SUNDAY 17TH JUNE 2018

Akinrinade: Buhari Must Change Nigeria’s Security Architecture Expresses worry over rising violence, despite huge security spending Bayo Akinloye Worried about the incessant killings and rising level of insecurity in Nigeria, a former Chief of Army Staff and member of the defunct National Demo-

cratic Coalition, General Alani Akinrinade (retd.), has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to change the country’s security architecture to save it from becoming a failed state.

Akinrinade made the call in an exclusive interview with

THISDAY during the week.

The former army chief’s concerns came on the heels of another outcry by Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State on Friday that he was no longer the chief security officer of his state because he had no control

over the security apparatus in the state, where hundreds of people have been killed in recent times by bandits.

Akinrinade said, “There are so many things that bother me even about security. First of all, we are spending so much

Canvasses state police that our countrymen are not thinking. How much of our resources –human, material and capital – have gone into security and yet, nobody is sure that we have beheaded Boko Haram or that there are no other terror groups springing

up. We have all that and then you’re thinking in terms of the lives, money and other things we are losing every day.

“Some of these issues have not been addressed properly.

Cosntinued on page 8

US Activist to Chimamanda: Go and Concentrate on Nigeria’s Problems

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Nigeria, One of Least Safe Countries in the World Gallup Poll ranks country 116th out of 142 nations Bayo Akinloye Nigeria has been ranked one of the most dangerous countries

in the world, and more unsafe than war-torn Libya, according to the 2018 Global Law and Order Report by the Gallup Poll.

In the latest annual ranking of the safest and least safe countries by Gallup, which was made available to THISDAY,

Libya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, CAR, Niger safer than Nigeria Nigeria placed 116th out of 142 countries, with the index score of 66, which is lower than the global average score

of 81. Nigeria ranked below African countries like Egypt (with index score of 88 and sixth joint safest country in

the world with Denmark, Slovenia and China), Rwanda Cosntinued on page 8

I'll Deploy My Negotiating Skills to Resolve APC Crisis, Says Oshiomhole Says his loyalty will be to party and no more disqualifies 19, report ready Monday Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja and Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City Ahead of the June 23 national convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC), one of the foremost aspirants to the national chairmanship position, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has promised to bring his natural abilities to resolve disagreements to bear in the party’s internal conflicts, if elected.

Oshiomhole, who is the immediate past governor of Edo State, stated this yesterday in an interview with journalists in Benin City. He noted that it was his power of persuasion that endeared him to governors and leaders of the party across the country, saying they believe that he would improve the fortunes of the party.

That was as the committee set up by the party to screen aspirants to the various national

Convention screening committee clears 160 aspirants,

positions up for contest during the convention disqualified 19 contenders. However, 160 aspirants out of 179 that purchased nomination forms were pronounced eligible to contest by the screening committee headed by Katsina State Governor Bello Masari. The chairman of the screening appeal committee and Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, disclosed these yesterday in Abuja while addressing journalists.

Oshiomhole said majority of APC leaders were behind his aspiration, because “they understand my person and because by the special grace of God, I will emerge through a consensus leadership, my loyalty will be to the party and no more.”

He stated, “If I have prominent people from the North, prominent people from Continued on page 8

Croatia Clip Eagles' Wings 2-0 ...Page 79

OBA A'TOPE EH…

L-R: Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II; Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, and Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, during the VP's visit to the Oba's palace ...yesterday

World Cup: US, UK Warn of Terrorists’ Attacks in Russia ... Page 8

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World Cup: US, UK Warn ofTerrorists’Attacks in Russia America puts threat alert at ‘level 3’ Bayo Akinloye The United States of America and the United Kingdom have warned their citizens against travelling to Russia where the FIFA 2018 World Cup is taking place, with the US placing the host country’s terrorism threat alert at “level 3�. However, the Nigerian government – the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nigerian Embassy in Russia – has no information warning its citizens of possible dangers in the European country.

In its latest travel advisory, the US Department of State said, “Do not travel to the north Caucasus, including Chechnya and Mount Elbrus, due to civil unrest and terrorism; Crimea due to foreign occupation and abuses by occupying authorities. Terrorist groups continue plotting possible attacks in Russia.

Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and local government facilities.

Bomb threats against public venues are common.�

FG offers no information for its citizens

Similarly, the UK advised against all travel to Chechnya, Dagestan, and the districts of Budyonnvsky, Levokumsky, among others. The US and the UK published this latest information on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office stated, “The 2018 FIFA World Cup is taking place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July. The FCO has put together some top travel and safety tips to help fans travelling to Russia for the tournament. The Football Supporters’ Federation has

also published a guide to the tournament and what you can expect while in Russia. This includes detailed sections on each of the host cities. Due to heightened political tensions between the UK and Russia, you should be aware of the possibility of anti-British sentiment or harassment at this time.�

The US further stated that although large-scale international events, such as the World Cup, would present an “attractive target for terrorists� and security for the World Cup would be extensive, it

warned, “Terrorists may seek to attack event locations such as stadiums and Fan Fest viewing areas, tourist sites, transportation hubs, and other public venues.�

The UK added that since 2017 Russian security forces had disrupted several plots in major Russian cities, including Moscow, St Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, and Stavropol. “These plots are reported to have targeted public transport and crowded places. Terrorist groups, including Daesh and al-Qaeda aligned groups, continue to call for attacks

in Russia,� the FCO noted.

According to the state department, US citizens are often victims of harassment, mistreatment, and extortion by law-enforcement and other officials. “US consular assistance to detained individuals is often unreasonably delayed

by Russian officials. Russia also enforces special restrictions on dual US-Russian nationals. Due to the Russian government-imposed reduction on US diplomatic personnel in Russia, the US government has reduced ability to provide

US Activist to Chimamanda: Go and Concentrate on Nigeria’s Problems Shola Oyeyipo Dana Loesch, a United States spokesperson on gun ownership and the Second Amendment, has dissed a Nigerian novelist, Chimamanda Adichie for attempting to redefine chivalry as a concept, and therefore advised her to concentrate

on Nigeria’s problems.

In her view, Chimamanda would do better by dissipating her energy on the many ills in her country, Nigeria, citing particularly the disturbing rate of genital mutilation.

Loesch, who responded to Chimamanda’s appearance on the Today Show, where she spoke against what people

consider acts of chivalry, which in her opinion was subtle sexism, said Chmamanda’s position exposed her limited understanding of the idea of chivalry.

While on the Today Show, Chimamanda had said, “I think gestures like holding the door shouldn’t be gender-based. I’m quite happy for people to hold

the door for me. But I hope they’re not doing it because of this sort of idea of chivalry. “Because chivalry is really about the idea that women are somehow weak and need protecting. But we know that really, there are many women who are stronger than many men.�

However, convinced that

Chimamanda did not understand the concept of chivalry, Loesch said she should focus more on the ills in her nation such as genital mutilation. “I don’t think she understands quite the concept of chivalry, which was a code of conduct for gentlemen. With all due respect to Chimamanda - and I’m familiar with her - I

think it’s a luxury of third-way feminism to complain about holding doors open for people, where her country, Nigeria, ranks top in the world for female genital mutilation, which I think is far more of a disservice to women and far more suppressive than someone courteously opening the door for someone else.�

are unmindful of the fact that the convention committee will need time to start printing of ballot papers for the convention and so we will ensure that we complete this job on time," he said.

The governor also stated, “We have petitions against all other positions, except that if the national chairman and national secretary. However, there is a general petition as to whether members of the NWC can be judge in their own case, having supervised the congresses and now coming to present themselves for election.

We are also looking at that.�

Okorocha spoke further on the mandate of the appeal committee, saying, “Our committee, which is the subcommittee established by the national convention committee, has the responsibility to entertain petitions and appeals arising from the screening committee report for all offices of the party. We have been sitting

for a number of days now and we have received several petitions.

"We have made it public that anyone who is petitioning or being petitioned against should make available documents to support his claim or to defend himself and to make it available by mid-day on Saturday.

"As you can see, we have started receiving petitions and appeals. Right now, we have seven aspirants here. We have resolved to give everyone a fair hearing so that justice, equity and fairness will prevail so that we prevent crisis in the party.

"We are carefully selected Nigerians from all walks of life, from different states that constitute membership of this committee. We have two days to do this job and we will be submitting our report by Monday, barring any other reason. We are here to work all day and all night and take our decision.�

people are expressing about state police. Community and state policing are key. You can’t take a man from Kebbi, send him to Kaduna for police training and post him to Mushin in Lagos. How effective will he be in that environment considering language and other factors? The security architecture has to change; otherwise, violence will continue to rise with death tolls rising in Zamfara, Kaduna and other states across the country.

Are we not ashamed? We can’t continue to stick to a system that has failed us.�

He expressed reservations about the second term ambition of Buhari. “We are going to elect the same kinds of people and they are going to act exactly the same way as we have been watching for years. We are not going to get anywhere with that reality. We will be faced with one step forward and plenty of reverses. We can’t sustain whatever success we might make. We don’t have a system for sustained development of minds, people, our environment, and values,� Akinrinade said.

The former army chief added, “I cannot see on the horizon anyone that is trusted enough, who has the tenacity, the experience, the strategy, to create a Nigeria of our dream.

We don’t need strong men but we need individuals, who can bring people together and think out of the box to create a Nigeria that is cohesive and dynamic. Buhari himself has to be careful, because he had once spoken about the country being ungovernable if he lost the election. Now he won the election and he’s ruling but the country is still ungovernable.�

Akinrinade stated further that he was more concerned about the restructuring of the country than Buhari winning a second term. He explained, “I really don’t care who governs this country as long the country is restructured based on federalism, allowing each state to grow and taking good care of its people.

I don’t care if Buhari wants to sleep there (Aso Villa), elected for 12 or 15 years. I don’t know why people have to declare loyalty just like that – he has not finished one term.�

I'LL DEPLOY MY NEGOTIATING SKILLS TO RESOLVE APC CRISIS, SAYS OSHIOMHOLE the South, East and West, it means I will be at the centre.

No one will say, if not for my support, you would not have been there. “If you are a product of one section, then you might remain detained by that section if you feel that to return to that office you must service that section because it is your support base. But when you have the privilege of a broad support from many leaders, then no one leader will say, I put you there, you must listen to me. “But let me also say that what is qualitatively different about this support is that there is no question about what is influencing this support, because, conventionally, in our political environment, we hear that those who have the deepest pocket tend to buy the support. But this support is being offered from people who cannot be procured, which tells you it is flowing from

the knowledge of my person, because I have been fortunate to work with all the governors, including past governors. “Those I did not meet in office, I met them when I was President of the NLC, we had engaged. So one-on-one, they know what I stand for. They offered this support based on their understanding of my person and not inducement and that makes a difference."

The former governor said he was never a dictator, as being insinuated in some quarters.

According to him, “Some of the things I learnt in the labour union are negotiations and never dictatorial (inclinations) because even though I was the president of the NLC, I could not even control my deputy because he was voted the same manner I was elected.

In the NLC, you must listen to everybody, unlike in government, where as an executive you can dictate decisions.�

He added, “So what my

background prepared me for is to be able to listen and that is why I kept saying contestation, disputes are not dysfunctional if you have the skills that I have to manage divergences. I have never exercised dictatorial powers, I have always exercised persuasive powers, negotiating skills and those are my skills.

And when I negotiate with you and persuade and you accept, you will feel obliged to do what you have to do. “But if I dictate to you, when I am not watching, you will do your heart. So I am not capable of being a dictator by the very nature of my background.�

Meanwhile, Okorocha said the screening appeal committee had received a total of 18 petitions against aspirants for the various offices, adding that the committee would sit all through the weekend to make the report ready on Monday.

He said, "So far, we have

about 18 petitions before us and we have 19 persons that did not make it at the screening level. These are the things we are looking to see the merit or otherwise of their claims. We are going to use the screening committee report as a major guide to what we are doing.

"As soon as we are through with this, we are going to make known to the public those who have succeeded at the appeals committee level.�

Okorocha assured that his committee would ensure that everyone was given fair hearing and justice was done to all the complaints and petitions. He also warned that the appeal committee had powers to disqualify those already screened and qualified by the screening committee.

"The screening appeal is the final appeal in this case.

After this appeal committee, the next appeal will be after election appeal, which will come after the convention. We

AKINRINADE: BUHARI MUST CHANGE NIGERIA’S SECURITY ARCHITECTURE I will like to hear my president say there is no room for anybody – whether you’re herdsmen or farmers – killing one another and that he is going to do something very serious

about the issue. He should change the architecture of the security forces – creating state police that will be strong and responsive to the needs and welfare of the people along with

laws that will ensure that the state police are not used by some governments to harass their opponents.�

According to him, the establishment of state police

will help in resolving the spate of violence in Nigeria. On the fears by some individuals and groups about the possible abuse of the state police, Akinrinade stated, “That is the fear a lot of

NIGERIA ONE OF THE LEAST SAFE COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD (83), Mauritius (82), Morocco (81), Ethiopia (79), Tanzania (77), Niger (74), Zimbabwe (73), Burkina Faso (73), Kenya (70), and Togo (69) in the law and order log.

It also placed lower than violence-ridden Libya, which had 67 index score, the Central African Republic (68), and Algeria (79).

The Gallup Law and Order Index is a composite score based on people's reported confidence in their local police, their feelings of personal safety, and the incidence of theft and assault or mugging in the past year. The higher the score, the higher the proportion of the population that reports feeling secure.

The report noted, “The countries scoring the best (Singapore) and the worst (Venezuela) on the index remained unchanged

from 2016. Scores worldwide ranged from a high of 97 in Singapore to a low of 44 in Venezuela. While Venezuela earned the ‘least secure’ title alone in 2016, in 2017, it shared that designation with war-torn Afghanistan – where the score of 45 hit a record low.�

According to the report, four questions were used to gauge people’s sense of personal security and their personal experiences with crime and law enforcement.

The questions were: “In the city or area where you live, do you have confidence in the local police force?�; “Do you feel safe walking alone at night in the city or area where you live?�; “Within the last 12 months, have you had money or property stolen from you or another household member?�;

and “Within the past 12 months, have you been assaulted or mugged?�

The new global poll by the research-based organisation said, “The 2018 Global Law and Order report presents the results from Gallup’s latest measurements of people’s answers to these questions based on more than 148,000 interviews with adults in 142 countries and areas in 2017.�

Elaborating on its methodology, the United States-based organisation said it compiled the “positive� responses to the four questions into a law and order index score for each country.

It added, “The higher the score, the higher the proportion of the population that reports feeling safe. The index score for the world in 2017 was 81 out of a possible 100. Eighty-six

countries posted scores lower than this average.�

Few days ago, Nigeria was ranked alongside DR Congo, South Sudan, CAR, Burundi, Ethiopia, Palestine, Myanmar, Yemen, and Venezuela among the top 10 countries in the “Neglected Global Crises List� by the humanitarian organisation, the Norwegian Refugee Council. “Sadly, the reality is that people affected by crises that are neglected by the public, the media and the politicians, end up receiving less humanitarian relief. The list should serve as a reminder, both for us as humanitarian organisations, for the media and for politicians,� the NRC Secretary General, Jan Egeland, said in a statement made available to THISDAY by the organisation’s spokesperson, Tiril Skarstein.

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SUNDAY COMMENT

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

DEMOCRACY AND THE AUTONOMY LAW The new amendment provides the legislature and judiciary in the states to be pretty effective

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ith President Muhammadu Buhari’s assent to the Fourth Alteration Bill to the 1999 Constitution, which gave total financial autonomy to Houses of Assembly and the Judiciary in 36 states of the federation, these organs of government now have the platforms to perform optimally. Specifically, with this amendment, the state Houses of Assembly will no longer depend on the state governments for their financing as they can now draw their funds straight from the first line charge. This implies that like the National Assembly, the Federal Ministry of Finance will henceforth transfer their budgetary allocations to their independent accounts.

We welcome this development and hope that these two arms of government in the states will make the best use of the opportunity.

Indeed, it is victory at last for the state legislature, an organ of government which has been oppressed and suppressed for several years by the executive. The operations of the Houses of Assembly in various states of the federation since 1999 are best exemplified in how not to be legislatures as theirs had been a sheer opposite of the application of the principle of separation of powers.

In Nigeria, the principle of separation of powers has to an extent been effective at the federal level as the National Assembly has in various circumstances, served as a check on the executive in accordance with its constitutional responsibilities. But the reverse has been the case in the states, where the legislature has always pandered to the whims of the governor. That the State House of Assembly has been the puppet or stooge of the governor was clearly expressed in the

rejection of the financial autonomy earlier offered them as contained in constitutional amendments carried out by the sixth National Assembly.

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Withtheassent tothisbill,judges likelegislatorswill henceforthhaveno reasontodrawtheir fundsfromthe stategovernments andhencebeginto upholdthedictates oftheirconscience bydispensing justicewithoutfear orfavour

Letters to the Editor

S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU DEPUTY EDITORS OLAWALE OLALEYE, TOBI SONIYI MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN MANAGING EDITOR JOSEPH USHIGIALE

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 BOLAJI ADEBIYI , 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

hat that implied was that the state legislatures did not exist to serve the public interest in accordance with their constitutional responsibilities but rather to serve as an appendage of governors. Besides, with very little excuse and sometimes for pecuniary reasons, legislators have no qualms about impeaching their speakers. Yet behind most of the impeachments is the overbearing disposition of the executive in these states, where the governors lord themselves over the legislative arm of government which they seek to emasculate.

Thus, any speaker who tries to be inquisitive on the activities of the executive is quickly impeached under the supervision of the governor and replaced with a favourite one, who will be ready to take orders.

It is therefore little wonder that it is never heard that a legislature has exposed corrupt acts by the executive in any state as provided in the constitution neither is it ever heard that a state budget has been subjected to any thorough scrutiny. Rather, executive bills and nominees in all the 36 states usually pass through the legislatures and returned as proposed.

Various studies carried out by the National Institute for Legislative Studies (NILS) on the activities of the state legislatures recently showed that the lawmakers were mere rubber stamps of the governors.

To the extent that the legislature financial autonomy is meant to guarantee their freedom from the overbearing influence of governors, we welcome this cheery development. We hope the Houses of Assembly will summon courage to discharge their constitutional responsibilities in the interests of the people, who elected them. It is also the same trend with the judicial arm of government in the states. State governments hardly lose any case they institute or that is instituted against them in the various high courts of their states and it is believed that a major cause of this is lack of financial autonomy.

However, with the assent to this bill, judges like legislators will henceforth have no reason to draw their funds from the state governments and hence, begin to uphold the dictates of their conscience by dispensing justice without fear or favour. If both the state legislatures and judiciary maximise the opportunities of this fresh amendment to live up to their constitutional responsibilities, it will be another progressive step for our democracy.

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

Danjuma And The Challenges of Security

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ne of the most disappointing events related to the Buhari administration’s strenuous efforts to overcome the serious security challenges in the country was the shocking emergence of General T.Y. Danjuma, not as the respected elder statesman he was known to be, but as an ethnic champion.

Up till now Nigerians are yet to recover from the outbursts of the retired general when he drifted from a convocation address at the Takum University and launched an attack against the Nigerian Army, accusing it of aiding and abetting the mass killings of innocent people across the country and urging Nigerians to take up arms to

defend themselves.

Due to his reputation as a war-time hero and elder statesman, some people were reluctant to dismiss his utterances in the belief that he must have tangible evidence before going public, even though he was also expected to use his privileged access to the highest echelons of government for such sensitive security information if indeed it was true.

However, when the military authority set up an inquiry to ascertain the genuineness of General Danjuma’s disturbing allegations and invited him to do the needful, he refused to show up as confirmed in the report of the inquiry which also found no basis for the allegations.

How could a retired general

of Danjuma’s standing engage in incitement against the same army that earned him national honour? How could such an elder statesman provoke people to take the law into their own hands? Why is Danjuma fuelling security challenges when he should be assisting government to restore normalcy?

All these questions have now been answered by the latest news that the genera has turned up in Washington, USA where he instead secured audience with the Trump administration’s policy thinktank, no doubt, to continue his mission of spreading disturbing allegations and creating the false impression that his people are victims of ‘ethnic cleansing.’

Since Danjuma deliberately

shunned the inquiry it is reasonable to conclude that he had no evidence for his wild allegations and this was further buttressed by the statement at the unveiling of the report of the inquiry by Nuhu Angbazo, Chief of Military/Civil Affairs that: “With respect to the statement by Lt. Gen. T.Y. Danjuma, it is clear that the allegations were not true. There is a need to urge for caution on the part of the elder statesman in view of the security implication of such comments,’’ adding that there was “sustained media campaign to belittle Nigerian army and other security agencies’ operation in the state’’.

General Danjuma lends credence to the findings of the army inquiry about media campaigns against the nation’s defence and security operations in Taraba State by going to a university convocation which would attract media coverage to

launch his false propaganda and then rushing to the US to mislead the global media. In Nigeria, however, events following his outbursts including the details of the army inquiry report point unequivocally to the reality of concerted efforts by Danjuma’s kinsmen to compromise the military operations.

The US embassy in Nigeria is bound to provide verifiable facts and figures contrary to the unsubstantiated allegations of General Danjuma who sought to disguise his clannish motivation by contriving a non-existent “International Committee on Nigeria” (ICON) as a camouflage for infiltrating the Trump policy think-tank whereas he and Governor Ishaku Darius who accompanied him were clearly on a Jukun junket.

Mathew Gunki, Mubi.

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SUNDAYNEWS

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

Buhari’s Govt Most Transparent in Nigeria So Far, Says Enang t Insists executive not muzzling legislature Abimbola Akosile

Senior Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Sen. Ita Enang, has said President Muhammadu Buhari’s government is the most transparent so far.

Enang further urged Nigerians to feel free to approach government functionaries on activities of government they were not clear about, rather than forming wrong opinions about government’s intentions.

While speaking with lawyers from Akwa Ibom, under the

auspicesofAkwaIbomLawyers Forum,whovisitedhiminAbuja yesterday, the president’s aide said,“PresidentBuhari’sgovernment is the most transparent in Nigeria and he has put in all he can to serve the nation.

“The president and all of us working with him are the

servants of the people and we are always ready to attend to concerns by Nigerians about the running of government.

“Nigerians should feel free to ask questions on what they do not understand rather than assuming and forming wrong opinions about workings of government,” he said.

Enang also insisted that the

2019: Looters Opposing Buhari’s Second Term, Says Orji Kalu

Nigerians Must Rally Around Saraki, Senate, Says Nwaoboshi

Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano

Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba

Former governor of Abia state, Orji Uzor Kalu, has insisted that looters, who are bent on milking the country’s resources dry are those opposing President Muhammadu Buhari’s second term in office.

Kalu, who spoke weekend when he paid a courtesy call on Governor Abdullahi Umar GandujeatGovernmenthousein Kano, reminded the opposition that Nigeria would resist further attempttoembezzlepublicfunds.

TheformerGovernor,whoapplaudedBuhari’santi-corruption fight and economic recovery, pledged his commitment to

the All Progressives Congress victory in 2019.

Kalu also presented two plaquestoGandujeinrecognition of his support for Buhari’s 2019 agenda andthegovernor’s effort to sustain peaceful coexistence in the state.

Responding, the governor noted that the President has never lost an election in Kano, and assured that in 2019 the state would redouble its votes to Buhari.

Ganduje reminded him that the state would take the advantage of its over 400 delegates, whichisthehighest,tomassively returnBuhari’sticketduringAPC national convention.

Senator Peter Nwaoboshi has said the present situation at the National Assembly should encourage Nigerians to support the Senate in its current faceoff with the Executive in the interest of democracy in Nigeria.

He also noted that both chambersoftheAssemblyarecapableof resistingtheemergenceofadictator in the governance of the country.

Nwaoboshi, who represents Delta North Senatorial District in the Senate, made the assertion while fielding questions from newsmeninAsaba,andstressed thattheface-offbetweentheExecutive and the Legislature was one thatbordersonresistanceagainst

dictatorialtendenciesoftheExecutive arm of government.

Hestressedthatallwell-meaningNigeriansandgenuinelovers ofdemocracyshouldrallyaround theSenateundertheleadershipof Saraki to checkmate the country from gradual relapse into dictatorship of the past. Specifically, hearguedthatthetrialofnational legislators, particularly those opposedtothedictatorialattitudeof theExecutivearmofgovernment, was“clearlypoliticallymotivated.”

Nwaoboshidescribedaspreposterous the attempt to rope in the Senate President with allegation ofsponsorshipofarmedrobbery in a state where he (Saraki),was governor for eight years.

executive was not attempting to muzzle the legislature, but asking lawmakers to act according to the constitution, adding that such allegations were unfounded.

“The Executive is not muzzling the Legislature. It is only asking the legislature to act within its constitutional powers and not get into executive realm, otherwise the executive will continue to resist.

“Wehaveseenandreadabout three or four judgments in the last few weeks, saying the legislature does not have the powers to exercise most of the powers it has been exercising.

“For instance, indicting someone or asking someone to answer to criminal charges before them, are the things the executivekeepsresistingbecause

they are contrary to the law.

“These are the actions that some people misinterpret to mean that the executive is either not cooperating or it is muzzling the legislature. The executive is only asking the legislature to act within its powers and allow the judiciarytobethejudgebetween them,” he explained.

The president’s aide said as an important part of the society with ability to shape public opinion, the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) should avoidthetemptationofactingon unfounded information.

HeadvisedNBA,lawyersand other Nigerians to always seek clarifications about government activities, saying the present administration was open to giving clarifications on its policies and activities.

Awomolo SAN Loses Mum

MadamFeliciaAnikeAwomoloa.k.aMamaEgbeAyaBishop,mother oflegalluminaryandSeniorAdvocateofNigeria,AsiwajuGboyega Awomoloisdead.Thedeceased,aged96passedonThursdayJune14 whilewaitingforherbreakfasttobeserved.Accordingtoastatement byherson,AsiwajuAwomolo,SAN,MamaAwomolo,asatirelessprayer warriornevercompromisedherfaithandcovenantwiththeLordJesus Christ,nevermissedthelast10yearsChristmascelebrationwithher children and grandchildren. Final burial rites to be announced later, thestatementnoted.

T H I S D AY ˾ SUNDAY JUNE 17, 2018

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The Asaba Massacre Oct 1967: The Victims Charter & Matters Arising

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e act for the victims of the Asaba Massacre. We would like to draw the Federal Government and Nigerian Public’s attention to this very sad outstanding issue. We have repeatedly asked the Government on several occasions to address this matter in a manner consistent with the significance of this unfortunate event in our annals. But all appeals have so far been ignored. Our petition to the Nigerian National Human Rights Commission dated the 22nd of April 2014 was similarly treated with contempt and remains unaddressed till today.

Recently our President made a statement essentially approving the conduct of the nigerian soldiers during the civil war and claimed that they behaved commendably in the light of the Code of Conduct issued to them by their Commander in Chief - General Gowon. Asaba people who went through hell and other nigerians affected by the crisis find this statement as insensitive as it was unhelpful. We respectfully appeal to the President to issue a public apology for violating the sensibilities of his fellow countrymen in this regard. The time has come to hold leaders we appoint to high national office to some reasonable standards of sensitive decorum in order to promote harmonious cohesion amongst our constituent parts. This is an incendiary statement to make in the wake of several slaughters of Nigerian citizens in various parts of the country. If the conduct of the Nigerian troops during the war had been constrained by this code of conduct we wonder what code authorized the killings of thousands of Asaba people (unarmed nigerians) in that appalling Oct 1967. Do please remember that this war was sold to the nigerian public and the world as one for national unity. Till today that unity continues to elude the country.

Consequently we call on our President – General Muhammedu Buhari and our Vice President – Professor Yemi Osinbanjo and General Gowon as the Head of State when these events occurred to demonstrate some statesmanship and try to heal the frayed and raw nerves pricked by recent events and utterances. This could take the shape of a Presidential condolence visit with members of the Council of State, Leadership of the Senate and the House of Representatives to the mass grave/monument at Ogbesowe in Asaba where the people slaughtered in cold blood by the Nigerian Army in October 1967 rests. More so as they were killed in furtherance of a war said to be one for national unity. This kind of gesture and show of human empathy by the leadership of the country will be consistent with the spirit of ‘One Nigeria’ which was the last cry upon their lips as their lives were tragically and savagely cut down by soldiers drunk with hate. That statement of hope of ‘ one nigeria’that they expressed remains a promisory note that eluded them and still remains something of a bounced cheque upon the imagination of most Nigerians. It is however never too late to do the right thing to kick-start the process of healing and understanding that the country so urgently needs.

If these unfortunate Nigerians had been from Daura or Ikenne our present leaders will not need much persuasion on the subject. We look forward to the day when these ethnic, religious or parochial considerations would cease to be the basis for executive action or recognition of important national milestones.

Also a proper condolence visit of our leaders to Benue, Taraba and several spots where innocent nigerian lives have been wasted by recent atrocities will be a step in the right direction. If the people of Taraba, Benue, Plateau and other harassed communities had felt the suffering or pain of Asaba people then perhaps the culture of impunity and indifference that created the atmosphere for these atrocities might not exist. Until this important

lesson is understood and learnt by all Nigerians we will not get things right.

We must imbibe the culture of being our brothers keeper.

It is right to observe that the significance of the Asaba Massacre to the Nigerian/ biafran war is often lost upon our leaders. The war might have ended sooner and many lives saved on both sides if the asaba atrocity had not occurred or if it was sufficiently and effectively condemned when it happened and those involved dealt with appropriately. It had the unfortunate effect of confirming or reinforcing the suspicion of genocide as a war aim resulting in our fellow brothers across the niger feeling that there was no option than to fight to the end for survival.

We once again reaffirm our commitment to the objective that the Asaba Massacre issue must be treated with utmost care and dignity by all who profess to advance the cause. Accordingly the victims wish to make it absolutely clear that they do not wish to be insulted by offers of money for the supreme sacrifice made by their compatriots on that occasion. We reject and distance ourselves from anyone or group soliciting for funds from the federal government, corporate bodies or individuals for whatever purpose connected to the Asaba Massacre. Previous appeals and fund raising initiatives conducted by Mr Alban Ofili - Okonkwo violated the sensibility of the survivors. Similarly the dishonest and false pronouncements of forgiveness issued ostensibly to assist that fund raising effort remains a stain and a festering wound in the flesh of all decent Asaba people. You cannot forgive an unacknowledged mass murder/genocide when the perpetrators remain unrepentant and contemptuous of the victims. Such forgiveness is neither rooted in christian ethics, muslim precepts nor is it to be found in the moral teachings of other religions. We hope that the parties concerned in that disgraceful enterprise would heed the silent but potent voices of the dead.

We are pleased to inform the public with some sense of appreciation and encouragement that a member of the family of the Late Lt Col Ibrahim Taiwo (ex Governor of Kwara State killed in Dimka’s Coup in 1975) has reached out to us to apologise for the role played by this officer in the Asaba Massacre. In this connection we implore members of the family of Late General Muritala Muhammed (Ex Military President of Nigeria Killed in the Dimka Coup same day as Lt Col Taiwo) to please remember the invitation held out to them by Professor Wole Soyinka and Bishop Mathew Kukah to do the same and issue an apology on his behalf. The researched evidence points to their joint responsibility for what transpired in Asaba in 1967. General Muritala Muhammed is acknowledged in our public space as a great leader. History records that where there is greatness there is often much error. It is in that spirit that we call upon his family to do the human and decent thing in keeping faith with this aspect of his journey.

Let us all do what we can to heal the festering wounds of this country. We humbly call on our President to do more to govern in the interest of all Nigerians and to do so both in appearance and in reality. We acknowledge the great burden that presidential office places upon his shoulder and thank him for doing what he did to get elected at a very difficult period of our nation’s history. Our President can do better and we should all respectfully and unselfishly nudge him in the right direction as good and concerned citizens of this great country. The President needs to do more to heal the cleavages borne out of the events of 1966/1967 considering his role in those events and his fortunate position today as one charged with the enormous responsibility of holding the country together in these trying days.

Chuck Nduka-Eze & Co.

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OPINION Milestones of Made in Aba Okezie Victor Ikpeazu writes that the glory of Enyimba city is gradually being restored

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ba, the commercial rendezvous south-east of Nigeria, is evidently responding to multifaceted rehabilitation therapies which we are conscientiously administering.

What informed the patriotic drive to re-jig and inject life into the infrastructural and business life of Aba is located on the practical necessity of ensuring that the city conforms with modern trends and latest innovations in the dynamic world of business with particular reference to small and medium scale endeavours.

The two-pronged approach of proudly brandishing and hyping made in Aba products and engaging blue chip construction firms to restore the city’s pride of place, is evidently paying off.

Having grown up in Aba, I am naturally compelled to constantly engage in a retrospective juxtaposition of what obtained several years ago and the unacceptable state of what currently obtains. Hence, the avowal to re-direct and restore the lost glory of Enyimba city.

Engaging Aba constructively is the vital tonic, which micro small and medium enterprises desperately require to make far-reaching and positive impacts in their business. Tremendous in-roads have also been made in getting our small scale manufacturers to purge themselves of inferiority toga which has over the years hampered in no small measure their ability to globally showcase their ingenuity. I am excited to flaunt the achievements of made in Aba products given that it is boldly represented in our gubernatorial blue print.

Having inculcated in our people the inevitability of developing “I can do it spirit�, made in Aba products hitherto produced and flown to Dubai, re-labelled and imported as foreign products is gradually being confined to the trash can of history, as most of them are now proudly inscribed “made in Aba�. This follows from our result yielding vigorous promotion project propagated in all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria and beyond.

As the chief marketer of made in Aba products which over the years I have un-repentantly patronised and proudly modelled, the expected and exhilarating signal from our national government has also birthed the “made in Nigeria� sing-song. Great things they say start from small beginning.

The federal government became the first to be counted as Abia played host to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo during his flag-off of National Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises clinic. Made in Aba products have also largely become the most cherished and patronised following from the vice- president’s charge directing ministries, departments and agencies (MDA) to source locally manufactured products.

It energised our earlier business overtures made to government establishments like National Youths Service Corps (NYSC), Nigerian Armed Forces, paramilitary organisations, the 36 states of Nigeria, etc. The encouraging outcome is that before long, very scarce foreign resources which would have been expended in procuring 50,000 pairs of military combat boots abroad, were ploughed back into the economy as Aba SME’s proudly and qualitatively came to the rescue.

Consequently, the Nigerian Navy, Civil Defence and allied agencies have cued in. Where there is a will, there will always be a way. The pathway to relevance may be fraught with daunting and challenging tasks but only the never say die spirit prevalent in us as a people will symbolically prove to the world that we cannot be ignored.

Little wonder therefore that TBWA concept: a virile advertising

Having inculcated in our people the inevitability of developing ‘I can do it spirit’, made in Aba products hitherto produced and own to Dubai, relabelled and imported as foreign products are gradually being conďŹ ned to the trash can of history, as most of them are now proudly inscribed ‘made in Aba’

and marketing firm in liaison with Ford Foundation which took the bill, decided to sensitise the global audience leveraging the Cable News Network popularly known as CNN to showcase the trail-blazing milestones of SME’s going on in Aba. Accomplishment they say banishes insult and we do not intend to backtrack on the gains so far made. This truism motivated us to recently sponsor the training of 100 youths, who will be travelling to China in batches with a view to enhancing and manifesting their skills in the use of automated shoemaking technology.

Perfection of arrangements has been faithfully made, to procure and install comprehensive range of automated shoe manufacturing equipment (modern day mass production enabler) in Aba. On completion of their phased capacity building programme, our youths will be deployed to handle state of the art shoe producing factory being inaugurated in Aba. This will reasonably free them from the multiplicity of setbacks and irritations inherent in having to produce manually.

We acknowledge the inevitability of energy as the driving force of any given economy and had proactively factored its unavoidable place in the end success of what our mandate is programmed to achieve. This is located in the recent and audacious giant step of having to encourage Ruyi Holdings Group Shandong China currently interfacing with Geometric Power Company in association with Enyimba Economic City Limited for the attainment of uninterruptible power supply in Aba. It is expected that with this arrangement, $530 million will be injected into Aba Integrated Power Project.

On completion, the energy consumption status of Aba and its environs would have been revolutionised given the over 500 megawatts of electricity that will be up for generation and maximal utilisation.

The Aba Independent Power Project being driven by the tenacity and doggedness of Geometric Power Company had seen to the construction of several sub-stations in Aba and recently a 140-kilometre power line and gas supply infrastructure. These critical sub-stations will be released for deployment of power as soon as work is completed on the independent power station. ––Dr. Ikpeazu is the Governor of Abia State

Reminiscences From Rwanda Rwanda holds lessons for Nigeria, writes Uche Igwe

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y trip to Kigali, Rwanda for the African Innovation Summit was almost shelved for an important assignment in Abuja, but I was further persuaded upon learning that I could get a direct flight from Abuja to Kigali on the new RwandAir. The whole idea that one would connect an African capital by first flying to Europe and back is one that I consider both expensive and unbearable. RwandAir flight was not just a relief, it made it possible for me to attend to both assignments located thousands of miles apart.

The journey out of Abuja was smooth. It lasted for about three hours or so. About 25 minutes to our landing in Kigali, I was woken up by a beautiful voice which turned out to be that of the female captain. She announced our imminent descent into Kigali international airport.

Unlike my last transit through Kigali which was marked with heavy and disruptive rainfall, this time, her announcing a pleasant weather conditions at our destination was welcoming. It was about 9.30pm when I peeped through the window to behold a well-lit city, with an undulating geography of hills, ridges and valleys.

As my feet touched the soil of Rwanda, I conjured up memories of the turbulent history of that country: the ethnic tensions that culminated in the Rwandan genocide in the early 90s. I remember the pictures and the global outrage at the summary massacre of neighbours by neighbours allegedly masterminded by a government led by the majority Hutu ethnic group against the minority Tutsis. Historical documents suggested that the genocide was sparked off after the alleged assassination of former President Juvenal Habyyarimana on the 6th of April 1994.

Armed with such violent and traumatic mental picture and expecting less thereof from this country, I was pleasantly surprised with what Rwanda has evolved into. The Kigali I walked into is a very organised and clean city – probably one of the cleanest in Africa. The streets are well laid out and the roads well maintained. Development here was obviously happening at an impressively speedy pace. Both motor cyclists and passengers are mandated by government policy to wear helmets and there is compliance by all. The city is said to be secure and I saw that night life was bubbling unhindered. There are many five-star hotels in the city and tourists were seen walking around freely and leisurely too.

One could hardly notice that the country was in the recent past engulfed in war. On interacting with the people, one of the most infectious things that struck me is their addiction to nationalism. Any citizen you meet politely informs you that he or she is a Rwanda. They do not consider themselves first as either Tutsis or Hutus – and will not tell you so- although the differences between the two remain apparent- at least

physically. For them, asking questions about their ethnic origin is like trying to identify whether someone belonged to the oppressor or the oppressed.

Through several policy interventions under the Vision 2020 programme, the economy of Rwanda is fast improving from one impoverished by war to that of an emerging middle-income country. Human development indices have improved commendably. With a population of 11.92 million people, the country has an average life expectancy of 66.6 years in 2018. The prevalence of HIV is as low as 3.1 per cent – one of the lowest in East and Southern Africa, while the literacy rate hovers around 73.2 per cent. These results are apparently linked to the commitment of President Paul Kagame who took over power and ended the genocide in 1994.

The president remains very popular in the country as the father of the New Rwanda and the key force behind the stability and reforms experienced across several sectors in the country. He was formerly elected into office in 2000 and has been in power since then.

After completing his two seven-year terms in office as allowed by the constitution, he allegedly masterminded an amendment that provided him an opportunity for a third term in office.

Many human rights organisations have continued to criticise Mr. Kagame’s regime of stifling civil society and muscling opposition especially after he was re-elected for a third term by curiously winning 98.79 per cent of the total votes cast in the presidential elections. That election was alleged to have been tainted with repression and lack of credible competition. Notably one of the aspirants to the presidential elections, Ms Diane Rwigara was harassed, detained, barred from the contest and later charged with forgery and inciting insurrection.

Even with all his flaws, both critics and admirers of President Kagame agree that he is a transformational leader who has left indelible footprints across the country. The pieces of evidence of his visionary leadership are visible on the streets of Kigali for all to see.

He was quoted as saying that he will make Rwanda, the ‘Singapore of Africa’ and it is obvious that he is on course. The huge turnout of young Rwandans to the Africa Innovation summit further demonstrated the willingness of the youth population to devote their energy to research and digital solutions.

Back in Nigeria, the situation is completely different in many regards. Most significantly our experiment at forging a nation seems to be failing every day. Leaders speak and act as if some parts of this country do not belong to the nation, elevating delusions of ethnic superiority to state policy. Nationalism remains under threat as many citizens of Nigeria will prefer to be Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, Ijaw, Tiv, Idoma and other before ever being Nigerian. We wax stronger amplifying our differences and allowing our past to dictate our

present and becloud our future. Like Rwanda, we have a shared history of war; Nigeria fought a civil war where more than one million people died to remain together, yet more than 48 years after the war ended, we remain more divided than we were before that war. The same reasons why we went to war still exist and indeed amplified with impunity. Our political elite conduct themselves as if they prefer to benefit from every of our failed attempt at national cohesion.

Although we take pride in describing ourselves as giant of Africa, a country like Rwanda has dwarfed us by floating a functional national carrier. With a modest fleet of just 10 aircraft, RwandAir took off in 2016 and now helps travellers within the continent connect with ease. Even as we continue to debate on our participation in the Africa Continental Free Trade agreement, countries like Rwanda are already taking advantage of the opportunities by feeding on the vast Nigerian market. We revel in unbridled consumerism and that is why both the West and China see us a dumping ground of sub-standard products. Our own national carrier, the defunct Nigerian Airways, is a legacy of mismanagement and the hope of its revival, we continue to shamelessly defer.

Coming back from Kigali, I have experienced once again what visionary leadership can do to a country regardless of its history.

It is easier to locate what the problem with Nigeria is. There can be a Kigali in practically every state in this country. No one should tell me about any curse except the ones we inflicted on ourselves, unwittingly. I recommend an excursion for Nigerian leaders both (current and former) to Rwanda so that they can at least learn about how to build a nation.

Rwanda does not produce oil yet they have other natural endowments like gold, cassiterite, coltan and others, whose proceeds are managed fairly. They have mobilised all their resources towards national growth.

For me, unless and until we decide to genuinely get together as Nigerians to build a nation of equity and fairness called Nigeria, every other effort we make – no matter how well intentioned will continue to be disrupted. The well-known foundations of nepotism, ethnicity and bigotry upon which the current contraption and geographical expression called Nigeria was dubiously constructed will continue to prevail. Someday, we will all face the consequences.

Everyone without exception. Sooner than later. Rwanda and other countries in Africa which have the courage to make the right decisions will continue to benefit from our myriads of mistakes. ––– Igwe is a doctoral researcher at the department of Politics, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom

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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 ˾ JUNE 17, 2018

LETTERS

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WORLD CUP: A SPECTACLE OF WASTE?

ormer Catholic pontiff, Pope John Paul II, once said: “Among all unimportant subjects, football is by far the most important”. Without any doubt, football is a global crowd puller, and at present the game’s most amazing spectacle, the FIFA World Cup, has begun in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Amidst a most stunning ambiance, the 23rd World Cup kicked off at the 81,000 capacity Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow with host Russia trashing Saudi Arabia in the opening match.

Since Uruguay hosted the first edition of the World Cup in 1930, during the era of revered FIFA President, Jules Rimet, the competition has continued to grow in leap and bounds.

From a 13 team event in 1930, it grew to become a 32 team affair during the1998 edition in France. Today, the World Cup commands a global TV audience in excess of one billion.

Beyond remarkable changes in terms of rules governing the game, the World Cup has equally recorded enormous growth in financial terms. For instance, World Cup sponsorship increased from $2000 in 1984 to $16000 in 1996. At the 1994 World Cup in the United States, 65% of the entire money that was spent on sponsorship was in sports. Additionally, 63% of the sponsorship in Germany 2006 was in sports while 80% of money spent on sponsorship in South Africa 2010 was equally in sports.

The USA ‘94 edition of the World Cup was spiced with several innovations. For the first time in the game’s history,

Putin

football matches were hosted in various cities across the country. In terms of economic benefits, the USA ’94 edition equally marked a huge turning point in the history of the event.

In Los Angeles, where the final match between eventual winner, Brazil and Italy took place, the city’s economy benefitted to the tune of $623 million.

The cities of New York, San Francisco and Boston equally made combined revenue of $1.45billion in the course of the competition. In terms of job creation, over 1,700 part-time jobs were created in the city of California alone during the preparation and duration of the tournament.

The 2006 World Cup hosted

by Germany was also a massive economic success. For instance, German tourism sector reportedly recorded a revenue increase in excess of $400 million in the month of the World Cup alone. Similarly, about $3 billion was further injected into the German economy, in merchandise such as jerseys and other stuffs regarding the cup.

Equally, over 500,000 new jobs were created before, during and after the competition. Hotels, restaurants, tourists’ centres and bars were full to capacity at all hours of the tournament, while over 15 million more spectators arrived in Germany than was initially anticipated.

Without a doubt, football has become a money spinning

sport across the globe. The organisation and management of football in Europe, for instance, is a multi-million dollars venture with all the teams running other sports related businesses.

Indeed, all sorts of professionals- doctors, physiotherapists, psychologists, grass men, scouts, etc., are employed by the various teams in their drive for soccer glory. Therefore, football, in Europe, has gone beyond the mere recreational activity that it is in Nigeria. As a result of the excellent manner it is managed in Europe, youths across the continent have found in football a means through which they could use their talents to escape poverty. Thanks to football, players such as Christiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, Cesc Fabregas, among others, have become multimillionaires before they clocked age of 21.

However, some critics have labelled the World Cup as a misplaced event that showcases unnecessary opulence in the face of abject poverty across the globe. Before the 2014 World Cup hosted by Brazil, opponents of the game claimed that the over $14.5 billion spent by the country to host the competition could have been used to address the country’s rising poverty situation, education, healthcare and transport. Prior to the event, a survey revealed that 61 per cent of Brazilians were of the belief that hosting the World Cup was a “bad thing because it takes money away from public services.” Only 34 per cent saw it is a “good project because it creates jobs.” The National Court of Auditors of

June 12: Proof of What is Possible

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s the battle against the annulment of the June 12 elections raged, it got to a point when fatigue began to set.

No surprise. As to be expected, some people moved on with their lives and the fire ebbed in some quarters, for a variety of reasons. But the greatest harm deliberately infused into the waters then was the lie sold that the struggle had been ethnicised. That it had become a Western or Yoruba thing. It was a lie deliberately sold. Lots of unthinking people bought it, even when it was not backed by facts.

June 12 was never about any ethnic group. It was never about the Yorubas. As a matter of fact, prior to that period, MKO Abiola was not the most popular man in that part of the country because he had been a part of NPN in the Second Republic in a region where Chief Awolowo of the UPN was deified. MKO transformed himself through a deft use of philanthropy, sports, music, media, religion, etc., and he won hearts across the length and breadth of the country. He simply connected with the people. The powerful advertising campaign he ran resonated with the people.

The feeling of injustice people felt at the annulment

was a nationwide affair. It was not a Yoruba thing. But even as I don’t do generalisations, I find it hard to contest the fact that there seems to be a more robust tradition of civil rights advocacy, awareness and tendency to stand up against perceived injustice in the Western part of the country, with Lagos being the heart of advocacy, especially with the major media houses situated here.

There is also the tradition of standing up for a cause they believe in, no matter the cost. That is why they were content to stay with Awolowo in opposition, resisting the centre at enormous cost, for several decades. The Yoruba people refused to be appeased by the appointment of Ernest Shonekan - proof that June 12 was not about one of their own being in power. They rejected Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999 on account of his antiJune 12 credentials. Obasanjo was never for June 12. He did everything to render it irrelevant and kill it. For eight years as president, he would not even mention the name of the man who was murdered for standing for a mandate freely given to him, even when Obasanjo only became President because of the same Abiola.

June 12 was a struggle

based on firm principles. That exactly is what played out with June 12. People like Wole Soyinka, Gani Fawehinmi, Beko Ransome-Kuti, Alani Akinrinade and many other Yoruba men and women who led the fight did not do so because MKO Abiola was a Yoruba man. They, like many in the human rights community, did not even see eye to eye with MKO until after the annulment of the elections.

Some of the activists did not even believe in the whole Babangida endless transition programme, as he kept changing dates, rules, banning people and all that. Many of the activists did not support anyone or participate in the election. But once election held, it was deemed robbery to have sought to truncate it.

Injustice to the nation was one to be resisted. That was the point for those who stood up, irrespective of tribe and tongue. It was not a partisan struggle.

Of course, there was Olisa Agbakoba. We had Dan Suleiman, Ndubuisi Kanu, Frank Kokori, among other non-Yoruba who stood to be counted. It was not a Yoruba thing. But that lie was repeatedly sold to the point that some, who were in nappies then, insist on it today.

It was fabricated to belittle

and discredit the struggle.

But it has always been a lie.

We have latter-day historians raised on the feeding-bottle of fabrications, telling the story of yesterday to those who participated in its making.

They have started again.

Stunned by the recognition of both June 12 and MKO Abiola, they have started weaving the same old lie about it being a Yoruba thing. Some of them are confused. Unhappy with the man who has wisely made the right move we have almost lost our voices clamouring for, they are desperate to desecrate it.

For some, it is outright insult at the Yoruba people for celebrating. One, a journalist, Chairman of the Editorial Board of a newspaper in Lagos has called Yorubas ‘sophisticated morons’ for celebrating the recognition. We celebrate.

June 12 is proof of what is possible. We choose to celebrate, even as we know it irritates some. But that, in fact, is the reason we should celebrate.

That in spite of all that they have done to obliterate the day and what it symbolises from the record, it has continued to stand firm like an Iroko in our history.

–– Simbo Olorunfemi, Lagos

Brazil concluded that public spending on the World Cup would be “enough money to pay the entire country’s annual Bolsa Familia [social welfare] bill twice over”.

There are multiple revenue streams that exist for organisers, including gate receipts, merchandise sales, sponsorships and licensing agreements, but by far the biggest income flow comes from television rights. However, the governing bodies behind sporting events are taking an increasing share of these spoils, making it harder for even the most efficient local organisers to make money.

According to experts, hosting the World Cup or any other major sporting event can boost a nation’s economy by attracting tourists, initiating important infrastructure projects and showcasing countries and cities as good places to do business. But the costs of achieving those noble goals appear to outweigh the economic benefits they produce. Before South Africa 2010 World Cup, around 450,000 tourists were anticipated to be in the country for the tournament. In the end,

only two thirds showed up.

Despite the reduced numbers, visitors spend increased by almost a quarter, but at a cost of acquisition to the South African government of up to $13,000.

For roughly the same amount, the country could have paid the wages of the entire working age population for a week.

In a book titled Soccernomics (2009), Professor Stefan Szymanski and Simon Kuper assessed the economic impact of hosting the World Cup and concluded that it is more of a waste. The duo revealed that Japanese and Korean governments expected that the 2002 Korea /Japan World Cup, which they co-hosted, could enhance their economies by a stunning $26 billion and $9 billion, respectively. However, after the event, there was slight mark of any such increase. The pair, therefore, concluded that hosting sports event does not really translate into prosperity for the people. Rather, fortunes are spent to maintain the facilities, which sometimes give way to decay.

––Tayo Ogunbiyi, Alausa, Lagos

Iroko And Urgency of A New Order

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s we approach the 2019 general elections, it is pertinent to interrogate the capacity of Nigeria to understand and grapple with the emerging realities in the world in order to influence policy decisions. Abuja appears unperturbed about the troubling ascendancy of the far-right in Europe and the gradual triumph of nationalism over globalism in the West. The leadership is aloof, betraying ignorance and this is inexplicable. The West is becoming unsettled and may gradually be turning into an unsafe haven for migrants, asylum seekers and even those running away from the worsening economic situation on the African continent.

Increasingly, there are signs that the centre is giving way, due to the growing influence of the far-right in Europe.

Globally, more people are getting moved by the issue of identity over ideology: from Brexitism to Trumpism; and, only recently, in Italy, populism trumped the far-left. The farright is also gaining grounds in France and Germany. The biggest blow is still the victory and emergence of the populist and ideologically amorphous Five Star Movement and the far-right League party – two parties that share extreme nationalist views – which have vowed to carry out a rapid mass expulsion of migrants from Italy. The implication of this delicate turn of event in the West is very huge for Nigeria and the African continent, except knowledgeable leadership is enthroned on the continent.

The forthcoming 2019 elections in Nigeria will certainly be about so many things, but

the concern is that Nigeria may not be able to put under the radar the likely drawback of what is happening in the West and around the world.

Added to this is the inability of successive governmens to answer the basic questions at home. The truth is: there can be no reprieve for any Third World nation that is unable to enthrone the right-thinking leadership to address problems. But there is a piece of information from the grapevine that gladdens my heart and that is the return of the Iroko Movement, under the leadership of former Ondo State governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, to mainstream Nigerian politics.

The movement had given much hope about the country when its social democracy development trajectory helped to prioritise human capital development as the cornerstone of good governance. Like the mythical phoenix bird that reinvented itself and emerged from the ashes, Mimiko, who is widely known in the Nigerian politics as Iroko, has arisen from the flames as a winner, beating all life’s challenges and defeating hard times.

Only a few men and movements have been lucky to have survived the murky waters of Nigerian politics, and still have their integrity intact and relevance sustained. Certainly, political tribulations are not in short supply. Mimiko has been able to weather the storm to reinvent the movement for the urgency of a new order. But then, Iroko, without sounding immodest, is more than just a person; it is an idea whose time has come.

–Ariyo-Dare Atoye, Abuja

16

ÍŻÍľËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś Ëž THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

INTERNATIONAL June 12 as an Expression of Global Injustice: The Cases of Nigeria and North Korea-US Summit

T

he main rationale behind the establishment of the United Nations in 1945 was to be able to maintain international peace and security by particularly fostering cooperation among Member States of the organisation. However, the management and conduct of the organisation, especially in the use and management of the right of veto by the Five Permanent Members of the United Nations Security Council (Britain, China, France, Russia and United States) is such that only inter-state conflicts have been prevented since 1945.

Intra-state conflicts have not only become the order of the day but have now also been threatening international peace and security.

Put differently, there is nothing like international peace or global peace without peace being allowed to first exist in a member state of the international community. It is only when the Member States are free from conflicts that one can begin to talk about peace worldwide.

In this regard, it is noteworthy that June 12 is an interesting date in international relations. It is a day of conflict and peace-making, a day of joy and sadness, depending on which country and issue one is talking about.

InAssam, India, the people there witnessed the most severe quake in history on June 12, 1897. On June 12, 1985 the town of Xintan on the Yangtze was obliterated by a landslide. On June 12 1991, there was the Mount Pinatubo volcano in the Philippines, which began erupting for the first time in 600 years.Again, on June 12, 2000, the worst rains in 20 years began and caused flooding in Santiago, Chile.And more recently, on June 12, 2017 the world witnessed an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2, which shook western Turkey and the Greek Island of Lesbos, and also injuring, at least, 10 people and damaging buildings.Additionally, on June 12 1881, the steamship USS Jeannette sank under ice during an expedition to reach the north pole and less than half of the crew survived. The import of the foregoing is that critical natural disasters frequently occur on June 12, and more often than not, they occur for the first time. No one has control over this type of occurrence of natural disasters.

However, there are political disasters over which political leadership has control but, which again, has been to no avail in terms of their containment. They are disasters that were consciously caused by people in government and that also took place on June 12. For instance, on June 12, 1937 the Soviet Union executed 8 army leaders as a purge under Josef Stalin. On June 12, 1942American bombers struck the oil refineries of Ploesti, Rumania for the first time. On June 12, 1976 the military ousted President Juan Maria Bordaberry in Uruguay. It was on June 12, 1964 that Nelson Mandela was convicted of treason in the Rivonia, and moved to jail cell on Robben Island by theApartheid regime in SouthAfrica.

Without doubt, June is not only about disasters, be they naturally or politically motivated. It is also about geo-strategic calculations, as well as about politics of chimera and chicanery. It was on June 12, 1982 that some one million anti-nuclear demonstrators rallied in Central Park, in New York. On June 12, 2004, Iran made it clear that it would reject international restrictions on its nuclear program and challenged the world to accept Tehran as a member of the ‘nuclear club.’Again on June 12, 2010, North Korea said it would launch an all-out attack against South Korea and other propaganda facilities, particularly warning it could even turn Seoul into a ‘sea of flame.’ And perhaps most importantly, June 12 is also a day of democracy in many regards.

It was on June 12, 1776 that Virginia’s colonial legislature adopted, for the first time, a Bill of Rights. The Virginia Declaration of Rights, which was written by George Mason and which granted every individual the right to the enjoyment of life and liberty and to also acquire and possess property, was done on June 12, 1776.And true,

VIE INTERNATIONALE with

Bola A. Akinterinwa Telephone : 0807-688-2846

e-mail: bolyttag@yahoo.com

it was on June 12, 1999 that the NorthAtlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) troops began to enter Kosovo. They reached Pristina and confronted Russian soldiers over control of the airport. In the same vein, on June 12, 2009, the United Nations Security Council agreed to expand an arms embargo against North Korea and therefore passed Resolution 1874, which permitted the search of North Korean ship suspected of carrying illegal arms.

On June 12, 1926, Brazil opted to withdraw its membership of the League of Nations in protest over plans to admit Germany. Was it not on June 12, 1975 that the High Court ofAllahabad declared Indira Ghandi’s election invalid on grounds of alleged malpractices in an election petition filed by Raj Narain and that President Reagan, on June 12, 1987 publicly challenged Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Wall of Berlin when he went there on visit?And true enough again, on June 12, 1990 in a speech to the Supreme Soviet legislature, Gorbachev eased his objection to a reunified Germany holding membership in NATO. In Nigeria and as shown by the North Korea-US Summit held on June 12, 2018 in Singapore, June 12 is more of a day of injustice and source of international insecurity in the management and conduct of global peace and security.

June12inNigeriaandSingapore June 12 in Nigeria is both a day of problem and insecurity, on the one hand, and a day of problem solving and peace-making, on the other. In the context of North Korean relations with the United States, June 12 is essentially a day of peace-seeking to a problem created internationally. What is common to June 12 in Nigeria and to North Korea-US relations is the resultant question of unfairness and injustice to which little or no attention is ever given.

In Nigeria, the injustice is that Chief Moshood Kashimowo OlawaleAbiola was elected on the platform of the Social Democratic Party on June 12, 1993. The election was adjudged the most free, the most fair, the most credible, and the most peaceful election ever organised in the political history of independent Nigeria. It was an election in which ChiefAbiola, a devout Muslim, also had another Muslim,Alhaji Babana Kingibe, as his running mate.And yet, the people of Nigeria did not see religion as an issue. There was religious tolerance during the election. In the eyes of the international community, it was a major source of commendation for the Babangida regime for organising an election that was violence free.

The system of election was very original. The then Chairman of the INEC, Professor Humphrey Nwosu, described it as OptionA4, which required queuing up on a single line behind the photograph of one’s candidate or behind the candidate. The number of candidates is counted on the spot and the results announced on the spot in the presence of all the representatives of the various political parties.

It was an election of happiness by which the future of Nigeria, and particularly its unity, was to be defined.

U.S. President Donald Trump (right) meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore...recently

However, it was not to be.As the collation of election results began, there were credible pointers to ChiefAbiola’s win or to the defeat of Alhaji Bashir Tofa, the flag bearer of the National Republican Party.

By that time, there were basically two political parties. In fact, election results were already being released to the general public. Some newspapers had already even released the presidential election results before the military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, disregarded the election results. It is as from this juncture that the credible and peaceful election became a new source of insecurity in the country.

Nigerians were most aggrieved, especially in light of the excuses given for the annulment.As General Babangida had it, ‘we (Babangida’s government) knew the possible consequences of handing over to a democratic government.’ The consequences were only known to General Babangida and his caucus. The generality of the people of Nigeria did not know, hence the development of animosity vis-a-vis the government and the establishment of various civil society organisations militating against the state. In fact, calls for possible separation and national restructuring also became the new theme of political debate in the country. This is how June 12 became a critical problem in Nigeria.

But again, June 12 is also a day of conflict resolution and tension lessening. The incumbent president,Alhaji Muhammadu Buhari, not only awarded the highest national honour, ‘Grand Commander of the Federal Republic, GCFR’ to ChiefAbiola, but also changed the date of Democracy Day in Nigeria from May 29 to June 12.According to PMB, ‘June 12, 1993 was far more symbolic of democracy in the Nigerian context than May 29 or even October 1.’ Both the award of GCFR and the change in date of democracy day have therefore raised more fundamental questions in the political governance of Nigeria.

The first question to address is the legality of the award of honour and the change of date of the Democracy Day. Most Nigerians are not against the award of the highest National Honour (GCFR) to ChiefAbiola. Many see it as very timely and done for purposes of the 2019 general elections. However, some Nigerians still argued that the award of GCFR cannot be given post-humously as it has to be received in person.As the intended recipient, ChiefAbiola, died in very controversial circumstance and suspected poisoning, such honour cannot be conferred. This is the interpretation derived from the 1964 National HonoursAct.Another school of thought has it that, for as long as the President has the competence to confer a national honour on any citizen of Nigeria, nothing should be considered illegal about the award of the honour.

In any case, not only was the honour conferred on June 12, 2018, the change in date of the Democracy Day was also confirmed and gazetted. Now that the legal debate over the issues has become a fait accompli, implying that Chief MKOAbiola was, indeed, a de jure President of Nigeria, Nigerians are now asking for the payment of all his entitlements as a president we never had. Many Nigerians have also asked that June 12 be taught in schools in order to sustain democracy in Nigeria.

The change in date of Democracy Day in Nigeria also had its legal impediments. While the members of the NationalAssembly supported the change, they raise the argument of the need to first amend the provision of the 1999 Constitution on the matter. May 29 is expressly stated in the Constitution as Nigeria’s Democracy Day. It is therefore argued that the President cannot just change the date by fiat without first engaging in amendment of it.

In essence, the issue at stake is the conflict between the rule of law and morality and the need to right a wrong that has militating against national unity, economic development, and national security.

Thus, the award of honour and the change of date of Democracy Day were meant to seek peace and ensure the lessening of political tension in the land.

The June 12 US-North Korea summit held at the Capella Hotel on the resort island of Sentosa in Singapore is more peace-seeking but also points to future problems of global insecurity. This cannot but be so because the summit is fraudulently predicated on subjectivity of purpose, insincerity, injustice and unfairness. The summit is seeking to reconcile conflict of national interests on the basis of manu militari and imposition of international law that is selectively and discriminatively respected.

It is important to recall the international politics of nuclearisation and denuclearisation. First, in the negotiations for the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, France and China expressed non-preparedness to sign the agreement.And true, they did not sign it. It was after both countries had perfected their nuclear test that they later accepted to sign it. The implication of this is clear: need to first acquire a nuclear power status before signing an agreement that would be detrimental to the acquisition of the status.

Asecond point is that the 1968 Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty allows Nuclear Weapon States to hold on to their nuclear weapons.

The treaty defined a nuclear weapon state as a country that had successfully carried out nuclear missile tests before the advent of the treaty, and these countries are basically the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council. None of these countries wants the inclusion of any new nuclear power to the existing ones. One main reason often given for this position is that other aspirants can be rogue states and cannot be credited with the capacity to manage nuclear weapons, especially in the event of radioactive leakages and accidents.

(See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 17, 2018

BUSINESS

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

LAST WEEK Oil

Oil prices rose alongside global markets on Tuesday as U.S. President Donald Trump said a summit in Singapore with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un made “a lot of progress.”

The announcement boosted hopes of a deal to end a nuclear standoff on the Korean peninsula. Brent crude futures were trading at $76.55 a barrel at 0547 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $66.24 a barrel. Markets were held back by signs that output was rising from top producers Russia, the United States and Saudi Arabia. Traders said activity was also muted ahead of a meeting between the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and some of its allies on June 22.

NSE

A view of Marina in the central business district of Lagos

FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange Market Records N54.9tn Turnover in 4 Months Turnover grows 22% year on year Bamidele Famoofo

In four months (January-April), the FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange market recorded N54.90 trillion (about $165.64 billion) worth of transactions, as turnover grew 22 per cent year-on-year as at April 2018. Turnover in the first four months in the 2017 financial year stood at N45.01 trillion, representing a growth of 22 per cent when compared to N54.90 trillion achieved between January and April in 2018, as investors injected additional N9.89 trillion into the short- term instruments market.

Average daily turnover recorded during the 82 trading days between January and April, 2018 stood at N669.14 billion (about $2.02 billion). Investment in Treasury Bills (T-bills) was the biggest contributor to turnover, accounting for 41.22 per cent, while dealings in the Foreign Exchange (FX) segment of the market contributed 36.70 per cent to aggregate turnover in the review period.

Investors splashed N22.61 trillion on T-bills, representing an average of 5.7 trillion per month, while FX recorded N13.41 trillion, averaging about N3.35 trillion monthly.

FX market transactions (Spot FX and FX Derivatives) accounted for 36.70 per cent, while Repurchase Agreements (Repos)/Buy-Backs transactions accounted for 14.79 per cent, with Bonds and Unsecured Placements & Takings representing

6.55 per cent and 0.75 per cent, respectively, of overall market turnover.

The top 10 DMBs accounted for 70.77 per cent (N38.83 trillion) of the overall turnover in the market, with the top three accounting for 58.64 per cent (N32.18 trillion) of this sub-section of the market.

Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, Access Bank PLC, and United Bank for Africa PLC were the leaders in the value traded for the overall over-the-counter (OTC) market, ranking first, second, and third, respectively.

The summary of transactions in the market in January showed that turnover in the Fixed Income and Currencies (FIC) markets for the month of January 2018 amounted to N11.71 trillion, a 1.28 per cent decrease (N0.15 trillion) from the value recorded in December 2017 and a 28.17 per cent increase (N2.57trn) year on year.

Activities in the T-bills market in January 2018, accounted for 39.24 per cent of market turnover compared to 35.26 per cent recorded in December 2017, while the FX market accounted for 37.50 per cent of the total turnover (33.63 per cent in December 2017). The Money Market (Repurchase Agreements (Repos)/Buy-Backs & Unsecured Placements/Takings) accounted for 16.90 per cent of market turnover (24.31 per cent in December 2017).

These three segments combined contributed 93.64 per cent to the

total turnover in the FIC markets.

Turnover in February, however, grew by N85 billion, from N11.71 trillion to N12.56 trillion in February.

Transaction turnover in the Fixed Income and Currencies (FIC) markets for February amounted to N12.56 trillion, a 7.34 per cent (N0.86 trillion) increase from the value recorded in January (N11.71) and a 3.46 per cent (N0.42 trillion) increase YoY. Activities in the T-bills market accounted for 44.44 per cent of Average daily turnover recorded during the 82 trading days between January and April, 2018 stood at N669.14 billion (about $2.02 billion). Investment in Treasury Bills (T-bills) was the biggest contributor to turnover

market turnover (39.24 per cent in January), while the FX market accounted for 33.13 per cent of the total turnover (37.50 per cent in January).

The Money Market (Repurchase Agreements (Repos)/Buy-Backs & Unsecured Placements/Takings) accounted for 16.90 per cent of market turnover, maintaining the same market share from the previous month. These three segments collectively contributed circa 94.47 per cent to the total turnover in the FIC markets.

Transaction turnover in the FIC

markets for March amounted to N15.66 trillion, representing an increase of N3.1 trillion a 24.68 per cent increase from the value recorded in February and a 16.26 per cent (N2.19 trillion) increase YoY. Turnover in the T-bills market accounted for 35.69 per cent of market turnover (44.44 per cent in February), while the FX market accounted for 39.06 per cent of the total turnover (33.13 per cent in February).

The Money Market (Repurchase Agreements (Repos)/Buy-Backs & Unsecured Placements/Takings) accounted for 17.62 per cent of market turnover (16.90 per cent in February). These three segments collectively contributed circa 92.37 per cent to the total turnover in the FIC markets.

In April, transaction turnover in the FIC markets amounted to N14.94 trillion, a 4.59 per cent (N0.72 trillion) decrease from the value recorded in March and a 69.81 per cent (N6.14 trillion) increase year-on-year.

Activities in the T-bills market accounted for 45.85 per cent of market turnover (35.69 per cent in March), while the FX market accounted for 36.60 per cent of the total turnover (39.06 per cent in March).

The Money Market (Repurchase Agreements (Repos)/Buy-Backs & Unsecured Placements/Takings) accounted for 11.17 per cent of market turnover (17.62 per cent in March).

These three segments collectively contributed 93.61 per cent to the total turnover in the FIC markets.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange expelled about 22 companies between 2016 and 2017 over non-performance and failure to meet the required postquotation standards. The delisted companies included Cappa and D’Alberto, Intercontinental Bank Preference shares, IPWA, G Cappa, and West African Glass Industries.

Others were Investment & Allied Insurance,Alumaco, Jos International Breweries,Adswitch, Rokanna, Vono Products, Lennards Nigeria, P.S. Mandrides & Company, Premier Breweries, Costain, Navitus Energy, Nigerian Ropes, Beco Petroleum, M Tech Communication, MTI, UAC and Ashaka Cement. Seven-Up Bottling Company, African Paints, and Afrik Pharmaceuticals were delisted in 2018.

LCCI

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry called for the review of import duty and Customs administration as part of an on-going tax reform meant to enhance ease of doing business in the country. DirectorGeneral of LCCI, Muda Yusuf, made the call in an interview. According to him, the import duty on many inputs for production and investments is high, making investment difficult across sectors. Yusuf noted that high import duty had led to the escalation of smuggling activities and loss of customs revenue, leading to loss of thousands of maritime sector jobs to neighbouring countries.

CBN

The Central Bank of Nigeria published the regulatory guidelines for prospective operators under the bilateral currency swap agreement between Nigeria and China. The guidelines titled, “Regulations for Transactions withAuthorised Dealers in Renmnbi”, was signed by CBN Director, Financial Markets Department,Alvan Ikoku, and published on the bank’s website. The guidelines said the swap agreement was for a maximum of 15 billion Chinese Yuan for N720 billion with a three-year tenure.

BOI

The Bank of Industry in conjunction with Benue State government began the disbursement of N2 billion loan to 138 cooperative societies, the governor, Samuel Ortom, said on Tuesday.

Ortom, who said this at a workshop for members of cooperative societies in Makurdi, said an additional N358 million had been approved for 78 more cooperative societies.

He said the initiative was aimed at empowering Benue people in their businesses through their respective registered cooperative societies.

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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 ˾ JUNE 17, 2018

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

CBN building, Abuja

US Fed Rate Hike and Options for Nigeria With Wednesday’s hike in interest rate by the United States Federal Reserve, Ndubuisi Francis examines the options open to Nigeria to insulate the economy from the adverse effects

T

he United States Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its key lending rate by another quarter-point — the second time in 2018 – in an attempt to stay ahead of growing inflation amid strong growth and robust employment. Following two days of deliberations, the members of the US Fed’s interest rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee decided to lift the target range for the federal funds rate to between 1.75 and 2.0 per cent. Being the second interest rate increase this year, it brings the total of US Fed hikes in the current monetary tightening cycle to seven.

The US central bank began pushing rates higher at the end of 2015, following more than half a decade of ultra-low rates as a result of the 2008 financial crisis. Indications are that besides Wednesday’s hike in benchmark short-term interest rate, two more increases are likely this year.

Effect The hike may trigger an adverse effect on capital flows to Nigeria and may compel the Central Bank of Nigeria to maintain its tight monetary policy stance.

THISDAY had reported on Monday that Nigeria’s external reserves had maintained a sustained decline in the past few weeks as foreign portfolio investors continued to weigh the possibility that the US Fed would raise interest rate at its meeting Wednesday.

Now that the rate hike is already done, it would mean an increased return for investors in the US and declining interest in overseas

investment. This is besides political risk considerations in Nigeria.

and growth.

Global Repercussions Already, there are global repercussions on the Federal Reserve’s rate hike. Some of the most dramatic effects of higher US interest rates have appeared in emerging markets, as this lures back investors who had turned overseas in recent years in search of returns.

The retreat from emerging markets so far remains relatively modest, with weekly flows to bond and equity funds down less than 10 per cent from their peaks.

But the trend coincides with a stronger US dollar and is contributing to currency crises in countries, such as Argentina, Turkey and Brazil. It has also prompted central banks elsewhere, including in Indonesia, Malaysia and Hong Kong, to raise their own interest rates to stem the outflow of foreign capital they need for investment

Options for Nigeria Head of Department, Banking and Finance, Nasarawa State University, and Nigeria’s first professor of capital market, Professor Uche Uwaleke, said it was important to recognise that the protectionist policy of President Donald Trump will help to strengthen the US dollar. Uwaleke said this was consistent with the normalisation of interest rates by the US Federal Reserve, which has led to a spike in interest rates and attendant capital inflows into the US, especially from frontier and emerging economies, including Nigeria.

According to him, “Therefore, the options open for the government to insulate Nigeria from the adverse effects of these developments in the US, in particular, capable of eroding external reserves include the sustained implementation by the CBN of the restrictions to forex access in respect of

CBN set a target to reduce the number of financially excluded Nigerians from 46 per cent in 2010 to 20 per cent in 2020. But it has only succeeded in reducing the number to 41 per cent as at the last count in 2018, which is a five per cent reduction in eight years. The situation is already giving the CBN serious concern

certain items in order to conserve reserves.”

He said another option was the maintenance of the current tight monetary policy stance, which ensures controlled liquidity in the system that, otherwise, would put pressure on forex reserves.

“Given retreating inflation, the retention of the Policy Rate at the current 14 per cent, at least, in the near-term would minimise the rate of portfolio investors’ exit since the real rate of interest in Nigeria would still be positive. On the fiscal side, the government should continue to source for more of cheaper external loans than costly domestic debts to finance budget deficit as doing so will support the level of forex reserves,” Uwaleke said.

The government, he added, through the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, should continue to work on dismantling barriers to foreign investments and intensify campaigns for patronage of locally made goods to conserve foreign exchange Another option, the university don said, is to reduce uncertainties in the investment climate by squarely confronting the challenges posed by insecurity and budget delays as well as intensifying effort to diversify the export base to reduce the country’s vulnerability to external shocks.

Uwaleke stated that in view of the fact that the exit of foreign investors impact negatively on the capital market, the government should begin now to engage the capital market authorities on how best to help the market withstand any shock triggered by the exit of portfolio investors to the US following a rise in interest rates.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 17, 2018

19

BUSINESS/AVIATION

Dwindling Fortunes of Nigeria’s Aviation Industry With records indicating persistent decrease in passenger traffic in Nigeria, both on domestic and international destinations, Chinedu Eze writes on how this is affecting Nigeria’s pivotal role in air travel within West and Central Africa

W

hen the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) was conceived many years ago, Nigeria played a major role in the actualisation of the policy, as it stood to benefit hugely from a liberalised airspace in the continent. Everything was going for Nigeria then because its now defunct national carrier, the Nigeria Airways Limited (NAL), was traversing the whole of West and Central Africa with substantial load factor to European destinations, Asia, and the United States.

Threat But by the time SAATM was ratified by the African Union early this year, Nigerian airlines felt threatened. They feared the policy could allow other African airlines to erode their domestic market dominance.

The fear of the domestic airlines may not be misplaced because during the period SAATM was conceived, Nigeria had a robust air travel market with a national carrier and other private sector driven airlines that competed effectively.

The country also had a huge travelling population, recording the highest passenger traffic outside North Africa.

But today, the country has no national carrier, the number of airlines has shrunk from 32 to eight, and passenger traffic has also shrunk from 17 million to 13 million per annum, at a time the population of the country is projected to be about 180 million.

Economic Implication Aviation consultant and Chief Executive Officer of Kitari Consult, Ali Magashi, said the aviation industry contributed $0.3 billion to Nigeria’s GDP in 2016, which indicated a drop from $0.7 billion in 2015. This means that as passenger traffic is depleting and airlines are shrinking along with the number of aircraft in operation, the aviation industry would lose funds, the number of people engaged in the sector would reduce, and the overall economic status of the industry would decline.

Records show that 15, 233, 000 passengers passed through the Nigerian airports in 2016.

This was close to the passenger traffic record in 2015, which was 15, 222, 187, and in 2014, which was 15, 335, 772. But it drastically depleted to 13, 704, 215 in 2017.

What this means is that the sector would contribute less to the GDP. Subsequently, there may be massive job losses and more airlines would go under. Ultimately, Nigeria may lose its hub position to another country in West Africa, as countries, like Senegal and Ghana, are poised to develop their aviation sectors and play a leading role in the continent. They have built modern airports and initiated robust and dynamic policies capable of attracting international carriers to their destinations.

The advantage Nigeria has over these countries is high passenger traffic and the country is losing it.

Magashi said in a report he presented recently in Lagos that there were 23 airports in Nigeria, 19 of which are owned by government and managed by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). He said this depicted an industry with high government involvement.

He also said 75 per cent of passenger traffic came from three airports, which are Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.

Magashi noted that Nigeria had very small airline capacity because many people found it easy to establish airlines with little capital outlay that they could not sustained over time.

The airlines provide small numbers of aircraft, which currently are about 42, with air fares that are relatively high, making it difficult for a large section of the population to travel by air.

Air Nigeria, the national flag carrier airline that came to replace the former Nigeria Airways Magashi said economic regulations required a paid up capital of N500 million for domestic operations, N1 billion for regional operations, and N2 billion for international operation, “which is insufficient.” He added that currently, only eight airlines were in operation, with two others accounting for 89 per cent of the seat capacity.

Low Capacity However, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said the aviation sector in Nigeria had contributed $8.2 billion to Nigeria’s economy and supported over 650, 800 jobs. This was disclosed by IATA’s Regional Vice-President, Middle East and Africa, Muhammad Ali Albakri. He said over the next 10 years, passenger volumes were projected to grow more than seven per cent, exceeding the global average by a healthy margin. For Nigeria, this means an additional 7.9 million passengers would be recorded annually. This, he said, would create significant opportunity to accelerate economic growth, boost prosperity, and support development.

Nigeria hopes this optimism would become reality. IATA may be projecting from the potential of the growing Nigerian population. It may not recognise the debilitating effect of factors such as poor airport facilities, low aircraft capacity, and operational hiccups, like poor supply and high cost of aviation fuel, high insurance premium on aircraft, outrageous taxes by government agencies, and government policies that tend to give advantage to foreign airline operation at the detriment of local operation.

These are impediments to the realisation of the aforementioned projections.

Former director of Medview Airline, Lukeman Animaseun, noted that limited capacity had hurt the growth of the air transport industry, saying many factors have contributed to this. They include lack of incentives by government and the disposition of airline operators to operating

small instead of accepting other investors to partner with them to enjoy economy of scale. He also talked about the owner-manager syndrome.

Animaseun said there were many cities in Nigeria with no scheduled flights even when they have airports. Air travellers only travel to destinations that have flight service and use other means of transport to other destinations.

According to him, more passengers will travel by air if many cities in Nigeria are connected by air. And more people will also travel by air if airlines have more operating aircraft, which means that air fares would be lowered to rates that would be easily affordable for the lower middle class.

For example, when Aero introduced promo and lowered its online ticket to about N9, 000, many Nigerians who hitherto never travelled by air took that advantage.

The shrinking aviation market means that there would be job losses, reduction in operating funds, aviation fuel marketers would lose substantial part of their market, and Nigeria would no longer be a beckoning market for aircraft leasing, aircraft insurance, and aircraft maintenance. This would also affect aviation handling companies, which would now serve fewer clients and may be forced to downsize their workforce. It would affect aeronautical and non-aeronautical revenues, as FAAN would record less income, and also hurt agencies, like the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) that would rely more on charges from over fliers than the revenues from international and local airlines that operate in Nigeria.

SAATM During a public hearing in Lagos on the Single African Air Transport Market, before it was ratified by the African Union in February, other Africans that attended the event kicked when Nigerian airlines expressed opposition to the liberalisation of the African airspace. They

reminded the domestic operators that Nigeria had the highest number of airlines registered to participate in the market.

But when they called the names of the airlines, it dawned on all that some of the Nigerian airlines in the list had ceased to exist. Nigerian airlines have had an average lifespan of 10 years.

The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) opposed SAATM because of the current realities.

Executive Chairman of AON, Captain Nogie Meggison, said many factors could prevent Nigerian airlines from benefiting from the policy.

However, Minister of State, Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, noted that Nigeria spearheaded the open sky policy, which is the Yamoussoukro Decision.

The reasons AON highlighted for opposing SAATM are also the reasons why Nigeria has a shrinking air travel market. Meggison noted the adverse effect of the Nigerian government’s unclear and constantly changing policies that often threw out domestic airlines’ feasibility studies, saying, “Government should come out with a clear policy that will position Nigerian airlines to take full advantage of the open skies.”

Monetary Rates AON also noted that Nigerian airlines suffered from high bank interest rates, which start from about 28 per cent. But many African carriers enjoy access to cheap funds provided and guaranteed by their governments at a maximum of about two per cent. The body also noted that Nigerian airlines paid VAT while most African carriers did not pay both in their various countries as well as here in Nigeria, adding that this is already a deficit of five per cent on a small margin industry from the start for Nigerian airlines.

“Airlines in Nigeria don’t have access to forex.

We only get allocation per percentage of our bids, which takes an average of six months. Most of the African carriers are subsidised and being funded by their government,” Meggison said.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R Ëž JUNE 17, 2018

BUSINESS PERSONALITY ABIMBOLA OGUNBANJO:

NSE, REACHING NEW HEIGHTS

Š‡ ‹• ƒ••—Â?‹Â?‰ –Š‡ Â‘ÂˆĎ”Â‹Â…Â‡ ƒ– ƒ –‹Â?‡ ™Š‡Â? •Â?‹ŽŽ• ƒÂ?† ‡š’‡”–‹•‡ ƒŽ‘Â?‡ Â?ƒ› Â?‘– „‡ ‡Â?‘—‰Š †‘ –Š‡ Œ‘„ „—– ‹– ™‘—Ž† –ƒÂ?‡ ƒ

% , $ ) % #$ 5 " " #$ " % - $ "# % % , " % $ " $ " ' $* " ' $ 1 #2 %# ## #$" $ ' $ %# # 4765 $ " ' # " ## " " # " $ )#$ ' $ # $$ 1 " 2 $ , 1 $ " $ $ " $ $ 2 ' " # "& " $ " %# ) % " $ % $ " ) " % , –Š‡ ˆ‘”Â?‡” ƒÂ?ƒ‰‹Â?‰ ‹”‡…–‘” ‘ˆ —ƒ”ƒÂ?–› ”—•– ƒÂ?Â? Ž…Ǥ ˆ–‡” Š‹• •’‡ŽŽ ƒ– ÂŠÂƒÂ•Â‡ÇĄ ‰—Â?„ƒÂ?Œ‘ Â”Â‡ÇŚÂ“Â—ÂƒÂŽÂ‹Ď?‹‡† ĥ ƒ ‘Ž‹…‹–‘” $ " $$ $ & "# $) % ' $ " $ " $ " #$ %# " ' ' " " # % + 4773. %"" $ ) # "& # # $ " /# "$ ". # & #$ ' ( " " ', # ) $ " $#, " " $ 0 + /#. # " " …‘Â?•‹†‡”ƒ„Ž‡ …‘”’‘”ƒ–‡ Ď?‹Â?ƒÂ?…‡ –”ƒÂ?•ƒ…–‹‘Â?ƒŽ ‡š’‡”‹‡Â?…‡ ™‘”Â?‹Â?‰ ™‹–Š ’—„Ž‹… ƒÂ?† ’”‹˜ƒ–‡ ‹Â?•–‹–—–‹‘Â?• ‹Â?…Ž—†‹Â?‰ " " & $ #$ % $ $ " " $ #. %$ % # )# ' " ) # ## $ ' $ $ ( , " & $ " !% " "# & # $ $ $ " $ ( $ ' $# " & $ & $# # " ## "#. # # " # $ % $# ' $ $ % # % "' " $ %" # $ %" .

THE JOURNEY TO THE COUNCIL. I’d like to believe that it is an open secret that my father Chief Chris Ogunbanjo is the foremost commercial lawyer in Nigeria and much of the commercial law precedents in use today in the legal profession has its roots at his law firm Chris Ogunbanjo &Co. Eventhough Chris Ogunbanjo & Co is a full service law firm, rarely could you pass through the chambers without mastering the art of drafting Offer documents, Trust Deeds, Prospectuses and the like, or interacting in one way or the other with the NSE or the SEC. The Firm has firmly established itself as a breeding ground for Corporate lawyers. As a matter of fact, it would interest you to note that the firm under Chief’s leadership was responsible for the incorporation of the Lagos Stock Exchange (now Nigerian Stock Exchange) in 1960. The firm was also retained by the Daily Times and in fact drew up the Lease agreement

between Daily Times and the Exchange in respect of the premises occupied by the Exchange at Customs Street. Chief, along with Pa Akintola Williams CBE who is incidentally the only surviving signatory to the original Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Exchange, the late Pa Timothy Odutola, the OgbeniOja of Ijebuland , Sir Louis Ojukwu, Sir Mobolaji Bank Anthony, Chief Jerome Udoji, and several other distinguished Nigerians and Institutions are the founding shareholders of the Exchange.

Many of the founding shareholders have guarded their share certificates jealously as evidence of them being constituents of a limited but unique class of members.

So, aside from the fact that my practice focus at the firm was Capital Markets and Company/Corporate law, I represented Chief at the Exchange’s annual meetings and other fora where I was presented with the opportunity to express my opinion on salient issues affecting the development of the Exchange. My

contributions must have been sufficiently impactful to have caused the Exchange to subsequently invite me on selfrecognition to become an Ordinary member. The credit for placing me in a hierarchal position to become a principal officer of the Exchange therefore belongs in part to the visionary leadership of the Exchange at the time.

STEPPING OUT OF HIS FATHER’S SHOES I am not an advocate of such a strategy when you view your father as a role model. It is only a son that is not proud of his father that would seek to get out of his father’s shoes. If there are people out there trying to emulate my father, why should I, his flesh and blood seek to get out of his shadow? I really do not conduct myself to impress others because no matter what you do, experience has shown that people will always form whatever impression they want to form

of you. This often means attributing your success to your parents or the like. The most important thing is to receive God’s approval in whatever you seek or do, that is enough for me!. It might interest you to note that my father has been retired from law practice for well over 40 years and so if I am not out of his shadow by now, I doubt I can ever be. There is however no gainsaying that my name played a prominent role in my getting appointed to the Council and that is the very essence of how having a good name should work for you.

MAJOR CAREER MILESTONES Firstly, I must confess that I did not envisage that I would read law and so after going to law school and getting called to the Bar having worked at Chase then Continental Bank several years beforehand, I felt extremely fulfilled.

Handling my first major transaction as a Solicitor which was a cross border multi-million pound share acquisition of a multinational Insurance corporation was a turning point for me as it boosted my confidence in legal practice immeasurably.

When I joined the firm I did a brief stint in the Shipping department which at the time was headed by Chief E.O.A Idowu of blessed memory. He was a multidisciplinary genius. He was excellent in Tax Law as he was with Shipping and Company law. I took a very keen interest in Shipping under his pupillage and recall handling a Ship Arrest with him in South Africa. We had to travel to Cape Town, South Africa to give witness statements at a time when Nelson Mandela was still in prison and there were no diplomatic relations between South Africa and Nigeria. The journey took us 4 days. That was my first experience of working out

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BUSINESS of a foreign law firm and it opened my eyes at how advanced law practice had developed in South Africa at the time.

Finally, being elected President of the Council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange tops it all.

GUIDING VALUES/PHILOSOPHY As a grandson of a clergyman of the church of the Anglican Communion, I regard the fear of God as the beginning of wisdom. As a young family, our parents imbibed peace and love of all into our DNA. That is the backbone of our family and that is why the motto of the Chris Ogunbanjo Foundation is symbolised by the statement, “Peace with Strength”, which in effect means that we are a family of peace, but not one borne out of fear, but courage to confront adversity in a non-violent manner.

The moral instructions I received as a young man, in particular as a Boys Scout, constantly reminds me of the need to always be close to God in prayers and supplication.

In my view, the essence of a good life is to “seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness and all other things- the wherewithal and peace of mind shall be added.

Prayer lies at the epicentre of our family and right from a very young age we knew that once the 9.00pm NTA news has ended, we instinctively gathered in Papa’s prayer room to say our evening prayers before retiring to bed.

PERSONALITY wit. I give them immense applause for managing their busy business schedules whilst maintaining a convivial family home.

I also salute and look up to certain women who have either shaped my life or influenced me positively in one form or the other. First and foremost is my late mother, Chief Mrs Hilda Adunola Ogunbanjo whom I consider my best friend and whom I have Agape love for.

I look up especially to women who have had to raise families’ single- handedly in Nigeria at young ages due to their husbands’ early demise because I know it is not a stroll in the park in a country like

ELECTION AS PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

ROLE OF MENTORS There is a saying that goes, “you are the product of your environment” and I must say that I have been very privileged to have received the best education both in Nigeria and abroad and to have travelled widely and met people of diverse cultures.

In my youth, my character was somewhat shaped by many of my parents close friends and those who took a personal interest in my educational development.

Dr Michael Omolayole stands out in this regard. He was and remains very close to my father. He wrote recommendations for me to attend Igbobi College and for my secondary school education at Millfield School in the UK. He was our neighbour and Chairman of Lever Brothers and quite a few other companies when we lived in Apapa. He would often visit us at home to play tennis with Papa and of course I was their ball boy.

Not only did I develop my tennis skills under their tutelage, I benefitted very much from eavesdropping into their after sports conversations which always centred around the corporate world and integrity in business dealings. I no doubt derived my moral compass from Dr Omolayole and to whom I am most grateful. I was also very much inspired by another of my father’s very close friends and business associate, the late Chief Adeyemi Lawson. He also spent a great deal of time at our home. Together with Papa, I admire them for their leadership qualities, can-do attitude, savoir-faire and calmness in the face of provocation. I admire Chief Frank Akinrele SAN for his simplicity, erudition, incisive mind and

many may consider a male chauvinist society.

My professional development story would be incomplete without mentioning the role that Alhaji Aliko Dangote has played in opening the window of opportunity for me to participate in the governance of the Exchange. Alhaji served on the Council with me for 4 years as President and Ex-Officio of the Council respectively and in those years I studied him closely both in and outside the boardroom. I paid particular attention to him, not because he is the richest man in Africa but because he did not fit the stereotype of the billionaire board room man which I was more familiar with. Eventhough one of my life principles is never to use another man’s watch to read my time, you cannot but be in awe of the man’s mental stamina, tenacity of purpose, milk of compassion and his respect for human capital. He is an epitome of the adage; ‘Work hard in silence and let success make the noise”. The unspoken teachings he has imparted into my life over the past 7 years is unquantifiable and I shall be utilizing the wisdom gained from my relationship with him in leading the Exchange to the next level.

““

Only a son that is not proud of his father that would seek to get out of his father’s shoes.

Nigeria where our social security system is inadequate to support such calamities.

I hail them for their resilience, their emotional strength, mental toughness and faith. The likes of Princess Alice Olaperi Shonibare who lost her iconic and charismatic husband Chief Samuel Olatunbosun Shonibare in 1964 at the early age of 44 and had to raise 8 children all by herself whom by God’s grace have all turned out successful in their various enterprises. I am in awe of Mrs Louisa Ayo- Kasumu, whose urbane and cultured lawyer husband, Mr Ayodele Bankole Kasumu, popularly known as “Afinju lawyer Ne Ne Ne” died at the tender of 46 in 1975 leaving her at age 37 to nurture a young family of 5 girls and a boy who have all equally thrived in their respective endeavours. I am sure there are many other Widowers who have carried or are carrying such a heavy burden and I have nothing but respect and praise for them for sustaining their families in what

I must give credit to my predecessors in Council led firstly by Alhaji Aliko Dangote then Aigboje AigImoukhuede. Under them the Exchange executed on a 5 year transformation agenda which entailed Business Development Efforts, Strong Regulatory Environment, Deployment of “21st” Century Technologies Strategies, Growth-Enabling Market Structure and First-Rate Investor Protection Programs The Exchange recognizes the importance of corporate governance as a key element in achieving its vision and therefore ensures that best practices are infused into its activities to guarantee the highest level of business conduct in all its dealings with its stakeholders. The Council is governed by a Charter which outlines its principal roles, regulates the parameters within which it operates and ensures the application of the principles of good corporate governance to ensure the highest level of business conduct in all dealings by, in respect of and on behalf of The Exchange.

Prior to assuming the Presidency of Council, I chaired literally at one time or the other, all its Committees including Demutualization, Governance and Renumeration and Rules&Adjudication, and the subject matter experience and knowledge garnered over the period translates to Preparedness, a key factor in holding such a key office in such an institution. The diverse training I have undergone within the same period on supervising an Exchange as well as meeting the qualities prescribed in the Job Description of the President is not something you acquire overnight.

Of course my training as a lawyer and businessman has made my task slightly easier and the fact that the Council is made up of people with diverse professional backgrounds of which a significant number are accomplished women in management, business and public service is an invaluable asset to have when supervising over a huge undertaking such as corporate Nigeria.

PLANS FOR THE EXCHANGE The Nigerian Stock Exchange is one of the pillars of the Nigerian economy. It is a company that represents corporate Nigeria and markets us on the global stage. Accordingly, its strategic plans and goals are not set by anyone individual.

At the Exchange we run strategic plans in 4 year cycles. We are currently in the 3rd cycle since the transformation begun in 2011 which started with our “five pillars” of transformation strategy that will drive the agenda in the next few years. These are as follows: Improving the depth of the market; growing the liquidity of the market; ensuring optimal investor education and sensitization; improving market transparency and engagement; and adopting international industry best practices in the standardization of rules, regulations, processes, procedures and infrastructure.

Our 2018 -2021 strategic plan is anchored on four pillars – operational efficiency, customer centricity, innovation and partnership. We intend to deliver high quality products and services with a shorter time to market, enhance the customer experience, and continue to collaborate with relevant stakeholders to enhance the NSE’s global competitiveness.

SIGNIFICANT LEGACY TO BEQUEATH I am sure the Market is aware of the long road we have travelled towards the Demutualisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. It has been 11 years in the making and I am pleased to state that the Demutualisation Bill has been passed by the National Assembly and is to be transmitted to the Executive for Assent. Demutualisation of the Exchange would be a game changer in that it would amongst other things result in the Exchange’s ability to generate increased trading volumes, diversify its client base and enable it compete and offer services on par with leading exchanges around the world. It would of course be a matter of personal pride and joy to oversee the transformation of the Exchange back to a limited liability company form where it all started originally as incorporated by my Father. If market conditions are right and the economic fundamentals align, launching an IPO of the Exchange may not be farfetched in my tenure.

We are also on track to launch the first ever Exchange Traded Derivatives market in West Africa. We have put in a lot of work and have engaged widely to build capacity and to expedite the establishment of the requisite legal and regulatory frameworks for Nigeria’s first Central Counterparty Clearing house (CCP).

These are all First’s that I would certainly like to accomplish and bequeath to my successors.

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THE EXECUTIVE

Adesina

SUNDAY ADIGUN

KOLA ADESINA Solution to Nigeria’s Power Crisis Lies with Govt, Operators and Consumers Mr. Kola Adesina is Group Managing Director of Sahara Power Group, owners and operators of Ikeja Electric and Egbin Power Plc. Adesina says Nigeria’s intractable power problem, which has appeared to defy all solutions, can only be resolved when all relevant stakeholders in the power sector sincerely decide to do the right thing. He dissects the Nigerian electricity industry, exposing hitherto hidden aspects of the power privatisation process and other critical issues in the sector, in this interview with a team of THISDAY editors, comprising Vincent Obia, Kunle Aderinokun and Bamidele Famoofo. Excerpts:

H

ow would you react to the widespread belief that the power sector privatisation in Nigeria has failed due to irregularities?

The situation in the power sector has been repeatedly stated and all the stakeholders are not happy. Everybody in the sector, as we speak today, is not happy. The reason being that, imagine you preparing to write an exam, and the course is Geography, then you enter the examination hall, and they give you Biology or Physics questions to answer. Will you be able to confront it? Even if you are a brilliant student, you will be destabilised. You won’t be able to do it. That is how we got to where we are today Let me go back in time. There were two basic documents that govern what we do in the power sector – the Power Sector Reform Act in 2005 and the Multi Year Tariff Orders (MYTO). Now these two documents put together have statement of intentions, steps, and principles leading to electricity 24/7 to Nigerians. There was a document called the National Energy Policy in 2001, which simply

put in place a framework for the privatisation of the sector. It is that particular framework that became the bedrock of the Power Sector Reform Act in 2005.

However, what has been found, as at the day of that privatisation, and please note, and note this deliberately, the RFP to which all lots of companies responded to, was really competitive. It wasn’t as if government just called some private individuals to take all the assets. No! For the sale of the power asset, which took place in 2013, what happened was that there was an advert put in place by the Bureau of Public Enterprise to the effect that companies with technical capacity, financial wherewithal, operational knowledge came together to form a consortium for the acquisition of these assets. My company, for instance, went to the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO).

Let me share some background information here. As at that time, when we entered into the relationship with the KEPCO, in 2006, the Koreans were generating about 46,000 megawatts. By the time we went into the bidding process, for the sale that took place in

2013, KEPCO was generating, transmitting and distributing 94,000 MW. As at now, KEPCO is supplying 118,000 MW of electricity.

So let’s put that in one bucket. So, that’s the partnership we in Sahara consummated, I’m sure nobody anywhere on planet earth would say we don’t have the technical partnership required to run this power plant or do power business in Nigeria.

All bidders then had to submit bids based on having conducted due diligence through limited site visits and assessments of the to-be privatised electricity companies.

The Multi-Year Tariff Order.

Now, there is a document called the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO). Inherent in the document are certain principles, which ordinarily should govern the sector. The drafters of the policy, the drafters of the Act and those, who created this framework, were working with universal principles that govern the sale of electricity anywhere on planet earth. And among these principles was the fact that there would be cost recovery, financial viability, there will be signals for investments, there would be certainty and stability,

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We are faced with unanticipated acenarios, disruptions.... You can’t ask to me run fast while you are tying both my hands and legs and yet you are hitting me with the cane and say I shouldn’t cry. Cont’d from Pg. 23 there would be efficient use of the network, efficient allocation of risk for every participant in the sector, simplicity and cost effectiveness. It was expected that incentives for improving performance would be put in place by government – transparency and fairness, flexibility and robustness, and lastly social and political objectives. Invariably, we have these 10 principles embedded in the governing framework, which ultimately is the determinant of pricing and rates. These were assumptions in the document and these assumptions are basically what are universally applied for rating and pricing of electricity. Anywhere in the world you go to, these are the assumptions you will naturally find governing the rating and pricing of electricity.

So, on this basis, a model was created, and sent to the BPE (a government agency charged with sale of public assets) and they verified the content of the model to assess the conformity of its content to their expectations and governing framework put in place. It was such that the content of the model were in line with their expectations and in conformity with the framework that has been put in place, which means we were good to go.

On the other side of the equation, access to these assets were denied by the labour union for through due diligence by interested bidders, invariably, we had to rely largely on information provided by BPE as the basis for bids to acquire the power assets.

Now these two documents put together have statement of intentions, steps, and principles leading to electricity 24/7 to Nigerians With regard to generation assets, the critical component in the evaluation criteria were – ability to upgrade and expand the power asset as well as operations and maintenance capability. For distribution companies, the key requirement for a successful bid was the ability to reduce aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) losses, to upgrade the network and improve availability of electricity supply to Nigerians. The selected bidders were those with the most ambitious but realistic ATC&C reduction targets. But most importantly, government was to guarantee cost recovery through appropriate pricing and/or intervention arrangement of N100 billion to address the basic question thrown by affordability of cost reflective tariff as against low average income levels.

It is vital for me to state here that the economic and financial assumptions in the MYTO – which is the pricing sector model – are inflation rate, naira exchange rate, interest rate or cost debt, and the required return for the investor. It is to be noted that these assets we acquired were old, obsolete and required significant upgrading and investment

What happened after privatisation?

But what happened post-privatisation is as follow: one, we took over November 1, 2013. And a week or so thereafter, NERC wrote a letter to all the new owners/investors introducing the Interim rule regime, as there were concerns about the liquidity of the sector and there needed to be a transitional period. This simply suspended all the contracts and performance agreements, which were signed, as well as the process list to be followed by the new owners post privatisation.

Thereafter, we realised after gaining access to the assets that they were in worse conditions than stated in the privatisation documents provided in the BPE data-room and this invariably meant that the investment required to achieve agreed targets were significantly more than projected.

Did you not do a proper due diligence of the assets and scenario planning?

We did undertake detailed planning for many scenarios as one would expect in such an acquisition, but the outcome was even worse than our assumed worst case scenario. For instance, we did not anticipate that contracts would be suspended, the N100 billion subsidy/intervention would not be paid, generation capacity charged wouldn’t be paid at all, also the removal of fixed charge in the DISCO cost structure, we also did not anticipate the minor tariff reviews would not be carried out as at when due, and that the exchange rate would double, as well as interest rate all double. So essentially, our key cost index more than double without any corresponding change in the tariff.

In addition, the customer population on which the tariff was based was much less than what was indicated in the Multi Year Tariff Order.

Was there no proper capturing of customer base by government?

Before we took over customer enumeration

Adesina

in the strict sense of the word. However, when we took over we undertook a detailed customer enumeration, technical audit and asset mapping, which took at least 18 months and at a significant customer enumeration was key to establishing the baseline performance of the discos and ascertaining who was our customer or consumer (i.e. free riders).

The technical audit was to establish the current state of all the equipment and wires within our network. We had some transformers that were not on any record as well as equipment installed 50 years ago. This enabled us to develop detailed asset maintenance and replacement plan and the cost required to do so.

What is the current position of things?

While we were moving, the following were taking place. The macro environment started moving south, as the exchange rate, which at the time of acquisition was N155 to a dollar, moved to N159 and then to N165 and to N358 in the open market. Inflation moved from about 8.8 per cent to about 10 per cent, then all the way to 18.5 per cent. As such, interest rate moved from 14 per cent to almost 30 per cent.

And while this was going on, regulatory orders were issued stopping fixed charge and freezing tariff increase for certain sets of customers, which invariably mean the cost of supply to our customer is today higher than the tariff charged the customer.

Do note that this is a sector that unfortunately depends on a lot of imported materials to function optimally.

Another point I need to quickly stress is that there’s a significant mismatch in the exchange rate used for generation companies - N305 per USD – and the MYTO tariff charge to the customer, which is still around N198. Within the same period, gas price moved from $1.80 to $3.30 without any change in the retail tariffs. Putting all these together, I’m sure you can see the current position of things in the sector.

How are you surviving in business, considering that most of these assets were acquired with bank facilities?

We are incurring losses and can’t meet our obligations to our banks, even to my equipment suppliers and operations and maintenance service providers. However, I give kudos to our banks, who, notwithstanding the loan and conditions attached to them, have shown great understanding, despite the potentially huge exposure of the power assets to them. Also, more kudos to our gas suppliers, who say for Egbin, where 52 per cent of our cost is for gas which we were unable to fully pay for, until recently, had been very understanding of

the situation. Our staff have also showed great resilience and professionalism in been able to do quite a whole lot in spite of the liquidity crisis.

But I do believe that if the documents, contracts and agreements underpinning the sector were strictly adhered to, we will not be barely surviving but would have had a sector that is thriving by now.

Would you say government deceived investors in this sector?

When you look at the list of principles that govern the sector, you find out that the social and political objective was stated last. The drafters of the act and MYTO knew that somehow, somewhat, political office holders would want to still protect the social and political objective of the government. But they made it the last point, because they knew that it is impossible to fulfil the last principle without the first nine. I do not believe government set out to deceive investors, but priority has changed over time, with several blows dealt to the sector by factors beyond our control. I would assume the foundation of a building is far more significant to the strength, resilience and beauty of the structure and, therefore, must be appropriately catered for.

So the fundamentals of the sector must be dealt with frontally and sincerely as all stakeholders have accepted to meet the principle of legitimate expectation. Government still owns a 40 per cent stake in all the Discos – except Yola – so I would say government did not deceive investors in the sector

Is government not contributing its quota?

Government is not just a stakeholder, but equity holder. The government sits on the boards of all the Discos and some Gencos. Government’s role as a participant, facilitator and enabler must be clarified and aligned for results to ensue. Time is of essence as the state and cost of replacement of equipment we use are not static.

Is it lack of political will on the part of government or leaders that has brought us to this state?

Let me say this, not necessary to massage the ego of those in charge, the current administration has done well. I would salute this government in terms of, first, maintaining the sanctity of contract, because if government was to listen to the sentiments from those who don’t know, things would have taken a different turn. For the purpose of ensuring predictability and continuity, these present administrations still maintained what it met on ground. Number two is that when the new administration came on board, N213 billion revenue shortfall was to have been paid to the

sector, the generating assets, particularly. We were not able to fully access this fund under the last administration. As a matter of fact, N21 billion was due to Egbin, but it got only N5 billion under the last administration. But this government has been able to pay additional N7.8 billion, but we are still being owned N8.2 billion. Remember again, when you consider the time value of money. Even if l collect that money now, depreciation, devaluation, inflation, among other things, have eroded the value. But then l still have to praise government for honouring a contract it did not originate. Recently, government came up with a payment assurance scheme, which is meant to help the business of the generating companies and gas suppliers so that at least those two aspects of the value chain would be properly catered for.

Beyond that, this government has been able to provide far more financial resources to help the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN). More transmission projects are being completed. Now, where l would want to encourage government to act and act decidedly are as follows: one, government must consistently see this as a system, and when you see it as a system, things will work better, as resolutions will be unified. Now what is happening is seemingly an incomplete strategy that is not helping the system and there is a need for system analysis. When government does this value /systems analysis, it will be realised that some of the policies being pursued currently are most definitely not going to produce the desired outcomes that government expects. Because we have the same objectives, it is imperative that government should collaborate with us as we have the wherewithal to rapidly expand the network and make it deliver the objective that government wants, if the fundaments are right

Looking at the Korean success in power generation, what can Nigeria learn from them?

It is simple. It’s just system thinking; they have that, we don’t have it. They are systemic in their own behaviour. They are long term in their perspectives. Korea used to be worse than Nigeria, but they have been able to move from where they were to where they are. They must have done certain things right. It means, therefore, that it is not rocket science, it is not difficult. This is not a unique thing that is specialised, but a global thing. Some other people have done it in certain ways, can we please follow the processes and even improve on what they have done so that we can get it better. But what we are doing is not what any of those countries is doing.

What is required is a purpose driven, credible, consistent, coherent and detailed plan of action

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My message here is not that of confrontation, but collaboration. We’ve had enough confrontations in the past. There is fatigue on the part of everybody with a long term view of aligning the technical, commercial, legal, financial and regulatory aspects of operations, which will give cash flow protection and liquidity to the system. We need significant shifts in the accessibility of capital to remedy, revamp, upgrade and improve the network in an integrated manner rather than pursuing fragmented, disjointed or misaligned solutions, which cannot produce reliable power to the public. At the stage we are in Nigeria, we are still struggling; we are still seeking oxygen to survive in the business and, please, no one should reduce the little oxygen we are still using to survive as we don’t want to die.

What do you think is the way forward for the sector?

As I said before, we need to do a value chain analysis in terms of the requirements for success, right from gas through to the customer. We must know what it takes to get light to the customer 24/7. We must know how much it will cost to achieve that. I praise the government for dealing with gas supply, except for issues of vandalism, which still plagues the sector. I also praise the government for the measure of assurance in terms of current generation payments, which is still at 80 per cent but needs to be made full i.e.

100 per cent. Government policy, with regard to electricity supply must engender industrialisation, employment creation, technological innovation and agricultural expansion. Government should not encourage discrimination in the sector in terms of payments, contracts and market rules.

Would you say you have done an effective job in terms of boosting revenue collection in the last five years?

The first thing l need to say is that nobody in the electricity value chain is doing well enough at the moment. That was why l said earlier on that we are involved in the system and therefore have found ourselves in a state of perpetual unhappiness. Now I’m not happy as a customer neither I’m l happy as a provider. I’m not happy as a customer because l would rather prefer to have 24/7 electricity than to self-supply. I still have generator and inverter in my house. That is not right. So, I’m not happy.

What we are saying is that, we acknowledge and l want to acknowledge this totally that there are still gaps in all the distribution companies, particularly more than the one that generates. The gaps need to be closed. One of them is that revenue is not being collected as it should be.

But let’s go back to the root cause. The proximate cause of the problem in Nigeria is the deteriorating value system and until we all address that, we are deceiving ourselves. What are issues in the aspect of revenue collection? First, you find consumers who have decided that they don’t want to become customers. Consumers are free riders, who want to just use the power and not pay. The percentage would frighten you. We have in our network today 40 per cent free riders, 40 per cent of our meters have been tampered with. It is important to mention that the percentage of free-riders in the system was over 63 per cent. We have done quite a lot to bring this down, but more still needs to be done. People say they don’t want estimated bill and they want pre-paid meter; that is fair, but where l have current metered customers out of which 40 per cent have bypassed the meters by tampering with them, are those meters useful to the disco? Some just take their loads straight to the poles with their heavy appliances and equipment.

They then put minimal appliances into the meters.

So when we receive energy and it goes through the system to the consumers, who have taken the loads off the meters, we can’t collect our due revenue.

At Ikeja GRA, for instance, with high net worth users of electricity, we did an exercise recently there thinking they should be able to pay easily.

We wanted to give them regular supply to boost revenue, but we recorded71 per cent aggregate commercial and collection losses. This is happening because meters are being bypassed.

Today if you are hypothetically getting12 hours of electricity and you are paying N10, 000 every month, And now we are able to provide you more supply to, say 24/7, invariably, you will be paying N20,000. Now, the corollary to that, more power supply equates to a higher power bill. When this higher bill comes, customers start asking what’s going on here. That is the first reaction. Now you forget that, because you self-regulate your personal generator and you can switch it off after a specific time schedule, you don’t complain, but because it is now grid electricity, guess what happens, the behaviour changes. So you leave it on. You

Adesina

will call your home as you are coming home to instruct that your air conditioner should be put on before your arrival to make your room chill before you get there. What will naturally happen is that your bill will increase.

Now we have internally the problem of a few staffers that connive with consumers, who would rather not want to pay. Because they feel by the time they aggregate the number of consumers, who are willing to pay them, it counts for more than the salary that we pay them. It goes back to value system again. By the time you put together the cumulative effect of this, you see a figure that makes you wonder what is going on here. People will tell me to increase the number of people that we hire for monitoring and vigilance and that means additional cost. They will tell us to introduce technology. But technology can only take you so far. For instance, reason why the mobile network is working effectively and efficiently is because it is wireless with minimal physical assets relative to customers. The model for success in mobile telephony can’t be directly replicated in electricity sector overnight.

What are you now doing to tackle all these challenges to remain profitable?

Some of the solutions we are devising are controllable, while some are not, but let me speak to the controllable ones and then the uncontrollable.

Incidentally and unfortunately, the uncontrollable ones largely and eventually will determine the success of the controllable ones. We have people within Ikeja Electric whose job is to monitor our asset, find meter bypasses and illegal connections.

Now let me speak to metering. We took over these assets with a long-term view of the business. We brought partners that have done it for years and are successful at it. We introduced the advanced metering infrastructure (smart metering). We say rather than just put prepaid meter, let’s us put a meter than communicates with our offices. For instance, we could detect a faulty meter from our office as well as some types of tampering. That is the kind of mind-set with which we went into this business.

The entire exercise was meant to cost us $106 million, being phase one. We are able to pay about $44 million out of it. But when you are making this kind of investment and there is no commensurate return on that investment, can you please enlighten me on the motivation to continue? Today, the sector requires about 4.1 million meters to cover all electricity customers. At an average price N73,000 per unit, the sector requires approximately N300 billion to cover the metering gap. If you put the capital for the comprehensive metering in the tariff methodology, you would see a significant

spike in the retail tariff structure. The regulator smartly recently came up with a metering scheme to achieve this goal, But depending on when this meters are provide, our recommendation is that the estimated billing methodology should be simplified and transparently applied to all customers. But government needs to criminalise energy theft, and meter bypass and then the benefit of metering would be achieved, The reason for inadequacy of supply in the system is because the fundamentals, enablers, drivers are not right. That is just the simple reality.

As a distribution company, we buy the product at a high price and sell cheaper than we bought.

How do we make money considering that the money we have is not freebie? Let me tell you how bad it is now. It is really very bad. We did a scenario planning and discovered that if we collect the full revenue for electricity given to us, we will still be at a loss. Simply put, the cost of the commodity is higher than the price.

So why are you still in the business, given all these scenarios you have painted?

It’s because we have entered it. How do we exit? If we declare bankruptcy, who will pay us for all the investments we have made? As we speak today, we are not in a beautiful state, attractive enough to suitors, as the fundamentals of our beauty no longer apply. Until the wrinkles on our faces are removed through proper nourishment, no power can beguile any suitor to come for us.

What l’m advocating is collaboration between all the stakeholders in the power value chain. If you respect me as I respect you, if l regard you the same way you regard me, if l fight for you as you fight for me, if l love you as you love me, then a symbiotic relationship and alignment would be created. You can’t ask to me run fast while you are tying both my hands and legs and yet you are hitting me with the cane and say I shouldn’t cry. Really, my message here is not that of confrontation, but collaboration. We’ve had enough confrontations in the past and blame games that have not produced results. There is fatigue on the part of everybody.

Can you talk about the alleged selectiveness of beneficiaries of the N701 billion intervention fund from the CBN? The intervention fund was a fantastic, noble gesture, but it is a temporary solution to help resolve the shortfall in the system. It is meant to provide succour, confidence to both the gas suppliers and the generation companies. Government in its wisdom decided for two years, starting January 2017 to December this year, about 33 generation companies and their gas suppliers are to be paid

80 per cent and 90 per cent of their invoices. There is no sentiment or bias in it. It is clear. The only thing that happened was that a new entrant came on stream, who is to be paid a 100 per cent of the invoice with a take-or-pay clause and given first right of power dispatch, which appeared to have distorted the projection and amount due to generation companies. My advice is that government should provide more funding to pay generation companies for full capacity, generation from new entrants and revenue assurance for the period post December 31st, 2018.

What about the intervention fund for the Discos?

Let me make it clear that the intervention fund is not for us but for the customers. The tariff that they have mandated us to charge the customers is not enough; the gap is what the fund is meant to augment. That is why they call it an intervention fund. The N701 billion was not targeted to give succour to the discos.

Government recently alleged that Discos were unable to take up all generated megawatts. What’s the situation now?

We desire to supply everybody electricity because that is the reason we are in business. There is something they call effective demand. Effective demand requires effective supply as they go together.

But where you have ineffective demand and you want effective supply, it doesn’t work.

Countries around the world are setting dates to phase out petrol cars for electric cars. Which means the future is bright. The question is, is Nigeria ready for electric cars?

In Sahara, we have a philosophy that guides us as an organisation. The worst form of betrayal is self-betrayal. Self betrayal simply means you are living a lie. A false or fake life. We must quickly come to a choice point in the life of this nation where we can truly bring out the best of us and for the goodness of all. Nigerian are enterprising people and universally acclaimed some of the most brilliant minds that God created.

To that extent, the innovative skills which are currently being negatively used, can be diverted into areas where we can begin to get positive results. As we speak the current situation is not working and cannot work. We must move away from selfish interest and collaborate to move the nation forward. So concerning the electric motor issue, we are not yet ready. But it needs be noted that the world is not waiting for us to catch up with them. We must accelerate the rate of progress and leap frog to our rightful position in the comity of nations.

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FOCUS

Now that Recession Rain is Over The Muhammadu Buhari Administration has just completed its third year in office and entered its last lap before testing its popularity with the electorate. Has the President done well? His Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele says his Principal has done well endorsing his economic growth plan with high marks. This is going by the indices of achievements it has attained from the CBN perspective and given the fact that the next phase is one of sustainable growth. Indeed. ‘In The Famished Land,’ Ben Okri makes an opening invocation that seemingly reflects the long expected paradise, the Nigeria of our dream: “In the beginning there was a river. The river became a road and the road branched out to the whole world…a dream can be the highest point of life.’’ For the turn-around artist on the driver’s seat at the CBN, it is time to think big and see the Nigerian dream as our highest point of expectation as citizens. For Emefiele this dream is a worthwhile assignment, it is like finding a Byzantine treasure trove deserving to be chronicled in prairie, prosaic, language. In this special report the CBN Governor tells where we are coming from, where we are and where we are headed. Excerpts by Nduka Nwosu

C

entral Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele combines the image of a home boy and global citizen to effect. In public fora where he seizes every opportunity to apply his dexterity as a teacher, he does not disappoint and all thanks to among other things his exposure to Stanford and Harvard where he was imbibed the art of teaching.

At the heat of the recession, which was no fault of his, many Nigerians who refused to study global trends and link them up with economic downturns back home, saw Emefiele as the culprit, the finger that was caught napping in the cookie jar. How did he re-claim his innocence? Teacher Emefiele went to town to remind all and sundry that the party was over and that it was time to clean the kitchen, take stock of the left overs and go back to the farm to work. This reporter also watched him at close range inside Blair House Washington DC in 2015 where he employed his knowledge in economics, banking and finance to impress the President’s visitors from the business community that there would be light at the end of the tunnel.

Listen to his response to the market woman on radio who taught it was all Emefiele’s fault that the naira was exchanging at nearly N400 to a dollar, the woman who thinks Jonathan was still in charge, the many Nigerians who still want to junket round the world, who unlike their President are not attracting new ventures but spending like yoyo, the naira converted to dollar and those big men who after stealing from the commonwealth want a magical wand to transform the economy: “That view pretty much echoes the sentiments expressed by many people I know and it amazes me that there are Nigerians who actually think there is some magic POLICY that can make the Naira strong in the near term. If my economics and my understanding of the way the world works are right, then that is as far from the truth as Jesus Christ is black.

“The simple fact of the matter is that apart from oil that accounts for over 90% of our revenues, we really don’t have much of an economy. We hardly produce anything; we import even toothpicks, so exactly what policy is going to be implemented that will turn Nigeria into a top exporting economy in the near term? Where are our Apples, IBMs, Disney’s, GMs, General Electrics, Coca Colas, Empire State buildings, Statues of Liberties, Lockheeds, Citibanks, JP Morgans, ExxonMobils, NBAs, Super Bowls etc? Let me bring that closer home.

“There was a time long ago when Nigeria had a truly strong economy and the naira was one to the dollar – even exchanged for higher than the USD, but that Nigeria is not this Nigeria. Sadly that Nigeria was laid by the British, and this Nigeria (if you don’t believe in the nonsensical imperialist conspiracies like me) – fueled by the DAMAGING Indigenization Decree, has been the creation of us Nigerians. Back then we had a booming economy.

We were either the top, or among the top exporters, of timbre, cocoa, groundnuts, rubber, palm oil, etc, in the

Emefiele

world. Nigerians not only holidayed at home in their villages, at Yankari Games Reserve, at Obudu Cattle Ranch, at Oguta Lake, at Ikogosi springs, at Gurara Falls, at Mambilla Platueau, etc, we attracted international tourists who brought in loads of foreign exchange. Even Nigerian schools were foreign exchange earners because they attracted foreign students.

“We had different car assembly plants – Peugeot, Volkswagen, Anamco etc.

Nigerian government officials only bought vehicles assembled in Nigeria for official cars. We had a thriving sports industry.

We were not Man United or Chelsea fans, we were Rangers or IICC fans. We had the Nduka Odizors, people made money from sports. We also had companies like Lennards and Bata producing school shoes in their thousands, we had the thriving Nigerian Airways and the Aviation School in the north that produced some of the best pilots in the world.

In those days if you were brilliant you were respected much more than the crass money-miss-road contractors of today.

Most of the Aje Butters I knew had fathers who were university dons. Back then it meant something to ‘know book’. Our textile industry was alive and well. Just recently I watched a news report on the textile industry in Nigeria on CCTV News.

Though the main focus was on the comatose status of the industry, I was stunned

by the gigantic Kaduna Textile Mill built in 1957. I could go on and on.

“Today however, no thanks to our parents (and we must call them out the way Wole Soyinka did his generation) and many of us (and we should be remembered for failing our children if we continue like this), we have destroyed everything. Today for instance Nigerian football (which comes easy to me obviously) doesn’t appeal to us, we have to fly across thousands of miles to watch ‘our’ clubs play. Every year we collectively burn billions of Naira being fans of clubs that give us nothing back, but some ‘entertainment value’ – simple pleasures for which we are ready to destroy the future of our children.

“Well people, payback time is here.

Even with our ta-she-re money we all want to wear designer clothes and carry designer bags, Armani, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton etc. We all want to drive jeeps with American specs, our children must now school overseas and acquire the necessary accents to come back home and bamboozle their ‘bush and crass’ contemporaries that they left behind. Who holidays in Nigeria anymore, is there Disneyland here? No one buys made-in-Nigeria school bags for their children, after all no Superman or Incredible Hulk or Cinderella on them.”

In fact the CBN Governor’s remarks could not have been the first time Nigeria was reminded its tendency to organise

huge, wasteful parties was impacting negatively on its leaking purse. It happened in the 1980a when the London based Economist took a swipe on Nigeria and its leaders reminding all the party was over. That was after President Muhammadu Buhari’s first incarnation as head of state was terminated and the Babangida administration came on board with its policy of structural adjustment. The influential weekly painted a picture of a sumptuous party with choice wines and six course meals, attended by the best and brightest across the globe, after which the debtor nation-Nigeria had a huge debt overhang on his head. Naira which was hitherto stronger than the dollar nose-dived and things started going awry. It was a reprimand of the erstwhile civilian administration led by President Alhaji Shehu Shagari. What happened then compared with subsequent developments, looked like a tale out of moon light.

Teacher Emefiele who had earlier reminded Nigerians and the OAPs that as long as they wished to be more European than the white man, the dinner table back home would be empty, has been doing this ever since and now it seems the results are turning around the economy for good.

Still he warns that as Nigeria braces up for the good times again it must not allow itself to be dragged to the days eaten by the cankerworms.

The solution: stop patronising foreign made goods and buy made in Nigeria goods, go to Obudu Cattle Ranch, Yankari Games Reserve or other interesting tourist attraction centres in the country and give the demand for dollar a breathing space.

That was in 2015. In 2018 he rolls out the carpet of the must dos on the shopping list of government and the governed. First before we embark on this journey of building our dream Taj Mahal, Teacher Emefiele would want to remind us how we got here and what principles were put in place by the CBN to drive us out of recession.

Fast forward the economy to 2018 just less than twelve months into President Buhari’s quest for a second term, Nigerians are asking what does the man have to show for his three years in office if he must return to Aso Rock to steer the wheel of statecraft come 2019?. From the CBN perspective it is not yet time to shout Uhuru but the economy is out of the woods and back on track to properly re-claim its position as Africa’s leading economy. When that happens we shall present to Emefiele’s principal a garland of roses and re-jig Aretha Franklin’s sweet epiphany, that ballad that sings: Roses are red to Nigeria is green.

Until then we must head back to the classroom and listen to the teacher who teaches the country what it should learn if the boat ride to prosperity will cease to be rocky from now on. First are the obstacles that worked against our stable economic growth.

The obvious obstacles that worked against the economy There is a popular saying among the people of Western Samoa, that from the direction of the wind, you can tell a story from the beginning. In another local parlance, where did this rain start beating

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FOCUS Now that the Recession Rain is Over us? That was more than 25 years ago that the word recession crept into our lexicon of home economics. This time around, Emefiele tells his larger Nigerian audience that a mono-economy largely dependent on oil could not have fared better when the price of crude oil went down to as low as $28 after it had helped steer a robust economy with a price peg that once averaged to $110 a barrel before the recession. Then the American experience after its Central Bank or Federal Reserve System through its Monetary Policy stopped its monthly injection of about US$85 billion into the global economy. The third factor had to do with geopolitical tensions amongst critical trading routes and partners around the world.

These shocks have had significant adverse effects on Nigeria’s economy including: r 3FNBSLBCMF TMPXEPXO JO FDPOPNJD growth, culminating in five consecutive quarters of GDP contraction bottoming at -2.3 percent in the third quarter of 2017, having grown by nearly 7 percent in previous years; r 3JTJOH *OåBUJPO QFBLJOH BU PWFS percent in Jan. 2017, from as low as 9 perDFOU JO +BOVBSZ r 1FSTJTUFOU JODSFBTF in unemployment rate to 16.2 percent in the second quarter of 2017, from 8.2 percent at the same period of 2015; r 4JHOJà DBOU EFQSFDJBUJPO PG UIF exchange rate, reaching N520:US$1 in February 2017, from as low as N155/US$1 in June 2014; r %FQMFUJPO PG '9 3FTFSWFT CPUUPNJOH BU about US$23.6 billion in October 2016 from as high as US$40 billion in January 2014; r 4VCTUBOUJBM EFDMJOF JO BWFSBHF JOåPXT of foreign exchange into the CBN by over US$2.3 billion every month over a threeyear period; r 4USBJO PO UIF à OBODJBM NBSLFUT XJUI EFclines in key money market, capital market and foreign exchange market indicators; r 5IPVHI UIF CBOLJOH JOEVTUSZ SFNBJOFE largely robust, its resilience weakened somewhat as follows: NPLs deteriorated in line with the difficulties of the macroeconomy; and o Banking system exposure to foreign loans threatened to undermine their health; r 0O UIF à TDBM TJEF XF XJUOFTTFE DPOstrained fiscal space leading to larger fiscal deficits and rising debt profile, although the debt to GDP ratio remained significantly robust and below the 30 percent UISFTIPME r (JWFO UIF TIBSQ ESPQ JO PJM prices, Federation Account Allocations to States have dropped by an average of about N2 billion monthly per State, which partly explains their inability to meet some basic recurrent expenditures including payment of workers’ salaries.

Why did Nigeria react so deeply to these global shocks?

Mono-oil economy Emefiele gave his personal prognosis: oil accounts for over 90 percent of our exports and nearly 70 percent of fiscal revenue.

So, given a more than 60 percent decline in oil price and its attendant effects on foreign exchange and fiscal earnings it is not surprising that our economy suffered so gravely. Besides, the structural imbalance of the Nigerian economy with over reliance on imported goods added to the problem.

8IJMF HSPXUI EFDMJOFE UIF SJTF JO JOĂĄBUJPO was inevitable as falling exchange rate and rising foreign prices passed through directly to domestic prices.

CBN Policy measures that fought recession Emefiele said given the problems on ground the CBN took a number of proactive measures many of which were vigorously criticised even though some of these measures or policies were anchored “on our understanding of the developments and traverse of the future as shown by exhaustive scenarios from our in-house macroeconomic simulations and analyses. “These policy measures he said include For Monetary policy, we embarked on a DZDMF PG QPMJDZ UJHIUFOJOH UP SFJO JO JOĂĄBtion using increasing Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) and aggressive Open Market Operations; ir *O FYUFSOBM SFTFSWFT NBOBHFNFOU XF adopted demand management through UIF SFTUSJDUJPO PG '9 GPS JNQPSUT PG JUFNT

We must not be quick to discard the restrictive measures which aided our recovery simply because the metrics have improved. At the CBN we will continue to ďŹ ne-tune our policies and strategies based on our understanding of evolving developments and supported by in-house technical analysis and simulations

Buhari

which we believed could be produced locally; Exchange rate management and Development Finance i r 0O FYDIBOHF SBUF NBOBHFNFOU XF took a number of actions to stabilize the exchange rate by abolishing speculators, bettors, round-trippers and rent-seekers.

8F BMTP JOUSPEVDFE UIF /"'&9 BOE UIF *OWFTUPST &YQPSUFST '9 8JOEPX UP JODSFBTF NBSLFU USBOTQBSFODZ BOE '9 JOĂĄPXT r *O Development Finance, the Bank continued its financing activities in key high-impact sectors like Power, Aviation, Education, MSME, Agriculture, including CACs, "$(4 /*34"- UIF "ODIPS #PSSPXFS 1SPHSBNNF FUD *O MJHIU PG UIFTF BOE other policy responses, we are delighted that the economy has turned the corner with our worst days clearly behind us.

The Gains (%1 SFDPWFSZ BOE *OĂĄBUJPOBSZ EFDMJOF For example: § GDP recovered after five quarters of continuous contraction recording positive growths of 0.7 and 1.4 percent in quarters two and three of 2017, respectively, and signalling an exit from UIF SFDFTTJPO MFBEJOH UP B EFDMOF *OĂĄBUJPO declined from a peak of 18.7 percent in January 2017 to 14.3 in December 2017; expectedly Exchange Rate appreciated significantly from over N525/US$1 in February 2017 to about N360/US$1 today, tapering premium across various windows BOE TFHNFOUT PG UIF NBSLFU f '9 4VQQMZ has improved since the establishment of UIF * & 8JOEPX XJUI BVUPOPNPVT JOĂĄPXT PG PWFS 64 CJMMJPO UISPVHI f '9 Reserves has recovered significantly from a low of just over US$23 billion in October 2016 to about US$47.37 billion as of 5 April f *NQSPWFNFOU JO UIF 8PSME #BOL T “doing business indicatorsâ€? for 2018 as Nigeria, with the country rising 24 places to rank 145 out of 190 countries.

5IJT GFBU MBSHFMZ SFåFDUJOH UIF $#/ T work on establishing the Collateral Registry and Credit Reference Bureaus, both of which increased access to finance; § Significant Boost in Local Production which is partly due to the CBN’s development finance efforts and the dogged JNQMFNFOUBUJPO PG PVS '9 QPMJDJFT 5PEBZ many local manufacturers are reporting major boosts to their revenue and profit.

How do we sustain economic growth now that recession is over?

Vigilance The CBN Governor who keeps expressing these views simplifies them below for

the average person down the road.

He asks: “Whilst basking in the delight of these accomplishments, what then must we do to sustain them and ensure that we do not slide into another recession?� Emefiele says the first rule in the book is to know the price of liberty is eternal vigilance.

Those of us who have been entrusted with leadership and policy making responsibilities must neither become complacent nor over-confident. We must strive to improve and sustain the same policies that have gotten us this far. “For one, our import bill may have fallen but our manufacturing and agriculture sectors still have a long way to go if we must attain self-sufficiency in those sectors.

Do not discard the restrictive measures “We must not be quick to discard the restrictive measures which aided our recovery simply because the metrics have improved. At the CBN we will continue to fine-tune our policies and strategies based on our understanding of evolving developments and supported by in-house technical analysis and simulations. We will remain proactive in ensuring that the welfare of Nigerians is optimised at any point in time.

Sustain Development Finance i *O UIF BSFB PG %FWFMPQNFOU 'JOBODF the Bank will continue to provide access to much-needed credit to sectors with the QPUFOUJBM UP DSFBUF KPCT PO B NBTT TDBMF *O this regard, we will explore opportunities to expand the highly-successful Anchor Borrowers’ Programme to other crops and 4UBUFT *O PSEFS UP DPOUJOVF PVS HBJOT JO local production and help boost non-oil exports, we are in the process of finalizing the creation of a N500 billion fund with UIF /JHFSJB &YQPSU *NQPSU #BOL /&9*.

to assist local manufacturers interested in non-oil exports.

Keep in place tight Monetary and Exchange Rate Policies i *O .POFUBSZ BOE &YDIBOHF 3BUF 1PMJDZ we have signalled from the last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) that we will sustain the tight policies that have helped SFJO JO JOĂĄBUJPOBSZ QSFTTVSFT 5IBU JT UIF reason we kept the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 14 percent. We will also continue the transparency and evenhandedness that IBT BUUSBDUFE JOĂĄPXT PG '9 JOUP UIF DPVOUSZ XIJMF LFFQJOH '9 TVQQMZ UP UIF NBSLFU adequate.

Bullet points‌ “On the basis of these policies, and barring any unforeseen shocks, we expect that: r *OĂĄBUJPOBSZ QSFTTVSF XJMM DPOUJOVF UP

ease: This may return to very low double digit or high single digit levels during the year. r '9 3FTFSWFT XJMM DPOUJOVF UP HSPX 'PMMPXJOH SFDFOU BDDSFUJPO '9 3FTFSWFT may be about US$50 billion sometime later this year; r &DPOPNJD 3FDPWFSZ XJMM DPOTPMJEBUF As the sentiments improve in the macroeconomy and supported by proactive monetary, trade, industrial and fiscal policies, we expect a continued uptick in GDP growth with a positive spillover to improved unemployment rate.

As policies to strengthen the agricultural and industrial sectors become more emergent, growth in these sectors will rise, further bolstering overall economy; r &YDIBOHF 3BUF TUBCJMJUZ XJMM DPOUJOVF As we entrench and sustain the transparFODZ JO UIF '9 NBSLFU BT '9 SFTFSWFT accretion continues, and market confidence and improved sentiments remain, we expect that the exchange rate will not only be stable but would begin to appreciate against major currencies. The adverse competitiveness outcome which such appreciation may entail would be adequately mitigated by proactive policies to ensure that our balance of payments position is not undermined.

Strong policy coordination Finally, Emefiele adds, what is expected is a re-doubling of strong policy coordination, collaboration and cooperation which ĂĄPVSJTIFE EVSJOH UIF WFSZ EJGĂ DVMU UJNFT “To sustain our recovery, the need is greater now than ever for a robust policy coordination between the key aspects of economic policymaking space. “This would include fiscal, monetary, exchange, and trade policies, which must be targeted at protecting farmers to boost agricultural outputs, support local companies and enhance manufacturing and industrial capacities, with a view to diversifying the economy away from oil and fossil fuels.â€?

Nelson Mandela did say Africa was waiting for Nigeria as its leader to move to the next stage in the global market of ideas.

The time could not have been more auspicious for the Great Masquerade to divine the unseen from the shrine especially now that other African leaders have placed a premium on President Buhari.

Nigeria our country must dance away from the market square leaving behind the lesser masquerades, lest the Oracle develops the feet of clay and crumbles at the heat of celebration to the amazement of the crowd of celebrants, who unmask him and realise that this masquerade from the land of the spirits, is nothing but human after all.

Emefiele’s promise: it is do-able and we are on course.

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T H I S D AY ˾ ͯ͵˜ ͰͮͯͶ

How Chuba Okadigbo’s Son Died Pg. 57

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WEEKLY PULL-OUT

17.06.2018

Obiajulu Okadigbo

CLARION CHUKWURA-BOYD NOLLYWOOD HAS NOT SEEN THE LAST OF ME

ASSISTANTEDITOROLUFUNKEOLAODE/funkola2000@gmail.com

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Clarion

CLARION CHUKWURA-BOYD

WHAT KEEPS ME AWAKE AT NIGHT Her luscious full lips, gorgeous looks and enchanting figure have endured years of triumphs and travails.

When she left the Queen of Rosary College to study Acting and Speech at the Department of Dramatic Arts of Obafemi Awolowo University, she was prepping to take over Nigeria’s film industry –the third largest in the world. Her beauty and brains turned heads –both men’s and women’s. By 1982, she had become the biggest actress on the African continent after being adjudged the Best Actress in Burkina Faso at the Panafrican Film and Television Festival. Like a rising sun from the east, she wormed her way into the hearts of millions of Nigerians as she dazzled with brilliance in the soap opera, Mirror in the Sun. Nollywood matriarch and screen diva, Clarion Chukwura-Byod, has not reached her twilight yet. Back in Nigeria after three years’ sojourn in the United States of America, she is already charting a new course for Nigerian youths and her film project on slave trade, writes Funke Olaode following an interview with the silver screen goddess

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ew actresses in Africa rock like her. Dressed in beautiful blue dress, with glistening glassy eyes, supple body and delectable voice, Clarion Chukwura-Byod exudes timelessness and elegance. Refined by scandals and embellished by successes, she glows like stars in Saturn.

As a United Nations Special Peace Ambassador – Nigeria and Kenya Peace Corps – she remains one of Nollywood’s

enduring flamboyant legends. This is largely due to her humanitarian passion and phenomenal achievements as an actress in Nigeria’s film industry – past and present. She reprised the role of an Amazon in various movies she has starred in – whether as a villain or a victor – especially in movies like Midnight Love (2003), Money Power (1984) and Abuja Connection (2003). She is loved by many and admired by many more in Nigeria. Like many Nigerian celebrities

who grace the silver screen, her life is like an open book in a public library. She has been there, done that. From broken relationships to broken marriages – leaving juicy trails for gossipy tabloids and newspapers to feast on – she has risen above career-damaging scandals.

Undaunted, Clarion Chukwura, as she is fondly called, has often shrugged off distractions and turned stumbling blocks into stepping stones. A beautiful mind, she always has good stories to tell.

Her son – Clarence Peters – the seed of her relationship with the music legend, Sir Shina Peters, is one of the most successful video directors on the African continent.

But beyond fame as a diva, Clarion has been championing a better life for the black race on a global scale as an activist.

Her passion for humanitarian causes and human rights through her foundation, Clarion Chukwura Foundation has earned her UN’s peace ambassadorial role which was bestowed on her in 2007. “It has to do with my work with women and children in Nigeria, Cameroon and Kenya. If you Google it on Facebook you will see Clarion Chukwura Initiatives exhibiting all the works I have been doing in that area since 1999,� she said.

Her prolonged absence from her childhood love – acting – was received with mixed feelings with many critics assuming she must have bidden farewell to the film industry. To the insinuation that the Nollywood which she had helped to nurtured must have seen the last of her, it was hard for her to imagine that some people thought that she had left acting for good during her hiatus overseas. “I don’t get it. Why would anyone think Nollywood has seen the last of me? I didn’t say that. And I don’t have an answer to a question like that. Everyone knows that I am an actress – that is what I do. I did two Nollywood movies in the United States.

Why would anybody say that? I am a Nollywood actress with an enduring legacy, spanning over three decades. I am a professional. My strength lies in my children, my family and my God,� she seemed to reassure her fans and those who thought she had left acting for good.

Clarion has been away from the country for about three years. But she is back in the country. One reason is to promote civic education for youths in Nigeria in preparation for leadership roles in the future. However, that purpose is not for a talk show or photoop. What more can be driving towards youths’ development and empowerment?

Her reason is not far-fetched. “There is mass unemployment in the country and the issue of employment is not being addressed in the way it ought to. You have young people leave school and don’t have a specific place as a school leaver where they can go to, put down their names and particulars and say they need a job. And you can’t get a call back when there is a job opportunity for them.

Here in Nigeria, people finish school and just sleep at home or they have to depend on somebody else’s connection to connect them for a job on the basis of who you know. It shouldn’t be who you know to get employment. So every senatorial constituency ought to have a job hub or agency,� she stated.

Talking about her new film project –which explores the mass suicide of Igbo slaves in 1803 – she believes it will deepen Nigeria-US relations. The movie centres on Nigeria and the US and the possible deeper bilateral partnership it could engender between the Africa and its descendants scattered all over the world as a result of slave trade. As interesting as the project is, it even gets more thrilling she confirmed that she is collaborating with her son –Clarence – to produce the film. “It is a movie I spent time doing a lot of research on. Well, I will say two of them really. I did the research for the first one in the US; the second one some couple of years ago in Kenya. The one in the US is coming first because of its historical importance and relevance to this country, Nigeria, and how it can bring us together, Nigeria and the U.S. It is a story of some 75 Igbo men, women, and children, who were taken as slaves from the place known as new Caliber, which is Port Harcourt. The ships sailed from there and landed in my husband’s hometown, Anthony Boyd, in Savannah-Chatham County, Georgia, and they were sold to two masters, who were from another country. And sailing from Savannah County to Saint Simon’s Island, an hour’s drive; but

back then in 1803, it took more than that.

Between Chatham County waters and their destination, they overpowered the overseers, killed them and wrecked the boat’ on the marshes of Samba Creeks.

And they all got down into the water; they didn’t have ships to go back home. They didn’t know how to do so. What they just did was that they held each other by the hand and waded into the water and they were singing: ‘The water brought us; the water will take us back!’ And they drowned; they committed mass suicide,� she recalled.

Continuing, she added: “It is a very important history in the history of America that is taught in schools, which African-Americans are so proud of, and it makes them consider themselves as Nigerians. Every African-American from Virginia to North Carolina to South Carolina and to Georgia, they will tell you ‘we are Nigerians and Igbo because of that story.’ It is a project that I want to do with collaboration with other professional film makers and office of the Diaspora.

So my movie is drawing a parallel in what happened in 1803 with the present agitation of the Igbo man for Biafra.�

How exactly does she feel that she will explore the theme of her new film with the help of her son? She said, “My son is a separate individual. He is an entrepreneur.

But on this Igbo historic project we would be working together. I would feel fulfilled but when I get to that I will know how I feel.�

Until now men took the front seat when it comes to directing and acting but she feels women have come a long way too. According to her, it has to do with growth and the Nigerian spirit “because we are not back benchers, we are hardworking, very creative and talented people worldwide.�

Commenting on Nollywood’s foray into international film industry with its sophistication in storytelling and film production, she admitted that the Nigerian film industry still has many grounds to cover before accomplishing bigger feats. “We are still many years away from winning an Oscar because we are still a country that lacks quality equipment. We have to be a country that believes in big budgeting, ready to invest in necessary in movie-making before we can talk about winning an Oscar,� Clarion pointed out.

There are moments in life that she thinks keep her awake in the night. “The state of my country Nigeria gives me headache because one really has to be a fighter, very optimistic and really have faith and strength in God to believe in Nigeria. It is very frustrating the way you have senators who have allowances they collect annually towards their constituencies but they pocket the money and spend it on buying cars instead of spending the money to provide employment in their districts to alleviate poverty. You know in a century that technology is what every country is talking about. “They don’t have town hall meetings by representatives who listen to their constituencies and do the right thing.

It is very worrisome. In this day and age the people on this continent are expecting everything from the Presidency forgetting that their legislators owe them. I am worried about Nigeria – worried about a lawmaker buying shoe-shinning kits for 5,000 youths as a form of empowerment.

What is he projecting into their future?� she mused.

Having lived a terrific life – phenomenal in success and scandalous in missteps – her view on whether she would have lived her life differently if she had the opportunity is revealing.

Clarion noted: “I will say to you that life is a journey and every human being has a path that that life journey has to take. You can’t change anything.�

She comes across as a tough – nononsense – woman but Clarion definitely knows how to get the frill and thrill after the drill by delving into activism and criminology. She also enjoys “road relaxing in RV, a mobile car.�

Every attempt to probe further into her private life, her sojourn in the US and new husband was met with: “I wouldn’t want to talk about that, please.�

Is the silver screen goddess back in the country? “I am staying temporarily. I’m back to Nigeria to do some movies. In fact, I will leave for Owerri after this interview to shoot a movie and then come back to Lagos to shoot another series. I’m looking forward to the premiere of ‘Amina’ later in the year. I missed my constituency in the three years I have been away. I can’t wait to get back into it. I can’t!�

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FOCUS

Model Munroe Bergdorf is Beating the Odds as a Transgender Woman of Colour Commemorating Pride Month – June – with a collection of stories celebrating the resilience of LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) people, from celebs to trans women and men discovering their inner power through a unique beauty clinic and queer youth receiving vital support from their gay elders after aging out of the foster system. And so, as they shout in the streets: “We’re here, we’re queer — get used to it!�

Blair Raynor

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ritish-born transgender model Munroe Bergdorf has a face for high fashion — and cosmetics ads.

She was the star of L’OrĂŠal’s groundbreaking U.K. campaign in 2017. But she has an equally powerful voice to match (and it got her fired from the L’OrĂŠal campaign because of her outspokenness on race). Bergdorf ’s modelling career bolstered her ability to speak publicly about her gender transition, but the road to finding her voice, she tells Yahoo Lifestyle, was a slow and arduous one. “I felt ashamed of who I was,â€? she says, noting that, as the only black teenage boy in her school when she was growing up, she led a very solitary life devoid of friendship and understanding. “I was never a boy in my head, but I outwardly presented as one.â€?

As a teenager, Bergdorf, now 31, dealt with a traumatising amount of racism and discrimination because “no one wanted to be friends with the queer kid,� she admits. “I was really heavily bullied in high school, and it really made me go into myself.

Like a lot of queer kids who are bullied, it’s almost like the bullies know you can’t say anything. You don’t even know who you are as a person yet, and you’ve got the bullies saying ‘You are this; you are that.’�

Through her journey with gender dysphoria, however, she found a silver lining in her isolation: Her independence allowed her the time to recognise her true identity.

Modelling herself after icons she praised, such as Boy George and Prince, she says she was able to start embracing who she was. “I started identifying as gender nonconforming when I went to university,� she says, “and started feeling comfortable in expressing my gender in an androgynous way.�

Bergdorf ’s voice grew louder at age 24 once she was started modelling (and transitioning), but her ability to defend her identity was again thwarted when a stranger began stalking her; he eventually raped her. “I started experiencing posttraumatic stress disorder, flashing back to moments of extreme trauma. That really set me back. [The authorities] never found him, but eventually I started speaking about it ‌ to anyone who I felt would

understand, especially trans women of colour who have experienced violence from men.�

Bergdorf notes, “The average life expectancy of a trans woman of colour is 35 years, and that’s because of male violence largely. Statistically, I’ve got four years left on this earth.

That statistic makes me angry, but it also makes me determined to try to be the change that I want to see and make other people feel like they can do something about it as well.�

Today she continues to spread awareness, specifically for transgender youth, often in unconventional ways — from runway appearances to speaking engagements and now on the small screen: Her new documentary, What Makes a Woman?, aired in May in the U.K. and has since garnered mass appeal, taking viewers along for a raw and honest ride.

About five months ago, Bergdorf underwent facial feminization surgery and admits that she’s still getting used to her new face. “Transitioning is not necessarily this cut-and-dry experience,� she says. “The media pushes this narrative that it’s going from one gender to the next, and really, I just think it’s about identity. It’s about identifying as someone that you’ve always been but haven’t always outwardly looked.� r$VMMFE GSPN :BIPP -JGFTUZMF 1SJEF &EJUJPO

Munroe in school, left, and modeling

(Photos: Courtesy of Munroe Bergdorf)

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ENTERTAINMENT

with

ÍŽÍśÍŽÍśÍŻÍľÍśÍˇÍľÍąÍľËœ Ă Ă‹ĂŁĂ?ĂŁĂ–Ă Ă?ĂœĚśĂ‘Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă–Ë›Ă?Ă™Ă—Ëœ entertainment@thisdaylive.com

No More Under Pressure

“Under pressure Nigeria, under pressure...�, sang Nigeria’s iconic reggae star, Ras Kimono, in his hit track, ‘Under Pressure’, from his debut album of same title in 1989. It was a plaintive song backed by saxophone sounds and rhythmic chants highlighting the untold poverty and hardship experienced by millions of Nigerians under the jackboot of dictatorial rule. However, last Sunday, the Under Pressure crooner succumbed to the pressure of the cold hands of death. Though fans, friends, family and loved ones may continue to wail, Kimono is under pressure no more, writes VANESSA OBIOHA

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as Kimono and other musicians of his ilk thrived under the military dictatorship of their era – artistically and politically without any inhibitions. The late Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, paid dearly with the killing of his mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, by soldiers under the control of the then Head of State, Olusegun Obasanjo. Kimono would later say in an interview that the Afrobeat star was the inspiration for his ‘Natty Get Jail’ song. It was originally titled ‘Fela Getta Jail’ but since the Abami Eda was freed before the song was released, the title was changed. The song was dedicated to all freedom fighters like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr. More than five minutes long, ‘Under Pressure’ captured the plight of disenfranchised and disenchanted Nigerians, who were wallowing in hunger, poverty, unemployment, despotic rule. Not born with a silver spoon, Kimono experienced hardship as a young man, living in the ghetto until he rose to stardom. He loved reggae. It was visible in his appearance and speech: his sprawling dreadlocks tucked under a large cap; the red, yellow and green rasta colours were evident in his fashion.

The reggae star traversed spots like Japex Studios – a popular reggae spot in Anthony Village, Lagos – where he watched reggae artistes performed and was soon given the chance to hold the microphone. He didn’t fail to wow the audience.

Before he landed a recording deal with PolyGram Records, he tried impressing Ottor Records, Tabansi and EMI Records. At the time, artistes like the late Emma Dorgu, with his monster hit, ‘Freedom’ in the early 1980s; the late Sunny Okosun with his album, ‘Third World’; Tera Kota, another reggae star who shocked the nation with his debut, ‘Sodom and Gomorrah’; the Mandators, as well as the band, Jah Stix, fronted by Majek Fashek, dominated the reggae scene.

PolyGram Records was the miracle Kimono was waiting for. He went into the studio and recorded successful hits that include ‘Natty Get Jail’ where he taught the world the twist dance and ‘Rum-bar Stylee- a fan favourite’.

In the latter, he announced his style of music

Kimono

Ras Kimono

and even told his audience ‘in case you never know I’m your dub master’ as he walked on the streets with a big radio on his shoulders.

That title would later metamorphose to his moniker, ‘Rub-a-Dub Master’ and forever lived with the superstar until his death on June 10. He was rushed to the hospital from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport where he slumped while awaiting his flight to United States of America – the cause of his death remains unknown.

The news came as a shock to his friends and loved ones. “Alex Zitto and I just spoke about

him on the phone yesterday,� said Azuka Jebose, a veteran entertainment journalist. “He told me that Kimono suggested they should visit me in North Carolina when he arrived only for me to wake up to the sad news of his demise.�

A close ally and the Chairman of Copyright Society of Nigeria, Tony Okoroji, who confirmed his death, described him as a fantastic artiste. “Kimono was not just a great musician but a truly fantastic person. He had no grudge against anyone and stood for truth and justice at all times. I have not just lost a colleague but a valued friend. This is absolutely devastating.�

In reverence to the late icon, COSON opened a condolence register for fans at its Ikeja office as it repeatedly played the artiste’s songs including his unforgettable performance at the last COSON Song Awards while flags were hoisted at half mast. Rastafarians across the country are also paying tribute to the artiste who they believed paved a way for them. Various activities are being planned to honour the reggae star such as the Rastafarians in Ebonyi State, who are planning to honour the legend with a candlelit procession, music concerts and road shows.

Kimono’s music transcended the music landscape. Prolific filmmaker and photographer, Femi Odugbemi, captured it succinctly: “It’s a sad loss for our creative industry at a time when we most need veteran stars like him who can mentor this generation on how to sustain the global success and the boom the music industry is currently enjoying.

Ras Kimono is among those who laboured and laid the foundation for the music industry of today. He took his ghetto street experiences and made music that connected with people.

Whether you call it reggae or hip hop, it’s

about creating a beat to which the common man can identify and respond. His music inspired us and connected us in a special way.

That is why I am sure that Ras Kimono can never die as long as the lyrics and melody of ‘Rhumba-stylee’ brings a knowing smile to the ordinary man on the street.�

In a statement, the Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki commiserated with the family of the deceased, praising his courage to fight for a better Nigeria. “Ras Kimono campaigned vigorously for a better Nigeria through his unique music genre, rooted in reggae, which earned him the sobriquet, the Rub a Dub Master. His philosophical bent which dominated the theme of his songs, will continue to reverberate in the minds of millions of his fans across the world,� Obaseki said.

Indeed, Kimono who was born Ukeleke Okwudili Onwubuya, used his music to advocate for a better life for the impoverished Nigerian masses. In ‘Gimme Likkle Sugar’, he sang about police brutality and political corruption. In ‘What’s Gwan’, also the title of his sophomore album released in 1990, Kimono again decried the economic situation, demanding answers from the despotic leaders in power. He once declared himself as a prophet of Jah in “Kimono Dem Want� where he belted out: “This is a message from Jah that Nigeria must be free�. Most of his songs were political commentaries on the happenings in Nigeria, Africa and the rest of the world.

Staying true to his reggae roots, he never veered into other genres. His 2012 album, ‘Matter of Time’, has all the embellishments of an advocate of the people. Music to him was more than entertainment. Most of the ills he sang about are still happening – Nigeria and Nigerians are under pressure.

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High Life

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͎͎͜;ʹ͜͜ͳ;ͳͰ

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

The End...How Chuba Okadigbo’s Son Died and was Buried in US

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t last, the smile of earthly gladness faded from his mortal face and his beautiful frame got rid of its fleeting transient breath; no thanks to ill-health, Obiajulu Okadigbo has departed this mortal world. Having fought a silent but gallant battle against an undisclosed ailment, his life was finally cut short thus investing sorrow and tears in the household of the Okadigbos. Sadly, death stings the old and the young alike and when it does, not even the beauty of youth or the pleas of wisdom several decades old could escape its tireless venom. Thus there is no gainsaying that death has once again struck a cord in the household of the late Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, former Senate President.

The grim reaper has chosen to extinguish a flame just as it flickered to full glow; it has snuffed out the life of Obiajulu, son of the late politician in the United States.

Predictably, death has left a litany of tears and sorrows in

TO KOLA ABIOLA, SILENCE IS GOLDEN‌ There is a huge gulf between the affluent and pretenders to wealth; Kola Abiola occupied enviable spot in the league of the affluent back when his father’s wealth caused the rich to cower and the poor to aspire. Now he loiters at the desert end of the chasm, according to mischief makers. The latter are responsible for the sad rumour about the alleged collapse of the Abiola dynasty and business empire. However, this is no gainsaying the fact that Kola Abiola’s elusiveness predates the demise of his father, erstwhile Aare Ona Kaakanfo, Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola. That Kola is a direct opposite of his father can be proven in several ways. Chief Abiola was an extrovert who would not mind taking over the microphone from musicians to sing and show how well he was attune to their music. In fact, MKO had a trademark dance that was exclusive to him. In the days of yore

Kola Abiola

its wake. As the remains of the 30-year-old dude was lowered into the grave at the prestigious St John Neumann Catholic Church, Wharfed road, Maryland, USA, indeed, tears and uncontrollable grief weren’t enough to rouse Obi from the dead.

Were an outpouring of eulogies and tears potent enough to rouse a dead man, Obiajulu would have reconsidered spending a few more days before plunging into his eternal sleep. But as family and friends converged that day for a condolence visit, affirming, albeit sadly, the young and fun-loving dude would never resurrect for a brief parting repartee. Very sad!

He has cast his friends and family into interminable grief. He was a young man without guile. Despite being involved in the fickle and fractious world of high society, he exuded a sweetness of character and good nature to the very end. Throughout his 30 years of existence, he retained his essential humility and a sense of perspective and proportion. He was as gracious as he was polite and immensely amiable. when Sir Shina Peters had this uncanny penchant for praise-singing Kola and his clique, his aloofness while his friends took to the dance floor gave him away as being somewhat anti-social. Kola’s abashedness was legendary; and he was taken for whom he was. But that was long time ago; it was expected he would have become more open and overcome his shyness. As a scion of the Abiola dynasty, many people had looked forward to the expressive side of Kola Abiola during the conferment of the GCFR award on his late father.

His prime position as MKO’s heir naturally confers the privilege of leading the family at all times; as such, his address at the end was eagerly looked forward to. It therefore came as a surprise when Kola again displayed taciturnity, and asked his half-sister, Hafsat Abiola-Castelo to step forward and address the audience, which had President Muhammadu Buhari, his deputy, Yemi Osinbajo, Professor Wole Soyinka and other political leaders in attendance. While some analysts doffed their hats for him for being so brotherly and considerate towards Hafsat against the background that her mother, Kudirat, was killed during the struggle for June 12 actualization; others see Kola’s gesture as cultural aberration. To this latter group, Kola should have addressed the audience in the light of the fact that he was the one who led the Hope ‘93 campaign of his father. According to an already prepared speech he was supposed to read but jettisoned, he claimed that he “made a vow to myself that until this whole matter (June 12) is resolved, I will not get involved politically in any form or shape. I took on a quiet mission of bringing closure to this sordid chapter in our lives.� Now that his dream about June 12 has been realised, it is

Obiajulu Okadigbo

hoped that he would break his cycle of quietude and thread the path of politics like his dad, whose popularity has not been matched till date in the history of contemporary politics in Nigeria.

THE SLENDER BODY OF HIS LIE‌INNOSON MOTORS BOSS, INNOCENT CHUKWU, BACKTRACKS It was an American legislator, John Milson, who said, “Every cloud has a silver lining.â€? But some cloud can be so dark that it will require an uncommon magnifier to sight the lining.

For Innocent Chukwuwa, founder and chairman of Innoson Motors, it has been one cloudy day giving way to another since things fell through between him and Guaranty Trust Bank. In fact, inside sources close to him have alluded that he is clinging unto his last hope, which if dashed, portends doom and might spell the beginning of the end

of Innoson Motors. The indigenous automobile company has been in the eye of the storm for days after it released fake news to the public, through its social media platforms, that the apex court in Nigeria, Supreme Court, had granted a judgment against GTB and instructed the bank to pay it (Innoson) the sum of N14 billion within 14 days.

No sooner had the Innoson twitter handle posted this information than the social media feasted on it, spread it to the public, many of whom became apprehensive because they bank with GTB. Before the financial institution could come out with convincing denial, the acerbic news had gone viral. The bank had to embark on intensive integrated marketing campaign to nip the fake news in the bud, so as to calm the situation. Innoson has admitted that there was no Supreme Court judgement against GTBank. After falsely claiming a victory at the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Chairman of Innoson Motors, Dr Innocent Chukwuma has admitted to completely distorting the directive of the Supreme Court and publicly apologized for spreading fake and malicious news.

The backlash of Innoson’s ridiculous claim got to a peak days ago when the hashtag #InnosonLied trended for several hours.

BACK WITH A BANG...

MINA OKOLOKO REOPENS MULTIMILLION NAIRA OUTFIT

Innocent Chukwuwa

There is something transcendent about Mina Okoloko. Her beauty and spunk are awe-inspiring, like the fabled mettle of Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love. As the ancient goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation blessed mortals with heavenly, ethereal gifts, Mina blesses her ardent clients with prettiness, courtesy her newlyredesigned ultra-modern spa, Beauty

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HIGHLIFE

Vanity of Silverspoon Marriages! Obasanjo’s Marriage to Adebutu’s Daughter, Tope, Crashes

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obody knew when or how love waned in the marriage of Olujuwon Obasanjo, the son of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his wife, Temitope, the daughter of Chief Kessington Adebutu, popularly known as Baba Ijebu, but everybody knows when their marriage crashed. It was the saddest news ever. Friends and family watched in consternation as rancour and hate intruded the couple’s bliss leaving them wretched and burnt out of love.

Contrary to popular belief that the couple enjoyed a great marriage, the reverse was the case. Eventually the couple fell out of love and their marriage hit the rocks thus affirming fears that they lacked the patience and enduring maturity to surmount the storms of matrimony. For their ill-fated wedding ceremony, good money was put to great use. Thereafter, the couple criss-crossed the world for their honeymoon playfully running after each other and picking pebbles on the sandy esplanade of holiday resorts while retiring under the moonlight of Europe’s scenic cities among other idyllic vacation spots. It was a wedding Concerns Med Spa on Saka Tinubu Street, Victoria Island. After a long hiatus from the beauty and wellness sector, Mina is back with a bang. Some weeks ago, she flung open the doors of her ultra-modern and well-appointed Spa to her teeming customers, many of whom agonised endlessly in the wake of Mina’s break from the beauty sector. Mina’s Beauty Concerns features remarkable improvement on her previous enterprise.

The state of the art spa is adjudged cozy and world class by both old and fresh clientele who thronged its corridors and treatment rooms to enjoy its lush, reinvigorating splendour.

Beautiful and ageless stateswoman, Senator Daisy Danjuma, was the special guest of honour who declared the spa open to its teeming clientele.

There is no gainsaying Mina lusts after excellence and the best that knowledge and flawless beauty can buy.

Little wonder clients keep frequenting her Spa, like intending brides gleefully trooping to the fattening room.

that was supposed to be made in heaven. Alas, few months down the line, the marriage has crashed irretrievably. It’s now crystal clear that the two strange bedfellows were forcefully united on the altar of their parents’ vanities and egotism. It’s indeed a pitiful world for these scions of the rich. Thus having married young, they keep on marrying, springing from bride to bride or groom to groom like the chamois of the Alps undeniably adept at leaping from crag to crag.

So sad! The colourful wishes, overpriced ceremonies and expensive honeymoon abroad have collapsed into heaps of sand; and the epitaphs of the grandiose enterprise called their “fairy-tale wedding,� manifests like skillfully carved inscriptions atop a grave top.

Although their marriage had all the trappings fame and money could give, their marriage was probably ill-fated from the start. It is indeed sad to note that such an extravagant wedding could last for six months.

Their marriage was allegedly dogged by disagreements over how things should be done and the kind of lifestyle they ought to adopt as a couple. Things generated between the couple when neither party agreed to play the meek lamb to the other’s wild cat.

And the reasons are hardly far-fetched: she fosters an exotic tradition that keeps her spa, Beauty Concerns, chock full and a charming dependability-cum-resourcefulness that has seen her evolve from an ambitious spa owner to a seasoned beautician. There is no gainsaying Mina’s ultra-modern spa betrays her love for class and sophistication.

It indulges its patrons with luxury service and provides a personalized experience that registers well on them long after they pass through the exit of the popular beauty clinic. Predictably, her competitors are unnerved by her re-emergence in the beauty sector.

Soon after she threw open the doors of her ultra-modern spa, rivals and charlatans in the industry have been unsettled; many of them are worried of losing their clients, most of whom have switched patronage to Mina’s Beauty Concerns. However, Mina is a lawyer who rose to Partner in Templars Barristers and Solicitors. She trained to be a therapist and obtained her practitioner’s licence at The Carlton Institute, Devon, UK, The Boca Beauty academy, Florida, USA and DC surgeries, Maryland USA. She is a Licensed Certified Esthetician.

HEARTY CHEERS AS BILLIONAIRE OIL MOGUL, GREG UANSERU PLANS TO CELEBRATE 60TH BIRTHDAY IN STYLE

Mina Okoloko

The seasons pass but Greg Uanseru remains grand, like the nurturant guardian whose tenderness and warmth blesses the land. In 60 years, Greg has blossomed into a man of affluence and integrity. 60 years may be a tiny fraction of time, yet the Chairman of GCA Group, looms large across generations into eternity. The story of his exquisite manhood resonates with a pleasant peal. To his staff, family, friends, beneficiaries and other loved

Olujuwon Obsanjo and wife, Tope

ones, his smiles have been their anchor, his shoulders their rampart of comfort.

Every day presents new opportunities for him to fulfil his hankering for success and impeccable taste for luxury.

However, like an ancient mariner whose heartbeat dwarfs echoes of his incredible exploits, Grag, commands the awe of many of his peers and admirers in Nigeria’s socio-political and business sector. There is no gainsaying the world of business is like a dangerous coast riddled with storms.

Despite its turbulent tides, Greg, like a sea-hardened sailor navigates through the gales, armed with a strong resolve and unyielding spirit. Today, that relentless spirit of Greg has paid off. It has guided him through the bittersweet, cut-throat world of global commerce till he emerged unscathed and undaunted in spirit and resolve, like a champion.

THE EXPENSIVE PRESENCE OF OBI ADIMORA True maturity comes not from a moment’s eloquence or from any happily chosen word, but from the accumulation of a lifetime’s experiences and thoughts stored up in the psyche.

This amply substantiates Obi Adimora’s withdrawal from the high society’s fast lane. There was a time when he set the pace for thousands of other socialites seeking acclaim on the high-society social pedestals. But as time passed and age crept on him, Obi decided to gradually withdraw from the fast lane and go low profile. However, like two extremes coupled together for the sake of strife, Obi Adimora and his first wife fell out with each other despite the promise heralded by the marriage.

Since the sad incident, the University of Arkansas Political Science graduate had been very careful in his liaisons with members of the opposite sex.

However, recent reports indicate that he might have secretly walked down the

aisle with another lady. The elder sibling of Lagos socialite, Nkiru Anumudu, seems to have discovered the bliss and contentment that eluded him in his marriage. It would be recalled that Obi decided to part ways with his first wife when it became evident that they were strange bedfellows whose differences may remain irreconcilable throughout their wedlock.

BITTERSWEET JOY...PASTOR TAIWO ODUKOYA CELEBRATES 62ND ANNIVERSARY WITH REGRETS With Pastor Bimbo by his side, the gospel according to Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, fanned and blossomed like the sunflower. Bimbo was to him, what the muse signifies in the life of a visual artist.

Then she died in a plane crash and his world began to fade from inside out. At her departure, Pastor Taiwo was stagnant, trapped in a monochrome world. What is an artist without his muse but a book without words. What is a Pastor without his soulmate, but a vessel without a core.

Taiwo Odukoya

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R Ëž ÍŻÍľËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

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HIGHLIFE

Lagos Governor, Ambode @ 55

T

he amiable governor of Lagos clocked 55 last Thursday and contrary to norms and expectations within the political circle, he did not roll out a marching band or host a celebrity-styled soiree to celebrate the coming of age. Though there were no celebrations, a marked departure from when he was a fun-loving, private citizen, the deluge of well-wishes, from far and near, from political associates and appreciative citizens, more than made up for any soiree.

There must however have been plenty warm pats on the back for A-Plus as he is also known.

The accomplished accountant has come into his own as an administrator par excellence, a governor with a human face and a tireless worker. Ambode has continued to win many hearts and converts, even the most strident opposition to his side.

Governor Akinwumi Ambode rocks. The dashing dude and scribe of the All Progressives Congress (APC), tickles Lagos from the city to the boondocks.

Like a Victorian Knight, he vies for the fancy of the courts and the dreams of the hoi polloi. He is a visionary too. He’s got great Then heaven intervened and he found Pastor Nomthi, the mother of his two young boys. Life took on a new meaning at Nomthi’s entrance into his world thus as he celebrated his 62nd birthday, last Friday, Pastor Taiwo had every cause to give thanks to God - although his late wife, Bimbo could not be with him in person, he felt her abiding love and goodwill in spirit. Pastor Taiwo Odukoya of Fountain of Life Church and his twin sister, Kehinde Hassan, clocked 62 and as would be expected, his phone buzzed incessantly with congratulatory calls. It was a day of reflection and gratitude for the pastor who has been a mentor, spiritual leader and friend to thousands of Christians.

EGO TRIPPING... AND BAYO OSHINOWO EATS THE HUMBLE PIE When your success as a political leader is beyond theoretical conjectures, but has inconvertible and colourful visual evidence all over it, even your enemies would carve out some space in a market place not just to celebrate

Bayo Oshinowo

dreams for Lagos State no doubt and he’s got an excellent palate for the iconic in arts, politics and industry. Unlike his peers in other states, who stifle their domains, like Victorian overlords trampling the peace and shoots of genius, without a care in the world. Ambode understands that good governance goes beyond providing infrastructure and enabling growth across all spheres. He understands the significance of symbolic acts and gestures; this is why he leaves no stone unturned in his bid to elevate and institutionalise the celebration of icons of the Yoruba race.

Besides the great respect he exhibits to globallyacclaimed literary giant, Wole Soyinka, Governor Ambode has institutionalised the celebration of the late music icon, Fela Kuti and political sage, Obafemi Awolowo by the Lagos State government and now, Bashorun MKO Abiola. This is ironic, considering the fact that Wole Soyinka, who is still alive, and the late Kuti and Awolowo, are not indigenes of Lagos State.

Rather, the literary icon, music maestro and political sages respectively, hail from Ogun State. you but also join the queue of people prodding you to greater heights, though they wish you ill in their innermost minds. Since Fuad Oki, the selfacclaimed leader of a faction of the All Progressives Congress in Lagos, spilled the beans on the alleged treacherous plans of Bayo Oshinowo, in conjunction with Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, to pit Asiwaju Bola Tinubu against Governor Akinwunmi Ambode so that his second term would be truncated, the Kosofe Constituency 1 at the Lagos State House of Assembly member, Oshinowo, has been running helter-skelter and resorted to obsequious patronage to prove that Fuad’s revelation was a diatribe concocted from a place of offence and a lie from a pit of hell. Oshinowo, sensing that Fuad’s seemingly true revelation has the tendency to cast him in perfidious light and might signal his political eclipse, has gone to town to show cowardly unsolicited solidarity in support of Ambode re-election even though the incumbent governor has not officially declared. This morning, Lagosians woke up to posters boldly announcing Oshinowo’s pledge of loyalty and support for Ambode’s second term bid. “One good term deserve another�, “Ambode 100%� and other texts adorn the poster which has image of Governor Ambode boldly printed on it, and his by the other corner of the poster. Pepperito, as Oshinowo is known in Lagos political circle, may have made this move, whom his critics adjudge a volte-face from his clandestine maneuvers, to assuage feelings of visibly offended Lagosians whose lives have been positively imparted by Ambode’s sterling performance and excellent delivery of good governance.

TheCapital has also gathered that many of the APC stalwarts are not turning a blind eye to Oshinowo’s treachery; as they have already swung into predatory mode to ensure he did not return in 2019. Oshinowo has been at the Lagos State House of Assembly,

Akinwunmi Ambode

representing Kosofe 1 constituency since 2003. A media report has it that he was perfecting plans to upstage Senator Gbenga Ashafa in Lagos East Senatorial District. Keen watchers of Lagos politics have dismissively waved aside this Oshinowo’s ambition as a tall order for him, as he has no clout to match Ashafa’s political influence. His political future in Lagos now hangs in the balance as voices against him are rising day after day in the state. The Ijebu-Ode indigene might have to take his political trade to his Ogun State origin to stand any chances of moving to the Red Chamber of the National Assembly.

AT LAST, TAIWO AFOLABI’S MARRIOTT HOTEL FRANCHISE NEARING COMPLETION

Ëž

ËŞ

It takes time to cook a tasty broth and even greater passion, skill and time to erect an architectural masterpiece.

This perhaps explains SIFAX boss, Taiwo Afolabi’s long delay in executing his hospitality franchise, the Marriott

Hotel, in Ikeja, Lagos. Two years after the Marriot Hotel worldwide gave a franchise to the SIFAX boss to venture into the hospitality sector, Afolabi has finally commenced work on the Marriot 5-star hotel which will be located in Ikeja GRA, Lagos. Few people will not forget the unusual buzz news that the hotel’s emergence in the highbrow hospitality sector generated few years ago. When news filtered out back then that the massive structure on the ever-busy Oba Akinjobi street, GRA Ikeja, Lagos would house the prestigious Marriott Hotel with over 150 rooms, an Olympic-sized swimming pool and a parking lot that can comfortably accommodate over 200 cars at once, not a few people looked forward to it. While signing the multibillion naira deal, Taiwo had disclosed that the Lagos Marriott Hotel would be ready in 2016 and would boast all the facilities and luxury associated with an international market leader like Marriott. He bragged and bayed about it. It is said to be a ‘turnkey project’ and a high rise of about 15 floors. However, vanity afflicts Taiwo’s soul, like a taint of vice whose strong corruption inhabits his blood and frail spirit. Not a few people wonder how he manages to sleep at night and live at peace with himself, even as he ignores the wants and miseries of his impoverished kith and kin. His vanity is unprecedented, according to very close sources to him.

He simply chooses to live for himself and he spares no expense in giving himself a treat.

RE: “WILL IBUKUN OSIFO EVER REMARRY?�

Taiwo Afolabi

The printer’s devil was at work in our June 3 edition of HighLife where we erroneously published Yvonne Anakwe’s picture instead of the picture of Ibukun Osifo. We sincerely apologise to the two women for the embarrassment this may have caused them and we hereby retract the article in its entirety.

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IT TAKES TWO CHOIRS TO PARTY Nwokedi leading a combination of the two choirs

EDITOR OKECHUKWU UWAEZUOKE/ okechukwu.uwaezuoke@thisdaylive.com

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ARTS & REVIEW\\CONCERT

IT TAKES TWO CHOIRS TO PARTY MUSON Centre’s 2 Choirs Concert, which featured the renowned King’s College London Choir alongside the MUSON Choir, is the brightest spot in its events calendar, writes Okechukwu Uwaezuoke

O

bviously, this is one of those unheeded historic moments in classical music annals. Surely, having a choir like the renowned King’s College London Choir live on a Lagos stage, alongside the MUSON Choir, deserves more than a passing mention! Isn’t it, therefore, anticlimactic that the choir’s visit – long-heralded and trumpeted in the Musical Society of Nigeria’s events calendar – eventually flits by like just any other event?

Perhaps, the natural insularity of classical music events takes a greater part of the blame. Or, perhaps, it could be because of the glut of cultural events in the recent weeks.

Whatever. The fact that the local classical music buffs readily warmed up to the concert, dubbed 2 Choirs Concert, saves the day. For isn’t it pairing the local MUSON Choir with one of England’s best a landmark event? Indeed, the King’s College London is touted "as one of the leading university choirs in England".

The choir, which has been existing in its present form since 1945, basically provides music for chapel worship at the London-based university. Besides the weekly Eucharist and Evensong offered during the term, the choir also sings in various other services held in the chapel, which are frequently broadcast on BBC Radio. There was, for instance, the Epiphany Carols Service, which was broadcast on Radio 3 in January 2017.

Outside the university, the choir also regularly sings for worship at both Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral. This is in addition to its many concert performances and appearances in such festivals in England as the Spitalfields Festival, Oundle International Festival, and the Christmas Festival at St. John’s Smith Square.

The Joseph Fort-led choir's many international tours have recently seen it visiting countries like Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, and the USA. And in July 2017, it served as choir-in-residence for the north-east convention of American Guild of Organists and Royal Canadian College of Organists in Montreal. With its many recordings and "an ongoing relationship with Delphian Records", it has definitely earned its seat of honour among the world's best choirs. But the trouble with such lustrous antecedents is that it unreasonably ratchets up the audience’s expectations of the choir.

Perhaps, this explains the latter’s subdued reception of its rendition of the opening anthem “God Is Gone Up...”, a work of the British composer George Finzi.

Then, the choir ups the ante with the more solemn and sombre William Byrd’s “Agnus Dei” (from Mass for Four Voices) and fully asserts itself with Hubert Parry’s “Blest Pair of Sirens”. Somehow, these contemplative moments with the visiting choir seems to flit quickly by.

Unmistakeable, therefore, is the concert’s abrupt mood-swing from sobriety to gaiety when the MUSON Choir files out on to the stage for the first time. Apart from donning stylish festive national green-themed attires, with red headdresses to match, the choristers seem disposed to dancing to all their locally-composed songs. This might indeed not be so awful, as it offers a counter-pole the King’s College Choir’s solemn offerings.

And – who can tell? – the concert might have lapsed into a lachrymal experience.

Indeed, a concert bringing together two renowned choirs should indeed be a festive affair. Hence, it seems right that the opening song, Ayo Oluranti’s “Polongo Jesu” (Yoruba for “Proclaim Jesus”) should be rendered in a joyful mood. This, after all, is all about celebrating the Saviour.

Fort conducts the two choirs

Members of the Kings' College Choir at the MUSON premises

This should definitely not be the case with the choir’s second offering “Atul’egwu” (Igbo for “Fear Not”), composed by Sam Ojukwu, whose message is admonitory. Perhaps, the rhythms of percussion instruments really overwhelm the song’s words.

The next song, “Agidigba” (an Igbo composition by Chinedu Osinigwe) should have been more reverential than insouciant. This is because the title, which is actually a hyperbolic adjective – if not a slang word – attempts to describe the Supreme Being, whose greatness is far beyond any creature’s imagination.

If the choir’s concluding song for the first part of the concert, “Shine Ubangiji” (Hausa for “King of Kings) by E. Y. Zwahu takes the cake as its best so far, it is because it induces the listener to lift up his heart for worship.

Back from the concert’s interval, the audience must have had a feeling of déjà vu when the King’s College London Choir files back on to stage. The choristers’ appearance somewhat evokes the beginning of the first part of the concert.

Their first song, Matthew Martin’s “An Invocation to the Holy Spirit”, is a short and simple composition, dedicated to the memory of the English organist David Robin Charles Trendell. Trendell, a lecturer and director of music at King’s College London, died on

October 28, 2014. The work sets two Latin texts concerning baptism and Holy Spirit.

It is well suited piece for confirmation or baptism services as well as for Pentecost. It is also a piece that involves the four vocal ranges of choral music (soprano, alto, tenor and bass or SATB) alongside a soprano solo.

If this choral piece seems to blur into the others, Thomas Weelkes’ “Alleluia! I Heard a Voice!”, Thomas Tallis’ “O Sacrum Convivium” and Herbert Howells’ “A Hymn for St. Cecelia”, it is because they are all ideal for worship. Besides, the choristers’ enchanting voices magically transport the listeners to an Anglican church’s hour of worship.

The mood lightens up once again with the return of the MUSON Choir, whose first song “Fun Mi N’Ibeji” (Yoruba for “Bless Me with Twins) by Ayo Bankole rouses the audience from its reverie. Strictly speaking, this song should be classified as a petition to the Most High rather than as a worship song. Even the next song, “Ibike” (which is Ijaw for “Worship God) by Derrick Esezobor sounds more like a highlife composition than a song composed for worship.

Hence, the choir’s succeeding highlife

pieces – one by Ayo Ajayi, the other by James Yankey – remove the choristers’ last vestiges of restraint and literally turn the stage to a dance floor. Highlife, a West African popular musical genre that traces its origins in Ghana in early 20th century, is known for its melodic and rhythmic structures, which are appropriated from traditional Akan music and played with Western instruments.

With the two choirs now dancing together on stage, it is easier to have them organised for a joint performance of George Friedrich Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” (from The Messiah) conducted by Emeka Nwokedi. Dr Joseph Fort, now sporting a red fez and a locally-made tunic made from the indigo-dyed adire textile material over his black suit, conducts the concluding piece, “Messiah, Baba Mi (Messiah, My Father), which was composed by Ayo Oluranti.

This concert, by the way, is just one of the King’s College Choir’s three engagements while in Nigeria. Besides the MUSON Festival, which runs from October 17 to 28, this concert should be rated as the Musical Society of Nigeria’s most important for the year.

––This concert held on Friday, June 8 at the Agip Recital Hall of the MUSON Centre in Onikan, Lagos.

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ARTS & REVIEW\\LITERARY CAFÉ

QUINTESSENCE GALLERY HOSTS ‘BEYOND FUNCTIONS II’ Yinka Olatunbosun

works for the first time. And these colours are furnished with meanings. For instance, his Grey and Red series, made up of six works, is a social commentary uintessence Gallery is on the lawlessness reported in various hosting an exciting exparts of the country. hibition, titled Beyond “These colours symbolise the chalFunctions II. It is the lenges in the country. There is domestic second edition of the violence, gender-based violence, herdsexhibition of pottery men’s killings and so on,â€? he said. “Grey and ceramics aimed at represents mourning and Red represents authenticating these bloodshed.’’ pieces as art forms. They are the works His works include Africa Series and of two artists: Djakou Kassi Natalie “Awakeâ€?. One of the Pan-African pieces (Cameroon) and Ato Arinze (Nigeria). is shaped after the African map, making The first edition of this exhibition, the continent’s collective issue a frontsponsored by Alliance Française, was burner topic. held at the Moorhouse Hotel in Ikoyi, “We have been ignorant for so long,â€?

Lagos. Ato Arinze, who met with Arinze explained as he showed another journalists during the press preview, explained the difference between ceram- piece titled, “Mental Slavery� which is ics and the sculptures. According to him, inspired by Africans sold as slaves in the firing process makes the distinction. Libya.

On the other hand, Natalie takes on There is specific temperature for every kind of ceramics and the artist is skilled light-hearted issues such as gossip in “Wonders Shall Never End�. One of her at determining the right temperature. pieces, a vase, is made of mask etchings.

Arinze is also showing colourful This work speaks of the variety of faces with different expressions.

On it, no face looks like the other.

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MUSIC

Falz’s Audacious Take on Nigeria

Yinka Olatunbosun

There’satendencytoexpectmusicvideosto onlyentertainus.That’snottrue.Likeotherart forms,musicservesseveralfunctionsincluding mirroringthesociety.Moreoftenthannot,escape fromsocialrealityiswhatmosturbancontempoĂœĂ‹ĂœĂŁ Ă—Ă&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă? Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă™Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹ĂœĂžĂ“Ă?ĂžĂ?Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ? fortheviewers.Thisutopiahasrecentlybeen Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂœĂ&#x;ÚÞĂ?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜ ĂœĂ‹ĂšĂšĂ?Ăœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ù×Ă?ĂŽĂ“Ă‹Ă˜Ëœ Falzinhiscontroversialmusicvideo,THISIS

Ë› ËÖä˪Ă? Ă?Ùà Ă?Ăœ Ă™Ă? Ă’Ă“Ă–ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă’ Ă‹Ă—ĂŒĂ“Ă˜Ă™ËŞĂ?

AMERICAcamethroughwithhotslapsonthe listenerstorousetheirconsciousness.Heshotthe musicvideoinawarehousewithsomeelements ofperformanceart.Theoriginalsongaddresses gunviolence,policebrutalityandracisminthe ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă–Ă? ËÖä˪Ă? Ă Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹ĂœĂžĂ“Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă—Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă? instancesofcorruption,organisedcrimeandthe Ă?ĂŁĂ?Ă–Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă—ĂšĂ&#x;Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ë› Thevideogarneredabout4millionviewswithin thefirstweekofitsreleaseonYouTube.Forthe firsttime,Falz’sactivistnaturereflectsinhismusic withthiscontroversialvideothathasreceived criticalreviewsonradioandtelevisionalongsidea threatoflawsuit.

Itstartswiththecomedianlisteningtoa shoulder-heldradiosetthatwasprojecting thevoiceofhisfatherandhumanrightslawyer, FemiFalana.Then,therearefluidsubsequent scenetransitions.Throughtheuseofcostumes, astereotypeofaFulaniherdsmanisrecreated tomimeakillingscene.Thehijab-claddancers,a visualparadox,representthekidnappedChibok girlsandareversalofrolesthattheircaptors Ă?ÙÓĂ?ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜ ÞÒĂ?Ă—Ë› Ă˜Ă–Ă“Ă•Ă? Ă‹Ă—ĂŒĂ“Ă˜Ă™Ëœ ËÖä Ă?×ÚÖÙãĂ? alessgraphicapproachtodepictingviolencein hisvideo.Oneoftheboldstatementsmadein thevideoisintheSARSscene.Agroupofyoung menwasarrestedbythepolice.Theonewitha richfatherquicklysecuresabailandrelease,while othersremaininpolicecustody.Throughthevideo, Falzalsodrawsathinlinebetweenprostitution andinternetfraud.Withtheartinstallation-a commercialbus,hedemonstratesthestreet cultureofdrunkennessanddrugaddiction.

Thesceneofgeneratorsetsrepresentsthe ÚÙåĂ?Ăœ Ă?Ă“ĂžĂ&#x;Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÒÙå ÞÒĂ? Ă‹Ă Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă‘Ă? citizenneedsaminimumoftwojobstomake endsmeet.Hetakesaswipeatreligiousbigotry inaprayerscene,endingthevideowiththeradio broadcastchastisingchurchesthatformbusiness ventureslikeschoolsandhospitalsfromcontributionsmadebymembers,mostofwhomcannot affordtousethesamefacilities. ËÖä˪Ă?

Ă—Ă&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă? Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă™ Ă“Ă? Ă‹ Ă?Ă&#x;ĂŒĂ”Ă?Ă?Ăž ofinterestformusicreviewersbecausewiththis protestmusic,heisswimmingagainstthetidesin Ă?Ù××Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă—Ă&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ë› Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ă—ĂšĂ™ĂœĂ‹ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă? aremostlycontentwithglorifyingfemalephysical anatomy,pouringupcashandliquor;andhurling theirfashionaccessoriesatfansduringconcerts.

Butwiththisvideo,Falztellsanabridgedversion Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœĂŁ Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂ™Ă“Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? Ă Ă“Ă?ĂĄ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă?ĂŽË› Ă˜ĂŽĂ™Ă&#x;ĂŒĂžĂ?ĂŽĂ–ĂŁËœ ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ‹ĂĄ Ă—Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă–Ă? forthecontentofthismediahadbeensourced fromglobaloutrage,publicoutcry,andreports executedbythemedia.Withthevideo,some memoriesthatcouldhavebeenburiedhave clawedtheirwaybackintoourscreens.

Wonder Shall Never End

Generally, her works revolve around human emotions and feelings.

This joint exhibition idea originated from a friendship that started on a social media platform. They both had keen interest in each other’s work, hence, their first together held in 2016. Following this, Natalie resigned from the studio where she was working in Cameroon and came to Nigeria. That studio was established by a nongovernmental organisation.

This show, which runs from June 9 to 24, is just one of the initiatives aimed at promoting ceramics as an art form. “Visions in Clay (VIC) is a group created for promoting ceramics,� Arinze said. “The first show featured eight artists and next show had 12 artists.

Ceramics belongs to the Applied Art or Craft. We are supposed to create our own events. I was the first ceramist at the Art House Auction.�

The Inverted Pyramid; Adapted from a novel by Emeka Dike

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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 ˾ JUNE 17, 2018

CICERO

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

IN THE ARENA

BeforeOffaRobberySinksintoPolitics On the creed of ethics, the police must exhibit utmost circumspection in their handling of the Offa robbery investigations, writes Olawale Olaleye

T

he handling of the ongoing investigations of the Offa robbery, which is being linked to Senate President Bukola Saraki, is not only beginning to erode the confidence of the people in the ability of the Nigeria Police to be as professional as possible. It is beginning to give fillip to a more fundamental issue – which raises fears about the capacity of the police to be ‘proficiently sincere’ in the handling of any case especially, one in which their leadership supposedly has interest.

Perhaps, by any training peculiar to them, the police have a reputation for being dishonest and manipulative.

Whilst this is believed to have become entrenched even in their mode of operations, it has also become a familiar joke amongst Nigerians, who often joke about how the police skillfully turn the complainant to the accused, depending on who is involved or who is able to ‘reach out’ first to them.

Unfortunately, to get this done, the police have no threshold. They can go from threats to inconceivable torture and sometimes, extra-judicial killing of an accused, just to send a strong message of fears and intimidation to others, all geared towards achieving a pre-determined purpose as far as the case in view is concerned.

Since the news of the Offa robbery broke especially the alleged desperation by the police to establish a link between the robbers and the Senate president, two very important active players in the dastardly act were identified: a dismissed police corporal, Michael Adikwu, who admitted to having led the operation as well as provided the armoury and a son of a popular Yoruba leader, Kayode Opadokun. It was expected that the news of their arrest would be exhilarating.

But the tide and the excitement began to thin out, when during their maiden parade by the police, those two were conspicuously missing. Not only that, the police in their own wisdom had switched the gang leadership from their colleague-turned-robber, Adikwu, to a 37-year-old Ayoade Akinnibosun, a self-confessed political thug-turned-robber.

Whilst being paraded, the police literally dictated to AY, as the new gang leader is called, what to say at each turn to the chagrin of those present – in a way that suggested he was being guided not to veer off the scripted lines.

During the news conference that followed, the second parade of the criminals, the force spokesperson, Jimoh Moshood tried helplessly to establish links between the robbers and Saraki, particularly, when he pointed out that one of the robbers

Offa robbers being paraded by police adorned the attire chosen for Saraki’s daughter’s wedding. How low can the police descend, many would ask?

What was also very instructive at that news conference was the conscious yet subtle change of the narrative from the fact that the suspects claimed they were political thugs being used by the state, who strayed into robbery without the knowledge of their supposed paymasters to insisting there was a link between the Offa robbery and Saraki.

And to further establish a pattern, both Adikwu and Opadokun were still not present at this other news conference, where Moshood did more of grandstanding than stating facts.

Questions for the Police

Now, the police have come out to say the others not paraded have been helping with other investigations, whilst the theory of having killed Adikwu is also swirling. It however stands to reason: what is that investigation that Adikwu, a man who admitted to openly killing his colleagues for being unjustly dismissed from the force that these others cannot help with? Why has the leadership of the robbery changed from Adikwu to Ayoade all of a sudden?

While the Police parade some are not all the suspects?

It is important to establish where Adikwu got all the arms he provided from if not actually securing assistance from some officers within the system, who may have been in know of the

operation? Where are the proceeds from the robbery said to be with him?

At least, he must have told the police where the money was since his arrest.

So, where is it and why was the money not displayed at the various press briefing so far held if this is truly about the robbery? The Police by their action so far, have created more cloud than they sought to clear.

It is therefore trite to infer that the speculations doing the rounds about Adikwu being killed is quite worrisome and cannot be dismissed on account of police’s jejune submission. If there were no indications to that effect at all, the speculations would not be this rife. Thus, the police’s half-baked briefings are needless, premature and not sufficient to affirm that they are doing anything efficiently or making any headway in their investigations, because there is a mindset.

Already, two different nongovernmental groups, Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN), a network of 46 civil society organisations spread across Nigeria, and committed to promoting police accountability and respect for human rights and Citizen Communication and Advocacy Centre (CCAC) had immediately taken this up, harping on the implications of descending into the arena, spurred on by premeditated media trial as if the police had an assigned briefing to bring Saraki into the mess. Have the police, by their roles so far, not also confirmed

the fears by those who argued that they might have had a pre-knowledge of the robbery to satisfy their predetermined notions of linking Saraki to the entire episode?

It is disturbing therefore that the police and their leadership might be striving hard to politicise a far more serious case like the Offa robbery by consciously moving away from the real issues and desperately trying to establish a link that is probably non-existent between Saraki and the robbers. This, sadly, is the lowest the police can go and it is definitely not in national interest, except to please some identified interests, obviously for political exigencies. .

Even if IGP Ibrahim Idris’ disdain for Saraki is unmistaken and has personal scores to settle with him, circumventing the process of investigation and or the rule of law to decimating his real or perceived enemies is not in his interest to say the least. This, no doubt, reduces the police as an institution, unfortunately, at the behest of an individual. He might be consumed too.

As it is, not just the police or Saraki but the entire political class has a lot to take away from this development. The glorification of individuals at the expense of institutions must stop. It could also mark an end to political thuggery in the nation’s electoral process.

Above all, this also summarily explains what an ordinary citizen goes through in the hands of the police on account of their offhand misjudgment.

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

On Dismissed Police Officers

T

Lagos Police Commissioner, Imohimi Edgal

hese three police officers: Momoh Sulaiman, an inspector; Emmanuel Monday, a sergeant; and Adamu Usman, a sergeant, were last week dismissed by the Lagos command, after being found guilty of tear-gassing one Ademuwagun Solomon, near China Town in Ojota, Lagos.

The announcement was made by Mr. Chike Oti, a superintendent of police and the force’s spokesperson, who claimed the officers were convicted in an orderly room trial.

But as encouraging as that sounds, the police must begin to keep tabs on their men, especially those dismissed on sordid

grounds, as they do other citizens in their bid to secure the society.

The recent Offa robbery offers genuine grounds for this position. A dismissed Michael Adikwu, who was disappointed at the treatment allegedly meted out to him by the force, led the robbery operation and was allegedly directly involved in the killing of his former colleagues, nine of them. Had the police kept tabs on him, they probably would have an insight into his latest pastime and that would have helped to foil the operation. But going forward, it is hoped that the force would learn from that unpleasant experience and learn to take little things that matter seriously.

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BRIEFINGNOTES Is Buhari’s Gesture a 'Closure' to June 12?

Is the posthumous honour extended to the late MKO Abiola and others by President Muhammadu Buhari, a closure to the significance of the June 12 struggle? Olawale Olaleye asks

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resident Muhammadu Buhari’s magnanimity to recognise June 12 as Democracy Day as well as gift the late MKO Abiola the highest honour in the land, GCFR, was arguably an idea whose time has come. Although some people saw it as an idea dictated by political constraints, a majority thought it was rather altruistic.

But whichever standpoint this is being viewed, it is one decision that has stoked a genuine debate about the significance of the June 12 struggle, away from the opposition politics the initiative has landed.

Buhari, while apologising to the family of the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Bashorun MKO Abiola, over the injustice done to him by the annulment of the election and his eventual death, described the occasion as one meant to heal old wounds and leave the past where it belongs.

“On behalf of the Federal Government, I tender the nation’s apology to the family of the late MKO Abiola, who got the highest votes and to those that lost their loved ones in the course of June 12 struggle,” Buhari said in a speech that was heavily applauded at the investiture ceremony held at the Conference Hall of the Presidential Villa.

Noting that his government could not rewind the past, he contended that, “we can at least assuage our feelings; recognise that a wrong has been committed and resolve to stand firm now and in the future for the sanctity of free elections. Nigerians would no longer tolerate such perversion of justice.

“Our decision to recognise and honour June 12 and its actors is in the national interest. It is aimed at setting national healing process and reconciliation of the 25-year festering wound caused by the annulment of the June 12 elections. I earnestly invite all Nigerians across all our national divides to accept it in good faith.

“Our action today is to bury the negative side of June 12, the side of ill-feelings, hate, frustrations and agony. What we are doing is celebrating and appreciating the positive side of June 12. The June 12, which restate democracy and freedom. The June 12 that overcome our various divide and the June 12 that produced unity and National cohesion. This is the June 12 we are celebrating today and we will nurture it to our next generation.”

Earlier, just before Buhari gave his speech, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, who delivered a welcome address, had said the occasion was a closure to the June 12 struggle, as part of the healing process. The context of the closure however remains unclear and a debate that must be addressed, going forward.

Described as the freest and fairest election in Nigeria’s electoral history, June 12, was unjustly annulled by a former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd.), on June 23, 1993.

But Abiola, who in search of his mandate, declared himself as the country’s president on June 11, 1994 at Epetedo, Lagos, was immediately arrested and imprisoned by the late Gen. Sani Abacha. Abiola would later pass on under mysterious circumstances on July 7, 1998 while still in detention.

Thus, whilst Buhari’s gesture might have been conceived to pacify the South-west, where Abiola hailed from, following years of agitation for the actualisation of the June 12 struggle, an understanding of the significance of Buhari’s kind token, not just to Abiola’s family but the whole of the country by so declaring June 12 as Democracy Day may have become imperative.

It is public knowledge that June 12 represents far too many things in the political evolution of the country to embrace any form of closure, whether now or in the foreseeable future. If historians were to start from the number of lives that were lost to the struggle and the pains inflicted on the families of the deceased, any form of closure or subtle downplay of that watershed would amount to sheer waste of time and resources.

The June 12 struggle naturally took its toll on the economy of the nation as a result of the protests after protests, with crucial drivers of the economy that bought into the idea, leaving government not just helpless but the economy in near comatose. Those whose businesses suffered one fate or the other have a better understanding of the significance of the struggle and would therefore not wave at any token as pay-off.

The underrated capacity of the struggle, which hastened the nation’s return to civil rule, is one factor that cannot be weighed at any cost. While a majority of those that benefitted from the fallout failed to admit reaping hugely where they probably did not sow, the facts remain what they are and would therefore take a more critical look at the handling of the healing process as it were.

One of the nation’s major fault lines that had refused to go away since independence is the threatened unity of the country. But the

Abiola...the symbol of Nigeria’s democracy

June 12 debacle shocked even the most cynical in the political class that a certain struggle could bring the whole of the country together in a sense that encouraged them to put their worries and differences behind them, believing in the hope that the struggle promised to offer.

Closure in whatever sense is therefore not an option.

How much more the factor of religion, which for once, was decimated during the June 12 struggle. Like the seemingly impossible unity of the various ethnic nations in the country, religion too had maintained an unpleasant place in the political life of the nation, which used to be a veritable tool in the hands of mischief makers. But June 12 demystified it. A Muslim/Muslim ticket sold across the board without regrets or reservations. Even history would not forgive an attempt to let that epoch-making feat retire into utter oblivion.

Coming from many years of military violation of the nation’s political process, the June 12 election and its subsequent struggle offered an uncommon hope of a nation in transition. The expectations of a better tomorrow were clearly etched in the message of Hope ’93, a slogan that propelled the force and acceptability that the struggle achieved. Even if the June 12 stories were told in a hurry, certain facts would not be lost in the haste.

And of course, the most important feat of the June 12 struggle was that it successfully sent the military back to the barracks and ever since, democracy has continued to flourish of its many inadequacies as a learning process.

The role and the damage caused by the military in the nation’s political trajectory are too numerous to not worship the part played by the June 12 struggle to ensure a fundamental reset of the various institutions in the country, the result of which is the fledgling democracy everyone enjoys today.

Although Buhari said the event was not meant to open old wounds but an effort to right the wrongs of the past, and therefore tendered an unreserved apology to the family of Abiola on behalf of the entire country, he must do more to making sure that even the story of the struggle forms part of schools’ curricular at certain levels.

It was also heartwarming, his threat that going forward, any

similar perversion of justice would no longer be tolerated and that the decision was necessary to heal festering wounds in the spirit of national interest and reconciliation.

The last few days have no doubt witnessed commendations and suggestions to the president on how best to truly accord June 12 its place in the body polity. It is far too significant for any effort to be treated as a compensatory initiative. It is a watershed that must be drilled down its place as nation-building continues. June 12 remains a reference point and therefore, the struggle is open-ended.

Recognition Shifts Burden to INEC to Conduct Free, Credible Election

However, one way the memories of the June 12 struggle can be preserved is by entrenching the culture of decent electoral process in the country. The truth is that this burden has shifted, naturally, from President Buhari to the government and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure that the process of choosing the nation’s leaders is free from any manipulations whatsoever – official or individual.

By recognising the day as significant and honouring the deceased who was robbed of his right 25 years after, Buhari has washed his hands off the pool of the blood of the many martyrs, who paid the supreme price for the actualisation of the struggle.

But that is just a step in the right direction. Going forward, INEC must assert itself and ensure that it discharges with the full weight of its independence, the responsibility of ensuring free, fair and credible elections in the country.

To complement this is a sincere disposition of the government at any point in time to not only allow INEC its statutory independence but also create the atmosphere for such through the many requisite supports that would help drive a decent electoral process.

Curiously, 2019 offers the trio of Buhari, government and the INEC a rare opportunity to dismiss insinuations that the June 12 recognition was a Greek gift or compelled by political needs by simply playing fair.

That way, the place of June 12 can be seen as having been established.

NOTES FOR FILE

And Dariye Wept!

Dariye

Former Plateau State Governor, Senator Joshua Dariye, evoked an overwhelming emotion during the week, when he broke down at a Federal High Court room and pleaded that justice be tempered with mercy.

He had just been handed 14 years sentence over allegations of corruption, which started some years back.

His mortifying grief and regrets were palpable. He momentarily lost himself to the unexpected that had just hit him. He probably had a quick reflection life and its vanity. He must have wondered too how he walked by himself through the path of corruption that eventually landed him in the gaol as the wages of his many

choices. His excuse that he was misled was as insipid as his hushed, albeit pitiful tone. Truth is, the buck always stopped with him as the governor and so, he made his choice.

However, coming from the judgment preferred against a former Taraba State Governor, Jolly Nyame and the pending trial of another former Governor of Kaduna State, Ramalan Yero, the Dariye ruling is yet another message to the political elites that justice might be slow in pace, it always catches up in good time, even if are were conscious moves to thwart the course of the rule of law.

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CICERO/REPORT

2019 and INEC’s Challenge of Credible Elections Given what is currently at stake, the Independent National Electoral Commission cannot afford to fail general expectations of credible elections in 2019, writes Onyebuchi Ezigbo

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he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has a sacred constitutional duty to ensure a transparent and credible electoral process that will engender peace, stability and good governance in the country. It is a well-known fact that badly conducted elections had often triggered crisis in different countries of the world and sometimes leading to prolonged conflicts that threatened the corporate existence and survival of such country.

Recently, opposition political parties have raised serious concerns over the ability and intentions of the present leadership of INEC, led by Professor Mahmood Yakubu to conduct free, unbiased, credible and transparent elections in 2019. One of the leading opposition parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has gone a step further to cry out to the international community especially, the United Nations about its fears on the neutrality and overall capacity of INEC to conduct the elections without being pressured or compromised by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Understanding the Fears of Opposition The PDP has often as possible, criticised the commission that it lacks capacity to be fair and also leaning towards the APC. The party said it had lost confidence in the ability of INEC to conduct credible polls. One of the issues raised by the PDP leadership was the allegation that the commission was registering underage persons. It went further to allege that INEC’s top management had relations and associates of President Muhammadu Buhari on its commission, which signifies their intention to rig the 2019 polls.

National Chairman of the party, Uche Secondus, while hosting a delegation of the United Nations led by Mohammed Ibn Chambas, urged the UN to help address the mindless killings going on in the country, stressing that same could be part of the grand design to prevent some eligible voters from casting their votes in 2019.

According to the PDP boss, “The registration of the underage was part of their rigging strategies,” noting that the party was prepared to release a video evidence of the alleged electoral manipulation.

“INEC has not lived up to expectation. It should come out in clear terms and be seen as an umpire. Since they took over, a lot of issues have trailed their conduct of elections,” he said.

Another issue raised by the PDP was that security agents were being used to harass members of the opposition and the electorate, who hold opposing viewpoints. At another meeting with a team from the UN led by Mr. Serge G. Kubwimana, the PDP chairman sought the intervention of the international community, adding: “We have fear since APC came on board, if election is not in their favour, there is a rerun.”

Also, recently, the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, made a strong case on the need to ensure that Nigeria holds a credible, free and fair election next year.

Ekwerenmadu, who spoke at the Parliament of the United Kingdom (UK), at a lecture titled: “African Politics: The Dynamics and Lessons”, charged the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to ensure that the process is sufficiently transparent and unarguably so, such that losers will see and be convinced that they lost fairly.

The Deputy Senate President’s concern aligned with that of his party, the PDP which expressed doubts over the ability of the present leadership of the INEC to conduct free and fair elections in 2019.

The opposition lawmaker said he would like to see the countries of Africa deploying the latest technology in voter registration, vote counting, and announcement of results, reiterating that “We must ensure that the process is sufficiently transparent and unarguably so, such that losers will see and be convinced that they lost fairly. That way, election tribunals will be eliminated”.

Another opposition party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP)

In the area of capacity, there is the belief that the present INEC has strived to leverage what it met on the ground from the previous leadership by introducing new strategies and technological innovations that could help promote transparency

Yakubu...is INEC under him capable? was also critical of the composition of the current INEC leadership. The party’s National Secretary, Shehu Gabam took out time to address the media last week during which he expressed the party’s distrust at the state of affairs in INEC. He said there are some appointees at INEC that have taken sides politically and that these were among the fundamental issues that should be addressed in order to have free and fair elect.

“If the parties are not comfortable with the composition of INEC, then a lot needs to done and I can tell you that we in SDP from our assessments and findings so far have not seen that deliberate attempt to conduct free and fair election by INEC”.

Other political parties, the Action Democratic Party (ADP), United Progressive Party (UPP) and the Democratic Peoples Congress (DPP) have expressed similar apprehension over the neutrality of the electoral body.

INEC Pushes a Defence INEC, on its part, has continued to insist that it has the capacity to organise credible and transparent elections in the country. Although the commission under the new team was yet to organise elections in the magnitude of a general election, the electoral body has so far undergone the baptism of fire by conducting a number of off-season elections and bye-elections.

In the first two major elections, the governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa States, the exercise was inconclusive. The INEC team said it improved on that record by going ahead to conclusively conduct the governorship elections in Edo, Ondo and Anambra States at first ballot.

INEC boss, Yakubu has also replied his critics, saying he and his team have what it takes to conduct the best general election ever. He defended the neutrality of the commission, saying with the level of preparations and new technological innovations being put in place by the commission, no one can reasonably question its capacity and readiness to conduct a credible election in 2019.

In the same vein, the commission had tried to look into the issue of underage voters by probing the Kano incident. The outcome of the internal investigation exonerated the commission and laid the blame squarely at the door step of the Kano State electoral body. Curiously, the Kano State government had also blamed INEC for it, claiming it had nothing to do with it.

In the area of capacity, there is the belief that the present INEC has strived to leverage what it met on the ground from the previous leadership by introducing new strategies and technological innovations that could help promote transparency.

For instance, in its effort to reduce the incidence of rigging, INEC has decided to introduce the use of satellite communication device to monitor and track elections. To actualise this, the

commission entered into a collaborative deal with the agency managing Nigeria’s satellite, NIGCOMSAT to see how it could deploy its satellite to cover areas currently not covered by 3G and 4G networks (the so-called “black spots”) so that INEC could transmit election results from each Polling Unit nationwide irrespective of location; as well as voter education and sensitisation through electronic message display.

Yakubu assured the people that the measure would ensure that INEC transmits the raw figures of election results, as well as the scanned images of the result sheets from Polling Units in the 2019 elections. He promised that the Commission would continue “to make available hard copies of results sheets to political party agents at each Polling Unit and collation centres against which the integrity of the electronically-transmitted results could be compared, verified and authenticated”.

He also said INEC would retain the current practice, where a copy of the result for each election is pasted at the Polling Units immediately after the counting of ballots for public knowledge and accountability.

INEC has equally shown capacity in its resolve to address some of the issues that often breed mistrust and heat the polity.

This was why it caused the signing of the code of conduct by political parties under auspices of the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC).

Speaking at the signing ceremony, one of INEC staff, Prof.

Okoosi-Simbine, who represented the national chairman, Yakubu, assured the parties of the commitment of the Commission to ensure a level playing field for all political parties during the elections in the country.

Simbine said INEC remained committed to strengthening its internal systems and providing a level playing field for all political parties and candidates by ensuring the sustenance of a credible electoral environment.

“It is vital that political party leaders take their commitment to the code of conduct beyond the official signing of the document by translating the provisions of the code to visible actions that impact positively towards sustaining and enhancing the gains of Nigeria’s democratic evolution,” she said.

The code of conduct sets the parameters of acceptable behavior for political parties, their candidates and their supporters throughout the electoral cycle. There is no doubt that INEC has tried within the short time to add value to the electoral process. It has also exhibited some level of capacity in the conduct of elections as seen in those so far conducted.

Importantly, however, there is the need for more engagements with the critical stakeholders to try to iron out things and explain the motive behind measure being introduced to make our elections better. For now, it is apparent from the positions some of the opposition parties are taking that the gap between the opposition parties and INEC is widening.

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A Low Point in Okorocha’s Political Career The scheming out of the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, during the recent congresses of the All Progressives Congress marks a very low point in his political career, writes Amby Uneze

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t is no longer news that the Imo State Governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha, has lost out in a superior power game that ensued in the state since the beginning of the congresses of the All Progressives Congress (APC). To many, this could be one of the ‘jokes’ of the year, if someone had told them that the man who claimed to be face of the party in the South-east zone could be so humbled. But where one man attempts to assume the role of God, He always has a way of manifesting Himself to such persons.

Okorocha’s Albatross Before the APC leadership mooted the idea of leadership change, Okorocha remained one of the most vocal and pompous governors, who once claimed to be the only way to the success of the party in the zone.

Rightly, as the only governor of the party in the South-east zone, he didn’t hide his desire to conquer the zone come the 2019 general election. As such, he was feared, dreaded and most often given his right of way.

The boisterous governor had on several occasions declared how he had retired forcefully all the known politicians in Imo State, including Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Senators Arthur Nzeribe, Hope Uzodinma, Chris Anyanwu, Ifeanyi Araraume, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, former governors Achike Udenwa and Ikedi Ohakim, insisting that those people could not match him in politics.

Sooner, the gadfly was caught napping even before he perfected his game plan on how to outwit the other leaders of his party to become the only ‘iroko’ in the forest.

Okorocha started with the warning to other party leaders that no one else other than his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu would succeed him as governor in 2019.

He therefore boosted that he had finalised the political arrangement for 2019, whereby he becomes the Senator for Orlu zone, his son-in-law takes over from him as the governor, his deputy, Prince Eze Madumere should abandoned his governorship ambition and take over as the Senator for Okorocha...outsmarted?

Owerri zone, while Chike Okafor continues in the House of Representatives to represent Okigwe South When he realised that he had lost out, the congress had federal constituency. concluded in the various wards of the state, which made him to rush to the house of Izunaso in company of the State Police Commissioner, Chris Ezike. Of course, it was obvious Coalition That Pulled It Off he was at the wrong place searching for the Chairman of the This positions no doubt did not go down well with other congress committee and sensitive materials. leaders of the party, who are also interested in elective Aware that he had lost the ward congress, he directed positions, including Madumere, who had made it clear to all the Commissioner of Police in the State, Mr. Chris Ezike, to and sundry that he was contesting the governorship of the arrest and to prosecute Mr. Ini Okorie and other members of state. the Congress Committee, whom he linked to the ‘missing’ Such party leaders like the former Secretary to the State materials without further delay.

Government, Jude Ejiogu, Senator Osita Izunaso, who is The local government congress also went in favour of the also the National Organizing Secretary of the party, Senator Coalition group while the governor’s group lost out. In the Benjamin Uwajumogu, whom he had planned to replace, same manner, the party held a successful State Congress Senator Ifeanyi Araraume, whom he swore could never be and returned the former state chairman, Dr. Hillary Eke. The governor, former Commissioner, Thoedore Ekechi, including congress, which attracted delegates from 27 local governthe newly joined Senator Hope Uzodinma, felt it would be ment areas of the state, was conducted under a peaceful an insult on them to allow the governor have his way and atmosphere. retire them politically as he had ferociously claimed.

The exercise conducted by the Musa Umar-led Congress The APC coalition has in its fold, Senator Hope Committee and took place at the Federal NDDC Youth Skill Uzodinma, Ifeanyi Araraume, Ben Uwajimogu and Osita Acquisition Center, Umueze in Ehime Local Government Izunaso, who is also the National Organizing Secretary of Area of the state following the torching of the party secreAPC. Others are former Secretary to the Imo State Governtariat a week earlier, witnessed delegates electing candidates ment, Sir Jude Ejiogu, Hon. Emeka Nwajiuba, Chief Felix of their choice.

Idiga, Dr. Vitalis Ajumba and Dr. Theodore Ekechi amongst Hon. Ugochukwu Nzekwe emerged the Vice Chairman others. as well as other new executive members from the three zones of the State. Commenting on the election, Madumere Paving the Path to the Congresses commended the party faithful for conducting themselves Sequel to the ward, local government and state congresses peacefully during and after the congress, saying with the of the party, the governor had planned to outwit the other outcome the party was set to move forward and better stakeholders of the party who are opposing his choice for equipped to face other critical challenges. the governorship. But unknown to him, other members of In his contribution, Chairman of APC Disciplinary the party, who are now referred to as “the Coalition” had Committee, Kingsley Ononuju said the congress was a great also perfected their game to ‘teach the governor some bitter success and showed that people were determined to take lesson’. back their party.

While the governor had planned to whisk away the ward congress committee members that were arriving from Abuja enroute Awka, Anambra State, the coalition had at the same Uwajumogu’s Resignation time planned to change some members from the committee The development in Imo soon led to the sudden resignaknowing the sinister motive of the governor. This, they suction of the secretary of the national convention planning ceeded while the governor’s moves were thwarted, because committee, Senator Benjamin Uwajumogu, who disclosed he had only met with ‘fake’ congress members. that he took the decision to attend to family matters and not

because of any case of fraud.

Even though he denied not being aware that Governor Okorocha had allegedly spent some weeks in Abuja plotting to have him removed from the committee, with threats that he would leave the party if Uwajumogu was not replaced, he did not deny the fact that he had been having a running battle with the governor over the recently conducted congresses, hence the governor wanted to implicate him at all cost.

“I want to announce to you that yesterday, I tendered my resignation as the Secretary of the APC Convention Planning Committee and the resignation was accepted last night by the national chairman of the party.”

On his relationship with Okorocha, he said “my relationship with him is not a personal thing. It is something that all of us in Imo State are opposed to the way government in Imo State is being run.

“Our opposition to that is something that is based on principle; based on the fact that 95 per cent of Imo citizens and indeed south easterners are not happy with what is happening in Imo State. South-east citizens are ashamed, that the only state we, APC, have in the region is being run the way it is in the past three years and for me, I did not have a choice than to detach myself from that government,” he explained.

The Oyegun Factor Okorocha believed that his treatment in Imo was caused by the party’s national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, whom he accused of working against him because of his opposition to tenure elongation.

“I am being persecuted because I stoutly opposed the elongation of the tenure of Chief John Oyegun, the National Chairman of the party for another 4 years and he (Oyegun) decided to take a pound of flesh on me by supporting the dissidents, who met and organised kangaroo congresses, wrote results and forwarded same to Abuja for ratification.

We are still in charge of APC in the state and we have not lost the party structures in this state.”

He, however, said “all will be sorted out when former Governor, Adams Oshiomhole assumes office as the National Chairman of the party”, adding that “once Oshiomhole comes in, everything will be sorted out. Hilary Eke’s term has finished, so he can’t even be Chairman until he is elected. There are court orders stopping the supposed congress. So, their congress does not even exist. The only one that exists is the one we have put up”, he maintained.

The Consequences Like Nebuchadnezzar, Okorocha started a plan to perpetuate himself in power by boasting that his son-in-law would succeed him. But that was not his only albatross.

It was the way and manner he went about the project, which angered and awakened the consciousness of the Imo elite and political gladiators to the fact that Okorocha was building a political Tower of Babel that accommodated only his family.

Today, the table has turned against this demi god. Imo people that sought for a hero in every unknown face have learnt the hard way, and become wiser. The hunter has become the hunted. Like Job, he has joined the wailers. In his mundane and myopic feelings, he thought he could outwit the predominantly sophisticated elite in the state, a state that can boast of the best brains in Nigeria. But Imo people have demonstrated that money and power have their limits.

The manner in which Okorocha was rubbished in the last APC congress in the state unmasked his humanity and pointed to the fetid things on the way. The APC will hold its National Convention next month to elect new officers, but Okorocha would go as a featherweight politician without influence, because the party structure in his state has been hijacked by people smarter than him.

However, Okorocha’s downfall in the politics of Imo State should serve as a lesson to our political leaders in Nigeria.

He was deserted by friends and foes, spurned by his admirers and betrayed by his party at the state and national levels in the past congresses. Even his god at the villa swore like Peter that he knew him not. He ran to Oyegun and repined but got no answer. It was then that the scales began to fall off his eyes that there was no way – he has just been trapped.

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J ÍšÍżËœ ͺ͸͚΀ Ëž THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

PERSPECTIVE Obasanjo’s Arrest Alarm: Oshiomhole Having a Good Laugh Recalls how Gani Fawehinmi, Falana saved him from OBJ Tunde Oyelola

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eading national chairmanship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has faulted the alarm raised by former president Olusegun on a purported plot by the Federal Government to arrest and silence him for expressing critical views against the Muhammadu Buhari administration. To Oshiomhole, the recent alarm by Obasanjo is absurd and laughable.

Obasanjo had alleged in a statement issued by his media aide that the government was planning to seize his travel passport and clamp him into detention indefinitely or to instigate the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to re-open investigation into the activities of his administration using false witnesses and documents.

But Oshiomhole countered that Obasanjo had no immunity against arrest as he arrested him and many others for criticising his anti-people policies while in power.

Oshiomhole spoke last Monday night, at a ceremony organized by friends of Chief Gani Fawehinmi in honour of families of the late renowned lawyer and human rights activist, and Bashorun MKO Abiola, the winner of the June 12,1993 presidential election.

The event, held at Sheraton Hotels, Abuja, was attended

by Femi Falana (SAN); the first son of the late Gani, Mohammed Fawehinmi; Chief Frank Kokori; the late MKO Abiola’s daughter, Hafsat Abiola-Costello; human rights activists; National Assembly members and many others.

The former Edo State governor commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the posthumous national honours given to the late MKO Abiola and Chief Gani Fawehinmi, calling on him to arrest former Obasanjo if found culpable. “He should be arrested if found guilty of any offence. He arrested many of us while he was president.� Oshiomhole went down the memory lane, recalling how Obasanjo allegedly plotted to proscribe the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and send him to jail while he (Oshiomhole) was president of the labour movement, but for the efforts of the late Fawehinmi and Femi Falana, who defended him and others in the law courts.

The APC chairmanship candidate said, “We have every reason to celebrate Gani and thank God he used our president, Buhari to bring smiles on the faces of Nigerians. When I see people like Obasanjo lamenting, I laugh because we can see how things can change. While I was in the NLC, there was a particular strike we wanted to call and 24 hours before the planned strike, we got a court injunction restraining us

Obasanjo from going to court. We decided to call Gani Fawehinmi to seek his opinion. We called him and said strike is due to resume from tomorrow but there is an injunction now stopping us from proceeding. To my shock Gani said some of these judges give orders that are always funny, but that what we will do is that he will do everything to ensure that the order is vacated, but that we should obey the order. “I was very angry, because my problem is how do to explain to Nigerians that the strike will be put on hold without being accused of selling out. On that basis I reluctantly issued a statement suspending the strike but we needed to beg Gani to issue the statement to say that he advised us to suspend the strike, if he does so, the public will not blame us. Because we will lose public trust they will never trust us anymore. Gani of blessed memory issued the statement and said he advised us to shelve the strike. However, we had a caucus meeting and said, based on our previous interactions, we have disobeyed court orders before and Gani defended us. So we said from now on we will not seek legal

opinion and if we are charged with contempt, we will bring Gani to defend us. “We had a couple of general strikes then because we had a president, Obasanjo who did not want to do the right thing. “The next time we had cause to go on strike and this time we faced Babalakin. He was legal adviser to Obasanjo and he went to court to seek injunction to restrain NLC from going on strike. He decided to fly to Lagos to look for a popular judge that will issue an injunction restraining us and got one who works for the Lagos High Court, who was attending a conference at the University of Lagos Law Faculty. From our own intelligence, the judge decided to go to his chambers to oblige President Obasanjo the injunction he wanted, to stop us from going on strike. “He restrained the NLC, Adams Oshiomhole from embarking on that strike. I said well, we will not call Gani, we will not call Femi Falana or any lawyer, if a judge issues an order that I should stop a moving train the judge ought to know that it is not possible. For us we chose to be our own lawyers in this matter and said the order was issued by a corrupt judge and we will not obey. We were saying all these because we had lawyers like Gani and Falana who would always come to our rescue. “So we embarked on the strike and it was total. So Babalakin filed contempt charge against us at the Lagos High Court and I was accused of contempt as a person and not as NLC president. They said they wanted to isolate me as an individual so that I will now be isolated and dealt with. That is why when I see them writing letters these days, advising people not to run for election, I said time has changed. But they oppressed us and he was determined to jail us because we questioned public policy choices of the government. I appeared as a person and Femi Falana was sent by Gani to go and defend us. I went into the court room all by myself.

While we were in court, some of our colleagues were threatening lawyers who represented the Federal Government, that ‘you will die’ from the background. Babalakin stood up and said, My Lord, ‘we cannot be intimidated. You have to order Oshiomhole to tell his people to stop threatening us.’ And the judge said, ‘Oshiomhole tell them to keep quiet.’ But I said, My Lord, I am here alone, on my own, I was charged alone and I came alone so I have no hand in what happens around me. And our people continued to threaten them and they said Adams, ‘ask them to leave,’ I said, My Lord, I don’t know them, I am here by myself and for myself and I have no control over the people outside. The judge now said, ‘we shall rise’ and that was the end of the matter. –Oyelola is an educationist and policy consultant in Sokoto

AfricanDrumFestival:AGlobalConvergence forCulturalReintegration Raheem Ajayi

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he African Drum Festival is fast evolving into a borderless epicentre of cultural renaissance for Africans and the black race in general. The third edition of the annual event held in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital from 19th to 21st April, 2018 brought together impressive assemblage of cultural icons, groups and artistes and entertainers across the African Continents as well as the Diaspora.

The 8,000 sitting arena and overflows of June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta were filled to capacity while hundreds of cultural enthusiasts glued to giant screens outside the main venue. As expected, the five day event revolved around celebration of the beauties of African Drums. The cultural show-piece featured diverse genre of cultural exhibitions which conveyed the artistic uniqueness of the traditions of African societies.

In the ancient days, Africans deployed drums for the purposes of communication. Sounds of the drums were the wireless purveyor between senders and receivers of messages in the same pattern the telephone invention has evolved over the years. The drum conveys messages to people from one location to the other through variegated sounds from which the interpretation of intended messages are decoded.

It is precisely for the expression of the inimitability of the African Drum that messages transmitted through the medium of its sounds are compelling but often codified and therefore unfathomable to the uninitiated! The handling of the African Drum in itself requires depth of artistic competence. The accoutrements of the ‘Talking Drum’ for instance are akin to the encryption that is a dominant element of modern day ICT. The history of the evolution of information and communication technology would therefore be incomplete without exploring the place of the African drums in traditional setting of messaging and interaction. The African “talking drums� reflect the pitch patterns of transmitting messages across boundaries. The sounds of the “talking drums� are laced with adages, praise-songs and dirges which were understood by traditional African people. The uniqueness of the multi-rhythm nature of African drums distinguishes it from any other drum that is not of African origin. Precisely why African drums produce different sounds suitable for various occasions. In the African setting, there are specific drums that convey the moods of war, peace, celebrations,

Amosun mourning, marriages, royalty and worships.

It is a well known fact that African drums and the exceptionality of their sounds have found their ways into different continents over the centuries; penetrating cultures through migration and other forms of human interactions including the horrendous expedition of the slave trades. To be precise, the evolution of Afro-Caribbean rhythms has a long history which dates back to centuries of human interactions. It is a widely held belief that romanticization with African traditions by descendants of the Iberian Peninsula featured the culture of drumming with a history that probably predate the slave trades. In spite of the long years of cultural influxes however, the essentials of the African drums and the vitality of the sounds rather than mere aesthetics have struggled to retain exceptionality and the defining genres.

Although drums of the African descent have become popular amongst artistes from other parts of the World, parts of the uniqueness have been reduced by banality to the extent that poly-rhythms rather than multi-rhythms nature of the traditional African drum setting appear to be

growing with unassailable hype. Indeed, Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, a cultural icon of note who was a special consultant to the third edition of African Drum Festival, noted that drums that are originally African are now made to produce sounds that lack the “African pulsation�. It should be emphasised that it was in the quest to correctly situate the place of the African Drum as part of the larger agenda of cultural renaissance that the initiator and promoter of the annual event and the Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun; CON, FCA has remained unflinchingly committed to the ideals of the annual event. It would not amount to exaggeration to assert that celebrating the diverse unity of the black race through a global convergence around the essence and pride of the African Drum is a no doubt a fitting contribution to the quest for cultural reintegration. Happily, the festival has not only lived up to its billings but has surpassed expectations in enhancing the prospects of uniting Africans at home and in the Diaspora with their heritage which is rooted in the versatility of the drums as tools of socio-cultural engagements.

No fewer than 14 countries participated in the third edition of the festival which featured over 70 groups across the world including groups from the Caribbean. Cultural artists from 24 states of the 36 states in Nigeria competed for honour at the events with Kwara State emerging first while Enugu state and the host state Ogun emerged in second and third positions respectively. Again, it is imperative to assert that a frontier for promoting and preserving the essentials of African Culture is converging in the annual events of the African Drum Festival. As noted by Ogun State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Rt. Hon. Muyiwa Oladipo, exploration of the relevance of the drums to the African culture was bound to have direct and far-reaching impacts in reawakening consciousness about the values ingrained in African culture and traditions.

One of the highlights of the festival featured drummers from all over Africa who came together on stage to blend the rhythms of the various drums and the artistic display to the admiration of the audience. The coming together of the artistes who were meeting for the first time to produce harmonious sounds with the display of their drums to covey messages and entertainment bore huge testimony to the beauties the drums bequeath to the African culture. –Raheem Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to Ogun State Governor on Public Affairs, wrote from Abeokuta

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 17, 2018

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Akinrinade: Buhari’s June 12 Gesture is Like a Trap for the People A former Chief of Army Staff and member of the defunct National Democratic Coalition, Gen. Alani Akinrinade (rtd.) thinks Nigeria is doomed if the federal government fails to address those issues that threaten the corporate existence of the country.InthisinterviewwithBayoAkinloye,AkinrinadesaysrecognisingJune12andbestowinghonoursonpeoplewillnot solveNigeria’sfundamentalproblems.Tohim,therefore,PresidentMuhammaduBuharimayjustbepayinglipservicetothe lateMKOAbiola’sheroics,becausethepresidentneverlikedhim.Theretiredgeneralalsohavesomebluntwordsforformer PresidentOlusegunObasanjo,whorecentlyaccusedtheBuhariregimeofplottingtoarrestanddetainhim.Excerpts:

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o you think as some prominent Nigerians have claimed that the honouring of some June 12 heroes, particularly Chief MKO Abiola, Babagana Kingibe and Gani Fawehinmi, is about 2019 elections and less about healing the wounds of national injustice?

Well, it is difficult not to believe there may be some political connotations or political advantage – maybe profits – that will likely come out of the proclamation of June 12 as Democracy Day and the bestowing of the GCFR award – the highest honour in the country – on the late Abiola. Be that as it may, considering that the declaration and the awards on some people came in the last moments of this administration’s first term is really a trap for the people.

Therefore, it is very difficult not to have some feeling of suspicion. In any case – you know how politicians act – you must also be suspicious that there must be something beyond what the eyes can see. On the whole, I think it is the problems of the country that agitate the people all the time – the amount of suspicions and misgivings; the unresolved ongoing killings of people. It is in this context that I reach some conclusions and have to really assess what has happened and whether the accolades that are being expressed – all the encomiums that are being poured are true enough. I didn’t have the privilege to listen to the people, who spoke at the national awards ceremony. I thought there must be a little more we could have done to address these issues.

What issues exactly are you talking about?

What did Abiola die for? He died that we should have not just democracy – not just good governance. But he was concerned of the need to settle the minds of Nigerians as a people and allow them to go back to their homes and houses and communities, regions – whatever you want to call it – and to start feeling some sense of camaraderie with everybody else.

But also knowing that their future – that of their children and children’s children – will very much depend more on what they themselves as organised people do for their communities. I think those are the things that we were expecting – that once Abiola got there, we were going to have a completely restructured political system.

Even in our physical organisation for the task that is ahead of us.

A lot has been written about federalism by a number of individuals including Awolowo. So, we knew precisely where we had to go. But today, we are faced with one step forward and three steps backward – going back and forth is not the issue of GCFR and June 12. These are issues we have to sit down, deliberate and do something about.

You don’t think President Muhammadu Buhari should be praised given that former presidents like Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan had the opportunity to do what he did?

I think we should praise the President for having the courage to do what he has done.

But he too should examine himself – (based on) some of the things he had said before. He didn’t like Abiola – he said so in an interview that why should he go ahead and love a man, who financed his ouster. He said so in an interview he granted TELL magazine. All these things are there.

Let’s not deceive ourselves. For me, unless

Akinrinade...Nigeria is heading nowhere yet we restructure this country physically, politically, financially and go back to address our political system and uphold the values of civic responsibilities, we will continue to have rigged elections, violence, corruption, and extreme poverty – and that’s why our leaders hate one another just to get to the top.

They go to any length to get money to finance election campaigns just to get into positions of power. A political system that works that way is not sufficient to address the aspirations of the masses. These are issues that people face; it is not just a matter of building infrastructure, getting jobs for people. We are never going to get anywhere unless we decide one day to sit and rearrange this whole system –nobody is sitting somewhere barking out orders and everybody begins to shiver and catch cold.

People are congratulating Abiola’s family for the honour bestowed on the late politician. What about Kudirat? What about Alfred Rewane?

There are quite a number of people – men and women – who died for this cause. They didn’t die to get GCFR or to get Abiola recognised.

They fought to establish democracy in the land – that’s what they fought for and that’s why they were killed.

Again, the suspicion is there. There are so many red flags. For now, everybody is congratulating one another but when we wake up in the morning we will find out that we are still in the same place.

ment of justice – which people are very certain that if anything goes wrong, the bastion of refuge, which is the judiciary, is doing so well now? No. With all the things reeled out as problems, have even bigger connotation for a country that has no good roads, rail system, electricity supply, etc and wants to develop.

Meanwhile, Nigeria is using a lot of its resources to combat Boko Haram, to go after Shiites, to tackle armed banditry and sundry menace to the society, which are exacerbated by grinding poverty and steep decline in values.

I am not sure that my countrymen are looking at the amount of resources that are being depleted everyday. We don’t make guns. We don’t make ammunition – even gunpowder we don’t make. Even the uniforms that our soldiers use, most of them are imported from abroad; same with armoured vehicles and the rest, are not Nigerian products.

Our economy is bleeding, because we don’t manufacture things. We are going to be poor for a very long time. What does the government do?

They gang up and make us pay more duties on banned vehicles, company taxation and others.

They just want to milk the population and to do what? And do what they call security and what is the security if as consumers we are not producing? There are too many facets to the issues that beset Nigeria to be discussed in an interview. As we are configured today – with our mindset and our values – we are going nowhere.

Lately, there have been reports of threats to life, plans by the federal government to arrest and detain individuals like Obasanjo, Jonathan, Bukola Saraki, Governor Nyesom Wike, and Atiku. What do you think is happening?

Look, I don’t think there is any country that can make any headway without the establish-

But what will you say about ex-President Obasanjo’s claim that his life is in danger?

Look, what makes that something that we should even hear about? He is an ex-head of state; he is entitled to maximum security. So, is it the same people that the government gave him that are going to kill him for something or some other people will waylay them and kill them?

To be sincere, we are in a dysfunctional society. Is that what we should be talking about? Have you ever heard of that? Well, maybe in some African countries.

Have you ever heard about ex-presidents or ex-prime ministers in more responsible countries doubting their own national security? But he sowed this seed. Obasanjo sowed the seed.

He made the bed that he is lying on now. He ruled the country as a military head of state for some three years and eight years as an elected president even though he didn’t want to leave.

He should look back and reflect on what legacy he left behind. I don’t bother about his claim. If the leaders want to kill one another they can go ahead and do so.

They brought us into this dungeon that we are in. If they want to kill one another, I don’t think they should worry us about that. Is it today they have been killing one another? He can complain now: his own attorney general (Bola Ige) was killed in his house, not on the street, and then we could not find out what happened. It was under his watch that people went from prison to the Senate. I think we are wasting our time.

Let us face the real problems on the ground.

If those at the top want to kill one another, we should welcome them to do it – good luck! We already have a bad name anyway. So, nobody is going to be worried. It’s not a joke. We are like a banana republic. So, what? Did you see all of them sitting and making speeches? Most of the people at awards ceremony were not for that election (June 12, 1993 presidential poll).

The President gave (Babagana) Kingibe an award; an award for what? I am not too sure that if Gani (Fawehinmi) was alive he would accept the award – unless, of course, there are conditions to it that we are going to go for full-scale restructuring of our political system. A restructuring that will put an end to corruption, looting of the treachery and wanton killings can never be addressed by this government.

Does it bother you that individuals like Prof. Wole Soyinka and Bola Tinubu, who fought for the restoration of democracy in the country, were part of the award ceremony?

I didn’t listen to what Prof. Soyinka said while he was on the rostrum. But I suspect that if they had gone there they might have done so as a mark of respect for their president and as a mark of respect for Abiola and other heroes of June 12 and they then insisted that what really caused all the matters they have not looked into. The only honour that we can do to Abiola and all those who died during that struggle is to go full-scale and restructure this country – restructure our political relationships until then, we can’t have good governance.

I don’t like the idea of chasing thieves after they have bolted away with the loot. If they had gone to the occasion to canvass for a restructuring of the system and constitution and made sure that the matter was brought to the fore right there, I could have been happy. Well, I am not sure that I heard that. All I heard was that everybody wants Buhari to return in 2019.

I really don’t care who governs this country as long the country is restructured based on federalism allowing each state to grow and taking good care of its people – then, I don’t care if Buhari wants to sleep there (Aso Villa), elected for 12 or 15 years. I don’t know why people have to declare loyalty just like that – he has not finished one term.

(See the concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

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THE COVER

Issues That May Shape 2019 Presidential Election

2019

With the first round of the 2019 elections some eight months away, it suffices to admit that the season is finally here. It also goes without saying that all the trappings to justify an election season are evidently at play. At least, the sitting President, Muhammadu Buhari, has declared interest in a re-election. He is running again on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Some aspirants in other political parties are already in a game of wits. And of course, theIndependentNational Electoral Commission (INEC)hasbeen firing fromallcylinders, churning outdistinct messages of its readiness for the task at hand, albeit not without a few reservations. Even more intriguing is the fact that a majority of the defining elements of the 2019 elections tend to resemble those that shaped and ultimately led the 2015 polls to a safe harbour. Like every election that is wont to assume its own life, the 2015 Presidential poll waltzed gallantly on the tripod of security, corruption and economy. The narratives that stemmed from this triumvirate and as skillfully tweaked by the opposing parties, largely shaped the mindset of the average voter and ultimately sculpted the outcome of the poll. Then candidate Buhari of the APC was the opposition party, whilst then PresidentGoodluckJonathanwascheekilyboxedonthedefensive.Thatelection,asitturnedout,ishistory.Yet,another Presidential election is knocking hard on the doors of every active player. But, curiously, the issues are different. This too is constructively aiming to assume a life of its own and how far the issues would come together to navigate the process through to a credible, fair and free exercise is yet to be seen. Olawale Olaleye and Tobi Soniyi attempt a dissection of some of the issues that may set the tone for the 2019 Presidential election in this report

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he frenzy that ushered in the 2015 Presidential elections was in a class of its own. For the first time in the political trajectory of the country, the seat of an incumbent president wasn’t just threatened with the odds against him; he eventually caved in to the menacing threats of the opposition in an election that left him more a hero of the nation’s democracy than a

vanquished.

The build-up to the election was cleverly controlled by the opposition, which narrowed the issues to three major challenges at the time. The issues were security, economy and corruption, the last being Buhari’s actual selling point given his much touted integrity. But as it appears now, integrity has little or no place in the electoral artery of 2019. Thus, to guide the 2019 election, the issues seeking attention are capacity, unity of the country, security and corruption.

Before breaking down the relevance and the importance of these issues to next year’s poll, an understanding of how the triumvirate of security, economy and corruption delivered the 2015 election is crucial. This is not just to understand why the issues were singled out, but also how they made it happen amid the plethora of challenges the country had faced prelude to the exercise. It is only after these are situated in apt context that the quadruplet of capacity, unity, security and corruption waiting to navigate the 2019 election would sit well with discerning minds.

First is the issue of security. Capitalising on the poor handling of the security of the nation by the Jonathan-led administration, the APC and Buhari made security an issue in 2015 and Nigerians could not agree more.

Even the 2015 general election had to be postponed due to security concerns. Boko Haram terrorists had taken over a chunk of the landmass in the North-east. The kidnapped Chibok Secondary School girls in Borno State remained in captivity. This development did not help the former president’s case. So, it was a total mess for him, standing no chances whatsoever.

This scenario cast President Jonathan as a lame-duck and one too weak to make the country a secure place to live in. This then combined to give rise to the emergence of the acronym – ABJ – Anybody But Jonathan.

Another issue that weighed heavily in the minds of voters in 2015 was corruption. Everyone agreed that the country’s development was being hampered by corruption. Buhari was presented as a clean politician, who would be tough on corruption whereas Jonathan was pictured as a leader, who was very soft with the corrupt and who also condoned corrupt acts. His assertion that stealing was not corruption didn’t help his candidacy at all as the opposition unleashed terror.

Although the economy was not doing badly under Jonathan, Buhari and his co-travellers in the APC promised to make it a lot better. Under Buhari, the US dollar would be equivalent to one naira. Fuel price would come down. Fuel subsidy, they claimed, was a scam. There would be no queue

Buhari....what is possibly on his mind?

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SUNDAYCOVER

Issues That May Shape 2

President Muhammadu Buhari, his Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari and a national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu for fuel. Buhari, they said, was coming to revive the economy.

Under Buhari, it would be eldorado. Who would not want a better economy? The promises made by team Buhari on the economy were too good to be ignored. Many bought into Buharinomics but as it turned out, it was a scam more or less.

Now, traveling the 2019 road, the issues are naturally different. They have increased in number and changed significantly from what they were as an aftermath of the handling of the nation’s fault lines by the current administration.

Tackling the Fault Lines In the days of former President Jonathan, opinions were almost unanimous that he was one leader unable to make hard choices. This attitudinal deficiency became pronounced in the twilight of his reign and so, in itself, created the debate that would later ensue. It soon became the assumptions of all Nigerians and unanimously so.

From the South to the East, West and North, Nigerians came together to battle a president, who assumed office with staggering goodwill and within the first eight months, lost it all. But the unity of the country was not threatened despite the security challenges. What was absent was an effective leadership and on the basis of that, the three narratives of corruption, security and economy sold with Jonathan expressly dismissed as incapable of giving the much desired change.

However, three years after Buhari assumed leadership, never before has the unity of the country been this threatened.

Unfortunately, the president is by disposition unable to pretend about his confounding nepotism, which was hugely reflected in his choice appointments, safe for those constitutionally compelled to reflect national spread. Even in matters directly affecting ethnic groups that the president is believed to have strong affinity with, he genuinely exhibits his biases, either in his judgment or the handing of the issues thereof.

Here, the case of the herdsmen attacks readily comes to mind.

It is for this reason that the 2019 Presidential election would take into account, the factor of the unity of Nigeria, which is not only key but not negotiable. The next elections would dwell heavily on the unity of the country and whoever is challenging Buhari would have to identify this as an issue and be able to sell it convincingly to the awe of the voting public. A Nigeria without the unity of the different ethnic nationalities is a façade. But the country under Buhari is believed to be inching towards that station. It is for this reason that the 2019 elections would take this factor into account as candidate after candidate must be able to say what they would do to hold the country’s unity together.

Capacity and Style of Leadership In the build-up to the 2015 election, one of the issues raised against Buhari was the fact that he was not a hands-on leader and the opposition at the time gave instances to back its position. Unfortunately, it was lost in the “Jonathan Must Go” jeering and therefore, not much attention was paid to it. But then, the points raised against the President in this area includes the fact that as a former head of state, his late deputy, Tunde Idiagbon was the one effectively in charge of

L-R: Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi {backing the camera}; Minister for Power, Works & Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola; former Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; former Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole (also backing the camera) and another APC member at a recent caucus meeting of the party the running of the country while he looked away but took the glory.

As chairman of the defunct Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), the allegation was that he outsourced the running of the place to consultants, mostly relatives hence the staggering allegations of corruption that later reared its head even to his own chagrin too. Only recently, former President Olusegun Obasanjo spoke about the corruption that reigned supreme under Buahri as PTF boss and rued not probing him as head of state.

Since he assumed leadership over three years ago, a lot has happened under Buahri that he has no clue about.

Under him, he gives an order and his appointees do something else and nobody gets punished. His inability to deliver leadership is helplessly evident. He appears totally averse to the principle of reward and sanction in the evolution of a decent society.

Also, his inability to deliver leadership is largely believed to be responsible for the torture the economy went through in the first two years that he assumed power, leading the country into the worst recession ever in history. He hardly understands what the issues are and definitely unable to sell them.

Three years later, if there is any reason many regretted

voting Buhari, it is the economy. If also there is any reason that is likely to make him lose the 2019 presidential election, it is his poor handling of the economy. From South to North and West to East, Nigerians are unanimous in their assessment of Buhari’s economic policy – a colossal failure they are wont to agree.

Statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that unemployment remains on the increase. According to the Bureau, 18.80 per cent were unemployed in the third quarter of 2017 compared to 9:30 per cent in the third quarter of 2015. The level of poverty has worsened. Naira once hit 500 against the US dollar. Fuel price was increased.

No one knows the exact figure of the subsidy on petroleum products, now steeped in official corruption under the guise of cost recovery.

Thus, for the 2019 elections to effectively assume shape, capacity is an issue that none of the intending candidates can run away from.

Unyielding Insecurity Another issue that provided a good push for the Buhari presidency is insecurity, which has refused to abate. The era leading to the 2015 elections had witnessed the ‘inglorious reign’ of the Boko Haram terrorist, which clearly, Jonathan

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SUNDAYCOVER

2019 Presidential Election

R-L:Senate President Bukola Saraki; Speaker House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; Minister for Power, Works & Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo having a discussion at a recent outing was unable to tame. In fact, the story was that the terrorists were being sponsored to diminish the chances of the former president.

The then opposition cashed in on this and promised a safer Nigeria through a better manager in the person of Buhari.

His resume was fraught with his record as a gallant military officer and how he proved his capacity to contain threats to national security at one time or the other.

Unfortunately, whilst the government had actually tried to address this challenge, it dwelt more on propaganda. Thus, each time the lid is blown off its many lies, government is always left helplessly disappointing. And unlike the Jonathan era, which battled majorly the Boko Haram menace, Buhari has in addition to that, the menace of the herdsmen, who have killed more people than the Boko Haram has done lately.

There is also the perception that the president is slow in addressing the herdsmen challenge, because they are mostly Fulani, his kinsmen. This has further eroded the confidence in him, even though he had issued orders to clamp down on the criminal herdsmen, those responsible never really acted, which is typical.

Corruption Still an Issue Corruption is an all-time enemy of the country and it is a no-brainer. It is one scourge that has stood in the way of her progress from time immemorial. It is therefore an easy sell each election year, depending on how well the contending parties can sell it. But corruption under former president Jonathan was staggering in spite of his avowed efforts to tame it. But because capacity was equally lacking, he failed to achieve the threshold and so, the opposition exploited his obvious shortcomings and made corruption an issue.

However, when he took over as president, Buhari introduced measures to block leakages. He implemented Treasury Single Account, which the Peoples Democratic Party could not implement and flushed out ghost workers. Under his watch, huge sums of money had been recovered while prosecution of those indicted are in progress. The whistleblower policy has also helped with recovery of stolen funds.

But, has Buhari done well in the fight against corruption?

The jury is still out there. The president protects his associates and friends while chasing members of the opposition. Many have therefore come to the conclusion that the president isn’t as clean as people were made to believe, because he can’t lay claims to personal integrity while the government relishes in sheer corruption, with eyes fixed only on real or perceived enemies.

nPDP as an Existential Threat Only the discerning can appreciate the threat posed by the former members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the APC. There have been series of meetings lately between the NPDP members and the leadership of the APC cum the federal government following allegations that the nPDP members were being poorly treated in the system. But after

meeting with the APC leadership and the Vice-President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo at separate meetings, the nPDP pulled out from further discussions after one of them, Senate President Bukola Saraki was indiscreetly linked to a recent robbery in Offa, Kwara State by the police leadership and it has since been unduly quiet.

Expectedly, however, there have been growing concerns in the APC on the implications of ill-treating members of the nPDP by those who know and understand it. This is because according to the concerned APC members, a similar development like this unsettled the PDP ahead of the 2015 elections and paved the way for the APC victory.

For example, APC sources noted with tepid reservation, the fact that in spite of Buhari’s popularity and the staggering unity in the party in the countdown to 2015, he was only able to defeat former President Goodluck Jonathan with some miserable two million votes. This fear, they reckoned, was further compounded by the fact that the nPDP members are effectively in control of their respective states, which are Sokoto, Kebbi, Kano, Bauchi, Kaduna, Adamawa, Benue, Kwara, Kogi and Gombe – 10 states in total.

They are therefore worried that the APC leadership had so far approached the development the same way Jonathan did before he realised too late, concluding that an unpleasant history might be on the verge of repeating itself in the countdown to the 2019 polls.

The raging question, concerned APC members contend, is that how does the party or president make up for the two million votes, with a waning popularity and dwindling fortune of the party, citing that such states as Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa and Taraba might have been completely out of the APC kitty as a reality that currently stares the party in the face.

In addition, they hold the view that the North West is presently shaky for the APC as states like Kano, Kaduna and Zamfara are in serious crises, not leaving out the fact that the South-east and South-south are naturally unfriendly to the party.

It is for this reasons and more that concerned members hold the view that the APC leadership and government must reopen their discussions with the nPDP, because according to them, whilst in the time of Jonathan, only the Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal was in the opposition; today, both the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara are not happy with the party leadership and government.

Even more disturbing, APC sources say, is the fact that unlike Buhari’s rating at inception in 2015, his popularity has not only dropped, performance has remained a serious subject of debate, noting that he urgently needs to engage them and address their concerns in the interest of what is at stake.

APC sources maintained that they were not oblivious of the fact that even if the party relied on the weight of incumbency, a party or candidate can only manipulate the

electoral process, where he or she is popular since every politics is local, more so that the international community is not only watching but interested in what goes on in the country before, during and after the polls.

Looking ahead 2019 There is no gainsaying that Buhari assumed office in 2015, partly on the strength of Jonathan’s failure to address the security challenges in the country at the time, tackle the failures of the economy and tame the menacing corruption.

As a former military officer with records of having confronted near-similar challenges, Buhari’s team had the grounds to sell him on the basis of such records.

Unfortunately, it has turned out that the president is not as proficient as he was made to look in the lead up to the 2015 elections. Under his watch, the Boko Haram group has continued to grandstand, seizing as many towns and villages in the North-east region. Like they did to the Chibok girls, they also kidnapped some 110 schoolgirls in Dapchi, a town in Yobe State.

The economy went into straight recession in Buhari’s first year of assuming office, while corruption fight has been palpably selective. Although the country is said to have exited what has been variously described as the worst recession in recent history, an average person is still unable to interpret that in terms of naira and kobo or his purchasing power.

It is true that almost all the kidnapped Dapchi schoolsgirls have been released, including some of those of Chibok through negotiation and or swap deals, it also shows Buhari too does not have the magic in addressing the nation’s security challenge. To think that months after the negotiated release of the Dapchi girls, the only Christian amongst them, Leah Sharibu, is still with her abductors typifies the crass failure of the government.

Also, under Buhari, the herdsmen have gone berserk, killing as many as they choose to as well as sacking an entire community. Attempt to downplay this development through government’s many propaganda has not yielded as much. It is therefore certain that security would take the front row in the 2019 campaigns, with emphasis on capacity and a good understanding of the economy in an emerging market like Nigeria’s and other affiliate issues of development.

Importantly, no presidential candidate will henceforth avoid debate on what he or she intends to do this time and so, these issues would naturally form the fulcrum of such debates.

Whilst the sitting president would be expected to run on his record, those challenging him would have to point out what they considered his obvious failure and also explain what they would do better and how, with clinical details.

It is therefore a no-brainer that the election of 2019 is not a walkover for President Buhari, let alone anyone. It will be issuebased and how well the intending candidates articulate their points as well as convince the electorate would go a very long way in shaping the voting dimension. Even more instructive is the fact that the issues have changed and those changes, however insignificant, are the ultimate drivers of the elections.

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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 ˾ JUNE 17, 2018

GAVEL TO GAVEL

Edited by Olawale Olaleye Email wale.olaleye@thisdaylive.com

Joint sitting of the National Assembly

As Elections Draw Near, N’Assembly Celebrates its Achievements With its string of achievements reeled off recently, the eighth National Assembly has a reason to celebrate its third year in office, write Deji Elumoye and James Emejo

I

n many ways, the eighth senate has a lot to be thankful for and of course, roll out the drums. In spite of its stormy beginning that was steeped in internal power play, and which later snowballed into executive/legislative rivalry, the legislature still went ahead to stamp its feet in the sand of time with many positives recorded against its name.

From its primary duties of lawmaking to oversight functions and its many interventions in both the politics and business of governance, this particular parliament has stood itself out very significantly.

No doubt, the journey had been tortuous and quite exhaustive in many ways especially, in view of the politics and leadership crisis which rocked the legislature in the election of its leaders and selection of its principal officers.

Arguably, one of the most disturbing occurrences, which almost put a clog in the wheels of progress for the legislature, was its recurring altercations with the executive arm of government over allegations bordering on contempt of parliament, breach of the constitution in various instances to mention a few, and even lately, contention with the judiciary over alleged undue interference in the activities of the legislature.

At different times, the parliament, through its relevant committees had in the performance of its oversight functions, invited heads of government agencies over their operations; and oftentimes, since the beginning of the current National Assembly, key government officials had declined to appear before the lawmakers, a development which the lawmakers in turn blamed President Muhammadu Buhari for not being able to call his men to order in spite of the outcry by the parliament.

Also, the December 2017 Budget presentation to the joint session of the National Assembly was almost dented by protest from a section of

aggrieved lawmakers in the lower chamber, who had expressed their displeasure over the non-release of the N100 billion constituency projects by the executive.

It took the intervention, both of the Senate President Bukola Saraki and the Speaker, Hon. Yakubu Dogara to save the day as well as save the president such a huge embarrassment from a parliament dominated by members of the ruling party.

The experience and maturity of the National Assembly leadership had often rescued the situation in several instances of legislative deadlock during and outside plenary.

Arecent call for the impeachment of Buhari by some lawmakers over unauthorised expenditure in the purchase of military hardware from the United States government without initial recourse to the National Assembly confirmed the extent of the turbulence the 8th parliament has endured.

Another sticky point in the executive/legislative confrontation was the lack of transparency or total denial by government over payment of fuel subsidy to oil marketers without appropriation, even though there’s evidence to that effect.

Nonetheless, there have been some laudable accomplishments to cheer about – going by the agenda the parliament set out to fulfill. Thus, a focus on the two chambers and their respective feats would help lend credence to this.

The Senate The 8th Senate was inaugurated on June 9, 2015 with a lot of intrigues associated with the election of principal officers of the upper legislative arm of the National Assembly. At the end of the day, former two-time governor of Kwara State and a ranking Senator emerged the President of the Senate as against Senator Ahmad Lawan, the current Senate Majority Leader, who was believed to be the preferred

candidate of the Presidency.

Since its inauguration over three years ago, the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly had cause to stand up to the Presidency on many occasions. This could be attributed to the no love lost between the legislature as represented by Saraki’s Senate and the Presidency as represented

by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Even at this, the Senate forged on and ensured that it lived up to its constitutional expectations.

So, it was not out of place, when on the third anniversary of the 8th Senate on June 9, 2018, the Senate President, who is also the Chairman of the National Assembly, Saraki reeled out the achievements recorded by Senate under his leadership in three years.

In expression of happiness, Saraki, in a statement said the Senate was able to unravel high level corruption in government. He also said the 8th Senate passed 213 Bills and cleared 138 petitions brought before it by the public within three years.

“We exposed high level corruption in the management of the North East Relief Efforts and passed the North East Commission Bill, which has now been signed into law. In three short but eventful years, we have worked assiduously and diligently to meet the demands of Nigerians and a changing economy that experienced a recession just a year after we assumed office.”

According to him, “We have passed 213 Bills, cleared 138 petitions submitted by the public.

We are happy to say that this Senate is the most productive since 1999. It has surpassed the 5th Senate, which with 129 bills in four years had the highest number of bills, as against the 6th Senate with 72 bills, and 128 passed by the 7th Senate.

The number of petitions we have successfully treated to the satisfaction of Nigerians, who filed them, dwarfed the eight and six treated by the sixth and seventh Senate respectively.

Saraki further posited that the Senate had

worked to grow the nation’s economy by passing Bills like the Companies and Allied Matters Act, the Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Act, the Credit Bureau Reporting Act and the Warehouse Receipts Bill, Nigerian Railways Authority Bill and National Transportation Commission Bill, “which are aimed at providing significant reforms to our business environment and strengthening our lending legislative frameworks to allow SMEs to access capital.

“We are particularly glad that the impact of the Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Act and the Credit Bureau Reporting Act became apparent immediately after they were signed into law as they form the basis for which the World Bank upgraded the rating of Nigeria in its Annual Ease of Doing Business rating.

We expect that when the new CAMA, which we just passed, becomes law it will yield even more significant results in helping small and medium scale entrepreneurs to access capital, grow and multiply.

“We have also passed Bills like the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit Bill, the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Bill, the Witness Protection Bill, the Whistleblower Protection Bill and the Federal Audit Service Commission Bill to support the fight against corruption. It should be noted that the National Assembly quickly rose to the occasion to prevent the expulsion of Nigeria from the Global community on the exchange of financial intelligence by expediting the passage of the NFIU bill.

“With the support of the Nigerian public, we were able to break the PIB jinx, by passing the Governance Component of the Petroleum Industry Bill, and now, we have successfully conducted the Public Hearing on theAdministrative, Fiscal and Host Community Components of this Bill — taking it to its farthest stage since 1999. see concluding part on www.thidaylive.com

T H I S D AY ˾ SUNDAY JUNE 17, 2018

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

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NEWSXTRA Rivers LG Polls: Wike Fails to Vote, Mpigi Shuns APC Directive, Votes t Low turnout indicate governor’s rejection, says Peterside Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt

Rivers State went to the polls yesterday to elect officials at the third tier of government amid conflicting claims about the success of the election by

the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in the state and the main opposition All Progressives Congress. While PDP praised the election, which went on peacefully in the 23 local government areas of the state,

as a success, APC dismissed the poll as a failure and an indication of Governor Nyesom Wike’s rejection by the people.

Wike was, however, absent at Unit 7, Ward 9, Rumueprikom, in Obio/Akpor Local

Government Area, where he was registered to vote. He drove past his polling unit about 12:30pm, and about two hours later, news came that the governor had returned to Government House, Port

SISTERS’ FORUM

L-R: Pastor Elizabeth Olurinto; Pastor Olabisi Akinlabi; wife of RCCG National Overseer, Pastor Victoria Obayemi; and Pastor Funke Ajiboye, during the All Sisters Convention of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Lagos Province 17 held at the Province Headquarters, New Oko-Oba, Lagos...yesterday

Harcourt, and would not come to the polling Unit.

But the lawmaker representing Tai/Eleme/Oyigbo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives on the APC platform, Dr. Barry Mpigi, shunned the directive of his party and voted in the council election.

The election organised by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission was generally devoid of untoward occurrences in most of the units visited by THISDAY. However, Deputy Leader of APC in Rivers State, Dr Dakuku Peterside, alleged a low turnout of voters at the controversial local government election, saying it is an indication that the people have rejected Wike and are only waiting for 2019 to vote him out. Peterside stated this in a statement yesterday by his media team. He said several members of PDP had called him to express their frustration with the governor’s manipulative inclinations during the poll, including substitution of candidates’ names at RSIEC. PDP was the only major party that participated in yesterday’s local government election, as the exercise was marred by massive voter apathy and boycotts.

Dakuku Peterside Media Team stated, “Nyesom Wike’s

one party ‘election’ witnessed the lowest turnout of voters in the annals of Rivers State elections, just as a heavy downpour disrupted the selection across the wide spectrum of the state.�

When contacted, Special Assistant to the Governor on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, said the governor could not vote because he was monitoring the election to ensure that people had free access to exercise their franchise.

Nwakaudu stated, “Inasmuch as the governor would have wished to vote, he was more interested that people had free access to polling units to exercise their franchise and that there was enough security to protect the people. The governor was more interested in the peaceful and credible conduct of the elections than anything else.�

Meanwhile, Wike commended RSIEC and the security agencies for conducting a credible local government election and ensuring a peaceful atmosphere for the exercise. Addressing journalists after monitoring the elections in Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor local government areas, the governor said the non-participation of the APC in the elections turned out to be one of the reasons why the process was peaceful.

NMA to Monitor GAVI’s $1.03bn Healthcare Funds to Nigeria t To also beam searchlight on 1% consolidated health fund Paul Obi in Abuja

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) yesterday said it would monitor the expenditure and implementation of GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance’s $1.03 billion to Nigeria to cater for healthcare service delivery, particularly, the primary health sector.

GAVI (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations)

recently announced new funding of about $1.03 billion to boost primary healthcare and immunisation in the country.

The announcement came after GAVI withdrew from funding projects in Nigeria following issues of diversion of funds, lack of accountability and transparency.

But speaking to THISDAY, NMA President, Dr. Francis

Faduyile explained that to ensure transparency in the implementation of the funds, the association will discreetly monitor the expenditure of the funds.

He said: “The first thing is, we have to congratulate ourselves as GAVI has decided to come back, and that’s because of our inability to be transparent with the expenditure. “GAVI had to withdraw

but we are confident with one of our members, who is the Executive Director of National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), who has shown a lot of transparency. “And we are in talks, and working with them and we are going to follow up actively with our members in place and have a committee that will have to work with

the intended tactical committee. “Also, the NPHCDA, so we can follow up the activities and monitor and evaluate what things are done regarding the primary health care centres,� Faduyile stated.

According to the NMA President, the association will also beam its searchlight on how the federal government and Federal Ministry of

Health spend the 1% consolidated healthcare fund recently passed by the National Assembly in the 2018 budget.

Faduyile stressed that “certainly, we will continue to monitor the one per cent that has been approved for the National Health Act. We have to work with the ministry of health to see that the money is directed to where it is expected to be spent.

Two Killed as Gunmen Storm Zaki-Biam

W’Cup: Residents Hail Lagos Six 2019: Don’t Incite Supporters, Emir of Kano Cautions Politicians Viewing Centres, Insurance Cover

George Okoh in Makurdi

Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano

Unknown gunmen yesterday beseiged Wankya settlement of Zaki-Biam town in Ukum; killing two persons and abducting another.

According to a source who spoke under anonymity, the killers stormed the area at about 11.30 pm with guns, forced the doors of the victims open and took them away at gun-point.

The anonymous informants gave the names of those killed as Saater Wantu, younger brother to the Benue state correspondent of The Guardian Newspaper, Lagos, and Denen, a recharge card dealer in the settlement, while the third person, Terseer Wantu escaped unhurt from the hands of the assailants.

Narrating the ordeal, the escapee, Wantu said himself and his brother, the deceased, had

already gone to bed without premonition of any heinous attack on them, just for them to witness a forceful inversion of their home by the bandit who took them away to unknown destination on gun point.

He said the assailants took three of them away through a bush path and asked him (Terseer Wantu) to lay face down and move away with the other two who were eventually killed. “After a while, they asked me to flee away by midnight but move further and I could not find my direction to go home, so, I slept in the bush till day break before I managed my way home in the morning,� he narrated.

He added that the matter has since been reported to the divisional police office and useful statement made to them regarding the attack.

The Emir of Kano, Mallam Muhammadu Sanusi II, has cautioned political gladiators against inordinate interests capable of igniting ember of violence before and during the 2019 general elections.

Sanusi, who expressed worry over the political agitation and unrest across party lines, warned those fanning embers of disunity in the country in the name of politics.

TheEmir,whospokeweekend while receiving the presidential aspirantofYoungProgressivesParty (YPP) Prof. Kingsley Moghalu at his palace, insisted that Nigeria was bigger than the selfish interest of any politician.

The former governor of Central Bank (CBN) also challenged the aspiring political leaders to lead by example.

While extolling the leader-

ship quality of Moghalu when he served as deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Sanusi said the aspirant possesses the prowess to build the economic prosperity of the country.

The monarch applauded the entrepreneurship gesture of the aspirant, which provided skill opportunities to 1,000 women in Kano. “I have the privilege of working with five brilliant associates as deputy governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria when I was the governor and I can testify that all of them are credible and displayed the credibility to handle the political leadership of this country. One of them is Professor Kingsley. “I will rather urge all of them that worked with me, including Professor Kingsley to inject their intellectual experience to grow the nation’s economy�, Sanusi emphasised.

Residents of Lagos State yesterday commended the State Government’s decision to set up six viewing centres across the State to enable them watch the ongoing World Cup matches in Russia.

The State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, had last month promised to set up viewing centres in key locations that would afford residents opportunity to watch all the 64 World Cup matches live in a serene and secured environment.

The six centres currently up and running include Campos Mini Stadium Lagos Island; Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere; Abesan Estate in Alimosho; Naval Yard, Ajegunle; Bishop Aggrey School Mushin and Epe Recreation Centre in Epe. Some residents who spoke on the development alluded to the factthatthepresentadministration of Ambode was living up to its

billing as an inclusive government that touches all sectors.

At the Campos Mini Stadium, residents who shortly after the thrilling Group B match between Portugal and Spain described the initiative as laudable and novel, adding that due to unstable electricity in some parts of Lagos Island, the Centre gave them the opportunity to watch the games.

For some other spectators at the Centre, it afforded them the opportunity of watching the World Cup matches in a relaxed mood with stable electricity.

Speaking on some of the benefits of the viewing centres, Chairman of the Lagos State Sports Commission, Mr. Kweku Tandoh said because football is a unifying activity that brings the people together, football lovers therefore see the government as one that touches other sectors such as sports.

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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 ˾ JUNE 17, 2018

NEWSXTRA More PDP Members Join Fayemi’s Campaign Trail Tobi Soniyi in Lagos A member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Olamide Oni of the Peoples’ Democratic Party yesterday defected to the All Progressives Congress even as he expressed support for the governorship ambition of Dr. Kayode Fayemi of the APC. Oni, who represents Ijero/ Ekiti West/Efon Federal Constituency defected to the APC alongside his personal assistant,

Mr. Banjo Filani.

A statement by the Director of Media and Publicity,Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation, Mr. Wole Olujobi said many other members of the PDP also defected to APC and joined Fayemi’s campaign train last Saturday.

Among them are, Mr. Afolabi Olasope, a lawyer and former First Bank Secretary in Nigeria and Overseas, who also won Ekiti Central Constituency seat

in the House of Representatives under UNCP, Aanu Oni, a former PDP appointee.

Others included immediate past State Women Leader of PDP, Busola Oni; Dele Jeje, who is father of Efon Local Government Chairman, Bobby Jeje; and Local Government Woman Leader, Olomi Adeniyi.

The defectors cited selfishness of PDP leaders and anti-people policies of Fayose’s administration.

Oni said: “PDP leaders are always fighting for personal benefits while the masses suffer and an example is the administration of Fayose in Ekiti. State.

“I was always insisting that they should make the general well-being of the people their watchword, but they consistently argued that they are in politics for personal benefit.

After discovering that this is the tradition in PDP, I had to leave for a party that wants to

HONOURING MOMOH

L-R: Dean, School of Postgraduate Studies, Nile University, Abuja; Prof. Nuhu Yaqub, former Nigerian Information Minister, Prince Tony Momoh; Messrs Paul Ejime and Raouf Salami, both of the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC), at the 1st Memorial Lecture in honour of late Prof Abubakar Momoh, ex-DG Nigeria’s Electoral Institute held in Abuja...recently

work for the benefit of all as we have seen in all development projects by APC administration of Fayemi.”

Also yesterday, Ondo State governor, Rotimi Akeredolu joined Fayemi as the APC governorship candidate continued his campaign across the state.

Fayemi travelled through the maze of hills of Efon and Ekiti South-west local governments in campaign engagements and addressed rallies in EfonAlaaye, Iwaji, Ipole-Iloro, Ikogosi, Erijiyan, Igbara-Odo, Ilawe and also parts of Irepodun/ Ifelodun, including Iyin-Ekiti and Igede-Ekiti, where he assured supporters that he would restore their hopes after four years of neglect.

Akeredolu joined the rally at Ilawe-Ekiti where huge crowds converged to express their support for Fayemi, who many speakers urged to rescue them from poverty allegedly unleashed on them by Fayose’s administration.

The APC candidate promised to continue all his social service programmes, including social security stipends for the elderly people, volunteer scheme, entrepreneurship scheme, rural development, road construction and health services while workers and teachers will enjoy regular pay and promotions.

Fayemi expressed regret that not a single project was added to all the projects he executed in the communities visited and promised to complete all aban-

doned projects for the benefit of the people, adding that all his development and empowerment schemes would continue.

In particular, he promised to complete work on radio booster station in Efon while the abandoned water project will also be completed.

He promised good times for pensioners, assuring that retired people will receive their entitlements regularly.

He debunked insinuations by the opposition that he would ban okada operations and sack teachers and local government workers if he wins the election.

“I am sure that by now Ekiti people would have had enough of Fayose’s lies. He has been going round to deceive Ekiti people that I will sack workers to dissuade them from voting for APC so that he can continue to inflict more pains on the people while he enjoys himself in government.

“I will never ban okada or sack teachers and local government workers because I am not a promoter of sufferings.

“I made salary payment my priority, including payment of teachers’ rural posting and core subjects allowances. We shall continue to fulfil this obligation, including looking for new ways to promote the welfare of all categories of workers,” he said.

At Ikogosi where scores of PDP chieftain defected to APC, residents lamented the closure of Ikogosi Resort and Gossy Water that resulted in job losses.

Consolidate Implementation of Criminal Justice Act, Judiciary, Appellate Courts Urged Abimbola Akosile The Judiciary and Appellate Courts in Nigeria have been enjoined to be consistent, firm and to consolidate the implementation of the new administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.

To the advocates, this the courts can do by shunning

every form of inducements and manipulations to delay the process and deliver decisive and fair judgments on all corruption cases in the country.

The advice was given by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), a nonprofit organisation in a release issued in Abuja recently by its

Buhari Should Recognise Umar, Other ‘June 12 Soldiers’, Says Col. Oloruntoba Bayo Akinloye Col. Olusegun Oloruntoba (rtd), one of the military officers arrested, jailed and tortured by the late Gen. Sani Abacha regime for the 1995 phantom coup, has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to expedite action on the approved compensations for the soldiers.

Oloruntoba, who expressed joy at the federal government’s recognition of June 12 heroes, said: “President Buhari knows full well what it takes for one to be unjustly treated. Amongst past presidents only the late President Umaru Yar’Adua and Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar cared about June 12 and its victims.

“President Yar’Adua approved far-reaching compensations for

victims but died while preparing to implement the compensations and the compensations remain unimplemented to date. It will also interest you to note that our brother and very senior military colleague, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, who was detained with us by Gen. Sani Abacha made no attempt to recognise June 12, Chief MKO Abiola and other accused military officers.”

Though he expressed disappointment that names of the ex-military men were not among those honoured recently by Buhari, he stated: President Buhari has been a victim of injustice in the past, I’m confident that he will include somebody like Col. Dangiwa Umar and all victims of the 1995 and 1997 phantom coups in his next list of honour and compensations.

Executive Director, Mr. Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani).

The organisation, in its release, commended the judiciary for the judgment against the ex-governor of Plateau State, Senator Joshua Dariye, who was handed down a 14-year sentence on Tuesday June 12, for misappropriation of funds

during his tenure as governor after a trial which lasted 11 years.

According to Rafsanjani, “This judgment, coming shortly after the 14-year sentence of exgovernor of Taraba State, Jolly Nyame, on corruption charges in May this year without an option of fine, is a step towards

Lagos 2019: Group Mobilises 1m Votes for Ambode Omolabake Fasogbon As the 2019 general elections draw closer, a group, Epe Division Indigenes has endorsed Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for another four-year term in Lagos State.

This is coming as the group, which is representing all Epe indigenes expressed satisfaction on the performance of the Governor in the past four years, hence urged him to re-contest to perfect the good works that he has started.

Speaking at a ‘One Million Man March’ organised for the Governor yesterday in Epe, Lagos state, the convener of Epe Division Indigenes, Princess Bolanle Kazeem noted that Epe indigenes are proud of Ambode, being the son of the land and

are optimistic that he would drive Lagos to be a cynosure of the international communities.

“We are here today to celebrate Ambode because he deserves the honour. He has taken the footsteps of his predecessors who have ruled Lagos from Epe land.

We are glad he has not disappointed the Epe descendants and Lagosians as a whole.”

Kazeem, who harped on the developments that have lifted lives in the community most especially in the area of infrastructure, health, new investments, tourism and safety amongst others noted that Epe division has attracted quite a number of new immigrants as a result of the developments caused by the governor.

restoring the confidence of the citizens in the fight against corruption, although long overdue.

“We note that, until recently, despite numerous allegations and court proceedings levelled against Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), it is worrisome that many of them move in and out of the country without

consequences regarding the allegations of embezzlement and misuse of funds levelled against them. It is embarrassing to Nigerians and the nation as a whole that many of these PEPs, who still contest elections in some states, have not been handed down a decisive sentence.

FG Empowers 4,000 GEEP MarketMoni Beneficiaries in Edo State Edo State has now recorded over 4,000 beneficiaries of the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP).

This was revealed at the State’s edition of Micro, Small and Medium-Scale Enterprise (MSME) Clinic held in Benin recently.

GEEP is one of the National Social Intervention Programmes (NSIP) of the current administration, providing interest-loans of between N10,000 and N100,000 to market women, farmers, artisans and enterprising youths nationwide. The Bank of Industry are executing it.

Speaking at the event, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo said “the policy of the Federal Government is to support businesses, not just big business but particularly small, medium-sised businesses and

micro-businesses. The whole idea is that we want to ensure that we give whatever support whether it is cash, advise or even registration to all of our small and medium enterprises.”

Apart from the existing GEEP MarketMoni scheme, which targets market women, traders, artisans and enterprising youths, Osinbajo also revealed that the Federal Government is rolling out TraderMoni, a new micro-credit scheme to cater for ultra-micro enterprises.

“It is a different thing from MarketMoni because TraderMoni is for the smaller traders.

These are the hawkers; those who are doing little things where in many cases their inventory, the whole thing they are selling is sometimes not even more than N5,000- N10,000.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 17, 2018

79

SUNDAYSPORTS

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

WORLD CUP 2018…

JUNE 14 TO JULY 15

Croatia Clip Eagles’ Wings 2 - 0 Demola Ojo

A

firsthalfowngoal

by Oghenekaro Etebo in the 32nd minute and a second half penalty dispatched by Real Madrid maestro Luca Modric in the 71st were enough to put an uninspired Nigerian team to the sword in Kalinigrad yesterday, as Croatia went top of Group D without playing at their best.

The Eagles offered little attacking threat, although Dejan Lovren blocked Alex Iwobi’s shot just before half-time, and Odion Ighalo glanced a Brian Idowu cross straight at goalkeeper Danijel Subasic.

Ighalo’s header from Idowu’s cross, in the 59th minute, was the first of just two efforts on target by the Super Eagles, although Leon Balogun went close to heading in from a Moses corner at the start of the second half.

Victory takes Croatia top of the group, after Iceland held Argentina 1-1 earlier yesterday.

Both Modric and Ivan Rakitic were excellent in their passing, and Croatia threatened more as the game became stretched

in the second half.

When Croatia did create chances, it was usually their two creative midfielders who were involved. Modric’s fine early cross was guided down

by Ivan Perisic for Mandzukic to fire over, while Andrej Kramaric’s header looped just over the crossbar from a Rakitic assist after half-time.

Tactical Analysis (Nigeria) The Super Eagles put in a flat and disjointed performance which in truth, wasn’t much of a surprise considering the way they’ve played this year, even in victory over Poland in March.

The responsibility lies with the coaching crew who have, rightly, been applauded after Nigeria blitzed through their qualifying campaign for the World Cup. However, the Super Eagles last impressive display was a 4-2 friendly victory overArgentina November last year.

A closer look at the Nigerian team suggests the loss to Croatia – just like in friendlies preceding the World Cup - was more of a tactical problem, rather than personnel. By playing two defensive minded midfielders alongside captain

Mikel Obi (who has been tasked with playmaking duties further up the pitch even though he has played as a successful defensive midfielder for most of his career), the Eagles have been slow paced, without any urgency in attack.

In a bid to shoehorn Mikel into an attacking position, Alex Iwobi – arguably the most creative player in the team – has been shunted to the wings, where he is less effective. Invariably, the Eagles lone striker Odion Ighalo has more often than not, played in isolation.

If the Nigerian team are to get positive results against Iceland and Argentina, they must be more proactive with at least, an additional attack minded player in the starting lineup.

One of the three substitutes that came on against Croatia - Kelechi Iheanacho, Ahmed Musa or Simeon ‘Simy’Nwankwo - should be jostling for a starting spot. Wilfred Ndidi’s dynamism in midfield - means he is able to play in tandem with Mikel. The Eagles most experienced player is still invaluable to his team. His calm and know-how are needed, and he can still be a playmaker from a deeper position.

Messi Misses Penalty as Iceland Hold Argentina Lionel Messi’s bid to win the World Cup got off to a nightmare start as he missed a penalty and his Argentina side were surprisingly held by debutants Iceland. Messi was looking to match the impact his old rival Cristiano Ronaldo has made on the tournament - a sensational hat-trick against Spain on Friday night.

But instead of being the hero, Messi was the villain as his second-half spot-kick was easily saved by Hannes Halldorsson with the score at 1-1.

The draw was no less than Iceland, who are the smallest nation ever to play in a World Cup finals, deserved.

Their disciplined, defensive tactics frustrated an Argentina side who enjoyed the majority of possession and they also carried a threat going forward from the start, with Birkir Bjarnason scuffing a glorious early chance.

After surviving that scare, the thousands of Argentina fans who packed out the Spartak Stadium were dancing in the Moscow sunshine when Sergio Aguero put them ahead

RESULTS & FIXTURES France

2 -1

Australia

Denmark 1- 0

Peru

Argentina 1- 1

Iceland

Croatia

Nigeria

2- 0

Costa Rica v Serbia

1pm

Germany v Mexico

4pm

Brazil

7pm

v Switzerland

with a superb strike after 19 minutes.

But Jorge Sampaoli’s side have a soft centre and their lead lasted only four minutes and 15 seconds, as Alfred Finnbogason equalised with his country’s first goal at a World Cup finals.

Finnbogason had made a hash of a header seconds earlier but Argentina failed to clear and Willy Caballero could only palm Hordur Magnusson’s shot into the path of the striker, who gleefully turned it home.

Messi’s missed penalty was Argentina’s only clear-cut chance in the second half, although Cristian Pavon’s bouncing cross drew a fine late save from Halldorsson.

All eyes were on Messi from the moment he walked into the Spartak Stadium, with the Argentina fans roaring their approval whenever his image flashed up on the big screen before the game, but he could not provide the inspiration they craved.

It was not for a lack of effort, or a shortage of attempts on goal, but the image of the Barcelona star that summed up his day was one of dejection, when he was left staring at the ground at the final whistle, with his hands on his knees.

He ended the game having attempted 11 shots without scoring.

Luca Modric topped Mikel Obi in the battle of the number 10s yesterday

Ikoyi Club 1938 Team Dominates at Swimfest in Germany Femi Solaja

Messi missed his chance to shine against Iceland

Only Italy’s Luigi Riva has mustered more shots in a World Cup game without finding the net since 1966 (13 v Sweden and v Israel in 1970).

Messi had been left to wander by Iceland, who did not try to man-mark him, but there were only flitting moments when he threatened to work his magic, with his best moment a first-half shot palmed away

by Halldorsson.

Messi did provide the floated cross that led to Argentina’s penalty after Maximiliano Meza was fouled by Magnusson, but he will want to forget what happened next.

Like the athletes from outer world, the traveling contingent from Ikoyi Club 1938 to the just concluded Swimfest in Germany have done something extraordinary. Like superhuman, the team emerged top at the annual international swimming competition from 18th-20th of May in Neheim-Husten, Germany.

The journey to the top actually began two years ago when the club (Ikoyi Club 1938) made its maiden appearance at the annual event. With 23 young swimmers to the maiden edition, the contingent mainly school children put uparemarkableperformanceand it was not a surprise that last year with 35 athletes, the team notched in 25 gold, 31 silver and 27 bronze to finish runner up at the fiesta attended by 37 other clubs from different part of the world.

The geometric projection of the team’s performance has now manifested following the first position of the team to the last edition held at same venue last month. The team made up of 42 swimmers with a combine average age of 11 years returned

home a total of 75 gold, 59 silver and 38 bronze medal with several certificates and trophies won for outstanding performances in various categories of play.

Enroute to victory, some of the swimmers were outstanding and among the top medallists are Abduljabar Adama (eight gold, one silver), Chukwudi Kanu (six gold, five silver), Maria Perner (five gold, four silver, one bronze), KayoAdeniji (five gold,

three silver), Iman Adama (three gold, four silver, one bronze), Chiamaka Kanu (two gold, one silver, two bronze), Kika Ebie (two gold, one sliver, one bronze) and Theo Okolo (one gold, two silver and four bronze medals).

In his post event comment, the Vice Chairman/Games Captain of the Club, Oloyede said “he was especially proud of the girls and boysrelayteamswhosecombined average age is 11 years.

Korean Centre Promotes 68 Taekwondo Students From Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

The Korean Cultural Centre Nigeria (KCCN) has promoted 68 Taekwondo students from four FCT public schools. The successful students were upgraded to the Yellow Belt rank out of a total of 107 students that participated in the programme.

Eight out of the 68 students excelled and received special prizes. They included Ismail Tahir, Amir Aminu, Destiny

Chukwukere,AbdulbasitUmar, Joseph Anozie, Emmanuel Anozie, Samuel Basset and Katherine Ohajuba.

KCCN had since 2014, in partnership with FCT Universal Basic Education Board (FCT UBEC), Korean Sports Promotion Foundation and Taekwondowon introduced Taekwondo in public schools in the FCT. The four public schools that participated in the programme were Model Primary School, Maitama, LEA Wuse Zone 3, LEAWuse 5 Zone 1 and Model Junior Secondary School, Maitama.

The aim of the programme is to assist in grooming future Taekwondo champions from Nigeria.

KCCN dispatches instructors to the four approved schools in FCT to teach Taekwondo to students periodically.

Sunday June 17, 2018

TR

UT H

& RE A S O

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Price: N400

MISSILE

Agbakoba on Kingibe “The irony today is that he (Babagana Kingibe) is benefitting from something he did not fight for, even for one day. That is the irony of life. He didn’t fight for it for one day, but well, he is entitled, since he was Abiola’s running mate.”

– Pro-democracy activist and former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, ruing Babagana Kingibe’s role during the struggle for actualisation of June 12 election elections

SIMONKOLAWOLE SIMONKOLAWOLELIVE!

simon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com, sms: 0805 500 1961

Of June 12 ‘Saints’ and ‘Sinners’…

I

have been feeling very uneasy at the re-opened debate over the June 12, 1993 presidential election impasse after President Muhammadu Buhari decided to honour the presumed winner, Chief MKO Abiola, and his running mate, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, as well as declare June 12 as Nigeria’s Democracy Day. I thought it was a brilliant idea. I thought it would finally bring the sad experience of June 12 to closure. But what I am seeing instead is the re-opening of old wounds and a concerted effort to revise history, apportion blame, re-cast some people as villains, re-mould some as heroes, and revive the fault lines that so easily ruin a genuine national conversation.

Reading comments from both sides of the divide brings back sad memories for me. It resurrects a depressing recollection of the bitterness, the hypocrisy and the arrogance that brought Nigeria to its knees — right from the annulment in June 1993 to the death of Abiola in July 1998. If these sentiments are still being strongly expressed 25 years after, then I think we are in serious trouble. Rather than the recognition of June 12 finally closing this chapter, I think some people are still obsessed with the old order, and I can see resentment and showboating still at play.

Some people are not just interested in attempts at national cohesion and reconciliation.

One of the most unfortunate aspects of the June 12 saga is that we do not yet have an authoritative account of what actually happened. I have read interviews and literature by the dramatis personae from both sides — the antagonists and the protagonists — and all I have always seen are the one-sided, how-I-saved-the-world narratives that glaringly sweep important details under the carpet. There is a lot of grandstanding that still goes unchallenged. Sadly, too, it is practically impossible to get a dispassionate account of this important part of our history. It is disturbing that 25 years after, we are still stuck with the hypocrisy that got us nowhere in the first place.

I will start with the musings of the June 12 protagonists and conclude with the vituperations of the antagonists. The protagonists have gone back to the same old Saints vs Sinners mentality that destroyed the June 12 struggle even before it started. If the truth be told, however, not many people will emerge as saints in the June 12 saga.

Only very few people would. Unlike the Civil War which I never witnessed and need to rely on third parties for their rendition of history, I lived through the June 12 period, witnessed key events, spoke to the actors from all sides, and I am able to reach a lot of conclusions on my own without being spoon-fed.

Among those grandstanding today are those who actively collaborated with Abacha to seize power in 1993. Lt. Gen. Oladipo Diya, who would go on to serve as Abacha’s No. 2, met with and secured the cooperation of many June Twelvers before the coup. Some activists actively asked Abacha to “save Nigeria” because the country was “drifting”. I heard one activist say so on OGBC 2. There were June Twelvers who thought Abacha would make them civilian governors and were meeting regularly with him at Dodan Baracks, Lagos. They only became activists when Abacha disappointed them by opting to appoint military administrators. We know them.

Of course, there were those who scoffed when Abiola was campaigning to be president but later became the fiercest defenders of his June 12 mandate, demonising the very politicians that helped make June 12 possible in the first place.

Opportunism has no other name. Today some will argue that certain people do not deserve to be honoured over June 12, deliberately vandalising history to suggest that Abiola won the election

Abiola all by himself, without the support and sweat of others. This was the same mindset that polarised the June 12 struggle and alienated some of Abiola’s supporters, and you just have to conclude that nothing ever changes in Nigeria.

For instance, last week, the cover of the May 2, 1994 edition of TheNews magazine was widely circulated on social media with Kingibe saying “Why I Dumped Abiola”. What most of those who saw TheNews cover did not get to read is the content of the interview. In it, Kingibe complained that after the election was annulled, Abiola began to isolate him and was taking decisions and actions without informing him. He said abiola travelled abroad without informing him. It appeared Abiola no longer trusted his running mate. Abiola apparently had his reasons, but I don’t know what anyone in Kingibe’s shoes would do under such circumstances.

Contrary to the “northerners don’t like us” narrative that was contrived by the June Twelvers, the hard fact is: without the efforts of northerners, Abiola would not have had such a sweeping victory, assuming he would have won at all. Abiola defeated Alhaji Bashir Tofa, the homeboy, in Kano state, and also won in neighbouring Jigawa not solely on his own strength but through the political weight of Alhaji Abubakar Rimi and Alhaji Sule Lamido.

Rimi was later demonised by the June Twelvers for serving in Abacha’s government, yet many of these “saints” cannot in all sincerity claim to have delivered a single polling unit to SDP. Success, they say, has many fathers.

Lest I forget, Abiola himself visited Abacha at Dodan Barracks and took pictures with him after the November 1993 coup. I watched in horror as Abiola canvassed support for Abacha, but I was made to understand that the new military ruler had agreed to hand over to Abiola after six months. Abacha’s first cabinet was made up of many of those who worked for Abiola’s victory. Key figures such as Kingibe, Rimi, Lateef Jakande and Ebenezer Babatope. It was when Abacha did not hand over in 1994 that Abiola fell out with him. I’m just bringing up this little fact so that we can see that it is not a black or white matter.

I must say, at this juncture, that I am in no way depreciating the sacrifice of those who fought for June 12. God forbid. Hundreds of demonstrators were killed in cold blood on the streets of Lagos by the military as Gen. Ibrahim Babangida asked Abacha, his defence chief then, to clear protesters from the streets after the annulment.

We don’t know their identities but these martyrs

of democracy sacrificed their lives and deserve to be celebrated. Abiola’s associates were killed as Abacha later took over power and started unleashing terror on Nigeria. Many survived assassination attempts. Some were detained indefinitely or chased into exile. The houses of some activitsts were bombed or burnt. They all deserve to be celebrated for their sacrifice.

Media houses were regularly shut down.

It was not fun being identified as a journalist in those days. I worked at TheNews/TEMPO and I know what my bosses went through. Mr. Bayo Onanuga, our editor-in-chief, was regularly detained. Mr. Dapo Olorunyomi, his deputy, was marked for death and had to flee to exile.

Mr. Femi Ojudu was arrested on the streets of Ikeja. Mr. Kunle Ajibade was jailed for life for an article he knew nothing about. Mr. Bagauda Kaltho disappeared for years before we were told he had been assassinated. God forbid that I make light of the sacrifices these activists made.

But there are too many wolves in sheep clothing trying to distort history in 2018.

As for the June 12 antagonists, they need to re-examine themselves as they attempt to justify the annulment perfidy. They are trying to devalue June 12 on the basis that “only” 14 million people voted, representing less than 50% of those registered. My answer to that is simple: Abiola did no wrong by winning the majority of the votes cast. That’s the law. I am reading yet again that since Babangida had earlier annulled the presidential primaries of the SDP and NRC and the affected candidates did not protest and Abiola benefited from this, he should have shut up. It’s like saying Rosa Parks should have given up her seat to a white passenger because other blacks had always obediently done so!

Justice Alfa Belgore, a friend of Babangida, has told us how “illegal” it is to award national honours to the deceased. What he has not told us is that the national honours committee he chaired in 2016 is unknown to our laws. He also did not reveal that when President Goodluck Jonathan asked that Abiola be given a GCFR, his illegal committee said it was illegal. Professor Ben Nwabueze has been quoting the laws to declare the proclamation of June 12 as Democracy Day illegal — but I wish he made full disclosure that he was part of the government that annulled the election. He served as secretary of education under Babangida in 1993. Tell the world, professor.

I will stop here. But I will make this argument before I return to my seat. When I was a bachelor, one valuable life lesson I picked up from youth programmes I intended in my church is the importance of saying “sorry” to your spouse.

It was not pre-marital counselling per se, but such programmes often feature pep talks on how to “behave” in relationships. If you are going to have a successful marriage, you must be prepared to say “sorry” at all times, we were told — and it doesn’t matter if you are right or wrong. Saying sorry could be a genuine admission of guilt — but it could also be an attempt to give peace a chance. We were told “sorry” is a critical step towards reconciliation.

Unfortunately, most of us were brought up to think the person who says sorry is automatically the one at fault and we should use the opportunity to gloat. Buhari has said “sorry” over the annulment of June 12. The “sorry”, in my opinion, is a call to bury the hatchet and open a new, reconciliatory chapter over the June 12 saga. It is neither an admission of culpability nor a sign of weakness.

It is a gesture of goodwill and a call to move forward positively and constructively. Saying “sorry” should offer us a path to healing, not the renewal of animosity. A Yoruba proverb says if we are to keep record of offences, we would never have any friends. Succinct.

And Four Other Things…

MTN AND VISAFONE The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) approved the acquisition of Visafone by MTN in 2015 — but transferring Visafone’s 800MHz spectrum to MTN is still a subject of debate. The NCC is due to hold a public enquiry on the issue on June 24. I think NCC should do the needful in order to accelerate investment in Nigeria’s mobile data market as we are close to a crisis.

We need to meet our national broadband goals, deepen rural penetration and broaden our data experience. MTN has clearly shown more appetite for increased investment in Nigeria. However, to check the “monopoly” fear, MTN must let go of part of its 2.6GHz spectrum to smaller operators. Fair.

DARIYE AND NYAME There has been a lot of excitement in recent times over the conviction of two former governors for corruption. Rev. Jolly Nyame (Taraba) and Chief Joshua Dariye (Plateau) had been on trial since 2007 and it all appeared the cases would go on forever. I’m not here to gloat. However, I want to make this point again: this is a signal to all governors, former or current, as well as the almighty politicians that nobody is safe. Those who are looting the treasury today under the impression that they belong to the ruling party and will always get protection should know that one day, a Pharaoh who does not know Joseph will mount the saddle. Forewarned.

RIP RAS KIMONO Ras Kimono, who died last week at 60, played a major role in entrenching reggae as popular music in Nigeria in the late 1980s and 1990s. Tera Kota was actually the pioneer with his Lamentation for Sodom (1984). Majek Fashek, who claimed his brand of music was “pangolo”, was the first reggae mega star. Kimono, Evi Edna Ogholi-Oghosi, Mandators and “Coolman Revolutionaire” Orits Williki all put in an excellent shift before reggae faded away as a staple diet in Nigeria.

Kimono’s protest lyrics spoke truth to power in a brutal military era. His Gimme Likkle Sugar (1989) and What’s Gwan (1990) are the ultimate punches at the “oppressors” of Nigerian masses. Adios.

AND FINALLY… Last week, social media was awash with the story of how a woman parked her SUV on Third Mainland Bridge and jumped into the Lagoon. She was an adulterer; her husband found out he’s not the father of their children; her lover wanted to leak her nude pictures; she decided to commit suicide. However, as we now know, the SUV belongs to a passer-by; the woman whose picture was widely circulated is still alive and kicking in the US. I read somewhere that some nude pictures were circulated so that we can “warn our kids to learn from this” — as if anybody needs to see a nude picture before warning their kids. Hopefully, we’ll know the real truth soon. Fables.

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