Saturday 11th November 2017

FG, 3 Chinese Firms Agree to Build 3,050MW Mambilla Power Plant in 6 Years Chineme Okafor in Abuja The federal government yesterday signed an agreement with a consortium of three Chinese companies to build the 3,050 megawatts Mambilla hydro power project located in Taraba State within six years.

The project which is expected to

cost $5.79 billion would be funded by the Nigerian government and Chinese lenders through the China Exim Bank, on the ratio of 15 and 85 per cent respectively.

The firms include China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC), Sinohydro Corporation Limited (SHC) and CGCOC Group Co. Limited.

Within the deal, the Chinese

Exim Bank and other Chinese lenders are expected to provide $4.92 billion representing 85 per cent of the project’s cost while the federal government will put forward $868.87 million which represents the 15 per cent.

Also, the scope of work for the project includes four large dams - Nya, Sumsum, Nghu and Api Weir, two underground

power house of 12 units of 250MW each, two numbers of 330kV of 700 kilometres transmission lines to Markudi and Jalingo, 120 kilometres of access roads connecting the project site and nearby communities and resettlement of an estimated 100,000 impacted persons.

On August 30, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved

$5,792,497,062.00 for the project which has been in the making for over 40 years.

That approval thus paved the way for the signing of the contract document with the China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC), Sinohydro Corporation Limited (SHC) and CGCOC Group Co. Limited, all considered a joint venture.

It also now allows the federal government to seek finance to meet its counterpart funding obligation to the project.

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, who signed on behalf of the Nigerian government, said the project would open a huge Continued on page 6

AfDB, EU Commit $18m to Construction of 1,008km Lagos-Abidjan Highway ...Page 8 Saturday 11 November, 2017 Vol 22. No 8241 Price: N250

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Ikoyi Billions: Whistle Blowers Protest Non-payment of Commission EFCC denies payment claims Yemi Adebowale in Lagos and Paul Obi in Abuja The lawyer to the three friends who blew the whistle on the

sums of $43,449,947, £27,800 and N23,218,000 recovered from an apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos, last April, has written a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari,

demanding that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) should immediately pay the commission due to the whistle blowers.

On the same day, the EFCC clarified that it never said that the whistle blowers in the Ikoyi flat saga had been paid as reported in the media.

The acting chairman of the commission, Ibrahim Magu had on Thursday remarked that the “young man who blew the whistle is now a millionaire.”

Magu spoke in Vienna, Austria.

Surprisingly, the lawyer to the whistle blowers, Yakubu Continued on page 24

Buhari Meets CAN, Promises to Address Lopsidedness in Federal Appointments Christian body demands Nigeria's exit from OIC, D-8 Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday hosted leaders of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, with a promise to address lopsidedness in federal appointments.

A statement issued later by the President's media adviser, Mr. Femi Adesina, said the president told the CAN delegation that he had already given instructions for the submission of all the names of heads of parastatals in order to address the allegations of lopsidedness in appointments.

“On the question of one-sided appointments, we will look at it.

I have given instructions that a list of all heads of parastatals Continued on page 6

PDP Convention: Time for Redemption, LOVE IN THE STEPPES …

Says Secondus L-R: Father of the groom and Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi; Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode; Groom, Abolaji Ajimobi; Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Badaru Abubakar and father of the bride and Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje during the introduction ceremony of Abolaji and Fatima in Kano ... Page 62 ...yesterday PHOTO;STATE HOUSE

Alaghodaro Summit: Buhari, Obaseki, Dangote Discuss new Investment Prospects in Edo ...Page 6

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INVESTMENT SUMMIT ‌ L-R: Representative of President Muhammadu Buhari and Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah; Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State; President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote; and representative of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Senator Francis Alimikhena, at the Alaghodaro Investment Summit, in Benin City, Edo State...yesterday

Alaghodaro Summit: Buhari, Obaseki, Dangote Discuss new Investment Prospects in Edo Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the federal government would pursue more business reforms to accelerate progress recorded in its recent Ease of Doing Business ranking, to properly position Nigeria in her march to become a post-oil economy.

Speaking at the two-day Edo State Alaghodaro Investment Summit, yesterday in Benin City, the President said that the reforms to ease the business climate had brought changes to registering businesses, issuance of visa on arrival and tax collection.

President Buhari, who was represented by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment,

Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, said government alone could not bring about the much-needed development the country, as partnering with the private sector was also key in driving economic growth and progress.

"I am impressed and delighted at the way the governor is going about his work. He is bringing his energy, network and intellect to bear," President Buhari said.

According to him, “One of the things that have impressed me about this summit is the presence of the private sector. There is no way things can happen at the center without bringing it to the subnational level.�

He added that "there are noticeable improvements in paying taxes, registering businesses and many more. The Ease of doing

business reforms are going to domesticated at the state level.

Edo state is one of the states to lead that with the discussions at this summit."

Welcoming his guests to the event, the Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, said that Alaghodaro Investment Summit was conceived to consolidate on the journey that started nine years ago.

He said: “We have done a lot in the last twelve months. We have recorded some institutional reforms, as the key to development is by repurposing institutions for optimal results. The bastion of reform is in the civil service and the bureaucracy in government.

We have embarked on processes that are making the civil service more efficient and productive to

ensure smooth service delivery. “We are determined to rebuild the civil service and improve on the capacity of the entire government workforce. A fully computerized staff training school has been built at the Government House. “I am glad to inform you that one of the events in this summit is to sign a memorandum of understanding between the United Nations training institute and the Edo State Government.

The other institutional reforms include revenue collection, where we have insisted that government revenues should be collected and accounted for.�

Noting that the state’s reforms are yielding results, he said, “By deploying technology, including persuasion, education and enlightenment, and law-based

sanctions in revenue collection, we have increased local government revenues by 500 percent in the last six months.�

In the area of infrastructure, he said the government’s interventions are very visible, noting, “We have resurfaced, reconstructed and are constructing over 500km of roads across the state.�

On job creation, Obaseki said, “In order to fulfil our promise to create 200,000 jobs in the four years, we have created 12, 000 jobs and have commenced the reconstruction of our technical colleges, so that they can train qualified artisans who can be self-employed and provide services to others.

Noting that the state is pursuing an aggressive industrialisation drive, he said, “Our goal is

to utilise our endowments, particularly the available energy and logistical advantage so that we can become a major industrial hub.

The ground-breaking ceremony of our multipurpose Benin Industrial Hub will be done by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.�

In his keynote address, President, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said that for too long, the Nigerian economy depended on crude oil. “The state’s strategic focus on institutional reform, economic revolution, infrastructural development, social welfare enhancement, environmental sustainability, as well as culture and tourism, are key to transforming the economy. This government is very ambitious and they need all the support,� he said.

rule of law and constitutionality in prosecuting all those that had been accused of corruption.

He added that Buhari explained to the JNI delegation that corruption in the country had taken a cultural dimension and urged all religious leaders and Nigerians to join him in the fight in order to reverse the trend.

“When something becomes a culture, it is more difficult to stop, but collectively we will prevail,’’ he was further quoted.

It further said the SecretaryGeneral of JNI appealed to the president to pay more attention to the yearnings of Nigerians, urging him to continually walk in the fear of God.

BUHARI MEETS CAN, PROMISES TO ADDRESS LOPSIDEDNESS IN FEDERAL APPOINTMENTS be submitted to me and I know they will not delay in doing that,’’ Adesina quoted the president as saying.

He also said the president assured religious leaders, and all Nigerians, that his administration would address rising concerns on corruption, insecurity and injustices in various parts of the country.

The CAN delegation was led by its President, Dr. Samson Ayokunle.

The Christian group used the opportunity of the meeting with Buhari to reiterate its opposition to Nigeria's membership of international Islamic organisations and demanded Nigeria’s immediate exit from such organisations.

The Christian group also tasked the president to henceforth halt government's involvement in Islamic financial systems, describing both as a violation of the Nigerian constitution which designates the country as a secular state.

Answering questions from journalists after the meeting, the CAN President said the government had the responsibility to sustain the sanctity of the constitution and hence, withdraw its membership of various international Islamic organisations.

Nigeria is currently a member of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and D-8 which are both assemblies of Islamic states.

The country also belongs to some global Islamic financial organisations such as International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation which recently elected Nigeria's Central Bank of Nigeria

(CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, as its Chairman.

It also recently sold Islamic bond, Sukkuk, to Nigerians which was oversubscribed.

But CAN insist that Nigeria's membership of such bodies and participation in any religious financial system should be stopped forthwith.

"The organisations that are religious where Nigerian presently is a member and signed treaties, the government should pull out of them in order to keep the sanctity of the constitution," Ayokunle stated.

Ayokunle insisted that Nigeria's participation in Islamic financial system was unconstitutional and be stopped with a view to giving all Nigerians a sense of belonging, pointing out that while Moslem bodies reserve the right to participate in such financial systems, it was wrong of the government which ought to protect the constitution to lead the way.

"Yes, we talked about keeping very close to the constitution. As l said before, there wasn't any demon in Sukuk bond. But what was wrong is the constitutionality.

No CAN member is opposed to any Muslim running their own financial system, but it is wrong for the government to be the one who will be promoting it and initiating it. It was a violation of the constitution.

"We have talked to the government today to keep the sanctity of the constitution which will guide the behaviour and

actions of everyone. They must be able to keep everybody together," he added.

However, the CAN Chairman said the delegation was humbled by the president's calm and humane response to its demands in such a way that people could be moved to support the government.

According to him, the president explained that the menace of herdsmen was the fallout of the killing of former Libyan President, Muammar Gaddafi, which he said forced the herdsmen down South but stated that the government admitted that it is a problem that requires its solution.

Ayokunle also said that CAN leadership demanded for payment of salaries and allowances of workers in various states of the federation, observing that the situation could get out of hand and create tension in the polity as he cited how the trend had begun to lead to suicide among unpaid workers.

He also said the group demanded a decisive handling of the menace of herdsmen in various parts of the country as well as the recruitment of more policemen to handle the spate of insecurity and militancy.

Ayokunle said the group wants implementation of its demands adding that it had spoken out its mind because it wishes the government well and will continue to support it.

"Action! Action!! Action!!! Beyond the promises, we want to see physical changes that will make

all of us to be happy especially in the area of lopsided appointments where some states have 30 people and another state having less than three. This will not give any sense of belonging to the government and to the country.

"We have been very supportive to this government. When you see people speaking out their minds, you should know that those people don't want things to scatter. The people that don't talk are the enemies of the nation.

When you see things going wrong, you quickly speak out so that they can be corrected so that the nation can move together are one," he stated.

On the same day, the President also received a delegation of the Jama'atul Nasirul Islam (JNI), led by its Secretary General, Khalid Abubakar Aliyu at the State House.

He assured them that his administration would also ensure the reform of the police and judiciary as he described both institutions as critical for the security and stability of the nation. “There is no way we can be comfortable in our country unless we are lucky to have a good police force and judiciary. “We need a good police force and judiciary to really maintain the legitimacy and the confidence of the populace in governance,’’ Adesina quoted the president as saying.

Furthermore, Adesina said the president assured both CAN and JNI leaders that his administration would always be guided by the

FG, 3 CHINESE FIRMS AGREE TO BUILD 3,050MW MAMBILLA POWER PLANT IN 6 YRS window of opportunity for Nigeria to harness its hydro potentials for electricity and irrigation purposes.

He commended government officials and the Chinese for making the project a reality, adding that when completed, the project would change the dynamics in Nigeria’s power sector.

Fashola said: “The project is a new dawn for Nigeria’s power diversity and energy mix. It will give us the opportunity for energy security. It will also give us the opportunity to comply with our Paris Climate Change Agreement because it will be delivering renewable energy. “It will provide the opportunity to unlock the gift of nature to Nigeria in Taraba State, agriculture, energy, construction and development. You only need to see the number of applications we have already received from people who want to participate in the logistics.�

He further said the project implementation would involve

the ministries of environment, water resources, justice and finance, adding, “This is going to be inter-ministerial undertaking.�

For the Chinese companies, Yong Jun signed for CGGC, while Gan Yongzhi signed for Sinohydro and Ye Shuijiv signed for CGCOC Group.

The Mambilla hydro project is located in Sarduana Local Government Area of Taraba State. Its preliminary feasibility study was reportedly carried out by Moto Columbus in 1972.

Also, between 1981 and 1985, Diyam Consultants with Binnie and Partners UK carried out another preliminary study and recommended 3960 MW. In 2011, the FEC equally awarded another consultancy services for detailed engineering design and project management and supervision to Messrs Coyne et Bellier/Decrwon/WADSCO JV Consultants to further review the two previous studies based on new hydrology and geology investigation.

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CHRISTIAN INTERFACE...

L-R, Rev. Isreal Akanji, Aso chapel chaplain, Pastor Seyi Maloma, Primate Nicolas Okoh, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, President Muhammadu Buhari and CAN President His Eminence Rev. Dr. Olasupo Ayokunle with order Christian leaders during a visit of the leaders of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to the president at the presidential villa, Abuja yesterday PHOTO: GODWIN OMOIGUI

AfDB, EU Commit $18m to Construction of 1,008km Lagos-Abidjan Highway Chineme Okafor in Abuja

The African Development Bank (AfDB) and European Union (EU) have made financial commitments worth $18 million to the construction of a 1,008 kilometres stretch highway that will run from Lagos in Nigeria through other cities in the West African coast to Abidjan in Ivory Coast, the President of Economic Community of West African Countries (ECOWAS) Commission, Marcel Alain de Souza, has disclosed.

Souza, stated this on Friday during the ninth steering committee meeting of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway Development Programme in Abuja.

He stated this just as the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, said

at the meeting that the AbidjanLagos super highway project would resolve a lot of the cross border challenges that affected integration in the ECOWAS region, as well as boost regional trade in the region.

The Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway is a 1,008 kilometre road that will traverse five countries in the region including Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Benin Republic, Togo and Nigeria, and will reportedly provide access to vibrant sea ports which account for about 90 per cent exports and 60 per cent imports across the sub-region.

Souza, who in his remarks, described the presence of Osinbajo at the ministerial committee meeting as a sign of Nigeria’s commitment to the highway project, stated that the project had already attracted

$9 million support from the AfDB and $9 million from the EU. The funds, he stated would be solely expended on the project as participating member countries will provide an additional $1 million as part of feasibility study for the highway project. He also explained that while the feasibility study for the project could start before January 26th, 2018, construction would likely start in six months’ time.

He however lamented the delay in implementation of the project despite its importance to developing the regional economy. “We have discussed with the former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and other private sector to support us. 42 years of integration, ECOWAS

has not achieved 15 per cent of its goal and 70 per cent of trade in the region is done through this route. So, hopefully, the construction will start in six month time,� said Souza at the meeting which was attended by ministers of works from Nigeria, Republic of Benin, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo In his remarks, Osinbajo, said beyond trade and other economic prospects, the project would go a long way to promote tourism, create jobs and open small businesses in the region to global opportunities.

According to him: “The development of the Abidjan-Lagos project is the flagship of the entire ECOWAS enterprise and we believe that it will promote regional integration, enable trade, tourism and other

forms of economic activities in our sub region and create the much needed jobs for our large youth population.� “No doubt, it will connect West Africa by means of efficient road network. It is one of the easiest and most direct ways of boosting local and international economies by extension our regional economy.

The corridor will inevitably open up new vista of economic opportunities and set the stage of foreignisation of the vast informal economies that exist in our region,� he added.

He pledged Nigeria’s commitment to the project and its completion on schedule, adding that the nation’s recent ratification of the treaty was a demonstration of its commitment.

The Vice President said: “The

project will go a long way in resolving the hindrances to cross border trading in West Africa with obvious positive implications for our business environment and beyond linking the major economic centres in West Africa, it is our hope that it will steer regional economy and regional bloc across the continent.�

He also described the project as a testimony of the strong relationship among ECOWAS member nations, despite language and currency differences.

While commending the efforts of AfDB, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and other financial institutions on the project, Osinbajo, said it would strengthen existing relations within the region.

Senate Charges INEC on Transparent, Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport Receives Aerodrome CertiďŹ cation Conclusive Anambra Gubernatorial Poll Kasim Sumaina in Abuja

The African Development Bank (AfDB) and European Union (EU) have made financial commitments worth $18 million to the construction of a 1,008 kilometres stretch highway that will run from Lagos in Nigeria through other cities in the West African coast to Abidjan in Ivory Coast, the President of Economic Community of West African Countries (ECOWAS) Commission, Marcel Alain de Souza, has disclosed.

Souza, stated this on Friday during the ninth steering committee meeting of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway Development Programme in Abuja.

He stated this just as the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, said at the meeting that the Abidjan-

Lagos super highway project would resolve a lot of the cross border challenges that affected integration in the ECOWAS region, as well as boost regional trade in the region.

The Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway is a 1,008 kilometre road that will traverse five countries in the region including Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Benin Republic, Togo and Nigeria, and will reportedly provide access to vibrant sea ports which account for about 90 per cent exports and 60 per cent imports across the sub-region.

Souza, who in his remarks, described the presence of Osinbajo at the ministerial committee meeting as a sign of Nigeria’s commitment to the highway project, stated that the project had already attracted $9 million support from the AfDB and $9 million from the EU.

The funds, he stated would be solely expended on the project as participating member countries will provide an additional $1 million as part of feasibility study for the highway project. He also explained that while the feasibility study for the project could start before January 26th, 2018, construction would likely start in six months’ time.

He however lamented the delay in implementation of the project despite its importance to developing the regional economy. “We have discussed with the former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and other private sector to support us. 42 years of integration, ECOWAS has not achieved 15 per cent of its goal and 70 per cent of trade in the region is done through this route," he said.

David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka Ahead of Saturday’s Anambra State governorship election, the Nigerian Senate has charged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure transparency and credibility in the conduct of the election.

The Senate Committee on INEC who visited the state warned the Commission against conducting an inconclusive election.

Chairman of the Committee, Sen. Suleiman Nazif who spoke when he led other members of the Committee including Senators Mao Ohuabunwa and Aliu Sabi to a meeting with INEC officials, chairmen and secretaries of various political parties at the INEC headquarters in Awka said, “I want the leadership of INEC to ensure that Anambra governorship election is

conclusive, free, fair and credible.�

He said this was necessary because the credibility of the Anambra governorship election would serve as litmus test for the 2019 general elections, urging INEC to ensure level playing ground for all the political parties contesting the poll.

Nazif said the members were in the state to find out the challenges of INEC in respect to Saturday’s election and to put heads together with them towards proffering solutions to any problem they may encounter in the election.

Appealing to the gladiators in the election to ensure peace, Nazif further said, “The Commission should be neutral so that the outcome of the election is acceptable to all and all the political gladiators in the election should allow peace to reign during and after the election.�

The Senate Committee boss also appealed to politicians not to see the election as “do-or-die affair,� stressing that their conduct and utterances before, during and after the poll should be guided by democratic principles.

Assuring the people of Anambra State that the governorship election would hold as scheduled notwithstanding some insinuations in some quarters that it would not, the Senator called on the electorate to go out en mass and cast their votes for their preferred candidate and urged them not to engage in any action that would put them into trouble.

He urged security operatives to ensure peaceful atmosphere during and after the election, adding that their presence was important to the successful outcome of the poll.

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In Brief Police, Shiite Clash over El-Zakzaky

Pandemoniumbrokeoutyesterdayafterpolicedisruptedaprotest march organised by members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) in Abuja. The protesters were calling for the release of their leader,SheikhIbrahimEl-ZakZaky.El-ZakZakyandhiswife,Zeenat, remaininDSScustodyinAbuja.TheywerearrestedinDecember2015, following a fatal clash in Zaria, Kaduna State and other parts of the NorthbetweentheShiitegroupandtheNigerianArmy.Yesterday's protest was led by members of the Academic Forum of IMN. The largeprocessionwasheadingtoNationalHumanRightsCommission, whentheclashwithsecurityagenciesbrokeout.Apolicedetachment, in several patrol vans, dispersed the group with tear gas canisters and water cannon, while the protesters responded by pelting the police with pebbles.

Bello Pays N1.62 m Bill for Widow of Director

MARKING A MILESTONE ...

L – R : Chioma Afe, Divisional Head, Corporate Communications, Diamond Bank Plc; Adesuwa Onyenokwe, CEO, Todayz Woman Magazine ; Yewande Zaccheus, CEO Eventful Nigeria Ltd; and Chizor Malize- Managing Partner, Brandzone Consulting at the ‘Todayz Woman 10th Year Anniversary’ held in Lagos recently

Death of 26 Nigerian Girls: NAPTIP Urges UN to Investigate, Prosecute Transporters Chinedu Eze in Lagos and Alex Enumah in Abuja

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), has reacted to the news of the death of 26 young Nigerian girls on the Mediterranean Sea with a call on the United Nations to carry out a high level investigation of the incident with a view at ensuring that anyone found culpable must be brought to back.

This is as Global Initiative against Illegal Migration, a non–profit making organisation focused on fighting illegal migration has while condemning the incident, blamed

bad economic situation in the country and chronic unemployment of youths for such tragedies.

The call which was contained in a statement issued by its Head of Press and Public Relations Unit, Josiah Emerole, described the incident as not only saddened but one too many.

According to Emerole, the Director-General of NAPTIP, Dame Julie Okah-Donli and the entire Management were saddened by the unfortunate occurrence which they said had cut short the lives of the young women in their prime and in very painful and suspicious circumstances, adding that the deaths

were untimely and unwarranted. “We are using this medium to once again call for a high level investigation by the United Nations on this incident and others before it along the Mediterranean region.

This death is one too many. We need to know the identities of the owners of the rickety boats that carry people along that axis as well as their owners, so that they could be prosecuted appropriately. “For us as an Agency we will engage with the Italian authorities on this, with a view to knowing the Nigerians identified to be involved in trafficking our people through this dangerous route to apply the

laws against them. “We reiterate that human trafficking and irregular migration are criminal activities that must be stopped and we need the collaboration of all Nigerians to end this. Our young people must resist the lure to undertake such treacherous journeys, as thousands of Nigerians have perished while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea,� the DG was quoted to have said in the statement.

The 26 girls were among the 375 migrants said to be aboard a Spanish Warship, Cantabria, which docked at the port in the southern Italian city of Salerno.

Liberian President Ellen Operation Lion Roars Arrest 30 Johnson Arrives Imo, Receives Suspected Criminals in Kogi comprising of suspected Chieftaincy Title Yekini Jimoh in Lokoja Kidnappers, armed robbers Amby Uneze in Owerri

President of Liberia, Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has been honoured with a Chieftaincy title of "Ada Di Oha Nma" (the Daughter that is Cherished by All) of Imo State. The Chieftaincy title was conferred on her by the Chairman of the State Council of Traditional Rulers, HRM, Eze Samuel Ohiri at the Eze Imo Palace Owerri.

President Sirleaf had arrived Owerri through the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport where the Governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha received her with his wife, Nneoma Nkechi Okorocha and other senior government functionaries. She is in the State for a two-day visit on the invitation of the Rochas Foundation College of Africa.

The Liberian President was driven straight to the Eze Imo Palace at Mbari Street, Owerri, where she was Conferred with the Chieftaincy title.

Conferring the Chieftaincy title on Mrs. Sirleaf, Eze Ohiri said she had done Africa proud especially the women folks and

deserved to be honoured.

Receiving the Chieftaincy title, Mrs. Sirleaf said she was happy to be in Imo State and noted that generally speaking, Africa as a Continent and the nations that Constitute the region had not done badly in all Considerations, adding that with Education, hardwork and Unity of purpose, Africa would soon get to the Promised Land.

Governor Rochas Okorocha in his own speech stated that Mrs. Sirleaf was a pride to Africa and an inspiration to all the women in Africa and beyond, adding that her coming to the State was exciting.

The Liberian President is expected meet with the Students of Rochas Foundation College of Africa today for interaction and would also particularly parley with Liberian Students in the College whose Parents died of the Ebola disease.

It is also expected that the Liberian President will buy into the vision 2030 of the Rochas Foundation College of Africa which has been programmed to ensure that more than one

Following the successful operation of "Operation Lion Roars� where over 30 criminals have been arrested by the security agents on Kogi central while State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello has extended the curfew imposed on Kogi Central Senatorial District till further notice to consolidate on the security gains recorded so far.

"Operation Lion Roars� is a joint task security force comprises the Military, Mobile Police office, State Security Service and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp.

The operation which started last Thursday affected all the five local government councils comprises Okene, Okehi, Adavi, Ajaokuta and Ogori/Magongo all in Kogi central.

THISDAY on Friday reliably gathered that more arrest had been made by the security.

"The curfew has been extended “indefinitely" to achieve even greater results," the Governor confirmed.

The source also disclosed that between Thursday and Friday, no fewer than 30 criminals

and other criminals terrorising the area had been arrested.

The source said that those arrested fled after committing crime some time ago but decided to come back but were apprehended by the security agents following a tip off.

THISDAY also gathered that weapons such as AK 47, locally made guns, swords, charms and different kind of handsets were recovered from the suspect.

Meanwhile, the state government has extended the 24 hours curfew till further notice to consolidate on the security gains recorded so far.

This was contained in a statement issued yesterday by the Director General on Media and Publicity to the governor, Mr. Kingsley Fanwo.

According to the press statement, the Governor thanked Security agencies for their efforts at ridding Kogi Central of criminals and criminalities.

He also thanked the citizens for cooperating with his administration to ensure a safer and better Kogi State.

KogiStateGovernmenthasreleasedoverN1millionforsettlement of the hospital bill of the widow and triplets of late Edward Soje, a directorinthestate’sTeachingServiceCommissionwhoallegedly committedsuicidesometimesinOctober.ThelateEdwardSojewas founddeadatthebackofArmyRecordsBarracksinOctober,inwhat hasbeensuspectedtobeasuicideandithappenedaweekafterhis wife of 17 years delivered a set of triplets. A statement signed by the state head of service, Deborah Ogunmola, on Friday said the payment followed a memo to Governor Yahaya Bello, asking him to kindly consider and approve the release of the money in favour of Mrs. Grace Adebusola Soje. It was meant to serve as assistance for the payment of the accumulated hospital bills.

Police Tracking Omotoso’s Abductors

KwaraStatepolicecommandonFridayhintedthat,ithaddeployed modern tracking devices technology to trail the four suspected kidnappers of 71 year old mother of the national chairman of the Labour Party, Mrs. Elizabeth Omotosho so as to get the woman freed from the den of the kidnappers. Mrs. Omotoso, the mother of the national chairman of the Labour Party, Dr. Mike Omotoso was kidnapped last Sunday night at her home,Tanke, Ilorin by four suspected kidnappers. Since then, the police and other security agencies in the state had swung into action towards freeing the 71 year old mother from the den of the kidnappers. Speaking in Ilorin duringparadeofharvestof24suspectedcriminalsinvariousparts ofthestate,thestatecommissionerofpolice,LawanAdo,saidthat thecommandhadbeenbusytryingtounravelthecrimeandnabthe kidnappers with tracking devices.

BOSAN Hold Maiden Dinner

The Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN) will today host her over 400 members to a dinner at the Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.The dinner which promises to hold annually willbethefirsttimeBOSANwouldbecomingtogethertowineand dine.Speakingatapressbriefingtounveiltheorderofeventsforthe AnnualDinner,Mr.PaulUsoro(SAN),ViceChairman,DinnerCommittee, said Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), who is also a member of thebody,theChiefJusticeofNigeria,Hon.JusticeWalterOnnoghen and Nigeria’s former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Dr.ChristopherKolade,wereamongthedignitariesexpectedatthe event.Mr.UsorointhepressbriefinghejointlyaddressedwithMr.Seyi Sowemimo(SAN),BOSANSecretaryandChiefFelixFagbohungbe (SAN),ChairmanBOSANOrganisingCommitteenotedsaidDr.Kolade willgivetheDinnerTalkonLeadershipwhileVicePresidentOsinbajo and Justice Onnoghen will also make remarks.

A’Ibom Loses Exco Member, Prof. Ikpe

AmemberoftheAkwaIbomStateExecutiveCouncilandCommissionerforInvestment,CommenceandIndustry,Prof.EnoIkpeisdead.

ThedeathhasthrowntheStateExecutiveCouncilandthepeopleof thestateintodeepmourning.TheStateCommissionerforInformation and Strategy, Mr. Charles Udoh broke the news of the death of his colleague in a statement issued Friday. The deceased who hailed fromEtinanLocalGovernmentAreaofthestatereportedlydiedon November8,2017afteraprotractedsickness.Accordingly,theState Governor,Mr.UdomEmmanuelhasdirectedthattheNigerianflag beflownathalf-mastinthestateinhonourofthedepartedmember. “GovernorUdomEmmanuelhasalreadydirectedthatallflagsinthe statebeflownhalf-mastuntilfurthernotice,asasymbolofrespect for the departed commissioner.", the statement stressed.

Victorious Army Ministries Convention

Victorious Army Ministries International is holding BethelVictory Conventionwiththetheme:‘GodofWonders’fromNovember21-26 attheChurchpremisesPlot22AcmeRoad,Ogba,Ikeja,Lagos.The convention will begin with an opening session on 21which will last between 5p.m and 8p.m. While from 22-24, there will be morning gloryencounterfrom8:30a.mto10:30a.m,thereaftertherewillbe wordandmiracleencounterfrom5p.mto8p.m.On25,therewillalso bewordandmiracleencounterfrom5p.mto8p.m.Theconvention will be concluded with a thanksgiving service on 26 from 9a.m to 11:30a.m.

Just Worship

The6theditionofJustWorship’ayearlyspiritualworshipprogramtakes placeinLagosonnextweekFriday.AccordingtotheLeadWorshiper andvisionaryofJustWorship,Dr.IsraelKristilerewhoisalsothelead PastorofShepherdBaptistChurch,Obanikoro,theessenceofthe eventistogatherallbelieversbeyonddenominationalboardersfor spiritualworship.Thethemeofthisyeareditionis“Victorious�;itwill featuresuchartistesasAmmyOkposo,OnosAriyo,PraiseandJoy, Dupe Olulana, Indian Christian congregation amongst others.The programewilltakeplaceatShepheredhillBaptistChurchAuditorium, Obanikoro, Lagos between 10:00pm to 5:00am.

T H I S D AY SATURDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2017

11

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͚͚˜ ͺ͸͚;

NEWSXTRA

Court Declares Ndume's Suspension Illegal Alex Enumah in Abuja The Abuja division of the Federal High Court on Friday declared the suspension of Senator Mohamed Ali Ndume as illegal, Unlawful and unconstitutional and consequently set aside the said suspension by the Senate.

The court, in addition ordered the Senate President and the Senate to immediately pay Senator Ndume his outstanding salaries and allowances.

Justice Babatunde Quadri, gave the order in a judgment delivered on a suit brought by Ndume challenging his suspension from the upper legislature.

Senator Ndume, who represents Borno South Senatorial district at the National Assembly had dragged the upper legislature to court over suspension from the Senate.

Defendants in the suit were the President of the Senate; the Senate of Federal Republic of Nigeria; and Senator Samuel Anyanwu (Chairman Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions).

The Senate, following a recommendation by the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, had in a letter dated 30th March, 2017 suspended Ndume, "for bringing Senator Dino Melaye, his colleague, and institutions of the Senate to unbearable dispute" But delivering judgment in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/ CS/551/2017, Justice Quadri however set aside the suspension for being illegal, Unlawful and unconstitutional.

He said, "Based on this, questions 2, 3 and 4, are hereby resolved in favour of the plaintiff while question 1 is not determined because I did not consider the issue of breach of Section 39 as I found doing so

TEACHING TO SAVE...

L-R: Regional Education OďŹƒcer, Sterling Bank Plc, Monturayo Smith; Administrator, Our Mother Mary College, Ejigbo, Mr. Emmanuel Njokamma; Business Manager, Sterling Bank Dopemu, Olusola Ogundiyi; Business Manager, Sterling Bank Idimu, Abiola Olanipekun; Head of the School, Our Mother Mary College, Mrs. Akanbi Margaret Olabisi, during the 2017 World Savings day school outreach by the bank in Lagos

unnecessary in the circumstances.

Consequently, reliefs 2, 3 and 4 are granted.

"The suspension of the plaintiff is hereby declared illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional. The purported suspension contained in the letter of 30th March, 2017 is hereby set aside.

"The first and second defendants are hereby directed to pay the plaintiff his outstanding salaries and allowances forthwith," he said.

The judge however, refused to grant relief five of the plaintiff, which borders on alleged damages suffered as a result of the suspension.

"However, relief number 5 on the issue of damages is hereby refused because I hope this will facilitate reconciliation in the Senate between the plaintiff and other members of the Senate and bring peace to our nascent democracy

and all senators will hold sacrosanct their standing order, rule of rule by extension the Constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria.

"In this view I will make no order as to cost", he said.

The relief sought by the plaintiff are: A declaration that the suspension of the plaintiff for 90 legislative days (6 months) as a Senator in the service of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria via

a letter dated 30th March, 2017 for expressing as a matter of privilege the insinuations/allegations made online and National Newspapers that the invitation of the Comptroller-General of Customs was informed by seizure of the Bullet Proof SUV vehicle belonging to the Senate President purportedly cleared with fake National Assembly documents and the alleged First Degree saga of

Senator Dino Melaye is a violation of his fundamental right to fair hearing and freedom of expression as guaranteed by sections 36 and 39 of the extant Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and Articles 7(1) and 9(2) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act CAP A9 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

Plateau Killings: Jang Reiterates OGFZA’s Key Concerns Call for Ban on Open Grazing Dominate Global Trade Summit Seriki Adinoyi in Jos Following the resumption of violent attacks in Plateau State where over 60 persons have been murdered in the last two months, the Senator representing Plateau North in the National Assembly and former governor of the state, Jonah David Jang has reiterated his call for ban on open grazing, noting that now was the appropriate time for it to be outlawed.

In a statement signed by his media consultant, Mr. Clinton Garuba, the Senator said he felt the pain and suffering the recurring attacks had caused the people of his constituency in recent times, reassuring that one day the merchants

of evil who were terrorising the Middle-belt and other parts of the country would be brought to justice.

He said, “The coordinated attacks Plateau State has suffered over the years reveal a sinister plot to use the weapon of terror and barbarism to sack towns and villages, killing men, women, and children in service to an expansionist agenda conceived to seize and occupy the ancestral lands of our people. “The daring methods of the attackers which seem to confound the might and sophistry of Nigeria’s armed forces, seek to return the country to the dark ages despite great advancements in civilization.

It also calls to question, the will of government at all levels to secure the

lives and properties of its citizens.�

The statement added that the time had come for the federal government to review its strategy in dealing with violent conflicts especially where herdsmen were concerned. “There is therefore no gainsaying that the time is now most appropriate for open grazing to be outlawed. It is on this solemn conviction that the Senator hereby declares his unflinching support for the campaign seeking to prohibit open grazing, and at the same time call on the government of Plateau State to enact its own anti-open grazing law in the interest of our people and the longevity of the lives God in his provision chose to give us.

Four key issues in trade and investment that are central to the development plan of the Federal Government and the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA) were on the front burner at this year’s Global Trade Development Week (GTDW), a World Trade Organisation (WTO) conference on trade facilitation and development, which held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The issues were the ease of doing business, public-private partnership in investment promotion, compliance with laws and regulations governing trade and investment within each jurisdiction, and lowering cost of doing business.

OGFZA has placed a premium on these four concerns as must-address imperatives in its three-year roadmap

for the development of the nation’s oil and gas free zones.

The theme of the conference was, “Navigating Global Trade & Reviving Global Growth: Implementing TFA and enhancing capacity across the public and private sector.� TFA, for Trade Facilitation Agreement, a WTO trade protocol which came into force on 22 February 2017, seeks to lubricate trade among member nations of the WTO that have ratified it.

Delegates to the conference—which included four management staff of OGFZA—had the fortune of interacting with international experts in trade facilitation, international trade finance, customs administration, compliance issues and training—and also with other delegates from the MiddleEast, Asia, Australia, Europe and

the Americas. Opening the Global Trade Week with a welcome address, the Economy Minister of the UAE, Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, said the theme of the conference was about “facilitating cross-border trading through simplification of procedures at borders and administration requirements, providing information and electronic procedures which help save time, reduce costs and improve customs and logistics standards.� In a co-welcome address, a commissioner in the UAE Federal Customs Authority, Ali bin Soubih Alkaabi, said the outcome of the GTDW was expected “to enhance trade capacity and public-private partnership and dialogue to ensure the security of the international supply chain and facilitate global trade.�

Nigeria Calls for Reforms, Halt to 'Colonialism' in ILO PDP BOT Member Lauds Sportsmanship of 37 Parties Senator Iroegbu in Abuja

The Federal Government of Nigeria is leading Africa in the charge for reforms at the Governing Board of International Labour Organisation (ILO) through the removal of the vestiges of imperialism in the conduct of the affairs.

In a major push on Friday at the 331 Session of the Governing Board of the ILO currently holding in Geneva, Switzerland, Nigeria’s Minister of Labour and Employment, and the official Africa Region Spokesperson,

Sen. Chris Ngige succeeded in eliciting the support of other regions to stop the overbearing role of France and Britain in the conduct of the Regional Meetings of the ILO. Ngige in a statement issued by Deputy Director Press, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr. Samuel Olowookere, said Nigeria with the mandate of African countries had stoically canvassed against the participation of Non-members in regional meetings other than theirs, in Africa and South America, calling it a

continuation of colonisation.

The Minister in his address on behalf of the Africa Region said “with regards to participation in a Regional Meeting of a member state from another region, it bears repeating our earlier position adopting the principle that each Member State would be invited as a full member to only one regional meeting, with the Governing Body having the discretion of inviting on a case by case basis, any member state as an observer to other regional meetings.

A member of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Board of Trustees, Mrs. Justina Eze, has applauded the sportsmanship displayed by 37 out of the 40 registered political parties in Enugu State, in accepting defeat and endorsing the outcome of the November 4 Local Government Elections in the state.

Eze in a statement said that the gesture was rare and a clear proof that the elections were credible, free and fair and in conformity with international best practices, commending the Enugu State

Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC) for the feat.

The PDP BOT Member also hailed Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for fulfilling the promise he made to the people of the state that credible and peaceful Local Government Elections would be conducted in the state in 2017.

She added that the governor’s unprecedented achievements, despite the nation’s daunting economic challenges; his peace initiatives and commitment to the tenets of inclusive and participatory democracy; PDP’s vigorous

campaigns in all the nooks and crannies of the state, among others, saw to the landslide victory of the party at the polls, saying that “Enugu people are lucky to have Ugwuanyi as their governor�.

She frowned at the antics of “a few individuals�, who she said had failed in their attempts to discredit the exercise, advising them to display a sense of maturity and appreciate the fact that the present administration was peaceful and extremely focused on delivering the dividends of democracy to the people of the state.

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NOVEMBER 11, 2͸͹Ϳ ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

RingTrue

07013940521 yemi.adebowale@thisdaylive.com

Yemi

Adebowale

Gruesome Tales of Abductions Across Our Nation

I

t pours. This aptly describes rising cases of abductions and accompanying gory tales across our nation in the last 30 months. Daily, Nigerians pay millions of Naira to kidnappers to free their relations. These demons brutalise their victims in order to get huge money from their families.

In this process, many have been killed by these beasts. Unfortunately, our security agents have been lethargic in their response to this wickedness. There are scores of gruesome accounts of abductions in the last two weeks alone. This country has never had it so bad. I will reel out some of them; perhaps, it will touch the hearts of those running Nigeria.

Just on Monday, it emerged that a Briton, Ian Squire who was abducted on October 13 in Delta State, had been killed.

This was after the kidnappers had collected an undisclosed amount of money.

Three other Britons abducted with him were lucky to have survived the ordeal.

The four were working with a Christian medical charity in Delta State. “We are supporting the families of four British people who were abducted on October 13 in Nigeria, one of whom was tragically killed,” a British Foreign Office spokeswoman said.

About three weeks ago, kidnappers suspected to be herdsmen killed Reverend David Ayeola, who was the chaplain to the Bishop of the African Church, Ondo Central Diocese. The gunmen shot Ayeola dead in a failed rescue operation, after the church declined to pay the N100 million ransom demanded. The African Church had offered N500,000. Ayeola, the Bishop, Samuel Ojo; and the Bishop’s wife were travelling to Abeokuta, Ogun State, from Imojo Ekiti, Ekiti State, when they were waylaid by the gunmen. While others escaped, the chaplain was abducted by the gunmen. Ayeola was eventually killed by his abductors before they fled from security agents who stormed their den.

Also, three weeks ago, the Christian

Ian Squire

Education Director of the Evangelical Church Winning All (International), Jen Moses, was kidnapped by herdsmen between Jere and Bwari on the outskirts of Abuja. The kidnappers placed a call to the church and family members, demanding N100 million. While negotiation was on, the victim was severely dehumanised.

Eventually, his family and church members settled for a reduced N2.5 million ransom, which was openly paid near the village he was abducted. Moses spent days in hospital treating injuries he sustained after his abductors repeatedly beat him to force his relatives to pay higher ransom.

The kidnappers were furious after the breakdown of negotiation on the initial N100 million demanded, and resorted to beating their victim with rocks and stones.

As usual, the response from security agents was sluggish. In fact, rather than give the traumatised family of Reverend Moses information about what they were doing to rescue the poor man, it was the

other way round.

In Kogi State, two policemen attached to Dangote Company’s construction site along the Obajana-Kabba Road, were killed by kidnappers three weeks ago, while providing security for the Portuguese expatriates supervising road construction in the area. One of the expatriates, Jose Machada, was eventually abducted by the team of 15 better-armed kidnappers.

The elder brother of my colleague, Shaka Momodu was likewise abducted about three weeks ago by Fulani militants in Auchi. He was similarly severely assaulted, to force the family to pay a hefty ransom. This hapless man was almost killed before the family paid a ransom to the bastards. As typical, the security agents in Edo State were languid in their response.

Popular Edo-born musician, Osayomore Joseph, regained freedom just 16 days ago, after spending almost a month in the den of kidnappers. Osayomore, who was abducted on October 3, after performing at the coronation anniversary of Oba Ewuare II of Benin, was battered by his abductors, and he is currently in hospital. His family paid millions of Naira for his freedom.

These are just a few of the gory tales of abductions across our nation. Our initial problem was Boko Haram. Now, kidnappers, armed robbers and Fulani herdsmen are ravaging our nation.

There is hardly any state immune to one or more of these evils. Nigerians are living in fear. We are daily assaulted by well-coordinated gangs of kidnappers, armed robbers and herdsmen. Unfortunately, the response to these killings by the government and its security agents has been feeble. The truth is that serial kidnappings for ransoms are symptoms of a failed government.

I am scandalised that kidnapping now carries death penalty in many states, yet, we have not seen a

Welfare of Soldiers on the War Front I have persistently challenged the military leadership to address welfare issues of our gallant soldiers on the frontline in the North-east. Unfortunately, Defence Chief, Abayomi Olonisakin and his service chiefs have failed to respond appropriately. Just as I had hitherto reported, army chief, Tukur Buratai, on Monday confirmed that our gallant soldiers are being owed operational allowances running into three months. Tukur remarked: “Funds have been released from the Ministry of Defence to pay the outstanding operational allowances of troops fighting Boko Haram for the third quarter of 2017. The army will this week begin the payment of allowances owed the troops for the last two months accordingly. This is coming from the good news of the release of funds for the payment of operational allowances and logistics for the third quarter of 2017 from the Ministry of Defence.” Olonisakin, Sadiq Abubakar and Buratai should be embarrassed that soldiers on the war front are being owed as low as N600 feeding stipend per day. These three military chiefs have no business staying a day longer in office, because they have betrayed the trust of our gallant soldiers.

It took a letter from one of the brave soldiers on the war front to Buhari, before these commanders could admit the backlog of unpaid operational allowances.

The anonymous soldier, who claimed to be a private writing from Damaturu, alleged that the soldiers on the frontline were being poorly treated as a result of massive corruption in the army. He also exposed the numerous cases of soldiers injured on the battlefield and given little or no

Buratai

attention.

The brave soldier said in his letter to Buhari: “Your Excellency, corruption in the army is real and it is killing us. While we expect to die in the hands of the enemy, we don’t expect to die in the hands of the army, due to corruption and criminal negligence. Just the other week, about 14, (I am not sure of the exact number) of our colleagues died in the hands of Boko Haram who attacked their camp. The circumstances surrounding their unnecessary death warrant a full investigation by his Excellency. Sir, you will be shocked at the outcome. The bodies of the slain heroes are still lying here in Damaturu.

“This is the third month in a row that we have been denied of our operational allowance. We have to rely only on our meagre salary for everything. From battalion

commanders to company and sector leaders, we are all in debt, because our salaries are not enough to sustain us at the battlefield, let alone feeding our families back at home. It is a big shame that we have joined the army to defend the civilians, yet we have to go to the civilians in town to borrow money to fend for ourselves at the battlefield. Here, at the battlefront in Operation Lafiya Dole, the army spends about N600 per day on a soldier’s feeding, while in reality, billions of Naira is appropriated per year for this purpose. Your Excellency, we are treated like animals. Most of us are afraid to talk because of the dire consequences.”

Let me reiterate that our gallant soldiers are still ill-equipped. This is why Boko Haram often overruns them.

It is also for this reason that the terrorists easily sacked the Sasawa military post (near Damaturu) last month. I have spent the last 30 months drawing attention to this incongruity without result.

Because our soldiers are ill-equipped, Boko Haram strolled into Bakin Dutse village in Adamawa State on Monday, killed scores of people and even advanced to Gulak, the headquarters of Madagali Local Government Area before local hunters aided our gallant soldiers to stop them. Terrified residents of Bakin Dutse and Gulak have since fled the towns and are hiding in the bush, mountains, and hills around them. This morning, I am challenging Olonisakin and Buratai to relocate to Sasawa and Madagali respectively, and directly take charge of affairs.

single kidnapper executed anywhere in this country. All we hear from governments at all levels is mere rhetoric. Whether it’s the menace of kidnapping, armed robbery or rampaging herdsmen, the truth is that our security agents can no longer protect lives and properties, not only because they are ill-equipped, but also because of the high level of ineptitude in these organisations.

These outlaws have been emboldened by the failings of our security agencies. Criminals must be arrested and prosecuted. This is the standard in sane societies. Unfortunately, the reverse is the case in our dear country.

The level of insecurity in Nigeria is appalling. What a country! Commitment to the protection of lives must be restored. Our security agencies require total overhaul, if we genuinely need appropriate response to these security challenges. These agencies are under the federal government and the Buhari administration must respond appropriately to save unfortunate Nigerians from persistent cruelty of kidnappers.

Still on the Farce in Pentecostal Churches More Pentecostal pastors are joining the inglorious trend of having armed guards in their convoy; some even have these guards with them on the pulpit. They stand at alert on the podium while the pastor preaches.

Apostle Tom Samson, the General Overseer of Christ Royal Family International Church, Lagos and Bishop David Oyedepo of Winners Chapel are deep into this weird trend. They are more comfortable with their security in the hands of men. Clearly, these pastors preach conviction but have no faith.

I have also noticed this trend of asking their entranced followers to sow seed with money so that they can become rich. Haba! This is advance fee scam. No wonder emphasis is on prosperity preaching and payment of tithe in these churches instead of salvation.

They always invoke the Law of Moses to collect tithe and persistently threaten their followers not to join the few scrutinising them because “they are only answerable to God.” Our God is indeed merciful. On the flip side, the roforofo fight over money and property involving the founder and General Overseer of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries, Pastor Daniel Olukoya and two former pastors of MFM in the United States, should be an embarrassment to Christendom. For me, Christianity is about humility; it abhors materialism. But, here we have men of God fighting dirty over money and property.

For those who have not been following the story, there is an ongoing lawsuit instituted in Maryland, USA, by MFM International against Lawrence Adetunji and Ronke Adetunji, two former pastors of MFM Bowie, Maryland. Also joined in the suit are 11 former members of MFM in Bowie, as well as Christ the Truth Ministries.

The former MFM members broke away to form Christ the Truth Ministries, and took with them the assets of MFM Bowie.

Mr. and Mrs. Adetunji claimed that they worked for the assets and deserve to move with them to their new church. They took MFM’s properties, described as 5506 and 5503 Church Road in Bowie, Maryland, which were acquired in 2001 and 2004 respectively. For Olukoya, the property belongs to MFM headquarters by way of trust and should be returned to it. I quite agree with this submission. However, since Mr. and Mrs. Adetunji have clearly shown that they belong to Satan, I thought Pastor Olukoya would allow them to continue wallowing in deceit, hand them over to God and rebuild his church in the US from the scratch, instead of engaging in this worldly litigation. Unfortunately, Pastor Olukoya is also involved in this material roforofo fight.

I don’t understand this kind of Christianity.

Vengeance is mine, says the Lord.

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T H I S D AY SATURDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2017

Plus

LOUD WHISPERS AUTO GLOBAL SOCCER TEEN CONNECT FASHION FILE COVER

pg. 20 pg. 26 pg. 29 pg. 38 pg. 43 pg. 60

Femi Okunniyi

At 60, I Feel I Have Many Mountains to Climb

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER NOVEMBER 11, 2017

PLUS

How I Helped Build Goldlink Insurance to Be One of the Best Firms in Nigeria His silky, smooth face, suave looks belie his age. Femi Okunniyi was born to two farmers in the hinterland of Ayesan in Ondo State. Life was tough for him before he was able to rise above the doldrums of an impoverished existence through a dint of hard work and focus. From a humble background, he rose to sit atop an insurance empire. Today, Okunniyi is the Chairman, AraromiAyesan Oil Plc, the company where his parents once worked as peasant farmers. It is one amongst a retinue of other companies he chairs. Although he is a man of unsung glory, his life and career are hinged on diligence, the audacity of hope; a restless spirit and hunger for success. He is a lawyer, chartered insurer, an arbitrator, administrator and preacher of the gospel. A former Managing Director Goldlink Insurance, Okunniyi, the senior pastor and zonal superintendent of Foursquare Gospel Church, Arepo, on the outskirts of Lagos State, tells Adedayo Adejobi about his passion for insurance, love for his wife, and devotion to the vineyard

C

an you tell us about your background?

I was born 60 years ago in a village called Ayesan, Ondo State. It’s now a town surrounded by water. My late parents were farmers who worked in a company called Araromi Ayesan Plc, started by Obafemi Awolowo in 1955. Incidentally, I chair the company today and we are into palm oil production. I started my primary education at St Andrews Anglican Primary School.

My brother invited me to Lagos in 1969 after my primary education. Because of lack of money, I proceeded to a four-year programme evening school at Benevolent High School Surulere. I later completed my secondary school and moved to Yaba College of Technology. I began working in an insurance company

owned by Phoenix of London in 1976. I moved to Veritas Insurance Company and later to Goldlink Insurance which later became a public quoted company in 1992.

Starting Goldlink Insurance was a vision started by my mentor, Mr. Ralph Oluwole Osayanmeh.

We gathered and paraded the best brains in the industry with a view to changing the game. When we came, we turned around the face of insurance. Soon after, I became the managing director of the company.

We were aggressive as a brand in the market. Our promise was our bond. Our acid test was our ability to pay claims promptly, and that we did with ease. We earned a name and created a niche in the market.

What were the challenges you faced managing Goldlink Insurance?

There was the issue of the people management, inadequate capital and inability to raise funds within the marketplace. When I became managing director, I took the company to the stock exchange in 2008. To raise money in an economy faced with global financial crunch became a huge challenge. At that time, the Federal Government was increasing the capital of insurance companies, so meeting up with the recapitalisation was indeed a challenge. But the Lord saw us through.

employment as the chief executive ofďŹ cer of Goldlink Insurance, did you envisage you would go into the Christian ministry?

Yes, I did. I knew I was called into the ministry. When I gave my life to Christ, I knew God was taking me somewhere, and that He wanted to make use of me in the ministry. So I went to a Bible college to study more about theology. By the time I was inducted as a vocational pastor, I knew I was hearing from God.

What did you set out to become as a child?

I wanted to become a banker.

So what changed?

I call it Providence. When I started working in the insurance sector, I found joy in it, so I decided to stay.

How did you strike a balance between being a pastor and a businessman?

It could be a little bit difficult striking a balance as a pastor and a professional, but one of my spiritual fathers told me that being a pastor and a CEO, there could be conflicts.

But you need to strike a balance and know when to say no. There were

When you were leaving paid

NOVEMBER 11, 2017 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

19

PLUS How I Became Chairman of Company My Poor Parents Were Just Employees

The ministry has to do with thus say the Lord.

Perhaps it could be you that God could be speaking to, your followers may believe you, but sometimes they may also doubt you. There could be conflict. I thank God for the flock that God has made me shepherd upon. There has been wonderful cooperation between my council member, church of God and myself.

There has never been any conflict

so many compromising things as a pastor and chief executive officer that my position demanded of me, but which I didn’t do. I was very firm. I stood my ground, struck a balance and said no when the need arose.

In retirement, what keeps you busy?

In retirement, the ministry has kept me so busy such that I am involved at the board level of Foursquare Gospel Church Nigeria. I still sell Insurance. I get business; get an underwriter and play the role of an intermediary. That keeps me busy. I am never idle because I hate being idle. I am restless. There was a point in my life I was doing a professional course, attending a Bible college and studying law at the same time. I finished all the programmes simultaneously.

What’s the hardest part of the ministry for you?

Managing people; the ministry has to do with ‘thus says the Lord’.

Perhaps, it could be you that God could be speaking to, your followers may believe you, but sometimes they may also doubt you. There could be conflicts. I thank God for the flock that God has made me a shepherd upon. There has been wonderful cooperation between my council member, the church of God and myself. There has never been any conflict.

Pastors tend to read a lot. What kinds of books have you read that have shaped you?

I love reading. As an insurer, lawyer and pastor, I must read.

My books cut across management, entrepreneurship, motivation and religion. I read local and international authors.

Do you feel any sense of regrets in life?

No, I thank God. My heart is full of appreciation for how far he has brought me in life because I never knew I will get to this level in life because of my poor background.

For God to have taken me thus far, it could only be God, so I feel fulfilled in life. I have a beautiful wife who is very loving, romantic and takes care of me. God has given me four children of which three are married with children. With that and many more, I have no regrets.

Talking marriage, how did you meet your better half?

Our meeting was destined. We met as teenagers and decided not too long after then we were going to get married. In those days, there was no technology, so the first time I saw her, I knew this was the woman God wanted me to marry. I wrote a letter to her and was eager to get a reply from her. I didn’t get the reply on time, so I found a way to get in touch with her. She told me she would think about it. I went for the chase, and after some persuasion which took months, I got a reply from her agreeing to my proposal.

There and then we started our relationship. This year marks our 34th wedding anniversary.

What were those things you saw in her that made you decide she was the right choice?

It was her character. I saw her to be a quiet, intelligent, respectful and humble lady. I saw in her, inner beauty and someone whom I believe we could be together for life. I tested her in so many ways. She was a teacher. And that was the kind of profession I wanted, so that my wife

Okunniyi and wife

would be able to take care of our children and teach them. Foundation is very important to me, so that’s why I chose her – being a teacher.

And I thank God for it, no regrets.

Is that to say that 34 years in marriage have been a smooth ride?

Life is certainly full of ups and downs. If I tell you that we haven’t quarrelled for a day, I’ll be lying.

Each time we’ve had differences, we’ve been able to resolve it without a third party.

Who is more romantic?

I think we are both romantic. We spice up our marriage regularly. My wife likes us taking a walk around the estate, holding our hands, which I have not been doing regularly. We share good and tough moments together. Don’t forget I am a pastor and a teacher – I practise what I preach or teach.

What does feel it being a grandfather?

I feel ecstatic. Giving out one’s daughter in marriage is one of the things that every father looks forward to. It is scriptural. I feel so great because I gave out two daughters, who are twins, in marriage same day. They also married twins. It was a historic day of joy for me. I felt pains of joy giving out my twin daughters in marriage same day. As grandparents, my wife and I jubilated, lifted up our hands and hearts in praise, thanksgiving and adoration to God. It was fulfilling the scripture seeing our children’s

children.

What does it feel like being 60?

At 60, I feel young. Age is just a number. I feel healthy, young and great. Like the biblical Joshua, I feel I still have so many mountains to conquer.

What advice will you give advice young pastors just starting out?

Know the God that you serve and serve the God that you know. Love the Lord according to the scripture because the God we serve is a jealous God. Know God intimately, be righteous, be holy, serve him and do his will.

Does God ever change His Mind?

God can change his mind. He’s a righteous, holy and sovereign God. He does as he pleases and no one can question his authority. To that extent, God changes his mind.

Will there be sex in heaven?

I don’t think so. It’s a matter of opinion. The Bible says there is no marriage in heaven. My belief is that in heaven, there’ll be no male or female. We are all equal.

Are you saying those who rapture would be hermaphrodites in heaven?

I am not saying we’ll be hermaphrodites. I don’t think there’ll be room for sex in heaven because it’s a holy place where we’ll keep praising God day and night.

You are a very busy man, how

do you handle stress and pressure?

I thank God, I am a family man. I love playing with my children and grandchildren which reduces stress. I listen to gospel music – I like country music also. I enjoy singing. I play table tennis very well. Sometimes, when I want to relax, I read.

You’ve raised a lot of people, what’s the impulse behind it?

I like giving. I feel happy when I give. When you look at my background, having come this far with God’s help, I learnt the act of giving.

My wife can also give anything. We complement each other. There is nothing too small or too big for me to give. More so, Jesus gave His life, the best to us. I’ve not seen what can stop me from giving. From experience, when you give you receive.

Giving is a gift, so I thank God for the gift of giving.

There are two relatives, sons of my siblings who told me they got admission into higher institutions and I paid their school fees, just to find out three years later that it was a lie. The Holy Spirit ministered to me to find out, so I asked the parents to go. They found out that the boys were not in school. It pained me to my marrow.

The boy I trained and had first class and I never went to his school for a day. I paid the school fees and the father did the monitoring and gave me progress reports. I felt so excited that he came out of school with such result. I felt joy in my heart that I have not wasted my resources.

20

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ NOVEMBER 11, 2017 with JOSEPH EDGAR (09095325791)

LOUD WHISPERS

Ali

Hameed Ali and The Ghost of PDP If for nothing else, I really pity this PDP people because they have been so maligned that you begin to wonder what else they haven’t done. Lay every blame from the weather, to the inability to perform in the other room on their doorstep. The PDP is the source and the continued cause of our problems. They have made our children turn to drugs, turned our wives into harlots and have even turned our pastors to thieving vagabonds. This same PDP has rendered the government ineffective with the way they have cornered governance and put their people in strategic places, thereby rendering all attempts by the government to fight and put us out of the economic doldrums ineffective. Come on now, this song is so stale that it is now becoming irritating. The statement by Mr. Ali, a man I have such tremendous respect for with his actions at the customs was just the icing on the cake and for me quite annoying. Labelling incompetence and ineffectiveness within the government as agents of PDP is to say the least infantile. In my mind’s eye, this government is doing relatively well especially in curbing excessive government spending, blocking some leakages, and seemingly taming inflation but in general, we are still in the woods and with this continuous blame game that does not seem to end, it is beginning to dawn on Nigerians that just maybe, the second stanza would be a song of hopelessness.

Please, the PDP as we know them are not in government and as such do not have the powers to cause all these problems.

We voted for APC and we expect them to work. Truly we are really getting tired of this PDP song and if they are the ones causing all these wahala, let them kuku come back na and then we know who or what we are facing. My lord, let’s seek solutions and redirect our energies rather than spending so much time and effort in labelling our problems. Sir, our problem is not PDP and the sooner we realise that, the better for us. I have said my own.

EFCC vs DSS : Let’s Have this Fight Well, we have just been told that some DSS operatives are refusing to honour invitations by the EFCC, who are investigating something. Well, in this battle I find it very difficult to take sides as both of them are my friends. Look, I have been a guest of the EFCC and I really enjoyed myself the days I spent with them. Their officers are courteous and professional.

They even bought Chicken Republic food for me and when my tears were no longer controllable they hugged me and encouraged me to stop crying. I still remember the face of the agent as he told me ‘that this is what makes a man; travails like these will strengthen you.” But I looked at him and with tears in my eyes, I asked, why this kind of travail, why not the travail of choosing between the Senator Ben Bruce most beautiful girl and Fidelis Anosike’s Miss Nigeria, that is the kind of travail I deserve, not this kind. He looked at me with his kind eyes and smiled. They loved me and treated me well, making me even want to look forward to another opportunity. That is the EFCC I know. On the other hand the DSS are another wonderful people. I have been their guest too at the Shangisha office when my madam was involved in a minor road mishap with one of their cars. They took us inside and were very nice and courteous. Although they did not give us food which is very hard to forgive, they still treated us with respect and at the end of the day, we laughed over

Magu

Daura

Command School Alumni Alex Ekwueme: Shomolu Prays For You I was in Accra over the weekend when the initial rumours started circulating. I was worried and placed calls trying to confirm the news. Thankfully, your family has come out to proclaim your continued existence. Sir, you remain an icon to those of us in Shomolu who have followed your emergence as the Vice President during the second republic and the continued role you are playing in our national development. You see, people like you have remained moderate, calm and very didactic in your approach to issues. You have shown what we can do as a nation if we could rise above the primordial divisions that continue to limit our growth and cohesion as a people. You have paved the way for the young ones to follow in the spirit of co-existence and mutual trust. So you see why we in Shomolu are not taking this your situation lightly. We have completed plans to carry out serious prayers and fasting for your health. We would shut down all beer parlours in Shomolu by 6pm daily for five days so that everybody would have enough time to join the fellowships. We have designated the UNA Primary school as the praying ground for all faith, as we jointly send supplication to the God we worship for His guidance and protection. As the devil is wont to

do, we had a small confusion with positioning. The Muslims wanted a particular part of the field so that they could face the East while the Orisa people needed the same place because their masqueraders needed the space to stretch their legs after running and walking round the whole of Shomolu with your portraits. The good thing about us is our belief in dialogue, so we got the three leaders, the Islamic head, the Christian head and the orisha of the igbogunnu shrine and over bottles of you know what, we settled amicably and everybody was happy. So we have your portrait at the centre of the field guarded by seven virgins and then we have the Christians to the northern side of the field, the Muslims on the eastern side and the orishas to the west. Furthermore, the beer parlours are located just outside the fence because we may not have enough energy to walk to the bars to re-energise after such a long time, fasting and praying. As soon as we finish the prayers we would just jump in and refuel. So my lord, God is in control, we are with you for you are a good man. The Lord’s wish will be done in your life as we send a tripartite of prayers to the heavens in supplication for your continued good health. We wish you well, Shomolu prays for you.

the whole thing. So you see why it is very difficult for me to take sides in this fight because I have been compromised. This wahala between these two organisations reached its peak when it was alleged – note I am using the word “alleged” because I know some people will be reading this article with a toothpick, looking for what to use to catch me. I don’t even know why I am looking for trouble like this, but as the EFCC man told me, a man must be a man.

So I continue, ALLEGED to have written a report against the confirmation of Ibrahm Magu at the Senate. Ever since I do not think there has been any love lost between the two agencies. For me, this thing can be resolved easily. I think we should have a national debate, televised live, between the

two organisations on the topic, Charly boy - a hero or national nuisance. This I believe will resolve the matter once and for all.

Seriously, I think it is not healthy for this cold war betweenDSS and EFCC. The need for them to work harmoniously cannot be overemphasised if we are going to achieve anything in this administration. Enough of the pettiness, let’s shake hands and build mutual trust for the benefit of all Nigerians.

So by this, I am challenging both parties to honour this my request, let’s go live on TV and have this debate. English should not be the problem. Let’s do this guys.

A Soldier’s Tale You know when you see some things online you have to be very careful as you

Buratai

assimilate it especially when you are writing this kind of very important column.

Yes o, my column is very important o. You will not believe. The other day, I went to the newstand at Shomolu and immediately I got there, all the free readers jumped up and screamed, “loud whispers baba’’, who you go yab next week? Abeg help us yab Ambode, leave am abeg, yab Osinbajo. But why you never yab Buratai before? “Loud whispers, baba oya buy us kparaga make we enjoy your money small.” So this kind of adulation from this very prominent Nigerians puts a lot of responsibility on my shoulders. A burden of proof, objectivity and a strong reliance on facts as I write.

So you can imagine my thought process when I read this soldier’s story on the sufferings they are going through on the battle ground. The story was pungent and highly touching and almost drove me to tears. But even as I query its authenticity, I am reluctant to believe its veracity. But the question kept dogging me throughout the night. Are our soldiers going through these kinds of harrowing experiences, are they being so neglected to the point that they are left with no option than to go borrow monies from civilians? I dread and fear the answers? I pray this is not true, I pray this letter is fake and does not carry the truth regarding the lives of our heroes. Kai, I pray someone will come out and dispel these allegations and not just feed us with the usual official position that would flower the issue, dodging the truth. God, our soldiers should be treated like the heroes that they are. They should be rewarded for laying down their lives to protect the integrity of our nation. Can someone come out and tell me that this is all a ruse? pleaseeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

A Dirge for an Apology – to you the Knight How do you say sorry for a cry for help?

How do you feel apologetic when you have been wronged at so many levels with no recompense, no warm hug? How do you stare at yourself after you have been bullied to show respect for one that already has your respect but will not lift a finger to pull you out of the cesspit of pity? As you sit in the corner of the dingy hole, your loyalty and hard work have thrown you in, your mind wonders to the eagerness to make a difference as you handshake he that you have taken as a father at the beginning of the journey. Your loneliness and apparent stupidity hit you like a ton of concrete and you suddenly realise that you remain the lone soldier in this battle you never knew the beginning. You feel used and dumped. You see the cockroach creep towards you and with a smirk on its blind face, it laughs at you and queries your loyalty in the face of a beholden treachery. But you smile back and remind the castrated cockroach that loyalty is what you were born with, and cemented with the pseudo-military training you received at Command. I respect and love my leader the Knight. I fear and remain loyal to him and would be the last to turn my back. As I work in bowed head, tears cascading my blurry eyes, wishing that things could be different, I am left alone in my melancholy, too weak to even contemplate a face-off, reluctant to stand before my lord in defiance, for I remain your boy, your servant, your soldier and a platform you will continually use to achieve your goals in life. I remain your boy and humble servant.

Fear not. I love you sir, my Knight and my Gucci-wearing oga. All this can be resolved if you could just buy me a bottle of Coca Cola sir, na beg.

21

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͚͚˜ ͺ͸͚Ϳ

SPY GLASS

with .... 08054680651 disclosed details about the project.

While many also claimed it might be yet another of his numerous publicity stunts.

RECOGNITION FOR QUINCY AYODELE

SIJIBOMI OGUNDELE

SIJIBOMI OGUNDELE’S TALL DREAM? Sijibomi Ogundele, famously known as Sujimoto, is one of the big players in the nation’s real estate business.

He has been able to make a lasting statement with his innovation in the industry. His sole objective is to redefine luxury in the real estate industry in the country.

But he seems to have a big challenge realising one of his dreams, which is to construct the tallest building in Lagos.

The planned 25-storey building called Lorenzo, which is to be sited on Bourdillion Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, had earlier been introduced with fanfare at an eyebrow hotel in Ikoyi.

Sadly, there has not been any development on the property after that initial outing that whetted the appetite of stakeholders, a situation that puts him in bad light in the industry.

In fact, it was gathered that many investors went for his jugular, claiming the whole thing was nothing but a fraud. It was also reported that he nearly dumped the business and ran out of the country for safety.

In the face of the unsavoury development, he kept a low profile, making many wonder if could return to the industry with the same gusto with which he launched himself in the industry years back.

However, like a true fighter, the young man is said to be nursing another dream. He is planning a project on Banana Island: high-end luxury terrace houses. The project, it was gathered, would commence before the end of the year. He is said to have raised over N1bn from local investors for the project.

Sources claimed that this hefty investment is the reason he took to the social media to post a cryptic message: “The storm is over�, while also declaring his wedding plans.

But critics maintain that it may be another tall dream, as he has not yet

Twenty years ago, Quincy Ayodele, a top society lady and boss of Quincy Herbal, opened her shop to add value to humanity via her kind of business.

Over the years, she has taken some steps to step up her game, one of which was launching the products in the international market.

Interestingly, the efforts are paying up, as the organisers of world-acclaimed biggest entertainment award ceremonies, Grammy and Oscars, are set to honour him.

The wholly Nigerian brand, Quincy Herbal, has emerged as the only Nigerian brand and one of the world-famous companies with the ‘Swag Bag’ for recipients of the 2018 Grammy and Oscar Awards.

The ‘Swag Bag’, which is usually given to award nominees, contains various gift items and is believed to be worth over $100,000. It has become a regular part of the Oscars and Grammys awards for years.

Basking in the new height brought into the rebranding of the natural health company by her American trained daughters, Tobi Trevor-Keeney, who is now the Managing Director, and Marital AyodeleAbdul, Executive Director operations, she will be giving out two of the biggest products on her shelf at the event.

The Quincy Herbals Skin Illuminating C-Serum, is an anti-aging product that helps fade dark spots, patches and acne scars. It has 20% of the most potent, stable form of vitamin C with Hyaluronic acid. The C-Serum will be in the ‘Swag Bag’ to be given to all presenters and performers for the Grammys scheduled for January 2018 while the Detox Tea will be the only weight loss aid to be featured in the ‘Swag Bag’ to be given to all nominees in the Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actors categories at the event.

IBB’S UNENDING LOVE SONG

Every warrior has his own wish in life.

For former military President, Ibrahim Babangida, his greatest wish is to see his late wife, Maryam Babangida, return to life.

As December 27 is fast approaching, the former military president will be remembering his wife, who died of ovarian cancer some years ago in the United States of America.

At a recent inaugural lecture titled, “The Nigerian Woman, Before, During and After the Better Life for Rural Women: A Salute to Maryam Babangida,� he disclosed that he would establish a scholarship programme in memory of his late wife.

QUINCY AYODELE

LOVETH OGEDENGBE PLANS ORANGE AWARD

REMI TINUBU

After several months of deliberation and planning, the much-publicised Orange Awards ceremony is set to hold this month in Port Harcourt, Rivers State The promoter, Loveth Ogedengbe, who is also the publisher of Orange Magazine, said the event aimed at recognising and honouring individuals and groups who are icons in their chosen endeavours, while also impacting the populace through employment, acts of benevolence and capacity building, among others.

According to the graduate of Adult and Community Education, guests expected at the event include captains of industry and traditional rulers, among others.

JIMOH IBRAHIM’S ANTICS Jimoh Ibrahim, Chairman and CEO, Energy Group, is not new to controversies.

His antics don’t come as a surprise to those who know him too well. In fact, his bag of tricks is never empty.

He has been enmeshed in many controversies in the past that left many in wonderment. He has mastered his gambit so well and it’s now second to none.

But if you think you have seen enough of his tricks, you are wrong. How? For some days now, the Harvard Universitytrained businessman has been dancing the dance of victory following the Appeal court pronouncement declaring him the rightful owner of Newswatch newspaper.

But many say that the Ondo State-born businessman lawyer should rather not be over-joyous, as the last has not yet been heard of the case.

The recent development has further forced many to take another look at his life. Sometime in 2006 when he bought 60% stake in the defunct EAS Airline owned by former governor of Kogi State, Captain Idris Wada, he promised to salvage the company. But things went from bad to worse until the airline which was renamed Nicon Airline was grounded.

Some staff of the defunct airline recently slammed a bankruptcy suit on him and demanded that he pays them their outstanding salary arrears.

Also, in 2008, he bought Mirror Newspapers from its former publisher, Prince Emeka Obasi. He promised heaven and earth for the staff, but the promise was not kept; hence, the business collapsed like a pack of cards.

In 2010, he bought the former Virgin Airline brand and renamed it Air Nigeria. At the time, many people were skeptical about the acquisition. One year later, he proved them right, as he ran it aground in his usual manner.

REMI TINUBU KEEPS PARTY FAITHFULS GUESSING

At every point in time, her name keeps popping up in public discourse. People talk about her either because she is the wife of the former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu or because she is a beautiful woman and a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. But beyond this, she is often spoken about because of her uncommon philanthropic gestures, a situation that has endeared her to the common people in her constituency and in other parts of the state. She is loved especially by the less privileged, widows and the elderly who are the major beneficiaries of her philanthropic gestures.

She has successfully etched her name in the sands of time. The people in her constituency in Lagos Central where she was first elected in 2011 have enjoyed good representation.

However, unlike many in her category that would want to remain in the Senate as long as they enjoy the goodwill, Spyglass gathered that the woman of substance is planning to tow the path of noble men and women across the world by quitting when the ovation is loud. A source informed us that she might not seek for re-election back to the Upper Chamber in 2019. The source revealed that this decision is largely connected to her philosophy of life; to give chance to the new breed especially the younger ones. Another source hinted that another reason for her decision was that she had completely lost confidence in the Senate and she would rather stay away from it.

Currently, there have been intensive lobby among top politicians to replace her, notable among them is Senator Musiliu Obanikoro who recently dumped his former political party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Although it is too early to ascertain if the former High Commissioner to Ghana would be given the ticket a la carte, the source revealed. Obanikoro had earlier represented the constituency under the Alliance for Democracy, AD in 2003.

JIMOH IBRAHIM

IBRAHIM BABANGIDA

QUINCY AYODELE

22

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ NOVEMBER 11 , 2017

SUPER SATURDAY Florence Ifeoluwa Otedola Aka Dj Cuppy

The Pains and Gains of Being Femi Otedola’s Daughter Warm, confident, humble, and creative, with a good head for business, she has revolutionised the craft of generating sound that makes people hit the dance floor. Within a short while, she’s stood like a colossus in a male-dominated field. Although born with a silver spoon, she takes life seriously and is comfortably in the league of highest-paid disc jockeys in Africa. Yet, she continues to dream big.

Twenty-five-year-old daughter of Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola, Florence Ifeoluwa, aka DJ Cuppy is a global disc jockey and producer. In this interview, she tells Adedayo Adejobi about her music career, future collaborations, family and talents

Y

ou recently collaborated with Tekno. What informed that?

I am really excited about my new project Green Light with launched three weeks ago. It’s my first official single.

It’s exciting for me because I decided to move back to Nigeria, and I’ve decided that this is where I want to make home having lived abroad for a long time.

As for disc jockeying, I’ve been working hard building my brand and I feel it’s time to make my original sound. For a lot of DJs, g J, they collaborate te with artistes. I chose Tekno because he is an amazing, creative, always making great music. I value him a lot. We’ve always wanted d to work together and this happened to bee the project we embarked on; I am really proud of it. I think it’s a great song. We wrote te and co-produced it. And I’m really happy; py; I woke up this morning to a million viewss on YouTube. I fell the song is doing well and d I’m proud of it.

What’s the idea behind ‘Greenlight’?

‘Greenlight’’ signifies moving forward.

I am using green en light as an indication of moving forward ard to the next level. It signifies a change in my y position.

With the Tekno ekno collaboration, would you still be a Disc Jockey?

Yes. People know I sang a bit on the song

and that’s a way of expressing me. I am foremost a DJ, and my ambition is to remain a DJ. The plan is to infuse my music into my set. I love my country, is my cover of an original song by Tunji Oyelana. That’s the way I entered the market. I look back and feel the project was great, patriotic, as it came at a time when Nigeria was going through rough times. It was an opportunity to talk about old songs young people don’t know about. I think it was a great way to come out because it was different. Greenlight is the sound I love - it’s Afrobeat. I really y love Nigeria. g You are moving from being just a DJ to producing music. How much of house music should people expect?

I love House music and that comes from living abroad. Having spent my last year in London, everyone loves Nigerian music.

There’s never been a time Afro music has been on such a pedestal. When I first started to DJ, I used to be scared to play Nigerian music abroad because they’ll book me for shows and expect me to play their music.

Over the last five years, everything has changed and people will book me abroad, and say they want just Nigerian music.

Sometimes you have to break thee rules. I’m so proud of where it’ss come and the fact that I can fuse both, and don’t have to worry about playing

I love House music and that comes from living abroad. Having spent my last year in London, everyone loves Nigerian music. There’s never been a time Afro music has been on such a pedestal.

When I first started to DJ, I used to be scared to play Nigerian music abroad because they’ll book me for shows and expect me to play their music

music from all countries.

What’s the unique essence of being a DJ, as opposed to being an artiste?

DJ’s get a lot more opportunities to express ourselves, as we are not restricted to our own songs. I feel like I get to eat my cake and have it. I play other peoples’ songs and mine. I have more control over my creativity.

I have a lot more catalogue I can get away with, and I think it’s amazing.

The BBC documentary on you seems to have p put y you on the global stage. What opportunities have come through as a result of that?

I did the BBC documentary titled, ‘Lagos in London’.

They followed me and other Nigerians.

I did a lot of school visits.

Took them to Epe where I am was ffrom. fr ro om m. IItt w aass a

great piece globally broadcast. It helped me not only in Nigeria but in London. I would walk on the streets of London and people would stop me. It was important for people to understand that despite being from Nigeria while living in the UK, we still have our heritage and are proud of what we do. I, however, wasn’t happy with the piece because they’ve really decided to show one side of my character in particular. I was happy they showed for once, educated, exposed, Nigerians living abroad. I watch TV in the UK and the US, and unfortunately, they I wasn’t y show bad images g of Nigerians. g happy with the perception that I was discjockeying because it was fun to do and that I didn’t take my job seriously.

DJ Cuppy takes Africa. What’s the idea?

It’s a personal show I am very proud of because my company produces the show for fox around eight countries in Africa, and it was me telling my stories, the struggle, highs and lows. For once, I got to show the world I am not perfect. Maybe because of my father, a lot of people assume everything runs smoothly all the time but it’s not so.

Sometimes good, some are bad. My work takes a lot of mental discipline, work and stress. The show has helped increase my popularity in Africa. The project is huge, as it takes 30 people across Africa. I did it in 2015, there were financial problems, but things haven’t picked up since the project is heavily dependent on sponsors and partners. With green light and some of the things I am doing, I am sure by summer of 2018, I’ll be in great position to do it again.

Are you making enough money from disc jockeying?

I am making money. It’s important to make money. Am I running at a profit? No. I make a personal choice of branding myself, so I have higher costs than a lot of people because I put a lot of my money into my business. With everything I do, I have a reputation for doing things differently.

Thee reality is that I T Th

NOVEMBER 11, 2017 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

23

SUPER SATURDAY

L-

I Could Sing Fela’s ‘Yellow Fever’ Before I Could Talk generate revenue, but I have a lot of costs.

Some may call them unnecessary costs, but I feel that it’s really important that anything you do must be done well. I may not be rising in profit, but my brand is rising in value every year. It’s all about creating a name that has value, and I believe that can later turn into profit.

the music industry. Are there plans to collaborate with her?

Tolani is my oldest sister and I’m very excited for her because she’s been doing music for a while. It’s nice the world finally gets to hear her. I think it will be great to collaborate with my sister. Our house is never quiet. It’s full of creativity.

But where would you be without your father’s name?

I don’t ever shy away from the fact that my father helps me because when I was younger and less confident in my skin, I used to bother about it. I am actually really proud of being associated with him. My dad is a great guy - and dad. He’s done a lot supporting me financially and morally. He tells me when I’m right and wrong. What he’s done in the area of disc jockeying, is that it’s created curiosity. If I wasn’t my father’s daughter, I would still have my skills set and would be just as passionate. The disadvantage is that they’ll say, she’s not that good because she’s Femi Otedola’s daughter. There are plus and minus being his daughter. I’m more prone to assumptions. I can do a really good DJ set but just because someone may have a problem with my dad, or may not just be happy, they’ve already decided I am a bad DJ.

The Otedolas seem to be fast becoming a household showbiz powerhouse. Does that really run in the family?

Showbiz has been with me while growing up. My dad loves music. In the past, he did some work with Shina Peters. Music has always been something we’ve always loved.

My dad used to tell me stories of when he used to go to Fela’s Shrine, so he’s been, my favourite artiste. Before I began to talk, I could sing ‘Yellow Fever’ by Fela. Because I come from a social family, we love music, parties. I love meeting people. So, showbiz comes from home.

You once said people should not look at your father, but your talent. Has the perception gap been closed?

I feel it’s changing. I’ll rather work with a Tekno than a Davido. It makes me feel like a credible musician. I understand and I can make good music. I don’t think anyone would say I like ‘Greenlight’ because it’s Femi Otedola’s daughter’s song. I am still working on it, but I think it’s changing.

Your sister, Tolani, has officially joined

How close are you to your dad?

My dad and I are the most similar (in the family). We have the same personality and are very close. I don’t want to say I am the closest, but we are probably the closest. My dad and I are the same sign; we share a lot of character traits. It was my dad’s birthday last week and it’s mine a week after. We are very similar, so when we have our family meeting, my dad and I are always in one corner, and then my mum and my sisters (in another corner). Because we are so close and similar, we clash sometimes. My mum is an amazing entrepreneur who’s also moulded me to what I am. She taught me how to run what I’m doing as a business regardless of how big or small it is. I can only hope that I am a parent, half as good as my parents are.

DJ’s are beginning to sing; almost becoming a trend now. Are you any different?

Jimmy Jatt has literally become the father figure for Nigerian DJs and it’s amazing what he did. After Jimmy Jatt came amazing people. It’s so important I create my own path. I’m coming out with my first single and I’m literally singing. Whatever I do, I want to be different. I used to say, I’ll like to look back and say, ‘Cuppy was the one who opened doors for female DJs.’ But I take that back because I feel I shouldn’t constrict myself. I want to be the person that pushed the buttons and did different things, especially for young people. I am 25 and this is such a pinnacle point in my career where it’s not a joke. All the things I’ve got to do, I have to start doing them now. I want to be Cuppy - to be that brand that did things differently. It’s really important that whatever I’m doing, I do well.

Who’s your biggest inspiration, and who do you have respect for most?

It’s so hard because my inspiration has changed over the years. As a young person, I’d look up to someone for something; I’d conquer it and walk away. When I get there, I’ll look for another inspiration. Every successful person I’ve met never says they have one role model. I surround myself with different people and pick the good, leaving the bad.

What are your struggles being a female DJ? Being a woman is so difficult. I have to deal with being Femi Otedola’s daughter.

Also, being young is hard in our country. A lot of people look down on young people.

When I go abroad I deal with being black.

I’m always up against something. But I’ve learnt to almost work twice harder to achieve. I’m probably very hard on myself, and that makes me uncomfortable. I move very quickly. I don’t celebrate things and that has helped me not to get comfortable because I’ve seen the struggles women have as DJs. I am grateful for whatever reason God has brought me at a time Nigerian music is at the forefront. Women DJs are getting more support.

For how long are you looking to be a DJ? I still consider myself young. I have to make some decisions and think about the future. My dad always tells me if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. I have more to offer music-wise. On the other side, I’ve been more involved in my dad’s business.

With a huge family business, aren’t you looking to succeed your father?

Before I was a DJ, my dad was training me to get my trading licence. If I wasn’t disc-jockeying, I’ll be an oil trader in the office and probably be complaining about how boring it is. Probably, too, making more money than I do now. For me, it’s happiness over money. Having said that, just because I decided not to be an oil trader, doesn’t mean I can’t get involved. Particularly with his company, Forte Oil, I would like to engage in renewable energy - whether solar energy or wind power. I’ve worked with my dad. With a bachelor’s degree in Economics, I’m very well equipped to do it. I think my dad has built something unique and his legacy must live on. But I am hundred per cent dedicated to my brand, and I would love to see it grow.

Even though I get into his business, I would love to see mine grow so there can be more ‘Cuppies.’

Music Runs in the Family, Even My Dad Worked with Shina

24

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž VEMBER 11, 2017

THE ALTERNATIVE with Reno Omokri President Buhari’s Unnatural Attraction to Ex-President Jonathan Reno Omokri

n Tuesday, the 7th of November, 2017, President Buhari presented a budget proposal of N8.6 trillion for 2018 which he styled as a budget of consolidation. A cursory look at the budget however shows that the only thing that it consolidates on is the fact that this administration lives by borrowing.

Young people who are applauding President Buhari’s so-called budget of consolidation should be aware that it is largely funded by debt that they and their children will keep paying off long after President Buhari’s has quit the scene. In short, Buhari will spend, but they will pay.

To show you how this administration has mortgaged the future of Nigerian youths, a full one quarter of the entire budget, or 2.014 trillion, will be spent on debt servicing. Mind you, debt servicing means that only the interest is being paid, not the capital borrowed. Under the Peoples Democratic Party, Nigeria was doing debt repayment!

My question to those Nigerians celebrating President Buhari’s N8.6 trillion budget is this: what did you gain from the 7.44 billion he budgeted last year? No infrastructure, late or no salary payment, hyperinflation?

And I laughed when the President talked about improving healthcare. If the Buhari administration can’t successfully manage Aso Rock clinic that is under their nose, how do you think they can manage the nation’s health sector?

And even Femi Adesina, the President’s spokesman, got tired of listening to the fairytale his boss was presenting on Tuesday at the 2018 budget presentation that he fell asleep. I tweeted the picture on my Twitter Timeline. Can you blame him?

Former President Jonathan never budgeted up to 5 trillion but we felt the impact of his budgets.

Each year President Buhari budgets twice the amount of money that Jonathan budgeted yet every year Nigerians get twice the suffering they had under PDP. Jonathan never budgeted more than N4.6 trillion. Buhari regularly budgets N8 trillion and above (N8.6 trillion is his latest budget). How come Nigerians paid N87 Naira per litre of fuel and N8,000 for a 50kg bag of rice under Jonathan’s N4.2 trillion budget and N145 for fuel and N20,000 for rice under President Buhari’s N8.6 trillion budget? Yet Jonathan was allegedly corrupt while Buhari is allegedly a man of integrity?

And immediately after the budget presentation, the administration went back to its favorite pastime: Blame Gaming former President Jonathan.

Sometimes I wonder if President Buhari has an unnatural attraction to the handsome former President Jonathan with the way he is always mentioning his name.

Buhari mentions Jonathan more than he mentions Aisha’s name! Is this normal? If he can’t perform in the economy (and perhaps in other places) it is Jonathan. He goes to London for treatment, it is Jonathan that caused it. The ‘technically’ defeated

Buhari Boko Haram attacks a military base, it is Jonathan. Are we sure that President Buhari does not see Jonathan pursuing him in his dreams? Or does Jonathan make him have wet dreams?

Could it be that the President and members of his administration are living in one big bubble? If not, why do they persist in the fallacy that things in Nigeria are heavenly today, whereas they were hell under the PDP? On Wednesday, the 8th of November, 2017, the minister of information who is aptly named Lai (pronounced Lie) Mohammed said: �It will be a tragedy for Nigeria to fall back into the hands of PDP. They dropped us in hell and we are taking people out of hell.�

For those who may buy into Lai’s PDP is hell, APC is heaven analogy, let me ask you if the Federal Government (not state) ever owed you salary under PDP? How much was petrol under PDP? What was the exchange rate of dollar under PDP? If APC is heaven, Nigerians would rather go to hell!

On the day former President Jonathan handed over to President Buhari, your N18,000 minimum wage could buy you: * 18 bags of cement * 2 bags of 50kg rice * A return ticket to Abuja from Lagos.

Today your N18,000 can’t buy you even half of each of the items above, yet Buhari says he has ‘fixed’ Nigeria and Lai Mohammed calls the new improved Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari heaven? Really?

In this ‘heaven’ of Lai Mohammed, herdsmen kill Nigerians in

Plateau State almost on a daily. How many people were killed in the Southeast before the President sent troops there for ‘Operation Python Dance’? When will he send troops for an Operation Herdsmen Dance in Plateau? Or is this the President’s population control strategy?

The Nigerian Army that was willing to kill 347 Shiite men, women, children and infant because Shiites delayed the convoy of the chief of army staff is now suddenly paralyzed in the face of herdsmen who are daily killing Nigerians in their tens and sometimes hundreds in Plateau and all over the Middle Belt!

Would the fact that these killer herdsmen are of the same ethnicity as President Buhari have anything to do with the Nigerian Army’s unwillingness to deal with them the way they dealt with Shiites and IPOB and the government’s refusal to classify them as terrorists even when the World Economic Forum tags them terrorists?

And Nigerians will just keep pretending the Head of Service did not expose President Buhari as a liar and his anti-corruption war as a farce? The only cloth the emperor had was anticorruption. Now that the Maina affair has unclothed him, shall we pretend the emperor is not naked?

Has someone performed mass hypnosis on Nigerians? One man at the NNPC awarded $25 billion worth of contracts without due process. The board did not meet. The Vice President denied approving the contracts. And now the President presents a budget where he will borrow $5.5 billion and we are quiet!

Last month when I said that Evans the kidnapper should join the All Progressives Congress if he wants his freedom, the APC attacked me. Apparently, Maina took my advice!

That is why when President Buhari reminded Nigerians that the whistle blower lines were still open during his budget presentation, I sincerely believed that the President should have used the line he was advertising to blow the whistle on himself for his immense failure of leadership on all fronts.

But I don’t blame him. I blame those 15 million Nigerians who believed that a man who should be in a retirement home quietly collecting his pension would be able to fulfill his promises of ‘three million jobs per year’ and ‘ensure that the Naira was equal to the dollar in value, if voted into office’!

Reno’s Nuggets How can a congregation’s offering build a school whose fees is too exorbitant for the very children of the congregation whose offerings paid for it? How can a shepherd fly in a multi-million dollar plane and live the lifestyle of the extremely rich and famous while the sheep under his care can’t feed themselves and their children? Jesus fed five thousand in the mountain, but today five thousand feed the shepherd on the mountain. Religion blinds the eyes of the people while godliness opens their eyes. Selah #RenosNuggets Reno Omokri Bestselling author of Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years: Chibok, 2015 and Other Conspiracies.

NEWS

Ikoyi Billions: Whistle Blowers Protest Non-payment of Commission Galadima, also alleged that those who facilitated the recovery of the monies were three and not one as claimed by the EFCC. Galadima, in his letter titled, “Request for payment of reward/commission due to whistle blowers who facilitated the recovery of sums of monies at No. 7B, Osborne Tower, Ikoyi, Lagos

by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission� and dated October 10, 2017, said: “My clients, being aware that the aforesaid sums were discretely warehoused and concealed in the Ikoyi address approached me with a view to informing the Federal Government of Nigeria through the EFCC of the existence and location of the monies. “Consequently, I facilitated a meeting between my clients and an official of the EFCC (Ahmed Ghali to be precise) which led to the monies being discovered and ultimately forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria pursuant to a final forfeiture order of the Federal High Court made on 6th June 2017 and 24th July 2017 respectively. “Enclosed herewith are duly acknowledged copies of the said letters for ease of reference. Please note that the discovery was as a direct result of my clients’ efforts and consequently,

I respectfully urge Your Excellency to use your good offices to facilitate the prompt payment of the reward/ commission due to my clients. “This will go a long way in gaining the confidence of the citizens over the laudable whistle blowing policy. While counting on your avowed commitment to fighting corruption in Nigeria, please remain assured of my professional regards.�

Magu, who spoke at the 7th Session of the Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption in Vienna, was quoted as saying that the whistle blower was already a millionaire by virtue of the percentage he was officially entitled to. “We are currently working with the young man because this is a man who had never seen N1 million of his own before. “So he is now undergoing counseling on how to make good use of the money and also the security implications. “We don’t want anything bad to happen to him after taking delivery of his entitlement. He is a national pride,� the EFCC boss said.

Magu called on Nigerians who want positive change in the country to take advantage of the whistle blowing policy

announced by the government early this year.

He noted that aside from contributing to the eradication of corruption, potential whistle blowers also stood to “benefit from the illicit acquisition by the looters�. “So we encourage more whistle blowers to come forward with genuine information that will lead to recoveries from looters of the public treasury. “These are part of the ways that we can bring an end to the madness of looting in the public sector. “When they know that they have no place to keep their loot, as all eyes will be on them, they will find looting of the public treasury unattractive,� Magu added.

But the EFCC in its statement yesterday denied that its Acting Chairman said the whistle blower had been paid, based on the statement quoted by the media.

The EFCC Head of Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, said there was no iota of truth in the report.

He said: “What Magu said at the 7th Session of the Council of State Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption in Vienna, Austria, was that citizens should be encouraged to embrace whistle blowing because of

Cont’d from Pg.. 1

the incentives attached. “To illustrate this, he stated that the gentleman who provided the information that triggered the huge recovery at Osborne Towers in Ikoyi was already a millionaire based on the incentive in the whistle blower policy where information providers are entitled to between 2.5 and 5 % of the recovered sum. “Magu never said that the young man had been paid. The Commission is not even directly responsible for the payment of rewards to whistle blowers.

There is also no controversy about the exact amount recovered in the operation which was streamed live, the first of its kind, and witnessed by the whistle blower, security at the Towers and representative of the Agency which claimed ownership of the money.�

The controversy over the fortunes of the whistle blower is coming just as the Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the temporary forfeiture of Flat 7B, Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, where the cash was discovered.

Justice Saliu Saidu ordered the forfeiture of the flat to the federal government Thursday, following an ex parte application by the EFCC.

Upon making the interim forfeiture order, the judge gave anyone interested in the property 14 days to appear before him to show cause why it should not be permanently forfeited to the federal government.

He ordered the EFCC to publish the forfeiture order in a national newspaper, to serve as notice to any interested party. The EFCC had earlier named Mrs. Oke as the owner of the flat.

The EFCC said it found out that Mrs. Oke made cash payment of $1,658,000 for the purchase of the flat between August 25 and September 3, 2015.

She was said to have purchased the property in the name of a company, Chobe Ventures Limited, to which she and her son, Master Ayodele Oke Junior, are directors.

Payment for the purchase of the flat was said to have been made to Fine & Country Realty International, which handled the sale.

The EFCC stated that Mrs. Oke made the cash payment in tranches of $700,000, $650,000 and $353,700 to a bureau de change company, Sulah Petroleum and Gas Limited, which later converted the sums to N360,000,000 and subsequently paid it to Fine & Country for the purchase of the property.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ NOVEMBER 11, 2017

25

EXPRESSION

MEDIAGAFFES

Romp, not Sex Romp

EBERE WABARA

N

EW Telegraph of November 6 welcomes us to this column for the first time with egregious slips: “We will rejig the sports curriculum of state owned (state-owned) institutions and….”

“The primaries may resemble a one-way contest, as majority (a/the majority) of the APC governors….”

“Nigercem to resume produce (production) as core investor mobilises (mobilizes, preferably) to site” (Page 2 Business, November 2) “2 remanded in prison (custody) for dealing in cocaine” “Camerounian (Cameroonian) dies after sex romp with employer in Bayelsa” There is no need for ‘sex’ here because one of the meanings of ‘romp’ is a ‘period of sexual activity’ Therefore, the Cameroonian died after romp with employer! Sexuality is implied.

“Re (‘Subject’ in formal applications): Aneed for state of the nation (state-of-the-nation) address” (DAILY SUN OPINION Page Headline, November 2) The following errors are from a full-page advertorial by the APC candidate for Anambra State 2017, Dr. Tony Nwoye: “…the Willie Obiano administration has resorted to make-belief (make-believe) and fraud in other (order) to show any sign of performance.”

“Deceit is when APGApreach (preaches) hate against the Buhari led (Buhari-led) APC Government.”

“Fact is that the N Power programme is a Youth Empowerment (youth-empowerment) Initiative (needless capitalization) of the same Buhari led (sic) Government that Willie Obiano despise (despises).”

“We shall embark on massive youth empowerment (sic) and job creation (job-creation)

BY

programmes.”

Next Monday in my opinion column here: my declaration on “Anambra 2017”. Please don’t miss it. From the back page of DAILY Sun of November 2 comes the next blunder: “Gowon should think again” Arewrite: Gowon should rethink “Anambra East, West standstill (stand still) for Obiano”. The next two mistakes are from DAILY SUN OPINION Pages of November 1: “Same (The same) is applicable to our university system” “The fast approaching (fast-approaching) 2019 general elections (election) can only be successful if….” “Anglican primate visits Diocese on the Niger, lays foundation, commissions (inaugurates) projects” (Oriental News, November 1) “The bulk (buck) stops at the table of Mr. President….” (Power & Politics, November 1) “Abefitting feather to (in) your cap” (A full-page advertorial by Mantra Solutions Ltd., THISDAY, November 4) More blunders from THISDAY under review: “Guinness, FRSC begins (why?) 2017 Ember Safety Campaign” “In spite of booking 2018 World Cup ticket slated for Russia with a match to go, one area that has been given (giving) the….”

“Month of posibilities” City of David: possibilities and this: “extention” (extension) (Full-page advertorial by RCCG City of David, THISDAY, November 4) “We salute an icon @ 50th (50)” and this: “Board of Trustee” (Trustees)” (Full-page advertorial by ALTON, THISDAY, November 4) ’Upliftment’, meaning ‘uplift’, is a NOUN, like ‘uplift’ and ‘uplifter’; while ‘uplift’ is verb and Noun (WORLD BOOK DICTIONARY, Page 2299) refers. Ateacher is a student; nobody is too old to learn. Aman must change in a changing world. And only a horse does not change its mind. After all, a change is as good as a feast!

Gentlemen, you must keep abreast of the current tendencies in the English language. ’Shorthand for something’, meaning ‘a shorter way of saying or referring to something, which may not be as accurate as the more complicated way of saying it’, is an idiom. Example: ‘Mad Cow Disease’ is shorthand for ‘Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy’; ‘Exco’ is shorthand for ‘Executive Council’; ‘telly’ is shorthand for ‘television’; ‘advert’ is shorthand for ‘advertisement/advertorial’; ‘congrats’ is shorthand for ‘congratulations’. ’British English (BE) resists the use of VERBS as NOUNS as American English (AE) does such as ‘author, critique, host, impact, hemorrhage, loan, party, pressure, and roundtable’; also ‘gun (down)’ which means ‘shoot’ (The Economist STYLE GUIDE–-The Best–Selling Guide on English Usage, Page 74). You can add ‘debut’, ‘task’ and ‘chairman’-–all of which had been made verbs through the force of usage and American influence! ’I repeat, ‘about’ means ‘approximately, nearly, some, circa, more or less’ E.g. ‘About 142 persons reportedly died last April–- some refer to it as Bloody April–-in road mishaps.’ ‘The deportation of about 70 beggars to Anambra State by the Lagos State Government caused national uproar. ’If you are not sure whether to use a term, look it up in a current College Dictionary-–NEOLOGISMS (The Brief Holt Handbook by Kirszner & Mandell, Page 157) Not ‘check it up’ in the College Dictionary! The Mother and Child Centre (MCC) of Ifako Ijaiye General Hospital on College Road, is a beehive of activity. ’Witch hunt’ or ‘witch–hunt’ is a noun; ‘Witch–hunting’, is a noun and an adjective (in the informal sense or context); ‘witch–hunting’ (a noun) means ‘witch hunt’; as an adjective, it means ‘of or having to do with a witch hunt’.

Truly, ‘witch hunt’ has not yet been verbalized.

The central question is: am I to blame when

ewabara@yahoo.com, 08055001948

some users of the language can’t read on a daily basis or when they can’t afford to buy desk dictionaries? This is simply an academic exercise regarding linguistic skills and word usage.

“Lobby for replacements begin (begins)” “…the commissioning ceremony (the inauguration) of a new cement plant in Ewekoro, Ogun State.” And this: 36 years (years’) time.

The PUNCH AM BUSINESS of September 11goofed: “People like this (these) are referred to as asset rich, cash poor.”

“Amajor financial crisis can cause one to dispose of their (one’s) assets at a giveaway price because they need (one needs) the money urgently.” And this: every buyers (buyer’s) dream.

Wrong: intelligent quotient; right: intelligence quotient DAILY SUN of September 11 indulged in farcical legalese: “Land tussle: Judge advises parties to settle out-of-court (out of court)” The noun ‘out-of-court settlement’ is different from the context here (that is without hyphenation).

“Making a mountain from a little heap of sand” Fixed/stock expression: make (making) a mountain out of a molehill—not ‘from a little heap of sand’!

The PUNCH AM (sic) BUSINESS of September 9 commercialized the English language: “While some advocate for the flexibility that a home-based business gives….” Delete ‘for’.

“This makes it easier to achieve ones (one’s) goals.” “But when distractions like this become very common it disturbs business focus.” Either of these: distractions like these or a distraction like this.

“From reading materials daily to attending annual conferences or trainings, effort should be put into self-advancement.” Self-improvement: ‘training’ is uncountable.

PERSPECTIVE

Nigerian Breweries: Reawakening Nobleness in Teaching Omolabake Fasogbon

O

ver worked, over extended, over booked, over tired and overbooked; over drawn, overhead, underdog, overnight, underpaid, undermined, underloved, undermost, undervalued and under estimated’..... above is excerpt from Eileen Snook’s poetry work in ‘Opposites’ describing the plight of an average teacher which according to her should be the other way round.

Acloser view on Snook’s representation of teachers will want to agree that the poet may be right after all considering the status of practitioners in Nigeria, but that is not to say that the picture is peculiar to giant of Africa alone.

In different parts of the world, the teaching profession varies from country to country. In some countries, the profession is highly respected and prestigious, while in some other countries, the career is still begging for recognition.

For instance, an international study on Global Teacher Status Index carried out by the Varkey GEMS Foundation, revealed that teachers in China happen to have the highest level of public respect in terms of professional status, trust, pay and the desirability of teaching as a career.

The study revealed further that teachers in the country are also bracketed with Doctors as they usually occupy enviable portion in the phanteons of competitive professions.

The same study disclosed that teachers in the United Kingdom which came 10th in the index were more likely to be compared with nurses and social workers.

In this clime, history has it that the earliest practitioners of the career were the precursor of modern Nigeria. The precolonial era and some years after the country gained independence were recorded to be a thriving period for the career builders who were highly revered and catered for as a result of their indispensable roles in the society, little wonder that today, one get to find that most of the offspring of late teachers are usually not found wanted among the highly influential and successful.

Today’s story presents a different angle that cannot be controverted. The erstwhile noble calling has lost its envied flavour, thus belittling the nation’s education sector.

Aformer US Education Secretary, Arne Duncan defined Education as the key to eliminating

Nicolaas Vervelde

gender inequality, to reducing poverty, to creating a sustainable planet, to preventing needless deaths and illness and to fostering peace, yet, experts say that the strength of education is only derivable in quality and motivated teachers.

AWorld Bank- commissioned research on ‘Education Quality and Economic Growth’ further confirms that the quality of education in developing countries is much worse than that of the developed countries.

In Nigeria, stakeholders have not stopped bemoaning the deteriorating state of education in the country occasioned by poor funding, corruption, poor infrastructure and training facilities as well as poor teachers welfare and lack of dedicated teachers, amongst others.

This according to them was only exacerbated by the paltry budget dedicated to the sector against the 26% benchmark set by the United Nations for educational funding in developing countries.

In addressing the challenges of the sector, special attention needs to be concentrated on the drivers of the sector- the teachers, according to an author and columnist, Bayo Olupohunda.

Olupohunda maintained that situation of teachers in the country was as bad that not too many of the future leaders aspire to end up in the field that beget other sought after professions and therefore urged extra motivation for practitioners to get the profession back on its feet.

“The world obviously needs teachers to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 4 which is to ensure inclusive and quality education for all and to promote life long learning by 2030” Realising that the situation of teachers cannot be left in the hands of government alone, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and cultural organization,UNESCO called for support from private organizations which its believe they can do much more in delivering the potentials of education.

Amajor company that is answering this call in Nigeria is Nigerian Breweries, through its annual ‘Maltina Teachers of the Year Award’ .

The initiative which indeed is worthy of emulation by high -profile organisations has not only helped to transform lives but also motivate excellent performance from teachers across the country who also aspire to be on the winning list someday.

When in 2015,the initiative was launched, the Nigerian Breweries’ Human Resources Director, Mr. Victor Famuyibo, stated that the organisation acknowledged the role of teachers as builders of the wealth of nations, hence the need to be recognised, encouraged and celebrated.

The Company’s Corporate Affairs Adviser, Kufre Ekanem noted that the passion for solid education led the company to established the Nigerian Breweries – Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund with a commencement capital of N100 million naira in 2004.

The fund, according to him, has impacted over 25,000 students across the country, built 31 classroom blocks and 30 libraries equipped with furniture and books in both primary and secondary schools across various communities.

“But the firm reckoned that its vision for quality education in the country may not be realisable if the drivers of education are not carried along, hence the ‘Maltina Teacher of the year’ which offers both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations to teachers.

“The idea of the project is to reward the best teacher emanating from each of the 36 states in the country with a cash prize of N500,000, from which the overall national winner the first and second runners -up emerged,” he explained.

Since inception, the company has not failed to deliver on its promises.In 2015, Mrs. Roseline Nkemdilim Obi from Federal Government Girls College,Onitsha in Anambra state got her greatest surprise when she was declared the teacher of the year which automatically changed her status to a multi-millionaire.

In addition to the N500,000 cash prize she bagged from the state level, Obi also gained N1m instant prize , a training opportunity abroad and another benefit of N1 million to be credited in her account for a period of five years,all for being committed to her calling.

Her commitment also extended goodwill to the school she represented which was also honoured with a block of staff quarters. The 1st and 2nd runners- up were also appreciated with N750,000 each.

For the Parent Teacher Association,PTA, tutor who was on N17,000 monthly salary,her joy knew no bounds as she expressed that Maltina has turned her to celebrity.Such gesture would only strengthen her commitment, she confessed.

In 2016, the recognition project continued with Mr. Imoh Enoh Essien, a teacher at the Special Education Center for Exceptional Children in Akwa Ibom State emerged the hero and was heavily rewarded of the same magnitude with Obi. In 2017,when Mr Felix Udochukwu Ariguzo was declared the teacher of the year,for almost 10 minutes on the podium,he couldn’t hold back his tears that flowed down the emotioned audience. It was indeed a night of fulfillment for the 38 year old son of a teacher who expressed that such an achievement could only be in his wildest imagination before now and promised to put in more effort in his profession.

Studies have proven that a gesture like this can only enhance the effectiveness of the profession just as the winners also expressed.

So far,the initiative has produced 69 state champions and three national winners. Far beyond the inspiration that followed the initiative which will further spur commitment from others,such an exercise reminds of the old times when teachers live large and categorized as the elite of the society.

––Agbo, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Bayelsa State wrote in via francisagbo38@yahoo.com Readers can continued online www.thisdaylive.com

26

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͚͚˜ ͺ͸͚;

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

Reversing into a Side Road on the Left

Range Rover Velar

Range Rover Velar Now in Sub-Sahara Africa Stories by Bennett Oghifo

T

he fourth member of the Range Rover family has arrived. The Range Rover Velar brings a new dimension of presence, modernity and minimalist design to the Range Rover family. Designed to fit between the Range Rover Evoque and Range Rover Sport, the Velar offers levels of luxury, refinement and all-terrain capability never before seen in the mid-size SUV segment. This is a new type of Range Rover for a new type of customer.

Created from a clean sheet using Jaguar Land Rover’s Lightweight Aluminium Architecture, the Velar represents the next chapter of the Range Rover success story as Britain’s biggest luxury export. Velar is defined by a visually reductive approach and meticulous attention to precision in every detail, which evolves Range Rover DNA and previews the next generation of Range Rover vehicles.

Velar’s design is beautifully balanced, from its powerful proportions to its continuous waist line through to the taut tapered lines of the rear. The generous wheelbase contributes significantly to

its elegance while helping to provide a spacious interior.

Gerry McGovern, Chief Design Officer, Land Rover said: “Velar is now the compelling, stand-out design in the class, showcasing perfectly optimised volume, powerful, taut surfaces and a stunning silhouette.�

The large alloy wheels – in particular the range of 22-inch designs – optimise the vehicle’s stunning silhouette, while further enhancing Velar’s dramatic presence.

Advanced technology is pivotal to enabling Velar’s contemporary design: the full-LED headlights are the most-slender ever to appear on a production Land Rover. The flush deployable door handles emphasise Velar’s reductive, sculptured form, and contribute to the low drag coefficient of only 0.32 – this is the most aerodynamically-efficient Land Rover ever produced.

Look inside Velar’s interior and you will see elegant simplicity, sophistication and refinement.

An unwavering belief in reductionism has been fully employed, with switches being kept to an absolute minimum to help create a calm sanctuary.

Design enabling technology has been engaged

fully to create the new Touch Pro Duo infotainment system which is the centrepiece of Velar’s interior.

Touch Pro Duo features two 10-inch high-definition touchscreens integrated seamlessly behind hiddenuntil-lit surfaces. These slim, intuitive displays work in harmony with the cabin architecture while adding an overall sense of modernity congruent with the vehicle’s exterior design.All of this is equalled by the Velar’s practicality: luggage compartment volume is class-leading at 673-litres.

Unique in the segment, the Velar offers a sustainable, premium textile seat material as an alternative to leather. The Dapple Grey material was developed together with Kvadrat, Europe’s leading manufacturer of high-quality design textiles, and is complemented with Suedecloth inserts in Ebony or Light Oyster.

The light, stiff, aluminium-intensive body, together with double-wishbone front- and Integral Link rear suspension provides the perfect basis for agile handling, superior ride comfort and outstanding refinement. It also delivers exceptional levels of crash protection, and the Velar has been developed to meet the most demanding crash test regulations worldwide.

World’s Largest Automobile Aftersales Show, Automechanika Debuts in Lagos

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he world’s largest automobile aftersales show, Automechanika, now in its 16th edition, is set to make its debut in Lagos this month.

According to Mrs. Omonigho ItoyaAbanokwu the representative of Messe FrankfurtinNigeria,theAutomechanikaDubaiteam would be in Lagos with other foreign manufacturers of automobile spare part and components to sensitise stakeholdersaboutthenextAutomechanika. Alsothe foreign auto spare parts manufacturing companies will be sourcing for Nigerian companies to go into distribution partnership with. Among the foreign companies expected here in Lagos are AC Delco; a full line of premium auto parts manufacturer, including for tiers of variety for nearly every make and model), Mineral Circles Bearings MCB; a reliable and much-trusted bearing distributor and supplier of premium bearings) etc.

The event which is set to hold on November 22, 2017 at Sheraton Hotels Ikeja will feature guest speakers such as, Mr. Luqmann Mamudu, Director, Policy and Planning, National Automotive Design and Development, Mr. Nnamdi Ebeku, Secretary General, Auto Spare Parts & Machinery Dealers Associaition (ASPAMDA), Mr. Uche Increase, President, Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) and Dr. D.V.C. Obi the Chairman, Motor Vehicle and Miscellaneous Assemblies, Sectoral Group of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).

Automechanikabrandholds17eventsin15countries across the globe. The next Automechanika Dubai

R-L: General Manager Marketing and Corporate Communications, Coscharis Group, Abiona Babarinde; Brand Manager, Coscharis Motors Plc, Felix Mahan; Sales Executive, Abro, Coscharis Motors Plc, Edwin Okonkwo, at the Abro exhibition stand during the 2017 Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) Annual Conference and Gala Nite, co-sponsored by Coscharis Group, in Lagos‌ recently

will offer trade professionals the chance to meet face-to-face with 1,955 key exhibitors across the three days from 1 - 3 May 2018.

Automechanika Dubai serves some of largest automotive markets such as Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Iran. The show also acts as the central trading link connecting the wider Middle East, Africa, Asia and key CIS countries.

The last Automechanika 2017 Dubai presented a track record of 1,955 exhibitors from 57 countries and welcomed more than 30,322 trade visitors from 136 countries.

The exhibition was spread across 70,000 sqm i.e.

14 halls and was proud to receive the support of 38 international trade associations and the presence of 25 official country pavilions.

This manoeuvre is about reversing into a side road on the left. The reverse round a left 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 left 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.

Whether you are moving off from the right or driving along the road, you must take special care when crossing to the left-hand side of the road.

The associated problem is that other motorists or road users might think that you are turning left into the side as opposed to pulling up just beyond the left road. If moving off from the right, ensure that you complete your normal safety checks before moving off.

Use the Mirrors, Signal, Manoeuvre routine and take up a position as if you were going to turn left. Instead of an early signal on approach to the junction, you may have to delay your signal until you are alongside the road you want to the turn into. This is to ensure that other drivers are not confused into thinking that you are turning into the junction.

At the point of turning to the left side of the road, wait for any oncoming traffic at the point of turn and look into the road for any obstructions that would make your manoeuvre unsafe. Steer over to the left and stop a little out from the kerb about two to three car lengths past the corner (junction on the left). Take off your seat belt if you need to and you may also want to open your window to see the kerb.

Select reverse gear and prepare to move. Remember, you are manoeuvring on the wrong side of the road, and you are more vulnerable, so keep looking all around, and respond to other road users. When you are sure it is clear, move slowly back. For the straight part of the reverse, look back over your right shoulder to enable you have a clear view to the rear for other traffic; for easy glances to the front; and round to the left periodically to check your position and judge when to turn.

Just before turning, look all round again, remembering that the front of your car will swing out as you steer left. Look over your left shoulder as you steer, and follow the kerb. How much steering you need will depend on how sharp the corner is.

When you have turned the corner, look over your right shoulder again. This will help you judge whether or not your car is straight in the new road. You will also be able to see what is happening behind you and to respond to others.

When your vehicle is straight in the new road, turn the wheel to the right sufficiently to keep it straight. Remember, any final adjustments should only be slight. Check your distance from the kerb by using your nearside door mirror.

To complete the exercise and to prevent a potential head on collision with traffic turning into the side road it is important that you reverse far enough back to give them sufficient room to stop and overtake you safely, usually about 5 car lengths.

You also need sufficient room to ensure that you will not become a potential hazard to other road users as you cross over to the right hand side of the road. Also before moving off you will need to check over your right shoulder.

In next week’s article we shall be discussing how to reverse into a parking bay. For further explanations or clarifications 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 **Tel: +2348167814928

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Toyota Nigeria Limited Stages Exclusive Auto Show in Abuja

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New Hyundai Sonata

Hyundai Unveils New Sonata with High-end Features Stories by Bennett Oghifo

H

yundai has remodeled the midsized Sonata family sedan with a long list of standard and accessible features, integrating a perfect mix of excellent fuel economy and mileage; rareblend of comfort, cavernous trunk and unprecedented cabin space that could arguably be the most impressive in its class yet.

Assembled locally at the Hyundai Motors Nigeria

Limited plant in Lagos, the 2018 Sonata comes equipped with numerous other niceties such as the proximity key with push-button start, power driver’s seat as well as shiftronic gear system with courtesy door lamps, this all new Sonata could be the car to beat, or perhaps, an attraction of many auto buffs Notdoneyet,Hyundaihasalsoequippedthenew Sonata with rear parking sensors/back warning camera, engine immobilizer and perceptible front grill among others.

Hyundai Motors Nigeria, the local brand custodian is in spite of these additions, promising to offer this elegantly packed Sonata without necessarily tweaking the showroom price.

Described as a comprehensive makeover of its predecessor that somewhat didn’t see any major changes since 2015, the face-lifted Sonata is an adept family hauler that expresses proficient and distinctivegazethatcouldenticeupwardlymobile executives and well-heeled officials as well as anyone with an eye for specifics.

he beautiful city of Abuja will play host to wonders on wheels from the stable of Toyota (Nigeria) Limited at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja from 21st to 23rd November, 2017. The Toyota Auto Show is an exhibition aimed at bringing the different models of the Toyota brand closer to the public. It is indeed a platform for customers to experience the wide range of vehicles from the Toyota range.

The exclusive auto show will showcase the beauty and elegance of the engineering mastery of Toyota craftsmanship imbued in all its models.

Some of the vehicles that will be on display in the alluring environment are the new Coaster which has undergone a complete overhaul to reflect modern trends in engineering and design. The Landcruiser and Avensis which have also received aesthetic touch-ups will be on exhibition. The touch and feel will include other siblings of these magnificent wonder on wheels vis the Yaris, Corolla, Hilux; a workhorse described as “Beyond Tough� for its resilience and strength to take on any terrain.

Lucky customers will be able to buy some of the vehicles on display at special discount during the three-day Show.

Token gifts await visitors to the Stand at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja from 21st – 23rd November, 2017. Show opens at 9am and closes at 5pm daily, said a statement by Mrs. Bukunola Ogunnusi of TNL.

NAMA Condemns LCCI Call for Review of National Auto Policy

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heNigerianAutomotiveManufacturers Association (NAMA), has condemned a statement credited to Director General of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) that the National Auto Policy was responsible for an increase in the prices of vehicles. “The attention of the Nigerian Automotive Manufacturers Association has been drawn to an interview granted by the Director General of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr Muda Yusuf ascribing the increase in prices of vehicle to the National Auto Policy,� said a statement by NAMA, signed by its ED, Remi Olaofe. “We were taken aback that a macro issue of the magnitude of prices of imported vehicles could be so narrowed to a single parameter like the National

Auto Policy by a respected LCCI. The statement said in coming up with the National Auto Policy, a number of issues were put into consideration with the pivot being to redirect the Nigerian economy from an “over import dependent economy to a producing economy.�

One of the greatest challenges facing the Nigerian economy has always been narrowed down to its overdependence on foreign goods with its attendance pressure on its Foreign Reserve and Exchange Rate.

The Auto Policy was therefore evolved to reawaken the moribund Auto Assembly Plants that were hitherto operating at high capacity in core geographical zones of the country and also encourage major vehicle importers to attract their Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to commence assembly of the vehicles in Nigeria.

Head, Government Relations, Nigerian Breweries, Mr. Vivian Ikem (4th right); FCT Sector Commander, FRSC HQ, Corps Cmdr. Wobin Gora, (5th from right); and other personalities at the Don’t Drink and Drive mega-rally in Abuja‌ recently

Distraction Is A Killer: #Park Your Phone

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s I draw the curtain on the piece on road signs and safe driving, I must recognize government effort to address the lacuna with respect to the nakedness of our roads. But while we wait to see the outcome of current government strategy to improve roads infrastructure including road furniture as a plank for redressing road traffic crashes, we must know that Countries categorize road signs in different ways. In Nigeria for instance, road signs are categorized under these broad categories namely: Regulatory signs, which are mostly circular in shape and are of two types.

Those with red circles are prohibitive signs while those with blue circles but no red signs boarder mostly give positive instructions and are mandatory signs, which are usually rectangular. They provide guidance information.

In view of the high level of road traffic accident during this season, this piece cannot but be timely as it has been observed that most avoidable crashes are sometimes occasioned by not only lack of adequate knowledge of road signs, but failure of motorist to adhere strictly to the few existing road signs on our highways. Its ubiquity on our road is desirable at this point in time when the Ember Months� are already here. Motorist and pedestrians alike need these signs to achieve their ultimate aim of their various destinations safely. A

SAFE DRIVING with

JONAS AGWU

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

renewed consciousness on compliance with road signs will to a great extent reduce carnage on our highways. Knowledge they say is power- It is these road signs that arm you with adequate knowledge of any road you are plying. When these roads signs are complied with, you can and will always reach your destinations safely.

Our road signs must refle

Let me start this piece by first rolling the drums for my senior colleague and friend, Assistant Corps Marshal, (Dr) Kayode Olagunju who heads the Planning, Research and Statistics department at the National Headquarters of the Federal Road Safety Corps for religiously doing what we pay him for by keeping us abreast with global road safety trend. I know a mild punishment he jokingly terms “court of injustice awaits me whenever he sees me at the Officers Mess at Gwarinpa, Abuja, the Federal capital Territory.

I dwell on the nitty gritty of this campaign, I must confess that one of my talking point for the campaign is the use of celebrities similar to Despite what awaits me, I make bold to ac- what we initiated some years here in Nigeria knowledge that it was his mail that jerked me where we have over one hundred celebrities up on the need to beam my searchlight on the drawn from the entertainment and the media as growing global concern over deaths arising from a plank for raising awareness: Pharrel Williams, the disease called distracting driving which is a singer, songwriter and record producer is one also a great worry to us at the Federal Road of the faces of the campaign with the message; don’t text and drive #Park Your Phone. I am Safety Corps.

Distracted driving ranks as one of my top looking forward to a replication of this campaign five risk driving behavior which has enjoyed within my Zone with celebrities driving the prominence on this page and as we gradually domesticated version of the campaign as a draw near to the season of rush in the name of prelude to other initiatives here in J town. end of year or Christmas celebration, I believe I don’t know if you indulge in using smartI owe myself and the public a duty to keep us phones while driving. I also do not know if abreast of global interventions to crash the you know the dangers involved in this risky venture which has caught the fancy of drivers, increasing deaths.

The caption for this week’s focus is not mine. It pedestrians and cyclists who feign ignorance is borrowed from the Federation Internationale to the fact that only a few seconds of distraction De L’ Automobile. If you are a follower of road can make a difference between life and death. safety campaigns globally ,then you will know What then is distracted driving? “Distracted that FIA has been on the forefront of series of driving is the act of driving while engaged in far reaching road safety initiatives including other activities that take the driver’s attention its role in seat belt campaign with the FIA away from the road. toolkit on seat belt. I was privileged as Sector All distractions compromise the safety of Commander Lagos State to host its President the driver, passengers, bystanders and those when I accompanied my senior Deputy Corps in other vehicles�. Using your phone while Marshal Yemi Omidigi( rtd) sometime in about driving which is our focus for today is one of 2011 when he visited Nigeria alongside his wife. the major distracted driving habits .It kills and It is exciting to know that FIA Region 1 and maims. Although our national data is not as its members clubs are currently launching a reliable as it should be, I believe that just one #ParkYourPhone campaign meant to encourage death arising from the use of phone is a good responsible Smartphone use in traffic. Before example for those who care to know the danger.

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

FAMILY HEALTH

Causes of Abortion in First Trimester of Pregnancy

with

BOBO BODE -KAYODE

lifeissuesfromwithin@yahoo.com, .Cel, ͸΀͸ͽͻͻͿͺͻͽ;

P

regnancy is a time of extreme joy. It is time when you heave a sigh of relief that all your efforts have paid off, and you will be expectant that in nine months’ a live baby would be born.

But things do not always turn out as expected. Because for one reason or the other, the pregnancy may be aborted.

This is also called miscarriage.

It is well known that about 80 per cent of miscarriages occur in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy (the first trimester). The underlying cause in about half of cases involves chromosomal abnormalities. Other conditions that can produce similar symptoms include an ectopic pregnancy and implantation bleeding.

What is miscarriage?

A miscarriage is an event that results in the loss of a fetus during early pregnancy. It’s also called a spontaneous abortion. It typically happens during the first trimester, or first three months, of the pregnancy.

It is known that , 10 to 25 percent of all clinically recognised pregnancies end in miscarriage. The cause of a miscarriage varies from person to person. Often the cause is unknown. Miscarriages that occur after three months, or between 14 to 26 weeks, are usually due to an underlying health condition in the mother.

Causes of miscarriage During pregnancy, your body supplies hormones and nutrients to your developing fetus. This helps your fetus develop normally during your pregnancy.

Most first trimester miscarriages happen because the fetus doesn’t develop normally. There are different factors that can cause this.

There are many reasons why a miscarriage may happen, although the cause is often not identified.

If a miscarriage happens during the first trimester of pregnancy (the first three months), it’s usually caused by problems with the unborn baby (foetus). About three in every four miscarriages happen during this period. If a miscarriage happens during the second trimester of pregnancy (between weeks 14 and 26), it may be the result of an underlying health condition in the mother.

These late miscarriages may be caused by an infection around the baby, which leads to the bag of waters breaking before any pain or bleeding. In rare cases, they can be caused by the neck of the womb opening too soon. Chemical pregnancies may account for 50-75% of all miscarriages. This occurs when a pregnancy is lost shortly after implantation, resulting in bleeding that occurs around the time of her expected period.

The woman may not realise that she conceived when she experiences a chemical pregnancy.

First trimester miscarriages Most first trimester miscarriages are caused by problems with the chromosomes of the foetus. r $ISPNPTPNF QSPCMFNT Most chromosomal abnormalities are the cause of a damaged egg or sperm cell or are due to a problem at the time that the zygote went through the division process.

Chromosomes are blocks of DNA. They contain a detailed set of instructions that control a wide range of factors, from how the cells of the body develop to what colour eyes a baby will have.

Sometimes something can go wrong at the point of conception and the foetus receives too many or not enough chromosomes. The reasons for this are often unclear, but it means the foetus won’t be able to develop normally, resulting in a miscarriage.

It’s estimated up to two-thirds of early miscarriages are associated with chromosome abnormalities. This is very unlikely to recur and doesn’t mean there’s any problem with the mother or father’s chromosomes. r 1MBDFOUBM QSPCMFNT The placenta is the organ linking the mother’s blood supply to her baby’s. If there’s a problem with the development of the placenta, it can also lead to a miscarriage. r &YUFSOBM IFBMUI DPOEJUJPOT &YUFSOBM IFBMUI DPOEJUJPOT MJGFTUZMF IBCJUT BOE underlying conditions may also interfere with the fetus’ development, especially in the second trimester. &YFSDJTF BOE TFYVBM JOUFSDPVSTF EP OPU DBVTF NJTDBSriages. Working won’t affect the fetus either unless you’re exposed to harmful chemicals or radiation.

Conditions that can interfere with a fetus’ development include r QPPS EJFU PS NBMOVUSJUJPO r ESVH BOE BMDPIPM VTF r BEWBODFE NBUFSOBM BHF r VOUSFBUFE UIZSPJE EJTFBTF r VODPOUSPMMFE EJBCFUFT r JOGFDUJPOT r USBVNB r PCFTJUZ r QSPCMFNT XJUI UIF DFSWJY r BCOPSNBMMZ TIBQFE XPNC r TFWFSF IJHI CMPPE QSFTTVSF

These late miscarriages may be caused by an infection around the baby, which leads to the bag of waters breaking before any pain or bleeding. In rare cases, they can be caused by the neck of the womb opening too soon. Chemical pregnancies may account for 50-75% of all miscarriages.

This occurs when a pregnancy is lost shortly after implantation, resulting in bleeding that occurs around the time of her expected period. The woman may not realise that she conceived when she experiences a chemical pregnancy

r GPPE QPJTPOJOH r DFSUBJO NFEJDBUJPOT Always check with your doctor before taking any medications to be sure a drug is safe to use during pregnancy.

Risk factors An early miscarriage may happen by chance. But there are several things known to increase your risk of problems happening. r 5IF BHF PG UIF NPUIFS IBT BO JOáVFODF in women under 30, 1 in 10 pregnancies will end in miscarriage in women aged 35-39, up to 2 in 10 pregnancies will end in miscarriage in women over 45, more than half of all pregnancies will end in miscarriage r PCFTJUZ r TNPLJOH EVSJOH QSFHOBODZ r ESVH NJTVTF EVSJOH QSFHOBODZ r ESJOLJOH NPSF UIBO NH PG DBGGFJOF B EBZ m POF mug of tea contains around 75mg of caffeine, and one mug of instant coffee contains around 100mg of caffeine; caffeine is also found in some fizzy drinks, energy drinks and chocolate bars r ESJOLJOH NPSF UIBO UXP VOJUT PG BMDPIPM B XFFL m POF VOJU JT IBMG B QJOU PG CJUUFS PS PSEJOBSZ TUSFOHUI lager, or a 25ml measure of spirits, and a small 125ml glass of wine is 1.5 units. r )PSNPOBM QSPCMFNT JOGFDUJPOT PS NBUFSOBM IFBMUI problems r -JGFTUZMF J F TNPLJOH ESVH VTF NBMOVUSJUJPO excessive caffeine and exposure to radiation or toxic substances) r *NQMBOUBUJPO PG UIF FHH JOUP UIF VUFSJOF MJOJOH does not occur properly r .BUFSOBM BHF r .BUFSOBM USBVNB .JTDPODFQUJPOT BCPVU NJTDBSSJBHF "O JODSFBTFE SJTL PG NJTDBSSJBHF JT OPU MJOLFE UP r B NPUIFS T FNPUJPOBM TUBUF EVSJOH QSFHOBODZ TVDI as being stressed or depressed r IBWJOH B TIPDL PS GSJHIU EVSJOH QSFHOBODZ r FYFSDJTF EVSJOH QSFHOBODZ m CVU EJTDVTT XJUI ZPVS doctor or midwife what type and amount of exercise is suitable for you during pregnancy r MJGUJOH PS TUSBJOJOH EVSJOH QSFHOBODZ r XPSLJOH EVSJOH QSFHOBODZ m PS XPSL UIBU JOWPMWFT sitting or standing for long periods r IBWJOH TFY EVSJOH QSFHOBODZ r USBWFMMJOH CZ BJS r FBUJOH TQJDZ GPPE Recurrent miscarriages Many women who have a miscarriage worry they’ll have another if they get pregnant again. But most miscarriages are a one-off event.

About 1 in 100 women experience recurrent miscarriages (three or more in a row) and more than 60% of these women go on to have a successful pregnancy.

What Are The Chances of Having a Miscarriage?

For women in their childbearing years, the chances of having a miscarriage can range from 10-25%, and in most healthy women the average is about a 15-20% chance.

An increase in maternal age affects the chances of miscarriage Women under the age of 35 yrs old have about a 15% chance of miscarriage

Women who are 35-45 yrs old have a 20-35% chance of miscarriage Women over the age of 45 can have up to a 50% chance of miscarriage A woman who has had a previous miscarriage has a 25% chance of having another (only a slightly elevated risk than for someone who has not had a previous miscarriage) r 8BSOJOH 4JHOT If you experience any or all of these symptoms, it is important to contact your health care provider or a medical facility to evaluate if you could be having B NJTDBSSJBHF r .JME UP TFWFSF CBDL QBJO PGUFO XPSTF UIBO normal menstrual cramps) r 8FJHIU MPTT r 8IJUF QJOL NVDVT r 5SVF DPOUSBDUJPOT WFSZ QBJOGVM IBQQFOJOH FWFSZ 5-20 minutes) r #SPXO PS CSJHIU SFE CMFFEJOH XJUI PS XJUIPVU cramps (20-30% of all pregnancies can experience some bleeding in early pregnancy, with about 50% of those resulting in normal pregnancies) r 5JTTVF XJUI DMPU MJLF NBUFSJBM QBTTJOH GSPN UIF WBHJOB r 4VEEFO EFDSFBTF JO TJHOT PG QSFHOBODZ Miscarriage Types 5ISFBUFOFE .JTDBSSJBHF 4PNF EFHSFF PG FBSMZ pregnancy uterine bleeding accompanied by cramping or lower backache. The cervix remains closed. This bleeding is often the result of implantation. *OFWJUBCMF PS *ODPNQMFUF .JTDBSSJBHF "CEPNJOBM or back pain accompanied by bleeding with an open cervix. Miscarriage is inevitable when there is a dilation or effacement of the cervix and/or there is rupture of the membranes. Bleeding and cramps may persist if the miscarriage is not complete. $PNQMFUF .JTDBSSJBHF " DPNQMFUFE NJTDBSSJBHF is when the embryo or products of conception have emptied out of the uterus. Bleeding should subside quickly, as should any pain or cramping. A completed miscarriage can be confirmed by an ultrasound or by having a surgical curettage (D&C) performed. .JTTFE .JTDBSSJBHF 8PNFO DBO FYQFSJFODF B miscarriage without knowing it. A missed miscarriage is when embryonic death has occurred but there is not any expulsion of the embryo. It is not known why this occurs. Signs of this would be a loss of pregnancy symptoms and the absence of fetal heart tones found on an ultrasound.

3FDVSSFOU .JTDBSSJBHF 3. %FÃ OFE BT PS NPSF consecutive first trimester miscarriages. This can affect 1% of couples trying to conceive. #MJHIUFE 0WVN "MTP DBMMFE BO FNCSZPOJD QSFHnancy. A fertilized egg implants into the uterine wall, but fetal development never begins. Often there is a gestational sac with or without a yolk sac, but there is an absence of fetal growth. &DUPQJD 1SFHOBODZ " GFSUJMJ[FE FHH JNQMBOUT JUTFMG in places other than the uterus, most commonly the fallopian tube. Treatment is needed immediately to stop the development of the implanted egg. If not treated rapidly, this could end in serious maternal complications.

.PMBS 1SFHOBODZ 5IF SFTVMU PG B HFOFUJD error during the fertilization process that leads to the growth of abnormal tissue within the uterus. Molar pregnancies rarely involve a developing embryo, but often entail the most common symptoms of pregnancy including a missed period, positive pregnancy test and severe nausea.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ JUNE 16, 2011

GLOBAL SOCCER A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

Michael Emenalo

Leaps Off Stamford Bridge

11.11.2017

RUSSIA IN MIND

PAGE. 29

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͚͚˜ ͺ͸͚Ϳ

Leaps O Stamford Bridge Ă˜Ă–ĂŁ Ă?Ă?ĂĄ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă?Ă˜Ă”Ă™ĂŁĂ?ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă’Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ă‹ Ă™ĂĄĂ˜Ă?ĂœËœ Ă™Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă—Ă™Ă Ă“Ă?Ă’Ëœ Ă–Ă“Ă•Ă? Ă“Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă?Ă– Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ă‹Ă–Ă™Ë› Ă? ĂĄĂ‹Ă? Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă‹ Ă–Ă‹ĂœĂ‘Ă? Ă?âÞĂ?Ă˜ĂžËœ Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă?ĂŁĂ?Ă?Ë› Ă˜ĂŁĂžĂ“Ă—Ă? Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ă‹Ă–Ă™ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă—Ă™Ă Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă Ă“Ă?Ă“Ăž Ă’Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ă‹ËŞĂ? ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă“Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‘ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽËœ ÞÒĂ? Ă?ÙËĂ?Ă’ ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚĂ? Ă?ÙÖÎ Ă?Ă?Ă?Þ˛ Ă‹Ă?Ăž Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁËœ ÒÙåĂ?Ă Ă?ĂœËœ Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ă‹Ă–Ă™ Ă?Ă’Ă™Ă?Ă•Ă?ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă™ĂžĂŒĂ‹Ă–Ă– ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ–ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă’Ă“Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‘Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹Ă– Ă“ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœËœ Ă–Ă?Ă‹Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ? Ă›Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜Ă?ĂĄĂ?ĂœĂ?Ëœ Kunle Adewale ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ?

L

Emenalo

ast Sunday, after Chelsea1-0 win over arch-rival, Manchester United, Michael Emenalo shocked the football world with his resignation as the team’s technical director, and ever since, analysts have been wondering what might have led to the unceremonious resignation of the former Nigerian international.

Before Sunday’s game at Stamford Bridge, only the future of Chelsea’s Brazilian defender, David Luiz, was in doubt after a dismal performance in mid-week UEFA Champions League leading to Chelsea 3-0 drubbing by Roma and Antonio Conte justifiably dropped him from last Sunday’s game. But as it turned out, the focus should have been on the man in the blue Chelsea coat and smart suit (Emenalo) instead.

Emenalo has been a key in the Chelsea machine under Roman Abramovich but has seen his role increasingly under pressure in an internal power struggle between Marina Granovskaia, a key Abramovich confidante, and Conte.

Conte's future beyond this season is by no means secure but the manager himself is not thought to be a reason for the Nigerian's departure.

Senior Blues sources said it was no surprise to them that Emenalo stood down as the former Notts County defender had made it clear to Chelsea as far back as the summer that he was considering his future and he is understood to want to spend some time with his family before making any decision over his next challenge.

"This has been a very difficult decision to make, but one I believe is right for myself, my family and the club. I have had the privilege to work alongside some of the most talented people in the world of sport over the past 10 years, and I will depart incredibly proud of the achievements we have made. I wish Chelsea every success and look forward to following the club’s future triumphs from afar," Emenalo said upon announcing the move.

Conte remarked: "I am very sorry to see Michael leave Chelsea, and I would like to thank him for all his help and support since I arrived at this club. I have enjoyed working with him very much, we celebrated a Premier League title together in May, and I wish him the very best for the future."

Granovskaia said Emenalo would help Chelsea assess their future

management structure.

Granovskaia added: “We will now be reviewing our management structure, and Michael will be a part of that process as we look ahead.�

Some have argued that Emenalo was used as a scapegoat at Chelsea, especially in the transfer dealings, even though the negotiations were left with Marina Granovskaia. Some signings didn't work out but more often than not they did, and he was only recognised for his errors.

Emenalo scouted players like Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois, but also was accused of allowing players like Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku to leave the club. They are now flourishing at Manchester City and Manchester United respectively.

Emenalo’s importance to Chelsea hasn't been noticed by supporters of the club. Many of them just want the Nigerian out of the club but board members and specifically owner, Abramovich, thought very highly of him.

It was an exit which will satisfy the 'Emenalo Out' brigade but one which will hit Abramovich hard. The Russian was an ally. It can take some doing to earn the trust of Abramovich but Emenalo had done that over the last decade.

The two saw eye to eye and he was the only member of Chelsea's executive team with previous playing experience and it remains to be seen whether a replacement will be brought in. Sources say an internal promotion is more likely, though these are big shoes to fill.

With him working behind the scenes, the Blues were crowned Premier League champions three times. They won the FA Cup, the League Cup, the Europa League and the Champions League.

He was also known to be frustrated at the sale of Romelu Lukaku to Everton in 2014 and Emenalo wanted to make up for it in the summer by bringing him back. Chelsea lost out on Lukaku to Manchester United, just as they missed out on John Stones to Manchester City.

Now, the club has lost their own key player and Ligue 1 Monaco are set to snap him up. The Emenalo era is over.

Should Emenalo wish to return to work anytime soon then Monaco are interested in his services as they look to solidify their place among France's elite and as a perennial Champions League team. The sharp increase in Ligue 1 television revenue has allowed them to further invest in a club that raked in enormous transfer

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NOVEMBER 11, 2017 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

GLOBAL SOCCER

Emenalo with Roman Abrahamovic

income last summer.

Emenalo is one of a number of candidates that the principality club is looking at to strengthen and oversee their sporting infrastructure and that includes scouting and identifying talented youth players and channeling them into the first-team – something Emenalo has had immense success doing in west London.

The lack of pathway from academy to first team at Stamford Bridge has been a significant issue for Abramovich, but Monaco are keen on young talent and are looking to create a similar sort of money-spinning model employed by FC Porto and Benfica where they develop and make profits on the continent's best young players.

It would be recalled that in 2013, Emenalo formally requested that his contract be terminated to facilitate the return of Jose Mourinho but his request for termination was denied.

Followers of Nigerian football in the 1980’s will always remember Emenalo.

He was part of the young Enugu Rangers side that narrowly lost the league in 1985 to the defunct Leventis United, parading players such as Okechukwu Ofeje, Kingsley Onye, Bennedict Ugwu and Amechi Otti, among others.

In his quest for greener pastures, Emenalo moved to the United States,

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

What they Say Chelsea FC Emenalo had “contributed to a period of unprecedented success for the first team and academy”.

Chairman Bruce Buck “We are sorry to see him go but understand his desire to move on and explore new challenges,”

Antonio Conte “I am very sorry to see Michael leave Chelsea, and I would like to thank him for all his help and support since I arrived at this club.

I have enjoyed working with him very much, we celebrated a Premier League title together in May, and I wish him the very best for the future.”

and played for Boston University from 1986 to 1989. From there, he played for Molenbeen in Belgium, Eintracht Trier in Germany, and Notts County FC in England before returning to the United States to be part of the original allocated players for Major League Soccer, where he spent two seasons with San Jose Clash. After that, he played with Lleida in Spain and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel.

Nigerian soccer followers also remember Emenalo for his part in the country’s first stint at the FIFA World Cup in US ’94.

His sojourn in football management started 10 years ago when former manager, Avram Grant was in charge of Chelsea in 2007 and brought him in as the chief scout. Three years later, he was promoted from chief scout to assistant first team coach and in 2011, Chelsea appointed Emenalo as Technical Director of the club. His responsibilities included heading the scouting and academy programmes.

It remains to be seen where Emenalo’s next port of call would be, but with his achievement at Stamford Bridge, he would not be short of suitors.

...with former Chelsea Coach, Jose Mourinho

...in action for the Super Eagles during the 1994 World Cup in United States

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍšÍšËœÍşÍ¸ÍšÍż

with KENNETH EZAGA 0807 0530 677, zigi199@yahoo.com

Fighting Obesity with ‘Let’s Play' Initiative

O

besity has become a serious concern to the world and the number of deaths resulting from this condition is becoming alarming. According to the World Health Organisation, world obesity has tripled since 1975 and as at 2016, over 340 million children and adolescents between ages 5-19 were overweight and obese. Scary data but sadly true.

Experts have blamed the high rate of obesity in children on junk food, modern technology and the lack of exercise or bodily movement. Children today have become so attached to computer games and the internet and have neglected the good old-fashioned way of playing football and running around in the parks as well as on the field. A survey on television penetration and the availability of cable TV shows that more people, especially children would rather plant themselves in front of the TV or computer all day than go out to play with their peers. Even communication has been limited to chats and text messages via mobile devices and computers. It is not strange to see a group of friends, who are supposed to be engaging each other in conversation, completely fixated on their mobile phones, each in his own world and barely saying a word to each other. Excessive addiction to computers and sitting in one position for long has been linked to cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, bad eyesight, breathing problems such as asthma, joint problems and musculoskeletal discomfort and even early death in children. It is a major cause of bad social skills and a breakdown of communication between children and their parents.

The wellbeing of a nation is dependent on the health of its citizens. A healthy nation is a wealthy nation and all efforts must be put in place to fight obesity; the new scourge that is silently killing adults and children alike. Some parents have attributed their reluctance to allow their wards to go out and play to security concerns and the high-level of distrust in the society. Regardless of these concerns, body movement and exercises are very important to the proper development and wellbeing of the child.

This is the motivation behind MultiChoice’s Let’s Play initiative, a programme under its Corporate Social Investment policy. One of the major objectives of the initiative is to encourage children to come out, run around and play with other children. In this way, the children will have fun exercising and playing with one another. According to Supersport’s General Manager, Felix Awogu, the company to use its driving philosophy, which is football, to reach out to children and encourage healthy living among them, conceived this initiative. “If you look at the current situation in Nigeria, a lot of children are becoming obese and suffering from diseases typical to adults. So, our strategy is to give children soccer balls and get them to engage and play with other children in a soccer game,

thereby reaching out to even more children. To date, the Let’s Play initiative has given out over 10,000 soccer balls and have reached out to over 2 million children in Nigeria,� Awogu said.

The Let’s Play initiative has been endorsed by football legends like ex-Super Eagles player, Victor Ikpeba, who also doubles as the ambassador for the initiative. Ikpeba among other sport enthusiasts has motivated so many children in a number of communities where the children have been trained in various sporting activities as well as football. This initiative has been activated in a number of communities in Edo, Kwara, Ogun, Anambra and Lagos states, with endorsements from the state governors.

Recently, MultiChoice Nigeria, for the second time, brought the English premier league trophy to Nigeria and facilitated the attendance of premier league legend, Austin Jay Jay Okocha.

During the Let’s Play clinic at the Legacy pitch in National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, the children’s excitement was palpable at seeing the premier league trophy live. They also ran around the pitch and played with the iconic Jay Jay, Victor Ikpeba and other football coaches. The children, between ages eight-15 years, were drawn from various primary schools in Lagos.

Speaking at the venue of the clinic, Physical Education teacher of the Ostra Height College, Ago Palace Way, Lagos, Agboola Temidayo, said the initiative was a noble one worth emulating by other brands in Nigeria. According to Temidayo, children had the tendency to remain indoors watching video games or playing with their mobile devices. “As the Physical Education teacher, I am so happy the children are playing and we encourage parents to allow their children to come out whenever there is a clinic such as this anywhere,� he enthused.

One of the strategies employed by MultiChoice is the use of ex-internationals and football legends as mentors to the children. Seeing on-screen legends in real time goes a long way to motivate children to aspire to be sports heroes, while taking exercising and sporting activities seriously.

Ikpeba said the Let’s Play initiative highlighted the importance of sports and the need for children to play. He recalled his childhood days when he would go out to play street soccer with his friends until he realised his dreams of becoming a football star. With the health risks associated with childhood obesity, parents are encouraged to allow their children develop healthy lifestyles and embrace active sporting activities, which helps to build the physical body and character.

Said Ikpeba: “This initiative is not a talent hunt.

Its goal is to encourage children to come out and have fun, while exercising their bodies. At the end of it all, they go home with soccer balls and nice gifts as encouragement to continue on a healthy path.�

Childhood obesity is one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century and overweight children are likely to stay obese until adulthood, developing some of the non-communicable disease outlined earlier on. Programmes like the Lets Play initiative by MultiChoice Nigeria should be greatly encouraged to assist families to fight obesity, thereby giving their wards healthy lifestyles that will stay with them for life. Indeed, a healthy nation is a wealthy nation.

Austin Okocha leading the kids during the Lets Play Initiative at the Legacy Pitch of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos

Thrilling Young Swimmers Prove Sport is not Only Football

Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă™Ă˜Ă–ĂŁ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ ͚̋͝ãĂ?Ă‹ĂœĚ‹Ă™Ă–ĂŽ Ă?Ă˜Ă“ ĂŽĂ?Ă•Ă?ĂŁĂ? Ă?ĂĄĂ“Ă— ÞåÓĂ?Ă?Ë? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă“ĂœĂ?Ăž ĂĄĂ‹Ă? ĂĄĂ’Ă?Ă˜ Ă’Ă? ĂĄĂ‹Ă? Ă‹ĂŒĂ™Ă&#x;Ăž Ă?Ă“Ă Ă? ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœĂ? ÙÖÎ ĂŒĂ‹ĂĄĂ–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™Ă&#x;Ăž Ă’Ă“Ă? ĂŽĂ“Ă?ÞËĂ?ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂĄĂ‹ĂžĂ?ĂœËœ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă–Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂŽ ĂĄĂ‹Ă? ÞåÙ Ă‹ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ? Ă‹Ă‘Ă™ Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă˜Ă?ĂĄĂ–ĂŁĚ‹ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂŒĂ“Ă?Ă’Ă?ĂŽ Ă?ĂĄĂ“Ă—Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă‹ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– ÞËÎÓĂ&#x;Ă— Ă&#x;ĂœĂ&#x;Ă–Ă?ĂœĂ?Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă’Ă? ĂĄĂ‹Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ–ĂŁ ĂœĂ?ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? ÍşĂ˜ĂŽ Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹ Ă™Ă˜Ă?Íş Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă™Ăœ ĂĄĂ“Ă—Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă’Ă‹Ă—ĂšĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?ÒÓÚ˛ Ă? Ă’Ă? ĂŒĂ–Ă“ĂžĂ¤Ă?ĂŽ Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă’Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă“Ă‹Ă˜ ĂœĂ“Ă Ă‹Ă– Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? ÙÚĂ?Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă–Ă‹Ăš Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ͺ͸͸× ×ÓâĂ?ĂŽ Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?ÞãÖĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă–Ă‹ĂŁËœ ÞÒÙĂ&#x;Ă‘Ă’Ăž Ă‹ĂŒĂ™Ă&#x;Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂ• Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă?Ăž Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ™ĂžĂ’ ĂšĂ“Ă˜Ă?Ă’Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÓ×Ă?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂĄĂ’Ă‹Ăž Ă‹Ă—Ă‹Ă¤Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ă? ĂĄĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‘Ă?Ăž Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă–ĂŽĂœĂ?Ă˜ ÞÙ ĂŽĂ™ Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă? ĂĄĂ? Ă?Ă˜Ă‘Ă‹Ă‘Ă? ÞÒĂ?Ă— Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ“Ă‘Ă’Ăž ĂĄĂ‹ĂŁ

I

t was really an absolute delight to watch these emerging talents from Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and Benin compete for glory. They showed that great sport goes beyond just football. It is disappointing that a country of almost 200 million people with proven sports pedigree, has been limited to just one major sport – football. Nigeria was not always so. Back when ours was a relatively sane society, we followed, and were excellent at other sports like boxing, wrestling, table tennis, tennis, cricket, and athletics. Swimming has never really been our forte, but it is nonetheless a thrilling sport that can engage large numbers of athletes and spectators. It also makes excellent viewing on television, meaning it can reach and appeal to tens of millions of Nigerians worldwide.

My biggest takeaway from the competition was how sports impact families. I have always argued on this column that we lose a lot economically and socio-culturally by not prioritising sports in this country. Sports, for one, have the power to focus families around developing their young. Parents, extended family and friends usually form strong support groups around budding stars, helping them grow as athletes, and invariably strengthening the family unit. I was at the stadium to support Seni as family, and there were many other families there too. Dads were not too busy with friends or work, mothers were not at some event; everyone knew who and what was most important.

There are those who argue, and I am one, that the major problem we face as a nation is the failure in our homes. We are failing our young, we are not engaging them productively, we are not teaching them the values sports bring to a nation: values of merit, collaboration, fairness, empathy, leadership, respect for others, healthy living, discipline and, above all else, the love of country.

These youngsters were learning from their early teens the importance of, and pride in, serving their countries. You hardly learn that in a biology or literature class. That is why sport is critical for all-round education, and why its backburner status in our schools is a danger to our nation. As research has proven, sports get children more involved in school activities and consequently their studies. Sports also makes them aspire to higher ideals, improves their problem-solving skills, discipline, eating habits and social competence.

While the children swam, us adults from Nigeria and Ghana joked about which country made the better Jollof rice. It was good fun. We also found time to discuss the similar problems dogging our countries and why we needed to work together more as Africans to lift the continent. How badly we need that camarade-

rie that sports engender that makes us feel like one humanity, one Africa, one Nigeria.

Economically there was business for our hotels. As one Ghanaian parent pointed out to me, there were 21 families from Ghana, each paying at least $50 per day for hotel accommodation for the six days of the competition.

There was also business for food and beverages producers, airlines, phone companies, local transportation and the stadium. It was rather shocking though that there was not a single ATM in sight. Even more ludicrous was being told that there was some policy against erecting ATMs at government stadiums. Some people could not access money to buy things and that’s bad for business!

Still, we need more of these tournaments across different sports every weekend in this country. Government should grant the sports industry special status, like it did agriculture, especially with our population spiraling out of control and our peoples increasingly polarised.

With an estimated population of 192m today, and 398m by 2050 - and with the majority 18 or under - there is a desperate need for positive engagements. An Uber driver I engaged recently claimed that in Oshodi where he lives, 90% of the young teenage girls get pregnant within three months of leaving secondary school.

While this cannot be held as fact, it is loosely representative of any lower income community around the country. Without much to engage them, these kids turn to unprotected sex, falling prey to jobless and irresponsible area boys and motorpark touts.

Internationally, countries see sports as a vehicle to boost pride. Swimming is especially a favourite of leading nations because of its medal-earning power. For all the popularity of football, it can only fetch a country one Olympic gold for men and one for women. At the Rio Olympics, the USA shipped 33 medals from swimming alone, with 16 of them gold!

It was also a point made at this competition by the undoubted star of the competition Ndiaye Ahmadou who won eight gold medals for Senegal!

Domestic swimming should also be easy to sell. Years back when my own son competed at the American International School in V.I., two daughters of then Cross Rivers State governor Donald Duke competed, as did the son of Zenith Bank supremo Jim Ovia, and a frightening trio of Dere Otubu sons. Duke, Ovia, Otubu were all there to support their wards, hopping and screaming like the average spectator.

What the sport needs to get big sponsorship now is more professional packaging. Brands go where there’s fun, and where there are people with good disposable income. Swimming ticks both boxes.

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˺˺

Olympique de Marseille fans hold a banner aimed at Evra, reading: 'You thought you were above the institution OM and its supporters. We don't want you wearing our colours.'

Lewis Hamilton

UEFA Ban Evra for Kung-fu Kick on Supporter Patrice Evra's contract has been terminated

by Marseille after he was banned until June 2018 for kung-fu kicking a fan.

The former France captain was sent off before Marseille's Europa League defeat against Vitoria on November 2 after lashing out at a supporter who Evra claimed was abusing him.

UEFA charged Evra under article 15 of their disciplinary regulations, which deals with the misconduct of players, banning him from their club competitions until June.

And Marseille quickly followed news of his suspension by terminating his contract with immediate effect.

A statement published on Marseille's website read: "Patrice Evra has been exemplary on the field and in the locker room. He played an important role in reviving the

team and in the improvement of results.

"However, on November 2 in Guimaraes he committed an irreparable act by responding to provocations from a handful of individuals.

"Nothing justified such a reaction, especially from a senior player whose attitude both on and off the pitch should inspire the youngest of us. "In that context, the conditions were no longer right for Patrice Evra to accomplish his mission here with serenity or, above all, effectively.

"Both parties agreed to end the collaboration by mutual consent.

"This incident also highlighted the unacceptable attitude of a small number of people who uttered insults and threats of violence towards the player and his family before contemptuously invading the pitch.

"Such behaviour, which exposes the club to sanctions, has no place in the stands of a football stadium and at Marseille in particular."

Club president Jacques-Henri Eyraud added: "Today, there is sadness. For Patrice Evra first, who obviously understood all the consequences of his action and who will no longer be able to exercise his passion at Olympique de Marseille.

"Also for Marseille fans, who are stigmatised because of the irresponsible behaviour of a handful of them."

Marseille's American owner Frank McCourt had described Evra's behaviour as "unacceptable" and "not something that we can tolerate", while fans held up a giant banner before last Sunday's game against Caen saying: "We don't want you in our colours anymore. Evra get lost."

Hamilton Tops in Brazilian GP First Practice Lewis Hamilton headed team-mate Valtteri Bottas as Mercedes finished one-two in first practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Hamilton was 0.127 seconds ahead of the Finn, with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen a further 0.415secs behind and 0.006secs ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was fifth ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.

Williams' Felipe Massa was seventh, ahead of McLaren's Stoffel Vandoorne and Force India's Esteban Ocon.

British 19-year-old George Russell,

making his debut at a grand prix weekend with a run in first practice at Interlagos, was 12th quickest in the Force India, three places and 0.6secs off team-mate Esteban Ocon in a controlled and impressive debut.

Hamilton clinched the championship at the last race in Mexico, but has arrived in Brazil saying that he is determined to ensure he does not have the same post-title slump that he had the last time he clinched the championship early in 2015.

"There are two races to go," Hamilton

said on Thursday. "It is a better time than ever to apply even more pressure, just because you can."

That remark was a reference to the implosion of Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel's title challenge in the last few races, from leading it after the Belgian Grandz Prix at the end of August, to losing it just six races later with two still to go.

On the evidence of first practice, Hamilton has a strong chance to continue his winning form - Mercedes appeared to be in a league of their own at this early stage.

AIICO Insurance Tennis Championship Climaxes at Ikoyi Club Today Igbiti promises more collaboration with the tennis session Games captain, Mustapha craves for bigger sponsorship The AIICO Insurance Tennis Championship taking place at the tennis session of the Ikoyi Club 38 comes to a close today after three days of scintillating tennis.

The four-day tournament which kicked off in style with about 50 participants vying for honours is strictly for members of Ikoyi Club 1938 Tennis Section.

Players of varying categories were divided into the Red and Blue groups, with each group comprising of four teams of six players with team names representing AIICO Insurance product

brands.

Speaking at a press briefing to herald the competition, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of AIICO Insurance Plc., Mr. Edwin Igbiti, represented by Mr. Adewale Kadri, Executive Director Technical, said “AIICO Insurance Plc. is very happy to collaborate with Ikoyi Club 1938 for the third year running. He also said the sponsorship aligns with AIICO’s vision to encourage a healthy lifestyle and wellness through sports.�

The Games Captain, Tennis Section of Ikoyi Club 1938, Akeem Mustafa stated that “Tennis section was happy with the collaboration with AIICO Insurance Plc. which is a leading Insurance Company in Nigeria for the third year running�.

He encouraged the company to make the “sponsorship even bigger next year�. He further stated that “the tennis championship promotes inclusiveness amongst members as most participants will be rewarded with exciting prizes and trophies�.

Companies Push for 4 Inches Heel Race Final Reputable companies have continued to indicate interest to be part of the maiden 4 inches heel race event which will come up next weekend in Lagos.

The unique race is organised by DAK Marketing Services Limited, an integrated marketing communications outfit. The Senior Client Service Manager of the outfit, Mercy Ukpai Uma, disclosed that

companies like C-Jimson Nigeria Limited, makers of Drylove range of products, Rite foods Limited, manufacturers of Bigi soft drinks and Rite sausage rolls, Emily Millionaire Cosmetics and Avis Nigeria Limited have come on board to be part of the event which will take place on November 18, at the CMD Field in Magodo, Shangisha, Ikeja. Also confirming the new

development, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of DAK Marketing Services, Elder Dede Kalu, said C-Jimson, a leading manufacturing and importing company in Nigeria, is excited to be part of the first of its kind event which will see young Nigerian ladies participating in a 100 meters race while wearing 4 inches high heeled shoes.

300 Teakwondo Players Set for Lagos Classics Over 300 Taekwondo Players drawn from across the world will participate at the 4th edition of the Lagos State Taekwondo International Classics holding from November 23-25, at Sir Molade Okoya Thomas hall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos.

A breakdown of the figures shows that the host country Nigeria top the list with highest number of athletes while Ghana, Senegal and Mali are leading the pack of foreign athletes coming for the big event that would be used to round off the 2017 Taekwondo activities in the state.

According to the chairman of the Main Organising Committee, Jimmy Ogunowo, who is also the chairman of the Lagos State Taekwondo Association said he is not surprised at the encouraging number of entries which appears to be the highest so far in the history of the championship.

"Lagos remains as the home of teakwondo where every stakeholder wants to visit," he remarked. He thanked their sponsors, coca-cola, Afriglobal Insurance Brokers, NEM Insurance and Indomie for their support in helping to actualize their dream through the sponsorship.

He assured that the state will continue to play her leading role in the developing the art not only in Nigeria but the entire West Africa sub-region as the flagship of Taekwondo in this part of the world.

Fidelity, First Bank Clash in Nigeria Bankers Games Final

Over 300 Taekwondo Players drawn from across the world will participate at the 4th edition of the Lagos State Taekwondo International Classics holding from November 23-25, at Sir Molade Okoya Thomas hall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos.

A breakdown of the figures shows that the host country Nigeria top the list with highest number of athletes while Ghana, Senegal and Mali are leading the pack of foreign athletes coming for the big event that would be used to round off the 2017 Taekwondo activities in the state.

According to the chairman of the Main Organising Committee, Jimmy Ogunowo, who is also the chairman of the Lagos State Taekwondo Association said he is not surprised at the encouraging number of entries which appears to be the highest so far in the history of the championship.

"Lagos remains as the home of teakwondo where every stakeholder wants to visit," he remarked. He thanked their sponsors, coca-cola, Afriglobal Insurance Brokers, NEM Insurance and Indomie for their support in helping to actualize their dream through the sponsorship. He assured that the state will continue to play her leading role in the developing the art not only in Nigeria but the entire West Africa sub-region as the flagship of Taekwondo in this part of the world.

Fury Vows to Beat AJ at 25 Stone Tyson Fury claims he could beat Anthony Joshua at 25 stone and vowed to "punch his face in" after Joshua called Fury "fat" and told him to "get fit".

Fury, who welcomed a fight with Joshua at Wembley next summer, has not fought since dethroning long-time heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in 2015.

The 29-year old is currently waiting for a final ruling from UK Anti-Doping for a suspended drugs ban, a period which has seen Fury gain weight through inactivity.

Joshua, who has been called out by WBC title holder Deontay Wilder, took to social media to label Fury "fat" and ordered him to "get fit" if a fight between the pair is to happen.

However, Fury responded by claiming he'd beat his fierce domestic rival despite weighing "25 stone", calling Joshua "useless".

"This is a message to the weight-lifter, big Anthony Joshua - the tough man. Who told me to get fit?" Fury said on Instagram.

"To be honest with you, I don't need to get fit to fight somebody like you, at all.

"I'll come to you and I'll punch your face in for you. Even at 25 stone.

"So I really don't need to get fit for you, put it that way."

34

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž NOVEMBER 11, 2017

Our Midstream Jetty is West Africa’s First Privately-Owned – Deji Osikoya It’s construction cost about USD 150 million In this interview, the General Manager of ASPM Limited, a subsidiary of OVH Energy, Mr. Deji Osikoya, talks about the recently launched Lagos Midstream Jetty and how it is designed to radically transform Nigeria’s petroleum downstream landscape. Adedayo Adejobi writes

T

ell us about the Lagos Midstream Jetty The Lagos Midstream Jetty is West Africa’s first privately owned mid-stream jetty, designed to increase the vessel delivery capacity and off-loading efficiency of petroleum products at Apapa Lagos. It was conceived to bypass the infrastructure bottlenecks experienced in the Apapa axis thus eliminating the lightering and demurrage charges currently being incurred by marketers.

The facility has a draft of 13.5 m, LOA (length overall) of 210m and capacity to receive 55,000 displacement vessels and has the design capacity to discharge at up to 800 m3 (cubic meters) of petroleum products per hour, operating 24 hours a day / 7 days a week to supply products into storage facilities situated at Apapa, via a 3 km pipeline network to be linked directly with over 200,000 MT storage belonging to major and independent marketers in Nigeria. It has a monthly volume capacity of up to 240,000MT. How much was invested into the construction of the Jetty?

The jetty was constructed at a cost of about USD 150 million. This novel piece of infrastructure is set to transform the receipt of petroleum products into the country and create sustainable efficiencies within the Downstream sector. We estimate that this new addition to the African oil and gas landscape will save marketers over $50 million annually; increase receipt capacity, efficiency in product discharge, reduce vessel waiting time as well as promote synergies amongst marketers.

Why a Midstream Jetty?

The existing Apapa Jetties are fraught with several bottlenecks which in most cases results in excessive demurrage, lightering and other shipping costs. To better address your question, I will approach it from three (3) major issues we set out to resolve.

First - Draft constraints: The current Apapa jetties are significantly limited with respect to their drafts which averages about 7-10m and as result they can only receive vessels of about 25,000 MT in capacity. This results in loss of

L-

economies of scale for marketers.

Second - Requirement for lightering of larger vessels into smaller vessels: Owing to the existing draft constraints erstwhile mentioned at the Apapa jetties, vessels supplied with larger content of 37,000MT and above have to be lightered or transhipped into smaller vessels before delivery to marketers.

This lightering operation is estimated to cost petroleum marketers over $33 million annually, and potentially passed on to every user of the product buying at the retail stations.

Third, excessive demurrage costs: Excessive demurrage fees are one of the main challenges facing marketers at the Apapa jetties. On the average, vessels waiting to berth at the Apapa Jetties have to wait between 7 to 21 days before berthing for discharge into the marketers depot or storage facility can take place, thus most vessels are already on demurrage even before vessel discharge commences.

Demurrage costs to petroleum marketers are estimated to be over $26 million annually.

What makes this jetty distinctive?

The Jetty has a 2.2km X 16� pipelines potentially connected to over 200,000MT of storage; it has 800,000L/hr. discharge capacity; the Length overall (LOA) of the Jetty is 210m.

The Jetty is equipped with environmental pollution prevention system designed to forestall spills into the Lagoon and other world class safety systems.

The Jetty is also equipped with a safe vessel berthing aid system and a gangway tower to facilitate vessel product discharge operations.

At the construction of the Jetty, we took into consideration, world class environment and safety standards, which was why we built the automated firefighting system in accordance to the NFPA-30 standard. There is an Emergency Shut-down valve in accordance to API 6FA to shut down operation in the event of an emergency. The Oil Water Collection system of the facility is in line with the international standard of API 608 and its fire resistance was designed in accordance to API 6FA. The facility also has a sophisticated weather monitoring system which has the capability to monitor the weather conditions in real time.

All of these operational considerations were put in place as a demonstration of OVH

Energy’s commitment as an organisation to zero incidences in our business operations.

The Lagos Midstream is monitored and operated from an on-shore control station at Alapata, Apapa which serves as the central control centre for its off-shore and on-shore operational activities fully equipped with an automated process control system.

What does Nigeria Stand to beneďŹ t from the Lagos Midstream Jetty?

The economic benefits of OVH Energy’s Lagos Midstream Jetty is enormous. Over the past 3 decades, marketers have spent p app proximately NGN1.6 N1.6 Trillion ($4.5 billion) on lightering, with th 90 p percent of this spend flowing out ut of the country.

Today we have delivered a first class piece of engineering gineering g g that meets global standards, ndards, the first of its kind in n subSaharan Africa and nd will be of invaluable benefit nefit to the industry and nation ion at large g in curbing this overhead. verhead. It is therefore safe to o say y that the Lagos Midstream eam Jetty y will help Nigeria to recover over N1.4 Trillion n ($4 billion) hitherto lost on lightering ghtering to other countries.

Petroleum marketers rketers had consistently faced d the very y expensive discharge rge g of p prod prod-ucts into Apapa p ports which eroded their profits. fits. Some Some-times it costs oil marketers an average of $900,000 00 to discharge g petroleum products, cts, more than it costs to ship a cargo rgo g of p products from Europe. Thee LMJ is designed g to eliminate thesee challenges. g The new facility will also enable cost-savings within Nigeria’s downstream sector of over $50 0 million as a result of increased d receipt capacity, efficiency y in product dischargee and reduced vessel sel waiting time, ultimately eliminating

demurrage and lightering requirements.

This project comes as a welcome relief both to the oil sector and the entire country, considering the estimated $60 billion required to develop oil and gas infrastructures. The Jetty will unlock job opportunities, wealth creation and strengthen economic development across the country.

Nigeria currently has 127 jetties which have proven insufficient to service the needs of the populace. This insufficiency has led to major fuel importers discharging their products outside the shores of Nigeria, specifically p y at the p ports in Cotonou,, Benin, Niger g Republic p and Lome, Togo. g I believe the Lagos g Midstream Jetty is about to change g this. We are set to witness a boost in the delivery y of petroleum p products p to terminals around the Apapa p p axis and the nation at large.

35

NOVEMBER 11, 2017 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

TELECOM WORLD

L-R: Abimbola Umozurike, Manager, Prepaid Call Centre; Sanjib Roy, Region Director, Planning and Technical, and Eric Uwaoma, Coordinator, Enterprise Group, all of Globacom, at the launch of Glo Data Revolution in Lagos on Monday

Telecoms Santa! Globacom Dazzles Subscribers with Free Internet Data and Airtime ...Subscribers Set Social Media Aglow With Appreciation Telecoms Santa! Globacom Dazzles Subscribers with Free Internet Data and Airtime Across Nigeria and beyond, among Globacom subscribers and non-subscribers alike, awe and surprise have greeted the announcement of two new bonanza packages; Glo Jumbo SIM and Everyday Bonanza, by the telecoms provider. The unprecedented and novel bonanza offerings have expectedly been generating positive talk points and thumbs up across social and traditional media platforms. But for Globacom and those conversant with its robust antecedent in breaking new grounds in mobile telephony (remember they broke the glaring hoodoo of Per Second Billing and crashed SIM prices?), the bonanzas are just a fractional fulfilment of its bond with Nigerians to provide affordable mobile telephony and give back to loyal subscribers Adedayo Adejobi writes

“W

ait, wait, what you are telling me now is that if I throw away this my old Glo SIM and buy a new one, that it is pre-loaded (with N200, 000) airtime?”, Happy, an avid Twitter user with the handle @ happytotwit, asked incredulously when news of Globacom’s ‘Glo Jumbo SIM’ bonanza went viral days back. “Yesssoo...in fact, e dey do me like dream,” another user of the popular microblogging site responded in vernacular.

Happy was not alone in the openmouthed astonishment that trailed the foremost telecoms operator’s announcement of the Glo Jumbo SIM offer which preloads every new SIM with N200, 000 air time that can be used for data or calls. According to a tweet from its verified Twitter handle, “We’ve landed the 8th wonder of the world just for you. Be the coolest in your clique with the Glo Jumbo SIM.” In several other tweets and retweets, Glo announced and affirmed that it wasn’t just new SIM buyers that were beneficiaries of the bonanza; by dialling *224#, an existing Glo user would be gifted the same amount of airtime.

This offer, which gives the subscriber value that is not only unprecedented but also unimaginable in Nigeria’s telecoms industry, sent blogosphere into a tailspin with excited subscribers and non-subscribers alike spreading the gospel of the Glo Jumbo SIM. AuraCool, a popular Twitter handle, echoed Glo; “This is the 8th wonder of the world,

you guys. N200, 000 worth of airtime when you get a new Glo SIM; waooo!!!”

Similarly, Tunde Fatuntele, a UK-based Brand expert, in reaction to the news said, “This is just unbelievable but totally true, all new Glo SIMs come with N200, 000.” Olayeye Raymond, a public affairs analyst, quipped, “Only Globacom can do this.” A responder to the news in a national newspaper waxed poetic; “There is certainly no excess in surplus as nocturnal and diurnal subscribers to the Globacom network, excite over gifts of data and other interminable perks showered on them by the telecoms provider. There is no gainsaying Globacom has a capacity for consumer satisfaction so vast that it gives away great chunks to its subscribers in appreciation of their loyalty and patronage. We are proud of them.”

Interestingly, while this new offer is understandably mouth-watering and worthy of the hubbub it has generated, delighting its subscribers is not alien to the promoters of Globacom; in fact, it is all in a day’s job. Since inception, Globacom has stayed true to its promise to give Nigerians mobile telephony at affordable rates. Otunba Mike Adenuga, the chairman of Globacom had stated then, “We are determined to be world class, pure and simple. Our vision is to build the biggest and best network in Africa.” He made good his words in the early days of Globacom by crashing the sky-high price of SIM cards and then, introduced the Per Second Billing, which MTN and Econet (the precursor company of Airtel) had told Nigerians with stone-cold remorselessness was not feasible in Nigeria. Consequently,

this began the revolution that made mobile telephony not just an exclusive preserve of the privileged and well heeled but a necessity for Nigerians of all ages, from the North to the South and everywhere in between. Globacom, a Proudly Nigerian company with the wellbeing of Nigerians the core of its business principle, has come to stay.

And Nigerians have been the beneficiary of different bonanzas since then.

Alongside the jumbo SIM bonanza, GLO also announced the Everyday Bonanza which will see 50 lucky subscribers win television sets every Monday (750 TV sets in total),150 subscribers will win 4G-LTE smart phones every Tuesday (2250 in total), 100 subscribers will win generating sets every Wednesday (1,400 in total), 100 subscribers will take home refrigerators every Thursday (1,400 total), 200 winners of microwave ovens every Friday (2,800 total), while 650 subscribers will walk home with 4G-LTE Mi-Fis on Saturdays (9,100 total).”

Ashok Israni, Globacom’s regional chief marketing officer, said, “To crown the week-long largesse to its subscribers, Globacom will be giving out a brand new Hyundai Accent to a lucky subscriber every Sunday, making a total of 14 car winners.” He said, “All a subscriber needs to do to qualify for these life-impacting prizes is to recharge his or her phone with at least N100 worth of credit. Each N100 credit purchased entitles a subscriber to an entry. So the more recharge a subscriber makes, the more entries he gets and consequently the greater the chance to win quality gifts every day.”

This offer, which gives the subscriber value that is not only unprecedented but also unimaginable in Nigeria’s telecoms industry, sent blogosphere into a tailspin with excited subscribers and non-subscribers alike spreading the gospel of the Glo Jumbo SIM

36

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͚͚˜ ͺ͸͚;

FAIRGROUND

ART X Lagos – The Most Talked about Social Event of the Year

with

AZUKA OGUJIUBA

azuka.ogujiuba@thisdaylive.com

T

he 2017 edition of ART X Lagos opened last night as a sea of the city’s finest thronged the VIP preview of this year’s array of featured works and installations.

The three-day art fair is featuring 14 leading international art galleries and over 60 artists from 15 countries across Africa and the Diaspora.

ART X Lagos was declared open by His Highness, Muhammadu Sanusi II (CON), Emir of Kano. The Emir was joined by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, and a wide array of dignitaries from corporate and social Nigeria, as he completed the opening formalities.

In only its second year, ART X Lagos has already emerged as the premier international art fair in West Africa. The 2017 edition drew a record audience of over 9,000.

ART X Lagos 2017 was a weekend of fascinating content – highlights include the exhibitions, specially curated installations, a programme of talks including ‘In Conversations with Njideka Akinyili Crosby’, the ART X Prize, and this year’s audience favourite – ART X Live!

Bidemi Zakariyau and Denola Grey

Tokoni Peterside

Sanusi Lamido

Lai Mohammed

Femi Gbajabiamila and his wife

Atedo Peterside, Nduka Obaigbena, Mo Abudu and Dakuku Peterside

Zed Eye

Kinabuti, Nikruka Ijeoma Nwoaguwgwu and oher guest at the event

37

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͚͚˜ ͺ͸͚;

FAIRGROUND

Knorr Partners Taste o Food Festival

U

nilever ’s largest food brand, Knorr, has partnered Taste Off Food Festival to bring a fusion of exciting delicacies from all over Nigeria to food lovers in Lagos.

Knorr is one of the world’s top food seasoning brands that enrichs people’s lives through rich ingredient and flavour.

Knorr believes that nutritious and delicious food should be within everyone’s reach.

By end of 2017 our Force For Good programme would have reached 20 million direct and indirect contacts and the aim is to reach 100 million by 2020, to improve their health and

well-being by teaching them how to prepare nutritious food.

Speaking at the Taste Off Food Festival Press Conference, Marketing Manager Savoury, Unilever GhanaNigeria, Nnenna Osi-Anugwa, said, “At Knorr we love food the way you love food.

We go the extra mile in ensuring you have great flavour in your meals using knorr.

We are your partner and our role is to inspire you to make great meals that bring people together. We don’t just make food, we live it.�

Knorr is fortified with ironrich ingredients that help to improve the nutritional value of everyday recipes.

Abisola Dejonwo

Verditer Concepts: Exquisite and Luxury Events Hardware Launched

T

he Nigerian events industry is one that continues to boom greatly. With more event planners, decorators, rental services and many more services entering into the scene, the sector has seen a tremendous growth in recent years. It is no wonder that event management in Nigeria has sparked the interest of international media as they uncover the workings of the Nigerian party scene.

Ever so often, events of different magnitudes are organized; from big flamboyant weddings, corporate events, press conferences, concerts to small private gatherings, there is a growing need for event rental services to provide necessary accessories to suit the needs of every event.

Upping the game in event rentals, Verditer Concepts launched to bring a new and fresh face to the events industry.

Verditer is an event Logistics Company based in Lekki, Lagos, specializing in the rental and production of luxury, bespoke event hardware and stylish props and accessories, ideal for weddings, corporate functions, social events, concerts, festivals and many more.

Verditer hosted a private viewing of the showroom with key players in the event industry showing their assorted wares which were sure to impress. From the extraordinary collection of the finest product lines, to classic and contemporary pieces, stakeholders left the venue convinced that Verditer is a top choice for all their event needs.

From cozy cocktail parties to private sit-down dinner soirees to extravagant weddings, Verditer is equipped to outfit both large and small gatherings boasting of exquisite and exceptional wares such as; titanium half-moon tables, LED artificial maple trees, crystal rose gold cocktail tables, luxury lounge chairs, gold Square LED Banquet Tables and many more.

For those looking for luxury and stylish event hardware and accessories, verditer is the one-stop shop for all event rental needs across Nigeria; they cater to clients outside Lagos as they have strong logistics infrastructure to deliver merchandises to Ibadan, Abeokuta, Abuja, Port Harcourt and even more cities to come. Verditer opens its doors to event decorators, planners, all in all event professionals who want to experience what the company has to offer firsthand.

Partcipants at the events

The Wellbaby Wellness Train

T

he WellBaby Wellness Train #TWWT, an annual project is bringing together stakeholders in the health and wellness industry for one day solely to encourage Nigerians to live healthier and happier lives by exposing them to right choices for themselves and their families. Beyond raising more awareness and helping with practical solutions, it is set to bridge the gap of connectivity; where businesses and individuals are linked directly to the products and services required to enable them make those positive lifestyle choices.

In this maiden edition, the train is focusing on “Childhood Obesity,� an issue that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared a global problem. Obesity is fast rising among children in Nigeria with about 1.5 million cases per year reported according to the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan.

Childhood obesity leads to diabetes, high blood pressure, heart and bone diseases and in some cases even death. Obesity is a result of choices made mostly in the area of nutrition

and physical activity making it a preventable and treatable condition.

With the live Fitness and Cooking Demos, Landmark Tours, the Wellness Mart, the Experience Centre, the Green Lounge and Childcare Services; participants will not only get to engage in the conversations regarding the roles of the special needs community, media, schools, parents and the government on curbing obesity; they will also receive trainings on basic wellness techniques, know their wellness status as well as get pampered while they enjoy a free aromatherapy class at the wellness spa. With Arit Okpo as Host and facilitators such as AVM Femi Gbadebo, Lola Alonge, Mary Ikoku, Ifueko Thomas, Izefua Erhaboh, Samson Ologbe, Ruby Agu, Kemi Bawa-Allah, Okeyinfu Ajayi and Miyonse Amosu; the event promises networking and marketing opportunities for the discerning individuals and organizations that will participate. “We are beyond excited to work with our partners and sponsors on this project as we all do our bit in making the world a better and safer place� said Kris Oziofu Ero, Convener

Kris Oziofu Ero

and Owner of WellBabyNG; “We are driven by our passion for child and family wellness, because they are the bedrock of any society.

We all are mostly products of our nurturing as children.

38

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž NOVEMBER 11, 2017

TEENS

CONNECT

From Me To You

!

– NKECHI IBENEME 08142358958 – (sms only)

W B

The Future Is Now hen is the best time to make hay? I know your answer is the same old clichĂŠ; “while the sun shinesâ€?‌.well, nothing

foundation. Likewise, before a building is erected, there must be an architectural design which details the overall outlook of the building. This architectural design is a guide which the engineer must follow strictly, except in rare cases when it is tinkered to achieve better results. Sometimes, people copy the designs of existing buildings that have made a positive impression on them – so, copying is allowed even in building construction.

Now that you are young, begin to draw the

can be truer.

Now is the sunshine of your life. It then means that this is the best time to plan, invest in and shape your future.

The solidity of a building depends largely on its

architectural design of your life. When you are done drawing, begin to work towards the actualisation of your vision. While at it, you are allowed to borrow a leaf from the life/lives of established adults. In other words, you are encouraged to have role model(s) that you might want to shape your life after.

But, whatever you do and whoever you choose to be, learn a lot about technology; it is the future and that future is already upon us.

Still on the Apapa trip‌..

efore I set out, the most popular advice I got was to drop my car and go by public transport. Thank God I listened to that advice because the story would have been more pitiably dierent from the one I am now telling.

Being a place I haven’t visited in years and with all the stories coming out of Apapa, I set out with mixed feelings not knowing what lay ahead.

The ďŹ rst ‘baptism’ stemmed from the confusion about which route I should take; I had been informed that the Funso Williams (Western Avenue) end

“

was totally blocked. That left me with the option of going through the Berger/Coconut end, which turned out to be a horror trip.

When I got on the bus, the promise was that the trip would terminate a few metres after Coconut then I could bike to my ďŹ nal destination. But we were barely in Berger when the bus ride terminated due to gridlock.

Alas! that was when the real journey began.

Wanna know more? Keep a date with me next week for the concluding part of this story.

Joke

“

Life will never provide warranties and guarantees. It can only provide possibilities and opportunities. It’s up to us to convert them to success –Beautiful Quotes

͚͸͚ a guide to your career choice‌.

by Opeyemi Awoyemi

What I wish every secondary school student knew and practised (III)‌.

If many adults knew what they know now, their lives would be pleasantly different‌ Hello friend, today, we will continue with more nuggets on self discovery and actualization. t -FBSO B NVTJDBM JOTUSVNFOU *U JODSFBTFT your ability to be innovative. t "DU JO B ESBNB :PV XJMM HFU CFUUFS BU boldness and being creative. t %FDJEF XIBU ZPV XPVME MJLF UP CF BOE why? t 5SZ JOUFSOTIJQT BOE BGUFS TDIPPM KPCT JO ďŹ elds other than the ones you are familiar with. Even if you think you know what you want to do, make sure you get a taste of TPNFUIJOH UPP "HBJO * TBZ CFJOH JOEJGGFSFOU UP learning new things is plain stupid!

t * OFFE ZPV UP LOPX UIBU ZPV EPO U IBWF to work as what you studied. For example, IBWJOH B # " JO 'SFODI ;PPMPHZ #JPDIFNJTUSZ EPFT OPU NFBO ZPV UP XPSL JO BO FNCBTTZ [PP MBCPSBUPSZ +PCT PVU UIFSF SBSFMZ DPOUBJO courses like these as the main pre-requisite in UIF KPC EFTDSJQUJPO :PV KVTU OFFE UP UIJOL BOE XPSL QBTU ZPVS BDBEFNJD EFHSFF :PV DBO FBSO B MJWJOH EPJOH KVTU BCPVU BOZUIJOH BOE still have a wonderful life.

More nuggets next week t 0QFZFNJ "XPZFNJ JT BO VOEFS UFDIOPMPHZ FOUSFQSFOFVS )F JT UIF GPVOEFS PG OVNCFS KPC TJUF JO "GSJDB +PCCFSNBO )F JT BMTP UIF GPVOEFS PG 8IP (P )PTU BO VQXBSEMZ NPCJMF XFC IPTUJOH DPNQBOZ (PPHMF IJT OBNF UP LOPX NPSF

T

hree friends named Alabi, Musa and Nkeonye decided to go camping in the desert for seven days. They took along some foodstuffs, water and a bottle of wine.

By the sixth day, they had finished all the food and water, now having only the bottle of wine.

Alabi then came up with a formula for the sharing of the wine. He said that the top wine was his, while the middle was for Musa and the one at the bottom was for Nkeonye.

Very early on the seventh day, Nkeonye drank the whole wine while the others were still sleeping. When they woke up and saw that the bottle was empty they were furious and challenged Nkeonye. He calmly asked Alabi, “what portion of wine did you say was mine?� To this he replied, “the bottom.� Nkeonye then said, “Why then are you people angry? I had to drink through your portion to get to mine and I didn’t want to wake you up seeing how tired you were.�

39

NOVEMBER 11, 2017SS ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

By Nkechi Ibeneme

TEENS CODE CONFERENCE – grooming the tech drivers of tomorrow Change is the only constant thing in life. Technological advancement is one change that has taken the world by storm and paved the way for a new world order In the rapidly growing tech world, only those who are tech savvy can function effectively and lead the rest of the pack.

Since teenagers are the future, it becomes imperative to prepare them adequately to be able to excel in the evolving world where technology is everything. At the vanguard of this crusade is an organisation called, Teens Can Code. In the belief that the opportunity every child has should not be determined by the status of their parents or where they live, Teens Can Code has been helping teenagers living in low-income areas access free intensive computer programming classes by organizing conferences across such localities, so every child can have access to it and be empowered with the skill of the future.

The ‘Teen Code’ conference which started its test run in Lagos State,

has held successfully in Alimosho, Ajegunle, Ikotun and most recently, Ejigbo , with a large crowd of teenagers gathering to learn about opportunities in tech. At the end of every conference there is a free follow-up training programme for select students of up to 50 in each of the communities for three months. Over 150 lucky students have been trained on HTML, CSS and JAVA Script since the commencement of the campaign in 2015. Similarly, about 5,000 more have been reached through conferences, workshops, and career days.

The Ejigbo summit which held recently was dubbed, ‘Read, Write and Code’. It had over 700 students drawn from various schools within the locality, in attendance. The high point of the event, which also attracted seasoned motivational speakers and technology entrepreneurs, including yours truly, was the donation of a brand new HP laptop by wave-making comedian, Otolorin kehinde Peter, aka, Kenny Blaq, to the winner of the tech quiz competition

R; Founder, Teens Can Code, Damian Ezirim with Kenny Blaq

Managing Partner, CEO, SwiftThink Ltd. Mr. Ayoola Jolayemi

Teen tech sensation … Olaolu Olawuyi

‘ Participants at the summit

Nkechi Ibeneme

Participants at the summit

R; Kenny Blaq presenting a laptop to the winner of the quiz competition

40

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER NOVEMBER 11, 2017

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

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Effectiveness of Twitter in Govt Communication in Nigeria

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ow does one talk about the use of Twitter in government-public communication without the mention of US President Donald Trump? He is perhaps Twitter’s biggest customer, tweeting directly many times a day to his nearly 42 million followers.

Although it has been described as unpresidential, and many Americans have disapproved of it, he is not about to stop.

According to last September’s NBC/WSJ poll, 66 percent of Americans disapproved of Trump’s use of Twitter, and that includes 87 percent of Democrats, 71 percent of women, 64 percent of independents, 61 percent of men, 59 percent of seniors, 46 percent of Republicans and even 36 percent of self-described Trump voters.

His defence is that tweeting directly without going through the conventional news media helped him win the elections; and Twitter is a vital way to communicate directly with the American people because of what he sees as bias in mainstream media against his administration – a way of going around the so-called filter of the press.

The practice of tweeting directly is not without risks. He has goofed many times on Twitter, contradicting his media team and other officials or making typographical mistakes, but that will also not stop him; not even when tweeting on impulse or in anger to attack people sometimes land him in trouble.

He continues to tweet and during a visit to China in the week, he flouted the Chinese government’s ban by sending a series of tweets to his 42 million followers.

The ability to communicate directly with 42 million people is for sure a big political advantage, but with it sometimes comes an equal weight of risk.

The Company Twitter is an online news and social networking service where users post and interact with messages, also known as “tweets�, restricted to 140 characters. The company has disclosed that it will increase the characters to 280. Twitter, Inc. is based in San Francisco, California, United States, and has more than 25 offices around the world.

It was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone and Evan Williams, and was launched in July of that year. The service rapidly gained worldwide popularity. As of 2016, Twitter had more than 319 million monthly active users, and it is said that on a particular day of the 2016 US presidential election, Twitter proved to be the largest source of breaking news, with 40 million election-related tweets sent by 10 p.m. (Eastern Time).. Twitter has become the most popular platform for this purpose and that has attracted governments all over the world.

Benefits of Social Media for Government Studies have shown enormous benefits governments can derive from the social media. Some of them are listed in this report by Sproutsocial.

Citizen Engagement: In the US, and other advanced countries, no matter what area of the public sector you’re in, there are some people you serve who are on social media. They’re asking questions and voicing their opinions.

The worst thing to do when people are trying to engage you is ignore them. It’s even worse for government agencies because there’s already a negative stigma attached to their level of citizen engagement. Social media presents a great opportunity to change that perception.

Acknowledging incoming Tweets or replying to Facebook comments can be enough to show concern or that an effort is being made.

Spreads of Information: If you want to make the public aware of new legislation, promote a cause or just inform citizens of important news, social media is the best place to do it. Mail is often just thrown away and never read, email delivery can be unreliable and just posting information on your website doesn’t guarantee that anyone will see it. In the US, 62 per cent of adults get their news from social media.

Also, information spreads easier on social

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

organisations. That’s good reach.�

Martins Oloja, former Editor, now editorial board member, The Guardian “Their use of Twitter can’t be effective because government officials in the country are not known to be in the social media: they hardly use Twitter and social media platforms to break their news. They are irregular. They don’t have a critical mass following. Besides, they don’t have running stories that newsroom operatives can follow up. What is worse, they don’t connect constructively with media operatives that can follow them!�

Dotun Adekanmbi, Journalist and MD, Strategic PRWox Twitter is effective to the extent that it guarantees immediacy and wider reach. Plus, it minimises incidence of ‘tinkering’ with message by news outlets Yes...considering growth in social media usage/habits in news consumption.

Smart phone media. People can share your Tweets or Facebook posts with the tap of a button, and immediately put it in front of their friends, family and colleagues.

Easier Communication: Whenever a major crisis breaks that directly impacts citizens, keeping the public well informed and up to date can build trust and provide some transparency.

While you may not be able to share certain sensitive information, an occasional Tweet can go a long way.

Nigeria There has been an increasing use of the social media by the tiers of government in Africa, including Nigeria, but Twitter appears to be the most preferable for government public communication.

How Africa Tweets is an annual study by Portland Communications which highlights Twitter trends, hashtag usage and online habits in Africa. In their 2015 report, Portland analysed 1.6 billion geolocated tweets and the top 5,000 hashtags for 2015. Here are highlights compiled in some reports. r 5XFFUT SFHBSEJOH FOUFSUBJONFOU EPNJOBUFE the pan-African feed last year, totalling just over 20% of all hashtags posted. The next four most popular hashtag themes were commerce, politics, lifestyle and football. r 5IF NPTU UXFFUT JO "GSJDB DBNF GSPN VQ north, with Egypt accounting for about 500 million. Nigeria came in second with 360 million tweets followed by South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana sitting at 325 million, 125 million, and 70 million tweets respectively. It total, Africa tweeted 1.86 billion times last year. r &OHMJTI JT UIF NPTU VTFE MBOHVBHF PO 5XJUUFS in Africa – as 77% of the top 5,000 hashtags were in English. r 5IF TUVEZ TIPXT B USFOE UPXBSET IBWJOH political debates on Twitter – with discussions around the category accounting for 10% of all geolocated tweets in Africa, compared to just 2% of hashtags in the US and UK. r 5IF UXP NPTU BDUJWF DPVOUSJFT JO UIF QPMJUJDBM debate were Nigeria and South Africa – possibly owing to the Nigerian presidential election and the student-lead #FeesMustFall movement in South Africa.

Effectiveness of Tweets in Government Communication in Nigeria If the essence of Twitter in public communication is to engage the public, clearly

its success rate will depend on the percentage of population that uses Twitter, and the number of followers the account owners have.

In Nigeria, it is not clear if any government or MDAs tries to use Twitter to side-step the press or go around their filter. If that is the case they have failed woefully because most of their key followers are indeed the media, which publishes what it receives on Twitter.

The source of the tweet also determines its usage. There have been cases recently where some government spokespersons tweeted vital news into the dark because they didn’t have much followership, even in the media.

For example on July 3, 2017, the spokesman of a top government official tweeted his principal was travelling overseas for the media to relay to the public. But as at the following morning this writer was the only one who had used it in his NEWS MORNING bulletin for some bigwigs because he had stumbled on the tweet the day before. Eniola Bello explains this: “The media will always pick the tweet of those they know.�

What Editors and Others Say The following are views of some editors about the use of Twitter in public communication by governments: Tony Onyima, former MD, The Sun: “Twitter has become the fastest way to release a statement, particularly public communication.

Its effectiveness is actually in doubt because the percentage of Nigerians on Twitter is few. It could also be dysfunctional depending on who’s handling it.�

Eniola Bello, MD, THISDAY: “Well, it can be effective if it’s use is strategic. The problem with our public officials is they tweetto say nothing important. For example, there is a top senator who is twitter active. But you can hardly get any news of value from his tweets. The same with most of our public officials. “It’s not about the platform, it’s the content. If they get the content right,Twitter use could be very effective. We’ve seen it in other climes. But our people jumped in without a strategy, without understanding it. A platform, any platform, is no more than an empty drum. It’s the content that gives it meaning, and relevance.�

Simon Kolawole, Publisher, The Cable “Twitter is very effective. We get tip offs. It’s faster while we await press releases. Pictures also come faster. It’s the way to go. Not to forget the feedback also come fast and without filtering.

In terms of reach, it is amplified by the news

Chukwudi Okolie-Ugbaja, Broadcaster & Communications Consultant Presently, if government is communicating with people on twitter, effectiveness is a bit out of it. Unlike Facebook, the twitter platform is still largely elitist. So how can twitter get to the ordinary people. This is Nigeria, not the United States.

On the other hand, we seem to be playing down the effectiveness of the seeming African belief in direct communication. We may not still be relying on the town crier but society still craves for one on one interaction with any institution it interacts with. It is more credible, discernible and general elicits confidence. Can we use Twitter to interact with Niger Delta militants on why they shouldn’t blow up gas and oil pipelines? And anyway, if direct representatives of the people are not readily believable, why should the twitter handle attract my trust?

Reuben Abati, journalist and former Presidential Spokesman I believe that the future of public communication lies in the social media. We have passed that stage when an editor in a traditional media outfit would play the role of the kingpin and dictator. The news cycle has shrunk and the locus of control/influence has shifted.

The new power brokers in the media are not even professional journalists. They are ordinary citizens empowered by technology. With an electronic device in your possession, you can report the news and influence public affairs.

As Presidential spokesperson, this much was clear to me, but it was both a challenge and an opportunity: to explore the advantages of the new media and reassure the media dictators of old; let me rephrase that - between managing a new, extraordinary constituency and managing the old, heavily challenged one, is a major challenge for a government spokesperson.

There are issues with the new media of course: the fact of anonymity and given mischief which promotes arrogance, criminality and unmitigated idiocy, and the absence of regulation or control, but it nonetheless remains a liberating, liberal and democratic medium. The social media in other words is here to stay, making it useful to our democracy and the human space is the challenge.

Its abuse could delimit the province of democracy and prove disastrous. You asked about twitter - it falls within the framework and I believe, I am convinced, it will remain relevant, as it has been, but addressing the larger issues, contradictions and discontents of the new media, in our emergent democracy and society is where the task ahead lies.

Conclusion: Twitter is a great platform for public communication, but unlike the US where 62 per cent of adults get news from the social media, and a president has over 42 million followers, we are not there yet. We should not discard the use of the traditional press releases and regular engagement with the media and stakeholders. Twitter alone cannot do the job of a good spokesperson and his principal.

NOVEMBER 11, 2017 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

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FASHION FILE

The Glaze Campaign Collection by

VANSKERE

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ NOVEMBER 11, 2017

FASHION FILE

By Azuka Ogujiuba azuka.ogujiuba@thisdaylive.com

The Glaze Campaign

S

IGNORE FUSION, the diffusion brand of VANSKERE, launches it’s GLAZE CAMPAIGN , an African-inspired street wear collection. The collection aims at removing the stereotypical impression of what an African inspired collection should be, giving it a true representation.

Quoting it’s Creative Director, Evans Akere “most people would want to interpret an African inspired collection with those stereotypical African images and symbols like feathers, African prints, Zebras, Kangaroo etc, which is usually the holistic approach, rather than focusing on a particular ethnicity, tradition and style” The Glaze Campaign focused on the metropolitan Lagos city for its inspiration, so you’re likely to see in the collection a mix of traditional wear with Western influences.

Credits Designer: Evans Akere Styling and Direction: Evans Akere/ Emmanuel Arewa Photography: Spotlight PI Makeup: Yemisi Dada Pr : Morsi Pr

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MARKET PLACE åÓÞÒ Ă—Ă™Ă–Ă‹ĂŒĂ‹Ă•Ă? Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă™Ă‘ĂŒĂ™Ă˜Ë›Ë›Ë› ͸΀͸͝͝͞ͺ͚͸͸Î

L-R: Manager, Communications, Zenera Consulting, Ejiro Obodo; Manager, Creative Strategy, Brian Anigbo; Head, External Aairs, Vodafone,Gayheart Mensah; Managing Partner, Zenera Consulting,Meka Olowola; Chief Operating OďŹƒcer, BuzzDigital Limited, Adejuwon Saheed and Manager, Media Relations, Zenera Consulting, Francis Jakpor at the 7th edition of the MarketingWorld Awards where Zenera Consulting emerged ‘Most Inspiring Agency of the Year’ in Accra, Ghana‌recently

Print Category Manager- Central Africa for HP, Allison Alassan ; Managing Director/District Manager, Central Africa, Mrs. Ifeyinwa Afe and Retail & Online Sales Manager, Central Africa, Nigeria, English West Africa & Libya , Tolulope Lawani at the launch of HP Sprocket recently.

Black Friday Sales: Shoppers’ Guide The 2017 ‘Black Friday’ deal is here and as usual, both online and offline platforms have started buying in the hope of connecting more with their actual and prospective consumers in their mouth-watery offers.

Black Friday is defined as the official start of the holiday shopping season. Traditionally, it is the day on which retailers begin to turn a profit, or are in the black. On this day, variety of products ranging from mobile phones, electronics, apparel, cosmetics and toys, among others are usually available at their lowest prices of the year. Although, the deal is originally planned to be a one-day event which for this year is November 24, most brands across the globe have altered the original design as most shopping now starts prior to and end far before or after the globally-appointed date.

For instance in Nigeria, Konga sales began on the 6th and ended 10th November while for Jumia, the deal is expected to commence on November 13 through December 13.

For most of the activities in the Black Friday window, the online shop is the commonest market place where sellers and buyers relate. Most shoppers usually consider the virtual shops largely because of its convenience characteristics such as ability to check and compare prices with just few clicks, shopping round the clock, saves time and other resources, fast, non-persuasive and discreet, etc.

The business model certainly comes with exciting offerings but not without some weaknesses and threats.

As there are heart-warming testimonies from users, so also are heart-breaking stories some of which are counterfeit products, delayed delivery, high price, return and refund dispute, communication gap, and falling prey to online scams, amongst others.

A recent survey published by ‘Trusted’ revealed that 47% of customers already had a negative online shopping experience.

While this article is not meant to discourage users from patronising the click and mortar shops, ‘Market place’ offers some useful online shopping guides and tips gathered from experts to feed online buyers, especially this season of give-away prices, where consumers are expected to hit sellers’ websites like never before. This is to further familiarise shoppers with the platform and enlighten most, especially first-time users, for them to have an overall memorable and complaint-free shopping experience this season.

Before you make your buying decision Make sure you are patronising trusted and familiar brands With the proliferation of online shops and absence of regulations in the industry, anyone whether with honest or shady motives may set up an internet shop. It is advisable to make an extensive enquiry on a store that one is not familiar with before patronage, not only because of products quality, but to be sure and confident that such a platform has robust security measures. Also, look for relevant information about the company on its websites. But if there is any need to buy from such a platform at all, it will be smart to test such with a small order before making a huge purchase.

Do Further Research on Trusted Brands

Even with trusted brands, it is advisable to learn more about the company either through review or social media e.g Naira land. Brands who value their customers are more likely to be engaged online because they understand the importance of being transparent. Finding out if a brand is trustworthy, payment gateways and what others are saying about the brand reduces chances of risk.

Read Product/Service Review Learn from other people’s comment on the same product or service about to be purchased. A lot of consumers leave honest reviews about a product (i.e. true to size, came as depicted, etc.) or a service (excellent customer service, was satisfied, was disappointed, etc.); that can help influence the decision to click and buy or otherwise Look For Online Deals Online shopping gives one the ability to cross-compare prices across multiple websites for one to get the best deal. Look into different coupon sites and see discount codes other consumers have to share.

Check Return Policy and delivery date Since the model is such that do not permit buyers to physically see or test an item before purchase, there are possibilities that buyers may find some items dissatisfactory and want to return such. This is why it is pertinent to check and thoroughly understand a company’s return policy as to know the risk of what is being bought.

Be Wary Of Dodgy Offers that are

too Good to be True Consider that adage that says, ‘If it’s too good to be true, then it probably is’ when buying online. Aside the fact that scams use extremely cheap prices and tempting offers to lure unsuspecting consumers, counterfeit products are also often sold at a price considerably lower than the actual price.

Since Black Friday season is characterised by amazing offers, shoppers are therefore cautioned to be doubly vigilant.

Assess the General layout of a Website Most of the websites selling counterfeit products do not look very professional. They often have spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, poor quality pictures of the products being sold or of the logos for the means of payment, etc. Do not trust websites whose URL links the name of a brand with terms such as “cheap�, “outlet� or other expressions suggesting low prices.

Check Sellers Privacy Policy Consumers have the right to know the personal information the websites have access to, why, and how they are going to use the information. This must clearly be stated, otherwise, it raises room for suspicion.

Pay With Credit Card or Opt for Payment on Delivery As a general rule, credit cards, in comparison to debit cards, offer consumers additional protection when shopping online. The main advantage of the latter is that a credit card account is in no way linked to whatever funds a shopper owned. Besides, credit cards

HP Introduces Printer Compatible with Mobile Phones Multinational information communication technology company, Hewlett Package, HP has boosted technology offerings with its latest pocket-size Sprocket Photo Printer.

The innovation, which allows users to print photos from a smartphone or tablet virtually anywhere, is designed to bring back the excitement of printed photos.

Speaking at the launch, Print Category Manager, Central Africa for HP, Allison Alassan, said, “HP Sprocket is portable and small enough to fit in a pocket. The 5 x 7.6 cm snaps are instantly shareable, colourful and can even be personalised with filters, frames, emojis, text and more. “The product further lets users easilycustomise their favourite smartphones and social media photos with colourful frames,

text, stickers, filters and more.�

Describing the innovation, Alassan added, “The latest brings favourite memories to life with vibrant 5 x 7.6 cm smudge-proof, waterresistant and tear-resistant photos to share, or peel-and-stick to decorate bedroom walls, backpacks or create collages and art projects. “It can be employed virtually anywhere, and with Bluetooth connectivity, users and friends can connect to Sprocket via their smartphones and tablets and print and share the best picture of the day.�

Brand Manager of LUSH, Bijaya Swati, noted that consumers could be sure of additional value for their money as the extensions were reusable over and over again with its style intact.

L-R: Chairperson, Ship Owners Forum, Mrs. Margret Orakwusi; Minister of Transportation, Right Hon. Rotimi Amaechi and the Secretary General, Abuja MoU on Port State Control for West and Central Africa Regions, Mrs. Mfon Usoro at a breakfast meeting organised by the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) in Lagos...recently

may have a limit on the monetary amount a shopper will be responsible for paying if information is stolen and used by someone else. It is also advisable to use secure online payment service.

Beware of Your Security A recent survey report of computer users from IT security experts, Avira, revealed that 70% of consumers either don’t shop online or do so with concerns about their safety while navigating the internet.

Shopping online has become much more convenient via mobile payment solutions, but this option has been compromised by hackers, hence, the need for shoppers to establish strict caution when dealing.

Some general tips to secure and maintain one’s privacy and security include double check URLs, the text in the URL is usually preceded by a padlock symbol, use an official online shopping app, use strong and secure password, use a secure network.

Others are paying attention to HTTPS protocols, installing free spyware removal tools, knowing how to identify online scams and hoaxes, surfing anonymously, keeping your Web usage private and avoid public WiFi when buying online.

Keep Records In any case of purchase, it is advisable to print or save records of online transactions, including the product description and price, the online receipt, and the emails sent and received from the seller. Read credit card statements and be on the lookout for charges that are not recognised.

Lucky Fibres Expands, Unveils Beauty Product Lucky Fibres Ltd, makers of Nobel Carpet and Rugs, has expanded its offerings in the market with its new product, beauty range targeted at the female consumers.

The latest product, ‘Lush Hair’ is a boost to the Nigeria’s thriving beauty industry which will further lift SMEs in the country.

The product was officially unveiled at the on-going International Trade Fair, holding at Tafawa Balewa Square, in Lagos.

Speaking on the latest, General Manager of Lucky Fibres, Jitesh Pamnani, stated that the company’s addition was from its hair extension arm which deals in female needs ranging from attachment to various styles of crotchet braids. He added that the new line of products was to compliment the already booming beauty and lifestyle industry. “Our latest was a result of market research and consumers yearnings which we are convinced, the market will accept wholeheartedly. The premium LUSH hair product is made of high quality fibre, yet it is very affordable and durable. “At the unveiling of the LUSH Hair brand, customers will have hands-on experience of the product with amazing discounts, giveaways and various displays of hairstyles that can be made with the new product,�

Pamnani said. Brand Manager of LUSH, Bijaya Swati, added that consumers can be sure of additional value for their money as the extensions are reusable over and over again with its style intact.

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Ă™Ă?Ă“Ă˜ Ă–Ă?Ă‘Ă‘

͸Ϳ͸͞ͺ΀͚͞Ϳ͝Ϳ Ă?Ě‹Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă–Ë? ÞÙĂ?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă–Ă?ÑÑ̜ÒÙÞ×ËÓÖ˛Ă?Ù×

ICEBERG SLIM

My Goal Was to Become an FBI Agent But‌ Ă–Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă‘Ă&#x;Ă˜ ÖÙåÙÙÕĂ?ĂœĂ?Ëœ Ă‹Ă•Ă‹ Ă?Ă?ĂŒĂ?ĂœĂ‘ Ă–Ă“Ă—Ëœ Ă“Ă? Ă‹ ĂœĂ‹ĂšĂšĂ?ĂœË› Ă? Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă—Ă‹ĂŽĂ? Ă—Ă&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă? åÓÞÒ Ă‹ Ă&#x;Ă–Ă?Ëœ Íş Ă‹Ă?Ă?

ĂŽĂ“ĂŒĂ“Ă‹Ëœ Ă“ĂĄĂ‹ Ă‹Ă Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ëœ Ëœ Ă?Ă? ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? Ă“ĂŽËœ Ă‹ ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜Ă•ĂŁ Ëœ Ă? Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ™Ăœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÙÞÒĂ?ĂœĂ?Ë› Ă˜ ÞÒÓĂ? Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?ĂĄ åÓÞÒ Tosin CleggËœ Ă’Ă? ÞËÖÕĂ? Ă‹ĂŒĂ™Ă&#x;Ăž Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ă?Ăœ Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă’Ă“Ă? ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ˜ ÞÙ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă’Ă“Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă’Ă“Ăš åÓÞÒ Ă&#x;Ă–Ă“Ă?Ăž ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă’Ă“Ă— About myself y name is Olusegun Olowookere. I went to John Jay College of Criminal Justice to study, back then when my actual plan in life was to be an FBI agent. Unfortunately, I felt music was much of a higher calling for me. Growing up, I attended a CAC church in New York and I thought myself how to play the keyboard. So, I always felt music was a part of me so I went to the Institute of Audio Research where I learnt a lot about music production, video production and editing. Basically, I learned everything from audio to video. I just wanted to have the technical know-how of how to operate.

M

Iceberg Slim was given to me by my cousin I can’t remember what year that was, but I was about 14 or 15, when I was given the name Iceberg Slim by my cousin and I had a lot of girlfriends then. The original Iceberg Slim was a pimp hence he gave me the name, because I had a lot of girls around me.

I was born and raised in New York I was born and raised in New York and visited Nigeria twice when I was 3 and 6 years for about two weeks each. So, I really can’t remember much of Nigeria from my childhood. When I wanted to focus on my music career and wanted to make Nigerian music, I decided to move to Nigeria in 2012, to be here full-time.

It took a lot to blend into Nigerian music scene The first thing that got a lot of people talking and got me some fan base in Nigeria was the controversial song, Better Than MI which a lot of people were talking about before I moved to Nigeria. So, at that time, that was the leverage I had as a lot of people knew my name. That’s what gave me reason to move to Nigeria, as everyone was waiting for what’s next from me. So, on coming, it was about finding my ground and creating a niche for myself, where I can fit in in the industry.

My earliest challenges I was basically trying to find my ground.

Coming from New York, I was used to making Yankee music. So, coming to Nigeria, I had to fine tune it to make it relatable to the average Nigerian, particularly from the beats to the references in my lyrics and things that I say. It sounded too foreign but I had to find a common ground where a typical Nigerian can understand what I’m saying, and get the best of both worlds.

That was the biggest challenge, as I wasn’t fluent in Yoruba and pidgin, so it took time for me to sync.

I just released a new single, Oluwa I’m still working. Oluwa was well received and it’s a different sound from Iceberg Slim; it was me going in a different direction from what people know of me, as they see me as a rapper. So, I have shown them a different side of me now.

I have worked with different people in the industry They range from different producers to artistes, and the list goes on. So, it’s always an honour to work with whoever I’m working with, because they give you their time and attention. So, I feel I haven’t accomplished so much and I thank everyone who has given me their time.

My style of music is a fusion of where I grew up American style mixed with Nigerian style and that’s just who I am. I can’t change my accent, so my style is simply a fusion of the two. Also, in the next couple of months, we should be expecting an EP, and it’s about time I dropped a body of work. I have been working on some songs and I have more in my archive. So, you should be expecting a mixtape or an EP. The context of the name Iceberg Slim Back then, I was young and I was finding myself. I was going through puberty and I had swag, so a lot of girls wanted to be around me but I have matured and I have found myself. So, that’s not me anymore but the name just stuck with me. Sounded cool when I was young when you have someone hailing you but now I’m done with that.

My ideal woman is the woman that I have I have a beautiful woman and her name is Juliet. And that’s my ideal woman, as she completes me.

How I keep ďŹ t and healthy I try to eat healthy as much as I can and go to the gym at least four to five times a week. My hair is very unique and different from everyone’s and that’s the number one thing in my branding that makes me unique and different from other artistes.

For me as an artiste, I love great music So, I listen to a lot of music and when I hear something great it inspires me. I listen to both local and international music but anytime I hear music that touches me in a particular way, as music is very spiritual, I’m inspired and that makes me want to make music.

To be an FBI agent was actually a goal

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It was bigger than I thought and a real goal at one point but now I have found my calling; my true calling and that’s me, a musician.

That’s something that has gone with the wind but I still read about it, own books about it and watch things about it learning every day.

I’m not competing with anyone I’m just trying to utilise the gift that God gave me. And wherever that takes me I just want to touch lives and inspire people across the world with my music and sound. I’m not too concerned about who is doing this or what, but about who God says something about.

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MY STORY DESMOND ELLIOTT LEADS KWAVITHON 5K RACE IN LAGOS Determined to extend love and support to survivors of sexual assault and rape, International lifestyle coach, kwavi Agbeyegbe, has created a campaign, #MiraclesForMirabel. To achieve this at the Mirabel Centre in Lagos, the Atlanta Georgia-based mother of two is set to hold the second edition of her “Kwavithon 5K race� event in Lagos today.

The race, which will be led

by Honorable Desmond Elliott, a lawmaker and filmmaker, is aimed at providing a platform for awareness on the frequency of rape in the community and open up conversation on what could be done to reduce rape and sexual assault in the society. Shedding

more light on the race, Ms. Kwavi emphasised on the urgent need to create more awareness for the sake of the children.

She said: “The race, which will start at Seven8, Playground, 13B Adebayo Doherty, Lekki Phase I, is targeted at creating awareness, as awareness creates change.

Once you tell one person, they will tell another, using social media, word of mouth and other methods. And before you know it, a movement has started! I believe every individual has interest in the dialogue of cases relating to sexual assault and rape. We all have our mothers, grandmothers, daughters, sisters, wives, aunts or female friends.�

SHAYKAY

I’ Have Dierent Vibe and Sound

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SOCIALITE, ABIOLA ADESANYA LAUNCHES FASHION LINE Abby Adesanya is a prĂŞt-Ă porter (Ready to Wear) fashion shop based in the heart of Lagos. Launched recently by the beautiful Lagos-born socialite, Abiola Adesanya, it caters for the ready-to-wear market delivering top quality pieces, neatly sown, attractively branded and ready for the everyday woman.

With appreciation of the works of Deola Sagoe and April by Kunbi, Adesanya is also set to be a fashion house worthy of patronage and admiration. She is undoubtedly here to stay and serve the public.

Her label piece is fit for the modern day woman. It encompasses corporate wears, casuals and traditionals, which are quite attractive.

The Zoology graduate, who after a stint in the telecommunications industry, as well as running other businesses, is not going back in following a nude she has always had as since she was a little girl growing up in Surulere.

LEGACY MUSIC EMPIRE BERTHS IN LAGOS It was a beehive of activities at the official unveiling of Legacy Empire Music label, with its artistes and management on parade on November 3, 2017. The event which took place at White House Hotel, Ikeja was graced by celebrities like Denrele Edun, African China, Comedian De-Don, Shine Begho (OAP) and the Empire team.

Undoubtedly, Legacy Empire Management has made a name for itself as one of the leading management companies that offers invaluable positioning for creativity, brands and products globally, deploying dexterity in every business commitment to achieve set and strategic objectives that proffers excellent service(s) and return on investment for entities, brands, products and creative proclivity.

The music and visual artistes currently signed on to LEM include FirewoodZ, Tosing, Cocoa, and young and talented music producer, MadskillZ .

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hat kind of music do you do and how long have you been in the industry?

I do only Afro pop and I’ve been in music now for over four years, but I started off professionally when I finished high school. I got a wider range of audience and I was getting booked for several shows- up till date.

Who are your role models?

If you are talking about those in the country, I’ll say Wizkid, Davido, Burna Boy and 2face. While on the foreign scene, they are Chris Brown, Bryson Tiller and Usher.

What’s the avour you are bringing into the music industry and what should your fans expect?

Well, I’m coming with a different vibe and sound entirely.

The main purpose is for my fans to dance and then vibe to the new song wherever they are, and they should expect new music in a few weeks from now and a video.

Where do you see yourself in a few years?

In the next few years, I see myself being the new boy on deck in the music industry, winning next rated, and for me to be known everywhere and my music played everywhere across the world.

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T H I S D AY SATURDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2017

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͚͚˜ ͺ͸͚Ϳ

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Bimbo Daramola: A Goal-Getter is 50 PrinceAdeyinkaAderemi-Adetukasi

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human life that trudges on and counts 50 years by all stretch of logic and perhaps reason is deserving of clinking the glass, considering the average life span in Nigeria.

So, celebrating the life of a man, who has put smile on my face and the faces of millions of people directly or indirectly, is not negotiable, considering how he has made positive impact in all spheres of life in his quest to touch lives.

I asked God of so many things while I was growing up and eventually, one of those prayers was answered the day my part crossed that of Congressman Abimbola Olufemi Daramola, and I am a direct product of his intensity, mentoring, support, philanthropic acts, large heartedness, and guidance.

Growing up around you is an experience that I can’t measure your impact in my life. When I finished my OND and all I wanted at a time to do was to travel out, and you woke me up one particular January 1st and said Yinka get a grip of your life! What do you want to do in this new year? Alas, I told you have decided to go back to school and that I choose the University of Ibadan and you leaped for joy as if it was about you.

From that very point you sponsored me all through school and I am a masters holder today.

You have impacted positively in my life, “Egbon Ayiye,� as I fondly call you.

You have also been nice to everyone who has crossed your path and we thank God for making you a gift to this generation and Ekiti Words fail me to express my gratitude for a man who ruggedly wants to see everyone get ahead in life. Only God can your reward you.

As most of his admirers, friends, family, political and business associates rolled out the drums to celebrate Bimbo Daramola’s 50th birthday on

Bimbo Daramola November 9, the celebration without any iota of doubt is an avenue to celebrate a man who has distinguished himself as a quintessential gentleman, philanthropist, humanist, administrator par excellence, respected politician, businessman, husband and father.

Looking at the way he has managed his life and community service, Daramola has shown that he is a leader worth celebrating at 50.

Since he ventured into politics in the Fourth Republic, Daramola has proved beyond reasonable doubt that he is determined and focused to bring out the best in whatever task given to him.

He has over the years, through perseverance and forthrightness, distinguished himself in business and political circles.

He has also excelled in private and public life without soiling his hands.

Today, he is among Nigerian politicians who stand stall in the polity, without any corruption charges hanging on his neck.

among those in forefront during the three years legal tussle of Dr. Kayode Fayemi, to reclaim his stolen mandate after the controversial 2007 governorship election in the state.

Apart from being an experienced politician in elective and appointed positions, he is also a successful entrepreneur, who has given many people opportunities to excel Daramola has also paid his due in Ekiti State, one of the reasons he was bestowed with many chieftaincy titles.

He has awarded numerous scholarships to deserving indigent students from his community and gave hope and succours to less privilege within and outside Ekiti State.

One of the unforgettable good gestures of Daramola was cancelling a $100,000 order he made for purchase of a Range Rover in United States to raise fund for treatment of a cancer patient.

That good gesture denied Daramola the opportunity of owing a Range Rover till date. This gesture shows Daramola as a man who can sacrifice for others comfort.

Daramola is one of the leading governorship aspirants on the platform of the APC and his desire to seek the election is to touch the lives of the people of Ekiti for them to enjoy dividends of democracy. There is no iota of doubt that considering his antecedents and how he has touched many lives and bring comfort to people, Daramola will be a good governor if given the opportunity to succeed Governor Peter Ayodele in 2018.

As Daramola celebrates his 50th birthday, I am delighted to join his wellwishers, political followers, associates and family in celebrating a consummate politician, philanthropist and an astute businessman.

May you have Joy in your deepest heart desires as we celebrate this golden jubilee. Happy Birthday My Pride!

Happy Golden Age My Eagle!.

Daramola, can be described as an accomplished Nigerian, who has contributed to the development of the country in different capacities, especially as a lawmaker. As representative of the Ekiti North 1 Federal Constituency in the Seventh National Assembly between 2011 and 2015, he did his best for his constituency and Nigeria at large.

He has selflessly served his fatherland diligently and meritoriously. As a lawmaker in the Seventh Assembly, he contributed immensely to robust debate on the floor of the House and used his position to touch the life of his constituents.

Many of his constituents benefitted immensely from his ‘Abomire’ programme, a feedback programme to his constituents, where he do give out gifts and empowerment programme to people in his constituency.

One of the days the people of his constituency cannot forget is the second ‘Abomire’ programme where he gave out six cars and other gifts worth millions of naira.

Daramola is not a greenhorn in politics, especially in Ekiti State, where he has been playing active politics, contested and won an election to House of Representatives.

He is a committed and patriotic party man and can be regarded as one of the founding fathers and pillars of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State. He has contributed greatly to the party right from the days of the party as Action Congress (AC) and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) before it merged with other parties to become APC. When AC started, he gave the party 160,000 posters that was used to flag off the campaign of the party and in 2012, he repainted the entire national party secretariat.

Daramola was the director general of Kayode Fayemi campaign organisation during the 2014 Ekiti State governorship election. He contributed immensely to the party’s outing during the contest.

Even prior to the election, he was

–Aderemi-Adetukasi Writes from Lagos

A Noble Man, Sir Mbata, Goes to Meet His Creator Amby Uneze Ă“Ă˜ ĂĄĂ?ĂœĂœĂ“

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he price of a good life indeed is justified by the footsteps you leave behind after you must have gone to the great beyond. It then means that one’s achievements in life may not be determined until the exit of that person. However, there are also some persons whose accounts of stewardship is very transparent even while alive, and such person(s) can be celebrated both ways – as a living legend and even in death.

For Sir McDonald Onwuegbuchulam Mbata, a noble Knight of Saint Christopher (Ksc) of the Anglican Communion, he occupies the position of the later whose stewardship was celebrated both ways. As a living legend, he lived a life of transparency, while bringing up his children in line with the biblical injunction which says “bring up a child the way he should go, so that when he grows up he will not depart from it�.

Even in death, Sir Mbata’s reflection is equally celebrated for the footsteps he left behind are testimonies radiating among the living.

Mbata was born on November 30, 1936, at Oron in the present Akwa Ibom State by his parents, late Pa Nnaji Mbata and late Madam Chieronu Mbata (nee Oparaji) of Amawom village in the

Late Mbata present Owerri Municipal Council of Imo State. He had his Primary school at Government School, Owerri, and later proceeded to Trinity High School, Oguta for his Secondary education. Not done with that since he was optimistic to further his educational career, the young Mbata also gained admission to University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN),

where he pursued a Diploma course in Political science.

Due to the Civil war interregnum, he served as a soldier in different units of the Biafran Army following his enlistment. He saw action until about December 1969 following a shrapnel wound to his forehead from a mortar attack he sustained at the war front. His middle name, Onwuegbuchulam, came true to bear as he survived that near death experience as well as other vagaries of the war to emerge as a survivor.

His work life started thereafter as a clerical officer in the then Eastern Nigeria regional government and subsequently he moved to the local government system following the creation of Imo State in 1976. He, however, worked at various local governments councils, as they were then. Mbata served Bende, Etiti, Owerri, Oru, old Ideato local government and finally in Ideato South (following the creation of Ideato North and South local government councils), where he retired from in 1994 as head, personnel management.

He was subsequently appointed member of customary court, Owerri urban, and later chairman, customary court, Owerri urban from where he retired after expiration of his 7 year tenure in 2007.

As a devout Christian, he was a believer and strong member of the church having served at Christ Church

(Anglican Communion), Owerri. His service in the church took him to various arm which included membership of the Parochial Church Committee (PCC), financial secretary of the church for over 6 years, Chairman Men Christian Association (MCA), recipient of ‘Ezinna’ award, etc. He participated in various evangelical outreaches to various communities over the years.

He was recommended for knighthood and knighted in March 2007 as a Knight of St. Christopher. Until his demise, he was a member of Christ church, Owerri and of the St. Peter’s family.

He also maintained his love for music and the choir despite being an indoor church member as a result of health infirmities. The choir organized a Christmas carol in his honour in December 2016 at his World Bank housing estate, Owerri residence. He was a lover of God and believer in Christ Jesus. Such was his devotion.

Ezinna Mbata married his wife, Lady Victoria Chizo Mbata (nee Ajoku) of Ubah, Emii/Mbaoma on December 18, 1971 at Umuahia, Abia state and the marriage was blessed with three children; Hon. (Barr.) Obinna Nonyerem Mbata (Commissioner nominee in Imo State and immediate past Commissioner for Finance, Imo State), Mr. Kemnechem Chika Mbata (sons), and Mrs. Ezinne Chimuanya Akabogu (nee Mbata) (daughter) and a host of other relations.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ NOVEMBER 11, 2017

ENTREPRENEUR Celebrity Barber Kufre Nnah

From Drop-Out to a Milionaire Barber After several efforts to secure admission into one of Nigeria’s famous universities failed, Kufre Nnah, frustrated, was forced by his parents to become a barber. Nnah, now the founder of Kayzplace Barbers Shop also known as The CelebrityBarbers, shares with Anayo Okolie, how he made a fortune out of frustration

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he level of one’s education does not determine the level of one’s success in life. The story of Kufre Nnah, the Chief Executive Officer of Kayz Place Barbers Shop is a typical example, though education is as important as the air. Many see it as the most important possession a person must acquire.

Bill Gates, who founded the world’s largest software business; Microsoft, dropped out of college in 1975 to pursue his business, with partner Paul Allen, today one of the richest men in the world.

Gates is the richest man for the fourth time in a row and the richest person in the world for 18 out of the past 23 years. He has a fortune of $86 billion, up from $75 billion last year.

So, for Nnah, whose dream was always to study engineering failed to achieve that, has not limited his potentials in life. Today, he is not regretting venturing into barbing because according to him, with money, one can always get quality education at any age.

The story of Nnah, who is fondly called Kay by friends, inspires young people.

Kay is an experienced berber and entrepreneur with almost two decades of experience. Nnah’s two major offices are located at No. 35 Adeniran Ogunsanya Street in Surulere, Lagos and No 11 Admiralty Way, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.

Nnah’s professional services has attracted the patronage of public figures such as, Femi Otedola, Femi Fani-Kayode, Don Jazzy, Julius Agwu, Naeto C, Patoranking, Kiss Daniel, Ycee, Davido, Wizkid, Iyanya, Burna Boy, D Prince, Shank, Tekno, AKA, K-Switch, Dbanj, T-Billz, Wande Coal, Samklef, Sean Tizzle, Eldee, Timaya, Cele Bobo, Young L, top MDs of banks and many others.

His barbershop does not only provide quality services to customers but also leave them with a satisfying smile.

The atmosphere at kayzPlace is friendly, homely and entertaining with clients feeling very comfortable as if they are at home.

Nnah is eager to change the impression people have of barbers. He feels sad about the way barbers are treated. That, he also disclosed, was among his motivation to establish a multimillion-naira branch in Adeniran Ogunsaya.

He has over 60 people working in Surulere and Lekki branches.

Narrating how he started the hair-cut business, Nnah, who is an indigene of Akwa Ibom State, said, “While growing up, I lived a normal guys life; I wouldn’t say I suffered, as I always had money to

spend, and within me I had resolved not to work for anybody, because; then I used to spend about N6,000 to N10,000 without even thinking about it, so how much would an employer pay me as a secondary school graduate to guarantee that kind of spending?

“I grew up like every other person. I attended St. Luke New Trans School in Uyo, from there I proceeded to Government Technical School, Uyo and Senior Technical College, Abak.

Nnah added, “After my graduation I sought for admission into higher institution for several years, but all efforts failed; out of frustration I gave up on that dream.

While I was in the technical school, I used to have a saloon and that was where I get my pocket money from. When I graduated from secondary school, my dad asked me to go and manage the saloon myself; something I never learnt how do. Before then, I employed people that are working at the barbing saloon.

“I wasn’t serious with the business but my dad kept disturbing me to the extent that when my friends come to see me at home, he will chase them away saying that I don’t have anything doing other than keeping friends.”

One day, he said his dad chased away the two barbers working for him.

He told me, “If I wanted to be collecting any money from the shop, I should be doing the hair-cut myself.

“Initially I was against the decision because I still had some money with me but after about two weeks, when the money with me had gone down, I was forced to open the saloon and started cutting hair myself something that I had not previously learnt, and that was how I started barbing hair.

“I continued for about a year and half without the basic knowledge to cut hair, until I decided on my own to come to Lagos. In July 2005, I came to Lagos to visit my brother. While I was at his place, he kept on disturbing me about following him to his work place.

“One day after much pressure, I decided to follow him and then I stumbled on a saloon in Lekki. I had never seen any saloon as big as that, I was already used to seeing all those small saloons in Uyo which had two to three chairs. This particular saloon in Lekki had about 13 girls and two barbers; I liked the place and I told my brother, he spoke to the manager who happened to be his friend and without any interview he asked me to come and resume anytime I was ready; that was how I started as a barber here in Lagos.

“I worked there for about seven years before I decided to leave. I started my

After my graduation I sought for admission into higher institution for several years, but all efforts failed; out of frustration I gave up on that dream. While I was in the technical school, I used to have a saloon and that was where I get my pocket money from. When I graduated from secondary school, my dad asked me to go and manage the saloon myself; something I never learnt how do. Before then, I employed people that are working at the barbing saloon Nnah

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NOVEMBER 11, 2017 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

ENTREPRENEUR

Kayzplace Barbing Saloon, Surulere branch

From Kiosk to Multimillion-naira Barbershop own barbing business in April 2012. While I was working, I joined a contribution group to help me save. My target then was to set-up something that would give me an extra source of income; so I started the contribution with N10,000, and later increased to N20,000, we were about 10 people and every month one person takes the whole of the money contributed.

“So with the little savings I had in addition to the contribution I collected, I set-up a bar at Ajah. I started the bar with about 35 chairs and 7 tables; after about six-seven months, I upgraded the place to over 100 chairs and 25 tables, while I was still working as a barber for someone.

“But when you establish a business and hand it over to someone, it would be mismanaged. I wasn’t getting money from the business. So, I decided to sack the guy to run it myself. At that time I did not have any savings due to the fact that the guy I employed at the bar had run me down.”

Also, that time, Nnah disclosed: “business was not really moving well because of the numerous fights at Ajah then; people were afraid of coming out to drink.

After like a month, I was able to raise N200,000 from the home service I rendered outside the bar business, that was in 2012 and also, there was this friend of mine that came from Akwa-Ibom to Lagos for his NYSC, he wanted to go and rent a place to stay but I told him to come and stay with me, he obliged and stayed with me for one year.

“During the period of his stay, I did not bother him financially; so at that time I was able to save up N200,000, I was told that there was an available shop with a rent of N500,000 at Lekki, I went to check the shop and discovered that the owner of the shop was my customer, he told me that he was only interested in business and that he would only give me the shop if I had the money to pay; I appeal to him to give me two weeks to raise the money but he refused.

“After I left the shop, it wasn’t up to 30

minutes he called to tell me not to worry about the shop and that he had seen someone who was ready to pay N550,000, I still tried to beg him and on the long run he told me that he would only listen to me if I can make available N550,000 before 9am the next morning and it was already past 4pm in the evening then.

“On getting home, I told my friend staying with me and he was able to raise some of the money through his friends.

While I was still working as a barber, I sponsored my younger brother who studied architecture in school; at that time he had graduated and was doing some little jobs, so I called him and explained the situation of things to him, he said he wasn’t really buoyant but that he will send me the N60,000 he had that was around 5pm, this gave me a total of N460,000.”

While struggling to complete the money, Nnah said: “one of my customers called me to come and cut his hair in his house, this happened to be one of those customers that always advised me, but because of my state of mind I told him I refuse to take his calls. He continued calling and I later went to cut his hair.

“After cutting his hair, I told him the reason I refused to take his calls initially.

He gave me a cheque of N50,000, this took the total of the money I had to #510,000 and before 9am the next morning, I was able to transfer N500,000 to my prospective landlord account.

“After I had sent him the money, I called and pleaded with him to give me 1week to pay up the balance. That same morning after I left the bank, one of my clients, who blocked my calls because I was disturbing him for home service called me and I went to see him and after cutting his hair, I told him that I have paid for a shop and he gave me a cheque of N100,000, and immediately I called a furniture guy and others to come and do the basic things and that gradually I was able to make it a standard saloon and today, God has made me. It was divine intervention.”

Nnah with former Minister of Avaiation, Fani-Kayode

Nnah giving Tekno a haircut

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˞ ͚͚, 2017

POLITY

YOSA Enjoins Youths toTake Over Political Offices in 2019 Femi Ogbonnikan

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non-political organization, Youths Occupy State Assembly (YOSA), has advocated the active participation of youths across the country in elections into all political offices, come 2019 general elections.

The NGO, at a well-attended conference held at the Ogun State Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) Secretariat, Onikolobo, Abeokuta, recently, charged all youths that are interested in seeking political offices in the coming 2019 general elections to make themselves available.

The National Coordinator of the group, Comrade Eric Oluwole, noted that the quest to change the old system of recycling old politicians in the nation’s various political offices since independence in 1960 has greatest had negative effects on governance, and ultimately the economy, the aftermath of which he said, prompted him and some other notable youth leaders to besiege the National Assembly recently where they met with the Senate President, Bukola Saraki in support of the bill for the not-too-young-to-run.

According to him, YOSA is a veritable platform for youths seeking political offices and as such, the group has adopted the UPN, because the party made provision for the inclusion of youths in its programme, especially giving free nomination forms to its candidates as evidenced in the 2015 general elections.

Oluwole said: “UPN is a political party different from others where it gives free nomination forms to its candidates. It is a party that allows youths to rise to the top of their political career. As a result of the relentless efforts of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, we had free education and health in the entire old western region. So, if we are talking of restructuring we should talk of free education. “I want to enjoin you all, to let us forget about politics and go back to the basics or foundation of our existence as human beings.

So, it is high time we got our acts right as youths and take over the mantle of leadership of this country, not by force. Who among us is interested in seeking any political office should go back to his or her ward and start the process, by talking to his or her constituents of the need why they should support him or her

Lafarge Africa Partners Canaancity Ugo Aliogo

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afarge Africa Plc, a leading building solutions provider has partnered with Canaancity Consortium, an association of indigenous and foreign companies, on a safety awareness programme for 200 employees of the consortium.

A statement signed by the group said the partnership is aimed at improving the safety standards and practices at the sites of Canaancity where it is building over 700 housing units in the first phase of estates it is developing.

It also stated that more estates are planned, adding that directors and heads of projects of the consortium recently attended a one-day

health and safety training at the Covenant University guesthouse, Otta, Ogun State.

The Director for Health and Safety at Lafarge Africa Plc, Graeme Bride, in the statement said: “We are always pleased to share our experience on safety in the Nigerian construction industry. Our aspiration to do business with zero harm is not limited to our factories and employees. We are also particular about safety on the sites of clients and contractors.�

The Chief Executive Officer of Canaancity Consortium Pastor, Tokunbo Olofin, said expressed their delight to partner with Lafarge on this initiative, adding that it would improve their project site safety standards and reduce lost time incidents, “we see this engagement as an avenue to build a stronger relationship with Lafarge.�

for the office. “It is not going to be automatic but the nomination form will be given to a popular aspirant that can win an election in his ward or constituency free of charge. Unlike some leaders in either the APC or PDP, if you go to them, they might think you have come to beg for money but this is not the case in UPN where we have a generous leader, Otunba Rotimi Paseda that doesn’t think of himself only but has the interest of the generality of the people at heart. “Now, we want youths to take over the centre stage. Otunba Rotimi Paseda has a very much interest in this political platform for things to be better. Besides, he doesn’t want any of the youths to suffer and that is why he has identified with us. In essence, we have adopted UPN as a youth party. So, YOSA and UPN are working together for the common good of all. PDP and APC have approached us in YOSA but we have only made up our mind to work with the UPN in realising this primary objective of electing youths into various political offices in the 2019 general elections. We are identifying with the leadership structure of the UPN and we are ready to work with it. “YOSA is not only in Ogun State, it is Ondo,

Ekiti, Osun, Oyo and Lagos states respectively.

We are just reaching out to all political segments of the country and very soon, we will soon meet in Lagos with the leaders of the Ohanaeze and Arewa youths.�

He, however, warned youths not to be used just as the 2019 general elections are approaching. “Don’t let them use you to negotiate elective offices but rather, let us define our own future and join the various political contests.

Also, don’t allow yourself to be used and dumped by political office seekers�, admonished the YOSA coordinator.

Also, the Ogun State UPN Chairperson, Alhaja Aminat Olatunbosun, urged youths not to make themselves for some politicians to be used and dumped, just as the 2019 general elections are approaching.

Rather, she enjoined the youths to see themselves as relevant to the growth and development of the country through their active participation in elective offices at various levels. “YOSA has identified with us and I believe that the collaboration will go a long way to encourage the youths, so that their voices can be heard,� said Olatunbosun.

L-R: Chairperson, Ogun State UPN, Alhaja Aminat Olatunbosun; and Comrade Eric Oluwole, YOSA National Coordinator

L-R: The Chief Operation Coordinator, Wandel International Limited, Mr. Rajneesh Gupta; Managing Director, Luminous Power Technologies (India) Pvt. Limited, Mr. Vipul Sabbarwal; Managing Director, Continental Computers Limited, Mr. Salisu Mamman; and the Managing Director, Globe Power Solar Services Limited, Mr. Charles Abia during a trip organised by Wandel International for Luminous Inverters Dealers in Nigeria to the company’s headquarters in Delh NCRi, India...recently

L – R: Manager, HR FSDH Merchant Bank Ltd., Mrs. Olubukola Lanipekun-Lawal; Group Head, HR/Admin FSDH Merchant Bank Ltd, Mrs. Olufola Wiltshire; Education Secretary, Lagos Island Local Government Education Authority, Mr. Moshood Maiyegun; Member, Lagos State House of Assembly representing Lagos Island Constituency 2, Hon. Shola Giwa; Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Education, Mr. Obafela Bank-Olemoh; and Board Secretary, SUBEB., Lagos Island Local Government Education Authority, Mrs. Bosede Adelaja, recognising FSDH Merchant Bank Limited as a partner with the Lagos State Government in the Lagos State School Support Initiative at the commissioning of the renovated Christ Church Cathedral Primary School, Broad Street, Lagos...recently

L-R: Head, Digital Marketing & Communications, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Mrs. Lola Egboh; Manager, Liability Products of the Bank, Mr. Abubakar Etamesor; and Head, Partnerships & Payment of Jumia Nigeria, Mrs. Omolara Ajele, during a press brieďŹ ng to announce this year’s edition of Black Friday Festival scheduled to run from November 13 to December 13, 2017...recently

L-R: Chairman, Arbitrage Investments Acquisitions, Chicago, Shawn Baldwin; Founder/CEO, Atlas Merchant Capital, New York, Bob Diamond; Global Client Relations, Afreximbank, Cairo, Rene Awambeng; and Group Managing Director, PanAfrican Capital Plc, Chris OshiaďŹ , during the just concluded World Bank/IMF Annual Meeting in Washington DC‌recently

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NOVEMBER 11, 2017 Ëž THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

Recently, the Cosmopolitan Women Club held a dinner reception to honour the former Supreme Court judge, JUSTICE GEORGE OGUNTADE, as the new High Commissioner to London. Below are some of the personalities that graced the occasion, which took place at Metropolitan Club Victoria photos: Mubo Peters

L-R: President Cosmopolitan Women Club, Mrs.Deorike Durosinmi Etti, Justice George Oguntade(rtd)

L-R: Mr.Bambo Adesanya (SAN) and Mr.Tunji Ayalaja (SAN)

L-R:Managing Director/CEO Credit Swift Ltd, Ms. Bennedikter Molokwu; Mr. Wale Bablakin (SAN) and Senator Deisy Danjuma

L-R: Former Legal Adviser to NNPC, Chief Sena Anthony; Mrs. Iyamide Gafar and Mr. Tunde Gafar.

L-R: Chief Folu Oguntade (SAN) and Mr. Chijioke Okoli (SAN)

L-R: Sir Kesington Adebutu and President Cosmopolitan Women Club, Mrs. Deorike Durosinmi-Etti

L-R: Chief Olu Okeowo and his wife Ajoke

L-R: Prince Samuel Adedoyand his wife Oluwatoyin

L-R: Mrs. Folashade Okoya and her husband, Chairman Eleganza Group, Rasaq Akanni Okoya

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͚͚˜ ͺ͸͚Ϳ

PERSPECTIVE

Heavy Hitters Give Nigeria the Thumbs Up Lukman Otunuga

ctober was certainly another positive month for the largest economy in Africa, which has yet again showcased its brawn and resilience on the global stage. Annual inflation eased for the eighth straight month, while encouraging core economic metrics pointed to further signs of economic stability. Rising global oil prices and recovering domestic oil production has positively impacted government revenues and supported foreign exchange markets.

The overall outlook for Nigeria remains quite encouraging, especially when considering how heavyweights such as the World Bank and IMF have both recently expressed their optimism. As we head into the final trading months of 2017, there may be an increasing focus on the intentions of the Central Bank of Nigeria. With inflation pressures easing and economic fundamentals stabilizing, speculation is likely to mount over the Central Bank of Nigeria taking action.

Investor confidence towards the Nigerian economy was stimulated in October, after the World Bank projected economic growth to reach 1% this year.

The IMF has also expressed optimism towards the nation by re-affirming its 0.8% growth forecast for the economy this year. According to the fund, growth in 2017 has been fueled by recovering oil production. In addition to the improving oil outlook, Nigeria’s agricultural sector has also been performing; this is especially significant in view of the fact that the nation is currently on a quest for diversification. While the IMF stated that growth in 2018 may be subdued by population growth, the 1.9% prediction still remains encouraging and continues to highlight the resilience of the Nigerian economy.

Speaking of recovering oil production, Nigeria’s oil output hit 1.8 million barrels a day in August. While this is good news for the nation as oil prices are currently trading above $52 per barrel, production is likely to remain below this level.

Although the nation could have the ability to pump more oil, the silent pressure radiating from OPEC’s production cut deal is likely to keep production capped.

While Nigeria is currently exempt from the cartels deal to cut production, there is a possibility that OPEC will request them to join in an effort to rebalance markets.

This poses an external risk to Nigeria, as the Federal government’s 2017 budget is based on a production of 2.2 million barrels per day, at $44.50 per barrel. A scenario where Nigeria limits production and oil prices start to depreciate, could pose a threat to the nation’s current economic recovery. While oil markets have found support from geopolitical tensions between the US - Iran and Iraq conflicts, the oversupply concerns are still lingering in the background. Technical traders will continue to observe how WTI Crude reacts above $50.

Although Nigeria’s macroeconomic environment continues to stabilize, there is still a strong need for a robust fiscal policy to complement growth. It has been said on repeated occasions that the nation’s infrastructure needs a serious makeover. With major roads in poor condition, healthcare and education in need of a revamp, Nigeria has a lot of work on its hands. It must be kept in mind that solid infrastructure creates a strong and healthy economy. President Muhammad Buhari has recently asked the National Assembly to approve a request to borrow $5.5 billion. With Buhari stating that the loan will be used to provide funding for capital projects, this is likely to improve investor sentiment as the money borrowed, is used for infrastructure developments.

Kemi Adeosun On the monetary side, Godwin Emefiele, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, is expecting inflation rates to ease rapidly and hit high singledigit rates in the middle of 2018. This sounds like a realistic and achievable prediction, especially when considering how inflation has cooled for the eighth straight month in September, to 15.98%.

The steady increase in foreign exchange supply from the usage of the flexible rate policy, has also played a role in the fall of consumer prices, with inflationary pressures slowing and becoming a theme of the past. If the nation’s rate of inflation continues to decline and the economic environment improves further, the Central Bank of Nigeria may cut interest rates in an effort to support growth.

Focusing on the foreign exchange outlook, the Naira traded at N363 per Dollar on the parallel market on Friday, 27 October. With the Dollar roaring back on the back of optimism over Donald Trump moving forward with tax reforms, the Naira, like many other Emerging Market currencies, could feel the heat.

Overall, there is growing confidence over Nigeria’s economic outlook, with markets paying very close attention to domestic economic data and the CBN as the 2017 finish line draws near.

For more information, please visit FXTM Disclaimer: The content in this article comprises personal opinions and ideas and should not be construed as containing personal and/or other investment advice and/or an offer of and/or solicitation for any transactions in financial instruments and/or a guarantee and/or prediction of future performance. FXTM, its affiliates, agents, directors, officers or employees do not guarantee the accuracy, validity, timeliness or completeness of any information or data made available and assume no liability as to any loss arising from any investment based on the same.

Risk Warning: There is a high level of risk involved with trading leveraged products such as forex and CFDs. You should not risk more than you can afford to lose, it is possible that you may lose more than your initial investment. You should not trade unless you fully understand the true extent of your exposure to the risk of loss. When trading, you must always take into consideration your level of experience. If the risks involved seem unclear to you, please seek independent financial advice.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͚͚˜ ͺ͸͚Ϳ

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PERSPECTI V E

Another Look at Obiano’s Scorecard Amanze Ubochi

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nambra State governorship election holds on Saturday, November 18, and the past few weeks have been electrified by the campaign of the contestants.

The contenders include Governor Willie Obiano of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA); Tony Nwoye, All Progressives Congress (APC); Oseloka Obaze, People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

They also include Godwin Ezeemo, Progressives Peoples’ Alliance (PPA); Osita Chidoka, United Peoples Party (UPP); Oby Okafor, Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD) and Henry Onuorah, Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN). But the field is dominated

by Obiano, Nwoye and Obaze because of the forces behind their candidacy or circumstances of their run.

Former Governor Peter Obi’s name is closely linked to Obaze and many wonder if Obi is seeking a third term through the back door.

Obi, the only PDP chieftain backing him, has demonstrated openly his desire to get Obiano sacked so as to “teach� the governor a little political lesson.

APC chieftain, Arthur Eze, is a major sponsor and financier of Nwoye, another example of politicians sponsoring candidates into political office with the hope of having a firm grip on state resources through their benefactors. But it appears Obiano represents the conscience of the people of Anambra, not just by virtue of his party, APGA, which has done so much for the state in the past 12 years, but by his achievements in office for three years and eight months.

He enjoys the support of town union associations, market men and women groups, autonomous communities, traditional rulers, religious leaders and leaders of thought across political divides.

But he cannot take the race for granted.

The charged political climate in the state hinges on the battle of the political godfathers and their surrogates to get rid of Obiano from office and reactions to The Enablers in the blueprint he unveiled in the early days of his administration.

Obiano The Enablers include Trade and Commerce, Agricultural Revolution, Security of Lives and Property, Improved Healthcare Delivery, Quality Education and Oil and Gas. The document was crafted as the easiest way to impact public and private sector workers as well as traders and artisans.

Anambra is generally regarded as safe.

The Obiano administration understands the symbiosis between security of lives and property and has invested money, energy, time and strategy in security.

What has stabilised the business and economic environment is not the function of a fat treasury the administration inherited but the way resources have been deployed to benefit the people.

A retired police chief who lives in Awka recently told me that “if all governors are as passionate about securing their environment the way Obiano is, development in every part of the country would be taken for granted.�

Data obtained from the Anambra State

Chamber of Commerce, Mines and Agriculture showed that “in the last three years, the number of small scale industries has increased by 38 per cent as against what it was before Obiano’s inception, and a total of 126 medium-scale industries that were moribund have come back to life.�

Most of those who fail to see the impact of Obiano’s administration on agriculture are detached from the people, the farms and markets.

They are used to life in Abuja and Lagos where they dash from fast food restaurant to supermarket to grocery store in search of processed agricultural produce.

They get confused when they hear that what is in Sokoto is now in the sokoto trousers they are wearing.

In this era of economic downturn, when life is unbearable for the average Nigerian, Anambrarians have seen an alternative in farms that yield bountiful produce that put cash in their pockets.

Obiano uses his “Choose Your Project Initiative� to bond with the 177 communities in the state and – adapting banks’ “Know Your Customer (KYC)� – has worked out modalities to interface with voters to make governance felt.

He gives the people the opportunity to choose the projects they want.

Nearly all roads in the state are asphalted because the N20 million each community now gets to meet basic needs was in the past used by politicians to drink Champagne.

Obiano’s performance does not depict a man who does not understand the dynamics of governance, demands of his people and preparedness to satisfy them. Other governors are content flagging off projects they are not ready to complete. But his priority is to attend to projects inherited from his predecessor, Obi. Not even the frosty relationship between him and Obi has stopped him from completing projects initiated by Obi. Obiano has completed the construction of 51 of the 101 road projected carried over from the Obi era, given N10 million each to 65 markets for facelift and built the first Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS) digital television.

To further open up the state economy, he recently flagged off an Anambra Airport City

Project in Umueri sitting on 1,500 hectares of land.

It is funded with $2 billion pooled by a consortium of Chinese and Nigerian firms, and is expected to be completed in three years and provide 1,200 direct jobs and 3,600 indirect ones.

Tax payers’ money is not involved because the project is in a Build, Operate, Manage and Transfer (BOMT) arrangement.

Obiano has intervened in health, education, industrialisation and welfare which nobody can take away from him.

He has not satisfied everybody but the feeling from the majority speaks volumes about his scorecard.

Unlike in neighbouring Kogi and Imo States where public workers grumble against governors, Anambra workers are at peace because, to Obiano, their welfare is not negotiable. It is a priority. That is why Anambra workers have nicknamed him alert Governor because they receive their pay before the end of every month.

Anambra State Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Chairman, Jerry Nnubia, said: “We have seen governance down to the grassroots.

We have experienced security of lives and property in Anambra. “The agricultural revolution embarked upon by our able and hardworking governor has witnessed a harvest of plenty, and the basic infrastructure being put in place makes him qualified and deserving to go for a second term.� Diaspora Anambrarians also assess Obiano creditably.

Nchekwube Nwabunnia, an indigene of Nibo in Anambra who lives in the United Kingdom recently wrote about Obiano, saying: “In my candid opinion, Willie was able to sustain Anambra and put Anambra first among equals in a recession. “It takes only a great mind to keep the state’s economy afloat while other states are in economic disaster. “Workers’ salaries are paid, roads and bridges are constructed. Low quality roads inherited from the immediate past regime are being maintained, investment in agriculture, which is the bane of Nigeria economic diversification, is championed by Anambra. –Ubochi, a political analyst, wrote in from Owerri.

A World Ravaged By Wars, Terrorism, Natural Disasters Ikechukwu Odu

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he cordial relationships between humans and nations continue to degenerate almost on a daily basis resulting in wars and threats of wars among countries of the world even as natural disasters incessantly plunge the hitherto productive natural environment into the abyss of irredeemable ruin. As if these troubles were not enough for humans to grabble with, terrorism has equally been on the increase; a situation that leaves the world with so much to think about.

From the world powers like the United States of America, Japan, France, North Korea, Russia etcetera to some developing nations of the world such as Nigeria, there are unprecedented itch from countries to light the wick of war either as a show of force or to score some political points.

The discordant tunes emanating from the United States of America and North Korea following a series of weapons tests

by Pyongyang and a string of increasingly bellicose exchanges between Donald Trump and North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un is a case at hand.

North Korea has launched two missiles over Japan and conducted its sixth nuclear tests in recent weeks as it fast advances toward its goal of developing a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the U.S mainland.

The war-ravaged nations of Syria, Russia, Palestine, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Somalia and many more are reducing the economic sustainability of the world population and under-developing the human and material resources of human race.

Though the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) jihadist movement has failed to estab-

Trump lish their caliphate in the war-torn Raqqa of Syria, the head of Russia Federal Security Service, Aleksandr Bortnikov, warns that the movement has resorted to forming a new terror organization to be known as International Jihadi Cause with a global strategic task of creating worldwide terrorist network.

Al Qaeda, the mastermind of September 11, 2001 terror attack in the World Trade Centre, Pentagon, USA continues to ruin lives and property with reckless abandonment.

Nigeria is equally recording casualties owing to the activities of Boko Haram in the North East, the agitating members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB)

unrepentantly calling for secession from Nigeria and several herdsmen/farmers clashes are turning our nation into theatres of war, enthroning bloodbath and fanning the embers of blind ethnic hatred and wars.

The most recent of the skirmishes in the home front being the threat by IPoB to boycott the Anambra State election billed for this month unless Nigeria holds a referendum to determine if the South East still wishes to remain a part of Nigeria. The result of this uproar or agitation brought about the Python Dance which the army claimed was carried out to rid the region of kidnappers and criminal elements.

Many innocent lives were lost to the exercise with the military invading the chapel of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Umuahia, Abia State; torturing some journalists while equally smashing their gadgets. Their constant visits to the home of the leader of IPoB, Mr. Nnadi Kalu resulted to his disappearance. In fact, Kalu’s home country, Afaraukwu has not remained the same after tasting the might of the Nigeria Army.

As if nature has joined forces with humans to finish off the human race, natural disasters have been on the increase the world over, claiming lives and properties and taking human developments 100 years backwards.

The all-powerful United States of America with all their sophistication have been at the mercy of hurricanes ravaging parts of Texas and Florida and now Puerto Rico. From Hurricane Harvey to that of Hurricane Irma and now, Hurricane Maria. The last one has left at least 26 persons dead with many still missing as the violent storm tears through the Caribbean just two weeks after the Hurricane Irma.

The wine-producing city of California has also been ravaged by wildfire that has killed at least 23 persons and destroyed 3,500 buildings. Also, more than 35 people died in wildfires raging through parched farmlands and forests in Portugal and neighbouring Spain.

In Nigeria, the flood that took place at Benue State is almost of the same magnitude with the widespread flood of 2012 which affected 30 of the 36 states of Nigeria; killing over hundreds of people and rendering over two million people homeless. In the Benue incidence, more than 100, 000 people fled their homes whereas at least 3,000 houses were submerged. The major streets of Lagos such as Victoria Island and Lekki where many believed could not fall for disasters like flooding where equally overwhelmed leaving most of the houses and streets submerged.

Considering the aforementioned incidents, one would not agree less with the biblical account in Matthew chapter 24:6 and 7 that these could be the signs of end time. “And you will hear of wars and rumours of war‌ “For nation will rise against nation...â€?

But before the world collapses in our very hands, let us play our roles especially in relation to taking care of the environment.

It is always safer to desist from acts that would result in environmental degradations which in the end expose us to the dangers of natural disasters. It’s equally important we work assiduously towards mending the broken walls of our human relations by knowing that where one’s human rights end, another’s rights begin. Instead of resorting to armed conflicts, let us toe the line of peace, for it is always better to jaw jaw, than to war war. –Odu, a public affairs analyst, lives in Enugu.

͚͚˜ ͺ͸͚Ϳ Ëž THISDAY, THE SATURDAY

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POLITY

FG Urged to Clampdown on Smuggling of Migrants Bennett Oghifo

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he uproar caused by the death of 26 teenage female migrants from Nigeria in the international community has brought to the fore the sore depth traffickers of migrants have gone to target the nation’s

youth.

Smuggling of Migrants (SOM) is not abating in Nigeria and constitutes threat to national security, economy and sociopolitical sanctity and well-being of the country, according to journalists, who brainstormed on the ugly development in Kaduna recently.

Women and children, they said were the most vulnerable victims of SOM, stating that government at all levels and relevant agencies must wake up to the urgent need to tackle SOM. These observations and recommendations are in a communiquĂŠ issued at the end of a three-day European Union funded workshop on Smuggling of Migrants (SOM) organised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in Kaduna, recently.

The journalists, drawn from print, radio, television, and online were joined by some key personnel from the Nigeria Immigration Service who enriched discussions at the roundtable.

At the end of the three-day workshop, participants agreed that migration is an inevitable phenomenon with far-reaching advantages when done within the context of available conventions.

They however, observed that these advantages and opportunities are being lost to irregular migration that is perpetrated by smugglers of migrants.

The journalists, who called for synergy between the agencies coordinating migra-

Deputy Comptroller of Immigration, Kaduna Command, DCI Jerry Adah at the beginning o the round table on Smuggling of Migrants (SOM) in Kaduna‌ recently

tion management in Nigeria, NIS, NAPTIP and the media, observed that the rise in SOM was “a consequence of improper and ineffectual information dissemination and citizen education on the phenomenon.�

It was revealed at the roundtable that beside Europe and America, the Middle East and some Asian countries were emerging as routes and destinations used by smugglers of migrants.

They noted that the social media has become a veritable platform for facilitating SOM and that there was need for NIS to develop a proactive information management system on migrants’ related issues.

They urged the NIS to develop a robust Social Media engagement strategy to counter the narratives on SOM, adding that media organisations should establish Migration Desks for effective reportage of migration and related issues. “The NIS and Foreign Affairs Ministry should develop effective and dynamic ways of engaging the diaspora communities to

mitigate SOM,� they said.

To facilitate the ease of effective reportage and coverage of Migration, participant suggested the issuance of official travel documents to journalists covering Migration.

At the opening, the Depu ty Comptroller of Immigration, Kaduna Command, DCI Jerry Adah said there was always a push and pull factor in migrant smuggling. ÂŤSomebody will not get into an event if he does not expect to pick an advantage. The person being smuggled feels that he is being smuggled for greener pastures. The person facilitating the smuggling process is doing so because he believes that there is financial gain for him. “There are different characteristics that differentiate between migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons.â€?

According to the National Project Officer of UNODC, Mr. Sylvester Atere, the Media Roundtable was designed to ensure that Nigeria gains from the potentials of regular migration, which was a natural thing to do.

Atere said, “Migration is a timeless issue, hence, it is very important to build the capacity of media practitioners, to understand the issues of migration, because it is important for journalists to operate from a position of strength.

Recently, a group of Nigerians in the Diaspora advised Nigerians considering irregular migration to Europe have been advised to quash such ideas because of the dangers involved.

The group, Nigerian Diaspora in Europe said in a statement that “Many of the migrants left Nigeria lured by the false promise of people-smugglers who deceive their victims into paying, sometimes, thousands of dollars for a passage to Europe. The fact is there is no easy passage to Europe through irregular migration. The illegal route to Europe is littered with hardship and death. “In Libya, for example, there are up to 1 million migrants trapped in transit where they are exposed to hash living conditions and widespread human rights abuses. Some are traded as slaves for ransom, labour or sex by gangs of people-smugglers and many die in the appalling conditions of detention facilities run by both the Libyan authorities and militia forces. “A substantial number of these irregular migrants are Nigerians. In fact, Nigerians constitute the single largest group of sub-Saharans in Libya. “The Nigerian Diaspora in Europe is deeply disturbed by this situation hence its decision to do something about it. This is why The African-German Information Center (AGIC), and The African Courier Verlag – both owned by Nigerians living in Germany – in collaboration with Germany’s Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is launching the information campaign ‘Migration Enlightenment Project in Nigeria’, supported by Migration Enlightenment Project Nigeria MEPN ‘Look before you leave.�

Nkereuwem Insists on Return of Tourism Ministry Justina Uzo

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resident, National Association of Nigeria Tour Operators (NATOP), and also Managing Director, Remlords Tours, Mr. Nkereuwem Onung, says the tourism industry in the country can contribute to the nation’s economy if the federal government returns a full-fledged Ministry of Tourism.

He said: “Government should stop trivializing the sector that is capable of contributing so much to GDP especially now that the country is going through difficult times; Nigeria with huge tourism potential can reap the benefit of tourism. “We want a full-fledged Tourism ministry. It’s not about the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

We don’t have any problem with him. “It is about a separate ministry that will pay more attention to tourism. It is imperative to revisit and commit ourselves to the diversification of the nation’s economy.

Tourism can earn Nigeria the much-needed foreign exchange. Growth and development of tourism would guarantee poverty

Mr. Nkereuwem Onung anked by, Taiwo and Kehinde Oguntoye, at a recent function in Lagos, when Remlords Tours organised a Rae Draw for ta 48-hour all expense paid trip to Calabar, Cross River State.

alleviation and lead to social and political harmony and stability.�

The current arrangement where tourism is lumped together with Ministry of

Information and Culture (the ministry supervises about 17 parastatals), is said to be harming the nation’s fragile tourism industry.

Nkereuwem regretted that Nigeria had

become a source market for other countries where Nigerians are travelling to anytime they want to enjoy themselves. “Nigeria is richly endowed but we have low level of awareness among the generality of the populace and opportunities in the country. This makes people travel out.

NCAA told us that Nigerians spent about $1.5 billion on airline tickets on 2015,� the leading tour operator said.

The First Vice President of Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), who went down memory to bemoan how Nigeria’s over reliance on oil destroyed its economic growth, said all was not lost. “It was on this note that we reiterate the need for the government of President Buhari to consider restoring our Ministry of Tourism. It will improve on public-private sector partnership.

They need to recognise tourism as a major factor in socio-economic development. This will promote and enhance activities within the value chain. We are also saying that in restoring our Ministry, link the national parks to the ministry, it is what obtains in most countries,� he said.

Oshodi, Lagos Community, Honours Senator Adeola, Prominent Residents at Fund Raiser Sam Ekpe

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enator Olamilekan Solomon Adeola, aka Yayi will be ahead of some six prominent residents of the Lagos Community of Oshod, in Oshodi/ Isolo Local Council to be honoured at the community’s N50million Hall Fund Raising slated for Thursday, November 16, 2017 at the Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji Legislative Council Hall in the Council Secretariat.

The others are Chief Samuel O. Aina, a former Chairman of the Local Government, Alhaji Wahab Sodiq, another former Chairman of the

council, the two Chief Launchers of the fund raiser, Alhaji Abdul Razaq Sann aka Provida and Alhaji Soliu Ibrahim aka Too Much Money, patriarch of the CDC in the council area, Chief Israel Olufemi Orija and a former two-term representative of Oshodi/Isolo Federal Constituency 1, Hon. Moruf Akinderu-Fatai (MAF).

The Senator, representing the Lagos West Senatorial District in the National Assembly, will chair and drive the occasion at which the community intends to raise N50 million through the Community Development Committee (CDC), the umbrella body of all Community Develop-

ment Associations (CDAs) in the Council area to complete a betting hall for the people of Oshodi, Mafoluku and Shogunle, making up the council area.

The CDC in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Rev. Babajide Otegbade, said it has become more than necessary that the community erect a befitting community hall of its own in the face of the fast-pacing nature of Lagos into a mega city.

According to him, the people are not able to hold their cultural and traditional activities, for which they are well known, in the streets

and public places anymore just as the cost of the proliferating publict event centres have proven too prohibitive for the people, appealing on corporate institutions, operating in the area, good spirited individuals, public office holders and their representatives at all levels of government to rally round them at the event.

The event slated for 11am on the day, the statement added, will be hosted by the council Chairman, Hon. Idris Bolaji Muse-Ariyo while the State Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs, Alhaji Muslim Folami will be on hand as Special Guest of Honour.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˞ ͚͚, 2017

Obiano,BestOptionforGreaterAnambra,SaysNwosu As the people of Anambra State prepare to elect a new governor to lead them for the next four years on Saturday, Chike Nwosu, a lawyer, administrator, entrepreneur and President of Greater Anambra Initiative for Development (GAIN), a leading development, good governance, and sustainable leadership advocacy group, in this interview with Olaoluwakitan Babatunde, makes a case for incumbent Governor Willie Obiano’s re-election

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in Anambra State is no mean achievement. This is against the backdrop of contending forces and contradictions.

If I were Governor Peter Obi, I would quietly retire to advisory capacity and role. One of the pitfalls of extreme intelligence is that you are so accustomed to being right that you believe you are always right. The future is created, not inherited. Everything in life happens for a reason. Peter Obi should support the incumbent to sustain the tempo of infrastructural development in the state.

nambra State has been in an electioneering season. What for you are the issues? And would you say the parties and their candidates are addressing them?

I think the issues in this election are the need for a credible and honest leadership; how do we create a vision for our dear state and take its development to the next level; and how do we get a leader with the right pedigree to lead us to the desired level. Without vision the people perish. The candidates so far have done their best in terms of political rhetoric, marketing themselves and selling their party manifestos to the good people of Anambra State. Politics is a battle of ideas and contact sports.

My thesis and submission is that the election is going to be a sprint and not a marathon race.

What is your assessment of the campaigns? Are you satisďŹ ed with the comportment of the contestants and the response of the people to them?

Like I said, the candidates especially that of APGA, PDP, APC, UPP, and of course, PPA have done well in their campaigns. That does not mean that the candidates of other 32 parties have done less. In Anambra, we go for what is authentic. I think Governor Obiano has superior arguments. He has demonstrated a unique kind of consistency, an undiminished stamina and steadiness in delivering infrastructure.

Do you foresee a peaceful election in view of the call for its boycott by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)?

Anambra has always been a peaceful State. The election of 18th November would be peaceful. We are peace loving people. Every Igbo man knows that it is to our collective best interest that the Anambra election succeeds.

In the past six months we embarked on advocacy and sensitization of our youths on the need for a peaceful election in Anambra. We have held seminars, town hall meetings and sensitized them through various social media.

Looking at the pedigree of the candidates and their parties, which of them do you ďŹ nd most suitable to govern the state for the next four years?

Honestly, we have interacted with some of the aspirants, and we believe that almost all of them are eminently qualified to be governor of Anambra.

Unfortunately they can only be one governor at a time. So many of them have excelled in their endeavours and leadership. However, for now, Ndi Anambra have collectively agreed that the incumbent should complete his second term for the following reasons: he has provided uncommon leadership with quintessential attributes; he has stabilized the Anambra polity; he is methodical, a strategic thinker and intellectually mobile; he has managed our resources reasonably; he has achieved his short and midterm targets and should be

And what do you make of the internal wrangling in the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)?

Isn’t the party approaching the election with a divided house?

I am not a card carrying member of APGA. I do not know about their wrangling. However, I am aware they have some issues in court like all the other political parties. As a Lawyer, I understand the legal implications of commenting on matters that are subjudice. Our interest in Greater Anambra Initiative for Development (GAIN) is to advocate and support honest and credible leadership, support positive development projects and ensure that Anambra youths are put to jobs.

Nwosu

allowed to complete his long term targets, which includes the Cargo Airport at Umueri. He also has visible achievements, he has been up to date in payment of salaries, pensions, and he continues to break new grounds; he has practical and cognate experience on the job; and he has carried our collective interests, sentiments, philosophy, aspirations well. Presently, he is favoured by God, history, geography (where he comes from) and politics. In other words, he is favoured by all the elements. Most importantly, he has ongoing projects that he needs to complete.

Obviously you prefer Governor Obiano to continue in ofďŹ ce. But he has been criticised for not doing enough in last four years?

Governor Obiano has pedigree.

Anambra people already know him.

He is a good manager of resources being a chartered accountant and auditor. Even in the midst of recession, he was able to navigate the state safely.

He pays salaries, pensions, emoluments and on time. He is Primus inter pares amongst his contemporaries

in other states. Criticism is part of life. Nobody is above criticism. The hallmark of leadership is the ability to solve problems. Amongst the contestants, he presents more convincing and more compelling reasons to Ndi Anambra.

Do you not think his chances of returning to ofďŹ ce would be narrowed by array of forces against him? The man who brought him, Chief Peter Obi, is in the trenches against him. Wouldn’t this impact negatively on Obiano?

It is hypothetical and speculative to insist he was made governor by the efforts of only Peter Obi. We are not interested in the jurisprudence of who made him governor, how, and why. We just want him to sustain the momentum of development.

I think the incumbent is a beneficiary of God’s benevolence like his predecessor. That is why we have asked the people of Anambra to allow him complete his developmental programs. Peter Obi is a great son of Anambra. We are proud of him and his achievements. To be a governor

Anambra has always been a peaceful State. The election of 18th November would be peaceful. We are peace loving people. Every Igbo man knows that it is to our collective best interest that the Anambra election succeeds. In the past six months we embarked on advocacy and sensitization of our youths on the need for a peaceful election in Anambra. We have held seminars, town hall meetings and sensitized them through various social media

Should Obiano win the election, what would be your charge to him?

Considering Governor Obiano’s pedigree, his achievements thus far, we believe that he would win the election. What are the expectations of Ndi Anambra? Create the enabling environment that would enable entrepreneurship thrive, create employment, which will reduce social vices.

As an entrepreneur, I understand the positive effects and contributions of entrepreneurship to national development and our GDP. He should support the youths in Anambra State acquire and attain entrepreneurial characteristics that would equip them in start-up enterprises. The truth is that our education and certificates as presently constituted do not make our graduates employable. The emphasis globally is on youth empowerment, entrepreneurship, and vocational skills. He should get the youths busy through positive interventions and initiatives that would promote positive social change. We expect the governor to instigate social change through insights and interventions in entrepreneurship and job creation. We shall support him in this regard. We need to enhance the entrepreneurial and leadership characteristics of our youths. Entrepreneurship is in the DNA of every Anambra person. It is our forte. It is a game changer. We are equally favoured by other factors of production (Land, labour, and capital). With a good synergy, Anambra would be a power- house in the next three years. We must work hard to put our youths out of the streets. Failure to do so portends doom for all of us. The governor must sustain hope through skill acquisition and entrepreneurship, which are the panacea of tackling unemployment. We in Greater Anambra Initiative would oblige the governor our manual and blueprint for massive industrialization of the state.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͚͚˜ ͺ͸͚Ϳ

POLITY

I’ll Build New Igbo Land – Okonkwo Ifeanyichukwu Okonkwo, the gubernatorial aspirant of Action Democratic Party (ADP) tells Kasie Abone that he was in the race to change the leadership narrative in Anambra State What is your motivation to want to be next governor of Anambra State? have been seeking consistently an opportunity to serve as a governor in Anambra is predicated on two issues; one is that I understand the mythology of the Igbo man and I have a dream and passion to organise the kind of leadership by example that would build new Igbo land. That is my primary interest. More particularly, for my political parish from Anambra State we have the shortcoming of not understanding what the power equation is in Nigeria; more so, that politics is a group activity. It is an individual business.

Because one biggest problem of people from my political parish is that we have done very well as individuals but we have not been able to get it right with collective issue which is politics. We have not been able to articulate what are the issues that challenge us and using political platform to resolve those issues. And one of the most critical things is that we must understand that you must have to make a demand on the system. One of the greatest gifts we have is those things we have packaged in our constitution which nobody can tamper with which are our natural human rights.

And it is only when you have a strong government, a strong leadership that can protect those inalienable rights that is one of the greatest challenges we have. The people from my political parish, which are the Igbos, have been complaining about intimidation, marginalisation and the violation of their rights. But they have not been able to articulate these issues to be able to engage the federal government.

So we have been playing politics as an individual game rather than a group game.

That is what I can bring into politics being somebody who understands the political religion in the country.

place to win the election?

My greatest weapon for going into this election is knowledge and my ability to reach out and put things on the table. The other thing I am going to use is the instrumentality of the law which everybody knows that I am the prefect of the class. I don’t know any other thing. Everybody in Anambra State knows that I am intellectually sagacious. So, I don’t know any other weapon. I have presented myself as the man in this election. I have the credentials, I have the pedigree. I have the knowledge and I am not corrupt. I know all the candidates; I know their worth. They know that if I become the governor they would regurgitate all the security votes they have collected. I am the one they have to fear.

I

What other gaps did you observe that you will ďŹ ll if elected?

The most important thing is that we are confronted by a system that is not working; and we are not helping each other by organising ourselves to dismantle those obstacles. The first obstacle is that the political elites have been able to disenfranchise and eliminate the best minds in our community for organising for power rather those elites who should be the engine room of philosophy of government and will superintend the distribution of the goods that will enhance life decided to take the shorter end of the sticks by being agents of those mediocre political fathers. That is the greatest shortcoming we have. If we are able to build self-esteem, the intellectual class, that there must be a meeting point between the intellectual class, the youths, we can fashion a dream of reintroducing growth in our economy.

That is why there is so much decadence and loss of family value in Anambra state.

It is the greatest challenge; the challenge of leadership.

Why should the electorates trust you?

The greatest challenge in politics is how to cultivate trust because trust is the treasury of a political institution but the mythology of evaluating individual is records. I have a track record that is sellable; I have a track record that can put me above any other candidate. I always tell people that in my Igbo parish, you go to a native doctor so that he can attend to your problems, and first thing you ask yourself is, is there any sign board introducing the native doctor? You must have come there by reference. Either you came by reference or you look at the antecedents of the native doctor then know his history and submit yourself to his treatment. I have a record of political exposure of over 32 years that I have been an activist and I have been presenting myself to lead which no other

Ifeanyichukwu Okonkwo

Yes,Igbolandisundersiege becausewedon’thave leadership.Wehavelostthe typeofleadershipthatwould engageNigeria.Wehavebeen intimidatedbecausewehave leftthesystemformediocres.

Theyhavenorecordofhaving stoodforanything.Ofcourse, thatiswhatIamgoingto brandish,thatIhavebeena fighter;thatIhavestoodon thesideofthepeopleand foughtforthem.Ihavenever beeningovernment,Ihave neverbeencompromised.I haveneverstolenanybody’s money individual of my generation can surpass that record. It is a selling point. Also I come from a constituency that have never voted during elections; and that is the intellectual class. And that is the first problem I would want to resolve to make them get interested who becomes the next governor of Anambra State.

What is your take on zoning?

My people have a saying that when you want to deny somebody a certain portion of meat you must introduce something to make him not to be interested in the first place. So it is either you introduce a new value system that women don’t eat it or that it is not for children. Who introduced zoning, you may ask? They are those political elements, with all due respect, who have been in the lime light and have not built any new leader. Those who in the last seventeen years have not been able to build a party secretariat. These are those who believe that the parlance of Igbo man for excellence, and we are looking for the best man who would lead our people at the crucial moment in our history; that they are looking for a weakling who will make returns to them. But I symapthise with

them. But the choice is left for the Anambra people if they believe that the best way to devour animal that may consume all of us in future will be reserved for mediocres. I say no more because I have never seen any reasonable law they are using to eliminate excellence an enthrone mediocrity. What I want to say is that those people want zoning in Anambra State have been the people who denied the Anambra child a dream. They have not built any new leader.

So, I don’t believe in them. The political party that gave me the platform doesn’t recognise those.

Your party is new and people tend to vote for political parties rather than individuals. How do you intend to overcome that challenge?

My party is new but I am older than any other political element in Anambra State.

That is one advantage. Anambra does not vote for party, they vote out of sentiments.

People cajole them. The particular party that has been in power for twelve years in Anambra State has no working secretariat; they have not been able to conduct a free and fair local government election. They have not thrown up any leader. They have run the budget of Anambra State from 2007 till today and it is all zero budgeting.

They have become richer. They own the only source of income in Anambra State.

They own the shopping malls. They are the people who determine what you get.

They have not been able to add value to Anambra State.

Money plays a huge role in politics.

Are you a moneybag or do you have a godfather?

I don’t believe in godfatherism; I believe in a marketplace of ideas. Anambra State is not a backward state. One of the greatest challenges we have today is that every home in Anambra State is now challenged either by human rights issue, by corruption issue, by environmental issue and devastation in the erosion of family values. Anambra has the opportunity to set our agenda for development. The issue of money politics and godfather is now old-fashioned. You want to build a road, you don’t have engineers that would use modern tools to design and supervise the road. And then you award the project to a contractor. You have lost value because you have not been able to create the type of capacity that would help you to manage those assets.

What machinery do you have in

Igboland as a whole has been under siege, does this situation worry you?

Yes, Igbo land is under siege because we don’t have leadership. We have lost the type of leadership that would engage Nigeria.We have been intimidated because we have left the system for mediocres.

They have no record of having stood for anything. Of course, that is what I am going to brandish, that I have been a fighter; that I have stood on the side of the people and fought for them. I have never been in government, I have never been compromised. I have never stolen anybody’s money.

What in your own view is the future of the Igbo?

Our people have lost the self-esteem to raise their heads and challenge those who have kept them down. I need to rebuild that psychological disposition of new leaders.

We have been concentrating on individual prosperity and lost the group war.

If you win the election, how would you want the people of Anambra to assess you in the ďŹ rst four years?

The first assessment you look at is the human development index. Who and who are in my government? What capital infrastructure that would give us a competing edge have I been able to put on the ground? It is going to be those indices that are going to determine the future of our people. The institution of education; the institution that is going to give us a face to be able to tell the story of Anambra; our opportunity to dominate our environment; our resolve to engage those policies that have made it impossible for us to compete; our opportunity to move into the system and create a space that in the new world order we can compete.

What message do you have for the electorates in Anambra State?

The message I have for them is that the elites have been our problem because they have decided to be aloof in what the issues would be in an election. It is because of their aloofness that money politics have crippled in. it is because they have not taken stand on issues that is why mediocres are all over the place. I am challenging them to go back to their communities to see the decay; that the youths have been so much disorganized that they have lost focus. We are nowhere in modern technology. We are nowhere in education. We don’t even understand how to take care of our community in terms of healthcare, manpower development. Eighty percent of our people have decided that the best place to stay is outside Igbo land and I am against it. We must reengineer the philosophy of development in Nigeria.

You talked about the elites, are you not one of them?

I am but I have refused to be sucked into their tranquillising lifestyle. I have continued to burn the midnight oil to put a plan that would mobilise the good men and women of Anambra State so that we can begin to push in one direction.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͚͚˜ ͺ͸͚Ϳ

CUTLERY AND ROSES

åÓÞÒ Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă‹ ĂŒĂ“Ă™Ă’Ă‹ ͸΀͸΀͚Ϳ΀ΠͿ͝Ϳ

For Nigeria, Vegan Victory Raises the Green Flag� to “On a Vegan Victory

F

or over four years, Hakeem Jimoh has been creating awareness for healthy living through his vegan eatery, Veggie Victory. Located at the lush green Freedom Park, Lagos Island, the eatery offers rich delicacies that are purely vegan. From crisp shawarma to spicy asun, every tasty meal on its menu is freshly cooked and vegan.

It has not been an easy task for Hakeem.

In those early days, it was difficult to woo customers to his eatery. Being surrounded by other restaurants which offer palatable dishes at the park’s food court didn’t make the efforts easier for him. Although visitors at the park were captivated by the name of the restaurant, their attention was hardly sustained once they were told what’s on the menu. Their first reaction was usually disinterest. But Hakeem was not deterred by that. In fact, he expected such response.

He got similar reactions when he was about to veer into the business. “When I told people I was going to start

Spices

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As the International Drinks Festival inches closer, the Balmoral Group is packing on a huge dose of fun with the introduction of ‘Beer Village’. As the name implies it will be the entertainment hub of the festival where guests as well as exhibitors, retailers, stakeholders, consumers and holiday fun seekers can unwind. It will entertain guests with great music every night, comedy acts and of course, lots of beer. Guests will also experience different types of great beer from various brands that will be participating in this entertaining event. Beer Village will open every day of the festival which will officially kick off on December 1 and will come to a climactic end on December 3, at Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Iyabo Ojo Opens New Restaurant Not many believed the news when it broke recently but against all odds, Nollywood actress, Iyabo Ojo, had a grand opening of her lounge and bar in Lekki. The creme de la creme graced the event and extolled the actress for the giant stride.

The lounge provides a variety of services but the most prominent is the Abula spot, the restaurant angle of the lounge. It is named after the popular southern Nigerian soup–a mixture of gbegiri, ewedu and pepper sauce and is often served with amala. Residents of Lekki will surely have an exciting gastronomical journey here.

a vegan restaurant, they didn’t take us serious. Because for some reason, they don’t even know what vegan is, that’s why we named it Veggie Victory. There is a difference between vegetarian and vegan.

Vegetarian means no meat, fish or egg but vegan means no fish, meat, egg and dairy.

So a vegetarian can drink milk or cheese but a vegan will not touch milk,� he told me as we sat on one of the available tables in his eatery. “Unfortunately,� he continued, “vegetarian has a negative connotation.

What people think of vegetarian is goat food, salad. They can’t imagine we are eating same food like theirs,only without the meat and the fish. When you invite someone to a vegetarian meal, they are not interested. That has been the story of this restaurant. But the moment they eat something from here, particularly our own variant of meat: tofu and a new onevegetarian chunks, they are amazed.�

The vegetarian chunks are a substitute of meat and has a crunchy beef taste when fried. Hakeem and his wife came up with the idea to supplement tofu which is very popular. Unlike tofu which is made solely from soya beans, vegetarian chunks are made from wheat flour, soya beans, ginger, garlic, vegetable oil, salt and onion.

Since it launched six months ago, it has become a staple in most grocery stores across the country.

Hakeem has done some experimentation with his new product. Being in an environment that comes alive at night requires some strategy to keep his customers coming. So he decided to make his own signature vegan asun. If not that he told me before I had the spicy chunks, I could have assumed it was beef. The chunks are cut in bits, cooked first before being fried with spices to give that unique savoury taste of asun. You can also find the chunks in the shawarma. But this time it is cooked and very tender. Veggie Victory’s Shawarma is very crisp on the outside but inside is an explosion of flavours and veggies that will leave your palate itching for more.

The restaurant also boasts of other tasty Nigerian delicacies. You can have jollof rice with any of the available protein or a side dish of colourful vegetable salad.

There is also the efo riro soup served with amala.

For drinks, Veggie Victory only serves fresh juice and smoothies made from seasonal fruits. Feel free to try Freedom Smoothie (watermelon, banana, ginger) if you want to lose weight. The smoothies are named randomly by Hakeem. There is Azeeno, Go-Slow and there is one named after his daughter, Kailani.

The restaurant is sparsely furnished.

The drinks menu is written on a blackboard which hangs on one side of the wall; a big golden soup spoon occupies another part of the wall. Hakeem told me that Olisa Adibua of Bukas and Joints gave it to him. Veggie Victory boasts of little furniture. There are only two tables

Appetizers r 7FHHJF 7JDUPSZ JT UIF Ă STU /JHFSJBO Vegan restaurant r 'PVOEFE CZ )BLFFN +JNPI B GPSNFS journalist in May 2013 r -PDBUFE BU 'SFFEPN 1BSL )PTQJUBM Road, Lagos Island r -BVODIFE 7FHFUBSJBO $IVOLT B CFFG tasty protein made from wheat flour six months ago. r )BLFFN +JNPI PSHBOJTFT UIF BOOVBM Lagos Veg Fest

at the restaurant and if there is a rush on a rainy day, an extra table is brought in. But mostly, people order their meals and make use of the open space at the park or tuck in between the green shades. Hakeem said it was deliberately designed that way. He wanted an eatery where people can walk in and buy meals, not necessarily a restaurant where people can sit around to have their meals.

Perhaps, the most prominent dĂŠcor is the almanac of famous people who are vegans decorating its orange walls. On this list you XJMM Ă OE GPSNFS 64 QSFTJEFOU #JMM $MJOUPO singer Erykah Badu, actor Brad Pitt and a host of others. Hakeem said it was another strategy to make people live the healthy lifestyle. In Nigeria however, the partly German cannot easily recall notable figures who are vegans. The name that easily DBNF UP IJT NJOE XBT MBUF $IJFG 0CBGFNJ Awolowo, one of the founding members of our great nation, Nigeria; followed by the musician Nneka. He recalled having an interesting conversation with Kate Henshaw who was intrigued by the vegan lifestyle but somehow, the discussion did not advance.

Nowadays, he gets calls from people who wants to practice healthy living. He showed me a recent text he got from a clergyman, asking for his mentorship. He explained that most people now embrace

vegetarian meals because of health issues. “It’s a course. We are trying to promote healthy lifestyle, and a plan- based vegan lifestyle has been proven to be the healthiest. A lot of science and studies show that a lot of these non-communicable diseases like diabetes, blood pressure, cancer and other diseases are very well connected to the diet we eat. 100 years ago, cancer was not an issue and now blood pressure and diabetes are rampant. The numbers are not coming from me but from Nigeria’s Heart Foundation that says more than half of Nigerians are suffering from blood pressure. It’s not only in Nigeria, it’s all around the world. So this means something is wrong with the diet. It’s not all about vegetarian but also processed foods. But definite also the meat. The consumption of meat has increased also dramatically and contributes to high cholesterol which also lead to heart-related problems.�

As part of his campaign, he kicked off a Lagos Veg Fest in 2014, a kind of fair that samples the best of vegetarian meals while promoting healthy living. This year, Hakeem is partnering FitFam and the fest XJMM UBLF QMBDF BU UIF &LP "UMBOUJD $JUZ There are plans to have branches across the state and perhaps, other parts of the country. For now, he is content with his space while creating awareness campaign for healthy living.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͚͚˜ ͺ͸͚Ϳ

COVER Rotimi Amaechi

There Will Be No Economic DiversiďŹ cation Until We Deal With Railway Issues Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, is passionate about the railway development programme of the Buhari administration. He regards it as a special “babyâ€?, to be nurtured with maximum attention. For this minister, no country can develop without a modern and eective railway system. He readily points to virtually all developed countries and how the railway had helped them to attain development. No wonder he has spent almost the last two years working round the clock to actualise the dream of a nationwide modern railway system for Nigeria. In this interview with select journalists, including Yemi Adebowale, Amaechi speaks about his dream of a functional modern railway system linking all parts of Nigeria

W

hat has the Transport Ministry, under your leadership, been doing to revamp the railway?

There are three key factors that aid development. The first is steel and you know Nigeria has no steel; the next is power and the third is railway.

Railway is expensive to construct, private funds are not used to construct railways.

We are fixing all the narrow gauge, which is about 3,500 kilometres. General Electric and a consortium are expected to bring $2.7 billion to fix the old rail line from Lagos to Kano and to Funtua. They will also fix Port Harcourt to Maiduguri, and they will recover their funds for 20 to 30 years, depending on what we agree on.

But when it comes to construction, which private company will bring $1.5 billion for the construction of the Lagos-Ibadan railway line, for instance? So, usually, the government bears the brunt so that the economy can grow. Imagine what would happen when we finish re-constructing the narrow gauge. The day we make the rails to function, the price of tomatoes would reduce drastically, because we would then be able to convey cheaply and more conveniently, bulk quantities of tomatoes from the north to Lagos and to other states in the South.

So, the objective of this government is to ensure that at least all the state capitals have rail services. So, if you check LagosIbadan, it will be completed in December 2018. By January 2018, hopefully, if we get the loan, we will start Ibadan-Kano. We are constructing Lagos-Ibadan; we will not wait for that to finish but by next year, we will start Ibadan-Kano. Once we complete that, we will have 1,500 km standard gauge. We had earlier given a contract to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, CCECC, hoping that the Chinese would fund Lagos-Calabar. They came back two months ago and said they don’t have money to fund the Lagos-Calabar rail project. So, we are going round looking for money; we have proposals.

Some people have indicated interest in funding part of the Calabar-Port Harcourt line and we are talking to them. We are talking with other groups who want to fund Port Harcourt-Maiduguri. The central line we intend to complete next year

starts from Itapke to Warri. The President has directed us to start from Abuja-Itakpe but by next year, we are sure to launch the train services from Itapke-Warri while we are looking for money to construct AbujaItakpe to join the one we have completed from Itakpe to Warri.

But these are just plans‌ They are not just plans; they have gone beyond planning. Most of those we are discussing with, we are not just talking about taking loans. What we are discussing with them is for them to bring 10 per cent equity, while we also bring ten per cent.

The company we would form as Special Purpose Vehicle will then borrow the remaining 80 per cent. What we are trying to do is to also get private individuals to join us to borrow the money and run it; and because their company has participated in the loan, they will all run it to pay back.

So, you have a stake?

Yes, we have a stake. So, we will allow them to run it and see whether they can recover the money, while we make our contributions to pay part of the money.

Can you give some kind of timeline?

You can’t do that until you have all the funds. I will be able to say that by June 2018. But I can tell you that the LagosIbadan will be completed in December, 2017. Don’t forget that the contract for the Lagos-Ibadan is three years but because I know Nigerians wanted to see results, I informed them that the Chinese government told us that they will construct 1000 km per year. So, why should 126 km take them three years? They said it was a double carriageway but I told them that even if it was a double carriageway, they should break themselves into gangs and that five gangs could complete it in a year. That is what they are doing and this December, they will start laying the tracks.

Many are worried about the huge foreign loans being piled up for these railway projects. Why are you not exploring private sector ďŹ nancing instead of using public funds and accumulating huge foreign loans?

I challenge anybody to show me anywhere in the world where railway lines are built by businessmen or with private funds. It does not make any economic

So, the objective of this government is to ensure that at least all the state capitals have rail services. So, if you check Lagos-Ibadan, it will be completed in December 2018. By January 2018, hopefully, if we get the loan, we will start IbadanKano. We are constructing Lagos-Ibadan; we will not wait for that to ďŹ nish but by next year, we will start Ibadan-Kano. Once we complete that, we will have 1,500 km standard gauge

Amaechi

NOVERMBER 11, 2017 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

61

COVER There Will Be No Economic Diversification Until We Deal With Railway Issues sense for a businessman to put money in railways. There is nowhere in the world where railway has been constructed with private funds.

Tell us about plans for railway in Apapa, especially with the traffic gridlock on that axis…

We are talking with GE to initiate what we call the interim phase agreement. The interim phase agreement is a plan to put in place a structure that can get the rail to start running no matter how slow.

Nigerians will be interested to know when the trucks will leave Apapa?

I don’t know about the trucks… I was explaining to you that there was an interim phase agreement and it is to enable us put the cargo on the rail. So, GE is bringing in six narrow gauge locomotives in the next one month, they will also bring in 100 wagons. With the six locomotives and 100 wagons, we will then begin to transfer the goods from the seaport. All Lagos bound freights will likely be transported to Papalanto. I won’t accept Ebute Metta because trucks have taken over the roads.

So, I said instead of that, they should move to Papalanto and pick up their goods but the non-Lagos goods should go straight to their locations, no matter how long it takes, than to drop all of them in Papalanto. The best thing is to leave all Lagos goods at Papalanto and the rest goods will be transported direct to their destinations. That I have directed.

We are in a hurry because some of you are not patient enough, you want the results delivered despite the time constraint that we have.

It is a good plan but it is an overambitious one…

It is good to have ambition.

You probably may not be able to deliver with the rate you are going…

Let me tell you why one should be ambitious. Lagos-Kano was on board in 2006, the Lagos-Calabar was on board before we came in. President Buhari came and said we should not award any contract but that we should construct those two rail lines.

You can hear me say now that we are looking for money. People politicise the issue of railway, but it has to do with economics and has nothing to do with politics.

By the way, it is enough if we get the narrow gauge to 200kmph but Nigerians said they want speed trains. So, it is the politicisation of development, but what I tell people is that they should not politicise development; we are Nigerians. One thing I can say to the public is I am not under pressure by the President. The pressure I am under is the pressure of making sure that there is result, but not it’s not for me to do it in certain areas. The decision to itemise the railway projects is left to me.

What is driving the rails is economic goal; that is why I am pursuing the central line. There are two types of economic zones that you can look at here. One is that the solid minerals are found more in the northeast. So, you see why we are developing the Port Harcourt rail because once Nigeria leaves oil and goes into mining, you will see the benefit of the rail. If you don’t have rail, forget about mining.

The reason the President is pursuing the rail is because of the diversification of the economy. If we are going to diversify our economy, it means that we are going to depend greatly on the northeast not just for food but for the mining.

Land-locked neighbouring countries do not import through Nigeria again.

They import through Lome, Cotonou and Ghana. There are several factors but one of the factors is that there are no rail lines that get to their countries from Nigeria.

So, I believe that if we do the Lagos-Kano and connect from Kano-Niger Republic, they will have no reason to say they cannot come to our ports again.

The other reason they gave is the numerous checkpoints. If they put their goods on the railways, there is no need for checkpoints, which will boost the economy of Nigeria too. So, the rail development is focused on economic development.

Amaechi

You are trying to build so many railway lines at the same time, but you said you are not under pressure...

(Cuts in) I am not under pressure from anybody. The president is not pressurising me on the choice of where to go. I am under pressure to carry out economic development. Since the president has said he wants to diversify the economy, which is his focus and the focus of this government.

We are less interested in oil and more interested in economic diversification. If that is what he is saying, then there will be no economic diversification until we deal with railway.

You’re trying to build so many railway lines at the same time. Many are worried that you may probably not achieve or complete anyone?

Why don’t you wait till then? I have been a Speaker for eight years, my record is there; I have been a governor for eight years, my record is there; I have been minister for two years, why don’t you wait?

It was less than six months after I became minister that we fixed Abuja-Kaduna rail line. Don’t forget that it was abandoned before I came for lack of funding.

What are your challenges in this drive to develop our railway lines?

Funding and I have said that several times and that is why you see me trying to run everywhere to look for funds. You see, it is not every country that gives money even if it is at commercial rate. There are so many countries out there looking for money, it is not only us.

So, you are still looking for more foreign loans?

Why don’t you for the first time, praise the Buhari government? When we came, what was the per capita recurrent ratio? It was below 20 per cent per capita and then, the current was 84 per cent. In our first year, we did 25 per cent. The difference between us and the rest is that we don’t borrow to the government, I hope you got that, we lend money to projects. Are you saying we should not borrow? We must show a bit of understanding of the issues; you cannot even run the economy without borrowing. There is no economy in the world you can run without borrowing.

The United States of America is borrowing trillions of dollars. We have not surpassed the ratio. Every day, we look at the ratio

and ensure that we do not surpass it. Are you asking us not to develop?

Some people have argued that we need to look at the Railway Act of 1965 and amend it The Railway Act is before the National Assembly, the Act has been there but I think it has passed Second Reading in the National Assembly and hopefully, they will pass it. Let us give them some time for them to pass it.

How would you assess this government, especially in your ministry?

Whether Nigerians accept it or not, we did not promise to perform miracles.

We knew there would be challenges. I was chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, I knew the huge stealing that was going on; I knew that Nigeria was bleeding. Now, when we took over what we did not expect as we landed was that oil price would crash the way it crashed. We didn’t also know that there was a political plan to drown the economy if they lost. While we looked at the economy when we came in, our economic experts said we needed to spend ourselves out of recession. We were told that we needed to pump money into the system. Which government has come to power and started paying contractors of the other party that was in government?

Did you mean contractors of previous governments?

Other governments will ignore them and employ their own contractors; instead, the President directed that we needed to put money in the system for two reasons. One was to bring back the economy, the second reason is that to restore the economy, you have to make the people consume. For the first time, we spent over $1 trillion on capital and most of them; we were paying the contractors for contracts that were awarded by the previous government, including that of Obasanjo, Yar’Adua and Jonathan. We could not award contracts of our own till 2017.

So, when anybody says assess the government, you must look at what we are doing vis-a-vis the noise we are making. The problem we have is that we are not making enough noise. Everybody is doing his or her work quietly based on the principles of Buhari.

Anyone who can’t speak about Buhari does not know the man. I acted as his Director-General for ten months, so, I

Our target is to commence laying of tracks for the Lagos-Ibadan line by December 2017. We will try but we are having challenges.

We have challenges of gas pipelines, and we have power assets on the alignment, we have written (to the concerned agencies), no response. We have four bridges that are challenges to us; we have found solutions to three of them to allow the trains pass. We are doing all that and hope that the society will be understanding and give us time to finish the project know the man very well. I know the things he wants and the things he does not like.

I can tell you that the man is committed to the development of Nigeria. One good thing about the man is that once he makes up his mind to be focused on the development of Nigeria, he has to achieve that development that he wants.

What is important to him is a united country that provides for the poor and the rich. Have you seen our convoys? I have not seen a minister that has more than three cars. How many previous administrations have you seen like that? The ministers, realising the spirit of the government or body language, knows that it is the right thing to do; you just know that it is a waste of money to have ten cars for a minister.

I drive myself, I don’t have a convoy.

Anywhere I go, I drive myself. I have always driven myself as Speaker and governor and now as Minister. During the campaign when I drove the President, he used to call me executive driver. It is not about being a minister, it is what I love doing.

Do you have timelines for this railway development programme?

Yes. What I have decided to do is to ensure that we keep to the timelines. So, the first week of every month, I am in Lagos. During this week, we will be having a meeting with the Chinese contractors, the Lagos State government, Oyo government, Ogun government and NRC chairman to assess what we did the previous month and see whether we achieved anything.

Our target is to commence laying of tracks for the Lagos-Ibadan line by December 2017. We will try but we are having challenges. We have challenges of gas pipelines, we have power assets on the alignment, we have written, no response; we have four bridges that are challenges to us; we have found solutions to three of them to allow the trains pass. We are doing all that and hope that the society will understand and give us time to finish.

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PDP Convention: Time for SPDC Moves to End Redemption, Says Secondus Road Fatalities, Donates Onyebuchi Ezigbo inAbuja

Former acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Uche Secondus has said that the December 9 National Convention of the party is an opportunity to salvage the party and rebuild it for 2019 elections He said that whoever would emerge as the national chairman of the party will depend on the endorsement and votes of delegates at the forthcoming national convention.

He denied reports alleging clandestine moves by some powerful forces to impose him on the party as its chairman.

In a statement issued by a member of campaign organisation,

Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa

Taiye Garrick, the aspirant said there was no way anybody could impose anyone in a free and fair contest.

"Our attention has been drawn to news reports alleging clandestine moves by some powerful forces to impose Prince Uche Secondus as the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party "We want to categorically declare that there is no iota of truth in that report. Our candidacy depends on endorsement and votes of delegates at the forthcoming national convention.

"We want Nigerians and members of the party to note that the position of National Chairman was zoned to the Southern region comprising of three zones. Prince Secondus has every legitimate and legal rights

to aspire for the office of National Chairman.

Secondus noted that he has been reaching out to delegates across the 36 states seeking their votes and presenting his agenda for revival of the party ahead of 2019.

"Throughout this period, no member of Board of Trustees has openly endorsed him as they have done for some other candidates.

No state governor has openly endorsed him so far even though some aspirants claimed support of some governors. Where then is the plot to impose Secondus?

"Just recently, some members of Board of Trustees openly endorsed some aspirants. The Secondus Campaign Organisation did not raise any eyebrow. Rather than waiting

for any group endorsements, we have been campaigning day and night across the six zones, selling our redemption messages to PDP delegates.

"We urge all aspirants to get ready for the National Convention and stop game of distractions. The delegates assembled will cast their votes for an aspirant of their choice in the full glare of the public. Nobody can impose any aspirant in a free and fair contest.

"We also want to affirm that Prince Secondus remains the most qualified for the chairmanship going by his antecedents before and after the crisis that nearly killed the party.

He is bold and pushful alongside with his great blueprint to return the PDP to power in 2019.

The Shell Petroleum Development Company, (SPDC), yesterday said it was moved by the plight of road accident victims who are usually trapped in vehicles during several mishaps which happen on Nigerian Roads on a daily basis.

Officials of the oil giant, who donated several units of Crash Victims Extraction Equipment to the Bayelsa Command of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), said the company had observed that many road accident victims lose their lives because of the inability of security officials to get them out of mangled vehicles.

Kisi Obomanu, the company’s head of Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) Maturation, who represented Gloria Udo, Manager Social Investments, told journalists during the event that as a company noted for safety worldwide, Shell was interested in saving the lives lost on Nigerian roads. “Be it industrial safety, domestic safety or even road safety, anything that is synonymous with safety, Shell will be part of it. This is part

of our external relations with our external stakeholders. We are taking the knowledge and expertise we have in safety and extending it to the general public. “Our desire is not just that the Shell worker should return home after work, the idea is for the general public to go about their business in a safe manner so that they can always return to their loved ones at the next of work,� Obomanu said.

He said the equipment would extract or extricate the accident victims in seconds from any crashed vehicle and promised that the company would also undertake the training of road safety officials on how to use the equipment.

The Bayelsa state Sector Commander of the FRSC, Mr. Ikechukwu Igwe, while accepting the donations said the presentation was timely as the ember months, when the roads become very busy, were already here. “This is a very good time to donate these equipment. Vehicular movement around this time is very high. This will help in no small measure to ensure that our plan for zero accident on our roads succeed".

Organised Labour Suspend Strike in Kogi Yekini Jimoh in Lokoja

TALKING LOCAL CONTENT ...

L-R: Government Relations Manager, Petrobras, Mrs Meg Nkechinyere Irozuru; Executive Secretary, Nigeria Content Development and Management Board (NCDMB), Mr Simbi Wabote; GMD and CEO, MG Vowgas Nig Ltd, Mr Godwin Izomor and President of Council of Registered Engineers ( (COREN), Mr Kashim Ali , at the just concluded local content conference at Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State

Nasko Foundation Throws Challenge to Produce ArtiďŹ cial Limbs The Umar Nasko Foundation, a Youth focused non-Profit organisation, has launched an innovation challenge to fabricate affordable quality artificial limbs that will be made from locally sourced materials in Nigeria.

The Umar Nasko Foundation Prosthetic Challenge is a contest to find the best design and concept for affordable, quality Prosthetics that can be produced in Nigeria, using locally sourced materials.

The vision behind the Umar Nasko Foundation Prosthetics Challenge is to make quality prosthetics more accessible and affordable for amputees, so that they can lead more productive and better lives.

All three semifinalists will be invited to work with a multinational team of engineering, UX Design, orthopedics, and other world renowned scientists to develop a Nigerian solution to the expensive cost of functional

prosthetics.

The winner will also be honored with the Umar Nasko Prizes and Awards in the Innovation Category, which carries a crystal trophy, a gold medal, and significant cash compensation.

To apply, an entrant is expected to submit a project summary/abstract, a technical drawing of their concept, and their resumes.

Eligibility is for Undergraduates and graduates of higher

institutions within and outside Nigeria. Entrants must be Nigerian citizens.

Established in 2017, Umar Nasko Foundation aim to build a record of making positive interventions through harnessing the creative and intellectual ideas of young Nigerians to provide solutions that improve life for people in the areas of Clean Water, Basic Primary Healthcare, and Vocational Education especially in underserved communities.

Cleric Advises Buhari to Use Recovered Loots to Create Jobs for Unemployed Youths

By HammedShittuinIlorin

The Spiritual father of the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement of Nigeria Worldwide Ayo Ni o (C&S ) Most Rev. Samuel Abidoye has advised president Muhammadu Buharii to make use of all the recovered looted funds in the country to create jobs for the teeming unemployed youths in the country This, he said would go a long way of reducing high rate of unemployment among the teem-

ing youths and also stem reported cases of ritual killings and other social vices in the country.

Rev. Abidoye who made the advice at the 77th annual conference of the church held along Ilorin- Ogbomoso road, Orile-Igbon said that, "the high rate of unemployed youths in the country has continued to be alarming and all efforts should be put on ground by the government to bring the situation into a barest minimum."

According to him, “I want

to say that, president Muhammadu Buhari should assist the unemployed youths in the country by making use of the recovered looted funds to create jobs for them in order to reduce the suffering being faced these unemployed youths.�

Reverend Abidoye, who commended Buhari administration on recovery of looted fund from politicians, advised him not to relent, saying corruption had eaten deep into fabrics of the nation, while youth wandered

streets in search of jobs.

He also called on Nigerians to support the administration in its effort at implementing people-oriented programmes aimed at making lives better for the people.

The nonagenarian, who condemned some church leaders in the country for always promoting preaching on prosperity instead of salvation, said that such act had increased love of money, criminality and materialism among Christian youth.

The two months-old strike action embarked by the organised labour in Kogi State to press home their demands has been suspended with effect from Friday.

Rising from the meeting of the organised labour and the state government in the office of the Deputy Governor of Kogi State on Friday, the chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Kogi State, Comrade Onu Edoka said the labour union decided to suspend the strike having entered in to agreement with government as according to him, both parties agreed to honour the agreement.

The statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Akor Sylvester said the following agreements were signed after much consultations by both parties to bring about lasting peace between the workers and government.

Part of the agreement signed by the parties reads: "That the ‘clock- in and out’ machine which Government instituted as electronic Attendance Register would be test-run for the next three (3) months starting from 10th November, 2017 and ending 10th February, 2018 during which its efficiency and functionality will be determined by a Committee comprising Government and Organized Labour representatives.

"That the print-out of the machine and the existing manual Attendance Register will be juxtaposed on monthly basis by the said committee to determine the degree of efficiency of the ‘clock-in and out’ machine.

"That the Committee of Government and Organised Labour are to discuss with the view of resolving all the Grey areas and Peculiarities surrounding the system, while a Desk Officer in each MDA be appointed to handle the records.

"That on no account would the machine be used to determine the payment of salaries to workers

until the Committee of Government and Organized Labour adjudged the efficiency of the machine after the expiration of the three(3) months in February, 2018.

"That the payment of salary and pension to workers and pensioners respectively for the month of August 2017 would be full and comprehensive i.e All cleared staff including the pardoned staff and the Omitted/New retirees will be pay-rolled and paid their full month salary and pension respectively on or before Friday 17th November, 2017, while all cases of arrears of salaries and pensions will be scheduled for payment as funds are available based on the understanding between Labour and Government."

On the Contributory Pension Scheme, the parties agreed that since it was mandatory by law that workers should key into the scheme, and the Bill to domesticate the law was before the State House of Assembly.

It was also agreed that all grey areas noticed by Organised Labour be presented at a Public Hearing to be conducted by the State House of Assembly.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly known and addressed as BABALOLA AKEEM, now wish to be known and address as BABALOLA OLATUNDE EMMANUEL. All former documents remain valid The general public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS BANJE AKIMIETEIKUMO, now wish to be known and address as MRS AKIMIETEIKUMO JONAH. All former documents remain valid The general public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as UDOH KOKOETTE, now wish to be known and address as ESSIEN AMASI. All former documents remain valid The general public should please take note.

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Nigeria’s World Cup Unbeaten Rivers House Caucus Lauds Run Intact, Draws with Algeria Wike's Achievements Kunle Adewale

Super Eagles of Nigeria’s unbeaten run in the 2018 World Cup campaign was kept intact yesterday as they were held 1-1 by host, Algeria at the Stade Muhammed Hamlaoui, Constantine.

Mikel Ogu shot Nigeria ahead in the 62nd minute, but the Desert foxes restored parity in the 88th minute via

Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt

a penalty kick.

With Nigeria having grabbed the only slot in Group B, there was little to play for other than pride.

Unsurprisingly, Super Eagles Coach, Gernot Rohr took advantage of having already booked a World Cup to test out some new players.

The Algerians had hoped to use the FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualification Group B match to

re-launch their battered image and were hoping to end their qualifying campaign with a victory, having failed to qualify for next year’s finals which will be hosted by Russia.

They headed into yesterday’s match winless in Group B. They have only one draw and four defeats for their disastrous Russia 2018 campaign. Just one point from five games is certainly no good testament for

a country that gave Germany, winner of the last World Cup in Brazil a scare before crashing out.

Nigeria dominated Group B having recorded four wins and two draws, collecting 14 points from six matches, a clear seven points ahead of second-placed Zambia.

The team will head for Russia for a Grade A friendly match against Argentina on Tuesday.

The Rivers State Bi-Partisan Caucus of the House of Representatives has lauded Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, for his achievements and developmental projects across the state, saying that the governor has lived up to the expectations of Rivers people .

The Federal Lawmakers, who are members of both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), spoke yesterday at the Government House, Port Harcourt when they paid a congratulatory visit to the governor on his "Global Human Settlements Outstanding Contribution Award "

by Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements Awards (SCAHSA) at the United Nations Headquarters and his presentation at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House).

In his remarks, Member Representing Eleme/Tai/Oyigbo Federal Constituency, Mr Bari Mpigi (APC), declared that Wike is performing and deserves the praises he is getting.

Mpigi said: "I want to stand here to say that we must place Rivers first before politics. Those of us who are members of the APC caucus jointly with the PDP form the Rivers caucus of the House of Representatives, without mincing words have seen what you are doing.

"Of course, I can stand boldly

before any person, even the National Chairman of my party to say that you are doing well. Your Excellency, we ask you to keep it up . We want you to continue to lead this state the way you are doing ".

Leader of the Rivers caucus of the House of Representatives, Mrs Betty Apiafi, congratulated the State Governor for his outstanding performance which led to the "Global Human Settlements Outstanding Contribution Award ".

She noted that the governor's meetings with British parliamentarians and the Financial Times gave Rivers State international recognition for the right reasons.

Apiafi said the Rivers Caucus of the House of Representatives resolved to work in unity to advance the development of the state.

Responding, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, commended the Rivers caucus for developing a united front to enhance the growth of the state.

He said political parties only serve as vehicles to different political destinations, noting that after using the vehicles, politicians should concentrate on the development of their constituencies.

He said: "Party is a vehicle.

Once the vehicle drops you, you talk about governance. I am happy with the spirit and that is the way it is supposed to be.

ICIR to Train Nigerian Journalists on Illicit Finance Adedayo Adejobi

FOR SUFFICIENT PROTEIN ...

L-R: The New National President of Poultry Association of Nigeria, Mr. Ezekiel Ibrahim, Ms Bunmi Oluwalasinu of Amo Byng and Dr. Joseph Deji Folutile of World Farmers Centre, Lagos at the 7th Nigeria Poultry Show, Abeokuta

Stakeholders Drum Support for Continuous Maintenance of Channels Ikaki Igoni

Stakeholders in the maritime industry have drummed support for the continuous dredging and maintenance of the channels leading to Nigerian ports.

The stakeholders, Mr. Okonkwo Adiele and Chief Andrew Ogunleye argued that a mechanism needed to be put in place to ensure that there was no hitch in the navigation of vessels into the nation’s seaports.

The call is coming on the heels of the recognition of Nigeria as a maritime nation. Besides the fact that she is geographically endowed with 852 km of the Atlantic coastline along with

10,000 km of inland waterways about 30 per cent of which are seasonally navigable for passengers and freight transportation, Nigeria is recognised by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) as a port state and a flag administration represented by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

The experts who spoke to THISDAY at the weekend said NIMASA maintained a ship registry which registers and licenses vessels that fly the Nigerian flag.

They pointed out that Nigeria’s maritime assets comprise hydrocarbon fossil fuel and gas deposits in her exclusive economic zones

which she explores and exploits to drive her economy for the past six decades aside the oil and gas installations and export terminals owned by government, indigenous and international oil companies whose values are worth billions of US dollars. Seaports with its terminal infrastructure and equipment also add a large chunk to Nigeria’s maritime asset base.

According to them, these assets, natural and man-made, provide the catalyst for shipping in Nigeria, even as they pointed out that the direct influence on shipping was rarely noticeable or acknowledged by the citizenry. For instance, oil and gas exports cannot take place without the presence of dedicated

export terminals as obtainable in Escravos, Qua Iboe, Brass and Bonny.

They explained that it was from these terminals that very large crude carriers (VLCCs) and the ultra large crude carriers (ULCCs) load our crude oil and gas for delivery to overseas markets.

Continuing, Adiele said: “Maintenance dredging has to be constantly carried out on the terminals to keep these tankers and gas carriers afloat without incident.

To ensure continuous maintenance dredging, the NPA in partnership with the private sector established the Lagos Channel Management Company (LCM) and the Bonny Channel Company (BCC).

Tears, Eulogies as Senator Nnaji Buries Late Wife Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu

Tears flowed freely at Nike in Enugu state on Friday as the remains of the late wife of Senator Gilbert Nnaji, chairman of the Senate Committee on Communications, Princess Anne were laid to rest.

Amidst tears equally came torrents of eulogies and condolences from notable Nigerians led by President Muhammadu Buhari. Nnaji represents Enugu East Senatorial zone.

Speaking at the burial mass

service officiated by the Catholic Bishop of Enugu Dioceses, Dr. Callistus Onaga, President Buhari expressed deep condolences to Nnaji, for the loss of his beloved wife.

The President who was represented by his Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters, Senator Ita Enag prayed God to give Senator Nnaji and family the fortitude to bear the loss.

He said Mrs. Nnaji's death has robbed off on the National Assembly as she contributed immeasurably in the positive

output Senator Nnaji has impacted in the legislative activities of the National Assembly.

In his homily, the Vice Chancellor of Godfrey Okoye University Enugu, Very Rev. Fr. Prof. Christian Anieke caricatured death as an incident that has assumed many names due to its devastating impacts on people's lives.

The clergy said that the late Princess Anne was everything that Senator Nnaji needed to succeed in life.

"The soul of Anne is in the hands of God and we pray it

rests in peace," Fr. Anieke said.

The clergy added that "if only the politicians knew that death will come, they won't allow Enugu-Onitsha road to be the way it is now or allow Youths wallow in unemployment."

Among notable personalities present at the burial were Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu state, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, Senate Minority Leader Godswill Akpabio, South East Senate caucus leader Enyinnaya Abaribe and former Senate President Ken Nnamani.

The International Center for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) has announced the names of 20 Nigerian journalists it said were successful for its investigative reporting capacity building project.

The project, according to a statement by Tajudeen Suleiman, ICIR Project Director, was aimed at building the capacity of journalists in investigative reporting.

The reporting will cover issues like illicit international financial flows and tax matters to promote transparency, accountability and good governance in Nigeria.

The successful qualified journalists were drawn from the online, print and electronic (Television & Radio) media across the country.

Among them were Adedayo Adejobi, THISDAY Newspapers; Daily Trust journalist Daniel Adugbo; Kelechukwu Iruoma, Vanguard Newspapers; Bayo

Akinloye, The Punch; Joseph Olaoluwa, Nation Newspaper and Isaac Anyaogu of BusinessDay. Those selected from the broadcast media included: Olu Philips, Channels TV; Ukamaka Owoh, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA); Shamsiyya Haruna, Freedom Radio; Mustapha Musa Kaita, Liberty Television and Lulu Bankong of Independent Television.

Representing the online were Ada Igboanugo of the The Cable Newspapers; Wilfred Okiche, YNaija; OpeOluwani, SweetcrudeReports and Aderemi Alex Ojekunle of Nigerian Bulletin, among others.

The training programme, ICIR said, was part of a project initiated by the ICIR and supported by the Ford Foundation aimed at bringing the media and civil society together to work on social accountability, equality and governance issues.

Orji: Defectors Carried away Problems of PDP Emmanuel Ugwu in Umuahia

in the National Assembly, blasted those “jumping from one party to Despite the spate of high profile another like people without focus", defections that has hit the Peoples noting that such politicians were like Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia state, rolling stone that gathers no moss.

Senator Theodore Orji has described "Don't be perturbed about those it as a positive development. He said who left our party. They were the that the defectors were the actual problem we had, and by leaving problems of the party, adding that they carried away the problem to they have now packed their bags their new parties,� he said, adding and baggage of trouble and left PDP. that "the worst thing is to be in the He expressed this view at a party and fight the party�.

He urged his constituents and stakeholders meeting of Abia Central senatorial zone held at Okpuala Ngwa, the entire PDP members in Abia to the headquarters of Isiala Ngwa resist the temptation of succumbing North local government, saying that to the gale of defections and to remain the defections have indeed brought steadfast in their commitment to the huge relief to the ruling party in Abia. party holding sway in God’s own Orji, who represents Abia Central state.

Saturday, November 11, 2017

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& RE A S O

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Price: N250

MISSILE PDP to Lai Mohammed

“If you make a statement and people doubt you, all you need to do is to present the facts and people will know you are speaking the truth. But if indeed you have been telling lies, it is also the responsibility of Nigerians to come out boldly and bring it to the knowledge of everybody. So, you cannot blame anybody for that. You cannot hold anybody responsible for your lies.”

– Opposition People’s Democratic Party urging Information Minister, Lai Mohammed to stop blaming the party for his “liar” appellation.

PENDULUM DELE MOMODU

dele.momodu@thisdaylive.com

An Afternoon with Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan

F

ellow Nigerians, after my chance meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari last week at the Presidential Villa, it was the turn of former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, two days ago, on November 9, 2017, to be my host. The only difference is that the meeting with President Jonathan had long been in the offing but had not materialised due to several factors. First, I was considered an enemy of the Jonathans because of my support for President Buhari. No one remembered my audacious support for Jonathan in 2010 when I risked everything to defend Jonathan’s right to become the Acting President in the absence of his boss, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

President Yar’Adua was then mortally ill and on an interminably long medical sojourn in Saudi Arabia, and some dubious, but influential, clique had chosen to govern by proxy in his absence.

Anyway, that was then.

In the 2011 Presidential race, President Buhari and I, and many others, lost the elections to Jonathan. It was a baptism of fire. I was somehow happy though that a quintessential minority candidate won that election. However, I became worried when the Jonathan government started floundering and waltzing from one crisis to the other. The fuel subsidy conundrum, for me, was the height of it. I participated in the demonstrations that nearly incapacitated Jonathan in the early days of 2012. Subsequently, I took it upon myself to be an unofficial, unpaid special adviser and consultant to Jonathan on political matters. I wrote copiously on how the government was frittering away its massive goodwill and equity. Of course, the Jonathan supporters did not want to listen and hearken to my sincere opinion and I was endlessly insulted for speaking out my mind.

By 2014, I was just too sure that the Jonathan government was heading for a cataclysmic fall.

I wrote an article, ‘In Search of Mathematicians’, in which I analysed that the opposition Party was going to thrash the ruling Party. Again, I was called names my parents did not give me, but it was only a matter of time before my doomsday prophesy came to pass. One of the greatest tragedies of power is how acolytes often mislead the big boss. I have no doubt that Jonathan is a gentleman who meant well for our country but he was surrounded by several malevolent people who capitalised on his plain humility, abject simplicity and imagined weakness to wreak havoc on the nation.

Since then, I have longed to chat with him and ask a few questions about his tenure as President.

My previous approaches had been resoundingly rebuffed. Realistically, I did not expect Jonathan to be too comfortable with vociferous members of the opposition like me. But I did not give up.

As fate would have it, I ran into one of our mutual friends, a very significant member of Jonathan’s kitchen cabinet, weeks ago. The man had wondered why I wrote an article predicting the possibility of Jonathan returning to contest the Presidential election in 2019. Most of my readers had said the notion was preposterous and that it was an impossible and unreasonable proposition. The more I watched events unfold the more I felt Jonathan’s second coming was not impossible and unrealisable. His man informed me that his former boss nursed no such ambition and promised to arrange a meeting so I could hear this from the horse’s mouth.

Jonathan My thesis, though seemingly absurd, is not without reason. Firstly, I do not see the possibility of any Northerner defeating President Buhari in 2019, if he decides to run. Buhari is the most popular personality from the Northern part of Nigeria today. He is, as a matter of unassailable fact, regarded and treated as a cult hero. The North would not want to risk certainty for uncertainty by supporting someone else from outside power. If the PDP chooses to present another Northerner to run against Buhari, the Party would have presented a second term to Buhari on a platter of gold because the South would have nothing to fight for and may present a lukewarm attitude to that election. My view, is that the 2019 Presidential election would be fought principally on the account of ethnicity and religion like most of our previous elections.

Secondly, a Presidential candidate needs to lock down four out of the six geo-political regions in Nigeria. Buhari had always found it tough to do this. On his own, he can boast no more than two regions. Naturally, a strong Southern candidate will give him a run for his money, if he also commands cult followership from his zone. There are few people in this mould and, whether one likes it or not, this includes Jonathan.

The Southern candidate would obviously have a decent foray in the North Central and South West zones as well as a few of the battleground States in the North West and North East. Buhari has always found it difficult to replicate a similar decent incursion into the Southern axis apart from the South West.

Thirdly, age and health will be substantial factors in 2019. Buhari would be 76 and has been very ill in the recent past though, thankfully, he is much better now. Jonathan, like most of the other strong Southern candidates, will be under 65 and seems virile. He is one of the few who can draw on his experience and achievement to offer comparative analysis to Buhari, project for project.

It was with this mind-set that I approached

former President Jonathan two days ago after he personally phoned to reconfirm our appointment for that day. I was deeply humbled by this simple gesture. By the time I meandered my way to his understated but elegant office, I didn’t know what to actually expect from him. He had some visitors from the Bible Society of Nigeria who had come to present him with the biggest Bible I ever saw, written in five languages English, Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo and Efik, all in one holy book. He asked me to give him a few minutes to attend to these visitors and I gladly obliged..

When they left, I was ushered into his personal office. The first thing he said was, “Dele, I must thank you for your level of professionalism. I read your column regularly and must commend your maturity and objectivity. Even when I disagree with you, I still enjoy your style.” “Thank you, sir…” I replied. He was ostensibly excited about the visit from the Bible Society of Nigeria and showed me the massive wooden book that was jealously protected in a beautiful casket. He then lectured me (once a lecturer always a lecturer) on the history of the Holy Bible in Nigeria. That done, we settled down to serious discussions.

I was thinking of how to proceed with the conversation. I decided to start by telling him my mission. I just don’t want to write abstract articles anymore. I want to use the incredible access God has given me to virtually everyone, low or high, to set a roadmap for our dear beloved country.

It is my duty to give my readers authoritative information as much as possible. I’ve taken it upon myself to go behind and beyond the regular news to educate and entertain my passionate followers.

I started with harmless, innocuous and easy questions. How has he been coping outside power? He said he was fine because he never expected to be in government forever. He was particularly proud that he left power without any bloodshed. He appreciates the intervention of very influential and well-meaning people who brokered the democratic initiative. He feels good and at peace with himself for honouring his word and his bond.

Does he feel harassed by the Buhari government? He said he expected some of the unfolding events since the government came into being on the platform of anti-corruption mantra. “You do not abandon a winning formula easily…” He said he accepts his foibles and weaknesses and has learnt very useful lessons from those shortcomings. “But we did very well on the whole…” he insisted.. I was touched by his candour. He believed that if he had won his second term in 2015, he would have consolidated on the gains of that “imperfect” first term. But that did not happen. He says his love for Nigeria would never make him wish failure for Buhari or any other future government. “I have had the rare opportunity of leading our country at very critical moments and did my best. I’ve left the rest to posterity to judge,” he said matter-of-factly.

Now to the delicate terrain. “Sir, will you run in 2019?” I fired the shot from the hip. I’m not sure he anticipated this important question at the time it came. “Contest again? No. People come to me every day saying they want me back. I’m always moved to tears whenever I go out and see the huge crowds shouting GEJ, we want you, even in the North. Instead of getting swollen headed, I actually reflect on my achievements

and mistakes and feel humbled and feel very sober… I have never been a man of inordinate ambition. I’m a man of very modest means. I hardly travel because of the logistical costs. I’ve played my part and I have moved on.”

“What if your party decides to invite you again?’ I probed deeper. “Are you not aware that our Party has zoned the Presidency to the North, and the Chairmanship to the South?” he queried. I gave him my permutations but he insisted that the two major Parties are highly inclined to produce candidates from the North.

“Even Fayose that has declared his interest may face big challenges because of the decision of our party…” he opined.

“So there is no way you can ever contest again?” I fired again and he returned the fire instantaneously, “I’m not God but I sincerely doubt the possibility…” he said with finality. I dropped the subject as it was not my intention to put him on the spot, like that.

“How will you rate the Buhari government so far?” another tricky question, I felt. “What do you think Dele?... You are their friend…” I kept mute “Honestly speaking, they have tried in the area of security and fighting corruption, even if they’ve tilted more towards us… But we did a lot in our time in the area of agriculture, transport, managing the economy, rule of law, free and fair elections… Only Nigerians can judge… It won’t be fair of me to pass verdict so soon on my immediate successor… I knew they would hit brick-walls on some of their promises, especially the school feeding program and the payment of N5,000 to unemployed graduates…

We worked on feasibility studies on them in the past and realised Nigeria could not afford it… It is always the job of opposition to over-promise but reality of governance is always different…”, he said, animatedly.

I could see and feel this was his forte. He spoke confidently and eloquently about the art and science of governance. He said the figures are still fresh in his memories. I decided to digress again. What does he think about Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s chances. “He can’t get the APC ticket.

If Atiku gets our party ticket, he would compete well. He’s always a passionate politician. But he would have to reach out to our boss, Baba OBJ, the boss of all bosses. We’ve all learnt at different times that you ignore OBJ at your own peril.

OBJ has the magic wand, respected at home and abroad…” speaking like a penitent student.

Experience, they say, is the best teacher.

If PDP picks a Northern candidate, where does he expect the running mate to come from, I asked. “Strategically, since Professor Osinbajo is already running with Buhari, the South South and South East, remain the most fertile grounds.

And there are many brilliant people there waiting for the chance. The Governors control some of the richest states in Nigeria except Lagos…” he posited.

With time far gone, I requested for some pictures with him. He accepted with his usual equanimity. I invited my protégé, Mr Ohimai Godwin Amaize, aka Mr Fix Nigeria, who was a prominent member of the PDP Youth Wing who was really elated to meet Jonathan again, to do the honours. We took several pictures.

As we exchanged goodbyes, I looked back at President Jonathan and wondered what fate might have in store for him in the future …

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