SUNDAY 6TH JANUARY 2019

2019: 8m People Have Not Collected Their PVCs, INEC Cries Out Why we won’t re-introduce incidence form

Bayo Akinloye

Barely five weeks to the start of this year’s general election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said about eight million would-be voters are yet to pick up their permanent voter

card (PVC). One of INEC’s National Commissioner, Dr. Mohammed Lecky, disclosed this during an interview with THISDAY on Saturday while reaffirming the commission’s commitment to the prevention of electoral fraud.

Posting results at polling units mandatory, not optional

Lecky also said the commission had no intention of re-introducing the controversial incidence forms in the February and March elections. He said, “In fact, the use of the incidence form has been completely abrogated.

It is no longer part of INEC’s regulations and guidelines. So, that is the position. There is no re-introduction of the incidence form, contrary to what the media had reported recently. “First and foremost, INEC is a very responsive agency and

once people raised the objection and following the review of the 2015 general election, a number of observers, like the CSOs, NGOs and international organisations, had made recommendations on how to improve and we have to

respond to them. One of the things they recommended is that we have to do away with the incidence form because it could be susceptible to all manner of abuses and we Continued on page 8

Coordinator: No Corruption Claim against Atiku Has Been Substantiated … Page 8 Sunday 6 January 2019 Vol 23. No 8663

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Govs Fear Tinubu’s Role as Buhari Inaugurates Campaign Council Onyebuchi Ezigbo and Olaseni Durojaiye in Abuja There is rising discontent within the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the composition of its presidential campaign council billed to be inaugurated tomorrow

by President Muhammadu Buhari, THISDAY has learnt. A statement issued by Director, Strategic Communications, APC Presidential Campaign Council, Mr. Festus Keyamo, said the inauguration would take place at the International

Conference Centre, Abuja. But some prominent members of the party are frowning on the composition of the council, which they allege is populated mainly by people believed to be loyal to the National Leader of APC, Bola Tinubu. This has

created intense disaffection among stakeholders. Keyamo’s statement said Buhari was expected to conduct the inauguration in his capacity as chairman of the campaign council. Three major elements are said to have influenced the

composition of the campaign council. They are the Bola Tinubu factor, issue of the alleged cabal within the Buhari government, and the Rotimi Amaechi factor. But the other tendencies are believed to have been dwarfed by the Tinubu factor.

Besides Tinubu’s prevailing influence, the structure of the council is believed to be too unwieldy to facilitate the achievement of the expected results. For example, some members of the party are said Continued on page 8

Nigeria’s Premier Presidential Debate Begins Today, Sunday Buhari takes the first shot Atiku, others to follow Olawale Olaleye As part of its many contributions to the enhancement of the country’s electoral culture and improvement of the process of electing leaders, THISDAY Newspapers and Arise News Television are beginning a presidential debate series tomorrow at 10pm, with President Muhammadu Buhari and candidate of the ruling All progressives Congress (APC) as the first guest. Although, debuting tomorrow with President Buhari as the first guest, other candidates like former Vice President and candidate of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, are to follow in no particular order but based on their availability and schedule for the interview. The first of its kind, the first leg of the debate series, which

is billed to hold at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, is to be anchored by panelists from both THISDAY and Arise, led by the Chairman of the two media outfits, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena. On the THISDAY arm of the panelists are the Managing Director of the newspaper, Mr. Eniola Bello; his deputy, Mr. Kayode Komolafe; Chairman of the Editorial Board, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi; Editor of THISDAY, Mr. Bolaji Adebiyi; Editor, THISDAY on Sunday, Mr. Shaka Momodu, and his counterpart on Saturday, Mr. Yemi Adebowale. From the Arise wing are the Managing Director, Ms. Ijeoma Nwogwugwu; Managing Editor, Adebajo Awosemo; Arise News Anchor, Charles Aniagolu; Arise News Anchor, Adesua Continued on page 8

AISHA STANDING FIRM BEHIND HER HUSBAND Mrs. Aisha Buhari flanked by APC women leaders during the party's rally in Kano to mobilise support for her husband's re-election... yesterday

See THISDAY Weekly Guide to 2019… Pages 20-21

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͞˜ ͺ͸͚Π˞ T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R

PAGE EIGHT

Coordinator: No Corruption Claim Against Atiku Has Been Substantiated Seriki Adinoyi in Jos The Plateau State Coordinator of the Atiku Nationwide Project, Dr. Solomon Gushibet, has dismissed the sleaze allegations being made in some quarters against the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, saying no case has been established against him. Gushibet queried why Atiku was going about his legitimate engagements freely around the country without being picked up and prosecuted if he had any case to answer. Gushibet spoke yesterday at a meeting of the Atiku campaign organisation in Jos. He said Atiku and his running mate, Peter Obi, had what it takes to move Nigeria to greater heights, and urged PDP supporters not to be deterred but remain courageous. He added that Atiku was the engine room of Nigeria as Vice President during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s government, who gave the administration resounding credibility by bringing about economic transformation. He said further that by the time the duo came to office, the Nigerian economy was already nose-diving into recession and depression, adding that when they came in, they did not blame the recession on the military but went head-on to revive the ailing economy.

“So, Atiku is not a thief. If Atiku were a thief, he wouldn’t have been moving around freely without being arrested because of the nature of this government. Atiku started investing at the age of 15 and here he is today. We must not leave any stone unturned to deliver him to the people of Nigeria," Gushibet said. The national secretary of the campaign organisation, Abdullahi Narabi, in his contribution, said they had thought the present federal government was coming with respite, when they came on board in 2015. But things became worse economically, he said, as prices of staple food skyrocketed. Narabi said the government was anti-people and its claims about fighting corruption were a ruse. “Since they did not find anything against Atiku, that means he is not corrupt. They would have prosecuted him, but there is nothing fraudulent and incriminating in him,� Narabi said. Speaking also, Coordinator of the North Central Zone of the organisation, Hon. George Daika, said Atiku was a man of integrity and an employer of labour. Daika said most of Atiku’s investments were located in Nigeria, adding that the government of Atiku, if he wins, is going to be a government for the people. Daika said Obasanjo brought

Former military Head of State and Chairman, National Peace Committee, Gen. Abdulasalami Abubakar, and Presidential candidate of PDP and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar during a condolence visit to the family of late former President Shehu Shagari in Sokoto... yesterday in Atiku to help revive the ailing economy and urged the electorate to be dogged fighters who should not despair. “Don’t be discouraged. Don’t

be despaired, and don’t be deterred. It is our project. He is doing it for our interest and for our sake. We are confident that Atiku will win in February

presidential poll,� the North Central coordinator said. In their own remarks, an elder statesman, Alhaji Abdullahi Wase, Mr. Joseph

Tonkan, and other stakeholders said Nigerians should make deliberate efforts to ensure Atiku’s victory at the polls next month.

In the South-east, the appointment of Sharon Ikeazor has also not gone down well with many leaders in the zone, including Minister of Labour Chris Ngige, who are said to see her choice as sheer disrespect for their place as leaders in the zone. The choice of a former Akwa Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio, as the South-south coordinator is being interpreted in many quarters to mean the creation of a counterforce in the zone against the influence of the Director-General of the campaign and Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi

Amaechi. Many aggrieved leaders of the party also believe that not giving an important role in the campaign to a person like the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, means that the composition is not properly thought out. In fact, the vice president is alleged to be running his show privately with one of his aides, independent of the campaign council, a development the aggrieved members are interpreting to mean poor composition and coordination of the campaign council.

He dispelled a rumour that the electoral body would not post election results at each polling unit. “This is not true. In our new regulation, that particular requirement is mandatory – it’s not optional. It’s mandatory that results must be posted

at every polling unit. We are urging the media to remain nonpartisan in the coming elections. They should be circumspect in their reportage. INEC is ready to work with the media to ensure the elections are credible and fair,� Lecky added.

GOVS FEAR TINUBU'S ROLE AS BUHARI INAUGURATES CAMPAIGN COUNCIL MONDAY to be questioning the need for two chairmen – Buhari and Tinubu – in a presidential campaign council, calling it undue duplication. The same argument is being pushed against the choice of two secretaries for the council, in the persons of Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, and a former Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Lagos State, Mr. Dele Alake. Some prominent APC members are worried that Tinubu could secure such a strategic position while the vice president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, and the national

chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, are appointed deputies. There are issues, too, with the zonal coordination of the campaign, which is practically taken away from the governors. This is a departure from what obtained in 2015, when the governors not only coordinated, but also agreed among themselves who should lead each zone. Many aggrieved members say the governors have been practically excluded from any role in the election, since looking after their states is a responsibility that comes

naturally for them in any election. Besides, persons appointed to coordinate in the zones are suspected to have been chosen to either work at crosspurposes with the governors or serve as counterforces for certain persons in the respective zones. This development is creating crisis in the party. The appointment of Olusola Oke, a former governorship candidate in Ondo State, for instance, as the coordinator for South-west is said to have been done without consultation with the state governor, Rotimi

Akeredolu, let alone other governors from the zone. The implication is that he is not likely to work well with governors in the zone, more so as he is believed to have been put in that position by Tinubu, essentially to rival Akeredolu and his allies. A similar situation is said to be playing out in the North-west with the appointment of a former governor of Sokoto State, Aliyu Wamakko, as coordinator, to the dissatisfaction of Governors Mohammed Badaru of Jigawa and Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State.

2019: 8M PEOPLE HAVE NOT COLLECTED THEIR PVCS, INEC CRIES OUT don’t want to give chance to those abuses to either occur or give a perception to their occurrence.� Regarding the number of PVCs yet to be collected, the INEC national commissioner said, “There is no state in the country where we have achieved 100 per cent distribution of PVC. The distribution of PVC is the biggest headache for us. We need the media to help us encourage the people to come and collect their PVCs. People are not coming forward to pick their PVCs. We have about eight million PVCs yet to be collected by Nigerians.� The INEC commissioner stated further that in the absence of the incidence form, the electoral body had put measures in place to ensure rigorous authentication of the would-be voter in case the card reader failed to work. He noted, “It is possible to have a situation whereby the card reader is malfunctioning

and we have to resort to manual accreditation. A would-be presenter who presents himself to cast a vote but his fingerprint cannot be authenticated. In that case, his PVC will be sufficient – as it is verified that the card is issued by INEC and that it belongs to the would-be voter.� Continuing, Lecky said, “We have a voter register at the point of voting in which we verify the name of the would-be voter, his photo and other details. So, if we don’t use incidence form you are removing a cloud of doubt. So we’re responding to that by removing the form. “At the same time, we are also taking details of voters’ personal information. We have redesigned the register itself. The voter register now has provisions for us to take your details. “We will take your name, again, we will take your phone number. If we are asking for those details the person may

not go forward because he knows we can follow through to know exactly who he is and whether he has come to impersonate or something like that. Such a measure is a deterrent for any perpetration of electoral fraud.� Lecky, however, expressed concern about the country’s media becoming a conveyor of fake news. He said, “We are very concerned when we saw that the media, particularly newspapers, carried a news that is not true on the front page – something that could have been easily verified on our website. We have been doing our best to ensure fake news does not impact on the forthcoming elections. We have been embarking on various voter education campaigns and advertisements and engagement with the media; as well using various social media platforms to counteract fake news. “We are also using youth ambassadors to ensure the

right information is passed to the public. We are also making ourselves available to be engaged – if you want to interview the chairman or any of the commissioners. We are also open to suggestions from the media on how to carry out our national responsibility.�

NIGERIA’S PREMIER PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE BEGINS TODAY, SUNDAY Omoroun; Arise News Anchor, assembled to debate one after among others – are dissected Tundun Abiola, and Arise News another across many issues, with clear understanding of what Anchor, Ndee Amagbuo. this is designed to feature one those issues are and their ability This premier presidential candidate per series, engaged by to sell them convincingly. debate, which is devoted solely the panelists, with ample time This, however, is unique to presidential candidates of the to reflect on their manifesto because it is original and major political parties contesting and other issues of governance, exclusive to THISDAY in the election, is meant to particularly their capacity to sell Newspapers and its sister enrich the electoral process by same to the best of their ability. organisation, Arise News, engaging candidates to speak By extension, the debate and would remain a part of about their plans and the process initiative is also designed to the nation’s electoral process, of executing such plans without compel intending presidential thus, raising the bar of the ambiguity and in a way that aspirants to begin to see the need leadership recruitment process would enhance the process of to be part of a debate culture, and by implication, providing choice making by the electorate. where issues affecting the nation the platform for the electorate Unlike the archetypal debate, – from politics to the economy, to make informed choices at where many candidates are security and infrastructure, every election.

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JANUARY 6, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R

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SUNDAY COMMENT

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

I NSULATING S ECUR IT Y AGENCIES FROM PARTISA N P OLITICS The involvement of security agencies in politics is an ill wind that blows no one any good

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rom the questionable attempt to retain a controversial Inspector -General of Police whose tenure has ended to the arrest and detention of some opposition figures over cases that had long been concluded with acquittal to the curious postings of some compromised officials by the State Security Services (SSS), and the freezing of accounts of states that are governed by the main opposition political party, Nigerians are concerned about the increasing involvement of the security agencies in partisan politics. If this trend continues unchecked, it poses a huge threat to both the effectiveness of these institutions and the future of our democracy. The moment the military, DSS, police, the anti-corruption agencies and other institutions with responsibility for national security are seen as acting in promotion of one political party or another, the principle of equality before the law is eroded and so does their credibility. As the distrust of these institutions grow, citizens usually turn to gangs, vigilance groups and militias to protect themselves as it is increasingly becoming common across the country. With time, these national security agencies are then viewed as protecting friends and punishing enemies rather than upholding the laws of the nation. When that happens, anarchy is not too far away. In Nigeria today, there are far too numerous cases of arbitrary exercise of power by the security agencies in pursuit of partisan political objectives, especially as we

In Nigeria today, there are far too numerous cases of arbitrary exercise of power by the security agencies in pursuit of partisan political objectives, especially as we move towards the general elections

Letters to the Editor

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move towards the general elections. The recent decision by the DSS to quiz the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, over the conduct of the party primaries is a case in point. The primaries of a political party cannot be a matter for the DSS since the option for seeking redress by the aggrieved members of any political party was to go to court. Dabbling into what amounts to the internal affairs of the ruling party is an unjustifiable act of partisanship by a security outfit that should stay out of the fray.

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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

nfortunately, the police authorities are more brazen in this regard. Whatever may be the allegation against Senator Dino Melaye, it is not too difficult to read petty partisan politics to the disproportionate force deployed by the police against him. Similarly, the deployment of policemen to the residences of Senate President Bukola Saraki and his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, with the aim of stopping them from entering the National Assembly in July last year was an act of political desperation since it coincided with the day some APC members in the National Assembly were to cross over to the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Perhaps more worrisome is the multiplicity of antigraft agencies of dubious agenda. For instance, the arrest last November in Abuja of the APC governorship candidate in Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma by the Okoi Obono-Obla led-committee over allegations of corruption beggars belief. That a mere committee would be effecting the arrest of citizens is an aberration in a society where the rule of law prevails. Against the background of the growing apprehension that the security agencies might not be neutral during the coming general elections, the Civil Society Election Situation Room, represented by Mr Clement Nwankwo, recently raised concerns: “We are worried about the very prominent role that the security services are playing on our elections in a way that sometimes truncate INEC’s own arrangement and operational handling of the elections…the credibility of the 2019 elections will be determined largely by the activities of the security services, if they don’t pull back from partisanship,” Nwankwo said. Given the foregoing, we hope President Muhammadu Buhari who has promised to bequeath credible polls will call to order heads of these security agencies who are acting like card-carrying members of the ruling party. The earlier they realise the damage they are doing to the system and retrace their steps, the better for all of us.

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.

In Praise of Muhammadu Buhari

o administration in Nigeria from 1999 to 2015 came close to the achievements of the Muhammadu Buhari government within four years of its first term in office. Errors and mistakes were made by the Buhari government; this is normal in a large and promising democracy, but the government has done very well in the two fundamental areas upon which it rode to power -- put a stop to official corruption and neutralize Boko Haram senseless war. The administration has also done excellently well in other areas including the economy. Nigeria’s daily crude production rose by 9% - 2.09 million bpd in 2018; foreign reserves have peaked at nearly $45bn, the highest in about four years. Real

Gross Domestic Product growth stood at 1.81 per cent in the third quarter of 2018. Nigeria has moved from a deficit to surplus in its trade balance. The Buhari administration has reinvigorated the agricultural sector. Today, massive rice imports have virtually stopped. The nation is saving nearly N24.7 billion monthly with the full implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA). The Buhari administration social investment programme is one of the best in Africa. Through the N-Power scheme, 500,000 graduates have been employed to date. The School Feeding programme is feeding 9,300,892 pupils in 49, 837 schools in 24 states across Nigeria, and empowering 96,972 cooks - isn't this beautiful!? Another significant step forward by this administration is

PresidentMuhammaduBuhari’s drive to close Nigeria’s significant infrastructural deficit by completing abandoned projects and also strategically initiating and executing new ones. Many of Buhari's adversaries who are accusing the President of not carrying out many white elephant projects should hide their heads in shame. Buhari has wisdom and has the country at heart. Buhari refused to behave like the typical Nigerian politician, who once in power; abandons and rubbishes projects started by their predecessors and embark on new duplicates. This why Nigeria does not need an Atiku presidency- we cannot return to past. There are over a thousand abandoned federal government projects in roads, healthcare, education, water resources, electricity,

among others, littered nationwide. President Buhari is completing them. Furthermore, under the Buhari administration, the national capital inflow has increased. The Nigerian Stock Exchange has risen to 40,000 points for the first time since October 2014. The non-oil sectors exports are up 70% year-on-year and manufactured goods exports are up 22% year-on-year. Power generation is at an all-time high of 7,000mw from a mere 2,000mw when Buhari took over. Some 25 major highways across the six geo-political zones are being funded with the N100 billion Sukuk Bond. The Lagos-Kano Standard Rail Gauge is on. Lagos-Ibadan and Kano-Kaduna sectors will be ready in 2019; the entire stretch will be ready in year 2021. Coastal Rail covering 15 cities from Lagos to Calabar is in the pipeline. The $45 billion foreign reserve is a big plus for the Buhari government, because most of our previous govern-

ments lacked control and ability to save. The Buhari government was able to control wasteful and reckless spending. The massive road and rail projects are for posterity as the benefits would be enjoyed later. Having a President that detests corruption is a huge image promotion for Nigeria and confidence-builder for investors and relief for the masses, knowing that the nation’s wealth is safe and will be used to advance their cause. Politically, despite these sterling performances of Buhari within his three years plus in power, we cannot conceal the fact that Buhari is human, he has made mistakes as well as committed errors but they are correctable. One cannot satisfy everyone. Although in governance, it is essential to put everyone in the picture. – Zayyad I. Muhammad, Jimeta, Adamawa State

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JANUARY 6, 2018

NEWS

11 Acting News Editor Gboyega Akinsanmi E-mail: gboyega.akinsanmi@thisdaylive.com, 0808198 6590

S’East Govs: We’ll Resist Attempt to Use Security Agencies to Rig Election Warn army against professional misconduct Benjamin Nworie in Abakaliki The South East Governors’ Forum yesterday noted that it would resist any attempt to use security agencies, espe-

cially the Nigerian Army to rig the 2019 general election under the guise of Operation Python Dance III Consequently, the forum asked the Nigerian Army to

be more professional in the discharge of their duties as they embark on the Python Dance III “to win the confidence of the people of the zone in the face of heightened tension ahead of

the 2019 general election. The Chairman of the forum and Ebonyi State Governor, Chef David Umahi made the comment at a meeting with the General Officer Commanding,

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Presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar signing condolence register during a visit to the family of late President Shehu Shagari in Sokoto...yesterday

82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Abubarka Maikobi at a meeting held at the Government House, Abakaliki. At the meeting, Umahi noted that Ebonyi Sate and indeed the entire South East “will resist with every sense of vigour any attempt to rig the general election using the security agencies as tools.” The governor, equally, said the only way Nigeria would exist beyond 2019 was to hold credible and transparent elections where all security agencies were seen to be neutral and unbiased. Umahi explained that the South East had been greatly troubled by the presence of the army, especially because of the recent clash between the army and members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Umahi, therefore, called on the army “to remain neutral and maintain high level of professionalism in the discharge of their duties while the operation lasts.” He, also, challenged the army “to come up with workable policies that will earn them the confidence of the people of the zone. The army and other security agencies must remain neutral in the coming general election in the state and by extension, the South East.

He said the zone “will not have any problem with the place the army may deem fit to establish their operational headquarters as long as they maintain their professional standard of protecting the people of the zone instead of being seen or accused of killing them. Also speaking at the meeting, Maikobi said he was in Ebonyi state to familiarise himself with the government and people of the South East and informed him about the plan of the Nigerian Army to commence Operation Egwu Eke III. “I am here to inform you that I have been mandated by the Chief of Army Staff to formally inform you as the Chief Security Officer of the State that exercise Egwu Eke III was flagged off in Maiduguri, Borno State. “The exercise is scheduled to take place from January 1 to 28 February, 2019. We have selected Ebonyi under your purposeful leadership as the location for the step-up headquarters for the exercise” He disclosed that the army “will remain neutral. I assure you and good people of Ebonyi State that the Nigeria Army will remain neutral, professional and totally apolitical. Nigerian army will not compromise its constitutional roles under any guise”.

Health Minister Seeks Review of NHIS Act Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Act establishing the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) requires a comprehensive review in order to make it work more efficiently, Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, has said. Speaking in a media interview in Abuja, the minister said the weak structure of the act establishing the scheme was the reason for the incessant crisis in the agency. The minister said the act as presently constituted made participation in the scheme by

Nigerians voluntary instead of compulsory. He noted that the act made insurance voluntary and that is why we are supporting National Assembly to repel the Act and put in place a comprehensive package. Let it be comprehensive because it cannot be voluntary. There is need for review of the Act and it is ongoing. “I can tell you today that no Executive Secretary of NHIS has completed a full term in office without being sacked or suspended, apart from Mohammed Dogo, the pioneer executive secretary. So, it is

not just about this administration.” The minister said it had become imperative “to review the act as it gave too much power to the governing board. Social media has made information readily accessible and available. It made things look as if it is only now that these things are happening, it used to happen before. “We are asking the presidential panel to take a more holistic look at the NHIS, to review the Act of the scheme. The Act seems to have given so much power to the governing board.

“The governing council, by that Act, was given the power to do whatever is necessary to keep the scheme running. If the council now thinks it is important to do anything to keep the scheme running, nobody can say no. “That is why we say the Act needs to be revised and be more specific. If you look closely, it is as if the council does almost everything there. The Act is one of the major issues with the scheme. Why NHIS has not covered majority of Nigerians, is because it is voluntary.” “When it is voluntary,

it makes people not take it seriously. Our disposition- as Nigerians, we don’t take our health critical. We don’t even treat our body the way we treat our car. “When we wake up in the morning, you have a car you clean it up, you test the engine oil, you test the water level etc. Many people do not treat their body as well as they treat their cars. “When it comes to health, nobody wants to pay for health. We all want it free and that is why, for us to make it free, somebody has to pay for it. In the UK, the health

insurance is there but it’s being funded, essentially, by taxation. “What we need to look at in NHIS is how do we put more money in health, put more resources together, to take care of everybody and ensure maximum coverage,” the minister said It would be recalled that the NHIS was enmeshed in crisis recently following the suspension of the Executive Secretary of the Scheme, Professor Usman Yusuf by the Governing Board of the Scheme following allegations of corruption.

Road Accident Claims 19 in Bauchi

Obaseki Awards Contracts for Reconstruction of 140 Roads

2019: CAN Declares January 10 National Day of Prayer

Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has awarded contracts for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of 140 roads in different parts of the state. Obaseki named Agho Streets (First and Second) and Erumwunse Street in Ekehuan axis of Benin City, among the road contracts recently awarded, noting that work would commence before the end of January as contracts for their repairs have been awarded. He disclosed this during a visit to Ward 3, in Oredo Local Government Area, where he campaigned for candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) contesting for seats in the Senate, House

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

No fewer than 19 persons have been reportedly killed in a ghastly motor accident, which occurred along Gombe-Darazo road Thursday night. A top official of Darazo Local Government Area disclosed this to THISDAY yesterday, noting that the accident occurred as a result of over-speeding. However, the Head of Operations of the FRSC, Bauchi Sector Commander, Mr. Paul Guah confirmed the incident, declaring that only 13 people died in the accident The council official spoke in confidence with THIS-

DAY, noting that the accident was a calamity in the state. He maintained that the commuters were on their way to Kano State from Gombe State when the vehicle somersaulted, thereby killing 19 passengers and injuring two others. According to him, they were rushed to the Darazo General Hospital, Darazo LGA, Bauchi State for medical care while the corpses were deposited at mortuary of the hospital. During a telephone conversation, Guah, Deputy Sector Commander, claimed that the accident killed 13 person, noting that the vehicle, an 18-seater Hummer Bus, rammed into a trailer.

of Representatives and State House of Assembly. He said, “We have awarded the reconstruction of roads in this area. Contractors will soon start work on Erumwunse Street. Also, first and second Agho streets have been awarded and the contractor is set to start work.” He recalled that the state government classified reconstruction work on roads across the state into 9-axis, with the scope of work to be carried out to include, site clearance/earthworks, scarification of failed sections, filling with hardcore (designated sections), and filling of sub-base with lateritic materials.

Ahead of the general election scheduled for February and March, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has declared January 10 as a National Day of Prayers for peaceful, free, fair and credible poll. CAN said the day would also be used to pray for the freedom of Leah Sharibu and others in the captivity of the Boko Haram terrorists. In a statement by its president, Rev. Samson Ayokunle yesterday, the association said the prayer meeting will be organised in Abuja and all the state capitals nationwide between 11am and 2pm. The statement signed by Special Assistant (Media and

Publicity) to the CAN President, Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, said Christians will be asking God to prevent violence, manipulation, intimidation of voters, and other electoral crimes with a view to having credible election. It said, “Christian politicians, especially those contesting for any of the elections, all Christian groups or organisations, and all stakeholders are invited to participate in the programme. “CAN urges all Christian groups, denominational, church and block leaders of CAN or their representatives, to assemble at the National Christian Centre, Abuja, on January 10 for this all important prayer meeting.”

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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 ˾ JANUARY 6, 2018

NEWSXTRA 2019: Amid Uncertainty, Tinubu, Ganduje Visit Wamakko Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto Amid political uncertainty ahead of the 2019 general election, the National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje at the weekend paid separate visits to former Sokoto State Governor, Senator Aliyu Wamakko. During the visits on Friday, the two leaders described Wamakko as the strong pillar behind the APC and its presidential candidate, President Muhammadu Buhari since its inception. This was revealed in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Bashir Rabe-Mani, acknowledging Wamakko’s sacrifice for national peace, unity and socioeconomic prosperity. As quoted in the statement, Tinubu said the former governor was a man he respected because he strongly believed in team work and had developed other leaders for today and tomorrow. Tinubu explained that Wamakko “is also extremely dependable. Whatever you are doing with him, you will be the one to disappoint him. He is a serious believer in the unity of Nigeria. “We have always worked together and we will continue to do so . If i come to Sokoto and I have not visited him in his house, it means I have not come to Sokoto, meaning that,

such a visit would be incomplete. “ At the meeting, Tinubu recalled it took only one phone call to concede the governorship ticket to Governor Aminu Tambuwal and that phone call came from me and the rest is now history.” He promised to always to stand with Wamakko and work with him, thereby urging the state’s governorship candidate, Alhaji Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto “to rely on a good leader on Wamakko. “Wamakko has remained resolute and focused in spite of some seemingly formidable challenges. As such, you have a reliable father in him. Leadership is a divine responsibility, as God gives and takes leadership to whosoever He wishes and at the time He wishes. “I believe Sokoto is safe. We just need to get more votes out so that we can help absorb other areas of weakness. Nigeria will make progress as it is already on a solid foundation built by leaders like Wamakko. We will always be with him,” Tinubu explained. On his part, Ganduje has described Wamakko as a highly dependable friend, colleague and brother. Ganduje commended Wamakko for his sustained support “to President Buhari. His fatherly role at the Senate is also highly commendable. His contributions to the promulgation of people-oriented laws, entrenchment of democracy and ensuring national security

Six GMs Resign from Addax Petroleum Six General Managers of Addax Petroleum Development Nigeria Limited have voluntarily disengaged their services from the firm, an online news medium, Premium Times reported yesterday.. Although their disengagement is yet to be announced officially by management, the medium said the top officials were forced against their will to take the decision. According to the medium, it was not clear why the management of the company decided to ease out the top officials. Addax Petroleum Nigeria had announced a Voluntary Separation Programme (VSP) for all staff last November. The report said the VSP “is a programme usually implemented every three years by the management of the company to encourage all categories of staff to take advantage of an enhanced remuneration package as benefits to voluntarily disengage from the company. “To benefit from the programme, staff are usually encouraged to apply to management to request approval to voluntarily exit from the company ahead of their retirement date. “In 2012 and 2015, the programme, referred to as Voluntary Severance Package, saw many staff of the company take advantage of the attractive offer to take early retirement,” the report said.

In November 2018, the report said following management’s rollout of the VSP, all interested staff were given one month to submit applications to voluntarily leave the service of Addax Petroleum. It added that the announcement came with a proviso that management reserved the final right to decide which application it would want to accept or reject. At the end of the deadline for the submission of applications, the report said, although several applications were received from other staff, none of the six general managers submitted any request indicating interest to voluntarily bow out of the company. While some of the requests were accepted, the report explained that many from people the management believe still have a future in the company were rejected and asked to return to work. Earlier last week, the report said, a new organogram introduced by management effectively phased out the general managers’ positions, leaving them redundant, with no functional role in the operations of the company. Under the new management structure in the company, the highest managerial positions became senior managers to replace the general managers.

are superb.” In his response, Wamakko extolled the invaluable contributions of the APC national leader, noting that Sokoto “is proud of you. We have high esteem in you. We have been with you. We will remain with you. “You are a doing a great job for Nigeria. The high powered delegation that includes all those who matter in Kano State in all spheres of human lives is a strong indication that the state is entirely an APC State. “We at the eighth Senate have adopted dialogue and the spirit of give and take, rather than violence and rancour. We will continue to be fair and just to Nigerians. The masses of Nigeria have no

any other party, but the APC. “ In 2018, THISDAY had reported that Wamakko abandoned his immediate successor and political godson, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal due to N15 billion fraud allegation currently investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against his administration. THISDAY findings revealed that Tambuwal decided to defect to the PDP because he had been assured of clinching the PDP presidential ticket by some governors from the South-east and South-south before he eventually dumped APC. Consequently, political intrigues showed that com-

pelled Wamakko to shelve his defection plan at the weekend, claiming that the presidency learnt about the defection plan after the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki visited Wamakko. Wamakko, also Chairman of Northern Forum of Senators (NFS), was one of the five governors that defected from the PDP to the APC in 2014 due to irreconcilable differences with the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP leadership. Wamakko then defected to the APC alongside other serving governors: Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano State), Hon. Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers State), Mr. Rochas Okorocha

(Imo State) and Mr. Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), among others, three of whom had returned to the PDP due to APC’s internal rift. Tambuwal, who defected to the APC as the Speaker of House of Representatives in 2014, eventually returned to the PDP precisely on July 31 to pursue his long-time aspiration to become the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. However, a source told THISDAY that Tambuwal could not again defect to the PDP along with Wamakko, his political godfather contrary to their initial plan to dump the APC at the same time and with a grand political rally to announce their exit.

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L-R:President,CharterdInstitueofBankersofNigeria(CIBN),Dr.UcheOlowu;ManagingDirector/CEO,FiligriConsultingLtd, MrsJustynaSitarska; second Vice President, CIBN, Mr. Ken Opara and Registrar, CIBN, Mr. Seye Awojobi , during the presentation of certificate of accreditation and execution of linkage agreement with 24 Institutions in Lagos...recently PHOTO: ETOP UKUTT

Senate to Resolve Anambra, Enugu, Kogi Oil Dispute

Fayemi: I Won’t Abandon Any Part of Ekiti

David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti

The lawmaker representing Anambra Central Senatorial District, Senator Victor Umeh yesterday noted that Anambra will join the league of oil producing states in the country with full entitlements soon. Umeh made the disclosure in an interview with THISDAY, noting that the Senate Committee on Petroleum Sector (Upstream) was working to resolve the dispute between Anambra and her neighbours, Kogi and Enugu states, who were laying claims to the oil deposit in the state. During the interview, Umeh said the boundary crisis had come up at the national assembly once and was referred to the senate committee on petroleum sector (upstream), which I am also a member. He said, “We have looked at it. Very recently, the committee met. We have involved even the National Boundaries Com-

mission. By the time we settle all these, we will be able to achieve that status (oil producing state) completely. “The oil deposit in the Anambra basin was a reality and no longer in doubt. For Anambra to be classified as an oil producing state, there is a production output to be met. That will have been attained if not because of the claims by the sister states, which affected our production. “Oil exploration has been going on there. I think Anambra started with 80,000 barrels per day. We should have advanced now, but the Kogi people are laying claims to the area, and also the Enugu state; the Uzo Uwani area. “There is no argument if we have oil in the Aguleri area any longer, except that what is affecting it now is the disputes. Once all these are settled, Anambra will fully assume the status of oil producing state, with all the accruing benefits.”

Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi yesterday said he would convince Ekiti people that they made no mistake in electing him during the July 14, 2018 governorship election. Fayemi, also, promised that those towns that voted for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the election would not be sidelined in the development agenda of his government. Fayemi spoke at the Ekiti Parapo Pavilion in Ado Ekiti yesterday while interfacing with Chairmen and Secretaries of Town Unions across the 133 towns in the state. The governor, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Chief Bisi Egbeyemi, said all his development projects would be distributed evenly across all towns in a manner bereft of political considerations. Fayemi said he had made it part of his policy to always seek the inputs of all towns before projects are sited, saying this will help in meeting the demands of the people

in accordance with priority. At the forum, what the communities wanted were centred around: improved electricity, road infrastructures, water supply, tourist development, youth employment, improved welfare and industrial development. Fayemi urged all the associations to document their needs in order of priority and submit to the government for consideration, since the presentations were done on local government basis. “This is not a jamboree, because there is need for positive synergy between the government and various unions to enhance economic development of our communities. It is disheartening to note that many of our communities are not helping our development strategies . “Many uncompleted self help grant aided projects initiated during my first term were left untouched by the immediate past government and benefiting communities themselves forgot their projects to be taken care of.

5 ) * 4 % ": t SUNDAY, JANUARY 6, 2019

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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 ˾ JANUARY 6, 2019

OPINION Open Letter to Mr. President The Buhari administration could do more in the areas of education, health and security, argues Mudasiru A. Salami

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write to appreciate your efforts and call your attention to urgent matters of national importance. I will start from the advice you gave your predecessor six years ago: "To avert the looming chaos in the New Year, immediate steps should be taken to drastically reduce the cost of governance in the three tiers of government. Salaries and especially allowances should be drastically reduced; security votes should be abolished – not increased as the 2012 Budget has done. Votes for the Armed forces, Police and Security Services should be transparent and accountable; foreign travel and estacodes should be stopped for at least six months other than for the Presidency, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and medical emergencies. Government House expenses in all the states should be drastically reduced, foreign travel suspended for a while. The National Assembly should give a lead in reducing their allowances substantially and stopping their foreign travels. These savings should be applied to education, infrastructure and agriculture with emphasis on youth employment through meaningful and practical emergency programmes. The public will see through any cosmetic or token gestures and will not tolerate a continuation of status quo. Corruption and plunder are the root causes of unemployment, insecurity, violence and unrest." - General Muhammadu Buhari, 28.11.2012. That was vintage GMB who I have campaigned for based on his integrity, breath of experience and sincerity to see a progressive, developed and united Nigeria where justice reigns. I acknowledge your three-point agenda performance – security, economy and anti-corruption fight. You tamed Boko Haram although we are now battling a mutant offshoot, and Police numbers have been boosted. We exited economic recession and Forex got stabilised while inflation rate reduced. Your fight against corruption has yielded recovery of N794 Billion and several property by EFCC. There are roads, railway and airport renewal projects. However, Nigerians need far more urgently: One, Education: your government has treated education sector poorly as epitomised by the ongoing ASUU

strike in its third month. We cannot be a productive part of the global knowledge economy with recurrent strikes. The world takes note of our unstable education system with only two universities ranked in the top 800 – the University of Ibadan and the Covenant University. The latter is enough lesson on what proper funding and 21st century critical thinking can do within a short time. We should follow the Chinese example with the way that nation purposively invested in education and her universities to catch up with the first world in teaching and research. Two, Security – the challenges are still massive: kidnapping, armed robbery, banditry in the North West, herdersfarmers clashes and Boko Haram in the North East. Dear Mr President, we cannot afford to still be reactive - superior intelligence gathering, preemptive strikes and preventive criminology are now the order of the day. Nigeria needs a better policed border and help from nations with real superior intelligence gathering capacity like China, Germany and Russia. Three, Nigerian Health sector needs urgent resuscitation. Your triumph over health challenges by seeking healthcare in the UK is a first-hand lesson to appreciate the gap between our health system and the British system.

Your government has treated education sector poorly as epitomised by the ongoing ASUU strike in its third month. We cannot be a productive part of the global knowledge economy with recurrent strikes

Improved healthcare financing and universal health insurance possibly through a health phone call tax are overdue. Nigerians spend above $1 billion annually on medical tourism, 60% of it on four key specialties: cancer care, orthopedics, nephrology and cardiovascular care. Nigeria can and should become the hub of African health care. We can start by upgrading two teaching hospitals per geopolitical zone coupled with competitive grants or soft loans for private health sector like India had done. Health and education remain crucial to human capital development. Four, Agricultural value chain and enrichment of exports remains key to economic diversification. Our poultry, fishery and other value chain parts are ready foreign currency earners. Five, Aggressive civil service reforms with ethics, discipline, accountability and a transparent, mandatory yearly financial and productivity audit are supremely important. You will need a cooperative and patriotic National Assembly (NASS) to birth this real urgent change. All in all, Nigerians are going through a tough time partly due to our hitherto corruption-financed economy and some due to your government’s actions and inactions. Foremost, please announce the agreed new minimum wage of N30,000 and let state governors who cannot pay resign to pave way for others who can think beyond Abuja monthly droppings. A nation where a convicted senator earns N14.2 million monthly, has no justification withholding 83 dollar per month for her suffering workers. Enough is enough. May God smoothen your rough roads in 2019 as oil prices hovers between $48-52 per barrel, far below your $60 target. Everyone must sacrifice for us to weather the storm. Lead by example, dear Mr President! ––Dr. Salami, FWACS, is a Lecturer/Consultant Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeon, Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan

To Keep China One Zhou Pingjian writes that China can never be altered by anyone or any force

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hina must be, will be reunified,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping in his speech delivered on January 2 at a gathering in Beijing to commemorate the 40th anniversary of issuing Message to Compatriots in Taiwan. “It is a historical conclusion drawn over the 70 years of the development of cross-Straits relations, and a must for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in the new era,” he said. Taiwan, lying off the southeastern coast of the Chinese mainland, is China’s largest island and forms an integral whole with the mainland. Taiwan has belonged to China since ancient times. On October 1, 1949, the Chinese people led by the Communist Party of China (CPC) won a great victory in the new democratic revolution and founded the People’s Republic of China. The Kuomintang (KMT) ruling clique retreated from the mainland to entrench in China’s Taiwan Province in confrontation with the Central Government with the support of foreign forces. This is the origin of the Taiwan issue. Although the mainland and Taiwan have remained to be reunified since 1949, the Chinese territory and sovereignty have not been split. The two sides are in a state of political confrontation resulting from China’s civil war in the mid- to late- 1940s. Since 1949, the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Chinese government and the Chinese people have always unwaveringly taken resolving the Taiwan question to realize China's complete reunification as a historic task. The message to compatriots in Taiwan issued by Beijing on January 1, 1979, made clear the question of Taiwan is an internal affair and set out the fundamental policy of striving for peaceful reunification. In his speech on January 2, 2019, President Xi outlined breakthroughs in cross-Straits relations over the past 70 years. Estrangement between the mainland and Taiwan was ended in line with the common will of compatriots across the Straits, and Taiwan compatriots have made great contributions to the reform and opening-up in the mainland. The mainland and Taiwan reached the 1992 Consensus based on the one-China principle, and the political exchanges across the Straits have reached new heights. The basic principles of “peaceful reunification” and

“one country, two systems” were established, and the basic policy of upholding “one country, two systems” and advancing the national reunification was laid out. More and more countries and peoples have understood and supported the cause of the reunification of China. Furthermore, over the 70 years, a series of major victories in the battles against “Taiwan independence” and separatists have been achieved. According to President Xi, the historical and legal facts, that Taiwan is part of China and the two sides across Taiwan Straits belong to one and the same China, can never be altered by anyone or any force; the fact that compatriots across the Straits are all Chinese who share natural kinship and national identity can never be changed by anyone or any force; the peaceful and stable development of cross-Straits situations and the progress of cross-Straits relations are the tide of the time that can never be stopped by anyone or any force. He called on Chinese people across the Taiwan Straits as well as at home and abroad to work together for the Chinese nation’s greater good and go with the tide of history, to jointly push forward the peaceful development of the cross-Straits relations and advance the process toward the peaceful reunification of China. The Taiwan question originated from national weakness and disorder, and will definitely end with national rejuvenation, President Xi said. The principles of “peaceful reunification” and “one country, two systems” are the best approach to realizing national reunification. President Xi proposed that the mainland and Taiwan conduct democratic consultation on cross-Straits relations and the future of the nation, and establish institutional arrangement for peaceful development of cross-Straits relations. Political parties and all sectors on both sides of the Straits may recommend representatives to conduct extensive and in-depth democratic consultation on the basis of the common political foundation of upholding the 1992 Consensus and opposing “Taiwan independence”. While pledging utmost sincerity for peaceful reunification, President Xi makes no promise to renounce the use of force. This does not target compatriots in Taiwan, but the interference of external forces and the very small number of “Taiwan independence” separat-

ists and their activities. “Taiwan independence” goes against the trend of history and will lead to a dead end. “We are willing to create broad space for peaceful reunification, but will leave no room for any form of separatist activities,” he said. The Taiwan question concerns China’s core interests and the national bond of the Chinese people. China’s reunification does not harm any country’s legitimate interests, including their economic interests in Taiwan. It will only bring more development opportunities to other countries, inject more positive energy into the prosperity and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and the world, and make greater contributions to building a community with a shared future for humanity, to world peace and development, and to the cause of human progress. Two years ago, a joint statement by the Government of China and the Government of Nigeria was signed in Abuja on January 11, 2017 by the visiting Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and honorable minister of foreign affairs Geoffrey Onyeama. The Government of China and the Government of Nigeria reaffirmed their respect for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. According to the joint statement, “The government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria reaffirms that the one China policy is at the core of its Strategic Partnership with China. The Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria recognizes that there is only one China in the world, that the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. The Government of Federal Republic of Nigeria reiterates not to have any official relations or engage in any official contacts with Taiwan, and supports all efforts made by the Chinese Government to realize national reunification.” The Government of the People’s Republic of China appreciates the above position and the measures taken accordingly by the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. To keep China one is a task that must be done. –Dr. Zhou is Ambassador of China to Nigeria.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JANUARY 6, 2019

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LETTERS

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aving read the two books written by Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the recent book by the former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, I have come to an un-researched conclusion that Nigerian politicians do not know how to talk politics. Talking politics means talking good because politics is about the goodness of society. That is why political philosophers devoted all their lives in looking for the good of the state. One of the reasons Goodluck Jonathan lost the 2015 election is because none of his followers took quality time to explain to Nigerians the good works of his administration. It was after he had left office and these books were written that I got to know that he initiated the treasury single account (TSA) policy that was geared towards fighting corruption in the public service. Indeed most Nigerians never knew that he fought corruption, no matter how small. When President Muhammadu Buhari came into office, he continued it on a more

Who Is Talking Politics?

Okonjo-Iweala

aggressive manner that ministries, departments and agencies of government now have access to less public funds to steal. Goodluck Jonathan should hold his lieutenants and followers responsible for losing the 2015 election: because they

refused to tell Nigerians the good things he was doing, instead of quarrelling with the then opposition party. President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) is about to suffer the same faith. Whenever I hear or listen to his lieutenants and followers,

Wanted: A United Igbo Nation

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igeria, which is founded on the tripod of the HausaFulani, Yoruba, and the Igbo ethnic nationalities, is still contending with the divisive problem of bitter ethnic hatred and rivalries. In fact, the January 1966 coup, which threw up Aguiyi Ironsi as our head of state, was alleged and believed to be an Igbo coup. And it contributed in no small way to the outbreak of the Nigeria-Biafra civil war. That fratricidal civil war pitted the Igbos of the Southeast of Nigeria against the rest of the country. But, sadly, today, since the end of the civil war, the Igbo people have been receiving raw deal in the Lugardian contraption called Nigeria. They’re always targets of attacks plotted and executed by Muslim extremists in the north, which is a hot-bed of ethno- religious crisis. More so, people of other ethnic groups treat them with deep-seated hatred, distrust, and suspicion. Consequently, the Igbo people are with the feeling that they’re the unwanted second-class citizens in Nigeria. Yet, the mistreated Igbos, who are dispersed in every in every nook and cranny of Nigeria, have been contributing significantly to the economic and technological advancement of Nigeria. When Nigeria was labouring under the yoke of imperialism, it’s Igbo people like Nnamdi Azikiwe, Mokwugo Okoye,and Nwafor Orizu who teamed up with other nationalists and freedom fighters to fight for the political emancipation of Nigeria. But today, the south east, which is the home place of the

Igbo people, is neglected. The federally-owned expressways in the South-east are dilapidated. For example, the Enugu-Onitsha expressway is in a deplorable condition. That expressway, which is rutted, is a death-trap on which many travellers had died owing to bus accidents they had on the road. I escaped death on that road twice by hair’s breadth owing to its terrible state. And has work been ongoing on the second Niger-Bridge? Worst still, excluding the Igbo people, the other major ethnic groups and the Ijaw people had each produced Presidents of Nigeria. Having a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction will allay the Igbos’ fear that they’re being politically dominated by people of other ethnic groups in our political arena. And it will disabuse their minds of the notion that they’re unwanted in Nigeria for their secessionist bid in 1967.More so, if an Igbo man is elected the President of Nigeria, the agitation for the creation of the sovereign State of Biafra will abate as the Igbos will feel that one of their own is at the helm of affairs in the country. But in December 1983, the brasshats and jackboots toppled the civilian government of Alhaji Shehu Shagari probably to truncate the emergence of Vice President Alex Ekwueme as the Presidential candidate of the then ruling NPN after the expiration of Alhaji Shehu Shagari’s second term in office. The military, however, adduced corruption as one of the reasons for staging the coup. It should be noted that the Igbos are their own worst enemies now, although people

from other ethnic groups are antagonizing them. Since the end of the Nigeria-Biafra civil war, Igbos have not become politically united. Their individualistic proclivities have manifested now. They’ll place their selfish and egoistical interests above the collective good of the Igbo people when issues affecting us crop up. Unlike the indignant Yoruba people, who formed NADECO to fight for the revalidation of the late MKO Abiola’s stolen mandate, the Igbo top politicians, who were members of PDP, sold the late Dr Alex Ekwueme down the river during the PDP’S Presidential primary election in the late 1990s.Then, Dr. Ekwueme was in a good stead and position to clinch the Presidential ticket before his ethnic compatriots betrayed him. Now, it is evident to even dim-witted people that the Igbo political elite, who are very selfish, cannot address the vexed issue of the marginalization of the Igbo people in our country; neither can they reach consensus on issues critical to the survival and progress of the Igbo ethnic nation. It is the absence of responsible, selfless and visionary leadership among the Igbo ethnic group that led to the emergence of the discombobulated and dilettante ideologue, a rabble rouser called Mr Nnamdi Kanu as the leader of IPOB, a separatist group. Now, a great number of impressionable young Igbo people, who are either artisans or unemployed people are his followers and disciples. ––Chiedu Uche Okoye, Uruowulu-Obosi, Anambra State

all I deduce is reactionary responses to the distracting allegations from the opposition political parties. From the Ministry of Information to the National Orientation Agency (NOA), PMB’s media chiefs, his political party’s publicity chiefs and all the rest behind him, they are merely quarrelling with the opposition political parties. They are not initiating, talking or telling Nigerians details of the good works PMB is doing in Nigeria today. I am yet to be convinced that this retinue of followers is doing a good work in talking and explaining what PMB has done with the Nigerian economy in the last four years. Under the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), who has told the ordinary Nigerians what ERGP means, how it is being implemented and the expected benefits? Things like the petrol scarcity and subsidy and the price of petrol, unemployment, inflation, exchange rate, food importation, foreign debts and the standard of living of Nigerians. Such explanation should also include funds released to states to enable them settle backlog of salaries and pensions, stoppage of states-debt related deductions, the reasons for the tradermoni, YESSO, and other interventions of government to reduce hardship in the land. Nigerians need to know in details the effect of government’s actions in the agricultural sector. On security, the opposition claims that insecurity has been the worst harvest by Nigerians due to the terror activities of the herdsmen and Boko Haram. Someone should take out quality and quantum

time to prepare a detailed documentary on how PMB is tackling these terrorists. That documentary should be used to explain to Nigerians in simple languages and fora about the causes, origin, membership, operations and the extent of damage they have done to Nigeria. It should cover the issues of security expenditure; joint operations; military posting, training, facilities and allowances; police killing of Yusuf and many of his followers leading to the open operation of the Boko Haram, police abscondment from training to fight Boko Haram; all the issues about displaced persons and the official stealing of the funds released to care for the displaced persons and so on. It is instructive to state here that the biggest tool against the PMB government is his handling of the continuous killing of Nigerians in the North Central region especially in Benue and Plateau States. If this is not well explained to Nigerians, the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government may lose substantial votes from this region and other states affected by the herdsmen killings (Adamawa, Taraba, Zamfara and Nasarawa). On some miscellaneous issues, Nigerians need to know in details why the National Assembly (NASS) increased the 2018 budget by N500 billion and PMB allowed it. Nigerians need to know how really the TSA works. What has been concretely achieved with the TSA? The work of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) needs to be explained to Nigerians because it appears EFCC is

more interested in showcasing accused persons than successfully prosecuting them. From May 2015, how many people have been accused, how many have been prosecuted and jailed (besides Dariye and few others) or released, how much has been recovered from accused persons and who are they, how many properties have been confiscated and who owns them, how has the government utilized the recovered funds, etc. Another issue is that of appointments into top government offices by PMB. Nigerians have been saturated with the feeling that appointments by PMB are skewed in favour of the North. If the government does not agree with this position, it should provide alternative explanations to prove the critics wrong. How many appointments has he made since 29th May 2015? How many are from the North and how many are from the South? Provide convincing reasons why some obvious cases should be so: for example the replacement of the former Minister of Finance who is from the South by another person from the North. President Buhari may be doing great goods in these areas, but how well do Nigerians know about that? It is the duty of his political party and those who are responsible for talking about the works of his government that should talk the politics of President Muhammadu Buhari. This has become immensely essential in this election and New Year seasons. –– Okachikwu Dibia, Abuja.

APC, PDP and Struggle for Fake News

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he APC and the PDP are at a fake-news race. It appears both parties are set on a single strategy of winning the February presidential election – through the audacious cross-firing of falsehood and lies. It will be prejudicial to say who is getting ahead of the other in this punitive race of fibbing. But the two parties are outdoing each other in the use of the fake-news artillery, and in the deployment of fact-twisting ballistic missiles. Vintage Nigerian politics. Today, APC campaign minions are posting fake pictures of completed infrastructural projects and crowds at campaign venues; the next day, PDP campaign “surrogates” are attributing false quotes to the president or any member of the government. At different times, they switch the subjects in this ignominious task. And most times, both camps syndicate malicious and fabricated stories – like the Jibrin Aminu Al Sudani fiction – across

different platforms. But is this healthy for our politics? I do not think so. We got to where we are today – where fake-news and hate speech have become rife – owing to the “scorchedearth campaign strategy” deployed by the APC in the 2015 election. Soon after the party came to power, the monster it unleashed grew seven heads. It struggles to tame it, but it is constantly reminded of its hypocrisy - who let the beast out in the first place? It is ironical that the individual, who led the fake-news blitzkrieg in 2015, is the same person sermonising about “change begins with me” today. The point is, whatever is traded in this election today will dictate the political atmosphere of the country in the next four years. To put it like a dummy, “we will reap whatever seed we sow”. The APC and the PDP must realise that none of them can govern comfortably a country in the throes of anxiety, fear, division, and

anarchy effectuated by fake news and hateful speeches. Nigeria must come first. And if their intention is to really serve, they must save Nigeria first by calling all their marshals to order. Fake-news should not be deployed as a campaign weapon because it will only result in MAD – Mutual Assured Destruction. And by the way, I understand Amina Zakari is not in charge of the collation of results as being reported. Her job, being the head of health and welfare unit at INEC, demands that she provides these services at the national collation centre. She was formerly at the operations department of INEC, a key area, but owing to protests, she was moved to the health and welfare unit. It is easy to get sucked into the whole emotional vortex without reason, and it is difficult to stand away from a public inquisition. But who knows? ––Fredrick Nwabufo, fredricknwabufo@yahoo. com.

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J ͞˜ ͺ͸͚Π˞ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

INTERNATIONAL Issues in the New Year Messages of World Leaders and Maintenance of Global Peace and Security

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he first day of every year provides a unique opportunity for national leaders, not only to take a look at what had transpired in the immediate past 365 days in their countries, but also to take a new look at the future, especially how to tackle foreseeable challenges, and how to also renew patriotism. The review of what had transpired often takes place within celebrations, the modalities of which vary from one country to the other. The messages also delivered vary. But more often than not, they are all driven by nationalism to the detriment of global peace and security, excepting when such countries are also challenged by situations of insecurity. For instance, Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, in welcoming the year 2018, noted that the year ‘promises to be pivotal in our quest for change. (F)or many, this Christmas and New Year holidays have been anything but merry and happy. Instead of showing love, companionship and charity, some of our compatriots chose this period to inflict severe hardship on us all by creating unnecessary fuel scarcity across the country.’ Besides, he underscored the need to address the country’s infrastructural deficit, what was being done about it, what was being done about power outages and projects, and issues of restructuring. He submitted that ‘our problems are more to do with process than structure,’ and more importantly, he raised the issue of national security, especially in the areas of terrorism and kidnapping. Thus, there was no specific mention of international peace and security, even though global peace begins with peace in the nation-states. In his 2019 New Year Message, President Buhari factored in the issue of religion and rightly explained the New Year as a time which ‘offers precious opportunity for thanksgiving, stock taking and reflection on goals and targets set for the receding year, and how much was accomplished. The ones not done can then be rolled over into a new year.’ He recognised security as a recurrent challenge and the need for peace. As he put it, ‘we have had our challenges: security, economic, political, social. But we are resolved to combat and overcome them all.’ As it was the case in the 2018 message, there was no mention of global peace and security. Issues of political governance mainly attracted PMB’s attention in the 2019 New Year message. This is nationalism we talked about above. At the global level, the picture is a little bit different in Africa and at the level of international politics. Donald Trump of the United States not only availed himself of the opportunity of the New Year to criticise his opponents, like he did in the 2017 New Year message, but to also address some foreign policy and security questions. In the 2017 message, he stated that ‘as our country rapidly grows stronger and smarter, I want to wish all my friends, supporters, enemies, haters, and even the very dishonest Fake News Media, a Happy and Healthy New Year. 2018 will be a great year for America.’ In this regard, many questions can be raised as to the extent to which the year 2018 was great for America. Without any shadow of doubt, we contend here that the year 2018 witnessed a major setback for the United States under Donald Trump, especially in terms of loss of great respect for Americans and their institutions. For instance, on the eve of the New Year 2019, he jokingly accused his compatriots of ‘partying’ while he was ‘at the White House working.’ He said he did not blame them for enjoying themselves. In fact, he told them to enjoy themselves and ‘have a really, really Happy New Year.’ But perhaps more concernedly, he said ‘2019 will be a fantastic year for those not suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome.’ He told them to ‘calm down and enjoy the ride, great things are happening for our country.’ This message is nothing more than an expression of non-seriousness of purpose, bastardisation of the essence of a New Year Message, and inability to know the differences between business and diplomatic ethics in the political governance of American people. In his 2018 New Year Speech, President Emmanuel Macron of France called for a spirit of renewed spirit of unity, but cautioned against nationalism and promised to take a ‘determined action’ against Islamist terrorism. He welcomed the men and women who are fleeing countries where they are threatened because of their origins, their religion, or their political convictions.’ It should be noted that mention is made here about international terrorism, meaning that international security was a major issue in the

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Buhari previous year. Emmanuel Macron, like Donald Trump, did not spare criticising those who created problems for him in the past one year. The difference is in the style. Donald Trump did his own without courtoisie or decency, Emmanuel Macron did his own more courteously, but he still has problems with the French. It should be recalled here that President Macron’s former bodyguard, Alexandre Benalla, assaulted some protesters and was fired, but he is still found travelling with diplomatic passport and still exchanging messages with President Macron long after his dismissal. Additionally, there was the problem of destructive protests of the ‘Yellow Vests’ who were not happy with Macron’s high taxes and pro-business policies. In fact, Macron’s approval rating declined from 47% in 2017 to only 24% in December 2018, which is considered to be the lowest for any French president in modern French history. It cannot but be surprising therefore, not to expect President Macron to be blunt in his New Year message. He told his French compatriots that, ‘in recent years, we’ve engaged in a blatant denial of reality... We can’t work less, earn more, cut taxes and increasing spending.’ Consequently, in the belief that the positive outcomes of his reform policies cannot be felt in the immediate, he promised to review France’s national unemployment, insurance, and pension systems. He advised all the French people to ‘stop berating’ their country and to also stop complaining, possibly for reasons that are not far-fetched. In the eyes of Macron, the French already ‘live in one of the world’s greatest economies.’ Their infrastructures are among the best in the world.’ They pay little or nothing towards their children’s education and their healthcare cost are among the lowest

In northern China, people usually eat dumplings as one of the main foods, and they will often hide coins in some of them. If you get a dumpling with a coin in the stufďŹ ng, then it is thought that you will be wealthy and prosperous in the year to come’(vide www.digmandarin.com). There is also the tradition of always buying new clothes to wear on the ďŹ rst day of the NewYear or of the Festival because it signiďŹ es a new start. Chris Parkers says ‘ideally, everything you wear from head to toe should be a new purchase. Chinese people also like to clean the whole house to prepare for the festival and welcome the New year in cleanliness. In fact, the importance of the New Year Day and active involvement of the Chinese people in it is to the extent that it is ‘incredibly difďŹ cult to get a train ticket’on the very day of celebration.‘You can rent a girl friend to take home to your family.’ Everybody stays up to watch the same TV gala and everyone is required to ‘eat ďŹ sh as part of the NewYear’s Eve meal

of any developed country and this gives the French people ‘access to some of the best doctors.’ This appears to be a major dynamic of why Macron has insisted on the need to continue to defend his reform agenda in spite of his declining approval rating. But unlike President Macron who, in the French tradition, gave his New Year message not late on the eve, President Vladimir Putin of Russia normally addresses all Russians on December 31 at 11.55 pm or 8.55 GMT Moscow time. When it is 12 midnight on the dot, the Russian National Anthem is rendered. Thus, is it simply a 5-minute business? In any case, every New Year message is an opportunity for expression of self-preservation and pride. Putin’s address is a clear pointer to this nationalism. As Putin noted in his 2019 New Year message, ‘we have never had, and we will never have help. That is why it is important to be a cohesive, united and strong team. And let friendship and good hope, which unite us now, be here in the future, (and) help us in work and achievement of common goals.’ Putin not only added that all peoples make wishes like children and that the wishes should be allowed to be. However, he observed that ‘Russians all know for sure that achieving the best for ourselves, for our families, for our home country is only possible through our own efforts and joint coordinated work. We have to perform a number of urgent tasks in economy, science, and technology, healthcare, education and culture, and most importantly, ensure that we increase prosperity and standards of living step-by-step.’ In the speech, there was a direct call for the performance of urgent tasks and the need for increased prosperity, self-reliance and national unity. The speech did not give room for any bickering. It was basically nationalistic and forward-looking. The Chinese case is not different. In his 2018 New Year message, President Xi Jinping focused attention on how to eliminate poverty in China by 2020. In his eyes, ‘China must speak out, ..., act as a builder of world peace and a contributor to global development and an upholder of the international order. The Chinese people are willing to join all peoples of the world in creating a beautiful future of greater prosperity and greater peace for mankind.’ While Russia is forward-looking from the perspectives of domestic politics, China is forward-looking from foreign policy perspectives by seeking a beautiful future of greater prosperity and greater peace for mankind. The 2019 New Year speech of President Xi Jinping reflected both domestic and foreign policies, meaning that the New Year messages served as a linkage between the two. Jinping seized the opportunity of the New Year message to give a summary report of the achievements of his Administration and to draw attention to his impact in foreign policy. In the words of Jinping, ‘it is only natural that hard work pays off, and it brings changes for the better everyday... We have made one achievement after another in the fields of science and technology innovation, as well as massive projects. The Huiyan Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope has launched into space. The C 919 large passenger jet has completed its maiden flight. The quantum computer has been successfully developed. Saltwater paddies have begun Trial Production. The first domestically built aircraft carrier has been put into use. The Haiyi underwater glider has conducted deep-sea observations. Samples of combustible ice in sea areas have been collected successfully. The Yangshan Phase-IV Automated Port has officially opened. The main structure of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge has been finished, and the Fuxing high speed trains have been operated across China... I would like to say Bravo to the great creativity demonstrated by fellow Chinese.’ True enough, the Chinese compatriots have done well and Xi Jinping can rightly extend his bravo to all of them. Perhaps what is also more important is not simply the creativity but the environmental conditioning and the cultural tradition surrounding the creativity and the New Year messages and greetings in China. New Year in China is not January 1, per se. Chinese New Year is celebrated at the turn of the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is specifically to announce the arrival or beginning of the Spring Festival, which is celebrated by every Chinese scientifically and culturally. It is celebrated scientifically in terms of firecrackers and money often put in ‘red envelopes that older members of the family give to young children to celebrate the festival. It is done culturally because each region or community of China has its own mania and tradition of celebrating the Chinese New Year. For instance, the food eaten at the New Year’s Eve varies from one region to the other. As Chris Parker has it, ‘in northern China, people usually eat dumplings as one of the main foods, and they will often hide coins in some of them. If you get a dumpling with a coin in the stuffing, then it is thought that you will be wealthy and prosperous in the year to come’ (vide www.digmandarin.com). There is also the tradition of always buying new clothes to wear on the first day of the New Year or of the Festival because it signifies a new start. Chris Parkers says ‘ideally, everything you wear from head to toe should be a new purchase. Chinese people also like to clean the whole house to prepare for the festival and welcome the New year in cleanliness. In fact, the importance of the New Year Day and active involvement of the Chinese people in it is to the extent that it is ‘incredibly difficult to get a train ticket’ on the very day of celebration. ‘You can rent a girl friend to take home to your family.’ Everybody stays up to watch the same TV gala and everyone is required to ‘eat fish as part of the New Year’s Eve meal.’ (See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

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THISDAY WEEKLY GUIDE TO 2019

Okowa

Masari

Ugwuanyi

Obaseki

The Road to 2019: Flashpoints to Watch (XVII) Clearly, the countdown to the February 16 presidential election has begun, writes Olawale Olaleye

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he presidential election is less than five weeks away and all the trappings of an election fever are beginning to manifest. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is set to release its guidelines and voter’s register tomorrow, although that is quite generating some controversy on its own. INEC hasn’t handled that a bit transparently, while the opposition is asking for the minimum standard in the management of the 2019 election. Of course, the blame game has continued too in earnest. The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) recently accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the presidency of plotting to rig the elections. And this came at a time the appointment of Amina Zakari, a cousin of President Muhammadu Buhari, to a key position in the election plan is heating up the polity in the most impossible ways. The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has not relented in its hard push towards the countdown to next month. It took a swipe at the VicePresident, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, when it said the professor of law was hawking N10,000 in the market. Buhari’s candidacy got a curious boost in the week when controversial priest, Father Ejike Mbaka, who is the priest of the Adoration Ministry, Enugu, said the president deserved to be supported for fighting corruption. In the same vein, former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu, threw his weight behind Buhari’s election with the donation of 40 buses to the cause. However, the situation in the Social Democratic party has not been fascinating as the duo of Donald Duke and Jerry Ghana have continued to

slug it out over who between them is the authentic presidential candidate of the party. It is still a matter for the court. But in spite of the growing despair ahead of the elections, some Chief Executive Officers of companies in the country predicted bright economic prospects in the New Year, thus opening up 2019 for greater possibilities. What about the political dynamics? Let’s find out what has been happening in the states.

DELTA Occupying the Turf Either for strategic reasons or politically compelling needs, the PDP in Delta State had left the stage for the opposition APC to bounce off what it was capable of doing for some time. There is no debating the fact that the state is predominantly PDP’s and so, staying away for the APC to express some liberty did not diminish its place. But after all said and done, the PDP appears to have returned to take its place in the body polity, when it kicked off the governorship re-election campaign of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa. The flag-off was however sealed when a former governor of the state and political godfather, Chief James Ibori, pledged support for Okowa. Sadly, the APC has not recovered from the post-primary trauma, which has left it nearly lifeless as the party has since fallen into factions. If election holds today in Delta, except being miserly with the truth, it’s the PDP’s to lose.

KATSINA A Battle on Buhari’s Home Soil Little did Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State know that his crying out about the increasing insecurity in the state was going to count against him at a time like this, when everything is likely to fall victim of political denotation. Not long after crying out that killings

in the state had become unbearable, Secretary to the State Government, Mustapha Inuwa also said the incessant kidnapping, banditry and other heinous crimes bedeviling the state could affect a hitch-free election in the state. Unknown to both, they just armed the opposition PDP with a tool to take them down. The state Chairman of the PDP, Hon. Salisu Yusuf Majigiri, immediately accused the APC government in the state of spending billions of naira “without securing” the lives and property of the citizenry. Although the Senior Special Assistant to Masari on Media, Abdu Labaran Malumfashi described the allegations as “baseless and of no value,” this development has since changed the tide in the home zone of the president, which many would have thought should attract first line attention in terms of everything. But if insecurity is overwhelming in the home of the president, then, issues for campaign had carved themselves out. What this means in essence is that whilst many might have been looking at what shape the election in Katsina would take, they probably have to express more restraint in their new submissions. ENUGU Engaging the Consolidation Phase Enugu State chapter of the PDP is leaving nothing to chance in the bid to return to power next year. Indeed, the party is determined to make a clean sweep of the 2019 polls in the State. Part of the efforts put into this is mass mobilsation and fundraising at all levels in the state to ensure robust campaign. The Director-General of the Enugu State Campaign Organisation, Dr. Charles Egumgbe, who shared this position after a strategy meeting with

all stakeholders in the state stated the obvious, when he said Enugu was a predominantly PDP state. There is hardly a need for the PDP to fret over Enugu as it is with a few other states. Although it may not be a walkover as the opposition is expected to flex muscles too, the PDP is very much on the ground and the election is clearly the party’s to lose.

EDO Getting Down to Business For a long time, Edo has stayed away from the shenanigans going on in other parts of the country as far as election is concerned. It is however understandable. There won’t be a governorship election this year. But other categories of election are on the timetable. And so, whilst others were busy fighting it out, Edo was busy with governance, But now that the election is a few weeks away, it appears Governor Godwin Obaseki is about to take a deserving break from governance for politics. This indication was unmistaken when last week the governor took the campaign to the doorsteps of the electorate in the 12 wards in Oredo Local Government Area, with an assurance that a vote for the ruling party would guarantee effective representation of voters at both the state and national levels. The opposition does not appear keen about this election. Perhaps, it is the reason Obaseki is having a field day, somewhat. But do not be shocked if the tide changes tomorrow. The 2019 election is clearly a popularity test for the Edo governor and his party, APC.

PLATEAU Road to Self-disenfranchisement? INEC, last week, disclosed that a total of 309, 000 Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) were yet to be claimed by

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THISDAY WEEKLY GUIDE TO 2019

Flashpoints to Watch (XVII) registered voters in Plateau State. Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Mr. Hussaini Halilu Pai, at a stakeholders’ meeting with chairmen of political parties, said INEC had successful registered over 500,000 people between April 2017 and August, 2018, out of which 150,000 had collected their PVCs, leaving 309,000 uncollected. That sounds like some deliberate attempt by the Plateau electorate to selfdisenfranchise themselves, although this is being linked to recent killings in the state, which had created a level of apathy, and which might have compelled people to stay back in their homes. There is no gainsaying the fact that Plateau is going to be a battleground. While the opposition sees the government as take-able especially with Jeremiah Useni as its candidate, the ruling APC is still confident it is in charge with Governor Simon Lalong. The jury is still out though.

elections arrive.

KWARA Uncertain APC, ConďŹ dent PDP

Lalong

Fayemi

EKITI Combating a New Challenge That Ekiti is not partaking in the governorship election is no longer news. It newly just elected one, Governor Kayode Fayemi on July 14, 2018. However, it is playing a major role in other categories of elections. However, while the state was preparing to do the election battle, another challenge surfaced: combating kidnappers and armed robbers. This is believed to be compounding efforts geared towards the election. Thus, the Ekiti State Government has since taken up the challenge, especially clearing the bushes on the highways in order not to give a hiding place to suspected kidnappers and armed robbers to perpetrate their nefarious activities. But knowing Governor Fayemi and what he is capable of doing, observers insist that this would not distract him from delivering in the election and Ekiti, being one of the South-west states has a role in defining the success or failure of the presidential election.

ZAMFARA Playing Smart amid Fear of Banditry Zamfara State has had to battle many afflictions since the contentious party primaries, which made sure the APC in the state did not field candidates for any elective office. This situation has heightened stakes in the state and so, the election in Zamfara is going to be tough and stiff. It is not unexpected that the Governor, Abdul-Aziz Yari would do everything humanly possible to remain relevant and ensure his game his tight. It is for same reason that when the Zamfara State House of Assembly extended the tenure of all the 14 local government chairmen in the state by three months, smart students of politics knew what that meant. He had simply recruited his foot soldiers for the election in a few weeks. Although it does not seem like his deputy, Ibrahim Wakkala is in a place of comfort, Yari is going for broke in this election. The indications are crystal clear.

Since the ruling by an Ilorin High Court, sacking the Hon. Bashir Bolarinwaled APC in Kwara State, all have not been the same again for the party, because of the many implications of the ruling for the party, including stripping candidate Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of his status as the APC candidate in the state. Further compounding the situation for the APC is the constant position of INEC, which said it would recognise and uphold court rulings at all times. The state of the state has thus elevated the status of the PDP, which appears to be in a place of comfort now. Indeed, it has taken a notch up, the rating of the leader of the party in the state, Dr. Bukola Saraki. Truth is, unlike the insinuation being nursed in certain quarters, Kwara is still in the hands of Saraki.

RIVERS Irretrievably Divided against Itself

Yari

Agbaje

BORNO When Reality Dawns

BENUE A New Movement against Buhari?

In spite of the claim to technically defeating insurgency by government, an average observer of the polity knew it was all eyes concocted to stay afloat. Indeed, governors of the most affected states are also largely complicit, because they had been helping to conceal the truth in the name of either being loyal to the president or being a true party man. However, the chicken came home to roost last week, when the Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, admitted that the security situation in his troubled state was worsening. But he still said he could not blame President Buhari for the situation, because he now has unfettered access to the president unlike during the administration of former president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, when he was treated as an enemy of the presidency. Well, he still seems to be mealymouthing with some truth. But whatever it is, the truth stands out from the rubble and the state of the state would not be played down, when the election finally comes knocking. Election in the North East, not Just Borno is going to be keen and interesting.

Benue stands out as one state, where the opposition against the president is collective. Even those in the same party with the president may be unable to come out to openly oppose him, they all seemed to have come to a conclusion that the government of Buhari is not for them especially, given the unceasing killing of their people by suspected herdsmen. It was not stunning to many last week when some of the heavyweights in the state in the persons of two former Senate Presidents, Senator David Mark and Dr. Iyorchia Ayu; Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom and a former Governor of Benue State Dr. Gabriel Suswam unanimously urged the people of the state to reject the Buhari-led APC for what they described as the failure of the party to meet the yearning and aspirations of the people. Truth is that Benue might have become impregnable for the APC given the state of the state. This has been made more difficult with the current assemblage against Buhari in the state. Benue has never pretended to being a flashpoint and it is ready to live that calibration in a few weeks when the

Since the Appeal Court judgment, which refused to recognise the Ojukaye Flag-Amachree-led executive of the APC in Rivers State, the party has remained in a serious state of confusion as the two main factions of the APC continue to lay claim to the party and governorship ticket of the party in the state. Senator Magnus Abe said recently that his governorship was ordained and that it was the reason things have been working slowly in his favour. He was hopeful that what would happen at the end of the day would be a repeat of the circumstances that threw up the Rotimi Amaechi governorship in 2007. Unfortunately, he has since been properly educated that he might be daydreaming. Besides, Amaechi and Tonye Cole, governorship candidate of the party, have remained confident that what appears to be confusing Abe is a simple legal technicality, which he chose to misinterpret. Rivers never misses its spot in the scheme of things especially at election periods and this would not be an exception.

LAGOS Keeping the Campaign Simple Governorship candidate of the PDP in Lagos State, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, said last week that he and his colleagues should keep the debate about the Lagos governorship strictly issue-based. That is sure a good move, given that Lagos is both metropolitan and cosmopolitan. Interestingly, his APC counterpart, Babajide Sanwo-Olu is not one to run away from issue-based debate, therefore, it makes the both of them. He, like Agbaje, has proven to have the capacity to analyse issues and sell same to a willing electorate with an open mind. Certainly, the Lagos campaign must be kept simple and mature. The place of Lagos in the body polity is such that cannot be traded on any feeble account, the reason it always stands on the strength of excellence.

Situating the Presidential Run

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n moderating the tempo of campaign, two things President Buhari said last week that were instructive are that one, no election should be a do-or-die affair and two, approaching the election with fear was needless. Honestly, for once, the president was believed by many to have spoken true to his status as a leader. What is left is walking his talk. Not many believed he would uphold his words, but a majority is willing to give

him the benefit of the doubt and waiting to use that to properly situate his integrity profile. Regardless, the PDP has continued to lampoon the APC, wondering what manner of vice-president hawks ten thousand naira at different market places in the name of sharing tradermoni as an economic agenda. The campaigns are climaxing and tension is rising in equal tempo. Indeed, 2019 is finally here.

Buhari

Atiku

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BUSINESS

Buhari

08033204315, 08111813084

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EmeďŹ ele

Expectations, Projections for the Economy in 2019 As 2019 begins with hopes and aspirations, there are expectations from the federal government to better the economy with a view to making it have more meaningful impact on Nigerians. Kunle Aderinokun looks at the key indicators that will characterise the economy and determine its fortunes this year

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he economy appears to have lost its sparkle; its growth has dwindled. And there are palpable fears that the effect of political activities in the lead-up to the general elections, scheduled to commence on February 16, could overshadow whatever gains the economy may muster during this period, thus, compounding its woes. As it stands, the federal government has abandoned the economy for politics and the economy is already bearing the brunt. After five quarters of recession, which the economy entered in the second quarter of 2016, having plummeted to a gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of -2.06 per cent, the economy exited the quagmire in the second quarter of 2017 with a GDP growth rate of 0.55 per cent, which was revised upward to 0.72 per cent, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. Then, the economy turned the corner as it grew at 1.40 per cent in the next quarter- that is, the third quarter of the year, and sustained the improvement recording a GDP growth rate of 2.11 per cent in the fourth quarter of the year. However, in the first quarter and second quarter of 2018, the economy reversed the rising streak as evidenced in the slowed growth rates . NBS data showed that the GDP growth rate fell to 1.95 per cent in the first quarter of 2018 from the 2.11 per cent it achieved at the end of 2017. It dropped further to 1.50 per cent in the second quarter. The agency noted that the clashes between farmers and herdsmen, which took its heavy toll on agriculture, mainly dragged down the growth rate during the quarter under review. Agriculture, being a major component of the non-oil sector was badly affected. However, with improvement in the non-oil sector, the

economy received an impetus for growth, which pushed the GDP growth rate to 1.81 per cent. According to NBS, growth in the third quarter was largely helped by the non-oil sector, which contributed 90.62 per cent to the total GDP, while the oil sector contributed 9.38 per cent to growth in the review period. Oil GDP was reported to have contracted by -2.91 per cent compared to -3.95 per cent in second quarter and 23.93 per cent in third quarter 2017. Despite the improvement in growth rate in the third quarter of 2018, the economy is still experiencing slowdown and was recently put on red alert of slipping into another recession over weak economic growth. According to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, who raised the alarm at a recent Monetary Policy Committee meeting, the economy may be under threat of relapse into a recession, which it recently exited from with fanfare, given the weak economic growth of the second quarter of 2018. Emefiele also raised concerns about threat to efforts to curb inflation, stabilise exchange rate and build reserves, considering the macroeconomic fundamentals at the period. The consumer price index, which measures inflation dropped from 11.28 per cent in September 2018 to 11.26 per cent in October 2018 and rose again to 11.28 per cent in November 2018, but when compared with the levels in the corresponding year of 2017, when it dropped from 15.98 per cent in September to 15.91 per cent in October and 15.90 per cent in November, it was not where the monetary authority had envisaged it would be. The apex bank has the onerous task of bringing inflation to its targeted single digit, especially in an election year. Also, of note as a potential contributor

to relapsing the economy into recession, as pointed out by the CBN governor, was the delay in budget implementation. A situation, where three months after presidential assent and about three months to the end of 2018, there was no budget implementation was unhealthy for the economy. According to the apex bank, long years of fiscal policy lag had contributed to the weakness in the economy. Most of the inimical factors identified by Emefiele at that time are still at play. Given this scenario, as the New Year begins, economic managers have the arduous task of resolving those issues as well as ensuring the economy not only continues to grow, but also record appreciable and inclusive growth. While 2019 is an unusual year, being an election year, more, but critical efforts would be required by handlers to put the economy on a sure footing with a viewing to avoiding a relapse into recession. The federal government has proposed a budget of N8.83 trillion for the 2019 fiscal year. Nigerians would not accept any excuse for delay in its passage and poor Implementation. The executive and the National Assembly should therefore quickly address the grey areas and harmonise their positions so that the appropriation bill could be passed into law and implemented in earnest. The budget has been predicated on an oil-price benchmark of $60 per barrel. In recent times, oil prices have been sliding at the international market and currently stood around $54 per barrel. The falling oil prices have been identified as threat to implementation of the budget and as such, the relevant authorities would do well to peg the budget at the most appropriate benchmark. As part of its strategy to mobilise revenue, the federal government through the ministry of finance, in July 2017, created Voluntary Assets

and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), a tax amnesty , which was expected to rein in $1 billion from tax evaders and avoiders. By the end of the scheme, one year later, with only about N30 billion, the proceeds fell short of the government target, but the scheme was able to swell the tax database by five million to 19 million from 14 million. The government is expected to follow up on this initiative as well as intensify the revenue mobilisation from more alternative sources than oil and borrowing to fund the budget . As at the end of 2018, the total collection by the Federal Inland Revenue Service was about N7 trillion. Besides, the federal government is expected to review the power sector transition market policy performance this year after its first five years of implementation. It is obvious that this present administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari, which is already pre-occupied with politicking ahead of the general elections, would not be able to solve the burgeoning unemployment problem. With unemployed Nigerians now at 20.9 million, having risen by 17.6 million in nine months, one of the major tasks before the incoming administration is to tackle the factors causing unemployment or to put it more aptly, provide employment opportunities in the economy and tame the rising scourge of unemployment. Besides, Nigerians are anxiously waiting for positive outcomes from the talks, between the Nigeria Labour Congress and federal government over the N30,000 minimum wage, that have resumed and are expected to be brought to a logical conclusion before the general elections. Experts But in the view of the Chief Executive

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Expectations, Projections for the Economy in 2019 Cont’d from Pg. 23 Officer of Financial Derivatives Company Ltd, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, political jostling and the elections would becloud the talks on the minimum wage. Rewane also expressed the opinion that political activities and elections would becloud 2019 budget talks by the legislature and the first monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting this month. He, however, predicted that MTN Nigeria would float the long-awaited initial public offer (IPO) and get its shares listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange. Also, in his projections, Director, Union Capita Market Ltd, Mr. Egie Akpata, posited that 2019 would likely be more challenging for the Nigerian economy than 2018. According to him, most variables which were in the country’s favour last year, but not capitalised on, have reversed. “Oil prices, local interest rates, inflation, stock market indices, political environment and other variables that were positive for most of 2018 are now negative and will remain so for most of 2019.� On the key areas that are likely to impact the entire economy, Akpata noted that in the aspect of government finances, it was unfortunate that for the federal government , tax revenues could be generated by threat or decree. “The VAIDS programme fell far short of expectation and so did many other initiatives to diversify government revenues away from oil. These failures are not surprising. Individuals and companies have to be financially buoyant to pay a lot of tax. The reality is that most sectors of the economy are in a recession and profitability has been badly eroded. “Self-inflicted damage from Apapa ports congestion, inability to solve the power crises, government crowding out the private sector in the debt markets, insecurity in large sections of the country amongst others mean that corporate profitability is unlikely to improve and hence better non-oil revenue for the government will take a while to materialise.� Akpata added that, the federal and state governments had shown that they were unable to reduce their costs and instead had resorted to massive borrowing, particularly at the federal level. This borrowing, he pointed out, was almost entirely to fund overheads. “Unfortunately, this produces very high market borrowing rates which very few private companies can afford. As long as the economy continues to have a risk free rate close to 20 per cent, it is unlikely that there will be massive credit to the private sector to drive the investment needed to grow the economy at the required levels.� “Until there is a political force to stop government simply borrowing to fund overheads, FGN debt will continue to grow at an alarming rate. Since a default is very unlikely, the market will happily give the FGN all the debt it wants to pay its bills today. Repayment is largely a problem for future governments to worry about,� he also submitted. He argued that the presented 2019 budget showed that “it is business as usual – unrealistic revenue targets, huge borrowing and waste on fuel subsidy. None of these are a positive for government finances,� stating that, the ongoing minimum wage battle with the NLC would likely result in some kind of wage increase, which will put more pressure on government finances. On interest rates, Akpata believed, high level of government borrowing to fund deficits would put upward pressure on interest rates. “Lower oil prices in 2019 than 2018 means the CBN will attempt to convince foreign portfolio investors (FPI) to bring in their funds into the economy to invest in government securities. This FPI is needed to stabilize the naira, very much needed in a period of lower oil prices. It seems the interest rate needed to achieve the level of impact on foreign reserves will be higher than the current yield of 17.65 per cent on 1 year TBills. It would not be surprising if yields get up to 20 per cent around the time of the February/March elections.� Besides, the director said the CBN, from recent experience, has seen that Naira stability was more beneficial to the economy on the short term in dealing with inflation. “The CBN has opted for high interest rates in exchange for a stable Naira. Some analysts argue that a lower interest rate

A bridge under construction...projects of this nature are highly capial intensive

to make credit more available to the private sector would be better for GDP growth. “ “However, given the huge appetite for borrowing by the government, lower rates would just lead to huge government borrowing to fund overheads. Besides, most Nigerian individuals and corporates don’t have access to any kind of credit. Where they do, it is to ‘shylock’ lenders whose all-in rates are from 40 to 400 per cent per annum. So having low interest rates, runaway inflation and a rapidly declining Naira are unlikely to provide any net benefit to the economy; at least that is the CBN view,� he added. He also believed, it would be very difficult for the CBN to keep the Naira around the current N360/$ over 2019, but added that, “if the current CBN Governor is given another 5-year term effective end of May 2019, it is possible that exchange rates remain close to these levels for most of 2019.� “That automatically means that very high (around 20 per cent level) interest rates will be with us for a while. It is theoretically difficult to explain how an economy with around 12 per cent inflation can hold its exchange rate steady against the USD whose home country has inflation of below 3 per cent. This inflation differential has brought sharp devaluation in most emerging/frontier economies in 2018. Somehow, Nigeria has defied economic logic for nearly 2 years. The odds are that before the end of 2019, there will be a material devaluation of the Naira in the parallel market or I&E window.� Regarding infrastructure deficit, Akpata noted that despite all the talk about borrowing to fund massive infrastructure development,

there was very little evidence that this was actually happening. “None of the obvious major projects that can be done today have been fixed – Apapa ports and environs, Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Second Niger Bridge etc. The sad reality is that the federal government simply cannot fund any major infrastructure development with the current finances.� “Unfortunately, the current government has not been successful in attracting large private capital to the infrastructure sector largely due to no clear plan, philosophy or programmes to do so effectively. Incidents like the MTN saga only help to chase away the few brave foreign investors willing to gamble on Nigeria. A re-election of the current government certainly guarantees continuation of the current trajectory – no private capital to infrastructure and hence to significant infrastructure development,� he added. In the same vein, an economist and Chief Executive Officer, The CFG Advisory Ltd, Adetilewa Adebajo, lamented that the challenges of the last three years had been “the inability of the government to come out of a self-inflicted recession and providing the policy and stimulus for sustainable economic growth.� “It’s no longer news that as a result of our economy growing below our rate of population, we have put 100 million Nigerians into poverty compounded by 35 per cent unemployment rate amongst the youth. The debt profile has also doubled with the last three years from 11 to 22 trillion Naira resulting in an unsustainable 55 per cent of

Unfortunately, the current government has not been successful in attracting large private capital to the infrastructure sector largely due to no clear plan, philosophy or programmes to do so effectively. Incidents like the MTN saga only help to chase away the few brave foreign investors willing to gamble on Nigeria

revenues going towards debt service,� the chief executive noted. Given this scenario, Adebajo suggested the review of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) to “reflect the current realities as the projections from the budget have also been affected by the current slump on oil prices.� The budget which has not been passed already, he added, required additional deficit financing, which “is a challenge to the government.� “Going forward this year government needs to focus more on privatisation and concessions to enable it plug the holes and address its several fiscal challenges. On the other hand it’s time to begin to consider and implement the findings of the Oronsaye report to right-size and consolidate government,� he also proposed. Giving his own projections, Managing Director, Investment Banking, Cordros Capital Ltd, Femi Ademola, believed if the oil price stabilises, the effect will be sufficient to ease pressure on the Naira in 2019, especially with the recent CBN-managed approach to the market. According to him, the foreign exchange reserve at about US$42 billion provides some comfort for stability of the foreign exchange. The downside risk relates to the upcoming general election in 2019. Ademola also believed the clamour for completely floating the Naira would reduce demand pressure on the exchange rate, especially coming from speculations. He, however, added that, “As an import depended country, this would lead to increased costs of raw materials and finished products and consequent increase in general price levels in the short term. “ “While this may force us to consider domestic substitutes, the structural defect in the economy means that imports may continue to be cheaper than locally made goods until we bridge the infrastructure gaps. This means that the fundamental FX weakening pressures remain and the CBN would need to deploy the FX reserves to support the demand until the pressure wanes,� he posited. The chief executive noted that regardless of who wins the forthcoming election, reviving the economy remained of critical importance. According to him, all the sectors of the economy must be supported to function at optimal capacity and especially the power sector, which has the capacity to unleash huge potential for sustainable economic growth.

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Mambilla Power Project and the Unanswered Questions With the controversy trailing the handling of the $5.7billion Mambilla hydropower project, which is expected to reduce the nation’s power problem to the barest minimum, Raheem Akingbolu writes that the project has not only suffered a setback, but is causing the country a huge loss to litigation and other avoidable expenses

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he Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, stirred up a hornet’s nest recently while reviewing the power sector, with his dismissal of a Nigeria firm, Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited (SPTCL) and the company’s involvement in Mambilla hydropower project. Though the minister admitted that the project was not just a power project, but economic driver, he argued that there was no time it was expressly stated that SPTCL was awarded any contract. He also stated that there was no point for intermediary in a government to government relationship as it concerns Nigeria and China in the case under review. Fashola stated that the project was an investment in infrastructure and that he couldn’t remember in short time, when Nigeria dedicated as huge as $5.7billion to such project. Among other opportunities, he stated that during and after the construction must have been completed, local contractors, SMEs and players in the agricultural sector, who require irrigation to survive, in some part of the country, would have been hugely impacted. The merit of the minister’s submission notwithstanding, many analysts have argued that he was unfair to the Nigerian firm – SPTCL, who is believed to have nurtured the project from the conception period. It has also been argued that the minister’s decision to puncture the integrity of the firm was a calculated attempt to call the dog a bad name in order to hang it. The promise, the project Among other promises, the Buhari/Osinbajo administration had assured Nigerians during the buildup to the 2015 election and after inauguration that it would do everything humanly possible to surmount the infrastructural challenges facing the country, especially in the area of electricity. It was not however a surprise when the administration decided to revisit the Mambilla Power Project that has remained in comatose for over a decade. But with the latest development and the legal crisis that has set stakeholders in the project against one another, it may as well become another failure of a nation. Hope was high in November 2017, when Fashola, announced that President Muhammadu Buhari has approved $5.792 billion (about N1.1trillion) for the construction of the 3,050 megawatts Mambilla Hydro-Power Project at Gembu in Taraba. To many people, who heave a sigh of relief their belief was that the country has finally broken the jinx of power failure stalling the economic development in many sectors. As the news broke that partners on the project and supervising ministries are no more on the same page, many questions are being asked over what exactly went wrong, when and where. The worst part of the issue has remained the experts’ view that the federal government is at risk of a $2.3 billion fine in arbitration over an alleged breach of contract in the project. The project, a 3,050-megawatt hydropower facility, has stalled as a result of legal and funding crises after SPTCL, a local content partner, was reportedly sidelined in the project by the ministry of power, works and housing. In many correspondences, the firm has insisted that it was awarded the contract to build, operate and transfer (BOT) in 2003, has dragged the federal government and its Chinese partners before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris, France. A UK arbitration court recently awarded nearly $9 billion against Nigeria over a breach of contract with Process and Industrial Developments Limited (P&ID), earlier given the green light to build a natural gas development refinery. Meanwhile, the China Exim Bank, which is expected to provide 85 per cent of the joint funding with the federal government for the Mambilla project, has insisted on compliance with due process and terms of the November 2017 engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract signed with the partners before releasing funds. Chief Executive Officer of SPTCL, Mr. Leno Adesanya, in a letter dated March 31, 2017 to Fashola, had accused the minister of reneging on his promise to support the project. Adesanya said between 2003 and 2009, SPTCL had spent millions of dollars with financial and legal consultants to raise about $6 billion for the execution of the project, yet the company has suffered a lot over the years “through improper administrative interruptions and interventions.� Other things that have called for attention include the failure of Federal Government to comply fully with the Settlement and GPE Agreement(s) of Nov 2012 between Sunrise and FG, which is the basis for the ICC Arbitration. Besides, China with its $3 trillion in reserves and 6-10 per cent annual growth rate has called for amicable resolutions in their defence of the Arbitration proceedings. Again, the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami, who has written six memos urging the federal government

Fashola

Malami

to honour the agreement with Sunrise is believed to have made a sudden u-turn allegedly out of the fear of some powerful people in government, and they advised AGF in writing to negotiate an out-of-court settlement with Sunrise because of existing 2012 agreements.

Yar’Adua when it enmeshed in another controversy over the way a Presidential adviser allegedly took millions of dollars in bribes, and eventually led to the removal of the official and the termination of the $1.46billion civil works contract. In a letter dated June 20, 2017 to the then Acting President Yemi Osinbajo requesting his intervention in the matter, Adesanya accused Chief of Staff, to President Muhammadu Buhari, Mr. Abba Kyari of taking the unilateral decision of directing the ministry of power to sideline the company from the contract against the advice of Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation (AGF)In the letter dated July 24, 2017 to Osinbajo, with a copy to the chief of staff, Malami had said SPTCL should be engaged as a local content partner on the project “as a means of accommodating its prior contractual interests on the project.� In another letter dated August 17, 2017 to the company, the attorney-general of the federation said he issued the previous opinion on the project based on the limited materials provided at the time. He added that there was no requisite FEC approval for the project. The question being asked in some quarters over this position is that why parties to the project invited the company for out-of- court settlement, when it was not engaged as being claimed.

In the beginning As part of the plans to solve the perennial problem in the power sector, the Obasanjo/Atiku administration had proposed Mambilla Project in the early part of its first term in office. According to a document obtained by THISDAY, prior to the official tender process, a Nigerian company, Sunrise Power Transmission Co. Limited assumed the front seat in promoting the project. To harmonise all stakeholders in the project, the firm had reportedly engaged the offices of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as well as the Nigerian Embassy in China and that led to the first state visit of then President Obasanjo to China in 2001 and Vice President Atiku in 2002. It was thereafter that a bidding process was opened for the project and the Ad-Hoc Inter-Ministerial Committee recommended Sunrise and its Chinese Partners. On April 7, 2003, the committee wrote the President for approval to officially issue an award letter. Therefore, on May 22, 2003, the then Federal Ministry of Power and Steel (Now Part of the new Ministry of Power, Works and Housing) issued a letter of Award to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited in consortium with North China Power Group as Technical Partners. The contract was for the construction of a 3, 960MW Hydroelectric Power Project in Mambilla on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) arrangement for a provisional $6 dollars. Sunrise accepted the offer. In August 20, 2003, Sinohydro, which has its principal place of business at no.1 Ertao Biaguang Road, Xuanwu District, Beijing, PR China, North China Power Engineering Co. Ltd with its business address as 24a Huangsi District, Beijing and Sunrise located at Oluwa (Fowler) Road, Ikoyi, Lagos Nigeria, signed a contract to work together on what was then the 3, 960MW project. Sunrise engaged Sinohydro to construct the project on an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) basis. However, shortly after it has begun work, the firm received a shocking letter on September 3, 2003 from the Ministry of Energy (FMOE) claiming that the Federal Executive Council did not approve the memo recommending Sunrise for the project and directing Sunrise to tender for the project when it is advertised. After all attempts made to resolve the issue failed, Sunrise and North China had engaged the services of a prominent Nigerian Lawyer, Chief Afe Babalola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, to demand compensation. In a letter written by Chief Babalola dated February 4, 2005, and directed to the government, the lawyer had argued that the ministry could not seek to repudiate the contract as it had attempted to do in the Ministry’s letter, stating that not after Sunrise and North China have incurred expenses on the preparation incidental to the execution of the project. The crisis reached its peak under the Late President Umaru

Is it a case of sabotage Considering Buhari’s no nonsense posture and zero tolerance to corruption, the recent development and power play among stakeholders in the project, is already setting tongues wagging with many members of the public asking if sabotage is again at play to frustrate the project. Some observers, who believe that the project, which is being undertaken by the Federal Ministry of Power, Construction and Housing, with the help of Chinese investments if completed, will be Nigeria’s biggest power plant as it is expected to produce approximately 4.7 billion kWh of electricity a year and generate up to 50,000 local jobs during the construction phase, have continued to advise government not to allow the dream to die to needless political meddlesome. But due to alleged issues of compliance with due process, funding for the project has stalled as the China Exim Bank which is to provide 85 per cent of the required funding for the project has insisted on compliance with due process and the terms of an EPC contract signed with the Chinese JV Partners on November 2017 before releasing funds. According to THISDAY findings, in a passionate move to avert any major problem that may put the project on permanent hold, Adesanya has written series of letters to the relevant authorities to ask that the project be rescued. Adesanya had written to Osinbajo while he was acting as president and Fashola as well as a petition to the International Court of Arbitration in Paris over arbitrary non-compliance with the contract signed with Sunrise He had in a petition to the President Buhari called for justice and the intervention of the president in saving the project as his company was removed as a local content partner to the project as a result of a unilateral decision.

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˚ Folashade Afolabi, 210,000,000 units of ordinary shares or 15.5 percent while Nigerian citizens and associations will own 406,074,000 ordinary shares or 30.0 percent. Allotment According to the prospectus to the Offer, “The Ordinary Shares being offered for sale will be allotted on the basis of equality between the three hundred and sixty (360) Federal constituencies and the Federal Capital Territory. However, shares may be allotted from Federal constituencies with under-subscription to those with over-subscription’. “Subject to the above, applicants shall be allotted the minimum subscription units as specified in the prospectus and then the residual balance shall be pro-rated i.e. all Applicants would be allotted equal proportion of the amount applied for. Furthermore, 10 per cent of the Ordinary Shares being offered for sale will be reserved for staff of SAHCO (in accordance with section 4.2 of the SSPA and section 5 (3) of the Public Enterprises (Privatisation and Commercialisation) Act No. 28 of 1999) under an Employee Stock Ownership Plan to be set up and administered by a Trustee�, the prospectus explained.

Cargoes being moved into an aircraft

As SAHCO’s N1.8bn Divestment Draws Nigh Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc, formerly Skypower Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL), a subsidiary of Sifax Group, is in the process of transferring 30 per cent of its shares to the Nigerian investing public. As the arrangement gradually comes to a close; Bamidele Famoofo x-rays the opportunity in the Offer to would-be subscribers. Background kyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) Plc formerly Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL), member of the Sifax Group, was incorporated as a private limited liability company on April 22, 2009 in Nigeria to do the business of aviation support services with principal activities spanning the provision of services including aircraft/ramp handling, cargo handling, passenger handling, premium lounge, aviation security and baggage reconciliation. Sifax Group, a fast-growing conglomerate in 2009, through SAHCO, then acquired the Federal Government’s 100 percent equity stake in Skypower, an aviation ground handling services entity, under the privatisation programme of the Nigerian Government. Following the acquisition, Skypower became a wholly owned subsidiary of SAHCO, with its operations taken on by the company Under the new management, SAHCO has undergone noticeable transformations in nine years. For instance, today, it is an ISAGO (IATA) and RA3 (European Union) certified Ground Handling Company with significant investments in state-of-the-art aviation ground handling apparatus, manpower trainings and excellent customer services with recently completed ultra-modern cargo import and export warehouses.

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Based on information made available by the management of SAHCO, they are not relenting on their efforts to further reposition the company for greater performance. “The company is further determined to continually deliver excellent and speedy Aviation Ground Handling services to the fulfillment of its customers and the Aviation industry in general,� a statement from the management disclosed. Synergy Just three months ago, SAHCO undertook a business combination with Skypower wherein both companies were consolidated with SAHCO as the surviving entity, which became effective on October 2, 2018. The company was subsequently converted to a public limited liability company on October 5, 2018. The authorised share capital of the company is N750, 000,000.00 comprising 1,500,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each. The entire issued and fully paid up share capital of the company has been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in compliance with provisions of the ISA. Purpose of the Offer The purpose of the Initial Public Offer according to the prospectus of the Offer is to enable the Vendors i.e. the three key shareholders in SAHCO Plc, namely Sifax Shipping Company Limited, Barrister (Dr.) Afolabi Taiwo, Chairman Sifax Group, and Mrs. Folashade Afolabi to divest 406,074,000 Ordinary Shares of

50 Kobo each representing 30 percent of the entire issued and fully paid up Ordinary Shares of SAHCO in partial compliance with the terms of the Share Sales and Purchase Agreement (SSPA) as approved by Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE). Arrangements for the Offer At the Extra-Ordinary General Meeting of the Company held on 24 September, 2018, the Directors of SAHCO proposed and the shareholders approved an Offer for Sale of 406,074,000 Ordinary Shares of 50 kobo each to the general investing public to enable the Vendors to divest 30 percent equity stake in SAHCO in partial compliance with the terms of the SSPA (as approved by BPE). Details of the Offer The Offer is aimed at redistributing the share ownership structure of the Company which allows Nigerian citizens and Associations to become part-owner of the growing business. To achieve the goal, the company has invited applications for a total of 406,074,000 Ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at the Offer Price of N4.65 per share. “Upon completion of the Offer and assuming that the shares on Offer are fully subscribed, SAHCO’s ownership structure is expected to be as set out as follows: Sifax Shipping Company Limited, 385,000,000 ordinary share representing 28.4 percent; Barrister (Dr.) Afolabi Taiwo, 352,506,000 ordinary shares or 26.0 percent; Mrs.

Use of Proceeds The net proceeds of the Offer, estimated at N1,834,737,675.27 after deducting the total cost of the Offer, estimated at N53,506,424.73 (representing 2.83% of the Offer), will be disbursed to the Vendors in consideration for the shares divested under the Offer. “Since the Offer is being undertaken in partial compliance with provisions of the SSPA (as approved by BPE), SAHCO will not receive any of the proceeds arising from the sale of the shares�, prospectus to the offer mentioned. Operating Performance Since the privatisation of the company, the company has grown consistently from a revenue of N2.31billion and total assets of N3.33billion in 2009 to an annual revenue of N4.86billion and total assets of N14.54billion in 2017, representing 111 per cent and 337 percent growth rates respectively. In the last five years (based on its audited financial statements from 2013 to 2017), SAHCO has maintained a stable operating performance with a compounded annual revenue growth rate of 4.43 per cent as well as improved profitability evinced by an average operating and profit margin of 12.1 per cent and 11.6 per cent respectively. The company’s management noted that following the implementation of a number of turnaround initiatives post-privatisation, it had built strong competence as one of the leading aviation ground handling companies in Nigeria growing its market share from 21 per cent in 2009 to over 40 percent in 2017. “This growth has been largely driven by SAHCO’s deliberate strategy to deepen its technical capacity required for the sector with significant investment in personnel development, purchase of modern equipment, infrastructural development and customer services, which has helped reposition the company to meet the expectations and needs of its clientele�, the management stated. Future Strategy SAHCO’s future strategy is to create long-term shareholder value through the profitable operation and expansion of its business beyond Nigeria and into other West African markets with a vision to become the leading provider of passenger, ramp and cargo handling services in the West Africa sub-region. “In order to achieve this objective, SAHCO seeks to pursue growth and opportunities consistent with its business operations by focusing on operational excellence and efficiency, enhanced service delivery, strategic partnerships and alliances (that would enhance its capability both in the domestic market and globally) as well as strategic investments, amongst others,� the management revealed.

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BUSINESS/MEDIA

Prospect Rises for Nigeria’s Creative Industry Omolabake Fasogbon‚e~Ă¸ĂœĂ˜nes‚Ă&#x;heâ€šĂ˜nºÛà ~‚›º‚œrĂ˜ĂĄĂ¸Ă&#x;eâ€šĂ˜nĂ˜Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă¸Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂĄesâ€šĂ˜n‚NĂ˜ÂťerĂ˜Ă¸us‚úreøĂ&#x;Ă˜ĂĄe‚

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L-R: Group Head ,Corporate Communications, Access Bank Plc, Amaechi Okobi ; Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe; and Executive Director, Livespot Group, Darey Art Alade, at the Born in Africa Festival in Lagos recently

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igeria’s creative industry accounts for 2.3 percent, approximately N239 billion of the nation’s GDP in 2016. Experts believe that the sector can perform better given the country’s

rich resources. The federal government through the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, recently disclosed that Nigeria was seriously looking to the private sectors to deliver the economy from its mono-product status. Mohammed made this statement at the 61st Tourism Conference in Abuja. “Our greatest strength lies in our creative industry, our music, and our films. That is one area we need to build on because that is one area we have comparative advantage over many other countries. ‘‘We are trying to encourage our artists, give them more incentives to develop the industry because tourism is about entertainment. We are trying to create a specific brand for the entertainment industry.� Performance and sustainability in the Nigerian creative space have been constrained by several factors, some of which stakeholders identified as vague policies, poor access to finance, outdated and improper regulation, amongst others. However, experts insisted that the sector has suffered setbacks in the past chiefly due to lack of substantial private sector investment. The industry which should have earned the country additional revenues from exports appears to be in a stalemate. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Anthony Idigbe, once resolved that government could get to prioritise growth and stir sustainability in the sector by encouraging private investors.

This, according to him, would engineer a transition from a creative industry to the development of a thriving creative economy. Before now, a number of prospective businessmen and women have been shying away from the sector on the excuse of Nigeria’s difficult business environment, which has led the government to introduce measures to encourage investors to participate more in the industry. Some of the interventions made available to the sector included the $1 million venture capital fund, that was meant to provide seed money for young and talented Nigerians to set up businesses in the sector, tax rebate and incentives to operators as well as the Central Bank of Nigeria’s influence on financial institutions to assist in promoting the culture of the country. The narrative of the industry is gradually taking a turn for the better with a lot of private players in the SMEs including the big ones, coming to identify with it, in the way of collaborations, sponsorship, expansion and establishments. With more private investors coming to play in the nation’s creative industry like never before,

this presents a clear pass for the industry to meet its $1 billion expectations regarding the country’s GDP by 2020, and possibly surpass it. The re-launch of the Dome, a high-end entertainment and leisure multiplex in Abuja, is a pointer to this. The introduction of Art X in Lagos as well as the historical event that brought French President, Emmanuel Macron, to Nigeria, organised by Trace, amongst many others, is a good omen for the economy. Most recent is the Access Bank’s ‘Born in Africa Festival’, BAFEST, initiative that further presented Nigeria’s creatives to global glare. The festival, which took place at Eko Atlantic City, Lagos, presented an all-encompassing platform to showcase the best of African culture and heritage through film, music, art and fashion. The bank noted that with the initiative, it aimed to re-tell the African story to the world, showing the genuine qualities of the continent as a friendly, hospitable and a talented hub. Prior to BAFEST, the bank has proven its support for different sectors in the industry by partnering various private steps like Africa International Film Festival, AFRIFF, Arts X as

The narrative of the industry is gradually taking a turn for the better with a lot of private players in the SMEs including the big ones, coming to identify with it, in the way of collaborations, sponsorship, expansion and establishments

well as its initiated Accelerate Filmmakers Project and Accelerate TV. On his observation of the industry, Managing Director of Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe, noted that the creative industry was the most unifying force on the continent. Wigwe, however, said: “For too long, the old narrative of the continent has been negative, Africa is looked at from skewed angles, as nobody talked about its culture or the amount of innovation that defines the continent. Nobody talked about the beautiful parts of Zanzibar, Nigeria or Ghana. “This is why we are here to announce and reflect the positive side of Africa. This industry has helped us to know and understand ourselves better, there is so much that bind us together as Africans, and as we understand, bond and collaborate, our economies are sure to grow together.� BAFEST has been programmed to hold annually, providing platform for African creatives across music, films, art and fashion to display the originality of African story, as it is also expected that featuring talents would attract global attention and drive a change in the way people see Africa. The event featured notable designers such as Tiffany Amber, Torlowei and David Tlale, who showcased their iconic pieces while artworks from Isaac Emokpae, Uche Edochie, Tolu Aliki and other artists were on display. Attendees also had the opportunity to watch some of the movies screened at this year’s AFRIFF such as Kasala and The Delivery Boy. The climax of the night was the musical concert which paraded the best of entertainers like Burna Boy, Flavour, Tiwa Savage, Olamide, Yemi Alade, D’banj, Congolese artiste Awilo Logomba and South Africa’s rap artiste Sho Madjozi.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͞˜ ͺ͸͚Î

Carnival Calabar: Projecting Africa through Dance, Drama ĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ Demola Ojo Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă– demola.ojo@thisdaylive.com

Ă’n›Ă&#x;her‚eÂ¸Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă˜â€şn‚›º‚ÒºrĂ˜ĂşĂ¸usâ€šĂšĂ˜ÂťÂťesĂ&#x;‚sĂ&#x;reeĂ&#x;‚œørĂ&#x;¥‚¸eĂ›Ă˜ĂĄere¸‚›n‚Ă&#x;he‚hÂĄĹ“e‰‚reœ›rĂ&#x;s‚Demola OjoĂŽĂŽĂŽ

T

he positive coverage by international news organisations is a testament that the Carnival Calabar has come to stay as a blockbuster home-grown entertainment event. As impressive, is that its expansion into a monthlong festival is of great economic benefit to the citizens of the city and Cross River State in general. A visit to the Christmas village where commerce takes place round the clock for the duration of the festival is one of many proofs. In the case of Calabar, no two carnivals are the same and this year, the competing bands at the carnival pulled out all the stops in interpreting the carnival theme - Africanism - through dance, drama and costuming. Characterised by colour, glamour and enthusiasm, the 2018 Carnival Calabar featured a parade composed of 50,000 costumed revellers who performed in five major carnival bands and 10 noncompeting bands in a 12 kilometre. The carnival attracted over two million tourists, who gathered in the city to be entertained by the African story the only way the carnival can. Added to this was an estimated 50 million global television audience. They were thrilled by DJs, live music, steel bands, incredible floats and costumes, all in line with the carnival theme. As usual, revellers were creatively costumed in an admirable spectacle that reflected the cultural heritage of the African people. Again, Passion 4 band emerged winners of the carnival which witnessed its 14th edition. Passion 4 Band were also winners last year and have won the best band award the most times, making them the most successful band in the carnival by a mile. The Seagull Band came second, while the Freedom Band came third. In other categories, the Best Float award also went to Passion 4 Band, while Seagull Band and Freedom Band were adjudged second and third, respectively. Best Costume Design was also won by Passion 4 with Seagull second and Masta Blasta third. Bayside Band won the awards for Best King and Best Queen. There was a cultural carnival where states competed with Akwa Ibom coming first, Anambra second and Enugu third. According to Cross River Governor, Professor Ben Ayade, Carnival Calabar was a platform to showcase Africa to the world. “With the theme Africanism, Africa has the opportunity of telling the whole world its story the way it knows best which is through its dance and bright colours,� he said. “Civilisation started in Africa, so Africa must take its pride of place in the world. We are also here to show that Africa as a continent is the future, Europe is the past while Asia is the present,� he added. International Carnival About 30 countries from different continents participated in the International Carnival Calabar which is held at the UJ Esuene Stadium a day after the street parade. However for the first time, all international bands joined in the street procession this year, to the delight of the appreciative audience. However on the day set aside for the International Carnival, the excitement was raised a notch. For example, the Lithuanian delegation set Calabar on fire; in a good way. Their performance was just one of many exhilarating performances from the visiting

Participants from Mexico

Fire show by Lithuania

countries as they all wowed the audience in their own unique ways. Considering the theme of the carnival, it was appropriate that South Africa emerged winner after Brazil had won all previous editions. The South Africans with their bold bare skin Zulu war dance held the expectant audience spellbound with their acrobatic display. Mexico came second as they danced to sonorous tunes that had African undertones. The men, clad in white shirts and red trousers moved in symmetry with their female counterparts who wore beautiful red attires. There was no way Lithuania wouldn’t have ended on the podium as they paid a “fire tribute� to Calabar. Some of the stadium’s lighting was switched off to enable the audience better appreciate the fire presentation by the group. By the time they were done, they were accorded a standing ovation. They

came third. Ukraine’s dancers, jugglers and acrobats were also well-received as were Ethiopia, Ukraine, Kenya, Ghana, Swaziland and Brazil. Like South Africa, Swaziland put up a fascinating performance with bare-skin Swazi dance while Ghana put up a blend of magic, acrobatics and bare skin dance mixed with some spiritual display. Other countries that participated include, Indonesia, Senegal, Tanzania, Switzerland, United States of America and Canada. Bikers’ Parade, Miss Africa The international dimension of the festival was not limited to bands and troupes. The Bikers’ Parade featured competitors from the United States, Canada, Germany and Australia among others. There was also a Miss Africa Beauty Pageant on the sidelines of the carnival hosted by the Cross River State Government. The contest took place a day before the street parade.

Congo’s Dorcas Kasinde emerged winner to beat Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnaemeka and Zambia’s Gladys Kayumba to the second and third positions respectively. Kasinde went home with $35,000 and an SUV. Governor Ayade, used the opportunity to promote the African narrative. It was time for Africans to appreciate themselves, he said, continuing that the continent does not need the western media to tell the African story, as they mostly focus on poverty and wars. �This is a celebration of African beauty, brains and heritage; the world will see what African brains and beauty is all about. �The judges should come down and look at those things that make a woman truly African; it is not just the skin colour. Tunisians and Moroccans are light-skinned but they are also Africans.� More than 25 African countries participated in the pageant.

5 ) * 4 % ": t SUNDAY, JANUARY 6, 2019

29

30

˜ ˞ JANUARY 6, 2019

MARKET NEWS

SAHCO Initial Public Offering to Close on Wednesday Goddy Egene Investors who want to buy into Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc (SAHCO) through the ongoing Initial Public Offering (IPO) have till Wednesday, January 9, 2019 to do that as the IPO closes on that day. SAHCO is making the IPO by way of an offer for sale of 406,074,000 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N4.65 per share. Financial analysts at Cordros Capital Limited recently said

the affiliation of with maritime cargo handling has potential to boost its revenue and returns to shareholders going forward. According to Cordros Capital, SAHCO is the only ground handling company that has affiliation with maritime cargo and also a market leader in cargo aviation. “SAHCO has made significant investment in ground handling service and cargo storage equipment facilities and possesses the latest technology

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

and equipment. The company recently concluded the construction of it ultra modern cargo import and export warehouse which is arguably the largest in West Africa,� the investment banking firm said. It added that the company’s sound business model and scalable franchise some positive factors investors should also consider and be part of the company’s ownership through the IPO. “SAHCO is a leading ground handling operator strategically

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 0301-2019, unless otherwise stated.

positioned to take advantage of growth opportunities in the Nigerian aviation industry, leveraging on its established brand & reputation, strategic alliances, technical capacity (state of the art technology & equipment) and fully trained & experienced staff,� they said. Already the Executive Director, Sales & Marketing, of SAHCO, Mr. Olaniyi Adigun had said the company would create longterm shareholders value through profitable operation and expansion

of its business beyond Nigeria. According to him, SAHCO has continued to grow its assets and emerged as one of the leaders in the ground handling business in Nigeria. He said the eventual listing of the company would increase its visibility and broaden its access to capital to fund future growth plans and initiatives. He noted that since its privatisation the company has built strong competence as one of the leading aviation ground handling service providers in

Nigeria, growing its market share from 21 per cent in 2009, to over 40 per cent at present with over 100 per cent growth in revenue and total assets. “SAHCO’s future strategy is to create long term shareholder value through the profitable operation and expansion of its business beyond Nigeria, and into other West African markets with a vision to become the leading provider of passenger, ramp and cargo handling services in the West Africa sub-region,� Adigun 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 N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Plutus Fund N/A N/A N/A Nigeria International Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 0.84 0.85 0.12% ACAP Income Funds 0.63 0.63 10.39% AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 13.13% AIICO Balanced Fund 2.22 2.24 -0.28% 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 N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 N/A N/A N/A Paramount Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Women's Investment Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 12.91% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 95.91 96.19 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 N/A N/A N/A Coronation Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Coronation Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 12.23% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 12.68% 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 N/A N/A N/A FBN Heritage Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional N/A N/A N/A FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail N/A N/A N/A FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 -1.76% Legacy Debt Fund 3.25 3.25 0.31% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.03 1.03 0.04% 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 12.55% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 107.19 107.46 6.84% 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 13.39%

Vantage Balanced Fund 2.15 2.17 1.73% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 15.45% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 124.92 125.11 8.53% 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 1.21 1.23 -0.30% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,099.50 1,099.50 0.07% 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 11.20 11.29 6.06% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 12.50% 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 1.34 1.36 4.81% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 12.21 12.26 0.01% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 14.43% 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 121.77 122.35 -6.05% 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 1.71 1.71 15.24% 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 2,313.33 2,327.43 2.14% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 189.48 189.48 0.97% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.94 0.96 0.00% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 247.27 247.31 2.07% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 162.89 164.74 -0.14% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.55% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 8,451.14 8,553.81 1.32% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.11 1.11 2.76% 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 11.08 11.23 5.23% Zenith Ethical Fund 12.40 12.52 3.65% Zenith Income Fund 20.79 20.79 8.02% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.39%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

9.00 140.00 51.74

-20.11% 5.69% 1.79%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

10.42 115.66 87.46

10.52 118.05 89.09

-1.35% -1.43% -1.36%

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

3.89 7.27 14.45 11.78 142.88

3.93 7.35 14.55 11.98 144.88

-17.92% -23.89% -17.19% -39.89% 6.22%

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

06.01.2019

Dapo Torimiro

The Nigerian Producer American Stars Love to Work With ASSISTANT EDITOR OLUFUNKE OLAODE/funkola2000@gmail.com

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T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R ˞ ʹ, Ͱ͎ͯ͡

COVER

He is enigmatic, audacious and creative. From jazz to highlife, pop to rhythm and blues, Fuji to apala, and soul to funk, he has been through them all. Famed for producing the now defunct music group, Kush, Dapo Torimiro has not looked back ever since. Today, he has become a proud producer that boasts of Hollywood’s A-listers, writes Adedayo Adejobi

D

The Music Producer Making Nigeria Proud in America 01. Dapo with Ryan Gosling on the set of La La Land

apo Torimiro grew on the various sounds from his father’s turntable in Lagos. From jazz to highlife, pop to rhythm and blues, Fuji to apala, and soul to funk, he has experienced them all. Picking up the guitar at 12, when production started in college, Dapo employed the use of on-board sequencers from which he transferred to digital audio workstations like pro tools and logic pro X – which he has been on for over 20 years. The sound is his greatest inspirator. This has helped him stay constantly abreast with the contemporary music that has filled the market today. “I spend a lot of time practising on either my guitar or piano inventing and timeless sounds,� he revealed. With a strong foundation in jazz, it didn’t come as a shock when he started reeling out names of all-time greats like Herbie Hancock, Bud Powell, Bill Evans, et al in that genre of music as inspiration. Legends like Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson’s brilliance always leave him with something to try his hands on. Advising the young on what to do to start up a career as a producer, Dapo insisted they must pick up playing the piano. “This would add invaluable value to your career as a musician. Serving the artist will keep a producer working all time. This has been my secret,� he said. As a producer, he strongly believes a producer’s job is to serve the artist. No wonder his glowing resume has film scores and other variants of music on it. Everything in music to him boils down to the emotiveness. The main driver of good music is the power of emotions it wields in the heart of its listeners. A quick flashback to the first music he made, he said with a smile: “The movement of the music, the accents of chords, the rising of the music and the result was ‘Loving God’, which I wrote on a guitar and performed in a

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JANUARY 6, 2019 ˾ T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R

COVER

02. Dapo with John Legend and Stacy Barthe

03. Dapo With Toni Braxton

On Making Music, His Moments of Magic and Making History church a week later. The experience was both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.” With making music comes a lot of practice, which has now become Torimiro’s pastime. Many find the studio a sanctuary, but he finds it a place to put across all he has learnt. With a dint of hard work and focus, thriving in a racist industry could be indeed rough but with a good work ethic, and professionalism he’s made a remarkable mark. “My little trick is under-promising my client. With that, I buy myself time to put in beyond the delivered promise – with that came referrals. When people can count on you, words spread. I guess I have been living off that reputation. Making music is borderless. It is everywhere. Even though there are rules guiding each genre, my ability to fully understand these rules and their application is the rudiment to breaking them and creating this robust effusive sound,” he said. Torimiro’s constant touch with contemporary sounds and influences from his heydays has pushed his sounds to the stratosphere of Disney Land. Even if he didn’t work on the La la land soundtrack with John Legend, his influences on multiple Oscarwinning projects as a consultant are immeasurable. Playing a jazz musician with Ray Gosling was like going back home. His respect for Ryan as a true musician is over the roof. Talking about his new project which involves writing and making music for upcoming artistes excites him. He’s also working on an art documentary with his business partner, Lisa Murray, titled: “Soul Providers: Los Angeles”. On the side, Dapo is gearing to put out music of his own. Having worked with a list of A-listers, the songwriter and producer is grateful for providence that has brought John Legend, Babyface, Usher Raymond, Justin Bieber, Frank Ocean, Ester Dean, James Fauntleroy, Kevin Risto, Waynne Nugent, Stacy Barthe, Demi Lovato, and other big stars his way. Writing and producing for those great American talents have made him a better writer. “Aretha! Aretha Franklin, the voice of a generation. Working with Aretha

was an out-of-body experience,” he said with excitement reflecting recalling the feelings of coming face to face with that singular voice that distilled off his father’s stereo long ago in far away Lagos. Being in a space of producing an album in collaboration with Babyface and the Clive Davis were some of his awesome moments. Topping that golden cake is the icing of performing live with Lauryn Hill, a phenomenal woman, who shattered the glass ceiling. Experiencing Stevie Wonder and Toni Braxton was quite a humbling experience. The respect, the fact that they listened and sought his input was a beautiful brick in the foundation of his confidence. Among the artistes Torimiro has enjoyed working with either as a songwriter or producer include Billboard Penthouse owners like Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato, among others – in fact, they all have logged more than a number 1 on Hot 100 or other component charts. On this same list are Aretha, Toni and Michael Bolton. When asked the most remarkable of all the projects, he simply stated: “Aretha Franklin and Michael Bolton’s projects remain evergreen in my memory.” Speaking of musicians, he would love to work with, his lips quivered at the name of the late king of pop, Michael Jackson and Adele. Disallowing pressure get to him has been the only way to keep his head afloat in the game. “Taking the job a day at a time, working on the fundamentals of creating music is all it takes. That is the spring to where I’ve gotten to today,” he said. Come closer home, Torimiro states the globalization of our local music but the absence of structure and infrastructure. Even if he takes pride in it, imagine the ripple effect on the global scale if the infrastructure is put in place. This is synonymous to the clog in the wheel from replicating his Grammy production in a local artist. Withthe right opportunity and the right artist, it will happen. He also reflected on the state of music in Nigeria, issues of royalties and contents: how royalties are meant to be a sort of

04. Dapo & Michael Bolton in the studio

08. Dapo With Movie Director George Lucas

05. Dapo With Demi Lovato in the Studio

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5 ) * 4 % ": t SUNDAY, JANUARY 6, 2019

JANUARY 6 , 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R

High Life Why Bola Shagaya, Tunde Folawiyo Remain Best of Friends Contrary to insidious insinuations that one of Africa’s richest women, Hajia Bola Shagaya, and an esteemed colleague on the all-time Nigeria’s Rich List, Tunde Folawiyo, are at loggerheads, close friends of the two billionaires say nothing can be further from the truth. Recently, rumours made the rounds that Tunde, scion of the illustrious Folawiyo dynasty, got on the wrong side of Hajia Shagaya when he defaulted on the rent of a highbrow apartment in Abuja. Relations between them were said to have deteriorated so badly that they avoided each other. However, we can reveal authoritatively that nothing of such happened, instead, they have mutual love and respect for each other. Apart from their shared business interests, Tunde and Hajia Shagaya have a lot of common friends. Yes, Tunde rented an apartment from Bola years ago and he never defaulted in paying his rents! According to an insider, Tunde was a good tenant to Bola. Hajia Shagaya is the founder and CEO of Bolmus Group International, a diversified Nigerian conglomerate with interests in oil, real estate, banking, communications and photography while the real estate development arm of the group builds and owns dozens of luxury residential properties in some of Nigeria’s priciest neighbourhoods. She is also the CEO and founder of Voyage Oil and Gas Limited which was awarded an oil exploration license by the Nigerian government in 2012 while her other oil company, Practoil Limited, is one of the largest importers and distributors of base oil in Nigeria. Tunde, on the other hand, helms the Folawiyo business conglomerate, which one of its subsidiaries, Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum Company Limited, operator of the OML 113 offshore in Lagos, announced the commencement of production of crude oil in 2015. Tunde was rated the 39th richest person in Africa in 2015 with an estimated net worth of $650m.

Shagaya

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

The Current Champion… Billionaire Businessman, Abdulsamad Rabiu, is $650 Million Dollars Richer Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu is in many ways a special man. Unlike too many of his peers in the billionaires’ circle, the BUA chairman contradicts the principles and norms of ego-tripping. He parades himself as a mushroom on which the dew of heaven drops from time to time. He never draws attention to how rich he is neither does he function on the oxygen of his blooming renown, and that is a wonderful trait in a billionaire. Indeed, great things are done when giants among men meet; they often change the stars or the course of history; feats no one could achieve by simply jostling in the street. Findings revealed that the new merger between Kalambaina Cement, a subsidiary company of his BUA Cement, with publicly traded Cement Company of Nigeria (CCNN), where he was the controlling shareholder, has yielded a bountiful result. The Chairman of BUA now commands the homage of unending cheers by his dazzling exploits which resonates far beyond the shores of Nigeria and across continents. These days, Samad’s remarkable feats resonate to animated applause for the extraordinariness of the man who taught Nigeria and the African continent to trust in his entrepreneurial depth According to Forbes, Nigerian cement and sugar tycoon Abdulsamad Rabiu has become at least $650 million richer after merging Kalambaina Cement, a subsidiary company of his BUA Cement, with publicly traded Cement Company of Nigeria (CCNN). On Monday, CCNN announced that it has received approval from the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as well as the requisite sanction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria for the merger of the two companies, thereby creating the second largest cement company on the Nigerian bourse after African behemoth, Dangote Cement. Last June, the board of directors of Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), approached the Nigerian Stock Exchange with a proposal to merge with the BUA Cement-owned Kalambaina

Rabiu

Cement Company Ltd. Ibrahim Aminu, CCNN’s CEO, had said that the proposed merger would position Sokoto-based CCNN for better competitiveness within its home market and also enable it utilize the more modern plant and equipment of the Kalambaina Cement Company to boost its market penetration and export potential. Both Kalambaina Cement and CCNN are located in Sokoto in Nigeria’s northwest region. With the merger now completed, new shares of CCNN have been issued and allotted to all shareholders of Kalambaina Cement in exchange for their Kalambaina Cement shares. In total, 11,886,823,259 new shares of Kalambaina Cement have been issued at N25.99 per share, in addition to the 1.257 billion shares of CCNN, thereby bringing the current volume of shares for the total combined entity to 13.1bn. The new, combined company, which has adopted the CCNN corporate name,

has an installed capacity of 2 million tons per annum, and recently had its shares listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Through BUA Cement Company, Damnaz Cement Company Ltd, BUA International Limited and through his own name, Nigerian tycoon Abdulsamad Rabiu, owns more than 12.7 billion shares, or 97% of the new entity – a stake valued at more than $650 million at current market prices. Cement Company of Northern Nigerian PLC is a public limited liability company incorporated in 1962 and listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 1993. CCNN is the only cement plant in the North Western part of Nigeria, operating a 500,00 metric tonnes per annum cement plant commissioned in 1985. Kalambaina Cement Company Limited is a private limited liability company incorporated in Nigeria. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of BUA Cement Limited and is primarily engaged in the business of quarrying, extracting, processing and dealing in limestone as well as the manufacture and supply of cement. Kalambaina Cement Company Limited’s key cement assets include the brand new 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum of cement production plant situated in Kalambaina, Sokoto State. Apart from CCNN, BUA Cement Limited also owns a $2 billion cement factory at Okpella in Edo State in Nigeria, which has a production capacity of 6 million metric tonnes per annum. BUA Cement also owns Edo Cement Company and BUA Cement Port Harcourt, which continue to operate as private companies. Abdulsamad Rabiu, one of Nigeria’s most successful businessmen, is the founder of BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate that has interests in sugar refining, real estate, edible oils, logistics and port operations. In January 2016, BUA Group agreed to sell its flour milling and pasta making businesses to Olam Group of Singapore for $275 million. Rabiu, one of Nigeria’s largest private property owners, also owns homes in South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.

How Abubakar Funtua Flew in Lamborghini Aventador on Emirates Described as one of the fastest cars in the world that can take you to anywhere you want within minutes, the Lamborghini Aventador, named after a famous fighting bull from Spain, is a ticket to global fame. You can’t have the Aventador and be anonymous, no! As you read, the super fast car, which base price is a gasp-inducing 450, 000 dollars, is now nestling in the garage of super-rich son of a rich father, Abubaker Isa-Funtua, a very close friend of Mr. President. Nigerians were shell-shocked some days ago with viral video of a white Lamborghini Aventador coming down from Emirates flight from Dubai! The blogosphere was on fire! Nobody initially knew who the owner was until later. Yes, Abubakar is treated like royalty wherever he goes. He doesn’t do things by half measures. He has money and knows how to put it to good use for his own benefit. A friend of Abubakar told us that the Lamborghini Aventador is the latest gift he presented

himself for Christmas. Since President Buhari came into power, the uber-wealthy young dude has been the cock of the walk, the guy every very prosperous guy wanted to be like and is known to live la vida loca like a Brunei Sheikh. His home in the sedate, upper crust area of Abuja draws gawks and drools. He is not arrogant but whenever he gets tired of riding around in his array of cars in the city of Abuja, Abubakar would fly to Dubai and enjoy the cool breeze and slow pace of life on the oceans. However, once one has got the money habit, it is extremely difficult to kick it; some are overwhelmed by the habit and some simply manage to tame the habit. The latter breed is constituted by such moneyed men like Abubakar. Very few people know that he has a weakness for the good life. In fact, one would have to get very close to him to know that he never dithers from acquiring the finest luxury money can buy.

Funtua

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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 ˞ ʹ , Ͱ͎ͯ͡

HIGHLIFE

Many Years after Marriage, A Woman to Aminu Tambuwal Welcomes First Die For‌ On Child by Second Wife in Dubai The Trail of a Governor Aminu Tambuwal is an unusual man. Like an ageless oak, he stood strong and unbending against the tide of scorn and condemnations that trailed his new wife, Mairo Mustapha-Tambuwal’s inability to bear him a child after years of marriage. The Governor of Sokoto state never dithered in his resolve nor did dream of taking another trophy wife to fulfill the yearning of his loins. His long wait and loyalty finally paid off as his wife gave birth to a bouncing baby girl in Dubai some days ago. It is understandable therefore, that the arrival of their baby girl should drive her into spasms of unparalleled ecstasy. Mairo is in a blissful state as you read. However, through fortunate seasons and her most trying spell, Aminu stood unflinchingly by her, urging her to seek solace in God’s ceaseless mercies. Lest you begin to think that Mairo must have been fraught with disaster, she wasn’t. The wife of Sokoto’s most powerful man simply rued her inability to bear him a child. After years of marriage, she finally bore Aminu, her idol, a beautiful baby girl in his towering image. It’s a delightful to see her glow with pride and contentment over her latest feat. Her heartfelt wish has been granted and unlike so many of her peers, she never had to endure heartache or abuse from her husband

Veteran Socialite, Ranti Johnson

Y

Tambuwals welcome new baby

before she bore him a child. Interestingly, Aminu has been particularly commended for exhibiting enviable maturity and tact. While so many other men would have taken mistresses

outside wedlock and subjected their wives to emotional and physical torture for failing to bear them children, he lovingly and dutifully stood by Mairo.

Menace to Society... Who will Save GTBank Customers from their Security Men?

Agbaje

If Guaranty Trust Bank has built its solid reputation on financial wizardry and corporate social responsibility, the growing obnoxiousness of the security men stationed at its different branches in Lagos particularly

may be the bad deed that would bring all its good deeds into disrepute. Indeed, the bank is earning another kind of reputation its promoters may be oblivious to – its security staff, some of who investigations revealed are deployed from private security firms, are becoming a menace to their customers and, by extension, the society. In the last couple of weeks, not a few customers have openly complained to Highlife about the beggarly and abusive disposition of the security staff. A particular customer disclosed the modus operandi of the security guards thus; “When you drive into their premises, they are courteous and would gladly help you navigate your way around the bank. Meanwhile, their eyes are on you, watching whether you came to withdraw or not. When you come outside with money, their eyes light up, they raise their hands in the manner of ‘Area Boys’ and would be all over you, curtseying and genuflecting and singing your praises, not minding whether they are much older. Woe betides you if you failed to ‘drop’. Instantly, they turn the praises to outright abuses, wondering aloud how miserly one is with their money, and you would be left wondering whether you are under any compulsion to part with your money.� The customer said no branch is absolved from this practice in Lagos.

Another customer disclosed that the GTB security personnel have perfected the art of mendicancy to an embarrassing level. With a narrative similar to the above, he added, “It is even worse when you are a regular face at a particular branch and you are noted for not giving them money. They will hardly ever find you a space to park your car and when you do find one yourself, efforts would be made to prevent you from doing so. If you were adamant, the kind of words they would rain on you would make you regret banking at that branch. This is a menace that if the bank does not quickly nip in the bud may turn many customers away.� Efforts to get the corporate communications department of the bank to react to the story were abortive as it seemed all the members of staff are still on holiday. However, sources in the bank said some of the agencies that supply the security staff are very well paid. “We see how they swarm round customers and how they openly share their tips but there is nothing we can do because our jurisdictions are different. Maybe our MD (Segun Agbaje) needs to have a discussion with the heads of the agencies to remunerate their staff better so as not to continuing constituting a nuisance to the customers and soiling the reputation of the bank.�

Between Adeola Bali and Nana Otedola

ou could be forgiven for mistaking high society woman, Ranti Johnson, for a goddess. When she speaks, her words leap from her lips to meld with the rosy glow of her face; then there is the ambrosial scent from her hair which enticingly complements her clinical dress sense and sophistication. She is in truth a goddess. The sinfully beautiful woman runs the much-talked about fabric store in Ikoyi, Lagos. And she has been around for quite some time. There is no gainsaying Ranti is ravishingly beautiful. She is lovable too. Ranti’s business has been uorishing and he has been pampering her with the best luxury that life has to offer. She owns a beautiful apartment in Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos. Yes, she bought it with her hard-earned money. Shame on mischief-makers who alleged the apartment was bought for her by a male friend. Folk who are familiar with her beginnings and ascent in the business world earnestly attest to her industry. She worked hard to attain her current status and she is far removed from the contemporary alpha female stereotype that gloriďŹ es self-aggrandizement and narcissism above substance. The self-driven entrepreneur comes across as an enviable Amazon and achiever in an area and era where everyone seems to understate the role and worth of a driven woman. Yes, Ranti is one of the most successful single women in Nigeria, but she is very modest about it. But there is a limit to how long she can hide her gracefulness and ĂŠlan behind the thin veil of humility. Notwithstanding, social butteries seeking to learn the etiquette of high society will do well to take a cue from Ranti. However, It is an open secret that besides the warmth she radiates, Ranti aunts an enticing persona that quite a number socialites, public ofďŹ cers and politicians would kill to be endowed with or invest unquantiďŹ able resources to date her even for just one minute.

How Adeola Has Been Running Garment Care Aside being a style icon, Adeola Bali has also built a reputation as a corporate Amazon. Her fertile experience in finance and management is evidenced by how well she has been running Garment Care, the upscale dry cleaning company, owned by Nana Otedola, the beautiful wife of Femi Otedola. Bali’s career trajectory had traversed several reputable multi-national companies. She has had a fulfilling career story, which covers banking, aviation, (Virgin Nigeria), entertainment, (HITV) and telecommunication (Telegsm). Going by her lofty achievements in the corporate sector, most people had expected that she would set up and run a multi-billion dollar business management company, after her disengagement from HiTV. But rather than do that, Bali opted to run her friend’s dry-cleaning outfit. And she reportedly made this huge

sacrifice just because of the undiluted love and adulation she has for her best friend, Nana. While Nana lives in London, Bali runs and operates Garment Care business activities. She injects fresh innovations into the running of the company, and this has seen it occupying a primal position within the dry cleaning sector. Seeing that the company she holds so dear to her heart is in a safe hand, Nana has no inhibition about giving her friend a free hand run to the company. On her own part, Bali has never given her boss any reason to regret entrusting such a huge asset in her care. Garment Care is Nigeria’s premier dry cleaning company and it is the first European style operation established in Nigeria. Back in 1999, when Femi and Nana Otedola set up the dry-cleaning company, it was positioned to hold a firm grip on its status as the best laundry company in Africa. Twenty years down the line, that dream is tottering on the brink of futility.

Born into the prominent family of the Onafowokan of Ijebuland, Ogun State, Bali started out her career as an audit trainee with PriceWaterhouseCoopers in London and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in December 1989. She then spent several years in Financial Services Regulation, working with the Financial Services Authority and was responsible for the regulation of LIFFE and LME firms. Before joining Virgin Nigeria in October 2005, Bali was Head, Human Capital Management at Oando Plc. Prior to assuming that role, she was responsible for the management change programme following the Unipetrol and Agip merger. Bali holds a B. Sc. in Economics and Accounting from the University of Southampton. She is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales.

Johnson

JANUARY 6 , 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R

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HIGHLIFE

One Lagos Fiasco... Expectations Dashed but Chris Ubosi, Ahmed Uwhubetine, Give Lagosians a Night to Remember

Ubosi

At the height of its glory, spellbinding and heart-throbbing best described One Lagos Fiesta, the Lagos State-government annual week-long entertainment

showcase. Then, the OLF usually had a line up of Nigeria’s finest entertainers, raves-of-the-moment and veteran acts. From Ikorodu to Epe, Badagry to Agege and Victoria Island, the statutory five locations of the OLF, residents and guests would troop out en masse to enjoy blissful entertainment and different side attractions. The performing artistes were reportedly paid peanuts with the promise of more government patronage which rarely never came but who wanted to turn down an incumbent government? They gleefully collected whatever the show organisers paid out to them as honourarium. Those, however, were in the early years of the Akinwunmi Ambode administration. Now that the governor is on his way out of office, no thanks to what party leaders in the

state describe as his inaccessibility, sheer arrogance and aloofness, wave-making artistes seem to have given the show a wide berth. Big boys who thronged the OLF venues have also beaten a retreat as they no longer get the quality entertainment they expected. Now, the show is a shadow of its old self as it is no longer a priority for these artistes. Thankfully, Chris Ubosi, proprietor of Classic FM collaborated with Ahmed Uwhubetine, one-time King of Lagos nightlife and owner of defunct rave nightclub, 11:45; and Folly Coker, owner of premium bar and restaurant, La Casa, whose idea originally was the OLF before Ambode eased him out of government; to give fun-loving Lagosians an alternative, elevated entertainment. Coker is now Director-General, Nigerian Tourism

Development Corporation, NTDC, but he has not lost his entertainment mojo. Neither has Ahmed who relocated to Atlanta about three years ago. Together, the three entertainment powerhouses put their experience and expertise to give fun lovers a night to remember penultimate Friday, December 28th. It was themed, ‘Old School Jam’, a collaboration between Classic FM, 11:45 and La Casa. Held at the Wings located by the OANDO Building, Ozumba Mbadiwe, the Old School Jam pulled many out of their cocoon, those who thought only the OLF made Lagos tick in December, taking them back to their pre-teens, those days when American music ruled the roost, and launching them into bouts of bliss which lasted till the wee hours of the next day.

Hakeem Muri Okunola Back on the Grind Even forever comes to an end. Hence when Hakeeem Muri-Okunola was tipped to succeed the former Head of Service, he knew he had been thrust into the vortex of history. More importantly, he understood that finally, the ides of fate had called on him to ride and tame the excesses and subtle machinations of time. No doubt, Hakeem, the dark-hued dude has climbed to the top of the greasy pole; like a Bengali bride, he has become the object of lust and high affection of every element and juggernaut prowling the cutthroat halls of the Lagos civil service. Prominent civil servants in the State lusting for wealth and perks of high office have restrategized their blueprint for progress and achieving their heartfelt dreams; as you read, they are milling around Hakeem, and singing his praises to high heavens. Everybody wishes to befriend the new HOS. Suddenly, he has become the darling of everyone. He has become the toast of many favour-seekers and bootlickers who feel their lot would be bettered by patronising the new HOS. His appointment follows the statutory

retirement of Mrs Folasade Sidikatu Adesoye, the 20th Head of Service (HOS). By this appointment, HMO, as he is popularly known, becomes the youngest ever person to occupy such an exalted position in the history of the Nigerian civil service. He is 47. He also becomes the most powerful civil servant in the state. The Head of Service position was formerly combined with the Secretary to the State Government during the military regime and the appointed civil servant automatically becomes the Deputy Governor but the offices were separated in 1999. Had that tradition subsisted, HMO would have become the substantive Deputy Governor of Lagos State. But it has not been a smooth ride for the urbane gentleman and son of the influential Justice Muritala Aremu Okunola who died in 2004. He has had his fair share of roughhandling from the outgoing Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, who felt he was too powerful or so and redeployed him to the Ministry of Sports ostensibly to render him powerless. HMO virtually disappeared from the social scene and never went near anything

beyond his Ministry. An alumnus of the University of Lagos where he read law and the University of London where he got his Masters in Business Law, HMO was employed as Company Secretary at the state-owned Ibile Holdings before he was headhunted by former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who made him his Personal Assistant. He was later moved to the Ministry of Lands as Executive Secretary and later upgraded to Permanent Secretary. It was in this position he came into social, financial and political renown. His financial liquidity became a hot-button issue among bona fide money-men. He flourished unfettered under the administration of former Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola who gave him a free hand to run the ministry. However, Ambode felt otherwise about him and redeployed him to what the governor’s inner circle described as a desert. Fate has however conspired with HMO to outfox his adversaries. Now, like a phoenix, he has risen to the apogee of an exemplary civil service career.

Hakeem Muri Okunola

What Tayo Ayeni’s Wife, Adetutu, Did to Him on His 56Th Birthday

Tayo Ayeni and Wife, Adetutu

Auto magnate, Tayo Ayeni, was probably content to see no other verdure than his lawn’s on his 56th birthday. He probably wished to feel no other breeze than is blown through his Banana Island, Ikoyi, mansion’s grand alcoves until the d-day. Adetutu, his ravishing wife, shocked him and planned a beautiful party for him. Their mansion became the masque of high festivity and a pleasant place for rare merriment as the Skymit boss clocked 56 on the 28th December. At the high-octane birthday party, business associates, friends and family thronged the venue like a flock of sheep responding to the shepherd’s summons in all white attires. Expectedly, of an event of high net worth individuals, there was plenty to eat and drink. The tables heaved with choice food and liquor and the party rocked to music from A-list artistes. The ambience was lit by glittering Christmas decor thus lifting the spirits of

the host and his guests. The event further established the class and elegance of the Ayenis. Findings revealed that every attendee at the soiree couldn’t summon the nerve to leave and head for home as the close of the party. They reportedly got carried away by the treats they were privileged to enjoy courtesy their generous host. Thus Tayo’s private Christmas party at his mansion in Banana Island, manifested as an Eldorado of sort on his loved ones who were privileged to be part of it. The billionaire business man acknowledged the need to fraternize with loved ones at the end of year’s busy schedule hence his decision to host them to a memorable end of year party and spend quality time with them. Predictably, his family was thrilled and positively animated by his generosity and they minced no words in expressing their heartfelt gratitude to him. For the privileged few who had the opportunity to see the video of the event, it’s probably the best private party in 2018.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R Ëž JANUARY 6 , 2019

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Adebayo Adeoye bayoolunla@gmail.com; 08054680651

SOCIETY WATCH

ADRON Boss, Adetola EmmanuelKing, Wife Honoured

Adetola EmmanuelKing, Group Managing Director and Chief ÂĄÂŽÂŒÂžÂ?Â’Â&#x;ÂŽČą ÄœÂŒÂŽÂ›Ç°Čą Čą Â˜Â–ÂŽÂœČą Š—Â?Čą ›˜™Ž›Â?Â’ÂŽÂœČą ’–’Â?ÂŽÂ?Ç°ČąÂ’ÂœČąÂŠČąÂ˘Â˜ÂžÂ—Â?Čą Š—Â?ȹŽ—Ž›Â?ÂŽÂ?Â’ÂŒČąÂ–ÂŠÂ—ČąÂ Â‘Â˜ČąÂ’ÂœČąÂ•Â’Â&#x;’—Â?ČąÂ‘Â’ÂœČą Â?Â›ÂŽÂŠÂ–ÂœÇŻ ŠœÂ?Čą ÂŽÂ?—ŽœÂ?Š¢ȹ’—ȹ ‹ŠÂ?ÂŠÂ—Ç°ČąÂ‘Â’ÂœČą Â˜Â˘ÂŠÂ•Čą Š“ŽœÂ?¢ǰȹÂ?‘Žȹ •ž‹ŠÂ?ÂŠÂ—ČąÂ˜Â?Čą ‹ŠÂ?Š—•Š—Â?Ç°Čą ‹Šȹ Š•’žȹ Â?ÂŽÂ?ž—“’ȹ Œ˜—Â?Ž››ŽÂ?ČąÂ˜Â—ČąÂ‘Â’Â–ČąÂŠÂ—Â?ČąÂ‘Â’ÂœČąÂ‹ÂŽÂŠÂžÂ?Â’Â?ž•ȹ  ’Â?ÂŽÇ°Čą Â?ÂŽÂ›Â˜Â—Â”ÂŽÇ°ČąÂ?‘Žȹ Š›Žȹ Â™ÂŽÂœÂ’Â—Â˜Â•ÂŠČą ˜Â?Čą ‹ŠÂ?Š—•Š—Â?ȹŠ—Â?Čą Ž¢Žȹ Š›Žȹ Â™ÂŽÂœÂ’Â—Â˜Â•ÂŠÇ°ČąÂ›ÂŽÂœÂ™ÂŽÂŒÂ?Â’Â&#x;Ž•¢ǯ ––Š—Ž• ’—Â?Ç°ČąÂ Â‘Â˜ČąÂ‘Â˜Â•Â?ÂœČą œŽÂ&#x;ÂŽÂ›ÂŠÂ•ČąÂ˜Â?‘Ž›ȹÂ?›ŠÂ?Â’Â?Â’Â˜Â—ÂŠÂ•ČąÂ?Â’Â?Â•ÂŽÂœÇ°Čą Â”Â—Â˜Â ÂœČąÂ?‘Žȹ ČąÂ˜Â?Čą ŽŠ•ȹ ÂœÂ?ŠÂ?ÂŽČą –Š—ŠÂ?Ž–Ž—Â?Ç°ČąÂŠÂœČą ǰȹ ’Â?‘ȹ ™›˜™Ž›Â?Â’ÂŽÂœČąÂ’Â—Čą ‹ž“Šǰȹȹ ŠÂ?Â˜ÂœÇ°ČąČą ‹ŠÂ?Š—ǰȹȹ Â?ž—ȹŠ—Â?Čą ÂžÂ‹ÂŠÂ’Ç°ČąÂ‘ÂŠÂœČąÂ?Â›Â˜Â Â—ČąÂ’Â—Čą Â•ÂŽÂŠÂ™ÂœČąÂŠÂ—Â?ČąÂ‹Â˜ÂžÂ—Â?ÂœČąÂœÂ’Â—ÂŒÂŽČąÂ’Â?ČąÂ˜Â™ÂŽÂ—ÂŽÂ?Čą ÂœÂ‘Â˜Â™ČąÂœÂŽÂ&#x;ÂŽÂ—ČąÂ˘ÂŽÂŠÂ›ÂœČąÂŠÂ?Â˜ÇŻ For EmmanuelKing, the well‹Ž’—Â?ČąÂ˜Â?ČąÂ‘Â’ÂœČąÂœÂ?ÂŠÄ›ČąÂ–ÂŽÂ–Â‹ÂŽÂ›ÂœČąÂ’ÂœČą ™›’˜›’Â?¢ȹÂ?Â˜ČąÂ‘Â’Â–ÇŻČąČą Â‘Â’ÂœČąÂŽÂĄÂ™Â•ÂŠÂ’Â—ÂœČąÂ Â‘Â˘Čą Â–ÂŠÂ—Â˘ČąÂ˜Â?ČąÂ‘Â’ÂœČąÂŽÂ–Â™Â•Â˜Â˘ÂŽÂŽÂœČąÂŒÂ˜ÂžÂ•Â?ČąÂ—Â˜Â?Čą ‘’Â?ÂŽČąÂ?Â‘ÂŽÂ’Â›ČąÂ“Â˜Â˘Ç°ČąČąÂ•ÂŠÂœÂ?ȹ ŽŽ”Ž—Â?Ç°ČąÂ?ž›’—Â?Čą Â?‘Žȹ ÂŽÂ–Â˜Â—ČąÂ™ÂŠÂ›Â?Â˘ČąÂ‘Â˜ÂœÂ?ÂŽÂ?ȹ‹¢ȹÂ?‘Žȹ ÂŒÂ˜Â–Â™ÂŠÂ—Â˘ČąÂ?Â˜ČąÂ‘Â˜Â—Â˜ÂžÂ›ČąÂŠÂ—Â?ȹ›Ž Š›Â?ČąÂ?‘Žȹ ÂœÂ?ŠěȹÂ?Â˜Â›ČąÂ?‘Ž’›ȹÂ?ÂŽÂ?’ŒŠÂ?Â’Â˜Â—ÇŻČą Â‘Â’ÂœČąÂ’ÂœČą ’—ȹŠÂ?Â?Â’Â?Â’Â˜Â—ČąÂ?Â˜ČąÂ‘Â’ÂœČąČąÂŒÂ˜Â–Â–Â’Â?–Ž—Â?ČąÂ?Â˜Čą ŒŠ™ŠŒ’Â?¢ȹ‹ž’•Â?’—Â?ÇŻ ––Š—žŽ•”’—Â?ČąÂ‘Â˜Â•Â?ÂœČąÂŠČą Â’Â?‘Ž›ȹ ŠÂ?Â’Â˜Â—ÂŠÂ•Čą Â’Â™Â•Â˜Â–ÂŠČąÂ’Â—Čą ÂœÂ?ŠÂ?ÂŽČą Š—ŠÂ?Ž–Ž—Â?ȹȹÂ?Â›Â˜Â–ČąÂ?‘Žȹ Š‹Šȹ ˜••ŽÂ?ÂŽČąÂ˜Â?Čą ŽŒ‘—˜•˜Â?¢ǰȹ ŠÂ?Â˜ÂœÇ˛Čą ÂŠČąÂ–ÂŠÂœÂ?ÂŽÂ›Č‚ÂœČąÂ?ÂŽÂ?›ŽŽȹ’—ȹ ˜žœ’—Â?Čą Development and Management Â?Â›Â˜Â–ČąÂ?‘Žȹ —’Â&#x;Ž›œ’Â?Â˘ČąÂ˜Â?Čą ‹ŠÂ?Š—ǰȹ Â˘Â˜Čą Â?ŠÂ?ŽȹŠ—Â?ČąÂŠÂ—ČąÂ‘Â˜Â—Â˜Â›ÂŠÂ›Â˘ČąÂ?˜ŒÂ?˜›ŠÂ?ÂŽČąÂ˜Â?Čą ÂŒÂ’ÂŽÂ—ÂŒÂŽČąÂ’Â—Čą ŽŠ•ȹ ÂœÂ?ŠÂ?ÂŽČą ÂŽÂ&#x;Ž•˜™–Ž—Â?Čą Š—Â?Čą Š—ŠÂ?Ž–Ž—Â?Čą ŽŠÂ?ÂŽÂ›ÂœÂ‘Â’Â™ČąÂ?Â›Â˜Â–Čą Â?‘Žȹ ÂžÂ›Â˜Â™ÂŽÂŠÂ—Čą Â–ÂŽÂ›Â’ÂŒÂŠÂ—Čą —’Â&#x;Ž›œ’Â?¢ǯ

ÂŽČąÂ’ÂœČąÂŠČąÂ?ÂŽÂ•Â•Â˜Â ČąÂ˜Â?ČąÂ?‘Žȹ —œÂ?Â’Â?žÂ?ÂŽČą ˜Â?Čą Â?›ŠÂ?ÂŽÂ?Â’ÂŒČą Š—ŠÂ?Ž–Ž—Â?Čą Â’Â?Ž›’Šȏ ‘Š—ŠȹŠ—Â?ČąÂŠČąÂ–ÂŽÂ–Â‹ÂŽÂ›ČąÂ˜Â?ČąÂ?‘Žȹ Â’Â?Ž›’Š—ȹ —œÂ?Â’Â?žÂ?ÂŽČąÂ˜Â?Čą ÂœÂ?ŠÂ?ÂŽČą ž›Â&#x;ÂŽÂ˘Â˜Â›ÂœČąÂŠÂ—Â?Čą ÂŠÂ•ÂžÂŽÂ›ÂœČąÇť ǟȹŠ—Â?Čą ŽŠ•ȹ ÂœÂ?ŠÂ?ÂŽČą ÂŽÂ&#x;ÂŽÂ•Â˜Â™ÂŽÂ›ÂœČą œœ˜Œ’ŠÂ?Â’Â˜Â—Čą ˜Â?Čą Â’Â?Ž›’Šȹǝ ǟǯ

About Jumoke Okoya-Thomas and Her Wild Lifestyle If the reports reaching Society Watch about Jumoke Okoya-Thomas, one of the daughters of the late businessman and lover of tennis, Sir. Molade OkoyaThomas, are anything to go by, then her claims to have kicked her old habits should be re-examined. It is no longer news that following her celebrated divorce with her former husband, she proclaimed that she had given her life to Jesus Christ. However, many could not hide their shock when they caught her in acts that allegedly raised a lot of doubts about her professed moral uprightness. At a recent party in Lagos, many eyes turned to her as she danced provocatively to a music belting out from the sound system. Between her raunchy steps, a waiter was observed turning brandy into her glass intermittently. Many who witnessed this alleged show of shame said Okoya-Thomas, who will be 62 this month, must have thrown caution to the winds due to too much alcohol she had. While her new lifestyle has become a subject of discussion is also because of her position, particularly in Lagos

politics. It will be recalled that a few months ago, she was tasked with the responsibility of piloting the women affairs in the state for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC. Her obligation includes overseeing and galvanising women to support and actualise the Lagos dream. It also entails galvanising women to lend social and political support towards actualising the electoral promises of the party for the state. Unfortunately, Jumoke has allegedly deviated from her core mandate, as she has rather been more involved in slugfest, controversies and loud partying. She and her cohorts have reportedly been engaging loyal party members, including Kemi Nelson, a former Commissioner in the state and chieftain of the party, in one scuffle or another. It was gathered that some party members, who were attacked by her loyalists, are still recuperating. Her critics are always quick to point to her days at the House of Representatives, where she had represented Lagos Island I Federal Constituency. She was said to have performed abysmally poor.

Akala

Nicholas Ukachukwu’s Heartache

KWAM 1

If you ask Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu to share with you one of his passionate desires, he will definitely regale you with his efforts to win a seat in the Senate. But the more the Anambra State- born industrialist tries , the more this dream eludes him, since he left the House of Representatives many years ago. To realise his age-long aspiration, the billionaire left the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, when he could no longer endure the frustration he suffered in the hands of some hawks in the party, especially Andy Uba and his cronies, for the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA. Society Watch gathered that there was a glimmer of hope when he beat many

of other aspirants in the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, including Bianca Ojukwu, widow of the late Biafra warlord, Emeka Ojukwu and Dr. Okey Chidolue, a former top shot of Nigeria Ports Authority, who was also one-time aide to the late Ojukwu. But a source revealed that the founding Chairman/CEO of SNECOU Group Limited, is heart- broken, as the dream is falling apart before his very eyes. It was also gathered that his mandate for the Anambra South Senatorial district in the 2019 election was withdrawn a few weeks back. As if that was not enough, his certificate of return was also withdrawn, following a ruling by Justice Valentine Ashi of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Tayo Ayeni’s Momentous Moment

A

Ayeni

Tayo Ayeni, CEO, Skymit Motors, is a consummate businessman with interests in automobile and real estate businesses . As a businessman, his life is a great inspiration and a positive influence to many whose paths have crossed his. No wonder, when he sent out invites to loved ones to rejoice with him on the occasion of his 56th birthday recently , not a few confirmed their attendance immediately. Indeed, their readiness to celebrate and partake in the momentous moment, no doubt, is proof of Ayeni’s popularity, generosity and inspiring story. For the majority of the attendants, who came from across the country, the occasion provided them another rare opportunity to show how much they love Ayeni, the celebrator. The all-white birthday party held at his newly-completed Banana Island palatial mansion in Lagos. Though it was planned to be low-key, it turned out an elaborate event, which further proves how much he is admired and loved by family, friends and all. ThatprovidencehasbeenmercifultoAyeni, who is acknowledged to have revolutionalised

the automobile business in Nigeria, is stating the obvious. While he was growing up, he had the picture of how rich he wanted to be in his head and he followed his dream through. In other words, as a young man, he had a clear vision of what he wanted to do later in life andhepursueditwithunwaveringdoggedness. Also, while growing up, the only thing that caught his fancy was business and he refused to be swayed by any other interest. Perhaps, this explains why he launched his business in 1986 when he was just 24 years old. Today, the business has become a megafortune and given birth to a smaller and profitable subsidiary such as Affordable Cars Limited,alowandmediumcarsalesandservice outfit. As successful as he is, the popular socialite remains modest and simple because he recognizes that only God has taken him this far in life. Besides Skymit Limited, Ayeni also calls the shots at Space Ventures Limited , an establishment that deals in photographic materials; Space Properties, a real estate firm; Moontrends Holdings, a project financing and management firm, and Limoserve, among others.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R Ëž JANUARY 6 , 2019

SOCIETY WATCH

FIRS Boss, Fowler’s Wizardry

Fowler

Babatunde Fowler, Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, is undoubtedly one of the few heads of agencies in Nigeria who can be described as game changers under the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. Reports about the agency’s revenue fact sheet at the last meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC, in Abuja, indicated that it pooled the sum of N4.63trn into federation purse in 11 months between January and November 2018. Upon his appointment in 2015, tax defaulters were gripped with fears not because of the money to pay but because of the models that Fowler would use to extract and milk out unremitting taxes from them. Perhaps, they must have heard or be familiar with his history and stellar performance when he headed the Board of Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) between 2006 and 2015. Within his nine years’ stewardship in Lagos State and over-three years at the Federal, one can only say that Fowler is an

erudite tax reformer. On his watch, Lagos State experienced a sharp increase in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from an average of N3.6 Billion monthly as of January, 2006 to an average of over N23 Billion monthly as of June, 2015. He recorded improved quality of service delivery to taxpayers as well as improvement in the use of IT and other modern methods of tax administration. He introduced unprecedented enlightenment campaigns on tax administration and education in Africa, to mention but few. When Lagos State Local government areas were running on zero allocation under former President Olusegun Obasanjo , Fowler came on board with some financial gurus to propound the theory by which the state could generate its internal income without solely depending on what was shared from the federation Account. The model put together worked for the state l, as it became financially independent and a role model to many states of the federation.

Dumo Lulu-Briggs’ Loss Oil magnate and candidate of the Accord Party in the coming governorship election in Rivers State, Dumo Lulu Briggs, has been bearing a heavy heart. This has nothing to do with his political career, but the death of his father, Benson Lulu Briggs, founder of Moni Pulo indigenous oil firm, who died recently at the ripe age of 91. Though the late billionaire died a fulfilled man, his death has nevertheless dealt a heavy blow to Dumo , as it has somehow slowed downhispoliticalcampaigntowardstheRivers State Government House. Since his death, tributes and encomiums have been pouring in torrents on the man who is described a nationalist. The founder and Chairman of Moni Pulo Limited, an oil exploration and production

company, was awarded its first oil block in 1992 when the then Nigerian President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (retd.), was encouraging indigenous participation in the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry. The company currently has oil blocks in Ondo, Abia and Akwa-Ibom states. Its flagship project, OML 114, produces 10,000 barrels per day. Along with his wife, a pastor, he funded the O.B.Lulu Briggs Foundation, which provides humanitarian services to rural communities. He was the vice chairman of the nowdefunct National Party of Nigeria, NPN, the dominant political party in Nigeria from 1979 to 1983. He was also named one of the 10 richest Nigerians in 2014 with an estimated net worth

Lulu-Briggs

Not Yet Uhuru For Lekki Gardens Boss, Richard Nyong

Segun Awolowo

Richard Nyong, CEO, Lekki Gardens, came to the nation’s real estate sector with a clear vision and mission: to change the sector. He pursued the vision with uncommon gusto to the surprise of even some established players in the industry. Indeed, his arrival on the scene, so to say, had caused a stir in the industry, as he also delighted stakeholders with beautiful promises. No doubt, he started on a good —˜Â?ÂŽÇ°ČąČąÂŠÂœČąČąÂ‘Â’ÂœČąÄ™Â›Â–ČąÂœÂ–Â’Â•ÂŽÂ?ČąÂ?Â˜ČąÂ?‘Žȹ‹Š—”ȹŠÂ?Â?Ž›ȹ successfully delivering over 2,000 housing units comprising thousands of semi-detached Â‘Â˜ÂžÂœÂŽÂœČąÂŠÂ—Â?ȹ̊Â?ÂœČąÂ’Â—ČąÂ–Â˜Â›ÂŽČąÂ?Â‘ÂŠÂ—ČąÂ—Â’Â—ÂŽČąÂ›ÂŽÂœÂ’Â?Ž—Â?’Š•ȹ estates. But suddenly, there was a new twist to his story when Nyong and his contractor were arrested in connection with the death of some workers at one of his construction sites in Lekki, Lagos State.

He was subsequently arrested and granted bail, but the development later forced him to go underground. But if you think his travails were over, you are wrong. The pathetic tale of the Akwa-Ibom State-born businessman reminds one of the saying that misfortune sometimes comes not singly but in myriads. If you think his many troubles were over, Â˘Â˜ÂžČąÂ‹ÂŽÄ´ÂŽÂ›ČąÂ‘ÂŠÂ&#x;ŽȹŠȹ›ŽÂ?Â‘Â’Â—Â”ČąÂŠÂœČąÂ?‘Žȹ ” Šȹ Â‹Â˜Â–Čą businessman has been enmeshed in yet another scandal. Society Watch gathered that over 20 unit owners in the Horizon Premier-1 Estate in Lekki, Lagos have dragged the developer, Nyong, before a Lagos High Court over an alleged distortion of the estate layout to build shops in the space originally meant for children playground, green area and recreation facilities. —ȹÂ?Â‘ÂŽČąÂœÂžÂ’Â?ȹꕎÂ?ȹȹ‹¢ȹÂ?Â‘ÂŽČąÂ•ÂŠÂ ČąÄ™Â›Â–ČąÂ˜Â?Čą Advocaat Law Practice, the claimants are demanding an immediate reversion to the original layout in the 33-unit estate, which œžěŽ›ŽÂ?ČąÂ˜Â&#x;Ž›ȹÂ?Â Â˜ČąÂ˘ÂŽÂŠÂ›ÂœČąÂ˜Â?ČąÂ?Ž•Š¢ȹ’—ȹÂ?Ž•’Â&#x;Ž›¢ǰȹ a default for which the subscribers are also demanding compensation. It was also gathered that Lekki Gardens had sold the units in the estate in 2015 with a pledge to deliver in 2016. It, however turned out an airy promise; hence the suit this year. The claimants noted that rather than apologise for the delay and make adequate compensation for loss of rent revenue to subscribers, the developer, in a desperate –˜Â&#x;ÂŽČąÂ?Â˜ČąÂ›ÂŠÂ’ÂœÂŽČąÂ–Â˜Â—ÂŽÂ˘ČąÂŠÂ?Â?ÂŽÂ›ČąÂœÂžÄ›ÂŽÂ›Â’Â—Â?ČąÂ?Â›Â˜Â–Čą a huge loss from the collapse of one of its buildings in March 2016, decided to convert

the space for children’s playground, green area and recreation facilities to shops under the Â?ÂžÂ’ÂœÂŽČąÂ˜Â?ČąÂ™Â›Â˜Â&#x;Â’Â?’—Â?ČąÂ?ŠŒ’•’Â?Â˘ČąÂ˜ÄœÂŒÂŽÂœÇŻ It will be recalled that a six-story building at Ikate Elegushi area of Lekki belonging to the developer had collapsed on March 10, 2016 during construction, killing over 30 people and injuring many others. The company and its promoters, including Nyong, are currently facing criminal charges in a Lagos State High Court for the incident. To avoid the stigma the incident brought to the Lekki Gardens brand and to shield the company from liabilities, Nyong was said to have set up new property development companies to advance his business. The companies are Meridian Park Estate Limited; Horizon Estate Limited; and Foreshore Waters Limited. On the fresh suit by the 22 subscribers, a senior member of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, who pleaded anonymity, lamented the impunity with which Lekki Gardens, as well as the Managing Director, had continued to carry out its business with total disregard for regulations and without securing approvals before commencing construction. “Many of his developments in Lekki still lack approvals. He believes he is above the law. I am, therefore ,not surprised that he is converting children’s playground to shops. This is what he has also done in some of his ÂŽÂœÂ?ŠÂ?ÂŽÂœČąÂŠÂ—Â?ČąÂ ÂŽČąÂŠÂ›ÂŽČąÂ’Â—ČąÂŒÂ˜Â—ÂœÂ?Š—Â?ȹ‹ŠĴ•Žȹ ’Â?‘ȹ‘’–ǰȄȹ a source said. It was also gathered that earlier in the ¢ŽŠ›ǰȹÂ?‘ŽȹŠÂ?Ž—Â?ÂœČąÂ˜Â?Čą ȹ‘ŠÂ?ČąÂœÂŽÂŠÂ•ÂŽÂ?ČąÂ˜Ä›ČąÂ?‘Žȹ Horizon Premier-1 Estate for building plan contravention, after which the company broke the seal and resumed work.

De Vogue Owner, Chris Erondu’s New Plan In the beginning, Chris Erondu was known for his popular night club, The Page. The Page, a thriving business, enjoyed patronage from all and sundry for a long time. But to the amazement of his fans and patrons, Erondu took a bold and courageous step to rebrand his popular night club to De Vogue. The decision to transform The Page into De Vogue was wellthought-out and the gains are visible to the blind today. Since the De Vogue literally rose from the ashes of The Page, Erondu’s image has further received a boost in the nightclub/ entertainment sector in the Ikeja area of Lagos. He has continued to dazzle his customers with top of the range services in a cool and welcoming ambience. Interestingly, Society Watch gathered that the Edo State-born businessman is set to inject more fun into the club. “This will no doubt further set it apart from the other clubs around it,� a source said. Erondu came into the industry when many had thought that the business climate was already saturated. But he deployed his creativity and came up with astounding concepts that instantly made him the toast of many. While many of his contemporaries have fallen by the way side, he has continued to grow his clientele. Certainly, there is something he is doing right with De Vogue.

Erondu

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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 ˾ JANUARY 6 , 2019

LOUD WHISPERS

with JOSEPH EDGAR (09095325791)

The Duke of Shomolu’s New Year Message Let me first start by sending an apology for not delivering this speech early enough. Traditionally, I deliver this speech immediately after the President’s own, the aim being to distract Nigerians from the things he didn’t say and give us more hope than whatever would have been said in the speech either written by Femi Adesina or one of the two members of the cabal mummy had so thankfully exposed. Well, this year unlike in the past, I was able to secure tickets to legendary Alibaba’s New Year Concert thru his very beautiful wife Mummy Mary who happens to be a sister. So, I thought it wise, to delay the message since the concert in my own estimation was more important to me than a speech most of you will not even read. So I went to enjoy myself o, come and see drinks, food and very plenty fine girls. With the kind of beautiful women we have in this country, the country can never destabilize. Those people who keep calling us a failed state should have come to the concert

and see things. Well, before I get distracted let me go straight into my message. Fellow Nigerians, this year has been one of the worst in my adult life. We have really suffered as a people, beset by calamities, killings and economic down turn. I hear over 3million people lost their jobs, Dbanj lost his son, our soldiers were killed almost on a daily basis and Dino kept our interest until the very last day. Atiku emerged under PDP, Aisha Buhari showed more credibility than her husband and the Jagaban moved against his ‘son’ Ambode prompting the Duke to shout and jump. This year was totally captured by my brother, FALZ in his very important song/ video – This is Nigeria. He so beautifully captured our collective pain and hopelessness remarkably doing this while not wearing a shirt and sweating profusely obviously from not taking a bath for some time. Now is there any hope come 2019? All I can see from where I am seated is just forlorn desperation. With over 50 presidential candidates, the

majority of them unemployed people - abi wetin Fela Durotoye dey do or Hamza - looking for jobs and relevance and two major candidates who have thrown up the very important need for us to choose one out of two ‘evils’ we stand on the threshold of extinction. Our heroes have run away, gone quiet after shouting themselves hoarse without any response. Awolowo sits calmly in Ikeja where his sculptors have put him watching intently and shaking his head in frustration. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Ahmadu Bello struggling to change their nationalities even in heaven ashamed of what their legacy has been turned into by those they bequeathed it to. This is truly Nigeria – a place where dreams die, a place for the visionless and the impotent and barren. A place peopled by dubious clergy and fraudulent prophets churning out kobo kobo prophecies but taken seriously by a vacuous elite and an impoverished populace. This is Nigeria where the blind lead and those with

eyes allow themselves to be led by those who cannot see while gleefully singing their praises. This is Nigeria, a country riddled with inconsistencies that beguile even its most ardent supporter. This is Nigeria where ‘two’ unelected but shadowy miscreants’ rule over 180million people who can at best be described as ghosts. This is Nigeria a place that makes George Orwell’s Animal Farm a nursery Rhyme. This is Nigeria where life is short, brutish and labourious. This is Nigeria our Nigeria. The Nigeria of Buhari and his kinsmen. The Nigeria of the herdsmen, Nigeria of Boko Haram and a leprous Nigeria that kills and mauls its own Children; having them for lunch in a senseless cannibalistic feast of the ghouls. This is our Nigeria, my Nigeria. A hope lost. I sit down here on a heap of dirt, naked, stark naked, head in my arms, tears streaming down my eyes as I weep for us. That President’s New Year’s speech didn’t do it for me and the rest of us. Our fate hangs………….

Jonathan

Atiku

Obaseki

Melaye

HAMZA VS JONATHAN: DID THEY SEND HIM?

how to pick your battles. So you will look for this kind trouble as running mate to governor? Mbok Jonathan if you have that kind of money to be giving lightweights, please double it and send for me o at least me I can deliver Shomolu for you not these one who cannot even enter the other room without getting written permission. Please don’t let me laugh abeg.

cannot put mouth, it is one at a time. For that one, let’s allow Keyamo handle that one after all na him dey committee and I am sure them dey pay am. Me, na social responsibility. I go hide my number call this my paddy again o.

DINO MELAYE VS I.G. - A SMALL WORD OF ADVICE

You see if you have noticed, for sometime I have left Sanwo-Olu and his campaign alone o. The way they have flooded Lagos with campaign posters although quite impressive leaves me with a reluctant admiration of the way they are going about the whole campaign. SanwoOlu fine in some of the posters, others he no fine. That na him wahala though. Anyways, we were all just mulling over just how lame our Agbaje’s campaign has become with no fire and guts when all of a sudden, his running mate just threw a stone at President Jonathan. He was reported to have claimed that in 2015, Jonathan or his people had offered him $5m for only God-knows-what. You see before the very exciting response from the Jonathan team even me I come dey wonder why for the life of me would he be offered that kind of money to do what? Was he a Jagaban at that time? What block of voters was he in control of and what kind of influence was he appropriating in his street not to talk of local government? So Jonathan’s response was classic. Wait for it o: a man with no name, no influence and no pedigree? Why would I offer him that kind of money to do what? Mbok. If you have not seen Jonathan’s response please go and look for it. It was a classic. A powerful below the belt punch, the type that will make you keel over in pain throwing up your smelly breakfast. I am sure it was Mummy Jonathan who dictated it and got the people to put it in good English. She would have said it verbally in pidgin for them to craft it. Mbok, this Hamzat na funny man. Instead make you quiet, follow the script they have written for you and follow the blueprint before they move against you, na Jonathan trouble you go find. A classic case of not knowing

KEYSTONE AND 9MOBILE – I KNOW THE OWNERS You see, the last time I jabbed Atiku, some people called me to ask if I am turncoat against ‘our candidate’. Let me state it here categorically that like Dangote, Otedola and Tomei, I remain non-partisan and will not take sides in this matter until after the elections. Abi you want make them commot me as Duke of Shomolu? In so doing, this my position gives me the freedom to yab both sides any how I want to. So my brother Atiku came out with a statement the other day, that Buhari and his family members now own billions of shares in both firms. They even went ahead to say that they know some of Buharis’ relations who borrowed N5,000 to go to Abuja at the outset of this administration but today are controlling billions. Me I know the Deputy Managing Director of Keystone bank and I will ask him to look me squarely in the eyes and answer the question as truthfully as possible. I will say ‘My lord, you know I have known you for sometime, now from our days at NAL bank, you have never lied to me. You even gave me support during my last play, OBA Esugbayi, which I remain grateful for. So tell me the honest and truth. IS BUHARI THE OWNER DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY of your bank? Whatever answer he gives me, I will let Nigerians know. Meanwhile, the man never take my calls since this issue came up. I will keep trying. For 9mobile, I

GODWIN OBASEKI, LONG TIME Any time I think of this governor I will just be seeing dilapidated schools. Mbok not my fault o, the video that was posted on social media sometime last year where rain was falling heavily and the children huddled at one corner of the classroom with no roof is still in my head. So that is the image I have unfortunately etched in my mind anytime I think of this gentleman governor. I just felt to send a shout out to him this morning since I have not really heard much about him especially in the area of performance. I only see him at weddings and other such type social gatherings. So this week, another picture of a dilapidated school hit the airwaves again and I thought to reach out and ask what the issue really is. As a senior colleague on the floor of the Lagos Stock Exchange, I used to look out for him. The man had just come back from America and his suits used to fear us. So when the man was trading, me especially used to like to buy stocks from him so that I can walk up to him to get him to sign my deal slips and in the process better observe his powerful suits. So with his strong investment banking pedigree, one would have expected to get better news from Edo State not all these pictures of neglect. My lord, please it is not fight, if you cannot do it, just say so and we immortalize you with a statue or otherwise, just take the area of education and massively impact it. I know you can do it, no be the English do the work. Thank you.

Let me carefully appeal to you sir to thread carefully on this matter. This show of force if you ask me is totally unnecessary. This man may be everything you can think of but remains a sitting senator and should be accorded such dignity no matter what. I watched his Christmas message and he looked kind of scared and with a low voice he wished us all a merry Christmas. It was as if he was talking from inside a toilet as he did not want your men outside to know he was still there. Hemming him in, attempting to cut power from his house as it is being reported all add to bad PR for you and your men. Dino is an irritant and an expert in baiting you, pushing you to make all these PR gaffes that you really do not need. I am sure there are other clinical ways of handling this kind of situation instead of portraying the Nigerian Police as a brutish force. Kindly play him at his game, this is a battle for the image of both sides and the sooner you see this as a PR war, the better for you. I saw a video recently on the Nigeria Police Force where the force was portrayed in very positive and clean way. Think you should continue with the line and rebuild the force in such a way that we will be proud of it. Kindly withdraw your people and follow laid down procedures of engaging a ‘suspect’ and see how the public will queue behind you. As of now, we are seeing this thing as an army of occupation unleashed on just one man. Dino you sef, we are getting tired of all these childish rants and games. It is distracting and belittling for a man who is a member of a highly respected institution. If you are not posing in front of luxury cars, singing ugly songs out of

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JANUARY 6 , 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R

LOUD WHISPERS

Shehu Shagari

tune and generally looking for trouble, you will be crying wolf that they want to kill you. Why, na only you dey, are you the only senator in the country? What is it sef? It is not your fault, it is the fault of those who instead of facing the increasing crime rate in the country will now be taking you seriously and laying siege to your house when daily armed robbers are killing us. Mbok, enough is enough and kindly grow up. We really do not have time for all these. Not now. We have an election to conduct.

SHEHU SHAGARI, NOT A BUSH Ok, I stumbled on the Shagari funeral procession on AIT the other day. They showed his body being carried into a funny looking hearse, by caretakers and some people all in babaringa with no escort. They bundled his body with no respect for the office he held like they were carrying a hit-and-run victim. Covered it in one kind of white cloth and shoved it into the van. Kai, cry catch me. As the hearse made to leave, the thing enter go slow. So they had to wait for the road to clear before they continued their journey. I just switch off the TV. Even if they do us as a country, we cannot get sense? Can you compare this with the burial America gave George Bush recently? The way they handled the thing, death even hungry me. The respect, the organization, the tradition everything just made the whole world proud of the person that was George Bush and the way America treats its heroes. Here we just throw the corpse into the ground like something we pick on the road. No Armed forces, no state burial, no national anthem, no guard of honour. Traffic continue and we bury am and just continue with life. Even Awolowo who was not a President got a better burial. What am I even saying Awolowo? Fela got a far better burial than the first and only President of the second republic. There are really tears in the land. This is not the Nigeria they promised me when I was born o. Otherwise, I would not have come o. Please can someone do something about this Shagari matter plsssssssssssss.

Pinnik

Austen-Peters

Buhari – Billionnaires are Running They say my brother Scott Tomei is the latest billionaire to refuse the appointment into the President’s re-election committee. You see the whole thing is even confusing me sef. There is Presidential Committee on something. That one has Tinubu and a whole lot of old men with Dangote and Otedola and maybe Daddy Showkey. Then I have just seen another one they say was set up by my Mummy Aisha and these one I hear there are over 700 people inside o. You see why I feel so defeated. So, mummy can set up a team of over 700 people and I will not be there? A whole Duke of Shomolu, well not her fault. Shebi it is me that is considering a chieftaincy title for her. Let her come and collect na. Shebi na here I siddon. Well the story today is not about me, but in the way and manner these rich men are jumping to say they are not there o. First it was Dangote and Otedola who had to ‘clarify’ there positions

and now we have Scott who has always been very apolitical also trying to clarify his position. You see where we get when we will be doing copy copy? When they saw Donald Trump advisory panel consisting of CEOs of top triple A firms they decided to do same. So they pulled in all these people who at best are ‘any government in power’ without actually clarifying from them. So if my brother Scot who loves life now throws his hat squarely with Buhari and one miracle happen and Atiku wins, how will he start to beg o? That one even OBJ cannot resolve that matter. But wait, before announcing these names don’t they consult them? Do they just throw out names like that assuming that the people will be ok with it? Na wa. At least so far we have not seen any dead people’s names on any of these lists. Mbok let me recommend Scott Tomei replacement- let’s look at Fidelis

defence cannot handle. It’s not as if you have enough men to spread nationwide, so concentrate your energies on those places where you are needed more. I have Shomolu under Control, Jagaban is in control of Lagos and environs, Okorocha is doing well in the SE and Wike is doing just fine in the south south so just face Boko Haram that is the real problem my brother. Please don’t vex, we don’t need python; what we need is a quick and efficient decimation of the fighting powers of Boko Haram and other terrorists and not a technical defeat as once stated but a sure and decisive defeat . Thank you sir, merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Take the pythons go; we no need.

MOREMI: BOLANLE AUSTENPETERS, WELLDONE! This very beautiful lady will continue to amaze and excite us Nigerians through her wonderfully arranged theatre productions. This year, she produced and directed Moremi, a story about the legendary Queen at Ile-Ife. The production excelled in its quality and delivery. No wonder the tickets were sold out and people got turned back at the gates. Me I got VIP tickets, two sef. You see why it is good to be a prominent man in the society as The Duke of Shomolu. I called Joseph the hard-working GM at Tera and said, I want to come and see the Play on the 30th of December. He said, yes my lord and everything was done possible to make me very comfortable. While the rest of you were out there not being able to enter, me I enter and enjoyed the show. The woman has talent and is doing a lot for Nigerian theatre, creating jobs and better positioning us. I am so proud to call her my friend and mentor. Welldone my sister.

TOKE MAKINWA AND HER BUM

AMAJU PINNIK – IN TROUBLE? I hear that the Minister of Sports, Mr. Danlung, is interested in sending you to jail. Well, what else can I say on this matter? The other day I saw you at Tera Kulture and wanted to discuss with you the topic but you were in the midst of family and was not sure how you would react. You know you no dey really like to talk to people you don’t know. Anyways they say you have not retired over N1b they gave you to prosecute the World Cup. If it is true, you had better quickly go and retire it o. If you were working for my former Oga Nicholas that na sack o. Nicho no dey joke with retirement o. I once went on an official trip to Uyo for a stock exchange meeting and stayed with my mum o after collecting money for hotel. Nicholas insisted that I retired it or returned the money and as I don chop the money, I had to get my mum to issue

Makinwa

Buhari

a receipt for accommodation and feeding during the stay. Well, that na Nicholas, my mama and people I can beg and na only N40,000. This is a national duty and na N1 billion with a bad precedent if the right thing is not done. My brother if it is true, go and retire o otherwise, the police that are laying siege to Dino’s’s house will be redeployed towards you o and you know you na enjoyment man, you no get power for wahala. A word is enough for the wise, you also know this Danlung no really like you so if you give him this opportunity, he will grab it with both hands o. Oya retire abeg quick.

NATIONWIDE OPERATION PYTHON – NOT NECESSARY While thanking you for the attempt to be proactive especially as we get close to the expected volatility of the elections, permit me to state here very categorically that there is no need for a nationwide Operation Python as widely reported. Mbok, let’s carry the python to the North East, Zamfara, Katsina and Sokoto; all those places where there is hot fire. We are very ok in the rest of the country and there is nothing special that police and Guguru

Hmmmmm, let me tell you people one small secret. Nigerian ladies are now buying bum bum over the counter o. There is one smart doctor in Surulere who is charging about N3m to build new bums for our ladies. So for those of us who are experts in bum technology, we are having a field day as we are seeing more and more of our women walking around with full and sensuous bums recently purchased. This would create better job opportunities as insurance firms can start insuring them and the FIRS can also start charging VAT on them. You see, my friend was aghast when all of a sudden, he saw his normally flatbottomed girlfriend walking around like an Ibibio damsel. Upon enquiry, she had used their joint savings to go and buy the bum. A whole N3m, he almost fainted. Well, Toke Makinwa seems to be the poster child of this new trend. She was reported to have said that getting the new bum was the best decision she took last year. Well for me, at the cost of N3m I will prefer Duchess’s bum just the way it is otherwise, if she spends a whole N3m on a new bum I will just run mad.

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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 ˾ ANUARY 6, 2019

TRIBUTE

After a Hard Won Battle, Abba-Aji Set to Become Nigeria’s 7th Female S’Court Justice Lillian Okenwa

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hen Aloma Mariam Mukhtar was sworn in as the first female justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 2005 history was made. A woman finally mounted the apex bench for the first time since the Court came into being as Supreme Court of Nigeria on October 1st 1963. That was some 55 years after its set up and even longer if you add the colonial times when it was Federal Supreme Court. A similar event occurred on Tuesday, March 23, 1993 when Judith S. Kaye was sworn in, as Chief Judge of New York State. Governor Cuomo declared it was the beginning of ‘a new era.’ One of the most notable aspects of this new era is the fact that Chief Judge Kaye is New York’s first woman Chief Judge. Aloma Mariam Mukhtar later became Nigeria’s first female Chief Justice of Nigeria and indeed her presence at the apex court marked the beginning of a new era for Nigeria’s female judges who previously could only dream of making it to the Supreme Court. Then came Justice Olufunlola Adekeye, then Justices Mary Peter Odili, Clara Bata Ogunbiyi, Kudirat Keke –Ekun and Amina Adamu Augie. Gradually the previously severe looking faces on the bench became mixed with faces softer and more pleasant to behold. After 14 years at the Court of Appeal, the Senate recently confirmed the appointment of Hon. Justice Uwani Musa Abba Aji as a justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. The Yobe state born jurist will be the seventh woman appointed to the apex court and second from the North East after the retired Clara Bata Ogunbiyi (Borno State). It has indeed been a long journey fraught with battles and controversies but as the good book says, to everything under the sun, there is a time and season. She was elevated to the appeal court on September 22, 2004 along with Justices Mary Peter Odili and Kudirat Keke –Ekun. Although women have not yet reached parity with men in terms of their numbers within the federal judiciary, significant progress has been made and the list keeps growing. Abba Aji’s confirmation came after the senate considered the report of the committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and legal matters on her nomination. Chairman of the committee, David Umaru, said the nominee has been screened and satisfied all requirements. But her confirmation was not without pitfalls. Immediately her nomination was announced a certain Civic Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC), through its Chairman, Mr. Lanre Suraji, urged President Muhammadu Buhari not to forward her name to the Senate for confirmation as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, on the basis that she was under corruption investigation by security agencies for allegedly accepting a bribe from a senior lawyer who is currently facing trial in court, some questions arose. Suraju, who is a member of the NJC’s Corruption and Financial Crime Cases Monitoring Committee set up last year by the CJN, was said to have threatened to challenge Abba-Aji’s appointment in court should President Buhari assent to her elevation to the Supreme Court. Nonetheless, the National Judicial Council (NJC) has since reacted to the call asserting that there are no allegations of corruption against her. The NJC in a statement by its Director of Information, Mr. Soji Oye, explained that contrary to CSNAC’s claim, Justice Abba-Aji has no pending corruption case to disqualify her from being appointed to the apex court’s bench. The Council had at its 87th meeting chaired by the CJN on October 3 and 4, recommended Justice Abba-Aji, currently the Presiding Justice, Kaduna division of the Court of Appeal, to the President for appointment as a Justice of the Supreme Court. Her lordship was one of the eight judicial officers, who were directed by the NJC to excuse themselves from duties, effective from November 2, 2016 on the request of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) pending the outcome of their investigation by the DSS, on corruption allegation. She and others were however directed to resume duties on June 7, 2017 on the grounds that no charges were brought against them by the AGF at the conclusion of their investigation. Strangely, as soon as she was announced for elevation, CSNAC showed up. Yet, the story of United States’ Justice Brett Kavanaugh is still very fresh. After investigations on allegations of sexual misconduct levelled at him, a letter to the Senate Republicans from the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman revealed that

Justice Abba-Aji none of the witnesses provided evidence to back their claims. Subsequently, he was cleared and elevated to the Supreme Court of the United States. Some months ago, one of his accusers not only admitted that she lied to the congress but revealed that she had never met Kavanaugh. On the Nigerian scene, if the AGF and his team that initially alleged graft failed to bring charges against Abba-Aji at the end of their investigations, why the insistence by CSNAC that she is under corruption investigation by security agencies? When the NJC in view of no pending corruption case against her and other justices called them back to work, CSNAC raised no posers. All that while, she adjudicated over matters and wrote judgments. If she is considered unfit to sit on the apex court bench on account of alleged corrupt practices, does it then mean that justices with corruption tendencies are suitable for the Court of Appeal? Would it not amount to grave injustice for CSNAC to be silent over the recall to the Court of Appeal, of a judge that is likely to pervert the course of justice? Would it not be a great travesty of justice to suffer litigants the agony of going on appeal when it is known that they will not get justice? CSNAC needs to answer these questions and more if in their opinion she is unfit for elevation but kept mum when she was recalled to the Court of Appeal. But for routine appeals to the Supreme Court by lawyers and litigants who are dissatisfied with some decisions of the appeal court including that of her lordship, there has never been any known petition against her. In a recent address to women judges, Hon. Justice Amina Augie of the Supreme Court of Nigeria had this to say: “In writing our judgments, we must seek

to interpret the law justly, fairly and expeditiously, to ensure that justice is not delayed. We must strive to ensure that we are not only applying the law as it is, but adopting philosophical and normative approaches to interpreting the law. “The end result should be a ruling or judgment that delivers justice while simultaneously building on existing jurisprudence... We are judges first, then women; so we must always present ourselves as qualified and competent candidates; not as alternative choice or affirmative choice. “As judges who are women, our roles are no different from our fellow male judges; our role as judges is to play a part in the creation of jurisprudence. That is, women that recognise the importance of human rights, regardless of the field of law in question, particularly so for judges in common law jurisdictions. “We must ensure that in interpreting and applying the law, we are playing a representative role as agents of change; that the law does not only have a human face but also has a woman face.” So far, the above charge has not been controverted as it concerns Hon. Justice Uwani Abba-Aji. The law is clear about the party on whom the burden of proof lies. The onus, the obligation has always been on the party who makes an allegation to prove the claims made against the other party. As at today, our laws provide that a party is presumed innocent while the other side bears the burden of proof. The law is trite that he who asserts a fact must prove it, and where enough and relevant evidence are not adduced, then it is he who has failed to produce the evidence that will fail in his case. –––Legal Practitioner, Editor -in - Chief/Publisher - Law & Society Magazine

ARTS & REVIEW

QUEEN MOREMITHE MUSICAL: AN ENTHRALLING ENSEMBLE OF NOLLYWOOD’S SCREEN GODS AND A GODDESS PAGE 69

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PUBLICATION

06.01.2019

2019 PEERING INTO POSSIBILITIES FOR NIGERIAN'S ART SCENE

One of the opening scenes in Queen Moremi the Musical

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 ˾ JANUARY 6, 2019

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ARTS & REVIEW\\2019 PREVIEW

Sculptures inside OYASAF facility in Maryland, Lagos

2019: PEERING INTO POSSIBILITIES FOR NIGERIA'S ART SCENE Yinka Olatunbosun gives a forecast of events and developments expected to make 2019 a tremendous year for Nigeria's art scene

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ith the enveloping air of political campaigns and activities, the 2019 art calendar may experience a slow start as it is likely that the momentum will build into a fever pitch in the second quarter of the year. That has been the routine for some years and it is not certain things will change. When the surge of activities in arts and culture begins, art journalists struggle to spend quality time at each of the events as they often take place simultaneously. For theatre practitioners, a lot of dynamics will make 2019 a memorable year. A leading theatre producer and director, Bolanle AustenPeters, in December 2018 declared that one of her productions, Fela and the Kalakuta Queens, will be exported to South Africa this year on the invitation of the South African consulate. The musical, based on the story of the women behind the music of Fela, the Afrobeat legend, is the second contemporary musical from Nigeria to be staged in South Africa. The first musical from Nigeria to be performed on the South African stage in 2017 is Kakadu the Musical, written by Uche Nwokedi SAN. Following the box office success of Queen Moremi the Musical, there are indications that the play will return during Easter holidays. According to Austen-Peters, many theatre buffs were displeased to know that most of the tickets were sold out days before the 12-day show commenced. In fact, two more runs were added to meet the demand for

the performances but many still couldn’t get the tickets. Hence, this year, the play is expected to run during the holidays, most likely during Easter holidays. Joseph Edgar, the produçer of Oba Esugbayi play, had also said that the historical play will return to stage in December 2019. Meanwhile, one of the most controversial stage plays of the year, “3some", written and directed by Jude Idada, will be produced by Joseph Edgar in June at MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos. The controversy around “3some" lingers because of the sexual theme and the graphic interpretation of the script. Besides, the live theatre is considered by some critical audience as far too sacred to bare too much details of a sexually explicit material even to a “forewarned" audience. The “3some” drama is rated 18 and it qualifies to be called a sex therapy for couples though its moral value is arguable. For the rather quiet producer and playwright of Kakadu the Musical, television entertainment is his new toast. Having developed an interesting story for the television series showing on EbonyLife TV, titled “E. V. E.”, the legal drama series is one of the best developments in Nollywood’s history of its portrayal of legal intrigues. As a senior advocate, he has re-scripted Nigerian television using the right language and temperament of his characters in a fictitious commercial law firm thus making the drama series an x-ray of the scandals that beset the judiciary or in fact the entire legal system in Nigeria. The television drama scene is very competitive and really, time will dictate to the existing players that time is up for their painfully long television series and stock characters to be put to rest. Many of them may want to take a cue from Tyler Perry who recently rested the character

of Madea. For the music scenes there were a lot of comebacks in 2018. Timaya, Duncan Mighty, D'banj and 2Baba made top charting songs in the previous year but overall, there is a rising degree of mediocrity in lyricism, professionalism and artist's personal music portfolio. Whilst collaborations are great in producing hit songs, it makes music artists lazy and this explains in part why there are just very few music albums in the previous year in Nigeria's popular music scene. Instead of developing international standards of live performance, many artists still engage in lip-syncing and stroll into view of the audience without any dramatic game plan. Music artists across the globe have appropriated different stage crafts to make artistic entrance. Nigerian artists are in dire need of creative directors for their performances and concerts. In 2019, concert figures will likely dwindle as more music fans may be bored with the same old performance styles, with the exception of prospecting baby mamas. For the visual art scene, Lagos Island will remain the hub of art exhibitions, artists' talk and previews. Ake Book and Art Festival will break the tradition by situating the annual event at the city's capital, Ikeja. The private sector will still be a driving force in the visual art scene as the first major privately owned museum of contemporary art will be launched later in the year by Otunba Omooba Yemisi Shyllon Art Foundation (OYASAF) in partnership with the Pan-Atlantic University, Ibeju-Lekki. All the sculptures that are inside OYASAF

garden are likely to be moved to the museum. Shyllon, a foremost Nigerian art collector has donated many of his sculptures to good causes including Freedom Park, Lagos during its beautification process. Also, another museum of photography is being executed by Frank Oshodi in Lagos and is quite close to completion. For the literary art scene, there will be a private sector intervention in the creation and replication of open air libraries to revive the reading culture. Interesting conversations around books will be stirred during the Lagos Book and Art Festival, an annual literary series which features book and art exhibitions, authors and publishers’ talks as well as music concerts. Other festivals that will be showcased this year include the Lagos International Jazz Festival (LIJF), Lagos Jazz Series and the Lagos International Poetry Festival (LIPFEST). For the movie scene, there will be a resurgence of new movies by Nigerian movie producers. There will be more competition in the film industry and the audience will be more informed to discern when a movie is just a production with a lot of hype and when it reflects true professional standards. There is no gainsaying that in general, the cinematography, especially in the area of picture quality has improved but one cannot say the same about the scripting or editing, even with some of Nollywood’s acclaimed box office hits. Casting directors, performance coaches and screen writers will soon be in high demand because if the movies do not pass the “litmus" test, Nigerian movie producers will remain a part of the cheering audience at international film festivals and not the cheered.

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JANUARY 6, 2019 ˾ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

POLITY

In Bauchi, APC Still Holds the Ace The race for the 2019 governorship election in Bauchi State is marked with peculiar characteristics and unique contradictions writes Tobi Soniyi

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he Bauchi State governorship election will be a straight contest between incumbent Governor Muhammed Abubakar of the All Progress Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Bala Mohammed. Bala Mohammed is the immediate past Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. From 1999 to 2015, only two persons governed Bauchi state unlike some states where there were 3-4 change of guards. While Governor Abubakar wants the status quo or continuity syndrome maintained by stepping out to contest for his second term, Bala Mohammed wishs to upstage and break the 2ndterm uninterrupted jinx. The duo are already mobilising their supporters and community leaders in all the nooks and crannies of the state. To begin with, in April 2007, Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed was elected Senator for Bauchi South under the All Nigeria People’s Party (APP). During the impasse trailing ex-President Umaru Yar’Adua medical vacation, Senator Mohammed was the first serving senator to call for declaring late President Yar’Adua incapacitated and making Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan the acting president. No one was suprised when he was rewarded with an appointment as minister of FCT on 8 April 2010, when the then Acting President Goodluck Jonathan announced his new cabinet. However, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has detained and questioned Senator Mohammed extensively in connection with questionable schemes and projects undertaken by him when he held sway as FCT Minister between 2010 and 2015. On May 10, 2017, Justice A.M. Talba of the FCT High Court ordered EFCC to remand him in prison custody pending determination of his bail application. He was charged with a 6-count offence bordering on abuse of office, false declaration of assets and fraud to the tune of N864million. EFCC alleged that while in office as minister, Senator Mohammed allegedly received N550million as bribe from the Aso Savings and Loans Limited with respect to some properties in the Asokoro area of Abuja. He was also accused of corruptly abusing his position as Board Chairman of Aso Savings by allocating four numbers fully detached duplexes and 11 numbers semi-detached duplexes valued at N314million through the Presidential Taskforce on Sale of Governments Houses, to himself. The former minister is also accused of making false declaration of his assets. However, the senator denied all the allegations even as he pleaded not guilty to the charges. On October 18, 2017, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court in Abuja granted EFCC an interim forfeiture order to take possession of 14 choice properties belonging to Senator

Abdullahi Abubakar Mohammed. While EFCC is prosecuting the former minister on 6-count charge for abuse of office, it is at the same time prosecuting his son, Shamsudeen, on separate 15-count corruption charge for money laundering. Shamsudeen is also on trial alongside four firms- Bird Trust Agro Allied Ltd, Intertrans Global Logistics Ltd, Diakin Telecommunications Ltd and Bal-Vac Mining Ltd, which the EFCC said were used to launder over N1.1billion. Meanwhile, on October 1, 2018 Senator Mohammed, emerged as the PDP 2019 governorship candidate in Bauchi State after defeating two other contestants, Abdul Ningi and Adamu Gumba, both senators, at a keenly contested primary election. The chairman, PDP electoral panel for the state, announced that Mohammed scored 1,335 votes to emerge winner, while Ningi got 802 votes and Gumba polled 15 votes. While on familiarisation tour in Dass, Bogoro and Tafawa Balewa axis on March 8, 2018, Senator Mohammed vowed to unseat the APC administration of Abubakar in 2019, saying that APC performance was below what PDP achieved while in power. “I am here to sensitise our people through house to house contact; to inform PDP supporters of my decision to rescue Bauchi state people if voted as governor in 2019. APC came to power through deceptive propaganda to heal the wounds of

Nigerians even when wounds did not exist’’ On his own part, Governor Abubakar was an avid career civil servant with few interruptions of private legal practicing all along until he retired and went into politics. On completion of his youth service, Abubakar joined the civil service as a pupil state counsel in the Ministry of Justice, Bauchi State. He rose through the ranks to the position of Senior Parliamentary Counsel and Head of Legal Drafting Department of Bauchi State House of Assembly in 1983 He later became the Bauchi State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice. His intermittent legal practice saw him becoming the Chairman of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Bauchi State Branch from 1996 to 1998, appointed a member of the National Judicial Council (NJC) in June 2013. . He was appointed Resident Electoral Commissioner of the INEC and in 2003, he was promoted to National Electoral Commissioner in charge of Legal Services and supervisor of Borno, Jigawa, and Yobe states. He retired as INEC commissioner and went into legal practice and on April 11, 2015 he was elected Bauchi state governor after defeating the incumbent party’s candidate by over 370,000 votes. When asked if he had delivered on the mandate given to him, Abubakar was quick to cite Section 14 (2) (b) of the constitution which states that ‘’the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government’’. On both security and welfare of the people, the governor said he had delivered. This may not be an exaggeration. Many would remember that Boko Haram launched its first attack in Bauchi on July 26, 2009 when the insurgent attacked a police station in Bauchi State. More than 50 people were killed and several dozen were injured. By July 30, 2009, the military captured Mohammed Yusuf, the sect leader and transferred him to the custody of the police. They summarily executed him in public outside police headquarters. While on September 8, 2010, five persons comprising a soldier, policeman, two prison warders and a civilian were killed following an attack on Bauchi prison by Boko Haram, just as 759 inmates at the prisons were set free. Among the inmates who escaped from the prison were all the 123 Boko Haram members. Intermittently, churches and mosques were attacked, just as the attacks on other soft spots for the insurgents remained unabated till the current administration came on board. On August 11, 2016, Senator Isa Hamma Misau (Bauchi Central) raised the alarm that Boko Haram was relocating from its stronghold in Sambisa to Burra Forest in Ningi Emirate Council. He said Burra forest is linked through a corridor to the Falgore Forrest in Kano state and Saminaka in Kaduna State; and it is from there that the terrorists are going to other places to unleash terror on people.

Omoniyi: Procrastination Remains a Major Issue in Corporate Governance Femi Omoniyi, a United States-based Nigerian project consultant, recently launched a book on procrastination to wide acclaim in the US. In this interview with Samuel Ajayi, Omoniyi spoke on why he wrote the book and how he feels procrastination is a demon many corporate big guns are trying to fight

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an you tell us who Femi Omoniyi is? Like you do know, I am Femi Omoniyi, an Ijesa man from Ilesha, South-west Nigeria. I spent most of my adult life in Lagos and schooled in there too. I trained as a builder and licensed as a chattered builder in Nigeria in addition to a Master degree in business administration. I practiced for 25 years in Nigeria in all areas of building construction, project management and maintenance. Some of my projects successfully executed in Nigeria are as follow: Uba -Ibafo, Intercontinental Bank building Iddo, Oceanic Bank, Igbokoda, Emerald Hostel, University of Lagos, Multipurpose Hall and table tennis section, Lagos Country Club, Arv Clinic of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Tuberculous Centre of the University of Port-Harcourt, Opthalmology Building, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife and others too numerous to mention. In the social circle, I belong to Ikoyi Club 1938, Island club, Lions

Club of Maryland and Ilesa Social Elite. I moved to the United States of America about six years ago to create a global outlook for self, family and professional life. You are a projects person. How did you make foray into book writing? As a builder and project manager, the very first thing I discovered in my professional life were delays, cost overruns, fluctuations and sometimes project abandonment. This got me thinking and I surreptitiously started carrying out research on projects failure in Nigeria and other parts of the world. And I discovered beneath this is time management. You cannot discuss procrastination in isolation of time management. This led me into book writing on this critical subject. What now inspired this book you just wrote: Procrastination: the Silent Killer of Dreams? The flow is natural. In addition to a curious mind, I love to be seen as a trail blazer and writing is my second nature and contribution to

Omoniyi knowledge is the center of my fulcrum in life. I am aware that it took you so long also to finish the book. Were you also battling the procrastination demon?

Yes, like every other person, I am also a work in progress. It took me several years to put my thoughts together in a book. I fought procrastination ferociously to get this book published. At every point in life, there is always an obstacle and the ability to surmount them is what makes a man successful. The publishing environment in the United States is very competitive though lucrative. As a foreigner, how do you intend to deal with the expected resentment from a typically but suppressed xenophobic and racial society? I must confess it was a big battle, but I am grateful to all, for the support, encouragement and objective criticism that ultimately galvanised the actualisation of this lofty dream. However, I don’t think about these predjudices and I want to differ a little. In every society, resentment is an integral part of growth; it is multi-faceted and real. How you manage it is a function of what to expect on the long run. Any good product will sell any day anywhere in the world. Some of these thoughts are stereotyping and do not exist in reality. Continued online www.thisdaylive.com

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

IN THE ARENA

2019: The Year We’ve Been Waiting For! For many reasons, 2019 is crucial to all Nigerians, writes Olawale Olaleye

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ts reputation precedes it. The talk about 2019 started immediately after the 2015 elections, some four years ago. Although it is generally the way of politicians to project years ahead, the difference between Nigerian politicians and their counterparts in more civilised climes is that the projections of the latter category are usually intertwined with the development and the growth of their societies. But back home here, it is always purely self-serving and often at the collective expense. When a Nigerian politician is discussing the dynamics of an election that is some three or four years away, if you looked closely, it is because he has a vested interest, either directly or in directly. And typically, none of their extrapolations would be development-based. It is either about power sharing or the advancement of their personal economic interests. Thus, between February and March this year, there will be a elections, holding in every village and community in the country – presidential, governorship and state and federal legislative elections. However, for many a politician, the elections this year are about the balance of power – the struggle for what the geo-political zones consider their rights. Therefore, by implication, the struggle in this year’s elections is largely about the positioning for 2023 on the one hand and the campaign for a more effective and efficient leadership on the other, in a sense that does not reinforce whatever is considered the failure of the current administration. With the many unpleasant characters of 2018, the fact that many had looked forward to 2019 with as much trepidation and huge expectation is not unexpected. For a majority, it is definitely not exciting. Such fears are believed to have been compounded by the deteriorating security situations in many parts of the country, the fears of a gloomy economic status and the general uninspiring leadership. In the campaign for this year’s election, therefore, there are three competing narratives. The first is the argument that the South-east must own their right to the presidency by playing their politics right. What do these theorists mean? That if the South-east truly desires to have a good shot at the presidency, it must tag along with the Buhari presidency, support him and be seen to have a played such role that would encourage no one to stand in their way in 2023. Then, there is a variant narrative from the Southwest geo-political zone, which is the second narrative. Leaders from this zone have been going about saying the only way power could return to the zone is by reelecting the current government of the All Progressives Congress (APC) into power, whether or not the government is running on a well-off record of performance.

Of course, the South-west campaign is fast generating controversy as many stakeholders from other zones consider it selfish. But guess what? The leaders are not bothered. Instead, they have continued to concentrate on their campaign and appear to be making a significant progress, justifying the fact that a vote for the Muhammadu Buhari/Yemi Osinbajo ticket is a sure bet for the Yoruba presidency in 2023. The third narrative, however, is being pushed by those who have refused to toe the ethnic path as far as the 2019 campaigns are concerned, saying with the current state of the nation, the best approach in 2019 is to elect the person, who can do it and not just campaigning for power to return to any particular zone. The argument here is further predicated on the fact that even if the presidency would have to be taken elsewhere in 2023, 2019 provides an opportunity for Nigeria to get its leadership choice right, devoid of ethnic sentiments but inspired by the need to put into office, a man who understands the issues and can sell them convincingly based on his capacity. Although not hinged on any sound ideology especially, the first and second, these three narratives are the ones that would do the battle for this year’s general

election. And with a largely illiterate voting population, the likelihood for an informed voting that is based on sound choice is slim. Yet, the challenge of development and nationbuilding are constant: economy, security, corruption, infrastructure, education, health, agriculture, technology and the many familiar challenges that have hitherto militated against the growth of the country. Hopefully, the presidential debate would hold as scheduled on the 19th of this month just like the vicepresidential leg of the exercise, which held last December, with Yemi Osinbajo and Peter Obi, dominating the stage. The presidential debate is expected to open more conversations on these issues and situate them as huge influencers of the voting pattern, though a majority of the voters is often not swayed by such in this clime. For many Nigerians, therefore, this is the year they have been waiting for. It is a make or mar year. A year their choice of leadership has been reduced to two: either inching to the next level or embracing the option that is poised to make the system work again. But whatever option they eventually settle for would be unveiled on February 16, when the presidential election will be held.

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

Before INEC Releases That Guideline

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INEC Chairman, Yakubu

his time in 2015, former leadership of INEC under Prof. Attahiru Jega, had convoked a meeting of stakeholders, including political parties and their candidates, where they looked at the INEC guidelines for the election, agreed on some of the provisions and disagreed on others, however, in collective interest. At the end of the day, they found a middle ground and everyone approached the election confident that certain things were settled without misgivings. It does appear, however, that the Prof. Mahmood Yakubu leadership of INEC is not disposed to this idea. The commission is said to have designed the guidelines for this year’s elections but reluctant to relive some of Jega’s transparent approach. Stakeholders now fear that what

Yakubu’s leadership plans to do is to assume its guidelines are sacrosanct and just announce them to the world, without as much running it by other stakeholders, a majority of whom had been accusing the commission of bias. With INEC’s impossible idea of bringing in ex-corps members to assist in the election in lieu of ASUU strike, its ambiguous stance on the use of incidence forms, its embrace of continuous accreditation and voting and its overwhelming powers to create Voting Point Settlements (wherever), all of which are subject to disingenuous manipulation, the commission has a huge responsibility to dispel the swirling insinuations and speculations of biases or that it is already working with the ruling party to subvert the will of the people. INEC must not only play fair, it must be seen to have done so.

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BRIEFINGNOTES Melaye, Relax, Police is Still Your Friend The lingering stand-off between Senator Dino Melaye and the police is laughable. Importantly, it ridicules the institutions that both parties represent, writes Olaseni Durojaiye

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hen the nation thought it had seen the worst of brazen, unprofessional conduct on the part of the Nigeria Police Force under the current leadership of Ibrahim Idris, the latest standoff between the police and the senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Dino Melaye, certainly compels a rethink. The whole saga is both laughable and shameful. And this is applicable to both parties. Their conduct has indeed brought shame and disrepute to the nation as well as assaulted the psyche of its people, who are being force-fed what could best be described as obscene clips from a theatre of the absurd. The two parties have been familiar foes for the better part of last year just as their encounters have also muddied the reputations of the institutions of state that they both represent. In saner climes, where public figures jealously guard their integrity as a miser does of his wealth, the two would have resigned their offices and retired to quiet private and ignoble lives. Though both parties are to blame, the force deserves a bigger share for its open display of lack of tact and strategic approach to dealing with what has become the simple Melaye malady. Matter-of-factly, the Police under Idris had demonstrated a never-seen-before open partisanship and brazen disdain for the opponents of the incumbent administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. And Melaye, a drama king, has exploited same to covet public sympathy, hug needless headlines and enjoy being a discussion item even when in doing so he often behaves so incredibly childish. The police invasion of his residence on Friday, 28 of last December was not the first. On 11th of last October, the police sent a detachment of its men to his country home in AiyetoroGbede to arrest him in connection with the July 19 attack on one of its operatives, Sgt. Danjuma Salihu by thugs suspected to be loyal to the senator, who allegedly shot him. The cat and mouse relationship between both parties predate that incident though, the senator’s current ordeal is however linked to that incident. Melaye has since (as of filing this report) remained holed up at his Abuja residence. The police have also continued to keep vigil at his residence and vowed to arrest him and bring him to trial. Even with police insistence to arrest him, Melaye has vowed not to give himself up. And so the stand-off continues. This was coming barely a week after Melaye made a pubic claim that police planned to arrest him and while in their custody inject him as a way to silence him. Given his penchant for headlines hugging theatrics, it is easy to dismiss the claim with a wave of the hand. But the reality is that the force under IGP Idris has over time demonstrated that nothing is beyond it when it comes to unprofessional conduct least expected of a vital state institution like the Nigerian Police Force. And instances of this submission abounds. The force’s inability to curb incessant killings by suspected herdsmen, wanton kidnap and killing of defenceless people especially in Zamfara State, and inability to check highway banditry and armed robbery are some. But perhaps the most telling of the force partisanship and unethical conduct remains the handling of the infamous Offa banks heist and the killing of a former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Bardeh. The force was quick to link high profile opposition politicians to the heist but over six months after, it is still to put the suspects to trial. That the culprits are yet to be put on trial is a demonstration of incompetence and a huge indictment of the force’s leadership. As if that was not bad enough, the death of the kingpin of the Offa robbery, Michael Adikwu’s death in police custody and the off-hand way the force explained the death leaves much to be desired of the force under the leadership of IGP Idris. The handling of the murder of Bardeh is another case – a shoddy handling of criminal investigation. In one breathe the force had announced the motif as robbery gone wrong and scheduled to parade the suspect before the media, and then it called off the briefing. Reactions to the U-turn were yet to simmer when the force released confessional videos of the suspects. Bardeh’s family has since punched holes in the force’s claim and with plausible explanation too. The family said an analysis of the crime scene revealed their benefactor was killed by

IGP, Idris Kpotun

Melaye

expert marksmen. This position aligns with an exclusive report in THISDAY, last Sunday, which indicated that the former Bardeh’s killing was a cover up assassination. If indeed friendship is built on confidence and trust, there is no gainsaying the fact that the police as they presently stand cannot be a friend to anyone. The police as the first line of defence in internal security cannot be said to be the friend of the people, when the people have lost confidence in its ability to safeguard their lives and properties. But the same force flexes muscle against the underdogs of the society. The force as it stands today has eroded the public relations gains the campaign slogan, ‘police is your friend’ fetched it years back. As a matter-of-factly, the Police under Idris have become synonymous with distrust and while the competence of officers and men of the force is not in doubt, Idris has failed to offer professional leadership and patriotic direction to the force. This explains why the force has been jumping from one poor and unpopular outing to the other, the latest being its running battle with Melaye. While laying siege on Melaye’s house in the bit to arrest him is condemnable, it is unbelievable that the force couldn’t devise a better strategy to arrest and bring him to justice especially knowing that this is election period and everyone is busy campaigning. However, the force’s comedy of errors does not reduce the gravity of Melaye’ culpability in the whole episode – far from it. If at all, rather Melaye’s conduct has ridiculed the National Assembly and often portrays him as a misfit for the Red Chamber. Melaye has jumped from one shameful scandal to the other with relish. From certificate and paternity controversies to jumping off police truck to evade being put to trial, appearing in court on a stretcher to avoid possible remand in prison while undergoing trial, Melaye has hopped from one crisis to the other since he attained political limelight. One noteworthy question remains: for how long will he run or hide from the law? It is unthinkable that in any civilised society, a lawmaker will refuse to honour police invitation much more attempt to evade arrest. It becomes even more wor-

risome considering that the police claimed to have a warrant for his arrest. On a superficial evaluation of the situation, it is reasonable to argue that Melaye was evading arrest, because the police’s invasion of his residence had put him in a state of fear – a good hypothesis that is. But then, was running from the law or hiding inside his residence the solution? Good enough, he tried the court to prevent his forceful arrest and the court insisted he must give himself up before eventually giving in. Indeed, the court remains one of the most viable options available to a professionally guided force. The conduct of Senator Melaye to say the least was not befitting of a lawmaker, who should ordinarily be a champion of obeying the laws of the land and not flagrantly flouting it. There is therefore no gainsaying the fact that initially hiding at his residence was not the solution. The solution was in the court and obeying the laws of the land, which is why the judiciary must be strengthened, if need be, through acts of parliament, so that it could perform its constitutional functions independently. Melaye’s eventual resolve to embrace a rational option at the end of the day is to say the least commendable. But, in the final analysis, both parties clearly poorly handled the situation and as such, deserve knocks for insulting the sensibilities of Nigerians as well as assaulting the nation’s psyche with their drama of the absurd. Above all, Idris gets to be blamed more for leading the police to this lowest of the low. Never has any IGP led the force to such unprofessional lows since the return of democracy about 20 years ago. Importantly, however, the police must make sure nothing happens to Melaye. He had served a note of warning that there was an attempt to kill him and that is very instructive. And since this is coming at a time suspects die mysteriously in police detention under Idris and without any sensible explanations, this is certainly a sensitive case in the hands of the police and nothing, under whatever guise, must go wrong.

NOTES FOR FILE

True, Election Shouldn’t Be Do-or-Die Affair

Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari said in the week that election should generally not be a do-or-die affair. Earlier before that, he had allayed people’s fears and enjoined them not to approach the election with the kind of fear that is being exhibited lately. Besides, he had also said weeks ago that his commitment to a free, fair and credible election was irrevocable. Interestingly, former President Goodluck Jonathan also said in the countdown to 2015 that his election was not worth the blood of any Nigerian and swore to not just ensure a credible election but abide by the result of the

election, including upholding the peace pact. Indeed, at the most difficult hour, Jonathan conceded defeat and today, Nigeria is not only better for it, the world is still celebrating him for living above board. Thus, as February closes in, the onus is on Buhari to prove his critics wrong. Not a few believed he would be another Jonathan if he lost the election. But however he chooses to look at his life and service to fatherland, history has been relatively kind to him. And how he handles the election of 2019 would further position him in the eye of history. The choice is solely his.

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Can Amnesty Stop the Criminality in Borno, Taraba? The push for amnesty by states affected by the recent killings does not appear the answer to the increasing criminality in their respective localities, writes Shola Oyeyipo asks

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any states in Nigeria have had very bitter experiences from criminals operating in various forms but the quantum of lives already lost in the hands of blood thirsty bandits had reached an alarming dimension and there is the urgent need to stop it. Governments at all levels have been very worried about the situation, which is already defying all known remedies hence experts and analysts have been coming up with both the old fashioned and the contemporary suggestions on how best to tackle the menace. Apparently as a way to discourage criminality in their terrains, the duo of Governors Samuel Ortom of Benue and Darius Ishaku of Taraba recently came up with the idea of granting amnesty to criminals operating along the border of their states, whether or not they are Nigerians. As part of efforts to address a problem common to both states, they recently held a joint security meeting at the Federal University, Wukari in Taraba and their resolution at the end was that opportunity should be given to criminals to voluntarily surrender. The content of the communique read at the end of the tour of some border communities of Abako, Sai and Dogon-Gawa by Governor Ishaku specified that the amnesty window took effect immediately and would expire by the end of January 2019. “We are willing to give amnesty to criminals, who are willing to renounce criminality and surrender their weapons so that we can give them better jobs and reintegrate them into the society. “Criminals willing to surrender including those that defaulted in the past, are free to contact any of us (governors), traditional rulers and security agencies. Elections are around the corner and we will like to do this between now and end of January so that we can secure our places and synergise for peaceful elections,” he said. The governors were particularly unhappy with the growing spate of kidnapping, armed robbery and banditry involving youths at their states’ borders. Aside granting amnesty to those willing to lay down their swords, the two state chief executives also listed the need for job creation as a fundamental tool to reduce unemployment which lures youths into criminality. They equally identified the provision of adequate logistics support to the security agencies by both the federal and state governments to sustain surveillance, which will help their proactive approaching to containing criminals. The aspect of community policing also came to fore. The concerned governors harped on the need for people of the areas to report all forms of criminality to the appropriate authorities and not shield criminals in their domain. However, debate on issues relating to granting amnesty to criminals in the names of religious sects, herds rearing, banditry and other associate crimes have always been twosided. While some reckon there was logic in it, others think it was simply a poor thinking as it could embolden them as well as encourage more people into criminality. For instance, when President Muhammadu Buhari promised to grant amnesty to members of the Boko Haram sect, who were prepared to lay down their arms and embrace peace, northern socio-political group, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) backed him on the plan. The ACF, through its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Muhammad Biu, said there was nothing wrong with the idea, more so, similar measure was adopted by the previous government to curb the restiveness in the Niger Delta region. “The offer of unconditional amnesty by the federal government to Boko Haram terrorists or any other groups, who surrender their arms, denounce their militancy and then pledge their loyalty to the government is a welcome development, considering the insecurity posed by insurgency in the last nine years. “It will be recalled that the Biafran rebels and Niger Delta militants, who denounced their rebellion and militancy against the state, were not only granted amnesty but also empowered with skills and re-integrated into society to contribute to its socio-economic development. “The ACF, therefore, urges the insurgents and other militia groups to lay down their arms and embrace the Federal Government’s offer of amnesty as the only means to peaceful coexistence and development. This will also pave the way for Nigeria to pursue order, justice, liberty, peace and prosperity for all,” the ACF noted. But the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) on its part criticised President Buhari for the plan on the ground that it would be amount to a denial of justice for victims of insurgency. Bothered that the initiative was not in the overall interest of Nigerians, SERAP did an open letter to Buhari, where it noted that Boko Haram would continue to undermine peace and stability in the country if he went ahead with the plan. “Boko Haram should not be allowed to escape the consequences of their crimes if the authorities are to prevent a cycle of revenge leading to further violence and conflict. We believe that granting amnesty to Boko Haram would be an open violation of the Nigerian constitution of 1999 (as amended) and international law and would entail a virtual denial of justice for victims,” SERAP opined.

Ishaku

Shettima

A woman stands by a burnt house, an obvious wreckage left in the wake of an attack on a village in North East The argument here is that, “Any amnesty for Boko Haram would take away the rights of the victims to justice, ignore the needs of the internally displaced persons, and never bring ‘closure’ to the mass atrocities committed by the group against Nigerians. “The victims need to know the truth about what happened, and the alleged complicity of our armed forces and security services in the atrocities committed by the group. The offer of amnesty would prevent the government from addressing these fundamental issues.” According to SERAP, “Any amnesty for Boko Haram involved in serious human rights violations would be contrary to Nigeria’s international obligations and commitments, including under the Rome statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the international covenant on civil and political rights and the African charter on human and people’ rights. “We contend that any amnesty for Boko Haram with blood stained hands would serve no public interests in terms of the actual reduction of impunity for human rights crimes or deterrent effect. The authorities would never be able to get to the root of the causes of Boko Haram. Nigerians would not know the truth about the factors that continue to fuel the activities of Boko Haram if the authorities go ahead to grant members of the terrorist group amnesty.” Though the presidency has justified the amnesty initiative, when the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu, told journalists that in the final analysis, the amnesty option would work for Nigeria, however, a pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, condemned the proposed amnesty for Boko haram and described the move as an act of irresponsibility on the part of the Buhari administration.

“Giving amnesty to members of the Boko haram is the height of impunity, insensitivity and audacious insult to the collective memory of thousands of Nigerians, who were callously killed by Boko haram,” said Afenifere. Some persons with rich military backgrounds, who graduated from the Nigerian Defense Academy (NDA), Mr. Thomas Arigbe as well as businessman and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Tunde Ajibulu, also shared their views on the topic. For Arigbe, granting amnesty to the terrorists means conceding to them. He argued that by agreeing to swap arrested terrorists with kidnapped persons, the country had already shown incompetence in dealing with the killers. “In my humble opinion it, (amnesty either at state or national level) would be unwise and sets a bad precedent of our willingness to concede to terrorists. Already, we have exhibited some weakness by repeatedly swapping terrorists for kidnapped persons as well as paying ransom,” Arigbe said. In Ajibulu’s view, inasmuch as militants in the Niger Delta were qualified for amnesty, it is not out of place if other repentant criminals are pardoned for the sake of collective peace. “What is good for the goose is good for the gander. I see no reason why amnesty should not be given to repentant Boko Baram dissidents. We saw the efficacy of this idea in the Niger Delta. “If Niger Delta militants got amnesty and were trained in different fields and pacified financially, this was a model that was largely successful and calmed things down largely. So, I see no reason why this cannot be replicated in the North-east and any other part of the country where they experience such criminal acts,” he said.

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Buhari and some of his security chiefs

Like Nigeria, Like the Hobbesian State With the increasing killings in some parts of the country, the need for a more effective action to stem the ugly tide is no longer debatable, writes Olaseni Durojaiye

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he spate of wanton killings across the country in recent time calls for concern particularly, the effrontery with which the perpetrators of these heinous crimes go about it with reckless abandon. However, that the nation’s security agencies appear lost for solution is even the more disturbing and worrisome. Across Benue, Kaduna, Plateau, Taraba and Zamfara States among others, the killing fields keep expanding and the population of victims is aggressively increasing, leaving in its trail “sorrow, tears and blood.” People of Benue State will not forget in a hurry the year 2017 and 2018. The two years witnessed unceasing killings of their kith and kin, many of them defenceless people mauled to death in their villages, on their farmlands and in mostly their sleep. In those two years, the fertile farmlands of the food basket of the nation were watered with the blood of the natives by suspected cattle herders. Scores were killed while the security forces practically lifted no fingers to stop a repeat or bring the culprits to justice. The case of Plateau State is not any different. Jos, the state capital, which used to be one of the most attractive places to live, gradually became a hotbed of communal clashes. Hundreds of people were killed in the process, including at least two high profile personalities, a serving senator and a retired Major General of the Nigerian Army, Idris Alkali. Kaduna State and Zamfara were the latest states to join the growing list of killing fields. But Zamfara remains the most trending amongst the lots. Stories of killings and violent kidnap cases have become a common feature in Zamfara State since early 2018. On December 20, suspected bandits raided two villages in Birnin Magaji Local Government Area of the state and reportedly killed 25 people. Among the victims were unsuspecting farmers harvesting sweet potatoes on their farmlands in Garin Halilu village. Not done, the bandits returned to the same village on motor bikes hours later and killed another three while the villagers were burying those that were killed in the earlier attack. This followed a pattern that had been on for some time. According to the Director of Amnesty International in Nigeria, Osai Ojigho, an estimated 371 people

had been killed since the raids of the bandits started in the state even as she added that the killing had assumed widespread dimension. “The crisis in Zamfara is making life hell for villagers, yet, it is clearly down low on the list of government’s priorities. These killings must stop immediately, and those suspected of criminal responsibility must be brought to justice in fair trials. The Nigerian authorities have a responsibility to protect the lives of everybody in the country, including people in poor and rural communities,” she stated. Due to the inability of the security forces and by extension government to curb the killing spree, the country appears regressing into Thomas Hobbes’ idea of state of nature, where in the absence of any form of sovereign authority to maintain law and order, life is short, brutish and nasty. For many residents of the affected areas, and indeed millions of Nigerians, what they desire above all is security of their lives and livelihood. But it is what they feared most, above all insecurity and violence at the hands of others, like the killer herdsmen, the armed bandits and the mindless kidnappers that have become a recurring decimal in their lives. Unfortunately, the government to which they have surrendered their collective allegiance in a social contract to protect them and guarantee their economic rights has let them down. Instructively, this desire to preserve ourselves against the threat of violent death is the core of the Hobbesian psychology. While the states mentioned above have been the worst hit, many other states have suffered in the hands of unscrupulous characters from the underworld. And women, children even clergy men were not left out of their wrath. The reality of the Nigerian narrative is that, government’s glaring failings in the fulfilment of its end of the social contract has left the people miserable and renders life “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” for millions of Nigeria, particularly in the affected states. Even more disturbing is the fact that the deployment of military personnel in some of the hot spot has not worked. With the military presence in Jos, the killing spree went on for a long time and consumed a serving senator in the process.

In Benue State, suspected herdsmen continued to kill denizens of agrarian communities long after security personnel were deployed in the area. It was the same scenario with Zamfara State, where even after security personnel were deployed to the area by the federal government, the crisis between the herdsmen and farmers didn’t subside leading some to question the role of the military. In Taraba State, miffed by the violent aggression being meted out to his people, a retired Lt. General Theophilus Danjuma openly charged his people not to trust the security personnel with their lives any longer and instead asked them to assume responsibility for their own security and safety. Given the arguments that the origin of all legitimate government lies in the consent of the governed, and the expectation that the government must aim to provide basic and common needs, especially security and economic rights, the expectation that the government should protect all Nigerians wherever they may reside is not too much to ask. Rather, it is the crux of the social contract that the government entered with the people when it sought and got their votes. Unfortunately, government doesn’t seem to realise so, much more living up to that expectation. Analysts argued that a major preoccupation of any government is the security of its people, protecting it from both internal and external aggression. But the federal government appear to have been found wanting in this regard. In fact, many hold the view that the government has treated the matter of internal aggression and violence on hapless groups and people within the country with kid’s gloves for far too long. The general agreement was that the time to give sophomore and final warnings is past and the time to act decisively is now if the government must retain its authority. It is against the background that it becomes imperative for government step up its game and for once come down heavily on the perpetrator of the killings across the country, whoever they may be or however highly placed their sponsors may be. This remains the right route to go in order to prevent victims and the underdog groups from resorting to self-help, a scenario that if played out, may further aggravate the nation’s worsening security challenges.

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CICERO/TRIBUTE

Capt. Hosa at 61: Audacity HugsTenacity Sufuyan Ojeifo

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rom deep introspection, notable marathoner, Billy Mills observed that, “Our life is a gift from the Creator. Your gift back to the Creator is what you do with your life.” This perspective speaks to the shared responsibility between the celestial and the terrestrial forces over the subject of life. His position shares a kindred context with Williams Shakespeare’s. The classical poet, one of the greatest playwrights ever, in one of his literary works, described the world as a stage with men and women as actors and actresses, each playing his or her roles and exiting. The legacies left behind are products of human contemplations and actions - essential validations of life and times. Humans will be judged by posterity and God for what they do to positively impact society. It is therefore from the prism of Mills’ perspective that I set out to view and construct a narrative that is celebratory of one of, perhaps, Nigeria’s very few businessmen with the Midas touch; one who does not covet the limelight in the fashion of many in his genre but who philosophically hugs tenacity with audacity in exploratory ventures to create and project uncommon values, especially in difficult business terrains. Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo, (Capt. Hosa, for short) continues to traverse many sectors of the economy, deploying the force of his prolific mind to interrogate the essential environment in his restless longing to identify problems and offer solutions through delivery of goods and services that are usually exclusive. That explicates the motivations behind the success stories of his flagship company - Ocean Marine Solutions Limited that is into the provision of marine security and logistics; the multi-billion naira five-star hospitality icon, Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartment in Asokoro District, Abuja; and the multi-billion naira Wells Hosa Green House Farms Limited in Benin. Remarkably, Capt. Hosa takes pride in his commitment to excellence and this is reflective of Wells Carlton’s architectural masterpiece, which, in absolute beauty, is worthy only of Ozymandias. He said it took him nine years to construct the epitome of sheer luxury. He could have completed it earlier, of course; but his painstaking and fastidious disposition to achieve inimitable excellence in form, shape and content of services by the hotel influenced the completion time; ditto for the greenhouse farms project. The farms’ original plan was reworked in line with rising complexities and exigencies. The goal was clear from the outset: farms that meet global standards in the entire value chain of cultivation and harvesting. It is noteworthy that the business mogul decided to attach his name to the hotel and farms to create an overarching brand that benefits from his virtues of excellence and integrity. His declaration at the inauguration of the hotel in Abuja, by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, that he does not owe any bank a dime on the hotel and the farms, validated his audacity. The

fascinating disclosure recalls the words of American singersongwriter, Bob Dylan: “How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man? … Yes, and how many times must a man look up before he can see the sky? ...The answer, my friend, is blowing’ in the wind….” Through what further performance parameters can an intrepid investor be declared audacious? The answer is blowing in the wind. Standing on the dais for his speech delivered, ex tempore, on December 15, 2018, at the inauguration of the hotel, he had appropriated the audacity and tenacity of purpose that translated the possibilities into realities, in fidelity to the admonition of international speaker and best-selling author, Catrice M. Jackson - to “step into the spotlight and rock the brand of you.” Beyond his great business accomplishments, an unusual humility defines Capt. Hosa’s essence. He might have read the Indian scientist and philosopher, Pushkar Ganesh Vaidya who, perceiving that courageous men can self-destruct in arrogance, appealed to the human sensibilities that “our audacity must be rooted in our humility.” Overall, how Capt. Hosa’s sharp focus has helped to accomplish so much in the last three decades after he retired as a commercial flight pilot and made a foray into business, beginning with Hosyln Ventures Nigeria Limited, a servicing company in the oil and gas sector, is amazing. The company had the distinction of participating in the procurement of major engineering components for the Warri Refinery Turn-Around Maintenance in 1994. Capt. Hosa also, among several other companies, oversees Hosyln Technologies Nigeria Limited, one of the first indigenous companies to execute engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract in Nigeria; completed and commissioned the early production facility for Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) at Ajoki Oziengbe South Field, in 2001. For one who relishes his conquest in the air, sea and presently taking advantage of the vast potentialities on land with his array of huge investments, the rest, as they say, is history. A Prussian general and military theorist, who stressed the moral and political aspects of war, Carl Von Clausewitz, once said that “if the leader is filled with high ambition and if he pursues his aims with audacity and strength of will, he will reach them in spite of all obstacles.” Through his unassuming nature, Capt. Hosa has promoted a quiet life of charity; and, via his eleemosynary deeds, he has economically empowered many to live well, thus liberalizing the offering of a French enlightenment writer, Voltaire, that “God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.” He ensures that he lives well and that others also live well through his benevolence. In 2012, the American Congress conferred on him the “African Titan” award for being a voice of the Niger Delta people through a movie that he, single-handed, sponsored titled: “Black November”. His contribution to the promotion of peace and good governance as well as development of his constituency was outstanding and for which he was, in 2007, honoured with the

Okunbo Justice of the Peace (JP). The University of Benin conferred on him a Doctorate Degree in Business Administration (Honoris Causa), in 2012. The Oba of Benin, in 2014, decorated him as a worthy ambassador of the ancient Benin kingdom. He was nominated as the Vanguard Businessman of the Year 2016. Given his resoluteness in the face of daunting business challenges and unstable operating environments, Captain Hosa’s life deserves celebration. His perspicacity and patriotism in his commitment to the national interest as reflected in his company’s (OMS) recovery, remediation, maintenance and security surveillance of the Escravos-Warri and Bonny-Port Harcourt pipeline segments deserve greater accolades. The OMS’ intervention had since resulted in significant turnaround of the pipeline system from its once decrepit state in the past ten years to the current efficient and highly-utilised level. As Capt. Hosa marks his 61st birthday on Monday, January 7, the eternal words of a Roman playwright of the old Latin period, Titus Plautus, resonate with a compelling clarity: “Let us celebrate the occasion with wine and sweet words.” Happy birthday, my big brother! Mr. Ojeifo contributed this piece from Abuja viaojwonderngr@yahoo.com

Fasehun: An Assured Place in History In this tribute, Nseobong Okon-Ekong pays tribute to Dr. Frederick Fasehun, founder of the Oodua Peoples’ Congress and advocate of ethnic equality, who passed on last weekend

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seeminglyinnocuousincidentinthelifeofFrederick Fasehun, the late medical doctor, hotelier and founder of the Oodua Peoples’ Congress (OPC), perhaps, best explains his pragmatism. Here was a man, who did whatever was needful and having satisfied self that he had done his best, moved on. He was also one given to excellence. Having studied science at Blackburn College and furthered his education at Aberdeen University College of Medicine, he also studied at the Liverpool Postgraduate School after which he had a Fellowship at the Royal College of Surgeons. In 1976, he studied Acupuncture in China under a joint World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations Development Scholarship Programme. In 1977, he set up an Acupuncture Unit at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). He resigned in 1978 and immediately set up the Besthope Hospital and Acupuncture Centre in Lagos. The Acupuncture Centre once earned a reputation as Africa’s first for the Chinese medical practice. Taking his leave of a newly established critical unit in one of Nigeria’s centre of excellence in medical practice, barely one year after it was opened, hinted at a man in a hurry to quit the stage, when the ovation was loud. His next step provided another insight into the workings of his mind. Undoubtedly, he wanted to be free of the bureaucracy that attends the running of public institutions in Nigeria. Instead, of remaining in LUTH to bid his time and warm the chair, he resigned honourably and went on to demonstrate what could be done in an organisation like that. His private clinic became a reference of best practices of modern Chinese medicine in Africa. Originally from Ondo Town in Ondo State, Fasehun was brought to Lagos by his mother as a child. After his medical studies abroad, he returned to Lagos and was encouraged by his friend, who owned a private school in Okoto area of Isolo-Lagos to take up residence there. An unpretentious personality and good mixer, he quickly immersed himself into the community. His proclivity towards Yoruba culture stood him out. Though he was learned and well-travelled, he thought nothing of freely associating himself with artisans and people, who were beneath his social status. He stood out as a beacon of hope for the less-privileged in that neighbourhood, at first. As

Fasehun his community engagement increased, a greater responsibility of taking up the fight for the larger Yoruba nation was thrust on him. Thus, when a group of Yoruba elite met to fashion plans to retrieve the annulled mandate of Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, the assumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, the groundswell produced many predictable outcome, one of which was the formation of the OPC, widely acknowledged to be inspired by Fasehun. Till his recent demise, Fasehun was despised by a select group of the Yoruba intelligentsia who held him responsible for creating

what was then seen as monster. However, he was equally revered by a teeming population of his ethnic group and other admirers from all over the country, who saw the good in his advocacy for a country, where all ethnic nationalities are respected and allowed control of their resources. Fasehun’s place in political struggles and activism in Nigeria is assured through the formation of the OPC and the role the organisation continues to play in the regional and national polity. To Fasehun’s credit, a little known carpenter, Ganiyu Adams, who was in the executive of the group, broke off from the main organisation in 1999, mainly because Fasehun was accused of not being militant enough in his approach to fighting the cause of the Yoruba. His stance on militancy was clear: “Any Nigerian not licensed to carry arms and is caught with arms will be doing so at his own risks. My members know my position on illegal arms possession. They do not carry arms near me and if they do so, it is at their own risk and not the organisation. We don’t use or carry guns, but in some few cases where you see a members carrying gun, he must have been licensed to do so. You have civilians that have license to their guns and you also find some of these individuals in the group.” Today, Adams is a hugely improved personality, who has received formal and informal education. He has since assumed one of the highest traditional honours in Yorubaland, as the Aare Ona Kakanfo – the Yoruba Warlord. Fasehun said the selection of Adams by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, as the 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo, was an attestation and acknowledgement of the performance of OPC. A soft-spoken man, often his moderate disposition was mistaken for weakness. On the contrary, he had shown early in life that he was tough as a nail and lived by his convictions. An example of this nature was at Saint Peter’s Teacher’s Training College, Akure. Fasehun was thrown out because he didn’t succumb to the Catholic creed. But he was top of his class all the same. For refusing to denounce activism, Fasehun was imprisoned for 19 months from December 1996 to June 1998 during the military rule of Sani Abacha. He regained freedom 18 days after Abacha’s death. Having suffered such a dreadful fate, became an ardent fighter for those whose rights were deprived, not minding their religious or ethnic background. (Reader should See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ JANUARY 6, 2019

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SUNDAYINTERVIEW Ben Murray Bruce

Murray-Bruce

Buhari’s Refusal to Sign the Amended Electoral Act Bill into Law is Part of APC Game Plan to Manipulate 2019 Elections The Senator from Bayelsa East Senatorial Zone and member of the Atiku Campaign Organisation, Ben Murray Bruce, takes a critical look at his activities in the National Assembly, the performance of President Muhammadu Buhari, his cabinet and the chances of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the general elections. He also talks about former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan in this interview with Nduka Nwosu

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ell us about your time in politics. I have been in politics all my life right after independence when I was old enough to read and write and listen to the radio. I have always preferred politics to music, to dancing and other ventures I found myself. The difference is that I did not aspire to get into elected office. I preferred politics to any other conversation in the world, I was always a political animal. My politics cannot be circumscribed to now that I ran for public office. I have always been attracted to politicians and political office holders. What impact did the war have on you? We were attracted to the war as children and the war was fought by children. You have to understand the entire military structure. We have just had independence and we were old enough to know what Nigeria needed. The post-independence politics revolved on Igbos, Hausas and Yorubas, the three ethnic groups in the country. The country was polarised along these ethnic divides and we were not as religious as we are today but politics thrived on tribal lines, just as we are still ruled by tribalism. Tribalism in the Nigerian society did not start today. I don’t think we needed to fight the war, I think there were ways we could

have avoided the civil war. Many of those who fought the war were still very young in their twenties and early thirties. Decisions I made at say 25 or 35 would not be made at 62. The young people who fought the war are older and wiser now. Do you agree we’ve learnt very little from the war? An example is the Aburi Accord which advocated for fiscal federalism and a weak federal state and the post-war technological innovations of self-reliance and discoveries that were not exploited? One is unrelated to the other. The Aburi Accord was to avoid the war while Biafra’s technological advancement was a post-war discovery. But for the war, these discoveries may not have happened but were prompted by necessity. There was a short supply of arms; weapons and trucks were converted to armoured vehicles. The Biafrans created their own bombs. I know what happened, creativity is borne out of necessity. Nigerians are creative by nature even today and I don’t have to kill someone to be creative. If we invest in research, science, and technology we can come up with amazing innovations and discoveries. Our problem is that we hardly spend money on research and development whereas there are many Nigerians working

as expatriates in some of the world’s highly developed research institutions such as NASA. So the greatest Nigerians do not live here, they live abroad; that is why in America today the ethnic group with the highest income are Nigerians, not the Chinese, not the British, Polish or Ghanaians but Nigerians. Nigerians are the most successful ethnic group making the most money in the US. How do you balance the promise made by the SGF on power shift coming to the South East if it votes for the APC and the promise made by the Vice President on power coming to the South West if it votes for the APC? If you carry out this type of campaign in a Western democracy, you might end up in a mental institution; what is the logic behind such campaign strategy without reference to the roads, schools, and the infrastructure you can point to as evidence of performance? This is a good case of instant gratification with no reasonable logic to back it up. Don’t you think it is producing the right results? Then politics is not for me. I will go back to the private sector. Campaigns like that are detrimental to the peace and unity of

Continued on Pg. 77

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SUNDAY INTERVIEW t ‘BUHARI’S TEAM LACKS TALENTS TO FIX NIGERIA’S BROKEN ECONOMY’ t Continued from Pg. 76 distributing N10,000 to traders. What do you call that? Can you imagine Donald Trump or his deputy moving around distributing $30 to illiterate traders? How would that impact positively on their lives even here in the country?

Nigeria. Question is what have you done? I will rather die than be a part of a political campaign that talks of giving power to an ethnic group rather focus on issues bordering on achievements and what you can do for the people when the power comes to you. What is the logic in a campaign strategy based on instant gratification? This is an insult to our collective intelligence.

Why did the strong presence you made in the Senate not reckoned with in returning you to a second term? It is the zoning system. It is an unbroken chain of agreement that the LGAs constituting the Senatorial Zone would rotate the candidates every four years. You know when you have a country with high unemployment, politics becomes a way of life. If you take that away from them, they go crazy.

What is unconstitutional about tribal politics? People should remember Rwanda and some of our West African neighbours and the tribal wars they have fought. It is not all about politics, we need peace to practice democracy, to think about the people. It is illegal and unconstitutional to practice politics along tribal lines. Do you agree with Lai Mohammed that the APC has fulfilled its promises to Nigerians? Lai Mohammed is my friend and he is entitled to say what he has said. He is doing his job otherwise what do you want him to say? If you put a gun to his head what will you expect him to say? Of course, Lai is going to say that. He has to say that. It is a campaign so he has to say that. If he has to be specific is he referring to unemployment, inflation, devaluation of the naira, road construction, and power supply? Where in the world do you talk of seven or eight megawatts of power being produced? The argument is not what you are producing, the argument is do you have the light? The claim that you have generated so much megawatt does not hold water. Do we have light or not? That is the success or failure rating, which is what is on the ground relative to the needs of the people and the promises you made? Between Atiku’s making Nigeria great again and Buhari’s next level, what are the contrasts and comparisons? The next level slogan is plagiarising in the first place. I don’t know how we can go to the next level. I think what APC should do is to take us back to where they found us. It took the President six months to form a cabinet. When he formed the cabinet, he did not have the right talents to fix a bad economy and to create jobs. He needed the best talents, not the mediocre. If he had assembled the best talents around him, he would have had a chance. He didn’t have the best talents around him. We cleared his ministers even though some of them didn’t pay their taxes and we conceded when our APC colleagues persuaded us to clear the appointees. They were good fathers and good mothers but I don’t think a lot of them were qualified for the jobs they were given. When Chrysler was going down, they chose the most talented people with Lee Iacocca and they took Chrysler out of the woods. Nissan hired Hiroto Saikawa in 2017 to take it out of the woods. When prices of oil dropped and we went into recession, we needed to move faster to fix the economy but he did not. Buhari should have surrounded himself with the best talents in the country but he didn’t. Everything was done in slow motion, the way he ran the economy was done in slow motion and it was destined to fail. That’s why I don’t see how the team he has can fix the economy. You need talents to fix the economy and this President’s team lacks the talents to fix the economy. Don’t you think those who packaged the President in 2015 did a great job and they are still around? First of all, people who supported PMB three years ago have all retreated. I know Buhari as a person. He might be a nice guy, whatever it is, but I have to respect those who packaged him in 2015, they did a fantastic job. They created a new identity for him. Bola Tinubu and the other members of his team created a new identity for Buhari. He became president but the things that were problems for him in 1984 are still a problem in 2018. He had a great chance to redeem himself if he had surrounded himself with the right people, people thinking of Nigeria first but unfortunately, he did not and that is the reason whyhe is in trouble, his inability to fix the economy and all the other promises. Don’t get me wrong. This is not about Buhari, it is about competence and running a competent government with the right people. I gave Buhari an award a few years ago as Man of the Year and I fought for his legacy. That was during Ibrahim Babangida’s rule as a military President. I went to the film corporation to demand why it refused to edit Buhari’s tenure as military ruler. I insisted Nigerians deserved to watch the tape and make up their minds regarding his tenure as a military dictator. I argued he was part of Nigeria’s history and the fact he had been overthrown was no reason for not editing his tapes while he ruled the country. So my issue in politics has nothing to do with political parties. I have always said this. The issue in Nigeria is not Islam versus Christianity, it is not APC versus PDP. It is the issue of right versus wrong. It is about the establishment and what it does when the people give it power. This establishment under President Buhari has failed Nigerians and must respect the will of the people in the next few weeks by conducting a fair and credible election. The opposition claims the last budget presentation was

How is the Atiku campaign progressing? It is a great campaign and he is doing a great job and we are going to win with a landslide if there is a level playing field. We will win with a landslide.

falsified with non-performance exalted and ghost projects executed, how true is this? First, of all, there is nothing different between this budget and the ones presented in the last three years. One, we are spending 8o percent of the budget on recurrent expenditure; there is no money for capital. You are spending several billion dollars on subsidy, which on assumption of office the President said it was a fraud and that there was no need for a subsidy. You were subsidizing for three straight years without telling anybody. The money was coming from someplace yet no single project has been completed. The budget is a cut-and-pay job. If you look at the ministries, they are buying computers, they are travelling; it is all about recurrent expenditure; why should we run a country like that? That is the problem. So the budget really is recurrent with debt service assuming the position of first line charge and you are borrowing so much with heavy debt service. You have the domestic debt to service so what is there for capital? If you were to advise the President, what would you tell him? First, of all, I will advise him to change his cabinet. He should replace most of those who constitute his cabinet, not necessarily everybody should be replaced. He should then proceed to recruit very bright Nigerians both within and anywhere in the world. He should deregulate immediately and get rid of subsidy. He should know an economy with a multiple exchange rate is counter-productive. It is rent, people are making huge gains out of it, sacrificing long-term gain for the short term. He should focus on technology and find an answer to an efficient mass transit system. Still on multiple exchange rate, is this the first time we have had it? Look, the fact that somebody made a mistake last week is not reason enough to repeat the same mistake. What I did ten years ago is history and I cannot make the same mistake again. People who dwell on the past are hardly successful in life. Only failures dwell on the past. Do you have any fears regarding the general election? I am worried about credible elections. The APC believes Jonathan was too soft, too kind, too naïve and they want to show how they are tough and ready to win at all cost. So that is why they are taking it easy on little or no campaigns. If I were in their shoes I will not bother to campaign. If you ran a failed government you would not campaign. What are you going to campaign on? Roads, schools, doubledigit inflation, education, healthcare, a poor GDP growth, that your country is rated as a place with the highest number of poor people? What do you want to campaign on? What are the options or alternatives? If the elections are rigged we have no options but go to court to challenge the results. We are a law-abiding party. Regardless of what happens, we are going to win anyway and if they are voted in the country would have had what it deserves. Who will they blame, me? How do you see the controversy on the trader-moni at this time? It is nothing but vote buying. Vote buying is illegal anywhere in the world, just as vote tampering, except maybe in Nigeria. Less than eight weeks to the election the APC Vice President is

How do you see Nigeria’s recent ranking as having the highest number of poor people on earth? We don’t have a population policy. This is embarrassing and humiliating. India whose population far surpasses that of Nigeria, with over a billion people, ranks better than Nigeria and it is not by distributing naira or trader moni, that you solve this type of problem. We are not paying attention to education, which is the most plausible way to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor along with industrialization, but this government is not paying attention to any of these. Even if the President means well, he is not surrounded by talented people. He is like a coach with very bad players and how can he win trophies? Which is worse incompetence or corruption? Incompetence is worse than corrupt competence. I don’t like any of the above but I will prefer corrupt competence to incompetence. Nigeria is in a terrible state because of incompetence. Does it make sense for example that Innocent Chukwuma, the chairman of Innoson Motors, who is the only Nigerian we can boast of before the international community as a car maker, is being harassed and threatened with a jail term in this country? MTN is a good ambassador of what the PDP did in transforming the telecommunications sector and it is being harassed out of context even if there was an infraction. Yet we want to bring in foreign investors. Is this right? What is your experience serving under former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan? The most brilliant president I have served is President Olusegun Obasanjo. He is a thinker; he is brilliant. He is a committed and patriotic Nigerian. One day I was with him and the late Senator Brume came to see him. There were four of us -the President, Brume and Stella, the First Lady. Brume hinted him about strike action at the Villa. The President got up, took off his clothes and showed us bullet wounds on his thigh and said to Brume: ‘Tell the striking workers to see me tomorrow at 9 am in the morning next day, I will personally meet them. I could have died for Nigeria during the civil war. Tell them to come and hear my story.” Brume made a retreat exclaiming it was a false alarm. Obasanjo is a brave man and nobody should make mistakes about the man, I love him because he tells it like it is. Now that is a great President. He took off his shoes and showed us bullet holes on his legs. How many Presidents would do that? He did not ask the police to arrest these workers but wanted to meet them at the first gate of the villa. He does not care. Obasanjo is Nigeria’s first; always remember that and he is Nigeria’s greatest President. Nobody comes second. I don’t know. He is just the best. What was your experience under President Goodluck Jonathan? President Jonathan impacted me in many ways. This is one man who said coming back to the office was not worth the shedding of the blood of Nigerians. His conduct of the 2o15 elections remains the reference point for other African leaders who prefer to rig themselves back to power by ignoring due process and credible and fair elections. Jonathan chose Prof. Attahiru Jega, a northerner he did not know and had not met before his appointment as INEC chairman. In spite of the hue and cry for his sack because of his partisan inclinations, he assured the international community that Jega would conduct the elections and he did with all the flaws he recorded. There is no doubt that President Jonathan has left a huge legacy for Africa in the conduct of free and fair elections, he has proved that rigging oneself to power is something African leaders must eschew. His legacy remains sterling quality other African leaders must imbibe. He didn’t want any bloodshed. He liked being President but he didn’t want anybody to lose his life because he wanted to be the president and for that, I have the greatest respect for him. What happened had to happen. He is gone and Buhari is President but if he hadn’t done that, Buhari would not have been the President. He could have easily challenged the results. Anything could have happened but he didn’t give in to that. For that, I have the greatest respect for him. Buhari has no choice but to sustain this chain of credibility.

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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×

Bukola Saraki

Ike Ekweremadu

Ahmad Lawan

Ali Ndume

Godswill Akpabio

Biodun Olujimi

Dino Melaye

Ben Murray-Bruce

Enyinnaya Abaribe

Gbenga Ashafa

20 Lawmakers Who Shaped the 8th Assembly As the 469-member eighth National Assembly begins the last lap of its legislative race on January 16, Deji Elumoye and Shola Oyedipo, examine the roles played by 20 of the lawmakers in shaping the direction of the federal legislative in the last three and a half years

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he 1999 constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria created the National Assembly to make necessary laws for the country. The membership of the National Assembly include 109 Senators at the equal rate of three per each of the 36 states of the federation and one for the Federal Capital Territory while the House of Representatives consists of 360 members based on the federal constituencies in each state. Since the inauguration of the eighth National Assembly on June 9, 2015, the lawmakers led by a former two-time governor of Kwara State, Dr. Bukola Saraki as Chairman of the National Assembly had performed their legislative duties to the best of their ability in line with the provisions of the 1999 constitution (as amended). Thus, in recognition of the contributions of some of the lawmakers to the growth of the legislature under review, 20 members have been identified in both the Red and Green chambers as individuals, who stood out in their respective ways to parliamentary growth and development. Bukola Saraki Saraki is a ranking Senator from Kwara Central Senatorial District since 2011 after serving two terms of eight years as governor of Kwara State, from 2003 to 2011. As a first term Senator in 2011, he was made the chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology during which he pushed for a motion in the Senate to end the fuel subsidy regime in Nigeria, which has been an excessive waste of the country’s national resources. Upon his re-election to the Senate, Saraki, who on June 9, 2015 emerged Senate President by an across-the-party alliance, comprising Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) andAll Progressives Congress (APC) Senators, had faced stiff opposition from SenatorAhmad Lawan, who was sold as the preferred candidate of the establishment by a group of senators-elect and some APC leaders. The Senate President eventually defected from theAll Progressives Congress on July 31, 2018 – some days after 14 senators had defected to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He blamed his defection on the intolerance of influential persons in APC. Under Saraki’s leadership in the last three and a half years, the Senate had passed 222 bills and cleared 151 public petitions. One of such bills was the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill passed to promote transparency and accountability in the oil industry after 12 years and which President Muhammadu Buhari refused to assent to saying the provisions of the bill tends to reduce the President’s powers. Saraki remains the most outstanding President of the Senate, an assertion justified by his commitment and focus despite the travails that lasted the period of his reign. He is brilliant, smart, intelligent,

compassionate and futuristic. The Senate under him remains the best in Nigeria’s political history. Ike Ekweremadu Ekweremadu, a ranking four-term Senator was first elected to represent Enugu West Senatorial District on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2003 and has been the alternate Senate President for close to 12 years since June, 2007. Despite his busy schedule as Deputy Senate President, Ekweremadu also sponsored several bills, including the State Police Creation bill currently at the second reading stage at the Senate and is one of the bills to be given priority once the Senate resumes plenary next week. Ahmad Lawan Lawan, a ranking Senator since 2007 and current Senate Leader, represents Yobe North Senatorial District. In the wake of the election of the principal officers of the 8th National Assembly on June 9, 2015, Lawan was favoured by someAPC Senators and leaders, who claimed he was the preferred choice of President Muhammadu Buhari as Senate President. But other PDP Senators had their joker and elected Saraki as Senate President. As Senate Leader, he introduces bills and motions before the upper chamber of the National Assembly for debate by Senators. He is also always willing to defend President Buhari’s administration at every point in time at plenary and is the arrow head of all Executive bills before the Senate. Ali Ndume Ndume, a ranking two-term Senator became Senate Leader of the 8th NationalAssembly but was removed on January 10, 2017. He was suspended in March, 2017 for six months by the Senate committee on ethics and privileges headed by Senator SamuelAnyanwu, for calling for a probe into the allegations of imported bullet proof range rover with fake documents allegedly involving Senate President Bukola Saraki and seized by the Nigerian Customs. This also included alleged perjury involving Senator Dino Melaye. But after exonerating Saraki and Melaye, the Committee recommended a one year suspension of Ndume, claiming the former Senate Leader failed to conduct proper investigation before making the said allegations. Ndume is an ardent supporter of President Buhari and was ever willing to promote and support any Executive bills on the floor of the Senate Godswill Akpabio Former two-term governor of Akwa-Ibom State and a first time Senator, Akpabio emerged the Minority Leader of the Senate not-

withstanding the fact that he’s not a ranking Senator. Akpabio was nominated as the Senate Minority Leader by the South-south caucus of the PDP ratified by the caucus in the Senate and announced by the Senate President at plenary on July 28, 2015. He resigned as the Senate Minority Leader, after his defection to the APC in August, 2018. Akpabio is passionate about resource control and Niger Delta related bills and motions and is ever ready to articulate his views on them. He had since become another foot soldier of President Buhari in the senate. Biodun Olujimi Olujimi, a first term Senator is former deputy governor of Ekiti State, who represents Ekiti South Senatorial District in the Senate and replaced Akpabio as Senate Minority Leader in August, 2018. She is passionate about women empowerment and in the past had cause to sponsor bills and motions aimed at uplifting the women and youth in the society. Dino Melaye Aformer House of Representatives member, Melaye is a first term Kogi West Senator and ardent supporter of Senate President Saraki. He had at various times been involved in controversies both on the floor of the Senate and outside. A process to recall Melaye, allegedly sponsored by Governor Yahaya Bello and which commenced in June 2017, however failed to see the light of the day as his constituents voted against his recall. Melaye, who is in a running battle with Bello, is also facing another battle with the Nigeria Police that have stormed his Maitama, Abuja residence seeking to arrest him. Melaye is one of the Senators that illuminate the Senate Chambers with his in depth analysis of issues whenever he is contributing at plenary, even though he is no less a jester. Ben Murray-Bruce Murray-Bruce, a first term Senator, who represents Bayelsa South Senatorial District in the Senate is one of the vocal Senators of the 8th National Assembly. He is popularly known as the ‘Common Sense Senator’, because of his call on Nigerians especially, political office holders to use common sense in their dealings with the people. Murray-Bruce who is Chairman of Senate Committee on Establishments also belongs to other Committees and is the Vice Chairman of Senate Committee on Media. He is however not coming back to the senate as he pulled out of the race for his ticket during the party primary held in his Bayelsa State. Enyinnaya Abaribe Abaribe is a ranking third term Senator representing Abia South Senatorial District and Chairman of the South East Caucus in the

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20 Lawmakers Who Shaped the 8th Assembly Senate. He was at various times Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Inter-Parliamentary Affairs, member of the Committees on the Independent National Electoral Commission, Senate Services, and Works. Abaribe had a brush with the security operatives when he was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) at his Transcorp Hilton Hotel,Abuja for his alleged links with the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) being one of the sureties of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu. He was subsequently taken to his Abuja residence for a search before being detained at the DSS office in Abuja but was released on bail on Tuesday, June 26, 2018. He is very passionate about issues concerning the South-east geo-political zone and was always ready to point out the exclusion of the zone in any appointment by President Buhari. Gbenga Ashafa Gbenga Bareehu Ashafa is a second term senator representing Lagos East. A memberoftheAllProgressivesCongress, he had also served as a member of the National Executive Committee of theAll Progressives Congress as well as the Vice Chairman (South West) of the Southern Senators Forum. In his first coming, Ashafa was ViceChairman, Senate Committee on Lands, Housing and Urban Development. He was also a member of the committees on Environment and Ecology Committee, Committee on Federal Character and Inter-Governmental Relations, Gas Committee, and Senate Services Committee. However, in the eighth senate, apart from being the chairman of the Senate Committee on Land Transport, he is also the chairman of the Senate Joint committees on Marine Transport and AviationaswellasConferencecommittee of the Senate on the Nigerian Railway Authority Bill. His assignment as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Land Transport had compelled him to set the pace for the provision of legislative support for the executive in achieving the complete turnaround of the railway sector in the country. A very sincere and mature family man, whose reasoning is not coloured by indiscrete political affiliation, Ashafa has stood himself out as a senator without blemish, even though he won’t be returningtothesenateinthe9thassembly. However, one thing is certain: his name and work remain indelible on the marble of the federal legislature. Oluremi Tinubu Tinubu is a two-term Senator representing Lagos Central Senatorial District and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment. She is very passionate about the issue of women and youth empowerment, which led to the setting up of Youth Empowerment and Skills Acquisition Scheme (YESAS) through whichmanyyouthshadbeenempowered in her senatorial district. Tinubu’s constituency development initiatives include: Post-Secondary School Scholarship Scheme (PSSS), Annual disbursement of N100, 000 to 26 beneficiaries for four years, and 624 students of tertiary institutions receive N10,000 as book bursaries, grants to help 650 beneficiaries within her constituency to re-capitalise their businesses and provision of maintenance grants to alleviate the plight of the elderly (Elderly Citizen Assistance Scheme). Yakubu Dogara DogararepresentsBogoro/Dass,Nigeria/Tafawa Balewa federal constituency since 2007. In the current dispensation, Dogara has sponsored bills which include the North-East Development Commission Establishment Bill 2015,

roofandinstantemploymentsweregiven to meritorious candidates, who are currently excelling in NAFDAC, SMEDAN, MIKANO,LagosInlandRevenueService and many others.

Oluremi Tinubu

Yakubu Dogara

Femi Gbajabiamila

Lasun Yusuf

Ossai Nicholas Ossai

Edward Pwajok

Aisha Dukku

(10) the Subsidiary Legislation Bill 2015, (11) the Federal Competition Bill 2015, the Data Protection Bill 2015, (12) the Public Interest Disclosure Bill 2015 (13) and the Hire Purchase Bill 2015 (14). He is also sponsoring the Budget Process Bill in fulfillment of his promise to reform Nigeria’s budgeting process. The Bill when passed into law, according to him would outlaw non-implementation of budgets, which is the bane of Nigeria’s development since 1999. He has equally sponsored many motions throughout the duration of his legislative career. He introduced a legislative agenda for the eighth House, which would serve as its guiding document for a period of four years. Dogara will be remembered as a strong advocate for the reconstruction, rehabilitation and recovery of the North-East region of Nigeria, an active supporter of the Not-Too-Young-To-Run campaign,whoadvocatedextensivelyfor local government autonomy in Nigeria and a crusader of budget reforms.

Abdulrazaq Namdas

Nkem Abonta

Boma Goodhead

Femi Gbajabiamila Gbajabiamila is one strong factor in the eighth House of Representatives. Representing Surulere I federal constituency, Gbajabiamila is a fourth term member of the House, who was penciled down for the speakership before Hon. Dogara clinched it. He is an advocate of qualitative representation, took an active part in debates on the floor and is known to always be on the side of ‘truth and justice’ even as his views were believed to truly reflect the wishes and aspirations of his constituents. Members of the House in the ruling party would say “the fear of Gbajabiamila is the beginning of wisdom,� not necessarily because they fear him but out of the profound respect his colleagues accord him. He also enjoys robust relationship with people of his constituency. He is the initiator of Lagos Job Fair, the first of its kind in South-west, Nigeria. The job fair brought employers of labor drawn from public/ private sectors and job seekers under one

LasunYusuf Another enigma in the House is the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Lasun Yusuf. As a member since 2011, he represents Irepodun/Olurunda/Osogbo/Orolu federalconstituencyofOsunState.Fondly called‘TheHomeboy’duetohisgrassroots relationship with the people, Lasun is known for his undiluted loyalty, unquantifiable role played in the Alliance of Democracy AD and his doggedness in the political circle in his state. He was elected the Deputy Speaker of the eighth House by 203 members of the House of Representatives out of the 357 that participated in the in-house election while Dogara was elected the Speaker. He has worked cordially with the Speaker despite the fact that they now represent different political parties. Lasun has presided over the affairs of the House, when the Speaker was unavoidably absent or had to participate on the floor of the House. He led some members of the House to the 15th Commonwealth Speakers and Presiding Officers Conference African Region, in Accra,Ghana,inNovember,2015.Hewas theDeputyChairpersonoftheconference. He represented the Speaker at an investigative public hearing on the activities of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) conducted by the House Committee on Power at the NationalAssembly in 2015. He presided overtheHouseduringthesecondreading of a bill seeking to legalise the establishment of the North-east Development Commission, which was sponsored by Dogara. He may not be returning to the House, however. Ossai Nicholas Ossai With over 44 bills and more than 20 motions to his credit, Ossai is adjudged the second honourable member with the highest number of sponsored bills. Ossai is a champion for democracy, a strong voiceforthepeopleofNdokwa/Ukwuani federal constituency, which he represents and an undeniable legislative maestro as he is often referred to. His contributions to issues of national importance and his modest personality make him worth emulation. He carved a niche for himself with a distinct mark of excellence, brilliance and undeniable enduring legacy. The combined forces of grace, humility, character, service, humanity and leadership in bill process,oversight,representationandconstituency related responsibilities, earned himthefamoussubstantivenomenclature of ‘Legislative Maestro, SeniorAdvocates of the Masses, Man of God, Jewel of the 8th House of Representatives, Bill Process Machine, Empowerment Pathfinder, Empowerment Master and the bridge builder. Abdulrazaq Namdas Eloquent, tactful and always approachable, the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Media and Publicity, Hon.Abdulrazaq Namdas is also a notable lawmaker. He joins the leagueofoutstandinglawmakersbecause of the diligence with which he carries out his responsibility as the spokesman of the House. He is passionate about feeding Nigerians with the most accurate information about the green chamber and where there is any misinformation – he is always prepared to go the extra mile to set record straight. Edward Pwajok Pwajok is a lawyer with tremendous experience, who attained the enviable

rank of SeniorAdvocate of Nigeria (SAN) and one-time Attorney General/Commissioner of Justice in Plateau State. He came into the House of Representatives with special interests in reform of laws, establishment of new laws to deepen federalism and democracy, effective oversight over MDAs and to achieve international legislative best practices. That’s exactly what he has been doing. He has been very bothered about killings in parts of Barkin Ladi local government areas of Plateau State. Due to his sound representation, he has set record as the lawmaker with the highest number of sponsored bill as a first timer and overall third best in the entire country. He sponsored the bill to end the dichotomy between HND and BSc, which the federal government has begun to implement. The National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) led by Mrs. Gloria Shoda honoured him for his outstanding contributions to the cause of women, especially with his recent Nigeria Women Indigenship Bill, which seeks to amend the federal character act to allow women choose which indigenship they prefer, considering the discrimination some of them face when getting federal appointments. He was Chairman, House Committee on Human Rights and now Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business. He is a strong member of the PDP but very apolitical on issues of national development and legislative duties. Nkem Abonta AbontarepresentingUkwaEast/Ukwa West federal constituency ofAbia State is a lawyer by training and having bagged a Master’s degree in law, his job as the Chairman, House Committee on Public Petitions is simply putting a round peg in a round hole. The committee job keeps him busy and apparently borrowing from his legal training – he is never prepared to compromise in treating petitions. He has shown more than a passing interest in achieving good governance in Nigeria through legislation. Aisha Dukku The chairperson, House Committee on Electoral and Political Parties’ Matters, Dukku played a central role in the ElectoralActAmendmentBill2018,which President Muhammadu Buhari declined assent to. She effectively made impact in theHousewithherunquenchablepassion for girl child education, women, youth empowerment, poverty alleviation and skill acquisition. Boma Goodhead Many readers will quickly remember the female member of the House of Representatives, who dared masked operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) at the gate of the National Assembly to shoot her, when there was an invasion of the NationalAssembly last year. She is Hon. Boma Goodhead. She is a female lawmaker representingAkuku -Toru/Asari-Toru federal constituency of Rivers State. ThatheractionagainstthemaskedDSS operativesattheNationalAssemblystood her out is not in doubt. Apart from that, she is outspoken and brave. Recall the incident, when the 37 members of the APC in the House defected to the PDP, it was Goodhead that took on Hon. Munir Baba Dan Agundi from Kano State over his fruitless effort to encourage some of the defectors to retrace their steps. TheSpeaker,Hon.YakubuDogaraand some of her colleagues had to pacify her to let the matter lay low. Her voice was one of those that interjected President Buhari, whenhepresentedthe2019budgetbefore a joint session of the NationalAssembly in the green chamber. She has her job clearly carved out for her.

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PERSPECTIVE

ASUU Strike and Nigerians’Suicidal Silence Joseph Ushie is worried that Nigerians have not approached the ongoing ASUU strike with enough outspokenness

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ince the beginning of the current strike by my union, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), in early November, 2018, very many disturbing thoughts and worries have invaded and held me hostage over the general state of affairs in my country, Nigeria. This and several other strikes by this Union have led me to very frightening conclusions and fears and sorrow about this country. The summary of all these is that each strike further dims the hope of a reversal of the drifting of this country to its final doom, its final apocalypse, its perdition, its damnation. What most educated persons know is that no nation ever rises above the level of its quality of education. This is what all modern world economies know. The government and people of Britain know this, which was why their former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, when asked what his three priorities were, he answered, “1. Education! 2. Education! 3. Education!” And another, David Cameron, even as he decreased ASUU President (middle) Prof Biodun Ogunyemi and other members of the union allocation to some sectors of his economy, increased the budget for This is a union of scholars which, like any other trade education. union in the country, ought to be concerned only about its That is why most of the fast-developing economies of members’ welfare, and asking traditionally for increases the world, both advanced and developing, both former in wages and allowances and ensuring job security for its colonial masters and colonies devote not less than UNESCO’s members, as all other unions do. prescribed minimum of 26% of their annual budgets to But since the union has chosen to talk on behalf of the education. It is this recognition that had taken India, Ghana, Sowetoed Nigerian class whose children can neither be sent Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and others to where they abroad nor to the private universities in the country, the union are, far ahead of Nigeria. has been marked for all kinds of humiliation and destruction Today, rich Nigerians, mostly those who have the by the country’s rich who make up every government. opportunity to steal from the commonweal, shamelessly yank It has thus become a war for survival between each off their children from here into schools in Ghana, Malaysia, thieving, aristocratic government and members of ASUU. Benin Republic, the United States of America, Britain, Canada, Sometimes, and regularly, the government functionaries grab South Africa and just anywhere else in the world into which at the lean throats of the members by stopping their miserable economies they empty our nation’s treasure in exchange for salaries or sacking them altogether. But the pain, the real pain the exclusive education of their children. is that while this has been the case for decades now, those Yet, at every public outing, especially during their educationally Sowetoed Nigerians either do not know this or notorious political campaigns all the candidates lie do not appreciate the Promethean role of ASUU or just simply competitively about their noble, laudable plans for education, do not care. which shows that they are indeed, like citizens of other As such, they are usually among the very people used countries, aware of the importance of good quality education during each strike to condemn members of ASUU during as a necessary tool for the development of the country. Yet, each and every strike action to rescue the nation’s public while in office, none of them, right from the military era till universities from the lethal grip of the ruling aristocrats. date, has veered off this heinous treachery, this betrayal of the Sadly, until recently, even fellow pilloried co-wayfarers in the people to a patriotic and altruistic commitment to the cause of vineyard of learning such students and vice-chancellors were education in this country. often turned against the Union. This is no accident at all. It is a well-planned, well This is where Nigerians are shamefully different from executed scheme by the few rich in the country to fossilize Ghanaians. Right from independence, Ghanaians have even the progeny of the country into children of the rich insulated education from their politics such that any and those of the poor. This began somehow innocuously government, military or civilian, which tampers with the through the mangling of education at the pre-tertiary level. quality of the nation’s education would have imperiled itself, Majority of those in government today attended public-, would have pitched itself against the rest of the Ghanaian that is, government-funded primary and secondary schools, citizenry, not just the teachers alone. which were adequately funded to produce for the country an And that is why Ghana’s education system has survived educated class that can hold its own anywhere in the world. till date in spite of that country’s similarities with Nigeria in But in time, the evil spirit of capitalism set in with its many other ways. As a net result of the Ghanaians’ collective destructive impulse. Teachers in the public schools were and communal watch over the affairs of their valued consciously reduced to paupers in terms of their welfare; education sector, Nigeria’s aristocratic families routinely send facilities in these schools dried up as budgetary allocations to their children there for learning, emptying our treasury into education thinned down. that of our more collectively conscious neighbour. Generally, the zeal and zest for hard work on this poor In 2005, I was in Malaysia when the results of one of the class of Nigerian workers waned and, ultimately, the public world rankings of universities were published, and Malaysia’s schools died a slow, painful, agonizing death only for them to best university was 110 or so in the world as against an earlier reincarnate in the private primary and secondary schools to position of 89. The entire country went wild with attacks on where the erstwhile seriousness of the public schools has been the government, particularly on the ministry of education to transferred. explain to Malaysians how that came about. But the question is, given the forbiddingly high fees of Suggestions of the sacking of the minister, the setting up these schools, how many honest Nigerian civil servants, of committees, etc., to review the nation’s university system let alone the unemployed, can afford to send their children filled their dailies. It was as if the country had been attacked to these aristocratic schools? As such, through this system by a foreign army. And I returned to Nigeria where everyone Nigeria’s successive governments have re-created through the went about their business as usual even when no Nigerian education system in Nigeria the equivalents of the social class university was among the best 6000 in the world going by markers in apartheid South Africa where we had the Reserves same results on the rankings. and Soweto for the Blacks, and Pretoria, Johannesburg and Right now, ASUU is again on another of its many selfother aristocratic cities for the Whites. denying strikes, and the sorrow that has come with it is At the tertiary level, particularly the university, there have immense. The sorrow and the worries and the anxieties been two openings for the children of the affluent. These are stem from the fact that even some of those expected to fight education abroad for those who can afford it, or education in on the side of the educationally Sowetoed Nigerians have the fast-growing voraciously expensive private universities, joined the aristocracy, and these include personalities like Dr while the children of the poor have remained in those public John Olukayode Fayemi, a relatively fresh convert from his universities which, in this case, I will describe as the Soweto or erstwhile primary constituency as protector of the Sowetoed Reserves for the ordinary Nigerian child. mass to the aristocracy as Governor of the learned Ekiti State. However, the death of public universities in the country is At the very beginning of the current strike, this being slowed down by the stoical, self-sacrificing and altruistic gentleman with the chameleon’s flexible colours rushed into patriotism of one group of Nigerians who come under the condemnation of the action in order to please his new Lord in Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Aso Rock, who, incidentally, accepted blame for the strike on

behalf of his government. A few of our colleagues have also displayed their loyalty to Aso Rock by giving ASUU knocks for going on strike, some of these querying the Union for not changing methods, as if ASUU had guns with which to plot coups. The bad thing about sycophancy is that the sycophant or protégé often does not listen to those he wants to murder in the interest of his mentor. So, in all this, this class of the self-appointed spokespersons for the treacherous ruling class would feign ignorance of the many warnings, the many hundreds of letters, the many laborious press conferences the ASUU leadership would go through to get the government to listen ahead of the option of strike, by bringing up the inapplicable lame blame that the Union should “embrace dialogue”. Yet, this is a situation in which, elsewhere in the world, the citizenry would have spontaneously risen as one against the government in order to end the educational Soweto-Pretoria dichotomy; but here, everyone goes about their businesses as usual while the public schools die a slow, painful death, with a huge vulture waiting for the dying public universities to finally fall. In the recent past, not even the students who are the primary beneficiaries from ASUU’s altruistic, self-immolating struggles, used to appreciate the Union’s efforts as some of them, educational Sowetoed children, were armed with stones to throw at the Union while the Union engaged the aristocratic governments in some of its historic struggles for the soul of the nation’s public universities. This is where a country ready for development is distinguished from that doomed to perdition. This is where Ghana and Malaysia and Singapore and even Rwanda hold the hope for their countries while Nigerians and Nigeria remain faithful to the same in government, who have tethered their children’s future to damnation. And this is why, even as the Union is currently on strike over the poor funding of education in the country, the allocation to education in next year’s budget has been further punitively and spitefully slashed to 5.71, which is a far cry from UNESCO’S suggested minimum of 26%, which many fast-developing countries have even overreached. This is why none of these Nigerians would, now, advise the government against the 2019 consequences for education by the criminally low allocation to education in the budget for that year. This is why some of us are sad and worried about the future of this country if indeed education is what determines the rate of growth of any nation. This is why I find in the current silence from Nigerians towards the ongoing ASUU strike a national suicide. It must be a national suicide because, in the end, both the Soweto and the aristocratic beneficiaries from education would end up as members of same society with one group inhaling the smoke from the other in the forms of kidnapping, insurgency, armed robbery, ritual killings, drug addiction, begging and others. And yet, at every public outing, the rich and powerful pay lips service to education while budgetary allocations to the sector diminish annually in order to create the large financial provision for sectors from which it is easy and lucrative to loot. By our silence and indifference to ASUU’s perennial patriotic struggles to democratize education, Nigeria is certainly singing her swansong, is certainly arranging herself for cremation within the comity of other nations of the world, where our citizens will continue to be enslaved. –––Professor Ushie wrote from the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State

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FOREIGN NEWS

Pelosi’s Path to Power Adeola Akinremi in Washington D.C, writes that in a politics riddled with male chauvinists, the return of Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the United States Congress and second in line to U.S president makes her a reference point for women who seek to break political ceiling across the globe

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he conversation in the United States and around the world shifted effortlessly at mid-day on Thursday, November 3. It shifted from Mr. President to “Madame Speaker� as Nancy D’Alesandro Pelosi, the first and only woman to be elected Speaker of the United States Congress returned to a position she once held for straight eight years between 2007 and 2011. In a historic comeback, Ms. Pelosi, 78, was elected speaker of the 116th Congress, cementing her legacy and sending a strong message of “you don’t get pushed around� to women everywhere in the world. As a speaker of the United States Congress, Pelosi, the longtime Democratic leader and daughter of a former mayor of Baltimore, is one of the most well-known women in the world. For Ms. Pelosi, taking the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives isn’t the only thing that makes her the most important woman in U.S. politics, the opportunity that the position offers her to be second in line to the presidency is extraordinary. The U.S Presidential Succession Act makes the speaker of the House of Representatives next in line of succession to a sitting president, right after the vice president. According to a Senate website on the history of the Presidential Succession Act, the death in office of America’s 32nd president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, triggered a conversation that placed the speaker of congress in line of succession after the vice president. So Pelosi knows the importance of her ascension as a woman speaker. The moment she had the gavel extended to her last Thursday, she looked straight into the eyes of other 434 representatives, beamed with sweet smile and said: “I am particularly proud to be the woman Speaker of the House of this Congress, which marks 100 years of women winning the right to vote, as we serve with more than 100 women in the House of Representatives – the highest number in history.� But 32 years ago, when Ms. Pelosi, a Democratic Representative from California took Pelosi her seat in Congress, after winning special election to succeed Sala Burton, who gave her the chance in 1987, only a few would agree with her that she was on a mission to break the ceiling. She did. In 2007, when she was first elected speaker, she said: “It is a historic moment for the Congress and a historic moment for the women of this country. It is a moment for which we have waited over 200 years. For our daughters and granddaughters, today, we have broken the marble ceiling. For our daughters and our granddaughters, the sky is the limit; anything is possible for them.� Like in all societies, where women are often pushed aside in a male-dominated politics, Ms. Pelosi has been a target of political mudslinging both from the Republican and from her own party, including ads that portrayed her as unflattering and aggressive, but she’s a survivor. “After she became speaker, conservative media started to speculate about whether she’d had plastic surgery,� according to a narrative posted on history.com Described as an “Icon of Female Power,� by the New York Times, Pelosi herself was once worried about having too much to herself in terms of power and influence. According to the New York Times, in 1984, when she occupied the position of chairwoman, along with other titles in the California Democratic Party, she confided in Lindy Boggs, a Louisiana congresswoman, about how she was uncomfortable and was finding ways drop some of the titles. But Ms. Boggs advised her against it saying, “‘Darlin’, no man would ever think that. Don’t you give anything up?� Perhaps, Ms. Pelosi kept the words of Ms. Boggs to heart as she continued to hold powerful positions on Capitol Hill in the last three decades and becoming the first lawmaker in more than half a century to hold the office of speaker twice. She’s has also made history as one of the two members of the house to be elected at the age of 78 in the history of United States. The oldest Member to hold the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives before Pelosi was Sam Rayburn of Texas, who was elected Speaker for the 10th and final time at age 78, in 1961. Once in Washington, Ms. Pelosi carved a niche for herself putting her mouth where her mind is with toughness, focus and

For her determination and conscientiousness, even her political adversary, President Trump, gave his words of commendation to Pelosi. After a Democratic wave that roundly defeated Republicans during the mid-term election, Trump said: “I gave her a lot of credit, she works very hard and she’s worked long and hard‌ I give her a great deal of credit for how she’s worked and what she’s accomplished

legislative skill to champion bills that reflect her liberal politics like Affordable Care Act, reform of Wall Street regulation along with support for a massive economic stimulus for the revival of a collapsing economy in 2008, advocating human rights, seeking funding for health research, HIV/AIDS and other noteworthy issues of governance. That way, the powerful fundraiser for Democratic Party became a star in the firmament of Democratic Politics, rising through the ranks and adding many firsts to her name. In 2001, after defeating Representative Steny D. Hoyer of Maryland, Ms. Pelosi was elected Democratic whip, becoming the first woman to hold that post. The following year, she added another first, when she became the first woman to lead a party in Congress as Democrats elected her as leader. With several accomplishments that make her a go-to person in Democratic politics, several House Democrats, both men and women, gave Pelosi the honor she deserved on the day she took back the gavel by wearing bright and beautiful blue buttons emblazoned with the words “Madame Speaker,� next to their traditional member’s pin. Ajourney that began for her as a volunteer for the Democratic Party, Ms. Pelosi learned politics from home listening to her father, who served in Congress and was the mayor of Baltimore for 12 years, and her brother, Thomas, who later served as mayor of Baltimore as well. “There are two things about what I bring with me from my family in this regard,� Pelosi said. “One is to know how to count. That’s very important. Count your votes to win the election. Count your votes to win a vote on the floor. The other is listen to your constituents,� she told CNN in an interview. In 1987, when Pelosi got to the House, there were only 24 women serving in Senate and the House together, but now the Congress alone boasts of 102 women, a credit to her for pushing for more women in political leadership and for putting herself forward as an example of excellence for womanhood. “You know why I do it? I do it, because I want women to see that you do not get pushed around. You don’t run away from the

fight,â€? she said in an interview. At a time everyone is looking for someone to hold the U.S president Donald Trump accountable, Ms. Pelosi appears stoically ready for the battle ahead. After a recent Oval Office encounter with Trump over border wall, Pelosi reportedly told Democrats during a briefing that Trump’s obsession with building a wall as last solution to illegal immigration is “like a manhood thing for him — as if manhood could ever be associated with him.â€? And as the government shutdown goes into overdrive with more than 15 days and thousands of workers furloughed, Pelosi has held on to what majority of Democratic caucus wants: no funding for border wall. “The president cannot hold public employees hostage because he wants to have a wall that is not effective. Awall is immorality. It is not who we are as a nation. The president is a master of diversion,â€? Pelosi said in an interview with reporters. Nancy Pelosi who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Trinity College thought of going to law school momentarily before succumbing to the common thing of her era, marriage. She was married to her husband, Paul, who became a banker in New York before they moved to San Francisco to settle down and raising children. “Even when she was pushing strollers, Ms. Pelosi said, she was active in Democratic politics and pushing her own children to get involved,â€? New York Times reported. Unapologetic about her ambition, Pelosi according to a CNN report had planned to step down, if Hillary Clinton had become president. However, when Clinton lost, Pelosi says she felt there was need to stay on so that a woman can remain at the table, where decisions are made at high-level meetings. For her determination and conscientiousness, even her political adversary, President Trump, gave his words of commendation to Pelosi. After a Democratic wave that roundly defeated Republicans during the mid-term election, Trump said: “I gave her a lot of credit. She works very hard and she’s worked long and hard‌ I give her a great deal of credit for how she’s worked and what she’s accomplished.â€?

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with DEMOLA OJO demola.ojo@thisdaylive.com

SOCIAL MEDIA BITS

Last week on social media, an electoral appointment caused an uproar, a vocal Senator surrendered to the Police, and the paramount student body promised the President votes...

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nter the New Year, same as the old. This is what Nigeria’s social media suggests, especially Twitter where politicians on both sides of the APC/PDP divide (and beyond) have continued from where they left off; bickering, trading accusations and blurring the lines between truth and fiction. A drama with the Police as protagonist and Senator Dino Melaye as villain gripped the nation on different occasions last year and has continued in the new one. After an eight-day standoff with the police laying siege on Melaye’s home in Abuja to effect his arrest, he finally surrendered despite initially claiming he was not at home. The surrender wasn’t devoid of histrion-

ics as the Senator of the Federal Republic slumped while coming out of his house and subsequently had to be aided. He was taken to a hospital as investigation into his case - alleged multiple armed robbery and murder plots - continues. The Police are extremely excited by Melaye’s arrest, going by their social media statement written in capital letters, the equivalent of shouting from the rooftops. Nigerians on social media have encouraged the cops to display the same zeal in dealing with the bandits running riot in Zamfara, among other national security challenges. Just like last year, ASUU is still on strike, with university students idle at home for the past two month.

JANUARY 6, 2019 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

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SOCIAL MEDIA BITS In a twist to the tale, the National Association of Nigerian Students paid a visit to President Buhari and presented him with a birthday card. That was not all. In a video which is now going viral, NANS president, Bamidele Akpan, promised to deliver 20 million votes to the President in the 2019 elections. It didn’t take long for social media to remind NANS that Buhari was the first Nigerian leader to clamp down on the student body in his previous guise as a military dictator. With the presidential elections taking place in six weeks, it’s the time for making vote-delivery promises, with little or no regard to the number of eligible voters in INEC’s register. Some of these promises are completely hilarious. Former EFCC boss Nuhu Ribadu got in on the act, promising a whopping 100 per cent of the votes in his Adamawa State, which incidentally, is the home state of PDP flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar. Ribadu is in bullish mood and is walking his talk as far as supporting President Buhari is concerned; he donated 40 cars to the re-election cause, prompting questions as to how a former civil servant could possibly

afford to make such a donation. With promises of votes for the President by different characters, including embattled Kano State Governor Umar Ganduje (who promised five million votes from Kano), it is no surprise that the President’s circle see his re-election as a foregone conclusion. “4+4” is the new slogan, with the wife of the president, Aisha Buhari, as the pin-up model. However, everyone else apart from members and die-hard supporters of the APC were appalled when news emerged of the appointment of Amina Zakari as head of the collation centre for the general elections by the electoral commission. The PDP claim Zakari is President Buhari’s niece and has accused the election umpire of partiality. INEC claims Zakari can not affect results of the election. The presidency says Zakari and Buhari are not related by blood. They are only related by inter-marriage of distant relatives. Then the PDP countered that Zakari worked for Buhari in his PTF days more than 20 years ago. The APC’s response is that she was appointed by former President Goodluck Jonathan. Accusations, counteraccusations, New Year same as the old...

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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 ˾ ANUARY 6, 2019

BOOK

The Kachikwu, Nzerue Experiment: Finding Solutions, Reading Books It all began with two friends who loved reading. Then, it became a network for other women to share perspectives on books as it relates to life. Books and Desert Book Club, started in 2013, has become the preferred platform to read, brainstorm and proffer solutions to challenges. The brains behind the club, Nma Nzerue and Somachi Kachikwu, share with Stanley Nkwazema their passion for books and women

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ased in Abuja, with almost 100 women as members even though some leave, others relocate and some get caught up and distracted by life’s daily challenges but most return after they have dealt with the distraction. The ladies would probably have more members but it is more important to the founders that BnD remains a book club for women who love reading or at least want to develop a reading culture. One secret of their camaraderie is that they all share a sincere passion for books. From their first book, ‘The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives’, they have read over 50 books. The male folks are left out. The founders believe that women need safe spaces that would serve as incubators to strengthen them for the larger world. If it’s a man’s world, then in Nigeria; it’s a man’s haven. So, women need space to be motivated, space to understand and space to learn strategies on how to excel at home, at work and in the society. The members meet once a month and each meeting is like a present they can’t wait to unravel. These ideals led to BnD being one-stop awesomeness. It’s a buzzing group where the women discuss everything, advice on everything, plan everything, motivate on everything and gain knowledge on everything. Our members are both culturally and professionally diverse so “everything” is “everything”. Our camaraderie is really unique and has become extremely powerful. BnD testifies to the power and relevance of women networks and why every woman needs one. Our story is inspirational, motivating and encouraging. Our network has successfully created a space where women become more intelligent alongside creating a support group to get you to where you need to go. Indeed the members of the book club are excited about turning 5 in December and looking forward to opening up across the world. They are equally excited opening up , just as Somachi for some time now spend more time in the United States tending to the needs of her four boys she fondly call the Delta Knights. In her absence, Nma takes care of the clubs activities. Sometimes they conduct the reading via Skype and Facetime to be abreast of each members ‘assignment’.

Why women “No it is not a gender issue, it was never by design. It so happened that the day we talked about starting up the book club, we decided to call up the friends we knew loved to read. We called up the people we knew just off of our head and at the debut meeting, we were about nine persons, and we were so very excited they honoured our invite that we didn’t even notice there weren’t any men,” the duo stated.

Accommodating more ladies They said: “Yes, we plan to. There’s always room for two or three at a time. Right now we have about 40 members and it’s not bad at all. This group are not just a group of women looking for a fun outlet. They are avid readers. They have also encouraged some who love to read but for one reason or another never managed to finish a book. Reading can be made to be fun. We have fun during our book meets but we are strict with reading. Over the years we have had to strike out some people who aren’t serious with reading. Somachi Chikwe is the reading police; once a member doesn’t read two or three books consecutively she is out. She is quite polite about it though.”

Turning an idea into a desert “I think then we were just two stay-at-home moms with growing children and side-hustles who had too much time on their hands. We read a lot and one day while we were discussing one of the books we had read, the idea came: what do we do all these interesting books that we read? We even toyed with the idea of setting up a blog where we can read and review books. When that didn’t fly we decided to start up a book club and the name? I think we were also having some sweet treats that day so we decided that since every woman loves sweets (at least most do) we decided that the thought of yummy desserts could entice them.”

How do you come together? We read a book a month, and then meet at the end of the month to review. But our review meets are usually very exciting. That is when we have all the deserts known to man. It is always fun though. So ideally we read 12 books a year

Somachi Chikwe and Grace Nma Nzerue but we also recommend other books to members and some of us read much more than that on their own.

have also had the president of the Nigerian Literary Society grace our book meet. Some of the writers come to give us talks on writing. We have some budding writers amongst us too.

Do you buy the books or get them from publishers for review?

What has been the response so far?

We buy our books. We have worked with some publishers who have sent us books in appreciation of our patronage. The books are not necessarily the books we may be reading. But we do appreciate such gestures. We like to read so much and always open to read all genres. And also when we are reading a particular book, especially African authors, we strive to invite the authors to come and sit in as we review their books. We have had quite a number of Nigerian authors grace our book meets – people like Dike-Ogu Chukwumerije. Some have also joined us via Skype. We

I believe we are the most prolific book club in the city of Abuja. We have people call to ask if they can join – even men. But we also have criteria and when one doesn’t fit those criteria then we don’t admit. This is because we don’t want to admit people who would bring disruptions. Yes, we have fun when we meet but reading comes first and if we notice your intent is not to read then the response will be a no. As for admitting men as members, we are considering that seriously because we have been getting a lot of calls regarding that.

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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 ˾ JANUARY 6, 2018

NEWSXTRA Borno Recruits 20,000 Volunteers to Fight Boko Haram Report alleges insurgents using ransom to procure superior weapons Says ISWAP paying more premium to woo local communities Bayo Akinloye The Borno State Government yesterday explained its roles in the fight against Boko Haram, disclosing that it had recruited 20,000 volunteers under the Civilian Joint Task Force (Civilian JTF) to support the military operations in the state. Despite this effort, a special report titled ‘Why Troops Are Losing Ground To ISWAP disclosed that the extremist group was getting stronger using slush funds realised from ransom paid allegedly by the federal government for the release those kidnapped. The Special Adviser to the Governor on Communication and Strategy, Mr. Isa Gasau shed light on the role of the state government in the fight against the group during an interview on Arise News Network, a sister company THISDAY Newspapers Group. Gusau said Civilian Joint Task Force “is playing crucial roles in intelligence gathering,

easy identification and arrest of suspected insurgents and supporting the military in the war fronts with Governor Kashim Shettima financing the enrollment of more than 20,000 volunteers.” He explained that Shettima “has been the sole person giving approvals for the operational vehicles and logistics, recruitment, training, payment of allowances, kitting and surveillance equipment to these over 20,000 heroes under the Civilian JTF that have given everything to the fight against Boko Haram. “It was Shettima, who drove the process of getting the office of the National Security Adviser to approve the operational activities of the Civilian JTF and he has remained the only one funding all their operations including the coordination of their recruitment and deployments after clearance by the DSS. “The same governor approves funds to support gallant members of the Civilian

JTF including allocation of lands to the to own houses so as to encourage them and guarantee their future.” However, writing in a special report titled, ‘Why Troops Are Losing Ground To ISWAP,’ a journalist, Ahmad Sakilda, who has close links with Boko Haram, suggested that the efforts of the Borno government and other

stakeholders might not yield the desired result because the insurgents rather being decapitated is mutating and becoming more lethal. “The terror groups, in recent times, have received a flush of funds from ransom paid to them allegedly by the government. Equally, there has been a steady access to unimaginable cache of

military weaponry, including hardware and ammunition from bases overran by the insurgents, remarkably bolstering their war chest.” For instance, according to Sakilda, the loss of the International Military Task Force Base, headquarters of the Multinational Joint Task Force, in Baga, headed by an army general, was reported

as “monumental”, not merely in the loss of location, but because of the massive military hardware and ammunition only comparable to what is available to the military division in Maiduguri to ISWAP. He further noted that the insurgents were riding the momentum and were motivated in manners “completely” alien to the military.

Kidnapped Ekiti Council Officials Regain Freedom Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti The Ekiti State Police Command yesterday Saturday disclosed that the two officials of the Emure Local government area of the state, who were kidnapped by gunmen have been freed. The two council staff, Pastor A. Onaade and Dr. O. Fashina , were kidnapped along Ikere-Ise-Emure road on Wednesday night while returning to Ado Ekiti. Onaade is an accountant while Fashina is in charge of primary health care in the council. Speaking with journalists in Ado Ekiti yesterday, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Caleb Ikechukwu disclosed that the captives were freed from their abductors by the police. Ikechukwu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Asuquo Amba, had visited the kidnap victims in their respective homes.

“The police commissioner had visited them, they are in good shape It is the duty of the police to ensure that everybody is safe and that we shall continue to do”. He, however, did not mention the actual location where the victims regained their freedom. On the issue of ransom, Ikechukwu said the victims never brought this “to our notice, they didn’t tell us they paid anything. “All we did was to do our work and ensure that they returned home safe and in good health and that we had achieved”, the police spokesman said. During the incident, which occurred around 8 p.m., another accountant working with the council, Mr. Abayomi Ajayi was killed by gunmen. The police have not revealed any official report regarding whether he was killed by kidnappers or armed robbers.

HONOUR WELL DESERVED...

L-R: Wife of Kebbi State Governor and CEO, Medicard Cancer Centre, Dr. Zenaib Bagudu, presenting award to CEO, Arise Women Foundation,Dr. Siju Iluyomade for her contribution on the lives of children and women in Nigeria and beyond in Abuja...recently

Buhari’s Endorsement Tears Ijaw Youths Apart Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has expressed disappointment over the purported endorsement of President Muhammadu Buhari’s reelection by a section of the council. Consequently, the youth body has set up an investigative panel to probe the emergence of a statement released on Friday by the group’s spokesman, Mr Daniel Dasimaka. In his statement, Dasimaka had based the group’s alleged support for Buhari

on his purported intention to allocate oil blocks to oilproducing states. Aside, the statement had said the president also waded off pressure to cancel the amnesty programme in 2015 even after certain highly placed individuals mounted pressure on him to do so. On this ground, the statement said the president “deserves mass support from Niger Delta on his second term bid in order to consolidate on his agenda for the region and the country.” However, the decision of the group had caused ripples

in the IYC National Secretariat, saying Dasimaka took the decision to pledge the group’s loyalty to Buhari on his own volition and without due process. In another statement by the IYC Secretary-General, Mr. Alfred Kemepado, the group said Dasimaka was on his own, adding that the council would definitely sanction him for taking an unauthorised decision to serve as deterrence to others. He said Dasimaka was not directed by the congress and leadership of IYC before it issued a press statement,

recalling that the spokesman had issued a statement in which he itemised a few achievements of Buhari. Kemepado said, “Our findings show that Dasimaka did the abominable as he did this without recourse to congress, an act that is against our convention and laid down rules governing such critical statements. “Dasimaka’s statement was an insult to past and present leaders of the council, insisting that the leaders had already set up for a disciplinary action against the pokesman.

Enugu Fire: Ugwuanyi Replaces Burnt Vehicle, Two Tricycles

Group Names T.B. Joshua Man of the Year

S’West Group Charges Members to Deliver Atiku

The Enugu State Government at the weekend replace one commercial bus and two vehicles to three victims of the recent fire outbreak at a petrol station in Trans Ekulu, Enugu. The Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Mrs. Nkechi Eneh handed over the vehicles to the victims at the Government House, Enugu on behalf of the state governor, Mr. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. After handing over the vehicles, the victims displayed different dance steps, praising God and thanking the governor for the surprise package, noting that today

Kayode Fasua

The South West Ward-toWard Support Group, a body routing for the victory of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has called on members of the group to redouble efforts as the presidential election draws near. The group zonal coordinator, Chief Taiwo Ajilore made the call in a statement at the weekend, noting that the group should be ready to deliver South West as a political zone and ensure Atiku wins in the election.He noted that Atiku was “making major inroads” into other geopolitical zones which could have decisive effect on his victory and

was the happiest day of their lives. They said Ugwuanyi has wiped away their tears and prayed fervently for God to continue to grant him success in all his endeavors, especially his victory at the forthcoming elections. One of the tricycle operators, John Obalezi said, “We are here because the Governor of Enugu State visited when our keke and bus were burnt and asked us not to cry again that he will wipe our tears. “We are here because he invited us today and bought new keke for us and bought a bus for the bus driver.

A non-denominational group, Christian-to-Christian Network (CCN) has declared the Founder of Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Prophet T.B. Joshua, as its Man of the Year for 2018, citing his contributions to humanity. In a statement by its National President, Pastor Ifeanyi Odili, the group said Joshua, apart from continually helping the less-privileged, had also boosted the Nigerian economy through the influx of foreigners to the SCOAN in Lagos, to obtain spiritual benefits. “After a thorough assessment of church leaders in the

country for the year gone by, we are overwhelmed enough to conveniently declare that Pastor T.B Joshua is our Man of the Year among Nigerian clerics for 2018. “This is simply due to the fact that he keeps giving back to the society what the society gave to the Church. He has entrenched the original practice of the Church of the olden days, which took care of the needy, the less-privileged, and the weak among the brethren. “During festivities, Joshua would gather the poor and distribute bags of rice, vegetable oil, clothing, and cash sums to those who ordinarily felt forsaken.

as such the south west arm of the ward-to-ward campaign body must also make its presence felt across board. He charged members to let all hands be on deck in order “to deliver on its mandate. I want to thank all our members for their sacrifices and devotion to our common goal. “This election is particularly critical as we make a major decision on our collective future by electing a new president. As a body, we are resolute on the choice of H. E. Atiku Abubakar as our next president. We are also committed to delivering the South West as a political zone”, he stated.

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SUNDAYSPORTS

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

Pinnick Seeks Moses’ Return to Eagles

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he Nigerian Football Federation President, Amaju Pinnick is poised to meet with Chelsea winger Victor Moses and his representative in a fortnight in a bid to lure him back to the Super Eagles fold ahead of the 2019 African Cup of Nations. Moses quit the Nigerian national team after 2018 World Cup in Russia. The 27 year old winger cited family reasons and club commitments as reasons. He played 37 times for the Super Eagles, scoring 12 times since making his debut in 2012. Moses won the Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria in 2013, and represented the nation at two World Cups, in 2014 and 2018. In an interview with Channels TV sports program, Sports Tonight, Pinnick however said that if Moses insists on his stance, then the NFF will organise a proper testimonial for him similar to what England did for Wayne Rooney. “With all due respect to Nigerians,

I’m talking with Victor Moses because I believe he is somebody who has paid his dues and you don’t just leave Nigeria unceremoniously and I told him that,� Pinnick said. “It’s not as if they are no players but you see, we should encourage our player when they say ‘oh I’m retiring’, maybe it’s out of ego, we need to bring them in. “It’s like your wife saying I’m not going to this event, you’ll go and beg her, she will go to the event and of course make an impact. “The same thing here. He has paid his dues. I recall the Nations Cup we won, he scored two penalties in the game against Ethiopia with ten minutes to go and that catapulted us to the quarter final. So you just don’t say he wants to go, let him go.� “I will be meeting with him and his agent in a fortnight and even if he wants to go, there must be a ceremony for him and that’s the truth. “Look at what England did to Wayne Rooney, they brought him back. We must celebrate them all the time and Moses scored a penalty in his last match for Nigeria against Argentina at the Russia 2018 World Cup that’s the truth,� he concluded.

Bournemouth Sign Solanke from Guardiola Warned over Conduct Liverpool for ÂŁ19m at Liverpool Game Bournemouth have signed England striker Dominic Solanke from Liverpool for ÂŁ19m. Solanke, 21, had been due to join Crystal Palace on loan earlier this week but the deal fell through because of fitness concerns. Bournemouth are about to allow forward Jermain Defoe to join Scottish Premiership side Rangers. It is understood Solanke cannot move to the Cherries on loan under Premier League regulations. Bournemouth have also signed Reds right-back Nathaniel Clyne on loan until the end of the season. “The club is going somewhere - it’s a good club to be at, especially for someone of my age,â€? said Solanke. Cherries boss Eddie Howe said he was “really excitedâ€? about working with Solanke. “Dominic is technically gifted, very athletic and has the physical

profile that will give us something different in our front line,� said Howe. Solanke, a former England youth international who has one senior cap against Brazil in 2017, joined Liverpool from Chelsea in 2017 after his contract at Stamford Bridge ended. The two clubs eventually came to an agreement over the fee, which had been due to be set by a tribunal. He did not make a first-team appearance for the Premier League leaders this season and was ruled out of recent matches because of a muscle problem. The Under-20 World Cup winner made 21 appearances last season, 16 of which were from the bench, scoring one goal. He never made a senior league appearance in three years at Chelsea, spending the 2015-16 season

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been warned by the Football Association about his behaviour during Thursday’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool. Guardiola threw his scarf to the ground and shouted at fourth official Martin Atkinson after a decision had gone against his team in the second half. This is the 47-year-old Spaniard’s first warning. If any manager receives four such warnings then they must serve a touchline ban.

Guardiola threw his scarf and argued with the fourth oďŹƒcial

Golf: African Tour Offers $475,000 Prize Money for 2019 Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

Mikel has quit Chinese club Tianjin Teda

Mikel Linked with Fenerbache after Tianjin Teda Exit Super Eagles’ captain, John Mikel Obi, has been linked with a move to Turkish giants, Fenerbache, a few days after he cancelled his contract with Chinese club, Tianjin Teda. Mikel, 31, agreed to the termination of his contract with Tianjin Teda on Thursday ending his two- year stay with the club. The former Chelsea midfielder refused to travel with the team for their pre-season training in Spain and announced his departure later. He signed a three-year contract with Tianjin Teda in January 2017, joining from English Premier League side, Chelsea

after he was frozen out by then Blues manager, Antonio Conte. Mikel made 31 appearances for the Chinese side, registering three goals and three assists. According to a report in French online news outlet, L’equipe, Mikel is now attracting the interest of Fenerbahçe who are looking to bolster their midfield options during this window. On the international scene, Mikel has not featured for Nigeria since their last group game against Argentina at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He has been capped 85 times by the West Africans and registered six goals.

The total prize money of $475, 000 will be competed on the expanded African Tour billed to commence in February. The African Tour is the upgraded version of the West Africa Golf Tour that started in December 2016. President of the African Tour, Emeka Okatta announced that the new prize money represents a 33 percent increment on the $375, 000 prize money staked in 10 tournaments on the West Africa Tour last year. On the whole, 16 tournaments are on the card for this year and will feature 40 professional golfers drawn from Nigeria and several African countries. The season’s culminating event- the Tour Championship- will hold at IBB International Golf and Country, Abuja from December 18- 21, with $100,000 as the prize money. The overall leader of the Order of Merit for 2019 will also cash $10,000 in prize money. The FCT Classic to be played from February 20- 23 at IBB Golf Club, Abuja will be the inaugural tournament of the African Tour. It will be preceded by the Qualifying School billed for February 19. The school will throw up 15 qualifiers, to join the 25 players exempted from the 2018 season. All the top 40 players will now compete on the schedule across the country in addition to the African Championship to be played in a yet to be named venue outside Nigeria. The full schedule is: Q-School, Abuja, February 19; FCT Classic, Abuja, February 20-23; The Memorare, Arsenal Golf Club, Owerri, March 20-23; Eko Chal-

lenge Cup, Lakowe Lakes, April 9-12; Port Harcourt Classic, Port Harcourt Club 1928, May 15-18; South East Shootout, Owerri, June 12-15; B&E Matchplay, Abuja, June 26-29; South West Challenge, Abeokuta, June 24-27; Sagamu Classic, Sagamu Golf Club, July 31- August 3; Ist October Championship, Port Harcourt, September 28- October 1; The Masters, Phyton Intl Club, October 2-5; NDDC Pro-Am, Ibom Hotel, Uyo, November 14-17; African Golf Championship (TBD) November 28- December 1; Q-School, Abuja, December 17; and the Tour Championship, December 18-21. “We are introducing some new tournaments in 2019. The South West shootout, I know will be interesting. It will be a pairing of two players, playing alternate shot and the best ball winning on each hole. The players will not choose their partners. We will have 40 players and the top 20 on the ranking order will dip into a pot and any name you pick is your partner,� Okatta said. I you allow chose everybody wanto play with the best players- it all by lot. You dip your hand you pick, whatever name you hve will be your patner at he shoot. You hit the first ball and he hits the second . The African Tour Chmpoinship will be our biggest event in 2019 were gong to invite few players from all African countrues -. We re liky to parner with NGF to do the event because it will involve the amatuers. The amatures will bw representing the clubs not yourself bcse whatever prise you win goes to the club. Bayela wanto to thsat evrt but we re not 100 pcet sure the course will be ready b It has been a wonderful ride in 18 and I hope 19 will be much better.

5 ) * 4 % ": t SUNDAY, JANUARY 6, 2019

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Sunday January 6, 2018

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Price: N400

MISSILE

PDP to INEC

“It is totally unethical and immoral for an umpire to insist on officiating a contest even when her impartiality is called to question.” – The Peoples Democratic Party while insisting that Amina Zakari step down as the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Head of Collation for presidential election.

SIMONKOLAWOLE SIMONKOLAWOLELIVE!

simon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com, sms: 0805 500 1961

The Amina Zakari Storm

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n 2010, when Dr. Goodluck Jonathan assumed office following the death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, he promised us electoral reform. He launched a campaign on “one man, one vote; one woman, one vote; one youth, one vote”. He started to speak about “credible elections”, staring our vocabulary away from “free and fair elections”. This was partly in response to the ridiculous 2007 elections that brought him and Yar’Adua to power. It could well be that 2007 was not the worst in Nigeria’s history, but INEC, under the leader of the inimitable Prof. Maurice Iwu, had conducted itself in such a way that people had to classify the body as a unit of the PDP, the ruling party then. Yar’Adua himself was embarrassed by the conduct of the 2007 elections. He admitted that much in his inauguration speech. Iwu’s INEC allocated 24,638,063 votes to him and 6,605,299 to Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, the candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP, a legacy party of the All Progressives Congress, APC). Up till today, there is no state-by-state breakdown of the election results because they were still being collated and announced at the state level when Iwu pronounced Yar’Adua the overall winner in Abuja. Yar’Adau later set up the Justice Mohammed Uwais committee on electoral reforms with a promise to deal with the anomalies. On succeeding Yar’Adua in 2010, Jonathan removed Iwu as INEC chairman, a major signal that he was serious about electoral reforms. He appointed Prof. Attahiru Jega, a respected university teacher and former president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), as Iwu’s replacement. Jonathan also nominated two commissioners into INEC — Dr. Abdulkadir Sulaiman Oniyangi and the woman known as Mrs Amina Zakari (nee Husaini Adamu). Both were sworn in on July 21, 2010 at the Council Chambers. Eight and a half years later, Mrs Zakari would become the hottest topic of discussion on the credibility of elections in Nigeria. That’s the way life goes. According to the rumour mill, Zakari is a niece of President Muhammadu Buhari. That means she will rig the presidential election in favour of her uncle to keep Aso Rock within the family, in the opinion of those opposed to her playing a major role in the elections. The rumour that she is Buhari’s niece was attributed to Alhaji Tanko Yakassai in 2015. He would later deny saying so. But Dr. Junaid Muhammad, a political associate of Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has also been quoted as saying Mrs Zakari is Buhari’s niece and elder sister to Senator Hadi Sirika, minister of aviation. Since she is also sister to Alhaji Sulaiman Adamu, minister of water resources, it is a Buhari family affair then. The accusation of nepotism was made by the PDP in 2015 when Mrs Zakari was appointed acting chairman of INEC. PDP initially said she was Buhari’s “sister” but has finally settled for the position of “niece” (some even say “blood niece”). I was initially happy that a woman was being saddled with such enormous responsibility. I felt Nigeria was finally overcoming its transgenerational chauvinism and, to me, it was also an indication that women were going to play a major role in Buhari’s government. I was wrong on both counts. A substantive

Amina

chairman was appointed in Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and women certainly held more positions under Jonathan than Buhari. The raging issue is that Mrs Zakari, having been pushed down the pecking order at INEC in recent times, has now been brought back to the centre of things with her appointment as the chairman of the collation centre committee for the general election. The initial interpretation was that she would be responsible for collating the election results. INEC has come out to clarify that she will only be in charge of administration and logistics regarding the International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja, where collation would take place. The results would be collated and announced in every state; ICC would only be the “Times Square” where the outcome will be announced at the national level. The announcement of the results — as sent in from every state of the federation and FCT — will be done by the INEC chairman himself live on national and international TV. There is nothing called “collation committee” but “collation centre committee”, according to INEC, and the committee will only be responsible for making sure that the microphones are working well, the internet is at good speed, the seats are well arranged, the security guys are up and doing and there is no shortage of bottled water for the representatives of the 73 presidential candidates. It is like a local organising committee, not a body of referees, in a sporting competition. I understand that very well. However, back to the original issue: what is the relationship between Mrs Zakari and Buhari? I have been asking questions from family members that I know. This is what I was told. One, Mrs Zakari’s mother is from Daura, where the president comes from, but they are not related. Two, a nee Buhari married from the Adamu family in Kazaure, Jigawa state, so Mrs Zakari and the president are basically in-laws. Three, Sirika is not Mrs Zakari’s brother. It is inaccurate to describe Mrs Zakari as Buhari’s niece, sister or cousin. Mallam Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, has said as much, although you must wonder why official rebuttal took the whole of three years to come. Mrs Zakari, of course, worked for Afri Project Consortium, consultants to the defunct Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund (PTF), of

which Buhari was the executive chairman, from 1994 to 1999. She is, no doubt, personally well known to Buhari. There is no running away from that. But are these links sufficient to disqualify her from carrying out her job as a national commissioner of the electoral commission? This is the real contending point, in my view. To put it another way, should she recluse herself from sensitive duties in the presidential election because she is related to one of the candidates by marriage? Is collation centre committee really a “sensitive” job? Before I state my position, I need to quickly make a point. I am not surprised that the PDP is putting INEC under intense pressure ahead of the 2019 elections. APC did a similar thing in the run-up to the 2015 elections. Jega’s integrity and INEC’s neutrality were called to question consistently for three years. It was only a few months to the elections that APC started fighting in the corner of INEC and even raised the alarm that President Jonathan wanted to remove Jega. There were demonstrations by “civil society” groups in Abuja against the “impending” removal of Jega. Putting INEC on the spot is, as far as I am concerned, a seasonal thing. I always expect it. Indeed, when Jonathan won the 2011 presidential election, Jega was isolated by many northern politicians for “helping” a southerner to power. I was told that when he went on a lesser pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia a few months later, many of them treated him as a “leper”. The Jonathan camp was very happy with him for being “principled” and “unbiased”. In 2015, the reverse was the case. He was hated in the Jonathan camp before the polls and was accused of being “tribalistic”, “selective” and “partial” by Elder Godsday Orubebe thereafter. He was celebrated by the opposition as a “hero of democracy” for not caving in to pressure and for conducting a credible election. So it goes. I find it ironic that Mrs Zakari is not in the dock over her competence. An alumna of Queen’s College, Lagos — where she finished with distinction — Zakari had three As in her A’Level and was the best graduating student of pharmacy in her 1980 class at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Her husband suddenly slumped and died 19 years ago, leaving her with five children to bring up all by herself. INEC insiders say she was a major pillar for Jega but has had less joy under Yakubu. It must be treated as a paradox, though, that while insiders see her recently announced position as a relegation from the scheme of things, outsiders are seeing something else. Now to my point: if I were Mrs Zakari, I would ask to be “excused” from the presidential election. If nothing else, it would save me from further brutal scrutiny. Many would argue, I know, that it would amount to succumbing to blackmail. Well, I don’t think it is too much of a price to pay under this circumstance. The only problem, though, is that if Buhari really wants to rig the presidential election, he would not need the services of the chairman of a collation centre committee. We have been rigging elections in Nigeria since nineteen sixty-something and it has never been the responsibility of any collation committee. That needs to sink in properly.

And Four Other Things… THE ALMAJIRIS The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has kicked against an initiative by Bishop Hassan Matthew Kukah to take 10 million almajiris off the streets in northern Nigeria through education and skill acquisition. MURIC’s concern is that Kukah is trying to convert them into Christianity. This is the same background to Boko Haram — the notion that Western education is designed to convert Muslims. While MURIC, as a body fighting for Islamic interests, is entitled to its position, I would rather prefer a situation where an alternative is offered — let wealthy Muslims launch their own initiative to address this almajiri pandemic. Time is running out. Action. ESSENTIAL SHAGARI There were many things I never knew about President Shehu Shagari until he died. For one, while I knew he held several ministerial appointments, including succeeding Chief Obafemi Awolowo as minister of finance in 1971, I never knew he went back to contest as a councillor in his village in 1976 (thanks to Daily Trust’s Mahmoud Jega, the grandmaster columnist, for this interesting fact). Shagari would later become president of Nigeria in 1979. I have never stopped wondering: how many Nigerian politicians can actually step down to being a councillor after being ministers? Are our politicians really motivated by “service to my people” as they often claim? Amazing. FAKE NEWS FESTIVAL This is a public service announcement: as we prepare for the general election in February, fake news manufacturers will step up their game and flood your Facebook wall and WhatsApp with fake stories, fake pictures and fake quotes. Fake news is easily consumed and circulated by the gullible. Here are my tips: who is forwarding the message to you “as received”? What are the person’s motives? Has the person been posting or rebroadcasting fake news in the past? Is the post promoting prejudice, hate and incitement? Even if the hate content is true, what service will you be rendering to humanity by rebroadcasting such messages? Caution. AND FINALLY… In the early 1980s, I never missed an episode of Mirror in the Sun, a gripping soap opera produced by Lola Fani-Kayode. We always looked forward to our Sunday evenings, NEPA permitting. Checkmate, created in the 1990s by Amaka Igwe (God rest her soul), was the next big thing for me in terms of devotion, although I also did enjoy Behind the Clouds. Well, take a bow, Senator Dino Melaye. It has been one drama after the other, right from his days in the house of reps. You can never accuse him of not providing enough drama to calm our nerves. I am watching and enjoying Season 3 of Dino’s ‘Police is Your Friend’ series. Entertaining.

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