tennis on the streets of Ado Ekiti, I smiled with pride. This is my president. I tell you, this is the leader we have been crying for. You know Nigerians, we do not see value except it comes in white agbada and a heavy Hausa/Fulani accent. Fayose has a right to dream and aspire like the rest of us. The dream being a highfalutin fart notwithstanding, he still reserves the right to gun for the presidency. Look, he has over the years shown a very powerful resolve to lead us, from the jeans-wearing episode at his State House of Assembly, to the rescuing of Fani Kayode’s wife from the EFCC who had frozen their account, thereby denying them transport fare back to Lagos. Fayose like a true leader jumped in and gave them the required T-fare and ensured the safe return of the beautiful lady and child back to Lagos. Look, I am taking this attempt at the

actions. This is the bone of contention: clothing allowance, simple! Once we stop paying the people the clothing allowance, baba will go and rest and we will have peace once again. This baba no easy o. The way he dey fire ehn, I really pity these senators. If this continues, we will soon be told that our senators were the ones who conspired to kill John F. Kennedy na wa. Senator Abaribe : Better Run Away o!!!!!!!!!!! Only God knows who advised you to go stand surety for Nnamdi Kanu. Standing surety for anybody outside your mama is one of the riskiest things to do. Once my blood brother was arrested for wandering at the Shomolu police station. You know the one near Shomolu market, not the Pedro own o. The Shomolu one is the most dreaded because all sorts of criminal elements are domiciled there. So my poor brother was picked up by the patrol team and instead of him to speak the language of the police, he was speaking English. The arresting officer told me much later that his annoyance was the fact that my brother kept reminding

presidency seriously and ignoring the PDP ofﬁcial position that they have zoned the position to the North. Let them be sleeping with their zoning when you have a credible candidate who has shown eternal resolve and readiness to lead. So my brother Fayose, whatever it is that you are drinking or worshipping, keep at it for the presidency is ours. Fayose has my support and vote come 2019 and I will avail him the dukedom of Shomolu as a base for his campaign on the ground that he would give me a cabinet position handling the women’s Ministry i.e. I will take over from that Atiku’s goddaughter, that he will make OBJ Minister of Sports and that he will probe the military government that prosecuted the civil war. I suspect that there was serious corruption during the war. We need to bring the perpetrators to book. So my brother, let us do this, Nigerians await your presidency. Laugh is doing me o.

them that he was a graduate of University of Ibadan, and that he too was a graduate, i.e. na graduate he never see before! Well, my brother carry him degree enter cell. So when I came, I conveniently told them that me I was a primary six graduate so they gave me access and we spoke the language they understood. At the point of release, they asked me to sign bail. At that point, I look my brother, look the cell and with a slight frown, I declined. Na my mama come fight commot am. Only your birth mother will give her life to save you. So, this senator who took his bath that morning, ate breakfast and kissed his wife goodbye and drove himself in good health and sound mind to go stand surety for, of all people, Nnamdi Kanu, na great man. Today, as I have heard he stands the chance of being exchanged if he cannot produce Kanu and if you were Kanu, will you appear even if your mother, wife and 12 of your children were arrested? My kind advice to the dear senator is to run into the British Embassy there in Abuja and seek asylum, at least he will still be watching premiership there or just use style and stroll to the Cameroon bor-

Olusola

der like he wants to buy palm oil and unripe plantain and just disappear o. Because if na the Kanu that I know, the guy is in French Guyana, dancing with the virgins; those that sent him. Stand surety? Me, God forbid. Senator better run o, I really pity you. Lanre Olusola @ 50 This handsome dude clocked 50 during the week and THISDAY style did a profile piece on him dressed like a desert nomad. By the way, Aunty Ruth, I would be 50 next year, I hope you will give me the same attention o? Me I dey envy the guy because he is fine and women like am. He is my close friend o, when we sat together to discuss, you will just be seeing the babes trembling and trying to gain his attention, and he will just be sitting down there feeling like Michael Jackson and ignoring them. The thing will be paining me. Me that I know one or two things to do with the babes, they will not follow me. It is the man that does not have their time that they will be pursuing. My people that is the simple reason I do not like Lanre. He is just too complete. A fine boy, sharp intellect, rich and very charismatic. Everything I am not. But anyway, he has clocked 50 and he was really looking very dashing in that photo shoot. A great guy with a strong sense of self and clarity as to his purpose in life. Well sha, happy birthday, let me just throw that out there. Let it not be said that I have not wished you a happy birthday my dear coach. God will give you long life and the strong presence of mind to refer some of these babes who like you and in which you have no interest to me. I swear, I will love you forever. Viva life coach. You are God’s chosen one. I love you, don’t mind me jare. Command Secondary School @40: Gala Night To Remember My alma mater, the one that gave Nigerians the Duke of Shomolu is 40 and to celebrate, we are organising, a one-in-town gala night. Unlike the Kings College boys who recently did theirs marking the school’s 108 years and promptly forgot to invite me, we too are doing our own and I also will not invite my mentor, Albert Okumagba, who I heard hosted his friends that night without calling me. Well, me I will not invite him for my own this Sunday. Do me, I do you. Well for me, Command Secondary School was more than a school, it was a rite of passage for those of us who attended the school. Today, we have alumni in all facets of the economy contributing significantly to the continuous development of the country. I particularly have been looking forward to this gala night for one reason: my school crush. Fatima Anderson was the school belle. Beautiful, tall and essentially a goddess. I fell in love with her in form two when I used to help her cut her portion of the grass and do all sorts of menial tasks to gain her attention. Fatima . Na letter I write, quoting Shakespeare, I told her of my undying love and how I was going to conquer the world and beat up Mohammed Ali if only she would just say “yes” in her reply. The woman had other plans o. She went ahead to clear her subjects in flying colours while I failed and repeated form four; making her my senior and effectively out of my reach. Forty years later, the feeling is still very strong as I stare at her pictures. The beauty is still there, the charisma and strong-willed disposition, making her more alluring in our middle age. So, to fight this last battle, the preparation no easy. I have been jogging every morning and trying to keep fit to impress this Shuwa Arab goddess and make her the most recent duchess of Shomolu. I have even contracted my versatile designer, Mudi, to come up with something show-stopping for the day. But as I appeared for the fitting, na knickers Mudi sew for me o………………..

T H I S D AY SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 30, 2017

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPA P PER ˾ SEPTEMBER 30, 2017

SUPER SATURDAY

CHUKWUKA MONYE My Organisation g is Driven By Innovative Kids Passionate about change g and innovation, the Managing g g Partner Ciuci Consulting, g Chukwuka Monye, y in this interview with Azuka Ogujiuba talks about his childhood and his youth-driven innovative ﬁrm

ell us about y yourself? f I’m a local boy y from Delta State, who grew up g p in Lagos. g I have jjourneyed y around the world to expose p myself y to different cultures, ideologies g and ways y of doing g things. g I like to create and build new things g as well as transform and lead things g that are different and cuttingg edge. g My y mother once said one of the ways y to g get me to do something g is to tell me that I couldn’t do it, that’s when I would be motivated to do it. I attended Maryland y Convent Private School, and Federal Government College, g Ijanikin, j Lagos. g I did a short stint at Ogun g State University y before I went to Warner University, y Florida, United States of America where I studied Business Management. g I attended University y of Oxford for my y two postgraduate p g degrees g in Strategy gy and Innovation, and a Master’s in Business Administration. I’m happily pp y married with two wonderful g girls; amazing gg girls with remarkable personalities; p one acts like her mother and the other, like me. So, I’m a happy ppy man. Growing g up, p my y parents p embraced and loved education, although g I would say y my y mum wanted me to be a well-balanced individual. For example, p all the kids had to learn how to cook before going g g to boarding g school which really yp paid off when I travelled. So, even now if my y wife should try y me, I can give her a run for her money in the area of cooking. Are there speciﬁc p ﬁ events in your y life f that had a part to p play y in the p person y you’ve become? There have been a few, but I’ll mention two. One was g getting g my y scholarship p to study y abroad. The entire process p was divine because I didn’t feel like I was the most intelligent g kid, but the way y things g unfolded including g how I g got my y visa and how the school completed p my y scholarship p to ensure I didn’t owe anything y g was amazing. g It made me realise that when y you’re destined for something gg good there is nothing g under the sun that can stop p you. y The second event was when I lost my y dad a few years y ago. g It made me realise that the things g that we struggle gg for all don’t mean anything; we need to live a life of purpose. You are p passionate about innovation and change. g Tell us about some off your y projects. p j We’ve done over 200 projects p j at Ciuci Consulting, the company p y I founded 10 years y ago. g I always y tell people p p that one of the things g I find most innovative is not even what we’ve done for clients but what we did internally y in the company, p y which is how we were able to develop p capacity p y locally. y Many yp people p complain p about human capacity p y in Nigeria g and it was one of the things g I wanted to tackle head-on within the organisation. g We were able to develop p an analyst y training gp programme g that we have been running g for 10 years. y It has been largely g y successful. As a matter of fact, some of my y friends from different industries tell me that Ciuci Consulting g is the best p place to p poach p people p from. It is just j a testament to the quality q y of people p p Ciuci has. For me, it’s one of the great things I think we’ve been able to achieve. We have also worked with a lot of companies p and have helped p them develop p some innovative prod p ucts and strategies g such as Bestman Games with the launch of City y of Lagos g Monopoly p y Game; Iya y Foods in the US; House of Tara; DBH Solutions and Massey Street Children’s Hospital.

Chukwuka

As the Managing g g Partner off Ciuci Consulting, g what mode off operation p have y you brought g into consulting g that’s different from what all others have to offer? ff I can say y that we have an amazing g culture; the type yp that encourages g y young g folks. Ciuci is made up p of largely g y millennial kids that think outside the box and are ready to compete with their peers anywhere

THISDAY, THE SAT A URDAY NEWSPA P PER ˾ SEPTEMBER 30, 2017

SATURDAY COOKING? MY WIFE DARES NOT TRY ME!

Monye at work M k

Chukwuka Monye with wife wife, Ify in the world. We have been able to successfully y create an environment that fosters an innovative spirit, p tenacity, y integrity, g y youthfulness y and a learning g atmosphere p that encourages everyone to think as leaders. What was your y best subject in secondary y school? I don’t know if I had a p preference because all subjects j had to be p passed irrespective p of whether I liked them or not, but I enjoyed Mathematics and Commerce. Would you y describe yourself as a nerd while in school? (Laughs) g No. I don’t think so but some say y I was because of my y accomplishments. p I think I was far from being a nerd. I was very playful. How do you unwind and let off steam? I like to dance, most especially p y salsa. I also like to play basketball and listen to music. Iff y you could visit anywhere y in the world,, all expense paid, where would it be? I’m at a stage g where I want to explore Nigeria g and Africa more. So a trip p round sub-Saharan Africa will do. But starting with Nigeria. What are your hobbies?

I was the most intelligent g kid, but the way y things g unfolded including g how I g got my visa and how the school completed my scholarship to ensure I didn’t owe anything y g was amazing. g It made me realise that when y you’re destined for something g good there is nothing g under the sun that can stop you. The second event was when I lost my y dad a few y years ago. g It made me realise that the things g that we struggle gg for g all don’t mean anything; y g we need to live a life of purpose Monye Singing, g g playing the drums and basketball. How would you describe your fashion?

y do differently you ff y ffrom what the present leadership p is doing? g Be more deliberate about empowerIff you y could be elected as the next president of Nigeria, what would ing more entrepreneurs.

Our Company is Peopled p byy YoungsterswhoWanttoCompete Y

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ SEPTEMBER 30, 2017

POLSCOPE

with Eddy Odivwri eddy.odivwri@thisdaylive.com 08053069356

So,Where is Nnamdi Kanu?

ince the September 14 invasion of their Afarakwu residence in Abia State, the leader of the proscribed separatist movement, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and his parents have remained unseen and unheard. One of his brothers simply identified as “Fineboy” had claimed that he knew where Kanu is hiding and would not disclose it to anyone. But by midweek, the narrative had been tweaked by the Kanu family to claim that he was missing. Another Kanu’s younger brother, simply identified as Emmanuel Kanu, demanded that the corpse of his brother and parents be released, if they have been killed by the Nigerian army. The Nigerian army has denied having Kanu or his parents in their custody. So, where is Kanu? Not many people believe Kanu is really missing. If he was arrested or killed during the Operation Python Dance raid, neither the IPOB members nor the Kanu family would wait for two weeks before raising the alarm on the whereabouts of the IPOB leader. I strongly suspect it is just a gimmick of wanting to put the Nigerian Army on the defence and on the spot. Were it not so, Fineboy would not have declared that he knew where Kanu is but just wouldn’t say. Besides, after the Federal High Court proscribed IPOB and declared it a terrorist organization, its lawyer appealed the proscription order arguing that the court had no jurisdiction to grant such an order. Who gave the IPOB lawyer the go-ahead to contest the court order? Was it a missing Kanu or a hiding Kanu? My worry and concern is not the whereabouts of Kanu, whom I believe, is hibernating somewhere cadging for some food and sunshine; trying to regain his breath and reset his moves, but it is on the innocent lives that have been lost in the senseless quest for secession. Kanu had literally deceived them with sweet talks, and the naivety of the followers made them believe he was more than he really is. Before and after he was granted bail, many had died in the course of the Biafran struggle. Their fighting zeal must have been reinforced after hearing him last August 27when he boasted about his prowess and might. See what he said: “Where we are is Biafra land. Aba is the spiritual capital of Biafra land. We started in Aba in 2015 at CKC. That day, heaven authenticated our move that IPOB will restore Biafra and that’s what we have come to do. We died in Aba at National High School. They shot and killed us in other places in Biafra land where they were protesting for my release. As our people rest in the grave, we’ll never rest until Biafra is restored. I don’t care what they say in Abuja. I don’t give a damn what they say in Lagos. I’m a Biafran and we are going to crumble the zoo. Some idiots who are not educated said that they’ll arrest me, and I ask them to come, I’m in Biafra. If any of them leaves Biafra land alive, know that this is not IPOB. Tell them what I said. Tell Buhari that I am in Aba and any person who comes to arrest Nnamdi Kanu in Biafra land will die

Kanu

here. I’ll never go on exile I assure you. What we want is Biafra. We are not slowing down and no man born of a woman can stop us…” So, how many of his attackers did he kill? Was it not his followers that got killed? Indeed, his attackers left Biafra alive, so it is not IPOB. Or is it? I had always wondered how far Nnamdi Kanu believed he would go with his Biafran agitation. Besides a grain of Igbo elite who had given some tacit support for the so-called Biafran republic, for the larger majority of the Igbo people, it is a Brought-in-Dead idea. Unfortunately, Kanu and his (largely young and unschooled) crowd believe that realizing Biafra is/ was just a breath away. But the IPOB enthusiasts fail to ask one question: If the Biafran agitation is so prospective, why did Kanu not bring his immediate family to join in the crusade for Biafra? Why is his wife and children still sequestered in the UK? The youthful members, many of whom (including Kanu himself, since he just clocked 50 now) never saw the ire and fire of the Nigerian civil war merely speak and echo the ululation of Biafra with uncommon zealotry, without weighing the overall implication. I cannot forget how in 2014, I had gone for a conference in London with my then state governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan. The subject, I think, was on The Performance of subnational governments in Nigeria. The then governor of Sokoto State, now Senator Aliu Wamakko was also on the panel of discussants. The conference held in the British parliament, London. Midway into the discourse, one young fellow from the gallery raised his voice, shouting some obscene words denouncing Nigeria and all its leaders. He was not insane, just paranoid about Biafra. All attempts to calm him down proved abortive. Unknown to me, he had come with a small pack of “Biafran agitators”, all dressed in some outlandish outfits indicative of their “struggle”. They literally seized the floor with their ruckus noise. It took the intervention of the British police to restore order at the forum. I recall seeing the arrested “leader” detained in the cold winter breeze as we left the venue that night. Kanu and his ilk are so overarched in the Biafran ideology so much that they think anyone not in support of the movement is a traitor and a fool. They fail to realise that Nigeria with over 180 million people are largely anti-disintegration of Nigeria. But Kanu and co are cock sure that the referendum they are clamouring for will confirm a desire for Biafra. How wrong! Indeed, a funny social media post last week showed how asphyxiated the Biafran followers are. The post, mimicking the L1 defect of some persons from that part of the country said “ No lefelundum, No Erection”. Truly, I had wondered where Kanu got the guts to declare that there would be no election in Anambra State come November 18, unless a referendum was conducted. It was a clear affront to the Nigerian state. I had imagined that the way Kanu was boastful of his plans, he had an impregnable armoury. I had thus expected some good resistance from his “arsenal” when the Nigerian state moves against him. The Python Dance literally ran over the Biafran Brigade in the ease with which hot knife runs through butter bulk. As it turned out, the fight ended before it even started. Kanu simply went under, leaving his followers to drink the muddy water and slap one another in humiliating gestures. I had suspected that the four seizures (in eight months) of firearms in Lagos Tin Can port, amounting to 2, 671 rifles had something to do with IPOB. That he was already grooming some National Guards, as well as maintaining a Secret Service plus hoisting the Biafran flag, issuing Biafran passport, etc., meant he was determined to run a sovereign state within a larger sovereign state. No responsible government will tolerate that! Not even the Biafran republic of his dream. The larger majority of the Igbo have put the Nigerian civil war behind them and have since moved on, literally seizing the economic soul of the Nigerian state. To set them on a collision course with the larger Nigerian state again, with the concomitant consequences, would amount to a silly return to Egypt. Yes, there are inequalities in the Nigerian federation. The Igbo are not the only victims. Therefore, secession will neither fix it nor nix it.

Canticles...

57 Steps to Nationhood

omorrow is our 57th Independence anniversary. Which of the Independence parties are you attending? Is the one at the Lekki resort or the one at the Mainland square? Why should I waste my time go for any party? What is there to celebrate? I will rather rest my bones and think of how to help myself since the nation has consistently failed to come to my aid.

What a negative thought! How can you say Nigeria has not helped you? The fact that you are alive and able to think is a proof that Nigeria has been on your side. It is by the grace of God that I am alive and thinking, not Nigeria. This is a nation that consumes its own. Those who are surviving are doing so because God is on their side. So the celebration really should be a thanksgiving to God. It’s all part of it. But for God itself, Nigeria would have disintegrated. And that is why we must celebrate having a yet united Nigeria. Really? How united are we? Didn’t that sage say Nigeria is a mere geographical expression? Are we not more divided now than when that statement was made? What is it that binds us together? Have we not now had more secessionist moves and agitations more than ever before? Have you not noticed that the ethnic fault lines are now more defined in our polity? You are deliberately choosing to see the bottle as half empty instead of seeing it as half full. Look, there is no perfect nation or dwelling place. Only heaven perhaps. There are many ﬂowery things to celebrate in Nigeria my brother. The fact that for 18 years, we have had unbroken reign of democratic governance is something to be cheerful about. The fact that despite all Buhari the challenges, we are still one indivisible country is something to be giddy about. The fact that we are not at war with one another is something to pump the champagne over. The fact that … (cuts in) Enough of those wrong-headed facts. You can choose to delude yourself if you wish. But I will not. All you need to assess the strength of any nation is just to check out the basic socio-metrics of life. Let me ask you: what is the average life span of Nigerians today? What is the level of security enjoyed by Nigerians today? What is the level of literacy in Nigeria? Can Nigerians feed themselves? Do you know how many Nigerian youths die in the Mediterranean Sea every year in their desperation to cross over to Europe in search of better life? Do you know the level of unemployment in Nigeria, even for the very educated? How many companies have shut down or streamlined their operations? Did you not read how Gov Ambode of Lagos State donated 120 generators to the Police, meaning that there is indeed no hope for stable electricity? Or have you not noticed that the more we spend to have electricity, the thicker the darkness we are thrown into? How many Nigerians have faith in our educational and medical services? How many big men agree to be treated in Nigeria, even for catarrh? Or what sickness was it that took our own President to London for 104 days, that could not be treated in Nigeria? Look, at Independence, countries like India, Malaysia etc., were even behind Nigeria. Today, India has become the greatest destination for medical tourism. Malaysia has become a developed nation, just as we are yet bedstraggled in puppetry. Is it on education? ASUU and strikes will not let our universities to measure up, so much that middle-class Nigerians now send their children to even Cotonou (not minding the language barrier), Ghana, etc. Have you not noticed the democratic growth in ignorance among those who manage to graduate from our schools? I can go on and on, and you will see that we should actually be ashamed and go for national retreat on how to rejig Nigeria. Hmmmm….. the task of governance is a continuum. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a step. For us in Nigeria, we have taken the 57th step in the journey to nationhood. Yes, we could have done better, given our natural endowments. But let us be consoled by the fact that it is better late than never. We are now headed in the right direction at a better–paced speed. Let those who have gone ahead, run on. We shall travel slowly and we too shall arrive. It is people like you who are yet enamoured by the complex mechanism of a wheelbarrow when your mates are already going to the moon with rockets and spaceships. According to Bob Marley, forget your sorrow and dance, my brother. Independence Day comes once in a year. After all, there are some in the mortuary right now, even as some are in the grave. Somebody make some n-o-i-s-e!!!!!!

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ SEPTEMBER 30, 2017

EXPRESSION

MEDIAGAFFES

Iced Cubes, not ‘Blocks’

EBERE WABARA

IGN writing on the wall of a shop on Itire road: “Iced cubes sold here” Get it right: buy your iced cubes (not blocks) here. DAILY SUN Opinion Page headline solecism of September 25 formally welcomes us today: “The journalist as endangered

specie (species)” “Also, in Kebbi State and few (a few) other states in the North, flooding has caused untold misery….” (DAILY SUN Editorial, September 20) “It was a black Sunday for residents of Oluwalogbon Community, Osi Ota, Ogun State (a comma) as armed robbers raided the community, killing and injured (injuring) three others.” “Ethnic agitation: Nigeria will not breakup (break up), says Oyegun” “NnamdiAzikiwe University 2017/2018 post UTME screening exercise” In honour of the late Dr. NnamdiAzikiwe: post-UTME screening “FAAN workers to protest over (against/at/ about) Lagos,Abuja airports’ concession” “But all our future blessing would be achieved through waiting in the Lord.” If you are after God’s heart, you wait on, not in, the Lord. “Before embarking on the strike action….” You can as well embark on the ‘strike inaction’! “It was as though both informants were mischievous people who had an affinity in (for) discrediting the preacher.” “The vigilante group visited instant judgment on the thief and sent him to the great beyond.” In the name of excellence: vigilance group. “Sixteen people were killed (16 people died) and two others seriously injured in a ghastly (fatal) accident which occurred along (on) the Bauch-Auchi road on Saturday.” If there were casualties, it follows that it was a fatal, not a ghastly, accident. The mishap did not drag along the road, but occurred at a spot on the road.

“Some of the despotic regimes thrown up in (on) the continent did worse things than was experienced under colonialism.” “Aweekly magazine took a professional risk and charged the speaker for (with) forgery.” “...the same-day election is being proposed by the senate as part of the antidote for….” This way: antidote to…. “MEND in a statement signed by its spokesman…said it will (would) begin….” “The targets are non-Muslims groups.” Existential humanism: non-Muslim groups. THE GUARDIAN of September 25 contributed four inaccuracies to this week’s pool of blunders: “Then between 2007 and 2015, Ikot Ekpene senatorial district is on (in) the saddle.” “…disclaimed insinuation (an insinuation or insinuations) in some quarters that….” “Today, he does not only represent the rare specie (species) of lawyers….” “Achebe was accused of being privy to the coup on the ground (grounds) that….” “Achebe’s no hold barred (sic) reprimand on the Nigerian nation….” TheAchebe story: no-holds-barred reprimand.” “The sad story of some communities in Nkanu East Local Government of Enugu State that are literarily (literally) trapped….” “I noticed that I stir up this awe whenever I speak in the company of my guys and others.” People: in company with (not of) my guys and others. “Be your brother’s keepers….” Fixed expression irrespective of number of people involved: brother’s keeper. “Yes, a lot of people like these kind of prophetic books.” This way: this kind/these kinds of people “…God was merciful to have kept him for 23 years after the motor accident that confided (confined) him to the wheelchair.” “Let your wrist watch speak volume (volumes)” “To build capacity through trainings” ‘Train-

ing’ is non-count. “This should have been our interactive platform and an income generating (incomegenerating) website.” Please note this: ‘under the circumstance’ is American English while ‘in the circumstance’ is British English. This particular intervention is critical because in their book entitled Correct English, J. E. Metcalfe and C.Astle declared that ‘under the circumstance’ is wrong. But, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (New Edition) published in 2012 confirms the two expressions as correct entries. We should exercise circumspection in our use of the English language and its registers. I prefer ‘in the circumstance’, however. “…has been as selfish, self serving (self-serving) and attempt (an attempt) by the House to place its members above the electorates they should be accountable to.” The making of invincible legislators: electorates/electors or the electorate (not the electorates). “…and absorbs (absolves) them from civil or criminal proceedings….” “The same house has (had) attempted in the past to compromise the….” Existential humanism: ‘in the past’ is redundant here. “But what is really important is the number of people who turns (turn) new leaves….” Fixed/ stock expression: turn a new leaf (irrespective of the number of people). “Buhari, who summoned the service chiefs to Aso Rock Villa,Abuja, was said to have intimated them of (to) the Presidency’s plan….” “Egypt (Egyptian) court revokes Morsi’s firing of prosecutor” “The President then presents the recommendation to the National Council of States (State) for deliberation.” “…it might afford the country the opportunity to a round table (sic) to regurgitate what grouse each bears against (about) the other (one another).”

ewabara@yahoo.com, 08055001948

“It was their battle (Niger Delta militants) that awaken (awoke) the consciousness….” “I believe in total and comprehensive assessment of a person to determine his/her (their) suitability and overall credibility.” “UI students’ union leaders sworn-in (sworn in), seek cooperation” “The minister goes on to paint a very laudable picture of the purpose of the First Ladies Peace Mission, rounding up (rounding off) with the battle-cry….” “He said the village have (had) never been attacked in the past….” “…majority (again, a majority) of them failed woefully (abysmally).” “…who briefed journalists on the company’s field development programme yesterday, in company of (in company with) the vicechairman….” “The victims comprised of four….” Delete ‘of’ in pursuit of reason and truth. Still on the editorial: “…stakeholders to put heads together in order to help find lasting solution (a lasting solution) to the security challenges presently facing the nation.” Why not ‘the insecurity facing the nation’? “Shareholders of GSK Plc (PLC) has (have) enjoyed a huge….” “But GSK need (needs) a more robust fourth quarter to sustain the record-setting bullish run.” “…where majority (a majority) of the population live (lives)….” “Survivors of suicide bomb attacks recount tales of woes” Kano blasts: tale of woe (fixed/ stock expression—plurality notwithstanding) “Okopoly rector allays fears over masquerades (masqueraders)” “Anambra 2017: PDP supporters on strategic take over (takeover) campaign” NB: Contributions, in any form, are welcome. Thanks.

FEATURE

Aliyu Aziz: Reliable Identification Data Can Kick-start Digital Economy The National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, is one of the least reported agencies of government, yet it is one of the most strategic in terms of national planning digital economic management. Aliyu Aziz, the director-general and chief enrolment oﬃcer of the Commission, in a recent paper, highlighted the strategic importance of the agency to the country and her future. Samuel Ajayi reports

he director-general and chief enrollment officer of the National Identity Management Commission,Aliyu Aziz, NIMC, is a very determined man. He knows the enormity of the job in his hands and the fact that he is dealing with a very fastidious populace that takes nothing but good service delivery from any government agency. The task beforeAziz is not just to deliver a reliable identity management regime for the country, but also providing a platform on which data supplied by the Commission could be used to develop a framework for an evolving digital economy. Delivering a paper at the just concluded Indo-Africa ICT expo held earlier in the month,Aziz tried to establish an interface between the services the NIMC provides and how these could be used to develop a digital economy that relies on accurate identification data. Established in 2007, the National Identity Management Commission was set up to among other things establish a national Identity Database, provide identity services like authentication and verification, issue unique identifier known as the National Identification Number, NIN, harmonize and integrate existing identity databases, issue a GMPnational ID card. The Commission was also set up to regulate the Nigerian identity sector. And the mission of the commission, according to Aziz, is to “provide sustainable world-class identity management solution to affirm identity, enhance governance and service delivery in Nigeria by 2019” while the mission is to “establish and regulate a reliable and sustainable system of National Identity Management that enables a citizen or legal resident affirm their identity in an environment of innovation and excellence.” How easy has this been? In his paper at the exhibition,Aziz said the Commission has faced the challenges of putting the regulatory framework

Aziz together.And the most challenging of this was putting in place the NIMS infrastructure. “After many challenges over the years, putting the regulatory framework together (and) building the NIMS infrastructure The Commission embarked on an enrollment strategy in 2012, which has grown exponentially since 2015. The current goal is 10X: to have enrolled 10 times the number of the previous year,”Aziz explained. And the Commission seems to be achieving that. It registered just 60,000 Nigerians in 2012 and by the 2015, it had registered seven million and by 2017, the figure had risen to 28 million Nigerians.Aziz feels these were still not enough.And many Nigerians share his sentiments. But all indications show that

the Commission is in the right direction going by the quantum of work it has been able to achieve since he came in as the chief executive of the Commission. One of the arguments in favour of the Commission is that if the agency is well funded and given all the necessary logistic and legislative backing, the number of biometric registrations being done in the country will be unnecessary. Ade Olabode, a top integrated marketing communications expert, told THISDAYthat if NIN is given to residents, so many identification problems would be solved. “If you have the NIN and you want to get a passport or a new one, all the Immigration needs to do is to use the NIN number you provide them to get all your details and a passport will be issued to you or an expiring one is renewed. In the same vein, if you want to do a Driver’s Licence and you are asked to go and capture, to me, it is totally unnecessary and waste of time, energy and resources.Your NIN provided by the NIMC should be enough for you to do this and get your Driver’s Licence within day,” Olabode told THISDAY. One area Nigerians have never agreed is the area of population. Figures have always been disputed with claims and counter-claims of figure inflation to favour certain sections of the economy. But another public affairs analyst, Joe Eboh, said the NIN is capable of putting these issues into the cooler forever. “If the NIMC issues NIN to every resident of this country, it is already in the system and no one can challenge that.And now, if there is no one complaining that he or she has not gotten his or her NIN, then population figure has to tally with the number of NINs that the NIMC has issued out. That is why I think the Commission has to be strengthened to be able to meet this task,” Eboh said. Former THISDAYeditor and publisher of The Cable, an online newspaper, Simon Kolawole, once

submitted in his weekly column in this newspaper that there was no point asking citizens to do multiple biometrics. Banks, schools, immigration and other bodies often ask Nigerians to do biometrics and fingerprinting. But Kolawole argued that there was no need for this if there is a data bank where this information could be accessed. In his paper at the expo,Aziz said the NIMC is equipped to provide the backbone for a digital economy using reliable personal data of the country’s residents. He said to achieve this, the NIMC is currently harmonizing data sources from the Nigerian Immigration Service, the National Communications Commission and the National Driver’s Licence (through the Federal Road Safety Commission), banks as well as the National Health Insurance Scheme. Aziz submitted that presently, the nation has the National Population Commission, but in future, this might not be needed again.According to him, the data provided by the NIMC could be used for taxes, voter’s card, social services, policing (security), telecommunications (SIM registration), pension, passport issuance and renewal, commercial activities, digital inclusion, driver’s licence, education, financial dealings, health care services and many others. To him, what all these suggest that there might not be need for an agency dealing with population issues as reliable data from the NIMC can take care of this. Aziz, in his paper, said benefits of the harmonised personal identity data included a system of one person one identity, enhancing participation in the political process as well as being an important tool for fight against corruption and terrorism. Other benefits,Aziz claimed, included enabling citizens to exercise their rights; facilitating management of subsidies and safety net payments, IDPs and service delivery in MDAs.

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

Reversing into a Side Road on the Right

The all new seventh generation of the BMW 5 Series Sedan

Coscharis Motors Unveils The All-new BMW 5 Series Today Stories by Bennett Oghifo

oscharis Motors Plc., will launch the all new seventh generation of the BMW 5 Series Sedan, a sporty, elegant and stylish figure, at the Banana Island Festival today. Coscharis Motors is the exclusive franchise owner of BMW sales and service in Nigeria. With a network across Nigeria, it boasts of contemporary showrooms and after sales workshops in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt, Uyo, Enugu and Ibadan.

A statement by the franchise owner said the launch of the BMW 5 Series today, was in furtherance to the car hitting the roads around the world in 2017. According to the General Manager, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Coscharis Motors Plc, Abiona Babarinde, â€˜â€™the design of the All-New BMW 5 Series oscillates between sportiness, elegance and assertiveness, and the dynamic character is underlined by its flat and wide front. Even at standstill, this is the sportiest sedan, in its segment!â€™â€™ The new BMW 5 Series Sedan therefore has all the tools it needs to continue the remarkable

success recorded by its predecessors; more than 7.6 million BMW 5 Series cars were sold across its first six generations. The seventh generation of the BMW 5 Series points the way into the future, as we have defined it with our Number One - Next strategy. It remains the epitome of the business sedan,â€? says Harald KrĂźger, Chairman of the Board of Management at BMW AG. But to really appreciate the new BMW 5 Series, one needs to understand the levels of refinement and innovation captured in the vehicle, which will all be revealed during the launch, the statement said.

Eunisell Educates Customers on Automotive, Transmission, Industrial Fluids

specialtyfluidsmanagementcompany, Eunisell Limited organised a one-day technical training and seminar for lubricant additive customers, as part of its efforts to raise the participantsâ€™ technical awareness of the lubricant

market. The seminar was also to enable the customers have better understanding of the link between engine design lubricant performance and knowledge of global trends in the downstream sector of the Oil and Gas industry. The event, which is currently in its 15th year, held in Lagos, recently with the theme: â€œAdvances and Trends in Automotive, Transmission, and Industrial Fluids.â€? The Chief Executive Officer at Eunisell Limited, Ramesh Hullur said the training was designed to help participants gain cutting-edge knowledge on trends and developments in the automotive, transmission and industrial fluids market. â€œThis training is essential and is meant to bring together professionals who are into blending of lubricants and other petroleum and allied products in Nigeria, with a view to bringing them up to speed with industry developments and technological breakthroughs that have led to the advancement of additives and lubricants in other parts of the world,â€? , adding that the seminar creates a veritable platform to access the latest information on specialty fluids, thereby enhancing application expertise. Iain Fraser, Chief Executive Office of Eunisell International, who was also at the event, expressed the companyâ€™s determination to see Nigeria benefit from the development of the downstream sector while the participants are also empowered with quality knowledge. He said: â€œNigeria must not be left out of the devel-

L-R: Chief Production Chemist, Eunisell Ltd, Charles Oranusih; CEO, Eunisell Ltd, Ramesh Hullur; GMD, Eunisell Ltd, Chika Ikenga; Chief Financial OďŹƒcer, Eunisell Ltd, Charles Etuk; and CEO, Eunisell Ghana, Iain Fraser, at the â€˜Advances and Trends in Automotive, Transmission, and Industrial Fluidsâ€™ seminar organised by Eunisell Ltd and Lubrizol South Africa at Renaissance Hotel, Ikeja, Lagosâ€Ś recently

opments in the downstream sector; this is why we carry out such training for various organisations at no cost. We have done this every year for the past 15 years, empowering participants with the requisite knowledge to guarantee the production of top quality lubricants for automobiles and industries in Nigeriaâ€?. Huller spoke on â€œEunisell inAfrica and â€˜Industrial Gear Oils, Hydraulic Oilsâ€™â€? while Fraser spoke on â€œBase Oils and Viscosity Modifiers.â€? Franklin

Oranusih, Chief Production Chemist at Eunisell Limited, spoke on â€œAutomotive, Gear Oils and Automatic Transmission Fluids.â€? Eunisell has been supplying key products and solutions to a wide base of customers operating in Africa since 1996 and is a major supplier of oil fields chemicals such as demulsifiers, corrosion inhibitor, water clarifier and sludge breaker to local and international oil companies including Shell, Total, NPDC, Network E&P and Oando.

This manoeuvre is about reversing into a side road on the right and is useful for turning round to travel in the opposite direction or for reversing into your driveway. The reverse round a corner manoeuvre is basically made up of two straight line reverses with a turn in between. On full understanding of this manoeuvre, you should be able to reverse safely into a side road on the right using effective observation, under full control and with reasonable accuracy. Like all other manoeuvres, you are required to choose a safe, legal and convenient place to start the manoeuvre. Therefore, in carrying out this manoeuvre, you should avoid busy junctions, crossroads, schools, etc. You need to remember that, you do not reverse onto a main or major road or where there is a no entry sign. Before you drive to the starting position for the manoeuvre, you will need to stop at the side of the major road before the junction you intend reversing into (target road). Use your prepare, observe and manoeuvre (P.O.M) routine to move off, and as you drive past the target road, glance into the road to check for any parked vehicles or other obstructions that could make your manoeuvre unsafe. If and when satisfied that the road is clear, begin your mirror, signal and manoeuvre (M.S.M) routine in order to stop safely at the starting point of the manoeuvre. You should stop approximately two to three cars length beyond the junction (target road), and approximately half a metre from the kerb. The reason for stopping a bit further from the kerb than your normal parking position is to give you enough space to reverse. If you are too close to the kerb when you park, you run the risk of hitting the kerb and damaging your tyres. If you need your signals to stop, time them properly so that you do not mislead other road users that you are turning right (into target road). From the starting point, select reverse gear, set the gas and bring the clutch pedal to biting point (for manual vehicles). Carry out effective observation looking out for pedestrians and approaching traffic. You may turn slightly to your right in your seat, looking over your right shoulder, so that you can see well down the road through the middle of your rear window, whilst reversing slowly. You may remove your seat belt if you feel restricted.At this point, you are simply driving back in a straight line until you get to the point of turn. As you reverse towards the corner, the kerb will disappear from view in the rear window.As you look over your right shoulder, you will see the kerb come into view in the bottom corner of the side window. This is the point of turn. At the point of turn, the front of your car will swing out, so you must ensure that the road is clear before you start turning your steering wheel to the right. Check the road to the front and rear, including your left-hand blind spot. If it is safe, steer right to follow the kerb round while mainly looking out at the rear window and then in your right door mirror to confirm your position to the kerb. The amount that you turn the steering wheel to the right will be determined by the shape of the corner and how sharp the corner is. Follow the kerb round until you see through the rear window that the car is straight in the new road. Keeplookingwelldowntheroadthroughthemiddle of the rear window. This will help you judge whether the car is parallel with the kerb.An occasional glance into the nearside (right) door mirror will help you judge your distance from the kerb. When parallel with the kerb in the new road, straighten up and then follow the kerb back approximately four car lengths. If you removed your seat belt for reversing, make sure you put it on again before moving off. In next weekâ€™s article we shall be discussing how to reverse into a side road on the right. For further explanations or clarification on the articles in the Essential Skills of Driving column, consult the author.

Stephen K. Dieseruvwe

Director General, Delta StateTrafďŹ c Management Authority (DESTMA) **DriverTrainer and Road Safety Consultant **Email: sdieseruvwe@gmail.com

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Saudi Arabia to Let Women Drive at Last

Mercedes-Benz 300 GD, the G-class

The Story of the G-class Named â€œOttoâ€? Stories by Bennett Oghifo

ne man, one G, one lifeâ€™s work. That sums up the essence of an unprecedented global adventure. In 1988, when Gunther Holtorf and his wife Christine set out in their Mercedes-Benz 300 GD to visit as many of the countries around the world as possible, the G-Class was just ten years old. 26 years after, just under 900,000 kilometres, and 215 visited countries later; Gunther Holtorf drove his cherished G â€“ christened â€˜Ottoâ€™ â€“ back home to Swabia. The marathon vehicle took

pride of place in the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart-UntertĂźrkheim, where it goes on show to visitors in the Classic Cars section. As a world-record holder, â€˜Ottoâ€™ will also be immortalized in the Guinness World Records. When the vehicle was officially handed over to the Mercedes-Benz Museum, the driver and the vehicle equally impressed Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of DaimlerAG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars and he stated, â€œI promise that there will still be a G-Class in the future. Will there be more characters of Mr Holtorfâ€™s ilk in the future? I hope so,â€? For 79-year-old Gunther Holtorf, he believed his

Mercedes-Benz 300 GD, affectionately christened as â€˜Ottoâ€™ by his wife Christene, is quite simply the expedition vehicle par excellence for this kind of (torturous) tour. He stated, â€œIn 1988, when I bought the car I was a bit more sceptical about the promise made by Mercedes-Benz, namely â€œWhere thereâ€™s a G, thereâ€™s a wayâ€?. After all, Iâ€™d already seen something of the world beforehand and had a rough idea of what the vehicle would have to endure on this kind of world tour!â€? This initial scepticism gave way though to an unreserved trust in Ottoâ€™s capabilities as the years went by. Even in the most precarious situations, the symbiosis between the Holtorfs and the G-Class grew.

audi Arabia is easing restrictions on womendriving,finallyallowingalmost half its population to get behind the wheel. Aroyal decree has been issued that will allow women in the country to drive, the Saudi Foreign ministry said this week on its official Twitter account. A committee has been formed to implement the ruling. The move to ease restrictions on women has huge implications for the Saudi economy and womenâ€™s ability to work. It is just the latest in a series of changes that have been rippling through Saudi Arabia since the rise of 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The crown prince, known casually as â€œMBS,â€? is spearheading an ambitious plan to reform and transform the Saudi economy by 2030 and, in line with that goal, increase the number of women in the workforce. Bin Salman, who was appointed by his father to the position of crown prince in June, is seen as a major power in the country and is expected by many to be named king before too long. The Kingdom of SaudiArabia follows a strict form of Wahhabi Islam that bans the mixing of sexes at public events and places numerous curbs on women. These restrictions are enforced by religious police whose powers the crown prince has successfully lobbied to curtail since coming to power. Above the oil: Inside a gated US compound in Saudi Arabia His success on that front is evident in the way Saudi Arabia, which is celebrating the 87th anniversary of its creation this month, has recently been easing some restrictions on women. Women were allowed to enter a sports stadium for the first time on September 23, for a special pageant. In May, King Salman decreed that government agencies should list services women can seek without permission from their husbands, fathers or other male guardian.

â€˜Retooling Auto Policy will Fuel Economyâ€™

he Federal Government has been advised to pay more attention to the Nigeria Auto Policy to stabilise the industry and enable it drive the economy. The Nigeria Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP), which is now halfway into its 10-year period, is staggering because of what some stakeholders see as unnecessary hesitation by the government and lack of consensus among players in the industry due to alleged mutual suspicion. Four years after the introduction, the NAIDP, which was conceived to make Nigeria a vehicle manufacturing nation, is yet to have the necessary impact, said Dr. Oscar Odiboh, a senior lecturer at Covenant University, Otta, Ogun state, when he addressed the maiden monthly forum of the

Nigeria Auto Journalists Association (NAJA) in Lagos, recently. Regardless, the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), an agency of the federal government responsible for the NAIDP implementation, claims that the policy is working because, among other things, there are now over 50 auto assembly plants in the country. Odiboh disagrees with this success story in his presentation, â€˜Implementation of Nigeriaâ€™s Auto Policy: The way Forwardâ€™, stating that most of the assembly plants set up in the country cannot compete globally because they lacked necessary equipment. â€œWhat we have at the moment are not real assembly plants, they are glorified joineries. Sixty five per cent of our assembly operations are done manually, while 70 per cent of employees are casual.â€?

Director General, NADDC, Jelani Aliyu

NIGHT JOURNEY SYNDROME 2

ast week I shared with you my concern on the increasing cases of deaths arising from night journey. Specifically I focused on the crash of Thursday 14 September 2017 which occurred along the Lagos- Ibadan express way. In that piece, I listed some of the reasons why the Federal Road Safety Corps has consistently campaigned against night journey even in the face of the challengesâ€™ of barring motorists from their individual choices which are guaranteed by the countryâ€™s constitution. For purposes of reminder, I wish to refresh you on the reasons for our continuous campaign against night journey which includes the following; excessive speeding, problem of visibility as it affects night driving and rescue and epileptic ambulance services among other factors. Today, I wish to consider some other issues such as the increasing crime rates at night which makes policing our roads a bit problematic.Although I am not competent to speak for the agencies charged with this onerous responsibility, I wish to recall an incident involving a friend of mine who has since repented from the madness called night journey. Before the incident, he was a die- hard advocate for night journey; one who would always speak passionately about night journey and even taunt me for being too lily- livid to try night journey despite my counsel against it. According to the

SAFE DRIVING with

JONAS AGWU

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

story of this friend who I would prefer to call Gbolly, he boarded a bus from Abuja to Lagos on a faithful Friday as his practice was. A couple of hours after the journey began, he was started from his sleep by gun shots and wailings from commuters. By the time he looked around, it dawned on him there had, run into a robbery trap where they were all dispossessed of their belongings while the female passengers in the bus were picked one after the other by the robbers and sexually assaulted. The experience was so harrowing, according to him that immediately he escaped from the scene, he did not need any preacher to talk him out his dangerous pastime travel habits called night journey. I know there are worse stories but the simple truth is that like rescue during crashes, policing is made a bit easier when you can clearly see the elements you are confronted with. Beside crime and other criminal activities, one major concern is the increasing issue of driving

under the influence which has become the past time of a handful of drivers who most times boast that alcohol beverages enhances their proficiency on the wheels .I donâ€™t want to bore you with the state of commercial vehicles in the face of the increasing economic challenges which has made vehicle maintenance a luxury to some transporters. These vehicles often break down leaving commuters exposed to unnecessary dangers in the face of kidnappers and ritual killers. My focus today is actually to dwell on driving under the influence which is an infraction among drivers both during day and night journeys. The Federal Road Safety Corps records as contained in the 2015 Annual report gives a total of 63 road traffic crashes resulting from driving under the influence. Zone 4 Jos which I presently supervise, comprising Plateau, Benue and Nasarrawa States accounted for 16 cases. Although the breakdown does not distinguish between night and day, I still wish to focus on driving under the influence as a problem. A material I published a couple of months ago on this column under the heading One for the road;â€™ â€™ONE FOR THE ROAD-THE DESIGNATEDDRIVERCAMPAIGNâ€™â€™willprovide us with necessary information on the dangers of driving under the influence. That material reads thus; Do you know that alcohol causes nearly 4 percent of deaths worldwide, more than AIDS, tuberculosis or violence, according to the WHO? Do you also know that

Odiboh approximately 2.5 million people die each year from alcohol related causes and that the harmful use of alcohol is especially fatal for younger age groups, while alcohol is the worldâ€™s leading risk factor for deaths among males aged 15-59 ?. Do you equally know that alcohol is a causative factor in 60 types of diseases and injuries, according to WHOâ€™s first report on alcohol since 2004. Alcohol consumption has been linked to cirrhosis of the liver, epilepsy, poisoning, road traffic crashes, violence and several types of cancer, including cancer of the colorectum, breast, larynx and liver. ... Drink driving, or what is known globally as impaired driving, is my main focus for this week. Let me first wet your curiosity with certain facts from countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Canada .This detour should help you if you fall into the category of motorists who indulge in â€™â€™one for the roadâ€? -this clichĂŠ simply translates that even if you have consumed a number of bottles of beverage alcohol, once it is time to travel or drive, you need another extra to help you see clearly and remain alert. Do you know that in 2010 in the UK, nearly 10,000 reported road casualties happened when a driver was over the legal alcohol limit? Do you also know that as a result, 250 people were killed in drink driving accidents?Do you know that in the United States of America, almost half of all drivers who were killed in crashes and tested positive for drugs also had alcohol in their system? Do you know that about one-third of all drivers arrested or convicted of driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence of alcohol are repeat offenders?

T H I S D AY SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 30, 2017

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ë¾ JUNE 16, 2011

GLOBAL SOCCER

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

30.09.2017

Tammy Abraham Turns His Back on Nigeria

EARLY TITLE BATTLE

PAGE. 29

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍąÍŽËœ ÍşÍ¸ÍšÍż

Turns His Back on Nigeria

Ă’Ă? ĂŽĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă— Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ Ă™Ă™ĂžĂŒĂ‹Ă–Ă– Ă?ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžËœ Ă—Ă‹Ă”Ă&#x; Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă•Ëœ Ă“Ă? ĂžĂ™ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă‘Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜ Ă™ĂœĂ“Ă‘Ă“Ă˜ ĂŽĂ™Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂĄĂ?Ă–Ă– Ă“Ă˜ Ă˜Ă‘Ă–Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă™ĂžĂ’Ă?Ăœ Ă–Ă?Ă‹Ă‘Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă–Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂĄĂ‹Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă‹Ě‹Ă–Ă™Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă—Ă—ĂŁ ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă’Ă‹Ă—Ëœ ĂĄĂ?Ă‹Ăœ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă&#x;ĂšĂ?Ăœ Ă‹Ă‘Ă–Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ë› Ă“ĂžĂ’ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ Ă”Ă&#x;Ă?Ăž Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă–Ă?Ă‘ ĂžĂ™ Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă‹ ÍşÍ¸ÍšÎ€ Ă™ĂœĂ–ĂŽ Ă&#x;ĂšËœ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ ĂžĂ’Ă™Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă’Ăž ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ăž Ă“Ăž ĂĄĂ™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ ĂŒĂ? ĂŽĂ“ĘŠĂ?Ă&#x;Ă–Ăž Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ ĂšĂ–Ă‹ĂŁĂ?Ăœ ĂžĂ™ ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ˜ ĂŽĂ™ĂĄĂ˜ ËŞĂ? Ă™ĘĽĂ?Ăœ ĂžĂ™ ĂŽĂ™Ă˜ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– ĂžĂ?Ă‹Ă—ËŞĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ë› Ă™ĂĄĂ?Ă Ă?ĂœËœ ËŤ ĂĄĂ‹Ă˜Ăž ĂžĂ™ Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂœĂŁ Ă™Ă˜ ĂšĂ–Ă‹ĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă˜Ă‘Ă–Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽËœËŹ ĂĄĂ‹Ă? ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă’Ă‹Ă—ËŞĂ? Ă Ă?ĂœĂŽĂ“Ă?Ăž Ă‹Ę°Ă?Ăœ Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă—Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂĄĂ“ĂžĂ’ Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă•Ë› Ă˜ ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă? ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžËœ Kunle Adewale Ă?Ă˘Ă‹Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă? ĂĄĂ’Ă‹Ăž Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ? ĂžĂ™ ĂŽĂ™ ĂžĂ™ Ă‹ĘľĂœĂ‹Ă?Ăž ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă‘ ĂžĂ‹Ă–Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ë›

Tammy Abraham

ammy Abraham dismissed suggestions that he could switch international allegiance to Nigeria after NFF President, Amaju Pinnick, last week said the former England Under-19 and Under-21 player had agreed to play for the Super Eagles. But the on-loan Swansea forward, who joined Chelsea from Bristol in 2016, denied pledging to play for Nigeria, stating publicly that he wants to play for England at the senior level. Born in London, Abraham is still permitted to switch allegiance as he has yet to play for the senior side, and qualifies for the Super Eagles through his father, who is Nigerian. "I can confirm I met the President of the NFF after our last game against Tottenham at Wembley given he is a friend of my father. However, any suggestion that I have made a decision to change my international representation is incorrect and wide off the mark. I have informed the FA that I remain available for selection for England." Abraham's words contradicted Pinnicks', who had claimed, â€œI had a very honest and productive discussion with Tammy and his father last week. It has been a long process but I can tell you authoritatively that he has agreed to play for Nigeria and not England. â€œClearly, he understands he stands a better chance playing for the Super Eagles. With his talent, he has the ability to fight for a place in the Nigeria squad, By God's grace, if we make it to Russia, then he would contest for a chance to represent his fatherland.â€? Former national team headcoach, Chief Adegboye Onigbinde, had backed Abrahamâ€™s decision to play for England national senior football team instead of Nigeria, saying the rejection of Nigeria by the Swansea loanee should make the NFF eggheads wakeup to their responsibilities. Onigbinde berated NFF for always going after already-made stars abroad instead of developing the abundant talents in Nigeria. He wondered why NFF would wish to reap where it did not sow, saying that Abraham was born and developed in England and should be obliged to play for England. â€œYes, we should beg them since there is no meaningful, functional developmental programme at home. Itâ€™s the football Federationâ€™s fault. If we have a functional development programme,

no player would be in position to take the country for a ride. Ideally, the nucleus of the national team should be home-based. That is what I have always said, but nobody seems to be interested in listening to my advice,â€? a furious Onigbinde said. â€œWhy wonâ€™t the young man make the statement on social media? I do not really blame him. What happens to the many talents in the Nigerian league back home? There are good players of Nigerian descent abroad quite alright but it seems they are practically begged to represent Nigeria now. â€œSouth Africa came to beat us on our ground with nine homebased players in their line-up, and we got the result we deserved with our foreign based players,â€? he stated. Since assuming office as the president of the NFF, Pinnick had never hidden his intention to woo players with Nigerian background who have featured only in age-group competitions for foreign countries. So far, he has not done badly with his moves. â€œThe initial plan was to take our players in the various clubs, but now, what are trying to do is what we call VIP scouting â€“ talking to these young players that are playing abroad to play for their father land. â€œIf you talk about Tammy, he is like my son, his father and I grew up in the same neighborhood. So, when they talk about him, I just laugh because I know what to do. I am yet to see a Nigerian that is regretting being a Nigerian. No Nigerian, even if they have four or five passports, they are always excited being Nigerians. I can assure you that we shall get them to play for us at appropriate time,â€? he said. In an earlier chat with THISDAY, the NFF boss said Alex Nwobiâ€™s decision play for Nigeria as against donning the colours of the Three Lions of England earned him the respect heâ€™s enjoying at Arsenal today. â€œNwobi started earning respect at his English club after he was given a national team call-up. Calling him to the national team made Arsenal to respect him and that is the truth. Today, he is one of the key players in Arsenal and we are proud of what federation had been able to do for his football,â€? Pinnick said. In a chat with THISDAY, former Nigerian international, Tajudeen Disu, said he was totally in support of having youthful players injected in the national

SEPTEMBER 30 2017 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

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Sports Sponsorship: What Nigerian Brands can Learn from South African Brands… and AITEO Nigerian companies must realise that when they invest in local sports they do themselves a world of good. Sponsoring domestic sports must be seen as a business imperative; a means of survival, and not merely corporate social responsibility. In the most progressive countries both the public and private sectors invest heavily in sports because of their unique power to engage populations: create jobs, inspire achievement, engender camaraderie and unity, ingrain a culture of healthy living, reduce crime, and arouse national pride on the international stage. Tammy Abraham on duty for England during the European Under 21 Championship

NFF President, Amaju Pinnick fails to woo Tammy Abraham for Super Eagles

team, but charged that the federation should endeavour to develop its own players through various developmental programmes and not depend on players developed by other countries. “How many developmental programmes have this present NFF initiated since coming on board? I am yet to see any. What do you expect of a NFF president that would abandon local matches and fly to England to watch Premier League matches? How can such a person think of any developmental programme? It just a pity that is the situation we found ourselves,” Disu said. “If you look at most of the teams that dominated football in the world, they are always clubs with youths that grew up together. The Ajax team that won the Champions League in 1995 and went on to play in the final the following year were mostly youths that developed together. “The same thing was what we experienced with the present Barcelona team that had dominated club’s football for almost a decade. It’s always an advantage if a team can boast of young players that develop together. Aside from the great understanding the players will enjoy, they will also dominate for a long time,” the former Captain of Abiola Babes of Abeokuta added. In the summer, Swansea City agreed to sign Abraham on loan from Chelsea for the 2017-18 season, having fought off competition from Newcastle and Brighton for the 19-year-old, who scored 23 goals in 40 appearances on loan at Championship side Bristol City in 2016-17. Abraham joined Chelsea at U-8 level and progressed through the clubs academy system. He was part of the Chelsea youth side which recorded

back to back triumphs in both the UEFA Youth League and the FA Youth Cup in 2015 and 2016. In the 2016 edition of the UEFA Youth League, Abraham pitched in with a return of eight goals in nine matches, making him the tournament's second highest goal scorer. He carried his form over in to the FA Youth Cup and scored the winning goal in Chelsea's victory over Manchester City. During the 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons he scored 74 goals in 98 matches across all competitions for Chelsea's various youth sides. His form at youth level caught the attention of interim manager, Guus Hiddink, who invited him to train with the senior team at the back end of the 2015-16 Season Nigeria boasts the likes of Victor Moses, Alex Iwobi, Sone Aluko, Ola Aina, Shola Ameobi who played for England at the youth level.

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

outh Africa is arguably the most modern country in Africa and it stands out on the continent when it comes to private sector investments in sports. Their approach is one that the rest of Africa, and especially Nigeria, must emulate. The North Africans also invest heavily in sports relative to their poorer cousins south of the Sahara, and again maybe there is a correlation between this and the level of progress in the regions. Sport is big business in the more dynamic societies. A recent PwC report estimated that in 2015 global sports sponsorship reached $45b - out of which Africa contributed less than $2b - with South Africa shelling out the lion share. A different report by Repucom estimates that global sponsorship could reach $62m by 2017. South African companies would again play a leading role in Africa after investing about 9m rands (N243b) in sponsoring sports in 2016. Rather than invest in building our domestic sports, big Nigerian brands pump billions into foreign sports. Our utter devotion to the English Premier League tells the story best. Every year Nigerians burn about N50b in TV rights and subscriptions, tourism, merchandising, etc, to feed this EPL fetish. Business leaders, who should have sleepless nights over the resulting shrinking of disposable income and how it negatively impacts their own bottom-lines, are the ones at the forefront of the EPL craze. Top political leaders, who should be mindful of creating jobs for their electorate locally, fly themselves to England in private planes to watch football games. One big Nigerian company is however playing a different game. The Aiteo group’s recent N2.5b sponsorship of the Nigerian Federation (FA) Cup is an exception. Most big Nigerian brands act too sexy for things “local”, while some point to the corruption and incompetence in the industry as a major turn off. While no one can argue that domestic sports need more professional and transparent management, weakening the local economy by sponsoring Arsenal, Manchester United or Chelsea instead of Rangers, Enyimba or Plateau United would neither make our society richer nor better. Just months ago, few knew about the existence of Aiteo, but today they have great visibility, talkability and goodwill. More than anything else however, they have put many Nigerians to work by this act. The Aiteo Cup (FA Cup) is being played smoothly and getting great coverage, while the company has very sensibly demanded that standards be raised, which is as it should be. Put you money down first, then demand better standards. Even if one advocates that the top 20 companies in Nigeria invest one or two billion naira each in our sports annually that would still leave us quite some distance behind the South Africans. Big businesses like Dangote Group,

Globacom, MTN, Airtel, First Bank, UBA, Ecobank, GT Bank, Zenith Bank, Union Bank, Shell, Mobil, Chevron, Forte Oil, Oando, Chi Group, Nestle, NB Plc, Shoprite, DSTV, Startimes, Julius Berger, should be able to put down a couple of billions every year, while public behemoths like NNPC, NIMASA and NPA can be tasked with putting in N5b and more. This is more a business strategy for self-preservation than an appeal for corporate social responsibility. It would ensure a much wealthier society, and ultimately, increased business for these companies and brands. The guys in South Africa cannot be stupid, these guys know their investment in sports opens up opportunities in almost every sector from sports to tourism, construction, medicine, retailing, road and air travels, media, agriculture, food and beverages; the list goes on. I am personally involved in a great sports initiative called the Nigerian Tennis Majors that we believe can transform the domestic sports industry. Our plan is to organize four high-stakes tennis opens in four cities across Nigeria every year. With a few hundred million we can have regular top class tournaments that will create a new generation of deserving local heroes who can then go and take on the world. This would also open up business opportunities in several industries, especially in the host cities. With our youth population exploding almost unchecked, initiatives like this are imperative to keep our young on the straight and narrow. Throwing money at the EPL won’t do that. They understand this logic in South Africa better than we do in Nigeria. The SA Rugby body, for instance, has over 20 big local sponsors. Here are some: FNB bank, Southern Palace Group of Companies, MTN, Supersport, Asics, Steinhoff, OutSurance, Castle Lager, Land Rover, Tsogo Sun, Energade, Nashua, Coca Cola, Vodacom, Direct Axis, Powerade, BSN Medical, Fly Safair, Springboks Atlas, Virgin Active, Bidvest Car Rental, RAM, Rhino, Gilbert. Their football league (The PSL) has its own fair share of big local backers like banking giants ABSA, who have signed a new deal this year to continue their ten-year long sponsorship for another five years. All over the world, banks play a leading role in sports sponsorship and our banks must wake up to this for their own good. Other PSL sponsors include Nedbank, MTN, Telkom, Multichoice, Carling Black Label of SAB Miller and hospitality giants Tsogo Sun. By far the most popular sport in Nigeria is football, yet only one big local sponsor – Star lager – is behind the football league. Other sports are virtually comatose because our big brands would rather throw money at foreign sports. That only puts people to work overseas, not in Nigeria where unemployment figures are staggering. We need to learn from the South Africans. We will be richer and more progressive for it.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍąÍŽËœ ÍşÍ¸ÍšÍż

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Kun Aguero's hope of becoming Manchester City's all-time highest goal scorer at Stamford Bridge today was halted by an auto crash in Amsterdam on Thursday. Inset is the taxi that was taking him to the airport

Chelsea, City in Early Title Race Ă’Ă™Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă’ ĂžĂ’Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă“Ă?Ăœ Ă?Ă‹Ă‘Ă&#x;Ă? Ă—Ă‹ĂŁ Ă”Ă&#x;Ă?Ăž ĂŒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă Ă?Ă˜ ĂĄĂ?Ă?Ă•Ă? Ă™Ă–ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂžĂ™Ă™ Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ–ĂŁ ĂžĂ™ ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ? ĂĄĂ’Ă™ ĂĄĂ“Ă˜Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? ĂžĂ“ĂžĂ–Ă? ĂŒĂ&#x;Ăž ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă? ĂĄĂ?Ă?Ă•Ă?Ă˜ĂŽËŞĂ? Ă?Ă“Ă˘ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ? ĂŒĂ?ĂžĂĄĂ?Ă?Ă˜ Ă’Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ă‹ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ?ĚŽ Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă’Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ?Ăœ Ă“ĂžĂŁ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă‘Ă™ Ă‹ Ă–Ă™Ă˜Ă‘ ĂĄĂ‹ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂĄĂ’Ă?ĂœĂ? ĂžĂ’Ă? ĂžĂ“ĂžĂ–Ă? ĂžĂ“Ă–ĂžĂ? ĂžĂ™Ë› Ă“ĂžĂŁ Ă–Ă™Ă?Ăž ĂžĂ’Ă? ĂžĂĄĂ™ Ă?Ă“Ă˘ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ă–Ă‹Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂžĂ’Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ? Ă?Ăš Ă&#x;Ă‹ĂœĂŽĂ“Ă™Ă–Ă‹ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă—Ă?Ă˜ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă Ă?Ă˜Ă‘Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă—Ă“Ă˜ĂŽË› Ă™ĂžĂ’ Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂŽĂ?ĂŽ Ă‹ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂĄĂ“Ă˜ Ă–Ă‹Ă?Ăž ĂĄĂ?Ă?Ă•Ă?Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă? Ă‘Ă™Ă‹Ă–Ă? ĂŒĂ?ĂžĂĄĂ?Ă?Ă˜ ĂžĂ’Ă?Ă—Ë› Ăž ĂĄĂ™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ ĂžĂ’Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ? ĂŒĂ? Ă‹ ĂŒĂ‹ĂžĂžĂ–Ă? ĂœĂ™ĂŁĂ‹Ă–Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹ Ă‘Ă‹Ă—Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă–Ă? ĂžĂ™ Ă?Ă˜Ă”Ă™ĂŁ

anchester City travel to Stamford Bridge this evening in a bid to cement their label as serious title contenders. Pep Guardiolaâ€™s men failed to beat the defending Champions last season and will be keen to bolster their credentials against Top Six teams. What looks to be Cityâ€™s biggest game of the season so far, a draw here would most likely insert some clarity on a flawless start to the campaign, but a win would surely send a frightening message. Both Chelsea and Manchester City head into the match full of confidence following their respective midweek wins in Europe. No side has scored more than the 21 Premier League goals managed by Man City, who also boast the leagueâ€™s joint-best defensive record. However, Cityâ€™s preparations for Chelsea have been seriously disrupted by Sergio Agueroâ€™s involvement in a car crash. Thankfully, the Argentine is alive and well but initial reports suggest he will miss six-eight weeks of football. Guardiola also confirmed that the knee injury suffered by Benjamin Mendy will keep the left-back out for longer than he expected, as it is believed that Mendy could be sidelined for the majority of the season. Ilkay Gundogan returned to the bench in midweek and is expected to be involved again on today, but Captain Vincent Kompany is a major doubt with a calf injury, while Kevin de Bruyne will face his former employers. Guardiola is under pressure to make good on a huge amount of pre-season spending that saw him splash out more than ÂŁ130 million on three full-backs alone by bringing major silverware back to the Etihad Stadium. The Spanish manager, speaking before the full extent of Mendy's injury was confirmed Thursday, said: "We have Danilo, Fabian Delph and Oleks Zinchenko who can play there so we will see as we go along.â€? Both City and Chelsea, three points behind both Guardiola's men and secondplaced Manchester United, go into today's game on the back of midweek Champions League victories over Shakhtar Donetsk and Atletico Madrid respectively. Meanwhile, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is unhappy that, while City played at home on Tuesday, his side have a short turnaround after arriving back in London in the early hours of Thursday morning following their success in the Spanish capital.

"I think we are a bit penalised," said Conte. "Man City is a really strong team. They are scoring a lot of goals (21 in six Premier League games alone), they are in a good moment of form and we have to prepare well for this game because it is very important. There is the international break after this weekend," the Italian added. "My surprise is for this because there is the time to play the game later." Newcastle will be aiming to put another dent in Liverpool's Premier League title ambitions at St James' Park on Sunday. The Red's season looked to be heading from strength to strength after a 4-0 demolition of Arsenal at the end of August, but Klopp's side won just one of their six games in September. The Reds drew their opening two Champions League group games and sit five points off the pace in the Premier League, and must now find a way past a resurgent Newcastle side on Sunday. Things looked bleak for Newcastle after losing their opening three games in all competitions this term, but the Magpies then won three in a row - before losing at Brighton last weekend to sit ninth as Rafa Bentiez plays host to his former club this weekend. Aleksandar Mitrovic is set to return after completing a three-match ban for the Magpies while Klopp will be able to call on Sadio Mane after

the forward served his three-match domestic suspension for a red card in the 5-0 defeat at Manchester City. United will be huge favourites to beat basement club Crystal Palace at Old Trafford today. Far from soaring, the Eagles have lost all six of their league matches so far this season and have still to score their first top-flight goal of a campaign where they have already sacked Frank de Boer and brought in former England boss Roy Hodgson -- a boyhood Palace fan -- in a bid to arrest their slump. Tottenham Hotspur, fresh from seeing England striker Harry Kane score a hat-trick in a 3-0 Champions League win away to APOEL Nicosia, are at surprise high-flyers Huddersfield while Watford will look to consolidate their position in the top half at West Bromwich Albion. Elsewhere West Ham, with just Bournemouth and Palace below them in the table, will hope to ease the pressure on manager Slaven Bilic when they welcome Swansea to the London Stadium, while Southampton are away to Stoke. The pick of Sunday's three Premier League matches sees Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez up against former club Arsenal and Everton, fresh from Europa League duty, are at home to Brighton and Burnley respectively.

Barca-Las Palmas in Shadow of Referendum

arcelona can extend their perfect start to the Liga season when they take on Las Palmas on Sunday in a game surrounded by political turmoil, as it occurs on the same day as a planned referendum in Catalonia on a break from Spain. There was concern that the match would have to be postponed due to a lack of police resources as a result of the vote, which the Spanish government says is illegal, although it was given the green light at a meeting of Catalonia's security council on Thursday. The Nou Camp has witnessed displays of pro-secession fervour in recent years, including chants of "independence" which take place after 17 minutes and 14 seconds in a match to mark the 1714 siege of Barcelona. Barca defender Gerard Pique showed his support for the referendum on Thursday â€“ although he has never expressed his outright support for independence â€“ but urged citizens to behave in a peaceful manner. "From today until Sunday we will express ourselves peacefully. We cannot give them any excuse, that is what they want. We will sing loud and clear. #WeWillVote," Pique wrote on his Twitter account.

Barca have positioned themselves in favour of the right to decide and released a statement last week condemning crackdowns on referendum activity which led to the arrest of 16 local government officials. "It will be an important day in the history of our country but we have to focus on football," said Barca vice-president Jordi Cardoner. "I think that all members, fans and supporters will express what they think is right." Barca lead the Liga standings by four points over Atletico Madrid after winning six games from six and maintained their 100 percent start in Europe by scraping a 1-0 win at Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday. They face a Las Palmas side who are 15th with six points from six games and reeling from the resignation of coach Manolo Marquez. New coach Pako Ayestaran takes charge of his first game for the club and has sweet memories of his last visit to the Nou Camp, where his Valencia side stunned Barca by winning 2-1 in April 2016. Las Palmas are facing an injury crisis with five players unavailable while Barca have no fresh concerns ahead of the game.

Fixtures TODAY HuddersďŹ eld Bournemouth Man Utd Stoke West Brom West Ham Chelsea

v v v v v v v

Tottenham Leicester Crystal Palace Southampton Watford Swansea Man City

12:30 pm 3:00 pm 3:00 pm 3:00 pm 3:00 pm 3:00 pm 5:30pm

SUNDAY Arsenal Everton Newcastle

v v v

Brighton Burnley Liverpool

12:00 pm 2:15pm 4:30 pm

ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă“Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă’Ă“Ăš Ă‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? Man City Man Utd Chelsea Tottenham Liverpool Watford Arsenalv HuddersďŹ eld Burnley Newcastle Southampton West Brom Brighton Everton Swansea Stoke Leicester West Ham Bournemouth Crystal Palace

6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

19 15 7 5 1 -1 1 2 1 1 -1 -2 -2 -7 -4 -5 -3 -7 -7 -13

16 16 13 11 11 11 10 9 9 9 8 8 7 7 5 5 4 4 3 0

Ă™Ăš Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ?ĂœĂ? NAMES Sergio Aguero Romelu Lukaku Alvaro Morata Raheem Sterling Jamie Vardy Gabriel Jesus Mohamed Salah Harry Kane Alexandre Lacazette Sadio Mane Anthony Martial Danny Welbeck Leroy Sane

CLUB Man City Man Utd Chelsea Man City Leicester Man City Liverpool Tottenham Arsenal Liverpool Man Utd Arsenal Man City

GOALS 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3

Shinji Okazaki

Leicester

ÍąÍŽËœ ÍşÍ¸ÍšÍż Ëž THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

GLOBAL SOCCER\\OTHER SPORTS

Tony Bellew outpunched David Haye in their ďŹ rst meeting

Israel Kammwamba (Malawi) Vs Oto â€˜Joeboyâ€™ Joseph (Nigeria)

Bellew Vows to Send Haye into Retirement Tony Bellew vowed to send David Haye into retirement by warning that the 'Hayemaker show' will end in their rematch. Bellew upset the odds to defeat the former WBA champion and believes the 36-year-old will be forced into retirement if he suffers defeat again in the second fight "I'm happy that this is taking place," Bellew told Sky Sports News. "This is what the fans want; this is what everybody is clamouring for. I am going to turn up and prevail once again. "It's been a long time coming and I'm just happy it's happening now. "No I don't need it, but I said I would do it again. David talks an awful lot and there has been so many things that

have gone on in negotiations. "When it all really comes down to it, December 17, O2 Arena, I will end David Haye's career, because a second loss to me will close the door on his fabulous career. "A brilliant fighter, a fantastic athlete, but mark my words, my style is all wrong for David Haye. On December 17, the 'Hayemaker' show ends at the hands of me." 'The Bomber' pounded out an 11th round stoppage win in a dramatic first encounter, with Haye enduring a ruptured Achilles earlier in the fight, and Bellew intends to clear up any questions by knocking out his bitter foe even faster. "David's attributes have never changed," said the Merseysider. "He's

electrifying in those first three rounds, extremely dangerous, but once that sting goes out the tail, he has a problem. "I will see out those first three or four rounds and then I will bring educated pressure. I will stop David Haye, probably quicker than last time also. "As long as the fight goes, it's going to end badly for him, believe you me when I say it." Meanwhile, David Haye has vowed not to make "the same mistake twice" in his rematch against Tony Bellew, which he describes as his "last chance". Haye was beaten in the 11th round of their first meeting after suffering an ankle injury but concedes that he must make tactical improvements before meeting Bellew again on December 17.

first-round dismissal of Hogan Jimoh Jr., featuring rapid-fire punching that got the crowd chanting and his opponent wobbling. He is a two-time winner of the Mojisola Ogunsanya Memorial Prize for the best boxer, cashing a cheque of N1million on each occasion. Against his Malawian opponent for the Commonwealth Africa lightweight title, Joe Boy may need to go up a few notches higher. Kwwamwamba, the opponent, has a similar fight profile. He has had nine fights, winning all but one. A cracker looms.

firm with vast experience in the handling of big events like this. There is nothing to fear,â€? said Alumona. A total of seven bouts are scheduled for the twelfth edition, with four of them being international bouts. The biggest bout on the night will see reigning African Boxing Union welterweight champion, Nigeriaâ€™s Stanley Eribo, defend his title against Ramadhani Shauri of Tanzania. Nigeriaâ€™s Oto Joseph will face Israel Kammwamba of Malawi for the Commonwealth Africa lightweight title fight. Another Tanzanian, Juma Fundi, will exchange punches with Nigeriaâ€™s Waidi Usman in an international featherweight challenge contest. In the light welterweight category, Olaide Fijabi of Nigeria will stake his West African Boxing Union title when he faces Ghanaâ€™s Bilal Ibrahim. Other bouts lined-up include a national challenge bout between Rilwan Oladosu and Samuel Opaogun; boxing prodigy, Rilwan Babatunde will fight Tombraye Christmas in the light welterweight category while Kabiru Towolawi will duel with Akeem Adebayo in a national light heavyweight challenge. The boxers are in line to earn a total of N20million in prize monies. The winner of the Mojisola Ogunsanya Memorial Award for the best boxer will go home with N2.5million. The two runners-up will win N1million and N500,000 respectively.

GOTV BOXING NIGHT 12 JOE BOY EYES HISTORY WITH COMMONWEALTH TITLE BID With the national and sub-regional lightweight titles in his bag, it is hardly inordinate ambition for Oto â€œJoe Boyâ€? Joseph to seek to add the Commonwealth Africa title. By common consent, his talent deserves expression on a bigger stage. The chance, at last, is here when the Akwa Ibom born ring craftsman takes on Israel Forget Kwwamwamba of Malawi in the first ever Commonwealth Africa title fight, one of the seven big fights slated for GOtv Boxing Night 12 holding today at the National Stadium, Lagos. Initially billed to fight to Dillon Yule of South Africa, who pulled out through injury, Joe Boy has a date with history. After a distinguished amateur career, where he strafed all comers, Joe Boy turned professional, making his debut at GOtv Boxing Night 1. Those with memories of his first professional fight will easily testify that a star had been born. A master of controlled aggression and immense capacity to absorb punishment, the latter usually not deployed, Joe Boy racked up victory after victory. His eight professional fights have delivered as many victories, including six knockouts. Perhaps, his most memorable fights have been the three against Nurudeen Fatai, whom he dethroned as national champion. His

ORGANISERS PROMISE ADEQUATE SECURITY Flykite Promotions, organisers of GOtv Boxing Night, have assured fans coming to the 12th edition of the event of adequate security in and around the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Lagos, venue of the event. Speaking in Lagos on Monday, Managing Director, Flykite Promotions, Mr. Jenkins Alumona, explained that fans have nothing to fear when they come for the event taking place on 1 October. â€œAdequate security has been put in place to ensure fans enjoy the event. We take safety very seriously and over the last 11 editions, we have recorded no unsavory event. Fans, who are the soul of the sport, need to feel safe to enjoy themselves. One of our partners, KSquare Security, is a top-tier security

GOtv MAX Brings La Liga Games to Subscribers From October 1, GOtv subscribers will have access to the best matches of the prestigious Spanish La Liga matches live. The full complement of La Liga matches will be available on the newly introduced GOtv MAX. La Liga matches will be aired live on a new sports channel, SS Select 4. Equally available on GOtv MAX will be select live games of the English Premier League and a wider sports offering, which includes the recently acquired WWE and African football leagues. GOtv MAX customers will enjoy access to over 60 of the hottest local and international channels featuring

everything from the freshest series, music and sport to the latest in fashion reality, celebrity and kiddies programming. Customers will get all of this for an affordable price of N3,800 only. But all active GOtv Plus customers will have a taste of the GOtv MAX package with an open view period of the channels from October t1 to 31st. During this open viewing period, GOtv Plus customers will be treated to GOtv MAXâ€™s wide variety of entertainment programmes like La Liga on SS Select 4, Fox Entertainment, Sony MAX, CBS Reality and more. â€œThe GOtv Open Window periods

are one of the innovative ways we aim to provide more value for our subscribersâ€™ video entertainment experience, irrespective of their subscription plan. â€œWe are delighted that our GOtv Plus customers will get to experience this new world of entertainment. With more package options now available to our valued GOtv customers, they can choose a subscription plan that best fits their needs and budget. We remain committed to delivering the best entertainment that is affordable in order to give millions of television viewers the opportunity to enjoy quality digital entertainment,â€? said Mr. John Ugbe, Managing Director, MultiChoice

Barcelona star, Lionel Messi with talent management team coordinator of FBBESCOLA Benedicta Nwagwu

FCBESCOLA Shifts Focus on Talent Development Barely one year after, the FCBESCOLA, Lagos, which is pride to be the first in sub-Saharan Africa began, the academy reputed for teaching endurable leadership values has made tremendous impact and success. Recently in Lagos, during the Parents Forum, third in the series, the management of the academy declared the 2017 â€“ 2018 season opened with the primary objective of developing the rich talents that is abound in the country, without compromising the essence of imbibing the FC Barcelona globally acceptable values of teamwork, honesty, ambition, good leadership attitude and commitment among others. Addressing the gathering in his Season Opening Presentation, Bernat Villa, the academyâ€™s Technical Director expressed satisfaction in the progress made in the last one year. In elation, he revealed that the technical team is proud with regards to the success made so far. Particularly, after making two enjoyed and memorable trips to take part in two important global tournaments with participation from all the continent which offer the participating students life time exposure, experience and opportunities. Our involvement embolden, inspired and motivated the students who made the trips. This season, the academy plans to up the game in this direction, focusing more on talent discovery and development. â€˜From our research and work so far, we have discovered that there are a lot of young talents, with the passion to be the future legends. This season, we will go the extra mile to discover and grow talents and exposed them to more time tested global tournaments that are of immense value to all parties involved. This, we hope to achieve without delegating the teaching of the Barca values to the background,â€™ he stated. For the talents to actualized their dreams in earnest and maximized fully the abundant opportunities available everywhere in the sector. Benedicta Nwagwu, Talent Management Team coordinator, explained that aside the studentâ€™s individual skill, talents, knowledge and experience of the game, in all, attitude which the academy rate very high is key and must be principally developed for us to achieve the desired result, living the academyâ€™s visionersâ€™ dreams. â€˜Attitude 30 per cent, tactical contents 25 per cent, technical content and application 20 per cent, game system 15 per cent, and transversal contents 10 per cent. In this rating scheme, it is very clear how important attitude is in the talentâ€™s career advancement. We pay premium attention to this area in developing and growing talents. This we cannot exchange for anything else. Thus, attitude as they say is everything,â€™ she emphasized, enjoining parents and guardians to develop more interest in bringing up their children and wards well. The licensee of the elite FCBESCOLA Lagos, Mr. Leslie Oghomienor, in his response to some of the parentsâ€™ questions and commendations, expressed his sincere gratitude to the parents, the government and people of Lagos State, and the management team for their total commitment, unalloyed support and immense contributions towards the development and growth of the academy during the last season. He called upon the stakeholders not to relent on their effort, and promised to drive the vision with all that is in his being, for seeing the children enjoying themselves while displaying their skills and talents, every time he visits the academy gives him uncommon fulfillment. This according to him informed the academyâ€™s Elite 96 full scholarship project for exceptionally talented children with good attitude. â€˜For us to come this far, is because of the passion, commitment and the uncommon support of all the stakeholders, particularly the parents and guardians of our future legends. They made us. In their accomplishment we measure our pride. Thus, in agreement with the school 2017/2018 focus, we will pursue talent discovery and development with all our strength. This passion, informed the Elite 96 Scholarship Project. The only thing you need to qualify for the award which is applicable to both the academyâ€™s students and non-students, is good attitude and exceptional talent,â€™ Ognomienor said. Commenting on the achievement of the academy, vice chairman of the school, Kayode Adeleke, who is overwhelmed by the miles covered by the management in such a short span of time, applauded all involved and appealed to them, not to rest on their oars, but should dare to explore more tougher grounds for the advancement of the students and the growth of the academy for their individual betterment, while imploring the 50 successful Elite 96 Scholarship awardees to be focus and concentrate on their career for their good and that of the Nigerian Nation. â€˜Our national development, unity, peace and progress is dependent on how far we can go in putting sustainable structures in strategic communities, helping in the discovery and development of the talents that are abound and engaged them positively we can be rest assure that a lot of societal vices would fade out, as a nation we are work in progress. So also the academy. I am very convinced that for us all t here better and great days ahead. We should just keep doing the best we can towards nations building. The Elite 96 Scholarship Project is the academyâ€™s own way of contributingâ€Śâ€™ he stressed.

Ëœ Ëž SEPTEMBER 30, 2017

WRITERSâ€™ WORLD

Writing As an Addiction

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

I have the fear that if I donâ€™t write, my blood will freeze. So I asked around and read about the experience of other writers.

elow is what they said about their addiction: The first by Caroline Peckham, bestselling fantasy author, is real fun but true. She is addicted to writing as Stephen King, Maxim Uzoatu and Mike Awoyinfa are.

Caroline Peckham: As I begin writing this Iâ€™m literally starving. But before breakfast I wanted to get this blog post up because itâ€™s been whizzing around my mind before I went to sleep last night and in the few seconds after I woke up today (okay I had a lie-in donâ€™t judge me!) So yes, I am obsessed with writing. I know this because (clearly) it comes before food and is therefore now at least as essential in my list of things to do today. (Alright I wouldnâ€™t die if I stopped writing butâ€Ś.my soul might? Too far? Probablyâ€Ś) Before I started writing my book series Iâ€™d never found anything to write that I was so obsessed about. This, I think (and hope), is a good thing. At least in terms of drive and determination. I will do anything it takes to finish this series and get it out to the world! Because thereâ€™s a burning need inside me to do so. Call it what you will; an obsession, a calling, the onset of some sort of psychotic episodeâ€Śbut whatever it may be, I just canâ€™t ignore it! Today is one of the first days that the UK has had warm weather in literally months. And Iâ€™ve got a couple of days off (lucky me!) but you know what Iâ€™m doing? Sitting in my flat writing, and I intend to do so all day long. To be fair I live in a top floor flat with a large sash window to my left and the sun is shining through so Iâ€™m technically sunbathing right? Writing is addictive in its many forms. I only started a blog a few weeks ago and now I find myself thinking about what to blog and am constantly checking in on what my fellow bloggers are writing! Anyway â€“ I admit it, Iâ€™m a writing addict. There! I said it! Maxim Uzoatu: He is a warm and cheerful young man with a crowd of friends and fans, but locked somewhere in a corner of my brain, is the image of Maxim, the poet as a man who lives with the spirits. I am talking about Maxim Uzoatu, journalist and poet. His words are deep and spiritual. â€œThere are some demons inside me that must get out or I die!â€? Well, Maxim is addicted to writing! Mike Awoyinfa: He is a celebrated journalist, biographer and columnist. Mike is heavily addicted to writing. He says proudly: â€œOf course I am addicted to writing. It is what I live for. It is what keeps me alive. Itâ€™s my opium. It is my religion. It my oxygen! It keeps me happy like a drug addict but in my case, an addition to words.â€? Deji Rahman: â€œIâ€™m generally addicted to books. It is in my DNA. It is in my blood. Book is just about who I am and that is why most of the jobs I have done in my life (journalism, stockbroking and banking) have always been around the â€˜bookâ€™ â€“ research.â€? Addiction may be defined as the continued use of a mood-altering substance or behaviour despite adverse consequences. Alternatively, it may be defined as a neurological impairment leading to such behaviorsâ€?. Can the â€œadverse consequencesâ€? of writing be categorised with to those of substance abuse? Of course, there are negative

Mazim Uzoatu consequences of writing such as the stress of body and mind from prolonged writing, and loss of company when he shuts himself in to write. But are these adverse consequences? Strangely, writing is not an easy thing to do: Long, solitary hours - an awful lot of time staring at the blank page, waiting, perhaps praying to The Muse or to whomever for an inspiration, and looking for suitable words that seem to play Tom and Jerry in the head. Worse, writing doesnâ€™t seem to make much sense economically because only a very small percentage of writers make good money at it. In this case, the addiction thrives in defiance of common sense.

My Experience: Personally, all those donâ€™t bother me. Writing keeps my blood circulating, and stopping it will make blood freeze in my veins. Outside work hours, when I have time to myself, I am either writing mentally or pounding away on my laptop. No matter how tedious it should be, writing is for me an opportunity for relaxation. When I tell people who know my habits I am going on vacation, they ask, what book is coming? I got this from a Malinda, a contributor to the subject on the Internet. Interesting! She wrote: â€œI donâ€™t drink. I donâ€™t smoke. Never touched drugs. Not a gambler. My addiction? Writing. Iâ€™m a word nerd! Well, to other writers, sure Iâ€™m normal. But if you donâ€™t write out of the desire rather than the need to do so, you might call me a nerd. I may not be the best. Not yet a New York Times Best Seller, but I could write all dayâ€?.

Stephen King: Perhaps one of the strongest cases is that of Stephen King, as reported by Stephen Dubner. Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books. As of 2011, King has written and published 49 novels, including seven under the pen name Richard Bachman, five non-fiction books, and nine collections of short stories. King has received Bram Stoker Awards, World Fantasy Awards, British Fantasy Society Awards, his novella The Way Station was a Nebula Award novelette nominee, and in 2003, the National Book Foundation awarded him the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He has also received awards for his contribution to literature for his whole career, such as the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement (2004), the Canadian Booksellers Association Lifetime Achievement Award (2007) and the Grand Master Award from the Mystery. Dubner captuered Kingâ€™s addition in fine prose in 2000: â€œStephen King is addicted to writing!â€? he screamed. â€œIt isnâ€™t a matter of liking to write or even loving it. He needs it, chemically, the way years ago he needed his cocaine and his beer, sometimes a case a day. â€˜Writing is just this great big conduit, this outflow pipe that keeps the pressure nice and even,â€™ he says. â€˜It just pours all this [expletive] out. All the insecurities come out, all the fears -- and also, itâ€™s a great way to pass the time.â€™ And if he hadnâ€™t been able to make a

career of it? â€˜Oh, Iâ€™d be dead. I would have drunk myself to death or drugged myself to death or committed suicide or some goddamn thing.â€™ In June 1999, he almost died anyway. He and his family were staying at their lake house in western Maine. It was late afternoon and King was finishing up his daily four-mile walk. As usual, he was carrying a book. Although he often reads while walking -- on dirt roads, for instance, or down broadway while visiting New York -- he was not reading at the moment, for this stretch took him up a steep hill alongside a small highway. Suddenly, a blue Dodge minivan crested the hill and pinballed King off its windshield. He came down in a clump. His head was bleeding, his lap seemed to be turned sideways and he saw that a bone in his right leg was pointing in the wrong direction, skyward, bulging out of his jeans. A short while later, one of his lungs collapsed. This was all happening in a blur, literally, for Kingâ€™s eyeglasses were missing. They had somehow landed on the front seat of the minivan. They would help convince Bryan Smith, the man driving the van, that he had hit a person and not, as he first thought, â€˜a small deer.â€™ Five weeks later, after King knew he would survive but before he knew if he would walk again, he resumed writing. His wife, Tabitha, who is his rock and his redeemer, set him up at a makeshift desk in the back hallway of their Victorian sprawl in Bangor. It reminded him of the laundry room in their old trailer, where he wrote â€˜Carrie,â€™ back when he washed motel sheets for a living and she sold Dunkinâ€™ Donuts. Now he sat in a wheelchair, propped up by foam cushions, brimming with pain and painkillers. Besides the fractured hip, mangled leg, collapsed lung and lacerated scalp, he had four broken ribs and a chipped spine, and he had lost 50 pounds. He didnâ€™t feel like working, but a voice in his head -- yes, Stephen King, like his characters, hears voices -- told him to. If there is an opposite of writerâ€™s block, King has it.â€? There are some more examples of this addiction: Graham Greene: â€œWriting is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose, or paint can manage to escape the madness, the melancholia, the panic fear, which is inherent in a human conditionâ€? Gloria Steinem: â€œWriting is the only thing that, when I do it, I donâ€™t feel I should be doing something else.â€? Don Delillo: â€œWriting is a form of personal freedom. It frees us from the mass identity.... In the end, writers will write...to save themselves, to survive as individuals.â€? Gao Xingjian: â€œWriting eases my suffering...writing is my way of reaffirming my own existence.â€? Mario Vargas Llosa: â€œWriting a book is a very lonely business. You are totally cut off from the rest of the world, submerged in your obsessions and memories.â€? James A. Michener: â€œI love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions.â€? Sidonie Gabrielle: â€œWriting only leads to more writing.â€? This is perhaps the best of them all. Lord Byron said: â€œIf I donâ€™t write to empty my mind, I go mad.â€? George Gordon Noel Byron, 6th Baron Byron, (1788 â€“ 1824) He was among the most famous of the English â€˜Romanticâ€™ poets; his contemporaries included Percy Shelley and John Keats. He was also a satirist whose poetry and personality captured the imagination of Europe. His major works include Childe Haroldâ€™s Pilgrimage (1812-18) and Don Juan (1819-24).

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍťÍ¸Ëœ ÍşÍ¸ÍšÍľ

by OMOLOLA ITAYEMI omolola.itayemi@thisdaylive.com 08054699602

TRAVEL&LEISURE

Oyo Stateâ€™s Aso-Ofi Festival: Celebrating Life and Prosperity Ă? ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂž Ă™Ă? Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă“Ă˜ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽ Ă–Ă™Ă™Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŽĂœĂ“Ă Ă?Ëœ ĂžĂ’Ă? ĂŁĂ™ ĂžĂ‹ĂžĂ? Ă™Ă Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă’ Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă“Ă˜Ă“Ă?ĂžĂœĂŁ Ă™Ă? Ă˜Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ—Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ Ă&#x;Ă–ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă—Ëœ Ă–Ă‹Ă?Ăž ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœËœ Ă™Ă˜ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă™ĂœĂ–ĂŽ Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă— Ă‹ĂŁËœ Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă?Ă™Ě‹ Ă?Ă“ Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă Ă‹Ă– Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹ ĂŒĂ“ĂŽ ĂžĂ™ ĂœĂ?Ă Ă“Ă Ă? Ă–Ă™Ă?Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă‹ĂŒĂœĂ“Ă?Ë› Ă’Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă?ĂŒĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă™Ě‹ Ă?Ă“ Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă˜Ă™ ĂŽĂ™Ă&#x;ĂŒĂž Ă‘ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ–ĂŁ ĂŽĂœĂ‹ĂĄĂ˜ Ă‹ĂžĂžĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂžĂ™ ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă?Ă‹ĂŒĂœĂ“Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă?ĂŁĂ“Ă˜ ĂžĂ™ĂĄĂ˜Ë› Omolola Itayemi ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ?

seyin, Oyo State is about an hourâ€™s drive north of Ibadan. As one enters the town, one is greeted with the battery of glowing lanterns coming from the different market stalls at Oja-Oba. Different types of robo, koko and eko are copiously displayed with the different traders announcing to every passing patron the existence of their wares. One canâ€™t stay out too late for this night, an Oro ritual is taking place.All uninitiated must observe the curfew which starts at 10pm. As one makes to settle in for the night, one canâ€™t help but notice the overwhelming presence of sleeping goats â€“ sleeping pregnant goats â€“ at every turn. It is hard to say which is more overwhelming, the smell of livestock or the musky sweet smell of tobacco leaves wafting through from the different expanses of Iseyin town. As I drift off I canâ€™t help but remember with a smile across my lips, the scent of Krizia Moods. The morning greets me with cries from the hawkers selling ogi (peeled mashed corn). Iseyin comes alive with green and white taxis struggling with okada (motorcycle taxis) on the busy Iseyin roads. On a normal day, visitors troop into town from Lagos and nearby towns Ibadan, Ogbomosho, and Oyo to purchase original fabrics of aso-ofi. Iseyin, a very expansive town is surrounded by four hills including Ebeji, the largest of them all. In years of yore, it served as refuge for the residents who were running away from the ravage of war. The other hills are Olufi, Atamafon and Eyijue. Oyo state itself has become famous for turning local food and craft into viable industries which attracts both local and foreign investors. It has again recorded another milestone in the textile industry. Aso-ofi as it is indigenously called or Aso-oke as it is generally called is the local woven textile for which the Iseyin part of the state is famous for producing. The history of this textile craft dates back to as old as the Oyo Empire and it has since been a major pre-occupation of the Iseyin people. It is produced from raw cotton with the combination of herbs to form colours. Its production methods are purely crude as no mechanized means are employed. It passes through the process of cotton planting till the cotton is mature and in bright white colour. The cotton fibre is separated from the seed and the fibre is spun into thread with the use of corn cobs. It later passes through for dyeing with products from plant leaves, bark or root and is rolled into different sizes before it is starched to ensure durability. It is thereafter spread out to the weaverâ€™s desired length and is woven in the local loom to produce the finished fabric. The designs on the fabric are said to be both a mix of creative art and a representation of hierarchy and job description, as there are designs for farmers, for common people and for royals. This textile craft which has registered its presence in the closet of young and old Yoruba people and people from other climes has attracted much fame and has become a major tourist attraction. The government and people of Oyo state under the administration of Governor Abiola Ajimobi has set aside a time in September to annually celebrate the Aso-ofi festival. The festival which was launched on the 27th of September, 2016 (world tourism day) is handled by the Oyo State Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism in collaboration with the Iseyin Weavers and MarketersAssociationofOyostate.Thisyearâ€™sedition was a combination of the festival celebration and the foundation laying ceremony of Aso-ofi International Tourism Market in Iseyin. The event had an exhibition of varieties of fashion items that were made from the fabric. Items like ready to wear jackets, caps, foot wears, knapsacks, hand bags, head gears and materials were on the showcase. The second edition witnessed sons, daughters, and friends of Iseyin

Deputy Governor Chief Moses Adeyemo and Mrs Florence Ajimobi, wife of the governor of Oyo State at the recent Aso-OďŹ festival

land come out in their number to display their Aso-ofi repertoire in solidarity with the craftsmen. On a courtesy visit to the Aseyin of Iseyin land, the deputy governor of the state, Otunba Moses Adeyemo who represented the governor thanked the Aseyin for the provision of the land for the proposed international market and his overall support for the investment. He hopes that with the Aseyinâ€™s assistance and collaboration, continuity would be established. The Iseyin monarch Oba Abdul Ganiyu Ologunebi commended the state governor for the bold steps he had taken to ensure the growth of the state and its people. The Oyo State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Toye Arulogun said part of the aim of the international market was to structure the unstructured Aso-Ofi market and

sell the benefits of the craft to the global market because tourism rests on identifying tourist potentials, packaging them for attractiveness, promoting them and partnering with interested organisations. Arulogun believes that tourism can grow and beat oil which is the major economic back bone of Nigeria at present and expressed hopes for the new market to thrive as the craft bears a strong economic content which obviously has to be tapped into. As a way of boosting the industry, the commissioner revealed that local cotton producers have been encouraged to grow their produce in large quantity and a make-shift tent had been provided for the weavers, away from the tree sheds they have been using. He further explained that the efforts being made to

register theAso-ofi craft in the international space would not compromise the quality of the handmade fabric, even though there would be some technological innovation to boost productivity, â€œthe hand woven material will remain and will cost more.â€? Highlights of the occasion included performances by the state cultural troupe and award presentation to deserving merchants and customers. The 500 shop market plan is set to have a police station to ensure peace and security, a clinic for emergency and out-patient health care, a food court, an electronics session, a museum to record artifacts, a filling station, a fire station and the parent session forAso-ofi fabric. The first set of 50 shops is expected to be ready within the next 6-8 months.

Shop and Ship Launches in Nigeria

ramex International has launched its â€˜Shop and Shipâ€™ service for online consumers in Nigeria. Shop and Ship (S&S) enables people to shop online from around the world and have their goods delivered to their doorsteps in over 80 countries of the world. The Country Manager, Aramex International Nigeria, Faisal Jarmakani, disclosed this recently at a media parley held in Lagos. He said the organisation was established to serve the needs of online shoppers in Nigeria. He explains further: â€œS&S serves as a middle man between the global retailers and the people and does not get involved in their transactions. People are to make use of their credit cards or international cards to make their purchases. Our shipping fees are based on the actual weight of the shipments rather than on weight as well as dimensions. This benefits you as a Shop & Ship member. Fees are determined by the destination you are shipping to as well as the origin zone the

L-R: Chidozie Ekekezie, Customer Service Executive, Aramex International, Nigeria; Samer Hajjar, Regional Manager West Africa, Aramex International; Faisal Jarmakani, Country Manager, Aramex International, Nigeria; David Spargo, CEO Sub-Saharan Africa, Aramex International; and Chukwudumebi Affam, Customer Service Senior Executive, Aramex International, Nigeria, at the Aramex Shop & Ship Nigeria launch

shipment comes from. â€œWe also partner with e-Commerce firms in Nigeria and abroad like Jumia, Amazon

and many more; we are a shipping agent and we donâ€™t get involved in our customers, transactions.â€?

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍťÍ¸Ëœ ÍşÍ¸ÍšÍľ

FAIRGROUND

Nigeria Military School Zaria (NMS) Holds 25th Anniversary Reunion

with

AZUKA OGUJIUBA

azuka.ogujiuba@thisdaylive.com

he 33rd Passing-out Platoon of the Nigerian Military School Zaria held its 25th Anniversary commemoration in Lagos on September 2 to 4. Members flew in from around the world for a weekend which included a welcome party, an â€˜All Whiteâ€™ beach party supported by JP Chenet Ice at POP Beach and black-tie dinner at the Medici restaurant. The anniversary was chaired by Brig-Gen Bossman, who taught these men 30 years ago, as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army. He had a positive message for the gentlemen, encouraging them to impact the nation positively. The gentlemen raised N1.5m to purchase 100 chairs and desks for their alma mater and also embarked on a â€˜Book Driveâ€™ to aid the newly refurbished school library. The weekend ended with an afternoon of go cart racing at the Lekki Get-Arena before members began travelling back to their bases. It was truly a weekend of celebration some members had not seen one another for 25years, as it gathered men in the military, doctors, lawyers, accountants, engineers, entrepreneur etc. The weekend included health and Business sessions moderated by Dr. Chidi Molokwu (a UK-based medical doctor) and Mr. Uyi Ogbeifun of Total Nigeria.

Dr Chidi Molokwu, Mr Dapo Osunlanu, Mr Abayowa Edukugho, Brig Gen Bossman ( Guest of Honour), Mr Victor Aibe, Sgt Telko Labar and Mr Brown Emodi

Mal. Ahmed Tijani Ibrahim

Mr Nantim Zwlada, Mr Paulinus Ralph Udo, Mr Soji Ogungbesan and Mal. Ahmed Tijani Ibrahim

Dr Chidi Molokwu and Mr Obi Nzewi

Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa Barr Olamide Famuyiwa, Dr Chiedu Ogbechie and Mr Yemi Popoola

Mr Dapo Osulanu andÂ Timinere Makintosh

A cross section of NMS 86 ( Class of 92) with Brig Gen Bossman

Abulrasheed Abdulrahim, EneďŹ ok Udo Obong and Mr Seyi Esan

Mr.EneďŹ ok Udo- Obong, Dr Chiedu Ogbechie and Barrister Olamide Famuyiwa

T H I S D AY SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 30, 2017

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ë¾ Í»Í¸Ëœ ÍºÍ¸Í¹Í¿

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ SEPTEMBER 30, 2017

INSIGHT Time for the APC Federal Government to Think Simeon Nwakaudu

his is the time for the All Progressives Congress (APC) Federal Government to settle down and reflect. I mean think about their failure in governance. They can still make amends in the interest of the country. This is the time for the APC to stop lying, seek help from other patriotic Nigerians and start working for the people. Even President Buhari and leaders of the cabal know that Nigeria has derailed. No sector is working, people are suffering. We no longer have a centre, let alone having a centre that holds everyone together. There is unprecedented level of hatred, suffering, insecurity, lack of development and extreme poor governance in the land. Sadly, those who obtained power by trick believe that unfettered propaganda will solve Nigeria’s Development Logjam. That is where they miss the point. Lai Mohammed can lie from today till Thy kingdom come, but the bad roads will remain unless they are fixed. Shehu Garba can concoct allegations for eternity, but the crumbling security architecture will grow worse. Adesina may threaten to shut the gates of heaven to opponents of Buhari, but the cries of restructuring will persist. Nigeria has deliberately isolated itself from the international community to pursue unclear goals at home. The Federal Government announced that it has pulled the country out of 90 international organisations. The government gave the watery excuse that it wants to conserve funds, but many are convinced that the Federal Government simply wants to create the right atmosphere to heighten human rights abuses and create the enabling environment for INEC to solidify her rigging mechanism. This government hates transparency and accountability. To shut the door in the face of the international community is the best way to do this. Human rights have been taken to the cleaners. Law enforcement agencies have become law breakers killing and maiming at will. Surprisingly, the same law enforcement agencies cannot stop kidnappers, armed robbers, Boko Haram, herdsmen and terrorists. In Rivers State for instance, the Special Anti-robbery Squad has become a social menace, indicted for their ugly roles in kidnapping and armed robbery. Kidnappers and Badoo cultists rule Lagos, kidnappers rule the Kaduna-Abuja highway, herdsmen have dislodged farmers in the north central and Southern Kaduna, while kidnappers operate freely in the South-East. For now, there is no blueprint to resolve the nationwide security breakdown. There is a total collapse of the country’s federal road infrastructure. The entire South is worst hit. Travelling has become a nightmare. Almost all roads are now death traps and breeding grounds for kidnappers. Nobody is spared. Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki lamenting the poor condition of the Benin-Ehor-Ekpoma-Auchi Road said: “We had made pleas, we begged , we’ve done everything possible to the Federal Authorities to just help with maintenance before the rains. You can see we were cut off as a state. This is devastating for us. Our economy has been grounded. We just don’t know. We are really helpless. If three months ago, our call was heeded, we will not be in the situation we are in today. We just don’t see care, nobody is concerned about this country. It’s not about Federal Roads, it’s about Nigeria. “ It is the same story on the East-West Road where the Eleme Corridor to Onne Port has collapsed. The Onitsha-Enugu Expressway has disappeared, while all the Federal Roads in Benue and Nasarawa States are begging for attention. It is the same story for

Federal Roads in the South-West, North East and North-West. There is no need talking about the Health sector. All the Federal Health facilities have become centres for the distribution of death certificates. Their workers go on strike at will due to deliberate neglect by the administration. Under the APC Federal Government, the education sector has become the zone of comedy. The Universal Basic Education Commission and Tertiary Education Trust Fund have been grounded. Nobody knows what they are doing. The immediate past Federal Government reconstructed 22 Federal Airports and equipped them. Today, the airports are returning to their dysfunctional states. There is no sector that is working. Not even the touted anticorruption fight of the administration. The principal sponsor of APC elections in 2015 and Former Rivers State Governor; Rotimi Amaechi misappropriated State Funds amounting to several billions of naira. He has been indicted by a court-approved Judicial Commission of Inquiry, yet the EFCC and ICPC have refused to prosecute him, presumably on the directive of the APC Federal Government. Several cases involving APC chieftains have been relegated to the background. The entire anti-corruption programme is politically driven. The APC Federal Government should as a matter of urgency de-activate its campaign mode. It should set up a viable governance structure, since it has none at present. The immediate past administration that was vilified by the APC had several landmarks between 2011-2015. It established Federal Universities, Federal Polytechnics, revived the railways, built the Standard Guage to Kaduna, reconstructed 22 airports, reconstructed several federal highways, revived Teaching Hospitals and built a National Truama Centre, re-focused the nation’s economy making it the largest in Africa, enhanced entrepreneurship through the you-win programme and promoted education through the PRESSID Programme. When the 2012 flood disaster struck the country, the response from the then Federal Government was decisive. We are are all living witnesses of the messy response of the APC Federal Government to the flood disaster across the country even though it is in custody of the ecological fund. Governance is beyond the control of the instruments of propaganda. It is beyond the control of the instruments of state violence and the rigging tools of INEC. Once power is acquired, it must be put to good use. The APC Federal Government has mismanaged all Federal Resources at her disposal. I say this with every sense of responsibility. It is true that majority of the so-called human ‘rice’ activists are with them, but Nigerians are feeling the pain of bad governance. Is there a section of the country where this APC Federal government is working? The answer is in the negative. Since assuming office, the APC Federal Government has operated two outlandish budgets. The 2016 budget was N6.06trillion, while the 2017 National Budget is N7.44trillion. With over N13 trillion in her kitty through oil revenues, foreign and local loans, the APC Federal Government has no tangible achievements anywhere in the country. Upon resumption from recess, the Senate raised the alarm on the mass fraud and thievery at the Federal Ministries and Departments in the course of the implementation of the 2017 National Budget. With 52.68percent of the nation’s revenue at the disposal of the Federal Government and the so-called several looted funds recovered , which they claim is well over $120billion ($90billion from Diezani alone), one wonders why the government is low on performance. I recommend the New Rivers model to the APC Federal Government. Senate Minority Leader and Former Akwa State Governor, Senator Godswill Akpabio declared without equivocation that Governor Wike has performed more than the APC Federal Government in the last two years. Beyond throwing

Buhari

tantrums, nobody has disputed this fact. The New Rivers model is built on the pragmatic deployment of resources to engender state-wide development. Projects are funded through calculated investments of allocation from the federation account and the internally generated revenue. In other instances, few loans are sourced for specific projects with laid out repayment plans. The outcome has been a sustained delivery of projects across the state. No local government areas has been left out. Governor Wike did not dwell on the failures of his predecessor who predicted doom after misappropriating state funds at his disposal. He got down to work on the very first day. The 57th Independence Celebration presents the APC Federal Government the last opportunity to turn a new leaf. They should be courageous enough to take a cue from a high level performing administration. This is not the time to embark on an ego trip. Imagine if we have a Federal Government that is half as vibrant in projects delivery as the Rivers State Government under the leadership of Governor Wike. Imagine if half of the APC State Governments deliver half of what we have in Rivers State. The story of this dispensation would be different. The only gift that Nigerians expect from the APC Federal Government is a commitment to start work. For now, they are still on holidays. They run the country on a platform of press releases and more promises. Nothing concrete. We are tired of why things are not working in Nigeria under the APC Federal Government . We want to see things work. We want to see Nigerian resources put to good use. But the way it looks, these guys are more comfortable being in government than delivering the goods. They are not the guys that Nigeria needs. Rather than issue threats and lectures, the APC Federal Government should use the 57th Independence Celebration to be kind to the citizenry. Let them show compassion for once. Leadership is a call to service. It is not an opportunity to destroy the society. ––Simeon Nwakaudu writes from Lagos.

Reform Will Deepen Traditional Governance in Ibadan Simon Fatade

yo State Commissioner of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Bimbo Kolade has reiterated that the recent reform carried out in the Ibadan Traditional leadership structure will only enhance the status of Olubadan and deepen traditional governance in the ancient city. The Commissioner said the Governor of the state, Senator Abiola Ajimobi responded to the call of prominent Ibadan elders, Chiefs, Baales and leaders of thoughts who have consistently called for the review of the Ibadan Chieftaincy Law over the years. Kolade noted that rather than diminish the status of the Olubadan throne and the current occupant, Oba Saliu Akanmu Adetunji, the elevation of the 11 High Chiefs to Obas will enhance the status of Olubadan as the Paramount Ruler while the order of ascension to the Olubadan throne remains the same. “For almost 30 years, there have been

Ajimobi

calls and agitations for the review of Ibadan chieftaincy law. In fact one of the notable Ibadan indigenes, Chief T. A. Akinyele wrote a book in which he posited the need for the Ibadan chieftaincy law to be reviewed. There have been several other books also written by Ibadan indigenes on the need to review the Ibadan chieftaincy law. Between 1974 – 76, and as recent as 2003, there were several commissions of enquiry set up by government to look into chieftaincy matters in the state, during which there were constant calls for a review of the Ibadan chieftaincy law. During the Adio Commission of 2003, some 33 Baales in Ibadan made a request through the respected lawyer Niyi Akintola, (SAN) for them to start wearing beaded crowns. “Out of the 33 Baales then, I think the Adio Commission recommended 16 of them for the title of Obas. Even though the immediate past administration of Chief Alao Akala in Oyo State did not set up a commission of enquiry, it actually made attempts to turn some Baales into Obas in the state, and about six Baales were given approval to wear beaded crowns, although this was not implemented. So, the agitation for a

review of the Chieftaincy law has been on for a very long time. Immediately this administration came in, there were several representations to Governor Abiola Ajimobi on the need to review.” The Commissioner explained that Governor Ajimobi who is also an indigene of Ibadan has very high regard and respect for the Olubadan throne and will not do anything that will diminish the worth of the throne adding that the newly installed Obas will help with the administer Ibadan and strengthen governance in the areas where they have been playing their roles as heads and members of Olubadan-inCouncil. Mr. Kolade said some notable politicians in the State only seek to make political capital out of a reform which he insisted is progressive, describing it as in the best interest of all. “The people of Ibadan are happy about the reform. There is no crisis situation in Ibadan and the state at large. What has happened is really a welcome development. There are celebrations and jubilation all around the localities and the areas where the Baales have been turned into Obas. It shows wide acceptance of this by the people,” the commissioner noted.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2017 Ë¾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

FASHION FILE

Jdian Woman SS17

Belle Femme Collection

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž SEPTEMBER 30, 2017

FASHION FILE

By Azuka Ogujiuba azuka.ogujiuba@thisdaylive.com

Jdian Woman SS17

oft, chic, and easy-to-wear are the best words to describe the Belle Femme SS17 Collection by Jdian Woman. Each outfit exudes the feminity of the woman without taking away from her personality. The colours, primal in focus, yet y blending ble with the cuts and patterns definitely made a lovely ensemble. ensem Nnezi Nne Diana Martins is the CEO and head creative director of ApparelsbyJdian-a Appar pp ready to wear fashion line.With a B.tech in Biochemistry,an Bioche MBA in Oil and Gas Management and a doctorate in b business administration. She is also a philanthropist,a serial business b entrepreneur and an author. She discovered her strong g passion for fashion and decided to toe that path, hence, her drive dri to make her fashion dream a reality. Credit Cred ModelsMod Hus and Shades models PhotographyPhot Kelechi Amadi-Obi Make-upBelle_Bedazzled Mak

T H I S D AY SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 30, 2017

T H I S D AY, T H E S AT U R D AY N E W S PA P E R Ëž ÍąÍŽËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

EVENTS

he burial ceremony of the father in-law of Mr. Taiwo Lakanu, Assisitant Inspector General of Police and Akogun of Lagos , late Honourable Samson Temitayo Solarin, JP with the church service held recently at The Cathedral Church of Saint Paul, Sagamu, Ogun State before the interment. Guests were laterentertainedatRemoTraditionalCouncil Hall, Akarigbo Palace, Sagamu. Here are some of the personalities that graced the occasion. Photos: Kolawole Alli

R-L: Children and sons in-law of the deceased, AIG, Police, Mr. Taiwo Lakanu; his wife, Mowunmi; Mr. Seyi Awodein and his wife, Kemi.

L-R: Mr. Kayode Owolabi and his wife, Kehinde.

L-R: AIG of Police, in charge of Lagos and Ogun State Command, Mr. Adamu Ibrahim; Corps Marshal, FRSC, Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi;a son-in-law of thedeceased,AIGofPolice,Mr.TaiwoLakanu;OgunStateCommissionerofPolice, Mr.A.Iliyasu and Assistant CorpsMarshal,Policy,ResearchandStatistics,FRSC,Dr.KayodeOlagunju

L-R; Mr. Gbenga Obenbe; Mrs Yewande Andre -Olajide and Mr Andre Olajide.

L-R: Mr. Segun Solarin and Mrs Morayo Sokoya.

L-R: Yinka Bello and Former Senatorial Aspirant, Lagos State, Hon. Adetokunbo Odutola.

L-R: Elepe of Epe-Sagamu, Oba A. Osiberu and Ebunola Shoda.

L-R: Mr. Fel Amosun; Mr. Yomi Idowu; and Otunba Bolaji Oladeinde.

L-R: Hon Hakeem Fashola and Rykardo Agbor.

T H I S D AY, T H E S AT U R D AY N E W S PA P E R Ëž SEPTEMBER 30, 2017

EVENTS

L-R: Former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro; Dr. Tunde Osiniwo and Otunba Femmy Carrena.

R-L: Onilado of Ilado, Oba Mobadenle Oyekan and his Olori, Bukunola Oyekan and Oba Onisiwo of Itomaro Osagbo Kingdom.

L-R: Mr. Bola Feyi; Mr. Lola Adefusika and Belgore Ogunneye.

L-R: Olorogun Ide of Lagos, Chief Ismail Folaji; Sasore of Lagos, Chief Waidi Ayeni; Bajulaiye of Lagos, Chief Ayodele Oyekan; and Ojon of Lagos, Chief Nurudeen Agoro.

L-R: Chief E. Ubochi and Chief Nicholas Agu.

L-R: Olodogbo of Odogbo-Ifes and Baba Ijo of St Lukes African Church, HRH Olatunde Ogini, JP and Retired Commissioner of Police, Otunba Damilola Adegbuyi.

L-R: Mr. Ope Saraki and Mrs Jokotade Lakanu-Saraki.

L-R: Mrs. T. Daniel, Mrs. Abiodun Olaniyi and Dr Atinuke Uwajeh.

L-R; Shade Balogun and Rachael Okoli Efe.

L-R; Mr. Tayo Ojeleke and Mr. Fola Tinubu.

L-R: Mr. Bayo Adetona and Dr Olayinka Shomeye-Vaughan.

T H I S D AY SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 30, 2017

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ SEPTEMBER 30, 2017

FOR THE RECORD

Leadership and Responsibility in the Age of Social Media Olusegun Adeniyi

tragedy occurred last month in Lokogoma. For those of you who may not know, Lokogoma is a densely populated district of Abuja which lacks basic infrastructure and is actually not too far from your campus.

What happened?

There was an overnight rainfall and typical of the area, everywhere was flooded while the rickety access bridge connecting many of the estates gave way. In the course of the downpour, a resident in one of those estates decided to go out with two of his children who were on holiday. He took the steering of his vehicle, a Jeep, wound up his window glass and dared the storm. However, a few minutes into his journey, the car lost balance, fell and succumbed to the tide. As the vehicle was being tossed left and right with the current, the trapped family was helpless. Meanwhile, the unfortunate incident quickly attracted some onlookers who did nothing but held out their smartphones to record the tragedy. As it would happen, the family perished right before the crowd of social media enthusiasts. While I am not suggesting that people who cannot swim should risk their lives by jumping into waters to rescue those drowning, I strongly feel that calling agencies with mandate for emergency services would be much more productive than making videos. The foregoing story is important, essentially because taking responsibility in the age of social media as young people and leaders is what I am here to talk about today. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I am quite aware that even as I am speaking here, the attention of many of you is already divided, depending on the amount of data and battery life you have left on your phones at the moment. But within the few minutes that I have with you this morning, I will implore you to pay attention. It will profit you. The social media age defined by ubiquitous mobile communication devices powered by internet access has empowered the previously unseen and unheard inhabitants of this world by giving a voice to the voiceless and a face to the faceless. Now with a social media profile and account, everyone can easily be found, seen and heard. Social media has therefore provided each and every one of us an outlet for validation. You can post what you are thinking or what you are feeling or what is happening around you to millions of people all over the world. Immense benefits abound with social media and the breadth of content is as vast and limitless as the boundaries of outer space. The potential connections, possibilities and opportunities are also endless. And it’s so much fun. However, several people are still yet to terms with the fact that we are living in a different world; a world where the concept of privacy is quickly losing its relevance and becoming more of an illusion. And those are some of the things I want to share with you this morning. I am aware that sending nude pictures (otherwise known as sexting or naked selfies) to partners through electronic means is fast becoming a norm among young people. A study on Internet and Technology by Pew Research Center reveals that so many people (whether couples or not) are making use of technology to share the most intimate part of their relationships. According to the research, age is the strongest demographic predictor of sexting. Mobile phone owners within the age bracket 18-24 are the most likely to send, receive and forward sexts, while those in their mid-twenties through mid-thirties are more likely than older adults to say they send sexts. What this means is that your age group thrives actively where sexting is concerned. Unfortunately, you do not always give thoughts to how dangerous this can be, especially when shared with the wrong person. The moment you send a message, you are no longer in control of what happens afterward. Yet, the internet, as someone aptly put it, does not forget. Many users feel a sense of online security that is false. A report in the United States by Consumer Reports, states that “there are more than 13 million Facebook users who have made no effort to manage their privacy settings, making it possible for their shared exchanges to be viewed by almost anyone.” Because of the perceived

Lai Mohammed

sense of security, many freely share information they would rather keep private or cautious to share in everyday encounters. But please always remember, when you share personal information carelessly online, you are likely to cause damage to your reputation and livelihood and impact negatively on your future prospects and those of others who may be hurt unwittingly. There are several examples of celebrities and politicians who have been badly hurt but perhaps no story illustrates the peril of social media as vicidly as that of Anthony Weiner, an American Congressman whose photographs in underpants were circulated online. After series of denials, Mr Weiner eventually admitted exchanging “messages and photos of an explicit nature with about six women” over a period of about three years. A reporter, commenting on the incident wrote: “Weiner forgot the Number One Rule of the Internet age: On the Web, everything lasts forever.” After pleading guilty to sexting with a 15-year-old girl, Weiner, 53, was yesterday (Monday) sentenced to 21 months in prison. He also faces spending the rest of his life as a registered sex offender for his lurid social media contacts with the teenage girl. On Monday, Weiner cried as he read from a written statement in Manhattan federal court, saying he has hit “rock bottom”. But it is too late for regret. As young people and leaders that this country looks forward to having, I encourage you to step out into the real world from the virtual world in which most of you currently reside. Despite the allure of the social media, you cannot pretend that the real world does not exist. And you cannot afford to destroy your real world only to seek asylum in the virtual world. The point I am making is this: if you misbehave in the virtual world, it will catch up with you in the real world. Let me make a confession here: It took me time to join the social media. I kept myself restricted to the use of emails. I was not on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. However, last year, I decided to take a plunge into the virtual world of Twitter and I have found out how beneficial it has been to my career. I am therefore not standing here to condemn social media. It has immense benefits, holds amazing potentials and is indeed very valuable. And, as already admitted, I also use it. However, when you are unable to distinguish between the two worlds and naively tend towards one at the expense of the other, you may come out with regrets. The sad incident of Cynthia Osokogu should still be fresh in your memories. Without restating the graphic details of her gruesome death, it will be instructive to recall a few lines. Cynthia, then 24 and a post-graduate student of the Nassarawa State University was the only daughter of a retired Major-General in the Nigerian Army. She met two young men on the Blackberry Chat Group and they became friends. As it would happen, these friends eventually succeeded in luring her to Lagos where they gave her a juice drink laced with Rohiypnol, a prescription drug not sold over the counter, before killing her. Let me repeat here that the new media of communication and their component cyber platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. have made invaluable contributions to our world. No one can deny the revolution that social media has wrought in practically all aspects of our lives

Friendships are struck, business contacts are established while the availability of communication gadgets like Blackberry, i-Phones, i-Pads and similar smart phones, contribute to making social communication a lot easier, irrespective of distance, place or time. Our world has become better with the result that what happens thousands of miles away can instantly be accessed live on our palms, using new media gadgets. Unfortunately, social media platforms have also become veritable avenues through which criminals seek to exploit unsuspecting innocent persons. The danger here is that through persistent “chatting” with some strange persons, the unwary could easily become psychologically “won over” by a predator. Thus, with increased confidence, the victim starts revealing and releasing confidential and sensitive information, including personal data. In such situations, the lucky ones may lose just personal effects, like money, phones and documents. Others, like Cynthia, lose their lives. Therefore, it is important that young persons, especially girls, be circumspect when chatting with people whose identity and true motive they do not know. Now, you may ask, how does all this affect leadership? I do not want you to think of leaders within the narrow prism of those who hold public offices. Once you make an effort to influence a person or a group, and people increasingly recognize you for that capacity, that is when you begin to demonstrate leadership. And to the extent that what everybody seeks to do on social media platforms is to have followers, then you are attempting to lead. To seek followers implies that you are going somewhere. Even outside the cyberspace, we are all leaders within our different spaces: at home with our siblings, in the classroom, at restaurants etc. But to succeed as a leader in the cyberspace, you must also be able to see the unexploited opportunities as well as the lurking dangers. The choice of this topic was not by accident. It came in the course a discussion with the Registrar of this great institution, a respected retired Major General for whom I have tremendous respect. The discussion was in his office a few days after a senator was caught on a video that went viral, a scandalous video that showed him dressing up in the presence of two women, in a dingy hotel room. That ugly episode posed a lot of questions and formed the basis of the interaction at the Registrar’s office in which Dr Fatima Kyari was also involved. Against the background that certain expectations are tied to leadership, we wondered about the implications of such video to the political career of the Senator and to members of his family. In most civilized societies, the trust in a leader is eroded the moment they engage in morally reprehensible behaviour. But I recall that in the discussion at the Registrar’s office that day, we were worried by the defiant disposition of the Senator from Yobe who said he owed no one any explanation. He saw what happened as no big deal. For him, it was a personal matter. In interrogating the scandal, we came to the conclusion that the Yobe Senator could afford to damn everybody because he was already a three-term governor and then a sitting senator, so in a way his political career is more or less behind him. The question therefore is: Can anyone in this room today get away with such scandal? I doubt. That is because your own political/professional careers are yet to begin. Many of you here are potential presidents, governors and senators. The sort of indiscretions that the Yobe Senator and many other public officials are allowed to get away with today would not be carried over to your generation. In fact, I am almost certain that if anybody in this room were to be the character in that sordid video clip, the future of such a person is already in jeopardy. While many of our political leaders grossly underestimate the influence of social media and cannot comprehend how its dynamics amplifies their duties and responsibilities to their followers, it is not the same with your generation. Every indiscretion is being recorded and could become a weapon against you tomorrow. You must therefore note that among those following you on social media are friends, enemies, fans and wellwishers as well as potential employers, admission officers, potential investors/business partners, and competitors. Your relationships or potential relationships with these different individuals and organizations will be made or broken by their perception of your personality and character. Let me explain that briefly. In this age, it is a

normal thing to vet new people that you are proposing to have dealings or relationships with, either personally or professionally. And the quickest and simplest way to vet someone is to check out their online profiles. It’s quite like when you meet a girl or a guy at a party. The person seems nice looking, intelligent and with good manners. You had drinks and a nice conversation at the party but you are still not sure if he or she is the right person to invest your affection in. The next thing is to check out the person’s Facebook or Instagram page to learn a little more about them. What the person portrays through their social media profiles influences your impression, estimation and ultimately your attraction to that person. It is the same for schools and businesses. They want to be more assured of the sort of persons they are admitting into their communities which is why these organizations are increasingly turning to social media platforms to vet applicants. Studies and surveys have revealed that it’s conventional for at least between 30- 40% of employers and colleges in the United States and United Kingdom to dig into the social media and online presence of applicants. To show how important they take this, some college applicants have had their admissions rescinded based on social media posts. In June this year, no fewer than 10 students who had been admitted into Harvard University had their admissions rescinded after posting obscene jokes in a Facebook chat group. The memes included jokes about pedophilia, child abuse, sexual assault, and the Holocaust. Meanwhile, the official Facebook page for students admitted to join the Harvard Class of 2021 (those entering this session) clearly warns students that “Harvard College reserves the right to withdraw an offer of admission under various conditions including if an admitted student engages in behavior that brings into question his or her honesty, maturity, or moral character”. If you think that can only happen in America then you are not paying attention to what is going on in your country. According to Young People’s Consumer Confidence (YPCC) Index, close to 10% of Nigerians between the age of 16 and 24 and 5% of those between age 25 and 34 have already been rejected from Jobs because of their comments and pictures posted online. You are now at the stage in your lives where you will be exploring your identity to find your place and purpose in society. But the decisions you take today could affect the trajectory of the rest of your life. You must therefore be mindful that social media has both serious and frivolous sides but the line between the two can be thin and blurry. Your intention to make light of certain issues could have more serious consequences than you intended. Also, as with all forms of communication, context could be lost which ultimately affects the message you are trying to send or image you are trying to portray. Before I conclude, I will like to offer some concrete tips on acceptable conducts on social media platforms and forums. Now, I am not saying you should not express your opinions or individuality. Indeed, the essence of social media is defeated if you can’t express yourself freely. But you must also remember that freedom comes with responsibility.

Dirty Posts

There are some indulgences that are part of college life. This is when the party animal in you is let loose and you are most susceptible to peer-pressure to experiment. At some stage in everyone’s life, we are all prone to errors of poor judgment but when you decide to broadcast your indiscretions to the world on social media, be sure you know what you are doing. Such displays could project a character of questionable judgment to an admission officer or employer. Therefore, if you must post anything on drinking/party related activities you need to ensure that the image depicts good and clean fun. There is a difference between a picture where you are well dressed with a glass of beer and another where you are grinding bodies beside a table littered with bottles. And recording sex scenes in which you are involved cheapens you. Besides, should that video get into wrong hands, as they most often do, you have a lifetime of regret in ––Text of the lecture by Olusegun Adeniyi, Chairman of THISDAY Editorial Board, at BAZE University, Abuja, on 26th September, 2017 Continued online www.thisdaylive.com

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VINTAGE

Paseda Empowers Ogun State Market Women, Petty Traders

President, PWF, Mrs Yemi Layeni, addressing the beneďŹ ciaries of the loan scheme Femi Ogbonnikan

espite is now on the way of Ogun State market women and petty traders as a nongovernmental socio-cultural group, Paseda Women Forum (PWF), has made available N10 million as a takeoff soft loans to them aimed at improving the lots of the women folk in the Gateway State. Onikolobo, Abeokuta, Ogun State Secretariat of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), on September 25, 2017, played host to thousands of market women and petty traders drawn from the three senatorial districts of the state who thronged the venue to benefit from the interest-free soft loan made available by the 2015 Ogun State gubernatorial candidate of the UPN, Otunba Rotimi Paseda. President of the PWF, Mrs Yemi Layeni, in her address to the beneficiaries of the maiden edition of the loan scheme, stated that the initiative was borne out of the need to ameliorate the poor

living conditions of the market women and petty traders who have been at the receiving end of the present excruciating economic conditions in the country. According to her, the loan scheme is a sign of good things to come soon from the initiator of the programme, in the person of Otunba Paseda. â€œThe loan scheme is designed for both medium and small business enterprises. Otunba Paseda has taken cognizance of the scheme with a bid promote owners of medium and small scale enterprises and banish poverty. The loan is zerointerest, without fee in obtaining form. We are targeting well over 5,000 traders to benefit from the first phase of this scheme. â€œI want to appeal to beneficiaries to make judicious use of the loan and refund it within two months, so that other applicants can as well benefit from the scheme. This is the maiden edition of the scheme, while subsequent ones will be taken to the doorsteps of the beneficiaries at three various senatorial districts across the stateâ€?, said the PWF President. Also, Coordinating Director, Paseda

A cross section of the beneďŹ ciaries

A beneďŹ ciary of the loan from Ogun West with her woman leader Legacy Foundation (PLF), Babatunde Folarin, admonished the beneficiaries of the scheme, not to see the loan as a national cake but a new lease of life to touch their

lives by reinvesting the money to boost their trades and at the same time, pay it back within the stipulated two months as agreed upon.

Gospell Digital Technology Opens Factory in Calabar

Bennett Oghifo

ollowing the International Telecommunicationsâ€™ Union (ITU) deadline for all its member countries to go digital in 2006 and the need to transit from analogue to digital broadcasting, Gospell Digital Technology FZE has moved beyond meeting the Set-Top Boxes and decoders required in Nigeria, to investing in local production and knowledge transfer in the country. The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and his counterpart for trade and Investment Okechukwu Enelamah have already confirmed attendance at the opening of the Gospell Digital Technology complex located at the Free Trade Zone in Calabar. The Governor Ben Ayade has visited the factory to confirm that the place is ready to roll out. Interestingly, at inception, the Federal

Godfrey Ohuabunwa GMD, Gospell Digital

Government in a bid to meet a deadline of June 17, 2017 for the full digitisation of the broadcast landscape licensed some local companies to produce the set top boxes for the actualisation of the process. However, only Gospell Digital located

in Calabar and Port Harcourt was able to reach a significant milestone in the production of the DTT and DTH boxes for the transition. The company has however moved beyond producing Set-Top Boxes. In conjunction Shenzhen Skyworth and Mishan of China, they are Pioneering efforts to invest in local production and knowledge transfer by opening 3 Surface Mount Technology (SMT) Automatic chip placements line and 4 pneumatic assembly lines, with capacity of placing 250,000 components per hour and production of 200,000 set top boxes per month. The SMT line, the first and largest in West Africa is currently able to manufacture in excess of 100,000 printed circuit boards (PCB) per month (i.e. decoders, prepaid electricity meters, smart phones and television main boards) while also assembling set top boxes and tablets. Gospell will be formally opened on Thursday October 5 at the Free Trade

Zone in Calabar by the Vice President. It will employ about 300 direct staffyoung electrical engineers and technologists, with additional job creation of over 500 contract staff and another 1000 or more value added service providers and technicians nationwide. The major significance of the Gospell Digital SMT line factory is its pioneering effort in technology transfers especially the manufacture of Digital Television Set Top Box (DTT and DTH) and android cable and wireless Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) in West Africa. Significantly, Gospell Digital FZE is also a white label company involved in contract manufacturing for different brands. As such the desire to partner with local STB Assembly plants, PayTv /Free To Air (FTA) and cable TV platforms; Electricity Distribution companies (DISCOs), Electrical home appliance companies, Telcos and Science and Technology Institutions and agencies.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPA P PER Ëž ÍťÍ¸Ëœ ÍşÍ¸ÍšÍľ

Ă™Ă?Ă“Ă˜ Ă–Ă?Ă‘Ă‘

Í¸ÍżÍ¸ÍžÍşÎ€ÍšÍžÍżÍťÍż Ă?Ě‹Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă–Ë? ĂžĂ™Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă‘Ă‘ĚśĂ’Ă™ĂžĂ—Ă‹Ă“Ă–Ë›Ă?Ă™Ă—

RAMSEY NOUAH

My Fans See Me as Their ATM ĂŁ Ă‘ Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ă?ĂŁ Ă™Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă’ Ă“Ă? Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă—Ă™Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă’ĂžĚ‹Ă‹Ă?ĂžĂ?Ăœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‘Ă™Ă™ĂŽĚ‹Ă–Ă™Ă™Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ËŞ Ă‘ Ă‘ Ă‘ Ă? Ă—Ă™Ă Ă“Ă? Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂœĂŁË› Ă? ĂŁ Ă’Ă‹Ă? ĂšĂ–Ă‹ĂŁĂ?ĂŽ Ă?Ă?Ă Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă– ĂœĂ™Ă–Ă?Ă?Ëž Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ĂŒĂ?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ Ă–Ă™Ă Ă?Ăœ ĂŒĂ™ĂŁ ĂžĂ™ Ă‹ ĂŁ Ă‘ ĂŁ Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă–Ë› Ă˜ ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă? Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?ĂĄ ĂĄĂ“ĂžĂ’ Tosin Clegg, Ă‘ gg Ă’Ă? ĂžĂ‹Ă–Ă•Ă? Ă‹ĂŒĂ™Ă&#x;Ăž ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă—Ă™Ă Ă“Ă? ËŠ ĂŁ Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ËœËŞ Ă™Ă–Ă–ĂŁĂĄĂ™Ă™ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă‘ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă?Ăž Ă—Ă™Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă‹Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹Ă?ĂžĂ™Ăœ My y role in â€˜My y Wife and Iâ€™ rust me, it wasnâ€™t fun at all. It was very y awkward. Every y time I have to play p y that p part, Iâ€™m always y like Errrrg!!! g ,I hated it. Professional ethics though g still demands that y you do the stuffs that youâ€™re y meant to do. Because you y have to get g into the character, you y know, do what your y wife or mom does, what your y sisters do, which is very y unlike y you, y you know; there is something g about it. You know the masculine pride has a way p y of causing g it and making g it seem like â€œwhat is wrong g with you? How will you y be feminine like that?â€? This is not the most challenging g g role I have taken. Itâ€™s not mentally y demanding; g donâ€™t get g me wrong. g Itâ€™s just j the fact that the morals were a challenge, g and that was why y I was having g a little bit of reservation but, of course, I still tried to pull p it through. g This is like comedy, y its nothing g serious. I could play p y with it. Besides, it was p pretty y hard for me to g get those g gestures and mannerisms, but my y colleague, g Omoni Oboli, helped me out; she gave me all the insights.

In Nollywood, y there have been phases of grace g for us It seems like we started off on a good g note, but y you g got me thinking. g Itâ€™s not as if itâ€™s not a good note, it is, but good g g start with an in nflux of stories. It became saturated. People p got g tired and everybody y y thought g the ministry y had reached its peak. p There was nowhere else to go. That point g p in time was where everyone y began g to ask â€˜oooh, are we growing g g or we are falling?â€™ g But, here is how it is; we had a bit of p performance or acting g in the beginning. g g The p performance/acting g became saturated because there were too many y movies outside. Technically, y it didnâ€™t grow g from the beginning. g g It was going g g to get g better but in the middle it got worse. Your technical aspects g p are growing g g seamlessly. y For y you to shoot a movie, y you have got to have huge g g capital; p there is the big g screen, and y you have to g get every y detail right. g So the technical aspects p are now good. g Weâ€™re getting g g better at technical. And there is a nose dive in performances now. So where we have gotten p g to now, besides technical, is acting. g Acting g is a bit better. Acting g is getting g g better as we go g on but there is need for that bridge; g for technical and acting g to have a smooth p production of filming. g At some p point in time, we will bring g about movies that will, of course, stand the test of time. In script p taking g we all have to be choosy y You canâ€™t take every y script p that comes your y way, y because y you and I will agree g that y you are better off choosing characters that will suit you

or befit fi y you most. You understand? I canâ€™t just j be picking p g up p any y story y or character that is not challenging. It has to be very challenging. What I look out for in scripts Hmmmmmm, looking g out for a story y to start with, then I look out for the character. I try y to match the character Iâ€™m playing p y g and the story y itself; how important p is my y character to the entire story? y So, story y is very y key; yy you canâ€™t miss it. Itâ€™s rare that I would reject j a script p because of a p particular actor; it has never hap ppened to me, I have never rejected p j any y script p because of that. Except p Iâ€™m having g a dispute p with the person, p which is rare, maybe y Iâ€™m not comfortable with the person. p Maybe y we are having a bit of disagreement; maybe that. Why y I accepted the script of â€˜My Wife and Iâ€™ I have never done it before. I think I have played p y that role some years y back, but then I was undercover, so I dressed like a woman in year 2000. I tied g y gele and scarf. But this one is different. And there is a message g to this one. And the message g is very y simple. p Itâ€™s like, what are the conflicts in marriages? g And why y are couples p always y having gp problems? Asituation had to happen; pp where by y the male went into a female body y and the female went into a male body, y so that they y can understand the problem with each other to know where to p find their balance in marriages. g So, thatâ€™s the story. It was quite a challenging story. Over 40 and looking gg good Well, because I have been drinking g some vampire p blood. Well, I think itâ€™s jjoy y from within. A whole lot of people p p tend to pack p up p because of some bad belle and be angry gy for days. y A beautiful smile everyday could take you y a long g way. y Contrary y to a widely y held notion, the success of a marriage g largely g y rests on the woman But these days, y a lot of marriages g are based on equality. q y Awoman wants to get g back from the man 50 p per cent of whatever she is g giving g into the marriage. g This has led to the breakdown of many y marriages. g From time, our mothers used to be the women that held their marriages. g They y were in charge g of the home. Our mothers took charge g of everything, y g but today y women donâ€™t want that kind of responsibility. Hence, it is affecting marriages. Silver screen Vs Stage g Awhole lot of people p p know that the stage g is quite demanding. q g It demands everything. y g Itâ€™s very physical, itâ€™s very energetic, itâ€™s also very

Nouahh N

brain-tasking g because y you have to know the lines. Besides, knowing g the lines, y you have to know all the movements, and y youâ€™re not jjust g getting g y yours, y youâ€™re g getting g that of other actors with y you. So, stage g people p p tend to pride p themselves that, of course, they y are stronger g actors compared p to screen actors. I kind of believe that because of that. It might g be true; they y are quite q exhausting. g Itâ€™s pretty p y exhausting g to be on stage, whereas screen is a bit more fluid. For instance, y you donâ€™t have to overemphasise p facial g gestures or expressions p on camera to show your y emotions. But on stage, g you have to over express y p it. It has to be very y open. p You must be loud and tough with the mannerisms that go with it. Greatest moments I think itâ€™s when I spend p time with my y family. y When I g go for holidays, y g going gp places or something; g adventures and stuff like that. Professionally, y one of my y greatest g moments was when I shot â€˜dangerous g twinsâ€™ with Tade Ogidan, g because it was very y demanding. g At the time, they y didnâ€™t have all the TV technology gy that we have today. y Now, you y can see twins and all of that. That time we had to manually y do it. So, scenes that had twins in it may y be shot for like two to three days; y just j one scene. It was q quite demanding g and tasking g too and sometimes we had to lock the camera, face it for a master shot, then I will come and address g that is not there. Sometimes, this other figure the director says y Ok, thatâ€™s a take other times he says, y try y do it again, g you y g got something g wrong there.â€? And when you are done ,

q quickly yg go change g to the other costume and you come back there and then answer and y reply p y everything y g you y said, and after that, if the director says y its fi fine, good. g But if he says itâ€™s not fi fine, you y will do another take. Then, weâ€™ll now cut. Weâ€™ll now bring g the camera down to medium shots. Then y you do it all over again. g You do this one, then go back there and do the other one. When g it comes to close up, p we would do the same thing. g Sometimes, we have like two days or one whole day repeating. Low moments In 2006 I think, when a couple p of us actors were blacklisted by y marketers for no g good reason of course, at that moment, there was a turnaround in my y fate in the industry. y I was like â€˜what the hell? Why y do we have this?â€™ So, when the cinema came in, I was very y happy ppy to help p curb our industry, y because we lacked structure and regulation. g No regulatory g y bodies to checkmate certain things. g A whole lot of things g jjust went haywire. y That was one of my low-points in the industry. Fame Good p place, g good moments and it has its down side. A whole lot of people p p appreciate pp you. You meet lots of people y p p who tend to appreciate pp y you from different p perspectives. p You know, they y see you y around. All your y fans, especially p y here in Lagos g to be precise, p see you y as their ATM machine. Like their good g morning g and g greetings g have to be p paid for. Like if they y greet y g you, y you know you y have to drop. So itâ€™s quite a thorn in the flesh.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPA P PER Ëž ÍťÍ¸Ëœ ÍşÍ¸ÍšÍľ

MY STORY RAMSEY NOUAH, OTHERS UNVEILED AS ACF AMBASSADORS Africa Cinematography Festival (ACF) has unveiled a mix of movie stars from major countries in Africa as its ambassadors. They include Lizzette Benz - Cameroon; Ramsey Nouah â€“Nigeria; Ama Konadu Abebrese â€“ Ghana; Ayuk Tambi Atem-Ebai-Cameroon; Princess Shyngle â€“Gambia; Oghenekaro Itene-Nigeria; Thandekile Grace Majek - South Africa; Sandra Seghers MushidDemocratic Republic of Congo; Major Esau Owusu Danshaw â€“ Liberia; Assina Obela- French-Congolese; and Serge Patrick Laleye â€“ Benin Republic. The ACF is an annual six-day conferr ence for trainings,film production, enhancement workshop, networking, technology/film expo and Africa Film Market Fair. It is a rallying point for Nigerian/African film-making industry

players, actors, youths, entertainment guilds/associations, stakeholders, University Students, would-be young entrepreneurs and interested participants. ACF is a festival-of-training for exceptional professional development in filmm making, production, IT management in media/film production, sound designn ing/production, acting, use of camera/ lens technology, directing, audiovisual/ still photography, view-finding, fi production designing, film editing, light designn ing/production, costuming, makeup artistry and a platform for networking. This will create and foster a platform for continuous knowledge transfer, budding youth entrepreneurship in entertainn ment, networking, dreams actualisation, employment and revenue generation in

BELLA

How I Make Nigerian Music Ă?Ă–Ă–Ă‹ Ă“Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă? Ă“ĂœĂ?Ăž Ă‹ĂŽĂŁ ĂŁ Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă˜ĂŁ ĂŁ Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂžĂ‹Ă“Ă˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ëž Ă?Ă‹Ă—Ă? Ă–Ă‹ĂŒĂ?Ă– Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă“Ă‘Ă˜Ă?ĂŽ Ă‘ Ă™Ă˜Ë› Ă˜ ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ăž ĂĄĂ“ĂžĂ’ Tosin Clegg, Ă?Ă’Ă? ĂžĂ‹Ă–Ă•Ă? Ă‹ĂŒĂ™Ă&#x;Ăž Ă’Ă?Ăœ T Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ă?Ăœ

ALEXX EKUBO, TOYIN ABRAHAM, ATTEND PREMIER OF â€˜LONDON FEVERâ€™

One of the most anticipated p movies from Nigerian g Motion Picture, London Fever has been receiving g accolades since its p premier at the Odeon Imax Cinema, Greenwich and Go Glasgow g Hotels in London. The premiere attracted movers

and shakers in the entertainment industry, y actors and actresses, as well as movie enthusiasts, who thronged g the venue to catch a glimpse g p of their favourite stars. Parading g a cast of Nollywoodâ€™s y talented actors, the movie â€œLondon Feverâ€?, threw the

crowd into frenzy y while it screened. For all who attended, it was a wonderr ful memory, y which will last for a long g time to come. â€œLondon Feverâ€?, is a funny y story y of two y young men, Ade and Chucks who live with their lousy y father. They y are desirous to go g to London and will stop p at nothing g to achieve this p plan, deceiving g anyone y that cares to listen. The story y promises p total fun and laughter. g From the stable of Minasdollz Entertainment, the movie was produced p by y Mike Godson and directed by y Charles Uwagbai. g â€œLondon Feverâ€? stars Mike Godson, Alexx Ekubo, Toyin y Abraham, Juliette Ibrahim, Hafeeze Oyetoro y aka Saka, Juliet Ibrahim, Chiwetala Agu, g John Okafor aka Mr Ibu, Etinosa Idemudia , Lilian Eroro, Francis Odega and many more.

SUPERSTORY BEGINS â€˜LIFE IS A TEACHERâ€™ Viewers across the country are in for a special treat, as Superstory, Nigeriaâ€™s most-watched TV series, started a new story titled, Life is a Teacher on 21 September. The producer, Wale Adenuga Said, â€œLife is a Teacher is an authentically-African story with several moral lessons. As with every Superstory production, we have infused several elements to ensure that viewers of all ages end each episode wiser than before they watched it; without compromising on the high entertainment value. With this story, we are also making history in Nigeria with the introduction of Superstory Plus â€“ a live viewer-feedback TV Show on wapTV. The morning after watching each episode of Superstory, viewers would be able to interact with

the presenters during this live TV show and discuss the episode, including the favourite moments and what they have learned, and win special prizes by answering questions in the process.â€? The new drama is based on real life events and contains several elements of romance, comedy, action and suspense. It stars a wide range of popular artistes including, Odunlade Adekola, Rachael Oniga, Dan Imoudu, Woli Arole, Yinka Ademo (Nnenna), Livinus Nnochiri, Ronke Oshodi Oke, Toyin Oshinaike, Amaechi Muonagor, Lanre Hassan (Iya Awero), Jide Kosoko, Chinyere Wilfred, Ayo Adesanya, Khing Bassey, Madam Kofo, Obodo Emilie, Tunde Adeyemo, Rotimi Salami, Eric Obinna, Hadiza Abubakar, Ene Ochu and others.

ells us a bit about you? y

Iâ€™m Bella, First Lady y Tinny y Entertainment Africa. My y birth name is Mabel Oine Alubo. Iâ€™m the last child of four children born to a Professor and a school proprietress p p in Jos, Plateau State. My y latest single is called Radio and features my label mate, Ycee.

What kind of music do you y play p and how long have you y been in the industry? y I make Nigerian g music with a fresh twist. People p have described my y music as â€œnew waveâ€? or â€œnew schoolâ€?. My y sound is a fusion of Afro p pop, p Hip p Hop p and R&B. With how much cultures are being g traded across the world, I believe the new age g Africans want to see something g fresh and different; and foreigners want to have a feel of the African sound.

Who are your y role models? So many y artistes have influenced me in one way y or another from my y early yy years till now. DMX, Daddy y Showkey, y Brandy, y Brenda Fasie, Plantashun Boiz, Mocheddah, Westlife, M.I, Rihanna, Drake, Burna Boy, y Wizkid, Kanye West and Angel Haze are some of them.

Where do you y see yourself y in a few years? y I see myself y being g an example p to y young gp people; p y young g Nigerian g g girls especially. p y I see myself y showing gp people p that they y can be whatever they y set their minds to. My y second single g under Tinny y Entertainment will be out soon and from then on I see awards, topping charts, a bigger brand and general succes

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍťÍ¸, 2017

POLITY

Amapakabo Bows Out as Yabatech Registrar with Her Integrity Intact, Says Council Chairman Bennett Oghifo

he Chairman of the Governing Council of Yaba College of Technology, Barrister Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has praised the Registrar of the College, Ms. Biekoroma Charity Amapakabo as forthright and having high integrity. According to Fagbemi, who spoke yesterday at a valedictory lecture held in honour of Ms. Amapakabo, whose tenure will end next week, the out-going Registrar had some challenges during her 10-year period but that she was â€œleaving with her integrity in place.â€?

The Chairman, who led all the Members of the Governing Council of Yaba College of Technology to the lecture said Ms. Amapakabo made positive changes in the institution as her legacy and that she would be missed dearly. The Rector of the institution, Dr. M. K. Ladipo, while welcoming guests, the Chairman of the Governing Council and the Guest Speaker, Dr. Taiwo Ipaye, who is the Registrar and Secretary to Council, University of Lagos, expressed gratitude to God Almighty who alone has made the valedictory lecture possible. The Rector said, â€œTo our out-going Registrar, there is no word, however pronounced or

expressed that can show our sincere gratitude. We appreciate the service you have provided for us all through your tenure. Although the journey was not all that smooth, we thank God for seeing you through. I wish you the best in your continued journey and I pray that God keeps up your good work.â€? The theme of the lecture; â€œLeadership, Trends, Strengths and Dynamics in Tertiary Institutionsâ€? was very relevant and underscored the importance/role of leadership in tertiary institutions. She said from a general perspective, â€œleadership is the art of leading and motivating a group of people in an organization towards

VAIDS Deploys 700 Community Tax Liaison OďŹƒcers to 9 States

he Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) has deployed over 700 graduates as Community Tax Liaison Officers(CTLOs) to nine states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The CTLOs have been handed the responsibility of creating awareness about the VAIDS scheme and taxation in general. A statement by the VAIDS office revealed that the CTLOs, posted to their various states of origin, will carry out the assignment in said in Lagos, Ogun, Enugu, Edo, Cross River, Delta, Oyo, Kaduna and Nassarawa states as well as the Federal Capital Territory. The CTLOs were deployed after undergoing an intensive week-long training on taxation and customer service in Abuja. The statement also disclosed that more CTLOs will, over the coming weeks, be deployed to Kwara, Niger and Adamawa states, the other states to follow. The scheme expected to create a total of 7,500 opportunities for Nigerians as CTLOs through the N-Power scheme of the Federal

Government â€œThey (CTLOs) will be on the streets, markets, malls public places and visit offices,â€? the statement said. The VAIDS scheme, a tax amnesty initiative of the Federal Ministry of Finance in collaboration with state revenue agencies, was launched on 29 June via an Executive Order signed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. It was conceived to provide solutions almost every defect of the nationâ€™s tax system, including the tepid attitude to taxation. VAIDS is specifically targeted at taxpayers, who have failed to fully declare their taxable income and assets or have not been paying the tax due. It is also a at all aimed at those who are underpaying or under-remitting; those under a process of tax audit or investigations by tax authorities or are engaged in tax disputes with tax bodies, but are prepared to settle the disputes out of court. The scheme, which aims to cast the countryâ€™s tax net wider, offers confidentiality as well as waiver of the interests and penalties to those who had underdeclared or never

declared previously earned incomes and acquired assets. It equally offers tax defaulters the option of spreading payment of outstanding liabilities over a maximum period of three years as may be agreed with the relevant tax authority. A projected revenue of $1billion is expected to be generated through VAIDS. The scheme is expected to bring about an appreciable jump in the countryâ€™s tax-to-Gross Domestic Product ratio from the meagre 6 per cent it currently is to a more respectable 20 per cent by 2020. VAIDS has been lauded by many tax experts, who described the scheme as the last chance for tax defaulters to regularize their tax status and avoid escape stern penalties, including prosecution and payment of penalties for undeclared income and assets. The scheme is expected to benefit from a variety of information sharing agreements among countries and other international instruments, including the Standard Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) to uncover previously concealed assets and revenue sources.

achieving a common goal. It is the ability of an individual or a group of individuals to influence and guide others. It requires a balance of certain immutable traits.â€? The Rector said one of the traits was Integrity, stating that â€œleaders must have strong moral principles, demonstrate honesty, and uphold honour. Also, she said there must be inspiration, explaining that â€œLeaders must bring people together from different backgrounds and points of view to create equal opportunities,â€? adding that there should be inclusiveness, saying that â€œleaders must reflect a genuineness in who they are and what they stand for.â€? Another trait, she said is Transparency, stating that â€œleaders must be accountable and provide clarity on decisions and actions amongst others.â€? The guest speaker, Dr. Ipaye admonished workers of tertiary institutions to be gentle on students and help them in whatever way they could to make their stay in school memorable. Dr. Ipaye, who presented interesting and thought-provoking perspectives of the governance structure of tertiary institutions, gave a distinction between what she described as the â€œCommand and Control Leadership system and Transactional-Transformational Leadership. She said the Transactional-Transformational Leadership system was better because â€œFollowers are influenced; decisions are reached through conversation; there is partnership, support and collaboration; information are shared for development; the team takes responsibility and institutional loyalty is fostered.â€? The Registrar also discussed some challenges tertiary institutions experience, particularly those of â€œfunding, the growing debate for fee payment, inadequate space for students, admission and government regulations, brain drain/staff mobility, corruption and attitudinal problems,â€? among others.

L-R: Head, CASA and Bancassurance, Consumer Banking, Ecobank Nigeria, Adeola Dare; Assistant Manager, National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC), Eze Nwosu; Group Head, Personal Banking, Ecobank, Olukorede Demola â€“ Adeniyi; Planning, Research and Statistics OďŹƒcer, Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Nasiru Olajide; and Senior Legal OďŹƒcer, Lagos State Lotteries Board, Seyi Oreagba, during Ecobank Target Savings Account (TSA) promo ďŹ rst monthly draws in Lagos... recently PHOTO: SUNDAY ADIGUN

L-R: Communication Expert, Izin Akioya; Managing Director, Shell Petroleum Development Company, Mr. Osagie Okunbor; Chief Promoter, Science Teachers Game, Mr. Patrick Ochuba; and Special Assistant to the MD, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Enobong Ekanem, during the Nigeria Oil and Gas Research and Development Fair and Conference at Eko Hotel, Lagos...recently

L-R: Dr. (Mrs) Olabisi Falola, Prof Oloruntoyin Falola, The Visitor, RUN, Pastor Enoch Adeboye; and Pastor Mrs. Folu Adeboye; during the conferment of Honorary Doctorate Degree at the 9th Convocation of the Redeemerâ€™s University, Ede, Osun State...recently

L-R: Partner, Audit, SIAO (RSM Nigeria), Abiodun Ariyibi; Vice-Principal, Academics, Wahab Folayiwo Senior High School, Osborne, Ikoyi, Mrs. Bakare Kehinde; winner, Accounting School Competition, Adigun Simbiat Omotayo; and Managing Partner, SIAO, Ituah Ighodalo, during the presentation of prizes to winners of the accounting competition organised by SIAO in Lagos... recently

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍťÍ¸Ëœ ÍşÍ¸ÍšÍż

POLITY Abdulfatah Ahmed

Weâ€™ll Use Paris Club Refund to Develop Infrastructure Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, recently held his monthly personality programme tagged, â€˜Governor Explainsâ€™ in Ilorin. He spoke on wide range of issues like the Paris Club Refund, local government autonomy and state revenue agency among others. Hammed Shittu in Ilorin was there. Excerpts:

he Paris Club Refund issue generated a controversy in the past on whether to use it for salaries or infrastructure. Who exactly owns that Paris Club Refund? By the time the administration assumed power in 2015, we met a dwindling economy. We all saw price of crude oil tumble. A lot of states could not pay salaries. Kwara State was able to get-by. Our contractors were out of site because we couldnâ€™t pay them and that put a lot of pressure on so many states. FG looked at the whole thing with a strong sense of sympathy by looking at ways to support states. Firstly, they helped the states to restructure their loans for longer terms, creating head room for them to operate. The Paris Club Refund refer to loans obtained by the government in the past. Some of these loans were in the 70s, 80s and 90s and were used to build things like hospitals, and water projects and the funds were duly repaid by the state government through regular deductions at that time. Unfortunately, when they were being paid by the states, the FG did not externalise it. So, by the time the FG wanted to pay, it now took money from another source to pay on behalf of the states. So, the states now came and said â€˜It is like you are doing a double payment for Abdulfatah Ahmed one loan on my behalf.â€™ So, we requested a refund. So, that portion of the refund is what has been captioned the Paris club refund and they are based on what the states had paid in the past. The local governments are expected to benefit from it. We donâ€™t have a problem with local government benefiting from that but it must be recognised that these are funds for the state governments. The monies that are made available for local governments would go through the local government allocation account. Local government money does not enter state government account, just the way state money would not enter local government account. However, when the monies came in, state governments have different problems. The first reason why the money was made available was states that were under pressure of salaries of which Kwara State was not one of them. The pressure we had was at the local government level. The only thing that can support unpaid salaries is internally generated strategies. Whatever comes from outside is only going to help you temporarily. So, the Paris club thing, when it came, it was out of sympathy that the state supported the local governments to offset part of their arrears. So it is not local government money, it is the state money and out of sympathy, we stepped down some of our capital projects and we used the money to support the local governments so that local governments can also reduce the burden they have. But between you and me, that is not the solution to local government problems. The local government owing must do what those that do not owe are doing. For example, Kaiama local government does not owe. What is Kaiama doing that is helping it to pay its own salaries? Some local governments can get solution to that problem. The soluowe just two months, what are they doing tion lies in internally generated funds. that is making them owe just two months? Why do others owe nine months? So, it is Certain promises were made by some not a flat rate. So we must look at it from case governors on the refund. Why are they to case basis if we want them to get out of it. not living up to that promise. But if you lump them together, you will be I am not aware of any governor who has looking at a solution from outside when the made a promise to his people and has not solution should come from inside. But if you met it. I am not aware. You see, not every want solution to the lingering local governstate is able to pay salaries to its workers ment problems, it is imperative that we look at local government on case by case basis. So, regularly especially those who have very low internally generated revenue. I am until we look at it on case by case basis and look at what they are not doing that is making aware that those who owed were advised that whatever is collected from Paris club, them unable to pay salaries that is when we

It is not true that manufacturers are complaining of taxes because what taxes do we ask manufacturers to pay? The first one, company tax, is not paid to Kwara State. It is paid to the federal government.The second one is ground rent.The ground rent is normal and expected to be paid. In the past, we have not been efficient in collecting ground rent. So, our introduction of efficiency is now being seen as a level of pressure. It is paid yearly and anywhere in the world where land is used, you pay to government

We have also ensured that salaries are paid regularly because for now we are still a mainly civil service-driven environment. So salaries are paid regularly which also reflates the economy. One critical angle we took again to change the economic environment of Kwara is driving agriculture. I am happy to let you know that quite a number of people have signified interest; some have accessed funds under the Commercial Agric Scheme of Central Bank. We have been able to get quite a few people interested in agriculture and I am sure by the time we reflate the economy with the N1 billion loan we have gotten, we expect it to translate to probably N2 billion to N3 billion. So these are ways by which weâ€™ve sought to reflate and drive the economy at the state level.

they should use minimum of 75% to offset all those backlog of salaries. But for those states that do not owe their workers, they will certainly use the money for capital projects or other things. So, I am not aware that some states made commitments that they did not fulfil. But I am aware that in Kwara, the commitment we made is to develop infrastructure with the money. However, we reneged on that and we made part of the money available to local governments through agreements with the state assembly to ameliorate the pains that the local government workers are going through but that is the solutions to their problems. What is the current economic status of Kwara State The economy of Kwara State cannot be insulated from the Nigerian economy. Weâ€™re all aware that the problems we are faced with have been with us over a long time. We have over a long time depended on the crude oil-driven economy. So, any change in the price of crude oil will naturally affect the economy. In Kwara, things have been very tough as they been across the country but weâ€™ve brought certain levels of intervention through the medium and small scale enterprise funding windows where entrepreneurs, small traders access funds either under associations groups or cooperatives. Most importantly, we sought to change the ways in which we access revenues especially Internally Generated Revenue. Weâ€™ve since restructured our collection process and this has led to a major boost in available funds for our programs. That has helped in supporting the much desired funding for infrastructure because you see one of the challenges that our economy like ours is faced with is an infrastructure gap. That is why we put efforts in place to raise revenue to support infrastructure. We had quite a lot on ground in terms of infrastructure when we came in 2011 and quite a lot has been done. God willing we still have a few we need to complete before the end of our tenure. So, by and large we have succeeded in reflecting the economy through selective funding of our infrastructural programme and of course making funds available for small entrepreneurs.

Some manufacturers are complaining of multiple taxation. How do you react to this question? It is not true that manufacturers are complaining of taxes because what taxes do we ask manufacturers to pay? The first one, company tax, is not paid to Kwara State. It is paid to the federal government. The second one is ground rent. The ground rent is normal and expected to be paid. In the past, we have not been efficient in collecting ground rent. So, our introduction of efficiency is now being seen as a level of pressure. It is paid yearly and anywhere in the world where land is used, you pay to government. The third one is probably income tax by workers which ordinarily should have been paid as salaries are paid. So, there is no taxation in Kwara that is extra-ordinary that would push any investors to move away. If they move away, there is nowhere they will go and not have to pay the same type of taxes. So, it is likely to be untrue that people are moving away because they are asked to pay taxes they are supposed to pay. You see the other one is the issue of local government unpaid salaries. At the state level, we donâ€™t have unpaid salaries except in a few areas like tertiary institutions otherwise workers at state level are paid their salaries which is the major responsibility of the state government. Those are the ones that are captured under the state budgeting system. The local government system is continuously erroneously seen as being funded from the state government for salary payment. Local Government salaries are not paid at the state level. They are paid by the local governments who also receive allocations from the federation allocation. Exactly the ways the federal receives the state receives. Now, whether they are able to augment that allocation with additional funds to carry out their responsibility of paying salaries and meeting other obligations is a different kettle of fish. It is not the responsibility of the state government. The three tiers of government collect allocation on monthly basis from federation allocation. The Federal government is able to pay salaries either through its own funding strategy, through borrowing or internal sourcing. The state government is able to pay salaries because we are able to increase IGR. That is what has augmented our ability to pay salaries. Now, the local governments get their revenue from federation allocation. They also get 10% of the state government IGR which is mandatory. Now the local government is supposed to increase the allocation from its own IGR. That is where the problem lies now. It has not been able to augment that portion. That is why they keep running shortfall at different local government levels.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍťÍ¸, 2017

PERSPECTIVE/TRIBUTE

Asiwaju Tinubu, Restructuring and The Kingâ€™s College Speech Tunde Rahman

he debate about the expediency - or otherwise - of restructuring has increasingly become a top-drawer issue, gaining momentum by the day and suggesting that it may be one of the dominant issues of the 2019 election. The main political parties in the country are now more or less, in my estimation, obliged to clearly state their stand on the issue to be taken seriously in the next poll. The ruling All Progressives Congress, which had been rather lukewarm about the matter despite having devolution of power as a precept in its constitution, has hit the road with its committee collating the views of its members across the country on restructuring. The opposition Peoples Democratic Party is also said to be weighing in on the issue. On September 7, many Yoruba leaders and leaders of socio-political groups in the South-west gathered in Ibadan, the regionâ€™s political capital, to state their position on restructuring. The highpoints of the deliberation contained in their 16-point communiquĂŠ include a return to the 1960 and 1963 constitutions, both of which espoused the regional structure and granted wide powers to the regions. Also canvassed was overhaul of the revenue allocation formula that will see 50% going to states, 35% to the proposed regional governments and 15% to the central government. While it must be emphasized that it was not every stakeholder in Yorubaland that attended the summit let alone agreed with the entire proposition, the question whether this makes the submission any less valid is a moot point. In the North, some of the regionâ€™s leaders including governors are also talking and demanding devolution of powers and other variants of restructuring. Also, the National Assembly, which had curiously dumped devolution of power as an item on its constitution review plan, is now having a rethink. The fact that political leaders and stakeholders are talking and complaining loudly about the present political structure suggests, in my view, that something is awfully wrong with our situation and that an urgent remedy is required. And I think we are gradually getting to that point where we must confront the problem. At every turn, the popular mantra is now restructuring. Until last weekend, the question which has been on nearly every lip is this: When would the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, speak about the issue? After bidding his time, putting together his views, consistent with what he has always stood and fought for over time, Asiwaju eventually unfolded his position last Saturday in a keynote address as Principal Guest of Honour at the 2017 Annual Dinner

Tinubu of the Kingâ€™s College Old Boysâ€™ Association (KCOBA). That speech was further proof that Tinubu knows when to speak and how to do it with some aplomb. As one commentator on a national television succinctly put it last week: â€œKnowing when to speak and how to speak should now be added to the worth of Asiwaju Tinubu, widely regarded as a consummate politician, strategist and administratorâ€?. Asiwaju spoke on both the economic and political imperatives of the moment. It was a landmark speech, highlights of which bear restating here. In the lecture entitled â€˜A New Nigeria or A Better One: The Fitting Tools of A Great Repair,â€™ Asiwaju left no one in doubt that he desired a better Nigeria for the people. â€œWhat I seek is a better Nigeria. I care not whether something is old or new but whether it shall make us betterâ€?. He lamented that a nation as diverse as ours had not taken the time to give our legal marriage its proper functional underpinning. â€œWe all lined up to call ourselves Nigerian without gathering to discuss what it meant. Thus, we inhabit a nation that has not sufficiently defined its governance. We may be defined by political borders and boundaries but we have not glued ourselves to collective purpose and vision. Too many of us are born in Nigeria but not of itâ€?. Nigerians, he said, must listen to those

clamouring for secession to determine what they actually mean, explaining that many secessionists cry separation because their personal ambitions would be better served by such. Expressing his belief in one Nigeria, he argued that breaking up the country would solve no problems. He concedes, however, that some problems remain in the nation which needs to be fixed. â€œThat I am a foe of disunity does not mean I have blinded myself to the truth that our nation is in need of great repair,â€? he said. â€œWe all see the nation for what it is. Some look further to see the nation for what it is not and they rush to condemn it. I choose to see the nation for what it can be and thus seek to nurture and cultivate it so that this Nigeria may bring forth the fullest blossoming of its riches, resources and ingenuity of its diverse peopleâ€?. Asiwajuâ€™s thematic prognosis outlines a foundation for a new Nigeria. And despite the evident brilliance, he would rather see it as his humble initial contribution to the long overdue discourse on how to mould and shape our political economy. He condemned Nigeriaâ€™s over-dependence on oil revenue and on the rentseeking behaviour such revenues encourage. â€œEven at the best of times and with the highest of oil prices, the economy was characterized by imbalance and inefficiency. Widespread poverty, gross inequality and massive unemployment described the conditionâ€?. Among his many remarkable prescriptions were the creation of an industrial capacity that employs large numbers of people and manufactures a significant quantity of goods for domestic consumption; national industrial policy that fosters development of strategic industries that create jobs as well as spur further economic growth; focus on manufacturing things that Nigerians and the rest of the world value and want to buy; institution of a policy of tax credits; subsidies that insulate critical sectors from the negative impact of imports and lowering of interest to make credit available for business investments and consumer credit accessible to the average person. Others included a national infrastructure plan, addressing the power problem to obtain this vital ingredient to economic vitality, governmentbacked home mortgage system, re-invigoration of agriculture with the reintroduction of commodity exchange boards and agric mortgage loan corporation to help the common farmer to improve output and income and a re-calibration of the revenue sharing formula in order to give more funds to the states. Noting that the central government was doing things the states can do better, the APC leader said giving heed to the recommendations above will keep the federal government busy. It was at this point that he restated his often-stated call for true federalism.

He argued that the imbalance between the roles of the federal and state governments lies at the root of the nationâ€™s difficulties. Moving many of the 68 items in the Exclusive List to the Residual List as was the case in the 1963 Constitution will help ensure true federalism, he said. These items include police, prisons, stamp duties, regulation of tourist traffic, registration of business names, incorporation of companies, trade, commerce and census. He said those eager to dispense with federalism in favour of â€œmore rash and impractical remedies should allow us to first truly practice federalism before we deem it a failureâ€?. Sadly, it has to be said though that the reportage of this speech in one or two newspapers and commentaries by a few on social media seemed to have misconstrued some of Asiwaju Tinubuâ€™s standpoints. A few clarifications would suffice here in that regard, as restructuring has now become a coat of many colours with many espousing diverse and often self-serving versions of what they term restructuring. First, Asiwajuâ€™s advocacy has always been for a true federalism. What he seeks is a re-balancing of the roles between the federal and state governments to give more powers to the states to perform their responsibilities as obtained in the 1963 Constitution. The APC leader is convinced that the ongoing debate is healthy for the country and should help produce a better system for Nigeria. Second, when Tinubu noted that not all change could be deemed to be good, it was neither meant to disparage the APC which he helped found, nor a denunciation of the partyâ€™s change mantra as insinuated by some on social media. That was sheer mischief. He spoke in a context which clearly highlighted that what he sought for the country was a better Nigeria and that whether something was old or new was immaterial to him. For the avoidance of doubt, this is what he said: â€œWhat I seek is a better Nigeria. I care not whether something is old or new but whether it shall make us better. Not all change is good. Not every new thing shall be kind to us. Yes, Nigeria must change, but some of the changes we need cannot be bought at the store of the new. Many things we need are shelved in the warehouse of the old. Just as we must learn new things on one hand, we must remember vital old wisdom on the otherâ€?. Taking the comment of anyone, particularly leaders, that points a way forward out of context would not help the ongoing democratic discourse. Their views should be properly captured. Asiwajuâ€™s paper has been published in full by some of our national newspapers. The speech is on the internet and can also be glimpsed on his Twitter handle. â€“Rahman is Media Adviser to Asiwaju Tinubu.

Danladi Bako: Garlands for the â€˜Morning Riderâ€™ at 60 Ace broadcaster and former Director general of the National Broadcasting Commission, Mallam Nasir Danladi Bako, turned 60 earlier this month. Samuel Ajayi pays tribute to the Sokoto-born administrator.

allam Nasir Danladi Bako, Kogunan Sakwatto, the radio broadcasting prodigy that had ruled the airwaves of then Rima Radio, Sokoto with his masterly delivery of news and different programmes in Hausa and English languages, needs no introduction. The Birth of Morning Ride When Bako approached his bosses at the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, late in 1987 that he wanted to do a live talk show with a phone-in segment, they plainly told him he was crazy. And his bosses had their reasons. This was 30 years ago with the NTA the only television station, apart from state-owned ones that were not transmitting beyond their boundaries. Besides, Nigeria was under a full blown military dictatorship with freedom of speech only on paper. â€œYou want someone to call in and be abusing Babangida? No way sir. I wonâ€™t allow that,â€? Bako was told by one of his bosses at the NTA headquarters in Lagos. But he was not a man to give up. He gave them assurances that all would be well managed and that the red line would not be crossed. Grudgingly, they gave him the go-ahead and the first television talkshow in the country, Morning Ride, was born. This was in 1988. Danladi went head to make the programme a talk-show nobody wanted to miss. Getting

what was considered impossible then. But that was the influence and power of Morning Ride as a talk show at that time.â€? Later, Bako moved on and started Mastersports, another talkshow but this time focusing on sports. This did not only change the face of sports reporting in the country, it paved the way for many others to follow suit, especially independent producers.

Danladi Bako celebrities to come on the programme was not always difficult. â€œIt was interesting then,â€? Bako said. â€œI made the then assistant Inspector-General of police, Ahmadu Seidu, to admit on air that the police force was indeed corrupt. This was

The NBC Years Out of the blues, the news came in July 1999 that Bako had been named as the directorgeneral of the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC. He was initially appointed in acting capacity before he was later confirmed as the substantive chief executive of the broadcasting regulatory agency. At less than 42, many thought the â€œshoes might be too big for him.â€? Perhaps, those who had this notion were considering the man he was succeeding at the commission. He was no other person than Dr. Tom Adaba. Besides, Bako was just a zonal director with the NBC before he was seconded to the office of then Minister of Sports, Jim Nwobodo, as his special assistant. While he met some career officers in the commission who ordinarily, were his seniors, ace broadcaster did not allow that to intimidate him. He set about revolutionalising the operations of the body and changed it from a passive, laid-back agency to one that could

bark and bite. Bako inherited a NBC that hardly knew the reason it was set up in the first place. He changed that mentality. The first thing he did was to re-condition the mindset of the staff. He changed their attitude to work from that of a governmental bureaucracy to a corporate outfit where tasks were carried out with dispatch and things got done without unnecessary bottle-necks. During his time, any visitor to the commissionâ€™s headquarters in Abuja might be forgiven if he didnâ€™t know he was in a government office. Such was the effect of Bakoâ€™s positive changes. To enhance performance and productivity, Bako sent senior staff of the commission abroad for training. This not only sharpened their knowledge, it also a sense of belonging in them. Training the Broadcaster The next move Bako made was to make the Commission more relevant in the area of training of broadcasters. Within months of assuming office, he organised a training workshop for broadcasters in the country, both in public and private stations, to keep them abreast of new developments in the industry. He brought resource persons from within and outside the country who gave tips on modern trends in broadcasting. He also brought in veterans to share their experiences. The training was beneficial to the broadcasters.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ EPTEMBER 30, 2017

THE ALTERNATIVE with Reno Omokri What Nigeria Can Learn From P-Square About Restructuring

ast week on this column, I had written about my experience in the beautiful island of The Seychelles and how Nigerian music, especially P-Square’s music, had conquered that island nation and enthralled her youths. Little did I know when writing that piece titled, ‘How Nigeria Conquered The Seychelles’ that I would be devoting another column yet again to the Okoye brothers. But as they say, when it rains, it pours. The twin brothers are again in the news, not for their collaboration with each other, but because of their confrontation with each other. From what I gather, Peter wants the group to split up and go their separate ways, while Paul and their brother, Jude, have a slightly different agenda. The disagreement culminated with a fight at the offices of the recently coronated Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Festus Keyamo. The fight which was ostensibly recorded by Peter, showed the trio (including Jude, their brother/ manager), using gutter language that belied their status as international super stars. The whole drama reminds me of a nursery rhyme I learnt as a child: Two little blackbirds Sitting on the wall, One named Peter, One named Paul.* Fly away Peter, Fly away Paul. Come back Peter, Come back Paul. Why do P-Square remind me of this nursery rhyme? Because this is not the first time they will quarrel and if they do reconcile, it will also not be the first or the second reconciliation. They have flown away before and they have also come back again. That is the reason why I am not so bothered with their family quarrel. You see, the Okoye brothers are first businessmen, before they are artistes. They are not in the entertainment industry. They are in show business, with particularly reference to the word ‘business’. To them, they are not entertaining their fans. They are providing them with a service that they are willing to pay for. In short, as they say in America, it is all about the Benjamins! I personally believe that when it is explained to the Okoye brothers what they stand to lose, they will adjust their attitudes faster than you can say Bank Alert! What do I mean? Let us learn from history.

Having said that, I must say that there is a lot Nigeria as a nation can learn from P-Square. I believe that it is not that the Okoye brothers want to split up as it is that they desire a more perfect union. Not a Union where Peter works and Paul chops or one where Paul has oil but it is Peter that has oil blocs. P-Square - wants to restructure from unitary form of partnership to true federalism.You are Peter, I am Paul.Together, we are P-Square. Even if we part, we are still Okoyes. If Peter and Paul cannot live in peace, is it our own little Republics that will automatically lead to peace? Perhaps restructuring is a better option than dismemberment

P-Square’s: Paul and Peter Okoye The Beatles were once in a similar position as P-Square. And just like some suspect with Peter and Paul, it was women, (Yoko Ono for John Lennon and Linda McCartney) that came between them. The women fed their individual man’s ego until he thought he was bigger than the group. Even though the Beatles were making hundreds of millions as the biggest group in the world, they allowed themselves to split over women on April 10, 1970. But the rude awakening was to come when the individuals who made up The Beatles began making much less money as solo artistes than they made together. As the renowned Nigerian award-winning international flutist, Tee Mac, has said on this matter, “There is a lot of power in togetherness”! Having said that, I must say that there is a lot Nigeria as a nation can learn from P-Square. I believe that it is not that the Okoye brothers want to split up as it is that they desire a more perfect union. Not a Union where Peter works and Paul chops or one where Paul has oil but it is Peter that has oil blocs. P-Square - wants to restructure from unitary form of partnership to true federalism. You are Peter, I am Paul. Together, we are P-Square. Even if we part, we are still Okoyes. If Peter and Paul cannot live in peace, is it our own little Republics that will automatically lead to peace? Perhaps restructuring is a better option than dismemberment. Perhaps God is using the drama taking place between P-Square to teach us a lesson on the options before Nigeria - division, restructuring or family fight. Already we are seeing that the oil, that has made many in Nigeria insist on the status quo, is soon reaching the end of its shelf life. Maybe no one has told us, but largely due to free oil money, our population has exploded at the fastest rate of increase the world has ever seen. And now we have almost 200 million people that we will not be able to cater for in five to ten years if we do not look for alternative sources of income. If twin brothers like Peter and Paul can fight, let us not deceive ourselves that Nigerians love each other enough not to fight each other. Our present leadership may not have the intellectual capacity to know that the various tensions in Nigeria are not really about religion or ethnicity as they are about an increasing number of people competing for a reducing quantity of resources. As the British political economist, Reverend Thomas

Robert Malthus, propounded in his 1798 book, An Essay on the Principle of Population, Nigeria is caught up in what is known in economics as the “Malthusian trap”. The “Malthusian trap” is a phenomenon where a nation utilizes a sudden abundance for population growth rather than for maintaining a high standard of living, and when that abundance disappears, the population growth remains and becomes a problem to the nation because in the absence of the abundance that led to the population growth, the nation dissolves into conflict, skirmishes, crises and even war which happen naturally for the purpose of reducing that nation’s population to match with its post-abundance economic resources. President Muhammadu Buhari may not know it, but what I have described above is what is currently happening in Nigeria. Except the price of oil increases faster than the rise of Nigeria’s population, it is only a matter of when, not if, that there will be an implosion in Nigeria. The only way to stop this coming implosion is if Nigeria restructured itself along the lines of true federalism and becomes a fiscal federation. As long as we are assured of free oil money, we will keep on marrying and giving our daughters away in marriage and popping out babies without a care to how they will feed tomorrow. But if we have to pay taxes to run our federal, state and local governments, we will cut our family size to match our pocket size. Why is this so? Because as Reverend Malthus puts it, “The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man”. And Reverend Malthus did not come up with that idea out of thin air. Being a man of the cloth, like I, he got that idea from the Holy Bible. Reverend Malthus was only reechoing the words of King Solomon (Nabi Suleiman in Islam), who said as follows in Ecclesiastes 5:11: “When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?” Flowing from the above should we thus be surprised that the Okoye brothers’ fight restarted again after Paul announced in July that his wife had given birth to a set of twins? More mouths to feed requires more resources which in itself puts a strain on the one required to provide the resources, whether in a family or in a nation.

Saturday, September 30, 2017

UT H

& RE A S O

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MISSILE Jonathan to Okorocha

“Governor Okorocha would have served his state better, if he directed his enormous drive towards creating growth and development opportunities for the good people of Imo State, rather than allowing himself to be drawn into dissipating his energy on platitudes and propaganda.” – Former President Goodluck Jonathan, debunking claims by Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha that the ex-President oﬀered him huge sums of money and other inducements ahead of the 2015 presidential election.

PENDULUM Dele Momodu

dele.momodu@thisdaylive.com

Now That The Race Has Started

ellow Nigerians, let me say exciting times are here again. You may ask what is so exciting about this period with our myriad of problems? Please, allow me to put it this way. Politicians are like students while the voters are their teachers. Every now and then the chickens come home to roost and politicians are forced to test their popularity and performance. The examiners are the voters who have waited patiently for this time to come so that they can pass or fail their representatives as they deem fit. Sometimes the electorate get things right. Oftentimes they get it wrong, as we’ve seen on many occasions. What is important is that it is payback time, for good or for bad. There is no time for any long preamble today. The nitty-gritty of this epistle is dictated by two major events that occurred almost simultaneously during the week, signalling the beginning of the 2019 Presidential race. First, was the open and frontal declaration of Ekiti State Governor, Dr Peter Ayodele Fayose, a man of immense courage. Second, was the release of the electoral timetable by the electoral umpire, INEC. Prior speculations about who’s running or not will soon be affirmed or refuted. The time has finally come for the masquerades to come out of the groves and dance in the marketplace. Love him or hate him, Governor Fayose’s declaration is bound to kick-start the electoral jamboree and give impetus to others who have been rather squeamish or “squirmish” about throwing their hats into the ring. Also, I love the fact that the ruling government can no longer afford to be complacent. We now have an aspirant, who for whatever he is worth will definitely keep the APC on its toes. The controversy has already started because Fayose is the quintessential hype-man. If he does not court publicity, propaganda would always trail him. He is a master of the game who understands that a bully only respects a bully. The ruling government may pretend that he is no threat, but they understand the adage that “a leper may not be able to squeeze milk but he definitely knows how to spill it…” Let no one dismiss Fayose. Remember the way some of us swore Donald Trump will never defeat Hillary Clinton in many lifetimes to come. It would be a big shame if APC fails to see the urgent need to reposition and repackage itself as quickly as possible. My ideas may seem a bit radical and far-fetched but they remain my kobo advise to President Buhari and his team. If I were President Buhari, I will start grooming a successor right now. By the time he finishes his first term in 2019, he would have attained the age of 76, or thereabout. By then, he should be thankful to God for preserving his life after a rigorous battle with some near-fatal ailments. At that age and stage, Nigeria deserves some fresh leader, in body, mind and soul. The world has moved beyond the type of leadership we are currently saddled with. Buhari was a choice for a special reason and purpose. He has served and fulfilled that righteousness. I believe, with all due respect, that he should set Nigeria on the path to higher glory by getting his succession plan right. Many of his predecessors were too pre-occupied with

Chief Moshood Abiola at the wedding of the Momodus in 1992 self-adulation that they forgot the future. By the time the future inevitably arrived, it was too late to turn the hands of the clock backwards. President Buhari still has over one year to prepare for the epic journey ahead.. It is certain and obvious that he would be tempted like all mortals to cling to power, and as a matter of right anyway, but may God grant him the uncommon wisdom and that spirit of selflessness to be able to resist the allure of office and power. The APC has a lot to gain from his sacrifice and he would have placed himself on a higher pedestal in global reckoning. He has many able disciples who can carry his legacy to a much higher level. The world would remember him as a leader who came at a time of serious crisis and averted the cataclysmic collapse of Nigeria, laid a solid foundation and handed over to competent builders and performers. In other to avoid an acrimonious transition, the President should invite some interested and influential members of his party and allow its politburo to vote or decide amongst themselves the shape of the new government they wish to form. Their decision is more likely to be binding on the party in general. President Buhari owes it to Nigeria to kill the ethnic and religious tension in our country. He’s always been viewed as a religious bigot and ethnic jingoist but he can redeem himself gracefully by championing new causes, breaking down walls of superstition as well as exterminating those primordial sentiments that have bedevilled our country and sent us several centuries backward. Buhari should help in combing every part of Nigeria and beyond for the best brains and talents that God has kindly endeared and endowed us with. He should realise that nothing could be as fortunate as being handed a second

chance on a platter of gold as has happened to him. He has nothing more to gain but plenty to lose. I would not be shocked or surprised if those currently enjoying the spoils of power dismiss my appeal to our dear beloved President as arrant nonsense. However, the truth is that Nigeria is in crisis and critical mode, deserving the most accomplished surgeons the country has, to excise the cancers and tumours ravaging her. We can no longer continue to wobble and fumble at the present snail speed. Time does not wait for anyone. And it will certainly not wait for Nigeria. APC parades many fantastic leaders but they are not able to blossom and glow in full bloom because of the overpowering aura of President Buhari. That power can be put to better use by helping APC to remain intact without experiencing the type of implosion that sentenced PDP to its shallow grave. I will like to see APC retain the support and loyalty of Atiku Abubakar (who I believe should act like a true father of the party rather than desperately trying to return to power 12 years after he retired as Vice President) and Bola Ahmed Tinubu (who should continue in his now acclaimed role of kingmaker). These two titans of the party should support President Buhari in harnessing the talents and strengths of the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, Bukola Saraki, Dogara Yakubu, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Nasir El Rufai, Aminu Tambuwal, Babatunde Raji Fashola, Rochas Okorocha, Rotimi Amaechi, Olorunnimbe Mamora, and several others who may be hovering in the wings with the hopes of becoming President or Vice President in the not too distant future. If these great assets are not well-managed and encouraged to sacrifice their personal ambitions and interests for the sake of Nigeria, history might just

repeat itself because a house divided against itself will not stand. Such a similar situation was mismanaged by former President Goodluck Jonathan who inadvertently lost the election the day he allowed some key members of PDP, to saunter away to join a new coalition called APC. With the benefit of hindsight, I am sure Jonathan would have eaten humble pie and stopped those aggrieved party members, by fire by force. Unfortunately, he was goaded and egged on by sycophants who probably boasted that Atiku, Saraki, Amaechi, and company were easily dispensable. They were dead wrong. Their exit led to the tsunami that swept away the Jonathan government. My prediction is that if Buhari decides to stubbornly pursue his own personal ambition and agenda by not making the necessary sacrifice at this crucial moment, he may be swamped and consumed by the lava of the volcanic eruption that would definitely hit his party in a most devastating manner. Truth be told, Buhari would not have even picked the ticket of APC in the last primary election but for the herculean task and audacious effort of Tinubu, Amaechi, Saraki and others who performed the miracle of turning water into wine. Believe me, nobody wins election in Nigeria based on sainthood or clean records. Elections require the ability to raise cash, tonnes and tonnes of it. In case he is oblivious to what transpired in the last election, the President should ask his campaign team what it cost to oil that blistering operation that catapulted the “invincible” Jonathan out of power. Who donated what and how were APC agents funded nationwide? It is not going to be that simple this time around. Most of those who fell for the change mantra have since changed from billionaires and millionaires to paupers. Many supported Buhari hoping they would not be hounded but permitted to henceforth do business the proper way. They were unprepared for the fury unleashed against them which has ensured they’ve not been able to do business, clean or dirty. They are just licking their wounds with equanimity and hoping that this nightmare shall soon pass away. Undoubtedly the Nigerian economy has suffered as a result. The main beneficiaries have been shady multinationals who continue to steal us blind whilst claiming to support a failing corruption crusade. Therefore, APC has to urgently re-strategize by picking one of its trusted and tested younger personages, hoping that he may reignite the much-needed passion in Nigerian youths, the business community and all those who feel short-changed and brutalised by the Buhari government. If APC lacks the courage to rejig its modus operandi, it may be forced to swallow its own phlegm sooner than later… I will soon offer an analysis on what PDP needs to do to bounce back and beat the APC. My advice to all those who think PDP is dead and buried is that they should perish the thought because Lazarus may still rise. As a matter of fact, PDP is not dead. It is merely a sleeping and snoring giant. We may yet be in for a rude awakening on all counts!

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

SHAKAMOMODU THIS REPUBLIC

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GUESTCOLUMNIST Reno Omokri

Femi Fani-Kayode’s Life in Danger Jude Ndukwe

We are counting on your kind prayers as always. The Abiola and June 12 debacle is just a tantalising beginning!

The Untold Story of Chief Moshood Abiola On July 7, 2018, it would be exactly 20 years since Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola suddenly died in solitary confinement. No one has been able to give a comprehensive account of the June 12, 1993, saga till this day. Nigerians, and the world at large remain in total darkness about why Nigeria’s best election was annulled, those with noble or dastardly roles, why the winner ended up in detention instead of Aso Rock, and how finally, only his lifeless body was brought back home.

Ovation Books, a new arm of Ovation Communications, is poised to offer a special publication on what remains another dark chapter in the chequered existence of our country. We need your help to make this dream a reality. All we need is access to hitherto never revealed information. We shall also be knocking on doors to seek definite answers to pertinent questions. Did you know Abiola one on one, or do you have credible information that can help recapture the period of campaign, election, annulment, incarceration and disappearance from public glare from 1994-98? Were you a personnel at some of the detention centres he was kept? You may wish to write to us, even anonymously, about your experience. You may send text messages to us via +2348055069220, +233233751111. We promise prompt responses and where necessary will get

Dele Momodu at the Koforidua University of