WEDNESDAY 21ST NOVEMBER 2018

Naira Faces Pressure on Rising Dollar Demand, Outflows CBN assures of stability of national currency as oil price slumps Ejiofor Alike and Nume Ekeghe with agency reports The combination of tightening global financing conditions, which has resulted to capital

outflows in the country, the elevated global risk aversion, 2019 election uncertainties and high services payments are likely to put pressure on the naira going into next year,

THISDAY has learnt.

Analysts at CSL Stockbrokers Limited and the Financial Derivatives Company Limited (FDC), who stated this in two separate reports

obtained by THISDAY, argued that capital repatriation by foreign investors was also expected to heighten dollar demand.

While on the parallel

market, the naira trades relatively stable at N361 per dollar - N362 per dollar, currency pressures are building at the Investors’ and Exporters’ foreign exchange (I&E)

window, where transactions are now being executed at an average rate of N364 per dollar, compared to N362 Continued on page 8

Osoba at Attah’s Book Launch Relives How Govs Caged Obasanjo … Page 6 Wednesday 21 November, 2018 Vol 23. No 8617 Price: N250

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2019: Misuse of Card Reader Will Be Risky, Jonathan Warns Explains why he lost, accepted defeat in 2015 Buhari, African leaders say history will be kind to him Iyobosa Uwugiaren, Shola Oyeyipo and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja Reflecting on the manipulation of card reader during the 2015 general election, President Goodluck Jonathan has warned that any attempt to repeat the misuse of the electoral tool in the forthcoming 2019 presidential

poll would be risky.

The former president stated this in his book, ‘My Transition Hours,’ which he presented to the public at an impressive ceremony in Abuja yesterday.

Jonathan, who also explained why he lost and accepted defeat in the 2015 presidential poll, said the Continued on page 6

Boko Haram Kills 53 in Fresh Attacks on Borno Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri with agency report Boko Haram terrorists have killed 53 soldiers and farmers in three days of attacks in Borno State, in a new show of force ahead of the February

presidential election, AFP reported yesterday, quoting security sources.

Despite the government’s insistence that Boko Haram is near defeat, the group has Continued on page 6

STORY… Fashola: APC Didn’t Promise to HIS L–R: Former Head of State, Gen Yakubu Gowon (rtd); former Ghanaian president, Mr. John Mahama; former president, Dr.

Fix Nigeria in Four Years … Page 10

Goodluck Jonathan; former president of Benin Republic, Mr. Boni Yayi; and former president of Sierra Leone, Mr. Ernest Koroma, at the public presentation of “MY TRANSITION HOURS,” by Jonathan, in Abuja…yesterday GODWIN OMOIGUI

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Osoba at Attah’s Book Launch Relives How Govs Caged Obasanjo Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja Former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba, has given an insight into how state governors stood up to the former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, at the advent of the Fourth Republic in 1999.

He said they were able to check the excesses of the Obasanjo-led administration due to the unity and solidarity among them.

Osoba's revelation came yesterday just as resource control resonated in Abuja at the launch of "It’s Well with My Soul," a biography of former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah.

Speaking on the intermittent face-off between the governors and the former president while in office, Osoba said the governors had to come together to confront the federal government in order to secure their rights.

He also gave credit to Attah whom he said stood his ground most of the time as the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) to fight any perceived injustice against states.

He said, "I am happy to say

that Obong Attah is from the PDP, I am from the AD. The AD group made up of the late Lam Adesina, Bola Ige and Bisi Akande, when we speak, to our surprise Obong, who is of the PDP will take it up from there, contributing intelligently to issues raised. It is on the ground of his style of leadership that we were able to cage former President Obasanjo."

Osoba hinted that Obasanjo's predecessor, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd) left a huge sum of money that was to be shared to the new civilian governors but the former president seized it.

According to him, "The first thing Obasanjo did was to seize the money and use it to buy vehicles for local government councils. We kicked against it, went to court and we won. On the Fiscal Responsibility Act, he (Obasanjo) said he would not implement section 8, where all revenues were to go into an account from where it will be distributed according to the constitution.

"When it became almost impossible, we went to court and we won. In all of these, it was Obong Attah that was in the forefront of all these struggles."

Osoba, who recounted how governors in those days rallied behind Attah and other Niger Delta governors to agitate for resource control, expressed reservations on the quality and character of those aspiring to become governors these days.

"I want to appeal to all of us that we should go back to the characters that formed government in 1992 and 1999. “About 26 years ago most of us, who were governors have had exposures, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, was a former federal permanent secretary; I was former managing director of Daily Times; I can go on to give you backgrounds of all those who became governors in 1999 none of us were people you will say ‘where are they coming from?’ We need to go back to that. These days of governors of any kind should stop.�

Also felicitating with Attah, President Muhammadu Buhari described him as an accomplished architect with versatile and global experience.

"I commend the strategic thinking and planning of yourself and members of your cabinet in shaping the infrastructural development of Akwa Ibom State, which still remain one of the most

hospitable and attractive states for tourism in the country," he said.

Budget and Planning Minister, Senator Udo Udoma, who represented President Buhari, described Attah as a fearless fighter.

According to him, Attah and other top leaders from Akwa Ibom State at that time gave their best in the struggle to actualise resource control.

"I can say something about his character. He is somebody you can go into battle with because he is fearless and once he gives you his words, he does not turn back, no matter how fierce the battle," he said.

On his part, The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, said he was the chief coup plotter in the emergence of Attah as NGF chairman.

"Attah's emergence as chairman of NGF was like a coup, we plotted it and told him to go away so that Obasanjo won't see him because if he sees him, he will not agree. So when we finished, I, James Ibori, Orji Kalu and the rest of us, we brought him to present to Obasanjo and he said oh, trade union is here, I won't agree," Ngige said.

Also speaking, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, said as the then president of the Nigeria Labour Congress, he convinced all other comrades across the country to support the struggle for resource control.

"In doing so, I believe that the strength of a country is judged by the extent of which it is prepared to give justice to the minorities in its fold and that Nigeria can't have peace, if it doesn't deliver justice to all manner of persons regardless of their locations," he said.

Making reference to Obasanjo's presidency, Oshiomhole said Nigeria was almost turned to a unitary state.

Former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio, had kind words for Attah, saying Attah mentored him to become governor.

While extolling the virtues of the celebrant, Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, described Attah as a visionary leader and a great asset to the people of the Niger Delta.

While expressing gratitude to God over the various heights he has attained in life, Attah

said he had always savoured his experiences as governor.

"I tell people, I enjoyed being governor and sometimes they wonder why I say that.

It is because of this kind of comradeship that is just fantastic working together with people with whom you can argue, reason and at the end come to a solution."

With fond reminiscences of what happened then during his election as chairman of the Governors' Forum, Attah said his emergence came as a coup and that his colleagues referred to him as "headmaster."

Attah said the book, "It is Well with My Soul," is specifically meant to address issues relating to his eight years in office as governor of Akwa Ibom State.

The book edited by a veteran journalist, Mr. Dele Sobowale, tried to compare Attah's administration with the subsequent ones.

Sobowale, who quoted figures of revenue earnings during Attah's administration and that of his immediate successor, Akpabio, said the latter failed to justify the huge resources that came to the state during his time in terms of improving the lot of the people.

Grounds to Reject 2015 Presidential Results

Reflecting on the 2015 presidential election, Jonathan revealed that six weeks to the election – March 28, 2015, was his ‘’longest’’ of his life. ‘’Sceptics and mischief makers had flown the non-existent kite of tenure elongation, interim government and all the other shenanigans they could come up with to blackmail my administration and make us look bad in the eyes of Nigerians and the international community’’, he said.

The former president said apart from ‘’some disturbing signals’’ he received on the day of 2015 presidential election, the general interest of Nigeria and the citizens was paramount in his mind, which informed his decision

to congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari before the final results were released

by INEC. He explained, “The intelligence report I had received also carried the spectre of the fabled American intelligence community prediction about the collapse of the Nigerian nation state. ‘’The disintegration of Nigeria was a possibility if I contested the results of the election, no matter how justified. There were justifiable grounds but I was determined that Nigeria will not disintegrate during my tenure. ‘’The fate of thousands of Christians and Southerners in the North and my other Northern supporters, who were at the risk of being slaughtered if I took a selfish decision, lay heavily on my mind. Reprisals were certain to follow in the South. ‘’What rang persistently in my mind was the futility of vanity. What would it profit me if I clung on to power and let my country slide into an avoidable crisis? Who would stop the impending crisis? Too many things were bound to go wrong.’’

Haram movement, security sources said.

ISWAP asserted responsibility for the attacks in Maitile and Mainok, claiming to have killed at least 42 soldiers in addition to carting away four tanks and other vehicles, according to the SITE Intelligence monitoring group.

In addition, Monday saw the latest in a string of attacks on villages, usually carried out to pillage food and abduct civilians used as fighters or forced to marry jihadists.

The jihadists have accused farmers of passing information

to the military.

Armed with guns and machetes, jihadists killed nine farmers and abducted 12 others in the Mammanti village in Borno State, locals were quoted to have said yesterday.

The jihadists came on bicycles, said Usman Kaka, a farmer, who escaped. “They just opened fire on us and continued to fire as we fled,�

Kaka said.

Village chief Muhammad Mammanti said the assailants had hacked “three people who resisted being abducted.�

Also on Monday, seven

women were snatched while working in fields near the city of Bama, according to militiamen fighting alongside soldiers.

In an attack on Mammanti last week, jihadists stole hundreds of heads of cattle.

The surge in attacks on military targets suggests that hardliners within ISWAP have taken the upper hand after internal divisions, observers say.

More than 27,000 people have died since the start of the Boko Haram insurgency in 2009, and 1.8 million remain homeless.

2019: MISUSE OF CARD READER WILL BE RISKY, JONATHAN WARNS selective use of the innovative machine as it occurred in the previous election might not be acceptable, urging uniformity and wholesome review of electoral process to guarantee the independence of election management body as well as the integrity of the procedures.

The former president criticised ‘’how the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials in the Southern Nigeria insisted on the use of card readers, while in the Northern part of the country, the decision to use card readers had been deemphasised,’’ and warned that it would be ‘’too risky’’ if what happened in 2015 is repeated in 2019.

Yesterday’s event was graced by worthy national and African leaders, who extolled the virtues of the former Nigerian leader, telling him that because of his singular act of conceding defeat in the 2015 contest, history would kindly record him as a patriotic African leader.

Among those who came and showered praises on him, were former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo;

former Heads of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd) and Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar (rtd); former vice presidents, Mr. Namadi Sambo and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who is also the PDP presidential candidate for next year’s election.

President Muhammadu Buhari sent the Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, to represent him.

West African sub-region leaders that came to honour Jonathan were former presidents, Mr. John Mahama (Ghana), Mr. Ernest Koroma (Sierra Leone) and Mr. Boni Yayi (Benin).

Also in attendance were President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki; Speaker Yakubu Dogara; and Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.

In the book, a copy of which was obtained by THISDAY, Jonathan argued that the time had come for African nations to begin working towards having truly independent electoral commissions committed to delivering clean election that would increase the confidence of the people in the integrity of the ballot box.

Talking about the importance of an independent electoral body on page 142 of the book, the former president said that though Nigeria had made significant progress as a result of his administration’s electoral reform, Nigeria must continue to build on what it has and ensure that it plugs observed gaps in the system. ‘’For instance, the implementation of card readers must be properly re-examined to ensure that they are used in all places to obtain a level playing ground for all contestants,’’ Jonathan recommended in his book.

He said, “The kind of confusion created in 2015 should not be repeated in 2019 and subsequent elections.

It will be too risky if what happened in 2015 is repeated in 2019. Not everyone will have my restraint. Not everyone would play it the Goodluck Jonathan way. ‘’Really, no one had ever played it that way before now; the way of peace. It is my sincere hope that the trees we planted will be watered to bear the fruits of electoral freedom for our people.’’ Jonathan added that he was

glad that a large number of people appreciated the depth of his action, promising to continue to contribute his quota to securing a stable government for the people by encouraging a healthy polity and a healthy economy, which he said promotes stable political system.

His “Longest� of Life

Jonathan said that he had every reason to contest the outcome of the 2015 presidential election results, starting from educational qualification of Buhari for election and the electoral malpractices, saying these were facts in his hands, but said there was also the question of worth.

The former president further explained, “Was it worth it? I reflected on some details. My country had been under colonial rule and our fathers mounted a struggle for freedom from the colonial masters. Without shedding blood, we gained our independence. How could I now be party to a decision that would result in rivers of blood, which would flow across the land? ‘’I thought deeply about the hand it had pleased God to deal with me. My rise to the pinnacle of power in a country of 180 million people (in 2010), most of whom would give anything to be where I had Continued on page 8

BOKO HARAM KILLS 53 IN FRESH ATTACKS ON BORNO recently carried out a string of major attacks on military and civilian targets.

President Muhammadu Buhari, seeking re-election in February, faces widespread criticism over his security record as soldiers based in the north-east regularly complain of fatigue and insufficient supplies of food and arms.

The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a Boko Haram splinter group, killed at least 44 soldiers in attacks on three military bases at the weekend, according to security sources.

Of those, at least 43 were killed on Sunday in an attack on 155 Task Force Battalion in Maitile, a remote village in Borno State near the border with Niger, according to a military officer who requested anonymity. “Our troops were completely routed and the terrorists captured the base after heavy fighting,� he told AFP, adding that the base commander and three officers were among the dead.

A search was under way for survivors or further victims in the surrounding bush, he said.

A pro-government militiaman said the jihadists arrived on around 20 trucks and army air support did not arrive until after they had “invaded the base and looted the weapons.�

The same day, jihadists also launched a pre-dawn attack on a base in the town of Gajiram, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of the Borno State capital, Maiduguri.

Fighting lasted several hours, local residents said.

And a soldier was killed in an attack on Saturday on a base in Mainok, also in Borno State, the cradle of the Boko

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NEWS 2019: MISUSE OF CARD READER WILL BE RISKY, JONATHAN WARNS been, was already cause for eternal gratitude.’’

The Intrigue that Cost My Election Ahead of 2015 general election and all through the campaigns, Jonathan said he was confident that he was going to win based on his performance and looking at the big picture, saying his areas of strength were evident, while intensifying efforts to address issues to increase his numbers.

But with the benefit of hindsight, Jonathan said that he had come to be aware of the intrigue that played a ‘’significant role’’ in costing his party, PDP, and him the election.

He recorded, ‘’For instance, there were governors elected under the banner of my party, the Peoples Democratic Party, who did not wholeheartedly campaign for me and adamantly refused to allow campaign posters with my picture and theirs to be printed and circulated. ‘’In fact, a particular first term governor in the North had openly said his ideal scenario was to have him re-elected and my opponent elected president. This same governor told his aides that I would be removed in a coup. Unfortunately for him, his wishes did not come to pass and he ended up not being re-elected.’’ Still talking about why he lost the election, he added that there was also a tremendous measure of religious pressure on members of the PDP from the North, saying ‘’this is not a fresh factor, but it is militating

against entrenching the ethos of democracy.’’ In the 194-page book, Jonathan also addressed the issues of ‘’Politics & Patriotism – The Fuel Subsidy Dilemma’’, ‘’The Chibok School Girls Affair’’, ‘’Private Sector Reform & Africa Renaissance’’, ‘’The Youth Bulge’’, ‘’A Strong Democracy’’, ‘’Post Presidential Experience’’ and others.

Buhari, African Leaders Say History Will be Kind to Him Speaking at the presentation of the book, Buhari, who was represented by Mustapha, commended Jonathan for his service to the nation.

The president said that in 2015, without any pressure, Jonathan willingly conceded defeat in the presidential elections, even when the collation of results was still in progress.

The president said that singular act of placing the country above personal ambition portrayed Jonathan as a true democrat.

Buhari said in the run up to the 2015 elections, he and Jonathan were made to sign a peace pact to ensure that the general election was violence free and credible.

The president said, “I want to openly, like I have said on several occasions, salute the statesmanship, sportsmanship and courage emboldened on the person of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, who could deliberately without any pressure willingly conceded victory to me in the presidential election, even when the collation of results was still in progress.

“That kind of decision can only be taken with a depth of integrity of a man's heart and the conviction of his soul.

And I want to congratulate you for that decision you took in 2015.�

The president stressed that the accomplishment of that objective has portrayed Nigeria as a leader of development of democracy in Africa.

Buhari said to show Jonathan’s strong desire for peace and not violence, he repeatedly said that no Nigerian blood should be shed for his ambition, saying “with this book being launched today, Nigerians, historians and scholars now have a first-hand account and an insight into what transpired in the 2015 transition hours. “We imagine what went through the mind of Dr. Jonathan during these long hours, when varieties of counsel for and against were being called. History has recorded the time as the Nigerian fifth democratically elected leader since independence. History will judge you well as a patriotic leader.�

Obasanjo Speaks Addressing the gathering, Obasanjo charged African leaders to always have it at the back of their minds that there are four seasons for a democratic politician and that in every democratic disposition, “those four seasons are very important; they are good accounts that we must bear in mind.�

He explained, "The first is when you start campaigning and are going round, and

NAIRA FACES PRESSURE ON RISING DOLLAR DEMAND, OUTFLOWS per dollar-N363 per dollar in previous months.

But the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had insisted that it has enough war chest to meet forex demand in the country.

To the CSL, Nigeria’s periodic currency crises are mainly due to policy makers’ inability to deal with the macroeconomic phenomena called the "impossible Trinity.�

It said, "The impossible trinity (also known as the trilemma) postulates that it is impossible to have all three of the following at the same time: a fixed foreign exchange rate, free movement of capital (absence of capital controls) and an independent monetary policy.

"We think pressure will appear in the foreign exchange market and a parallel market premium in the range of 10-20 per cent will return. Given this view, we recommend that local fixed income investors shorten duration and remain focused on the short-end of the curve."

While the report noted that the introduction of the I&E FX Window in April 2017, showed the CBN’s effort in liberalising the foreign exchange market, it pointed out that a free floating exchange rate was yet to be accepted in the country.

It added, "Meanwhile, the CBN still has considerable level of control over interest rates. These policy inconsistencies have been in place since independence

with its attendant impact evident in the nation’s periodic currency crisis. Nigeria runs a substantial deficit of $5-6 billion on the services balance, however this is usually offset by surplus from the trade account meaning that Nigeria runs a current account surplus.

"We believe CBN will seek to avoid changes to the official exchange rate and will be prepared to see the parallel market premium widen. Looser fiscal policy in the run-up to the election is likely to increase demand for foreign exchange as demand for imports increases, and some of the funds inevitably will be misappropriated.

"We expect demand for foreign exchange to rise significantly beyond the CBN’s willingness to provide it. This will lead to a widening of the parallel market premium as private sector entities with service payments (mostly, interest and dividends) to make have to scramble for foreign exchange."

On its part, the FDC, a research and financial advisory company anticipated, "increased forex demand in the next couple of months as manufacturers commence inventory build-up for festive sales. This, in addition to increased election spending, could result in exchange rate depreciation. However, the CBN has iterated its preference for exchange rate stability over buoyant external reserves. Hence, we expect the

currency to remain relatively stable in 2018."

The report pointed out that the depletion of Nigeria's external reserves was expected to be sustained in subsequent months," owing to forex demand pressures arising from election and festive spending."

In addition, the firm predicted one more hike in the US Federal Reserves’ (the Fed) interest rate in 2018. This it stated would further intensify capital outflows, heightening pressures on the exchange rate.

However, higher oil proceeds could slow down the pace of depletion, it noted.

Crude Oil Slumps on Supply Concerns after Four Days of Gains Meanwhile, Crude oil prices dropped yesterday ending a four-day winning streak amid concerns about the rising inventory in the global market as the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) mulls production cuts.

Apart from the surplus inventory in the oil market, growing fears of an economic slowdown, which saw European and Asian stock markets tumble again, added further pressure on crude oil prices.

Reuters reported that the global Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $66.07 a barrel, down 72 cents, or 1.08

everything is going well.

Then the election comes and you win. The second season is when you take up office and all is going well, and then you have ups and downs and of course, you came in with high popularity, that is why you are able to win election, but as you go on the popularity starts to dwindle, until either you come to the expiration of your tenure or you lose election.

"Now, the beginning of the third season; it does not matter who you are, immediately you leave office you would have lost friends, particularly the fair-weather friends, who were with you when you were in office and that is a very trying period for anybody who have been elected to executive office. ‘’And then the fourth season is when you have weather and the storm of that loss of office and things start to look up again and you start wondering, is it you, who they will not greet only yesterday and they see you now. “For instance, Mr. President Jonathan, if you had launched this book three years ago you wouldn’t have mustered the crowd you mustered today. “So, the post-office life which you have been enjoying is a life that we should all crave for. My brothers from West Africa and yourself and myself, are enjoying that life. It is a life, not only of enjoyment but a life of continuous service to the community. “Because by virtue of what God has made us to be in our respective countries, we have what you call residual responsibility to continue to serve our people and serve God. And that is the position

you are today, President Jonathan you must not be found wanting. You and I have said it before. You have residual responsibility to continue to be of service, in your community, in your state, Nigeria, in West Africa, in Africa and indeed in the world. “When all is said and done, there is still no substitute for democracy. It fosters peace and not conflict and violence. It builds and does not destroy.

It unifies rather than divide.

But all these can only happen if democracy is found as an instrument in the hands of the democrats.’’ Former Head of State Abdulsalami Abubakar also described Jonathan as a great leader, stating that Jonathan gave Nigerians the peace they are enjoying today, saying his famous call and himself became an example to Africa by showing that you love the country more than you love power.

Former Ghanaian president, Mahama, who also eulogised the former Nigerian leader, said that Jonathan is not a typical politician.

"For Jonathan, politics was not a matter of life and death. His decision to hand over power peacefully in 2015 was not surprising to me,� he said, noting that similar scenario played out in Ghana when he too lost election to the opposition in the country.

Also underscoring the gentleness for which he knew Jonathan, the presidential candidate of PDP, Atiku, in his submission stated that "former president and I came a long way from the beginning of this democratic dispensation. He was a deputy governor and I

was vice president. Anytime he attends meeting at the villa his first point of call used to be my office. We sit together, eat together and attend meetings together.�

According to Atiku, "Today is a very historic day in this country. We have been fortunate enough to have had a president, who followed the footsteps of president produced by PDP,� stressing that Jonathan’s action in 2015 helped safeguard democracy and preserved the country.

On his part, Senate President Saraki described the former president's famous phone call to Buhari as a great step that safeguards Nigeria and Africa democracy.

He said, "The title of the book is ‘’My Transition Hours;’’ it is not only your transition hours, but Nigerians finest hours and Africa’s finest moment. For those of us who have read the book, we all learn lesson, the lesson is that you have taken democracy to the next level.�

Mr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations, said that he had the privilege of being the representative of the then Secretary-General, Ban Ki Moon, to Nigeria during those faithful elections, adding that there were anxieties about those elections at the United Nations, while commending Jonathan’s patriotism.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Dogara said that the decision of Jonathan to concede defeat after the 2015 presidential election was responsible for bringing Nigeria’s democracy to maturity.

per cent, from their last close.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $56.63 per barrel, down 57 cents, or one per cent.

Russian Energy Minister, Alexander Novak said on Monday that his country, which is not an OPEC member, planned to sign a partnership agreement with the group, and that details would be discussed at OPEC’s December 6 meeting in Vienna, Austria.

The plan by OPEC and Russia to cut supply to the international market followed an increased alarm that supply has started to outpace consumption.

US President Donald Trump had posted a tweet meant to put pressure on OPEC not to cut supply to prop up prices.

Trump’s tweet followed reports that Saudi Arabia was considering a production cut at the December OPEC meeting.

The United States’ sanctions against Iran, which took effect on November 4, are expected to reduce supply to the global market.

However, a US decision to grant waivers to some of Iran’s oil customers, who faced the prospect of a drop-off in supply from the sanctions, has also helped soothe concern about availability of crude.

The Head of Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA), energy advisor to about 26 industrialised countries,

Fatih Birol, said on Monday that oil supply cuts by key producers could have negative implications for markets.

He appealed to market players to use “common sense�.

Speaking at a news conference with central European energy ministers in Bratislava, Birol reportedly said markets were currently well supplied but spare capacity in Saudi Arabia was thin and cuts by key players could tighten markets. “Currently markets are very well supplied but we should not forget that spare capacity in Saudi Arabia is very thin, therefore cutting the production significantly today by key oil producers may have some negative implications for the markets and further tightening the markets,� he said.

Birol yesterday warned of the effects of geopolitical instability on prices. “We are entering an unprecedented period of uncertainty in oil markets,�

Fatih Birol told a conference in Norway.

Oil prices are around a quarter below their recent peaks in early October, weighed down by surging supply, especially from the United States, as well as a slowdown in global trade.

US crude production has soared almost 25 per cent this year, to a record 11.7 million barrels per day (bpd).

Amid the uncertainty,

financial traders have become wary of oil markets, seeing further downside risk to prices from the growth in U.S. shale production as well as the deteriorating economic outlook.

Portfolio managers have sold the equivalent of 553 million barrels of crude and fuels in the last seven weeks, the largest reduction over a comparable period since at least 2013.

Funds now hold a net long position of just 547 million barrels, less than half the recent peak of 1.1 billion at the end of September, and down from a record 1.484 billion in January.

Concerned about an emerging production overhang similar to the one that led to a price slump in 2014, OPEC is pushing for a supply cut of 1 million to 1.4 million bpd. “We expect OPEC to agree to a supply cut at its next official meeting on December 6,� Reuters quoted French bank, BNP Paribas, as saying.

The bank added that it expected Brent to recover to $80 per barrel before the year-end. “In 2019, we expect WTI to average $69 per barrel and Brent $76 per barrel,�

BNP said.

The IEA, however, warned OPEC and other producers of the “negative implications� of supply cuts, with many analysts fearing a spike in crude prices could erode consumption.

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Group News Editor Ejiofor Alike Email Ejiofor.Alike@thisdaylive.com, 08066066268

Buhari: Priti’s Comment on Nigeria Wicked Shola Oyeyipo in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned a call by former Secretary of State for International Development in the United Kingdom (UK), Ms. Priti Patel, to potential investors to be wary about investing in Nigeria, describing it as, “a wicked proposition lacking in substance and devoid of merit in empirical evidence established by facts.”

In a statement signed by his Senior Special Adviser, Mr. Garba Shehu, President Buhari said her premonitions were unfounded.

“Her claim to the effect that despite the president’s public anti-corruption platform, Nigeria has not seen any reduction in corruption since Buhari took office, trumpeting a so-called Transparency International report is a false fabrication that cannot be supported by the facts on the ground.

“By the time President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in and took office, the only amount in the anti-corruption recovery account over 16 years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was only N2 billion.

“This account has succeeded in netting over N400 billion today, translating to 1, 360 per cent increase. This cannot

amount to nothing in terms of progress.

“When it comes to policy decisions, this government has put in place instruments that have extraordinarily and unprecedentedly reduced corruption and corrupt practices.

“For example, the Treasury Single Account (TSA) has led to greater visibility and control of government funds by way of consolidating government resources in an account as against the past where such accounts are scattered.

“The Bank Verification Number (BVN) scheme has equally helped the government to prevent money laundering, financing terrorism and illicit cash transfers. This administration has introduced the Integrated Personal and Payroll System (IPPS), which implementation has led to an extraordinary reduction of ghost workers, saving the treasury billions of Naira every month. The Whistle Blower mechanism put in place has yielded enormously to the treasury and reduced corruption.

“In addition to several and urgent legislations targeted at the reduction of corruption, the administration has equally signed a number of highly rewarding Mutual Legal Assistance with a number of countries that

have translated to tremendous recoveries.”

The government also said the issue raised about alleged lack of security of investment is equally false and untenable.

“Nigerian has recognised the right of the investor, both local and foreign, as enshrined in our constitution which states clearly that no investment can be taken from its owners without recourse to the law. Given the constitution, you don’t even need international protection for assets held in this country,” Buhari noted.

He said apart from the constitution, there are several laws protecting investments.

“Beyond this, this administration has moved forward by recognising arbitration processes. The judiciary in the country has a Practice Code to give legitimacy to awards and arbitration clauses in agreements.

“Cumulatively, we have established a proper climate of investment on account of which, the nation has gained 24 points of excellence in the global ease of doing business index.

“As for the specific case of the agreement in 2010, between the NNPC and the Process & Industrial Development Limited (P&ID) for a 20-year contract

to create a new natural gas development refinery, which appears to be her main issue, a project that fell through after a past Nigerian government reneged on its contractual commitments, we do not wish to plead the government’s case in the press.

“Suffice it to say that the government of Nigeria, in recognition of the sanctity of the judiciary, has submitted to the jurisdiction of a court in the United States to determine the issues in dispute.

“What we can only say at this point is that Nigerians need to pity their own country for the way things were done in

the past.

“Before the coming of the Buhari’s administration, there existed in the country a racket encompassing elements in the three arms of government, the executive, legislature and the judiciary through the activities of which artificial, engineered and factored breaches of contract are made, judgments are obtained, appeals are delayed and the penalty imposed is paid and shared.”

The Nigerians leader assured the citizenry that in the fullness of time, more will be said by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation.

NBS: Acute Malnutrition Still at Alert Levels Since 2014 James Emejo in Abuja Despite several interventions by the government to improve nutrition and healthcare delivery in the country, acute malnutrition remained at alert levels of 5-9.9 percent since 2014 till date, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has stated.

It said the prevalence of stunting which stood at 32.0 percent (95 percent CI: 30.7-33.4) remained the largest burden of malnutrition with stagnated rates of above 30 percent since 2014, with many states in the Northwest and Northeast recording prevalence above 40 percent- the World Health Organisation (WHO) critical levels.

Stunting refers to a long term nutritional problem in the country and at similar levels to that of Sub-Saharan region (37 percent) with serious and irreversible consequences, the NBS added.

The submissions were contained in the 2018 National Nutrition and Health Survey (NNHS) which was released by the statistical agency yesterday.

NNHS, which is conducted annually by the NBS in collaboration with the National Population Commission (NPC) and the Federal Ministry of Health, provides up-to-date information on the situation of nutrition and health as well as measures and key indicators that support the country to monitor progress of the Saving One Million Lives (SOML) Programme for Result (PforR) initiative and other national and international goals.

The household survey adopts the Standardised Monitoring and Assessment of Relief and Transition (SMART) methodology.

According to the NBS, the outcome of the latest survey “sound a warning to all stakeholders that efforts to invest on nutrition sensitive to

geographic location, gender and age of target population should be maintained to reduce acute and chronic malnutrition levels to below five percent and 20 percent respectively as envisaged in the national and international goals.

It said: “Improving nutrition in the first 1,000 days window and in adolescent girls is critical to improving the nutrition status of the entire population of Nigeria.”

Among other things, it stated that although breastfeeding is a widespread practice among the Nigerian population with nearly all the assessed children 0 to 23 months ever breastfed (97.1 percent), the other aspects of breastfeeding and young child feeding indicators are still poor and sub-optimal.

“More than 80 percent newborn children do not timely receive milk and colostrum within one hour of birth; only 27 percent of 0 to 5 months old infants are breastfed exclusively, and so majority are introduced to complementary foods before the age of six months earlier than the WHO/UNICEF’s recommendation that mothers exclusively breastfeed their children, predisposing these children to unhygienic feeding conditions and vulnerability to illnesses.

“Nearly 60 percent of the children (6 to 24 months) assessed are not fed to the recommended minimum meal frequency for their age and breast feeding status; 65 percent do not meet the minimum dietary diversity and only 17 percent children aged 6 to 23 months receive the minimum acceptable diet while less than 50 percent are fed on iron-containing foods.

“There are significant variations in rates of breastfeeding and complementary feeding indicators, and some states especially in Southwest, Northwest and North-east regions would require more effort to promote optimum breastfeeding benefits.”

SET TO COMBAT CRIMES…

L-R: Ekiti State Deputy Commissioner of Police, Eze Ayuba; Governor Kayode Fayemi; and Chief of Staff to the Governor, Hon. Abiodun Omoleye, at the Ijero Police Station, during the governor’s visit to scenes of armed robbery attack on the police station and a new generation bank in Ijero-Ekiti…recently

Fashola: APC Didn’t Promise to Fix Nigeria in Four Years Reaffirms FG’s commitment to boost energy supply Ugo Aliogo, Sunday Ehigiator and Olaseni Durojaiye Following the flag off of political campaigns ahead of the 2019 general elections, the Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, yesterday stated that the All Progressives Party (APC)-led administration of President Muhammadu Buhari did not promise to fix all the challenges facing the country in four years.

The minister has also reaffirmed federal government’s commitment to increase energy supply, distribution and transmission across the value chain through investment in the Automatic Meter Reading Machines (AMRMs).

Fashola however, added that comparatively, the current administration has achieved more than the immediate past administration in the areas of infrastructure, power and housing.

The minister stated that there are verifiable records to show that the current administration has done more for the country even with lesser earnings from oil sales than the previous administrations.

He said the next general elections would present Nigerians with the choice of taking the country to the next

level or return it to the era of abandoned projects, which he said was the hallmark of the Peoples Democratic Party’s 16 years in power.

The minister spoke in Lagos yesterday during the inauguration of 5,000-member PMB 2019 Ward Action Committee. The committee is a body of grassroots votes canvassers dedicated to the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in the presidential election slated for next February.

Members of the committee were drawn from all the local governments and local council development areas in the state.

Dignitaries at the event included a former deputy governor of Lagos State and an aide of President Buhari, Princess Adejoke Adefulire; Chairman of the Senate Committee on Land Transportation, Senator Gbenga Ashafa; deputy governorship candidate of APC in Lagos, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; former commissioners for Culture and Transportation in the state, Oyinlomo Danmole and Kayode Opeifa respectively among others.

While charging members of the committee to ensure that they mobilise voters in their various communities to turn out and

vote, Fashola said the state must turn out more votes compared to what obtained in 2014 adding it was the appropriate payback for President Buhari who has favoured the state and the South-west in his appointments and projects execution.

He also stated that in three and a half years, the current administration has constructed more roads and improved power generation and transmission in the country than the PDP government did in 16 years.

“There are verifiable proofs that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has done more for the country in the areas of roads construction, power generation and distribution and construction of housing estates than the previous administration.

“Yesterday we released N15 billion to the two contractors handling the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. Even though the road is not completed yet, those who have been using the road know that their travel time spent on the road has been greatly reduced. We all know the state of the road during the 16 years of the other party. We have also mobilised contractor handling the Ikorodu – Sagamu road which has been lying fallow for

many years. You have Senator Ashafa to thank for that as he made strong and convincing case for the road to be constructed.

In another development, Fashola has reaffirmed federal government’s commitment to increase energy supply, distribution and transmission across the value chain through investment in the Automatic Meter Reading Machines (AMRMs).

Fashola disclosed this recently in Lagos at the 32nd Convocation Lecture of Yaba College of Technology with the topic: ‘Sustainability of Technological Advancement-A Key to Industrial Growth.’

He stated that in his ministry, every part of the value chain, from generation to transmission and distribution has values about how energy is produced and how much is ultimately distributed.

“In my ministry, power, works and housing, every part of the value chain, from generation to transmission and distribution has values about how much energy came out and how much energy was ultimately distributed. All of these have meters or should have meters. But how do you read the meters? It is by going round the 200 substations? That takes time to settle bills because I want to sell more.”

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COMMENT

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

AS NDIGBO ENDORSE ATIKU/OBI‌ Sonnie Ekwowusi argues that the endorsement is for their survival as a people

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ast week the endorsement of Abubakar Atiku/Peter Obi Presidential ticket by Ndigbo for the forthcoming Presidential Election was further reinforced and perfected in Enugu. The Enugu gathering to endorse Atiku and Obi, in my view, was unnecessary. Politicians should not politicise the endorsement. Why? Because the endorsement is not a political issue as such concerning only the PDP or the APC. Rather it is a moral issue, or, at best, an existential issue affecting the life of every Igbo person, whether he or she is a politician or not. Ndigbo want to live again. They want to survive.

And the only way they can live or survive is to distance themselves as much as possible from any Buhari-led government. Once beaten, they say, twice shy. President Buhari has been treating Ndigbo with utter contempt and disdain in the last three and half years. The average Igbo person wants to soar to high heavens. But Buhari has been suppressing the Igbo ingenuity with his policies. Therefore it will be foolhardy for the Igbos to vote for him in the forth-coming Presidential election. Truth is that Buhari is no longer an option for the Igbos. Those challenging this truth could be likened to those challenging their chi to a wrestling match.

If Buhari is no longer an option for the Igbos he is equally not an option for others across board. From Lagos State, to Ondo, Oyo, Ogun, Delta, Rivers, Benue, Taraba, Adamawa, Zamfara, Kano and Borno States to Southern Kaduna, and so forth you could hear the unanimous voices re-echoing in the horizon: “We do not want Buhari to be our President again�. In the last two months I have been having exchanges with a potpourri of ordinary Nigerians to ascertain their assessments of the Buhari government in the last three and half years. All without exception confided in me that they and members of their families have become much poorer in this Buhari government than they were in the previous governments in Nigeria. Some even compared the Buhari government with the Sani Abacha military junta and stated that whereas under dictator Abacha they could put food on the table for their children and members of their families but not so under this Buhari government.

Two weeks ago I was in Abuja. I spent my free time chatting with some ordinary Nigerians I encountered in the streets. Most, if not all of the people I chatted with, told me that they would never vote for Buhari next year. One taxi driver said to me; “Oga, Buhari don try, he should go and rest. Age is no longer on his side�. Another cheeky taxi driver plainly said: “Oga, even if na goat they bring make ‘em come contest with Buhari, I go vote for the goat�.

It is on record that Ndigbo have suffered the highest human rights violation under the Buhari government than in the previous governments in Nigeria. This is a well documented fact in the 2017 Human Rights Violation Reports of the U.S. Department of State and the Amnesty International. For instance, on February 9, 2016 the Nigerian soldiers shot and killed countless defenceless Igbo civilian protesters who were peacefully holding prayers inside the football field of Ngwa High School, Aba in Abia State. On May 30, 2016 over 30 Igbo civilians were killed and many injured by the Nigerian military after the several clashes involving the military, police and members of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and members of the Movement for Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) during the Biafran day celebration at Nkpor-Agu, Niger Bridge, Onitsha and Asaba. From 2016 to 2017 the Nigerian military pythons were deployed by the Buhari government to invade the whole of the South-East in what was tagged Operation Python Dance 1 & 11. The soldier pythons said the invasions were necessary to tackle

IT IS ON RECORD THAT NDIGBO HAVE SUFFERED THE HIGHEST HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION UNDER THE BUHARI GOVERNMENT THAN IN THE PREVIOUS GOVERNMENTS IN NIGERIA

threats to security personnel, theft of weapons, kidnappings, armed banditry and violent agitations by secessionist groups and other crimes in the South-East. The first invasion took place from November 28 to December 27, 2016 in the five South East states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo. The second invasion occurred from September 15 and ended on October 14, 2017 in the same five states. The pythons did incalculable damage in the South-East. The video clips of the aforesaid invasions show that several civilians were either murdered or badly injured or publicly flogged or harassed or hounded by the pythons during their operations. On August 17, 2018 a group of Owerri women (in the age bracket of 30-65) were teargased and afterwards arrested, tortured, humiliated and detained at various prisons by the state security operatives for embarking on a peaceful demonstration.

Despite the loud protestation of passers-by, the state security operatives publicly beat up the women and inflicted injuries on them. Afterwards they were dragged along the road and subsequently were detained in various suffocating cells without charging them to court or granting them bail as required by law.

Another major reason why Ndigbo will not vote for Buhari is that President Buhari has been running a parochial, lifeless and primitive government that admits no change or progress. Buhari obeys neither the laws of the land nor the grundnorm called the Constitution nor court orders. He does not listen to his ministers let alone his advisers, if any. He only listens to himself or the cabals at Aso Rock. First Lady Aisha Buhari has been quarrelling with him over this but he has refused to listen to her. He tells her she belongs “to the other room�.

When the attention of President Buhari was drawn to the lopsided political appointments in his government, he refused to budge. An IBB, or Atiku or a Sani Abacha or a President Jonathan would have listened to the people and corrected the lopsided political appointments. But Buhari’s heart is cast in stone. He is unbending and unchanging. He thinks only in one direction. He believes that he knows everything.

For instance, he doubles as the President of Nigeria and the Petroleum Minister. He does not want to relinquish being the minister. As far is concerned it is his birthright to rule Nigeria and lord it over his fellow human beings.

As I mentioned here on one occasion or so, President Buhari is ontologicaly a good man. But he is not cut out to be a President of Nigeria. In this life we all have our different vocational callings.

President Buhari will perform well as a good money manager or a good money safe-keeper. But certainly he does not have the calling to govern Nigeria. And I think that any group of Nigerians jostling to bring him back to power next year is doing a great disservice to this country. Nigeria has been under suffocation in the last three and half years. Therefore Nigeria needs to breathe some fresh air. Nigeria has to take back her rightful place in the community of states in Africa.

Imagine Ghana now towering above Nigeria in practically everything.

Outsiders are now comparing Nigeria with war-torn African countries such as Congo Republic and Central Africa Republic. As painful as it is, the world has left Nigeria behind. For Nigeria to retrace her steps Nigerians must elect a new president next year.

By choosing to pitch their tent with Atiku/Obi rather than Buhari Ndigbo have demonstrated their love for their fatherland. Nobody who truly loves Nigeria would want to leave her under the watch of Buhari next year. We have tried Buhari for three and have years now and it is obvious that he has failed. Now is the time to elect a new President for Nigeria.

THE FUTURE OF TV IN AFRICA

Gbolabo Ajisebutu writes that the contents and possibilities of television broadcasting are increasingly limitless

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here is a little debate over the birthplace of television broadcasting in Africa. The prevalent view is that Ibadan, capital of Oyo State, was where the first terrestrial television broadcast signals on the continent occurred on 31 October 1959 and belonged to the Western Nigeria Television Service. The less known version is that a television station had been established in Morocco five years before, making the North African country the home of television on the continent.

But what is not in dispute is that television has, over time, become one of the greatest gifts of electronic engineering given to mankind.

The birth of television broadcasting in some parts of the world is also not in doubt. TV broadcast signals were first received in Europe in 1936 in Europe and in 1939 in North America.

The story is not as straightforward in Africa, where Algeria, Kenya, Uganda and Senegal launched television stations in the late 50s and mid-60s. It was not until the early 70s and 80s that South Africa, Cameroon and many other African countries started having television stations.

Nigeria also led the way in the introduction of news and specific content genres. This began with the takeover of sub-national television stations by the Nigerian Television, now known as the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), as directed by the military government of the era. With the introduction

of scripted by behemoth in the late 70s, the stations became the mouthpiece of government, with news programming critical to its desire to forge national unity.

By 1980, there was an increase in the efforts to increase the level of original content from Nigerian producers. This saw the NTA network set a ceiling of 20% broadcasting time for foreign programming in order to stimulate interest in local content. Between 1980 and 1985, NTA started producing Africa’s first local soap operas, children’s programmes and comedy series. This was the forerunner of Nollywood, which has leapfrogged Hollywood as the world’s second largest movie industry by volume after India’s Bollywood.

The year 1992 marked another stage in the evolution of television in Africa. This came in the shape of Pay TV, which saw M-Net launch an analogue service to over 20 countries. A year later, MultiChoice Africa began expansion outside South Africa and is now present in 49 countries across sub-Saharan Africa. Three years later, MultiChoice introduced digital technology to the continent with the launch of the DStv bouquet. The following year, its analogue satellite TV services were cancelled. DStv was one of the first broadcasters outside the United States to launch a satellite platform that enabled high-quality transmission to Africa’s most remote regions.

Streaming and video-on-demand (VOD) services have started supplementing broadcast TV for some

time – mostly in the area of news. Today, most news consumers no longer have appetite for lengthy articles but for video of events as they unfold from news agency sites or social media networks. The era of consumer-led journalism and social networking has considerably shifted the power of traditional news agencies and at the forefront is video. This, however, has also led to other problems, notably the prevalence of fake news, which has imposed on consumers the need to check authenticity with well-known news agencies.

However, with relatively slow and expensive internet connections being the norm in Africa, commercial VOD and streaming services have seen slower growth than in markets where data speeds allow for more efficient live streaming. Pay TV is still growing on the continent. According to Dataxis, Africa’s Pay TV revenue for 2016 was $4.4 billion and is projected to reach $6 billion by 2021. In 2016, Africa’s Pay TV subscribers stood at approximately 18.7 million, an increase of approximately two million subscribers compared to the previous year.

Increasing broadband penetration and the reduction in data rates in Nigeria will increase the penetration of online video content. Online video consumption is expected to be a supplementary service to traditional Pay Television, as online providers do not provide news channels and live sport which are major staples of viewers in households across the country and the continent. The implication is

that the video shops that used to be the rage across the country are now empty as consumers no longer need to leave their homes to get a video.

Alternatives to this are DStv Box Office services on the Explora decoder, which provide an option where consumers do not have to pay for the delivery of the movie while streaming requires the delivery cost and the bandwidth.

Local content will remain a crucial cultural and economic factor in the Nigerian and continental markets. Such require continuous investments and nurturing to make it grow in the rapidly changing entertainment space. Nollywood, for example, employs more than a million people directly or indirectly. The local content industry is rated the country’s second-biggest source of jobs after agriculture. According to a PwC report, Nigeria’s entertainment and media revenue could more than double to an estimated $8.5 billion this year from $4 billion in 2013, and is considered one of the major pillars on which to grow and diversify the Nigerian economy.

Massive and continued changes in the entertainment industry are afoot, and the recent AT&T acquisition of Time Warner in the US is a perfect example of how the lines between content producers and the owners of distribution platforms are being blurred. The full impact of this disruption on the global landscape remains to be seen.

Ajisebutu, a media scholar, wrote from Lagos

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EDITORIAL INEC And 2019 General Election The display of the national voter register was worth it

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head of the 2019 general election and in the spirit of the law, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) last week displayed the National Voter Registrar which would ensure citizens participation in the democratic process. The list contains 84.3 million prospective voters made up of 69.7million from the last exercise in 2015 and the14.6 million freshly registered. It was displayed across the 120 polling units across the nation.

The exercise was designed to avail eligible voters and other Nigerians the opportunity to raise claims and objections concerning the names, details and particulars of voters, all aimed at dispelling doubts that the electioneering process is clean and transparent. “By cross checking the list, the voters wittingly would have begun the battle to frustrate rigging of the election,” said Ike Abonyi, spokesman to the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Even though the exercise was just within a week, it was worth it. Across the states, many prospective voters who made it to the registration booths discovered to their dismay WE URGE ALL THE that their names were STAKEHOLDERS TO DO either misspelled, missing or found in THEIR BIT AND HELP THE ELECTORAL BODY wrong places - at units and wards far IN A COMPELLING from their places ASSIGNMENT OF of residence. Other AIDING AND IMPROVING complaints ranged REPRESENTATIVE from the omission of photographs, inaccuGOVERNMENT rate dates of births to the appearance of names of dead people and foreigners on the register. In Lagos State for instance, some nationals of Cameroon, Chad, Niger, among others, were found in the register. Indeed, the Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu said that the commission also discovered during its in-house cleaning exercise some 300,000 extraneous names through its Automatic Fingerprints Identification System (AFIS), a

Letters to the Editor

system used by the electoral body to check for multiple registrations.

The impunity recorded during the last local government election in Kano State where underage voting was allegedly widespread had stirred concerns among Nigerians about the reliability of the National Voter Register. This is because the credibility of the next election, as in any other, is contingent on a credible voter register. Fortunately, the display of the register

by INEC had ensured that all the relevant stakeholders were given opportunity in accordance with the law, to read, scrutinise and make complaints to the electoral body when necessary.

B T H I S DAY

EDITOR BOLAJI ADEBIYI DEPUTY EDITOR DAVIDSON IRIEKPEN 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

ased on INEC schedule of activities, the electoral empire would on 7th January 2019 publish the official register of voters for the general election after corrections must have been made. We urge all the stakeholders to do their bit, compile the complaints and help the electoral body in a compelling assignment of aiding and improving representative government. That is the only way to safeguard the credibility of the registration process.

Besides, INEC has the additional urgent duty of ensuring that many prospective voters pick up their permanent voter cards (PVCs) lying fallow across the states. About 10 million PVCs are reportedly still idle.

According to reports, Lagos for instance, has in excess of 1.4 million voter cards yet to be collected. They need to in order to bolster confidence in the democratic process. Nigerians can only influence the direction of government if they possess their voter cards. The INEC has to address this huge challenge by perhaps deploying more resources in terms of manpower and materials to the centres to ease the cumbersome distribution process. There is therefore the need to step up the awareness campaign for those who have not been able, for one reason or the other, to go pick up their PVCs. It is apparent that the task will be an uneasy one, particularly in times of paucity of funds. But these are things that must be accomplished before February 2019 so as to create a level playing field for all candidates, all political parties and to conduct the general election in accordance with global professional standards.

TO OUR READERS Letters in response to specific publications in THISDAY should be brief (150-200 words) and straight to the point. Interested readers may send such letters along with their contact details to opinion@thisdaylive.com. We also welcome comments and opinions on topical local, national and international issues provided they are well-written and should also not be longer than (9501000 words). They should be sent to opinion@thisdaylive.com along with the email address and phone numbers of the writer.

KHASHOGGI,THE WEST AND SILENCE

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istory has recorded constant rifts between state actors. Privileged and proletariats, the ranked and the classless or however stratified. “As long as the bosses pretend they are paying us a decent wage, we will pretend that we are working”, was a popular Soviet workers’ assertion in the 1970s. Marxian scholars moderate this as the advent of historical and material dialectics, simply put; an ever constant exchange of antagonistic courtesy’s, however disguised, between owners of productive mills and the have not’s, which in same strait wheels society’s economic fortunes from one stead to another. Permit to reiterate that in every imbroglio casualties emerge, fatally too.

Sometimes the more fatal the faster the furnace of development is felt. Remember the civil rights movement in the United States, the apartheid campaigns in South Africa, not forgetting the Napoleonic wars that helped emancipate Europe from Napoleon Bonaparte’s thirst for power. Candid point of note was the transformation of The League Of Nations to The U.N after the later failed to prevent the Second World War. A part of its covenant upon formation in 1919 had read thus: “Any war or threat of war is a matter of concern to the whole League and the League shall take action that may safeguard peace”.

Another point too was the Aba Women’s Riot of 1929, entailing civil disobedience, destruction of lives and property.

Consequently, enabling non-elites, single women, or those not married to warrant chiefs into positions of social reckoning; aftermath of the painstaking 38 sittings of the 1930 Aba commission of inquiry. Intellectual gender enhancement.

Jamal Khashoggi has been trending for the wrong reasons.

In no small measure it has come to a glaring fact that supposedly civil places are espoused with the most heinous of crimes. The man died, and in a manner best described as most inhumane. However both conspiracy theorists and Saudi authorities have advanced circumstances leading to his death; recall that this isn’t the first time the World is witnessing this. Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket was in 1170 gruesomely clubbed to death right in the confines of Canterbury. King Henry II and Archbishop Becket were in divergent views over the jurisdiction of secular courts on English clergymen and the full execution of archbishopric rights and privileges, including the sanctioning of some condescending bishops by Becket; for crowning Henry II King instead of Canterbury, Becket’s refusal to append to the Clarendun constitution. Even threats to excommunicate the King from the Church were debated. Henry’s retaliatory moves resulted to Becket’s self exile to France just like Khashoggi to Turkey. Reports also reveal Khashoggi’s murder sanctioning might have come from the Saudi crowned Prince. “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?”, was

the quoted murder sanctioning by King Henry II upon his return from France according to renowned historian, Simon Schama. Politics in the Western bloc is seriously taking stance over this development, with condemnable commentaries from world leaders.

However, U.S a major trade partner with the oil rich state, and with a total arms trade earnings in the tune of over $43.b last year poses a lacklustre approach, rather commends the truthfulness and cooperation of the Saudi consulate in the matter. How do you reconcile self professing as an international vanguard of human rights and playing the ostrich in a case so profile? Instead of marshalling an executive order, coaxing remorse amongst the West, the ICC and other corporate institutions against the Kingdom, the POTUS prefers conferring with congress. An approach which would defuse society’s sentiments on the atrocious act and wane public opinion and followership. Although some U.S lawmakers have advanced the expulsion of the Kingdoms ambassador as a front line measure. Even the UK outrightly made a bewildering statement of not cutting ties with the Kingdom as most of its jobs are dependent on their bilateral arrangements. Desperately balancing her convenience.

But irrespective of how diplomatic events churn out amongst the Western bloc actors, world leaders and the K.S.A, worthy of note is that history also records silences.

Odike Ezemonye Kingsley, Port Harcourt, Rivers State

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MIDWEEKPOLITICS

Group Politics Editor NSEOBONG OKON-EKONG Email nseobong.okonekong@thisdaylive.com 08114495324 SMS ONLY

A N A LY S I S

All Systems Go Nseobong Okon-Ekong and Ojo Maduekwe write that with the start of open political campaigns, candidates of the two leading parties, President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party have launched their policy documents signaling the beginning of the struggle for votes

Buhari

Yakubu

O

n Saturday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced that campaigns for presidential and National Assembly elections would begin the following day, Sunday, November 18, 2018, while that of governorship and state Houses of Assembly would commence on December 1, 2018.

INEC had since January 9, 2018, released the timetable and schedule of activities for the elections. Section 99(1) of the 2010 Electoral Act (as amended), states “the period of campaigning in public by every political party shall commence 90 days before polling day and end 24 hours prior to that day.”

In a statement released by the commission to this effect on Saturday, and in line with the relevant section of the Electoral Act, INEC charged every political party contesting the elections to “conduct their activities in an organised and peaceful manner, devoid of rancor, hate and/or inflammatory speeches.”

Hoping to score the first victory, President Muhammadu Buhari, began his campaign same day with the unveiling of what his presidential campaign council called ‘The Next Level’ to Nigerians at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The Director of Strategic Communications for the Buhari Campaign Organisation, Mr. Festus Keyamo, said ‘The Next Level’ is one of two documents the president was to present ahead of the main campaign.

“President Muhammadu Buhari has decided to first showcase his achievements and projections for the next four years to Nigerians before the official flag-off of the campaign,” Keyamo was quoted by some news sources.

On his part, the presidential candidate of

Abubakar

the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar unveiled the ‘People’s Policy’, a manifesto said to have been drafted during his retreat in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The manifesto is said to contain practical solutions to address pressing issues such as disunity, poverty, unemployment, insecurity and underdevelopment.

Also, Atiku will today address Nigerians on social media platform, Facebook, at exactly 12 noon to present his vision for Nigeria and his action plan to achieving it, as encapsulated in his policy document.

A statement by the Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation said the document will later be uploaded on his website (www. atiku.org) for all Nigerians to access “at no cost”.

So far the election appears to be starting on a good note as both presidential candidates have chosen to make their campaign issue based. According to the statement from the Atiku camp, the decision for the former vice president to kick-start his campaign with the launch of the ‘People’s Policy’ document, was to reiterate his earlier commitment to run an issue based campaign.

Last month the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Organisation, in a statement by the Spokesperson of the organisation, Segun Sowunmi, said they would approach the 2019 election as an issue based one, devoid of the usual slandering and name calling that has tainted previous elections.

X-raying the ‘do or die’ nature of past campaigns and linking it to the disunity the country experiences today, Sowunmi said, “We hold the view that unguarded narrative hurts the country and further divides us as a people. Elections come every four years in our country and if great effort is not taken,

we could hurt the country and its people needlessly and invariably our democracy.

We have to sign up to these ideals; we can campaign without recourse to hate speech, libels, lies, undue criminalisation of people and each other.”

If the message coming from both presidential candidates camp isn’t being misinterpreted, it appears next year’s election would be different from what obtained in the past. The greater part of Nigeria’s election cycle is stained by the blood of Nigerians caught in the crossfire of do or die politics. The need for the two main political parties to strictly adhere to the INEC’s charge to “conduct their activities in an organized and peaceful manner, devoid of rancor, hate and/or inflammatory speeches,” cannot be overemphasised.

Running a rancor-free campaign devoid of violence will take the collective effort of every Nigerian, especially the presidential candidates and their supporters alike. As they’ve already stated, both Buhari and Atiku must ensure to rein in on their supporters to shun violence. Having articulated their vision, they should take same directly to Nigerians as they campaign around the country.

The Atiku campaign claims that “Our campaign offers a simple message: united, the people of Nigeria can begin anew, creating a prosperous and secure future and a better life for every Nigerian.” Hopefully utterances that would be made by the candidate during the actual campaign would always echo this.

Nigeria is already bedeviled with a plethora of issues such as unemployment, and insecurity; and as such, it won’t augur well for the country, most especially the incoming president, if Nigeria is plunged

schedule of activities for the elections r4FDUJPO PG UIF &MFDUPSBM Act (as amended), states “the period of campaigning in public by every political party shall commence 90 days before polling day and end 24 hours prior to that day.” r*/&$ DIBSHFE FWFSZ QPMJUJDBM party contesting the elections to

“conduct their activities in an organised and peaceful manner, devoid of rancor, hate and/or inflammatory speeches.” r1SFTJEFOU .VIBNNBEV #VIBSJ has started his presidential campaign with a document called ‘The Next Level’ r5IF QSFTJEFOUJBM DBOEJEBUF PG

into further crisis.

Presently Nigeria’s debt is pegged at about N22 trillion and with unemployment at above 18%, Nigeria is ranked as the poverty capital of the world, with about 50 percent of the population (86.9 million) now living in extreme poverty.

On the issue of insecurity, there have been documented deaths of over 20,000 Nigerians since June 2015, caused by Boko Haram and Fulani militias. These figures should help both candidates of the APC and PDP, as well as their teeming supporters to understand why it is important to ensure that campaign remains issue based and at no time should they resort to violence.

Owing to the bitter campaign by both the APC and PDP during the 2015 elections, Nigeria has never been more divided than it presently is, and so there is a need for dialogue as the campaign heats up. Buhari and Atiku should encourage dialogue from their supporters, instead of the resort to mudslinging.

They should begin with mandating their different spokespersons to engage with critics in a civil manner. So far the spokespersons of Atiku have remained civil in the defense of their principal. Those of Buhari on the other hand have shown a penchant to disparage anyone that criticizes their boss.

Hopefully this would change in the coming weeks running up to the election.

The bulk of the responsibility to ensure that the 2019 elections remain rancor-free rests squarely on INEC and the security agencies. Already, because of the heated nature of the polity and the discord that have been sown amongst Nigerians, there’s the need for the security agencies to remain nonpartisan in securing the peace, while INEC conducts a free and fair election.

QUICK FACTS: r0QFO QPMJUJDBM DBNQBJHOT GPS presidential and National Assembly elections began, Sunday, November 18, 2018, while that of governorship and state Houses of Assembly would commence on December 1 r5IF *OEFQFOEFOU /BUJPOBM &MFDtoral Commission had since January 9, 2018, released the timetable and

the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar launched the manifesto, ‘People’s Policy’ r5IF TQPLFTQFSTPOT PG "UJLV IBWF remained civil in the defense of their principal. r5IF SFQSFTFOUBUJWFT PG #VIBSJ have shown a penchant to disparage anyone that criticises their boss

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2018

POLITICS

Caged by Entitlement Mentality Ojo Maduekwe writes that the main leading political parties, the All Progressives Congress and Peoples Democratic Party have not shown good example at adherence to internal democracy within their parties and this can be associated with heating up the polity

Oshiomhole

N

igeria’s politics is still developing. Between the two main political parties – the All Progressives Congress (APC) and opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – there is a lack of internal democracy guiding the conduct of members and functions.

The crises that erupted following the recently conducted party primaries by both parties are proofs to this assertion.

By far the worst hit, the APC which Nigerians assumed on assumption was going to play a different kind of politics from the PDP is riddled by crises. The party rode to power on a change slogan, but has shown no capacity for change.

Instead, the self-professed progressives have turned out a caricature of the old PDP. There have been protests by APC members in some select states.

Some governors under the party such as Ibikunle Amosun, Rochas Okorocha and Abdulaziz Yari of Ogun, Imo and Zamfara states respectively, are said to be behind the clamour for the sack or resignation of the APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, whom they believe is to blame for the crisis currently engulfing the ruling party.

Although limited, the PDP has not been spared from crisis. Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River has accused the party for being “unfair” and without “conscience” for disqualifying his friend, Chris Agara, from the recently conducted Cross River Central senatorial primaries by the PDP in the state.

Speaking at a function, Ayade said: “I have spent more money than any other candidate in the state. A man came ready for election and you take out his name from the ballot paper.” This outburst – or revelation as some may call it – is instructive to understand what still obtains in both parties.

The crises bedeviling the APC and PDP can be attributed to a lack of internal democracy within both parties. As party financiers, state

Secondus

governors have become an institution by themselves. Influential governors in the APC and PDP, owing to the fact that they are the main financiers of their party, have developed a penchant for exerting undue influence on the party leadership.

Take for instance Ayade’s disclosure of spending more on the PDP. The governor – like APC’s Amosun, Okorocha and Yari – believe that since he is sole financier of the PDP in Cross River, the national leadership of the party owe him some concession when making decisions that affect his state.

It is this same aberration of state governors being financiers of their party that made PDP Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers to pressure his party leadership into organising their last convention in his state.

There are insinuations that when the PDP was struggling to rebrand, it was Wike who took up its bills.

The irony of this is that the governors assume lordship over their state party structure by spending money belonging to the state coffers.

Back to the APC, this entitlement mentality can be linked to the foundation upon which Amosun, Okorocha and Yari are standing to demand that ‘Oshiomhole Must Go’ as party chairman. If forced to resign, Oshiomhole won’t be the first party chairman to come under the grinding axe of state governors.

His predecessor, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, was accused by the national leader of the party, Bola Tinubu of leading the APC away from its founding principles and calling for his resignation, after getting the nod of the governors in the party to elongate his tenure, was eventually thrown under the bus.

Like Oyegun, Oshiomhole is a victim of the suffocating nature of party politics. When he set out to reform the APC and return power to “every member of the party” using the direct primary to elect party candidates, the APC chairman envisaged a fallout between him

and key members in his party.

His first task was with getting APC appointees to adhere to party instructions. For example, his falling out with the Minister of Labour, Dr. Chris Ngige, over the latter ’s refusal to inaugurate the board of an agency under his ministry, showed just how far he was willing to go in instilling party discipline.

Openly expressing displeasure with how President Muhammadu Buhari was handling the government, when he said “If the president condones disrespect for his office, I will not condone disrespect for the party”, showed that Oshiomhole was unafraid of exerting his independence as party chairman, even if it meant incurring the wrath of the most powerful black president.

There are few examples of the penalty political party’s pay when they refuse to operate by the rules.

One is the exodus of aggrieved members to other parties. Two, for some aggrieved members, they would rather remain in the party and plot the fall of those they perceive to have caused their grievance.

Following the last primaries conducted by the APC and PDP, both parties have seen a cross-defection of their members. For the APC, even before the primaries, there were a good number of its members in the position of parliamentarians and governors, whom being marginalised, defected to the PDP. The APC too has welcomed its own fair share of former PDP members.

Like earlier stated, when aggrieved politicians are not defecting, they are sometimes seen working against their party from within. An example is the case of PDP Senator Bassey Albert, representing the people of Akwa Ibom North East senatorial district, otherwise known as Uyo senatorial district.

After the 2015 senatorial election, Senator Albert was taken to the election tribunal by fellow PDP member, Mr. Bassey Etim. This

story is a good example of why political parties must abide by their own rules and endeavor to be fair to all its members, or get entangled in self-inflicted crises.

Mr. Etim had won the December 2014 PDP primary election for his district, and had hoped to represent the party in the 2015 election.

Senator Albert on the other hand participated in the PDP governorship primary. It is alleged that to pacify Albert to step down for his anointed candidate, then governor, now Senator Godswill Akpabio, took Mr. Etim’s slot and gave it to Albert.

From the tribunal, the case went to the federal high court where the presiding judge had asked Albert to vacate the seat for Etim. The case was appealed by Albert and the matter went to the Appeal Court, wherein the judgment delivered by the trial court was overturned and the senator retained his seat.

Like most humans, politicians appear not to learn from history, even one as recent as 2014. In Sokoto, a near crisis was averted by the PDP. Governor Aminu Tambuwal failed in his bid to clinch the PDP presidential ticket to former vice president Atiku Abubakar, but after some consensus, he was eventually given the PDP’s governorship ticket, even without participating in the primary.

When the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released its candidate list for political parties and Tambuwal’s name was missing and in his place was Manir Dan’iya, political stakeholders in the state PDP went into another round of horse trading, the fallout of which was Tambuwal’s name being relisted by INEC to fly the PDP flag, with Dan’iya as his running mate.

The absence of internal democracy or the refusal to adhere to one can be associated with the heating up of the polity. As the two main leading political parties in the country, the APC and PDP have shown no good example.

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FEATURES

Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi Email chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com, 08152252325

Janguza Community: A Tale of Two Worlds Janguza Community in Kano State presents two striking features; first is a giant construction site where the federal government is building the proposed biggest prison in the country with state of the art designs, and on the other hand is a neglected government primary school that lacks basic tools needed for proper early life learning. Martins IďŹ jeh writes

A

bout 35 minutes drive towards the outskirt of Kano town rests Janguza Community in Tofa Local Government Area of Kano State. It is an agrarian village where sugarcane is produced in large quantities.

The quiet town boasts of a young population, whose modest vocations span from being farmers like their fathers to becoming Islamic scholars. For the girls, they just want to be housewives like their mothers. Generally, for many residents of the community, there are no other options beyond these.

Carcass of a Primary School But away from the regular life of the residents, the community presents two contrasting tales. First is the Army Children Primary School, Tofa, which lacks basic amenities needed for early life learning. Save for the painted blocks and 13 teachers, there is nothing else to show it is a school; no chairs, tables, toilets or water for pupils.

Some of the females do not attend school during their menstrual periods due to lack of water and functioning toilets. Also, the children who go to school have their clothes soiled with dirt because they learn on bare and dusty floors.

While this special school, which on the long run could save Janguza community from poverty if proper learning aids are available, is one of the few schools around, it is obviously not enjoying funding.

Army Children Primary School, Janguza

Irony of Priority Ironically, just a stone throw from the school is Nigeria's proposed biggest prison, which sits on 50 hectares of land and could house 30,000 prisoners when completed. The massive construction is no doubt enjoying huge funding and when completed, could pass for a state-of-the-art university.

It is a project the government is ready to spend its fortunes on at the expense of providing quality education for the pupils of Janguza community.

A field trip to the community by journalists during the two-day media dialogue on Promoting Equity in Education for Children, organised by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) recently, shows that the federal government is keen on putting Janguza community on the map through the establishment of the prison; notwithstanding that the feat can be better achieved with the provision of quality education to children of the community.

Another issue is that 13 teachers cannot cover all the classrooms. If I have 10 more, I will be more than happy. The buildings are not also enough, the toilets are in bad shape; and this is especially worrisome because many of the girls do not come to school when they are on their periods

Fence of the proposed prison

Hampered Learning Speaking with THISDAY, the Head Teacher, Army Children Primary School, Mrs. Harira Ahmed, believes the obvious challenges facing the school has hampered learning and has continued to discourage parents from bringing their children to school.

In an attempt to address the issue of lack of chairs and tables, Ahmed, through the

Parents/Teachers Association (PTA) tasks the children N50 per term so they can repair the few chairs they have. “We do not know how far we can go with the levy, because at the end of the day, you will realise that it is a very small amount. It cannot repair the few chairs, it cannot give us the toilets we want or new classrooms.

But I cannot sit down and see our children

learning on bare dusty floor. I cannot sit down to watch them suffer during the course of acquiring education,� she said.

Ahmed, and members of her staff have also tried other means of raising funds. She at some point wrote to the ‘big men’ and politicians in the community, but as typical with Nigerian politicians, they would rather invest in infrastructural development, which

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FEATURES they and the community members can see, than on human capital development which is usually virtual.

A typical example is the prioritisation of prison construction over poor educational facilities in the same community where human capital development is on low ebb. “Another issue is that 13 teachers cannot cover all the classrooms. If I have 10 more, I will be more than happy. The buildings are not also enough, the toilets are in bad shape; and this is especially worrisome because many of the girls do not come to school when they are on their periods,� Ahmed said.

She said while government used to provide books for the school, the practice stopped years back. Thus, the school is gradually losing patronage even though the children are willing to learn. “Despite the obvious challenges, all I can say is that our children are trying. This year, we graduated 180 pupils, and many of them did well. Some even got distinctions and were recognised. Our children are ready to learn. They trek several kilometers just to be in school. Some spend over an hour thirty minutes just to be here, and they cover same distance going home. “For children this willing, I believe they deserve more. That is why we are putting all our efforts in place to provide these facilities for them, but you know there is a limit to what we can do,� she added.

Mohammed, one of the out of school children in Janguza

Increasing Attendance of Females Despite being handicapped in changing the narrative, Ahmed has continued to be a source of motivation to the girls in the community. Many of the families now let their girls come to school because they believe that if a woman can become a head teacher, their female children can also amount to something in the future. “Few years ago we had much more males in the school than females, but all that is changing now. Families now bring their female children to school. They often call me their role model. Am happy attendance is gradually increasing, because we most times pet these pupils to attend school. If you use force, you will lose them. So we want all well meaning Nigerians to join us in encouraging them. And one of the ways this can be done is by making sure all the needed facilities are in place for them,� she added.

Consequences On the long run, if these children fail to acquire basic education, which could propel them to make it in life and put the community on global map, they would most likely become tools for societal vices, and then the biggest prison in the country will not be short of inmates.

If nothing is done, Janguza children who couldn’t occupy themselves due to illiteracy and unemployment, would likely take to robbery, terrorism, and become tools for inter-communal clashes, and the prison would then end up living to its billing.

Thus, continuing the cycle of a failed state.

Whichever way, Janguza community will be on the global map, either as the community with the biggest prison in Nigeria, or as a community in Northeastern Nigeria with high number of literate Nigerians.

Our children are ready to learn.

They trek several kilometers just to be in school. Some spend over an hour thirty minutes just to be here, and they cover same distance going home.

For children willing this much, I believe they deserve more

Pupils of Army Children School sitting on bare oor

Pupils of Janguza community suering neglect of education facilities

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IMAGES

Ogun State gubernatorial candidate, Dapo Abiodun(left) and President Muhammadu Buhari at the launching of Buhari manifesto tagged the ‘Next Level’ in Abuja...recently

L-R: Speaker Republic of Niger National Assembly, Ousseini Tinni; Speaker, ECOWAS Parliament Hon Moustapha Cisse; Vice President, ECOWAS Court of Justice, Gberibe Quattara and Nigeria Deputy Speaker, National Assembly, Hon Lasun Yusuf, during the 4th ECOWAS Legislature Second Ordinary Session in Nigeria, Abuja‌recently PHOTO: KINGSLEY ADEBOYE

T H I S D AY Ëž Í°ÍŻËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

Photo Editor ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜ ÔËÖË Email Ă‹ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜Ë›Ă‹Ă”Ă‹Ă–Ă‹ĚśĂžĂ’Ă“Ă?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ–Ă“Ă Ă?Ë›Ă?Ù×

L-R: Chief Don Etiebet; Governor of the Year (Good Governance), Governor Seriake Dickson and Senator Ita Enang, at the New Telegraph Awards’ Night, 2018 in Lagos...recently

Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi and President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba, during a courtesy visit to the Governor in Ado-Ekiti‌recently

L-R: Durector, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Hassan Musa;Minister of State, Aviation,Sen. Hadi Sirika; and Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Saleh Dunoma, during the FAAN training accreditation as ICAO aviation security in Nigeria held in Lagos.... recently

R-L: Chief Executive OďŹƒcer, Modion Communications, Mr. Odion Aleobua, receiving the award for Innovative PR Agency of the Year, from the CEO, Instinct Waves and organiser of the 8th Marketing World Awards in Accra, Ghana...recently

L-R: Director, Livespot, Solomon Sonaya: CEO, Deola Art Alade : Executive Creative Director, Dare Art Alade: Head of Marketing and New Business Development, Funmi Elliot: and :Director, Ladi Okuneye during the media hangout at Livespot’s headquarters, Ikeja G R A in Lagos... recently

L-R; GM Technical, WePay, Ravi Narain; Managing Consultant, WePay, Akin Kehinde; Chief Client Services, WePay, Martina Medac and GM, Operations, WePay, Fashe Abayomi at the oďŹƒcial launch of WePay in Lagos...recently

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BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET OVERNIGHT OBB

A S

A T

N O V E M B E R

REPO 7.17 % 6.33%

CALL 1-MONTH 3-MONTH

S & P INDEX INDEX LEVEL 1-DAY MONTH-TO-DATE

5% 8.88 % 9.08%

347.03% 0.00% -0.25%

Group Business Editor Obinna Chima Email obinna.chima@thisdaylive.com 08024557078, 08152447875

1 6 , 2 0 1 8 S & P INDEX 1/4 TO DATE YEAR TO DATE

-0.08% 5.33%

EXCHANGE RATE N306.70/1US DOLLAR* *AS AT LAST FRIDAY

Quick Takes LCCI Empowers Entrepreneurs

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) is set to hold a graduation ceremony for 49 young entrepreneurs who have successfully participated and completed the 2018 edition of its annual Mentoring Programme.

AccordingtotheLCCI,theyoungentrepreneurswouldbeunveiledand presented with certiďŹ cates of participation and completion of the annual projectThe graduation ceremony is scheduled to take place onThursday 22nd November, 2018, in Lagos. The programme would also feature exhibition of products and services by the graduating mentees.The Director General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce andIndustry(LCCI),MudaYusufsaid:“TheLCCIhascontinuedtowax strongerinitsCorporateSocialresponsibility(CSR),especiallyinthe development of youth, small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) andthebusinesscommunityatlargethroughitsmentoringprogram.â€?

He further stressed that the mentoring program is a strategy for positiveyouthdevelopment.“Italsoservestoreduceunemployment in our society. The 2018 edition is the sixth edition in the series and the LCCI will continue to strive to help build the nation through the development of future captains of industry.�

EXTRA-ORDINARYGENERAL MEETING

L-R: Company Secretary, Investment One, Mrs. Abimbola Afolabi; Mrs.Tadeni Balogun of United Capital Trustees; Fund Manager, Investment One, Mr. Adebayo Adejumo; Managing Director, Investment One FundsManagement, Mrs.Tope Omojokun; Mr.Abimbola Ibrahim of United CapitalTrustees and Mrs. Yewande Kukoyiof Stanbic IBTC, at theextra-ordinary general meeting of the Abacus Money Market Fund in Lagos‌recently.

KOLAWOLE ALLI

Banks’Assets, Liabilities Hit N36trn Obinna Chima The total assets and liabilities of the commercial banks stood at N36.268 trillion at the end of August 2018, representing a 0.8 per cent increase over the level at the end of June 2018.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed this in its third quarter economic report posted on its website.

According to the Bank, the funds by the banks in the period under review were sourced, largely, from mobilisaion of unclassified and foreign liabilities and realisation of claims on the central bank.

The funds were used, mainly for payment of matured demand deposits, accretion to reserves and extension of credit to the private sector.

At N19.306 trillion, banks’ credit to the domestic economy, at the end of August 2018, showed an increase of one per cent, above the level at the end of June 2018.

The development reflected, the rise in claims on both the federal government and the private sector in the review

ECONOMY period.

Total specified liquid assets of the banks was N11.264 trillion at the end of August 2018, representing 54.5 per cent of the total current liabilities. At that level, the liquidity ratio was two percentage points and 24.5 percentage points above the levels at end-June 2018 and the stipulated minimum ratio of 30 per cent, respectively. “The loans-to-deposit ratio, at 65.89 per cent, was 1.29 percentage points higher than the level at end-June 2018 but was 14.11 percentage points below the prescribed maximum of 80.0 per cent,� the report explained.

Currency-in-circulation (CIC) at the end of August 2018, rose by 1.8 per cent to N1.929 trillion over the level at the end of the second quarter of 2018, compared with the decline of 6.8 per cent at the end of June 2018.

The development relative to the preceding quarter reflected, mainly, the increase in its currency outside banks component.

“Total deposits at the CBN amounted to N15,099.50 billion at end-August 2018, indicating a 11.6 per cent increase above the level at end-June 2018. “The development was as a result of the rise in the deposits of the federal government and banks, while deposits of the private sector declined. “Of the total deposits at the CBN, the shares of the federal government, banks and private sector deposits were 49.4 per cent, 31.5 per cent and 19.1 per cent, respectively. “Reserve money rose by 3.2 per cent to N6,688.52 billion at end-August 2018, in contrast with the decline of 5.9 per cent at end-June 2018. The development reflected the increase in total bank reserves,� it stated.

Commercial Paper (CP) outstanding held by banks amounted to N23.33 billion in the third quarter, compared with N6.29 billion at end-June 2018. The development was due to the increase in investments in CP by the merchant banks during the review quarter.

Thus, CP constituted 0.20 per cent of the total value of

money market assets outstanding during the review period, compared with 0.05 per cent in the preceding quarter.

In addition, it showed that agricultural activities were boosted in the third quarter of 2018, as a result of widespread rainfall across the country. There were, however, few cases of flash flooding, which affected farmlands in some parts of the country. Furthermore, incidences of farmers/herders clashes in some parts of Adamawa, Benue, and Borno States during the review period also affected agricultural activities adversely.

Farming activities in the country, during the quarter, involved mainly early harvest of yam, maize, rice, groundnut, potatoes cassava and other early maturing crops.

In the livestock subsector, farmers continued with the breeding of poultry birds and fattening of cattle in anticipation of end of year sales.

Under the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme, a total of N1.422 billion was guaranteed Continued on page 24

NSE CEO Lists Benefits of Financial Literacy to Economic Growth Goddy Egene and Judith Obaze The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Oscar Onyema has said benefits of a financially literate society are universal and its positive impact can be felt in the promotion of better livelihoods, economic growth, financial systems, and poverty reduction.

Onyema, who spoke at the award ceremony of the 2018 NSE Essay Competition in Lagos, noted that there is the need to build a platform that will help awaken the interest

ECONOMY of our youths and buoy up students to learn and appreciate economic concepts, particularly as it concerns financial literacy and the significance of the capital market to the economy.

Represented by the Divisional Head, Shared Services, NSE, Bola Adeeko, Onyema said the essay , now in its 18th year, is the NSE’s flagship financial literacy and inclusion initiative.

According to him, the competition serves as a platform that gives the ability to view

the perspectives of future leaders like you on key challenges relating to financial literacy, and provides us the opportunity to feel the pulse of the spread of financial inclusion in Nigeria.

He said: “This year, the NSE essay competition topic asked students to discuss “How technology can promote financial literacy and encourage investment habit among youths.� The goal is to get future leaders to think about how to adopt technology as a veritable tool for building a financially savvy generation.

It is my belief that this topic will sow the seeds that will

prepare this generation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.�

Delivering a keynote address, the First lady of Ogun State, Mrs. Olufunso Amosun, who was represented by the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Ogun State, Yemisi Durojaye, commended the NSE for bringing out the initiative and added that the topic provided a unique opportunity for children to develop communication and leadership skills as well as competing keenly amongst one another.

Continued on page 24

Application for Fellowship Program Opens

TheCivicHivefellowshipprogramstartedlastyearwhereitfeatured solutions that are ďŹ xing Nigeria, one at a time.

Thisyear,theorganisersrevealedthatthefellowshipprogramwould bemorefocusedonTransparency/Accountability,CivicParticipation, and Institutional EďŹƒciency. The group is looking for solutions that advance transparency, accountability, and civic engagement in thematic sectors. “We do not mind the scale of the solutions - local or hyperlocal - and we are open to the diverse use of technology - radio, text, print, IoT, machine learning, artiďŹ cial intelligence or social media - as a channel. “Wearemorefocusedontheimpactonthepeople,thesustainability of ideas to deliver value and the unrelenting spirit of the applicant,â€? a statement from the promoters explained.

The application started on November 19, 2018 and would end on December 21, 2018.

They projected that the fellowship should be able to accommodate six innovative civic-tech/govtech solutions. “Duetothenumberofexpectedapplications,wewillconductreviews and interviews in January. “Interviewswillbedonebyourselectedteamofjudgeswhichinclude experiencedcivilsocietyleaders,privatesectorexperts,andex-leads of government institutions. “Ourfocusistodeepenthecivictechnologyandgovernmenttechnology spaceinNigeria,thusstrengtheningtheabilityofcitizenstoinuence sustainable change. “We are focused on strengthening the bond between citizens and the government geared towards a more equitable society that works for all.

Marriott Hotels Partners TED

Marriott Hotels in partnership with TED, hosted its ďŹ rst ever TED FellowsSaloninEgypt,sparkingmeaningfulconversationson“Egypt’s Cultural Past and Presentâ€? at the Marriott Mena House, Cairo.

Against the dramatic backdrop of the Mighty Pyramids of Giza, renownedTEDFellows,educationalentrepreneur,KarimAbouelnaga, and East African singer and songwriter, Meklit Hadero, led the innovative and thought-provoking discussion providing guests the opportunity to engage and be inspired. “AtMarriottHotels,everythingwedoisguidedbyourbeliefthattravel expands the mind and triggers new and creative ways of thinking,� said Julius Robinson, Senior Vice President & Global Brand Leader, Classic Premium Brands, Marriott International. “Weknowthattravellerstodaylookformoreinahotel.Ourpartnership withTED allows us to be the catalyst for intellectual conversations.

Hosting a TED Fellows Salon at Marriott Mena House, Cairo is a great opportunity to celebrate the historical and cultural wealth of this incredible destination.�

“There is too much poverty in Nigeria. The way you wedge a successful war against poverty is by tackling the factors that create poverty. Those factors include unemployment and unproductive workforce, low wages, lack of skills in the labour force and absence of capital for new businesses�

Presidential Candidate, YPP,

Prof. Kingsley Moghalu

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BANKS’ ASSETS, LIABILITIES HIT N36TRN to 12,524 farmers in the third quarter of 2018. The amount represented an increase of 53.1 per cent and 6.5 per cent above the levels in the preceding quarter and the corresponding period of 2017, respectively.

Sub-sectoral analysis showed that: food crops obtained the largest share (N765.6 million or 53.8 per cent), guaranteed to 7,338 beneficiaries; mixed crop sub-sector (N236.5 million or 16.6 per cent), guaranteed to 3,316 beneficiaries; livestock, (N189.7 million or 13.3 per cent) guaranteed to 690 beneficiaries; and cash crop, N109.5 million (7.7 per cent), guaranteed to 665 beneficiaries. Fisheries had N98.0 million (6.9 per cent) guaranteed to 403 beneficiaries; and “others�, N23.2 million (1.6 per cent), guaranteed to 112 beneficiaries.

Analysis by state showed that 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory benefited from the Scheme with the highest.

NSE CEO LISTS BENEFITS OF FINANCIAL LITERACY TO ECONOMIC GROWTH “Using technology as a catalyst for financial education and financial prudence amongst today’s digital generation is an ingenious strategy that will inevitably yield results. Today’s youths are addicted to technology and the choices or decisions made and what use they put technology to defines positive or negative results. So financial literacy is pertinent, essential and a necessity to all and a major life skill required to actualize realistic goals,� she said.

Miss Lawrence Deborah of Good Shepherd School, Ajegunle Village, Atan-Ota, Ogun State, was been adjudged the overall winner of the competition for students in Senior Secondary Schools in Nigeria.

Deborah clinched the first position ahead of over 20,150 participants across the country, winning N500, 000 scholarship fund for her university education, N250, 000 equity investment, and a laptop.

FG Decries Huge Loses to Illegal Mining Seriki Adinoyi in Jos The federal government has lamented the activities of illegal miners across the country.

It noted that 80 per cent of mining activities in Nigeria are illegal, causing the country to lose billions of Nigeria annually and greatly constraining the contribution of the sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Georgina Ekeoma, who raised the alarm in Jos at the opening ceremony for ‘Capacity Building for Special Mines Surveillance Task Force on Illegal Mining,’ said that the products of the illegal miners are smuggled out of the country, thereby depriving government of supposed royalties, and posing serious detriments to the Nigerian economy.

Identifying Mining as a growth enabler all over the world, Ekeoma observed that the case in Nigeria, where illegal mining poses serious threat to growth, is unfortunately different.

She said, “Mr. President has expressed concern over the alarming rate of illegal mining going on in the country and its attendant consequence of scaring off investors, as well as making an unattractive investment for sustainable development of the sector. “We will therefore be delighted to see the end of the menace in Nigeria. That is why government established the Presidential Special Mines Surveillance Task Force in 2012 with membership drawn from relevant ministries and security organisations.�

Turning to the participants who were drawn various security agencies including the Nigerian Customs and Nigerian Security Civil Defence Corps, Ekeoma said: “Your tasks as members of this taskforce is critical to the realisation of government’s confidence in this sector as a substitute for oil in revenue generation.

“You are charged with the responsibility of curbing illegal mining, reducing environmental degradation and plugging revenue leakages amongst others. “While appreciating the risks involved in your operations, I would like to commend you for your efforts so far at achieving your mandate.

But much still needs to be

done by the SMSTF especially with the disturbing upsurge in illegal mining activities across the federation particularly in Ebonyi, Niger, Plateau, Oyo, Taraba and Zamfara.�

Also charging them to avoid the temptation of compromising the objective of their assignment by conniving with or serving as a cover for illegal miners, Ekeoma said, “I

admonish you to focus your drive on the illegal mining activities perpetrated by foreign operators.� “These operators will never engage in such activities in their countries knowing it will deny their government of due revenue. As a result, you should not support them in undermining our economy to the detriment of us all.�

FARE THEE WELL

R-L: Country Head (Nigeria), Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC), Mr. Obinna Anyanwu with the immediate past British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Paul Arkwright, during a farewell reception for Arkwright at the British Residence in Lagos‌recently.

AFBTE Condemns NLRC’s Closure of Companies Nume Ekeghe The Association of Food Beverage and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE), an umbrella body for manufacturers in the food, beverage and tobacco industry in Nigeria has described the recent actions of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) that led to the closure of some companies

as illegal.

A statement made available by the association noted that the “brazen step is unacceptable especially in a democratic setting where the actions of all and sundry and especially those of government and its agencies should be guided by the rule of law and respect for the country’s judicial institutions and process.�

It added: “We are more worried that this is happening at a time when all hands should be on deck to increase the productive base of the Nigerian economy, promote commerce and step up development efforts.�

It further urged the federal government, through the office of the Secretary to the Government of the

Federation, who supervises the Commission, as well as the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment to “help us in reminding the management of the NLRC that the law setting it up, that is the National Lottery Act, 2005 does not empower it to act in the manner it has resorted to of late.� “Secondly, the Commission also needs to be reminded

that the matter is before the Court and as such none of the parties should take any precipitate action that will present the court with a fait accompli. “Finally, we appeal to the Commission to follow the law in all its actions and in this particular matter, allow the Court to rule on it,� it added.

Obaseki Inaugurates Agric Cluster, Skills Centre Sunday Okobi

Group Business Editor

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Ă—Ă—Ă‹ Ă•Ă™Ă˜Ă”Ă“ Senior Correspondent

Ă‹Ă’Ă?Ă?Ă— Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ĂŒĂ™Ă–Ă&#x; (Advertising) Correspondents

Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x; äĂ? (Aviation) Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ‹ ĂœĂ™Ă•Ă? (Labour) ĂœĂ™Ă—Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă? ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜ (Cap Mkt) ÔÓÙĂ?Ă™Ăœ Ă–Ă“Ă•Ă? (Energy) Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă?ÔÙ (Nation’s Capital) Reporters

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The Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has inaugurated the Edo Food and Agriculture Cluster (EDO-FAC) and skills centre in Ehor, Uhunmwode Local Government Area.

The governor has also pledged to address development challenges in the local government.

The cluster is expected to serve as aggregation ground for farmers to interface with buyers of their produce.

Obaseki, while inaugurating the centre, decried the level of poverty in the council area, and promised to change the development narrative to discourage youth

in the area from falling prey to the scheming of human traffickers.

He said his administration believes in the youths and pledged that more would be done to improve the economy of the council, adding that the initiative will encourage youths to stay back and contribute their quota to the development of the area.

The governor said: “As farmers, you make money from your various farms.

We will assist you embrace modern way of farming, so you can make more money using technology. “We will assist you by creating good roads to transport your produce to this centre where buyers

will come to buy your farm produce. “We will enumerate you to know your present locations and what you are producing. This will enable us help you to expand your farm while using the latest technology to improve your yield and connect you with labourers that will work on your farms.�

The centre, according to him, apart from being a place for agricultural produce, will train youths in wielding, use of computer, shoe making, adding: “We will teach people how to process food and set up a cold room to preserve food.�

Obaseki said the centre was one among the various

centres his administration would set up across the state and would have 24-hour electricity supply. “We want to take development to our people wherever they are. Next year, we will put more money in our budget to enable us build houses in Ehor to encourage people to live here,� he added. The Chairman of Uhunmwode Local Government Area, Hon. Agbama Napoleon, commended the governor for keeping to his promise to inaugurate the cluster and skills centre.

He added: “Our people would come to register here and be part of the development. We assure you as a local government council

that we will continue to support you.�

The Enogie of Ehor, His Royal Highness, David Igiehon, expressed appreciation to the governor for all he is doing for the people of Ehor.

He called attention to the lack of potable water, good roads and electricity, which he said if addressed, would deepen development in area.

On her part, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Skills Development and Job Creation, Mrs. Ukinebo Dare, said the state government has engaged 70 youths in the area with 25 indigenes engaged as staff for the centre and would also act as enumerators for the project.

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First Bank Rewards Customers in Promo Ugo Aliogo First Bank of Nigeria has rewarded 30 of its customers who emerged winners in the maiden edition of its Xplore first account promotion.

They won N5000 airtime each.

Five winners emerged from the six geo-political zones.

Speaking at the event, the Team Lead Liability Product, First Bank of Nigeria (FBN), Maxwell Ezenwa, noted that the bank recently commenced the inaugural edition of the promo, where customers are expected to win N5000 airtime in a monthly draw. “We just started with the first inaugural draw in 2018.

For the monthly draw, the customers are expected to win N5000 airtime credit. “So, 30 of these account holders have benefitted from the initiative.

You can also see how we have tried to spread it because First Bank is pan Nigeria and it is also international,� he said.

He also stated that with over 700 branches, the bank has tried to spread the initiative across the six geopolitical zones of the country where the financial institution has presence.

Ezenwa, explained that from each zone, they produced five winners, thereby bringing the total to 30.

According to him, in the next six months, the bank would continue in this direction by rewarding winners. “The promo would end in grand finale draw that would enable winners to win N150, 000.�

According to him, “This is the maiden edition of the raffle draw for this segment. As far back as 2008, the bank has been running promotions on savings. “But this year, the bank decided to break it down to favour the youth population.

This is why we singled out this very product which is xplore first and customers that opened this account, in order this reward

scheme. The bank actually has three different types of account for the youth segment. “We have a special account for zero to 12 years which is known as the kids’ first account.

Then from 13-17, we have what is called the need first account and the third category which is known as the xplore First account. In terms of growth, we expect that there would be a lot of impacts because, this is something that is very new in the industry. “What we hear other players in the industry do is the usually method of rewarding customers in promotion. But we try to segment the market and we have come down to this segment which is the youth segment and most are university undergraduates. “Our expectation is that this initiative is going to return a lot of impact to the bank, in terms of customer acquisition, customer retention and brand visibility.�

FG Commences Refined Cassava Chips Exports Kasim Sumaina in Abuja The federal government has commenced the exportation of cassava chips to Europe, precisely Germany, through the Pacific Ring West Africa (PRWA) company.

The government, through the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Segun Awolowo, flagged-off the product in Abuja.

Speaking to journalists, shortly after the sealing of the container to be exported at Idu Industrial layout, Awolowo said the cassava chips is “very nice and very testy.�

According to him, “I am proud of this backward integration, we have our cassava now being very useful and this is also helping our farmers as it is providing jobs. So we are not just exporting raw timbers cassava anymore, we are actually doing something with the cassava.�

He commended the initiative, adding that, “you can see the packaging, standards are met, the

factory is clean and everything is being done precisely. I am so happy to flag off this first container going to Germany.�

The NEPC boss said: “I hope we are able to scale up with the company and export more,� adding that the council has been encouraging small and medium enterprises to boost their productivity for foreign markets. “We work with small and medium scale industry, scale them up for export, advice and also get a market for them out there� he stated.

Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer, PRWA, Thomas Hirsch, revealed that the export container marked the first time that 100 per cent Nigerian grown, processed and packaged cassava chips have been exported from Nigeria to Europe.

He stressed that the move has, “counter the trend of exporting raw materials with little value added and importing branded snacks.�

Hirsch, observed that, “Value added products like cassavanovas

will contribute to Nigeria’s economy, job creation, and this entrance into European markets represents a transformative moment in global perceptive of the quality, taste and international appeal of Nigeria’s products.� “PRWA have conducted consumer test around the world, with British, American, European and Asian consumers agreeing that they want to see Cassavanos in every shop across the globe,� he said.

Similarly, the Director, PRWA, Rabiu Shehu, “It’s not only foreigners who love the taste and distinctive African packaging though. Nigerians love the irresi stible taste too.�

He revealed that, “a lot of people tell they can’t believe that these chips are made from cassava. They fall in love with the crunch, the taste and enjoy not having the greasinesss that you find in some other snacks. Cassava is rich in fibre and protein, so it really is the perfect snacks for Africans and everyone else.�

Ayade’s Industrialisation Drive Lauded The national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus and a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, have hailed what they described as Governor Ben Ayade’s wind of industrialisation in Cross River.

They said this in Calabar, at a recent forum to receive the All Progressives Congress (APC) decampees to the PDP. Similarly, the immediate past governor of the state, Senator Liyel Imoke and former Special Adviser on National Assembly (Senate) Matters to President Olusegun Obasanjo, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, also lent their voices, extolling the vision of Ayade in industrialising the state.

Speaking on projects constructed in the state, Secondus said: “It is not an easy task but you can see that Ayade has started very well, laying good foundation and

in a couple of years to come, people will begin to see this as a destination for both tourism and industrialisation.�

Listing the rice seedlings and seeds multiplication factory, the chicken factory, the garment factory, the pharmaceutical company as well as the instant nodules factory and power plant, being undertaken by Ayade in the state, the PDP national chairman said: “All of these put together in this industrial estate will turnaround the economy of the state and most importantly too, because this is the era that most of our youths are unemployed, this is going to provide massive employment to our people. “We are not only proud, we are excited and happy that he is one of us. I also believe that other states should imitate the PDP states as they are all doing very well and I know that Emeka is waiting on the line to take

this to Imo State.�

On his part, Ihedioha expressed happiness “with the giant steps recorded by Cross River and I am happy that Governor Ben Ayade is keeping faith with the economic strides.�

He maintained that industrialisation remains very fundamental as it facilitates job creation which is very fundamental to the people as well as the provision of power which is the basics of it.�

Expressing excitement at the direction Governor Ayade is headed, Ihedioha said: “I am happy that Ayade is taking a direction that the national should be angling towards, truly I am impressed.�

In a similar vein, Senator Imoke remarked that “you know what we represent in Cross River, what our party represents in Cross River and what our governor represents in Cross River.�

ELEVATING TO THE NEXT LEVEL Marie-Therese Phido

Failure Breeds Success I have failed many times. Some were small fails, others were very big fails.

Each time I failed, I berated myself and felt the shame of failure. I remember my first academic failure, which was during my master’s programme, where I failed one course. Before then, I had never failed an exam or a course in my life, so I was mortified. In my view, what made me fail, was that, I did much more than the teacher required, went above his syllabus, and maybe he found it difficult to mark my paper. The next year, I regurgitated his course to him and got an A. The lesson I learnt from that failure was that the teacher wanted me to give him back what he gave to me. Nothing more and nothing less. This is what happens to many of us and is a major part of why we fail. Many of us do not understand our leaders. In the above case, my teacher was my leader. I did not study him well enough and because of this lack of understanding on my part, I failed.

I have failed career wise. Not understanding your boss and what he wants can make you fail. I have had bosses, who wanted to be treated in a particular way and I failed to acknowledge or see how important it was to them and I failed with them. I had this particular boss, who wanted to be served solely by me. I was the head of the department and he wanted only the head of the department to relate with him and no one else, irrespective of how mundane the issue was. I could not relate with this requirement. I felt that If I had discussed the major issues with him, the lower members of the team could deal with minor issues, because I also needed them to learn how to work with very senior people as part of their development.

But, this leader vehemently opposed this thinking and behavior on my part and I failed with him.

I have also failed on assignments. I had a very high pressure work and one of the key performance indicators was the ability to meet deadlines. I went to work each day not knowing when I or my team members would go home. I had to school them to understand that we had a job that required us to deliver irrespective of the circumstances. I tell you, the circumstances were quite harrowing sometimes. In view of the stressful nature of the job, we sometimes failed to completely achieve all of the key performance indicators required to succeed on the job.

I have failed career wise. Not understanding your boss and what he wants can make you fail. I have had bosses, who wanted to be treated in a particular way and I failed to acknowledge or see how important it was to them and I failed with them

But, each time I failed, I learnt and ensured that the failure was not repeated going forward. .Lolly Daskal says, “too be a truly meaningful leader you have to embrace struggle and make failure part of your success story. Here are some of the ways she says failure is valuable and why she says it’s at the heart of most success stories.

Failure teaches wisdom. Success feels good, but failure—as long as you don’t let it get the best of you—brings wisdom and growth.

Leaders who have failed have a depth of understanding that can’t be obtained any other way.

Failure breeds resiliency. Nothing in life creates resiliency like struggle and failure. Persistence and resilience come from working through difficult problems and still finding the will to keep going and take chances.

Failure stretches potential. Until you’re tested, it’s hard to imagine being able to endure struggle. But failure, when it comes, can take you far beyond the limits you imagined for yourself. Every failure is an opportunity to rethink your own limits and realize how much stronger and more capable you are than you ever thought.

Failure provides opportunities. Our natural impulse is to shy away from failure—nobody wants to take on a struggle—but when you eliminate adversity, you limit your potential.

Failure provides you with additional resources and preparation to take advantage of the opportunities that come your way.

Failure supplies motivation. Nothing else is as motivating as struggle. I’ve seen it many times over as a coach: defeat motivates people to concentrate harder, focus better and achieve more.

Failure generates benefits. It may be hard to see when you’re feeling stuck in failure, but with the benefit of a little time and distance, you’ll be able to discover the benefits and the value of struggle. It’s a matter of looking at events through the lens of your eventual success.

Lead from within: If you pursue success, welcome failure, hold on to hope and never lose your perspective, you’ll find there is something positive in every negative experience.

One thing I know for sure, is that I have not seen a successful man or woman who does not have a story of failure which propelled him or her to success. Arianna Huffington got rejected by 36 publishers. Bill Gates watched his first company crumble.

Mo Abudu started many businesses before Ebony Life. Walt Disney was told he lacked creativity, Steve Jobs was booted from his own company, Oprah Winfrey was fired from one of her first TV shows before the Oprah Winfrey Show. According to Oprah “Perseverance is the key – if you believe what you are doing is right, keep at it and move forward. Don’t be afraid of failure.

It is not failure, if you enjoyed the process.�

JK Rowlings, the successful fantasy series writer “Harry Potter�, was a self-proclaimed failure – divorced, living on welfare, clinically depressed, was rejected multiple times by publishers said, “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not live at all.� “Hitting rock bottom is not the end, but it is a foundation of a new beginning. Learn to work within your limitations and excel by playing to your strengths. Accept failure as part of the process and keep going. As they say, hitting rock bottom means the only way is to move upwards.� J.K. Rowlings

Marie-Therese Phido is Sales & Market Strategist and Business Coach Email: mphido@elevato.com.ng tweeter handle @osat2012 TeL: 08090158156 (text only)

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Nestle Nigeria Beats Odds Goddy Egene writes that Nestle Nigeria recorded a profit growth of 44 per cent and recommended an interim dividend of N20 per share for the nine months ended September 30, 2018, despite the challenging business environment s The performance of most local manufacturing companies has been affected by weak demand and influx of imported products. Given the fact some of the imported products are cheaper, consumers whose income have been affected by inflation and high cost of living prefer to patronise those products. Consequently, the local manufacturers who incur high costs to produce record low patronage in most cases, a development that affect their bottom-lines.

The challenging environment notwithstanding, Nestle Nigeria Plc recently posted improved nine months results and recommended an interim dividend of N20 per share. The dividend is 33.3 per cent higher than the N15 per share the shareholders received in the corresponding period of 2017.

Financial performance Nestle Nigeria recorded a revenue of N203.135 billion, up from N183.242 billion in the corresponding period of 2017. Cost of sale increased to N116.984 billion, from N109.362 billion, bringing gross profit to N86.149 billion compared with N75.881 billion in 2017.

Marketing and distributive expenses jumped from N25.26 billion to N29.739 billion, while administrative expenses fell from N7.535 billion to N7.050 billion in 2018. Net finance cost recorded a major decline of 85 per cent from N8.606 billion to N1.271 billion.

Hence, profit before tax stood at N48.088 billion, up from N34.479 billion, while profit after tax increased by 44 per cent from N22.979 billion to N33.118 billion in 2018.

The company explained that the growth is the result of its disciplined execution and investments in the expansion of its route to market.

The Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Mauricio Alarcon, said: “Our marketing initiatives focused on nutrition awareness, as our consumers continue to trust us to deliver high quality, affordable, nutritious food products every day.

All of this is well supported by the dedication and professionalism of our people.�

He added that to sustain “our performance, we will continue to focus on creating an environment where our people can grow to their potential while delivering their best performance. Driven by our purpose of enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future, we continue to create value for all stakeholders across our value chain as we source and deliver products adapted to local preferences.�

Analysts’ Assessment Analysts at FSDH Research said Nestle Nigeria reported a strong performance in third quarter (Q3) 2018 despite the difficult operating environment, saying the company is benefiting from investments in expansion in the route to market and market leadership.

According to the FSDH, Nestle managed its cost of sales better in Q3 2018 than in the corresponding period of last year. “However, the selling and distribution expenses as a proportion of revenue increased in 2018 over the level recorded in Q3 2017. The finance cost dropped significantly and compensated for the increase in the operating expenses.

Consequently, the profit margins increased in Q3 2018 over Q3 2017. The unaudited Q3 2018 result for the period ended September 2018 shows that turnover (T/O) increased by 9.66 per cent to N203.13 billion compared with N185.24 billion in 2017. The company’s cost of sales increased by 6.97 per cent to N116.98 billion from N109.36 billion in Q3 2017. The increase in the prices of most raw materials and inputs is responsible for increase in cost of sales,� they said.

The analysts added that despite the increase in cost of sales, the company was more efficient in 2018 compared with 2017. “The cost of sales as a percentage of T/O declined to 57.59 per cent in Q3 2018 from 59.04 per cent as at 2017. Thus, the gross profit (GP) increased by 13.53 per cent to N86.15 billion in Q3 2018 from N75.88 billion in Q3 2017. Nestle’ s administrative, selling and distribution expenses increased by 12.18 per cent to N36.79 billion. This was as a result

of increased investments in marketing and distribution. These expenses as a percentage of turnover increased to 18.11 per cent in Q3 2018 from 17.70% in 2017. The Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) increased by 14.56 per cent to N49.36 billion from N43.09 billion,� they said.

The company recorded a net financial charge of N1.27 billion in Q3 2018, a decrease of 114.77 per cent from N8.61 billion in 2017. This was because of the significant drop in net foreign exchange loss from N11.15 billion in 2017 to N96.07 million in 2018. The profit before tax (PBT) grew to N48.09 billion in Q3 2018, an increase of 39.47 per cent from N34.48 billion in Q3 2017. The tax provision also increased by 30.19 per cent to N14.97 billion from N11.50 billion in 2017. The profit after tax (PAT) was N33.12 billion in Q3 2018, from N22.98 billion in 2017, representing an increase of 44.12 per cent.

A further analysis of the results showed that GP margin increased to 42.4 per cent in Q3 2018 from 40.9 per cent in Q3 2017 while the EBIT margin increased to 24.3 per cent from 23.3 per cent . Similarly, the PBT margin increased to 23.7 per cent in Q3 2018 from 18.6 per cent as at Q3 2017. The PAT margin currently stands at 16.3 per cent in Q3 2018, up from 12.4 per cent in the corresponding period of 2017.

Balance sheet A look at the balance sheet position of Nestle as at Q3 2018 compared with full year ended December 31, 2017 showed that the cash position of the company improved greatly in

Driven by our purpose of enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future, we continue to create value for all stakeholders across our value chain as we source and deliver products adapted to local preferences

Q3 2018. According to FSDH, although the company tied down more cash in inventory and trade and receivables, it also enjoyed free credits from trading partners. Consequently, its working capital improved. The total fixed assets decreased by 7.78 per cent to N66.75 billion in Q3 2018 from N72.38 billion in FY 2017. The inventory increased by 27.46 per cent to N30.48 billion in Q3 2018, from N23.91 billion in FY 2017.

The cash and bank balances increased by 119.13 per cent from N15.14 billion in FY 2017 to N33.17 billion in Q3 2018. Trade debtors increased in Q3 2018 by 74.78 per cent to N22.19 billion, from N12.70 billion in FY 2017. The company’s trade payables also increased by 81.5 per cent in Q3 2018 to N42.22 billion from N23.26 billion as at FY 2017. The working capital stood at N7.67 billion in Q3 2018 from a negative N7.18 billion in FY 2017, while net assets for the period increased by 25.37 per cent to stand at N56.26 billion in Q3 2018, from N44.88 billion as at FY 2017. The total assets of the company, which stood at N174.34 billion as at Q3 2018 was financed by a mix of equities and liabilities in the ratio of 32.27 per cent and 67.73 per cent respectively.

FSDH said:“Our analysis of the liabilities shows that the short-term liabilities stood at N98.02 billion, accounting for 83.01 per cent of the total liabilities. The short-term liabilities constituted mainly of trade and other payables and current tax liabilities. The company’s long- term liabilities stood at N20.06 billion accounting for 16.99 per cent of the total liabilities. Long- term liabilities constituted mainly of long-term loans and borrowings and deferred tax liabilities, which stood at N7.13 billion and N10.28 billion respectively in Q3 2018. Our analysis of the cash flow statement in Q3 2018 shows that Nestle generated a net increase in cash and cash equivalents of N33.17 billion. The major contributor to the net cash generated was from the net cash generated from operating activities of N66.67 billion. The cash profit from core activities generated during the period stood at N59.60 billion but was lower than the cash profit generated in FY 2017 at N62.8 billion. The ratio of the cash profit to turnover increased to 29.34 per cent in Q3 2018 from 25.72 per cent in FY 2017.�

Growth Prospect/Forecast Nestle Nigeria plans to achieve its growth objectives by continuing to invest in innovation of new products to meet consumer needs and preferences as well as investment in new facilities.

The company’s product innovation is based on the understanding of the nutritional needs, local tastes and habits of its customers. Nestle also focuses on food fortification to help micronutrient deficiency challenges. This is reinforced by its Popularly Positioned Products (PPP) strategy, which focuses on the specific needs of lower-income consumers. PPP offers these consumers high-quality food products that provide nutritional value at an affordable cost. In considering their five-year forecast, FSDH said they considered some positive and negative factors. The positive factors include: strong revenue growth prospect with strong profit margins; market leadership and large market size in Nigeria; focus on investment in innovative products; improved operational efficiency; backward integration to lower imported inputs; technical partnership with the parent and related companies and customers’ brand loyalty. The negative factors are: current weak consumers’ spending power; difficult operating environment and possible currency depreciation. “Looking at the medium to long-term outlook of the company and the impact of the aforementioned factors, we are of the opinion that the impact of the positive factors would be higher on both the revenue and the profitability of the company than the negative factors. We therefore estimate a turnover of N298.45 billion, N364.79 billion, N440.43 billion, N525.15 billion and N620.91 billion for the periods ending December 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022,� they said.

FSDH estimated EBIT of N64.41 billion, N75.66 billion, N91.75 billion, N109.54 billion and N129.05 billion, respectively and EBITDA of N72.42 billion, N84.87 billion, N102.47 billion, N122.18 billion and N144.15 billion for the same period using EBIT margins of 21.58 per cent, 20.74 per cent, 20.83 per cent, 20.86 per cent and 20.78 per cent respectively. “Our PBT forecasts for the periods are: N68.13 billion, N75.66 billion, N90.12 billion, N106.14 billion and N123.73 billion. Adjusting for tax, our PAT forecasts are N49.06 billion, N54.49 billion, N64.90 billion, N76.44 billion and N89.10 billion.

PAT margin for the period are 16.44 per cent, 14.94 per cent, 14.74 per cent, 14.56 per cent and 14.35 per cent. Our forecast final dividend for the FY 2018 is N35.71 per share,� they said.

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Guarding against Fraud in Banking System James Emejo and Nume Ekeghe write on the need to adopt measures to address online fraud and encourage financial inclusion

In August 2017, a Nigerian bank was defrauded by one of its clients. The client, one of the petroleum marketing and distribution companies, which also runs a hospitality business, applied for three point of sale (PoS) terminals to facilitate payments by customers at its fuel stations. The bank availed the company two terminals.

Later in the year, the company requested that the PoS terminals issued to them be re-configured for ‘online card-less entries’ (Card-Not-Present – CNP), which the bank granted but only one of the terminals was re-configured.

The ‘online card-less entries’ (Card-NotPresent – CNP) service is normally provided to hospitality businesses, where customers can call to make reservations while providing their card details.

The company claimed most of its clients are foreigners who call to make reservations.

However, soon after granting the service, a high volume of ‘Card-Not-Present’ transaction totalling N908,271,096, was said to have occurred through the PoS device, using foreign-issued credit cards. Upon suspicion of fraud by the bank, the PoS was deactivated. The transactions were later flagged as fraudulent and chargebacks were filed by the card issuers, but unfortunately, the funds had been transferred to various accounts in other banks.

Subsequently, the bank requested the client to provide documentary evidence of service delivery to the customers who purportedly used the cards, but the client could not produce such evidence. This above story was narrated by the Director, Insurance & Surveillance Department at the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Mr M. Y. Umar, during a recent workshop for financial journalists and select civil society organisations organised by the corporation in Benin, Edo State recently.

The story highlighted one of the biggest challenges in the country’s financial system today -fraud.

Based on data from the Central Bank of Nigeria, while the country continues to experience growth across payment channels, commercial banks in the country lost a total of N12.06 billion to fraud and forgeries in the first six months of 2018.

The CBN disclosed this in its ‘Draft 2018 Half Year Economic Report’ that was posted on its website recently.

According to the report, there were 20,768 reported cases of fraud and forgery (attempted and successful), valued at N19.77 billion in the review period, compared with 16,762 cases, involving N5.52 billion and US$ 0.12 million

in the corresponding period of 2017. “The actual loss by banks to fraud and forgery, however, amounted to N12.06 billion, compared with the N0.78 billion and US$0.03 million, suffered in the first half of 2017. “The reported fraud and forgery incidences were perpetrated by both bank staff and non-bank culprits. The cases involved armed robbery attacks, fraudulent ATM withdrawals, draft defalcation, illegal funds transfer, pilfering of cash, stealing, suppression and conversion of customers’ deposits,� it had explained.

Reducing Financial Fraud Umar, believes that with the advent of ICT, online crime has come to stay. “It is difficult to successfully run/operate major businesses, financial, medical, academic, transport, agriculture, manufacturing, mining, etc without the use of computers along with related software,� he said, noting that cybercriminals are also always trying to improve their nefarious skills.

According to a Director, Consumer Protection, CBN, Mr S.K. Salam-Alade who was represented

by Mr. Josephe Attah, the high incidence of fraud is usually as a result of weak security infrastructure in financial institutions and insufficient internal controls.

Furthermore, he attributed the development to the naivety of the average bank customer.

And, apart from the huge financial loss to consumers, financial institutions and the economy, online fraud also damages the financial system’s reputation, increases the risk of participating in its offerings. This, “threatens the attainment of the financial inclusion target of 20 per cent inclusion by 2020,� the CBN Director said. To combat the problem, he advised financial institutions to invest in the latest security technology solutions and

It is difďŹ cult to successfully run/ operate major businesses, ďŹ nancial, medical, academic, transport, agriculture, manufacturing, mining, etc without the use of computers along with related software

effective communication of anti-fraud measures.

For Umar, continuous capacity building for end users, cooperation between actors/players, establishment of institutional framework for coordinating cyber security issue/efforts and review of related bills to further strengthen cyber security are essential.

In addition, he said continuous public awareness and campaigns to educate the general public and the enforcement of the cybercrime laws should help to reduce online fraud.

He also called on the office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) to play a more active and leading role in the fight against the economy’s bottom-line.

Also, the Head, Financial Inclusion Secretariat, at CBN, Mrs Temitope Akin-Fadeyi, who also spoke at the workshop, urged media practitioners to collaborate with financial regulators in the country to educate depositors on financial literacy and inclusion.

Akin-Fadeyi, who was represented by Mr Joseph Attah, a member of the Financial Inclusion Secretariat, CBN, said, educating depositors remains a collective responsibility of all.

According to her, there is a growing perception

by Nigerians that it is the sole responsibility of the regulators to educate depositors on financial inclusion. However, she said it was important for media practitioners to fully understand the concept of financial inclusion.

Akin-Fadeyi, therefore, urged journalists to partner with the regulators to properly educate Nigerians to ensure increased participation of financial inclusion in the country.

Improving Financial Inclusion The incentives to fight fraud in Nigeria are numerous. But a very important one is the campaign to improve the number of people who engage actively with the country’s financial system. The more fraud that exists in the system, the less people will be convinced to join the financial inclusion train.

The National Financial Inclusion Strategy was launched in 2012 with the overall target of increasing adult financial inclusion to 80 per cent in 2020.

As at 2016, progress has been made with the percentage of adult Nigerians having access to formal financial services increasing from 36.3 per cent in 2010 to 48.6 per cent in 2016, while the percentage of adult Nigerians having access to bank accounts increased from 30 per cent in 2010, to 38.3 per cent in 2016.

According to the CBN official who gave a

presentation on financial inclusion, the prospects for reaching 80 per cent inclusion is high with the presence of a formidable governance structure, a shared agent network expansion project with target of 500,000 agents by end 2019, target setting for states and financial service providers, a revised capital base for microfinance banks, the introduction of Payment Service Banks and the commitment of stakeholders and opportunities for partnerships.

Sustaining Digital Banking Meanwhile, the Head, Digital Service Management, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mrs Chioma Mbanisi, reiterated the importance of digital banking in the country.

Mbanisi said the importance of digital banking cannot be overemphasised and should be further encouraged among Nigerians. “The digital option is indeed radically better than the physical one and should be utilised, especially in this era,� she noted. “Ideally, it allows instant access, extreme convenience, trial and tracking options, vast reach, offered to people at lower cost and automatic record keeping.�

However, Mbanisi, pointed out, although the means of banking transactions are advancing from an orthodox way to a more digitised way, there are still some challenges. “To the traditional customers, mature citizens or bank customers that are “technologically challenged�, digital can be a nightmare because they feel that they are at the mercy of a bewildering maze of computer servers, gadgets, bots, jargons, channels,� she said. “Imagine engaging a bank’s contact centre and talking to a chatbot that does not understand why you are worked up and is consistent in giving you programmed responses?�

Mbanisi, also said the use of digital banking had led to disloyalty by banks customers, cybercrimes, regulatory complaints, lack of trust, lack of technology and the challenge in the use of technology.

Besides, she said that digital banking could pose challenges to employment level in the country. This, Mbanisi explained could cause bank staff to lose their jobs as a result of the advent of automated machines replacing human beings in the future. Still, the benefits of digital banking, she stressed, reduces cost of transactions and makes banking convenient.

She advised banks needed to keep pushing the boundaries of innovation if they are to capture more Nigerians into the banking industry.

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Marland: CWEIC Interested in Training Businesses in Nigeria The Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council CWEIC was established in July 2014 with the support of the Commonwealth Secretariat. It is a not-for-profit organisation that focuses on business practices, governance, supporting businesses to create trading opportunities in commonwealth countries. In this interview, the Chairman, CWEIC, Lord Marland, speaks about the activities of the council in Nigeria.

Oluchi Chibuzor presents the excerpts: that Nigeria didn’t perform better. Is there any advice on what can be done to improve the country’s ranking on the index and what do you think can be done to ensure the country becomes more investor-friendly?

It is entirely up to the government how it runs her country but an environment for generating entrepreneurial activity is really one way you can incorporate quickly and one can have an off-the-shelve legal process and then you can get going. Again, those are not always easy to achieve. One of the things I achieve as a minister in the UK was speeding up that process when we had good programs of companies starting up and the other thing was to have a tax regime that promotes entrepreneurship. I remember the Margaret Thatcher days where she started the BIS scheme which is now Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) which involves a seed fund from investor and in return he/she will get a tax relief on his investment which will be free from capital gains. Those are compelling and attractive initiatives that allow people to think about taking a risk of investing in a new company and it is been transformation all the way in the UK and I am sure it will be like that in other countries too.

What is the purpose of your visit to Nigeria?

Nigeria is the second biggest population in the commonwealth and if we do not have a relationship with Nigeria, then it means we are not spreading our tentacles out enough. The thing I like about Nigeria is that they have lots of good businesses and entrepreneurs and we have a lot of members, so we created an office which is part of our program of setting up hubs in the key commonwealth countries. So we have already got them in Kuala, Singapore, Nigeria, UK, Malta and we will have one in India by next year and we are enjoying the crest wave in which we are riding on.

When creating these hubs, are there programs to support young entrepreneurs?

Not necessarily but I would like to see a program of commonwealth first which we are currently doing in the UK, something we are about to do in India and Nigeria where we will help hundreds of Nigerian SMEs export the commonwealth because the SMEs remain the heartbeat of the economy and what we need is the government to give a go-ahead and sponsors and we will organise it. But at the moment, Nigeria is preparing for its general election which will hold next year and so we do not necessarily see that happening until after the election when we can encourage the government to take a view on it.

What are you doing to encourage more organisations and individuals join the CWEIC? Our activity is enabling communication between corporates and government in a number of countries and our job is to present opportunities and to allow our business members to take advantage of it. Not everyone takes advantage of opportunities for variety of reasons, but that does not mean we would not do that and the commonwealth is a remarkable space as it has the benefit of all countries speaking English. There has been this certain constant flow between Nigeria and the UK and other English-speaking countries.

Asides the SMEs, are you looking at strengthening our domestic markets?

We are interested in training businesses within the commonwealth so we would not begin to involve ourselves in helping inter-domestic trade. We only focus on export business across more than 33 countries.

Intra-commonwealth trade estimated to be $525 billion in 2017 is projected to surpass $1 trillion by 2020, what is the common-wealth doing to attain this feat?

I think it is serious awareness as you know that his Royal Highness, the Prince was here recently. This shows that he is committed to Nigeria and considering that Nigeria is a land of opportunities and a key regional player in West Africa, that presents opportunities for people to sell their products here in Nigeria, that is why we try to facilitate trade as we are facilitators or enabler and hopefully create an environment where people want to participate will be given opportunity to participate.

Marland What is the commonwealth doing to halt challenges faced by developing countries?

It is quite clear that most countries in that space need to have a tech eco-system and so we are working with those countries that want to establish tech-hubs. It is like the old market system whereby you aggregate a whole load of tech companies in a near space that may or may not compete with each other but the energy created just by the bunch of them in one space leads to great innovation and we recommend that every

common-wealth country start a tech hub.

So has any hub been set up?

I know that Rwanda is considering it and I know that Nigeria is very good on tech and that could happen. It is not a process that happens with a click of your fingers, rather it takes the government’s intervention to achieve it.

The World Bank report on Ease of Doing Business released recently showed

Intra-Africa trade is still very low, is the CWEIC coming into that area to encourage trade?

Only by dent of the fact that there are probably about 16 countries that are part of the commonwealth in Africa and they know each other well that we do. We have got lots of other forums in engendering African businesses. There is no doubt Africa is becoming an important place in terms of its growth and development with lots of investments.

PTAD Pledges to Clear Pension Arrears Ebere Nwoji The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate(PTAD) has said it will in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, ensure that all pension backlogs are cleared.

However, a cross section of pensioners under the aegis of the Association of Retired Federal Senior Public Officers of Nigeria (ARFESPON) have said the agency and federal government have been avoiding statement and action on the outstanding 20.4 per cent eductions from their entitlement since 2010.

The Executive Secretary of PTAD Sharon Ikeazor, who stated this in a statement in response to calls by the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) and the Federal Universities Pensioners Association (FUPA) over the non-payment of the balance of the 12 and 36 months arrears respectively owed to them by the federal government, said the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, was committed to ensuring that all pension backlogs are cleared.

She said the ministry was working with PTAD and relevant government agencies

to make sure that backlog of outstanding pension arrears are cleared.

PTAD in a recent statement titled: “Status of 33% Pension Payment Arrears to Pensioners,� stated: “The attention of PTAD has been drawn to calls by the NUP and FUPA over the non-payment of the balance of the 12 and 36 months arrears respectively of the 33% pension increase to pensioners. “According to PTAD, for the records, the backlog of the 33 per cent pension arrears has been owed since 2010 as a fall out of the upward

review of the minimum wage to N18, 000.00. “Though the increment had been approved, it was not implemented immediately thus creating accumulated arrears of 42 months.�

She said PTAD commenced payment of the 33 per cent pension payment increase in October 2014, and ensured that all arrears for the year 2014 were paid in December 2014.

In 2016, the backlog of the pension arrears for the Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pension Department was fully paid, she said.

In same year, 12 months pension arrears was paid to pensioners under Civil Service, Police, Parastatals Pension Departments.

She added that in November 2017, the federal government through PTAD, further paid six months arrears across board to pensioners under Civil Service, Police and Parastatals Pension Departments, adding that in August 24, 2018, the outstanding 33 per cent pension arrears for the Police Pension Department (PPD) was cleared.

But in a swift reaction, ARFESPON, said while PTAD

was making the claims, it was not aware if government had made any categorical statement on the 20.4 per cent deduction that was taken out of the 53.4 per cent increase of salaries / pension as pronounced by the Jonathan administration in 2010.

The Chairman of the association, Olufemi Odewabi, in a statement made available to THISDAY, said the government was trying to sweep the issue of the 20.4 per cent deduction under the carpet, by talking only about 33 per cent increase arrears it has paid.

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Remittances as Growth Driver Peter Uzoho According to the World Bank, Nigerians living abroad (Diaspora) sent home $22 billion in 2017.

This was the highest in the Sub-Saharan region, and the fifth highest in the world.

The amount then, represented a 10 per cent increase when compared to the $19.64 billion sent home in 2016.

Global remittances are expected to grow 4.6 per cent to $642 billion in 2018. “Remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa accelerated 11.4 percent to $38 billion in 2017, supported by improving economic growth in advanced economies and higher oil prices benefiting regional economies,� the Bank had reported.

Governor of the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, also said recently that Nigerians in the Diaspora and other African nationals sent $72 billion home last year.

Emefiele also revealed that remittances inflows contribute substantially to foreign exchange earnings and household finances in most developing economies. “Money sent home by migrant workers is among the major financial inflows to developing countries and in some cases, it exceeds international aids and grants. “According to the World Bank, global remittances have risen gradually over the years to about $613 billion in 2017, of which $72 billion was received by African countries.

As a recipient country, Nigeria tops African countries and is also ranked among the top five globally,� he had explained.

For Ecobank Nigeria, as part of efforts to drive financial inclusion, reduce cost and fast-track remittances, the bank recently introduced zero fees for all transfers done into Nigeria on its newly launched Rapidtransfer app. The bank’s Managing Director, Patrick Akinwuntan, said Ecobank was poised to ensure Nigerians in the diaspora get the best in class remittance service. “We want to make it easy for Nigerians living abroad to send money to their loved ones at home instantly. Transfers on the Rapidtransfer app are at zero fees from now till 31st January, 2019,� he explained.

Furthermore, Akinwuntan reaffirmed that the Ecobank Rapidtransfer app which follows a tradition of leadership in digital banking in Africa is designed to enhance remittances to

The app enables users to easily and instantly send money to any bank in Nigeria. Receivers also have the option of picking up cash at any Ecobank branch. The exchange rates are very attractive and the service is open to Ecobank and non-Ecobank customers.

Interesting features of the app include easy navigation and multi-lingual capabilities. The Rapidtransfer app is available in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese languages. Users can choose how and when funds are delivered to the intended beneficiary, with transparent foreign exchange rates prior to each transaction.

The mobile app can be downloaded from the Play Store and App store.

The Ecobank Group with an unrivalled network across 40 countries, about 19 million customers, over 7.7 million mobile App on-boarding, over 11,000 branch and Xpresspoint agent locations, over 2,600 ATMs, over 11,000 POS, more than 60,000 EcobankPay merchants, Retail Internet Bank and OMNI banking platforms. “We have built the digital platforms that makes banking easy for all. We will continue to work hard to ensure the digital platforms are stable and that we are prompt to respond to support our customers in the unintended event of a glitch in service,� the Ecobank boss added.

Akinwuntan Africa by drastically reducing cost, while also tackling the long, burdensome and inefficient processes Africans abroad face when sending money to their home countries.

The bank’s boss urged Nigerians to tell their relatives abroad to take advantage of this new and innovative means of remitting hard earned monies home. “Many Nigerians work abroad and financially support their relatives back home. The app is a safe and secure low-cost remittance solution, which ultimately will put more money into the hands of the recipient as there are no charges deducted,� he added.

The Rapidtransfer app has been touted to be a game changer for remittances to Africa.

BeneďŹ ts To the Group Chief Executive, Ade Ayeyemi, in the first quarter of 2018, the average cost of sending $200 was 7.1 per cent, and remittance services in Sub-Saharan Africa were the costliest in the world at an average cost of 9.4 per cent.

Therefore, it is expected that this initiative would significantly reduce cost of fund transfer as well as incentivise customers of the bank.

Ayeyemi said: “Well let me tell you in the true Ecobank fashion of leading from the front – and forcing our competitors to follow in our trailblazing wake – our latest exciting digital innovation is going to reach that goal 12 years ahead of schedule�.

He added “This app will be a game changer for the market, dramatically reducing the cost to zero to three per cent of the remittance amount depending on which delivery option is chosen.

He said the bank’s vision of “My Money, My Africa� would cement its differentiation from competitors, adding that Ecobank’s focus is to contribute to the economic development and financial integration in the continent.

He said that the bank’s mobile app Rapidtransfer optimises the user experience across ease of use and expediency, and will be launched for mobiles with a web version. “We know the difference your money makes when you send money home to Africa. The links between the sender and the recipient back home will be strengthened through continued innovation and digital disruption,� he stated.

He explained that Ecobank, the pan-African bank, is harnessing its digital expertise and innovation to bring efficiency and convenience to the international and intra-African remittance markets, while significantly reducing the costs to send funds.

The launch of the Rapidtransfer mobile app would enable Africans wherever they may be to easily and instantly send money to bank accounts, mobile wallets and cash collection in – and across – 33 African countries, he said.

As well as being intuitive, easy to navigate and multi-lingual with English, French, Spanish and Portuguese variants, the app provides simple and secure digital on-boarding. Users can choose how and when funds are delivered to the intended beneficiary, with transparent foreign exchange rates prior to each transaction.

Charges range from zero to three per cent depending on the options the customer selects.

Ayeyemi said: “Historically the cost of sending cross-border remittances in Africa has been far too high. Similarly, the process to send funds has long been inefficient and burdensome, with customers forced to physically go to an agent, and yet still have little or no clarity as to when the money will reach the recipient. “The Rapidtransfer app remittance solution is a quick, easy and reliable digital solution that removes all of these issues. It is a gamechanger for Africans with its sustainable and standout affordability.�

Ayeyemi added: “We know that remittance flows into and across Africa from migrants working away from home has an enormously beneficial impact in powering Africa’s domestic economies. “By reducing the costs to send the money, Rapidtransfer ultimately enables the beneficiary to receive more of the funds originally sent to them, which in turn will have a multiplier effect on national economies by boosting demand and driving business growth.�

Anambra Yam Export and Food Security Chris Egbuna Agriculture in Nigeria has recorded continued decline in almost four consecutive quarters, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

This trend signals impending food challenge.

The food crisis that may engulf Nigeria from this phenomenon can however be averted if the states take concrete steps to boost agriculture and expand the frontiers of agro-allied value chain.

This is what Gov. Willie Obiano of Anambra state has done by signing a N1.4 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) recently with a private investor – NKO Farms Limited – for improved production and processing of yam tubers and flour in the state. The details, as revealed by Obiano, showed that the deal is for an all-yearround cultivation of yam and processing of yam flour for export. The project will be located on a 100-hectare farm acquired at Achalla in Awka North local government area, where a purpose-fit processing plant will also be established.

Being a private sector-driven venture, the investor would bear the greater financial commitment by contributing 75 per cent equity stake in the deal put at about N1.07 billion, while the state government would provide the remaining 25 per cent equity. To show the seriousness attached to the MoU, the investor is required to mobilise to site within 90 days of execution of the MoU or risk having the land title revoked and automatically revert to the state government in case of default.

This eliminates the usual encumbrances that frustrate land-related development projects because of the unresolved retrogressive legislations surrounding land acquisition, ownership and disposure. The friendly attitude of the host community and the support of the local government combined, will add a fillip in motivating

Obiano all the stakeholders in pursuit of the objective.

It will also convince any Doubting Thomas that Obiano’s determination to develop Anambra into a world-class economy is not a figment of anyone’s imagination.

Thankfully, the investing company appears prepared for the project. The chairman/chief executive officer, Cordelia Udo, who spoke through the managing director, Chekwube Okwuonu, during the MoU signing ceremony at Governor’s Lodge, Awka, expressed the company’s determination to key into the tempo of the state government’s economic development agenda. Obiano has made remarkable efforts in unlocking the vast rural

and agricultural development opportunities in the state – spanning across the local government areas and involving virtually every sector.

The effort by the state government to create a conducive environment for active private sector participation should spur indigenous entrepreneurs into looking homewards amid changes in the nation’s socio-economic landscape. Policy framework, security, land acquisition, funding, skill acquisition and co-operatives are some of the areas that have been addressed. Earlier in the year, the state government unveiled a plan to invest N20 million in a livestock business piloted by the Federal Government Livestock Agricultural Production Project in partnership with the World Bank. Obiano said the state government keyed into the initiative to overcome the challenge of non-availability of animal feeds which had hampered the growth of the sub-sector.

According to the spokesperson for the initiative, Winnie Ifeaoma Lai-Solarin, the suiting business environment earned Anambra the consideration for the N200 million World Bank credit “to enhance productivity and resilience policy value in the industry�.

Furthermore, the state government announced plans to boost spices production for local consumption and for export. Obiano disclosed during an inspection tour of Tiger Food Production Company, Obosi in Idemili North local government area that the venture would be executed under a joint partnership with agro-based investors already working in the state. His deputy, Nkem Okeke, who represented the governor at the visit, revealed that the state government would explore workable means of engaging farmers in the state in growing the raw materials needed for spices production. Following the success recorded in rice production under the FADAMA

initiative, cassava and sorghum production were added to the venture – being areas the state has vast comparative advantage in agriculture.

The scheme was aided by a special irrigation known as Center Pivot Irrigation System (CPIS) - a technology capable of providing irrigation water to farmlands of about 100 hectares radius within minutes. Boreholes were sunk in Ogbaru, Ihiala and Ifite Ogwari to service the system, while the one at Ogboji would be serviced by surface flooding – to create all-year-round farming and food production. These will flow into Obiano’s agric export programme to create jobs, boost internally generated revenue (IGR) and put Anambra in the league of top economies in Nigeria and beyond the African continent. The state government had launched an agricultural products export project meant for the European market in 2016 in partnership with ABX World – a Nigerian-based courier/cargo company. In co-operation with Arik Air and Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCOL). The venture, entails airfreighting agro-allied exports from Anambra to Europe on a daily basis, has since been rejigged following default on the part of a party to the deal. The yam production and processing project is the 43rd development investment initiatives signed by the Obiano administration totaling about $5.6 billion dollars, out of which eight are already while 14 are at different stages of development. The rest will take off in due course.

The Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency (ANSIPPA) which anchors government investment development projects will increase its tempo of activities towards achieving Gov. Obiano’s vision for Anambra. t&HCVOB B EFWFMPQNFOU BOBMZTU XSPUF GSPN /OFXJ

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THISDAYt WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2018

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EDUCATION ASUU Strike: Getting Education Funding Right Following the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, stakeholders believe that there is need for the country to get its education sector right once for the collective benefit of all. Uchechukwu Nnaike and Funmi Ogundare report It is more than two weeks since the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) embarked on strike to protest government’s insensitivity to the education sector. The union has met severally with the federal government but it is as if each time both parties meet with a view to getting the university lecturers to suspend the ongoing strike, it always ended in a deadlock.

Their meeting was to focus on reviewing the 2017 Memorandum of Action and renegotiating the unimplemented areas. The MoA highlights the funding and revitalisation of universities, earned academic allowances, staff schools, pension matters, salary shortfalls, Treasure Single Account (TSA) exemption, as well as state universities.

At the last meeting which had in attendance the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige; the past President of ASUU, Dr. Isa Fagge, Permanent Secretaries of Education and Labour, Sonny Echonu and Mrs. Ibukun Odusote respectively and other members of the federal government and ASUU delegation, both parties only reached an agreement to open up the issues and continue the talks this week.

At one of the meetings, the federal government had offered to release N20 billion as part payment of its demands.

The National President of the union, Professor Abiodun Ogunyemi, had described the proposal as a paltry sum, incapable of solving the myriad challenges of the nation’s public tertiary institutions, and is neither enough to settle their demands in terms of remuneration and others. “Universities in Nigeria have been subjected to 20 years of continued re-colonisation under alleged democracy, in which all that the ruling circle have been regrouping among themselves in their various faction they called political parties. This has further retrogressed the economy in all spheres.�

He stressed that the strike is total, comprehensive and indefinite as members have withdrawn their services until government fully implements all outstanding issues as contained in the MoU of 2017, and concludes the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement.

The renegotiation might take a longer time given the misunderstanding between the union and the Chairman of the FG/ASUU 2009 Agreement Renegotiation Committee, Dr. Wale Babalakin.

Babalakin had explained areas where his committee disagrees with the striking lecturers, saying that he believes Nigerians deserve quality education, which must not be compromised as a result of inadequate funding. This he said has been the situation in the past 30 years.

He noted that his team and ASUU are in agreement on the need for improved education funding, but differed on where the funding should come from.

He explained that while ASUU wants the government to fund education alone, his team believes funding should come from multiple sources such as the government, private sector, education bank, student loan scheme and scholarships, among others.

Addressing journalists in Lagos on his team’s position with ASUU, Babalakin said: “Our attention has been drawn to several statements made by the President of ASUU, Professor Biodun Ogunyemi and echoed by various zonal heads and other members of the same union. As we had stated in our previous communication on this matter, we believe that negotiations are best done on the table rather than on the pages of the newspapers, hence we have been very reluctant to respond to the campaign of our co-negotiators. Our position is that dialogue on the same table is the most effective way of resolving issues. “Unfortunately, we are compelled to respond to the allegations by ASUU which have been made severally in the print and electronic media because some Nigerians may begin to believe the inaccurate narratives that have been consistently provided by ASUU. “Our position as a team is that Nigerians deserve

The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu and should have quality education. This must not be compromised as a result of inadequate funding which has been the situation in the last 30 years. “We also believe that no Nigerian should be deprived of university education because of his/her financial circumstance. This position is consistent with that of the government of President Muhammadu Buhari. “Going by the figures provided by ASUU, Nigeria requires over N2 trillion per annum to fund university education. This figure exceeds in value the total amount of money available for all capital projects in Nigeria, including health, infrastructure, security and others. There is no doubt that if the money were available for university education as ASUU has insisted it is, the government will have no difficulty in spending it on university education.

However as it is, government cannot ignore all other areas of expenditure that require funding.

Some stakeholders, who have been monitoring the situation, are in support of the strike, saying that there is need for the country to get its education sector right once and for all.

A Director in the Quality Assurance Office, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Mr. Dayo Adekunle said: “The N20 billion is a far cry from the expected amount. What was agreed between government and ASUU a few years ago was the release of N20 billion every year.

That was never done by the federal government.

I support ASUU because we need to get at least for once.�

He expressed concern about the dilapidated and obsolete structures in public institutions, saying that they cannot also boast of adequate teaching material. “You won’t believe it that the journals I used in the bibliography section of UNILAG for my project in 1987 are still there! Can you compare the learning environment of any public university with private universities?�

The Zonal Coordinator, North Central, National Institute of Cultural Orientation (NICO), Mr. Ohi Ojo bemoaned the current government/ ASUU face-off, saying that it is unfortunate and that it portrays both sides in bad light. “It is sad that government waited until ASUU had to go into strike before beginning negotiations with them and offering N20 billion. How far that would go in its demand is difficult to establish and when next the other tranches would come is another matter! It is sad that government usually waits for strike actions before taking demands from workers serious.

It is a bad attitude as it generally portrays as

ASUU President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi

being unserious.�

He described the recourse to strike by ASUU as un-ingenious, saying that one would expect more creative ways of making demands from government than strike from a body that comprises intellectuals. “That is why the University of Ilorin should be commended for its refusal to join their colleagues in the calls for strike actions, and the stable academic environment in that institution is a big plus for the stakeholders, parents, students and lecturers. They must have found a way of having their demands met without necessarily going on strike as the national body who to me don’t consider the consequences of their action on students whose parents have to devise means of keeping their wards busy during the period of strike. It is unfair.�

He said he believes the education sector should be regarded as an essential part of the system like security that must not embark on strike. “The police and army do not go on strike but have ways of dealing with their demands and having them addressed. We have reached that stage when we should consider that option in order to bring sanity to the sector. Enough of needless strikes by ASUU,� Ojo said.

A former Vice-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Professor Michael Faborode expressed concern about the number of national and local strikes in universities, especially public ones, saying that they have brought about instability to and uncountable in the system. “No nation should have whimsically mortgaged her future in such reality of incessant strikes. The federal government is culpable in not preventing the most potent and protracted disruptions. Surely government cannot and should not be happy with ‘Guinness Book of Records’ profile of strikes in Nigeria that has affected the global image and the worth of certificates from Nigerian institutions.�

According to him, often the mishandling of strike threats and notices by education ministry officials accentuate and prolong strikes, adding, “from the perspectives of the staff unions, it would seem that only the use of force could secure the grant of otherwise legitimate demands from governments and proprietors, and to that extent strikes have attracted a lot of gains to the unions and the education sector over the years. “However, an objective assessment of the detrimental impact of strikes over its gains shows that strikes inflict much more lasting and permanent structural damage to the

system. Empirical evidence has shown that universities with more stable calendar, such as private universities, given the same level playing field, would out-perform their perpetually striking counterparts.�

Faborode stressed the need for academics to re-examine the strike option as the instrument to settle industrial disputes at the slightest provocation, adding that both government and the staff unions must be alive to their responsibilities to keep Nigeria’s higher education in a sustained mode of revitalisation so that the country can become a place desired, a land of vibrant, goal-getting and successful higher education system for the eventual attainment of prosperity for all citizens. “As it is in other more ethically and missionconscious climes, strikes should be the very last option/joker that should be deployed as a last resort, hence its use should not be unduly frequent. For example, when teachers strike in England for only one hour, the cost to the economy is very quickly computed to let everybody see the colossal damage of the action. “Why can’t we see things that way in Nigeria that is still struggling to develop, and grappling with a mirage of negative indices of development? The argument that the Nigerian power elite class are largely and collectively kleptomaniacs, unpatriotic, insincere and bereft of commitment to serious national development, but rather fixated on inexplicable personal ruinous primitive capital accumulation at the expense of our common patrimony and well-being, to buttress the need to ‘struggle un-relentlessly’ in a zero-sum destructive fashion cannot stand the rigour of intellectual ethics and morality, nor the imperative of sustainable development, which underpins our academic credential.�

A parent, Mrs. Nnedi Oke, regretted that the government has not eliminated the causes of strike in tertiary institution, saying that such incessant strike widen the gap between students of public and private universities, as all would compete in the same labour market after graduation.

She called for compromise between both parties so that the strike will not be allowed to linger, in the interest of the students who are always at the receiving end. “If government says ASUU’s demand is on the high side, then ASUU should reconsider.

Government should also be willing to implement any agreement that both parties reach amicably to ensure smooth running of our universities.

I really wish we can find a lasting solution to this issue.�

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EDUCATION

Ali, Others Proffer Solutions to Education Problems The sixth convocation ceremony of Oduduwa University, Osun State and the conferment of honorary and postgraduate degrees on eminent Nigerians brings to the front burner discourse on the way forward for the country’s education system. Kemi Olaitan reports Till date, the problems in the education sector stems from sublime to the ridicule. No successive government has been able to effectively design and implement a roadmap to achieving quality education for the people. The issues militating against how Nigerian universities can rank equally with other globally acclaimed institutions are multifaceted.

Recently, the federal government said it was poised to tackle corruption in university administration, inadequacies in facilities for teaching, learning and research, among others.

The government held that inadequate funding; deficits in teacher quality and quantity, including quality of professors; and governance deficits, among others are germane in reshaping the future of the education system.

It was against this backdrop that a legal luminary and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mallam Yusuf Ali made workable commendations on how Nigeria’s education system could work.

Ali, who was conferred with the honorary doctorate degree in Public Administration, recalled how the formal education started as a private endeavour until much later in human development when different forms of governments were instituted and states decided to take interest in the education

of their citizens.

A Kwara State born lawyer, Olusola Oyeyemi, who was also awarded doctoral degree in Public Administration, said: “as time went on, it became evident that governments alone could not provide education for all citizens and private persons and other groups started to set up educational institutions. The acknowledged best universities in the world today, the likes of Cambridge, Harvard, Oxford and so on, were products of such efforts.�

Ali, who has been using the Yusuf Ali Foundation, which he founded to intervene in many public institutions by awarding scholarship worth N2.088 million to 50 students of his alma mater, Ibadan Boys High School for WAEC and NECO, called on the federal government to encourage the establishment of more private universities because it is becoming clear that they may be the stables that will produce forefront intellectuals in science and other disciplines.

He said private universities should be encouraged to maintain the educational standard they are known for, adding, “it is my prayer that as Cambridge and others in that league have become centres of educational excellence and reference points, so shall Oduduwa University become

in the nearest future.�

According to Ali, “today the distinguishing factor between our public universities and other universities all over the world is the stability of academic calendar. Whereas, stability of academic calendar is assured in other universities all over the world, that is not the situation with our public tertiary institutions, except the University of Ilorin, where there has been stability of academic calendar since 2001. “The instability in the academic calendar of our public tertiary institutions has so much eroded the credibility of certificates from these institutions to the shame of all of us. It is clear that private universities have taken on the challenge to liberate our educational system from the clutches of stagnation and lack

of competitiveness. “I therefore call on all stakeholders in our education sector, especially the federal and state governments that have tertiary institutions and the various academic and non-academic unions in the institutions to please in the interest of our nation and our children, find common grounds on issues affecting the institutions in order to ensure that we institute a stable, progressive and workable academic calendar in our tertiary institutions. It existed in the past and we can recreate it now.�

Ali’s philanthropic gestures include donation of a twin dormitory to the University of Ilorin; donation of an 80-bed hostel to Osun State University; 30 unit ICT Centre to Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife; a 10-bed Advanced Trauma

Centre to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital; 30 unit ICT Centre to the College of Law, Crescent University, Abeokuta Ogun State.

Others are endowment of the Crescent University College of Law building; 40 unit e-resource centre to the Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin; a brand new Kia Rio 2014 model to the University of Ibadan for use at the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies; donation of 20-room luxurious hostel to Fountain University, Osogbo, among others. He called on other well-meaning Nigerians with the wherewithal to join in the move by beaming their searchlight of philanthropy on private universities in order to secure the future of generations yet unborn.

Ali, on behalf of the recipients, thanked to the chancellor,

board of trustees, governing council, management, staff and students of the university “for this rare honour; we shall endeavour to live with and improve upon the qualities the institution found in us that made the award possible.�

In his remarks, the Chancellor and founder of Oduduwa University, Dr. Rahman Adedoyin described Ali and Oyeyemi as great men of noble birth, using their profession and hard-earned wealth to touch lives and reshape society for good.

He said since the university was founded about 10 years ago, only six Nigerians have been honoured with doctoral degrees including ex-Finance Minister, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and now Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

WISCAR to Groom more Women for Successful Careers In line with its aim of educating, mentoring and empowering women as catalyst for national development, the Women in Successful Career (WISCAR) has concluded plans to hold a leadership and mentoring conference at the MUSON Centre, Lagos on November 24, 2018.

The conference with the theme, ‘Enriching Lives by telling our own Stories’, will feature the immediate past President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who will deliver the keynote address.

According to the organisation, under Sirleaf’s leadership, Liberia was the only country out of 54 in Africa to improve in every single category and sub-category of the Ibrahim Index of African Governance. “Since leaving office in 2017, she has become a highly acclaimed motivator and advocate for peace and justice and she continues to be a force for meaningful change and progress in Africa. “During this pivotal moment in our nation’s history and in keeping with this year’s theme, we seek to have our lives enriched by actively listening to her stories and wisdom. All Nigerians have a lot to learn from her as an African leader, a successful politician and as a stateswoman.�

Briefing journalists in Lagos recently, the founder

and Chief Executive officer (CEO) of WISCAR, Mrs. Amina Oyagbola called for the inclusion of women in political and professional careers as this contributes to nation building.

She said the population of women in the country is about fifty per cent, adding, ‘’women are agents of positive policy change which improves the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country, This we achieve through our mentoring programmes geared towards building their capacity in various careers to aid them to reach the top of their goals.�

Speaking on the conference, Oyagbola stated: “This year, we have carefully selected a theme that builds on our core focus on mentorship. The mentor is a storyteller, one who draws on her own life experience as tools and signposts to provide guidance on what to do, what to avoid doing, and ways to do it successfully. We have invited President Johnson to share her wealth of experience in governance, mentorship, empowerment and nation building. “In many parts of West Africa, the ‘Griot’ is an oral historian, a repository of oral traditions and communal achievements.

President Sirleaf’s role as keynote speaker is to be the ‘Griot’ of our political advancement.

An awardee, Olusola Oyeyemi; the Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede; founder, Oduduwa University, Osun State, Dr. Rahman Adedoyin; and Mallam Yusuf Ali, SAN, when Ali and Oyeyemin bagged doctoral degree (Honoris Causa) in Public Administration at the sixth convocation ceremony of the university‌ recently PHOTO: FELIX ADEMOLA

LASPOTECH Celebrates 40th Anniversary, Rewards Staff

PEEF Advocates for 20% of FG, States’ Budget to Education

Ugo Aliogo

A non-for-profit foundation, People Expertise and Excellence Foundation (PEEF) has advocated for to allocation of 20 per cent of states and federal government’s annual budget to the education sector.

It said UNESCO recommends between 15 per cent and 20 per cent annual budgetary allocation to education, but Nigeria currently does about eight per cent allocation to education at the federal level.

But in the communiquĂŠ at its second workshop with the theme ‘Education vs Reality: Bridging the Gap between the Education System and the Real World’ it said, “PEEF recommends in the first instance 20 per cent of annual budget (i.e. recurrent and capital expenditure) as the minimum funding of the education sector at the federal government and state government levels.â€?

PEEF noted that funding of education in Nigeria is not sufficient to cater for the infrastructure and human resource needs and called on the federal, state and local governments to address the issue.

The Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH) is 40. As part of activities to commemorate its 40th anniversary celebration, it would be rewarding staff who have served the institution for many years at the convocation ground, Ikorodu Campus.

Already, the Chairman, Heirs Holding, Mr. Tony Elumelu on November 20, delivered its 40th anniversary lecture titled ‘Repositioning Education for Technological Development and Food Security’.

Briefing journalists recently in Lagos, the Rector, Mr. Samuel Sogunro, said the anniversary is aimed at celebrating the unity, peace and development which the institution has achieved in the last 40 years. “If there is unity, there is development. It is not something that is hidden.

In an administration you will find ups and down.

When you have issues, you resolve it and at the same time you work together to develop the institution. If there is no peace and unity in any setting definitely, there can’t be progress. As far as we are concerned this is 40 years and it is not easy to mark 40 years,� he stressed. “If you look round and see what we have been able to do within the space of 40 years, you will know we have really tried. We started with five departments and now we have 36. “We were running five programmes at the beginning, now we are running 67 programmes. Recently, we just faced re-accreditation of 66 our programmes, if there is no unity we can’t achieve that much so definitely we are going to intensify our efforts to bring everyone together because we can always do it together to achieve the expected growth and development.�

Kasim Sumaina in Abuja

The communiquĂŠ signed by its Executive Secretary, Dr. Musa Rabiu also made recommendations on the restructuring of the country’s education sector. “Education system as currently built and delivered is focused on the award of certificates and not ensuring that the students thrive as adults.â€?

He said learning is theoretical and carried out using hypothetical abstract concepts and examples as the teachers are mostly not subject matter practitioners in the real-world work. “Skills and knowledge being passed down may not always be up to date, best suited, most relevant, and directly applicable in the real world. Thus, the learners may not always become readily productive as they graduate into the real world of work.�

Rabiu noted that “culturally in Nigeria, skills are segregated into gender. This is further reinforced by gender stereotype laws: These cuts across almost all sectors of government, MDAs where you have laws that segregate gender equality on roles, thus affecting subsequent skills.�

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Ogun, Rivers Students Emerge Cowbellpedia Maths Champions Uchechukwu Nnaike The 2018 Cowbellpedia Secondary Schools Mathematics Television Quiz Show has ended with students of Ogun and Rivers States emerging winner in the junior and senior categories respectively.

Akinfoluhan Akinleye of The Ambassadors College, Ota scored a total of 90 points at the junior category, while Chinedu Mgbemena of Graceland International School, Port Harcourt emerged the senior category winner.

The competition, sponsored

by Cowbell Milk, the flagship brand of Promasidor Nigeria Limited, is aimed at stimulating and re-awakening interest in Mathematics among Nigerian secondary school students.

The first and second runnersup in the junior category are Splendour Nwankwo of Jesuit Memorial College and Favour Okarike of Graceland International School, both in Port Harcourt. The other contestants that could not progress beyond the first round were Chidozie Uzochukwu of Nigerian Tulip International

School, Abuja; Gabriel Akogun of Welkin International; and Loluwa Abiodun of The Ambassadors College, both in Ota. Akinleye, 13-year-old son of a banker, described his victory as refreshing and exciting. “I feel very happy to have scaled the hurdle to the final and winning the crown, especially being my first time of participating in the competition. My father will be so happy.�

In the senior category, it appeared as if Mgbemena came to avenge the defeat of his school in the junior category as he stamped his authority over his closest challengers.

Attention had been focused on Ambassadors College’s Juliet Ekoko, the 2016 junior category champion, to make history as the first female contestant to win in both categories after Munachi Ernest-Eze, then a student of Loyola Jesuit College, Abuja made history last year by winning both categories within two years.

But Ekoko, apparently nervous, could only finish as second runner-up, coming behind Chinedu and another female

contestant Praise Isinkaye of Federal Government Academy, Suleja, Niger State.

The contestants that could not make it beyond the first round were Jessica Austine of Federal Government College, Owerri, Imo State; Enoch Adenekan of The Ambassadors College; and Nafisat Abdulwaheed of Reality High School, Ilesha, Osun State.

Sixteen-year-old Mgbemena, who is also a second timer in the competition, was overwhelmed by his feat and thanked God and his teacher, Mr Christopher Olasupo for guiding him all the way to victory. “My aim in this competition has been to be the best and ultimately the champion. That is why I practice Mathematics for long hours every day ahead of this competition. I thank God today that the effort is worth the while eventually. I am proud to have made my parents proud.�

In fulfilment of its promise to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Cowbell and Mathematics in Nigeria, the winners in each category got N2 million each, in addition to an all-expense paid

educational excursion abroad.

The first and second runners-up got N1.5 million and N1 million respectively. The teachers of the champions were also rewarded with N500,000, while those of the first and second runners-up received N400,000 and N300,000 respectively.

Speaking with journalists after the programme, the Managing Director of Promasidor Nigeria Limited, Anders Einarsson said the Cowbellpedia initiative has met its stated objectives 20 years after its commencement While congratulating the finalists for their excellent performance, Einarsson reiterated the company’s commitment towards education, which he described as the most important investment for the future of Nigerian children.

In his remarks, the Acting Registrar of the National Examinations Council (NECO), Mr. Abubakar Gana, who was represented by the Director of Examination Development, Mr. Mustapha Abdul, commended Promasidor for the initiative and pledged his organisation’s continued technical support for the project.

KEHINDE OMORU www.kayomoru.com

WHY ARE YOU SLEEPING IN CLASS? Ă’Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă–Ă–Ă™ĂĄĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ă? Ă‹ Ă?Ă’Ă?Ă?Ă•Ă–Ă“Ă?Ăž Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă‹Ă– ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ă? ÞÙ ĂŽĂ™ Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă˜ĂŽ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁË› Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă? ËÚÚÖã ÞÙ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;ËŁ ÍŻĚš Ă&#x;ĂœĂ˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ùʼ ÞÒĂ? ĂžĂ?Ă–Ă?Ă Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂœĂ‹ĂŽĂ“Ă™Ë› Í°Ěš Ă—ĂšĂžĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂŒĂ–Ă‹ĂŽĂŽĂ?Ăœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŒĂ™ĂĄĂ?Ă–Ă? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ? ĂŒĂ?ĂŽËœ Ă?Ă™ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; ĂŽĂ™Ă˜ËŞĂž Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă‘Ă?Ăž Ă&#x;Ăš Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? ÞÙÓÖĂ?Ăž Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă˜Ă“Ă‘Ă’ĂžË› ͹̚ Ă–Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹ Ę¨ĂœĂ— Ă—Ă‹ĘľĂœĂ?Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÚÓÖÖÙåĂ? ÞÙ Ă‹Ă Ă?ĂœĂž ĂŒĂ™ĂŽĂŁ Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂšĂ‹Ă“Ă˜Ă? Ͳ̚ Ă“Ă—Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă“Ă‘Ă’Ăž Ă“Ă˜ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂŒĂ?ĂŽĂœĂ™Ă™Ă— Ă™Ăœ ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ăž Ùʼ Ă‹Ăž ĂŒĂ?ÎÞÓ×Ă?Ë› ͳ̚ Ă‹Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ ĂœĂ?Ă–Ă‹Ă˘Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?ÒÙåĂ?Ăœ Ă™Ăœ ĂŒĂ‹ĂžĂ’ ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ? ĂŒĂ?ĂŽË› Í´Ěš Ă‹Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ Ă–Ă“Ă‘Ă’Ăž ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂ— Ă?Ă&#x;Ăš Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă’Ă™Ă?ÙÖËÞĂ? ĂŽĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă• ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă?Ù×Ă? Ę¨Ă˜ĂŽ ĂœĂ?ÖËâĂ?Ă? ÞÒĂ?Ă— Ă‹Ăž ĂŒĂ?ÎÞÓ×Ă?Ë› ;̚ Ă?Ă‹Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂžĂŁ Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ–ĂŁ ÞÙ Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă’ Ă‹ ÑÙÙÎ Ă˜Ă“Ă‘Ă’Ăž Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ú˛ ̚͜ Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ă? Ă—Ă™Ă?Ă›Ă&#x;ÓÞÙ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂœĂ™ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ě‹Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă?Ë› Ă’Ă‹Ăž ĂĄĂ™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă? Ă‹ ĂžĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă?Ăœ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ă˜ĂžĂ–ĂŁ ĂŽĂœĂ™Ăš Ă’Ă“Ă?˚ÒĂ?Ăœ Ă’Ă?Ă‹ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? ĂžĂ‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă?ÞËʼ ĂœĂ™Ă™Ă— Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ăš Ùʼˣ Ă™ĂœĂ?Ă? Ă?ÞÓÖÖ ĂĄĂ’Ă‹Ăž ĂĄĂ™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; ÎÙäĂ? Ùʼ ĂŽĂ&#x;ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?ÞËʼ Ă—Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ă? ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă–Ă?Ăž Ă“Ă—ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ‹Ă˜Ăž Ă—Ă‹ĘľĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă‹ĂœĂ? ĂŒĂ?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂŽËŁ Ă’ĂŁ Ă‹ĂœĂ? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă‹ĂŽĂŽĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ă˜Ăž Ă’Ă&#x;Ă—Ă“Ă–Ă“Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă?Ă&#x;ĘĽĂ?ĂœËœ ĂĄĂ’Ă?Ă˜ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă’ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™Ăœ ĂŽĂ™Ă¤Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă–Ă‹Ă?Ă?ËŁ Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă—Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–ĂšĂœĂ“Ăž Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒÓĂ? Ă—Ă‹ĘľĂ?Ăœ Ă“Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă˜Ă“Ă‹Ë› Ă˜Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă˜Ă“Ă‹ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ? ÞÙ ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă™Ăœ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂœĂ?Ă˜Ăž Ă?âÚĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă‹ĂŽĂ?Ă›Ă&#x;Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ú˛ Ă–Ă?Ă?Ăš Ă“Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă‹Ă– ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂž Ă™Ă? ÑÙÙÎ Ă’Ă?ËÖÞÒ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂĄĂ?Ă–Ă–ĂŒĂ?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ë› ÑÙÙÎ Ă˜Ă“Ă‘Ă’ĂžËŞĂ? Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ăš Ă’Ă?Ă–ĂšĂ? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă– Ă‘Ă™Ă™ĂŽËœ ÖÙÙÕ Ă’Ă?Ă‹Ă–ĂžĂ’ĂŁËœ ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ• Ă?ĘĽĂ?Ă?ÞÓà Ă?Ă–ĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă˜Ă• Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ–ĂŁË› Ă–Ă?Ă?Ăš Ó×ÚËĂ?ĂžĂ? ÚÙĂ?ÓÞÓà Ă?Ă–ĂŁ Ă™Ă˜ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă—Ă“Ă˜ĂŽËœ ĂŒĂ™ĂŽĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă–Ë› Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂŒĂ™ĂŽĂŁËŞĂ? Ă™ĂœĂ‘Ă‹Ă˜Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ĂŁĂ?ĂžĂ?Ă—Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ăž ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ëœ Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă’Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÓĂ?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă? ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ‹Ă“ĂœĂ?Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă–Ă?Ăž ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ú˛ Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă—Ă“Ă˜ĂŽ ĂœĂ?Ě‹Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă“ĂŒĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ? ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă–Ă?Ăž ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŒĂ™ĂŽĂŁ Ă‘ĂœĂ™ĂĄĂžĂ’Ă? Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă–Ă?Ăž ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ú˛ Ă–Ă?Ă?Ăš ÒÙåĂ?Ă Ă?Ăœ Ă“Ă? Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă‹Ă–ĂĄĂ‹ĂŁĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă?ĂŁ ÞÙ Ă?Ù×Ă? ĂŒĂŁË› Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă?Ù×Ă?ÞÓ×Ă?Ă? Ă™Ăœ Ă‹Ă–ĂĄĂ‹ĂŁĂ? Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? ĂžĂœĂ™Ă&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ăš Ă™Ăœ Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?ĂšËœ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă‹Ă–Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ë› ËãÞÓ×Ă? ĂŽĂœĂ™ĂĄĂ?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă? ÙʰĂ?Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă?ËÞÓà Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă‹ Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ăš ĂšĂœĂ™ĂŒĂ–Ă?Ă— ÞÒËÞ Ă“Ă? ÚÙÞĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ ĂŽĂ‹Ă˜Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă? ÞÙ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă’Ă?Ă‹Ă–ĂžĂ’Ëœ Ă“Ă? Ă˜Ă™Ăž ĂžĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă&#x;ĂœĂ‘Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ–ĂŁË› Ă™ĂœĂ–ĂŽĚ‹ĂĄĂ“ĂŽĂ?Ëœ ÞÒĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂœĂ?Ă˜Ăž Ă?ÞËÞÓĂ?ÞÓĂ?Ă? Ă?Ă’Ă™ĂĄĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒËÞ Ă˜Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ–ĂŁ Ă‹ Ă›Ă&#x;Ă‹ĂœĂžĂ?Ăœ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ÚÙÚĂ&#x;Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă‹Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă‘Ă™ ĂžĂ™Ëœ Ă™Ăœ ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ú˛ Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁ ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœËœ ĂŽĂ™Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ? ĂĄĂœĂ“ĂžĂ? Ă™Ă&#x;Ăž Ă—Ă“Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ“ĂšĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂžĂ‹ĂŒĂ–Ă?ĂžĂ? ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ–ĂŽĂĄĂ“ĂŽĂ?Ë› Ă™ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă‹ ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ?Ă‹Ăž ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ“ĂšĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă˜Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă˜Ă“Ă‹ËŁ Ă‹Ă Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă’Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă?ÞÖã Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ę¨Ă?ĂŽ ĂĄĂ’ĂŁ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă–Ă‹Ă?Ă?ËŁ Mrs Kehinde Omoru writes from the UK

Investment in Education, Best Gift from Govt to Citizens, Says BeauďŹ ls L-R: The CEO, Corona Schools’ Trust Council, Mrs. Adeyoyin Adesina; winners in second and ďŹ fth positions in the Nigerian Stock Exchange 2018 National Essay Competition, Miss Oluwalaonoayo Ashiru and Miss. Ifeoma Osakwe; the Principal, Corona Secondary School, Agbara, Mrs. Chinedum Oluwadamilola; and Chairman, Corona Secondary School Board, Mr. Niyi Yusuf; at the school’s annual speech and prize-giving day for the 2017/2018 academic year‌ recently

Day Waterman College Organises 2018 Swimming Gala Ugo Aliogo Day Waterman College, Ogun State recently held its 2018 swimming gala competition from which Purple House emerged first position with 407 points, while the second and third positions went to Blue House, 347 points; and Red House, 319 points respectively.

Speaking at the event, the Principal, Mr. Stewart Cowden, said the swimming gala has been organised since the inception of the school which is also celebrating its 10th anniversary.

The competition, which Cowden described as significant in the history of the school had five houses (blue, red, green, purple and yellow) compete for medals and the ultimate prize of a trophy. “Through this competition, we are trying to increase the

competitiveness of the young people. This swimming gala is one we are using to achieve that. There are obviously other ways, but this is a significant one. We are also looking at identifying our swimmers.

Also, it is an opportunity for them to demonstrate how effective and capable they are.�

He added that the Physical Education team is consistently monitoring the swimming time to find out if the swimmers are in line with the previous winners, or even better.

The principal said the team uses the yardstick to move athletes forward to become better in the future, adding that the team considers the past performance, not just the previous performance, but past performances in general.

In his remarks, the Captain of the winning house, Mesoma

Chuka-Ikedum, who expressed delight with the victory, said it took the team a lot of hard work and training to emerge the winner.

He said 2018 is a good year for the team and the members are hopeful that they would achieve the height in 2019.

To win the grand prize, he said the team used its fastest swimmers for the first leg; the third fastest were for second leg; while the fourth fastest was for the third leg. “The Physical Education teams are consistently monitoring the time and they recognise if the swimmers’ time is in line with the previous winners, or even better.

Then use that yardstick to actually move people forward to become better in the future.

The team looks at the past performance, not just the previous performance, but past performance in general.

“But this performance measuring is not a yearly activity. It is not a constant yearly improvement. But we need to see how our students are performing. All we want to do is to compete with more international schools and compare the benchmarks to find out where we are as a school. At the moment, we are competing against ourselves in order to see how far we can compete with other International schools. “Recently, we had a competition with Grange School and we won the competition. Since I have been here in August 2017, we have not done so much. We are trying to get a balance between competitiveness and a bit of fun. We have various prizes up for grabs for winners. We have individual medals for various winners and ultimately the team that wins takes up the cup.�

The best gift in terms of investment any government can give to its citizens is investing in education, especially, girls’ education, the Deputy British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mrs. Laure Beaufils has said.

Beaufils stated this at the 60th founder’s day ceremony of Grange School, Lagos, held at the school premises in GRA, Ikeja recently.

She said, “I started my career as a civil servant, specifically as an education adviser; so to an extent, I know a thing or two about education. Investing in education is the best investment any government or anyone can make and invest in girls’ education is the most effective investment that can be made. “Sadly, not all children have access to education; 20 per cent of the world’s out-of-school children are Nigerians, which is bad for the country with such a large population. “While education is a right, it is also a privilege; it is a right so that we can be heroes but it doesn’t happen systematically. “This is why I will implore you to always think of those without access to education.�

The British envoy charged the government to also focus on other developmental goals since it was not certain that there would be jobs for graduating students, adding that education is not just

about knowledge, but creativity, confidence and not being afraid to voice out one’s belief.

In her congratulatory message to the school, Beaufils said 60 years of consistency in excellence and capacity building is a remarkable feat for any institution. She further enjoined the students to be kind, compassionate and always show respect.

Adding colour and zest to the ceremony were performances from the school choir, renditions from the primary and secondary school orchestra, as well as elegant displays of artwork by the students.

The Chairperson, Grange School Governing Council, Mrs. Awuneba Ajumogobia, applauded staff and parents for their dedication, partnership and support that sustained the school since its establishment 60 years ago.

She said the school would continue to contribute its quota towards reducing the number of out of school children. “This will be done through scholarships and other projects which the school just kicked off.’’ The Headmaster of the school, Mr. Guy Cassarchis said: “It is a privilege to be part of an institution with such impeccable educational track record.� He also highlighted some of the activities planned by the school to improve learning and teaching not only at Grange, but across Nigeria.

T H I S D AY Ëž Í°ÍŻËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś

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LASU Alumni Association Honours VC Oluchi Chibuzor The Lagos State University (LASU) Alumni Association has honoured the institution’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Olanrewaju Fagbohun on his recent elevation to the status of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), making him the first serving vice-chancellor to be admitted into the inner bar of the judicial office in recognition of his contributions to environmental law and the citadel of learning.

Speaking at the programme in Lagos recently, the President of the association, Cecil Esekhiagbe advised the VC not to be discouraged by challenges and those who may want to antagonize him, adding that peace in LASU

is not negotiable.

He also expressed delight about the giant strides the VC is making to bring about conducive learning environment in the institution.

In her remarks, the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Idiat Adebule, who applauded Fagbohun’s contribution to the university, justified his selection to handle the affairs of the institution towards turning it to a world-class learning centre and his recent appointment as SAN. She allayed the fears of staff over who becomes the next VC after Fagbohun, saying that they have to be hopeful as God will help to get the best candidate for the position whenever it is time to replace the current administrator.

“People get carried away in office whenever they get promoted or elected into office because they allow so many things to distract them from achieving the goal they have set for themselves. Fagbohun has remained steadfast in his set goal for the university.

Whenever the time comes for him to be succeeded, you should put it into prayers as you cannot on your own chose a successor. “I know you are one of the few focused academia who remained committed to his goals as a result of your determination and I urge you not to be distracted as you will surely achieve all you have set for yourself and the establishment of LASU.�

Responding, Fagbohun

thanked the deputy governor, who has consistently shown support to the institution since his appointment, as well as the alumni who were at the fore front of his strategy.

The new SAN, who has over 200 publications, authored nine books covering environmental laws said: “We have gotten to a stage where we compete with the very best around because we want to be the best. It is in competing with each other that earned us African Centre of Excellence which does not permit for strikes or crises. We will be attracting foreign students, so we must be strategic. Alumni must be strategic now, they must not allow anyone to use LASU as a bedlam of crisis.�

R-L: The Chairperson, Grange School Governing Council, Mrs. Awuneba Ajumogobia; Deputy British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mrs. Laure BeauďŹ ls; Head Master, Grange School, Mr. Guy Cassarchis; and member, Board of Directors, of the school, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, at the school’s 60th founder’s day ceremony in Lagos‌ recently

First Bank Boss Makes Case for Girl-child Funmi Ogundare The Chairman, Board of Directors, First Bank of Nigeria, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika has admonished girls to discover who they are rather than limiting their dreams and be the best they can be.

She urged them to seize the opportunity that comes their way, adding that with self-discovery, their ability to know what they are good at will chart a way for them.

Awosika, who gave the advice at a programme with the theme ‘Girls Giving Back’, organised

by Old Girls of Methodist Girls (OGMG) 1978-1983 set to celebrate their 35 years of leaving Methodist Girls High School, Lagos, said, “do not limit yourselves, there are so many things you can achieve as a girl-child. You can be whatever you want to be, the choice is yours to make, but you have to build a block at a time and seize any opportunity that comes your way. You also have to discover yourself at this stage as self-discovery is very important.

The ability to know what you are good at will lead your path while growing.�

She also admonished them to stay focussed, saying, “being a career woman doesn’t stop you from getting married or having

children, you just have to stay focussed. I have been married for 26 years and counting and have not gotten to the peak of my career yet. Please do not allow anyone to limit your imagination, don’t worry about where you are now, worry about where you are going now, the OGMG 78/83 set organised this event for you to believe in yourselves and set example of what you want to be as girl.�

The President of the set, Mrs. Bukola Durojaiye said since life is a journey of discovery, the students need to discover who they are and stand on it knowing that they can succeed in life. “Life is in seasons, you keep discovering more about yourself.

Life is all about failures and successes and even if you fail, you need to get up and move on, there are a lot of things happening around, you don’t need be distracted.

The Chair Contact and Publicity Sub-committee, Mrs. Moyo Ajijedidun, said the topic delivered by the keynote speaker was timely as many youths today are influenced by social media, adding that the essence of the give back programme was to share with the girls the values and discipline they imbibed during their days in the school.

Foundation Bemoans Lack of Soft Skills among Youths Uchechukwu Nnaike A construction firm, Kaiser Foundation has identified lack of soft skills among young Nigerian graduates as largely responsible for their un-employability.

The Chairman of the organisation, Mr. Igbuan Okaisabor said this in Lagos during a one week soft skills training for the construction industry, for some final year students of the University of Lagos.

The students were drawn from construction-related departments of faculties such as Electrical, Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Building Technology, Quantity Survey and Geo-formatics.

According to him, the soft skills which are usually not acquired by the students in tertiary institutions are what employers of labour always watch out for in young graduates. “The total number of degrees one acquires be it in the first class or second class upper division usually do not play up prominently. The industries have discovered that there are some missing links between what the universities or tertiary institutions are producing and what employers need.

“We are in a country with an estimated population of about 200 million people and there is high unemployment rate. Of this figure, the youths make up a larger percentage and they cannot create jobs. So as an employer of labour, we have observed that we cannot find the right people to employ and so we felt the need to do something in that direction, as part of our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).�

According to Okaisabor, most Nigerian graduates today lack soft skills such as team spirit, selfconfidence, communication skills and inter-personal relationship.

He said in the construction business for instance, it is clear that for success in the industry, technical knowledge is required, but more importantly, the acquisition of soft skills. “Here, we should be talking about communication, presentation, leadership and team building skills, as these are what will ensure maximum output in the world of work. As you know, construction is teamwork, you cannot work alone and when job seekers lack such skills, it becomes difficult for them to integrate and deliver properly on their duties.�

SAP Skills for Africa Produces First Set of Graduates Ogechukwu Obi In furtherance to its commitment to empower the workforce in local communities with the skills and tools needed to make them globally-competitive and fit to take up available jobs in their communities, SAP, a market leader in enterprise application software, after a successful three month intensive digital training and certification programme hosted its first set of 22 graduates in Nigeria at a ceremony held in Lagos recently.

The Director of Training, Mr. Johann Pretorius, the SAP Skills for Africa, which is already in 22 countries, has produced over 600 graduates in Africa and more than 2,130 globally since its inception in 2012. He said SAP’s first programme in Nigeria provided participants with free intensive digital training and certification on SAP S/4HANA Financial Accounting and SAP Activate Project Management.

According to him, the training was part of his organisation’s commitment to closing the skills gap in Africa and to enable local communities to take advantage of the possibilities of exponential technologies in a fast changing world. “SAP Skills for Africa is designed to train and certify young graduates with the aim of providing public and private sector organisations with critical digital skills to drive digital transformation and growth in key economic hubs across the continent.�

Commending the graduates

on the successful completion of their programme, Pretorius disclosed that over 1,000 applications were received, but through its rigorous selection process, only 22 applicants were admitted. “The terrific response from local graduates points to the growing appetite for greater exposure to some of the world’s most pervasive business applications, as well as employment opportunities that are unlocked with the acquisition of skills and certification in such applications.�

In his remarks, the Lagos State Commissioner for Science and Technology, Hakeem Popoola commended the organisers, stating that SAP’s initiative is in line with what the government is doing in the area of job creation. “We have a lot of unemployed youths and this programme really fits into what the government is doing in job creation. About five years ago, if someone with SAP skills is needed, one probably has to go out of Nigeria to get it but today, SAP is here in Nigeria proving the skills; that means that unemployed youths now have the opportunity to engage themselves in SAP and become a well-equipped workforce.�

Popoola added that the relevance of SAP skills is appreciated and adopted by institutions like banks, oil and gas industry, fortune 500 companies, among others. “While most institutions prepare students for basic education in order to fit into the changing world workforce, they have to do additional training that is where SAP comes in.

CCNN Donates Educational Materials to Primary Schools in Three States Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto The Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), trading under brand name of Sokoto Cement recently distributed educational materials to primary schools in Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara States.

The Managing Director, Alhaji Yusuf Halliru-Binji, said the gesture was part of the company’s support packages aimed at complementing efforts of state governments to develop the education sector.

He said the company is also assisting the states through portable water supply, electrification, rural roads, health-care, women and youths empowerment as part of its corporate social responsibility activities.

Halliru-Binji added that the company is running a school and had awarded scholarship to 30 indigent students in tertiary institutions in the three states. “The present educational materials donation is mainly for primary schools, basic and secondary education to complement enrolment sustenance.�

He promised more partner-

ship with the state ministry of education to explore areas of more assistance for the benefit of the state.

The Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Prof. A’isha Madawaki, described the support as strategic in recognition of the importance of instructional materials to students.

Madawaki, who was represented by the Director of Quality Assurance in the ministry, Alhaji Jodi Tambuwal, said the gesture would reduce parents’ burden and enjoined other companies and well-to-do persons to emulate the donor in its efforts to assist people, especially the less privileged.

Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Alhaji Yahaya Abdullahi and Ibrahim Ladan from Kebbi and Zamfara States, thanked the company for the gesture, which they said would support learning among students.

They urged companies, community based groups, School Based Management Committees (SBMCs), Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs), among others to complement government’s efforts through such initiatives.

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CITYSTRINGS

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The Road to the Pearl of Africa

Speke Resort sits on the shores of Lake Victor Emmanuel Ukpong

E

very journey comes with two layers of worries – planning the trip and the dread of expectations. Thankfully, I didn’t need to worry my head about the logistics of setting off to East Africa. Which allowed me to build up a mental picture of the journey ahead. The pictures raced through my mind like movie frames. A blend of the classic East Africa of statesmen and brutal dictators. Stories of plunder and civil strives.Modern nations propped up by incomes from safari tourism and World Bank grants. But I also needed some focus: I wasn’t really going to East Africa – it is a region, not a country. But then you already knew that. I was going to Uganda via Rwanda. Whether you are thinking historical or contemporary, the names Uganda and Rwanda must ring a certain tone of bell. They should give you the butterflies.

I was in such contemplative mode when word came that we would be flying Rwandair. That brought loads of relief. Yes, relief just thinking about flying the Rwandan national carrier. Remi Awolaiye, my travel partner, and I had no liberties to pick our carrier. If we did, Rwandair would have probably been our choice. Ethiopian and Kenya

Airways regional powerhouses and are already pretty well known.

They offer extensive and decent coverage of the entire East Africa with stops in their respective capitals, but Rwandair holds a certain fascination. We had heard so much about the airline. We had seen pictures of those gleaming jets. We had seen them flying the flag of a country that has now fully recovered from a genocide that took 800, 000 lives in 1994.

We had seen and heard all that.

Now we wanted to have a feel of it. Be a part of the experience.

And Rwandair did not disappoint.

For our trip to Entebbe, the airline rolled out a modern high technology Airbus A330-300, unmistakably the star of their fleet. Boarding was promptly announced on Murtala Muhammed International Airport’s PA system, which is badly in need of a fix. Or is it the announcers who are doing a terrible job? But we managed to decipher the boarding call. Still in mint condition, the A330 promptly released its waiting charms as we boarded: the sweet smell of fresh leather, ample leg room, clean audio-visual systems, squeaky clean paneling, nearly everything I had envisaged.

There was something relaxing and reassuring as passengers piled in in their dozens.

As we took our seats on the double-aisle jet, I did a quick

mental sum for the load factor.

I concluded that it was a minimum of 70 per cent. Impressive.

Passengers love glittering new machines. Nigerian passengers in particular. Rwandair management understood this critical aspect of passenger psychology when they launched their Kigali-Lagos service in 2011. It was a bold bid for a large slice of the African market and its 13th destination. The airline has not looked back since. In fact, a month earlier (April 2018), it had announced a new Kigali-Abuja service.

Thus we settled down for the four hour flight to Kigali, our layover before Entebbe. As we entered Rwandan airspace – you could tell on your inflight entertainment screen – I struggled to turn my mind off its horrible past and on to its present triumphs and the promise of its future. It was quite a struggle. You know what I mean if you have seen the movie Hotel Rwanda. Thankfully, the triumphs have been tremendous, as my pre departure checks had revealed.

President Paul Kagame pulled the country from the brink and has since held it together. Virtually all studies I have seen say Rwanda is one of the safest places to visit.

With a population of 12 million, its GDP was in excess of $10 billion in 2017. Rating agencies cite Rwanda as an economic model in Africa.

The Kigali International Airport (RIA) was a true reflection of the resilient spirit of Rwanda. Not great architecturally, but basic, spotless and functional. The marbled floors sparkled like mirrors. At intervals, the calm female voice on the PA system came on in both Swahili and English. There were long lines of passengers with green passports.

Immigrations workedthem patiently.

It was going to be four long hours of wait to connectEntebbe.

Ample time to see something of the transitpoint and observe how Rwandans manage human interactions in an airport environment.

They were four well stocked shops selling the usual – spirits, wines, chocolates and cigarettes. But one stood out with its merchandise of local souvenirs, drinks and fabrics. At 10 pm local time, it was downtime at the airport. So sales were a bit slow.

Not so for Rwandair; business was rather brisk. Along with Rwandan aviation authorities, the carrier isbuilding something of a hub around RIA. Since our arrival, there was a succession of other arrivals, each with substantial number of transit passengers.

The frequent announcements for transit passengers to hop onto the Rwandair flights were a snapshot of itswidening route network of 23 destinations (including codeshare).

There were connecting flights to

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TRAVELOGUE

Kampala view

interview or anything like that but just to chat him up and savour his superb diction. The stately creator of The Village Headmaster, who passed in 2012, was truly in a class of his own with the written and spoken word. Spoken word in particular. Always a delight to listen to.

Then, I was on a stopover at Entebbe, a very seedy environment at the time. But now, Entebbe was our destination and quite a “The Village Headmaster� different place. The arrival hall had since been touched up but it in Entebbe The nearly four-hour agony of still needed some upgrade. It was wait ended as the Entebbe leg of our around 2.30 am local time and the flight was announced. Bombardier Immigrations officer seemed tired was the aircraft of choice for the and at one point appeared to be 32-minute flight to Entebbe. In nodding off. I sincerely hoped he terms of air travel, a 32-minute got my biometrics right. Quite on flight is a hop. Still, the hostesses the contrary, the female officer atmanaged to hand out refreshments tending to Remi was wide awake and retrieve the trash. But Rwan- and livelier. Perhaps not lively dair ’s Lagos-Entebbe scheduling is enough. Or why was she hassling simply atrocious. We departed well Remi for $50 visa fee? She should after midnight to arrive Entebbe have seen that his visa was paid International Airport at the ungodly for and obtained in Abuja. Matters hour of 2 am, losing an hour to resolved but not before she wasted 20 precious minutes, adding to our the time difference.

As we were driven in the Cobus anxieties of arriving late.

It was therefore a matter of relief bus across the wet apron to the terminal building, I replayed the that as we emerged from the arrival stories of Entebbe in my mind. One hall, Vincent, our driver was waiting very well known, the other personal. for us with our names on a placard.

It was here in July 1976 that Israeli Vincent had that typical Ugandan forces staged Operation Thunder- mien: tall, slim and dark-skinned bolt, a successful counter-terrorist and polite. offensive to rescue Israelis held hostage by Palestinian terrorists.

Road to Kampala I have a vivid recollection of my Pleasantries lasted for just a first visit to Entebbe as a young minute. Giving us a hand with correspondent for The Guardian our luggage, Vincent, a driver and in 1992. There were no Cobus guide for the Ugandan Tourism buses in those days so it used Board (UTB), took us through the to be long walks across airport covered walkway to the car park. aprons. I remember scampering He tossed them into the waiting across the Entebbe apron to catch 12-seater Toyota Safari 4x4 Land up with Chief Olusegun Odusola, Cruiser. In the drizzle, I made for then our ambassador to Ethiopia. the right front door. Alas, it was Funny thing is it wasn’t to do an the driver ’s side! Uganda has not Johannesburg, Cape Town, Harare, London, Dar esSalaam and Nairobi.

The beauty is that at some of the Eastern and Southern Africa stops, Rwandair has connecting services to major destinations like Mumbai and Dubai. Very clever scheduling as the airline scoops up the large Indian populations in neighboring Uganda and Tanzania. The airline has concluded plans to launch services to Beijing.

bothered to switch from driving on the wrong side of the road since Colonial Great Britain left in 1962.

As if it was waiting for us to touch down, the mild showers gathered steam and the heavens opened up.

What a wet welcome to Uganda!

Nonetheless, Vincent hit the road for the 1 hour 15 minutes ride to Kampala. We braced up for what we envisaged might be a longer journey given the road conditions.

Thankfully, he had taken sufficient siesta in preparation for the early morning operation.

The rains came down harder.

Vincent maintained a high speed.

At some points, it seemed on coming vehicles, mostly heavy trucks, were speeding directly towards us.

I froze each time that happened.

But I had to keep reminding myself that we in Uganda, and driving on the left hand side.

My thoughts soon wondered to safety. There is no great comfort driving into any African city in the very small hours of the day.

Much of the continent is replete with security problems. Uganda has its own share. It is true that the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) hardly attack cities these days, and may have been degraded but it psychopathic ‘leader ’ Joseph Kony is still on the loose. Concerted US-led efforts to catch him have drawn blank.

The road from the airport looked in good shape, thanks in no small measure to the ubiquitous Chinese construction companies.

They were adding two more lanes to the road. The construction work has ignited some controversy in the Ugandan press; there are questions about cost overruns and possible misappropriation of funds. Not surprisingly, it is a talking point for the opposition. After 32 years in power, suppression of the op-

position and no sign of slowing down, President Yoweri Museveni is weathering the storms of political opposition. But our visit had absolutely nothing to do with Ugandan politics. It had a lot to do with the 45 young Christians who were killed in 1886 in a most gruesome manner for refusing to renounce their faith. It also had to do with why Winston Churchill, then a young Member of Parliament in the UK, described Uganda as the ‘Pearl of Africa.’ Speke Resort Munyonyo would be a good starting point. If the layers of security – powered gates, metal detectors, walkthroughs, smartly dressed security guards – would let us in. But a prized jewel deserves some protection.

Sudhir Ruparelia is the name behind the Speke Resort. A Ugandan citizen, but in reality Indian, Ruparelia was one of the Asians expelled from Uganda by President Idi Amin in 1972. He fled to the United Kingdom, returning with a vengeance in 1985 to set up a flourishing empire with interests in banking, insurance, real estate, education, hotels and resorts, notably Speke Resort Munyonyo.

Set on the banks of Lake Victoria, the 400-room Speke Resort is the very definition of luxury in Uganda.

When the Ugandan Government needed a place to hostthe closing ceremonies the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2007, Speke Resort was its venue of choice. It also hosted some of the 3, 000 dignitaries and guests that attended the august event.

And this morning, it was also set to host us. Our home for the next few days. r&NNBOVFM 6LQPOH B 5SBWFM BOE "WJBUJPO +PVSOBMJTU XSPUF JO WJB FNNBOVFMVLQPOH!HNBJM DPN

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WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY

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FOREIGN/DIPLOMATIC AFFAIRS

50 Killed in Attack on Kabul Religious Gathering At least 50 people were killed in a suicide attack on a religious celebration in Kabul on Tuesday, officials said, in one of the deadliest assaults to strike Afghanistan this year.

It follows a wave of bloody violence across the war-torn country in recent weeks that has killed hundreds of people as militants step up assaults amid a flurry of diplomatic efforts to end the 17-year conflict.

At least 72 people were wounded in the blast, health ministry spokesman Wahid Majroh said, which targeted religious scholars and leaders inside a wedding hall where hundreds had gathered to mark the Prophet Mohammad’s birthday — one of the holiest days in the Islamic calendar.

Religious studies lecturer Mohammad Hanif said verses of the Koran were being recited when there was a deafening explosion followed by “chaos” inside the packed hall.

“More than 60 or 70 people were martyred,” Hanif, 31,

told AFP outside a trauma facility run by Italian NGO Emergency. He escaped unhurt.

“They suffered burns, everyone in the halls was screaming for help.”

A photo posted on WhatsApp purportedly of the function room showed blood-splattered bodies, some with clothes partially ripped off by the force of the blast, overturned chairs and broken glass strewn over the floor.

President Ashraf Ghani declared Wednesday a national day of mourning for the victims of the attack, which he described in a statement as an “unforgivable crime”.

A manager of the multistorey Uranus Wedding Palace, which also hosts political and religious functions, told AFP the suicide bomber blew himself up in the middle of the gathering of around 1,000 people.

“There are a lot of casualties — I myself have counted 30 casualties,” he told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The aid organisation Emergency said on Twitter 33 wounded and seven dead had been taken to its hospital in Kabul.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, but the Islamic State group has claimed most recent suicide attacks in Kabul, which has become the most dangerous place in the country for civilians.

The Taliban condemned the attack in a WhatsApp message.

It was the bloodiest assault in the Afghan capital since

Dzaferovic for constructive work,” Bosnian political journalist Ranko Mavrak said in a radio interview.

“These three will have to decide whether they want to act as a body that seeks points of agreement or creates problems,” he added.

While the Dayton Peace Accords that designed Bosnia’s power-sharing arrangement ended a devastating war, critics say the system has entrenched communal divisions and hampered effective governance.

The country’s unwieldy government is further complicated by two separate administrations in its highlyautonomous sub-regions: one for Serbs and one shared by Croats and Bosnian Muslims.

Those so-called ‘entities’ are strung together by weak central institutions.

Dodik’s elevation to the top office could mark another blow to the fabric of a country he has previously skewered as a “failed concept.”

The firebrand led Bosnia’s Serb-run half for over a decade and periodically threatened to hold a referendum on its secession.

Last year, the US placed him on a blacklist for undermining the country’s peace agreement.

The 59-year-old seemed to soften his tone slightly after he was elected to the national presidency, saying he wants to work with Bosnian Croats and Muslims “in the interest of all.”

On Tuesday he repeated

The White House said on Monday it restored in full the media credentials of CNN reporter Jim Acosta, ending a contentious legal battle, but also warned that he may be ejected again if he fails to abide by new rules being implemented for media

his assurance that he did not want to “act to the detriment of anyone” and wished for “effective cooperation”.

Political analyst Tanja Topic said the politician appeared to be making a “conciliatory gesture,” though “it is still difficult to say whether Dodik will be constructive and whether he will work in the interest of the state.”

A day earlier, Dodik had repeated his demands to undo parts of the Dayton Peace Accords, including shutting down the office of the High Representative — an international envoy that has been sent by the UN since 1995 to oversee the peace deal.

“My policy is not changing, it’s just my workplace that’s changing,” he said on Monday.

Among ordinary Bosnians, there is little hope for major changes in a paralysed political system that has allowed corruption to flourish and stalled economic reforms for years.

Unemployment affects up to one third of the country, where large numbers are migrating abroad for work.

“There’s nothing more to expect here,” said Almir Korjenic, a 32-year-old applying for a work visa at the Slovenian embassy, summing up a widespread sense of political fatigue. “(The politicians) fought each other before the elections to position themselves well after the elections and resume looting the country,” he said.

Ivanka Trump Used Personal Email for Govt Business, Says Report The US president’s daughter and senior advisor, Ivanka Trump, used a personal email account for government business in violation of federal records rules, The Washington Post reported on Monday.

The Post, citing anonymous sources, said the discovery was made by White House officials reviewing emails in response to a public records lawsuit.

When asked about it, Trump said she was unfamiliar with details of the rules, the Post said.

A spokesman for Trump’s attorney confirmed that she did use a private email account before she was informed of the rules, and said that all her government-related emails had been turned over months ago, the newspaper reported.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly pilloried Hillary Clinton, his rival in the 2016 presidential election, for her use of a private email server for government business while she was secretary of state.

Then FBI director, James

mostly civilians. The attack was claimed by the Taliban.

Last month’s parliamentary elections sparked a wave of deadly violence across the country, with hundreds killed or wounded in poll-related attacks.

It is not the first time religious scholars have been targeted by militants in the Islamic country.

In June a suicide bomber struck near a gathering of clerics in Kabul, about an hour after the group had proclaimed such attacks a sin.

The latest attack comes as

the Taliban intensifies pressure on Afghan security forces, even as the international community ramps up efforts to convince the group to engage in peace talks.

US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad expressed hopes in Kabul on Sunday that a peace deal to end the war could be struck before the Afghan presidential election, scheduled for April.

His comments underscore an apparent increasing sense of urgency in the White House and among American diplomats for a peace deal to be done quickly.

White House Restores CNN Journalist’s Credentials, with Warning

To Counter Tribalism, Bosnia Swears in Three Bosnia swore in its three new presidents on Tuesday, with all eyes on Serb nationalist Milorad Dodik, who will be the first to take the helm of a government driven by ethnic divides.

The three men will rotate seats every eight months under the complex peace deal that ended Bosnia’s 1990s war and split power between its three main groups: Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks), Serbs and Croats.

In October, voters chose nationalists to represent the first two communities, in a sign of how tribalism continues to shape politics more than two decades after the war.

The three men took their oaths inside Sarajevo’s Presidency building before several dozen ambassadors and politicians.

Dodik, a pro-Russian politician who is sanctioned by the US, will co-lead with Bosnian Muslim president Sefik Dzaferovic, who hails from the nationalist conservative SDA party, and Croat president Zeljko Komsic.

Komsic, a Social Democrat, is an outlier among the two nationalists and has called for a “Bosnia of citizens” that would transcend communal divisions.

But he is already facing attacks from the main rightwing Croat party that accuses him of betraying his people and now threatens to obstruct activity in parliament. “It is currently very difficult to find a common denominator between Dodik, Komsic and

a twin bomb attack on a wrestling club in September that killed at least 26 people, and one of the deadliest in the country this year.

A suicide attack on Afghans protesting the appointment of a local police chief in the eastern province of Nangarhar in September killed at least 68 people and wounded another 165. No group claimed that explosion.

In January an ambulance packed with explosives detonated in a crowded street in the heart of Kabul, killing more than 100 people,

Comey — fired by the president last year — announced that the bureau would reopen an investigation into Clinton’s use of the private email server just 11 days before the 2016 presidential vote, a move that some say may have helped cost her the election.

Trump supporters still chant “Lock her up!” at rallies, mimicking one of Trump’s battle cries during the election campaign, indicating they believe Clinton should be jailed.

events with the US president.

CNN said it was dropping its lawsuit on Acosta’s access, a case that raised concerns over constitutional rights for the press.

“Today the @WhiteHouse fully restored @Acosta’s press pass,” CNN said on Twitter.

“As a result, our lawsuit is no longer necessary. We look forward to continuing to cover the White House.”

The White House said it also issued new rules that call for journalists to “ask a single question” and then “yield the floor.” Follow-up questions will only be taken “at the discretion of the president or other White House official.”

“We have created these rules with a degree of regret,”

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

“We would have greatly preferred to continue hosting White House press conferences in reliance on a set of understood professional norms… But, given the position taken by CNN, we now feel obligated to replace previously shared practices with explicit rules.”

Sanders added that “a more elaborate and comprehensive set of rules might need to be devised” for interactions with the president outside the White House, but that it is holding back for now “in the hope that professional journalistic norms will suffice to regulate conduct in those

places.”

Acosta returned to the White House on Friday following a court order from a judge hearing CNN’s lawsuit alleging that Acosta’s ejection after a heated exchange with President Donald Trump violated constitutional free press guarantees.

CNN’s suit was backed by major media organizations, including Trump favorite Fox News.

In last week’s order, US District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled that the White House must readmit Acosta because it failed to give the journalist “due process” while reserving judgment on questions of press freedom and constitutional rights.

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Ex-CBN Gov: No Guarantees Economy Won’t Relapse into Recession Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja After a careful appraisal of economic indicators, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Obadiah Mailafia, has called on the federal

government to prioritise economic stabilisation, expressing concern that the prevailing conditions indicate that there are no guarantees that the economy would not relapse into another recession.

Following five consecutive

Decentralisation of Power, Autonomy Real Issues in Restructuring, Says Agbakoba Akinwale Akintunde Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and foremost pro-democracy activist, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba SAN, has said the real issue in restructuring is autonomy and decentralisation of power.

Agbakoba, who is also the National Chairman of the leading third force political parties now known as Alliance for Peoples Trust (APT), said this yesterday at a press briefing which took place at his Ilabere, Ikoyi office in Lagos.

He said in almost thirty years, restructuring has mutated from the National Question, resource control, state creation and zonal arrangements.

According to him, the substance of restructure is simply to transfer power from exclusive federal list to concurrent state list, adding that this would involve constitutional alteration.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria said the crisis of the Muhammadu Buhari presidency or what he described as the crisis of the old order, should immediately be replaced with the campaign to make Nigeria work, adding that this is the new deal.

According to him, “The real issue in restructuring is autonomy and decentralisation of powers. In almost 30 years, restructuring has mutated from the National Question, resource control, state creation and zonal arrangements. The substance of restructure is simply to transfer power from exclusive federal list to concurrent state list. This will involve constitutional alteration.

“National Order refers to the stable arrangement of systems

as contrasted to social chaos, in which existing structures are accepted and maintained by the states. It is crucial to stabilise our national disunity. This is why restructure is vital. Examples of national order include: the treaty of Westphalia, the treaty of Vienna, the League of Nations, Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) among others. In Nigeria, there is none! This is a big issue.

Without resolving issues around a stable national order, Nigeria will continue to be disunited, and we cannot move forward.

This therefore is the number one big issue.

“This issue involves administrative transfer of power from the federal to states pending constitutional devolution. This is PDP Celebrates Jonathan 61, Mocks Buhari over ‘Next Level’ Plagiarism a temporary measure before constitutional restructuring.

The federal government can administratively devolve powers to states by Executive Order.

For example, the president can receive money for a federal road in Anambra State and transfer the money to the Anambra State Government to execute.

“Tied to political devolution is the notion of strengthening institutions. The Nigerian Government is weak because it is made up of weak institutions.

All that is needed is to adopt Chapter 9 of the South African Constitution, so that independent institutions like INEC, Police, EFCC, judiciary, Accountant General among others are assured to work free of interference.

This will limit impunity and improve independent action.

“Strong institution is a critical big issue for good governance.”

Ezekwesili Kicks against Security Chiefs’ Presence at APC Rally Segun James Hope 2019, the Obiageli ‘Oby’ Ezekwesili for President organisation, has condemned the presence of top military and security officers at the unveiling of the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s promotional event for 2019 presidential election.

The campaign organisation said yesterday that the presence of security chiefs at the event was similar to cases in previous administrations, saying such only succeeded in compromising agents and officers of security parastatals in the country.

It, therefore, called on Nigerians to henceforth resist such actions and any attempt to continue with their failed system.

“We are confident in the ability of suffering Nigerian masses to stop the shenanigans of enemies of true democracy.

“A lot of Nigerians have commented on the likelihood that the retention of the service chiefs by President Muhammadu Buhari is part of a well oiled plot to rig the 2019 election. However, as a mass- oriented purposeful political grouping, we can only continue to mobilise citizens towards the exercise of their franchise and civic responsibility,” according to a statement issued by the group.

The group added, “We are also confident that no gang up can defeat the social forces arrayed against the decadent leadership that has impoverished our people and extinguished hope in the country.

“Our presidential candidate, Obiageli Ezekwesili, is committed to lifting 80 million Nigerians out of abject poverty and undoing the economic downturn imposed on the nation.”

quarters of negative growth, which it slipped into in 2016, the Nigerian economy exited recession in the second quarter of 2017.

Mailafia told THISDAY that in spite of the country’s exit from recession, what presently holds sway is a fragile recovery, adding that a robust economic management team was desirable at this point.

According to him, “What we have at present cannot seriously be considered as an economic management team.

“As a matter of fact, you have spelt out all the main issues. Inflation is rising; Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is declining while unemployment is at an alltime high. The urgent priority should be stabilisation of the economy.

“What we have at present is a fragile recovery. There

are no guarantees that the economy would not relapse into recession. We need a robust economic management team in place. What we have at present cannot seriously be considered an economic management team.”

The institutions of economic policy management, he added, must be made to work in concert, adding: “We need to ensure a coordinated approach between fiscal and monetary policy. Priority must be given to fighting inflation, ensuring a robust fiscal stimulus, promoting growth as well as having bold measures to tackle unemployment.

“The key bottlenecks strangulating this economy must be confronted head-longthe power and infrastructure deficit, insecurity, weak policy implementation and geopolitical uncertainty.”

Speaking on the country’s borrowing, the former CBN top official said it was clear that “our borrowing has reached a dangerous threshold where N60 out of every N100 of the government revenue is going into servicing our loans.”

He noted that at a point, “it will undermine our creditworthiness and this in turn will put a dent on confidence of local and foreign investors,” adding that “as they get discouraged, the naira will come under pressure.”

Mailafia stressed that “when the naira comes under pressure, we would do the normal reflex action of dipping into the external reserves,” adding that “dipping more and more into the reserves will put additional pressure on the exchange rate, leading to vicious rather than a virtuous cycle of growth.”

The economy expert recalled

that when the current All Progressives Congress (APC)led administration took over from the past government, Nigeria’s national debt stood at N11 trillion.

He said: “This is what a supposedly corrupt PDP administration accumulated as debt between 2007 and 2015.

Today, in just three and a half years, the APC government has accumulated what has taken our national debt to a staggering N23 trillion, and the sad part of the story is that Nigerians have not seen anything that these loans have been used for.

“Only a fool would borrow to spend on consumption. If we cannot cut our coat according to our cloth, tough luck! But to borrow for consumption and recurrent expenditure is unworthy of a great country such as ours.

TO WHOM HONOUR IS DUE…

L-R: Chief Executive Officer, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, Mr. Austin Avuru; Fellow, Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), Dr. Daniel Lambert-Aikhionbare; recipient of 2018 Aret Adams Award, Dr. Precious Omuku; his wife, Mrs. Jane Omuku; and President, NAPE, Dr. Andrew Ejayeriese, at NAPE’s conferment of the Aret Adams Award to Omuku in recognition of his contributions to petroleum geoscience profession both in academia and oil industry, during NAPE’s 36th international conference/ exhibition in Lagos …yesterday PHOTO: ETOP UKUTT

PDP Celebrates Jonathan at 61, Mocks Buhari over ‘Next Level’ Plagiarism Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has felicitated with former President Goodluck Jonathan as he clocks 61 years, while also describing him as icon of democracy.

The main opposition party has also mocked President Muhammadu Buhari for allegedly stealing the Rex Institute’s “Next Level” logo and mantra as his 2019 campaign mantra and presenting it to Nigerians as their idea and creation.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr.

Kola Ologbondiyan, in a separate statement yesterday, described Jonathan as a pillar of contemporary Nigeria democracy, whose patriotism and personal sacrifices ensured the unity, stability and corporate existence of the country, particularly given the circumstances of the 2015 general elections.

According to him, “Jonathan remains a true Nigerian leader, whose administration is known, not only for good governance and landmark development projects across the country, but also for the entrenchment of democratic values, rule of law, equity and justice, respect

for separation of power and constitutionally guaranteed rights of citizens as well as engendering harmonious coexistence of all interests in our nation.”

Ologbondiyan noted that Jonathan demonstrated that the true essence of leadership and statesmanship is the application of the virtues, opportunities and authority therein for the good of others rather than self.

Meanwhile, the main opposition party has mocked Buhari’s presidency for stealing the Rex Institute’s “Next Level” logo and mantra as his 2019 campaign mantra and presenting it to Nigerians as their idea and

creation.

The PDP said the revelation has further confirmed that the Buhari Presidency lacks integrity as a fraud syndicate that thrives on deception, lies, false performance claims, certificate forgery, and corruption, while always trying to take credit for the achievement of others.

Ologbondiyan added that PDP was however, not surprised that Buhari, in his desperation, could go as low as patronising plagiarism and false credit claims, since it is clear that he lacks the competence to initiate and articulate an original blue print for leadership.

2019: UPP Adopts Buhari as Presidential Candidate Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The United Progressive Party (UPP) has formally endorsed the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, President Muhammadu Buhari as its candidate for the 2019 general elections.

The party, which had earlier said it would be fielding a candidate

for next year’s presidential election, said yesterday that after evaluation of all options, its National Working Committee (NWC) has decided to endorse President Buhari as the presidential candidate in 2019.

While making the decision of his party known to journalists in Abuja, the National Chairman of UPP, Chekwas Okorie, said the party considered a number of

yardsticks, including President Buhari’s sincerity, uprightness and credibility before arriving at its decision.

“After a painstaking evaluation of all the options and in consideration of the sincerity, uprightness and credibility of President Buhari, which he has brought to bear in his approach to governance for the past three

and half years, the NWC of the party acting on behalf of the National Executive Committee after extensive consultations with all stakeholders in the party wish to announce to the Nigerian public that Preside nt Buhari has been endorsed and adopted as our presidential candidate for the 2019 president election, “ he said.

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No Soldier Guards Politicians, Says Nigerian Army Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt The Nigerian Army has declared that its soldiers do not guard civilians, especially politicians, and electoral materials during, before and after elections in the country.

The General Officer Commanding (GOC), 6 Division

of the Nigerian Army, MajorGeneral Jamil Sarham, made the statement yesterday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, while speaking at the opening of the 2018 Correspondents’ Week of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Rivers State Council, with the theme: ‘Promoting Security in 2019 Elections: The Role of

Ogun PDP Leaders Prevail on Kashamu to Run for Governor Deborah Orji After yesterday’s visit by the leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Senator Buruji Kashamu has agreed to fly the party’s flag in the 2019 governorship election.

Kashamu, who currently serves as Senator representing Ogun East, however, added that a formal declaration will be announced at a later date in Ogun State.

The party chieftains led by the state chairman, Chief Adebayo Dayo, said the party visited Kashamu to persuade him to be the governorship candidate following the voluntary withdrawal of the erstwhile candidate, Leke Shittu, from the race.

According to Dayo, “Shittu heeded the call of the party’s elders and withdrew from the race to make way for the emergence of Senator Kashamu, who we believe is fit and proper for the race. “We pleaded with him and he agreed with us.

“We want to thank Senator Buruji Kashamu for offering himself for this service. He has done quite a lot for the party and the people. We are sure that with him as the candidate, the race to Oke Mosan will be a mission-accomplished for the party.”

In his response, Senator Kashamu thanked the party leaders and elders for the visit

and the offer. He promised not to disappoint them.

He said further, “I have to accept this offer because I have received representation from various people and groups calling on me to run for the post of governor.

“I have been called upon by many traditional rulers and the good people of Ijebuland, our friends from Remo, Ogun Central and Ogun West to join the gubernatorial race.

“I have also received calls from youth groups, women, artisans and the masses across the length and breadth of Ogun State who have asked me to join the race and take our dear state to greater heights.

“It is in the light of the above that I have accepted the offer to run for the post of Governor of Ogun State and I promise to do my best to justify the confidence reposed in me and my running mate, Dr. Reuben Abati.”

Stressing that going by the dynamics of the state, it was the turn of the Ijebus to produce the governor, Kashamu said, “Since the era of our father, the late Chief Olabisi Onabanjo, as governor of Ogun State between 1979 and 1983, the Ijebus have been yearning for the governorship of the state.

“After that, it went to the Egbas. Chief Olusegun Osoba did it twice first between 1992 and 1994, and then again between 1999 and 2003.

Emergence of ‘New Speaker’ Illegal, Says A’Ibom Assembly Okon Bassey in Uyo Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly has declared the purported emergence of Mr. Nse Ntuen, as a new Speaker of the Assembly as illegal and urged the people of the state to ignore him.

Following the declaration of the seat of five members of the Assembly vacant on Monday, a cross section of members were said to have elected Ntuen representing Essien Udim state constituency as the new Speaker on the same day.

But yesterday, the Chairman, House Committee on Information of the Assembly, Mr. Imeh Okon, accused Ntuen and two other ousted members from the Assembly of breaking into the chambers without the mace and announcing him (Ntuen) as the new Speaker.

Okon in a statement said the Assembly would continue to uphold the rule of law and would use all constitutional means to ensure that the sanctity of the legislature in the state is upheld.

“We are informed that the

former member of Essien Udim State constituency with two other ousted members, unlawfully broke into the chambers after the close of plenary to announce himself the new Speaker of AKHA. This is clearly an illegality unbecoming of former honourable members.

“A close view of the video of their purported sitting that has now gone viral betrays their level of frustration and ignorance of parliamentary rules and conventions.

“It is important to state that what happened bears grave consequences for the sanctity of the house and the legislative arm of government which remains the undisputed symbol of our democracy.

Okon explained that one of the members, Mr. Idongesit Ituen representing Itu State Constituency had already been ousted from the House by a federal High Court in Uyo saying the Speaker merely effected the order of the Court and acted according to the provisions of the law by declaring his seat and that of others vacant.

the Media’.

He was reacting to allegation

by Director General of Initiative for Credible Elections, Ledum Mitee, that about six trucks of soldiers guard only one politician in Rivers State.

Mitee posited that such development does not send the right signal about the neutrality of the armed forces during elections.

But in his contribution, Sarham, who was represented by the Commander, 56 Signals Brigade, Brigadier-General Basset Etuk, said the Nigerian army does not get involved in electoral activities but only support the Nigerian Police

and other security agencies involved in the process.

He also denied that soldiers could be authorised to guard a civilian, especially a politician.

Etuk said: “You will all agree with me that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, has done a lot since he assumed command and administration of the Nigerian army. His vision is to have a professional and responsible Nigerian army in the discharge of its duties.

“On many fora, he has said the Nigerian army is apolitical and this has transcended to all men and officers of the Nigerian army. When troops are called out for internal

security operations, it is as usual with the authorisation of the Commander-in-Chief and we have our rules of engagement.

“The Nigerian army does not have any business with elections. All we do is to support the police and other security agencies that are normally deployed for such elections. So, if you see a soldier escorting a ballot box, that order must have been passed illegally.

“You cannot see a military man involved in electoral activities. I make bold to say that soldiers do not guard civilians.” He also drew

attention to incidents of seized army uniforms by the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), stating that it implied that there could be people faking to be soldiers.

Also, presenting a paper on the theme of the Correspondents’ Week, a senior lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, Rivers State University, Professor Godwin Okon, canvassed for immunity for journalists practising in the country.

Okon described election period as a defining moment in the history of any country, saying the 2019 election will be a defining moment for Nigerians.

COURTESY VISIT…

Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State (right), and Chairman, Police Service Commission (PSC), Alhaji Musiliu Smith, when the latter paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House, Enugu … yesterday

Anenih for Burial December 1 The former Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Anthony Anenih, will be buried on December 1, 2018, in his Mausoleum at his country home in UzenemaArue, Uromi, Edo State.

Anenih died on October 28, 2018, in Abuja.

A statement issued yesterday by the family said in concert with the Edo State Government, it had planned

to organise funeral wakes in Abuja and Benin which will culminate in his interment in Uromi.

In the statement signed by Tony Anenih Jr, the family appreciated the expression of commitment of Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, to accord Anenih a state burial as well as the involvement in the funeral. He also appreciated the governments of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River,

Delta and Rivers States which have equally expressed commitment to the burial.

Anenih said as a corollary, November 27, 2018, has been fixed for a vigil mass and a session of tributes at the Ecumenical Centre in Abuja at 5p.m.

He added that this would be followed on November 30, 2018, at University of Benin Sports Complex, Ugbowo, Edo State, by the ceremonies

of lying-in-state from 1p.m., requiem mass at 4p.m., while tribute session will start at 5p.m.

Anenih Jr noted that on December 1, 2018, the body of his late father will leave for a funeral requiem at St. Anthony Catholic Cathedral in Uromi at 12 noon to be followed immediately by interment in his Mausoleum and reception to be held at Ahojie Stadium in Uromi.

German Consulate Organises Solar Skills Training The Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany has organised a four-week intensive training on Solar Photovoltaic Installation Supervision for engineering students, which had 25 instructors from eight partnering universities participating in the training.

According to a statement made available to THISDAY by the

Consulate, the training which was organised in Lagos was aimed at ensuring that universities are well equipped to transfer expertise on solar technologies to engineering students.

It also noted that the project ‘Support to Renewable Energies at Universities in Nigeria’ is part of the foreign office contributions towards the German-Nigerian

energy partnership, which initiated the concept of solar energy for universities in the country.

The statement said: “Ensuring that universities are well equipped to transfer expertise on solar technologies to engineering students, and this is one of the main aims of a support activity financed by the foreign office of the Federal Republic of Germany.

“The project ‘Support to Renewable Energies at Universities in Nigeria’ is part of the foreign office’s contributions towards the German-Nigerian Energy Partnership, which initiated the concept of solar energy for universities in Nigeria. The funds are implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).”

FG Committed to Decongest Roads, Says Amaechi SundayOkobiandOluchiChibuzor

In its efforts to decongest roads in Lagos State as well as the Apapa port, the federal government has promised to build a standard gauge line into the port.

It stated the railway line would also enhance the ease of doing business within the area and

reduce the current vehicular challenges been experienced by motorist leading to the five terminals.

The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Ameachi, disclosed this while inspecting facilities in the Nigerian Port Authority complex (Lagos ports) in Apapa recently.

He promised that the

current administration would do everything possible to give Nigeria the best rail gauge network that would improve the economy, adding that necessary study that will guide further action by his ministry are currently undertaken by engineers, “who will come up with report within a month or

two of inspections.”

The minister said: “After the study, we can then take a decision on that. We will wait for the engineers, as they said we should give them a month or two to do their study. So when the result of study comes out, then we would know what to do.”

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Ndume Opposes Govs, Recommends N40,000 Minimum Wage Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The senator representing Borno South senatorial district, Ali Ndume, has said the new minimum wage should be N40,000, instead of the proposed N30,000.

The senator said this yesterday when he featured on News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja.

Ndume dismissed claims by

governors that states cannot pay the proposed amount, adding that it should be accepted and implemented.

The tripartite committee on the minimum wage review had recommended the figure in its report submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari on November 6.

But the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and Governor of

Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, said the amount was unrealistic, adding that they can only afford to pay N22,500.

Commenting on the matter, Ndume said: “When the governors literally say they cannot pay, I just don’t want to agree with that.

“If you say you can’t pay,

how and why? I was thinking that the argument would be backed by facts.

“You know on the average what you get on monthly basis, you know your wage bill, and then you put it up to N30,000 and then put the figures.

“I don’t know the constitutionality of this, but I

think that the minimum wage should be N40,000.”

Ndume, however, said the new minimum wage should be realistic based on the capacity of state governments.

“Don’t forget that the labour force of Nigeria is less than one per cent of the population, and whatever the state gets is for the whole state, not

for only workers,” he noted.

“So, if you say you take the whole money the state gets and pay workers with it, it is also not fair. So, I think there should be balance in this.”

The senator added that there is a need to reform the civil service without necessarily retrenching or downsizing the workforce.

Police Working Towards Credible 2019 Elections, Says IG Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri The Inspector General of Police (IG), Ibrahim Idris, has assured Nigerians that the police are currently working towards credible elections in 2019.

Speaking at the Summit on Election Security Management for the North-east in Maiduguri, Idris who was represented by the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) in charge of Federal Operations, Rasheed Akintunde, said the Force is preparing the minds of the people to support it, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other security agencies to ensure credible elections.

He said: “We (the police) are equally preparing the minds of politicians that elections should not be do or die affairs.

“There are so many trainings going on now, the training is constant. We are going to continue with the trainings, the local training and the national training. This training is going to continue until we start the elections.”

Also speaking at the summit organised by the Nigerian

Policing Programme (NPP) in partnership with the Nigeria Police Force, Maiduguri which had in attendance, among others, the Operation Lafiya Dole Theatre Commander, party chairmen, the Chairman of the Governorship Aspirants’ Forum, Commandant of the Nigerian Civil Defence Corps of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States, Commandants of DSS and Prison Services, the representative of the IG said the summit was aimed at improving the Nigerian Police Force’s contribution to the delivery of safety and security for Nigerians in a target states.

He said it aimed at strengthening the internal and external accountability mechanisms, and improving coherence for security provision among and between formal and informal security actors.

The Acting Head of Service, Borno State Civil Service, Alhaji Mahdi Gazali, who represented Governor Kashim Shettima, while declaring the summit opened, said the state has experienced a lot of challenges as a result insurgency.

Omokri: Buhari’s ‘Next Level’ Document Built on Lies Deborah Orji A former media aide of exPresident Goodluck Jonathan, Mr. Reno Omokri, has mocked the ‘Next Level’ plan made by President Muhammadu Buhari for 2019 elections, saying the document is built on lies.

In a statement issued yesterday by Omokri, the former presidential aide noted that Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organisation has been established to have plagiarised their campaign agenda and logo titled: ‘Next Level’, from a thesis authored by Kelly Costner, an Associate Professor of Winthrop University in South Carolina, United States.

According to him, even though Nigerians already associate the Buhari administration with plagiarism and lack of originality ever since they plagiarised a speech by the legendary French leader, Charles de Gaulle ‘I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody’, it still comes as a shock that the All Progressives Congress (APC) would be so brazen as to steal the intellectual property of an institution and pass it off as its own.

Omokri stressed that the administration had three and a

half years to prepare for their second term campaigns.

“It is sad that after almost three years of taking Nigeria in the wrong direction, the Buhari-led government has no future plans, and has hurriedly packaged lies and treachery as its plans,” Omokri said.

He further stressed that the dishonest behaviour of the president is the “most recent episode of a pattern of dishonesty that includes arranging a fake Martin Luther King Jr. award to be bestowed on President Buhari at the Presidential Villa; announcing a fake Air Nigeria and plagiarising the logo, and most embarrassing of all, lifting the ‘Change Begins With Me’ speech almost word for word from a speech by former US President Barack Obama.

“This act clearly shows that the entire ‘Next Level’ document is built on lies, and Nigerians are warned that the Buhari government has no ‘Next Level’ plans, rather, they only have copy and paste plans.”

He added that Nigerians are invited to contrast the stolen ‘plans’ of the Buhari campaign team with the Atiku plan which is original, workable and will ‘Get Nigeria Working Again’.

IMMUNISATION IN THEIR MINDS..

L-R: Deputy Governor of Yobe State, Abubakar D Ali; Governor Ibrahim Gaidam; and Commissioner for Health, Dr Muhammad Bello Kawuwa, during an end-of-year meeting on routine immunisation in Damaturu...yesterday

Yobe Records Highest Improvement on Routine Immunisation, Says Bill Gates Martins Ifijeh Of the six states where Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and Dangote Foundation have signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the promotion of routine immunisation, Yobe State has shown the greatest improvement over the recent period, the Founder of BMGF, Bill Gates, has said.

In a video-conference endof-year review meeting with Yobe State Governor, Ibrahim Gaidam, other officials of the state, and a team from BMGF and Dangote Foundation, Gates said the progress was encouraging.

The virtual meeting took place with the Yobe State team in Damaturu, Bill Gates in Seattle, USA and the Managing Director of Dangote Foundation, Zuwaira Yusuf joining from Lagos.

“This looks like we are

immunising more children, but it looks like there is still around a third (of children) that are not getting fully vaccinated.

So, Yobe is definitely on the right track but with more work to do,” Gates said.

The technology billionaire and philanthropist urged the state to sustain the tempo, especially with elections, which could take attention away from the issue of routine immunisation, coming soon.

“Your Excellency, with elections coming up, it will be critical to make sure we don’t lose the momentum on routine immunisation. So, we ask that you think about how we can make sure the work continues to get the priority you have shown up to this point.

“We think that the data we are getting particularly from the LQAS should guide our activities. Certainly, we have some LGAs that are very high performing. We feel like there is probably some best practices

in those LGAs that will help show the way. So, we can learn from that and bring additional focus to the LGAs where there are still substantial quality issues. We hope that the health commissioner can focus on how we can spread those best practices”, Gates added.

On her part, Yusuf lauded the “very solid progress” Yobe has made so far.

She, however, called on the state to do more work on community engagement and bring on board more community leaders to be part of the ongoing effort.

On his part, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Chief of Field for Borno and Yobe States, Mr. Geoffrey Ljumba said the progress Yobe State made recently was a result of the fact that routine immunization has been integrated into the larger scheme of primary healthcare development in the state. “This is the way to go,” he said.

Ljumba urged other states to build routine immunisation into the larger mix of their primary healthcare systems too.

On his part, Governor Gaidam, who thanked the Dangote and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations for their continuing support, said the state will continue to take an all-hands-on-deck approach to healthcare, where partnerships are sustained and deepened for the benefit of the people of the state.

The Emir of Fika and Chair of the State Council of Chiefs, Alhaji Muhammadu Abali Ibn Muhammadu Idrissa, promised that traditional institutions in the state would continue to partner with all stakeholders to ensure more children are immunised and that all communities continue to participate in routine immunisation.

He congratulated the governor and other stakeholders for the progress recorded so far.

Bauchi Govt Imposes Curfew in Five Communities Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi Following the tension and apprehension generated

by Sunday’s violent clash in Bauchi metropolis that claimed four lives, the state government has imposed an indefinite dusk-to-dawn curfew on five communities in Yelwa area of Bauchi Local Government Area (LGA) to forestall further loss of lives.

The decision to impose the curfew in Kagadama,

Lushi, Tsakani, Kusu and Anguwan Ngas, according to the state governor, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar, was to curtail the crisis and ensure that it did not spread to other parts of the state capital and eventually reprisal attacks elsewhere in the state.

The governor in a statewide broadcast yesterday regretted the crisis which has claimed several lives.

He described it as most unfortunate considering the

fact that relative peace has been enjoyed in the state since the inception of his APC-led administration in 2015.

While appealing for calm among the people of the area, the governor said he had personally visited the area to have first-hand assessment of the situation, warning that his administration will not condone any further act of violence from any quarter.

The governor further stated that security operatives have

been adequately mobilised to the area to ensure that law and order was maintained, calling on the people to remain calm and report any questionable character to the authority for prompt action.

It would be recalled that a birthday party had turned chaotic on Sunday leading to violence clash between two rivals over a lady, a development that degenerated claimed no fewer than four lives and at least three houses.

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WEDNESDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Eagles, Cranes Battle to Scoreless Draw in Asaba Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba Fierce rivals Nigeria and Uganda settled for a goalless draw in an entertaining friendly played at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba yesterday.

There was a full house at the arena for what was the first –ever international football match in the capital of Delta State, and though the spectators rooted for a win for the three-time African champions, they went home satiated by the endeavour of the Super Eagles and the spirit of competition between both teams.

The draw in the Asaba Friendly was the second time in eight matches by three-time African champions against the Uganda Cranes.

It was also the Super Eagles’ second draw in five games since losing 2-1 to Argentina at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

For the two nations, the international friendly served as preparation for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon as both teams booked their spots with good result in their respective Match-day 5 qualifying games over the

weekend even with a game in hand.

The Ugandans had the game’s first real chance, but Derrick Nsimambi, after beating John Ogu from a long ball, went for the spectacular overhead kick, playing the ball wide off the goal area.

The visitors were quick off the mark, as the tricky Derick Nsibambi came close from a good move in the 10th minute, but three minutes later, Nigeria also knocked on the door though Captain Ahmed Musa’s pull –out was well read by the Cranes’ defence.

In the 15th minute, Victor Osimhen should have put the Eagles in front when he wrestled the ball from Timothy Awany, only to overplay his showboating and lose the ball.

Oghenekaro Etebo’s free kick came quite close, Osimhen headed wide and another Etebo free kick rose a bit too high, as the Eagles piled on the pressure with youngster Samuel Chukwueze full of creativity on the right wing. The Villarreal of Spain star danced past Awany and Godfrey Walusimbi in the 33rd minute, but Musa couldn’t get to the the pass to finish up.

In the second half, Samuel

Kalu, Mikel Agu, Isaac Success and Moses Simon worked hard at getting a goal, as the crowd demanded for one with

their song. But the final touch was lacking. At the other end, the brilliant Emmanuel Okwi, alongside Denis Iguma, Khalid

Aucho and Waiswa Ndhondi threatened the Nigeria goal severally, without any success in breaching it.

A final opportunity presented itself in added time, but Agu headed Kalu’s corner kick narrowly over the bar.

Super Eagles new youngster, Samuel Chukwueze (right), during yesterday’s international friendly with Uganda at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba

NFF Signs New, Improved Contract with NIKE The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and leading sportswear company, NIKE, yesterday in Asaba, Delta State signed a new, robust partnership agreement that officials from both organizations termed ‘dawn of a new era.’ American kit company NIKE had teamed up with the Nigeria Football Federation in April 2015 following the departure of another global brand, but Tuesday’s contract is seen by both parties as the real deal.

The agreement is for four years at the first instance, with an automatic renewal clause that will take the marriage to

the end of the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals. “We need to know where we are coming from to be able to appreciate where we are now.

A few months after we came on board for our first term in office, I was told that we needed to buy jerseys for the National Team to play a football match.

That was how bad it was, because the kit sponsor at that time terminated the contract. “So, I made contacts with some highly connected persons and worked hard to convince NIKE to come on board. We were coming from a weak position but they made the agreement

AWCON: Falcons Apologise over Loss to Bayana, Play Zambia Today Players and officials of the Super Falcons have begged Nigerians for forgiveness over their opening day loss to South Africa at the on-going African Women Nations Cup in Ghana.

The Bafana Bafana of South Africa defeated the Super Eagles 1-0 on Sunday at the Cape Coast Stadium, Ghana.

The Super Falcons’ next match is against Zambia in their second group game today.

Speaking in Cape Coast yesterday, the Super Falcons’ Captain, Onome Ebi appealed to Nigerians not to give up on them, saying they would do better in the forthcoming games. Ebi assured Nigerians and supporters of Super Falcons that despite the poor start, they would

play to qualify for the 2019 Women World Cup, as well as win the trophy for a record ninth time. “We are determined to correct the lapses that cost us the match against South Africa, but we want to appeal for Nigerians’ continued support as we strive to retain the trophy,� she said.

Flanked by Asisat Oshoala, Rasheedat Ajibade and Rita Chikwelu, Ebi said they played as a team and in the interest of millions of Nigerians back home.

On allowances allegedly owed the players, she disclosed that they received their camping entitlements three days ago and thanked the Nigerian Football Federation for its unflinching support.

flexible for us. Today, we are happy we teamed up with NIKE because after we qualified and participated at the FIFA World Cup in Russia, the company was the one chasing us for a new improved contract,� President of NFF, Mr. Amaju Melvin Pinnick, said at the contract –signing ceremony inside the Stephen Keshi Stadium.

Chairman of the NFF Marketing, Sponsorship and TV Rights Committee, Mallam Shehu Dikko, who is also the NFF 2nd Vice President, said NIKE’s faith in Nigerian Football and its encouragement all the way have been heartwarming.

“They never stopped believing in us and in our teams, and after they conducted their due diligence on everyone involved in the running of the NFF, they were very eager to sign this new deal as far back as when we returned from the World Cup in Russia. But we kept telling them to give us some time. “We are very happy because this new agreement comes with good money on annual basis, more supplies, improved qualification bonus for our teams, door-to-door delivery of kits, royalty for the NFF on jerseys sold and it has now been expanded to include our women

national teams.�

The new agreement is also flexible with regards to market situation, and performance of the national teams. “We have a window for renewal of this contract in 2023 but most terms of the agreement as presently constituted would improve should the Super Eagles make a huge impact at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. “This contract brings a huge sigh of relief. Now, we do not have to worry about clearing kits at the ports because NIKE now has that responsibility to bring it to our door. All the na-

tional teams are now captured, we earn money on number of jerseys sold and a new kit will be designed for Nigeria prior to the 2020 Olympics Games in Tokyo,� Dikko added.

Tina Salminen, NIKE’s Sports Marketing Director (African Football), expressed delight at the signing of the new contract: “NIKE is very, very happy with its relationship with Nigeria. The jersey we designed for Nigeria for the FIFA World Cup won the award as for Best Designed Jersey and was hugely popular.

It has remained a source of reference in NIKE meetings and events ever since.

Asoju Oba Cup to Serve off Nov 26 The annual Asoju Oba Molade Okoya-Thomas Table Tennis Championship, Africa’s longest tournament in the game, is to serve off on Monday, November 26 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos.

Although the star prizes for the winners in the men and women’s singles were not revealed, there are strong indications that the winners of

this 50th edition of the tournament will get brand new cars for their efforts.

If that happens, it will bring back the memories of 1988 when legendary Atanda Musa, defeated his greatest rival then, Yomi ‘The Hawk’ Bankole to win a brand new Peugeot 504 salon car. Since the demise of the initiator of the tournament in 2015, the family of late Sir

Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas has, indeed, continued to sustain the legacy of their patriarch in unearthing stars in the game.

For this edition, 24 titles are at stake in three categories of the competition: cadet, Intermediate and senior. The women and men’s singles, doubles and mixed doubles are the categories to attract more attention.

Son of the late Asoju Oba of

Lagos, Ayodeji Okoya-Thomas said at yesterday’s briefing that: “For the tournament which will start next week, two new giant trophies have been unveiled for both the male and female categories which is now renamed, Lady Olivet’s Trophy.

The 50th Championship is to be attended by the Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode.

Akinsanya, Babalakin, Others Emerge Winners at Southern Sun Ikoyi Golf Tourney Akindele Akinsanya at the weekend emerged the winner of this year’s Southern Sun Ikoyi Golf Tournament that held at the Lakowe Lakes and Golf Resorts in Lagos.

Udom Udoh and Remi Olukoya were the first and second runner-up in the men’s category of the tournament which attracted over

100 golfers to the beautiful course with breathtaking scenes.

In the ladies category, Idowu Babalakin, Buday Chantal and Rita Okafor were the top three finishers to smile away with exciting gift items.

The 18-hole event, which employed four-some format of play with the best three scores per hole counting, was the

seventh edition of the annual tournament and was graced by business associates and friends of the hotel.

It presented the participants the opportunity to network with pleasure as they enjoyed the tournament with a gamut of other activities.

Speaking at the prize giving ceremony, the General

Manager, Southern Sun Ikoyi, Mark Loxley, commended athletes, sponsors, guests and the media for taking out time to participate at the tournament despite the long drive and their busy schedules. He said it showed their commitment and consistent support to the hotel during the course of the year.

TR

Wednesday November 21, 2018

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Price: N250

MISSILE Oshiomhole to Atiku “If you are going to create 10 million of jobs, how come that when you were in government before and you produced a (NEEDS) document, where you promised to create seven million jobs, by the time when the government was out, we had lost Michelin; Dunlop closed down; entire textiles industries closed down; we witnessed unprecedented industrial obituary.”

-APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, stating that the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar’s promise of 2.5 million jobs per annum contained in his policy document is deceitful.

KAYODEKOMOLAFE THE HORIZON

kayode.komolafe@thisdaylive.com

0805 500 1974

In Defence of the Civil Service

I

t is important to preface this defence of the civil service in this season of campaigns with an observation: not a few voters would find it most welcome that the presidential candidates are presenting their programmes in a manner that has heightened the prospects of issue-based elections in 2019.

For instance, the Buhari “Next Level” and the Atiku ”Plan to Get Nigeria Working Again,” should provide solid substrata for analysts, critics and other commentators to work on in the next three months or so. As this important process begins in earnest, the media in particular should be reminded of the provisions of the electoral law that all candidates and political parties should be fairly treated in terms of the attention given to them.

In other words the 2019 presidential election should not be reduced to a settled contest between the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), President Muhammadu Buhari, and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Without prejudice to the objective fact that APC and PDP are the two largest parties, it is undemocratic and unfair to completely ignore the other parties and their candidates. The media should be reminded of the underlying principle.

In fact, this principle informs Section 100 of the electoral act which makes it mandatory for the “public electronic media” to allocate “equal” airtime to all political parties and their candidates.

It is in this sense that the plans and development strategies of Donald Duke, Oby Ezekwesili, Obadiah Mailafia, Kingsley Moghalu, Gbenga Olawepo, and Omoyele Sowore and other presidential candidates should also be critically discussed along with those of Buhari and Atiku.

In the coming weeks, attempts will be made to discuss in this column the competing plans on display to develop Nigeria as voters prepare to decide on them next year.

Meanwhile, this campaign season is a good time to stress the obvious fact that the presidential election is actually a process to decide on the role the state should play in the development process.

Names of political parties presenting candidates will appear on the ballot papers. Market forces will certainly not appear on any ballot paper. The purpose of election is, therefore, to give jobs to those who are expected to deliver on public goods while in government. That is why it would be irresponsible socially and politically for politicians to turn round and wring their hands when it is time to deliver public goods to the people while pointing in the direction of market forces.

Since our politicians and their experts relish citing the examples of Asian Tigers, it is pertinent to observe that one streak that runs through the development approaches in Asia is that the state is never absent when it comes to efficient economic management.

As Nobel Prize in economics Joseph Stiglitz once put it while reflecting on how some Asian countries survived the 1998 financial crisis: “The East Asian states set out to create and regulate institutions which promoted savings and helped allocated resources, including scarce investment.

They promoted investments in infrastructure, human capital, and the advancement of technology.” Another economist actually said the state in Asia “governs markets.”

Now, the capacity of the state to perform the role assigned it in the Nigerian constitution - the security and the welfare of the people – would be partly determined by the quality of the public sector.

The civil service is the nucleus of the public sector.

It may not be out of place if political parties have in their strategies of development programmes to boost the capacity of the civil service as “the

Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita engine room of public administration.”

However, despite the huge volume of research and scholarly works that abound on public administration in Nigeria, a lot of prejudice still abounds in the discussion of the place of the civil service. The prejudicial trend has exacerbated as neo-liberalism prescribes market solutions to all problems. In that context, the civil service is virtually cast in the image of an inferior institution.

This trend is manifest in the piece by a fellow columnist, Simon Kolawole, entitled “The Demons Tormenting Nigeria.”

Among other things, on Sunday, Kolawole constructed on this page his argument like this: “(The) Civil service is the second demon on my list.

Go to any country we call “developed” today and check out the calibre of their civil service, which is the engine room of public administration. This is where policies are formulated, implemented and appraised. Take a country like the UK as an example. The civil service is filled with first-class brains. The best products from their best universities get automatic employments. Civil service runs the country. That is why UK has had four prime ministers in 11 years and the system still runs smoothly regardless.

“Our civil service is not only excessively bloated (both at federal and state levels), what is the calibre of the civil servants? How many first-class brains

The bureaucracy is an indispensable institution in making any political economy work. It does not matter if the systemic orientation is left or right

end up in the civil service? Have you ever tried to get anything done in a typical government office anywhere in Nigeria? Enter the office and nobody will acknowledge your presence. If you greet them they will respond with contempt. They are busy watching African Magic or, increasingly these days, Zee World. How many people get promoted on the basis of productivity? Promotion is basically a formality. Files go missing with ease.

One director or the other is never “on seat” to sign a document that could save a life. The attitude is appalling.

“But how do we recruit our civil servants?

Usually, when there are vacancies, slots are allocated to politicians and other demigods who use the opportunity to resettle their thugs and hangers-on. In many instances, these employees hardly come to office. The dedicated of the lot report late to office, close early and take many days off. By Friday, government offices are like ghost towns. They are only committed to receiving salary alerts at the end of the month. And we expect Nigeria to develop! If we do not build a meritocratic, well-motivated, trim and fit civil service, Nigeria is going nowhere. Let crude oil sell for $500 per barrel, we would remain stuck in this vicious circle.”

This trend should be thoroughly interrogated.

A more scientific approach is required in solving the problem in the civil service.

To start with, the victim should not be mistaken for the culprit. For the civil service is certainly not one of “the demons tormenting Nigeria.”

If anything at all, civil servants are among the victims of the underdevelopment of Nigeria’s neo-colonial capitalist system.

It is not enough to keeping repeating the sermon of an “a meritocratic, well-motivated, trim and fit civil service,” without putting the trouble with the civil service within the context of societal decay.

That sermon has been preached since the great purge of 1975/76 when the civil service lost his soul. Subsequent administrations have performed all kinds of experiments with the civil service depending on their fancies. On a rather comical note, Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State recently came up with his own brand of reform of the civil service: all civil servants would take some days off in the week to farm. It is actually a way of circumventing payment of salaries. On a more serious note, however, the history of the civil service in the last 40 years has been a history of reforms. The shelf is filled with reports of panels set up to reshape the civil service. Yet the situation has got worse over the years.

Kolawole cites the examples of the civil service in the “developed ” world in which the working of the system rests squarely on the civil service.

What should be added is that in those places the civil service maintains its traditional feature of permanence because like other members of the society civil servants are entitled to social protection in the forms in which it exists in different countries.

In the United Kingdom, for example, neither the clerk nor the permanent secretary would have to seek funds outside his salary to go for overseas treatment of an ailment because like other workers he or she would be a beneficiary of the National Health Service (NHS).

It is particularly objectionable to insinuate that that there is not enough “first class brains” in the Nigerian civil service. There are first-class brains amidst misfits in the private sector, politics, military, police, the liberal professions, traditional institutions, religious organisations etc. The aggregate of the respective contributions of these sectors have not taken national development beyond the present unsatisfactory level. To make a useful diagnosis

of the problem, you should not isolate the civil service from the society and then inferiorise the mentality of the ladies and gentlemen keeping the institution alive despite all odds. In any case, Nigeria has a history of some senior civil servants who retire to become boardroom gurus in the private sector. A number of them have been branded models of leadership. When private banks collapse or some erstwhile blossoming industries just vanish on the economic landscape, it is not because “first class brains” are not recruited in the private sector. You may need to look at the system the country operates among other steps in the diagnostic process.

The poor productivity of the civil service is not a thing to rationalise, but it should be put in context.

The civil servants are not to blame for the lack of equipment to do the work. You should not only ask for how many first class brains are recruited into the civil service, you should also ask questions about the degree of digitalization that has taken place in the service. Some civil servants have neither chairs nor even office spaces allocated to them. So how would the offices not look like “ghost towns” when members of the public came calling for their services? It is not only the work ethics of civil servants that are “appalling,” their salaries are also grossly inadequate. Worse still, in some states they are owed arrears of these salaries. In the systems that Kolawole referred to all these practices would not be permitted. So, before you declare civil servants lazy, you should first inspect their work environment. The bogey of “over-bloated” civil service has been on in the Nigerian system for a long time. In over 40 years the quest for a “trim” civil service has brought about “retrenchments,’” “downsizing” “rightsizing” etc. Even in 2018, political office holders still talk of “ghost workers” without any one being prosecuted for padding the payroll. No one seems embarrassed about this public service culture. Political officers go into government with a retinue of aides presumably to do the job that in their prejudice they think civil servants cannot do satisfactorily. Besides, jobs that engineers, doctors, architects, builders, economists, pharmacists, lawyers etc. in the civil service could do are “outsourced” to contractors. Yet, only the civil servants have the institutional memories of the projects and development trajectories.

Talking about the recruitment of first class brains into the civil service, it is noteworthy that the excellence of professionals in the civil service is as much acknowledged by their professional bodies as the brilliance of their peers working in the private sector. Yet, taking a historical view of things there is every reason to be charitable to the Nigerian civil service. Right from the colonial days, the system has produced excellent administrators in all departments whose credentials could compete with those of their counterparts anywhere in the world. Once upon a time, young university graduates resigned their appointments in multinational companies to make a career of civil service. Unfortunately, the contributions of the shinning stars have been eclipsed by the decay in the system. Beyond the attitude to work, the socio-economic conditions are also important.

What is to be done about the civil service?

The bureaucracy is an indispensable institution in making any political economy work. It does not matter if the systemic orientation is left or right.

The Chinese success story is partly credited to his bureaucracy just as the Italian bureaucracy has saved the system in periods of political vagaries.

Kolawole is right that for Nigeria to develop a virile civil service should be built. One of the building blocks required in the process is institutional respect for the civil service especially by the politicians.

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