Saturday 30th December 2017

Branson: $9.2bn Returns Makes Nigeria’s Mini Grid Lucrative Chineme Okafor in Abuja with agency report British business magnate and founder of Virgin Group, Sir Richard Branson, has offered a rare business review on the huge opportunities that global investors could take

advantage of in Nigeria’s renewed efforts to connect over 80 million of her citizens currently without any form of electricity.

Writing on his personal blog, Branson, described recent reports that Nigeria’s mini grid electricity sector

could yield profits in excess of about $9.2 billion to investors, as encouraging.

Although, he did not state if he would be making any investments in the sector, Branson, however suggested to investors in mini grid power systems to head to

Nigeria in 2018 if they were interested in taking from the $9.2 billion potential profit it offered.

“Energy access in Africa is close to my heart. Bringing clean, renewable power to people instead of building coal-fired power stations is

absolutely essential if we are going to tackle climate change,” said Branson, in the review THISDAY obtained in Abuja yesterday.

He explained that: “Developing off-grid alternatives to complement the grid could create a $9.2B/

year market opportunity for mini-grids and solar home systems that will save $4.4B/ year for Nigerian homes and businesses. And there is large potential for scaling - installing 10,000 mini-grids of 100kw Continued on page 6

Nigerians Tired of Your Empty New Year Promises, PDP Tells APC, FG… Page 6 Saturday 30 December, 2017 Vol 22. No 8290 Price: N250

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Buhari Chairs 2 Agencies As FG Constitutes Boards of Parastatals… Page 8

Current Petrol Subsidy Regime Illegal, Says Senate NNPC should be prepared to explain to Nigerians who approved the subsidy for them and who appropriated it Damilola Oyedele in Abuja The Senate yesterday said the current payment of N26 per litre to subsidise Premium Motor Spirits (PMS) by the federal government was illegal as the monies were not appropriated for by the National Assembly

as constitutionally required.

The matter of subsidy returned to the forefront of national discourse recently in the wake of the lingering fuel scarcity, following reports that the landing cost of the product

per litre, had increased to N171, Continued on page 6

Release Sambo Dasuki Now, Family Urges Buhari Appeals to President to respect rule of law Mohammed Aminu in Sokoto and Alex Enumah in Abuja The Sultan Ibrahim Dasuki Progressive Association (SIDPA), on behalf of the members of Sultan Dasuki family, yesterday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to release former National Security Adviser (NSA) Col. Sambo Dasuki

(rtd) from detention.

The federal government is holding Dasuki in custody exactly two years yesterday, since he was arrested by men of the Department of State Service (DSS) at the Kuje Prisons shortly after he perfected the bail conditions granted him by the courts.

Continued on page 6

Obaseki Signs Edo's N150bn KEBBI LEADERS AT THE VILLA… Kebbi State Governor Atiku Bagudu; President Muhammadu Buhari and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, during the 2018 Budget into Law… Page 8 L-R: Kebbi State All Progressives Congress' family visit to the President at the Presidential Villa, Abuja… yesterday godwin omoigui

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Buhari Signs Mandatory Treatment of Gun Shot Victims’ Bill into Law Omololu Ogunmade Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË With President Muhammadu Buhari's assent to Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Bill, 2017 yesterday in Abuja, victims of gunshot and car accidents can now receive immediate treatment in the hospital.

Making this disclosure in a statement, Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Ita Enang, said the president also signed four other bills into law including Anti-Torture Bill, 2017 He explained that the Compulsory Treatment and Care

for Victims of Gunshot Act, 2017 makes provisions for compulsory treatment and care for victims of gunshots and for other related matters.

According to Enang, the Act stipulates that a person with a gunshot wound shall be received for immediate and adequate treatment by any hospital in Nigeria with or without initial monetary deposit.

He also said a person with a gunshot wound shall not be subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment or torture by any person or authority, including the police and other security agencies.

In the same vein, he said AntiTorture Act, 2017 prohibits acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, prescribing penalties for perpetrators of such acts.

Furthermore, Enang said the President assented to the Niger Delta Development Commission (Establishment) Amendment Act, 2017.

"The Act includes the gas producing and gas processing companies in the list of agencies that are contributing to the Niger Delta Development Commission in addition to the oil companies in a bid to increase funding of

the Commission for effective discharge of its duties.

"Previously, the NDDC Acts excluded the gas companies. The Act makes it explicit that the gas companies have to be included.

This is to diversify the sources of funding for the NDDC for the economic wellbeing of the region," he explained.

Enang said the President also signed Federal Capital Appropriation Bill which he said authorises the Federal Capital Territory Administration to legally and legitimately provide funds out of its Statutory Revenue Fund for recurrent and capital expenditure.

According to him, Buhari had earlier assented to the Federal Capital Territory Water Board (Establishment) Bill, 2017, National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (Establishment) Bill, 2017, He said: "The Federal Capital Territory Water Board Establishment Act is charged with the responsibility for providing safe, adequate and affordable water supply services to the residents of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

"It is also to collaborate with the other authorities responsible for water resources management to secure efficient use of water

resources for the conservation and protection of the water resources of the Territory and the nation."

The President, Enang added, also signed National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (Establishment) Bill, 2017 which seeks to provide national direction in cancer research, control and treatment.

The Act will also guide scientific improvements to cancer prevention, treatment and care.

It will also coordinate and liaise between the wide range of groups and health care providers with an interest in cancer.

Nigerians Tired of Your Empty New Year Promises, PDP Tells APC, FG Onyebuchi Ezigbo Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday said that Nigerians had become disillusioned over alleged failure of the federal government and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to deliver on its promises.

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP asked the ruling party not to issue any New Year message to Nigerians since they did not fulfill any of the promises contained in their previous messages since assumption of office.

The party said Nigerians had become overstretched by the litany of woes visited on them in the last two years “by the incompetent and pretentious

APC Government,� stressing that it would be the height of callousness for the party and its government to spew another round of propaganda and false hope in the name of new year messages. “What else would they tell Nigerians apart from inventing new lies and propaganda as they had always done, particularly at the turn of each New Year�, Ologbondiyan queried in the statement.

He added: “Every New Year, since 2016, the APC and its federal government have been reeling out promises which they had no intentions of fulfilling. Now they are warming up to reel out fresh ones in January 2018. “What is the need of a New Year message from APC

Government when it would be replete with propaganda? What is the need of their yearly assurances when the only thing we see is an arrogant and incompetent government plunging the nation into economic recession and visiting the citizens with the worst forms of hardship? “What seriousness should any Nigerian attach to a government that takes governance for granted, puts off its Federal Executive Meeting at the slightest whims and blame imaginary invasion of its offices by rats for the inability to meet required statutory functions? “What else should Nigerians expect from a government that promised massive employments only to render 7.74 million Nigerians jobless between 2016 and September 2017; with combined unemployment

and underemployment rate hitting 40.0% as declared by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). “This is the same APC that promised to deliver Naira exchange at N1 to 1USD but ended up wrecking the currency from N160-N170 to a scandalous N350-N400; the same party and its government promised to reduce the price of fuel only for it to rise from where the PDP left it at N86.50 to N300-N400 per litre.

"What do we expect from a government that so devastated the economy in 2017 that Nigerians were forced to turn to Ponzi schemes like the Mavrodi Mundial Movement (MMM) for survival only for an estimated three million of them to lose about N18 billion in the process.

"The APC misrule literarily

turned 2017 into a harvest of woes; hunger, disease, violence and deaths while the nation is now being pummeled by ethnic and religious agitations and attendant violence in all parts of the country.

"Also this year, marauders, criminal herders, Badoo cultists and insurgents were on the prowl with several innocent Nigerians as victims.

"Nigerians suffered strange diseases; businesses were shut; hardship and poverty swelled mortality and divorce rates while the APC continues to thrive on propaganda and lies.

"Measured against all key performance indicators, the APC controlled federal government has fallen below the expectations of Nigerians. “Painfully, instead of channeling

the nation’s resources for the good of the citizens, the ‘zero corruption’ federal government is busy providing cover for APC interests who are diverting public funds through padded budgets, multi-billion dollars secret oil subsidy regimes, illegal lifting of crude using unregistered APC fronts, pillaging of Nigeria’s foreign reserves, diverting of funds meant for fight against insurgency and rehabilitation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the northeast; and attempts to steal $1bn from the Excess Crude Account (ECA). “Nigerians are very patient people but are tired of APC's incompetence, lies and endless propaganda. We therefore urge the APC to stop taking Nigerians for granted as the nation eagerly awaits their farewell address come 2019.�

at a news briefing yesterday said the Senate was determined to stop the payments which are illegal. " At our slated investigative public hearing on the sector next week Thursday, NNPC and other stakeholders should be prepared to explain to Nigerians who approved the subsidy for them and who appropriated it?

"There is complacency in the sector and sharp practices that must be stopped. They want to take us back to subsidy regime

that has never been beneficial to ordinary Nigerians across the country. We cannot go back to such scam called subsidy which robbed the country of N10 trillion between 2006 and 2016. " Before we went on recess , I remember submitting on the floor of the senate that I am no body's man or rubber stamp ,the same way I strongly believe that the Senate is not a rubber stamping platform for anybody or arm of government," he said .

Marafa maintained that there must be transparency in the sales and importation of fuel, which he claimed began in 2015 under the current administration. “The current administration opted for the more transparent model of directing selling crude oil and purchasing refined products, instead of the model of swapping crude for refined products adopted by the previous administration,� he noted.

continues with the case in open court rather than in secret.

of the FCT High Courts, had considered the merit of his applications and granted him bail.

"In the same vein, the ECOWAS Court of Justice, after listening to the case, ordered for his immediate release with compensation of N15million for the unlawful and illegal detentions. Despite these orders by these courts of competent jurisdictions, this government has inexplicably kept him behind bars", he said.

Ajefu said that the detention of Dasuki was worrisome and disturbing not only to the Nigerian people but the international community because there was no single court order or warrant of arrest to justify the action of government against the detainee who has been in the custody since December 29, 2015.

Besides, the group also called on well-meaning Nigerians to prevail on government to allow

the rule of law flow in the trial of the ex NSA in the interest of justice.

"It is therefore the contention of CISA that since the offences for which he is detained and has suffered these humiliations do not border on treason, Mr. Dasuki should be given the opportunity to state his own side of the story in the court of law, so that if he is eventually found guilty, let the law properly take its course.

"We believe that it is no longer tenable to keep him behind bars ad infinitum on the whims of whoever is keeping him.

"He is entering the third year in detention, and unless it is the plan of President Buhari to keep him out of circulation for the entire period of his four-year term, we of CISA, demand his immediate release and urge men and women of goodwill to join us in making this fair demand," they argued.

largest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa (GDP of $405 billion), a population of 180 million people, and flourishing growth (15 per cent a year since 2000). “A significant amount of the economy is already powered largely by small-scale generators (10–15 GW) and almost 50 per

cent of the population have limited or no access to the grid.

As a result, Nigerians and their businesses spend almost $14 billion annually on inefficient, polluting and noisy generation that is expensive, and suffers from poor quality,� Branson said in his review.

CURRENT PETROL SUBSIDY REGIME ILLEGAL, SAYS SENATE while the official price remains N145.

The Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Maikanti Baru, said six days ago that PMS was currently being subsidised with N26 per litre, due to government’s determination to retain the pump price at N145, despite the landing cost of N171.

He outlined the cost, insurance and freight of the product to $620 per metric tonne, and that at the exchange

rate of N305 to US$1, the landing cost was N171.

Baru put consumption at about 50 million liters daily but attributed the increase to hoarding of the product.

The Vice President Yemi Osinbajo briefing journalists in Lagos recently, said the subsidy payments were being borne by the NNPC and not the federal government.

The statement drew the ire of several stakeholders who said Osinbajo's statement implies

that the NNPC can spend monies without appropriation, despite being an agency of the federal government, or that the corporation is independent of the government.

The Senate joined the controversy yesterday when it declared that the said subsidy payments were not appropriated for, and therefore illegal.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources ( Downstream), Senator Kabiru Marafa, speaking

RELEASE SAMBO DASUKI NOW, FAMILY URGES BUHARI Since his arrest by the DSS, the former NSA has not been allowed to enjoy his bail and had to attend trial from custody.

Addressing journalists at the NUJ Press Centre, Sokoto, SIDPA’s Secretary General, Comrade Kabir Auwal, reminded Buhari of the need to respect the rule of law in the case of Dasuki.

He noted that Dasuki had remained in detention despite being granted bail by the courts in the country.

Auwal wondered why the federal government refused to release him despite the court order.

"Today is two years since the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki was arrested and re-arrested in December 2015 after securing his bail condition but ignored by the federal government.

"Since his incarceration, Dasuki has been arraigned before four federal courts which granted him

bail, while the ECOWAS court, a sub-regional court not only ordered that the federal government should release him immediately but also order his compensation to the tune of N15 million.

"The agents of the federal government, especially Department of State Service (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have refused to obey any of the court orders," he said.

He stated that members of the Dasuki family had deliberately remained silence on his ordeals and persecution, hoping that rule of law would be adhered to.

"But surprisingly, over two years after Sambo Dasuki was unlawfully and illegally detained without any court order or warrant, he has been subjected to media trial, scandalised and humiliated not through any court of justice but from the propaganda of the current administration through media trials of falsehood.

"In spite of Dasuki’s contribution in taming insecurity in the country, he has been the most maligned public officer through naked falsehood that tends to portray him as a corrupt person. He has served the nation with best of intentions, yet, he remains the only public officer that has remained in detention in the last two years; the only officer that has been granted bail by four courts.

"Since we are not in a military junta but a democracy, Nigeria’s constitution should not be turned to military decree by which rights of citizens are trampled upon without question. We strongly call on the federal government to respect the rule of law and allow Dasuki to enjoy his bail, except if the intention of government is to kill him in detention," he stressed.

He therefore, called on the Federal Government to release Dasuki on bail in compliance with the rulings of courts while it

Citizens Initiative for Security Awareness Demands Immediate Release of Dasuki Also yesterday, a civil society group known as Citizens Initiative for Security Awareness (CISA), demanded for the immediate and unconditional release of Dasuki.

According to the group's Director of mobilization, Ewache Ajefu, Dasuki remains the only public officer in the custody of government even after he had been granted bail by three High Courts in the corruption changes brought against him by the federal government.

"We recall that Justice Adetokunbo Ademola and Justice Mohammed of the Federal High Court, as well as Justice Baba Yusuf and Justice Peter Afem

B R A N SO N: $9.2 BN RET URN S MA KES N I GER I A’S M I N I GR I D L U C R AT I VE each can occur for 10 years and only meet 30 per cent of anticipated demand. “The combination of large revenue opportunity (USD $9.2 billion per year), a supportive government, and a dynamic entrepreneurial environment

unite to make Nigeria the ideal location. If you are an impact investor that wants to make a difference in energy access next year, I’d suggest a trip to Nigeria.�

He stated that even though investors have viewed the market for mini-grids as being too risky, making gaining access to project

financing rare, and market rate debt expensive, he was, “really thrilled to hear this week that the Rocky Mountain Institute may have cracked the problem with their partners, the Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency and the World Bank.�

According to him, the

organisations released an independent investment brief that touts Nigeria as the nation which can now unlock the nascent mini-grid market in Africa in 2018. “Nigeria is the biggest and most attractive off-grid opportunity in Africa. It has the

T H I S D AY SATURDAY DECEMBER 30 2017

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NEWS

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

TIME TO BUILD...

Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki signing the 2018 appropriation bill into law, before the Speaker, Edo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Kabiru Adjoto (middle), at the Government House in Benin City, yesterday

Buhari Chairs 2 Agencies As FG Constitutes Boards of Parastatals Olawale Ajimotokan inAbuja President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of 1,467 Nigerians to fill the board positions of the agencies and parastatals of some federal ministries.

The board positions, according to a statement issued last night by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, consisted of 209 chairmen and 1,258 members.

The statement said the president considered the approval for the

constitution of the Boards, as well as the appointments, very necessary to provide proper governance and oversight structure for government agencies and parastatals.

The appointments are with immediate effect and respective ministers are to inaugurate the boards after letters of appointment have been issued.

Mustapha described the constitution of the boards as a demonstration of government’s efforts to build strong governance institutions and by extension improve the quality of policy formulation and supervision.

The SGF said the appointments represented a substantial number of hitherto pending board appointments, adding more appointments were still being processed and will be released in due course.

In some of the key appointments, the president was named the Chairman of National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) and the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority.

NASENI has as members Alhaji Sabo Nanano, Garba Lawal, Rilwan Hussaini Abarshi, Hon Kunle Sanda

and Sani Minjibir.

The Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo will chair four agencies.

They include the National Space Research and Development Agency (NARSDA), National Boundary Commission, Border Communities Development and National Planning Commission (NPC).

John Shagaya was appointed the Chairman, National Institute for Policy and Strategy Studies (NIPSS). The members of the board are Hon. Abdulahi Matori, Dr Chidia Maduekwe, Dr Femi Majekodunmi

and Ibrahim Kabir Msari.

The Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA) has Afam Ogene as Chairman, while Hon. Saheed Salawe, Leonela J.Omo, Rabiu Gwarzo, Ahamed Alti and Idris Sani Buko are the members.

Prof Funso Adesola was named the Chairman of the National Planning Commission (NPC). The board also has Shuaibu Osune and Alhaji Mutjaba Ahmed as members.

The National Lottery Regulatory Commission has Alhaji Fatai Ibikunle as the Chairman, while the following:

Hon Bode Ogunleye; Boniface Waziri; Chief (Mrs) Yemisi Oni; Obo Awusa; Abdulbasit Abdullah and Abubakar Rajab are the members.

John Anucha was appointed the Chairman National Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC) while the Sheda Science and Technology Complex has Senator Ayo Arise as the Chairman.

Muiz Banire was appointed Chairman of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, while Olorunnimbe Mamora is the Chairman of Abuja Investment and Infrastructure Centre.

Boko Haram: Saraki Lauds US for Sale of Fighter Jets to Nigeria

Obaseki Signs Edo’s N150bn Budget into Law

Damilola Oyedele in Abuja

Adibe Emenyonu

President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has commended the United States government's support for Nigeria's bid to defeat the Boko Haram insurgents in the North-east zone by approving the sale of A29 Super Tucano fighter jets to the Nigerian Air Force.

Saraki was responding to announcement by the Nigeria Air Force on Wednesday that the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Stuart Symington had presented Letters of Offer and Acceptance, which represents the official American government's offer to sell defence articles and services to Nigeria, during a visit to Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Sidique Abubakar.

The President of the Senate said

the development was a positive indication that the Americans are genuinely desirous of helping to enthrone peace in Nigeria and ending the insurgency in the North-eastern part of the country.

While promising that the Senate would support the plan by the Buhari Administration to purchase high powered security equipment in order to strengthen the armed forces, Saraki recalled that on August 28 when he received an eight-man US Congressional delegation, headed

by Senator Christopher Coons of Delaware, the issue of the need to lift embargo on sale of weapons to Nigeria by the United States was a major point of discussion.

"My gratitude and that of my colleagues goes to Senator Coons and other members of his delegation for giving Congressional backing to

this arms sales arrangement. They have kept their words and back it up with action. During that visit, they promised they would help to ensure the arms sales embargo against Nigeria was lifted. Now, we can see that they are true partners in the fight against terrorism in Nigeria.

"It is obvious that if the Congress had vetoed the arms sales deal, we won't be talking of this expected new fighter jets which will definitely help us to finally defeat the Boko Haram insurgents and fully restore the confidence of our fighting force," he stated.

The President of the Senate further commended Ambassador Symington for demonstrating consistent commitment to helping Nigeria fully restore peace in the troubled North-east zone. "

The Governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has signed the state’s 2018 appropriation bill into law.

At the signing ceremony in Government House, Benin City, yesterday, Obaseki said the speedy passage of the appropriation bill by the Edo State House of Assembly was remarkable as it shows the harmony between the state’s executive and legislative arms of government.

The 2018 budget estimate, which was pegged at N146 billion by the executive, was increased to N150 billion by the House of Assembly to allow for more infrastructural and agricultural projects. According to him, “We cannot express our gratitude enough as an executive

arm of government for this unique and historic event of the signing of our Appropriation Bill before the end of the year. I cannot recall when this sort of thing occurred in Edo State in the last seven to eight years. “This portends a lot of good things to come. It shows the seriousness of both arms of government and more importantly, it shows that we are working together in the interest of the people of Edo State.�

The governor assured that his administration has set a target of at least 95 per cent performance level for the budget, noting, “The House is totally aligned with us and agrees with the principle of our budget, which is growth. This is taking a cue from what is happening at the centre. We have to invest in areas that will help us grow the economy, create jobs and improve the revenue

of government.�

Obaseki said that the legislature’s move to allocate N1bn to livestock production and fisheries as well as the decision to retain the about N1bn estimate for job creation in the state showed that we all appreciate the need to invest in youths and accelerate economic growth.

He noted that the focus on agriculture was to ensure that youths are carried along in our development initiatives, adding, “I am particularly grateful that you improved our provisions for critical areas of growth, particularly agriculture. “In the area of agriculture, I observed that the House increased our estimates significantly by almost 100 per cent. In particular, in the area of livestock and fisheries, there was a N1billion increase. "

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DECEMBER 30, 2͸͹Ϳ ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

RingTrue

Yemi

Adebowale

07013940521 yemi.adebowale@thisdaylive.com

We Must Persistently Interrogate Our Leaders

T

he biggest factor responsible for Nigeria’s continuing poverty, hunger, disease, unemployment and underdevelopment is the refusal of most of its citizens to persistently interrogate their leaders. Many are too fearful to challenge these leaders, most of whom are crooked. I also find it frightening that some even make excuses for the failings of these warped leaders instead of interrogating them. For example, President Muhammadu Buhari promised to decimate Boko Haram when he assumed office. It is obvious that he has failed, after almost three years in power. I find it difficult to understand why the majority are not interrogating him. He promised better life and after almost three years, the economy is in a mess, then, we should unanimously interrogate him. We have an Information Minister in Lai Mohammed that is persistently economical with the truth, nonetheless, only few people are interrogating him. What about our governors?

It is obvious that virtually all of them are crooked and have pauperised their states, yet, only few people are interrogating them.

It is unfortunate that majority of Nigerians are sentimental, timid, sly, lethargic and always economical with the truth, when it comes to tackling leaders.

Tribalism and religion extremism have also compounded the unwillingness of our people to interrogate our kinked leaders.

This failure of the majority to interrogate leaders often throws up touts in top political positions in our dear nation. We will persistently have inept and morally-

It is unfortunate that majority of Nigerians are sentimental, timid, sly, lethargic and always economical with the truth, when it comes to tackling leaders. Tribalism and religion extremism have also compounded the unwillingness of our people to interrogate our kinked leaders bankrupt leadership, if we don’t change this mentality. If we don’t change this attitude, Nigeria will remain in the inglorious club of underdeveloped country for many more years to come.

One development that has left me depressed for several weeks now is the acute petrol scarcity that has persisted across our nation. We should interrogate this “change” government on this. This product is selling for as high as N400 per litre in some states. This is the same product that should officially sell at N145 per litre.

For over four weeks, Nigerians have been going through hell in fuel stations. Many stations sell this product at black market price while officials of the DPR look the other way. This impunity is unprecedented because our regulatory agencies have compromised. This is why DPR officials

have been unable to enforce the official price of this product. Should this be happening in an era of change? Must this continue in an era when the body language of the president ought to be turning things around and hindering corruption? I thought that by now, our dear Petroleum resources Minister, Muhammadu Buhari, would have resigned over this anguish. This is the standard in sane societies. Unfortunately, public office holders in our dear country operate like big boss. Do they really care?

This stinging fuel scarcity has compounded the existing problem of epileptic power supply across the nation. Because electricity supply has been erratic, many relied on petrol to power their homes, offices and factories.

So, it is double wahala for Nigerians in an era of “change.” Epileptic supply of electricity and scarcity of petrol have combined to make life miserable for Nigerians. Manufacturers are also gasping for breath. What about stories that we have enough reserves to last three months? What about stories that our refineries are pumping out millions of litres of fuel daily? The response of government to this stinging fuel scarcity is awkward and laced with half-truths and outright lies.

Let’s flip back to Buhari and the raging unemployment in the country.

This government has not appropriately responded to the latest scary unemployment figures released last week by the National Bureau of Statistics. According to these dizzying figures, a total number of 4.07 million Nigerians became unemployed between January and September

Customs’ Celebration of N1.01tn Revenue The Nigeria Customs Service is still celebrating what it termed its highest revenue collection ever, with N1.01 trillion in the 2017 fiscal year. The NCS describes the revenue performance as spectacular, because the 2017 collection was N241.68bn higher than the target of N770.57bn set for it. The 2017 revenue is also above the N898 billion collected in 2016. For me, this celebration is absolutely unnecessary.

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (retired) and his boys should stop deceiving Nigerians with jaundiced figures. By now, Customs should be talking about generating at least N10 trillion annually for the Nigerian government. Unfortunately, very little has changed at the NCS. This agency is still underperforming despite its potential, because of massive corruption. Try clearing a car at any of our ports and you will understand what I am talking about. Also, visit the

land borders and experience Customssanctioned smuggling. Ali’s men will then turn around to hunt the traders in their shops across our cities and towns. I can still vividly remember the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption, PACAC, Prof. Itse Sagay, saying that the Customs was still drenched in corruption even under the Buhari administration. He said: “There is no difference in Customs since May 29, 2015. If you go to Tin Can Island, it is business as usual.”

Hameed Ali has not pragmatically responded to Sagay’s allegation. Fighting corruption in the Customs requires more than grandstanding. We need a brilliant and tactical head for Customs.

Again, this government should start thinking about privatising the collection of Customs and Excise duties. This is another way of reducing the sleaze in this agency and moving close to N10 trillion annual revenue target from our ports.

Ali

of 2017. The NBS declared that the increasing unemployment and underemployment rates showed that although Nigeria was officially out of recession, the domestic labour market was still fragile while economic growths in the past two quarters had not been strong enough to provide employment. Everywhere you turn, you will find so many jobless youths and adults. This is upsetting. The truth that must be told is that millions of Nigerians have lost their jobs in the last 30 months because of the horrendous economic policy of the Buhari administration. They fail to tell Nigerians that the manufacturing sector is the biggest contributor to the GDP and it is tumbling because of the warped policies of this administration. Industrial capacity utilisation is down and manufacturers are gasping for breath. The fiscal and monetary policies of this administration/fall in consumer demand are choking them.

Again, this administration persistently talks about diversifying the nation’s economy, yet, there is no blueprint on how to attain this. Clearly, the Buhari administration runs the country with propaganda, while the nation’s economy tumbles. The statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics are terrifying.

I expect this government to come up with realistic plans to stimulate employment.

Unfortunately, the men around Buhari are incapable of offering ideas on how to motivate employment. Over the last 31 months, they have shown that they lack the capacity to do this. The sloppy 2016 and 2017 budgets are a further testimony to this. Buhari is surrounded by a legion of sycophants. This means that our president must rejig his cabinet. He must be ready to hire people who would look at him straight in the eye and say “no” to his antiquated mentality and policies.

This morning, I urge Buhari to reflect on the remarks of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who said: “Now that we have had change because the actors and the situation needed to be changed, let us move forward to have progress through a comprehensive economic policy and programme that is intellectually, strategically and philosophically based. Once you are on seat, you have to clear the mess and put the nation on the path of rectitude, development and progress leaving no group or section out of your plan, programme, policy and efforts.

“Economy neither obeys orders nor does it work according to wishes. It must be worked upon with all factors considered and most stakeholders involved. The investors, domestic and foreign, are no fools and they know what is going on with the management of the economy, including the foreign exchange and they are not amused. The Central Bank must be restored to its independence and integrity.” Obasanjo made this remarks last year during a lecture he delivered at the First Akintola Williams Annual Lecture in Lagos titled, “Nigeria yesterday, today and tomorrow: Governance and accountability.”

This is evidently the only way forward for our dear country.

Osun Civil Servants Back on the Street Traumatised Civil servants in Osun State are still seething. They spent most of Wednesday on the streets of Osogbo, protesting against huge unpaid salaries, pensions, gratuities and non-remittance of contributory pension deductions by the Rauf Aregbesola administration. The workers were further miffed by plans by Aregbesola to pay them half salary this December after collecting N6.3 billion final tranche of the Paris Club loan refund from the federal government. They have since commenced an indefinite strike over this long list of atrocities against them by Aregbesola. This governor’s middle name is “anguish”. No single individual has ever inflicted this much pain on the people of Osun State. According to labour leaders, hundreds of

pensioners, who retired since 2011, have died waiting for pensions and gratuities.

Those still in service have been turned into beggars, with religious organisations feeding some of them. In the midst of these huge unpaid salaries, Aregbesola introduced a dubious half salary policy in September 2015. This governor, with unprecedented impunity, owes civil servants salaries running into several years.

Once a while, he pays half salaries. Only God knows what that means. As a result, public servants are perpetually on strike; they obstinately curse the day they voted for this man from hell. Aregbesola has also plunged the state into unprecedented debt estimated at about N200 billion.

Just as Segun Akinwusi, former Head of Service, HOS, of Osun State, stated

recently, “When a government chooses to indulge in trivialities, the end result is for it to be looking for scapegoats to cover its infamy. Osun State economy today has collapsed, the debt profile has reduced the state indigenes to beggars and destitute.”

For how long shall these hapless Nigerians be subjected to torture by the Aregbesola administration? For how long shall they be subjected to hunger, disease, malnutrition and untimely deaths by this man called Aregbesola?

These workers want the federal government to start paying them directly from Osun State’s revenue allocations.

Buhari should consider this option.

Osun State is in a deep mess. May Allah intervene with a blazing sword.

Aregbesola

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍťÍ¸Ëœ ͺ͸͚;

NEWS

In Brief Military Redeploys Spokesman, 398 Others

The Spokesperson for the Defence Headquarters, Abuja, Maj Gen John Enenche, and 398 other oďŹƒcers have been redeployed in a major posting andappointmentreleasedbytheNigerianArmyyesterday.Thearmy,which saidthe2017FourthQuarterPostingsandAppointmentswouldtakeeect on January 2, 2018, noted that the shake-up aected oďŹƒcers in the rank of Brigadier-GeneralsandMajor-Generals.ThearmysaidtheDirector,Defence Information,Enenche,wasnowtheCommandant,ArmyWarCollege,Abuja, while Brig Gen J.A. Agim is now the acting Director, Defence Information.

The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig Gen Sani Usman, conďŹ rmed the appointments in a statement. In all, the postings and appointments aected 399 OďŹƒcers.

LagosSeeksPolice Support inEnforcing Laws

SEEKING ROYAL BLESSING...

L-R: HRH Nnaemeka Achebe, Obi of Onitsha, and Prof. Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu, former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, when Prof. Moghalu visited the royal father at his Palace in Onitsha‌ recently

Baru: Worst of Fuel Crisis over, Monster of Scarcity Tamed OmololuOgunmadein Abuja The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, yesterday in Abuja said the worst times of the fuel crisis, which has plagued the nation in the last two weeks was over, saying the monster of fuel scarcity has been tamed eventually.

Baru, who made this submission while answering questions from journalists in the Presidential Villa after yesterday's Juma'at prayers, blamed the independent marketers for the needless fuel crisis which he said was triggered by a rumour that the pump price of

petrol would be increased.

However, he said he was excited because normalcy was gradually returning to various parts of the country after fierce and running battles that NNPC and its subsidiaries had with oil marketers, pointing out that his earlier disclosure that there was enough fuel in the storage which can last for more than 30 days was correct after all.

According to him, the marketers, who were only bent on making life difficult for Nigerians during the Christmas, opted to hoard the product and divert it even outside the country.

He said the directive of the president to seal off petrol stations selling above

the pump rice of N145 per litre and their hoarded petrol given out to motorists at no cost was effectively implemented.

"Fortunately, that rumour instigated a lot of marketers to be very greedy and they decided that their fellow citizens should not enjoy the Christmas holiday and new year with ease and decided to profiteer starting by hoarding and diversion of products.

"At the beginning, I did address the press, telling the world that we have sufficient products that will last us 30 days through the new year into January but because the marketers wanted to inflict harm and pains on

fellow citizens, they decided to hoard products, divert them and in some cases even smuggle products out of the country. “This has been tamed by the actions we took and I personally led the war around Abuja and other teams led the war in Lagos and other parts of the country. As of this morning (yesterday), I have gone round the Abuja metropolis and I have seen that the queues have reduced significantly to almost normal level and few motorists that I heard speaking on morning programmes concerning what I have seen, said they have not spent up to 30 minutes to fuel their car.

Nigeria Lost 54.6% of Potential Oil Wike: Govs' Nod to Withdraw $1bn Revenue in 2015, Says NEITI from Excess Crude Account Illegal ChinemeOkaforin Abuja Nigeria lost 54.6 per cent of oil revenue, amounting to $29.7 billion that it may have earn from its sales of crude oil in 2015 if the prices of oil in the international market did not drop from $101.91 that it was in 2014 to $52.16 in 2015, an audit report from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has disclosed.

The report, released yesterday in Abuja by NEITI, covered operations in the country’s oil and gas industry for the period of 2015.

It also disclosed that within that period, a total of $597.8 million was taken from the $4.37 billion that was

earmarked and remitted into the joint venture (JV) operations cash call account, maintained by the country to fund oil production between it and International Oil Companies (IOCs), and paid to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), the Nigerian Navy, and a host of others.

It said the $597.8 million expenditure from the JV cash call account was classified as non-cash call items by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The report, which highlighted a couple of other findings, including the losses recorded by Nigeria from oil theft, irregular product swap arrangements, and transactions the NEITI considered uneconomical, stated.

Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, yesterday, described as illegal the nod given by his colleagues in the Nigeria Governors’ Forum for the withdrawal of $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account (ECA), insisting that the same amount must also be withdrawn to address environmental challenges ravaging the Niger Delta.

Wike told journalists at the State House, after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, that he was at the Presidential Villa to brief the president on the security situation in Rivers State.

The governor, who said he was

in support of the fight against insurgency, pointed out that the decision of Governor’s Forum to approve the withdrawal of $1 billion from the ECA was illegal.

"For me it is illegal, however, we are talking about fighting insurgency and no right thinking individual will say that he will not support the government to fight insurgency.

"On the other hand, I believe that we have been talking about the environmental issues in the Niger Delta, particularly in Ogoni land, I believe that we can also take the same money from the Excess Crude Account to fund the problem in Ogoni land and other Niger Delta areas. That is my position," he said.

Obaseki, Media Group Intensify Campaign against Human TrafďŹ cking Adibe Emenyonu The Edo State Government and the Atarlor Crack Team, a social media group, have called for stronger collaboration among relevant stakeholders to create a conducive environment to engage young Nigerians in productive ventures and discourage them from embarking on dangerous trips through the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.

The Edo State Governor, Mr.

Godwin Obaseki, who spoke at the maiden edition of the Atarlor Crack Team’s Dinner and Award Night, in Benin City, said, “There is urgent need for individuals, religious organisations and civil rights groups to support government in the fight against human trafficking and illegal migration.�

Represented by his Special Adviser on Political Matters, Chief Osaro Idah, Obaseki added that everyone

must join hands with governments to condemn illegal migration and human trafficking, which subject migrants to horrible ordeals, such as slavery, prostitution, and organ harvesting, among others.

He said the state government acknowledges the rights of everyone to travel, adding, “youths should channel their energies to acquire skills. There are skills acquisition centres set up across the state by

this administration.

They can easily access these centres and get trained. This administration is set to prepare youths to engage in gainful ventures.�

The governor, who was decorated as ‘the Most Innovative and Investment-friendly Governor in Nigeria,’ by the Atarlor Crack Team Group, commended the group for its consistent effort in promoting good governance.

TheLagosStateGovernmenthassoughtthesupportoftheNigerianPolice force in its bid to ensure compliance of the new environmental laws in the State. The need for this support was reiterated by the Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Babatunde Adejare during a courtesy visit by the Management of the Ministry to the Lagos State Police Commissioner in Ikeja yesterday.While taking the Police Commissioner through the activities of his Ministry, Adejare said that the synergy between the Ministry of the Environment and the Lagos State Police command was important to guarantee the success of the new reforms in the environment sector.The Environment Commissioner said that the successes recorded in years past in the environment sector could not have been achieved without the support and cooperation of the Police Force. He therefore sought more consistent and harmonious relationship between the Ministry and Lagos PoliceCommand.Hiswords:“Throughyoursupport,wehaveachievedalot overtheyearsandwehavecometosolicitmoretoachievecleaner,healthier, safer and livable Lagos.�

1Dies,3InjuredinMultipleAccidentinAnambra

Amultipleroadaccidentinvolvinganarticulatedvehicle,abusandtwocars hasleftonedeadandthreeothersinjuredatthepopularAziajunction,Ihiala axisof Owerri-OnitshaexpresswayinAnambraonFriday.Aneyewitnessat thesceneoftheghastlyaccidentsaidthecrashoccurredatabout10.00a.m The eyewitness said that the accident was caused by break failure of the articulatedvehicleconveyingdrinksandheadingtowardsOnitsha."Thetrailer lost control and hit two vehicles and the bus which was picking passengers at the junction," the source said. ConďŹ rming the accident, Mr Sunday Ajayi, the state Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Anambra State said that about three vehicles were involved and about six casualties were also involved. Ajayi informed that only person was conďŹ rmed dead while others were taken to a nearby hospital for urgent medical attention noting that his men were equally on ground to remove damaged vehicles to avoid further accident at scene .

Why We Dragged Nigeria to AU

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) said it has taken it's matter against the Federal government under the leadership of President Muhammadu BuharitotheAfricanUnionHumanrightcommision.Thegroupsaiditdecided todoso,giventhatithasbecomecleartonitthatitwouldnotachievejustice inanyNigeriancourt,orinECOWAScourtwherejudgeswereafraidtoenter judgment against the president. A press release by the group signed by its media and publicity secretary, Emma Powerful and made available to THISDAY in Awka revealed that the commission has also written back to acknowledgereceiptofthepetitiontoitbyIPOB.ThegroupcommendedAU forpromptreplyoftheletter,whilealsocallingonittoensurefullinvestigation into the abduction of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu from his house months back.

"We commend African Union Human Right Commission for their prompt acknowledgementofthepetitionsubmittedtothembyIPOBteamoflawyers.

Thispetitionbecamenecessaryasameanstoexploreotherlegalremedies outsideNigeriagiventhatdueprocessoflawisvirtuallynon-existentinthe country under the current Buhari administration. "

NSCD Seals 20 Filling Stations in Kogi

The Kogi State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC)hassealed20ďŹ llingstationsforhordingfuelandalsosellingabove pumpprice. TheCommandantwhowentroundtheStatecapitalLokojaon Friday visiting some ďŹ lling stations also warned petroleum marketers in the state against hoarding and selling of petrol above oďŹƒcial Government regulated price in the state.The State Commandant of NSCDC Mr. Obiyo Everestusrecallthat,justlastweekthecommandsealedsomeďŹ llingstations in the State for selling above government approved pump price of N145 per litre. He noted that despite series of warning by the Command, some marketersarestill hoardingtheproducttocreateanotherartiďŹ cialscarcity.

Henotedthatsuchactiononlyinictunnecessarypainsonthemassesand taking undue advantage of the public, especially during this Yuletide. The commandant, while condemning this act added that erring petrol station would be made to face the full wrath of law, as he would not condone any act that will bring untold hardship to the public across the state.

FoundationDistributesItemsto2000Widows

A non-Governmental Organisation known as Doyin & Suzan Foundation, hasdistributedreliefitems,foodstusandotherempowermentmaterials worthN12milliontoover2000widowsacrossYagbaFederalConstituency of Kogi State.The Chairperson, Board ofTrustees (BoT) of the foundation, Mrs. Adedoyin Eshanumi, disclosed this to newsmen yesterday at the distribution venue at Isanlu township stadium in Isanlu, Yagba East Local Government Areas of the state. The foundation also made a cash donation and presentation of N1 million to the widows of Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA) Itedo-Makutu, Isanlu; which was a promised fulďŹ lled.

Eshanumi said the gesture was borne out of her goodwill for many of the women who have found themselves living in abject poverty and lacked the right and necessary assistance. According to her, giving an adequate attention to our widows is long overdue; we must give attention to the challenged women in all countries. It is estimated that 115 million widows worldwide live in extreme poverty, along with their children. This reality presents an opportunity and a challenge to countries, states and indeed our own community. "

T H I S D AY SATURDAY DECEMBER 30 2017

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ÍťÍ¸Ëœ ͺ͸͚Ϳ˞ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

COMMENTARY

LEADERSHIP, LABOUR AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

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Godswill Iyoha Iyoke argues that labour leaders need to re-construct the narrative of industrial activism

he pursuit of sustainable development is the essence and singular objective of governance and the objective of every institution and organisation within the state. This is the nation-building process which the entire people are engaged. The people could be classified into two broad classes: the political class represented by the government; and the people, represented by labour.

The leadership initiates the nation-building process, by exhibiting a sense of nationalism and thereby inspiring the patriotic zeal of the citizens, with the singular objective of mobilising them to build the nation. This is the basis of the modern state and the philosophy upon which the Nigerian nation was founded and the spirit with which her independence was fought. History reports the fact that Nigeria’s independence is result of the collaborative efforts of the nationalists and trade unionists.

In the struggle for independence, strikes by trade unions facilitated the activities of nationalists. Strikes by organised labour, were justified and geared towards ending the exploitative socio-economic order of the time. At this time, there was popular nationalistic fervour to terminate colonial rule by all means.

The objective was to create and optimise local opportunities for the benefit of Nigerians. The quest for self-rule was thereby considered fundamental to development; trade unionism was therefore popularised and strikes were therefore legitimised. For this purpose, blackmail, subversion and any action that could undo the imperial order of the time was justified. The attainment of independence notwithstanding, strikes have remained a reoccurring decimal in our national life and have indeed, assumed the benchmark by which the existence of trade unions and the performance of their leadership is measured.

Several decades after independence, Nigeria is yet to be launched on the path of sustainable development. The political class is yet to achieve a common nationalism while the citizens are yet to be organised into a productive workforce. The reason is that the political class has been distracted by the inordinate quest for power. The non-recognition of this lapse and the failure to step into the gap by labour is the bane of our national development. The political class has since independence failed in developing the human capacity to run a productive system. This class abandoned economic development, which ought to be the objective of politics, for the inordinate quest for political power. Post-independence labour leadership ought to have made the difference by generating ideas that could transform Nigerians into a productive workforce. Regrettably, labour activism has been focused on self-serving, unproductive and economic destructive activism, as it was during the colonial era. This is excusable. In the light of the limited education of the labour leaders of the time, there were no viable options to strike actions. At this time, industrial unions were restricted to, and led by a class of citizens to whom the derogatory term, ‘Labourers’ aptly applied. By virtue of the limited education of the labour leaders of the time, there was no apparent alternative to populist mob actions, as these leaders could hardly engage intellectually.

The gain of political independence notwithstanding, the resort to strikes by trade unions did not abate. Due to the ideological war between the West and Eastern nations, labour leaders pitched tent with deviant, belligerent and ‘subversive’ socialist ideologues of the East. Part of the gains of this alignment however, is in the intellectual enrichment of trade unions vide the educational

THE RESORT TO STRIKES IS NOT ONLY A BETRAYAL OF THE LEVEL OF SOPHISTICATION OF PRESENT DAY UNIONS, IT IS ALSO DISRUPTIVE OF OUR SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

scholarship offered to labour leaders and which was extended to young and impressionable intellectuals. Thus, industrial activism was introduced to ivory towers through the activities of impressive adventurous young academics, who enjoyed the benevolence of socialist ideologues. This explains the transformation that has taken place in trade unionism since independence, which period witnessed large scale unionisation and admission of impressive academics and educational associations into organised labour fold.

Current unionists and industrial activists are therefore wellinformed and intellectually grounded. This notwithstanding, industrial activism has not transcended the boring and disruptive strikes to something intellectually engaging, constructive and development oriented. The resort to strikes is not only a betrayal of the level of sophistication of present day unions, it is also disruptive of our socio-economic development process. The labour leadership has not been able to overcome this lapse, because of the lack of understanding that the burden of leadership actually fell on her after independence, as the politicians got distracted with the inordinate struggle for political power to the detriment of economic development.

Thus, while considerable enterprise is engaged in developing the electoral process, there isn’t commensurate efforts at establishing a sustainable development systems that guarantees the socio-economic well-being of citizens.

Sustainable development demands the mobilisation, processing, deployment and access to the national human and natural resource potential for the optimum benefit of the citizens. There is need to evolve the systems required to institutionalise this process, which organised labour is most suited to do; and to define and prescribe the kind of leadership required to drive and sustain it. To be able to provide the requisite leadership, labour leadership needs to appreciate the fact that the people (labour) is indeed, the centre and main object of development.

Organised labour leadership ought to understand that; One, the major national handicap is in our inability to be organised into a productive workforce; and the failure of our politics to produce the leadership type that appreciates the above imperative; and Two, the imperative of developing and evolving a social system and infrastructure required to facilitate the mobilisation and processing of ideas into consumable products and services which are accessible by citizens.

The foregoing should constitute indispensable factors in labour activism if organised labour is to play its leadership role in moving the citizens out of the current survivalist mode. Industrial activism must transcend its current agenda of organising simply to scramble for resources for personal and group survival. The current state of its social sophistication demands that labour leaders re-construct the narrative of industrial activism, if it is to live up to its high premium.

They need to appreciate the fact that labour which constitutes the human capital of a nation, transcends those who earn fixed wages to everyone involved in the processes of; ideas, creativity and innovations, which are products of human intellectual enterprises, which deserve rewards; production and processing of innovations and creative ideas, which are done through human entrepreneurial investments and engagements; the process of determining the volume and quality of production and the needs; and the ability or capacity of the people to consume the benefits of the products and services.

Iyoke, a Legal Practitioner, was a Member of 2014 National Conference

YOUTH AS LEADERS OF TODAY

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The future belongs to those who prepare for it today, argues Ugoh-Ezepue Kenechukwu

ailash Satyrarthi, an Indian Child right activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner once said “The power of youth is the common wealth for the entire world.

The faces of young people are the faces of our past, our present and our future, no segment in the society can match with the power, idealism, enthusiasm and courage of the young people.�

According to UNESCO, youth is best understood as a period of transition from the dependence and awareness of our interdependence as members of a community...Youth is a more fluid category than a fixed age group. However, United Nations, for statistical consistency defines youth as those persons between the ages of 15-24 years, without prejudice to other definitions by member states. African Youth Charter places youth between the ages 15-35 years. Coming back home, Nigerian Youth Policy places youth as those between 18-35 years.

In a paper titled “Youth and the future of Nigeria� delivered by Professor Attahiru Jega at the 5th Convocation Lecture, Nile University, Abuja, “Youth population was estimated at 61,306,413 or 31% of the total population of 193,392,517 projection as at 2016, making it one of the highest percentage of young people in any country.� He argued that during the first republic, youth were empowered, mentored and carried along but from second and subsequent republics, there seemed a rapture to have occurred as youth came to be generally neglected and relegated to

the background Personally, I don’t subscribe to the fact that youth are entitled to everything from the government. This unhealthy attitude that youth are completely entitled to a special consideration by the government is nothing but a mirage most especially for African countries. There is need for a paradigm shift in how youth see themselves. The destiny of any modern country now lies on the propelling force of their youth.

It is not uncommon these days that an average Nigerian youth spends his or her tremendous energy irresistibly entangled in the cobwebs of social media, fooball gists, celebrity gists and other frivolities instead of channelling the same gusto to personal development. I often wonder why an educated Nigerian, probably an unemployed graduate, will be busy arguing which celebrity is richer. This is when I understood in-toto that poverty of the mind is the worst form of poverty.

That is where sound education comes in- I don’t mean being a graduate but my emphasis is on sound education.

During his convocation lecture delivered in 1965, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe’s advice to the UNN graduates went as thus “...Your stay in this university has given you the intellectual quality, the professional confidence, the social poise and the spiritual strength, which are the tools employed by man for adaptation to his environment...the marble is available and the chisel is here. It is for you to fashion out your design for a living’.

Even with the availability of the marble and chisel, some youth will decide to play the role of that servant in the Holy Bible who was given the least talent by his master while others were given more, instead of investing the talent to make good returns went to bury his talent while others invested and made good use of their talents.

One of my favourite authors on financial education, Robert Kiyosaki was quoted as saying “Your mind is your greatest assest, be careful what you put into it.� I totally agree with him. The mind is the seat of all our ideas, plans, actions, motivations and inspiration. What does our youth put into their minds? An average Nigerian youth will yearn to enjoy all the good things in life but ask him how he intends to achieve the lofty dreams, its better you tell that to the marines! This is because the mind is bereft of concrete ideas. Ideas that will make the dream work if commensurate action plans are set in motion.

It is due to this paucity of well-coordinated approach to empower the youth by the government with the attendant rise in unemployment rates that gave rise to different foundations, agencies, NGOs to close up the lacuna. One of such is The Tony Elumelu Foundation whose aim is to empower young African entrepreneurs to contribute meaningfully to Africa’s prosperity and social development. Another platform noteworthy to mention is Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI), an initiative of United States Department of States whose objective is to educate and

network young African leaders through free online courses in various topics affecting the lives of African youth. The more interesting aspect is that there exists several of these platforms where one can key into for one’s personal development on any chosen field of endeavour.

Recently, I was opportune to be part of an online conference on Agro-business for Agropreneurs and potential Agropreneurs where I was thrilled at the new grounds visionary youth are breaking in the field of agro-business with their avant-garde ideas. In fact, after the jaw-dropping presentations by the resource persons with pragmatic illustrations, one cannot but agree that agriculture is the new oil! However, one thing is paramount- the need to invest time, energy and little money in acquiring the basic skill and education required to succeed.

According to Robert Kiyosaki ‘most people never get wealthy simply because they are not trained to recognise opportunities right in front of them’. I therefore challenge fellow youth to strive to develop your mind in your area of interest. When the mind is developed adequately, these opportunities will be recognised with the ‘eyes’ of the mind. This is your marble and chisel you need to create a future for yourself.

The future belongs to those who prepare for it today. There is no better time to begin than now.

Nunc coepi !

Kenechukwu is a medical practitioner

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ÍťÍ¸Ëœ ͺ͸͚Ϳ Ëž THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

INSIGHT

Behold, the President- elect 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 saturdayeditor@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 (950–1,000 words). They should be sent to saturdayeditor@thisdaylive.com along with the e-mail address and phone numbers of the writer.

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Maikanti Baru and Forbes Award

he good news that the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru has clinched the Forbes Best of Africa Oil and Gas Man of the Year 2017 Award by the New York-based internationally reputable media organisation must have been received with elation by most Nigerians eager to witness some shine on the nation’s external image. It was even more significant that the international award was in recognition of the helmsman at the NNPC whose lot it has been to shoulder the difficult task of reforming the national oil company to perform better in meeting the needs of the economy and the citizenry. This is not just another ego-massaging gesture but a prestigious endorsement of technocratic attainment by Forbes, the world’s top ranking assessor of outstanding capacity and performance. According to Forbes Media which announced the award, NNPC’s Maikanti Baru emerged from a process involving “ top oil and gas personalities who have made far-reaching and positive contributions to the development of the sector and have caused sustained stability of the economy in which they operate,� adding that in arriving at the choice of Baru, his rising profile and impressive career path through the years was of particular significance, among other ‘landmark achievements’ recorded in his “enviable career�.  As additional indication of the status of the award, it was noted that the ceremony would be graced by doyens of the international oil and gas business community, policymakers, entrepreneurs, politicians, opinion leaders, among others.

From this summary of the focus and status of the award, Maikanti Baru should be the proud recipient of resounding salutation from all angles of his office, colleagues in the industry, family, friends and indeed all Nigerians for what amounts to a befiting recognition of the entire span of his career as well as his current position as chief executive of Nigeria’s apex oil company. It bears restating that Forbes has earned international reputation in carrying out such independent, scientific assessments of accomplishments and earnings among other measurable parameters of human and corporate capacity and performance that its voice is not only the loudest but also most authoritative.

However, when a national newspaper sticks out its pen to question the justification for Forbes’ award to NNPC’s GMD Baru, it necessitates a response if only to shed light of knowledge and reason onto the dark recesses of editorial sentiment and judgment, since even in Nigeria Forbes credibility in its area of expert competence cannot be shaken by the opinion of The Nation’s editors. Besides, readers of the newspaper should be assisted with a broader-based perspective, especially of international issues, than the localised content analysis dished out by the newspaper.

Going through its editorial, Unjustified Award, in the December 25 edition, provides an insight into the limitations of information, knowledge and perspectives that gave rise to what might very well be the only dissenting editorial opinion on the Forbes Award to the NNPC’s GMD. The main motivation for the paper’s criticism of Maikanti Baru’s well-deserved Forbes Award is clearly a continuation of the targeted tirade against him by the paper for being NNPC GMD, who,

therefore must be “guilty� of all the purported inadequacies and alleged indiscretions pronounced against the company and its past and present GMDs by pseudo-judicial excesses of its journalists and editors aptly tagged “trial-by-media�.

The comment itself opened with an inadvertent self-indictment when it observed that “though not one allegation had been proved(sic) then, the public space reeked of tales of malfeasance� which it certainly propagated against NNPC and former GMDs and has been targeting incumbent Baru since his appointment against the ethics and principles of journalism. Under such prejudice against targeted persons, only the worst of “public space� hate chatter gets propagated and the more accurate, balanced and substantiated reality is criticised and blacked out.

Forbes’ criteria for selecting Baru appropriately assessed his entire career “through the years� and seek out “far-reaching and positive contributions to the development of the sector� from a global viewpoint. The paper’s editors base their premeditated perversion of Baru’s eminent qualification for the award on the narrow and jaundiced aperture of his tenure as NNPC GMD even as they admit he “has been in office for barely one year� before proceeding to pelt him with a mix of “controversy�, “allegation� and long-standing systemic problems of NNPC such as petroleum imports and ailing refineries. They could not notice that the current fuel supply crisis is the first since Baru took office 18 months ago.

Obviously, Forbes’ award to Maikanti Baru is so justified that the world of oil and gas applauded it. r )BNJE )FOESJY ,BEVOB

T H E SAT U R DAY N E W S PA P E R EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU DEPUTY EDITOR YEMI ADEBOWALE MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN

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

Between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

P

rince Harry falls in love with a person of African ancestry - so what?

Prince Harry is to marry Meghan Markle and many people think it marks some kind of breakthrough or major step for the British Royal Family.  There was even an article in THISDAY suggesting that Meghan would represent a major step for the British Royal Family.

Actually the British Royal Family has plenty of African blood from many generations.

However to focus on more recent history: the family of Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the husband of the Queen and father of Prince Charles has African ancestry. George Battenberg, the uncle of Philip, married Nadejda Torby, the descendant of Alexander Pushkin.

Pushkin, Russia’s greatest poet, was a descendent of an African of noble parentage and later a protege of Tsar Peter the Great called Abram Gannibal. When they married the British gutter press fantasised that the British Royal Family would soon produce Black babies!

The Pushkin descendants apart from the Royal family include Hugh Grosvenor, Duke of Westminster, one of the richest aristocrats in Britain, whose father married Natalya

Ayesha in 1978. The Grosvenor family wealth is in billions. Even more recently in 1999 Joy Elias Rilwan (yes, a Nigerian!) married James Lascelles, 57th in line to the throne.

Why should anyone be surprised? Huge chunks of Western culture have an African ancestry from ancient Egypt, and African royals have been around Europe for centuries as have large populations of Africans.

Apart from Pushkin, Beethoven, Alexandre Dumas, many other famous artists had African ancestry.

In Alexandre Dumas case his grandfather, a French aristocrat, fell in love with his mother and paid exorbitantly for her freedom. He returned to France to claim his inheritance but before he could bring his love to France Napoleon banned Africans from France. Dumas pere became a great general in Napoleon’s army and his son Alexandre, became the author of Three Musketeers and the toast of Paris.

But does any of this really matter? Does any of this affect the price of yam in Lagos?

So I say it is good to get one’s history right, but other than that - so what if Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle. rø%BQP -BEJNFKJ FEJUPS BGSJDBO DFOUVSZ PSH

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍťÍ¸Ëœ ͺ͸͚;

NEWSXTRA

Buhari, Jonathan Congratulate President-elect George Weah Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari and former President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday congratulated the president-elect of Liberia, George Weah.

President Buhari described Weah’s final victory at the December 26 presidential run-off as a reflection of the will of Liberian people.

Former President Jonathan congratulated Weah and advised him to maintain his policy of openmindedness in his new position.

Jonathan, who has just returned from Monrovia after leading the National Democratic Institute (NDI) International Elections Observation Mission to Liberia, posted the goodwill message to Weah on his Facebook page, saying: “I congratulate the declared winner, Mr. George Weah. I urge him to continue as he has started, with open arms policy. Everybody is a winner when democracy wins.

And democracy has won today.� In the message the former President also commended Liberians for demonstrating the willingness to give democracy a chance.

It said further: “Throughout my political life, I have lived by the creed that nobody’s political ambition is worth the blood of their citizens. I am most grateful to the nation of Liberia and especially the candidates, Mr. George Weah and Mr. Joseph Boakai, for living up to this creed. As co-leader of the National Democratic Institute

(NDI) International Elections Observation Mission to Liberia for these elections, I salute the zest for democracy of the Liberian people.�

Jonathan and other leaders of the NDI delegation had in a preliminary statement issued in Monrovia on Thursday acclaimed the Boxing Day polls as peaceful, orderly and well-organised.

President Buhari, according to a statement by his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, congratulated the former world footballer on behalf of Nigeria and also commended the people of Liberia on the peaceful conduct of the polls.

Buhari, who described the peaceful conduct of the polls as "another plus on Africa’s democratic scoreboard," praised the country's electoral body and observers who contributed to the success of the polls.

Pledging Nigeria's commitment to work with Liberia, Buhari showered encomiums on the outgoing president of the country, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, whose 12-year reign, he said, had transformed the country from its hitherto pariah state.

"On behalf of the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari warmly congratulates Mr George Weah on his election as the next President of the Republic of Liberia.

"President Buhari also commends the Liberian people on the peaceful conduct of the historic presidential

CONGRATULATIONS...

Former President Goodluck Jonathan and President-elect George Weah in Liberia‌ recently run-off election, stressing that 'this is another plus on Africa’s democratic scoreboard.'

'The President equally applauds the efforts of the National Election Commission of Liberia, as well as regional and international observers who have contributed immensely

to the electoral process and the strengthening of post-conflict democracy in the West African country.

"Describing Weah’s victory as an affirmation of the will of the Liberian people to remain united, peaceful and prosperous, President

Buhari pledged Nigeria’s readiness to work with Liberia on issues of mutual interest at bilateral, regional and global levels for the benefit of citizens of both countries.

"The Nigerian leader also commends outgoing President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, under

whose 12-year watch Liberia had transformed from being a pariah state to a country doing remarkably well on many fronts such as, women and civil rights issue, peace building and consolidation, ECOWAS and the Mano River Union.

Ijaw Youths Rap Ship Owners Rivers APC Disowns Secretary over Attack on NIMASA Boss for Comments about Abe Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa Ijaw youths yesterday defended the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, describing the recent call for his sacking by the Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN) as “needless distraction�.

The Ship owners had recently demanded the removal of the NIMASA boss, citing alleged incompetence which they claimed had crippled indigenous shipping operations in the country.

They also noted that the subsector was in crisis due to lack of funding and deficient government policies.

Coming under the umbrella of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, the youths noted that

rather than castigate Peterside, the NIMASA boss should get thumbs up for changing the face of the agency in a short time.

Daniel Dasimaka, the national IYC Spokesman, in a statement in Yenagoa, said that Ijaw youths were saddened by the ‘needless attacks' on Dr. Peterside, whom he said had succeeded in reducing attacks in the waterways of Nigeria. “It is shameful that Mr Greg Ogbeifun, the President of an association like SOAN would de-market the Nigerian Maritime sector by claiming that 'IMO and the rest of the world are aware that our maritime domain has remained a high security risk . “He also said it is most unsafe for seaborne trade and activities such as piracy, hostage taking and kidnapping all in a desperate bid to

discredit and malign Dr. Peterside. "for the record, NIMASA safety records under Dakuku Peterside are unparalleled. In the last one year, NIMASA recorded less than 10 maritime accidents. Contrary to the SOAN President's claims, under Dr Peterside, NIMASA actually foiled seven out of eleven sea pirates attacks in Nigerian waterways�, the IYC said.

The youths added that the agency was currently pushing for the passage of an Anti-piracy bill for a safer Nigerian Maritime domain, noting that Peterside secured the Minister of Transportation’s approval to increase the number of Search and Rescue Marshalls from 100 to 1000 for safety boat users in Nigeria’s territorial waters.

They maintained that in the last one year, the activities in NIMASA

Ugo Aliogo

The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has come out very strongly to condemn the state Secretary of the party, Mr. Emeke Beke, over comments credited to him, implying that Senator Magnus Abe is considering defecting to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Beke had in a publication in a national newspaper (not THISDAY) titled: ‘APC not moved by Abe’s cross over to PDP’, accused Abe, the senator representing Rivers South East senatorial district in the national Assembly of “apparent inclination towards pairing with Governor Nyesom Wike and the PDP.�

He was further quoted to have said that “it is obvious that Abe

is beginning to fall for the PDP and Governor Wike�, insisting that “APC is not afraid of the development� and that “those who believed in APC are not going to Wike for anything but Abe is.�

But in swift reaction, the state Deputy Chairman of the APC in Rivers State, Prince Peter Odike, strongly condemned the comments of Beke which he said neither represented the view of the state executive committee of the party nor that of the elders, stakeholders, members and teeming supporters of the party in the state.

Odike stated that on the contrary, Abe is the true face and ambassador of the APC in the state currently whose brand of politics is not only greatly reinforc-

ing the belief and commitment of members of the party but daily attracting new followership and obviously making the PDP in the state very jittery in the building up to the 2019 general election.

The deputy chairman stated that the comment of Beke was tantamount to anti-party activity as it was capable of causing disaffections among the various leadership strata of the party not only in the state but at all levels of the party.

He therefore call on the state secretary to immediately retract the “unfortunate� comments and tender an unreserved apology to Senator Abe, the leadership of the party in the state and indeed all members of the party for such “irresponsible, unguarded and embarrassing comments.�

Maritime Safety: NIMASA Set to Debt: NPA to Restrict Egina FPSO’s Acquire More Fast Intervention Vessels Access to Nigerian Waterways Bennett Oghifo The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, has said it would acquire strategic maritime safety and security assets, following the recent approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), A statement, yesterday by the agency said the planned purchase was in line with the total spectrum of maritime security strategy.

According to the statement, the Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside made this known in Lagos recently, and that he also

announced the establishment of a command and control center as part of the strategic initiative. “The four components of the initiative are situational awareness, response capability, law enforcement and local partnerships, and regional cooperation which are the fulcrum upon which tackling maritime crime will be built on,� he said.

Dakuku noted that the implementation of NIMASA’s total spectrum maritime strategy in collaboration with the Agency’s partners was a panacea to piracy and maritime crime within Nigerian territorial waters.

He also assured that NIMASA would continue to collaborate with the military especially the Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Air Force, among other partners, to make Nigerian waterways safe and secure. “We are not unmindful of the peculiar environment of Niger Delta which poses its own challenge in tackling maritime crime, especially kidnapping of crew and illegal bunkering that leads to pollution; we will continue to work with the Nigerian Navy and regional organizations to strengthen our regional approach to tackling maritime crime,� he said.

Eromosele Abiodun

Owing to rising debts, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has announced the immediate suspension of service boats operations in all its pilotage districts until the full settlement of debts accruing from unpaid pilotage dues by International Oil Companies (IOCs) and other beneficiaries of the services.

This is just as the NPA gave indication that it might prevent Engina FPSO, which is due to arrive Nigeria in January, 2018 from accessing Nigerian waterways.

The Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics base (LADOL) is currently playing host to the fabrication of $3.8 billion oil and gas logistics service facility, commonly known as the Floating Production Storage and Offloading –FPSO rig, otherwise called the Egina project.

The project, which has been applauded as first -of- its- kind in the sub-Saharan Africa, is being handled by Korea-based Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) on behalf of Total Oil Exploration, with LADOL serving as its local content partner.

According to a statement signed

by Abdullahi Goje, General Manager,

Corporate and Strategic Communications of NPA, the decision to stop the operation of service boats to debtor companies followed the failure and refusal of the affected companies to honour their obligations to the Authority in spite of several reminders.

Given the fact that the companies, some of whose indebtedness run into tens of millions of dollars outstanding for over two years, ignored the advice given by the NPA, the statement explained that the Authority had no choice than to pursue this course of action, which has been communicated to all companies concerned.

15

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍťÍ¸Ëœ ͺ͸͚;

Chivita 100% Unveils New Limited Edition Packs

CELEBRATING CHRIST...

L-R: Cathedral Senior Steward, Methodist Church, Palm - Avenue, Olabode Adeyemi; Bishop of Lagos West Diocese, Rt. Rev Oluyemisi Ogunlere; Palm - Avenue Circuit Presbyter, The Very Rev Opeyemi Awe all of Methodist Church Nigeria, Diocese of Lagos West at the Christmas Service held at the Methodist Church of Nigeria, Cathedral of Blessing, Palm - Avenue, Lagos

Buhari: We Won't Rest Until Nigeria Becomes Food Exporting Nation SylvesterIdowuin Warri Arrangements have been concluded by ex-leader of defunct Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), Chief Government Ekpemupolo alias "Tompolo" to sponsor another seven Niger Delta youths for a Masters Degrees programme in United Kingdom by January 2018.

Media Consultant to Tompolo, Comrade Paul Bebenimibo, made the disclosure yesterday as students of the region staged a peaceful protest urging the Federal Government to halt the alleged witchhunt of the former militant leader by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The protesting students called on the Federal government to

as a matter of urgency quash all charges preferred against High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, a.k.a Tompolo,in the courts.

The students, who carried out the peaceful protest in Warri, were made up of members of the National Association of Gbaramatu Students (NAGS) and Law Students Association of Nigerian Students, Delta State University Chapter.

The protesters carried placards with inscriptions such as, "Tompolo is not guilty"; "Tompolo is a prominent builder of the future of youths in Nigeria" "EFCC must drop all charges against Tompolo" "Though politically prosecuted, Tompolo maintains his support for national security."

The students maintained that Tompolo is a saviour to many

students who hitherto had no access to education and should be commended instead of vilification.

President of NAGS, Freeborn Abraiye said, "Though Tompolo is being witch hunted, his efforts in education of students cannot be overemphasised and his passion is enormous.

"Tompolo always ensured that youths of the region get scholarships to study. He is a selfless leader, the charges against him should be dropped."

On his part, the Attorney General of LAWSAN, Delsu, Jonathan Obiri noted that Tompolo has done well in the educational development of the youths of the region adding that the charges preferred against him were frivolous and of no effect.

"The government is only witch

Tompolo Sponsors 7 Niger Delta Youths for Master's Degree in UK Sylvester Idowu in Warri

Arrangements have been concluded by ex-leader of defunct Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), Chief Government Ekpemupolo alias "Tompolo" to sponsor another seven Niger Delta youths for a Masters Degrees programme in United Kingdom by January 2018.

Media Consultant to Tompolo, Comrade Paul Bebenimibo, made the disclosure yesterday as students of the region staged a peaceful protest urging the Federal Govern-

ment to halt the alleged witchhunt of the former militant leader by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The protesting students called on the Federal government to as a matter of urgency quash all charges preferred against High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, a.k.a Tompolo,in the courts.

The students, who carried out the peaceful protest in Warri, were made up of members of the National Association of Gbaramatu Students (NAGS) and Law Students Association

of Nigerian Students, Delta State University Chapter.

The protesters carried placards with inscriptions such as, "Tompolo is not guilty"; "Tompolo is a prominent builder of the future of youths in Nigeria" "EFCC must drop all charges against Tompolo" "Though politically prosecuted, Tompolo maintains his support for national security."

The students maintained that Tompolo is a saviour to many students who hitherto had no access to education and should be commended instead of vilification.

Odigie-Oyegun Receives 9th Benin National Merit Award Adibe Emenyonu The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun has recounted how he survived several attempts to remove him from office as National Chairman of the governing Party.

According to Odigie-Oyegun who was the first executive governor of Edo state, his several political trials stemmed from his unflinching loyalty to constituted authority at all times, a posture that severally frustrated contending interests within the Party.

Odigie-Oyegun spoke when he received the 9th Benin National Award from the Bini National Congress (BNC) in the Edo State Capital, Benin-City on Thursday evening. “The timing of the investiture was significant given that I had just survived another attempted coup which died with a whimper. For a Bini group, my own people to say ‘oga we want to honour you’, I thought finally yes I deserved this honour. I thank you for doing this to me. This is one of my proudest moments.“ The APC National Chairman stated at the well-attended

award reception. “I grew up in an environment of strong family ties, where bringing disgrace, dishonour to the family is the worst thing you can possibly do, because your own family will be the first to disown you. So all my life, this is the circumstance that has conditioned me. One, I do nothing that will not make me sleep soundly at night. I do nothing that I will be afraid to see as a headline in any of the national dailies. Yes, I have been through several trials, and I have overcome them all.

hunting him, they have no issues tangible against him. Tompolo is our saviour in the region. He knows the importance of education and has fought to give it to us.

"The government is doing little in the development of Niger Delta and people like Tompolo came out to challenge the impunity. So what offence has he commited then?".

Rachel Briyai, a beneficiary of UK Masters degree sponsored by Tompolo said government should swallow her pride and quash all the charges against Tompolo considering the efforts he has put in development of the region.

"The charges against Tompolo are frivolous, they should be dropped, he wants development, he should be encouraged by the government to do more and not to attack him."

Chivita 100% has unveiled new Limited Edition Packs featuring football stars like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba, David De Gea and Anthony Martial as part of its “Breakfast with the Stars� campaign to provide football loving Nigerians a wonderful opportunity to enjoy and share healthy and complete breakfast moments with these stars.

A statement by the company said, “The new Chivita 100% Limited Edition Packs seek to motivate, and drive aspirational connection between consumers and their favourite football stars, as well as promote an active lifestyle through a complete breakfast and celebration of 100% achievement. “Football fans dream football and admire these football stars who represent one of the best football club the game has to offer. These football stars inspire, excite, entertain and motivate because as achievers they believe in 100% commitment to excellence.

Consumers are thrilled by these successes; thereby developing more attraction to football and growing an enduring connection. “Seen as a masterstroke in communicating the breakfast narrative of the “Breakfast with the Stars� campaign, the new Chivita 100% Limited Edition Packs are a fresher, brighter and bolder packaging innovation that visually communicates the love for a game and fruit juice that unites us. So during breakfast every morning consumers can look forward to #DareToConquer with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, #BackwithaBang with Paul Pogba, #DeclareMartialLaw with Anthony Martial or #SaveTheDay with David De Gea. The communication campaign effort will be deployed across various media vehicle and consumer touch points like Radio, Print, Digital platforms, Out of Home, Experiential, Point of Sales outlets to name a few.�

According to Chi Limited’s Head of Marketing, Probal Bhattacharya, millions of Nigerians are passionate

about football and the new Chivita 100% Limited Packs are a great way to bring football icons to the table courtesy of Chivita 100%. “The objective of the Chivita 100% Limited Packs is to leverage on our passion for football in Nigeria to generate excitement among consumers by giving them an opportunity to have breakfast with great football stars like Pogba, Zlatan, De Gea, Martial, and among others. Consumers now have one special reason to stay motivated and achieve 100% success like these football stars when they start their day with Chivita 100%,� he stated.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly known and addressed as DUNIYA VICTOR YOHANNA now wish to be known and addressed as JEREMIAH YOHANNA DUNIYA. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Z͘ ΈD/^^ Ή : E d E OBUTE now wish to be known and addressed as ĆŒÍ˜ ÍžDZ^ Íż : E d E ONYEKE. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as E ^^/D / Z ,/D ^ / / now wish to be known and addressed as >>/Kd E ^^/D / Z ,/D ^ / /.

All former documents remain valid.

The general public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as dK</ K>h h^ zK D Zz now wish to be known and addressed as >K'hE K>h h^ zK D ZzÍ&#x2DC; All former documents remain valid.

The general public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as D/^^ /& KD K / ' >/ 'h> &K now wish to be known and addressed as DZ^Í&#x2DC; /& KD OBIAGELI EZEDINIRU. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

16

T H I S D AY ˾ ͱͮË&#x153; Ͱͮͯ͵

Plus

LOUD WHISPERS AUTO GLOBAL SOCCER TEENS CONNECT FASHION FILE COVER

pg. 20 pg. 26 pg. 29 pg. 38 pg. 43 pg. 46

Soboyejo Adebayo

Agriculture is a Tough Job That Pays Well

18

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 16, 2017

PLUS

Food Security Level Poor in Nigeria, Government Should Do More for Agriculture From raising livestock aged 10, he went on F to acquire degrees in business management, b business us administration, accounting and engineering. e ngine Today, he’s gone back to raising aanimals. nimal Dr. Soboyejo Adebayo, the Managing Director of Jocarl Breeder Farms, in this interview Directo tells Ad Adedayo Adejobi about what inspired him into farming, far agriculture and food security in Nigeria and his views on other issues

O

ne of the biggest challenges facing the broiler industry is the continuous flow of smuggled frozen chicken into Nigeria.

What do you think?

Well, I believe strongly that the future is bright for farmers that are cost conscious, economically sound, and management economical guide their investments. The a wise to g Poultry industry is big, and it Nigerian g P contributes about 10% to the agriculture Considering Nigeria’s population and GDP. Cons rate, Food security in Nigeria is still growth rate g very yp poor. There are bountiful opportunities for value aaddition in poultry feed industry, materials, growth and development raw materi of poultry production and management Nigeria. system in N

Why did you go into farming?

I was born into it. I have started raising livestock from the age of 10, ever before I dreamt of being a veterinarian. It all started with the old sci-fi movie “Doctor Who” which I’ve been a fan of at a tender age. So I had always wanted to be a doctor, though wasn’t sure of what type of doctor I wanted to be. So as I grew older, coupled with my love for animals which I cater so much to and care about. I got determined by being a veterinarian.

What is your farming enterprise all about?

Our Business, Jocarl Breeder Farm was established to bridge the supply gap the Nigerian poultry industry was facing, and also the urgent need for the country to improve its food security, and that was why a heavy investment was made to establish

DECEMBER 16, 2017 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

19

PLUS

I Apply Scientific and Innovative Approach to My Business a state of the art poultry farm with the latest technology in poultry breeding. It was a challenging feat due to the fact that the sector is faced with lots of challenges varying from feedstuff supplies, inflation, forex liquidity, power and insufficient know how. But we were able to surmount it all, by working round the clock, and also keeping our eyes on the vision and mission at which we were established in the first place. Gradually things started falling into place and we are proud to be one of the biggest producers in the industry. Our facility was installed to produce over 800,000 DOC weekly. With our recent improvements, we have been able to expand to be able to produce as much as 1.2million DOC weekly from our two state-of-the-art hatcheries. Thus, partnering a private organization in the value chains and also indirectly supporting the FG move for economic diversification.

What are your major challenges?

Challenges are a constant factor in any production sector. Challenges become greater when your dreams and visions are big and when you never intend to settle for less. Our major challenge is the availability of quality feedstuff. Furthermore, the issue of smuggling of frozen chicken and eggs into the country is paralyzing the industry thus making it harder for farmers to compete and break even. For a farm like ours that depends on 24/7 electricity, power generation is also an issue.

How does your company manage its brand and product differentiation?

In the poultry industry, the performance of your products is the ultimate brand.

Every farm has an expectation, the moment your products, day-old chicks can surpass these expectations, it creates a brand that will be reckoned with. Our products are quite distinct, and every farmer’s clients that have encountered with us can attest to this. We have three brands of brown-egg layers chicken with a performance which is quite distinctive and surpasses the expectation of farmers and doing well in the market. Our broilers are also of such nature.

How is Nigeria’s poultry market developing?

Except for the last two years, the growth in the industry has been steady. The industry has enjoyed a steady growth, which has led to the expansion of the value chain, which occupies a lot of players both agro allied players, farmers, catering services, and there are linkages.

With the recent devaluation, and reces-

sion the country experience, the poultry industry was hard hit, and this is because of increasing cost of production, which does not translate to an increased cost of goods, leading to losses for farmers –coupled with the low per capita consumption, which dropped further due to recession and low purchasing power of consumers, and the alternatives of smuggled frozen chicken into the country.

What particular challenges do Nigerian farmers face who seek alternatives to intensive production system?

The major challenge facing intensive production system is power. For instance, I have 35 closed houses that can take 7,000 breeders each in a land area of over 5 million square meters. Powering this kind of farm community is a big task in Nigeria where power supply is epileptic. I have to power my farm most times with heavyduty generators which are expensive to maintain. Other challenges which cut across all players in the industry is increasing the cost of feeding which is about 70% cost of production. In 2014, a bag of new maize cost between N4,000 and 5N,000. Today, it costs between N8,000 and N10,000.

Though over the years, I have been an aggressive learner. I have become more formidable and versatile. My biggest achievement is my ability to be able to proffer business solutions in the poultry industry. My business management style has focused on cost management, efficient utilization of resources and scientific approach.

terrain in Nigeria is gradually changing.

Banks are no longer willing to give loans, because of the perceived nature of poultry as a high risk, and even when they do, the rates are high. The poultry industry is huge. Available data states that the industry contributes about 10 per cent to agriculture GDP. It is an employer of over 20m people in different value chains. In 2010, Nigeria’s chicken population was close to 200m.

What do we see when we look at the current production standards in the sector in terms of safety and health?

From my perspective, our production standards and safety are high. We improve regularly on our standards. In another perspective, I think there is the need for more regulations in the industry as most farmers do not observe drug withdrawal periods. That affects the quality of products available to the consumers. More so, I think we should also join our western counterparts in the campaign against the discriminatory use of antibiotics in poultry production. The importation of poultry products and live birds into the country also needs to be addressed.

What do you see as the biggest opportunity to fix the issue of food security in Nigeria?

Food security in Nigeria is poor, looking at what our population is and the growth rate. Thus the biggest opportunity is to be able to feed ourselves, and that’s why I applaud President Buhari’s drive for economic diversification to ensure food security and prosperity. Industrialization of the agriculture sector can guarantee this for us. And to be able to industrialize agriculture, basic infrastructures, electricity and transportation, and IT must be in place. Agriculture is a tough job and well-paying too. But the major incentive is the job creation, financial and food security.

I think the curriculum needs to change, and also a state of emergency declared in the sector. I think the NYSC should be made a farming year for teeming graduates.

Government policies can make agriculture profitable and attractive. The moment the government is able to create enabling environment, and ban importations of products, this will drive the demand from inside.

How do you see the future of poultry in the country?

Well, I believe strongly that the future is bright for farmers that are cost-conscious, economically sound, and management-wise to guide their investments. The poultry

What opportunities are there for value addition in poultry, raw materials, growth and development of poultry production and management system in agriculture?

There are bountiful opportunities. Like I

said earlier, it’s a diversified value chain. Do you know that majority of the vitamins, colourants and amino acids used in poultry feed are made from petrochemicals? This is poultry industry reaching the oil and gas sector. The industry is very large that I cannot estimate its extent. And as such, it provides job opportunity for all.

What are the needs of Nigeria’s agricultural sector in terms of innovation?

There should be more scientific research into diseases and vaccine developments, management innovations, more husbandry research. Our agricultural institutions and universities need to be empowered to deliver on their vision.

Where else do you see opportunities for investment?

Feed additives and chemical production, veterinary pharmaceuticals and biologics, poultry product innovations and varieties.

How important is poultry to Nigeria’s economy?

Poultry industry, I perceived as an employer of labour is an industry capable of improving food security in Nigeria and also animal protein deficit in the country What’s the most pressing issue in food and agriculture that you’d like to see solved?

I will like to see Nigeria get to the point where we are the net exporter of refined and value-added agricultural products to the rest of the world. At this point, I am sure that the nation would have been able to feed itself comfortably.

Do you have any advice for the Federal Government on agriculture?

The government should continue the drive for economic diversification and above all create the enabling environment – in other words, electricity and transportation should be adequately provided so that the country can enjoy more foreign direct investment in the sector.

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

LOUD WHISPERS Mrs Bisi Fayemi and Her Loudwhispers I have reserved my comments on your wonderful book which I have not read yet. I am very sure it’s a beautiful compilation and a great addition to popular culture. Well done ma. The fact that you have taken time to compile your writings in your blog in the last 20 months according to your release, and put it in a book form is admirable. It is in this regard that I will like to formally send you my warmest regards even as I look forward to seeing the book on the New York Times Bestseller list. Akin, give me a call, we need to talk.

Abubakar Atiku – You Must Contest Oh! I have just seen a report saying that you have not yet decided to contest.

Abeg, that must not be true oh. After carrying us all on a ride from one party to the other, you will now not contest?

You must contest o. We will mobilise and buy the form for you if money is the problem. You will contest. Don’t let me cry here o. Atiku for President!

Which kind musical chairs be this one?

The whole thing is getting dizzier than the famed Maradona who dribbled the whole country including himself during the June 12 debacle. Atiku for president! You will contest whether you like it or not. It is by force. I have said my own.

Fela Reincarnated I must confess that the first time I went to see this play, I slept off. Tired from the hustle and bustle of Lagos.

Immediately the air conditioner hit me, I dozed off like a drunken sailor. So, I decided to go see it a second time even though I only missed about 20 minutes of the play. This time, I took it in end to end, and I must say, I was not disappointed. The show was grandeur and beautifully put together. I have said so much about it in my last write-up and will spare you guys with the scintillating details. Go see this show and tell me what you think. It is a masterpiece.

God bless you, Bolanle.

Chile’s Friends and their Miracle Chile is a hard-working employee of Zenith Bank. She and her friends have decided to touch people’s lives by contributing just N1,000 and gifting a random person. She has called it the N1k miracle. I am part of the group o and I donate very well o. So, we all contribute N1,000 every fortnight and at the end of the month, Chile with some members will go to the Gbagada General Hospital and just give a random sick person all the money contributed for the month. This month, we contributed N114,000 and gifted a mother whose son was suffering from burns. You should have seen her eyes when Chile handed her the money. She almost fainted. Getting that kind of support from total strangers! We have started contributing for next month and my mobile app has refused to work. Which kind wahala is this one na? They will think I don’t have the money o.

Dangote

Dangote vs BUA These two are fighting or should I use the word squabbling over mining leases in Edo State. This should ordinarily not be my business but when you consider the fact that these two have over the years shown considerable interest in the general well-being of our people, we cannot help but be concerned. Between the two of them, they have created gainful employment for our people, created and redistributed wealth and generally shown us what we can do with the necessary commitment and focus as Nigerians.

So all hands must be on deck to resolve this matter. I still believe that there is nothing that meaningful dialogue cannot resolve especially if there is sincerity. I would have offered to lead the peace move but I must confess that I have a conflict of interest.

Fayemi

Atiku

Abdulsamad Rabiu

My first girlfriend - Wunmi who used to live in Iwaya, works for Dangote. I remember how I used to go wait for her to close and she would work late because she could not go home if the boss did not go home. I would sit in my old battered Peugeot car with all the attendant risks of armed robbery, waiting for her to come and give me just a peck o. At times she would just send a message down that she could no longer make it at past midnight after waiting since 5pm. So you see why I cannot be neutral because she is still working there and still looking as beautiful as ever. I will recommend a neutral individual to wade into this matter and ensure that we achieve a resolution that would be the best for both parties and indeed for all Nigerians. Thank you.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͝͸Ë&#x153; ͺ͸͚Ϳ

TRIBUTE Amelia Ijeoma Okpalaoka

Celebrating the Life of a Sports Icon Who Passed On November 1st

Duro Ikhazuagbe

T

he story of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s participation in the All Africa Games can never be complete without the mention of the name Amelia Okoli (later Mrs Okpalaoka). The then young talent won the first high jump gold medal of the maiden edition of the continental sports fiesta in then Brazzaville in 1965 for Nigeria.

Mrs Okpalaoka belongs in the realm of great Nigerian sports men and women like theEmmanuel Arinze Ifeajuna who also won Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first Commonwealth Games gold medal on July 31, 1954 in Vancouver, Canada.

The likes of Abdul Karim Ohimai (A.K.) Amu, K.A.B. Olowu, Musliu Aremu Arogundade and Edward Ajado were the stars of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 4Ă&#x2014;100 metres relay. Olowu had the high jump event in addition to the sprint just like Okpalaoka.

Of course, who will easily forget the exploits of Modupe Oshikoya, an all round athlete who also excelled in the high jump like Okpalaoka at the second edition of the Games Nigeria hosted in Lagos in 1973.

Before achieving the gold medal feat at the Brazzaville Games, Okpalaokawas one of the eight girls selected to represent Nigeria for the first time at the 1958 Commonwealth Games in Cardiff.

She participated in the West Africa Games from 1958 to 1965 She was also one of the first two girls to represent Nigeria at the Olympics Games in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. She held the Nigeria record in High Jump until it was broken in 1970.

Apart from High and Long Jumps, Okpalaoka was also into Sprints, Javelin and Discus. She held Regional, National and African records in some of these events.

She was born as the third child to Venerable Sylvanus Nwoha and Irene Epuerie Okoli of Akokwa in Ideato North of Imo State on the 14th day of May 1941 at Asaba Delta State while there on missionary posting.

She attended various primary schools depending on the place of posting of her parents from 1947 to 1955. Such places included Enugu, Akokwa, Onitsha, Ufuma and Nkwerre. She also attended St. Catherineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, Nkwerre, for her School Certificate from 1956 to 1960 and obtained her Grade II Teachers Certificate at St. Markâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s College Nibo-Nise between 1961 and 1962.

The young Amelia started her career in sports very early at the primary school level where she took part in various events such as Egg and Spoon, Threading the Needle and Sack Race culminating in her participation in the Empire Day competition, which was the Queenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s birthday celebration.

Later, she graduated to more recognized events like High and Long Jump Jumps, mp ps, s,

Sprints, Javelin and Discus. The High Jump however remained her favourite event.

Interestingly, it was not only in the track and field she excelled, Okpalaoka was also an astute administrator of the sport.

After retiring from active participation Okpalaoka continued in serving in various capacities in the sports administration, both at regional and international levels.

She was the Games Mistress at Egbu Girls Secondary School from January 1963 to June 1984, producing sprinters, hurdlers and discus throwers who represented Eastern Nigeria at National Championship.

She served at the Eastern Nigeria Sports Commission, which later became the Anambra Sports Council, from July 1964 to February 1971.

After her tenure there, she joined the National Sports Council/Commission, which later became the Federal Ministry of Youth, Sports and Social Development, where she remained until her retirement in May 2001, as a Chief Sports Officer.

Amelia travelled with many teams to various Games and Championships such as: Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980, Seoul in 1988 and Barcelona in 1992; All Africa

Games in Nairobi Kenya in 1985 and Harare Zimbabwe in 1995; and the Commonwealth Games in Victoria Canada in 1994 and Manchester UK in 2002.

Amelia was married to the late Chief Charles Ikebuna Okpalaoka (Nnabuenyi Uga) who was a retired Comptroller of Customs and their union was blessed with three children: Chief Azubuike Okpalaoka, Nze Chukwuemeka Okpalaoka and Mrs. Nneka Offiah (nee Okpalaoka). She was also a beloved grandmother of nine.

Amelia relocated to Los Angeles, California, to live with her daughter and her family from June 2008 to November 2014 and visited them again briefly from January to July 2016.

Some of the many awards she received include; Sportsman Award (1959), Member of Order of Niger (1965) National Sports Award (1987 and 2006) Mother of Faith (2006) She was the President of Uga Improvement Union (Women) Lagos Branch for several years. She was also the President of the Christian Women Fellowship of All Saints (AHQ) Church Abalti Barracks from 2003 to 2008. She took her breath on this earth on 1st November 2017 at the age of 76.

Mrs Okpalaoka belongs in the realm of great Nigerian sports men and women like theEmmanuel Arinze Ifeajuna who also won Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ďŹ rst Commonwealth Games gold medal on July 31, 1954 in Vancouver, Canada.

The likes of Abdul Karim Ohimai (A.K.) Amu, K.A.B. Olowu, Musliu Aremu Arogundade and Edward Ajado were the stars of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 4Ă&#x2014;100 metres relay. Olowu had the high jump event in addition to the sprint just like Okpalaoka.

Of course, who will easily forget the exploits of Modupe Oshikoya, an all round athlete who also excelled in the high jump like Okpalaoka at the second edition of the Games Nigeria hosted in Lagos in 1973

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ DECEMBER 30, 2017

SUPER SATURDAY

DARLINGTON ABUDA We Shot ‘The Accidental Spy’ Abroad for Cultural Dissemination With his movie, The Accidental Spy, still making the rounds in the cinemas, Nollywood filmmaker, Darlington Abuda, says that the Nigerian movie industry could be exploited as a tool for effecting change. A Theatre Arts graduate from Delta State University, Abuda speaks with Azuka Ogiujiuba about his journey into filmmaking, Nollywood, his relationship with Nigerian comedian and actor, Ayo Makun, popularly known as AY and his career in journalism

C

Abuda

ongratulations on Who is featured in this movie? your recently released Well, this one is super-loaded with movie. How do you feel the crème of the industry. From about it?

Nigeria we have AY, Alibaba, Ramsey Nouah Jr, David Jones David, Bryan I feel both elated and Okwara, Emma Oh Ma God, Rahama humbled. Elated at the Sadau and Elma Godwin to name a reception the movie has few. The movie also features Christine received within its first Allado from London, Miguel Nunez week in cinemas across Nigeria and Jr from Hollywood and hilarious humbled by the fact that Nigerians South Africa actress, Thenjiwe have taken their time to go see the movie. It was a difficult time produc- Moseley. ing this movie, but when true passion Please tell us about your backis blessed by God’s grace, only sucground. cess can follow.

I am a Theatre Arts graduate from Delta State University and I spent What is ‘The Accidental Spy’ my first years after NYSC working as about? an entertainment writer with Daily The Accidental Spy is an action Independent Newspapers. I entered comedy that explores the story of into Nollywood via movie promotions an IT specialist, Emmanuel Prince and worked with Yvonne Nelson and who travels to London to heal from AY and other movie producers to proheartbreak caused by his cheating mote some of their blockbuster films girlfriend. In the meantime, Nigerian news outlets have been buzzing about which includes 30 Days in Atlanta, A Trip to Jamaica, 10 Days in Sun City, a new experimental energy source House of Gold, Single, Married and invented by a Nigerian national Complicated to name a few. studying abroad. ‘The Green Light Source’ promises to provide natural What inspired you to write the sources of electricity to Nigerian movie? citizens for next to nothing! This Let me let you in on an open secret. prospect however does not sit well with the Nigerian Power Cartels who I love writing and I love movies. In my work to both promote and proare currently manipulating and abusduce films for others, I noticed that ing the energy system for their own there was a gap in the industry that personal gains. Unwilling to have needed to be filled with a genre of their reign hampered by a meddling film. I tried to communicate the story outsider, ‘The Chairman’ as he is with some writers but they were not called, hires a professional hitman to kill the inventor before the unveiling. catching my vision and so I decided to write the screenplay myself. After I was done with it, Filmone Nigeria Tell us about the production believed in my vision and worked process of the movie.

The movie was directed by London with me to produce the movie. based Director, Roger Russell and From journalism to public relawritten by me with additional writing tions, and now movies; how do and editing by Diane Diaz. I worked you manage all these portfolios? with a talented producer in London What can I say? I love creating concalled Nicola Gregory. cepts. The dynamics of administration I learnt as a Theatre Arts major Where exactly was the movie working with talented people such as shot?

AY comes in handy. God has been my We shot the movie in London, bulwark and over the years he has Amsterdam and Lagos. These locations were chosen by design based on brought unique vision helpers across my way and in partnership with the concept of the story. them we have always accomplished great things.

What was it like working with crews in various climes?

What distinguishes you from It was a seamless process. Crews in your peers? the various locations were all excited Without equivocation, God is my working with us and we had an selling point. All my ideas and supenjoyable time on set sharing ideas port come from Him and He always and cultures. adds the ‘umpf’, that special some-

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ CEMBER 30, 2017

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SUPERSATURDAY WE SHOT THE ACCIDENTAL SPY ABROAD FOR CULTURAL DISSEMINATION thing, to all I do. I won’t ramble about the story of how I metamorphosed into a movie producer. That is a story for another day. I work hard behind the scenes so as to provide something spectacular for my audience. This part that contains the sleepless nights and creative sessions that go into the execution of what is eventually presented is what a lot of people don’t see.

The AY Live Concert is one of the biggest comedy shows in Nigeria and London, how did you take it to this level?

By taking it one step at a time; before AY Live commenced, I used to organise shows in Delta State University and my events were always reputed to be the best year in, year out. AY Live is a bigger expression of that event packaging gift God blessed me with. From the beginning we have always sought to give the people the best of entertainment available because I believe that when someone pays his hard-earned money to see my show he deserves nothing but the best and that has been working for me.

What were some of the challenges you faced in creating this movie?

The challenges were there but not unique to me and therefore not insurmountable. I say the challenges were not unique to me because every producer in Nigeria has experienced the same during their productions. We had an issue with funds and then with the right equipment so that our product would match since we shot in different climes. I had a clear vision regarding what I wanted to achieve and so I was willing to put all my resources behind it.

This is your second movie. Would you say it is something you want to do again?

I am in love with making and watching movies and so I will say yes, this is something I will definitely do again and again. I entered into the industry to make my impact and put our work on the map for all to see and appreciate. I may not be where I want to be as a producer but I aim to continue to produce good movies till despite the small budget we work with, our movies will stand neck to neck with A-list movies across the world.

How soon should we expect another movie from you?

I am currently working on a new project and will be making the announcement in January 2018.

I daresay movie lovers will be enjoying another cinematic thrill from us in the coming year.

‘The Accidental Spy’ seems to have a political slant. Aren’t you concerned about stirring the hornet’s nest?

I am a Nigerian and every Nigerian makes fun of the word, ‘cabal’. It is my desire to have the basic amenities available to all Nigerians and I tried to use humour to analyse a part of that.

What are your plans for the movie?

We plan to take the movie to different regions so they can have a feel of what we are currently doing in Nigeria. As a movie industry, we have taken the lead and we need to continue to show our innovations to all and sundry.

Some parts of the movie were shot in foreign lands even though the Minister of Information recently stated that Nigerian movies should be shot in Nigeria. Where do you stand on that?

I am all for cultural dissemination. As we shot in the various locations, we were able to share our cultures with the cast and crew from various nationalities. We shared food and folklore and gave the people a whole new glimpse of the country.

Sharing our cultures and learning from each other is the primary positive benefit of international collaborations in the entertainment industry.

How do you relax?

Many people don’t know this but I am a homeboy; I am happiest just chilling and having a good time with friends and family; having a good laugh with my wife is the best form of rest I enjoy.

IWorkHardBehindtheScenessoastoProvide Something Spectacular for myAudience

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ EMBER 30, 2017

POLSCOPE

with Eddy Odivwri eddy.odivwri@thisdaylive.com 08053069356

Letter to President Mohammadu Buhari

ear President Buhari, Knowing that it will be a little easier for the head of the camel to pass through the eye of the needle than me having the oneon-one opportunity of seeing and discussing these issues with you, I have decided to put it in a form of a letter to you. If I was graphically adept enough, I would have represented my entire message in a cartoon, which I hear, is about the only thing you read in a newspaper.

I am however sure that my friends and brothers, Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu will draw your attention to it, if indeed you looked only at our cartoon and left the rest content of the paper.

Let me start by congratulating you on the survival of Yusuf, your son, of that head-and-limb injury in a ghastly motor bike accident around Gwarimpa, Abuja on Boxing Day. No doubt, many Nigerians (don’t mind the few who are asking how Yusuf got enough petrol to burn in a pleasure ride when real-time travellers are stranded at filling stations) were so worried about the news of the incident and they heaved a sigh of relief when the presidency declared that he (Yusuf) is stable, even as there are plans to fly him abroad for a more comprehensive treatment. Our God will hasten his recovery.

His Excellency, in other not to make this letter bland and boring I have decided to compartmentalise the various issues I shall be discussing under ‘small-small’ headings.

Sir, irrespective of the many sweet and pleasant things those who are around you and those who often pay you courtesy visit tell you, the truth down on the streets is that Nigerians are angry and groaning.

They are not smiling. There is suffering in the land. As a result, you have lost enormous goodwill among the supporters you had before the 2015 general election, and they are really wondering if you are the messiah or whether they should wait for another, as they suspect that good intentioned as you are, you have been hijacked by the bad goons surrounding you.

The issues I will be discussing include the following:

Economy Perhaps this is one area your government has held Nigeria and Nigerians in one hard unfriendly grip. Yes, we agree that you inherited a dismal and disabled economy, but you do not seem to have had enough know-how on how to remedy the bad situation you inherited which, indeed, was the raison d’etre of the mandate Nigerians gave you. It is because that Nigerians knew the previous government was taking Nigeria to the grave, hence they elected you, hoping that you will be able to pull Nigeria back from the grave and make her regain all her lost strength and potential, and then bloom. But sir, although we are no more grave-bound, we are anything but recovered our strength and potential as a people.

Needless to say that if you get the dynamics of the economy right, almost all other things will fall in place; and it is vice versa.

Yes, we are “technically” out of recession, but the spill-over effect is yet pounding Nigerians into depression. Some have resorted to suicide, as life has become nasty, short and brutish.

Sir, contrary to your promise of providing three million jobs every year, (one of the catchy promises that earned you lots of votes), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently declared that 4.6 million Nigerians have lost their jobs since you became President. Sir, this is not funny, especially if you reckon that for every one Nigerian worker, there are, at least six dependants. So you can imagine how many homes and people are in distress. That is why all the talk about GDP growth sounds like gibberish bunkum to the man on the street, who feels the sharp pinch in the shoe.

Sir, matters have not been helped with the recent petrol scarcity. It’s been like an Egyptian torture to Nigerians. With the traditional poor electricity supply, the absence of petrol to even power the noisy generators or travel to the village or wherever for some Yuletide relief, comes down to heavy punishment for many Nigerians and they are groaning. No argument or explanation will suffice. The least Nigerians will expect is to find petrol to buy without any form of stress. You achieved that, two years ago. You cannot be dropping instead of improving on your record. Let the fuel flow. No excuse will assuage anyone.

Speed of Action His Excellency, watching the recently released documentary on your “Human Side”, somebody said you used to laugh when they describe you as Baba Go-slow in the media. Sir, it is true. Many people believe you are too slow. Your response rate to issues is legendarily slow.

Nigeria is in a mess. Its leader must be one who can think on his feet so as to urgently rescue her from the miasma she is plunged. But you seem to always want to take your time, so leisurely. We remember it took you six months to form your cabinet, the content of which had been long predicted.

Since you returned from your medical trip in August this

While many Nigerians believe the war should continue unabated, there are two major concerns: One, the war should not be discriminatory, in such a way that no one is spared the ire of the EFCC claws. It cannot ignore some and go after others. All bad guys must fall at the temple of justice and probity. Two, Nigerians want greater transparency with the recovered loot.

Thus far, no Nigerian knows how much has been recovered from the graft of the past. They want to know from whom the loot have been recovered. The culture of “name and shame” must return. The worry with keeping it secret is that it could be re-looted and no one would know, as the case had been in the past.

With the recent needless appointment of “consultants” by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami to sign an MoU on the return of Abacha loot ($321m), with the possible payment of four per cent of the recovered sum to the so-called consultants, Nigeria’s commonwealth is being frittered away by those opportuned to be in privileged office.

Mr President, a lot is going on under your administration without you knowing. Many are taking advantage of your near care-free style of governance. And that is what has strengthened the notorious cabal, ruin-running your government.

Mr President sir, this letter is getting longer than I had purposed. I know you have many pressing duties and cannot spend too long a time reading a reporter’s letter. But sir, trust me, it is one letter that will give you the password to blissful and more remarkable years of your administration. So read on.

Buhari year, you had hinted of cabinet reshuffle. This is more than four months after, nothing has happened.

In all matters particular, your response has been like a crane, seeking to hook an anchor. Nothing swift. No doubt, age slows one down. But Nigeria’s quest for recovery and redemption should be pitched on the fast lane.

Although I hear that you directed your ministers never to delay files beyond two days on their tables, sir, I am sure they are inadvertently slowed down by your haste-free pace.

Herdsmen Crisis This is one sore area Nigerians feel you have acted with vexatious nonchalance. Many believe that despite the widespread fatal havoc the Fulani herdsmen have unleashed on innocent Nigerians in many parts of the country, they have remained under some inexplicable state(?) cover, as none of them has been arrested, prosecuted and/or jailed for the hundreds of murders and arson they have committed across the land.

Suddenly, we now hear of an organised association called Miyeti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, which now operate like some sacred untouchables. And the only reason many have advanced for the levity with which they are handled is that the herdsmen are fellow Fulani like Mr President, as well as many who call the shots today in the Nigerian government system. Were it not so, the widespread danger they have posed to the rest of Nigerians deserves something more drastic and annihilative than Operation Python Dance, with which the IPOB agitation was decisively knocked off.

How can a certain people not only openly and illegally bear sophisticated arms unchallenged, but also rape women freely, kill innocent persons, raid and raze down their homes, willfully without let or hindrance? Worse still, they also engage in kidnapping of innocent persons and everybody keeps quiet!

Already, states are devising means and measures to protect themselves. Benue State now has an anti-grazing Bill. Taraba will pass its own in a few months, just as Ekiti State had earlier done so. Except something definite is done to address this herdsmen menace, this will be a veritable source of socio-economic friction in the coming year.

Mr President must show enough concern by evoking the Nigerian law to take its course against any threat to life, property and national cohesion, no matter whose ox is gored.

Anti-Corruption War The complexity of the anti-corruption war is indicative of the depth of the root of corruption in the Nigerian system.

Except a few who are probably guilty of some corruption acts, this is perhaps one area many Nigerians have sided with you. They have lauded the No-Retreat-No-Surrender stance you have attached to the war. And we are seeing the effects. Of greater concern however is how you must work out an understanding with the judiciary to ensure that they must dispense justice swiftly and dispassionately. That is the only way the big crooks can have their days in prison.

They cannot rob us blind and yet be the same ones intimidating us on the street, using the biceps of our stolen commonwealth.

Be a Father Indeed Those who are overtly critical of your government have been crowing about how “lopsided” you are in your appointments. Even after you released the statistics of your appointments recently, the belief has stuck that you have deliberately favoured a certain section of the country in your appointments. Many of them are quick to cite the constitution of the NNPC Board last October, where out of fifteen positions, ten were from the North (mostly Hausa/ Fulani) - a region without any drop of oil, three from the South-west and two from the South-south, with the Southeast having nothing. Some described it as worse than “quit notice” to the Igbo.

Sir, your theory of appointments being in tandem with volume of votes received during the 2015 elections should now be done away with such that you will indeed be seen as father to all, in words and action.

2019 and Emerging Dynamics As we get into 2018 in 48 hours, I know that the picture of how 2019 will look politically, will be getting larger and brighter before you.

Although you have been reticent and tactful in showing where you are headed, it is clear that your body language as well as the declarations of your loyalists have spoken volumes of what to expect from you. There are certain indications that you will run again in 2019. It is sure your legitimate and constitutional right sir.

It is even more so that your health has experienced a great rebound so much that you could stand for nearly two hours presenting the 2018 fiscal budget. And ever since you recovered, you have literally been bouncing.

But sir, many Nigerians are agitated. They fear that by 2019, you’d be 77 years old. If and when you get re-elected, you will be hitting 81 by the time you’d be stepping down in 2023. That age is far gone into the twilight of a fading epiphany… and an inglorious aping of the Mugabe menace.

Already, some prophecies on the horizon have indicated that your 2019 ambition will tear the APC apart. You will not allow this, I believe.

No doubt, you have a large crowd of supporters, especially in the northern region. But I do not know, as a statesman, if you have ever thought about the Mandela model. Reliable sources have indicated that some past leaders are seeking an alternative route to national redemption. One of them, famous for writing letters, has already written you on the state of the nation.

The letter may be released next month or so, to the public, if you do not respond to the issues in his letter. I just hope you will not treat it like the Ibe Kachikwu letter on the NNPC GM, Mr. Maikanti Baru.

And historically, when he resorts to letter writing, it is better to correctly interpret the handwriting on the wall.

Mr President, I will not take your commitment to this letter for granted. I have said a lot. A lot more can be said.

But as an elder, I know you know that a word is more than enough for the wise.

Take this as my New Year gift to you, even though I expect mine in kind or cash. Sir, if you don’t reply me, I won’t bicker. But if you do I will be excited.

Happy New Year sir!

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ DECEMBER 30, 2017

25

EXPRESSION

MEDIAGAFFES

Masari Bungles Buhari

EBERE WABARA

H

APPY New Year in advance: “Buhari unwilling to fight herdsmen (herdsmen’s) menace, alleges former NBA President, Dauda” “Police declare Alaka, suspected Badoo kingpin (another comma lest it becomes two personalities) wanted” “Disease control (Disease-control) centre cautions on cerebrospinal meningitis” “Police end stop and search (stop-andsearch) operations by Special Anti-Robbery Squad” “EFCC arrests Innoson Motors CEO after hours stand off” (sic) (DAILY Sun Front Page Kicker, December 20) Voice of The Nation: hours’ standoff. “…your family on the occasion of your 75th birthday anniversary.” (Full-page congratulatory advertorial for President Muhammadu Buhari on his 75th Birthday by Rt. Hon. Aminu Bello Masari, Katsina State Governor, DAILY SUN, December 20, 2017, Page 7) In this context, ‘birthday’ is the anniversary of one’s birth. So, ‘birthday anniversary’ is pleonastic.

“You have also restored the integrity of Nigeria among the community (comity) of nations, which had hitherto only saw (seen) a nation defined solely by corruption and inept and clueless leadership.” (Source: as above) Let us continue with a visit to Champion House, Ilasamaja, Mushin, Lagos: “Soldiers take over troubled spots” (Daily Champion Headline, December 20) Let peace reign: trouble spots.

“Post election violence spreads” (Vanguard Headline, December 19) Towards a better life for the people: Post-election violence….

Yet another headline solecism from Vanguard of the next day: “Post poll violence continues” Solution as above. Somebody should inform editors at Kirikiri Canal of this recurring lapse.

“Man killed in car accident” (Vanguard

BY

Headline, December 19) Why not ’’Man dies in car accident?’’ He was not killed!

“Nigerian loses his life in a ghastly auto crash in Greece.” (DAILY CHAMPION, December 19) It was a fatal (not ghastly) auto crash.

“President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, expressed sadness over the sporadic violent protest (protests)….” (Vanguard, December 19) The next headline blunder is from one of last week’s editions of this medium: “Police arrest four over Maiduguri explosion” Do we arrest the entire editorial team for (not over) lexical recklessness?

“Bribery enthrones mediocrity and crucify merit.” (Source: as above) The Tabernacle of bribery crucifies merit.

“Gang up against Buhari will fail” (NIGERIAN Tribune Headline, 15 December) Phrasal verb: gang up; noun: gang-up (which applies here).

“We were treated to another similar incidence.…” All newspapers should know the difference between ‘incidence’ and ‘incident’ (which is the correct etymology here).

“Although the governor’s last minute romance with the main opposition party is held against him.…” Saturday People: last-minute (take note of the hyphen) romance….

“Thus, a core investor…with regards to optimal use of the machinery.…” (THE GUARDIAN, December 12) Either: as regards or with regard to….

“In the heydays of the goggled General when fuel was often unavailable…” (THE GUARDIAN, December 20) Stranglehold of oil workers: heyday (uncountable).

“Last year, many houses of the Igbo in Ajegunle, a suburb of Lagos, were razed down.…” (THISDAY, December 20) No word abuse: simply razed (not razed down). Discard the contrary views by some registers!

Yet another headline gaffe: “Restrictions on inter-bank foreign exchange trading is (are) killing the market.”

“Armed robbers now have good company—street thugs and unofficial vigilante groups.” (THE GUARDIAN, December 20)

Democracy as a disincentive: vigilance groups.

“2015: Jonathan points accusing fingers at INEC….” (DAILY TRUST, December 20) People in the news: Jonathan points the finger.

No obtuse addition.

“Nigeria is at a crossroad” (VANGUARD, December 25) Fixed expression: at a/ the crossroads.

“Stationeries badly needed by.…” (DAILY INDEPENDENT, December 20) ‘Stationery’ is non-count.

“But what appears criminal is the desire of these off-springs of.…” (DAILY CHAMPION, December 20) ‘Offspring’ does not take any inflection.

The next three goofs are from VANGUARD of December 20: ”…the process of economic integration from which will emerge an economic block (bloc).…”

“There is a tussle going on between these two (would it have been three?) arms of government.”

“Nigerian leaders and politicians have continued to adopt and acquiesce to (in).…”

“Globacom sets (set) to rule domestic market” (Nigerian Tribune, December 20) “I have been briefed that the wrangling among the leaders of PDP are (is) over.”

(SUNDAY VANGUARD, December 24) BusinessDay of December 20 disseminated an embarrassing impropriety: “Now that the Police has (have) taken over the supervision of the….” “…and ensure it does not reoccur again.”

(THE GUARDIAN, December 20) ‘Reoccur again’? Run for cover, my dear reader! Just recur. Recur, recurrence, recurrent. Occur, occurred, occurrence.

“Lack of incentives anger (angers) local manufacturers” (THE GUARDIAN, December 20) “They provide temporary relief.”

(Source: as above) ‘Temporary relief? I strongly object to this clumsy expression because there is no permanence in ‘relief’.

THE PUNCH of December 20 circulated three solecisms: “The patients pay for each act of ‘healing’ through their noses.” Get it right:

ewabara@yahoo.com, 08055001948

they pay through the nose.

“At the launching programme (launch) in Abuja.…”

“A cursory look at the figures show (shows) that.…”

Daily Sun of December 19 circulated copious shibboleths: “The end point is that people wait for between three to five hours to pay in their drafts.” English without tears: between three and five hours.

“With the attainment of the highest office at any strata of government….” Singular: stratum; plural: strata/stratums.

“It may be difficult for Alhaji Nuhu Ribadu to resurrect again politically after his disastrous outing in the presidential elections.” Please, yank off ‘again’ in the interest of lexical sanity and our democracy.

“They better not rely on INEC.” This way: They had better not rely on INEC. “Like (As) we had said at various forums….”

“So, the government cannot ask the Supreme Court to interprete the law.” Spellcheck: interpret “…the reduction in the number of road accidents and causalities.” (National News, December 20) This way: casualties. “...to that extent, we shall congratulate its authors for (on/upon) hearing the deafening cry of Nigerians for an effective legislature.”

(Nigerian Tribune, December 20) “…were simultaneously a continuation of the power-bloc struggle in Nigeria and unanticipated fallouts from that struggle.”

(DAILY CHAMPION, December 20) ‘Fallout’ is uncountable. “…appeal to the discredited tactics of past times also wreak havoc on the procedural sanctity of the democratic path.” (Vanguard, December 20) Notes of disquiet: pastimes.

“Out-of-control trailer crushes 15 persons to death” When people are crushed by a trailer, they cannot be alive except there is a divine intervention. So, ‘crushed to death’ smacks of lexical insensitivity.

POLITY OLUREMI TINUBU

Let’s Work Towards the Nigeria of Our Dreams

T

he Senator representing Lagos Central in the National Assembly, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu has urged Nigerians to work towards the dreams of the country in 2018.

In her goodwill message for the New Year to her constituency in particular and to Nigerians in general, Mrs. Tinubu urged all not to leave nothing to chance, while working towards a new Nigeria.

She said: “I congratulate all the good people of Lagos Central Senatorial District, Lagos State and Nigeria as a whole for making it into the New Year 2018. It is indeed a privilege to still be here.

“The last year, 2017, was fraught with issues ranging from ignoble to ostentatious.

There was news of enormous corrupt practices, government scandal, slavery of our own people by fellow Africans, human rights abuses by those who should protect us etc. We also cannot ignore the issues arising from our inability to implement the 2017 appropriation Act and its effect on the living conditions of Nigerians. In spite of these however, there were high points among which are progress in the war against corruption, implementation of the school children feeding scheme, the N-Power programme to alleviate youth unemployment, the end of the recession and improvement in the ease of doing business ratings.

“As a people we understand the symbolism of the year 2018. This year many will indicate their intention to run for public offices and begin to take steps in this

Maritime Expert Flays Palletization of Containerized Cargo Imports Ikaki Igoni

A

Oluremi Tinubu

regard. As a people, we must start to be watchful, to ensure that we only give our mandate to the best people, who represent our interests. This year will go a long way in determining the future of Nigeria and her people.

“Thus I must urge us all at this time to work towards the Nigeria of our dreams, leaving nothing to chance. Every good thing, including building the Nigeria of our dreams takes effort. Thus I urge you to ensure that you do your best so that we all can laugh last.

“I welcome you all to the year 2018 and wish you God’s Blessings this year and over.”

maritime expert, Sir Enoch Iwueze has flayed the Federal Government intention to begin the palletization of containerized cargo imports to Nigeria from next year. Iwueze’s position is coming on the heels of the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun recently-announced Revised Import-Export Guidelines which kicks off January, 2018.

As announced by Adeosun, the guideline among other things, provides that from next month there will be palletization of containerized cargo imports into Nigeria.

Iwueze who is also the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Air Sea Freighters Limited stated that the decision of the Federal Government raises many unanswered questions just as it raises many issues.

In an exclusive interview with THISDAY at the weekend, the maritime expert with over three decades of experience said: “Although the ministry is yet to release list of goods that will be involved in the palletization and those to be exempted, looking at one of the conditions of allowing two foot space of clearance all round between the container walls and the cargo in order to allow customs officers to move round the container for inspection, is going to be contentious, considering the spaces to be wasted in relation to the freight chargeable by the shipping lines for a container”.

Iwueze who is also a chieftain of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) argued that the cargo to be loaded in container in such a manner that should allow two foot of

clearance space all-round the container walls, has great limitation for cargo space, in which case, a lot of unutilized space will be created, which will be a waste.

According to him, the adverse effect of this will mean that the cargo tonnage/quantity normally loaded in a 20 foot container will now involve 1½ container in which case cargo for 2 x 20 foot containers will necessitate 3 x 20 foot. This, apparently, will affect the freight cost including handling and transportation at both the port of origin and destination here in Nigeria.

The maritime expert pointed out that there are many goods which packaging will not necessitate palletization in container.

While waiting for the full list to be made public the ministry, he stated that non-palletization of goods does not in any way hinder the ease of doing business in the ports.

He argued that it was the bureaucracy in documentation as well as many government agencies in the ports that serve as barriers in the ease of doing business in the nation’s seaports, airports and international land borders.

“The essence of ease of doing business in Nigeria in line with the Executive Order Number One is to help reduce the hardship on the masses but any action that will increase the cost of doing business which will have adverse effect economically on the masses should call for review. Presently some of the shipping lines have given notice to the Nigerian importers for compliance with the policy by not accepting any cargo not palletized until the government list is made public. One, therefore, foresees shortfall in statistical import tonnage in January and February, 2018”, he added.

26

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͝͸Ë&#x153; ͺ͸͚;

AUTO ESSENTIAL SKILLS with STEPHEN DIESERUVWE (Director General, Delta State TraďŹ&#x192;c Management Authority (DESTMA)

Defensive Driving â&#x20AC;&#x201C; System of Car Control

2018 Range Rover Velar interior

Scholars from Africa Excel in Global Land Rover 4x4 Engineering Challenge Stories by Bennett Oghifo

M

orethan150talentedfuturesoftware engineers aged 11-19, from schools in 16 countries including South Africa, gathered in Abu Dhabi for the Land Rover 4x4 in Schools TechnologyChallengeworldfinals.

The competition required that these bright young scholars use computer coding to design, build and programme miniature remote-controlled four-wheel-drive vehicles for a two-day final event which took place at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

Each team in the final had qualified through a series of regional and national events in their home country.

TeamK-EVOfromPortugalwerecrowned2017

champions, with team Panthera from Malaysia, and Fair Dinkum 4x4 from Australia, in second and third places respectively. Team Rhino from South Africa, comprising three students from Maritzburg College in Peitermaritzburg, won â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Best Track Awardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

South African team captain, Bevan Roets, explained, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Two of us competed in the Land Rover 4x4 in Schools Technology Challenge last year and headed to the final this year full of nerves and excitement. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had lots of support along the way and want to encourage more young people to get involved. We all study design, engineering, graphics and other STEM subjects and all want to become engineers in the future.â&#x20AC;?

The South African team spent ten months and approximately 750 hours working on their project, at the same time juggling exams and

revision. They used biomimetics to design their car, imitating elements of nature for the purpose of solving complex human problems.

The car looks like a rhino, with tyres specially designed with separated spokes which have a special rubber compound for extra grip.

The contest, which supports curriculum learning, included an autonomous car coding challenge, reflecting Jaguar Land Roverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects, and a desire to recruit the next generation of engineers to design and develop future electric, connected and autonomous vehicles.

The challenge required the young engineers to optimise an existing set of code to help a model SUV complete the course that wound its way over and through a series of Land Rover Discovery SUVs in the fastest possible time possible.

Five-star Safety for new Kia Stinger, Stonic

T

he new Kia Stinger fastback sport sedan and Kia Stonic compact crossover have beenawardedthehighest-possiblecollision safetyratingsbyEuroNCAP.Bothvehicles achieved the full five-star rating from Euro NCAP,witheveryStingermodelqualifying for the rating, and all Stonic models fitted with Kiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s optional active safety technologies.

The independent safety testing organisation awardedtheStinger93%foradultoccupantprotection, 81% for child occupant protection, 78% for pedestrian protection, and 82% in the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Safety Assistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; category.

Fitted with Kiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;sAdvanced DrivingAssistance Pack, the Stonic was awarded 93% for adult protection, 84% for child occupant protection, 71% for pedestrian protection, and 59% in the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Safety Assistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; category.

The scores are underpinned by the vehiclesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Advanced High Strength Steel bodyshells, paired with standard-fit airbags (six in the Stonic and seven in the Stinger), and a wide array of passive and high-tech active safety features.

Euro NCAP praised both cars for their passenger compartments remaining stable in the event of a collision, with high levels of protection for passengers of different statures in every seat. For the Stinger in particular, passengers were well protected from whiplash, while the effects of pedestrian impact were reduced by an active deployable bonnet. The AutonomousEmergencyBrakingsystemhelpedboth the Stinger and Stonic to avoid all impacts during testing for the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Safety Assistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; category.*

Vice President, Business Development, Kia Motors Nigeria, Mr. Olu Tikolo (third from Right) in handshake with Cars45 CEO, after the signing of a sales deal between them. With them are the Marketing Manager, Kia Motors Nigeria, Mr. Jimoh Olawale (second left), and other staďŹ&#x20AC; of Cars45 Euro NCAPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s five-star safety rating applies to everymodelintheStingerrange,includingallgasoline and diesel engines, as well as all-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive configurations. The five-star rating applies to every Stonic fitted with Kiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Advanced DriverAssistancePack.High-techactivesafetyfeatures TheStingerisavailablewithKiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;slatestAdvanced

Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), while every car is equipped as standard with Vehicle Stability Management (VSM), Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Forward Collision Warning with Forward Collision-AvoidanceAssistandpedestrianrecognition, Smart Cruise Control with Stop & Go, Lane Keeping Assist, Active Bonnet, and High Beam Assist.

System of car control or the System is the fundamental foundation on which all defensive and advanced driving principles are built. It is the process which drivers adopt whenevertheyareapproaching,drivingthroughorpassing a hazard, e.g., junctions, cyclists, brow of a hill, potholes, bends/corners or any hazardous situation, for which you make a mental process or possibly do something physical with the car controls.According to Roadcraft, UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Police Handbook, a system of car and motorcycle control is split into five phases â&#x20AC;&#x201C; information, position, speed, gear and acceleration,representedbytheacronymIPSGA.Thesystem isquitesimpleandshouldbeconsideredinthesameorder whenever a driver is approaching or negotiating a hazard ontheroad.Briefexplanationsofthephasesaregivenbelow: Information â&#x20AC;&#x201C; On approach to a hazard, the information phaserunsthroughtheSystemanditoverlapsalltheotherfour phases.Whendrivingwetake,useandgiveinformation.We takeininformationthroughobservation,lookingorscanning tothefront,sideandrearofyourcar;weuseinformationto formulate a driving plan of how we intend to deal with a hazard; and we give information to other road users by a wide range of signals available to us â&#x20AC;&#x201C; direction indicators, flashingheadlights,horn,brakelights,handsignalsetc.The informationphaseisageneralthemerunningcontinuously throughout the application of the system by taking, using and giving information. The taking, using and giving of Information is, arguably, most important and surrounds (anddrives)thefivephasesIPSGA.Itmay,andoftenshould, be re-applied at any phase in the System.

Positionâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;Onapproachtoahazard,weshouldplantotake upanappropriatepositionontheroad,whichisoptimised for safety, visibility and correct routing.

Speed â&#x20AC;&#x201C; On approach to a hazard, you need to consider whetheryouneedadjustormaintainanappropriatespeed.

Thiscanbeattainedviaexplicitbrakingoracceleratorcontrol (engine braking), and plan to always being able to stop in thedistanceyoucanseetobeclearonyoursideoftheroad; Gearâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;Onapproachtoahazard,youneedtobeattheright speed,beforeselectingtheappropriategearformaximum vehiclecontrolthroughthehazard.Asystematicapproach to a hazard means braking for the hazard, coming off the brake,beforegearchange.Forautomaticvehicles,thisphase is already taken care of by the automatic mechanism of gear change.

Acceleration - For clearing the hazard safely, you need correct amount of smooth acceleration to negotiate and leave the hazard. Drivers should always remember to consider all the phases of the system on approach hazards even though you may not need to use every phase for all hazards, other than information, in every situation. As highlightedabove,theinformationphasespanstheSystem, soyouneedtoconstantlyreassessandifanewhazardarises considerwhethertoreturntoanearlierphaseofthesystem.

From the explanations of the five phases above, in practice aspresentedbyBristolAdvancedMotorists,itcanbebroken down as follows: 1. The purpose of the System of Car Control is to prevent road collisions by providing a way of approaching and negotiating hazards that is methodical, safe, and leaves nothing to chance.

2 It promotes concentration, careful observation, early anticipation and planning and a systematic use of vehicle controls to maintain stability in all situations.

3. Itisapplicableinallcircumstancesandprovidesthemost effectivewayofdealingwithanunpredictableenvironment.

4.Above all, it provides time to react to hazards.

TheSystemisusedwheneverahazardrequiresamanoeuvre.

Ahazard is something which requires a change in speed, direction or both. The benefit of applying a systematic approach to driving is to reduce the simultaneous demands on the vehicle and the driver mentally and/or physically.

That is, the System seeks to separate out the phases of a manoeuvreintoalogicalsequencesothatthevehicleandthe driveravoidbeingoverwhelmedbyhavingtodotoomuch at the same time. The system provides the foundation for alldefensiveandadvanceddriving.Ifalltheattributesand phasesoftheSystemareusedsequentiallyandintelligently, it provides a logical and flexible structure for dealing with all hazards. In summary, using the system of car control allows you to negotiate hazards in a way which is simple, safe and leaves nothing to chance, thereby reducing road traffic crashes.

Stephen K. Dieseruvwe

Director General, Delta StateTrafďŹ c Management Authority (DESTMA) **DriverTrainer and Road Safety Consultant **Email: sdieseruvwe@gmail.com **Tel: +2348167814928

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͝͸Ë&#x153; ͺ͸͚;

27

AUTO Porsche Decorates its Macan with Awesome Racing Liveries

P

BMW X7 iPerformance interior

BMW Group Increases Sales in November, Delivers 220,649 Vehicles Stories by Bennett Oghifo

B

MW Group has said its sales continued their positive trend last month with a total of 220,649 vehicles delivered to customers, an increase of 5.2% and a new all-time high for the month of November.

With its three premium brands, BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group has sold a total of 2,229,497 vehicles so far this year, + 3.6% compared with the same period last year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;With our strong premium brands, BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group covers all seg-

ments and is the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading manufacturer of premium vehicles,â&#x20AC;? commented Dr. Ian Robertson, Member of the Board of Management of BMWAG, responsible for Sales and Brand BMW. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Strong demand for our new BMW 5 Series shows just how popular this new model is with customers around the globe. We also sold more electrified vehicles in November â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 11,710 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; than ever before in a single month. We are now looking forward to celebrating delivery of our 100,000th electrified vehicle before the end of the year,â&#x20AC;? Robertson added.

The 63.7% increase in sales of electrified BMW i and BMW iPerformance models, with a total of

89,806 units delivered in the first 11 months, reflects dynamic customer demand for vehicles with alternative drive trains. For example, the plug-in hybrid version of the BMW 5 Series already accounts for 22% of 5 Series sedans delivered in the US. In the UK, one in three BMW 3 Series sedans sold in November was a plug-in hybrid. More BMW i3s were delivered to customers worldwide in the year to the end of November (28,040 units) than in the whole of 2016 (25,528 vehicles).

Global BMW brand sales increased by 3.7% in the first 11 months of 2017, with a total of 1,892,365 vehiclesdeliveredtocustomersworldwide.Avariety

orsche is paying tribute to its proud motorsport heritage with five special Macans sporting racinginspired liveries.

To showcase the special models, Porsche selected five iconic locations in Singapore that represent an integral part of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history, while spotlighting its diverse culture and heritage.

Representing Holland Village is the Martini Racing livery, one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most timeless and iconic. Then for Armenian Street is Rothmans design, paying tribute to the Porsche 956 that debuted at the 1982 Le Mans.

Likely a favorite among enthusiasts is the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pink Pig,â&#x20AC;? which represents Chinatown in Singapore.

This unique livery features a pink body color with labels for each of the body parts of pig, according to butcher-style cuts.

The Salzburg design is represented by Ann Siang Hill, with red symbolizing the color of the Porsche 917 KH, the first Porsche to secure the first of 19 impressive Le Mans victories.

Lastly is one that all motorsports enthusiasts will notice, even from far away: the Gulf livery. Iconic Porsches to wear the blue and orange color scheme include the 1970 and 1971 Le Mans World Champions, and the orange and blue Porsche 917 star car in Steve McQueenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s legendary racing movie, Le Mans, in 1971.

Coscharis Brands Win More Awards

C

oscharis group the Nigerian conglomerate that plays in diverse sectors of the economy like the automobile, information technology, logistics, beverages, agro - allied amongst others representing globally respected iconic brands in Nigeria has cause to celebrate ending the challenging year with recognitions in terms of various awards across their business interest.

Coscharis was recognised with the award as one of the top 50 brands in Nigeria by Top 50 Brands Nigeria based on Brand Strength Measurement and BSM index.

The Ford Ranger which is now assembled at the Coscharis Motor Assembly in Nigeria also won the Auto Brand of the Year at the Marketing World Awards held in Ghana. The Nigeria Automotive Industry Awards equally awarded the Ford brand as the Auto Brand of the Year. While the organisers of the Nigeria Annual Automobile Awards recognised the Ford Explorer

as the Nigeria Car of the Year. To cap it up was when Coscharis carted home three unique awards at the last awards night organised by the Nigeria Auto Journalist Association (NAJA) recently held at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos namely Ford Explorer as the SUV of the Year, Range Rover Vogue as the Luxury SUV of the Year and the Coscharis multi brand showroom at their group head office in Awoyaya, Lagos as the Showroom of the Year. Commenting on all these recognitions by various bodies, an expected elated President / CEO of the Coscharis Group, Dr. Cosmas Maduka said ending an eventful and challenging business year with all these awards couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have come at a better time than now in a glorious way. In his words, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;these awards while stiffly competed for, they are attestations to the organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s L-R: General Manager Marketing & Corporate Communications, Coscharis Group, Abiona Babarinde; and drive to continually deliver value for money and remain Brand Manager Ford, Coscharis Motors PLC, Felix Mahan, showing oďŹ&#x20AC; various awards won by Coscharis timeless in its relevance at all times even despite all the brands at the year 2017 Nigeria Auto Journalists Association (NAJA) Awards, held in Lagosâ&#x20AC;Ś recently business challenges in the year 2017.

Tears,Pains and Blood on Christmas

O

n 25th December 2015, I was privileged for the first time to watch flat mates, a television drama running on DSTV. It was the first time I would watch the series without being bugged by work challenges .The Christmas edition was a reminder on the typical travel attitude of my brothers from the East whose Christmas celebrations can never be complete if it is not celebrated in the East. On air personality, Yaw-real name Steve Onu who played the part kept reminding his flat mates that although he was unemployed, he must however travel home for Christmas with the little money he has been able to save.

That episode kept me wondering on our travel and driving habits although there are genuine travel habits that you cannot but understand although for me i can never understand the driving habits. My real worry is how a period meant to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ yearly turns out leaving tears pains,and blood. Three tragedies will form the core of my focus in this piece. The first tragedy is the death of about ten women in a road traffic crash in Kano. The incident, occurred around 8.30pm at the old tollgate near Saâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;adatu abubakar Rimi College of Education. The women were conveying a bride from Unguna uku to Yanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;lemu area when the driver lost control of the vehicle, hit the tollgate and divided into two. Eight women died on the spot instantly while the remaining died at

SAFE DRIVING with

JONAS AGWU

amnipr, mcipr,mprsa,arpa (Corps Commander) Corps Public Education OďŹ&#x192;cer Federal Road Safety Corps. + 2348033026491

the hospital. The probable cause of the crash was excessive speeding In the second crash, a young Nigerian doctor died in a road traffic crash just a day to her birthday.

She died alongside her parents and her younger sister along the Enugu-Abor road. According to information gathered, her father had hired a driver to take the family from Jos,the Plateau State capital to the Eastern part for traditional marriage of one of his daughters in January 2018.the father, mother and the young Doctor died instantly while another daughter , died at the hospital .Ironically, the driver is said to be the only survivor while their son is still unconscious. The third and last crash occurred on 24th Dec,2017 along Aliade Makurdi road at km 3 Ahumbe .The probable cause was also excessive speeding which injured a child but claimed 5deaths comprising two male adults and three female adults.

WhenIwroteapiecetitled,THEEMBERMONTHS RHYME, a snippet of what I wrote noted that a hand-

ful of motorists drive with a death wish on their mind.

If you call them suicide driven motorists or maniac on the wheels, you wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be wrong. These motorists drive as if they have a special immunity or what in our parlance; we call jazz or juju which promises false protection in the event of a crashâ&#x20AC;Ś I hate bad, reckless, irresponsible and suicide driven divers who forget that 90percent of deaths recorded globally and in Nigeria affect people aged 15-44years .This category, according to WHO account for 48percent of global road traffic deaths. The WHO report equally notes that from a young age, males are more likely to be involved with about three quarters (73%) of all traffic deaths occurring among men. It further notes that among young drivers, young males under the age of 25 are almost 3times as likely to be killed in a car crash as young females. . They equally forget that the World Health Organisation (WHO), is worried that one million deaths occur on the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s road annually with over 50 million injuries sustained through avoidable road traffic crashes.

Yearly, 400,000people under the ages of 25years die at an average of more than 1000 a day. These deaths are more in low and middle income countries among vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclist, motorcyclist and those using public transport.

Speeding remains the single most common traffic violations and explains why the Federal Road Safety Corps has fixed mid 2015 as deadline for enforcement of speed limiters in vehicles beginning with commercial vehicles. The use of phone while driving,

dangerous driving, unlicensed and under aged driving are also prevalent violations, in addition to lane indiscipline among others.

WHO identifies three risks factors; Speed, drink driving, seat belt, distracted driving and wearing of motorcycle helmet correctly which can reduce the risk of death by almost 40% and the risk of severe injury by over 70%.I hope to dwell on this three as a guide to the choice you make each time you drive- choice to live or die. I know that the suicide driven motorists donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t care about the speed limit of 100km/ph. They think government through the FRSC is nuts to post speed limits and restrict their freedom.

They reason, that since car manufactures fix maximum speed of vehicles at almost 280km/h and since the car belongs to them, therefore they are at liberty to drive at whatever speed they choose to. We are however cautioned and told that excessive speed kills.Researchhasitthat anincreaseinaveragespeed is directly related both to the likelihood of a crash occurring and to the severity of the consequences of the crash. So if you love life, you should at every time keep to the speed limit of 100km/h which is the maximum speed on the expressway for private cars and 90km/h for taxis and buses. The same applies to driving within build up areas such as schools,markets,commercial and busy areas; the speed limit here is further reduced to between 20-50km/h .You must at every time be guided by this rules and not by the supposed programmed events for the day. Some other facts on speed states that pedestrians have a greater chance of surviving a car crash at 30 km/h or below.30 km/h.

28

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͝͸Ë&#x153; ͺ͸͚Ϳ

FAMILY HEALTH

Natural Remedies for Cold Symptoms

with

BOBO BODE -KAYODE

lifeissuesfromwithin@yahoo.com, .Cel, ͸Î&#x20AC;͸ͽ͝͝Ϳͺ͝ͽ͞

I

thought it very timely to visit this issue at this time.

Have you noticed that everywhere you go, someone is sneezing, coughing, catarrh, wheezing, croaking with a very bad sore throat, running a mild fever etc. A visit to the pharmacy gave me the extent of the prevalence and our dependence of drugs for issues we can at least treat quite well using natural remedies. Most of the pharmacies had run out of drugs for flu, cough and cold !

So in such situation, we can allow nature to give a little helping hand. The truth is that, if you have been eating well and healthy, a little drop in your immunity would allow these symptoms to come up. But at the same time, unless you have seen your doctor and it is clear that you need help, your body , well assisted, would soon build up your immunity, and you soon overcome. Please note that this does not say that you should not see your doctor. That should be your first line of thought, if you k now that it seems a bit over the edge for you.

It may be â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;just a cold,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nothing to sneeze at. And the flu can make you feel downright drained. Fortunately, fast action on your part including these simple home remedies for colds and flu can mitigate the misery. Is it a common cold or the flu? If your symptoms are above the neck congestion, sore throat, sneezing, coughing you probably have a cold. If you have all those symptoms plus a fever of 38.8ĂťC (102ĂťF) or more, headache, muscle aches, extreme fatigue, diarrhea, nausea or vomiting, you are more likely to have the flu.

The common cold is caused by over 200 different viruses that can attack the upper respiratory tract. They are spread in the air from person to person.

People with a depressed immune system or nutrient deficiencies may be more prone to catching colds. Also, common causes of catching a cold include: lack of sleep, emotional stress, mold exposure, unhealthy digestive tract and traveling.

The good news is there are plenty of natural head cold remedies to help you kick your symptoms fast!

Foods to eat 1. Bone Broth â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Contains amino acids and minerals that naturally support immunity. Consume soup made of real bone broth and vegetables.

2. Water â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Adequate hydration is the key to flushing out the virus from your system. Try to drink at least 8 ounces every 2 hours.

3. Hot water with lemon, honey, and cinnamon â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Helps prevent mucus buildup and keeps you hydrated.

4. Ginger â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Make a ginger tea and add raw honey.

5. Garlic and onions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Both of these vegetable help boost immune function and have antibacterial and antiviral properties from a compound they contain allicin.

Foods to Avoid r 4VHBS m %FDSFBTFT XIJUF CMPPE DFMMT UIBU IFMQ Ă HIU off infection. r 'SVJU KVJDFT m "MUIPVHI PSBOHF KVJDF DPOUBJOT TPNF vitamin C, it is not as high in vitamin C as whole fruits or vegetables. If you want to drink juice, dilute it. r $POWFOUJPOBM %BJSZ m 1BTUFVSJ[FE NJML BOE PUIFS dairy products are mucus producing. r 'BTU 'PPE m i&NQUZ DBMPSJFTu UIBU IBWF OP OVUSJFOUT for supporting your immune system and are toxic to the body. r 1SPDFTTFE HSBJOT m #SFBET QBTUBT DFSFBMT XIFBU products, and white flour products quickly turn into sugar and weaken immunity.

Common Cold Signs & Symptoms You may experience a combination of these symptoms â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Sneezing Nasal congestion Runny nose Scratchy throat Cough Headache Muscle aches Postnasal drip %FDSFBTFE BQQFUJUF Sore throat Watery eyes What you can do for colds and ďŹ&#x201A;u For a sore throat remedy, fill a 250 mL glass with warm water, mix in one teaspoon of salt and gargle away. The salt really does soothe the pain. Add a squeeze of lemon juice to a glass of warm water for the more traditional sore throat gargle. This creates an acidic environment thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hostile to bacteria and viruses.

Chicken soup is a time-honoured remedy that is tried, tested and true. Chicken soup stops certain white blood cells (neutrophils) from congregating and causing inflammation, preventing large amounts of mucus from being produced. The hot soup also thins the mucus. Adding freshly chopped garlic to your soup gives the system a powerful boost. While garlic kills germs outright, it also appears to stimulate the release of natural killer cells, which are part of the immune systemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arsenal of germ-fighters. Spike your soup with red (chili) pepper flakes to increase the brothâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decongestant power. r%SJOL BT NVDI XBUFS BT ZPV DBO FJHIU PS NPSF mL glasses to keep mucous membranes moist and to help relieve dry eyes and other common flu symptoms.

A wonderful home remedy for adults or kids suďŹ&#x20AC;ering from a cough uses brown cane sugar, raw honey or stevia and red onions to make a soothing and tasty cough syrup.

Wash, peel and slice the entire onion horizontally.

Starting with the base of the onion, layer the slices in a bowl alternating with layers of raw honey or brown sugar

Fluids also help thin mucus so that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s easier to expel.

To help keep mucus loose, stay in a moist, warm, wellventilated room. To keep the air in your bedroom moist, place bowls of water near the air ducts or run a humidifier. r$VU TIPSU ZPVS DPME XJUI B XBSN CMPXJOH BJS "T outlandish as it sounds, inhaling heated air may help kill a virus working its way up your nose.

Try soaking your feet in a mustard footbath. In a basin, mix 1 tablespoon of mustard powder in 1 L of hot water.

The mustard draws blood to your feet, which helps to relieve congestion. r"OPUIFS PMEJF USZ B NVTUBSE QMBTUFS GPS DIFTU DPOHFTtion. Grind up three tablespoons of mustard seeds, add water to make a paste, and then slather it on your chest.

The pungent aroma helps to unclog stuffy sinuses, while the heat improves blood circulation and eases congesUJPO %PO U MFBWF UIF QMBTUFS PO GPS NPSF UIBO NJOVUFT however, or your skin may burn. You may want to smear on a bit of petroleum jelly before you apply the plaster to protect the skin. r#SFBUIF FBTZ XJUI TUFBN 1MFBTF UBLF DBSF XIJMF VTJOH hot water during this process. Pour just-boiled water into B MBSHF CPXM %SBQF B UPXFM PWFS UIF UPQ PG ZPVS IFBE UP trap the steam, and breathe in through your nose for five UP NJOVUFT %PO U MPXFS ZPVS GBDF UPP DMPTF UP UIF XBUFS or you risk scalding your skin or inhaling vapours that are too hot. To make steam inhalations more effective, add five to 10 drops thyme oil or eucalyptus oil to the water.

Keep your eyes closed as you breathe in the steam, since both essential oils and steam may irritate your eyes. On UIF HP %BC B GFX UJTTVFT XJUI FVDBMZQUVT PJM BOE IPME them under your nose whenever you feel congested. r&TTFOUJBM 0JMT 'PS $PMET &VDBMZQUVT FTTFOUJBM PJM DBO PQFO VQ UIF TJOVTFT BOE lungs helping heal a cold fast. Frankincense essential oil naturally boosts the immune system and oils of oregano and clove are anti-bacterial and anti-viral which can help you kick a cold.

As soon as you notice cold or flu symptoms, start taking 500 mg of vitamin C four to six times a day. If you develop diarrhea, cut down on the dose.

Goldenseal stimulates the immune system and has germ-fighting compounds that can kill viruses. As soon as you begin to feel sick, take 125 mg five times a day for five days.

At the first sign of the flu, take 20 to 30 drops of elderberry UJODUVSF UISFF PS GPVS UJNFT EBJMZ GPS UISFF EBZT &MEFSCFSSZ is widely used to fight viruses.

A dose of garlicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;a natural antisepticâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;will do a job on those viruses. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re feeling very brave, hold a small clove or a half-clove of garlic in your mouth and breathe the fumes into your throat and lungs. If it gets too strong as the clove softens, just chew if up quickly into smaller pieces and swallow with water.

For a serious congestion-busting blast, buy fresh horseradish or gingerroot, grate it and eat a small amount. To guard against upset stomach, wait until after a meal to try this. r%SJOL B DVQ PG HJOHFS UFB (JOHFS IFMQT CMPDL UIF production of substances that cause bronchial congestion and stuffiness, and it contains compounds call gingerols, which are natural cough suppressants.

A %VSJOH DPME BOE ĂĄV TFBTPO UBLF UP ESPQT PG &DIJOBDFB UJODUVSF JO IBMG DVQ PG XBUFS UISFF UJNFT EBJMZ Colds develop for a number of reasons including a) Your bodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s way of telling you to slow down b) Your immune system is compromised c) A cleansing or spring cleaning of the body Most of the time, if your immune system is strong and if you get enough rest or fluids, colds will go away on their own.

Many people actually feel better after their cold has

been resolved than they did before they got sick, as the pathogen stimulates the immune system and toxins are eliminated.

When to get help!

1. Your cold: 2. is associated with a high fever accompanied by 3. excessive mucus that can cause choking, 4. lasts more than a couple of weeks, 5. moves down into the chest develops into 6. bronchitis, 7. if you start to experience flu like symptoms 8. if you are concerned that is may be more serious Home care r *ODSFBTF ZPVS XBUFS JOUBLF r #PJM XBUFS XJUI GSFTIMZ DVU HJOHFS r BOE BEE MFNPO BOE IPOFZ HJOHFS UP CSFBLEPXO and expel mucus; lemon: rich in Vitamin C; honey: & an antiviral and soothes a sore throat) r %SJOL IPU XBUFS XJUI BQQMF DJEFS WJOFHBS and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper.(Cayenne pepper is very warming and rich in Vitamin C. courtesy: Gabrielle Thraub.

There are a few remedies, that are as good as ever , and works wonderfully in alleviating your condition. Ëž Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x153; A well-known immune system strengthener, garlic shines as an antibacterial and antiviral herb for fighting colds, coughs and the flu. One of the best ways to take advantage of garlicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s healing properties is by drinking fresh garlic tea. Sweetened with a little raw honey, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s delicious and helps to heal what ails you. Peel 2 to 3 cloves of fresh garlic and lightly crush them with the side of a wide knife blade. Add them to 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for another 15 minutes. Strain the garlic and allow the tea to cool to mouth temperature. Add raw honey, a tiny pinch of DBZFOOF QFQQFS BOE B TRVFF[F PG MFNPO KVJDF %SJOL BT much as desired. r 3FE POJPO BOE SBX IPOFZ DPVHI TZSVQ A wonderful home remedy for adults or kids suffering from a cough uses brown cane sugar, raw honey or stevia and red onions to make a soothing and tasty cough syrup. Wash, peel and slice the entire onion horizontally. Starting with the base of the onion, layer the slices in a bowl alternating with layers of raw honey or brown sugar. Stevia powder works well for this home remedy too; however, it is extremely sweet. Continue adding layers of onion and sweetener until the entire onion is reconstructed in the bowl. Cover and allow the sweetened onion to remain in the bowl on your counter for about 12-15 hours or overnight. The next day, there will be about a cup or more of sweet syrup in the bowl.

The cough syrup contains a range of nutrients, vitamins and minerals from the onion and the honey to help fight infection and soothe sore throats and quiet a cough. Take a spoonful as needed. Has no onion-y taste. r3BX IPOFZ BOE MFNPO GPS TPSF UISPBUT A mixture of fresh lemon juice and raw honey provides soothing relief for sore throats and helps stop the tickle that stimulates coughing. Raw honey -- with all its components including royal jelly, propolis and bee pollen -- is high in nutrients and enzymes which kill bacteria and viruses.

The vitamin C and antioxidants found in fresh lemons boost the immune system, speeding healing. Together these two home remedies are a powerhouse for getting over a cold and sore throat. Mix the juice of 1/2 the lemon with 2 to 3 tablespoons of honey and sip throughout the day as needed.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ JUNE 16, 2011

GLOBAL SOCCER A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

30.12.2017

Goerge Weah From Soccer Turf to Presidency

RECORD BREAKER PAGE. 29

30

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͝͸Ë&#x153; ͺ͸͚Ϳ

From Soccer Turf to Presidency

Former international football star George Weah addressing supporters on at the his party's headquarters in Monrovia

Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018;Ă?Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC; Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;ĂŁ Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2039; Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x152;ĂŁ Ă&#x152;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;ËŞĂ? Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2013;ĂŁ Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122; ĂĄĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2039;ĂŁĂ?Ă&#x153; Ă&#x2122;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153; Ě&#x2122; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17D;Ěł Ă&#x153;Ě&#x161;Ë&#x153; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x203A;Ă&#x;Ă&#x201C;Ă Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x2122;Ă? Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x152;Ă?Ă&#x2013; Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă? Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2013;Ë&#x203A; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x161;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x152;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2039;ËŞĂ? Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ě&#x2039;Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013; Ă&#x17D;Ă?Ă Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E; Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;ĂŁ Ě&#x2039; Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17D;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2013;ĂŁË&#x153; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x17E; Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122; Ă&#x161;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2014; Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă&#x153; Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014; Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; ÍšÎ&#x20AC;͟Ϳˣ Louis Achi Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2022;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x17E;ĂŁ ͽ͚Ě&#x2039;ĂŁĂ?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153; Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă&#x2018;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D;Ë&#x153; Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2018;Ă? Ă&#x2039;ĂĄĂ&#x2013;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x2019; Ă&#x161;Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018; Ă&#x;Ă?Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC; Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2019;Ë&#x153; Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2122;ĂĄ Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x152;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2039;ËŞĂ? Ă&#x161;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17D;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ě&#x2039;Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x17E;

F

orty-four hours ago, Liberiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s National Election Commission (NEC) announced soccer legend George Weah as the winner of Liberiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presidential run-off, beating Vice President Joseph Boakai in the first democratic transfer of power in decades following two devastating civil wars. This development puts the nimble, towering former football striker on course to replace incumbent Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who took over at the helm of Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oldest republic in 2006.

According to NEC, Weah had polled an insurmountable 61.5 percent of Tuesdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vote, which was delayed several weeks after a legal challenge from Vice President Boakai. The electoral body further explained that with 98.1% percent of all votes counted, Boakai had secured only 38.5% support.

Weah, candidate of the opposition Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) scored 720,023 votes, while the incumbent vice president and candidate of the ruling Unity

Party, Joseph Boakai, scored 451,088, which is 38.5 percent of the total vote cast, according to NEC. Before the official results were announced yesterday, Weah tweeted: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Liberian people clearly made their choiceâ&#x20AC;Ś and all together we are very confident in the result of the electoral process.â&#x20AC;?

Weah topped the first round of voting in October with 38.4 percent of ballots but failed to win the 50 percent necessary to avoid a run-off. Boakai came second with 28.8 percent.

Ravaged by a long-drawn war, Liberia currently suffers serious infrastructural deficit.

The emerging consensus is that it is in dire need of a leader that can consolidate on the gains of outgoing leader, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who is stepping down in January. President-elect

Goerge Weah

31

DECEMBER 30, 2017 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

Goerge Weah

Weah apparently lacks any illusions concerning the bracing task ahead.

His words on December 11, shortly after the New African Magazine named him among 100 Most Influential Africans of 2017 captures this awareness. “I will put all my strength, my energy, my sincerity and my influence at the service of the Liberian people.”

Meanwhile, in a reconciliatory, nationwide broadcast from his party’s headquarters in Monrovia yesterday, that essentially echoed former President Goodluck Jonathan’s statesmanlike concession to Buhari, Vice President Boakai, flanked by his supporters and party leaders, said he had already called President-elect Weah to congratulate him. His words: “I, Joseph Boakai, a man of peace, humility and with a deep faith in God hereby accept the results of the elections as announced by the National Elections Commission (NEC). I congratulate Ambassador Weah

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

DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE

and pray that God will guide and empower him as takes the onerous responsibility of steering the affairs of our nation.

“Even though I will not be the captain of the ship, it is my fervent desire that the ship of state always sails smoothly. We must work to unite our people because Liberia is bigger than all of us. My ambition to serve will never push me to stoop too low to violence. The truth of the matter is that what I was seeking was not power or title but instead the opportunity to serve.’’

The Man Weah…

He was known for his close ball control and devastating, cheetah-like sprints on the football pitch. His high-intensity mode of play had overwhelmed countless defenders and made goal scoring appear like a picnic. His sheer speed and bulk appeared irreconcilable until untangling the apparent contradiction came too late for reputable goal tenders. Fourteen years after retiring from active soccer, he clinched the apex political job of his country Liberia – the presidency.

No less a child of providence, he was born on October 1, 1966 and started his footballing career in Liberia. The current Arsenal of England coach Arsene Wenger brought him to Europe where he signed for Monaco in 1988. He then moved on to French soccer giant PSG in 1992. He won the French League in 1994 and became the top scorer of the 1994-95 UEFA Champions League.

In 1995, he signed for Italian giants AC Milan, after they had lost the Champions League final of that year to Ajax, where he spent four successful seasons, and won the Italian Serie

Even though I will not be the captain of the ship, it is my fervent desire that the ship of state always sails smoothly. We must work to unite our people because Liberia is bigger than all of us. My ambition to serve will never push me to stoop too low to violence. The truth of the matter is that what I was seeking was not power or title but instead the opportunity to serve A twice.

Looking ahead, Weah moved to England towards the end of his career and had spells at Chelsea and Manchester City, before returning to France to play for Marseille in 2001.

He subsequently ended his career with Al-Jazira in the UAE 2003. At international level, he represented Liberia at the African Cup of Nations on two occasions.

Throughout his momentous career, Weah proved he was not an ordinary footballer. He is still the one and only player ever to hold the African, European and World diadem for the best footballer at the same time (1995). For Weah there are so many firsts. He will become the first ever world footballer of the year to become president of a country. Former President Goodluck Jonathan, one of the observers of the Liberian run-off election told the BBC that though there were some challenges, he was sure the result would be fair to all contestants. Noted Jonathan: “The ballot box has replaced bullets and electoral disputes are settled through the courts.”

King George, as he is fondly called while playing for Liberia in the throes of civil war, single-handedly

picked up the bills of the national football team and almost led them to the 2002 World Cup – they were beaten to the ticket by Nigeria by one point.

Since joining the political terrain in 2005, Weah has been told he cannot win mainly because of a lack of education. To transcend that perceived deficit, he secured a Business Administration degree from the DeVry University in 2011 and for good measure added a Master’s degree in Management from the Keller Graduate School of Management in 2013.

He told the Voice of America in 2011 that education alone should not be the caveat for leadership.

“There are lots people that went into leadership and they don’t even have a college degree. But, I know that I am a good leader, and I am waiting for the opportunity to one day lead that country.”

As the Ronaldos and Messis savour the triumph of their worthy predecessor in the dribble-score business, the more sedate soccer pundits ponder the political trajectory of this African legend.

Meanwhile for ordinary Liberians, it maybe morning yet on creation day!

32

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͝͸Ë&#x153; ͺ͸͚Ϳ

Guardiola Targets Bayern Record with Crystal Palace Ă?ĘľĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018; Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă?ĂŁĂ&#x2DC;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;ĂŁĂ&#x2014;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă? ĂĄĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019; Ă?Ă&#x161; Ă&#x;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2122; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă? ĂĄĂ?Ă?Ă&#x2022;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2019;Ă? ĂĄĂ&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x152;Ă? Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x161;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122; Ă?Ă&#x203A;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă&#x153; Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018; Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2014;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x2039;ĂŁĂ?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x2019; Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2039;Ë&#x153; Ă&#x2039;Ă? Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2022;Ă? Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2019; ĘŽĂŁĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă&#x153; Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;ĂŁ Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2039; Ă Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122; Ă&#x153;ĂŁĂ?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2039;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2122;ĂĄË&#x203A; ĂĄĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E; Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2022; ĂĄĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2013; Ă?Ă&#x203A;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013; Ă&#x2039;ĂŁĂ?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2DC;ËŞĂ? Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x161;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x;Ă? Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2122;Ă? ͚ΠĂ?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x17E; ĂĄĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?

A

fter a hard-fought victory against Newcastle, Manchester City is set for another record-breaking mission as they visit Crystal Palace who would prove to be a hard nut to crack after the loss to Arsenal on Thursday.

City would be boosted by the return of their inspirational captain, Vincent Kompany, who is expected to be available for Sunday's trip to Crystal Palace after manager Pep Guardiola said the injury suffered by the defender against Newcastle United was only a minor knock.

Kompany, who has suffered a series of injury setbacks over the last two years, was substituted after 10 minutes at St James' Park before City went on to win 1-0 to extend their lead to 15 points at the top of league table.

"Vincent is not as bad as we thought," said Guardiola. "He will be ready for the next fixtures. We will know exactly tomorrow, but it is not a big issue."

Guardiola also added that Fabian Delph could be fit for Palace but defender John Stones, who is out of action with a hamstring injury, is not yet ready to play a full 90 minutes.

"Fabian was not fit for Newcastle, but he is much better now. We will see.

Fabian is a similar case to Vincent - he knows his body," the manager said.

"John Stones is also much better. I think he will be fit for the next game (Watford) which is huge news for us."

City have won a record 18 consecutive league games, with midfielder Kevin de Bruyne and winger Raheem Sterling attracting particular praise for their performances. However, Guardiola highlighted defender Nicolas Otamendi's contributions as the key reason for their recent success.

Guardiola , Fernandinho set for Palace's fall "Everybody has spoken about a lot of players like Raheem, Kevin, Sergio Aguero, they deserve it, but if I can point some attention to a player who deserves Manchester United in a stunning 2-2 draw at the respect is Nico. home, and they will now attempt to reinforce "He has been amazing - he is one of their quality on the road. the hugest competitors I have ever seen Recent victories at Newcastle United and in my life. I cannot imagine the situation Southampton prove Leicester can score goals we are in at the moment in terms of the away from home. However, it could be a clash table without him. It would have been of styles when they face the Reds. impossible."

Both teams like to counter-attack, but Meanwhile, Liverpool welcome Liverpool have a world-class forward line that Leicester City today, as the Reds attempt is firing on all cylinders. to cut the gap on Manchester United If Vardy's movement can be tracked and and Chelsea. Anfield boss Jurgen Klopp controlled, Klopp's men will outscore their has watched his team score 12 goals in opponents to secure the points. their last three league matches, and the Liverpool are only second to Manchester Foxes will be wary of Liverpool's attack. City for the most goals scored in the Premier Leicester hold eighth spot in the table League this season, and the Foxes do not have but are 10 points behind Arsenal in the depth at the back to stop Roberto Firmino sixth. and Mohamed Salah as they dovetail with There is little wrong with Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho. forward selection, but with the immiHowever, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte nent arrival of Southampton defender believes the club's fortunes this season could Virgil van Dijk, there will be renewed be decided by whether they acquire signifioptimism on Merseyside. cant reinforcements in the January transfer The Dutchman will watch his new window. team-mates feature against Leicester The defending Premier League champions ahead of his ÂŁ75 million transfer to have struggled to cope with the added deAnfield. The centre-back will train with mands of playing in the Champions League, the Reds for the first time after the clash despite signing six players at the start of the against Burnley on January 1. campaign.

Liverpool have been desperate to Third-placed Chelsea have fallen 16 points add quality at the back for two years, behind league leaders Manchester City but but they will have to manage with their could still lift a trophy having reached the current options on Saturday.

1ast-16 of Europe's elite club competition and The Foxes' form has improved overall the League Cup semifinals. under new coach Claude Puel, who "I am very happy to stay here and to work joined the team in October. However, with these players but I think the transfer they have lost two of their last three window could be important if we are able matches in the league. to find the right players," Conte told a news The Frenchman lost his job at Southconference on Friday. ampton last season, but his pedigree is "Otherwise we continue to work with these undeniable after spells at Monaco and players. I am very happy to work with them Lyon. and for sure the club is trying to do its best in The Foxes recently pegged back the transfer market to improve the squad and

our numerical aspect.

"I'm a coach, I have to work with my players and my task is on the pitch. The transfer market is for the club and they must decide if they want to improve my squad."

Conte also dismissed speculation surrounding the future of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and winger Eden Hazard at the club, saying the two players are key to the club's ambitions of collecting more major trophies in the future.

"It will be very important to continue with these types of players especially for your ambition to try to compete for something important," the Italian manager added.

Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x161; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x2013;Ă?

Man City Man Utd Chelsea Liverpool Tottenham Arsenal Burnley Leicester Everton Watford HuddersďŹ eld Brighton Stoke Southampton Newcastle Crystal Palace West Ham Bournemouth West Brom Swansea

20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20

49 27 20 23 19 12 1 0 -6 -6 -14 -10 -18 -10 -11 -14 -16 -13 -13 -20

58 43 42 38 37 37 33 27 27 25 23 21 20 19 18 18 18 17 15 13

"It is important to try and improve your team, to strengthen and not to sell the best players."

Conte also said that Chelsea have no fresh injury concerns ahead of today's league fixture against Stoke City, with the manager hoping to have defender David Luiz and midfielder Charly Musonda available for next weekend's FA Cup tie at Norwich City.

Ă&#x201C;âĂ&#x17E;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă?

TODAY Bournemouth Chelsea HuddersďŹ eld Liverpool Newcastle Watford Man Utd

v v v v v v v

SUNDAY West Brom Bournemouth

v Man Utd v Liverpool

Everton Stoke City Burnley Leicester Brighton Swansea City Southampton

15:00 15:00 15:00 15:00 15:00 15:00 17:30

15:00 16:30

Hot Shot Harry Kane

Tottenham

18

Mohamed Salah

Liverpool

15

Raheem Sterling

Man City

13

Sergio Aguero

Man City

12

Alvaro Morata

Chelsea

10

Romelu Lukaku

Man Utd

10

Wayne Rooney

Everton

10

Roberto Firmino

Liverpool

9

Alex Lacazette

Arsenal

8

Gabriel Jesus

Man City

8

33

͝͸Ë&#x153; ͺ͸͚Ϳ Ëž THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

AFRICA PLAYS

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

Domestic Sports Need a Trigger, Like Nigerian Music Got Tu Face and Comedy Got Ali Baba

Djokovic has been out of action since retiring from his quarter-ďŹ nal at Wimbledon

Australian Open

Djokovic Doubtful for Next Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s First Grand Slam Novak Djokovic fears he will miss the Australian Open after being forced to pull out of the Mubadala WTC exhibition in Abu Dhabi.

The former world No 1 has withdrawn from the tournament due to pain in his right elbow.

He will be replaced by Andy Murray who has travelled to the UAE to continue his preparations for the new season.

Djokovic's participation in the first Grand Slam event of the year is now in doubt as he awaits scan results, with the Australian Open starting on January 15 in Melbourne.

The Serb has not played since Wimbledon in July after

suffering an elbow injury.

Djokovic said on his official website: "I am very sad because I was eager to return to playing official matches. I enjoyed the practices and everything I did to get ready for the start of the season.

"Now I need to accept this situation, and to wait for the results of the therapies, in order to start playing tennis again and getting back to full rhythm.

This might affect the start of the season and the tournament plan, but the decision will be made in the following days."

Murray will now face Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut in the semi-finals with Dominic Thiem and Kevin Anderson contesting the other last-four match.

The contest was supposed to be Djokovic's first outing since he retired from his quarter-final against Tomas Berdych at Wimbledon.

He added: "I am terribly disappointed that I am forced to withdraw from the Mubadala World Tennis Championship.

"Unfortunately, in the past few days I started to feel pain in the elbow and after several tests, my medical team has advised me not to risk anything, to withdraw from the tournament."

Djokovic has dropped to 12th in the world rankings during his absence and he is now in danger of falling further if scans reveal any significant damage.

GOtv Boxing Night 13

Oladosu Lauds Sponsors for N.2.5m Cash Prize Rilwan Oladosu, the lightweight boxer who won the N2.5 million cash prize attached to the Mojisola Ogunsanya Memorial Trophy for the best boxer at GOtv Boxing Night 13, has thanked GOtv, sponsors of the event.

He was voted best boxer on account of his performance in the bout against Kehinde Badmus at the event, which held on Boxing Day at Landmark Event Centre, Victoria Island.

Speaking in Lagos on Thursday, Oladosu said the cash prize will motivate him

to aim higher. "I am happy at what GOtv is doing for boxing.

Boxers are being encouraged and made to have a sense of pride in their trade. I want to say a big thank you to them.

They have made me happy and have motivated me to aim higher," he said.

Also at the event, Rilwan Babatunde, who won the national light welterweight title by defeating Chijioke Ngige, was voted runner-up to Oladosu and went home with N1million. Rilwan Oyekola, the second runner-up, won

N500,000.

GOtv Boxing Night 13 produced two African Boxing Union (ABU) title winners from Nigeria. Oto Joseph knocked out Abdulrahim Ahmed of Egypt to win the ABU lightweight title, while Olaide Fijabi knocked out Shadrack Ignas Kobero of Tanzania to claim the light welterweight title.

Nigeria's Abolaji Rasheed successfully defended his West African Boxing Union title against Arye Ayitteh of Ghana, winning by unanimous decision.

Lagos Marine American Football Canvasses for Sponsorship at Christmas The Lagos Marine Team known for its relentless strikes and success has called for sponsorship to help the team meet up its next African competition in 2018 after its last victory RO CĂ´te De Voire.

It made this plea at its endof-the year match the Campus Stadium, Lagos Island, Lagos at the weekend organised to honour on of its star players, Patrick Osinibi who is leaving the country.

The Head Coach, Dominik Mueller, stated that if the

Dangotes and the Adenugas of Nigeria could step into this game in terms of sponsorship, then the NFL would be willing to expand. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you look at the US, born Nigerian players are making it in the NFL. Universities are developing youth talents to later become the teams. I can expect same thing from the Dangotes and the Adenugas to do same thing and bring the NFA down to Lagos. that is my vision. the money is there, the infrastructure is there. The NFL will be willing

to expand,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Speaking to newsmen on the pitch, Mueller, added that the intersport game among team members of Lagos Marine was simply to show fairness and sportsmanship in such a way that both the audience and the players would benefit.

He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is like an end of the year party for our brother who is leaving. We are going to do anything for him with equipment support to help him start something there. Those people as you know are tough in soccer.â&#x20AC;?

Those who do not believe our local sports industry can be the next big thing should look back at the developments in our entertainment industry, especially music and comedy. In the early 1990s your party or event had to be â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;localâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; for the DJ to play Nigerian pop music. Today, if the DJ does not play Nigerian songs at least 80% of the time, your party, however highbrow it is, would not rock. Same can be said of Nigerian comedy which was only fit for â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;uninternationalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; people, but now thrills audiences around the world. Back then musicians and comedians commanded insignificant wages, while brand endorsement deals were a rarity. Today, domestic sports have little appeal, but are there disruptors out there that can change that?

H

aving played in the marketing communications industry since the early 90s I have had direct dealings with some of the game changers. I will tell you two stories to illustrate why I believe that the sentiments towards domestic sports can change dramatically in the coming years and why the early runners: businessmen and sponsors who get in now, may profit immensely.

In late 1995 I was returning from Ibadan where I was responsible for marketing the Ibadan Polo Tournament, when I met the legendary comedian Ali Baba standing by the Mobil Filling Station in Maryland waiting for a cab. I was in a chartered cab and I offered him a ride. I had known him casually for a few months because a brand I was managing was involved in sponsoring the Bisi Olatilo Show on AIT. Ali Baba was a fresh, shy support act on the show. On this day he appeared almost embarrassed that I was giving him a ride, perhaps, because unknown to me, he was already a rising star.

He quickly launched into how well he was doing and how he had a couple of end-ofyear shows lined up that would pay him about N40,000 and N50,000 respectively. I thought he was bragging about his fortunes, as at that time, a good second car â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which was the rave for guys our level - was about N40,000-N50,000. Who would pay a comedian that amount I thought. I was badly mistaken. He refused to be priced cheaply and got his way. Just a few months later he had become a genuine star. I remember reading in one of the tabloids that he had bought two cars. Ali Baba had basically pioneered the era of comedy as a lucrative career and business.

About the same time the popular musician Lagbaja was soaring into orbit. His Motherland hangout in Opebi had become the place to be seen. The guy was raking in millions weekly, we were told. Three years earlier, while working in Vigeo Limited, I had paid the same guy N30,000 for a birthday gig. As part of his crew then was a young singer called Sunny Nneji, anyone remember him? But the music story I want to tell is that of Tu Face and the Plantashun Boyz.

In 2001 I sold an advertising campaign idea to one of my clients looking to relaunch their once popular analgesic brand. Our strategy was to utilize the Plantashun Boyz.

The youngster had had a first wave of success, but their brand had cooled a bit. Still there was some marketing potential there.

They did four amazing jingles for us, but the brand handlers, not having a real advertising culture, shied away from the cost of radio advertising. However we ran the print and outdoor ads sparingly and also used them for a calendar. For the entire campaign we paid the group one million naira. I remember them coming to our offices in a beat-up minivan that I recall had problems once or twice.

Not long after that music moguls Kenny Ogungbe and Dayo Adeneye took over the management of Tu Face â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and from what I

Ali Baba

recall of the stories, bought him a decent second-hand jeep, rented an apartment for him in the more upscale Festac town, released African Queen, and fame and the millions rolled in. Local musicians have not looked back since.

So can the same happen in sports?

Can there be a spark that transforms the industry into one that packs millions of paying fans into our stadiums across the country every year; a development likely to explode investments in the industry? I believe so. Very much.

Maybe football will finally live up to its top billing, maybe some other sport will come along and wake everybody up, but the ingredients are there, waiting; waiting for a moment of inspiration. We are a sporting people, we have great numbers, we have extremely strong economic potential, we have an amazing country with great topography; we have everything as a country to attract the world and sponsors. We just need a trigger.

Nigeria needs this because of how big sports can be. Today most of our sponsorship naira goes into entertainment, but that goes against global norms. IEG, the leading global authority on sponsorship, says sports events hold the largest market share of sponsorship dollars in the world, accounting for a whopping 66%. Following sports is entertainment and attractions which accounts for a mere 11%.

We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need the entire population to change things, we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even need government to lead the process. All our sports need is a game changer like Ali Baba or Tu Face and the rest will be history. I am myself involved in a tennis project with a few forward-thinking partners. We want to rip up the rules. So maybe in 2018 history would be made.

Who knows?

34

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ DECEMBER 30, 2017

THE ALTERNATIVE with Reno Omokri How Fuel Scarcity Exposed Buhari Administration’s Inconsistencies, Contradictions and Outright Lies

O

n Friday, December 22, 2017, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Maikanti Baru, said the landing cost for petrol is N171.40 per litre. He further added that the government was bearing an extra cost of about N26.40 per litre for the product so that Nigerians could purchase the product at the government approved and regulated price of N145 per litre.

For those who do not know the import of Baru’s statement, it means that the Buhari government has been subsidising the cost of petrol.

The problem is that during the campaign, thencandidate Buhari said he did not know what subsidy is and accused the Jonathan administration of scamming Nigerians through the subsidy scheme.

Again, on December 28, 2015, President Buhari said he was ending subsidy. On May 12, 2016 the minister of state for petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu said subsidy had been removed. The price of petrol was increased on that basis to N145. Finally, on December 15, 2016, Vice President Osinbajo said there was no more fuel subsidy in Nigeria.

The question is that, given the revelation by Baru, Nigerians now need to know who is lying amongst President Buhari, Vice President Osinbajo, minister Kachikwu and GMD Baru?

This question is even more poignant when you consider that there is no budgetary provision in both the 2016 and 2017 budgets for subsidy payments. Ditto for the 2018 budget, which is yet to be passed but is not yet to be padded!

In other words, if the so-called anti-corruption administration of President Buhari has been paying subsidy, that fact alone is an act of corruption.

Specifically, spending monies that are accruable to the federation without any legislative appropriation is a crime of misappropriation.

And then a few days after Baru’s Freudian slip, the Vice President had a snafu when he said that it was the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and not the Federal Government that was paying subsidy.

That Vice President Osinbajo could even say it is NNPC and not Federal Government that pays subsidy is an insult to the intelligence of Nigerians. Does he think us so vapid and dense that we cannot see through this subterfuge?

What is NNPC? Is it not an agency belonging to the Federal Government? Who is the minister in charge of the NNPC? Is it not the President? Who is the chairman of the NNPC board? Is it not the minister of state for petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, a member of the federal cabinet? The Vice President ought to remember he is a pastor.

If the so-called anticorruption administration of President Buhari has been paying subsidy, that fact alone is an act of corruption. Specifically, spending monies that are accruable to the federation without any legislative appropriation is a crime of misappropriation

Buhari

The truth is that for years, the Buhari administration has been lying to the Nigerian people and that lie came to light this Yuletide season when the Buhari government simultaneously ran out of funds and lies and could not borrow enough to hide the fact that it has been paying subsidy at a rate higher than the preceding government which it criticised.

Do not forget that in a rare moment of honesty on July 12, 2017, the minister of finance, Kemi Adeosun, admitted that (and I quote her) “We cannot borrow anymore, we just have to generate funds domestically to fund our budget. Mobilise revenue to fund the necessary budget increase.

The truth is that this government has financially near bankrupted Nigeria to the extent that something like one quarter of our budget is going to servicing debt and despite what the propagandists in government say, they will have no alternative but to increase the price of petrol from N145 to at least N171.40 per liter (the landing cost) but more realistically to N190/200 per litre if they are to make a profit.

And to show how uncoordinated and shambolic this administration is, the President’s main spokesman, Femi Adesina was on TV saying that this administration will ensure that Nigeria stops importing fuel by 2019.

The Buhari administration has not built a single refinery. They have not repaired the old ones. If you believe Femi Adesina, then ask Buhari if he has made Naira equal to Dollar as he promised during the campaigns.

But of course, if his boss does not even know his real age, how can we expect his spokesman to know that to stop importing fuel you have to increase refining capacity locally?

President Buhari stunned the nation when he said, “I thought I was 74 but I was told I was 75.”

My question to my readers is this: How can a President with ‘football age’ achieve his goals in government? If he can’t remember his age, how can he remember his campaign promises? No wonder he has been denying his promises left, right and centre.

And the man can’t help himself. He just goes from one snafu to the other. The other day he said he will never please his children at the

detriment of Nigerians. Really? Can he recall that he instructed the Central Bank of Nigeria not to give forex to Nigerians for the school fees of their children abroad in 2015?

Speaking to Al-Jazeera on March 5, 2016 the President said, “Those who can afford foreign education for their children can go ahead but Nigeria cannot afford to allocate foreign exchange for those who decide to train their children outside the country. We can’t just afford it. That is the true situation we are in.”

Many parents pulled their wards from schools abroad, but Buhari’s kids remained schooling in the U.K. How a man who claimed that he had to take a loan from Union Bank to buy the All Progressives Congress nomination form could suddenly afford to simultaneously train 3 children in the U.K. is a story for another day. And yet this major hypocrite had the gall to say that he would not please his children at the interest of Nigeria.

Here is a President that engages in blame games and a failure to lead and who suffers from a messiah complex that makes him think he is better, more honest and more effective than any other Nigerian even though the facts on the ground paint a completely different picture.

Facts are very stubborn things. Let us consider a few of them.

The Buhari administration says it cannot fund its own budget of N8.6 trillion and therefore wants to go on another unprecedented borrowing spree to the tune of $5.5 billion. But I have some questions.

If the Nigerian Custom Service generated N1 trillion as it claimed and the Nigerian Ports Authority made N400 billion, while the Federal Inland Revenue Service received N2.5 trillion in taxes and another N800 billion in Value Added Taxes all in 2017, without even adding the $28 billion (N10 trillion) Nigeria made from the oil and gas sector this year, and the other billions made from lesser revenue generating agencies like SEC, JAMB, airports and stamp duties, how come we cannot fund the 2018 budget of only N8.6 trillion?

Some may ask me, what about the other tiers of government? Don’t they get a share of this money?

The reality however is that the total amount generated from all the revenue generating agencies and from the oil and gas sector is over N15 trillion. Per the present allocation formula, the lion’s share of 52.68% is channelled to the Federal Government, while 26.70% goes to the 36 states and 20.60% to the 776 local government areas.

In other words, the Federal Government’s share of 52.68% gives it a figure close to N8 trillion.

So why do they have to borrow $5.5 billion? The revenue from oil is pure rent because production costs have already been subtracted. Now if the President does not know his own age, how can he begin to ask the right questions of his dodgy Economic Management Team which includes a finance minister whose highest educational qualification is a degree from a London Polytechnic with a bad educational record and a post HND diploma?

But I have talked enough. This is a season to be jolly and I fear that what I have written above would rob Nigerians of their joy, but someone has to say the bitter truth.

But before I go, let me say that in a land suffering from a dearth of servant leaders, I believe Governor Ayo Fayose showed extraordinary servant leadership by releasing the fuel in the fuel dump of Ekiti State Government House to the public.

I urge President Muhammadu Buhari to follow this example. Any little that can help people celebrate this season will be appreciated.

Reno’s Nuggets

You don’t need a pastoral relationship with God. You need a personal relationship with God. You don’t need to call your GSM provider before you speak to your father on earth and you don’t need to consult your pastor before you can speak to your Father in heaven. If you want God’s blessings, then give to your parents, then to the poor and then to evangelism, in that order. Don’t give to enable your pastor live in luxury. Peter, Paul and other disciples all had businesses. Pastoring was their vocation, not their business #RenosNuggets.

35

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͹͎Ë&#x153; Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

ËŞ

The First Oil War

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

This is an excerpt from my new novel, The First Oil War, on the ďŹ rst major oil crisis in the Niger Delta the ďŹ rst time bombs were used - for your holiday reading pleasure.

J

ohn Hunterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life in the swamps had worsened progressively since it started at an oil spill site. For this assignment, Hunter had learned about the effects of oil spills through research and the reports of his fellow journalists. He had seen countless photographs and hours of video footage of ravaged plant life and oil-soaked animals unable to shake the thick noxious gunk off their bodies.

Now, as he stood by the small slogging stream, Hunter witnessed the devastation firsthandâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and it was tragic. It was shocking, intimidating, and even terrifying. He was at a spot where he could barely breathe and he didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t dare touch the water.

The experience gave him a remarkable sense of mortality and his smallness in regard to the expanse of nature.

Hunter pulled away the handkerchief he was using to aide his breathing and gave it a hard shake before quickly replacing it over his nose and mouth. The move was instinctive and not based on any scientific theory. Luckily enough, it actually seemed to work. Hunter felt as if he had stolen a few clean breaths.

Despite the pain, Hunter had carefully studied the impact of the pollution and made notes. As he walked along the banks of the stream, he had studied the environmental carnage and found himself mourning aspects of nature he had never considered deeply in the past. The water did not playfully splash its way downstream as it should.

Instead, it chugged with great effort, tired and sluggish. The oil perching on its surface weighed it down, its sheen reflecting ugly spectrums of unnatural colour when the sunlight flashed upon it. The stench of dead fish was distinct. Some of the scaly bodies were carried by the sludge, while others became lodged in the tall grass or in rocks along the banks.

Hunter knew the damage far exceeded what his eyes could see. The fish were hardly the oil spillâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only victims. All the plants and animals in the river valley were destined to meet their untimely death, as were all the creatures who fed off them. The stream, which at one time had teamed with fish, crab, and shrimp, was dead.

Even the sky above was dead. No birds to sing.

No insects buzzing and humming. Not even another human in sight.

The experience had reminded him of the documented fact that more than 600 million gallons of oil had been spilled in the Niger Delta in the 50 years of oil production. At least ten per cent of the mangrove forest had been destroyed.

With his experience in the river valley, he felt he understood why the people complained about the loss of human rights such as health, access to food, clean water, and an ability to work.

Hunter felt his body grow heavier with each step, the result of the polluted air on his ability to breathe. All he could do was put one foot in front of the other and repeat.

Beyond the stream, the sky over Urodo village was coloured in bronze by the hot flare of burning gas from an oil facility. The houses ahead of him were no more than poor constructions with walls of mud or unplastered blocks laid on one another without much skill. The houses had narrow wooden doors and windows, and roofs of thatch or corrugated steel sheets.

Poverty had been a feature of these people for years, but they never protested as long as their farmlands and water bodies were not troubled by the activities of the oil companies.

Hunterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s frustration and sorrow was disrupted by the rustling of a shrub a few metres away.

He stopped short. Although he saw nothing, he sensed a presence nearby. He took a few steps forward, focusing on every tiny sound, hoping to encourage his follower to reveal himself. The effort proved fruitless. The noise ceased, leaving Hunter to wonder if the toxic air was causing him to hallucinate.

The sun was setting, and a cool breeze wafted

First Oil discovery well, Oloibiri across the area. Under most circumstances, Hunter might have found the breeze refreshing, but in this case, it served only to spread the toxins more aggressively.

Hunter decided to talk to the elders of the village before nightfall and so he laboured his way toward the houses. Feeling irritable and tired of holding his hand up to his face, he stuffed his handkerchief into his trouser pocket and forged onwards in defiance of the stench. He coughed and wheezed a few times, but committing to a concept of mind over matter, he managed to adjust.

The bushes rustled again, only this time, it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sneaky or subtle, and Hunter knew he wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t imagining it. The noise grew louder, and it seemed to be coming from every direction, accompanied by loud, menacing voices. Hunterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eyes darted in every direction in search of the source of the noise and for an escape route.

He had staggered through the brush, unsure which direction to take. In his haste and confusion, he twisted his ankle and fell hard onto the muddy ground. He pulled himself to one knee, and against the navy blue sky, he saw the silhouettes of some twenty men circled around him.

They were from nearby villages, Hunter thought. He felt a sharp pain in his side. One of the attackers hit him in his ribcage with a big stick. A barrage of voices screamed at him, and several men leaned in closely to shout insults in broken English directly into his ears. He felt hot angry breath on his face, and saw some of them brandishing their weapons of big sticks and machetes. All they needed was the slightest excuse to use them. Hunter slowly raised his hands to show the men that he was unarmed, while being careful not to make any sudden movements. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not here to make trouble,â&#x20AC;? Hunter announced. He wanted to get his message across in the calmest tone possible, but he was forced to raise his voice to be heard over the menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s furious voices. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My name is John Hunter I do not work for the oil company. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a journalist. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve come to write a story about the oil spill.â&#x20AC;?

The angry chattering came to an abrupt halt.

The men shuffled around, looking at one another as if waiting for someone to take charge of the

situation. Hunter hoped they might lay down their weapons and engage in a healthy discussion of the environmental calamity in which they were living.

He was about to initiate a discussion by asking one of the men to introduce himself, but before his mouth could form the question, several men reached down and grabbed him by the arm. In a fluid, yet violent motion, they hoisted him up off the ground and dragged him through the brush, beating him as they moved along.

Hunter was thrown into a small room. He came down with a thud and injured his ankle again. The cement floor beneath him was hard.

He rolled over onto his side. Each movement caused pain and made his eyes water. Whoever had brought him there had not done so in a particularly gentle fashion. The beatings heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d taken to the ribcage turned the simple act of breathing into a torturous exercise. His left eye was puffy, and he tasted the saltiness of his blood on his lips.

The thrashing had been thorough!

He flipped over on his back and tried to identify his surroundings. The room was small, just slightly larger than a closet, with no furniture or windows.

The only light seeped through the cracks around the door frame from the adjoining room. The space provided no clues to the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s location.

Hunter tried to reduce the throbbing in his head to concentrate on the chatter he heard on the other side of the door. He counted three distinct voices, but other than that, and the occasional shrieked profanity, he could not decipher the details of the conversation. Clearly, the attackers were unhappy.

He felt his attackersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; anger was displaced aggression, but for sure his life was in their hands. **************************************************** Hunter tried to steady and deepen his breathing to deliver as much oxygen as possible to his aching muscles, hoping it would ease his pain and calm his shattered nerves. He wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t convinced it would work, but it was worth a try.

As an additional therapy, he tried to focus his mind on something other than his injuries. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The American prophecy,â&#x20AC;? he muttered, and wondered if it had any correlation with his ordeal.

Days before his trip to the Niger Delta his editor, the experienced gum-chewing Musa Duke, had

shared with him a document on a prognosis for the Niger Delta: a product of an exercise was conceived and conducted by energy think-tanks in conjunction with the National Commission on Energy Policy and Securing Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Future Energy As Hunter took in more deep breaths, he remembered clearly the first scenario of the exercise called Oil Shockwave. It involved the outbreak of violence in the oil-producing area of Nigeria that would lead to evacuation of expatriates, including US citizens, from the region and hike up oil prices.

Nigeria is the eighth largest oil exporter in the world and the fourth largest exporter of crude oil to the US. Later that day, as he tried to understand the subject better, his online Oil Shockwave search had been quickly interrupted. Logging on to the Internet brought him directly to The News Hubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home page. The headline of one of the stories in the secret file tagged â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Developing Storiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; jumped off the screen: AnotherOilSpillInUrodo Hunter had called their correspondent in Port Harcourt, Timothy Dari, immediately. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The great John Hunter has read my work,â&#x20AC;?

Darri had said with a laugh. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I must say that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m truly flattered.â&#x20AC;?

Hunter rolled his eyes. He appreciated the compliment, but wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t oblivious to the accompanying sarcasm. â&#x20AC;&#x153;How bad is it this time?â&#x20AC;? he asked. sâ&#x20AC;&#x153;Just as bad as the ones that came before it,â&#x20AC;? Darri had said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But fortunately, not worse.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;I need to see it,â&#x20AC;? Hunter had stated. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I need to be up close and personal with it. I just want to have a feel of the Delta.â&#x20AC;?

There was a pause on the other end of the telephone. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Well,â&#x20AC;? Darri said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worth seeing if you have a strong stomach and an even stronger nose.â&#x20AC;?

Hunter drew in a deep breath. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m listening.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;With all that had been happening lately, the people of Urodo are very distrusting of outsiders,â&#x20AC;?

Darri advised.

This warning now rang loudly in Hunterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ears as he lay battered and bruised in the darkened room in Urodo village.

36

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͝͸Ë&#x153; ͺ͸͚;

FAIRGROUND

The Premiere of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Wives on Strike: The Revolutionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

with

AZUKA OGUJIUBA

azuka.ogujiuba@thisdaylive.com

N

ollywood actress, Omoni Oboli successfully played host to several celebrities and dignitaries recently at the IMAX cinemas, Lekki where she premiered her latest movie â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Wives on Strike: The Revolutionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

The Revolution gathered stars from the entertainment industry that graced the event in style, class and glamour. Celebrities and dignitaries in attendance were Tonye Cole, Kene Mkparu, Rukky Sanda, Alexx Ekubo, Yomi Casual, Wafaifada, Charles Uwagbai, Anthony Monjaro, Yvonne Jegede Fawole, AbounceFawole,MaryLazarus,SeyiLaw,Fred Amata. Hilda Dokubo, Ufuoma McDermott, Alibaba, ToyinAbraham, Williams Uchemba, Nikky Laoye, Uzor Ozimkpa and more.

Also in attendance was the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who noted that 2017 has been a remarkable year for the entertainment industry and he is of the opinion that movies like â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Wives on Strike: The Revolutionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in 2018 will yield more positive fruits.

Mohammed started off by thanking the cast and crew of the movie Wives on Strike: The Revolution on the great work done especially with the message passed. He believes that the movie is destined to make it big as well as bag several awards. â&#x20AC;&#x153;First of all, I will like to thank the producer or this movie and everybody that has something to do with this movie in one way or another because it addresses some fundamental issue in a very funny manner. It spoke about domestic violence, child marriage, gender inequality, politics and more. The message is very clear and I think the movie is destined for many awards.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Year 2017 has been really remarkable for the entertainment industry and I think 2018 will yield more positive fruits. 2017 witnessed the premiere of many first class movies,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Speaking with the writer, producer and director of the movie, Oboli expressed her heartfelt thanks to her family, cast, crew and everyone who came out to support her. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I want to say a very big thank you to everyone who came out today to support me.

I noticed no one left the all throughout and this I am grateful for. I was literally scared of how today would turn out but you all held it down for me and for this, I am deeply grateful.

To my cast and crew, you guys are the very best. My family and my sons, thank you for understanding why mummy is always busy,â&#x20AC;? she said.

A sequel to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Wives on Strikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, the movie, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Wives on Strike: The Revolutionâ&#x20AC;?, which is a family comedy follows up on the chronicles of the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fight against domestic violence, after one of them was beaten to death by her husband. This leads to yet another strike by the women against their husbands, forcing their hands to stand up for what is right.

The movie stars Omoni Oboli, Ufuoma McDermott, Uche Jombo, Kenneth Okonkwo, Julius Agwu, Chioma Akpotha, Toyin Abraham, Chigul, Saka, Odunlade Adekola, Sola Sobowale, Elvina Ibru, and others.

Omoni Oboli has consistently proven herself with back-to-back box office hit featuring movies like, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Being Mrs. Elliotâ&#x20AC;?, â&#x20AC;&#x153;First Ladyâ&#x20AC;?, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Okaforâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lawâ&#x20AC;?, and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Wives on Strikeâ&#x20AC;?.

Her movies are known for all round successes, grossing in millions of naira. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Wives on Strike: The Revolutionâ&#x20AC;? is set to hit the cinemas come December 29th, 2017.

Tony T Elumelu and wife, Awele

Omoni Oboli Oboli, her husband Nnamdi and their children

Mary, Omoni Oboli and Ali baba

Uche , Omoni Oboli, and Solomon Macauly

Ralph Nwadike, Omoni Oboli, Fred Amata and Kingsley Ogoro

Tobi Ayodele-Keenly

Moyo Lawal and Emeka Okoye

Mrs Cole, Omoni Oboli, Mo Abudu and Tonye Cole

Toyin Abraham

Yvonne Jegede Fawole and Abounce Fawole

Williams Uchemba

Hilda

37

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͝͸Ë&#x153; ͺ͸͚;

FAIRGROUND

Wimbiz Spotlights Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Current Greatest Resource

O

n November 13th and 14th, 2017, WIMBIZ held its biggest Annual Conference yet with over 1500 delegates from within and acrossAfrica and the Diaspora in attendance. The Conference themed â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Future is HEReâ&#x20AC;? provided an opportunity for frank discussion, deliberation and debate on the opportunities available for women within Nigeria and across Africa.

In her welcome address to participants at the Conference, Aishah Ahmad, Chairperson, WIMBIZ Executive Council (20152017) spoke on the urgent need to convert Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s significant potential into tangible economic growth for Nigerian businesses; and the pressing need to unlock what is increasingly acknowledged as the biggest untapped resource within the continent; women! â&#x20AC;&#x153;We will discuss opportunities, uncover the strategies that bring them to life, discover what holds us back as women and emerge emboldened to take action. We will learn, connect - sharing our inspiring storie,â&#x20AC;? She added.

The two-day event which held at Eko Hotel and Suites, was chaired by Dr. (Mrs) Nike Akande, CON, the President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry who stated in her closing remarks that the Conference had been an amazing, informative and inspiring event.

Mrs. Laure Beaufils, the Deputy High

Commissioner to Nigeria delivered an inspiring and moving Keynote address urging the audience to push boundaries and support each other, acting as instruments of change for the betterment of the community.

The Conference featured eight plenary sessions including an unprecedented all male plenary which focused on recognizing the critical men play in increasing female leadership. From the plenaries to the breakout sessions, the Conference covered topics ranging from the African market, SME funding, early childhood education, public sector participation and much more.

Recognising and rewarding hard work and potential was one of the highlights of the Conference with several different awards presented to deserving women.

The Female Achieverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s awards were presented to Dr. Zaynab Bagudu, Pediatric Consultant and Founder, Medicaid; Professor Omotunde Segoe, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Equitable HealthAccess Initiative; and Dr. Stella Okoli, Founder and CEO, Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries Limited; for their contributions to the Nigerian health sector. The WIMBIZ Impact Investment awards were also presented to the three winners of the 2017 WIMBIZ Impact Investment competition: Aderoju Ope-Ajayi, Founder, DolphinAquatic Centre;Adebimpe Oni Olwatomisin, Founder, Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Rose Recycling; and Jennifer Uchendu

Olachi, Founder, Susty Vibes. The Ebony Life Sisterhood Awards in partnership with WIMBIZ also took place on Day 2 of the conference.

The closing ceremony of the Annual Conference saw Aishah Ahmad hand over the baton of leadership after her two-year tenure as Chairperson of the WIMBIZ Executive Council to Olubunmi Aboderin-Talabi, Executive Director, Business Development & New Projects, Punch Nigeria Ltd. About WIMBIZ Inspiring and Empowering Women Since 2001 WIMBIZ www.wimbiz.org is the foremost non-governmental organization in Nigeria, committed to elevating the status and influence of women and their contributions to nation building.

Over the last 15 years, we have delivered programs that seek to inspire, empower, and advocate for greater representation of women in leadership positions in public and private life. We have a contributory Associate pool of over 500 accomplished women in management, business and public service, with over 5,000 women on our database. WIMBIZ collaborates with credible global organisations to deliver our programs, which have influenced over 80,000 women since inception.

Our Vision: To be the catalyst that elevates the status and influence of women L-R: CBN Deputy Governor designate, Aisha Ahmad and Director Special Duties, and their contribution to nation building. NIMASA, Lami Tumaka

Coca-Cola Introduces Additions to 5 Alive Family

C

oca-Cola Nigeria Limited, one of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading beverage companies has announced the launch of new variants to its Five Alive brand.

The latest arrivals to the 5Alive juice family are 35cl 5Alive Tropical, 35cl 5Alive Apple and 85cl 5Alive Pulpy Orange.

The introduction of these new flavours brings to 10 the number of 5Alive variants in the market to include 1L Citrus Burst, Berry Blast, Apple, Pineapple Punch, Cocopine, Orange and 40cl 5Alive Pulpy Orange. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The additional variants to the 5Alive beverage family are refreshing. This juice brand remains one-of-a-kind in the Nigerian juice market and is regarded as the perfect breakfast partner. All the 5Alive variants give consumers the mouthfilling and sensorial experience of refreshment adding to our â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Made in Nigeria for Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; range of beverages,â&#x20AC;? said Gbolahan Sanni, Marketing Manager in charge of Flavours and Still Beverages at Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited.

The 5Alive brand comprises of a unique line of fruit juice, nectar and drink blends that provide our consumers with a rich, nourishing, fruity, and deeply satisfying taste, which keeps them wanting more.

The current 5Alive slogan, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Made with Natureâ&#x20AC;? has over the years transformed into reality in the minds of our consumers. The brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unique selling proposition lies in the great, tasty, fruity, and refreshing taste that the brand and product, 5Alive, provides, perfect for anytime of the day, especially at breakfast.

Designed to be the beverage of choice for families, the new 5Alive variants will also meet the needs of young people who love innovation and are adventurous, desirous of a refreshing change from the conventional juice drinks. This consumer segment, mostly young adults aged between 20 to 29 years old, are on-the-move and need regular juice hydration that can fit into their ever busy lifestyle.

The New 5Alive variants, Apple and Tropical Fruits currently sell at retail prices of N130 and 85cl Pulpy for N300.

Originally launched in Nigeria in 2003, Five Alive is a range of fruit juice drinks made from fruit juice, nectar and drink blends. It varies from both mono juice produced from a single fruit type and blends produced from a mixture of delicious tasting fruits. Both the mono and blends are further fortified with additional vitamins and minerals.

The launch of these products is in keeping Coca-Colaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s focus of providing more choice to the consumer.

L-R: Shopper Marketing Manager, Nigerian Bottling Company, Oluyomi Moses; Marketing Manager, Flavours and Still Beverages, Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, Gbolahan Sanni; Public AďŹ&#x20AC;airs & Communications Manager, Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, Nwamaka Onyemelukwe; Franchise Director of Nigeria, South & West, Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, Eduardo Pontual, at the event held at Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria-Island, Lagos... recently

Waje, Idia Aisen, Uriel Find their Shade at Black Opal Tea Party

T

he Black Opal Tea Party, organised by Black Opal Nigeria was a social gathering for influencers, make-up artists and all round beauty enthusiasts in Lagos State. It was distinctively engineered to promote the Black Opal Cosmetic brand and push its products to a larger audience and market. It held recently at the Kuddy Cosmetics store in Silverbird Gallaria, Victoria Island, Lagos.

In attendance were Black Opal Nigeria Ambassadors; Tolani Aremu and Lillian Paul, the winner of Face of Black Opal Nigeria 2017; Precious Okoye, Face of Black Opal Nigeria 2016; Idia Aisen, Nigerian Celebrities and Influencers such as Waje, Abimbola Craig, Kaylah Oniwo, Afua Osei Makida Moka, Latasha Ngwube, Shade Falade, and Uriel, Beauty bloggers such as Deola Adebiyi (Omogemura), and a whole lot of other gorgeous women and

Ambassdors, Lillian and Tolani, and Pro MUA Shade

men. Media coverage was handled by Box TV and other platforms such as Accelerate TV, Guardian and Vanguard Allure were also in attendance.

The event kicked off with a master class on beauty, makeup and skincare, coordinated

by Black Opal Nigeria Ambassadors; Tolani, Lillian and Shade. Guests learned that the Black Opal brand was developed with a leading board certified dermatologist, with state of the art formulations of skin care products that are safe for sensitive and nonâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;conedogeic skin.

Black Opal cosmetics are specially formulated to treat skin of colour with a full range of skin tone true shades of foundation and skin care products.

The audience was given tips on how to find their foundation and powder shades with Black Opal after which a question and answer session followed.

Tolani was able to demonstrate the process of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;finding your shadeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; with Celebrity musician, Waje. Other guests also had fun matching their skin tones with the right shade of Black Opal beauty products.

There were also delectable appetizers, fingerfood and drinks made available for guests at the party. Guests ate, socialised, took lots of beautiful photographs and guests were able to shop the best of make-up and skin care products on display at the Kuddy Cosmetics store. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Black Opal is the beauty destination for women of colour. Its consistency is good and the finishing is even better,â&#x20AC;? Tolani said.

38

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž DECEMBER 30, 2017

TEENS

CONNECT From Me To You

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; NKECHI IBENEME 08142358958 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; (sms only)

L

ast week, we started this talk about sex. It is very important we talk about this because sex is â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;in vogueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Everywhere you turn, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a symbol of sex; on television, billboards, magazines, social media, on the streets, in the theatre â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in fact, sex sells and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just everywhere.

Being in our faces makes sex seem easy and a walk-through act; but thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s far from the truth. The truth as we discussed last week (check: www.thisdaylive.com; www. teensconnectmag.com; , is that sex is more complicated than you can ever imagine.

Today, we shall continue with more down sides of sex: Ëž Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2018;Ă? Ă&#x161;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?ĂŁË?

The pills: Teenage pregnancy is the one screaming reason you should avoid sex as teenagers, especially as girls. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t bank on the use of condom to avert pregnancy; its potency rate is not 100%. Do not also rely on contraceptives because that also could fail- and it does fail. Again, long use of oral

Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s talk about sex (II) contraceptives has adverse eďŹ&#x20AC;ects.

Studies have shown that long exposure to oral contraceptives can cause heart attack and even stroke in an individual. It is also known to increase the risk of cancer of the cervix. It can cause high blood pressure and what is known as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Venous Thromboembolismâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; which is the clotting of blood in the veins.

The use of pills also produces other minor side eďŹ&#x20AC;ects such as nausea, tenderness of the breasts, weight gain or loss - depending on the individual and constant headaches, among others.

Abortion is a single word, but the complications that come with it are legion. Many young girls have lost their lives during this process. Many others who are lucky to survive the procedure are most likely to come oďŹ&#x20AC; with damaged wombs or cervix, infections, or worst still, Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) resulting from crude attempts as a result of patronage of quacks. Sadly, these quacks abound and are more accessible to timid teenagers than qualiďŹ ed medical practitioners whom they are often afraid to

approach. VVF is a urinary defect in women caused by damage to the bladder. Women with VVF leak urine from their vagina without control.

However, if one is lucky to survive all these, the feeling of guilt will haunt the person for life; especially, when this individual marries and for reasons that cannot be explained medically, is unable to bear children. Ëž Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x;Ă&#x161;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2122;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013; Ă&#x161;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ë? Show me a secondary school that allows pregnant teenagers in the class and I will tell you of a school that is yet to come into existence. Meaning that, the moment a girl gets pregnant while still in the secondary school; she should kiss education good bye until the baby arrives, sometimes years after the baby is born. If the girl is already in the university, no one will ask her to leave, but her strength and ďŹ nance may not carry her through â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as am yet to see a parent that would willingly continue to support an unmarried pregnant daughter in school. When the baby comes, she will take time oďŹ&#x20AC; to nurse the baby before getting back

on track- if sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lucky to. Some people never recover from this; their lives take a total new turn. Ëž Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x2122;Ă? Ă&#x2039; ËŠĂ&#x152;Ă&#x2039;Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17D;ËŞ Ă?Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x17D;Ë? Another unpleasant result of teenage pregnancy is the possibility of giving birth to a child without an identiďŹ able paternity. This is most common with promiscuous teenagers. As a result of their promiscuity they ďŹ nd it diďŹ&#x192;cult to pinpoint the man responsible for the pregnancy.

The men in her life may not help matters either, as they may all deny responsibility each not truly knowing if actually he was responsible or not. Now, what do you do with such a child? How do you raise such a child without the attendant frustrations?

Other implications and positive actions to take, to avoid falling victims are contained in the book: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Your Future in Your Handsâ&#x20AC;Ś.drugs, sex and human traďŹ&#x192;cking, what the teenager should knowâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; written by me.

See yaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;all in 2018, God willing. Until then, ensure you live positively.

ËŞ The Little Tea Cup There was a couple who took a trip to England to shop in a beautiful antique store to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.

They both liked antiques and pottery, and especially teacups.

Spotting an exceptional cup, they asked â&#x20AC;&#x153;May we see that? Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never seen a cup quite so beautiful.â&#x20AC;?As the lady handed it to them, suddenly the teacup spoke, â&#x20AC;&#x153;You donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t understand. I have not always been a teacup.

There was a time when I was just a lump of red clay. My master took me and rolled me, pounded and patted me over and over and I yelled out, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do that.

I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like it! Let me alone,â&#x20AC;? but he only smiled, and gently said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Not yet.â&#x20AC;?

Then WHAM! I was placed on a spinning wheel and suddenly I was made to suit himself and then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat.

I yelled and knocked and pounded at the door. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Help! Get me out of here!â&#x20AC;?

I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as he shook his head from side to side, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Not yet.â&#x20AC;?

When I thought I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t bear it another

minute, the door opened.

He carefully took me out and put me on the shelf-life, and I began to cool.

Oh, that felt so good! â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ah, this is much better,â&#x20AC;? I thought.

But, after I cooled he picked me up and he brushed and painted me all over.

The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Oh, please, stop it, stop, I cried.â&#x20AC;? He only shook his head and said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Not yet.â&#x20AC;?

Then suddenly he puts me back in to the oven.

Only it was not like the first one. This was twice as hot and I just knew I would suffocate.

I begged.

I pleaded.

I screamed.

I cried.

I was convinced I would never make it. I was ready to give up.

Just then the door opened and he took me out and again placed me on the shelf, where I cooled and waited and waited, wondering, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s he going to do to me next?â&#x20AC;?

An hour later he handed me a mirror and said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Look at yourself.â&#x20AC;? And I did.

I said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not me. That couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t

be me. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s autiful. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m beautiful. autiful!â&#x20AC;? beautiful!â&#x20AC;? uietly he Quietly oke: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I spoke: nt you to o want member. remember. now it I know rt to be hurt led and rolled unded pounded d patted, and butt had I just left u alone, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d you ve dried up. I know it have ade y you dizzy y to spin p around made h wheel, h l but b if I had h d stopped, d on the you would have crumbled.

I know it hurt and it was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t put you there, you would have cracked.

I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t done that, you never would have hardened. You would not have had any color in your life. If I hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t put you back in that second oven, you wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have survived for long because the hardness would not have held.

N ow you y Now are a finished d t Now N h t product. you are what I had in mind when I first began with you.â&#x20AC;?

The moral of this story is this: God knows what Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s doing for each of us.

He is the potter, and we are His clay.

He will mold us and make us and expose us to just enough pressures of just the right kinds that we may be made into a flawless piece of work to fulfill His good, pleasing and perfect.

Credit: Thaku Chugani Past District Governor, Lions Clubs Intâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;l, District 404, Nigeria

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DECEMBER 30, 2017SS ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

The Hopeful Schools, Ijeododo, Lagos, recently held their end-of-year party and Variety Day. Here are photos from the event:

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 30, 2017

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ DECEMBER 30, 2017

FEATURE

GMD/CEO of the Luxury Villas Group, Tommy Odama delivering his conveners speech

Rebirth of Nigeria’s Real Estate Industry The ‘Fusion of Real Estate, Interior Design and Art’ (FREIA) event, held recently was an auspicious event with a changing narrative for Nigeria’s real estate industry, writes Ferdinand Ekechukwu

I

n any economy, when cerebral, successful minds come together to discuss their industry’s future growth, the expected outcome is usually something grand. This was the result Mr. Tommy Odama sought to achieve for Nigeria’s real estate industry by gathering fellow industry professionals for a historic event.

Odama is CEO of Luxury Villas Group (LVG), organisers of the ‘Fusion of Real Estate, Interior Design and Art’, FREIA, which held on December 8, at the Civic Centre, Lagos.

FREIA is a maiden real estate event aimed at changing the sector’s landscape by raising the bar for real estate events in Nigeria.

After years of achievements and winning numerous international awards and recognition from reputable brands like the International Property Awards (IPAX), Le Fonti, Business Year and several others, the future for LVG was a better collaborative industry, and for Odama, the answer was FREIA. Following the IPAX award, in describing the FREIA idea, Odama told Thisday that, “Going forward, we have resolved to make more of an impact in the real estate space by way of new and exciting projects such as the FREIA event which will go a long way in transforming the real estate narrative in Africa.”

The first of its kind, FREIA seeks to “explore the dynamic relationship between real estate, interior design and art and the opportunities that come alive when industry stakeholders collaborate,” according to Odama. This collaborative effort informed the choice of the theme, ‘Next Frontiers: Building Tomorrow’s Masterpieces’, and the array of industry professionals and stakeholders who spoke and attended the maiden edition of FREIA. The day began with a carefully curated art exhibition by Oliver Enwonwu; Director of Omenka Gallery. The exhibition was officially declared open by Gbenga Oyebode SAN, MFR. Oliver Enwonwu took attendees on a tour of all the artworks and explained the narrative behind each of them and how they were all connected.

The class of top-notch architects, interior designers and developers at the event was proof of an already existing collaboration between these professionals; a fact acknowledged by Odama in his conveners’ speech: “I am constantly intrigued by the extraordinary people in our network and the giant strides we are able to make as individuals, as an industry and as a nation.”

Mr. Andrea Geday, co-founder and MD of EL-ALAN Construction Company told those at the event that his company’s understanding of synergy informed their decision to always take along an architect for a client briefing.

The reality is that property developers, architects and interior designers in Nigeria work together. What remains under construction is to get the government on board, to fashion out innovative policies to aid the sector’s development.

With a work history in both the private and public sectors, and one which spans two continents, if there was any stakeholder at the event who understands the important role the government and financial institutions must play, it was Mustafa Chike Obi, a former CEO/MD of the Asset Management Company of Nigeria, now currently the CEO of Alpha Africa Advisors.

Obi told the audience that “The government must play a huge role in the real estate sector. No one says the government should bring the money; all we’re saying is for government to guarantee certain mortgages.”

In his keynote address, he commended industry players for working under the “most strenuous circumstances”, but condemned the lack of “real mortgage financing in Nigeria,” as an issue that must be addressed. His solution was simple; to “collectively teach the institutions how to do mortgage financing”, and have government “guarantee the mortgage.” He suggested that a pressure group be formed as a way to engage the government.

In an earlier interview with Thisday,

Odama had talked of the real estate industry professionals’ first putting its “house in order” to make collaborating with the government much easier. According to him, “Before we can begin to ask for government collaboration, we must have a feasible plan that will drive the involvement of all parties involved and encourage investment.”

As canvassed by Obi, one which Odama sees as the organized way out, the need for a pressure group – to not only ensure government plays its statutory role as the policy maker but to guarantee quality control among sector professionals – was buttressed by all speakers during the plenary session.

For instance, Mrs. Agatha Eric-Udorie of the famous Agatha’s Interior Design Limited described her disappointment as an interior designer whenever she goes to a new property and discovers the shoddiness with which some developers construct properties, making use of cheap materials and fittings.

Agatha told the audience of a situation where a property owner spends so much in constructing a property but when it comes to fittings such as the windows, and furnishing of the property they start pricing cheap, preferring to use inferior materials. “I normally tell people, if it can take you two years to complete your property, then you can take six months to furnish it,” she said.

In the Thisday interview, Odama had shared a similar sentiment as Agatha’s, but from a developer’s perspective. According to him, for Nigeria to attract more real estate investors, then the country had to “match the same standards that they (investors) get abroad because everyone wants value for their money.”

As the event progressed the conversation shifted to the primary objective for any developer. The Executive Vice Chairman of Regus in Nigeria, Ayo Akinmade and Andrea Geday, both developers, said during the plenary session that the bottom line for any property developer was the return on investment, ROI. Profit is a given for any serious player in the real estate industry.

As a matter of fact, the return on real

estate investments has been adjudged to be higher and more secure than that of other investments such as stock. But beyond profiting, what would determine the future growth of real estate in Nigeria?

Odama had said that “achieving masterful indigenous designs that meet global standards,” was an issue to be addressed at FREIA. From this, and judging from several questions and concerns from the audience, we know that going forward, the new obsession for real estate players is quality.

The panellists, prompted at the plenary session by the moderator, the founder and CEO of MOE Identity Assets, Mosun Ogunbanjo, attempted to address this issue of quality when asked, “What is a legacy project?” Myriads of interpretations were given to the phrase ‘legacy project’ but in the end, four keywords were seen as defining what a legacy project is and should be, and they are: “enduring, sustainable, lasting and impactful”.

If you attended the event, after listening to the points raised by the speakers and contributions that emanated from the audience, anyone would leave with a sense of optimism that something grand has been birthed with the auspicious event.

The day ended with a grand cocktail reception and the launch of Villas & Leisure Magazine published by Luxury Villas Group. The magazine was launched by the CEO of Luxury Villas Group; Tommy Odama J.Z., his wife; Olayinka Odama and the CEO, Essential Interiors, Titi Ogunfere in the company of other friends and supporters of the brand. The luxury event was anchored by James Layode (Channels Discovery), Keturah King (Arise TV) and Stephanie Coker (The Voice Nigeria).

For years, Nigeria’s real estate sector was an all-comers’ party, as seen from the inferior properties constructed across the country. In years to come, the talking point generated from this historic event would push industry players, big and small, to either strive for quality or get pulled down.

A legacy event, FREIA is changing the narrative for Nigeria’s real estate industry.

DECEMBER 30, 2017 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

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FASHION FILE

ÀSSIÀN Dry 17/18

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ DECEMBER 30, 2017

FASHION FILE

By Azuka Ogujiuba azuka.ogujiuba@thisdaylive.com

ÀSSIÀN Dry 17/18

T

his collection was built around survival in today’s perilous times. There is an attack on just being, everything we once held dear is being viciously attacked.

The clothes reflects ones journey through life, fighting to define our path and hope for a better self. The evidence of post traumatic stress on our psyche, sometimes we are unable to keep living and must wear our scars and memories proudly in our next coming.

This collection was built around survival in today’s perilous times. There is an attack on just being, everything we once held dear is being viciously attacked.

The clothes reflects ones journey through life, fighting to define our path and hope for a better self. The evidence of post traumatic stress on our psyche, sometimes we are unable to keep living and must wear our scars and memories proudly in our next coming.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͝͸Ë&#x153; ͺ͸͚ͿË&#x153;

MARKET PLACE with Omolabake Fashogbon... ͸Î&#x20AC;͸͝͝͞ͺ͚͸͸Î

L-R : Faculty Member, Economics, Lagos Business School, Prof. Doyin Salami; Chairman, Nigerian Economic Summit Group, Mr. Kyari Bukar; founder Yesto30, Mrs. Wonuola Adetayo; President Yesto30, Mr. Tokunbo Adetayo; and Chairman Moving Media Ltd., Mr. Remi Adetayo, at the 1st edition of Yesto30 , a leadership and mentoring programme for emerging executives, held in Lagos... recently

Group Chief Operating OďŹ&#x192;cer, Nosak Group, Thomas Oloriegbe and Chairman, Nosak Group, Dr.Toni Ogunbor at the Long Service Awards of Nosak Group held recently in Lagos

Safety Standards: Promasidorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Winning Strategy to Capture Market With the Nigerian manufacturing sector losing about $2.8 trillion annually, as a result of occupational accidents and diseases, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), experts have said there was an urgent need to address the situation to secure the prospects of the sector.

No doubt, the manufacturing sector has not appeared too attractive in recent times, the indication from the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), which stood below 50 points between January and November in 2016, further points to this fact.

The PMI is an indicator of the economic health of the manufacturing sector which is determined by five major indicators, viz. new orders, inventory levels, production, supplier deliveries, and the employment environment.

Amidst other factors, the unattractive state of industries in the country has been attributed to the scarcity of foreign exchange, high interest rate, epileptic power and negative attitude to work place safety and environmental factors.

While there have been attempts from all corners to address some of these issues, not much attention has been paid to enforcement of safety standards and risk management which, aside from monetary loss, costs the sector a total number of 6000 deaths daily arising from work-related accidents.

The Labour, Safety, Health and Welfare Bill of 2012 makes comprehensive provision for securing the safety, health and welfare of persons at work, protects others against risks to safety and health in connection with the activities of persons at work, as well as established the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health and Other Related Matters.

Despite this in place, the compliance level of operators is still in question, almost rendering the scheme dysfunctional and impeding OSH development.

Confirming this trend, South African Financial Analyst, Joel Chimhanda, submitted that growth and development in Nigerian industries can only be secured through operational risk management.

According to him, Nigeria and, indeed, Africa were still behind developed and advanced economies because they continued to reinvest in disaster, which has slowed down development in the region. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In Nigeria, for instance, we have heard of explosions in power plants; uncontained market fires that bring investments and livelihoods to zero because of inadequate response frameworks; massive building collapse resulting in huge capital losses; road structures with no inbuilt utility service; excessive risk transfer to insurance, thus zero bcp; law enforcement agents that do not know they are first responders or even know how they integrate in any security framework. All these can be prevented.â&#x20AC;?

As part of its efforts to address risk governance deficit, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) put forward

the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Best Kept Industrial Premises Awardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, also known as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Total Compliance Inspection Competitionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, to promote best practices towards enabling and maintaining clean and safe work environments in industries.

The award, which holds annually, is open to manufacturing companies, including food and beverage manufacturers in the large, medium and small scale categories. Companies like Boulus Food and Beverages, Lucky fibres and Neimeth have been honoured on this platform to further motivate and boost their compliance level to regulatory safety standards which in turn translate into economic benefits.

This year, food and beverage giant, Promasidor Nigeria Limited, PNL, clinched the award that gives special recognition to compliance and high standards in the area of health and safety after being assessed and proven certified in the following areas: external and internal premises, utilities, solid waste management, effluent treatment plant, pollution control facilities, personal protective equipment, green-life and general aesthetics, government certifications and general housekeeping.

Other criteria considered included usage of marked pedestrian walk-way, noise control, environmental audit report and fire certification.

In conducting the exercise, MAN carried along professionals from Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), the Federal Ministry of Environment, the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), and Health, Safety and environment (HSE) to shore up the credibility of the process.

Reacting to this milestone achievement, Head of Legal and Public Relations at PNL, Mr. Andrew Enahoro stated that the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to healthy environment and safety is part of its business strategy as it was essential for businesses to adhere to environmental and safety laws and be associated with the positive story of their host communities.

This attitude, he maintained, was a major factor in the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success story and its major breakthroughs in the market.

Explaining the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s approach to security, Enaharo said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the pursuit of a greener environment, the company invested heavily in eco-friendly equipment which goes a long way in reducing health risks among the staff and the neigbourhood. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Promasidor also generates its electricity from industrial gas. This, to a large extent, has helped to reduce noise pollution and

OyaOya Unveils Online Trading Platform OyaOya has announced the launch of its commodity trading marketplace to connect commodity ecosystem across Nigeria and Africa.

The OyaOya platform rides on cutting-edge technology to link four essential components together in a seamless and efficient flow â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a marketplace for vendors to present their products, customers to select a product, commodity transporters and an escrow payment system for secured transactions.

Chief Executive Officer of the firm, Khalil Halilu announced the pilot-run of the marketplace with 3,000+ registered vendors already, adding that it opens Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first Commodity on Demand hub, leveraging technology to raise the bar for the commodity value-chain across the continent.

He said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nigeria and other African economies are projected to increase shares of the global sales due to growing participation in e-commerce and accelerated growth forecasts expected out of developing economies. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We aim to have 10% of farmers and 40% of petroleum product traders on our platform by the end of 2018. We will

also provide a platform that will offer a one-stop shop for commodity market information. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are also mindful that todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urban dweller is a very busy person.

He or she does not have the time to go out for cooking gas or shop around for groceries. Similarly, businesses want access to the best items at the best prices, delivered to them with ease.

This is where OyaOya comes in. The platform provides the customer access to vendors, giving him or her choices based on brand, price, time it takes to deliver and even a vendorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rating by other customers.â&#x20AC;?

Apart from providing a one-stop shop for commodity market information, the CEO revealed that the platform would also fill the gap to drive efficiency and effective distribution across Nigeria and other African economies. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We believe that buying and selling does not have to be tedious, or time consuming. We do all the heavy lifting so you do not have to. We bring a highly innovative and confident team together to make sure we deliver value and quality, when and where you need it â&#x20AC;&#x201C; no hassle, no hustleâ&#x20AC;?, Halilu stated.

hazards caused by diesel exhaust and accompanying health issues like irritation of the eyes and nose, headache, nausea, respiratory diseases and lung cancer. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our power initiative is in tandem with what is widely practised in developed economies where private organisations generate a certain percentage of power required for their operations, while our security lights run on solar energy.â&#x20AC;?

Continuing, he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The company also relies on waste sorting and on a less hazardous waste management method, where we separate waste into different elements so as to avoid air pollution and maintain good health standards in our host community. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The adoption of wind-powered extractor fans and eco-friendly air conditioners has helped to reduce noise and other environmental hazards that would have emanated from conventional equipment.â&#x20AC;?

Concluding, he affirmed that adopting safety and eco-friendly strategies has not only facilitated robust goodwill between the company and its publics, but also improved productivity, earnings and sustainability.

He thus recommended public-private partnership to enhance the struggle for total safety in the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s industries.

TD Fetes Consumers, Partners Major ICT distributor, Technology Distributions Ltd. (TD Africa), has hosted its customers and partners at an elaborate party, as a way of appreciating their loyalty in the year.

The event, which held at the prestigious Eko Hotels & Suites, had in attendance stakeholders from the Information Communication Technology sector, captains of industries, bank CEOs, technocrats and several heavyweights from the public and private sectors.

Also present at the event, were managers/ representatives of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), including Hewlett Packard, Huawei, Microsoft, Intel, DellEMC, Lenovo, HP Enterprises and a host of others who were presented with various categories of awards and recognitions.

Among the awardees were SPAR Nigeria (i-Life Partner of the Year); Lavideepu Nigeria Ltd. (Online Partner of the Year); Task Systems Ltd. (Legacy Award); SLOT Systems Ltd. (TD Mobile Partner of the Year); TOBEST Computers Ltd. (Mainstream Partner of the Year); Blueprint Business Tech (Solutions Partner of the Year); Lawnick Computer Concepts (Rising Star Award); NOKIA (OEM of the Year); Yudala (Partner of the Year) and Confidence Cargo Ltd. (Vendor of the Year).

Addressing the crowd, Chief Executive Officer of TD Africa, Mrs. Chioma Ekeh showered encomiums on the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s partners and OEMs for their resilience, and unwavering loyalty to the company, especially in a challenging year which saw the country exit its first full recession in 25 years.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ DECEMBER 30 , 2017

COVER

2017 The Year that Promised Much but Gave so Little

The year winds down as mortal life moves inexorably to the next generation. For every second, the clock ticks towards another end, a life episode unfolds. For some people, 2017 has been a good year. For some politicians, the year has given them so much while for others, it has taken so much from them. Charles Dickens once wrote on the two sides to life: “Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has many, not on your past misfortunes, of which every man has some.”

From the home to the street, Nigeria and across the world, 2017 has been eventful. US President Donald Trump emerged and changed the language of global diplomatic conversation. Vladmir Putin, the Russian strongman, remains what he has always been: counterfoil to a bullish USA. From Pyongyang, North Korea, the world has been made to sit on the edge as the ‘boy’ who seems to lack the reticence of his father, is hell-bent on standing up to America.

Missiles have been fired; weapons of mass destruction tested. The world can do with some little peace. But even

‘mistreatment’ by the head of the nation’s oil oligarch, the NNPC. Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, kept the Samuel Ajayi ruling party busy while his own troubled that little peace 2017 did not offer a party tried to sort out its sordid past. troubled world.

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, For President Muhammadu Buhari, it emerged as the new power broker has been a journey back from the dead. while Uche Secondus emerged as the He saw death but did not embrace national chairman of the PDP on the it. He conquered infirmity but was wing of the new power mongers within ominously reminded of his mortality. the party. Diezani Alison-Madueke “I have never been this sick in my life”, remained in the news with her forced he confessed to a bewildered nation. exile, accused of sundry crimes of For more than 100 days, he battled corruption, allegation has strenuously life’s greatest decimator, death, in a denied. In this 2017, Benedict Peters London hospital. He won. But as the breathed life into Nigerian football, year winds down, Buhari’s son life is in lifting it with huge financial package danger after he broke a limb in a bike that has seen Nigeria qualify for the crash. His deputy, Yemi Osinbajo, to World Cup in Russia to the glory of the whom he delegated power to while he fatherland. attended to his health, held the fort.

In Anambra State, Governor Willie Osinbajo acquitted himself well even Obiano thrashed his former boss, Peter when the vultures of power circled Obi, in a grudge political match and for his politically naïve head. The same Tinubu, it is never say die. vultures nearly consumed a certain Ibe In this first part of a two-piece expoKachikwu, the embattled Minister of sition THISDAY looks at the men and State for Petroleum Resources, who women who, in 2017, gave the nation sang like a famished canary over his and world something to think about.

PROLOGUE

DECEMBER 30 , 2017 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

47

COVER THOSE WHO SHAPED 2017… THOSE WHO SHAPED 2017… THOSE WHO SHAPED 2017… THOSE WHO SHAPED 2017… THOSE WHO SHAPED 2017…

POLITICS President Muhammadu Buhari President of Nigeria A Triumphant Return from the Land of the Dead Very early in the year, President Muhammadu Buhari jetted out of the country and returned after over 40 days.

Many heaved a sigh of relief. But that was temporary. By May this year, he jetted out again to a London hospital, stayed there for over three months leaving the country in a quandary.

For Buhari, 2017 has been a year he fought his health demons. Has he won

the battle? Only time will tell. But less than a week to the new year, Buhari’s son was involved in a fatal bike crash.

The nation awaits with bated breath for his full recovery. As expected, thoughts of a second term that many, few months ago, felt were improbable, have returned with a deafening clarion.

While he seems to have successfully battled his health challenges, the

president’s rating in the year keeps going south. No thanks to his perceived lethargic approach to governance and inability to rein in the hawks around his government.

This year was supposed to be his decisive year. Many knew 2018 would be for politicking. Many believe that while Providence kept him alive, the president actually lost 2017.

Ibe Kachikwu Minister of State, Petroleum Resources An Oil Man in an Oily Year Ibe Kachikwu, one-time Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and now the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, started the year being put on the spot and will end it in a similar fashion.

With the nation groaning under acute fuel scarcity, Kachikwu has

promised heaven and earth that the scarcity would soon end. That is not happening. Kachikwu’s greatest day in the spotlight in 2017 was when a memo he wrote to the President, protesting the disrespect he suffered from the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Maikanti Baru, was leaked to the media. Kachikwu complained

that Baru awarded contracts to the tune of $26 billion without pasing through them the NNPC board. Baru, Kachikwu also cried, made some key appointments and reshuffling without his approval or that of the NNPC board.

If there is one year Kachikwu will not wait to see its end, it is 2017.

Maikanti Baru GMD, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC Controversial, Seemingly Untouchable Maikanti Baru was having a quiet but busy year until the man who was supposed to be his direct boss, Ibe Kachikwu, raised the dust via a leaked memo to the President over Baru’s alleged shady and questionable deeds in the NNPC. These included the award of contracts

worth over $26 billion without due process and seemingly disrespectful disposition to Kachikwu. Baru replied that the President gave him approvals to carry out those actions.

However, while the furore over these issues seems to have died down, Baru

and Kachikwu may not have a pleasant end of the year. Reason? There surfaced acute fuel scarcity across the country as Christians the Yuletide and prepare for the New Year celebration.

Like his boss, Baru may never see 2017 as his best year.

Yemi Osinbajo

Vice President of Nigeria The Tested but Loyal Deputy Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, has had a very eventful 2017. He started the year as the Vice President and later ‘graduated’ to the Acting President before reverting to default mode.

For more than 100 days, Osinbajo superintended over the affairs of the

country while his principal was holed up in a London hospital attending to his health. He acquitted himself very well and he did not over step his bounds.

When Buhari returned late August, Osinbajo continued to be a man of the people.

2017 has not been a bad year for him.

The only snag as the year reaches its end is the rumour that he might be dropped as Buhari’s running mate, should the incumbent president recontest in 2019. But even at that, the professor of Law has had a good year. Rumour or no rumour.

Ayodele Fayose

Ekiti State Governor A Thorn in the flesh of APC, Buhari

Love him, hate him, Ayo Fayose, the fiery governor of Ekiti State, constantly reminded the nation throughout the year that Nigeria is not a one-party state. Even when his troubled party, the PDP, was in the throes of death and seemed destined for the political graveyard, Fayose

was a pain in the of the ruling party as he constantly harangued them and kept them on their toes.

The APC might have had a weak opposition from the PDP in 2017, but Fayose eloquently rose to the occasion.

At times, his style might be crude,

Willie Obiano Anambra State Governor One with God, One with the People In the build-up to the November 18 governorship election in Anambra State, the talk was about who would replace Willie Obiano as the governor.

It was taken as a fait accompli that he was a goner. But fate and 2017 political barometer had other plans for the

man widely admitted to have changed the face of the state.

Assembled against him were the APC Tony Nwoye and the PDP Oseloka Obaze, who was backed by his former benefactor, Peter Obi. The rumour was that the APC wanted

to use Anambra as an inroad into the South-east which has remained impregnable for it. But after the dust settled, APC might have to wait for another four years, same with PDP. For Obiano, 2017 was like no other year, for all the good reasons.

approach unconventional and his language provocative, his message remained the same: opposition has not totally died in Nigeria. For him, 2017 has been an eventful year. As he prepares to leave office in less than one year, he is not likely to rest in 2018.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˞ ͝͸ , 2017

48

COVER THOSE WHO SHAPED 2017â&#x20AC;Ś THOSE WHO SHAPED 2017â&#x20AC;Ś THOSE WHO SHAPED 2017â&#x20AC;Ś THOSE WHO SHAPED 2017â&#x20AC;Ś THOSE WHO SHAPED 2017â&#x20AC;Ś

Nyesom Wike Governor of Rivers State The New Power Broker in Town Traditionally, sitting presidents, which the PDP produced for 16 uninterrupted years, have always been the leader of the party. But since they lost the presidency in 2015, PDP was in disarray until the Supreme Court came to its rescue and the recent elective national convention of the party.

But since nature abhors vacuum, the party needed a face and Nyesom Wike, the governor of Rivers State, stepped forward and became the power broker within the party. With massive resources at his disposal and leading his fellow governors, they bank-rolled the partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recent convention and ensured that their candidates clinched all the major offices available

during the convemtion. Effectively, Wike and his allies spent 2017 battling for the control of the party and they succeeded until Fresh PDP emerged.

For the former minister of state for education, 2017 was not without his regular skirmishes with his formerally-turned-political-foe, Rotimi Amaechi. But politically speaking, Wike has had a better 2017 than Amaechi.

It will not be an understatement to say Wikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s doggedness saved PDP from total destruction going by the way he led his colleague governors on the platform of the party to breathe life back to a party that was gasping for life in the political theatre.

Wike practically saved PDP from oblivion. On his shoulders now rest the former ruling party. Port Harcourt has become the new Mecca for members of the PDP. A perfectionist no doubt when it comes to the finer details, especially in carrying out his primary assignments, back home in Rivers. He has shown what a difference two years can make when there is focused and purposeful leadership in place. His infrastructural renewal in the areas of roads, schools, hospitals, housing estates has lifted the state to the extent that he is getting recognition from far and wide including the United States of America.

Peter Obi

Former Governor of Anambra State He Who Fights and Runs Peter Obi, the charismatic former governor of Anambra State and one-time managing director of Fidelity Bank, had one ambition at the dawn of 2017: to dislodge his former protĂŠgĂŠ, Wille Obiano, from Anambra Government House. He brought in Obiano in 2013 and the two had since spectacularly fallen out. Obi had

wanted to show who was stronger between the two of them in the November 18 poll.

Pitching his tent with the PDP and appealing to the emotional sentiments of the people of the state, the party picked the delectable daughter of former Vice President, late Alex Ekwueme, as the running mate to

Oseloka Obaze. They all failed as Obiano carried the day.

But Obi is a fighter and no quitter.

The way he won the governorship seat itself in 2006 and 2007 showed the indomitability of his political spirit. 2017 might not have gone the way Obi wanted, but for him, the bones may rise again.

Bola Ahmed Tinubu The King-maker and his Turbulent Year Tinubu, one of the most flamboyant politicians the nation has ever known, has a 2017 he will either laugh over or frown upon. It all depends on which side is bulkier when taking his political stocks for the year.

At the beginning of the year, it was obvious that he had been out muscled in the scheme of things at the corridor of power in Abuja. Even if there were

Diezani Alison-Madueke

constant denials by his handlers. But Tinubu is a fighter. He came â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;homeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and practically took charge of the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s local government elections by personally nominating 18 of the 54 candidates of his party, APC. Beyond that, Tinubu has also spent the greater part of 2017 reconciling with erstwhile political foes in the Southwest. He was in Akure to meet with

Pa. Reuben Fasoranti, an old Afenifere sage, and just this week, he received â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;defectorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; from PDP. These included former Oyo Governor, Adebayo AlaoAkala, and Senator Teslim Folarin.

There was also some rapprochement between him and his â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;creationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, President Muhammadu Buhari.

For the old political war-horse, the fight continues as 2018 will show.

Former Minister of Petroleum Resources

A Troubled Amazon, a Popular Fugitive Diezani Alison-Madueke, former minister of petroleum resources, used to be a very powerful woman. In 2017, she spent the greater part of the year trying to clear a name her traducers seemed so determined to ruin. There is no figure that was not peddled

throughout the year as the amount of money, usually in dollars, that she stole. There is no property she has not been linked to. There is no deal she has not been claimed to be involved in. Yet, in all this, nothing has been proved against her except the courtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

forfeiture of some of her properties.

Diezani has remained in London where she has been asking to be allowed to come home and clear her name. She spent the whole of 2017 fighting to protect whatever is left of her name.

Benedict Peters The Astute Businessman and Patriot Nigeria is blessed with sundry businessmen who have made noteworthy contributions to her development. Few have contributed in ground-breaking ways without a media fanfare. Benedict Peters, the Executive vice president of the Aiteo Group is such a man. As a silent achiever, Benedict Peters might not come across as the typical flamboyant Nigerian Billionaire. However, when it comes to business and investment in his fatherland, his devotion is unmatched.

Benedict Peters is a visionary leader, transforming Nigeria through relentless investments in areas covering enterprise development, economic diversification, local content participation in the oil and gas sector and most importantly, football development. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are young Nigerians and Africans that I am still obligated to inspire and I owe them thatâ&#x20AC;Ś,â&#x20AC;? Mr. Peters commented recently. Such uncommon passion and drive

is what pushes him to continuously strive for development in various aspects of national life in Nigeria.

Aiteo Group, one of Petersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; economic investments, is the foremost indigenous oil company in Nigeria by production. In 2017, Aiteo took on the huge task of funding the Nigerian Football Federation, NFF making it the foremost contributor to football development in Nigeria. The company through its five-year sponsorship worth N2.5billion, played a lead role in optimizing the administrative and technical management of the Super Eagles, making it the first African team to qualify for the Russia 2018 World Cup with no games lost. In the run-up to this laudable achievement, Aiteo gave sports sponsorship a human face when it pledged to contribute N10million towards the treatment of Super Eagles goalkeeper, Carl Ikeme, for every goal scored by the Eagles

against the indomitable Lions of Cameroon. leukaemia in July, 2017.

Aiteo also bought the title rights to the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s federation cup, now christened Aiteo Cup â&#x20AC;&#x201C; an investment that takes football development and economic empowerment through the round leather game to the grassroots.

Although, Benedict Peters may have over the years achieved business success out of media spotlight, millions of Nigerians have been touched by his ingenuity without even knowing him.

Benedict Peters, has been recognised locally and internationally with several awards, including The Marquee Award for Global Business Excellence at the Africa-US Leadership Awards in 2014; Leadership Newspaperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;CEO of the Year 2014â&#x20AC;? award; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Awards in 2015.

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DECEMBER 30, 2017 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

COVER THOSE WHO SHAPED 2017… THOSE WHO SHAPED 2017… THOSE WHO SHAPED 2017… THOSE WHO SHAPED 2017… THOSE WHO SHAPED 2017…

Ibrahim Magu Acting Chairman, EFCC) The Hunter who is being Hunted Ibrahim Magu remains the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, even if the rumour mill was agog recently of his purported sack. And if there was one thing Magu achieved in 2017, it was the fact that he further pushed the executive and legislative arms of government on a warpath.

The Senate had refused to confirm

his appointment as the head of the anti-graft agency but the Presidency has refused to drop him to the extent that the Senate vowed not to confirm his nomination from the Presidency.

Magu has been a victim of serious power play between the National Security Adviser and the Director General of the Department of State Services, DSS. That is why for the

year, the only conviction the EFCC got in the year was in the media.

And towards the end year, the agency nearly got its fingers burnt over the issue involving GTBank and the industrialist and indigenous vehicle manufacturer, Innocent Chukwuma.

For Magu, 2017 is ending the way it started: mired in controversy.

Atiku Abubakar Former Vice President All Hail the Political Minstrel When Vice President Atiku Abubakar resigned his membership of the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, many were not surprised. Atiku, as he is popularly called, only confirmed what many had suspected throughout the year: that Atiku would move

again. And, he did move. Not long after, 2017 recorded one of its major political masterstrokes: Atiku went back to his political first love, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Atiku has never hidden his burning desire to rule the country. It is an

ambition that dates back to 1993 and 24 years after, he has not given up.

His defecting to PDP is to see to the realisation of that ambition.

And if there was one politician who made 2017 tick politically, it is the man called, Atiku Abubakar.

Dangote/BUA A Year of Corporate War of Attrition For foremost industrialist, Aliko Dangote, 2017 has been another good year in terms of expansion of his business tentacles to other parts of Africa. From Ethiopia to Ghana, from Zambia to Kenya, the name Dangote continues to reverberate across Africa as the man behind cement revolution which is spreading further on the continent. And he is even going beyond that. In a daring diversification into the capital-intensive oil and gas sector, Dangote’s multibillion-dollar petrochemical company is nearing completion. When completed, it will be able to refine close to 600,000 barrels of crude oil per day. And he will be the largest individual investor in that sector in the whole of Africa.

As laudable as 2017 has been for Dangote, it has been the year when

he has been at attritional corporate loggerheads with fellow Kano man, Abdulsamad Rabiu, over the mining site located at the boundary town of Oguda/Ubo in Okene, Kogi State.

Dangote is claiming that the site with Mining Lease number 2541 belongs to it and as recent as December 18 this year, Dangote Group still accused BUA of carrying out illegal mining on the site.

In another breath, BUA Group accused the Dangote Group of conniving with top officials of the Ministry of Mines and Power to sabotage its operations at Okpella in Edo State. The Group wrote an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari over the matter. The move by the Dangote Group, according to BUA, was despite the fact that the

matter was pending before a Federal High Court and the hearing was slated for December 5 and 6, 2017.

The BUA Group claimed the factory was worth over a billion dollars and accused Dangote Group of seeking to control cement production and sales in the country.

According to sources, Dangote is said to be unhappy with BUA over the latter’s attempts to crash the prices of cement and thereby break the vice-like grip that Dangote has on the market. And BUA claimed the era of monopoly has gone – and gone for good.

While the battle promises to rage on in 2018, it is obvious that 2017 has seen these two giants being at loggerheads than being partners in progress.

Mallam Nasir El-Rufai Governor of Kaduna State What a Year!

If there was one northern governor who has had a busy year, it was Nasir El-Rufai, the diminutive governor of Kaduna State. From killings in Southern Kaduna to his faux pas on paying herdsmen who lost their cattle and then to sacking more than 20,000 teachers, it has been a busy year for the former minister of the Federal

Capital Territory, FCT. However, the biggest issue el-Rufai had to deal with in the year was the sacking of teachers in his state who failed Primary Five examinations set for them; el-Rufai got kudos and knocks in equal measure. Before then, the governor had written a secret letter (which was later leaked) to the

President lamenting the state of the ruling APC. And as the year gears towards its twilight, the embattled governor has to deal with another wave of killings in the troubled southern part of the state. For el-Rufai, it has been one hell of a year.

Abdulrasheed Maina Former Chairman of Pension Reforms Task Team A Nemesis for a ‘Saintly Government’ The massive condemnation that trailed the purported reinstatement of the former Chairman of the Pension Reforms Task Force, Abdulrasheed Maina, showed the resentment with which Nigerians viewed one of the biggest official scandals of 2017.

Between the offices of the Attorney General of the Federation and

Minister of Justice and the Head of Service, the blame game went on like brickbats. But from all indications, it seemed the attorney general told the nation less than he knew about the whole saga.

But the Maina saga of 2017 lent credence to the popular saying that the more things change, the more they

look the same. While the family of the man claimed he was ‘invited’ by the administration to help it, the government said nothing of such happened.

But if there was one issue in the year that showed the purported moral stance of this government was all a ruse, it was the Abdulrasheed Maina saga.

50

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˞ ͝͸ , 2017

COVER THOSE WHO SHAPED 2017â&#x20AC;Ś THOSE WHO SHAPED 2017â&#x20AC;Ś THOSE WHO SHAPED 2017â&#x20AC;Ś THOSE WHO SHAPED 2017â&#x20AC;Ś THOSE WHO SHAPED 2017â&#x20AC;Ś

Abubakar Bukola Saraki President of the Senate Never Say Die! If one was to go with the political permutations of his traducers, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, would have become history, albeit politically. His ascension as the number three man in the country was tumultuous. The leadership of the ruling party never wanted his emergence in 2015 and they did not do anything to hide it. If therefore, there was a year

Akinwunmi Ambode

Saraki consolidated his hold on the upper legislative chamber and turned the executive into a spectator in some periods, it was 2017.

First, Sarakiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Senate vehemently refused to confirm the appointment of the EFCC chair, Magu, and it stood its stand. When the executive would engage in foot-dragging, the Senate would set up ad hoc committees to

probe controversial issues which further endeared it to the people. To cap the year, the Senate vehemently told the executive that it would not consider the 2018 budget proposal due to poor implementation of 2017 budget.

For Saraki, political death itself seemed to have â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;diedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; permanently in 2017!

Governor of Lagos State

Mr. Infrastructure Akinwunmi Ambode is aware of the huge expectations that will always naturally follow anyone who has the unique opportunity of governing Lagos and if there is one year he has tried to live up to these expectations, it was 2017. In this year alone, Ambode inaugurated at least eight major roads and bridges. Prominent among these were the Ajah and Abule-Egba bridges. Not to be forgotten were roads, schools and other governance

interventions.

Currently, work has started on the Pen Cinema overhead bridge which was equally long overdue. For the son of a teacher who was once a top civil servant in the state, 2017 is one year he proved his mettle as Mr. Infrastructure!

Two and half years in office, the teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s son has made eight years of his predecessor look like years locusts. He quietly turned the mega

Rochas Okorocha

city to a mega construction site. He calls himself a dreamer. Perhaps, by the time he does eight years in office, Lagos would have achieved the dream of a new wonderland.

Yet, when he started there were doubt wheither he waqs up to the task. His predecessor whose performance was used as a yardstick to rate others was quickly found to have underperformed when the teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s son got his hands on the handle.

Governor of Imo State

The Comic Side of Governance In 2017, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, the maverick governor of Imo State, actually brought a lot of comic relief to governance and he reminded Nigerians that governance is not all about serious issues. He started the year by asking workers in the state to stop working on a certain day of the week so they could attend burials. If you

thought that was funny, then wait.

He also told them to stop working on another certain day so they could farm. And when the nation thought 2017 has got enough from Okorocha, he announced a new ministry called, the Ministry of Happiness and the only person who could man that ministry was no other person than his

younger sister.

In between all this, Okorocha found a new pastime: erecting statues. He did one for South African President, Jacob Zuma, and he did not forget to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;honourâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; outgoing and first female President of Liberia, Ellen JohnsonSirleaf â&#x20AC;&#x201C; sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also the first female African president to be elected.

Nnamdi Kanu

Biafran Secessionist Leader The â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Warlordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; who Disappeared If there was one man who questioned the sovereignty of the country in 2017, it was a certain Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB. He wanted the eastern part of the country, inhabited by Igbo, to secede from the country due to perceived marginalization. The way he went about that agitation got even so many of his

fellow â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Biafransâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to be uncomfortable.

Not only did Kanu take hate speech to another level, he also ensured that any man or woman of Igbo extraction who did not believe in his campaign was a traitor and a slave to the Hausa/Fulani.

Kanu even set up the Biafran Defence Forces and there were video footages of him inspecting a guard of honour

mounted by members of these forces.

But all these were until a couple of months ago when the Nigerian Army launched the Operation Python Dance that effectively sent Kanu into hiding.

But he remains one of those who made 2017 as eventful as it could possibly be, either for the right or wrong reasons.

Jay Osi Samuels

National Coordinator of Alliance for New Nigeria, ANN) And the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;technoticiansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; came calling When they first appeared in the news earlier in the year, many did not take them seriously. But a certain medical doctor, Jay Osi Samuels, believed the Alliance for New Nigeria, ANN, one of the newly registered political parties, was ready to change

the way party politics is played in the country. Samuels has the idea and he went about it preaching the message of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;technoticianismâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to all those who cared to listen. His targets are professionals and technocrats who believe that politics is for professional

politicians alone. And his message has been sinking in due to the fact that the party now has almost a 100,000 registered members.

In his own little way, Samuels made 2017 a year to remember.

51

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͝͸Ë&#x153; ͺ͸͚Ϳ

MILESTONE

Garland for Aiteoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Benedict Peters Undaunted by two years of persecutions and unsuccessful attempts to drag his companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name through the mud of politically-motivated cases, the Chairman of integrated energy conglomerates, Aiteo Group, Benedict Petersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; unblemished records have continued to attract local and global accolades, writes Ejiofor Alike

he Chairman of Aiteo Group, Benedict Peters, is not new to awards and recognition. He has won several awards, including the Marquee Award for Global Business Excellence at the AfricaUS Leadership Awards dinner hosted by the African Energy Association in 2014; and the Leadership Newspaperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;CEO of the Year 2014â&#x20AC;&#x2122; award for championing Nigerian content and bolstering the capacity of Nigerians to manage the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oil and gas assets.

Peters has also won the prestigious Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Awards in Washington, DC, in 2015, for driving â&#x20AC;&#x153;Economic Empowermentâ&#x20AC;? in Nigeria. However, since 2015 after his companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s audacious acquisition of the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29, reputedly Shellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest onshore producing asset in Africa following an open and competitive world-class bid, the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success in the management and operatorship of the plum asset has attracted negative narratives designed to diminish the achievements of Peters and his company.

But Peters and Aiteo have remained undaunted and within one year, the company grew the production of OML 29 from 23,000 barrels per day (bpd) to a record 90,000 bpd, to the chagrin of naysayers, who could not come to terms with the fact that a Nigerian company p y could develop p sufficient technical capacity p y and financial capability p y to operate p and manage g such big g acreage, g which was previously p y under the operatorship of a global oil giant, g Shell.

Apart p from his accomplishments p in business, spanning p g about three decades, Petersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; philanthropy p py is said to be legendary g y as manifested in Aiteoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unparalleled p Corporate Social Responsibility p y (CSR) initiatives.

Aiteo Group p has added value to its host communities in the areas of providing p g social amenities and local capacity p y development, p and a large g chunk of the over 10,000 direct and indirect jjobs created by y the g group p going g to the host communities. The jobs j were created by y the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s p y subsidiaries, including g Aiteo Exploration p and Production, Aiteo Gas, Aiteo Power, Aiteo Trading g and Aiteo Marketing.

Peters also founded the Joseph p Agro g Foundation in July y 2014 to improve p the lives of rural farmers by providing p g the tools that can ensure their economic success. The founda founda-tion boosts employment p y initiatives to improve p Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s g school system. y It also provides p a number of awareness programmes p g to promote p responsible water consumption by farmers.

As a de-tribalised Nigerian, his company also views the entire country as its host community and this informed the generous donations to the Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency to help tackle the challenges facing the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

His interest in Nigerian and African soccer manifested recently with Aiteoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s adoption of football sponsorship with the signing of a five-year partnership agreement with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) worth an estimated N2.5bn in April 2017. By the terms of the partnership, Aiteo emerged as the NFFâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s official Optimum Partner that funds the salaries of the coaches of the Super Eagles.

Sports analysts believe this singular gesture led to Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s emergence as the first African nation to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in Russia because the gesture helped to stabilise Nigerian football through prompt payment of salaries of expatriate coaches.

Before Aiteoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intervention, the issue of nonpayment of salaries of coaches was hampering the progress of Nigerian football. As the sports industry was celebrating this feat, Aiteo signed a fresh sponsorship deal worth N2.5bn in June 2017 to underwrite the cost of the Federation Cup, now renamed Aiteo Cup. In October 2017, Aiteoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s CSR initiatives went beyond the shores of Nigeria, when the company sealed a partnership agreement with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to sponsor the p Annual CAF

Awards 2018. The CAF Awards, now renamed the AITEOCAF Awards, honours footballers who have made outstanding contributions to football development in Africa.

More honours, recognition As a demonstration of his impeccable records, the Aiteo boss, who clocked 51 in December, received three big awards from three prominent national dailies - the New Telegraph, BusinessDay, and Leadership newspapers within the past few weeks in recognition of his companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s outstanding contributions to the development of local communities, Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oil and gas sector, as well as local and African sports.

Indeed, all previous winners of the African Player of the Year, since its inception

by CAF in 1992, are expected to grace the Aiteo CAF Awards Gala 2017, scheduled for January 4, 2018, at the International Conference Centre in Accra, Ghana, according to a statement by CAF. The statement noted that from Abedi Pele, winner of the maiden edition in 1992 to Riyad Mahrez, crowned in 2016, the winners who represent various generations will be given prominence at the ceremony designed to celebrate the key stakeholders of African football.

Others are Nigerian trio, Emmanuel Amuneke, Nwankwo Kanu and Victor Ikpeba, Cameroonian and four-time winner, p Samuel Etoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;o Fils and compatriot, Patrick p Mboma, M oma, Ivorian Yaya Mb y Toure, a four-time winner Didier Drogba; w nner and countryman, wi y g and a d also El Hadji an j Diouf of Senegal. g The rest are George g Weah of Liberia, L beria, Mustapha Li p Hadji j of MoMorocco, Malian Frederic Kanoute, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Gabon and Togolese g Emmanuel Adebayor. y Also, the women are not left out as previous p Queens of African football p are also pencilled for the gg assemblage g of biggest football stakeholders.

The list of invitees y limited to is not only previous winners, but previous also to other players p y and also contribuofficials whose contribup g tion towards the progress of African football cannot be overlooked. gyp Meanwhile, Egyptian GaMohamed Salah, Gay g and bonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Aubameyang Sadio Mane of Senegal are the contenders p g for the prestigious y of the African Player Year while the trio of Asisat Oshoala g (Nigeria), Chresg tina Kgatlana (South Africa) and Gabrielle Aboudi g Onguene (Camer(Cameroon) will battle it out

for the Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Player of the Year.

There is no doubt that the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intervention in sports is changing the face of the game, while its giant strides have contributed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) worth over $4bn to the Nigerian economy. The success of the company has attracted enemies and friends alike.

To check the activities of mischief makers who are hell-bent to rubbish the accomplishments of the company and its chairman, the group has engaged reputable local and international law firms to argue their case.

One of the early mandates of the Nigerian legal team is to review defamatory publications commonly referred to as â&#x20AC;&#x153;open sourceâ&#x20AC;? materials in which Aiteo and Peters were featured in the last few years and to redress these fabricated insinuations by all available means including court actions, a process which appears to have already started.

The team, led by Chief Wole Olanipekun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), comprises senior lawyers like Kanu Agabi (SAN) and Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN), both former Attorneys General and Ministers of Justice of the Federation.

Other senior lawyers in the team include renowned Mike Ozekhome, SAN, Messrs Paul Usoro (SAN), Rotimi Ogunesi (SAN) and A. U. Mustapha (SAN). Others are Ebenezer Obeya, Chief Andrew Oru, Mrs Boma Alabi, Messrs Chidi Nobis-Elendu, Emeka Ozoani and Joseph p Nwatu.

N Aiteo Group and p Executive Director D General Counsel, Andrew Onyearu, had said O in a statement that the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s belief in the comp p rule of law and the legal in Nigeria g processes pro p require engagement with both commitment q g g b and premium resources. p According convicg to him, the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s com tion in the infallibility judicial y of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ni processes continues to be vindicated by p vi judicial j pronouncements p deprecating de the unjustified j calumnious attacks atta on its business and personal p outlook. p has been adversely adv â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Group afy a litany y of unsustainable unsusta fected by unlawful p g both bot reputational developments affecting g y in a manner that and commercial integrity g y impacted p has negatively its operations. The p can no longer g allow this situation to Group re continue and as such, has resolved to take p to protect p g interests. i steps all its legal Recent p groundbreak g positive â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and groundbreaking â&#x20AC;&#x201C; outcomes j from judicial interventions that we have poin p achieved serve as clear pointers about no pursuing. the direction that we are now g the successful utilization ut Increasing of the j p wh we have been judicial process in areas where g will be the main objective o wronged of the toge team we have now put together,â&#x20AC;?

Onyearu added.

52

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˞ ͝͸, 2017

POLITY

Amaechi: As Governor, I Stayed Awake for Rivers People to Sleep Bennett Oghifo

F

ormer Rivers State Governor and Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi yesterday said that security of lives and property of Rivers people and human capital development were his key achievements as governor of the state between 2007 and 2015.

Amaechi also said he did not sleep, fighting insecurity so that the people could sleep with their two eyes closed.

Amaechi made the disclosure in an exclusive interview in his Abuja residence.

He recalled that as at the time he assumed office in 2007, the security situation in the state was so bad and terrible that residents lived in palpable fear of their lives even as there was heavy Military presence which forced people to raise their hands while they walk on the streets of Port Harcourt.

Amaechi said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget when I became the governor; the people were living in fear. There was curfew. I had to make sure that the curfew end. Killings,

kidnappings and all forms of criminality was everywhere in the state. There was a heavy military presence and people were walking with their hands raised up. I took away the soldiers from the streets because I provided social and physical security. I enhanced the wage bill of the Police Force by paying special allowances, and all that was to protect the citizens and I created opportunities for people to get employed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So, I confronted those insecurity challenges and brought back hope and sanity to the state. I worked tirelessly with the security agencies and ensured that

Former ECOWAS Speaker Congratulates George Weah, Hails Liberians Duro Ikhazuagbe

F

ormer Speaker of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS Parliament, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has congratulated a serving Member of the Community Parliament, Senator George Oppong Weah, on his victory in the Liberian presidential election.

Ekweremadu also commended President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for guiding the West African nation through a peaceful presidential election and described the candidate of the ruling Unity Party, Vice President Joseph Boakai as a true statesman for his sportsmanship and respect for the ballot box in conceding defeat.

He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I congratulate Senator George

Weah on this hard-won victory. It is a well-deserved reward for his love and sacrifices for his country in her dire moments.

Among others, he channeled his personal resources, goodwill, and contacts to raise hopes and reunite a hitherto war-torn nation on the platform of football. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Indeed, he has also always impressed me as a focused, patriotic gentleman and a presidential material right from the day I presided over his inauguration as a Member of the Liberian Country Delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament on May 11, 2015â&#x20AC;?. Ekweremadu urged the former World Footballer of the Year â&#x20AC;&#x153;to reciprocate the immense goodwill and confidence reposed in him by the good people of Liberia and the international community by running an all-inclusive governmentâ&#x20AC;?.

He added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The successful election that

will not only see to the historic transfer of power from one democratic government to another in Liberia in about 73 years, but also the transfer of power from a ruling party to the opposition, is a giant stride for democracy and stability in Liberia and the entire West Africa. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I congratulate Liberians on this feat, especially bouncing back from a checkered history of wars and instability to a beacon of democracy on the continent. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I salute in a special way, President Sirleaf for enacting yet another moment in the sun for democracy in Africa, guiding the West African nation through this historic event characterised by legal fireworks, diligently putting the nation first, even though it cost her party the presidency. History will certainly be very kind to herâ&#x20AC;?.

people could move freely and do their businesses without fear or molestation.

Businesses started springing up again in all parts of the State and people could go to night clubs and live free, peaceful lives.

I stayed awake and fought insecurity to a standstill for Rivers people to sleep. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I also focused on what I call social security. Social security includes creating employment for the people. I had said to people, the responsibility of government is to provide legitimate economy. The day you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t provide legitimate economy for the people, they will provide for themselves illegitimate economy. What is illegitimate economy? It is armed robbery, kidnapping, theft and other evils.â&#x20AC;?

Amaechi said contrary to the successes achieved by his administration in Rivers State, the present security situation in the state is no longer good.

Amaechi further explained that though his achievements in Rivers State were numerous ranging from free health care, free education construction of roads etc, of note to him also is human capital development as both indigenes and non-indigenes residents in the state were beneficiaries of his administrationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Overseas Scholarship programmes and training. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I feel very excited when people walk up to me and say, Sir, I am James, I studied A,B,C in the U.K. or US due to your scholarship programme. The first tool to a successful society is human capital development, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take education lightly. I had about 28% budgetary allocation for education. So, I did all those things to ensure that we reduce crime,â&#x20AC;? said the former Rivers State governor.

L-R: Vice President, the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Alhaji Mukhtar Sirajo; President/Chairman of Council, NIPR, Rotimi Oladele; Chairman/Lead Strategist, TPT International Limited, Adetokunbo Modupe; Chairman, NIPR Lagos State Chapter, Olusegun McMedal, during the presentation of the 2017 Presidential Award in Corporate Practitioner of Excellence to TPT International at the 2017 Dinner & Awards held in Lagos...recently

L-R: Inspector Kenneth Odion; CSP. Olusegun Ajamolaya; Executive Secretary/CEO, Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), Dr. Abdurrazaq Balogun; Sgt. Ademoyegun Ademola and Cpl. Ismaila Kamorudeen, during the presentation of certiďŹ cate to 10 gallant oďŹ&#x192;cers of the Lagos State Police Command for their outstanding dedication to service in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Fund in Lagos...recently

R-L; Rakiyat Abubakar; Doose Igbalagh;T unde Ladele ; Juliet Okere; and Hope Nwokedi of Ensure Insurance at the 2nd edition of the Ensure Olympics held recently at Campos Mini Stadium, Lagos...recently

Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris (right); with the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Modele Oshunkiyesi, during a media brieďŹ ng on the procurement of equipments and renovation/upgrade, by the ministry, in Lagos...recently PHOTO: KOLA OLASUPO

53

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͝͸Ë&#x153; ͺ͸͚Ϳ

POLITY

War over Kwara South Senatorial Ticket Hammed Shittu Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;

P

olitical crisis looms in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara Stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s South senatorial district over who will pick the senatorial ticket of the zone come 2019. Although, the current occupant of the seat at the National Assembly, Senator Rafiu Adebayo Ibrahim has not declared his interest to seek re-election, but his body language shows that the senator is seriously interested in a second term. His intention to seek re-election may be as a result of his performance since he was elected into the senate almost two and half years ago.

But, some stakeholders in the senatorial district, who believe that the senator had not performed to their expectations, have commenced moves to seek his replacement come 2019, so as to bring more socio economic development to the senatorial district.

This opposition to the return of Senator Ibrahim to the senate started recently, and one of such plans, according to THISDAY investigations, was the purported move to seek his recall from the National Assembly for alleged under-performance and poor representation.

Senator Ibrahim is the Chairman Senate Committee on Banking and Financial institutions.

He was once a member of the state House of Assembly, representing OkeOgun state constituency in Oyun Local Government Council of the state from 2009-2011. This followed a bye-election conducted to replace the former lawmaker representing the area, Rafiu Lambe.

He was also a member of the House of Representative, representing Ifelodun/ Oyun and Offa Federal Constituency of the state from 2011- 2015 and was elected as the senator representing Kwara South senatorial during the 2015 election.

However, the current maneuverings and politicking in the senatorial district, according to THISDAY checks, may not be unconnected with the alleged interest of the incumbent governor of the state, Abdulfatah Ahmed to seek election into the Upper House in Abuja after the completion of his two terms of eight years

Adebayo Ibrahim as governor in 2019.

Governor Ahmed hails from Share in Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state, which is within the Kwara South senatorial District.

The development has created a sort of division within the stakeholders in the Senatorial District, especially among youths, students, women, political leaders and this has snow-balled into a cold war.

THISDAY further investigations revealed that some stakeholders loyal to Senator Ibrahim, believe that it would be morally okay for him to seek re-election to complete his two terms of eight years in the senate like Governor Ahmed.

They said further that the alleged interest of Governor Ahmed in the senatorial ticket was â&#x20AC;&#x153;affrontsâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;selfishâ&#x20AC;?, as he is currently enjoying his two terms of eight years as governor of the state and should be magnanimous enough to allow

Senator Ibrahim to seek re-election come 2019 in order to allow him complete his own two terms of eight years in the senate before seeking for such position.

The stakeholders also said that the governor had once served as Commissioner for seven and half years before he was given the governorship ticket in 2011.

The other stakeholders said to be loyal to Governor Ahmed were of the opinion that the current representation of Senator Rafiu had not brought effective and positive development to the people of Kwara South and that it was high time a replacement was made, so as to bring socio-economic development to the area.

They also said that they needed a person that would be loyal to the Senatorial District instead of being loyal to any individual person, in order to advance the course of the area for positive development.

These were the views of the various stakeholders in the zone until recently when the political situation in the area took another dimension, following petitions to the Senate and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) seeking the recall of Senator Ibrahim, by a group which called itself Kwara South Unity Forum that is said to be in support of Governor Ahmed.

The petition, which was issued by the group, dated 13th November, 2017, addressed to the National Assembly and INEC, was received by the two appropriate quarters and dated 14th Nov. 2017 and 17th Nov. 2017 respectively. The petition was titled, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Notification of our Dissatisfaction with the Representation Being Provided by senator representing Kwara South Senatorial District in the National Assembly in person of Senator Rafiu Adebayo Ibrahimâ&#x20AC;?.

The president of the group, Mr. John Adegboye, at a press conference held in Ijagbo, in Oyun Local Government Area of the state, alleged that Senator Ibrahim was no more fit to be at the national assembly because of his alleged inability to represent the Senatorial District well at the national assembly and for underperformances.

Adegboye alleged that, â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is nothing but a violation of our human and democratic rights. Let it be made clear that

we are in the 21st century. The current system of representation we are experiencing under Senator Ibrahim is archaic, demeaning, dehumanising and also unacceptable. We are no longer under the pre-colonial dispensation where there is indirect rule. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In almost three years, where are the federal projects Senator Rafiu Ibrahim attracted to Kwara South? Where are the federal appointments obtained through his efforts? Although, there are few he will wish to show, but when the number is compared against those of Kwara Central, you will realise that our senator has handed over our birthright to his boss. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is why Senator Rafiu Ibrahim continues to dismiss our elders and insult our common patrimony by telling them that he must first consult with his boss. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We the people of Kwara South are appalled by the fact that a man whom we unanimously elected as a senator to represent us in the 8th Assembly, has now openly declared that he has â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;bossâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; other than us the good people of Kwara South that he takes directives from. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is therefore under this circus that the good people of the Kwara South today decide to intimate the generality of Nigerians about our intention to recall him.â&#x20AC;?

Reacting to the groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intention, some students under the auspices of National Association of Nigerian Students and the National Association of Kwara State Students (NAKSS) passed a confidence vote on the senator.

Also speaking with reporters in AjaseIpo, Irepodun Local Government Area, the state Chairman of NANS, Comrade Abdulkadir Aliyu said the senator was a man of the people and father of Nigerian students in the constituency.

Aliyu added that the sensorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leadership qualities and open door policy had endeared him to the students.

He said this can be attested to by the construction of relaxation centre for University of Ilorin students, studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; empowerment scheme, renovation of Offa Township Hall, free SSCE and JAMB registration. Others are sponsorship of studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; programmes, scholarships, free vocational training.

Yunus Akintunde

Rekindling Hope in 2019 Oyo Governorship Race With a towering status, Yunus Abiodun Akintunde is one of the strong contenders for the top job at Agodi House, Ibadan, come 2019 governorship election in Oyo State. In this piece, Femi Ogbonnikan beams searchlight on the proďŹ le of the governorship aspirant from Oyo Central Senatorial District and the strong agitation for power shift to the zone, among others

eft and calculated in his approach towards clinching the 2019 Oyo State APC governorship ticket, despite the large number of the aspirants that have joined the fray, Alhaji Yunus Akintunde leaves no one in doubt, about his pedigree and antecedent to remain the most favoured candidate and the successor of the Abiola Ajimobi.

Recalling their closeness, Akintunde, until his exit from the Ajimobi cabinet during the first term (between 2011 and 2015), was a Commissioner for Works and Transport (between August 2011 and November 2012), and an Executive Assistant to the governor (between April 2014 and May 2015).

Having distinguished himself with his past strategic and sensitive responsibilities, political pundits have maintained that the 55-year-old politician stands a better chance at the partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s primary than his co-aspirants.

Besides, it is viewed that his foray into the governorship race has changed the course of action and rekindled hope in the young elements, yearning for generational shift, against the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;status quo anteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of the old and recycled politicians that have been bequeathed as the ancient practice in the pace-setter state.

At the inception of the third republic

Akintunde

in 1999, the Oyo-born politician began his political career and he was appointed

commissioner, in Oyo State Civil Service Commission (between 1999 and 2003); Chairman, APC State Registration Committee for Osun State (January 2014); Chairman, APC State Congresses Committee for Kwara State (April 2014); member, APC House of Representatives (serving members) Aspirantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; screening committee (December 2014); and member, Executive Advisory Committee (EAC) for the re-election of Ajimobi (2014/2015).

He is currently the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Trade Codes Limited, a building construction, real estate, energy and environmental consultancy services firm.

All these have combined to boost his political experience, both in the public and private enterprises, and they have, in no small measure, exposed him to the knittygritty of governance, on account of his closeness to the powers-that-be.

Humble, amiable, kind and articulate, Akintunde was born on March 6, 1962 in Onikanko Compound, Pakoyi, Oyo town. He attended Ansar-Ud-Deen Model Primary School, Balogun, Oyo town (1968-1975); Oranyan Grammar School, Oyo town (1975-1980); The Polytechnic Ibadan, Oyo State capital (1982-1985); Lagos State University, Ojo Campus (1985-1990); and

University of Ibadan 2013 and to date).

Besides, Akintunde holds an MSc in Energy Studies; Master of Public Administration (Human Resources and Personnel Management); BSc (Hons) in Physics; and an OND in Physics with Electronics.

With the strident agitation for a power shift to Oyo Central, a district yet to occupy the Agodi House, Ibadan, intensifies, it is believed that Mr Governor is already beaming his searchlight in the direction of the zone for his successor, come 2019, in the interest of fair play, equity and justice.

A consistent and an unassuming politician, Akintunde is a toast of many people, including both young and old that foresee a new dawn beckoning at them, if he is allowed and offered to the governorship ticket. No doubt, at the recent 79th birthday of the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Atanda Adeyemi, the first class monarch patted Akintunde, whom he usually calls by his first name, Yunus, on the back for using his good office, when in saddle, by bringing development close to the ancient town and its environs.

It was gathered that the Alaafin is stoutly throwing his weight behind the emergence of Akintunde, in his bid to succeed the incumbent governor in office, come May 29, 2019.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͝͸Ë&#x153; ͺ͸͚;

54

Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2018;

͸Ϳ͸͞ͺÎ&#x20AC;͚͞Ϳ͝Ϳ Ă?Ě&#x2039;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2013;Ë? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2018;ĚśĂ&#x2019;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2013;Ë&#x203A;Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;

ADEKUNLE GOLD

My Experience Working with Simi Ă&#x17D;Ă?Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2013;Ă? Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x2122;Ë&#x153; ĂĄĂ?Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2013; Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2122;ĂĄĂ&#x2DC; Ă&#x2039;Ă? Ă&#x17D;Ă?Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2013;Ă? Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x17D;Ë&#x153; Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă?ĂŁĂ&#x2DC;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;ĂŁĂ&#x2014;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă? ĂĄĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019; Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2039;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x17D; ĂĄĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019; Ă&#x17D;Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă? Ă&#x2013;ĂŁĂ&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă?Ë&#x153; Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă?Ě&#x2039;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x161;Ă&#x161;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018; Ă&#x152;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x203A;Ă&#x;Ă? Ă&#x17D;Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă?Ë&#x203A; Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018; Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122; Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x17E; Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x2122;Ă? Ë&#x153; Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2039;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x2122;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ë&#x203A; Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E; ĂĄĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019; Tosin CleggË&#x153; Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2022;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă&#x2DC;Ă?ĂĄ Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2018;Ă?Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ë&#x153; Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ę°Ă?Ă&#x153; Ë&#x153; Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x153; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2DC;Ă?ĂĄ Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2014; Ă?Ă?Ă&#x17E; Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153; ͺ͸͚Î&#x20AC; Gold G ld

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m under a record label called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Afro Urbanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a label I run by myself and my team. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been running it for about a year now. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know if Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be signing on other artistes yet, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have such vision for now to be honest, but I may in the future. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll like to do but I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to put myself in a situation where I make such announcements and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not happening, so for now I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not easy to run a label. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not going to say because I have some money and contacts in the industry then I jump into it, no; I have to do it right. Shout out to artistes running their own labels, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actually amazing, but, right now, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the capacity for the kind of label I want to run.

I

and mum drama and I just had to be there for my sisters. I lost my youngest sister at a point in my life and that was in 2011. My world crumbled that day because she was my feminine version.

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not threatened that someone new will come Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be lying if I say that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not attractive outside, especially the new sound that everybody is jumping on.

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d be lying if I say that sometimes I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think about doing stuff like that.

But when I remember my goal, which is to be timeless, it keeps me going.

Working with Simi It was amazing. She has an â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;excellenceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; spirit and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s my vibe. We had issues on some songs that I thought

Coping with female fans and fame Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interesting because I have my eyes on the prize. I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t suffer that many years to come and let frivolity take my glory. So, yes, I get advances from women and that feels good. I remember when I was chasing them as well. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m friends with them. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no pressure. When I want to say yes, I say yes.

At the risk of sounding cocky, I knew I was going to be great I just didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know when. I grew up in a not so well to do family. We were not poor, but we were comfortable. I was the eldest son. There was the dad

Adekunle and Simi

was fine already, but she will make me do it again. We recorded Nurse Alabere three times. And that was Simi trying to be perfect.

I thought about quitting when I was still in a band called the bridge It was me and my friend, Seyi Keys, who is my producer now. We werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t getting any attention. We sang everything and at one point, I felt I was Bruno Mars. I was always trying to sound like him. But people didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pay any attention. I will write songs and put all the English in the world.

Imagine writing a song that is titled Last Dose of Sadness.

But people just didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t notice us. I guess people like what they like. So I told my friend that he should focus on music production, let me sing. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s try with just one song. If it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work, then we can focus on other things. It was not easy to have that conversation, but Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m glad we had it. That was when I released a song called Let It Stop, and that song changed everything for me.

When I released the song, it was Dotun of Cool FM who supported me all the way. That is why I will forever be loyal to him. He played the song every day for one month. And people started listening to it, people started loving the sound.

Greatest decision I ever made The one I can remember now is quitting my job in 2014. I was working with a social media brand activation company. And I was the Brand

Manager. I was earning very good money; good enough that if you earn that kind of money now, you are still big. I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t getting shows then but I knew that my music was suffering and I wanted to do something about it. So, I just woke up and resigned. My family thought I was crazy so did everybody because I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have any back-up plan. Then, I was very fearless. Who wakes up in the morning, from earning good pay and just decides to quit?

There was no backup plan, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not like I had saved money somewhere. I just felt I was helping someone else build their dreams and mine was lacking. I wanted to do my thing.

YBNL changed me I had Sade before YBNL and it was already getting popular. When I got signed to the label, we shot the video and it became like a sensation everywhere. Getting signed to YBNL took me to London for the first time.

That was in 2015. So YBNL changed everything for me.

My new album is titled â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;About 30â&#x20AC;&#x2122; It will be dropping in the first quarter of next year. I have more than one feature this time. My sound is urban highlife. It is a fusion of pop and highlife. Well, when people mention my name, they talk about urban highlife.

So people are beginning to understand it. They love the sound and it resonates with people. Eventually it will be a celebrated sound.

55

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͝͸Ë&#x153; ͺ͸͚;

MY STORY PEFTI CINEMA LAUNCHES â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;THE WEDDING PARTY 2â&#x20AC;&#x2122; PEFTI Film Institute has finally announced the take off of its much-anticipated PEFTI Cinema; which will commence with the showing of the blockbuster, The Wedding Party 2 as from Wednesday 20th December 2017.

The Managing Director of PEFTI Film Institute, Abiola Adenuga, has this to say: â&#x20AC;&#x153;With the PEFTI Cinema, we are providing solution to Lagosians, especially those within close proximity to OshodiIsolo Local Government Area, who desire to experience the best

BUCHIDO

My Music is Self-DeďŹ ned

Nigerian and International movies with their families in a serene environment and at an affordable rate.

Our weekly movie schedule is available on Instagram: pefti.tv and Facebook: peftiâ&#x20AC;?.

The PEFTI Cinema comfortably seats 1,200 people in the fully air-conditioned hall and has ample parking space with uniformed security personnel. Early feedback indicates that people are also excited because all movie tickets cost only N500 from 20th â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 22nd December as the opening promo price.

Ă&#x2DC;ĂŁĂ?Ă&#x152;Ă&#x;Ă?Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C; Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x; Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă? ĂĄĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019; Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x17D; Ă?Ă&#x17E;ĂŁĂ&#x2013;Ă? Ă&#x2122;Ă? Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2039;Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ë&#x203A; Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E; ĂĄĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019; Tosin Clegg, Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2022;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă?

PGK FLOATS NEW MULTIPURPOSE MEDIA OUTFIT IN LEKKI Priority Global Konsults (PGK), last weekend floated her multipurpose entertainment and media outfit in Lekki.

PGK consists of Priority TV, Priority Radio, Priority Studios which has a Film and Music Production house.

The event was well attended by well-wishers, family of the house and several industry names.

PGK is owned

by Fred Eze, who prefers to be behind the curtain making things happen.

SUPERSTORY BRINGS BACK â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ITOHAN STORYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

PGK is here to stay, he said all through the event and the newly signed artiste under the management was equally present to entertain everyone with good music and lots more.

At PGK entertainment it is believed that they are the hub that gets entertainment done the right way.

The birth of PGK is far becoming a something to contend with and the vision the company holds bounds it towards breaking even.

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ell us more about you...

Wale Adenuga Productions is once again contributing its quota to increasing the awareness and providing solutions to illegal migration by re-airing the award-winning Superstory titled, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Itohan: A Call to Action.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; According to the producer, Wale Adenuga Jnr., â&#x20AC;&#x153;Since we produced and first aired Itohan: A Call to Action years ago. The story has gone on to gain recognition and international awards. This outcry regarding human trafficking, slavery and forced prostitution has resulted in overwhelming requests from viewers to air the story again as the lessons in it directly address the relevant issues and provide solutaions. We would also be giving more insight as we discuss each episode with viewers during our interactive Superstory Plus live

viewer-feedback TV Show.â&#x20AC;?

Itohan: A Call to Action primarily revolves around a young lady, Itohan, who travels to Europe through an illegal route, with genuine aspirations of being signed as footballer in an European Club. But she deceived by a gang of men who planned to sell her and some other young ladies to a notorious prostitution ring once they get there.

It is based on real life events and contains several elements of action, romance, comedy, betrayaland suspense. It stars a wide range of popular artistes includingTamara Eteimo, Yemi Solade, Mary Lazarus, Kelechi Udegbe, Racheal Oniga, Charles Okocha, Patience Oseni, Jide Alabi, Nobert Young, Gloria Young, Hakeem Rahman, Femi Durojaiye, Chidex Brown, EkeminiNankere, Dayo Davies and others.

I am a master of my own self-defined music artistry centered on hip hop and afro pop; born Onyebuchi Njoku and popularly known as Buchido. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a man born of good music, unspeakable brilliant deliverables with an edge in making beats, lyrical flows and amazing sound.

Tell us about your childhood...

I was born 27th August 1992 and experienced my early years growing up through education from Nursery up to Secondary School. After which I attended the University of Lagos, where I studied and graduated with a BSc in Geography and Regional Planning in 2014.

What is the update on our career?

Having produced my first song in 2008, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m currently running my businesses and establishing my music career on a large platform. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m working on a lot of major things at the moment soon to be shared with the world.

Which artistes inďŹ&#x201A;uence you?

Joe, Kenny G, Mase and Trey Songz and I chose them because they are hardworking and positive minded individuals. My fans should expect a variety of good music, visuals of the finest quality and a lot more from me.

Saturday, December 30, 2017

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Price: N250

MISSILE PDP to Buhari “Is it not also ridiculous for the federal government, in its bid to cover for its ineptitude and oil subsidy corruption, to announce that it is the NNPC and not Nigeria that is paying for the so-called fuel subsidy? The question is; who owns the NNPC? Is it not Nigeria? Can NNPC spend a kobo without the authorization of the Presidency?” – The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chiding President Muhammadu Buhari for the fuel subsidy excuses.

REUBENABATI abati1990@gmail.com

‘Go Out There, Show Them That You’re A Ganawuri’

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his is an absorbing and detailed portrait of a growing political figure of high stock and promise: the Rt Honorable Dogara Yakubu, currently Nigeria’s No. 4 citizen, that is the Speaker of the House of Representatives and since 2007, the member representing the Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa Balewa constituency of Bauchi State. The art of political biography is a risky enterprise, more for the simple reason that it is often difficult to mask the author’s bias. Autobiographies tend to be self-indulgent, authorized biographies may be too sympathetic while unauthorized ones may be no better than attack jobs in which reputations may be skewered, and yet political biographies must be encouraged, written and read for they deal with the lives of the important people who take the decisions and the actions that affect the rest of the community. They also of course open up the leadership elite to further public appreciation and scrutiny and promote a necessary conversation about values, politics and people.

This book, written by Dele Momodu is a welcome addition in this regard, and what I find particularly commendable is how he manages to keep whatever bias he may have out of the way.

He allows the story to tell itself, by focusing on the politics of the personal and the politics of his subject’s public life, through interviews and fact-based narratives. Dele Momodu provides his subject an opportunity to reflect extensively on his own life by revisiting through these pages, some of the highlights of his life, his upbringing and growth, the influences on his life, and motivations, the complexities of Nigerian politics and his own political achievements. Many voices are heard in this book, testimonies are given; the biography is essentially the work of a reporter, who through detailed interviews, paints a portrait. The story of Speaker Dogara’s life is a story of influences and how environment, personality and values shape both the personal and the public.

Background matters and the family remains an important element in individual lives. Dogara Yakubu was born on December 26, 1967 into a modest, but comfortable family in the town of Gwaranagah in the then Tafawa Balewa district of the old Bauchi Division in North East Nigeria.

He is of Zaar ethnic extraction, a minority ethnic group, and a Christian, yet another minority group in the largely Muslim parts of Northern Nigeria. His two parents were very staunch Christians who brought up their six children along the Christian path, and who understood the value of education, hardwork and discipline.

We are told that one of Pa Yakubu’s famous exhortations to his children was “Go out there and show that you’re a Ganuwari…whatever you get from that school must be excellent.” This must have been the guiding principle for the rest of Dogara Yakubu’s life to date, and what the author celebrates about him in writing this book, namely a determined search for excellence.

In the first part of the book, we are taken on a chronological journey through Dogara’s life, with special emphasis on the major events of his early life, beginning with his outstanding performance as a primary school pupil, his enrolment in Bauchi Teachers’ College, his love of sports especially football, volleyball and basketball, how he conquered his fear of Mathematics as a subject, his leadership role throughout his school

Dogara days either as House Captain or member of Christian groups, his undergraduate days as a student in the Faculty of Law at the University of Jos and the testimonies of his teachers and colleagues. By taking us through this narrative, the biographer manages to establish the early demonstration of leadership qualities by the subject. It would appear that one preoccupation in this book is to demonstrate that accidents do not always happen, people become leaders through a process of preparation and Dogara seems to have been well-prepared for future leadership.

In addition, we encounter different stories of his resolve and confidence in his own abilities.

One story stands out: he was once told that he could not study law by an administrative staff at the University of Jos, and advised to seek a place in the Faculty of Education having graduated previously from a Teachers’ College.

Dogara refused. He went back to sit for the Universities Matriculation Examination and would not relent until he became a student of Law. Anecdotes such as this convey a measure of the man.

The entire book is similarly full of illustrations of Dogara’s commitment to the Christian faith, or put differently his faith in God, or rather, the God-factor. Readers will find particularly interesting specific episodes of Dogara’s encounters with God and the gradual growth of his Christian faith. From turning down the offer of national service in an oil company, and opting instead to work for a Pentecostal Christian Fellowship group, during his NYSC year, to the miraculous healing he received from a mysterious tuberculosis, or his out-of-body experience of Heaven, and the healing of his son who had been diagnosed of sickle cell anaemia and was in coma, and had been declared more or less dead, the spiritualism in sections of this book would interest all persons of faith. Even if there is no touch of evangelism, the careful emphasis on the power of faith, prayers and miracles is unmistakable. Businesspersons should also be interested in reports of Dogara’s practice as a lawyer and as a businessman and investor – all of this background proving the point of how the reed grew into the flint that he became.

Many Nigerian politicians go into public office to make money but it certainly helps to have a

profession and a source of income rather than seeking public office as a meal ticket.

But of course, the more interesting parts of the book can be found in the later sections focusing on Dogara’s foray into politics, despite the objections of his father and other family members, and his own initial reluctance. His first appointment was as Special Assistant to a former Minister of State and later Minister for Transport Mallam Mohammed Habib Aliu, at the instance of the then Governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Adamu Ahmed Muazu. In 2007, he was again invited by his political mentor to seek election into the House of Representatives and this marked the beginning of his baptism of fire in the murky terrains of Nigerian politics.

Every politician has a story to tell, and indeed in this book, Dogara’s political journey has been immensely eventful. The biographer painstakingly documents that journey, but in telling the story, what further stands out are the limitations of Nigerians politics, the divisiveness, the intrigues of political opponents, the desperation. Much of what is reported is contemporary and topical, but it is useful that the book reminds the reader of the fault lines in Nigerian politics, particularly with the manipulation of religion and ethnicity to cause disaffection, the use of violence, abuse of access to security agencies, even the abuse of court processes. Following his victory at the polls in 2007, his opponent, Alhaji Barau Shingiri, who also happened to be his maternal uncle had gone to court, all the way from the Tribunal to the Court of Appeal. Dogara was advised to give money to Judges. He refused. Instead, he kept his faith in God. He also reached out to his Uncle to withdraw the case and let him be. The man refused.

But this is what happened: “So many people, family members spoke to him but he still said No way!” I think the whole thing was accentuated on account of religious differences really. He said he wasn’t going to give up. Before we ran for the primaries he had had a stroke but he refused to give up in spite of his failing health.

Unfortunately, I think we were at the stage of the hearing at the Court of Appeal when he got very sick, an obvious aggravation of the stroke, perhaps from the stress and pressure of electioneering. The Bauchi State Government sent him to Egypt for treatment, and sadly, he didn’t make it. He died. It was the end to the case. Dogara Yakubu’s place as a member of the House of Representatives would no longer be challenged.”

The rest of the book is devoted to Dogara’s membership of the House of Representatives, his membership of the New Agenda Forum –a pressure group within the House – his Chairmanship of various committees, including the Committee on Customs and the House Services Committee, and the role he played during the Patricia Etteh saga. Anyone who has followed Nigerian politics closely in the last five years would readily remember some of the incidents that define Dogara Yakubu’s political career and ascendancy to the office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives: his opposition to the change of the Headquarters of Tafawa Balewa local government and the victimization of his people on political grounds, his subsequent

defection from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressive Congress (APC), the high drama of the 2015 elections in Bauchi state, and within the PDP and how the PDP lost out, the politics of his eventual emergence as Speaker, and the battles he subsequently faced when he and others were accused of wrong-doings by Abdulmumin Jibrin, described here “as one of the also-rans for the Speakership”, who later went “haywire(s)” and “on a rabble-rousing spree.”

The account in this latter part may be controverted by some of the key actors in the drama, all of whom are still actively involved in politics, particularly Abdulmumin Jibrin who may be tempted to exercise a right of reply, but in general what comes across is the image of the subject of the book as a gifted legislator, a bridge-builder who enjoys the confidence of his colleagues, a committed and dogged champion of the interests of the people that he represents and a convinced opponent of the politics of settlement and mischief. In writing about Hon. Dogara’s life, career, and the values at the heart of his politics, Dele Momodu draws attention to much-needed values in Nigerian politics and democracy. There is no doubt that there is a lot that is lacking in Nigerian democracy: integrity and honesty being the chief victims.

Hon. Dogara may sound somewhat harsh in his assessment of the Peoples Democracy Party (PDP), the political party on whose platform he made his foray into politics, but then this is a book about him, and he is certainly entitled to the freedom of speech in a book that bears his own name as subject. Detailed and comprehensive as this biography is, it also could have benefitted from a closer analysis of the various bills sponsored or supported by Dogara as legislator. I also find the Romeo and Juliet sub-plot in the book, between Dogara and his wife, and their numerous love letters amusing. We get to know through this that the Rt. Hon. Dogara is a fan of the Arsenal football Club, UK. Arsenal? Not a Nigerian football club? This may seem on a lighter note but it is indeed ironic that even when Nigerian politicians are passionate about their political constituencies, there is always a side of their passionate hearts, in love with foreign totems. This may be excused on the grounds of globalization or the tyranny of the New World information Order, but hopefully, the day will come when Nigerian leaders will learn to reproduce the same foreign totems and institutions they admire at home.

Richly illustrated with photographs, written in reader-friendly prose, and significantly topical, Dogara: A Reed Made Flint is a thoroughly engaging book, and given the political issues it covers, it is bound to be a book of interest to every student of Nigerian politics. At 50, the subject is still in the prime of his public career, and there may be no doubt whatsoever that there is much promise and many possibilities in that direction. This may be Dele Momodu’s first biographical work, but as a writer, he has shown that he may have found another worthy dimension to his own already fruitful and notable engagement in the Nigerian public space. To both the author and his subject, congratulations.

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