Sunday 3rd December 2017

Kachikwu: With OPEC Cut Extension, Nigeria, Libya Have No Fixed Output Figures Says at 1.8mbd output, 2018 budget will leverage oil price increase Kunle Aderinokun in Lagos and Chineme Okafor in Abuja The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has said the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

and non-OPEC allies led by Russia did not give Nigeria and Libya specific figures to cap their oil production when the decision to extend supply cut was taken on Thursday in Vienna.

Kachikwu, who spoke with

journalists including THISDAY during the meeting in the Austrian capital, explained that Nigeria and Libya, which had enjoyed exemption from the cap were technically allowed to maintain their status quo.

However, with pledges, they

would watch the volumes of oil they will bring to the market in 2018 so as not to disrupt the market rebalancing efforts.

OPEC and non-OPEC members had, at their last meeting, agreed to extend the agreement they reached in 2016 to cap the

amount of oil they bring into the market in their efforts to shore up prices and stabilise the market. Both agreed then to cut volumes by as much as 1.8 million barrels per day (mbd) with OPEC members contributing 1.2mbd of that while the

balance would be provided by non-OPEC members. The agreement was thus rolled over at their November 30 meeting.

But providing details of its proceeding and outcomes Continued on page 8

APC to Hold Elective National Convention in June … Page 8 Sunday 3 December, 2017 Vol 22. No 8263

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Reveal Findings of Chibok Abduction Panel, Shettima Challenges Jonathan Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, has challenged former President Goodluck Jonathan to reveal the findings of the committee he constituted to investigate the abduction of Chibok schoolgirls.

Shettima was reacting to a press release by former President Jonathan’s media aide, Ikechukwu Eze, which hinged the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls on the poor choices made by him.

Eze had in the press release asked Governor Shettima to

tell Nigerians whatever he knew regarding the April 14, 2014 abduction of over 200 schoolgirls by Boko Haram after the terror group’s attack on Government Secondary School, Chibok.

A statement signed by Borno State Commissioner of

Education, Hon. Musa Kubo, in Maiduguri on Saturday, said: “Nigerians should ask Jonathan why he concealed report of his own fact-finding committee.”

Kubo, who was amongst those interrogated by the Jonathan’s Fact-Finding Committee on Chibok schoolgirls abduc-

tion, said: “Rather than direct spurious allegations against Governor Kashim Shettima on controversies surrounding abduction of Chibok schoolgirls, the media aide should ask his principal, President Goodluck Jonathan, why he deliberately concealed report

of a Presidential Fact-Finding Committee he constituted and inaugurated on Tuesday, 6th of May, 2014 and which submitted report of findings to him on Friday, 20th of June 2014.”

Kubo said: “For the purpose Continued on page 8

Buhari to Atiku: Settle Your Issues with US and Stop Clutching at Straws President says he was never banned from any country

Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja There was a strong pushback from the Presidency yesterday on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s allegation that President Muhammadu Buhari was banned from entering the United States, with the president pointedly mocking the former vice president for being unable to visit America for over a decade.

In a press statement issued last night in Abuja, the special adviser to the president on media and publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said Atiku's claim was outlandish and came as a surprise from a former Number Two citizen, who should know the truth.

Atiku had alleged in an interview with The Boss Newspaper that Buhari was banned from the U.S. because of reservations about his religious views. “For about 15 years, Buhari could not enter America on account of religious considerations,” Atiku said in an interview. The former vice president was responding to a question on why he had

not visited the U.S. for many years, amid speculations that he might be wanted in that country in connection with fraud-related deals.

Though, Atiku had explained that he made attempts to go to the U.S. but was not issued visa on administrative grounds, Adesina insinuated he was merely prevaricating to conceal the truth.

The president’s spokesman said in the statement, “At no time was President Buhari, as a private person, ever forbidden from entering any country in the world. Rather, the rest of the world has always held Muhammadu Buhari as a man of sterling qualities, strong on integrity, transparency and accountability. The same testimony is still borne of the Nigerian President by many world leaders today.”

Adesina said, “It is curious that former Vice President Abubakar had been asked why he had not visited America for over a decade, something Continued on page 8

EDO COLLEGE HONOURS ITS ALUMNI… L-R: Delta State Governor, Senator lfeanyi Okowa; Chairman, THISDAY Newspaper/ARISE News Channel, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena; and Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, after the trio received Distingished Alumni Awards at the Edo College 80th anniversary organised by Edo College Old Boys Association in Benin City, Edo State...yesterday Abiodun Ajala

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APC to Hold Elective National Convention in June As Okowa heads PDP convention committee

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The All Progressives Congress has finally resolved to hold an elective national convention middle of next year, preferably on or before June 13.

The decision of the APC to move its convention to next year came just as the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), proceeded with plans to hold its national convention next Saturday by approving an 87-member planning committee headed by Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.

After many false starts in its effort to hold a mid-term non-elective convention in this year, the ruling party has settled for a new schedule that will coincide with the terminal date of the present National Working Committee. The NWC led by the national chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun was elected to

office on June 13, 2014 and is expected to complete its four -year tenure in June 2018.

The party has been under pressure in the past one year to organise a mid-term nonelective convention in line with the provisions of its constitution but the absence of President Muhammadu Buhari who was abroad on sick leave for about a quarter of 2017 made it practically impossible.

THISDAY gathered that the APC took many things into consideration in arriving at the decision, including the resources required to convoke a national covention, the period of notice it would give the independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the convention, the timing for outstanding state congresses as well as the yet-to -be resolved intra party squabbles in some of the state chapters.

It was learnt that the

agreement to extend the convention date till next year was struck during the meeting of the national leadership caucus held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The National Executive Committee meeting of the party held penultimate week mandated the National Working Committee to set up a committee that would draw a new programme of activities for the party.

While speaking to journalists on what the party is doing about its mini convention, the APC's National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said though no date had been fixed for the non elective convention, the party had asked the committee to go ahead and fix dates for all outstanding activities of the party before the main elective convention.

"Like I said after the NEC meeting because we were unable

to hold the convention at the scheduled time and you are all aware that we earlier scheduled to hold our mini convention in July but we were not able to do that for one reason or the other .

"That means that all the programmes that the party has would have to dovetail into one another. We have the party's state congresses coming up, we have the mini convention and the elective convention coming up that must happen by the first half of next year.

"So it is important we synchronise all the activities and that is why a committee has been set up by the NEC, just a couple of people being asked to sit together and harmonise all the various activities of the party starting with the mini convention and the various congresses across the states and local government areas which will now culminate in

the national convention.�

The spokesman said he did not know yet when the timetable would be out, "but that from the outcome of the committee's assignment, we will now have a timetable that will align with the INEC's calendar showing the activities of the party, beginning with state congresses and terminating with the national convention next year."

Sources within the party said its leaders were not oblivious of the implication of holding an elective national convention close to general elections and were only hoping that all would go well so as not to put the party in crisis before an important election.

Going by INEC's schedule for the conduct of general elections in 2019, Presidential and National Assembly elections will hold on February 16, 2019 The dates for the election is

taken with consideration for a space of 100 days before the expiration of the tenure. To that effect the commission has decided that governorship elections will take place on a Saturday closest to the 100 days before the expiration of tenure.

By implication, campaigns by aspirants and political parties would have been at fever pitch from the second half of next year when party primaries would be approaching.

Meanwhile, the PDP has set up an 87-man member convention committee headed

by Governor Okowa to help it organise the Saturday's make or mar elective convention.

A release signed by the National Organising Secretary, Senator Abdul Ningi, said the Committees would be inaugurated on Monday.

cent increase in pricing which should be able to compensate adequately for this.�

Asked what would likely happen at the June 2018 review meeting of group considering his claims that some members were opposed to Nigeria’s continued exemption from the deal, the minister explained: “You live to fight another day, let me celebrate what I have gotten over the last one year, and then continue to fight.� “It is a possibility, which is why understanding the dynamics of oil politics is key to doing this. Over the last two weeks, I paced from here to Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Iran, just to build in consensus, getting my African members to understand why it is important that we are stable, and all that played out. “If you don’t understand the oil dynamics, you will fail, and so it is going to be a continuous battle, but I think so far, we’ve done it three times and succeeded, hopefully, we are getting better at doing it.

And the key thing is also being able to forward-forecast. “I knew when these was happening at the 1.2mbd stage, that the issue would come down

to condensates, and unlike what Nigeria had never done before, we separated it from oil and went round in six months to get secondary sources to accept this. Had this not happened, it would have been a different ball game,� he added.

In another development, an economist and former chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Jim O’Neill, has estimated that strong global economic growth and Saudi Arabia bringing a risk premium to oil prices could send Brent oil prices surging to $80 in 2018. “While oil prices could be about $60 per barrel in November 2018, my guess is that they will have risen to about $80 per barrel in the meantime,�

Oilprice.com quoted O’Neill to have said.

According to a report by oilprice.com, while O’Neill admitted that predicting oil prices was a tough job at which he failed when he said in January 2015 that prices would not continue to fall, he now differed from most of the analysts who expect oil prices to be around $60 next year. He, however, didn’t believe oil prices would stagnate for a year.

Read concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com

KACHIKWU: WITH OPEC CUT EXTENSION, NIGERIA, LIBYA HAVE NO FIXED OUTPUT FIGURES vis-Ă -vis Nigeria’s position, Kachikwu, said Nigeria was emphatic in placing its position before the group to get its exemption, which would expire in March to be rolled over as well. “At the time we joined this, we were producing about 1.2mbd, and my case was that there was absolutely no way anyone was going to keep me down to those 2016 numbers. They said what we were producing at that time, stay with it and give us a cut, and I said no, what I was producing at that time was nowhere near my capacity of 2.5mbd, we stopped producing 2.5mbd some seven years ago due to all kinds of problems, so they then gave us a freeway in the expectation that somehow when we are recovering we wouldn’t impact so much in the market, but we’ve recovered fairly dramatically. “We are doing about 1.75mbd of pure crude, 350,000bd of condensate. Largely, we have done recovery in excess of 2mbd

including condensates,� said Kachikwu.

Expatiating, Kachikwu further stated: “Exemption means you are not participating in the cut, remember OPEC agreed to cut 1.2 million barrels when all of these started in 2016. The whole idea was to tighten the market and improve price. Two countries were exempted and even with that exemption, there were some responsibilities tied to it, it wasn’t an open carte blanche to just flood the market. “The exemption technically stays, because no number has been fixed. If you look at the agreement that was signed, it is still a blank for Nigeria and Libya. It took a lot of fight over the last few weeks. “The obligation to be responsible still continues, and they will like to project that unlike what happened in 2017, when we were audacious to move from 1.2mbd to 1.7mbd, that they will not expect that kind of volume of movement in 2018, that they will like to see 2018 predicated on the marks of 2017.

They however understand there might be fluctuations here and there, but the hope is that you are not throwing too much. So, there is no obligation, there is an explanation, there is an information but you are still enjoying the exemption.�

The minister said while there was a lot of pressure to bring Nigeria to join the production cap, his argument against it was accepted.

According to him: “Representing Nigeria and Libya, I was able to say that it was until March, that we’ve a signed commitment, we have not recovered enough, militancy was still hanging on us and that Nigeria has paid its price over the seven years when we moved from 2.5mbd to about 2.2mbd, and worse still when we did 1.2mbd, we donated more than 1mbd to everybody to help stabilise the market.� “My point was that you cannot take away an exemption before the time runs, and now you’re rolling over for one year, roll us over for one year. We

have not behaved irresponsibly, you knew we always had capacity for 2.5mbd and that our last production was 2.2mbd before we started having problems and we have not done anything to show we are taking advantage of the market, and those arguments were bought thankfully.�

Kachikwu also spoke on how the 2018 national budget and how it would be funded even if Nigeria produced less oil as projected in the budget. “Local budget was predicated on 2.3mbd. We could rightly say that in swing production, the highest we ever did this year was 1.85mbd, even if we assume to take that as existing capacity, we also did about 350,000bd in terms of condensates, so taking it together, it is about 2.2mbd. “I think that you could have some swings in terms of condensates and oil in that parameters to keep it at 2.3mbd, but more importantly is that, even if you don’t, the prices have swung from the budget figure of $45 to $63 per barrel for Nigeria, so, we have 30 per

REVEAL FINDINGS OF CHIBOK ABDUCTION PANEL, SHETTIMA CHALLENGES JONATHAN of records, Eze and his colleagues are pointing towards the wrong direction, they should ask their principal, President Goodluck Jonathan, why he deliberately refused to make public, the report of a committee he constituted, inaugurated and received their findings on facts surrounding the Chibok abduction and who is to blame for it. “To refresh their minds, on Tuesday, the 6th of May, 2014, President Jonathan had inaugurated multi-agency/stakeholder fact-finding committee under the chairmanship of Brig. General Ibrahim Sabo (rtd), a one-time Director of Military Intelligence, and secretary of the Committee was from the Niger Delta. President Jonathan singlehandedly selected all members of that committee which included representatives of the UN, ECOWAS, retired and security officers from the Army, DSS and Police; representatives of the Chibok community, local and international civil rights organisations, representatives of the National Council of Women Societies, the Nigeria Union of Journalists and some of his

highly trusted associates. “For nearly two months, the committee undertook thorough investigation that included forensic assessment of all documents on the entire issues, held meetings with parents of the schoolgirls, visited Chibok, met with the then Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, the Director General of the DSS and the Inspector General of Police, all of whom were appointees of President Jonathan. “The committee also met with officials of Borno Government including myself and the school principal, the committee held meetings with heads of different security agencies in Borno State including security formations in charge of Chibok and after compiling their findings, the committee submitted it's report directly to President Jonathan on Friday, the 20th of June, 2014 in Aso Rock. The question anyone should ask is why President Jonathan deliberately refused to make that report public.�

Kubo asked: “What was he hiding from Nigerians? Here is another question, if the findings

had indicted Governor Shettima or the Borno State Government in anyway, does anyone really think Jonathan would have concealed that report given his open hatred for Shettima and the fact that the governor was in the opposition party?"

The Borno Commissioner of Education noted that, “if there was one Nigerian that assisted Jonathan in the fight against Boko Haram it was Governor Shettima who single-handedly approved the funding of Civilian JTF without any support from the Federal Government even when Jonathan himself repeatedly acknowledged the roles played by Civilian JTF in whatever success his administration recorded in fighting the insurgency.�

He said Shettima supported Jonathan by funding security agencies and mobilising community intelligence as publicly attested to by the then Director of Operations at the Defence Headquarters, Major General Lawrence Ndugbane.

Kubo, however claimed that Jonathan's main anger with Shettima was when the

governor spoke out of frustration by telling the world that the Nigerian military was not being equipped.

He said the governor’s claim had since been proved by former Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh, and by the discovery that the huge funds meant for arms were shared under Jonathan’s watch.

The commissioner noted that President Jonathan's decision to constitute that committee was a miraculous intervention by God to preserve the innocence of Governor Shettima and his administration.

He said that, “if Jonathan wasn't the one that constituted a fact-finding committee and received a report, no administration on earth would have upheld Shettima's innocence because Jonathan's men would have questioned the report of any other fact-finding committee.�

He called on President Jonathan's media team to find something more important to do with their time rather than making baseless allegations in order to confuse Nigerians.

BUHARI TOATIKU: SETTLE YOUR ISSUES WITH US AND STOP CLUTCHING AT STRAWS that had been a stubborn fact dogging his footsteps.�

He said instead of answering directly, Atiku begged the question, saying Buhari also had been disallowed from entering the same country for 15 years, before becoming president. “We hereby make it resoundingly clear that what the former vice president said only exists in the realm of his imagination.

If he has issues to settle with American authorities, he should do so, rather than clutch at a straw,� the statement added.

The former vice president, who has pronounced his intention to vie for the post of president in 2019, resigned from the ruling All Progressives Congress recently and is readying to return to his former party, Peoples Democratic Party. His exit is believed to have triggered a faceoff with Buhari, who has also hinted at seeking a second term, with spats like the latest one as part of the manifestations

of the simmering chaos.

Atiku's problem with the US began when a US Congressman Williams Jefferson was indicted and jailed in 2009 on a 16-count charge relating to his business dealings with Africa including a discovery of $90,000 in cash stashed in his freezer allegedly for the former vice president.

Though Atiku has denied any connection with the alleged fraudulent transaction, the US has not filed any charge against him. The former vice president has, however, not stepped his foot on US soil since the issue broke out.

On the other hand, Buhari has long been accused of holding extreme religious views, and the allegations seemed to get to a head in 2001, when he declared his commitment to the Islamic doctrine of Shari’a and, reportedly, called on Muslims to only vote for their fellow Muslims during elections.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 3, 2017

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SUNDAY COMMENT

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

BOKO HARAM AND THE UNFINISHED BUSINESS The federal government should ensure that the country’s security and intelligence agencies coordinate and work together

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resident Muhammadu Buhari’s reassurance, last week, that the federal government was taking concrete steps to stamp out suicide bombings in some parts of the North-east is very significant.

That is because it would help to stem the growing doubts about government’s claim that the capacity to inflict damage on lives and property in the region had been degraded. Indeed, the reassurance is timely given the escalation of bloody attacks on soft targets by Boko Haram, with body counts rising by the day.

Two days ago, no fewer than 17 persons were confirmed killed and many others injured by two female suicide bombers in Biu, Biu local government area of Borno State. A week earlier, a detachment of Boko Haram gunmen launched an audacious attack on Magumeri, 40 kilometres from Maiduguri, capital of Borno State. Its first target, according to Deputy Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Timothy Antigha, was the Forward Operational Base. Even though the insurgents were repelled by men of the five Brigade Garrison located in the town, three soldiers and a five-year- old boy were killed while six other persons sustained serious injuries. Three days before that tragic incident, about 50 people were killed in a mosque in Mubi, the second largest town in Adamawa State, by suicide bombers.

Reacting to these incidents, the president attempted to douse growing concerns that the terrorists were

resurging and regaining their capacity, adding they were the last kicks of a dying horse. But while the military may have recaptured the territories once controlled

by Boko Haram members and who may no longer operate as freely as they used to, the insurgents cannot be said to have been defeated, given the frequency of their atrocities especially in recent weeks. Indeed, the group still poses a grave danger and has been inflicting mortal wounds on members of the armed forces as well as civilians. The authorities must therefore admit that the increasing spate of suicide attacks is not only stoking unease in many communities, it is also hampering the return of majority of the internally displaced persons living in the poorest of conditions in the camps.

The authorities must admit that the increasing spate of suicide attacks is not only stoking unease in many communities, it is also hampering the return of majority of the internally displaced persons living in the poorest of conditions in the camps

Letters to the Editor

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

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

n as much as we appreciate the efforts of the government in containing the Boko Haram menace, Nigerians are also getting frustrated with empty rhetoric about degrading their capacity to inflict harm on our people. The terrorists have not only continued to bomb soft targets at will, they also appear to be regaining capacity for regular combat as accounts of both the military and civil authorities have revealed. While the army spokesperson said it took soldiers of the five Brigade Garrison stationed in Magumeri several hours to repel last weekend’s attack, the Secretary to the Magumeri Local Council, Alhaji Wakil Malam-Tawu, spoke about the terrorists launching rockets against public facilities, including health clinics, shops and mosques.

In these circumstances, we think the federal government needs to reappraise its strategies and rise up to the occasion as we can no longer continue to lose innocent lives and valuable property to these senseless terrorist activities. In the past, this newspaper had highlighted the need for the federal government to beef up its intelligence gathering architecture and restructure it to meet the demands of the asymmetric warfare that the country has on its hands.

We note particularly the disclosure by the president that he had established an intelligence fusion centre in Maiduguri to gather and share critical information among security agencies in the country in real time. But the federal government must walk the talk by ensuring that the country’s security and intelligence agencies actually coordinate and work together. Until there is that unity of purpose by those responsible for manning the security of the nation, the bombs will continue to go off at enormous cost to human lives.

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

THE CRIPPLING EFFECT OF CORRUPTION

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obody is fighting for the common good of the masses. Instead the politicians and the elite are only working for their pockets. Therefore the youths should be wise and not allow themselves to be used by these selfish agitators.

The difficulties that corrupt leaders have entrenched in this country do not know Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba or minority tribes. The masses are all living below poverty level across all the tribes. Poverty has been the result of massive corruption of some of our leaders over time.

But if corruption is not curtailed, the youths will eventually rise up to say enough is enough.

A hungry person is an angry person. The vices that make our society so hostile to live in are caused

by hunger and joblessness which are all products of massive corruption.

I have not seen how secession or restructuring will bring solution to this massive corruption because with what we are seeing today, the recovering of money that has been done so far shows that the corrupt politicians or elites are not from one geographical location or tribe. They are present in all tribes or zones.

Some of the masses may also be forced to be corrupt while they are on their various duties. I use force because when the system is paying a worker a monthly salary that is not enough for one week, if such a worker does not want to or cannot kidnap or rob, he or she will be forced to be corrupt in the office.

This is not to say that poor salary is a justifiable reason to be corrupt but when one is pushed to the wall and if he or she cannot break the wall

the only option is to turn back to face the music. That is what happened to some masses that are corrupt because they need to survive. It isn’t the same with our politicians because they aren’t pushed into stealing by poverty.

Why should some of them steal the money they cannot spend in their life times? And even worse, instead of investing the stolen money here in Nigeria, they will take the money abroad. Besides, it is very astonishing to hear that a rich man who has governed a state who is currently in the National Assembly is receiving huge pay from both sides while that particular state cannot pay the salaries of the civil servants. It is only in Nigeria that this can happen.

However, there are some caring and sensible leaders in public offices who have reduced their salaries

voluntarily for the good of the society, which shows that all hope is not lost. All it takes is for us to take time to elect good and God-fearing leaders into power at all times.

It is common to hear some employers these days complaining that our graduates are unemployable. Some can neither write nor speak good English.

It is still product of corruption. Many of the teachers who taught these brilliant Nigerians in and out of this country that are noticeable all over the world are still in the school system, but corruption would, among other things, not allow adequate care of the schools for conducive teaching and learning. The leaders and other elites should be informed that we have problem that is greater than lack of restructuring and the big problem is corruption. We should not pretend about it. If we can bring it down we may not need to restructure this country.

Some of our governors when they are

about leaving office they would influence the state assembly to approve huge financial and material packages for them as retirement benefits.

Meanwhile, our fathers and mothers who have served this nation as civil servants are dying at their old age attending biometric verification exercises and after the verification they will still not get paid because somebody has embezzled their pension funds.

Are all these not serious problems the politicians should discuss and find solution to? Can we continue like this as a nation? Nigerians are being deported day by day and nobody is asking questions.

Why are Nigerians striving to go out of the country by all means? It is purely lack of good governance evidenced by massive corruption. If not corruption we have enough resources that should make every one live well in this country.

––Ojapa Salawu Ahmed, Ijaiye, Lagos.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ ECEMBER 3, 2017

SUNDAYNEWS

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

ETIQUETTE LADY CLOCKS 50 L-R: Chief Nike Akande, Mrs. Shade Okoya and her husband, Chief Razak Okoya, Dr. Kayode Fayemi and his wife, Mrs. Bisi Fayemi, the celebrant, Mrs. Janet Adetu, and her husband, Seni Adetu, Chief Ernest Shonekan, Mrs. Funso Amosun and Chief Oba Otudeko, at the 50th birthday celebration of Mrs. Adetu in Lagos...recently

Buhari: World Needs Cooperation, Information Sharing to Combat Violent Extremism Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari said yesterday in Jordan that regional cooperation and information sharing among countries were the keys to a successful war against terrorism.

Buhari stated this during a bilateral meeting with the Jordanian leader, King Abdullah II, at a summit of Heads of State and Government on terrorism.

The meeting was held in the Jordanian port city of Aqaba, according to a statement by the special adviser on media and publicity to the Nigerian president, Mr. Femi Adesina. The summit was to review strategies in the fight violent extremism.

Buhari was said to have used the opportunity to thank the Jordanian King for his support and assistance to Nigeria, especially with the recent

FG Empowers Local Miners with N5bn, Says Fayemi

donation of armoured vehicles and other military equipment to strengthen the war against terrorism and insurgency in Nigeria.

In his remarks, King Abdullah II advocated broader measures, especially the use of cyber security, in checking the influence of terrorists. He pledged the continued support of the Kingdom of Jordan to Nigeria in

Gunmen Kill Four in Bayelsa Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa

Abimbola Akosile The Federal Government has set aside a sum of N5 billion to empower artisan miners across the country as part of measures to ensure participation of all Nigerians in economic development.

The Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, disclosed this on Saturday when he inspected the gold mining site at Garin Awal at Fakai Local Government Area in Kebbi State.

According to the minister, “We have N5 billion in Bank of Industry for the use of small scale artisan miners, not only for self-equipping but to contribute to the economic development of Kebbi state and Nigeria, so that our economy will grow”. Fayemi explained that ISS-Hass Ltd, a Chinese mining company, has been in the community exploiting gold for more than three years, but had failed to develop the area by establishing schools, building roads, as well as providing potable water and employment for the youth, as part of an agreement entered into with the company.

He promised to investigate the allegations against the licensed operator in Garin Awal Village, Fakai Local Government of

Kebbi State for alleged breach of agreement reached with the host community.

“We have seen what our artisan miners can do, which professionals in this business failed to achieve. That is from the very little efforts they are putting in place with their own efforts, digging and organising themselves.

“What we need is to enter into partnership with the state, to assist these miners, so that they could have land to operate, technical support as a way of improving their productivity and ensuring that they utilise the equipment beyond exploring mercury and finally support them through the Bank of Industry,” Fayemi said.

The minister, who expressed disappointment over the lack of commitment of licensed operators, said “the provision of the law stipulates that licensed operators must provide community support and this must be captured in an agreement, which we call Community Development Agreement.

“The village head has told us that all the things they promised, none of them were done. No school, they have not seen anything. They just did rudimentary road that provides access for the operators,” he said.

its war against violent extremism.

Buhari was accompanied to the summit by the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; and some state governors.

The summit, tagged, “Aqaba Retreat”, was hosted by the King of Jordan. It was also billed to look at ways of reinforcing joint security struc-

Four persons were yesterday shot and killed by yet-to-be identified gunmen along Palm Road, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

One of the deceased persons, Alhaji Jubril Abdulkarim, has however been identified as the Chairman of the Cattle Breeders Association in Bayelsa State.

The four victims were attacked yesterday afternoon along the Bayelsa Palm road, where all cattle dealers from all parts of the country are known to do their business.

It was not immediately clear the motive behind the killings, but the police in the state told journalists that they were aware of some infighting within the leadership of the union in recent times. Exploring other possible leads, the police spokesman in the state, Asinim Butswat, said all their major operations personnel had been put on the alert to apprehend the culprits soon.

A source, who accompanied the corpses to the morgue at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Yenagoa, said Abdulkarim and the three others were killed within the premises of his private abattoir.

“The gunmen invaded the

place this afternoon and shot him. He is a household name, because he is the highest supplier of cows in Bayelsa.

“The gunmen also turned to his boys and killed three of them. It is a sad development.

But we are calling for calm, because the incident is fresh and requires thorough investigations,” the source said.

He hoped that the motive behind the dastardly act would be uncovered by security agencies during their investigations.

He narrated that immediately after the shooting the gunmen fled the scene before those who were close-by offered help to the victims, who were still breathing at the time.

Butswat said the gunmen were three in number and that the victims were shot in their heads. “On November 2, 2017, at about 1230hrs, three unknown gunmen in a Black Mazda 323 car, Registration number yet unknown, went to Azikoro Road by winners ‘U’ turn, Yenagoa, where one Alhaji Jibril Abdulkarim, the Chairman Cattle Breeders Association, Bayelsa State Branch, was discussing with three others, shot at them in their heads and drove off to unknown destination.

tures that would help to prevent attacks.

Other West African Heads of State expected at the summit slated for December 2 and 3 included the presidents of Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Niger, and Togo as well as the representatives of governments of 48 countries. A number of key Non-Governmental Organisations were also expected to participate in the meeting.

Adesina had on November 29 said that Buhari would share Nigeria’s experience on terrorism and its spread across West Africa during the meeting and seek more support for pre-emptive measures aimed at neutralising the

activities of insurgents in the sub-region. He said Buhari might also speak on the recently inaugurated Policy Framework and National Action Plan for preventing and countering violent extremism.

The security document is believed to be tailored toward addressing the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism, while countering the dangerous ideologies that fuel terrorism.

Buhari had on August 24 signed a presidential directive for the implementation of the policy framework and national action plan for preventing and countering violent extremism.

15 Killed, 53 Injured in Suicide Attacks on Borno Market Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri

Fifteen persons were on Saturday killed and 53 others injured in twin suicide bomb attacks on Biu market.

Biu is the major town in the south of Borno State, Northeast Nigeria. The state is famed for the birth of Boko Haram, one of the worst terrorist groups on the globe.

Though claim has not been made as to who was responsible for the bomb incident, one of the worst in that part of the state, but it has the signature of Boko Haram written all over it.

According to a statement by the spokesman of the Borno Police Command, Victor Isuku, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, two female suicide attackers strapped with explosive devices launched the attack on the main market in the town, the third largest in Borno State, birthplace of Boko Haram.

The statement read: “Today 2/2/2017 at about 11.40hrs, two female suicide bombers infiltrated and gained entry into Biu town in Biu local government area.

“One of the bombers detonated IED strapped on her body within Biu Main market, while the other one detonated outside the market square. So far, a total of 13 persons excluding the two suicide bombers, have been confirmed killed in the two explosions, while 53 others sustained various degrees of injuries.”

He said. “Police patrols/ EOD teams led by the Acting Area Commander Biu were promptly mobilised and dispatched to the scene.”

He also said: “The corpses and the injured persons have been evacuated to the General Hospital Biu.” He assured that normalcy has been restored and the area rendered safe.

T H I S D AY SUNDAY DECEMBER 3 2017

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R Ëž ÍťËœ ͺ͸͚Ϳ

NEWS

INTERCEDING FOR NIGERIA R-L: Senior Pastor, House on The Rock Church & Convener of Experience, Pastor Paul Adefarasin; Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode; Mr. Abiodun Adefulire and his wife & Senior Special

Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire; Publisher of the Guardian Newspapers, Lady Maiden Alex Ibru; wife of Minister of Power, Works & Housing, Mrs. Abimbola Fashola; and Mrs. Abba Folawiyo, during Experience 12 at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos Island...weekend

Osinbajo: Youths Must Control their Destinies

by Taking up Leadership Roles Abimbola Akosile

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN has advised youths in the country to take their destinies in their hands by taking up leadership roles through innovative ideas.

Osinbajo gave the advice at the 2017 National Youth Convention of the Youth Ministry, Church of the Lord Prayer Fellowship, with the theme, ‘Unfailing Love’, which took place on Saturday in Abuja.

The Vice President, who was represented by the Chaplain of the Villa Chapel, Mr. Sheyi

Malomo, said now was the time for youths to start thinking of leading the nation.

He recalled that Nigeria as a nation was built and shaped by the youths who were determined to build a formidable and united country.

According to him, people like General Yakubu Gowon (rtd.) and Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu, who led the civil war, were in their 30s when they succeeded in making Nigeria one country. “There is this popular saying that youths are leaders of tomorrow but I would like you to know that the tomorrow we

are talking of is now. This is because the youths are leading in the world now, both in ideas and innovations and that is why we have the Facebook developer, Mark Zuckerberg, who is in his 30s. “One of the things that you need to do as youths is to start to take responsibilities and rise up with commitment to God,� he said.

Quoting from the book of 2 Corinthians, chapter 13 verse five, Osinbajo urged Christian youths to always examine themselves in order to be able to understand their responsibili-

Swiss Govt, UNODC, NAPTIP Empower 30 Trafficked Victims t As NCWS flays violence against women, children Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

The Government of Switzerland in conjunction with United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and NAPTIP, have presented equipment for the empowerment of 30 victims of human trafficking and illegal migration.

The equipment which comprised of sewing machines, hair dressing machines, generators, refrigerators, gas cookers and other accessories were handed over to those who participated in a threeday training, support and Capacity Building to NAPTIP on Management Training for Trafficked Persons.

Making the presentation, Jolanda Pfister Harren, Migration Adviser, Embassy of Switzerland to Nigeria, said the overall objective of the empowerment project was to tackle the issue of human trafficking, successful rehabilitation and reintegration of the victims.

She said the purpose of the Swiss-Nigeria migration partnership is to work together more closely and in a comprehensive manner in the area of migration, in the interest of both countries and the migrants, with the aim to tackle together the challenges of global migration.

Harren, who recalled that Nigeria was the first country with which Switzerland

Ife Klub 1 Marks 40th Anniversary

established a migration partnership, since 2011, noted that since then, both countries have enjoyed and excellent and close collaboration on migration issues.

According to her, “Numerous projects and activities have been implemented so far in various fields, including the fight against human trafficking and migrants smuggling, capacity building in immigration administration and protection of vulnerable migrants. “Trafficking issues are often linked to irregular migration, as irregular migrants can be easy victims of these networks.

Trafficking in persons is one of the worst forms of human exploitation.�

Ă?Ă? Ă–Ă&#x;ĂŒ ÍŻ Ă“Ă? ÞÙ Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă?ĂŒĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ? Ă“ĂžĂ? Ͳ͎ÞÒ Ă‹Ă˜Ă˜Ă“Ă Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂœĂŁ åÓÞÒ Ă‹ ĂšĂ&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă? Ă–Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ? åÓÞÒ ÞÒĂ? ÞÒĂ?Ă—Ă? ËŠ Ă™ĂœĂ&#x;ĂŒĂ‹Ă? Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂœĂŽĂ‹ĂŁËœ ÙÎËã Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă™Ă—Ă™ĂœĂœĂ™ĂĄËŞËœ Ă“Ă˜ Ă–Ă? Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜ Ă?ÞËÞĂ? Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂŽĂ‹ĂŁËœ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă—ĂŒĂ?Ăœ ͡˛ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă&#x;ĂŒËœ Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă? ĂŽĂ?ĂŒĂ“Ă?Ă“ Ă‘Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ“ĂšĂ?Ëœ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹ Ă?ÞËÞĂ?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽ ÞåÙ Ă?Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™ĂœĂ&#x;ĂŒĂ‹ ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă–Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă? ĚŽ ĂœĂ™Ă?Ë› Ă‹Ă˜Ă”Ă™ Ă•Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ™ĂŁĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ Ă–Ă‹ĂŒĂ“ Ě‹ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă‹Ă• Ă™Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? ÞÒĂ?Ă—Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ? Ă’Ă™Ă–ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ăž ĂŒĂ‹ Ă•Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă‹ĂŽĂ? Ă“Ă”Ă&#x;ĂĄĂ‹ĂŽĂ? Ă?Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă– Ă‹Ă–Ă– Ă“Ă˜ Ă˜Ă&#x;ĂĄĂ‹Ëœ Ă–Ă? Ă?Ă? ĂŒĂŁ ÍŻÍ° Ă˜Ă™Ă™Ă˜Ë›

ties.

He also charged them to be committed to the nation’s course in terms of political participation, adding that the youth population constitutes the highest voting population in Nigeria.

He advised them to be fully committed to the political process in the country by making sure that they got their voters cards.

The Primate, Church of the Lord, Most Rev. Rufus Ositelu, advised youths to be hardworking and innovative to be able overcome the menace of unemployment in the country.

Ositelu, who was represented by Archbishop Victor Olasemojo, Northern Provincial Head of the Church, said the solution to unemployment lay with the youths.

He urged the young people to change their mindset and be pro-active to use their creativity, ingenuity and sense of innovation to think of becoming employers rather than employees. “There are no ready-made and easy solutions to these problems but could be that there are possible answers in the hands of each of you looking for jobs. It may be that what is required is

to be a little more pro-active in your way of looking at life,� he said.

Matron of Youth Ministry of the church, Mrs. Olubunmi Badejo, said one major way to curb youth restiveness was to ensure that they were engaged with jobs and employment. She said youths needed counsel to make sure that they worked hard and be successful and had hope in the future of the country.

According to her, “youths must also have the fear of God because if you have the fear of God, you will not do things that are against the will of God.�

Kanu Nwankwo Offers Youth Corp Members 80% Off Photography Training Tuition

Katsina to Introduce Animal Tracking Technology for Livestock Breeders

African football legend, Kanu Nwankwo, is again giving back to the society, this time through the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme, by offering to pay 80 per cent of the tuition for Professional Photography training of corps members.

Announcing the gesture at the NYSC Orientation Camp in Iyana-Ipaja, Lagos recently, Manager of Papilo Studio, Mr. David Aina, said the football legend, who owns the state-of-the-art photo studio, which includes a School of Photography, was interested in helping graduates currently serving the nation in the mandatory one-year NYSC scheme to become entrepreneurs. “Mr. Kanu Nwankwo has offered to pay for each corps member 80 per cent of what regular students pay as tuition fee for professional photography training, while they make a convenient 20 per cent payment, and eventually become professionals and entrepreneurs in the area photography,�

Aina said.

He said the former captain of the Nigerian football team was always looking for every possible way to give back to the society, and had decided to help young graduates participating in the NYSC programme to develop their photography skills through training.

The Katsina state government is to engage a private firm that will introduce cattle tracking technology to guard against cattle rustling in the state.

At a meeting with Governor Aminu Bello Masari at the Government House in Katsina, the Chief Executive of the company, Mr. Emilio Sapina, said the company is ready to partner the state government in its efforts to provide security for pastoralists.

He said once a tracking chip is installed below the skin of a cow, the animal could be tracked whenever it is stolen or goes missing. He said the technology minimises loses for livestock farmers and will prove valuable in states that suffer the menace of cattle rustling.

In his remarks, Governor Masari expressed the state government’s readiness to partner the Spanish company, noting that it will make government’s amnesty programme for cattle rustlers mire effective.

He said the state government would organise sensitisation programmes for pastoralists in the state to enlighten them on the new technology, in a statement issued and signed by the DG, Katsina Media and Publicity, Ibrahim Muazzam Abdullahi.

T H I S D AY SUNDAY DECEMBER 3 2017

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ÍąËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ Ëž THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

OPINION Re-Looting The Loot Nnamdi Ebo argues the need for increased transparency in the handling of recovered money from looters

L

ooting describes egregious instances of theft and embezzlement, the “plundering� of public assets by government officials. The proceeds are described as loot. Loot is a 1970 British film in which two bank robbers hide their loot in a casket with a dead body. They hid the cash but they couldn’t hide the casket. The investigative agencies of loot and proceeds of looting in Nigeria: NPF, EFCC, ICPC, NDLEA, CCB, NEITI, NAPTIP, FIRS, BPP, OMB, PCC, CAC, CBN, investigative units in federal ministries, the military and others in the government’s war against corruption are up for scrutiny as Nigeria’s position in the global anti-corruption tapestry becomes clearly untenable.

Re-looting began during the former President Olusegun Obasanjo administration with the alleged looting of Abacha’s loot. Following intense criticism for failing to fulfil a promise President Muhammadu Buhari made on May 14, 2016 in London, the federal government published “details of recovered assetsâ€? – withholding the names of the looters. Published by the Federal Ministry of Information, it showed that the Nigerian government retrieved total cash amounts: N78bn, $185m, ÂŁ3.5m and â‚Ź11, 250 between May 29, 2015 and May 25, 2016.

Also released were recoveries under interim forfeiture, a combination of cash and assets during the same period: N.6bn, $9bn, £2.4m and ₏303,399. Anticipated repatriation from foreign countries totalled: $321m, £6.9m and ₏11,826. The ministry also announced some non-cash recoveries were made during the one-year period. The non-cash recoveries are – farmlands, plots of land, uncompleted buildings, completed buildings, vehicles and maritime vessels.

In February 2017, the federal government said it recovered $151m and N8bn looted funds from three sources through the whistle-blower policy. Lai Mohammed said the looted funds do not include the $9.2m cash recovered from a former GMD of NNPC, Andrew Yakubu. Aforementioned are humongous stashes of cash and assets exposed to re-looting. Many Nigerians are sceptical of the anti-corruption crusade with reports of official duplicity and complicity in re-looting.

The crux of the matter is the management of recovered looted assets and accounting for them. These include safekeeping,

storage, warehousing and keeping detailed records of the looted assets. Re-looting the loot was de rigueur before Buhari launched his war against corruption.

In his remarks at the “Strategic Retreat on Tracking the Progress of Anti-Corruption Bills in the National Assembly� in Abuja on Tuesday, Nov 28, Senate President Bukola Saraki accused the anti-corruption agencies of looting recovered proceeds of corruption. Saraki said: “Nigeria is finding it difficult to convince other nations to return funds looted from our treasury because of the other nations’ exasperation over the management of returned assets.� Both the Swiss and British governments have expressed their reservations with how recovered looted funds and assets are managed in Nigeria.

In response to outcries and probably a Wednesday, July 5 order by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, for the federal government to publish names of looters, Buhari inaugurated an audit committee in Abuja on November 22 to audit assets and loots recovered by government agencies. The committee is to submit its report to

Nigeria’s anti-corruption crusade will not escape internal and international ridicule until the Buhari administration puts in place a comprehensive central management of recovered looted funds and assets, and publish the names of looters to stem the ongoing and prevalent tide of relooting the loot

the presidency in four weeks’ time. The committee comprises Mr. Olufemi Lijadu, Mrs. Gloria Chinyere Bibigha, and Mr. Mohammed Nami. The term of reference of the committee is to audit all recovered accounts up to April 10, 2017.

While Buhari has inaugurated an audit committee, I hope their mandate will include a broader telescopic audit of all government bodies including the Nigerian armed forces. The navy in particular should come within the telescopic lenses of this Buhari audit. Nigeria is losing up to 40% of its oil revenue to corruption. The navy handles the oil sector recovery of assets in the Niger Delta. The Nigerian navy patrols the territorial waters of Nigeria and one of their mandates is the stoppage of illegal shipping and illegal oil bunkering vessels/barges in the creeks.

After an NTA coverage of a barge seizure, nobody knows what happens to the seized barge. Reports will later claim the navy sank the barge. What about its seized cargo, was the barge actually sunk?

The telescopic audit should also view the NDLEA which confiscates illicit/illegal drugs, assets and cash proceeds from drug barons and/or couriers. Who monitors to make sure these seized assets are accounted for by NDLEA officials? Another re-looting strategy is the inclusion of recovered looted funds into annual budgeting by the federal government. As soon as these recovered funds pass through the crucible of budgeting, without previous accounting, they are re-looted – again! The telescopic lenses must view all anti-corruption agencies’ management of recovered looted funds and assets. There is an on-going methodology in Nigerian official circles which encompasses what I will call the “revolving door syndrome�.

This syndrome entails a situation where something is stolen, recovered by official(s) and stolen again by the same or other officials(s) – all in a revolving thieving cycle of re-looting the loot.

Like the bank robbers who hid the cash but couldn’t hide the casket, Nigeria’s anti-corruption crusade will not escape internal and international ridicule until the Buhari administration puts in place a comprehensive central management of recovered looted funds and assets, and publish the names of looters to stem the ongoing and prevalent tide of re-looting the loot. ––www.nnamdiebo.com.

From Detribalisation To Retribalisation (2) The tragedy of Nigeria is that we have not been able to create a common vision of an egalitarian society, argues Matthew Hassan Kukah

W

e must pose the central question which will naturally be on the lips of all of us who are asked to detribalise: What is in it for me? What do I gain?

Who will reap the greater benefit? What will the nation or the one asking me to detribalise offer me in return? When I compare where I am with where I hope to be, I must have good reason to take the leap.

The conclusion here is that first, the tribal tent is my comfort zone because, in it, I am safe and secure. Members of my tribe will fight to protect me and my family; they will offer me food and shelter, among many other things. So, naturally, anyone who wants my loyalty or wants me to abandon my tribal tent must offer me something better than what my tribal tent is already offering me. It is a trade-off.

Look at our situation in Africa today. Why are our people emigrating and why are young people facing death on the Atlantic Ocean rather than staying in their home tents? Clearly, the home tent has proven to be rather treacherously hostile to their quest for fulfilment.

I do not wish to put words into the mouths of Nigerians who have emigrated abroad and made a new life there. However, I know that many of our people who live abroad, and indeed many who live in cities far from their native village, make very little reference to their ‘tribe’, and if they do refer to it, it is only in a superfluous way. We cannot call them ‘detribalised’ but their reality and existence poses questions on the importance of ‘tribe’ on their identity and way of life. For example, how does one recognise many of our Nigerians who live abroad today? It is not by their dress or even language. One who lives abroad, or indeed even in our large cities here in Nigeria, might tell you one of the following: The people here where I have settled have accepted me and welcomed me with open arms. I have found a spouse among them and built a family. I have settled, my business is thriving, I feel safe and I am prospering. I have learnt the language and the culture of the people here. The opportunities are huge and I do not feel discriminated against. I am one of them and feel a sense of belonging. I can see the result of my sweat. I have named one of my children Kaduna or Ogoja. I have made here my home. I eat their food, have adopted their culture. I cannot remember when last I went to my birthplace.

But, there are more questions than answers. For example, when can we say a person or a people is ’detribalised’? Can we ever say such a thing? If not, what are the limits of being ‘tribalised’ and what are the implications of being detribalised and retribalised? What circumstances lead people to retrace their steps or consider sacrifices made toward detribalisation a mistake? What makes them withdraw their investment? There are many answers but we could hazard as many guesses as possible and you are

free to add your own. Basically, all of this brings to the fore the way in which identity claims of tribe and tribalism are to a very great extent determined by self-interest.

Perhaps one of the primary factors leading to retribalisation is the perception of poor return on investment, inability to find compatible incentives, a feeling of vulnerability, insecurity or even betrayal. When a detribalised person realises that the environment they thought was detribalised has betrayed them, they begin a process of retracing their steps back home, back to the tribe that they had abandoned. They begin to feel a sense of shame, resentment and betrayal and they embark on a conscious effort of self-discovery. They realise the need to recover the identity they had been lost or traded off. They develop a sense of urgency to return home. They may suddenly become conscious of their traditional food, history, cultural norms and forms which they had abandoned. They begin to recover their identity by dress, learning the language they had forgotten or abandoned. They could engage in a newfound micro nationalism. Let us take a few examples: A Nigerian man comes to America, and marries a native (preferably white) woman (visa marriage) believing this will enhance his opportunities for getting a piece of the American dream. He memorises the American Constitution, speaks with the American twang. His American dream turns into a nightmare when he realises his American wife one way or the other has betrayed him. He now abandons his American wife and returns home to marry a woman from home, to show, as Fela would say, that he is an original black man! A man has fought for his country as a soldier and believes that the army has become his family.

Suddenly, he realises that his friends have been promoted ahead of him because the new commander is from a different tribe that is hostile to his own. His sense of nationalism and the feeling that the military was family suddenly is badly shaken. A man believes that state X has accepted him, he names his son after the town and suddenly, his son is denied a scholarship because he is told he is not an indigene of the state.

A woman who has surrendered her identity to ensure family stability marries into a new tribe, learns the language and culture and believes she has been fully integrated. Suddenly, she is to be appointed a minister or to a job she eminently qualifies for and suddenly, she realises she is denied a promotion or an appointment because she is not a member of the tribe. She has been cast out as a stranger!

In the final analysis, people who flaunt their so-called detribalised toga do so merely to maximise their opportunities or investment whether it is in the boardroom or on the political field. We can argue therefore that there is something contractual, something tentative about identity tradeoffs. Their salience is only to the extent that the so-called detribalised person profits from this identity trade off. Now, let us see if we can draw

some lessons from the notion of tribalism and ‘detribalisation’.

First, the search for a detribalised race has a ring of an anthropological excursion. The so-called detribalised races are not tucked away somewhere in the amazon or rain forest, or the hills of Koma. In fact, is there such a race?

Let us remember that cultures, which are central to any tribal identity, are not static. They are not beyond time and unchangeable. They change and adapt as we, human beings, change and adapt to our changing social circumstances. Identity mutations are part and parcel of modernisation and how we cope or negotiate these identities is the story of our survival. In this age of globalisation, it might be tempting to argue that only the detribalised will succeed. However, detribalisation will remain a contested concept open to negotiation on the trade floor or power, whether in the boardroom, shopping floor, political space or wherever we turn.

For the purpose of our reflection, there are those who might be tempted to argue that Nigeria is where she is today because she has allowed ethnicity or tribal differences to get in the way. Those who make this point believe that if only we can get rid of tribalism, that is, become detribalised, all will be well.

But, as I have said elsewhere, the real challenge in addressing this question is to understand and accept that differences in tribe and tongue are not the reason for our monumental failure to build consensus around development, common citizenship and fairness. There are, however, many reasons for this failure, to which we shall now turn.

Tribal difference is not our problem and detribalism or retribalism is not the solution. I have argued that, in the words of Frost, one of our greatest tragedies lies in the consequences of “road not taken�. We inherited a regional arrangement that had its pitfalls but if we had the patience we could have finally worked out a system to accommodate us all.

Undoubtedly we can still do that. However, a combination of factors took us continuously back to the bottom of the hill where we have remained like frogs in a bucket, unable to either climb out individually or collectively.

The greatest tragedy of the nation is that we have not been able to create a common vision of an egalitarian society. In almost every department, the infrastructure that the British created has since fallen into absolute and total decay. A few examples will do:

––Excerpts from a lecture delivered by Bishop Kukah at a conference organised by the Professor Epiphany Azinge Foundation, Abuja (See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 3, 2017

LETTERS The Changing Face of Terrorism In Nigeria

“A

stitch in time saves nine” is a phrase which means a little effort expended sooner to fix a small problem prevents it from becoming a larger problem requiring more time and effort to fix later.

Terrorism is the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political, religious or ideological aims.

The first use of the word was in the 18th century, precisely during the French Revolution when intimidation and violence, including mass executions of innocent citizens, were employed by the state to compel obedience and loyalty. A century later, terrorism began to be associated with non-governmental groups.

Since then, this activity has proliferated to involve increasing number of groups and attacks that have claimed hundreds of thousands of lives; the biggest being those of September 11, 2001 carried out by Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda in the United States of America. In that attack, four passenger airlines were hijacked and deliberately crashed into the World Trade Centre in New York resulting in the death of about 3,000 people and over 6,000 injured.

Terrorism remained an unknown concept in Africa until in 1973 when an American and Belgian envoys were assassinated in Sudan.

Thereafter, it was confined to countries such as Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia and those along the

Gen. Tukur Buratai, Chief of Army Staff

East African coast, until much later when it found entry into West Africa, with Nigeria leading the fray.

It is difficult to pinpoint the exact origin of terrorism in Nigeria. The country has been plagued by several incidents of civil unrest and ethno-religious crisis since gaining independence from colonial rule. However, the killing of Mr Dele Giwa, by a letter bomb in 1986 is regarded as the beginning of terrorism.

Since then, there have been isolated cases of terror across the country at different times in various magnitudes.

In the South where there has been perennial tension between foreign oil corporations and a number of minority ethnic groups, armed militant groups emerged in 2003 who engaged in violent

destruction of oil infrastructure, bunkering, kidnapping and killing of expatriates. In the East, agitations for a separate state of Biafra, which began in the 1960s, have resurfaced from time to time under the championship of different groups which the Nigerian government doesn’t hesitate to label as terrorists. In the northern part of the country, there had been several incidents of sectarian violence from time immemorial; more recently in Jos and series of bombings and killings in Maiduguri.

However, a car bomb explosion in August 2011 in a UN building in Abuja marked the terrorist incident after which an organised group, Boko Haram, would claim responsibility. The group’s name which translates to “Western education is forbidden” was founded as

a religious study group in 2002 by an Islamic extremist, Mohammed Yusuf. After his arrest and execution in 2009, the group grew to become one of the world’s deadliest terrorist groups, claiming over 20,000 lives and displacing about 2.3 million people internally and externally to neighbouring countries.

These developments have made terrorism currently Nigeria’s greatest security challenge forcing the country to launch counter-terrorism interventions.

The efforts which began first with armed militants in the Niger-Delta have yielded significant progress. Late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua granted amnesty and an unconditional pardon to militants who would surrender themselves and their weapons, and embrace a change of livelihood. Over 30,000 armed youths enrolled for the programme which led to a significant reduction in terror activities in this area.

Now, even as the programme has been terminated by the present administration due to alleged corruption and paucity of funds, the country continues to count it’s gains. A military operation tagged “Operation Crocodile Smile” has been launched against militants who have returned to the creeks while efforts are being made to sustain development in the region.

In the South East, the quest for secession led to the Nigerian civil war between 1967 and 1970 wherein over one million deaths were recorded. The latest debate and movement in favour of awakening the thought of secession has been smashed by another military

The Teacher As An Enabler of Education

A

s one of the continent’s economic powerhouses, Nigeria has in many ways set new standards of progress across Africa. But, it’s become clear that in order to maintain this momentum, the country needs new answers to existing education challenges.

Indeed, Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, recently announced that currently 11.5 million schoolage children in the country are not attending school.

And as a result of the large number of children not in school, Nigeria’s literate population currently sits at about 63 million, with between 65 million and 75 million illiterate people.

While government recognises that education is key to the stability of the economy – and is looking at measures to formalise the non-formal education sector, there have again been calls for the establishment of more publicprivate sector partnerships in order to help overcome this challenge.

But, it’s also becoming increasingly clear that if we want to address this challenge, we can’t continue to do things as they’ve always been

done.

While we can’t ignore the importance of investing in content-related resources and the like, the most meaningful way we can make a major impact is through the country’s greatest educational asset - its teachers.

Through teachers we have the opportunity to make a genuine difference to the stories of generations to come.

Just one teacher can affect the lives of many students.

With this in mind Samsung set out to spread its Smart School initiative far and wide.

Geared towards the strategic development of teachers by enhancing the skills vital in today’s classroom, Samsung Smart Schools make use of the latest ICT solutions to drive teacher and student-led learning.

Equipped with a wide range of learning tools such as tablets, laptops, desktops, an e-board and a WiFi printer, these schools are designed to support interactive teaching and learning, as well as greater collaboration through engaging digital content.

Our goal is to empower teachers to provide quality education through a combina-

tion of learner management systems, content and interactive management solutions.

We don’t simply want to help teachers educate young Nigerians, we want to help them grow creative young minds for whom the sky is no longer the limit.

To date, Samsung has rolled out five different smart schools across Nigeria in the districts of Ogun, Imo, Cross River, Abuja and Delta State.

As a result, we have trained about 192 teachers – teachers who have no doubt left an incredible legacy in the lives of many more Nigerian students.

But the story doesn’t end there. If we truly want to see new generations making a tangible contribution to the workplace and helping to drive the economy forward, we need to make sure they are also equipped with practical skills to help them succeed.

Given that the digital age is upon us, we know that ICT and engineering skills top the list of capabilities which need to be developed if we truly want to progress. This is an area in which Samsung feels it can truly leverage its wealth of experience and expertise in the tech space to make a difference.

And for us the difference comes in the form of our two Engineering Academies in Lagos and Ekiti. Aimed at addressing the skills gap in technical and engineering expertise, the Engineering Academies not only draw on the knowledge and expertise of the company’s highly skilled staff members, but also equip students with ‘starter’ toolkits so that they are fully empowered to start growing their own businesses should this be the direction they wish to take.

Already, these Academies have trained over 800 young minds and seen 257 students graduate.

There can be no doubt that the private sector has an increasingly important role to play in helping to address Nigeria’s education concerns.

But, if we want to have a genuine effect on the country’s education scene, we have to become smarter in the way we address current challenges.

We need to ensure that the solutions we implement are powerful enough to spread beyond our spheres of influence. Indeed, we must make sure they have the reach needed to impact a nation.

––Sthe Shabangu, Samsung Africa Office

operation, Python Dance, with the championing organisation proscribed.

The country has also make inroads into quelling the crisis orchestrated by Boko Haram in the North East.

Although efforts were slow initially which culminated in the loss of 7500 lives in 2014, the highest casualty figure worldwide that year, significant advancements have been made especially during the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. Improvements in strategy, arms/ammunition, soldiers’ welfare packages, and collaborative efforts with armed forces from neighbouring countries have seen Boko Haram decimated into factions, only capable of isolated guerrilla attacks of soft targets.

From the disastrous heights of 2014, Nigeria has recorded its second consecutive year of reductions in deaths attributed to terrorism with an 80 per cent drop, the biggest decrease recorded by any country in the world. This is according to the 2017 Global Terrorism Index (GTI) report released recently.

Despite this decline, Nigeria still ranks third amongst the counties worst hit by terrorism worldwide and this is down to perhaps a shocking revelation that is probably being underrated and overlooked by many, including Nigerian government. The GTI which is a comprehensive study analysing the impact of terrorism for 163 countries, have identified a new and emerging face of terrorism in Nigeria.

According to the report, even with the decline in attacks by

Boko Haram, Nigeria will likely continue to face terrorism as 13 separate groups undertook attacks in 2016, top amongst which are Fulani herdsmen extremists who have been involved in violence across the country especially in the North Central states. It reveals that Fulani extremists killed over 2,500 people in Nigeria countries between 2012 and 2016, and undertook more attacks and were responsible for more deaths than Boko Haram in 2016.

Notwithstanding, the Nigerian government has continued to put up a lackadaisical attitude towards addressing the issue of rampaging Fulani herdsmen across the country. The government has consistently ruled out the use of military might to subdue their attacking force.

The Minister of Interior, Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd) while answering questions on a Channels Television programme recently said deployment of the military to combat the Fulani herdsmen menace was not an option because, the situation has not overwhelmed the police yet.

It’s surprising how the government adjudges the deployment of the army against a group that carried out more attacks and killed more people than one of the deadliest terrorist organisations in the world as going overboard. It is however consistent with the government’s history of “fire brigade” approach to pertinent issues of national interest.

––Dr.Usha Anenga, Makurdi, Benue State.

PREPAID METERS AND ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION

S

ome customers have raised concerns that indigenous smart prepaid meters are programmed and installed to run electricity card fast. It was alleged in the reports that many of these meters gobbled up a lot of electricity units even when the amount paid was expected to last for a certain period of time. Without doubt, I am compelled to disagree totally with the allegation expressed by the so-called disenchanted customers because there is no iota of truth in it.

As a matter of fact, I have found out that many domestic assistants are indeed responsible for sharp practices, which more often than not, are placed at the doorstep of Mojec International Limited or distribution companies. There is also the worrisome case of sales representative of certain designated outlets manipulating the point of sales terminal to the disadvantage of hapless customers who pay certain amount of money to recharge their card and end up getting less value at the end. It is instructive to state that these concerns are not new to DISCOs and Mojec as there has been similar complaints raised by other customers in the past.

Based on my findings, I can authoritatively say that many

of these domestic assistants and sales representatives are already neck deep in the act of swindling their bosses and customers. A case in point is a domestic assistant who was asked by his boss to pay N20, 000 to recharge his electricity only to find out that she paid N1,000. According to my investigation, the same staff has been perpetrating this criminal act for the last six months without the knowledge of the boss. The secret became exposed when the boss got fed up with the frequency of payment and thereafter asked that the DISCO provides a backlog of payment made by the domestic assistant.

No doubt, this criminal act brings to mind the reality that corruption cannot be associated with leaders or government alone but also those at the lower cadre in offices and households.

Not only that, it has shown that customers can be victims of corrupt practices through those who are close to them. Therefore, as customers, we must remain vigilant to prevent our domestic staff from swindling us of our hard earned resources.

Besides, it is important to note that customers need to manage their electricity consumption to guide against any wastage.

––– Olamide Bakare, Ogba, Lagos

16

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍąËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

INTERNATIONAL

Adeniji: The Transformation of an International Functionary and Diplomatist

A

mbassador Oluyemi Adeniji, CON, born on July 22, 1934 in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State passed on Monday, 27th November, 2017, at the age of 83 years, four months and five days, quietly and peacefully, in London, United Kingdom. His demise reminds of many things in life: fame and human worth, name and integrity, impact and legacy, living and Godliness, particularly in terms of what we are told biblically.

First, the book of Ecclesiastes 1: 4-5, says that ‘one generation passeth away, and another generation cometh, but the earth abideth for ever. The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.’ Without any scintilla of doubt, the generation of Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji is gradually passing away as predicted biblically. No one should, therefore, complain about his death. But his death is most painful, particularly to me as a Nigerian by blood descent.

Second, his death reminds me of Elisabeth Barrett Browning, who noted in Aurora Leigh that ‘a great man leaves clean work behind him, and requires no sweeper up of the chips.’ This statement is interesting because of the definition of a great man. To qualify to be a great man, one’s work must have been clean. The cleanliness must be to the extent that there is nothing to clean or sweep in terms of dirt or sweep under the carpet in terms of acts of misdemeanour.

This means that greatness is about righteousness and not about national titles, chieftaincy awards, or other societal honours.

When Elisabeth Browning made her observation, did she not have a person like Ambassador Adeniji in mind? I am more than convinced she did, because she must have considered that her own stratum of society could not have been the only one, where the virtue of greatness existed. And true enough, Ambassador Adeniji left a superbly clean record, both as an international functionary and diplomatist. He is a real man in the way Henri FrĂŠdĂŠric Amiel defined it: ‘great men are the real men: in them nature has succeeded,’ (vide Journal, 13 August, 1865). Ambassador Adeniji was truly an epitome of greatness because he left behind clean work and because nature truly succeeded in him.

More important, he is famous for various breakthroughs in many diplomatic negotiations. He was a diplomatic technician and technologist whenever there were political lulls. His fame is more about being calm in attitude, painstaking in execution of duties, soft spoken in discussion, perseverance in the face of challenges, patriotic in the face of competing foreign policy interests, and most significantly, never unassuming in foreign policy and strategic calculations.

In fact the thinking of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, is not different in this case. In his immediate reaction to the demise of Ambassador Adeniji while in China, Obasanjo noted ‘his memorable stint in the Nigerian Foreign Service in the decades after Nigeria’s attainment of independence, during which he carved a niche for himself in global diplomacy.’ And more interestingly, Chief Obasanjo also noted ‘Ambassador Adeniji’s enormous contributions to the nation, in particular, and the international community, in general, (which) earned him an eminent position in the nation’s gallery of unforgettable public servant.’ Even if anyone has any reason to cast an iota of doubt on the life and times of Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji, there is no disputing the fact that he commendably served as a Nigerian Foreign Service Officer. He rose not only to become the Permanent Secretary but also the Minister of Foreign Affairs. In fact, he was not simply a career diplomat but also a diplomatist, who combined diplomatic ethics with dints of academia. Adiplomatist, for us, is any diplomatic careerist, who is also engaged in intellectual activities.

Adiplomatist, an old English word, is necessarily a diplomatic thinker.

In Nigeria, there are a few of them: Phillip Asiodu, Tayo Ogunsulire, Olu Sanu, Akporode Clark, Oluyemi Adeniji, L.O. Oladejo Oyelakin, Dapo Fafowora, Oladele, Gbenga Ashiru, Segun Apata, Femi George, Kayode Shinkaiye, Segun Akinsanya, Martins Uhomoibhi, Joe Keshi, Eni Onobu, Ozichi Alimole, Lawrence Olufemi Obishakin, etc. All these diplomatists are not only careerists but have also authored articles or books or papers that have generated scholarly interests.

In the same vein, there are also a few diplomatic scholars in Nigeria: Bolaji Akinyemi, Akinjide Osuntokun, Alaba Ogunsanwo, Ibrahim Gambari, George Obiozor, Raphael O. Olaniyan and Femi Aribisala. Professors Akinyemi and Gambari were former Foreign Ministers. Professors Osuntokun and Ogunsanwo were former ambassadors. Professor Olaniyan served with the African Union for many years. Dr. Aribisala was former Special Adviser to Foreign Minister Akinyemi. So, they are academics with diplo-

VIE INTERNATIONALE with

Bola A. Akinterinwa Telephone : 0807-688-2846

e-mail: bolyttag@yahoo.com

Late Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji

matic experiences.

Even though Professor Obiozor was Special Adviser on International Relations to President Shehu Shagari, and Professor Osuntokun was Special Adviser to Foreign Minister Ike Nwachuhkwu, I want to place on record that I am the luckiest of all of them as a diplomatic scholar: Shehu Shagari was not a diplomat or a diplomatist. Ike Nwachukwu was a soldier, but Oluyemi Adeniji was not only a diplomatic careerist with very sagacious diplomatic alertness, but also a seasoned international functionary. He appointed me his Special Assistant. When he was named Minister of Interior, he again reappointed me as his Special Assistant. When many scholars posit that foreign policy is an extension of domestic policy, I learnt considerably from my appointment as Ambassador Adeniji’s Special Assistant.

Perhaps, more noteworthy is the fact that I also served as Special Assistant to Chief Ojo Maduekwe, when he was Foreign Minister.

Chief Ojo Maduekwe was an avid reader and a good tactical politician. The attitude of a politician as a Foreign Minister is completely different from that of a diplomatic careerist named as a Foreign Minister. Working with a Foreign Minister politician, Foreign Minister diplomat and Interior Minister necessarily makes me the luckiest diplomatic scholar available in modern day Nigeria, and this is simply because Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji opened the windows and doors of opportunity widely for me.

I seized the opportunity. Virtually all the directors and under-secretaries in the Foreign Ministry gave me the empirical education lacking in the curricula of universities. Without any jot of gainsaying, I became a diplomat in situ in the Ministry. This is why the death of Ambassador Adeniji is very painful, most painful to me as an individual. Whoever wants to evaluate the personality, achievements and contributions of Ambassador Adeniji should simply look at what he did regarding my appointment as his Special Assistant.

Terrible Things versus Righteousness

When Ambassador Adeniji offered me appointment as his Special Assistant, Ambassador Ayo Adigun, then a director in the Office of the Honourable Minister, backed it up with an

More important, he is famous for various breakthroughs in many diplomatic negotiations. He was a diplomatic technician and technologist whenever there were political lulls. His fame is more about being calm in attitude, painstaking in execution of duties, soft spoken in discussion, perseverance in the face of challenges, patriotic in the face of competing foreign policy interests, and most significantly, never unassuming in foreign policy and strategic calculations.

official letter. On this basis, I applied for permission from the then NIIADirector General, Mrs. Joy Ogwu, for leave of absence or secondment, but the application was never responded to in spite of reminders. Ambassador Adeniji called me to find out whether I wanted to accept the offer and I explained the challenges I had.

He was much concerned to the extent that he personally went to discuss the matter with the then Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Ufot Ekaette.

The details of their discussion I did not know. What I know is that Ambassador Adeniji asked me to report in Abuja which I did. He took me to the Office of the SGF. The relevant aspect of the meeting was that the NIIAwas, and still is, a government parastatal, according to the SGF. My appointment as a Special Assistant was considered to be in another government institution, and therefore perfectly in order. The SGF therefore directed that I should go and resume duty and that by the end of my tenure as Special Assistant, the appropriate decision would be taken, especially that the NIIA DG might not be there by then.

Ambassador Adeniji, from the foregoing, was not used to noisemaking. He defined his focus and he pursued it doggedly. On that very day of meeting with SGF Ekaette, I learnt the difference between a Special Assistant and a Special Adviser in a Ministry: when one is appointed within the government institutions, one answers Special Assistant, but if the appointee is coming from outside of government institution, one answers a Special Adviser.

In this regard, the main responsibility of a Special Adviser is to give an advice or opinion on issues referred to him or her but a Special Assistant is required to assist his boss in whatever he or she does.

With this new education, I developed a very strong determination to assist my boss. My approach was to completely do away with my theoretical education and to begin as a student in the Foreign Ministry. In many areas, theory is completely different from practice. Serious diplomatic activities are generally not reported and hardly do they reflect theories. I learnt fast and quickly polished my views on many issues. This was greatly due to Ambassador Adeniji, who actually became my professional father.

When I returned to the NIIA, Professor Osita Eze had succeeded Professor (Mrs) Joy Ogwu as Director General. I sent a letter informing the Management that I had returned to resume my academic duties. The official reply was that I had absconded and that I was no longer a staff of the NIIA. Where did I abscond to? I went back to Abuja to report to the new SGF, who was then Babagana Kingibe.

He looked into the matter and could not see any justification for declaring me unwanted at the NIIA. He directed the then Foreign Minister, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, to ensure my reinstatement with immediate effect and that he did.

For more than nine months of running here and there, I was without salary, simply because I went to serve government but Ambassador Adeniji stood by me like a rock of Gibraltar. I was always drinking from his fountain of knowledge, especially in terms of perseverance in the face of challenges and persecution.

Even though the NIIAeventually paid me all my salary entitlements, my professorial assessment was unnecessarily delayed and that largely affected my status and income at the Foreign Ministry.

One other important thing I learnt from Ambassador Adeniji is that one with God is majority and that truly, if God be with you, who can be against you. Imagine! I was the only person since the establishment of the NIIAin 1961, and particularly since 1971, when Government officially took over the NIIA, to have his appointment as Director General advertised. I was then Acting Director General.

The practice was for the president to confirm or appoint a Director General straight forwardly. But for various reasons that cannot be discussed here, the advert was set aside and my appointment as a substantive Director General was confirmed on November 16, 2011, exactly 365 days after my appointment on November 16, 2010 as Acting Director General.

The message here is that, for reasons I could not, and that I cannot still, understand, the Nigerian system is always militating against my patriotic disposition. The system is anti-honesty of purpose.

However, Ambassador Adeniji always had an answer: there are worse cases than yours. This man from Ijebu Ode, this source of sweet inspiration, is said to have passed on. Has he truly passed on? It cannot be true that he had passed on.

Aperson, who passes on or away is the one without a clean record behind. It is the people without legacy to talk about. It is precisely the people who gain the whole world but not qualified for entry into the Kingdom of God. Thankfully, Ambassador Adeniji does not fall under any of the foregoing. He lived a simple and honest life. He was an acknowledged international civil servant, with expertise in disarmament issues and diplomatic negotiations. He was the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General at the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) from November 19, 1999 to July 16, 2003. He was also the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General in the Central African Republic (MINURCA).

He was an active member of the Association of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria (ARCAN). He authored several books, one of which considerably impacted on Africa: The Treaty of Pelindaba on the African Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone, which is simply referred to as the Treaty of Pelindaba.

(See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

17

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 3, 2017

BUSINESS

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

NBS: 19 States Generate N473.08bn in Nine Months Lagos accounts for 51%, Ogun 12 % LAST WEEK SEC The Federal Ministry of Finance suspended the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Munir Gwarzo. Suspended alongside Gwarzo were two officials of the regulatory commission, Head of Media Division, Abdulsalam Habu, and Head of Legal Department, Anastasia Braimoh. The finance ministry, in a statement signed

by Deputy Director, Press, Patricia Deworitshe, announced that the officials were suspended based on corruption allegations against them.

“The Honourable Minister has set up an Administrative Panel of Inquiry to investigate and determine the culpability of the Director-General,” Deworitshe announced.

FMBN The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria disbursed more than N7 billion loan to 800 beneficiaries in 2017. Its Managing Director, Ahmed Dangiwa, disclosed this at the FMBN 2017 Management Retreat in Abuja, with the theme, “Towards Improving FMBN Transaction Turnaround Time.” Dangiwa noted that the focus of the bank’s loan was to ensure completion of ongoing projects and recover FMBN’s financial outlay presently tied down.

He added that the bank recovered N2.4 billion in 2017 against a cumulative figure of N8.3 billion as at 2016. According to him, the retreat will underscore the commitment of the new management to a quick positive turn-around in all facets of the bank’s operations.

A view of Central Business District, Lagos

Kunle Aderinokun

Nineteen out of the 36 states of tNineteen out of the 36 states of the federation amassed a total of N473.08 billion as internal generated revenues as at the third quarter of this year, the National Bureau of Statistics has revealed.

The amount, which is a year to date (YTD) figure, that is, Q3 YTD, represented the states that reported their revenues generated from a period of January to September and excluded figures from Rivers, Sokoto, Nasarawa, Niger, Kwara, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Gombe, Edo, Borno, Bauchi, Adamawa, Abia, Ebonyi and Anambra states. The identified states have not yet reported their IGR figures for Q3 2017.

The NBS, which released an analysis of the IGR in a report titled, Internally Generated Revenue at State Level (Q1-Q3 2017), specifically pointed out that the states generated a total of N149.45billion in Q3 2017.

Out of the total Q3 YTD IGR, Lagos generated the largest chunk of N241.770 billion, representing 51.11 per cent.

Ogun followed with an IGR of N56.763 billion, accounting for about 12 per cent of the total while Delta raked in N38.127 billion to represent 8.06 per cent.

ECONOMY

Oyo, which generated N16.476 billion trailed alongside Kaduna and Akwa Ibom that realised N15.982 billion and N10.642 billion as IGR in Q3 YTD. According to the NBS, a shortfall of N334.84billion was recorded as at Q3 2017 when you compared the full year 2016 and Q3 2017 YTD IGR figures of all states.

It explained that states like Bayelsa, Benue, Ekiti, Enugu and Jigawa had already surpassed their total 2016 IGR figures as of Q3 2017.

A cursory look revealed that the full year 2016 state IGR figure of N807.92billion excludes Anambra, Ebonyi and Rivers states that were yet to report on details for either one or all of the last three years, it also noted.

Further analysis showed that, as at half year 2017, total revenue generated by states was put at N396.92 billion as against N392.06 billion. The amount represented an average growth of 1.24 per cent.

NBS stated that, “Twenty-five states are doing better with IGR

by Q2 2017 compared to Q2 2016 and this excludes Rivers, Ebonyi and Anambra that have not yet reported IGR details for Q2 2017 and which have not

reported details for either one of all of the last three years.”

The NBS also reported that the net FAAC allocation in half year 2017 (N744.4billion) was 187 per cent higher than IGR for same period in Q2 2017 (N396.9billion) excluding IGR for Anambra, Rivers and Ebonyi states.

“If we remove FAAC for these three states without IGR records, then net FAAC allocation by Q2 2017 (N664.8 billion) was 165 Out of the total Q3 YTD IGR, Lagos generated the largest chunk of N241.770 billion, representing 51.11 per cent. Ogun followed with an IGR of N56.763 billion, accounting for about 12 per cent of the total while Delta raked in N38.127 billion to represent 8.06 per cent

per cent higher than total IGR for states with records by Q2 2017.”

The total revenue available to states was put at N1.05trillion, which excluded IGR information for Rivers, Anambra and Ebonyi, the statistics agency stated.

NBS explained that in collaboration with the Joint Tax Board , it computed the states IGR data from official records and submissions by the 36 State Boards of Internal Revenue.

These submissions, it added, were then validated and au-

thenticated by the JTB, which is chaired by the Federal Inland Revenue Service and has the National Bureau of Statistics and the 36 State Boards of Internal Revenue as members.

The revenues generated included, MDAs revenues, which relate to revenues generated administratively by State MDAs during the course of providing various services to residents in the state and direct assessment, relating to a form of personal income tax used to assess tax for self employed individuals. Direct assessment may also relate to those imposed on businesses especially (informal) by the state authorities based on the size of their activities.

Besides, the states also collect Pay As You Earn (PAYE), which is a form of personal income tax that refers to tax deducted directly from the wages and salaries of employees operating in the formal sector and road taxes, being daily levies paid by commercial transporters operating within the states as well as other taxes including various taxes such as levies on market traders, land registration and other land related fees, development levies on individuals, pool betting/lottery/gaming fees, stamp duties on individuals etc.

Seven-Up Nigeria’s Seven-Up Bottling Company has received an offer from its majority shareholder Affelka to buy out minorities for N19.33 billion ($60 million), in a takeover deal aimed at restructuring the struggling company. Privately-held Affelka, the investment firm of the Lebanese El-Khalil family offered to acquire 171.5 million shares from minorities at N112.70 per share, an 18 per cent premium to Thursday’s share price of N95.50. Affelka already owns 73.2 per cent of Seven -Up, set up 57 years ago, and has the licence to bottle PepsiCo’s Pepsi and other products in Africa’s most populous nation.

Naira The Naira maintained N362.5 to the dollar at the parallel market. The Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N480 and N430. At the Bureau De Change window, the Nigerian currency was sold at N362 to the dollar, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro traded at N480 and N430, respectively. Trading at the investors’ window saw the Naira close at N360.37 to the dollar, while it closed at N305.80, N408.18 and N365.03 against the Dollar, Pound Sterling and the Euro, respectively, at the CBN window.

Traders expressed optimism at the relative stability of the Naira against the dollar.

18

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 3, 2017

BUSINESS/ENERGY

Barkindo (left) and Kachikwu

As OPEC Rolls over Pact to Cut Oil Output by One Year...

Rising from their meetings in Vienna, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and the non-OPEC allies, led by the Russian Federation, decided to continue until December 2018 the production cut agreement they reached in 2016 to revive oil prices and rebalance the market. Chineme Okafor, who covered the meetings, writes

T

he agenda was straight and forward at the 173rd meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, and third meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC members on November 30 in Vienna. The meetings were to deliberate on how the production cut agreement they reached in 2016, but started implementing in January 2017 to rebalance the oil market, had worked.

At the meeting, everyone possibly expected the group to agree to keep the production cuts going. But no one seemed to know exactly how long and on what terms the decisions would be made. Experts expected that ample considerations would be given to the prospective dangers that shale oil producers posed for the group and their aspirations to rebalance the oil market.

Optimism Shortly before the meeting, Nigeria’s oil minister, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, suggested that parties to the production cut pact were comfortable with the results of the decision they took to chore up oil prices and that there was no need to change a formula that

had worked for them. Kachikwu, however, pointed out that deciding on how long to go on this would be the major decision left for the group at the meeting. He also said he was optimistic Nigeria would be fine after the meeting.

Backed by indications that Saudi Arabia and Russia – two key players in the agreement – were in support of an extension of the pact to curtail production by 1.8 million barrels a day to bring global inventories back to their five-year average, the meeting agenda equally showed the group may not really waste time in taking their decision.

Within the past few months, the production freeze has helped to raise oil prices to levels not seen since 2015, and provided countries like Nigeria, which had issues with funding their budgets, fresh financial support.

Tricky Decision From the agenda released by OPEC, the November 30 meeting was expected to last just about three hours for the group’s oil ministers to decide whether to extend their oil supply cuts beyond March 2018. But it lasted much longer.

Going by OPEC’s customary practice, the earlier stated three hours was principally a

short meeting considering that past meetings had sometimes stretched for long when ministers argued about policy decisions and other issues.

In the agenda, a closed session of just OPEC ministers and its Secretary General, Dr. Mohammed Barkindo, began from 12 noon. It was followed by a combined meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC ministers and delegates at 3pm, after which there was to be a news conference. Though, an opening session was also expected to begin from 10am, but these didn’t really turn out as planned.

Outcome Having deliberated for hours, OPEC and its non-OPEC allies agreed that the “declaration of cooperation” they signed in December 2016 would be renewed. They also agreed to roll over the output cuts to the end of 2018. But in doing that, they also found a way to address the troubling issue of keeping oil outputs from Nigeria and Libya from risking the results they claimed to have achieved in the market rebalancing efforts.

While OPEC countries in November 2016 agreed to cut their production by 1.2 million

barrels per day, they subsequently exempted Nigeria and Libya from the deal. The deal was further strengthened by the decision of about 11 non-OPEC countries led by the Russian Federation to join the production cut and help achieve oil market stability in the interest of all producers and consumers.

The non-OPEC members decided to restrict their output by 558,000 barrels a day, effective from January 2017, for six months.

The joint deal was subsequently amended in May 2017, and the cut extended by nine months, commencing from July 2017, with both Nigeria and Libya still allowed their exemptions.

But rising from the 173rd meeting of the conference of OPEC countries and the third meeting of the groups on Thursday in Vienna, Austria, the two groups again agreed to extend the production cuts until December 2018.

Nigeria and Libya, however would be allowed to keep their production figures within their 2017 highest production levels, suggesting that while they are not expressly forced into the deal, they would be expected to keep their productions within levels that would not jeopardise the efforts to rebalance the market which OPEC said was beginning

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 3, 2017

BUSINESS/ENERGY

As OPEC Rolls over Pact to Cut Oil Output by One Year ...

Cont’d from Pg. 18

to regain its momentum.

Nigeria had initially made commitments to cap its production at 1.8mbd of oil without condensate. It equally produces close to 300,000 barrels of condensates, and had projected in its 2018 budget to produce 2.3mbd of oil.

Reading the outcome of their meeting, OPEC’s President, and Saudi’s energy minister, Khalid Al-Falih, said: “The Declaration of Cooperation is hereby amended to take effect for the whole year of 2018 from January to December 2018, while pledging full and timely conformity of OPEC and participating non-OPEC countries in accordance with voluntary agreed production adjustments.”

Al-Falih, further stated: “In view of the uncertainties associated mainly with supply and, to some extent, demand growth it is intended that in June 2018, the opportunity of further adjustment actions will be considered based on prevailing market conditions and the progress towards rebalancing of the oil market at that time.”

He also said both Nigeria and Libya had assured the group that they will not act irresponsibly with their production outputs within the period.

On the potential impacts that shale oil could exert on the extended pact, Al-Falih noted that the group would be firm in monitoring the market dynamics but would not be in a hurry to take a decision as regards shale oil’s response to the impact of their extension.

He said demand for oil was increasing on the basis of economic growths across regions of the world, and that the group did not believe shale oil would conveniently meet these demands, hence, its adoption of a careful posture in this regards.

Shale Factor While OPEC and its allies decided on the extension, experts however opined that shale was still a factor to be considered and that some OPEC officials were a bit uneasy about how much shale oil could hit the market with the rebound in prices.

Shortly before the announcement of their decision, the US Energy Information Administration released a data that showed U.S. oil production surged in September by a massive 290,000bpd from a month earlier, and hitting 9.48mbb.

But in response to that, Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said at a press briefing that the group did not see that as news anymore. Novak said, “I am asked this question every interview and I have already answered it many times. This is not news for us. For some reason when people ask this question they seem to believe that we didn’t think that shale oil would grow.

“Either you underestimate us or you think we lack professionalism. I think that if you think we are professional you need to understand that we are including all this in our calculations.”

Novak said the rise in shale production was within expectations, stressing that he believes the oil market could rebalance in the third quarter of 2018.

Nigeria’s Position For Nigeria, Kachikwu had said the country would support an extension of the cut deal as long as the right terms were on the table for it to continue to participate in the deal.

Though Kachikwu had repeatedly said the country, which has enjoyed exemption in the cut agreement alongside Libya, was comfortable with capping its oil production at 1.8mbd without condensate, he has insisted that Nigeria would be meticulous in its participation in the deal.

Kachikwu’s insistence on a meticulous participation in the deal comes from reported uncertainties in Nigeria’s production levels, which he said would need time to rebalance.

Though Nigeria’s output has rebounded since militant attacks that cut its output by over 800,000 barrels per day (bd) stopped and relative peace returned in the Niger Delta, Kachikwu was quoted as saying that the recovery was on-going and the country would embrace the production cuts at a production level close to 1.9mbd.

Speaking with THISDAY on the outcome of the meeting and its potential impact on

Barrels of oil

Al-Falih Nigeria’s 2018 budget, Kachikwu said it was a positive meeting. He said he was not expecting the deal to affect implementation of the budget.

He noted that while the country was technically allowed to stay on the exemption granted it earlier, it would require “some very skilful crafting and harmonious working of the ministry with the NNPC” to meet the oil production target in the budget.

Kachikwu also said the country would have to leverage the growing prices of oil in the international market to keep up with its aspirations in the budget.

According to him, “The budget is based on around 2.2 million barrels per day, and if you add condensates, that would bring us to about that. In the real sense, it shouldn’t matter because prices were also based on $45 per barrel and prices are now around $62.

“We need to do a lot of work in terms of incentivising production. Will there be

an impact? No. If we work collaboratively, we can actually do a lot and end up having some very healthy outcome.”

Cooperation Meanwhile, OPEC proposed to formally institutionalise the partnership it struck in December 2016 with non-OPEC members to stabilise oil prices and rebalance the market, saying it has resulted in a lot of positives for the market. Al-Falih, in his opening remarks at the conference, noted that the partnership had led to drops in oil stock overhang by 50 per cent to 140 million barrels in October 2017, from 280mb in May. He stated that the market structure was flipping into backwardation for Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for the first time since 2014, indicating the market was gradually moving towards a more balanced condition. Based on this, he called on the two groups to institutionalise the partnership

to ensure they achieve results that would be long lasting and sustainable.

Al-Falih said, “In May, the OECD stock overhang was about 280 million barrels above the moving five-year average, but it has since fallen by almost 50 per cent to 140 million barrels as for the month of October. Crude in floating storage is also down by an estimated 50 million barrels since June, and the drawdown applies to all regions, including both crude and products.

“We have also witnessed the market structure flipping into backwardation for both Brent and WPI for the first time since 2014, indicating the market’s gradual move towards more balanced conditions. All in all, market stability has improved and the sentiment is generally upbeat. The rebalancing trend has accelerated and inventories are on a generally declining trend.”

He further explained: “This gratifying outcome has resulted primarily from a near 100 per cent or more compliance to the production target by the combined OPEC 12.

OPEC’s credibility has also been enhanced, although a couple of members have lagged behind and we hope they will pick up in months to come, all producers have benefitted from this improving situation.

“History tells us that as we get closer to the goals, sometimes commitments can start to waver. So, to achieve our goals on a sustainable basis, I call on all of you to stay on course with each member country taking responsibility for its own contribution and not relying on others. That’s the only way to succeed.

“To succeed going forward, it is essential that we continue to maintain unity within OPEC. But let me hasten to add that without the support of our non-OPEC partners, the encouraging situation we see today would not have been achieved. So, we should seek to institutionalise the OPEC and non-OPEC cooperation framework as very well built by the healthy foundation we had laid in 2017.

“We need to continue to foster a secured and stable market in the interests of both producers and consumers. And, to protect the long term interest of consumers, we must invest in capacity. To do that, trillions of dollars must be invested in addition of oil capacity and infrastructure over the next couple of decades. These staggering investments will not be forthcoming unless there is sufficient market certainty.”

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 3, 2017

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BUSINESS/ECONOMY

Stakeholders Justify CBN’s Retention of Monetary Rates As key decisions reached at the 259th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria continue to elicit reactions from operators and stakeholders in the economy, many see the committee’s retention of the monetary rates as a realistic approach to the economic recovery process. Olaseni Durojaiye reports

I

n line with expectations in many quarters, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria penultimate Tuesday left the benchmark interest rate, the monetary policy rate, and other key monetary indicators unchanged. At its 259th meeting in Abuja, the monetary regulator retained MPR at 14 per cent, cash reserves ratio at 22.5 per cent, liquidity ratio at 30 per cent, and the asymmetric window at +200 and -500 basis points around the MPR. Reaction Expectedly, the MPC decision has elicited mixed reactions among stakeholders. Some analysts are not altogether surprised at the decision, having predicted it would go that way. Many feel the economic situation in the country, within the context of global economic developments, require a hold back to strengthen the confidence building process.

Indeed, from the Q3 2017 Gross Domestic Product report released early last week, the aggregate growth in the economy was induced by the improved performance of the oil and gas sector. Agriculture also made significant contribution but other critical sectors, including construction, telecommunications, trade, and real estate, continued to lag. The banking and insurance industries did not fare any better.

According to a banker with a third generation bank,“I don’t blame the CBN for its decisions; in addition to the contribution by the oil and gas sector, is the multiplier effect of the exchange rate stability and the rate convergence that we have seen at the NAFEX and parallel market.

The huge foreign capital inflow witnessed since Q2 2017 to date is attributable to the exchange rate stability. This inflow contributes significantly to the overall growth of the economy.”

But many operators in the real sector, who had for months hoped for a downward review of the MPR, have had their hopes dashed again.

The real sector operators say they need the MPR reduction to ease access to capital and boost manufacturing.

President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Dr. Frank Jacobs, captured the frustrations and disappointment of operators in the sector in an interview with THISDAY, where he expressed his displeasure at the retained rates. Going into the meeting, which is the last for the year, the MPC was under pressure to reduce the benchmark lending rate, MPR. Decisions Chairman of the MPC, CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, explained,“In arriving at its decision, the committee appraised potential policy options in terms of the balance of risks. The committee also took note of the gains made so far as a result of its earlier decisions, including the stability in the foreign exchange market and the moderate reduction in inflation and, thus, extensively deliberated the options regarding whether to hold, tighten or ease the policy stance.

“While tightening would strengthen the impact of monetary policy on inflation with complementary effects on capital inflows and exchange rate stability, it nevertheless could also potentially dampen the positive outlook for growth and financial stability. On the other hand, whereas loosening would strengthen the outlook for growth by stimulating domestic aggregate demand through reduced cost of borrowing, it could aggravate upward trend in consumer prices and generate exchange rate pressures. The committee also feels that loosening would worsen the current account balance through increased importation. On the argument to hold, the committee believes that key variables have continued to evolve in line with the current stance of macroeconomic policy and should be allowed to fully manifest. Members

Workers at a paper manufacturing plant in Lagos

noted that the developments in output and inflation, in particular, required effective close monitoring in order to gain clarity on the medium term optimal path of monetary policy.

“In consideration of the foregoing, the committee decided by a vote of eight to one to retain the Monetary Policy Rate at 14 per cent alongside all other policy parameters. One member voted to reduce the MPR by 100 basis points. Thus, the committee decided to (1) retain the MPR at 14 per cent; (2) Retain the CRR at 22.5 per cent; (3) Retain the Liquidity Ratio at 30 per cent; and (4) Retain the Asymmetric corridor at +200 and -500 basis points around the MPR.” Emefiele further disclosed that the $3 billion Eurobond introduced to the international capital market penultimate week had been oversubscribed by $11 billion. He said this was an indication of international investors’confidence in the Nigerian economy.

Justification Analysts have justified the MPC’s decision.

Speaking with THISDAY, an economist and research analyst with the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, Rotimi Oyelere, justified the rate retention. Oyelere based his position on the global economic outlook and the peculiarity of the country’s recovery process, which many analysts have dubbed fragile.

According to him,“The hold back is also justified looking at the widening revenue shortfalls in the 2017 budget, which necessitates the need for more borrowings to provide critical infrastructure and even pay emoluments of workers to strengthen aggregate demand. We need to look at all contributory factors to economic growth before making decisions that will erode the gains we are building.

“What we need at this time is massive

investment across all economic sectors, private and public, that will make yields or return on investments attractive. More so, it will take some time before a reduction in policy rate will transmit into lower cost of commercial lending because prices are usually sticky downward. Hence, our options are limited.

“But it is sacrosanct to keep the growth momentum on-going, with the contribution of foreign capital inalienable at this time. I think the Q4 2017 GDP performance will foster more confidence in the entire economy, thereby encouraging investment not only in the financial sector, but also in the real sector. This will pave way for a downward lending rate.

“Even at that, efforts should be geared toward reducing the cost of doing business. What this implies is to give attention to economic factors, political dynamics and social forces that generally affect business and economic progress.”

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, BGL Capital, Olufemi Ademola, explained that monetary policies went beyond MPR, adding that the monetary policies of the CBN have yielded some dividends.

According to Ademola,“You could argue that the monetary tightening policy of the MPC has resulted in a drop in inflation. Tightening has prevented inflation from going up. The MPC decisions over time have helped us exit recession.

It has also brought stability to the foreign exchange markets as well as helped to attract capital so much that our foreign reserves are growing.”

Reduction Sharing his thoughts on the MPR rate, Chairman of the Ogun State chapter of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Wale Adegbite, explained that inasmuch as manufacturers would prefer a reduction in the MPR rates, he understood

the constraints on the CBN. Adegbite added, however, that manufacturers were hopeful of a gradual reduction of lending rates, starting with a reduction of the MPR. He explained,“I think the manufacturers’ view has always been that interest rates should come down and that starts when the MPR comes down. So we look forward to a gradual reduction in MPR as soon as possible. ”However, there are two things involved.

I wished that it was reduced but I can also understand why it was not reduced because the CBN is trying to protect the value of the nation’s currency in order to forestall inflation.

I can understand, but we do hope that it comes down as soon as possible.”

However, Jacobs expressed dissatisfaction with the decisions to retain the MPR at 14 per cent and described it as“unfortunate”. He said,“We shouldn’t insist on inflation coming down before reducing interest rate.”

While arguing that it should be the other way round, he maintained,“It is not in the best interest of the manufacturing sector to continue to keep MPR rate at 14 per cent. As it is, money supply is very low, the decision will not encourage production activities, as most of our members can’t borrow at that high rate. In fact, many of our members are scaling down on capacity in order to remain operational. I had hoped that it will go down.”

Jacobs’ position aligns with that of Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Benin, Professor Chijioke Mgbame. According to Mgbame,“Retaining the MPR at 14 per cent is pure conservatism on the part of the policy makers considering that economic growth was still fragile.”

He says the way to go is to loosen the monetary policy to accelerate production in the economy.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 3, 2017

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

Nigeria Re-emerges Africa’s Preferred Destination for FDI as Capital Importation Soars in Q3 Nigeria’s economy, the largest in Africa, is back in the global reckoning after narrowly slipping out of recession in second quarter, as hitherto withdrawn funds are tracing their ways back into the gradually recuperating economy, with capital importation growing by 147.5 per cent in third quarter ended September 30, 2017. Bamidele Famoofo writes

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n quick succession, the most populous country in Africa, Nigeria, has achieved many gains, especially after it wriggled out of its worst recession in two decades in second quarter of 2017. Nigeria moved up 24 places in the Ease of Doing Business ranking to emerge among top 10 most improved economies in the world in 2017.

The country under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari again in third quarter 2017, defied both the World Bank and International Monetary Fund projections of maximum one percent growth in Gross Domestic Product for 2017, to record 1.4 percent growth as at third quarter of 2017.

representing a 28.0 percent drop.

But the trend has changed as foreign investment accounted for 47.31 percent of total investment in the market as at September 30, 2017 as total portfolio investment recorded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in the review period stood at N1.656 trillion compared to N1.151trillion recorded in full year ended December 31, 2016.

Foreign portfolio investment in 2016 compared to the total investment made in the market as at December 31, 2016 stood at 44.95 percent, which is 2.36 basis points higher than the performance in 2016.

Capital Importation The most recent of Nigeria’s achievements is the positive outlook of foreign investors on the emerging opportunities in the economy to make money, as total capital importation into the economy recorded an unprecedented growth in third quarter of 2017. A report on capital importation into the country by foreign investors put together by the National Bureau of Statistics and the Central Bank of Nigeria, released last week in Abuja, showed that capital importation into Nigeria in 2017 Q3 recorded a substantial increase compared to the past few quarters, as the economy continued to recover from recession following its exit in Q2 2017.

The total capital imported in the third quarter was put at $4,145.1 million, more than double the inflow in the second quarter of this year, representing an increased value of 147.5 percent on a year on year basis.

“This inflow of capital in Q3 2017 is the first time since the beginning of 2015 that capital hit over $4,000 million in a quarter.

The boom in capital importation in Q3 2017 was mainly driven by significant growth in both Portfolio Investment and Other Investment,” the report stated.

Portfolio Investment Portfolio investment, which was put at $2,767.4 million in the third quarter of 2017, remained the largest component of capital import and contributed to 67 percent of the total amount. This component expanded faster than the other two main categories with a year on year growth rate of 200.7 percent.

Foreign Direct Investment recorded $117.6 million which fell by 65.5 percent year on year while Other Investment increased by 124.55 percent compared to 2016 Q3.

Although Other Investment in 2017 Q3 more than doubled the value in the third quarter of 2016 from $516.2 million to $1,260.1 million, it remained about 30 percent of the total capital importation.

“Portfolio investment in the third quarter more than tripled the figure of the second quarter of the same year, hitting $2,767.3 million. This figure was 200.7 percent higher than the same quarter in 2016 which was recorded $920.32 million.

The boom of portfolio investment was driven by strong growth of equity and bonds and a dramatic capital investment increase in the form of money market instruments,” the report released by NBS disclosed.

THISDAY had earlier reported that the

Source: NBS

Domestic Investors Notwithstanding the renewed confidence shown by foreign investors in Nigeria during the review period, domestic investors have shown greater confidence in the economy as both the retail and institutional domestic investors committed more funds into the market than foreign investors. A track of three years performance revealed that more money has been committed into the capital market as at end of third quarter ended September 30, 2016 than was done since 2015.

Stock Market According to NBS, share capital investment, which is closely related to equity investment (FDI and portfolio), was largely responsible for the increase in capital importation during the quarter.

“The percentage of shares kept increasing since the first quarter of 2017 and by the third quarter it accounted for 66.24 percent of the total capital importation,” the report stated.

In the third quarter of 2017, of the $4,145.1 million capital investment, $2,745 million was invested as shares.

The amount of shares investment grew by 324.86 percent year on year, largely exceeding the already impressive total capital importation growth rate (147.5%).

Source: NBS

interest of foreign investors in the equity segment of the Nigerian capital market recorded an appreciable improvement in 2017, as more funds flowed into the economy, though local investors as at end of September 2017, still continued to dominate investment in that market.

Foreign portfolio investment on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in nine months ended September 30, 2017 stood at N783.34billion (about $2.56billion).

The figure outperformed the N517.55 billion invested in the Nigerian capital market in full year 2016 by 51.36 percent.

According to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, “The performance is a proof that foreign investors, who decided to beat a retreat from the biggest economy in Africa during the time of recession, are beginning to have confidence again in doing business in Nigeria. Both foreign and domestic investments recorded a drastic drop on the Nigerian bourse in 2016.”

Compared to the figure in 2015, transaction by foreign investors recorded a huge decline to the tune of 49.5 percent from N1.025 trillion in 2015 to only

N517.55billion in 2016 while domestic investment dropped from N880.56billion in 2015 to N633.82billion in 2016,

The implication of the renewed confidence of investors, especially in portfolio investment in the Nigerian capital market, is that the stock market, being the barometer for measuring economic growth, has recorded an appreciable growth in 2017.”

Implication The implication of the renewed confidence of investors, especially in portfolio investment in the Nigerian capital market, according to the Monetary Policy Committee of the CBN, is that the stock market, being the barometer for measuring economic growth, has recorded an appreciable growth in 2017.

“The All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 3.38 per cent from 35,504.62 on August 31, 2017 to 36,703.58 on November 17, 2017.

Market Capitalisation (MC) improved by 4.35 per cent to N12.77 trillion from N12.24 trillion during the same period.

Relative to end-December 2016, capital market indices rose by 36.57 and 38.10 per cent, respectively, indicating rising investor confidence, due to improvements in foreign exchange supply,” the MPC noted in its communiqué in November.

The MPC also attributed the recent stability in the Nigerian foreign exchange market to increased confidence of foreign investors in the economy.

Another gain Nigeria recorded as foreign investors are returning to invest is that the depleting external reserves of the country have resumed growth.

“External reserves grew to US$34.9 billion at the close of business on November 16, 2017,” the MPC said.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 3, 2017

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BUSINESS/LABOUR

President Muhammadu Buhari chats with members of the Committee on Tripartite National Minimum Wage shortly after the inauguration of the committee in at the Council Chambers, State House Abuja last week

On the Road to New National Minimum Wage?

Solomon Elusoji looks at the prospects of the new minimum wage debate

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ast Monday, at the Council Chambers in Aso Rock, President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated a 30-member minimum wage committee for Nigerian workers. The committee, which includes cabinet members, state governors, labour leaders, and executives from the private sector, is expected to upwardly review Nigeria’s minimum wage from its present monthly rate of N18,900. “My hope is that the outcome of the deliberations of the committee would be consensual and generally acceptable,”Buhari said during the inauguration.

Demand Labour unions have long demanded that the minimum wage be increased, citing inflationary reasons and a contracting economy. At the last International Workers Day in May, President of the Trade Union Congress, Bobboi Bala Kaigama, described the current rate as the lowest in Africa.The Nigeria Labour Congress, too, led by Ayuba Wabba, has consistently promised hailstones and lightening if the government does not raise the rate to N56,000.

“In Nigeria, the history of minimum wage cannot be separated from the history of public service negotiations and increments,”a lecturer at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Chuke Nwude, wrote in a 2013 paper published in the Asian Journal of Empirical Research.“It dates back to the colonial era and the setting up of Hunts Commission in 1934.”

The first National Minimum Wage Act of 1981 prescribed a minimum wage of N125 per month.

This was revised in 1991 to N250 per month, revised again in 2000 to N5, 500 per month, and in 2011 to N18, 000 per month.

On July 1, 2010, the Justice Alpha Belgore Committee submitted a bill on the national minimum wage amendment to the National Assembly. The committee, among other proposals, recommended that the wage be reviewed at least once every five years by a statutory tripartite committee that would be appointed from time to time by the president. This bill was passed into law by both chambers of the National Assembly with minor adjustments.

On August 16, 2011, the two parties – federal government and labour – signed an agreement which revised the national minimum wage to N18, 900.

In light of the obvious delay in reviewing the wage, it is also relevant to note that there has not been a uniform application of the minimum wage by the three tiers of government in Nigeria.“Each of them has a unique salary structure for its public servants,”

Nwude said. “In Enugu State, the minimum wage for both the state and local governments is N18, 500, while the federal government pays exactly a minimum wage of N18, 900.”

Economics of Wage Increase “We should aim to go above the basic Social Protection Floor for all Nigerian workers based on the ability of each tier of government to pay,”Buhari said during the inauguration of the minimum wage committee. This, apparently, was a not-so-subtle remark that suggested caution in raising the minimum wage rate, due to the limits of government revenue.

There is also the argument that raising the rates might lead to inflation, as more money flows into the economy.

One of Nigeria’s leading economists and Chief Executive Officer of Economic Associates, an economic research firm, Ayo Teriba, told THISDAY that the real economic issue here was whether the current minimum wage rate was optimal or sub-optimal.

“This means that do workers receive an income that allows them to live reasonably? In my opinion, if you divide 18,000 by 30 days, that is N600 per day,” Teriba said. “What can anybody do with N600 per day? If you go to N56, 000, that brings it to a little bit over N1, 800; and anyone who says that figure might be inflationary is exaggerating. That’s less than what people earn as unemployment allowance in some countries. The amount is not even significant enough to affect money supply. I don’t think we should be talking about inflation.”

On the limitations of government revenue, he said, “They should find money. States are in the business of finding money to govern. If you cannot raise money, leave your seat for someone else who can.”

A financial analyst and founder of Cowry Asset Management Limited, Mr. Johnson Chukwu, spoke in a similar vein. Chukwu emphasised the need for the increase and went further to suggest it could help in improving the country’s economic fortunes.

According to Chukwu,“An increase in the minimum wage allows workers to have more disposable income, and that means the demand for goods and services will improve, which means consumer spending will also improve and in return stimulate business activity, in the sense that those businesses involved in producing the goods and services will need to produce more.

“But because a lot of production is not domesticated, there might also be a trigger in the increase in demand for foreign exchange for importation. But, on a balance, I think an increase in wages will trigger positive economic activity as a result of the increased demand for goods

and services.”

However, Chukwu noted that the increased burden on government and some entrepreneurs might dampen the demand for labour.“It also means some states will be forced to retrench and it will discourage a lot of small companies from employing because they may not be in a position to meet such obligations,”he said.

Low Compliance It is one thing to pass laws and another to implement them. Although the N18, 900 minimum wage was agreed to in 2011, compliance, according to a labour executive who spoke to THISDAY, has remained low.

Chairman, NLC, Lagos Chapter, Comrade Idowu Adelakun, in an interview, lamented that the low compliance was due to selfishness on the part of employers.

Adelakun stated,“Nigeria is blessed with abundance.

Among oil producing countries, we are the ones who pay our workers the least amount of money. Still, as little as 18,000 and considering the recent economic situation in the country, some people still feel it is too big. Apart from private employers, what of our own government? The majority of state governments are not paying. Instead of paying the full N18, 000 they will be paying N9, 000, and what is that to a worker for 30 days? They only want the rich to be richer and the poor to be poorer.

Do workers receive an income that allows them to live reasonably?

If you divide N18, 000 by 30 days, that is N600 per day. What can anybody do with N600 per day? If you go to N56, 000, that brings it to a little bit over N1, 800; and anyone who says that figure might be inflationary is exaggerating

“Because the minimum wage is on the Exclusive List and is a law, it is binding on everybody, and those who don’t comply are criminals. As NLC, over the past two to three years, we have gone round states protesting on the streets about this noncompliance issue.”

When asked whether the NLC had explored the option of using the judiciary to compel compliance, Adelakun said, “It is not every case you take to the court that you will win and you know that in this country, there are levels of complications in the judicial system; at the end of the day, they might say you lost.

That is why we have taken our destiny in our own hands by protesting, picketing and doing everything to make sure that we have our rights.”

On suggestions in some quarters that labour is being myopic with its demand for wage increase to N56, 000 monthly, Adelakun stressed,“If you compare N18, 000 with the current situation in Nigeria, what can that do? It is not even enough to feed a child of 12 years, talk less of a family of four. So all those saying such are only being selfish. This is why they allow corruption to grow in Nigeria, because when you are not well paid, you will look for other ways to adjust yourself. If the current government wants to eradicate corruption, they must increase workers’salary.

“And, still, all these legislators refuse to cut their own salary. A governor in Lagos and Zamfara earn the same salary, the same for legislators, even a councillor. But when it comes to workers’salary, they close their eyes.”

‘Minimum Wage Not an Issue in Private Sector’ Director, Social, Economic and Labour Matters at the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, Olawale Timothy, said the private sector was very much ahead of the minimum wage rate.

Timothy said,“We need to segregate which employers are in the category of those who do not comply.

Employers in the private sector are paying way above N18, 000. There are sectors where the minimum wage is far above N50, 000. Generally, minimum wage in the private sector ranges between N33, 000 and N50, 000. So the private sector is out of it. So, the class of employers that applies to is probably the government, especially the state governments, and it will be unfair for me to speak on their behalf. However, they are represented on the committee, so they can at least canvass and articulate their position.”

Timothy, who is also part of the 30-member Minimum Wage Committee set up by Buhari, said Nigerians “should expect fairness, consensus and what will be in the best interests of both workers and the economy at large”from the committee’s deliberations.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 3, 2017

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

Real Sector: Pondering the High Cost of Finance The problems limiting the contribution of the manufacturing sector to the country’s GDP, particularly the high cost of finance, were the focus of attention at the 10th business luncheon of the Ogun State branch of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria held recently in Ota. Olaseni Durojaiye, who was at the event, reports

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against lending to operators in the sector whose turnaround time are long term.

he importance of the manufacturing sector to the growth of any economy cannot be over emphasised. The sector boasts significant contributions to the economy, which include employment creation, income generation, and supply of goods and services. The manufacturing is the pathway to development, sustaining both global trade and the services sector.

According to the World Trade Organisation,“80 per cent of world trade among regions is merchandise trade, that is, only 20 per cent of world trade is in services. If in the extreme case an economy was composed only of services, then it would be very poor, because it couldn’t trade for goods; its currency would be worth very little.”

The benefits and importance of the sector to the economy notwithstanding, findings show that the sector is stifled by access to finance. This is compounded by the wide infrastructure deficit in the country, especially poor power supply and deplorable road network.

The factors hampering the growth of the manufacturing sector were the main subject of discussion at the 10th Business Luncheon of the Ogun State branch of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, held November 23 in Ota. The theme of the forum,“Business Financing in Nigeria: The Bank of Industry Option,”was apt and timely, considering the current high lending rate. The gathering included entrepreneurs, representatives of developmental finance institutions, and government agencies.

Adegbite BoI Window In his presentation, Guest Speaker and Managing Director of BoI, Mr. Kayode Pitan, recalled the mandate of the institutional lender. Pitan listed available portfolio funds and explained how businesses could access the different funds warehoused with the bank at not higher than 10 per cent interest. He emphasised the need for economic diversification in the face of the current economic challenges in the country and listed sub sectors of the manufacturing sector that were prioritised by the current government.

The BoI boss also discussed how the bank could assist entrepreneurs to explore the opportunities in the sectors.

According to Pitan, “There is urgent need for economic diversification in the wake of the current economic challenges that are glaring today than ever before.”

He said, “Growth has been stifled by several

economic challenges, especially accessing finance;” as highlighted by “High cost of finance, lack of economic and social infrastructure and historic poor implementation of policy.”

He reiterated the BoI business strategy, which“aims to promote and support enterprises for sustained industrialisation, adding that the primary driver of BoI’s business strategy was achieving developmental impact in core sectors of the Nigerian economy in a bid to realise sustainable industrialisation.

Pitan stated,“The bank is committed to provision of innovative financing solutions, such as low interest rates, as incentives towards stimulating interest and growth of entrepreneurship; significant attention towards micro, small and medium enterprises, despite the challenges associated with SMEs in Nigeria; provision of advocacy that addresses some of the challenges and opportunities that exist for

entrepreneurship in Nigeria; provision of capacity building to improve entrepreneurial education and exposure as well as seeking out local and international strategic alliances to enable it access funding opportunities.”

Pitan listed some of the available funds to include “N10 billion fund targeted at helping either young aspiring entrepreneurs to actualise their business ideas or existing entrepreneurs expand their ventures; 10 billion fund to support Nigerian youth of between the ages of 18 and 35 towards becoming entrepreneurs among others.”

Earlier in his welcome address, Chairman of the Ogun State branch of MAN, Mr. Wale Adegbite, noted that businesses operating in the country has always been challenged by high cost of finance adding that money deposit banks prefer to invest in short term instruments with huge returns as

Challenge Adegbite said,“Business financing or better put, proper business financing, is key to the establishment and continued productivity of any business concern.

It is the life wire that ensures the wheel of operations keep moving, even in harsh economic climates. Every business needs money to grow. Equally important is the source of the fund, and the management of same, to ensure the optimisation of the benefit the business derives from same.

“Historically, obtaining such loans from the regular commercial banks in Nigeria has not always been easy for manufacturers in the country as the banks prefer to lend short term to businesses with high turnover and higher prospect of giving a quick return on their investment rather than to manufacturers whose investments are usually long term and require continued control and supervision to bring forth returns. This is coupled with cumbersome administrative procedures and astronomically high interest rates and charges that have slowed down the growth of the manufacturing industry.”

Adegite explained, “This point was confirmed by the recent statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics that shows that the Nigerian economy is gradually coming out of recession with a 1.4% growth in GDP in the third quarter of 2017.

However, real GDP growth in the manufacturing sector in the third quarter of 2017 declined by 2.85% (year-on-year).

The contribution of manufacturing to Nominal GDP in the current quarter was 8.55%, lower than figures recorded in the corresponding period of 2016 at 8.60% and for second quarter of 2017 at 9.02%.

These figures are ridiculously low when compared to the contribution of manufacturing to GDP in comparable countries like India, Indonesia, South Africa and Egypt, where the ratios are 17%, 21%, 13% and 17% respectively.

The problem of access to loans from the banks has limited the growth of many manufacturing concerns in the country. This gap is one of the areas the Bank of Industry was set up to fill through its various schemes targeted at manufacturers, such as the N235 billion intervention fund for refinancing and restructuring of banks’ loans to the manufacturing sector, which is aimed at, among other objectives, “fast tracking the development of the manufacturing sector of the Nigerian economy by improving access to credit by manufacturers,”Adegite stated.

New Platform, Mypeopleconnect.co, to Link Innovations with Investors Olaseni Durojaiye

I

n response to the need to fill a vacuum and be a niche player, a new online platform, mypeopleconnect.co, is set for launch this week with a promise to facilitate networking opportunities for ideas owners, inventions and investors. mypeopleconnect.co, the new platform, is described as a product, website and app designed to bring solutions to many problems relating to ideas, innovations and investments.

The introduction of mypeopleconnect.co aligns with the call by observers who opine that the increasing internet penetration rate in the country, put at 68 million, can be put to better use, beyond the social media or deploying it for social networking. This is as they hold that there are vast under-explored opportunities in the digital media space including business endeavours, as is being done to promote ecommerce.

According to the promoters of the new platform, mypeopleconnect.co, irrespective of geographical location, will bring ideas owners and investors to the limelight by providing them with a platform to showcase their innovations to the world even as it promises to encourage creativity and originality. Besides, it will also identify the needs of users of the platform, provide solution to those needs, and give value by creating a forum markets.

In a statement on the new product, Chief Executive Officer of PisonVison Global Solution Ltd, Femi Okikiola, stated that “mypeopleconnect.co is here to keep dreams alive. There are no shortages of ideas or investors in our world today; there are only shortages of platforms to connect ingenuity with the big money spenders. This is why mypeopleconnect.co is founded to connect your world.

“Whatever that very special gift that you have? What do you think that you know that somebody has discovered that is a solution to a problem? All you need to

do is to package these ideas and market to the streaming investors around the world who will be using our platform to connect to you.

“Welcome to a world of the media business where creativity meets with investment. No matter what you have invented, you can give it a value as there will be investors waiting on mypeopleconnect.co to give value to your ideas. All you need to do is to upload on our platform, your idea and or invention, a kind of solution to a problem. As we all know, our world today is deprived of solution to many problems that we are daily confronted with. These problems are old in nature even as new ones are on the rise, today.”

He further stressed that,“ideas/inventions are a door of solution to you and many around the world are awaiting those with the idea and inventions to act. The world today is waiting for the showing up of creativity; I urge people to keep their vision alive by acting now. Who knows they might be the next big thing that the world is waiting

for. You might be the new CEO waiting to show up.”

Explaining how the platform works, Okikiola explained that all that a prospective user of the platform needs to do is to package these ideas and market to the “streaming investors around the world who will be using our platform to connect to you.”

“Gone are the days when you will have to worry about what you want to invest on as mypeopleconnect.co provides you with that special platform where you can pick from streams of options made available to you to invest in. Your location is no longer a limit to what you want to achieve as the world has indeed become a global village through this platform,” he stated.

Additionally, He said being present in the digital space, on mypeopleconnect. co, opens communication lines between inventors and investors who are looking to bankroll cutting edge solution to better the world and change the way things are presently being done in any field of human endeavor.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 3, 2017

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INTERVIEW Ali: Nigeria Needs Devolution of Power Supply for Efficiency in the Sector President of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Kashim Ali, canvasses the devolution of power supply to enable states, local councils, and even individuals generate and supply electricity, in this interview with Chinedu Eze. Ali also believes international financiers and investors are not attracted to Nigeria due to lack of clear legal and administrative framework. Excerpts:

W

hat is the adherence rate to COREN regulations among engineers in Nigeria?

the sea, they have floating solar panels now that is giving them about 40,000 megawatts. We have all kinds of resources that we can use. There was a wind system that was being done in Katsina, it started since the time of the late President Yar’ Adua; it has not been completed up till today.

The power sector is in a quagmire and there has to be decisive action on the part of government.

There is a lot of scam in that sector that needs to be cleared for there to be a transparent process.

Because it is not rocket science, it can be done, the capacity to do it abound. But there must be a transparent, open process that everybody will have access to information and then be able to address the challenges that come about. But the way it is today, there is problem.

The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria is a statutory body set up by government for the regulation and control of the practise of engineering in all its aspects and ramification.

To this end, it accredits universities’ engineering programmes to be sure that those who come to practise engineering are qualified and properly trained. It accredits also students of polytechnics and technical schools; to ensure that those who become technicians and technologists also are properly trained and skilled enough for the job.

It is the mandate of COREN to ensure the level of knowledge and skills required for practice at every of the grades, that is as an engineer, technologist and technician. And like they say, good product comes from good preparation, good planning and you can only have good planning and preparation when you have the right manpower.

For sure, the adherence is not something that is contestable. There are two options: if you don’t comply with our regulations, we sanction you. So it is not like we do advocacy, COREN does not do advocacy. For instance, if we go to a university and we find that they don’t have enough personnel or their laboratories or workshops are not okay, we don’t accredit them. And any university that is not accredited, the products can never practise engineering if they graduate. We have a list of qualified universities in Nigeria. So it is not every university in Nigeria that its products can practise engineering.

Do you objectives also include making Nigerian engineers to be recognised worldwide so that they can practise anywhere in the world?

We are working on that, to have them practise all over the world. But for now, we are already a member of the league in Asia and the eight countries in Asia now have recognition for our certificate. But we want to have one global recognition and that is why the issue of accreditation is very pertinent to us. So any university that doesn’t meet our minimum criteria will also not qualify, because we will not give accreditation and if we don’t give you accreditation, I am sorry, you can’t participate. We want a global recognition beyond the one we have now.

You have a bill in the National Assembly, which has passed second reading. What is the bill all about?

It is the initiative of the National Assembly, which has seen our level of commitment in the course of their oversight functions. They have seen that given more powers we could do a lot more.

For instance, the bill seeks to give more powers to COREN to deal with those who constitute a nuisance to engineering practice in Nigeria.

They are creating problems for us because they are quacks. The greatest challenges we have are from quacks. If you hear about collapse of buildings, these are the handiwork of quacks. But our current law does not allow us to deal with them; we can only report them to the police. But what the new law is fighting for is to give us the power to deal with them. Because we don’t have a tribunal that deals with issues related to our own registered professional. But the new law now is going to expand it so that we can bring to book even those we are not registered, as long as you delved into engineering project then you can be brought to the tribunal for trial.

What are you doing to sensitise the public on the need to patronise professionals to

Do you think there should be devolution in the sector so that state governments, even individuals, can build and manage their own power systems?

Not only power, you see what we have now is a kind of centralised system because the laws says it is a strategic asset and should be owned by the federal government. We could have state governments, even local governments with capacity to develop their own schemes, ring themselves.

But the good thing is that you can link one ring to the other, you have clusters but you can link them and put a break in between. If, for instance, I have excess power, I will call my neighbours and ask them if they have a short fall and we would link or connect them because it is metered. So I supply to you and you pay me and then that way you won’t have disruption in your network, which is the standard thing to do. So everybody manages a small network, it is easier if we are doing that, it is even the same thing with roads and railways. They law should be broken down such that it allows a devolution.

Kashim Ali

get quality products and services at the end of the day?

The truth is that the people who build don’t even need sensitisation because they know; they make choices. But unfortunately, their choices turn out sore. I give you an example, there is no Nigerian who wants to buy a used car that will not go and look for his mechanic to help him look at it. So it doesn’t call for any sensitisation, it is the same thing. If you want to build a house, you want to get someone who will build a house that will serve the purpose for which you want to build it. To build a good house you know the right place to go is to go first to an architectural firm to help you do the design. The architectural firm will naturally invite on board or ask you to invite your own structural engineer who will help you deal with the structures, especially when it is a high rise. And they will also have a mechanical and electrical engineer who will help you to look at the plumbing systems and the electrical systems generally and getting your electrical systems to serve the purpose for which the building will be put to. These are technical things that you need the expert to help you do. If you chose to do it on your own, it is not because you do not know, it is just because you decide to cut corners. Often people use the non-professionals for houses that they will not live in themselves because they have the mind-set that if I build this house, it will stay for some years until I get my money back or I may even have to demolish it and build another one. It is that tendency that causes these problems.

So it is not really about them being sensitised, they are well sensitised. Buildings are not done by just anybody.

What can be done to solve the problem of poor electricity supply in the country?

The first step is to make the process transparent.

The investment we have made in power is huge.

I think there should have been more than we have now, given the level of investment. But the processes are there and the bid to pick. In fact, when you see the bid documents from the power sector, they are always deliberately made to make life difficult for Nigerians. We invested billions of dollars and there is not much to show for it. And it is saddening that nothing is being done about it because if we don’t change the way we handle that sector we will continue to have problem. Besides, the world is moving on and while we are still investing in fossil fuel, the world is moving away from fossil fuel but we have not even succeeded in using our own. So what happens to us when the world moves away? In the meantime, there is abundance of other resources in the country.

For instance, the world was using clean coal at a time. Many years ago, when I first tried to do a study, I found out that 60 per cent of America’s power was coal based. They have reduced it now and I think is about 30+ per cent now. They have reduced it drastically and they are working to reduce it more. At the time we are doing those our projects that didn’t give us anything, China built a coal plant that is about 24 megawatts.

We have coal in Nigeria, we have a coal belt that starts from Anambra basin all the way to Gombe.

You have exploration taking place in Enugu, you have in Kogi and you have extensive one in the whole of that Benue trough. We are doing what with it? We have no sufficient investment with it. We have vast wind energy on the coastal line which we can also use. We can do some off grid systems because there are some communities that are very small, you don’t need to extend cables to their community; you can do off grid, but it has to be properly organised. You have vast land in the North with high intensity sun rays that we could use. China has used the land and they are using

Many see public, private partnership as a solution to the problem of infrastructural deficit. But how can Nigeria do a reliable and sustainable PPP? My honest opinion is that for critical capital projects that are new, government should borrow money and build them. The successful PPPs in the world are not largely on new projects. PPP did not originate from Nigeria; the most celebrated successful story in Africa was in South Africa.

There have been very successful PPP around the world, but not all PPs are successful, even in Europe with all their discipline. Here when we adopted it, we didn’t have appropriate laws in place to protect both the government and the investor. Like the MMA2 (domestic terminal) at the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos (that was built by Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited on Build, Operate and Transfer arrangement), it has its challenges. But the road that was awarded on PPP was the worst case because there was no law to protect the investor and that is why the case is still in court. And because it is in court the government cannot do anything.

We also need a high level of discipline because the laws are always stringent and violations are not forgivable. But we are used to saying, please forgive me; you don’t forgive in such things because I am in charge in managing the property does not give me the ownership of the facility. If I am in charge of a project on behalf of government, I cannot forgive because nobody has the power to forgive you, except the owners, who are the whole Nigerians. But Nigerians will still insist you forgive and somebody will use his waiver to do that. If there is no discipline it cannot work. I see some projects that do not meet the requirements of a PPP and they still call it PPP. We must have appropriate laws and their enforcement for us to have successful PPP.

25

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 3, 2017

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WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŐůŽďĂů ĞĐŽŶŽŵLJ ŝŶ ϮϬϭϲ ǁĂƐ ŵŝdžĞĚ ĂƐ ŐƌŽǁƚŚ ƉƌŽƐƉĞĐƚƐ ǁĞƌĞ Ăƚ ĮƌƐƚ ĚĂŵƉĞŶĞĚ Ăƚ ƚŚĞ ƐƚĂƌƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ LJĞĂƌ ďLJ ŐĞŽƉŽůŝƟĐĂů ƚĞŶƐŝŽŶƐ ĂŶĚ Ă ƐůŽǁ ďƵƌŶŝŶŐ ďĂŶŬŝŶŐ ĐƌŝƐŝƐ ŝŶ ƵƌŽƉĞ ďĞĨŽƌĞ ŐĂŝŶŝŶŐ ŵŽŵĞŶƚƵŵ ůĂƚĞƌ ŽŶ͘ ZŝƐŬ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ŐůŽďĂů ůĂŶĚƐĐĂƉĞ ƌĞŵĂŝŶĞĚ ŚĞŝŐŚƚĞŶĞĚ ďLJ ŐĞŽƉŽůŝƟĐĂů ƚĞŶƐŝŽŶƐ ĂƐ ƚǁŽ ŶŽƚĂďůĞ ĞǀĞŶƚƐ ƐĞŶƚ ƐŚŽĐŬ ǁĂǀĞƐ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ ŵĂƌŬĞƚƐ ʹ ƚŚĞ ŽƵƚĐŽŵĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƌĞdžŝƚ ǀŽƚĞ ĂŶĚ ƚŚĞ ĞůĞĐƟŽŶ ŽĨ ŽŶĂůĚ dƌƵŵƉ ĂƐ WƌĞƐŝĚĞŶƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ hŶŝƚĞĚ ^ƚĂƚĞƐ͘ ,ŽǁĞǀĞƌ͕ ĐŽŵƉĂƌĞĚ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ƚĞŶƐĞĚ ĂƚŵŽƐƉŚĞƌĞ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ĮƌƐƚ ŚĂůĨ ŽĨ ϮϬϭϲ͕ ĐŽŶĮĚĞŶĐĞ ŚĂƐ ďĞĞŶ ƌĞŝŶǀŝŐŽƌĂƚĞĚ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ ŐůŽďĂů ĞĐŽŶŽŵLJ ŶŽǁ ǀŝĞǁĞĚ ƚŽ ďĞ ŝŶ Ă ƐǁĞĞƚ ƐƉŽƚ ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ƌĞƐƉŝƚĞ ŝŶ ĚŽǁŶƐŝĚĞ ƌŝƐŬƐ ĂƐƐŽĐŝĂƚĞĚ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ h^ ĞůĞĐƟŽŶƐ͕ ƌĞdžŝƚ ƵŶĐĞƌƚĂŝŶƚLJ ĂŶĚ ĐŽŶĐĞƌŶƐ ŽĨ ƐůŽǁĞƌ ŐƌŽǁƚŚ ŝŶ ŚŝŶĂ͘ &ƵƌƚŚĞƌŵŽƌĞ͕ ƵŶĚĞƌůLJŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ƌĞŶĞǁĞĚ ŽƉƟŵŝƐŵ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ ƌĞŐŝŽŶƐ ĂƌĞ ĞdžƉĞĐƚĂƟŽŶƐ ŽĨ ĞdžƉĂŶƐŝŽŶĂƌLJ ĮƐĐĂů ƉŽůŝĐLJ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ h^ ǁŚŝĐŚ ŚĂƐ ƌĞƐƵůƚĞĚ ŝŶ Ă ƐƚƌŽŶŐĞƌ ĚŽůůĂƌ ĂŶĚ ďƵůůŝƐŚ ƐƚƌĞĂŬ ŝŶ h^ ĞƋƵŝƟĞƐ ƐƚƌŽŶŐĞƌ ĐŽŵŵŽĚŝƚLJ ƉƌŝĐĞƐ ĨĂǀŽƵƌĂďůĞ ƚŽ ĐŽŵŵŽĚŝƚLJ ĞdžƉŽƌƟŶŐ ŶĂƟŽŶƐ ĂŶĚ ďĞƩĞƌ ƚŚĂŶ ĞdžƉĞĐƚĞĚ ŐƌŽǁƚŚ ĂŶĚ ƉŽůŝĐLJ ƐƵƉƉŽƌƚ ŝŶ ŚŝŶĂ͘ /Ŷ ϮϬϭϳ͕ ŐůŽďĂů ŽƉƟŵŝƐŵ ŚĂƐ ďĞĞŶ ĨƵƌƚŚĞƌ ĞůĞǀĂƚĞĚ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ /ŶƚĞƌŶĂƟŽŶĂů DŽŶĞƚĂƌLJ &ƵŶĚ ;/D&Ϳ͕ Ăƚ ƚŚĞ ƐƚĂƌƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ LJĞĂƌ͕ ĞƐƟŵĂƟŶŐ ŐůŽďĂů ŐƌŽǁƚŚ ƚŽ ƌŝƐĞ ĨƌŽŵ ϯ͘ϭй ŝŶ ϮϬϭϲ ƚŽ ϯ͘ϰй ŝŶ ϮϬϭϳ ĂŶĚ ϯ͘ϲй ŝŶ ϮϬϭϴ͘ ĞƐƉŝƚĞ ŝŶŝƟĂů ƐĐĞƉƟĐŝƐŵ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ĐĂƉĂďŝůŝƚLJ ŽĨ WƌĞƐŝĚĞŶƚ ŽŶĂůĚ dƌƵŵƉ ƚŽ ƉƵƐŚ ƚŚƌŽƵŐŚ ŚŝƐ ƉƌŽ ŐƌŽǁƚŚ ĞdžƉĂŶƐŝŽŶĂƌLJ ĮƐĐĂů ƉůĂŶ͕ ƚŚĞ /D& ƌĞŵĂŝŶƐ ďƵůůŝƐŚ ŽŶ ŐƌŽǁƚŚ ŽƵƚůŽŽŬ͕ ƌĞǀŝƐŝŶŐ ϮϬϭϳ ŐůŽďĂů ŐƌŽǁƚŚ ĨŽƌĞĐĂƐƚ ƵƉǁĂƌĚƐ ƚŽ ϯ͘ϱй Ăƚ ŝƚƐ Ɖƌŝů ^ƉƌŝŶŐ ŵĞĞƟŶŐƐ ǁŚŝůƐƚ ůĞĂǀŝŶŐ ƉƌŽũĞĐƟŽŶ ĨŽƌ ϮϬϭϴ ;нϯ͘ϲйͿ ƵŶĐŚĂŶŐĞĚ͘ 'ƌŽǁƚŚ ĨŽƌĞĐĂƐƚ ĨŽƌ ĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ĐŽŶŽŵŝĞƐ ; ƐͿ ǁĂƐ ƌĞǀŝƐĞĚ ƵƉǁĂƌĚƐ ďLJ ϭϬďƉƐ ƚŽ Ϯ͘Ϭй ŝŶ ϮϬϭϳ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƐƚƌŽŶŐ ĚŽŵĞƐƟĐ ĚĞŵĂŶĚ͕ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ h^ ;Ϯ͘ϯй ƌĞůĂƟǀĞ ƚŽ ϮϬϭϲ ĂĐƚƵĂů ŽĨ ϭ͘ϲйͿ͕ h< ;Ϯ͘Ϭй ƌĞůĂƟǀĞ ƚŽ ϮϬϭϲ ĂĐƚƵĂů ŽĨ ϭ͘ϴйͿ ĂŶĚ :ĂƉĂŶ ;ϭ͘Ϯй ƌĞůĂƟǀĞ ƚŽ ϭ͘Ϭй ĂĐƚƵĂů ŽĨ ϮϬϭϲͿ ƉƌŽũĞĐƚĞĚ ƚŽ ďĞ ƚŚĞ ŵĂũŽƌ ĚƌŝǀĞƌƐ͘ KŶ ƚŚĞ ŽƚŚĞƌ ŚĂŶĚ͕ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ĨŽƌ ŵĞƌŐŝŶŐ DĂƌŬĞƚƐ ĂŶĚ ĞǀĞůŽƉŝŶŐ ĐŽŶŽŵŝĞƐ ; DƐ Θ ƐͿ ǁĂƐ ŚŝŶŐĞĚ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ƉĂƌƟĂů ƌĞĐŽǀĞƌLJ ĂŶĚ ƐƚĂďŝůŝƚLJ ŝŶ ĐŽŵŵŽĚŝƚLJ ƉƌŝĐĞƐ ʹ ƉĂƌƟĐƵůĂƌůLJ ĐƌƵĚĞ Žŝů ǁŚŝĐŚ ƌŽƐĞ ϱϮ͘ϰй ĨƌŽŵ h^Ψϯϳ͘Ϯϴͬď ŝŶ ĞĐ ϮϬϭϱ ƚŽ h^Ψϱϲ͘ϴϮͬď ŝŶ ĞĐ ϮϬϭϲ͘ ,ĞŶĐĞ͕ ŐƌŽǁƚŚ ĨŽƌĞĐĂƐƚ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ƌĞŐŝŽŶ ǁĂƐ ƌĞƚĂŝŶĞĚ Ăƚ ϰ͘ϱй ;ŚŝŐŚĞƌ ƚŚĂŶ ϰ͘ϭй ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŝŶ ϮϬϭϲͿ ĚƌŝǀĞŶ ďLJ Ă ƉƌŽũĞĐƚĞĚ ƌĞďŽƵŶĚ ŝŶ ZƵƐƐŝĂ ;ĞdžƉĞĐƚĞĚ ƚŽ ŐƌŽǁ ϭ͘ϰй ŝŶ ϮϬϭϳ ƌĞůĂƟǀĞ ƚŽ Ă ĐŽŶƚƌĂĐƟŽŶ ŽĨ Ϭ͘Ϯй ŝŶ ϮϬϭϲͿ͕ ĨĂƐƚĞƌ ŐƌŽǁƚŚ ŝŶ /ŶĚŝĂ ĂŶĚ ƐƵƐƚĂŝŶĞĚ ŵŽŵĞŶƚƵŵ ŝŶ ŚŝŶĂ͘ ,ŽǁĞǀĞƌ͕ /D& ƚƌŝŵŵĞĚ ^Ƶď ^ĂŚĂƌĂŶ ĨƌŝĐĂ͛Ɛ ;^^ Ϳ ŐƌŽǁƚŚ ƉƌŽũĞĐƟŽŶ ďLJ ϮϬďƉƐ͕ ĐŝƟŶŐ ƚŚĂƚ ŵĂŶLJ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ůĂƌŐĞƐƚ ŶŽŶ ƌĞƐŽƵƌĐĞ ŝŶƚĞŶƐŝǀĞ ĐŽƵŶƚƌŝĞƐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƌĞŐŝŽŶ ǁŝůů ĮŶĚ ŝƚ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐŝŶŐůLJ ĚŝĸĐƵůƚ ƚŽ ƐƵƐƚĂŝŶ ŐƌŽǁƚŚ ƚŚƌŽƵŐŚ ŚŝŐŚĞƌ ƉƵďůŝĐ ĐĂƉŝƚĂů ƐƉĞŶĚŝŶŐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ĨĂĐĞ ŽĨ ƌŝƐŝŶŐ ƉƵďůŝĐ ĚĞďƚ͘ dŚĞ ƌĞŐŝŽŶ ŝƐ ƉƌŽũĞĐƚĞĚ ƚŽ ŐƌŽǁ Ϯ͘ϲй ŝŶ ϮϬϭϳ ;ƌĞůĂƟǀĞ ƚŽ ϭ͘ϰй ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŝŶ ϮϬϭϲͿ͕ ĚƌŝǀĞŶ ďLJ Ă ƌĞďŽƵŶĚ ŝŶ EŝŐĞƌŝĂ͕ ^ŽƵƚŚ ĨƌŝĐĂ ĂŶĚ ŶŐŽůĂ ʹ ƚŚĞ ƌĞŐŝŽŶ͛Ɛ ůĂƌŐĞƐƚ ĞĐŽŶŽŵŝĞƐ ǁŚŝĐŚ ĨĂĐĞĚ Ă ĐŚĂůůĞŶŐŝŶŐ ϮϬϭϲ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ůŽǁ ĐŽŵŵŽĚŝƚLJ ƉƌŝĐĞƐ͘ ,ĞŶĐĞ ŝŶ ϮϬϭϳ͕ EŝŐĞƌŝĂ ŝƐ ĨŽƌĞĐĂƐƚ ƚŽ ŐƌŽǁ Ϭ͘ϴй ƌĞůĂƟǀĞ ƚŽ Ă ϭ͘ϱй ĐŽŶƚƌĂĐƟŽŶ ŝŶ ϮϬϭϲ ǁŚŝůĞ ^ŽƵƚŚ ĨƌŝĐĂ ŝƐ ĂůƐŽ ĞdžƉĞĐƚĞĚ ƚŽ ŐƌŽǁ Ϭ͘ϴй͕ ĨĂƐƚĞƌ ƚŚĂŶ Ϭ͘ϯй ĂĐƚƵĂů ŝŶ ϮϬϭϲ͘ ,ŽǁĞǀĞƌ͕ ^ŽƵƚŚ ĨƌŝĐĂ͛Ɛ ĞĐŽŶŽŵLJ ĐŽŶƚƌĂĐƚĞĚ Ϭ͘ϳй ŝŶ Yϭ͗ϮϬϭϳ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ƉŽůŝƟĐĂů ƚƵƌŵŽŝů ǁŚŝĐŚ ŚĂƐ ƐƚLJŵŝĞĚ ĐŽŶĮĚĞŶĐĞ͕ ǁŚŝůƐƚ ƚŚĞ EŝŐĞƌŝĂŶ ĞĐŽŶŽŵLJ ƐŚŽǁĞĚ ƐŝŐŶƐ ŽĨ ƌĞĐŽǀĞƌLJ ǁŝƚŚ Ă ďĞƩĞƌ ƚŚĂŶ ĞdžƉĞĐƚĞĚ ĐŽŶƚƌĂĐƟŽŶ ŽĨ Ϭ͘ϱй ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƉĞƌŝŽĚ͘ ŶŐŽůĂ ŝƐ ĂůƐŽ ĞdžƉĞĐƚĞĚ ƚŽ ƌĞďŽƵŶĚ ϭ͘ϯй ŝŶ ϮϬϭϳ͕ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ ŵĂũŽƌ ĚƌŝǀĞƌ ďĞŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ŶŽŶ Žŝů ƐĞĐƚŽƌ͘ ĞƐƉŝƚĞ ƚŚĞ ďƌŽĂĚ ďĂƐĞĚ ŽƉƟŵŝƐƟĐ ŽƵƚůŽŽŬ͕ ƚŚĞ /D& ŚŝŐŚůŝŐŚƚĞĚ ŵĂũŽƌ ĚŽǁŶƐŝĚĞ ƌŝƐŬƐ ǁŚŝĐŚ ŝŶĐůƵĚĞ͗

Ŷ ŝŶǁĂƌĚ ƐŚŝŌ ƚŽǁĂƌĚƐ ƉƌŽƚĞĐƟŽŶŝƐŵ ƌĞƐƵůƟŶŐ ŝŶ ƌĞĚƵĐĞĚ ƚƌĂĚĞ ĂŶĚ ĐƌŽƐƐ ďŽƌĚĞƌ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŵĞŶƚ ŇŽǁƐ͖ &ĂƐƚĞƌ ƚŚĂŶ ĞdžƉĞĐƚĞĚ ƉĂĐĞ ŽĨ ƌĂƚĞ ŚŝŬĞƐ ďLJ ƚŚĞ h^ &ĞĚ ǁŚŝĐŚ ĐŽƵůĚ ƚƌŝŐŐĞƌ Ă ƌĂƉŝĚ ƟŐŚƚĞŶŝŶŐ ŝŶ ŐůŽďĂů ĮŶĂŶĐŝĂů ĐŽŶĚŝƟŽŶƐ ǁŝƚŚ ŶĞŐĂƟǀĞ ŝŵƉĂĐƚ ŽŶ ĞŵĞƌŐŝŶŐ ĂŶĚ ĨƌŽŶƟĞƌ ĞĐŽŶŽŵŝĞƐ ĞdžƉŽƐĞĚ ƚŽ ĐĂƉŝƚĂů ŇŽǁƐ͖ džĐĞƐƐŝǀĞ ƌŝƐŬ ƚĂŬŝŶŐ ƐƟŵƵůĂƚĞĚ ďLJ ĂŶ ĂŐŐƌĞƐƐŝǀĞ ƌŽůůďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ĮŶĂŶĐŝĂů ƌĞŐƵůĂƟŽŶƐ͕ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ůŝŬĞůŝŚŽŽĚ ŽĨ ĨƵƚƵƌĞ ĮŶĂŶĐŝĂů ĐƌŝƐĞƐ͖ &ŝŶĂŶĐŝĂů ƟŐŚƚĞŶŝŶŐ ŝŶ DƐ ŝŶ ǀŝĞǁ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŵŽƵŶƟŶŐ ǀƵůŶĞƌĂďŝůŝƟĞƐ ŝŶ ŚŝŶĂ͛Ɛ ĮŶĂŶĐŝĂů ƐLJƐƚĞŵ ĂŶĚ ƐƵďƐŝƐƟŶŐ ǁĞĂŬ ďĂůĂŶĐĞ ƐŚĞĞƚƐ ŝŶ ŽƚŚĞƌ D ĞĐŽŶŽŵŝĞƐ͖ ĂŶĚ 'ĞŽƉŽůŝƟĐĂů ƚĞŶƐŝŽŶƐ ĂŶĚ ƚĞƌƌŽƌŝƐŵ ĂƐ ǁĞůů ĂƐ ĚŽŵĞƐƟĐ ƉŽůŝƟĐĂů ĚŝƐĐŽƌĚ͘

WŽůŝƟĐĂů WŽƉƵůŝƐŵ ĂƐ ƚŚĞ EĞǁ WƌŝŶĐŝƉĂů 'ůŽďĂů ZŝƐŬ ͞WŽƉƵůŝƐŵ͟ ŚĂƐ ďĞĐŽŵĞ ƚŚĞ ŵŽƐƚ ƉŽƉƵůĂƌ ďƵnjnjǁŽƌĚ ƵƐĞĚ ŝŶ ĂŶĂůLJƐŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ŐĞŽƉŽůŝƟĐĂů ĞŶǀŝƌŽŶŵĞŶƚ ŝŶ ƌĞĐĞŶƚ ƟŵĞƐ͕ ƚŚĂŶŬƐ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ĞŵĞƌŐĞŶĐĞ ŽĨ ƉŽůŝƟĐŝĂŶƐ ĂŶĚ ƉĂƌƟĞƐ ĐĂůůŝŶŐ ĨŽƌ ŶĞǁ ƉŽůŝƟĐĂů ĞƐƚĂďůŝƐŚŵĞŶƚƐ ǁŚŝůƐƚ ĂƉƉĞĂůŝŶŐ ƚŽ ŶĂƟŽŶĂůŝƐƚ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚƐ͘ WŽƉƵůŝƐŵ ŚĂƐ ƚŚƵƐ ďĞĐŽŵĞ Ă ŵĂũŽƌ ĨŽƌĐĞ ŝŶŇƵĞŶĐŝŶŐ ƐŽĐŝŽ ĞĐŽŶŽŵŝĐ ƉŽůŝĐŝĞƐ ĂŶĚ ƌĞƐŚĂƉŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ŐůŽďĂů ůĂŶĚƐĐĂƉĞ ĨƌŽŵ ƚŚĞ ƉŽƉƵůŝƐƚ ĐĂƵƐĞƐ ǁŚŝĐŚ ĚƌŽǀĞ ƚŚĞ ƌĞdžŝƚ ŵŽǀĞŵĞŶƚ͕ ƚŽ WƌĞƐŝĚĞŶƚ dƌƵŵƉ͛Ɛ ǀŝĐƚŽƌLJ Ăƚ ƚŚĞ h^ ĞůĞĐƟŽŶƐ͕ ƚŽ WŽĚĞŵŽƐ͕ ƚŚĞ ƉŽƉƵůŝƐƚ ^ƉĂŶŝƐŚ ƉĂƌƚLJ ǁŚŝĐŚ ŐĂŝŶĞĚ ƉŽƉƵůĂƌŝƚLJ ŝŶ ϮϬϭϱ͕ ƚŽ 'ĞĞƌƚ tŝůĚĞƌƐ͕ ƚŚĞ ƵƚĐŚ ƉŽůŝƟĐŝĂŶ ǁŚŽ ůĞĚ ƚŚĞ WĂƌƚLJ ĨŽƌ &ƌĞĞĚŽŵ ƚŽ ŵŽƵŶƚ Ă ĐŚĂůůĞŶŐĞ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ϮϬϭϳ ƵƚĐŚ ĞůĞĐƟŽŶƐ͘ dŚĞ ƉƌĞǀĂŝůŝŶŐ ĞdžƉůĂŶĂƟŽŶ ĨŽƌ ƚŚŝƐ ŶĞǁ ƵƉƌŝƐŝŶŐ ŝƐ ǁŝĚĞůLJ ďĞůŝĞǀĞĚ ƚŽ ŚĂǀĞ ƐƚĞŵŵĞĚ ĨƌŽŵ ǁŝĚĞŶŝŶŐ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ ŝŶĞƋƵĂůŝƚLJ͕ ŝŶŇƵdž ŽĨ ŝůůĞŐĂů ŝŵŵŝŐƌĂŶƚƐ ĂŶĚ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞĚ ƚĞƌƌŽƌŝƐƚ ĂƩĂĐŬƐ ŝŶ ƵƌŽƉĞ ĂŶĚ ŵĞƌŝĐĂ͘ dŚĞ ƌŝƐŬ ŽĨ ƉŽƉƵůŝƐŵ ŵĂLJ ƐĞĞŵ ƚŽ ŚĂǀĞ ďĞĞŶ ĐŽŶƚĂŝŶĞĚ ŝŶ ϮϬϭϳ͕ ƉĂƌƟĐƵůĂƌůLJ ŝŶ ƵƌŽƉĞ ǁŚĞƌĞ ƚŚĞ EĂƟŽŶĂů &ƌŽŶƚ ;&EͿ ƉĂƌƚLJ ŽĨ &ƌĂŶĐĞ ĂŶĚ WĂƌƚLJ ĨŽƌ &ƌĞĞĚŽŵ ŝŶ EĞƚŚĞƌůĂŶĚƐ ƐƵīĞƌĞĚ ŚƵŵďůŝŶŐ ĞůĞĐƚŽƌĂů ĚĞĨĞĂƚƐ ĨƌŽŵ ŵŽƌĞ ĐĞŶƚƌŝƐƚƐ͛ ĐĂŶĚŝĚĂƚĞƐ Ăƚ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞ ŐĞŶĞƌĂů ĞůĞĐƟŽŶƐ͘ zĞƚ͕ ŵĂŶLJ ĞĐŽŶŽŵŝƐƚƐ ĐŽŶƟŶƵĞ ƚŽ ǀŝĞǁ ƉŽƉƵůŝƐŵ ĂƐ Ă ƉŽƚĞŶƟĂů ĚŽǁŶƐŝĚĞ ƌŝƐŬ ƚŽ ŐƌŽǁƚŚ͘ /Ŷ &ŝƚĐŚ͛Ɛ ůĂƚĞƐƚ ƌĞƉŽƌƚ ŽŶ ͞ƌŝƐŬ ƌĂĚĂƌ͕͟ ƉŽƉƵůŝƐŵ ŝƐ ƐŝŐŚƚĞĚ ŝŶ ϯ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ϱ ďŝŐŐĞƐƚ ƌŝƐŬƐ ĨĂĐŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ŐůŽďĂů ƐĐĞŶĞƌLJ ĂŶĚ ĐƌĞĚŝƚ ŽƵƚůŽŽŬ ŝŶ ϮϬϭϳ͘ dŚĞ ƌĂƟŶŐ ĂŐĞŶĐLJ͛Ɛ ĮƌƐƚ ƐĐĞŶĂƌŝŽ ŝƐ ƚŚĞ ƉŽůŝƟĐĂů ĚŝƐƌƵƉƟŽŶƐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƵƌŽnjŽŶĞ ǁŚŝůƐƚ ƚŚĞ ŽƚŚĞƌ ƚǁŽ ĐŽŶƐŝĚĞƌ Ă ĨĂŝůĞĚ ƌĞdžŝƚ ŶĞŐŽƟĂƟŽŶ ĂŶĚ Ă ƉŽƐƐŝďůĞ ƌĞũĞĐƟŽŶ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ E &d ĚĞĂů͘

'ůŽďĂů ĐŽŶŽŵLJ ŝŶ Ă ^ǁĞĞƚ ^ƉŽƚ ĚĞƐƉŝƚĞ 'ĞŽƉŽůŝƟĐĂů ŽŶĐĞƌŶƐ

WŽůŝĐLJ ƟŐŚƚĞŶŝŶŐ ŚĂƐ ďĞĐŽŵĞ ŶĞĐĞƐƐĂƌLJ ŐŝǀĞŶ ƚŚĂƚ ƵŶĞŵƉůŽLJŵĞŶƚ ƌĂƚĞ ŚĂƐ ĨĂůůĞŶ ǁŝƚŚŝŶ ƌĂŶŐĞ ŽĨ ůŽŶŐĞƌ ƌƵŶ ŶŽƌŵĂů ƌĂƚĞ ŽĨ ϰ͘ϱй ϱ͘Ϭй͕ ǁŚŝůĞ ƉŽƐƐŝďůĞ ĞdžƉĂŶƐŝŽŶĂƌLJ ĮƐĐĂů ƉŽůŝĐŝĞƐ ĐŽƵůĚ ƉƌĞƐƐƵƌĞ /ŶŇĂƟŽŶ ƌĂƚĞ ĂďŽǀĞ Ϯ͘Ϭй ƚĂƌŐĞƚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ŶĞĂƌ ƚĞƌŵ͘ ŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶƚůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ h^ &ĞĚ ƌĂŝƐĞĚ ŝƚƐ ďĞŶĐŚŵĂƌŬ ƌĂƚĞ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ƚŚŝƌĚ ƟŵĞ ŝŶ Ɛŝdž ŵŽŶƚŚƐ Ăƚ ŝƚƐ :ƵŶĞ ϮϬϭϳ &KD ŵĞĞƟŶŐ ǁŚŝůƐƚ ŵĂŝŶƚĂŝŶŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ƉŽƐƐŝďŝůŝƚLJ ŽĨ ŽŶĞ ŵŽƌĞ ƌĂƚĞ ŚŝŬĞ ĚƵƌŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ LJĞĂƌ͕ ƉƵƫŶŐ ǀƵůŶĞƌĂďůĞ DƐ Ăƚ ƚŚĞ ƌŝƐŬ ŽĨ ĐĂƉŝƚĂů ŇŽǁ ƌĞǀĞƌƐĂůƐ͘ ĞƐƉŝƚĞ ƚŚĞƐĞ ĐŽŶƐŝĚĞƌĂƟŽŶƐ͕ ƚŚĞ :ƵŶĞ ϮϬϭϳ ƌĂƚĞ ŚŝŬĞ ďLJ ƚŚĞ &ĞĚ ĂŶĚ ƉƌŽƚĞĐƟŽŶŝƐŵ ƌŚĞƚŽƌŝĐ ĨƌŽŵ ƚŚĞ h^ ŚĂǀĞ ĨĂŝůĞĚ ƚŽ ĚĞůŝǀĞƌ ƚŚĞ ĂŶƟĐŝƉĂƚĞĚ ďůŽǁ ƚŽ ĂƐƐĞƚ ƉƌŝĐĞƐ ŝŶ DƐ ǁŚŝĐŚ ĐŽŶƟŶƵĞ ƚŽ ĞŶũŽLJ ďƌŽĂĚ ďĂƐĞĚ ĐLJĐůŝĐĂů ƌĞĐŽǀĞƌLJ ĨƌŽŵ ƚŚĞ ĚŽǁŶƚƵƌŶ ŝŶ ϮϬϭϱ͘ ƋƵŝƚLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚƐ ŝŶ Ɛ ĂƌĞ ĂůƐŽ ĞŶũŽLJŝŶŐ Ă ƉƌŽůŽŶŐĞĚ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ŵŽŵĞŶƚƵŵ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ďĞƩĞƌ ŐƌŽǁƚŚ ƉƌŽƐƉĞĐƚ ĂŶĚ ĞdžƉĞĐƚĂƟŽŶ ŽĨ Ă ƚĂdž ĐƵƚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ h^͘ Ɛ Ă ƌĞƐƵůƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŐĞŶĞƌĂů ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ͕ D^ / ĞƋƵŝƟĞƐ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ŚĂǀĞ ŵĂŝŶƚĂŝŶĞĚ ĂŶ ƵƉǁĂƌĚ ŵŽǀĞŵĞŶƚ ƐŝŶĐĞ ƚŚĞ ƐƚĂƌƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ LJĞĂƌ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ D^ / ŵĞƌŐŝŶŐ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ;D^ / DͿ ŝŶĚĞdž ŽƵƚƉĞƌĨŽƌŵŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ &ƌŽŶƟĞƌ ;D^ / &DͿ ĂŶĚ tŽƌůĚ ;D^ / t Ϳ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ͘ dŚĞ D^ / D ŚĂƐ ƌĞƚƵƌŶĞĚ Ϯϳ͘ϴй zd ;ϭϱͬϬϵͬϮϬϭϳͿ ĂƐ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ĐŽŶƟŶƵĞĚ ƚŽ ƚĂŬĞ ĂĚǀĂŶƚĂŐĞ ŽĨ ĐŚĞĂƉ ĂƐƐĞƚ ƉƌŝĐĞƐ ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ D^ / &D ƉŝĐŬĞĚ ƵƉ ĚƵƌŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ LJĞĂƌ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ Ă ƌĞďŽƵŶĚ ŝŶ EŝŐĞƌŝĂ͕ ƌĞƚƵƌŶŝŶŐ ;нϭϴ͘ϰйͿ͘ dŚĞ D^ / t ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ;нϭϯ͘ϱйͿ zd ͘ :ƵĚŐŝŶŐ ďLJ ƚŚĞ ďƌŽĂĚ ďĂƐĞĚ ƌĂůůLJ ŝŶ ĂƐƐĞƚ ƉƌŝĐĞƐ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ ƌĞŐŝŽŶƐ͕ ŝƚ ǁŽƵůĚ ƐĞĞŵ ŵĂƌŬĞƚƐ ŚĂǀĞ ĂůƌĞĂĚLJ ƉƌŝĐĞĚ h^ &ĞĚ ƉŽůŝĐLJ ƟŐŚƚĞŶŝŶŐ ŝŶƚŽ ǀĂůƵĂƟŽŶ ďƵƚ Ă ĨĂƐƚĞƌ ƚŚĂŶ ĞdžƉĞĐƚĞĚ ƟŐŚƚĞŶŝŶŐ ĐŽƵůĚ ĂůƚĞƌ ƚŚĞ ŵŽŵĞŶƚƵŵ͘

,ĂƐ ƚŚĞ Kŝů DĂƌŬĞƚ &ŝŶĂůůLJ dƵƌŶĞĚ͍ dŚĞ ƐŚĂůĞ Žŝů ƌĞǀŽůƵƟŽŶ ŚĂƐ ĐŽŶƟŶƵĞĚ ƚŽ ŵĂŬĞ ŚĞĂĚůŝŶĞƐ ĂƐ ƚŚĞ h^ ĞĐŽŶŽŵLJ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞƐ ƚŽǁĂƌĚƐ ƐĞůĨ ƐƵĸĐŝĞŶĐLJ ĚƌŝǀĞŶ ďLJ Ă ƐŚĂůĞ ƉƌŽĚƵĐƟŽŶ ŵ͘ dŚŝƐ ƐƵĐĐĞƐƐ ŚĂƐ ƐŽŵĞǁŚĂƚ ƵŶĚĞƌŵŝŶĞĚ KW ͛Ɛ ƉƌŝĐŝŶŐ ƉŽǁĞƌ ǁŚŝĐŚ ŝŶ ƚƵƌŶ ŚĂƐ ůĞĚ ƚŽ Ă ƐůƵŵƉ ŝŶ ŐůŽďĂů Žŝů ƉƌŝĐĞƐ ƐŝŶĐĞ ŵŝĚ ϮϬϭϰ ǁŝƚŚ Ă ĚĞǀĂƐƚĂƟŶŐ ŝŵƉĂĐƚ ŽŶ ǀƵůŶĞƌĂďůĞ Žŝů ĞdžƉŽƌƟŶŐ ĐŽƵŶƚƌŝĞƐ͘ KW ĂŶĚ EŽŶ KW ŵĞŵďĞƌƐ͛ ĞīŽƌƚƐ ƚŽ ƌĞďĂůĂŶĐĞ ƚŚĞ Žŝů ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďLJ ǁĂLJ ŽĨ Ă ĐĂƉ ŽŶ ƉƌŽĚƵĐƟŽŶ ǀŽůƵŵĞƐ ŚĂǀĞ LJŝĞůĚĞĚ ůĞƐƐ ƚŚĂŶ ĞdžƉĞĐƚĞĚ ďĞŶĞĮƚƐ͘ dŚĞ ĂŐƌĞĞŵĞŶƚ ǁŚŝĐŚ ĐŽŵƉƌŝƐĞĚ ϭ͘ϴŵďͬĚ ;Ϯ͘Ϭй ŽĨ ŐůŽďĂů ƉƌŽĚƵĐƟŽŶͿ ĐƵƚ ŝŶ ƉƌŽĚƵĐƟŽŶ ǀŽůƵŵĞƐ ŚĂƐ ƐĞĞŶ Žŝů ƉƌŝĐĞ ĂǀĞƌĂŐĞ h^ΨϱϮ͘ϯ ƐŝŶĐĞ ƚŚĞ ƐƚĂƌƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ LJĞĂƌ ǁŝƚŚ ǁĞĂŬ ƉƌŽƐƉĞĐƚƐ ĨŽƌ Ă ƌĞĐŽǀĞƌLJ͘ dŚĞ tŽƌůĚ ĂŶŬ ŝŶ ŝƚƐ Ɖƌŝů ŽŵŵŽĚŝƚLJ DĂƌŬĞƚ KƵƚůŽŽŬ ĞƐƟŵĂƚĞĚ ĐƌƵĚĞ Žŝů ƉƌŝĐĞ ƚŽ ĂǀĞƌĂŐĞ h^Ψϱϱ͘ϬϬͬď ŝŶ ϮϬϭϳ ĂŶĚ h^ΨϲϬ͘ϬϬͬď ŝŶ ϮϬϭϴ͘ dŚĞ ĂŶŬ ƐŝŐŚƚƐ ŐƌĞĂƚĞƌ ƚŚĂŶ ĞdžƉĞĐƚĞĚ ĐŽŵƉůŝĂŶĐĞ ƚŽ ƉƌŽĚƵĐƟŽŶ ĐƵƚƐ ĂŶĚ ƉƌŽĚƵĐƟŽŶ ĚŝƐƌƵƉƟŽŶƐ ĨƌŽŵ EŝŐĞƌŝĂ ĂŶĚ >ŝďLJĂ ĂƐ ŬĞLJ ĨĂĐƚŽƌƐ ƚŽ ƐƚĂďŝůŝƚLJ

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 3, 2017

ǁŚŝůƐƚ ŚŝŐŚůŝŐŚƟŶŐ ƌŝƐŝŶŐ ŽƵƚƉƵƚ ĨƌŽŵ ƐŚĂůĞ ƉƌŽĚƵĐĞƌƐ ĂƐ ƚŚĞ ďŝŐŐĞƐƚ ƚŚƌĞĂƚ͘ EŽŶĞƚŚĞůĞƐƐ͕ ǁŚŝůĞ ǁŽƌůĚ Žŝů ĚĞŵĂŶĚ ŝƐ ĞdžƉĞĐƚĞĚ ƚŽ ƌŝƐĞ ϭ͘ϯŵďͬĚ͕ ďƌŽĂĚůLJ ĚƌŝǀĞŶ ďLJ ƌŝƐŝŶŐ ĚĞŵĂŶĚ ŝŶ ŶŽŶ K ĞĐŽŶŽŵŝĞƐ ; ƐŝĂ͕ ŚŝŶĂ ĂŶĚ /ŶĚŝĂͿ͕ ƐƵƉƉůLJ ŝƐ ĞƐƟŵĂƚĞĚ ƚŽ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞ Ϭ͘ϱŵďͬĚ ĨƌŽŵ EŽŶ KW ƐŽƵƌĐĞƐ ǁŝƚŚ h^ ƉƌŽĚƵĐĞƌƐ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƟŶŐ ĨŽƌ ϴϬ͘Ϭй ŽĨ ƐƵƉƉůLJ͘ dŚĞ ƐŝŐŶŝĮĐĂŶƚ ĚŽǁŶƐŝĚĞ ƌŝƐŬ ůŝĞƐ ŝŶ Ă ƌĞďĂůĂŶĐŝŶŐ ĨƌŽŵ ĞƌƐƚǁŚŝůĞ ĞdžĞŵƉƚĞĚ KW ĐŽƵŶƚƌŝĞƐ ;>ŝďLJĂ ĂŶĚ EŝŐĞƌŝĂͿ ĂŶĚ ŶŽŶ ĐŽŵƉůŝĂŶĐĞ ƚŽ ƉƌŽĚƵĐƟŽŶ ĐƵƚƐ͘

ǀŽůǀŝŶŐ dƌĞŶĚƐ ŝŶ 'ůŽďĂů ĂŶŬŝŶŐ &ŝŶƚĞĐŚ ZĞǀŽůƵƟŽŶ͕ ZŝƐŬ DĂŶĂŐĞŵĞŶƚ ĂŶĚ ĂŶŬŝŶŐ ZĞŐƵůĂƟŽŶ

^ŝŶĐĞ ϮϬϭϱ͕ ƚŚĞ ŐůŽďĂů ďĂŶŬŝŶŐ ƐLJƐƚĞŵ ŚĂƐ ƐĞĞŶ Ă ǁĂǀĞ ŽĨ ƌĞŐƵůĂƚŽƌLJ ĐŚĂŶŐĞƐ ƚŚĂƚ ŚĂǀĞ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞĚ ƚŚĞ ƐĐŽƉĞ ĂŶĚ ƐƚƌŝŶŐĞŶĐLJ ŽĨ ƌĞŐƵůĂƚŽƌLJ ƌĞƋƵŝƌĞŵĞŶƚƐ ƚŚĂƚ ĨŽůůŽǁĞĚ ƚŚĞ ŐůŽďĂů ĮŶĂŶĐŝĂů ŵĞůƚĚŽǁŶ ŽĨ ϮϬϬϴ͘ ĚĚŝƟŽŶĂůůLJ͕ ǁĞ ĂƌĞ ǁŝƚŶĞƐƐŝŶŐ Ă ƌĞǀŽůƵƟŽŶ ŝŶ ĮŶĂŶĐŝĂů ƚĞĐŚŶŽůŽŐLJ ;&ŝŶdĞĐŚͿ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ ĚĞǀĞůŽƉŵĞŶƚ ŽĨ ŶĞǁ ƚŽŽůƐ ĂŶĚ ƉůĂƞŽƌŵƐ ǁŚŝĐŚ ĂƌĞ ĚŝƐƌƵƉƟŶŐ ƚŚĞ ĮŶĂŶĐŝĂů ƐĞƌǀŝĐĞƐ ƐĞĐƚŽƌ͘ ůƚŚŽƵŐŚ &ŝŶdĞĐŚƐ ŚĂǀĞ ůĂƌŐĞůLJ ŚĂĚ Ă ƌĞƚĂŝů ĨŽĐƵƐ͕ ǁĞ ƚŚŝŶŬ ƚŚĂƚ ƚŚĞ ƚĞĐŚŶŽůŽŐLJ ĚƌŝǀĞŶ ŶŽŶ ďĂŶŬ ĐŽŵƉĂŶŝĞƐ ǁŝůů ĂůƐŽ ĂīĞĐƚ ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐ ƚŽ ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐ ŽƉĞƌĂƟŽŶƐ ŝŶ ƚĞƌŵƐ ŽĨ ĞĸĐŝĞŶĐLJ ĂŶĚ ŶĞǁ ĐĂƉĂďŝůŝƟĞƐ ƚŚĂƚ ĐĂŶ ƐƵƉƉŽƌƚ ƉƌŽĮƚĂďŝůŝƚLJ ŽĨ ĐŽŵƉĂŶŝĞƐ͘ /ƚ ŝƐ ĐůĞĂƌ ƚŚĂƚ ƚŚĞ &ŝŶƚĞĐŚ ƌĞǀŽůƵƟŽŶ ŚĂƐ ƚŚĞ ƉŽƚĞŶƟĂů ƚŽ ƐŚƌŝŶŬ ƚŚĞ ƌŽůĞ ĂŶĚ ƌĞůĞǀĂŶĐĞ ŽĨ ƚƌĂĚŝƟŽŶĂů ďĂŶŬƐ͕ ǁŚŝůĞ ƐŝŵƵůƚĂŶĞŽƵƐůLJ ŚĞůƉŝŶŐ ƚŚĞŵ ĐƌĞĂƚĞ ďĞƩĞƌ͕ ĨĂƐƚĞƌ ĂŶĚ ĐŚĞĂƉĞƌ ƐĞƌǀŝĐĞƐ͘ Ƶƚ &ŝŶdĞĐŚ ĐŽŵƉĂŶŝĞƐ͕ ŝŶ ƐŽŵĞ ĐĂƐĞƐ͕ ŚĂǀĞ ĂůƐŽ ŚĂĚ ƚŽ ƌĞůLJ ŽŶ ďĂŶŬƐ ƚŽ ƉƌŽǀŝĚĞ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ĞŶĚ ŽƉĞƌĂƟŽŶĂů ĂŶĚ ĐŽŵƉůŝĂŶĐĞ ƐƵƉƉŽƌƚ ŶĞĞĚĞĚ ƚŽ ĐĂƌƌLJ ŽƵƚ ƚƌĂŶƐĂĐƟŽŶƐ͘ tŝƚŚ ƚŚŝƐ ŝŶ ŵŝŶĚ͕ ŵĂŶLJ &ŝŶdĞĐŚƐ ĂƌĞ ŶŽǁ ĐŽůůĂďŽƌĂƟŶŐ ǁŝƚŚ ďĂŶŬƐ ƚŚĂƚ ĂƌĞ ǁŝůůŝŶŐ ƚŽ ĞŶŚĂŶĐĞ ƚŚĞŝƌ ĐĂƉĂďŝůŝƟĞƐ ĂŶĚ

ƉƌŽĚƵĐƚƐ͘ tĞ ďĞůŝĞǀĞ ƚŚŝƐ ƐLJŵďŝŽƟĐ ƌĞůĂƟŽŶƐŚŝƉ ǁŝůů ƌĞƐƵůƚ ŝŶ Ă ǁŝŶ ǁŝŶ ŽƵƚĐŽŵĞ ĨŽƌ ďŽƚŚ ƉĂƌƟĞƐ͘ dŚƵƐ͕ Ă ĐŽůůĂďŽƌĂƟǀĞ ĂƉƉƌŽĂĐŚ ĐŽƵůĚ ƌĞĨŽƌŵ ƚŚĞ ďĂŶŬŝŶŐ ŝŶĚƵƐƚƌLJ͕ ƌĞĮŶĞ ƚŚĞ ƋƵĂůŝƚLJ ŽĨ ĮŶĂŶĐŝĂů ƐĞƌǀŝĐĞƐ͕ ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞ ƌŝƐŬ ĂƐƐĞƐƐŵĞŶƚ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞƐ ĂŶĚ ĂůƐŽ ĐƌĞĂƚĞ Ă ŵŽƌĞ ĚŝǀĞƌƐĞ ĂŶĚ ƐƚĂďůĞ ĐƌĞĚŝƚ ůĂŶĚƐĐĂƉĞ͘ dŚĞ ŵĂũŽƌ ĐŽŵƉĞƟƟǀĞ ĞĚŐĞ ŽĨ &ŝŶdĞĐŚƐ ŽǀĞƌ ƚƌĂĚŝƟŽŶĂů ĮŶĂŶĐŝĂů ƐĞƌǀŝĐĞ ĮƌŵƐ ŝƐ ƚŚĂƚ ƚŚĞLJ ŽƉĞƌĂƚĞ ƵŶĚĞƌ ůĞƐƐĞƌ ƌĞŐƵůĂƚŽƌLJ ƐĐƌƵƟŶLJ ĂŶĚ ǁŝƚŚŽƵƚ ƉƌƵĚĞŶƟĂů ůŝŵŝƚƐ͖ ƚŚƵƐ ĂďůĞ ƚŽ ĨƌĞĞůLJ ŝŶŶŽǀĂƚĞ ĂŶĚ ƚŚƌŝǀĞ ǁŝƚŚ ůĞƐƐ ƌĞŐƵůĂƚŽƌLJ ďƵƌĚĞŶ͘ EĞǀĞƌƚŚĞůĞƐƐ͕ ƚŚŝƐ ŝƐ ĞdžƉĞĐƚĞĚ ƚŽ ĐŚĂŶŐĞ ĂƐ ŐůŽďĂů ƌĞŐƵůĂƚŽƌƐ ďĞŐŝŶ ƚŽ ĞdžĂŵŝŶĞ ƚŚĞ ŝŵƉĂĐƚ ŽĨ &ŝŶdĞĐŚƐ ŽŶ ĮŶĂŶĐŝĂů ƌĞŐƵůĂƟŽŶƐ͘ dŚĞ h^ KĸĐĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŽŵƉƚƌŽůůĞƌ ŽĨ ƵƌƌĞŶĐLJ ;K Ϳ ĂŶŶŽƵŶĐĞĚ ƚŚĂƚ ŝƚ ǁŽƵůĚ ĚĞǀĞůŽƉ Ă ƉƌŽĐĞƐƐ ĨŽƌ ŝƐƐƵŝŶŐ ůŝŵŝƚĞĚ ƐƉĞĐŝĂů ƉƵƌƉŽƐĞ ŶĂƟŽŶĂů ďĂŶŬ ůŝĐĞŶƐĞƐ ĨŽƌ &ŝŶdĞĐŚ ĮƌŵƐ ĂŶĚ ƐƵďũĞĐƚ ƚŚĞŵ ƚŽ ƉƌƵĚĞŶƟĂů ƐƵƉĞƌǀŝƐŝŽŶ͘ /Ŷ ƵƌŽƉĞ͕ ƚŚĞ &ŝŶĂŶĐŝĂů ^ƚĂďŝůŝƚLJ ŽĂƌĚ ;&^ Ϳ ŝƐ ĨŽĐƵƐĞĚ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ƉŽƚĞŶƟĂů ƌŝƐŬƐ ĂŶĚ ďĞŶĞĮƚƐ ƚŽ ĮŶĂŶĐŝĂů ƐƚĂďŝůŝƚLJ ŽĨ &ŝŶdĞĐŚƐ͕ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ ĞƐƚĂďůŝƐŚŵĞŶƚ ŽĨ ĂŶ ŝŶƚĞƌŶĂů ƚĂƐŬ ĨŽƌĐĞ ŽŶ ĮŶĂŶĐŝĂů ƚĞĐŚŶŽůŽŐLJ ƚŽ ƉƌŽĚƵĐĞ ƉŽůŝĐLJ ƌĞĐŽŵŵĞŶĚĂƟŽŶƐ ŝŶ ϮϬϭϳ͘ /Ŷ ƚŚĞ ƐŝĂŶ ƌĞŐŝŽŶ͕ ŵĂŶLJ ĂƵƚŚŽƌŝƟĞƐ ŚĂǀĞ ƚĂŬĞŶ Ă ͞ƌĞŐƵůĂƚŽƌLJ ƐĂŶĚďŽdž͟ ĂƉƉƌŽĂĐŚ ƚŚĂƚ ĂůůŽǁƐ &ŝŶdĞĐŚ ĮƌŵƐ ƚŽ ĐĂƌƌLJ ŽƵƚ ƚŚĞŝƌ ĂĐƟǀŝƟĞƐ ŝŶ Ă ŵŽƌĞ ƌĞůĂdžĞĚ ƌĞŐƵůĂƚŽƌLJ ĞŶǀŝƌŽŶŵĞŶƚ͘ dŚĞ ^ŝŶŐĂƉŽƌĞĂŶ ĂƵƚŚŽƌŝƚLJ ƉůĂŶƐ ƚŽ ĐŽŶƐƵůƚ ŽŶ ĂůŐŽƌŝƚŚŵƐ ĨŽƌ ƌŽďŽ ĂĚǀŝƐĞƌƐ͕ ĞƐƚĂďůŝƐŚŝŶŐ Ă ŶĂƟŽŶĂů ͞ŬŶŽǁ LJŽƵƌ ĐƵƐƚŽŵĞƌ͟ ƵƟůŝƚLJ ĂŶĚ ƉĂƌƚŶĞƌŝŶŐ ǁŝƚŚ Zϯ͕ Ă ĚŝƐƚƌŝďƵƚĞĚ ĚĂƚĂďĂƐĞ ƚĞĐŚŶŽůŽŐLJ ĐŽŵƉĂŶLJ ƚŽ ĚĞǀĞůŽƉ ďůŽĐŬ ĐŚĂŝŶ͘ tĞ ĞdžƉĞĐƚ ƚŽ ƐĞĞ ĨƵƌƚŚĞƌ ŝŶƚĞŶƐĞ ƌĞŐƵůĂƟŽŶ ŽĨ &ŝŶdĞĐŚƐ͕ ǁŚŝĐŚ ĐŽƵůĚ ƐƉƵƌ ŐƌĞĂƚĞƌ ĐŽůůĂďŽƌĂƟŽŶ ďĞƚǁĞĞŶ ƚŚĞŵ ĂŶĚ ƚƌĂĚŝƟŽŶĂů ĮŶĂŶĐŝĂů ƐĞƌǀŝĐĞ ƉƌŽǀŝĚĞƌƐ͘

ŽƵůĚ ƚŚĞ ͞'ůĂƐƐ ^ƚĞĂŐĂůů Đƚ͟ DĂŬĞ ŝƚƐ tĂLJ ĂĐŬ ƚŽ ƌĞĂŬ ƵƉ ŝŐ ĂŶŬƐ͍ ^ŝŶĐĞ ƚŚĞ ƵŶĞdžƉĞĐƚĞĚ ǀŝĐƚŽƌLJ ŽĨ WƌĞƐŝĚĞŶƚ dƌƵŵƉ Ăƚ ƚŚĞ h^ ĞůĞĐƟŽŶƐ͕ ƚĂůŬƐ ŽĨ ƌĞŝŶƐƚĂƟŶŐ ƚŚĞ 'ůĂƐƐ ^ƚĞĂŐĂůů Đƚ ŚĂǀĞ ƌĞƐƵƌĨĂĐĞĚ͕ ǁŝƚŚ ĂŶ ŝŶŝƟĂů ĚƌĂŌ ŽĨ Ă ͞ϮϭƐƚ ĞŶƚƵƌLJ͟ ǀĞƌƐŝŽŶ ďŝůů ĂůƌĞĂĚLJ ŝŶŝƟĂƚĞĚ

ďLJ ƌĂŶŬŝŶŐ ŵĞŵďĞƌƐ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ZĞƉƵďůŝĐĂŶ ĂŶĚ ĞŵŽĐƌĂƟĐ ƉĂƌƟĞƐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ h^ ^ĞŶĂƚĞ͘ dŚĞ ŶĞǁ ďŝůů͕ Ă ŵŽĚĞƌŶ ĨŽƌŵ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ Đƚ ǁŚŝĐŚ ǁĂƐ ĮƌƐƚ ƉĂƐƐĞĚ ŝŶ ϭϵϯϯ ďƵƚ ƉĂƌƟĂůůLJ ƌĞƉĞĂůĞĚ ŝŶ ϭϵϵϵ͕ ǁŝůů ƐĞĞŬ ƚŽ ƐĞƉĂƌĂƚĞ ĐŽŵŵĞƌĐŝĂů ďĂŶŬŝŶŐ ĨƌŽŵ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŵĞŶƚ ďĂŶŬƐ͕ ŚĞĚŐĞ ĨƵŶĚƐ͕ ŝŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ĂŶĚ ƉƌŝǀĂƚĞ ĞƋƵŝƚLJ ĂĐƟǀŝƟĞƐ ǁŝƚŚŝŶ Ă ĮǀĞ LJĞĂƌ ƚƌĂŶƐŝƟŽŶ ƉĞƌŝŽĚ͘ dŚƵƐ͕ ͚ƚŽŽ ďŝŐ ƚŽ ĨĂŝů͛ ďĂŶŬƐ ǁŝůů ďĞ ĨŽƌĐĞĚ ƚŽ ƐŚƌŝŶŬ ŝŶ ƐŝnjĞ͕ ŵĂŬŝŶŐ ƚŚĞŵ ŵŽƌĞ ƐĞĐƵƌĞ ĨŽƌ ĚĞƉŽƐŝƚŽƌƐ ĂŶĚ ƌĞĚƵĐŝŶŐ ƐLJƐƚĞŵŝĐ ĮŶĂŶĐŝĂů ƐĞĐƚŽƌ ƌŝƐŬƐ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ĞĐŽŶŽŵLJ͘ dŽ ƉĂǀĞ ƚŚĞ ǁĂLJ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ďŝůů͕ ƚŚĞ h^ WƌĞƐŝĚĞŶƚ ŚĂƐ ƌĞƉĞĂƚĞĚůLJ ĐŽŶĚĞŵŶĞĚ ƚŚĞ ŽĚĚ &ƌĂŶŬ Đƚ͕ ƚŚĞ ŵĂƐƐŝǀĞ ƉŝĞĐĞ ŽĨ ůĞŐŝƐůĂƟŽŶ ƉĂƐƐĞĚ ďLJ ŚŝƐ ƉƌĞĚĞĐĞƐƐŽƌ͛Ɛ ĂĚŵŝŶŝƐƚƌĂƟŽŶ ĂŶĚ ŝŶ &ĞďƌƵĂƌLJ͕ ŚĞ ŝƐƐƵĞĚ ĂŶ ĞdžĞĐƵƟǀĞ ŽƌĚĞƌ ŝŶƐƚƌƵĐƟŶŐ ƚŚĞ dƌĞĂƐƵƌLJ ĞƉĂƌƚŵĞŶƚ ƚŽ ƌĞǀŝĞǁ ĮŶĂŶĐŝĂů ƌĞŐƵůĂƟŽŶƐ͘ ůƚŚŽƵŐŚ ƌĞƉĞĂůŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ŽĚĚ &ƌĂŶŬ Đƚ ǁŽƵůĚ ůŝŬĞůLJ ďĞ ŝŵƉŽƐƐŝďůĞ ǁŝƚŚŽƵƚ ƐŽŵĞ ĞŵŽĐƌĂƟĐ ƐƵƉƉŽƌƚ͕ ƚŚĞ dƌƵŵƉ ĂĚŵŝŶŝƐƚƌĂƟŽŶ ĐŽƵůĚ ŵĂŬĞ ƐƵďƐƚĂŶƟĂů ƌĞŐƵůĂƚŽƌLJ ĐŚĂŶŐĞƐ ďLJ ǁŽƌŬŝŶŐ ǁŝƚŚŝŶ ƚŚĞ ůŝŵŝƚƐ ŽĨ ĞdžŝƐƟŶŐ ůĞŐŝƐůĂƟŽŶ͘ ZĞƉĞĂůŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ŽĚĚ &ƌĂŶŬ Đƚ ĞŶƟƌĞůLJ ĂƐ ƉĂƌƚ ŽĨ dƌƵŵƉ͛Ɛ ƉůĂŶ ǁŝůů ŚĂǀĞ ƚŽ ǁĂŝƚ ƵŶƟů ^ĞŶĂƚĞ ZĞƉƵďůŝĐĂŶƐ ŚĂǀĞ ƚŚĞ ŽƉƉŽƌƚƵŶŝƚLJ ƚŽ ƉŝĐŬ ƵƉ ŵŽƌĞ ƐĞĂƚƐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ϮϬϭϴ ĞůĞĐƟŽŶƐ͘ ůƚŚŽƵŐŚ ƚŚĞ ƉƌŽďĂďŝůŝƚLJ ŽĨ Ă ŶĞǁ 'ůĂƐƐ ^ƚĞĂŐĂůů ŝƐ ůŽǁ͕ ƚŚĞ ĮŶĂŶĐŝĂů ŝŶĚƵƐƚƌLJ ŝƐ ĂůƌĞĂĚLJ ƉƌĞƉĂƌŝŶŐ ĨŽƌ Ă ǁŽƌƐƚ ĐĂƐĞ ƐĐĞŶĂƌŝŽ ǁŚŝůĞ ĮƌŵƐ ĐŽŶƟŶƵĞ ƚŽ ǁĂƌŶ ƚŚĂƚ Ă ƌĞƚƵƌŶ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ĞƌĂ ǁŽƵůĚ ŚƵƌƚ ďĂŶŬƐ ĂŶĚ ƚŚĞ ĞĐŽŶŽŵLJ͘

/ŶǀŝƐŝďůĞ ĂŶŬƐ͗ ƵŝůĚŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ĂŶŬ ŽĨ ϮϬϯϬ ĂŶĚ ĞLJŽŶĚ ŝŐŝƚĂů ƚĞĐŚŶŽůŽŐŝĞƐ ĂŶĚ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ĂŶĂůLJƟĐƐ ƉŽƐƐĞƐƐ ƚŚĞ ĐĂƉĂďŝůŝƟĞƐ ŽĨ ĐƌĞĂƟŶŐ ƚŚĞ ŝŶǀŝƐŝďůĞ ďĂŶŬ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ĨƵƚƵƌĞ͘ dŚĞ ƌĂƚĞ Ăƚ ǁŚŝĐŚ ĐƵƐƚŽŵĞƌƐ ǀŝƐŝƚ ďĂŶŬƐ ŬĞĞƉƐ ƌĞĚƵĐŝŶŐ͕ ŽǁŝŶŐ ƚŽ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞŵĞŶƚƐ ŝŶ ĚŝŐŝƚĂů ďĂŶŬŝŶŐ ƚĞĐŚŶŽůŽŐLJ͘ ĞƉŽƐŝƚƐ͕ ďŽƌƌŽǁŝŶŐƐ͕ ƉĂLJŵĞŶƚƐ ĂŶĚ ƚƌĂŶƐĨĞƌƐ ĂƌĞ ŶŽǁ ĞdžĞĐƵƚĞĚ ǁŝƚŚŽƵƚ ƉŚLJƐŝĐĂů ŝŶƚĞƌĂĐƟŽŶ ďƵƚ ǀŝĂ ŽŶůŝŶĞ ŵĞĚŝƵŵƐ ĂŶĚ ŵŽďŝůĞ ĚĞǀŝĐĞƐ͘ /ŶǀŝƐŝďůĞ ďĂŶŬƐ ǁŝůů ďĞ ĂďůĞ ƚŽ ŝŶƚĞŐƌĂƚĞ ƐĞĂŵůĞƐƐůLJ ǁŝƚŚ Ă ĐŽŶƐƵŵĞƌ͛Ɛ ĞǀĞƌLJĚĂLJ ůŝĨĞ ĂƐ Ă

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27

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 3, 2017

TRAVEL

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

As South Africa’s Kaya FM Promises to Help Stimulate Travel to Nigeria…

Demola Ojo

R

ecently, a delegation from South Africa’s Kaya 95.9 FM visited Nigeria in what CEO Greg Maloka described as “a bid to know our backyard a little better.” Maloka and his team spent the better part of a week in Lagos where among other activities, they were hosted to lunch at the Lagos Motorboat Club, Ikoyi, by the Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation’s ‘Tour Nigeria’ brand.

Kaya FM is the biggest independent radio station in Guateng, South Africa’s most populous province which includes Johannesburg, Pretoria and other cities, and reflects the experiences of the predominantly black, urban listener between the ages 25 to 49 living in the province.

The decades-long apartheid policy previously practiced by European minorities in South Africa meant the country was isolated from the comity of nations including neighboring African countries for years.

So despite over two decades of democratic rule, the process of assimilation for South Africa and its citizens into the international is still ongoing.

Currently, many South Africans still say they are “going to Africa” whenever they step out of their borders and travel to neighboring countries.

According to Maloka,“To accept you’re part of a continent, you need to understand the continent not just by geography, but its heart.”

And rather than depend on Western media for news and happenings in Nigeria, the Kaya FM team decided to discover Nigeria by themselves and give first-hand information to their considerably large base of listeners.

With one million weekly views on Youtube, Kaya FM is in a great position to help advance South Africa’s integration with the rest of the continent.

“Our responsibility is to shape people’s opinions and where there is prejudice, to change people’s opinion as well,” Maloka revealed.

Already, there’s a healthy business relationship between Nigeria and South Africa, with many South African brands now household names in Nigeria. On the leisure front however, the trend has been for Nigerian travellers to explore the tourism attractions that the South African economy hugely benefits from.

However, the visit of Kaya FM executives is an indication that South Africans are curious about – and willing to explore – Nigeria and its unique culture expressed through film, music, art, fashion, food and more. This coincides with a renewed drive by the Nigerian government to explore tourism as a vehicle for economic empowerment.

“We were able to venture out by ourselves. This is not such a structured visit,” Maloka explained against the backdrop of negative perceptions regarding security peddled by some sections of the Western media.

NTDC DG, Folorunsho Coker presenting sourvenirs to Kaya FM CEO, Greg Maloka “A lot of South Africans are coming on a steady basis and are clued into the vibrancy of Lagos,”he explained going further to enunciate the team’s appreciation for Nigeria’s culinary offerings, including the sumptuous dishes on offer at the Boat Club.

There was a special mention for the Nok by Alara restaurant in Victoria. The team was so impressed, they had to go back for more.

Reflecting on the uniqueness of Africa’s most populous country, Maloka noted that“everything in Nigeria is Nigerian” and the citizens need to be proud of that. “If you ask a South African what is really South African, we struggle.”

Leading on from that, the team was asked to point out the uniquely Nigerian attributes that would attract a tourist from South Africa.

“I am no tourism expert but what I would say is that we have an opportunity to create a totally new way of selling Africa,” Maloka proffered.

“If we take the Western way which has always been in existence, we are not going to win because

it isn’t our system and because it is infrastructure based, like selling a beach, selling a hotel, selling tangible things that people touch and feel.

“It will be very difficult to sell infrastructure.

What we have to sell is the soul of a place.

How do you package the soul of a nation and present it? I don’t want to come to Nigeria to come and view the buildings, or drive on the highways but I want to come to Nigeria because I want to be Nigerian for a week.

“I want to leave with a new name like ‘Oga Chairman’. I want to leave with new clothes (I had these made here). I want to leave with new friends, new memories. If I meet anyone of you anywhere in the world, I need to be able to be Nigerian with you because I have lived with you, rather than visit your infrastructure.”

For him and the rest of the team, leaving with the conversations, with dance, with music, with culture, with artefacts, are the things that make memories indelible.

Ethiopian Airlines Puts Lufthansa Reveals Details B-787-9 on Beijing Route of new Business Class Ethiopian Airlines has announced that its second B-787-9 aircraft named after the Chinese capital city Beijing, has made its maiden commercial flight to Beijing. Onboard the new Ethiopian game changing fleet, passengers have enjoyed its unique features such as the biggest windows in the sky, a high ceiling, less noise, distinctive lighting, and higher air humidity at 40 000 feet.

Ethiopian is among the veteran carriers that started serving the People’s Republic of China back in the early 1970’s, which has translated into a flourishing commercial and bilateral cooperation between the continent of Africa

and China.

Currently, Ethiopian operates 30 weekly scheduled flights through its five gateways in China: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Chengdu.

Ethiopian is supporting China’s Belt and Road Initiative with its extensive and convenient network of passenger and cargo connectivity in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe.

Beijing is a city with profound history and tourist sites such as the Great Wall, the Palace Museum and the Temple of Heaven. Apart from these famous historical sites, Beijing is also a political and cultural centre for China.

German carrier Lufthansa has revealed more details of the new business class seat which will debut on its B777-9 aircraft from 2020. The seat will offer direct aisle access for all passengers.

The airline has now provided more details about the product, which will offer a fully flat bed of “up to 220cm” in length.

As earlier revealed, the layout of the new business class cabin will be a staggered 1-2-1 / 1-1-1 configuration, resulting in impressive looking“throne seats”in the middle of the 1-1-1 rows.

But there will be a trade-off – it seems that these middle seats, while offering more personal / desk space, will have a shorter, (as yet undisclosed) bed length.

In a press release Lufthansa said:

“Depending on their personal needs, passengers can choose between a number of spatial configurations. For instance, they can choose to have an extended-length bed or a seat with twice as much desk space.”

The carrier also said that the new seat will feature“a significantly increased amount of personal space, more privacy, as well as generous storage compartments and flat surfaces.”

It has also highlighted the back rest of the new seat, the construction of which it says“makes it possible for the shoulder to sink in when you are lying on your side”.

“This keeps the spine straight and makes it possible for side sleepers to also benefit from ideally healthy and relaxing sleep,” the release adds.

There is a thirst for more things Nigerian in South Africa, according to the delegation. So despite Nigerian music ruling the airwaves in South Africa, there’s room for more.

“We play a lot more Nigerian music now than we did before. We’ve played so much of it, we’ve started to want something else within the Nigerian space. For instance, I want the jazz scene of Nigeria.

I don’t know it.

“If In represent a station like Kaya that has jazz as its essence, and someone from New York came to me and said, ‘tell me what the Nigerian jazz scene is like’, I would be lost. We would like to see other forms and other genres of music from Nigeria.”

The Kaya tour of Lagos could not have come at the better time, ahead of the Christmas celebrations which Lagos – the entertainment capital of Africa – is famous for. With conducive weather in December and a medley of concerts featuring Nigeria’s topmost entertainers (who also double as the continent’s leading lights), December is a great time for other African’s to feel the city’s pulse.

David O’Sullivian, a member of Kaya’s delegation to Nigeria said; “We are here on a voyage of discovery, a voyage of obtaining firsthand information for a better perspective. A voyage that will lead to perception modification and correction.”

Brenda Modibane, the station’s Business Development and Marketing Manager, pointed out: “From my short stay in Nigeria, it is evident that South–Africans have a lot to see, to gain and to learn from Nigeria . Our incursion into this wonderful country is an eye opener to the vast opportunities open for South – Africans which we shall properly market to them.”

The Director General of the NTDC, Folorunso Folarin-Coker said “It takes a great mind to understand the socio-cultural international conspiracy against Africa which is being perpetrated through some intercontinental mega media. It is also a matter of great valour for another media giant to rise swiftly and embark on positive intra-continental perception reengineering that is of sustainable mutual benefit.

“On this, I give a warm African kudos and salute to Kaya FM 95.9 for rising stoutly in a rare Pan African information balancing stride between two most distinguished African countries,’’ he said.

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A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

03.12.2017

SAM ONYEMELUKWE

THE HELMSAMN OF TRACE NAIJA

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Onyemelukwe (r) with a business partner

SAM ONYEMELUKWE

THE HELMSAMN OF TRACE NAIJA From the ashes of his failed attempts to become a musician and visual artist, Sam Onyemelukwe picked up the pieces of his shattered dreams and smoothed over the cracked edges to discover a competitive edge that retained his show business vision in a managerial capacity. Nseobong Okon-Ekong and Vanessa Obioha report

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lthough, he has many celebrities in the entertainment business eating out of his palms, Sam Onyemelukwe can walk into a crowd-filled hall and not cause a stir.

His appearance is not enhanced by the fact that he wears his fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1960s wristwatch like a talisman. Of course, he is not a musician, even if he confessed that he once romanticized with the idea of playing music; becoming a session man with a few groups, his better judgement told him when to take a walk. He acknowledged that the guys around him exhibited better skills on the musical instruments. Call him a failed musician, Sam will just smile and take it in his stride. It does not matter if many do not swoon at his presence or ask for an autograph like they would from their favourite idol. Like him or not, one thing is sure, he stands out with his fair complexion and his signature smile like a slice of watermelon.

You may even confuse his provenance with that of the popular Onyemelukwes in Anambra State. However, he comes from a different specie. His father was a hardworking engineer while his mother is an American.

This does not imply that Onyemelukwe is just another ordinary guy. Not at all. Those in the media and entertainment industries recognise him as the helms man at the new popular Trace Naija music channel on DStv. The new station emerged a station with a peculiar Nigerian character that is quite distinct from Trace Urban which still airs in South Africa and the French-speaking African nations.

Onyemelukweâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s little tolerance for the glamorous lifestyle of showbiz is not sanctimonious in any way. It is an old habit he picked up from his dad who he descriped in an interview as not the flashy type.

Apart from this, his inclination is towards the business of creativity. He knows better to remain with his strong point and not be bothered with the glamour that accompanies show business. In some way, he is not hot on the show because he actually stumbled upon the profession

As a young lad, Onyemelukwe set out to be an artist completely unaware that providence had charted another path for him. It was while studying Arts at the University of Southern California - a popular film school that the likes of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg attended that it dawned on him that he might be pursuing the wrong interest. After seeing drawings and paintings of his classmates, he knew there was no way he could compete with their artistic skills despite his unwavering flair for the arts. However, he was discerning enough to veer into the marketing side of creativity. It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a smooth sail. First he had to beg professors to attend classes to learn graphics. He would later spend his life savings to buy a laptop with 500MB storage. At the time, Onyemelukwe felt the laptop had the biggest RAM storage. He was in his third year in university when a life changing opportunity came knocking. Someone saw his amateur graphic design and was convinced he should apply for internship.

Onyemelukwe did not have the slightest idea that he was about to get a break at Disney. It was a mind-blowing experience. â&#x20AC;&#x153;That was my first job even before I left school. In Disney, I felt what they were doing was just incredible. One guy and some friends coming up with an idea that affected the global culture of fun for children. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how I got into TV. I worked in a few places like ad agencies. I liked it. It was fun,â&#x20AC;? he enthused.

Having studied the showbiz landscape over the years, Onyemelukwe believes that a lot of creative people could benefit more from the business side rather than the showmanship. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The show business community in Nigeria has not been able to get rid of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;now nowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; mentality. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Now nowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is the reason traffic is so bad because everyone is in a rush. No one is willing to wait for the other. That mentality applies to music artistes. First, he doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know how long his career will be, so he wants the cash now and in the easiest way possible. These artistes are making such a huge effort to be the next Jay-Z, but they forget that in a country like Nigeria, there are 100 million guys their

L-R: Obi Asika, Bolanle Austen-Peters, Flavour Nabania and Onyemelukwe

Onyemelukwe

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Norden Thurson (right) a business partner (left) and Onyemelukwe

age who would spend 1 or 2 dollars on their product in a year. They turn their back on this 200 million dollars because it’s more difficult to create an acceptable indigenous persona, which may not be as glamorous. I think it’s all about the mentality.

“It’s a glamorous industry so we all come and look at the artiste on stage or the act in front of the camera and forget that there are lawyers, accountants, publicists and other professionals who back up this business.

Everyone wants to be on stage. They forget that there’s a lot more than that. A successful artiste should be selling T-shirts and other merchandise. He could sell 100,000 t-shirts across Africa. He can go to China, make 100000 of it and sell it, say, for $3. Most artistes don’t make the total amount that may be realised from merchandise sale. These are things they are not looking at. Nobody is stupid here, but instead of investing in things like this, they want to do shows, collect a few millions and run off.”

Interestingly, Onyemelukwe works for a music channel that glamourizes this kind of lifestyle to its youthful audience.

So who is to blame? Modestly, he accepted the responsibility but pointed out that his company is also a reflection of the society.

“There’s no question about that. I think to an extent we are culpable. With Trace, we do more international stuff and we definitely promote the glamorous lifestyle. Personally, it’s not for me. I wear my dad’s watch from 1960 and I’m not big on champagne. I think the fact of the matter is that what we are trying to do is to keep an eye on responsibility.

We are as much a reflection of the society. We take what’s happening and reflect it back to them. We try to move that angle sideways by adding something positive to it.”

He revealed that one of Trace’s strategies is to have a series of public service announcements which focuses on youth issues that are mostly discussed in the closet.

The first issue Trace educated its viewers on was on bleaching of the skin. The brand educates African youths to love their skin colours and accept the fact that they come in different shades. To drive home their point, they had a photo shoot with an Ethiopian model and some beautiful members of the team. The feedback was awesome as it

provoked a discourse on social media and had some artistes reposting the image.

“We are not solving problems, but at least we are lending a voice,” he added.

“Same thing we do with our videos. Yes, we do play a lot of videos with nudity and extravagant lifestyle but we try to play those videos at night when the younger ones are not watching. I know they can watch it on Youtube, Instagram and they have access to these channels on their phones. There’s a programme that we plan to have next year.

It might be called Trace Academy or we might choose to remove the Trace brand.

We will be telling our African youths that the entertainment industry is exciting and that there are loads of other jobs in it. You don’t have to change your course of study.

Some young people like Mathematics. They want to be an accountant. You can work for a record label as an accountant. You don’t have to be a musician.”

Despite his apparent anguish over the short-sightedness of creative talents, he, however, expressed great optimism in African youths, particularly Nigerians, often to the chagrin of his colleagues from French-speaking African nations. The glaring scenario supports his thinking as Nigeria is arguably known today as the hub of entertainment in Africa.

He described the average Nigerian and African youth as resilient and very creative.

Onyemelukwe is very optimistic that they can do better if given the right resources and environment to showcase their creative abilities.

Looking at him today, many would not believe that he once wore his hair in dreadlocks as part of the expression of his artistic self. For all his love for music, all he did was have short stints in some bands and was even part of the management of the defunct KUSH group. All that changed when he joined the Trace family. The music channel is popular for playing the latest music videos from the US and Europe alongside with celebrity news and gossips.

One of the good and postive things that Trace may have unwittingly done in Nigeria is location of its office. By choosing Makoko, Trace brings a shine to an environment that is frequently mentioned for all the wrong

reasons.w Since he joined the music channel in 2011, Onyemelukwe has been instrumental in projecting Nigerian music to the world.

A good pointer to this is the launch of Trace Naija channel which has since replaced Trace Urban on DStv channel 325.

“I started working with Trace in 2011 and at the time, we might have played just one or two P-Square videos. Trace was a complete different country at the time. Our headquarters is still in France. When I first got there, it was full of Africans. Mostly French Africans. Over the years, I have delivered the message and they have seen the proof that Nigeria is the hub of entertainment. They themselves have fallen in love with the likes of Davido and Wizkid, Olamide, Mr Eazi.

Our songs were being played in clubs in Paris and London. We knew the movement was there and we wanted a platform to honour that crusade and engage with the industry more.”

Could it be that no one else would have taken up the initiative if a Nigerian like him was not on the payroll of Trace?

“I think it still would have been launched someday. We also have a history of success for launching local channels. We have eight channel brands in 52 countries across Africa.

We have Trace Naija, Trace Mziki is more East Africa focused. The original Trace Urban is still active in South Africa and French Africa.

There’s another one called Trace Africa which is more popular than Trace Urban and is in South Africa and French Africa. We have just one for Angola and Mozambique which is known as Trace Toca. We have Trace Gospel.

Unfortunately, DStv isn’t launching so we have it on Kwese and we are launching a channel called Trace Vanilla Islands for Madagascar and places around there. We are launching one for Congo called Trace Kitoko.

In fact, recently, the principal agreed to launch a channel for Ethiopia. We will be having some meetings to see how we can make this work. We know that more localised channels do very well.”

More plans are still in the pipeline for the brand in the coming years. For 2018, Trace plans to launch a digital app TracePlay which will focus on Africans in the Diaspora. The app will boast of 10 of its popular channels.

There is also Trace Mobile, a mobile virtual network operator which hopefully will get the green light next year.

In addition to this, Onyemelukwe has struck good deals for the brand in recent times. Trace Naija was one of the lead sponsors of Felabration, the annual week-long festivity to commemorate the posthumous birthday of the Afrobeat legend. The brand also threw its weight behind the pan-African award show, All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA), and more recently, collaborated with one of the top e-commerce platforms, Jumia for a first-of-its-kind Music and Deals Festival.

It is interesting to know that with all the experience garnered in the field of multimedia production, Onyemelukwe is yet to take the bold step to launch his own media production company.

Without mincing words, he laid the cards on the table.

“The fact is I have seen a number of people trying to start animation company in Nigeria or media companies trying to build an ecosystem around what they are doing, be it kids or pre-teens or youth-oriented. I think the reality is that our market - I don’t want to sound negative - is really not quite there yet. When I hear people say well they have it abroad. My argument is that everything is not just cut and paste.

“Moreover I think that the media is a struggle. Think about the biggest media company in Nigeria. We are talking about the traditional side of things - print, radio and terrestrial television because that is what people can afford and access easily.

The question is how many subscribers does DStv have? I don’t want to be negative like I said but the same thing applies to digital.

Why do you think right now Youtube is spending at least two and four million dollars advertising Youtube in Nigeria and rest of Africa? Youtube does not advertise, they don’t need to, but the reason they are advertising is that they are trying to get people to move to Youtube. You would think that they should be generating more views in a country like ours with a large population. Nevertheless, I have this permanent optimism that things will change for good.”

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Insurance Guru, Salawudeen, Receives Global Business Honour Top Nigerian Insurance broker and CEO/President of Standard Insurance Consultants Limited was honoured with an Inspirational Award at the annual Bizz Award organised by the World Confederation of Businesses. Funke Olaode reports.

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t was an evening of splendour laced with arrays of glittering atmosphere as dignitaries, captains of industry and eminent personalities converged on one of the most popular cities in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai, for a Gala dinner and ceremony for the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most important business award tagged â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Bizz,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; which was founded by the World Confederation of Businesses (WORLDCOB) to recognize the most outstanding global companies that have performed credibly well in their field among their competitors.

The breeze which blew relentlessly from the beaches surrounding the iconic and famous Burj Al Arab, a magnificent edifice reputed to be the only seven star hotel in the world is alluring. The invited guests comprised mainly captains of industry from over 100 companies representing 50 countries dazzled in their evening outings. While the men settled for black suits and ties, the ladies were gaily dressed in their evening dresses with many settling for their native attires which depicted their origins.

The Arabs are known for their hospitality. And they didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t disappoint as all invited guest were pampered with their various cuisines while arrays of various drinks and Champaign flowed freely.

Earlier on, there was a cocktail before the invited guests and the awardees were invited to the expansive Marina Garden tucked inside the iconic building. No doubt that night would remain evergreen in the lives of the awardees as their tenacity, perseverance and commitment to their various organisations was rewarded.

Among the companies that got recognition, Standard Insurance Consultants Limited, an insurance broker based in Lagos took the name of Nigeria to the highest level when it was awarded with one of the world most important business award. The President/CEO of the company, Dr. Ahmed Olaniyi Salawudeen went home with Inspirational Award for his outstanding contribution to his insurance field.

With this trophy, the company becomes an Elite Member of WORLDCOB alongside large corporations such as Sohar Bank (Oman), Dubai Duty Free (UAE), Doha Bank (Qatar), Saudi Telecom Company (Saudi Arabia), BBK BSC (Bahrain), National Bank of Kuwait (Kuwait), Emirates Identity Authority (UAE), Ethiopia Airlines (Ethiopia), Karabuk University (Turkey), Credit Libanais (Lebanon), Al Sulaimi Group Group, (Oman), Union National Bank (UAE) amongst other notable global companies.

The World Confederation of Business (WORLDCOB) was founded on September 9, 2004, in the city of Houston, Texas in the United States of America, under the name of MPBM, Co. The vision of WORLDCOBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s founders was to create an international business organization that would bring together and recognize those companies that were leaders in their field, striving day in and day out to boost growth of the economy of their countries and the world, making them models to be

L-R: Co-founder and President, World Confederation of Businesses (WORLDCOB), Mr. Jesus J. Moran, Awardee and President/CEO, Standard Insurance Consultants Limited, Dr. Ahmed Salawudeen, his wife, Mrs. Tolu Ahmed-Salawudeen and Mr. Ajmal Khan

followed. And also, to promote a socially responsible business culture around the world through WORLDCOB-CSR standards and certification.

Currently, WORLDCOBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s primary mission is to promote business development worldwide, recognizing and boosting the growth of leading businesses and business people in every country through the special tools and services that it offers its members. It has over 3,000 members, representing more than 100 countries. And its vision to be the business organization with the greatest worldwide presence, covering five continents, with over 20,000 member companies around the globe.

Prior to the gala and award ceremony, there was a leadership training workshop held at Jumeirah Creekside Hotel and coordinated by WORLDCOBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Human Development Director, Nancy Branger.

Speaking on how leadership works in an organization, Branger said leadership is not a position or title but requires an action and exemplary examples. She aslo spoke about how motivation and being passionate about what you do is the only anticidotes that leads to carrier fulfilment.

While commitment to duty, recognition, hardwork, welfare, communication are key attributes and a driven force to achieve a success in an organization, she also stressed that a visionary leader who has inspiriting vision can lead others to buy into it. This she said can aid organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growth.

She concluded that a good leader does not necessary has to know everything but has to be honest and always try to surround himself with the best people.

In his speech, the Chief Executive officer of WORLDCOB, Mr. Jesus Moran congratulated over 100 companies representing 50 countries who were honoured that night. He noted that the award was not an occasion to play to the gallery but an opportunity to honour the power of vision, business performance of

excellence, success of the company and at the same time to commend the efforts of the driven force behind the company success such as, clients staff and others who have kept the vision of the company alive through hardwork and commitment to duty. According to Moran, it is not easy to get to the top in any endeavour while sustaining success at the top is even more challenging. He implored the awardees to keep the tenet of corporate world to be able to continue to be shining lights.

For those who have been following Salawudeenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life and career trajectory attests to the fact that it is an honour well deserved. He is a devoted Moslem, a committed family man and an accomplished insurance broker with his experience spanning over 40 years.

His profile and persona are in no doubt extraordinary outstanding, giving his towering experience. He parades an impressive resume, and yet he remains humble, which he claims is a reflection of his personality having been born and raised by a Moslem father who was also a Imam in his home town, Iseyin in Oyo State.

He has received several laurels from various organisations and his insurance community across the country and beyond but prefer to maintain a low profile with his believe that everything one has belongs to God. But like a golden fish that has no hiding place, he continues to soar.

Basking in the euphoria of his the new recognition, Salawudeen gave glory to Almighty Allah for lifting him up. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am elated today that I am being honoured by a global organization. This is the peak one can attain in oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s career and I am grateful for the honour bestowed on me,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Born over 70 years ago in Iseyin, Oyo State, after his secondary education in Nigeria and a brief stint with an insurance company, he travelled abroad. Salawudeen graduated from the College of Insurance Surbiton, London having qualified as

a Chartered insurance Practitioner in 1976. He also holds a doctorate degree in Management specializing in Insurance from the Commonwealth University of Belize. He acquires a certificate of professional studies in strategic leadership from the same university.

He kicked off his career with the Royal Insurance Group at Chancery Lane in London. He also had a brief stint with British Engine in Manchester and the Royal Marine Insurance Department in Liverpool before setting up his company; Standard Insurance Consultant Limited which specializes in Energy Insurance Placement, Aviation and Space, Marine and General Insurance etc.

As he walked majestically with his wife to the podium to receive his awards, he beamed with smiles. Praising the global organization for recognizing him and his company, Salawudeen thanked the organisers for the honour bestowed on him and particularly Nigeria as a whole.

He said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;This honour is not for me, my company or my family but for my country Nigeria. This shows that Nigeria as a country has great potential. It shows that despite our challenges in Nigeria, there are companies that are doing very well. I want you to come and invest in Nigeria in mining, agriculture and so on. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The recognition I believe would enhance the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growth at the business level because it would increase capacity for business relationship, generates more businesses and revitalizes our corporate image,â&#x20AC;? he concluded.

Among the dignitaries that accompanied him to the global ceremony were his wife, Mrs. Tolu AhmedSalawudeen, Legal Advisor, Standard Insurance Consultants Limited, Mrs. Zainab Bakare, Managing Director/CEO Standard Alliance Insurance, Plc, Mr. Bode Akinboye, Mr. Ajmal Khan and Manager at Standard Insurance Consultants Limited, Mr. Oladele Zaccaeus.

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with Ě&#x201C;

͎ͯͯ͜ͲͲ͡ͳ͹ͰͲË&#x153; nseobong.okonekong@thisdaylive.com

Celebration at Obangogo

Obangogo Holds Promise for Music, Dance Kabba community in Kogi State promises an entertaining time of dance, music and funfair at a celebration which centres on Obangogo Hills an increasingly popular natural spectacle, writes Nseobong Okon-Ekong

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tanding at an imposing height of over 700 meters, Obangogo Hills in Egunbe Community in Kabba, Kogi State is an eternal spectacle; inspiring fascination and awe in equal measure. Among the dozens of hills that surround Kabba, Obangogo is singled out for its myth. While the fables surrounding it may sound ridiculous and are chiefly promoted by the locals, its allure is being discovered all over again in recent years by an increasing stream of visitors who are out to verify the supernatural powers that reside in the mountain or simply take advantage of its leisure benefits.

Obangogo is many things to many people.

To some it is a mesh of interlocking caves where the people hid from advancing armies and slave raiders in times past. There are legends alluding to a King, Elegha, the Ako Kereje, Kereje whose coffin turned into a stone. A part of the hill is said to sound like the talking drum.

At the peak of Obangogo is a pool of spring water which is believed to possess healing powers. Similar curative abilities is believed of the five mystical lake on the hill called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Akoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. The rock formation on the hills provides a spectacular and engaging phenomenon that will interest photographers and film makers. To others, Obangogo is a haven of peace for meditation.

The hill is wonderful. It is also believed that any prayer rendered on the hill will manifest.

Obangogo Hills is located about five kilometers off the Okene â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Kabba Expressway by the permanent site of College of Education (Technical), Gbeleko. The increasing pride of Kabba indigenes in promoting their cultural assets has compelled many of them to join celebration tied around Obangogo on December 26.

As the scope of the festivity expands every year, the Kogi State government may have to exploit the economic and social values of the festival by providing the necessary infrastructure like accessible roads, electricity and accommodation. Perhaps, it may not be out of place to task wealthy and influential sons and daughters of Kabba to step in and provide these facilities, if the government fails to do so.

Since the Kogi State government has not shown a desire to exploit the vast tourism potentials in different parts of the state like the colonial heritage in Lokoja, expecting government intervention in Obangogo, while desirable, may be far-fetched. The Kabba people can force the hand of the government to see the vast revenue that can accrue to it and the incredible streams of income that come to the locals if Obangogo is developed to maximize its advantage for sight-seeing, adventure, picnic, holidays and business.

A group of Kabba indegenes led by Mr. Steve Babaeko, the founder and CEO of

X3M Group have begun a deliberate process to elevate Obangogo Hill into reckoning for consideration as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The undiluted culture and natural history recommends this great great tourist attraction.

This may not be a difficult task since all they need to do is to follow the laid-down procedures which similar sites like the Osun Osogbo Grove to achieve this much needed global recognition.

Last year, the First Lady of Kogi State, Mrs. Rashidat Bello was honoured as the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Face of Obangogoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. She was expected to use her eminence to galvanise goodwill for sustainable development of this emerging tourist site.

Whether she doen that is debateable.

Media reports detail the effort of the curator of Obangogo, Mr Ben Owoleke. He said, the Obangogo committee for each year has been striving to catch the attention of the world by creating awareness for the hill. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Each year, we form a committee. We started making it open and going to the mountain in year 2013. That was the first time we visited the place in good numbers.

By 2014, some people came from America and South Africa, 2015 was great and 2016 was the peak, a lot of government officials came and the first lady agreed to be the face of Obangogo, we had a great time.â&#x20AC;?

A SHOWCASE OF CREATIVITY AND PHILANTHROPY Very early in the morning that fateful Thursday, the open ground of Hi-Tech Field, Orisunmbare, in Alimosho area of Lagos was already bustling. Canopies were being erected, chairs arranged and cleaners worked tirelessly to ensure that everywhere was spickand-span. Somewhere around the corner, the finalists of the Lagos State Barbers, Hairdressers and Cosmetologists Association (LABHCA) competition were unpacking their tools for the

contest.

A combined fair and competition for barbers, hairdressers and cosmetologists, the contest was an interesting journey for the finalists who emerged from the monthly contest that kicked off in January. For the barbers, the tension was very high. Representing different zones of Lagos state, the barbers sized each other up coyly.

Their models who had groomed their hair for the contest tried to make light of the mood with jokes yet, the tension was still palpable. One could tell from theor apprehensive stares that

they were eager to be through with the contest and probably wondered who would take home the cash prize, courtesy of Wahl Clippers and J.Green Mbadiwe and Sons Ltd. As the sole distributor of Wahl Clippers in Nigeria and West Africa, J.Green Mbadiwe and Sons Ltd has been a staunch supporter of LABHCAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Barbers competition. For the past 24 years, the company rewarded barbers who are often regarded as mere artisans. But at the 25th annual event, the chairman of the company, Chief Victor Mbadiwe urged the barbers not

to despair. He encouraged them to be proud of their profession because it is an important skill. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I want you to be proud of your profession because your work is very important.

Anyone who wants to look good comes to you irrespective of their profession, be it the president or a senator, they all need the services of a barber. The head is the most important part of the body and before you can appreciate the beauty and style of a person, you start from the head. So never look down on yourself. This competition is what you should be proud of.

Music, dance at Obangogo

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ENTERTAINMENT

The winning design You all look good. This is an art. The Wahl product is what you can be proud of to ease your skills. We are always here for you,” he told the finalists.

Mbadiwe introduced the premium clipper to the Nigerian market 35 years ago. Since then, Wahl clippers have dominated the market.

However, he decried the influx of fake and substandard clippers in the market. According to him, this has disrupted sales and increased complaints from those who have fallen victims to the fraudulent act. However, he is on his toes to ensure that the perpetrators face the music with the help of law enforcement agents.

“It’s been a fight. We keep doing our best to curb the situation. It’s not been easy but we have to protect our market. We look out where the perpetrators have their warehouses and we call on law enforcers to ensure that they are brought to book. It’s been a fight, I must say.”

Apart from rewarding the winners with cash prizes, he also offered 40% price discount for all Wahl clippers sold at the event.

By the time the contest kicked off, some of the barbers had gotten rid of the ants in their pants.

They remained focused as they tackled the task ahead with renewed vigour and confidence.

For the first round, the barbers were asked to give a classic undercut within 20 minutes. They were judged based on their professionalism, creativity, finishing and handling of tool. This particular round did not see much creativity from the barbers but for the second round called avant-garde, they were asked to give a unique undercut with the words, ‘Wahl Clippers’. This saw the barbers sweating while carving the letters on the head of the models. Spectators cheered their favourite contestant while the judges moved around, taking down notes.

Right from his first design, Lukman Shodiya from Shomolu zone was a crowd favourite.

Those who were familiar with his works boasted of his creativity and even swore that he would emerge the winner. It didn’t come as a surprise when he was adjudged the winner.

The dark-skinned contestant couldn’t hide his joy when he received the cash prize and Wahl clippers.

It was not the first time that Wahl Clippers put a smile on face of barbers. Apart from supporting the barbers association with finance and tools of their trade, Wahl has also promoted its own signature barbers contest in the past 24 years.

CELEBRATORY MILESTONE FOR WAZOBIA FM From the onset, the odds were highly stacked against them but the two Moussalli sisters, Tatiana and Evita were convinced that their novel idea to create a pidgin-language radio station will be a big hit. Those budding days held no roseate future, yet the sisters remained undeterred in their dream.

The rest is history. Today, Wazobia FM has not only survived the stormy winds but has reached a milestone. At a well-attended event recently to mark its 10th anniversary at Terra Kulture, Victoria Island Lagos, the radio station shared its success stories with fans and the media. Most of the inspiring stories came from the OAPs. From D-Wana’s stumble into the profession to Mayowa, a trained architect who has risen to fame through her online comedy skits, each employee rolled out testimonies on how they helped each other and how the radio has provided a platform for them to nurture their creative talents. For instance, Ratata showcased his musical abilities when he delivered a reggae song in an Edo state, while Igos mimicked the different ways radio presenters anchor their shows.

However, a constant name on the lips of the OAPs as they shared their success stories was Yaw whose real names is Steve Onu. As the Head of Presenters, Yaw is responsible for the confidence most of the OAPs exude today, a good trait of leadership. They were also grateful to the management who gave them room to explore their talents.

As the pioneer of a unique style of radio presentation that appeals to grassroots through

Kupa Victory Harrysong

A Climactic End to Legend Real Deal Experience

Vanessa Obioha

Since last February, Legend, the premium beer brand has been on an exciting musical journey, bringing undiluted entertainment to music fans across the nation through its music concert, Legend Real Deal Experience.

From Nnewi to Lagos, anywhere the Legend band stops, it left unforgettable legendary performance from music stars like Timaya, Harrysong, 9ice, Orezi and Small Doctor among others. It soon became a must-see event for most people.

As the excitement and anticipation grew, the brand responded by raising its ante. Each edition of the concert rewarded consumers with consolation prizes that left smiles on many faces. From refrigerators to generators, fans had more than they bargained for with spectacular performances from their favourite artistes.

Unlike previous editions, this year witnessed a rare spectacle. Femi Kuti was honoured with a legendary award in Lagos.

The award came two weeks after Femi and his sister, Yeni marked the annual week-long festivity to honour the life and times of their father, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.

Expectedly, every good thing must come to an end. For its last leg, the organisers threw everything in the ring to give a fantastic show. Held recently in Abakaliki its pidgin-English language format, Wazobia has grown to become a staple in most homes. It started operation in 2007 and is a sister-station to Cool FM. The station is renowned for its humorous approach to news and topical issues.

in Ebonyi state, music lovers in the city turned out in good number at the venue, Abakaliki Township Stadium. The frenzy was heightened by the headliner act, Harrysong who delivered a thrilling performance.

As he mounted the stage, a deafening applause greeted him and grew louder as he grabbed the mic and sang his popular hits, starting out with the very popular ‘Reggae Blues’ hit and then proceeded with other hits like ‘Samankwe’ and ‘Baba for the Girls’.

Popularly known for his energetic stage performance, Harrysong left the crowd asking for more. Most of them didn’t want his session to end.

In its usual tradition, the brand gave out fantastic gifts to winners of competitions at the event. The winners of the competition that held on the brand social media page were also announced and they went home with N50, 000 cash prizes, while several others went home with fantastic prizes like flat screen TV and refrigerator.

Speaking on the Real Deal Experience’s final stop in Abakaliki, the Brand Manager - Stout, Nigerian Breweries, Oluseun Lawal stated that, “The brand’s nationwide tour has visited a lot of major cities in Nigeria this year and we’re excited about how great it turned out.”

Other cities visited include Aba, Enugu, Uyo, Abuja and Port Harcourt.

“Our main aim at inception was to convey news to the layman in a language that they can easily understand,” said Tatiana Moussalli Nouri, Deputy Group MD of Wazobia FM. Also in attendance were Amin Mousalli, owner of the radio station and Serge Noujaim, the new Chief Operating Director.

Hosted by Omotunde Adebowale fondly known as Lolo 1 of Wazobia FM, the event was a mixture of comedy and music. Comedians like Funny Bone, MC Abbey and some of the OAPs provided rib-cracking jokes that got the audience laughing out loud. While the jokes carried political undertones, the audience couldn’t help but enjoy the humour side of life.

In its usual tradition, the radio station issued ‘Ogbonge’ Awards to advertising agencies such as Media Reach, Media Perspective, Media Sale and Maxi Media. Regulatory agencies like Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), News Agency Nigeria (NAN) were also recipients of the award.

But the awardees were not the only ones who smiled home. Lucky members of the audience won all-expense paid trips to Dubai courtesy of Satguru Travels. Others also went home with various consolation prizes.

transformed into a massive kiddies’ wonderland with amazing toys, fun games and activities, and plenty color, notably the Nickelodeon and Maltina traditional bright orange which helped achieved a vibrantly playful ambience.

The organizers were also able to bring in popular celebrities like Yemi Alade, Mr. P (Paul of P-Square), Simi, Chioma Akpotha, Ill Blizz, Mr. Eazi, Samantha Walsh and Ehiz who got slimed several times over to raise awareness and funds for The North East Children’s Trust. Parents and guardians also had a wonderful time channeling their inner child as they joined the slime dunk at the Slime Zone. The music stars entertained the attendees with their family-friendly songs setting the whole venue into a fun-filled sing-along stage.

The festival also featured the popular Nickelodeon show characters, Shimmer & Shine, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles- Leo, Donnie, Raph and Mikey & Paw Patrol’s- Ryder, Chase, Marshall, Rubble and Sky-, who dazzled both kids and parents with amazing performances.

Alex Okosi, Executive Vice President and Managing Director VIMN Africa, , said: “Nickelodeon is a firm favourite for family entertainment globally. With this 1st installment of NickFest Nigeria, we brought lots of happiness and fun to kids and their parents in Nigeria. This is the first NickFest in Lagos and considering the success and incredible show of support from parents, children and local artists, we hope to include NickFest as a regular festival in market.”

NICKELODEON’S FIRST EVER NICKFEST IN LAGOS NICKFEST made its debut in Nigeria over the weekend courtesy of Nickelodeon, popular family entertainment TV network owned by Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa) in partnership with Maltina.

The two-day fun-filled festival which is by far Nigeria’s largest family-centric festival was all shades of fun as kids splashed around in thousands of litres of gloriously gooey slime at the legendary Slime Zone. The venue was

KUPA VICTORY UNVEILS ALL NIGERIAN FESTIVAL Many who knew him back in the day remember him as the dreadlocked reggae musician whose hoarse voice stood him out.

Those days, he was a delight to watch on the Nigerian Television Authority Network channels.

Dancehall music was booming then. Whether he is atop a rock with his chest bared singing a remix of American singer R. Kelly’s ‘ Your Body Calling’ or not, Victory commanded attention any time he came on screen. His fans even dubbed him the Nigerian version of the Jamaican dancehall singer,

Shabba Ranks.

Although the musical landscape has changed from that era, Victory however has maintained a significance in the entertainment industry. He made a comeback in 2013 but didn’t make much waves.

Perhaps, his new project will restore that limelight.

Recently, he rolled out another vision of his, ‘All Nigerian Festival’. It is a cultural festival that seeks to promote the cultural heritage.

This is not entirely something new. Festivals in the past have touted similar goals.

However, Victory has an ace up his sleeve to make his festival a unique one. His hat-trick was to create a festival that will celebrate the culture of Nigeria through food, fashion, arts and craft, and music.

“This festival seeks to promote the cultural heritage of Nigeria. We will be promoting the local cuisines, showcasing the official food of each state in Nigeria to the international world. We will also be showcasing our local liquor like the kunu, zobo, which will be officially packaged to promote it. In the fashion angle, we will be looking at the different fashion style peculiar to the different ethnic groups in Nigeria. For instance, there is a way the Bayelsan man dresses which is different from the dressing style of the Delta man. For the arts, we will be looking at arts, the craft, cultural dance, and there will also be music.”

On the surface, the project looks cumbersome but Victory has everything all planned out. Flying with the name ‘We, the Entrepreneurs’, Victory teamed up with successful individuals who have thrived on the various sectors. For instance, famous fashion designer Frank Osodi will handle the fashion aspect of the festival while he, Victory will take care of the music aspect. Musicians billed to perform at the event include Pasuma Wonder, 9ice, Niniola alongside Victory.

Victory revealed that he’s been toying with the idea since 2015.

“I came up with the idea in 2015. What can the private sector do to generate revenue for Nigeria as a country, individually by states and I thought of the best partners to make it work. So there is an entrepreneur in the fashion, food, cultural dance, arts, I’m handling the music aspect. We came together to see how these entrepreneurs can support the tourism sector in Nigeria.”

He stressed that All Nigerian Festival is different from other festivals because it is on a larger scale.

“The All Nigerian Festival is doing this on a larger scale. Before now, organisers have been doing this event in titbits but we are doing ours in a larger scale. Also,we have been able to bring international media organisations like the BBC,CNN, Reuters to promote Nigeria to the world through this platform. Finally, it is the only festival where students from primary and tertiary institutions will attend a workshop where they will be groomed in different fields regarding their skills.”

As the hub of entertainment in Nigeria, Lagos State government has thrown its weight behind the festival. According to the Special Adviser to the Lagos State governor on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Adebimpe Adesola “It is the desire of the governor to always support individuals, groups and organisations that are interested in the arts and culture and by extension tourism activities in Lagos state. So supporting the organisers of the All Nigerian Festival is not a coincidence or mistake because we have done a lot in the past two years.”

While Lagos state will host the maiden edition, the festival will be taken to other states in subsequent editions. Victory confirmed that four states are already on board to host the festival.

Scheduled for three days, the event will take place at the Tafawa Balewa Square Main Bowl, Onikan, Lagos from December 14 to December 16.

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ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

Jay-Z and his wife, Beyonce

How Jay-Z and Beyonce Used Albums to Deal with Infidelity Vanessa Obioha In 2014, when a video of Solange Knowles, Beyonce’s sister arguing vehemently with rapper Jay-Z in the elevator went viral, the public took it as an ominous sign that all was not well at the Carter’s ville. Not that it was unlikely for couples to have a third party wade into their marital issues, the fact that it was Jay-Z and Beyonce, the power couple in the American music industry, made it juicy news. However, having shrouded their private life from the prying eyes of the media, they allowed pundits to come up with all manner of stories while keeping mum about the rocky situation in their homestead.

In 2016, Beyonce launched her lemonade album which tracks suggested infidelity, despite the racial and political under-

tones in its leading track ‘Formation’. It was nothing like her previous self-titled album ‘Beyonce’ released in 2013, where she seemingly professed undying love to her husband in the track ‘Drunk in Love’.

Jay-Z was also featured in that track. She further provided a salacious peek into their sex life in the song ‘Partition’. But in Lemonade, the agony and disbelief in her voice were loud when she sang ‘Pray You Catch Me’. The song suggested that she caught a whiff of her husband’s infidelity.

As if reassuring herself that there’s no better woman out there, she let it out in ‘Hold On’. In ‘Don’t Hurt Yourself’, an angry Beyonce who probably had found out that indeed, unfaithfulness breeds in her home, screamed her lungs out fiercely, using the backdrop of her being an independent woman to hide her hurt. The same was replicated in tracks like ‘Sorry’

DONNIE MCCLURKIN: SEXUAL HARASSMENT IS NOT NEW Award-winning gospel artiste Don McClurkin recently added his voice to the ongoing sexual harassment volcano going on in the US. According to McClurkin, sexual harassment is nothing new in the society.

“The bottom-line is that these things have been going on for a long time. Whether it reaches the church, politics, entertainment, these things are not new. We have to realise that immorality has been part of existence in so many facets that has gotten to this overwhelming volume that is peaking through.”

The 58 year-old expressed his opinion at the press briefing of the gospel musical concert ‘The Experience where he is billed to perform. McClurkin has been an active participant at the event which holds every first week of December annually. He has become such a regular that he is sometimes regarded as a Nigerian. Cases of sexual harassment against women in workplaces have been on the rise since the New York Times published an article that detailed the sexually abusive encounters of victims of the Hollywood mogul, Harvey Weinstein. There’s been a widespread of such cases from politics, Silicon Valley, entertainment to the media.

A sexual abuse victim himself, McClurkin advised that the church’s role is not to protest or condemn perpetrators of the act.

“Again, whether it is the church or not, the job of the church is to pray and to heal, not to condemn or cast away or to cause such embarrassment that renders the person immobile. We have to bring him to repentance if that is the case. But we haven’t been doing that. We have been throwing the persons away and not realising that what they need is redemption.”

JEAN CLAUDE VAN JOHNSON PREMIERES IN PARIS Veteran Hollywood action star Jean Claude Van Damme will have the pleasure of making his mother who is 83 smile when a new series about him premieres in Paris in less than two weeks. Van Damme whose acting career has been in limbo made a promise to his mother that he will make it back to the theatres and have a big premiere in Paris.

Now, his wish or prayer is happening as Amazon Studios will premiere the meta series about the actor, Jean Claude Van Johnson, at the Grand Rex Theater in Paris on December 12.

Partly comedy and drama, J.C. plays a broken-down action star who makes terrible films as cover for his real gig as a lethal black-ops agent, whose code name is JeanClaude Van Johnson. It is his first television drama series and the 57-year-old actor will play three roles: a fictionalized version of himself, a time-traveling doppelgänger and a smirking, squeaky-voiced Bulgarian factory worker.

The series will be aired on Amazon three days after its grand premiere.

and ‘6-inch’. ‘Love Drought’ carried undertones of contemplation on whether to forgive or not which sort of ended in ‘All Night’, a reconciliatory track.

This year, Jay-Z came up with his own confessional album with lots of tributes to O.J Simpson in his thirteenth studio album titled 4:44. Like his wife, he talked about his relationship.

In retrospect, the Carters used their albums as a therapeutic session which Jay-Z confessed to Dean Baquet of the New York Times in an interview. In the interview released shortly after Jay-Z was announced the leading man in the 2018 Grammy nominations, the singer revealed that he and his wife didn’t set out to make open confessional albums.

“It didn’t happen in that way. We were using our art almost like a therapy session. And we started making music

Donnie McClurkin

Van Damme

together.”

The 21-time Grammy winner said the albums made them quite uncomfortable.

“We were sitting right in the middle of the pain, and it was uncomfortable.

We had a lot of conversations. I was very proud of the music she made and she was really proud of the art I released.

“You know most people walk away, and like divorce rate is like 50 percent or something cause most people can’t see themselves. The hardest thing is seeing pain on someone’s face that you caused and then have to deal with yourself.”

It was the first time the artiste will talk openly about the problems in his marriage in an interview. The couple married in 2008 after dating for six years. They had their first child, Blue Ivy in 2012 and on June 13, this year, they had a set of twins named Rumi and Sir Carter.

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A TOAST TO A RESILIENT ART AMAZON Layiwola

EDITOR OKECHUKWU UWAEZUOKE/ okechukwu.uwaezuoke@thisdaylive.com

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Professor Peju Layiwola, who turned 50 in September, is a leading Nigerian female visual artist, whose a programmes have impacted on generations of younger artists. Okechukwu Uwaezuoke writes

P

erhaps, it was her exhibition, titled Benin 1897.com: Art and the Restitution Question, that engraved Peju Layiwolaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name into the industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s consciousness. The body of work, based on the wellreferenced sack of the ancient Benin in 1897 by the British, could indeed be called one of her most successful projects. This was in addition to being â&#x20AC;&#x153;a major contribution to documenting local art traditions and projecting the views of a colonised people deprived of their art on various platformsâ&#x20AC;?.

But her links to the historic and cultural hub Benin date back to her childhood.

Nostalgic memories lurk in her growing-up years. Those were idyllic years spent under the vigilant eyes of her dedicated parents in the ancient city. Not even her parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; privileged status shielded her and seven other siblings from being raised like other children. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We lived a simple life growing up in a nuclear family structure where every member had a significant role to play in the sustenance of the group,â&#x20AC;? Layiwola recalls.

Thus, the doctrine of hard work and success through individual efforts was instilled in them. This was despite the fact that their father, Babatunde Olatokunbo Olowu, of Yoruba origin, literally born into wealth as the scion of a prosperous businessman from Lagos. Ditto their mother, Princess Elizabeth Olowu, whose father was the famous Benin monarch, Oba Akenzua II, who reigned from 1933 to 1978.

After her primary school education at Emotan Preparatory/Primary School, Layiwola was briefly at St Maria Goretti College before completing her secondary education at the Federal Government Girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; College, Benin. She would later enroll to study art at the University of Benin and, subsequently, visual art history at the University of Ibadan. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Although my stay at the St Maria Goretti College was very short, these were memorable days. Under the care and supervision of Catholic Reverend Sisters, we learnt to bake and do needlework, skills which I still possess till date.â&#x20AC;?

Growing up in Benin meant living in the midst of art, culture, festivals and history.

Her interest in art inevitably developed in this creatively fertile environment.

Then, there was also her motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strong influence. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I not only learnt art from her at home, she was also my art teacher at the Federal Government Girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; College, Benin.â&#x20AC;?

Talking about her secondary school, her principal, Mrs Josephine Ifueko Omigie, was an art graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. There were also the influences of the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s regular cultural events. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We had an annual week-long competition on cultural activities, which engaged every student in one creative activity or the other,â&#x20AC;? she says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was a member of the school choir and also played the piano.â&#x20AC;?

What she called â&#x20AC;&#x153;the initial sparkâ&#x20AC;? for considering more seriously art as profession of study happened with the late Professor Irein Wangbojeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s visited her secondary school. The iconic artist was at the school to select the best painting for the cover of his book, Art for Secondary Schools. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was really elated and inspired to see my art on the front cover of a book used by the entire school.â&#x20AC;?

But her parents did not share her enthusiasm for art when the time for her to make a career choice came. Couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t she have thought of something else besides studying art? â&#x20AC;&#x153;They felt I could do something more â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;prestigiousâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and more acceptable in the Nigeria of that time. My mother told me art was not recognised and that if I wanted to be successful, it was better to study some

Layiwola's installation in Whose Centenary Project, Igun Street, Benin City, 2014

One of Layiwola's projects other course like law, architecture or business administration. I insisted because I believed I had enough passion and skill to forge ahead.â&#x20AC;?

Clinching the best student prize at the University of Benin, the same prize her mother had received ten years before, as well as bagging a national award for her artistic project during the National Youth Service Corps programme convinced her she was on the right path.

Fast-forward decades later. Layiwola, who turned 50 on September 29, has come a long way. She has since become the first professor of visual arts of the University of Lagos. This is

besides being the first female head of the universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Department of Creative Arts. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Being a university professor has given me the unique opportunity of helping to shape lives.â&#x20AC;?

On graduating from the University of Benin in 1991, she was retained as the best graduating student. Subsequently, she would also join the teaching staff of the University of Benin straight from the University of Ibadan â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s graduate school.

This was at the age of 24, at a time when she was much younger than many of

her students. This meant having to assert her authority by stepping up her game. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So teaching came to me even before I could make up my mind about what profession to practice. It was my first job. I can count my blessings. Many of my students have become successful artists, some now professors in their various institutions...â&#x20AC;?

Among her former students, who have distinguished themselves in the art scene, are Jude Anogwih, Tobenna Okwuosa, Nelson Edewor, George Edozie, Jelili Atiku, Bolaji Ogunwo, Jimoh Ganiyu and Alao Lukman.

But, more importantly, she had benefited from the mentorship of such renowned art personalities as Professor Irein Wangboje, who employed her at the University of Benin; Professor Cornelius Adepegba, who groomed her in art history and Professor S. Adetoro, who was head of the department when she was employed at the University of Lagos. She also had privileged interactions with artistic luminaries like Professors Ola Oloidi, Abayomi Barber, Dele Jegede, Bruce Onobrakpeya and Rom Kalilu.

Academics saddles her with a lot of responsibilities and positions her as a role model for younger artists. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rising to become a full professor of the visual arts at the University of Lagos bestows upon me added responsibilities,â&#x20AC;? she says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I come across a lot of youth in the art community telling me they are inspired by my life. As a female artist, I must continue to provide hope for younger females who are in search of role models particularly in a profession that has been male dominated for a long time. There are a lot of people, both male and female looking up to me for counsel and I realise that this is an enormous task.â&#x20AC;?

As the acting Head of Department (2013-2015) University of Lagosâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Creative Art Department in 2015, she organised a homecoming for her predecessors, Professors Ebiegeri Alagoa, Duro Oni, Dele Jegede,

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AMAZON

Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x161;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x201D;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x161; Sheriffdeen Adetoro, Ebun Clark, Abayomi Barber who had prepared the grounds for the establishment of the Department of Creative Arts as pioneers of the Centre for Cultural Studies. Amongst these personalities it was only Professor Duro Oni who served as one time Director of the Centre and head of the Department of Creative Arts. Ever since, department has grown in leaps and bounds.

The University of Lagos became a centre for private/public partnership in art training and in fostering links across universities nationally. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Over 1000 students from about 22 universities have converged at Unilag to participate in art-based workshops hosted by the University and sponsored by the Omooba Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon Art Foundation over a three-year periodâ&#x20AC;?. This was an initiative she fostered.

Besides her exhibition Benin 1897.comâ&#x20AC;Ś, she had written articles on the subject and anchored other landmark projects. First, there was her 2010 exhibition, which His Royal Majesty, Oba Erediauwa wrote the foreword.

Then, Whose Centenary? a public art project and her collaboration with eleven renowned artists held at Igun Street, Benin City, in 2014 â&#x20AC;&#x153;As artists we questioned the celebration of the centenary particularly as the amalgamation was carried out for the convenience of British administration rather than for the good of the people, in what later became known as Nigeria,â&#x20AC;? she explained. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So we took a second look at the date and saw that 1914 was the year His Royal Highness, Oba Ovonramwen, king of Benin, who stood against British imperialism joined his ancestors. So I came up with a public art concept to celebrate the culture, costumes, dances and art of the Benin people.â&#x20AC;?

Some of the artists featured in the project have since moved on to international limelight. Jelili Atiku and Victor Ehikhamenor were part of the 57th Biennale in Venice.

Jude Anogwih, Wura-Natasha Ogunji, Jumoke Verissimo and Taiye Idahor have continued to expand their artistic frontiers.

With her non-profit platform Women and Youth Art Foundation, founded in 2004, Layiwola has also helped youths, women and disadvantaged groups in various arts and crafts production for economic empowerment. â&#x20AC;&#x153;One major community project I have been involved with is the US State Department Hillary Clinton Smartpower project grant, which brought a California based artist, Brett Cook to Nigeria. The Women and Youth Art Foundation, in partnership with the Bronx Museum of Arts, New York supervised the artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s collaboration with university students from different faculties to make the iconic mural at the University of Lagos titled Nurturing Peace, People, and Ideas.

In a huge celebration of talent and more creative work, pupils of the University staff school were involved in the celebration that brought the project to a close. The US Ambassador, Terence McCulley also visited the site of the mural.â&#x20AC;?

Currently in Dusseldorf on a Goethe art residency with the Kunstsammlung Northrine Westfalen, she would be giving presentations of her work. One of her talks will look at womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s participation in the visual arts, titled Intersecting Trajectories: Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Art in Nigeria. As recipient of the Raw Residency at Rhodes University in South Africa next year, she looks forward to her time working in the studio as an artist â&#x20AC;&#x153;It would give me a chance to work in a cross-cultural context and foster global cultural networks which has been at the forefront of my engagements internationally,â&#x20AC;? she enthuses.

The Inverted Pyramid; Adapted from a novel by Emeka Dike

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THE WEDDING PARTY SEQUEL SET FOR ARABIAN-THEMED PREMIERE Olufunke Adepuji

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fter last year’s roaring success of the grand premiere of Elfike Film Collective’s The Wedding Party – dubbed the “biggest wedding party in town” – the Lagos celebrity and high-society circles rooted for an encore.

This explains the sequel The Wedding Party 2: Destination Dubai, which premieres on Sunday, December 10, at Eko Hotel

& Suites in the upmarket Victoria Island, Lagos.

Already, the event, which promises to be yet another talk of the town, is sold out and it is unarguably Nollywood’s mostanticipated sequel.

The Elfike Film Collective, by the way, is a partnership between EbonyLife Films, FilmOne Distribution, Inkblot Productions and Koga Studios.

The wow element of the forthcoming premiere is its Arabian

The Wedding Party 2 poster

PHOTOGRAPHY

A Winner's Tale of Victory Yinka Olatunbosun

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t's no longer news that a young amateur photographer, Oluwaseun Otitoola, has emerged the winner of the 2017 edition of the 9mobile Photography Competition. What is exciting is that the winner never owned a camera prior to winning. When he disclosed this recently at the awards ceremony, it came as a pleasant surprise to the handful of journalists who waited patiently for the results to be announced.

Established as a talent development initiative of 9mobile, the competition rewards three of the several entries for the annual contest.

Oluwaseun Otitoola won the competition with his entry titled “Fragment of CMS Bookshop Building”, beating two other finalists – Amanda Ihemebiri, whose entry was “The Nestoil Tower” and Taiwo Omotosho, who had put in the work "Lines Side by Side”.

Oluwaseun was announced winner at the grand finale and award presentation ceremony, which was held recently at the 9mobile Head Office, Banana Island, Lagos. With emotion-laden voice and eyes moist with restrained tears of joy, Otitoola, 24, recalled how he had taken advantage of his friend's camera in deepening his interests in photography.

“I didn’t have a camera of my own but I love photography so I borrowed my friend’s camera to participate,” he disclosed. “I chose ‘Fragment of CMS Bookshop Building’because of the symbolic status of the building and its environment which tells the story of Lagos in the past and the Lagos we know today.”

On the day he set out to take the pictures, this graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University encountered some street urchins who were suspicious of his intention with the camera. They bombarded him with questions, demanding to know if he was spying for the Lagos State government with the aim of demolishing the structure in future. After explaining in lay man's language that he was doing it for competition's sake, he was permitted to take the pictures and he eventually submitted three pictures for the contest.

"If you have passion for it, you will do it like a pro," he said.

For the organisers, any work that grabs and holds attention a little longer than usual amongst the 100 entries wins the interest of the panel of judges made up of professional photographers.

The winner went home with a professional canon camera, N30,000 worth of airtime.

Ikenna Ogbenta, emerged winner of the newly introduced voters’ choice category with his entry titled “Skies and Scrapers”. He won after pulling the highest number of votes online.

At the prize presentation ceremony, the Chief Executive Officer, 9mobile, Boye Olusanya said being an innovative and youth-centric company, 9mobile created the photography competition in 2014 as a talent discovery and reward platform.

He said: “9mobile Photography Competition is not about winning but about talent, creativity and innovation. The aim is to engage and empower budding photographers to fulfil their passion by using the power of digital media, online, social and mobile technology to capture compelling images that tell authentic Nigerian stories.

“Over the nine years of our existence, we have consistently been at the forefront of promoting talent and creative development among the youth across different sectors such as education, art, literature, science, sports and entertainment amongst others.

“A bold new generation of Nigerian photographers is emerging to capture the changes and challenges people are facing across the country and we are glad to see young people participate. It gives us pride that we are playing a crucial role in nurturing their dreams.”

Olusanya thanked the judging panel, comprising Hakeem Salaam, Kola Oshalusi and Kunle Awolowo – who are all accomplished international photographers – for doing an excellent job of ensuring that the entire process was fair and of the highest standard.

This year’s edition of the annual 9mobile Photography Competition kicked off on August 7 with a call for entries, which closed on September 11.

The competition functions as a platform to discover, reward and empower budding photographers to fulfil their passion and capture compelling images that celebrate our Nigerian heritage.

L-R CEO, 9mobile, Boye Olusanya; 1st runner-up, Taiwo Omotosho; 2nd runner-up, Amanda Ihemebiri; winner, Oluwaseun Otitoola, and Head, Events and Sponsorship, 9mobile, Modupe Thani, at the event

Nights-themed décor, which the organisers said was inspired by the movie’s glamorous locations in Dubai, a favourite holiday destination of many Nigerians. “With that comes opulent venue décor, guests dressed in gorgeous ‘Arabian chic’ outfits and a variety of activities and entertainment that evoke the spirit of the region,” a statement from the organisers corroborate.

Expect also some of Nigeria’s most celebrated and influential individuals in business, entertainment and politics to grace its red carpet. This will, of course, be followed by sumptuous three-course meal, accompanied by the finest wines, champagne and spirits. This fine-dining experience will be serenaded by the legendary King Sunny Ade, Kiss Daniel, Seyi Shay, Sugarboy, Kaliné, Reekado Banks and Timi Dakolo.

Guests will be ushered into the screening room for the evening’s main highlight: the screening of the hilarious romantic comedy, The Wedding Party 2: Destination Dubai. A delighted EbonyLife Films CEO Mo Abudu, looks forward to celebrating with guests. “We’re flabbergasted by the interest this premiere has received,” she enthuses. “The support from corporate partners and individuals has been incredible – we sold out one month before the event. I think that our guests will be genuinely surprised by the unique ambience we are creating to ensure that the evening is as memorable as the film will be entertaining.”

The screening will be trailed by a lit after-party, which will take place in an ultra-cool suite that boasts an open bar and comfortable lounge areas. This after-party will be hosted by media partners MTV Base and will feature DJ Obi and DJ Cuppy.

Guests will depart the venue with exclusive gift bags from the event sponsors Dubai Tourism and other partners.

Meanwhile, The Wedding Party 2: Destination Dubai’s cinema release comes five days later on Friday, December 15 in Nigeria and across Africa.

Last year, the romantic comedy/drama film, directed by Kemi Adetiba, had premiered on September 8 at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) before its Saturday, November 26 grand premiere at Eko Hotel and Suites.

The grand premiere followed the lavish spectacular tradition of the movie FIFTY. - Adepuji writes from Lagos

VISUAL ARTS

For Recyclart 2017, It's A Wrap!

Yinka Olatunbosun

D

uduEmmanuelwasoneofthefourwinnersattheGrand FinaleoftheSterlingBank’sRecyclartCompetitionheld atthelushgardeninsidetheBritishCouncil,Ikoyi.His excitementwasinfectiousforseveralcircumstantial reasons.Hewasunavoidablyabsent.Hedidn’texpectto win.Thenoneofthemoderatorsfortheeventdecidedto doa“FrankEdohostunt’’onhim,tellinghimhejustwonN1m.Hewaselated.

Everyoneseatedthateveningcoulddiscernthatbythereverberating soundthatcamethroughthemicrophone,placedclosedtoamobilephone toprojecthisvoice.

ThecompetitionwasachievedacrossfourzonesinNigeriawhere630 entrieswerereceived.Outofthese,16finalistswereselected.Thesetop finalistssubmittedminiatureversionsoftheirworksforexhibitionduring theAfricanCultureandDesignFestival(ACDF),aforumthatpulledapool ofarchitects,designersandartconnoisseursfromabout100countries.

Intheend,thepanelofjudgescomprisingofseasonedartistssuchasOlu Amoda,RomIsicheiandNdidiDikecarefullyassessedtheworksandmade adecisivedecision.

AttheGrandFinale,fourwinners,eachdrawnfromonezone,wonthe competition.IfedilichukwuChibuikefromAbujazonewonwiththepiece titled,“DevolutionofPower’’whichcriticallyexaminestheNigerianpolitical systemandtheclamourforrestructuring.Heassembledemptywine bottlesofvarioussizesaroundametalframeworktocommentonthe varioussectorsofthenation’seconomy.

SamsonOgundejifromOgunZonewonwith“Egungun”,aworkthat celebratesanimportantculturalphenomenonamongtheEgbas.The festivalisbelievedtohelpfosterunityinthecommunity,achievespiritual cleansingandiseconomicallybeneficial.

UdehCharlesfromRiversZonewonwith“SoiledSoil”whichspeaks volumesabouttheenvironmentalpollutionoccasionedbytheunchecked activitiessuchoilspillagefromminingcompaniesandoilbunkering business.ThefinalyearstudentofFineArtattheUniversityofNigeria, Nsukkamadethisworkfromcutoutbottomsofcanneddrinkstoformthe shapeofahandinadepressedgesture,whichisassumedtobeprojecting outofapoolofcrudeoil.

DuduEmmanuelfromLagosZonewonwithaworktitled,“Undressed Identity”,onethatrepositionsEyointhepublicspace.Usingrecycled Aluminiumasamediumofexpressioninshowcasingitscostume,theartist turnedwastetoawealthofcreativity.

AsideswinningthegrandprizeofN1meach,thewinningworkswill bescaledupandusedtobeautifypublicspaceswithintheirrespective geographicalzone.Eachoftheseinstallationswillbemaintainedby SterlingBankbranchesinthefourstates.

TheRecyclartCompetitionisdesignedtocreateavisualrepresentation ofinterventionasameanstoengageresponsiblywithwasteandour environment.TheCEO,SterlingBank,HenryBasseysharedthissentiment duringtheclosingremarksattheevent.

“RecyclartwasinitiatedtoinspireanewgenerationofNigerianartists andartgenre.Theireco-friendlyartformswilladvocatethecauseofthe environmentbyinspiringthemassestoreuseandrepurposewaste.”

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 3, 2017

CICERO

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

IN THE ARENA

Libya and a Retrogressive Continent Theongoingmodern-dayslavetradinginLibyaisunacceptableandmustbestoppedforthwith.Olawale Olaleye writes

O

n Tuesday night, following outrage by Nigerians, mostly celebrities, the federal government flew in some lucky 242 Nigerian migrants, who were stuck with the ugly fate of possibly being sold to slavery in Libya, a northern African country, during their quest for greener pasture.

International news agencies, like the CNN and Aljazeera had reported that hundreds of African refugees, mostly Nigerians, were being bought and sold on auction in“slave markets”across Libya.

This, reports claimed, happened every week, with many of the slaves held for ransom or forced into prostitution and sexual exploitation to pay their captors and smugglers.

Unfortunately, many of them, investigations have revealed, ended up being murdered by their smugglers in the open desert or die from thirst or car accidents in the vast Libyan Desert. A morgue in the southern city of Sebha – an entry point for many refugees coming from Africa – is reported to be overflowing with corpses, with faulty refrigerator compounding the situation.

An official in Sebha, 650km south of the capital,Tripoli, described atrocious scenes of bodies daily dumped at the gates of the Sebha health facility by smugglers.

He said the refugees, who died are never identified and many ended being buried without names or proper graves.

The health official, who pleaded anonymity for obvious security reasons, said Sebha’s morgue has only one dysfunctional refrigerator that can only hold bodies for up to three days but end up keeping them for months and on.

This ugly development had recently compelled France’s ambassador to the UN, Francois Delattre’s, to urge the Security Council to impose sanctions on the people involved in the Libyan slave trade of African refugees and migrants.

“France will propose to assist the sanctions committee ... in identifying responsible individuals and entities for trafficking through Libyan territory,”he told the council on Tuesday.

Suffice it to say that the UN Security Council held an emergency session to discuss the possibility of sanctions against individuals and entities, and of applying the full range of international law including the use of the international criminal court, the session ended without any resolution.

Also, the Libyan authority had denied

Some of the Black Africans being reportedly sold into slavery in Libya the story of auctioning people into slavery with the knowledge of the government. It however claimed that the situation in the country as far as the allegation of slavery was concerned, required help from the international community.

In the last one week, horrendous pictures of people allegedly sold into slavery under inhuman conditions had flooded the influential media, raising intense outrage from across the globe, particularly from Nigerian celebrities, many of whom had taken to their different social media pages asking government to intervene on behalf of Nigerians, who were being subjected to horrible and inhuman treatment in Libya.

It is also important to state that before the slave trading became really pronounced, there had been allegations of Nigerians being killed indiscriminately in Libya, albeit through human trafficking. In fact, government at a point had warned against traveling to Libya if there was no compelling need or reason.

It is therefore unthinkable and to say the least, comprehensible that slave trade which was abolished many years ago across the world is now trending in the

21st century, more so amongst the black nation themselves, courtesy the thoughtlessness of people of Libyan descent.

In 1806, the British Parliament passed the Foreign Slave Trade Act (46 Geo. 3, c.

52 (Eng.)), which forbade British subjects to trade in slaves with France or its allies.

A year later, the Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade (47 Geo. 3, c. 36 (Eng.) expanded the prohibition to the slave trade as a whole.

Although the abolition of slavery occurred at different times in different countries, it frequently occurred sequentially in more than one stage. For example, there was the abolition of the trade in slaves in a specific country, and then the abolition of slavery throughout empires.

Each step was usually the result of a separate law or action. It was first abolished by Cyrus the Great, when he freed the Babylonian slaves. Although slavery is now abolished de jure in all countries, according to Wikipedia, some practices akin to it continue today in many places throughout the world, including Libya.

With the Libyan experience now a source of concern across the globe and justifiably so, it is important for leaders

in Africa to not just evacuate their people and seek sanctions against the country, which is expected anyways, more importantly is that African leaders must seek better understanding of why their people desperately leave their country, which often times is better than where they are headed just to seek greener pastures.

Leaders in Africa must see the Libyan experience as a critical development challenge that must be taken with all its seriousness. If a vast majority of African countries are well developed and its leader sincere in the delivery of good governance, the Libyans themselves would not ponder the idea of slave trade let alone creating a major panic and discomfort around the world.

The African Union, beyond seeking support from the United Nations, must come together to address some of the development challenges on the continent, starting with the poor attention they often give to education. Africa has come of age but has yet to live that reality. Still beggarly and laidback in disposition, such ‘Red Sea’ approach to leadership is the result of what is happening in Libya today and it would take more than just pouncing on Libya to address.

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

Indeed, the ‘Kicks of a Dying Horse’!

R

Buhari

esponding to the continuous killing of Nigerians and some of its men in the armed forces by the Boko Haram sect, the Nigerian government said last week that what was happening in the fight against terrorism was the kick of a dying horse.

Kicks of a dying horse? A dying horse could still muster the strength to give the kind of kicks that sent many to their early grave?

If at this time in the life of this administration government has still not come to terms with the reality that its propaganda as far as the fight against terror-

ism is no longer effective if not shameful, then, it means it also has a communication problem with non-existent feedback mechanism.

Perhaps, government needs to send a special team to visit the war front and access the level of disconnect that is prevalent there. There are stories that the existential inter-agency rival is one major impediment to successful prosecution of the war against terrorism, causing many of the promising soldiers to lose their lives, in addition to the entrenched corruption story that is doing the rounds.

Government has a lot to do if it truly desires to decimate terrorism.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 3, 2017

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BRIEFINGNOTES

Lawyers at a NJC conference

Now That the NJC Panel is Set With the National Judicial Council Committee on the Monitoring of Corruption Cases set to commence sitting, the judiciary now has a rare opportunity to not only play a major part in the fight against graft but also leverage a rare opportunity to remake itself before the observing public, writes Olawale Olaleye

T

he National Judicial Council (NJC) Committee on the Monitoring of Corruption Cases announced last week that it was set to commence sitting and as a result, has resolved to produce new practice directions that would fast-track the trial of cases involving corruption and financial crimes.

NJC’s Director of Information, Mr. Soji Oye, in a statement last Sunday said the committee took the decision after its meeting in Abuja the previous week. He said the committee had concluded plans to meet with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in furtherance of its mandate.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, some weeks ago, at a special session of the Supreme Court, where he administered oath on 29 new Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), had directed all heads of court to designate courts and judges that would solely handle the on-going trials on a daily basis in order to fast-track all the pending corruption cases.

The practice directions sub-committee of the committee has therefore commenced a review of various practice directions of the courts by leveraging on both local and foreign comparative jurisdictions to meet global best practice.

The committee said it was imperative that other critical stakeholders buy into the mission of the body, saying regular updates and advocacy postings on activities of its sub-committees must be a

permanent feature of the project.

To that extent, the NJC said about 2,306 on-going corruption cases nationwide had been submitted to the committee, but that some chief judges of state high courts were yet to transfer such cases to the CJN for onward transfer to the committee.

To facilitate its work, the committee was divided into four sub-committees. They are Practice Directions, Training, Feedback and Engagement, and Awareness.

The committee also divided the country into three zones for ease of monitoring and evaluation of the said cases.

The zones are: Zone A – Abuja FCT, Zone B – Northern Zone and Zone C – Southern Zone.

From the record, Zone A has 554 pending cases; Zone B has 347 cases while Zone C has 1,405 cases. Also, Justice Suleiman Galadima, who recently retired from the Supreme Court, was appointed as chairman of the committee, after Justice Ayo Salami had rejected the position.

Onnoghen had announced that to properly monitor and effectively enforce the new policy, the NJC would constitute an Anti-Corruption Cases Trial Monitoring Committee (ACTMC) at its 88th meeting to be saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that both trial and appellate courts handling corruption and financial crime cases key into and abide by the renewed efforts at ridding the country of the cankerworm of corruption. He said with pre-election appeals cases now out of the way, the Supreme Court would henceforth channel its energy towards clearing as many of the corruption and financial crime cases as possible.

It is nearly a consensus that corruption is Nigeria’s greatest problem. It is for this reason that those, who seek a better country have consistently called on the judiciary to come to the country’s rescue.

Apart from the fact that the government is believed to lack the political will to fight corruption, judiciary’s lack of capacity to deal with the complex and timeconsuming proceedings are believed to account for why corruption has been on the rise in the country.

But of course, the assumption that the inability to deal with corruption within the judiciary as well as strengthen its integrity have formed critical part of its corruption problem. Whilst Section 40 of the EFCC Establishment Act, 2004 is averse to unnecessary delay of cases filed by the anti-graft agency and stay of proceeding should the defendant(s) appeal any application, judges handling corruption cases are said to often ignore this section of the Act. This is because not only do they allow defendants to get away with long adjournments, they also grant stay of proceedings at the slightest appeal and also frequently grant bail and permissions to defendants to travel abroad for medical check-ups each time they file application to that effect. But scenarios such as this have often made past chairmen of the commission to blame the judiciary for not cooperating with anti-graft agencies in tackling corruption.

Immediate past Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, once blamed one of the agencies for these slacks. During a courtesy visit to the commission, he explained that rather than

continue to blame the courts for not doing enough on the corruption cases before them, the judges were often helpless as the commission in their cases make quick dispensation of the cases not easy.

Auta not only berated the commission for poor investigation of corruption cases, but faulted a situation, where the commission would file about 150 to 200 count charges in court against a suspect when just three or four count charges could send the suspect to prison. He also faulted the frequent amendment of charge sheets, which according to him makes the case to start afresh each time this is done. He added that incessant amendments to charges filed by the commission and too many charges in one case for the accused to take a plea, among other such actions, amount to “dancing in one spot.”

Clearly, there is no stressing corruption as the bane of development in the country. What is however important is the disposition of the leadership to stemming the tide of corruption – the will power and commitment. And with the current contraption going on with the anti-corruption agencies in the country, the judiciary as a critical stakeholder must stand up stoutly to this scourge.

The initiative is no doubt commendable. It is however not an end in itself. The NJC committee must make sure it does not end up in scandal of any sorts and patriotically see through all cases with a view to setting abiding lessons in the collective resolve to change the national narrative. That corruption is endemic is not news, what is news is the resolve to see the fight against it as doable and genuinely so.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 3, 2017

CICERO/ONTHEWATCH

NDDC’s House of Commotion In this report, Emmanuel Addeh contextualises the lingering confusion surrounding the tenure of the current leadership of the Niger Delta Development Commission

T

he Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) appears to be a house in constant commotion, cataclysmic confusion and perpetual polemics. To be fair, the struggle to lead the interventionist agency or at least, have a bite of the regional pie is understandable. Those who have the rare opportunity to lead the body do not only control huge financial resources, but also with the positions, they are lucky to command some political power, which they often deploy in its fullness.

Aside governors of the states, where the NDDC operates namely, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross Rivers, Imo, Abia and Ondo, the next most influential persons therefrom are arguably the holders of positions in the agency, originally set up to facilitate the rapid, even and sustainable development of the Niger Delta.

Little wonder, therefore, that many managing directors and chairmen of the organisation right from its first Chairman, Mr. Onyema Ogochukwu from Abia State, to a former MD, Mr. Timi Alaibe of Bayelsa State and even the current one, Nsima Ekere, selected from Akwa Ibom, have had their eyes firmly fixed on dethroning governors of their respective states.

They are that powerful.

Set up 17 years ago, precisely in 2000 by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo government, the NDDC, headquartered in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, was a response by the Obasanjo administration to the many years of agitations by the oil-rich, but infrastructurepoor states, which felt abandoned, to have a better deal from the central government. But, it is also sadly debatable if successive boards of the body had been able to fulfill just one of its avowed missions, including ensuring a region that is “economically prosperous, socially stable, ecologically regenerative and politically peaceful”.

The intense politics within the NDDC is usually Machiavellian, with the end always justifying the means. The struggle to get a piece of the cake by the so-called stakeholders can be dirty and in extreme cases, deadly. The NDDC simply appears to be a cash cow, used in the main to win election, at least in the perception of the public, given the opaque manner the organisation is run.

So, it is within that context that the current confusion, purportedly created in part by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government, represented by the office of the Secretary to the Federal Government on the one hand and ‘outsiders’ jostling to take over the running of the agency on the other can be properly situated.

How two contradictory letters purportedly emanated from the same office of government as exalted as that of the SGF remains befuddling, but the information in the public space (not rebutted by the government) is that while one of the memos signed by sacked SGF, Babachir Lawal, put the expiry date of the members of the board at December this year, the erstwhile acting SGF, Habiba Lawal, unilaterally sent another memo indicating that the board must exhaust a full term of four years.

It has also become a proxy war, with each group trying to throw the dirtiest mud on the other, using third parties.

On the one hand, the federal government and the board and maintain that no law has been broken by the continuation in office of the current board led by Senator Ndoma-Egba as chairman and Ekere as managing director.

Yet on the other, those opposed to the continuation of the board in office insist that by the law establishing it, the current board can only serve out the tenure of the last one, which was dissolved in 2016 by the federal government.

Each party to the dispute quotes parts of the NDDC Act to buttress its argument as to whether an illegality has been committed by the continuation in office of the current board or not.

But it was Senator Emmanuel Paulker (Bayelsa Central), who first formally raised the alarm that there was a grand plan to surreptitiously extend

Managing Director of NDDC Mr. Nsima Ekere and Chairman of the Board Senator Victor Ndoma Egba at an event the tenure of the Ndoma-Egba and Ekere-led board on the floor of the Senate.

In a motion entitled: “The illegal extension of the tenure of the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)” at plenary, Paulker argued that Section 4 of the Act states that the office of the Chairman shall rotate among member States of the Commission in alphabetical order. He noted that the chairmanship of the NDDC started with Abia State and had rotated in accordance with the Act up to Cross-River state now.

Quoting from the Act setting up the body the senator observed that “Where a vacancy occurs in the membership board, it shall be filled by the appointment of a successor to hold office for the remainder of the term of his predecessor, so however, that the successor shall represent the same interest and shall be appointed by the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces subject to the confirmation of the Senate in consultation with the House of Representatives.”

He noted that the Board headed by Senator Ndoma-Egba was appointed by the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to replace the one headed by Senator Henshaw, maintaining that by section 5 (2) of the Act, the Board headed by Senator Egba (SAN), served out the remainder of the term of the board chaired by Senator Henshaw and would terminate in December 2017.

Paulker maintained that contrary to the clear provisions of Section 5 (2) of the NDDC Act, the tenure of the present board of the Commission had been illegally extended to four years by the immediate past Acting SGF, Lawal. The issue was thereafter referred to the NDDC Committee to take up the matter with the SGF for resolution after a debate at plenary.

However, in his response, the new SGF, Mr. Boss Mustapha, in a letter signed by a Permanent Secretary, Dayo Apata, titled: “Re: Clarification on the Tenure of the Governing Board of the NDDC”, concurred with his predecessor, Lawal, explaining that the Ndoma Egba-headed board was never a continuation of the dissolved one headed by Henshaw.

“Section 5(2) of the act refers to a situation where a vacancy occurs as a result of any of the provisions of section 5(1) of the act as opposed to when the entire board is dissolved. In this case,

the previous board was dissolved and its tenure extinguished.

“Dissolution of the board cannot be categorised as a vacancy under the act. Dissolution signifies total extinguishing of the board; it simply ceases to exist and there cannot be any remainder of any term which a successor is expected to complete”, he argued.

According to him, “There has to be a fresh composition of the board for a fresh term of four years.”

On the contrary, the sacked Lawal’s November 1, 2016 appointment letter, with reference number SGF.55/S.2/C.3/IV/52, handed to Ekere said: “...You are to serve out the remainder of the term of office of your predecessor, in line with section 5 (2) of the Act.” Therein lies the confusion.

With that memo, the tenure of the board is expected to be rounding off by now, but has by the second and somewhat contradictory letter ‘extended’ it to 2020.

Despite the hullabaloo, members of the current board seem to have remained strategically mute, though from all indications, they have moved to clarify their positions through proxies. But what can be distilled from their side of the divide is that they appear to be holding firmly to section 3(1) of the NDDC Act. “Subject to the provision of section 4 of this Act, a member of the Board, other than an ex-officio member shall hold office for a term of four years in the first instance and may be re-appointed for a further term of four years and no more”, goes the section.

The back and forth argument, nonetheless, is whether the Ndoma-Egba-led board merely continued where that of Henshaw stopped like what obtained in the past, according to the sacked Lawal’s letter, or whether it was a fresh mandate as written by the former acting SGF, Lawal and acceded to by Mustapha, who is currently occupying the position of SGF. What is clear is that the matter would not abate until there’s a definitive action on it which is seen to be fair to the major contenders.

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives waded into the confusion and urged the Buhari-led executive to adhere strictly to the provisions of the NDDC Act, 2000, with respect to the tenure of the current board and called on its committee on NDDC to ensure compliance

and brief the House within two weeks.

In a motion by Mr. Daniel Ofongo (PDP, Bayelsa), the lawmaker maintained that after the last Board of the NDDC was cut short, the letters of appointment of the new one required them to serve out the unexpired tenure of the board that was dissolved.

“The pronouncement was in clear violation of section 5 (2) of the NDDC Act, 2000”, he argued, insisting that if not properly handled, youth restiveness in the Niger Delta region could increase, noting that it would portend grave consequences on oil production and by extension the nation’s revenue.

The seeming imbroglio has also attracted the influential Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide, which warned against any attempt to ‘extend’ the tenure of the current board, saying the move was capable of causing fresh crisis in the region.

Secretary-General of IYC, Mr. Alfred Kemepado, who spoke in Yenagoa, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to prevail on persons pushing for the extension to drop the idea in the interest of peace and stability of the Niger Delta.

“The Presidency is instigating crisis in the Niger Delta region. We are warning the SGF to tread carefully and desist from acts capable of causing crisis in the Niger Delta region. We saw the appointment letter and it was clearly stated that the current board was appointed to serve out the tenure of the administration it took over from. It was clear and lacked ambiguity.

“By our calculation, the tenure of the current board has expired and they should vacate their offices for a fresh board to take over. Staying a day beyond their tenure is an act of corruption, which this administration is fighting against”, he said.

The youth leader called on anti-corruption agencies in the country to wade in and investigate why there were conflicting statements from the presidency and the spending the board has undertaken since inauguration.

“We are asking the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to begin investigation of this board, because we heard that they are spending a lot of money to ensure they sit tight in office. The presidency should graciously appoint a new board as stipulated in the laws and practice of NDDC”, he concluded.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 3, 2017

CICERO/ISSUE

Atiku at the Starting Line Despite the impression created by President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress that former Vice-President Atiku Abubabkar’s exit from their party was of no consequence, there had been subtle reactions, a strong indication that the camp of the president was indeed worried with Atiku already at the starting line. Iyobosa Uwugiaren writes

T

he exuding-buzz-swansong by some seemingly fidgety members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s exit from their party, fantasising that his move was of no consequence to their party, may not make sense to many political analysts and observers after all.

This could be seen from the energy, dynamism and time President Muhammadu Buhari’s spin-doctors/strategists and some of the former vice president’s political foes had deployed to demonise him since he announced his leaving the party a few days ago. For many, this suggests strongly that Atiku may have thrown spanner in the wheel of APC’s vehicle, ahead of the 2019 general election.

“When I consider the amount of negative energy the presidency is putting towards discrediting Atiku over his resignation from the ruling party, I wonder sometimes if Atiku has committed an unpardonable sin”, former President Goodluck Jonathan’s spokesman, Mr. Reno Omokri, said recently.

Check out the many attacks on him in both the traditional and new media in the last few days: suddenly, a video interview in which former President Olusegun Obasanjo literarily tried Atiku and found him guilty of corrupt practice during his tenure has gone viral on the social media. In the video interview, the former president talked about why Atiku could not allegedly go to the US today, because according to him, his former deputy is being investigated by the US government for alleged financial crimes.

For seemingly self-seeking reason, THISDAY gathered that Obasanjo was personally hit by Atiku’s exit from APC – very apprehensive that his political foes may get the PDP presidential ticket for the 2019 general election.

An insider said apart from his current move to criminalise Atiku before the international community, where he has huge contact, Obasanjo is said to have reached out to his “political son”, a former governor of Kano State, Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, to defect to the PDP in order to checkmate Atiku.

“If you check, there was a story they put out in one or two dailies during the week that there was mounting pressure from some PDP bigwigs on former governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to dump the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and re-join PDP’’, a close political associate of Obasanjo told THISDAY in Abuja.

The repeated call on the former governor of Kano State to go back to the PDP intensified few days after Atiku left the APC. Those rooting for Kwankwaso are hiding under the cover that the current senator and some PDP bigwigs, including the party’s Interim National Chairman, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, and Abdul Ningi, had met in Kaduna and Abuja respectively, advising him to return to his original home – PDP – saying some of the party’s chieftains were more disposed to Kwankwaso than Atiku.

“APC and Atiku’s political foes are already jumpy. If Atiku’s exit is of no consequence to APC and his political enemies, as they made us to believe, why are they giving his exit attention in the media every day? Surely, nemesis has caught up with them”, an insider stated.

Again, President Buhari was quoted as sympathising with the National Chairman of APC, Dr. John Odigie Oyegun, recently for losing one of his members to the opposition, obviously referring to Atiku and pretending not to be bothered, but his jumpy political moves lately appears to have suggested he is actually worried.

To be sure, in what some political observers described as a new rapprochement with some

Atiku

aggrieved members of his party, as the 2019 general election conversation picks up, Buhari went to Abidjan for the 5th EU-AU Summit recently, accompanied by a national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

THISDAY quoted an insider as saying that Buhari’s decision to get Tinubu to accompany him on the trip, “fits into the thinking of the President’s political strategists on the urgent need to pacify all aggrieved leaders of the ruling party”, especially with the recent exist of Atiku from the APC. At the recent National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, leaders of APC, including Tinubu, were said to have protested to the President, saying they had been marginalised in the APC-led federal government, especially in the federal government’s appointments. Atiku too said as much before he eventually left.

President Buhari was said to have promised to make more appointments to pacify the party leaders and reach out to others, who may have felt offended by his action or inaction. But the President has been foot-dragging over his promise. And in a statement Atiku personally signed recently, he said his reason for quitting the ruling party was because of arbitrariness and unconstitutionality that have gripped the party.

Defending his resignation, Atiku said the injustices and failure to abide by its own constitution, which had dogged the then PDP, have now been replicated in the APC, while the PDP appears to have purged itself of the malice.

“While other parties have purged themselves of the arbitrariness and unconstitutionality that led to fractionalisation, the All Progressives Congress has adopted those same practices and even gone beyond them to institute a regime of a draconian clampdown on all forms of democracy within the party and the government it produced”, the former Vice-President stated.

Apparently referring to Governor Nasiru El-Rufia of Kaduna State, Atiku said only last year, “a governor produced by the party wrote

a secret memorandum to the president, which ended up being leaked, saying in that memo, he admitted that the APC had not only failed to manage expectations of a populace that expected overnight ‘change’ but had failed to deliver even mundane matters of governance.

Atiku added: “Of the party itself, that same governor said Mr. President, sir, your relationship with the national leadership of the party, both the formal (NWC) and informal (Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso), and former Governors of ANPP, PDP (that joined us) and ACN, is perceived by most observers to be at best frosty. Many of them are aggrieved due to what they consider total absence of consultations with them on your part and those you have assigned such duties.”

He added that since the memorandum was written up until the time he left the APC, nothing had been done to reverse the treatment meted out to those of them invited to join the APC on the strength of a promise that has proven to be false, saying, “If anything, those behaviours have actually worsened.”

More importantly, Atiku said the party they put in place had failed and continues to fail the people, especially young people, wondering how the APC-led government can have a federal cabinet without even one single youth.

“A party that does not take the youth into account is a dying party. The future belongs to young people. I admit that I and others, who accepted the invitation to join the APC were eager to make positive changes for our country that we fell for a mirage. Can you blame us for wanting to put a speedy end to the sufferings of the masses of our people?”

Apparently still pushing in their attempts to cut the excitement that greeted Atiku’s plan to join PDP, the current campaign by Buhari’s men is that any opposition party bringing on board a Northern presidential candidate to challenge the President in the 2019 elections would not serve the interest of the Southern section of the country.

According to them, there will be concerns

in the South that should Atiku win the 2019 presidential election it could amount to power remaining in the North for 12 years, as it was unlikely that Atiku or any other Northerner emerging president in 2019 would serve for only one term.

APC, sources also said, is premising its calculations on the fact that the South-west may have already committed to supporting Buhari’s second term bid, as this would boost the chances of the region getting the presidency in 2023 through Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.

But loyalists of the former vice-president informed THISDAY recently that they were not unaware of the permutations for 2019 and that their principal had that narrative covered in his quest for development should he win the presidential election.

Outside the desperate move by Buhari’s men and Obasanjo to demonilise Atiku, it is curious to know that the PDP and some people on the streets are genuinely excited about the former Vice-President’s plan to join the PDP. “It is a huge joy to have a man like former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar with powerful political base and wide-spread contact across the six geo-political zones, coming to our party.

We believe that if he gets the ticket of our party, he would be able to give the ineffectual President, Muhammadu Buhari, a good fight. These are the feelings you get when you talk to the people on the streets”, a member of the National Executive Committee of PDP told THISDAY. The chieftain of PDP added that apart from former President Goodluck Jonathan with a “cult-like followership in the South-east and South-South, the party does not have a leader, who has political perceptiveness like Atiku before now, saying “his coming to our party is a welcome development.”

Welcoming Atiku’s exit from APC, Omokri said the amount of negative energy the presidency is putting towards discrediting Atiku over his resignation from the ruling party was unnecessary.

According to him, a party is a vehicle that takes politician from point A to point B, adding that “If you are in a vehicle that breaks down along the way, you naturally will not stay stuck at that same place. You either fix the vehicle or you get into another vehicle. The vehicle is important, but it is the destination that is the whole point.”

Further defending Atiku’s move, Omokri added that the former vice president never left the PDP at any time in the past but rather, he had always been pushed out of the party.

“After fighting the unconstitutional Third Term Agenda, Atiku was pushed out in 2006 after the re-registration exercise, which stripped his supporters of their membership of the party.

In Nigeria, other than the PDP, other parties are not real political parties in the true sense of the word. They are instead, vehicles cobbled together for the purpose of seizing political power.”

The APC which made promises to the Nigerian people during the elections, only to deny them after being elected, according to Omokri, has no moral right to accuse Atiku of abandoning the party.

“President Buhari and their rapidly sinking and shrinking party know that Atiku Abubakar has already defeated President Buhari should he decide to contest the 2019 Presidential election. That is why they are jittery”, he said.

Talking about how jumpy Buhari has been in the past few days over the former vice president, Omokri said on the same day that Atiku resigned from the APC, the president set up a committee to increase the national minimum wage.

To him, this is a classic knee jerk reaction and an indication that the president is jittery over his impending 2019 defeat and wants to seek the acceptance of Nigerians using salary increase.

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Ologbondiyan: Why I Want to be PDP Spokesman In this media chat, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, a former editor at THISDAY and former Special Adviser to ex-Senate President David Mark, speaks on why he is aspiring to be the spokesman of the Peoples Democratic Party. Excerpts:

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of the APC and they are now putting their hope on the PDP. I can assure you that the PDP remains that viable platform that Nigerians will use in 2019 to chase out this government that has wrecked our nation.

So, we have already mapped out our professional strategies and we will vigorously apply them across board to project the right image of the party to the people.

hat are your convictions for aspiring for the office of the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP? There is a perception problem about the PDP. Because the PDP has invested in me I believe that I have what it takes to correct this unfortunate misconception. I want to apply my experience, commitment and loyalty in revamping its image and effectively propagate its values and ideologies, building on the work already done by our leaders, who have made tremendous sacrifices in stabilizing the party and repositioning it especially at the heels of the unfortunate electoral setback of the 2015 general election. In spite of the challenges, these leaders ensured that the PDP remained the credible brand and I am focused on building on the solid foundation and frameworks to further reposition our great party for the task ahead.

The job of the PDP National Publicity Secretary is a very serious one. What makes you think you are qualified for this position?

What qualifies me for this job is that in the first instance, I am a journalist, and I am a very active member of the party. I have been around from the formative stage of the party and I have been involved. I was very close to one of its founding fathers and was among those who provided ideas on how to build the party. I remained a strong supporter up to 2007 when I formally joined the party.

In 2011, I contested on the platform of the PDP to run for the House of Representatives. Though I lost at the primaries, I have remained an irredentist member of the PDP and have been very active at the ward, state and national levels. I have also had the privilege of serving as the Special Adviser to the president of the Senate elected on the platform of the PDP between 2007 and 2015, a responsibility I discharged creditably.

I can assure you that there is no aspirant running for the National Publicity Secretary that is better qualified than I. If there should be such an aspirant who believes that he knows the party more than I do or who believes that he has worked for the party more than I have done, or who have propagated the ideals of the PDP more than I do; the principles of true federalism, social justice, equity, fairness and economic empowerment of citizens; I challenge that aspirant to an open debate.

You have remained stable in PDP even at a time some people have been quite politically mobile; leaving the party to other platforms. What convinced you to remain in PDP? I have remained loyal to the PDP because I believe in its ideology and vision. PDP is the only platform that guarantees all Nigerians the equal opportunity to express themselves and to aspire to any position despite ethnic, religious and class considerations. The

Ologb ondiyan PDP treads on the path of rule of law, equity and true federalism; the basic principles of democracy. This party has also allowed political pluralism making it possible for other parties to freely contest elections without molestation. So the ideology of the PDP is completely in tandem with my convictions as a person. Some of those contesting for the National Publicity Secretary have moved from one party to the other, but I have remained in the PDP, which is indicative of my commitment and loyalty to the party.

The PDP is in the opposition and it has a public perception issue. How do you intend to turn this around?

What is called PDP image problem today is a perception problem and how did we get it? It came from the APC, which is now the party in government.

They wore us a toga of corruption and called the PDP a party of corruption.

We are out to reset this narrative and nobody can do it better than a professional journalist who also has very strong experience in political narrative; somebody that has been tested and discharged to have performed creditably in handling this type of issue.

The point is; if you call PDP a party of corruption because some of our members have been accused and arraigned, but not convicted, what do we call the APC, whose Secretary to

the Government of the Federation, was indicted to have spent hundreds of millions of naira to cut grasses? Rather than allow the law enforcement agencies to invite, investigate and prosecute him, an administrative committee was constituted. The findings of the committee were kept for months, at the end of the day we had an administrative report removing him as SGF and bringing in his cousin as the new SGF. This type of thing never happened under the PDP. The PDP government was known to have investigated, tried and even convicted its members found guilty of maleficence.

Even at that, as we speak, there is no court of competent jurisdiction in the land where PDP has stood for the charge of corruption. The PDP has never been charged; it has never been tried and convicted. So those saying that PDP is a party of corruption are just being emotive and nothing more. But Nigerians have seen through all these.

Nigerians have discovered that they were lied to; they have discovered that the APC just rode to power with the instrumentality of propaganda.

One thing about propaganda and lies is that though they can help you to achieve your heinous agenda, they will fail at the end of the day and show themselves to be nothing but lies. So we have a situation where Nigerians have seen it all; they have seen the deception

For the office of the National Publicity Secretary there seems to be a large field of contestants. As at the last count, there were five and there is this speculation of having a consensus candidate; what is your take on this?

Let me elaborate on this notion of five aspirants. The position of the National Publicity Secretary was zone to the north central and the north central microzoned it to Kogi state. In Kogi state, there are three aspirants running for the position. At a meeting on Thursday night, the northern leaders reinforced the fact that the position has been zoned to Kogi state. Out of the five aspirants, one has withdrawn for me. I am talking of Hon. Shola Adedoyin who in his magnanimity of purpose and in recognition of my capacity to deliver wrote and openly withdrew for me. So in Kogi state we are left with three aspirants; myself, Barr. Kabir Usman and my friend and brother, Farouk Adejo-Audu.

Now talking about zoning the position to Kogi, a lot of issues were considered. You will recall that in time past, Senator Tunde Ogbeha from Kogi state declared his interest for the position of National Secretary, a position then zoned to the north central. Alhaji Kawu Baraje from Kwara state vied for the same position. Senator Ogbeha was told to withdraw for him and he did. So one good turn deserves another. Also among the leadership of the north central it is a known fact that the position has been zoned to Kogi state.

So as we speak now there is no consensus yet on the matter?

As at this moment no candidate has been endorsed. After the meeting on Thursday, the leaders of the north central were asked to go home and talk to aspirants with a view that some will step down for others.

Finally, what will be your focus if you assume office as the National Publicity Secretary?

Basically, my immediate focus in the PDP is to take off this odious garment of corruption. PDP is not a party of corruption. To the credit of PDP, in the last 16 years, we were able to rescue Nigeria from the throes of military dictatorship and sustained democracy in Nigeria.

To the credit of the PDP, the nation was rescued from huge foreign debt overhang; the economy was revamped to become one the fastest growing in the world and our critical sector were revitalized. I also know that as a matter of fact that the EFCC and the ICPC the APC is talking about today are creations of the PDP. These are verifiable facts. So we must redirect the narrative and put the records straight.

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CICERO/REPORT

Some PDP national leaders

For PDP,This is the Final Curtain Call!

Whether or not the Peoples Democratic Party is able to bounce back in 2019 will be determined by the outcome of its December 9 National Convention, writes Onyebuchi Ezigbo

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ext Saturday, the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), will go into what is seen as a most strategic national convention to elect a new set of national officers for the party. It is seen as most strategic, because of the impact it would have on the stability and fortunes of the party ahead of the next general election in 2019. Many political pundits have predicted that the party can make a great leap forward if it is able to hold a successful convention and elect credible new leadership by next Saturday.

The stakes are indeed high for the former ruling party, which is eager to stage a comeback to power after losing the presidency to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015, in a most humiliating circumstance. Also, having gone through a very harrowing experience in a long-drawn leadership crisis that lasted close to two years and was only saved by the historic judicial intervention, the PDP is in a haste to make amends and recover lost grounds.

Although the political atmosphere in the country is still hazy, the PDP appears to be witnessing rebounds in its image and electoral prospects, especially with the not-tooremarkable showings of the APC in the last two and half years in office. For this, the opposition party believes it can take advantage of the situation to refocus and attract more members even from the APC. The feeling of many members of the PDP is that the party could regain its preeminence in the political calculus of the country and possibly retake power at the centre in the next presidential election if the forthcoming national convention ends pretty well. The manner in which PDP emerged from the protracted legal tussle to swiftly organise and hold its non-elective convention last September gave every hope that the party was on its way back to reckoning.

However, achieving a rancour-free elective national convention is becoming a tall order or so it seems. As at

the close of nominations, eight aspirants had indicated their interest in the post of national chairman of the PDP. They are Uche Secondus, Chief Raymond Dokpesi (South-South), and Chief Bode George, Jimi Agbaje, Prof. Tunde Adeniran, Alhaji Rashidi Ladoja, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja (all from South-west).

At least, the events of the last few weeks of politicking and campaigns by those aspiring to contest for various offices at the convention have given cause for worry on whether the contest will not result in another leadership crisis. In keeping with its tradition, the party in its wisdom unanimously decided to zone the two most important positions, the presidential ticket and national chairman to the North and South respectively. But the jostle for the national chairmanship seat has been generating a lot of heat.

Unlike the build-up to the botched 2016 Port Harcourt national convention, when the seat was ceded to one of the zones in the South, the South-west, through a micro zoning arrangement, the present situation is different. The various stakeholders in the southern part of the country could not at the moment agree on any micro zoning arrangement as far as the chairmanship seat is concerned. This has put the leadership of the National Caretaker Committee (NCC) of the party almost on the edge in trying to manage the resultant suspicion over its neutrality.

It has also led to allegations and counter-allegations on the part of aspirants, who are trying to outwit each other ahead of the convention. For instance, some of the chairmanship aspirants have raised concerns about attempts to drag the Board of Trustees (BoT) into taking bias positions. Some have also complained about the conduct of congresses in states meant to elect delegates for the elective conventions.

A former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP and one of the chairmanship aspirants, Bode George, had in the heat of the tussle demanded the resignation of the chairman of the party’s National Caretaker Committee, Senator Ahmed Makarfi.

George said the move had become necessary because of the increasing evidence of clash of interests over the choice of the next chairman of the PDP at the forthcoming national convention. In a statement signed by the Director General of Bode George Campaign Organisation, Alhaji Ibrahim K. Aliu, the PDP chieftain alleged that Makarfi was brazenly allying with a particular aspirant in the South-south.

“For the sake of propriety, for the sake of all that is good and meaningful, for the sake of equitable balance and moral appropriateness, we strongly advise Senator Makarfi to resign his position forthwith, because he has been severely compromised. He can no longer play the role of a neutral arbiter, who stands far above the fray. He is already tarred and soiled in the muddy waters of partisan prejudice,” he said.

Another chairmanship aspirant and a former Minister of Education, Prof. Tunde Adeniran, had earlier petitioned the leadership of the party alleging bias in the manner in which the panel assigned to various states to conduct congresses were constituted. He mentioned some names to the panel, who he alleged were supporters of one of the chairmanship aspirants. There were also threats of a boycott and may be a possible convocation of parallel convention by those dissatisfied by the processes leading to the conduct of the convention.

One of the aspirants, George, who launched his campaign in Lagos, came with a challenge to other contestants to match his experience and competence on the job. Having been around for quite some time within the leadership circle of the PDP, George confidently believed that with his intimidating experience and candor, he stood a good chance of securing the position. He has boasted that he possessed what it would take to rebuild the PDP and to put it in a position to win the 2019 elections.

For him, there is no need to experiment with persons

Continued on Page 78

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CICERO/REPORT t FOR PDP, THIS IS THE FINAL CURTAIN CALL! t Continued from Page 77 that have not tested leadership at that level. But George does not seem to be in the good books of the power brokers, the group of PDP governors, whose role in the emergence of national leadership of the party cannot be ignored. Apart from his not being able to resolve the crisis that engulfed the party in the South-west zone even as then Vice Chairman, those who are against his candidacy feel he would be arrogant and stiff in handling difficult issues in the party.

A former acting national chairman of the PDP, Uche Secondus, is hoping to leverage on his short but eventful reign in office during which he tried to revive the party by refocusing its agenda and setting the foundation for reforming its affairs.

According to his campaign office, Secondus’ experience and disarming human relations are the most potent ingredients for him now because of the urgent harmonious environment the party would immediately require after the convention to confront the challenges ahead.

It is said that as a committed loyal party man, who has held virtually all critical positions in the party at various levels of the party structure, Secondus stands out well equipped more than anybody in the race at this time to take the party back to power.

“Secondus’ clear understanding of political party administration, his firm grip of the party’s workings, are clearly his biggest strength as the party is poised to take its rightful place in the polity and to quickly save Nigerians from the obvious lack of direction the APC government has subjected the country to in the last two years”.

Another aspirant, Gbenga Daniel, has paid his dues in the party and wields considerable influence having been part of the many efforts to rebuild the party and to reconcile disputes amongst its ranks. Daniel spoke of his aspiration recently.

“It is not a do-or-die affair. It is an inhouse contest and I’m running to win so as to bring my experiences to bear on the party and work on re-positioning the party”.

But the crisis in his South-west zone has not abated despite the series of peace efforts. Presently, the dispute between him and another party stalwart, the Senator representing Ogun East senatorial district, Buruji Kashamu, has persisted with no signs of abating. His declaration for the chairmanship contest has sparked off further tussle between him and Senator Kashamu.

Former education minister, Adeniran, is an Ekiti State-born political tactician, who is going on with his well-laid out campaign for the plump job at the PDP. A visit to his campaign office located in Wuse area of Abuja will convince anyone of his seriousness and cool-headed approach to the contest. Adeniran is well-connected to all the power blocks in the party and boasts a good knowledge of the workings of the party and its core vision, having been one of the

L-R: Governors Ben Ayade (Cross River), Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa) and Ayodele Fayose (Ekiti) at a PDP event ...recently founding fathers. He served as the chairman of the sub-committee of the party on strategy during the effort to resolve the leadership crisis in the party.

The other aspirant, Agbaje came into limelight in the PDP, when he flew the party’s Lagos flag in the 2015 governorship contest.

Agbaje also almost emerged as the PDP joker, whom some of the governors wanted to succeed the ousted former National Chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, at the botched May 21, 2015 national convention in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. He is expected to assert his personality again this time around, perhaps, not as anyone’s stooge.

From the South-south, Chief Dokpesi, is also in the race and has been touring the country campaigning for support from PDP stakeholders. Dokpesi, who is the founding chairman of DAAR Communications Plc, brings to the contest the promise of a vibrant leadership. To his credit, he has contributed a lot to the increase in the fortunes of the PDP especially the current rebounds being witnessed in the party today, using his wide media reach. But the list is not yet complete as a former Minister of Sports, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja, is also said to be interested in the job. Although he has not come out strongly as others have done, there are indications that he has a keen interest in the job and has begun to consult to that effect.

Other key positions that are keenly being contested include the office of the National Secretary, the National Publicity Secretary, the Deputy National Chairman and National Organising Secretary. But somehow the

contests for these positions have not been as stiff as that of the national chairman, because the stakeholders have reached an agreement on a zoning arrangement.

Based on the large number of the chairmanship aspirants, and the anticipated stiff competition it would generate, the party decided to draw up an undertaking on peaceful conduct before, during and after the convention, which they all signed. Part of the terms of agreement signed by the aspirants is that “whoever that is crowned by God and elected by the delegates will be accepted to all of them and that they would join hands to rebuild the party afterwards.

However, the mounting criticism and suspicion by some of these aspirants have forced Makarfi to come out to openly clarify issues and reassure them of the determination of his leadership to organise a transparent, free and fair election at the convention.

Makarfi, while dismissing the allegations of bias, reminded the chairmanship aspirants of the need to abide by the agreement and undertaking they voluntarily entered into.

He said: “In the peace accord, which we have signed, you categorically stated that by the South, you meant all the states in the South and by the North all the states in the North. If aspirants themselves come to a conclusion, develop a document and sign, it is very unfair to hear accusations that the caretaker committee has refused to do some things that we have no powers to do.

“We also did say that wherever there is a political arrangement whether in the North or South to push for consensus, we will

acknowledge it. But we also said we have no power to force delegates but it can form a basis for campaign”, Makarfi said, noting that the NCC could not endorse micro zoning as it has no power to warrant its interference in the choice of chairman of the party.

“I want to make one thing categorically clear that it is very unfair insinuation.

Some people think that I, as chairman of the caretaker committee, should assume the power that we don’t. We have no power beyond the convention and I want to remind all of us, the only thing convention did was to zone two positions and as chairman or caretaker committee, we cannot go beyond that”. In the same vein, the former president and national leader of the PDP, Goodluck Jonathan, has also weighed in to drum support for a transparent and credible convention. Jonathan, while receiving one of the aspirants, who paid him courtesy visit, specifically emphasised the need to choose capable hands to man the positions of the national chairman and that of the National Publicity Secretary. He said the party must put square pegs in square holes if it hopes to realise the dream of returning to power in 2019.

All preparations for the convention are now in the final stages, with the formation of the convention planning committee being expected at the National Executive committee meeting of the party held last Thursday.

Barring any unforeseen occurrence, the more than 4,000 delegates of the party will troop out on Saturday to elect new national officers.

NOTES FOR FILE

Which is a Bigger Threat: Illiteracy or Terrorism?

Minister of Education, Alhaji Adamu Adamu

If the talk about development in Nigeria and indeed the whole of Africa must be sustained intelligently, then, it cannot be divorced from the debate on the state of education across the board. According to UNESCO, the standard stipulation for budgetary provision for education by any country is at least 26 per cent.

Unfortunately, with the current budget of some African countries, only Ghana, Ivory Coast, Uganda and Morocco have met the target.You may want to ponder the following statistics: Ghana (31.0%), Cote d’Ivoire (30%), Uganda (27%), Morocco (26.4%), South Africa (25.8%), Swaziland (24.6%), Kenya (23.0%), Botswana (19%),Tunisia (17%), Lesotho (17.0%), Burkina Faso (16.8%), and Nigeria (7% 2018 Budget).

What the data above presupposes is that the problem of a tottering education system is generally an African thing.The sad point here, however, is that Nigeria is the only country, which despite its appellation as an ‘African giant’, is not doing anything to address this anomaly with her paltry 7 per cent allocation to education in the 2018 budget. What a government! Other countries are consciously taking the place of education very seriously with a view to focusing on the overall development of their country.

It may be correct and defensible to condemn the Kaduna State teachers, who failed primary four pupils’ test and dismiss them as unworthy of keeping their teaching job.

It is important to also see them as victims of this annoy-

ingly poor education system. And if they are a product of this horrible system, really, how on earth are they supposed to be better than the system that produced them? It is a simple case of capacity. Period!

The current crop of Nigerian leaders had benefitted from an effective system, which placed emphasis on premium education at some point in their lives. But, in what ways have they given back to the society? Even President Muhammadu Buhari is a beneficiary of an era that placed premium on education. He benefitted from overseas training by the Nigerian Army. How come he does not see the need to put education in its pride of place? Why double down on infrastructure and not triple down on education? When you build the infrastructure, are they not to be used by the legion of illiterate generations you have created and left unattended to?

If African leaders truly value development, they must realise that as they are developing education, they are equally developing other sectors of the system contemporaneously, because everything is governed by educational skills. Therefore, if leaders are worried about terrorism or terrorist attacks, they have more or less misplaced their fears. In truth, they should be worried about the upcoming illiterate generations that will undo whatever efforts they tend to be putting into development now including the cosmopolitan children they are raising in those countries that place value on education.

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PERSPECTIVE

L-R: Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (left); Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike; and Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha during the launch of the clean-up of Ogoni land by the Vice President

The Ogoni Clean up and Rivers Politics Magnus Abe

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lot of Nigerians have called me to request that I condemn Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s charge that the Ogoni clean-up is a political project, and I said no I would not condemn the governor for saying what he said. I will rather thank him. He is doing what the opposition should do in a democracy.

The governor is a member of the opposition Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Democratic Part (PDP). Like I said to the governor when we exchanged pleasantries after his remarks, â&#x20AC;&#x153;if it is a political project then you have fired the first shotâ&#x20AC;?.

The ruling All Progressives Congress to which I, and President Muhammadu Buhari, the true facilitator and greatest advocate for the clean up of Ogoniland both belong should fire our own shot and it needs not be in throwing tantrums over the governorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s statement.

Governor Wike is right to say that the Ogoni clean-up is a political project because it is a star project of the federal government and one to which the President has staked his hard-earned reputation. If the project does not go well it will be a hot topic for the PDP in the 2019 general elections, just the same way the inexcusable failure of President Jonathan to implement the report was a glaring political blunder, which we the APC capitalised on in 2015. I led the APC campaign personally into every community in Ogoniland and our slogan was APC!!! â&#x20AC;&#x153; One Billion Dollarsâ&#x20AC;? and the enthusiastic response was always â&#x20AC;&#x153;One Billion Dollarsâ&#x20AC;?

APC!!!

In response to our campaign, President Buhari did something unprecedented in the history of Nigerian politics when he not only took personal ownership of the Ogoni clean-up, but also has kept it on the front burner by showing uncommon commitment and passion for the program just as he has done for the war against corruption. It was the fire and passion with which the President pursued the Ogoni clean-up project that led to the total defeat of the PDP in the Rivers South-East Senatorial District.

Every week, something was happening to bring the project one step closer to reality. Governor Wikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s statement stems from the fact that he believes that those steps were being taken at that time because of the rerun elections to enable the APC capture the minds of the people, which we did.

However, while we as APC intend to and indeed will reap political capital out of the presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unprecedented love and commitment to the clean-up of the Niger Delta, for President Buhari it clearly goes beyond politics. The President and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo have to my knowledge mentioned the clean-up of Ogoniland whenever they have discussed the strides of the administration or the issues of the Niger Delta. The President has even taken the issue beyond the shores of Nigeria, He mentioned it during his visit to east Africa; he mentioned it while in the United States and even recently during the presentation of the 2018 budget proposals before a joint session of the National Assembly. It is clear that his passion and commitment to the issue is real. This is the only agency in the life of this administration which President Buhari physically inaugurated the board of trustees and the governing council by himself in the

Presidential villa. The President did not personally inaugurate even the board of NDDC Indeed, the President has made the clean-up of Ogoni land central to the heart of his government. That is why the opposition has also cleverly picked it up as a central point. The performance of the government on the clean-up will definitely be an issue in the 2019 elections.

The opposition can play politics, but we should deal with the facts before we play the politics. What are the facts? The facts are as follows: 1) Unprecedented and laudable progress has been made in bringing the clean-up of Ogoniland to reality.

2) The PDP government in which Governor Wike served as the minister representing Rivers State received the report, and as Nigerians would say, sat on it and did nothing until Buhari became President and picked up interest in this matter. Without Buhari Ogoni clean-up had gone into voice mail.

3) Since Amina Mohammed left the scene as Minister of Environment, there has been a glaring disconnect between the Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s passion and vision and what is now going on around the project. The Ogoni people and indeed Nigerians understand that the clean- up itself will take twenty five to thirty years. That is clearly stated in the report so no one expects the government to archive the impossible.

However, there are quick wins, which can be implemented immediately that will translate Mr Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s passion into substance, create great impact in the local communities and also silence the opposition for good.

As a Senator just coming from an oversight visit on the Ogoni clean up with the Senate Committee on Environment, I made the following observations: a) HYPREP, the agency charged with the implementation of the Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision of the clean-up is squatting in four rooms provided at the back of the NOSDRA office in Trans-Amadi Port Harcourt. Some members of the staff of HYPREP are still hanging in the corridors of NOSDRA. There is currently no reasonable accommodation for HYPREP even though approval has now been given for HYPREP to acquire and operate from its own premises. b) There is currently no activity going on in the area remotely traceable to President Buhariâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clean up programme for Ogoniland, all we were shown were Demonstration sites operated by private companies to showcase their technology. c) The UNEP report made heavy weather of the contaminated water, and lack of clean drinking water, high levels of benzene and carcinogenic materials in the drinking water in the area and recommended the immediate provision of clean water. As we speak HYPREP is still proposing a study of the water sources and facilities in Ogoniland. d) The UNEP report talks about a programme to conduct a medical outreach to assess the impact of Hydrocarbon pollution on the health of the communities. Everyday that this remains undone lives will continue to be lost. This is clearly unacceptable. e) The UNEP report talks of training and creating alternative livelihoods in the local communities; there is no report of progress on this score and no action has been taken to improve the live of any human being in Ogoniland. f) The UNEP report talks of commitment to an expenditure

of 200 million Dollars a year for an initial period of five years. So far only 270 million naira has been released to HYPREP, which is less than 0.0001% of 200 million Dollars, which should have been spent this year. g) The report talks of a Centre of Excellence that will drive research in the study of the environment and provide a reference point on environment, agriculture and sustainable livelihood issues beyond Africa. This can be purpose-built as a University of Environment, Science and Agriculture, to enable the centre achieve and sustain its mandate. No action has been taken on this project and h) As I mentioned in the course of our interaction with the HYPREP management, in the recent tendering process carried out by the agency, local companies were unfairly excluded. They must be given a fair chance to participate in and at all levels of the clean-up process.

While there are institutional and procedural obstacles that militate against speedy implementation of government programs, the drivers of this particular program must look for creative ways to overcome these challenges and justify the presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s optimism and confidence. Challenges were also there in the days of Amina Mohammed and even those who did not agree with her agreed that she made things happen. We need to find that pace once more to move the project at its intended presidential speed.

Finally, on Rivers politics so much noise has been made about my interactions with Governor Wike at social and official engagements where we met recently. Ordinarily, I would not have responded to cheap talk, but some of those comments are coming from and have been made at very high levels of our party the APC to create the impression that I and those friendly to me in the party in Rivers state are on our way out of the All Progressives Congress. I will make just three comments on this.

I have always strived to maintain my relationship with people irrespective of our political differences and I will continue to do so. I contested a well-fought electoral contest for my seat in the State House of Assembly against Mr Nomkia Bright in 1999, that contest went into a rerun, I got to know him in the course of that election and he has remained a friend ever since even when we do not agree politically. He still visits me till date.

I contested a very bitter and sometimes acrimonious election against Chief Dr Normate Kpea in 2011. After the election I invited him to my house and we ate and broke bread together.

When he had a ceremony after the elections before leaving for the United States, I participated by sending someone to represent me even though I was out of the country at the time.

I battled with Senator Olaka Worgu for over two years for the Senate seat. We had three elections, we got up to the Court of Appeal twice and we are still in the Federal High court today as I write. I greeted Olaka whenever we met in the court and even the Judges commented on it. I attended a ceremony in his house at the height of the contest. Senator Worgu knows that I gave him a worthy contest but that did not change me.

In 2011, I was secretary to the Government of Rivers State when we hosted the then CPC candidate now President Muhammadu Buhari at a PDP Government House. â&#x20AC;&#x201C;â&#x20AC;&#x201C;â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Abe is a senator from River State (See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

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

Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x;Ă?Ă&#x2013; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x;ĂĄĂ&#x2039; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă? Ă&#x2122;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013; Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2018;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2039; Tunji Olaopa

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he problem with genuine patriots is that they always carry about a strange death wish. In fact, the most significant test for patriotism is the willingness to give up oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life for oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s country.

And it should immediately become obvious that putting this yardstick this way reduces the space of patriotism considerably. For Horace, the Roman poet, â&#x20AC;&#x153;it is a sweet and seemly thing to die for oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s country.â&#x20AC;?

But patriotism goes beyond poetry; it is a real life choice that compromises every other preferences and alternatives. When Anna Akhmatova, the Russian poet, remarked in a verse, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am not one of those who left their land/For enemies to tear apartâ&#x20AC;?, she immediately clarified the agony that Horace hid beneath his celebration of the patriot.

In Nigeria, we are presented with a graphic representation of what Akhmatova meant. Nigeria is a graveyard of patriots, those who could not just be silent while watching the enemies tear apart their country. The profound irony about the Nigerian predicament is that the patriots often have to fight those who are in charge of the machineries and apparatuses of the state, and they remain ever so powerful and insensitive. Listen to Wole Soyinka delivering the funeral oration at the grave of Professor Ojetunji Aboyade: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nigeria kills us slowly; one by one, but surely. If Oje had given less of himself to a thankless nation, he would be alive today.â&#x20AC;? But if he had been asked, Aboyade would consider any attempt at dissuading him from giving his life for Nigeria anathema. He must have known he was on a death path, and he continued all the same.

There is no patriot that does not see the objective of patriotism in its simplicity. According to Neil Coward, the British dramatist, that objective is straightforward: â&#x20AC;&#x153;That one day this country of ours, which we love so much, will find dignity and greatness and peace again.â&#x20AC;? The fulfilment of this objective now depends on the expertise and endeavor of the patriot. For the late Dr Samuel Layinka Ayodeji Manuwa, the challenge of patriotism was in putting in place the administrative components of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s healthcare system and policies that will facilitate the smooth running of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s medical system. And this came right at the juncture of independence when institutional dynamics and processes were coming together in an attempt to put Nigeria on a firm postcolonial footing after the horror of colonial egocentrism.

This was a herculean task, the same kind that the late Professor Latunde Odeku faced on his return to the country as the first neurosurgeon not only in Nigeria but in Africa. Manuwa was the first, amongst the corps of Nigerian elite medical patriots, to return and put his medical expertise at the service of the Nigerian state.

He was not only a dedicated surgeon whose

training of neurosurgical staff at the UCH, his effort could only be considered a relative success because of the pioneering original efforts of Dr Manuwa and others like him who had to rethink the colonial system and its medical delivery dynamics.

For identifying the administrative core of the challenge of healthcare delivery in Nigeria, it became inevitable that Dr Manuwaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s superhuman energies would not only make him the Chief Medical Adviser to the Nigerian Government, but that he would become the first Nigerian Commissioner of the Federal Public Service Commission.

It is unfortunate that Manuwaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s place in the series of administrative attempts at reforming the public service system in Nigeria has hardly been recognized.

This position enabled him to inject his first class reform ideas on how the medical services could be made to perform efficiently in a postcolonial and post-independence context at a time when Nigerians carried the palpable hope of enjoying the fruits of independence. And what better, and indeed first, place to enjoy this than in the effective treatments of colonial psychosis? Fundamentally, Manuwa saw the urgency of injecting professionalism and public Dr. Manuwa being decorated by colonila oďŹ&#x192;cials service values into the template of the medical services in a manner that will make the University College Hospital an efficient healthcare machinery. its many and varied personnel and the citizens choice of tropical medicine already demonstrated The medical services in Nigeria, and most of a country. We immediately see the problematic his commitment to the profession of medicine especially at the time Dr Manuwa was laying its of such a position in a Nigerian state that is just in a difficult postcolonial context. In the eighteen foundation at the UCH, required a crop of managgetting used to independence; and an indepenyears of service to tropical surgery and general dence whose institutional template the colonialists ers and personnel that had the competence and medicine, it was essential for him to invent the capacities to facilitate the running of a postcolonial had undermined before leaving. In the first place, excision knife for treating tropical ulcers. But like university college hospital. Thus, Manuwa saw, with where was the institutional space within which Odeku, he had to be involved in the day to day medical services could be directed and managed? administrative clarity, what has been missing since institutional working of health policy to be able to the Fulton Report of 1968 and the Udoji Report of In the second place, where was the competence, have a deeper perception of how medical services and the healthcare dynamics work. Unlike Odeku, skill set and professional acumen requires to keep 1974 recommended a performance management system that has the advantages of introducing medical services at the cutting edge? Thus, as the Dr Manuwa was not contented with just being a a managerial revolution the public service need Inspector General of Medical Services in Nigeria, surgeon, and struggling against the administrative to transform its performance and productivity dysfunctions that prevented medical care to diffuse his first task was championing the establishment framework. However, what the UCH has become of a university teaching hospital in Nigeria. This to the Nigerian populace. There was equally a came to fruition with the coming into existence of today is a direct reflection of the state of the public postcolonial imperative involved in Manuwaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the University College Hospital (UCH) that was to service generally in Nigeria. Healthcare delivery decision to extend the content of his patriotic system constitutes one of the damning aspects of become the receptacle for the patriotic exploits of service. Nigeria was at the point of achieving an Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s infrastructural deficit. And the Manuwa other medical champions in Nigeria: Emmanuel administrative transfer of political power away legacy of medical service tells us that this deficit has Latunde Odeku, Adeoye Lambo, Umaru Shehu, from the colonialists to Nigerians. The objective of always been there. The entry of the military into the Nigerianisation Policy was to ensure that the es- Oritsejolomi Thomas, Olikoye Ransome-Kuti and Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s political history became one of the singular many others. sential services and institutions become sufficiently dynamics that undermined the works of patriots However, building a college hospital did not indigenized in a manner that remove every vestige of colonialism and their ostensible policies from the define the full extent of Manuwaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s challenge in the like Manuwa.

When the Udoji Report was submitted, the consolidation of medical services in Nigeria. There Nigerian governance framework. military and its collaborators deliberately neglected The immediate post-independence period in Ni- was an urgent need to integrate his duties as the director of medical services with the administrative the performance management and managerial geria was a herculean time in terms of administrative necessities. And it is the genius in Dr Manuwa processes of the Nigerian public service. In fact, we reforms dimensions of the report and focused, can say that the birth of the UCH was the graphic myopically, on the wage component. This became that enabled him to immediately perceive an area a brutal inversion of the axiomatic truth that the demonstration of the public service challenges of national development that was very critical if health of a people is the wealth of the nation. that the medical services would face. In other Nigerians are ever willing to make sense of their postcolonial existence. Medical services constitute an words, with the establishment of the UCH, the â&#x20AC;&#x201C;â&#x20AC;&#x201C;â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Dr. Olaopa is the Executive Vice Chairman of administrative framework that permits the smooth challenges of healthcare delivery became a stark Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy and seamless planning and coordination of medical one. It became obvious that the medical system (ISGPP) (tolaopa2003@gmail.com; tolaopa@isgpp. that the colonialists put in place was not meant to com.ng). and health services. The medical service manager facilitate the health of the colonized. While the late therefore occupies a unique and responsible space (See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com) Professor Latunde Odeku was putting in place the that mediates between the healthcare system with

BeautyandthePrinceâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;MarriageisFragile,HandlewithPrayer eep down inside, most of us love fairy tales.

That explains why we have been glued to our televisions since the story of the engagement of Prince Harry to Megan Markle broke on Monday (27th November) last week.

We love fairy tales because they make us believe that dreams come true, they make the unimaginable possible and they always end with â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;Śand they lived happily ever afterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

Who does not want that?

A whatsapp video clip with snippets of Meganâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life has been trending. It depicts the challenges she faced as a child born to an African- American woman and a Caucasian father. That little girl who experienced the pain of racial discrimination and the dilemma of being bi-racial, first hand, is about to be married to a Prince of one of the most powerful monarchies in the world and 5th in line to the throne of Great Britain. Now this is the stuff fairy tales are made of!

Many little girls grow up with the desire that one day their prince will come and sweep them off their feet. I believe many

D

young men also dream of the day they will find their princess. Well it has happened for Megan and Harry. On a lighter note, while there is rejoicing in the Markle household, there would be weeping in many houses.

Every Cinderella has ugly step sisters, whose feet did not fit into the glass slippers the prince took around in search of the lady who caught his fancy.

Megan has been compared to Harryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mum, Princess Diana. Although, as a divorcee, she hardly cuts the picture of the ideal bride for Prince Harry unlike Diana Spencer, the innocent English rose, who married Prince Charles. But, like Diana, Megan is a beautiful and stylish woman.

Like Diana, she has also been involved in humanitarian work. Ms Markle has campaigned for clean water in Rwanda, advocated for gender equality and women empowerment and spoken out against modern day slavery.

Harry and Megan will not be the first international celebrity couple the world has followed so obsessively. Over the years there have been many; John F Kennedy (JFK) and Jackie Bouvier in 1953, Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly in 1956, Nelson and Winnie

Mandela in 1958, Prince Abdullah and Rania 1993and of course Prince Charles and Diana Spencer in 1981.

We wish the story of all these marriages had ended with â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;Ś and they lived happily ever afterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Unfortunately life happened and JFK, Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 35th President, was assassinated in 1963, with Jackie seated beside him. Grace died in a ghastly car accident in 1952 living Prince Rainier broken hearted, Nelson and Winnie divorced in 1996, 6 years after he was released from a 27- year imprisonment and Diana died in a ghastly car accident with her lover Dodi Fayed in 1997. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Life is fragile handle with prayerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is an inscription I once came across. The same is true for marriage. While the trials that befall some are beyond their control, some trials are actually manmade. Either way, the institution of marriage has come under threat and you are not spared this onslaught, whether you are blue blood or red blood. The forces that come against marriage do not respect money or class. If anything, those in the public glare tend to be more hard-hit.

God has a purpose for every marriage.

Marriage is designed to be a loving covenant-

relationship between a man and a woman to produce godly seed so God can establish His covenant upon the earth, from generation to generation.

From my humble experience following 20 years of marriage, my advice to Megan will be â&#x20AC;&#x201C; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;A wise woman builds her home but a foolish woman plucks it up with her own handsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (Proverbs 14:1). Every married woman should ask the Lord for the wisdom to build her house on the rock so that it will remain standing when the rain, storms and winds of life beat on it. To Prince Harry I will say â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;dwell with your wife with understandingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (1 Peter 3:7). Every man presumably choses to marry the woman he loves. When she has become his wife, there will come a time when he will have to choose to love the woman he married. And to both of them I will say â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;a family that prays together stays togetherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

The best way to build a strong marriage is to make God, the author of marriage, the centre of the union. In practical terms we conduct ourselves in marriage, according to biblical injunction. God being in charge is not an antidote to trials but it is security in tough times and in good times too.

T H I S D AY SUNDAY DECEMBER 3 2017

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 3, 2017

GAVEL TO GAVEL

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

An Unpleasant Story of 2018 Budget Therearestrongindicationsthatitmaybeimpossibletopassthe2018N8.612trillionAppropriation Bill before the end of the year, writes Damilola Oyedele

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heexecutivearmofgovernmenthas made it clear that it wants to restore the nation’s fiscal year and budget calendar to January-December as against the current practice where budgets are sometimes signed in June, as was the case with the 2017 N7.3 trillion budget. But the hopes that the 2018 N8.621 trillion Appropriation Act would be passed before the end of this year, which is less than 30 days away are dashed by the day. Several factors lend credence to this.

For starters, the budget was presented to the National Assembly on November 7, 2017. Normally, the budget process at the legislature takes a minimum of three months. Perhaps because of the need for expediency in this instance, it may be compressed to two months. It would therefore have been close to the end of January 2018 before it would have been passed (lawmakers would embark on Christmas/New Year recess).

There was however a hitch even before the budget estimate was laid by President Muhammadu Buhari. The 2018-2020 Medium Term Expenditure Framework /Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) was presented just few weeks before the budget estimate was laid. Procedurally and practically, MTEF ought to have been passed, and then its assumptions used to prepare the budget.

Delay in Passage of MTEF AsatThursday,theNationalAssemblywasyetto approvetheassumptionsofMTEF.Theassumptions which formed the basis of the 2018 N8.612 trillion Appropriation bill is based on benchmark oil price of US$45 per barrel, oil production estimate of 2.3 million barrels per day, including condensates, exchange rate of N305/US$ for 2018, real GDP growth of 3.5 per cent and inflation rate of 12.4 per cent.

Many lawmakers during the budget debate, which held in both chambers last week, said the assumptions were unrealistic, with calls for the increase in the benchmark from $45 to about $50.

Saraki particularly questioned the oil output projectionof2.3mbarrelsperday,wherethecountry had 1.9mbpd in 2017. He explained that in the last two months, the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) has not been able to put any money in the Excess Crude Account, even though oil prices have been as high as $60 per barrel.

“The only reason must be that oil production is much less than what we are budgeting for. I think this is an area we need to look at seriously. It must be that the level of theft and vandalism that are still going on is very high and it is not being properly reported. I think we at the National Assembly have a role to play,” Saraki said.

BothchambersonThursdayagreedtoreschedule the consideration and passage of the document to Tuesday, following fears that the Organisation for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would cut Nigeria’s output to 1.8 mbpd.

It therefore translates that the 2018 appropriation act cannot pass through second reading and be committed to committees until after MTEF has been considered and passed.

Partial Blame on the Executive Aside not presenting the MTEF and budget estimate in ample time to meet the anticipated December deadline, there is more blame on the part of the executive arm of government.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, in his speech when the budget was laid on November 7, 2017 indicated that the preparations for the budget estimates might have been shoddy.

“Once again, let me place it on record that the 2018 Budget preparations suffer from inadequate consultationsbetweentheMDASandvariousoversighting committees of the National Assembly.

Consequently, one can only hope and pray that it does not lead to delay in the consideration and passage of the budget,” he said.

More recently, the Senate cautioned that the new trend by heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies to deliberately shun invitations from its constituted committees could slow down the 2018 budgetary process.

In a statement by its spokesman, Senator Sabi Adullahi, the Senate said Chief Executives of critical agencies such as the Nigeria Customs Service (Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (Dr. Maikanti Baru), Central Bank of Nigeria(Mr.GodwinEmefiele),theNationalBureau of Statistics (Dr. Yemi Kale) and others, did not honour the invitation of the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriation to defend the 2018-2020

Buhari shakes hand with Dogara, while Saraki looks on during the presentation of the 2018 Budget

Medium Term Expenditure Frame work.

Such attitude, the Senate said, would not help their principal’s, (President Muhammadu Buhari) bid for the passage of the 2018 budget before the end of the year, adding that committees are hampered whentheheadsofthesecriticalagenciesdonotshow up, or when they send representatives, who cannot adequately respond to questions put before them.

The Senate spokesman said the upper chamber of the National Assembly decided to make the attitude public now, so it would not later be accused as an institution of slowing down the passage of the budget.

“For the budget, what we are trying to say is that it is serious enough for all of these chief executives to honour the National Assembly by their presence so that we can look at these issues critically.

In doing so, they will be honouring the request by their principal and our overall President and Commander-in-Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari,” the spokesman added.

The Neglect of Procedure ForHon.KingsleyChinda(RiversPDP),preparing and submitting the budget estimates, without an approved MTEF is procedurally wrong, adding that it is not possible for the budget to be passed before the end of 2017.

InanextensiveinterviewwithTHISDAY,Chinda, who is Chairman, House Public Accounts Committee (PAC), said the budget process would suffer setback if there was a disagreement between both arms of government on MTEF. Chinda, therefore, argued that the National Assembly accepted to discuss both MTEF and the budget proposal at the same time, due to the yearningofNigerianswhowantthebudgetpassed.

“The MTEF ought to have been passed, which would give the executive arm the benchmark and thresholds to use for the proposal which they want to lay before the National Assembly. But they went ahead and prepared the budget without MTEF. I have never seen any year where there is complete agreement between the two arms, unless there were prior discussions and meeting before the MTEF is prepared, which I do not think was the case in this instance.

“So, when the MTEF is passed, and it is not in tandem with what the executive used, it would affect the entire budget. That is one of the reasons you have cases of two budgets appearing, because if you prepared your first budget, without MTEF being passed, the implication is that you have to tinker with your budget in line with the passed MTEF, then you have two documents. So, it would not be possible to critically look at and pass the 2018 budget before the end of the year, unless we want to pass it the way some state assemblies pass

budgets,” he added.

Potential conflicts in the two documents could have been avoided if the executive had waited just a few weeks to allow for the passage of MTEF, before presenting the budget, he said, explaining further that any conflicts would have to be sorted by harmonisation between both arms, which would cause further delays.

The lawmaker said the N8.612 trillion budget

estimate, is an unrealistic one, as the country has a record of low implementation of budgets. He advised that a budget figure of N4 trillion or N5 trillion is much more realistic, and more achievable.

Chinda, also questioned the projection that the non-oil sector, which is not fully diversified, could bring in over N4trillion, while Nigeria’s main source of revenue, oil, would bring in about N2 trillion.

See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ ECEMBER 3, 2017

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L-R: Business Executive, Commercial Banking, Sterling Bank Plc, Tunde Adeola; Executive Director, Retail and Consumer Banking, Grama Narasimhan; Managing Director/CEO, Yemi Adeola; and Managing Director, Primero Transport Services Limited, Fola Tinubu, during the bank’s bus tour by the senior Executives in Lagos…recently

Dr. Elizabeth Kosisochukwu Uwaezuoke (middle) with her parents Sir Chike Uwaezuoke and Dr. (Mrs.) Helen Uwaezuoke, after her induction into the Pharmacy profession at the University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State...recently

L-R: Head of Division, Infrastructure & Financial Sector West Africa & Madagascar, Kfw Development Bank, Matthias Adler; Chief Executive Officer, InfraCredit, Chinua Azubike; Project Manager, Infrastructure & Financial Sector, West Africa and Madagascar, Kfw Development Bank, Reemt Behrens; and Project Manager, Infrastructure & Financial Sector, Kfw Development Bank, Marina Wulff, after a meeting at InfraCredit’s office in Lagos...recently

L-R: Chairman, Down Global Platform Solution Ltd, Mr. Adebayo Adeleke; MD, Mutual Benefits Life Assurance Ltd,Mr.FemiAsenugarepresentingGroupChairman,Dr.AkinOgunbiyi,MD/CEO,UACNPropertyDevelopment Company Plc, Mr. Hakeem Ogunniran; MD/CEO, First Registrars & Investor Services Ltd, Mr. Bayo Olugbemi; and Head, Wealth Management, United Capital Plc, Mrs. Adetola Fasuyi, representing Group Chief Executive Officer, United Capital Plc, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Sanni, at the presentation of the Oodua Business Ambassador Award in Lagos...recently AbiodunAjala L-R: Bishop Emmah Isong of Christian Central Chapel International, Calabar; his wife, Helen; and son, Gideon, while cutting a cake to make Isong’s 53rd birthday in Calabar, Cross River State...recently

L-R: Badminton Chairman, Mr. Sunday Wusu; Other Sports Chairman, Mr. Kenneth Ufere; GM/CEO Ikoyi Club 1938, Mr. Tunde Orungbeja; Chairman, Mr. Babatunde Akinleye; acting Chairman Entertainment Sub-committee, Miss Mary Orubo; and member, Entertainment Sub-committee, Mr. Tunji Tiamiyu, during the switching on of the Christmas lights at Ikoyi Club, Lagos...weekend

L-R: Mother of celebrant, Beatrice Israel; son and new Economics Graduate, Samuel Kalu, and Mrs. Ayo Kalu, at the convocation ceremony of the Bells University of Technology, Ota, Ogun State...recently

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SUNDAYSPORTS

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

Rohr: Match against Croatia the Toughest for Eagles Rohr Demola Ojo

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uper Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has identified the match against Croatia as the toughest his wards will play at the Russia 2018 World Cup. Apart from Croatia, Nigeria have also been drawn against two-time champions and last edition’s finalists, Argentina, as well as European debutants, Iceland.

However, the June 16 clash with Croatia in Kaliningrad will be the most difficult because it will be Nigeria’s opener. “The first game is always the most difficult,” Rohr said.

In his reaction to the draw he said the Super Eagles will have to hit the ground running if they are to make it through to the next phase.

“It’s the first game and if we start well we can have a chance to go through. Croatia will be the most important game because they have technical quality and play very good football.

“I played with Bogdan at Hadjuk Split and I know that Croatian players are quick and technically very strong. At the moment, they are one of the best L-R Croatian stars Rakitic, Manduzkic and Modric celebratring a goal teams in Europe and beat Greece 4-1 in the play-offs Their fans will be there and it will be like they’re 4-2 win in Russia last month. But Rohr believes this so we have to be prepared and ready for them.”

For their second match, Nigeria will fly to Vol- playing at home.” will count for little during the World Cup proper.

For the fifth time in six FIFA World Cup appeargograd, where they take on Iceland at the 45,000 “When we played and beat Argentina 4-2, they –capacity Volgograd Arena on Friday, June 22, 2018 ances, Nigeria will be playing against Argentina did not have Lionel Messi who’s arguably the best and Rohr equally noted the importance of the game. in the group phase come next year. The Eagles player in the world. So when we face them at the “They have a lot of fans who usually act as their have lost all four previous encounters by a single World Cup, they’ll be stronger with him playing. number 12 player. I saw them play at the European goal margin.

“On the other side, we scored four goals and he’s However, the Eagles have prevailed in a couple not going to play in defence so if we can score more Championship in 2016 and the supporters were very massive as they got all the way to the quarter-finals. of friendly matches including a come-from-behind goals against their defence than he will lead his team

to score against us, then we will be fine.

“We showed that it was possible to win against Argentina, but it will be a different ball game and we have to be strong both mentally and physically.

It will also be a difficult game for them.”

Rohr also intends to fix the Eagles’ inability to fulfill their potential in previous tournaments which many have attributed to the player’s to a lack of discipline.

Pogba Sent off as United Beat Arsenal

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anchester United blitzedArsenal with two quick-fire goals in a breathless encounter to close the gaponManchesterCityyesterday but Tottenham slipped further off the pace with a costly draw at Watford.

With Pep Guardiola’s Premier League pacesetters not in action until today, United’s 3-1 victory took them to within five points of the Premier League summit following emphatic wins for Chelsea and Liverpool earlier in the day.

But Mauricio Pochettino must find a way of lifting struggling Spurs after they dropped two more points against Watford with a 1-1 draw at Vicarage Road that leaves them 15 points off the pace.

Jose Mourinho took his team to the Emirates with questions over how they would approach the fixture after a poor recent away record and a shortage of

goals against fellow members of the “Big Six”.

ButUnitedquashedallthoughtsofshuttingupshop and were immediately on the front foot, taking the lead through captainAntonio Valencia in the fourth minute and doubling their lead just minutes later through in-form Jesse Lingard.

In a thrilling end-to-end contest United looked irresistible on the break but Arsenal, with Alexandre Lacazette a surprise inclusion after injury fears, enjoyed more than 70 percent of possession in the first half, hitting 15 shots as David De Gea’s goal led a charmed life.

ArsenalsentthedecibellevelsoaringafteralightningquickstarttothesecondhalfasLacazettelashedhome Aaron Ramsey’s pass to pull a goal back, and the home side came forward in waves, forcing De Gea to pull off an astounding double save to maintain United’s lead.

But just as the home side threatened to overwhelm United, Paul Pogba burst into the box and squared for Lingard to net his second and silence the crowd.

Asthematchlostsomeofitshigh-octanemomentum, refereeAndre Marriner sent off Pogba for a studs-up tackle on Hector Bellerin to change the balance of the contest, but Arsenal could not take advantage.

Eden Hazard’s eye-catching performance in their comfortable win in the early fixture at Stamford Bridge will mean sleepless nights for England boss Gareth Southgate, who has the unenviable task of nullifying the Belgian’s threat at next year’s World Cup in Russia.

Chelsea came back from a goal down to ease to a 3-1 victory courtesy of two goals from Hazard – including an impudent penalty – either side of an Alvaro Morata header.

“The gap is eight points now, and there’s still a long

way to go so that’s why we have to keep getting closer and closer and hope they slip up,” said midfielder Cesc Fabregas. “They are there because they deserve it. Our job is to keep winning.”

PREMIER LEAGUE RESULTS & FIXTURES Chelsea Brighton Everton Leicester Stoke Watford West Brom Arsenal Bournemouth Man City

3-1 Newcastle 1-5 Liverpool 2-0 Huddersfield 1-0 Burnley 2-1 Swansea 1-1 Tottenham 0-0 Crystal Palace 1-3 Man United v Southampton 2:30pm v West Ham 5pm

Barca, Madrid Held, Griezmann Lifts Atletico

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eal Madrid remain eight points adrift of Barcelona at the top of La Liga after failing to break downAthletic Bilbao in a 0-0 stalemate as captain Sergio Ramos saw the 24th red card of his career.

Earlier, Celta Vigo became the first team this season to take points off Barcelona at the Nou Camp in a thrilling 2-2 draw.

Atletico Madrid took advantage of Barca’s stumble as Antoine Griezmann’s winner against his former club two minutes from time earned a hard-fought 2-1 win over Real Sociedad to move to within six points of the leaders.

Real are now tied for fourth with Sevilla, who beat Deportivo la Coruna 2-0 on the day their coach Eduardo Berizzo was released from hospital just four days after undergoing an operation on a cancerous prostate tumour.

Celta have been a bogey side for Barca in recent years, beating the Catalans once in each of the past three seasons.

A positive start from the Galicians on Celta boss

Juan Carlos Unzue’s return to the Camp Nou, where he spent three years as Luis Enrique’s assistant, was rewarded 20 minutes in when Aspas tapped home on the rebound after a stunning save from Marc-Andre ter Stegen had denied Maxi Gomez.

Celta’s lead lasted two minutes, though, as Messi latched onto Paulinho’s pass to fire low under Ruben Blanco for his first goal since late October.

Messi then took control of the game as Barca pressed and finally broke Celta’s resistence just after the hour when his pass freed Jordi Alba to tee up Suarez for his first goal at the Camp Nou in nearly three months.

An end-to-end encounter swung back Celta’s way in a double blow for Barca. Umtiti pulled up with a hamstring problem that will keep him out for eight weeks as he chased Aspas down the right and the Spanish international then patiently picked out Gomez to fire into an unguarded net.

“It was a series of unfortunate incidents in the one move,” lamented Valverde. “Above all for the injury to Samuel than to give away the goal.”

Dr Kweku Tandoh -Chairman Lagos State Sports Commission; Razaq Akanni Okoya; Oba Otudeko Chairman of the Day; Sir Steve Omojafor during the 49th Asoju Oba Molade Okoya- Thomas Table Tennis Championship at Teslim Balogun Stadium Surulere, recently

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High Life

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...Amazing lifestyles of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rich and famous

Peculiar Mess...How Banky W â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Mistakenlyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Posted New Wife, Adesuaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Semi-Nude Image on Social Media

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tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s often said, every celebrityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lust is reducible in the last analysis to a judicious use of trickery. Ask celebrity pundits.

Many of them believe that Bankole Wellington a.k.a Banky W, posted his new wife, Adesuaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s semi-nude image online to attract internet page views. This alternative school of thought argued that the hip hop crooner in keeping with widely acceptable celebrity culture, made an intentional mistake by posting a video via Snapchat on the Internet, which revealed the buttocks of his newly wedded wife, Adesua.

They urged him to act responsibly, stating that marriage in reality is different from the one he acted out a la â&#x20AC;&#x153;Wedding Party.â&#x20AC;? But unfortunately, that was not the reason, it was a grave mistake.

He didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean to expose his new wife, he was just carried away.

Banky W married Adesua at a high-profile ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa, penultimate Saturday. The wedding received widespread mention on social media, as congratulations poured in for the couple. With his recent action, it is obvious

Ehi and Kenneth Bramor

MAKING SENSE OF KENNETH BRAMORâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S OBSCENE SHOW OF WEALTH ON WEDDING DAY?

Ëž

If vanity of youth truly submits to be taught by age in the long run, then arrogance that is part of being young should eventually ebb in the soul of Kenneth Bramor. Until recently, nobody knew Bramor. He was inconsequential in

that Banky W has forgotten ace actress, Omotola Jalade-Ekeindeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s advice to him to avoid living his marriage on social media.

Omotola a.k.a Omosexy, was among those who congratulated the couple and she offered them a single advice: Take your relationship away from social media. But Banky W would rather she said that to the marines. Hence his recent ploy to make his marriage the stuff of trending social gossip.

Banky W would want everyone to believe that he erroneously uploaded the video which showed his wife in half nude state but the discerning among Nigerians and his peers know better. The video is about 10 seconds in length and Banky recorded it to update the world on how much he relished his after-party experience with Adesua.

He wrote on the image, â&#x20AC;&#x153;My goodness. #Baad2017 The #AfterParty #MySAExperience.â&#x20AC;?

He wants the world to believe that he was unconscious of the fact that his bride was dressing up behind him and without a bra on, until moments after he uploaded the video online. The image has already gone viral. the scheme of things, then penultimate Saturday, he threw a carnival of pride.

Kennethâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wedding broke all tenets of tact and modesty, in the estimation of guests, and even his kith and kin, some of them perhaps. At Kennethâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wedding, modesty stifled to the noise of giant woofers and gratuitous pride as the groom wedded his bride floating in a superfluous cloud.

It was full glamour in display as Kenneth, an oil tycoon, tied the nuptial knots with Lagos-based Interior designer, Ehi Ogbebor, on Saturday, November 18, in Benin City, Edo State. Ehi who is a mother of two and the CEO of Sayaveth Interiors and Hotel became an online sensation after she shared news of her engagement 10 years after divorce.

According to reports, as Ehi got wedded to new husband, Kenneth, two brand new Toyota Camry cars were given to guests.

This was asides the dollars they sprayed in reckless abandon at the wedding.

Ehi shared the video showing how her husband, Kenneth showered her with $100 bills.

The couple even gave out two cars as souvenirs. Senator Dino Melaye, businessman Ayiri Emami, ex-wife of Ooni of Ife, Queen Zaynab, singer Timaya and many others attended the wedding.

After 10 years of her divorce from her first marriage that produced two kids, Ehi met Ken and he proposed to her in October this year. But while no one would fault Kenneth

Adesua and Banky W

for marrying a divorced mother of two with so much pomp and noise, very few people approve of his wanton display of wealth and nourishment of his giant ego courtesy his morbid display of wealth in these hard times.

Consequently, some have labeled him â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Money slut,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Money miss road,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; among others; however, another school of thought simply argued that he is just a fortunate dude who encountered stray money and does not know what to do with it.

Trust Nigerians, they have been asking questions about the source of his stupendous wealth. All sorts of permutations and speculations have been built around his source of wealth. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hope nobody forgets that Kenneth supposed vocation is in the oil and gas sector.

faintest whiff of reticence, amplifies his graceful modesty and ability to navigate the tricky tropes of acclaim and human politics.

Adejare makes a good first impression.

Notwithstanding his manifest depth, he presents with zero haughtiness; he is at heart, very private and unpretentiously modest. His towering humility excites cozy presumptions about his attitude. Within

THE SPARK THAT WINS ACCLAIMâ&#x20AC;Ś DEJARE ADEGBENRO BECOMES OTUNBA LAJE Adejare Adegbenro would be installed the first Otunba Laje of Owu,Ogun State,

by Oba Adegboyega Dosunmu Amororo II, the traditional ruler of Owu kingdom.

The event is coming up on the 20th January 2018. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to be a classy event. Adejare is every inch of noble birth. His is a classic Nigerian success story of reinvention and achievementâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;of becoming the man you wanted to be under the heavy weight of glorious ancestry and matchless roots. His candid cadences, touched with just the

Dejare Adegbenro

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HIGHLIFE

Glad Tidings for Yewande Amusan

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hange has been identified as the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most constant phenomenon. For many, when the wind of change blows, sequence of testimonies follows. While some are left with no option but to rue their loss(es) when they experience change in a manner that adversely touches, or better put, deals a big blow on their fortunes, some have every reason to thank God for the gift of life. Yewande Amusan and her husband, Dapo Amusan, the younger brother of Tayo Amusan, the owner of the prestigious Palms Mall, Lekki, Lagos, are really thanking God for His mercies.

How time changes? The fashionable lady who likes to attend A-listed parties has now unbelievably piped down.

Yewande is a kindhearted woman, who is ever ready to help the disadvantaged and downtrodden people in the society. Even the sight of Dapo, the once naturally jolly good fellow today readily brings to the mind the eventual transience of a hedonistic lifestyle. They have suddenly become elusive at parties. Trouble started a while ago, when Dapo was diagnosed with a life threatening ailment.

He has been able to overcome this challenge. Gifted with eyes that can pick out gold from rubble, Dapo has not allowed what happened to him to weigh him down, instead, he dazzles and his white-streaked beard gives an air of affluence and prosperity.

the charmed, glittery arena of Lagos high society, Adegbenro inhabits a tranquil spot, and that happens to be his greatest shield from the spotlight; at least that is his thought. The dark-hued dude affects neither conceit nor a latent inclination to exploit his roots â&#x20AC;&#x201C; he comes from a lineage of two prominent political traditions; his father is Chief Niyi Adegbenro and he is the grandson of late Pa Alfred Rilwane, the hero-politician whose blood nurtured the oaks of freedom in contemporary Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shadowy history. It would be recalled that Pa Alfred Rewane was a strident voice in the fight against military rule and prominent chieftain of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO). Adejareâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s patriarchal grandfather was the late former Premier of Western Region, Alhaji Dauda Adegbenro, who also played a very prominent role in the evolution of postindependence Nigeria.

But rather than sit on the soft cushion of his roots or attempt riding to eminence on the wings of his forbearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; achievements, Adegbenro chooses to chart his own path to glory and historical acclaim. To this end, he engages in daring and very ambitious pursuits in business. He started out working for John Holt and from there he moved over to Motorfone, and thereafter started his own company, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;First Planetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; which engages in large scale telecoms transactions. Subsequently, Adegbenro established another company called Balmoral International Ltd with expansive stakes in international trade and with greater focus on importation of goods for trade.

According to Adegbenro, he is not

scared of stepping into the shoes of his ancestors, he simply wishes to get his own shoes and walk the tough path to glory in a size that fits.

FROM THE CREEKS TO THE THRONE...TOM ATEKE BECOMES TRADITIONAL RULER Many are still dumbstruck at the news that one of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most feared warlords, Tom Ateke, has been crowned Amanyanabo of Okochiri town in Wakirike, Rivers State.

A feared warlord who held successive Nigerian governments by the jugular in

Tom Ateke

Yewande Amusan

view of superintending over a vast army of armed youths and sophisticated arsenal, and knowledge of the nooks and crannies of Niger Delta creeks especially where the pipelines with the largest reservoir of crude were located, there is no gainsaying the creeks were his orbit and oyster. A kinsman of former First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, the white-bearded Ateke is as wealthy as they come, a factor many contended worked in his favour despite his antecedents. In fact, now that he has gone on to more glorious acclaim, the creeks would sure miss one of its most formidable occupants. Last weekend, Rivers State heaved and creaked as the leader of the Niger Delta Vigilante, an ethnic militia, had a colourful coronation ceremony in Okochiri, Okrika Local government area.

Marked by colourful festoonery and festivity, traditional dances, rites and musical displays, many prominent sons of Okrika, notably, Governor Nyesom Wike, were in attendance.

Other prominent citizens were Chief Kenneth Kobani, Secretary to the Rivers State Government, Chief Chidi Wihioka, Chief Emma Anyanwu, Dr. Abiye Sekibo (former Minister of Transport), Rt. Hon. Evans Bipi, Rt. Hon. Adams Dabotorudima and Hon. Wellington Granville. In his remark, Governor Wike advised the newly crowned monarch against being used to disunite the people of Okrika town and to further establish himself as an agent of unity and progress.

PASTOR CHRIS OYAKHILOME GIFTED A BRAND NEW PRIVATE JET Dashing televangelist and miracle merchant, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome,

the founding president of Believersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Loveworld Incorporated, also known as Christ Embassy, is now the proud owner of a brand new private jet. Though the news is yet hush-hush among his devout congregants, one of them, a certain Stanley K. Ofulue, let the news slip to his close friends. Ofulue, however, did not divulge details of the expensive acquisition purportedly gifted the jerry-curl wearing billionaire pastor by the music and art department of the church peopled by wealthy individuals as a way of showing their appreciation for impacting their

Chris Oyakhilome

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Garlands for Professor Edozien as He Clocks 80

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ne of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most accomplished technocrats, Professor Emmanuel Edozien, clocked 80 recently.

Trust his kids, especially the trio of Sandra Solebo, Linda EdozienPriddy and Vivian Edozien, they didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let the day go quietly as their dad would have preferred. They practically dragged him out of his shells. Harnessing their contacts and connections and cash, the beautiful sisters put together a jaw-dropping 80th birthday celebration for their dad at the Ballroom of the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. It was a roll call of who is who in the society. The graceful octogenarian, wearing a well-cut tuxedo, glowed and grinned as he took in the merriment. All his grand kids and sons-in-law, associates and relatives were equally present to felicitate with him. The ceremony proper was preceded by a thanksgiving service at the Edozienâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family church.

An accomplished professor of International & Development Economics, boardroom guru, administrator, philanthropist and the Ojiba of Asaba, Professor Edozien was Economic Adviser to President Shehu Shagari and adviser to successive Nigerian presidents until his 80th birthday crept in on him. lives very positively over the years. The jet gift came a few weeks after Pastor Chrisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; daughter, Carissa Sharon, a UK-based singer, got engaged to her beau, Phillip, in London. Carissa is the first of Pastor Chris and his ex-wife, Anitaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s two daughters.

Interestingly, the first private jet he owned was bought in 2006. Regarded as one of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s richest pastors, Oyakhilome, according to influential American journal, Forbes, is worth about $50million. The publication contends; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Oyakhilomeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s diversified interests include newspapers, magazines, a local television station, a record label, satellite TV, hotels and extensive real estate. His Loveworld TV Network is the first Christian network to broadcast from Africa to the rest of the world on a 24 hour basis.â&#x20AC;? Born in 1961, he was studying at the Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma, Edo State, when he started the Believersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Loveworld Fellowship which later became Believers Loveworld Inc, now a global ministry with millions of followers and associates all around the world. His ministry runs several arms including the Healing School, Rhapsody of Realities, LoveWorld Books, and an NGO called the Innercity Missions for Children as well as three Christian television channels: Loveworld TV, Loveworld SAT and Loveworld Plus.

Oyakhilomeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s television programs feature faith healings and miracles in large meetings in several countries, with gatherings of over 2.5 million people in a single nightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s event. A prolific author, his Rhapsody of Realities is downloadable in over 150 languages.

QUEEN AYO BALOGUN TURNS 60 Even though she does not look a day older than 40, the poster girl of Juju music, Queen Ayo Balogun, took the wind out of her fansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sail when she announced that she would turn 60 Sunday, December 10. The day would not go without fanfare, an art she has mastered over the past three decades and counting. Already, preparations have reached fever pitch among her deep-pocket fans and members of the Association of Juju Musicians of Nigeria, AJUMN, which she presides over. Those who have got the

Emmanuel Edozien and wife cutting the cake

School of Music.

BETWEEN PASTOR MATHEW ASHIMOLOWO AND OAP FREEZE, THE TITHING CONTROVERSY RAGES ON

Ayo Balogun invites have equally got the Ankara asoebi for the day. Veteran Miliki exponent, Evangelist Ebenezer Obey, would be on the bandstand while King Sunny Ade is expected to also feature prominently. Queen Ayo Balogun was quoted in a tabloid interview as saying, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yes, I will be clocking 60 on Sunday, December 10, 2017. That same day, we will roll out the drums. Everything concerning the celebration is being perfected already. But first, there will be thanksgiving in my church before leaving for the reception which will hold somewhere on the Island. A lot of activities are lined up already, including a concert by all Juju artistes, and visit to some orphanages where we identify with the needy which is a very important part of the celebration.â&#x20AC;?

Until recently, Queen Ayo Balogun was the toast of many big boys on the Island where she had an every Friday gig at the defunct Elays, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi. She is still in hot demand among juju music lovers considering that the forbears like KSA and Obey are in the twilight of their illustrious careers. Born in Ibadan, Oyo State, she holds a Diploma in Music from the London Royal

Since his sole, self-appointed mission to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Free The Sheepleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (read Free The People) from the mosaic law of tithing, controversial and blunt-talking On-Air-Personality, Freeze, has been the butt of insults and invectives from some of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foremost pastors; no less, surprisingly, the restrained Pastor Adeboye of Redeemed Christian Church of God. As far as the pastors are concerned, Daddy Freeze has no scriptural locus standi to advise people not to pay tithes. Particularly, Pastor Mathew Ashimolowo, Senior Pastor of Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) has gone head-on with the OAP. At a recent programme in a popular church in Omole, Ikeja, Lagos, mid-November, Pastor Ashimolowo called Daddy Freeze a drunk and wife beater. But that did not make the headlines. Ruffled, perhaps, that he did not hit target, Pastor Ashimolowo, during a recent sermon said to thunderous applause; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Once and for all, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s settle this matter on the power of the tithe. Some bunch of yoyo somewhere should not determine what you pay. Some guy who beats his wife, throws her out, throws his children out of the house, broke his sonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s knees, should not determine what we believe. He drinks alcohol, sleeps with women and heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trying to preach.â&#x20AC;? Jeez!!! Characteristically, Daddy Freeze did not let this slide as he had done to some other lesser known pastors who weighed in on the matter. In a viral video, he asked in mock incredulity, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Haaaaaa! Has it come to this? See the way he is defending tithing with so much passion, I hope this same passion is extended to bringing home our brothers who are currently enslaved in Libya. I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hear ONE single bible verse, just sentiments and emotions in this defence.

Who is this â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Yoyoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; now? Mention his name make we know am. And I hope there is proof to back these allegations up and they are not just â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;hear sayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; from a false interview

conducted on an embattled pot of stale bitterleaf soup.â&#x20AC;? He continued, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Whoever the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;yoyoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is, one thing is certain, he cannot determine what the body of Christ believes, only the BIBLE can do that, so until you can come out with a superior argument to explain where Jesus our high priest, or the disciples our first pastors collected tithes, it looks like the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;yoyoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is the one speaking the biblical truth and no amount of subbing or name calling can override the scriptures.â&#x20AC;?

Citing different versions of Luke 7:34, he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;If the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;yoyoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; drinks alcohol, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s remember Jesus drank alcohol too...he was called a drunkard by the Pharisees; the teachers of religious law who burdened the people with unbearable religious yokes and put up similar fights when Jesus drove the money changers out of the temple! A man canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be seen drinking pap, Fanta or lucozade and be called a drunkard, can he? Obviously, the end is not in sight as the tithing debate rages on, and with Pastors across the world gearing up to defend their cash-cow, sorry, belief.

Mathew Ashimolowo

Sunday December 3, 2017

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MISSILE Jonathan to Shettima

“The governor is now denying that he had no hand in the kidnap of the Chibok girls even before anybody accused him of culpability. However, we share the view of those who insist that the governor had other things up his sleeves when he promised WAEC that he will secure the girls and ended up doing the very opposite, by deliberately abandoning them to their fate without any security presence in their school.”

– Former President Goodluck Jonathan debunking allegations of poor governance during his tenure levelled against him by Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima

SIMONKOLAWOLE SIMONKOLAWOLELIVE!

simon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com, sms: 0805 500 1961

Severance Pay and Severe Pain

F

or Mr. Mounir Gwarzo, directorgeneral of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), these are not the nicest of times.

He has just been suspended by Mrs Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance, over allegations of impropriety. Gwarzo was accused, among other things, of paying himself a “severance package” of N104,854,154 as a former executive commissioner — shortly after being named DG of the same commission. The argument is that since he was still serving in the same organisation, it was wrong for him to have collected the benefit. “Severance package” is theoretically a one-off exit payment for political appointees.

In other news, Gwarzo does not think his suspension has anything to do with the petition over severance pay. Reports here and there attribute the suspension to Gwarzo’s insistence on conducting a forensic audit of Oando Plc over allegations of insider abuses and irregularities. The forensic audit would have led to the suspension of the Oando management and the appointment of an interim management. Adeosun reportedly asked Gwarzo to impose fines on individual members of the management rather than carry out the audit, for which SEC has already engaged the services of Akintola Williams Deloitte.

Gwarzo was said to have objected, leading to a reportedly heated argument with the minister who allegedly seized the moment to remind him of the petition against him “pending since January”. The SEC DG requested that her directive be put in writing — to which Adeosun was said to have pointed out that she herself takes verbal instructions from President Muhammadu Buhari. Gwarzo left her office and wrote her on November 28, 2017, summarising the discussions at the meeting and asking again that the request be put in an official letter.

He got a letter, dated November 29, 2017, quite all right, but it was to suspend him from office over the allegations against him.

The sequence of events and the circumstances would fit perfectly into the narrative that Adeosun decided to dig up the petition because Gwarzo continued to insist on the forensic audit, but the office of the minister has strongly denied the allegations.

Oando Plc, understandably, has refused to join issues and would prefer to be left out of the picture. The oil company actually secured a court order to stop the forensic audit which it considers to be a witch hunt.

In the final analysis, we are only left to work with rumours and speculations on what really transpired between the minister and the DG. Suspicion is not terribly helpful in this matter. It is neither here nor there.

My bigger interest is in the allegations against Gwarzo — that he got a mouthwatering severance package and that he awarded contracts to a company, Madusa Investments Ltd, in which he has interest.

While confirming that he collected the N104 million pay-off in 2015, he denied any wrong doing, citing a board decision way back in 2002 which authorised the payment to DGs and commissioners who had served for a minimum of two years. He also said

Gwarzo Madusa is a family business from which he had resigned his directorship when he was appointed a SEC commissioner in 2013. He denied that the company has done any job for, or received any payment, from SEC. Now that he is being investigated, I think the anti-graft agencies are in a better position to prove or disprove the allegations of impropriety against him. This may sound funny, but we can say that since the ICPC and EFCC are also going to carry out their own “forensic audit” of Gwarzo, it is only proper to ask him to step aside while this is being done so that an interim manager can also be in place. The trouble, though, is that this may further complicate things for Oando and Adeosun — if the forensic audit of Oando does not go ahead eventually, it may prove too difficult to convince Nigerians that there is no truth in Gwarzo’s allegation.

Fingers crossed.

My curiosity in this matter, lest I forget, is the legality of the severance pay. If indeed the board of SEC approved as far back as July 2002 — 11 years before Gwarzo became a commissioner — that the benefit should be paid to the DG and “permanent commissioners”, the suspended DG would have no case to answer. The quantum of the pay wouldn’t matter as long as there is no infraction involved. The real issue would be: was it legal or not? Are there documentations to prove it or not? However, if there was no such board decision and Gwarzo collected the benefit illegally, then he would have to keep a date with the hangman.

If he truly followed the letter of the law in collecting the pay-off, there are still more questions to ask — and in asking these questions, we will discover more loopholes in the law or policy, as the case may be.

Should he have collected the benefit while still in service even if occupying a different office? It would mean that, technically, he is entitled to another severance pay after his current tenure since the processes of appointing an executive commissioner and DG are different. What this shows us clearly is that there is a lacuna in the policy.

Those who made the policy did not take care of a situation where a commissioner is promoted DG after two years.

Gwarzo can even pursue a hypothetical argument — that if he serves as an executive commissioner at SEC for two years, doesn’t collect the severance benefit, gets appointed as the DG of another agency and is removed after one year, then he would have lost out on the benefit completely. On the other hand, if he forgoes the hefty package (let’s say out of “patriotism”) and gets appointed as a minister, his severance pay would be probably N5 million. Therefore, there was a higher incentive for him to quickly claim his benefit as a former SEC commissioner.

There is a huge dichotomy between the benefits of a minister and the heads of “specialised agencies” serving under them.

There are loopholes in the way severance pay is defined and structured. I’m sure many public officers have been benefitting from this at federal, state and local levels. While you cannot punish or prosecute someone for what is legally permissible, you can fine-tune the law or policy to address the loopholes. I am, therefore, looking beyond Gwarzo in my argument. I am canvassing a comprehensive and standardised policy on severance pay such that everything will be clear to all. I guess this is the job of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission and National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission. They should be the clearing houses for all such payments.

It gives me severe pains to know that there are some governors who, after getting a second term in office, pay themselves severance for their first term. That means they will collect a second severance pay after the second term, in addition to pension. I am also told that there are some legislators who get paid severance package at the end each term. So if they are re-elected five times, they get paid the benefit five times.

I hope I am being misled — it is too bad to be true. We are also made to understand that some former governors who are now senators still collect pensions in addition to their hefty allowances in the national assembly. It may not be illegal but it is immoral.

To be clear, I have not declared Gwarzo culpable or not culpable. That is beyond my pay grade. Whether he is being punished over the Oando issue or over the petitions against him is beside the point. My worry, which I have managed to state clearly, is that we need to work on avoiding the lacuna in the severance benefits. This Gwarzo affair offers us an opportunity to streamline the payment of these benefits. I propose that an active public servant should be entitled to severance pay just once in a lifetime, preferably on final exit from government.

That is more morally defensible, so let us standardise it — and legalise it.

And Four Other Things…

JOHNNY WAS A GOOD MAN Having read Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi’s book, ‘On a Platter of Gold: How Jonathan Won and Lost Nigeria’, I confess that I have developed more sympathy for the former president.

Yes, he was imperfect. He was indecisive, too soft and highly vulnerable. He did a million things wrong. But you could see a simple and listening leader who, in the midst of the chaos, never loved to hurt people or do illegal things, so much so he deferred to his attorney-general, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke, on critical matters of law. My impression remains that Jonathan simply could not grow fast enough into the role of a president, and the company he kept did not help matters. Undoing.

BUDGET BLUES Did you listen to Senate President Bukola Saraki’s insightful comments on the 2018 appropriation bill? “Sometimes I wonder if technocrats want to embarrass government and try to do some things knowing it can’t work,” he said. “Why would the budget be predicated on 2.3mbpd when the country was only able to record 1.9mbpd in 2017?

In addition, even though in the past two months when oil price has been as high as $60, the report from FAAC is that they have not been able to put any money in the excess crude account. The only reason is that it must be that oil production is much less than what we are budgeting for.” I hope President Buhari is listening. Damning!

MOURNING AFTER Was the Obama administration right to support the overthrow of Col. Muammar Ghaddafi as the Libyan leader? Many who said “yes” in 2011 must be saying “no” today.

Libya has since dissolved into a mess since then, and Nigeria is facing the repercussions.

It’s established that Boko Haram was strengthened by the arms flowing from the anarchy that ensued. The North African country now offers a booming route for human trafficking, illegal arms and illicit drug trade. It came to a head recently with the revelation that black Africans (Nigerians inclusive), illegally en route to Europe, are being sold off as slaves, tortured or killed in Libya. Grief.

ARGENTINA AGAIN! Nigeria keeps getting Argentina as opponents at FIFA World Cup. We must be getting sick and tired of each other’s face by now. We’ve been drawn together at every World Cup we’ve played, save for France ’98, and they have always beaten us. But I love our sense of humour in Nigeria. I thoroughly enjoyed these tweets “Next time, they should just put Nigeria and Argentina together before drawing the groups” (@mrokike) and “Nigeria and Argentina should just marry!” (@ellytomall). With highly talented Croatia and giant-killing Iceland also in the mix, we should not make the mistake of thinking we are sure bets for the knock-out stages.

Caution.

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