Saturday 7th July 2018

Namibian President, Osinbajo, Gowon, Obasanjo, Amosun Bid Adedeji Farewell Geingob: He was my mentor, brother and advocate of the economic independence of Africa Osinbajo: Adedeji was an unusual human being who contributed to the post-war planning, reconstruction of Nigeria's economy Femi Ogbonnikan in Abeokuta African leaders took turns to eulogise the erstwhile Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), and pioneer chairman of the National Youth

Service Corps (NYSC), late Prof. Adebayo Adedeji, at a funeral service in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, yesterday.

Adedeji, who was the

Asiwaju of Ijebuland, died on April 25 at age 87.

Prominent leaders at the funeral service held at the Cathedral Church of Our

Saviour Anglican Church, Ijebu-Ode, included President of Namibia, Hage Geingob; Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; former Head of State, General

Yakubu Gowon; former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State.

They noted that the late

Oshiomhole: We'll Crush rAPC Rebellion‌

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Adedeji dedicated his life positively to the service of Nigeria and the Africa continent in general.

Osinbajo, in his tribute, recalled the immense contribution of the late Adedeji Continued on page 6

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Saraki: At the End of 1018 Days Tortuous Journey, I Have Been Vindicated Three years that would have been devoted to tackling issues affecting Nigerians wasted on malicious trial Prosecution failed to call material witnesses to support its case, says S’Court Atiku, Dogara, Ekweremadu hail judgement Deji Elumoye, James Emejo and Alex Enumah in Abuja, Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

Just few hours after the Supreme Court discharged

and acquitted him of alleged false asset declaration charges, Senate President, Bukola Saraki,

in an emotion statement he personally signed, said his trial had political undertone,

but expressed joy that at the end of a 1018 days tortuous journey, he was vindicated.

The apex court in a judgment delivered by Justice Centus Continued on page 6

Politicians Sponsoring Killings, Buhari Insists, Vows to Fish Out Culprits Solution to deadly farmers, herdsmen clashes in the pipeline Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Monguno, Borno State, promised to fish out and punish politicians who are allegedly instigating violence in some states of the federation “in their quest for relevance in the country’s political landscape.�

Buhari, according to his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, was speaking as the special guest of honour at the closing event of this year's Army Day celebrations in Monguno, which he described

as a one-time stronghold of Boko Haram terrorists.

According to the statement, the President emphasised what he told Christian leaders in the State House, Abuja on Thursday, saying a solution to the deadly clashes between farmers and herdsmen was in the pipeline, threatening that whosoever is found culpable in the evil act would be accordingly brought to justice.

The President, Shehu added, thanked the armed forces for keeping the country safe, Continued on page 6

Supreme Court Upholds Death TRIUMPHANT EXIT OF ADEDEJI‌ Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State, former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Head of State, General Sentence on 3 Bakassi Boys‌ Page 14 L-R: Yakubu Gowon (Rtd.), during the funeral service for renowned economist and diplomat, Prof. Adebayo Adedeji, held at the Cathedral Church of Our Saviour Anglican Church, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State‌ yesterday

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FG Arraigns Suswam on Fresh Charges of Illegal Possession of Firearms Alex Enumah ÓØ ÌßÔË The federal government yesterday arraigned a former governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam on a fresh three charges, bordering on illegal possession of firearms and money laundering.

Suswam, in the charge filed against him on June 26, 2018, before the Abuja division of the Federal High Court, is being accused of illegally concealing weapons in his Mercedes Benz 550 4Matic car with Registration No: BWR 135 AH parked at Dunes Investment and Properties Ltd, No.

44 Aguiyi lronsi Way, Maitama, Abuja.

The offence is contrary to Section 3 of the Firearms Act Cap F28, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and punishable under section 27(1)(a)(1) of the same Act. The former governor was also accused of "Converting 25 designer wrist watches worth several millions of naira being properties you derived directly from corruption and concealed in your Mercedes Benz 550 4Matic with Registration No BWR 135 AH and you thereby committed an offence contrary to

Section 15(1)(a)(ii) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 and punishable under the same section of the Act".

He pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to him, prompting the prosecution counsel, Abubakar Kayode Alilu to ask the court for a date to commence his trial. Aliu, also prayed the court to remand the defendant in prison pending the hearing and determination of the matter.

Suswam's counsel, Paul Erokoro (SAN) drew the attention of the court to a bail application, which he said was ripped for hearing

yesterday.

Moving the application, Erokoro told the trial Judge, Justice Babatunde Quadri to grant Suswam bail on liberal terms, pointing out that he (Suswam) is on bail in two other charges filed against him by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The bail application was based on eight grounds,18-paragraph affidavit and an exhibit to the effect that Suswam has an enlarged heart, a life threatening condition, which he said requires regular medical attention and treatment.

According to him, all the

facts in the affidavit in support of the application for bail are unchallenged, pointing out that the defendant is a legal practitioner, a two-term governor of Benue State and had served at the House of Representatives for eight years, and will not jump bail.

The prosecution counsel, who did not oppose Suswam's bail application, urged the court to use its discretion in granting the bail and added that the prosecution intends to call four witnesses in the matter.

After listening to submissions of counsel on both sides, Justice

Quadri admitted Suswam to bail in the sum of N500million and one surety in like sum.

The Judge directed that the surety, who must be resident in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), should swear to an affidavit of means while the residential address must be verified by officials of the court.

The surety, the Judge held, must also submit one passport photograph with the court as part of the bail conditions for the former governor. The case was adjourned till October 24 and 25, 2018.

NAMIBIAN PRESIDENT, OSINBAJO, GOWON, OBASANJO, AMOSUN BID ADEDEJI FAREWELL to the post-war planning and reconstruction of the nation's economy, describing him as an "unusual human being."

The Vice President further described Adedeji as a fairminded and objective person, whose death was announced in several languages because of the various capacities he had served at different times-nationally and internationally.

"Professor Adedeji was an outstanding African. He was

deeply involved in the integration of Africa. He did a great work in projecting Africa. We are proud of all that he had achieved in his lifetime. He was one of the very unusual human beings."

Also, the Namibian President, Hage Geingob, described the late Adedeji as his "mentor, brother and advocate of the economic independence of Africa."

Geingob extolled the rare virtue of the deceased as a true African who "fought a good fight for the

African continent."

Obasanjo, in his tribute, stated that the deceased was a friend, brother, trusted ally and co-sojourner in the development vineyard, while Gowon said the late Adedeji was a "credit to Nigeria, Africa and the African race."

The former Archbishop of the Lagos Ecclesiastical Province of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Most Rev. (Professor) Adebayo Akinde, in his sermon, said Adedeji left a legacy of service

for Nigerians to emulate.

Akinde said the renowned economist was truly a great nationalist and that many Nigerians in position of authority have failed their generations because of greed, noting that the ex-Executive Secretary of UNECA impacted positively on his generation.

"As mankind, we should start asking ourselves the kind of legacy we are going to leave behind. It is important that we give serious thought to the kind of legacy we

are leaving behind.

"Our late Professor Adedeji was a great man. He was an enigma. He was a world class economist and renowned academician, and a top flight diplomat. He believed in the unity and oneness of Nigeria. He lived a world of service because he served the Africa continent, his country and state. He has left everyone of us a life of legacy," Akinde said.

Governor Ibikunle Amosun said Ogun state had lost one of

its icons. "Papa was a colossus in his own right. He was someone we, the younger ones, are very proud of. He was a great son of Ogun State. He had done brilliantly well in all the capacities he had served. In all facets, he did well."

Other notable personalities at the funeral service included Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Prince Bola Ajibola (SAN), Professor Ibrahim Gambari, Chief Anthony Anenih, members of the diplomatic corps and other distinguished personalities.

South-South, Operation Safe Haven in the North Central and Operation Awatse to combat militant activities in the Arepo general area and other parts of the Southwest. Recently, the Nigerian Army established Operation Whirl Stroke to tackle insecurity in the North Central states," Dan-Ali was quoted as saying.

Shehu also added that the Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin, noted that military operations in the Northeast were moving from the level of engagements of a combat to humanitarian and civilian support services with a view to assisting victims of insurgency to return to their communities which he said they were forced to abandon.

He also said Buratai remarked

that the Army had accomplished the President's objective to stabilise the North-east and other parts of the country, assuring the president of their unwavering support and loyalty both to him and the constitution.

Shehu also disclosed that upon his arrival at Kinnasara Army barracks in Monguno yesterday, Buhari had inspected military equipment on display by 21 Specialised Corps of the Nigerian Army, and equally inaugurated the first indigenous Mines Resistant and Ambush Armoured Vehicles (MARAPS) adding that before his departure yesterday, the president toured one of the largest camps housing Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Monguno.

as a product of hearsay, adding that the action of the Court of Appeal amounted to forensic Summersault and capable of making ill of jurisprudence.

"This court will not lend its jurisdiction to such a charade and caricature of justice. It carries grave error in holding that a prima facie case has been established against the appellant", the court held.

It added: "The prosecution is duty bound by law to call all key witnesses to be able to establish a prima facie case against anybody."

In all, the five-panel of the apex court, in the unanimous judgment agreed that the failure of the federal government to call vital witnesses in the trial of Saraki was fatal and rendered the trial nugatory.

Dogara said that the judgment of the Supreme Court in favour of Saraki “has once again reinforced our confidence and belief in the nation’s judiciary as the last hope of the common man.”

He added: “As democrats, this has again reaffirmed the independence of the judiciary as protected by our constitution under the doctrine of separation of powers and principles of checks and balances. No doubt, the Supreme Court’s judgement will help in no small way in strengthening the independence of the legislature as the first organ of government under our constitutional democracy and presidential system of government."

POLITICIANS SPONSORING KILLINGS, BUHARI INSISTS, VOWS TO FISH OUT CULPRITS acknowledging that there were still challenges facing the nation and proceeded to make a self-assessment of his administration in the last three years.

He quoted the President as saying: "This does not mean there are no challenges. There are pockets of violence in several states. Some deliberately instigated by disgruntled politicians who have lost all arguments and are desperate to cause mayhem as a way of seeking relevance. We shall fish them out and punish according to the provisions of the law.

"We have worked tirelessly to ensure and preserve the dignity and sanctity of life. When I was sworn in as the President and Commanderin-Chief of the Armed Forces of

the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I promised that this administration would tackle the challenges of Insecurity, poor Economy and Fight Corruption.

"We are all witnesses to the fact that our once battered economy as a nation has exited recession and once again vibrant. Our nation is safe again, thanks to the efforts of our security agencies. I want to use this opportunity to reassure the world, Nigerians and the families of the remaining kidnapped Chibok girls and Leah Sharebu of the Dapchi School girls that this administration will not relent in our efforts to see that they are all released.

"I also want to reassure all Nigerians that the issue of farmers and herdsmen clashes is being

tackled and all those found culpable would be brought to justice. Let me quickly remind us at this point to always be tolerant, loving and ready to give peace a chance.”

Furthermore, the statement said Buhari reiterated how he had told the Northern Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) that none of the country's religions or cultures consents to the killing of anybody by another.

The statement also stated that Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, spoke at the occasion with a sense of triumph, saying "we have cut the rubicon of insurgency in the North-east. Thank God, we have come to the end of insurgency.

Suicide attack is a sign of weakness, not strength.”

In the same vein, the statement noted that the Minister of Defence, Brigadier-General Mansur Dan-Ali (rtd.), commended the Army for establishing a motorcycle battalion which he said was enhancing quick mobility and as well providing security in areas of unfavourable vehicular movements.

It also said the minister praised the Air Force for setting up rapid response groups in the six geopolitical zones of the country and disclosed that appropriate measures were being put in place to tackle insecurity in the country.

"Appropriate measures are being put in place to address security challenges in the nation; the Armed Forces are currently handling Operation Delta Safe in the

SARAKI: AT THE END OF A 1018 DAYS TORTUOUS JOURNEY, I HAVE BEEN VINDICATED Chima Nweze, yesterday set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal and affirmed the decision of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), which had earlier upheld the no case submission of Saraki's counsel, Chief Kanu Agabi SAN. Saraki, in the statement, hailed the Supreme Court Judgement and expressed confidence in the judicial process and the ability of the Judiciary to do justice to all manners of men and in all circumstances.

He said: “At the end of a tortuous journey of 1018 Days, counting from September 22, 2015, when the case began at the Tribunal, I am happy that I have been vindicated. The Supreme Court has affirmed that there is no evidence of false declaration of assets. The court also observed that certain agents took over the responsibility of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) in this trial, and one can infer that this was done towards a pre-determined end.

“This outcome has gladdened my heart and further strengthened my belief in this country and as well as my faith in the Almighty Allah, who is the righter of all wrongs. God has vindicated me today before the judgement of man, and I am most thankful and humbled at His grace and infinite mercies.

“Through it all, I refused to be shaken, knowing, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, that the arch of the moral universe may be long, but it bends towards justice. I knew the day would come when justice would prevail and I would be exonerated.

“I have always believed in the infallibility of our Judiciary, secure in the knowledge that our courts – the last refuge of the oppressed would never condemn the innocent.

This outcome is also a vindication of my belief in the rule of law.

“As I said in my first appearance at the CCT, this is a politically motivated case. The case was

trumped up in the first instance because of my emergence as the President of the Senate, against the wishes of certain forces. Ordinarily, I doubt anyone would be interested in the asset declaration form I filled over 15 years ago.”

He further added: “What we have seen is the opposite.

Instead of working together in the interest of the nation and to seek to do better for our people, we are fighting one another and using legal instruments to mount baseless accusations against one another. Instead of exhibiting the need for unity and working day and night for that purpose, we are stoking the fire of division and rancour. I maintain that, above all else, my CCT trial has been a flagrant vilification of my person, and shows that some people are after their personal interests rather than the national interest.

“As a result of the war of attrition, various arms of government have wasted resources needlessly. It has been three wasted years across board in this country.

Three years that would have been devoted to tackling issues affecting Nigerians, including: economic recovery, insecurity, youth unemployment and strengthening national institutions, were wasted on malicious prosecution. People were ready to trade-off three years that would have been devoted to fostering cooperation, unity and economic progress for their selfish ends. It is my hope that those who are behind my persecution will see the handwriting on the wall and leave me to do the work for which I was elected, so I can continue to give my all to this great country of ours.

“As many have rightly observed, it is plain to see with vindictiveness, to target perceived political opponents. I believe in the need to fight corruption, but I will never be party to the selective application of the law or the rhetoric of an insincere anti-corruption fight.”

The Senate President further

asserted: “I believe in fighting corruption and I have made my own humble contributions to the fight against corruption in this country. As a presidential aide, I initiated the process that led to the enactment of the Fiscal Responsibility Act. I was the first governor to establish the Price Intelligence Unit which later metamorphosed into the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) at the federal level. In the history of this country, the highest fraud, the most brazen corruption has been the Fuel Subsidy scam. No one wanted to talk about it or confront entrenched powers. As a Senator on the platform of the ruling party at that time, I sponsored a motion on the floor of the Senate calling for investigation that led to the unprecedented exposure of the massive corruption in the fuel subsidy regime. That was my only point of departure with the former President. My antecedents speak for themselves.

“I am most grateful for the support of my distinguished colleagues and the Honourable Members of the 8th National Assembly, for their unflinching support and regular attendance at the various proceedings. They were unfairly criticised for accompanying me on court appearances, but it is now clear that they did so because they believed that injustice to one, is injustice to all. They have been the true embodiment of esprit de corps.

I thank them for banding together in the face of an unconscionable attack on the institution of the legislature.

“I thank my legal team for their determined and principled stance, and for their knowledge and diligence, which saw this case to its just conclusion. My gratitude to all my friends, political associates, supporters and the good people of Kwara State – all of whom have been solidly behind me.

“I thank my family for enduring this trial with their usual grace and fortitude. My immense gratitude

also goes to the international community for their interest in this case. The Nigerian press kept watch and I appreciate their vigilance in ensuring that all the facts were held up to scrutiny.

“To my supporters, yes, there is a reason to rejoice, but our celebration must be tempered with the sobering lessons of the attempted injustice from day one of this trial. We all have to canvas for fairness in the fight against corruption.

We should see this verdict as an inspiration to champion the rule of law, promote democracy and its institutions as well as tolerance of divergent views.”

Prosecution Failed to Call Material Witnesses to Support Its Case against Saraki Delivering judgment on Saraki's appeal yesterday against the decision of the Court of Appeal, the apex court held that the prosecution failed to call material witnesses to prove its case against the Senate President.

The court observed that all those who have knowledge of facts were not called to testify in the matter.

Besides the court also held that those who tendered documentary evidence against Saraki during the trial were not makers of the document and hence their evidence on the documents were hearsay and lacked probative value.

The supreme court said the Court of Appeal made caricature in its judgment when it found as a fact that the entire evidence adduced by the prosecution was hearsay and manifestly unreliable and still went ahead to agree that a prima facie case was established against Saraki in three out of the 18 count charges.

Justice Nweze held that there was no basis for the Court of Appeal to have asked Saraki to defend himself on the three count charges, having found the entire evidence of the prosecution

It's Victory for Legislature and Democracy, Says Ekweremadu The Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, has described the Supreme Court judgement that discharged and acquitted Saraki of all false assets declaration charges as a victory for the legislature and democracy.

Ekweremadu in a statement issued yesterday in Abuja, also congratulated the Governor of Enugu State, Hon. Ifeanyi Uwuanyi, on his victory in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2015 governorship primary legal tussle between him and Senator Ayogu Eze decided by the Supreme Court yesterday.

The Senator, who described Governor Ugwuanyi as a “God-sent agent of peace and development in Enugu State”, said the Supreme Court had affirmed not only the verdict of Enugu State PDP faithful in the 2015 gubernatorial primary, but also the overwhelming acceptance of the governor among the people of the State.

Also, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu

Jubilation in Ilorin It was jubilation galore in Ilorin, Kwara State yesterday, following Saraki’s victory at the Supreme Court.

Residents, who marched through various routes in Ilorin, dancing and singing, saluted the Supreme Court ruling.

Atiku Hails Judgement Also yesterday, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar hailed Saraki’s victory, saying “the position of the judiciary further affirms the fact that indeed, the judiciary is the last hope not only for the common man, but for all men, and the real bastion of equity and good governance in any society”.

In a press statement by his Media Office in Abuja, the Waziri Adamawa stated that it was clear to all men of goodwill and discerning Nigerians that the charges for which the Senate President was serially arraigned before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), would not stand rigorous judicial examination but was more of politics. He commended the Supreme Court jurists for the unanimity of their judgment.

T H I S D AY ˾ SATURDAY JULY 7, 2018

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IN SOLIDARITY ...

L-R: President Muhammadu Buhari; Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai; Minister of Defence, Mansur Alli and Governor Shittima Ibrahim of Borno State at Army day celebration in Maiduguri

Oshiomhole: We'll Crush rAPC Rebellion Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has said that the party would crush the splinter group, known as Reformed All Progressives Congress (rAPC) using superior negotiating power.

But the leadership of the splinter group has said that it could muster enough votes in the National Assembly to impeach anyone if there was need to do so.

Addressing a group of people, who claimed to be state chairmen of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) that

came to disassociate themselves from the rebellious rAPC, Oshiomhole, in his acceptance speech, acknowledged that the party had challenges, but promised they would be addressed.

He said that those behind the rAPC did not seem to have shared values as others in the party hence their decision to quit.

He assured the group that the leadership of the ruling party would continue to engage those with genuine grievances with a view to resolving them.

"For me, there is no cause for alarm; nobody should panic over one Baba Galadima, whose group, I believe, cannot define

us in the next election in 2019.

Nigerians are wiser, they know that corruption is fighting back, they also know that President Buhari's resolve to fight corruption must elicit a counter force and that force must find attraction in some people.

"But like we have rightly said, we should not be distracted and we encourage the president not to be distracted. He must remain focused and sustain the fight and I believe the rebellion will be crushed using the superior power of argument, persuading our people not to forget in a hurry where we are coming from," he said.

Oshiomhole described Buba Galadima as "a very hungry bird dancing at the centre of the road and with a disgruntled drummer not far away in the bush drumming for him".

The APC national chairman expressed optimism that the party would overcome the challenges and still win the election in 2019.

However, the national chairman of the rAPC, Buba Galadima, who made the claim yesterday on national television, said that contrary to Oshiomhole’s statement that those behind the rAPC were inconsequential, it was the ruling party members that lacked integrity and honesty.

"On that side, there is no man of integrity and honesty as Buba Galadima. Those of us that had sacrificed our sweat and blood cannot sit idly and watch these values destroyed, this is the beginning of what is called crisis in the party.

“We believe that all the values and visions of APC have been thrown to the dustbin. Nigerians from all walks of life have shown solidarity with us and for those who said that they are not losing sleep, why are they going cap in hand to the National Assembly.

"I want to say that today as I sit here, if I give a directive to our members in the National

Assembly to impeach for constitutional infractions, it would be carried out because we have that majority," he stressed.

The leader of CPC delegation, Umar Shuaibu said contrary to insinuations from the opposition that the outcome of APC's National Convention would lead to the disintegration of the APC, "it is to their dismay that we have not only come out successful, but have produced a National Chairman of the caliber of Comrade Adams Oshiomole".

He declared: "We wish to disassociate ourselves from the rAPC and their opposition to the President Muhammadu Buhari."

ActionAid Hands-over N35.5m Livelihood Projects Ohaneze Demands Supplementary Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja As part of efforts aimed at building resilience against violent extremism through enhanced capacity and structures to check radicalisation, ActionAid Nigeria has handed over N35.5 million livelihood support factories to women and youths in Kogi State.

The Programme Manager, Humanitarianism and Resilience, Mr. Ipoade Omilaju disclosed this yesterday in Lokaja, while handing over the factories to the nine communities.

He noted that the livelihood support became necessary after

unemployment was identified as a top driving factor for violent extremism during a baseline assessment conducted by ActionAid. He also explained that to a large extent, the objectives of the intervention had been achieved, stressing that the recent survey that was released two months revealed that Kogi State was the second most peaceful state in Nigeria.

On criteria used in selecting the communities, Omilaju said; "we use the poorest of the poor and we do the analysis from the Bureau of Statistics where you get which state is poor. It is not in every state that you have these kind of projects. We

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take through such analysis and when we get to a particular state we do a deeper analysis to identify which is the community that is very poor."

The livelihood projects handed over include; Rice milling machine at Okpeji community, Garri processing factory and hand pump borehole at Okpapata at the cost of N3, 325,000, cassava processing and maize milling factory at Ofuloko community, Block, cassava pressing factory, Bread making factory and block moulding factory at Osaragada among others, amounting to N35.5 million.

The Chief of Staff to Kogi State Governor, Mr. Edward Onaja, said the governor through the ministry of Agriculture in the state had enhanced the farmers to be able to have higher yields from their farms.

According to him, "today Ayingba, the anchors borrowers project is being executed where farmers are collecting inputs and materials for their agricultural activities in the nine local government within Kogi east."

He added that there was holistic plan by government to help in the product from the farm, and help farmers enhance these products by way of processing.

A cassava farmer in Osara community, Alabi Jimoh, said they were trained by ActionAid on how to tackle little problems being encountered by the community, adding that with the training, they now had the knowledge to harmonise different tribes and also overcome their challenges.

"Through this training also, we have the knowledge on how to link up with our stakeholders. 40 people are already direct beneficiary of the project. With the aim and objectives, if we achieve it within a short time, farmers will benefit from this factory because 1,213 farmers are here both women and men.

We cultivate cassava but we don't have external market. We believe that if the factory is working now, most of our raw materials will be processed here."

Budget to Cover 2nd Niger Bridge

David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

Ohaneze Ndigbo, the apex socio-cultural organisation of the Igbo speaking part of Nigeria has tasked the federal government over timely completion of the second Niger Bridge project.

Specifically, the organisation called on the federal government to send a supplementary budget to the National Assembly, in view of the huge slash of the budgetary allocation for the project in the 2018 budget.

Anambra State Chairman of the organisation, Chief Damian Okeke-Ogene, told journalists that the reduction of the budgetary allocation for such critical infrastructure was unacceptable and not in the best interest of the people.

The second Niger Bridge which is under construction was designed as a second bridge

across the River Niger between Asaba in Delta State and Onitsha in Anambra State.

Okeke-Ogene noted that early completion of the second Niger Bridge was important to reduce the burden on the existing bridge which had remained the major link to the various parts of the country.

He cautioned against playing politics or linking such critical projects that impact directly on the lives of the people to elections, noting that the pace of work on federal road projects in the South East region had remained very slow and unimpressive.

The Ohaneze state president stated that the most effective way to quell mass agitations in the country was to ensure even distribution of democracy dividends to give everybody a sense of belonging irrespective of their ethnic or religious leanings.

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JULY 7, 2͸͹΀ ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

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Ponderings on Amnesty Report on Killings I have spent quality time reading the report released last week by Amnesty International Nigeria on the unending killings across our dear country. The aspect I found gripping was the conclusion that the failure of the Buhari government to hold murderers to account was encouraging impunity and also fueling the endless killings.

AI reports: “We are gravely concerned about the rising spate of killings across the country, especially the communal clashes between farmers and herders and attacks by bandits across at least 17 states.

The authorities have a responsibility to protect lives and property, but they are clearly not doing enough going by what is happening. The latest incident in Plateau State, where armed gunmen attacked 11 villages on June 23 for at least seven hours and killed at least 200 villagers without intervention from security forces should be investigated.

“That the violence in Plateau started after an attack, which was followed by reprisals from Thursday, June 21, shows unacceptable security lapses. Despite the deployment of security forces, including the military, in over 30 states, the escalation of these attacks shows that whatever is being done by authorities is not working.

There is an urgent need for people who are suspected of committing crimes to be held accountable. We hope that President Buhari’s commitment to bring those suspected to be criminally responsible for the killings in Plateau State to justice will break the impunity that has spread through the country.

“In addition, government must answer these questions: who are these attackers?

Where do they come from? Where do they go after attacks? Who arms them? Why is security forces’ response time very slow?”

Amnesty International’s investigations show worrying details of how frequently the security forces failed to protect villagers. In all cases Amnesty International investigated, the attackers, usually arriving in their hundreds, spend hours killing people and setting houses on fire and then disappeared without a trace.”

“The Federal Government must address security lapses that make it easier for the killers to carry out attacks and disappear.

Making arrests and bringing to justice those suspected to be responsible for these attacks are crucial in ending the killings that are gradually turning into almost a daily occurrence. In many instances, these killings happen and no arrests take place.”

Buratai

Amnesty’s independently verified figures indicated that under Buhari’s watch, since January 2018, “at least 1,813 people had been murdered in 17 states, which is double the 894 people killed in 2017”, adding “the death tolls reflect killings as a result of farmersherders conflict, communal clashes, Boko Haram attacks and banditry.”

I expect a responsible government to dispassionately analyse this report and take pragmatic actions to address issues raised

by Amnesty. Unfortunately, I am not sorry to say that we don’t have a responsible government in Nigeria right now. This is why this report has not been pragmatically engaged, 10 days after its release.

Killings will continue and killers will continue to go unpunished because those who should hold them accountable have sentimental attachment to them. This is why Mansur Dan-Ali, who happens to be Nigeria’s defence minister, has been going about his demand for grazing land for his kinsmen with so much impunity. Dan-Ali, without gauging the mood of the country, persistently makes volatile statements that embolden the killer herders. He has openly been demanding for the suspension of antiopen grazing laws in Benue, Taraba and Ekiti states, while also demanding for safe routes for herders, without attracting sanction from the President.

The likes of army chief, Tukur Brutai; Air chief, Sadique Abubakar and IGP Ibrahim Idris have also compromised. Killer herders, motivated by Dan-Ali and his likes, will continue wreaking havoc across the country.

That was why no fewer than 10 persons were again killed last weekend in two attacks in

Who will Tame NNPC? The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation is always in the news for all the wrong reasons. Corruption allegations against the current leadership of this corporation pour daily.

The NNPC under Maikanti Baru has become an outlaw and bigger than virtually everybody in Nigeria. It persistently refuses to make correct remittances to the Federation Account for crude oil sold, yet, nobody queries this monster. Its recalcitrance stalled the last FAAC meeting for the distribution of May revenue because its remittance was less N20 billion, without any plausible explanation.

It was also observed at the FAAC meeting that “NNPC claimed it spent N3.5 billion on product leakages and pipeline vandalism, but the Department of Petroleum Resources, an agency that is supposed to keep such record, claimed ignorance of the amount”. Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun remarked: “We operate the NNPC as a business. We have invested public capital in that business; and we have expectations of return.

And when that return falls lower than our expectations, then the owners of

this business, which in this case are the Federal Government and states, need to act…We felt that some of the costs couldn’t be justified.”

Sleaze allegations against the NNPC under this “change” government are unending. What about Governor Abdulaziz Yari’s yet to be addressed allegation of subsidy fraud by the corporation?

The methodology of Baru’s subsidy payment is impervious. The Zamfara State governor also rejected the corporation’s bizarre claim of 60-65 million litres national daily consumption of petrol.

Till date, those who should query NNPC have refused to do so.

The memo written by the junior Minister for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, on sleaze in the NNPC remains fresh in our memory. Contracts running into billions of USD were allegedly awarded exclusively by Baru, without due process. Some of them included the crude term contracts valued at over $10 billion; DSDP contracts valued at over $5 billion; the AKK pipeline contract valued at approximately $3 billion; various financing allocation-funding contracts with the NOCs valued at over $3 billion and various NPDC production service contracts

The Implosion of APC The emergence of Reformed APC did not come as a surprise to me. In fact, I was expecting it to happen much earlier. APC was a marriage of strange bed fellows.

Besides, there is nobody to provide leadership in the party. The members are like lambs without shepherd. The failings of the APC leadership at the national level have compounded the woes of this lethargic party. This gave birth to Reformed APC on Wednesday.

My take away from the press briefing by Buba Galadima and his gang in the R-APC are: “Nigeria faces an existential threat arising from three years of near destruction of this country and the exacerbation of our ethnic, religious and divisive cleavages. We will in concert with others offer real change to Nigeria. Not fake change. It is clear that our party needs a leadership that will live by its founding ideals.

“We have, therefore, decided to legitimately lead those members to work to rebuild our nation more firmly on genuine democratic principles, to enshrine good governance and restore the faith of Nigerians in the possibility of the existence of a prosperous, secure and peaceful nation. The APC government has been a monumental disaster, even worse than the government it replaced. A vehicle for enthroning the Buhari government was rendered powerless by manipulations and complete lack of due process by its operators.

“The Nigerian people entrusted power to the APC based on its promises and potential. We are sad to report that after more than three years of governance, our hopes have been betrayed, our expectations completely dashed. The APC has run a rudderless, inept and incompetent government that has failed to deliver good governance to the Nigerian people. The APC-led federal government had failed to ensure the security and welfare of the people and had elevated nepotism to unacceptable height.”

Galadima has bluntly spoken the truth.

Nigerians know what to do in 2019.

Mangu and Barkin Ladi local government areas of Plateau State.

Besides, because our security agencies and heads are dominated by people from just one part of the country, killings will continue unabated. Our President’s clannishness is frightening and it’s hindering the war against killers. The most terrifying is about this skewed leadership of these security agencies. I often shed tears whenever it dawns on me that almost 100 per cent of the heads of our security agencies are from just one sub-section of this country.

I cringe each time I look at the list. Here is the provocative list: Director-General, Department of State Security Services, Lawal Daura; National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno; Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Burutai; Chief of Air Staff, Sadique Abubakar; Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service, Retired Colonel Hameed Ali; Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Mustapha Abdallah; ComptrollerGeneral of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Mohammed Babandede; Chief of Defence Intelligence, AVM Mohammed Usman; Commandant, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Abdullahi Muhammadu; Inspector General of Police, Idris Abubakar; Director General, National Intelligence Agency, Ahmed Rufai Abubakar; Minister of Defence, Mansur Mohammed Dan Ali, Minister for Interior , Abdulrahman Dambazau; Controller General of the Nigeria Prison Service, Ja’afaru Ahmed.

So, who will arrest the killer herders?

This is why Fulani militias persistently pummel the rest of the country despite our President’s avowal to stop the killings.

We can all now understand why Amnesty reported that the federal government had been encouraging impunity. By now, we should all understand why the killings have been endless.

The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Alfred Adewale Martins, was apt when he remarked: “Our sorrows have been compounded by the fact that no one has been held responsible, no one convicted for the murder and destruction that has turned responsible people into internally displaced person.”

Buhari’s safety sluggishness is evidently legendary. Buratai, Idris, Abubakar and the rest have failed to curb rampaging Boko Haram and killer herders, without sanctions from the President. Our President must be courageous to sack all those Eleven days after the workers of the leading this war against Boko Haram and Energy Commission of Nigeria staged a killer herders and appoint fresh hands to protest against the Director-General of the take charge. commission, Prof. Jidere Bala and publicly petitioned the EFCC over alleged misappropriation of funds by Bala, the ECN DG is still sitting comfortably in his office. Prior to this protest, Bala had his tenure renewed for another five years despite alleged monumental corruption in the agency.

The ECN staff, who took the action under the aegis of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, delivered a written petition to the EFCC in Abuja. Promise Chukwu, who led the workers, alleged that Bala mismanaged internationaldonor-funded projects under the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and another $1 million Lake Chad Basin project funded by Africa Development Bank. “Similarly, millions of Naira have been budgeted and squandered under the National Energy Data Project,” alleged the workers.

Stories of monumental corruption under a government that claims to be fighting corruption often leave me depressed.

Kachikwu The allegations against the ECN boss are frightening. More so, they are coming from valued at over $3 billion. Kachikwu insiders i.e. the staff of the commission. further alleged that during the first one Bala, as a public servant, ought to have year of Baru’s tenure, no contract was been directed to step aside in the spirit of cleared by the NNPC board, despite the anti-corruption posture of this governlegal and procedural requirements that ment. Unfortunately, Buhari has rewarded all contracts above $20 million would need to be reviewed and approved by the him with fresh five-year tenure, while refusing to look at the petition against him. board.

Even the EFCC has not deemed it proper to Who will curb this monster called invite Bala. The petition must be resting in NNPC in the interest of Nigerians? We the trash can. What a country! may have to wait for another leader.

Why is Buhari Retaining Bala at Energy Commission?

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ JULY 7, 2018

SUPER SATURDAY DONALD DUKE

My Love Story with Onari

Onari and Donald Duke have been married for 32 unbroken years. A recent encounter with the duo reveals the true depth of their love. After over three decades of marriage, Duke talks about his love story with Onari in this interview with Joseph Ushigiale and Ugo Aliogo Marriage is a fusion and that can take one year depending on your mental state and compatibility

L

ove is a strong feeling of affection. If that is the case, why do some people who claim to love each other end up killing one another? There are several cases of wives killing husbands and husbands killing wives in bizarre circumstances. Where then is the love? The former Governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke provides an answer. Giving a vivid insight into his love story with his wife, Onari, Duke attributes their success story to their development of a right mental attitude; submitting that there is a clear difference between wedding and marriage proper.

“My wife and I have been married for 32 years which is three decades. We got married in 1986. Staying married and staying friends in a marriage is a mental attitude. First of all, I like to separate the difference between wedding and

marriage. So, we got wedded 32 years ago, but marriage is a fusion and that can take one year depending on your mental state and compatibility. You can even be married before you wed. Some people stay for a whole lifetime and they are not really wedded. A marriage is a fusion of minds and going forward, you two have to start thinking or reasoning together.”

He says that for any marriage to work, a partner has to anticipate what the other person is going to do at any point in time during courtship and must be immensely compatible. “By the time you are fully married, the thought of a divorce cannot occur to you. So, we have been wedded for 32 years. I want to believe we are married, fused, because I cannot contemplate being without her and I want to believe she feels the same way too and when you get to that

stage, that is when you understand the concept of love, the infinite ability to forgive.”

Throwing more light on the concept of selfless love, Duke points out the strength of forgiveness in a relationship and also of embracing your partner as yourself in line with the biblical treatise to “love your neighbour as yourself.”

Going down memory lane to recreate the scenario of how he first met his wife 32 years ago, Duke said: “The first attraction that drew me to my wife was her attractiveness.

I met her when she was at the age of between 17 and 18 during my university days. At that time, I was running for election for the position of Social Secretary in Ahmadu Bello University, and I was with a friend of mine, Col. Amadu (Rtd) and she was walking across the car park trying to register as a fresher in the University.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ JULY7, 2018

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SUPERSATURDAY My Love Story with Onari I was already in my second year, and I was telling Amadu that after this campaign, meeting my wife will be the next campaign I will take on.

Then someone introduced us and we got together and became friends, we got so close and became so friendly that when I now proposed dating her she thought I was crazy. She asked me if I was either crazy or drunk.

I was very hurt and taken aback because at the point that I made my move I thought it was a done deal.

So I stayed away from her for a while to nurse my hurt and not too long after she came looking for the drunkard. So we took it up from there. At our marriage reception, I mentioned it that drunkenness sometimes helps

“I was already in my second year, and I was telling Amadu that after this campaign, meeting my wife will be the next campaign I will take on. Then someone introduced us and we got together and became friends, we got so close and became so friendly that when I now proposed dating her she thought I was crazy. She asked me if I was either crazy or drunk. I was very hurt and taken aback because at the point that I made my move I thought it was a done deal. So I stayed away from her for a while to nurse my hurt and not too long after she came looking for the drunkard. So we took it up from there. At our marriage reception, I mentioned it that drunkenness sometimes helps,” he explained amidst laughter.

Duke says he is inseparable from his wife because she is his great companion and true friend: “Sometimes, you could go out with friends, but you are lonely. There is just something that she provides and you want her to be there especially when I am under a lot of pressure and stress and things are not working out too well and I sometimes get very lonely internally and need a shoulder to lean on.

“At that point, I retreat to her because she is someone you can open up to and pour out all the problems and you will get unbiased advice on what to do. It has happened on several occasions when we cannot provide the answers that we needed.

Whenever such scenarios play out, she is the first person to tell me to go on my knees and pray. She is a pastor and invariably, regardless of how the situation has appeared, it just dissipates. I try to be highly spiritual if you are married to a pastor as a wife you have to try and keep up with her spiritually and I am doing just that.”

To capture the level of fondness for each other, Duke said they devised all sort of pet names to enamour each other: “We call ourselves all sorts of pet names such as ‘Baby’. She said to me: When you cannot readily remember my name you call me sweetheart. How many people know my wife’s real Kalabari name? Her real name is

Donald and Onari Duke

Owaonari but I made it Onari,” he declared.

Giving the fact that both of them are always star attractions and heads turners at social events, do they feel threatened by the admirations from the opposite sexes?

Duke dismissed such thoughts saying it was pointless and asserting that “after 32 years, where is she going and where am I going? In the early stages of a marriage,

you could feel threatened. But if it is a union you are sure of, there is nothing to threaten you. You will not be bothered if she is seeing another man or the man is seeing another woman. Yes, Onari had in the early years expressed concerns about me, but it is my duty to reassure her. I never expressed any concern about her because I am usually the guilty party”.

On whether they have served as role models to the two daughters who recently got married, Duke said: “I hope that Onari and I have been good role models to them.

That is the first prayer. It is not words that matter, it is action. They grew up in this household and they see how their parents live, that is what they take with them. You may not realise it, but you are impacting on them. So, if a child grows in a home, where the father insults the mother, when a child from such a home gets married, he will do likewise. So we have impacted positively on our children and even when we have disagreements, it is not before the children.

“In that setting, they have not seen both of us raise our voices at each other. But what I did tell them is that ‘you have to go into this union with a mindset that I am not getting out of it and if you go in with that mindset, then you must be prepared to forgive whatever happens within because neither of you is perfect and you are the two rough stones that have come together to rub each other. The rubbing is frictional to both of you smoothening out.

“I think they are well grounded. They are not perfect, they are just well grounded and if they go in with the right attitude, they will have a successful marriage and I hope that beyond the wedding, their fusion will be much shorter than most others. We live in a society where they are too many break-ups, and most of the time, they got married for the wrong reasons, it is not enough to be attractive or good looking or wealthy,” he pointed out.”

On how to make marriages last forever, Duke stressed that couples should strive to look beyond the superficial façade of beauty, wealth and material things which hardly last. “After a while, you don’t see the beauty any longer. You see the real person, and at that point, you could begin to see someone who is not attractive externally, but internally an angel, so that is the bond that holds you. So, you have got to look beyond beauty because beauty is skin deep.

You have to look beyond beauty and see how compatible the person is and how much you complement each other. If the wife says A and the husband says B, it is not going to work. Someone has to take charge.

“You should always forgive and it does not mean you don’t get angry or disappointed by his or her action. But you forgive. You start looking at the person as my own. That is a fusion, so you work at it, you pray for it, and you are there for your own reason, not because of the children. Some people stay together because of children or one reason or the other or the social safety valves that it provides for them. This one is beyond that, you just cannot contemplate being without the other person.”

Commenting on the high rate of divorces in the society today, Duke posits that divorces are the product of people getting together for the wrong reasons; people who are not compatible from onset: “They got together for the wrong reasons. Sometimes, families try to put people together because it looks socially-convenient. All over the world, where that happens, it is a disaster in the making. Few times it works conveniently, most of the time, it really does not work.

“One person will just totally become subservient to the other, usually the wife, they just move along and they have children, and she becomes so dependent on the man.

But people should find their own union.

Let me say this; it is not a woman’s vocation to be married. If you are not going to find a union that will provide happiness, don’t go into it. Worst still, don’t bring in children into that union that will not provide happiness. You are better off being on your own.

Unfortunately, you are almost stigmatised if you are not married, but it is wrong. You don’t have to be married.”

IWant to Believe we are Married, Fused, Because I Cannot Contemplate being Without Her

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JULY 7, 2018• THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

COMMENTARY

COUNTRY OF THOUSAND HILLS AND THOUSAND OPPORTUNITIES Rwanda holds lessons for Nigeria, writes Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo

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ur trip to Rwanda was supposed to be a red-eyeshuttle. The mission seemed easy; arrive Rwanda on Friday evening, rest, meet President Paul Kagame the following morning and deliver a proposal to invite him to Nigeria Governors’ Forum’s flagship “State of the States” conference expected to hold in November, go sight-seeing on Sunday to the horrendous relics of the country’s genocide memorial, attend a wedding banquet in the evening and return on Monday. Everything appeared all worked out.

But man proposes and God disposes. Things do not always go according to plans. Preparatory to the trip I read books on Rwanda, looked for restaurants and historical monuments among other things. One book, “We Survived,”

by Wendy Whitworth, provided me insight into the history of that country through the eyes of ordinary Rwandans.

Nothing though, tells you what to expect regarding the security infrastructure or the rhetoric that compels Rwandans to embrace their current reality. Some things only need to be experienced to be understood.

I travelled in the company of my Director-General, Mr Asishana Okauru and his wonderful wife and former boss of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru.

In planning the trip, I thought it best to travel by RwandAir, to relish its African experience. The flight was splendid.

The crew was all indigenous with Captain Safu in control.

My wife Agatha, who had only days earlier, arrived from Europe and latched on to the trip with us, argued with me vehemently about take-off and landing, as usual. But once in Kigali, we began to see what is needed to keep an African country on the path to progress.

As Nigerians, we were allowed to obtain our visas on arrival in Kigali, but one of the girls that arrived with us who happens to be Ghanaian simply strolled through the corridor while we were being interrogated on our mission to the country. This means that Ghana is visa-exempt in Rwanda but Nigeria isn’t. To me, this marked the beginning of the deconstruction of Nigeria. We stayed at the HighGround Villa, an exquisite lodge run by a young engineer Claude who proudly introduces the edifice and concludes jokingly, saying “and I’m the owner”. There is compelling reason why Claude should be proud. The villa sits atop Rebero Mountain with panoramic views of Kigali and its endless hills. During the day it looks a lot like Ibadan, running splash in rust and gold, but at nights the sparkles of tiny lights in the hills make the town look like paradise unexplored, a view that power-failure denies Ibadan.

Claude calls Rwanda “the country of a thousand hills and a thousand opportunities”. He’s right on the dollar!

Indeed, any young entrepreneur would bask in the glory of Rwanda’s opportunities. Claude’s views of Nigeria, though, are ones that make my gaze dip. He falls my arm. “If we had the oil and the solid minerals that Nigeria has, we would have been aiming to rule the world”, he

RWANDA REPRESENTS THE MOST PRESENT IMPRESSION OF AN AFRICAN STATE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. ITS CAPITAL IS REPUTED TO BE THE CLEANEST CITY IN AFRICA

enthused. To get even, in a quick-take-back, I said to Claude “or you’d have burnt each other with the oil, knowing your history of violence against one another.” But his message is loud and clear – read – Nigerians are wasting AFRICA’S opportunities. The amazing thing, as he explained, is that quite unlike Nigeria, where tribe, ethnicity and religion have been our bane, Hutus and Tutsis are merely a creation of some phoney Belgian colonialist who stratified the people by sharing meaningless identity cards among them. They are the same tribe and one people. As at today, it is illegal, in fact, an offence, to introduce oneself as either Hutu or Tutsi in Rwanda.

To think because of the genocide that Rwanda would be all male, pale and stale is perhaps the most fatalistic impression of that country. Kigali is a beauty to behold.

Although at the Genocide Memorial we were told by a guide that virtually every bit of Rwandan soil is probably a corpse beneath, the people of Rwanda move around with pride, and speak with tongues of humility, see with eyes of hope and reason with a lot of wisdom. In fact, a mass grave was dug out just a week before we set foot in Kigali and they continue to make such gory discoveries all around the country, but the people keep hope alive. It is ironic, that most older males walk around with a limp or an amputation, all memories of the genocide in a population that is at best young and evolutionary.

As a country, Rwanda represents the most present impression of an African state moving in the right direction.

Its capital is reputed to be the cleanest city in Africa and I asked my taxi driver, Gikondo, what would happen if I threw a piece of paper on the streets, as Nigerians are wont to do and he told me that as a visitor you’d be considered ignorant, but added that, even if the president were driving behind you, he’d stop and pick the piece of dirt up himself.

It is the best indication of faith in a country and its leadership. But here is the teaser. Our visit coincided with a state wedding, which was accompanied by a state banquet that we attended on Sunday. While every guest was seated, and the comperes, a male and a female, were bantering with jokes, Paul Kagame, the president himself, walked in casually, traced his place in the crowd, sat down, looked around for the bride and the groom, sighted them, walked over there to greet the newly weds and returned to his seat while the proceedings continued uninterrupted. There was no interjection announcing his arrival, no national anthem and no sign that someone who was better than the rest had come. We often argue over why Kagame was wanted for a third consecutive term. Visit Kigali, there is proof that hope lives in Kagame’s humility and his vision. There are cameras everywhere, but there is freedom too. That, I liked about Kigali.

Barkindo is Head, Media and Public Affairs at the Nigeria Governors’ Forum

JAMB AS A RECRUITMENT AGENCY Hamidu Danbarewa writes that JAMB is increasingly becoming a national human resource evaluation agency

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s someone with a keen interest in the phenomenal transformation of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board(JAMB) under Professor Ishaq Oloyede, whom I once described as the “street wise” academic-cleric-social scientist chief executive’ of the board in relation to his uncanny capacity for innovative reform, it is exciting to observe how my high hopes for the ubiquitous plague of “Nigerian factor” to come under the broad-spectrum sanitisation of the Oloyede JAMB elixir are being steadily fulfilled.

It was indeed reassuring to hear Professor Oloyede declaring the dawn of the era of JAMB as national examiner when he extended an invitation to corporate organisations to use its platform to conduct recruitment tests and examinations, drawing attention to the success recorded in the recent conduct of the police recruitment examination by JAMB. Earlier we got the unbelievable news that recruitment into the Nigeria Police Force, ironically one of the tap roots of “Nigerian factor”, will henceforth be filtered by JAMB, convincing enough for every Nigerian to shake-off the lingering despair over the seeming impossibility of witnessing a better Nigeria of our collective expectations.

You can imagine the monumental difference it will make in the quest for a decent and enlightened police force, if all the corruptionridden means of joining the police eventually

lead applicants to a JAMB screening net where they will undergo a written aptitude test to ensure transparency and get the best out of the candidates. Already, about 37,000 candidates for police recruitment have written JAMB tests nationwide under the recruitment exercise recently approved by President Muhammadu Buhari for 6,000 new officers to help increase the personnel of the Nigeria Police Force.

This new generation of “JAMB cops” will not just be a numerical boost but also a qualitative input by virtue of being of proven educational standard and intelligence quotient in sharp contrast to the corrupt combination of “man-know-man-cash-and-carry” recruitments of the past. It will be reasonable to expect a commensurate upgrade of the basic attitude and performance of the average cop from this batch. We now have an assurance that stark illiterates and delinquent drop outs can no longer find their way into the police force.

Such impressive inroads into the process of personnel screening by examination have already earned JAMB the responsibility for conducting a selection examination for medical doctors to work during the Jerusalem pilgrimage of the National Christian Pilgrimage Commission (NCPC) to meet NCPC’s desire for an improved selection system “based on merit, rather than bias.” It was

therefore saddening that there was a misguided attempt to derail the JAMB screening of candidate-police officers by manipulation of an innocuous option of Arabic that appeared on the computer screens but was not enabled for the police tests, into a false alarm of religious agenda. As the “Nigerian factor” reared its ugly head however, JAMB promptly beheaded the scourge with a reassuring explanation of the software glitch that should have advised the candidates to ignore the inaccessible Arabic option, noting that no police candidate was tested for Arabic.

Nigerians must appreciate and stop politicising the necessity of a transparent, credible and versatile institution devoted to promoting and maintaining high standards by dependable measurement and assessment mechanisms if we are to actualise the systematic overhaul and revitalisation of Nigeria’s critical manpower sector as well as the leadership recruitment process for development and good governance. “We want to be conducting mass examination for people.

We want sincere, transparent and honest people to approach the board for this service.

We can assure them of the best service and full disclosure of all that the board is doing,” Professor Oloyede maintained.

The successful transformation of a public institution like JAMB from the typical routine-restricted parastatal into a dynamic

development institution focused on excelling and extending the frontiers of its contribution to national progress is yet another pointer to the Buhari administration’s corrective capacity driven by transparency, public accountability and zero tolerance for corruption.

The likes of Professor Oloyede who combine academic attainment with professional intelligence and transparent patriotism would not be accommodated or permitted to initiate and implement such far-reaching reforms or reverse the culture of financial profligacy in government agencies as he did when he paid an unprecedented N5 billion revenue into the government treasury in his first year in office, under any other administration.

The Oloyede factor is just beginning to make its innovative and ingenious impact felt in JAMB, no doubt also with the exemplary solidarity of management and staff. Now JAMB is much more than a university and tertiary education admissions processor, it is steadily acquiring the credibility and responsibility of a national human resource evaluation agency. With the strong backing of reform-motivated Education Minister, Adamu Adamu no area of concern or “decadent paralysis” in the nation’s education sector will escape the attention and necessary action of the extraordinary Nigerian corrective taskforce embedded in the Buhari administration.

Danbarewa wrote from Kaduna

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JULY 7 , 2018 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

INSIGHT

What’s the way out of the perennial poor WAEC results?

Max Air, Medview and 2018 Hajj

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he Nigerian foremost airliners in Hajj operations, Max Air and Medview have been approved by the federal government to transport the Nigerian pilgrims to and from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the 2018 Hajj slated to commence third week of July. This is in addition to two other local carriers, Azman Air Services and Top Brass and two Saudi-based carriers, Flynas and Fly Prime. Two companies were approved as cargo services to airfreight pilgrims’ excess luggage. They are Cargo Zeal Technologies Limited and Medview International Travels and Cargoes.

Both Max Air and Medview have been in the Hajj industry for over two decades with proven expertise.

Both of them have acquired enough capacities over the years and have performed wonderfully to the satisfaction of the federal government which should consider the possibilities of granting them carryover as it happened at the advent of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON). Carryover implies that the airliners were assured of participating in the subsequent airlift operations. That gave them the confidence to prepare and deliver faithfully throughout the periods. According to the aviation division of NAHCON, the airlift of Nigerian pilgrims to and from Saudi Arabia will start from the 21st July to 20th September, 2018. The Saudi airspace for Hajj operations will open on 15th July and close on 11th August, while Nigerian pilgrims will commence their return trips to motherland on 28th August. It is expected that a large percentage of the pilgrims will land in Madinah, a feat that the present administration of the commission has achieved in the last few years.

The feat has eased the controversy that often surrounded the Miqat palaver which, although resolved by the commission through the national ulama team, has remained mismanaged by some scholars of sects.

But to be sure of the journey, all intending Muslim pilgrims who have paid fully and have registered for the Hajj must ensure that their details have been correctly captured and uploaded in their respective state boards’ portals on or before July 12, 2018, failure of which will affect their chances of performing the Hajj. According to the head of the public affairs division of the commission, Fatima Sanda Usara, those intending pilgrims who are not properly captured will be rendered ineligible to perform Hajj and those whose names do not appear on the portal will not be issued travel visa by the Saudi authorities.

As required by the instant federal government’s regulations, NAHCON placed adverts in six national dailies for interested airline operators to airlift Nigerian intending pilgrims for 2018 Hajj. It was also placed on the website of the commission. The six airliners applied and met with the requirements. Three cargo

Buhari and Emergence of Reformed-APC

operators applied but two qualified. A 28-man screening committee led by NAHCON’s commissioner of operations, Alhaji Abdullahi Modibbo Saleh alongside 10-man secretariat subjected the applicants to rigorous procedural exercises. The committee was made of experts from the aviation industry, such as Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) and the Nigeria Customs Service and representatives from other key stakeholders in Hajj operations. For transparency, the events were even recorded and during the price negotiations, NAHCON fought for reduction of the prices against the 2017 Hajj or at least maintenance of status quo.

The airliners attempted to prove beyond doubts the need to increase the airfare due to the increase in other requirements they need for the operations. After tough negotiations, it was agreed that pilgrims from Maiduguri and Yola departure centres of NAHCON will pay US$1600, pilgrims from other departure centres within the northern states will pay US$1650 while those from the southern states will pay US$1700. These were the airfares last year. For excess luggage, pilgrim from the north will pay 16 Saudi Riyals for each kilo while those from the south will pay 17 Saudi Riyals.

Muhammad Ajah, Abuja

T

he emergence of Reformed- All Progressives Congress is not strange to Nigeria’s political game.

It has happened before and it will happen in the future and that’s the beauty of representative democracy. In fact, opposition within a political party in power especially at the centre and from the National Assembly has been with us since 2003. However, students of politics know that the intense horse-trading and ploys that led to the emergence of R-APC have left the All Progressives Congress (APC) more fractured than united. Though, no political party can be crisis free, especially when in power. As elections approach, internal squabbles and scrabble for ‘who gets what’ are normal in political parties and most common in expensive democracies like Nigeria’s.

The Reformed- APC may on paper appear a threat to President Muhammadu Buhari’s second term ambition, but in substance it is not. This is because the RAPC doesn’t have a single APC governor that is in support of the group nor pre-

T H E SAT U R DAY N E W S PA P E R EDITOR YEMI ADEBOWALE DEPUTY EDITOR CHIKA AMANZE-NWACHUKU 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 DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS PATRICK EIMIUHI, SAHEED ADEYEMO CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

sented something new to Nigerians. The fight is still about who gets what though at its infant stage - anything is possible.

Apart from this, other oppositions are yet to pose a threat to Buhari because they are still disunited due to diverse personal ambitions. Furthermore, most of the opposition have centered their thinking and planning to ‘Abuja only’- Buhari.

They have forgotten local units where the politics and voting takes place. However, the R-APC is still a beautiful bride, depending on how the play the game.

The truth is, the APC has failed and is still struggling to effectively manage sudden fame and enormous power in the hands of different interests groups with diverse world views. The APC as a party is a victim of its formation, composition and destiny - suddenly the party became very strong but with little or weak respect for party supremacy and control. In fact, R-APC is the offshoot of the crisis that followed the just concluded national convention, local and states congresses including other six major issues which are governors who want to control everything and everyone; second, ex-governors who want to control incumbent governors; third, second-term governors fighting senators for senate-seat tickets; fourth, senators who want to become governors; fifth, parliamentarians unsure of a return ticket and finally, party faithful and stakeholders who feel side-lined by state government .

President Buhari is not a typical Nigerian politician, but a responsibility of behaving as one has fallen on him. The president has options; however, with a new life coming into the APC, and to ensure the party is most unified ahead of the 2019 elections, a presidential flair is needed in dealing with R-APC and the New-PDP- though some elements in the R-APC and New-PDP have taken advantage of the issues for just personal gains. Nevertheless, the best thing is one thing - the “R” in the R-APC. They should take the path of ‘reconciliation’ and employ the spirit of give and take.

Zayyad I. Muhammad, Jimeta, Adamawa State

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

14

NEWS

In Brief Set up Mental Health Centre in Plateau

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Plateau State chapter has urged thefederalgovernmenttoimmediatelysetupamentalhealthcentreinBarkin Ladi local government of the state to assess victims of the recent killings bysuspectedFulaniherdsmeninthestate.ChairmanoftheAssociation,Dr. Titus Dajel said setting up of the mental structures in the state would help toaddressthementalhealthchallengescausedbythecrisis.Dajelmadethe call yesterday at one of the IDP camps at COCIN church Heipang in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of the state were the NMA commenced free medicalservicestoover3,000internallydisplacedpersonsinthecampwho aremostlywomenandchildren.TheAssociationalsodonatedreliefmaterials totheIDPsincludingfoodstuffs,clothingandtoiletriesamongstotheritems.

Customs Men Beat Trailer Driver to Coma

SWEET VICTORY ...

Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State (middle) acknowledging cheers from staff of the Government House, Enugu, after the Supreme Court upheld his nomination as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2015 governorship election in the state, yesterday.

Police Arrest Five Suspected Killers of Seven Officers Dismiss, prosecute Corps member killer Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja The Police have arrested five suspects behind the killing of seven Police personnel on duty at Galadimawa, Abuja on Monday.

This is as the police authorities have dismissed Inspector Benjamin Peters, who killed a corps member, Ms Angela Igwetu, in Abuja on Wednesday. His dismissal was announced by the Commissioner of Police in-charge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr. Sadiq Bello, who said the killer cop had been arraigned in court over the incident.

The Force Public Relations Officer (PRO), Moshood Jimoh, confirmed the development at a briefing in Suleija, where he announced the

arrest of 37 suspected bandits, cattle rustlers and criminals operating in Kaduna, Minna, Tegina, BirninGwari – Funtua axis of Kaduna, Niger and Zamfara States.

Jimoh said the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris had on July 3, set-up a team of specialised crack investigation detectives, Police scene of crime experts and technical intelligence unit of the Force to investigate the circumstances surrounding the killing of the policemen, with a view to bringing the perpetrators to book.

"Arrests of some suspects in connection to the crime have been made and investigation is in progress in the case," he said.

While fielding questions from journalists after the briefing, Jimoh

said that the crack investigation team was also on the trail of other fleeing accomplices over the incident.

Giving further update of the investigation, the Police spokesman said the IGP, had ordered that the allowances of the victims be paid to their families.

The IPG, he also stated, equally directed that the deceased be given a befitting burial.

“As I speak with you, five arrests have been made in respect of the attacks and more arrest are being made and we would ensure that the perpetrators of this heinous crime are apprehended,” he assured.

Jimoh further assured that the crack investigation team set up by the IGP was working to proffer

measures and ensure that police personnel deployed for special duties were properly protected.

"The IGP commiserates with the families of the seven policemen and has directed that all their allowances and benefits should be paid to their families.

"He has equally directed a befitting burial for the personnel who died while protecting the lives of Nigerians", he said.

On the arrest of 37 suspected criminals terrorising parts of North West and North Central, Jimoh said that this was in line with the implementation and enforcement of strategies to ensure safety and adequate protection of travelers and people living in those communities.

Order No 6 as Descent to Fascism

Supreme Court Upholds Death Sentence on 3 Bakassi Boys

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

Alex Enumah in Abuja

PDP Rejects Buhari’s Executive

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned as illegal, unconstitutional, reprehensible and a dangerous step towards a descent to fascism, the Asset Seizure Executive Order announced by President Muhammadu Buhari, in total disregard to the provisions of 1999 constitution.

In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party noted that the Nigerian constitution did not, under any section, confer such fascist powers on the President under our democracy and there could be no legitimate latitude of interpretation placed on sections 5 and 15 (5) of the 1999 Constitution cited as justifications for this draconian executive order, that can excuse it.

"Therefore, President Buhari’s unilateral Executive Order is a travesty of justice and rule of law, as it vehemently seeks to hijack and usurp the powers of both the legislature and the courts and vest it on himself so that he can use same at will, as a political instrument, to haunt, traumatise, harass and victimise perceived political opponents.

"In order words, Mr. President wants to change our democratic governance to a military regime,

in line with his lamentation, two days ago, that the fight against corruption will be better under a military regime than under a democracy.

"It is instructive to emphasise that the PDP is not in any way opposed to the fight against corruption.

Rather, the party holds that the imposition of this Executive Order, which is radically at variance with the provisions of the constitution, is totally unacceptable.

"PDP takes this Executive Order 6 of 2018 as a reenactment of the obnoxious Decree 2 of 1984, which incidentally was also an enactment under then military Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari, and this must not be permitted in our current democratic dispensation.”

"If allowed, this Order will confer limitless powers on Mr. President, whose administration’s penchant for violation of rules and order already suggests a readiness for autocracy and a drive towards fascism.

The statement added: "In a democracy, the role of the executive arm of government is to enforce court orders/judgments handed down based on the interpretation of existing laws. Any suggestion to the contrary, as clearly intended by this Executive Order, is totally an aberration and inconsistent with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The Supreme Court has upheld the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which handed down a death sentence on three members of the Bakassi Boys vigilante group in 2006.

The defendants / appellants; Emmanuel Eze, Adiele Ndubuisi and Stanley Azuogu were convicted on charges of murder of two persons by the High Court of Abia State on February 26, 2006 and were consequently sentenced to death.

Not satisfied, the defendants separately approached the Court of Appeal to upturn the decision of the trial court.

However, the appellate court in its judgment delivered in May 2010, dismissed their appeals and affirmed the death penalty pronounced on them by the trial court.

The convicts had to appeal to the Supreme Court, praying that the murder charge on which they were convicted be substituted with manslaughter.

They had premised their appeal on the grounds that they were incited to kill the deceased by the Abia State Government.

But delivering judgment on the appeal yesterday, a five-man panel of the apex court found the appellants culpable of the murder charge and consequently affirmed the judgment of the lower court.

The panel led by Justice Dattijo Muhammad in a unanimous judgment, held that the three men truly committed murder and deserved the death penalty handed down on them.

Justice Amina Augie, who delivered the judgment of the apex court, said, “the Bakassi Boys are nothing but outlaws.”

Augie described them as “lawless persons operating outside the law, who desecrate the laws of the land in their unlawful and misguided quest to dispense justice by killing alleged criminals.”

The court in its decision held that the line of defence of the appellants, that they were provoked into killing the two persons, was baseless.

“The appellant admitted that the Bakassi vigilante group, to which he belonged was an unlawful association that dealt with alleged criminals with extreme measures which flagrantly breached the provision of the law on fair hearing", the court held.

Justice Augie added: “Having desecrated the laws of the land with such relish and reckless abandon, and being convicted for murder, the appellant is urging this court to allow the appeal, set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal delivered on May 5, 2010 and substitute his conviction on manslaughter, since he was incited by a third party.

TherewasaheavygridlockalongOkene-Lokojaroadyesterdaywhen some Customsmenallegedlybeatupatruckdriverandbrokehishead,leadingto hisdeath.THISDAYranintotheheavytrafficcausedbytheincidentthatleft manymotoriststrandedastheCustomofficersengagedthetruckdriverin a combat. THISDAY investigation gathered that the trailer driver who was carrying container was beaten because he refused to settled the Custom officerswhomountedroadblock.However,thecustomsmensaidherefused tostopforsearchofhisvehicle.However, theactionoftheCustommenwas saidtohavedrawnthesympathyfromhisotherColleaguetrailerdriverswho blockedtheroadmakingitimpossibleforvehiclestomove.Mostmotorists travelling to and from the north were stranded from almost four hours as a resultoftheclash.Theofficerswhothreatenedtokillwhoeverintervenewhile beating the truck driver fired into the air to scare people away

Man Wanted for Killing Businessman

TheAnambraStatePoliceCommandhasdeclaredMr.IkechukwuUdensialias Ikandawantedinconnectionwiththeallegedmurderofabusinessman,Mr. NdubuisiNwokolo.Nwokolohadon29thJunebeenkilledbyUdensi,aknown thuginOnitsha,alongsidehisgangmembersforattemptingtostophimfrom extortingcommercialmotorcyclists,whowasconveyinghim(Nwokolo)tohis shop.ApressreleasebytheAnambraStatepolicecommand,whichwassigned byitsspokesperson,SPHarunaMohammed,whereitdeclaredUdensiwanted ,calledonanyonewhoknowsthewhereaboutsofthesuspectedcriminalto report to the police. He disclosed that the Anambra State government had promised to reward anyone who gives useful information that leads to the arrest of the kingpin. Part of the release read, "Suspect is a native of Azia in Ihiala LGA of Anambra State, dark in complexion, aged 27yrs old and about 1.73 meters tall.

65-yr-old Arrested for Defiling Minor

A 65-year-old, Matthew Omokhafe, has been arrested for allegedly defiling and impregnating a 13-year-old Primary Four pupil in Akoko-Edo Local GovernmentAreaofEdoState.ActingChairman,EdoStateUniversalBasic EducationBoard(SUBEB),Dr.JoanOsaOviawe,whodisclosedthisinBeninCity yesterday,theboardplayedactiveroleinthearrestoftheculprit.According toher,“Wetookacourseofactionbyvisitingandensuringthatthecasewas transferredfromtheAkoko-EdoAreaDivisionoftheNigeriaPoliceDivision to the State Criminal Investigation Department in the state capital, Benin City." Dr. Osa Oviawe added that “with the collaborative efforts of the Child ProtectionNetwork(CPN),SUBEBwasabletohandoverthechild’scustody to the State Ministry ofWomen Affairs and Social Development."

Siting Cattle Ranches, Invitation to War

A group, Alago Development Association (ADA), youth wing, has cautioned Governor UmaruTanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State that his decision to site cattle ranches in their area was an indirect invitation of war.

TheNasarawaStategovernmentrecentlydonatedsevengazettedgrazing reserves of the state located at Awe, Keana, Doma, Assakio, Konva, Gitata and Kurudu for the purposes of the cattle ranching programme in the state.

But thePresident of Alago youths,IliyaAshokpaAuna,cautioned at apress conferenceinLafiayesterdaythatthecommunitieswerealreadyundersiege bytheFulaniherdsmenhenceitwasunhealthy,andatimebombthatmaybe capableofcausinganunimaginablecrisisinfutureifthegovernorinsistonthe siting of cattle ranches in their area. He said: "The leadership of ADA, youth wing,hascautionedGovernorAl-Makuranottoinviteanunimaginablewarin NasarawaStateoverhisrecentapprovalfortheestablishmentofcattleranches tobesitedinDoma,Keana,ObiandAssakiowhicharealreadycrisesareas."

PDP Chieftain Warns against Imposition

AformerGovernorshipaspirantofthePeoplesDemocraticParty(PDP)inDelta State,ChiefSunnyOnuesoke haswarnedagainstimpositionofcandidates in the coming primary elections in the state. Chief Onuesoke, who gave the warningwhileaddressingnewsmenshortlyaftertheDeltaCentralPDPmeeting heldatEku,EthiopeEastlocalgovernmentareaofDeltaState,advisedthat the ongoing rebranding exercise of the party in the state can only produce overwhelmingvictoryfortheparty,ifandonlyif,therewouldbefree,fairand crediblepartyprimaryelection.Hearguedthatthepartyshoulddispensewith old ways of consensus and imposition of candidate on the party, just as he notedthatfailuretojettisonedoldwaywouldmean gettingthesameresultit hasalwaysgottenovertheyears.”Freeandfairelectionsarethecornerstone ofeverydemocracyandtheprimarymechanismforexercisingtheprinciple of sovereignty of the people.

Leasehouz Debuts in Lagos,

Leasehouz, an online market platform where various assets, goods and services, sold by various vendors and partners are displayed for sale has debutedinNigeria.TheplatformispoweredbyAssetKapInvestmentLimited isanewlyestablishedservicesolutioncompanyprovidingmoderndayasset solutionsandotherrelatedservicesinNigeria.Assetkapprovides services in the areas of leasing, fleet management, financial intermediary/advisory and investments. Speaking recently at the product launch in Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer of AssetKap, Mr. Ifeanyi Ogbor, said Leasehouz offered to finance the purchase of assets displayed on platform for its customers in return for periodic installments structured conveniently.

Leasehouz also facilitates the outright purchase of goods and services as well.

15

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

NEWS

Rivers Communities Take over War against Kidnappers Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt Worried by the increasing activities of kidnappers and cultists, 14 communities in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, have have vowed to comb the forests in their land to flush out all criminals.

In recent times, some motorists and commercial buses have been kidnapped while travelling through the area especially to and from neighbouring Imo State.

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, had at the inauguration of the new local government council chairmen in the state on June 18, given them marching orders to fight insecurity and crime in their domains.

Addressing journalists at Isiokpo yesterday, the Chairman of Ikwerre Local Government Council, Samuel Nwanosike, said the communities had agreed to take over the war against criminals and criminal activities in the area.

He noted that criminals were overtaking communities and converting farmland and forests to kidnappers and armed robbers hideouts, sometimes with the active connivance of the community officials.

He gave cult groups and kidnappers operating in communities in the local government area an ultimatum of three weeks to turn a new leaf and surrender their arms and ammunition to security agencies or face the wrath of the law.

He also said he had given himself a three-week deadline to clear the forests of criminals and encourage farmers in the area to return to their farm lands stressing that the council was already compiling names of women who collect money from criminals to cook and send food to them in the forests.

"Very soon communities will move into the forests en masse to flush out criminals taking refuge there", he said, adding that the situation had become so bad that kidnap and cult gang leaders no longer respect traditional rulers but sometimes summon them to their houses to flog them.

Furthermore, he said: "The amnesty that was granted to criminals some time ago was done in conjunction with security agencies and there were no monies attached to it.

I was the Caretaker Committee Chairman then. Soon after, some of those people who were granted amnesty returned to crime and criminality.

"The criminals still have the opportunity to turn a new leaf and surrender their arms and ammunition to security agencies. Thank God we now have a Police Area Commander here. The Director of DSS is here and the JTF is here. Let them surrender their arms and they will be taken care of.

Nwanosike further explained that he dissolved the leadership of the

APPRECIATING APPERANCES...

L – R : Head, Corporate Communications, Diamond Bank Plc Chioma Afe; CEO, Africana Beauty & Fashion House, Bamidele Dorcas; Actress, Osas Ajibade; and Sales Manager, Film House Lekki, Okoro Chiwendu; at the cheque presentation Ceremony to Best Dressed at the Ocean’s 8 premiere Sponsored by Diamond Bank held in Lagos recently Community Development Committees (CDC) of the 14 communities in the area because of involvement of some of the chairmen in cultism.

He said: "How can you come to

a community where you claim to be a CDC chairman and people are going about with AK-47 rifles. We found out that majority of the CDC chairmen belong to either Deygbam

or Deywell cult groups. How can a community move forward with such persons?

"Community leaders were subjecting themselves to the rulership of

the so-called Civilian Generals who terrorise our communities. How can a chief go to the house of a criminal for settlement of issues? You see these chiefs being flogged by these boys.

Enugu Guber Tussle: Court Refuses Personnel for Ekiti Poll’ to Sack Governor Ugwuanyi ‘Over 20,000 Security Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The Commissioner of Police, Ekiti State Command, Bello Ahmed, Friday revealed that over 20,000 security personnel would be deployed for the gubernatorial election in Ekiti State, scheduled for 14th July, 2018.

Ahmed disclosed this while briefing journalists after the quarterly meeting with security agencies which was held behind closed doors at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Abuja.

He said having carried out threat analysis that the police had identified flash points and individuals involved who may be inimical to peace in the forthcoming gubernatorial election in the state.

Ahmed said: "We have done threat analysis and we have identified all the flash points, individuals involved

and everyone that is inimical to peace, not only during the conduct of this election but the entire Ekiti has been identified and we have put in place a robust security arrangement to checkmate that.

"On the part of the police, we have over 16,000 personnel that will be involved, and total of over 20,000 police and other security personnel's are going to be active during this forthcoming election," he added.

The commissioner of police, as expected said there would be restriction of movement during election period, while insisting that every election observer and even the media must be accredited by INEC for easy movement on the election day.

"You cannot just wake up and say you are this, you are that. Nigerians being what we are, we must follow due process. There is a tag that will

be given to you after due verification of your accreditation card. With that card you are free to move to any part of the state to do your work."

The Ekiti State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Abdulganiyu Raji, assured that everything had been put in place for the conduct of the election in Ekiti.

He said INEC had distributed all non-sensitive materials to all the 16 local government areas, stressing that deployment of personnel would be done by Monday next week.

Raji noted that INEC had also organised town hall meeting in 14 local government areas in the state explaining processes of election to the people of the state.

He stated that the kind of structure that had been put in place by the electoral body had made it difficult for anybody to rig election in the country.

Alex Enumah in Abuja

The Supreme Court, Abuja, on Friday put an end to the legal tussle over the Enugu governorship seat, when it threw out the suit by a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chieftain and governorship aspirant in the 2015 election, Senator Anyogu Eze. Eze, had approached the apex court seeking the removal of Ugwuanyi as Governor of Enugu State on grounds that he was not the proper candidate of his party, PDP in the 2015 Enugu governorship election.

When the matter came up yesterday, the Supreme Court dismissed the suit for lacking in merit and awarded a N1million cost in favour of Ugwuanyi.

The court in a unanimous judgment, resolved all the issues

against the appellant.

The five-man panel of the apex court subsequently, upheld the judgement of the Court of Appeal, Abuja, which earlier affirmed Ugwuanyi’s election victory.

Justice Kayode Ariwola, who presided on the appeal, berated the Senator for raising issues bordering on a subject matter the court had previously decided upon.

The court held that there was no point re-litigating on issue bordering on the primary election that produced Ugwuanyi.

According to the court, by the provision of section 87 (4) and (9), the appellant who did not participate in the said primary election, lacked the locus-standi to query the outcome.

“There is no substance in this appeal and it is accordingly dismissed”.

Eze had in the appeal marked SC/248/2017, prayed the apex court to sack Ugwuanyi from office on the premise that he was not validly nominated by the PDP for the gubernatorial election.

He told the court that Ugwuanyi emerged from a kangaroo primary election he said was conducted on December 8, 2014, by some leaders of the party. The appellant insisted that Ugwuanyi was merely handpicked by some persons at the National Headquarters of the party in Abuja, alleging that the purported primary election was organised with fake list of delegates.

He argued that the primary poll that produced Ugwuanyi was in breach of section 87(4) (b)(I) of the Electoral Act.

PDP to Immortalise Ekwueme, Ciroma, Others

FG to Restrict Insurance Operators to Areas of Competence

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

Bennett Oghifo

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said it was going to immortalise late Adamu Ciroma, Alex Ekwueme, Solomon Lar and other deceased founding fathers of the party.

This was disclosed by the party’s National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus during his condolence visit to Ciroma’s family in Abuja.

Secondus, who led members of the National Working Committee (NWC), and some other PDP leaders to Ciroma’s Abuja residence to commiserate with the family on the passage of the elder statesman said that he would be consulting with party leaders after the period of mourning to decide on what to do

to honour the departed party men.

Speaking to journalists, Secondus extolled Ciroma's role in the formation of the PDP, describing him as an honest and disciplined nationalist.

He said the late former minister played a vital role in addressing challenges that the party faced in the past, Secondus said the former CBN governor was a very straight forward man who had zero tolerance for corruption.

He said: "Among all the other leaders, late former Vice President Alex Ekwueme was a founding father and Adamu Ciroma was one of the pillars of the party behind the formation of what we know today as the largest political party in Africa.

"By the grace of God, something

will be done to immortalise them.

We will consult with other leaders but right now we are in a state of mourning, by the time we are through with it we will come out with something," he said.

Secondus who was flanked by PDP spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, further said that Ciroma contributed immensely to the development of the country and “we have lost a great leader.”

"He believed in merit and equal rights and justice. He believed that all human beings are equal before God. We must all emulate him. We also ask those serving now and those that are yet to emulate him because he was an embodiment of rule of law justice and human rights for all," Secondus said.

The federal government is evolving a new policy that will restrict insurance operators to their areas of competence and ability.

Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission, (NAICOM), Mr. Muhammad Kari stated this yesterday at an Executive Breakfast meeting with the theme, ‘Corporate Governance and the Nigerian Insurance Industry’, organised by the Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria, (SCGN) in Lagos.

According to Kari, the new policy would introduce a “riskbased system” where companies would be restricted to their areas of competence and abilities instead of

the “rule-based system” in operation, where companies operate regardless of the level of their capital.

He said the policy was being worked on and that when it was ready, “companies with capital-base of about N2 billion would restrict their operations to activities like insurance of motor cars, buildings for fire and the like, while those with higher capital base can go into oil, ship, aircraft and engineering equipment.

“What we are coming out with is going to force companies to operate within their ability to their capital asset so that the policy holder and companies are protected against their wishes to go into areas where they cannot afford.

“We are used to classify companies with the capital they can bring in

but we are getting to the process of introducing risk-based classification which will try to see what your asset or capital can cover.

“I don’t see the stock market growing again, of course it is dry now, I don’t see the banking sector growing bigger but the insurance penetration is under one per cent and under one per cent contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), “There is a lot of potentials in the biggest economy in Africa, with the population we have, you can imagine if we are able to increase our earnings and make companies responsible, you can imagine what it will be, it will help the economy, create employment and bring financial support to businesses and government."

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

16

NEWS Mining: 11 Tertiary Institutions Benefit from N84m Research Grants Kasim SumainainAbuja

BUILDING CAPACITY...

L-R: Deputy Secretary General, Nigerian Triathlon Union, NTU, Comfort Nwankwo; Vice - President, NTU, Ize Matebese; International Triathlon Union, ITU, Head Facilitator, Franz Studer; President, NTU, Prince Wale Oladunjoye; and ITU Facilitator, Travis Campbell, at the ITU coaching course for coaches in Triathlon organised by the NTU, held at the Nigeria Olympic Committee conference room in Lagos… recently

Mitee, Others Petition Osinbajo over Ogoni Clean-up ErnestChinwoinPortHarcourt Prominent elders of Ogoniland have petitioned the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, over attempts by the Hydrocarbon Pollution and Remediation Project (HYPREP) to tie the clean-up of Ogoniland to resumption of oil and gas production in the area.

The elders said there was no agreement on Ogoni clean-up as suggested by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu in the invitation he sent out concerning the cleanup exercise.

In the petition dated July 3, 2018 and titled: ‘A Call for Intervention in the Engagement Process and Appeal against the Introduction of Unwholesome Conditions for the Clean-up and Remediation of Ogoniland, the elders under the aegis of Gbo Kabaari Ogoni, the Elders Forum of the Ogoni People, accused the minister of being behind

the move.

The petition was signed by Sen. Bennett Birabi, Dr. Desmond Nbete, Mr. Ledum Mitee, Mr. Baritor Kpagih, Prof. Johnson Nna and Chief Monday Abueh.

Other elders that signed the petitions include Rev’d Canon Abraham Olungwe, R. Adm. J. N. Bakpo (Rtd.), John Pascal Nalley (JP), Michael Aloega and Dr. Meshach Kara.

The elders noted that the main objective of the meeting slated for the 9th of July 2018, according to the invitation sent to a few selected persons, was “the resumption of oil and gas production activities in Ogoniland on the basis of an alleged agreement of an earlier meeting that the resumption of oil and gas activities in Ogoni must now be a condition precedent for the much hyped clean-up and remediation of the Ogoni environment under HYPREP.” The elders said, Gbo Kabaari Ogoni was saddened and concerned about

the developments, pointing out that considering the recent history of the people, the issue of resumption of oil and gas activities in Ogoni was such a sensitive matter that required a thorough and painstaking engagement process with a far broader stakeholders than the few handpicked persons currently engaged.

The petition stated: “We are further seriously concerned that two years after the much publicised flag-off ceremony for the clean-up of Ogoni land as recommended by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) by the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources is now tying the expected commencement of the cleanup and remediation process to resumption of oil and gas activities in our land by his preferred company.

“We are saddened that a minister in a government avowedly committed to due process and anti-corruption, should

even contemplate making resumption of oil activities in Ogoni a condition for cleanup of our land, even when no attempt has been made to even engage on or redress the ills of the past. We find this clearly insensitive, to say the least, especially at a time that the federal government is revisiting the ills of the past in some other communities with a view to redressing them.”

They stated that the Stakeholders Engagement being planned by the minister “is a sham to merely endorse a decision already taken to forge a dubious so-called ‘Ogoni endorsement’ of a particular company to resume oil and gas activities in Ogoni without any pretences to transparency whatsoever even despite, as we are aware, the technical advice of his staff that the process for engaging any such company for the Ogoni field should be by public tender to ensure transparency and also to ensure that the most competent company is engaged.”

CAN Suspends Nationwide Peaceful Protest INEC: Continuous Voters Registration Paul Obi in Abuja The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) yesterday postponed its planned peaceful protest march slated for July 11, 2018.

The planned protest was intended to press home CAN's anger and disappointment with government over its inability to stop the killings by alleged Fulani herdsmen.

CAN President, Rev. SupoAyokunle said: "Due to some circumstances beyond our control. However, the three-Day Prayer and Fasting will still hold as scheduled for July 9-11, 2018 in all churches and state chapters of CAN. "The church and denominational leaders will, however, still come to the National Christian Centre together with the National Executive Committee (NEC) of CAN on the 11th of July at 10am to cry to God for our land.”

CAN had declared July 9-11, 2018 as National Days of Prayers and Fasting against unwarranted killings in the land and called on all well-meaning Nigerians, both within and outside the country, to join Christians for the peaceful protest against killings.

Ayokunle further stated that "CAN had hinged its decision on willful and persistent killings of fellow citizens in general and Christians in particular nationwide, and mostly in Plateau and Benue where mass burial has become the norm without any positive response from the country’s security agencies.

"CAN had expressed gross concern and grave disappointment over the continuous killings despite al clarion calls on President Muhammadu Buhari to re-organise his security team by replacing all the security chiefs."

Ends in August Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Thursday said Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) would end in the middle of August, to afford it enough time to process data collected during the exercise and for the production of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

The decision was reached at a quarterly consultative meeting held with the Civil society organisations (CSOs) and the media in Abuja organised by INEC. Though, the Electoral Act 2010 as amended states that, "the registration of voters, updating and revision of voter under this section shall stop not later than 60 days before any election covered

The senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial Zone has denied that he indulged in any form of malpractice to win his election into the Senate in January this year.

The senator, who was in court, Friday for cross examination dismissed the claim that the election

was rigged in his favour, noting that the election was a walk over for him as he defeated his opponents overwhelmingly.

Umeh said the election was peaceful and no security threats or invasions were registered anywhere in all the seven local government areas where the election took place.

A candidate of the Mega Progressive Peoples Party (MPPP), Mr.

Nkem Ekweozor, in the January 13 Anambra senatorial rerun election had challenged Umeh's election.

Ekweozor, during cross examination yesterday said Sen. Victor Umeh screened himself to emerge candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in 2014, when he was still the national chairman of the party.

He argued that Umeh was still

Revenue Board Seals 25 Firms, Schools, Fuel Stations Over Tax Default in Delta Sylvester Idowu in Warri

by this Act." This empowers the Commission to stop the registration of voter, updating and revision of the register any time before 15 December, 2018, which amount to 60 days to the commencement of the 2019 general elections, scheduled for 16 February, 2019.

The chairman of INEC, Prof.

Mahmood Yakubu, said: "It is important to note that the processing of data collected during the CVR exercise, leading to the production of PVCs takes time. It also takes time to produce PVCs of persons on the register of voters but whose PVCs were not hitherto produced to the reproduce PVCs emanating from request for transfers (intra and inter-state), defaced and lost PVCs."

I Didn't Cheat to Become Senator, Umeh Tells Tribunal David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

The federal government has shared N84 million amongst 11 tertiary institutions in the country for research development in various areas relating to mapping and evaluation of particular mineral deposits.

The Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Alhaji Abubakar Bawa Bwari, who on behalf of government, presented letters of participation for research development to representatives of some of the universities, said: "I am told that, this ministry will be giving out such assistance to universities for research purposes, but I can assure you that, this will certainly not be the last.

According to Bwari, "The N84 million that is been shared by 11 universities for research development in various areas, will no doubt increase the fountain of geoscience data available for investors.

"We also hope that it will impact on the students and lecturers that will be involved in the field work so that the quality of learning in our schools will continue to be improved upon.

We have seen so many graduates of Geology and Mining who cannot identify basic mineral types."

The minister, who lamented the lack adequate bankable data in the country, said: "As you know, without geoscience data, there can be no mining and Nigeria suffers from lack of adequate data, especially the kind of bankable data that major mining companies need in order to invest in the sector."

He said: "Few months ago, we finally secured the electromagnetic data that had been in the hands of the contractor for about a decade. This has further made the Nigerian mining jurisdiction more attractive for investors who require as much information as they could get in order to make decisions.

"This administration has therefore

the chairman of the party at the time he secured nomination to run for senate in 2014, and that this was in violation of APGA constitution and Electoral Act, thus making his nomination invalid.

The election in contention was originally conducted in 2015 and won by Mrs. Uche Ekwunife but was nullified following the petition of Chief Umeh.

made data generation, retrieval and storage a priority and has continued to invest hugely in this area. As our source of funding improves, we intend to continuously increase the amount of money we spend on this critical component of mining."

Continuing, he said: "The universities that are here, won these grants on basis of the merits of their research proposals and potential value to the growth and development of the sector.

"In order to ensure professional probity, five eminent professors, including the former President of Nigeria Mining and Geoscience Society, Prof. Olugbenga Okunlola, evaluated the research methodology for the steering committee on research collaboration with Nigeria Tertiary Institutions.

With the signing of the 2018 budget, the second phase of this collaboration will commence soon.

I therefore urge today's recipients to stick to their terms of reference and ensure that they deliver within six months," the minister said.

In his opening remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Abdulkadir Mu’azu, noted that one of the key impediments to the development of the sector was the issue of talents and human According to him, "We are also aware of knowledge gaps and there is need to do research, to invest the research, to know more so the sector can grow using it as one of the vehicle to diversify our calling."

Similarly, Okunlola, described mining as knowledge based sector.

He said: "We got applications from about 15 universities in an open advert that was allowed to run for three weeks and the steering committee of eminent professors looked at the proposals one after the other without bias and those that were in relevance with the roadmap and agreeing with what we want to do in the sector and we came back and awarded marks."

As part of efforts to increase the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) profile of the State, the Delta State Board of Internal Revenue (DBIR) has sealed off 25 private companies, including schools and Petrol Stations operating in Udu, Warri and Effurun, Local Government areas for different acts of tax default running into millions of naira.

The companies affected included Kepas Petroleum Limited, Voe Oil Nigeria Limited, Famz Hotels, Victory View Hotel and Suites, Step Forward Group of Schools, and Olden Petroleum Limited, in the Orhuwhorun-Ovwian axis.

Also affected were Palmer Clinic, Ekete Inland, as well as Lee Consolidated Petroleum Limited, and Sonik Plantinum Engineering, along DSC expressway.

Those sealed-off in Effurun area included Hajj Khalid Int’l Limited, Winners Club / Hotel, Little Paradise Home & Suites, Teki Bottling, Company, Jomaro Int’l School, and Clemline Services Limited.

The sealing of the affected companies and schools was revealed yesterday in a press statement in Warri and signed by the Public Relations Officer of DBIR, Mr. Mike Epue.

He said that the sealing off

of the business premises was consequent upon the verdicts of the State Revenue Courts in Warri, Otor-Udu and Effurun, in cases filed by DBIR for tax evasion and failure to file their annual tax returns within the stipulated time.

Director of Enforcement and Compliance, Mr. Joel Ogege, who led the enforcement team comprising Court officials, security agents and staff reiterated the Board’s resolve to continue to enforce relevant tax laws in the state.

He stressed that it would enable government raise funds to discharge its obligations to the citizens in the areas of critical infrastructural development, as well as the general improvement of the living standard of all Deltans.

Ogege advised Deltans and corporate bodies not to neglect paying their taxes, and to file their annual tax returns with the Board between January 1st and 31st each year for the preceding year.

“Paying tax to government is the civic responsibility of citizens and corporate organisations, which is a veritable way of contributing to the development of the state", he said Ogege disclosed that the judgment costs against the companies ranged from N50,000.00 for enterprises to N500,000.00 for limited liability companies.

Plus

TRAVEL GLOBAL SOCCER FAIRGROUND TEENS CONNECT SHOWBIZFLAIR SHOWB W I

pg. 28 pg. 29 pg. 36 pg. 38 pg. 46

Ehi Braimah

Rotary Club Widened My Horizon about the Essence of Life

pg. 20

Femi Adesina

My Daughter Was Almost Weeping Reading Unsatisfactory Remarks about Me in the Social Media

Tola Ajayi

My Job as a Sex Therapist

pg. 22

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ JULY 7, 2018

PLUS

My Job as a Sex Therapist It is fast becoming the vogue to see couples, who have moved from being partners at home to sharing a workspace. Tola Ajayi, one of such, the Clinic Manager, Nordica Fertility Center, Lagos, co-manages the hospital with her husband where they help childless couples actualise their dream of having children. Her husband is the Medical Director of Nordica Fertility Center. The beautiful woman, known for her caring nature, is a friend to all, an attribute fast fading in our medical institutions. With a warm hug and big sunny smiles, she talks about the journey so far, challenges working with her husband, Nordica Fertility Center at 15, their recent outing on Endometriosis and being a sex therapist. She speaks with Omolola Itayemi

When I’m at Work, I’m not Mrs. Ajayi, He’s Not My Husband

O

ver the years, you have been working with your husband, Dr. Abayomi Ajayi, how has it been?

Well, I think I will call it great. Though it was a bit tough, I never thought I could work with him. He just came home one day and said …you are coming to Nordica. I was trained as a nurse. I was working at a neurology clinic.

One thing I decided since the day I joined him almost 11 years ago was that when I’m at work I’m not Mrs. Ajayi, we will relate like I work for him. But the moment we get into the car I become Mrs. Ajayi.

When he calls me at work I answer ‘Yes Sir’, that is the only way we can function because if you allow emotion to come in, you won’t be able to function. So, I don’t put emotions to it at all when I’m at work, he’s not my husband at all.

Any challenges working here?

Sometimes, I have contrary opinion to his and because I cannot confront him, I just keep quiet. Maybe we now talk about it later. Sometimes, if I feel strongly against what he says, I do send him a text or whatsapp message of ‘No, No, I don’t think this would fly.’ We may be in the same meeting. I just quickly send a message about my opinion about it because I will not want to oppose whatever he’s saying. That sometimes is a challenge. If I’m right, I will not let him rest until he listens to me and he knows. I will not let him rest. I will keep bothering him until

tens to me. he listens u are a sex therapist, tell us what You tails? it entails? o fertility counseling, I do sex and I do onship counseling. They are all relationship woven. That’s why I had to go forr interwoven. ng so that I will know what to training king to our clients. We have do talking o issues about sex among people who rtility challenged. Sometimes,, are fertility they don’t even have sex again. times, it has become like Sometimes, once in six months, sometimes mes, some couple two times, maybee only during ovulation ther clients it’s a and other hy are we doing no- why metimes, you see it? Sometimes, en coming to the men inic unable to the clinic uce semen mayb be produce maybe there’ss no erection.

The man would come in to confide in me,, ‘madam I don’t have erectile em o, I can problem rm outside. perform nly with the It’s only an’. Somewoman’. times, they don’t ach other find each tive again, attractive ere’s no sex. so there’s while, the Meanwhile, man says he’s finee de. Looking outside.

Sometimes, I have contrary opinion to his and because I cannot confront him, I just keep quiet. Maybe we now talk about it later. Sometimes, if I feel strongly against what he says, I do send him a text or whatsapp message of ‘No, No, I don’t think this would fly.’ We may be in the same meeting.

I just quickly send a message about my opinion about it because I will not want to oppose whatever he’s saying

JULY 7, 2018 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

19

PLUS I Don’t Stress Myself because I Know That whatever ver I’m not in Control, I Cannot Do Anything about it at that, it’s not a sexual problem, it’s a relationship problem. Things like that you have to work on it for them to get over it.

Your dress sense is admired by all, have you always been this way?

This has always been me. Right from growing up, this has always been me.

I had my low cut almost 20 years now because my last daughter is 16 years and I have started wearing low cut before I was pregnant for her. I just got fed up one day and cut my hair. I just like to be happy. I believe that the situation in the country might not allow someone to be happy. When you look at the situations around you, you will not be happy but I choose to do some things that will make me feel good. My dressing is one of them. I do not owe anybody any explanations. Whatever will make me happy is just what I want to do. There are two colours; Nordica has orange and blue. I bought five orange, five blue afro wigs. I picked orange. I use the wig to express how happy we are. Valentine we used white and red; Christmas we used green. White and red, for independence we wear green wig, endometriosis, we used yellow wig because that is the colour for endometriosis. I know someone who makes wigs. She has a factory. Anytime I need a particular colour, I will just let her know and she will make it for me.

It’s the norm here, part of our dressing anytime we have to celebrate, I order for the colour of the day of the event while ordering for the wigs. We appear this way because Nordica was 15 the day we had endometriosis gala and because we had the event, we didn’t feel the anniversary so we decided to make some fun with our clients. And they all love it. The colours make them look so good.

You recently had Endometriosis day/ gala night. Tell us how it all went?

It was a beautiful outing. The turnout was impressive. We had the awareness walk in March; we always want it to coincide with International Women’s day. We had a walk and a lot of people joined Diamond women and it turned out well. The awareness of endometriosis is gaining ground in Nigeria. Someone will call to say; I think I have a friend who might have endometriosis from what you people are talking about. We are getting there. We are not yet there and a lot of people do send messages on instagram, or facebook messages to Dr. Ajayi that they have endometriosis, how can you help? We also had a special round table, which we invited two doctors from Germany to have a talk with our doctors on the current diagnosis and management of endometriosis and the turnout was very impressive. To round it off, we had endometriosis gala on Saturday. We want to raise awareness and see if people can donate to the foundation. It’s a way to tell people to support the foundation. We had the media merit award that night which was the third edition. We also had secondary school essay competition, the second edition and incidentally the school that won last year also won this year and the English teacher was recognised.

What are the key things to know about Endometriosis?

Endometriosis as you may be aware is a debilitating condition which affects one in 10 women. It is a condition in which the tissue that normally lines the uterus grows outside the uterus, typically on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, intestines or other areas in the pelvis. It is most characterised by late diagnosis as most physicians tend to miss it. With all that we know today, we are bringing a message of hope to sufferers, new technologies and treatments are becoming available to manage the condition.

Even as a grandmother you look good, tell us your secret?

Now, I exercise. I wasn’t doing that before. I eat right; I eat lots of vegetables and fruits. I don’t eat late. I drink a lot of water. I take about 4.5 liters of water in a day. I drink a lot of water. I exercise and I pray. Up till two years ago, I wasn’t doing anything fantastic. I eat whatever I want to eat, I changed because I saw a friend diagnosed with cancer and it progressed until she died and that really shook me.

From that moment, I decided to have a change in my eating pattern. I don’t stress myself because I know that whatever I’m not in control, I cannot do anything about it so I don’t put it on my head. But my look has always been a blessing from God. Even my style, I grew up with that type of life with my mum. She used to be a major distributor of laces when we were much younger. Then we were not wearing many dresses, we were so much into lace and gold. That was my style then. I wore laces and gold alot until I met my husband and my dress sense changed.

What kinds of clothes do you prefer to wear?

To work, I wear everything. I wear dresses, I wear trousers, but now I am beginning to tilt towards three quarter pants and a jacket. I’m doing more of that now. I like to wear trousers a lot. My casuals are usually like top and jeans, leggings and top. I love my owambe outfits too.

Can you tell us the number of children from this centre since inception?

We have about 2,500. Why we cannot say this is the number is that some people when they get pregnant, we don’t hear from them again. Sometimes they even change their phone number. Sometimes, they don’t know it’s for their own good because we want to see how the children are growing, because we probably need to look into their developmental stages because a lot of people still believe that IVF babies are not normal babies but we are saying they are normal babies and I want to see them grow so that we can monitor them. We want to see their performance in school. The ones that we have now, we monitor a lot of them and they are doing very well. That’s why I will not want to put a number but we have about 2,500 and we count more because we have a lot of multiples, we had five babies, four, and three, there are plenty of twins.

I decided to have a change in my eating pattern. I don’t stress myself because I know that whatever I’m not in control, I cannot do anything about it so I don’t put it on my head. But my look has always been a blessing from God. Even my style, I grew up with that type of life with my mum. She used to be a major distributor of laces when we were much younger Ba

20

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž JULY 7, 2018

PLUS

Ehi Braimah Rotary Club Widened My Horizon about the Essence of Life As an undergraduate of Mathematics at the University of Benin, Ehi Braimah, the new President of Rotary Club of Lagos, District 9110, was known more on the campus as Football enthusiast and analyst. It did not come as a surprise to his friends and family when he came to Lagos and approached Dr. Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase, Publisher of Complete Sports and instantly began a career as a Sport Reporter. Then, his path crossed that of the Nite Shift Coliseum boss, Guvâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;nor Ken-Caleb Olumese, and the budding journalist again shifted ground to embrace the world of entertainment and events management. Looking for what to do to inspire his immediate environment and serve humanity, Braimah found the ideals of Rotary Club attractive and he joined the international organisation. This entrepreneur shares his journey through life with Raheem Akingbolu

21

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

PLUS I’m Passionate about Humanity and I See Rotary Club as a Good Platform

S

ix years after he joined the Rotary Club of Lagos, Ehi Braimah, the Chief Executive Officer of Neo Media and Marketing, has not forgotten how the motto of the international organisation – ‘Service Above Self’, got him thinking about the essence of life. Since his first day as a member, Braimah hasn’t looked back. A man of many roles, the club, according to him, has further taught him how to plan his day-to-day activities and excel both in his business and social services.

For his commitment and painstaking interest in service to humanity, this Edo State born businessman will on July 6 assume office as the President of the association.

Speaking to THISDAY on what endeared him to the club, Braimah said after reading about the life history of the founder of the club, Paul P. Harris, a Chicago, United States, attorney, he got hooked to the objectives, the four-way test and the six focus areas of the club.

“As a person, I’m passionate about humanity and I see Rotary Club as a good platform to contribute my quota to community development and touch lives. To me, if a country or a business organisation key into the objectives of Rotary as well as the six focus areas of the club, the world will be better for all. They include; the development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service; high ethical standards in business and professions and the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations, and the dignifying of each Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to serve society.

“The last is the application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian’s personal, business, and community life and the advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service. Above all, I think the four-way test, says it all; is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned?

Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned? These are sacrosanct principles that could change the world.”

As a businessman, with interest in event management, entertainment and hospitality, one wonders how Braimah combines these with the activities of Rotary Club, but according to him; it is easy, depending on how one plans his day to day activities.

“I will say we multi-task and this is the time to do it. By the time we are 75, we will slow down and into full time retirement. Now we have full time energy and it’s time to work. When you see the dream of the founder of Rotary Club, Paul Harris, since February 23, 1905, it is clear that there’s nothing in this world but to continue to serve selflessly. I enjoy serving selflessly and that’s the vision behind the founding of Rotary. It’s a global humanitarian service organisation. That’s why the motto of Rotary is “Service above Self”.

“We believe that if we put smiles on faces of people around the world, the world will be a better place. Talking about my schedule, even my wife is telling me, must you get involved in that project? I was recently elected Vice President of Nigerian American Chamber of Commerce. I was even running my MBA programme overseas and it is a 30 months programme, though more of correspondence course. It’s about having a list and allocating time for them. It is a form of planning.

When you plan, it helps; otherwise you end up doing nothing. At the end, you can rank your performance,”

Braimah

Speaking about structure of the club, he stated that Nigeria has four districts in line with the way the global body is structured. He also pointed out that the club has zones at international level. “In Nigeria, we have four districts. My club belongs to district 9110 which covers Lagos and Ogun States. In these districts, we have 105 clubs. Every club has a president but a district has a Governor.

We have district 9141, which is largely south-south states, excluding Akwa Ibom and Cross River that belong to 9142 for the south-eastern states. Then, we have district 9125, which is for Abuja, North and some parts of the Western Nigeria.

Rotary year starts July 1- June 30 every year. Rotary encourages a lot of capacity building so you enrich the knowledge of Rotarians in service. We are guided by the four way test so that we don’t depart from the vision of the founder. What informed my decision was that I like to serve selflessly. There’s reward in it but most people don’t know.

“People who do charity receive a lot of blessings from God. Fingers are not equal, which means some people will always be in need. There should be a programme to support such people and Rotary offers that platform. In Rotary globally, we have six focus areas. One, basic education and literacy, second is economic and community development, the third one is disease prevention and treatment, then water and sanitation. The

last two are maternal and child health and peace and conflict prevention/ resolution. We have 1.2 million Rotarians in over 35,000 clubs around the world.

It’s about impact. We transform communities. These are the motivations for Rotarians.”

Asked about his plan as President of Rotary Club of Lagos, Braimah said under basic education and literacy, he has about seven projects because the club likes to spend more time on education, healthcare and clean water, pointing out that those areas were critical for members of the club globally. “If you go to economic empowerment, we have the micro credit scheme where we give credit free loans to market men and women in some areas of Lagos, including Oke Arin and Ita Marun community bordering the Atlantic. In the coming year, we are adopting a school there with one partner to build and equip the school. I also have what I call two star projects.

One is under maternal and child health.

What we plan to do in this direction is to donate medical equipment for paediatric and anaesthesia department of the Onikan Health Centre Maternity. It’s going to cost about N4million. Another star project is the distribution of treated mosquito nets to 1000 households. That’s costing another N4 million. The locations we are looking at are; Ita Marun, Surulere, Obalende, Ijesha and Yaba. You will agree with me that Malaria is a killer

As a person, I’m passionate about humanity and I see Rotary Club as a good platform to contribute my quota to community development and touch lives. To me, if a country or a business organisation key into the objectives of Rotary as well as the six focus areas of the club, the world will be better for all. They include; the development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service; high ethical standards in business and professions and the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations, and the dignifying of each Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to serve society in Africa. So we support whatever that can be done to help guard against it.”

On the values the association has added to his life, the 58th president of the club summed it up in few words: “It has redefined the essence of life in me and I’m happy about that”. He stated that Rotary was about touching lives in different communities and that in every community, there would be one Rotary Club not too far away. “Every club is supposed to look at the needs of that community. We do needs assessment so as not to give people what they don’t need. At times, we collaborate to ensure sustainability in some of the projects.”

He said as the oldest active club in the whole of Nigeria, the Rotary Club of Lagos always aspire to be a pacesetter.

“Installation ceremony and inauguration of board of directors was held on July 6th at the Cosmopolitan Club Lagos.

It served as a fund raising and dinner event. I also used the opportunity to share my plans for the following year with members. This allowed those coming for the first time to know what Rotary is all about. Let me quickly add that Rotary largely lives on corporate and individual donations,” he said.

The chairman at Braimah’s installation was Udeme Ufot, while the guest speaker was Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi.

22

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ Ϳ , 2014

PLUS Femi Adesina

My Daughter Almost Weeps over Scathing Remarks about Me in Social Media Femi Adesina, a consummate journalist, is the current Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari. He is saddled with the responsibility of defending his Principal, amid killings and economic challenges in the country. It’s unenviable being in his shoes, especially when he has to defend the inexplicable, the assignment becomes a herculean task. But his unalloyed allegiance to his principal keeps him going. He tells Adedayo Adejobi why his job is an assignment, his lonely nights, how his daughter almost cried her hearts out upon reading unsatisfactory remark about her dad on social media and more My Appointment Came as Surprise ell, I had been supporting President Buhari since he was a military head of state. I was in my third year in the university and he was overthrown. I knew who I was supporting and I believe that that regime would have been very good for Nigeria if it had lasted longer.

So when he entered partisan politics, by then I was a journalist writing a weekly column and then I used the weekly column to point Nigerians to his direction that this is a man who can bring enduring change to Nigeria. 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015, I supported him. Along the line, we began to talk as my columns used to run on Fridays.

He either called me Friday night or Saturday and we discussed anytime I wrote on him. We talked for many years like that until my mother passed on in 2013 and I just sent him a card to the funeral service, a Christian service. I was surprised he showed up and stayed throughout the service. That’s the man people say is an ethnic bigot. But he came to a Christian service and stayed throughout. In 2015, I was among those that wrote urging him to run when he said he wasn’t going to run again.

In 2014, I wrote an article telling him he could always change his mind not bound by what he said in 2011, so I was glad when he changed his mind. On the night he won the election, I was home when my phone rang and somebody said please hold on for the Presidentelect. I was shocked and he spoke to me and said Adesina I want to thank you for your support over the years. There are people who could have paid you millions of naira for your support, but you didn’t support them. It’s me that did not pay you anything that you are supporting. Thank you very much.

After that, I told my wife that the President elect called me, and I was hoping he won’t say ‘come and work with me’ later, because as Managing Director/Editor in Chief of the Sun and President, Nigeria Guild of Editors, I was just content with that. I thought I would do that for a number of years and then move on to something of my own. Along the road, it was your paper THISDAY that first carried the story on 20th may 2015 to say that Adesina will become Special Adviser Media to the president. It came as news to me just like to other people. You needed to see how my phone was jammed that day but then, I haven’t spoken to the President elect, I didn’t know what was going on, I didn’t know if the story was true. On May 31st, around 5pm, I got a call saying we are going to announce tonight saying you are the Special Adviser Media to the President, shall we go ahead? I said

W

Adeshina

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Ϳ ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

PLUS It’s the First time My Family would have to Live Apart, but for Me, it’s Not Too Much a Sacrifice for My Country Yes go ahead and that was how by 9pm that day my name was announced. It was a surprise to me because it was THISDAY that first broke it, and then I knew anything could happen. I must add that I’m not a government person and I never thought I would serve in government if it is not President Buhari.

I won’t be here. So I’m in government today because of President Buhari.

Why I am endeared to My Principal Since his military days, despite the fact that some people called him a tyrant and all that, my greatest attraction to Buhari was his discipline. My father was a disciplinarian and an educationist. To the glory of God, his children turned out very well because of that discipline. The same will happen to Nigeria if we allow the man to whip us into line. If we had allowed Buhari in the Idi-Agbon regime then, Nigeria would have gone very far.

I admire the discipline, integrity, accountability and simplicity of the President.’

Everything you do must have its own challenges Yes, everything you do must have its own challenges, otherwise, it becomes boring, routine and you’ll just tag along but I don’t. Every day, I take the challenges as they come. What makes me glad is that a lot of Nigerians are with this President. Don’t mind the vocal minority who have access to social media and traditional media and say all sorts of things. They are a vocal minority but the majority of Nigerians are with him, and the polls will show it. For me, it gives me a sense of fulfillment that I’m working with a man that is making a difference in Nigeria.

Buhari is a good listener Anytime I meet him and I have anything to discuss with him, he always listens. He is a good listener but people don’t know, they think he is a rigid unapproachable person. You need to see him laughing and cracking jokes; you won’t believe that that is the same person a lot of people are saying is rigid.

In my relationship with him, he has my utmost respect and admiration and when you talk to him, he listens. I try as much as possible to stay within my purview which is Media and Publicity, but if there are other pressing things that are outside the confines of my job, I raise them to him. He is a man who likes fairness and justice. I tell him to look into it and he listens.

I am Not Arrogant Cocky or arrogance is not part of my make-up. I wouldn’t think so. I’m not the one that can assess or judge myself but ‘cocky or arrogance’ is not part of my make up because I’m a Christian and a believer and arrogance is not part of a true Christian. But what I’ve noticed is that some people do not like people who can hold their own. When you can hold your own, they say its arrogance. I think it is just that I can hold my own.

Anything that you come with, I can always defend because I am part of the administration and I have inside knowledge. So, if you come with something that is not true, I can always debunk it.

If anybody sees that as being arrogant or cocky I can’t help it. But ‘cocky and arrogant’ I don’t think so. I am not.

You know the social media just revels in abusing people, and saying all sorts of rude and crude things. I remember my daughter who was in the university then and she called me and was almost crying and said ‘all these things I read on social media about you, this is not you.’ I then I told her ‘since you know that it is not me, then let your heart be at peace knowing that it is not your daddy it is a creation of the social media.’ What amuses me is that when I say something,

Adeshina

they twist it and make it negative. When I see them, I laugh because they are idle.

If not, they won’t waste time in twisting what I’ve said.

There are lonely days, but it’s a sacrifice worth the while My family knows that I’m a busy person. By the time I came for this assignment, I had been married for 25 years. This year makes it 27 years I’ve been married, so my wife already knows my schedule as a reporter. Climbing the ladder in my profession, I was all over the country and world travelling.

I’ve been a busy person. Even my wife knows it’s a continuation of what I was doing before, because by the time I came to work for Mr. President, my son was already a pilot. He flies with Arik Air and my daughter was in final year in the University, so I couldn’t move them to Abuja. If they were younger I would have moved them, so the family stays in Lagos.

So it’s dependent on me to go and see them once or twice in a month. It’s the

first time we would have to live apart but for me, it is not too much of a sacrifice to make to serve my country. I would have wanted us to be together. There are lonely days and nights but it’s not too much of a sacrifice for the country. The family understands and my wife is a praying person. At times if I’m tired and can’t pray, I just relax because I know my wife is praying.

Serving the President is an Assignment Each assignment has its ups and downs. But when the downs come, it is your motive of taking up the assignment in the first place that will stand you in good stead. When those moments come, I ask why I am here; I’m here to serve the President. And because he still needs my services I will stay with him. If it’s just a job, maybe it’s not worth it but for me, it’s not a job, it’s an assignment to serve and as long as the man is here and he needs my services, I’ll stay.

I can’t work with another President in the

same capacity You do this kind of job once in a lifetime. Once President Muhammadu Buhari is gone, I know by then I would have also done my bit.

Intimidation can never come from Buhari People who think intimidation can ever come from President Buhari over the coming Ekiti governorship election don’t know him. I remember in a private conversation with him one day, he said ‘if it is the only thing I would do for Nigeria, I would give a free and fair election in this country.’ Look at all the elections that held in states under him - Bayelsa and Anambra, APC lost. APC won Kogi and Ondo. So when you win, win fair and square and when you lose, lose gallantly. He doesn’t interfere with INEC or the other agencies like EFCC, ICPC in anyway. I’m sure if you ask the INEC chairman, he would tell you the President has never picked a call to tell him do this.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ JULY 7, 2018

with JOSEPH EDGAR (09095325791)

LOUD WHISPERS

Obi

MIKEL OBI, IS THIS TRUE? Aghhhh, you know me I really do not understand social media especially that one they call Instagram. But I saw a notice posted by the Colin Udoh who was also in Russia with you that you went on the pitch to face the almighty Messi four hours after receiving a phone call that your Papa had been kidnapped. Mbok, if that is not strength, what else is. Kai, Mbok, accept my sincere apologies for abusing and castigating your below per game not knowing what you were going through.

I would have run stark naked on that pitch, sat in the centre and invite the whole world to come and share my grief o. What kind of country is this na. I thank God that at least the state did not fail you as I have seen pictures of your rescued father. But then again, why would such a high profile papa be driving without escorts in that kind of car along such a treacherous road?

Is that not recklessness? We thank God sha that everything went well and you still went ahead to fight for your fatherland.

For that, you remain a true Hero. I have posted your picture in my bathroom, replacing that of Cossy Orjiakor who used to be the source of my morning inspiration. This is so that each morning as I take my bath, I would look into your face and draw mental strength. You are truly a great Nigerian.

ROTIMI AMAECHI, HAVE THEY SACKED YOU? As I was about to write this, I saw a news feed claiming that Adams Oshiomole, the new Chairman of the APC, had sacked you as Director General of the Buhari Campaign. If this is true, then it is a good thing. The other week, I saw you at the party the American Embassy held in honour of their National day. You looked happy as you went around greeting dignitaries, including my humble self and for once I liked you. But the matter on ground is not about my liking you or not; it is the value you will be bringing to the table as we move towards the elections. If you ask me, I think your time in the sun is over and as you can see with the way Wike bundled you out of Rivers State. It will be just best for you to contemplate a back seat in an advisory capacity and let us look for a more powerful figure to play this role.

See my brother, Buhari faces very clear and almost insurmountable challenges as he moves towards the elections with the way he has sleepily ran the government.

As such, to make any credible inroad barring an unacceptable use of the power of incumbency is to have real soldiers who are on ground pushing his agenda. My brother, if you cannot deliver South-south

Amaechi

Idris

Amaju Pinnick, Just Go You see, me I don’t know how to hide my mouth and that is why I am the Duke of Shomolu. This is not about the fact that the other day, I greeted you at the Mobil Filling station on Awolowo Road in Ikoyi and you snubbed me. I just looked at you and walked away. Yes, there is some level of bad belle there but the honest truth is that I personally think that the time has come for public officials to learn how to take responsibility instead of applying glue on their seats even when they really have no idea of what is needed to effect capable leadership. Even without the court decision, doesn’t Amaju himself know that after the World Cup failure, that he should resign and go back to Warri and try his hands on more productive ventures like farming or fishing. Me, I am not in support of Dalung or that person who is running around in a gestapo fashion for a position he would most likely turn into a platform

for comedic imbecility like my brother obahiagbon would say.

But the fact that Amaju must be a man and true leader by falling on his sword and just go without prompting. Abi, can’t we see all the other people who are all resigning as they fall out of the competition.

Our own will still be fighting to sit down to do what only God knows what. Abeg, just go and let us clear our eyes.

At least we took a small piece of the cake, selling our Jerseys worldwide and distracting our players who instead of focusing on football, were turned into super models and fashionistas.

Football is a huge revenue earner and a great platform for national cohesion and leaving the sport to jokers like Pinnick and this amateurish Giwa will continue to deny Nigeria the immense benefits that come with a powerful exploitation of the opportunities that come with the game. Amaju, there is no other language I can say it again, just go.

Buhari

with people like Akpabio, Ibori and Wike on ground, is it North-east with Atiku or North-central with Saraki or South-east that you will deliver? I am sure it is this that Oshiomole is looking at, hence his alleged decision to sack you if it is true. Well, if by Saturday, he has not done the right thing, I will reach out to him and insist on your sack. Please do not take this personal, it is in the quest for an exciting and very enjoyable electioneering process. We could find something for you that will be less volatile; maybe you should consider replacing your brother Amaju at the NFF. Na my birthday o, make I no come look for baba trouble o.

Roti pepe, I don run ooooooo.

I G IDRIS – DID YOUR BOYS JUST PROTEST? I am still in shock. Did the police just protest in Borno? Did they just protest the non-payment of their six month salary or is it allowances. Kai, if I talk now, they will be pursuing me up and down o. what is this na. How can we send people to such a hot bed and refuse to pay them their salaries and allowances for whatever reason and yet we will be blowing siren everywhere and making noise. If this is true, then it is really not fair and very dangerous. Those policemen who carried out that protest we have been told are nothing but very patriotic, for they could have unleashed untold mayhem on the citizenry, but like we have been told, they barricaded the road and marched to the headquarters to register their grievances. My Lord, this type of thing is quite embarrassing and no excuse can justify not paying people who have been sent to risk their lives on a daily basis their allowances. Please note that the Boko Haram people are being paid as and when due most likely. I am sure they are even giving them salary advance sef hence their passion and enthusiasm. Sir, kindly let’s make police welfare priority, let’s be a little bit more creative my Lord. Don’t let this ever repeat itself o. kai.

THE DUKE IS 49 By the time you read this, I would have celebrated my 49th birthday. Passing the UN life expectancy for a Nigerian male is no mean feat. I have survived o and I am happy. I am healthy and my activities in the other room are still very commendable from the feedback I am getting from the Duchess. I have no police problem except once in a while when they stop me for ‘’particulars’’, no health challenge and no serious financial issues except the usual ones we all face. So, in all, it has been a good life so far and we thank God. Maybe I should write another book or just do a duet with Davido nevertheless, I am happy and I thank God. Thank you.

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JULY 7, 2018 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

SPY GLASS

BINTU TINUBU

IYALODE OF LAGOS, BINTU FATIMA TINUBU, CELEBRATES LIFE @ 75 For Iyalode of Lagos, Bintu Fatima Tinubu, it was time, once again, to count her blessings as she turned 75 last Tuesday in a blaze of glory. For family and friends, the attainment of the ripe age of 75 was worth celebrating, particularly in a country, where death is so cheap. Little wonder, the mother of billionaire businessman and Group Chief Executive of Oando Plc, Adewale Tinubu, opened her doors to all last Tuesday during the celebration. Though, the celebration was low-key, many of her friends, market women and notable people in Lagos didn’t forget the day, as they sent their prayers and pour encomiums on the septuagenarian whose impact and contributions to the development of Lagos are acknowledged by all and sundry. Apart from being the Iyalode of Lagos, she is an active official of the Cosmopolitan Women’s Club, Lagos, where she once served as its President.

FAMILY, FRIENDS REMEMBER LATE ADEDOTUN LAYADE On Sunday, July 1, family and friends of the late Prince Adedotun Adegboyega Layade, Chairman, Dotlay Nigeria Limited, converged on his Bodija, Ibadan, Oyo State home to celebrate his life and times, 10 years after he passed on. In what may be described as a befitting tribute, the theme of the memorable event was picked from one of the deathless lines of American poet, Maya Angelou: “A great soul serves everyone all the time. A great soul never dies.

It brings us together again and again.”

At the event, which featured a thanksgiving service and tributes, there was an outpouring of emotions, as the wife of the deceased, Madam Tinuola, and the children (Adeola, Adedamola, Adetoun and Adedeji) paid glowing tributes to him, to the admiration of all.

The first son, Adedamola a Principal Partner with Hams Consulting, used the occasion to disclose the family plan to set up a foundation that will cater to the needs of women and the children of the less privileged.

BISHOP CHRIS KWAKPOVWE’S REAL HUMAN SIDE If there is one daily struggle Bishop Chris Kwakpovwe, publisher of Christian devotional,

with BAYO ADEOYE .... 08054680651 email: bayoolunla@gmail.com

BISHOP-CHRISKWAKPOVWE

Our Daily Manna, contends with, it’s the urge to go back to his first love which is Pharmacy.

The bishop last wore his Pharmacy coat about 30 years ago after he grudgingly answered the call to serve in Lord’s vineyard. He has since been battling with the temptation to return to the profession. However, last weekend, the affable presiding bishop of Manna Prayer Mountain was in an exciting mood as he had the opportunity to proudly wear his coat, even if it’s just for a day, as he examined some people who are nursing different ailments, dispensed medicines to them and prayed for their total healing.

Kwakpovwe’s welfare ministry last Saturday June 30 and Sunday July 1 held its annual programme tagged ‘Mercy Week’ to provide succour to the hundreds of less privileged through a free medical outreach.

The Bishop with support from the medical team of the leading multinational, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company alongside volunteers from University of Lagos and Lagos State University Colleges of Medicine, Pharmacy Schools and the Lagos State Ministry of Health, attended to people with

QUINCY-AYODELE

different medical conditions at two venues in Lagos (Lekki and Ogudu).

The two-day event which took place simultaneously in about 100 countries and locations where the ministry has its branches, was closed with visits by Kwakpovwe and his team to some select orphanages, old Peoples’ homes and prisons where they donated gifts, food items and money to the inmates.

The Delta State-born preacher has lately been assaulted with various frivolous controversies which he sees as a persecution, not of him, but the body of Christ. Nevertheless, he has remained unruffled and has not allowed those challenges to distract his evangelical mission thus the enthusiastic feeling towards the success of the annual Mercy Week. At the last count, Kwakpovwe is credited with writing over 70 books.

MORE HONOUR FOR QUINCY AYODELE It is yet another glorious honour for the founder of Quincy Herbals. Mrs Quincy Olasumbo Ayodele, when she was befitted with Excellence Award in recognition of her

contribution to the development of medicinal plant into medicinal herbs products and foods.

The highly revered honour which was bestowed on her at the 13th Biennial Conference of Association of Lady Pharmacists held in Abuja, couple of weeks ago also witnessed decoration of other prominent Nigerians.

The DG of NAFDAC, Mrs. Moji Adeyeye, showered encomium on Mrs. Ayodele for remaining consistent in promoting medicinal plant for over two decades and also representing the country at the world stage.

THE RETURN OF PRECIOUS CHIKWENDU Precious Chikwendu, the beautiful wife of former Aviation Minister, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has returned to her bubbly self, few weeks after giving birth to triplets. Calling Precious a Super Woman won’t be an overstatement.

The babies came precisely on her birthday, May 26 and she came out of the hospital radiant after pushing out three babies. With her gorgeous looks after four kids, and Chief FaniKayode, a prolific striker by the side, more babies, perhaps twins this time, may be on the way.

Precious and Fani-Kayode, with older kid, Aragom and the triplets - Ragnar, Aiden and Liam on arrival from the hospital

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ JULY 7, 2018

PERSPECTIVE RestructuringWater Sector for Greater Efficiency Stanley Nkwazema

W

ith an estimated population of about 198 million people and a land area of 923.768 kilometres, Nigeria has water resources potential of 370 billion cubic metres, which means that is not a water poor country. However, it is a fact that previous administrations have made it a point to distribute investments in the sector inequitably. This and other challenges in the sector make Nigeria potentially water-stressed.

These sectorial successes and challenges were brought to the fore when the Nigerian Academy of Engineering which provides a platform for harnessing technological resources and making inputs to national developmental process at the highest level of governance invited one of their members and current Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, to throw more light on current developments in Nigeria’s water sector.

Even as Adamu painted a brighter future, the revelations and challenges occasioned by neglect and U– turn from the original mandate of the agencies in the water sector was mind boggling.

The minister, who assumed office in 2015, threw light on the status of the sector and current developments in the last two and half years, itemising the teething problems that have now challenged the Ministry to revitalise this very important sector that can spur the much touted agricultural revolution.

Strikingly, there were 11 very important challenges he raised, including inadequate policy issues, poor funding/low budgetary provisions, absence of effective legal framework, institutional and human capacity weaknesses and lack of political will/delays in budgetary appropriation by the legislature. Others are arbitrary budgetary allocations by the legislature, poor investment by state governments, lack of enabling environment for private sector participation, poor revenue generation and inadequate cost recovery for services, inadequate power supply, and lack of ownership of water facilities by beneficiary communities and poor operations and maintenance culture.

It could be of interest to note from Adamu’s expose that as at 2015, the “only potent policy document for the water sector is the National Water Resources Master Plan developed with a grant from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The document reviewed and made recommendations on how best to harness the water resources of Nigeria with respect to institutional development, water supply and food security.

Unfortunately, the very important aspect of developing

While working towards the success of the Roadmap, Adamu confirmed securing the approval for the National Water Resources Bill, National Water resources Policy and National Irrigation and Drainage Policy from the Federal Executive Council since September 2016.

The National Water resources Bill is now before the National Assembly and when passed into law, will establish water sector governance. The Bill, though not new, rather an amalgamation of Water Resources Laws that has been in existence since 2004 and being re-enacted with what the necessary modifications to actualise current global trends and best practices in Integrated Water Resources management

Adamu the water resources had not been aligned with the plan while most of the projects embarked therein were not properly panned or not adequately funded, leading to several abandoned projects littering the country.

Documents from the Ministry reveal that within the same period, there were 116 large projects including irrigation 37, Dams 38, Water supply 41 , many of which were abandoned or in comatose state due to the fact that they require review of cost or lacked consistent funding for completion. From the document review, most of the projects had attained 40 – 60 per cent completion with outstanding liabilities totaling N88, 848,112,579.77 and requiring additional contractual commitment to completion to the tune of N264, 990,081,982.53.

One robust policy the Fellow of Nigerian Society of Engineers believes can further stimulate positive developments in the sector is a document that will guide the activities of the sector: “The National Water Resources Bill and National Water Resources Policy were in limbo, there was no irrigation and drainage policy. The National Water Supply and Sanitation Policy adopted in 2000 needed critical review. Strikingly, the National Water Resources Bill had been under preparation since 2006 but has not seen the light of the day.”

In what he described as institutional lapses and inadequacies, Adamu faulted the deployment of human resources, technical capacity, planning, design and contract administrations of projects, data generation and management in the water sector. “Important departments such as planning, research and statistics, River Basin Development operations and inspectorates were headed by non-technical personnel and could not therefore adequately deal with challenges at hand” It has therefore become necessary that concerted efforts must be put in place to alleviate the problem in the water sector and improve the trend towards achieving 100% access to water supply by 2030 if viewed in line with the newly adopted United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the estimation that the Nigerian population could grow to 257 million by that time.

Another worrisome issue is the fact that pipe-borne water supply in the urban areas has continued on the downward trend from 30 per cent national coverage in 1990 to about seven per cent in 2015. Adamu said after the unpleasant revelation, it became necessary that an aggressive effort to address the situation is embarked by ensuring that all tiers of government partner to ensure radical changes and improvement in the sector. It is also understood that sanitation had declined from 30 per cent in 2010 to 28 per cent in 2015. Adamu explains that “open defecation has been on the increase and there was not a single LGA in Nigeria that is free

due to lack of adequate political support and poor coordination of efforts between all stakeholders in the different tiers of government” It is also interesting to note that the challenges of sanitation are not only limited to rural areas; it is equally a huge problem in urban settings, especially in public places and urban slums.

On irrigation, Nigeria has the potential of about 3.14 million hectares of land suitable for irrigation out of which about 440,853 hectares has been planned. Out of this, only 128,097 hectares of the planned area had been developed and about 50,000 hectares of the developed area lost to failed infrastructure and poor operations and maintenance.

According to Adamu, “the current annual water demand for irrigation in wet and dry seasons including FADAMA lands is about 1.926BCM. This translates to about 0.7 per cent of our internally generated potential.”

The Minister added: “There are over 250 large and medium dams across the country with a storage capacity of about 30BCM/year. The storage capacity of these dams put together is more than the future demand estimated to the year 2030.

Water demand analysis has shown that there is enough storage capacity in each of the eight Hydrological Areas even without taking into consideration the large hydropower dams. Almost all the dams in the country are not utilised optimally.

“Their management and operation is poor and they lack basic instrumentation gadgets. In addition, poor watershed management, growing siltation of rivers and climate change are becoming a serious challenge to the storage capacities and operational efficiency of these dams and reservoirs.”

Nigeria currently boasts of 12 River Basin Development Authorities at different locations. Modelled after the United States Tenesee Valley Basin Development concept following the drought of the 1970s, they have the primary function of serving as operators, managers and developers of water resources infrastructures within their catchment areas, and work as integrated rural development drivers in the areas of food production and employment generation.

But the performance of the RBDAs over the years cannot be described as desirable, not due to technical failings, but largely on account of policy and institutional inadequacies. Adamu also observed that the “unfortunate decision of the then Technical Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation (TCPC) to strip them of their” non-water” assets in the late 80s and making them solely managers of irrigation infrastructures” further deteriorated the state of the authorities.

For the River Basin Authorities to survive and regain their lost glory and perform optimally to deliver the mandate of their establishment, Adamu said: “They require complete restructuring to operate as technical and professional agencies with clear objectives. Therefore, there are compelling needs for institutional, organisational and policy reforms that would propel the authorities to serve as effective vehicles for integrated rural development as originally envisioned.”

In a bid to tackle the myriad of problems slowing the pace of development in the sector, Adamu has adopted “immediate and long term strategies for the water sector (2016 - 2030) easily referred to as the Water Sector Road Map. The current developments being witnessed in the Ministry are being guided by the document featuring eight very important points: Conclusion of the draft National Water Resources Policy, National Irrigation and Drainage Policy and Water Resources Bill; organisation and manpower review of the Ministry towards repositioning for enhanced service delivery; prioritising and executing the ministry’s project and programmes; developing and implementing a national irrigation development programme.

Others are the identification of dams with hydro power potentials for development; developing and implementing a National Water Supply and Sanitation Programme to attain SDGs; developing a Blue Print and action plan to strengthen the River Basin Development Authorities and creating partnerships as alternative sources of funding for projects.

Besides, the ministry has embarked on organisational reforms with a view to strengthening it. There exists now a professionalised Department of River Basin Operations and Inspectorate.

While working towards the success of the Roadmap, Adamu confirmed securing the approval for the National Water Resources Bill, National Water resources Policy and National Irrigation and Drainage Policy from the Federal Executive Council since September 2016. The National Water resources Bill is now before the National Assembly and when passed into law, will establish water sector governance.

The Bill, though not new, rather an amalgamation of Water Resources Laws that has been in existence since 2004 and being re-enacted with what the necessary modifications to actualise current global trends and best practices in Integrated Water Resources management.

Although many did not understand all about the Bill, Adamu explains: “The federal government intends to ensure through the provisions of the law, that the water resources of the Nation are protected, used, developed, conserved, managed and controlled in a sustainable manner for the benefit of all person in accordance with its constitutional mandate.”

T H I S D AY ˾ SATURDAY JULY 7, 2018

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

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by OMOLOLA ITAYEMI omolola.itayemi@thisdaylive.com 08054699602

TRAVEL&LEISURE

Travel Practitionersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Identity Card Stirs Controversy Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17D;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă? Ă&#x;Ă?Ă&#x;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2013;ĂŁ Ă&#x2039;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă&#x17D; ĂĄĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019; Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018;Ë&#x203A; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2014;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17D;Ă? Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2039;Ă Ă? Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E; Ă Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? Ě&#x2039; Ă?Ă? Ă&#x2122;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x;Ă&#x152;Ă?Ë&#x153; Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2022;Ă?Ă&#x153; Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2039;Ă?Ă&#x2022;Ë&#x153; Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2122;Ă? Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ë&#x153; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153; Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ë&#x203A; Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x; ĂĄĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153; Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x17D;Ă?Ă&#x161;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018; Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2122;ĂĄ ĂŁĂ&#x2122;Ă&#x; Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2039;ĂŁË&#x203A; Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă?Ă&#x2122; Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17E; Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2014;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E; Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;Ă? Ă&#x161;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2039;Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă? Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2039;Ă Ă?Ă&#x2013; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x2014; Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x;Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x153;ĂŁ Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2039;Ă Ă? Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2039;ĂŁĂ?Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2039; Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17D; Ě&#x2039; Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2039;Ă Ă?Ă&#x2013; Ă&#x161;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2039;Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă?ËŞ Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17D;Ë&#x203A; Ă&#x;Ă&#x17E; Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2122;ĂĄ Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2039;Ă Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă? Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2039;ĂŁĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018;Ë&#x203A; Ă&#x2019;Ă?ĂŁ Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2039;ĂĄË&#x203A; Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013; Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2122;Ă? Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2018;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2039;Ă Ă?Ă&#x2013; Ă&#x2018;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2039;ĂŁ Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17D; Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17D;ËŁ Omolola Itayemi ĂĄĂ&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă?

L

ast Tuesday, Nigerian travel agents celebrated what was considered a milestone with the introduction of its identity card called Nigerian Travel Practitionersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Identity Card (NTPIC) under the leadership of Bankole Bernard, the current president of National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA).

CanapĂŠs, cocktails, good music and the right ambience characterised the launch.

All present were ecstatic about it and all seemed very well.

But the celebration was hardly over when the group was slammed with a suit. NANTA was given seven days to withdraw the purported ID card.

In a letter served on Bankole, NANTA President by Yinka Olujimi and Company, Legal Practitioners, with the headline â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Illegal Introduction of a Purported Nigerian Travel Practitioners Identification Cardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, Mr. Wale Ojo- Lanre, a tourism stakeholder, averred that the inauguration of such a scheme was not only Ultra Vires, but outside the purview of the objectives of the association.

Ojo-Lanre pointed out that Bankole claimed during the inauguration of the scheme that his action was in collaboration with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), a corporate entity, which has no statutory mandate to venture into the production and issuance of such a document.

Bernard on the other hand believes the travel identity card is not misleading to

Bankole

other industry practitioners.

In an interview with this correspondent, he explained the decision of NANTA to name the card as such: â&#x20AC;&#x153;NANTA is set

up by an act and affiliated with NCAA. Travel is part of the chain of tourism but tourism is not part of the chain of travel.

Do any of the people understand how

we travel agents operate our business?

Travel is the only industry that is under two ministries - Aviation and Tourism.

How many of them have any relationships with IATA? Which other associations write tickets, tell me? I maintain, it is not illegal to use Travel Practitioners because we use â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Travelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in the formation of the agency name NANTA and we need identity cards that are international in nature.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to help identify genuine members and also to practical cub the menace of individuals that parade themselves as travel agents who end up defrauding innocent Nigerians.

Let me explain further, this card is only for travel agents and consultants.â&#x20AC;?

Pelu Awofeso, an award-winning travel and tourism writer and publisher of Wakaabout is of the opinion that the card was done in good faith: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was privileged to attend some NANTA meetings where the ID card was discussed and its importance emphasised over and over. I was impressed that the body was taking a bold step to check 419 travel agents who open shop, fleece unsuspecting customers and close shop shortly after.

The leadership cited many instances of corrupt practitioners running into millions of Naira. But when what was solely meant to be a strictly NANTA ID for genuine practitioners morphed into a wholesale ID for the travel industry in Nigeria beats me. But again, we must recognise the fact that the project initiators had noble intentions. They just need to re-calibrate and all should be well.â&#x20AC;?

Sun International, City of Tshwane, Partner on Wâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;African Travellers Sun International, premium luxury hotels and resorts brand has partnered the City of Tshwane in South Africa to create awesome travel experiences for West African travellers to the forthcoming World Choir Games scheduled to take place in the City of Tshwane from 4th to 14th July.

The City of Tshwane, home of South Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seat of power will record another first in Africa by hosting the 10th World Choir Games, which promises to be a celebration of global choral music and entertainment workshops. Travellers for the World Choir Games will be spoilt for choice at the recently opened The Maslow Time Square, offering an entirely new concept in hospitality. A first for South Africa, this 238-room specialist business hotel, offers multi-level accommodation options â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from standard to premium â&#x20AC;&#x201C; all under one roof. The 17-storey hotel is packed with state-of-the-art facilities and technology that will delight and satisfy every traveller.

The Foundation Level, offering a full range of amenities that exceed basic accommodation needs, is designed to deliver excellent quality service, design and physical attributes to meet guest expectations. The Median Level offers a deluxe experience, with a wider range of facilities and superior design qualities that meet the needs of discerning guests.

On the Median Level, guests have access to a well-equipped, modern gym, The Maslow Hotel pool and a conference centre.

The Zenith Level offers an exceptional range of facilities and premier services that are not only comprehensive, but also

highly personalised, prudently crafted to provide the most exclusive experience.

At the pinnacle of the high-rise hotel, the Zenith Level features butler service, a fully stocked mini bar, the Luminary Lounge, the Solis Bar and infinity pool, and conference facilities.

The guestsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; rooms are The Maslow Time Squareâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perfect response to a full day

of productivity. Each room is elegantly designed with air conditioning, flat screen TVs, luxurious linen, and world class amenities to ensure guestsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; every comfort.

The Maslow Time Square goes beyond what is has traditionally been expected from accommodation for professionals, creating an environment in which ideas can be both conceptualised and realised.

Deji-Ajomale

African Sports Tourism Week Starts With a Bang

Sun International, City of Tshwane

The much anticipated African Sports Tourism Week teed off with The Big 5 Tee, a golf tournament, in Ikeja Golf Club, where Bidemi Ojo, playing off Handicap 12, won flight ticket and two night stay to enjoy a weekend of unlimited golf in Ibom Hotel & Golf Resort, Uyo. The kitty was keenly contested by 132 players from all the golf clubs in Lagos and others from neighboring states. The day after, 25th of May a.k.a The African Day, witnessed Charity Githinji, the M.I.C.E expert from Kenya who has hosted Barcelona legends and Real Madrid.

GLOBAL SOCCER A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

07.07.2018

?

Odion Ighalo Bids Super Eagles Bye

England Fans Optimistic

PAGE. 32

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

2018 World Cup… 2018 World Cup…2018 World Cup…2018 World Cup…2018 World Cup…2018 World Cup…2018 World Cup…2018 World Cup…2018

Odion Ighalo: Bids Super Eagles bye? ÓÑÏÜÓËØ ÚÖËãÏÜÝ ËØÎ ÙʩÍÓËÖÝ ÞÙ ÞÒÏ ͺ͸͹΀ ÙÜÖÎ ßÚ ×Ëã ÒËàÏ ÚËÍÕÏÎ ÞÒÏÓÜ ÌËÑ ËØÎ ÌËÑÑËÑÏ ÙßÞ ÙÐ ßÝÝÓË ËʰÏÜ ßÚÏÜ ËÑÖÏÝ ÖÙÝÝÞ ÞÙ ÜÑÏØÞÓØË ÓØ ÞÒÏ ʨØËÖ ÜÙßÚ ÑË×Ï ÌßÞ ÞÒÏ ×Ï×ÙÜã ÝÞÓÖÖ ÖÓØÑÏÜÝ ÓØ ÞÒÏ ×ÓØÎÝ ÙÐ ÝÙÍÍÏÜ ÖÙàÓØÑ ÓÑÏÜÓËØÝ ËØÎ ÞÒÏ ÖËÝÞ ×Ëã ØÙÞ ÒËàÏ ÌÏÏØ ÒÏËÜÎ ÙÐ áÒËÞ ÞÜËØÝÚÓÜÏÎ ÓØ ßÝÝÓ˲ ÏËÎÝ áÓÖÖ ÎÏʨØÓÞÏÖã ÜÙÖÖ ËØÎ ÐÙÜ ÝÙ×Ï ÚÖËãÏÜݘ ÓÞ ×Ëã ÌÏ ÞÒÏ ÖËÝÞ ÞÓ×Ï ÞÒÏã áÓÖÖ ÚßÞ ÙØ ÞÒÏ ÑÜÏÏØ ËØÎ áÒÓÞÏ ÝÒÓÜÞ ÙÐ ÞÒÏ ØËÞÓÙØËÖ ÞÏËײ ÓÞÒ ËÍÍßÝÓØÑ ʨØÑÏÜÝ ÌÏÓØÑ ÚÙÓØÞÏÎ ËÞ ÞÒÏ ÞÏË×˪Ý ÝÞÜÓÕÏܘ ÎÓÙØ ÑÒËÖÙ˜ ÞÒÏ ÌÓÑ ÛßÏÝÞÓÙØ ÓÝ áÒÏÞÒÏÜ ÞÒÏ ËÞÐÙÜÎ ÙÐ ØÑÖËØÎ ÝÞÜÓÕÏÜ áÙßÖÎ ÏØÎ ßÚ ÌÏÓØÑ ÞÒÏ ÝËÍÜÓʨÍÓËÖ ÖË×Ì˛ Kunle Adewale ÓØ Þ˛ ÏÞÏÜÝÌßÜј ÜÏÚÙÜÞÝ

Marcos Rojo of Argentina heads the ball over Odion Ighalo of Nigeria during the World Cup Group D match between Nigeria and Argentina at St. Petersburg Stadium

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JULY 7, 2018 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

GLOBAL SOCCER

8 World Cup…2018 World Cup…2018 World Cup…2018 World Cup…2018 World Cup…2018 World Cup…2018 World Cup…2018 World Cup…2018 World

L-R: Oghenekaro Etebo, Odion Ighalo, Leon Balogun and Francis Uzoho stood dejectedly after conceding the opening goal during the World Cup Group D match between Croatia and Nigeria at Kaliningrad Stadium

B

efore the kickoff of the World Cup in Russia, Odion Ighalo was full of optimism, hoping that he would be injury-free and do well for Nigeria.

In a chat with THISDAY before the Mundial, the former Watford of England striker said: “With the support of my teammates I am optimistic that the team would go far considering the kind of preparation we have put in. We know what is at stake and we won’t disappoint, that’s just all I can say.

We are aware that we are in a tough group but we know what we must do to advance without pressure.”

However, it was not to be as the Super Eagles failed to progress to the knockout stages of the 2018 World Cup - the third time in Nigeria’s sixth appearance at the biggest soccer fiesta.

Like in every unsuccessful mission, the question about where things went wrong would always be asked and ‘Mission to Russia’ was no exception.

After X-raying the team’s failure, Ighalo was found to be the most culpable, more especially after failing to convert any of the begging chances that came his way especially in the match against Argentina in which the Super Eagles needed only a draw to progress.

The Yatai Changchun striker indeed admitted to having let the country down and was quick to tender his unreserved apology, saying: "I apologise to Nigeria. I apologise to my team-mates. I take responsibility for this game because if he had taken those chances I had that would have made it a different ball game.

“It’s a sad day for me, the boys and the country because we went out in a bad manner and we deserved more in the game. We had a penalty in the game and another one which the referee did not give.

I missed a couple of chances that would have finished the game but that’s football because sometimes you win and sometimes to lose.”

What started as mere accusing fingers being pointed at him quickly turned to a death threat.

The striker has received death threats following the opportunities he missed against Argentina in St. Petersburg before Marcos Rojo's late strike ended the Gernot Rohrs' side Russia campaign.

The 29-year-old wrote: "For those who want to kill me, please - I am someone's child. We did our best, but sometimes things don't always go the way you want - but life has to go on.

“Great experience to be at the World Cup, and I enjoyed every moment of it."

For those who want to kill me, please - I am someone's child.

We did our best, but sometimes things don't always go the way you want - but life has to go on. “Great experience to be at the World Cup, and I enjoyed every moment of it Remorseful Ighalo further said: “I understand how Nigerians feel, and I understand the frustration when you don’t come out of the field with the right result. It’s normal for people to criticise the coach and the players.

We were building and rebuilding our team, and we had no faith in the team before he came. We lost to a team with Messi and other top players and we have learned from our mistakes.”

“Ighalo wanted to score goals and make his name. Top players have also missed great chances in the tournament and we should not crucify him. Some of Ighalo’s goals and assists contributed to our World Cup qualification. We cannot because of one competition ask him to leave the national,” Super Eagles Coordinator, Patrick Pascal said.

Speaking in the same vein, former Nigeria international and Super Eagles media officer, Idah Peterside, said football is a team’s game and that it should not be fair to single out one person when the team fails.

“It takes collective responsibility for a team to win, so why one or two players should be singled out for blame when the team fails. The whole team took the glory when Nigeria defeated Iceland, not only the goal scorer (Ahmed Musa). Why is it now that we lost to Argentina that a player is being singled out for blame?

“It is true we were all optimistic after Iceland’s victory and looking at it critically we didn’t play too badly, except for few errors which we paid dearly for. All we needed do now is looking forward to how to improve on the present squad and start preparation in earnest for the coming Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, rather than wasting time and energy on the blame game,” the former

goalkeeper cum pastor concluded.

In a separate interview before the World Cup, Ighalo was said to have warned his teammates not to be carried away by the team’s smooth sail during the qualifiers and the recent 4-2 victory recorded against South American giant-Argentina, as such successes could have an adverse effect on the team in the competition proper.

“Naturally, such feat should be a morale booster to the team with the World Cup just a few months away but it could also have a ripple effect as the team might get carried away by such achievements at the competition proper. We should just put behind those little successes and focus properly on what is coming ahead of us if we really want to do well in Russia,” Ighalo told THISDAY. The striker indeed admitted that the recent victories recorded by the team had taken away the ‘underdog’ tag Nigeria would have enjoyed at the World Cup. “Now, we are the team to beat. We are now like the proverbial golden fish with no hiding place,” he noted then. Ighalo’s position in the Super Eagles was initially threatened when Rohr was quoted as saying that “only three China-based Nigerian players would make it to the World Cup (which he later denied) after shutting out Ighalo and other China-based players in the two friendlies against Senegal and Burkina Faso.

“It’s very difficult to monitor the players in China. Also, I was satisfied with the performances of the young players I have been working with for the past two weeks in France and that was why we decided to keep this group,” Rohr said.

A further threat to Ighalo’s position to the Mundial after the German-born manager expressed his disdain over the lack of decisive strikers in the Super Eagles fold during the team’s double-edge friendlies against Poland and Serbia, culminating to the extension of an invitation to ‘old warhorse’, Obafemi Martins.

The Franco-German tactician expressed his willingness to increase his striking options as the team continues to build up for the World Cup, maintaining that Martins and other Nigerian strikers who are hoping to be part of the World Cup party would have to be playing and scoring consistently to earn a call-up and Martins, who plays for Shanghai Shenhua fits into that category, having helped his club to win the Chinese FA Cup last November, beating rival Shanghai SIPG, with the 33-year-old scoring in both matches of the two-legged final.

He scored the only goal in his team's 1-0 first leg victory and also got their second goal in the return leg which finished 3-2 in favour of SIPG. “Yes, the door is open to all our best

players, including Martins.

He is scoring a lot of goals and we need to get competition for all the positions, especially centre-forward. We have a lot of opportunities for the strikers, and so Martins, if he is scoring goals, will be welcome,” Rohr had said.

However, just when many were thinking that Obagol might be part of Super Eagles party to Russia as all directions were turning towards him to help solve the team’s inability to hit the target, the injury came knocking.

There is no doubt that heads would role at the end of the World Cup as some officials and players, if not coaches would be made the sacrificial lamb.

The big question on the lips of observers therefore is, have we seen the last of Ighalo in the Super Eagles shirt in Russia.

Ighalo was born on June 16, 1989. He started his career at Prime FC and later moved to Julius Berger and in 2007, he moved to Lyn in Norway. A year after was signed by Udineze of Italy but was loaned out to Granada in Spain, before signing for Watford in 2014.

Last year, he moved to Changchun Yatai in China for a fee of £20m.

In March 2015, after a series of strong performances for Watford, the then newly appointed Super Eagles interim coach, Daniel Amokachi invited Ighalo to the senior national, and he said then, "I feel good because it is my dream to play for my country."

With death threat hanging on his neck, it remains to be seen if he still feels good playing for his country.

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

DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE

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2018 World Cup … 2018 World Cup… 2018 World Cup… 2018 World Cup… 2018 World Cup… 2018 World Cup…2018 World Cup…2018 World Cup…

England World Cup Dream Continue with Sweden Challenge

T

he English would always pride themselves as the founder of the beautiful game, but ironically their only success at the round leather game at the biggest stage was their 1966 controversial victory on home soil.

However, since the kickoff of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the Three Lions have started dreaming again, and with a mission-bring football back home.

Therefore, against Sweden at the Samara Arena today, England will continue in their mission to bring football home.

Gareth Southgate’s men have reached this stage of the competition for the first time since 2006, having overcome Colombia in their first ever World Cup penalty shootout victory.

The two teams have known each other well over the years and yet neither of them have figured out a way to consistently beat the other.

Part of what has made Southgate a likeable figure among England’s football fans has been his measured calm when he talks to the press. He has come across as eloquent, confident in his approach and a no-nonsense guy.

Take for instance, his post-match interview to the British broadcaster after a nerve-wracking penalty shootout against Colombia. You would have forgiven him, even encouraged him, to be a little giddy with excitement. History was made. England don’t win World Cup penalty shootouts. But on Tuesday night, they did.

Southgate however, seemed content, but never flustered. And what stood out the most was his response when he was thrown the obvious bait. Is England now delighted to be in a quarter-final facing Sweden when the whole world expected – if at all the Three Lions made it this far – to be faced up against Germany or Brazil?

This is the classic banana-peel question. There’s no perfect answer for this.

But even at the moment, Southgate, without a moment of hesitation, pointed

ÙÎËã̳Ý ÓâÞßÜÏÝ Sweden Russia

v England v Croatia

15:00 19:00

ÙÞ ÒÙÞÝ NAME

COUNTRY

GOALS

Harry Kane

England

6

R. Lukaku

Belgium

4

C. Ronaldo

Portugal

4

Artem Dzyuba

Russia

3

Diego Costa

Spain

3

Denis Cheryshev Russia

3

Kylian Mbappe

France

3

Edinson Cavani

Uruguay

3

Yerry Mina

Colombia

3

out England’s record against Sweden is not all that great. This is a team that England have historically struggled against. If the interviewer wanted a sensational answer, Southgate put that thought to bed with a near-perfect retort.

If an “easy” opponent is what England were after, then there is a disappointment in store.

Sweden and England have met 23 times overall, with both teams winning seven matches and nine ending in draws. Interestingly, of those 23 matches, two have been in the Euros group stages and two in the World Cup group stages – at the Euros, England and Sweden have one win each (both by a solitary goal margin) while both games at the World Cup were draws (1-1 in 2002 and 2-2 in 2006).

It’s fair to say the two teams have known each other well over the years and yet neither of them have figured out a way to consistently beat the other.

But this is the first time the teams are meeting in a knockout setting at a major competition. This is unexpected territory for both teams, arguably. While England’s presence in the last eight was, marginally, more predict-

England fans optimistic the Three Lions could win in Russia

able, hardly anyone thought Sweden would top a group that had Mexico and Germany in it and make the quarterfinals by beating Switzerland. These are two teams familiar with each other but when they take the field on Saturday in Samara, not much else will be.

For instance, the last time these two sides met in 2012, Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored all four goals for Sweden in a 4-2 win but Zlatan is not around anymore.

This is a Sweden team that got through the business end of the qualifying campaign without their talisman, adjusting to a new way of life. While the Swedes have always been known for their organistation and discipline, there was an X-factor up top who could make the difference. For years, it was Henrik Larsson, and then Zlatan took over.

But they didn’t come to Russia 2018 with the help of a talisman. They came to the World Cup, riding on one sturdy defensive display after another, culminating in a 180-minute masterpiece to keep the Italians at bay.

And just as they have shown through the duration of this World Cup, they won’t be hard to break down. Just ask Germany, who needed the most precise free-kick you are ever likely to see by Toni Kroos in the 94th minute to grab a winner. Just ask Mexico, who were stunned 3-0 and left hanging on for dear life, hoping South Korea pull off one of the greatest upsets to ensure qualification. Just ask Switzerland, who huffed and puffed but could blow the house down.

So far in this tournament, England have had it easy only against Panama. Against Tunisia, they were expected to dominate but breaking the African team down proved tough – they had to rely on set-pieces and Harry Kane. Against Colombia, who preferred to employ the dark arts over their South American flavour, it was again similar. Although in the latter distance, England were guilty of retreating into their shell, trying to settle for a 1-0 win.

Does England have enough creativity to break down sturdy defensive setups? On the basis of what we have seen so far, not really.

And that’s where the Three Lions’

forward line has to step up. It won’t be just about Harry Kane. The Golden Boot favourite will need the service from Raheem Sterling and Jesse Lingard and (if he starts) Dele Alli. While the trio have shown great energy going forward, the end product has been lacking.

But, perhaps, for the first time at Russia 2018, there is real pressure on this team to deliver. Goodwill and cautious optimism have carried them this far, but now it’s not just Sweden that’s a familiar foe that awaits them in the quarter-finals: there are expectations. Expectations of a place in the World Cup semi-final and beyond. And that, Southgate would do well to point out, is England’s oldest and deadliest enemy.

Meanwhile, John Stones is continuing to dream of World Cup glory but knows Sweden presents a formidable challenge.

After disappointing showings in the past two editions in South Africa and Brazil, England's progress to the quarterfinals has whipped the nation into a frenzy of optimism and fantasy.

Stones, who impressed at the heart of defense against Colombia, is daring to dream but is wary of a supremely welldrilled Sweden side.

"I've said it from the start. I'd love to win the World Cup. I've dreamt about it," he said at a news conference. "That's what we want to do. We've come here to try and win it.

"I'd love to win a World Cup, England would love to win a World Cup. It's been a long time since we last won it. We want to make people proud back home, proud of the England team.

"We're one step closer to doing that but we still know that we've got games ahead of us. We should be solely focused on this Sweden game, one step at a time and take it from there.

"There are no easy games. I think if you say it's an easy game in a quarterfinal of a World Cup then you are pretty stupid to say that. They've got a lot of quality.

"We show them the respect we do to every team, there are still a few days until the game but we do our research on them. Make sure we take advantage of every opportunity and see where it takes us."

33

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

GLOBAL SOCCER

Al

A Fan Fest atmosphere in Russia

Spasibo Russia, for this Wonderful World Cup With the 2018 World Cup final barely one week away, Duro Ikhazuagbe who has been covering the Mundial from one city to the other gives insight into how this hosting has changed global perception of Russia

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rior to the kick off of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, there was so much negativity about Russia in the western media that it was forcing a rethink for most football fans and journalists that have booked their passage to the host country of the Mundial.

Apart from the earlier tags of racism which a few disgruntled elements within the country had allowed to be blown out of proportion, those against Russia hosting the 2018 World Cup did everything within their powers to paint terrible impression about the place.

Things were so bad in the British media that England’s Three Lions defender, Danny Rose, warned his family not to come to Russia to watch him play as he could not guarantee their safety. Such was the fear created around the Russian society that even some members of the Nigerian National Assembly were questioning the need to endanger the lives of the Super Eagles players and officials in such a perceived hostile environment.

But Russia 2018 has turned out one of the most beautiful World Cups to be hosted by any nation in recent history.

Perhaps, for us Africans here, it rates next to the 2010 edition hosted by South Africa that is adjudged the most family-friendly Mundial to date.

Right from the gateway into Moscow, the Domodedovo Airport presented visitors for the World Cup with a refreshing welcome bouquet that may initially pass for pretence. A bus ride from the airport into the city of Moscow even presents more alluring faces, everyone had that infectious smile of ‘welcome to our country’. Everywhere one turns in that

bustling city of about 12 million people, it was love and welcome arms for visitors.

“This is surprising! This was not the impression I was given of the Russian people become coming out here for the World Cup,” observed widely traveled Sporting Vanguard Editor, Tony Ubani, while expressing his admiration for the spectacle presented by the host country to visitors to Russia.

Among fans, players and coaches, everyone is sharing these expressions of surprise of how what they are witnessing is totally different from the pictures of Russia painted before visitors arrived here.

Supporters from all continents and cultures have found themselves welcomed with open arms, both by smiling locals and ever-helpful tournament volunteers are at our service.

From Moscow to St Petersburg, Kazan, Volgograd, Kaliningrad, Ekaterinburg, Sochi, Saransk, Samara, Rostov-On-Don and Nizhny Novgorod, the story of friendliness is all the same.

Super Eagles Captain, John Mikel Obi, who has a Russian girlfriend similarly painted a beautiful picture of the host country despite Nigeria not making it out of Group D to the Last 16 stage of the 2018 edition of the tournament.

“We have thoroughly enjoyed our stay here in Russia with excellent facilities at our disposal and friendly people everywhere.” He was particularly blown away by the hospitality presented to him and his colleagues at the

team’s base camp in Essentuki. “What we have here are world-class facilities that can compare with the very best in any other part of the world.” Having played in England with Chelsea for over a decade before moving to Tianjin Teda in Chinese Super League, Mikel has seen the best the world has to offer and certainly knows quality when he sees one.

Iran coach, Carlos Queiroz, also shared similar sentiments about what the Russians offered the world for the 2018 edition of the football showpiece. "Everything is top, top, top. I think this is what really matters at the World Cup: the spirit of the game, the great facilities and the great environment.

And for us, everything has been perfect.

Everyone has been so kind, and I must congratulate the Russian people on their wonderful World Cup," observed the former Manchester United assistant coach who like Nigeria’s coach, Gernot Rohr, could not lead the Iranians to the knock out phase.

Belgium coach Roberto Martinez and Janne Andersson of Sweden also gave good testimony to the atmosphere provided by the Russians. Said Martinez: "It's all very impressive. I've been directly involved in the last two World Cups, seeing every day the logistics and the way the organisation works. And I must say that this World Cup is by far the best I have been involved in.

"The hospitality we have experienced has been incredible. The level of it has surprised everyone, and it has given a fantastic image of Russian people and Russia in general."

Anderson also painted a picture of ‘A’ grade for Russia on the hosting. "Absolutely magical," was his impression of the St Petersburg Stadium - one of several amazing arenas packed to the rafters game

after game. Yet it is the stories of friendship and warmth that have stood out.

Trust Nigerians. Some have found love and having good times out here. One Nigerian fan who simply gave his name as Emmanuel said he flew into Russia from Abuja for the Mundial. He told THISDAY his major challenge was the language. “I have tried hard communicating using my Google translator. I meet a lot of friendly girls but cannot really express my love and how I feel emotionally.” But mother luck smiled on this particular fan when he met one Russian girl, Katerina who speaks English. They have remained inseparable since. “I have found love, She is teaching me Russian language.”

Emmanuel is just one of the thousands of fans savouring the friendly atmosphere that Russia has provided for the World Cup. In a hangout in the Vasileostrovskly district where four-star Park Inn Pribaltiyskaya by Radisson Hotel is situated, some Argentina fans were truly at home. Every evening, they gathered to catch fun, soaking themselves in beer and spirits. “Russia is good. We are enjoying this World Cup, very good,” one of them, Franco, told this reporter one very cold night that the weather was +12C . Although the Argentines reduced their frequency at the place after France sent the Albiceleste home in the Last 16 game, Japanese fans took over the hang out after the South Americans left.

One word in Russia that tends to capture the warmth and hospitality offered by the host is “SPASIBO which means ‘Thank You’.

Thank You Russia for proving the world wrong. This hosting has changed global perception about the people and the country.

It will be no surprise that after this Mundial the volume of tourists coming here for vacation will triple. St Petersburg on my mind next summer holiday.

34

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

GLOBAL SOCCER\\OTHER SPORTS

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal posed for photograph after the epic 2008 Wimbledon final. Can they reenact the feat 10 years back?

with KUNLE ADEWALE 08111813082

Marketing Manager, SPAR Nigeria, Emmanuel Patrick, (2nd left) and Quality Control Manager, Maria Oyewusi, presenting the Overall Best School Award to students of Ajumoni Junior Secondary School, during the ongoing SPAR Football Challenge at the Ilupeju Store and other selected SPAR outlets in Nigeria…recently

2018 Wimbledon

Federer, Nadal Set to Re-enact 2008 Final

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ith Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal seeded to meet in the 2018 Wimbledon men's final, the prospect of two of the sports all-time greats replaying one of its greatest matches looms large.

It has been 10 years since the legendary 2008 men's singles final and remarkably, the two men have re-emerged as the dominant forces in the game and could be on course to meet again on the second Sunday at the All England Club.

We will take a look back at that famous game and how they have dominated, faltered and climbed back to the very top of the men's game, while others around them have wilted.

The build-up Federer had won his fifth Wimbledon title in a row the year before, equalling Bjorn Borg's record, but it hadn't been easy. Nadal had taken a set off the Swiss in the 2006 final, but then pushed him to five in 2007. It was the first time Federer had been taken all the way in six years at Wimbledon, and the last man to do so was Pete Sampras in 2001.

Federer had also won the last two Australian Opens and the last four US Opens, but had been thwarted three times in a row at Roland Garros

by Nadal, and there was a sense that the Spaniard was starting to get into Federer's head. The 2008 French Open final had seen Federer, still chasing a first title in Paris to complete a Career Grand Slam, mauled 6-1 6-3 6-0.

Nadal had an 11-6 winning record against Federer and the King of Clay had worked out how to adapt his game from red to green. Both men cruised through the previous rounds to set up the inevitable final. Federer hadn't dropped a set and Nadal had lost just one in the second round.

The match The 122nd edition of the Wimbledon Championships would be the final time that Centre Court would be held to

the mercy of the weather, and Mother Nature decided to have one last big splash to go out in style. Looking back at the 2008 final almost makes you miss the havoc that rain used to wreak at Wimbledon.

Initially scheduled to start at 2p.m., the match finally got under way 35 minutes late. It didn't take long for Nadal to make his mark as he broke in the third game and saw out the first set 6-4. For the first time in three attempts at Wimbledon, the Spaniard had claimed the opener in the final.

Federer had chances to break back in the final game of the first set that he couldn't take, but wouldn't make that mistake again, racing into a 3-0 lead.

Nadal battled hard and found the break back in the seventh and from there Federer wobbled. From a 4-2 lead, he then handed Nadal the second set 6-4.

Nadal turned the heat up again, but Federer would not go down. The first nine games went with serve but, shortly before 5p.m., with Federer leading 5-4, the heavens opened and the rain came.

Nadal, showing no signs of strain, came straight back out as they continued to take chunks out of each other. The fourth set would go with serve to reach another tie break, which was arguably the greatest played since the 18-16 epic between Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe 28 years earlier.

Nadal raced into a 5-2 lead and had two serves to win it. He double faulted the first before sending a backhand into the net under extreme pressure from Federer. Federer then won the net two points to make it 6-5, but a ball into the tramlines on set point made it 6-6. A long forehand then handed Nadal a first Championship point, but Federer saved it.

Nadal brought up a second match point on his own serve but an incredible Federer backhand pass down the line saved it. Federer then set up another set point with a forehand before a long Nadal return handed the Swiss the tiebreak 10-8.

The first four games of the fifth set went with serve but then, just before 8p.m., the rain came down again. With darkness approaching, the players returned around half an hour later to try and get the game done. It continued to go back and forth with serve until it reached 7-7 in the fifth, where Nadal broke for an 8-7 lead and had the chance to serve for the title.

Another Championship point went astray at 40-30, as Federer fought back but finally, at 9.16p.m., Federer fired a forehand into the net and Nadal, having won 6-4 6-4 6-7 6-7 9-7, collapsed to the turf in triumph.

The aftermath At four hours and 48 minutes the match was, at the time, the longest singles final at Wimbledon in history and the second longest of any Grand Slam.

It also meant that Nadal became the first man since Borg to win the French-Wimbledon double in the same year. A couple of months later, Nadal took the world No 1 ranking from Federer, ending a record of 237 consecutive weeks at the top.

Nadal had broken through in a Grand Slam away from Paris and it looked like a new reign of dominance would begin.

The pair met in the 2009 Australian Open final, which Nadal took in another fiveset epic but injuries began to take their toll and Federer claimed four of the six majors that followed the famous final.

Crucially for Federer, Nadal's shock defeat to Robin Soderling at the French Open in 2009 allowed the Swiss to win in Paris for the first time. Nadal was then forced to withdraw from Wimbledon a few weeks later handed Federer a smooth path through to regain his crown.

At the 2011 French Open final, Nadal won in four, and as the years rolled by it looked as though it would be their last final meeting. Novak Djokovic emerged as the dominant force in the game, winning 11 majors between 2011 and 2016, while Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka made themselves Grand Slam

champions.

The re-emergence When Federer and Nadal met in the final of the 2017 Australian Open, for the first time since the French Open in 2011, it seemed like more of a nostalgic throwback for fans than anything, but it turns out it was a sign of things to come.

With the decline of Djokovic and Murray's injury problems, the two have re-emerged as the men to beat and to the delight of their fans have split the all six majors since Wawrinka's US Open win in 2016.

For Federer, the victory in Melbourne was the first time he beat Nadal in a major final since Wimbledon in 2007 and the first time he'd beaten him in a major final away from the grass at all.

For the first time, the Swiss appears to have the upper hand in their battles, winning their last five meetings.

It is worth noting that Federer skips the clay court season now where Nadal would surely be on top and it is the Spaniard who still leads the head-tohead (23-15).

Nadal's adventures at Wimbledon now resemble a struggle. He won his second title there in 2010 and made the final in 2011, but since then he has not gone beyond the fourth round and it remains to be seen whether he can again cope with the full fortnight on grass.

At 36, Federer is the hot favourite this year as he targets a ninth Wimbledon crown. It's the first time since 2010 where the pair are the top two seeds at Wimbledon, meaning they could only meet in the final for what would be a fourth Centre Court showpiece.

There's a decade more in each of the legs and there won't be any rain breaks to add to the drama with the arrival of a roof. But if Federer and Nadal could defy the passing of time and meet again in the final, there's no doubt that they would serve up another thriller to bring the world to a halt. t $VMMFE GSPN ##$ 4QPSUT

SPAR Nigeria Football Challenge Kicks off In this spirit of the global football festive season, SPAR, leading chain of hypermarket stores has introduced SPAR Football Challenge, an innovative platform to engage with its shoppers, their families and friends.

SPAR Football challenge is a unique platform around basic skills of football and gives a nice opportunity to children and adults as well to showcase their skills and have lots of fun at the same

time.

The participants will play football activities such as penalty shootout, free kick with wall, shoot backward, save the goal, shoot through the mark, dribble through hurdles and shoot, juggling with hurdles and keep the ball on-air to test them and win prizes.

The challenging games were played on a nice setup lay out on a green turf in the store car park area of the outlets of the

stores.

SPAR football challenge will be held on weekend across six SPAR stores located at Ilupeju, Lekki, Tejuosho, Port Harcourt Mall, Calabar Mall, Enugu Mall and Abuja Ceddi Plaza Mall and the events will run simultaneously from June 15 to July 8.

A generous amount of prizes and freebies such as gift vouchers, footballs, jerseys, face caps, water bottles, key rings

and wristlets have been made available to motivate and reward participants.

According to the Head of Marketing, SPAR Nigeria, John Goldsmith, “Planning SPAR football challenge has been a most rewarding task, one which we are too excited to continue in the coming years. It brings immense joy to our hearts watching children and their parents compete together and against other families.”

35

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ Ϳ˜ ͰͮͯͶ

TRIBUTE

Remembering the ‘Real’ MKO Abiola Yemi Ogunbiyi

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he immediate impulse to the writing of this piece came from a recent conversation with my 21-year old daughter, Oreoluwa. Following the honour bestowed on MKO Abiola by President Buhari and the re-focused attention on Abiola’s legacy, Oreoluwa, who, by the way, read Politics and Philosophy at Cambridge and was only one year old when MKO was killed, called me to find out more about him. Here is how she put it: ‘Dad, I know all about June 12 and how Chief Abiola was denied the presidency and later died in prison; but what kind of man was he?

Oreoluwa’s question set me thinking and it suddenly dawned on me that many younger Nigerians, certainly the twenty-‘somethings’ and even thirty-year olds may just have only a vague memory of MKO Abiola or none at all, let alone knowing who the ‘real’ MKO Abiola was! Because of Oreoluwa and others of her age, I have decided to reproduce in full, the first chapter of the Book, Legend of ourTime:TheThoughts of MKO Abiola, which is a published collection of Abiola’s key Speeches and Lectures, edited by Dr. Chidi Amuta and myself. The book, which was published on the eve of his presidential campaigns, predates the June 12 saga.

MKO was something of a phenomenon. Obviously, he will now for ever be remembered for his June 12 victory and as an embodiment of our democratic ideals. But he was more than June 12! Indeed, June 12 was the culmination of a tremendously remarkable life. In some ways, there was none like him and there probably would be none quite like him again. He was, among other things, a man of prodigious intellectual talent, a true legend of our time.

Just months before his death, I visited him in prison. Although tired and suffering from a lower back pain, he was, even in his dismal conditions, his old self. He oscillated between anger, anxiety frustration and even optimism, but not bitterness. Then, when a prominent, Egba Chief (now, late), came in to see him, apparently carrying with him some message from the Council of Islamic Affairs, in what seemed to be another of several previous visits, MKO flared up and his defiant self resurfaced!

Then, after the Chief took leave of us, he turned to me and asked me how I thought he had done! I gave him the thumbs up!!

Instantly, the young security guard who had listened in on our entire discussion told me it was time for me to leave. I never saw MKO again.

So, in reproducing this lengthy piece, which was written in late 1992 and titled “Behind the Legend,” I have felt no need to change, embellish or delete any details. The man I wrote about then, remained the man I saw in prison, months before his death in 1998, determined, defiant, uncowed and unbowed.

Because of this man, there is both cause for hope and certainty that the agony and protests of those who suffer injustice shall give way to peace and human dignity…. The enemies which imperil the future generations to come: poverty, ignorance, disease, hunger, and racism have each seen effects of the valiant work of Chief Abiola. Through him and others like him, never again will freedom rest in the domain of the few.

Ronald U. Dellums Chairman, United States of America Congressional Black Caucus September 16, 1989 On Saturday November 2, 1991, I had the privilege of flying with Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola in his private jet to Kafanchan to attend the turbaning of Alhaji Aliyu Muhammad as the Wazirin Jema’a. At the Abuja airport we changed aircrafts and took a helicopter which took us on the final lap of our journey into Kafanchan. After hovering above the scene of the ceremony for a few minutes, our pilot finally located a clearing for landing.

MKO was something of a phenomenon. Obviously, he will now for ever be remembered for his June 12 victory and as an embodiment of our democratic ideals. But he was more than June 12! Indeed, June 12 was the culmination of a tremendously remarkable life. In some ways, there was none like him and there probably would be none quite like him again.

He was, among other things, a man of prodigious intellectual talent, a true legend of our time.

Abiola

The moment the occupant of the helicopter was spotted, the stampede began. The drummers were beside themselves. The trumpeters outdid each other. Singing and dancing groups added to the confusion by raising more harmattan dust. All these were meant, of course, to acknowledge the arrival of Chief Abiola. Even uniformed officers who had been designated to keep some order watched helplessly, in an admixture of bewilderment, admiration and confusion. Considering that this was happening in Kafanchan, away from the presumed heartland of Abiola’s socio-cultural stronghold, I was quite surprised.

The massive attention that greeted Chief Abiola’s arrival was remarkable. I stood back, almost detached from it all, to see if any other arrival would attract such attention. Surprisingly, none did.

Viewed from any point of view, Bashorun Abiola has become something of a national institution. By any standard, he is a phenomenon. Something about him, perhaps, his unique expansiveness of spirit and stupendous generosity, embodied in his enormous wealth, have combined to embed him in our national consciousness in a peculiarly Nigerian way. From the point when he first entered the full glare of national limelight in 1975, with the award of the International Telephones and Telecommuncations (ITT) Contingency Switching contract, all kinds of legendary tales have developed and gained currency about him. There is, perhaps, no other private Nigerian citizen, who has the distinction of being recognised anywhere in the country by his initials alone. In many of Nigeria’s villages, it is certainly probable that the initials M.K.O. will elicit a spontaneous response from Nigerians who may never set eyes on Chief Abiola.

Although a private citizen, Bashorun Abiola is sometimes accorded all the courtesies of a visiting head of state abroad, especially in Africa and from the black diaspora. Indeed, at the inauguration ceremony of President Bill Clinton, he received courtesies reserved for a head of government by virtue of the prominence of his seating position, inches away from the main event. More than anyone else, he has helped tremendously in the election of more African-American Congressmen and women in the United States of America, through direct financial assistance, deriving no gains in return, save the joy of seeing African peoples of the diaspora take greater control of their own destinies in their country of birth.

His direct assistance to Yoweri Museveni in his liberation struggles in Uganda is too well known to be recounted here.

It is sufficient merely to recall that he gave massive financial assistance to that cause. He has travelled extensively around the world on his own, addressing diverse groups of audiences on a whole range of subjects, from Pan-Africanism to Reparations, Technology, Sports, Education, Racism, African political theory, African folklore, Business, the Environment, and “our connectedness as African peoples to a wider flow of world history”, – again, asking for nothing in return.

At last count, he had been conferred with 197 traditional titles by some 68 different communities in Nigeria. Bashorun Abiola has been honoured by scores of educational institutions, worldwide, the last one being an honorary degree from the University of Makerere, Uganda. Since 1972, his financial assistance has led to the construction of some 63 secondary schools, 121 mosques, 41 libraries, and 21 water projects in 24 states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He is, to date, the grand patron of some 149 societies or associations in Nigeria alone, that is, not counting his affiliation with scores of professional associations at home and abroad. During the conferment of the award of the “Order of Merit of Gold”, Africa’s highest award for Football in Dakar, Senegal, in January 1992, it was revealed that no other African,

dead or alive, had made as many “quantifiable contributions” as he had made to the development of sports in Africa.

By any standard, these are phenomenal achievements for a single being in one full life time, let alone one that has spanned a mere fifty five years. Yet, we may not quite know him as he really is. There is the danger, ever so real, that he could become the wrong sort of myth for the wrong sort of reasons.

Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, who was born on August 24, 1937 in the Gbagura quarters of Abeokuta, is a descendant of Agbon who led the Gbagura warriors into Abeokuta in 1930. Traditionally, Gbaguras are warriors and had taken up settlement in the outer boundaries of Abeokuta, where they conveniently defended the city from outside invasions. If you accept Samuel Johnson’s explanations in his seminal work, The History of the Yorubas, then the Gbaguras were closest to Oyos in mannerisms and perhaps, by implication, the most cunning of the Egbas!

Although, the view that young Abiola was born into abject poverty seems to have percolated somewhat, his father, Alhaji Alao Salawu Adenekan Abiola was a small time produce buyer in Ikire even before Moshood was born. And although Moshood was his twenty-third child, he was the first to survive, the first twenty-two dying either at birth or before attaining the age of one; hence the name Kashimawo, indicating the uncertainty that was felt even about his own survival.

The homestead in Adatan into which he was born was the subject of litigation at his birth. Evidently, when Moshood Abiola’s grandfather passed away, his father and his aunt raised a loan to help fund the funeral ceremonies. The understanding was that Moshood Abiola’s aunt would provide service to the money lender in lieu of the money borrowed under the traditional system of Iwofa. Much later, when she decided to get married and lead her normal life, an arrangement that was wholly acceptable under the Iwofa system, the money lender refused and decided to appropriate the Abiola family house. The ownership of that family house was in dispute when Moshood Abiola was born. Many years after, Bashorun Abiola came under pressure from the larger Abiola family to seek redress in a modern-day court of law and regain the family house. He refused and opted instead to buy a new property elsewhere for the family.

This incident left lasting impressions on Moshood Abiola as a child. The fact that a supposedly “free” person could be denied the right of marriage under an “obnoxious” custom was, in Abiola’s own words, “something similar to slavery.” In retrospect, it makes even more sense today that the later-day Pan-Africanist champion of Reparations for the crimes of slavery would have felt as passionately as he did, the injustice of the much abused Iwofa system. The repulsion for this kind of injustice was to characterise much of his early, and subsequent career.

For a man who was born and raised a moslem, it is significant that, apart from one long early spell of Koranic education at the Nawair-ud-Deen School in 1944, all of his pre-University education was under the watchful eyes of Baptist missionaries; Baptist Day School, (1944-1952), and Baptist Boys’ High School (1951-1956). Presumably, at this time, the best colleges in and around Abeokuta were Christian missionary schools.

Apart from the near-spartan discipline of Baptist education, with its dose of Calvinism, other aspects of the Baptist faith influenced him tremendously. The picture of a young Moshood Abiola selling fire-wood to raise money for his school fees or leading a local musical group of his own to raise extra school money was in consonance with the free-wheeling spirit of his Baptist education.

When Rev. S.G. Pinnock founded Baptist Boys’ High School, Abeokuta in 1923, the precepts of hard work and individualism within the framework of a collective ideal were amply spelt out and strictly adhered to. Even the tough rugged approach to the old site at the Egunya Hill seemed designed to tell a story of hard work in itself! That Baptist Boys’ High School has on its roll of old boys some of the highest achievers in our country is partly a testimony to the ideals of hard work, dedication and service which the institution stood for over the years: Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Professor Ojetunji Aboyade, Engineer Yemi Fabunmi, Mr Justice Obadina, Engineer Ayinla Somoye, Professor Adeoye Lambo, Chief Olawale Ige, former Communication Minister, veteran journalist, Tunji Oseni, to mention just a few. As Bashorun Abiola himself recalled later, “it was the best school in the world… Education at that school was what we called education-plus.”

Against many odds, Moshood Abiola plodded on. Not even a bad stammer as a child deterred him. What was to become a lifelong love with journalism started with his editorship of the school magazine, The Trumpeter, in his final year. Olusegun Obasanjo was deputy editor. Although a day student, he took more than a passing interest in sporting activities. It is also just probable that the seeds of what was to blossom into a lifelong romance with sports were sewn during these years.

It is also important to point out that the social setting in which his adolescent character matured was the Abeokuta of the World War II years and a little after. The period just before 1945 and after, were interesting years to be growing up in Abeokuta.

The nature of the political, social and cultural ferment that was taking place in Abeokuta at the end of World War II is hardly duplicated anywhere else in Nigerian history. Abeokuta was one huge flurry of activity.

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

FAIRGROUND

Ade Bakare RTW Collection Summer 2018

with

AZUKA OGUJIUBA

azuka.ogujiuba@thisdaylive.com

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he collection which is a ready to wear collection, mixed African textiles such as vintage aso oke, ankara and silk adire with other fabrics such as gazar, organza, linen, lace and denim The beautiful cape coats with eyelets that fasten with silk scarfs, A line dresses in ankara with lace, aso oke jackets with organza sleeves and silk neoprene Fulani inspired kaftans completed the look. Jewerlly was by Mozafarian of Harvey Nichols, hats by John Boyd of knightsbridge, make up by Natasha from MAC at Selfridges.

Lots of guests were in attendance ,and most where in the dress code Black .

Tola Ayileru and Adebayo Jones

Ade (middle) and his guests

Ade and a friend

Tope Bayiewu and Abi Soniki

Clare Holman, Marcia Zondervan and Dola Adekoya

Mr. and Mrs. Dayo Olomu

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

FAIRGROUND

Omotola, AY, Basket Mouth, Others Speak at #YouthVotesCount Campus Outreach

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op Nigerian celebrities were at the University of Lagos recently for a campus voter education outreach.

The Youth Vote Count Campus Outreach Programme is a youth- specific voter education campaign aimed at mobilising young people, especially first-time voters to exercise their franchise by registering to vote in the 2019 elections. The campaign is jointly implemented by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the European Union, YIAGA AFRICA, and the European Centre for Electoral Support. The Outreach programme will be hosted in six tertiary institutions across the Federation; the first held at the University of Abuja on the 3rd of May. The second in the series, with the theme, ‘Enhancing Youth Participation in the Electoral Process’ held at the J.F. Ade Ajayi Auditorium, University of Lagos on Wednesday, 27th June, 2018 from 8am to 12noon. Celebrity panellists at the event included Omotola Jalade, Ayo Makun AY, Basket Mouth and Helen Paul, with Seun Okinbaloye as the Moderator. The Chairman of INEC, the EU Ambassador to Nigeria, as well as the Vice Chancellor of the University also spoke at the event.

It is expected that the programme will increase the enthusiasm of young people to engage in the electoral process by participating in the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) and Permanent Voter Card (PVC) distribution.

Omotola , AY and her crew at the event

How Bolatito Ibitola Won 2018 ‘Art X Prize

Bolatito Ibitola, winners of the Access Bank ART X Prise... recently

W

est Africa’s renowned art fair, Art X Lagos and Access Bank have announced Bolatito Aderemi-Ibitola as the winner of the 2018 edition of Art X Prize with Access, instituted to recognise and support emerging visual artists in Nigeria.

Bolatito was chosen from a pool of several dozen applicants by a jury of 5 renowned artists comprising pioneering artist, Professor Bruce Onobrakpeya; Turner Prize nominee Yinka Shonibare MBE; highly regarded visual artist Wura-Natasha Ogunji, Honorary Fellow of the University of the Arts, London Sokari Douglas-Camp; and gallerist and curator Oliver Enwonwu.

Access Bank’s collaboration with ART X Lagos stems from a mandate to support and contribute to the development of the art sector in Nigeria by investing in Nigerian talent. The sponsorship of the ART X Prize with Access is a partnership that will celebrate, empower and provide vital professional development for a new generation of emerging Nigerian talent.

Founder and Director of ART X Lagos, Tokini Peterside, remarked: “The extraordinarily high quality of work we received speaks volumes of the potential of the art sector in Nigeria. We are delighted to have the privilege to support the prizewinner, Bolatito Aderemi-Ibitola, at this pivotal stage in her career. With certainty that this will propel her forward towards a successful future within the African and global art industry, we look forward to unveiling Bolatito’s ambitious

project at ART X Lagos 2018 in November. The project will introduce Bolatito to our international audience of critics, collectors and curators from renowned institutions around the world. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Access Bank for their support for this initiative and to our stellar jury for their tireless commitment and generousity to this effort.”

The CEO and Group Managing Director of Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe commented: “At Access Bank, beyond our vast collection of established artists, we believe that we are also responsible for empowering emerging artists.

This is why we continue to support the ART X Prize - to celebrate the ingenuity of Nigeria’s emerging art talent.

I can see the recipient of the ART X Prize with Access being the next great artist of our time, endowing us with the potential and the privilege to shape the most relevant art that will come out of the African continent.”

BolatitoAderemi-Ibitola emerged as the winner of the Prize, after live presentations to the jury members, alongside a shortlist that also included two other artists – Ayo Akinwande and Williams Chechet as finalists. Bolatito is a trans-disciplinary artist working primarily in time based art, interactivity and performance. She lives and works in Lagos, Nigeria, and earned her Masters in Performance Studies from Tisch School of the PerformingArts, New York University and holds a Bachelors in Communication Arts with a focus in Television/Film Production and a minor in Political Science from Allegheny College.

Peace Anyiam-Osigwe

AMAA 2018: Kigali to Host Continental Show

I

n line with its pan-African and Africa integration agenda, the government of Rwanda, through the Rwanda Convention Bureau and Rwanda Tourism Bureau, has accepted to host the 2018 edition of the African Movie Academy Awards in Kigali in September.

According to a statement issued in Lagos by the organisers, the event will hold at the Radisson Blu Hotel & Convention Centre on Saturday 22nd, 2018.

The 2018 nominees for the awards will be unveiled on July 21st at a media and industry event. German filmmaker and Berlin Film Festival curator, Dorothy Wenner has also been announced as the President of the AMAA Jury for 2018.

The awards, which has been in existence since 2005 held the nominations gala event in Kigali in 2017 as part of the activities to expand the frontiers of unity and integration in Africa.

AMAA, according to the founder, Ms. Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, remains the biggest and most credible jury-based reward system for filmmakers and professionals in the motion picture industry from Africa and Africans in Diaspora.

“It remains a fact that AMAA is the longest running Pan-African awards in the whole of Africa. Similar awards in film, music and virtual arts have come and gone. Since 2005 we have worked to keep and protect the integrity of the

awards. This is why we can partner Rwanda, a country where excellence and professionalism drive business and governance. The interesting thing about AMAA this year is that visitors especially Africans will not struggle to have visa as all visas will be processed on arrival. We want to thank President Paul Kagame and otherAfrican leaders that are making people’s movement within our continent very easy while we call on other African countries to have Visa on arrival policy if we can’t remove visa completely. Our people will prosper and there will be shared prosperity when we can travel and do business and even for holidays easily within Africa,” she said.

Lagos State Government hosted the 2017 edition of the awards at the Eko Hotel Convention Centre, Victoria Island while Bayelsa State, the oil rich state from the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria hosted the awards for straight 10 years.

Global and pan-African brands such as the United Bank for Africa, Airtel, Ecobank, Sterling Bank, Skye Bank, First Bank, FCMB, Globacom, MRS Oil among others had sponsored the awards in the past.

AMAA recently hosted a social media training workshop in Kigali for young people as a Corporate Social Responsibility project sponsored by Osigwe Anyiam - Osigwe Foundation, Ecobank and Rwanda Convention Bureau which had with tech resource persons drawn from Nigeria and Rwanda.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍżË&#x153; 2018

TEENS CONNECT

the magazine for teenagers

with NKECHI IBENEME (08142358958) teensconnectmag@gmail.com

Kylian the wizkid -MbappĂŠ : A True Nigerian Blood!

ot many people know that the 19 years-old football prodigy currently ruling the world cup on the French side, also has a Nigerian blood running through his veins. Well, I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know this fact, until recently. Kylian Mbappe, also known as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the 2nd Prince of Monacoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; does not only have a Nigerian blood, but, he proudly bears a Nigerian name; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Adesanmiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (Yoruba, meaning; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Crown fits meâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;) given to him by his father at birth. This means that if the sensational â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;giant killerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; who is currently rated â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;most creative and agile teen in world footballâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is to be properly addressed, it would be as: Kylian Adesanmi MbappĂŠ.

Kylianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s father, Wilfried Mbappe has roots in Cameroon and Nigeria. He was once a refugee who migrated to France in search of greener pastures. In a bid to get a permanent stay in the French Country, Wilfried (a football coach) got married to an Algerian-French based citizen, Fayza (a former handball player). Both gave birth to Kylian on the 20th of December, 1998 and also to his younger brother, Ethan Adeyemi (Yoruba, meaning crown fits you), seven years after. They however, adopted a professional footballer of Congolese descent, Jirès Kembo Ekoko, who is the son of a late friend of Wilfried and who is 10 years older than Kylian.

Kylian began his career at AS Bondy, coached by his father, Wilfried. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He had technique and vision in the game that most children just donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s got eyes in the back of his head. He knows how to anticipate where the ball will go. Here, he never played for his proper age group, he always played with older children because there was no point leaving him with kids his own age,â&#x20AC;? said Atmane Airouche, President of AS Bondy, on Kylian as a child.

At the age of six, Kylian was seen as Franceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best kid footballer and was recognised

by the French Football Federation. His youth coach at AS Bondy, Antonio Riccardi, said of the teen wonder, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The first time I coached him was when he was six years old. You could tell he was different. Kylian could do much more than the other children. His dribbling was already fantastic and he was much faster than the others. He was the best player Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve ever seen in 15 years coaching here. In Paris there are many talents but Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d never seen a talent like him. He was what we call a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;craqueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (the best).â&#x20AC;?

This wonder kid shunned full time schooling just so he could focus on football. Eventually he moved to the Clairefontaine academy (a football academy where the best trained).

His outstanding performances led to numerous clubs, including, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Bayern Munich, attempting to sign him. MbappĂŠ travelled to London for a trial with Chelsea when he was 11 and even played a match for their youth team against Charlton Athletic, but, eventually settled for French club Monaco.

Kylian, who was technically on loan at Paris St-Germain from Monaco was expected to join the French champions on a full time after June 30th, ÂŁ165.7 million making him the second most expensive player of all time, behind Neymarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ÂŁ177 million in 2017. But, that deal is threatened, as PSG faces Financial Fair Play investigation by UEFA and as Manchester United, Manchester City and Real Madrid are going head to head to sign the star teen.

Speaking of Kylianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world cup performance against Argentina, former England captain Alan Shearer, was full of encomiums for the wiz kid: â&#x20AC;&#x153;At 19, to put in a performance like that, with millions watching and Messi at the other end, it was simply brilliant.â&#x20AC;?

He once idolised Cristiano Ronaldo, but today, Kylian is rated the brightest teenager in world football compared now only to the great Pele of Brazil. His father who doubles as his agent, and who set the ball rolling when he started coaching Kylian from a tender age, couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be more proud of the outcome.

Kylian the wonder kid

with half brother, Jires

with C. Ronaldo

Kylian with brother, Ethan and father, Wilfried

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JULY 7, 2018 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

L-R: Representative of HRM, Emir of Kano, Dr. Basheer Mohammed, Dankadai of Kano; Representative of Senate President, Senator Philips Gyunka; Project Coordinator, UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Glen Prichard, Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Alhaji Mohammad Musa Bello, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Col. Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah (rtd) and former Chairman/Chief Executive, NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade

NDLEA Holds A Symposium for Teenagers, Youths in Abuja

T

he commemoration of 2018 International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in Abuja was a great day for the Nigerian children and youths.

National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, which has been in the vanguard of the commemoration brought together students from several secondary schools within the Federal Capital Territory, along with youth corps members and people from all walks of life for the commemoration, which held at the African Hall of International Conference Centre, Abuja.

Since 1988 that the United Nations designated June 26 of every year as international anti-drug day, Nigeria has been in the forefront of its commemoration.

This annual awareness day was founded to highlight the dangers of drug use and their illegal trade and provide educational materials to stakeholders all over the world to help amplify the message about the extreme cultural and economic harm the trade in drugs is still causing across the globe. It is also to sensitise member states to intensify their efforts at combating both drug demand and supply, while improving access to treatment for addicts.

The theme for commemoration has been consistently “Listen First”: “Listening

to children and youth is the first step to help them grow healthy and safe”. Speaking at the occasion, the Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Col. Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah (rtd.), stated that the repetition of the theme for three consecutive years is deliberate to ensure that the message crystallises and resonates among stakeholders and the vulnerable population. According to him, it is clear that those whose responsibility it is to listen are not doing so effectively.

“I do not find it amusing that parents who have the primary responsibility of listening to their wards have rather resorted to blaming teachers, pastors, imams, law enforcement agencies and even their children’s peers for their drug indulgence.” He further noted: “Some parents are invariably too busy to listen but prefer to pursue careers and economic goals in the name of building a future for the same children that would grow to become drug dependent.”

Col. Abdallah added that the power of listening could not be overestimated. “It is not only preventive, it is reassuring and to some extent, curative. Through listening we can discern the mood, evaluate, judge and we can support and provide comfort aimed at better comprehension of the behavior of our children and young ones”, the NDLEA boss noted at the grand event.

In his remark, the Special Guest of

Honour at the event, Alhaji Muhammad Musa Bello, Minister of Federal Capital Territory, said that the children and youth deserved the attention of parents and other character moulders if they must grow to be great leaders. The minister launched a drug-free lifestyle badge by NDLEA with

anti-drug inscriptions that will help to resonate anti-drug messages round institutions of learning across the country. He took time to decorate the students with the badge with the messages: “Count on me to be drug free”, “It’s No Lie, Drug Will Make Your Mama Cry”, among others.

FCT Minister, Alhaji Mohammad Bello, decorating the students

A cross section of students

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

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ Ϳ˜ ͰͮͯͶ

EXPRESSION/PEOPLE

MEDIAGAFFES

Etymological Sequence

EBERE WABARA

Y

OU are welcome to this edition: “The United States has donated a whooping (whopping) N995 billion to the Multinational Joint Task Force to boost military operations against the Boko Haram insurgency, the U.S. government has said.” Conscience, Nurtured by Truth: no whooping cough, please “Also, the Presidency has pledged to garner the necessary investments to improve the wheeling capacity of the nation’s transmission infrastructure.”

Would it have been ‘unnecessary’ investments?

Still on THE GUARDIAN under focus: “He said that is (was) why he would come back to salvage the state and rescue it to put it back to realize it’s (its) pride of place as he left it in 2015 and go even beyond that.”

“Cash and carry (Cash-and-carry) democracy, bane of Nigeria’s development” “Falana supports Soyinka’s objections on (to) Sexual Offences Bill” “Train to become a certified child care personnel (official)” ‘Personnel’ is a collective noun.

“In other jurisdiction (another jurisdiction or other jurisdictions), you don’t just file for the sake of filing, you can’t just take a matter for the sake of taken (taking) it.”

“We therefore regret any inconve-

niences this might cause our esteem (esteemed) distributors. This announcement is ordered by Tiens Group—Nigeria.”

“NDIC boss charges corps members on bank saving (bank-saving) culture” “…and newly-elected officials swornin (sworn in) at the federal and state levels….” Phrasal verbs abhor hyphenation.

“Oil swap (Oil-swap) contracts: AITEO not front for Jonathan, AlisonMadueke—Spokesperson” Except if the headline caster meant that oil was swapping contracts!

“Jigawa council chairmen pledge support to (for) APC govt” “I wish you many more years in good health and prosperity, to further your accomplishments to (in) journalism and humanity (service to humanity, you mean?)”

“I and my wife, Lady (My wife, Lady… and I….) Etymological sequence is critical to good writing.

“Use of made-in Nigerian (Nigeria) cars by Mr. President (Buhari) will lift auto industry” “Tribunal will recover Abia stolen mandate, APGA chieftain assures” Who did the chieftain assure?

“Soyinka laments Chibok girls (girls’) continued captivity” (THE NATION ON SUNDAY, May 20) THE NATION ON SUNDAY of May 13 comes up next with the following errors: “Dangote commissions (inaugurates/ auspicates/launches, et al) $500 million cement plant in Ethiopia” “Buhari to flag off (inaugurate) super

BY

highway in Cross River” “First and foremost, you must look at the PDP; they mismanaged their victory and haven (having) mismanaged the victory….”

“The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria…played very prominent roles during the electioneering campaigns that ushered in the new administration.” ‘Electioneering’ and ‘campaigns’ cannot co-exist in the same lexical environment as the former encompasses the latter.

From THE NATION ON SUNDAY of May 6 issues the next set of diseased lines: “Ekweremadu: Igbos (Igbo) right to vote for PDP” “On the occasion of your birthday anniversary….” For the umpteenth time, ‘birthday’ and ‘anniversary’ cannot cofunction. ‘Birthday’ is the anniversary/ commemoration of one’s birth.

It seems to me that colleagues of the pen either do not read our Wordsworth or they are simply lazy in the head. Now, in whose pool of blood is a person shot or stabbed to death supposed to lie?

The import of my intervention with regard to the word “decampment”, published in Wordsworth of June 7, appears to have been missed, judging from an undeserved stinging feedback a week later. Granted the word is listed as a noun derived from “decamp” (word not in dispute) in a few dictionaries, it is not a substitute or synonym for “defection” which the concerned writer meant.

Longman (Contemporary English), Oxford Advanced Learner’s and Chambers

ewabara@yahoo.com, 08055001948

are some standard dictionaries and are not meant for us in the nursery school.

The phrase “available to me” was my honest submission. So, it is regrettable that a lofty and highly interactive portal such as Wordsworth is being turned to a platform for hurling abuses and insults at other contributors.

Take note that the old, grammatical rule that “one” must be followed by “one” and its parts –“one, one’s, oneself”, has changed. The feeling that the repetition of “one” - - - one’s (e.g.

One must do what one can to ensure one’s family a decent standard of living) makes for a stilted style has now led to the permissible shift from “one, one’s” to “he, his” (e.g. One must do what he can to ensure his family a decent standard of living).

In general, a shift in the number or nature of pronouns is undesirable, but this particular shift is established usage.

Examples: When one is in power and things go his way in highly competitive elections, his first task is to fight his own mentality. Perhaps one has gone to the university where he has been given the wrong orientation that his degree is an opportunity to reach for the skies just like that. One could be said to hate himself if he lacks self–confidence in his abilities.

Every user of the language, particularly every journalist or communicator, must keep abreast of the current changes—the dynamics—in the language.

Ëã ÙÐ ÞÒÏ ÐÜÓÍËØ ÒÓÖν ÞÒÓÍËÖ ÙàÏÜØËØÍÏ ËØÎ ÏÝÞ ÜËÍÞÓÍÏÝ ÞÙ ÏËÜØ ÜÙ× Akeem Ogunlade

E

very June 16, the African child takes the spotlight. When the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) settled for June 16 as the Day of the African Child, the purpose was to raise awareness about issues that infringe on the rights of the African child. The day was in commemoration of the 1976 massacre of Soweto children in the then apartheid South Africa. Since 1991, every June 16, stakeholders have met to brainstorm on the challenges and opportunities facing complete actualisation of the rights of the African child. It is still a long way to the ideal.

The 2018 edition, with the theme, “Leave No Child Behind for Africa’s Development,” seeks to mainstream children’s rights in all developmental programmes, especially the inclusion of children left out of Africa’s growth and development.

Some interesting statistics, grim as it seems, underscore the imperative of ensuring that ‘No Child Is Left Behind.’

From DR Congo, Nigeria, Mali, Egypt, Libya, South Sudan, Central African Republic to Cameroun, among others, violent conflict is a ravaging scourge across Africa. Now dominated by organised terrorist groups and militias, civilians have become increasingly targeted, with the consequence particularly harsh on women and children.

The United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF) described the crisis in South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, as staggering. The organisation stated that crisis in the country, which escalated in July 2016, has not only deepened the humanitarian crisis, but has triggered the displacement of more than 3 million people, with children constituting almost 70 percent of them. The country also has the highest proportion of out-of-school children in the world. A similar situation exists in Somalia. Among other afflictions devastating Africa’s children include early and forced child marriages, rape, abduction, starvation, school dropout, and trauma. It seems that there is hardly anyone out there to protect Africa’s children, the bulk of the continent’s population.

Stricken by adversity he did not cause, the African child is faced with an uncertain future. In response, parents and governments have adopted different, and in some cases, desperate approaches to deal with the scourge. A common practice is indulgence in child labour. Child labour is described as “the use of children as a source of labour while depriving them of their fundamental rights in the process.”Among these rights include education, the chance to enjoy childhood, to have peace of mind, and to live a dignified life. Overall, the International Labour Organisation

says any work that places children in a state that is socially, mentally, physically, or morally harmful and dangerous is child labour. Such practices clearly sideline the wellbeing of children. Lack of education, for instance, denies children and indeed anyone a decent shot at success. Desperation and failure often become the norm.

Another description of child labour is the practice of deliberately exploiting children for financial gain.

Predominant among poor families, children used are as tools to generate income for the family. In the process, the victims are denied of their basic rights. Investigations have also revealed that some industries, especially in developing economies, intentionally engage children as a way to reduce labour costs since wages offered the children are often very low. Nonetheless, there are numerous factors for exploiting child labour. These include poverty, unemployment, high cost of education, early marriages (especially among girls), illiteracy, huge demand for untrained labour, low ambition and overpopulation.

Nigeria, according to UNICEF, is estimated to have about 15 million children under the age of 14 who are working across the country.

The ungainly situation of exploiting children for labour is treated with strong resentment across the world. But the campaign to abolish the vice has however been long drawn.

A consensus though is that eliminating child labour is not the responsibility of just parents but the collective duty of everyone, including governments, companies and the society at large.

Since poverty is a major cause of child labour, experts and social commentators have recommended empowerment as a key remedial measure. By improving their standards of living and providing opportunities, people tend to be averse to child labour. Also, equipping poor people with knowledge and revenue generating skills and projects would help to reduce cases of child labour. It is also recognized that educated and enlightened parents would be disinclined to use minors as a source of labour and ensure their rights are properly protected.

The awareness of the agony which child labour inflicts is growing globally. In the corporate world abound a number of companies that have made the crusade against child labour and other vices a central part of their operations.

This is borne out of the realization that leaving the children to their devices would not only ruin their future but they would also become a threat to society in general.

The British American Tobacco (BAT), for instance, has adopted the Good Corporate Conduct, a set of codes underlining how its business is managed. “Business success brings with it an obligation for high standards of behaviour and integrity in everything we do and wherever we operate.

These standards should not be compromised for the sake of

results”, the company stated.

For the organisation, such a code of conduct is particularly imperative as it depends on farming for a substantial part of its requirements. Specifically on child labour, the company stated, “We have always made it clear to all our suppliers of tobacco leaf and contracted farmers that exploitative child labour and other human rights abuses will not be tolerated.

Our Supplier Code of Conduct complements our Group Standards of Business Conduct by defining the minimum standards we expect our suppliers to adhere to in order to supply goods or services to BAT and any BAT Group company. This builds upon our long-standing commitment to operating to the highest standards of corporate conduct for both our own business operations and our wider supply chain.”

The code includes a specific requirement for all suppliers to ensure their operations are free from the exploitation of child labour.

Last year, the organisation developed a new operational standard on child labour prevention, with important contributions from critical stakeholders and global groups. It is expected to be rolled out this year across all the company’s leaf operations and will bring increased consistency and effectiveness to the way in which its long-standing Child Labour Policy is implemented. Also Winrock International, a private, non-profit organization has through its programme, Community-based Innovations to Reduce Child Labor through Education, (CIRCLE) developed a special pilot project based in West Africa entitled Child Labor Alternatives through Sustainable Systems in Education (CLASSE) to provide training and educational alternatives for children engaged in or at risk of harmful work in Côte d’Ivoire and Mali. These projects have all addressed various forms of child labor and provided direct education and training alternatives to over 24,000 children who were either withdrawn from or prevented from entering situations of child labor.

Through the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), which was established in 2003, the Nigerian government has put in place mechanisms for tackling the menace of trafficking in persons, especially women and children. Amongst others, it criminalised all forms of exploitation of human beings which includes sexual and labour exploitation.

Ultimately, saving the African child from the harsh risks of child labour goes beyond trumpeting concerns but requires concerted efforts at all levels of society to address the causal factors. That is the essence of the International Day of the African Child.

––Ogunlade is of the Centre for the Promotion of Enterprise and Business Best Practice, Wuse 2, Abuja, Nigeria

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JULY 7, 2018 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

FASHION FILE

POPARTII ‘s Wearable Art Campaign

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ JULY 7, 2018

FASHION FILE

By Azuka Ogujiuba azuka.ogujiuba@thisdaylive.com

POPARTII ‘s Wearable Art Campaign

P

OPARTII presents a deviance in creative thought by exploring the 90’s and Y2K youth pop culture movement. It is characterized by defiant vibrant graffiti, loud boom boxes, cartoon characters, lights and buildings from those decades for today’s youth.

CREDIT Photographer: Ogoh Clem (@ogoh_clem) Models: Adunola Osilowo(@adun_osilowo) Dim Adanna(@dim_adanna) Phenom(@phenom_gram) Stylist: Jennifer idiaru (@ jenidiaru) Makeup: leylarhcadne(@ leylarhcadne)

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

MARKET PLACE with Omolabake Fasogbon... ͸΀͹ͽͽ͹ͻ͹΀Ϳͼ

CEO, InstinctWave, Mr. Akin Naphtal; Executive Secretary, Association of Telecommunications Company of Nigeria, ATCON, Ajibola Olude ; National Treasurer, ATCON, Mrs. Aderonke Adeyegbe ; and 1st Vice President, ATCON, Ikechukwu Nnamani, at the 2018 Ghana Information Technology and Telecom Awards,GITTA,in Ghana recently

Director,VDT Communications,Alh. Garba Imam; Managing Director, Mr. Biodun Omoniyi; Chairman, Board of Directors, Mr. Tokunbo Talabi; Director, Engr. Tunji Gafaar; Director, Mr. Olaolu Adewole and Director, Alh. Umar Abdulahi all of VDT Communications Limited during the appointment of the new Chairman and the company’s AGM in Lagos recently

Schneider Electric, GIZ Promote Solar Technology Global specialist in energy management and automation, Schneider Electric, in partnership with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, has offered three institutions training opportunities on solar technology in Germany.

Schneider and GIZ joined forces in a development partnership under the develoPPP.de programme of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The project is targeted at young underprivileged Nigerians, and the beneficiary institutions, which include: Railway Technical Institute, the Yaba College of Technology and Etiwa Vocational School, would receive hands-on training of trainers in solar photo-voltaic installation supervision.

The beneficiary institutions, which include: Railway Technical Institute, the Yaba College of Technology and Etiwa Vocational School, would receive hands-on training of trainers in solar photo-voltaic installation supervision.

According to the sponsors, trainers would also be exposed to an integrated curriculum developed by the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP), co-funded by the European Union and the German Government and implemented by the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing.

They will also attend a professional four-week pedagogy training in Germany, supported by GIZ and a five-week technical training in

Nigeria.

Announcing the training opportunities, the Managing Director of Schneider Electric, Balaji Lenka, stated that 11 trainers from each of the three selected institutions have been enrolled in a ‘Didactics and Teaching Methods for Adult Education’-Programme, organised by the Hessische Landesstelle für Technologiefortbildung in collaboration

Badagry Backs Initiative to Boost Economy With social and economic growth in mind, Badagry Local Government Area of Lagos State has partnered a non government organisation, TOS Education Initiative to flag off the ‘Bright Future Book Club’ in the area.

According to the convener of the initiative, Lolade Salvador, the idea of the club came up to reverse the negative trend in the reading habit of students in this social media era.

Salvador noted further that the initiative was in appreciation of what the society through reading had contributed to her making as well as her daughter who was offered Bright Future scholarship in Florida for reading 1,400 books from primary to high school.

“It is saddening to realise that reading habit among our students is declining despite that education has great influence on the economy. Reading is a function that is necessary in today’s

First Bank Raises Hope for Needy, Launches SPARK participate by nominating those they thought

First Bank of Nigeria has restated its commitment to societal growth through ‘SPARK’ to promote acts of kindness.

According to the company, SPARK which means Start Promoting Acts of Random Kindness was announced in 2017 and aimed to restore the fading age-long culture of being one another’s brother’s keeper.

Shedding more light on the idea, First Bank’s Group Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications, Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney, noted that SPARK as an empowerment programme, offered both staff of the bank and external stakeholders, a platform to support humanitarian causes through crowdfunding by enabling and encouraging them to make small contributions/donations in aid of members of society in critical needs.

She stated that the framework of the programme is a three-year approach which started last year during the Bank’s Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Week (CR&S), adding that employees were encouraged to

with GIZ. Commenting on the training, Viviane Mike-Eze, Field Manager of Schneider Electric, stated that the training would cover modules like education and vocational systems, lesson planning, instructional media, instructional methods, photovoltaic systems and field trips.

“The programme is intended to help

were deserving of acts of random kindness.

“We are pleased to announce that 10 beneficiaries have emerged from over 100 nominations based on the criteria of community/individual’s emotive story and the significance of the individual/community need.

“The beneficiaries include Baby Ijeoma, who was in dire need of cardiac surgery to correct her congenital heart disease and forestall irreversible and life-threatening complications, got over N1.5 million assistance.

Also, Mrs. Mary Pius, a widow with five children and fruits seller who was unable to send her children to school, received N100,000 and this gave her business some boost.

Others are Lawal Seun, a boy and the third child of a blind woman in Ondo town whose husband abandoned with the four children, Seun is now able to pay his school fees in his secondary school due to the N150,000 SPARK offer,” she explained.

society.”

Beyond economic factors, she explained that reading helps to a large extent in building good self-image, develop the mind, imagination and the creative side of a person as well as improve communication both written and spoken.

She stated that bringing such initiative to Badagry means a lot to the residents and the development of the community as a whole as it would further brighten the future of the society.

Reiterating that education is the bedrock of economic development, Chairman, Badagry Local Government, Mr. Olusegun Onilude, commended the cooperation of stakeholders in receiving the initiative adding it was the beginning of great things to come in the local government area.

He posited that getting children to read should not be left to schools alone, rather a function of the entire society including parents and government.

Onilude added: “The essence of this initiative is to promote reading culture among students in Badagry LGA, knowing well that education is vital to this society being the cradle of civilisation. It is usually said that if you want to hide a secret from African, keep it in a book. At Badagry, we want to prove this notion wrong. Through this programme, we expect to see a considerable improvement in the academic performance of our students .”

The event hosted about 23 schools in the local government who were all presented with education materials to aid their reading.

Salvador also expressed readiness to partner other LGAs in Lagos State that expressed interest in the initiative.

increase opportunities for trainees to become entrepreneurs in the field, foster self-sustenance and community development.”

She stated further that the company would be working hand - in hand with an NGO, Rhealyz Green Network to ensure proper handling of all operational activities for the successful implementation of the project.

Firm Patners Foundation on Wellness Chivita, a brand of CHI Limited, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Sugar and Cholesterol Control Foundation (SACCOF) to boost wellness in Nigeria.

President of SACCOF, Ademola Adesoye, noted that the partnership between the duo sought to increase public awareness on the nutritional benefits of 100 per cent fruit juice as well as to correct misconceptions on sugar consumption.

Adesoye said that the both Chivita and SACCOF would embark on massive campaign to pass the message down, further adding that excess sugar intake without complementary active living, are the likely causes of diabetes and associated diseases among many Nigerians.

He thus called for the involvement of relevant stakeholders in the campaign as well as more investment in researches and public sensitisation.

“It is important Nigerians understand that they need sugar to carry out their basic tasks.

What is bad is excess intake.

And what could be normal for one person may be excessive for another. What determines the volume of sugar you require are your lifestyle and the amount of energy you need to discharge your responsibilities.”

Managing Director of Chi Limited, Deepanjay Roy added that the firm would, on the strength of the partnership, support the foundation’s research works and other initiatives aimed at educating Nigerians on healthy living. He said that the company and SACCOF had shared values in boosting the quality of life, through enlightenment and support for consumer’s health and wellness.

“As a sustained initiative, we hope to support independent efforts by experts such as nutritionists and dieticians to show how fruit juice contributes to the health and well-being of consumers. We will also create a sustainable discourse on the truth and science of 100 per cent fruit juice and the No-added Sugar proposition,” he stressed.

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

46

Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2018;

͸Ϳ͸͞ͺÎ&#x20AC;͚͞Ϳ͝Ϳ Ă?Ě&#x2039;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2013;Ë? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2018;ĚśĂ&#x2019;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2013;Ë&#x203A;Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;

LOLU SHOMUYIWA

I Wanted to Be a CIA Agent, Butâ&#x20AC;Ś Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x; Ă&#x17D;Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x2122; Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x;ĂŁĂ&#x201C;ĂĄĂ&#x2039;Ë&#x153; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă?âĚ&#x2039; Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2018; Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă&#x153; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2039; ͺ͸͚Î&#x20AC; Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2039;Ă? Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2122;ĂĄĂ&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122; Ă&#x152;Ă? Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2039;Ă?Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x2122;Ă? Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;ĂŁ Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2039;Ę°Ă?Ă&#x153; Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2014;Ă? Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ë&#x203A; Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă?Ë&#x153; Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2039;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2039;ĘľĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x;Ă&#x17D;Ă? Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17D;Ă? Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2014; Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122; Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC; ĂĄĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ë&#x153; Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2013;ĂŁË&#x153; Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2018;Ă?Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă&#x2039;ĂŁ Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ë&#x153; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x2022; Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2014; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2039;Ă?Ă&#x2122; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122; Ă?Ă&#x17E;ĂŁĂ&#x2013;Ă? Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2014;Ë&#x203A; Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă Ă&#x201C;Ă?ĂĄ ĂĄĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019; Tosin CleggË&#x153; Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2022;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2014;Ă? Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2018; Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă&#x153; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ë&#x153; Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x153; Ă&#x152;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ë&#x153; Ă?Ă&#x;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă? Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă?

Lolu is not one to shy away from challenges hat is making a very conscious effort to be successful. Lolu is pretty much that guy you call at 2a.m. and ask whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going on? Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a hard worker and I am not one to shy away from challenges.And I am the definition of your almost perfect guy, and I say almost because am not perfect. I have my flaws here and there.

of alike. Teddy was the cool guy that everyone thought was proud, but up close, he wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t, he was someone you could talk to. Ahneeka and Ifunada have amazing minds so you would be shocked what they know. Most guys these days are scared of babes who know their stuff and they shy away from them, but they are very brilliant people.Anto is another amazing woman and she is mentally attractive, and I felt if there was any last woman standing, then she should be the one.

My career on radio started in the university I went to the University of Ilorin and that was when the radio interest started. I was among some students asked to work at the radio station. Prior to that, my mother was in the media before she passed on and of all her kids, I was the only one with the media flair. My mum always wanted me to be a Doctor, but Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m so far from that right now. As a child, I think I wanted to be like a CIA agent or some agent. I remember there was a time I went on the CIA website looking for a career, but radio came through at the university.

During the holidays, I did public relations and from there I started making money to make ends meet, as I had a sister to look after. Investment banking came about and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how I moved to London and then came back to radio. I studied Sociology but I had minors in politics, history and business.

I am a very blunt person I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know how to mince words and if I want to say you messed up I would tell you that, and if I want to say you should act right I would say that too. I feel that way, but people perceived it differently and they would say because Lolu knows so much, they perceive him as a threat.

But for me though, I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think I was a threat. I just felt that if I was in a position to help anybody at a particular point in time, I should do it and if itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perceived as a threat, then know thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not the idea of the conversation.

T

I auditioned for Big Brother Africa twice I auditioned for Big Brother Africa twice and I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get picked, so when the audition for Big Brother Naija was announced I was very reluctant. Besides, I had a job so I felt I should just stick to it. But surprisingly, in one day, nine of my friends called, urging me to go for the audition and that if I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make it, it would be on record that I tried anyway. I was in Abuja at the time and stage after stage of the audition, I kept on moving and then I entered the house.

Actually, I had always wanted to be on the show since the first day I saw it. So, I felt if I was on the show I would be more than happy. But after the first two times and after trying a third time, I felt there was no harm in trying again, and here we are today.

I have been a big fan of the show Every year I watched the show, and even if I was smart or intelligent enough to say this is what is going to happen next, I might be right half way but the rest exceeds expectations. Which is why am quick to tell everybody the show exceeds expectations irrespective of the country it is in.

Going into the house wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like I had a plan, but I am a very observant person. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m one to just sit back and observe everybody. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s who I am and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how I was wired going into the house. If I did have any strategies it was just to be myself and take each day as it came because, then again, you may look like fake and there are a lot of brilliant people watching you and they can smell a fake person from afar.

Teddy A, Leo, Anto, Ahneeka, Ifunada were strong in the house If anyone was classified like a strong competition, then these guys were the ones I had. I felt like Leo and I were very similar in the way we think and I felt part of myself in him. And in the house, he said the same and we are kind

Anto and I like each other but there is no love affair Anto and I talk about work and we support each other in every way. We are even about to get on the road together, we support each other and there is no affair yet. If it happens I would let you guys know. Immediately she was evicted and came back to the house, I knew she had like a plethora of information. So I realised there had to be a conversation at a point in time but I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think it changed the game, it was just another Big Brother element we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see coming. We have moved on from that like any other person would in life.

People have accused me of being quiet But I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just me being me at the end of the day. I have been working on my YouTube series which have premiered already. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s called Chronicles of Lolu and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just me talking about social issues, personal issues, entertainment and a bit of everything. Also, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m thinking of collaborating with international bodies for skills acquisition for youths and not just for the Nigerian youths but Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s as well. They have a lot to offer and we need to put them in a place to be successful. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m also speaking to corporate bodies too in terms of me representing their brand or me being behind an initiative they want to push. Also, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m thinking of going back to school and, yes, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m looking at movie roles too, but not something Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to do long term so I wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t say no to the scripts. I will also plan a tour to several universities later on, but I have visited a few places so far.

The goal is politics at the end of the day I feel youths have a very important role to play in the future of the country, and investing in the youths today will one way or another help secure the tomorrow of the youths.

The recently passed bill of Not Too Young to Run was positive and the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s thinking of involving the youths in politics is really good. It also shows that Nigerian youths have a future, as a lot of them are refusing to go to school because they believe nothing can be done in terms of them contributing to the country.

Right now, I know I have a voice and platform

Shomuyiwa

but I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s big enough for a place in government but I feel itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s good enough for an advisory role. Eventually, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what I do today that will better place me in government position tomorrow.

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a very selďŹ&#x201A;ess person Particularly widows and kids are very close to my heart, because when my mother died we gave all of her stuff to widows and that has stayed with me for a very long time. In any case, when I start philanthropy, I would be looking at going into that.

There are so many people today that donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have an idea of where their next meal will come from and that saddens me.

I havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t slept in a long while My team is always complaining about that.

Fame is supposed to improve your life and not change who you are, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s supposed to improve you. So, the same guy before the show is the same guy after the show. I still eat amala in bukkas and people still recognise me. The game has improved my life and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something I would get used to.

Lolu is very single Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not in a relationship and as soon as I get into a relationship, the media always have a way of finding out.You would add one and two together, but I feel like when I get into a relationship Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to find a way to say it so that those who get the message get the message.

47

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

Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2018;

͸Ϳ͸͞ͺÎ&#x20AC;͚͞Ϳ͝Ϳ Ă?Ě&#x2039;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2013;Ë? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2018;ĚśĂ&#x2019;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2013;Ë&#x203A;Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;

MY STORY SHINA PELLER PLANS BIG FOR AQUILA RECORDS Aquila Recordsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; anniversary is set to hold on the 15th of this month at the Balmoral Event Centre. It has been planned to appreciate those that have paved the way in the industry for artistes and the music industry in general.

It was also disclosed that the Aquila Records team would release an album of self-composed songs featuring all their artistes, as well as having a few collaboration from other acts as well. Aside the Aquila Acts that would be performing, big names such as Olamide, Burna Boy, Phyno, Slim Case, 2face, Tiwa Savage and a lot more would also grace the stage to entertain everyone. The event has been put together to appreciate and thank everyone that has in one way or another supported the label so far.

OZ My Music is All About Love, Inspiration äĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă&#x17D;Ă? Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă? Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC; ĂĄĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019; Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x17E; Ă?Ă&#x17E;ĂŁĂ&#x2013;Ă?Ë&#x203A; Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă Ă&#x201C;Ă?ĂĄ ĂĄĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019; Tosin Clegg, Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2022;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ë&#x153; Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?ĂŁ Ă?Ă&#x2122; Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ë&#x153; Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x161;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă?

XPLORENOLLYWOOD AT REAL-TIME FILM FESTIVAL

Publisher of Xplorenollywood, Efeturi Doghudje, recently held a session at the 2018 Real-Time Film Festival in Lagos where she addressed the issue of commercial and passion productions. The panelists she had were Nollywood script writer, producer and director, Uduak Isong; Publisher of Sodas and Popcorn, Sylvester Olumuyiwa

and Operations Support Manager of Filmone Distribution, Damola Layunu. They took turns to give an insight into themselves, filming, productions and provided answers to different questions asked by Efeturi.

Guests at the session had clearer idea of the industry, as a large number of the attendees were

prospective actors and actresses who were at the film festival to get enlightened, educated and informed.

The session ended with a perfect balance to the topic discussed before other activities proceeded. It was a major insight and with experts from different structures of the industry, the conclusion was well delivered.

BAAJ ADEBULE, EBIYE VICTOR, BISOLA AIYEOLA, OTHERS STAR IN PAYDAY PayDay is the story of two best friends and flat mates, Paul (Baaj Adebule) and Ortega (Ebiye Victor) whose landlord dies suddenly, apparently without an heir, just as they are about to renew their rent.

The young men seize upon the unfortunate but good opportunity to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;enjoyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; a little. However, there is a change in circumstances when the landlordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daughter (Segilola Ogidan) turns up the following morning.

Produced by Orwi Manny Ameh, written and directed by Cheta Chukwu, the movie features actors like Big Brother Naija

runner Up, Bisola Aiyeola, Baaj Adebule, Comedian Ebiye Victor, Mawuli Gavor, Meg Otanwa, Zack Orji and more.

Revolutionary director, Cheta Chukwu echoes the newly formed perspective of cinema goers in Nigeria, who are more concerned about resourceful stories than with the faces, as he rowed his boat in a totally new direction by introducing young and talented actors in his cinema debut â&#x20AC;&#x153;PayDayâ&#x20AC;?.

Pay Day promises a story like you have never seen before; a feel good comedy and an extraordinary acting skill.

W

hatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your kind of music?

My music is connected to my personality as itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all about love and inspiration. I make music that relates to peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s feelings and inspire them to overcome challenges.

How did you start your career, how is the journey so far?

Growing up in a church as a Pastorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kid ignited the musical talent in me. My journey started immediately people began to identify and compliment my gift.

What inspires your kind of music?

I draw my primary inspiration from God and secondary from other artistes. My favourite artiste however has always been John Legend and his content and delivery is a standard I hope to replicate and fine-tune to my style.

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your latest project?

I released a single mid-February titled â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Anything.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; The reviews were awesome from Nigeria and abroad. I also have some collaborations yet to be released but most likely before the year runs out I will drop two projects. In five years, my prayer is to have established a strong brand in music and business.

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exceptional about your kind of music?

One of the major things I look out for while writing is my contents moral value. I always try to express love in its purest forms that has no connection with delinquency. I also make sure my music is not religiously biased or spreading any form of hate and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s my idea of being exceptional.

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

Multichoice Talent Factory Set to Empower New Generation of Film Makers Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2122;Ă Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x;Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x153;ĂŁ ĂĄĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2013; Ă?âĂ&#x161;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC; Ă?âĂ&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC; ĂĄĂ&#x2019;Ă?Ă&#x2DC; Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x2122;Ă? ʨĂ&#x2013;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2022;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă? Ă&#x152;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x2122;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x2039;Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;ĂŁ Ě&#x2122; Ě&#x161;Ë&#x153; Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x;Ă&#x152;Ă?Ě&#x2039; Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2018;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2039;Ë&#x153;

Ă?Ă&#x2DC;ĂŁĂ&#x2039; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2039; Ě&#x2039;Ă&#x2039; Ă?Ă?ĂĄ ĂŁĂ?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014; Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2122;ĂĄË&#x203A; Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153; Ă&#x2122;Ă? Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă&#x;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C; Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17D;Ă?Ă&#x2014;ĂŁ Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2018;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2039;Ë&#x153; Ă?Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x201C; Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x152;Ă?Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x201C;Ë&#x153; Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2122;ĂĄĂ&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x17D; ʨĂ&#x2013;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2022;Ă?Ă&#x153; Ă?Ă&#x2039;ĂŁĂ? Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17E; Ă&#x201C;Ă? Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă? Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă Ă? Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x;Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x153;ĂŁ Ă&#x17D;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x17D; Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122; Ă?Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2122;ĂĄĂ?Ă&#x153; Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x2DC;Ă?ĂĄ Ă&#x2018;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2122;Ă? ʨĂ&#x2013;Ă&#x2014; Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2022;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă?Ë&#x203A; Bennett Oghifo Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă&#x161;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17E;Ă?

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heMultichoiceTalentFactory(MTF) will no doubt open a lot of possibilities in the creative industry, judging by the concept presented by Femi Odugbemi, who is the Director of the Nigerian hub of the MTF. He talked about the MTF with so much excitement because he sees a clear vision that the academy could produce sturdy film makers in a year, just as a similar project called New Direction honed his skills, and positively guided the hands of Mammud Balogun,Amaka Igwe, and Joke Silverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about 20 years ago.

The multiplier effect can be seen in the excellent works and mentoring programmes that these creative giants engage in presently. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Multichoice tradition is to grow talents and watch them grow bigger in the movie and film industry.

It is their contribution to the industry and they are very proud of that. Besides, it will help the company in content; they are a content creation company. They are going to have wide range of content on their channels, as well as content that feeds into every other part of entertainment hub around the world. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not just Multichoice, because the competition can harness from there.â&#x20AC;?

The MTF aims to train and produce highly skilled filmmakers, who will also be empowered to understand the business-end of film making. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It combines the creative and the business in one curriculum and in one module,â&#x20AC;? said Odugbemi, whotalkedexcitedlyabouttheexpectedoutcomes of the Academy, during the week.

The students will learn how to produce Tv film or movie. TheAcademy is a dedicated institution where 20 students learn in a special curriculum the creativity, the business and the technology of film, which are the three touch points. The 20 student would be in a class for a year.

Odugbemi emphasised that â&#x20AC;&#x153;the 20 students will be in a film school, combined with a business school, combined with a passion school and they get to network with the 20 students in each of the two other MTF hubs in Kenya, which covers East Africa and Zambia, which covers Southern Africa. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hopefully, in a yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time theAcademy would have created 60 highly skilled film Makers, in cinematography, in lighting etc, and also people who understand how to pitch, how to crowd-fund, how to create a business plan, a distribution plan.â&#x20AC;?

He described this as the first leg of intervention, stating that the second leg would entail masterclasses through which they would connect with existing filmmakers, â&#x20AC;&#x153;who are already working, who benefit from an encounter with someone who is superior in the industry, who has current knowledge,whohasfuturetechnologyknowledge in different spheres.â&#x20AC;?

This, according to him, would enable them do a master-class in acting, bringing â&#x20AC;&#x153;an actor who will be able to go through the three hubs and help other actorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; want-to-be-like and he or she can talk about their experiences. We will also bring actors from different African countries to meet each other; we might do class online and look at how our lighting can improve.â&#x20AC;?

The master-class will take more people, up to 50 or 60 practitioners, and this will be a regular feature over the next year. So, the Academy can be viewed as a place for different sets of people, such as new film makers, the master-class as something for practicing film makers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is a third plain, a technology driven platform, a portal, something like IMDB, LINKEDIN, like Facebook that uses technology as a platform for all of us to network. It attempts to exchange knowledge because film makers can talk to film makers, not just from Nigeria but from across Africa. I think it is, perhaps one of the greatest investments that we can make, because how many times have I wanted to know if the way

Odugbemi

wemarryinNigeriaisthewaytheymarryinSouth Africa- can I write that into a story? Because if I could find something that is common between SouthAfrica and Nigeria or between Zambia and Nigeria or between Tanzania and Nigeria, then it means I want to make a story or film. My film would find an audience in those places as well, and the greatest way to empower a film maker is to increase his audience.â&#x20AC;?

For instance, Nollywood has do so well because it has traveled across borders and people have discovered in Nigerian stories things about

themselves that they may like the world to know, Odugbemi said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We feel confident that at the end of the year, all things being equal, we will have been able to empower 20 champions. We hope that the Academy creates the kind of students who are not only knowledgeable but also passionate, who are not only passionate but motivated and not only to work as individual script writer or lighting person but who has the ambition that in five years, in 10 years, they would form production companies that can then employ others,â&#x20AC;? he said.

The idea has its strength in the hope that the Academy would create champions who have big ambitions and who want to, in 10 yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; time, become the brand name of the industry and employ others.

Multichoice has opened a portal for entries for theMTF-www.multichoicetalentfactory.com-and prospective students would, among other things, provide a statement of motivation. The process is going to be rigorous, said Odugbemi, adding that they would engage the shortlisted people to feel their commitment. â&#x20AC;&#x153;One thing that is key

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

Multichoice Talent Factory Set to Empower New Generation of Film Makers I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get to work at Multichoice, but has it empowered me in my career? Yes. The truth of the matter is that when you create those champions, you up the skill of the whole industry, and the quality of people you can reach for to work for you is high

Odugbemi

is that the students should not be distracted and for the next one year, they are committed.â&#x20AC;?

Prospective students are expected to have only post-secondary qualification with no more than two years in either industry experience or have done something on their own. I feel that almost every person in the world is a film maker at some level.â&#x20AC;?

Hesaidtherewasapossibilitythatthoseselected would have done something with camera and that they would have if they are passionate.

The curriculum is deep and they are partnering the School of Media and Communication, Pan Atlantic University, Lagos. Regardless, it is a hands-on training and the students would be making film. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Any film school you attend, the only way you learn how to make film is to make film.â&#x20AC;?

The students are expected to make four films by the end of the year. They would be split into four groups or five and they would be taught not only to make films â&#x20AC;&#x201C; â&#x20AC;&#x153;we have what we thought to be the biggest advantage and that is Multichoice has a lot of ongoing productions, and we are going to enmesh them in those productions. We are going to make sure that the time-honoured principle of learning through apprenticeship is also embedded in our system.â&#x20AC;?

As it is, the students will be made to go to different sets to help and in the process learn and would be given mentors, people would put them through. So, a prospective cameraman would be made to do the work in a project that has consequence, learning from an experienced cameraman.â&#x20AC;&#x153;Theywilltouchandholdthecamera and for three months, we are going to have a space where they go into these projects. We hope

We feel confident that at the end of the year, all things being equal, we will have been able to empower 20 champions. We hope that the Academy creates the kind of students who are not only knowledgeable but also passionate, who are not only passionate but motivated and not only to work as individual script writer or lighting person but who has the ambition that in five years, in 10 years, they would form production companies that can then employ others that when they are done, all of us who are senior practitioners would have shared in the burden of giving them something.â&#x20AC;?

Oncethishappens,anypassionateyoungperson could run with it and do something good for his or herself.

On the choice of the three hubs, Nigeria and Kenya have vibrant film industry but Zambia is struggling. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Southern Africa may not be as active as Nigeria in terms of film making but they are quite active. Nollywood has empowered the vision of many industries. So, the idea of film makers pushing forward on the strength of their own personal enterprise has obviously percolated acrossAfrica.â&#x20AC;? Well, SouthAfrica was not chosen

as one of the hubs because it already has a similar project going on. Besides, the film industry there is well-developed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They already have something called Magic In Motion that started about two years ago.

The three hubs, he said represent where the economy of cinema is in the three parts of Africa, adding that Kenya and Nigeria are good hubs.

In Nigeria, â&#x20AC;&#x153;we consider ourselves the capital of film making in Africa.â&#x20AC;?

The MTF project is simply awesome and the financial outlay must be huge, but Odugbemi insists that â&#x20AC;&#x153;itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not time to do that yet, because the cost is still on-going.â&#x20AC;?

The best thing to understand about the project

is the commitment, which is â&#x20AC;&#x153;so strong and so laudable, because if you take a portal; what it takes to do the back end of that, to create something like IMDB or LINKDIN or Facebook â&#x20AC;&#x201C;just the technology import of that- is the investment that is quite commensurable.â&#x20AC;?

The MTF project is a win-win for everybody involved in it, and even for the society at large, which is the reason it is not described as corporate social responsibility but core-share. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t call it CSR, we call it core-share value and here is why. It is not new for Multichoice to do this.

Twenty years ago, there was something called New Direction when there was noAfrican film on DSTv. They came to Nigeria, selected film makers and gave them a film project on celluloid to do and those film makers became like elites; I was one of those. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get to work at Multichoice, but has it empowered me in my career? Yes. The truth of the matter is that when you create those champions, you up the skill of the whole industry, and the quality of people you can reach for to work for you is high.â&#x20AC;?

According to him, any truly big company can make this kind of investment but not as a gift and that is why it is not CSR. It has shared value; we share the need to have a better film industry across Africa. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s good for the film maker, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s good for the production company, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s good for Multichoice and it is also good for those who compete with Multichoice. It absolutely pays everybody. The focus is on excellence.â&#x20AC;?

The MTF will undoubtedly improve the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s film industry. The judge of this would be a delightful outcome, according to Odugbemi, â&#x20AC;&#x153;that these kids do well, these kids do come out, these kids do show ambition, and they actually become champions.â&#x20AC;?

Odugbemi has done very well for himself in the film industry. In fact, he is one of the few highly respected players in this sector of the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economy.

Odugbemi,afilmmaker,director,andphotographer of repute, attended Montana State University where he studied film and television production.

He has scripted, directed and produced documentaries, short films and drama. He produced Tinsel, the hugely successful soap opera that began airing in 2008. He also scripted, directed and produced Bariga Boys, a multiple award-winning Nigerian documentary about street performers in Bariga, Lagos.

In 2013, he scripted, produced and directed a documentary titled, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Literature, Language and Literalismâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, about the late Nigerian writer, Daniel O. Fagumwa, the author of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Ogboju Ode ninu Igbo Irunmaleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

In 2002, he became the President of the Independent Television ProducersAssociation of Nigeria, a tenure that ended in 2006. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the School of Media and Communications, Pan-African University, a postgraduate training university.

In 2008, he produced â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Abobakuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, a short film directed by Niji Akanni. The film won the Most Outstanding Short Film at the Zuma Film Festival held in 2010.

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

Volkswagen Moves with Rwanda

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olkswagen starts with local production and innovative mobility services in the Rwandan capital Kigali. The aim is to gain valuable experience for other opportunity markets in the region.

Today, to be mobile in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, people are looking for either a minibus taxi or a motorcycle taxi. An alternative would be the bus, if there is one coming, but there are usually long queues of people waiting. So far, only a small minority of people living in the metropolitan area own cars. Individual mobility in Rwanda is still at its beginning.

And of course, this country of twelve million citizens so far also doesn’t have an established automotive industry.

The fact that Volkswagen has launched its integrated mobility concept in Kigali is a major step towards the future for the country and its people. The project is also an important step for Volkswagen – in testing new business models and opening up new markets in Africa.

The project got off the ground as early as 2016.

That was when Hon. Francis Gatare, Director of the Rwanda Development Board, and Thomas Schaefer, CEO of Volkswagen Group South Africa, in the presence of Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame, and Volkswagen’s CEO, Herbert Diess, agreed on the initiative.

“In Rwanda we are launching an idea, with which we want to support individual mobility in this aspiring country and make this market a further pillar of the Volkswagen brand’s commitment in Africa”, Thomas Schaefer said following the talks in Kigali.

Mercedes-Benz E-Class Saloon

Mercedes-Benz Hits Half-year 1.18 m Cars Sale Stories by Bennett Oghifo

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ercedes-Benz can look back on the strongest-selling quarter in the companies’ history. From April to June, 594,528 customers received their new Mercedes-Benz (+1.9%).

Thus, Mercedes-Benz sold more vehicles than ever before in a half-year: Since the beginning of the year, 1,188,832 cars with the three-pointed star were delivered to customers all over the world. Unit sales were thus 3.9% higher than in the previous highest first half-year in 2017.

In the first six months, Mercedes-Benz was the premium brand with the most new registrations in several markets, including Germany, France, Russia, Switzerland, Portugal, South Korea, Australia, the USA and Canada.

With 203,783 vehicles sold, June was the month with the second highest sales since the beginning of the year (-2.6%). Figures of last month were affected amongst other things by a fire at a US supplier. This meant a significant lower production of the SUVs for the world market at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa and sales were less than planned.

“Thanks to an outstanding team performance,

we can look back on the most successful half-year in the history of Mercedes-Benz: with more than 1.18 million cars sold in the first six months, we have laid a good foundation for a successful year 2018,” stated Britta Seeger, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing & Sales. “The new A-Class has had a very successful reception from the markets and we will launch the new C-Class in July. These two volume models will make a significant contribution to the sales success of Mercedes-Benz in the second half of the year.”

Mercedes-Benz unit sales by region and market In Europe, Mercedes-Benz sold 476,790 cars in the first half of the year (-1.5%), which is slightly less than in the previous, so far best, first half-year in 2017. Approximately one third of those cars were sold in Germany, where more than 150,000 customers were able to receive their new MercedesBenz (-0.2%). In France, Spain, Sweden, Poland and Denmark, more cars with the three-pointed star were sold than ever before in the first six months of a year.

Mercedes-Benz completed the first half of the year in the Asia-Pacific region with new best-ever sales, which increased by a double-digit 12.5%

to 493,358 units. The biggest contribution to this growth came from China, where 340,164 cars with the three-pointed star were sold in the first six months, an increase of 16.2%. More cars of Mercedes-Benz than ever before in the first halfyear were also sold in the markets of South Korea, Japan, India, Thailand and Malaysia.

In the NAFTA region, 191,249 Mercedes-Benz vehicles were handed over to customers in the period of January to June (-1.1%). Sales of 158,848 units in the USAwere 1.9% below the very high prior-year figure. In Canada and Mexico, Mercedes-Benz set new sales records in the first six months of the year.

Mercedes-Benz unit sales by model Sales of the S-Class Saloon increased by 27.5% to 43,106 units in the first half of the year. Growth in sales of the luxury model was particularly strong in the flagship’s biggest markets – China, the USA, South Korea and Germany. The Mercedes-Maybach S-Class Saloon set a new record in the first half of the year. Since its market launch, more than 30,000 units have now been handed over to customers.

The demand for the E-Class Saloon and Estate is higher than ever before. Since the beginning of the year, sales increased to the new record number of 182,135 units (+0.1%). The long-wheelbase version

of the E-Class Saloon was especially popular in the first half-year; just like the long-wheelbase version of the C-Class Saloon, it posted very strong growth and a new sales record.

Despite restricted production of the GLE and GLS models last month, the SUVs from Mercedes-Benz achieved a new sales record in the first half of the year: a total of 422,645 units of the GLA, GLC, GLC Coupé, GLE, GLE Coupé, GLS and G-Class were delivered to customers worldwide (+9.8%).

This was primarily due to the bestseller amongst the SUVs, the GLC. Smart With over 13,000 deliveries of the smart fortwo and the smart forfour to customers in the last month, 5.0% more units were sold compared to June last year. Worldwide, 65,660 smarts were sold since the beginning of the year (-6.0%), of which the biggest market Germany posted a double-digit growth (+21.2%). This is mainly due to the success of the electric smart models.

The smart brand had its 20th anniversary at the end of June: The first smart model drove off the assembly line at the plant in Hambach on July 1, 1998. Since then, more than 2.2 million units of the urban microcars have been handed over to customers.

BMW 8 Series Coupe in Market

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he presentation of the all-new BMW 8 Series Coupe adds a brand new chapter to the Bavarian premium carmaker’s long history of sensational sports cars – and gets its current model offensive in the luxury segment off to a particularly dynamic start.

BMW presents the redefinition of the sports car. The new BMW 8 Series Coupe combines imposing lateral and longitudinal dynamic performance with poise, assurance and luxury over long distances. The new BMW 8 Series Coupe opens a further chapter in the brand’s successful sports car history and kicks off the premium manufacturer’s model initiative in the luxury segment.

An unrivalled combination of inspiring sportiness and contemporary luxury, assured long-distance comfort and innovative user-operation, driver assistance and connectivity technology.

Market launch in November 2018 with two model variants: The BMW M850i xDrive Coupe M Performance model with new, 390 kW/530 hp V8 engine (fuel consumption combined: 10.5 – 10.0 l/100 km [26.9 – 28.3 mpg imp]; CO2 emissions combined: 240 – 228 g/km)* and BMW 840d xDrive Coupe with six-cylinder in-line diesel unit developing 235 kW/320 hp (fuel consumption combined: 6.2 – 5.9 l/100 km [45.6 – 47.9 mpg imp]; CO2 emissions combined: 164 – 154 g/ km)*. Power transfer in both cases is via a further

developed eight-speed Steptronic transmission.

Both engines comply with exhaust emission standard EU6d-TEMP. Body structure, drive technology and suspension focus squarely on achieving the elite dynamic performance expected of a top-class sports car.

Development parallel to the BMW M8 and the BMW M8 GTE endurance racer. Low centre of gravity, well-balanced weight distribution, lightweight construction using aluminium, magnesium and carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP), aerodynamically optimised and virtually lift-free body, powerful engines, sports exhaust system, rear axle differential lock, extremely stiff body and suspension structure. Adaptive M suspension, Integral Active Steering and mixed-size tyres come as standard. Active roll stabilisation optionally available for the BMW M850i xDrive Coupe.

Emotionally powerful styling with new, paredback design language, elegantly flowing lines, low-slung body, long bonnet, heavily tapered glasshouse, powerful shoulderline, distinctive “double-bubble” roof contouring, long rear window widening towards its lower edge, typical sports car proportions with an exterior length of 4,843 mm, a width of 1,902 mm, a height of 1,341 mm and a 2,822 mm wheelbase. Options include M carbon roof and M Carbon exterior package with air intake slats, exterior mirror covers, rear spoiler and rear diffuser in CFRP.

R - L: General Manager, Marketing & Corporate Communications, Coscharis Group, Abiona Babarinde; National Sales Manager, BMW, Coscharis Motors, Joseph Omokhapue; CEO, BMW South Africa & Sub-Saharan Africa, Tim Abbot; President, Coscharis Group, Cosmas Maduka; Group Managing Director, Coscharis Group, Josiah Samuel; Director, BMW Sub-Saharan Africa, Dumisani Radebe; Deputy General Manager, Coscharis Motors, Festus Onyerika, Abuja during a business visit by the BMW team to the Coscharis office in Abuja…recently

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

51

Nissan, Italdesign Unveil Ultra-limited GT-R Prototype

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Interior of Rolls-Royce Phantom

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Celebrates Largest Gathering Stories by Bennett Oghifo

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olls-Royce Motor Cars celebrates the largest gathering of Rolls-Royces in the world this weekend at the RollsRoyce Enthusiasts’ Club Annual Rally and Concours d’Elegance. The spectacular setting of Burghley House, one of England’s finest Elizabethan Houses, in Stamford, Lincolnshire, will provide the perfect backdrop for over 1000 heritage and contemporary Rolls-Royces.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars will honour the occasion with a significant display of Goodwood-built

Phantom, Ghost, Wraith and Dawn motor cars.

The collection will include Wraith Black Badge and several highly Bespoke models. The motor cars will be hosted by a team from the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood, including craftsmen and women, graduates and apprentices. In previous years the display has drawn large crowds throughout all three days of the event with their passion for the marque, particularly the latest models, evident amongst fans, enthusiasts and owners alike.

This year’s event also features a tribute to the 1948 Earl’s Court Motor Show, which celebrates the return to vehicle manufacture after World

War II. A contemporary Rolls-Royce Wraith will feature in the exhibition, as a ‘car of the future’, alongside a period Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith.

Andrew Ball, Head of Corporate Relations, Heritage and Philanthropy, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, said, “We are delighted to support our colleagues at the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts’ Club and to present our contemporary Rolls-Royce motor cars at this spectacular event. The Club is a vital custodian of our marque’s remarkable history, and the Annual Rally and Concours d’Elegance provides unique access to some of the most important and rare motor cars in automotive history.”

issan and Italdesign have created a new prototype vehicle – the Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign – in their first-ever collaboration.

Based on a production 2018 Nissan GT-R NISMO model, the unique car commemorates the 50th anniversaries of both the GT-R and Italdesign and will make its debut in Europe next month.

“How often do you get to ask, ‘What if we created a GT-R without limits,’ and then actually get to build it?” said Alfonso Albaisa, Nissan’s senior vice president for global design. “This is a rare window in time when two big moments intersect: 50 years of Italdesign shaping the automotive world and 50 years of Nissan generating excitement through our iconic GT-R. So to celebrate this convergence, Nissan and Italdesign created this custom GT-R to mark 50 years of engineering leadership.”

Italdesign developed, engineered and built the car. The distinctive, crisp exterior and interior designs were created by the teams at Nissan Design Europe in London and Nissan Design America.

Design at its best Starting at the front, the Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign features a distinct golden inner element that stretches across almost the full width of the vehicle. The hood has a more pronounced power bulge, and the thin LED headlights stretch from the wheel arch to the lip above the outer cooling intakes Dominating the side view, the distinctive roofline has been lowered by 54 millimeters and features a lower center section, while the slightly raised outer portions give the roof profile a muscular look. The signature GT-R “samurai blade” cooling outlets behind the front wheels have gained more prominence with a gold inlay and extends from the bottom of the doors to the shoulder line.

Corolla Hatch Showcases Hybrid Hero

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he all-new Corolla hatch will provide a perfect showcase for Toyota’s latest generation hybrid technology that will be available across the range when the new model goes on sale in August.

Theimproveddriveabilityandtractability of the substantially upgraded Hybrid Synergy Drive in the Corolla complements the car’s new-found dynamic capability and bold styling while providing the optimum balance between fuel economy, low emissions and performance.

By offering the advanced 1.8-litre petrol electric drivetrainasapowertrainoptiononallmodels,Toyota isfurtheringitspushtoensureitsself-sufficientelectrified drivetrain technology is a mainstream drivetrain option that is available to a broad range of customers.

Toyota chief marketing officer Wayne Gabriel said the new hybrid is now available on three of the four new Camry models - with hybrid accounting for

F

morethan40percentofsales-willbeofferedonevery Corolla model, and will, for the first time inAustralia be available in the new RAV4 that will launch in 2019.

“Toyota was one of the pioneers of this advanced technology when it launched the original Prius over 20 years ago and as we move to a more electrified drivetrain culture we are continuing to evolve our hybrid technology to ensure it has the widest application possible,” Mr Gabriel said.

“It is no longer a marginal powertrain option, but rather,aswehaveexperiencedwithCamry,afavoured option for customers who appreciate its responsive, economical and low-emission performance for all driving environments.”

Since the launch of the original Prius in 1997 - the world’s first mass-produced hybrid vehicle - Toyota has continued to develop the drivetrain and the latest generation in the new Corolla hatch is lighter, more compact and more refined than its predecessor.

The all-new Toyota Corolla hatch

Cycling For Fitness

our years ago I bought a bicycle. I also bought all other paraphernalia for safe cyclingsuchasthebicyclehelmetformy ownprotectionintheeventofapossible road traffic crash. Osita Chidoka, the former Corps Marshal was calling the shots at the Federal Road Safety Corps as the Corps Marshal.As head of the Corps, my former bosswasabicyclefreakwhotookafterhismentor and boss, late Chief Ojo Maduekwe who himself was an advocate for the promotion of a bicycle riding culture in Nigeria. When the National Bicycle Policy and Strategy code named,’’ Ride to Live ‘’ came on board, yours truly thanks to Osita Chidoka rode along with some colleagues around the Federal Capital Territory on three different occasions. Four years down the line, my bicycle has become a sort of souvenir at home not because I hate riding bicycles which was my past time while growing up, but because of the absence of necessary infrastructures identified in the policy.

Since I bought my bicycle in 2014, I have transversed Port Harcourt in Rivers State and Jos in Plateau State with my bicycle without even attempting to ride it even once because of the fear of the madness I see on the road daily and the absence of the appropriate infrastructure.

However on June 3, 2018, I was almost tempted to join my colleagues on another ride as part of activities lined up by the Federal Road Safety Corps in marking June 3, 2018 as the World Bicycle Day as declared by The United Nations General Assembly in recognition of the need to strengthen and coordinate efforts to promote sustainable transportation and healthy hu-

SAFE DRIVING with

JONAS AGWU

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

man development. According to experts, the “World Bicycle Day has been created with the unanimous support of UN Member States in an acknowledgement of the uniqueness, longevity, and versatility of the bicycle, which has been in use for two centuries…“Importantly, the declaration recognizes the contribution of the bicycle to community development, nurturing creativity and social engagement and strengthening our connection with the environment.”The UN declaration also calls on Member States to improve road safety and is recognition that the creation of cycle-friendly streets is critical to sustainable transport infrastructure planning and design” .Experts also notes that the declaration is a call on all to play in road safety and ensuring that global transport systems promote public health and wellbeing.

As I reflect on the June 3 2018 event, I am happy because I declined the invitation to join my colleagues to ride not because there are no benefits for riding but because of the testimony of a colleague

whoconfessedhowheoverstretchedhimselfwhile ridingandalmostpassedout.ThecolleagueImust confess here is not on the young side is he is almost due for his exit from government service. The colleague I guess had like me kept his bike on his bicycle rack for a long time before being compelled to ride long distance. His testimony is a lesson to ensure you know your limit while riding in our clime where the appropriate cycling routes are absent. However, despite my reservation which I have since overcome, I must confess that it was exciting to read media reports on promises made by government especially the FCT Administration (FCTA) which promised to establish bicycle parks in the territory to encourage more people to see bicycle as a means of transportation. The FCT Minister, Muhammed Bello, while receiving participants made up the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in collaboration with the Cycling Federation of Nigeria (CFN) urged Nigerians to see cycling as a safer means of transportation to ensure environmental safety.“Promoting the use of bicycle as a mode of transportation is a welcome development. We are all aware that the globally accepted means of transportation started with horses, advanced to bicycles and later to motor bikes and cars.“We appreciate this because it has multiple benefits. It is affordable, and promotes the health and well-being of the users.

“The FCT will recognise this effort and ensure that the issue of establishing bicycle parks, particularly in the offices, markets and other public places, will be taken into consideration,’’ He also promised the provision of dedicated lanes for bicycles. A similarpromisewasmadeattheMinistryofHealth

which promised to include the use of bicycle in the ministry’s policy implementation noting that the use of bicycles help in the prevention of non-communicablediseases.Thiswasinaddition to the promise to ensure the establishment of bicycle parks in the ministry.

During the event, the FRSC Corps Marshal, Boboye Oyeyemi, said the theme “Cycling for fitness’’wasmarked“alloverthecountrytocreate awareness on the benefits of cycling’.’He urged all stakeholders and the general public to accept and take up cycling as a means of commuting within reasonable distance of their residence to work and other places of endeavor to reduce traffic congestion.

“Cycling will also help to reduce pollution and urban noise, improve health and reduce the cost of transportation. He urged decision-makers to make cycling safe and reliable and network it with public transport to enable users from long distances combine cycling with public transport.

Let me bring you back again to the 72nd Regular Session of the UN General Assembly adopted by a consensus of 193 member states.

The declaration invites all Member States and relevant stakeholders to celebrate and promote awareness of the bicycle.It also acknowledges the “uniqueness, longevity and versatility of the bicycle, which has been in use for two centuries, and that it is a simple, affordable, reliable, clean and environmentally fit sustainable means of transportation,fosteringenvironmentalstewardship and health.”

It also recognised that “the bicycle and the user fosters creativity and social engagement and gives the user an immediate awareness of the local environment” and that “the bicycle can serve as a tool for development and as a means not just of transportation but also of access to education, health care and sport.”

52

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ JULY 7, 2018

POLITY

Macron’s Day at Fela’s Shrine After years of operating almost in the sublime, though pushed by deliberate policy of government into the backwaters, the undying spirit of Fela Anikulapo Kuti was resurrected by an intern fan now the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, whose visit to the Afrika Shrine has formally imbued it with international recognition, writes Ahamefula Ogbu

I

t was a vindication of the philosophic axiom that quo sera sera (what would be would be), when after running battles while alive, with vitriolic lyrical renditions of protestations, often scathing truth to power even during the military era that earned him all the effects of jackboots; jails, demise of his mother Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, killed by “unknown soldiers” and destruction of the Afrika Shrine located somewhere near Jibowu, Lagos, then, that recognition of the establishment came from President Emmanuel Macron of France.

If Fela Ransom Kuti were to have witnessed the visit, many jokes, sarcasms and perhaps, lines or songs to accompany it with the signature boldness that feared none would have been a given. It is infact like Macron reinforcing the assertion that “a prophet is without honour in his place”, at least by the establishment. While successive Nigerian regimes sought to destroy it, their counterparts far away had a different appreciation, viewing it from the standpoint of culture and preservation of a people’s way of life which is a rallying point in business.

The appreciation of the need to preserve the ambience was so much on the card of Macron that he feared and hoped the accompaniment of his office would not upset the nature of things so that it would remain as he use to know and have it at the Afrika Shrine.

Dressed in a white shirt with sleeves slightly rolled up on his way from Abuja where he had earlier held talks with President Muhammadu Buhari, who himself as military head of state, had done his bit to leave his scars on Fela, one imagined what the picture would have been if it was our President that was visiting. Ikeja would have been shut down and welter of wounds and bruises would have been the imprint on people that tried to access the area. However, the President of one of the world powers rather than see deviance in the ways of the shrine, reasoned it was a rallying point and sure has plans to make the best out of it for his country.

If Macron wore a bullet-proof, it must have been the singlet or light type that made not only him to be relaxed, but the atmosphere also. The last time President Buhari visited Lagos to inaugurate a bus terminal built by the state, the entire Oshodi-Agege Motor road was closed to traffic, yet, the effect of Macron at the Shrine was very minimal on the lives of those who had things to do in the area.

While he used the opportunity to catch up on his past time relaxation and catching up while on his way up the ladder that has led to the presidency, at the back of his mind was exploiting the rich African culture for business because his idea is to leverage on the followership of the genre of Fela’s music to host a continental jam of music and arts funded by Africa without interference of other cultures like a reformed assimilation policy of his progenitors.

For those of the view that President Macron was just catching youthful fun only, he used the visit to the African Shrine to galvanise the Nigerian angle of a well-thought out programme of African cultural festival in his country. He disclosed plans to host an all African Cultural Season 2020 in France, that would promote African culture in Europe, adding that the event would solely be for “Africa and by African artistes,” even in sponsorship. He was at the shrine to commence programmes of the even through “Celebration of African Culture”, which kick-starts part of the programme that will hold in his country.

“Being here, I do recognise their culture and respect their views. This place is important for Africa and their culture and that is why I am here,” he said.

He further explained about the festival, “It will include people with fashion, African movies, new generation of artistes will be coming from Africa and it will be organised by them to show Europe and France the real culture of Africa.

“The event will be financed by African leaders. It will not be sponsored by France or European businesses, but by African businesses, it is brand new. This season is a unique one and it will be the new face of Africa in Europe organised by Africans, providing what you like and what you have here.”

Macron described the new Afrika Shrine in Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos, home of late Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti, as an iconic centre for the propagation of African culture, strength and music which held fond memories of his visit to the place in 2002 Reminiscing, he said “I discovered Nigeria and a lot of my friends are here. I discovered Nigeria and I discovered Lagos and I discovered the shrine.

Macron with Femi “This place is an iconic place and it is a place where the best of music is given. I have to say my main memories about this place are friends, proud people, proud of their culture, proud of their art and music. I have a very different view of Africa than a lot of other people in Europe.”

He craved the need for Africa and Europe, especially France, to build a new synergy, pointing out that “this new commonality is not based on what is important for Europeans but what is important for Africa, about their culture, how they build their culture and promote the culture and which places are important for them about their culture”.

The youthful President of France arrived at the Presidential Lounge of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) where Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, received him. They thereafter headed for the Shrine where he confessed to having memories of the country and the place that would last him a life time, a reason he said he was consciously forging closer ties with English-speaking African nations and Nigeria in particular.

He also spoke of his appreciation of African culture, pointing out that people like Fela and his sons, Femi and Seun, “are obviously very famous in France and Europe.

I mean they are big successes but the shrine is a cultural hub, an iconic hub and is very important for me first on a personal level, and that is why I want to say with a lot of humility that I recognise the importance of this place, I recognise the place of culture in this current environment.”

Charging Africa to exocet from their past and face the present with hope, Macron said, “You have to recognise the bad and negative pages of this history, but you have to move forward while he charged the youth to rise up and be involved in politics while they should explore all avenues to positively impact on development and humanity. He spoke in English and often laced it with pidgin to the admiration and whistling crowd that

thronged the venue.

Femi, Afrobeat musician and son of music legend Fela, Yemi Alade and other artistes thrilled Macron and guests. Also, skits by Nollywood actors; Joke Silva, Dakore Akande, Rita Dominic and Ramsey Nuoah, with Macron directing alongside Kunle Afolayan also held.

Macron later attended the unveiling of Alliance Francaise, a French Cultural Centre in Lagos, which he explained was part of the measures to scale up the relationship between France and Nigeria.

The youthful President who rode in the same car to the event with Ambode pledged cooperation with the Governor on how to synergise and make Lagos a better place for people to live in and appreciated his host.

“It’s much more quiet, much more calm and reasonable but at the end of the day, I think both of us did share the same views that we can do tremendous things together. Your state, Lagos, is one of the main challenges of not just Nigeria but the whole of Africa. I mean, this huge city, there is tremendous challenge about how to make people live together in peace, in a better place, and I want France to be part of this story and I do want my country and my people to be part of this experience.

“It means belonging to same values, sharing cultures, languages, literatures, music, movies, building together projects, having common economic projects and so on, and this eco system will be not just possible but stronger staying in this place,” Macron told Ambode.

In 1977, ‘unknown’ Nigerian soldiers burned down the concert hall where Fela Kuti performed his Afrobeat genre. He was loathed by military rulers for songs that mocked corrupt officials, criticised colonialism and encouraged Nigerians to question their leaders’ lavish spending. He kept to his convictions and was outspoken till his death in 1997 of ailment associated with AIDS. Macron’s stint with the shrine dates back to his internship at the French embassy 15 years ago. With the visit, France has become the first country to promote Fela’s music from the seat of power.

53

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ JULY 7, 2018

POLITY

Belgium Beats Brazil to Set up France S’final Clash Duro Ikhazuagbe in Russia

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elgium defeated Brazil 2-1 in Kazan last night to set up the first semi-final clash against France in St Petersburg on Friday at the ongoing 2018 FIFA World Cup here in Russia. It is the Red Devils’ return to the final four for the first time in three decades.

Earlier, France saw off a combative Uruguay side 2-0 in a game the South Americans struggled in the absence of injured Edinson Cavani.

Brazil seized control of the match in the first half of the clash with Belgium, seeing Thiago Silva’s effort hit the post, as the Red Devils rode their luck while relying on the

counter-attack.

The Belgians were ahead against the run of play after Fernandinho who replaced suspended Casemiro, deviated a flicked-on corner into his own net.

There was nothing fortunate about the European side’s second. Reminiscent of their on-the-break winner against Japan, Kevin De Bruyne polished off a flawless attack move with a sumptuously struck finish.

The South Americans tried to pile the pressure on their opponents again after half-time but a combination of the excellent Thibaut Courtois and feverish defending proved too much to break down. As the spurned chances stacked up, it was left to substitute Renato Augusto to head home a

Coutinho cross to hand Brazil hope.

Belgium refused to fold, however, in the enthralling closing stages, ensuring Roberto Martinez’s side reached the World Cup semi-finals for only the second time in their history.

Earlier, France’s good run continued with the semi-final berth for the first time in 12 years. Los Charrúas made a strong start all the same, with Cavani’s replacement Cristhian Stuani shooting across the face of goal. At the back, meanwhile, La Celeste were their usual organised selves, giving away no space whatsoever.

Seeing more of the ball, France put some good moves together only to struggle in the box, where the Uruguayans were quick to snuff out any danger. Ironically,

France’s opener came from a set-piece, habitually one of La Celeste’s strengths, with Raphael Varane glancing a header home from Antoine Griezmann’s pinpoint delivery. The Uruguayans would have equalised on the stroke of half-time but for a miraculous stop from Hugo Lloris, who dived full-length to claw away a Martin Caceres header.

In a bid to turn the game around, Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez rang the changes in the second half, sending on Maxi Lopez and Cristian Rodriguez.

Their Russia 2018 hopes came to an end, however, when a Griezmann shot deceived Fernando Muslera and slipped through the keeper’s hands and over the line for the second goal.

Anglican Bishop Rules Out Second Term for Buhari Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu

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he Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Provence, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Dr. Emmanuel Chukwuma declared yesterday that President Muhammadu Buhari would not get a second term.

The Anglican cleric described the President’s first term as a colossal failure, and gave him 72 hours to get the abducted Dapchi girl released or Aso Rock would be a living hell for him and his family.

Archbishop Chukwuma, who said this while delivering his address at the first session of the seventeenth synod of the Diocese of Enugu tagged ‘Integrity: the Master’s Lifestyle’, accused the federal government of pretending to fight corruption and of being insincere in the

handling of killings by herdsmen.

The cleric said that the Service Chiefs in the country were over-due for change and accused the President of retaining them because of his 2019 agenda.

He said: “We know that he has refused to relieve the service chiefs of their positions because he has a hidden agenda, but God will not allow him for second term.”

The Archbishop said that the continued detention of Dapchi girl, Leah Sharibu was unjust and that it smacked of politics for the federal government to have kept quiet because she is a Christian. He warned that such would no longer be condoned.

He said, “I am giving Buhari ultimatum for 72hours in this synod if the Dapchi girl is not released, the Aso Rock will be in trouble; let them go and note it. We are told that she was held back because she refused to renounce her

Christian faith. May the Lord deliver her from their captivity in Jesus Name; if not let the Aso Rock be on fire.”

On the theme of the synod, Chukwuma said, “Integrity which is the Master’s Lifestyle must be very much present in the life of every individual in this country. In this present time, it seems as if integrity has gone down the drain and we are trying to erupt into the conscience of the people that we cannot advance in this country in this political situation if we don’t have that spirit of integrity which also shows a character of honesty, obedience and sincerity to one another and fear of God. “It’s very important that as church leaders, as political leaders and family men, we must embibe the character and the characteristics of integrity and if not, then we are living in a very hopeless society. The society is going bizarre and the way things are going nobody is

talking about the values of integrity anymore and we cannot continue this way because of the future of our children.

“Our children are living a life of impunity because they are not seeing any good example in us. Our leaders must know that if we are going to be honest to ourselves for corruption to be stamped out of our society, then we must be conscious of integrity and once integrity is imbibed, we have no cause for any of us to fear about fighting corruption.

“The problem is that everybody feels who is God and what are the consequences; there are consequences when you don’t have integrity and the consequences are destruction, lawlessness, evil and that should not continue.

He, therefore, called on Nigerians and the leaders to make sure that their words can be trusted adding, “let people see us as people who are trust worthy, people who are sincere and people who trust God.”

PHOTO NEWS

L-R: Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Charles Kie; Chairman/CEO Trace TV, Olivier Laouchez; President of France, Emmanuel Macron; and Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, during Macron’s visit to the Afrika Shrine in Lagos ...recently

L-R: Chairman, Tropical Arctic Logistic Ltd. Mr. Odein Ajumogobia (SAN); Chief Operating Officer, Prince Femi Adeniji; Board Member, NNPC, Dr. Tajuddeen Umar; President/CEO, Tropical Arctic Logistic Ltd. Emperor Chris Baywood Ibe; and the Company’s Chief Finance Director, Empress Pat Baywood Ibe, at the launch of newly acquired AW 139 Helicopter for Offshore services by Tropical Arctic Logistic Ltd, yesterday in Lagos Sunday Adigun

L-R: General Manager, Business Development, MTN Nigeria, Valentine Izuchukwu; Corporate Relations Executive, MTN Nigeria, Tobechukwu Okigbo; GM ,LASPARK, Mrs. Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola; Sales and Distribution Executive, MTN Nigeria, Adekunle Adebiyi; and GM, Regional Operations, MTN Nigeria, Obinna Nweje, during the beautification of POWA Shopping Complex in Falomo, Ikoyi ... recently

L-R: Registrar, Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN), Elijah Mohammed; Director, Registration & Regulatory Affairs, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr Monica Eimunjeze; Chief Operating Officer, Pharmacy Plus Limited, Chukwuemeka Obi; Permanent Secretary, Edo State Ministry of Health, Dr. Iziele Asogun; and President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Alh. Ahmed Yakassai, during the launch of WhiteHouse Apple Cider Vinegar in Benin... recently

54

T H I S D AY ˾ ͵˜ ͰͮͯͶ

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

55

NEWSXTRA

Galadima: rAPC Will Determine Next President in 2019 Says Buhari betrayed him

From Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The leadership of the new splinter group in the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Reformed All Progressives Congress has vowed that no one would win the presidential election in 2019 without its endorsement.

The group, which support base is mainly from the New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) political bloc in the APC, last Thursday formally declared its existence and listed several national and state officers of the faction.

Speaking on Arise Television network yesterday, the National Chairman of rAPC, Buba Galadima said that one of the reasons for the

emergence of the faction was the failure of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC administration to fulfill the promises made to the people.

On what would happen if APC ignored their group, Galadima said: "Anybody that neglects us is doing so at his own peril and I want to say here that no one would become the president of Nigeria in 2019 without the support of the rAPC." The rAPC Chairman said that the only way President Buhari could get the support of Nigerians for his second term bid was if he "performs and is able to deliver dividends of democracy according to the party's manifesto."

Galadima, who is regarded as a

very close ally of President Buhari’s until lately, said the president betrayed him by abandoning him and others who were part of the political struggle to make him president.

He said the president had disappointed those of them that gave him support because he was unable to perform.

He said that President Buhari had reneged on their campaign promises to better the lives of poor Nigerians.

"He betrayed me on the agreement to better the lives of Nigerians, to bring reconciliation to Nigerians, to build the economy, to build the infrastructure," he said.

An apparently embittered former National Secretary of the defunct

Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) accused President Buhari of betraying him by abandoning those of them that struggled with him to become president.

"We brought him into partisan politics, we made all the sacrifices to make him what he is, everyone out of the 34 left, except the two of us up till 2015, and we had departure points. But the most important thing is that I was the founder and the national secretary of the Congress

for Progressive Change, a platform on which he contested in 2011, and I had to forfeit and resign that position to bring about the amalgamation of what is now called the APC. "So, that is a big sacrifice and I was one of the nine signatories that signed the memorandum of understanding dissolving our parties and recommending the APC to INEC for registration," he said.

Galadima also spoke of the integrity tag that President Buhari flaunts, saying that his performance in office has helped Nigerians to assess him.

Rice City Threatens to Sue CPC over Raid, Seizure of 1,500 Bags of Rice Okon Bassey in Uyo

EMPOWERING YOUTHS...

L-R: Founder Mind to Mind Initiative, Chinasa Amaechi; CEO Eco-Care Integrated Systems and Solutions Ltd/award recipient, Victor AlexOkolie; representative of Chairman FIRS, Mr. Wale Shonekan; and Chairman Mind to Mind Initiative, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo during the presentation of cash prizes and awards to winners of the business plan writing competition organised by Mind to Mind Initiative (an NGO dedicated to youth empowerment) held in Lagos recently

FG To Diversify Economy Through Lottery, Says SGF Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

As part of efforts to diversify the economy and generate more revenues, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF),Boss Mustapha has expressed the Federal Government's determination to revitalise lottery industry as an additional source of income.

This is so as the Acting Executive Secretary, National Lottery Trust Fund(NLTF),Mallam Bello Maigari has reaffirmed the Agency's commitment to promoting quality health care

delivery services to communities across the country through the application of lottery proceeds.

The SGF who spoke during the inauguration and presentation of medical equipment donated by the NLTF to General Hospital, Toro, Bauchi State yesterday explained that the move was in consideration of the current instability in the prices of oil and world economic downturn.

Represented by the permanent secretary, special duties in the office of the SGF, William Alo, Boss Mustapha explained that

"The Federal Government is saying today that wherever the needed resources may be, this administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari will find them, harness them, and apply them for the benefit of the generality of the Nigerian people".

According to him, " Having made a careful study of history and the happenings in other jurisdictions as stated earlier in this address, the Federal Government is convinced of the enormous potential which lottery holds for the development of

this nation".

Mustapha noted that government was presently in the process of approving new regulations and operational guidelines as provided under the National Lottery Act of 2005 with a view to strengthening the capacity of the National Lottery Commission and the National Lottery Trust Fund to perform their functions effectively.

He therefore urged persons and organisations licensed to engage in the national lottery to sit up and perform or have their licenses revoked.

Onoghen: Adherence to Rule of Law Will Solve Nigeria's Problems Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onoghen, has declared that most problems of the country would be resolved through strict adherence to the rule of law.

Onoghen also declared that if the country consistently respects the Rule of Law for four years, the building blocks of development would be firmly in place The Chief Justice of Nigeria spoke yesterday in Port Harcourt when he inaugurated the ultra-modern National

Industrial Court, Port Harcourt Division building constructed by the Rivers State Government under Governor Nyesom Wike.

The CJN also inaugurated the Court of Appeal building re-modelled by Wike’s administration.

At the National Industrial Court Complex, Onoghen said: "I believe that the solutions to our numerous problems lies in the adherence to the principles of the rule of law. If we do that for four years consistently, you will see that everything will fall back into place.

"The constitution provides for each and every one of us. It has given us designated and special functions.

If we adhere to these functions and discharge them to the satisfaction of our conscience, there will be development."

He stated that in adhering to the Rule of Law, people would realise that there are societal taboos.

"For instance, locking up the courts.

How can you in a democratic society think of locking up the courts? How can you say that you should deprive the judiciary of its funds, for instance?"

he queried.

He charged Nigerian Judges to be fair, firm and courageous in the discharge of their functions.

He said: "You know that a man of integrity cannot be intimidated.

You don't expect a man with integrity to be subservient. Sacrifices must be made if we are to come out of the woods".

He said the construction of the National Industrial Court by the Rivers State Government was a welcome development, and urged other state governors to emulate the gesture.

The proprietor of Rice City in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital, Mr. Eno Effiong has threated to drag the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) to court over the alleged seizure of 1, 500 bags of rice worth about N25million for purportedly being fake and sub-standard.

Already, Effiong who is a retired Permanent Secretary in the Akwa Ibom State Civil Service has sought legal aid from the former AttorneyGeneral of the State, Mr. Victor Iyanam over the prosecution of the CPC for damages.

At a press briefing in Uyo, the legal adviser to the Rice City firm demanded unreserved apology and return of the 1,500 bags of rice that the CPC allegedly seized and carted away from their retail outlet on 52 IBB Way and the warehouse on Esuene State within the metropolis.

Iyanam explained that the action of the CPC was at variance with fair trade, adding that their action had caused the organisation embarrassment and untold harms in its business dealing.

He noted that on Sunday, June 24, 2018, at about 10 am, some men who claimed to come from CPC headquarters, Abuja stormed the shop and warehouse of his client, ransacked and destroyed rice stacked in bags and rested on strong wooden platforms as required by experience and best practices in the rice trade.

The lawyer who questioned the justification of the CPC officials to break into the shop on Sunday when most people had gone to different churches in the state capital frowned that during the raid, apart from removing the 1,500 bags of rice, valued at N25 million, duplicate receipts of transactions with customers as well as cash from drawers in the office were removed.

Also, Iyanam said an innocent staff of the company was also arrested and detained for four days without justification and cause by the CPC when they visited the shop.

He further observed that the men who claim to have come from the national headquarters of the CPC in Abuja could not properly identify themselves as they had no identity cards nor the three trucks used to remove the rice had any registration plate number.

Iyanam fumed that the place to which the bags of rice were carted to remains unknown, wondering what will happen to the whole quantity of rice forcefully removed from the shops.

"I was with General Buhari from 2002 till date and a couple of us, about 35 of us, introduced him into partisan politics, which took us hell to convince him to come into politics. Thank God we did that, if General Buhari had died that time, Nigerians would have thought he was a saint and they would have been going to his grave to worship him in death," he added.

CHANGE OF NAME

I formerly known as FINNBAR ONWUKWE EKEJI, now wish to be known and addressed as FINNBAR UGOCHUKWU EKEJI. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS STELLA CHIDINMA OGBONNA, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS STELLA CHIINMA EKEJI. All former documents remain valid.

The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as OYEKAN ADIJAT ROMOKE, now wish to be known and addressed as YUSUF KHODIJAH ROMOKE. All former documents remain valid.

The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS ADELEKE ROFIAT OPEYEMI, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS SALAMI ROFIAT OPEYEMI. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as ISMAILA AKOFE, now wish to be known and addressed as AJISOPE ISMAILA SULEMAN . All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as MOWO ZACHARIAH ADELOWO AND MOWOJAIYE ZACHARIAH, now wish to be known and addressed as MOWOJAIYE ZACHARIAH ADELOWO. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

Formerly known as MRS SHONEYE ANIMASHAUN RASHIDAT. Now wish to be known and addressed as MRS ^ , K E z ͳ E / D ^ , h E RASHIDAT Amope. All other documents remain valid. The general public should take note I, formerly known and addressed as OBI CHIDIMMA, now wish to be known and addressed as OBI PRECIOUS CHIDIMMA. All former documents remain valid.

The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as ITODO ABRAHAM GABRIEL. , now wish to be known and addressed as ITODO ABRAHAM OWOICHO-OCHE. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as ADELOWO ADEDAYO JOHNSON, now wish to be known and addressed as ATUYOTAN ADEDAYO JOHNSON. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS WISDOM THURSDAY NKANTA NOW WISH TO BE ADDRESSED AS WILLIAM NFREKEOBONG OBOT NKANTAH. ALL FORMAL DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. THE GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD TAKE NOTE.

TR

Saturday, July 7, 2018

UT H

& RE A S O

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Price: N250

MISSILE

Amnesty International to FG “No one has ever been held to account for the many murders committed during these clashes. The pattern of attacks and reprisals is reaching a boiling point because of the failure of authorities to carry out investigations and end the rampant impunity for previous crimes.”

–Amnesty International excoriating what it calls the epidemic of gruesome killings across Nigeria.

PENDULUM DELE MOMODU

dele.momodu@thisdaylive.com

Saraki, APC and The Future of Nigeria

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ellow Nigerians, these are not the best of times for the Buhari strategists. Certainly, it can’t be; not with the way they’ve obviously been goading President Muhammadu Buhari on and encouraging him to fight on all fronts, and losing grounds regularly, which a retired Major General of his calibre should know is not the best.

They’ve spent the better part of over three years digging holes, and setting traps, for real and imaginary enemies, setting villages ablaze in order to catch rats. Such shame and tragedy.

If I were Buhari, I will sack many of my aides and advisers who have been misleading me.

I had told the President in 2015 how I appointed myself a Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan for five years, free of charge, but no one listened to me. I even gave Baba a special compilation of my weekly sermons to the PDP government and I left the Presidential villa feeling cool and reassured that at last we have a listening government.

Before I could say Jack Robinson, things began to fall apart. The most disturbing was the war of attrition between the executive arm and the legislature. The President of the Senate, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki was subjected to all manner of attacks and humiliation. He was tried and convicted on the pages of newspapers.

A few of us who cautioned against this political harassment were called names because of our faith in the rule of Law. The warriors played to mob mentality and gullibility, and apparently enjoyed the way they knocked heads and scandalised those who were their bosom friends, once upon a time. I knew life is turn by turn. Never abuse God-given power because you hate someone because no one knows tomorrow.

I’m very happy that I stood by the principle that an accused person is innocent until proven guilty. I thank God for the gift of access, the greatest tool of a journalist and reporter. When the Saraki saga started, I booked an appointment to meet the Senate President at home in Abuja. And he was gracious to oblige me.

He welcomed me into his home office where he took me into confidence about the myriad of chrges against him. I bombarded him with a barrage of questions including the Societe Generale conundrum which has dogged him everywhere. He expressed visible

Saraki

remorse and explained all efforts he has made to pacify all those affected and aggrieved. He demonstrated that no one was above mistakes but that he never set out to hurt any soul deliberately.

Until you listen to the other side, it is always easy and convenient to jump to conclusions.

He assured me that his case was highly political and it would never fly. As a matter of fact, on the surface, anyone who ever took time to study the case file on Saraki would have pronounced him instantly guity. But the Senate President was extremely confident that his was an audacious witch-hunt.

During my session with him, he brought out his statement of defence which was well articulated and I knew prosecution was going to be ridiculed whenever the case comes up but I kept mute about the privileged information.

If you folowed the case, you would remember how prosecution witnesses were taken to the cleaners, as they spoke incoherently, and torn to shreds by defence counsels. The case was a complete waste of resources and judicial process. The time the executive should have spent working in synergy with the National Assembly for the betterment of our dear beloved country was wasted on jejune and needless litigations.

Yesterday, the ghost of Code of Conduct Tribunal was finally laid to rest at the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

What a great relief and de javu? Saraki was declared innocent. Yes, by all the five learned Justices. When the news came, I thought it was a joke but it

was indeed true.

Patience is truly a virtue. While it lasted, Dr Saraki bore his pain and unnecessary humiliation with uncommon equanimity. The idea of the case was ostensibly to apply pressure and force him to resign since he appeared too strong to be easily removed from office. Such act of man’s inhumanity to man should be discouraged, no matter who’s affected.

It is Saraki today, Dasuki tomorrow and someone else day after.

I salute the courage of our judges in the face of stupendous intimidation. No man is perfect but our judges should continue to seek for perfection. They shoud be above board and stand always

on the side of the oppressed, whether rich or poor.

Please permit me to tell the President for the umpteenth time that the price of peace is far cheaper than the cost of war.

Those advising him to keep fighting are what the Yoruba call “arijenidimodaru” (those who profit from confusion). It is far better to spend the next few months in tranquility than in strife.

It was obvious APC was going to suffer the same fate as PDP did under President Jonathan. A house divided against itself can hardly stand. I know the next strategy would be to bully opposition but that would be very unfortunate. The reason I respect President Jonathan is the way he did not see power as the beginning and the end. He had the power to haunt and hound Major General Buhari but he resisted the temptation.

Buhari has the opportunity to either consolidate our democracy or kill it.

Whichever option he takes is up to him but one thing is certain, power must come to a terminal end some day and, usually, sooner than later.

I hope my dear Brother Comrade Adams Oshiomhole will succeed in restoring some sense of decorum to his faction of APC, if it is not too late. I was happy to see him visit the Senate President days ago. That should be the spirit.

Congratulations to Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki. Thanks for your calmness in the face of unfortunate acts of intimidation. Please, leave your life to God and forgive whoever has wronged and punished you, even if you can’t ever forget. It is obvious that you have ten lives.

I Lost A Father 20 Yeas Ago

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lost my biological father 45 years ago but God provided another father for me from 1988, in Chief Moshood Abiola, who adopted me without ever knowing any member of my family intimately.

For the years I knew Chief Abiola, I was treated with tender loving care.

On July 7, 1998, the sad news came that Daddy as we fondly called was dead, after a sudden heart attack. My life stood still, momentarily, but I still thanked God for the wonderful life

Chief Abiola lived, touching lives everywhere at home and beyond.

As a token of my own celebration of Chief Abiola, I’m lauching three books next Wednesday, July 11, 2018 at the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs, with Pastor Tunde Bakare as keynote Speaker. Daddy, continue to rest in peace, Sir. And here’s wishing my second son, Enitanyole, happy birthday today. I love you more than you can ever imagine. Stay responsible.

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