SUNDAY 23RD DECEMBER 2018

$2.8m Seized Fund: Union Bank Claims Ownership EFCC insists on investigating transaction Kunle Aderinokun

Following the confiscation of $2.8 million by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which it claimed to be laundered

funds, Bankers Warehouse Limited, which moved the currency on behalf of Union Bank, has said transporting the funds through its couriers was not only legitimate, but also a normal business operation.

But the EFCC has said it would continue with its investigation of the matter and that it is after this it would determine the next line of action as far as the matter is concerned.

In a letter, signed by its Head

of Operations, Dr. Lawrence Ijebor, which was addressed to the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Adebisi Shonubi, Bankers Warehouse, said the two men, namely, Ighoh Augustine and

Ezekwe Emmanuel, paraded by the EFCC as suspected money launderers, were staff of the company, who were on official CIT (cash in transit) movement, covered by a letter of authority issued by

Union Bank. According to the company, the men were paraded and detained despite identifying themselves as employees of Bankers Warehouse with the Continued on page 8

Osinbajo: Buhari's Victory in 2019 is Guarantee for S'west Presidency in 2023 … Page 12 Sunday 23 December, 2018 Vol 23. No 8649

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US Senators Move to Ensure Free Elections in Nigeria Olawale Olaleye

Four United States senators; Jeff Flake, Cory Booker, Johnny Isakson and Christopher Coons came out strongly in the week and insisted that Nigeria must build off on the peaceful transfer of power she pulled off in 2015

as she gears up for the 2019 elections.

The senators, who showed their concern about some of the events culminating in next year’s general election in a letter to Tibor Nagy, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, however, said the United States

government was determined to help the country consolidate her democratic gains, noting that the 2019 elections must meet expectations and international standards.

The Senators’ joint letter of concern about Nigeria’s 2019 election came to fore about

the same time another US congressman, Christopher Smith took a swipe at President Muhamamdu Buhari’s government especially over alleged crack down on the opposition, saying as Africa’s largest democracy and economy, his concerns were

understandable.

Yet, in the same breath, a former presidential spokesman, Dr. Doyin Okupe has declared that Nigeria was in a perilous time and that only God and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could save the nation from total collapse.

In their letter dated December 19 and obtained exclusively by THISDAY, the US senators said to Nagy, “As you know, Nigeria’s next presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled to take place

Continued on page 8

Game Changers of 2018 (II) Olawale Olaleye , Demola Ojo and Olaseni Durojaiye Last week we celebrated leading Nigerian Game Changers, who made a difference in the polity. Today, we continue.

Our game changers conquered the economy, and finance,

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technology and the arts, culture and beyond. Here are the champions: Jim Ovia: Re-telling Africa through the power of books Jim Ovia founded Zenith Bank in 1990 and served as CEO until 2010, when he moved into the

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chairman role. During two decades of leadership, he helped position the bank as one of the most resourced, the largest and most profitable bank in Africa.

Ovia was also the founder of Visafone Communications Limited, which he sold to MTN and is the chairman of

both the Nigerian Software Development Initiative (NSDI) and the National Information Technology Advisory Council (NITAC).

However, the serial entrepreneur and recipient of a Nigerian national honour showed a different side in 2018

when he authored Africa Rise and Shine telling the world that Africa is beyond poverty and that in Africa we too can rise and shine with little startup capital.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg TV, Ovia explained that this perception of Africa

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See THISDAY Weekly Guide to 2019… Pages 18-19

from a hopeless continent to a continent now rising inspired the title of his book.

Hitherto, when people around the globe think of Africa, they visualise conflicts and war, famine, poverty, and desolation.

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PAGE EIGHT GAME CHANGERS OF 2018 (II) However, Ovia paints a very different picture in his book: Africa as a continent ripe with untapped resources, a growing middle class, and abundant opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors.

Part-memoir, part-inspirational business guide, Jim uses his story to remind us of this valuable lesson: You must never allow the perceptions of others to impact your own vision of what is possible for the future.

Herbert Wigwe: the rise and rise of a pair of steady hands The CEO and Group Managing Director of Access Bank plc, Herbert Onyewumbu Wigwe, is a celebrated banker, who has seen Access Bank grow to become one of Nigeria's top banking institutions, soon after succeeding his business partner, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhede in January 2014.

Apart from being one of the top tier banks in Nigeria, Access Bank is today ranked among the top 500 global banks according to a 2015 report by The Banker magazine and still aims to be Africa's top bank.

To this end, it recently acquired another top tier Nigerian bank, Diamond Bank in a deal worth well over $200 million according to Bloomberg, making Access the top bank in Africa with the largest customer base of 29 million.

With over 29 million account-holders, through some 600 branches and with more than 3,500 ATMs in major centres across Nigeria, SubSaharan Africa and the United Kingdom, Wigwe has helped to develop some of Africa's biggest companies in the resources sector as well as in construction, telecommunications, energy and oil and gas sectors through a unique model, which involves understanding and providing financial support and expertise.

His career in financial services spans more than 25 years, including over a decade as Deputy Managing Director.

Today, under his watch, Access Bank has become one of Africa's foremost financial institutions with a strong bias for excellent service delivery as can be seen in its 2018 scorecard. And with the Diamond Bank merger, Wigwe

is the game changer to watch for 2019 and beyond.

Abdulsamad Rabiu: the challenger!

Still building cement factories, Abdul Samad Isyaku Rabiu is the founder and chairman of BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate with interests in manufacturing, infrastructure and agriculture with revenue in excess of $2.5 billion. In 2013, Forbes estimated Abdul Samad's wealth at $1.2 billion, bringing him to the global billionaire's club.

From establishing the BUA International Limited in 1988, Abdul Samad Rabiu has grown the business into a vast empire with interests in cement, edible oil, rice and steel.

Few years down the line, BUA acquired Nigerian Oil Mills Limited, the largest edible oil processing company in Nigeria and later set up 2 flour milling plants in Lagos and Kano in 2005.

By 2008, BUA’s audacious moves into trading in sugar broke an eight-year monopoly in the Nigerian sugar industry by commissioning the second largest sugar refinery in subsaharan Africa. The company went on the acquire a controlling stake in a publicly listed Cement Company of Northern Nigeria in 2009 and commenced the construction of a $900 million cement plant in Edo State commissioned early 2015.

AbdulSamad Rabiu is not all about business. His penchant for philanthropy is equally legendary. Through his BUA Foundation, he has engaged in several charity donations across the country. These include the construction of a 7,000 Square meter paediatric ward at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano State as well as the construction of the Centre for Islamic Studies at the Bayero University Kano amongst several others. Rabiu is reputed to be the only Nigerian to challenge his Kano brethren, multi-billionaire Aliko Dangote and still standing tall.

Leo Stan Ekeh: Konga is it!

Leo Stan Ekeh as Chairman of Zinox Group pulled off one of the biggest deals of the year, not just in Nigeria but across the continent, when his ICT

solutions conglomerate, which is Nigeria’s first internationally certified computer system, acquired e-commerce giant, Konga earlier this year.

The acquisition was hailed by industry watchers as a major development which will help propel e-commerce in Nigeria and finally unlock the massive revenue potential in the global multi-billion-dollar industry.

The move – another attestation to Leo Stan’s business acumen – has helped Zinox make a bold return to an industry it pioneered in Nigeria with the launch of BuyRight Africa.com, which was challenged by the absence of credit card and e-payment infrastructure, when it was launched over 12 years ago.

Tony Elumelu: Building Africa’s Future Entrepreneurs It is difficult keeping up with Tony Elumelu and his innovative business ideas. His large footprints, which cut across key sectors of the Nigerian economy from banking to real estate and oil and gas, attest to his entrepreneurial dexterity.

As impressive as his business excellence is, his desire is to help build and nurture Africa’s next entrepreneurs.

The Chairman of Heirs Holdings is not just a successful economist and entrepreneur; he’s also a philanthropist of note.

The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) is the largest African philanthropic initiative devoted to entrepreneurship.

His origination of the Africapitalism concept, driven through foundation, is changing lives and creating businesses across the African continent.

A few days ago in Cairo, Egypt, the African Export-Import Bank (Afrexim) supported his desire to facilitate growth of intra-Africa trade and the development of African businesses, by granting financing totalling US$600 million to the Heirs Holdings Group.

Iyinola Aboyeji: Tech Wiz Making Waves It says a lot about Iyinoluwa Aboyeji that at just 27 years of age, he has co-founded two of the most successful start-ups out of Africa, but has stepped down from both of them to in his words, give back to the

US SENATORS MOVE TO ENSURE FREE ELECTIONS IN NIGERIA on February 16, 2019. “As the largest democracy and economy in Africa, Nigeria’s ability to hold peaceful and fair elections is of paramount importance to maintaining democratic legitimacy and stability in the region. Nigeria completed a peaceful transfer of power in 2015 and it is important that the country build off this progress and momentum in the upcoming election. “With the election approaching, the United States must reaffirm its support for democracy in Nigeria by calling on all parties to refrain from violence, harassment or intimidation of political opponents, and from impeding the electoral process in any way. “We urge you to speak out against any efforts to interfere in the electoral process in a timely manner to reinforce the US government’s support for elections that are credible, transparent and peaceful,� they stated.

The lawmakers however stated with emphasis that, “What happens in Nigeria will set example for other African nations to follow and it is critical for the United States to focus on helping that country consolidate its democratic gains. We encourage you to take all actions you deem to be appropriate to ensure that

Nigerian elections meet the expectations of its people, as well as international standards.�

On his part, Smith, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, who issued a statement with regards to presidential and National Assembly elections in the country particularly, with respect to cases of violence that is largely attributable to Fulani extremists, said there might be a serious crackdown on the opposition. “I am very concerned by the current trajectory in Nigeria, Africa’s largest democracy and economy, and President Muhamadu Buhari’s apparent crackdown on non-violent protests and harassment of opposition leaders, such as freezing the assets of opposition vice presidential candidate, Peter Obi and the raiding of the home of two sons of opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar. “I call upon the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure that elections will be free and fair, and for the Commission to remain impartial.

I further call upon President Buhari to use his authority to end the violence perpetrated by Fulani extremists, particularly in the Middle Belt region, and question why he has failed to do so. “I also urge the Trump Administration to monitor

the evolving situation closely, and not to hesitate to use its sanctioning authority to hold accountable any officials, who subvert the electoral process or foment violence against citizens,� he said.

Smith, who chaired a hearing on Nigeria on December 13, 2018, titled: “Nigeria at a Crossroads: The Upcoming Election,� had repeatedly called attention to extremist violence and appealed to President Buhari to use his authority to put a stop to it.

As if cashing in on the mood of the concerned US lawmakers, Okupe, who spoke on Friday while speaking on Arise Television, the broadcast arm of THISDAY newspaper, said the economic situation in the country has become terribly bad due to the fact that President Buhari was not in charge of governance of the country and therefore advised Nigerians not to vote for a president, who they are not sure of being in charge of the economy and affairs of the nation.

Okupe, a former governorship aspirant of the PDP in Ogun State, said the president's wife, Aisha Buhari had made it clear to Nigerians that her husband, Muhammadu Buhari was not in charge of the nation's affairs. “His wife came out on television and said the president is not in charge. Mrs. Buhari

startup community he owes so much of his success to.

A recipient of the Forbes 30 under 30 awards, Aboyeji’s most famous startup is Andela, which gained attention, when the venture received $24 million in funding from Mark Zuckerberg.

Two years ago, Aboyeji left Andela, a software developers’ company he co-founded in 2013.

He then co-founded Flutterwave in a move to capture payments solution across Africa.

With $15.7 million in funding, the payments company is empowering Pan-African merchants to execute business on a global scale, processing $1.2 billion in transactions so far. However, he stepped down from Flutterwave in October.

Industry insiders are wondering what his next move will be, considering the serial entrepreneur started his first company Bookneto.com, when he was just 19.

Eric Idiahi with DanladiVerheijen: Partners in private equity.

The duo of Danladi Michel Verheijen and Eric Idiahi are the drivers of Verod Capital Management Limited, a private equity firm, which specialises in providing equity and equitylinked capital in growth capital and buyout transactions. It is one firm that has stood itself out in its chosen field.

Verheijen and Idiahi, both co-partners and founders have consciously raised a firm, which prefers to invest in financial services, business services, education, healthcare, agribusiness, consumer products, manufacturing, services, civil engineering, media and technology, real estate, and energy sectors, thus making a huge impact in such a short time of taking their chances in that critical sector.

With a commitment to invest in West Africa, using Nigeria as its launch pad, the firm has already invested between $3 million and $15 million in private equity. But as an ambitious entity, it also seeks to acquire a majority or significant minority equity stake with minority protection rights in the portfolio companies, while holding assets for between four and seven years. It has made an incredible impact in 2018

said two men are the people that are running the country".

Contending that it would be unwise for Nigerians to still vote the same president whose wife openly told the whole nation that just two men had hijacked his government, Okupe said, “Mrs. Buhari came to the Nigerian public and said you guys have to fight for yourselves because right now, my husband has lost the grip on this administration, and some two people, who we do not know, are the ones running the economy".

The PDP stalwart also lamented the untold suffering being experienced by Nigerians due to poor economic policies of the president, and expressed shock that the presidency seemed completely unaware of the

and certainly a game changer than cannot be glossed over.

David Adeleke: Conquering His World Since his debut in 2011 with singles, “Back When� and "Dami Duro" which were well-received across Nigeria and beyond, David Adedeji Adeleke otherwise known by his stage name, Davido, has continued to conquer his world, releasing song after song, collaborating with local and international artistes as well as signing artistes on his new label, Davido Music Worldwide (DMW).

The singer, songwriter and record producer said after his record-breaking show last December, that 2017 would be child’s play compared to what 2018 had in stock for him.

True to his predictions, if there was any Nigerian artiste, who has conquered his world this year and held it down musically, Davido stands tall amongst his peers.

In fact, he has left quite a few of his contemporaries behind through hard work, commitment, determination and tenacity, despite his privileged background.

From his debut album, Omo Baba Olowo, to singles like "Back When" featuring Naeto C, "Dami Duro", "All of You", "Overseas" featuring Sina Rambo, "Ekuro", "Gbon Gbon", "Feel Alright" featuring Ice Prince, "Gobe", "One of a Kind", "Skelewu", "Aye", "Tchelete (Goodlife)" featuring Mafikizolo, "Naughty" featuring DJ Arafat, "Owo Ni Koko", "The Sound" and "The Money" featuring Olamide, Davido has refused to take a break but continued to see the music world as one for the taking. He definitely changed the music game in 2018.

Aminat Ayinde (with Kenneth Ize): Leading a new generation of Fashion Revolution Both Aminat Ayinde and Kenneth Ize took the fashion scene by storm this year in different ways but with a common denominator, the ARISE Fashion Week.

Ize, a Lagos-born designer, launched his label in 2013, after returning from the University of Vienna where he studied

grinding poverty foisted on the citizens by APC government “The presidency is totally unaffected; they are unconcerned and totally disconnected from the suffering of the masses. The president does not know about many things going on.�

He advised Nigerians, particularly the unemployed youths to salvage the nation's situation by voting for a president that would be in charge and be fully aware of happenings around him. “Is that what we want to vote for – the same government that you don’t know who will run the administration – a country of 200 million people with so many youths? We are in dangerous and perilous times, and only God and PDP will save this

Applied Arts.

His bold collections drew rave reviews at various fashion shows in 2018, with his collection at the ARISE Fashion Week 2018 especially appreciated by fashionistas.

Ayinde is an international model known for her strong bold looks which has gotten her major deals with prestigious brands globally.

She is recognised for being the second runner up in the Cycle 12 of “America’s Next Top Model�, and is currently associated with “Twenty Model Management� located in Cape Town, South Africa.

Tokini Peterside: Innovation through Art Entrepreneur and businesswoman Tokini Peterside founded ART X Lagos, the first international art fair in West Africa, two years ago. Since its debut, ART X Lagos has attracted over 15,000 local and international visitors to see the works of 120 artists drawn from 15 countries across Africa and the Diaspora.

The fair has been described as “West Africa’s calling card for contemporary African art fairs� and has featured numerous exhibiting artists and speakers.

In July this year, Peterside led the visiting French President Emmanuel Macron through a special exhibition by ART X Lagos, of contemporary Nigerian art, as part of the 'Celebration of African Culture' hosted at the New Afrika Shrine in Lagos, to launch the African Cultural Season scheduled to hold in France in 2020.

Peterside wasn’t always in the art world. Initially after graduating from university, she embarked on a career in marketing, and subsequently became head of marketing at MoÍt Hennessy, part of the LVMH Group, in Nigeria.

She later founded TPCollective in 2012, providing strategy, business planning and marketing consulting to luxury and culture businesses in Nigeria, such as ALARA, Maki Oh, a luxury fashion designer; and the Executive Producers of 'Half of a Yellow Sun', the film based on Chimamanda Adichie’s novel, which starred Thandie Newton, Chiwetel Ejiofor and John Boyega.

country in 2019�.

The medical doctor turned politician said the APC government has brought indecency into Nigeria, and has continuously peddled lies, adding that the Buhari administration has not created 12 million jobs as claimed, but contended that Akinwumi Adesina, the erstwhile Minister of Agriculture during Jonathan's government evidently had over 10 million farmers on his mobile wallet data base.

According to him, although the Buhari government might have added two million farmers to what Adesina had verifiably done, it was however saddening that the government could come out to openly celebrate 12 million jobs that they never created.

$2.8M SEIZED FUND: UNION BANK CLAIMS OWNERSHIP identity cards.

"We wish to convey to you that once again, we are facing a challenge with one of the security agencies (this time the EFCC), who detained our couriers yesterday evening while attempting to board an Arik flight from Enugu to Lagos, conveying currency on behalf of Union Bank. They were transporting US Dollar.

"When questioned, they presented their identity cards, identifying themselves as

Bankers Warehouse employees on official CIT movement and also provided letter of authority issued by the bank, covering that movement. Despite the information provided, the EFCC insisted on detaining our employees, taking possession of our goods and threatening to confiscate the currency, without making themselves available to our senior managers, or other agencies familiar with our movements," the letter titled, EFCC Confiscation of

Goods in Transit with Bankers Warehouse, read.

"This evening, our attention has been drawn to an article in Daily Trust Online, as well as the EFCC website https:// efccnigeria.org, where our staff have been paraded as suspected money launderers, exposing the identity of our client and portraying our company in no just negative, but criminal light," it added.

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SUNDAY COMMENT

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

2019 BUDGET AND THE SUBSIDY QUESTION The subsidy regime is not a good option. It is a drain on scarce resources

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ardly had President Muhammadu Buhari presented the 2019 appropriation bill to the National Assembly last Wednesday with a projected oil production volume of 2.3 million barrels per day than the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced a further cut on Nigeria’s quota production for the first half of next year to 1.685 million barrels per day. With the projected price in the bill also pegged at $60 per barrel at a period Brent is selling for less, it is obvious that there are serious problems with the assumptions upon which the 2019 budget was based. Unfortunately, the discussions around the budget are not about these fundamentals but rather about the fact that the president was booed by some lawmakers during the presentation.

Meanwhile, there are a number of other disturbing issues surrounding the budget bill that should engender the engagement of critical stakeholders. One, it was presented barely a few days to the end of the year and just 24 hours before the adjournment of both chambers for the Christmas and New Year break. Two, with the general election coming up in February and March, it is safe to conclude that work on the budget may not start in the National Assembly until April next year.

Three, and most importantly, after circumventing the law under the pretext that the “NNPC is trading in fuel, the federal government is not paying for any subsidy”, President Buhari has finally earmarked money for the payment of fuel subsidy in the 2019 budget.

While we commend the administration for finally toeing the path of constitutionalism on the issue, we are quick to insist that voting a whopping sum of N305 billion to service the consump-

tion of one single item is not only unsustainable but also antithetical to the development of any nation. As we have consistently stated on this issue, there are several compelling arguments for ending the regime of subsidy that has over the years become inefficient and dysfunctional. Even when subsidies might be necessary as a way of achieving some strategic economic objectives beyond the remit of the market, they have to be targeted and must be effectively implemented. This one unfortunately does not meet either of the criteria because it harms rather than help the people.

A

Voting a whopping sum of N305 billion to service the consumption of one single item is not only unsustainable but also antithetical to the development of any nation

Letters to the Editor

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

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

ll factors considered, the subsidy regime is a huge drain on scarce resources that the nation can ill-afford especially at this period. It is also difficult to justify for an administration that came in with the agenda to fight corruption. In June 2014, the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) urged the Senate to cancel the subsidy because it is “a fraud against the country”. But in defence of rejecting the proposal at the time, the then Senate President, David Mark said: “If we sit here now and say remove fuel subsidy, I think that those who are benefiting from subsidy are very powerful and tomorrow they would influence media reports and create the impression that the Senate is anti-people”.

We agree with the FAAC that there is no justification for the retention of the subsidy regime.

But the argument given by the Senate is precisely the reason why every government in the country dithers on the decision that appears to be the most sensible in the circumstance. What President Buhari and his administration must therefore realise is that as long as the subsidy remains, the incentive for private and public actors to game the system will continue to be there.

Indeed, the report of the Nuhu Ribadu-led Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force (PRSTF) submitted to President Goodluck Jonathan in 2012 highlighted the institutional challenges that impede our ability to derive the maximum benefit from the oil and gas sector. According to the committee’s findings, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is being run like a slush fund rather than as a business enterprise.

For the sector to be accountable, transparent and efficient, the only sure way to doing that is total deregulation.

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

Governor Oyetola's Diplomatic Shuttles

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he Governor of the State of Osun, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola has hit the ground running. As the Chief of Staff in the immediate past administration of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, he is certainly not a "new face" in the scheme of things.

It is trite knowledge that the fad amongst our governors is going on incessant foreign trips under the guise of seeking foreign direct investment.

The outcomes of such money gulping trips are largely debatable. But then, it appears that there is a new Sheriff in town at least for now in Osun.

Governor Oyetola seems to be in absolute concurrence with the Yoruba axiom of "ile latin ko eso rode,” "charity begins at home.”

The new Osun helmsman's first port of call was at the Abuja headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, where he was received in audience by the Minister, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, himself a former Governor of Lagos State. According to news reports, the meeting was essentially centered on the State of Osun's infrastructural development. In practical terms, the governor requested

for the intervention of the federal government on the completion of some major federal road projects in the state. The roads listed include but not limited to Iwo-Osogbo, OsogboIlobun and Osogbo- Ilesa Roads. The minister promised to look into the request as the federal government is about to kick-start the process of constructing 365 roads nationwide wide.

It is also important to note that upon assumption of office, the governor inaugurated a Committee on Health Improvement which he's personally chairing. This partially explains his visit to the

Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole, who incidentally is a worthy indigene of Osun.

The minister expressed keen interest in partnering with the new Osun administration to develop what he called "a model healthcare system that every other state in Nigeria would emulate".

Continuing, the minister also disclosed that through Save - One – Million - Lives Initiative, Osun State has won $20 million which would soon be released to the executive governor to kick-start the improvement of healthcare system.

Prof Adewole further said that Osun State is also one of the pilot states to benefit from the Basic Healthcare Provision

Funds. Basic Healthcare Provision Funds is a special intervention to improve healthcare delivery system at all levels.

It is evident that the governor has started well.

Aside the immediate gains inherent, visits of this kind would also guide policy direction. As the governor prepares for yet another round of similar impact making visits, I cannot but wish him the very best. It is hoped that other governors will take a cue from Mr Oyetola by looking inwards for solutions rather than waste taxpayers money on unnecessary globe-trotting.

––Prince Adetayo Adekunle, Ibadan

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NEWS

Acting News Editor Gboyega Akinsanmi E-mail: gboyega.akinsanmi@thisdaylive.com, 08081986590

Osinbajo: Buhari’s Victory in 2019 is Guarantee for S’west Presidency in 2023 Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has joined forces with the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, when he said at the weekend that the success of President Muhammadu

Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 elections was the only the South-west could secure the Presidency in 2023.

Osinbajo, who spoke during house-to-house campaign in Oyo town, Oyo State, also held

a meeting behind closed-doors with the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi.

He said 2019 presidential election mattered to the Yoruba people, because the region had a larger interest in 2023.

Osinbajo, who had earlier in

Ibadan, the state capital, inaugurated Shared Facilities for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), financed by the Bank of Industry (BOI), said the project was a collaboration between the federal government and the Oyo State government.

YOU’RE WELCOME...

Wife of the Vice President, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo (right) with the wife of Enugu State Governor, Mrs. Monica Ugochi Ugwuanyi (left) and bouquet bearer, Princess Daluchukwu Nnaji, during the airport reception for Mrs. Osinbajo at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, yesterday

The Shared Facilities is a scheme for Fashion, Style and Shea Butter Producers, who could not afford the cost of buying the necessary equipment.

Osinbajo noted that small scale enterprises played significant roles in the economic growth of the nation and therefore called on traders to support the president’s reelection to enjoy more of Tradermoni.

Accompanied by the Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, APC gubernatorial candidate in the state, Chief Bayo Adelabu, former Senate Leader and APC senatorial candidate for Oyo Central Senatorial District, Senator Teslim Folarin, Osinbajo lauded the royal father for his wisdom and intellectual intelligence, which he said was second to none in the South-west.

“My visit to Kabiyesi today is home-coming. I have never seen an Oba with political sagacity like Alaafin. I know this is Godgiven, because no university teaches that. Kabiyesi is a man of integrity, that’s why we are following and consulting him.

Everybody here will agree with me that being a Yoruba leader is not easy, that’s why leaders like Senator Ahmed Tinubu consults him in our country.

“Yoruba has a lot to contribute to Nigeria for 2019 elections. It is for us Yoruba, if you understand, it is for us. We are not looking at 2019, but 2023. If we don’t get it now, it may take some time again.

“We have to look forward to that, that is before us, though there could be some little challenges but what I know about President Muhammadu Buhari

is that he is an honest man. If he says he will do something, he will do it.

“If you love Nigeria, you will vote for Buhari. Corruption is the reason Nigeria is not growing. A reason they don’t want Buhari.

They are out again, they are looters, don’t allow them.”

He added that the administration had been building a solid foundation for Nigeria’s actual development, saying “if you want to build, you need a solid foundation first. What we are building will be good to position Nigeria for eventual development.”

Ajimobi, while calling on the people to vote no other party in next election other than the APC, expressed appreciation to Oba Adeyemi for his support for the success of his administration and enjoined other traditional rulers to emulate him.

“Kabiyesi is instrumental to the success and development we record as government during our administration. He is a master of administration. Arguably, this is the most intelligent Kabiyesi in Yorubaland.

“Alaafin is APC, we don’t need campaign. A king that can stand and campaign for our party, if he backs you, the world is in your support and if he does otherwise, then that person should watch it.

We are at peace because you’re for us.

“2019 is about Hausa/ Yoruba, Hausa/Igbo, a bastard Yoruba will not vote for APC. PDP and other parties do not care about the masses; this is the people and party (APC) that are taking care of the masses.”

Ruling Class Sitting on a Keg of Gunpowder for Neglecting Youth, NBC DG Warns Segun James in Lagos The Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Malam Is’haq Modibbo Kawu has warned that the Nigerian ruling class is sitting on a keg of gunpowder with the neglect of the youth in the scheme of things in the country.

Kawu also lamented the rising cases of sectarianism

in the country, a situation he said would not augur well for the peaceful coexistence of the Nigerian peoples.

Kawu, who was the pioneer editor of the Daily Trust newspapers stated this in Lagos at the public presentation of The Nigerian Xpress, a tabloid staging an entry into the nation’s media space; published by a former editor of THISDAY and former

Group Accuses PDP of Buying PVC in Edo Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City The Dennis Idahosa Campaign Organisation (DICO) yesterday, in Benin, Edo State accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of buying Permanent Voters Card (PVCs) from residents of Ovia Federal Constituency of Edo State.

Director General of the campaign organisation, Mr Charity Amayanevbo, who made the allegation said the opposition party was collecting PVCs from the residents in exchange for N5,000.

He therefore called on the police to investigate the allegation with in order to sanitise the electoral process.

He advised all political parties to sell their candidates to the people and not going through illegal means to install themselves in office.

Amayanevbo said that it

was to secure the peoples mandate that the Dennis Idahosa campaign team embarked on vigorous campaign in Ovia Federal Constituency.

He said: “We are greatly disturbed with this unwholesome practice adopted by the PDP, where they have degenerated to the level of buying PVCs for N5, 000 each.

“While we frown seriously at this practice, we hereby call on the law enforcement agencies to investigate this development with a view to bringing those involve to book.

“To us, we believe that election is won by selling oneself to the electorates and not the other way round.

“This is why as a campaign organisation, we have embarked on vigorous campaign across the constituency in a bid to deliver our candidate, Idahosa.

deputy managing director of the SUN Newspapers, Mr. Steve Nwosu.

Citing the city of Kaduna as an example, he noted that the city is now divided along religious lines to the extent that there are parts of the city where both the Muslims and the Christians dare not thread.

He noted that the division in Kaduna started less that 20 years ago, pointing out that

industries that were sustaining and bringing the people together had all folded up.

“The choices that the ruling class began to make, starting with the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) of the mid-1980s have systematically led to the deindustrialisation of the nation.”

He said that given the fact that people under the age of 35 years make up over 75 percent

Kidnapping: NBA, Others Seek Transfer of Ondo Police Commissioner James Sowole in Akure The Elders Council of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Akure, Ondo State branch yesterday joined other groups calling for the Cimmissioner of Police, Mr Gbenga Adeyanju to be transferred out iof the state over incessant cases of robberies and kidnappings.

Citizen is the latest among several groups to demand the removal of the Commissioner in- charge of the Ondo State Police Command, Mr. Gbenga Adeyanju, for alleged The call of the NBA council came after a group Sunshine Liberation Forum (SLF) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Ondo State, had called for the removal of the police commissioner due to the security situation in the Sunshine State.

They accused the commissioner of poor handling of frequent cases of kidnappings in the state.

The NBA Elders Council made

the call after rising from an emergency meeting of past and present chairmen and secretaries as well as leaders of the bar in the state.

Addressing journalists on the outcome of the meeting, the leader of the council, Senator Anthony Adeniyi said the police commissioner had shown that he could not handle the spate of crimes in the state especially kidnapping of lawyers and other members of the public on AkureOwo-Ikare Akoko Highways and Akure-Iju-Ikere Ekiti road.

Adeniyi, flanked by the NBA Akure Branch Chairman, Mr Ola Dan-Olawale and a former State Attorney General of the state, Remi Olatubora, said from all the association’s findings, it was obvious that the Inspector General of police must deploy a more competent top officer to Ondo State to flush-out kidnappers from the forests where travellers were being frequently abducted in the state.

of the population, something must be done immediately to change the trend.

Speaking earlier, the publisher of The Nigerian Xpress, Mr. Steve Nwosu told the audience which included, the former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Nurudeen Mohammed, the Secretary to the Lagos Sate Gvernment, Mr. Tunji Bello, Prof. Pat Utomi, publisher of The Source

Magazine, Ms. Comfort Obi, Lagos state Commissioner for Tourism, Steve Ayorinde, Special Adviser on Media to the Minister of Power, Hakeem Belo among others, that the newspaper was expected to bridge a gap between the traditional media and online publishing.

The newspaper is edited by Alhaji Abdulfatah Oladeinde, a former editor of the Sun.

Yuletide: FAAN Assures Air Travelers of Safety at All Airports Kasim Sumaina in Abuja The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), has assured passengers of its preparedness to cater to the needs of travellers during the yuletide.

General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Henrietta Yakubu, gave the assurance in a statement made available to the press in Abuja.

FAAN said it wished to notify air travelers and other airport users that her network of airports across the country were fully prepared for the usual surge in passenger traffic during the season.

The statement read: “In preparation for the season and beyond, we have beefed up security at all airports, especially the major international gateways in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano.

“Also, we are improving on our facilities and infrastructure to ensure maximum comfort for all airport users. Recently, a brand new international terminal was

commissioned for use at the Port Harcourt International Airport.

A similar facility was also commissioned in Abuja on Thursday December 20, 2018.”

FAAN said the VIP lounge at thetion’s premier airport, the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, has been renovated to enhance passenger comfort and that the carousels were working optimally, amidst other facilities upgrade currently on going.

“The stories are similar at all other airports, as the Authority has put in place facilities, procedures and systems to ensure maximum comfort, safety and security of airport users during this season and beyond.”

Yakubu further stated that: “FAAN will like to use this opportunity to appeal to passengers to please get to the airports early to conclude all check-in procedures in good time, so as to avoid the experience of missing their flights.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 23,2018

OPINION Do They Know There Is Christmas?

Ayo Oyoze Baje canvasses the urgent need to tackle the all-pervading poverty

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s millions of Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the acclaimed saviour of mankind, there are many more who do not have the economic resources to dine and wine, with members of their families and friends. For instance, according to the World Poverty Clock, Nigeria overtook India by the middle of 2018 as the country with the most extreme poor people in the world. Precisely, the 86.9 million Nigerians now living in extreme poverty represents nearly 50% of its estimated 180 million population. This is worrisome.

So is the recent revelation by the federal government that an estimated 40 million Nigerians are believed to be suffering from mental disorders. Permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Abdulaziz Mashi Abdullahi, stated this at the mental health action committee and stakeholders workshop held in Abuja.

Linked to the issue of mental disorder is the surge in thoughts of suicide and the act itself in recent years. Mental health physicians have attributed this to mass hopelessness, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorder, stigmatisation and chronic illnesses often leading to anxiety and depression.

While this rather saddening situation is understandable in some other countries ravaged by environmental disasters of drought, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, typhoons and tsunamis, or the self-inflicted wasteful wanton wars, it is far from this in our dear nation.

Here, indeed, the victims such as the homeless, the elderly poor, the beggars, orphans and widows agonise over preventable poverty in the midst of plenty! Not left out of course, are the hapless civil servants owed for months by their cruel and conscienceless state governors that collect different funds from the all-powerful federal centre but simply refuse to pay them. There lies the irony and the pain!

In a report published by Oxfam in 2016, the combined wealth of Nigeria’s five richest men - then put at about $29.9 billion could effectively end extreme poverty in the country. In fact, Celestine Okwudili Odo, Good Governance Programme Coordinator for Oxfam in Nigeria, said: “Extreme inequality is exacerbating poverty, undermining the economy, and fermenting social unrest. Nigerian leaders must be more determined in tackling this terrible problem.”

This has always informed one’s clarion call on the powers that be that they should channel their efforts to combating

poverty with the same zeal they do with their lop-sided war against corruption.

Looked at from the perspective of the human development index (HDI), which is a summary measure of assessing the three key areas of long-term healthy life, access to knowledge and decent standard of living, it paints a parlous picture of pure deprivation of the marginalised masses.

According to the World Bank, Brookings Institution and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) 2018 Report, Nigeria does not rank amongst the top 10 fastest growing economies in Africa. While countries such as Ghana, Ethiopia and Cote d’ Ivoire post growth rates of 8.3%, 8.2% and 7.2% respectively, Nigeria’s growth rate stands at a miserable1.9 %. Sadly, Nigeria is the only oil-producing country languishing in that shameful socio-economic bracket.

This is curious because Nigeria was ranked Number One in Africa in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, all under the muchmaligned Dr. Goodluck Jonathan-led administration. In fact, as at 2014 Nigeria was rated as the country with the 3rd fastest growing economy in the world, but currently languishes at the 88th position!

Under this administration inflation rate galloped from 13.7% to 15.6%, between May and July, 2016. Compared to that of South Africa of 6.3 %, Republic of Niger of 2.3 %, Zimbabwe of -1% and Mali of -0.4% there is nothing to cheer about. All this takes place because the dynamics of consumables and essential needs such as food, kerosene, transportation, housing and utilities are closely tied to fuel hike and inflation. The sudden

Extreme inequality is exacerbating poverty, undermining the economy, and fermenting social unrest.

Nigerian leaders must be more determined in tackling this terrible problem

hike in fuel price from about N97 to N145 per litre on May 11, 2016 has had deleterious effects on the quality of life of the average Nigerian.

One had expected that Mr. President was going to assemble a team of top technocrats and seasoned economists, irrespective of their political or religious persuasions and be ready to listen to them. But that was never done. As usual, the tightening of monetary policies led to devaluation of the naira. Since we do not produce or export much of homegrown products, importers have been spending huge naira in exchange for the dollar. With the rampaging insurgency in the North-East, which has led to food shortages in addition to hike in the price of farm products, a recycling of economic policies will not get us out of the woods.

How do we reduce the number of the extremely poor people in Nigeria? Firstly, our policymakers should think out of the box. We need the enabling environment such as stable power supply, good access roads and access to soft loans with single digit interest rates to kick start industrialisation.

We need futuristic approach to quality education delivery for Nigeria to key into the global knowledge economy.

Indeed, there should be technologically-driven industrial hubs to coordinate and facilitate small and medium scale enterprises across the six geo-political zones.

We should stop transferring our economic fortunes to foreign hands. We need to revisit the policy of liberalisation and the social benefits of privatisation. There should be fiscal federalism and devolution of the enormous political and economic powers from the centre to the federating units as it was during the First Republic. This would be better still under a return to the less costly parliamentary system of government, as being championed by some patriotic lawmakers.

Of similar significance is the need to critically address the obscenely high cost of accessing political power vis-a-vis the huge emoluments of political office holders. These twin evils fuel corruption and undermine good governance that could benefit the poor. Our political leaders should come to terms with the harsh economic realities and tread the path of frugality, to become true servant- leaders as late President Umaru Yar’ Ardua advocated.

We need to deploy the huge sums of money recovered through the anti-graft war to improve the quality of life of the average citizen, especially children, the elderly, orphans, the homeless and widows who are the greatest victims so that they know or have the resources to celebrate Christmas.

ASUU Strike And The Enemy Within Nigeria students need to take a more active position on issues that affect them, writes Joe O. Odey

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he federal government in 2013 signed an agreement with the Nigerian university system to expend N1.3 trillion on the rehabilitation of our public universities in an effort to raise them to acceptable standards and to be able to produce self-reliant, employable graduates.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan paid N200 billion for upgrade works to commence in the 84 public universities across the country. The outstanding balance of N1.1 trillion was to be paid in annual tranches for five years.

After that 2013 disbursement, the federal government failed to make the subsequent yearly payment expected in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018; prompting the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to embark on the strike that is currently ongoing.

After the 2013 ASUU – FG accord, the federal government has apparently shown very little (if any) interest in addressing this quality of tertiary education issue being canvassed by ASUU. Even the government of change which rode to power in 2015 promising to totally revamp the education sector has done very little to keep to the accord - refusing to pay the 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 tranches of payments totalling N880 billion to the universities.

This government apathy towards education has been plausibly attributed to the fact that the offspring of policymakers and government officials in the corridors of power (who have the wherewithal to settle the education matter once and for all times) do not school in Nigerian public schools, hence their apathy and lack of concern.

It is public knowledge that two children of President Muhammadu Buhari - Zara and Yusuf - graduated from a London University a while ago. Recently, Ahamefula, the son of Governor Rochas Okorocha also graduated from a Manchester University.

Last November, Professor Abubakar Adamu, a former Vice Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano, who is presently the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) publicly flaunted his son's graduation from a British university, right in the thick of the ASUU strike.

It is very evident that the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) is now a shadow of its former self. Rather than seek to charge the government to account for its refusal to be concerned about our ailing universities, NANS has maintained a studied, embarrassing silence in the face of this debacle.

Officials of the association, having deviated from the objectives of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of students in the country (which is the sole reason for its existence), switched to singing the praises of politicians who can hardly be said to have contributed in any way towards the improvement of education in the country as well as awarding worthless plaques to them.

Some days ago, the NANS PRO, one Bestman Okereafor was in the news commending President Buhari and requesting him to reshuffle his ministers. Not a single word about the ongoing strike was said by the PRO. This goes to buttress the present decayed state of the association.

Government has to introspectively examine its lacklustre approach to this education reform demand of ASUU. So far, it has given the matter short shrift and this neglect is deepening the decay of the education sector in the country.

Government has to stop reneging on the pact it signed with ASUU – no excuse suffices for this inconsistency considering what is at stake.

This present state of affairs is unhealthy for any nation that seriously desires developmental progress. It is therefore obligatory for the government to give urgent attention to the education area (in line with ASUU’s plea) and renew

its commitment to the total overhaul of the sector in the interest of the future of the country.

The campaign for educational reform should not be left to ASUU alone. Nigerian Students (being the worst affected by government indolence and refusal to do the needful) have to take a far more active interest in these matters. Rather than idle by and expect things to sort themselves out, students should be asking questions and prodding government to keep its word by implementing its part of that agreement – the revitalisation of tertiary learning in the country.

It is election season and students constitute a massive voting bloc. In preference to spending every spare moment on social media hurling invectives at one another across political divides, students can band up and trenchantly demand positive action from political parties and candidates, especially the ones in office, before considering them for electoral support.

It would be a fine thing also if NANS can rouse itself from its slumber and mobilise the students it marginally represents to form one united front which will pressure the government to yield to the rational enjoinment for educational reform.

ASUU, despite having undeniably genuine demands and crucial concerns has to eschew its evidently solipsistic posture and find a common, workable ground with the government, especially in these days of national fiscal privation.

The union should do well to consider the plight of students who are hardest hit by the disruption occasioned by this ongoing industrial action. It has succeeded to bring the federal government to the negotiation table and should endeavour to reach a workable understanding in the interest of all concerned parties.

––Odey wrote from Garki, Abuja

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 23,2018

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LETTERS

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Projecting Uncommon Values In Buhari’s Change Era

o be clear, the change era was brought about by the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government of President Muhammadu Buhari. As a reminder, change was the catchphrase on which the APC and its presidential candidate drove their campaigns for a new Nigeria.

They garnished their promises with the possibilities that change comes with. It was a strategic mantra that enjoyed the buy-in and support of a vast majority of Nigerians.

The countrywide support at that intersection was not in any way misplaced. Validation: change is the only permanent thing in life as it unfurls in perpetuity. In the penumbra of the 2019 presidential election, the APC administration has tweaked the change agenda to announce its next level agenda to Nigerians.

The vice president’s smile when he mounted the dais to respond to the opening remarks

by Okunbo at the inauguration of his Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartments on Saturday, December 15, 2018, in Abuja, was understandably big.

The administration’s change agenda had just received a significant third-party endorsement amid the litany of woes about

Osinbajo

how things have retrogressed in Nigeria, especially in the economic sphere.

Okunbo’s endorsement was from the heart. He was not out to massage the ego of the vice president or the Federal Government nor was he playing to the gallery to appeal to the sensibilities of guests who had

converged on the premises of the five-star hotel and hospitality icon for its inauguration.

Indeed, Okunbo contextualized the contending issues that he had to grapple with at the outset of the Buhari administration and explicated how, in pragmatic terms, he had deployed his business savoir

faire to survive in a climate that had suddenly become seemingly inclement for businesses to thrive.

He had gradually, in his speech, prepared the hearts of the people to receive the magnitude of his uncommon stories of how he overcame the pains and strains of his investment uncertainties, beginning with the cancellation of his Ocean Marine Solutions (OMS) Limited’s pipeline security contract for crude oil movement by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Being a major contract for the delivery of uncommon values in which his company enjoys a comparative advantage over others in terms of possession of the critical equipment such as over 50 marine vessels, he was concerned but not despondent.

The contract was farmed out to a department of the NNPC and, interestingly, according to him, the corporation became a charterer of his company’s vessels in that circumstance.

When he experienced the initial setback, he had decided to explore other businesses where he could provide uncommon values. The idea of the multi-billion naira Wells Hosa Greenhouse Farms Limited, according to him, popped up and he had to sell his aircraft to raise the money for the

Exigency of Ndigbo Muslims Togetherness

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here used to be the controversy over the existence of Muslims of Igbo origin.

But that was very long ago. Now the controversy should be on the number of Ndigbo Muslims of Nigeria and not in their existence because they are in existence.

Ndigbo Muslims are in every state or every local government of the Igbo territory. But there is yet no assurance that they can be found in every Igbo village.

Anyone who claims that they are not in existence is living in the very long past because history shows that they had started reverting to Islam in the early 1900. Investigations show that those who put up the claims, even from amongst the elite and advanced Igbo people, are evidently doing such as the bases to deny and suppress them.

It is quite unfortunate that in the 21st century when civilization in all ramifications is permeating all nooks and crannies of the world with freedom of association having become a universal trend, the Igbo people or say, majority of them would still stand against their own people who adopt a different way of relating with God – people who believe in Islam. Though Christianity is the predominant creed in Igboland, Islam has been in Igboland for over one hundred years. However, both Christianity and Islam are not the original religion of the Igbo. The Igbo were all traditional worshippers. That is why it beats imagination that they could stand against another religion which is universally accepted. Of very

recent, after all, secessionist Nnamdi Kalu has openly introduced Judaism which is being accepted by the Ndigbo people. So, why should Ndigbo Muslims be a case for the Igbo nation?

Ndigbo Muslims have been in minority indeed. They are scarcely heard of in the sphere of governance. They are actually not recognized by their political and by extension, their socio-cultural elite. Some of them even hide their faith whenever they are in their homeland for fear of being tackled, heckled or evenhackled by their people.

Some of them have, on that account, deserted the Igboland to live, procreate and manage life outside Igboland. It is worrisome. It is uncalled for.

And it is disheartening. The Igbo should not deny their own people on the basis of adopting a different way of worship. They should, rather, decipher between Islam and Muslims. They should dig deeper to understand what Islam stands for and what some Muslims do with or in Islam.

Because of their minority and orchestrated impoverishment and suppression by the local and federal authorities, Ndigbo Muslims have lived in fear, disarray and disunity.

Every member had resulted to seeking different ways of survival. Some toed the honourable ways while others indulged in other mean methods including begging and fallacious tendencies.

Though some are true, the frequency of persecution reports by new converts to Islam from the Igbo has often

created scenarios of religious caricatures in the eyes of Northern and Southwestern Muslims. That is by the way.

There are such scenarios within the majorities.

Ndigbo Muslims had been disunited for too long and it had caused them heavy losses as a tiny entity.

Now, for the first time in the history of Nigeria, they have agreed to speak in one voice through the South East Muslims Organization of Nigeria (SEMON) and to align themselves with Ndigbo agenda even while promoting the unity, peace and progress of Nigeria. They recently met in a national summit in Enugu state, the headquarters of the South East geopolitical zone of Nigeria to deliberate on the theme, Igbo Muslims in Nigeria: Challenges and opportunities. As normal, the Enugu state governor ignored the invitation sent to him as well as the appeal to pay him a courtesy call. And as normal, the question remains: Who are these people called Ndigbo Muslims?

Daily Trust newspapers reported SEMON as decrying marginalization of the minority Ndigbo Muslims by both the state and federal governments which had never had any positive plans for them, saying that its members had always faced threat of disqualification in any electoral process, in addition to the fact that they are denied appointments by governments. “In the history of Nigeria, no Igbo Muslim has ever been appointed as Minister, Ambassador, or even Vice President.

This is not the same treatment

other religious minorities are receiving in Nigeria.” It is a pathetic situation for the Igbo religious minority group.

In a 12-point communiqué issued at the end of the summit, signed by the national executives of SEMON and endorsed by state representatives and elders, they resolved to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari and each of the governors of Southeast states, as well as other socio-cultural and religious groups in Nigeria such as Ohaneze Ndigbo, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Muslim Ummah of Southwest Nigeria (MUSWEN), the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Jama’atul Nasiril-Islam (JNI), amongst others, to seek integration and foster unity in Nigeria.

They lauded Igbo leaders’ efforts in defence of the Ndigbo cause and interest in Nigeria, but expressed concern over their exclusion in Ndigbo meetings and plans, a political strategy they doubted would be productive for the development of Igboland and the nation especially as the Southeast seeks the Presidency in 2023. However, for the progress of the Ndigbo Muslim Ummah, they tasked SEMON to continue to advocate for equity and fairness for Ndigbo Muslims and cooperate with governmental and non-governmental organizations that mean well for Igboland, for Nigeria and for Ndigbo Muslims.

––Muhammad Ajah, Abuja

investment.

He told the vice president and the quality gathering that he had a fully-covered eight-hectare greenhouse farm that has been producing assorted vegetables of international standards and eight more hectares that have just been fully covered. In a change era in which many businesses have collapsed and many more cannot operate at optimum capacities, Well Hosa Greenhouse Farms Limited produces 4,200 metric tonnes of various vegetables annually that meet international standards.

Read this: he does not owe any bank a dime on the construction of the hotel and apartments as well as on the farm project. Both projects, according to him, are testimonies to his tenacity and commitment to provision of uncommon values.

As the vice president and other guests, including Speaker Yakubu Dogara and Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo Sate, focused their attention on the man and listened to his story, it was evident that no one doubted Okunbo’s professed audacity to seek and provide solutions to difficult problems in particularly difficult terrains as well as his binder to excellence.

Perhaps, what blew the minds of the distinguished gathering was the story of how, after the cancellation of his security surveillance for crude oil movement by vessel contract by the NNPC, the corporation had expressed the intention of building the Bonny-Port Harcourt and Warri-Escravos crude evacuation pipelines.

He had moved in to deliver the pipelines on the basis of a mere letter of intention by the corporation. Significantly, this was without a dime from the national oil company.

The contract was negotiated after the pipelines were delivered. That was as audacious as it was ambitious. What model of business deal was that? It was out of this world and speaks to the tenacity of character of the titanic businessman with the Midas touch. How many Nigerian companies could do that? That remains a clear at-

testation to Okunbo’s patriotism, which is worthy of accolades and national honours.

He also spoke confidently on the occasion about integrity that has been his mainstay in business. How many businessmen and women can boast that they are above reproach like Caesar’s wife in matters of business transactions and/or deals in Nigeria? He said he had nothing to fear, boasting that he had never been indicted for any shady deals since he immersed himself in the business terrain.

He said that at over 60 years of age, the only thing he was committed to was to speak the truth and bequeath a legacy of legitimacy to his children.

Certainly, it was a cool night for the shrewd, risk-taking investor as he announced that the NNPC, convinced beyond measures of his company’s capacity to deliver uncommon values in the security of pipelines and delivery of crude to the nation’s refineries in the Niger Delta, has just negotiated and awarded his company oil infrastructure surveillance contract for the protection of the 87-kilometre Trans Forcados Pipeline (TFP), to curb losses on the pipeline.

Media reports credited to the NNPC’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Ndu Nghamadu, had said that “the decision to assign the TFP surveillance package to Ocean Marine Solutions was reached after consideration of huge losses on TFP and rigorous appraisal of the company’s impressive record of performance on the Bonny-PortHarcourt and Warri-Escravos crude evacuation lines.”

In rounding off - and this is very instructive - Okunbo provided some insight into the intricate world of business when he said any business that was not geared towards offering goods or services was not business. He had gone further to reiterate that, in his own case, he always strives to deliver uncommon values, saying that was the reason government had continued to seek him in an era of change.

Sufuyan Ojeifo, Abuja

Good News on Ajaokuta Steel

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he recent approval by the Senate mandating the federal government to spend the sum of one billion dollars from the excess crude accounts is a welcome move to revitalise the neglected Ajaokuta Steel project.

Indeed, the step taken by the Senate is long overdue and the early release of the fund would lead to early commencement of work on the project to ensure its completion on time.

The abandonment of the Ajaokuta Steel Industry has delayed Nigeria’s industrialisation.

The present government’s determination of ensuring the early completion of projects abandoned like Ajaokuta is

commendable.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has consistent reminded Nigerians that he would be leaving a legacy for generation yet unborn, and to make Nigeria a hub of indusrialisation on the African continent. This is one way of doing that.

The people of Kogi State and Nigerians in general are appreciative of the determination of the present government in areas like this where previous governments were more or less negligent or lukewarm. We call on the stakeholders in steel industries to make the necessary input to ensure the dream achieved soonest.

Bala Nayashi, Lokoja.

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T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 23, 2018

THISDAY WEEKLY GUIDE TO 2019

Abdulfattah

Amosun

Okotocha

Yari

The Road to 2019: Flashpoints to Watch (XV) With a gradually building-up tension and increasing global concerns, the 2019 polls have become another huge democratic test case for Nigeria, writes Olawale Olaleye

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ith a request for more time amid a tumultuous budget presentation

by President Muhammadu Buhari, last week betrayed no emotions in the realisation that the nation had stepped foot on a full blown campaign soil ahead of the 2019 elections. This was further corroborated by some of the jabs thrown by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and vice-versa.

Although the president personally reacted to the chaos that greeted his budget presentation, when he cautioned the irreverent lawmakers that the world was watching, his sermon didn’t appeal to other PDP stalwarts like the presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Peter Obi, who seized every opportunity to lampoon the APC, Buhari and their government.

Atiku didn’t hold back when he told the government to stop taking credit for PDP projects. He and Obi also took on the recent unemployment figure in a sense that suggested the APC was a complete failure. While Atiku said the figures were catastrophic, Obi said they were frightening.

Yet, in another breath, the PDP accused the presidency of fleecing farmers’ N1.2 billion funds at a time Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo was struggling to defend the tradermoni initiative, saying it was not a form of vote-buying as being insinuated by the PDP apologists.

The week also witnessed some sparring between the two major parties over a recent report by Amnesty International (AI), which stated that the herdsmen/farmers crisis had so far claimed 3,641 lives. APC found the report appalling while the PDP thought it was proof of what it has

been saying about the government hence Atiku said the killings would not stop except Buhari was voted out.

However, while INEC has continued to impress it on the people and the world at large that it would deliver a credible election, presidential candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), Oby Ezekwesili accused President Buhari of plotting to undermine a credible election process.

These notwithstanding, the battles continued in the states and on different scales.

KWARA A Trapping Upset A High Court ruling on Wednesday, which recognised the executive committee of the Ishola Balogun-Fulani faction of the All Progressives Congress in Kwara State, might have thrown a huge spanner in the works for the APC in the state.

Earlier dissolved by the national chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, after the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki; the state governor, Abdulfattah Ahmed, and others defected from the APC to the Peoples Democratic Party, the executive approached court and was eventually handed justice.

The judgment handed by Justice T.S. Umar held that the purported dissolution of the executive committee of the APC led by Balogun-Fulani was illegal, null and void and further advised the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise the list of members of the executive committee presented by the Balogun-Fulani faction.

By implications, the current governorship aspirant of the APC, Abdulrahman Abdulrasak may be off INEC’s list soon.

Even if they appealed, which they have done, the development has already unsettled the APC and played well in favour of the PDP. The jury is still out and fingers crossed.

OGUN The Changing Dynamics A lot happened in Ogun State in the week that just ended. In the APC, the national leadership of the party made real its threat, when it announced the dissolution of the current executive, loyal to Governor Ibikunle Amosun and set up a caretaker committee in an election period. Although the Chief Derin Adebiyi executive has dismissed Adams Oshiomhole’s order as a joke, the development has definitely changed the dynamics in the state.

However, the turnout at the campaign kick-off by Allied People’s Movement and its adoption of President Muhammadu Buhari are going to remain the talk of the town for another two weeks, perhaps. Hon. Adekunle Akinlade, governorship candidate of the party has suddenly become the issue in the state and is taking no prisoners as far as the election is concerned.

Interestingly, it is about the same time that candidate of the APC, Dapo Abiodun, is battling certificate scandal, a matter that has enveloped whatever glimmer of hope that his candidacy boasted. His case is already a subject of litigation, and is not looking good for him.

Meanwhile, in the PDP, misfortune hit the camp of Senator Buruju Kashamu, following an Appeal Court ruling, which nullified his candidacy. While the Ladi Adebutu camp has gone to town jubilating, Kashamu has appealed the matter, reminding the PDP leadership that he was still the candidate. Indeed, the dynamics are changing and they are interesting.

IMO Damning the Consequences Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State is presently not a happy

man and whoever crosses his path would be made to feel the pang of his wrath. That his choice candidate and son-in-law, Uche Nwosu was denied the governorship ticket of APC is a treatment he would not forgive the national leadership of his party for.

Now that he has taken the matter in his stride and addressing it as he chose, the move by the national leadership to get him to campaign for the APC in the state has been rebuffed by him and he is unapologetic about it.

Thus, like Ogun, Oshiomhole has dissolved the Imo executive too and it is clear Okorocha would fight like a wounded lion, damning the consequences, part of which could mean putting the APC in harm’s way in the state particularly, at the presidential run.

ZAMFARA The Die is Cast!

It is clear that Zamfara is one state, where the APC is not going to field a candidate. Except something improbable happens, that matter is closed as far is the state is concerned. Although Governor Abdul-Aziz Yari is believed to have since worked out alternative options long before the close of substitution of candidates like his friends in Ogun and Imo, what is not certain is what lays ahead for the APC at the presidential run.

No one can say for now if like Amosun, Zamfara would vote for a president, who could not lift a finger when it was under fire. The governor had also long warned Oshiomhole to stay away from the state with such tone that did not suggest he was joking.

All along, Zamfara has always shown the capacity and tendency to be different and now, it is full blown. It surely will provide interesting spectacles during the election.

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DECEMBER 23, 2018 ˾ T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R

THISDAY WEEKLY GUIDE TO 2019

The Road to 2019: Flashpoints to Watch (XV) RIVERS Getting Down to Brass Tacks It is already in the news that the Rivers State APC is still in a quagmire as the latest news from the state was an Appeal Court ruling, which upheld the sack of the Ojukaye Flag-Amachreeled state executive of the state.

Although the APC leadership in the state appears not perturbed by the development as it has insisted the phase would pass, Governor Nyesom Wike has however taken off his gloves for a bare-knuckle fight.

Wike, last week, canceled the sales of the state’s power plant to some of the companies allegedly owned by the candidate of the APC, Tonye Cole.

With this development, it is clear Wike is leaving nothing to chance in the bid to remain in power beyond 2019.

No doubt, Rivers’ politics is peculiar to it especially the often resort to violence. And with this salvo from Wike, the die is cast in the state and it is not going to be an easy bite for either of the camps. All eyes on Rivers!

Cole

Abe

Situating the Presidential Run

LAGOS Challenging the Status Quo Like a Yoruba proverb, which says the first masquerade to perform at a show usually ends up as a spectator before time is called in on the show, the tide appears to be changing in Lagos and interestingly so. Indeed, the PDP candidate in Lagos State, Mr. Jimi Agbaje has revved up his governorship campaign, leaving nothing to chance in the bid to level up with the ruling party.

He is roving menacingly; he is talking tough and he is mobilising across the state. Whilst certain elements have not ceased to expose their vulnerability by pulling down or defacing his posters and billboards, he is drawing strength from such persecution and growing stronger instead.

He threw a rather ‘nasty’ shade at APC leadership in the state, when he said last week that ‘Pharaoh, let my people go’. Of course, nearly everyone could relate with that in Lagos.

But then, none of these has stifled the candidate of the APC, Babajide SanwoOlu from doing his thing. In fact, in the midst of Agbaje’s seeming harassment, he secured the endorsement of the Ndigbo in the state, a boost that cannot be taken for granted.

Like it is often said, ‘Eko for show’, Lagos is waiting to unleash in next year’s election. Wait for it!

C’RIVER Living in Fear?

Calabar, the Cross River State capital, was hitherto a beehive of activities.

Insurance companies, banks and other commercial activities dotted the garden city. With Mo Abudu establishing the headquarters of her company, Ebony Life TV and beaming live from Calabar; other ventures too came on board. The entertainment industry witnessed boost in activities with filmhouse cinema coming on even as the famous Calabar carnival kept the city agog every December from 1st to 31st.

This, in fact, necessitated flights from all parts of the country and massive appreciation in economic activities. The famous Tinapa and Obudu cattle ranch were signatures of the economic power of the state. Sporting activities such as the Obudu marathon also attracted people from far and near.

This image seems to have gone with the Ben Ayade style of governance and

Udom Emmanuel and Nsima Ekere is not likely to fade away even after the elections. They have both sold their candidacies and de-marketed each other at every opportunity. And with the battle now taken up through proxies, the last may not be heard of it any time soon.

Only recently, a pressure group, which claimed to be committed to good governance and advancement of peace in Akwa Ibom State, the Justice and Development Initiative, said Ekere was not fit to be the governor of the state.

Citing certain dealings, dating back to 2012, the group said a character like Ekere is not supposed to be in an office as huge as the governor’s. What is clear is that Ekere’s people are not going to let this slide. In their own way and time, they would push back.

In all of this, the real battle has not started and whenever it eventually does, Akwa Ibom would be a delight to watch.

T Ekere

Ugwuanyi

technically killing political activities at its own time. It is on record that the once peaceful and secure state is now a fortress for kidnappers due largely to weak security architecture of the state.

The insecurity has also informed the relocation of companies from the state.

From about 35 insurance companies, there are said to be less than 8 operating in Calabar now.

Banks had shut down many branches, while epileptic power supply aided the closure of the filmhouse, Tinapa and other active resorts. On aviation, only Air Peace comes into Calabar on chosen dates convenient for the company and not passengers. Even the administration is said not to have insured any government vehicle since taking over the helm of affairs.

ernor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has continued to focus on the relevant campaign issues, securing more endorsements in many parts of the state. Although the PDP is said not to be worried about the election, it is just concerned about the implications of such disingenuous campaigns narrative on the psyche of the people.

The APC too is pushing through in its campaigns, nursing great hopes that the election is doable. The dirty pitch of their campaigns are what observers fear could harm the credibility of the polls.

From what used to be a month-long run, the Calabar carnival has now been reduced to less than a week activity.

These are some of the issues that would form the fulcrum of campaign next year when the governor would present his scorecard against the APC’s at the poll.

ENUGU Doing the Dirty Bits Currently, Enugu is battling the resort to hate speeches and deliberate churning out of falsehood as part of its campaign fantasies. The PDP has said it was a ploy by the opposition APC to cause political discomfort in the state especially when the elections are just a few weeks away. The APC, however, has refused to respond yet.

The dirty news nonetheless, the Gov-

PLATEAU Leaving Nothing to Chance

he campaigns have continued at the presidential level without hindrances particularly in the PDP. Presidential candidate of the party, Atiku Abubakar has continued to move from state to state, selling his ideas and policies. He was in Lagos and Abia last week, where he met with the youths and the business communities respectively.

The APC has not been aggressive in anyway. Although President Muhammadu Buhari tried to campaign during the budget presentation, the chaos that attended the event nearly took the shine off that feat. But so far, what the presidential campaign has done is to show that the election is not certain for anyone yet, the incumbent to say the least.

Besides, the drive to make the campaign issue-based is the one thing that would eventually settle the score when the parties get into the thick of it.

Not many people saw it coming.

The Plateau State PDP, on Friday, inaugurated a 41-member Campaign Council that would sell the party in the 2019 polls. PDP Chairman in the state, Damishi Sango, inaugurated the council, alongside Jeremiah Useni, the party’s governorship candidate, and other party stakeholders.

The simple analysis here is that the PDP could see a glimmer of hope and is leaving nothing to chance to seeing it materialise. In the same breath, the APC does not appear perturbed about this. It is in fact, going about its campaigns as if INEC has already announced it as winner of the election.

Plateau is not going to be easy for either of the parties and would be an interesting election.

AKWA IBOM The Real Battle Hasn’t Started Yet The rivalry between Governor

Atiku

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5 ) * 4 % ": t SUNDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2018

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Some unemployed graduates scaling a fence of the National Stadium, Abuja to partake in the failed Nigeria Immigration Service job test

With Rising Unemployment, More Needs Doing in Macroeconomic Policy The country’s worsening unemployment statistics in the third quarter stresses the need for a holistic review of current policies geared towards job creation, writes James Emejo

T

he country’s long-awaited unemployment data was eventually released to the disappointment of many Nigerians.

Volume one of the labour statistics, released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), showed unemployment rate rose to 23.1 percent in the third quarter of the year (Q3,2018) compared to 18.8 percent recorded in Q3 2017.

The report stated that the total number of people classified as unemployed, which means they did nothing at all or worked too few hours (under 20 hours a week), increased from 17.6 million in Q4 2017 to 20.9 million in Q3 2018.

Also, the economically active or working age population (15 – 64 years of age) also increased from 111.1 million in Q3, 2017 to 115.5million in Q3, 2018.

The labour force, which is the number of people, who are able and willing to work increased rose to 90.5million in Q3, 2018 from 75.94 million in Q3 2015, 80.66 million in Q3 2016 and 85.1 million in Q3,2017, data revealed.

According to the statistical agency, the total number of people in part-time employment (or underemployment), however, rose to 18.21 million in Q3 2018 from 13.20 million in Q3 2015, 11.19 million in Q3 2016 and 18.02 million in Q3 2017.

The total number of people in full-time employment (at least 40 hours a week) increased from 51.1 million in Q3 2017 to 51.3 million in Q3, 2018, it added.

The NBS, however, explained:�Of the 20.9 million persons classified as unemployed as at Q3 2018, 11.1 million did some form of work, but for too few hours a week (under 20 hours) to be officially classified as employed while 9.7 million did absolutely nothing. “Of the 9.7 million unemployed that did absolutely nothing as at Q3 2018, 90.1 per cent of them or 8.77 million were reported to be unemployed and doing nothing because they were first time job seekers and have never worked before. “On the other hand, 9.9million or 0.9 per cent of the 9.7 million that were unemployed and doing nothing at all reported they were unemployed and did nothing at all because they were previously employed, but lost their jobs at some point in the past, which is why they were unemployed.�

According to the NBS:� Of the 9.7 million that were unemployed and did nothing at all, 35.0 per cent or 3.4 million have been unemployed and did nothing at all for less than a year, 17.2 per cent or 1.6 million for a year, 15.7 per cent or 1.5 million had been unemployed and did nothing for 2 years, and the remaining 32.1 per cent or 3.1 million unemployed persons had been unemployed doing nothing for 3 and above years.�

However, the report had already generated some controversies even before its released last week following a media report, which had alleged that the presidency had directed the Statistical General of the Federation and Chief Executive, National Bureau of Statistics, Dr. Yemi Kale, to doctor the report in order to favour the present administration.

The online report had alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari had during a recent meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), ordered Kale to change the high unemployment statistics and reflect the rising rate of employment in the agriculture sector.

However, Kale had in an interview with THISDAY refuted the report that the presidency had asked him to falsify the country’s unemployment/underemployment data.

He said the media report was unfounded, adding that he would have resigned if asked to tinker with the data in order to favour the APC government. “You know this isn’t true. I would have resigned if it was.

Nobody asked me to do such,� he said.

The SGF had earlier announced via his twitter account that the third quarter labour statistics, volume one, which captures unemployment and underemployment statistics would be released last week.

The much-anticipated jobs report is bound to heat up the political space especially at a period when the general election is approaching as political opponents tend to politicise whatever results it turns out to be in order to score a political point as campaign intensifies.

Nonetheless, the report had quoted the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, while on a television programme as saying that during a recent meeting with the FEC, Kale had admitted that the NBS was only focusing on the creation of white collar jobs, while ignoring positive developments in the agriculture and informal sectors of the economy.

According to Shehu as mentioned in the controversial report, the President subsequently told the SGF “ to go and admit his error to members of the public and make appropriate changes.�

The report alleged that some 12 million jobs created in the agricultural sector particularly in rice production in recent times, may not have been captured by the statistical agency in its final computation.

But providing further clarification on the matter, the NBS CEO through his twitter handle @sgyemikale, maintained that neither he nor the NBS ever admitted that its employment and unemployment statistics had failed to accommodate some sectors of the economy.

He said its study had always been all- encompassing of all sectors of the economy.

Tweeting in response to a question on the issue, Kale added:�Assuming what you claim was said was actually said then I make it very clear that neither the statistician general nor NBS ever made any such admission at anytime to anybody and the unemployment computation does take into account all sectors, age groups and both rural and urban areas.�

Expectedly, the report has received brickbat from various quarters of the economy particularly political opponents, which are bent in scoring political points as criticise the current administration for failing to stimulate the economy.

The jobs statistics, however, pointed out that a rise in the unemployment rate is not entirely equivalent to an increase in job losses. “Rather, an increase in unemployment can occur as a result of several reasons of which loss of an existing job is just one.

Arise in unemployment generally means the number of people searching for jobs has increased, which can occur because people previously outside the labour for (e.g students, housewives etc) have decided to join the labour force and are now in search of jobs, or people previously working have lost their jobs and are now in search of jobs. Often, it is a combination of these two.�

But, speaking on the unemployment report, a Professor of Capital Market Uwaleke at the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Prof. Uche Uwaleke, said the statistics showed weakness in government economic policies geared at job creation.

According to him, the growing unemployment figure buttresses the fact that growth in the economy is still weak and not inclusive.

The chief driver, which is the oil sector, is not employment elastic. “There is the need to stimulate growth in sectors that have strong linkages to job creation such as manufacturing, construction, ICT and Agriculture,� Uwaleke noted. “This will entail massive investments in infrastructure and putting in place measures to ensure that these sectors are able to access credit at single-digit interest rate. “In view of the huge number of youths, who enter into the labour market each year, the government should focus on creating the right environment including investing in entrepreneurial education and skills acquisition for the high unemployment rate to go down,� he added.

Also, an economic analyst told THISDAY the rising unemployment did not come as a total surprise given that key sectors of the economy were yet to fully recover from the recent recession.

He said:�The latest NBS employment data is not surprising given the fact that we have seen a fast, accelerated trajectory of unemployment especially after the economy slumped into recession in 2016 due in large part to oil price and export contraction. “Given the fact that, apart from Agricultural sector , most other sectors like industrial sector are still recovering from the last recession, the latest rise in unemployment data is not surprising. “Again with inflation coming down from a peak of 18 per cent late 2017, natural implication is to see elevated unemployment until the economy recovers fully and reach some equilibrium.

What is important is for government to ramp up its diversification strategy as encapsulated in the economic recovery and growth plan by specifically targeting supporting industries that support not only growth, but development especially on area of employment generation and income enhancement to lift the economy out of the extreme poverty level as reported by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. “Government need to fast track implementation of capital expenditure aspect of budget with a view to improving employment generation directly and indirectly through efficient infrastructure like power and transportation network.�

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Nigeria’s Economic Diversification: A Plan Delayed The economic diversification agenda of the federal government from oil to agriculture may have suffered a setback, not only due to the belief in some quarters that government lacks a clear-cut policy on funding the plan, but also because the banks appear not willing to support the agenda with adequate funding. Bamidele Famoofo reports

T

hough banks don’t have the privilege to formulate economic policies as that is the prerogative of the executive arm of government, they have the power, to a very large extent, to determine if such policies will fly or not because they control the funds.

Meanwhile, the mission to diversify the economy from oil and gas by developing other viable sectors like manufacturing, mining & quarrying and especially agriculture as proposed by the government may not have enjoyed the full compliments of banks through funding.

Private Sector Credit Analysis of credit from bank to private sector, according to data provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria through the National Bureau of Statistics in the third quarter of 2018, revealed that the oil and gas sector of the economy, which remains the mainstay of the economy with over 90 per cent revenue generation, still accounts for the bulk of credit allocation from banks.

The sector accounted for 23.08 per cent total credit to private sector by banks in Q3, 2018, which in value terms amounted to about N3.59 trillion out of N15.59 trillion loans granted to the private sector in the review period. Agriculture and Mining & Quarrying which are the two key sectors, which government planned to use to diversify the economy enjoyed a paltry funding in the review period. “In terms of credit to private sector, the total value of credit allocated by the bank stood at N15.59trillion as at Q3 2018. Oil & Gas and Manufacturing sectors got credit allocation of N3.59trillion and N2.15trillion to record the highest credit allocation as at the period under review�, the NBS report disclosed.

Agriculture, the third quarter figures showed, got only 3.80 percent of total credit from the banking sector, which comes to about N591.78billion, a little above half of a trillion naira. The aggregate of funding to Mining & Quarrying, Manufacturing and Power & Energy, all in the Industry sector was less than what was allocated to only Oil and Gas. The three major economic drivers (Mining and Quarrying, Manufacturing and Power and Energy) received a total of 16.54 percent of total loans to the private sector in third quarter, which amounts to about N2.57 trillion. Breakdown of fund allocation to the three sub-sectors showed that Mining and Quarrying received the least attention from banks with only N6.20billion representing 0.04 per cent of total loans given out to the private sector in third quarter. Power and Energy, which is the bedrock of economic growth got less than half a trillion naira funding at N422.78billion or 2.71 per cent of total credit in the review period. Manufacturing also trailed Oil and Gas with its credit allocation of about N2.15 trillion representing 13.79 percent of total credit.

Alternative Funding Not even the intervention of the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, to create affordable funding for agriculture, manufacturing and other sectors with the potential to stimulate employment and growth seem to have made a noticeable difference considering the outcome of lending by banks in third quarter 2018.

It would be recalled that the CBN in July 2018, arising from its bi-monthly Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) issued a guideline to banks to lend to critical sectors of the economy at a predetermined interest rate of nine percent (9 per cent). “The new credit policy called Guidelines for Accessing Real Sector Support Facility (RSSF) through CRR and Corporate Bonds marks a

Oil Palm Plantation

big departure from the excruciating interest rate regime of 25-30 per cent that has been blamed for stifling enterprises in the country,� the CBN acting Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, enthused in a statement.

Okorafor said the directive was aimed at increasing the flow of credit to the real sector, agriculture and manufacturing. He further revealed that the plan of the CBN was to incentivise Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to direct affordable, long-term bank credit to the manufacturing, agriculture, as well as other sectors considered by the bank as employment and growth stimulating.

Okorafor noted that the bank had put in place another programme under the Differentiated Cash Reserves Requirement (DCRR) Regime whereby banks that are interested in providing credit financing to new and expansion projects in the real sector could request for the release of funds from their Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) to finance the projects.

The CBN spokesman added that the tenor for the Differentiated CRR would be a minimum of seven years with a two-year moratorium.

The maximum facility available to interested organisations seeking funding through the CBN’s special intervention would be N10 billion per project and facilities were to be administered at an interest rate of 9 per cent per annum.

DiversiďŹ cation Plan To achieve its economic diversification agenda, the Buhari government formulated a growth plan contained in its Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP), being directly supervised by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. ERGP, according to government’s economic management team, is aimed at increasing national productivity and achieving sustainable diversification of production, to significantly grow the economy and achieve maximum welfare for the citizens, beginning with food and energy security.

Director General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr. Muda Yusuf,

acknowledged that the ERGP was both recovery and growth plan. “The government recognises the economic challenges that Nigeria faces and the need for urgent action. This plan is a blueprint for recovery in the short term and a strategy for sustained growth and development in the long term�.

According to Yusuf, the policy objectives of the ERGP included targeted support to non-oil exports through specific incentives; removal of barriers to the local production of goods that are currently imported and support economic diversification. It also intends to improve the capital account balance by attracting foreign capital into the economy, particularly foreign direct investment (FDI), and also increase accretion to the country’s external reserves.

According to the Ministry of Budget & National Planning, ERGP focuses on six core sectors to grow the economy. Minister in charge of the ministry, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, identified agriculture and transportation, power and gas and manufacturing and processing (including solid minerals) as the key sectors that will be developed to diversify the economy.

Deloitte, one of the world’s top four leading accounting organisations and the largest professional services network, said the ERGP appeared to be on course and remains quite robust and achievable despite some of its target metrics appearing overly ambitious. “This is however subject to constant evaluation and assessment at fora where questions such as how a 7 per cent growth can be achieved when capital expenditure is projected at 30 per cent per the plan�, it warned. Deloitte also cautioned that attention needed to be paid to ensuring that the recovery plan translated into not just growth, but development so that the gains are felt by the citizenry.

Sustainability Call Leading private sector operators in Nigeria have pledged support for the diversification plan of government and are seen to be taking

the opportunities presented by the policy.

For instance, the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, recently disclosed that the current efforts of the federal government at diversifying the economy remained the viable solution to creating a healthy economy.

Dangote, who made the pronouncement recently in Lagos, during a meeting with some businessmen from Asia, said it was because of his belief in the government’s approach at re-energising the economy and making it export-oriented that made him to step up his investment in agriculture especially in the area of food sufficiency.

According to him, Nigeria had wasted so much foreign exchange importing foods that ordinarily should be produced locally. “We have invested massively in rice, sugar, dairy products, and tomatoes. Our rice-out grower scheme will produce rice by next year that reduces our rice import to nearly zero because Nigeria imports more than half of the rice it consumes,� said Dangote. “We have expanded our sugar operations with our operations in Tonga in Nasarawa in addition to Numan sugar projects, where sugarcane is cultivated, planted for raw sugar production that will be refined. “Some months ago, we laid the foundation for the construction of ultra-modern rice processing integrated plant that will process 16 metric tonnes of paddy rice in one hour, by the time you multiply this by the number of hours and days it operates, you will understand that this is huge.

The interesting thing about investment in agriculture is that apart from food production sufficiency, the job potential is unquantifiable.�

Dangote reiterated that his company was investing massively in agribusiness, promoting industrialisation through the backward integration process to ensure Nigeria becomes self-reliant in food production in good time and save it of the much needed foreign exchange hitherto being spent on importation.

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Towards Making Nigeria Food Self-sufficient

One of the six core sectors government is banking on move away from dependence on oil for survival, is agriculture. The ultimate goal of government in investing in the sector is to achieve food security for Nigerians apart from positioning it as a major source of earning foreign exchange for the country. Bamidele Famoofo reports that forwardlooking companies like NASCON Allied Industries Plc, through research and innovation are making efforts to help the government achieve its goal

A salt reďŹ nery

The Agenda t is an indisputable fact that there is a symbiotic relationship between agriculture, national transformation and economic development in view of the role of agriculture in the provision of food, raw materials for industries and employment opportunities for Nigeria’s teeming population.

Before the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantity in the 1950s, agriculture was the mainstay of the national economy, which was to a very large extent a multi commodity export economy, but with the advent of oil, lesser and lesser attention started being given to the agricultural sector.

Before oil, Nigeria depended on agriculture for her foreign exchange earnings, but with the neglect of agricultural sector, the country started encountering social, economic and political woes.

To reverse the unsavory trend, government through the federal ministry of agriculture launched its short-term policy on agriculture christened ‘Green Alternative’ which has considerably transformed the food supply chain through provisioning of conducive environment, reviewing and updating key policies to encourage investment in the food and beverage sector in the country.

Consequently, food industries are investing massively on different types of products to assist the Federal Government in meeting food security in Nigeria.

According to economic experts, made-in-Nigeria goods will boost the nation’s manufacturing sector and by extension create more jobs. It is through this that indigenous firms can take advantage of bigger markets at regional, continental and global levels.

I

Trail Blazers NASCON Allied Industries Plc, a subsidiary of Dangote Industries Limited, is one of the few indigenous companies in Nigeria that has taken it upon itself to explore the opportunities presented by government to contribute its quota to the development of the economy through new products development. Specifically, the company has over the years invested heavily in the production of salt and different brands of seasoning in the country. “The company is passionate about backward

integration projects as a strategy to diversify and add more value to both its shareholders and the Nigerian economy,� Group Managing Director of NASCON Allied Industries Plc, Mr. Paul Farrer said. “NASCON Allied Industries is the company to watch out for in the future, as it is breaking new grounds while embarking on projects that would enable it remain a reference point in the food industry,� Farrer added.

Most recently the company increased its products portfolio with the launch of three new cooking seasonings. The seasonings which include Classic Seasoning cube, curry powder and stew mix, according to NASCON, clearly shows its commitment in ensuring quality and affordable food products in Nigeria.

Executive Director, Commercial NASCON Allied Plc, Fatima Dangote, said the classic seasoning cubes and stew mix were created with a special blend of herbs and spices to give meals unique taste and aroma. She made the disclosure at the launch of the new products recently in Kano, Dangote pledged the company’s commitment towards a healthy living to the people by producing products that meet the physical and mental needs of the people.

The new product, which the NASCON boss described as a product of thorough and painstaking research into the preference of the people in the seasoning sub-sector of the food industry came in the wake of a similar launch recently, of new Curry Powder and Stew Mix from the stable of NASCON. Dangote said she had no doubt in her mind that the new product would be an instant hit given its unique taste, flavor and aroma, noting that the new classic seasoning cubes and stew mix were created with a special blend of herbs and spices to give meals that unique taste and great aroma.

She described the new classic seasoning as a new innovation birthed after years of consumer led research and development, and urged distributors, marketers, eateries and consumers to immediately key into it.

Buttressing her remarks with the Hausa local dialect, while explaining the strengths of the product, she described the seasoning as ‘Karshen Magana’ meaning the ‘Real Deal’ and that it

is second to none in the market throughout the country.

According to her, the management of NASCON decided to go into the research for the new product bearing in mind that wellbeing of the consumers.

Good nutrition, she said, sustains human immune system and delays the effect of aging because it reduces the risk of chronic disease while poor diet reduces physical and mental health.

She therefore urged women to try the new seasoning cubes, stew mix and curry powder, as they would ensure meal moments are great moments.

The products are expected to be launched in other parts of the country very soon. “Despite the high innovative quality, they are affordable and available with various promotional items to be given out to the distributors and consumers,�

NASCON said.

Farrer assured that the new product was a high margin product that would help ensure distributors and customers remain profitable, describing the new product as premium but affordable to the consumers.

He reiterated the company’s commitment to rigorous industry and regulatory standards that ensure quality products for Nigeria’s everincreasing consumer and developing industrial markets. “Our products have Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON), International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) certifications,� he enthused.

Future Plan Speaking on the company’s future plans, Farrer said that NASCON will remain strongly focused on growth, and would be leveraging on a range of opportunities within the business to build scale across the company’s brands. “We intend to deliver on our promises made to all stakeholders. “We will continue to leverage synergies and enhance efficiencies across the business operations to curtail costs. Product innovation and improvement in our seasoning business aimed at delivering savory taste experiences will

remain a priority. At NASCON, we maintain a value chain pricing model that recommends the prices of our retail packs, whilst ensuring our products are available in convenience stores across the country.�

Customer Satisfaction Attesting to the quality of the product, NASCON key distributor, Alhaji Hamisu Rabiu of Hamis Investment in Kano, described NASCON products as fast moving and of good quality.

He urged other distributors and retailers across the country to immediately key into the new classic cube, Dangote stew mix and Dangote curry powder.

Head of Marketing of NASCON Allied Industries Plc, Mr. Olusegun Ajala, expressed optimism that the “innovative brand will up the company’s market share exponentially because of its unique taste and aroma.

Besides the seasonings, NASCON is engaged in the refining and marketing of salt of different grades: kitchen, table and industrial. The company is the leading salt manufacturer in Nigeria considering it controls more than 60 per cent of the market and provides employment for over 600 people. “NASCON’s Dangote Salt, which comes in 250g, 500g and 1kg poly bags (sachets), is extra refined to give a purer and finer textured product, thus guaranteeing superior quality. Dangote refined salt is Iodized (using iodide) to promote good health by reducing the chances/risks of iodine deficiency. Dangote salt is refined from the finest quality sea-salts,� Ajala said.

Still on the quality of the product, Dangote said: “For us, salt is more than just the mineral that enhances the flavour in food, as an essential element in our diet, we fortify it with iodine under UNICEF guidelines and Nigerian regulations to combat iodine deficiency disorders. “We are expanding, we are investing on new refinery for our salt, and we are also looking at innovations; we are bringing other products that are looking forward to introducing new products. So, hopefully, 2019 will be a better year for the company and also importantly for the shareholders,� she added. “We place shareholders interest so high because they have actually trusted us, they have invested in our business and as you can see, regardless of our challenges, we are still able to push really hard and declare profits. We have to take our shareholders very seriously so that they can continue to trust in us, and by so doing, more people will keep buying our shares and hold us in high regard.�

ProďŹ tability Despite challenges in the country’s industrial sector, NASCON has continued to deliver good return to shareholders.

According to Farrer, through intense focus and operational discipline, the company delivered unprecedented returns in its salt segment and also increased sales in the highly competitive seasoning market.

For the financial year ended 31st December 2017, the company recorded an impressive turnover of N27.06 billion, representing a 48 per cent improvement on N18.29 billion in the previous year.

Also, profit after tax increased by 121 per cent from N2.42 billion in 2016 to N5.34 billion, and earnings per share grew by 122 per cent from N0.91 to N2.02. In addition, the company maintained its financial stability with N9.4 billion in cash reserves.

Chairman of the company, Yemisi Ayeni, expressed optimism about 2019, saying as the company maintains strong commitment to executing its sustainable growth strategy, growing consumer trust and shareholder confidence remains a priority.

24

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÍťËœ ͺ͸͚΀

NICHOLAS NYAMALI

Nyamali

Nigeria Remains Africa’s Investment Premier Destination ForafinancialinstitutionthatgrewfromamereassetmanagementsubsidiaryofGuaranty Trust Bank Plc to become a financial supermarket, business has been good for Investment One Limited. The company’s sojourn in the past 10 years has, however, not been without its challenges, especially operating in Nigeria, which is a peculiar investment climate. In this interview, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Investment One, Nicholas Nyamali, speaks with Kunle Aderinokun and Bamidele Famoofo, about how Nigeria remains the preferred investment destination, the ease of doing business, benefits of investment and the role of technology in the company’s success. Excerpts:

W

hat is your view about Nigeria’s investment climate?

As an organization, we view Nigeria as a country with significant potentials. The human capital, agrarian environment provides opportunities across the investment space. We also recognize that there are challenges... macroeconomic challenges, infrastructure, challenges in the social sector but as financial people we believe the principles of risks and returns will always show you the direction to go. And the opportunities outweigh the risks in Nigeria. In our view, Nigeria still remains the investment premier destination in Africa. The

population of about 200million cannot be found anywhere else in a single country in Africa. There is an emerging middle class with a growing consumption capacity. So whether you are coming as a direct investor yo produce goods and services that people can consume or whether you are coming as portfolio investors in the power or transport or somewhere else you hope to develop. So an investment destination we still think Nigeria is the best place in Africa.

How would you react to a recent report from the World Bank that says the future is bleak for Nigeria in terms of economic growth?

I think the World Bank is doing its analysis based on current

statistics and there is basis for the some of the factors they have put into consideration, for instance, the current Debt to GDP ratio, the assessment of the political risk, the ease of doing business, the issues of corruption among others. These current state of things do not give confidence for the future but we believe that while this analysis may have some elements of accuracy that we cannot deny based on the facts, if you look long term, and like l did say, based on the analysis of risks and returns, you would conclude that despite the risk both short term and like you may say, bleak, the returns opportunity despite the bleakness of the future outweighs the risks.

Yes, the outlook might appear bleak according to the World Bank but the returns opportunities still outweigh the risks. Please, this is not t view to say that there are no challenges; the government is

25

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÍťËœ ͺ͸͚΀

What We Call DeďŹ ciencies in Nigeria are Opportunities trying to improve ease of doing business as doing business in the country is tough. Foreigners need to have assurance on property rights, the economic direction of the country, institutionalization of government policies‌.that is a big issue that l hear when l have to talk to foreign investors. Foreign investors want to be sure that the decisions that form the basis of the policies that informed their coming into the country to do business today, remains valid in another five years when there is a change in government. Those are the challenges people have and we do not imagine that the assessment of the World Bank is not right but may be because we are Nigerians; we look beyond the challenges and we ask ourselves the question like if l am a producer and l want to go to Africa, which market represents the ability to consume what l want to produce?..... I was in a conference in New York and the editor of an economicmagazinewasspeakingontheanalysisof Africa as an investment destination, he concluded that as unpleasant as the situation may be, Nigeria still remains the best, basically looking at the issues population. Yes, we have social challenges in the country, for instance, the insurgency in the North Eastern part of the country and he said, ‘forget about that and focus on what l would call the Lagos economic zone which means the people in Lagos and its neighbourhood which mainly is Ogun State and a bit of South East, those who buys the goods sold in Onitsha andAba. They actually take their value from the goods and services sold in Lagos. The population in that space is much as 50million and it is as big as the population of South Africa and Ghana. If you disregard the rest of the country and focus on what we call the economic zone i.e parts of the country that benefits from the economic activities that takes place in Lagos. You cannot ignore such a population and the economic activities that take place in that space.

So, from the producers perspective there is no equivalent to Nigeria in Africa. You may argue that fantastic things are happening in countries like Botswana and Rwanda but how many people are there. The population in those countries can’t match Lagos State alone. What can you produce that Lagos can’t consume? And then if you go beyond things like production, for instance you are in the power sector, ‌.l agree that the current arrangement do not give you as an investor the courage to come in, but if argues that if anyone will come into with a different approach like the modular system, the opportunity abounds. Solar is an example where you provide the panel and inverter at the back attached and you have the market. But if you put up a power business in South Africa, that business does not exist there because there is already power but it is not the same thing in Nigeria because there is no power.

You go to other countries where power is stable there is no opportunity for you there because the power system is already efficient. What we call deficiencies in our country are actually opportunities. We call them problems but investors call some of these problems opportunities.

But l agree that if you look at the macro to the political environment, investment is difficult here but these are the challenges we must tackle. But the fundamentals of investment is economic, population, the degree of deficiencies in the system. These are things that give opportunities for investors.

Please talk about the ease of doing business?

Ease of doing business is the term that describes the factors that foreign investors will consider before they come into a country to do business.

By the time this present administration came into power it looked at how the country of Georgia was able to improve significantly how business is done in that country and the office of the Vice President was charged with the direct responsibility to improve on ease of doing business in Nigeria. Now you can go online and register your company in Nigeria, that is clearly a significant change that we can see. But l think ease of doing business goes beyond the practical step like l want to start a company. Furthermore, you can get Visa on arrival in Nigeria, some give them credit for improving things. But l thinks the aspect that is still missing and which we must something about very urgently is the perception of the country in the international community. No matter how good the economy of a country is or the level of improvement it records in ease of doing business, her perception overrides every other things.

The investor in most cases would not bother

Nyamali

to check the realities but what he uses to make decision is his perception. I was in a Conference sometime in Europe where the talk was about the challenges that limits investment to Africa.

Nigeria was used as a case study and the conclusion was that Nigeria is not a good place to do business. They cited corruption and the report of Transparency International on the country as their proof. I reacted to this as a Nigerian and l simply asked the about 300 persons at the Conference whether they have visited Nigeria at any time.

Nobody. Not even one of them has done business with a Nigerian. So l asked how they came to the conclusion that Nigeria is not a good place to do business and they simply said it was based on report and not practical evidence. So there is an image if the country that has been polluted.

While that image may not change overnight, once it is created, it perpetuates itself even it is not founded on reality. People have a view of the country that represents a lot of negativity and a lot of investors hold that view and they translate it to their colleagues. So the perception story is one thing that must be given a serious attention as part of effort to improve ease of doing business in the country. The past governments from 1999 until the inception of the present administration have made attempts to improve the image of the country and l think this present government must restart that process very urgently through direct engagements and also using government agencies and public relation experts to work on changing the negative perception of the country in the international community. Until we do that we are dealing with a situation that is hindering people from seeing some the changes that have occurred in recent times. This is not to say that there are no challenges but what l am saying is that the views are significantly not in line of the realities on ground today.

Investment One celebrated its 10th anniversary recently. How did the journey start and how far have you come?

Investment One started as GTBAsset Management, a subsidiary of Guaranty Trust Bank. The journey started with a conversation with the late ManagingDirectorofGTBank,ofblessedmemory, Tayo Aderinokun. And the background to that conversation was that GTBank has sold its stake inARM (Asset Resource Management Limited).

At the same time, the investment environment, the stock market was booming, this was around 2006 and 2007, and GTBank was not present in the investment space. They had AXA Mansard what was then known as GTB Assurance in the insurance space but nothing in the capital market space. Talking to the CEO of the bank at that time, the conversation was there will come a time when the average Nigerian in an emerg-

ing middle class will need a professional firm to help them manage their investments. Let us start a company now that will present quality service to these Nigerians in the future, so that the average Nigerian ( and he defined it by saying the professional, the middle class and even the house wife) can find a firm they would trust to help them manage their investment. He also said we will change the investment landscape just as GTBank has been a catalyst for change in the banking space. So we started this company very clear in our mind what we want to do – the average Nigerian will find a partner to help them manage their investment. Our mission is to help our customers to achieve their investment goals, and we have built on that in the last 10 years.

We started in 2008 which was when the stock market collapsed. So we are starting operation when things were going in the opposite direction but we persevered because it was an operation to take a short term opportunity presented by the booming market at the time the stock market was booming. But as the market recovers and stabilizes over the years we kept to our mandate. By 2010, when the Central Bank of Nigeria came up with the policy of Holding Company, GTBank decided not to go for the Holding Company structure but divest from its subsidiaries. We did a management buyout and we changed the name of the company to Investment One. We made up our mind to transit from an asset management company to a financial services company. From doing asset management we have moved to offering a range of ten (10) services which includes pension, wealth management, venture capital, real estate business. We also have a financial house.

We are the middleman between investors who want to invest in stock and the stockbrokers. Our current business as a financial services house is to connect investors to the different asset classes for investments. But l need to also to be clear about the types of investors. We service foreign investors who need local assets in which to invest their money. We also deal with local investors who want access asset classes in foreign markets. You can stay here and we assist to buy stocks or other fixed income instruments from foreign markets.

We won’t to go through the process of opening an account and the likes to get your investment done. We also have investors who sit outside the country, institutional investors who want to access assets in the country. We provide that connection.

How proďŹ table has your business been in the last years and what challenges have you faced?

As a company in the last 10 years, the success story l would announce is that what we’ve set out to do we have been to achieve. Five years down the line we looked back to what we set

we were going to do in line with our five years rolling plan and we found out that we have been to achieve the goals we set. We manage over a N100bilion for over a 100 thousand customers.

Thoseweresignificantachievementsinthe10years space that we have done business. Has it been worthwhile? I guess it has been. Of course, there has been challenges in the economic environment.

In the past few years, some of the challenges we had was customers who have saving for a long time coming back to say ‘you know what?, l need to pay school fees.’ Because the economy is not doing well they are selling assets to meet their daily needs. So rather than maintaining the culture of saving, they are selling assets. That was a painful experience but that was the reality on ground at that time. We have invested a lot as company to educate Nigerians on the need to save and how to invest their money. We organize classes to train staffs of companies. We do it with cooperatives and also in Universities in the western part of the country. One of the core classes focus on the value of compounding. You make a one-time deposit of N1million with an investment manager who gives 20-25 percent returns. If you leave that for between 20-25 years, you will end up with about N264million. You don’t need to save as much as N10, 000 or even N1, 000 per month. With the new products we are coming out with, you can save as low as N100 every month through a direct debit and over years, you would be shocked what you will get from that. We teach, encourage and set up to make it work for you. Another challenge was the effect of recession which made assets value to go down which makes it difficult for the asset manager to to find the right investment that will yield the kind of income which the investor wants. We believe in the fundamental principle that investment is a long term thing.

The economic situation poses challenges today but we look long term. For instance the prices of properties are depressed in Lagos today but at the same time, there are whole numbers of young people who have finished youth services and have come to Lagos for jobs. They will need accommodation, and that tells you that in the long term there are opportunities in the market to make money but sometimes customers don’t have the patience for long term. So, we have had challenges from the environment, customers and occasionally structural, infrastructural. But over the years we have weathered the storm and today we use technology to offer better services to our customers. Also, when we bought the pension license in 2013 at the time of recapitalization, we had a meeting and we were told there will be an open window. We entered the pension space with a clear understanding that we will go in and help investors who want to invest long term.

That open window has not applied in the last five years. And so you find out that as a business you invested in a space which does not materialize.

That has stunted our growth rate in a way because we thought we could do better in the pension space where we can pull hundreds of customers which can translates to some millions of funds we manage. But notwithstanding, as group we have exceeded a N100billion and a hundred thousand customers.

I heard you advocating technology as the driver of businesses in the future. How have you leveraged Fintech to drive your business so far?

Let me start with the use of the word Fintech.

Fintech as you know is the intervention between finance and technology. It’s a platform which you can use technology to deliver financial services.

We see countries like Kenya using M-Pesa to do far more in this aspect compared to any other country.

In Nigeria, we have seen a lot of changes in this direction too. May be we forget events too soon.

You would remember the days of tally number in Nigerian banks, where you pick a tally and wait endlessly to be attended to in the bank but technology has changed that. You don’t queue in the banks anymore. There were days when you go to the exact bank, where your account is opened to do transaction because there was no on-line-real-time. I remember Friday used to be the busiest day in the banks in those days because everybody was rushing to withdraw cash that would be spent at the weekend, but today, ATM means you don’t need to get to the bank before you get money. Even more significantly, sometimes, we don’t see the change in the values.

See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com

26

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R Ëž DECEMBER 23,2018

IMAGES

K

ogi State Governor Yahaya Bello earlier this week presented a staff of office to the new Olujumu of Ijumu, Kogi State, Oba Williams Ayeni, a first class monarch in the state.

Ayeni’s coronation as Obadofin 1 amid pomp and panoply in Iyara, Ijumu local givernment headquarters, was witnessed by top traditional rulers, politicians, community leaders and the people. Here are some personalities at the event.

Photographs by Julius Atoi

Governor Yaya Bello of Kogi State (R) and H R H Oba Williams Ayeni

H R H ObaWilliams Olusegun Ayeni after the presentation of the Staff of office and his Olori

Chief Emmanuel Otitoju (l) and Gen David Jemibewon.

Speaker Kogi State House of Assembly, Matthew Kolawole (L) and Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor, Isa Omade

H R H Oba R O Sule (l) and Adobayo Olukoyi

L-R: Elder A P S Arogundade; Alh Taofik Isa and Senator Smart Adeyemi.

H R H Oba J B O Alaeluge (l) and H R H Oba Michael Ibiriaye

Oba Faleke Tayo David (L) and H R H Abdul Ganiyu

27

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 23,2018

IMAGES

Oba Ayodele Tolorunju (l) and Oba E Ekundayo

H R H Oba Abdulzaq Isah (l) and H R H Michael Idawkwo Attah Igala

Oba M O Olokundere-Eleto (l) and Oba Musa DanbabaAkda

H R H Oba A B Idowu (l) and Oba Solomon Afolabi

Hon Abubakar Ohore (l) and Hon Abdulsam Ozigi

Alh Oseni Yakubu (l) and Hon Usman Ododo

Gen Jos Oshanupin (r) and Chief (Mrs) Olufumilayo Bodunde

R-L: H R H Oba Solomon Dele Owoniyi; H R H Oba Mike Yusuf and H R H Khalid Bukar

28

˜ ˞ DECEMBER 23, 2018

MARKET NEWS

eTranzact to Shop for N7 billion Fresh Capital to Boost Operations Goddy Egene Directors of eTranzact lnternational Plc have decided to raise additional equity capital of N7 billion to boost its operations. Consequently, they have convened an extra-ordinary general meeting(EGM) for January 17. 2019 in Lagos. At the EGM, the directors want the shareholders to increase the authorised share capital of the company from N2 billion dividend into 4.2 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to N9 billion dividend into 18.2

billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each by the creation of additional 14 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each.

The directors also want the shareholders to authorise them to raise up to N7 billion. According to the company, the decision to raise additional capital became imperative considering its need to expand its operations, deepen its market share and to remain competitive in the financial technology industry.

The company explained that

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

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

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

the financial technology industry has witnessed rapid development within the last three years in line with developments in the Electronic Payment System within the Banking lndustry and the initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the federal government to promote financial inclusion as part the general macroeconomic framework. “This rapid development in the electronic payment system(EPS) has led to the emergence of many key players and stiffer competition

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

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

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

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 2012-2018, unless otherwise stated.

with the industry.

The financial, technological, workforce and corporate governance requirements have also changed to an unprecedented level as a result of key reforms within the sector.

In a bid to remain competitive and also to ensure the sustainability of the-business, the board has deemed it important for the company to increase the funding of the business through the injection of additional equity. The funding will be used to upgrade and

enhance the Company’s technology infrastructure and network security systems and also to improve on its service delivery among other lawful purpose(s),� the firm said.

It added that it will also invest in its Agent Network Expansion Programm, Human Resources and Employee Development.

According to eTranzact, this will help to ensure that the company retains the best skill set available, achieve a fast response rate, reduce downtime, and expands its service offerings and market reach.

eTranzact noted that its company’s management and board of directors have carefully reviewed these developments in the electronic payment system. “ln particular, the need for a State of the Art infrastructure and Enhanced Network Security Systems were identified as critical needs for the Company.

Hence, it is imperative that the business is expanded and adequately funded to ensure the long-term sustainability of the business,� it said.

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

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

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

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 1 270 1680 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 157.67 159.14 -11.04% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 11.00% Nigeria International Debt Fund 276.52 278.25 19.65% ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund 0.83 0.84 1.37% ACAP Income Funds 0.63 0.63 7.20% AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.80% AIICO Balanced Fund 2.21 2.23 -3.86% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Discovery Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Ethical Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund 99.08 99.78 -14.48% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.31% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 13.89% Paramount Equity Fund 11.49 11.78 3.61% Women's Investment Fund 100.86 103.45 0.23% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 13.22% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 95.06 95.29 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 98.40 98.72 CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.35% Coronation Balanced Fund 0.85 0.85 Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.16 1.16 10.87% EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A 100.00 100.00 12.12% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 11.51% FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,176.42 1,177.18 11.74% FBN Heritage Fund 140.70 141.89 0.88% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 13.10% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional $113.08 $113.67 3.85% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail $112.82 $113.41 3.73% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 145.67 147.73 -8.27% FIRST CITY ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD fcamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcamltd.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Equity Fund 1.20 1.22 -6.99% Legacy Debt Fund 3.23 3.23 11.86% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.03 1.03 2.82% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund N/A N/A N/A Coral Income Fund N/A N/A N/A GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.56% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 106.49 106.91 6.30% INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.58%

Vantage Balanced Fund 2.14 2.16 1.56% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 15.44% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 124.40 124.59 8.08% LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.20 1.22 4.92% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,095.13 1,095.13 13.33% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Meristem Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.33 1.36 11.82% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 12.17 12.24 10.31% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 11.70% SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 128.19 128.62 -1.17% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.70 1.70 14.48% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 2,301.68 2,315.64 4.72% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 188.96 188.96 8.51% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.94 0.95 -6.44% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 246.45 246.49 14.17% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 159.59 161.42 -10.88% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.20% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 8,398.63 8,499.47 -11.67% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.11 1.11 7.11% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Eurobond Fund N/A N/A N/A United Capital Wealth for Women Fund N/A N/A N/A ZENITH ASSETS MANAGEMENT LTD info@zenith-funds.com Web: www.zenith-funds.com; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 11.07 11.22 -8.50% Zenith Ethical Fund 12.22 12.34 -5.58% Zenith Income Fund 20.71 20.71 12.18% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.54%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

9.00 139.60 51.74

-20.11% 5.39% 1.79%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

10.28 116.04 87.94

10.38 118.48 89.57

-13.13% -18.77% -19.51%

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

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

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

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

3.94 7.15 14.45 12.29 142.03

3.98 7.23 14.55 12.49 144.03

-16.79% -25.16% -17.15% -37.33% 5.65%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

107.13

17.03%

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

Thevalueofinvestmentsandtheincomefromthemmayfallaswellasrise.Pastperformanceisaguideandnotanindicationoffuturereturns.Fundpricespublishedinthiseditionarealsoavailableon each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

23.12.2018

Abiodun Alao

On Providence, Self-conямБdence and Chance ASSISTANT EDITOR OLUFUNKE OLAODE/funkola2000@gmail.com

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COVER

Alao

UK University’s First Black African Professor in African Studies

His analyses are always impeccable. His ingenuity and modesty make his arguments often irresistible.

His elocution and conviction are driven by an understated sense of brilliance. As he sits with hands on the shiny glass table in the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) studio in London, he delves into a running issue regarding African affairs. His choice as a commentator on African matters is unmistakable.

He is also a choice analyst on African issues for the Cable Network News (CNN), Sky Television and Bloomberg TV. Please meet Abiodun Alao, the first black African professor of African Studies at King’s College, London. Funke Olaode, who had a rare encounter with the erudite scholar at his London office, writes about Prof. Alao’s life’s episodes and plots

T

he imposing structure that houses some of the best scholars in the world is noticeable on the busy Strand Street. King’s College, London situated at Bush House in Strand, Charring Cross, London, United Kingdom was once occupied by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in the early 18th century before its current occupant. Imposing and magnificent, it leads to where Prof. Abiodun Alao can usually be found.

Alao is the first black African professor to be appointed by the prestigious institution founded in 1829. His recent award plaque as the Most Outstanding Academic Scholar on African Studies

presented to him during the 70th anniversary of the University of Ibadan, a few artefacts and some of his books are elegantly on display in his modest office.

Unique in many ways, the erudite Nigerian always exudes an enduring sense of modesty. “Honestly, I don’t think there is anything unique about me. Well, I may consider every of my step all the way to good luck. In terms of me, there is nothing about me that is worthy of attention. If the onlookers look very carefully, they will see and agree with me that there is nothing special about me because there are other people who are more accomplished and there are other people that deserve all the accolades and attention they can get,� he explained.

Even when pushed further to admit he must have been unique given the feats he has achieved in life, he fought back saying, “As I said, there is nothing exceptional about me. As a matter of fact, this school had produced great men as far back as 1858 when the college was less than 30 years old. Two Creoles of Nigerian descent – James Horton and Williams Davies – graduated as medical doctors from this college. Horton was exceptionally remarkable student, so much that the principal of the King’s College London in 1858, Richard Jeff, wrote a special testimonial on 3rd of November 1858, in which he commended the young African for winning the College prize for surgery and for collecting five additional certificates of distinction in

different branches of medical education.�

Born less than seven months after Nigeria’s independence in 1960 – April 1, 1961 –, Alao grew up under the watchful and loving shadows of his parents. His father – a headmaster – and his mother – a teacher – both combined their mental, emotional and intellectual resources to raise him during his obscure years. The parents were from Olupona, Osun State. “I had my education all over the place because my father was constantly being transferred. I started my primary school at Ayipate Baptist Day Primary School, Iwo in 1966. Unfortunately, I lost my mother when I was about five years old. It was left to my father to look after the children.

With very modest income of a primary school headmaster, he was able to see me

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DECEMBER 23, 2018 ˾ T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R

COVER On being the first black African to be made a professor at Kings’ College, he admitted that it was an overwhelming experience. He shared more thoughts on that, pointing out: “I had always wanted to be a professor and now that it has come, it is like, what next. I am happy that it marked another phase in my life. What I can say is to be at the right place at the right time. I will not cease to say the importance of luck. You know when you are in a place like a university and you keep writing, one day you will become a professor

After my youth service I went to the university of Ife for my master’s degree in International Relations where I met the former spokesperson for the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, now Chairman Editorial Board of THISDAY, Segun Adeniyi. In fact, I used to say to him (Segun) jokingly that he was my student before he became famous. When I finished my master’s at Ife, I had the best result in my class. I got a job as an assistant lecturer and that was when I taught Segun Adeniyi

On His Trajectory, Road to History and Victory and siblings through school.

“By 1969, my father was transferred to Ogbomoso where I re-enrolled again at Ijeru Baptist School in Ogbomoso where I eventually completed my primary education. I started my secondary school at Baptist High School, Iwo in 1972. But I wasn’t doing very well and my father felt that the background wasn’t strong enough. He removed me from the school and took me to Fiditi Grammar School, Fiditi near Oyo Town where I started Form One again. I was there till I finished in 1977,” the professor narrated.

Alao is passionate about education but he constantly admits that there is an element of luck or an unseen hands meddling in his affairs. After his secondary education, consciously or unconsciously, he has begun to carve a niche for himself by taking an appointment as a teacher at Holy Michael Primary School, Ikirun also in Osun State at 16.

“I did that because as at the time I finished school,” he explained, “three of my siblings were to enter the university at the same year. The financial burden was a bit much on our father and I just decided to work for a year and save money.”

Then at what stage did he develop passion for academic? Was he influenced by his father?

Continuing, Alao recounted: “Ever since my childhood I believed I would have achieved a life’s ambition the day I’d be a professor. I have wanted to be into academic. As to the extent of the impact of my father I don’t think it is that direct because I don’t have any recollection of my father sitting me down or my siblings and say this what I wanted you to do. It just happened. Today, I am a professor and two of my siblings are professors.

My older brother, Prof. Kayode Alao is a professor of Counselling and my younger brother, a medical doctor is also a professor at the Benue State University.”

After his Advanced Level at the Federal Government College, Ilorin in Kwara State where he graduated in 1980, he proceeded to University of Ibadan to study History.

“University of Ibadan made me who I am today. Studying history at Ibadan changed a lot of things because I was a beneficiary of contemporary geniuses of that era. I was taught by the best brains such as Ade Ajayi, Atanda, Gabriel Akinola, Tom Adam, and Omoniyi Adewoye. These were wonderful teachers who moulded our lives. I did my national service at Ahmadu Bello University, Advanced Teachers College, Kano. I started university as a teenager in 1980 and to date I’ve never spent a day outside the university. In a way, I consider myself as a university person in the last 38 years,” he disclosed.

Though Ibadan may have moulded Alao to become a man he is today, his height to greatness began at Ife during his foray in academic pursuit.

“After my youth service I went to the university of Ife for my master’s degree in International Relations where I met the former spokesperson for the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, now Chairman Editorial Board of THISDAY, Segun Adeniyi. In fact, I used to say to him (Segun) jokingly that he was my student before he became famous. When I finished my master’s at Ife, I had the best result in my class. I got a job as an assistant lecturer and that was when I taught Segun Adeniyi. I was extremely fortunate at Ife too to be taught and

supervised by the late Prof. Olajide Aluko, the Africa’s first Professor of International Relations. He was my teacher, my benefactor and my friend. If there would be anybody who majored at whatever my success today, it would be Prof. Olajide Aluko and a few people that I owe the gratitude. They did a lot. I taught at Ife for two years and got a Ford Foundation Scholarship to King’s College, University of London in 1987 for a doctorate degree in War Studies.

“I was on study leave at Ife, department of International Relations. I finished the PhD in 1991 and wanted to come back to Nigeria. In fact, I had shipped all my things to Nigeria but just out of the blues, the Head of the Department at the King’s College here in London asked me whether I would want to stay back and I said yes. To me, I believe that there is a hand of providence pushing me. One thing I have always said is that I have been favoured by the extra ordinary. I can say categorically that I know of hundreds of people if they have the opportunity I had in life, they would have excelled far more than me,” Alao recalled.

He was once a Visiting Research Associate, Department of History, University of Zimbabwe in Harare, and later lectured at the Department of War Studies, King’s College in London. He expended his time as a research fellow at the Centre for Defence Studies at the College. Soon he rose to senior research fellow and senior lecturer.

It was not too long when the ingenious and indefatigable scholar became a professor of African Studies and the first black African to be appointed. The author of “Brother at War”, Alao is the programme director at African Leadership Centre and the chairman of Africa Community of Practice all at King’s College, London.

He is also a commentator on African

affairs on radio and television including BBC, CNN, Sky television and Bloomberg Television. He has been connected with virtually all the international organisations such AU, ECOWAS, World Bank, United Nations, UNDP, etc.

On being the first black African to be made a professor at the institution, he admitted that it was an overwhelming experience.

He shared more thoughts on that, pointing out: “I had always wanted to be a professor and now that it has come, it is like, what next. I am happy that it marked another phase in my life. What I can say is to be at the right place at the right time. I will not cease to say the importance of luck. You know when you are in a place like a university and you keep writing, one day you will become a professor.”

What is his experience like working in a white-dominated setting?

“My experience here has been fantastic otherwise I won’t be here for 31 years. I have never really experienced anything to make me look at the colour of my skin. My colleagues have been extremely wonderful both students and staff. I have always seen myself as part of the system.”

Commenting on the Nigerian education system and what can be done to fix it, he said, “The universities have to generate ways of making money to fund their activities. I can boldly say that the problem hasn’t reduced the strength of Nigerian researchers who are still sought after globally. For me, the solution lies in commitment on the part of the government and internally generated funds to run the university.”

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DECEMBER 23, 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R

High Life

59 with LANRE ALFRED 08076885752

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

Greg Uanseru How Bank Mds Open the Vaults to Fete Celebrates Staff with Glamorous End of Year Soirees Wife at 50

E

choes of the grand 60th birthday party of Greg Uanseru, the chairman/CEO of GCA Energy, still reverberate loudly in the minds of guests. Many of the billionaire’s friends and associates flew in from different parts of the world to felicitate with him and his family. It was a party that left many high society mainstays breathless weeks after. Greg deployed his vast wealth to celebrating his illustrious life. That was in July. Last Tuesday, Greg’s gorgeous wife, Ema, turned 50. Agreed, it was a milestone age, the celebration could jolly well have been postponed till the weekend; but who says the ways of billionaires are like that of mere mortals?

Same day, the Uanserus threw the gates of their massive mansion in G.R.A Ikeja open to guests and well wishers to join Greg in celebrating his heartbeat, the woman that makes his heart flutter and palpitate. Ema was an epitome of unparalleled joy and grace as she hugged and shook the hands of her guests, moving around to ensure that everybody had a taste of their unique hospitality.

Greg was the perfect host, filling and refilling champagne flutes and ensuring the choice bubbly and other drinks he personally selected for the enjoyment of his guests was never in short supply. The music was good and temperate and it was supplied by the mercurial Sharp Band, which segued from country to classics, and afro pop and contemporary gospel, effortlessly keeping the guests on their feet. The party lasted late into the night but at no time did the guests run out of gourmet foods or canapés or drinks.

His multibillion naira company, Greg Continental Agency Limited, which acted as an agency company to Siemens Building Technologies UK Limited, providing support services to Nigerian refineries and petrochemical industries in the area of spares, fire engineering, and gas chromatography.

Over the years, the company has been restructured and re-engineered to make a remarkable impact in service delivery to clients in onshore/offshore procurement support, maintenance, metering and calibration, fire engineering and environmental services. Greg has since developed the capability for service delivery by interfacing with reputable overseas companies, investing in infrastructure and employing the right mix of human resources while making a substantial input in the Nigerian oil and gas sector through the provision of essential machine parts, tools, and consumables, calibration and maintenance services. He has also developed an abiding love for the good life which is reflective of his taste for luxury cars. Greg loves the grandeur and brawn of a Bentley and the royalty of Rolls Royce. At every point, he cruises around with two Rolls Royce automobiles.

Aside the conventional, and sometimes, cutthroat competition to be market leaders, the shylocks in charge of Nigerian banks have another mutual and ego-driven rivalry; it is to outdo themselves in who throws the gaudiest and most expensive end of the year party. What is supposed to be an avenue to let hairs down from the drudgery and dreariness of banking duties, to mingle and generally merry, has been turned into an ego trip, a personal reflection of the debauched lifestyle of this stylish and obscenely wealthy bank MDs. Indeed, over the years, Nigeria’s new generation MDs have taken the art of throwing their annual end of the year parties to another level. Gone are the days when banking premises, redecorated with simple tents, were enough to have an end of the year party. These days, the banks struggle to hire the expansive Expo Hall of the Eko Hotels and Suites, which they turn into a concert ground with a line up of wave making entertainers and the finest hospitality imaginable. They also spend money on importing expensive and colourful fireworks, champagnes and cognacs to fete their staff and cronies. This year, Access Bank showed class withe the end of year party. It was star-studded!

This year, Guaranty Trust Bank held its end of the year concert on Water Corporation

Drive, Oniru Estate Victoria Island. If the bank’s staff had fun, the majority of Lagosians around that axis groaned endlessly as the entire area was shut down due to the traffic gridlock the bank caused.

Asides the traffic issues, the guests thrilled to delightful music, their hair stood on end and they tipped over in merriment - their joy spilling from their souls into the air and sky high into the blue firmament. The venue exploded inwards and outwards in colorful bursts, the bass and treble guitars black strumming and buzzing to mesh with the cymbals and drums in a thunder clap.

Enthralled, the guests moved in gaiety, tap dancing and swaying to the beat as if they meant to enact a beach rave or simulate an indoor Ibiza.

Fidelity Bank used the Eko Hotel to party and with more elevated entertainment. The bank has been using since the end of year party craze began. Early in December, the Bank held its party with the theme, ‘Doing Good’, and had the impressive attendance of billionaires Aliko Dangote and Femi Otedola among other high profile guests. As usual, the party was filled with fun as there were music, dance, food and drinks to whet the appetite of several guests at the function.

For the UBA, the scenario is not any different; its own party too is as elaborate as it resonates.

Agbaje, GTBank MD

Billionaire Businessman, Captain Hosa Okunbo’s Monument of Marvel, Hospitality Opens For Business...

Okunbo

Last Saturday, Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, quaked at the seams as prominent Nigerians stormed the highbrow Asokoro District to felicitate with billionaire businessman, Captain Hosa Okunbo, at the grand opening of his multibillion-naira five star hotel, The Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartments.

An awe-inducing edifice with a unique blend of contemporary luxury and historic heritage, superb amenities, genuine hospitality and dedicated service for an elevated experience, the Wells Carlton Hotel offers its guests 14 breath-taking and stunning luxury apartments and Penthouses, scenic suites and elegantly appointed rooms, giving a perfect blend of relaxation, business and pleasure. The hotel claims its commitment is to exceed customers’ expectations with its impeccable attention to detail, courtesy, and a genuine care for their every need.

Captain Hosa said, “This is a brand to which I have attached my name. It has taken me nine years to achieve. Not nine years because it couldn’t have been ready sooner; but nine years because, for me, only the word ‘perfect’ will do! This brand stands for my character of tenacity, perfection, integrity and excellence! I bought the land in 1999 for N10 million and I started the construction in 2009

and commissioned it nine years after. It took me time because I needed on board people that shared same vision with me.” He said further, “This project represents what I stand for, which are my name and reputation. But the most important joy for me was that the multi-billion-naira project was completed successfully without a dime being owed any bank or anybody elsewhere.”

More important for him, he said, is the platform to contribute to the human and socioeconomic development of Nigeria; “Currently, we have over 300 people directly working in the hotel, including foreigners, in addition to thousands of other indirect jobs that we have created. There is no doubt that the number will go up as soon as possible.”

The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, declared open the hotel. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, led some National Assembly members to the event, while Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, his deputy, Philip Shuaibu, All Progressive Congress (APC), national chairman, Adams Oshiomole, and his predecessor, John Oyegun, led the political team from Edo. Rave of the moment singers, Davido and Kizz Daniel put up scintillating performances while comedy powerhouse, Ali Baba anchored the ceremony.

Aftermath of Access Bank’s Acquisition of Uzoma Dozie had the world on a string.

A thoroughbred silver spoon with Ivy League education, his father, Paschal Dozie, is one of Nigeria’s foremost businessmen with interests in virtually all the lucrative sectors of the economy. Uzoma also had a thriving banking career which began at Guaranty Trust Bank back in the mid90s and culminated in his appointment in 2014 as the group managing director and chief executive officer of Diamond Bank Plc founded by his father. The older Dozie was CEO until 2006 and later, chairman Uanseru

and majority shareholder. With Uzoma’s youthfulness and qualification – an MSc in Chemical Research from University College, London and an MBA with specialization in Finance from the Imperial College Management School, London – and solid banking experience at GTB and defunct Citizens Bank before joining Diamond Bank as Manager and Head of the Oil and Gas Unit, he was expected to take the bank to the top of the pack. He had no way of knowing the string would soon snap.

Signs that the bank was not as healthy as

publicly represented began to emerge when in 2017, it sold its subsidiaries in the United Kingdom and West Africa, saying it wanted to focus on the retail banking opportunities available in Nigeria. Later, the bank announced that Mr. Oluseyi Bickersteth, the recently appointed Chairman of the board and three Non-Executive Directors; Messrs Rotimi Oyekanmi, Juliet Anammah and Aisha Oyebode, have all resigned from the Board of Diamond Bank Plc with immediate effect for personal reasons. This set many tongues wagging that all was not well within

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HIGHLIFE

HiTV Boss, Toyin Subair, Marries Indian Beauty, Anita Gupta At a time when many were beginning to forget he ever existed, dandy man about town and former chief executive officer of HITV, Toyin Subair, crept back to the news circuit with his marriage to Indian beauty, Anita Gupta. The drop-dead gorgeous bride owns a fashion accessories shop in the heart of London. Introduced by mutual friends, Toyin and Anita had been dating for a few months before deciding to legitimise their union.While the friends who introduced them did not reckon it would ever lead to marriage given Toyin’s recent marital experience and divorce, they are nonetheless happy for them.

The low-key wedding held in London without the frills of a typical Nigerian wedding. The new couple was joined in holy matrimony in the presence of few friends notably, Seyi, scion of the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu sprawling political dynasty, and Hon Jimi Lai Mohammed, son of Nigeria’s Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

Diminutive but good looking Toyin sauntered into public consciousness as a lawyer and later the chief executive officer of indigenous pay-per-view platform, HITV, launched on August 1, 2007. Prior to the coming of HiTV, Multichoice enjoyed maximum monopoly, having the exclusive right to show the English Premier League games in Nigeria. HiTv became an instant sensation with its cheap price, potpourri of feel-good programmes and importantly, surprisingly nicking the rights to the 2008/2009 Premier League season.

Due to the huge followership of that popularleague in Nigeria, HITV became a hot cake in the market. And Toyin lived it up. Then in his late 30s, he was the big boy every other big boy aspired to be; the kind of guy that would snatch your girl and you would curtsy and gladly open the door for them to pass; wealthy, attractive, effervescent, suave, articulate and funloving. He had a taste for the high life

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Toyin Subair and new wife, Gupta

and fast cars and he had the cash to fund it. He ruled the roost in those days and was the life of the party. But the bubble soon burst. When the company won the premier league rights the following year, their banker, Guaranty Trust Bank could not meet up with payments. According to Toyin then, “The real issue is that we actually won the rights, made the initial deposit payment of $40 million and expected that our financial institution would provide the bank guarantee as is the practice. But unfortunately, the bank could not do so before the given deadline.�

Not long after this disappointment, HITV closed shops putting a bitter end to an

ambitious Nigerian dream. If he thought that was his only headache, he didn’t envisage how lowly GTBank would go in a bid to recoup its investment.

The bank dispatched heavily armed mobile policemen to all HITV offices in Lagos causing significant distress and embarrassment to staff and customers.

His marriage also crashed culminating in a bitter divorce that was just finalised.

He relocated abroad for a few years and totally shunned the limelight which was his oyster. Toyin has made few public appearances since then until his recent marriage which a source says might be a precursor to his new project.

Polo Bu, Dapo Ojora’s Daughter, Tara, Weds Ola Ayodeji’s Son, Folajimi

Dapo Ojora

Slow Your Roll‌Bosun Oredola is Not a Run of The Mill Billionaire

In few weeks, Otunba Adekunle Ojora and his adorable wife, The Erelu Oodua, Ojuolape Ojora, play hosts to a galaxy of personalities, who will gather to witness the traditional marriage ceremony of their granddaughter.The ceremony involves Tara Ojora and Folajimi Ayodeji. The Introduction ceremony, (Writing-In), was held on Sunday, 16 December, 2018, at the Ojora family house in Ikoyi, Lagos.

The bride, Tara, is first daughter of Dapo Ojora, astute businessman and Polo enthusiast, and his beautiful wife, Patricia, a lawyer and the CEO of PromoPrint Ventures Limited. The outfit specialises in the manufacture and branding of gift items such as shirts, caps, bags, and other corporate give-aways. Tara, 23, is also the niece of Toyin Ojora-Saraki, wife of Dr Bukola Saraki, the president of Senate.

She is the Founder of Natures Locks, an online platform promoting the beauty of natural hair for black women in particular.

The groom, Folajimi, is the son of Iranola Ayodeji, former banker, accomplished businessman, the Chief Transformation and Strategy Officer of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) and a high-ranking member of the Nigerian social establishment.

His mother, Ayotola Ayoyinka Ayodeji, an accomplished lawyer and a visiting lecturer at the University of Westminster, United Kingdom, is the granddaughter of the late Sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Her father, Professor Allen Bankole Oladunmoye Olukayode (ABOO) Oyediran, is a world-renowned medical scholar and former ViceChancellor of University of Ibadan, while her mother, Reverend Omotola Oyediran is the eldest daughter of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Yeye Oba HID Awolowo. She is the former Chairman, African Newspapers of Nigeria Plc, publisher of Tribune titles.

ke an ancient mariner whose heartbeat dwarfs echoes of his incredible exploits, Bosun Oredola, commands the respect of many of in Nigeria’s socio-political and business sector. Yes, as far as business ideas and innovations are concerned, billionaire businessman, Bosun Oredola, turns nothing down, except the collar of his shirt! Bosun is a man accustomed to honourable pursuits and because he is immensely endowed with towering intelligence, depth of character and a prepossessing personality, parlaying inuence into auence comes naturally to him.

He is aable and accessible yet, modest and obliging. Contrary to insinuations from mischief makers that he is living la vida loca now because of a contract he just got from the Lagos State government, Bosun has been a successful and accomplished Business Mogul for the past few decades. He plays in the Defense sector representing Leonardo S.P.A the Italian conglomerate, Oil and Gas, and Construction representing a host of Multinationals in Nigeria. Bosun deliberately shies away from publicity and prefers to go about his business and life anonymously. Even at parties, he maintains a low proďŹ le. Yet, he lives and loves the good life.

Those who have been to his Banana Island home describe it as opulently elegant. Nestling in his garage, we also heard, are dierent colours and models of his preferred automobile, the Rolls Royce. Don’t begrudge him; he is married to a pleasantly beautiful woman, Yinka, one of Nigeria’s successful pharmacists and founder of Megacare Group, an Healthcare group of companies. Yes, they are in love with each other. Bosun doesn’t take her love for for granted!

Little wonder all the funny stories ying around about this dark-hued man not only beggars belief, but skirts moral boundaries.

He takes his job seriously and doesn’t have time for frivolities.So mischief makers should be warne.

Diamond Bank...What Next for Uzoma Dozie? the bank. Then, the news of Access Bank’s takeover first made the rounds but it was quickly dispelled.

On November 30, the bank announced that it would now trade as a national bank, having relinquished its international operating licence and that its shares, assets and liabilities will be absorbed by Access Bank. According to a newspaper report, the older Dozie used his shares in MTN as collateral to take a loan from Guaranty Trust Bank to buy shares of Actis, a private equity firm that invested in Diamond Bank

in 2007. Under the new arrangement, the Dozie family and every other Diamond Bank shareholder will get two Access Bank shares for every seven Diamond Bank shares owned.

It is a tough period to be in Uzoma’s shoes and to be a Dozie. Blames have been heaped on his shoulders as many claim that had his father still been in charge, Diamond Bank would not have gone into acquisition. Just as many contend that had Alex Otti, Uzoma’s predecessor, still been in the saddle, the bank would have remained an industry force.

A statement on the bank’s website lends

credence to this; “Under Dr. Alex Otti’s stewardship, Diamond Bank made a remarkable return to profitability and has continued to record impressive growth across all performance indicators year-onyear. It was also under his watch that the bank established an international subsidiary in the United Kingdom, in addition to expansion in Francophone West Africa (Senegal, Togo, and Ivory Coast).�

What next for Uzoma now that the family-owned bank has been taken over right under his watch?

Oredola

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

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HIGHLIFE

Class Act! Access Bank MD, Herbert Wigwe Dazzles with Diamond

Wigwe

Genius is of no country. But it is surely of a descent of men who reach such an acute unlimited excellence in their prime, that every sterling exploit afterward, savours of unprecedented brilliance. Few men are wrought of such transcendent capacity for genius as Herbert Wigwe, the ebullient MD of Access bank. The top banker pulsates exceptional intellect and that singular forthrightness that imbues philosophy with logic and sound theory. Like a lightning shaft from Eden, Wigwe dazzled with the acquisition of Diamond Bank some days ago. Herbert has said its ongoing business combination agreement with Diamond Bank will lead to the creation of a financial power house. Wigwe also assured staff of Diamond

Bank that the deal would not lead to job losses. He said this during a media briefing in Lagos on Wednesday. Wigwe said Access Bank had enough capital to consummate the deal. However, Aig and Herbert proved bookmakers wrong as they painstakingly forged Access Bank’s path to its esteemed height as one of the country’s top three banks today. When Aig quit the saddle as manager of the bank, it was believed that his successor, Herbert, would act according to stereotype and commence a vicious plot to reduce and make irrelevant, his friend and predecessor but Herbert didn’t do so.

This is because the bond between the two exceeds the common affiliation of colleagues and random business partners.

Herbert remained loyal to Aig and together, they worked to improve the fortunes of their brainchild, Access Bank. And great thanks to the loyalty and vision of Herbert, the bank has grown remarkable leaps from the great height he inherited its saddle from Aig. Unlike other bank chiefs who do not have a mind of their own, Herbert is remarkably different. He is formidable in intellect, wisdom, experience and he is truly independent. Thus he stands tall.

Little wonder the management and staff of the bank sing his praises to high heavens.

Aig on his part has never grown jealous of Herbert’s success in the saddle. Rather he does his bit to encourage and assist him in running Access Bank and lifting it to greater heights.

Class Act! Dele Momodu Turns Ovation Red Carol into Spectacular Event The right jockey never cracks the turntable. He knows how to tweak the stylus in tuneful measure, every deft move making up a perfect part of the melodic mix. You could liken the influential and well-connected publisher of Ovation International Magazine, Bashorun Dele Ojutelegan Momodu to the proverbial disc jockey (DJ) whose dexterity lures the Lagos party crowd to the dance floor.

Arguably, only a negligible number of journalists, whether African, Caucasian or Arabian has had the opportunity of crisscrossing the world royalty-style like Dele Momodu, publisher of the international lifestyle magazine, Ovation. In just a lifetime, he has seen the moon shine and dusk fall on all the continents of the world.

The publisher who certainly understands the intricacies and demands of his role; like the practiced jockey, he knows what to add and what to leave out in his melodic mix of thrill and funfare as the coastal ‘City of Excellence’ celebrated another edition of Ovation Red Carol proudly supported by

the Iya Alaadura of the Universe, Rev. Esther Ajayi.

The event, at the prestigious Eko Hotel, Lagos, which is a potpourri of exciting musical and entertainment, drew the party crowd from far and near. The elaborate event, which paraded top politicians, respected technocrats, society big wigs and captains of industry, saw the guests shuffle and nod to the liveliest and most delightful musical tunes. No doubt, Dele has turned it to a permanent fixture in the entertainment annual calendar. The climax of this year’s edition was the performances of A-list artiste such as Burna Boy, Mayorkun, Mr Eazi, Sinach, Sammie Okposu, Teni, Adekule Gold, Falz and ad a host of many others. With comedian, Tee A, behind the microphone, there was no dull moment and the tempo of the event went octaves higher when reigning indigenous lyricist, Burna Boy, took the stage.

Seguing from his early to latest hits, the singer ensured he made many men discard their agbada while the women did away with their stilettoes as they danced without inhibitions to his music.

Sokefun

Ronke Sokefun at 50: A Birthday Feast Fit for Royalty Momodu

Malaysia Welcomes Nigerian Billionaires‌ As Sani Dangote’s Son Weds

Mohamed Dangote and Sara at their wedding in Malaysia

If the mention of Nigeria evokes criminality like internet fraud or the sale of human kidneys in the mind of a typical Malaysian, that perception changed this week when some of Nigeria’s billionaires like Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and his business and social collaborator, Femi Otedola, stormed the Asian country for the wedding of Sani Dangote’s son, Mohammed to Sara, the daughter of Fouad Hayel Saeed, a wealthy

Yemeni-born, Malaysia-based businessman.

The bride’s father is the managing director of the Malaysia and Indonesia ends of the behemoth Hayel Saeeds’ HSA Group, which operates around the world as a multinational company and manages companies in different economic sectors. The HSA Group run by the Hayel Saeed brothers is regarded as the most prominent family business in the Arab region.

The groom‘s father is Sani, the immediate

younger brother of the World’s Richest Black Man, a successful businessman in his own right with investments in key sectors of the economy including manufacturing, agriculture and oil services and Vice President of the Dangote Group. Trust the Nigerian billionaires, they stormed the beautiful Asian country in all their finery and moneypower accompanied by friends and fellow billionaires. Prominent in the entourage was Atedo Peterside, businessman and founder of Stanbic IBTC Plc. The week-long wedding rites began with winsome Sara’s ‘Henna and Music Night’, which took place Monday, December 17, at the Mayang Sari Grand Ballroom, JW Marrriott Hotel. The henna night is a deep-rooted pre-wedding ritual in Turkish culture that generally happens one day before the wedding ceremony where the bride celebrates her big day with family members and friends. The idea is usually to get the bride in the mood allowing her to relax, letting go of pre wedding nerves and enjoying the occasion with her closest friends. The following day, the bride’s father hosted ‘A Yemeni Night to Remember’ in his stately home which was very well attended by the Nigerian delegation. The couple tied the knot on Wednesday at the Glasshouse, Bukit Seputeh, Kuala Lumpur, pictures from which have flooded social media. A wedding dinner is slated for Friday, December 21, at the Grand Ballroom, Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

Thereafter, the couple is billed to tour different romantic capitals of the world on a mutual discovery of self and soul.

In a more romantic era, she would have become a poet’s delight, in this era; she flaunts an immense backbone of versatility and breadth of character that lures you to stare at her more closely than you are accustomed to in watching certain great women. However, Ronke Sokefun, the board chairman of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) will not allow glitz and glamour associated with the high life as well as the frills and thrills of vulgar materialism erode the more sublime traits that are prime requirements in a total woman. Asides her intellectual depth and accomplishment, Ronke has done very well for herself in the business and public life. Ronke celebrated her 50th birthday last weekend at the prestigious The Wings, Ozumba Mbadikwe road, Victoria Island, Lagos. The mother of a boy was beside herself with excitement as she bobbed and weaved alongside her friends on the dance floor. The men were not left out of the dance spree led by the popular technocrat, Otunba Bimbola Ashiru, who supervised the cutting of the cake. The glamorous gig, with a glut of gripping parades of purposeful phases of culture, couture and postures, was turned into a huge carnival of styles and ceremonial displays. It was easier to count the foremost Nigerians that weren’t at the party than those there. And they were in their eye-watering finery, yet, complied with the casual dress code. Ronke proved, with her birthday party that she knows her way around the labyrinth of high society. Not a few were astounded by the crop of elite guests that thronged the venue.

From captains of industries to consummate politicians, royals and rulers, it was an evening when the spangled stars in the Lagos skyline, peering through the gold embroidered blinds, seemed to connive with the neon lights that lit the hall to cast a celestial halo on the birthday girl. The birthday girl was not left out of the dancing binge that lasted well into the midnight. Sokefun is a consummate lawyer, Chartered Secretary and Land Administrator.

She is a 1987 Law graduate from the Ogun State University (now Olabisi Onabanjo University).

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R Ëž DECEMBER 23, 2018

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Adebayo Adeoye bayoolunla@gmail.com; 08054680651

SOCIETY WATCH

Joseph Tegbe’s Disappointment If anyone had told Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe that politics is not for his likes, he would have waved it away with the back of his hand.

But today, the former principal partner at KPMG has realized that politics is synonymous with betrayal.

Just this time last year, political pundits across Oyo State could have sworn with anything dear to them that the accountant would be replacing Isiaka Abiola Ajimobi at the Agodi Government House.

In fact, it was so sure for him that his Ibadan residence became a Mecca of sorts as many believed he was the anointed candidate of the incubent governor. “His resume dwarfs many other candidates in the game, but this alone does not count in game of politics. But he did not realize this fact in time,� a source hinted.

Goaded by what a source called “over-bloated ego�, Tegbe left his plum job as at the KMPG, put all his eggs in one basket for the number one job of the state.

Indeed, things went well until the last day of the primary when he Â ÂŠÂœČąÂœÂ‘Â˜Â Â—ČąÂ?Â‘ÂŽČąÂœÂ?žěȹÂ?‘ŠÂ?Čą Â’Â?Ž›’Š—ȹ politicians are really made of.

Society Watch gathered that while many other contenders were busy worming themselves into the hearts of the APC stakeholders, the trained lawyer only relied on the ‘promise’ by the governor.

The source further disclosed that Ajimobi later realised that Tegbe was nothing but a paper tiger. “Ajimobi was warned that the ™Š›Â?Â˘ČąÂ Â˜ÂžÂ•Â?ČąÂœÂžÄ›ÂŽÂ›ČąÂ?ÂŽÂ?ŽŠÂ?ČąÂ˜Â Â’Â—Â?ČąÂ?Â˜Čą the relatively unknown and political tenderfoot; hence his allegiance for Adebayo Adelabu, who has a solid ™˜•’Â?Â’ÂŒÂŠÂ•ČąÂ‹ÂŠÂœÂŽČąÂŠÂ—Â?ȹ‘ŽŠÂ&#x;Â˘ČąÄ™Â—ÂŠÂ—ÂŒÂ’ÂŠÂ•ČąÂ ÂŠÂ›Čą chest. Čƒ Â˜Â Ç°Čą ÂŽÂ?Â‹ÂŽČąÂ‘ÂŠÂœČąÂ‹ÂŽÂŽÂ—ČąÂ•ÂŽÂ?Â?ȹ’—ȹÂ?‘Žȹ cold and literally counting his loss,â€? our source added.

Tegbe, who was born in Oyo town, is of Ibadan ancestral descent from the Jegede Compound, Labo, Ibadan.

ÂŽČąÂ’ÂœČąÂŠČąÄ™Â›ÂœÂ?ČŹČąÂŒÂ•ÂŠÂœÂœČąÂ?›ŠÂ?žŠÂ?ÂŽČąÂ˜Â?Čą Â’Â&#x;’•ȹ Engineering from the University of Ife. He is also an alumnus of the ŠÂ?Â˜ÂœČą ÂžÂœÂ’Â—ÂŽÂœÂœČą ÂŒÂ‘Â˜Â˜Â•Ç°Čą Â’Â?Ž›’ŠDzȹ Čą Â›ÂŠÂ—ÂŒÂŽÇ˛Čą Š›Â&#x;Š›Â?Čą Ž——ŽÂ?¢ȹ School of Government and Harvard ÂžÂœÂ’Â—ÂŽÂœÂœČą ÂŒÂ‘Â˜Â˜Â•ÇŻČą ÂŽČąÂ’ÂœČąÂŠČą ÂŽÂ•Â•Â˜Â ČąÂ˜Â?ČąÂ?‘Žȹ Institute of Chartered Accountants ˜Â?Čą Â’Â?Ž›’Šȹǝ ǟDzȹ ÂŽÂ•Â•Â˜Â ČąÂ˜Â?ČąÂ?‘Žȹ Chartered Institute of Taxation Çť ǟȹŠ—Â?Čą Ž›Â?’ęŽÂ?ȹ’—ȹ ˜Â&#x;ÂŽÂ›Â—ÂŠÂ—ÂŒÂŽČą

Bianca Ojukwu’s Uppercut Perhaps, if some members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, especially the Chairman of the party, Dr Victor Oye, were discerning enough when Bianca Ojukwu, the widow of the late Biafra warlord, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, vowed to make them suffer over her disgrace during the party’s Anambra south senatorial district primary election in October, their story would have been different today.

Following her shocking defeat, the exbeauty queen has shown her other side, as she has literally been spitting fire from her mouth like a dragon. In fact, she has vowed not to go down without a fight. For some inexplicable reason, she was underrated probably because of her cool mien.

But she seems to have given her critics a kind of uppercut, as her outburst after the loss has now left the party in disarray.

The candidate for the Anambra south Ssenatorial district in the 2019 election, Nicholas Ukachukwu, has been sacked and his certificate of return withdrawn by Justice Valentine Ashi of the Federal High Court in Abuja .

Ojukwu

It was hinted that the party members are in confusion at the moment, as the development might rob them of victory in 2019.

The sixth child of former Anambra governor, Christian Onoh, was educated in Enugu and Yorkshire.

Hakeem Muri Okunola’s Growing Inuence

Muri

For a long time, Hakeem Muri Okunola has not been in the news.

He is keeping a low profile, it was gathered, for strategic reasons.

The upwardly mobile man is one of the few young men in the country, whose names open doors wherever they go.

He is popular, rich and well connected. His presence always enlivens any social function he attends.

It will be recalled that when he was redeployed as the permanent secretary, Bureau of Lands, Lagos State in the Ministry of Youths and Sports by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, many had thought he would sooner than later go into obscurity.

Many were shocked with the treatment meted out to him, especially due to his closeness with Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu. But he did not despair.

As fate would have it, Society Watch gathered he is staging a comeback into the scheme of things in Lagos State.

A source revealed that he is in the forefront of the campaign for the

emergence of the candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and currently working hard for him for the state’s top job.

Our source disclosed that he is expected to land a bigger responsibility, if Sanwo-Olu emerges victorious in the coming governorship election in the state.

It was also gathered that the son of the late Justice Muri Okunola was touted as the running mate to SanwoOlu before the party eventually settled for Dr. Obafemi Kadri Hamzat.

Like many influential personalities, his seeming meteoric rise in the civil service has set tongues wagging about his influence and clout in the state.

After obtaining a degree in Law in London, he served with Ibile Holdings as Company Secretary when Adewusi was the Managing Director.

From there, he served Tinubu in his second term as his personal assistant.

In 2011, at 39, he became permanent secretary in the Bureau of Lands, a position he held until August 4, 2015.

Of Yemi Lawal and Celebrations Galore For Otunba Yemi Lawal, the quintessential boss of Seagle Property Development Company Limited, this is certainly a season of celebrations.

The property merchant is winding down the year, amidst pomp and ceremony.

He was recently inducted as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, CITN, by the Governing Council of the body at the Institute’s 2018 Annual Dinner, which held at the Central Business District, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

While he was still basking in the euphoria of this honour, Lawal, last Friday, added a year and feted guests, mostly the creme of the society, on the occasion of his birthday.

The event, which held at Four Point Sheraton Hotel, Oniru, Lekki, Lagos, was not only to celebrate the businessman but it was also organise to celebrate his

Tegbe

The court held that evidence before it indicated that the primary was not only fraught with irregularities, but also conducted without regard to relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act, as well as the constitution and electoral guidelines of the party.

The court noted that whereas APGA claimed that Ukachukwu was elected through an electoral college that comprised three delegates from each of the Wards in the Senatorial District, it, however, failed to produce the names of the delegates who participated in the exercise.

Besides, Justice Ashi held that he was convinced that the primary election was fraudulent, after the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, notified the court that the party refused to furnish its officials who went to monitor the primary election that was held at Ekwulobia with the list of the delegates.

Our source also disclosed that though the case was not personally instituted by the trained lawyer, she has the backing of Dr. Okey Chidolue, who was also a senior special assistant to her late husband.

daughter’s call to the Bar as a solicitor and advocate.

The daughter, Barrister Olayemi Lawal, was wowed by her daddy’s surprise party for her, in conjunction with his birthday and induction as a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, CITN. Lawal, who is also a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, ICAN, has over 18 years of meritorious commercial banking experience in audit, treasury, branch management, regional management and Corporate banking, majoring in Corporate and Project Finance.

Prior to floating Seagle in 2007, he had left the banking industry in 2005 as a regional manager to set up Eagleways Investment Group, which is now the umbrella body of all his subsidiary companies.

Lawal

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 23, 2018

SOCIETY WATCH

Bimbola Folawiyo’s Loss Once upon a time, both Yomi Folawiyo and Abimbola Kashamu were an item. They were a delight on the social scene.

Before our eyes, they soon took their love story to another enviable height, as their wedding, which held in December, 2011, was the talk of town for a long time.

It became more interesting when the marriage was blessed with a baby.

Sadly, however, there was a crack in the wall of their marriage. But many had hoped that the couple would do the best within their power to resolve the issue threatening the foundation of their marriage. But the couple seemed to have made up their minds to go their separate ways.

Shortly after her marriage with Yomi hit the rocks, the skin care expert went

back to her old lifestyle, living life to the hilt, in company with sophisticated ladies around the country.

Society Watch gathered that Abimbola, who has been in two failed marriages, was recently in a sizzling romance with a married Edo State-born pastor who has his church in Abuja.

However, there is a new twist to the story, as the two lovers are said to have now gone their separate ways.

Our source hinted that the wife of the clergyman got wind of the affairs and threatened to expose him; hence the breakup.

Abimbola, owner of Her Majesty Skin Care Products, is a niece to Senator Buruji Kashamu. Her mother is one of the daughters of the late Ijebu-Ode multimillionaire, Prince Bode Oshinusi.

Bolaji Odunuga’s Passion

Folawiyo

Akin-Olugbade, Wife Plan Wedding Anniversary Celebrations

Akin-Olugbade and Wife

“A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.”

The above quote can best describe the marriage of the Aare Onakankafo of Owu Kingdom, Prince Bolu Akin-

Olugbade to his wife, Yeye Ladunni, in the last 38 years.

Society Watch gathered that the couple is planning to celebrate their 38th year of successful marriage.

Though a source disclosed that the

couple would not likely pop champagne or allow self-seeking acolytes to clink glasses in their honour during the event, the billionaire legal luminary, however, will be ‘hiding away’ quietly with his wife in a cozy and romantic atmosphere away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

The private celebrations will enable the couple to reminisce about their love life.

A man of means, the billionaire is known for his uncommon style and taste.

He has all the comforts of life at his beck and call.

He lives in an eye-popping mansion and drives expensive automobiles; he is also a lover and collector of Rolls Royce.

In addition, the billionaire businessman has a commanding sense of fashion; he is a showstopper any time, any day.

Yeye Ladunni, on her part, is among the A-list Nigerian fashionable ladies.

Though she is publicity-shy, she can never be missed in a crowd.

Since her emergence on Nigeria’s social circle several years ago, she has continued to make statements with her captivating dress sense and humility.

A holder of a Master’s degree in International Law and Diplomacy, she is the brains behind the upscale boutique, ‘Steppin-Out’ boutique, on Opebi Road.

Moyo Ogunlewe Rekindles Dream Moyosore , the tall, handsome and dynamic son of Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, a former Minister of Works, comes across as independent-minded.

Moyo, as the dude is fondly called, would rather explore avenues where he can sustain his independent nature, consolidate and add value to the brand name built by his father.

Moyo, a practising lawyer, came into public consciousness in 2015 when he contested against a veteran member of Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Bayo Osinowo for the seat of Kosofe 1 in the Lagos State legislative chamber.

For the clout possessed by the APC incumbent, many had thought the contest was going to be a walk-over. But it turned out to be a very keen contest, where no one could tell where the pendulum would swing until Bayo was eventually announced as the winner.

The electoral battle was so fierce that it resulted in a common saying in Kosofe that ‘the fear of Moyo is the beginning of

wisdom’.

Despite the fact that the tribunal affirmed Osinowo’s victory, the popular belief in the area was that a fast one was played on Moyo and as such the support he enjoys from his people has never dwindled.

Meanwhile, as the next general election approaches, the brilliant young man has, again, signified interest to give the seat of Kosofe Constituency 1 in Lagos State House of Assembly another shot, even as the aspiration has started gaining momentum in earnest.

The youthful PDP candidate is said to be well loved in his constituency for his humility; his caring, compassionate, and respectful nature and doesn’t discriminate.

His leadership trait and vast knowledge are other major reasons Kosofe people are sure he could give them quality and desired representation.

Ogunlewe

Duchess Bolaji Odunuga is a creative and kind-hearted soul.

To some, she is an advocate for change among women, while some see her as a jolly good fellow.

Unlike the proverbial rattle snake that crawls through the rocky path, with no traces of its presence, Bolaji always wants her impact to be felt in her immediate society.

Blessed with an endearing personality, the United Kingdombased publisher and women advocate is not relenting in her quest to further uplift the female gender around her.

Despite her past encounter in life, she has not allowed it to weigh her down. The dark-skinned orator is an optimistic person, who hopes for a brighter future.

The graduate of Information Business Technology from the South Bank University, London loves writing and magazine publishing.

Providence granted her one of her heart’s desires, on Sunday, December 9, when she gathered friends, family members, top Lagos socialites, business magnates and publishers for the launch of the colourful print version ofDuchess Magazine alongside an awards ceremony at the highbrow luxury Ibis Hotel, Toyin Street Ikeja, Lagos. The theme was: “The Magnificent Woman.”

All invited guests, who were dressed in a touch of red, were treated to an array of continental meals laced with choice drinks.

Beaming a winsome smile and dressed in a gold-flowing gown, Bolaji mounted the podium with modesty and joy in her heart to give the opening remarks.

She spoke extensively on how she followed her passion, which gave birth to Duchess Magazine, a platform for celebrating women across Nigeria and Africa.

She as well promised not to relent as her oars to help the womenfolk to break new grounds.

Odunuga

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 23, 2018

LOUD WHISPERS

with JOSEPH EDGAR (09095325791)

Aex Badeh – What Else Can I Say? The news hit me like a large slab.

I woke up this morning to this very worrisome and distressing news of the assassination of the former Chief of Defence Staff. The dastardly act was said to have occurred on his way back from his farm. What else can one say in times like these but to just stand and fold your arms on your chest and keep quiet. Yes o, just keep quiet and don’t say anything because this obviously meets more than the eye can see. The man was quietly standing trial, maintaining his dignity

to the best of his abilities under the circumstances and then some one thought it fit to snuff the light out of him. This was a full general o abi Air force something na the same o. I am still keeping quiet o with my hands folded on my chest and just listening to the rabid debate going on at this bus stop in Fadeyi. People are talking o, people are vexing o, people are sad o. What kind of a generation is this?

I swear there is nothing wrong with this country; it is just this generation. I tell you. Kai. Sad.

Badeh

Osinbajo

Tinubu

Oluwo

Sowore

OSINBAJO VS OBI – A BEAUTIFUL WASTE OF TIME

universe, Bola Ahmed Tinubu who in response to Jimi Agbaje’s strident calls for freedom said that those who wanted freedom should go and learn either tailoring or Vulcanizer so that ‘we can come and do freedom for them’. Mbok, laugh nearly kill me. I laughed so hard that tears came out of my eyes. This Baba is humorous o. That was a major sucker punch and I do not think Agbaje can come back from that kind of quip. Kai. But seriously, it is progressively looking like the issue that will capture the imagination of Lagosians is beyond this ‘freedom’.

Because from what we are seeing even if we achieve this freedom, won’t it be more like just exchanging task masters with the rest of us still wallowing in slavery? Mbok, uncle Jimmy let’s get more specific, let’s leave Alpha beta and all these ambiguous terms out of it. What exactly do you have in mind for Lagosians – specifics mbok? The way it is looking, we are beginning to have grudging respect for the other camp o. Their level of seriousness can no longer be discounted. They are not resting even though they have the power of incumbency, they are just running very seriously. A cursory drive around Lagos will see the impact of their campaign, while yours is at best epileptic. Lagos is the fifth largest city in Africa and economic centre of immense influence and potential.

It cannot be conquered with this your style o. it’s like you are begging for power o, relying on emotional blackmail and appeal to sentiments.

Not gonna work oga. Ko le werk as we say it in Shomolu. Me I am just looking o, it’s looking like it’s over o. Apart from my Oga Wale Oluwo’s shot in the

arm, your campaign has gone back to its lethargy. Just maybe the vulcanizer option isn’t so bad after all o, we just might get our true freedom after some basic training in effective politicking.

No vex.

try, it will surely come in handy since age is on your side. But John or is it BON, please let’s have a level playing field. The man represents a group of Nigerians and as such, all should be given the same opportunity. Let us decide for ourselves who we want to listen to. Sowore, I don balance m. No worry. Just take the small advice and you will see changes.

I didn’t watch the debate o. I was stuck in Lagos traffic and as such gladly missed this beautiful waste of time. Reports I got later showed that these two really gave their best.

Throwing up figures and data both fake and real to get the winning edge.

I even heard that the shorter of the two was with his note pad getting information online real time, while the other one with the thick Igbo accent relied heavily on native intelligence and street smarts. Mbok, from what I heard it was a blood fest as the two gave as good as they got. While this is very good for our democracy, it however falls flat in the face of a massive glut of semi-literate masses who will do the actual voting and who remain under the control of godfathers. These godfathers decide who goes where and who gets what.

These debates will not sway any voters and as far as we are concerned this was entertainment like watching Premiership. In fact, we should have brought in the style police to analyse their fashion for better entertainment value. As long as we remain poorly educated and enlightened, stomach infrastructure will continue to determine election outcomes and not debates or any kind of pseudointellectual grandstanding like the one we just witnessed. Na laugh I dey laugh. Pure waste of time. Next.

TINUBU AND HIS VULCANIZER You know when you are having a bad day and you read something that just cracks you up. I saw a report credited to my lord and master of the

WHO IS IGNORING SOWORE? Who is ignoring a whole presidential candidate? Is it John Momoh? How dare him! A whole presidential candidate and you do not deem it fit to invite him to the debate?

This is undemocratic, sacrilegious and unacceptable. I hear he would be dragging you to court on this matter but wait, I have told Sowore to also look within and ask why this is happening to him. I have said it many times that this is not campus politics, it is a campaign for the presidency of Nigeria, that position is one of immense power and influence and must be treated as such even for candidates. You cannot continue with these agbero tactics and expect to be taken seriously. The mannerisms, choice of language, image and comportment are totally wrong from someone aspiring to the exalted office.

We once watched a video where this candidate once shouted on a minister calling him ‘ole’. Nobody wants that on national TV. Nobody wants to be heckled and abused on national TV all in the name of debate. An image consultant should come in at this point, a quick training on elocution and also a class in logic and inductive reasoning would not be such a bad idea. I am sure after all these, just maybe, they will invite you to the debate. My fear is that there may not be enough time again since elections are in February. But still

SEX FOR MARKS - I AM AFRAID O! The prof has been jailed. He fell and allowed his lust get the better of him. Kai, this is a bitter lesson for all men and even women who cannot control themselves especially in this era of social media and wanton and unbridled sex. You see the case is pitiable because it is very prevalent on all sides. This was just a wrong choice of party and an awry strategy and now his career, reputation have gone down the drain. We should all learn from this o. I have learnt a bitter lesson, deciding to really uphold my integrity in a bid not to receive accounting lessons from Prof in prison.

Let me tell you guys one story sef. So I have this staff who is on the curvy side with a wicked gap tooth. If you know me well, you will understand my weakness for full-bodied women.

I hear it is in our DNA as Ibibio men.

Anyways, this particular lady did not come for a meeting and I lost it. I Sent her a query and she responded by this same whats app that ‘killed’ Prof that she was sorry that she did not make it because she ‘forgot to wear a bra’ and had to go back home. Can you imagine telling a full-blooded Akwa Ibom man that kind thing? My head was full and all sorts started to run

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DECEMBER 23 , 2018 ˾ T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R

LOUD WHISPERS

IKEJI

around it. Now this lady is a university student too and I am her boss. If not that God that I am worshipping touched her to go back home, that is how she would have come to the office ‘braless’ and the rest will be history with my friends taking turns to visit me in prison? These are really dangerous times for men nay us all. God be with us all. Kai.

LINDA IKEJI – NO NEED TO EXPLAIN I do not really understand the need for this lady to continue to explain the circumstances surrounding the birth of her very handsome son. So she got ‘hit’ by a reluctant father and as such decided that at every opportunity she must explain to us how and why it happened? They say it is because she has positioned herself as a champion of no sex before marriage and as such, she is conflicted. Me I would say she should stop abeg. Nothing wrong has happened and all these needless controversies should end forthwith.

People like us are ready to step in to adopt the baby if it is a father figure she is looking for. Apart from this, I think she should just concentrate on giving her baby the very best in life that I know she can. After all, people were orphans and became heads of state – IBB or was it Abdulsalami? So mbok let’s hear word. Enjoy your baby.

Lovely boy if you ask me.

Charly Boy

Donald Duke – come and see Oba Esugbayi If a party can choose a withered 73-year-old Jerry Gana over someone as handsome like you, then the party does not deserve to be taken seriously.

Look let me tell you very clearly that the party with this singular decision has lost an influential block of voters – slay queens and single women over 40. It is their loss. How many people even took part in the primaries that they cannot count well and declare an effective candidate? A primary which was held in someone’s living room with about 20 people and between Duke and Gana, they had to go to court to decide a winner?

What will they now do if they were either PDP or APC? My brother that is why I am saying just dust your feet and leave the place abeg. They don’t deserve you. Take a chill pill and let’s rock the concert circuit that is going

on all around us. We can do the Calabar carnival or if that one does not allow you, you can come and watch Oba Esugbayi - Madam has asked for tickets. Remember you were at the last show ISALE EKO and we had so much fun. Mbok, leave these unserious people and come and watch show, relax and let’s strategise. Age is still on our side. We will bounce back. Let the geriatrics have their last song. But my brother seriously, I think you should stop dancing with these little ones and find your way back to PDP. You need that large platform to really actualize your vision for this country. Go there and join the struggle from within instead of playing with Lilliputians who will continue to rubbish your credentials. Greet madam for me, she is my friend. God bless.

AIR PEACE – THAT TURBULENCE! Have you seen that video? You see what these pastors have turned us into. Prayers and supplication in the midst of major turbulence which they have explained to us countless times is a normal part of modern air travel and my people are pulling Holy Ghost fire instead of putting on the oxygen masks that were deployed. You see even at the beginning of a flight when the beautiful damsels are explaining safety measures and routine, we will be praying and calling God to come and take the flight from the pilot and fly us to safety, thereby missing out on the very important message being relayed.

Even the rest of us that are not praying are busy looking at the miniskirts the hostesses are wearing and secretly wishing they could trip and fall down so that we can ‘see clearly’. So when it happens, both groups – the prayer warriors and the peepers will now join in the Holy Ghost fire chants instead of following safety rules. Yeye. Air Peace well done, don’t mind us. We are Nigerians.

CHARLY BOY, CONGRATS Congrats my lord on the recent rewedding of our Lady Dianne. This is a little shout out. Wish you well and see you soon.

Duke

LAGOS ELECTIONS AND THE WAR OF BILLBOARDS SO MY VERy good friend and brother who works in the agency that is saddled with the task of regulating outdoor advertising in the state has found himself in a funny position while going about his normal duties (by 2a.m, witch duties) bringing down billboards of one candidate. According to him, they were waylaid by people with strong affinity to the candidate looking for freedom. The candidate had allegedly flouted state laws on such billboards. He had according to this gist refused to attend meetings called by the agency but instead relied on subtle blackmail to play

the emotional card. So in frustration, the agency decided to fulfill its constitutional functions of ensuring sanity by pulling down the boards that had violated state laws. That na my friend position o. However, upon arriving at the police station, after one of their colleagues was abducted, they found themselves facing the authorities that really were not interested in hearing their side of the story. They were in a state of shock when according to his story, the Freedom man himself appeared to further compound their problems by insisting that they be charged to court. It took the intervention of their MD to secure their release but not before their pictures, names and other identity materials

Saraki

were splattered all over social media as being the agent of state used to take down the boards of ‘opposing candidates’. You see my take on all these is very simple: There are extant laws guiding the positioning and use of required space in the state for this and other purposes. Lagos is big enough for every poster and board so tearing down peoples’ posters on any side of the divide should not be the norm.

We have been seeing a lot of posters defaced and destroyed by agents we will call unknown soldiers and this is not fair on either side. Let us even try to be mature about these things and allow for a level playing field. Please let me call on Sanwo Olu and Agbaje camps to call a truce, seek to engage LASAA with a view to ensuring a mature and responsible approach to this matter for the betterment of the state and for my name’s sake, pele. It is for the country that you have served. But why 2a.m if I may ask, wetin you tell your wife say you dey go do for that kind time?

WHY HECKLE THE PRESIDENT? OK, as I was sitting down about to jump into my bowl of afang, I was seeing images of our legislators heckling the President. This one is not good na. You people don’t watch British parliament? When Theresa May is speaking, those on her side will be standing up and be sitting down depending on what she is saying. The opposing side will also be standing up and sitting down. They will be saying ‘hear’, hear’ in an orderly and respectable manner. Our own, if they are not breaking the Mace and jumping tables, they are heckling the President. You see why some people no like democracy, all these ones that have grown liver now, will they have thought about even whispering in 1983 when Idiagbon was alive and when Buhari was still in uniform?

As that other governor would say, ‘who born their papa’ to be talking when Buhari was talking. I am sure when Buhari gots home that day, he would weep and regret the day he became a democrat. If not, I trust am; all those legislators, shouting, calling him grasscutter, corrupt and all that would have been doing frog jump by now in front of guardroom and jailed for 200 years. Seriously, democracy is all about debates, negotiations and discussions. Heckling the President like drunken football hooligans especially on national TV is really not the best. Na all of us no like wetin they happen in the country but he no reach to shout at the Baba, remember he is 76 or 86 abeg leave me; I have made my point. Let’s show some respect to the office. Thank you.

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Í°ÍąËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍś Ëž THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

INTERNATIONAL La RĂŠpublique du Niger at 60: the Challenge of Good Neigbourliness and National Security

L

a RĂŠpublique du Niger is the official French name of Nigeria’s northern neighbour, generally referred to as ‘The Republic of Niger’ in the Anglo-Saxon world. It was proclaimed La RĂŠpublique du Niger on 18th December, 1958. Last week Tuesday therefore marked the 60th Anniversary of the proclamation.

The proclamation took place before the country actually acceded to national sovereignty on August 3, 1960. Unlike Niger, Nigeria got her independence first on October 1, 1960 and her Republican status on October 1, 1963.

Niger’s own republican proclamation should first be understood within the framework of the establishment of the French Fifth Republic on October 4th October, 1958. The then French Constitution provided for French Community which was also largely predicated on the policy of assimilation. With the policy of assimilation, the then French colonies were considered as French citizens. However, an end was put to the citizenship with the political independence of the country in 1960, while the remembrance of the date of proclamation is still sustained. Nigeria’s leader, President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB), was invited as one of the Special Guests of Honours to the proclamation anniversary and he graciously responded to the kind invitation on Tuesday, 18th December, 2018 by leading an official delegation, comprising the Governor of Jigawa State, Mr. Mohammed Badaru Abubakar; Governor of Kaduna State, Mr. Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai; and Governor of Osun State, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola, to the country.

Nigeria’s participation at the 60th Anniversary of the Proclamation de la RĂŠpublique du Niger should be taken more as a desideratum than a usual official visit for one major reason: the need for a special support of the Republic of Niger in Nigeria’s war against terrorists. Niger is the only territorial neighbouring country with which Nigeria does not have territorial conflict. Besides, of all Nigeria’s neighbours, relationship with the Republic of Niger is warmest. Mr. Femi Adesina, Presidential Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, could not have therefore been more correct by noting that ‘the participation of the Nigerian leader is in furtherance of the deep historical and cultural relations between the governments and peoples of both friendly nations.’ As much as the participation is in furtherance of the existing warm ties between the two countries, it should still be recalled that the relationship has had its twists and turns, as the interests of both countries are at times conflicting, and therefore, a reason to worry.

In fact, relationships of geo-political contiguity and propinquity have their own impact on bilateral ties.

Besides, for another reason of necessity, the recidivist and deepening insecurity in Nigeria currently warrants seeking a special entente with President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger, at least, in the quest to permanently contain boko haramism in Nigeria. Additionally, Nigeria’s land borders with the Republic of Niger are at best, very porous. The porosity is explained by many factors. First, the people living on both sides of the border are of the same ethnic stock, with the same cultural affinities. Cross-border movements are carried out regardless of immigration laws.

Secondly, the border posts of the Republic of Niger are generally better in terms of provision of social amenities. They have more of regular electricity and water supply. Consequently, officials from the Nigerian side go, more often than not, to the Nigerien side to fetch whatever they need. This situation cannot therefore warrant immigration hostility towards the people of Niger.

The security implication of the situation is that criminals also take advantage of a virtually free border to come to Nigeria, to do and undo. Criminals can secretly plan their activities in Niger only to come and execute the plan in Nigeria. Many have been the reports that the people who are actually terrorising farmers and innocent people in Nigeria are, stricto sensu, non-Nigerians, and that they are, rightly or wrongly, from neighbouring countries. In this regard, and whatever is the case, the Government of Nigeria needs the understanding and support of the Government of Niger in combating the obnoxious recklessness of the Boko Haram.

PMB’s leading a powerful delegation to the 60th Anniversary of the Proclamation of the RÊpublique du Niger, is therefore not only in order and welcomed a development, but should also be taken more seriously within the general framework of the whole relationship. The relationship should be taken advantage of in securing stronger sub-regional support through the Republic of Niger, in evolving a more dynamic sub-region, and also in ensuring a propitious sub-regional environment for the implementation of the 2019 budget in a more secure environment.

VIE INTERNATIONALE with

Bola A. Akinterinwa Telephone : 0807-688-2846

e-mail: bolyttag@yahoo.com

Issoufou, President La RĂŠpublique du Niger For instance, PMB, in his 2019 budget, put the oil price benchmark at $60, the GDP growth rate at about 3.01%, the exchange rate of the naira to the US dollar at N305.00, inflation rate at 9.98%, and oil production output at 2.3 million barrels per day.

All these expectations cannot but happen within the context of the environmental conditionings of the sub-region and NigerNigeria relations. Niger is a critical and major factor. The use of a sub-region is as defined in Article 1(e) of the 1991 Abuja Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community, that is, Nigeria and its immediate neighbours (vide supra).

Main Dynamics of the Relationship The first main dynamic of Nigero-Nigerian relationship is their inherited international border which is imprecise, but which the 1963 OAU Charter said must be so accepted on the basis of the 1810 Latin American principle of uti possidetis, that is, sanctity of colonial frontiers or maintenance of inherited colonial frontiers.

This necessarily therefore prompted the challenge of how to manage the colonial border, especially in the area of border security and intelligence cooperation.

Issues in the management of Nigero-Nigerian colonial border are complex and multidimensional. They include banditry, cattle theft and movement across the border, religious movements, murder, brigandage. In explaining the evolution of management of the border between Borno State of Nigeria and the Northern and Eastern neighbours (Niger, Chad and Cameroon), Ismael Mohammed identified three phases.

He has it that the first phase was characterised by colonial cooperation in the area of intelligence matters while the second phase, covering the period from 1960 to 1970, was characterised ‘by a combination of total indifference, lack of concern, neglect by the central government and peaceful co-existence, and by local diplomacy.’ The third phase, which covered the period from 1970 until the end of the Cold War in 1989, was characterised by ‘high level concern and sensitivity and occasioned by periodic tension

The deepening situation of insecurity in Nigeria can be reversed if strenuous efforts are consciously made to evolve a sub-region, as deďŹ ned in the 1991 Abuja Treaty Establishing the African Economic Union.The sub-region should comprise Nigeria and the immediate territorial neighbours, as well as Equatorial Guinea. As land security threats can come from anywhere but cannot directly affect Nigeria without ďŹ rst going through the neighbouring countries, the establishment of such a sub-region cannot but serve as a preventive mechanism.The use of Dahomey, now Republic of Benin, to y alleged relief materials, but which really were weapons, by the Red Cross organisation to secessionist Biafra during the civil war, is a good reference to remember in appreciating the need for a sub-regional organisation

and border clashes which led to gradual realisation culminating in acknowledging the importance of the border areas as potential source of conflict and cooperation for mutual benefit’ (vide his article in Bassey E. Ate and Bola A. Akinterinwa, eds., Nigeria and its Immediate Neigbours: Constraints and Prospects of SubRegional Security in the 1990s (Lagos: Pumark, 1992), pp. 164-180).

It was in light of this that efforts were consciously made as from 1970 to seek more economic cooperation, resuscitation of old and establishment of new commissions as needed institutional mechanisms for the management of the relationship.

But to what extent has the relationship really been faring well?

To what extent has it been good enough to deal with the problem of boko haramism? In fact, to what extent have suspicions and conflict of interests been removed, bearing in mind what the President of Niger, Hamani Diori, told the Francophone community in 1972? In the words of Hamani Diori, ‘do not be surprised if we are swallowed up by Nigeria. Our national routes are directed through Nigeria, our cattle are exported to Nigeria and many of our people come from there. If we are swallowed up, it will be as much your fault for leaving us alone as it is ours.’ (vide West Africa, 7 July, 1972, p. 867).

If we espy this quotation, can Nigeria really be in a position to swallow Niger Republic, bearing in mind that the Republic of Niger is territorially bigger than Nigeria? Nigeria has an area of 923,768, compared with Niger’s 1,266,700 square kilometres.

Even though Niger Republic is landlocked and its northern part is partly desertic, thus compelling its population to seek shelter in the southern part of the country and also to have a more deepening understanding with Nigeria in the area of sub-regional security, the two countries cannot be said to have done enough and well in the containment of terrorist activities in both the sub-region and the Sahel. This is why PMB’s visit to and participation in the 60th Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic of Niger should be another opportunity to seek special bilateral commitment to the anti-Boko Haram war in all ramifications.

Another main dynamic is the establishment of the NigeriaNiger Joint Commission for Cooperation (NNJC), which was established in March 1971. It is a Commission with a diplomatic status, generally considered as a river basin organisation and structured into High Authority of the NNJC, Commission, and a Permanent Technical Committee. The Commission has the objective of ensuring an equitable sharing in the development, conservation, and use of their common water resources, especially the Niger River. More interestingly, the NNJC is also seeking to promote transit trade for purposes of greater economic integration of the landlocked countries in Africa.

One point that is noteworthy about the NNJC is its mechanism of dispute resolution, which can be likened to the principle of subsidiarity. In this regard, any misunderstanding that cannot be settled by the Commission within six months is to be referred, on the request of both contracting parties, to the Commission of Mediation, Conciliation and Arbitration of the Organisation of African Unity, now African Union, for determination. Put differently, a conflict is expected to be resolved first at the level of both parties but where there is still a political lull, the misunderstanding has to be referred to a third party for final determination.

But what security role can the NNJC play, especially in the war on insecurity in Nigeria? Mahnaz Ispahan has argued that ‘security in the developed democracies... is less a question of internal cohesion, of political and economic stability. It is more externally defined and more outward looking, while, for most Third World countries, insecurity... stems as much, if not more, from domestic as from foreign sources, from economic as from military vulnerability.’ On the basis of this Third World definition of security, the NNJC can be said to have major roles to play and can actually be said to have also been playing active roles in national security. For instance, there was the workshop on the launching of the ECOWAS Kano-Katsina-Maradi Cross Border Initiatives Programme on Food Security and Cross Border Trade, that was held in Katsina from 19th to the 21st of September, 2007. The workshop was jointly organised by the Famine Early Warning System Network, the Sahel and West Africa Club, in collaboration with the NNJC, Niger Food Crises Unit, the National Boundary Commission of Nigeria, and the Permanent Inter-state Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS). The workshop was hosted by the Katsina State Government and financed by the Delegation of the European Commission to the Republic of Niger, UNDP Nigeria, and UNDP Niger. The NNJC took active parts in the organisation of the workshop.

More recently, in September 2017, a Two-Day sensitisation workshop on Trade Barriers between Niger and Nigeria was organised by the Borderless Alliance, PRODAP, PROFAB, and CILSS. It was funded by the ECOWAS, USAID and IFAD Niger and held in Katsina. In recognition of the importance of the need for a better understanding between the two countries, and particularly in appreciation of the roles of the NNJC and the need for further role-playing, Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State decided to provide a well furnished office, accommodation, vehicles, furniture, fittings for the smooth take off of operations of the Coordinating Office for the Daura Corridor Office of the NNJC. (See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

ARTS & REVIEW A

PUBLICATION

BREAKTHROUGH OF DOGGED ARTIST CHIDI OKOYE PAGE 69

23.12.2018

DROOLING FOR A MUSEUM OF INTANGIBLE TREASURES A display of miniatures at the venue

EDITOR OKECHUKWU UWAEZUOKE/ okechukwu.uwaezuoke@thisdaylive.com

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 23,2018

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ARTS & REVIEW\\TRIBUTE

Another view of the proposed museum's exterior

Visitors admiring the proposed museum building

DROOLINGFORAMUSEUMOFINTANGIBLETREASURES The almost-completed Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art will not only extend the learning space of the Pan-Atlantic University, but also impact on the larger visual arts community, Okechukwu Uwaezuoke reports

A

brown cuboid-shaped edifice perches on the grassy edge beyond the end of the long cobbled thoroughfare leading into the Pan-Atlantic University. This edifice, which is an extension of the Lagos-based university’s lofty educational goals, is the proposed Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art, or YSMA. Of course, it is still a work in progress, as the scaffolding clinging to the structure attests. But, the Spanish-born architect, Jess Castellote, hopes that its physical structures will be ready for use by mid next year. However, he adds, the museum’s official opening has been scheduled for October 1, 2019. Even before that date, the museum’s doors would already have been opened to not only students from all disciplines in the university, but also to those from nearby schools, especially those located in Lagos.

Among the YSMA’s aims are the offering of programmes and activities that have a real

educational value for students, who are not primarily involved with the arts. Indeed, the museum is being positioned as “an interdisciplinary educational instrument of PAU at the service of the university and local communities, through the experiential engagement with visual art objects by means of thematic exhibitions and educational programmes.”

Because the YSMA’s educational character, its future visitors will not be restricted from touching the displayed art objects, Castellote explains. The idea is to help its intended audiences discover the enriching value of art. “We believe the university art collection can help in the process of personal development towards greater human fulfilment.”

As a learning space of the university, the YSMA will not operate in isolation. Hence, its raison d’être already decrees that it works in partnership with not just the university’s other schools and departments, but also with institutions in the broader community. Indeed, through the museum the university community – the staff and students – will not only be engaged on art historical issues, but also in a broader way as a focus of cultural activity. This is as

ARTS BRIEF

In the Spirit of Xmas, Four Artists Unite in Badges Yinka Olatunbosun

I

nLagos,GeminiArtspresentsBadges,agroup artexhibitionwhichopenedonSaturday, December22attheSignatureGallery,Ikoyiwith worksfromfourartistsasChristmastreat.Duke Asidere,NyemikeOnwuka,AyoolaGbolahanand SamsonAkinniriaresettoshapethefestiveseason withthediversecollectionofartforms.

Asexpected,Asidere’sworksinthisshowhave strongpoliticalstatementsaswellaslovethemes.

Forstarters,hiscollagepaintingtitled,“Victimsand SupportersofBadGovernment,’isavisualjuxtapose ofthetwosidesofthedebateonbadgovernance whichisa2017piecebutevenmorerelevantinthe currentschemeofaffairsintheNigerianpolity.

WithNyemikeOnwuka,thereisnoboundarytothe burstofcreativeenergythatshinesthroughhismixed mediaexpressionsoncanvas.Inhisnewbodyofwork, heintroducestheuseofstencilindepictingpatterns, wordsandsymbolstoaddressthesocialdecadence thataffectswomenandchildren.Someofhisworks areattheshowinclude,“DiaryofAConqueror”,“The

PitchI”,“ObservationI”,“ObservationII”,and“IntheDeep.’

Onwukawhoseworksarethetoastofauctionhouseslives andworksinLagos.

AfricanidentityisatthecoreofGbolahanAyoola’s collectionatthisshow.Ayoola’sworkisconsideredas personal,deeplylayeredwithcountlesssymbolsandsigns inspiredbyhisAfricanheritage.Drawinguponourcollective consciousness,herecreatesthearchetypesineveryday reality.ThisgraduateofFineandAppliedArtattheObafemi AwolowoUniversity,IleIfeconsolidatedhiscareerinart withanartresidencywithTolaWeweinAkure,OndoState beforerelocatingtoLagos.Hisworksinclude,“Osumare’’and “Tension”.

AnothercontemporaryartistforthisshowisAkinnire Samsonwhojustconcludedhisfirstsoloexhibitioninthe UnitedStatesofAmericaatRenateAlbertsen-Marton GalleryinBrooklyn,NewYork.Hisartisknownforhisuseof recyclablematerialsonwoodandothermedia.Thisartist addsalotofculturalaestheticsinhisworksinboththe formandcontent.Hisworksinclude“RiddlesofMessageI”, “RiddlesofMessageII”,“HopefulReflections”,“Modupe”and “WingsofLove”.

This show will run for a week.

For Christmas, Rainbow Spreads the Joy of Reading

I

n the spirit of Christmas, the Rainbow Book Club is calling out to the public to join hands with her to plant seed libraries in indigent communities, through her book donation drive.

People are encouraged to donate new and used books (in good conditions). which the book club would use to the establish “seed” libraries.

A Rainbow seed library consists of about 500 books which are donated, with branded book shelves to communities in need of a library. Since 2009, through these book

donation drives and with help from partners, Rainbow Book Club has planted 12 seed libraries in different locations. Among the locations are Christ Our Refuge Home in Kahawa, Sukari, Kenya (in 2010), two in Cross River State and nine in Rivers State.

This year’s book donation drive has drop-off centres in Lagos (Jazz Hole, Quintessence and Terra Culture), Abuja (Café Salamander), and Port Harcourt (Chapters Book Shop). Through this initiative, the Port Harcourt book club continues to spread the joy of reading, as it has since 2005.

its contribution will hopefully extend to the acquisition of ancillary skills and competencies.

Among them are the fostering of critical thinking alongside visual and art historical literacy, bringing to the fore social issues as well as contributing towards a greater sense of citizenship among the students, and faculty of the university.

Eventually, it is expected that the YSMA will progress from playing a significant role in the cultural and educational life of Lagos to becoming the leading university museum in Africa.

Even so, Castellote cautions that the museum is not hoping to compete with the National Museum or any local museum.

“Unlike a National Museum, whose aim is generally the preservation, study and display of works of historical significance for a country, or local museum conceived as tourist attractions, or museums that centre its activities on artistic and curatorial experimentation, the YSMA-PAU will focus on audience engagement. Our objective will not be to attract the highest possible number of visitors, but to have the highest possible impact on those who come. Initially, we will focus on young visitors from the university itself and from schools in neighbouring areas.”

Even when it is basically conceived to be a small, collection-based museum, the museum is nonetheless committed to enlarging its initial collection. As for its long exhibitions, they will not only be well researched, but will also address specific themes, which it is hoped will foster critical thinking about central issues in the humanistic formation that the university aspires to offer.

Each of the museum’s two floors will display art works, which will revolve around two major broad themes. While the display on the ground-floor will focus on Materiality and Civilisation in Nigerian art, the upper floor is expected to host works organised around Tradition, Modernity and Society.

Intent on filling an educational and cultural gap in Lagos, the YSMA hopes to eventually become a place for artistic innovation which will also attract tourists. “Art can be a wonderful instrument to foster a deeper understanding of what it means to be human and to promote creativity as a necessary feature in all disciplines, from economics, to information technology, to communications,”the museum’s authorities hope.

The whole idea of having a museum at the prestigious tertiary institution was conceived a few years ago. The Pan-Atlantic University’s precursor and sister institution, the Lagos Business School (LBS) has always been known for its interest in the arts. Thus, it has, over the years, amassed an impressive collection from contemporary Nigerian artists. So, that explains why even the non-existence of a fine arts department at the PAU has not stopped its creation of an art museum, not only to host this collection, but also other works coming from artists and collectors.

A now-deceased renowned Lagos-based art

collector, Sammy Olagbaju, had warmed up to the idea and had even gone on to make a proposal to the university. But, as fate would later decree, Olagbaju’s plans never saw the light of the day.

Rather, it turned out that a collector friend of the late Olagbaju, Prince Yemisi Shyllon would not only offer to donate a large number of works from his massive collection, but also provide the funds for the building and the long term sustainability of the museum.

This was how the museum came about its name. Thus, YSMA follows the model of many European and American universities. One of these examples was in 1677, when the English antiquary, politician, officer of arms, astrologer and student of alchemy, Elias Ashmole, donated his “cabinet of curiosities” to the Oxford University, which led to the creation of the Ashmolean Museum.

This example has since been replicated in many other universities. Among these examples are the Fogg Art Museum at the Harvard, the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art at University of Florida, the Raymond Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University and the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University.

Also, many collectors are concerned about what would become of their collections after their demise. Availing institutions like the PAU of these works could be one way of guaranteeing their preservation and proper documentation. Hence, Shyllon’s decision to entrust over 1,000 works from his collection is a tacit acknowledgement of the PAU’s track record and commitment to excellence.

The university, meanwhile, has gone a step further to set up the governance and management structures, that would ensure the long term sustainability of the project. “The high maintenance, cleanliness and security standards of Pan-Atlantic University buildings will also be available at the museum,” the museum’s management promises.

Of course, the works to be displayed at the museum will not only be sourced from the university’s and Shyllon’s collections, but also from myriads of other donor collectors and artists.

The museum space, Castellote adds, can only exhibit not more than 300 works at any given time. Hence, most of the works in the museum’s collection will not be displayed.

Castellote also explains the museum’s architect – like that of the other buildings in the university – obeys the three main principles, which are fitness for purpose, sustainability and character. First, the design of the building creates the flexibility that allows the museum to change its display configuration to suit changing curatorial whims.

Then, there are the building’s external walls, which have a first-rate thermal insulation and the efficient air circulation throughout the single “exhibition space”, which requires a minimum air conditioning load. Finally, the museum’s building emphatic volumetry — a clean cube of 30 X 30 X 10 metres—and its richly textured finish of the stained concrete gives it the desired character.

No visitor to the university campus would fail to notice its strong physical presence on the lush green lawns. Nor would he fail to discern how much the university values the structure and what it represents for it.

69

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 23,2018

ARTS & REVIEW\\VISUAL ARTS

BREAKTHROUGH OF DOGGED ARTIST CHIDI OKOYE Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

A

rtists do not come of a harder hue than light-skinned sculptor, painter and poet Chidi A. Okoye. A firm believer in the creative enterprise, Okoye has applied his art diligently in Nigeria, Canada and the United States, surmounting all kinds of institutional obstacles. He remains undaunted in his quest for excellence, daring all odds. His drive brought him in contact with the equally determined Dr (Mrs) Sally Mbanefo, the Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs, Indigenous Artworks, Culture and Tourism of Anambra State.

Mbanefo who incidentally started painting as a tender teenager knows an original when she sees one.

The collaboration of Mbanefo and Okoye could not have come at a more opportune time. Okoye has since set to work, rebranding Mbanefo’s ministry in the Jerome Udoji Secretariat, Awka, Anambra State into a permanent art exhibition centre with exquisite sculptures, paintings, lush carpet, grass and flowers.

Governor Willie Obiano had headhunted Mbanefo into the service of Anambra State after her posting as the Director-General of Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) in Abuja by adding to her portfolio the novel “Indigenous Artworks” facet. It is in the pursuit of the promotion of indigenous artworks that Governor Obiano took personal charge of commissioning Chidi Okoye’s “Mmilioma Anambra” foundational exhibition during the Anambra Homecoming Festival on Friday, December 14.

The Mmilioma Anambra Statue at the centre of the exhibition rotunda depicts a young maiden carrying a clay pot bearing water from the original source which she is poised to pour into a larger communal pot to be shared in the rhythms of life.

The communitarian essence of Okoye’s Mmilioma symbolizes the watering of the Igbo spiritual bond of the land (ala), to wit, Mother Earth. This represents the renewal and restoration of Anambra as a new paradise holding aloft the light of the nation.

Chidi Okoye gives voice to his vision thus: “I pray and believe that Mmilioma Anambra will compel our visionary Governor and our royal fathers and mothers to see our highly needed place of Arts and Culture as a befitting state art gallery in Awka and engage a professional artist to manage our Arts Department for the economy we seek.”

Okoye got his higher training in art at the esteemed Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) Enugu when “IMT was IMT, the place to be for gifted artists.”

A native of Nimo town in Anambra State, he undertook his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) year after graduation in 1988 at Federal Polytechnic, Oko, where he then lectured for six years.

Mobil Producing sponsored his 1993 exhibition, “Textures of Life”, at the National Museum, Onikan, Lagos. The then Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria took a liking to Okoye’s work and facilitated his travel to Vancouver, Canada, in 1994.

Settling into the artistic life in Canada was indeed difficult as he needed a work permit to sell his art. Even when a lady helped him to procure the work permit she tied into it the clause that he could only operate through her company without the option of leaving. Okoye had to perforce survive a herculean two-year immigration battle.

Even so, he had to face the daunting reality of refusal from Canadian gallery operators who declared: “We don’t do African art but modern art.” Okoye refused to be cast aside, and devoted time to convince the doubters that the modern art of Picasso owed a lot to African art by way of cubism.

He had to devise out-of-the-box means of survival. He saw some Ghanaian immigrants making cross-border travel to Seattle in the United States. He took his

Okoye with one of his painting art to the streets, showcasing his works in restaurants, banks, different public places, anywhere people could see it. It was then the journalists started taking notice of him and writing about his uncommon enterprise.

The galleries could not but now start asking

for his works. A Vancouver journalist wrote a full-page article on him. Even in the US a Miami art dealer took charge of selling his works in the ship.

He persevered to create an outstanding body of work in sculptures, paintings,

mixed media, drawings and poetry in the private and public art collections in Canada, USA, Italy, France, Ireland, Israel and Hong Kong. His 2006 “Drums and Dance” adorns the Head Office of Delta Airline in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Okoye came back to Nigeria in 2015, and instantly saw that things had really fallen apart in the country. His beloved alma mater IMT was now a poor shadow of its old self.

The British Council that used to host artists in Enugu had left the town. He found that artists were now angling to become professors instead of creating artworks and exhibiting.

It dawned on him that Lamentation, the title of his first collection of poetry in 1992, came too early. Now was the real lamentation. It was against the general disillusionment that Okoye met Sally Mbanefo. Believing that art should propel the land, Okoye dares to lead by example without placing any premium on money.

He is now poised to build a gallery and generally turn the entire Anambra landscape into an estate of art. He strongly believes that with the art-loving Governor Obiano everything is possible, starting from the highly successful Mmilioma Anambra initiative.

–––Uzoatu writes from Lagos

The Inverted Pyramid; Adapted from a novel by Emeka Dike

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 23,2018

70

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71

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 23,2018

CICERO

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

IN THE ARENA

When Generals Become Easy Targets Last week’s assassination of a former Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh, months after retired Major General Idris Alkali was murdered in cold blood in Jos, Plateau State, is worrisome, writes Olawale Olaleye

T

he inevitability of death in human existence has never been a subject of debate.

What has always been, however, is the circumstance of each death, whether it was natural or orchestrated. This is why the killings of two generals – Idris Alkali and Alex Badeh – by unidentified gunmen within months are a cause for concern.

Indeed, everyone should be worried.

It is bad enough that the general state of security in the country has been awful and decrepit, somewhat. From the conventional to the unconventional security challenges, Nigeria has not ceased to combat men of the underworld, such that has put the nation’s security architecture under huge strain, both in terms of its manpower and armaments.

Whilst it would be insensate not to acknowledge the efforts of the security agencies in spite of the limitations they grapple with in confronting the tasks before them, it does now however change the fact that enough has actually not been done to tame the general insecurity in the land.

First, it was retired Major General Idris Alkali, whose remains were discovered in a well in Gwuchet village of Jos, Plateau State. He was believed to have run into a sectarian crisis in that part of town and the feuding miscreants visited their anger on him. That story has though not been confirmed. But they not only killed him; they disposed of his remains callously.

The Army, after weeks of thorough search, reported that the remains of Alkali were found in a sack laden with heavy stones in an abandoned well in Gwuchet village in Shen district of Jos South Local Government Area.

Guchwet village had since been abandoned by residents. The community is less than 10 kilometres from ‘No man’s land’ in Dura-Du, where the army eventually traced a shallow grave in which Alkali was buried but later exhumed. His vehicle with registration number Kwara MUN 670 AA had earlier been recovered from an old mining pond in Dura-Du on September 29.

Brig-Gen Mohammed, the Garrison Commander 3 Armoured Division, Maxwell Kobe Cantonment, Rukuba near Jos, said the location for the abandoned well was provided by one of the eight suspects declared wanted by the police, who submitted himself for interrogation.

“One of them, who is in police custody, brought us here directly. You cannot just see an abandoned well and see somebody inside; none of us has come here before but because we are working with intelligence, we were brought here and when we drained the water, we found the body,” he said.

Unfortunately, the dust raised by the gruesome killing of Alkali had not completely settled when the news of the killing of a former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, filtered in. Badeh was killed on Tuesday by unidentified gunmen along Abuja-Keffi road while reportedly returning from his farm.

An account by the Nasarawa Police Command stated that, “On December 18, 2018 at about 18:35hrs, the former Chief of Defence Staff (rtd) while returning from his farm located in Panda Development Area of Karu LGA was attacked by gunmen at Tudu-Uku along Gitata-Keffi road.

“He was in the company of his friend and driver when the unknown gunmen ambushed and opened fire on his moving vehicle. The former Chief of Defence Staff suffered gunshot injuries, which resulted to his death while his driver was injured and the said friend abducted.

“The corpse of the late Air Chief Marshal and the injured driver has been taken to NAF Hospital in Abuja,” the statement stated, adding that, “Following the directive

of the IGP Ibrahim K. Idris, the Commissioner of Police in Nassarawa State, CP Yahaya Bello and some senior military personnel have visited the scene alongside the IGP’s Intelligence Response Team, IRT, and Special Tactical Squad, STS, who are to carry out a discrete investigation into the case.”

The statement also stated that a combined effort of the security agencies was ongoing to rescue Badeh’s abducted friend and also arrest his killers.

It goes without saying that these killings are disturbing and curious. In fact, there are those, who believe they were not accidental, given the personalities of those involved.

But whatever theories that are not yet proven cannot fly but the situations put the security of the country in an apparent state of shame, despondency and disappointment.

It is therefore expected that President Muhammadu Buhari, himself a retired general would take more than a passing interest in the killings of his comrades. Many look up to him to act like a true general and ensure that the killers of these people were not only nabbed, that general security in the land is improved upon especially, at a time when insecurity has generally spiked.

Thank goodness the Nigeria Air Force has claimed to have made significant progress on the killing of Badeh, the president must however strive to ensure that the gradually building up narrative that army generals were fast becoming easy and cheap targets by some of the anti-social agents does not thrive. But the only way this message can be passed on is by making the situations at hand a profound example.

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

Akindele: Learning the Hard Way

A Prof. Akindele

fter months of recriminations and interesting legal exchanges, that famous Obafemi Awolowo University lecturer, Professor Richard Iyiola Akindele, who was accused of demanding sex from one Miss Monica Osagie, to pass her has been sent to jail for two years.

It was such a hard way to call in time on a rather promising and enviable teaching career.

Stories of sexual harassment of students by their lecturers are as old as the story of the creation itself.

Although there is also the other stanza to the campus sexual harassment story, which is that students too

often offer themselves to lecturers, either for marks or protection; none of these is worth celebrating especially, because of the societal stigma that comes with the mere thought.

Perhaps, the experience of Professor Akindele would serve as a lesson to his ilk that delights in making the Nigerian university campuses hell on earth for students. No lecturer, who has put in so much into his career, should end up like Akindele.

However, that Miss Osagie appears to have gone unpunished does not mean students, who encourage lecturers or indulge sex deals, would not meet their end too.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 23,2018

72

BRIEFINGNOTES Can Jimi Lawal Profit from Dapo Abiodun’s Certificate Uncertainty?

Following the charge that Mr. Dapo Abiodun was economical with the truth in the latest details he submitted in INEC FORM 001, the chances that he might still fly his party’s flag in the governorship elections in Ogun State appears uncertain. But the big question is: can Mr. Jimi Lawal, Abiodun’s main traducer, who was believed to have exposed the scandal, profit from his predicament? Asks Olaseni Durojaiye

F

or Mr. Dapo Abiodun, governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State, this is not the best of time, politically. A raging storm with the potential to engulf his political ambition and indeed career appears to be encircling him even as it stretches his political sagacity to the limits.

Matter-of-factly, if the allegations against him are true as it is looking like, only a political solution could save his skin. That is if the APC apparatchik and the federal government play by the rule and allow the course of law to run without the slightest interference whatsoever.

The latest political storm threatening to consume his ambition to govern the state is certainly fiercer than the one he weathered to clinch the Ogun State governorship ticket of the APC. Abiodun’s battle this time around stemmed from an allegation that he gave conflicting details regarding his academic attainments at two different times – 2015 and 2018. Suspicion arising from the conflicting claims was that he dodged the mandatory National Youth Service (NYSC) draft even when he was within the age bracket for the national assignment, which is even more worrisome.

Adeniyi Baruwa, a lawyer and member of his party blew the lid, when he approached a Federal High Court in the Abuja division with the allegations and asked that he be stripped of the ticket and disqualified from the gubernatorial race. According to media reports, Baruwa averred in court filings that Abiodun made false claims in the details he filed with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In the suit, Baruwa asked the court to disqualify Abiodun from the race over “false information” in the academic qualification he filed with the INEC. Baruwa, a lawyer, also urged the court to declare that Abiodun’s refusal to disclose all his educational qualifications as demanded by INEC in FORM CF 001 amounts to fake information.

According to the report by an online news medium, TheCable, he declared only his West African School Certificate (1978) in the form CF 001 submitted to INEC on October 23, 2018, whereas when he ran for the Ogun East Senatorial seat in 2015, he submitted to have attended the then University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) and graduated in 1986 and Kennesaw State University, Atlanta Georgia, US (1989) in his INEC FORM CF 001. He reportedly backed the claims with an affidavit he swore to at the High Court Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Abiodun’s decision not to include the two degrees in the Form CF001 submitted for the 2019 election then fuelled suspicion that he didn’t undergo the compulsory NYSC scheme – which is punishable under the law even though he finished his first degree in 1986.

Baruwa further averred that he knew Abiodun graduated from the University of Ife before he was 30 years old but neither participated in the NYSC exercise nor obtained any exemption certificate even though he was 26 years old at the time, having been born on May 29 1960.

Interestingly, his profile posted on the website of Heyden, an oil and gas company he owns, reads that he bagged degrees in engineering and accounting.

Abiodun’s travails, though interpreted as politically motivated given the rancour that h trailed his emergence as his party’s candidate, it speaks to the character of Nigeria’s politics, where fair is fast gaining a reputation of being foul while foul on the other hand is believed to be fair. Besides, it underscores the penchant among the political class to leverage their connections to cut corners and circumvent the laws only to try to cover their tracks much later when they aspire for public office.

Even at that, observers contended that if a cursory look at the storm encircling Abiodun was politically motivated by the interplay of political intrigues and power tussle within the APC, a deeper interrogation of the issue speaks to a moral burden, which borders on dishonesty and an attempt to side-step the laws of the land and hoodwink his party.

It is also one more signal that gradually, Ogun State is making a

Abiodun

Lawal

strong case as one of the states to watch in the countdown to the general election next year considering the intriguing and interesting political enactments playing out in the gateway state particularly, in the nation’s two major parties – the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

As things stand, it goes without saying that the AbiodunGate thrusts the APC a quandary. Even so is that it is an indictment of the party’s internal process in terms of records verification. Observers opined that whether the gaffe, if it turned out so, can be excused as part of teething problems associated with a growing democracy is a matter for another discourse.

But other observers contended that whether it is part of a learning process or not, it is an indictment on the internal workings of the APC particularly, as it relates to its handling of records.

Those who hold this view based their submissions on two vital questions: Did the party notice the conflicting claims or not? Does the party, and by extension political parties in the country have any mechanism in place to back check claims made by aspirants?

Whatever the answers are, certainly the APC is not likely to come off this smelling like a freshly plucked Rose flower.

Rather, it revealed a lack of diligent internal checks and poor record keeping within the party if academic entries made by its candidates are inconsistent from election to election, unnoticed and ended causing the party such embarrassment as the case is now.

Unfortunately, Abiodun may not be the only casualty of the latest push by Baruwa. While the Iperu-Remo born oil magnate may end up losing the ticket he fought tooth and nail to win, and, as some extremist predicted, suffer the consequence of being economical with the truth under oath; the APC could end up without a governorship candidate in the state.

Pundits who predicted a scenario where the APC does not field a candidate in the state’s gubernatorial polls if the court so pronounce

hinged their permutations on the closure of the INEC stipulated deadline for substituting candidates for the election even though Baruwa in his court filings asked that another aspirant, Jimi Lawal, be made to replace Abiodun as the party’s candidate, since he allegedly came second in an election that Lawal himself said never held.

As the drama unfolds, what many discerning political watchers are waiting to see is how the APC maneuver the tidal wave threatening to subsume Abiodun’s governorship ambition. And in the case that it drowns him, whether the party will be able to field another candidate for the election in the gateway state.

How the APC apparatchik handles the seemingly tough crisis remains to be seen even as it is still locked in battle with the INEC on the Zamfara State challenge, where it is looking like it may not field a governorship candidate remains to be seen.

What’s more, how the party handles the Ogun conundrum will also test its resolve last September not to tolerate any of its members who dodged NYSC draft in the wake of the revelation that the Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu did not take part in the NYSC scheme, the same situation that forced a former Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun to resign and also denies Ogun a slot in the Federal Executive Council as currently constituted.

How it manages the situation without being seen to contravene laid down rules or bully the electoral umpire to have its way will also tell a lot on the ruling party’s commitment to free, fair and credible elections next year. Above all, it is doubtful if Mr. Jimi Lawal, the man, whose protégé exposed this whole mess can profit from it. Apart from the fact that if the request for disqualification is granted by the court, since it is an Electoral Act matter, which is guided by timing, it is a total loss for the APC, however, that Lawal himself is said to have a history of certificate scandal, completely precludes him from reaping from the fallout at the end of the day.

NOTES FOR FILE

Treasury Looters Or Impunity?

Obono-Obla

Last week, the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property (SPIP), headed by Okoi Obono-Obla, said it had submitted some 39 names of alleged treasury looters to the Nigerian Immigration Service to prevent them from escaping investigation and prosecution for alleged criminal acts.

Two issues are of concern here. First, does the panel have the powers to determine, who is corrupt or not? What basis or criteria did it use to determine the corrupt persons it has so identified? The other point is, even if the panel was mandated to investigate certain persons, how does one situate its powers to forward such names, straight from its stable to the immigration? Just how possible is that? Crass impunity!

In the case of Garba versus University of Maiduguri (1986) 1NWLR (Pt 18) 550, the Supreme Court ruled that, “The offences for which the appellants were undoubtedly held liable by the board and panel include looting, arson, destruction of property and indecent assault. These are

offences under the penal code or criminal code and therefore are triable only by regular courts of law.

“Neither the investigation panel, which investigated these serious charges, nor the disciplinary board of the Senate, which considers its findings, is a court of law. Neither was competent to adjudicate on matters connected with the rights of the appellants once the allegations include crime…”

In essence, once a person is accused of criminal offence, the court affirmed that he must be tried in a court of law. No other tribunal, investigating panel, or committee is vested with such powers to make pronouncement on criminal matters regarding an individual except a court of competent jurisdiction.

Thus, on this, it is clear that the Obono-Obla panel is usurping the powers of the court and arrogating to itself, the authority it does not have. Government appears to be taking its fight against corruption to a rather ridiculous level and needs to be told it is strangely stepping out of legal and constitutional lines. That panel cannot suffice for the court and it is a nobrainer.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 23,2018

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CICERO/ONTHEWATCH

Akinlade

Abiodun

Bankole

Kashamu

Isiaka

Ogun 2019: A Battle as Never Known Before With the intimidating launch of the Allied People’s Movement in Abeokuta, Ogun State on Thursday, the 2019 governorship election in the state promises to be a battle of wit and relevance, writes Shola Oyeyipo

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es, it is going to be a very tough battle in Ogun State, when the governorship election comes up next year March. And from all indications, even the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), is not in a position to boast that it is capable of freely attaining victory in that election.

The reason for the assertion above is simply because the major contenders have their strengths and weaknesses and the combination of these factors will surely exert telling consequences on the outcome of the election.

Without prejudice to other contenders in other political parties, it is safe to say that there are five major contenders in the Ogun State governorship race. They include embattled Dapo Abiodun, running on the APC platform; a House of Representatives member, Hon. Adekunle Abdulkabir Akinlade of the Allied People’s Movement (APM) and Mr. Gboyega Nasir Isiaka of the African Democratic Congress (ADC); though his party seems determined to replace him, another heavy weight in the race is Senator Buruji Kashamu, who till now has the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket and more of an underdog in the race, is a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Dimeji Bankole of the Action Democratic Party (ADP).

Considering what is at stake and the power game that would characterise the rivalry, bookmakers are already analysing that the election would not only be a very stiff competition, it is going to come with violent incidences no doubt; that it would be heated and definitely going to be tension-soaked is a fait accompli. In all, it is going to be as never seen before in the political history of the South-west state, because of the dynamics that come with it.

Ironically, unlike what some are thinking that it could be a repeat of what happened during the era of former governor Gbenga Daniel in 2007, when he was unable to determine his successor, it is actually incorrect because the equations on the ground are clearly different as they are presently situated.

First, Abiodun is considered by aggrieved APC members as an imposition or a candidate, who emerged surreptitiously through the conspiracy of some powerful forces within the party against a rather popular choice. So, now, he has been foisted on the party whereas, to some, he does not have the clout to create any upset whatsoever, even in his Ogun East senatorial district.

Talking about strong political figures in that area, anyone conversant with the Ogun East political terrain would first mention Buruji Kashamu, the Adebutu Keshinton family and of course, the Daniel factor. Of these power blocks, Abiodun is APC’s weakest links. Even if the ticket was withdrawn from Kashamu as some PDP members are currently rooting, contending with Mr. Ladi Adebutu, scion of the Adebutus in the East is still a tall order for Abiodun, given the investment of the Adebutus in that part of the state.

However, give it to him, Abiodun has some very strong forces behind him like former governor Olusegun Osoba, former Lagos State governor and National Leader of the APC, Senator Bola Tinubu; Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshimhole and a billionaire businessman from the north, believed to be funding him.

Regrettably, of all these people, only two are from the state, and of these two, only Osoba has a solid political base and clearly, what is on the ground is not a job for one man. The point also to be made is that when during the last election, Osoba defected to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) he could not make as much impact.

This is not to say, however, that Osoba is by any means a pushover in the state. He is still a force, who rides more on his name and integrity, first as a journalist. But unlike him, the number two citizen only has a high political portfolio; he doesn’t have any

known political constituency at his beck and call in his home state.

Perhaps, his debate could start with where he voted in 2015 and that would end the controversy.

This is why Abiodun is yet not seen in any critical political circle in the state as capable of pulling any significant surprises in the race. Unfortunately, again, with his current certificate scandal, which appears to dim not just his chances but that of his party from fielding a candidate in the election if the matter is followed through, the election, as far as his fate is concerned, might have been won and lost.

However, not many people will disagree that Kashamu is an institution on his own in Ogun State political firmament. He has grown to become a menacing political force that must be factored into considerations, when seeking votes in his eastern flank.

Now, he is running and cleverly, he has picked an intellectual in the person of Dr. Rueben Abati as his running mate. He has the financial war chest and he quite understands the terrain. He knows the politics and would naturally go all out to attract votes for his party in his Ogun East base. But two questions would have to be asked to ascertain his degree of relevance in the coming election in connection to his spread to other states. One, does his influence go beyond Ogun East? No. therefore, he can’t make any serious impact beyond Ogun East.

The second question is, despite being a well-known intellectual, what is the political relevance of Dr. Abati in Ogun State? It is practically zero. So, Kashamu will only undo the chances of the APC or any other candidate in the East alone. He would lock down that region considerably and diminish whatever chances any other candidate might want to pull off there.

But he also has the Adebutus to contend with. With economic and philanthropic relevance, this family has become a force in that part of the state. What this is means is that once it appears Ladi Adebutu has lost out of the equation, whoever they choose to support clearly would grab a good chunk of the votes from the area. They could serve as neutralizer to Kashamu’s hold on that part of town.

But losing out is not on the card yet, because the Appeal Court, last week, upheld Adebutu’s candidacy, putting Kashamu’s chances in serious strain, although the latter has since appealed the ruling.

Then come to Akinlade, Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s choice candidate. The governor is not hiding his preference for him. To his advantage is the fact that he is from Ogun West, the part of the state currently clamouring for governorship. He is a sitting House of Representatives member and so, he is likely to get widespread support among his people, who are considering him as being persecuted without justification. And with the backing of Governor Amosun, Ogun Central is equally sure and on lockdown for him.

In other words, the battleground for him will be the East. So, expectedly, he would simply join other candidates to slug it out in the east. The calculation in his camp is that he would hold his West for himself while Governor Amosun will hold Central for him, so whatever he gets in the East, perhaps through alliances with the like of Adebutu, would only come as an addition for him.

So, in theoretical calculations, Akinlade stands a pretty good chance to clinch victory in the Ogun 2019 poll, even though he has crossed to a different party. Nothing however lends credence to than his kick-off rally last Thursday with an unprecedented crowd that shook the whole town. He is currently the man to beat and certainly the issue in the election.

No doubt, Isiaka, popularly known as GNI has come of age in the quest for Ogun State governorship. He has run twice against Amosun and this is the third adventure in the race for Oke Mosan, so, he understands the game very clearly and would get staggering

votes from the West, where he comes from. He is also likely to get some sympathy votes from that side of the state.

His only setback is that he can’t make strong impact in the Central and surely cannot hope for much from the East. Worst still, he doesn’t have the financial war chest to contend with most of the other candidates, who have enormous money to spend to prosecute their ambitions.

That has been his major undoing. If he had the required war chest, he probably would have been able to poach the Central and East sufficiently but even without that, in the West, where he comes from, money or without money, his people will vote for him. He stands a very good chance in his West, albeit running neck-and-neck with Akinlade.

Bankole is not one to affect Amosun’s chances and influence in the Central. There is no controversy about the fact that he is a good candidate – young, impressive and intellectually sound. He is the kind of leader the people would want but one of his setbacks is that since his speakership, he has not actually come up strong on the political turf again. Beyond that, like GNI, he is not likely to have the war chest needed to prosecute his ambition.

Another setback for Bankole is that even if he is attractive to the electorate, his chances are further reduced because the outgoing governor is from Central and he had been on the saddle for two terms of eight years. So, in the interest of fairness, equity and justice, it would only be nearly impossible that the same senatorial district is voted into power, when Ogun is not Rivers State.

He is therefore further disadvantaged by the fact that he is from Central, where the incumbent is leaving. So, he is unlikely to get anything meaningful from his district. People from other districts would equally not give him serious consideration. Therefore, his ambition would not fly in the West or in the East as far as 2019 is concerned.

From all indications, the Ogun race is going to be Amosun’s real battle against the other forces and the truth is that apart from being solidly on the ground with intimidating structure and statewide network, the governor also has sound performance record to his name, a statement of fact that cannot be denied him.

To push Amosun out is not a task that is achievable with the kind of formation on the other side. They would need much more than they have currently put together. Whilst the national leadership is not backing off especially with their recent dissolution of the state’s executive, which the governor has dismissed as joke, Amosun appears seriously battle ready, roving like a wounded lion.

Besides, there is a swirling assumption that President Muhammadu Buhari is also not happy with the way the governor has been treated by the party leadership. Therefore, whatever Amosun may be doing now that is considered anti-party in some quarters may not be taken up against him. The president may not be interested in the attendant wailing and would definitely look away the way he was seen to have done when Amosun too was badly treated at the primaries. He would not wade in.

But back to the permutations in some quarters that this might be a repeat of the Daniel era, when the former governor was on the wrong side of the presidency, Amosun is not in that fit with the Buhari presidency and so, may not get any such treatment.

Give or take, Amosun’s candidate appears to stand a really good chance in the elections as campaigns kick-off fully. In fact, with his ravaging launch, even Amosun’s election is under the threat of APM. But there is no deceiving anyone that it is going to be a battle as never seen before – a joker that will be thrown up in the political history of the state and good for class study in years to come.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 23,2018

CICERO/REPORT

Araraume

Ihedioha

Nwosu

Uzodinmma

Unfolding Theatre of Imo Governorship Race The governorship race in Imo State is a free-for-all, writes Amby Uneze

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y the calculations of the current political situation in Imo State, there is palpable tension surrounding the would-be next governor of the state.

The state, no doubt, would present an interesting flashpoint, considering the circumstances that played out prior to the primary elections of the major political parties in the state.

Since the return to democracy in 1999, governorship elections had not been easily won in the state. All the elections had been keenly contested as the winnings had not been on a platter of gold and strongly, predictions about the elections had hardly come to play.

As difficult as it was to win the primary and become the governorship candidates of these major political parties, the war within the parties seems to have escalated. This was due to the pattern or put it succinctly, the shoddy manner some of these political parties conducted their primary. To some, there was an improvement, while others just tried to hoodwink their opponents and play a fast one to become the standard bearers. In all, implosion and discordant tunes raised the rooftops and that is why Imo is where it is now.

However, the matter also was made worst by the actions and inactions of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which failed to intervene in some cases. Granted that the internal affairs of the political parties need not to be interfered with by INEC, as an umpire, the commission could have ensured that there was a level playing ground given to all aspirants at the primaries.

A case in question was the manner in which the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) handled her primary, which was more or less an appointment instead of ad-hoc delegates electing their preferred candidate.

Again, the ludicrous manner the Social Democratic Party (SDP) suddenly changed the candidate that won the primary with another name was something unbecoming of a serious-minded party.

Also, the crisis plaguing the APC could have been better managed had INEC played better as an umpire.

And with the alleged dissolution of the state EXCO by the national leadership, which of course Governor Rochas Okorocha has brushed off, the last may not have been seen or heard of the theatrics in the APC. Back to the unfolding political rigmarole that could play out in the coming days and weeks in the state concerning the governorship race, inasmuch as it was difficult to predict where the pendulum may swing, political pundits believe that it would be hotly contested.

To ward off any unforeseen circumstances that might bring crisis and shedding of innocent blood, Christians across the state, particularly the Catholics have been fervently praying against political violence in the forthcoming elections in the country, with particular reference to Imo State.

Granted that among the 98 registered political parties in the country, about 50 of them have governorship candidates in the state, only four are the most prominent, considering the popularity of their candidates and

political parties. These four are PDP, APC, APGA and AA.

coalition and selecting a neutral fellow could work against him at the poll.

Emeka Ihedioha (PDP)

Ifeanyi Araraume (APGA)

Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha can rightly be described as one of the most qualified and fully prepared candidatesw among his peers. He was deputy speaker of House of Representatives, as well as a substantive Speaker of the National Assembly, a former chief whip and a thorough political technocrat, who knows what to do with governance and what it means to serve the people. He had done it before as a federal legislator for twelve years, who used his mandate to not only provide immense democracy dividends to his immediate federal constituency of Aboh Mbaise/Ngor Okpala, his achievements traversed all parts of the state.

Ihedioha’s emergence as PDP’s standard bearer was not sudden, but anticipated, considering his staunch commitment and steadfastness to the party over the years. He remains one of the solid foundation members of the party. While others jumped from pillar to post in search of favourable platforms to actualise their political dreams at one point in time, Ihedioha is one man, who had not doubted the immense opportunities in the PDP hence he remains solid in the party.

Apart from the fact that he had over the years supported the party in all ramifications, his election as the party’s candidate was described by all and sundry including members of the opposition parties as the most credible and transparent in the state. The credibility of his emergence has no doubts attracted other opposition members to support his candidacy. Ihedioha is the most feared politician in the state. In fact, the incumbent governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha is believed to be very much afraid of his succeeding him.

Ihedioha has his weaknesses, one of which is arrogance that is usually attributed to him, because he wants an ideal/due process to be followed in all things.

His No one will claim not being arrogant for once; in as much as the Ihedioha’s arrogance is believed to be tailored to doing the right thing. Many also consider him stingy, a character trait that pisses some off.

Hope Uzodinma (APC)

Senator Hope Uzodinma is a known name in Nigeria, having been a-two-time senator. He was also a member of the PDP BoT. Uzodinma is presently the standard bearer of the APC, which he won hard.

Because of Hope Uzodinma’s doggedness that swept Okorocha’s “political family” out of APC, people applauded him, though he achieved this feat with the help of the Imo APC Coalition, which comprises the deputy governor, Eze Madumere, Jude Ejiogu, T.O.E. Ekechi, Osita Izunaso and a host of others.

Uzodinma too has his weaknesses. However, the biggest obstacle he would face apart from being abandoned by the governor and his lieutenants is the fact that he comes from the same Orlu zone that had produced Udenwa and Okorocha for the past 16 years.

Again, his choice of running mate was outside those that played key roles in his emergence as the governorship candidate. His abandoning the members of the

Senator Ifeanyi Godwin Araraume is a recurring name in the Nigerian cum Imo political circle, having aspired or contested every election since 1999. Apart from winning the 1999 and 2003 senatorial election for Okigwe zone (Imo North), it had been very difficult for him to clinch the governorship ticket, which he had contested since 2007. Araraume had belonged to virtually all the major political parties, starting from ANPP, PDP, ACN, APC, to APGA, where he flies her governorship flag for 2019 election.

Here is a solid politician that is not tired of spending money where it is necessary to get on top of his political career. He is also a team player considering his knack to maintain his political structure over the years. He sees the 2019 election as his last attempt at the governorship race and that may be the reason he jumped from APC, where he knew it was difficult for him to grab the ticket and moved over to APGA overnight and mesmerised the national leadership of the party and picked up the ticket.

Not minding his political ingenuity, Araraume for sure is described as a political hard sell. Whatever might be the reason for that notion across Imo, it is yet to be proved, but it might not be unconnected to his desire to be governor at all cost. His perceived desperation for power is seen as a big minus.

Another weakness is the fact that he was seen by other former co-aspirants as the brain behind the aborted primary, which would have given the party a lifeline in the state to become a party to beat. This led to the implosion in the party and the resultant effect was the mass exodus of those prominent members to other political parties.

Uche Nwosu (AA)

Mr. Uche Nwosu has finally become the governorship standard bearer of the Action Alliance (AA) after he lost out in the superior power game that ensued between his father-in-law and mentor, Rochas Okorocha and the APC national leadership led by Adams Oshiomhole.

Nwosu, who had ab intio nursed the idea of going to the House of Representatives was drafted into the governorship race by his father-in-law, who wanted him to step into his shoes as a worthy successor.

Due to his alleged desperation of becoming the next governor, Nwosu became somewhat power-drunk, which led him to join a relatively unknown party – AA. However, with the help of the governor and others who lost out in the APC power game, Nwosu is likely to pull surprises at the election.

He is relatively inexperienced and believes in the support of his father-in-law to make an impact. But with the hardship Okorocha is believed to have subjected Imo people with his draconian leadership makes his endorsement a burden more or less. The Imo people appear fed up with Okorocha and his surrogates hence it would be difficult to have another Orlu zone man become governor of Imo State.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 23,2018

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CICERO/INTERVIEW

Nigeria Strong Enough to Withstand Election Fractures Chief Executive Officer of Peace Direct, a charity based in London and supporting grassroots peacebuilders in areas of conflict, Dylan Matthews, spoke with Bayo Akinloye from the United Kingdom about the constant farmers-herders conflict, the familiar sectarian crises and the need to promote peace in Nigeria ahead of the 2019 general election. Excerpts:

L

for more collaboration and learning between local organisations, and through advocacy on national and international levels to help them voice their needs and recommendations to other stakeholders.

We believe that working closely with the community, local organisations and religious leaders is the key to building peace from the ground up.

That’s why we learn from the local communities we work to consider and address the root causes of violence and the driving factors encouraging people’s participation in it. By working to counter these factors, we are better equipped to understand why violence escalates, how it can be resolved, and to engage with those who are hard to reach.

et’s start by asking, why is Peace Direct interested in Nigeria?

In Nigeria, there has been growing tension between ethnic and religious groups. 20,000 people have died and more than two million have fled their homes, because of the violence and abductions of Boko Haram and conflict between ethnic groups in the north of the country.

Meanwhile northern Nigeria’s ‘youth bulge’, the 19 per cent of the country’s population aged between 15 and 24 years, face extremely limited opportunities for education and employment, with the region having some of the lowest school attendance rates in the world.

Evidence shows us that young people with severely restricted economic opportunities are particularly susceptible to recruitment by armed groups, which is why we work with Peace Initiative Network (PIN) to help build non-violent alternatives for preventing and resolving conflict.

We see incredible potential in this huge segment of the population for building sustainable peace in Nigeria. In the words of the coordinator of PIN, Michael Sodipo, ‘We don’t see young people as the leaders of tomorrow. We see them as the leaders of today.’

Latest Amnesty report on Nigeria indicates that some 4,000 people were killed between 2016 and 2018 in the violence between farmers and herders in Nigeria. What solutions do you suggest for this seemingly intractable conflict?

First is to invest in local early warning and early response mechanisms. We know from experience that with sufficient local ‘eyes and ears’ on the ground, the early risk factors for violence can be spotted quickly and therefore potential flashpoints can be averted. We have seen this work with remarkable effect in South Kordofan in Sudan, where we support a network of peace committees that are trained in early warning and rapid mediation, and the results have been astounding.

There is no reason that such an approach couldn’t Matthew work in Plateau State (and other troubled areas in Nigeria). Linked to this, hate speech needs to be monitored and countered, particularly through platforms such as Facebook and radio (stations). Policymakers need to ensure that their statements do not fan the flames of division and that efforts are made to promote message of co-existence and tolerance over a sustained period.

Second is not to seek a military solution to crisis. Military solutions almost always undermine the long-term prospects for peace by antagonising local communities and alienating people who are caught in the crossfires of the violence.

Third, international and national donors need to establish rapid funding mechanisms to enable quick turnaround grants to local organisations, based on the early warning described above. Right now, donors are not set up to provide flexible rapid funding, because most grant programmes are highly bureaucratic and are simply unable to respond dynamically to emerging risks.

A more enlightened approach to grant-making during times of heightened tensions can be a game changer. Finally, indigenous conflict resolution mechanisms are massively under-utilised despite evidence that they can be remarkably effective. Civil society represents the biggest source of untapped peace-building potential globally and the violence in Plateau could be averted if much more investment was made to sustain community focused efforts.

Some have thought that the various violent conflicts in the country are recipe for national disintegration and have the potential for a civil war especially, with a presidential election just around the corner next year in February. How do you see all these factors playing out? How can the country turn the corner without a major violent conflict?

While we are concerned about the risk of increased violence in the run-up to the elections, we caution against predictions of national disintegration or civil war, as we believe that these are unfounded, highly unlikely and not a helpful narrative at times of increased tension. The Nigerian electorate has no appetite for war and division and we believe that Nigerian society is strong enough to withstand the fractures that might emerge closer to

What are the components of your programmes or initiatives?

PIN’s programme focuses on how we can engage young men and women in positive activities that will make them more resilient. This involves skills training. Young trainees and women receive training from the best local tradesmen, learning skills ranging from soap making to tailoring.

Trainees attend the centre once per week for six months. As opposed to just ending all contacts after training, we support PIN to provide trainees with business starter kits made up of tools or material to help them start their own business ideas and provide for themselves and their families. PIN provides regular follow up support to ensure the young people are thriving. There are also ‘Sports clubs’: One of the best ways to build understanding between rival religions and ethnic groups is through sport.

Everyday in Kano, football teams of young men gather at makeshift football pitches to train, improve their technique and learn to work together. The focus is on learning to deal with problems in a positive way, and address anger through non-violent means.

Then, there are ‘Peace Clubs’. PIN runs peace clubs for young people aged from 10 to 25. The clubs teach leadership and teamwork skills and give young people the opportunity to discuss the violence that affects them and their country with other young people from different backgrounds. the elections.

We believe in hope over fear and we know that local peacebuilders across the country, as well as the communities they serve are determined to build a peaceful society for all. This is where the investment should be made, at the grassroots. That’s the narrative that we need to promote right now.

Are you worried that the various violent conflicts in Nigeria can perhaps result in the biggest humanitarian crisis if not well handled?

We are greatly concerned by the presence of Boko Haram in the North East, where the conflict in Nigeria is concentrated, and their leverage of the youth population for armed recruitment. Ongoing violence provoked partially by Boko Haram and also by ethnic and religious tensions has caused widespread displacement, with over 2 million people to flee their homes since 2009. Meanwhile, we are seeing significant spreading of hate speech and fake news as the upcoming elections approach.

However, our work with partners in Nigeria has demonstrated that the country has a dynamic civil society, able to curb the rise of violence if provided with space and resources to do so. Existing initiatives by faith-based, women-led and youth-led organisations are already active all over the country but fail to grow their impact due to lack of resources, lack of visibility and limited access to policy-makers. All national and international stakeholders should put their efforts towards building a stronger civil society in order to give communities the tools they need to prevent and respond to conflict.

What exactly is Peace Direct doing in Nigeria and in which parts of the country?

At present we are collaborating with the Peace Initiative Network (PIN) to tackle the roots of violent conflict and poverty through local action in Northern Nigeria, with the programme currently active in Kano and Plateau States.

The idea of our collaboration is not only to work with them on programmes, but also to strengthen the capacity of local civil society. This is achieved by helping to develop opportunities

Have there been any positive results?

The current programme is ongoing yet we can already see some positive results. In the last year, the programme has been active, 48 people increased their income as a result of the training offered by PIN. But most importantly, we learned from talking to project participants that the programmes have helped to heal divides and encourage people from different communities to recognise their shared interests over their differences, and work together.

As Kaltume, a programme participant, said, ‘I joined the project to become an agent of peace in my community and to be self-reliant. I don’t have to depend solely on my husband. I can also be able to help others in the community. I am determined to teach other women to learn sewing and earn a means of livelihood and to be the vanguard for peace in their community.’

Locals are likely to see your organisation as another means of colonisation and all that. How does Peace Direct tackle this perception challenge?

Peace Direct is driven by local partners, infrastructure, and knowledge – we don’t parachute a team in to build a project, but rather look at how we can support and link up local initiatives, and amplify their voices and expertise with national and international audiences. Putting the expertise of local people first is core to everything we do, and is paramount to creating sustainable peace.

What deliberate approach are you and your organisation taking to bring the good news out of Nigeria and other African countries?

By keeping regular contact with partners, we tell positive stories of the projects we support and the people, who benefit from them on our website, social media, and in our media coverage.

(See the concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ DECEMBER 23,2018

CICERO/REPORT

Atiku: Talking Business with Business People A meeting of the PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar with the South-east business community in Aba, Abia State, has set a new tone in the 2019 campaigns, writes Emmanuel Ugwu

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or a man, who is involved in virtually every aspect of business and a major player in the nation’s economy, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Abubakar Atiku was on a familiar turf on Wednesday, December 19, when he engaged the business community in Aba, Abia State.

He came to Aba, the commercial nerve centre of Abia State and hub of small, medium enterprises (SMEs), where he held a town hall meeting with the business community in the Southeast zone of the country.

During the interaction with captains of industry, entrepreneurs and the executives and members of the organised private sector from across the South-east, the business language did not sound esoteric to Atiku. He was familiar with the terms and issues pertaining to business and economy as he took every question raised with knowledgeable calm and candour.

Significantly, Atiku’s meeting with the South-east business community was the second time a presidential hopeful would engage in such sincere conversation with the OPS in the zone. Former president Goodluck Jonathan did the same thing, when he sought their votes ahead of the 2015 general election. It was clearly in recognition of the voting strength of this community.

Just before he entered the conference hall of Aba Sports Club 1926, venue of the meeting, Atiku inspected a mini exhibition of made-in Aba products, accompanied by the state governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu. The PDP presidential candidate was impressed with the famed ingenuity of Aba as reflected in the array of products ranging from shoes, sandals, boots, belts, bags and clothing of various designs and colours.

The products were comparable to any of such goods one could find in the international market hence Atiku could see no reason why the people behind such high qualityFlanked by Governor Ikpeazu and Secondus, Atiku inspects Aba made products, while Obi and others watch products should not be encouraged to soar high. He was According to him, there was hardly what anybody could tell official policies and programmes that deliberately held down not alone in appreciating the Aba wonder as his entourage him about business environment and it would sound Greek the growth of business and manufacturing in the zone. Sadly, included his running mate and former governor of Anambra to him. Atiku told a story of how he stopped his companies Nigeria has ended up shooting itself in the leg by neglecting State, Mr. Peter Obi as well as the national chairman of PDP, from spending N600million on haulage and instead, set up his the economic potential of the South-east all these years.

Uche Secondus. own haulage company, which has continued to thrive till today, For example, the zonal controller of the Nigeria Shippers While the business community was well represented from saving costs for his other companies, creating jobs and making across the Southeast zone, the political class did not fail to turn Council (NSC), Ify Okolue stated that the overconcentration of profits. importation activities in Lagos has adversely affected business out in large numbers, perhaps, to underline the fact that good On the contrary, he said the president and his ruling party growth in the South-east, because of the difficulty and cost of economy derives from good politics. Although the mission lacked good understanding of the economy and there was moving cargo from Lagos in the west to the eastern flank of of Atiku and Obi in Enyimba city was to talk business, their absolutely nothing they could offer again to turn the economy the country. spouses were part of the entourage. around after wrecking it.

She noted that the intractable gridlock in Apapa could have Atiku’s wife, Jemina was there, so also Margaret Obi and Atiku noted that the APC government inherited a very Ene Secondus, who were led into the venue by the wife of the been avoided if the seaports at Calabar, Onne and Warri were healthy economy rated as number one in Africa only for them developed and made functional.

Abia governor, Nkechi Ikpeazu. The women listened as their to mess things up due to lack of knowledge. He warned that The NSC zonal coordinator also observed that apart from men discussed how the economy would be revamped. By Nigerians should “not repeat the mistake of bringing back this denying Southeasterners the opportunity to conduct their coming along with their spouses to the business environment, (APC) government” to power in 2019 otherwise nothing more importation activities in nearby ports located in the neighbourthe PDP presidential standard bearer and his running mate ing states of the South-south, the long abandoned Onitsha river would be left to be salvaged in the economy of the Nigerian clearly contrasted the “other room” philosophy of President port could have helped to cut down the cost of doing business nation.

Muhammadu Buhari.

“So, my brothers and sisters, the government that has tried and also create jobs if the project had been realised. But Okolue The discussion was frank and sincere as the business to solve most of the challenges that the business community said all hope was not lost as Atiku “knows what it takes to community bared their minds on the challenges facing them. are facing in this country is the PDP government,” he stated. facilitate trade”.

They also made demands on what should be done to put the Atiku asserted that he and his running mate, Obi represent Atiku listened with appreciative attention and promised private sector on very strong footing to drive the economy. the face of the economic revival that Nigeria would experience that he would tackle the problems which as a businessman he The first deputy president of the national association of once PDP returns to power. According to him, Nigeria has already knew existed. chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture never since independence been presented with the prospect of “Whatever can promote business, I will do it so long as it is (NACCIMA), Sir John Udeagbala set the ball rolling when having the kind of presidential ticket composed of “two very within the confines of the law,” he assured, adding, “That is a he told the PDP presidential candidate that “the Southeast is experienced men, both in governance and business: Peter Obi promissory note I’m giving you, because I’m a businessman a disadvantaged zone in all ramifications hence the need to and myself”. and I believe in creating jobs, wealth and prosperity”. put Atiku on the know about the real situation of things so At the end of the conversation, the business community He did not dispute any of the issues raised by the business he could change the narrative if he mounts the saddle in Aso community. Rather, he acknowledged that the problems facing was not disappointed. They got firm assurance from the man Rock next year. with the midas touch who, according to Governor Ikpeazu the business and manufacturing sector “are evident” and The responsibility of placing the shopping bag of demands was expected to provide tailor-made solutions to the problems for that, he would not waste time in tackling the problems before Atiku fell on the president of Aba Chamber of Comenumerated by businessmen and manufacturers. headlong once he takes over as president in 2019. He agreed merce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ACCIMA), Engr Indeed, Obi stated that Atiku knows what is happening in that it was a bad policy to stifle the seaports in the eastern part Andy Uba Obasi. the market and at the ports hence he came to Aba, the home of of the country.

The 10-point demand included adequate and interrupted SMEs and entrepreneurship to meet the stakeholders, because “There is need to bring the ports nearer to where you do power supply, revival of nearby seaports, railway, rehabilitation he has solutions to the problems. your business (as) it would bring down the cost of doing of federal roads and support for Enyimba economic city, According to the PDP presidential running mate, SMEs and business, engender business expansion and attendant creation favourable federal government industrial policies – ease of entrepreneurship are the things that change nations and Atiku of jobs.” doing business. Others included concession of moribund is coming to apply the remedy needed to revive the nation’s Atiku empathised with the business community in federal assets, resolution of the Geometric Power quagmire, economy. On his part, Secondus expressed the same view as the South-east and Nigeria in general as they are barely and protection from the Africa free economic zone agreement, he told the business community that Atiku was already armed staying afloat against the onslaught of the harsh operating among others. with a policy document with which to “unlock the economic “Our earnest desire is the sustenance of the economy proper environment. “I feel your pains; it pains me because I’m a potential of this country” and would carry everybody along in businessman and manufacturer,” he said, adding that the policy initiatives,” he said, adding that “the Aba business the journey to prosperity. business community must work together with his incoming community is ready to overtake China and Japan if only He said unlike President Buhari, who “does not take administration “to remove the problems”. government can provide the enabling environment”. responsibility and is not aware that poverty has taken root in The PDP presidential candidate made the business Udeagbala explained that the ‘ease of doing business’ policy Nigeria and that killings have become the order of the day, would not achieve the stated objective unless government puts community understand that he has got the touch to get Atiku on his part would take full responsibility and bring the things working. He readily used his personal experiences a stop to extortion, harassment and intimidation being meted economy and security back on stream. in the business and manufacturing sector to prove his deep to businessmen by security agencies in the South-east zone.

Atiku challenged Nigerians to give him and Obi a chance knowledge of business and economy, having built a successful Other speakers that lent their voices to the conversation to make Nigeria better. “If you doubt us, you know what you business empire, creating jobs and prosperity for thousands of focused on various areas that business growth has been stifled should do: try the two of us,” he said. in the South-east over the years. It was evident that there were Nigerians.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ DECEMBER 23,2018

CICERO/ONTHEWATCH

How Much Time Does Buhari Need?

President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent request for more time is arguable. Olaseni Durojaiye writes

P

resident Muhammadu Buhari recently asked Nigerians to give him more time to fix the myriad problems confronting the nation.

There is however a need to evaluate his management of the first four years in office. It is very necessary. Of particular interest to the nation’s electorate is how the economy has fared under him and how he has managed the nation’s security as well as his approach to the infamous anti-corruption fight.

The president’s request has expectedly pitted his supporters against his critics. The crux of the debate is predicated on how well the president has used his first term in office to the benefit of the generality of Nigerians.

His supporters argued that he has done pretty well in his first term, thus deserving a second term in office to complete some of the projects he has initiated and to also deepen some of the institutional framework he had set about putting in place.

Of course, his critics disagreed and want him out of office.

Easily, they point at the unemployment level in the country, the state of the economy and the issue of security as some of the reasons that informed their conclusions.

Politics aside, the question being asked border on the use he had put the almost first four years of his administration.

Many contended that not much, in practical terms could be said to have been achieved.

Nigerians are particularly querying the administration’s handling of the economy and are insisting to know how the three and a half years of the incumbent administration benefitted the ordinary citizens and this query gains weight on account of the huge unemployment in the land, the unprecedented poverty rate, coupled with the inflation rate as well as the issue of security.

No doubt, President Buhari’s request for more time will be evaluated on the basis of how he managed his first term in office and what he has been able to achieve in practical terms. While not wishing away his achievements so far in office, critics are interested in how the achievements have positively impacted Nigerians economically and socially, and in dwelling on these two major areas, where he is bound to receive criticisms are in the areas of economy and security.

Certainly, the economy is not in good shape. He admitted this much to governors during a meeting recently. On the one hand, his admission of the underperformance of the economy under his watch deserves commendation on account of being honest and sincere. However, those who want him out of office see the admission as a failure, nothing more. The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) feels so too.

Beyond partisan politics, and the talk about enlightened self-interest, many Nigerians are miffed with the performance of the economy. The argument is that millions of Nigerians are really feeling the pangs of poverty as rarely experienced before now and they blame it on how he has managed his first term in office.

Many hold the view that he did not hit the ground running. This, they argued was evidenced in how long it took him to put together his cabinet. About seven months is considered too long a time to constitute a cabinet and they argued the situation did not portray him as one who is conscious of the need to judiciously manage time. Others insisted that it smacked of insensitivity to the huge burden of expectations that came with his electoral victory in 2015.

Another talking point that would shape his request for more time borders on the modus operandi of his anticorruption fight. While many welcome the need to sanitise the system, they question the way he went about it and the priority he placed on fighting corruption at the detriment of the welfare of the populace.

This argument is plausible considering that the issue of corruption in the country – bad as it were – cannot be fought without the buy-in of other critical stakeholders in the polity, including the Judiciary and the Legislature as well as the populace given the behavioural change to fighting

Beyond partisan politics, and the talk about enlightened selfinterest, many Nigerians are miffed with the performance of the economy. The argument is that millions of Nigerians are really feeling the pangs of poverty as rarely experienced before now and they blame it on how he has managed his first term in office

Buhari pondering more time corruption.

Deputy British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Laure Beaufils explained this much in a recent exclusive interview with THISDAY. She contended that “... these things take a very long time. We are talking of behaviour change; changing the understanding of what is right, what’s wrong, social norms – there are a lot of structures in government business, which are hard to change. It will take time and I think one of the challenges is getting the political leadership to focus on this, continuing to build capacity of the key agencies and the judiciary to ensure that sanction regime is really put in place.”

Critics of the administration accused it of being after quick wins without ensuring that capacity is built among the anti-corruption agencies, which have been accused of not being independent of the Executive arm of the government.

Besides, the government does not seem to seek the buy-in of the judiciary which is germane to ensuring that sanctions are enforced.

Security is the second basis on which Nigerians will grade the administration, specifically, internal security. While many will agree that the administration has significantly reined-in the insurgents, given that it has liberated several communities that were hitherto controlled by the group, same cannot be said of its performance in the area of internal security.

The wanton killings by suspected herdsmen in the North east geo-political zone stood out like a sorwe thumb and the inability of the nation’s security apparatus to arrest the situation gives so much cause for concern.

Many of the government’s critics scored the administration very low in this area. Many observers were even more worried and concerned at the manner of grandstanding of the leadership of Miyetti Allah Cattle Rearers’ Association, the supposed umbrella body for herdsmen in the country, at the height of the crisis.

It was even worse that many of those killed were

Christians, leading some ultra-critics of the government to attach religious colourations to the issue. Also worrisome was the alleged slow pace of response by the security force directed to arrest the situation particularly, in Benue State, a predominantly Christian-populated state.

There is no gainsaying the fact that many voters in the region will consider how President Buhari’s government has dealt with the situation in their decision to afford him more time as he requested or not.

Given the foregoing, many analysts view the president’s request as a choice for the Nigerian electorate to decide.

Above that, many maintained that the president owes the nation and its people assurances of free, fair and credible elections, devoid of any form of interference before and during the next general election. This concern is not misplaced considering the ugly spectacle witnessed during the Ekiti and the Osun States governorship elections.

In fact, many believed that is the least he owes the nation and argued that it was the same guarantee that occasioned his ascension to power, noting that the incumbent president at the time, Goodluck Jonathan, conceded defeat and called President Buhari to congratulate him even before the results were publicly declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

It is against the background that many watchers of the nation’s politics concluded that the assurances are first required and if given, it is then left for the country’s electorate to either accede to President Buhari’s request for more time to fix the country – return it to the path of economic growth and sustainable development, and holistically address the insecurity challenges bedevilling the country.

Otherwise, they might turn down the request and ask him to go as they did with his immediate predecessor in office, ore when Buhari himself said four years was enough for any serious government to make meaningful impacts and change in the life of her people.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ ECEMBER 23,2018

PERSPECTIVE

Bayo Osinowo’s Audacity of Arrogance Hon. Bayo Osinowo, candidate of the APC’s arrogant disposition to his election in Lagos East poses grave danger to his election next year, contends Teni Ademowo

T

he last has definitely not been heard of the intrigues that characterised the build-up to the primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Lagos East senatorial District Seat, which saw the emergence of a four term Lagos State House of Assembly Member, Hon. Bayo Osinowo as the standard-bearer of the party.

Recall that Lagos East was one of the flashpoints during the recently concluded primaries, after Senator Gbenga Ashafa, who was returned unopposed by the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the only candidate cleared to run for the seat, issued a statement returning the ticket to the leadership of the party.

This was, of course, the fall out of the insistence of the party at the state level to pit him against a contender, who was not duly cleared to participate in the primaries by the National Working Committee, Osinowo and thereby conducting a primary election rather that an affirmation process as stipulated by law.

Similarly, the incumbent Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode whose primary election was the center point of the political storm in Lagos State after his loss to his challenger, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, divided the party and created what seemed to be an irredeemable division within the APC in Lagos State.

However, soon as the primary elections had come and gone, an uneasy calm gradually returned to the political circles within Lagos State. The Governor though aggrieved, sheathed his sword and maintained a dignified silence after issuing a terse statement of support for the candidate of the party.

In similar vein, Senator Ashafa drummed up support for all the candidates of the party in the statement he released, handing over his unopposed ticket back to the party.

Subsequently, the political father of all the gladiators in the saga, a former Governor of Lagos State and leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, immediately set about calming frayed nerves, reaching out to aggrieved members of the party as a result of the aftermath of the primaries and securing their commitment to work for the victory of the party at all levels, both in the state and at the national level.

As thoroughbred gentlemen, both Governor Ambode and Senator Ashafa, incidentally from the Lagos East, returned to their duty posts and heeded the call of the leader to immediately lead the charge for the victory of the party across their constituencies.

What has however become most surprising is a seemingly intransigent and cantankerous approach being adopted by Mr. Osinowo towards all those, who opposed his ambition to become a Senator particularly, the incumbent Senator Ashafa.

To lend credence to what has already become loose talk within political circles in the district, Osinowo at a meeting held at the TYTTLO EVENT CENTRE, CMD Ketu on Thursday, 13th December, 2018, and convened to further reconcile aggrieved members of the party, was heard speaking in Yoruba and justifying imposition of candidates, saying “God himself started imposition, for you to have been the sperm that survived out of 30 million, you must have been imposed by God.” He continued by stating further that, “Having served as an assistant director, director, Executive Secretary, Permanent Secretary of the Land Bureau in Lagos State and a Senator for eight years, Ashafa has been very fortunate.”

He narrated how he purportedly brought Ashafa into the party as he continued to exhibit a cantankerous approach towards the incumbent Senator, whom he seeks to replace. Osinowo further narrated his journey through the primary process, stating that Ashafa was the only one, who refused to step down for him hence he is the only one he has a problem with.

This is despite the fact that the National Leader of the APC has issued repeated directives at various for a, including the most recent Governor’s Advisory Council’s expanded reconciliation meeting for all candidates to close gaps with their opponents during the primaries and apologise for any misgivings that might have occurred throughout the process.

The most potent example of this conciliatory and collaborative approach can be seen in the camaraderie and complementary nature of the gubernatorial campaign of Mr. Sanwoolu and the support he is receiving from Governor Ambode.

This spirit of sportsmanship displayed by both the candidate and the incumbent depicts a clear understanding of the task ahead for the APC at the general

Osinowo election and the need for all hands to be on deck to ensure the victory of the party’s candidate against his most formidable opponent and four times contender for the number one seat in Lagos, Mr. Jimi Agbaje.

This however seems not to be the case in Lagos East, where Mr. Osinowo seems to be hell bent in making an enemy out of the man, who ordinarily should be his lead campaigner, Senator Gbenga Ashafa.

At a recent interview, when asked about the comments ascribed to Osinowo, Ashafa stated: “Bayo is my brother and I do not believe that he has said all the things you have confronted me with this afternoon. I have also not heard any such audio recording, where he might have said those things.

“What is most important for me is to look ahead and galvanise support for all the candidates of our party in Lagos East, Lagos State and at the National Level and this I have been doing in addition to my current responsibility as the Senator representing Lagos East in the National Assembly.”

When pressed further on his relationship with the party in Lagos State, Ashafa said, “I have absolutely no issues with the party in Lagos. The party is strong and united. Whatever transpired during the primary process is long gone and behind us.

“It would interest you to note that only a couple of weeks back I was with my leader Ashiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and we spoke extensively about how the party must galvanise its base with all hands on deck to make sure that we have a landslide victory come 2019. This is my focus. If you look round Lagos East, you will find billboards sponsored by me for almost all the candidates of our party including Bayo Osinowo. I am confident that the APC will record a comprehensive victory come 2019.”

However, the elephant in the room remains that Lagos East will remain divided for as long as Osinowo

refuses to reconcile himself and his base with critical stakeholders in the district, including the incumbent.

The baggage of a poor representation for Kosofe in the Lagos State House of Assembly for 16 years without any legislative intervention to show for it, coupled with a towering track record laid by Senator Olorunimbe Mamora, which has now been built upon by Senator Gbenga Ashafa, remains an albatross for the man popularly referred to as Pepper.

Could this be the opportunity for an opposition candidate to clinch a senatorial seat in the city of excellence after a long hiatus? Could the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Abiodun Oyefusi, an Ikorodu Princess, who seems to enjoy popular acceptance in the most populous zones in the district (Ikorodu and Epe with and embittered Ibeju Lekki) clinch the seat?

It is a popular Yoruba adage transcribed for the purpose of this article that says, till the hands of a child are firmly on the gauntlet of the sword, he ought not to ask publicly what killed his father, with a view to visiting vengeance on whomever is responsible.

Ambode and Ashafa have since moved past the primary elections in Lagos. It is time for Osinowo to face the herculean task of selling himself to his constituents and by working hard to beat a popularity challenge, which he seems to suffer having only narrowly defeated Moyo Ogunlewe to clinch his current seat in the House of Assembly during the 2015 polls. That was within just one local government, now he has five local government areas in Lagos East to contend for.

Wisdom should dictate to Osinowo to toe the line of reconciliation as instructed by Asiwaju Tinubu or risk losing the ticket bestowed on him by the party in Lagos East to the opposition PDP or any other candidate for that matter.

-Ademowo wrote from Lagos

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R Ëž ECEMBER 23,2018

79

PERSPECTIVE

Egina FPSO: What Gain for Nigeria? Ă’Ă? Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂœĂ?Ă˜Ăž Ă?ĂžĂœĂ“Ă?Ă? ĂŒĂ?ÞåĂ?Ă?Ă˜ Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă‹Ă ĂŁ Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂœĂ“Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ Ă“Ă—Ă“ĂžĂ?ĂŽËœ Ă‹ Ă™Ă&#x;ÞÒ Ă™ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă‘Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă?Ăš Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă’Ă™ĂœĂ? ÙÑÓĂ?ÞÓĂ?Ă? Ă‹Ă?Ă? Ě™ Ěš Ă“Ă? Ă‹ Ă?Ă“ĂžĂ&#x;Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă—Ă&#x;Ă?Ăž ÚËã ËÞÞĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂžĂ™Ëœ Ă‹ĂœĂ‘Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? Sunny Olisemeka

T

he first shocking news came to light three weeks ago. It snuck in like a silent mystery. It was about a worrying action by Samsung Heavy Industries Nigeria Limited, SHI. Samsung is not a Nigerian company.

It is of South Korea. Its Headquarters is in Seoul. But it is the contractor to Total Upstream Nigeria Limited, TUPNI on the Egina Floating Production Storage Offloading, FPSO, a bonafide Nigerian Project. LADOL is its Local Content partner before a contractual friction that put a gulf between them. There is no familiar greeting now. They are in court over various issues.

Then the unthinkable happened.

Samsung resorted to self-help. It must have concluded that the Nigerian courts were wasting its time. So, on November 27, 2018, Samsung gathered all its muscles, went and barricaded the three entrances to LADOL Ship Yard with extra-thick blocks while the fourth was blocked with a crane. Not done, it erected electric fence round the yard.

The fence carried a screaming morbid post – “Danger/1,100V/High Voltage/ Gas Area/Explosion Hazard/Keep Off. This furious warning is simply saying that the fence is electrified to Kachikwu and Baru kill and only those that treasure death should visit uninvited, needless to adlib that the red-hot warning was targeted at LADOL, in her country.

Those who saw firsthand this alarming act described it as the height of impunity and even went further to sniff from it a deliberate attempt to trample the laws of the land and subject the judiciary and the federal government to nauseating mockery.

Authorities on oil and gas issues, local content matters, and close observers of this unfolding yet grotesque scenario are wondering whether this could actually happen in any other country, even here in Africa. And their reason is based on the fact that the federal government is a major stakeholder in the FPSO project, the very contract that gave birth to the current hysteria and endless legal clangours.

With a 60% equity in all Total ventures in the oil and gas industry, these observers insist that the federal government and its agencies cannot afford to stand aloof or neutral especially as Samsung now seems to act with total disregard for the extant laws of the country and even abusing court processes with endless suits that have been dismissed or thrown out again and again.

What rankles even more in this case according to one of the officials of a government agency is that Samsung should ordinarily be quiet as they would have been expelled by some serious countries after the revelation at the public hearing by the Senate Ad hoc Committee, investigating the Local Content elements of the Egina FPSO. It was at this ‘hallowed confines of the senate’, that it emerged that Total had paid a whopping US$214 million to Samsung for a contract on the upgrade of the fabrication and integration yard at LADOL as stated in the FPSO contract. Samsung was to execute this job as a contractor. But Samsung did not inform its local partner.

Samsung however did not stop at that, it went further to fix the cost of upgrading the fabrication and integration facility unilaterally at US$300 million and urged its Local Content partner to pay US$240 million representing its 80% equity. After a protracted legal battle, LADOL eventually scarified almost 70% of its shares in an out-ofcourt settlement.

When at the senate hearing therefore it came to light that Samsung had quietly collected US$214 million from Total and kept its mouth sealed, LADOL was justifiably wrathful and promptly returned to court to retrieve its shares it considered dubiously acquired by Samsung. This raging legal tango today therefore is for the soul of the fabrication facility, Nigeria’s only semblance of benefit in terms of physical structure from the Egina project. Unfortunately Samsung has now imported extra-judicial measures into the arena of what had been purely a legal issue.

The disconcerting question to ask really is why Samsung Heavy Industries, Nigeria, is still laying claim to this facility of only US$214 million after all that it had been paid over this singular contract and with inconvertible evidence that it acted only as a contractor for the construction of the Yard. How much can Samsung really ask for?

That brings in the critical object of this epistle, which has been in issue since April 2018. Questions are indeed being asked in government’s oil and gas related agencies, in local content circles and among oil and experts about this seeming sinuous contract that the cost continues to bulge at the whim gas of Samsung.

Yes, the Egina FPSO vessel has since sailed to its destination. But the quest to resolve its cost has become a serpentine journey. The fear

now is that if the federal government does not stamp its authority over what has turned out a circuitous negotiation, Nigeria may end up paying about US$5 billion for the Egina project.

The initial contract value for the Egina FPSO for instance, was US$2,993,800,514. This can easily be gleaned from the affidavit deposed to by Young-Yee Lee as part of the Originating Motion filed

by Samsung at a Lagos High court on August 6, 2018.

This contract price was revised and escalated to US$3,355,941,349.

This sum was paid solely to Samsung as main contractor. But it didn’t end there. What was to follow was a series of variation requests that would stretch the soul of Total, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and other federal government agencies in the oil and gas bloc.

The Egina Project Report of June 2017, a Total publication, for example, reveals that Samsung has so far been paid US$546,755,118, as variations. This brings the total contract price to US$3,902,696,467 including the approved variations. But Samsung was not done with Total and Nigeria yet.

On April 30, 2018, it issued Notice of Dispute against Total requesting a confounding variation of US$1.6 billion. At the dawn of June 1, 2018, Samsung again wrote the Group General Manager of National Petroleum Investment Management Services, NAPIMS, claiming to be “operating under a financial loss of US$1 billion�, another name for variations. Still, another US$800 million variation is a subject-matter of on-going discussions between Samsung and Total and other stakeholders.

Succinctly put, then, the Egina FPSO has leapt from its initial contract value of US$2993,800,514 to US$3,902,696,467, including variations. In other words Samsung has collected additional US$908,895,953 since it hit the Egina jackpot. This actually will translate to 30% of the original contract price.

Now, imagine if the US$800 million variation under discussion is approved, it will then bring the increase through variations to a confounding US$1,708,895,953. This will come to about 57% of the original contract sum. No question, this will definitely go down as the highest case of contract variation in the history of Engineering, Procurement and Construction, EPC, contract in Nigeria if not the world. Perhaps, the depressing question Nigeria must find an answer and a healing is this: if Samsung has single-handedly extracted almost US$4 billion from this country with prospects of increase of this amount, (with the US$800 million variations’ negotiations going on), how is it that it cannot allow Nigeria to sip a little benefit from this humongous contract.

This is because the facility at Ladol is not just about LADOL. It is about Nigeria. It is about Nigeria’s Local Content; about building Nigeria’s and Nigerians’ capacity and capability, about Technology Transfer, and indeed about creating thousands of jobs for Nigerians.

These are at the core of the Nigerian Content Law and the creation of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, to see to the consistent and coherent implementation of this law in all relevant contracts. And that is why the NCDMB ensured that Total made the upgrade of the fabrication and integration facilities at LADOL a congenital part of the FPSO contract.

This was the exact contention of a top management staff of Total.

Distraught with all the noise about Egina FPSO and the fabrication yard, he asserts, “There shouldn’t be any controversy whatsoever

about the facility at LADOL. These things are well spelt out in the contract documents�.

Pointing to a paper, he said, “take a look at this paper, it was extracted from the Egina FPSO contract, (Egina FPSO Contract EGI/ C115). From here, you will see that it was Samsung that identified the necessity of building a yard at LADOL. The yard was then included as part of the EPC contract scope. The same Samsung negotiated the cost of the yard�. Turning to another page, he continued, “my brother, look at this one.

This is from the initial draft contract. It was Samsung that first quoted US$168 million for the yard. “Here, you can see that the purpose for which the money was budgeted is clearly stated. It was for the yard and nothing else.

However, in the final revised contract, the money was increased to US$214 million, because this same Samsung requested for more fund when they found out that the scope of work at the yard was more than they had thought. “So I can tell you categorically that Total paid this money to Samsung as a contractor to build this yard towards fulfilling the local content demands of the contract. I speak to you with full authority, because I know nearly everything that transpired from the beginning to this moment. And that is why no top management staff of Total will support Samsung’s claim to the ownership of the yard or any further variations�, he stated.

But a senior staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, who described the Samsung matter as hypersensitive would contradict the voice from Total, at least, a little bit. Though quite reluctant initially to speak, his few words sketch out authority and insight. “There is still one management staff in Total that argues strongly for Samsung to be paid US$800 million for variations�, he began. “He is a strategic factor in the Total Egina FPSO Project. His closeness to Samsung officials certainly causes some discomfort. He must be the only one that still supports this variations’ drama going on. Otherwise, no other management staff supports the incredulous variations. “Yes, EPC contracts will always come with variations. Yes, it is the nature of long-term and big contracts to have variation clauses. But for cost of variations to be running shoulder to shoulder with the contract price is carrying it too far. And the way things are going, the cost of variations may end up higher than the contract cost. Even the fabrication yard issue is laughable. I ask you: how much has Samsung invested in this whole business? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! But LADOL invested US$40.5 million in the yard. Yet, Samsung that invested nothing, a mere contractor could barricade the yard in our country and our authorities are watching�, he concluded on a somber tone. But the Nigerian authorities are not exactly wearing a smug smile over the reported Samsung’s starchy attitude and scant regard for the Law of the land and that’s why Justice Abdulfattah Molawale Lawal of a Lagos High court ordered the Korea Company to immediately cart off the barricades and abolish the electrified fence it erected at LADOL’s fabrication and integration yard, because even if the laws appear faint or weak, especially to Samsung, they still govern business and contractual disputes in Nigeria.

For Ene Haastrup, an oil and gas expert however, the whole strife and contention that have become the ordeal of Egina FPSO point to one thing – failure of due diligence. “If the federal government and Total carried out a proper due diligence�, he says, “They would have easily found out that Samsung has had serious financial crisis since 2008. In 2017 alone, Samsung Heavy Industries earnings dropped by 35%. It lost US$499 million and still expects to end 2018 with a loss of about US$278 million�.

For this Petroleum Engineer, therefore, Samsung’s single-minded quest for endless variations shows an acute desperation for every dollar they can get to save their withering parent company back home. The barricading of LADOL and the electrification of the fence, for him, is a full blown rash of extreme behaviour that no government should tolerate. “They must be addressed drastically without allowing Samsung to give a false impression to the global business community that you can’t do business with ease in Nigeria. I can tell you for free; that is part of their plan despite the incredible amount of money they’ve carted away from this country. Very sad indeed�, he lamented.

-Olisemeka wrote from Lagos

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÍťËœ ͺ͸͚΀

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with DEMOLA OJO demola.ojo@thisdaylive.com

SOCIAL MEDIA BITS

Last week on social media, the President was heckled, Genevieve rocked the boat and Tiwa Savage spoke her mind...

P

resident Muhammadu Buhari turned 76 last week. It was well-celebrated, with the Nigerian Army’s Guards Brigade organising a special parade in his honour.

It was the first elaborate ceremony marking his birthday outside his residence since the inception of the administration in 2015.

The president was also – in his own words – “ambushed� beyond Nigeria’s borders with another ceremony in Niger Republic.

But not everyone was totally impressed despite goodwill messages from all corners. Presidential candidate of the KOWA party in the 2015 elections, Remi Sonaiya, drew parallels between the military parade and North Korea.

While the President used the opportuni-

ty to ask for prayers and time to deliver on his election promises, he was heckled by legislators a few days later at the National Assembly.

The Assembly split up along party lines to alternately hail and boo the president in a rowdy session that threatened to degenerate into chaos.

A few days later, Senate President Bukola Saraki - who incidentally also marked his birthday during the week – described the budget as one with no hope for anybody.

Afro pop artistes Olamide and Lil Kesh are part of a group of Nigerians that have distinguished themselves in spite of situations that could be described as hopeless.

Unfortunately, they trended for the wrong reasons after the release of their latest

DECEMBER 23, 2018 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

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SOCIAL MEDIA BITS track, Logo Benz.

On the face of it, the lyrics of the song seemed to overtly glorify “blood money” and despite the duos protestations to the contrary, they faced a backlash from an audience that wondered what lessons these highly influential artistes are imparting on impressionable fans.

In a world where trending at all costs – for good or bad – is the goal, courting controversy is a tactic frequently employed.

The general consensus however, is that this song takes it too far.

Tiwa Savage and Yemi Alade aren’t just two of the biggest female acts in Nigeria, they rank among the best on the continent.

Suspicions of a simmering feud were raised again after they traded tweets without actually mentioning each other’s names.

The crux of the matter is the use of Photoshop and other tools to enhance looks.

Renowned actress Genevieve Nnaji’s grouse is of a much more serious nature.

She accused FilmOne and other cinemas of deliberately refusing to distribute her directorial debut Lionheart, “because they have no stake in it.”

According to Genevieve, FIlmOne are

currently invested in a couple of movies and want to protect their assets by monopolizing the market to recoup their investment.

But the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria countered that Genevieve and her team refused to secure a spot on the film calendar early enough.

According to its chairman Patrick Lee, movies such as Chief Daddy, King of Boys and Merry Men had all been slated from early March this year. “Mo Abudu, AY and Kemi Adetiba who are industry compatriots of Genevieve’s followed the right approach by scheduling early for cinema release. It’s not fair that they may now possibly have their screen times reduced because of the rushed inclusion of Lionheart in the cinemas.”

One thing’s for sure: the quality of Nigerian movies has improved drastically over the last few years, and can only get better. A Golden Age upon us perhaps.

We say yes to healthy competition and no to divisive rivalries; in movies and music.

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A Worsening Legislative Workers’ Strike in the Week of Budget Presentation

SMS: 08116759819

ĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ™ĂœË? Olawale Olaleye Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă–Ë? ĂĄĂ‹Ă–Ă?Ë› Ă–Ă‹Ă–Ă?ĂŁĂ?̜ÞÒÓĂ?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ–Ă“Ă Ă?Ë›Ă?Ù×

The 2019 Appropriation Bill was presented last Wednesday to a joint sitting of the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari in a week Characterised by the lingering warning strike embarked upon by workers at the federal legislature, report Deji Elumoye and Shola Oyeyipo

F

or some time now, the atmosphere at the National Assembly in Abuja appears charged with the restiveness of the workers, who seize every opportunity to discuss their predicament in the hands of the management of the legislature. Aggrieved workers usually gather in groups at the Assembly lobby and other places to discuss in hushed tones the issue of their unpaid salaries and outstanding allowances as well as the management’s failure to address these issues.

The workers eventually began a four-day warning strike last Tuesday to drive home their point. Before this, however, two weeks ago, the workers did picket the National Assembly for some days.

In a very effective picketing of the National Assembly, the workers did not only down tools, theyequallypreventedlawmakersfromaccessing the legislative chambers. Their grouse against the managementwaswellspecified.Theydemanded a review of their condition of service, particularly payment of their Consolidated Salary Structure (CONLESS),whichhadbeenapprovedsince2010 but which they have only been paid paltry 28 per cent.

They also demanded the release of promotions for worker, ending issue of ‘no vacancy,’ to allow people due for retirement go and new workers employed. The protest started gradually with workers carrying placards with various inscriptions, demanding for the immediate release of their salaries and vowing not to allow legislative functions to be carried out that Tuesday. “No alert, no sitting’ was their sing song.

The protesting workers chanted anti-Clerk of the National Assembly songs and bandied placards with inscriptions such as: ‘Executive, fund National Assembly now’; ‘Omolori Must Go’; ‘CONLESS Has BeenApproved Since 2010’; ‘Promotion is our right’; ‘Say No to Consultancy’; ‘No Welfare Incentives for staff since 18 years now’; ‘We Need Alert’; Release Our Promotion Letters Now’; and Contract Inflation is a Crime’.

PASAN chairman, Comrade Bature Musa, said the intention of the protesting workers was not to have a face-off with the lawmakers. Though he said lawmakers would not be prevented from accessing the red and the green chambers, when they arrive, however, as the protest gathered momentum, protesting workers, who were increasing in number blocked the entrances of the two chambers of the National Assembly and effectively prevented legislative activities that Tuesday.

The Clerk to the NationalAssembly (CNA), Mr. Mohammed Sani-Omolori, blamed the picketing of the National Assembly by members of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) on the non-release of the 2018 budget.

Omolori, who spoke with newsmen while the picketing was on, said it was not in the powers of the legislative arm to facilitate the payment the workers were agitating for, saying, “I still insist that they need to be a bit patient with the system. Like I said in my reply to them, in an unprecedented manner, the presiding officers acceded, without hesitation to their requests for this increment. It was bargained with them and they captured it in the budget. “So, how is it in their (lawmakers) powers, if the money is not released?And in any case, the reality

Buhari greets Saraki and Dogara after presenting the 2019 budget

on the ground is that it is not only the National Assembly that is suffering from non-release of funds. That is the reality of the Nigerian situation.

So, I think we all have to be patient. “It is a matter that has been on for some time now and we have tried to explain to them; we approved salary increase for them, which was captured in 2018 budget but as it is today, it is common knowledge that the level of implementation of the 2018 budget, especially the new addition to the National Assembly, which has not been implemented – that is where we had hoped that the addition would be paid. So, to the extent that the money has not been released, there is no way we can make the payment. “We told them it is wrong and we tried to prevail on them to try to see through things in the correct way.Asamatteroffact,IwrotealettertothemandI alsohadseriesofformalandinformalconsultations with their leadership up till yesterday (Monday) to make them back out of what is clearly an act that is not in tune with their own rules.�

The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Abdulrazak Namdas, also said though workers’ grievance is not against the legislators and as such, appealed to them to see reasons why their strike action was not the best option particularly, as there were efforts to table their issues before both chambers for speedy consideration.

Obviously, workers were not pacified. Few days after their first picketing they issued another statement that legislative activities would again be paralysed the following week if their demands werenotmetattheresumptionofplenaryTuesday.

Bature told newsmen that workers were ready to ground legislative businesses at the National Assembly between Monday, December 17 and Thursday, December 20, if their demands were

not met.

The implication was that it was capable of disrupting the presentation of the 2019 budget

by President Buhari since that was billed to take place on Wednesday, December 19.

In the midst of the proposed strike, however, the workers still acknowledged efforts by the leadership of the National Assembly to address their needs, because Bature had noted that “the leadership of national body of PASAN as well as zonal leadership and members of the two chapters that make up FCT will still go ahead with industrial actions if our demands are not met as promised. “It is based on assurances by political leadership that the union in its emergency congress held last Wednesday, December 5, resolved to suspend the picketing for two days as a mark of respect for the Senate President and Speaker of the House. “The picketing and pending strike action is predicatedonConsolidatedSalaryStructure,which was approved for NASS staff since July 2010 and only 28 per cent was approved till date. Also the condition of service and promotion, conversion and upgrading are in the kitty for negotiations.

We have tabled the issue of training for legislative staff as this is pivotal if our democracy must advance,� he said.

EffortsbyNationalAssemblyleadershiptoavert the proposed industrial action by urging them to reconsider their stand and let the engagement continue for a quick resolution failed.

Bature told THISDAY that the strike action would go on as proposed saying no member of the National Assembly leadership had called to prevail on them not to proceed on the strike. “I have not been contacted by anybody as far as the leadership is concerned, so the strike will still continue as planned.�

He however assured Nigerians that unlike the December 4 picketing, where they prevented lawmakers from accessing the legislative chambers, thelawmakerswouldhaveaccesstothechambers.

He also affirmed that workers had already been mobilised to stay off duty between December 17 and 20.

On whether or not the strike would affect the proposed presentation of the 2019 budget, Bature had noted that, “It is the members of PASAN, who are not working. Our members will not be around to work. They will not work for the legislators and they will not work for the management, and legislators can come.And I am sure the President is not coming to lay the budget before staff, he is coming to lay the budget before the legislators. “It may partly affect budget presentation, because some of our workers who carry the maze may not be readily available to do that and if that happens, that may impact their sitting arrangements. Sitting will be illegitimate as far as we are concerned, so, invariably it will affect their activities definitely. Unless if those staff that are the Sergeants-at-Arm want to come.�

Truetotheirwords,PASAN,Monday,December 17, morning, made good their threat to embark on strike to press home their demands for payment of their outstanding salaries.

Though Namdas told THISDAY that efforts were on to appeal to workers not to embark on industrial action that seemed to have yielded no result as workers blocked the main entrance to the National Assembly that morning.

Also, contrary to Bature’s promise that the industrial action would not prevent workers who wish to work from working, aggrieved members mounted road block at the gate preventing their colleagues from gaining access to the National Assembly complex.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 23, 2018

NEWSXTRA Dickson: Buhari’s Refusal to Support Restructuring a Tragedy Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr Seriake Dickson, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari lost an opportunity to become a great statesman when he rejected calls for the country to be restrcutured.

Dickson argued that Buhari’s position was even more shocking, given that a committee set up by his own party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) came out with recommendations on how to resolve the contradictions in the system through restructuring.This is contained in a statement issued yesterday by his Special Adviser to on Public Affairs, Mr Daniel Alabrahon.

The APC had constituted a committee led by the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai on restructuring and devolution of power.

However, the president failed to act on the committee’s report.

The statement said Dickson spoke in Abuja on the topic: “Federalism, Restructuring and Nation-building” at the public presentation of “We are all Biafrans,” a book authored by veteran journalist and rights activist, Mr. Chido Onumah. The governor restated his position that his relentless advocacy for the restructuring of Nigeria was not about dismemberment of the country but a call for major constitutional reform.

The governor said: “There is no way we can go forward as a country without going back to address the faulty structure that we are currently operating. I therefore call for leadership responsibility by the president.

“He has to use the power, influence and authority of his office to mobilise our country to do the restructuring that is possible. I regret to say that I feel disappointed that the president did not rise to the occasion. It is a tragedy for our country and also a major tragedy for his own leadership.

“I however congratulate and commend the APC committee on restructuring and devolution of power led by the Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai,

for the work it did. The committee’s report was very clear on the roadmap to restructure the country.

“It is however unfortunate that there was no follow up and it is really regrettable that the president did not utilise the lifeline that his own party offered him for the purposes of statesmanship. The president threw away that wonderful and golden opportunity.”

But the governor rejected the idea of Biafra as a geographical connotation, insisting that he does not believe in it.

He added: “This country belongs to all of us. I don’t believe in the geographical expression of Biafra. I will rather we join forces to fight for a new Nigeria, a Nigeria for equal citizens, a Nigeria for the big and the small, for the weak and the strong.

“That is the critical challenge facing us rather than the idea of balkanising. Nobody owns this country more than you and I. I will never leave this country for any other person and we are going to slug it out here together. This is to underscore the point that I do not believe in the geographical concept of Biafra.”

He said that if the concept of Biafra is used as a constant reminder of the challenges and contradictions of the nation, it would be acceptable, but warned that if it was about secession, “I don’t agree with that Biafra and I am not a part of that Biafra”, he added.

However, Dickson advised that we should not run away from discussing the issues that people raise from time to time that they wanted to be Biafrans, adding that, “If all is well with Nigeria, who would not want to be part of what is big and is working?

“And if things are not working, why shouldn’t we talk about it? We shouldn’t be scared of disagreeing.

We need more disagreements in this country. I don’t know what you are doing in the public space if you cannot hold a view. Whether we agree or disagree, it should be in the national interest. If you disagree,

Saraki: PDP will Give Nigerians a New Lease of Life Hammed Shittu in Ilorin The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki yesterday assured Nigerians of a better deal under a Peoples Democratic Party-led federal government come 2019.

Saraki was optimistic that PDP will wrest power from the All Progressives Congress (APC) during next year’s general elections, noting that the ruling APC had betrayed Nigerians who voted en masse for it in 2015.

The Senate President spoke during a ‘ thank you visit’ to PDP canvassers in Ilorin West and Asa local government areas of Kwara state on Saturday.

Saraki alleged that the APC-led federal government had shortchanged the people of Kwara State who voted massively for its candidates across board in 2015.

He, however, told Kwarans not to grieve over the treatment meted out to them by the APC even as he assured them of a better deal under Atiku Abubakar PDP- led federal government come next year.

He said: “Today I’m not

here for campaign, I’m here to thank you, my people for your support. I urge you to remain steadfast in your support for us and our party, the PDP, which will by God’s grace form the federal government after the 2019 elections.

“We regret the undeserved treatment meted to you by the APC government which you voted massively for in 2015.

However, let me assure you of better deal in the next political dispensation when our party shall by the special grace of God and your support form government at the centre.

“Like I have always said, the reason why I’m in politics is to ensure the wellbeing and welfare of my people. I will stop at nothing in achieving this.

“I also want to assure you that unlike the unfaithful APC, the PDP will fulfill its promises to Nigerians. The PDP will chase APC out of power in 2019 because our people have been subjected to untold hardship in the last three and half years.

APC deliberately edged us out in the scheme of things so as to deny our people dividends of democracy.”

TAKE HEART...

Managing Editor, THISDAY Newspapers, Mr. Joseph Ushigiale welcoming the leading All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Cross River State, Senator John Owan-Enoh, when the Senator visited him in his country home in Obanliku to condole with him over the passing of his elder brother...recently.

do not question my patriotism” he said.

He reiterated his view that the 2019 election would be a referendum on restructuring,

stressing that he was delighted that having raised the bar on the issue of restructuring, more Nigerians, including the presidential candidate of the Peoples

Democratic Party (PDP) had come to accept it as a necessary step in the country’s quest for development.

“This is about the future of

our country. We will mobilise support for the party and the candidate that believes in restructuring in the 2019 election,” he said.

Bayelsa Receives N13.6bn FAAC Allocation for November Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa The Bayelsa State Government has declared a receipt of N13.6 billion as allocation from the Federation Account for the month of November.

Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Maxwell Ebibai, said in a statement on Saturday that Governor Seriake Dickson, had also directed the payment of December salary and allowances to workers before Christmas.

He added that the governor also approved the payment of a special Christmas bonus to all categories of public servants which would be paid according to cadre in appreciation of the support for its programmes.

He said: “The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting was held on Wednesday, the 19th of December, 2018. The aggregate funds received by Bayelsa State Government amounts to

N13.6Billion.

“Consequently, the governor has directed the Ministry Finance to commence the immediate payment of December, 2018 Salaries and Allowances to all public servants in the employment of government.

“In addition, government has also approved the payment of a token Christmas Bonus to all categories of public servants. Detailed cost implications of this directive is

being worked out for immediate implementation”.

Ebibai said a committee had been constituted to review all outstanding gratuities including those inherited from previous administrations.

He hinted that preliminary findings by the committee showed that the government discovered duplication of names to the tune of over N1 billion in the names, the gratuity bill and associated cost submitted to it.

Senator Alleges Foul Play in Constituency Fund Withdrawal

Ekiti Gives Monarch 60 Days to Reconcile with His Subjects

David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti

The senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial Zone, Senator Victor Umeh, on Saturday threatened to expose Senator Uche Ekwunife who represented the district until her election was nullified by the court in December 2015.

Umeh, who has been 10 moths in the Senate alleged that his predecessor, Ekwunife, had drawn the constituency allowance for the zone in 2016, despite not being in the National Assembly.

He spoke during the disbursement of 31 tricycles attracted by him to the youths of Anambra Cntral District.

He said, “If some people say what I am saying is a lie, then they should challenge me, and if they do, they will end up in prison. As I speak to you, I have not received a penny from the national assembly as constituency fund since I went there, what I have been doing is with my own money.

“Rather, your former senator used her influence as a member of the APC to stop the 2017 constituency funds for the zone. I am still

tracking that fund to be sure it has not yet been stolen, but once I am sure that the money is still intact, I will tell you people.

“If the money has been stolen, I will tell you, and it will be the beginning of sending some people to prison. I am there on your behalf, and you can be assured that whatever is due to you, I will not steal it, but bring it home.”

The senator said that the sharp practices which corrupt lawmakers indulge in was the reason he almost lost the 31 tricycles valued at N32million.

“When I got to the Senate, I started asking questions, and I was told that these empowerment tools have been shared to other senators.

I approached them and was able to get your own.

“The government agency responsible for the distribution of the tricycles told me that the way it is done was to pay the senator half of the worth of the tricycles and he keeps them, but when he told me so, I simply told him that I was Victor Umeh and not just any other senator, and would not compromise the future of members of my constituency.

The Ekiti State government has appealed to the people of Isaoye Ekiti in Moba Local Government Area to forgive their traditional ruler, Oba Gabriel Dare Olajide for alleged misdeeds that have pitted them against him.

To this end, the state government has given the monarch a two-month ultimatum to make peace with his subjects and prevent a possible breakdown of law and order in the community.

The Deputy Governor, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, who gave stakeholders in the town up till February 28, 2019 to resolve their differences with the Oba, said the state government wanted peace to reign in Isaoye and other communities in the state.

According to a statement signed by the Special Assistant (Media) to the Deputy Governor, Odunayo Ogunmola on Saturday, the peace meeting was attended by the Oore of

Otun-Ekiti and Paramount Ruler of Moba land, Oba Adedapo Popoola and Isaoye traditional chiefs.

Egbeyemi who said the state government had no intention to depose any King but wanted peace to reign in all the communities advised Oba Olajide to listen to his subjects and respect the tradition and culture of the town.

The allegations leveled by Isaoye chiefs and indigenes against their embattled monarch included high handedness, incessant harassment of subjects with police, non performance of traditional rites and rituals and infliction of serious injuries on his subjects during a traditional ceremony.

Others are destruction of Ifa oracle symbols and instruments of installation and appointment of an Oba, violation of taboos in the community, high handedness, absconding from the town, cancellation of the meetings of chiefs and other conduct that had brought his throne into disrepute.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 23, 2018

NEWSXTRA Beware of Fake News, Experts Warn INEC, Others Tobi Soniyi in Lagos

Experts on electoral matters from across Africa have warned the Independent National Electoral Commission and other election management bodies in the continent that fake news and harmful use of social media can cause serious setbacks for electoral process.

The experts, who met in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital as the High-Level Working Group on Mitigating Disruptive Applications of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on the Electoral Process in Africa, called on elections management bodies and civil society organisations to set up social media monitoring groups to constantly monitor misleading information and events in respect of the election process and promptly issue corrective narratives.

The meeting, which was chaired by former president Olusegun Obasanjo, was attended by eminent persons who had played active roles, participating in, implementing and observing the election process in Africa including former Heads of State and Government, chairpersons of election management bodies, Information Technology (IT) experts and civil

society organisations and members of the academia.

The group, in a communique it issued following the completion of its meeting held on December 18-19, 2019, noted the increasingly important role that ICT plays in the election process in the continent.

It further noted that while the use of ICT would help to make elections better in Africa, it could also be used to frustrate an electoral process.

It therefore called on Civil Society Organisations in Africa to set up facts-checking sites as a way of countering the negative effects of fake news.

The meeting was attended by 38 participants from Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan and South Africa.

Participants included former Presidents John Mahama of Ghana and Ernest Koroma of Sierra Leone; former Prime Minister Raila Odinga of Kenya and VicePresident Saluos Chilima of Malawi. Other participants were the Chairman of the Governing Board of the Centre for Human Security of the

$2.8m Seized Fund: Union Bank Claims Ownership Bankers Warehouse therefore sought the intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria to address the “issue of constant harassment” of its staff by security agencies, which “constitutes a risk that could threaten the lives and safety of our employees and the cargo they are tasked with conveying.”

“And also kindly recall that the CBN had previously called a meeting of stakeholders regarding the issue in the past.

It may be prudent to engage stakeholders again, to provide clarity on the legitimacy, coverage and mode of operations of registered CIT operators,” the company added in the letter.

The EFCC had on Friday said its operatives arrested two men with the sum of $2.8m suspected to be laundered funds. The two men who are staff of Bankers Warehouse were arrested at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu on their way to Lagos.

A statement by the acting Head, Media and Publicity, Tony Orilade, said the suspects who are currently being investigated would be charged to court if found culpable of money laundering offences.

“The EFCC, Enugu Zonal Office, on Thursday, December 20, 2018, intercepted $2.8million, from two people, suspected to be money launderers, at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.

“The suspects, namely Ighoh Augustine and Ezekwe Emmanuel, allegedly working for a company- Bankers Warehouse, were nabbed based on intelligence report.

“Upon their arrests, they were caught with consignments of two suitcases, containing $1.4 million each, totalling $2.8 million, at the departure lounge of the airport while about to board an Arik Air evening flight to

Lagos”, part of the statement read.

However Orilade stated that the defendants during interrogation, confessed that they have been in the business of conveying cash for “some notable banks”, for over six years and were in the process of doing same for Union Bank Plc, located at New Market, Onitsha, Anambra State, when they were caught.

According to the statement, this is the fourth time the defendants said they have engaged in the act this year.

“They are presently giving useful information to operatives of the Commission, and will be charged to court soon”, the statement read.

However, in its reaction to the letter by Bankers Warehouse, the EFCC said it tried reaching officials of the bank to no avail and that regardless, investigation would go on before deciding on the next line of action.

Reiterating that investigations were still on and the outcome of the probe would determine the agency’s next line of action, spokesman for the EFCC, Mr. Tony Orilade added: “On the Union Bank saga, the way forward is that investigation is ongoing. On the detention of their staff and threat to confiscate the money, this is neither here nor there.

The two men arrested with the money were detained, because they have to offer relevant information.

“The bank refused to honour invitation from the time of the arrest until we had to go out with the story.

That was when they suddenly realised they need to honour the invitation. Be that as it may, a thorough investigation has to be carried out as to the source and legitimacy of the money because we are not unaware that some financial institutions are being used to launder money.”

Olusegun Obasanjo Library (host of the meeting), Professor Akin Mabogunje; former Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission of Nigeria (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega; and former Chairman of the Electoral Commission of South Africa, Advocate Pansy Tlakula.

Other recommendations made by the group are: In deciding technologies

to use or introduce for the election process, African countries should take into consideration the sociocultural, political and infrastructural contexts in which ICT will be deployed; the costs and the benefits of use of technology on the integrity of the electoral process; nature and type of technology required; and sustainability and security of the chosen

technology.

Procurement and deployment of election-related technology must be timely, transparent and inclusive to ensure buy–in from all stakeholders, ensure value for money and allow for testing and inspection.

ICT in the election process should be introduced early to enable the electoral bodies demonstrate their capacity

to follow laid-down standard operating procedures and policies for acquisition and implementation of the systems such as procurement, testing, sign-offs, audit and training.

It should be ensured that the infrastructures particularly power and telecommunications exist in order to guarantee effective use of ICT in the election process.

CHRISTMAS LOADING...

Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State (holding microphone), flanked to his left by his wife, Dr. (Mrs) Olufunso Amosun and to the right

by Secretary to the State Government, Barr. Taiwo Adeoluwa with children during the cake cutting at the 2018 edition of Christmas Kiddies party in Abeokuta

Stop Fixing Elections on Our Worship Days, Sabatarians Challenge INEC David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka Members of the Association of Sabbatarian Youths of Nigeria (ASYN), a body that observes its holy day of worship on Saturdays, has protested the fixing of elections on Saturdays.

The group argued that over 43 million of their members across the country would be disenfranchised in 2019 if the elections were not rescheduled.

In a protest letter addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari and made available to our correspondent, the national president of the association, Evangelist B.K. Udezeh and national secretary, Mr. C.N.Orji

said it was an established fact that three internationally recognized worshiping days were Sunday, Friday, and Saturday.

They said while Sunday was for Christians, Saturday was for the Jews, while Friday was for Muslims, and that all had international recognition.

“It was only in Nigeria that most of the national activities/ elections were being conducted on Saturdays, thereby depriving Saturday worshipers their rights to vote and be voted for and to participate in other national activities as eligible citizens of Nigeria.

“It is worthy of note that the considerable number of Sabba-

tarian Youths electors are more than eight million people and more than thirty-five million non-youth members of Sabbath eligible to vote. These people are being deprived of their franchise due to the conduct of elections on Saturdays, which is their holy day of worship.

“Records show that the number of previous recorded votes were far below the number, who had their Permanent Voter Card, (PVC). This is one of the contributing factors.

“We want to refer to the constitutional provisions according every citizen of this country, the right and freedom of worship/ religion. It is simple to conduct

national elections any other day apart from the three internationally recognized days of worship.

“Laws and international conventions have determined that every citizen of a country, who is eligible to vote, shall be allowed to exercise his/her franchise and any election conducted, which excludes some eligible citizens from voting, amounts to disenfranchisement.

“Despite the status given to the right to vote on the international scene, and notwithstanding the fact that Nigeria has ratified these international instruments, it is disconcerting to discover that we have not been accorded the voting rights.

2019: CAN Urges Executive, CRC Emerges Credit Bureau Legislature to Resolve Differences on Provider of the Year Electoral Law Amendments companies’ growth.CRC Olaseni Durojaiye James Sowole in Akure The National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev Samson Ayokunle has challenged the executive and the egislative arms of government to meet and resolve their differences on the electoral law amendments to ensure a smooth election in 2019.

The CAN president spoke to journalists in Akure, Ondo State after his sermon at the Service of Carols and Lessons organised by the Ondo State Government.

Ayokunle said Nigeria would survive 2019 despite various challenges and apprehensions in the country.

The CAN president said security agencies have crucial roles to play for the election to be successful and credible,

He therefore advised security not to use their positions to intimidate voters but maintain neutrality in whatever they do during the forthcoming election.

While addressing the congregation, Ondo State governor, Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu said Nigerians should be prayerful and reflect always on the essence and meaning of Christmas.

He said the government had taken important measures to tackle cases of insecurity particularly robberies and kidnapping in the state.

Akeredolu expressed optimism that kidnapping would be a thing of the past in the state and called on all residents of the state to cooperate with governnebt and security agencies to rid the state of insecurity.

CRC Credit Bureau Limited (CRC) has emerged the Credit Bureau Provider of the Year. The company was named the winner of the coveted award at the fourth Nigeria Finance Innovation Awards 2018.

Managing Director/ CEO company, Mr ‘Tunde Popoola also won the Credit Bureau CEO of the Year 2018 for his numerous contributions in the growth of the Nigerian economy through innovative products and services that enhance access to credit for strategic development.

Now in its fifth year, the Nigeria Finance Award Innovation Awards recognises financial executives and organisations for their financial leadership and contributions for their

has provided consistent superior performance and leadership in the industry in the industry via technology driven platform that allows lenders and credit granters, automate their process and access over 15 products and services. The launching of the CRC USSD code *565*8#, the first of its kind in Nigeria, allows individuals access their credit report on the go using their mobile phones.

The annual awards also rewards success, growth and innovations of finance executives and their teams’ efforts towards its organisations sustainability, while showcasing excellent work that has been rendered by firms that provided them the services, support and technology which enabled their success.

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

United Thrash Cardiff 5-1 in First Post-Mourinho Match

O

le Gunnar Solskjaer was punching the air in delight with less than four minutes on the clock as he got off to a perfect start as Manchester United manager with a 5-1 thrashing of his former club Cardiff in Wales yesterday.

The former United striker succeeded Jose Mourinho, who was sacked in midweek, and got his first win courtesy of a performance that will encourage United fans as some of their more marginalised talent came to the fore in a performance full of attacking intent.

Marcus Rashford’s stunning free-kick, a deflected effort from Ander Herrera and a fabulous team goal by Anthony Martial effectively won the contest before half-time for a United side inspired by the recalled Paul Pogba, who had a hand in all three first-half goals.

Victor Camarasa’s penalty briefly gave Cardiff hope as they reduced the arrears to 2-1, but Jesse Lingard won and scored a contentious second-half penalty and then rounded Neil Etheridge to tap into an empty net at the death to make the result safe.

It is the first time United have scored five goals in a Premier League game since legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson’s last game in charge - a 5-5 draw with West Brom in May 2013.

All eyes were on Solskjaer’s first selection as United boss, and Pogba was included in the starting line-up.

The World Cup winner and club record signing had been a forlorn-looking substitute for the past

three Premier League matches, but returned to a more attack-minded United XI. Pogba was joined by French forward Martial, who made his 100th Premier League appearance, with Romelu Lukaku away on compassionate leave.

Luke Shaw and Phil Jones returned to a defence that had conceded 29 goals already this term - their worst record since 1962 - as Solskjaer made four changes.

Pogba was involved in the thick of the action inside three minutes, winning a free-kick from Aron Gunnarsson that would give the Norwegian the perfect start to life in the United dugout, Rashford brilliantly finding the bottom corner.

The contest proved an ideal opportunity for Pogba to send a message on the pitch rather than on social media and he certainly appeared less inhibited as the visitors passed with a good tempo and closed down effectively.

United were superior throughout the first period and it was no surprise when they doubled their advantage just before the half-hour mark when Pogba picked out Herrera, whose speculative effort nicked off Greg Cunningham and gave Neil Etheridge no chance.

However, United’s defensive fragility reappeared before the interval, with Rashford handballing carelessly when he moved his upper arm towards the ball under little pressure and Camarasa slammed home the penalty.

But in the end, United made light work of a Cardiff side, who had won their past four home games, with attacking flair throughout.

Solskjaer won his game in charge in style

Real Madrid Win Record 4th Club World Cup Spain’s Real Madrid won the Club World Cup for a third consecutive year, and record fourth in total, by beating Abu Dhabi side Al Ain in the final yesterday.

Luka Modric curled home the opening goal from the edge of the area after Karim Benzema’s lay-off. Marcos Llorente hit a stunning 25-yard half-volley - his first professional goal - and Sergio Ramos headed in the third from Modric’s corner. Tsukasa Shiotani nodded in for Al Ain before Yahya Nader’s own goal.

Real could have won by more.

Lucas Vazquez hit the post early on and Gareth Bale - who scored a semi-final hat-trick against Kashima Antlers - went close with a spectacular bicycle kick which went just over the bar.

Al Ain had shocked River Plate

on penalties in the semi-final but never looked like following that up with a famous win at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Midfielder Toni Kroos has won five of the past six Club World Cups - in 2013 with Bayern Munich and 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018 with the Spanish side.

Real now hold the record for most victories in the competition, which was first held in 2000, moving one clear of Spanish rivals Barcelona.

Earlier, Copa Libertadores winners River Plate won the third-place play-off by beating Asian champions Kashima Antlers 4-0. Gonzalo Martinez scored twice on what is expected to be his final appearance before joining MLS champions Atlanta United.

Madrid Celebrate

Tottenham Visit Everton for Valuable Points Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino believes his club are still battling against a negative perception of the club ahead of his side’s trip to Everton today.

The fact that Pochettino would appear to be Manchester United’s first choice to replace the sacked Jose Mourinho is testament to how well Spurs are doing, but the Argentinian reckons his side do not get the positive coverage they deserve.

RESULTS & FIXTURES Arsenal Bournemouth Chelsea HuddersďŹ eld Man City Newcastle West Ham Cardiff Lazio Milan Napoli Chievo Juventus Atl Madrid Barcelona Everton

3–1 2–0 0–1 1–3 2-3 0–0 0–2 1–5 3–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 2–0 v

Burnley Brighton Leicester Southampton Crystal Palace Fulham Watford Man United Cagliari Fiorentina SPAL Inter Roma Espanyol Celta Vigo Tottenham 5pm

They were heavily criticised for not making any summer signings, despite going on to make their best-ever start to a Premier League season, have had fun poked at them for not winning any trophies in recent years and have attracted negative headlines for work on their new stadium overrunning.

Pochettino, who earlier this season said he was enduring his “worst feeling� as Spurs boss, claims people are quick to jump on board when things go wrong. “We are on a good run, and playing well, but the moment we lose games it’s going to turn quick. I know that very well. This is normal,� he said.

Everton are winless in their last 11 Premier League matches against Tottenham Hotspur (D5 L6). The Toffees’ last league victory over Spurs came back in December 2012 at Goodison Park (2-1).

Key Everton players Richarlison and Andre Gomes are fit to face Spurs. The pair were both forced to miss training sessions this week with illness, but will both be in the squad today.

Midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye missed last week’s defeat at Manchester City with a groin injury and faces a late fitness test.

Meanwhile, Spurs striker Harry Kane is likely to return to the visitors’ starting line-up at Goodison Park after missing a training session on Tuesday with flu.

Group Managing Director, Dangote Industries Limited, Olakunle Alake (middle); presenting N50 million gift to the Captain of the Super Falcons of Nigeria, Onome Ebi, for the Super Falcons of Nigeria, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Coaching Crew and back-room sta of the NFF for winning the 2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations, as the President of the NFF Amaju Pinnick, looks on, in Lagos on 20th December 2018

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MISSILE

Bello to National Assembly Members

”National Assembly is supposed to be made of men and women of character and integrity. We have seen those that constitute such class of human beings and those that constitute menace to the society in the National Assembly today.”

– Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello berating National Assembly members, who booed President Muhammadu Buhari during the presentation of the 2019 budget at a joint sitting of the National Assembly

SIMONKOLAWOLE SIMONKOLAWOLELIVE!

simon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com, sms: 0805 500 1961

Let There Be Jobs!

F

ive weeks ago in Lagos, I attended an event that officially announced the entry of world’s number one outdoor advertising company, JCDecaux, into the Nigerian market in partnership with Grace Lake Partners, a Nigerian investment and advisory firm led by the young entrepreneur, Mr. Ladi Delano.

JCDecaux will operate in the advertising sector through Horizon Outdoor Advertising Limited, a fully owned subsidiary of Grace Lake. As officials of JCDecaux and Grace Lake spoke one after the other, what I was seeing was not just outdoor advertising but the frightening potential of this great country. I walked away from the event glad and sad in equal measure.

Why was I glad? Of course, a foreign investor has come into Nigeria, partnering with a local company and adding value to the economy.

JCDecaux’s entry immediately raised the value of our outdoor market. It is a compliment in a season when investors are scared of coming to Nigeria for sundry reasons. JCDecaux is bringing cutting-edge technology and innovations. That is good news. What this will do, in a normal country, is to engender healthy competition in the outdoor market, raise the bar and expand opportunities for innovative players. For instance, banking in Nigeria has definitely benefited a lot from global partnerships and investments in the last 20 years.

I am also glad because of the little matter of job creation. According to Grace Lake, all the advertising gantries were built 100% by Nigerians and the materials were sourced 100% locally. This has enabled local supply chains, created jobs and activated technology transfer. That is a boost to the Nigerian economy, one company at a time. If there is one issue that has become disturbing in recent years, it is the unemployment situation in the country. Unfortunately, our understanding of how to tackle unemployment seems limited to what the government can do. Every presidential candidate is promising to “create jobs”. We shall discuss this in a bit.

One more fascinating thing for me about JCDecaux Grace Lake, as the partnership is named, is the social service content. Globally, ethical business emphasises not just profits but people, or rather, public service. Investors and entrepreneurs increasingly focus on what they can give in the process of getting. JCDecaux Grace Lake is providing us with a free real-time traffic information system to help us plan our movements in a state notorious for traffic gridlocks and bottlenecks. Also, JCDecaux Grace Lake has built modern, self-cleaning toilets at major bus stops in Lagos, all for free. This is the direction ethical business is going worldwide which we can learn from.

And now the sad bit. When Mr. Delano first mooted the idea of coming to do business in Nigeria to JCDecaux years ago, the answer was a capital no, according to him. You don’t need to ask why. There is this terrible impression about Nigeria outside the country. We are seen as a place where it is very complicated and frustrating to do business, right from arrival at the international airport to company registration, regulatory approvals, litigation system and critical infrastructure, among several other issues. We celebrate Nigeria as a vast market of 200 million people, but how can we make progress when all we do is just talk up “massive” potential?

When the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released the latest unemployment figures last

Osinbajo week, everybody was alarmed at the ballooning labour market. An overwhelming majority of the unemployed are newcomers to the job market, most of them products of secondary schools and higher institutions. How can an economy with huge potential on every yard of its land be accumulating a population of the unemployed? How can we tackle poverty when there are no jobs? How can we contain crime when millions of youths are idle? How can we open up the economy to provide jobs in millions at a time like this? We need to put on our thinking caps.

I have been listening carefully to presidential candidates as they prepare for the 2019 general election. Most of them are promising to “create jobs”. This is a conceptual mistake which may be hampering our ability to address the unemployment problem in a more scientific way. Government does not create jobs in the sense that we are being made to understand it in Nigeria. We have to think through that very well. Of course, government can employ people (we have an estimated five million civil servants and political appointees across the nation) as well as do projects (constructions, for instance), but the bulk of employment can never be “created” by the government.

I am an entrepreneur and I directly employ about 20 persons. I can assure you that government did not create those jobs. The economy created them. I saw an economic need and plugged into it. If there is anything, the government has been trying to kill those jobs! We face constant harassment from tax authorities (we always come clean, by the way) but that is nothing compared to what other medium and small scale businesses are facing all over the country.

How can you “create jobs” when self-employed Nigerians and entrepreneurs are being terrorised and extorted, officially and unofficially, every single day by government agencies? That is a killer of jobs.

Nigeria is in deep trouble, although we can enjoy playing the ostrich for the time being. The unemployed army cannot be expanding at this rate and we would still be expecting to tackle poverty and crime. Something has to be done.

Something has to give. Irrespective of party affiliation and political sentiments, we need to re-appraise our approach to job creation in the country. If there is a conceptual flaw about job creation, then the wrong type of policies will continue to be made or proposed, the wrong ideas will be implemented and our later stage will continue to be worse than the former. My

intention today is to tamper with our thinking a little bit.

One, we cannot run away from this fact: we need foreign investors. We need them badly.

JCDecaux Grace Lake has injected a few millions of dollars into the economy, which is great news, but we can do with hundreds of more foreign investors in the various sectors of the economy.

We need them. The all-important job creation benefit is there, the inflow of foreign exchange is there (this will make the CBN happy) and the injection and transfer of cutting-edge technology and global best practices are also there to take Nigeria closer to economic modernisation. I don’t know if there is any argument that can be made against this. I am open to persuasion.

Ms. Priti Patel, former UK Secretary of State for International Development, recently wrote a damning op-ed warning foreign investors about our lack of regard for the sanctity of contracts and the disobedience of court orders. Rather than address her concerns, we attacked her. No problem will ever be solved that way, trust me.

What we need is introspection, not aggression and denial. We can attract billions of dollars of foreign investment if we do the right thing. It is about law, order, processes and incentives. We should stop assuming that because Nigeria has potential, investors should be running after us.

There are many countries with more potential and less headache.

Two, the biggest employer of labour in Nigeria today is not government — federal, state or local. It is not the banks. It is not Shell or MTN. It is the medium and small scale enterprises, including self-employment. Unfortunately, they are the most harassed investors in Nigeria. The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), chaired by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, has done a good job of laying down the policies to improve ease of doing business, but officials of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) are doing everything to undermine this. They are terrorists, with due respect. They need to be reined in before they do more damage to the economy.

Many commentators, including myself, have written over and over again about how government agencies are killing businesses in Nigeria at all levels — federal, state and local.

What is the president doing about it? What are the governors doing? How can we get the bulk of 20 million Nigerians off the job market if we are castrating small businesses under the guise of revenue generation? It is frustrating that we voice out our frustrations every day over matters that can be addressed without divine intervention.

Just a little thinking, a little administrative action or a one-page, A4-size circular can take millions of our youths off the streets. Nigerians can create the jobs themselves.

In the end, while government cannot “create jobs” as we imagine it, it can create the enabling environment for businesses to thrive. That is what will create the jobs. Make the atmosphere conducive. Provide the infrastructure. Reduce the cost of doing business. Save businesses from heavy tax burdens. Design good industrial policy. Implement good monetary policy. Ensure macro-economic stability. Go out of your way to develop pro-business policies and create a pro-business attitude among the agencies and regulatory bodies. Stop piling obstacles on the ways of businesses that are adding value to the economy. Then watch unemployment shrink like magic.

And Four Other Things…

MAN DOWN So gunmen can take out a retired four-star general just like that? I couldn’t believe it when I heard that Air Chief Marshall Alex Badeh, former No. 1 military officer in Nigeria, was killed like a rat on Abuja-Keffi road while returning from his farm on Tuesday night. I thought it was fake news.

Badeh was due to start testifying next month in his criminal trial by the EFCC. From media reports, nothing was stolen from him, so it was most probably not robbery. It also appeared to be an extraordinary operation — given the target, the swiftness and the precision. If this is not investigated with all seriousness, the conspiracy theorists would feel vindicated. Scary.

FLYING HIGHER Have you seen the pictures of the new terminal building at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja? They are breath-taking. As someone who has spent considerable time lamenting the state of our airports compared to those in other African countries, I am glad to see the inauguration of another terminal building — after Port Harcourt. These airport projects were started by President Goodluck Jonathan five years ago and I am encouraged by President Buhari’s commitment to completing them. It appears the era of abandoned projects is gone. It may take time, but this country will be rebuilt brick by brick, one president after the other. Hopeful.

DAMNED DIAMOND Many readers have asked my opinion on the merger between Access Bank Plc and Diamond Bank Plc, which is expected to turn Access to the biggest bank in Nigeria by certain indices — such as number of customers and asset base. To start with, this does not look like a merger to me. It sounds more like an acquisition.

Diamond, which had been experiencing gross mismanagement, is going to lose its identity in the end. The bigger issue for me, though, is the process that led to the “business combination”. It appears there are a lot of procedural lapses that dent the integrity of the deal and I would not be surprised if it is eventually challenged in court. Questionable.

AND FINALLY… I was tempted to switch off when I read that residents of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, were complaining about the 24-hour electricity supply provided by Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC).

They described it as a waste. In fact, in an interview with NAN, Mr. Ibrahim Suleiman, a resident, appealed to YEDC to reduce the supply of electricity to just 12 hours a day. Before you think they are out of their minds, they were indirectly complaining about the “outrageous” bills. More hours mean higher bills, so they would prefer more darkness. Can somebody please teach them how to turn off their appliances when not in use? Shocking.

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