Sunday 13th May 2018

Fayemi Wins Ekiti APC Governorship Primary Says its triumph of democracy Victor Ogunje and Adedayo Adejobi in Ado Ekiti It was sweet victory for Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, yesterday as he emerged the

winner of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary in Ekiti State. Picking up 941 out of the 2, 313 valid votes cast, Fayemi defeated 31 other contestants, including former Governor Segun Oni, who is also the deputy national

Tinubu congratulates him

chairman (South) of the party.

The victor, according to a reliable source, got a telephone call from the National Leader of the party, Senator Bola Tinubu, who congratulated him, shortly before he (Fayemi) mounted the podium to deliver his ac-

ceptance speech.

But in a swift reaction, Governor Ayo Fayose, who is from the ruling party in the state, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), attempted to pour cold water on Fayemi’s triumphant steam, dismissing it as a pyrrhic

Fayose: It’s pyrrhic victory victory that would not last.

“I thank the APC for giving Ekiti people a candidate they love to vote against all times,” he said cynically, adding, “Fayemi should not celebrate this pyrrhic victory yet because it is nothing but a flame that will be

quenched on July 14. He should expect to suffer worse defeat compared to that of 2014.”

The rescheduled primary election that was held under Continued on page 8

Analysts Upbeat Inflation Will Fall Below 13% in April ... Page 10 Sunday 13 May, 2018 Vol 23. No 8424

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1 Killed in Lagos, As APC Holds Bitter LG Congresses Parallel elections in Enugu, Adamawa, Edo

Our Correspondents The ruling All Progressives Congress held local government

congresses across the county yesterday amid rancour in many of the party’s state chapters that resulted in violent incidents and at least one death. The

Oyo local council poll claims teenager’s life Peaceful, keen contest in Kaduna

congresses, which were held to elect officials that would run the affairs of APC at the local government level, also witnessed parallel exercises in

some states.

That was as Oyo and Kaduna states went to the polls yesterday to elect officers at the third tier of government. While

the council poll in Kaduna was keenly contested under a largely peaceful atmosphere, the one in Oyo recorded incidents of violent attacks that left one

teenager dead. The victim was killed by stray bullet as security agents were trying to quell a developing violence.

Cosntinued on page 8

Buhari Has Right to Privacy, Confidentiality on His Health, Says Professor Adewole “You have forgotten that as our president, he is also an individual. Unfortunately, we still, as a country, we cannot handle information…We do not respect people’s right to privacy and confidentiality. We also have no respect for doctor-patient relationship” Senator Iroegbu in Abuja The Minister of Health, Prof.

Isaac Adewole, yesterday explained the rationale behind President Muhammadu Buhari’s preference for medical treatment abroad, saying it was to protect the president’s privacy as the country has remained unable to manage information.

Using the travail of Yusuf, the only son of Buhari, who was involved in a motorbike crash last year in Abuja, as an example, he said it was obvious that the privacy of a patient could easily be compromised in the country.

Adewole, who spoke in a telephone interview with THISDAY, said the president’s preference for foreign medical care was, however, not an indictment of the nation’s health system, adding that Buhari was committed to uplifting the sector to a standard that every Nigerian would be proud of.

“You have forgotten that as our president, he is also an individual. Unfortunately, we still, as a country, we cannot handle information. The Continued on page 8

BLISSFUL MARRIAGE WISHES… L-R: Father of the groom, Alhaji Abdullahi; the groom, Murtala Abdullahi; father of the bride, Mallam Sarki Abba; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, during Abdullahi’s wedding reception at the Presidential Villa Abuja…yesterday

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ÍšÍťËœ ͺ͸͚΀ Ëž T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R

PAGE EIGHT 1 KILLED IN LAGOS, AS APC HOLDS BITTER LG CONGRESSES Multiple eye witnesses identified the man killed during the local government congresses in Lagos State as Nurudeen Olanose. He was, allegedly, shot and killed at Central School, Dopemu, in Agege Local Government Area, during a fracas that broke out between rival factions of APC. Trouble started after the Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, arrived at the centre to participate in the congress, and things degenerated into the firing of gunshots, according to witnesses.

Some accounts said a second person, Kadiri Garba, died during the fracas, while nine suspects were arrested by the police and the congress was cancelled.

A middle-age man dressed in red and white traditional outfit, with his face turned upwards, who was believed to be killed during the congress, was seen on the ground in a viral video.

While some claimed he was killed by a stray bullet, others said the police had a hand in the shooting.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Chike Oti, a Superintendent of Police, debunked claims of any police involvement in the death. Oti said the election took place at Central Primary School, Oniwaya, while the murder scene was far away.

He said, “The police have nothing to do with the murder.

We provided security at the venue of the election and from all indications, it was successful, as we maintained law and order.

The man killed was murdered far away from the conference arena and the police had nothing to do with it. “Notwithstanding, we swung into action when the news filtered in and arrested the murder suspects; all three of them. Already, the corpse has been deposited at the morgue for autopsy to fulfil the coroner's request. “From what was gathered, his death might not be unconnected with street rivalry. The suspects have been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Panti, Yaba, for further investigations.

The investigators will reveal why he was killed and the law will run its course. But note that the police had nothing to do with the death.�

THISDAY gathered that APC in Agege is factionalised between supporters of the party leader in the council area,

Professor Tunde Samuel, and supporters of Obasa.

The congress did not hold in Kosofe Local Government Area, Agboyi-Ketu Local Council Development Area, and Ikosi-Isheri LCDA due to differences among party leaders in the areas. Likewise, the ward congresses held penultimate Saturday could not hold at 14 wards that make up both Kosofe Local Government Area and Agboyi-Ketu LCDA, though Ikosi-Isheri LCDA was able to hold its ward congress.

In Eti-Osa LGA and IruVictoria Island LCDA, the congress was marred by violence involving factions loyal to a serving federal lawmaker and a former chairman of IruVictoria Island LCDA. But the local government congress passed peacefully in Bayelsa State, with the APC leader in the state and former governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, hailing the process as the best the state has seen in recent times. “APC members in Bayelsa State, you have really been very exemplary, not only in Bayelsa, but in relation to the rest of Nigeria. I believe that no other state has conducted congresses more peacefully than Bayelsa,�

Sylva said. Though, there were reports of a different exercise organised by a former acting governor, Nestor Binabo.

The congress was also peaceful in Delta State, as no incident was reported in the 25 local government areas of the state. But in Bauchi State, there were protests in some local government areas, particularly Bogoro and Tafawa Balewa, as APC members dissented alleged attempts to manipulate the voting process.

Kano State had a peaceful congress, and a massive turnout of APC members. The state governor, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, praised the congress in the state after casting his vote at his Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area party secretariat. “I am sure that those who would be elected today would be competent people, with integrity and capacity to take the party to victory in all the forthcoming general elections in the state, and the country in general,� Ganduje said.

However, it was observed that Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso's group, Kwankwasiyya, might have boycotted the congress.

In Rivers State, the congresses went on in defiance of an order of a state high court sitting in Port Harcourt. Justice Chinwendu Nworgu had on Friday given an

order of interlocutory injunction restraining APC from going ahead with the congresses, following a matter brought by a group of APC members known as M30. But the publicity secretary of APC in the state, Chris Finebone, had said the party would go ahead with the congresses, as the process was already on before the injunction.

In the areas monitored by THISDAY, there was a large turnout of APC faithful loyal to Minister of Transportation and leader of the party in the state, Chibuike Amaechi. But supporters of a governorship aspirant on the platform of the party, Senator Magnus Abe, boycotted the exercise.

The congresses in Adamawa State witnessed parallel exercises by factions loyal to former Governor Murtala Nyako and incumbent Governor Jibrilla Bindow. The development was informed by penultimate Saturday’s ward congresses where some aggrieved members of the party loyal to Nyako felt short-changed and did 10 petitions to the party’s appeal panel. The appeal panel headed

by Senator Nurudeen Usman dismissed eight of the petitions for lack of merit and upheld two. The aggrieved members, who felt their grouses were not properly addressed, united under a faction loyal to Nyako and held their own congresses across the 21 local government areas of the state.

There were also parallel congresses in Edo State and incidents of violence. Sporadic gunshots marred the exercise in Afuze, headquarters of Owan East Local Government Area.

Speaking on the situation, Deputy Whip of the House of Representatives and member representing Owan Federal Constituency, Mr. Pally Iriase, said harmonisation and consensus was adopted during the ward congresses and it was expected that the same pattern will be used in the local government congress, “but some people still want impunity to continue, which Comrade Adams Oshiomhole preached against during his declaration for the national chairmanship of the party.�

At Owan West, there were parallel congresses by the Professor Julius Ihonvbere and Ojo Asein, who is a member of the state Assembly.

In Ogun State, hoodlums disrupted the congresses in many areas, while in Anambra State, the exercise passed peacefully, as the congresses

were held by affirmation. In some local government areas, members of the party told journalists that they simply returned the previous officials, and were waiting for the congress committee to ratify their positions.

In Imo State, the local government congress was postponed to Monday following the arson attack at state party secretariat on May 11.

The congress in Kwara State was without incident. Chairman of the congress committee for Kwara State, Senator Mohammed Ohiare, expressed satisfaction with the exercise, saying, “We are happy that hierarchy of leadership under the able leadership of Senator Bukola Saraki has really made a lot of landmark in the state.�

In Benue State, there was disagreement, as some members of APC wanted the return of all ward, local government, and state executives for the sake of peace and continuity, while others favoured an elective congress. The continuity group, said to be led by a former governor of the state, Senator George Akume, was believed to be following the position of the North-central chapter of the party, which ran contrary to the national leadership’s support for elective congress. In the end, there was an affirmation of the former executives.

In Ebonyi State, the congress passed without incident, though the APC governorship candidate in the 2015 general election, Senator Julius Ucha, had many of his nominees elected, while a segment of the party loyal to the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, was alleged to have boycotted the congress.

Ucha' s faction, led by Ben Nwobasi, alleged that Onu's faction, led by Eze Nwachukwu, boycotted the congress as they were not seen at the council venues chosen for the election.

Enugu State witnessed parallel APC local government congresses, just like during the ward congresses, as factions loyal to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, and Director General of the Voice of Nigeria, Osita Okechukwu, elected separate officers and delegates at different venues.

While Onyeama’s group held their congress at Comprehensive High School, Udi/Abia, the faction loyal to Okechukwu held theirs at the party office along Aboh road, 9th Mile.

The congresses in Sokoto State were held mainly through

FAYEMI WINS EKITI APC GOVERNORSHIP PRIMARY a very tight security saw Oni coming a distant second with 481 votes.

An aggregate of 2, 327 delegates were accredited for the election, out of which 2,313 valid votes were cast while 11 were invalidated.

Declaring the results, the chairman of the APC Primary Election Committee and Nasarawa State Governor, Alhaji Tanko Al-Makura, said other contestants, including Kayode Ojo, got 281; Femi Bamisile, 179; Oluwole Oluyede, 110; Gbenga Aluko, 86; and Bimbo Daramola, 28. Bamidele Faparusi polled 23 votes; Babafemi Ojudu, who had stepped down got, 10 votes; Opeyemi Bamidele, 8; Mojisola Yaya-Kolade, 4; Ayo Arise, 2; Muyiwa Olumilua 2; Oladipo Ogunkoyode, 8; Kola Alabi, 14; Bisi Aloba , 7; Sesan Fatoba, 45; and Victor Kolade, 16.

Ojudu was said to have failed to notify the committee officially about his withdrawal from the race.

With this victory, Fayemi will slug it out with Deputy Gover-

nor Kolapo Olusola, who had picked the ticket of PDP last week.

Almakura said, “Fayemi, having polled the highest number of valid votes, is hereby declared the candidate of the APC for the July 14 Governorship election.�

He said, "I commend and appreciate you for your patience, commitment, and believe in the great party. I thank you for making this exercise a great success. I am proud to be a member of APC in Nigeria.�

Al-Makura commended the aspirants for their doggedness and sacrifice for the party, saying the same spirit should be exhibited at the July 14 election for APC to be able to win the election.

In his acceptance speech, Fayemi said he felt humbled to have been found worthy to be the APC flag bearer just as he thanked the delegates for reposing confidence in him.

The winner, who was followed to the podium by all the other aspirants, appealed to them to support him in the task of win-

ning Ekiti.

He said Al-Makura and his team did a good job by being transparent in the conduct of the election, saying he would work with all stakeholders in the interest of the party.

Feyemi advised the aspirants to forget whatever division the primary must have caused and focus attention on the coming election and how best to make APC relevant in the state, saying, “No one, including myself, is greater than the party."

He appreciated Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande, Chief Segun Osoba, and Otunba Niyi Adebayo for their contributions to the success of the primary election.

According to the minister, “Ekiti people should be rest assured that I am not on vengeance mission. In the course of ruling as a governor, I must have committed some errors by omission or commission, I hereby apologise to those who must have been adversely affected by our policies. “I thank my co-contestants, we are in this journey together

and we must be committed to the struggle to reclaim Ekiti and banish poverty from our land.�

He announced the formation of a Candidate Advisory Committee, with all the contestants as members and said he would be ready to work with all of them to achieve victory for the APC. Initially, 33 aspirants showed interest in the plum seat before the withdrawal, on Thursday, of Ojudu, who is also Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters.

The election was truncated by irate party men on May 5, who trooped to the venue and smashed the ballot boxes, citing cases of electoral malfeasance allegedly perpetrated by one of the aspirants.

The winner was the last to declare interest in the contest and this accounted for the seeming bellicosity displayed by other contestants, who said he ought to play a leadership role rather than plunging into the race with those that passed through his political tutelage.

consensus, while Niger State witnessed protests in many areas, as APC members resisted alleged attempts to hijack the voting process.

Ondo State had a peaceful congress, though there were reports that parallel congresses were held in some local governments. ‌ Teenager killed in Oyo LG poll, keen contest in Kaduna Meanwhile, local government elections were held in two APC states of Oyo and Kaduna yesterday.

In Kaduna, the contest was keen and largely peaceful across the state. Electronic Voting Machines were used for the Kaduna election, for the first time in Nigeria. Though, cases of late arrival of voting materials and malfunctioning of the EVMs were reported.

Governor Nasir El-Rufai's political rivals in APC, senators Shehu Sani (representing Kaduna Central) and Suleiman Hunkuyi (representing Kaduna North senatorial district) did not participate in the exercise.

Voting was scheduled to start at 8am and end at 40pm, but in many of the polling units visited

by THISDAY in Chikun, Kaduna South, and Kaduna North local government areas, the electoral officials arrived with voting materials from about 9:30am. In some areas, election materials were yet to arrive by 1:30pm.

The council poll in Oyo State

was marred by low turnout of voters. The exercise was largely peaceful until news broke that a teenage girl, simply identified as Kofo, was allegedly killed by a stray bullet from an officer of the Oyo State command of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps in Ibadan.

According to a source, the girl had been sent to buy drugs at a pharmaceutical store when she was hit by a bullet.

Officials of NSCDC were said to have been invited to quell a fight among areas boys in the area.

Another account said the girl was accidentally shot when the officers were trying to scare away hoodlums at the polling unit.

Following the girl’s death, hoodlums attacked the NSCDC divisional office in Ibadan North West local government council at Ekotedo, vandalising the premises. It was gathered that officers of the NSCDC later mobilised and repelled the attack.

Spokesman of NSCDC in the state, Olusegun Oluwole, confirmed the incident, but said men of the command were not responsible for the killing of the teenager. Oluwole said the hoodlums were already shooting before the arrival of the NSCDC team. “Our men are not responsible for what happened, but I can tell you now that the case is with the police,� he was reported to have said.

BUHARI HAS RIGHT TO PRIVACY, CONFIDENTIALITY ON HIS HEALTH president’s son was operated; they said he was dead. You see, it is a strange country; and so, we do not respect people’s right to privacy and confidentiality.

We also have no respect for doctor-patient relationship,� the minister said.

Adewole’s intervention is, perhaps, the clearest and most tangible explanation for Buhari’s frequent medical trips abroad in spite of huge budgetary allocations to the State House Medical Centre, dedicated to the exclusive use of the president, his family and personal aides, including ministers, advisers, assistants and State House support staff. The best heard before now, from his media aides, Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu, was that it was the right of the president to seek medical treatment wherever he wished, while neglecting to disclose his ailment on the ground that it was only the president that could reveal it.

Adewole had toed this line of argument in an interview on Friday on a Lagos-based television network, saying Buhari was entitled to keeping the cause and nature of his ailment to himself.

But he moved the discussion forward yesterday when he offered more insights into the president’s inclination to foreign medical care, explaining that it was because the president wanted to guard his privacy, suggesting it was necessitated by the need to protect his medical records from leaking to unauthorised quarters. He insisted that the president, as an individual, deserved some privacy, which should be respected and that the constant probing into his medical tourism in Britain was not helping matters.

Adewole, however, assured Nigerians that in spite of Buhari’s preference for foreign treatment, the president’s belief in the country’s health system was very strong. He said this was why, in spite of pressures from family and relatives, the president insisted Yusuf must be, and was indeed, treated

in Nigeria. “The same person who went abroad was the same person who said, let my son be managed in Nigeria. I was at the centre; people said let the boy be flown abroad. The president said no. All he asked was, ‘Can they manage him in Nigeria?’ I said, yes, and he said, ‘Go ahead,’� Adewole said.

He pleaded that the president be left alone, urging that his right of choice of medical facility be respected. “So, let’s not over flog it. To me, it’s a non-issue,� he said.

Adewole insisted that Buhari’s preference for foreign medical care was not an indictment of the nation’s health care system, contending that the president was committed to upgrading the sector. “He is committed to improving the health sector, and working hard to make it something everybody would be proud of,� he said, adding, “But you know doing this would not happen overnight.�

The minister explained that because of the complexities of procurement in the sector, things had to be properly done.

According to him, “Like the upgrade we are doing for cancer, it has taken us almost one year because things have to be properly done. It is not like going to a shop to buy a shoe. You know if you don’t have a shoe, you walk to Wuse market and in the next 30 minutes, you can buy a shoe. You can’t buy a radiotherapy machine if there is no proper assessment. “So upgrading the health facility, he is committed to that.

But it’s not going to happen immediately. And we are working hard to make sure that things are in proper shape.

Buhari, who returned from yet another medical sojourn abroad on Friday night, had been under intense criticism for failing to disclose his ailment while using public funds to seek medical help abroad even as public health institutions are down on their knees.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MAY 13, 2018

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SUNDAY COMMENT

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

THE SENATE VERSUS IGP IDRIS Even with the Senate excesses, Ibrahim Idris has become more dangerous to the system than many may realize

T

he exchange of intemperate words between the Senate and the Inspector- General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris over the latter’s refusal to honour their invitation was an unfortunate development. At issue is the subordination of civil authorities to critical institutions of state as well as the primacy of the rule of law in a democracy.

While neither the Senate nor the IGP can claim any moral high-ground from what has transpired thus far, what particularly worries is that such infighting over matters that are not necessarily about public interest is emblematic of the current administration.

Rising from a closed-door session on Wednesday, the Senate disclosed that the conduct of the IGP in not personally honouring their invitation “amounted to a great disrespect to the legislature and to constituted authority.” It also resolved “to declare the IGP an enemy of our democracy and not fit to hold any public office within and outside Nigeria.” In an angry response, Idris accused the lawmakers of attempting to blackmail him over the trial of Senator Dino Melaye for alleged criminal matters. The Senate has also countered by saying Idris is holding on to straws and that the invitation extended to him was over the rising crime rate in the country and not about Melaye.

Meanwhile, the IGP could not be said to have ignored the Senate when he sent a team led by his deputies to represent him because he was on official assignment, the first time with the president, and the second time while attending a security meeting with

Inademocratic environment,the Inspector-General ofPolicemustbe accountableto thelaw,andnota lawuntohimself: especiallywhen theinstitutionsuch apersonheadsis expectedtoremain politicallyneutral andtoenforcethe lawwithoutbias

military chiefs. In fact, it was the Senate that trivialised the matter when they first made their invitation about Melaye who had a case to answer with the police. Whatever may be the merit or otherwise of the case against their colleague, it would have served the Senate better if it had encouraged Melaye to report to the police as invited rather than resort to self-help.

B

S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R EDITOR BOLAJI ADEBIYI DEPUTY EDITORS VINCENT OBIA, OLAWALE OLALEYE MANAGING DIRECR 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, EMMANUEL EFENI DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS PETER IWEGBU, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS ERIC OJEH, PATRICK EIMIUHI ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR SAHEED ADEYEMO CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

esides, we must make the point that this 8th Senate has also been acting in a manner that is not different from that of the IGP they are accusing of recklessness. A Senate that supports its rogue members who wilfully circumvent due process, abandons its official duties in solidarity with colleagues who have cases in court, refuses to pass the budget placed before it in over six months, and one in which its leadership seems intolerant of opposing views, cannot be said to be acting on behalf of the people.

However, while we can castigate the Senate for several infractions and glaring failings, that still does not diminish the stature of the legislative institution in the order of precedence in a representative government or does it elevate the police above that of a definitive civil force whose leadership must, at all times and in all circumstances, respect the form and content of democracy and abide by its tenets.

On the Melaye fiasco, for instance, whatever may be the case against the errant senator, in the psychological application of force to deter, the key principle is that of proportionality. Therefore, the deployment of more than a hundred policemen in combat gear along the corridors of a hospital ward where Melaye is receiving treatment makes no sense.

The pertinent question is: Is Melaye now so dangerous as to deserve more armed deterrence than the sundry criminal cartels freely roaming the country, killing and maiming defenceless citizens? We do not think so.

In a democratic environment, the InspectorGeneral of Police must be accountable to the law, and not a law unto himself: especially when the institution such a person heads is expected to remain politically neutral and to enforce the law without bias. Again, both in the behaviour of such individual and in the organisation as a whole, there must also be a strict adherence to high standards of professional code of ethics and conduct. As matters now stand, those standards have not only been lacking under IGP Idris, the police seem to have surpassed Senator Melaye in comic indulgence to the extent of elevating their act to tragic proportions.

SUNDAY PHOTO

L-R: Pro- Chancellor, University of Lagos, Dr. Wale Babalakin (SAN); the Chancellor and El-Kanemi of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbai El-Kanemi; Vice- Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe; former Deputy Vice- Chancellor, Prof. Mabel Ogunlesi; Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission, Prof. Adamu Rasheed; and Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, at the 2017 convocation ceremony of UNILAG in Lagos… yesterday PHOTO: ETOP UKUTT

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MAY 13, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R

SUNDAYNEWS

News Editor Abimbola Akosile E-mail: abimbola.akosile@thisdaylive.com, 08114495306 (sms only)

Analysts Upbeat Inflation Will Fall Below 13% in April Kunle Aderinokun

Ahead of the Thursday release of the data for Consumer Price Index by the National Bureau of Statistics, economic and financial analysts have projected that the downward streak the CPI had maintained since the last 15 months, would continue in April, with the index, falling below the 13 percentage mark.

In their research, analysts at

The Economic Intelligence Unit of Access Bank Plc forecast that index, which measures inflation would ease to 12.56 per cent in April from 13.34 per cent in the previous month.

While their counterparts at FSDH Research department of FSDHMerchantBankpredicted that the CPI would fall to 12.43 percent,thoseatCordrosCapital forecast that the rate would drop to 12.57 per cent.

“The Economic Intelligence Group forecasts inflation rate (year-on-year) in April to sustain the downward trend started last year, easing to 12.56 per cent compared to 13.34 per cent in March. Our methodology adopts an autoregressive analysis of past prices, while it recognises all the assumptions used by the National Bureau of Statistics(NBS)initscomputation ofmonthlycompositeconsumer

price index (CCPI),” the Access Bank strategists noted.

They explained that looking at the drivers, research group’s analysisindicatedthattheslower inflation rate in April reflected a moderation in food prices and continuedstabilityinthecurrency.

According to them, “Food inflation,whichmakesup51.8percent of the CPI basket continued its descent in April. Based on our survey, this mainly reflected

declines in prices forstaplessuch as yam and Irish potato which continue to benefit from robust supplies to the market from barns across the country as well relativelystabletransportcostsin themonth.Processedfoodssuch as pasta and milk also nudged slightly lower, enjoying support from stable transport prices.”

The analysts also reasoned that, “April’s easing of price pressures also reflected stability

MOVING NIGERIA FORWARD L-R: Convener, Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM), Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN); Women Leader, Dr. Elishama Ideh; former President Olusegun Obasanjo; and Co-Chairman of National Intervention Movement (NIM), Dr. Abduljalil Tafawa-Balewa, after a meeting with the former president in Abeokuta, Ogun State... recently

in the core index which excludes farmproductsandenergyprices, owing to improved FX liquidity andsustainedCBNinterventions.

At the parallel market, the Naira closed at N362/$ in the parallel market on April 30th same as a month earlier.”

On probable market impact points, the Access Bank analysts believed,“Treasurybillyieldsare likelytocontractfurther,asmarket playersreacttodeclininginflation.

Theyieldsonthe3-and6-month treasury bills settled at 10.72 per centand11.02percentrespectively on April 30th, compared with 14.43 per cent and 14.97 per cent in that order on March 29 th.”

While having the conviction that, “continued slowdown in the price pressures supports the case forless restrictivemonetary policy,” they however believed, “the monetary regulator may likely wait to see inflation trend below 12 per cent before commencing easing.”

Besides,theystatedthat,“With nochangeinthebenchmarkrate anticipated, we expect the CBN to continue issuance of OMO and Stabilisation Securities with focus on curbing naira liquidity to manage USD demand.”

As for the analysts at FSDH Research, they posited that, “Despite the increase recorded in the prices of some food and non-food items, the base effect of the Composite Consumer Price Index (CCPI) in April 2017 will depress the inflation rate.”

IG Right to Refuse Senate’s Invitation over Melaye, Say Police, Falana Abimbola Akosile and Senator Iroegbu in Abuja

The Nigeria Police Force has insisted that the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, was right in his refusal to honour the invitation by the Nigerian Senate over the worsening security situation in the country and allegations of human rights violations.

Thisviewwascorroboratedby human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, who asserted that

Section 88 of the Constitution cannot be invoked to inquire intotheinvestigationofcriminal allegation involving a senator “because the section is subject to the provisions of other sections thereof.”

In a statement yesterday, the Force Public Relations Officer (PRO), ACP Jimoh Moshood, said rather than issue of national security,theSenate’ssummonto Idris was because of the arrest of Sen. Dino Melaye.

Osinbajo Attends Inauguration of Bio Tobi Soniyi

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday left Abuja to attend the inauguration of Sierra Leone President Julius Bio in Freetown, the capital. Bio won the country’s presidential run-off election on March 31.

According to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Vice President, Mr. Laolu Akande, Osinbajo is expected to return to Abuja later in the evening. Accordingtoreports,thepresidents of Guinea, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana,Senegal,BurkinaFaso,and Gambia have been confirmed to attend the ceremony.

Also on the lineup is a list of Nollywood stars from Nigeria, among them Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, Mercy Johnson, Osita

IhemeofAkiandPawPawfame,as wellasJohnOkafor,betterknown as Mr. IBU. The Nigerian music sensation, Davido, is also billed to attend.

The new Sierra Leonean First Lady, Fatima Bio, who is herself into showbiz, is thought to be the host of the artists whom she has workedwithinthefilmindustry.

There will be government delegationsfromothercountries outside Africa, notably the U.S., where President Donald Trump last week named a delegation headedbytheheadofPeaceCorps toflytoFreetowntopartakeinthe event. The inauguration, NAN notes, comes a little over a month after Bio was sworn onto office following his electoral victory on March 31. The occasion also coincides with the 56th birthday anniversary of the president.

Moshood said their response was to debunk the claims made in media publication credited to the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Sen. Sabi Aliyu Abdullahi, that “IGP should stop holding on to the straw on why he refused to comply with the invitation of the Senate for him to come and explainwhatthePolicearedoing on the spate of killing across the country.”

Hesaid“therecentclaimbythe

Senatethatthereasonforinviting the IGP is to brief them on the recentkillingsinsomepartofthe countryisanafterthoughtwhich can be seen from the headings of their invitation letters.”

“In any case”, he stated, “if the Senate is sincerely interested in knowing the strategies adopted by the Police in tackling the killings in the affected states, they would not have invited the IGP to speak on the strategies of the Force on national television.”

AccordingtothePoliceSpokesman,“theSenate’sactiontocover the appearance of the IGP on nationaltelevisionisagainstnational security, unconventional and it negates global security practice.

He said, “there is nowhere in theworldwheresecuritymatters are discussed on national television;eventheSenatedeliberation and decision on the appearance of the IGP were done in close session.”

Moshoodwonderedwhysecu-

ritystrategiesoftheForcetotackle the killings in the affected states would be discussed on national television.

He said: “The Nigeria Police Forcehasseverallyreiteratedthat it holds the Senate of the Federal RepublicofNigeriainhighesteem andregards,butwillnotbecowed fromensuringthesupremacyof thelawsoftheland,preservation of law and order and above all the full enforcement of the rule of law throughout the country.

Four Feared Dead, Six Injured in Ex-PDP Spokesman: Why We Smugglers, Customs Clash in Ogun Re-opened Rivers Judiciary Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt Femi Ogbonnikan in Abeokuta

At least four persons were feared dead, while six others sustained gunshot wounds at the weekend, following a bloody clash between men of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and smugglers at a border town in Ogun State.

The incident occurred at Ilara, inImeko-AfonLocalGovernment Area of Ogun State at about 8:30am yesterday.

It was gathered that trouble startedyesterdaymorningwhen suspected smugglers, in a bid to move prohibited bags of rice in a convoy of vehicles to Abeokuta, OgunStatecapital,wereaccosted by a joint anti-smuggling patrol team made up of the operatives of the NCS and soldiers on the “OP MESA”.

It was learnt that in a bid to beat the anti-smuggling joint patrol team from catching up with them and also impounding the contraband goods the smugglers put up stiff resistance during which guns were freely deployedtosettlethescore.Atthe end of the ensuing melee, it was further learnt that four persons werefeareddead,whilesixothers sustained gunshot wounds.

Ogun State Area Command Public Relations Officer of the Customs Service, DSC Abdullahi Maiwada, confirmed the incident but he could not give a satisfactoryaccountofthenumber of casualties recorded.

He admitted there was an interdictionbetweentheCustoms men and smugglers at the Ilara border town on Saturday.

Immediate past Publicity Secretary of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State, Hon. Samuel Nwanosike, has said some youths of the state were forced to intervene and reopen the judiciary complex because of their resolve to ensure that the third arm of government was not trampled upon by anybody no matter how highly placed.

This came as a governorship aspirant on the platform of the AllProgressivesCongress(APC) in Rivers State, Senator Magnus Abe, commended the judiciary for giving an order restraining the APC from going on with its local government congresses in the state.

The state Publicity Secretary of APC, Chris Finebone had on

Friday accused Nwanosike of leading the PDP group set up

by Governor Nyesom Wike that forcefullyreopenedthejudiciary and was fuelling crisis within the APC. But addressing journalists in Port Harcourt yesterday, Nwanosike said he was not sent by Wike on any assignment and that his participation in the reopeningofthejudiciaryshutby youth suspected to be members oftheAPCwasacoincidenceand borne out of patriotism.

HevowedtoleadyouthstoreopenthestateJudiciaryComplex if any attempt is made to close the courts in the future.

Nwanosike insisted that the era of closing of courts in the state ended with the immediate past administration of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

T H I S D AY SUNDAY MAY 13, 2018

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NEWS Take Bold Actions on AfCFTA, African Nations Urged Abimbola Akosile

African nations have been urged to take bold actions to realise the promise of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The call was made by the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)

Dr. Vera Songwe, who said this was necessary to achieve Africa’s development goals.

She made the remark in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, at the meeting of the Committee of Experts, preceding the 51st Session of the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development. The meeting begins on Monday.

The 2018 edition is themed: ‘African Continental Free Trade Area and Fiscal Space for Jobs and Economic Diversification’. The ECA envisages this agreement as an instrument to reposition the African continent as a competitive player in the global economic arena.

According to Songwe, the most important and urgent action is to create the fiscal space

needed to foster both public and private investment, while ensuring economic diversification with the view to creating jobs. “Now we must seize the momentum at hand to focus on how to operationalise the AfCFTA agreement, in a manner that realises its potential to the benefit of the average African. Our collective market

THE OLD ARE NOT FORGOTTEN Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, cuts his 56th birthday cake with residents of Mother of Perpetual Help Old Peoples’ Home, Enugu, during his visit to the home to mark his birthday...yesterday

potential cannot be underestimated, as incomes rise and the middle-class continues to grow. “Household spending is expected to grow at 3.9 per cent per annum to reach $2.1 trillion and corporate spending is expected to reach $3.5 trillion by 2025. “Taking the opportunities created by AfCFTA, this is an opportunity for corporate Africa to leverage these expansions and boost its economic growth. Through implementation of the agreement, we can generate the kind of growth that can support economic diversification, industrialisation and development,� she said.

The ECA boss disclosed that manufactured products make up 46 per cent of intraAfrican trade and only 22 per cent of Africa’s trade with the rest of the world. “So, boosting intra-African trade through the AfCFTA is likely to support the continent’s industrialisation.

Indeed, according to our estimates, the AfCFTA would increase Africa’s industrial exports by over 50 per cent by 2022,� she said.

Dismissing the fears that the AfCFTA would lead to losses of tariff revenues to individual countries, Songwe contended that the impact of the Agreement on fiscal revenues is likely to be minimal. “Intra-African trade is only a small share of Africa’s

total trade. Most of the trade is already liberalised under Regional Economic Communities Free Trade Agreements (REC-FTAs). “Countries will be allowed to exclude a certain number of tariff lines from liberalisation as intra-African trade tends to be highly concentrated in a small number of tariff lines. “It may be possible for countries to exclude a large share of the tariff lines that are important for raising tariff revenue if they need to do so. As a result, tariff revenue losses will be limited. “Tariff revenues are not even the largest source of government revenue for African countries –they account for only around 15 per cent of total tax revenue in Africa. “Tariff reductions in AfCFTA are to be phased in gradually, over a period of 5 years for developing countries and 10 years for least developed countries, or 10 years and 13 years respectively for sensitive products,� she said.

The ECA boss nevertheless, stressed that these tariff revenue losses may be outweighed by the additional revenues from growth to be generated

by AfCFTA. As outlined in the ‘Issues Paper’ for the Conference, AfCFTA is expected to increase GDP by between 1 to 6 per cent, which is expected to broaden the tax base and boost revenue collection from other sources.

Youth Empowerment Strong Weapon to Fight Insurgency, Says DHQ Victor Ogunje inAdo Ekiti

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Gabriel Olonisakin, has advised government at all levels to make youth empowerment a strong policy to banish unemployment in the system, describing it as a veritable weapon to fight all forms of crimes in the society, particularly insurgency.

He made the call as the Defence and Police Officers’ Wives Association empow-

ered widows and trained over 200 women and youth in skills acquisition in Ekiti State to combat unemployment and make them economically independent.

The Defence Chief, represented by the Deputy Director of Education, Defence Headquarters, Brig Gen Lawal Zakari, said: “Youth are the pivot of the economy and they must be made to be useful members of the society. “When you are empow-

ered as a youth, you won’t indulge in crime. You won’t join gang of criminals that will constitute menace to the nation, and that is the essence of this programme. “In any society, even advanced economy, the needy are being helped. So, we viewed this programme, particularly training for our youth as path to economic freedom and this is essential in view of what is happening in our nation now.

“With this training and equipment provided, you will be economically independent and have the potency to be able to contribute to the economy. Government alone can’t fight unemployment but with cooperation of all stakeholders, Nigeria will be free of this burden.�

Distributing materials at the DEPOWA Women/Youth Empowerment Programme graduation ceremony in Ode Ekiti, headquarters of Gbonyin

Local Government of Ekiti State weekend, Mrs. Olonisakin said the programme financed by the Defence headquarters, and was initiated to fight poverty in the state.

The trainings were conducted by National Directorate of Employment (NDE) and participants were trained in the areas of tying and dyeing, beads stringing and make-up artistry, shoe and bag making and barbing.

Speaking at the event,

Olonisakin, said the essence of the programme was to ensure that Nigerian youth were exposed to new innovation in vogue for economic relevance and to free from all forms of distractions that can lead them into crime.

Mrs. Olonisakin advised government at all levels to expose the youth to skills acquisition and empowerment that can make them relevant and contribute to economic development of their nation.

NNPC GMD Challenges Nigerian Universities on Technology

XPO Marine to Boost FG’s Maritime 2019: Ahize Joins Imo West Senatorial Race to Replace Uzodinma Growth Projection

Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

West Africa’s frontline sub-sea and marine support services outfit, XPO Marine Services Limited, has expressed its readiness to play a leading role in Federal Government’s projection of growing the Nigerian maritime industry by at least five per cent, between 2018 and 2019.

The spokesperson of the outfit, Mr. Princewill Ubani, said the company was not only determined to assist the federal government in realising this projection but was also keen in recruiting and retraining Nigerians, who will be gainfully employed in its services.

Ubani said in line with the new policy, XPO Marine Services would ensure that its vessels’ crews were technically and operationally competent and that in the short term, the company would contract

Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru has challenged Nigerian universities on scientific research, technology incubation to promote the country’s local content policy, industrialisation and economic growth.

Baru also spoke of some significant achievements of the Buhari administration within the past three years to include the ongoing oil exploration in the Gongola Basin, which straddles Bauchi and Gombe states.

The GMD issued the challenge in Bauchi weekend while delivering a pre-Convocation lecture for the combined 23rd, 24th and 25th convocation ceremonies of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) Bauchi.

The lecture was themed ‘Enhancing UniversityIndustry Collaboration to Support Nigerian Content Policy, Industrialisation and economic Growth’.

According to him, “despite the progress being made in ensuring local content through indigenous participation in the oil and gas industry, there is need for advancement in technology and innovation to keep with changing competitive market and the country’s industrial sector.�

He said educational advancement would continue to play a key role in sustaining the gains of the Nigerian content policy.

Baru noted that universities would play great roles through production of highly skilled manpower and research outcomes to help the industry remain profitable and grow.

out vessel management to professional managers, while it would also begin to recruit and retrain experienced Nigerian crew members.

He said, “Our business strategy is predicated on becoming the leading provider of subsea and marine support services to the West African oil and gas industry. XPO Marine Services understands the trends and forces that will shape its business in the future and is moving swiftly to prepare for what is to come.

In order to achieve this, it has crafted a long-term roadmap. “Besides, we intend to focus on providing services to blue-chip oil and gas companies, and to achieve this, the company is building its competencies and processes around the key issues that influence the client/vendor selection decisions.�

Amby Uneze in Owerri

A Lagos socialite and renowned entrepreneur, Chief Charles Ahize has bowed to pressures from his senatorial district and political associates to run for the Imo West senatorial district (Orlu zone), election next year to replace Senator Hope Uzodinma.

A body known as the ‘Orlu Zone Integrity Group’ had earlier made a clarion call on Ahize to join active politics and also to aspire for the senatorial position of the zone.

Ahize, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party while addressing his supporters at his ward in Ihioma, said “We are here for practical reality and no longer rumour or imagination on where we are going in respect of your clarion call on me to come out and salvage our zone from poor,

ineffective and quackery representation at the red chambers’.

The aspirant, who is also a University of Lagos trained lawyer, decried the growing rate of poverty and destitution ravaging his people and pledged to reverse the development if elected as a Senator. “I hate injustice and inequity with passion and I hate to see people suffer and this is why I have continued to use my personal resources to put smiles on the faces of the poor and the needy and if I receive your votes to be a senator, I will raise my generosity and magnanimity to a higher bar.

I have always defended the interest, welfare and aspiration of Ndigbo in Lagos and I believe in politics without bitterness. “PDP is now a new party and representation in Abuja cannot be done out of sympathy but on merit�, he stated.

T H I S D AY SUNDAY MAY 13, 2018

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OPINION Nigeria’s Troubling State of Affairs Oludayo Tade argues that the country needs change in every facet of life

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he unfolding reality in Nigeria is that of a leadership which has displayed sufficient incapacity in protecting lives of the hoi polloi and repositioning the nation on the path of justice and progress. Our case is that of the Shepherd who basks in vainglory of acceptance by the Shepherd Lords in colonial homeland who, by the way, are more strategic in thinking and place substantial value on the lives of their own sheep. In Nigeria human lives have become worthless but a figure count of individuals whose only mistake was their decision to make Nigeria their country when presented with the option of choosing a country before embarking on their earthly journey. Their forced exit from earth is all our collective failure arising from keeping quiet and playing up sentiments when others are being victimised. As people get killed, many more are displaced, schools, churches and mosques become unsafe, and health centres are not available to treat the injured. As this goes on, the ‘Diaspora king’ pleasures in medical tourism to the colonial homeland leaving behind a sick nation. Why is it difficult to have a world class health facility in Nigeria in over three years for a serious administration?

The troubling state of affairs in Nigeria calls for a moment to ask ourselves, Na like this we go dey dey? Coal’s examination leads to one conclusion that Nigeria needs change in all facets— social, economic, political, educational, and ethno-religious configurations. The burden which Nigerians carry daily as they battle excruciating conditions is that which ought to have ended were we blessed with altruistic leadership. Unfortunately, while those with umbrella covered only themselves and their cronies exposing the rest of us to harsh weather, those with broom have been sweeping public benefits into their private homes. But, Se na like this we go dey dey?

Despite the promised change of 2015, the ‘Diaspora king’ proudly announced before colonial powers that he governs a nation of largely unemployed youths who his government has failed to meet at the point of their needs. Without a road map and concerted effort and aggressive implementation, the

government lords over and nurtures a mass of disarticulated youths whose role models are lazy actors in government—a group of people who enjoy wardrobe, sitting and running cost allowances with the executive and judicial organs who feed fat on the commonwealth. They loosen their belts to adjust to the weight they have gained while they ask the rest of us to think of what we can do for Nigeria and not the reverse. Today unemployment has reached alarming proportions. Handy evidence is the current short-listing of over 200,000 youths for 6,000 available spaces in the Nigeria police. But the children of the influential still find their ways into NNPC, Central Bank, FIRS under this anti-corruption government! My people, I no fit wait oh make things for change oh Why is it that the concerns of the majority are pushed forward to their next political term while they attend to their own needs immediately? Their generation got the best from this country. The country has practically nurtured them for several decades yet they still do not want to leave the stage.

Wande coal recalls what they enjoyed in the glorious past when he said ‘once upon a time to travel from Lagos to London you no need visa, once upon a time you go graduate from school and government go dash you car...now everything don dabaru corruption seems unstoppable, the hardship is unbearable eh wetin we go do eh now I can not take this thing no more. Se na like dis we go deydey?

Why do they ďŹ nd it so easy to lie? How can a government that promised to declare emergency in the education sector in April still be sleeping in May without uttering a word?

Why do they find it so easy to lie? How can a government that promised to declare emergency in the education sector in April still be sleeping in May without uttering a word?

For three years, education has suffered a major blow under the ‘Diaspora king’. They have invested little or nothing in education, stifling public funded education in particular.

Agriculture, (of a peasant slant) is good but only for the children of the poor. They preach entrepreneurship but the environment is harsh. They promise to fix refineries but we are still fuel import dependent. They told us there was no subsidy but they reel out figures of subsidy they now pay. The Diaspora king promised us a country we will be proud of but he is not proud of the health care system here but that of the colonial homeland. May be he will consider building a world class health facility that can treat cases like that of hardworking power-bike-Yusuf in Nigeria during the second term. They promised the youth quality education but we now have quantity education. They promised to end insecurity but “Gaddafi� mercenaries have taken over the country and the army seems not to have a green light to do their job. Lives are lost without a technical stop-over of the Diaspora king to empathise with them. I say e don reach make I scream yeh yeh yeh yeh e don reach make I sing oh no no no egba mi oooooo.

Wande Coal was right when he asserted that this ‘hardship is unbearable is unbearable...because now everything don dabaru’. But what future lies ahead of us if we put our trust in those who promised yesterday and denied a substantial part of it today? Those who don’t care about us today cannot suddenly care tomorrow. But if we don’t want to dey dey like this anymore, Wande Coal has preached collective revival to change things for the better ‘now make we join hands make am beta beta eh’. If the Diaspora king and his media trial expert clergy deputy continue to advertise their incapacity to diligently prosecute allegedly corrupt past leaders but will invite God to punish them, we need to vote wisely in 2019 so that we won’t have to scream e gba wa o (come to our rescue) over the next 1460 days! ––Dr. Tade, a sociologist, sent this piece via dotad2003@yahoo.com

Benefits of Polling to Elections In Nigeria Polling creates the avenue for public participation and a sense of involvement in governance, writes Mfon Eyoma

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here is virtually no other field of human endeavour where the prediction of outcomes is as critical as in today’s big-budget politics. Polling is specialised research and typically conducted by large consulting firms and academia through telephone surveys and questionnaires that target population samples based on demographic and psychographic criteria.

Polling most probably started in 1824 with “exit� or “straw� polls; impromptu interviews conducted by newspapers with voters as they left the polling booth. However, George Gallup, who founded the American Institute of Public Opinion and The Gallup Poll in 1936 is credited as the father of scientific polling. The Gallup Poll was soon followed by The Public Opinion Quarterly of Princeton University in 1937, The Roper and Crossley Poll (FORTUNE Poll) in 1941, and the American Association for Public Opinion Research in 1947. Since then, pollsters have become an integral part of campaign teams, notably, Louis Harris (Harris Poll), in General Eisenhower’s campaign in 1952 and Dr. Richard Wirthlin who became the first semi-official pollster when he joined President Reagan’s White House staff as an adviser. More recently, UK’s YouGov was founded by Stephan Shakespeare and Nadhim Zahawi in May 2000.

Besides the well-established global research firms such as Gallup, YouGov and Pew, universities like Quinnipiac and Monmouth and broadcast media such as Reuters/Ipsos, ABC News/Washington Post, CBS/TechRepublic and CNN have large research consultancies or partner themselves to run polls.

The need for polling in politics was underscored by Abraham Lincoln (U.S. President, 1861-1865) when he famously declared, “What I want to get done is what the people desire to have done, and the question for me is how to find that out exactly.� Polling focuses political discourse on a topical issue and helps politicians assess public opinion and guide policy. In advanced democracies, the ballot routinely incorporates polling for so much public opinion on other issues that it can be rightly considered a national or state referendum. In the U.S. General Elections of 2016 voters were polled on other issues ranging from the economy, terrorism and supreme court appointments to gun control, immigration and abortion.

Polling creates the avenue for public participation and a sense of involvement in governance especially when leveraged by an honest politician such as Abe Lincoln in the preceding paragraph.

In fact, polling and freedom are so inseparable that dictators never risk independent opinion surveys.

Besides its obvious application in the development of campaign strategy, polling is useful for formulating political ideology and public policy in a nascent democracy such as ours, and because they can be conducted for any purpose, they are a veritable tool not only in politics but also in business.

Polls provide raw data that predictive analytics and audience insight tools analyse to understand the preferences and motivation of consumers and voters. Predictive analytics is a patternrecognition application that identifies behaviour and unique behavioral connections. The audience insight app reveals, says Alexander Nix, CEO of data mining firm Cambridge Analytica in a recent interview, “core personality traits� and motivating triggers.

Although Cambridge Analytica has been scandalised for its unauthorised mining and unethical use of personal data, the benefit of its technology in politics and commerce is hard to ignore. An online poll can reach a wider audience than traditional telephone surveys. With mobile devices and the internet, an online poll is just as easy to send to respondents in China as in Europe. This is of particular advantage in the global economy age where companies looking to expand into a new market would like to test public reaction to their product first.

Political polling generally follows the sophistication of electoral systems and communication infrastructure of a country.

Nigeria as an independent country is only 58 years old and our democracy is even much younger having been truncated for the larger part of those years. Our electoral system is still manual, and our telephone and postal systems were too poor to support traditional research methods of telephone surveys and questionnaires until about 2002. Our manual electoral system was further compounded by widespread irregularities and outright fraud so that ballot papers were not only unreliable but inaccessible to psephologists for any meaningful post-election analysis.

Consequently, Nigeria did not begin to benefit from polls and surveys until the Internet and telecom boom which really began in 2002. With improved ICT infrastructure and the growth of social media, several organisations have contracted research firms to conduct online surveys mostly for purposes of testing new products and markets but the political polls niche is still untapped. Media organisations often run snap or call-in polls on topical political issues of the day to augment their news coverage but these are opaque efforts that do not

show any relationship between the few participants and the larger populace from which a general trend may be gleaned.

PollBook is a new platform to run polls, debate and vote on topical issues and mobilise support for popular action. It can leverage the Internet and New Media to generate public interest in politics especially among the millennials and then translate that interest to actual participation in the ballot and real actions that force policy and change.

We have replicated the electoral system of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and designed the “Register of Voters� to capture details such as age, gender, religion, political affiliation, educational standard, occupation, state of origin, state of residence, etc. Under the state of origin and state of residence we have further identified the voter by her local government area, ward, state and federal constituencies and senatorial districts. Nigerians abroad will be able to select their country of residence from a dropdown and equally participate in the polls. When we analyse poll results by these fields, we’re able to predict a candidate’s chances at the general elections with more reliable intelligence.

All registration fields are non-mandatory but although non-registered or partially-registered users may also vote in the polls, we will know and disclose their numbers separately in our poll results.

Currently, voters are restricted to fixed locations on election day but our system is deliberately more inclusive to generate the data required for a sustained and robust political discourse. For the candidates, our analysis of the results narrows the field to gain the intelligence required for political strategy and where more reliable data is required, we can verify a representative sample of voters through email and phone calls.

So now, if we run a poll to determine the approval rating of say, the president, we will not only find out if people are at all interested in rating the president but we will know the number and demographics of the participants and determine the success and reliability of the polls by the turnout of voters.

Traditional polls have been long suspected of manipulation because they’re not so transparent with their results, choosing to present them only in vague percentages with no indication of either their sample size or selection criteria. By creating an online voters register and mounting a sustained effort to drive participation, PollBook can demystify polling. ––Eyoma, a Pollster and CEO of Datavision Limited, an ICT Company, wrote vide mfoneyoma@yahoo.com.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MAY 13, 2018

LETTERS

WHY THE YOUTHS MAY NOT MAKE IMPACT

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eadership is viewed as deformed when the leader assumes self-sufficient attitude, despises others and views self as the exclusive possessor of what he has, as well as claiming excellence not possessed.

Unfortunately, these characterise the leadership’s sphere, not just in Nigeria but Africa as a continent. A factor that’s largely responsible for the leader’s inability to provide direction, protection, orientation, shapes norms or manages conflicts in their various places of authority.

Irked by these worrying realities, Nigerian youths as observed, like their counterparts in the other parts of the world resolved to democratically redress the situation come 2019 by actively participating in the electoral process; a move that has prompted many to angle for different political positions including that of the presidency.

However, despite the popularity of this opinion, it is of considerable significance to state that apart from the non-possession of the financial strength to execute the electoral projects as being speculated in some quarters, there are of cause other probable factors that may render the youths effort fruitless irrespective of the demographic advantage enjoyed or the glamour that graced their much celebrated not-

Dalung, Minister of Youth and Sports Development

too-young-to run campaign recently embarked upon to press for power shift.

Indeed, the need for a shift in the nation’s leadership structure has become inevitable and eminently desirable to accommodate young technocrats who can take responsibility for their actions and results, be accountable where previous administrations were not, and tell the truth about their failures without blame games.

But, one fundamental obstacle that will prevent this from coming to fruition is the subjective view of the

electoral process by the youths as a right which must be given, even in the face of obvious inabilities, and gross absence of planned programmes and pragmatic strategies to making a positive impact by the power-seeking youths.

To Nigerians with discerning minds, electoral exercise as practiced the world over is both programme and strategy based and a keen contest where the candidates with the best programme and realistic strategies for achieving that programme is given priority by the electorate. The youths at the moment have neither been

programmed specific nor strategy concerned.

Again, from investigations, seeking an elective position with the aim of effecting political and socioeconomic change is synonymous with fighting for emancipation from captivity which is never voluntarily given without personal sacrifice/ selfdenials; as the beneficiaries of the old order will do everything to thwart the moves.

Very objectively, Nigerians are yet to see such sacrifice, be it ideological or material from the youths.

The situation is even made worse as some of the youths for pecuniary benefits work across purpose while others have settled for political crumbs that fall from ‘the masters’ table.

Another contentious factor that is in the interim working against the youths is the lackluster performance by one of their very own, in one of the states of the federation. A personality that has become a negative emblem to the image of the Nigerian youths; promoting critical minds to believe that afterward there may not be any appreciable difference between the youths and the adults they accuse.

Aside the below average performance of the ‘youthful governor’, another problem standing in the way of the youths is the mirrored opinion of the vast majority of Nigerians that the character hitherto exhibited by some of

Dele Ezeoba’s Exemplary Humility

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t was on Sunday, April 1, 2018. This was the day Christians celebrate the most important and oldest festival of the Christian church, the resurrection of Jesus Christ- Easter.

It was on this day that, Dele Ezeoba, the eloquent and charismatic ex-Chief of Naval Staff chose to celebrate his dad, Chief Raphael Odiaka Ezeoba. The old man had just turned 90 and for Ezeoba, an alumnus of Havard Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, Massachusetts, this rare endurance and lastingness is worth celebrating.

Privileged to be invited to this enactment of joy and gratitude to God, I looked to meet a rendezvous of who is who in Nigeria and in particular the top military brass.

Having arrived Ibusa, his home town in Delta State, I took a stroll to the residence of this former student of Nigerian Defence Academy Kaduna and Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, United Kingdom.

Here I was surprised by what I saw. Ezeoba did not construct a mansion or monstrosity that would ring his stature at sight. His house is a brilliant white bungalow, not extraordinary in any way. Only the space and flourishing lawn, garden

and landscape attest to the character and personality of the occupant. And unlike what you see in many a country home, Ezeoba’s garage housed only two cars, a modest SUV and another Toyota sedan.

The interior of the house depicts even stronger the public persona of this graduate of US Naval War College, Rhode Island. His lounge showed no attempt at obtrusive splendor. It was simple, sparsely furnished but embellished with art works that showcase the urbane culture and highbrow traits of the owner.

But it was at the main event that Ezeoba’s modesty and humility came aflame. Yes, the governor of Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa was there. And yes, the Deputy governors of Anambra State was present, yet the party was no profile of dignitaries.

On the contrary, it depicted more of ordinary people having fun and voraciously attacking the quality foods provided in abundance.

Despite the unusual, intricate mix of few elites and the ordinary people in this event, Ezeoba felt at home and moved from table to table to ensure every guest was happy. He spent quality time with these locals and even though he is not exactly a homie to them, he squatted, squeaked and spoke their

lingo with amazing ease. For a man who had spent over 30 years of his career in the military taking ardous tasks such as the Commanding Officer of the nation’s flagship NNS Aradu, a multi-purpose guided missile frigate, for a top officer who was awarded the Command at Sea Badge, the Navy Distinguished Service Medal and Defence Superior Service Medal, Ezeoba’s uninhibited flow with his folks, his boisterous laughter and bouncy spirit as he sat in their midst, without doubt gave a deep insight into his exemplary humility despite the toughie’s mien his professional calling imposed on him.

Chatting with this Vice -Admiral for a few minutes, I could feel the silent code of courage and contentment that seem to govern his life. Asked why he chose to build a bungalow in an environment with several mansions, he retorted, “will I sleep in more than one room at a time? Or wouldn’t I sleep well because this house is a bungalow?” And smiling he teases, “my brother, leave matter, this place don do. I am just fine here”.

This mariner who conceived and actualised the sophisticated Admiralty University of Nigeria, Ibusa, Delta State, while still the Chief of Naval Staff and who indeed made a momentous

exit from the navy as he retired on January 14, 2014, still remains a subject of discussions in naval formations and commands for the clear vision and strategic thinking that epitomised his leadership of the Navy.

His promulgation of the Nigerian Navy Strategic Guidance 01 which encapsulated his vision of leadership still receives acclaim with its emphasis on objectives and deliverables defined by performance indicators, KPI’s within the context of clearly delineated methodology guided by the imperatives of time and space. To ensure therefore that his officers appreciate and buy into his vision in addition to attaining global reckoning while instituting a culture of professionalism that will endure beyond him, Ezeoba entered into strategic partnership on leadership management trainings for his officers with world renowned institutions like Havard Business School, USA, and Lausanne Business School, Switzerland.

While his seminal strides in the navy remain delightful items of discussion, Dele Ezeoba has continued his productive life in the board room of many blue chip companies and remains a man in the ever discerning eye of time.

––Zik Zulu Okafor, Lagos.

these power seeking youths have neither been impressive nor exemplary with many shedding their deep-seat fears about handing power over to them, as it could translate into a political mistake with a heavy price.

As an illustration, the political globe is presently dotted with young leaders in the likes of Emmanuel Macron of France, Saleh Ali al-Sammad of Yemen, Emil Dimitriew of Macedonia, Vanessa D’ Ambrosio, Kim Jong- Un of North Korea, and Charles Michael of Belgium among others, that the world could without much labour say what they stood for before their emergence as leaders.

Certainly, the need to inject youths into positions of authority to ameliorate the present inflation and recession, subsidise education, health, and create employment as well as guaranty security of lives and property has become inevitable.

It will, however, be antithetical to support a movement based on sentiment or allow sentiment to determine our actions. What the youths currently project is wellintentioned but pragmatically

vague, as their actions and strategies are masked in ambiguity with unclear vision and blurred goals.

For the youths to be taken seriously, therefore, what Nigerians expect is a development of potential that are politically new. This is an imperative as their political survival should not be left to chance just as anyone that fails to search for his potential leaves his survival to chance.

Very instructive also, the argument for a generational change from the head and the placement of our fate in our youths who had integrity, energy and the drive to recognise that extraordinary conditions call for extraordinary solutions is indispensable but must be accompanied by a reassurance from the youths.

Another contentious challenge that may in the estimation of the vast majority scuttle this ambition is the belief that electoral project in Nigeria is capital intensive while Nigerian youths are financially placed at the base of the pyramid.

––Jerome-Mario Utomi,jeromeutomi@ yahoo.com

NIGERIA DISCOMFITS SAUDI A RABIA

I

wonder how much Nigerians realise that Saudi Arabia under young Prince Mohammed Bin-Salman is poised to change with far-reaching consequences for Nigerians.

This Islamic desert kingdom homeland is fast changing such that it invited the Vatican to send a high-ranking churchman, a cardinal, over to discuss restrictions placed on churches over there and what can be surmised here is that in a short while Christianity would be legalised in Saudi Arabia and churches can then be built.

This would surely haemorrhage Boko Haram and other purist terror groups who are pushing for a “pure Islamic Sphere” but Prince Bin-Salman is acting smart because the evangelical Christian groups in the US that support President Donald Trump have been complaining about the one-sided and unfairness of having mosques spring up here and there in the US but churches cannot be built in Saudi Arabia. Yet Muslims who have been displaced by fellow Muslims in fighting from Syria, Afghanistan and other Muslim lands all want to emigrate and settle in the US and still carry out acts of terror in the US. The logical response by President Trump to the trepidation of these Christian groups was the “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the US” vow but Prince Bin-Salman is trying to lessen the impact of this situation. Saudi Arabia is also changing so fast that this country is ready to shut out about 90,0000 Nigerian

pilgrims from this year’s Islamic hajj even though Nigeria would provide the fourth largest contingent of pilgrims with its attendant moneyspinning prospects but young Prince Bin-Salman and his progressive cohorts are more concerned about the hygiene habits of a group of people whose president would be chased out of his office by “rodents” and possibly other associated vermin; a rodentinfested space is a potential Lassa fever repository and the Saudis do not want Nigerian vector and carrier agents to come over and threaten other people.

Moreover, the wretched state of hygiene of Nigeria’s pilgrims to Saudi Arabia is now a cause for concern.

The question on the minds of young progressives like Prince Bin-Salman is, “How can a people with no knowledge on how to handle flush toilets continue to come over for the annual hajj?”

The horrible state of Nigeria’s public hygiene should be a cause of concern for anyone with a 21st-century mentality; why would the government still make excuses and revel in these excuses that its people are “poor” so there is nothing anyone can do about open-air defecation in the centre of Abuja and also there is nothing anyone can do about piping of raw sewage from households and mosques onto the shoulders of expressways.

–– Sunday Adole Jonah, Department of Physics, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State

16

ÍŻÍąËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś Ëž THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

INTERNATIONAL Denuclearisation: Beyond the International Politics of Iran’s Comprehensive Joint Plan of Action

T

he currently very fragile global insecurity is unfortunately being further threatened, more than ever before, by politics of denuclearisation.

Denuclearisation should not be confused with non-nuclearisation. Denuclearisation implies that a country has either acquired nuclear capability or is on the path of acquiring it, and therefore, it is being required to put a stop to it. Non-nuclearisation, on the contrary, implies outright non-engagement in the acquisition of nuclear capability in all its ramifications. The politics of denuclearisation dates back to the time of Sovieto-American and Sovieto-Cuban nuclear missiles crisis of 1962 while the origins of nuclear weapons are traceable to the deployment by the United States of the Little Man and Fat Man on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, both Japanese cities, in 1945.

Besides, the politics of denuclearisation is largely predicated on double standard in design and dishonesty in application. It is politics in which countries that are already strong refuse the acquisition of nuclear strength by others, arguing that others cannot be trusted with caution and rationality-induced policy making on its use.

Explained differently, the nuclear powers, as defined in the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, do not want any new acquisition of nuclear power status by others. They want to remain the only countries to be so recognised. As defined in the treaty, only countries that have successfully tested nuclear missiles are referred to as nuclear powers. These countries happen to be the Permanent Members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC): France, Great Britain, China, Russia which succeeded Soviet Union, and United States (P-5).

Two points are noteworthy about the P-5 at this juncture. At the time of the making of the United Nations Charter, many countries challenged the restriction of permanent membership of the UNSC to the P-5, but the challenge was to no avail. In the thinking of the P-5, one needed to belong to the club of the Great Powers or be among the lead winners of World War II in order to qualify to belong to the nuclear club. The club does not have any known constitution. It does not operate as an institution but operates on the basis of gentlemen agreement when individual interests are at stake.

In fact, it took France a lot of efforts to be accepted as a great power during the Yalta discussions in 1945. France was jokingly told to have not less than two million armed men to be considered great. Charles de Gaulle later argued that France lost the battle but not the war. The immediate implication of this was the greater emphasis placed on the development of atomic and nuclear weapons at the inception of the French Fifth Republic in October 1958. The French atomic tests in the Reggane area of the Sahara in 1960, which prompted the straining of diplomatic ties between Nigeria and France in 1961, is a good illustration of this observation. Put differently, the attitude of the United States, United Kingdom, and the former Soviet leaders prompted France to seek nuclearisation.

The second point is related to the first. When preliminary discussions on nuclear non-proliferation began in 1963, France and China did not show interest in them. In fact, both countries did not sign the initial agreement. It was after both countries had perfected the testing of their nuclear missiles that they came back to become apostles of nuclear non-proliferation. How do we explain the position of France and China? Is their position in any way different from that of North Korea? The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, is making peace with South Korea and is expected to hold official talks with Donald Trump on June 12, 2018 in Singapore. But this development is taking place after North Korea has shown satisfaction of perfection of its nuclear missiles after six tests.

It is useful to recall here that North Korea did sign the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty before jettisoning it thereafter for obvious reasons. North Korea wants to acquire nuclear capability and status first before coming to adhere to its non-proliferation agreement. This attitude is not different from the policy stand of Iran.

Many countries are secretly engaging in nuclear enrichment even though they might have also signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

However, the nuclear powers, particularly led by the United

VIE INTERNATIONALE with

Bola A. Akinterinwa Telephone : 0807-688-2846

e-mail: bolyttag@yahoo.com

Rouhani, Iranian President

States, have not been favourably disposed to accepting new members. Aspiring new members have also been resisting in a manu militari fashion the policy stand of the P-5. As a result, peacemaking has now become difficult and far-fetched in contemporary international relations. The alleged use of Weapons of Mass Destruction by the Syrian president, the nuclear imbroglio between North and South Korea, on the one hand, and between North Korea and the United States and its allies, on the other hand, remain clear manifestations of the threats to global security.

It is within this context that the Iran nuclear deal, the politics of it, often generally referred to as the Comprehensive Joint Plan of Action (JCPOA), should be explicated and understood.

In other words, what is the joint action plan about? What is the politics of it? How do we explain the decision of the United States to withdraw from the deal? Is the withdrawal a resultant from anti-Barak Obama policy of Donald Trump? What are the likely scenarios of the post-withdrawal relationship in terms of ties with the European Union? And perhaps more importantly, in which way is the Iran nuclear deal and the United States withdrawal from it likely to affect global security, especially in light of the division of Western allies over the matter? Can Donald Trump provide leadership of the world without its traditional allies? Can the United States stand alone frontally and confront Russia or China in the new Cold War that is already rearing its ugly head?

Whatever is the case, Vie Internationale contends here that, for as long as global governance is largely driven by dishonesty, holier-than-thou, double standard, and subjectivity of purpose, declared quests for international peace and security, as well as its maintenance, cannot but be a recidivist dream with a beginning but without end in sight. In this regard, the theory of Von Clausewitz, according to which whoever wants peace must always prepare for war, can only continue to strengthen the arguments of the power school of thought in international relations. Let us investigate the Iran nuclear deal at this juncture in order to show

The quest for global peace and security cannot be achieved by preparing for war. Denuclearisation is quite far from it. Democracy, whatever the type of system of government considered, is also far from it. For as long as global governance remains largely predicated on policies of injustice, unfairness, and dishonesty, no part of the world can have political stability and peace. In Nigeria, for instance, justice is often delayed. Court judgment does not mean much for the executive arm of government.The Holy Bible has it in Ecclesiastes 8:11 that ‘because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil

its limitations, and more importantly, to show why there is the need to go beyond the politics of denuclearisation in the maintenance of international peace and security.

The Iran Nuclear Deal The Iran nuclear deal can be explained and understood from many perspectives: fear of potential risks of Iran as a major nuclear power in the Middle East, conflict of national interests at the level of the signatories to the deal, and dynamics of the deal in terms of sustenance. Before explicating these aspects, what really is the deal about in terms of obligations created?

First, obligations are created for both the signatories and Iran essentially. Before the deal was done, Iran had two nuclear facilities: Natanz and Fordo. Enrichment of uranium was then low, with in between 3% to 4 % concentration of U-235 that could be used for the production of fuel for nuclear plants. Weapons grade uranium was 90% enriched. More importantly, Iran had as many as 20,000 centrifuges, which are said to be enough to make about ten nuclear bombs, as at July 2015. Consequently, the would-be signatories to the Iran deal began to suspect Iran’s intention to develop nuclear capability, and particularly for belligerent purposes but Iran vehemently denied any such bellicose purposes. The P5 +1 did not believe in the Iranian claims and therefore sought for a common understanding on the future directions of Iranian nuclear programmes. This was the background to the making of the Iran nuclear deal.

In this regard, Iran was required to limit its sensitive nuclear activities; accept monitoring by international inspectors in exchange for the suspension of economic sanctions, placed on it within the framework of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

In other words, Iran’s stockpile of uranium was to be reduced by 98% to 300 kg for 15 years. It was expected that this measure would prevent the enrichment of uranium normally required for making fuel for reactors and nuclear weapons.

And true enough, Iran’s uranium stockpile has been reduced by 98% to 300kg. This quantity is not only to be maintained until 2031, the level of enrichment is also not supposed to exceed 3.67%.

In other words, and in the spirit of the JCPOA, Iran has reduced its number of centrifuges in Natanz and Fordo and has also exported most of its low-enriched uranium to Russia. The centrifuges left are only to be used for the production of radioisotopes for purposes of medicine, agriculture, industry and science. Iran has not only been redesigning its Arak reactor in order to stop the production of weapons-grade plutonium, and under an existing nuclear deal done in 2013, not to commission or fuel the reactor, but also accepted to respect the Additional Protocol to their International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safeguard Agreement.

Additionally, Iran also accepted the obligation not to engage in nuclear activities, including research and development, which could facilitate the making of a nuclear bomb. It was on the basis of this mutual understanding that the Board of Governors of the IAEAdecided to review its policy stand on the possible use for military purposes of Iran’s nuclear programme.

Secondly, at the level of fears of potential risks of Iran, the United States, for instance, does not believe in Iran and whatever it is saying. The consideration is that carelessness in the handling of radioactive materials can be devastating in effect. In countries where nuclear missiles have been successfully carried out, there are still problems of maintenance and protection. Chernobyl case in Russia is a case in point.

Besides, there is the argument of failed states, authoritarian leaders, who may not be rational in policy making. The fear of nuclear technology also getting into the hands of terrorists and enemies of the West is part of the strategic calculations as to why non-proliferation of nuclear arms has to be a desideratum without reservation. More importantly, Israel and Saudi Arabia are two strong allies of the United States. They fear that a nuclearised Iran has the potential of destabilising the region, especially in terms of Israelo-Arab conflict. It should be recalled that, since the 1917 William Balfour Declaration by which the Israelis and Palestinians were promised homes for national settlement, only the promise of an Israeli Jewish home has been fulfilled. The Arabs have been embittered about the non-fulfilment of the promise for the Palestinians. Iran, in this particular case, is very supportive of the Palestinian case. The challenge therefore is how to prevent a nuclear Iran from possibly threatening the small but powerful Israel.

Thirdly, regarding conflict of national interests at the level of the signatories to the deal, there is nothing majorly concrete to suggest that, severally or collectively, the signatories have common interest to defend, including the quest for peace. There are seven parties to the Iran deal. The first and, of course, the most important, is Iran, the problem state. There is also the P5+1 signatories, that is, the UNSC P-5, and Germany. The European Union is also a major player in the matter.

The United States under Barak Obama signed the deal in 2015 in the strong belief that doing so would contain and prevent Iran from actualising its nuclear dream. The United States under Donald Trump holds a different view. Donald Trump argues that the deal was ‘defective at its core.’ and has opted out of the deal in a manner incompatible with the tradition of sanctity of agreements or pacta sunt servanda.

(See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

17

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MAY 13, 2018

BUSINESS

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

LAST WEEK Naira

International credit rating agency, Moody’s Investors Service, said merging naira’s different rates might force the federal government to weaken the currency and raise fuel prices, which will accelerate inflation. Nigeria will probably maintain its system of multiple exchange rates, which the International Monetary Fund has long urged it to scrap, until at least early 2020,accordingtotheratingscompany.

The monetary and fiscal authorities are likely to wait until investments in oil refineries and fertiliser plants, including the ones by billionaireAliko Dangote, reduce the country’s imports of petroleum products.

Investment

Crude oil flow station

Crude Oil Prices Projected to Hit $100 in 2019 Nigeria’s production level now at 2.07mbpd Kunle Aderinokun with agency reports

Happenings around the world currently and those expected in the foreseeable future give an indication of a continuous rise in crude oil prices.

Analysts from Bank of America Merrill Lynch project that the prices could hit $100 per barrel in 2019, while their counterparts at Goldman Sachs forecast the black gold could be sold at $82.50 per barrel by summer.

These predictions are coming at a time Nigeria’s oil production, including condensates, is reported to have increased to 2.07 million bpd, as at April, from 2.02 million bpd in March.

The BofA analysts premised their projection on strong global oil demand growth, quickly falling inventories, and geopolitical issues from Iran to Venezuela. As reported by Business Insider, BofA’s commodity strategists led by Francisco Blanch foresaw that Brent Crude was expected to average $70 a barrel this year and $75 in 2019.

Their position was documented in a note.

At 12:27 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on Thursday, oil prices were flat on the day, with Brent Crude at $77.17 and WTI Crude at $71.14.

“We also introduce a 2Q $90/ bbl Brent price target for 2019 and see a risk of $100/bbl oil next year, although we are concerned that these market dynamics could unfold over a shorter timeframe,” Blanch wrote in the note.

This year, demand growth is expected at 1.5 million bpd, BofA said, as it revised up its 2019 demand growth by 100,000 bpd to 1.4 million

bpd.

Venezuela’s plunging production and the return of U.S. sanctions on Iran could keep exports lower amid tighter market. BofA doesn’t expect Iran’s crude oil exports to change much in the coming months.

OPEC could start winding down the production cut pact next year, but increased production may not be sufficient to offset a fast inventory drop, according to Blanch.

In the United States, producers could scale back production because of a strained supply chain, BofA reckoned.

“In short, the micro drivers of the oil market remain positive, as long as global demand does not suffer from the on-going threats of trade wars and policy uncertainty,” Blanch said.

“With stocks falling quickly during the course of the next 18 months, we would expect continued upside pressure on crude oil prices and see Brent averaging $75/bbl in 2019 compared to $70/bbl this year,” BofA analysts noted, adding that a stronger dollar poses a risk to the high oil price forecast.

Goldman Sachs had Wednesday posited that increased geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, plunging Venezuelan production, and now the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal could push Brent Crude prices to $82.50 a barrel by the summer.

Just last Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States would withdraw from “an unacceptable Iran deal”, re-imposing sanctions on Tehran that “target critical sectors of Iran’s economy, such as its energy, petrochemical, and financial sectors.”

The expectation is that the U.S.

will target Iran’s crude oil sales, and sanctions that were lifted under the deal will be re-imposed following a 180-day wind-down period, the U.S. Treasury said.

Reuters reported Goldman Sachs’ note which stated that the return of the sanctions could initially reduce by 500,000 bpd Iran’s current crude oil production of 3.8 million bpd.

According to analysts at Goldman Sachs, a loss of 500,000 bpd of Iranian crude oil supply would push up oil We also introduce a 2Q $90/bbl Brent price target for 2019 and see a risk of $100/bbl oil next year, although we are concerned that these market dynamics could unfold over a shorter timeframe

prices by around $6.20 per barrel.

“Such elevated oil geopolitical risks exacerbate the upside risks to Brent forecasts and reinforce our view that oil price volatility will continue to increase,” the investment bank’s analysts wrote.

At 11:20 a.m. EDT last Wednesday, both WTI and Brent prices were surging nearly 3 per cent, with Brent touching $77 a barrel, following President Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran deal and EIA’s weekly inventory report showing draws across the board.

Commenting on the impact of the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran deal, director of energy consultancy, Trifecta, Sukrit Vijayakar, told Reuters Wednesday, “Iran’s exports of oil to

Asia and Europe will almost certainly decline later this year and into 2019 as some nations seek alternatives in order to avoid trouble with Washington and as sanctions start to bite.”

Several Asian refiners told Reuters that they were already on the lookout for alternatives to Iranian crude oil deliveries.

Meanwhile, Platts, which reported Nigeria’s new oil production figures, cited estimates from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. A spokesman for the oil ministry told Platts that Nigeria was on track to achieve its oil and condensate production target of 2.3 million bpd, set as an assumption in its 2018 budget.

The cessation of militancy in the Niger Delta in the second half of last year has caused Nigeria to gradually ramp up production, but its oil and condensate output dipped in March due to what officials attributed to illegal tapping of pipelines in the oil-producing region.

Nigeria was initially exempt from the OPEC production cuts together with Libya because of the violence in the two countries that had substantially reduced their oil production. At the meeting where OPEC extended the pact until the end of 2018, Libya and Nigeria agreed to stick to an unofficial collective cap of 2.8 million bpd of crude oil production, reflecting the presumed sustained production capacities of 1 million bpd for Libya and 1.80 million bpd for the country.

According to OPEC’s secondary sources in the latest Monthly Oil Market Report, Nigeria’s crude oil production in March was 1.810 million bpd, up by 18,200 bpd from February.

The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission on Thursday said that in the first quarter of this year, states received a total investment commitment of $17.88 billion. The commitments, accordingtoExecutiveSecretary,NIPC, Yewande Sadiku, were secured on 32 projects across the states of the federation. Sadiku, who spoke during a chat with journalists in Abuja, noted that the investments might not have fully materialised. The NIPC boss named some of the states that received investment commitments to include Lagos, with $3 billion; Ogun, $1.04 billion; Niger, $754.7 million; Gombe, $315 million; and Kano, $174.6 million.

She stated that the oil and gas sector, with a total investment commitment of $12.9 billion, got the highest interest from investors.

Finance

AfricanDevelopmentBankandAfrican Export, Import Bank agreed to raise capital base of about $20 billion for the actualisation of the federal government’s plan to establish an aircraft leasing company and a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul facility. This is in line with the two financial institutions’ objective to support aviation development in Africa in order to expand and improve inter-city connectivity in the region and strengthen theSingleAfricanAirTransportMarket (SAATM),atreatysignedbytheAfrican Union to promote air connectivity in the continent.

Infrastructure

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, Thursday stated that the federal government had spent about N260 billion out of the N300 billion it budgeted for road infrastructure. Speaking at the fourth quadrennial delegates conference of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers branch oftheNationalUnionofPetroleumand NaturalGasWorkersinAbuja,Fashola stated that the financial expenditure had helped the government to fix and build roads across the country.

Revenue

The Federation Account Allocation Committee disbursed N1.938 trillion in the first quarter of 2018, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative said. The NEITI Quarterly Reviewshowedthattheamountshared represented an increase of 37.3% when compared with N1.411 trillion shared during the same period in 2017, and 71.1%oftheN1.132trillionsharedinthe same quarter of 2016.Abreakdown of the FAAC allocations showed that the federal government received N812.8 billion, the 36 states got N683.4 billion, while N393.3 billion went to the 774 local governments.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MAY 13, 2018

18

BUSINESS/ENERGY

Cities, Villages as Fulcrum of Germany’s Energy Transition Chineme Okafor, who just returned from a tour of Germany’s energy infrastructure, where he worked alongside 12 other international journalists, writes on the central role of municipalities and villages in the country’s power sector

O

ne remarkable feature of the German energy sector that is hardly likely to be ignored by visitors to the country is the localisation of the electricity supply system. The decentralisation strategy, which forms the basis of the country’s energy policy, Die Energywende, has ensured stable electricity supply to the citizens since the inception of the policy in 2000. It focuses on bringing together people, villages, and municipalities to invest and own their power systems.

Moving through cities and villages, like Bad Kreuznach, Worrstadt, Gro -Winternheim, Neuerkirch, Klosterkumbd, and Morsdorf in the Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany, reveals how municipal autonomy in Germany, which is enshrined in Article 28 of the Basic Law of the country’s constitution, has helped the citizens manage their own affairs. The law guarantees local self-government and gives municipalities the right to regulate all local affairs under their responsibility, including electricity.

Decentralisation Dubbed “investors, troublemakers: citizens and local power of the Energiewende”, the study tour was chaperoned by the Clean Energy Wire (CLEW), a Berlin–based media outfit committed to clean energy transition. The event involved discussions with leading energy experts, local mayors, representatives of energy cooperatives, protesters, and policymakers, on how citizen-driven, locally owned, decentralised energy policy had thrived, as well as its next phase.

Unlike Nigeria and France, where policies on electricity supply are largely determined by the central government, Germany has within the limits prescribed by law allowed for electricity decentralisation. This has over the past two decades allowed German municipalities to increasingly become part of a web of multi-level governance on matters of energy and many other issues. It has seemed to make Germany the poster child in the efforts to find lasting solutions to the problems of climate change and energy supply insufficiency.

The joint stock-taking exercise took the team of journalists to the West German heartland of Rhineland-Palatinate, a predominantly rural state that has become a forerunner in citizen involvement and in setting ambitious renewables targets.

Energiewende Under Energiewende, which is described as the people’s policy, the German federal government sets the framework for its deployment even at the local level through legislation and policies like the Renewable Energy Act, the Federal Building Code, and the Energy Saving Ordinance. It is then left to other constituents to drive at their own paces and desires.

From CLEW, it was equally learnt that since the energy transition took off in 2000, millions of Germans had become energy producers, investing in solar panels on their houses as well as buying shares in wind parks across the country.

Citizens are the bedrock of the policy. They earn money from investments in rooftop solar power systems, which are connected to the country’s electricity grid. This also suggests that homes in Germany are hardly off the grid.

“Citizens’ engagement is one reason that support for the energy transition is high despite rising power prices,” CLEW said. “But as the transition gathered pace the government changed regulations, stoking concerns that more complex rules will put citizens off. At the same time, important Energiewende projects have run into resistance, requiring new ways to keep the public on board.”

Environmental/Anti-nuclear Movements CLEW said from the start, Energiewende had its roots in the early environmental and anti-nuclear

Rhein-Hunsruck wind farm

movements of the 1970s and had largely been driven by a broad social consensus.

Germany, at the moment, has 16 federal states, which are referred to as Länder. They work handin-hand with their municipalities, which according to CLEW are about 11,116, on energy generation and efficiency. They drive the Energiewende through funding programmes, investments in research, zoning laws, as well as licensing and supervision of procedures.

The CLEW dossier also stated that a report from the Renewable Energies Agency (AEE) of Germany highlighted that in 2016 alone, private citizens in Germany owned up to 31.5 per cent of installed renewable energy capacity in the country.

This made private citizens the most important investors in the sector, ahead of energy companies, which owned just about 15.7 per cent, developers, which owned 14.4 per cent, farmers, who had 10.5 per cent, and financial institutions, which owned 13.4 per cent.

The private citizens include individuals who install their own solar PV rooftop panels, as well as energy cooperatives. This indicates a diversity of ownership and commitment to renewable energy expansion, depending on the possibilities for citizens to take part and invest in.

In further support of measures to influence the energy decisions of all three levels of governance in Germany, a Nuclear Safety’s Climate Action Plan 2020 was developed. Under the plan, municipalities’ autonomy to implement policies and plans within the larger frameworks are safeguarded, such that they can determine how to reduce their respective administrations’ energy usage through building codes, provision of energy, public transport, and housing.

The action plan, it was gathered, has remained a crucial part of the policy considering that the municipalities have roughly 186,000 publicly owned buildings that need electricity and heating.

Collectively, these buildings are said to account for about 40 per cent of Germany’s energy consumption, and about a third of the country’s carbon emission.

Street lighting in the municipalities is said to account for about 40 per cent of the country’s electricity costs. Collectively, the municipalities

spend around €4 billion on energy each year with the bulk of these costs coming from municipal buildings.

The German Energy Agency estimates that energy conservation measures could help such localities reduce their expenditure on energy by 80 per cent when they convert to modern heat pumps and lighting systems.

Rhein-Hunsruck During the visits, one of the districts, RheinHunsruck, demonstrated how it changed its status from an energy importer to an exporter through the energy policy. The district covers about 991 square kilometres, and with 102,000 inhabitants, including 8,088 foreign nationals. A retired head of the district, Mr. Bertram Fleck, shared some valuable lessons that states and local governments in Nigeria could adopt to provide electricity for their inhabitants.

Fleck said the district spent approximately €290 million on the importation of energy to power it, but it decided to convert that expenditure to regional jobs and value creation through energy efficiency and renewable energies. He stated that measures, such as building large solar heating systems in Kulz and Neuerkirch for collective use, as well as converting rooftops in the district into hosts of solar photovoltaics were taken to grow the district’s electricity generation capacity.

“Out of 80,000 rooftops in the district, 58,600 are suitable for PV. Nearly the whole annual power demand of about 488 million kilowatts hour (kWh) could be covered at the moment. Already, 16 per cent of this potential is used. The district uses all suitable roofs like school centre,” said Fleck in his presentation.

He further stated that the district also had interest in about 268 wind power stations that had been operating within it. According to him, “The municipalities are receiving approximately €7 million of annual leasing income for the duration of 20 to 25 years. This income is used to master the challenges of the demographic change in the field of securing public interest in the district.”

The rental incomes the municipalities get from the wind plants, he noted, also helped to build the longest suspension bridge in Germany at

Morsdorf. The bridge has in return increased the number of annual visitors to Morsdorf from 170,000 to 570,000.

Lessons Considering the level of energy deficiency in Nigeria, THISDAY observed that states like Jigawa, which has enormous solar power potential, and has also indicated its desire to develop a cluster-based renewable energy city, could adapt some of the tested and certified processes that these German municipalities had deployed to improve energy supply.

Recently, the government of Jigawa State approached the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to support its quest to use solar power to reduce the state’s monthly expenditure on streetlights in its 27 local government areas. The state government also said it would appreciate REA’s support in its plan to deploy mini-grid and standalone solar power systems to its rural communities and farming areas.

The state’s deputy governor, Mr. Ahmad Mahmud, told Managing Director of REA, Mrs. Damilola Ogunbiyi, during a meeting in Dutse, the state capital, that the state spent an average of N110 million monthly on streetlights in its local government areas, as well as huge sums of money to support its farmers who use petrol powered pumps to irrigate their farmlands. Mahmud also noted about N4 billion was spent annually by the government on grid extension projects that never really guaranteed electricity to its residents.

Additionally, the approach of energy cooperatives, which exists in the German municipalities, can be replicated in Nigeria, where community-based or business cluster cooperatives or organisations can invest in power systems to electrify their homes and businesses using existing regulations under the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

Governments across the states can also cut their monthly expenditure on energy by deploying solar PVs on rooftops of public buildings, such as municipal schools, libraries, hospitals, and office buildings. Energy generated from these systems could be used to power social facilities, thus, saving money and the environment.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MAY 13, 2018

BUSINESS/ENERGY

Transformer Fires Reignite TCN, Discos Row over Assets’ Integrity, Capacity Recent fire outbreaks at substations hosting high-voltage transmission transformers of the Transmission Company of Nigeria have again set off altercation between the TCN and the 11 electricity distribution companies in Nigeria over the integrity of their respective operational assets. Chineme Okafor reports

S

ince the federal government completed the privatisation of Nigeria’s electricity market in 2013, the Transmission Company of Nigeria and the 11 electricity distribution companies have frequently engaged each other in a blame game over the operational integrity of their respective assets. Almost every time the sector records an accident or other unfortunate developments, which have also never being in short supply, the TCN and Discos have called each other out. Both entities, which are central in the electricity supply business in Nigeria, usually at these occasions, take a dig at each other for their direct and indirect failures or contributions to the incidents. They point accusing fingers at each other for responsibility.

At a point, the TCN was the whipping boy of the sector, and was accused of failing to guarantee maximum load evacuation to distribution points because it lacked the capacity to do so. At that time, the Discos claimed the TCN had been unable to match their distribution capacities and as such they could not distribute enough electricity to their consumers. They urged the TCN to upgrade its transmission capacity.

Following these accusations, the TCN subsequently embarked on a transmission upgrade and expansion programme, which saw its wheeling capacity go up to about 7,000 megawatts. It then asked the Discos to follow suit and equally grow their distribution capacities to ensure maximum distribution of loads it could evacuate from the generation companies.

Despite that, the two entities have never stopped blaming each other whenever there is a crisis.

Transmission Upgrade In a May 2018 transmission facilities upgrade report, which THISDAY obtained from the TCN, the company reported that it had in the last couple of years expanded its capacities across the country, and was no longer in operational deficit, as always claimed by the Discos. It stated that in its Bauchi region, its in-house engineers had successfully installed about four high voltage transformers, comprising a 40MVA 132/33kv LEEEC mobile transformer at its 132kV Damboa transmission station, which now takes care of Damboa and places like Chibok, Askira Uba, and Mubi; a 30MVA 132/33kV LEECHUN transformer to increase the capacity of Gombe transmission station to 145MVA on 132/33kV circuits, which takes care of Shongo 33kV injection substation, Bara, Tunfure, Buba-Shongo, Orji Quarters, Government House and State Secretariat; a 40MVA 132/33kV ABB mobile transformer at 132kv Mayo-Belwa transmission station in Adamawa State to increase its total capacity to 145MVA on 132/33kV circuits and satisfy places like Mayo-Belwa, Jada, Ganye, Numan and Demsa; as well as a 60MVA 132/33kV LEEEC transformer at to bring the total capacity of its Bauchi substation to 130MVA on 132/33kV circuits and which also now serves consumers in Ningi, Nabordo and Das communities, Dabo Farm, and Government House.

TCN also said that its transmission capacity in Alimosho parts of Lagos had been upgraded from 130MVA to 230MVA, while transmission in Benin South increased from 180MVA to 260MVA; Ajah grew from 160MVA to 220MVA; Ejigbo from 130MVA to 230MVA; Funtua from 37.5MVA to 97.5MVA; Oji River from 45MVA to 105MVA; Katampe from 120MVA to 180MVA; Uyo from 120MVA to 180MVA; and Umuahia from 80MVA to 120MVA, among others.

Complaints about Discos’ Poor Networks Following recent fire outbreaks at some of its transmission substations, notably in Lagos and Kano, TCN raised the alarm that the work it was doing to improve the quality and quantity of electricity available to homes and offices connected to the national grid was still being limited by the inability of the 11 Discos to invest in the upgrade of their

Burnt 28MW transformer at Alagbon transmission substation distribution networks. It explained in a statement by its General Manager, Mrs. Ndidi Mbah, in Abuja, that it knew the locations of its networks with operational shortfalls, and was working to rectify them, but said at the moment, the Discos were not taking as much electricity as they should.

TCN added that until the deficiencies in the distribution networks were fixed by the Discos, Nigerians might not fully enjoy the benefits of the on-going expansion of its transmission network.

According to TCN, a couple of its transmission assets, comprising high voltage power transformers, had been completed and energised in the Lagos, Katsina, Calabar, and Enugu areas, with some more expected to be completed within the next couple of days in Abuja, Akwa Ibom, and Kaduna. It said despite this, Nigerians do not get enough supplies from the grid.

“Although, the Nigeria electricity industry is still facing liquidity problem, the only way that TCN’s rehabilitation and expansion programme can give maximum benefit to the nation is if a commensurate investment is done on the various distribution networks nationwide,” TCN said in the statement.

It added, “Presently, inadequacies in the distribution networks are limiting the amount of power delivered to end-users on daily basis. This problem is pronounced anytime there is heavy rainfall. This calls for significant investments in the distribution network.”

On the fire outbreaks at its substations, TCN said, “The incident at Lokoja substation was caused by the weak distribution network that dropped significant load due to heavy rainfall, which caused high voltage that shattered lighting arrestor that punctured the cooling fan of the 150MVA transformer and more than 10 drums of transformer oil gushed out. TCN stands by its press release on this issue last week.

“TCN is aware of locations in its network where improvement is still required and assures that they are being addressed through various installations. It is equally looking forward to working in harmony

with other sector players to ensure Nigerians derive maximum benefit from these investments in its network.”

TCN equally claimed that its transmission facilities were being destroyed daily by the poor distribution facilities of the Discos, and that the only way its Transmission Rehabilitation and Expansion Programme (TREP) could give maximum benefit to Nigeria was when a commensurate investment was done on the various distribution networks nationwide.

“This is because poorly maintained distribution network is currently destroying transmission equipment on a daily basis. The lack of investment in distribution network is more problematic anytime

Presently, inadequacies in the distribution networks are limiting the amount of power delivered to end-users on daily basis. This problem is pronounced anytime there is heavy rainfall. This calls for significant investments in the distribution network

there is heavy rainfall,” Mbah, said.

Discos’ Reaction But reacting to the allegations by TCN, the Discos through their association, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, said the claims were untrue and not representative of the true status of the network. ANED’s Executive Director in charge of research and advocacy, Mr. Sunday Oduntan, told THISDAY by telephone that the Discos would favour working with the TCN and other stakeholders in the industry to fix the problems of the sector than engaging in blame game.

“The last stress test that was conducted by the TCN shows that the Discos have a current distribution capacity of 6,288 megawatts (MW). Anything short of that means that the Discos can carry a load that is up to that level,” Oduntan explained.

Referring to the recent fire that burnt TCN’s transformer at Alagbon in the Lagos area, and which the Discos’ were blamed for, Oduntan stated, “If any of their transformers, like the Alagbon transformer that is very old and dilapidated, has a problem, they should not look for a scapegoat. If it gets to a situation that we will have to come out to talk and provide more technical details on what happened, we shall do so.

“Why we have refrained from replying is that we feel we should collaborate with all other stakeholders instead of naming and blaming. It is not that we are short of what to say about their activities, we want to work with all stakeholders to get it right.”

Proactive Approach Similarly, industry stakeholders who spoke to THISDAY highlighted the need for TCN and the Discos to work together to upgrade their capacities. They noted that their current levels were still inadequate for a country that seeks to industrialise, adding that a proactive approach to attracting investment in the distribution end of the market should be pursued by the industry.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MAY 13, 2018

BUSINESS/MONEY

As Quoted Companies Shrink on Nigerian Stock Exchange…

In about 16 years, the number of companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange has reduced by 93, which comes to an average of about six per annum. But the capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Commission, is now trying to reverse the debilitating trend. Bamidele Famoofo reports

CEO of NSE, Oscar Onyema

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n just four months this year, three companies whose shares were formerly on the quotation list of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) exited the market where they had enjoyed access to long- term fund to grow their businesses.

Perhaps, a worse fate befell their shareholders who will no longer be able to make money from the shares they own in the companies. Shareholders make money through capital appreciation, dividend or bonus from investing in the shares of quoted companies.

Delisting Most recently, Seven-Up Bottling Company (SBC) Plc, one of Nigeria’s foremost beverage producers; African Paints (Nigeria) Plc; and Afrik Pharmaceuticals Plc had their shares delisted on the NSE. While SBC Plc filed to delist voluntarily, the two others were forced to go.

According to the NSE, “delisting” of securities means removal of listed securities from The Exchange.

Consequently, the securities of an affected issuer will no longer be traded on The Exchange and the issuer’s name will be removed from the Daily Official List of The Exchange”.

Meanwhile, the NSE approved the voluntary delisting of Seven-Up Bottling Company after it received a takeover bid from its majority shareholder aimed at restructuring the company. Seven-Up’s minority shareholders backed a $70 million buy-out bid by majority investor, Affelka, the investment firm of the Lebanese El-Khalil family.

Specifically, Seven-Up Bottling Company Plc (SBC) in January notified the NSE and the investing public of an upward review of the scheme consideration for the company’s minority shares to N125 per share, from the earlier N112.70 per share. Affelka S.A. – the holder of 73 per cent of the company’s shares outstanding – has signalled intention since last year to completely buy-out minority shares in SBC for a consideration of N112.70 per share relative to the market price of N97.12 as of December 7, 2017.

But even before the shareholders of SBC Plc could satisfy a legal obligation to make the deal go through, by holding a court- ordered meeting, the Board of Directors of SBC got a “No objection” signal from

Acting Director-General of SEC, Mary Uduk

the SEC to execute the deal.

Seven-Up Bottling last traded at N101.97 per share, valuing the company at 65.32 billion naira ($214 million). It would be recalled that six years before the exit of SBC from the NSE, Coca-Cola delisted its local bottling unit in a $136 million buyout deal to expand the business and fend off competition.

And just like SBC, NBC Plc was fully taken over by its majority shareholder, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company S.A. (“Hellenic”).

Besides Seven-Up Bottling Company Plc and Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC), two leading firms in the foods and beverages sector of the NSE, which voluntarily filed for the delisting of their shares within a space of seven years to each other, a noticeable number of companies that operate in some other sectors of the Nigerian economy, had also voluntarily asked SEC to grant them the liberty to withdraw from participating in the capital market.

CFAO Plc, a formidable operator in the Nigerian automobile industry, for instance, took the decision to jettison the NSE earlier. In 2017, its Board of Directors demanded a voluntary delisting. A year later, Nigerian Textile Mills followed suit, while its competitor in the Nigerian textile industry, United Nigerian Textile Mills, also went the same way some three years later. Construction giant, Cappa & D’Alberto Plc and Ashaka Cement Plc withdrew in 2015 and 2017, respectively.

NSE Interestingly, over 80 per cent of the 93 companies that had their shares delisted from 2002 to April 2018

were kicked out by the regulators of the market. NSE and SEC said the companies were no longer fit to retain their listing statuses because they could not meet the necessary conditions for listing.

“The Exchange will delist securities where the issuer has not complied with the Listings Rules of The Exchange, or for breach of the terms and conditions of the General Undertaking executed by the issuer when its securities were listed by The Exchange; or further to the Issuer’s application for voluntary delisting of its securities,” NSE said.

Other reasons for delisting a company, according to NSE, include where the National Council of The Exchange (“Council”) considers that there is insufficient public interest in the issuer, or the securities of the issuer in the hands of the public are insufficient to make a market in the securities.

However, NSE says the decision to delist a security is taken only after thorough and careful analysis. “It is not a decision arrived at without full consideration of the interests of all stakeholders involved,” a statement from the NSE disclosed.

Mixed Reactions While some capital market analysts attributed the decision of SBC Plc to quit the Nigerian capital market to slow demand arising from weak economic growth in Nigeria and currency crisis that stifled raw material imports in the period, others argued that it was because both the SEC and NSE failed in their responsibilities to issuers that voluntary de-listing gained ground among issuers.

“Obviously, if the owners of the companies that chose

Over 80 per cent of the 93 companies that had their shares delisted from 2002 to April 2018 were kicked out by the regulators of the market. NSE and SEC said the companies were no longer fit to retain their listing statuses because they could not meet the necessary conditions for listing

to delist believed in the regulators, they would not contemplate delisting,” a capital market analyst who does not want his name mentioned told THISDAY. He warned that the immediate effect of quoted securities offering to delist was the blow on the image of NSE as an avenue for raising capital and trading in the securities of listed companies.

Others pointed out that if the trend persisted, it would naturally translate to a reduction of market capitalisation, the more important one being reduction of the diversity in listed securities, which would impact adversely on market liquidity.

On the other hand, analysts at Proshare blamed companies like NBC Plc, Cappa & D’Alberto Plc. for backstabbing the NSE on the indigenisation programme launched by the bourse on November 12, 1973, which offered them the opportunity to list their shares.

“Owners of the AG Leventis Group are simply telling Nigerians that they are no longer obliged to partner with them in their business, just as the owners of Cappa & D’Alberto have done, shouting to hell with indigenisation. They are not sensitive to the plights of the local investors as a result of their decision to quit the market,” Proshare analysts lamented.

Rescue Acting Director General of SEC, Mary Uduk, has set out plans to check the debilitating the trend of delisting.

To be able to come up with a lasting solution to the problem, Uduk said the Capital Market Committee (CMC) of SEC at its last meeting held in Lagos, was mandated to look into the real reasons why quoted companies were delisting from the NSE. Besides, the highest regulatory body in the Nigerian capital market also promised that it would meet with shareholders groups to determine the reasons for the de-listings.

Apart from putting a stop to excessive delisting of companies, Uduk said SEC will go the extra mile to see an improved listing of multinational companies in Nigeria on the capital market. “Increase in de-listing by public companies pose a threat to the market in view of the fact that quite a number of them are highly capitalised,” she said reiterated.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MAY 13, 2018

INTERVIEW We Strive to Positively Impact Nigeria’s Economy, Says Multichoice Boss, Ugbe For the Managing Director of MultiChoice Nigeria, John Ugbe, the 5th Digital Dialogue Conference of thought leaders in the industry held in Dubai, capital of the United Arab Emirates, penultimate week, was an opportunity to clear grey areas of the company’s operations in Nigeria with the country’s leading editors.

Bolaji Adebiyi, who was there, brings excepts of his conversation

W

hat is your reaction to the assertion that 170million votes from the recently concluded BBN, came exclusively from SMS, thereby yielding profit

treat and inform sufferers. Their key objective is creating awareness on how to minimize its effects, research on how to avoid and ultimately cure the ailment. On our part we offer support through creating awareness, which we do on an ongoing basis through educational videos, community outreach programs, fund raising and other initiatives to support them in what they do. Our GOtv Boxing Next Gen clinics support the growth of Boxing, which we brought out of near extinction in Nigeria. Over and above the boxing matches, which provide an avenue for b the boxers to earn a living, the clinics provide tips on welfare, training and psychological support to these young ones. Some of the young boxers were picked from our Next Generation Search (for talented and passionate amateurs), they have now proven themselves in mainstream boxing and have won millions over the years. Ultimately, we train them to go professional, so that one of our boxers can proudly fly the Nigerian flag internationally.

in the billions?

There has been a lot of focus on the figure 170million, but to set the record straight, 170million votes came from 49 African countries, and more than 90% came from online voting. Under 2% of the entire votes came from SMS voting.

Nigeria is the only country that was enabled to vote via SMS. The actual revenue generated from SMS voting could not be further from the much touted purported figure. Over and above the administration and platform set up costs, the majority of the profit went directly to the GSM and data service providers.

Is there a way that you can review the location of Big Brother Naija to ensure it is domiciled in Nigeria, so that all economics of the hosting and its associated benefits come to Nigeria?

Tinsel is domiciled in Nigeria and shown all over Africa. We just premiered a new epic series in Lagos. For this we built an entire village from scratch to portray the realities of a village setting.

Our group of channels are called Africa Magic to reflect our African Heritage. Nigeria has the biggest movie industry that is why our productions are domiciled in Nigeria. For Hotel Majestic we had to take over a hotel in Nigeria for 2 years as a set. It’s a lot of investment. Big Brother demands a lot of complexities and outfitting a house. For the Big Brother shows, we set up one facility for the Nigeria, Angolan and other editions. It makes sense from a production perspective. It is impractical to replicate sets across our operations in 49 African countries. We choose the best location for each specific production. Big Brother Naija’s production team is made up of 90% Nigerians even though it wasn’t set in Nigeria. So a good deal of skills transfer occurs. Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) comes to Nigeria every year. Speaking as a Nigerian and an advocate of Nigeria – we keep looking at what it will entail to run it locally.

Have you considered implementing a Pay-As-You-Consume model considering that work and life schedules make it difficult to catch shows without steady power?

From a producer’s perspective, we have to buy the movie in full and we have to buy enough content to fill the channel and put it on air. That’s what the Pay-Tv model prescribes anywhere in the world. We have to aggregate content for our different packages, this means ensuring there is something for everyone on the package depending on your interest and pocket strength. But there is a good spread of a variety of content across all packages. Everyone thinks of today. From day one, you have to buy enough movies to make up the channel and sell that package to one person. It’s a risk as you cannot determine if after buying content, only one or ten people will subscribe. If only one person does, you cut your losses and move on, but you continue to invest in content with the hope that more people will be interested in watching. Regarding breaking off viewing according to your availability, the challenge is in the model of the business. We don’t know when your decoder is on or off.

That makes it impossible to say I want to start billing because this customer has started viewing.

Pay-As-You-Go is a mobile network term. The

Is it possible to put subscription on hold when one travels for a month? w

Ugbe

mobile operators have the technical resources to measure what is being used. For Pay-Tv on the other hand, it is not the same thing. Last August, the Mayweather vs. McGregor Boxing match was delayed for close to 3 hours. The reason it was delayed is because of the technicalities of pay-per-view in the US. Pay-Per-View for a fight like that would be $99, which is more than your one-month subscription on Premium, about double. However, we buy the fight and aggregate it for our Premium subscribers, who were able to record it, even when the live event did not happen on schedule. What we encourage our subscribers to do is download DSTV Now, and you can watch all the content on your current subscription on the go, on your phone or tablet.

You do not have to be bound by availability of power. Catch Up is there… Get it before the World Cup so it’s right there on your phone and your iPad and your laptop. Those are the innovations we’ll continue to make.

What Social responsibility programs do you invest in as an organization?

We focus on Education, Health and Youth and Economic Empowerment. Our MultiChoice Resource Centre project is our education initiative that we have been active with for over 14 years.

What we do here is work with the governments in each state to select beneficiary schools. We then provide audio-visual equipment (which include a dish, decoder with educational channels, TV, generating set, tables, chairs, UPS), to bring learning and the school’s curriculum to life. We set up our education package in the chosen schools, train the teachers on how to select relevant programs intended to illuminate and animate information that would otherwise have remained theoretical

or textbook based.

The MRCs are present in over 400 schools across 33 states in Nigeria, tens of thousands of students have benefitted from these centres since inception. The feedback has been astounding.

The rate of passing school leaving exams has improved. Several beneficiary students have gone on to become medical doctors, lawyers, and a good number are working in several other professions, as a result of this foundation that changed how they learn and retain information.

I have experienced how this centre is used, and saw how students responded when they saw how a Tsunami actually happens. They saw it happen on our platform and this made it easier for them to imagine how destructive a Tsunami could be. Also in terms of education, we have partnered with Eutelsat for many years to roll out DStv-Eutelsat Star Awards, a satellite based competition for secondary school students across Africa. The students are required to answer questions on how satellites can be used to improve processes, the advantages of satellite and so on. These questions need to be answered through an essay or a poster. Last year, a Nigerian; Emmanuel Ochenjele emerged overall winner from the poster category. He met a real life Astronaut – Claudie Haignere, right here in Nigeria, and not long ago, he returned from Paris, as part of his winning prize, where he went to the Eutelsat headquarters to witness how rockets are assembled. This has changed his perspective forever. We implement our health responsibility by supporting the Sickle Cell Foundation. We have been partners for many years. We support them because the statistics of how Sickle Cell Anaemia affects Nigerians paints a dire picture.

The Foundation seeks funds to carry out research,

Yes we have made it possible for you to do that. You can put your subscription on hold when you travel for up to two weeks each time, twice a year.

One of the things we thrive on is technology.

The dual view decoder was first introduced in the world by MultiChoice. Digital Satellite TV (DStv) was only second after the US. When we build b the DTT network we had Russians coming to study it. We look to the future for what is possible to do.

Recently, MultiChoice ran a promo asking subscribers to pay for two months and get one month free, but there were complaints from customers who didn’t get the promised month.

What is your response to this?

It is true that we ran a retention offer late last year. When we received feedback that some customers did not get the free month on schedule, we identified those customers that were affected and we fixed it. We introduced a new process which helps to identify those who received the offer, and ensure that they get the benefit immediately.

Additionally in terms of improving on technology, we upgrade our decoder software from time to time to improve customer viewing experience.

We ran a free swop campaign where we asked customers to bring in obsolete decoders for a free swop. It’s all in line with always striving to improve our offers to our customers. We also introduced toll-free lines a few years ago. These numbers are available on our website and social media care platforms. On twitter, the address is @DStvNgCare.

I hope the call centre is 24 hours. DStv should have a 24 hour call centre.

This is good feedback and something we tested in December. However, there are a few challenges with labour laws. So we’ve been looking at how best our customers can reach us at any time of the day. We will communicate changes and updates in due course.

Your payment operations is 24 hours. As soon as the payment drops the thing comes up immediately.

Payment is automated and we encourage our customers to use our payment platforms such as eazy.dstv.com. This way, the customer can troubleshoot and resolve reconnection issues directly from their mobile phones without having to call into our call centre to be reconnected. see concluding part on www.thidaylive.com

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MAY 13, 2018

TRAVEL

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

Indaba: Tourism Ministers Seek Integration,

Nigerian Envoy Trumpets Visa-on-Arrival Demola Ojo

A

t the recently concluded Africa Travel Indaba in Durban South Africa, tourism ministers from several African countries called for greater regional cooperation to ensure growth in tourism across the continent.

This as Nigeria’s Consul General to South Africa, Godwin Adama, assured investors and tourists that Nigeria is ready for visitors, especially with the new Visa-on-Arrival policy.

At the fifth African ministerial session hosted by South African Minister of Tourism, Derek Hanekom, a session themed “Integrated Regional Tourism – A Tool for Economic Development”, had key tourism industry experts and players deliberating on the state of tourism in Africa.

“Tourism in Africa is advancing steadily and we have been able to leverage successfully on our geographical and cultural assets to attract tourists to our continent. With global tourist arrivals predicted to reach 134 million by 2030, there is an increased need for us to address the challenges that hinder the growth of tourism.

“This will require that we find ways to work together to create an enabling environment that will facilitate synergy in the development of regional tourism products, and ensure the growth and sustainability of the African tourism market,” said Hanekom.

Tourism ministers from Angola, Kingdom of eSwatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe were joined by a panel of tourism experts to explore potential solutions to the challenges of regional integration.

The discussions emphasised the need for increased commitment from all African states in implementing bilateral and multilateral agreements. This would encourage governments to ensure that the basic infrastructure and regulatory frameworks are in place to facilitate regional tourism growth.

African tourist arrivals increased by 8% (4 million tourists) to reach 58 million in 2016, and it supported 8.3 million direct jobs.

Farin Ruwa Falls, one of the destinations Nigeria is banking on to attract tourists

According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), this number is expected to increase to 11.6 million jobs by 2028.

United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) representative, Ms. Alcia Grandcourt stated that although it was important to recognise the economic gains of tourism, it is equally important to acknowledge the social benefits of peace and social cohesion brought on by tourism in the continent.

“Tourism is bringing us together and breaking down barriers and stereotypes as it has opened up the world for people to learn about its diverse cultures and heritage.

“Our communities are a critical measure of the success of tourism. As we map the way towards an integrated tourism region,

let us ensure that we take our communities with us to ensure sustainable tourism growth that will be enjoyed by future generations,” said Grandcourt Meanwhile, Nigerian envoy to South Africa, Adama, in a meeting with Nigerian travel, trade and media personnel hosted by South African Tourism said Nigeria is endowed with lots of natural resources, adding that the country has so much to offer in terms culture, tourism and hospitality that can attract foreign investment.

The Nigerian Government has made it easier for intending travellers to the country to obtain visa on arrival once the application is done online early he said, adding that the Consulate General of Nigeria in South

West African Travel Alliance Set for Launch at Weizo Four years after the launch of Accra Weizo as a platform for the growth of seamless travel in West Africa, a new association for private sector players in the region has emerged. The vision of Accra Weizo at launch was to turn the 15 countries and its 380 million people into a domestic tourism destination. It has taken four years for the organizers of Weizo to reach out to over 150 travel and tour operators in West Africa from 6 countries to start a regional association that will drive tourism in the region.

The interim board of West African Travel and

Tourism Alliance (WATTA) will be announced and inaugurated at Accra Weizo June 23 at La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, Accra.

Accra Weizo is one of the events geared towards getting West Africans to cooperate amongst themselves. but tourism is still lagging in the region. The region receives among the lowest tourism figures per capita in Africa.

The ECOWAS region despite a protocol of free movement has not grown Intra regional tourism and travel. At Weizo this year, Ghana’s Minister of Aviation, Cecilia Abena Dapaah,

will be opening the event with a paper titled ‘Harnessing the Opportunities in Aviation Value Chain in West Africa.’

The first day will be the seminar on aviation and the second day will be dedicated to ‘Travel, Tourism and the Internet’ session.

According to Mr. Ikechi Uko CEO of AKwaaba African Travel Market and Organiser of Accra Weizo, “Our events are geared towards capacity building and networking. After the success of Banjul Bantaba, we expect Ghana to surpass the Gambia experience.”

Ethiopian Airlines, Air Côte d’Ivoire Enter Codeshare for West Africa Ethiopian Airlines, Air Côte d’Ivoire Enter Codeshare for West Africa Ethiopian Airlines and Air Côte d’Ivoire have entered into a codeshare agreement effective this month (May, 2018). Under the new codeshare partnership, passengers originating from West African countries, especially from Lagos, Bamako, Cotonou, Accra and Lomé will board Air Côte d’Ivoire flights and enjoy fast and seamless connection to Newark on-board Ethiopian direct service to Newark via Abidjan.

Tewolde GebreMariam, Group CEO Ethiopian Airlines, said: “We are very happy to partner with Air Côte d’Ivoire with a view to connect passengers from West Africa to our new flights to Newark via Abidjan.

“I wish to thank the Côte d’Ivoire Government and the Minister of Transport in particular as well as Air Côte d’Ivoire for making this partnership

Ethiopian Airlines

possible. Ethiopian new Abidjan flights to Newark will be operated in addition to our existing Newark service via Lomé, which is being availed together with our strategic partner, ASKY Airlines.

“Such partnerships among sisterly African airlines are crucial for African countries to fill

the connectivity vacuum in the continent and for African carriers to regain their market share in their home market.”

René Decurey, CEO of Air Côte d’Ivoire said: “Few months ago, Abidjan airport was certified to carry out direct links with the USA. It is now time to launch theses direct flights and Air Côte d’Ivoire is very happy to carry out the operation in codeshare with Ethiopian Airlines. This agreement will allow Air Côte d’Ivoire to sell the flights as well. “We will therefore be able to offer passengers on our network, flights to the USA via Abidjan with a single Air Côte d’Ivoire ticket. We are convinced that this partnership is the beginning of a long collaboration that will fully benefit our two Airlines and African passengers who used to pass through Europe to travel to the USA.” Ethiopian currently flies to 58 cities in Africa and more than 112 destinations globally

Africa had launched a biometric visa regime to comply with the International method of visa processing.

According to him, from east to west, north to south, Nigeria is sustainably encircled by tourist centres that can effectively contribute to the country’s GDP and that Nigeria’s hospitality sector is second to none.

“We are the most welcoming and hospitable people on earth. We treat guests and foreigners with utmost respect and this is embedded in our culture.”

He said tourists can take advantage many attractions in the country like Obudu Mountain Resort in Cross River State, Ogbunike Cave and Nike Resort in Enugu, the Lagos Atlantic coast, Osun Osogbo Grove among others.

New Delta Sky Club Coming On the heels of February’s announcement that Delta Sky Club is expanding to Austin, Delta will also open a new Delta Sky Club at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) in late 2018. Conveniently located near the Delta gates on the new South Concourse — Terminal 3, the Delta Sky Club will be 7,500 square feet, offering guests a new space to catch up on work or relax during their travels. It will also feature design inspired by the desert landscape, with earth tones and rich colours; seasonal, locally inspired cuisine and customizable food offerings like the SkyBowl, where guests can build their own bowl choosing from grains, vegetables and proteins; a full-service, complimentary bar that features seasonal cocktails and wine selected by Delta’s Master Sommelier Andrea Robinson; Artwork throughout the Delta Sky Club from Phoenix-based and regional artists; comfortable seating, Wi-Fi and easily accessible power outlets at nearly every seat. “This new Delta Sky Club will create an ideal space for guests to recharge,” said Claude Roussel, Managing Director — Delta Sky Club.

“The unmatched Delta Sky Club experience will wow our guests traveling through Phoenix.”

The Delta Sky Club at PHX is the most recent example of the airline’s investments to enhance the customer experience at Delta Sky Club locations across the network. Over the past 18 months, Delta announced a new Delta Sky Club coming to Austin-Berstrom International Airport in 2019, debuted renovated Delta Sky Clubs at Newark Liberty International Airport and Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, expanded the Delta Sky Club at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, and opened new flagship Delta Sky Clubs at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, which features local, seasonal fare from renowned chef Ethan Stowell.

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MARKET NEWS

AXA Mansard Insurance Shareholders Approve N630 Million Dividend Goddy Egene Shareholders of AXA Mansard Insurance Plc has approved the N630 million dividend for the year ended December 31, 2017. The dividend, which translates to six kobo per share approved at the company’s 26th annual general meeting (AGM) in Lagos.

The shareholders, who hailed the company’s performance, however, urged the company to embark on

expansion and roll out new products that will boost revenue and profitability.

Addressing the shareholders, the Chairman of the company, Mr. Olusola Adeeyo stated that the company closed the year with positive results despite the slow recovery of the economy. “We grew gross premium by 30 per cent to N26.8 billion, from N20.7 billion in 2016, driven by the sustained growth of our health business as well as

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

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

An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the

large ticket property and causality transactions. Net premium income also grew by 26 per cent to N13.8 billion from N10.9 billion in 2016.

While we experienced some large claims on our portfolios during the year, we were able to make significant recoveries aided by our strong risk focused reinsurance strategy,� he said.

He added that noted although profitability was affected by claims and interest rate impacts on its

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

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

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

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 10-May-2018, unless otherwise stated.

life reserves, the company was still able to grow profit before tax to N3.2 billion in 2017, from N3.1 billion in 2016 and profit after tax to N2.7 billion from N2.6 billion.�

According to Adeeyo, the company’s balance sheet remained strong in 2017, with total assets amounting to N66.5 billion by year end and the shareholders’ funds grew by 17 per cent year-on-year to N20.3 billion, remaining well in excess of regulatory requirements.

Also, speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of AXA Mansard Insurance, Mr. Kunle Ahmed said the company took decisive steps in 2017 towards improving its business effectiveness and ability to serve customers better which has resulted in the impressive performance recorded in the year.

Looking ahead, Ahmed said: “We will continue to learn and improve our understanding of our customers’ evolving needs,

and how they wish to be served, in order to continually add value to their lives and businesses. “As we move forward in 2018, we will continue to drive improvements in our business and in our operations. With the support of our various partners, including brokers and agents, we will serve our clients across our various businesses in a bespoke manner, as a one-stop, non-bank,financial services company.�

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

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

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

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 1 270 1680 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 193.88 195.12 9.23% Nigeria International Debt Fund 245.32 246.59 6.31% ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund 0.87 0.88 5.88% ACAP Income Funds 0.66 0.66 8.83% AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 13.65% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Discovery Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Ethical Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund 159.59 160.71 5.21% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.64% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.30% Paramount Equity Fund 12.13 12.44 9.39% Women's Investment Fund 103.60 106.28 2.96% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 13.40% CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.24% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.14 1.17 8.77% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.11 1.14 7.26% FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,151.00 1,151.70 0.26% FBN Heritage Fund 151.50 152.83 8.67% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 13.94% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional $112.02 $112.52 -0.80% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail $112.02 $112.52 -0.71% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 183.43 186.23 13.82% FIRST CITY ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD fcamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcamltd.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Equity Fund 1.41 1.44 8.04% Legacy Debt Fund 3.02 3.02 4.82% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund 3,199.49 3,232.84 7.17% Coral Income Fund 2,599.18 2,599.18 6.22% GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 13.56% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 103.06 103.90 3.02% INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.56% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.21 2.24 5.02% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 15.67% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 120.23 120.65 4.56%

LOTUS CAPITAL LTD ďŹ ncon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.19 1.21 3.65% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,065.58 1,065.58 5.71% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Meristem Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A PACAM Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A PACAM Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 130.51 133.00 1.41% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.57 1.57 5.71% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 2,411.62 2,432.42 7.53% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 184.79 184.79 4.73% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.09 1.10 8.42% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 233.92 233.99 6.22% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 187.40 189.39 4.61% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 13.18% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 10,361.42 10,501.18 7.15% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.09 1.09 2.75% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.35 1.36 1.18% United Capital Bond Fund 1.66 1.66 5.92% United Capital Equity Fund 0.98 1.00 7.17% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.79% United Capital Eurobond Fund 105.62 105.62 2.65% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.14 1.15 4.70% ZENITH ASSETS MANAGEMENT LTD info@zenith-funds.com Web: www.zenith-funds.com; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 13.49 13.69 7.60% Zenith Ethical Fund 14.04 14.20 6.74% Zenith Income Fund 20.07 20.07 6.09% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.01%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

10.00 135.12 51.22

-11.35% 2.01%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

12.72 161.16 119.89

12.82 164.54 122.09

4.92% 12.82% 9.72%

Fund Name FSDH UPDC Real Estate Investment Fund SFS Skye Shelter Fund Union Homes REIT

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS Fund Name Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund SIAML Pension ETF 40 Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 Fund

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

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

5.23 9.70 18.99 20.92 146.28

5.27 9.78 19.09 21.12 148.28

10.26% 1.35% 8.31% 6.32% 6.83%

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

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WEEKLY PULL-OUT

FOLORUNSHO COKER BUOYED WITH ACE BRINKMANSHIP

Not a few were surprised when Mr. Folorunsho Coker who suffered a setback in Lagos bounced back on top of a federal agency, overcoming stormy weather which threatened to upturn his career vessel that just started a fresh journey.

Nseobong Okon-Ekong reports

13.05.2018

W

e were in the middle of breakfast at the Lagos Motor Boat Club on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi-Lagos that Sunday morning when Hon. Habeeb Fasinro, co-chair of the Lagos @ 50 celebrations, owner of Smooth 98.1FM and former lawmaker representing Eti Osa Federal Constituency at the National Assembly arrived. From a distance, he was already throwing banters at Mr. Folorunsho Coker, former night club owner, restauranteur, conservationist, promoter of culture and director general of the Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC). Both men are successful in politics and in business and have enjoyed an enduring roll with Lagos high society.

For instance, Coker has retained membership of the Lagos Motor Boat Club, one of the most prestigious clubs in Nigeria, for over 20 years. His love for the aquatic ecosystem follows from his study of Geography in the university.

This affection has come at a cost, sometimes painful.

The agony of both men was obvious with the loathsome presence of flotsam and jetsam on Lagos waters, particularly trash constituted by used plastic. But Coker was struck by how clean the water itself was. “Come, I want to show you guys something.” We followed him and leaned over the jetty. Pointing at a place that was not covered by debris, we followed his direction. “You can see the white sand. The water is not dirty, we just have to find a way to stop our people from dumping thrash into the water,” he said.

Looking up into the sky, he envisaged a good boating day. But he was not considering that recreational activity at the moment. He promised to show me “some parts of Lagos that we don’t often see from the waters” in the future. Families started

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COVER

FOLORUNSHO COKER

BUOYED WITH ACE BRINKMANSHIP arriving, ready for a time leisurely travel on the waters. Many stopped to exchange pleasantries with him, before sailing on.

We returned to the table. While, Fasinro excused himself, we continued our conversation. The interview had started before I had a chance to switch on my recording device. Entertainment would be a safe place to start the discourse. For over 15 years, Coker ran a hugely successful upscale night club in Victoria Island until, by his own admission, he “became tired�.

As the chief marketer of Nigeria’s tourism potentials, it is humourous that he is drawing from the experience of that entertainment background. “To market Nigeria, is like marketing any other product. You need to create a strong brand and identity and you create events around that brand so people can identify with it. If people identity with the brand, then you can promote that brand to like-minded people in West Africa, East Africa and around the world.

It is the Nigerian soul that is the brand of Nigeria, not just the cultural dances and the festivals. Marketing consumes money. Marketing isn’t cheap. You also have foreign countries competing to have Nigeria’s over 200 million population.

Dubai has big budget for marketing that destination to Nigerians. They pay travel agencies money to push Dubai, they entice journalists, celebrities, legislators with all-expense paid trips to that destination. That is what I’m facing in terms marketing Nigeria. I have this tsunami from everywhere else focusing on the Nigerian population.�

With the conversation fully in progress, Coker went full throttle at what his goal is. “I’m trying to say to Nigerians that the cheapest holiday is a Nigerian holiday,� he said as he emphasized with gesticulations each mention of Nigeria. “You don’t need a visa, forex or to roam your phone. You probably understand the language and probably drive your car there. With the cost of the dollar, your cheapest holiday is a Nigerian holiday. I am Nigerian. I love Nigeria, but I don’t know Nigeria. That is why there is so much negative attitude from Nigerians to Nigerians. How many people have travelled around Nigeria? How many people will say that they know this country? We have that disconnect. The concept of Tour Nigeria is beginning to pick up momentum with the millennials.

It is in the growth of that, that we begin to see the foundation of a domestic tourism industry. You can’t connect an international ticket to some of these local destinations. Some of them will fail. Some will succeed greatly because the foundation of international tourism industry is a solid domestic industry.

Nigerians must consume Nigerian tourism assets up to a point that those assets are stronger and multiplied. That is when somebody can take the decision to connect an international ticket with which to complete local operations.�

Before Coker got the NTDC job, he was relieved of his appointment as Culture, Tourism and Arts Commissioner in Lagos under controversial circumstance

by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.

Having remained in the corridors of power in the state, holding different offices since 1999, including deputy chief of staff in the Bola Tinubu regime and special adviser to former Governor Babatunde Fashola. The rumour mill is still abuzz with diverse versions of how he bounced back at the top, following a shocking set-back in Lagos. Considering his response carefully, Coker said he can only thank God. He denied knowledge of who may have influenced his new office, but conceded that it could not have been without the knowledge of leaders of his party, the APC, in Lagos. “Someone called to inform me that I had been appointed DG of the National Films and Video Censors Board. In the morning of the next day, the same caller came through again to say that I would actually serve at the NTDC.�

His short stint as culture commissioner in Lagos had opened a window that created a few opportunities of interaction with the NTDC. However, assuming headship of the federal tourism

promotion agency brought a rude awakening. “You must understand something, NTDC has no assets and I have no fund to maintain asset that I don’t have.

Those assets belong to people, arms of government (local or state), individuals or corporations. As much as we desire to showcase these assets, we are constrained because they do not directly come under our administration. For instance, Katampe Hills is the Centre of Nigeria. We have made presentations. NTDC’s role is to promote. We have written some reports concerning all these things and we are waiting for sponsorship from the private sector. First of all, tourism needs to be recognised as a business. It is simply the business that encapsulates transportation, hospitality and entertainment. If we understand that it is business then we will understand that we have to invest in the factors of production for that business. We need to look at the corporate governance that surrounds tourism. What are the laws that surrounds tourism?

What are the regulations? Are they old?

Do they represent best practices for 2018?

And will they be valid in 2025? Our law is 40 years old so it has to changed and that change must reflected at state and local government level for some of these things to really take hold. Every asset in a state is owned by the state or local government and if it is federal owned, territoriality will come into play as you can see with the stadium and museums around the country. Look at the regulations that affect entertainment, hospitality and transportation within the tourism environment. Human capital is in short supply in federal, state and local government institutions. If you are just training, but what kind of training? Is it digitally enhanced and appreciated? What kind of machines do they have access to?

Is everyone still on a typewriter or slow, old computer filled with viruses? At what speed are they able to communicate? Then you have to look at staff welfare. You can’t pay someone N18, 000 per month and expect the staff to judiciously administer a collection system worth N10 billion.�

Not a few were surprised when news made the rounds that staff of the NTDC were up in arms against Coker so soon after he resumed work. On another front, stakeholders in the industry were also badgering him on account of reforms he was trying to bring to the sector. The internet was also awash with sleaze linking him to corruption in his previous duty post. His career vessel which had just begun a fresh journey appeared to be endangered on a tumultuous course, but he has deployed an amazing brinksmanship that has steered his craft to safety. Today, he is on the same page with the leadership of the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN) on some of the supposed contentious issues in the proposed legislation before the National Assembly. His staff have since embraced him. The fraud allegations have been dismissed as a ruse. Coker explained that he was a man of substantial means before he came into government. “We followed our Leader, Senator Bola Tinubu at a time of uncertainty in 1999 and we have remained with him. I am misunderstood by people who do not know me and we have mischief makers who may be envious of our modest achievements. I am not alone, success will always attract animosity. However, I am happy that my principal knows that I deliver on my assignment. Does it make sense if we have 36 different hotel grading system by 36 states? It will be one federal grading standard that will be recognised by international agencies.�

In order to score some quick wins, Coker has jumped on the goodwill train provided by a company like Dana Air that has made some of his programmes possible. “Abuja is ready,� he said as he expressed optimism on the success of the Tour Nigeria project. “It has the best infrastructure and therefore has the best tourism potentials, in terms of traffic congestion, security, sanitation. If you want to do MICE in Abuja, you can, because it has huge hotels with huge car parks, conference facilities, 500+ rooms.

In terms of religion and entertainment tourism, I will say Lagos. In terms of

Coker

destination, where you want to watch some sort of spectacle, I think Calabar is good. I think the Durbar in Kano is a spectacle to behold, as well. Within the parameters that I have already mentioned, the tourism that we have going for us can thrive on entertainment, religion and business. Abuja is a government town and business tourism comes to Abuja.

In terms of nourishing the socio-cultural experience which is the soul, in Lagos, for instance, you have got the entertainment and the religion. Between those two, you can come to Lagos and say I want to feel the pulse or heartbeat of Africa. In those two industries, you will feel a tremendous pulse. In Abuja, we can arrange a great political tour because there is a myth surrounding power and politics. We take people on tour to offices of the legislature, Senate, House of Reps. We show them the Aso Rock Villa where the President lives.

Some people are interested in that.�

Perhaps, the biggest reward to Coker since he became DG of the NTDC is his discovery of Kano. It is now his favourite Nigerian holiday destination. “I like the people, the market, the energy of

the city. I don’t feel threatened in Kano. I love the culture and tradition especially during the Eid festive season. I like the woven clothes, I like the smell and sounds of Kano. I also like Lagos a lot. I like the energy of Lagos. I like the structure, peace and serenity of Abuja. These things don’t exist in the same proportion in one place.

What I like about Lagos isn’t in Abuja and vice versa. If you like meat, Kano is the place. The way they clean their meat and hang it for one day, then cook it the next day, you can’t beat the flavour. We are also blessed with what I call new medium of cultural expression-food, music, film, fashion and sports. Add them to our cultural heritage and you have an explosive mix. We did Nigerian Flavours in Abuja which was a food and beverage festival, but it wasn’t restricted to food and beverage. There is Nigerian flavour in food, film, religion and everything.

Tour Nigeria is the master plan, we have a soft brand which is the Nigerian flavour.

People should understand the definition of Nigerian flavour because it is about the new medium of cultural expressions.

These are the flavours we are sampling.�

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ON THE COUCH

I Will Quit My Job before 70 Professor Labode Popoola, an outstanding academic and Vice Chancellor of Osun State University, in this interview with Funke Olaode talks about his attainments as a teacher and administrator doing very well. For example, there are quite a number of private primary/secondary schools that are doing very well. But let me agree to the fact that supervision has actually reduced in most of public institutions and that is what is happening now and is affecting us. The curricular are not necessarily too bad and of course, they have to be reviewed from time to time.

Can we have an insight into your background?

I am a professor of Forest Economics and Sustainable Development at the University of Ibadan. I had a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in 1984 from the University of Ibadan, Master of Science in Forest Economics and Management in 1987 and Doctor of Philosophy in Forest Economics in 1990. I started teaching in UI as a graduate assistant since 1988. I was appointed Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University in November 2016. I hope to finish my tenure and go back to UI. Leading a vibrant university to Uniosun to some people is like a career suicide. What influenced your decision to take up the appointment?

In our climate it is like embarking on a suicide mission but someone has to do the job. I have had the privilege of serving in all capacities in the university system except for Vice-Chancellorship.

When the opportunity came I was also encouraged by people. I was invited for an interview and came first and the job started.

What makes it tick considering the fact that a lot of people don’t have confidence in state universities?

My own belief is that a university is a university all over the world. Even in the United States, a lot of state universities are stronger than the federal because everything depends on what you make out of it. Of course, the laws are not different from the federal university. All you need is that be principled and apply the rules. We have taken our students to competition with federal universities and we floored them. Yes. In terms of facilities they (federal universities) are well equipped, they are well funded, remuneration wise it is more regular than most state universities. In my university we don’t default in salary payment. Being a state a university doesn’t mean that things cannot work better there. Our sound academic records and quality of service speak for us. For instance, I presented 19 programmes for accreditation in

November/December last year and thankfully all the 19 programmes were accredited.

How have you been able to nib the issue of strike in the bud?

They go on strike, particularly non-academic staff of the university, but we ensure that it doesn’t affect the calendar because we are running a university where the internally generated revenue is plough back into the system. Basically, we are using our resources efficiently and we are able to pay full salary as at when due.

Educational system in Nigeria is not the way it used to be. Where did we get it wrong?

Well, it is very difficult to say that the standard of education has fallen. The quantum of information available now is enormous and should be an added advantage to this generation.

Although, there is a notion that policies are not being implemented. We still have institutions

What is your view on the clamour for vocational programmes in our tertiary institution?

That is the way to go because we live in a fast changing world. We live in a world where white collar job is not always available even if you ever get it. So people should have vocational training which would support them through life. I know that some family ensure that their children apart from formal education also learn some form of trades. So it would be good if it is integrated into our curriculum at all levels. And of course, many universities have introduced entrepreneurial programmes but the problem I have is that people believe when you produce candle, soap it is entrepreneurial skills. It is beyond using your hand but your mind set on how to add one plus one and get exactly what you want by thinking out of the box and do something that would be useful to yourself and the society.

A lot of people belief that state education is not affordable. How true?

All over the world education is an expensive venture. I am not very sure we have a state university where a student is paying up to N300, 000 in a whole year. If you want good education you must pay for it. If you divide it by 365 days you still have less than a N1, 000 per day. In this country we have people who pay 500 Naira per lesson per day. It is like we are deceiving ourselves.

Education must be paid for by someone. It is either the family are ready to pay for it or a form of scholarship scheme. For instance, I know individuals that have scholarship scheme and a lot of students are benefitting from it. We want to introduce a formal one which the council is trying

Overscenes‌Happenings Around the Diaspora Power-driven, How Heather Onoh Plans to Impact Nigeria

Lekan Fatodu

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hen preparing for a homecoming, the enthusiasm of most Nigerians living abroad usually gets doused with the thought of prevailing bad roads, poor Medicare and epileptic power supply in their home-country.

Clearly, most people may not know the huge amount Nigeria is losing in potential investments with the critical infrastructural deficiency due to lack of proper record-keeping in the country.

That said, despite all the detailed challenges, a few but highly determined Nigerians are set to face some of the country’s socio-economic problems head-on with a view to proffering enduring solutions.

Heather Onoh, a Nigerian formerly resident in Canada, is one of these problem-solvers and pathfinders. The intellectually-profound and accomplished business woman once affirmed that she will be more fulfilled when sufficient efforts are made to close the gap between the haves and the have-nots in Nigeria. And having identified lack of power as a major harbinger of the socioeconomic disparities amongst Nigerians, Heather is putting all her energy and resources into providing alternative power to several homes and individuals across Nigeria particularly the poor who live in remote communities in the country.

Through her innovative company, Smarter Grid International (SGI), the proactive

entrepreneur has been delivering sustainable, affordable and efficient solar electricity to off-grid communities that are parts of the 55% of the Nigerian population who, according to UN’s reports, live without access to electricity.

As part of the goals of her organisation for a better Nigeria, it is hoped that replacing kerosene or burning firewood will reduce health risks and improve the confidence and comfort of families and entire communities.

Nigeria will certainly be better positioned with courageous and idea-filled ex-Diasporas like Heather who are returning home to give perfect answers to some of the difficult questions holding their country down.

But what is your view on private universities as many are like a ‘glorified secondary school’?

We have to be careful because we have quite a number of them that are doing very well. We also have a regulatory body such as Nigerian University Commission (NUC). So the ones that are licensed it is difficult for us to sit down and start condemning them. It is the regulatory body that should tell the whole world about their activities whether they are good or not or whether they are doing it right or not.

As aVice-Chancellor, do you have any success story to tell?

The issue of governance has been put in place to ensure that the university is running the way it should. Also, access road to the university was nothing to write home about. Right now, about 1.2 kilometer was constructed. We got an external person in Dr. Folorunso Alakija who funded it and now we have descent access road in the university.

We had accreditation and all the programmes were accredited. Our students have excelled in their endeavours in competitions and they have brought laurels and we have also done capacity building for our staffs.

What would you like to be remembered for as a teacher?

Somehow, I have a sense of fulfilment when I see people that I have trained occupying positions and contributing to development all over the world. I have supervised 26 PhD students.About half of them are professors and they are doing well. This makes me very happy. By the grace of God I have played my role. Of course, it is still broad day light and not yet night. So I am still on and I will continue to work but not definitely till the age of 70 which is retirement age for professors in Nigeria. I would not stay till the age of 70 before I quit my job as a lecturer. with LEKAN FATODU 08060140882

For Temitope Alli, It’s a Sweet Homecoming

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ith life becoming less syrupy in her London abode and the thought of sustainable living knocking eerily, a young entrepreneur had an encounter that compelled her to return to Nigeria and helped to give her life a sweet meaning.

Like every young Nigerian who seeks a better life abroad, Temitope Alli, years ago, made the journey for the proverbial greener pastures abroad. But life didn’t force the swift outcome as expected.

Luckily, Tope, as fondly called by friends, had a chance meeting with an old friend who told her about prospects in cake-making business. She quickly gave in to the idea.

So after undergoing training and acquiring required skills from the best hands in the UK, the forward-

thinking lady packed her belongings and returned to Nigeria to establish herself, the business challenges characterizing the country notwithstanding.

Today, her story is as sweet as the beautiful cakes and deserts she now makes for legions of customers.

And her tale of entrepreneurial grit, which has become a sumptuous inspirational meal for newcomers in the business, keeps getting attention from many platforms just as her client base keeps expanding.

Few weeks ago, Tope, the CEO of Temi Bakes, was the entrepreneur featured in the Nigeria government’s sponsored Youth Enterprise With Innovation in Nigeria (YouWIN) enterprise page in several national newspapers including THISDAY, which showcases outstanding business strides.

Founder of UK-based BENTV, Ali Soyode, Joins Presidential Race

I Onoh

to put in place. A committee is being set up to fashion out way in which we can source for funds from may be other sources to grant scholarship to indigent brilliant students.

t’s been said that, unlike in previous contests, there is going to be an unusual number of contestants for the presidential seat in the 2019 elections.

Sometimes ago this column made an observation on the moves of the founder of Europe’s first ethnic television station, BEN TV based in London, Mr. Alistair Soyode, given the tremendous energy he had been putting into YES movement, a new social advocacy entity he established.

Though there was no indication then that YES will metamorphose into a political movement and strategy platform, the recent announcement by Soyode of his interest in the Nigerian presidency in 2019 lifted the veil on his ultimate goal.

In his declaration in Abuja, Soyode stated amongst

other concerns that, “Our economy sincerely needs diversification, moving away from oil to manufacturing and services. Our education is falling; many have called for a national emergency in the education sector and educational standards are actually declining in parts of the country.’’ As it’s been stated here before, Nigeria’s present state calls for as many capable Nigerians as possible, home and abroad, to put themselves forward for elective positions so as to facilitate the kind of important structures needed to move the country forward.

Hopefully, this will bring about desirable change in the country. Enough of the recruitment of mediocrity in Nigerian leadership!

T H I S D AY SUNDAY MAY 13, 2018

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High Life

͎͎͜;ʹ͜͜ͳ;ͳͰ

...Amazing lifestyles of Nigeria’s rich and famous

How Top Bankers, Oil Moguls and Socialites Stormed Houston for OTC at 50

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he 2018 edition of the Offshore Technology Conference, OTC, held in Houston, Texas is one that Nigerian participants will not forget in a hurry judging from the number, strength, creativity and capacity displayed at the event. The biggest annual oil and gas event in the world, which was held in Houston, Texas, from April 30 to May 3, may have come and gone, the event has once again brought to the fore the growing influence of the Nigerian oil and gas industry as a global entity.

The conference, which ordinarily is a convergence of offshore industry experts and leaders from across the globe, witnessed an industrial expansion as Nigerian participants, numbering up to about 2,500 came from diverse fields spanning banking, information technology and the petroleum industry to showcase to the global community their capacity and expertise in the oil and gas sector, a development which qualifies them to compete favourably with their counterparts from the advanced countries of the world.

The Nigerian Pavilion, which was coordinated by the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), experienced boisterous patronage and became one of the busiest international stands at OTC, as companies of Nigerian extraction won

new businesses, initiated and cemented partnerships.

About twenty Nigerian companies displayed capacities at the world’s biggest upstream technology event.

Upping its game beyond just making a perennial presence at the event, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) put up an impressive representation by the virtue of paper presentation by its Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, to the international community about the progress of the Nigerian petroleum industry has recorded over the years in the area of local content and capacity. According to Baru, OTC had grown from mere jamboree-like activity in the 1990’s to a fullyfledged engagement where indigenous oil services companies parade their competencies and proven job profile to the global oil and gas industry.

Nigerian banking industry also announced its capability with the engaging attendance of the Managing Director of Keystone Bank Limited, Obeahon Ohiwerei. It should not come as a surprise when Keystone Bank announces soon its intention to go into offshore projects financing in addition to its bourgeoning portfolio. The bank boss was one of the Nigerians who made their presence felt.

Billionaire businessman, Julius Rone, who is one of the sponsors, known for panache and class, had one of the

BROTHERS AT PEACE! WHO IS AFRAID OF KARIM BROTHERS? Very few aspirants – veritable and fickle alike – to the Oyo State

Ayo Karim

L-R: Member, House of Representatives, Hon. Victor Nwokolo; NNPC GMD, Dr. Maikanti Baru; and UTM Group Chairman, Mr. Julius Rone most colourful outings at event.

His UTM Offshore Limited attracted high calibre of people and companies. The UTM group was well represented by its top executives. Also, GCA Energy, one of the sponsors, was represented by the company top management staff. One of them is Lisa Greg- Uanseu who had great presentations with some foreign partners.

From what was witnessed

governorship seat inspire the overwhelming homage of intense discourse as does Ayo Karim, the urbane chief executive officer of Costain (West Africa) Plc. Since he threw his hat in the ring with the mass-appealing slogan, Ayo Ni O, and with the unobtrusive yet, far-reaching way he has gone about his electioneering, cerebral Ayo has become the darling of Oyo indigenes at home and in the Diaspora, preaching a message of quality representation and a brighter future for all and sundry.

And the heat of his message is catching on like wildfire. That is the problem.

For an aspirant who embodies immeasurably, qualities the Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has highlighted as prerequisite for his prospective successor, Ayo has understandably become the target of sustained campaigns of calumny.

Interestingly, with nothing seamy, whether in his private or business life, to harp on, the narrative has

in terms of showcasing the gains of Nigeria’s outing in the various OTCs, the levels of expertise that Nigerian indigenous companies have acquired were clearly seen.

They were able to participate in all the entire spectrum of the oil and gas services; drilling to well testing, and various subsurface diving services, subsea maintenance; areas which used to be exclusive preserve of

bordered on how he purportedly double-crossed his older brother, Kola, the wealthy Group Managing Director/CEO Shoreline Energy International, in the quest to govern their beloved Oyo State, which had purportedly polarised the family.

According to a source close to the influential Karim family, “Nothing can be further from the truth. Of course, we also have heard and read several of such puerile reports on the alleged rift between Ayo and Kola. It is laughable to us and to the brothers too. Those who know them know that from their childhood days, they have always been close and Ayo would never do anything without Kola and vice versa. Ayo didn’t wake up to say he just wanted to rule Oyo State, he had, and still has, the full backing of Kola.�

The source further disclosed that Kola, an international businessman rated by the influential financial magazine,

foreigners.

Attendance at the annual conference reached a total number of 2,567,518 since it took off in 1969. OTC 2018 was organized in commemoration of its 50th edition. More than 61,300 attendees from more than 100 countries gathered at the annual conference while the exhibition covered more than 585,000 net square feet, including outdoor exhibits.

Forbes, in 2014, as one of the ten most powerful men in Africa, did not at any point discuss a political move with the family. “Kola is an intensely private man who would rather be behind the scene, helping his brother achieve his promises to the people than put himself out there. There is no iota of truth to the rumours because both of them know that they are the pivot on which the entire family rests and that the success of one is the success of the other,� the source said.

One of Kola’s associates who should know said for a man that runs an international conglomerate, which interests span oil and gas, power, trade and investment and construction among other lucrative pies, to jettison all of that to rule Oyo State, is a risk that Kola would not take because his temperament and style do not suit the Nigerian political system. “So, knowing Kola, and from our past discussions, his vote and money

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HIGHLIFE

Baba Ijebu, Kessington Adebutu’s Son, Segun, Flies in Ashanti, Ja’ Rule and Akon for His Birthday in Malta

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he Nigerian millionaire businessman, Segun Adebutu, who derives his income from his country’s oil industry, last Friday, organized a party to celebrate his birthday at the InterContinental Hotel in St Julian’s. He spent over ₏1 million on the party, which included him reserving over 400 rooms in the hotel to accommodate his guests. The party was an extravagance of food and alcohol and cost hundreds of thousands of euros and included guest artists Ashanti, Ja Rule, and the singer Akon coming to Malta. For the event, security was strong with several sections being strictly reserved for his use. Segun runs a foundation in his name that helps orphans and vulnerable people. And he is the second son of popular Ijebu lotto god, Chief Kessington Adebutu. The privileged few that attended the birthday soiree last Friday, have not stopped talking about the lavish hospitality they were swathed with. From rich canapÊs to continental dishes, cognacs to champagnes, everything that titillates the palates of millionaires on those rare outings was available at the snap of a finger. Segun played the perfect host, moving from one table to the other to ensure his guests were having a ball and a blast.

are on Ayo. There is no issue of double-crossing between them. The brothers are at peace and jointly working towards taking Oyo State to a level that would make even Ajimobi proud of his choice as a successor,� he said.

A HUSBAND TO DIE FOR...THIS IS WHY KEMI ADEOSUN LOVES HER HUSBAND Ëž

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Many women would kill to

Kemi Adeosun

Segun Adebutu

have Niyi, Kemi Adeosun’s husband, for keeps. Niyi is the husband of Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and among other things, he illumines her world with the bliss and charm of a fairy god.

Kemi loves to think of him as her personal genie, heaven’s best gift to her since she got married.

Kemi feels blessed and extremely lucky because her husband, Niyi, makes it too easy for her to be a public figure. While the finance minister goes about her work, her beloved husband chooses to play house husband, taking care of their three children who live in London. However, if Niyi who used to be a banker, is not in London, he would be at the Ikoyi Club playing squash. Kemi is no doubt a lucky woman, unlike too many of her peers who dissipate much of their energy doing public work with no one to support them at the home front. Loneliness soon begins to afflict them; and they face even greater challenges as they are frequently involved in squabbles with their husbands who persistently detest their inability to fulfil their marital obligations due to the demands of their high offices. Thus it is always lonely nights of agonies day after day, until time permits them to take a quick break to fulfil other crucial obligations in their lives. But it is often the case that when they take time off to attend to other pressing obligations, it is

always too late.

HIGH SOCIETY THRONGS KANO TO HONOUR BUA BOSS, ABDULSAMAD RABIU’S, FATHER IN DEATH Again, bliss sputters to untimely death in the household of the Rabius. Like a worn engine sputtering to sudden death, paternal bliss has disappeared from the abode of the Chairman of BUA Group. The bliss and luxury of having a father and basking in

Abdulsamad Rabiu

his goodwill and warmth has finally deserted the doorsteps of Samad and his siblings. The renowned Kano businessman, philanthropist, leader of Islam’s Tijjaniyya movement in Nigeria and patriarch of the famed Isyaku Rabiu Family, Khalifa Sheikh Isyaku Rabiu, who died at 93, was buried in Kano last Friday amid an outpour of emotions and tributes. Prior to the burial ceremony, Kano airport became a beehive of activities. It was indeed top-notch event and no doubt, the late businessman would turn in his grave for what his children did to honour him. From traditional rulers, captains of industry and top government functionaries to Kano indigenes, family friends, relatives and associates of Samad, the funeral attracted a large turnout of guests from far and near.

Rabiu was survived by his wives, 42 children amongst whom are his first son, Nafiu; Abdulsamad; and Chairman of IRS Airlines, Rabiu.

He is also survived by hundreds of grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.

Born in 1925 to the family of prominent Islamic scholar, Muhammadu Rabiu Dan Tinki, a Quranic preacher from the Bichi area of Kano State who led his own Quranic School, Rabiu grew up memorizing the Quran and learning Arabic from where he moved to Maiduguri in 1942 to further his Islamic studies. In 1946, he returned to Kano to establish himself as an

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HIGHLIFE

Glowing Hot! Telecoms Giant, Globacom, Lives Up To Its Mantra Of Ruling Subscribers’ World Ëž Ă™ ĂŽĂœĂ™Ăš Ă?Ă™Ă?Ăž Ă™Ă? ĂŽĂ™Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă’Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ–Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ?

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here is no gainsaying Globacom network is a leader among telecoms networks.

This is because like a master steel forger, it hammers its iron while it is glowing hot. For instance, the telecommunications giant, has awarded a contract to construct a multibillion naira optic fibre submarine cable, Glo 2, specifically to ease roll out in the hinterlands of South-South and SouthEast to boost telecommunications service in the country, thus affirming its clout as Africa’s most successful telecoms network. Since the project flag off, not a few telecom subscribers have commended the effort. Some even referred to it as broadband revolution made possible. Signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Huawei for the construction of the cable recently, Globacom said it was optimistic that in 18 months when the initiative is scheduled to begin full operation, Nigerian hinterlands may not remain the same even as cost of doing businesses in the oil regions, as well as South-South and South- East environs would drastically reduce.

Globacom also said its conviction on the project was driven by the technical competencies of the driver, Huawei Technologies. The telco revealed that Huawei has also taken up the upgrade of Glo 1 to provide a maximum of 16 tps from Nigeria to the UK. The upgrade is expected to be completed this May. When completed, Glo2, is expected to provide data connectivity speed of up to 12 terabyte per second, and designed

Islamic scholar and by 1949 he had become an independent teacher of Arabic and the Quran.

TUNDE KUBOYE QUITS BOP FOR THE BIBLE

Ëž

It is comparatively easy to achieve a certain unity in marriage by allowing one partner to dominate or by having both parties play dumb. The Kuboyes’

Tunde Kuboye

L-R: Globacom’s Executive Director, Legal, Mrs. Gladys Talabi; Deputy Managing Director, Globacom, Mr. Folu Aderibigbe; and Huawei Technologies’ Mr. Li Shaowei

for further expansion southwards to Cameroon, Gabon, Angola, and other African countries. Glo is the only operator with cutting-edge infrastructure including towers, generators, MSC and data center buildings and does not owe anyone for its assets on which the network is running.

Moreover, the network has a robust Fiber network with huge nationwide did neither. They clashed their character and personality together, like cymbals and the effect boomed like a lullaby. The Kuboyes’ marriage was filled with music which was quite profound, as Kuboye and his late wife, Frances, sought to elevate Jazz music to its lyrical apogee in Nigeria. Together, they dished out tunes that untied the hidden soul of harmony. There is no gainsaying that the Kuboye name is synonymous to local jazz music. It is at the backdrop of this reality that jazz enthusiasts wonder what might have happened to Tunde Kuboye. For quite some time now, many people have been wondering what has happened to this ruggedly handsome owner of Jazz 38, a popular Jazz Club in Lagos. Since his wife, Frances, died over 20 years ago, Tunde was one of the big names in entertainment in Lagos, especially when it came to promoting Jazz. Then, he and his wife ran Jazz 38 located on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.

They later relocated the club to a permanent site at Lekki Phase 1. But then his wife passed on.

But over the last 20 years, a lot has happened to Tunde. He has become a born-again Christian. He actually runs a church at his Lekki location. And even though he has stopped performing Jazz music, he still remains a big fan of Jazz and would continue to support Jazz for as long as he is alive.

reach and it is the only private operator in Nigeria that fully owns submarine cable connecting Nigeria to Europe and the Americas and the rest of the world.

Globacom network is also the most experienced and competent workforce with years of experience in managing the complexities of Rollout, Integration and Operation of a Multivendor network with

VANISHING ROLI! ROLI BODEGEORGE DISAPPEARS FROM SOCIAL SCENE

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Roli Bode-George is vanishing slowly as you read, from the social arena. The former boss of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), is fading off gradually but quite steadily beginning with the tail end of her ravishing face, moving on to her physique and ending with the worry

its own employee unlike others who rely on managed services. There is no limit to Globacom’s entrepreneurial depth; the past six months for instance, has heralded the telecoms giant’s ingenious marketing and penetrative business strategies. Globacom has been inundating its customers with data gifts, bumper call credits and posh cars among other perks. lines that creased into her heavily made-up face, soon after she was kicked out of office by President Muhammadu Buhari. Like a lily withering in anguish and intense heat of a wild fire, the beautiful wife of former People’s Democratic Party (PDP) bigwig, Bode George, is disappearing from the social scene and high society. This is a very sad development given her erstwhile intimidating stature on the nation’s political turf and high society. Sometime ago, the mere mention of her name conjured the image of a man-made deity held in awe by friends and foes alike.

But like all man-made deities, the extraordinary image she paraded at the NDLEA has faded out and her once intimidating stature and social capital is fast diminishing. Since her removal as NDLEA boss, Roli has retreated into her shell. Gone are the days when her word was law and she caused many in the corridors of power to tremble before her.

CHIEF ANENIH KEEPS MARCHING ON

Roli Bode-George

Our attention has been drawn to a factual inaccuracy in our last story about Chief Tony Anenih’s son, Tony.

The printer’s devil was at work when we erroneously referred to Chief Tony Anenih as ‘Late’. Chief Anenih is still very much alive. We retract this in its entirety and apologise for the embarrassment, which the said article must have caused the respected politician and elder statesman.

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PUBLICATION

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AT 83, ADEBANJO FASUYI REKINDLES HIS PASSION FOR ART Fasuyi beside one of his works

EDITOR OKECHUKWU UWAEZUOKE/ okechukwu.uwaezuoke@thisdaylive.com

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MAY ͯͱ˜ ͰͮͯͶ ˾ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

ARTS & REVIEW\\ART PERSONALITY

AT 83, ADEBANJO FASUYI

REKINDLES HIS PASSION FOR ART Even as an octogenarian, Adebanjo Fasuyi’s sights are set on leaving behind an enduring legacy for the art community. Okechukwu Uwaezuoke reports

A

debanjo Fasuyi has obviously savoured series of limelight moments. Yet, not even this luminary, with whose name has been associated many firsts, is immune to a narrative arc that sometimes sees stars plunge beneath the horizon.

Indeed, it is no easy task keeping track of the many artistic talents in this documentationchallenged local art scene. This should explain why Abdullahi Sabo Muku, the National Gallery’ of Art’s director-general had previously never heard of him.

“When Simon Ikpakronyi, our director, Planning and Research, first mentioned the name Adebanjo Fasuyi to me, I must confess it did not ring a bell,”Muku told a gathering at TAFAS Gallery in Ikeja, Lagos recently. “But by the time he added that Fasuyi was the first graduate of painting with a first-class degree from [the] then Nigerian College of Arts, Science & Technology (NCAST), the forerunner of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1959, I could not only pay attention, but also became excited. I wanted to know more about him and I thought that many more people would be curious to find out more about the man.”

Muku was right. For many were the aficionados gathered at the public presentation of the book, Timothy Adebanjo Fasuyi: A Renowned Artist & Contemporary Educationist, that Saturday, April 21 evening, who were awed by the artist’s accomplishments. And for the artist, for whom the occasion was also an extension of his 83rd birthday celebrations activities, it was also a time to extend his goodwill to the art community. This, he did by conferring awards on a coterie of collectors, his older and younger colleagues, media practitioners as well as on students.

Now, thanks to the National Gallery of Art’s efforts at documentation – which was initiated by its pioneer director-general, Dr Paul Chike Dike, and continued by Muku – the name Fasuyi has once more regained its place in the industry’s consciousness. Above all, his place as a predecessor of the more-renowned Zaria Art Society members – tagged the “Zaria Rebels” – has been established. The NGAinitiated research scoured into the archives to dredge up how the pioneer students of NCAST lived, studied and interacted with their mostly expatriate teachers. It also unearthed the artist’s early life, career and late return to professional practice.

On Fasuyi’s late return to professional practice, Muku had commended his “abiding interest” in art practice, which sees him not only returning to painting and sculpting at 83, but also for reviving TAFAS Gallery, the venue of the book presentation. The proceedings at the high-profile event, graced by the crème de la crème of the local art community, were steered by Omooba Yemisi Shyllon (who chaired the occasion), Professor Bruce Onobrakpeya (the keynote speaker), Ambassador Umaru Azores Sulaiman (the chief host), Dr Paul Chike Dike (the book presenter) and Muku, who was the host.

Among the other industry’s leading lights at the event were Jerome Elaiho, Chief (Mrs) Aino Oni-Okpako, Dr Kunle Filani, the artist Dr Ademola Azeez, Dr Kunle Adeyemi and the SNA national president, Oliver Enwonwu.

For a man whose lustrous career spanned over three decades, Fasuyi deserves all the accolades showered on him at the event. Among the glittering high-points of this career was succeeding the late Professor Enwonwu as the federal art adviser and being instrumental to the formation of the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC). The latter was the end-product of the amalgamation between the Maitama Sule-led Northern Cultural Society and the Kola Balogun-led Lagos Arts Council. He was also

One of Fasuyi's works

a member of the Committee for National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST) and was briefly on the FESTAC ’77 Committee.

Fasuyi’s complementary interest in education explains his powerful impact on the sector. Besides having held such high-profile positions as secretarygeneral of UNESCO National Commission and secretary to the Federal Scholarship Board, among others, he founded the Pre-varsity Education and Cultural Centre, which later had branches in the Agege neighbourhood of Lagos and in his home town Ilesa in Osun State.

Education, indeed, offered him the platform to advance the cause of the visual arts. As the first art teacher at King’s College, Lagos, he taught the subject up to Higher School Certificate (HSC) level. It was during his tenure as executive secretary of Federal Scholarship Board that scholarships were awarded for the first time in courses like law, economics, Nigerian languages, art, drama and music. “The last three (art, drama and music), I brought to post-graduate level,” the octogenarian told an interviewer. “Before then, post-graduate scholarship was exclusively for medicine and engineering.”

Fasuyi owes his passion for art to his family background and destiny. He was born in a family of craftsmen in the Osun State town of Ilesa. It is from this family he believes he inherited his talent

Another of Fasuyi's works

and interest in art. On it being the dictates of destiny, he explained: “It is believed in Yoruba mythology that everybody is created for a purpose and that your life’s activities revolve around your destiny.”

Reviving his TAFAS Gallery is one way of fulfilling his life’s purpose. In the sprawling space, there is a permanent exhibition of his works, which could be viewed by the members of the public from 10 am to 6 pm free of charge. “Every year, I hold a special solo exhibition around my birthday to showcase my creative efforts of the out-going year,” he added.

This gallery, arguably the first private gallery in Nigeria, was opened in 1975 to mark his 40th birthday. Its formal opening was graced

by Professor Solomon Wangboje, Professor Adamu Baike and prominent art personalities like Yusuf Grillo, Bruce Onobrakpeya, Erhabor Emokpae, Jerome Elaiho, Segun Olusola, Dr S. Adedeji and Uche Okeke, among others.

At 83, Fasuyi’s sights are set on revitalising the Society of Nigerian Artists, which he co-founded, facilitating regular informal gathering of artists as well as building a hall of fame and creating a compendium for artists, among other things. Awestricken by the recent

sale of a Ben Enwonwu painting for over a million pounds, he hopes that one of his work would also become an international commodity 25 after his death. A promising future was awaiting him after his graduation in 1959 from NCAST, where he was not only the first graduate painter and the first to make a first-class result, but also the winner of the special Sir Sidney Philipson Prize for the best result among the three colleges of the tertiary institution. He had first worked in the Ondo State town of Owo before relocating to Lagos.

Lagos, shortly after Nigeria’s independence in 1960, used to be a serene littoral city with “no chaos, no go-slow”, he told his interviewer. “Life was indeed really good,” he reminisced. “At that time in Lagos, you could drive from Race Course to Ikorodu Road (precisely, Bobby Benson’s Hotel) and go back two times in five hours… You could stay at a night club till 2 am and go home peacefully. The entire city was safe.”

His post-graduation experience was a healthy mishmash of work and pleasure. He has seen it all: success, position and fame. But his message to the younger generation of artists is “to endeavour to sustain their campaign against the evils of the society.” This, he added, is by continuing to produce works that will make Nigeria great and improve her economy.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž 13, 2018

ʜ ˺˺

MYSTIQUE AND NON-MAGIC: ON BRYMO AND YEMI ALADE’S NEW MUSIC Oris Aigbokhaevbolo

Yemi Alade’s Non-magic After going around the continent on her last album, Yemi Alade appears to have settled down in Nigeria for Black Magic.

At least, before the deluxe version which features Awilo Longomba.

Black Magic deploys Igbo highlife elements on “Kpirim�. She is still invested in pidgin. There is Yoruba rapper Olamide on “Jantolo�. The reduction in scope gives the newer album focus, but as before, the Yemi Alade idea still is to cover geographical ground without giving the music and lyrics as much consideration.

The aforementioned “Kpirim� lifts and dumps Igbo highlife with neither modernisation nor innovation. Her vocals remain glossy but without character. The lyrics are better forgotten. There is none of the energy that she brings onstage. The recent single “Bum Bum� has all of those drawbacks but its percussion-heavy dancehall production means it has club potential. It is one of those songs you have to dance to.

On her previous album, Miss Alade had kept a lid on her sexuality, producing songs that talked about materialism without hinting at the cost of those Ferraris and Bugattis. Here, she has a song “Mr. Stamina� that while coy at least tells of female desire. It harks back to some of her older R&B songs.

A proper R&B song “Yaba Left� is one of the album’s better cuts. She resorts to such tired formulations to "My temperature dey high" but even so the lazy songwriting cannot quite ruin the song.

Considering the Yemi Alade catalogue, it is clear that Yemi Alade might be more devoted to American music than the traditional sounds of her country and continent. She might have succeeded in combining both on “Johnny� but few of her more traditional songs show as much heart as that hit song.

So, it is perhaps no surprise that one of the better songs on Black Magic “Wonder Woman� is a slow-burn trap song produced

by Falz collaborator Sess. The song presents one of the moments in the Yemi Alade discography where her social concerns work with her love for material success without producing a disproving shake of the head.

The presence of songs like “Talku Talku�, “Bread Butter� and even the Olamidefeatured track “Jantolo� bloats this 15-track album. The deluxe version released this year adds more songs. These extra tracks don’t do a lot for the quality of the album but it does mean that there is space for “Go Down�, one of only two worthy songs that from Miss Alade since the success of “Johnny�. (The other song is “Charliee�.) Maybe if both “Go Down� and “Charliee� made this album, that “magic� in the title would actually mean more. As it is, the album has too little that is magical.

Heya: Why is Brymo naked?

Half of the benefit to being Brymo is the aura of his mystique. The other half is the benefit of doubt that his mystique provides him.

A version of the confusion between both halves played out this morning, upon the release of the video for “Heya�, the first single off Brymo’s new album Oso. On social media, many said he was mad. Many others, either because they are Brymo devotees or because they were afraid of being called shallow, said it was an expression of something profound.

My suspicion is that none of these interpretations matters. The only thing that matters is the buzz. And in that case, mission accomplished. I’m even writing a piece on it.

For years, Brymo has worked outside of the mainstream pop space, and by hard work and cunning he has managed to bring his work to the attention of those who just might connect. His hard work has led to six studio albums and a compilation work since his 2012 sophomore Son of a Kapenta.

In between he has worked on soundtracks for film and stage; he has also released a few

album-less singles. That is some production comparable to his prolific rap colleague Olamide.

As for evidence of Brymo’s cunning, look no further than the title of his last album.

It is worth remembering that it was titled Klitoris, an obvious stylisation of the female private part. At the time of that album’s release, not a few people were aghast. I recall a friend on Facebook asking how one could vocalise a request for the album from a lady.

As with the response to the new music video “Heya�, some bought the nonsense that the title “Klitoris� was an expression of sensitivity, a metaphor for extra-feeling perhaps. Others didn’t. Once the album was heard proper no one thought of that title anymore. In a project comprising many good songs, the title track was ignored. Perhaps aware of the limit to his own stunt, Brymo did not bother releasing a music video for that song. The gimmicky title had used up its usefulness and could be discarded.

The gimmickry has been repeated again.

The focus is human anatomy still, but instead of woman and words, Brymo has switched

Yemi Alade to man and video. In keeping with the times, he is using newer technology and avoiding the objectification of women.

Unfortunately, unlike Klitoris, a quite admirable album, “Heya�, for which Brymo goes naked, isn’t quite as good a song. The sobriety of the piano chords seems to my mind aiming for an artful seriousness that Brymo’s lyrics do

Yemi Alade not match. And Brymo is aware part of the noise and many-splendoured interpretations attending his nakedness is based on the idea of his mystique. His mystery partly shields him from ridicule when you consider some of the song’s sentiments: ––Aigbokhaevbolo, the West African editor of MusicInAfrica, writes from Lagos

The Inverted Pyramid; Adapted from a novel by Emeka Dike

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MAY ͯͱ˜ ͰͮͯͶ ˾ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

ARTS & REVIEW\\JAZZFEST BONN

EXOTIC RHYTHMS OF JAZZFEST BONN 2018 Yinka Olatunbosun

"B

onn Appetit!” So shall it be written for the sake of jazz-loving music enthusiasts in Bonn who feast annually on new offerings from creative jazz artists within and beyond the confines of North Rhine-Westphalia, which is arguably the mostdensely populated German state.

In preparation for the 9th edition, the artistic director, JazzFestBonn, Peter Materna initiated discussions with the NRW Kulturesekretariat to invite six music journalists across the globe through the International Visitors’ Programme to witness and report on this unique cultural tradition. No doubt, it must have been a rigorous decision. The outcome was a list with Henning Bolte from Netherlands, Herbert Hopfl from Austria, Thomas Rees and Sebastian Scotney from UK, Patrick Spanko from Slovakia, Joe Woodard from USA and yours truly from Nigeria.

Undoubtedly, being the only black journalist to report on the event presents a peculiar modicum of pressure. First, it is mind-boggling to be caught in a concert venue where there is no African in the audience. Careful glances from some members of the audiences were expected.

Secondly, the shows needed to be assessed with clear lenses devoid of cultural bias.

Interestingly, the concert pattern typifies the standard international performance routine which provides a “30-minute break” (this varies) between a production which in this case-double concerts. The break serves a dual function: it allows the stage to be rearranged for the next concert and for guests to dine and chat.

At this last edition of Jazzfest Bonn, 24 concerts split into twin concerts on 12 evenings within three weeks were featured from April 26 till May 12.

For the international journalists, seats were always reserved throughout the three nights of concerts between May 3 and 5 while Bettina, the time-conscious bi-lingual guide took care of the media team. Every show was proceeded by a group lunch and early dinner, sometimes at luxury restaurants.

Jazzfest Bonn 2018’s theme of “Give and Take” is very metaphorical. The “Give and Take’’ motif ran through the duo and trio performances, audience-performers relations and the international visiting journalists drawn from different socio-cultural contexts who shared ideas and knowledge.

Every concert was indeed a blast in varying degrees with a few exceeding the timeline due to popular demand. Inga Luhning and Andre Nendza kicked off the show inside Beethoven Haus, Bonn with some creative pop jazz, using multiple instrumentations. Incidentally, they both donned the same outfit as shown in the picture for the programme note. That wasn’t the only catch. The semi-circle ceiling lights at the theatre was a perfect complement to the lush garden at the transparent-glass compartment behind the auditorium.

On the one hand, Inga’s sweet soulful voice echoed through the surround system which projected the self-made live recordings of her vocals which were to serve as her “howling’’ back-up vocals in subsequent lines. It was a sight to behold-one that obviously demands a powerful ability to multitask as a performer.

On the other hand, Andre switched from percussion to bass and then guitar, relying on very unusual creative improvisations to give a perfect finish to each piece.

The second concert was iconic. Two major influencers in German jazz scene, pianist Julia Hulsmann and vibraphone virtuoso, Christopher Dell were seen together on stage at their first ever collaboration. A stunning showman, Dell is a gentleman off-stage but an incredible showstopper on stage, creating suspense within the performance space. Bringing such dramatic element to classical jazz may not be

EXHIBITION Breaking His Silence Yinka Olatunbosun Since 2006, Norbert Okpu has not held any solo exhibition. He was on a personal mission to find an authentic voice to make his artistic statements. Now that he has got one, he intends

by May 12 atTerra Kulture inVictoria Island, Lagos to show his latest works in a solo exhibition, titled Breaking Boundaries.

Okpu, a visual artist, is not in the business of creating works to please collectors only. His paintings form his own contribution to societal change, starting with himself.There are a variety of issues raised in his new works, some of which seethe with underlying philosophical ideas. For instance, the poster painting titled, “Uneasy Lies the Head” displays a multitude of images of persons reaching upwards to a lone figure.The slouching position of that prominent figure in the painting reflects the overwhelming effect of having so much responsibilities to cater for.

In his artist statement, Okpu revealed how his works were executed through his use of a variety of media. “I work with different media including charcoal, oil colour, water colour, acrylic, fabrics, wood and found objects,” he explained.

POETRY PLATFORM

Difficult Love Weseethetoughnessofyour love.

You loveyour dear country Asa man loves Achild

Catherine and Wind

Peter Materna, Artistic Director, Jazzfest Bonn unusual in movie soundtrack productions but on a jazz music stage, in a duo with a mathematical pianist like Hulsmann- was nothing short of magical. The duo demonstrated individual energy and together, a melodic synergy.

A multi-racial jazz ensemble led by the 38year old Lage Lund featured on the first phase of the second concert, held at Kulturzentrum Brotfabrik. It seemed like a slow-tempo start to the night but then the tempo was quickened with the Johnathan Blake’s percussions.

The 76-year old Belgian guitarist, Philip Catherine came on stage with a huge sense of humour alongside bass player, Martin Wind during the second concert for the night. Philip is a legendary jazz musician with an impressive touring history with the likes of Lou Bennett, Dexter Gordon and Chet Baker. His performance was punctuated by witty conversations with the audience. He mused about not saying greetings before starting the concert and later made self-mocking jokes about his forgetful sense of time, claiming that he had checked his brain with his doctor.

“My doctor said that the left side of my brain is not right and on the right side of my brain, there is nothing left,” he said, causing a riotous outburst of laughter from the typically quiet audience who demanded for the concert to continue beyond the closing hour.

A pleasant surprise awaited everyone at the third concert night. The first phase of the concert featured Julia Biel on vocals, piano and guitar; Rob Updegraff on guitar; Idris Rahman on Bass and Ayo Salawu of Nigerian parentage on the drums. After the collective’s rock jazz warm delivery on stage, the break time was explored to track Salawu, who revealed that he left Nigeria for the UK at 12. In spite of his

long sojourn away from Africa, his skills on the drum still retained certain African polyrhythmic elements which gave a nice polishing effect to Biel’s striking voice that evoked the memories of Amy Winehouse and Bilie Holiday. By the way, it was Biel’s first appearance in Bonn.

Wolfgang Haffner is one performer every music enthusiast must see in a lifetime either live on stage or through recorded performances online. His “Quartett” featured Roberto Di Gioia on piano; Christian Diener on Bass; and a second appearance for Christopher Dell on vibraphone while Wolfgang himself commanded an orgasmic response from the audience with the drums. That performance is simply beyond measurable words. For the want of an accurate description of Wolfgang’s die-hard antics with the drums, one can call it a waxing ecstasy.

The German jazz audience can clap for painfully-long minutes. They’d clap throughout the curtain call till the performing artists return on stage for parting shots. It’s unbelievable.

At an early dinner with Peter Laterna inside Beethoven Haus, he revealed the philosophy behind JazzFest Bonn, an initiative of the state government and the city of Bonn.

“The festival presents celebrated national and international artists in double concerts. It features young talented musicians and popular local performers’’, he said.

Materna, a jazz saxophonist and composer, was a touring musician before he had his first child. The Jazzfest Bonn came as a project to keep him active in contributing to Bonn’s cultural space, while making the city of Bonn a music destination. It must be noted that Bonn is the birthplace of the classical music composer, Ludwig Van Beethoven. And the best effort at immortalizing him is to make Bonn a global music destination.

There are a number of parallels between the jazz culture in Bonn and Lagos. One is that Jazz is not as popular as other music genres such as pop, hip-hop and R&B. It exists in an elitist circle but is currently drawing young audiences through the trends of jazz fusions. Also, jazz festivals in both cities are largely driven by private sponsorship as Materna would later reveal.

“The festival provides its own funding for 90 percent of its expenses. JazzFest Bonn have five principal sponsors: Deutsche Telekom AG, Deutsche Post DHL Group, Phoenix Reisen, Sparkasse KolnBonn and Bechtle,” he said.

Hence, 10 percent of the funding support for Jazzfest Bonn comes from the City of Bonn and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. One interesting discovery at the festival is that all the concerts were sold out. Even at that, Materna is not slowing down on marketing strategies for festival, which has become German’s appetizing cultural staple.

With Down Syndrome.

Clustersoffrazzled cells Trussed up on a trembling plain.

Oto lovesuch a child Isto hang thenerveson rafters.

Sometimesyou wish itdead.

And sometimesyou boil In thehead tillyou PokeatGod thePoor Craftsman.

Chromosome-riot,broad skull And bluntface.Ashortdrape Over a short-circuited mind.

You really lovethischild With Down Syndrome.

-ObariGomba ––Dr Gomba, a one-timeshortlist of The Nigeria Literature Prize, teaches literature and creative writing at the University of Port Harcourt

LITERARY CAFE

AWF Launches Festival Website AbujaWritersForum(AWF) haslaunched a new websitefor theAbuja Literary Festivalwhich will hold fromJune28to 30.

Thewebsitewillprovideregular updates aboutthefestivalaspanellistsand authorsare confirmed in thecoming days.Therewillalso beinsightfularticlesand interviews.Itwillalso provideinformation during thefestival.

Thewebsitecan beaccessed at www.abujaliterrayfestival.org Meanwhiletwo Embassieshave confirmed interestin theFestivalby offering to supportsomeofthesegments.

TheEcuadorian Embassy willpartner in the InternationalArtand Photo Exhibition with the display oftheEcuador/Nigeria Photo-book being oneoftheproposed highlights.

TheAmerican Embassy isproviding assistance for thedigitalmedia training for thefive-day drama workshop.

Thisdevelopmentunderscoresthegrowing partnership between theEcuadorian Embassy and theAbujaWritersForum.In 2017,theEmbassy sponsored a shortstory contestfor young Ecuadorian and Nigerian writers. Aselection from thewinning entrieswaseventually published as a bilingual(Spanish/English) collection ofshort stories,PaisCasabe(Cassava Lands).

Thecollection hasbeen achieved somefeats asitisthefirsttimeEcuadorian writersarebeing published collectively in English and viceversa for their Nigerian counterpartstranslated to Spanish.

Ithasalso been adopted asa major resourceby theAfrican descendantsin Ecuador.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MAY 13, 2018

CICERO

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

IN THE ARENA

...And the Killings Continue Daily reports of killings in different parts of the country have reached an appalling stage, writes Abimbola Akosile

E

ven in the Hobbesian setting, where life is generally said to be brutish, short and nasty, not as many killings could have been recorded as Nigeria now does day in, day out.

Last week,THISDAY, in a special report profiled some of the recent killings and affirmed that between January and April, over 901 lives had been lost to mindless killings by the marauding herdsmen in the Middle Belt alone.

This, however, was outside deaths by other means including the relentless Boko Haram attacks, which appears to be competing with herdsmen in their killing game.

TheTHISDAY report, unfortunately, was published on the day several other killings also secured spaces in the major national dailies, except of course, they were subsumed by the special report.The killings has since continued, albeit majorly in the northern axis of the country and in almost all the states of the federation, clearly depicting the nation’s failing security architecture.

Two Saturdays ago, there was yet an attack by armed bandits in Gwaska Community, Birnin Gwari Local Government of Kaduna State, which initially reportedly left 45 people dead. But by mid last week, the death toll had reportedly risen to 61.

According to sources, more corpses were recovered in the surrounding bushes during a search for missing persons by members of the local vigilante group and security agents.

In another breath, police authorities inTaraba State, last week, confirmed the killing of nine persons by suspected Nigerians in displaces persons camp herdsmen atTutuwaVillage in Ussa Local without considering other possibilities that the attacks Government Area of the state, in another attack.Three were carried out by renegades from Libya, at the aftermath persons, reports said, also sustained serious injuries in the of the Muammar Gadhafi era. attack, which occurred in the morning, when residents of Whilst the federal government has yet taken any the community were going for early morning prayers.

The spate of killings by herdsmen scaled up significantly effectively engaging step to contain the growing menace of the various attacks, the president’s evident lukewarm after the NewYear attacks on Guma and Logo Local disposition has continued to spark reactions from far and Government areas of Benue State, leaving no fewer than near, especially the Christian community, which is not only 73 dead and buried in a mass grave on a site at the Indusunhappy with his handling of the killings but has also told trial Layout along Naka Road in Makurdi. him to jettison the idea of a presidential rerun.

The rage against the unceasing killings, however, Apart from the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), escalated when two priests, Rev. Fathers Joseph Gor and which has sustained its protest against the continuous killFelixTyolaha, as well as 17 others were killed recently at a ings across the country, other equally concerned Nigerians Catholic Church in a remote community in Ayar-Mbalom have been staging protests, not just against the killings, Village of Gwer East Local Government Area of Benue but particularly because of the assumption that the killings State. had continued only because the killers are being shielded Less than a week after this heinous attack on a Church, by the authorities. there was yet another on a mosque following a coordiSome of the concerns of a majority of Nigerians include nated twin bomb attacks, which left no fewer than 60 the fact that while the killings have continued despite all Muslim worshippers killed and 68 others injured, while the monies being sunk into security, the president has holding the Zuhr (afternoon) prayer in Mubi, Adamawa retained all his security chiefs, all of whom have not been State, albeit the attacks bore the unmistaken signature of seen to deploy any creative initiative to play, both in the the Boko Haram terror sect.

Unfortunately, President Muhammadu Buhari has stuck fight against insurgency and the general security of the country. to just one monotonous narrative, which has concluded,

This is why one of the things being proposed by concerned Nigerians to the president is the change of his security chiefs in the national interest, beyond the factor of loyalty, which seems to be the only reason the president has continued to overlook their palpable inadequacies.

There is the possibility that as you are reading this report, some attacks are being launched in some parts of the country with scores of lives gone.Yet, what is also likely is that no arrest would be made and nobody would be reprimanded for such security lapses.

Definitely, the killings cannot continue. In fact, it will be impossible for the country to hold any credible election next year if many places in different parts of the country are not safe. And with the concern also expressed by the international community and foreign bodies alike, the buck still stops at the president’s table and all he needs to do is deliver leadership.The president is not being asked to personally take up arms but provide the much needed leadership for the system to run good.

But if failure of leadership is what continues to thrive regardless of the appeal for a change in style to issues of governance, then, Nigeria is approaching the stage in her national life, when killings become the new normal. It is not a wish, but what it is!

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

Ekiti APC’s Show of Shame

T Al-Makura

he turn of events at the botched governorship primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) party in Ekiti State penultimate Saturday is a sad reminder of a society yet to learn anything from its tottering 20 years democratic journey.

For a people fixated only on what they are able to excavate from their ‘dying country’ and not what they could do to alleviate its pitiful state and record their names against the good memories of history, they might be doomed as the guinea pig of

events of history.

That a process had begun in earnest and smooth and suddenly, some persons, for reasons other than self-aggrandisement chose to undo the process by disrupting an otherwise peaceful exercise exposes some of the characters that are helplessly the enemies of progress and democracy. Ekiti APC fumbled during that exercise and they are going to live with the stigma for years to come, even though a rerun eventually held yesterday. But the show they put up penultimate Saturday was simply irresponsible and shameful!

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MAY 13, 2018

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BRIEFINGNOTES Foreign Medical Trip: Between Buhari’s Privacy and the Public Right to Know In spite of President Muhammadu Buhari and his handlers’ thinking, social critics insist that the public has a right to know what ails him and the cost to the nation, writes Shola Oyeyipo

P

resident Muhammadu Buhari’s trip to London last week for a meeting with his doctor without a clear agenda has again opened the debate on the right of privacy of the president and the right of the public, whose money is used to finance his medical trips, to know what ails him.

While his handlers insist that only the president could state his health challenges publicly, social critics argue that as the chief executive of the nation, he could not keep the people in the dark about his personal health challenges since his actions affect all sectors of the country.

Since Buhari began his foreign medical tourism two years ago, many Nigerians have expressed dissatisfaction with the unsuccessful efforts of presidency officials to shroud his ailment in secrecy. Often, the real purpose of the trips are masked until the media unearth them through independent sources.

The current tips to London is not different.

The inquisitiveness of Nigerians was once again aroused when the president made a “technical stopover” in London after his recent meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington. And four days after returning to the country, he went back to London to see his doctor.

After doing the needful – conveying the appropriate letters to the National Assembly – what Nigerians got were the scanty information released by Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu, the president’s Special Adviser and the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, respectively.

Shehu explained that Buhari’s trip was informed by doctor’s advice, when the president was in London for the technical stopover.

“In the course of the technical stop-over for aircraft maintenance in London on his way back from Washington last week, the President had a meeting with his doctor. The doctor requested the president to return for a meeting, which he agreed to do. President Buhari will return on Saturday, May 12th,” he said in a statement.

Adeshina, on his part, heightened the anxiety of the already very suspicions Nigerians, when he declined to say precisely on Channels Television on Tuesday, if the president would actually return as promised.

Though he assured Nigerians that there was no cause for alarm over the president’s health, because he merely travelled for a ‘review’, however, when he was asked about the possibility of the president returning on the fourth day as scheduled, his response was that only God has the guarantee over such matters.

A few hours earlier, Adesina, during a phone-in-interview on Channels Television Breakfast Programme, Sunrise Daily, had said only the president could reveal details of his ailment.

He said, “It is something private and personal. The fact that a man is a president does not remove his right and privileges to privacy.

So, unless Mr. President comes out voluntarily

Buhari and willingly to tell the country that ‘this is what I have suffered from, this is what I have been treated for’, even the medical doctor does not have the right to say it.”

Strong and debatable argument, no doubt,

but critics say the fact remains that he is no longer a private citizen. He is more or less a symbol of Nigeria. So, it is, therefore, not abnormal for the people to want to know what is going on with him. For them, a lot of Nigerians, knowing his

predicament would pray for his full recovery.

In any case, they argue, the monies being used to transport and treat him belongs to the public, contending that tax payers are entitled to know what their money is being spent on.

“One big question the president needs to ponder over is, if the same condition warranting his consistent trips to London had afflicted an ordinary Nigeria, how would such person have survived?” asked a public analyst.

Last year, Buhari spent 104 days in London for medicals. Many Nigerians grumbled about it, with several of them asking him to step aside if the pressure of the office was telling adversely on his health.

It was due to the secrecy that surrounded his 2017 vacations that at a point, the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, claimed that Buhari was suffering from voice impairment and was on life support in a West End London Hospital.

He dismissed an audio message of the president greeting people for the Eid-el-Fitri in Hausa language, saying it was “absolute lies,” and that “the audio message was only a damage-control strategy aimed at further deceiving Nigerians.”

The president was eventually vindicated, when he returned and recovered over a period, but for every such trip characterised by inadequate information or calculated silence, the people also felt justified to take speculations as truth. A former aide to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, reacting to the development said, “So President Buhari’s plane was big enough to fly to the US without a ‘technical stopover,’ but too small to return to Nigeria without doing a ‘technical stopover’ in London?

It took two days for the ‘technical’ work. And it is a coincidence that his doctors happen to be in London.”

Expectedly, reactions have continued to trail Adesina’s update that only God could determine the president’s return as scheduled.

Steve Busayo, a public commentator, asked, “Is it by force to do a second term?” He, therefore, urged Buhari to retire back to his home in Daura, Katsina State.

One Sam Orakpe was even more concerned about the handlers of the president’s publicity, because to him, managing the president isn’t an easy task, particularly on issues like this.

According to him, “Buhari’s image makers are over working themselves by trying to manage what is not manageable. The Nigerian citizens in London are doing a fantastic job for us by always chasing the man away from London.

Must he be president at all cost?”

Though pro-Buhari commentators have argued that like anybody, the president could fall sick and get well and as such, politics should not come into that, but a quick check among Nigerians, especially on the social media, shows that the people acknowledged that Buhari has some health challenges and age is no longer on his side and ‘must’ constantly see his doctor.

But their anger is that beyond the recognisable lies they are getting from the presidency, they are appalled by the failure of the Buhari administration to upgrade the nation’s health facilities in spite of his huge health challenges that constantly take him to London.

NOTES FOR FILE

APC’s Congress of Crises

Oyegun

Across the states of the federation, the All Progressives Congress (APC), penultimate weekend, held its ward congresses, the outcome of which has left many wondering if the country is ever going to learn from the mistakes of the past if it genuinely intends to move forward.

From Lagos to Imo, Anambra, Kaduna, Delta, Rivers, Oyo and even Edo, the home state of the National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, the tales from the ward congresses are better off not retold. But that’s the lot of a ruling party, for whose sake the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was chased out of power and has yet proven to be worse, comparatively and in all the instructive boxes.

Yesterday, the process to the National Convention of the party continued with the local government congresses and it would next Saturday with the turn of the state before berthing at the national stop. Sadly, nothing has so far shown that certain lessons have been taken into account from the ward congresses.

Curiously, the party is excited about the general election of 2019 with a divided house, forgetting quite amazingly, that PDP’s misfortune in 2015 was made possible as a result of its divided house. Well, even if you blamed the APC, with poor leadership set skills, anyone expecting more is as good as those who think for the party.

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CICERO/REPORT

How Ekiti PDP Primary Was Won and Lost In this report, Victor Ogunje provides an insight into some of the intrigues and horse-trading that typified the outcome of the Peoples Democratic Party primary election in Ekiti State

I

n a highly pulsating and keenly contested primary, the Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Prof Kolapo Olusola, on Tuesday, May 9 emerged the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the July 14 governorship election in the state. In the election conducted under heavy security, he garnered a total of 1,119 votes to defeat the Ex-Minister of Works, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, who polled 771 out of 1,961 accredited delegates.

The Governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, displayed openness and maturity in the handling of the poll that was beamed live by major electronic media in the country. The security arrangements were tight and people were frisked to the pants before gaining entry into the venue. This added credibility to the poll and differentiated it from the chaotic primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The security around the venue was tight as combined forces of the Police, men of the Department of State Services (DSS) and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) cordoned off all roads leading to the Uncle Eagle Hall in Ado Ekiti.

At the counting of the vote, Fayose, who always boasted to be generalissimo of Ekiti politics, became rattled. He stood up at a time to ward off tension that had suppressed him. His countenance depicted that of a troubled person and he never expected that the victory won’t come easy.

In spite of the transparency of the primary, Adeyeye, who initially lauded the process had resigned from the PDP and promised to announce his next political journey later. However, his dissension seems to be like a lonely voice in the wilderness and his disagreement is gaining little or no traction, because many believed that the conduct of the election was praiseworthy and substantially credible.

Before the commencement of voting, Olujimi had stepped for Adeyeye to make the victory hard for the governor’s candidate, but this could not salvage the situation.

The former deputy governor said she decided to collapse her structure for the former minister for the progress of the party.

“For the benefits of our party, I offer myself as a sacrificial lamb to make our party great. I am collapsing my structure for Prince Dayo Adeyeye,” she said.

While announcing the results, Okowa hailed the contestants and delegates for displaying maturity, pointing out that this had again confirmed that PDP was truly a democratic party.

He said: “By the power vested in me as the Returning Officer, I hereby return Prof Kolapo Olusola as the duly nominated gubernatorial candidate of the PDP for Ekiti State governorship election, having scored the highest number of votes cast in this election. I want to congratulate Prof Olusola for his victory. I wish him well,” Okowa said.

Tactically taunting Ekiti APC over the violence that marred its primary and rendered it nugatory, Okowa added: “If you think this exercise was not peaceful, just look back and examine what happened in the past.”

He thanked Fayose for his support, particularly for the security men and members of the panel, saying this accounted for the success of the poll. He also commended him for playing a fatherly role, urging party members to immediately bury the hatchets occasioned by the scramble for the governorship ticket and rally support for Olusola so PDP can retain Ekiti.

With this, it is expected that the outcome will be acceptable to the loser, but this seems not to happen. The outcome immediately elicited dust with Adeyeye firing from all cylinders, threatening to bring the roof down. With the way the former Minister spoke, he had ruled out the possibility of reconciliation or be receptive to rapprochement even from National Chairman, Chief Uche Secondus.

Initially, four PDP bigwigs indicated interest in the primary. They included Prof Olusola, Adeyeye, Mrs. Biodun Olujimi and the immediate past Commissioner for Justice, Owoseeni Ajayi Ajayi.

While Ajayi had quit the race long ago on the premise that he was being cautious not to ruffle feathers with his godfather, Fayose, even though the relationship between the duo, dating back to 2000, when Fayose came to Ekiti as an underdog, seems to have broken down irretrievably.

Ardent followers of Ekiti politics expected that the PDP would be more crisis-ridden than the APC in the primary, taking cognizance of the brash approach Fayose adopted in the choice of his deputy.

Before he took the decision, rumour had it that his former Commissioner for Works, Kayode Oso, who hailed from Ado Ekiti would be adopted by his political group under the acronym ‘Osoko Mass Movement (OMM.). The governor later changed the gear and picked his deputy instead.

Fayose and Olusola

The action didn’t go down well with the Trio of Adeyeye, Olujimi and Ajayi and they resolved to fight on, which they did. Though their fight could not avail them victory, they were able to prove a point that an individual could not dictate the choice of governor for the state.

The kind of aura around Fayose and his enigmatic posturing about the politics of the state made the results of the PDP primary looked so surprising to many people.

Some thought Fayose had a very firm grip on the party and expected Adeyeye to be caged to the extent that he would be unable to garner 100 votes.

However, many factors accounted for why the primary was tension-soaked. One, Adeyeye was resolute to prove a point that he was a factor in Ekiti politics. Again, Fayose being a-no-nonsense politician wanted to prove that he had the dexterity and mass appeal among the grassroots.

These divergent views created bad blood between the two camps and made the game more intriguing.

Again, a few minutes before voting commenced, Senator Olujimi stepped down for Adeyeye and commandeered his delegates to vote for him. This, of course, helped in stemming the number of contestants and narrowed down the margin between the two contenders.

Added to these was the fact that zoning being agitated by those from the Ekiti South senatorial district. This also complicated the issue. Coincidentally, the duo of Olusola and Adeyeye are from the region. But one thing worked in Olusola’s favour, he hailed from Ikere, the second most populous town in Ekiti State. The number of delegates from the local government was overwhelming and this helped in the actualisation of the hard-earned victory.

Fayose was also smart to the extent that he gave those who were in his camp in all the 16 local governments branded dress called Aso Ebi. This, by those who were opposed to the idea, was meant to isolate those that were not in the camp and the strategy worked out.

The PDP constitution also helped Olusola in no small measure. Fayose is governor twice. And since serving and former elected officials of the party would vote, large percentage of them voted massively for the deputy governor and this paid off.

The visibly elated Olusola could not hide his joy as this was clear in his response after his victory.

“I humbly thank all our party stalwarts who made this victory possible, particularly, Governor Ayodele Fayose. I want to thank the doggedness of my co-contestant, Prince Adeyeye. History will have it that he put in his best for a better Ekiti.

“I am determined to move Ekiti forward by sustaining those legacies that were started by our amiable governor.

We are aware of the plans of the interlopers, who wanted to grab power through the backdoor. Whether they like

it or not, we shall give them another 16-0 again with the support of Ekiti people,” he said.

Reacting to the victory, which he believed had again confirmed his dominance of Ekiti politics, Fayose jokingly recommended Okowa to APC for the conduct of the rescheduled primary in Ekiti, saying “APC is worse than the PDP in every aspect”. He said he would reach out to Adeyeye and Olujimi to assure them of relevance in the party. The credibility of the poll notwithstanding, the dust generated by the primary is yet to subside.

For instance, Adeyeye had descended on the governor, threatening to ensure that his anointed candidate fails in the July 14 election.

To show that he meant business, he immediately resigned his membership of the PDP. He also warned Fayose and other emissary he had been sending to him to desist, saying he was determined to bring down the governor for allegedly skewing the primary in favour of his preferred candidate, using all forms of subterfuges.

Adeyeye said he was moving to another party to seek the votes of Ekiti people to develop the state.

The former PDP national spokesman promised to reveal the platform he would use to contest for the governorship.

He said he would consult widely with his supporters before taking any step. He alleged Fayose’s agenda was to do a third term in office by installing Olusola in a bid to perpetually corner Ekiti’s commonwealth.

According to him, he would have won the PDP governorship primary “if not for the way Fayose intimidated delegates by forcing them to wear aso ebi to the venue.”

He revealed that Fayose allegedly coerced the delegates to same on local government basis to monitor how they voted which intimidated many of them. Adeyeye said many of the delegates voted against Olusola despite being put on surveillance, which he said attested to the level.

He claimed that the governor who had boasted that he would not get up to 50 votes was shocked that he got 771 votes, which allegedly made him to embark on an investigation of those who voted against his candidate, Olusola.

He accused the governor of stealing Ekiti funds and using same to acquire property while a majority of the people wallows in poverty. The former minister claimed that Fayose has wasted N8 billion Ekiti funds on chartered flights in the last three and a half years while the flyover project was jerked up from N5 billion to N17 billion.

Now that Adeyeye has declared a no retreat, no surrender war on the governor, threatening to bring Fayose to ridicule on July 14, Fayose on his part has described the threat as mere empty boast. But as it is, only the election can confirm who has the upper hand between the two political juggernauts.

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CICERO/REPORT

With Dokubo, Amnesty Programme Gets New Life Latching on to his presidential mandate, Francis Ndubuisi writes that the new helmsman at the Amnesty Office, Prof. Charles Dokubo, has hit the ground running

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he recent appointment of Professor Charles Quaker Dokubo, by President Muhammadu Buhari, as the new Special Adviser/ Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme is giving a sense of hope to the Amnesty Office and its beneficiaries as well as stakeholders.

The president had removed the former Coordinator, Brig-Gen Paul Boroh (Rtd), following several petitions from beneficiaries and other stakeholders of the programme. Announcing the appointment of Dokubo, the president, had in a statement by his spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, directed the National Security Adviser (NSA), MajorGen Babagana Monguno (Rtd), to fully investigate the activities of the Amnesty Office from 2015 to date, with special focus on allegations of financial impropriety alleged to have been committed by the former managers of the programme.

Stakeholders in the Niger Delta have applauded the choice of Dokubo for the job, saying he is eminently qualified to refocus the programme to become more impactful.

Born in Abonnema, Akuku Toru Local Government of Rivers State where he had his primary and secondary school education, Dokubo is well aware of the pains, challenges and expectations of the people of the Niger Delta. He also brings to the job a solid academic grounding. He was appointed into the Amnesty office from his position as the Director of Research and Studies at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA).

He received a Masters Degree in Peace Studies and a doctoral degree in Nuclear Weapon Proliferation and its control from the University of Bradford. He started out as a lecturer in the Department of Research and Studies of the Institute and rose to become the director before his new appointment. Dokubo has published extensively and carried out research in the area of nuclear proliferation, conflict resolution and other areas related to strategic analysis.

Stakeholders believe that with his academic background and exposure, he is adequately equipped to drive the very critical reintegration of the thousands of former militant agitators in the Niger Delta who have already been disarmed and demobilized under a structured Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) Programme.

Expectedly, since assuming office, Dokubo has been busy cleaning the Augean Stable at the Amnesty Office, which was known to have been ran down by his predecessor. “The president and indeed all Nigerians expect a much more robust and impactful Amnesty Programme… That is why we must continue to do all that is within our powers and collective competences to improve this programme based on lessons we have so far learnt,” he said during the recent inauguration of an operational review committee for the Amnesty programme. “I wish to use the opportunity of the inauguration of this committee to underscore the compelling need to recalibrate and reboot the Presidential Amnesty Programme to meet current realities in the Niger Delta region and Nigeria at large,” he added.

The inauguration of the committee itself was a major take off point for the rebooting of the programme. Dokubo summed up the importance of setting up of the committee to his mandate by describing it as, “a major step in the on-going efforts by President Muhammadu Buhari to deepen peace, safety and security in the Niger Delta, using the instrumentalities of the Presidential Amnesty Programme for former agitators in the region.”

While further explaining the necessity for the committee, he noted that he received the hand - over notes of his predecessors as well as written briefs by the heads of the various departments of the Amnesty Office when he took over some weeks ago and had carefully gone through the documents: “I dare say, however, that these documents left lots of questions unanswered,” the new helmsman said.

The review committee is comprised of four senior officials from the Amnesty Office and four experts carefully selected from outside of the office. The inclusion of key departmental heads in the Amnesty Office in the committee, it must be observed, is a confirmation that the new Amnesty boss is not set out for a witch-hunt of his predecessor and those he worked with.

The committee is saddled with the task of reviewing all contracts awarded by the Amnesty Office since 2015 with a view to determine the levels of work done, monies paid, beneficiaries and extent of work done so far and thereby recommend a payment schedule for those qualified to be paid; determine financial assets and liabilities of the Amnesty Office; carry out a thorough assessment of all departments in the office and offer useful suggestions on how to improve on the performance of these departments moving forward; undertake a thorough personnel audit with a view to ascertaining the number of persons currently working in the Amnesty Office and the suitability of all personnel for the offices they currently occupy; and determine the current status of all the Vocational Training Centers built or are still under construction across the states in the Niger Delta.

In addition, the committee is also saddled with the task of ascertaining the current status of the database of the Amnesty

Dokubo

Office with a view to determining its certainty and sanctity; determine the current status of all on-going vocational, educational and post-training empowerment programmes of the office within the country and offshore; and also to undertake an assessment of the current relationship between the Amnesty Office and the Presidential Amnesty Programme’s critical stakeholders with a view to suggesting ways of making the relationships even more robust. The committee is to recommend programme or policy reviews, where necessary at the end of its assignment.

However, the unwieldy documents with maze of dizzying figures and claims were not the only burden handed over to Dokubo on assumption of office. The former lecturer also had the misfortune of inheriting an Amnesty Office that looks more or less like a market place with many employees having no clear definitions of their job schedules. It was gathered that the workforce became grossly over bloated because the past administration gave in to pressure from politicians for employment of all manner of persons.

Dokubo at a recent meeting confessed that he was shocked at the large number of persons working in the office and decried a situation where many of the staff members have no schedules of duty or sitting spaces. Many of these personnel hired by his predecessor were also found to be grossly unfit for the positions they were employed for. Some of the employees spend their days in the office watching movies or simply loafing around because they have no desks to report to. Indeed, it was estimated that under the immediate past administration, more than 20 per cent of the employees did not have desks.

Dokubo made it very clear that he was not going to work with the unwieldly arrangement on assumption of office. In anyway, the continuous reduction in allocations to the Amnesty Office has also brought in the imperative of cost cutting. He began the process of recalibrating the office with a memo informing all contract staff, who are also known as Reintegration Consultants, of their disengagements from their positions or duties on 16, April. He also announced the engagement of a new Lead Reintegration Consultant for the programme following in the footsteps of his predecessors after approval of the federal government. The new Lead Reintegration Consultant was saddled

with the responsibilities of hiring, deploying as well as remunerating personnel on behalf of the office. But even at that, Dokubo did not throw away the baby with the bath water because in the memo, he also encouraged the disengaged consultants to re-apply for their jobs through the Human Resources (HR) firm that was engaged to handle personnel appraisal.

Interestingly, many of those who reapplied got their jobs back after going through rigorous tests that were overseen by the HR firm. Those who scaled the hurdle have since returned to work.

The review committee has also rounded off its work and submitted a voluminous report to Dokubo. While expressing his appreciation to members of the committee, the new Coordinator noted that their findings and recommendations would go a long way in shaping the policy direction of the office under his administration.

“While waiting for this committee to complete its assignment, I took out time to acquaint myself with critical components of the Amnesty Programme and I have indeed learnt a whole lot in the past few weeks. Given my own personal findings and the report this committee has just submitted to me, I can safely say that I am now fully equipped to hit the ground running,” he said.

The Professor also announced that in line with ongoing retooling of the programme, he would embark on series of consultative meetings with critical stakeholders. “The idea is to hear directly from the beneficiaries of the programme on how to make it more effective and much more impactful,” Dokubo averred.

Even then, indications are that stakeholders in the Niger Delta are in agreement that with his appointment, it is already looking like a new dawn for the ex-agitators and beneficiaries of the amnesty programme.

This is a verdict borne out of the fact that despite inheriting a liability said to be in the region of over N7 billion the new coordinator has been able to fast track payments of the monthly stipends and backlogs of in-training allowances to beneficiaries of the programme in educational and vocational institutions in Nigeria and outside the country. He has also emphasized that all hands must be on deck if the objectives of the programme as a critical component for the sustenance of peace and development of Niger Delta is to be achieved.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MAY 13, 2018

SUNDAYINTERVIEW Samuel Ortom

Ortom

FG Genuinely Concerned About Benue Crisis Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, upon return from his leave, had an interactive session with journalists in the state at the Banquet Hall of the Benue Peoples House, where he spoke on topical issues, including the institution of criminal proceedings against the leadership of Miyetti Allah, Kautal Hore, whom he claimed are sponsors of the ongoing killings in the state. George Okoh presents the excerpts:

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hile you were away, some of your security aides were transferred and this is being linked to the alleged plot to eliminate you. Is that correct?

Let me appreciate all of you. Thank you for the support and for standing with me and my government in this trying period. Words are not enough to express my inestimable appreciation to all of you for your advice, your constructive criticisms and support that you’ve given to us especially the siege that Benue State is fighting today. Thank you for the support that you gave to my deputy in my absence and for the achievements that we’ve recorded.

I always say that right from first of January, 2018, you’ve not left us. You’ve stood with us, you’ve stood with the people and this, to a large extent, has cushioned the pains that this government and the people of Benue State are going through.

It is appreciated that you’ve through your pen, made it possible for the outside world to appreciate what we’re going through in Benue State. We’ve gotten tremendous support for our IDPs and this is also attributed to you for making people understand, telling the people the pains that the people of Benue State are going through even beyond the shores of this country. People have tried to reach out to us and it’s based on the information that you’ve been giving out. So you’re deeply appreciated and I pray that God will continue to keep and help us.

Like I always say, the Bible says whatever

you do, do it as unto God and when you do that, it is God that rewards, not really minding what you get today, but the outcome of what it will be tomorrow. Above all, we’re talking about our own state, we’re talking about building a state that posterity will ever remember that we went through the leadership; we’re talking about building a state where there’ll be justice, equity and fairness for all; we’re talking about building a state that will stand on a very sound footing so that the pains we’re going through today as a people, our children will leverage on whatever foundation we’ve built and then effect better development more than the way we’re witnessing today.

So, it’s collective, it’s about all of us working together to achieve it and I remain committed and open to all forms of ideas that can add value to the development of our state. So, while I welcome you, I also thank God for meeting all of you safe despite all the challenges that we’re passing through. I believe that what has a beginning must also have an end, so I believe that very soon we’ll have cause to smile, because the federal government too is deeply concerned about what’s happening and the steps it has taken in the last few days will definitely bring an end to this siege that we are in.

Now, to the question about the transfer of the immediate security personnel attached to me by the Police; of course, I was on vacation and I also heard and saw it, but I did complain through the Commissioner of Police here in Makurdi that this was not right. In the whole country, you have the right, as governor, to

select your immediate security personnel that work with you, and I think the attention of the authority of the Nigerian Police was drawn to this and it was corrected the following day.

So, to me, whether it was made in error or by mischief or whatever means, the important thing is that it was corrected and today, all my aides are with me, because I also saw the letter that was written that cases of transfer of Police officers, as far as Benue State was concerned, should be suspended indefinitely and I have all my aides.

So, I don’t want to read meanings into that for now. As you’re aware, I had to come back and I resumed today, so if there are any other things, I’ll still let you know but for now, an error was done which I drew the attention of the management of the Nigerian Police and it has been corrected. So, that is where we are.

What steps is the state government taking to prevent further attacks on Benue communities?

Since the invasion from January, we’ve not rested. As governor, my deputy and members of the executive council and of course, as members of the security council in Benue State, we’ve been working very hard; we’ve been very proactive, because we have agents in the 276 council wards, in the 23 local governments and we’ve been meeting very frequently to assess and analyse the situation with security agencies in the state. And to complement the security agencies, we’ve also empowered the Vigilante Groups and Livestock Guards to complement what they do.

And we’ve identified all those flash points that these invaders come and attack our people and we’ve adequately made presentations to the federal government and as I speak to you, there’s already a reinforcement going on by all security agencies to ensure that we’re able to surmount this challenge especially of attacking our people, because Mr. President, in my last discussion with him, was deeply concerned about the humanitarian crisis that we’re facing today in Benue State.

A committee was set up to assess the damage and to see how these IDPs can be rehabilitated to go back to their various communities. But one thing that was identified was that areas that were attacked were not yet safe and while the committee was going round, despite the fact that they had adequate security personnel with them, they were also attacked in several places and thank God, the security personnel were able to repel all the attacks that came upon them and no one was hurt till they finished their assignment and went back.

So, Mr. President had indicated that he wants a rehabilitation of these homes, because even when they go back, how are they going to stay in these places? So, we raised the issue of security in these areas and he did assure us and that I’ve seen the sign. As at today, some of the personnel, the top senior people are already in the state and by tomorrow, the Chief of Army Staff is visiting himself just to try to also address this matter. All the security apparatus are augmenting their personnel to help curtail

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MAY 13, 2018

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SUNDAY INTERVIEW t ‘ORTOM: FG GENUINELY CONCERNED ABOUT BENUE CRISIS’ t Continued from Pg. 69

these attacks and I believe that within the shortest possible time, it’ll be done.

Of course, you know that though I am “Chief Security Officer,” of the state I don’t have the authority backing me to order the police or soldiers; that is why we will continue to ask for state police to ensure they are adequately trained and equipped to have the capacity to take care of the security of the state. But for now, it is the responsibility of the federal government.

They too have their deficiencies in terms of capacity, numbers, equipment, funding and this is why I’ll continue to call on my people to continue to support them, because the insurgency that is going on, as at today, out of the 23 local governments, you hardly count five local governments that are not under siege.

So, you can see the enormous challenge. So, there are several ways individuals, groups, communities can come in to support.

We have the Vigilante Group, we have Livestock Guards but these are not armed people, so, it becomes very difficult and when it comes to funding, you discover that the security personnel in the state are grossly underfunded and ill-equipped. We need to support them. Where individuals or groups or corporate organisations have that kind of support, you can pass through government, you can pass through anybody or to them directly by way of mobility, funding or whatever that can be available to support the security agents to work.

On our part, we’re working very hard and that is why I had to reschedule my trip to come back earlier than I had planned, because of the continued attacks. So, I’m here putting heads with the deputy governor and other members of council and security agencies and I believe that this will definitely have an end.

The efforts of the security agencies looking beyond the issue of grazing is also a welcome development. I think by the grace of God, we’ll soon surmount this challenge.

What’s your reaction to the military invasion and massive destruction in Naka, vis-à-vis the failure of the military to react in the same manner when Fulani militia killed their men like it happened in Yogbo years back and Tyulen recently? Will Benue seek redress?

I condemn the invasion in its totality, this is unwarranted.

I must also condemn the killing of the army personnel in Naka and that was why my deputy, who was then the acting governor, swiftly took action by directing the chairman of the local government and the traditional rulers of the Gwer West Local Government to ensure that the perpetrators were arrested and brought to justice. And this was done. Even while I was away, I was keenly following up until these suspects were handed over to the Commanding Officer 72 battalion, and so the action of government was very clear.

Five people were arrested and it was not the military that arrested them or police. The chairman of the Local Government

and the traditional council came together and arrested these people and handed them over. And so, there was no basis whatsoever for an invasion. We’ve reported this to the Chief of Army Staff and he has already directed an inquiry to be made and they assured me that anyone found wanting will be dealt with according to the laws and so I’m waiting for the outcome.

I don’t want to preempt what will be but this is not right and I’ll continue to tell our people that criminality in all its forms is not allowed. Reprisal or revenge of any type will not be accepted by this government. We are a government that believes in the fear of God and God respects human sanctity and it is important that whatever happens, blood should not be shed even when you are attacked, reprisal is not the solution; it’s not the answer.

The answer is the rule of law. That is the only thing that can guarantee safety for all.

When you allow lawlessness to prevail, you are calling for anarchy and when there is anarchy, no one will ever be safe.

And you don’t know the extent that will take us to. So, at all times, we must be law-abiding. The security agencies are there; don’t think that they are slow. Justice may not be gotten that same day, but if you follow due process, justice will definitely be gotten. And I want to encourage our people to at all times appreciate this. So, until we have the report of the Chief of Army Staff, then, we’ll know exactly what other steps we’re going to take.

The National Economic Council prohibited open grazing and it was done in just few states including Benue. But don’t you think the Benue Anti-open grazing law should be adopted and enforced nationwide?

You know that Nigeria is a federation comprising 36 states and Abuja. And of course, the 36 states are federating units and these units are independent of each other. The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria mandates each federating unit to make laws for good governance of their citizens. This is what we did as far as this law is concerned. You’re aware that this challenge between herdsmen and farmers in Benue State and other parts of the country preceded the current administration whether at the federal level or Benue State.

The steps we took were to forestall crisis finally for farmers and herdsmen and we remain committed to this in Benue State.

We cannot talk about any other state. But I must congratulate the Benue people. I must congratulate all of you – the media for standing with us in defence of this law. You appreciate the fact that since May 22, 2017, when we signed the bill into law, it became so contentious. There were several schools of thought and several agitations from several quarters.

So, for the National Economic Council, NEC, coming to adopt that truly, ranching is the right way to go, for us in Benue State, it is congratulations to all of us and we appreciate God. And

for other states adopting this, it is left for them to decide. There are various Houses of Assembly; there are various governors and the processes of making laws for their good governance.

Mind you, out of the 36 states, we have our peculiarities. What is peculiar to me here may be different from my colleague here in Nasarawa, Ebonyi and other states. So, it is now left for them to decide if they so wish. We’ve always said that the prohibition of open grazing in Benue State is a product of the people themselves.

You were all here and you saw that in the process of making this law, the people were in a hurry to the extent that Benue State House of Assembly was occupied more than three times.

And you had people coming – old women, young and so on – coming in to protest and ensure that this law was enacted.

So, the Assembly was not spared. Several times, the people came and occupied the Assembly. Even as I speak to you today, before I went on vacation, I had cause to tour the IDP camps.

I visited the eight of them and in spite of the hardship and the pains that the IDPs were going through, in each of the camps, I did pose a question: “Do we find a way of repealing this law?” and unanimously they said no. They believe that this is the way to go. From the old women, the old men, the young men and girls and even children, they were all unanimous. So, for me, it is a plus to us for NEC to have taken that decision. I commend the wisdom of the Vice-President by setting up that committee that went out to assess the situation and the entire members of National Economic Council (NEC) coming to adopt this.

Like the northern governors, some weeks ago met in Kaduna and adopted that ranching remains the only option to stop the challenge of herdsmen/farmers crisis. Like they did say, by 2050, the total population of Nigeria by projection would be 415 million and if we have approximately, 200 million and we are having this challenge, by the time we double that population, where are we going to be? Where would you have the land for open grazing?

So, I commend NEC for taking this bold decision. Individual states are at liberty to decide what is good for them. I’m aware that sometime ago, my colleague in Kano State called on all herdsmen to go to Kano that they have enough land for them to do open grazing. That is the kind of thing that I’m talking about.

For us here, it is impossible, because we don’t have the land; our land is for crop production, which is the main occupation of our people. Even within our population here, that land is not enough for farming. So, I appreciate God that ranching remains the best global practice. It is what is obtainable in India and other parts of Asia, in Europe and in America.

In fact, it may interest you to know that the total herd of cattle we have in Nigeria is estimated to be less than 20 million. But you have over 200 million in India; you have over 250 million in Brazil; you have over 300 million in America and they all ranch and you don’t hear about farmers, herdsmen clashing at any time. So, ranching is the right way to go. I commend NEC and I believe that with this position of NEC, we will finally have peace. Those insurgents that are still going about killing our people are not out for cattle business or cattle rearing; they are out for a different agenda and we are not going to allow that agenda manifest in Benue State.

While you were away, the coordinator of the Livestock Guards was arrested by security agents and it was well celebrated. His arrest was said to be on suspicion of his links with the Boko Haram insurgent group and killings in Benue State. Yet, there have been repeated calls for the arrest of the leadership of Miyetti Allah, Kautal Hore for making threats to attack the state and carrying out same and nothing has been done. How do you see this?

Let me say that as a law abiding governor and someone, who believes in the rule of law, I’ll always support due process.

Security agencies are at liberty to arrest, detain and investigate anyone, who they may suspect to be involved in security breach or perpetuating insecurity. The arrest of Tershaku is one of such and as for me as I always do, and you are witnesses to the fact that when it comes to issues of security and prosecution, I don’t interfere. I’ve made a statement through my assistant after his arrest that due process should be followed; he should not be victimised but security men should be fair to him.

He should be investigated and if at the end, he is found culpable, he should be prosecuted. When my adviser was suspected of murder and a commissioner was also a suspect in a murder case, I asked them to resign. Although they were not convicted, I said for the purpose of credibility of this government they needed to give way and they gave way. They had to resign.

You are also aware that even when one of my appointees was convicted, I asked him to resign. Later though, he appealed the decision of the lower court and was exonerated and is now a free man. If I have another opportunity I’m going to appoint him again. So I don’t want to talk about the arrest other than to say let the needful be done; let there be no victimization.

If at the end an investigation is carried out and he is culpable, let that be. On Miyetti Allah, I’m also dumbfounded. I’ve said it repeatedly; I’ve written and will continue to write and continue to raise the alarm that the leadership of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore is responsible for the killings; for the mercenary work that is going on in Benue State. I still want to repeat that they are responsible. There are evidences; they are on tape, they have done press conferences and none of them has come out to refute what was credited to them in the media.

They’ve said it is about Jihad; it’s not about grazing. They said it is about occupation; about taking over the land. They’ve said it and the evidence is there.

(See the concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

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M ͹ͻ˜ ͺ͸͹΀ ˾ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

PERSPECTIVE

My Story at 56 Ike Ekweremadu

I

am happy to address the 7th Enugu Youth Summit. Today, I am going to talk to you about myself with the hope that the young people here will learn one or two things.

I was born in 1962 and will be 56 on the 12th of May. It was on my fourth birthday that the Republic of Biafra was declared and what followed was 30 months of civil war. Within those 30 months, those of us, who were too young to fight, suffered a lot of setbacks. We had to sleep under trees, by bank of rivers, and in the valleys in order to avoid flying bullets.

We could not go to school because schools had been demolished or set on fire. Markets were destroyed; businesses were destroyed. Our friends, brothers, and sisters, who lived in the north and Lagos returned home with their businesses abandoned; their lives destroyed.

That was how people like us started.

When the war ended in 1970, we managed to go back to school, studying under trees because there were virtually no schools standing, but we managed to proceed under that condition.

By 1974, I had got to elementary six and took the First School Leaving Certificate. Now, because of the number of children in the family that also required education, a decision had to be made whether I would learn a trade or proceed with my education. That decision took one year and it was that I was going to learn a business or trade. The day I was to be taken away to start learning the business, I disappeared from the house. When I eventually returned, it was obvious to my parents that I preferred to go to school and in 1975, I got into secondary school. In spite of that setback, by the time I finished in 1980, I made grade 1, scoring “A” in almost all subjects.

As it were in those days, if you did well in secondary school, you had the opportunity of teaching in secondary school. I was employed as a teacher and deployed to St. Vincent Secondary School, Agbogugu.

Two years later, I entered the University of Nigeria, earning my LL.B, went to Law school, was called to the Bar and later returned to the University of Nigeria for my LL.M. Years later, I got my doctorate degree in Law. Today, as part of my academic pursuit, I am a proud Professor of the Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in America.

My first political experience came when I was ten years old. I became the chairman of my age grade and this spanned a period of 30 years. I later became the president of my town union at 30. At 35, I became a local government chairman. At 37, I was Chief of Staff. At 39, I became Secretary to the State Government and at 41, I was already in the Senate.

So, I have good news for you: if I could do it, you too can do it. That is the essence of this story. If anybody tells you, young men and women out there that tomorrow belongs to you, don’t listen to him. It is today that belongs to you.

The next issue is: What has propelled me all these years? One is my absolute trust in God. I have always believed that power comes from God and with him, there is nothing you cannot achieve. So, no matter what they tell you, it is only God that can determine your fate.

He has the final say.

But there must be principles that come with it. One is a sense of justice and equity. When I was a local government chairman, I made sure that whatever we did encompassed the various communities under my watch.

When I finished my tenure, I was adjudged the best local government chairman in Enugu State.

When I got into the Senate, I would not be just the senator for Aninri people where I come from. I would rather be the senator for Udi, Ezeagu, Oji River, Awgu and Aninri. I have made sure that if there are electricity or water projects, they have to go round.

When I became the Deputy President of the Senate in 2007, one of the first major road projects we attracted was the Oji River-Awgu road, not Awgu-Ndeaboh road.

The second was the Awgu-Ndeaboh-Mpu-OkpankuAkaeze road. One day, I came back home and saw right in my village, the contractor had put asphalt on the road in front of my house. I called the Minister of Works and complained that the contractor had left the stretch from Awgu-Ndeaboh and started in front of my house. I said I don’t behave that way and that they must remove that asphalt. I insisted and they removed the asphalt, left the road as bad as it was and went and started where they should start.

At the time I got into the Senate, there was no electricity in any part of Aninri whatsoever. So, when

Ekweremadu the government decided to put electricity in my place, there was also the same temptation to take the light from New Haven, Enugu, straight to my village. I told them that I was not interested; that I had to ensure that all the communities on the way to my village had light before it got to me.

We wanted to do youth centre and we made sure that there is one in each local government. When we distribute human resources development, scholarship, every local government gets equal number. Aninri doesn’t get one extra.

Now, the lesson here is that when you are fair to people, they also respond in the same manner. Because I have been fair to all the local governments that make up my senatorial district, the people of Enugu West have graciously returned me to the Senate for four consecutive terms and if I want to go again, I am sure they will return me again.

At the Senate, I try not to see myself as the senator representing Enugu West or just Enugu State or Igboland.

I see myself as a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. That means that what concerns the people of Zamfara concerns me; what concerns the people of Sokoto also concerns me; and when Lagos is involved, I am also concerned. That was why I had to visit Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Adamawa, Gombe, and other places to support and tell them that this too shall pass, for they are going through what I went also passed through between 1967 and 1970; and that it shall be well with them.

Because of my pan-Nigerian attitude, my colleagues in the Senate in 2007 elected me as Deputy President of the Senate unopposed; in 2011 they repeated that. In 2015, even when my party was in the minority and I was running against somebody from the mainstream party, my colleagues believed that I could still serve as the Deputy President of the Senate and they would be satisfied.

In 2003, I got into the Senate and I was also elected from the Senate of Nigeria to represent my colleagues at the ECOWAS Parliament. In 2007, my colleagues rewarded me with the post of Deputy Speaker of the Parliament and later in 2011 when it was Nigeria’s turn to produce the Parliament’s Speaker, I became the first Nigerian to hold the position of the Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament. Because the speakership of the Community Parliament is rotational in alphabetical order, the next Nigerian Speaker of the Parliament will emerge in nearly 60-year time.

My point is that in whatever you do, try to be fair to all. In your home, treat your children equally. If you are president of a town union, ensure that there is equity. If you are a traditional ruler, do not discriminate between those from your village and those from other villages; and if you rise to be the governor of a state as a young man, remember that every part of the state is your concern. If you are President of Nigeria, it is important that you realise that every part of Nigeria is your constituency and you need to treat them equally, with justice. If you do that, you won’t harvest trouble and Nigerians will not mind how many years you spend in power or where you come from. They will give you all their support and solidarity.

Finally, there is hope for all of you, the youth. I am a firm believer in the power of our youth. We will support all of you, who desire to run for any office. One of the practical ways is to reduce the age limit for you to contest elections. We have amended our constitution and hopefully the president will sign it.

Thank you for this opportunity to share my life story with you. God bless our youth. God bless Nigeria.

–––Ekweremadu, Deputy President of the Senate, delivered this motivational talk at the 7th Enugu Youth Summit

72

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R Ëž AY 13, 2018

PERSPECTIVE

Pulling Down Bayelsa’s Multi-billion Naira Fraud Industry Fidelis Soriwei

W

hen he took over the baton of leadership in Bayelsa in 2012, Governor Henry Seriake Dickson promised the citizenry a meticulous adherence to effective management of the resources of the state. He was firm in his declaration that the Restoration Administration would have no place for profligacy and a simmering culture of waste in the state. To show the magnitude and depth of his commitment to financial accountability and transparency, Dickson signed the Bayelsa State transparency bill into law. To him, the pursuit of transparency and accountability must flow from the Creek Haven seat of governance in the state.

The law mandates the governor to brief the state on receipts from the Federation Account, internally generated revenue and expenditures in the state.

In what was clearly a marked break away from an cruel tradition of the past, the governor affirmed his determination to ensure that revenue coming into the state were not shared to service the vast appetite of the elite political class to the detriment of the development of the state. Dickson vowed that funds coming into the state would be effectively utilized to address the challenge of development bedevilling the state.

After four years of presiding over the affairs of the state, Dickson took the route avoided by his predecessors to take on ingrained corruption in the civil service. He holds the view that the desired development of Bayelsa must be anchored on a civil service that is vibrant and productive. He was fired by a compelling desire to introduce reforms to reposition a civil service that was in custody of a seemingly ineradicable rot and widespread fraud. Dickson was worried and genuinely too that Bayelsa, which is rated the least populated in the country has the largest civil service after Lagos and Kano! The governor opted to take the uncomfortable path to confront a thriving industry of fraud perpetrated by a network of syndicates that specialize in bleeding the state of huge amount of resources that should have gone into project execution.

At his re-election for a second tenure in office in 2016, Dickson commenced a tortuous process of the implementation of the public sector reforms with the intent to free Bayelsa from the jugulars of payroll crooks and save endangered funds for development. It did not take too long for the multi sectoral public reform panel set up by the governor to come up with damning discoveries of large scale employment and financial fraud in the public sector.

The civil service was replete with cases of people benefitting from multiple employments, persons working as senior civil servants with fake, computer generated certificates, those benefitting from indefensible promotions in a brazen violation of civil service rules, pension fraudsters, age falsifiers, ghost workers,

Dickson beneficiaries of inherited employments among others.

Dickson was resolute in the bid to knock off ghost workers, over aged personnel, primary schools kids, dead workers, and Diaspora workers all drawing salaries from the state coffers.

He stood his ground amidst overt and surreptitious moves to blackmail the government to drop the idea of the reforms.

Dickson insisted that it was a ruling priority of his Restoration Government to bequeath a disciplined, motivated and productive civil service to drive the process of development in Bayelsa.

He considered this decision sacrosanct and inviolate.

Two years of sustained hard work engendered by a painstaking implementation of the ongoing reforms and verification exercises introduced by the governor, have yielded some results.

The total wage of bill of the state, which was over N5 billion and N1.7 billion in the eight local government areas in 2012 have been drastically reduced to about N4 billion including salaries of political appointees. Dickson also disclosed in a meeting of the

State Executive Committee in November last year that Bayelsa was losing N1 billion per month to the payroll syndicate in the state. But he said the fraud would not persist.

With the emergent discovery of large scale fraud involving billions of state funds, the panel being coordinated by the Deputy Governor Gboribiogha Jonah took the first major step to withhold the salaries of 4,204 suspected fraudsters from the payroll in November, 2017. The withheld salaries were paid into the Unpaid Salaries Account. Those affected include 1,329 local government employees, 2184 from the Primary School Education System and 707 from the pension payroll. However, the government constituted a judicial commission of inquiry under the leadership of Justice Doris Adokeme to hear complaints emanating from the implementation of the reforms as a deliberate bid to prevent the punishment of innocent workers.

Yet, no less worrisome is the preliminary report by the State Government Committee on Civil Service Reforms in February, 2018 that over 8000 civil servants got their appointments through an illegal system of inheritance in the state. The names of the affected workers were smuggled into the payroll as replacement for their friends, parents and relatives who retired from the service. The panel also uncovered 500 administration officers in one local government area, (Sagbama) and 5000 non-academic staff in the Niger Delta University and the other five state-owned tertiary institutions in Bayelsa.

While the state awaits the final report of the panel on the mind boggling payroll debacle in Bayelsa by the end of May, 2018, the chairmen of the eight local government areas told a bewildered citizenry that the councils have recorded a wage bill reduction of N3. 912 billion per annum as a direct consequence of the reforms. A preliminary report released by the committee also shows that the reforms have worked the additional magic of reducing the monthly salaries of teachers in the councils from N1.320bn to N1.027 billion per month.

One critical outcome of the implementation of the ongoing reforms is the deployment of redundant workers to other agencies of government where they would have the opportunity to make input to the development of the state.

As, it is, with all genuine reforms, there have been complaints and indeed outright blackmail orchestrated by the wellorganized payroll syndicate to demonize the reforms. However, to the citizens of Bayelsa, the figures emanating from the reform panels emits a breath of fresh air as they signal a drastic reduction of the state’s over bloated payroll. It is indeed a fact beyond contradiction that the ongoing reforms introduced by Governor Dickson signals the end of a cruel culture of entitlement and a regime of financial terror perpetrated by a greedy band of unscrupulous characters to the detriment of Bayelsa and her citizens. The reforms have rescued billions of Naira from the unconscionable talons of payroll vultures in Bayelsa. ––Soriwei is Special Adviser, Media Relations to the Governor of Bayelsa State

Ă?ÒÓÙ×ÒÙÖĂ?ËŞĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă? Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜ Jelili Adetayo

F

ears that the All Progressives Congress, APC, was headed for the rocks as a result of intrigues over who becomes its next national chairman, seem to have naturally disappeared with the emergence of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole in the race.

And it was not surprising that what looked like a budding leadership battle of epic proportion, now belongs to the past just because of one man’s intention.

Many people, who are conversant with the leadership trajectory of the former Edo State governor, would not be astonished. After all, Oshiomhole has a history of raising the leadership bar in every sensitive position he occupies. As a labour leader, he had a record that is still unrivalled, just as he created a governance model with his stewardship in Edo State.

This aura of competence that he has brought to the scene is the reason for new orderliness in the race.

One is not surprised that virtually every organ of the party, seems at home with his entrant into the contest. This manifested in the composition of attendees at his formal declaration for the position in Abuja. It was an event that proved naysayers wrong as many closed ranks in solidarity with Oshiomhole.

What else can APC look for in a chairman!

The forum which was held at the Transcorp Hotel, Abuja, was a melting point for party chieftains, who identified with Oshiomhole’s vision.

Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum and Governor of Imo State, Chief Rochas Okorocha, and his Edo State counterpart, Godwin Obaseki, led leaders of the party to the event.

Others at the forum included former governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva; Senator Ovie Omo -Agege; Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shuaibu; and Speaker of Edo State House of Assembly, Kabiru Adjoto.

Others are National Vice Chairman, South-south of the APC, Hilliard Etta; who led Senator Olusola Adeyeye, Senator Francis Alimekhena, and the entire members of the APC caucus from Edo State in the National and state Houses of Assembly to the

gathering.

The event was a platform for Oshiomhole to outline the goals he seek to achieve with his vision for the party, saying he wanted to strengthen the party ahead of the 2019 general election.

Notwithstanding, he regretted certain things that are wrong in the party, stating that he is on a salvage mission. Oshiomhole pledged to provide a leadership that will bring peace and ensure unity among party members. “For me, it is fundamental to be able to have a membership driven party grounded at the grassroots. Accordingly, it is important that we must ensure that we have an authentic and verifiable membership register that can be checked and verified by members and even non-members of the party. It is, therefore, an irreducible minimum obligation on the part of the party to have a credible membership register that cannot be altered at the whims and caprices of any one, including the leadership of the party,� he said his impending reforms in the party.

He said he would revive the APC Data Center that was established under the interim leadership of Chief Bisi Akande, but was destroyed by the State Security Services on the orders of the Peoples Democratic Party administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan on November 22, 2014.

According to him, with a credible membership register and given the state of information technology, a functional database is an indispensable tool that will help eliminate abuse and corruption in the conduct of intra-party election from unit to ward to local government to state and national levels.

He said he would sustain membership recruitment and ensure that members of the party are given a robust sense of ownership and control, adding that he looked forward to ensure that this also translates to a good working relationship between the executive and legislative arms of government.

To achieve this, he proposed that the party must have seasoned parliamentarians, including non-serving senators and representatives to monitor the National Assembly on a daily basis and advice the party leadership on engagement with the National Assembly. “The party under my leadership will recognise that the parliament is unique, diverse and faced with a lot of challenges. The party will, therefore, ensure coherence in all dispositions and decisions of parliament. The party will proactively settle any rift between executive and legislature

Oshiomhole without compromising the principle of separation of powers,�

Oshiomhole said.

Also speaking at the event, Okorocha said: “I have no doubt in my mind, not even an iota of doubt that Oshiomhole when elected will show the way. Oshiomhole’s coming as a National chairman of APC is bad news to other political parties. In 2014, I recall vividly how we formed this party, the APC. Then he was a governor, and we all sat down thinking how to take power from the incumbent and it was not an easy task. But I want to tell all of you that Adams Oshiomhole is a rugged fighter. And a man who can face challenges and I have no doubt that he will make a good chairman when elected�. ––Adetayo writes from Kubwa, Abuja

73

M ͹ͻ˜ ͺ͸͹΀ ˾THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

PERSPECTIVE

How the Present Favours Atiku Odilim Enwegbara

P

resident Herbert Hoover did not cause the Great Depression. But his sin was that rather than his policies bringing it to an end — or at least bringing it under control — his policies indeed worsened the whole situation. Even knowing fully well that the fact on the ground couldn’t lie, President Hoover preferred to engage in self-deception and false optimism, accusing his predecessor to be responsible for the economic menace. In the meantime, believed that come November 1932 he would be winning landslide.

However, Hoover lost big simply because his arrogant mindset blinded him from seeing the reality on the ground, not to mention caring to come up with how to reduce the widespread poverty, anger and hunger in America which were obvious and unprecedented throughout his four years as president.

Today, these same events are repeating themselves in our young democracy, where a former military dictator who having run in 2003, 2007, and 2011 without success, got elected in 2015 on a platter of gold thanks to PDP’s mistake of fielding President Jonathan for reelection, notwithstanding his agreement with the country’s Northern politicians in 2011 that should he win in 2011, he would never seek a reelection in 2015.

But with Buhari as president, everything that could go wrong with a government is going wrong with this administration. Even though everything that should go wrong has embarrassingly gone wrong in Nigeria since 2015 under his watch, the same way the handlers of Hoover never allowed him to see how bad things were, President Buhari’s handlers have preferred to falsely construct a prosperous Nigeria and made sure the President is never allowed to know the truth, including the incredible herdsmen menace, who have turned the whole country into a killing ground and have been doing so with such unbelievable impunity.

Their impunity has gone so far that one of the respected military veterans of this country, General T.Y. Danjuma, had to openly ask Nigerians to carry arms in order to defend and protect themselves since their elected government has failed to defend them from the hands of the murderous herdsmen.

Truly security has never been this bad. The senseless killings of innocent Nigerians have now got to the level that citizens across the country are now resorting to self-help in order to secure their lives and property.

While these mistakes go on, members of the Buhari administration seem to prefer shooting themselves in the foot. But unknown to them, each time they shoot themselves in the foot, they end up increasing the chances of PDP’s landslide victory come 2019.

Knowingly or unknowingly, the APC is handing to the PDP victory on a platter of gold, While members of APC out of fear of the presidency seem not to be publicly alarmed, what this has translated to is that knowingly or unknowingly they are by this, giving on the same platter of gold handing PDP victory in 2019, a repeat of how PDP handed Buhari victory in 2015.

Thanks to the fact that this time around, the presidential candidates of the two major parties are both Northerners, the chances of the repeat of Northern election protest in 2015 against a Southern presidential candidate remains non-existent.

Since this is the inevitable truth, the 2019 electoral map will radically change from what it was in 2015. What this immediately tells us is that it is the southern electorate, not the northern electorate, who will determine the northern presidential candidate who will become president-elect in February 2019.

This is not to say that either northern or southern electorate alone have the electoral power to determine the president of Nigeria because if it has ever been possible Buhari wouldn’t have repeatedly lost in 2003, 2007 or 2011.

Given the above analysis along with the present economic and security menace Nigerians have been subjected to since Buhari became president, the irreversible truth is with Buhari unacceptable, certainly he has become unelectable in 2019.

What the changing electoral map is revealing to us is that should PDP field presidential material like Atiku Abubakar, certainly PDP would have been cruising to retaking power from APC; with lessons learned to never again take the interest of the Nigerian electorate for granted.

To see how Atiku will defeat Buhari in landslide victory in February 2019 the same way Roosevelt defeated Hoover in landslide victory in November 1932, here is what the new electoral map will look like in the 2019 presidential election.

Let us start with Buhari’s main base, Kano State. As it seems, Obasanjo is all out to field Rabiu Kwankwaso. If and when this happens, certainly his SDP-led Coalition will make Buhari and Kwankwaso fight over Kano.

This battle could possibly be extended to Jigawa and Zamfara.

Should their popularity be tested, it is likely that Kwankwaso’s popularity in these core Northern states, Buhari will divide electoral base into a 50-50. There’s the likelihood that Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, might give his full support to Kwankwaso, the man who made him Emir.

The fear here is that, should Kwankwaso get 50% of Kano - or even 40% votes - Buhari will be seriously in trouble. Why? It’s obvious that as a result of protest votes, the States of Taraba, Plateau, (Southern) Kaduna, Benue, Kogi, Nassarawa, Kwara, Abuja, and possibly Adamawa — along with Shiite Muslims across the North — Atiku’s landslide victory is assured.

Why I’m so certain? A close look at how the whole electorate in

Buhari

Atiku

Middle Belt Northern States will vote reveals that. If anyone is still in doubt that as high as 80% of their votes will be handed to Atiku in protest then one is yet to recognize the anger and frustration across these States, and why their determination to vote for him given how his cosmopolitan and religious moderation has earned him the kind leadership personality these Nigerians are crying for today.

But if the electorate of Middle Belt States are this angry and fully determined to sack Buhari come 2019, you better wait and see how the whole Southeastern electorate will vote in full protest to ensure that never again should politicians with Buhari’s kind of arrogance and insensitivity to ethnic group feelings be allowed to become the supposed president of all Nigerians. No doubt Southeast electorate will give Atiku as high as 95% of their votes.

And for boldly insisting that the country is in need of restructuring with the return to the pre-1966 fiscal federalism, because 100% will be impossible, with the possible exception of Edo State, surely Atiku will be getting as high as 90% of all South South votes especially because of his support for restructuring and the possible return of the Nigeria to its pre-1966 fiscal federalism.

While some 2019 presidential election watchers might wrongly believe that PDP would have difficulty wining in Southwest, here are some of the new electoral map surprises they have not fully considered, starting with Lagos State.

First, Lagos will be won by Atiku. How and why? Since Lagos electoral map shows 40% of Southeastern and as high as over 15% of other non-Southwestern voters, when added with as high as 50% of Southwestern voters who have been so disappointed with Buhari’s leadership style, certainly Atiku will be getting at least 55% of the entire Lagos electorate’s votes. That will be terrible news for Buhari and Tinubu.

Yes, Buhari is likely to win the States of Oyo, Ogun; the States of Osun, Ekiti and Ondo will be voting for Atiku, who they will be voting for in protest against the president’s nonchalant attitude towards herdsmen killings across the country. This, they will do, in solidarity with the Middle Belt States where most of killings occurred ending in full destruction of both lives and farmlands.

Besides, what goes for Atiku is his great business and entrepreneurial successes. The difference between Atiku and Buhari grows miles apart, considering who between them has what it takes to run Nigeria efficiently as a successful business. Here Atiku remains in Roosevelt’s class, while Buhari’s lack of understanding of how to run a country as a business keeps Buhari in Hoover’s class.

Because Atiku will hire and appoint the best and brightest Nigerians not minding their political, ethnic or religious affiliation, there is no way an Atiku cabinet will have the like of the present finance minister or allow one politician no matter how he has helped his campaign to be in charge of three important ministries like power, works, and housing.

Like the same way Roosevelt appointed America’s best, practical and commonsense public policy geniuses like Henry Morgenthau Jr. who notwithstanding lacking elementary knowledge of economics was appointed Treasury Secretary and Marriner Stoddard Eccles a high school dropout as the Federal Reserve Chairman (US Central Bank Governor), an Atiku Abubakar presidency will eventually look for Nigerians gifted not on the basis of best academic certification, but who are exceptionally talented to help his administration through the difficulty of putting Nigeria on the industrial map.

Like how Deng transformed the provincial economy of China into the world’s ever best in growth figures with more than half a billion Chinese joining the middle class and over 600 million of China’s 1.4 billion people, with his big dream for Nigeria Atiku will make Nigeria’s economy to be growing at as high as 12% with equally as high as 5 million Nigerians getting some good paying jobs annually.

In politics where tribalism earns politicians elections and re-elections, Atiku stands out among his peers. And why shouldn’t he, especially, having married from the North, Southwest and

Southeast?

If in 2003, 2007, and 2011 Buhari won most of the core Northern States but still never won the presidency, is it now that he will win a reelection at a time his once Northern political base has been fully fragmented due to his looking the other way while the North, like the South was burning? So, the same core Northern electorate who failed to elect him president in 2003, 2007, and 2011, will come, February 2019, fail to make him president.

The fact that most powerful Northerners are not publicly opposing Buhari is simply because they are afraid of persecution given how Buhari’s powerful army of religious and ethnic followers wouldn’t hesitate to go after any of them wanting to publicly oppose him politically.

For those who have been insisting that Atiku’s chances are slim given what has become the Obasanjo factor, I’ve often wondered why most Nigerians have always given too much attention to such a thing that hardly exist. That’s why I have always demanded to see that magic power former President Obasanjo has that makes him to have the unique power to reverse or annul the votes of majority of Nigerians. Of course, Obasanjo knows well that his so-called SDP-led Coalition is already dead on arrival.

It is true that as a very close friend of Washington, Obasanjo has the ears of some powerful US establishment, thanks to his being there since 1985, and above all for having during his 8 years as Nigeria’s post-military civilian president given a lot of favours to some of them using our oil. But, then, the truth remains that no matter what, the election of Nigeria’s president is a constitutional power only Nigerians have and will always exercise.

Those know what has been happening between Obasanjo and Atiku know that it all started in 2003 when it was alleged that Obasanjo had to kneel down to Atiku while begging him not to run for the presidency. So, it is all about political differences which I’m not sure we will be interested in here.

That’s also what metamorphosed into all kinds of unfounded lies about Atiku, including the so-called Atiku being wanted in America. This fabricated falsehood by Obasanjo and his paid mischief makers even without substance has been so recycled that it’s time to dump it in the dustbin where it permanently belongs.

I say so knowing who Obasanjo is, a vindictive man, who will never stop at anything once he feels to be hurt by someone. Wise men are wise because they know that in life one must always forgive so as to be free from burden of always feeling hurt.

I will certainly insist that America cannot bring non-existent charges because Obasanjo wants to humiliate Atiku. This is because Washington cannot falsely charge Atiku, especially when Washington has too many important things to preoccupy itself than wanting to please one of its boys, Obasanjo. In fact, were there truly anything out there to implicate Atiku, Obasanjo would have gone to the extent of spending millions of dollars to sponsor such implicating charges so as to expose and humiliate Atiku.

That Atiku should visit America so as to shame those insisting that he cannot visit America without risking being picked up is like when Satan asked Jesus if he says he’s the son of God why shouldn’t he save himself. Jesus should have proved Satan wrong by demonstrating his power, which would have amounted to bringing himself to the level of Satan.

As someone who was privileged to have out of curiosity participated in the International Security Studies at MIT, and as a result, discovered how ferociously the US goes after those foreign leaders who committed crimes in the US — including leaders like Manuel Noriega — I can authoritatively state that there were no such serious charges against Atiku, because if there were, the US would have gone after Atiku if not in Nigeria, they would have picked him up anywhere in the world, particularly in western countries like the UK, where Atiku visits a lot. But let me ask: Since when has freely visiting the US become one of the constitutional requirements for contesting for the presidency of Nigeria?

–– Odilim Enwegbara, a development economist, writes from Abuja.

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MAY 13, 2018 ˾ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

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NEWSXTRA FG Laments Incessant Strike Action

by Teachers, University Workers Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi The federal government has lamented the incessant strike action by teachers and other university workers, saying that the repercussions of such actions usually retard the smooth running of academic activities in

institutions, with heavy negative consequences.

President Muhammadu Buhari stated this yesterday during the combined 23rd, 24th and 25th convocation ceremony, held at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Yelwa Campus in Bauchi.

The President who was represented by the Executive Secretary of National University Commission, Dr Gidado Bello, assured that his administration would soon come up with modalities of addressing grievances of teachers and university workers without a faceoff in order to

stabilise and balance the system.

He assured the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) that the federal government was working on modalities to address their grievances without a face-off thereby ending incessant strikes in the country’s universities.

“Our resolve to address the decay in the system is in no doubt, just as our collective resolve as a government and people is unwavering. We invite you to come to us with meaningful suggestions that will add value to the system.

“It is my belief that the exchange

of views and ideas will assist in arriving at mutually acceptable solutions to most of our today’s problems in the educational sector. I therefore advise for continued dialogue and consultations among all the stakeholders in the system”, he added.

The President called on staff members of the university to reinvent the culture of leadership, followership and stewardship, pointing out that they must be leaders in their assigned responsibilities of tutoring the youths; imbibe followership to the constituted authorities, and be stewards to the overall system for the progress of the country.

In Brief Makarfi Mourns Late CAN Scribe

EXQUISITE INAUGURATION L- R: Chairman, ASO Savings and Loans Plc, Alhaji Ali Magashi; Non-Executive Director, Aso Savings, Mr. Olutoyin Okeowo; Executive Director, Aso Savings, Risikatu Ahmed; and MD, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Ahmed Dangiwa during the inauguration of the exquisite Aso Garden Estate, Kasarna, Abuja...recently

Former National Caretaker Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ahmed Makarfi has commiserated with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), over the death of its General Secretary, Dr. Musa Asake. Asake died on Friday in Abuja following a brief illness.

Makarfi, in the statement signed by his spokesman, Mukhtar Sirajo, said he was shocked and sad over news of Asake’s death. The former Kaduna governor said, “Asake lived a life well spent, giving his best into what he wanted

to do best, which was serving God through humanity.”

NAF Graduates 18 Pioneer Super Mushak Aircraft Pilots Senator Iroegbu in Abuja The Nigerian Air Force has graduated the first set of 18 ab-initio student pilots who were trained with the recently acquired Super Mushshak aircraft.

The Director of Public Relations and Information (DOPRI), Air Vice Marshal Olatokunbo Adesanya, in a statement yesterday, said besides the pioneer group, another set of 26 student pilots was inaugurated during the ceremony, which took place at

401 Flying Training School, NAF Base, Kaduna.

Speaking during the ceremony weekend, the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, stated that the graduation of Student Pilot Course (SPC) 43 and the inauguration of SPC 45 were indications of the premium placed on the realisation of the CAS Vision’s cardinal driver, which is human capacity development.

Abubakar, represented by the Chief of Training and Opera-

American, Nigerian NGOs Collaborate against Human Trafficking, Sex Slavery Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri

Nigeria-based Non-governmental organisation (NGO), Complete Care and Aid Foundation is collaborating with an American organisation, Freedom’s Shield to arrest the growing trend of human trafficking and sex slavery many Nigerians are forced into.

Representatives of the American organisation, Bob Kent and Hazim Alasad at the weekend during the signing of agreement with the Nigerian organisation owned by Aisha Wakil, popularly called Mama Boko Haram, lamented that “ignorance is the major factor of human trafficking and

prostitution continue to thrive in Nigeria. “ Kent, who spoke to journalists after the agreement was reached with the Nigerian NGO, said: “The women never knew they were entering into prostitution.”

He equally said the harsh economy has left many Nigerians to believe that great opportunities exist outside of their native land.

He said: “The economy is equally making many to think that there are better opportunities outside of their country. We will try as much as possible to get them away from their traffickers and enlighten them and try to raise fund for them in Nigeria or in other parts of the world.”

tions at Headquarters NAF, Air Vice Marshal Nurudeen Balogun, said the event was epochal because the graduating officers were the first set to be trained on the new aircraft.

According to him, the design of the aircraft and its modern digital glass cockpit configuration makes it a choice for quality ab-initio training of military aviators.

He further disclosed that the training was completed less than one year after the aircraft was in-

ducted into service, an indication that the investment of tax payers’ money on the acquisition of the Super Mushshak aircraft was already yielding dividend.

The CAS revealed that the student pilots would undergo further training on high performance aircraft so that the NAF would have more pilots to deploy to various theatres of operation. He assured of the commitment of the current NAF leadership to continue supporting and encouraging flying

training schools in producing pilots for the NAF. Abubakar congratulated the students for their resilience and discipline during the course and urged them to sustain same attributes as they continue the next phase of their military flying training.

Earlier, the Commander 401 Flying Training School, Group Captain Yusuf Dari, stated that the School had, since inception, trained over 800 pilots for the NAF, Nigerian Navy and other

sister African countries starting with SPC 1. Notable among them are the present CAS and Chief of Naval Staff.

Dari stated that from its inception, the School had used many trainer aircraft types for the training of pilots. He however, said the configuration of the Mushshak aircraft would enhance transition to higher performance aircraft as well as lay good foundation for pilots that would be type-rated on fighter aircraft.

Enugu East Sen. Zone Endorses NGO Charges Citizens on Ugwuanyi for Second Term Human Rights Education In what could be described as mother of rallies, the people of Enugu East Senatorial Zone of Enugu State trooped out in their large numbers for a solidarity rally in support of the re-election of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for his good works in the state.

The people of Nkanuland through a motion moved by the former Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, seconded by the former Military Administrator of Abia State, Col. Anthony Obi (rtd) and put to voice vote by the former Minister of Information, Hon. Frank Nweke unanimously endorsed Ugwuanyi for a second term in office.

They said the governor has engendered peace and good

governance in the state, adding that his “uncommon leadership style has favoured the people of Nkanuland in so many ways.”

The event, which was attended by other notable stakeholders of the zone, such as the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Edward Ubosi; Senator Gil Emeka Nnaji and his colleagues in the National Assembly; members of the State Assembly and State Executive Council, Council Chairmen, including Lady Jane Nnamani, wife of the former President of the Senate, Senator Ken Nnamani, among others, also witnessed the presentation an endorsement register signed by the stakeholders of the zone.

UgoAliogo The Executive Director of Crime Victims Foundation, Gloria Egbuji, has charged citizens to be well informed of their fundamental human rights.

She gave the charge yesterday in Lagos at the inauguration ceremony of the Human Rights Education Centre of the foundation, Ikorodu Unit.

Egbuji who emphasised the importance knowing one’s rights said the human rights foundation programme was designed to fight Human Rights violations in Ikorodu and environs.

“Our programme is designed to enhance the safety, security, and justice of people, especially the poor. We started this programme

with the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and today, we have trained about 90,000, Policemen nationwide,” she added. On his part, the National Coordinator of Crime Victims Foundation, Titus Ofurum pleaded with the traditional rulers in Ikorodu and environs to join hands with crime victims’ foundation in tackling issues of injustice. “We want to call on all our traditional rulers to please join hands with the foundation in its quest to fight injustice in Ikorodu,” he said. The state coordinator of the foundation, Solomon Shogunle, urged participants at the event not to relent in fighting for their fundamental human rights. “Anywhere, you go, you must claim your right, until you speak and you are heard don’t stop”, he added.

T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R Ëž ÍŻÍąË&#x153; Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

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FOCUS

Switch on the Amazons A forward thinking organisation narrows the gender by appointing women with proven competentence to leadership positions, writes Nseobong Okon-Ekong

Cherry Eromosele

Oremeyi Akah

Chinyere Don-Okhuofu

Ndifreke Nkose

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cross-industry experience, Eromosele has demonstrated exceptional leadership and functional capacity in a number of key African markets. Cherryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s track record cuts across FMCG (alcoholic beverages), Telecoms, Fast-moving Consumer Healthcare and Financial Technology. She currently leads a very dynamic Product & Marketing Management team at Interswitch in Group Chief capacity, with the corporate mandate to deliver customer-led, digital product leadership and innovation. Eromosele provides strategic direction for end-toend product development, as well as customer value management and product marketing functions. She is also responsible for championing the Groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brand management, corporate communications and corporate social responsibility functions to drive key business objectives across the entire Interswitch business portfolio.

Prior to her current role, Eromosele served as Chief Marketing Officer with full responsibility for creating and implementing innovative marketing strategies towards building the entire Interswitch brand portfolio, spanning both the corporate and consumer segments of the business.

She has demonstrated a consistent ability to deliver exceptional results when crossing into new terrains, and is reputed as having contributed significantly to the changing face of marketing in Nigeria, recognized in 2015 as Marketing Personality of the Year in Nigeria

by Marketing Edge and more recently, one of the top 50 Marketing Professionals in West Africa at the 7th edition of the annual Marketing World Awards in Accra, Ghana last year.

She has a degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Benin and has attended executive functional, leadership and management program from Cranfield School of Management, Columbia Business School, Wharton Business School and Kellogg Business School whilst presently commencing the Oxford Fintech Program at Said Business School.

Officer, Networks at Interswitch Limited, in which capacity she has oversight over the groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s entire sales teams, developing and executing strategies to deepen and broaden Interswitchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clientele base, while providing leadership and inspiration to deepen customer intimacy.

Her professional career incorporates successive leadership roles that have transformed key projects across the organizations in which she has worked. Prior to joining Interswitch, she was the Divisional Head of Branch Banking and Electronic Banking at Intercontinental Bank Plc. (now Access Bank), where she spent 17 years of her banking career in various business units.

She successfully handled branch managerial and Regional responsibilities, headed the Retail Global Strategy transformation process of the Bank in conjunction with PWC UK before moving over to Electronic Banking to execute the bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s retail and channel transformation strategies. Among other achievements, along with her team, she played a leadership role in redefining the offsite ATM landscape in Nigeria through the effective deployment of her banks ATMs in various locations across the country thus pushing the bank to the number one position in total transactions within a year on the Interswitch platform.

the FlashMeCash SMS mobile payment solution.

Shogaolu has a first degree in Business Economics from the Cardiff University of Wales and a masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in business administration from the same university.

She is an alumni of the Senior Management Program (SMP) at the Lagos Business School.

omen account for one-half of the potential talent base throughout the world and a nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s competitiveness depends significantly on whether and how it educates and utilizes its female population.

Women have not been given prominent positions in some workplace, but a few corporate organisations are beginning to change that narrative.

According to the World Economic Forumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Corporate Gender Gap Report 2010, some leading companies are failing to capitalise on the talents of women in the workforce. The study covers the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest employers in 20 countries and benchmarks them against the gender equality policies that most companies should have in place but are, in fact, widely missing.

The report is based on a survey of 600 heads of human resources at the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest employers. The survey contained over 25 questions and assessed companies on representation of women within their establishments and the use of genderequality practices such as measurement and target setting, work-life balance policies and mentorship and training. The survey also asked respondents to identify the biggest barriers to womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leadership and their opinion on the probable effects of the economic downturn on womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s employment in their countries and industries.

In Nigeria, female employees tend to be concentrated in entry or middle level positions and remain scarce in senior management or board positions in most industries and organisations. There are few women holding the CEO-level position in the country. However, a more positive revelation is that almost all the companies claim to be setting specified targets, quotas or other affirmative policies to improve womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s participation in their structures.

However, a corporate organisation like Interswitch is already bridging that divide.

Interswitch has a sizeable number of women in top management positions, from divisional CEO to chief human Capital officerand others.

As an Africa-focused integrated digital payments and commerce company which started operations in 2002, Interswitch facilitates the electronic circulation of money as well as the exchange of value between individuals and organisations on a timely and consistent basis.

Here are the leading female employees of the company, who may be called the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Amazon Sevenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of Interswitch: Cherry Eromosele, Group Chief Product & Marketing OfďŹ cer, Interswitch.

With over 20 years of proven, versatile,

Chinyere Don-Okhuofu, Divisional CEO, Networks, Interswitch Group Don-Okhuofu is an accomplished business leader, with a background in finance and accounting, which progressively evolved into the sphere of payment solutions and electronic banking. Chinyere is tasked with the responsibility of leading the group sales force and executing strategies aimed to deepen and broaden our Industry Vertical Markets business. Chinyere is unwavering in her desire to get every organized business in markets where we operate to adopt solutions and services that digitize cash.

A Chartered Accountant with a first degree in Accounting and an alumnus of London Business School, Chinyere currently serves as Divisional Chief Executive

TitilolaShogaolu, Divisional CEO, IFIS, Interswitch Financial Inclusion Services Shogaolu was recently appointed the Divisional CEO, Interswitch Financial Inclusion Services Limited (IFIS) in April 2018. She is tasked with the responsibility to deepen financial inclusion, empower and transform individuals (agents) to profitable entrepreneurs and make primarily financial services available to the un/underbanked across the country.

Shogaolu joined Interswitch 14 years ago and have worked in various capacities with responsibilities spanning functions within Operations, Product Management, Sales, Key Account Management and Project Management. She was appointed the Chief Payment & VAS Officer in 2012. In 2014, she became the Group Head Social Systems & Services, Industry Vertical Market, Interswitch Group. In this capacity, she led the sales efforts to provide the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s revenue collections, funds disbursement solutions and valueadded services to clients in different sectors namely: Government, Power, Transport, Education, Utilities etc. She also managed the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clients & businesses in the SouthEast/South-South region with the team based in the Port Harcourt office during this time.

Shogaoluâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s e-payment journey which has led her to current role, as Divisional CEO, IFIS, began at First Atlantic Bank, where she served in numerous roles within E-business and was also part of the team that pioneered

TolulopeAgiri, Group Chief Human Resources OfďŹ cer, Interswitch Agiri recently joined Interswitch as Group Chief Human Resources Officer. She assumed this role in March 2018 from the United Nations World Food Programme, where she was the Senior Strategic Regional Human Resources Business Partner overseeing Southern Africa, based in Johannesburg and covering a region comprised of 11 countries. Before joining the United Nations, Tolu was Director of Human Resources at Unilever Nigeria between 2010 to 2016, the high-point of a 14-year career spanning Learning & Development, Leadership Development and Business Partnership across multinational regions and in positions of increasing seniority within the multinational organization Her over two decades experience as an accomplished HR and talent management professional commenced with SCG Consulting and later included a considerable stint at Arthur Andersen (now KPMG Professional Services).

At Arthur Andersen, she worked in various capacities before joining Unilever Nigeria Plc as Company Learning Manager in 2002. Whilst at Unilever, she also worked as Regional Training Manager (Unilever Africa Regional Group), Learning Director (Africa Middle East & Turkey - AMET), Leadership Development Director, (AMET).

Tolu has a first degree in Psychology from the Obafemi Awolowo University and a Mastersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; degree in Industrial Relations & Personnel Management from the University of Lagos. She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPMN).

As Interswitch Group Human Resources Officer, Tolu is tasked with driving a people strategy that achieves a balance between the aspiration of staff and the strategy of the business.

Chinomso Victoria Nwachukwu, Group Financial Controller, Interswitch Nwachukwu is the Group Financial Controller with oversight over the financial activities and operations of the parent company Interswitch Limited and its 7 subsidiary entities and 2 associates. She is a seasoned finance professional with 13+ yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; cumulative experience in various roles as; financial controller, experienced auditor and corporate finance analyst. She currently sits on the board of some of our subsidiary entities.

(See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MAY 13, 2018

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

Kenyans Dominate 2018 Okpekpe Road Race Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

I

t was a day of glory yesterday for Kenyan athletes as they made a clean sweep in the male category of the 10km Okpekpe road race as Kibet Alex, ran 29 min 46 seconds to come first, Simon Cheprot who won the 2016 edition came second finishing in 30.29 while Ronoh Timothy took third with a time of 30.39.

In the female category Ethiopian Yani Dera Dida came firstr and was followed by two Kenyans , Tuei Sandra Chebey and Kipyokei Diana who came second and third respectively.

Speaking to newsmen, Kibet said the weather affected his time. “I want to thank God for winning this race. This is my first time here. The course was not easy especially the finishing point. The starting point was okay but the finishing point was hilly.

“The organisation need to put in more for the race to get the gold label. The rain made my time worse.”

Meannwhile, the immediate past governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, and Solomon Dalung, Minister of Sports, defied the heavy downpour which began 10 minutes after the VIP race kicked off to participate in the road race.

Other dignitaries in the VIP race category were Edo State Deputy Governor, Hon Philip Shaibu, Edo First Lady, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki, wife of the deputy governor, Mrs. Maryann Shaibu, former Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Clem Agba among others.

The Vice Chancellor of Ambrose Alli University, Prof Igantius Onimawo, led students and top management of the in-

stitution to run against cultism. Prof.

Onimawo said cultism has become a menace to the society that needs to be eradicated.

Speaking with journalists after the race, Shaibu said the state will use sports to curb the issue of illegal migration. He said sports has become a veritable tool for getting the youths productively engaged and as such, Edo Government would invest in the development of the sector.

He said aside the current renovation of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium to international standards, the government has concluded plans to also build 20 mini stadiums across the 18 Local Government Areas of the state.

“We have a renewed commitment to invest massively in sport development because of it numerous benefits to the government and the people.

“You will agree with me that the state has the challenge of illegal migration; we are going to use sports not only to check this, but put a final stop to it. We will be using sports to productively engage the youths and as such, keep them off things that will pose danger or inimical to their lives and the society.

“This is where the plan of building mini stadium across the council areas comes in. With sports facilities close to them, they will be kept busy at all time,” he said.

The deputy governor noted that the recently rebranding of Bendel Insurance, was part of the government’s renewed commitment to sport development in the state.

Front runners at the 10 km Okpekpe Road Race yesterday

Juventus Aim to Lift 7th History Beckons as Falana Seeks HatSuccessive League Title at Roma trick in BOA Lawyers’ League Final Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri will reward his players with an extended summer holiday if they can secure the point they need to win the Serie A title at Roma today. The Bianconeri are six points clear of Napoli with two games remaining and have already all-but clinched a seventh straight Scudetto thanks to their superior goal difference over the Azzurri.

Avoiding defeat at the Stadio Olimpico would “end all conversations” about the title, no matter what Napoli do in their simultaneous match at Sampdoria.

Allegri is suitably wary of Roma, though, given the Giallorossi are third in the table and managed to reach the last four of the Champions League, knocking out the likes of Barcelona on the way.

He said at his pre-match press conference: “Tomorrow will be a beautiful match and we are hoping to end all conversations about the Scudetto. I’ve told the boys that if they want an extra week of holiday then they’ll have to get a result.”

On the Romans’ manager, Eusebio Di Francesco, Allegri added: “He has done very well and it’s not easy to get to the semi-finals of the Champions League. He’s one of the best young coaches around.”

Napoli threatened to take the Scudetto battle to the final rounds of the season when they won dramatically in Turin late in April.

Allegri said: “The hardest thing in football is to combine winning with playing beautifully. The season is decided by moments and episodes and you have to work both towards results and towards unlocking players’ capabilities.

“Juventus had the wisdom to remain calm after the game against Napoli, who have had a brilliant season. Their three years under (Maurizio) Sarri have brought great improvement and they must be commended.”

Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain will return to the XI after starting on the bench in the midweek Coppa Italia victory over AC Milan.

“Higuain will play tomorrow, along with (Paulo)

Dybala,” Allegri confirmed. “(Higuain) didn’t start in the cup final because the match might have lasted 120 minutes. He has been decisive in key matches this season.”

Roma are without Kostas Manolas, Gregoire Defrel, Bruno Peres and Rick Karsdorp due to injury. Despite being confined to the sidelines with muscle fatigue, Greek defender Manolas had his say on tonight’s clash.

He told La Gazzetta dello Sport: “Juventus are more used to winning and have a stronger mentality than us. Our matches against smaller sides have not been as good, and they are decisive for the Scudetto.”

OlisaAgbakobaLegalhavethechancethisafternoon to end the second fiddle role it has been subjected to in the last two editions of the BOALawyers League as curtain falls on the 2018 edition of the prestigious football tournament for legal practitioners in Lagos.

Today’s finale is the straight third final clash between the two leading law firms with Falana emerging champions back to back. Will Falana be third time lucky or will Agbakoba continue to remain in the shadow of the team that has become its nemesis?

Today’s battle at the AstroTurf 2000 in Ikoyi, Lagos presents Agbakoba the perfect opportunity to end the dominance of Falana in the tournament.

To qualify for today’s final game, Olisa Agbakoba

defeated Rickey Tarfa 4-2, while Falana & Falana beat Banwo & Ighodalo 2-1. Owolabi Dare was OlisaAgbakoba’s semifinal hero, while two goals from Bada Femi and Kazeem Lemoh accounted for Banwo & Ighodalo’s scalp.

The BOA Lawyers League is held annually in memory of the late notable lawyer, Mr. Bankole Olumide Aluko, a founding partner in the law firm of Aluko & Oyebode, who passed on 17 years ago. The final is expected to draw all the bigwigs in Nigeria’s judiciary to AstroTurf2000, where, apart from the football match on display, they will enjoy other programmes lined up to entertain them.

Spanish GP: Hamilton on Pole in Mercedes Front Row Lewis Hamilton took his first pole position since the opening race of the season as he beat team-mate Valtteri Bottas at the Spanish Grand Prix. The Mercedes drivers locked out the front row, Hamilton just 0.04 seconds ahead, with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in third from team-mate Kimi Raikkonen. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo secured the third row.

Fernando Alonso put a McLaren in the top 10 for the first time this season, eighth behind Kevin Magnussen of Haas.

Vettel has secured the last three pole positions as the Ferrari established itself as the fastest car in the early stages of the new season. But the German lost out by 0.132secs on this track that exposes the aerodynamic qualities of a car like few others.

It was the first Mercedes one-two of the season, a measure of the world champions’ relative struggles to get on top of their new car and

the tyres Pirelli has produced for this season. But Mercedes have looked much more competitive this weekend, where all teams have brought their first major upgrades of the season.

Red Bull’s redesign is one of the most dramatic in the pit lane, but it was not enough to allow them to challenge the Mercedes and Ferrari cars, who benefit from an engine boost in the final part of qualifying which Renault do not have. Verstappen was 0.643secs off pole and just 0.002secs ahead of Ricciardo.

There was a huge gap back to the rest of the field, Magnussen more than 0.8secs slower than the Australian as Haas recovered their early season form.The Dane snuck ahead of home heroAlonso by just 0.045secs but there will be encouragement for McLaren that the major nose redesign they brought here has improved their car.

Alonso’s previous best qualifying position this year was 11th and he is now the only driver on the grid to have out-qualified his team-mate at

all races so far. Team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne was 11th.

His fellow Spaniard Carlos Sainz was ninth in the Renault, whose other driver Nico Hulkenberg, usually faster, was hampered by a fuel-pressure problem and could manage only 16th.

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MISSILE

Senate to IG “The primary responsibility of the police is maintenance of law and order as well as protection of lives and property. If there is a breach along the line of this responsibility, we do not see why the IG cannot be invited to offer explanation to the arm of government, which is constitutionally empowered to ask questions and investigate the breach” – The Senate justifying why Inspector–General of Police Ibrahim Idris must honour its invitation to explain spate of killings across the country

SIMONKOLAWOLE SIMONKOLAWOLELIVE!

simon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com, sms: 0805 500 1961

Governors Must Have at Least Five Credits

A

sked by journalists to list his achievements, a governor proudly said: “Mr Bigg’s has opened an outlet in the state capital under my administration.”

The reporters could hardly stifle their chuckle. Another governor told a group of editors that “peace obtained and maintained” was his biggest achievement, pointing to an award plaque given to him by an association of crime reporters whom he called “security experts”. These days, many governors would list payment of salary arrears as one of their biggest feats, and I am still seeing politicians celebrate the provision of well water, construction of wooden bridges and distribution of transistor radios.

One thing I have come to realise in the development debate in Nigeria is that we have not properly defined, or agreed upon, the indices and criteria of analysis and assessment. What is our collective understanding of development?

What are our expectations? What should we get from the federal government, state government and local government? Who or what should be held responsible for the failings? If the indices are not well defined, how do we appraise the success of each level of government? If there are no goal posts, how do we know when we have scored? How do we assess our progress per time? What are the criteria we should adopt in reaching conclusions?

My opinion on the underdevelopment of Nigeria is slightly different from the position of the leading lights of the debate. Many see our problems from the perspective of the “unitary” constitution (suggesting that unitary systems can’t deliver development) and propose the need to restructure Nigeria along ethnic lines. After breaking down the definition of development into tiny bits, I always conclude that there are things to blame on the structure and there are things to blame on the leaders. There are “federal” problems as well as state/LG shortcomings. But there seems to be a prevailing narrative that dumps all of our problems at the doorstep of the federal government.

Our discourse today zooms in on the performance of state governments who effectively control the LGAs. Together, both control nearly 47% of federation allocations. To help assess the performance of governors, I want to propose what I call the “minimum of five credits” baseline tool.

No, I am not saying a governor should have a minimum of five credits at O’Level. We are not discussing JAMB and university admissions here.

Rather, we are discussing how to pull Nigeria out of underdevelopment. I am suggesting that a governor must target to score a “minimum of five credits” in office in order to be considered at all for a pass mark.

The five “subjects” in which the governors must have these credit passes are: education, healthcare, roads, water and inclusion. I understand that different states have different needs and what is critical in one may be less critical in others, but no state has yet conquered all these areas, so they are relevant to everyone. A credit pass would mean addressing at least 50% of the problems.

I have found out that these “five credits” are achievable under the current constitution. This is good news as far as I’m concerned. It means no law stops the governors from attaining these minimum qualifications. By that, I mean we can still record some big progress under our current circumstances.

I will break things down further so that I am clearer. One, a governor must attain a credit pass in education. That means, in practical terms, if there were 500,000 children out of school when they assumed office, they must aim to reduce the figure to 250,000 in four years. This requires that there will be more classrooms built, more

Buhari qualified teachers and more capacity to enhance standards. That would also mean at least 50% of the schools under the state government should have libraries that have books and laboratories that have chemicals. It is doable: it is about proper planning and efficient use of resources. Some governors are already doing well in this “subject”.

Two, a governor must have a credit pass in healthcare. Again I will simplify it. Infant and maternal mortality must reduce significantly during the four-year tenure. At least half of the primary healthcare centres in the state must have basic drugs and personnel to attend to common ailments.

State-owned hospitals must improve bed capacity in those four years, meaning more hospital beds, more qualified personnel and more access for the ordinary Acitizens who can’t afford to travel abroad for treatment. I would add sanitation to healthcare. We will probably take care of many medical problems and promote healthy living through better sanitary conditions.

Three, a credit pass in roads is non-negotiable.

I will also simplify my understanding of this.

If there are 10 villages without access roads, at least five of them must be linked to a major road within four years. If there are 10 kilometers of bad roads in the state, at least five kilometers should be put in motorable condition within four years. You would be surprised how a simple road – even if untarred – can change the economic lives of a people. What some villagers need is just to be able to stand by the roadside and sell yams, tomatoes and bush meat to travellers. They alone can improve their economic conditions and empower them to be able to send their children to school and buy drugs or pay hospital bills.

Four, a credit pass in the provision of clean water should be compulsory. By clean water, I am not referring to wells and streams. I mean treatment plants and motorised boreholes supplying clean water to the people. If 50 villages do not have clean water, the governor must target to provide that for at least 25 of them within four years. In many villages, children wake up early and go to the stream to fetch water for their parents.

They carry heavy buckets on their heads and walk for kilometers to and fro. When they get to school, they are tired and frustrated and then we start teaching them chemistry and mathematics.

And then we will say failure rate is high. What were we expecting?

Five, and very important, is inclusion. By inclusion, I refer to giving the vulnerable people a voice and a space in government policies. I’m referring to women, children, the disabled and

the unschooled. Several studies have shown that when you empower this group, you solve a wide range of problems in the society. Government policies must factor in the needs, concerns and interests of vulnerable Nigerians. A 50% score in this area in four years can make a 100% impact on the society. Many states are not doing badly in this “subject”. The end product, if this is well attended to, is that we are going to tackle many of the challenges dragging us backward as a nation.

Achieving “five credits” in four years, however, does not mean governors should start celebrating like they have invented something. Just as no undergraduate should boast about having five O’Level credits, no governor should be bursting our ears that they did these five things. I remember, as a football reporter, I covered a league match between BCC Lions and Julius Berger in Gboko, Benue state, in 1994. Goalkeeper Andrew Aikhomugbe pulled a string of superb saves in the dying minutes to help BCC to a 1-0 victory. I interviewed coach Shaibu Amodu afterwards and expected him to praise Aikhomugbe. But he simply said: “He was not put there as a decoration. He was doing his job.”

We don’t elect governors to be decorations – we elect them to do a job. No governor should be celebrating paying salary arrears or painting schools.

The governors that should be celebrated are those that score distinctions – 90% and above -- not mere credit passes. In fact, these “five credits” are just the irreducible minimum. They will contribute in no little way to poverty reduction, job creation and national development. There are more “credits” to target, such as the provision of housing (an urban issue), investment in legacy projects (tourism sites, fancy bridges, etc), enhancement of security, and making policies that will attract substantial investments in agriculture and industry.

There are plenty questions waiting for me, I know. One, what is the role of councils in all this?

Are they there for nothing? The truth is that as things are today, the states are in total control of the LGA funds, so I would say councils should be centres for the implementation of developmental policies and projects at the grassroots until we have local government autonomy guaranteed by the constitution. Two, won’t the governors sex up the figures and claim that they are scoring credit passes? That is why the citizens must be awake to their responsibility of holding their governors accountable. Third party monitoring will also be a good device to match claims with reality.

Three, where would the states get the money to implement all these projects? Funding is a major issue, many governors will readily tell you.

However, if the governors do their job competently and patriotically with all the federation allocations, development loans, bonds, joint LG accounts and IGR at their disposal, there is nothing stopping them from achieving these outcomes. More so, the states and councils can begin to push for a greater share of the federation account. I don’t understand why the federal government alone should take more than half and I have always advocated that the formula should be revised in favour of states and councils.

I am fully persuaded that most of the development problems we are battling with as a nation will be half-solved if the governors have a minimum of “five credits” during their terms in office. No doubt, there is a lot we need to restructure about Nigeria – but there is still much to be achieved under the current system.

Let us perform an experiment for the next four years: all the budgetary allocations to health, education, infrastructure, water and housing should be judiciously spent on these areas. Stealing, over-invoicing and waste should be cut down by at least 50% at all levels of government. Let us review things in another four years. I suspect our progress would be monumental.

And Four Other Things…

APC IN CRISIS Anybody who is surprised by the APC crisis has not been paying attention since 2015. The party started out as a coalition of mostly aggrieved politicians who were out to oust the PDP from power – and they succeeded. Sadly, there has been no attempt to build the coalition into a family since they won power. For a party that is five years old, this is a big failing. I agree that a gathering of strange bedfellows will be prone to crisis and difficult to manage, but I have not seen any genuine attempt at integration. For those who are gloating, they may need to note that the ultimate victims of a troubled ruling party are the ordinary people whose interest automatically takes the back seat. Change?

THE STRIKERS Anytime I hear that public health personnel are going on strike, my heart skips a beat.

The casualties are always the ordinary people who cannot to afford private treatment. Saving lives, I suppose, is the calling of those in the health sector.

That should always be the consideration, especially when it is the poor, lowly Nigerians that will bear the brunt. The demand for improved welfare by the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) is, no doubt, legitimate but is the collateral damage caused by the strike worth it? To compound matters, doctors are threatening to go on strike if JOHESU’s demands are met. There is something peculiar to us in this country which I will never understand. Sigh.

SMALL CHANGE If there is a Nigerian state that comes close to my idea of how the society should run, Lagos would be it, despite its shortcomings. I can say for free that it is one state where the leaders try to adopt and implement what they learn from advanced countries. That means not all of the estacode is wasted after all. The latest development is the establishment of a Small Claims Scheme to resolve civil disputes involving amounts below N5 million. The entire proceeding from filing of claim to judgment is a maximum of 60 days. This is a welcome development. It will free the police from debt recovery duties and at the same time save us from unending court proceedings that could last 10 years. Progress.

AND FINALLY… I am sensing that there would soon be the 28th amendment to the American constitution to make it a criminal offence to be black. Not so long ago, two blacks were arrested and handcuffed at a Starbucks outlet. They sat there waiting for a friend and were yet to place an order, which is like committing mass murder. Last week, Ms Lolade Siyonbola, a Nigerian graduate student of Yale University, fell asleep inside the common room at her dorm. Some white girl discovered the criminal offence, told Siyonbola she had no right to be there, and quickly called the police to restore order.

Pronto, gallant officers were dispatched to the crime scene and the national heroes swiftly ID-checked the felon. Ridiculous.

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