SUNDAY 31ST MARCH 2019

Presidential Panel Indicts Military for Rape, Extra-judicial Killings Tobi Soniyi The Presidential Investigation Panel to Review Compliance with Human Rights Obligations and Rules of Engagement by the Nigerian Armed Forces has indicted the military for rape and

extra-judicial killings in the course of fighting insurgents in the north-east.

By this submission, the presidential panel has invariably vindicated Amnesty International (AI) and other bodies that first accused the Nigerian military of

unprofessional conducts.

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo while acting as president in August 2017 inaugurated the eight-man panel to review compliance of the Armed Forces with human rights obligations and rules of engagement.

Osinbajo directed the panel to investigate allegations of human rights abuses levelled against the military by Amnesty International and other organisations.

In one of its reports, Amnesty International alleged that the military committed

several human right abuses while battling Boko Haram insurgents.

Amnesty International’s 2016 reports on Nigeria alleged that 240 people, including infants, died in military detention camps in the North East while 177 pro-Biafran agitators were

allegedly extra-judicially killed in the same year.

The panel, in page 67 of the report, which was submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari last year found as follows: “On the presentation and the contents Continued on page 10

Nigerian Students, Others Contribute $42.4bn to US Economy…

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Sule Appointed Keystone CEO, Ohiwerei Resigns Obinna Chima The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Keystone Bank Limited, Mr. Obeahon Ohiwerei, has resigned from the bank.

The bank which announced

this, also disclosed that Mr. Abubakar Danlami Sule, has been appointed as acting Managing Director/CEO. But Sule’s appointment is subject to approval by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

A statement from the bank

yesterday, that was signed by its General Counsel/Company Secretary, Dr. Michael Agamah, disclosed that Ohiwerei left to pursue other personal interests.

The statement further added that the board recognised and appreciated

Ohiwerei's contributions to the growth of Keystone Bank and the visibility the bank had attained as a brand in the past eighteen months.

On the other hand, Sule is a graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria with degree in Accounting. He

is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria; an Honourary Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria; a Governing Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria; and an Alumni of both the INSEAD (France)

and Wharton Business School in Pennsylvania, USA. He was until his appointment as Acting MD/CEO, the Deputy Managing Director of Keystone Bank Limited.

Sule has over 29 years of Continued on page 10

INEC: No Fresh Elections, Only Completion of Process in Rivers Results of 17 LGAs secure in INEC strong room Polls to be finalised April 2 – 5 Again, Wike blames army for violence APC faction distances self from process Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt Against the backdrop of the recent suspension of the 2019 governorship election in Rivers State, halfway through the process, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said on Saturday in Port Harcourt that no fresh elections would be held in the state. Rather, INEC said there will be a process to complete the election, which was suspended on March 10 following violence at some collation centres. INEC National Commissioner supervising Bayelsa, Edo and Rivers states, Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu, made the clarification while addressing stakeholders as part of the process for the completion of the election.

Agbamuche-Mbu said results of the governorship election in 17 of the 23 local government areas of the state were safe in the strong room of the commission in Abuja.

That was as Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike and other stakeholders restated their criticism of the Nigerian Army for allegedly disrupting

the collation of results after the March 9 governorship and House of Assembly polls in the state.

But a faction of the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state said yesterday it would have nothing to do with the processes for the conclusion of the governorship poll until litigations on the matter were finally determined.

Addressing the stakeholders, Agbamuche-Mbu said the commission would conclude the collation of the Rivers State governorship election between April 2 and 5, adding that the process will be transparent.

She said, “All the results are with us in our strong room.

They have not been tampered with. We are going to conduct the collation transparently.

INEC is here to complete this process and we shall complete the process successfully.”

The INEC National Commissioner said though the commission did not know the winners of the elections, all the results were intact in INEC’s custody. She also said INEC would religiously follow the timelines outlined by it for Continued on page 10

SIGNED, SEALED AND DELIVERED...

Governor-elect of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun presenting his Certificate of Return to President Muhammadu Buhari in Aso Rock recently

Zamfara: Don’t’ Move from Honour to Dishonour, Marafa Warns Oshiomhole...

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

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Zamfara: Don’t’ Move from Honour to Dishonour, Marafa Warns Oshiomhole Deji Elumoye in Abuja

A member of the National Assembly, Senator Kabiru Marafa (APC Zamfara Central), has advised the national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, to stand by the truth as regards the party's botched primaries in Zamfara State last October. Marafa stated this in a letter addressed to Oshiomhole on Saturday in reaction to his reported endorsement on a television programme of Governor Abdulaziz Yari's faction of APC in the state. The senator, who is Chairman of Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), urged the party chairman to

maintain his position as a leader by standing by the truth, and not allow pressure from some interested individuals to change him. “It's quite unfortunate and disheartening to watch the hitherto respected comrade rubbishing his hard earned name before the whole world,� Marafa said in the letter to Oshiomhole. “Oshiomhole performed creditably well during the party primaries, as he led the party aright to the admiration of all, including those in the opposition parties. He aligned himself with the masses, against some state governors who assumed the position of the Almighty in their respective states. Why do you

want to change, my Comrade?� the senator declared.

Marafa advised Oshiomhole not to allow pressure to derail him. “What Oshiomhole said was nothing but a wicked lie that can neither stand moral nor legal scrutiny. Records and documentary evidences abound everywhere that APC did not conduct primaries in Zamfara State due to the attitude of the state governor who threatened publicly to send Oshiomhole to the graveyard if he dares him,�

Marafa stated. “Oshiomhole at the peak of the controversy affirmed the fact that no primaries was conducted and his famous video of ‘primaries

are to be conducted not by state governments nor by state party chairmen but by the panels sent by the party's NWC,’ is still very much available on the internet,� he added.

The senator further said, “Equally available is INEC's letter to him (Chief Oshiomhole) that they received reports from their local office in Gusau that APC didn't conduct valid primaries as at 12am on Sunday, October 7, 2018. It was based on this fact that INEC said it wasn’t expecting candidates from (APC) and you, Chief Oshiomhole, responded by accepting the fact that APC didn't conduct primaries but you did consensus! A simple google search will amplify these facts.�

Marafa also reminded Oshiomhole that Yari sat in company of his state factional chairman of APC and announced the results of his primaries live on television and the video was still very much available on the net.

He stated, “It’s not only shocking but unbelievable that our comrade chairman, likable by all, will change his narrations at the tail end of the match and this is a minus to the Comrade that I have known to be a respecter of rules and facts.�

Marafa emphasised that he approached the court over the party primary “to correct the anomalies in our state for the benefit of our people�.

He explained, “This thing is

beyond me or Yari or even the APC, it's for our people who bear the brunt of bad governance at the state level. It may interest you, Mr Oshiomhole, to know that as I'm writing this to you more than 75 percent of the people of Zamfara are not sleeping in their houses at night. There is an estimated over 200,000 orphans, 60,000 widows, 5,000 raped victims, about 5000 abducted persons and unknown number of refugees in Zamfara State! Haba!�

He added, “We should be concerned about the lives and wellbeing of our people while we should not only be interested in votes and number of states, senators and members APC got nationwide.�

Nigerian Students, Others Contribute $42.4bn to US Economy Funmi Ogundare The United States Department of State Bureau of Educational and Culture al Affairs (ECA) yesterday disclosed that Nigerians and other international students contributed 42.4 billion dollars to the US in 2017/2018 session.

A senior official of the Bureau, who spoke on condition of anonymity, announced the figure during the tour of the US Community Colleges

and Workforce Development programme in Washington D.C on Saturday.

The tour was organised by the Foreign Press Centre, Bureau of Public Affairs, US Department of State to provide foreign journalists with information on opportunity available to foreign students in community college in U.S. The official said there were 1,094,792 international students studying in the US as of 2018 supporting more than 450,000

jobs in the US He explained that the number of international students in the US in 2018 “surpassed one million for the third consecutive year. �The number increased by 1.5 per cent to reach a new high of 1,094,792 in 2018, adding that US remained the top host of international students globally. “International students made a significant financial impact on the US in 2017, contributing 42.4 billion dollars to the U.S.

economy through tuition, room and board and other expenses.�

The official noted that about 450,000 US jobs “are supported by hosting international students on U.S. campuses. “Nigeria has continued to retain its top ranking as the number one source of African students studying in the US with over 16,000 students as at March pursuing their educational goals. “There are over 36,000 students from Sub Saharan Africa studying in the

US. As of March 2019, there are 16,039 students from Nigeria studying in the United States with 54 per cent male and 46 per cent female students. “This is an increase of 3,342 students over 12,693 students recorded in November 2018,� the official said.

He said that undergraduate students constituted 34 per cent, Masters students were 36 per cent, Doctorate formed 12 per cent while Associate was 12 per cent, non-degree and others

formed five per cent.

According to him, the top five states for Nigerian students in U.S include Texas with 2,713, California 856, Maryland, 827, New York 818 and Florida 753. “Students from Nigeria attend about 800 institutions in each of America’s 50 states. The most popular state is Texas with 2,713 students, while the most popular college and university is Houston Community College with 220 students.’’

Odike said while the party awaited the final determination of the eligibility of its candidates with respect to the ballot, it did not enter into any form of alliance with any political party.

He declared, “Following this development, the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State cannot and should not be seen to be legitimately participating in any action either in favour of or against the processes of the said elections.�

Odike also stated, “No individual, group or institution should be allowed to act in a manner that will jeopardise the peaceful co-existence of the people of the state.�

The National Chairman of the

APC, Adams Oshiomhole had earlier in a Channels Television programme denied that his party had entered into an alliance with any party in Rivers State for the purpose of the governorship election, directly contradicting the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi who had three days to the governorship election announced to his supporters that the APC had entered alliance with AAC for the governorship election in Rivers State. Oshiomhole however, debunked the claim. “I have never spoken at any forum that we have aligned with any party. There is only one party (I oversee) and that is APC, if there is going to be alignment, I will know,� he stated.

INEC: NO FRESH ELECTIONS, ONLY COMPLETION OF PROCESS IN RIVERS the collation of the governorship election results.

Head of Legal Department, INEC Rivers State, Mr. Don Umealor, outlined the supplementary regulations and guidelines for the conduct of elections. Umealor assured that all INEC staff involved in the collation of results would conduct the process with transparency. He said political parties will be given the opportunity to comment on the process, but nobody will be allowed to disrupt the collation process.

Umealor also listed those entitled to be at the collation centres to include collation and returning officers, INEC personnel, one polling agent per party or candidate, approved security officials, accredited observers, accredited journalists, and any other person or organisation approved by INEC. The commission announced the 17 local government areas where it had collated results for the Rivers State governorship election. Administrative Secretary of INEC, Rivers State, Elder Etim Umoh, said the local government areas were Ahoada East, Bonny, Akuku-Toru, Obio/Akpor, Ogba/ Egbema/Ndoni, Omuma, Port Harcourt, Ikwerre, Emohua, Tai, Opobo-Nkoro, Andoni ,Eleme, Etche, Ogu–Bolo, Oyigbo, and Okrika.

Umoh stated that the local government areas where collation

had not been concluded were Khana, Asari-Toru, Degema, Ahoada West, Abua/Odual, and Gokana. He said elections did not hold in Abua/Odual at all as materials were not dispatched to the area because of violence.

In the case of Khana, he stated that materials were dispatched to polling units but none was returned also due to violence.

In the other affected local government areas, elections took place and results were announced at some polling units before the suspension of the process.

Umoh stated that supplementary elections would hold where necessary in the six affected polling units in the six local government areas.

Speaking at the stakeholders meeting, the Rivers State governor, who is seeking a second term on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), blamed the Nigerian Army for the violence witnessed during the collation of results. He said the Rivers people had raised an alarm over an alleged plot to unleash violence in the state, but they were accused of always crying wolf.

According to Wike, "The only way you can have peaceful election is when the security agencies refuse to manipulate the elections. The Army snatched results and when the people resisted them, the Army killed them. The violence was at the point of collation.

"Throughout my political career, I have never seen the kind of role the Army played. What has happened to the police officer indicted for manhandling of INEC staff during the rerun in 2016?

The same officer played negative roles in this last elections.�

He said the state was always peaceful, except during elections when security agencies acted negatively, stressing that the army should remove their hands from election matters. The governor added that the security personnel for the governorship election collation should be made public to avoid illegal actions during the process.

Other stakeholders also made contributions during the meeting.

Coordinator, Initiative for Credible Election (ICE) and former president of Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Ledum Mitee, also urged INEC to publish the names of all security personnel that would man the collation centres for the sake of transparency and accountability.

African Action Congress (AAC) candidate, Mr Biokpomabo Awara, demanded to know who had custody of the collated results.

Awara said the results ought to have been kept at the Central Bank of Nigeria. But INEC replied that the results were in the commission’s strong room.

Awara later staged a walkout.

Immediate past chairman of

the Inter-Party Advisory Council, Rivers State, Pastor Samuel Ihunwo, said all results must emanate from the polling units. “We plead that soldiers should remain at the barracks,� Ihunwo said.

In a later chat with THISDAY by telephone, Wike expressed satisfaction with the performance of INEC during the elections in the state and urged the commission not to derail.

He stated, “We commend INEC for the good job they have done so far and we hope they will continue in the same way. “We do not want the army around in our elections. They have killed so many of our people and they may kill more if they are still around. We want our people to live in peace and security. The army cannot come and be killing our people. “For the police, they have shown some maturity and we hope that they will continue and protect the electoral process.�

Meanwhile, a faction of APC in the state has stated that the party would not participate in the elections pending the determination of its matter at the Supreme Court. A statement signed by the factional state chairman of the party, Prince Peter Odike, said following court orders, the APC was not in the ballot in respect of the governorship and state assembly elections in the state.

SULE APPOINTED KEYSTONE CEO, OHIWEREI RESIGNS banking experience with competences in Corporate Banking, Operations, Treasury Management, Credit Structuring, Corporate Planning, as well as possession of very strong relationship management skills.

He had also served briefly as the Managing Director of Sterling Capital Limited, the Investment Banking Subsidiary of Sterling Bank Plc in 2009.

While at Sterling Capital Limited, he was appointed by the CBN as part of the Executive Management team

to turnaround the fortunes of erstwhile Intercontinental Bank Plc. He eventually returned to Sterling Bank Plc as Executive Director in charge of the North and Corporate Banking. He also worked briefly in Standard Chartered Bank Limited before he joined Keystone Bank.

"The Board of Keystone Bank has enjoined management and staff of Keystone Bank to join hands with the Acting MD/CEO to build Keystone Bank into a brand that all its stakeholders will be proud of," it added.

leave those who may have been victims of such abuses without any recourse to justice. And if history has taught us anything, it is that the failure of our justice system to adequately respond to crisis is usually a recipe for greater conflict.’ The terms of reference of the panel included: “The review of extant rules of engagement applicable to Armed Forces of Nigeria and the extent of compliance thereto. “To investigate alleged acts of violation of international humanitarian and human rights laws under the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended; the Geneva Convention Act; the African Charter on Human and Peoples rights,

Ratification and Enforcement Act and other relevant laws by the Armed Forces in local conflicts and insurgencies. “To investigate matters of conduct and discipline in the armed forces in local conflicts and insurgencies; “To recommend the means of preventing violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws in conflict situations “To investigate matters of conduct and discipline in the armed forces in local conflicts and insurgencies; “To recommend the means of preventing violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws in conflict situations.�

PRESIDENTIAL PANEL INDICTS MILITARY FOR RAPE, EXTRA-JUDICIAL KILLINGS of the reports by the Amnesty International, we find that some of the allegations against the Nigerian military, particularly relating to allegations of extra judicial killings, rape, sexual exploitations and prolonged detention were corroborated by evidence of other petitioners and were this made out against the Nigerian military. “However, most of the other wild allegations of blood on the hands of the Nigerian military commanders and mass graves of victims of military killings were not substantiated.�

The report noted that some of the allegations raised by Amnesty International tallied with evidence given “by other petitioners and confirmed the

existence of some abuses of both international humanitarian law and human rights obligations by the Nigerian military as already found in those specific cases by this panel.�

The panel’s report also confirmed the allegations which members of the public believed to be true but denied by the military, but the president has yet to act on the report.

The panel also made the following recommendations: i. International organisations including Amnesty International should at all times be made to operate within the domestic laws of Nigeria.

I. It (Amnesty International) should be made to liaise more closely with the National Human

Rights Commission and Human Rights Desk of the Nigerian military. iii. The military authorities should readily investigate allegations made against it by international human rights organisations including Amnesty International in a transparent manner. iv. Reports and findings of such independent investigators should be made public for timely redress and apportioning of responsibility and accountability for breach of human rights.�

Osinbajo, while inaugurating the panel, said all the allegations being leveled against the armed forces and other security agencies must not go unaddressed so as to safeguard the good image

of Nigeria.

He, therefore, assured all the security agencies that the work of the investigative panel should not be seen as a witch-hunt or an act aimed at denigrating the laudable work of the military.

He said: “There have been a series of allegations levelled against security forces by some local and international commentators and it is our belief that if left unaddressed, these allegations are capable of undermining the good work and efforts of the men and women of the armed forces, who have largely conducted themselves in a disciplined and professional manner. “Failure to examine some of these allegations will also

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MARCH 31, 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

VIOLENCE AGAINST MEN IN UNIFORM There is need for confidence building strategy that would rekindle trust in security agencies

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group of bandits recently attacked a mining site in Anka Local Government Area of Zamfara State and disarmed the six policemen on duty, killing one in the process. A few days earlier, the Garrison Commander, 33 Artillery Brigade of Nigerian Army, Bauchi, Colonel Mohammed Barack was shot dead along Jos Road while on a power bike. More audacious and savage was the invasion of Afuze Divisional Police Headquarters in Owan East Local Government Area of Edo State where the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and three junior colleagues were murdered after which the hoodlums destroyed part of the station and set ablaze three vehicles.

“This level of criminality and gruesome murder of police officers is quite worrisome,” said a worried Governor Godwin Obaseki.

From the north to the south, men in uniform are now sitting targets for extermination by sundry cartels of criminals. But the questions are: Why are these criminals increasingly directing their guns against those whose duty it is to keep all of us safe? Why have our security agents, particularly the police, become easy game for hoodlums across the land?

Much more importantly for our national security, how will law enforcement agents who cannot protect themselves secure and protect ordinary citizens?

The brazen manner in which these criminals operate and the audacity of their attacks should worry the authorities.

A deputy superintendent of police was beheaded following an ambush during a Rivers State legislative rerun elections. Last July, in an incident that further underlined the prevailing lawlessness, seven policemen on duty were

gunned down around the Galadimawa Roundabout, Abuja. A former Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, put the scale of the problem in perspective when he disclosed that between January 2014 and April, 2016, no fewer than 350 policemen died while discharging their duties. Hundreds of others have been killed since then. Even members of the Federal Road Safety Corps are not spared. A report by the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) said over 70 of its personnel were killed on duty in 2016 from violent attacks by motorists.

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If people saddled with the protection of lives and property get mauled down so easily on the streets by criminal elements, how can citizens repose confidence in the abilities of such agencies to protect them?

Letters to the Editor

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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

t is tragic that citizens would turn against the very people who are paid to protect them. This is particularly worrying because it signifies on one hand a breakdown of confidence between the people and security agencies of the state and on another, a flirtation with anarchy. The message being sent is simple: If people saddled with the protection of lives and property get mauled down so easily on the streets by criminal elements, how can citizens repose confidence in the abilities of such agencies to protect them?

To compound the problem, men and officers of these critical institutions of state don’t get much sympathy from the people because their officials behave as if their uniforms entitle them to treat Nigerians shabbily. Besides, because of the serial acts of corruption by uniformed men on road duty, many Nigerians no longer see otherwise lawful and legitimate exercise in the performance of their duties, including for instance, vetting vehicles and their particulars. Offences that could have attracted warning get visited with instant punishment, including spending years in detention without trial. In several instances, officers prefer to encourage rather than prevent offences from being committed, all in a bid to extort. Citizens find all of these very frustrating and tend to react negatively to officers of the law.

In the interest of national security, there is an urgent need for government and its security outfits to roll out a comprehensive confidence building strategy that would rekindle the trust of citizens in them. This begins with a change of attitude towards law enforcement, which should emphasise crime prevention rather than enforcement.

Those who carry arms on behalf of the state should be more friendly, taking time to explain to citizens why the law has to be obeyed in the interest of the society. A friendly security agency will be fed with more intelligence to combat crime than one that stresses brute force. But above all, the authorities should look into how and why those who are meant to protect the people have become vulnerable to violent attacks.

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.

2019 Elections: Democracy is Being Endangered

he essence of democracy is to give citizens equal access and conducive atmosphere to elect their leaders. Anything less is a threat to democracy. The current progressive decline of the quality of elections in Nigeria is worrisome because the issue is pushing the country’s democracy to its grave. The just concluded supplementary elections in Kano, Sokoto, Plateau, Benue, Bauchi were not better than the one conducted on 9th March 2019

by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). No matter what the outcome of these elections, Nigerians are losing confidence in the system.

There were high levels of abuse of human rights in the recent gubernatorial elections. The desperation exhibited by both the incumbent and the opposition to

get the result in their favour by all means is taking us back to square one. Desperate politicians deployed every trick in their hats to disrupt the peaceful conduct of the election with a view to swaying voters to their side. In fact, the electoral guideline did not matter at all, going by the level of intimidation of voters especially women, observers and journalists witnessed during the elections. The political actors from both sides had a field day destroying the sanctity of the democratic process.

More controversial was the Kano rerun election described by most election observers as nothing but a sham and a charade that turned the tenets of democracy on its head. In broad daylight, politicians deployed political thugs that overpowered the security agencies and forced the electorate to leave the polling units. There were clear

instances where party agents and political thugs tortured and intimidated voters into voting their candidates. In Nasarawa, Dala, Bichi and Minjibir local governments for example, political thugs restricted the electorate access to polling units, stoning them and violently disrupting the peaceful elections. In a nutshell, several observer groups report showed a lot of irregularities, harassment of voters, INEC officials and abuse of the exercise. All these power tussle and desperation was as a result of the political value of Kano State and the political calculation ahead of 2023 elections. However, these desperate political elite have little or no interest of the masses at heart.

Let’s not talk about Benue, the battle ground. Despite the heavy security deployment in the state an INEC returning officer was shot dead by political thugs in Gboko,

where election materials were burnt to ashes, polling officials assaulted and disallowed to perform their duties. This is not the kind of elections that Nigerians need. Democracy is supposed to provide enabling environment for everyone to feel safe. While Sokoto and Plateau recorded little incidents except issues of underage voting and voter inducement, in Bauchi the election was peaceful as reported, but there were incidences of policemen leaving polling units as a result of rancour among the party supporters and agents. This is a clear indication that we are not ready to move from the present political madness.

Many public affairs commentators are of the belief that all elections should be conducted in one day. This will enable the country to cut down on election expenses, and above all discourage voter apathy. They opined that this is doable only if the relevant sections of the electoral law are amended, by adopting simple majority system just like in the

national assembly elections. Furthermore, INEC should be given the power to disqualify any candidate or political party that causes electoral violence from participating in such elections.

The factors that resulted in inconclusive elections such as violence, over voting, underage voting, and cancellation have repeated themselves in the just concluded supplementary polls.

Sadly, the factors became worse due to the desperation of politicians who turned elections into a do or die affair.

For instance, in Kano State, the war of supremacy between Kwankwaso and Ganduje reached its peak with the supporters of the duo brandishing and using dangerous weapons against one another. The quest for power among Nigerian politicians is borne out of the huge financial benefits attached to the offices. We need to make politics less attractive.

––Idris Mohammed, Program Officer, YIAGA Africa, Abuja.

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OPINION Overhauling The Education Sector Adeyemi Adeniji argues the urgent need to fine-tune the education system

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t is apparent that we are still practicing a backward-oriented education system in Nigeria in this 21st century. This system has continued to fail us. It has never worked and will never work except there is a complete overhaul of the system.

A system that does not breed solution providers but rather consumers cannot help any nation.

I do not want to be pessimistic but a clear assessment of our education system in comparison with other countries even within the continent shows clearly that we are lagging. We are theory oriented with no actual practical applicability. That is why we place unnecessary high value on the paper certificate. Therefore, the education system needs to be fine-tuned with the reality and expectations of today.

There has been a radical change in all industries across the globe. A good example can be seen in the telecommunication industry, which has evolved from analog system of communication to 5G. Automobiles are redefining their products and today, driverless cars have become a reality. We cannot stick to 1950’s structure of education and expect to move with the world.

It is an undeniable fact that the potentialities are enormous as we have seen excellence in many Nigerians and especially those who could find a way out of this system to obtain the required education in other countries. Statistics of students applying for study visa in Nigeria are overwhelming. Our leaders and people in government are ever ready to siphon government money to sponsor overseas education for their children. But they will not invest in the education of less privileged citizens.

There are many challenges that plague the education sector in our country and a few highlights will suffice.

It has become a norm for our government to make “upgrade a higher institution from polytechnics to university” an achievement. This does not need any further explanation to show that our government does not understand the education system and thus continues to cripple it. Universities, polytechnics, colleges, and other institutions of higher learning exist to cater for

specific requirements and competence development as a way of creating a balanced society.

There is also the issue of wrong policies by the government/ companies leading to discrimination against individuals with certificates obtained from other institutions. An example is setting a maximum reachable level by a polytechnic graduate lower than a university graduate.

This has created a form of complex in the education system, thus the main essence of creating higher institution with different focus on skills and competence development has been defeated by the same institution that created it.

To compound the problem, we have a preponderance of uninformed prospective students unduly influenced by the society and the education system desiring a university certificate at the expense of their strength and passion. It is no doubt that we all have different abilities. A prospective student should be able to decide the right institution and course of study without fear of complex based on his ability, strength and passion.

The negative impact of entertainment industry on the education system can also not be over emphasized. It has become the highest source of distraction to students. And if this trend is not checked, it can collapse the education

The telecommunication industry has evolved from analog system of communication to 5G. Automobiles are redefining their products and today, driverless cars have become a reality. We cannot stick to 1950’s structure of education and expect to move with the world

sector. From no-value added TV shows and programmes to celebration of entertainers with no positive motivating characters, the interest of our students is completely moved from educational development to frivolities.

Meanwhile, we have unconsciously aligned to defining education as reading and writing to pass a graded subject. Vital organs such as skills and competence development are missing in our curriculum. Schools are springing up in every corner of the streets with no standard minimum requirements to be met. Extracurricular activities have been phased out of the curriculum.

Sporting activities can no longer be supported in our institutions as schools are only able to acquire 50ft by 50ft land space to erect school buildings.

It is particularly saddening to find out that in this 21st century, university students are still being taught with the same text/note books used decades of years by their respective lecturers. They continue to recycle old knowledge which seems to be outdated and no more applicable in this fast-changing world. In a knowledgebased world, our students are being saddled with cramming and memorizing obsolete theories.

These days, certificate scandals are regular headlines in our major national dailies. From top government officials to trainees, it spans across all walks of life.

There is little or no regard for obtained certificates as anyone can easily get ‘his copy” without boomerang.

Sighting a public library in major cities of Nigeria is like looking for green vegetables in the desert during heat period. Existing few science laboratories and technical workshops are poorly equipped. Educational grants are stolen by the executives.

Today, the system frustrates any inspiring student.

Many top companies would rather spend millions of naira on entertainers as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) than investing in educational programmes. If we are to develop as a nation, all these must change.

––Adeyemi is a Project manager at a telecommunication company in Bamako, Mali.

An Encounter With Leah Sharibu The authorities should do more to ensure that Sharibu is set free, writes Adewale Kupoluyi

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he story of Leah Sharibu continues to be of great concern to everybody having blood flow in their veins. It is certainly that of a paradox.

A pathetic case of abandonment, pity, betrayal, cruelty and servitude on one hand and at the same time, it is that of hope, heroism, strong will and rare patriotism. We recall that one year has passed since Leah was abducted by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), an affiliate of the deadly Boko Haram group. The terrorists had struck on February 19, 2018 at the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, where they abducted 110 teenage girls in a related fashion to that of Chibok in Borno State, which took place earlier in 2014.

On that fateful day, Leah, a committed student, was in school attending classes when she was forcefully whisked away. Mysteriously, Leah remains the only girl in captivity in the Dapchi schoolgirls’ kidnap. One month later, the girls were returned to the Dapchi community by their abductors, except five who were said to have died in the process following what was claimed to be government’s intervention in securing their freedom.

Leah was not lucky. She is still alleged to be withheld by the terrorists for simply refusing to convert to Islam.

Since then, Leah has remained in the terrorists’ captivity despite several promises by the federal government to intervene and ensure her release.

Many Nigerians, including Leah’s parents, have consistently called for an unconditional release of the innocent girl. In response to the litany of agitations and pressure on the status of Leah’s whereabouts, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, explained that government had made progress with the ‘back channel’ negotiation strategy with the terrorists.

Similarly, President Muhammadu Buhari, in a telephone call, had assured the girl’s parents that government was trying its best to ensure the safety and release of their daughter. The gesture was good, but not enough to heal the wound inflicted by the abduction.

While speculations were mounting on whether the girl is still alive or not, one of the abducted girls, who spoke in confidence, has just revealed that Leah is actually not

dead. Few days ago, media accounts of an encounter of the escapee claimed that, she shared a ‘cell’ with Leah up till late last year. Speaking further, she stated that Leah and other girls were brought into the terrorists’ camp after their abductions. She confirmed that Leah neither refused to convert to Islam nor was she married to any of the terrorist fighters and that she was always encouraging other victims to keep praying for their liberty.

“Since she refused to convert, the (militias) soldiers told us that she was an infidel and that she should not be allowed to cook for us. Leah never attended the Islamic lesson. I am sure she is alive because I left her there. Leah is a strong believer in her faith with strong character. Whenever any of us was ill, she would pray for us and we would be alright. I was always having stomach pain. One day, Leah told me to have the belief that God could heal me. She laid her hand on my stomach and prayed for me. She was like a prophetess in captivity. She prays and heals people. She kept preaching and telling us that there is a supreme God that watches over us. Every day, we heard her pray”, she added.

From the various testimonies given about her, the life of Leah is certainly worthy of emulation. She is an epitome of courage, doggedness, discipline and principle.

Despite her young age, she is able to withstand difficulties and frightening threats by hardened terrorists by upholding her belief and core values.

Terrorists are not known to be patient with their captives. Even though, she remains the only kidnapped Dapchi schoolgirl not released because of her faith as a Christian, she remains a source of inspiration to many people. The singular act is legendary and serves as beacon of hope that Leah would be set free. Her abductors should release her now. For a teenager, the trauma of being held captive by dare-devil terrorists is enough to blight her self-confidence, potential, virtues and drive for development.

Apart from Leah’s agony, the trauma that her parents and family members would be undergoing

can better be imagined. What could even be going on in the mind of Leah? As a mortal being, won’t she be thinking whether she would ever come out alive?

What of her deep passion for her parents, siblings, family members, friends and loneliness? What an agonising experience, indeed. Abductees in the den of terrorists are prone to sexual abuse, sickness, torture, deprivation, servitude and death. It is cheery news that Leah is still alive and strong in faith, going by the confessional statement offered by the escapee mentioned above.

More efforts should be deployed to getting her rescued. The Nigerian state would be failing in its constitutional duty to abandon her at the mercy of her captors. The government should handle Leah’s case with great care because of its sensitive nature and the perceived religious coloration. In the first place, it should be admitted that persistent incidents of terrorism occurring in the North-East region of the country is a clear manifestation of poor, weak and ineffective governance that continues to breed hopelessness, frustration, despondency and disillusionment on the part of the citizenry. Despite the huge defence spending, a lot needs to be done at improving national security in our dear country. In most cases, children, women and the elderly are victims of insecurity. This should not be.

We should make our nation safer. Or, is it a crime to be a Nigerian? Nobody should ever be made to regret for being a Nigerian. The life of every citizen should count and taken seriously. The strength of any nation lies in its people before the natural and material resources. Nothing is too much that can be done to protect, preserve and develop the people. In any modern and progressive society like ours, which subscribes to the tenets of democracy, it is the main obligation for the state to provide adequately for the security and welfare of its citizens. Nothing short of this is acceptable. Therefore, the state must never fail Leah.

––Kupoluyi wrote from Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 31, 2019

15

LETTERS

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Exit of Nigeria’s Literary Greats

o millions of Nigerians with religious bent of mind pause to ponder on their mortality? Here, the issue of thanatology is considered to be taboo among us. We dread death. That’s why many Nigerians are wont to refuse to write their names in manifest when they’re about to embark on journeys on buses. These people will characteristically snap their fingers and shout that death is not their lot. But the inevitability of death cannot be disproved.

The fact is this: we are born to die. A British historian said this about death: “Death is a consequence of birth.” Our shroud is being woven by God with the passage of time. Death is sneaking up on us without our knowing it, daily. And the grim reaper will ultimately enfold us in its deathly embrace. But have you come to terms with that looming reality that shall be our lot someday?

Nowadays, death is commonplace; it is a quotidian occurrence. Here, Boko Haram insurgents dispatch other people to their early graves in the northeast of Nigeria, daily.

Cancer is one of the major causes of death in today’s world. And people die in

Prof. Adesanmi bus and air crashes. But will your heart be seized with grief when you hear about the deaths of people in a faraway country through acts of God? Do you vicariously feel the pains, which relative of victims of bus accidents feel?

However, the news of deaths of public figures that are in our consciousness will shock and fill us with numbness when we hear about it. When we first hear about the death of a public figure, we’ll

disbelieve it because most public figures loom larger than life. However, with the passage of time, the reality of their irreversible demise will dawn on us.

That’s the reason I doubted the news about the tragic death of Prof. Pius Adesanmi in an aircraft crash in Ethiopia on March10, 2019. His death sent shockwaves across the length and breadth of the world.

That the people(s) of Nigeria and millions of citizens of other countries

are united in grief to mourn him is a measure of his greatness. He achieved much during his brief sojourn on earth. His 47 years on earth were filled with landmark achievements. Pius Adesanmi, a public intellectual par excellence, spoke truth to power via his satirical newspaper articles and essays. They were condemnatory of bad political leadership in Nigeria. He would deploy his deep intellect and writing skills to fight for the cause of the poor people in Nigeria, although he was a wellheeled and well-educated Nigerian- born writer and scholar, who was based in Canada.

Pius Adesanmi came from a family which cherished learning and scholarship, his father being a school principal and historian. The family upbringing he received inculcated the love of books into him and moulded his personality.

Not surprisingly, he got a first class degree in French from University of Ilorin. A talented poet, he won ANA poetry prize among other laurels for his pedagogic and writing accomplishments.

A bilingual scholar, Professor Adesanmi was a Professor in the African Studies Department of Carleton University, Canada.

In Praise of Ahmed Lawan

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ext to the exalted Presidency of Nigeria for which President Muhammadu Buhari has just earned a resounding re-election endorsement, the Senate Presidency is undoubtedly strategically next in line in our democracy, as the apex position in the all-important legislative arm of government.

It is therefore understandable that a lot of attention centres around the question of who should take-over from Senator Bukola Saraki who lost his bid to return to the senate.

For the ruling APC, there is a compelling need for circumspection in deciding how this important position should be filled and who is most suitable among those jostling for recognition, against the background of acrimony and sabotage that accompanied the process that saw the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki and almost crippled the party and government.

This delicate situation can only be compounded by the “mad rush” by several senators to capture the coveted seat, no doubt propelled more by the prestige and perks attached to it than the heavy burden of patriotism and statesmanship it places on the occupant.

There is however every indication that the prevailing circumstances, informed by precedence, will eventually

sort the wheat from the chaff as well as take control of the process to ensure that there is no repeat of the blunders of the past. In this context it is very instructive that short-lists are being made by pundits, pre-empting the selection process by nominating preferred candidates.

Actually, the short-listing has led to a convergence of well-considered choice that must have been greatly-influenced by previous political pitfalls and certainly focused on adopting the most strategically appropriate candidate to restore political correctness and due process of party supremacy in the affairs of its delegates in the legislature. It cannot be for nothing that virtually all the well-publicized short-lists for senate presidency top their lists with Senator Ahmed Lawan.

Senator Lawan’s role as sole anchor in saving the APC from total dismemberment will be difficult to ignore in considering candidates for the next senate presidency.

He exhibited impressive pedigree as one of the most experienced top-ranking senators with an impeccable record of service and high moral standing, worthy of association with the principled politics of President Buhari.

Indeed, if the ultimate goal of the party is to restore respect, public confidence,

global respect, peace and harmonious relationship between the executive and the National Assembly, especially the Senate, for delivering good governance while upholding party supremacy, Ahmed Lawan should be the man. He provided excellent leadership at the most difficult times without losing the loyalty of his colleagues or the APC party executives.

The challenge of exiting the era of cloak-and-dagger politics of unbridled ambition and ego-driven manipulation of the liaison between the Senate and the Presidency and transiting smoothly into one for the enthronement of the much desired consolidated collaboration of APC senators in harmonious pursuit of the overriding success of the party and government at federal and state levels, needs the level headedness, temperament and firmness of Senator Lawan to achieve.

The leadership qualities and advantage of proven experience and capacity acquired

by Ahmed Lawan to qualify eminently for Presidency of the Senate is additionally augmented by his geo-political constituency in the North East zone. As the zone that gave the APC massive votes at the Presidential elections, it is only politically correct for the party to capitalize on this by elevating Ahmed Lawan accordingly, especially

considering that it has never produced a senate president.

To complete the sanitation process in the transition, it is pertinent to highlight another distinguished virtue of Senator Lawan as one who has never been invited or tried in any court of law by any security or law enforcement agencies for allegation of any wrong doing. For the senate as an institution in dire need of new public perception and exemplary leadership, Senator Ahmed Lawan will be a befitting president, immaculately comparable to President Buhari as a loyal lieutenant in the expected all-out war against corrupt politicians!

Whether short-listing or sorting the wheat from the chaff, the search for the next senate president begins and ends with Senator Ahmed Lawan, a nationally recognized and accepted bridge builder, most capable of restoring the dignity and repositioning the senate with the depth of his legislative knowledge and experience, intelligence and the advantage of age on his side, being neither too young nor too old. Indeed, for the ninth Assembly to succeed it will need Senator Lawan, the “legislative encyclopaedia” as he is aptly referred to by his colleagues and the media. He is simply the most appropriate for the job.

––Ogele Nwizu, Awka

He was an erudite and brilliant scholar, who was sought by international organizations for presentation of academic papers at global conferences and summits. But, like Claude Ake, a cerebral political scientist, Adesanmi died prematurely in a tragic air crash in Ethiopia when he was most needed in Nigeria to help interrogate our multi-faceted and hydraheaded national problems and shape discourse for our country’s reclamation and revamping. But we are consoled because Adesanmi contributed immensely to the growth of knowledge in his chosen field of specialization.

The body of works he left behind will immortalize him. Tears have not dried on our cheeks when the news about the death of another great Nigerian, Gabriel Imomotimi Okara, broke. Unlike Adesanmi, Okara died of old age while in his sleep, having lived for 98 years. Born in Nembe, he was one of Nigeria’s early and pioneer poets. He drew from the oral traditions of his people to write his works. He left an oeuvre of works covering the genres of literature. And they’re globally acclaimed literary classics. Pa Okara’s first collection of poetry is called The Fisherman’s Invocation. And he wrote a novel called The Voice.

Gabriel Okara, one of Nigeria’s pioneer poets, won important literary prizes for his writings.

In 2005, he shared the NLNG prize for poetry with Ohaeto Ezenwa for his entry, The Dreamer: His vision. His co-winner, Ezenwa, did his Doctoral

thesis on Gabriel Okara’s poetic work. Sadly, like the departed Pius Adesanmi, Ohaeto Ezenwa died young. He was in his forties at his death. But Gabriel Okara lived a long rewarding eventful literary life.

In addition to being a writer, Okara was a civil servant. He was in the class of Chinua Achebe and Cyprian Ekwensi, writers who worked as civil servants while honing their writing craft and producing literary master-pieces. Okara was appointed the first General Manager of the Rivers State Newspaper Corporation, the producer of the Tide newspaper. And he was a one-time Commissioner of Information in Rivers State. During the Nigeria-Biafra civil war, he was on the Biafran side as an emissary alongside Chinua Achebe and others.

Gabriel Okara and Pius Adesanmi, two great Nigeria writers, have gone to the other side in March 2019. Their deaths have depleted the ranks of writers in Nigeria. Their works will continue to point the right way for us. The duo will be sorely missed by Nigerians and non-Nigerians. They’ve joined the pantheon of Nigeria’s literary greats in the beyond. Now, they are in the company of departed great Nigerian writers like Amos Tutola, Chinua Achebe, Cyprian Ekwensi, Esiaba Irobi, Buchi Emecheta, Captian Elechi Amadi, EzenwaOhaeto, Ola Rotimi, Ikeogu Oke, and others.

––Chiedu Uche Okoye, UruowuluObosi, Anambra State

FCT Police, AP Plaza and Criminals

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ecently a staff of First City Monument Bank (FCMB) was robbed opposite AP Plaza in Wuse 2, Abuja, bringing the number of the robbery cases recorded in the area to be one too many.

Car owners and those who drive round Abuja and park in locations like the plaza in question, Area One Shopping Complex, Banex Plaza, Berger around Utako and many more, should note that some organised group of city criminals are always around watching with keen interest to see the opportunity they can grab and hit.

According to what I gathered, they are always with a chemical in form of a body spray and equally vigilant to see those who park their cars and move a bit far to either shop, get money from the Automatic Teller Machine, and so on.

Thereafter, they will walk briskly but calmly to your

car in such a manner that nobody will suspect anything. Then, they pray the chemical on the glass of the car’s door and immediately, the glass will silently dissolve and disperse into pieces.

After succeeding in doing that, they will carry every good thing they see in your car, be it money, laptop, iPod, handset and other valuables. They operate with rapidity and vanish.

Unfortunately, this was the technique used when they broke into the car belonging to a staff of FCMB and robbed him of his money and other valuables.

This has happened to many people in different locations within the city of Abuja and it is important for everyone to be aware in order not to fall a victim.

Let me appeal to the FCT Police to quickly address this growing act of criminality before it spreads further.

––Awunah Pius Terwase, Mpape, Abuja.

16

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 31, 2019

NEWS

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

GAC Disagrees with Aregbesola over Sanwo-Olu’s Cabinet Gboyega Akinsanmi The Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos has faulted the decision of a former Osun State Gov-

ernor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola to compile a list of candidates that will make the cabinet of the state governor-elect, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, THISDAY can report.

THISDAY checks revealed

that Aregbesola’s decision had triggered fresh crisis between the two major groups in Lagos APC namely the GAC, the party’s highest decision-making organ and the Mandate Movement.

Multiple sources within Lagos APC confirmed the disagreement between the two groups to THISDAY, noting that Aregbesola’s undue influence might further deepen internal crisis that plagued the

STRENGTHNING REGIONAL TIES...

L-R: Ondo State Commissioner for Regional Integration, Prof. Ademola Ademodi; Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi and Chiefof Staff to Osun State Governor, Mr. Charles Akinola during the 2019 national retreat of Afenifere Renewal Group in Ado-Ekiti….yesterday

chapter before the election.

One of the sources disclosed that the APC National Leader, Senator Bola Tinubu had directed Aregbesola to compile the list of qualified party members that would make the cabinet of the governor-elect.

Consequently, the source revealed that Aregbesola had drawn the list of candidates for the State Executive Council under Sanwo-Olu, purely from the Mandate Movement.

He said Aregbesola’s decision to draw the list purely from the Mandate Movement displeased, not only the members of the GAC, but also the Justice Forum, the political group that helped Tinubu win the 1999 governorship election.

Another source told THISDAY that the GAC had asked a leader of the party, Prince Tajudeen Olusi to come up with another list, which will accommodate the aggrieved members that played critical role in Sanwo-Olu’s election.

The source said the GAC “may be the victims of the power play if the national leader is not challenged.

Tinubu has directed Aregbesola to take control of the party in Lagos because he is now in Abuja.

“Aregbesola has now

returned to Lagos fully.

He has compiled the list of candidates for Sanwo-Olu’s cabinet. He did so without considering the roles the GAC played before they could stop the re-election bid of the incumbent governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode.”

The source noted that the GAC members had started taking Aregbesola up, insisting that the council “will not allow the list sail through without major input from other party leaders. Definitely, We have to do something about it and the time to act is now.”

Apart from the cabinet members, THISDAY findings showed that Aregbesola had compiled the list of other principal officers that would serve with Sanwoolu immediately after his inauguration.

It was gathered that Aregbesola had directed SanwoOlu to disband his campaign outfits and await the list of members of the transition committee, selected for him.

At a meeting he attended at the Alimosho federal constituency penultimate Saturday, Aregbesola told party members that he “is back in Lagos State and back in control.”

Evolve New Strategies to Actualise Restructuring, Fayemi Tells S’West Leaders Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi yesterday noted that the proponents of restructuring in the Southwest should adopt new strategies if Nigeria would be restructured economically and politically.

Fayemi made the call in Ado Ekiti during a national retreat held by Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), emphasizing the need to ally with leaders from other geopolitical zones.

While Ondo State Governor, the Commissioner represented Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu

for Regional Integration, Prof Bayonle, his Osun State counterpart, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola was represented by his Chief of Staff, Dr. Charles Akinola Speaking at the retreat, Fayemi urged the proponents of restructuring in the region to change strategy and reach out to other regions on how to actualise restructuring.

Fayemi said there “are those who entertained fear on this issue of restructuring and whether this is legitimate or not, we must reach out to them because we are not an island onto ourselves. We do not need to be shouting on the rooftop before we get it. But if

Gbajabiamila Declares for Speakership Contest Today Segun James

The majority leader of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, will today officially declare his intention to run for office of the speaker in the ninth assembly.

Announcement from office said the event would start by 2pm at the Lagos/Osun hall of Transcorp Hilton hotel, Abuja.

The Lagos lawmaker who represents Surulere II federal constituency will be returning to the house for a fifth term.

His office announced Abdulmumin Jibrin, a Kano lawmaker, as the director general of the campaign.

Mr Jibrin is a former chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations before he

fell out with the house leadership in 2016.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership has yet to announce the zoning for the House of Representatives. But sources said it would do so on Tuesday.

The National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole had declared support for Yobe senator, Ahmed Lawan, to become the next Senate President.

The announcement did not go down well with other APC lawmakers who felt that the party should should give all contenders a level-playing field to contest for the office.

A senator from Borno State, Ali Ndume, has also written to the party signifying his intention to be the Senate president.

we want to do it alone, it will the agitation will fall.”

He, also, spoke on the deeply entrenched voter apathy in the region during the last election, lamenting that the outcome in all the states were shocking despite the region’s voting strength of 16.2 million.

He expressed regret over voter apathy in the Southwest during the presidential election, which according to him, was not impressive by all standards.

In Ekiti, for instance, Fayemi said 909,000 registered, 381,000 voted during the presidential election; 1.67 mil-

lion in Osun, 737,000 voted; 1.8 million in Ondo, 586,00 voted; 2.7 million in Oyo, 891,000 voted; 2.36 million in Ogun, 605,000 voted and Lagos with 6.3m, only 1.56 million voted.

He explained that the trend might be caused by deficit of trust or fraudulent multiple registration, but whatever the case was, as long as we remain a constituent part of this country, ARG should reflect on this and act appropriately.

The governor added that if it was as a result of deficit of voter education, then the ARG and governments “need a lot to do. Religion also affected

Abiri, Bayelsa Journalist, Arrested Again Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa The Publishers of Weekly Source Newspaper, Mr. Jones Abiri, has been re-arrested, about eight months he regained freedom the detention of the Department of State Services (DSS).

Abiri, a Bayelsa-based journalist, was re-arrested at Ayabowei Plaza in Yenagoa by security operatives suspected to be the operatives of the DSS. The fully armed men reportedly stormed the premises with a white Hilux and black SUV while Abiri was discussing with his colleagues at the secretariat of the Bayelsa Publishers office, before whisking him away.

An eyewitness account said the armed men jumped out of the Hilux van threatening “to shoot Abiri if he moved, only to be forced into the Hilux.

“They then zoomed off while the other jeep closely followed behind. The guns they carried were similar to those of the secret service”.

“The men jumped out of the vehicles in a gestapo fashion while he was chatting with his friends and shouted ‘you are under arrest’. While he was demanding to know his offence, he was forcefully pushed into a waiting vehicle at gunpoint.

Currently, his whereabouts are unknown.”

Abiri was detained for over two years without trial by the DSS and was only released in August last year after local and international pressure mounted asking the agency to obey the order of the court.

The Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, at the time claimed that Abiri, editor-inchief of Weekly Source Newspaper, was not a journalist.

us, because some people were brainwashed to vote based on religious consideration.”

On his part, Oyetola said what could be regarded as distinguishable attributes of the Yoruba people is quest for development and good governance, noting that such attributes should be sustained in the interest of the people.

He said the All Progressives Congress governors in the southwest would work with the governor elect in Oyo State, Mr. Seyi Makinde in the interest of the region.

The governors of Ondo, Rotimi Akeredolu and Osun, Gboyega Oyetola said all the

distinguishable traits of the southwest region initiated during the old western region must he brought back in the interest of the zone.

Oyetola said the Yorubaness in us and those things that separated us from others “are our developmental drives, our intellectual rigour, our brilliance, circumspection and those values however, have not really taken us to where we deserve.”

Oyetola also appealed to the southwest governments to leverage on its human capital in the diaspora and bring them home for the benefit of all.

Christian Theologians Fault 2019 Elections Kayode Fasua Rising from an emergency meeting held in Lagos, the National Executive Council of the Association of Christian Theologians (ACTS) yesterday expressed displeasure with the conduct of the last general elections, saying they fell short of public expectation.

In a communiqué issued after their deliberations and signed by their chairman, Prof.

Mfon Akpabio, the theologians said while the elections had come and gone, they had become yet an occasion for Nigeria to learn from its mistakes.

Lamenting the fallout of the polls, Akpabio, on behalf of his colleagues nationwide, stated, “Christian scholars and experts are unhappy with the last general elections, supple-

mentary and many re-run elections in some states of the nation, but believe that INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) has learnt a lot and will be able to do better in future.”

Christian scholars across the country, he added, are also worried over the killings that took place in various parts of the country in the name of election conduct.

“We are disturbed by some killings in some states of the nation, especially Kaduna State, and hereby advise the governments to provide adequate security for lives and property,” he stressed.

However, Akpabio stated that the NEC of the theologians’ association advised Nigerians to avoid any act of violence, encouraging peaceful co-existence.

5 ) * 4 % ": t SUNDAY, MARCH 31, 2019

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M ͻ͹˜ ͺ͸͹΁ ˾ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

INTERNATIONAL

EU: Integration-driven Imperialism and the Scenarios of Brexit Without Deal for Nigeria

B

ritain’s membership of the European Union has always been problematic right from January 1, 1973. When the Union was still at the level of European Economic Community, accession of Britain to the 1957 EEC Rome Treaty was made difficult, particularly by France. Again, when Britain wants to withdraw its membership of the Union, life is again made difficult, with France also giving the tough conditions. True, a time to belong and a time to dissociate has a biblical foundation. But why is withdrawal of membership from the EU or Brexit now a problem?

In 2016, agreement was reached that Britain’s exit from the European Union would be as from March 29, 2019 on the basis of Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty, done on December 1, 2009, and which requires certain steps to be taken when a Member State is voluntarily exiting the Union. The article provides for a two-year period of negotiation between the EU and the withdrawing Member State. The rules for the negotiations are also provided for in Article 218 on the Functioning of the European Union.

Thus all negotiations pertaining to withdrawal must be in accordance with Article 218 but Article 218(8) says that the EU Council must agree with the final deal on the basis of a qualified majority, meaning 72% of the 27 Member States (representing at least 65% of their population must favour the agreement. But, in the event a deal or an agreement covers EU finances, common foreign policy and security policy, then a unanimous vote by the Council will be required. Brexit falls under this requirement of unanimous vote, which explains in part why it has been quite difficult to secure a deal with the European Union. Although more difficult has also been the position of the British Parliament on what Prime Minister Theresa May has succeeded in securing as a deal, the British Parliament has not been comfortable with the deal.

Mrs. Theresa’s deal is in two parts: the withdrawal or divorce agreement and the political declaration. In the withdrawal agreement, Britain is required to provide the details of settlement of UK’s £39 billion to the EU, the guarantees for both the rights of the EU and the UK citizens, details of the 21-month transition period, and the arrangements for the backstop aimed at preventing the return of customs infrastructure at the Irish border in the absence of a deal with the EU. The backstop arrangement is to ensure that there is no hard border between the Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in the post-Brexit era.

The problem with the deal is that both the Labour Party and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) are not prepared to accept it for various reasons. The Labour Party considers that the MPs have not been allowed to have a say on the Political Declaration Section of the deal and it is the section that defines UK’s relationship with the EU. In the words of Sir Keir Starmer, the Shadow Brexit Secretary, ‘it makes a bad situation worse, it is the blindest of blind Brexits.’ The DUP said it would vote against the deal. As explained by the Deputy Leader of the DUP, Nigel Dodds, he does not expect ‘any last minute rabbits out of the hat that would change the party’s position’ and that the DUP is more concerned about plans for a ‘trade border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK and what that would mean in terms of who makes our laws - not Stormont or Westminster.’

The strong belief here is that Theresa May’s negotiated deal cannot be passed by the British Parliament without the supportive vote of the Labour Party and the DUP, in which case Brexit can be extended until May 22, 2019 if the deal was passed on Friday, March 29. But in the event the deal was not passed, the Brexit would be scheduled for April 12, 2019 and in which case there will be Brexit without a deal. It is Brexit without a deal that is the general source of concern. If there is no deal, it cannot but be difficult to foresee the dynamics of Britain’s relationship with the EU in the post-Brexit era. Without doubt, there will be consequences.

And true enough, the British Parliament voted on Friday, March 29, 2019 and rejected the deal the third time with 344 votes against 286. This simply means that, as approved by the EU on March 21, Brexit will either be on April 12 in light of the parliamentary rejection of the deal or delayed for a longer time to come.

In this regard, how is Nigeria likely to be affected? Is the purpose of European integration threatened with Brexit? The modalities of the ECOWAS integration are largely patterned after

VIE INTERNATIONALE with

Bola A. Akinterinwa Telephone : 0807-688-2846

e-mail: bolyttag@yahoo.com

Theresa May, British PM those of the EEC, EC, and the EU. Nigeria is a major pilot of the ECOWAS integration scheme. How will Nigeria in ECOWAS be affected within the context of the ECOWAS integration agenda?

More interestingly, how do the people of other Member States of the European Union see the eventual Brexit with or without a deal? How should the people of Nigeria react to the eventual Brexit?

Regional integration is generally believed to be an important catalytic dynamic of fast economic development in international economic relations. The belief is a resultant from another belief that unity and togetherness is necessarily a source of strength that drives away enmity among Member States or any quest for possible wars. In fact, one major lesson from the conclusion of World War II was the need to reconstruct and reunite Europe, by particularly ensuring that the Axis Powers, Germany and Italy in Western Europe, and Japan in Asia, are prevented from becoming militarily strong to the detriment of the victorious allies (Britain, France, United States, USSR, etc).

In Asia, Japan, in particular, was prevented from having any military force in an attempt to weaken it. In this regard, the Allies were instrumental to the making of Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution which not only prohibits the use of force to settle any international disputes but also from maintaining any army, navy and air force.

At the level of Western Europe, efforts were made to unite the allies and to also court closer relationship with Italy. This was what prompted the understanding between the Foreign Ministers of Germany, Robert Schumann and France, Jean Monnet to lay the foundation for the establishment of the first two European Communities, Iron and Steel, in 1950. On March 25, 1957 the Rome Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (EEC) was also done. There were six original members: France, Italy, Germany and the Benelux countries: Belgium, Netherlands

There is not likely to be any winner or loser in the event of Brexit with or without a deal.At the level of the British Parliament, there is no big deal about its rejection of Theresa May’s Brexit deal.The rejection is nothing more than the rejection of the majority of the people’s will as expressed in the 2016 referendum. If it is strongly believed that the people were induced into error in 2016, the lawmakers must be prepared to show that they have a more sagacious mind than the majority of the people.The attitudinal disposition ofTheresa May is very patriotic and commendable.

It is in defence of the people’s will. For the EU, Brexit will compel it to look at Britain’s complaints in order to prevent new applications for withdrawal of membership of the EU. Britain’s complaints should also constitute lessons for Nigeria and ECOWAS leaders in the conduct and management of ECOWAS integration affairs

and Luxemburg.

It is important to note here that the United Kingdom was not part of it. While France was not only an active participant, which ensured the associate membership of her colonies and the inclusion of the privilege in Articles 131-136 of the Rome Treaty, Britain and her own colonies were not part of it. When Britain eventually woke up to the idea of joining the EEC, France, under President Charles de Gaulle, frustrated the intention. It was after Charles de Gaulle left power that Britain was allowed to accede to the Rome Treaty on January 1, 1973. The membership was only for Britain.

It did not include former colonies of Britain. In fact, when Nigeria made efforts in the immediate post-independence era to join the EEC as an associate member, all the original members of the EEC, with the exception of France supported Nigeria’s application in 1966. But since there was need for consensus, France’s veto put an end to Nigeria’s aspirations, an experience which prompted Nigeria to provide leadership for Africa in its future negotiations with Europe in the 1970s.

What is again noteworthy about Britain’s membership of the EEC is that it has never been comfortable both for the British and other Member States of the EEC. The discomfort got to the extent that there were calls for withdrawal of Britain’s membership from the EEC in 1975. The British government had to hold a referendum on the issue. The referendum, variously referred to as Common Market Referendum, Referendum on the European Community, or the United Kingdom European Community Membership Referendum, was organised to determine the extent of support for the continuity of UK’s membership of the EEC, especially in light of some public complaints, under the provisions of the Referendum Act, 1975.

The British people were told that ‘the Government has announced the results of the re-negotiation of the United Kingdom’s terms of membership of the European Community.’

Consequently, they were asked the simple question: ‘do you think the United Kingdom should stay in the European Community (the Common Market)?’

This referendum question was important but not as important as its timing. The referendum took place only two and a half years after the United Kingdom acceded to the Rome Treaty. Within this short period of time, there were already serious expressions of distrust vis-a-vis the EEC. Even though the results of the referendum clearly showed that the majority of the registered voters were in favour of Britain’s continued membership of the EEC, there is no disputing the fact that the number of opponents cannot be simply disregarded. 17,378,581 people, representing 67.23%, voted in favour of continuity of membership while 8,470,073, otherwise 32.77% were against. On this basis, the House of Commons, on April 9, 1975, voted by 396 to 170 to continue to remain with the Common Market on the basis of the new terms agreed to with the EEC. In terms of party politics, the Conservative Party, Liberal Party, Social Democratic and Labour Party, Alliance Party and the Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party voted in favour of remaining with the EEC. Against continued British membership of the EEC were the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru, Ulster Unionist Party, National Front, Communist Party of Great Britain and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

One last point of observation on the referendum is that the opposition to continued membership did not stop in 1975. It continued to grow in strength day after day to the extent that, in 2016, the opponents became the new majority in favour of withdrawal from the European Union. Like the 1975 referendum, the 2016 referendum was also referred to as EU referendum, but unlike the 1975 referendum, which was aimed at gauging the extent of support for UK membership of the EEC, the 2016 referendum was to determine whether or not the UK should withdraw from the European Union, hence the coinage of ‘Brexit’ (Britain’s Exit) Referendum.

The referendum took place on 23rd June, 2016 in the whole of Britain, including Gibraltar. The electorate was asked whether the United Kingdom should remain a member of, or leave the European Union, under the provisions of the EU Referendum Act 2015 and the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act, 2000. Electorate population was 46,501,241 voters. The turnout for the referendum was 72.2% while the number of rejected votes was 26,033. The outcome of the exercise favoured discontinuation of membership with 17,410.742 votes, representing 51.9% of the votes cast.

What is important to note about the results was that the proponents of withdrawal of membership were in the majority only in England (with 15,188,406 votes or 53.4%) and Wales (with 854,572 votes or 52.5%) while the proponents of remaining in the European Union were in the majority in Northern Ireland (with 440,707 votes or 55.8%) and Scotland (with 1,661,191 votes or 62%). While voter turnout in Northern Ireland and Scotland were 62.7% and 62.0% respectively, the percentages were quite higher in Wales and England: 71.7% and 73% respectively.

As we shall soon see, this factor of Northern Ireland and Scotland’s opposition to withdrawal from the European Union is one of the major impediments to Prime Minister Theresa May’s inability to secure the deal she wants from the European Union leaders.

(See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

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BUSINESS

08033204315, 08111813084

Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ë? Kunle Aderinokun Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2013;Ë? Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ë&#x203A;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17D;Ă?Ă&#x153;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC;ĚśĂ&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2039;ĂŁĂ&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă Ă?Ë&#x203A;Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;

Marina Lagos

Will CBNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rate Cut Stimulate Domestic Output?

There are expectations that, juxtaposed with other factors, the slight reduction in the monetary policy rate by the Central Bank of Nigeria may stimulate lending to the real sector, which will in turn boost local production and translate to job creation, report Kunle Aderinokun and James Emejo

I

t came like a thunderbolt to the markets. Last Tuesdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s announcement by the Central Bank of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (CBN) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of a reduction in the monetary policy rate (MPR) by 50 basis points from 14 per cent to 13.5 per cent after keeping the benchmark unchanged for 33 months since June 2016.

In announcing the decision, CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, at the end of a two-day MPC meeting in Abuja, said the rate cut had become inevitable in order to boost economic growth.

Essentially, the MPR acts as the baseline for interest rate in the economy and goes to determine the cost of borrowing from commercial banks.

Nigerians have for long craved for a loosening of monetary policy stance as high cost of borrowing appeared to slash returns on businesses and sometimes making it difficult for them to break even as well as discouraging entrepreneurship amid inflationary pressures.

Some of the attendant implications were distortions in the real sector, particularly manufacturing, which is already overburdened by infrastructure challenges including power.

Nevertheless, the CBN had retained the cash reserve requirement (CRR) at 22.5 per cent and liquidity ratio at 30 per cent.

The interest rate reduction was a decision which proved bookmakers wrong and caught the markets unawares.

Nigerians were particularly anxious to know whether the rate cut finally symbolised an end to the tightening regime.

Questions were being asked as to whether the interest rate slash, which many had given up on, was a sort of parting gift from the CBN governor, whose initial five-year tenure expires in June, though subject to renewal.

Many also expressed doubts about the impact the marginal drop in MPR would eventually have on the economy, given that Nigerians believe whatever goes up in the country, price-wise never comes down.

The surprising announcement also raised genuine concerns as to whether the commercial banks would sincerely adjust to the rate cut and allow Nigerians feel the impact after such a long hurl at monetary easing.

But, according to Emefiele, the rate cut does not necessarily indicate an end to the monetary tightening cycle even though banks would be expected to adjust to the loosening in MPR so that its positive impact could be felt by customers.

He also said the reduction in MPR had a â&#x20AC;&#x153;reasonableâ&#x20AC;? correlation to lending to the real sectors of the economy.

Giving further reasons for the committeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s landmark resolution, the CBN boss said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;With the MPR at 14 per cent since July 2016, and with the relative stability we have seen in the macroeconomic variables over the last two and a half years, we just think that this should be

the next phase where keeping our eyes on all other parameters, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s see whether we can signal a direction from the monetary policy, in the direction of supporting and really accelerating growth in the country. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Accelerating growth effectively means that we have to push harder to consolidate GDP, we need to push harder to make sure we create jobs. Doing this will naturally mean that we are softening gradually. But I repeat and I shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be misunderstood, that we will continue to do what we are doing, what we have done in the past keeping inflation at moderated levels, and exchange rate stable. We will continue to do so. I think we are moving in the right direction.â&#x20AC;?

Emefiele said the slight interest rate reduction was â&#x20AC;&#x153;meant to signal and what that meant is that, all factors held constant... what we were doing that macroeconomic remains strong. We need to signal that there is a need for us to slightly (not change) move course a little further, because while you are talking about a low inflation rate regime, you are looking at a stable exchange rate regime, strong reserves management. Naturally, you will also expect that growth should be stronger and to do so means that we need to begin to look at money supply, liquidity, interest rate and issues like that to see that we push effectively towards growth.â&#x20AC;?

Expectedly, there have been mixed interpretations by market leaders to the CBNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rate adjustment.

A professor of finance and capital market at the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Prof. Uche Uwaleke, described the move as the right response to inflation, which had been on a decline in recent months. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The reduction in MPR by 50 basis points signals the CBNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s desire to relax monetary policy to support economic growth. Obviously, it is a right response to the declining inflationary pressure and the relative stability in exchange rate which have prevailed for quite some time. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Moreover, on the external front, crude oil price has stabilised around 65 dollars per barrel while the US interest rate normalisation has slowed down. All these must have combined to influence the MPC decision which is expected to increase the flow of credit to the real sector,â&#x20AC;? he told THISDAY: According to him, the reduced MPR will also be positive for the capital market as some of the increased liquidity that will ensue, will flow into the equities market. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Also, it will be cheaper for the government to issue bonds, given that part of this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s budget deficit will be financed through domestic borrowing,â&#x20AC;? he added.

But the Chief Executive Officer, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, said the decision by the MPC was for â&#x20AC;&#x153;signalling purpose, so it depends on whether the economic agents would react to the signal.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;But I think this should have been done almost a year ago, as

a stimulant. But we are where we are and they say it is better late than never.â&#x20AC;?

Also, analysts at CardinalStone Research, raised specific questions about the motivation behind the MPC decision.

In their response to THISDAY enquiries, the analysts noted: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The decision to change the MPR for the first time since July 2016 begs the following questions. Why now? Does this signal a decline in yields going forward? Will the pro-growth decision yield dividend? â&#x20AC;&#x153;We believe that the committeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s consideration for reducing the monetary policy rate was predicated on, among others, the relative attractiveness of emerging and frontier markets, thanks to a dovish US Fed stance. Interest rate normalisation in the United States in 2018, together with economic crisis experienced in some emerging nations, led to portfolio flow reversals from frontier markets, including Nigeria. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This, alongside heightened political concerns, necessitated the CBN to hold its tight monetary stance, despite initial hint of a potential loosening, to attract/retain foreign investors. However, in a complete reversal, the US Fed has disclosed a change in policy guidance from two rate hikes to none in 2019, owing to fears of an economic slowdown.

They added, nevertheless, that, â&#x20AC;&#x153;This reversal bodes well for frontier markets like Nigeria, as it makes a carry trade (borrowing money from a lower interest rate environment to invest in a higher yielding one) more attractive.â&#x20AC;?

On his part, FXTMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Research Analyst, Lukman Otunuga, opined that the move by the MPC would support growth.

According to him, the central bank reduced interest rates from 14 per cent to 13.5 per cent as inflationary pressure eased and macroeconomic conditions stabilised during the first quarter of 2019. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s move by the CBN may open the doors to further rate cuts in the future, especially if macroeconomic conditions continue to improve and inflation cools further.â&#x20AC;?

In addition, analysts at Afrinvest Research said though the MPC decision beat its forecast as it expected all policy rates to be held at constant levels. Nevertheless, the CBN policy stance remained intact in view of current global happenings. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In our earlier Pre-MPC report, we noted that â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;we expected the MPC to hold all policy rates at current levels in next weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s meeting, although the case for monetary easing has become compellingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

However, our expectations were off as the committee favoured a rate reduction,â&#x20AC;? they stated. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Since the July 2016 tweak in MPR and the subsequent use of short-term market rates to anchor monetary policy, we have continuously expressed our views on the redundancy of the benchmark rate. We think the MPC is moving back to convention and aligning policy rate to market rates.

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Sustained Oil Price Growth, Mixed Hope for 2019 Budget If global oil price sustains its growth, Nigeria may find it comforting in implementing the benchmarks of 2019 budget, provided things go well with production levels, writes Chineme Okafor

Barrels of oil

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il prices have continued to rise after member countries of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced their intention to continue on the voluntary supply cuts they agreed to roll over in 2018, but Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s production level has not followed the same direction.

To underscore how significant the OPEC-led supply cut has been, recently, crude oil prices rose marginally, driven by comments from Saudi Arabian oil minister, Khalid al-Falih, that an end to the voluntary cuts was unlikely before June.

This equally indicated that the cartel and its allies led by the Russian Federation could consolidate the successes theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve reportedly made in this regard.

Based on the January 2019 report of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) of the OPEC and non-OPEC producers, there has been significant progress in adherence to output cut they agreed. The JMMC explained that the overall conformity level of the participants since the beginning of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Declaration of Cooperationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in January 2017 has been well above 100 per cent, specifically levelling at 116 per cent.

With Nigeria participating in the voluntary production cuts, meeting the oil production targets in her 2019 national budget may however become challenging if she opts to push for more barrels in line with the 2.3 million barrels (mb) proposed in the national budget.

Price Movement Based on oil market highlights provided by the OPEC in the March 2019 edition of its Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR), its reference basket rose in February for the second consecutive month, improving by about nine per cent or $5.09, month-on-month (m-o-m).

According to the cartel, prices averaged at $63.83 per barrel supported by expectations of tightening oil supply in the coming months amid increased unplanned outages. The report

equally noted that oil futures prices continued on upward trend to reach levels not seen since November 2018, with Brent staying at $4.19, or 7.0 per cent m-o-m higher at $64.43/b, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose by $3.43, or 6.7 per cent to average $54.98/b.

The report equally highlighted that while global economic growth estimate had remained unchanged at 3.6 per cent in 2018 as well as 3.3 per cent in 2019, world oil demand for 2019 is however forecast to grow by 1.24mb/d, unchanged from last monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s projections, and from which total world oil demand is anticipated to reach 99.96mb/d.

Demand for OPEC crude in 2019, however, is forecast at 30.5mb/d, around 1.1mb/d lower than the estimated 2018 demand level. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The ORB (OPEC Reference Basket) continued to rise firmly in February for the second consecutive month in a row, improving by about 9 per cent, or $5.09, m-o-m to average $63.83/b. The basket value continued to increase during February, reaching $66.56/b, the highest daily settlement since last November. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This came on the back of strong crude demand for March loading and concerns about tightening oil supply in the coming months, amid rising unplanned outages owing to technical and geopolitical factors. Oil prices also were supported by a more balanced oil market, which was helped by the start of OPEC and non-OPEC production adjustment in January and tightening supply from several regions,â&#x20AC;? said OPEC in its March MOMR. It added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Market sentiments continued to improve in February, given the high conformity levels of the countries participating in the Declaration of Cooperation. However, higher US crude oil exports, refinery turnarounds in several regions, and low refining margins, as well as concerns about slowing global economic growth, limited gains.â&#x20AC;?

Forecasts With regards to what the immediate future holds for the oil market, the short-term energy

outlook report of the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) also projected that while Brent crude oil spot prices averaged $64 per barrel (b) in February, up $5/b from January 2019 and about $1/b lower than at the same time last year, Brent spot prices will average $63/b in 2019 and $62/b in 2020, compared with an average of $71/b in 2018.

The EIA stated that it expected WTI crude oil prices will average $9/b lower than Brent prices in the first half of 2019 before the discount gradually falls to $4/b in the fourth quarter of 2019 and throughout 2020.

It explained the price increases in February coincided with its estimate that global liquid fuels inventories would fall by 1.4 million barrels per day (b/d), the largest inventory withdrawal for any month since June 2017.

According to the agency, declining estimated crude oil production for February in both the OPEC and the United States contributed to the drawdowns, with U.S. petroleum inventories declining by 17.9 million barrels during the week ending in February 22, 2019. This, it said, was the largest one-week decline since 2011. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Despite high price volatility during the past year, Brent crude oil prices as of the first week of March were at essentially the same levels as in March 2018. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Notwithstanding the strong draw in February, EIA forecasts that global liquid fuels inventories will rise by 0.2 million b/d in 2019 and by 0.4 million b/d in 2020. The March STEOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (short-term energy outlook) expected inventory builds in both years are lower than the forecast in last monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s STEO. The lower forecast inventory builds reflect lower expected crude oil production in both OPEC and the United States. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Saudi Arabia cut crude oil production by more than expected in February, with production averaging 10mbd, and EIA assumes that joint OPEC/non-OPEC crude oil production cuts will remain in place through the end of 2019,â&#x20AC;? said the EIA report for March.

It added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;In addition, the U.S. active oil rig count reached a 10-month low of 834 rigs as of

March 8, suggesting the rate of U.S. crude oil production growth could slow.

Even though U.S. crude oil production is estimated to have remained near 11.9mbd for the past four months, EIA still forecasts U.S. crude oil production to increase by 1.3mbd in 2019 and by 0.7mbd in 2020. â&#x20AC;&#x153;OPEC and U.S. production levels, as well as the pace of global oil demand growth, present considerable uncertainty to oil market balances and price expectations. Based on the current forecast, however, EIA expects global inventory builds and rising OPEC spare capacity will limit significant upward oil price pressures in 2019 and in 2020.â&#x20AC;?

Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Situation Having prepared its national budget for 2019, and benchmarked oil prices in the budget at $60 per barrel with crude oil production of 2.3mbd, the development gives Nigeria some comfort in prices, but not with her production levels.

According to the OPEC March MOMR, Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oil production within the last three months has not really grown beyond 1.7mbd, indicating that even if prices maintain healthy growth, the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s limited production levels would still remain an issue for consideration.

In the MOMR, Nigeria produced 1.733mbd of oil in December; 1.731mbd in January; and 1,741mbd in February, indicating just about 10,000 barrels a day difference between January and February 2019 production.

Industry experts, who spoke to THISDAY on the development, maintained that there could be price fluctuations within the year, but they would largely not tilt to extreme ends. However, they stated that besides the about 200,000bd Egina floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) oil field, Nigeria would likely not have new capacities added to her oil production levels.

According to their analysis, if the Egina FPSO comes on stream with 200,000bd of oil, it could at best push Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oil production to about 1.9mbd, but not the 2.3mbd the country had benchmarked in her 2019 budget.

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Nigerian Stock Exchange

As Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Local Portfolio Investors Regain Confidence Between 2007 and 2010, domestic portfolio investors (retail and institutional) dominated activities in the portfolio investment of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), but the crash in stock prices after a peak witnessed in 2008, owing to a global financial crisis made them to beat a retreat, relinquishing their dominance to their foreign counterparts. Bamidele Famoofo reports that the battle for supremacy may have begun between the local and foreign players as the latter appear to have regained confidence from the shock

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n 2007, total portfolio investment by domestic and foreign investors stood at N4.17trillion (about $13.7billion today) according to figures published by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), and 85.2 per cent of that value was accounted for by domestic investors (retail and institutional).

In value terms, domestic or local investors injected about N3.56trillion in the market in the year. The dominance continued in 2008 with domestic investors pulling weight with their N3.97trillion in portfolio investment, representing 83.5 percent of the total N4.76trillion invested by both foreign and domestic investors in the period. Domestic investors continued to hold sway on the NSE, though at a declining rate until 2010 before the tide turned in 2011, due to the debilitating impact of the global financial markets crash on the Nigerian bourse which took effect from 2008. So, in 2009, dominance began to wane as investment by domestic investors in the stock exchange dropped to N947billion, accounting for 69 per cent of about N1.37trillion investment by portfolio investors in the market.

Meanwhile, in 2010, domestic investors again upped their game with N1.02trillion which represents 64 per cent of gross value as their foreign counterparts also increased their stake in the Nigerian bourse to N577billion, up by about 37 per cent compared to N425billion invested in 2009.

However, domestic investors lost their

steam from 2011 when total contribution to portfolio investment in the exchange dropped to N422billion or 33.2 per cent, while their foreign counterparts took over with a controlling share of 66.8 per cent of total portfolio investment of N1.27trillion. Foreign investors for the first time since 2007 increased their stake in the market to N808billion. Though the tempo dropped in 2012, they (foreign investors), maintained their lead over their domestic counterparts with 61.3 per cent of total portfolio investment of about N1.32trillion with their N808billion contribution. Up until 2015, foreign portfolio investors continued to maintain their lead over their local counterparts though at a declining rate. Their contribution to total portfolio investment in 2015 stood at 53.8 per cent or about N1.03trillion compared to N881billion by domestic portfolio investors.

Total portfolio investment in 2015 was put at about N1.91trillion compared to about N2.68trillion recorded in 2014. With about N1.54trillion invested in 2014, the foreigners was ahead of their local competitors as the accounted for 57.5 percent of total portfolio investment, while local portfolio investors also accounted for N1.14trillion or 42.5 per cent of total portfolio investment in the period.

Foreign portfolio investment on the bourse dropped notably in 2013 with the foreigners accounting for only 50.8 per cent of total the value with about N1.04trillion as against about N1.01trillion splashed on the market by their local counterparts, representing 49.2 per cent of

total portfolio investment in the financial year.

What appears to be a turnaround of the dominance by foreign portfolio investors happened in 2016, when local portfolio increased their investment to N634billion over their foreign counterpartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s N518billion, representing 55.03 percent. Total portfolio investment in 2016 stood at about N1.15trillion and that was increased to about N2.54trillion in 2017, with local investors accounting for about N1.34trillion or 52.5 per cent while foreign portfolio investors accounted for about N1.21trillion or 47.5 percent.

Whilst foreign portfolio contribution increased to 50.7 per cent of total investment in2018, N1.19trillion from the coffers of local investors compared to N1.22trillion from their foreign competitors was close and market pundits are confident that local portfolio investors, especially institutional investors will keep pulling weight in the market post- election and as the economy continues to show recovery signs. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Between 2011 and 2015, foreign transactions consistently outperformed domestic transactions.

However, domestic transactions marginally outperformed foreign transactions in 2016 and 2017, and remained almost at par in 2018â&#x20AC;?, NSE remarked.

Meanwhile, as at 28 February 2019, total transactions at the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bourse increased by 54.06per cent from N122.08 billion recorded in January 2019 to N188.08 billion (about $613.9 million) in February 2019. The performance of the current month when compared to the performance of the same period (February

2018) in the prior year revealed that total transactions reduced by 11.3 per cent. These total transactions were executed by domestic and foreign investors; domestic investors are further categorised into retail and institutional investors. In February 2019, the total value of transactions executed by foreign investors outperformed those executed by domestic investors by 6.0 percent.

A further analysis of the transactions executed between February and prior month (January 2019) revealed that total foreign transactions increased by 48.0percent from N66.85 billion in January 2019 to N98.94 billion in February 2019. There was a significant increase in foreign outflows which increased by 97.8percent from N27.81 billion to N55.01 billion and foreign inflows which increased by 91.24percent from N22.97 billion to N43.93 billion between January and February 2019.

The value of the total transactions executed in the domestic market by institutional investors outperformed retail investors by 8 percent. A comparison of February and prior month (January 2019) transactions revealed that the total retail transactions increased by 38.26 percent from N29.66 billion in January 2019 to N41.01 billion in February 2019. The institutional composition of the domestic market also increased significantly by 88.15 per cent from N25.58 billion in January 2019 to N48.13 billion in February 2019.

This indicates a higher participation by institutional investorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; over their retail counterparts in February 2019.

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Amid Revenue Drop, NASCON Puts Smile on Shareholdersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Faces It was not business as usual for salt makers, NASCON Allied Industries Plc, during the financial year ended December 31, 2018, as revenue and profit slumped rather than surpass the records of the preceding financial year. But despite the shortfall in earnings, the company has decided to stick to its tradition of putting smile on the faces of its shareholders with about 60 per cent of its net profit earmarked to be paid out to shareholders as dividend at its annual general meeting scheduled to hold in Lagos in June, reports Bamidele Famoofo

L-R: Director, NASCON Allied Industries Plc/GMD, Dangote Industries Ltd, Olakunle Alake; Director, NASCON Allied Industries Plc, Halim Aliko-Dangote; Managing Director, NASCON Allied Industries Plc, Paul Farrer; Chairperson, NASCON Allied Industries Plc, Mrs â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Yemisi Ayeni; and Executive Director, Commercial, NASCON Allied Industries Plc, Fatima Aliko-Dangote, Annual General Meeting (AGM) of NASCON Allied Industries Plc, held in Lagos... recently

Return on Investment alt and seasonings manufacturers, NASCON Allied Industries Plc certainly did not meet the expectations of the investing public and perhaps shareholders with respect to earnings growth in the financial year ended December 31, 2018. But shareholders confidence in the ability of the management to continue to deliver to them good return on investment (RoI), was not betrayed.

Even when shareholders are expected to get less dividend than they got for their investment in the company in the financial year ended December 31, 2017, the payout being proposed by the Board of Directors of NASCON for 2018, would rank among the best any company quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) could pay in the financial year.

Secretary of NASCON Plc, Mr. Adebayo Samuel, disclosed that the board of directors of the company was proposing to release N2.65billion from retained earnings to be shared to shareholders as dividend at the annual general meeting scheduled to hold in June. The amount which translates to N1.00 dividend per share represents about 60 per cent of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s earnings in the review audited financial year.

The proposed cash payout represents a 5.50 percent dividend yield for shareholders.

That is not obtainable on savings account domiciled with any bank in Nigeria. And regardless the gains from capital appreciation, an investor who invested N1million in the

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company for 12months will get N55, 000 interests from dividend.

Since the company was acquired by Dangote Industries Limited in 2006, record shows that it had adhered strictly to its policy of robust dividend payment as shareholders have enjoyed increment in dividend in the last 12 years. Dividend has increased from N0.40 per share in 2007 to N1.50 per share in 2017 with the exception of 2014, when it dropped to N0.50 per share from N0.90 per share in 2013. The 2018 financial year would be the second time in 12 years, when dividend payout would experience a drop.

Analysis of shareholding in the company showed that the 33,343 ordinary shareholders of the company as at December 31, 2018, owned about 2.65 billion units of ordinary shares of 50kobo while Stanbic IBTC (institutional investor) held about 136million shares while the Dangote Industries Limited, which is the single largest shareholder in the company held 1.7billion units of ordinary shares.

In September 2006, Dangote Salt Limited acquired NASCON Plc, owning 62.19 percent of the issued share capital while 37.81 percent was sold to the Nigerian public. NASCON Allied Industries Plc was incorporated in April, 1973 but it was privatised some 19 years after in April 1992 and listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in October the same year.

Financials Total revenue stood at N25.77billion in 2018, representing 4.8 percent decline when

compared with N27.06billion announced by the company for the audited financial year ended December 31, 2017. Shortfall in revenue could be attributed largely to drop in the sales of salt to the tune of 6.7 percent in the review financial period. Sales dropped from N22.25billion in 2017 to N20.76billion in 2018 with cost of sales chopping off about 61 percent of the income.

Besides drop in sales, increase in cost of sales by about 70 percent when compared with total revenue was partly responsible for profit decline. Cost of sales increased by 7 basis points from 63 per cent in 2017 to 70 per cent recorded in 2018. Increase in distribution cost and administrative expenses, though marginal, were other reasons why profit drop suffered a setback in 2018, as distribution cost rose from 2.2 per cent of total revenue in 2017 to 3.2 per cent in 2018 while administrative expenses jumped 0.8 basis points from 6.5 percent in 2017 to 7.3 per cent of revenue in the review financial year.

Contribution of seasoning products to total revenue increased by about 21 per cent in 2018 from N765.30 million in 2017. The figure from seasonings inched close to N1 billion at N924.17million as of December 31, 2018. No revenue was attributed to the vegetable oil business line in 2018 but sales of vegetable oil added about N192millionto aggregate revenue in the preceding financial year.

Meanwhile, freight income (transportation cost associated with the delivery of goods to customers) increased by N220million or 5.7 percent to N4.08billion in 2018 compared to N3.86billion in 2017.

Net profit after tax came down to N4.42billion in2018 from N5.34billion in the same period in 2017,representing 17.2 percent decline while earnings per share (EPS) also dropped by the same magnitude from 202kobo to 167kobo in 2018.

The company will retain 67kobo per share in its portfolio having planned to pay out 100kobo per share from the earnings purse.

Before tax, profit dropped by 18.5 per cent from N7.91billion in 2017 to N6.45billion in the review period as tax claim by government also suffered a setback to the tune of 21 per cent as payment dropped from N2.57billion in 2017 to N2.03billion as of the financial year that closed on December 31, 2018.

Shareholders of NASCON Allied Products Limited maintained their allegiance to the company putting more cash in the shareholdersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; purse to the tune of N11.89billion in 2018, representing a 3 per cent increase from N11.54billion as of December 31, 2017. Shareholdersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; fund swelled by about N350million in the review period going by figures provided in the audited 2018 accounts.

Meanwhile, NASCON maintained a healthy balance sheet as at the close of the 2018 audited financial report with total assets in excess of total liabilities. Total assets stood at N30.27billion in 2018, increasing marginally from N30.12billion in 2017.Breakdown showed that Non-current assets grew by 24.0 per cent or N2.29billion from N9.42billion in 2017 to N11.71billion in 2018, but on the flipsident to N18.57billion in 2018. Total liabilities came down from N18.59billion in 2017 to N18.38billion in 2018.

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he Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, recently disclosed that some cities in Nigeria can now boast of constant power supply.

Fashola, said this during a session on the Sunrise Daily programme of Channels Television.

He specifically stated: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sitting down here I can tell you some states that have almost 24 hours â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Kebbi, Yobe. Some have five, some have 10 and there are still outages.â&#x20AC;?

The minister claimed the constant power supply some of these states reportedly enjoy was due to the increase in the transmission capacity which he noted had gone up to 8,100 megawatts (MW) as at December 2018.

He equally added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The generation capacity is also increasing,â&#x20AC;? but quickly stated, â&#x20AC;&#x153;it is a value chain where the distribution is not matching up the available power and from time to time, there are slacks.â&#x20AC;?

But in a swift reaction to Fasholaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s claims, the senator representing Kaduna central, Mr. Shehu Sani, stated that the states the minister said were enjoying almost 24 hours power supply are in other planets of the universe and not in Nigeria.

In a tweet from his twitter handle, Sani, disputed Fasholaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s claims, saying: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Some of the states that now enjoy 24 hours of electricity are Uranus, Venus, Jupiter, Mars, Saturn and Neptune.â&#x20AC;?

Based on the claims and the reaction it has generated, THISDAY analysed the state of affairs in Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s power sector on the day the minister made the claims.

It discovered that while his claims may be true especially with regards to supply

Fashola

in Yola, capital of Adamawa State where residents confirmed that supply had been stable, his hype of development using the Yola and Kaduna distribution networks which serve Kebbi and Yobe States could be off the mark.

And, this is chiefly because the population of electricity users within the networks he referred to when compared to others in the

country cannot be said to be large enough to determine the true situation of power supply currently.

For instance, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), which is statutorily saddled with the task of regulating operations in the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s power sector, stated that as at December 2018, the total number of registered electricity users in the

country was 8,310,408, out of which the two Discos â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Kaduna and Yola, which supply the states Fashola quoted, have 543,654 and 346,342 of the registered electricity users in the entire country.

Collectively, both Discos have a total of 889,996 electricity users within their networks, a number that is less than the 910,465 registered electricity users under Ikeja Disco; 973,926 in Abuja Disco; 1,693,346 in Ibadan Disco or 938,311 in Enugu Disco.

These Discos have more industries; homes and offices that consume large volumes of electricity, more than Yola and Kaduna Discos, and thus any measurement of power stability should consider their situation ahead of those the minister chose to use.

Again, on March 27, 2019, the same day the minister made the claim, records obtained from the Advisory Power Team in the Office of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, indicated that the average energy sent out to all the 11 Discos to distribute to homes and offices was 4,458MW, while 2,103MW was not generated due to unavailability of gas.

Additionally, 138.7MW was not generated due to unavailability of transmission infrastructure, while 867.5MW was not generated due to high frequency resulting from unavailability of distribution infrastructure, and 150MW not gotten due to water management issues.

This further suggests that with 2,103MW production shut-in for that day as a result of unavailability of gas, and 867.5MW due to distribution issues, distribution cannot be said to be the real problem why all the electricity that Nigeria could generate for that day could not be achieved but lack of gas supply to the power generation companies (Gencos) to produce all that they are able to.

7UHQGV LQ $IULFD¡V %XVLQHVV 7UDYHO Debbie Peters

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his was meant to be just an analysis on business travel as well as how to add a bit of leisure into the mix but Africa is mourning the crash of Ethiopian Airways Flight 302 on March 10, 2019. There were a total of 32 nationalities amongst the 157 passengers who died making it an international tragedy and included were 19 UN staff members. Even though Ethiopian Airlines, now the biggest and most profitable airline in Africa, had taken all the right steps by acquiring new aircraft, its staff is known for their high level of professionalism and Addis Ababa has become the biggest aviation hub on the continent. Aviation is part of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proud heritage and it afforded the opportunity for other Africans to train there to become pilots, including Air Zimbabweâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first black pilots who attended flight school in Ethiopia. The aircraft, which crashed recently was a new Boeing 737 Max 8, delivered in November 2018, but it was also the same type of plane involved in the recent Lion Air crash, so all attention has turned on the plane. The Chinese did not waste any time in grounding their Max 8 aircraft and many countries soon followed suit including Ethiopia and many airlines are halting the use of the planes. This accident will harm not Ethiopian Airways in the long run because it is clear that the whole world is doubting the reliability of the Max 8. Besides we Africans still need to travel and Ethiopian is still our best bet. The biggest problem when it comes to travel within the continent is intra-African connectivity. It is easier getting from any African capital to most major European cities than to get to neighbouring countries. Some international organisations like theAfrican Development Bank and the UN only

use major approved airlines so their staff often have to fly to a hub like Paris and then back to Africa when going from one African country to another. A few bigger African carriers like Rwanda Airways, Kenya Airways and South African have routes across the continent. Finding a direct flight somewhere close-by like from Lagos to Abidjan is not always possible so you might end up taking a flight like a local bus with several stops along the way, Then there is the issue of efficiency because African airlines are often delayed. Kenya Airways, KQ flights are notorious for their long delays and I have bad memories of being stranded in Nairobi airport for a day. When I worked in Lagos, I remember having a five-hour delay for the one-hour flight fromAccra. Gulf carriers are entering theAfrican market aggressively because they bring a higher level of service and efficiency. Emirates Airlines is now one of the biggest carriers in Africa since it is easy to beat the local players on timeliness alone.

Most travel within the continent is business travel or local tourism where people visit their families because it is still an expensive destination for most international travellers. Africa has always been a beacon for adventure seekers, but now millennials favour experiences so there is increased travel to the continent even though there is still a shortage of budget airlines. Fastjet has gone a long way in making travel to be affordable in East and Southern Africa, but there is still plenty of room for more airlines to make Africa more accessible. Holiday travel across Africa is made up of package tours, where travel agents abroad group destinations according to interests including safaris, gorilla-watching in East Africa, Cape Town and maybe Victoria Falls along the way. Most airlines are structuring their routes in this fashion with Cape Town as the end destination. New airports in Africa are rare and most airports are just renovated like Lagos airport. In Zimbabwe, most airlines used to have to stop in Harare on

the way to Victoria Falls since airport in Victoria Falls was rebuilt to allow larger planes to land some flights bypass Harare altogether. On a recent stopover in Kigali, Rwanda Airways flights were going to destinations that are not capital cities, so they are serving second tier cities. The other challenge with most government-owned airlines like Kenya Airways and South African Airways (SAA) is that so they are less focused on profitability, then they receive government bailouts. Rwanda and Ethiopian are focused on developing world-class industries including aviation. Many national airlines in Africa like Zambia Airways went bankrupt years ago but there is talk of reviving them.

When people travel on business, there is a trend for mixing business with pleasure, bleisure, which might involve tagging on some sightseeing before a conference or doing fun things while on a business trip. However, many international organisations are cautious when they send their people to Africa. There is fear of disease outbreaks like Ebola, typhoid and cholera, then there are security concerns, so visiting delegates are advised not to leave the hotel. The average conference last 3 days delegates by which time delegates get bored of seeing each other and hotel food, but many of them get to see nothing of the country they are visiting. When I worked in Nigeria, visitors were warned about security risks so their trip was carefully orchestrated so they were met by armed guards with drivers at the airport and they only stayed at international hotels. While I never felt unsafe during my two year stay but I had to follow my security protocol and also was not allowed to go north of the country. I found Nigeria to be short of tourism facilities and there is little focus on tourism even though Nigerians love travelling to other countries. Lagos has great nightlife, there are great beaches and Nigerians are welcoming and there is potential to develop the tourism industry. Nollywood and the music have led to growing international curiosity about

the country. Nigerian music is everywhere you go around the world, one in five black people is a Nigerian and the culture has gone global so many people can relate to Nigeria. I was amused to find a huge community of Nigerian men speaking fluent Mandarin who run Guangzhou airport in China where many had taken on local wives.

Recently in Rome, there were so many Nigerians speaking Pidgin around Termini station and I felt like I was in Lagos. Whether in Johannesburg or Dubai or any major city in the world, you find more Nigerians than ever before. So why is tourism so sparse in their own country? Tourism is more developed in other West African countries such as Ghana and Senegal. When you meet an African American who has been to Africa, chances are they have been to countries where the slave trade took place as they try to trace their roots. Most Europeans visit East Africa as they love safaris. Some countries have resorts which are owned by Europeans outright including the Italian resorts in Tanzania and the German enclaves in Namibia. South Africa has specialised luxury safari lodges like the Singita lodges and there is the urban experiences with shopping, hotels, restaurants and spas. Africans still prefer to go where there is an opportunity to shop and party which is why Dubai is a destination of choice. Dubai offers the best of hospitality at every price point, most international organisations have their Africa and Middle East offices there, and it is a convenient conference location, so it is the gateway to Africa. Many Nigerians are investing in second homes in its relentless real estate market, but it is getting overbuilt now.

What we need is more competition in developing Africa, not to invest offshore.

-Peters is a business event expert, speaker, consultant and author of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;A Modern African Nomadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; on Amazon. Her Twitter handle is @ debbienpeters and her email is deb.n.peters@ gmail.com.

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A Case for NHIS Act Review There has been a renewed clamour to review the jagged edges of the Act establishing the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). Kingsley Nwezeh looks at the contentious parts of that legal provision the arguments by the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, and other stakeholders on the need to review the law

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ecently the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, raised the issue that the Act establishing the National Health Insurance Scheme required a comprehensive review in order to make it work more efficiently and effectively.

The NHIS, established to provide health insurance coverage for Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s teeming population, has performed below expectation, providing less than five percent coverage of the nation since its inception 16 years ago.

Besides, the agency has been embroiled in leadership crisis since inception with every executive secretary, except one, since inception, accused of one corrupt act or the other, the most recent being the face-off between the suspended Executive Secretary, Prof. Usman Yusuf, and the NHIS Council over allegations of financial impropriety levelled against the former. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Act made insurance voluntary and that is why we are supporting National Assembly to repeal the Act and put in place a comprehensive package. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Let it be comprehensive because it cannot be voluntary. There is need for review of the Act and it is ongoing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;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 ES, so itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not just about this administration,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;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. â&#x20AC;&#x153;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,â&#x20AC;? the minister said.

The Act A closer look at the Act shows that it gave overriding powers to the governing council.

For instance, Part II, Section 7 puts the council in charge of the general management of the scheme. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The council shall have power to manage the scheme in accordance with the provisions of this Act;determine the overall policies of the scheme, including the financial and operative procedures of the scheme; ensure the effective implementation of the policies and procedures of the scheme; assess, from time to time, the research, consultancy and training programmes relative to the scheme.

The council is also vested with the powers to â&#x20AC;&#x153;arrange for the financial and medical audit of the Zonal Health Insurance Offices established under section 21 of this Act; set guidelines for effective co-operation with other organisations to promote the objectives of the scheme; coordinating quarterly returns from the zonal health insurance offices.

It is also charged with â&#x20AC;&#x153;ensuring public awareness about the scheme; coordinating manpower training under the scheme; carry out such other activities as are necessary and expedient for the purpose of achieving the objectives of the scheme as set out in this Act.â&#x20AC;?

In terms of other management functions, the act states that the council shall â&#x20AC;&#x153;appoint for the scheme, such number of directors and other employees as may, in the opinion of the council, be required to assist the council in the discharge of any of its functions under this Act; and pay to persons so appointed such remuneration (including allowances) as the council may, after consultation with the Federal Civil Service Commission, determine.â&#x20AC;?

Part III, Section 9 of the Act holds that, â&#x20AC;?The Council shall appoint for the Scheme, a licensed actuary on such terms and conditions of service as the council may, from time to time, determine. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The actuary shall review the scheme and evaluate it actuarially, including the rates of

Nigerians being enrolled for healthcare services

contributions payable under the scheme and make appropriate recommendations to the council. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If, having regard to the review and evaluation carried out by the actuary under subsection (2) of this section, the council considers that the rates of contributions have not retained their value in relation to the general level of earning obtaining in Nigeria, the council may modify the rates to the extent considered appropriate and bring the new rates to the notice of the persons affected by the modification.â&#x20AC;?

Stakeholders The Healthcare Providers Association of Nigeria (HCPAN) has also weighed in favour of a review of the Act with its recent call on the National Assembly to repeal the NHIS Act. National President of the Association, Umar Sanda, had decried what he described as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;static natureâ&#x20AC;? of the scheme.

He said the situation had affected earlier decisions of the states to join the scheme, regretting that it had been relegated. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have not seen enrollees added to the list and providers are feeling the pinchâ&#x20AC;?, he said.

He said universal health coverage could only be achieved when NHIS is made compulsory. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The law setting up the act is a problem.

As long as this 8th Assembly does not pass the new law on health insurance, we will not move any step further. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The law has passed the second reading. It is more than eight months now, we have not heard anything about it. We believe that the only way of financing health is by health insurance, the government cannot do it alone,â&#x20AC;&#x153; he said.

More Powers Sanda argues that the law erodes both providers and the rights of enrollees while giving more powers to regulators. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are so many things wrong about the law. â&#x20AC;&#x153;How can regulators keep the premium and then disburse the money? That is why you have friction between the health managers and the regulators and that is why you have providers not being paid as and when due.

The pre-paid programme is now totally a post-prepaid programme,â&#x20AC;? he said.

In his submission, the National President of

the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, PSN, Pharm. Ahmed Yakasai, NHIS remained the gateway to achieve universal healthcare coverage. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is the need for government to review the NHIS Act as this would allow all Nigerians to enroll in NHIS. Now, for instance, many of the enrollees go to private hospitals because the Act has not been reviewed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I can assure you by the time the Act would be reviewed, every Nigerian would be going to general hospitals without paying.

We are saying let us have a fee for service in NHIS,â&#x20AC;? he argued.

On his part, President, Association of General Medical Private Practitioners of Nigeria, AGPMPN, Dr Iyke Odo, said a universal health coverage would make it possible for everybody to be registered and covered by health insurance and if it is made compulsory through rule of law, it will bring back honesty, disciplined leadership.

He said the law establishing the scheme had clearly defined the role of all stakeholders. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We need universal coverage where every provider will be guaranteed of critical mass, and adequate number of enrollees,â&#x20AC;? he said.

On his part, President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr. Dayo Faduyile, stressed the imperative of repealing the Act to enhance its efficiency and effectiveness. â&#x20AC;&#x153;One thing we are going to do is to go to the National Assembly to ensure that the Act that set up the National Health Insurance Scheme is reviewed and amended. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Act made it optional and when it is optional it is not enforceable. We will want it to be mandatory. It is at this point that we will have many people coming to join the scheme. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What we are advocating is that the NHIS should not be the regulator and the effector at the same time. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We should have a regulator and have other people who will key in and the money will be better utilised. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We need a constant review of every law.

Since the formulation of this law, there has not been any time they sat down to discuss the rate they pay. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The NHIS is just for the federal civil servants because it has not been reviewed to be expanded. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Federal civil servants have less than 10 per

cent of the population of the nation. This has significantly kept us where we are today. NHIS has not been able to cover a large percentage,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Compulsory Most stakeholders are agreed that the voluntary nature of participation in the scheme is the reason the health insurance coverage is stalled, unable to sufficiently cover the population.

There is also a united view that when it is compulsory, the coverage would be comprehensive. â&#x20AC;&#x153;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. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Act is one of the major issues with the scheme. Why NHIS has not covered majority of Nigerians, is because it is voluntary.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;When it is voluntary, it makes people not take it seriously. Our disposition- as Nigerians, we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take our health critical. We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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 donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t treat their body as well as they treat their cars. â&#x20AC;&#x153;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 itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s being funded, essentially, by taxation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;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,â&#x20AC;? the Health Minister, Prof. Adewole, posited.

National Assembly The attempt to review the Act started in 2004 but stalled for inexplicable reasons. A second attempt commenced in 2014 following an amendment bill introduced by Senator Lanre Tejuosho.

The bill was read the second time in the Senate eight months ago and has since lost steam. With general election around the corner, a review of the Act could only take place when a new National Assembly is inaugurated.

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L-R: Guest Speaker at the FirstBank 125th year Anniversary Lecture; Professor Daron Acemoglu; Group Managing Director, FBN Holdings Plc, UK Eke; Group Chairman, FBN Holdings Plc, Oba Otudeko; Wife of the Vice President, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo; Minister of Finance, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed; Chief Executive OďŹ&#x192;cer, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Adesola Adeduntan, and Chairman of the bank, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, at the lecture organised to mark the 125th year anniversary of the bank in Lagosâ&#x20AC;Śrecently

For First Bank, the Beat Goes on at 125 As the promoters of the First Bank brand hoist the flag to commemorate its 125 years of unbroken operation in the Nigerian market, Raheem Akingbolu writes on how innovation and commitment to brand promise have continued to boost the brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s equity

T

he story is that of not giving up despite all odds. However, the greater story of the First Bank brand was never told by those who promoted it, but the hope of financial security it gave to the ultimate owners of the brand- the banking public.

In a country, where mortality rate is high in the market, First Bank has become a reference point, when it comes to building an enduring African brand in the last 125 years.

Looking back at the history of First Bank Nigeria, it is easy to establish that many factors have contributed to its brand building process.

One, a close look at the evolution and growth of First Bank reveals the passion of its promoters towards the brand promise. Over the years, they have not only stayed glue to the promise, but have consistently worked to broaden it. Another major thing that has worked for the First Bank brand is that despite its success story, the management of the financial institution has never allowed complacency to set in for a day. Beyond basic banking activities that have created a niche for the brand in the market place, sustaining the leadership position of the First Bank brand has also come with frequent reviews of strategies, sponsorship and commitment to its corporate social responsibility philosophy.

The bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chief Executive Officer, Adesola Adeduntan, captured it well few days ago, when the management of First Bank Holdings rolled out the drum to mark the 125th anniversary of a brand that has become a legacy brand in the Nigerian business environment. Speaking during the anniversary flag hoisting Adeduntan said the bank was celebrating 125 years of unbroken business operations in Nigeria.

Adeduntan said in the last 125 year, the institution has been â&#x20AC;&#x153;supporting and enabling dreamsâ&#x20AC;?. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are celebrating 125 years of trust, safety and security as well as 125 years of long term value to all stakeholders,â&#x20AC;? he said.

He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is a remarkable day as we officially flag off the commemorative activities marking the 125th anniversary of our iconic pan-African institution. First Bank clocks 125 years on March 31, certainly a big deal for us

and our very supportive stakeholders. Today is a special day as we witness the hoisting of our 125th anniversary flag in celebration of this uncommon milestone in the annals of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Presidential Message Few hours after the flag hosting, President Muhammadu Buhari was among the first set of people to send goodwill message to the management of the bank. While congratulating First Bank Nigeria on its 125th anniversary, which he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;historically and remarkably marked the commencement of banking in the country in 1894â&#x20AC;?, Buhari commended the board, management and staff for upholding the vision of the founder, Alfred Lewis Jones.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the president felicitated with the bank on behalf of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and Nigerians in general.

Buhari joined the financial services industry, particularly the banking sector, in celebrating â&#x20AC;&#x153;the purposefulness, prudence and propriety that has become the hallmark of the bank for more than a century and quarter.â&#x20AC;?

Earlier, patrons of the bank and other corporate entities in the FBN Holdings Group had collectively had a 125km relay walk to celebrate the bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 125 years of unbroken business operations in commemoration of the anniversary.

Growth Trajectory Beyond any reason that may be given by brand owners, who involve in rebranding, one thing that is sacrosanct is the need to keep abreast of changing needs in the market place.

This happened few years ago, when the First Bank Holdings rolled out the drum to usher in a new identity. In less than 24 hours after the official unveiling, customers, who visited a few branches of some branches and other subsidiaries of the group had started noticing the change. According to THISDAY findings, the conceptualisation and implementation of the new identity had taken the creative eggheads within and outside the bank some 18 months before they arrived at the final output. What this translated to, it was not done in a hurry.

Above all, as a best-fit corporate governance promoter, First Bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s corporate governance

practice remains at the industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading-edge.

This is especially evident in its laudable leadership transition processes, ensuring that there is seamless business continuity and stability in all aspects of the bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s businesses.

Another thing that has distinguished the brand is the long-drawn transformation in the Nigerian financial services sector, which has also made it Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strongest financial services group.

This is arguably as a result of its proactive and far-reaching transformation programme initiated ahead of the turn of the present century. First Bank was the first quoted company in Nigeria to achieve the feat of hitting the trillion naira mark in market capitalisation, the clearest evidence of the marketâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s estimation of its worth. In 2012, the First Bank Group adopted a holding company structure â&#x20AC;&#x201C; FBN Holdings Plc â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in recognition of the need to retain the diversity of the bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s businesses, to enable the provision of a full range of financial services needs to customers beyond commercial banking, to investment banking, insurance and other financial services.

The commercial banking group is reputed to be led by First Bank, which has operations in 12 countries, with nine subsidiary companies which provide a comprehensive range of retail and corporate financial services, including commercial banking operations, pension fund management, and mortgages, offering banking services to a rich network of both individual customers and businesses.

Perhaps a major development in recent time, which has helped the bank to deepen its global acceptability, is the fact that its promoters donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t limit themselves to the local market. Knowing well that building a global brand requires more than just launching a website, that is accessible from almost anywhere in the world, they have moved further by understanding customer behaviour across the major markets in Africa. To this end, First Bank has all along been positioned properly.

This explains why First Bank has today become a well-diversified financial services group and the largest private sector financial services provider in sub-Saharan Africa, except probably South Africa. In all the markets where it operates, the bank maintains the leading position and well recognised brand equity with a large customer base. With almost 800 business locations in

Nigeria, all online and real time, the bank has one of the largest domestic sales networks in the country.

As a market leader in the financial services sector, First Bank pioneered initiatives in international money transfer and electronic banking in the country, serving more than 9 million customer accounts.

First Bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strategy has been focused on restructuring the business to take advantage of growth opportunities within the industry, pursuing business line expansion across strategic business units, continuously implementing a systematic international expansion plan, sequencing its growth initiatives across defined metrics, as well as building synergies and cross-selling across the First Bank Group. This strategy supports the brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision of being the leading sub-Sahara African financial services group. It is believed by analysts that continued implementation of this strategy will produce long-term profitable growth as well as build great franchises and deliver value to all stakeholders.

Sponsorship and innovation To take its message to the youths, First Bank, had few years ago threw its weight behind Nottinghilll Carnival. This was seen by analysts as a fresh journey towards creating a new appeal among future banking audience. Then came the sponsorship of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Before 30â&#x20AC;&#x2122;, a TV drama series, which tend to address the issue of late marriage among city ladies, which was also powered by the management of the First Bank Nigeria Plc, in Lagos.

Again, few years ago and in what looked like a rare positioning move, handlers of the brand had come out with a new innovation; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;First Premium Loungeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, which was conceptualised to give patrons a better banking experience.

According to the management, it was aimed at providing unimaginable comfort for loyal customers of the brand, who determined to have long-term relationship with the bank.

As the bank strives for leadership among competing brands in the financial sector within and outside Africa at 125 years, it is believed across board that if the management of the bank keeps the tempo, the First Bank brand will soon emerge Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͚͝Ë&#x153; ͺ͸͚Î

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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 ˾ MARCH 31, 2019

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NEWSXTRA Apply Caution in Revocation of Oil Mining Licenses, Niger Delta Youths Urge Buhari Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt As the federal government announced the revocation of some oil miming licenses, the Niger Delta youths have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to carry out the exercise in a manner that no part of the country would feel targeted.

In a communique issued at the meeting of the National Executive Council of the Niger Delta Youth Movement (NDYM) in Port Harcourt, the youths expressed fears that if not carefully handled, the revocation of the mining leases could create problems in some regions.

The communique signed by the NDYM National President, Comrade Joe Jackson, and the National Secretary, Comrade Amakuro Isaac, asked the president “to carefully reassess his planned revocation exercise of oil wells and marginal oil fields in such a manner that a section of the Nigerian state will not feel embittered by virtue of being short-changed.”

The youth movement also expressed concern over the slow pace of development of the region and called on governors of the states in the region top collaborate with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to

fast-track development of the area.

“We urge the nine state governors of the region to synergize with the Acting Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and other agencies in the Presidency for the overall development of the Niger Delta Region,” they said.

As a matter of urgent importance, the movement urged the management of the NDDC “to put up Youth Empowerment Programmes for the purpose of engaging the youths of the Region as well as strengthening the relationship between the youths and the Commission.

“While commending the Commission for the Water Hyacinth Project, we call for the implementation of other laudable empowerment programmes that were hitherto suspended.”

On the outcome of elections in the region, the NDYM called on politicians to take advantage of the election petition tribunals to seek regress rather than encourage violence that would further exacerbate poverty and death of the people.

The movement called on the presidency, the National Assembly and other state actors “to give assent to the Electoral Amendment Bill

Customs Donates 6,725 Bags of Rice to Orphans, IDPs Francis Sardauna in Katsina The Nigeria Customs Service yesterday donated 6,725 bags of rice to 97 orphanage homes and internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps in Katsina and Kaduna states.

The service donated the relief materials following the directive by the federal government, directing it to distribute contraband to the IDP camps and orphanages, among others.

Distributing the relief materials to the beneficiaries yesterday, the sub-Committee Chairman, Mr. Yakubu Salihu said other donated items include 3,401 kegs of vegetable oil and 1,259 bags of sugar.

He said the disbursement was aimed at brining succor and ameliorating the suffering of orphans and IDPs across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT. Salihu said some of the items also distributed includes 6,780 pairs of rubber shoes, 877 bales of second clothes, 90 rubber slippers, 2,758 used shoes, 2,004 cartons of spaghetti and 783 packets of macaroni”.

He, however, said the committee under his watch was discharging its obligation as enshrined in the presidential directive to ensure that the items are given to only certified and recognized orphan-

age homes and IDPs. Salihu added that the allocated items “are escorted with landing certificates, which must be signed by operators of the homes upon receipt of the items. This is to ensure that all allocated items get to intended recipients.

“We have our own way of identifying and verifying such homes or groups that qualify for the ongoing distribution. We are determined to ensure that those that fall within our mandate get these items in a transparent and acceptable manner,” He warned those he described as unpatriotic elements who are banking on the ongoing exercise to collect documents from orphans and IDPs supposedly for the committee to desist from or face the wrath of the law. “For the avoidance of doubt, the service has not permitted any person or organisations to contact orphanages, IDPs or indeed any vulnerable group on belief of the committee.

So, anyone found wanting would be punished accordingly”.

The sub-committee chairman of the exercise said the gesture would make significant impacts in the lives of orphans and IDPs and as well complement Federal Government quest of alleviating the plight of the less privileged citizens.

and start the implementation of the Electronic Voting System in Nigeria for future elections.

“We urge members of the Elections Petitions Tribunal

to dispense justifiable justice, knowing that Nigerians and non-Nigerians are watching them seriously and that their actions can either erode or boost the

people’s confidence in the Nigerian state.

“Sequel to the above, we commend those who have taken their genuine grievances to the tribu-

nal - from the fallout of the Presidential/National Assembly elections to that of the Governorship/State Assemblies, instead of resorting to self-help.”

PROMOTING CIVIL RELATIONS...

L-R: General Officer Commanding, 82 Division Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Abubakar Maikobi; Enugu State Governor, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and representative of the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar Jika, during the 2018 West African Social Activities (WASA) held at the parade ground, Abakpa Cantonment, Enugu...yesterday

Court Rejects $1bn Suit against Lottery Commission Akintunde Akinwale A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has dismissed the suit filed by the Nigeria Employer’s Consultative Association (1st plaintiff) and Nigeria Breweries Plc. (2nd plaintiff) against the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) on whether sales promotion fall within the regulatory purview of the commission.

In his decision, the presiding judge, Justice Taiwo Taiwo declared that the two views formulated by the National Lottery Regulatory Commission) could conveniently

resolve the dispute and accommodate all the arguments of the parties.

He cited the issues as follows: “Whether National Lottery Act of 2005 and National Lottery Regulation 2007 are laws made within the legislative competence of the National Assembly and whether sales promotion by companies fall within the definition of National Lotteries and therefore subject to the regulation of the NLRC.” He, first, held that the National Lottery Act of 2005 was in no doubt enacted by the National Assembly by the powers vested on the National

Assembly to make laws as provided by the constitution.

He said, “It will, therefore, be wrong to declare that the National Lottery Act was enacted in violation of the constitution. The National Lottery Regulation 2007 was made by the governing board of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission with the consent of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as provided in section 55(1) of the National Lottery Act. “As such, if these laws were made in violation of the 1999 Constitution, it will not have seen the light of the day. To this end, I answer issue 1, I

distilled from the issues on this point in favour of the defendants,” the presiding judge declared. He, also, said the processes filed by the plaintiffs in this suits revealed that sales promotion carried out by them had all the essential elements of a lottery scheme or arrangement.

He added that the argument of the plaintiff that it did not sell tickets to participants was of no merit because the right to participate in the promo was limited to the customers who participated in the business of the 2nd plaintiff within a specified period of time.

Adedoja, Former Sport Minister, Customs Donates 6,725 Bags of Rice to Orphans, IDPs Dumps PDP Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

A former Minister of Sports, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja has defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In his letter of resignation addressed to the National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus, dated March 29, Adedoja said he was quitting the party in the national interest as a Pan Nigerian.

Adedoja’s resignation has brought to four the number of national chairmanship aspirants that have dumped the party in recent times.

Apart from former Ogun State Governor, Mr. Gbenga Daniel, others include former Minister of Education, Prof. Tunde Adeniran and former Oyo State Governor, Senator Rashidi Ladoja.

The letter read in part:

“I am aligning with the All Progressives Congress, APC, at this period of Nigeria’s political dispensation to contribute my best to the needed unity of Nigeria, as dictated by my pan Nigerian experience, having built bridges of unity among various socio political groups in the country all through my life endeavours ººboth in private and public sectors.

“I want to align with the federal government to contribute to the good governance the country deserves for our people and for my followers across the country.”

Adedoja was the governorship candidate the defunct Action Congress (AC) in the 2007 elections in Oyo State when the party fielded former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as its presidential candidate.

Francis Sardauna in Katsina

The Nigeria Customs Service yesterday donated 6,725 bags of rice to 97 orphanage homes and internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps in Katsina and Kaduna states.

The service donated the relief materials following the directive by the federal government, directing it to distribute contraband to the IDP camps and orphanages, among others.

Distributing the relief materials to the beneficiaries yesterday, the sub-Committee Chairman, Mr. Yakubu Salihu said other donated items include 3,401 kegs of vegetable oil and 1,259 bags of sugar.

He said the disbursement was aimed at brining succor and ameliorating the suffering of orphans and IDPs across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT. Salihu said some of the items also distributed in-

cludes 6,780 pairs of rubber shoes, 877 bales of second clothes, 90 rubber slippers, 2,758 used shoes, 2,004 cartons of spaghetti and 783 packets of macaroni”.

He, however, said the committee under his watch was discharging its obligation as enshrined in the presidential directive to ensure that the items are given to only certified and recognized orphanage homes and IDPs. Salihu added that the allocated items “are escorted with landing certificates, which must be signed by operators of the homes upon receipt of the items. This is to ensure that all allocated items get to intended recipients.

“We have our own way of identifying and verifying such homes or groups that qualify for the ongoing distribution. We are determined to ensure that those that fall within our mandate get these items in a transparent and acceptable manner,”

A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

31.03.2019

Timaya

Still in the Game

ASSISTANT EDITOR OLUFUNKE OLAODE/funkola2000@gmail.com

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Timaya

Aiming Higher Vanessa Obioha writes that the afro-dancehall king Timaya has shown a level of consistency and relevance in the music industry since 2005 when he was first beamed to the world Everyone knew him as Timaya when he burst into the music scene in 2007 with the release of his critically acclaimed album â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;True Storyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Shortly after, the Bayelsa born artiste was nicknamed the Egberi Papa I of Bayelsa state following the success of his raving hit â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Dem Mamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; which was included in his debut album.

He would later be known as Dem Mama Soldier, derived from his record label Dem Mama (DM) Records.

Nowadays, he goes by the moniker Don Papi Chulo, a Spanish slang which primarily means â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Pimp Daddyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Other colloquial meanings of the word â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Chuloâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; include cocky, attractive or cool.

Timaya, who was born Enitimi Alfred Odom could be any of this except a pimp daddy. Known for his rebellious persona further complimented

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by his dreadlocks and musical lyrics, Timaya is one of the few artistes who have maintained significance in the music industry. By next year, his musical career would have clocked 15 years. Sometimes, it appears to be a bit overwhelming for the artiste who was once a plantain seller.

At the inaugural Born in Africa Festival (BAFEST) held last yuletide season, the artiste during his performance told the crowd that he never expected he would come this far, while raining prayers on them.

Indeed, his humble beginnings showed no indication that he would attain the superstardom he is enjoying today. From dropping out of school to hustling in Lagos before finally hitting the goldmine, Timaya has a lot to be grateful for.

He often sings about those struggling days. For instance, his 2009 hit ‘Plantain Boy’, chronicled his grass to grace story while encouraging others not to give up on their dreams.

No matter the direction his creative work takes, Timaya strives to infuse his life story in his music. For instance, his latest single ‘Balance’ from his latest body of work, ‘Chulo Vibes’ started with a liner that encapsulates his poor origin: “One white shoe and one ‘nika’. Gat no house and I gat no car.”

Despite not having it all back then, Timaya was still steadfast to his dream.

That dream he told this reporter recently in an interview is to perform in every country in the world.

“I’m gradually getting there.”

In a way, the afro-dancehall artiste is slowly inching nearer to that dream. He featured the Jamaican rapper Sean Paul

in his highly erotic remix of his 2012 single ‘Bum Bum’. Chulo Vibes also saw him collaborating with Tanzanian singer Ali Kiba and Trinidadian singer Machel Montano. Locally, he has collaborated with almost everyone in the industry from the defunct P-Square to Patoranking who is also his protégé. However, Timaya got his mind on one artiste.

“I’d love to work on a record or a project with Jay-Z,” he enthused.

In his over a decade career, Timaya has enjoyed an unfading recognition unlike his counterparts who started the journey same time with him. He attributed his success mainly to the Supreme One and his fans. He is also grateful to afro-pop sensation 2Baba, who advised him not to squander his money but invest in businesses. Notwithstanding, Timaya has not been immune to words of his critics which he said to a large extent affects him, particularly on social media.

“As an artiste, as a creative, public opinion could affect your state of mind, but it takes a lot of self-belief and majorly trust in God, not to hold that as a yardstick for validation. Nobody believes in me, more than myself.”

That personal validation stems from the realisation that an artiste should be responsible. Reacting to news of sexual abuse levelled against the American pop legend Michael Jackson and Rnb crooner R. Kelly as well as the latest saga between the artiste MC Galaxy and actress Etinosa, Timaya pointed out that “Nobody’s a saint and we all need to accept that every action has a reaction, a consequence and you have to face it someday, no matter how long it takes.”

He further noted that one of the most consistent ways for an artiste to get booked is “through referrals from people who have experienced your brand. At some point in my life, I had to make a conscious effort to rebrand because it’s not just about making good music, or being a talented person, talent is never enough.”

However, one of the ways he’s been able to maintain relevance, he said is by constantly reinventing himself.

“It is very necessary to continue reinventing yourself to stay relevant. I feel like as an entertainer you should always give the fans, reasons to stay excited about your art, your music, performances, everything. Also, music, just like everything, changes. I’m always listening to the new sounds, the new shifts, learning about ways to stay relevant in every music era.”

Much of this is seen in the release of ‘Chulo Vibes’, an extended play (EP) album with nine songs. In an era where digital sales have overtaken physical album CD sales, Timaya is staying abreast of the changes. The body of work is coming five years after his last album ‘Epiphany’.

The process according to him started late 2018.

“I felt it was time to put out an album, so I discussed with my team and we decided on releasing an EP. I probably recorded over 30 songs within a period of a month. We wanted a seven-track EP, but there were so many songs to choose from, we ended up releasing nine tracks on the EP.” Before the release of the album, Timaya entertained his fans with singles such as ‘Dance’ featuring Rudeboy. That song was a cocktail of old melodies. Same

with his 2014 track ‘Sanko’ which is redolent of the ghetto music of Daddy Showkey. Explaining his love for such sounds, Timaya said: “The melodies are evergreen; it’s all music I grew up listening to. It’s always so unintentional.

It just comes to me while I’m writing or recording, I like what I hear and it sticks.”

Though he is happy about the growth in the music industry Timaya who was on the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) campaign team as a performing artiste, expressed dissatisfaction at the outcome of the just concluded general elections.

“To be honest, I wasn’t impressed and no, our votes don’t count, because there are hungry power mongers in leadership who are willing to do anything to hold the power and position, they have now.”

For now, Timaya is focusing on his latest project which turned out to be the new artiste on record label, King Perryy. Like other protégés, Timaya is confident that the young star from Enugu will ‘blow’ one day.

“I’ve always been a firm believer in helping exceptional young artists reaching their full potential. When I met Patoranking, Runtown, Skales, Attitude and many others, I knew they were exceptional and was happy to help the best way I could at the time.

“Currently, there’s just myself and King Perryy under the label imprint.

DM Records is a different kind of label, I believe in helping exceptional artistes reach their full potentials. King Perryy has some great music out now, and he’s also working on his debut EP and a university tour,” he added.

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The 1980s Star Actors: Where Are They Now? What memories do you have of movie stars of the 1980s who blew the minds of their fans away with exhilarating and spectacular artistry, grits and showmanship? Here THISDAY presents you a list though not exhaustive of movie superstars of the 1980s that kept your hearts racing while watching them do what they know best to do Harrison Ford Harrison Ford was born on July 13, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois, to Dorothy (Nidelman), a radio actress, and Christopher Ford (born John William Ford), an actor turned advertising executive. His father was of Irish and German ancestry, while his maternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Minsk. Raiders of the lost ark, The Empire strikes back, Blade Runner, Indiana Jones and the last crusade, Working girl, Witness, The return of the Jedi, etc.

Ford is vice-chair of Conservation International an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.

The organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intent is to protect nature.

In September 2013, Ford, while filming an environmental documentary in Indonesia, interviewed the Indonesian Forestry Minister, Zulkifli Hasan. After the interview, the Presidential Advisor, Andi Arief, accused Ford and his crew of â&#x20AC;&#x153;harassing state institutionsâ&#x20AC;? and publicly threatened them with deportation. Questions within the interview concerned the Tesso Nilo National Park, Sumatra. It was alleged the Minister of Forestry was given no prior warning of questions nor the chance to explain the challenges of catching people with illegal logging. Ford was provided with an audience with the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, during which he expressed concerns regarding Indonesiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s environmental degradation and the government efforts to address climate change. In response, the President explained Indonesiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to preserving its oceans and forests.

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy was born April 3, 1961, in Brooklyn, New York, to Lillian Lynch (born: Lillian Laney), a telephone operator, and Charles Edward Murphy, a transit police officer who was also an amateur comedian and actor. After his father died, his mother married Vernon Lynch. Eddie Murphy was known for his raucous stand-up during the 1980s. After leaving the cast of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Saturday Night Liveâ&#x20AC;? he made multi-platinum comedy records. During this time, he starred in 48 Hrs., Beverly Hills Cop, and Trading Places. Murphy continues

to act. He co-starred in Tower Heist.

It is rumoured that he will star in the latest instalment of Beverly Hills Cop. In addition to acting, Eddie Murphy has raised money for various causes. Starred in Beverly Hills Cop I & II, Trading places, 48 Hours, and Coming to America.

Robert De Niro One of the greatest actors of all time, Robert De Niro was born on August 17, 1943, in Manhattan, New York City, to artists Virginia (Admiral) and Robert De Niro Sr. His paternal grandfather was of Italian descent, and his other ancestry is English, Dutch, German, French and Irish.

He had starred in The Untouchables, Once upon a time in America, Ranging bull, The king of comedy, The mission, Brazil, Midnight run.

Harrison Ford

Michael Douglas An actor with over forty years of experience in theatre, film, and television, Michael Douglas branched out into independent feature production in 1975 with the Academy Award-winning One Flew Over the Cuckooâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Nest (1975). Since then, as a producer and as an actor-producer, he has shown an uncanny talent and starred in movies like Wall Street, Fatal Attraction, Romancing the stone, The War of The Roses, Black rain.

Tom Cruise In 1976, if you had told the14year-old Franciscan seminary student Thomas Cruise Mapother IV that one day in the not too distant future he would be Tom Cruise, one of the top 100 movie stars of all time, he would have probably grinned and told you that his ambition was to join the priesthood. Tom Cruiseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s long career started in the 1980s. He ran a brothel in Risky Business. He fought in the skies in Top Gun. He served cocktails in Cocktail. Each of these roles paved the way for him to become a full-fledged celebrity. The actor has starred in movies like Risky Business, Top gun, Color of money, etc.

Eddie Murphy

Sean Connery The tall, handsome and muscular Scottish actor Sean Connery is best known for being the original actor to portray the character of James Bond in the hugely successful movie franchise, starring in seven films between 1962 and 1983 starring in The Untouchables, Indiana Jones and Robert De Niro

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The 1980s Star Actors: Where Are They Now? the last crusade, In the name of the rose, Never say never again, among others. With age not on his side, Connery is watching the new generation of actors take the centre stage.

Sylvester Stallone Sly Stallone was one of the biggest action stars of the 1980s. He starred in the hugely successful Rocky franchise. In 1982, he started a new bad-ass franchise as Rambo. These roles cemented him as a superstar. Stallone canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get enough Rocky or Rambo. In recent years, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s financed productions of sequels to both franchises. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been moderate successes. Stalloneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest successes have been alongside other action bad-asses in The Expendables series.

Sean Connery

Bruce Willis Bruce Willis became a household name during the 1980s as David Addison on â&#x20AC;&#x153;Moonlighting.â&#x20AC;?

He shifted gears and focused on action as John McClane in Die Hard. This franchise made him an international superstar - and made everyone forgive him for the album heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d released. Willis continues to star in big-budget productions. He has co-starred in the Moonrise Kingdom, The Expendables 2, and Looper. He is set to star in the film adaption of the video game Kane & Lynch.

Sylvester Stallone

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Bruce Willis

Schwarzenegger was an â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;80s muscle man. He starred in classic films like Commando, Conan, and The Terminator. In each of these roles, he showed the world he was truly an Austrian bad-ass.

Schwarzenegger took a hiatus from acting because he was busy as governor of California. Since leaving office, Schwarzenegger has returned to the screen.

Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been in The Expendables and a Terminator reboot. He also spends his time advocating for causes that he promoted during his governorship.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington, (born December 28, 1954, Mount Vernon, New York, U.S.), American actor celebrated for his engaging and powerful performances. Throughout his career, he has been regularly praised by critics, and his consistent success at the box office helped to dispel the perception that African American actors could not draw mainstream white audiences.

After graduating from Fordham University (B.A., 1977), Washington began to pursue acting as a career and joined the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. After several successful stage performances in California and New York, he made his screen debut in the comedy Carbon Copy (1981). He first began to receive national attention for his work on the television drama St. Elsewhere (1982â&#x20AC;&#x201C;88). For the film Cry Freedom (1987), he portrayed South African activist Stephen Biko, and he received an Academy Award nomination for best-supporting actor. Two years later he won the Oscar for best-supporting actor for his performance as a freed slave fighting in the Union army in the American Civil War film Glory (1989).

In 2016 Washington received the Cecil B. DeMille Award (a Golden Globe Award for â&#x20AC;&#x153;outstanding contributions to the world of entertainmentâ&#x20AC;?).

Al Pacino

Al Pacino

Wesley Snipes

Michael Douglas

Oscar-winning actor Al Pacino has kept moviegoers riveted since the 1970s, with roles in films like â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Godfather,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Dog Day Afternoon,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Serpico,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Dick Tracyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Scent of a Woman.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; He began studying acting in his teens and eventually made his way from the stage to the big screen. During his career he has brought a brooding seriousness and explosive rage to gritty roles, including those of gangster Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972) and drug lord Tony Montana in Scarface(1983).

A versatile performer, he has starred in a diverse range of projects during his prolific career, appearing in countless stage productions and directing several films as well. He received an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of a blind man in Scent of a Woman (1992) and in 2007 received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute.

Tom Cruise

Mel Gibson

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Where Are They Now? The 80s and 90s were one of the best TV era in the history of Nigeria. The period was marked with riveting and captivating soap operas played by indelible characters. From The New Masquerade to Behind the Clouds, these actors evoked nostalgia whenever their names are mentioned. How many of them do you remember in this list compiled by Vanessa Obioha?

Chika

Pete

Abiola

Sunday

Ene

Olu Jacobs and Joke Silva

Chika Okpala The veteran TV actor played the lead character Chief Zebrudaya in â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The New Masqueradeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. His comedic manner of speaking tinged with incorrect grammar made him a lovable actor. That character would later cling to him like a second skin, such that whether he is in character or not the widely held opinion of him is retained as top-of-the-mind. Though he has played other roles in different sitcoms, none has been as nostalgic as the 1980s sitcom. He was honoured with the lifetime achievement award by the Africa Magic Viewersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Choice Awards (AMVCA) IN 2017. Recently, he made a cameo appearance in Genevieve Nnajiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Netflix movie, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Lion Heartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

Funmi Adams: Most people remember her for her patriotic and childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s songs such as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Nigeria, My Beloved Countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Mama, Thank You For Your Loveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

In 2007, a thread on the whereabouts of Adams started on Nairaland but to date, only bits of information about the songstress is available.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;To be a millionaire, think like a millionaire!â&#x20AC;? was the catchy phrase of the lead character Basi (also known as Mr. B) in the Nigerian sitcom Basi and Company which ran from 1986 to 1990 on NTA, and was later syndicated across Africa. Written and produced

by Ken Saro-Wiwa and filmed in Enugu, the show derived inspiration from African folklore, and lampooned widespread corruption in oil-rich Nigeria while highlighting its consequences.

Egbe played the role for two years (1985-1987) before another TV and Nollywood personality Zulu Adigwe took over. Other actors who played the titular character in the TV comedy series included Also Douglas, Laso Amaro.

when you mention Madam Kofo, the first mental image is that of Abiola Atanda in her dramatic gele styles in the soap opera â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Second Chanceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Prior to that, Madam Kofo was a performer with the Hubert Ogunde Theatre Company where she learnt to dance â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Bataâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. She also featured in other productions such as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Mirror in the Sunâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Atanda can still be seen rocking her signature gele styles at events.

Sadiq Daba Who could ever forget Bitrus played by the maven actor in the 70s soap opera â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Cock Crow at Dawnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

The broadcaster and TV producer is renowned for his diverse characters which he brings to life with peerless precision. He was very prominent in most of the 80s and 90s soap operas such as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Behind the Cloudâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;A Place Like Homeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and featured in most Nollywoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s early offerings such as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Nightmareâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. In 2014, Kunle Afolayan cast him as Inspector Danladi Waziri in his awardwinning blockbuster â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;October 1â&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

The movie fetched Daba an Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actor the following year.

In 2017, Daba announced that he was diagnosed of leukemia and prostate cancer. Through the help of benevolent Nigerians, he was flown out of the country for treatment. He would later be among the crusaders who walk against cancer.

Pete Edochie: Okonkwo!

That was the character that beamed Pete Edochie to the world.

A younger Edochie interpreted the role with so much conviction in the film adaptation of Chinua Achebeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Things Fall Apartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; that when he finally moved on to other productions, he was still referred to as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Okonkwoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Edochie has taken up many roles in Nollywood, most times that of a villain. His signature proverbial sayings and blinking of eyes endeared him more to more fans. His recent feature was in Genevieve Nnajiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Lionheartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; where he played Chief Ernest Obiagu, a wealthy owner of a bus transport company.

Franca Brown: No doubt, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Behind the Cloudsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; boasted of many thespians and one of them was Franka Brown.

She played the mother of Nosa, the late MacArthur Fom. Justice Esiri The late actor was among those who donned the titular character in the longest TV soap opera in â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Village Headmasterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. He took the reins from Ted Mukoro who succeeded Femi Robinson, the first actor to play the role. Esiri was also famous in other TV and film productions.

Albert Egbe

Taiwo

Albert

Sunday Omobolanle (Papi Luwe) Omobolanle was one of the TV actors that delighted Nigerians back in the day. His multirag attire and comic style of speaking endeared him in the Comedy Half Hour series produced by the late Baba Mero theatre company, Ojo Ladipo Theatre Company. Known for his Zack Amata ability to play diverse characters, The oldest of the Amatas, Zack was Papi Luwe played alongside famous for his role in â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Behind the Adebayo Salami, who was known Cloudsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; where he played alongside as Oga Bello. Together they lit Franca Brown and MacArthur Fom as up the siliver screen with their the father of the latter. Known as Mr. comical antics. Jide Kosoko was also Okonzua (also Papa Efe) Zack was a disciplinarian who his fans took a liking featured in the plays. to. As acting is the familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s DNA, it is Ene Oloja: The veteran actress was no surprise that some of his children one of the famous actors of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Cock didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t toe a different path, namely Jeta Crow at Dawnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Playing â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Zamayeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Amata. The actor who also wears a in the 80s sitcom earned her several producers hat finally tied the knots in national awards and recognition.

2017.

She is often referred to as the doyenne of acting. Though living in Taiwo Ajai-Lycett USA, the actress featured in her first In 1979, Laolu Ogunniyiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Wind Nollywood flick â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Zero Hour,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; recently.

Against My Soulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; rocked the airwaves.

The show also saw the veteran actress Olu Jacobs: That authoritative voice play a lead role alongside the late Sam of his cannot be mistaken. Olu Jacobs Loco Efe. Ajai-Lycett who is also a featured in many of the popular starred journalist and an Officer of the Order of the Niger is mostly revered for her role in in the 80s but he is also remembered for his role in the drama series, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Third the M-Net drama series, Tinsel.

Eyeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; acting which he played alongside his wife, Joke Silva.

Abiola Atanda(Madam Kofo): To date,

MARCH 31, 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 King Sunny Ade...

Whither The Magic?

In his heyday, King Sunny Ade was a master guitarist, vocalist and singer who held audiences spellbound from Africa to Asia, America to Europe and everywhere else with his stagecraft and dancing mastery.

More than five decades after his episodic musical adventure teed off, King Sunny Ade remains the avatar for Juju music.

A spectacle on stage, KSA’s artistry borders on originality, constant innovation and commitment, virtues that have kept him on the top of the list of the busiest Nigerian artistes of all time. For Nigeria’s aristocrats of all tribes, those who have made the social scene buoy and bubble for decades, some of whose anthems formed part of his memorable repertoire; it is either KSA or nobody. He doesn’t come cheap either.

Maybe because of age – he is 73 now; or monotony, he has been doing the same thing for about 55 years; or even complacency, there is no competition for him in that genre; KSA’s stagecraft seems to have lost its traction and lustre. He still does well a few times to make the audience know he is the king of the stage but there have been complaints that the legendary singer is becoming less passionate about his craft.

A recent example was at the traditional wedding ceremony of the daughter of Mo Abudu held last Saturday at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos. For over one hour, the multiple Grammy Awards’ nominee just seemed to be rambling and dancing languorously. After a while, he picked on Femi Otedola and kept singing the billionaire’s praises without corresponding response. The audience looked on, bored and aghast.

It was until the Veentage Band bounded on stage that there was a semblance of a real party. Has age finally caught up with one of Africa’s most iconic musicians so much that he no longer cared if his audience enjoyed his performance?

Shouldn’t he quit the stage now that the ovation is still loud?

Ibi

61 with KAYODE ALFRED 08116759807

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

Who Will Settle The Rift Between Kola Daisi And Kessington Adebutu?

Kessington

Who would have imagined that two of Yoruba’s most enduring money men, octogenarians and grandfathers too; Chief

Kola Daisi, an industrialist, and Chief Kessington Adebutu, a lotto magnate; can be estranged to the point of not being on speaking terms like two disputatious cowives?

Well, that is the situation between the two billionaires. For emphasis, Daisi, the Bashorun of Ibadanland, is 87 while Adebutu, the Asoju Oba of Lagos, is 84. Neither of them seems to give a hoot about how their disinclination and animosity toward each other are affecting their families and friends; they are past caring. Many of their mutual friends have been left wondering what went wrong even though those who know the genesis know. When Chief Daisi lost his wife, Sherifat, last October, it is not public knowledge that Adebutu either commiserated with or paid him a condolence visit. Neither gesture could have gone without the public knowing because of their statuses in the society. Likewise, Adebutu’s absence was very conspicuous at the burial ceremony and the 41-day Fidua prayer which also marked the 80th posthumous birthday of the deceased at the Civic Centre in Agodi GRA, Ibadan. It was this particular no-show that triggered voluble mutterings. Animosity can’t be more intensely demonstrated than that. Yet, before their relationship went south, the two old men were chummy and

inseparable and did many things together.

A privileged source disclosed that they fell apart over competition in the lotto business. The problem reportedly started when the Lagos State Government revoked Chief Daisi’s lottery licence in Lagos. As the biggest player in that industry and a major financier of elections, Adebutu was fingered as the brain behind Chief Daisi’s loss in the lottery pie. Daisi allegedly felt that the sky was big enough for all birds to fly unhindered but his friend reportedly thought otherwise. The source said, “One major factor that affected Chief Daisi was that when President Olusegun Obasanjo’s standoff with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was at its peak, he was not perceived as a friend of Lagos. He was thought to be on the side of Obasanjo which reportedly made Asiwaju to revoke his licence leaving Adebutu to solitary run the show.” Since his own nest had been feathered, Adebutu reportedly made no moves to help out his friend thus began one of the most acrimonious estrangements between two distinguished Yoruba sons. Efforts have been made by some highly placed Nigerians to make these accomplished men sheathe their swords and embrace lasting peace, but these have met with failure as none of the billionaires wants to shift ground.

Honour Well-Deserved…Dazzle And Valour Of Abimbola Ashiru The cosmos never forgets the daring and thrusts of the valiant. Through every epoch and every hour, his exploits persist, like a true vine ascending the sky on the bark of a sturdy pine. Thus for being a true man of valour and peerless feats, the universe celebrates Otunba Abimbola Ashiru, the former Ogun State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry.

Here is another good news: At a colourful ceremony last Sunday, at the Global Excellence Awards for Excellence, Abimbola Ashiru was honoured with the Best Commissioner in Nigeria. The award is conferred on Public Officers deemed worthy, and who have great experience, knowledge and impact, doing great work at home and abroad.

No doubt, Ashiru’s genius is

exhilarating. It has seen him through the odds of entrepreneurship, until he attained mastery of complexity and creative command of simplicity. He exudes the common core of entrepreneurial depth, tact, and other personal and social abilities which have proved to be the key ingredients of his brilliance and emotional intelligence.

A technocrat of note, Ashiru turned the ministry around and improved its fortunes by remarkable leaps courtesy his ingenious business strategies.

Otunba Ashiru is regarded as one of the closest Ijebu sons to the paramount ruler of Ijebuland, the Awujale, Oba Sikiru Adetona.

Little wonder Governor Amosun was so fond of and awed by Ashiru’s ingenuity that shored up the IGR of the state during his time in the office.

Abimbola

From Atlanta To Kwara…Ahmed Uwhubetine Becomes Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s Man Friday There is never a dull moment for celebrated man about town Ahmed Uwhubetine. The Urhobo dude who for many years ran the defunct 11:45night club has gone through multiple rollercoaster rides in recent times and the fun-loving fellow is amped up for more of the same. The good times are rolling for Ahmed and he is ready to up the ante courtesy of one of his influential friends who struck gold in the just-concluded elections.

Upwardly mobile, rich, influential and well-connected, Ahmed is not your typical socialite. In the golden years of club business he was a game changer who ran the biggest and best spots in town. From 11:45 to Trifecta, and Reloaded night club which he floated with Akeem Shodeinde, Ahmed was at the apex. But that was before his fortunes took a nosedive as he lost a lot of money to the business. He had to go underground to escape the bad publicity and restock his financial war chest.

For a long time after his magic wand disappeared, neither hide nor hair of Ahmed was seen on the social scene. But just as it seemed that the candle of Ahmed’s fame has been snuffed out permanently, news

surfaced that the dark complexioned fellow of Delta origin had found his footing in faraway Atlanta, Georgia. He reportedly opened a big night club there and started raking in the big bucks as he provided a home away from home for fun-loving Nigerians in the diaspora.

But the popular saying that there is no place like home held true in the case of Ahmed. Even as he daily counted his thousands of dollars the business was bringing in, his heart did not remain where his body was. The man who scurried out of the country somewhat pursued by a shadow of shame was determined to return in glory. And that is exactly what he did.

Ahmed packed his bags and jetted into the country not too long ago, determined to restore his stature to those glory days when he was the most sought after.

Fresh from throwing a classic “Old School Jam” in collaboration with Chris Ubosi, proprietor of Classic FM and NTDC boss Folly Coker, owner of premium bar and restaurant, La Casa, Ahmed has cast his eyes towards Kwara State and its governor-elect AbdulRahman AbdulRasak. The man who likes to ball in the high-powered way close to the corridors of power has always had the nose to sniff out where the fun is.

Ahmed Uwhubetine

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HIGHLIFE

Exposed...Singer, Iyanyaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tryst With Rich Married Women Fame and fortune were the springboards that musician, Iyanya, needed to give vent to his innate debauchery. He played the fields to his heart content and no woman, whether single or married, Nigerian or Ghanaian and any other national escaped his superstar musician allure. There was the Ghanaian actress, Yvonne Nelson, whose romance with the singer spurned a hit song, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Your Waistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;; there was also Freda Francis, a prominent fixture on the Lagos social scene. There were many married women too. Any moment from now, Nigerians may be let into the sordid catalogue of the married women that the hitherto singing sensation warmed their beds, thanks to his estranged business partner, Ubi Franklin, who has threatened to expose him if he did not stop talking about him in bad light. Both of them â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;co-ownedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; the Made Men Music Group (MMMG) until the startling discovery by Iyanya that while he was the goose that laid the golden eggs, the cash cow, he had no part in the business legally. Courtesy a well-meaning fan, the Kukere singer discovered that his partner and friend had circumvented their Corporate Affairs Commission registration

Iyanya

forms and substituted his name as a director with that of Ubiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s siblings.

The discovery was the final straw in their relationship. The partners parted ways in July 2016. Though it was supposed to be an amicable separation, industry insiders said

they were only papering over the cracks and that soonest, the bubble would burst. Now, it has. Iyanya has been talking about the causes of their break up particularly how the shrewd Ubi outfoxed him in the business. Ubi had made some face-saving measures to rubbish the claims but it all fell flat.

In an interview with The Native Magazine, Ubi failed to convince that he did not deliberately cheat Iyanya considering the incontrovertible evidence against him. When asked to respond to the allegation of the abusive relationship with one of the artistes on their label, Emma Nyra, Ubi responded, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d advise you not to (talk about this) because I would put out all the married women he slept with. Their pictures side by side for me. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to talk because if you allow me to do that to him, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d drag him through the whole of this country.

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not scared of sh*t. What I want about this matter is for people to see clarity.â&#x20AC;? Since the interview hit the internet, the married women angle has been trending. Names are beginning to pop up but Ubi holds the purported list close to his chest.

From A Bricklayer to a World Champion...How Anthony Joshuaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Glo Tvc Is Inspiring Nigerians

Anthony Joshua

A lot of people want to identify with the glory but not many know the grass to grace story of Nigeria-born World Heavyweight Champion, Anthony Joshua. Less than ten years ago, AJ as he is fondly called in the boxing world, was a mere bricklayer living with his mother in a council flat in North London. Yes, you read right, he was a bricklayer struggling to make ends meet. Ten years is a long time in a manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life and Joshuaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s story has changed for the best since he won a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Now a Forbes-certified millionaire, AJ says his plan is to become boxingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first billionaire.

And he is on his way already.

With 13 endorsements in total, including sportswear giants Under Armour, deodorant Lynx, Jaguar cars, Stub Hub ticket sales and Beats headphones, he makes tens of millions without even stepping into the ring. His stock has indeed risen.

AJ, however, says, he didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get to his present status by a sudden flight of fancy, â&#x20AC;&#x153;There has always been a big piece of my heart as a Nigerian and I do believe that it is that piece that sets me apart. It always says to me, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;never give up, dream big!

We come from a nation of warriors and that is why I believe in Glo. We have that same tenacity, that Nigerian fighting spirit that makes us game changers! We are relentless.

We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just face our challenges, we step into the ring to win again and again and again. If you believe in yourself, there is no limit to what you can achieve. Yeah, I used to be a bricklayer in England but now I am heavyweight champion of the world!â&#x20AC;? This is the message AJ is passing to the world via the sequel of his television commercial for Glo Nigeria. Earlier in February, Glo had released a TVC featuring the Unified World Champion where he gave a ringing announcement of his status as a Nigerian while lauding the reach and speed, and efficiency and ease of Gloâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s services.

Revealing the parallels between him and Glo, he highlighted the neversay-die, unlimited, can-do spirit of Globacom which undergirds and constitutes the philosophy of the telecommunications giant. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You need strength? Yeah, that comes from the hard knocks that life throws at us.

And we are Nigerians, we know all about that. You donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stay down, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got to fight.

You have to dig deep to be a world champion,â&#x20AC;? he said in the TVC which resonated widely and went viral online and offline immediately after release.

The sequel captures the reactions of Nigerians to the inspirational message contained in the commercial, beginning with a University of Lagos female student watching it. A teenage boy is also seen watching the TVC in his fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sitting room as it morphs to fishermen throwing their net for a haul in Lagos. It thereafter pans to a not-too prosperous tailor in Aba tapping inspiration from AJâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s message. Next is a group of female basketballers watching courtside on an Ipad in Port Harcourt and closely followed by a classroom setting in Sokoto where students gathered to watch the same TVC on a laptop. A young boxer also drew inspiration from the world champion and he later won his bout while a lady executive in Abuja was also shown watching the message on her phone. The cities underscore the nationwide coverage of the Glo 4G. The â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Always in your cornerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; pay-off line is a boxing metaphor which symbolizes the succour boxers get from their corners during a bout where their trainers will dry their sweat with towels and offer them tips to defeat their opponents.

Glo 4G also solves all data-related communication challenges by allowing subscribers to breathe easy with data widely regarded as oxygen.

Nnamdi Okonkwo

Nnamdi Okonkwo: Bankingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Golden Boy No one moves close to Nnamdi Okonkwo without coming out a better person. Without transforming into a human being who cares passionately about beautiful environments where all the ingredients of development are available to those who seek progress.

He elevates everything, pricking your conscience and demanding action, positive steps that guarantee future happiness. He runs more than a bank.

Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s atop an institution that exposes the opportunities of tomorrow, and provides a navigator to guide you to a destination that is fruitful and ennobling.

While other bank bosses perpetuate a legacy of garnering wealth through a regime of high interest rates operated with the aggression of a Jewish moneylender, Nnamdi Okonkwo operates under the grand old principle that humane policies towards customers engender a fierce loyalty that never dies.

Under his capable watch, Fidelity Bank, once a laughing stock, has become the champion of attractive rates and flexible repayment plans.

Since assuming the onerous mantle of Managing Director of Fidelity Bank in 2014, Nnamdi has transformed the bank to the rose that grew from a pot of manure. With constant fertilization from the brilliance of Okonkwoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mind in place, the bank has experienced exponential growth in all measurable indices of financial health, profitability, sustainability and impact. Little wonder they reportedly rebuffed attempts by a competitor to snatch him from their grasp. Nnamdi John Okonkwo is their golden boy, and they arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t letting him go anywhere.

The man who joined Fidelity after a stellar career in United Bank for Africa (UBA) sees excellence, not just as his watchword, but as the air he breathes and the steps he walks. He oozes confidence and unshakeable belief in the potential of an untapped generation. Hence he is always ready to pave the way for aspiring bankers through his brand of influence that redefines impactful mentorship. He is the toast of young bankers everywhere.

Even as his star burns bright above the banking firmament, orbited by numerous moons of admirers who own their shine to the reflection of his rays, Nnamdi resists the temptation to play a boastful tune on his own trumpet. He remains grounded and focused on his goals of making Fidelity a success story that can compete with the very best in Africa.

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HIGHLIFE

Super Woman...When Bella Adenuga Stormed Kigali In A Grand Style

Bella Adenuga

Yes, Bella Olubunmi Adenuga-Disu exudes the savvy of the ancients, the type of spunk that spurred medieval Amazons to dare and surpass exploits that were the exclusive preserve of men. If genius were genetic, then, it is no surprise that Bella Disu, one of the daughters of the founder/ Chairman of Globacom, Dr. Mike Adenuga, is gradually stepping into his highflying entrepreneurial shoes. Bella is blessed with beauty and her father’s razor-sharp intellect and is already being touted as the one suited and fitted enough to take charge of the And she is already treading the path by representing the company and by extension, her father, at high-level international meetings across the world. She was at the Africa CEO Forum held in Kigali, Rwanda some days ago. At the Welcome Cocktail on Sunday, March 24th, she was pictured with the President of the Forum, Mr. Amir Ben Yahmed and Managing Director of Relais Consulting, Mr. Jean Haas. At the opening ceremony proper held at the Kigali Convention Complex the following day, Monday, March 25th, Bella, resplendent

in her green jump suit, sat on the same row with the President of Ethiopia, H.E. Sahle-Work Zewde; President of Togo, H.E. Faure Gnassingbé; President of the Africa CEO Forum, Amir Ben Yahmed, President of Rwanda, H.E. Paul Kagame and President of Democratic Republic of Congo, H.E. Felix Tshisekedi.

Later in the afternoon, she delivered a keynote speech at the Women in Business Initiative where she discussed her personal story as a young woman who started her career at the age of 18, the gender and age biases she faced, and the assumption that she had an easy ride because she was working in a company founded by her father. She said, “The truth is the exact opposite - he pushed me and gave me rigorous tutelage - discipline, embracing my individuality and a constant rebellion against stagnation have been rudiments that have contributed to my steady rise.

There are no two ways about it, women must continue to advance. After all, we make up more than half of the world’s population. My charge to women is to

Olusegun Mimiko: The Rootless ‘Iroko’...Recoils Into His Anonymous Cocoon No vehicle can run indefinitely without a refuel, just as no tree can hope to remain sturdy without water and sunshine. The events of recent weeks have no doubt inscribed this truth deeply into the breasts of former Ondo Governor, Olusegun Mimiko. If he didn’t know before, he has surely now realized that the days when he could be considered the kingmaker in Ondo politics are well and truly in the past.

The renowned native of Ondo Town had the bitter-tasting concoction of a demoralizing defeat forced down his reluctant throat as he lost his bid to represent Ondo Central at the Senate. Contesting on the platform of a relative lightweight party, the Zenith Labour Party, the state’s former number one was handily trounced by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party Ayo Akinyelure.

Since then, the once acclaimed “Iroko” of Ondo politics has recoiled into his shell. He has realized too late that a good name and sound record in governance can get you only so far without the necessary strategic alliance with the powerbrokers that matter. Thus, he is forced to watch in helpless alarm as his grip on Ondo politics is erased, inch by painful inch.

The landscape has changed and his influence has waned.

When the going was good, the fallen politician was one of the most powerful politicians in the south west.

During his tenure he did so well with many laudable projects, especially in the health sector. Though he received a lot of knocks for paying lip service to certain issues, his tenure was on the whole remembered positively.

Since he tried and failed to install his protégé as his successor, he had been in semi-retirement.

Unknown to him, leaving the scene had allowed several upstarts

the chance to fill the political vacuum left by his absence. They consolidated their powers into several alliances while his declined, especially as he was perceived as someone who likes going it alone. Now, after suffering such an embarrassing loss in February, the one-time federal minister for housing and urban development is expected to retrace his steps back into retirement.

Olusegun Mimiko

keep climbing the career ladder. Climb it anxious. Climb it confidently. But just keep climbing. And when you get to the top, because you will - give a helping hand to the women coming behind you - this is how we grow!” it was a speech that was greeted with a standing ovation by the eminent guests.

Earlier in January, when business leaders gathered at the 2019 Choose France International Business Summit held at the Chateau de Versailles, Bella also shone like porcelain in the sun. The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, was present; so were Nigerian billionaires like Aliko Dangote and the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu. She represented Globacom and announced a deal with Nokia Alcatel-Lucent, a global telecom equipment manufacturing company, to supply, install, and integrate a new Sure Pay Intelligent Network platform that will substantially enhance Globacom subscribers’ experience. She also presented a P.O. to Vocalcom Technology, another French company, to enhance Globacom’s Interactive Voice Response and Contact Centre Solutions.

Yes, she comes well groomed by the guru himself and well acquitted for the job she is doing now. Educated at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, with a degree in political science and international relations, she resumed at Globacom owned by her father as a sales executive in 2004.

But she learnt the ropes fast, worked in virtually all the departments and excelled and consequently enjoyed rapid promotion, rising to the position of a group executive director. In her current role as executive vice chairman, she has steered Globacom on a path of sustained competitive advantage through a focus on quality, efficiency, innovation and customer responsiveness.

She is also an executive director at Julius Berger PLC. In 2011, she took on the additional role of CEO of Cobblestone Properties and Estates Limited, a leading property development company which has a robust portfolio of residential and commercial properties in Nigeria. An arts enthusiast and philanthropist, Bella got married to Jameel Disu in April 2010. They are blessed with two kids.

The Silent War Between Osinbajo And Amosun... How Ogun Governor Shunned Vice President’s Thanksgiving

Osinbajo

Amosun

Only a fellow victor would want to be seen in the company of winners. So it proved over the weekend as outgoing Ogun Governor, Ibikunle Amosun was conspicuously absent at the thanksgiving service organized by vice president Yemi Osinbajo to mark President Buhari’s reelection victory.

Like a vanquished foe who would rather die than receive the goblet of water from his conqueror, the governor remains recalcitrant, refusing to accept his defeat with the grace and magnanimity expected from someone of his lofty station. He was extended an olive branch in the form of

the invitation to the thanksgiving service which took place on Sunday. However, he was nowhere to be seen at the august occasion, thus further fanning the flames of his cold war with the APC hierarchy.

Amosun, despite his recent antiparty activities, remains a card-carrying member of the ruling All Progressives Congress. Thus it came as a rude shock to many that he did not show up for an event that was attended by the cream of the APC crop.

This is despite the fact that the general election thanksgiving was held in his backyard of Ikenne, Ogun State.

The event saw prominent stalwarts like Lagos governor Akinwunmi Ambode, Senator Godswill Akpabio, Oyo governor Abiodun Ajimobi, and former minister of state Senator Musiliu Obanikoro among others give their congratulations to the vice president on a successful reelection bid.

The Amosun-shaped hole at the event is not unconnected with a silent war brewing between him and Osinbajo. It is no news that Amosun’s bid to maintain control of the Ogun government house through his protégé Adekunle Akinlade of the Allied People’s Movement was truncated by Dapo Abiodun of the APC who rode to victory ably supported by the vice president.

Since then the bruised and battered governor has had an axe to grind with all those that poured water on the fire of his ambitions. Though he managed to scale the Ogun Central electoral hurdle to become senator-elect, he has since been suspended by the party for not supporting the candidacy of Dapo Abiodun, among other infractions.

Rather than turn penitent, like the biblical prodigal son, Amosun remains unrepentant, fighting fire with fire.

Despite the persistent pleas of certain stakeholders in the state, he has refused all entreaties to formally congratulate the governor-elect Dapo on his victory.

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Adebayo Adeoye bayoolunla@gmail.com; 08054680651

SOCIETY WATCH

Temitope Adebutu Moves On “Smile, because you are beautiful; laugh, because you are living life to the fullest and stand strong because haters can’t bring you down.”

Without a doubt, Temitope Adebutu, beautiful daughter of Chief Adebutu Kesinghton, has invested in the above quote with seriousness.

Indeed, she has chosen to live her life inspired by the import of that witty saying, especially after her marriage crashed. Last Tuesday, she turned 35.

Though she didn’t celebrate it, many of her friends, family members and colleagues as well as wellwishers remembered her, as they sent greetings and poured encomiums on her.

Also, a source revealed that she was full of life that day, as she carried on with infectious zest and liveliness.

It was also gathered that she did not betray any modicum of frustration or emotional disturbance.

It will be recalled that her crashed marriage to Olujonwo Obasanjo, son of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, had been rather messy, as the public was fed with some unpleasant news about their marital life.

Amidst the crisis, Olujonwo dragged Temitope before the Ogun State Judicial Service Commission and the Magistrate Court in Lagos Island over allegations of domestic violence.

In the court papers, Olujonwo accused Temitope of subjecting him to repeated acts of domestic violence since their wedding was contracted in May 2017.

It was gathered that the case was struck out for lack of merit and diligent prosecution by Chief Magistrate of the court, O. O. Oshin on November 8, 2018.

A source revealed that it is evident that the application was brought by the estranged husband just to smear and tarnish Temitope’s reputation.

Consequently, the estranged wife set in motion her divorce petition, which is ready for filing.

It will be recalled that Olujonwo’s mother, Taiwo Obasanjo, had made a fuss about the wedding in 2017 when she went to court to try to stop it.

She had claimed that she received a spiritual warning against her son having a big wedding and that if he wanted to throw an elaborate wedding at all, it must be done after his 34th birthday in June.

Despite her pleas and objection, Olujonwo and Tope, with the full support of their fathers, had a flamboyant wedding in May 2017.

Niger Gov, Abubakar Bello’s Winning Streak Niger State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sanni Bello, is at the moment in a joyous mood.

The reason for his joy is not unconnected with the fact that the people of the state have again put their faith in him, politically, in the next four years.

It is obvious from the confidence reposed in him that Bello has been faithful to his electoral promises to his people.

But unlike some of his counterparts, he does not like to trumpet his achievements.

Little wonder, his great feats as a governor have been seriously underreported.

Society watch gathered that his leadership and administrative acumen is steadily bringing the dividends of democracy to the people in ways that complement and even surpass the works of his predecessors.

Indeed, if the personal sacrifices Bello has made in order to serve his people in his first four years are anything to go by, then, his is the kind of leader that the broader spectrum of Nigerians should yearn for.

In a nation where many of his contemporaries seek public offices primarily for the perks and luxuries

that come with it, Bello, son of a retired military officer, Col. Sani Bello, a former governor of Kano State, has done quite the opposite.

For example, the governor has, for the past three years, been living in a small, dingy “boys’ quarters” apartment because of the deplorable state of his official residence.

When he first assumed office in 2015, he met the Government House in a deplorable state, so much so that even its perimeter fencing was porous and goats used to jump over it to roam the premises.

Apparently, a renovation project had been budgeted for and approved by his predecessor, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, but it was abandoned and never completed until he vacated office in May 2015.

Despite his privileged upbringing, Bello, according to sources, did not make the renovation of his official residence a priority.

He preferred to live within the modest means while using the state’s minimal resources to focus on providing education, building road, providing health care infrastructure and improving rural and urban water supply in the state.

Abubakar-Sani-Bello

To his credit, the drought that left most parts of Minna and Bida without pipe-borne water for over 20 years was taken care of by his administration and it is perhaps one of the reasons for which the people of Niger State have rewarded him with a second term in office.

Political observers also maintain that Bello was able to defeat his closest rival, Umar Mohammed Nasko, in the justconcluded governorship election owing to his being easily accessible.

Unlike Bello, Nasko is perceived as too elitist, one who is out of touch with the common man’s realities.

Nasko had previously contested against Bello in 2015 and lost, an indication that Bello’s electoral victory was no fluke.

Aquila Capital Boss, Chuka Onwuchekwa, Plans Big For Mum’s Burial

Bankole

Accomplished banker, Chuka Onwuchekwa, lost his 77-year-old mother, Lolo Benedeth, a few months ago.

Unarguably, the death of his beloved

mother has created a big vacuum in his heart. As expected, the Anambra State-born experienced investment and commercial banker is leaving no stone unturned to give his mother a befitting burial.

Society Watch gathered that Umuaniche, Abam Village, Azia in Ihiala LGA, Anambra State and its environs have been agog since he started sending out invites to family, friends and business associates.

It was gathered that there would be a Vigil Mass at Mazi Onwuchekwa’s compound on Wednesday, April 24, in Umuaniche, Abam Village, Azia, Ihiala LGA, Anambra State, which will be followed by the funeral service at Mary the Queen Catholic Church in Azia.

Thereafter, her body will be lowered at her residence in Umuaniche, Anambra State. Meanwhile, condolence visits by friends and families, according to family sources, will begin from Thursday to Saturday. Then, the family holds a thanksgiving service on Sunday.

His company, Aquila Capital Limited, has substantial local and foreign investment partners.

He has brought his over 20-year financial sector experience to bear on

Aquila Capital Limited since 2005.

Prior to the commencement of Aquila Capital Group (which includes Aquila Leasing Limited and Aquila Logistics), he was the Executive Director/COO at Continental Trust Bank Limited (now UBA Plc) and subsequently the Managing Director/CEO of Corporate Remedies Limited, a financial consulting firm founded by him.

His enviable wealth of experience in banking included a stint in the Southern African country of Namibia, where at the instance of the newly formed government, the Merchant Bank of Africa appointed him as one of the team of advisers sent to set up City Savings & Investment Bank Limited, the first indigenous bank in the post-independence era of the country.

His subsequent involvement with BGL Limited and his contribution towards the significant turnaround and re-engineering of some distressed banks earned him the accolade of a turnaround professional.

His current engagement is leading the emergence of Aquila Capital as a worldclass financial services firm with local presence and Pan African outlook

When Businesswoman Aderonke Adesanya ‘Shut Down’ New York

Temitope

For the New York-based businesswoman, Olushola Aderonke Adesanya, March 15, 2019 will be forever etched in her memory.

On that day, she was all over the moon, as she engaged in a double celebration of sorts to the glory of her Creator. The beautiful city of New York was literally shut down. While she reveled in the celebration of her 65th birthday, her son also was celebrated for turning 35 on the same day.

She dazzled in her black and gold-free flowing gown spiced with her stylishly tied headgear.

Her regal steps highlighted her blue blood as a descendant of the Kuku royal family in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State.

Her amiable children - Morayo and Adeniyi Oyemade were very supportive, courteously catering to the needs of their beloved matriarch

and guests.

The guests who graced the remarkable birthday party were on point.

The ladies obviously outdid the men with their colorful and expensive materials cut in contemporary unique designs.

The celebrator could not hide her excitement, as she said: “I thank God for preserving my life, my family and for blessing me. I am humbled by the turnout. I appreciate everyone who graced this event to make it a success. I am thankful for the gifts and the cash I got. God bless them all.”

Notable among the guests were Alhaji and Alhaja Oki , Twins Boutique boss, Mrs. Bamgbose ; Funmi Onileere and Omololu Sanyaolu.

Aderonke

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SOCIETY WATCH

Grardeur, Grace As Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Top Guns Idahosa Gather at Mo Abuduâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Daughterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wedding Okunbo Shines

Ted Abudu-Adebola Makanjuola

For few weeks now, the social media has been awashed with the story of the traditional marriage of the daughter of a serial entrepreneur, Mosunmola Abudu, popularly known as Moâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Abudu.

Just last Sunday, the ballroom of Oriental Hotel and Suites was popped with howling stylish socialite politicians, business moguls as well as Nollywood celebrities who studded the venue to shower love and celebrate the bride, Temidayo Abudu and her mother whose media career has blossomed in a short time.

Temidayo Abudu is the only daughter of the media mogul who hitched with Adebola, one of the sons of Caverton Helicopters Boss, Remi Makanjuola. It was a star-studded union with class and taste due to the positions of both families in the Nigerian business landscape.

Present among the A-list guests were the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Wife of the Senate president, toyin Saraki Business Oil mogul, Femi Otedola, among others.

While in the entertainment circle, Omotola Jalade, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Ireti Doyle, Beverly Naya, Eku Edewor, Indima Okojie, Dakore Akande, Omawumi , Waje, Toyin Lawani, among others. The proud brideâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mother was gorgeously dressed in a blue outfit which made all guests in attendance to wow.

It would be recalled that Temidayo and Adebola had their introduction ceremony sometime in December last year in Abeokuta, Ogun State. The bride, Temidayo, is a content producer with Ebony Life. She is a London graduate of Management and Marketing, always had a passion for TV right from her university days and finally settled as a producer.

Jimoh Ibrahimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Diary of Losses This is surely not the best of times for billionaire businessman, Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim.

For some inexplicable reason, the oil magnate and publisher has suffered a series of losses in the last few months.

Those close to him revealed that the Ondo State-born billionaire himself could not fathom what could have befallen him.

The myriad of losses started when he lost his mother, Madam Theresa Jimoh, to the cold hands of death.

She was said to have died in a fire outbreak that consumed his Victoria Garden City, VGC, Lagos residence.

But barely two months after, his father, Alhaji Yakubu Jimoh , has also succumbed to the cold hands of death.

A source revealed that the death of the patriarch of the family, who was a bricklayer in his younger days, could be due to the shock occasioned by the death of his wife recently.

Prior to these tragedies, the businessman has been finding it difficult to remain relevant in the political circle. He had attempted to clinch the number one job of his state.

He fought tooth and nail to be the standard-bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. His effort to clinch the ticket was

jimoh-ibrahim

futile, as he was kicked out by the court of law.

We also gathered that his businesses are going through some difficult times, the reason he relocated to Dubai, UAE.

Nicholas Ukachukwuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Aborted Hope

Nicholas

Billionaire businessman and industrialist, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s passionate desire in life is to become a member of the upper chamber of the National Assembly.

But the more the Anambra Stateborn industrialist tries, the more this dream eludes him, since he left the House of Representatives many years ago.

To realize his age-long aspiration for the Anambra South Senatorial district in the 2019 election, the billionaire left the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, 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.

Society Watch gathered that there was a glimmer of hope when he beat many of his other aspirants in APGA, including Bianca Ojukwu, widow of the late Biafra warlord, Emeka Ojukwu and Dr. Okey Chidolue, a former top shot in the Nigerian Ports Authority, who was also a one-time aide to the late Ojukwu.

Again, his hope of flying the partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ticket was almost punctured when he lost at the Federal High Court in Abuja, following a case instituted by an aggrieved member who felt cheated at the partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s primary.

Undeterred, he approached the Court of Appeal and won.

As a result, he believed he could still realize his dream of becoming a senator, given his popularity and the support of the state governor, Willie Obiano, who promised to use the state apparatus in his favour.

He was not even threatened by the likes of Andy Ubah of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Chris Ubah of the Peoples Democratic, PDP and Ifeanyi Ubah of the YFP. But, as they say in the game of politics, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;never underrate your opponentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; The pendulum swung in the direction of the Capital Oil boss, Ubah, who was declared winner in the election. Our source revealed that since then, the founding Chairman/ CEO, SNECOU Group Limited has been left in the cold and heartbroken with his dream of becoming a Senator dashed.

Billionaire Captain (Dr.) Idahosa Okunbo owns the souraway Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartments. Captain Hosa, as he is famously called, has an uncommon gift to turn anything he touches into gold. Since he set up Wells Carlton only four months ago, he has proved to his competitors that he knows the ABC of hospitality business.

As proof of its rising proďŹ le, Wells Carlton was adjudged the Best Hotel in Nigeria at the recently held 2019 Jumia Travel Awards in Lagos.

In his remarks on the occasion, Ms. Omolara Adagundo, Managing Director, Jumia Travels, said the idea behind the award was to create and encourage standards in the country and inďŹ&#x201A;uence change.

In his acceptance speech, Juergen Odenwald, Managing Director, Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartment, said the inauguration of the hotel in Nigeria had brought global competitiveness to hospitality business in the country.

Odenwald added that the new dimension the hotel had brought to Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hospitality industry had seen it compared with best hotels in Dubai, New York and the United Kingdom.

He also noted that the inauguration of the Abuja branch in December 2018 was the ďŹ rst of the series in the country, adding that Nigerians should be prepared for new dimension in hospitality management. â&#x20AC;&#x153;While we take pride in the physical attributes of the hotels, we will say customer satisfaction is a top priority to us at Wells Charlton Hotels and Apartments. I want to give very special thanks to our Chairman, Captain Hosa Okunbo; he is an enigma and not a regular employer.

We have made a point with the opening of the hotel in Abuja and we are saying, Lagos should get prepared.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Wells Carlton was opened in December, 2018 in Abuja by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.

Again, Terry Waya Grooves Highly connected Terry Waya once ruled the social scene.

He was reputed for throwing onein-town parties. Many people will not forget in a hurry his romance with one of the flower girls of the high society, Eno Olafisoye. The lovebirds have a baby boy to show for the romance.

Sometime ago, the popular Abuja big boy and socialite went on self-imposed exile when some of his friends ran into troubled waters.

However, the fun-loving guy is seeking a comeback to the social scene

in another big way. The Benue Stateborn multimillionaire surely knows how to worm himself into the hearts of the powerful in the corridors of power.

Little wonder, he has remained relevant with every successive government.

As proof of his successful comeback to the social scene, there was a spectacular show of glamour and opulence in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory as members of the Nigerian society, politicians, captains of industries gathered at Wayaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s residence when he celebrated President Muhammadu Buhariâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s victory at the poll.

Terry-Waya.

Okunbo

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LOUD WHISPERS

with JOSEPH EDGAR (09095325791)

Senator Adeleke: It’s Dancing Time!

My brother, the dancing this time no get pair. You see, we all saw this coming. You really cannot force the hands of the people. That election result was very clear for all to see. The people of Osun had been muscled and caged if I can use the words. They had become the poster children of maladministration and were even expected to be grateful for the opportunity to be pillaged and to add insult to injury, they were even told that they did not have the kind of money their lords needed and that

they were a poor people. Well, the people on election day showed their resentment by putting their fingers where they really wanted to. Na so the lords with their magic turned the voice of the people into a cry of sorrow. Well, the court has spoken and we can only wait for the Appeal Court or is it the Supreme Court before the people sigh in relief. The senator has in a very unique way thrown himself into public consciousness. He has danced his way apparently into the hearts of the people of Osun and

with his happy-go-lucky way, has shown that he cannot only feel their pain but can ‘do something’. I hope it is not looking like I have taken sides. Mbok, leave me abeg, let me take sides jo after all what will we achieve if everybody keep sitting on the fence especially when things are going awry everywhere? My dear senator, keep dancing in confidence because nothing can change the voice of the people and the people have spoken. Well done, fingers crossed. God bless.

Adeleke

Buhari

Tinubu

Amaechi

Odumakin

BUHARI – LAST ELECTION?

BOLA AHMED TINUBU – LETS WORK WITH FASHOLA

bent to carry on with the complex job of providing a strong centre to continue to hold the contending forces together in your well-deserved retirement. It is in this regard, that I am throwing up Babatunde Fashola to the mix. He did not send me o. I don’t even know him. Last time I saw him, was in Surulere where he was trying to play football. You will need a strong ideological visage to keep this going. You will need to recreate a flow line of human resources who have been weaned on a strong ideology hinged on service as against the current system of ‘Agege bread’ politics. To ensure continuity, you will need to reposition young turks who understand the need to ‘truly serve’ the era of the mercenary is over and you are seeing this with the voting pattern in states like Lagos and Oyo. You know in your heart of heart how much tougher it is getting to keep holding Lagos.

Please if you are keen, I will forward to you my 1000-word essay on the ‘dwindling fortunes of the Asiwaju Legacy - a quest for repositional play’. If you promise you will not show Aregbesola because if he sees it he will beat me o, I will send it. Please take this my advice with equanimity (don’t know the meaning of the word) and don’t vex. If I don’t like you I will not talk. See you soon.

young and powerful. But before I continue with this my talk, let me ask if the man wants to continue, is there no gentleman agreement in place to guide this thing if there is no legal guidelines as to the tenor of the speaker? Well all that one is English, what is on the ground now is this struggle and we must win it. I hear mummy is standing firmly behind you, that is a very good start. Because a refusal for action in the other room, or a withdrawal of some other services will go a long way in ensuring compliance so keep holding that place very strongly. But much more importantly, you must capture the GAC especially Baba Olusi. Please send him a white horse, 6 kola nuts and two bags of Garri. That should do the trick. Let’s meet at Awosheyin street in Shomolu when you are ready. There is a powerful Cele Church there. The Woli is gifted. He was the one that made my landlord reduce my rent and you can imagine what that means. Please come with the following pictures – Asiwaju, Olusi, Obasa, Mummy Remi, Buhari and Ambode. Come with 12 bags of rice, 14 chickens, all white and then six cartons of dry gin. Come at midnight and you must tie only a white wrapper with chalk on your forehead. Don’t worry I will carry the ‘ebo’. We should be OK. But we will sign a pre-inauguration agreement that should ensure my benefits when you emerge. You know you people can be funny o. I will not suffer like this and then you will now be telling me story after everything. Let’s talk.

My lord did you just say this will be your last election? Or I did not hear right?

Mbok if this statement is true and said with conviction, then this is the best news I have heard all week. It has been a gory week I cannot even begin to tell you guys.

But this is not for me, it is the destiny of over 200 million people. I will stand first to lead a great ‘send forth’ party for our lord.

He has really tried. It is not easy to have sacrificed your life for public service. Mr. Muhammadu Buhari remains one of the greatest leaders in our history. He fought the civil war, waged a war against indiscipline and like his older brother Gen Obasanjo transformed from a military leader into a civilian leader and won a re-election (?) forget what they are saying that INEC server is saying. That thing is suffering from low current. So you can imagine our collective joy where after over 50 years of meritorious service, daddy wants to throw in the towel for a well-deserved rest. This in my estimation should lead to a whole national celebration that yes, one of the greatest living statesmen will be taking a powerful exit from public life.

Once the retirement is confirmed and duly executed barring any extension, rebuttal or U-Turn, we at Shomolu will announce our timetable for celebration.

We will work with Rochas Okorocha, that is if he is on the right frame of mind to erect statues all over Shomolu in Daddy’s honour and will name every male child born within the period ‘Muhammadu’ to commemorate this august occasion.

Me, I will write book sef detailing my true thoughts of a life filled with action. DSS no go let me write am now. So make una cool down. Time still dey. Seriously, my lord you have definitely immortalized yourself within the pantheons of our history and no matter how we want to look at it, you remain one of the most respected and acclaimed sons of the land. Please no dribble us o. Do am as you don talk am am. Can’t wait.

You see, any leader that does not have a credible succession plan is a ‘tambolo’ leader. Empires reinvent themselves, prepare themselves for the dynamism of the evolving political space thereby better preparing themselves. Arming its leadership with intellectual depth and verve to continue to ride the crest of brinkmanship, thereby entrenching its philosophy on the people. I have been reading some very funny things recently. You see this your empire that you have carefully built has one major flaw that if not corrected could lead to its decimation, no be say he no go still scatter o, but at least we should make sure it doesn’t scatter in your lifetime. You truly do not deserve it after all the hard work. The empire has been woven around your personal charisma. Using ingredients like charm – not juju, a healthy reward scheme and a perfect understanding of the psychology of the system and its peoples, you have built one of the most viable political structures in modern-day Africa.

Well done. So the issue of continuity and succession should be the next agenda on your table as you grow physically tired and became wobbly. This Aregbesola we are hearing that is parading himself around as your deputy and successor will be the fastest way of wiping out your legacy. You know say me I no dey fear and will talk my mind. If you ask me, you no dey kuku listen to me, it is even better you throw up MC Oluomo as successor than this one o after all the magic he did in Osun see the empire is withering, whether you want to agree or not, the thing is shaking very seriously. See Osun, Oyo and Ekiti where na chinchinny margin and with federal might you use to conquer the place. But then again, let us be truthful, is Fayemi truly your soldier? So you see the need to realign and reposition the framework that controls and guides the system has become very imperative.

Aregbesola cannot play in that space. He lacks the charisma, depth and ideological

WASIU ESHILOKUN – DON’T EVEN AGREE My brother, how have you been? I have not seen you since the last time you came to see Isale Eko at the Muson and since then a lot has been happening. We have heard that you are once again gunning for the speakership of the Lagos State House of Assembly against the incumbent High Chief Obasa. That position with the way you guys play your politics in Lagos I hear is even more strategic than that of the governor in some instance abi you know see the way Obasa was just trying to rubbish my man Ambode the other day?

Well, my brother, this fight will not be easy, because first the man is the incumbent, he has served his masters well and is still very

ROTIMI AMAECHI – ‘UNKNOWN SOLDIER’ Let me throw this out there first.

Anybody that underestimates this baldheaded soldier is doing that one at his peril. Rotimi Amaechi is too experienced and powerful to be taken with kid gloves.

Now that it is looking like he is down, is the time to totally ‘destroy’ his capacity for a comeback. Well, I was in Port Harcourt last week to consult with some key stakeholders in the state on the politics

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LOUD WHISPERS

George Ekpungu

of the state and how they would position themselves in the rerun or is it recount? My people from the taxi driver that took me from the airport, to the woman who sold garden egg to me, to the special aide who took care of some domestic issues at night down to the strategy meeting of the key stakeholders who had invited me to Port Harcourt, one could see that Chief Amaechi had lost the spirit of the state. His foray to hijack one party after the fiasco that was his attempt at fostering my brother, the afro- loving Tonye Cole ended in disaster with the nullification of their primaries also has not sat down well with the owners of this new party. I was told that the person thrown up cannot withstand Wike in any way and that the two weeks from the time of his emergence to the election was just too short for a candidate like that without any footprint to dent Wike in any way. Some suggested that a Lulu Brigs for instance would have done a better job. As if by clockwork one week after that session, now the deputy governorship candidate of the Amaechi backed structure has defected to PDP. What this in essence means is that except with a naked show of brgandage Wike will certainly be reelected leaving us with just one question: Where did Amaechi get it wrong? Well, it is not for me to seek an answer, no be me born am. My own na to find who go repay my air ticket. That’s all.

YINKA ODUMAKIN – WAS I JUST THREATENED? So last week, I wrote a piece on Mr. Odumakin’s treatise on the great Yoruba leader of all time, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. In my write-up, I had said that Mr. Odumakin was engaging in a chicken fight that had no bearing to national issues. I yabbed him small sha but not more than the one wey I dey yab Asiwaju and Sanwo-Olu. Well after I read the paper on Sunday, I went about my work of looking for ways to survive in this our Buhari economy. That is how on Monday morning, one person called me. True caller showed a name with Igbo extraction and the person said, “is that Edgar Joseph?” Me thinking it was EFCC, DSS or the fire brigade because na those ones dey ask that kind of question with confidence, I say no o. It is not me. The voice on the other side now sounded confused and said, ‘No be you dey yab Yinka Odumakin for Thisday? Are you not the Joseph Edgar, the one wey dey call himself Duke of Shomolu?’ Since it was not EFCC or police my confidence came back and I said, ‘na me, hope no problem’ , he dropped the phone immediately. I look the phone. I then decided to call him back, it rang and he did not pick. I called back the whole day and he still did not pick. Well, me I no fear and I’m not even worried even though I have beefed up security around me and have stopped eating in public. I can only say like my senior brother – Martin Luther King Jnr just before he was assassinated, that ‘I have a dream…..’ in my own dream na fine woman I see and lots of afang. Nobody I tell you will threaten me or make me deviate from my true calling which is to remain the Duke of Shomolu with the sole task of bringing succour to all light-skinned, chubby single women from

Wasiu Eshilokun

Awosika

CHARLY BOY – WHAT IS GOING ON? I stumbled on a video where this 68-year-old icon was shouting, ‘I collect money from Keyamo…….

I no collect money from am’ and then he started crying or pretending to be crying. I was confused o.

This man that I have held in so much high regard to come and be embarrassing himself like this. He was so incoherent that I could not make anything out of it. I called my ten year old daughter Zara to come and watch but all she could say was ‘daddy why is his head so big’, me I could not answer that one o. Charly Boy in that video said that after Deji Adeyanju came out of prison he was behaving one kind. I did not understand that. What is one kind? He was not specific o. So to unravel it, he called that one for a meeting and by his own admission knowing that he was being recorded, he admitted to collecting money from Keyamo. Now who does that? Who admits to that kind thing when you know you are being recorded?

You see my confusion, then he starts rambling about how he was

teargassed at Wuse market and how he has given his life to the struggle. I no understand this baba. If he had given his life why is he still doing for video? Jesus wey give him life die for cross na, apologies if this offends anybody.

Well for me, all these answer the simple question that had been on my mind all the time Deji was in prison. I no see Charly Boy carry any placard asking for the boy’s release o. I used to wonder why the area father no mobilize all the okada riders to Aso rock.

The silence was loud. Anyways no problem as for Keyamo, me just dey look you. Did you give Charly Boy money or not? If you did welldone o. Shey because me no be punk with earrings and tattoo that is why you never bring my own Trader moni? Let me tell you, me sef get tatoo for my forehead, ask Mudi. Anyways, Charly Boy, Deji and the rest our problem for Nigeria big pass all of una and the N5,000 wey dey cause all this wahala, allow us rest abeg. Thank you.

Otudeko

some very lovely friends there. Folake Ann-Mumunney the hard-working and wonderfully talented Head of their Corporate Communications, my brother Oze and also Chinwe. These people have in no small way continued to guide and push the very strong message ie the message of perseverance and belief in the Nigerian Construct, that is the message of First bank.

After 125 years in business, the bank has shown that with continued determination, well-oiled structure and a clean process of succession that our businesses can achieve immortality. I really do have a strong bias for the bank because amongst others my mother’s account is there and we are waiting for her will to be written and announced. The branch is in Sabo and was opened when I was a toddler. I still remember even after 40 years how my mum used to drag me into the bank every month to make the deposit and to the best of my knowledge the woman no dey withdraw except she dey go behind my back go withdraw and that one will be a matter for the NJC. So you can understand my interest in the bank and why every time I drive past the place I slow down to salute the security men because my wealth is inside there o. Recently I had to keep some funds in a bank for my son’s school fees abroad and because I don’t want to hear story of merger or change of bank name, na First Bank I choose o. And when the time came for the transfer, my account officer – please don’t vex let me call his name Segun of their Burma Road, Apapa Branch was simply wonderful chasing me all over Lagos to fill the forms. Another thing I love about the Bank is the way they redefine themselves, keeping the brand fresh and engaging. Their support for the Arts - yes they support me o and I must hail them- continues to push our culture, create jobs and deepen the sector. My only problem with them now is the fact that in all the party they have been doing nobody don say I should come and eat o. But no problem, FBN is a great Nigerian institution and must be celebrated. Wel ldone and God bless.

GEORGE EKPUNGU – A WORTHY SOLDIER

Charly Boy

40 years and above. So oga whoever send you, tell am say I no dey house and that the only time you can get me na sunday evening because that is when my juju dey get off days, and if you want fight make we meet for Oyingbo Bus Stop on Friday by 6pm. I remain fearless and will continue to say my mind no matter what happens.

I will stand strong even as I declare that if need be I am ready to sacrifice my life for the struggle. I am telling you. Mbok note when I say ‘sacrifice my life’ no be physical life o, no go take me seriously come try me o. Na just

mouth o. You know the kind mouth dem Keyamo dey make. Please sir don’t vex, my mama is a widow. Meanwhile next time you want to call and threaten, let me know by text so I can give you LAMI number so you call am. Him na Ogbomoso and politician and he get mind. Call me to panic me?.

Mshewww. Imagine.

FIRST BANK @125-CONGRATULATIONS! Let me first throw it out there that when it comes to FBN, I am biased. I have

This my friend is the immediate-past commissioner of something in Cross River State. He attempted a push towards the national assembly in the just concluded general election but sadly did not make it. This does not however remove from the man. He is a strong intellectual with an abiding faith in our country. I have known George now for over twenty years and his passion for Nigeria remains quite admirable. In his stints at the EFCC and as an investment banker where he majored in corporate governance and structure you could see his imprints especially in the adherence to due process and integrity in all he touched. Very few people get my attention to the point where I would now be writing this kind thing about him on this page. The last person that got this kind of attention was Tuface. Anyways wherever George berths I wish him well even as we continue to surmount as a nation the difficult task of rediscovering ourselves. With people like George it can only be a matter of time.

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MARCH 31, 2019 ˾ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

THE ALTERNATIVE

with RenoOmokri

Facts That Prove Ibrahim Magu is a Hypocrite

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want to use my column this Sunday to address the sickening level of hypocrisy demonstrated by the Muhammadu Buhari administration and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission under the leadership of its acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu.

Hopefully, the electoral theft carried out by President Buhari and his co conspirators will be reversed by the Supreme Court when it treats the petition brought by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

However, before then, Nigerians would be well advised to prepare themselves for more of the same because it is quite first that the Buhari administration has no intention of changing its tune.

They wasted the last four years blaming everyone but themselves for the series of catastrophes that they passed of for governance and they are about to do the same for the foreseeable future.

Both President Buhari and his vice, Pastor Yemi Osinbajo have set the tone, which has been followed by their subordinates.

On Thursday March 28, 2019, Premium Times ran with the headline ‘Osinbajo Blames Past Governments for Nigeria’s Lack of Progress’. If this is the best we will get after four years, then imagine how their so called ‘Next Level’ will be?

And then Ibrahim Magu took blaming to an absurd level by accusing the immediate past regime, of which I was a part of, of looting 1.3 trillion Naira between 2011 and 2015 and declaring that the administration under whom he is serving is on a clean up mission.

This is just ridiculous and I will disprove it via facts.

It is a lie that 1.3 trillion was looted out of Nigeria. That amount is equivalent to $8 billion when you factor in the pre 2015 value of the Naira to the dollar.

Who looted those funds? Mr. Magu should name names instead of naming figures.

The only time that anything near that amount was stolen from Nigeria was during the kleptocracy of the self promoted General Sani Abacha.

When I read law in England, my university’s case study for FSA fraud was General Abacha, who looted at least $5 billion. Yet President Muhammadu Buhari famously said ‘Abacha did not steal’.

Nigerians seem to have forgotten that the Abacha family was allowed to keep about $1.2 billion out of the amount that their bloodthirsty buffoon of a father looted from Nigeria.

In fact, a stadium is named after that common thief in Kano!

Abacha’s widow even once boasted that she brought President Buhari into politics and his son, Mohammed Abacha, who I personally interviewed when he was at Kirikiri Maximum Security prison, continues to maintain that the money traced to his family was earned legitimately.

Even today, Abacha loot is still being discovered in sundry places all over the world. Just seven months ago, Switzerland repatriated $320 million worth of Abacha loot, and this is the idiot that President Buhari said did not steal?

What has Ibrahim Magu done to recover the money that is still being held by the Abacha family? What has he done to stem the grand corruption that is ongoing all around President Muham-

Magu madu Buhari?

A month after clear evidence of bullion vans ferrying cash into Asiwaju Tinubu’s house in violation of the 2011 Money Laundering Act making it illegal for individuals to make cash payments exceeding N5,000,000, the EFCC has not said or done anything.

Tinubu Even had audacity to boast that, yes, the bullion vans ferried money and it is no one’s business. This happened 48 hours to an election. If I or any other opposition figure has done this, we would be in jail by now. Why is Tinubu sitting pretty?

A renowned entertainer, Charly Boy admitted to receiving a 9 figure payment from the spokesman to the Buhari campaign, Festus Keyamo. Has the EFCC investigated this? Where does Festus (Stephanie Otobo) Keyamo have N100,000,000 to throw about carelessly?

Till today Ibrahim Magu’s EFCC never investigated the $25 billion NNPC contract awarded without due process. To put this in perspective, that money can pay 1 million Nigerians the proposed new minimum wage of N30,000 for 4 years. To whom was it paid?

Two years after conclusion of investigation, the Buhari administration and the EFCC have still not told us who owns the Ikoyi Apartment Billions. If that money where traceable to Goodluck Jonathan or PDP , the whole world would have heard by now.

Magu said he cannot investigate or prosecute Gov Umar Ganduje because he has immunity, but the same Magu’s EFCC charged Akwa-Ibom Governor, Udom Emmanuel, in the NBA President’s bribery case. No wonder Chibuike Amaechi said APC members are ‘God fearing.

When the Senate tried to prove how Maina, the biggest thief in Nigeria’s civil service history, was reinstated and double promoted, it was Buhari’s Minister of Justice who ran to court to secure an injunction to stop the investigation. Magu didn’t see that?

The truth is that the EFCC under Ibrahim Magu is the armed wing of the APC. No wonder Ibrahim Magu wore a Buhari re-election lapel pin. No wonder his EFCC almost collected a

‘donation’ from Governor Umar Ganduje until a public alarm was raised.

Ibrahim Magu, declared Orji Uzor Kalu wanted one week. The very next week the same Orji Kalu was beside Buhari at an APC rally in Abakaliki. Magu, has shame whatsoever. Of all the EFCC, you are the most useless and hypocritical What has happened to Senator Akpabio’s case? When he was PDP, the EFCC harassed him left, right and centre. Soon as he joined APC you forgot his case. The acting EFCC Chairman should understand that his name is Magu, not Mugu. Can he stop acting like a Mugu.

To show how hypocritical Ibrahim Magu’s EFCC is, they declared Orji Uzor Kalu wanted. The wanted Orji Uzor Kalu was shown dancing with Buhari, was appointed by Aisha Buhari and now wants to be Deputy Senate President. Only under Magu the hypocrite.

The fact remains that Ibrahim Magu is incompetent and both mentally and intellectually unsuited for the job of EFCC Chairman.

Cast your mind to the way he fumbled at simple questions during his Senate confirmation hearing. Unlike Nuhu Ribadu, he does not have the character to stand up to his boss.

Under him, Nigeria has made its worse retrogression in the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index.

Whereas under Jonathan and the PDP, Nigeria made her best ever improvement on Transparency International’s CPI, moving 8 places forward from 144 to 136 in 2014, but under President Buhari and the All Progressives Congress, Nigeria has made her worst ever retrogression, moving backwards 12 places from 136 to 148.

It was under Magu, that the Egmont Group and the Financial Action Task Force suspended Nigeria for lack of autonomy at the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit because Magu’s EFCC kept on unprofessionally using the financial intelligence they were fed to blackmail political opponents of the Buhari government.

I challenge Ibrahim Magu to list his achievements. The only tangible thing I can give him credit for is building the over priced new headquarters of the EFCC at an astonishing N24 billion ($70 million). To put this in perspective, this is more than it cost to build the offices of England’s version of the EFCC who have a larger staff and mandate than the EFCC. It is just that President Buhari runs a nepotistic government. If not, how would a man with such low mentality as Ibrahim Magu ever rise to the top of the EFCC when Nigeria has policemen of such sterling character and courage as CP Mohammed Wakil, the Kano State Commissioner of Police?

Reno’s Nuggets:

Dear wives, don’t just be your husband’s wife. Be his side chick and slay queen. Gym. Look trim. Slow down on carbs. Eat deliciously but healthily. Be proactive in pleasing each other in the bedroom and he won’t have strength to look outside. Dear men, once you marry, avoid being alone with other women. Looking at some women’s BACKSIDE can make you BACKSLIDE. Focus on the back that you have back at home. Don’t allow any EVE’s APPRENTICE make you back out of your marriage vows #RenosNuggets.

PERSPECTIVE

Waiting and Waiting for the Global Renminbi David Lubin ‘Great powers’, says the Nobel-laureate economist Robert Mundell, ‘have great currencies’. So where is China’s?

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n the years following the Great Financial Crisis things seemed to be looking up for the renminbi. By the middle of 2015, almost 30 percent of China’s trade was being settled in renminbi; Hong Kong banks were holding some RMB 1 trillion worth of yuan-denominated deposits; and there was life in the Dim Sum bond market, with issuance running close to $10 billion per month. 2015 was also the year the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that the renminbi would become one of currencies that underpin its own reserve asset, the Special Drawing Rights or SDR. Almost by definition, this step seemed to confer on the renminbi something like the status of a global reserve currency. So the renminbi seemed, to most observers, to be firmly on a path towards real international relevance.

In the past three years, though, grounds for optimism about the renminbi’s global role have proved to be decidedly fragile. These days, the share of China’s trade that is settled in renminbi is less than half of what it was in 2015; the stock of yuan-denominated deposits has fallen to just over RMB 600 billion; and Dim Sum bond issuance late last year was down to $1 billion per month.

It turns out that all the enthusiasm back then about the renminbi’s future was guilty of what philosophers call a ‘categorymistake’. What most people saw as evidence of the renminbi’s internationalization was, in fact, simply evidence of something else: an accumulation of speculative positions built on the expectation that renminbi was going to rise in value. As the renminbi weakened after mid-2015, so too did the market’s willingness to own it and use it.

That’s hardly the mark of a global reserve currency. International

we’re saddled with, it’s the latter that counts. investors want to own dollars or euros, for example, not just And the effort that Chinese regulators have recently made to because they expect these currencies to strengthen, but because they open up China’s securities markets won’t do much to change offer legal security, ease of use and, critically, unrestricted convertthings. Even if the inclusion of Chinese bonds in the three main ibility into any other currency. And it is questions surrounding the global indices – belonging to Bloomberg-Barclays, JP Morgan and renminbi’s full convertibility that are likely to stunt its growth as a FTSE Russell – brings in a few hundred billion dollars-worth of global currency for the foreseeable future. It just happens to be a portfolio inflows over the next couple of years, this doesn’t have fact of life about the current international monetary system that the any real bearing on the renminbi’s future as a global reserve curdefinition of a reserve currency implies a fully convertible one. The rency. After all, foreigners own some 40 percent of the Indonesian problem is that recent years have seen the Chinese government government’s rupiah-denominated debt, and no one would claim pivot away from the idea that the renminbi should be a fully that the rupiah is on course for any global significance. convertible currency.

The good news, in the end, is that there is no law of nature that Back in 2012, the ‘political report’ delivered at the Eighteenth Party Congress included a goal to “gradually realize capital account requires a reserve currency to be a fully convertible one; it simply depends on convertibility”. By 2017, though, officials had decided to drop any convention, or the norms that happen to prevail at a particular reference to capital account opening in the report to the Nineteenth time. The Bretton Woods International monetary system that was Party Congress. This change of heart was captured neatly in 2015 set up at the end of the Second World War, for example, had by the then-People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan, capital controls at its very center. The U.K. had capital controls until who claimed that “the capital account convertibility that China is 1979, and it wasn’t until 1989 that France finally lifted the restricseeking to achieve is not based on the traditional concept of being tions on its citizens’ ability to open bank accounts abroad. fully or freely convertible”. Instead, he said, China would adopt a Incidentally, it was a remnant of the Bretton Woods system that concept of “managed convertibility”. helped to build the case for the renminbi’s inclusion into the IMF’s What “managed convertibility” means, above all, is that the SDR basket a few years ago.

Chinese authorities assert a right to use their discretion to make decisions about which kind of inflows and outflows are ‘good’, and –––David Lubin is a Managing Director and Head of which are ‘bad’. This assertion of the competence of policymakers seems to fit right in with what most people understand as a revival Emerging Markets Economics at Citi Research. He is an Associate Fellow at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of of the party-state under President Xi. And the use of this discretion International Affairs in London. David’s book, “Dance of was on full display in late 2016 and early 2017, when Chinese the Trillions: Developing Countries and Global Finance”, authorities imposed heavy restrictions on the outflow of capital was listed by the Financial Times as one of the best from China. If anything, it seems that Chinese policymakers seem economics books of 2018. more interested in the internationalization of the renminbi than they (Reader should See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com) are in its liberalization. But in the international monetary system

ARTS & REVIEW

THE RIVER NUN CALLED, AND GABRIEL OKARA ANSWERED AT LAST… PAGE 71

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PUBLICATION

31.03.2019

THE URGENCY OF DUKE ASIDERE’S EMOTIONAL STROKES Asidere

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 ˾ MARCH 31, 2019

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ARTS & REVIEW\\EXHIBITION

THE URGENCY OF DUKE ASIDERE’S EMOTIONAL STROKES Duke Asidere, one of the contemporary Nigerian art’s leading lights, relives an emotionally intense period of his life in a solo exhibition that opened yesterday in Victoria Island, Lagos. Okechukwu Uwaezuoke reports

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motionally overwhelmed, Duke Asidere had needed a reprieve.

And he got it in 2004. This was when the Delta State Polytechnic’s art department, which was then recently established, said it desperately needed a visual arts lecturer.Asidere, who had previously lectured atAuchi Polytechnic between 1990 and 1995 with the likes of Sam Ovraiti and Ben Osaghae, thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to work there, albeit for a short period of time.

At that time, he was already established in Lagos as a full-time studio artist. Yet, the polytechnic job, to him, not only offered a chance to impart his skills on the younger generation, but also the opportunity to reflect and heal.

It was during the two years he spent at the tertiary institution that he produced the 150 sketches featured in a solo exhibition, which opened – Saturday, March 30 – at the Hourglass Gallery’s new space along Saka Jojo Street in Victoria Island, Lagos.

Titled Sketches & Therapy, the exhibition also featured a presentation of a book on the sketches compiled by Dozie Igweze, the owner of the gallery. Talking about the book of sketches, it was the fallout of an idea nourished by Asidere and Igweze for many years. The duo thought it would be a great idea to assemble the sketches in a collection rather than have them simply dispersed to individuals. Besides, there was the fact that the public needed more enlightenment about art in general. This enlightenment would, of course, include explaining the creative process, getting acquainted with the ideas that come to play in art and the challenges that dog the creative process.

But then, other duties called and the book project had to be shelved. For Asidere, that meant continuing what he has best been known for: produce art and hold several solo exhibitions.

Igweze, on the other hand, had tasted blood.

The shelved book project gave him other ideas.

One of them was to pen down his first book, titled The Storyteller of Agbarha-Otor – the Visual Tales of Bruce Onobrakpeya. This was a book, which beams the spotlight on the art of the renowned Nigerian artist, Bruce Onobrakpeya, while exploring his early influences and how they impacted on his art.

The idea of the book of sketches was dredged up again in 2016, when both the artist and the dealer finally agreed that the time for it had come.

At last, the collectors would have a chance to enjoy all the works without having to collect them all. Thus, the book, which is Igweze’s second book, offers a fuller picture of the artworks than an aficionado might ordinarily glean from merely

Bitter Orange

looking at a few of the pieces.

Already spurred on by the successful publication of two books, Igweze is already writing a third. And this is on one of the grand old men of Nigerian art, Abayomi Barber.

Close up on the exhibition, which concludes on Saturday, April 6. It lifts the veil on the inner turbulence that once threatened to overwhelm the artist. The viewer gradually comes to terms with the fact that the artist was giving vent to his hitherto pent-up emotions through the sketches. Hence, they aided his bid to regain his sanity and regenerate. Guided by his spontaneous pencil strokes, he wended his way through a maze of confusion as his ever-thirsting spirit groped for an elusive meaning.

Take the series he calls “the Empty Room”, for instance. He lets the viewer into his Spartan-like existence while he lectured at the Delta State Polytechnic. The scantily-furnished room he lived in had only a mattress on the floor and a picture on the wall, among a few other items. The emptiness of this room mirrors the haunting loneliness that drove him to despair.

Indeed, it was as numbingly empty as a his prevailing state of mind.

Call the sketches autobiographical and that wouldn’t be wrong. But, they could also be seen as the artist’s travelogue, in which he shares his unique take on the landscapes and the people he encountered as he

visited the neighbouring communities.

Back then, he had sketched as he explored several locations. These include the main highways of Asaba and its inner roads as well as a mechanic workshop in the city, the rustic communities of Ogwuashi-Uku and UbuluUnor and environs. Then, he also sketched the people he encountered during these explorations, the models in his art classes and his students.

Driven by a sense of urgency, the artist’s pencil strokes tell the story in sketchy forms, shunning the detailed masterly and more photo-realistic approach to drawing. He rather strains to capture the less tangible energy and vitality through his forms, who embody the hope, desperation, optimism and despair of Nigerians.

Besides, how indeed does one transfer emotions into rigid tangible forms? The artist’s choice to make use of pencils as the most instantaneous medium to express them is informed by the fact that much of them would be diluted or even lost in an attempt to express them with more tedious media. No second must be lost.

These sketches, by the way, were never intended as preludes to bigger works. No, the artist sees them as fully-formed works by their own rights. They were just ways to document his fleeting emotional states, which would have

been less spontaneous if he had opted to document them in his oil on canvas paintings. Rather than being preludes to bigger works, some of the sketches are indeed post-mortems for his paintings. Through his bid to recreate the original oil paintings as sketches, he muses about what he could have done differently with them. For instance, could or should he have used different colours?

Born to a father in Lagos in 1961, who worked as a sailor with Elder Dempster, Asidere grew up under the strong influence of his mother. It is this early influence that explains his penchant for depicting women as strong, powerful figures in his paintings. Indeed, the strength and bravery of his female figures are a constant homage to his mother.

Talking about influences, Asidere also gained a lot of artistic insights under the tutelage of the late Gani Odutokun at the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria.

It is to this academic environment that he owes his aversion to conformity.

Later at the Federal Polytechnic in Auchi, he would not only become one of the institution’s leading lights while lecturing there, but also play a significant role in engraving the art school in the annals of the contemporary Nigerian art.

Meanwhile, Sketches & Therapy is the first of the adventurous exhibitions Hourglass hopes to hold in its new space.

APPOINTMENTS

Simon Ikpakronyi Now Heads the National Gallery of Art

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Dr. Ikpakronyi

new helmsman has resumed at the National Gallery of Art. He is Simon Odey Ikpakronyi, who has assumed duty as the acting directorgeneral. Previously, the federal government agency – simply called NGA in the local art circles – was headed by Abdullahi Sabo Muku, whose second tenure as the director-general expired on March 16.

Dr Ikpakroyi holds a Master’s degree and a PhD in art history from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka as well as a master of philosophy (M.Phil.) and a Master of Arts degrees in visual arts: art history (African Studies) from the University of Ibadan. Earlier, he obtained his BA degree from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in the same discipline.

In addition, he holds a certificate of policy, strategy and leadership from the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS), Jos. Before his elevation to the present position, the Director, Planning and Research at the gallery.

Earlier, he served as Director, Planning & Documentation and Director, Educational Services. A foundation staff of NGA, Ikpakronyi worked closely with three DGs in the organisation and has curated several art exhibitions. He has written extensively on modern African Art and that of Nigeria in particular.

Some of his seminal publications are: “Timothy Adebajo Fasuyi: The Doyen of Zaria Art School” in Timothy Adebanjo Fasuyi: A Renowned Artist and Educationist;” Ben Enwonwu: One of the Two Pillars of Nigerian Modern Art” in Ben Enwonwu: Life and Times; “Yusuf Grillo and His Contemporaries in the Growth of Nigerian Art” in Yusuf Grillo: His Life and Works; ”Uche Okeke: Exponent of Drawing in Modern Nigerian Visual Art” in Nku Di Na Mba: Uche Okeke and Modern Nigerian Art; The Zaria Art Society: Insight in the Zaria Art Society: A New

Consciousness; “Kolade Osinowo’s Biography and Interest in Painting” in Osinowo; “Modern Art of Benin Kingdom: Their Classifications and Cultural Relevance” in The Coronation: Art of Benin Kingdom, among others.

The acting DG is a member of such international associations as the Art Council of African Studies Association (ACASA), the International Committee of Museums and Collections of Modern Art (CIMAM) and the International Council of Museums & Art Council or Movements and Sites (ICOM/ICOMS). He also belongs to the Art Historical Association of Nigeria (AHAN), Nigerian Curators’ Guild (NCG), Nigerian Art Studies Association (NASA), Museum Association of Nigeria (MAN) and Pan African Circle of Artists (PACA).

Dr Ikpakronyi is expected to bring his wealth of experience in art theory, practice and management to bear in the repositioning the National Gallery of Art in line with the changing times.

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THE RIVER NUN CALLED, AND GABRIEL OKARA ANSWERED AT LAST… Yinka Olatunbosun writes on the life and times of Gabriel Okara, a pioneering poet and novelist who died on March 25 at his hometown in Bayelsa State.

My river’s calling too!, “Its ceaseless flow impels my found’ring canoe down its inevitable course.

“And each dying year brings near the seabird call, the final call that stills the crested waves and breaks in two the curtain of silence of my upturned canoe.

“O incomprehensible God! “Shall my pilot be my inborn stars to that final call to Thee.

O my river’s complex course?”

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hus, Gabriel Imomotimi Okara concluded his poem, “The Call of the River Nun”. The poem, published in 1957 in the influential University of Ibadan-based African Literature periodical, Black Orpheus, is one of his widely read

poems.

The grand old man of the Nigerian, or indeed African, literary scene breathed his last in the late hours of Sunday, March 24 at the Federal Medical Centre in the Bayelsa State capital, Yenegoa. This was exactly four weeks to his 98th birthday. For, he was born on April 24, 1921 in Bomoundi, Bayelsa.

The poet and novelist, who is often described as the first Modernist poet of Anglophone Africa, had his secondary school education at the Government College, Umuahia. This was the school where such Nigeria’s literary greats as Chinua Achebe, Christopher Okigbo, Elechi Amadi, Chike Momah, Obi Nwakanma, Chukwuemeka Ike, Ken Saro-Wiwa and the virtuoso painter Ben Enwonwu passed through.

He would, subsequently, Afterwards, be enrolled at the Yaba Higher College.

He made an attempt to enlist in the British Royal Air force during the World War II but he didn’t complete pilot training. Instead, he worked for the British Overseas Airways Corporation. In 1945, he got employed as a printer and book binder for colonial Nigeria’s government-owned public company. He was there for nine years. That was when he began to write.

At first, he translated poetry from Ijaw into

Okara English and wrote scripts for government radio. He would later study journalism at Northwestern University, USA (1949) and worked as Information officer for the Eastern Nigerian government service. Like Chinua Achebe, he was roving ambassador for Biafra's cause in the late 60s. He was inspired to be a poet when he read the poem, “Lines Written in Early Spring" by the British Romantic writer, William Wordsworth. In his poem, “The Call of

the River Nun", he appropriated some imagery of some of elements of his hometown, the base of his muse, using symbols of rivers and boats to represent individual destiny and the passage of life and time.

From 1972 and 1980, he was Director of the Rivers State Publishing House in Port Harcourt. His first novel titled, “The Voice" was published in 1964 and had been a subject of literary criticisms amongst scholars of African

literary studies. The theme of the intellectual’s estrangement from the world of power politics.

The work earned international attention and the wind of success following it was cut short with the interruption of the Nigerian civil war.

Many of his unpublished manuscripts were destroyed during the war. After the war’s end, Okara was at the helm of affairs at Nigeria's and indeed Africa's only FM station.

It is considered as a linguistic experiment as Okara translated directly from the Ijo (ijaw) language, imposing ijo (ijaw) syntax onto English to give literal expression to African ideas and imagery. The story's tragic hero Okolo is both an individual and a universal figure and his search for moral values is centre to the work. A part of the African Writers Series, the book itself had been described as a struggle between the forces of darkness and light.

Asides the prose, his fame as a writer grew upon his poetry. Some of the popular ones are Piano and Drums, You Laughed and Laughed and Laughed, Once Upon a Time, As I See it, amongst others. Okara has published two collections of children’s poetry, Little Snake and Little Frog (1992) and An Adventure to Juju Island (1992).

Okara is one of Nigeria's decorated writers.

In 1953, he won the Best all-round entry in poetry at the Nigerian Festival of Arts for the poem, “The Call of the River Nun.” In 1979, he won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize for “The Fisherman's Invocation". Okara co-won the NLNG Prize in 2005 for “The Dreamer, His Vision". In 2009, he was honoured with the Pan African Writers' Association Honorary Membership Award and two years ago, a festival was instituted in his name called, “Gabriel Okara Literary Festival". The University of Port Harcourt had designated him its first Doctor of Letters (honours causa) and writerin-residence. Some critics have claimed that the philosophical depth and primary relevance as well as the topicality of his works embody much sensitivity to the principles of moral order in the society. Before his death, plans were underway in the literary community to celebrate the 55th anniversary of his first novel, The Voice.

Okara lived a quiet private life. Still, he was reportedly married and divorced thrice with children.

TRIBUTE

Okwui Enwezor (1963-2019): Anambra’s Gift to The World of Art C. Don Adinuba

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t is with the deepest grief that the Anambra State government received the news of the untimely passing away of our very own world-class curator, poet, educator and critic, Okwui Enwezor. The inimitable Okwui Enwezor, fondly known as simply “Okwui” in elite art circles all over the world, died of cancer in Munich, Germany, on Thursday, March 15. The 55year old extraordinary artist hailed from Awkuzu in Oyi Local Government area of Anambra State.

Enwezor's transition was one death that sent volcanic shock waves across the continents. He was one of the foremost contributors to the mainstreaming of African art into the global art. He held large scale exhibitions in America, Asia, Africa and Europe, seizing global imagination. Enwezor may well be the proverbial prophet who was respected everywhere except his homeland because little was known about him in Nigeria, but he is widely recognised for his ability to globalise African art the way Professor Chinua Achebe took African literature to the global arena and Professor Kenneth

Onwuka Dike, another great Anambra son, took African history to the global scene.

Enwezor was to African art was Professor Ben Enweonwu, yet another Anambra gift to the world, was to it.

A quintessential Renaissance man, Enwezor was admitted to study at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, but quickly left for the United States where he took a degree in political science at the Jersey City University. He was to serve as the director of the esteemed Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany, until his resignation in 2018, following his battle with cancer. He rose in 1998 to become the first African, and as yet the only non-European Artistic Director, of the prestigious Documenta. Enwezor is reputedly the only curator, after Italy’s legendary Harald Szeeman to have directed both Documenta and the celebrated Venice Biennale. He was the curator in the Seville and Gwangju Biennials in 2006 and 2008 respectively, climaxing his career as the curator of the Paris Triennale in 2012.

Earlier, in 1994, he collaborated with other artists in founding NKA: Journal of Contemporary African Art. He undertook the epochal exhibition In/Sight: African Photographers, 1940 to the Present, which he curated with Octavio Zaya at the Gug-

genheim Museum of New York.

Enwezor’s oeuvre t is a grand testament to social engagement. He used his art and exhibitions to address colossal social issues, ranging from apartheid to Africa's liberation movements to the significance of President Barrack Obama's leadership of the United states. For him, it was not art for art's sake but art in the service of humanity.

Decorated with honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Cape Town in South Africa and Harvard University, Enwezor was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2014 and the Hessichen Kulturpreis in 2015.

Despite his global status, Enwezor was ever conscious of his West African roots.

Even a week to his death, Enwezor was working on an exhibition entitled El Anatsui: Triumphant Scale, an extensive traveling exhibition of the work of Africa’s greatest living artist and emeritus professor at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, El Anatsui, which he co-curated with Professor Chika Okeke-Agulu of Princeton University. The exhibition opened at Haus der Kunst in Munich, Germany.

The Anambra State Government is at once mourning Okwui Enwezor's death and celebrating his rich life. The government will

Enwezor

participate actively in his funeral ceremonies, in line with our tradition of honouring men and women who make extraordinary contributions to our state and humanity.

––Adinuba is the Anambra State Commissioner for Information & Public Enlightenment.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 31, 2019

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

IN THE ARENA

Why Kano Governorship Election Cannot Stand Last week’s governorship supplementary election in Kano State failed all democratic tests and electoral decency, writes Olawale Olaleye

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or the simple reason that it is a critical swing state, elections in Kano State have always generated huge interests across all visible interests and amid key actors. At least, since the advent of the Fourth Republic, no one declared winner of a presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) lost Kano to the opponent.

Kano is and remains crucial, in addition to being well positioned geopolitically.

In Kano, the choice of leaders has always been determined by her people and that choice has never been tampered with so brazenly in a sense that calls their bluff. Indeed, the people of Kano have always boasted that the kind of electoral heist that often characterises other parts of the country especially, the Southern Nigeria was not possible in the North West state. This, they say with enviable sense of pride and huge confidence.

This is not to say that Kano does not encourage some degree of electoral highhandedness, perhaps, to enhance the chances of their choice candidates.

That would be too absolute. Otherwise in what box would the controversial underage voting fit? But while such indulgence is always entertained in unison and collective interest, resort to violence to steal votes has never been part of their political culture. On the contrary, it has always been in protest against stolen votes.

But that confidence and pride of Ganduje place of the Kano people was bruised penultimate weekend, when during the supplementary election for the governorship category of the 2019 elections, the electoral field was ceded to thugs and the choice of who emerged leader of the state was at the mercy of political scoundrels, who intimidated, harassed, maimed, killed and practically dished out orders to electoral officers on the direction they wanted the voting that was to determine the eventual winner of an election that was earlier declared inconclusive.

Not only were there live feeds from the various polling stations and the situation room on what Kano’s political firmament had become on Saturday March 23, eye witnesses accounts of their experience were both gory and scary. Kano was simply thrown to the dogs.

Legitimacy of voting was trampled underfoot and the use of force and violence, assisted by agents of government at both the state and federal level was evident. This is a dangerous

development.

The truth about the Kano election is that it cannot and must be allowed to stand. The implication of allowing the election to stand is that it would be rewarding thuggery, electoral theft and manipulation, abuse of power and office as well as scant regards for simple extant electoral laws. The nation would be the worst for it.

Again, if this electoral malfeasance is allowed to stand, then, a new foundation for electoral fraud might have been laid, with the government in power being genuinely complicit. All it takes for the losing party to do is move in thugs to disrupt an ongoing electoral process with the security agents looking the other way.

This, of course, forces the electoral umpire to declare the exercise inconclusive and whenever the supplementary is called, more thugs are moved in and this time – well planned and more determined to deliver the party with an

advantage – most likely the party in power. This is an anathema and it must not be allowed to stand.

Suffice it to say, however, that what happened in Kano also happened in a few other states and therefore not peculiar to Kano.

But with the standing of Kano in the body polity, it is obvious that the ruling party was determined to have Kano at all cost, even if it meant walking on dead bodies to the government house.

The fact that there was a curiously marked difference in the voting pattern and the scores posted by both parties from when the first ballot held and when the supplementary election was conducted, showed brazen manipulation of the March 23 process particularly, with the outlandish votes recorded in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and against the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the extra polls. It evidenced a poorly orchestrated violence to enhance a premeditated rigging that eventually reproduced the Kano State Governor, Abdulahi Ganduje.

This is not an intervention shrouded in ambiguity – the Kano election must not and cannot stand. Candidate of the PDP, Abba Kabir-Yusuf, must therefore approach the court and seek to correct this anomaly. It is not only that it cannot stand any decent democratic test; it casts an overwhelming pall on the credibility of the current administration of Muhamamdu Buhari, whose sole selling point is integrity.

Although a majority of the people now share the integrity mantra of the government with scorn, to gloss over the Kano mugging will further drag what is left of the hyped integrity in the mud – the mud of shame – if that means anything to them.

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

…And Ganduje Saw Tomorrow

W Ganduje

hen the March 9 governorship election in Kano State was declared inconclusive, because the opposition PDP was in clear lead, but not enough to hand it victory and a new date of March 23 set, embattled Governor Abdulahi Ganduje had told his challengers they would be shocked with the outcome of the supplementary election.

A rather naïve PDP smiled, confident that for as long as the process was free and fair and votes validly considered, the election was already a walkover. But Ganduje knew what he was saying. He had seen the day far ahead

of his opponents and was certain that either by hook or crook he would be returned as governor and the battle would naturally shift to the courts.

If you have heard the story of the conspiracy of the Kano extra poll with respect to the drafting of thugs to the various polling venues the night preceding the elections, then, you would agree that Ganduje, a man battling moral requisite to remain in office, actually saw tomorrow. But what do you expect? Goaded on by the president himself and backed by the entire villa foot soldiers, the outcome of the election was predictable and indeed, the PDP was stunned just as Ganduje had predicted.

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BRIEFINGNOTES Onnoghen: Unpacking the Lies Despite the contradicting claims by the key prosecution witnesses in the trial of the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) on Friday rejected his no-case submission, raising fears that it might be difficult clearing him of what is generally considered official conspiracy, writes Davidson Iriekpen

N

ot many Nigerians were shocked last Friday, when the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) rejected the no-case application filed by the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen to stop his trial. For them, it would be easier for the camel to pass through the eye of a needle than to let Onnoghen off the hook designed for him.

The embattled CJN had dismissed the charges of false asset declaration against him as “useless and invalid”, saying the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) failed to follow its standard operations procedure in raising the charges. He, therefore, argued that he had no case to answer, implying that the charges be dismissed.

But the three-member panel of the tribunal led by Danladi Umar dismissed the application, ordering that he enters his defence against the six-count charge of non-declaration of assets brought against him.

Umar, in the ruling, said the prosecution has provided sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case against the defendant to warrant his being called to enter his defence. He referred to a confessional statement made by the defendant in which he admitted forgetting to declare the five domiciliary accounts he has been operating at Standard Chartered Bank since 2009. He added that the confessional statement was sufficient to warrant the tribunal to ask the defendant to enter his defence if he had any.

The tribunal chairman made a case for the CCB, saying the argument that it failed to abide by its guidelines amounted to a mere internal communication flaw. He said the standard operational procedure of the bureau was faulty and must not be complied with by the prosecution. According to him, the procedure which is internal could not be above the Nigerian constitution.

As soon as Umar was done with the ruling, he adjourned the hearing to Monday, April 1 for the defendant to open his defence. This led to uproar in the courtroom, as lawyers from both sides confronted each other over the decision of the tribunal to give a short adjournment.

Many lawyers in the defence team shouted in protest Onnoghen when Umar ignored appeals by lead defence lawyer, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) that April 1 was too short for where returned assets forms were deposited and registered. the defendant to adequately prepare for his defence. While Responding to another question, the witness said investigaAwomolo was still on his feet, asking the tribunal chairman to tion into the petition against Onnoghen was concluded within allow the defendant sufficient time to prepare, Umar stood up 24 hours, raising question as the why the hurry in a case of and walked away, leaving other members of the tribunal to such magnitude. chase after him.

Drama, however, started when Awomolo confronted the A dejected Awomolo accused Umar of oppressing the witness with the charge against Onnoghen, proof of evidence, defence. As Umar and the two other members of the tribunal list of exhibits and witnesses, which were all dated January 10, walked away, Awomolo said: “If this is justice, then, God bless when investigation into the petition had not been completed, Nigeria.” indicating a premeditated prosecution.

Specifically, the defence questioned the speed in the trial Also, when the witness attempted to deny the involvement when the tribunal could have given them enough time to of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in prepare their case. the CCB investigation, he was confronted by Awomolo with Onnoghen is standing trial on a six-count charge of nondocuments from Standard Chartered Bank, addressed to the declaration of assets brought against him by the CCB. His travail started when one Dennis Aghanya, sent a petition signed EFCC but tendered by the witness.

In all, the witness said he was not aware that the by himself and on behalf of Anti-Corruption and Research charges against the CJN were filed before the completion of the Based Data Initiative to the CCB, alleging that the CJN did investigation and declined comments on the bank’s document not declare his assets. This led to his suspension from office by addressed to EFCC. President Muhammadu Buhari following a contentious exparte From his testimony, it was clear that the charges against order by Umar.

Onnoghen were filed before investigation commenced, which In spite of a series of litigations challenging the constitutionalto many observers, showed that there was an ulterior motive in ity of the presidential action and jurisdiction of the tribunal the prosecution of the CJN. to hear the case, the trial finally commenced on March 18, Akpala’s testimony was a tip of the iceberg as revelations of with a lot of dramas and revelations that dumbfounded a lot the 2nd witness, Awal Yakassi on March 22, put further dent of Nigerians, who were anxiously waiting to see the federal to the prosecution. Under cross-examination, he messed up government prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. the case for the government, when he denied allegations that It was not until the trial commenced that Nigerians realised Onnoghen did not declare his assets in 2016. He admitted that how empty and hollow the charges against Onnoghen were. two assets declaration forms submitted by the CJN three years First, the prosecution which said it would call six witnesses to ago have till date not been verified by the Code of Conduct prove its case against the embattled CJN, surprisingly, sensing Bureau. that it was a lost battle, abruptly retreated and announced that Yakassi, a retired director of the CCB, when his attention was it was closing the case after they finished cross-examining only drawn to the column for remarks, admitted that no comment three witnesses. was made on the verification column indicating that the forms The first sign that the federal government was on mission to had not been verified. Fielding questions, he further confirmed destroy the career of Justice Onnoghen came when the 1st witfrom the forms that Onnoghen has only five houses contrary to ness, Mr. James Akpala, a Senior Investigative Officer with the allegation of 55 and that one of the houses was sold to him by CCB, in his evidence-in-chief informed the tribunal that he did the federal government. not know whether the CCB had a central registry and register

The climax of the case was when Ifeoma Okeagbue, a Relationship Manager with Standard Chartered Bank mounted the witness box.

Contrary to the allegations that Onnoghen had billions stashed in his accounts, Nigerians were shocked when the witness reeled off his accounts and the amounts therein.

For instance, she revealed that the CJN had five accounts. While three of the accounts are domiciliary, two are naira accounts. The three domiciliary accounts are euro, dollar, and pound sterling. The naira accounts are one savings and one current. She added that the accounts were not foreign accounts as alleged, adding that no foreign transfer was made into and out of the accounts.

Okeagbue disclosed that as at December 2018, one of the naira accounts had N2.6 million while the other had N12.8 million, the euro account as at December 2018, 10,187 euros, the pounds Sterling accounts as at December 2018, had 13,730 pounds and the dollar account as at January 2019 has $56, 878.

Reading from the statements of the accounts earlier admitted as exhibits, Okeagbue said, “On the account 5001062686, the opening balance in January 2018 was €30,178.58. As at December 2018, the balance was €10,187.18. On account 5001062693, at January 2018, it was with opening balance of N6,411,312.77. At December 2018, the balance was N12,852,580.52.

“On account 5001062679, the opening balance as at January 2018 was £39,456.08 and by December 2018 the balance was £13,730.70.

On account 0001062667, the opening balance as at January 2018 was N24,280,904 and as at December 2018, the balance was N2,656,019.21.

On account 0001062650, as of January 2018, the opening balance was $80,824.25, and by January 2019, the balance was $56,878.”

The witness said she met the defendant once in 2015 in her capacity as a Relationship Manager.

She also confirmed that the five accounts have one Bank Verification Number (BVN).

The killer punch, perhaps, was when Okeagbue admitted that Onnoghen has a facility of $500,000 as at January 2019 with the bank secured by his investment in bonds and other investment. She further admitted that the embattled as a disciplined account holder, was encouraged by bank to invest in profit-yielding investment with interests in the investment regularly credited to his account, adding that the bank made investment on Onnoghen’s behalf from his account.

Perhaps, thoroughly embarrassed by the revelations, the witness had hardly concluded when the prosecution counsel immediately announced the closure of his case.

At this juncture, a bewildered Awomolo informed the tribunal of his intention to invoke section 303 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015. He pleaded that he be allowed to prepare a written address that would enable him file a no-case submission.

He also urged the tribunal chairman to order the registry to make record of proceedings available to him to guide him in the written address. With the prosecution not objecting to the application, the tribunal chairman, Umar ordered the registry to avail parties in the matter with the record of proceedings.

To many analysts, the testimonies put a huge lie to all the allegations against Onnoghen. It also showed that the federal government had other motives in moving against the CJN other than fighting corruption.

To them, the big question that still begs for answers is the demand that Aghanya faces Nigerians with proofs of his allegations against Onnoghen. They also want him to tell Nigerians the reality of his claims of financial impropriety against the CJN and how he laid his hands on Onnoghen asset declaration forms given that the law establishing the CCB does not allow any official of the Bureau to release an asset declaration form to anyone. This is moreso as there has not been any evidence of a Freedom of Information request from Aghanya to the CCB to make Onnoghen’s asset declaration forms available to him or any member of his supposed anti-corruption group.

Despite the fact that before the very eyes of the agents of the federal government, the allegations leveled against Onnoghen came crashing down like a pack of cards, Umar still rejected the no-case submission, giving the impression that there was more to the trial than the allegations of corruption against the CJN.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 31, 2019

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Return of Herdsmen’s Menace Soon after the presidential and national assembly elections, the herdsmen returned to their nefarious activities in different parts of the country and this time even more emboldened. George Okoh writes

O

n January 1, 2018, marauding herdsmen had attacked and killed 73 persons in Guma and Logo Local Government areas of Benue State. The killings generated a deafening outcry from residents of the state, which attracted world condemnation. In May, two Catholic priests were murdered in Mbalon, Gwer Local Government Area of the state.

These two killings and many others in Agatu, Buruku, Makurdi and Okpokwu LGAs aggravated and created tension in the relationship between residents of Benue State and the grazing Fulani herdsmen. An urgent solution to the crises was sought with several points raised on how to mitigate the killings of innocent Benue people.

While the federal government proposed cattle colonies as solution to the situation, the activities of the herdsmen continued with the usual attack on host communities and farmers. Their modus operandi was to attack communities and kill at the slightest provocation.

The herdsmen were in crisis with farmers, who bitterly complained of large acre of their farm lands being destroyed by herds. And to curtail the destructive activities of the herders, the Benue State Government enacted a bill, which as passed by the Benue Assembly, bans open grazing in the state. The law also encourages ranching as an alternative to grazing.

But rather than see the law in the view of the state government, the herdsmen resisted it while they continued to cause sorrow and tears to their host.

A member of the cattle breeders association, Mr. Darius Gololo had complained that the law was extreme and was done to chase the Fulami herdsmen from the state. Benue thus became a killing field following the many killings that occurred after the law came into effect.

To forestall further killings, the state government appealed to the federal government to beef up security in and around the state. But the federal government responded by sending a special exercise known as Ayime Kpatoma (Exercise Cat Race) and later sent in a special task force known as Operation Whirl Stroke, headed by Major General Adeyemi Yekini. The efssence of the operation was able to bring peace back to the state.

In late 2018, general Yakini and his men were able to flush out killer herdsmen from the state. The government was also determine to enforce the law, when the state livestock guards impounded 105 cows over open grazing.

The impounded 105 cows and four sheep were caught grazing openly near Akawe Torkula College of Advanced and Professional Studies School, Makurdi.

Confirming the Development, Commander of the Livestock Guards, Mr. Linus Zaki, disclosed that one herder named Kunje Saija was also arrested in the course of the operation. He explained that in accordance with the Benue State Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, the impounded cows would be quarantined for seven days before being auctioned, if the owners fail to pay the fines stipulated by the law.

He cautioned herdsmen against the consequences of flouting the law, stressing the need for ranching of all forms of livestock in the state.

Governor Samuel Ortom of the state recently restated the commitment of Benue State Government to the full implementation of the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law. He also emphasised that anyone, who violated the law would be prosecuted. But many sources have attributed the return of the killer herdsmen to politics while others thought it was due to seasonal migration of herds due to the whether condition up north.

Usually, during the dry season, the availability of fresh grasses and water bodies in the up north becomes very difficult and the herders have to migrate to where they could get food and water.

With the success of the operation and when everyone in the state thought the dark days of the deadly herdsmen were over, however, at the turn of 2019 the herdsmen appeared to be back with renewed violence.

On Wednesday, February 20, 16 persons in Ebete, under Usha ward in Agatu LGA were killed. The unprovoked attack on Agatu people started at exactly 1am, when people were deeply asleep.

According to an eye witness, Daddy Seni, whose father was also killed alongside his siblings, he left his father at Ebete while heading to Aloko for fishing when he received call from his father asking him to turn that he had been shot by Fulani herdsmen.

On reaching where his father was lying in the pool of blood about giving up, he was going to take him to the hospital when he heard a voice from his father saying, “my son, don’t bother about me and your siblings again, ours have finished, we can’t survive this gunshots, run for your dear life to tell others about this,” then he gave up.

The deceased’s son who narrated the incidence to Agatu Council Chairman, Alhaji Oyigocho, who in turn rushed to Ebete with some Council members alongside security men, said he heard the killers speaking Fulani language while trying to run from the scene as he (Seni) hid himself in the bush.

He said, among the sixteen persons that were murdered, three were Jukum hunters, who were hunting animal before they met their untimely death while two of the Jukum hunters who couldn’t die immediately but sustained bullet wounds were rushed to nearby hospital.

Reacting to the unfortunate incidents, Oyigocho appealed to the government to quickly come to their aids, saying, this is happening at a time Nigerians are preparing to elect their new leaders, adding that if the situation continued, it would disorganise so many things.

Herdsmen plying their trade

Ortom He said his people had never taken laws into their hands despite provocations from herdsmen whom he said had taken over farm lands in most parts of Agatu land, which he spoke about recently on the radio.

Also in Logo LGA, one Iorwuese Myaga, a father of seven in Anawah settlement, Ukemberagya Gaambe-Tiev Logo Logo local government area of the state, was murdered by the herdsmen.

According to a source in the community, the victim was killed on his farm by the armed herders, where he had gone to harvest his crop.

The murder of Myaga came less than one week after troops of the joint military Operation Whirl Stroke, engaged armed militant herdsmen in fierce gun battle in Anyiibe in the same Logo local government area.

Two weeks later, more than 16 people were killed by suspected herdsmen in Agagbe, Gwer West local government areas of Benue State.

General Yekini said only seven (7) corpses had been recovered by his men in what he described as a reprisal attack.

Sub-sector commander of OPWS, Flying Officer Mohammed Abubakar, who spoke to Journalists while Yekini was briefing newsmen, said some of his reliable sources from Agagbe came to inform him that some men dressed in military uniform were sighted in Agagbe forest rustling cows and he quickly mobilised his men to the area and fight started, adding they found three (3) dead bodies, which were later taken to a hospital in the area.

He also said they embarked on a search as well as carried out investigation and discovered that those behind the rustling of cows were members of the livestock guards.

“We later traced them to Ter Nagi’s Palace and discovered 22 cattle there but he claimed that cattle belonged to him. Thereafter, we made contact with the DPO, who equally identified the rustlers as members of the Livestock Guard, who disguised in military uniform to rustle cattle and butchered them for sale at the Naka market. As I speak with you, they are selling the meat at the market. The DPO also gave names of seven (7) persons who are members of the Livestock Guard involved in the rustling.

“Just this afternoon, our men went on mop-up patrol and discovered four additional dead bodies at the scene of the incident,”

expressing regrets that some unforeseen forces were deliberately trying to cause chaos in the state.

The Ter Nagi Chief, Daniel Abomtse, also reported heavy attacks in some communities in his domain.

According to him, OPWS has been helpful to them but that sometimes, troops of the operation also killed cows belonging to herdsmen and chased them away only for them to come in a reprisal attack on his subjects.

He alleged that four out of seven districts in his domain had been taken over by the herdsmen and appealed to the federal government to deploy or station a military post at Agagbe to avert further attacks.

Chairman of Gwer West Local Government Area, Francis Ayaga confirmed that 16 persons were killed by suspected herdsmen and that three communities were attacked Yet again, in a few weeks after, the herdsmen invaded Tser Uoreleegeb in Ubabai council ward of Guma and killed ten people. According to locals, the gunmen stormed the village and shot ten people dead.

“The incident happened on Tuesday night, and the people were sleeping outside the house, because of heat, when the gunmen came to the community. The gunmen shot at the people and immediately ran away, so no one can say who was responsible for the killing,” the local said.

Chairman, Guma Local Government, Richard Shior, confirmed the development when he said a community was attacked in his council area late hours of Tuesday and killed ten people.

“A day before Tuesday, someone had been killed by herdsmen before the incident at Tser Uoreleegeb. It is the same herdsmen that went to this community on Tuesday night and killed ten people, who were sleeping outside. The corpses are being burned as am talking to you now. This is because the villagers said that they should bring the corpses for burial,” Shior said.

Spokesman for Benue State command, DSP, Catherine Anene said also that, “The Divisional Police Officer in Guma just confirmed the incident. He said he found five corpses at the time he got to the burial site.

In a related development, officials of Myetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) in Benue State have alleged that soldiers killed two of their herders at the Adeke area of Makurdi metropolis. The Chairman, Haruna Ibi, in company with his officials, said the bodies of those killed had been retrieved for burial after the matter was reported to the police.

One of the association’s officials, Ardo of Otukpo, Risku Mohammed, said the deceased were members of his branch and that they were with their cows at about noon, when the soldiers allegedly accosted them, killed and burnt their bodies. Mohammed said that the matter had already been reported to the police.

But leader of a patrol team of the Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), Flight Lieutenant, Abubakar Mohammed, who patrolled the Adeke surrounding where the incident happened, denied knowledge of the killings or burning of any corpse.

He said “I led my team on patrol of the area then and in the course of our routine patrol, we came across herders with over 500 cows. As soon as they sighted us, they opened fire on us. So, my troops replied and then we left the axis.”

Corroborating the story, General Yekini posited that his men have continued to suffer such encounters with herders on a regular basis such that on sighting troops on patrol, they would open fire on them.

“This is the kind of encounter we face everyday, whereby herders open fire on our troops. When they (herders) kill us, nobody sympathises with us and nobody cares to hear our side of the story.”

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Ortom

Jime

How Allied Forces Defeated Federal Might in Benue Benue State’s governorship election was a major contest between allied forces in the state and agents of the federal government, writes George Okoh

T

he gubernatorial election in Benue State has come and gone, but the ripple effects of the intrigues, propaganda and subterfuge are still being felt across the state and particularly, the manner and ways the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) forces in the state led by Governor Samuel Ortom defeated the much avowed federal might.

In the run-up to the March 9 governorship and house of assembly elections, palpable fear and apprehension was the order of the day as the state government had raised the alarm that the federal government had planned to deliver the state to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The reasons for the fears were not far-fetched. Ortom, who was elected governor on the APC platform in 2015, had left the party due to some irreconcilable differences between the governor and his erstwhile godfather, Senator George Akume.

A reliable source told THISDAY that Ortom had fallen out with top notch members of the APC at the state and federal level due to his altercation with the federal government over the implementation of a law banning open grazing by herdsmen in Benue State.

The state government had implemented the law following incessant killings attributed to killer herdsmen. The herdsmen union led by the Miyeti Allah had kicked and resisted the law, stating that it was too extreme.

The federal government was perceived by Ortom and a majority of Benue people to have sided with the herdesmen following their inability to curtail the killings.

The APC, on the other hand, felt the resistance put up by the governor was a ploy to de-market the party and federal government in the state. The governor and the APC eventually parted ways, with Ortom joining the PDP. His decision irked the leadership of the APC led by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, who threw caution to the wind, levying several allegations of corruption and embezzlement of funds against Ortom. He equally accused the governor of being behind the killings in the state, using militias and livestock guards. Ortom has since dragged Oshiomhole to court over his allegations.

With Ortom dumping the APC, the party handed over its ticket to Emmanuel Jime, who was viewed as a reputable and serious challenger to displace Ortom.

Armed with what has become a sing-song in the state known as the federal might, Jime, a two-time member of the House of Representatives and current Chief Executive of Nigeria Export Promotion Zone Authority (NEPZA), boasted a rather solid team.

With a running mate in the person of a former minister of state for Niger Delta, Dr. Sam Ode; Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbe; former deputy governor of Benue State, Chief Steven Lawani; Chief Jack Tilly Gyado; Nigeria’s Ambassador to Russia, Professor Steve Ugba; former speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly, Terhemen Tarzoor; retired Generals Lawrence Onoja, Indir Garba and Steve Adah – all led by Akume, nothing was spared in the onslaught against Ortom.

The team went round the state preaching the mantra of change. They accused Ortom of over-dramatising the herdsmen crises with songs mocking the governor. They also hinged their campaign on the inability of the governor to clear outstanding salaries owed workers and pensioners.

However, the most potent of the APC plans to capture the

state, according to the PDP, was the alleged use of federal might.

Supporters and some bigwigs of the APC had bragged that Buhari and Abuja would subdue the PDP and ensure victory was delivered to the party.

Some even alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the police and the military had been put on standby to work and deliver the APC. Also, the PDP at several fora gave credence to the allegation before the March 9 and March 23 supplementary elections.

But Ortom had insisted that the APC was only delaying the evil day against them by trying to use federal might in the state.

The governor was however miffed when nine commissioners of police were deployed to the state for security purposes for the election.

Eventually, when the elections were shifted by two weeks, the governor condemned the INEC for the postponements, saying whether they shifted it or not, the Benue People and Nigerians would still reject them at the polls.

He stated that the postponement was planned as evidenced in the statement credited to the leader of the APC in the state, Akume that they would cause the election to be postponed and write results. The governor described the development as unfortunate, saying for the INEC to postpone the election it took more than three years to plan few hours to the commencement of voting when people had travelled from far places to exercise their franchise was a rape of democracy.

He stated that the action was a grand plan by the APC-led federal government to rig the election, noting however that Benue State and the North Central in general was vigilant and would not allow any form of rigging during the polls.

He added that the people of North Central Zone were prepared for a free, fair, credible and transparent election that would usher in leaders, who will anchor the Nigerian democracy based on the rule of law compared to the APC, where there is no regard for the rule of law.

“Dictatorship and nepotism among others were major characteristic of the present APC-led government at the centre, where the constitution of the country is no longer respected”, Ortom said, saying the party was just delaying the evil day against them.

According to the governor, the APC which has the resources and claims to be fighting corruption is the worst culprit of corruption in the history of Nigeria, saying it was insensitive to postpone an election the way and manner the umpire body had done.

He noted that he was ready to sacrifice the last drop of his blood to ensure democracy thrives in Nigeria, pointing out that democracy remains the only option that could give liberty to Nigerians and add value to the development of the country.

Ortom urged President Muhammadu Buhari to remember the words of the late elder statesman, Maitama Sule, who told him when he went to congratulate him on his victory in 2015 that he should ensure his leadership was anchored on the rule of law, truthfulness and integrity, where the interest of Nigerians would be protected far and above personal interest.

The PDP also alleged that the APC had planned to use security forces to rig the election.

“It has become necessary to alert Nigerians particularly, the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), Security agencies as well as Local and International Observers on plans hatched by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to rig the March 9, 2019

Governorship and State Assembly elections in Benue State.”

THISDAY learnt that defeated Akume had told his supporters during an exclusive meeting that he had requested for military personnel from the federal government to enable the party rig the coming elections in its favour.

Part of the plot, THISDAY learnt, was to use the military to disrupt the elections, chase away voters in areas considered to be strongholds of PDP and allow rigging by APC. Akume allegedly boasted during the meeting that there would be no voting in the state on March 9 as the APC would ensure that the party got massive votes through alternative means.

He allegedly repeatedly stated that the party would not allow free and fair elections in the state, anchoring his ‘confidence’ on what he and his supporters called “federal might”.

They believed that the APC-controlled federal government would send security operatives to help them subvert the electoral process in Benue State, and that if PDP felt aggrieved the party would go to court in the worst case scenario,” Spokesman of the PDP, Mr Bemgba Iyortium, said.

Armed with these evidence that the federal might could be real, the governor allegedly reached out to his lieutenants and PDP stalwarts such as Senator David Mark, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, Dr. Gabriel Suswam, Abah Moro, Oker Jev, retinue of aides and his media team to carry out a well-tailored campaign that bordered on exposing the federal government and its allies.

They went to the nooks and crannies of the state, preaching and acknowledging governor Ortom as a defender of the Benue valley from the marauding herdsmen. The governor and his team met with civil servants and pensioner, promising to pay all outstanding salaries and pension owed them.

He also reached out to the religious groups, which often offered prayers for his success. The traditional institutions were not left out. The governor and his team reached out to whoever could be reached with promises of a better Benue if re-elected.

Luckily for the governor, some factors played out in his favour.

First, two of the senatorial zones within the PDP – the Benue North east and the Benue South west – were of the opinion that the governorship position would get to them easily in 2023 if governor Ortom was re-elected rather than allow Jime, who might seek another term after 2019.

As such, the people of Benue North east came out massively to vote for Ortom. In Benue South west, the governor was neck and neck with the APC, which won the majority votes in majority of the 9 local governments. In the Benue North central, Ortom dominated, winning in Guma, Gwer, Buruku and Gboko.

At the end of the elections, PDP won the presidential election by a margin of over ten thousand votes, and also won all the three (3) Senatorial seats, as well as six (6) out of the 11 House of Reptresenttive seats in the State, while APC won only one.

At the Governorship and State Assembly elections, Ortom was in clear lead with 410,576 over his closest rival Emmanuel Jime of the APC, who scored 329,022 votes, before INEC declared the election inconclusive and ordered a supplementary election for March 23. The margin between Ortom and Jime stood at 81,554 votes. And out of 30 state assembly seats, PDP won 26.

The PDP and Ortom however triumphed at the poll and the clear defeat of the federal might indicated that either the state APC failed to use the might available to it or the grand work by Ortom and his men was rather too much for the APC to undo.

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Zamfara APC’s Self-inflicted Quandary The legal quandary, which the All Progressives Congress has found itself in Zamfara State, was not only avoidable, but self-inflicted, writes Tobi Soniyi

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iling multiple cases on same subject matter often results in confusion. This explains why many people do not understand the issues in dispute among members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara State.

The crisis in Zamfara APC can be traced to the aborted congress of 2018. The governor, Abdul’Aziz Yari wanted affirmation during the congress but a faction led by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Kabiru Marafa, said the condition for adopting affirmation did not arise.

Eventually, the congress did not hold, because the governor would not allow congress to take place.

Marafa cried foul and appealed to the leadership of the party to intervene. That appeal went unheeded.

Had the leadership of the party resolved the crisis that erupted during the congress, APC would not have had any difficulty conducting primaries in Zamfara. As was the case in Ogun, Imo and Rivers States, the APC leadership’s failure was in full display in Zamfara.

The warring factions maintained their respective positions and ensured that no valid primaries were conducted to elect the party’s standard bearers for the national assembly, governorship and house of assembly elections. Attempts to hold the primaries at different times were stalled following clashes between supporters of the governor and Senator Marafa.

But the governor was determined to have his way and was able to maneuver his allies in the party hierarchy at the national level. But again, Marfa raised the alarm, warning that the party would not be able to present candidates for the 2019 elections if the leadership of the APC did not call Yari to order. For the umpteenth time, he was ignored.

However, Yari eventually submitted a list of candidates to INEC but the commission refused to act on it. For one, the time within which the commission stipulated for political parties to submit the list of candidates had lapsed. Second, the commission was of the view no valid primary was conducted.

When the leadership of the party failed them, members went to court. Marafa and co filed a suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja while those loyal to Yari chose to file their case before a Zamfara State High Court.

Coincidentally, both courts delivered judgment on the same day: January 25th, 2019.

Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, of the federal high court said it was not the fault of INEC that APC failed to conduct a valid primary within the scheduled period.

Ojukwu said INEC’s action was intended to curb impunity among political parties and politicians.

She consequently restrained INEC from accepting the list of candidates, which Yari claimed emerged from a purported primary held on October 7, 2018.

The court in Zamfara ordered INEC to accept the list.

It became confusion galore.

Appeals and counter-appeals were filed by the parties before the Abuja and the Sokoto divisions of the Court of Appeal. This further complicated what ordinarily should have been a simple matter for the leadership of the APC to resolve.

The President’s Failed Promise

On February 11, while campaigning for his reelection in Gusau, the Zamfara State capital, President Muhammadu Buhari, said the crisis would be resolved before the elections. This, however, did not happen as no concrete steps were consciously taken to call the warring factions to order. Buhari was unable to present the party’s flag to APC’s governorship candidate in Zamfara, because there was none.

A Call for Postponement

Following a judgment by the Sokoto Division of the Court of Appeal delivered on February 13, 2019, dismissing one of the appeals on the ground that the appellant has filed an application to withdraw same, the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, wrote to INEC asking the commission to postpone election in Zamfara.

The AGF erroneously took the view that the dismissal of the appeal amounted to upholding some applications filed under the dismissed appeal. One of such motions asked the appellate court to temporarily validate the APC Zamfara primaries and allow those who emerged therein to participate in the election.

The AGF cited sections 38 and 39 of the Electoral Act. Both sections envisage a situation, where “at

Yari the close of nomination, there is no candidate validly nominated, the commission shall extend time for the nominations and fix a new date for the election.”

But the Marafa faction countered the AGF. The group stated that parties were already in court while other political parties nominated their candidates. The group’s lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, SAN, wrote to INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu urging him to discountenance the AGF advice.

INEC thus refused to postpone election in Zamfara.

It also insisted that APC had no candidate in the state.

jurisdiction to entertain the suit and that its judgment should be declared null and void.

The appellate court in a judgment delivered by Justice Shaibu Yakubu, held that the Zamfara State High Court failed to evaluate wholly all evidence

A Lifeline of Sorts

On February 21, 2019, the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal filed by APC challenging the judgment of Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which held that APC did not conduct a valid primary in Zamfara. The appeal was dismissed based on the party’s application to withdraw same. The appellate court, however, held that a cross appeal filed by Yari and other members loyal to him partially succeeded and went ahead to set aside the decision of the lower court on jurisdiction.

However, the judgment was neither direct nor specific on whether the list of candidates should be accepted by INEC. The warring parties gave different interpretations to suit themselves. APC said the judgment had paved the way for its candidates to contest while Marafa and his supporters argued that the status quo should be maintained.

To err on the side of caution, INEC listed the candidates from Yari’s list. They participated in the election and won massively.

And Now, the Bombshell!

On Monday March 25, the Sokoto Division of the Court of Appeal set aside the judgment of the Zamfara State High Court, which allowed APC to field candidates in the 2019 elections in Zamfara State. While ruling on the appeal filed by Marafa and 129 others, the appellate court gave a judgment that rattled the APC. Marafa and others had approached the appeal court and argued that the state high court lacked the

Meeting of the APC leaders

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CICERO/ISSUE t ‘ZAMFARA APC’S SELF-INFLICTED QUANDARY t Continued from Page 76 presented before it before giving its verdict on the APC primaries in the state.

Justice Yakubu, who delivered the lead judgment of the court, said all evidence placed before the court had shown that the respondents (APC and others) did not conduct primary elections, which accordingly, contravened the electoral law.

His Lordship also noted that the party had made two unsuccessful attempts to conduct primaries in the state and list of candidates was not duly submitted to INEC by the national headquarters of the party.

His Lordship held: “We have looked at the exhibits 4, 7 and 8 which are very clear that primary election was not conducted. Evidence shows that the state governor only appointed a special committee that later came up with candidates’ names in place of primary elections. So far, all evidence constituted that primary election was not conducted which contravened the electoral law.”

The judge also faulted the lower court for relying heavily on oral evidence in taking its decision, saying “oral evidence cannot be used to discredit any written evidence. A procedure must be followed whether there is an order or not. This court hereby sets aside the judgment of the trial court. This must be a hard and bitter lesson for all political parties, who will not follow the guidelines before them,” part of the judgment read.

The court, however, ruled in favour of the respondents on jurisdiction. It held that the trial judge had power to determine such a case in accordance with the law. The respondents are Kabiru Liman-Danalhaji and 139 others. They were represented by Mr. Mahmud Magaji, SAN.

Supreme Court to the Rescue

The Zamfara governor-elect and those elected into the state’s house of assembly may still be saved. That is, if the Supreme Court rules in their favour. Last Tuesday, the state governor said he would challenge the Court of Appeal judgment, adding that he would approach the Supreme Court for interpretation of the appeal court ruling and for better understanding.

“I think it is better for us to go to the Supreme Court so that the court can be able to explain what the judgment is about. In the entire judgment, there is no order or directive of what to be done or what not to be done.”

The governor also noted that the judgment did not make any pronouncement regarding the National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections in the state.

Put Something on Nothing

If not for the judgment of the Zamfara State High Court, the APC would not have fielded candidates for the governorship and the state house of assembly election. Therefore, when that judgment was set aside, the basis upon which the APC candidates participated in the election had been extinguished.

In the words of the counsel to the appellants,

Ozekhome, “To situate the aforesaid development in its true legal perspective, it follows that all the candidates of the APC, who purportedly participated in the Governorship and State Assembly elections held on 9th March, 2019, were never candidates in the eye of the law and the purported elections are therefore null, void and of no effect whatsoever.”

Another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dayo Akinlaja said except the Supreme Court set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal, INEC would have to conduct fresh election in Zamfara State.

Akinlaja said the implication of the Appeal Court judgment was that the people of Zamfara had not been given the opportunity to elect those who should govern them and that for them to be given the opportunity, a fresh election would have to take place.

Akinlaja’s view was in tandem with Ozekhome’s.

Ozekhome contended that by the unanimous judgment of the Court of Appeal, Sokoto, APC’s purported primaries for the governorship and assembly elections had been set aside and quashed in its entirety in very clear and lucid terms.

He said: “The legal import of the said judgment is that the so-called primaries allegedly held by the Zamfara State chapter of the APC, rather than the national body of the APC, as a legal entity, and on which all the candidates hinged their candidacy has now been effectively and totally nullified.

“Consequently, it goes without saying and indeed follows as the night follows the day, that everything that was founded on the said flawed APC primaries was null, void and of no effect whatsoever. This is because the very pillar on which it rested has now legally collapsed by the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Sokoto Division.

“The foregoing is in accord with law and simple logic as it is naturally impossible to place something on nothing and expect it to stand; it must collapse like a pack of cards.”

In his views, Dr. Tunji Abayomi likened the situation in Zamfara to a building with a faulty foundation, adding that it would surely collapse and that by the judgment, there was no lawful primary and there could not be lawful elections in the state.

“You cannot build something on nothing”, he added.

Another SAN, Joe Agi, said INEC should not delay in withdrawing certificates of return it issued to APC candidates in the elections as the judgment was in tandem with its (INEC) earlier position that the APC was not qualified to contest the elections in the first place.

He stated that conducting primaries was a prerequisite for qualifying to contest any election and since the APC did not conduct any primaries it was not qualified to participate in the elections.

“INEC should withdraw their certificates of return from the candidates immediately. INEC has said that APC was not qualified and that the party did not have candidate in the elections, because they did not conduct primaries in accordance with the law.

“Invariably the judgment of the Appeal Court

confirms the position of INEC before that judgment came from Zamfara High Court. So, INEC should go back to the position it has taken prior to the election”, he said.

The senior lawyer further submitted that INEC did not need to wait for any appeal to the Supreme Court before withdrawing its certificates of return since the matter was not an election matter where the law provides for 21 days within which to appeal.

For Mr. Ebun Adegboruwa, the implication of the judgment is that there was total leadership vacuum in Zamfara State. He said the judgment was a lesson for Nigeria leaders, especially political leaders that the Judiciary cannot be taken for granted.

“It is a clear message to our leaders that they cannot continue to take the judiciary for granted. If politicians take judiciary for granted then they will pay for it in this manner.

“Most of the cases in court are due to impunity of the leadership of the party. The ruling APC needs to put its house in order. You cannot continue with impunity, because you are in power. That is the message the judiciary is sending to political parties. Once a case is in court, the party should resolve it or wait for the determination of the case. Politicians should learn lessons and play by the rules,” Adegboruwa advised.

Echoing similar sentiment, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Anambra, Mr. Oseloka Obaze said: “In the fullness of time, one redeeming value of the fractious 2019 elections is that it would have offered the Nigerian judiciary a fortuitous window of opportunity to redeem itself and affirm the doctrine of separation of powers in our democracy. Judicial rulings on Osun and Zamfara represent positive redemptive values.”

INEC Suspends Issuance of Certificates of Return

While Yari and co were preparing to lodge an appeal at the Supreme Court, INEC had taken the decision to suspend the issuance of certificates of return to elected APC candidates in Zamfara.

The commission said the suspension was in obedience to the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Sokoto, which set aside the judgment of the Zamfara High Court that allowed the APC to field candidates for the March 9, elections in Zamfara.

“INEC has been served with the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Sokoto concerning the sponsoring of candidates by the APC in Zamfara and is studying same. Consequently, the presentation of certificates of return for the Zamfara governorship and state House of Assembly scheduled for Wednesday 27 has been suspended,” the commission said.

The problem in APC is a microcosm of the challenge the ruling party is having in governance.

No one should expect a ruling party that can’t discipline its members, to organise congresses and conduct primary elections to provide good governance.

It is simply a case of nemo dat quod non habet, which literally means no one can give what they do not have.

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ATale Long Foretold: How Abubakar Lost Bauchi Bauchi State Governor, Mohammed Abubakar’s defeat in the just concluded election was a collective resolve of the people to have a person lead them, writes Segun Awofadeji

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enator Bala Mohammed, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was on Monday, March 25, declared winner of the Bauchi State Governorship election. Findings have revealed that Mohammed, as it has turned out, was the first to defeat an incumbent governor in the state since the return to democracy in 1999, and the first Journalist to be governor of the state since its creation in February 1976.

The outcome of the Bauchi election was one of the few surprises witnessed in this year’s general election.

Thus, the political history of the state was rewritten as the incumbent, Governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar of the All Progressives Congress (APC) became the first sitting governor to be voted out of office in the state. No thanks to Mohammed of the PDP. Needless to say that Mohammed’s victory was not an easy feat for the PDP. After a rather stiff contest characterized by moments of uncertainty, apprehension and fear orchestrated by the initial inconclusive declaration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the change of government from the ruling APC to the opposition PDP eventually came into fruition, when INEC, on Monday announced Mohammed, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory as the winner of the election.

His victory was not only for the party but the people of the state and, in all ramifications, a reflection of the collective decision of the people of the state to elect into office a candidate of their choice. Importantly, it had more to do with their resolve to vote out a government characterised by alleged arrogance and under-performance.

The Governor-elect popularly called Kauran Bauchi by his teeming supporters and well-wishers was the beneficiary of the angst the people of Bauchi had for Abubakar Abubakar won the Bauchi governorship on a platter during the APC Tsunami that swept through the north in 2015. He, however, soon picked a quarrel with almost every stakeholder believed to have helped to actualise his governorship dream. Some observers of the Bauchi politics attributed his defeat to what they described as his haughty disposition.

In a widely publicised recent interview in a national daily just before the election, the governor was quoted as saying: “I don’t need Dogara’s (referring to Speaker Yakubu Dogara) constituency to be re-elected as governor of Bauchi State. The total votes from his area are not more than 70,000.”

His disregard for Dogara’s constituency was mainly, because of the fact that the constituency had remained firmly attached to Dogara in his political movements since he first represented the constituency in 2007.

Governor Abubakar had added: “I didn’t need him in 2015, and I won’t need him now. The Speaker is a lightweight politician.”

His assertion that he did not need Dogara, according to many political actors, was also reflected in most of his politics as the governor came to emerge as one with the least political attachments in the state since 1999. His case was also not helped by what his critics described as his low performance in terms of governance, especially in the Bauchi metropolis and other major cities in the state.

A social critic and political analyst, Mohammed Suleiman Bello, noted that despite being the party in power, the APC, which fielded Abubakar as its candidate is challenged by internal disagreement with several party stakeholders, who were still embittered over the process that threw up the governor as candidate.

But the PDP, which had a relatively peaceful governorship primary that produced Mohammed as candidate, also had its own challenges. It was however able to manage its affairs.

Dr. Ali Pate and Dr. Ibrahim Lame (both former ministers), who contested with the governor, passed a vote of no confidence on the Election Committee from the party’s headquarters in Abuja. They also alleged that the governor, in connivance with the state executive, compromised the process and that security agencies were used to intimidate members of the party with opposing views.

Before Abubakar emerged the APC candidate, the two men, Lame and Pate, in a joint resolution, dismissed the process that enthroned him as the candidate of the party.

At that time, they called on their supporters to boycott the exercise given what they claimed as the compromise of the process. Though the governor eventually emerged the APC candidate, his capacity to win the election turned into an issue for stakeholders given the many challenges he has had with a majority of them.

Aggrieved aspirants, who alleged that they were shortchanged in the recent APC primaries also indulged in anti-party activities, because they held the view that the governor failed to reconcile with most of them.

Abubakar...outgoing Bauchi State Governor Critics are also of the view that Abubakar’s inability to pay pensions and gratuities to retirees in the state, conduct local government elections in four years, along with his poor press relations accounted for his defeat in the 2019 governorship elections in the state.

The governor had quite a handful of weaknesses that led to his defeat, which included his inability to complete capital projects such as federal low-cost Bauchi roads, Wuntin Dada to Miri, which cause serious problems to motorists and residents of the areas especially during rainy season.

Some critics also lambasted the governor that even the roads he invited President Muhammadu Buhari to commission some few months ago such as Maiduguri bye-pass to Awalah, Guni housing estate, among others were all uncompleted projects. They cited his dissolution of traditional institution appointed by his predecessor, which also irritated the victims and their followers and therefore worked against his victory.

Failure to conduct local government elections for four years contrary to his campaign promise was used by the opposition to campaign against him in the election.

There was the allegation about the governor’s disputed indigenship (he’s alleged to have come from Kogi State), which played a key role in his loss. He was elected governor in 2015 even with the awareness that he might not be an indigene of the state Indeed, the Bauchi people ranked amongst those, who graduated from party loyalty to choice of individual candidates, based on what they perceive as the quality of the candidates. They chose to follow their pulse, right or wrong.

Reacting to the outcome of the poll, Abubakar, in a rare display of sportsmanship, immediately congratulated the governor-elect, noting that the election took place without blood shedding.

In a press statement signed by his Special Adviser (Media and Strategy), Ali Mohammed Ali, the governor said, “I congratulate my brother, Senator Bala Mohammed, on this victory at the polls. I am delighted to note that in spite of the intensity of the campaigns in our dear state, a peaceful election took place without bloodshed.

“Let me therefore invite the governor-elect to join me in working out the process of a smooth transition. I sincerely thank the entire people of Bauchi State for their support for my administration and urge them to extend the same to the incoming administration. I also urge the governor-elect to caution his supporters to be law-abiding while celebrating since the period of campaigns is now over.”

Accepting to lead the people of Bauchi State for the next four years, effective from May 29, Muhammed pledged to run an all-inclusive and participatory government as soon as he takes his oath of office.

Speaking during a special broadcast shortly after he was declared winner, the governor-elect assured the people that

he would ensure efficient and transparent government, as he would engage all stakeholders in the state in the running of the state.

“The incoming government is determined to give citizens of the state a better prospect and greater opportunity by reducing poverty and empowering them in the areas of agriculture, education, urban and rural infrastructure among others,” pledging not to leave the state in the hands of those he claimed lacked the vision, motivation and capacity to drive the change required.

The battle to unseat Abubakar was led by Dogara who, quoting Henry Clay, said: “An oppressed people are authorised whenever they can to rise and break their fetters.”

In his reaction to the PDP victory, Dogara stated that it was the crowning of the struggle for the emancipation and liberation of the people “from the forces of darkness, evil and retrogression that have held the state captive and hostage for over a decade.”

According to him, “Bauchi and its people have never been this challenged throughout our contemporary history.

An oppressor-class, led mainly by people from outside, has chained our dear impoverished people to servitude, underdevelopment and penury.

“In their unlettered arrogance, they have taken Bauchi people for granted to the point that they believe the patience of an oppressed people will last forever. They, therefore, sought to perpetuate themselves in office again for another four years through this election, just to continue feeding their greed and perfidy.

“Historically, Bauchi people are known to be brave and politically savvy. They saw through the charade and decided this is the time to break away from the curse that has afflicted us thus far. By our collective resolve and by the results of this election, we have once again demonstrated to the world that no-man made chains can bind us to servitude. The chains have come undone, sending a clear message that Bauchi will never bend its back again for an oppressor to ride. Today’s victory is ours; today’s victory speaks to a better and brighter future for us, our children and generations yet unborn.

“We have proven that working together, there is no challenge that we cannot overcome as a people. I understand as we all celebrate this victory, because it came at a cost so many of us were willing to pay in order to salvage our state from the precipice. But we cannot tarry long on this mountain of celebrations as what today’s victory demands of us is to go to work immediately.”

In spite of his glowing credentials and soaring popularity, Mohammed is not only a grassroots politician but a humble bridge builder, who has high connections across the country.

He is a consummate administrator, journalist and technocrat, who the Bauchi people have entrusted their hope in.

The task ahead is indeed challenging and he is expected not to betray the confidence reposed in him as the people look up to him to meet their yearnings and aspirations.

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Atiku, Obasanjo, Secondus and others at a meeting

A Resurgent PDP The performance of the PDP in the 2019 elections, puts a lie to claims by the ruling APC that the party was dead. Adedayo Akinwale writes

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oon after the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lost the presidential election to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015, it immediately ran into serious leadership crisis, which almost tore it apart. For a party that has been in power for an upward of 16 years, the challenge of being an opposition party was a crisis on its own.

Former Borno State Governor, Ali Modu-Sheriff, was then appointed as the acting national chairman of the party on February 16, 2016, to steer the ship of the party till his removal from office at the 2016 National Convention. He was replaced by Ahmed Makarfi as Caretaker Chairman.

Sheriff’s removal did not go down well with him and this locked him up in a leadership tussle with Makarfi for the soul of the PDP, since May of 2016, when the PDP held parallel conventions in the cities of Abuja and Port Harcourt on the same day.

The judgment of the Supreme Court in June 2017 later put paid to the legal battle for the control of the party.

Not long after the National convention of the party held at Eagle Square and produced the Uche Secondus leadership, the party embarked on the reconciliation of aggrieved members of the party and also rebranding of the party, promoting internal democracy and jettisoning imposition with the aim of launching the party back to reckoning.

In the run up to the 2019 general election, political analysts did not give the PDP a chance. The reason may not be far-fetch. A supposed opposition party was yet to find it footing.

Besides, the battered image of the party as an epitome and epicentre of corruption for 16 years of its alleged misrule ensured that it no longer appealed to Nigerians as a party that could save the country from imminent collapse and the economic quagmire, which the APC administration had plundered the country into.

Nevertheless, the party’s chances ahead of the 2019 elections started to blossom when the failures of the APC-led administration became quite glaring even to the blind. This left Nigerians with no option than to choose from between two evils one.

So, returning to the PDP to seek solace and refuge became the only option as the lesser evil.

Also, the successful convention held by the party between October 6 and 7, 2018 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, which produced former vice president Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate in the 2019 presidential election and which was adjudged by all to be credible and transparent, boosted the party’s chances, when compared to the way and manner President Muhammadu Buhari was handpicked by APC which lacked any semblance of democratic process.

The performance of the PDP in the 2019 election has shown that the main opposition party is not dead after all. To start with, the presidential election, despite the strategy adopted by the ruling party by heavily militarising the states, where PDP was presumed strong, scaring away party supporters and voters sympathetic to the party in some cases, as well as using thugs to scare voters went a long way for the APC. The situations in places like Rivers, Lagos and Benue among others and even the off-season election that took place in Osun State, easily come to mind.

Even with the help of some security agents, compromised staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the burning, disruption and outright cancellation of polls in some areas across the country, where the PDP appeared to be coasting home to victory it still was a close battle between the APC and the PDP. It was equally not a bad showing for the supposedly dead party both in the Senatorial and House of Representatives elections as the party has a sizeable number of lawmakers that would constitute the 9th Assembly.

The main opposition party also gave a good account of itself in the governorship elections that took place across the country. The supposedly dead party now controls 14 states at the moment. This includes Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Benue, Delta, Oyo, Imo, Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi, Taraba, Sokoto, Bauchi, and Adamawa States.

While the collation of results will be concluded in Rivers State, and supplementary election conducted where necessary next month and with Kano,

Osun and Zamfara States still subjects of litigations, the PDP may end up having 17 states. That is not a mean fit for a party that was never given any chance in the first instance and that’s equally a good structure to build off on ahead of the 2023 elections.

On the other hand, the ruling APC has made a very poor use of federal might and outright rigging to be able to win some states. Even elections in some states where the party was on the verge of losing were declared inconclusive by INEC, thus giving the party more time to re-strategise and perfect the plans to win the state. Kano and Osun States are perfect examples here.

PDP Vice Chairman, South-west, Dr. Eddy Olafeso, said the party has been able to prove itself to those who thought it was dead with its showing in the 2019 elections.

He said, “We have been able to prove ourselves right and by my assessment, we have equally won the presidential election but for the connivance of INEC and the APC, the story would have been different today, but that would be proved by the Tribunal, and at the Appeal and of course the Supreme Court.

“At no time were we dead. We had our internal challenges like you have said and we were able to overcome it. You know party politics is dynamic and what we need to do is to ensure, like we have assured all Nigerians, that we are going to improve on our internal process and to ensure that we allowed people to own their party again and that whatever decision taken by them regarding those who will lead them will be what we agreed on. So, that’s what we’ve been able to do. We have made our mistakes, we have learnt from them and we are moving on,” the PDP chieftain added.

Evidently, the PDP is not dead. If the party was able to win more states without the use of federal might, then it is not dead. In fact, the party is more alive than the ruling APC, which may likely collapse after the 2019 elections due to internal high wire politics, combative leadership, power play and as well as alignment and realignment of forces ahead of the 2023 presidency. The party might also find it difficult to stand as soon as Buhari, who is the rallying point, completes his second term in office.

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Ahmad Lawan

Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ë? Olawale Olaleye Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2013;Ë? ĂĄĂ&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ë&#x203A; Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă?ĂŁĂ?ĚśĂ&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2039;ĂŁĂ&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă Ă?Ë&#x203A;Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;

Ali Ndume

Gbajabiamila

Nkeiruka Onyejeocha

History Repeating Itself The battle for the leadership of the eighth senate may turn out a childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s play by the time the race for the ninth senate comes to full circle, report Deji Elumoye and Shola Oyeyipo

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ith the general election gradually coming to a close and the Independent National Electoral Commission now presenting Certificates of Return to those elected including Senators-elect and House members-elect, the next battle might have shifted to the National Assembly for leadership race. But this would not come before its inauguration, which also follows its proclamation by President Muhammadu Buhari in June.

Ahead of the inauguration, the leadership of both the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC), which has majority of the lawmakers-elect and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are at daggers drawn over the leadership of the next federal parliament.

While the APC is singing the winner-

takes-all song for the principal offices and chairmanship of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;juicyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; committees in the legislative assembly, the PDP believes that its members have constitutional right to aspire to lead both chambers of the Assembly.

The public endorsement of the Senate Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan, as the next Senate President by the APC leadership last week is also creating ripples among some of the Senators-elect, who are vowing to resist the imposition.

A Senator-elect and ranking Senator like Lawan, who is also interested in Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s number three office, Senator Ali Ndume, had criticised the reported adoption of Lawan, saying it was at variance with Section 50 (1a) of the amended 1999 constitution of Nigeria, which gave the members-elect the explicit right to elect their leaders on the floor of the Assembly.

Some other Senators-elect from the North East, where the APC has zoned the Senate Presidency to, also opposed the

adoption of Lawan as the issue was never discussed with the new legislators. They even added another dimension to the adoption of Lawan, saying the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who celebrated his 67th birthday with a colloquium in Abuja last Thursday, was out to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;coloniseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; the National Assembly ahead of his presidential ambition in 2023.

They have therefore advised President Buhari against handing over the National Assembly to Tinubu. A cross-section of the Senators-elect, said the recommendation by the APC that Lawan should be considered for the Senate presidency was a plot to hand over the parliament to Tinubu.

One of the Senators-elect, who spoke with THISDAY on the condition of anonymity, said since Tinubu had produced the Vice President in the person of Yemi Osinbajo and partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, other contributors to the victory of the party, should also

be rewarded. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lawan and Gbajabiamila are the candidates of Asiwaju. If they have their ways, it means Tinubu has extended his hold to the parliament. Already, he has the Vice President and the National chairman. What else is left for others?â&#x20AC;? adding: â&#x20AC;&#x153;People are just keeping quiet, because of their respect for Buhari, who believes that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s payback time for Tinubu.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be so at all, because other people contributed and they should be rewarded, accordingly.â&#x20AC;?

Another ranking Senator from the North West said the quest by Tinubu to conquer the National Assembly was simply to lay the foundation for his 2023 presidential ambition. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He deliberately brought his colloquium to Abuja, as against Lagos, his usual venue, because he wants to conquer the country. He feels that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time for him to do so. He has pocketed Lagos and he is leaving no stone unturned to pocket

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History Repeating Itself the country. Some of us are of the view that neutral candidates should be considered for the National Assembly leadership and not those whose allegiance will be for Tinubu and not the country,â&#x20AC;? he said.

The PDP Senate caucus is also interested in who becomes the next Senate President. For now, it has said all Senators-elect have constitutional right to aspire to be Senate President, when the Ninth Senate is inaugurated in June.

At the last count, the party has 41 Senators-elect and may spring a surprise by backing APC Senator-elect outside the choice of the party as the presiding officer of the next Senate.

For the green chamber of the National Assembly, APC leaders including President Buhari, Tinubu and other party loyalists are believed to be rooting for the House leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila representing Surulere I federal constituency of Lagos State, to succeed Hon. Yakubu Dogara as Speaker.

Once bitten twice shy, the APC leadership says it is working hard to avoid the June 9, 2015 experience, when some of its members in cohort with some opposition PDP members, opted to elect Dogara as Speaker against the position of the party, which had elected Gbajabiamila in a mock election designed to suit their desire.

Oshiomhole categorically told newly-elected House members at the Shehu Yarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;adua Centre, Abuja that the party was not prepared to share the principal offices of the House and headship of critical committees with the PDP, except positions reserved for minority members.

Ordinarily, Gbajabiamila is qualified for the job. As a lawyer, who was elected into the House in 2003 and having retained his seat for a record fifth term, he ranks among some of the savviest in running the affairs of the green chamber.

Gbaja as he is fondly called by colleagues is already working underground to enlist the support of all relevant stakeholders, including newly-elected members, returning members as well and party leaders in the bid to ensure that the party template, which favours him is eventually adopted.

He may have a stiff opposition in the incumbent Speaker, Dogara, who is said to be actively in the race too. Sources told THISDAY that the outgoing Speaker enjoys the backing of the PDP to vie for the speakership of the 9th assembly.

Recall that after Oshiohmole told his party members that they must ensure that only its members fill up leadership positions in the ninth Assembly, the opposition PDP disagreed with him on the grounds that its elected senators and members of the House of Representatives are constitutionally eligible to seek election into any presiding office of the two chambers of the National Assembly.

Though some had concluded that he was out of the equation, Dogara would bank on the support of 125 currently serving lawmakers, who have won their re-election across party lines, and would eventually throw his hat into the ring to re-contest. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You cannot rule out the incumbent Speaker in the race for the speakership of the 9th assembly. Apart from the fact that he is ably qualified to be in the race, he is trusted and has been tested. The Speaker will easily rally the support of old lawmakers who know him and work with new members to retain his position,â&#x20AC;? said a ranking House member who spoke anonymously.

Other aspirants for the Speakership position include a female member, who has shown more than a passing interest in the position, Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha.

She has declared her intention to contest for the highest position in the green chamber even before the party would take any position on zoning the position.

A very active lawmaker, Onyejeocha, who is the Chairman, House Committee on Aviation and a fourth time lawmaker representing Isuikwuato/Umunneochi/ federal constituency of Abia State, is not joking about her ambition. Not only does she possess the needed experience to take up the job, rather than considering her feminist status as disadvantage, her opinion is that it was time Nigeria gave a woman an opportunity to lead at the level of Speaker to see what difference she is capable of making.

Convinced that she is marketable, the lawmaker stormed the APC interactive meeting with newly elected members with her manifesto for the 9th assembly speakership titled: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Seeking Your Support.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; and canvassed for the support and vote of her colleagues to secure the position. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I believe I possess the requisite legislative skills, knowledge, experience and temperament to be Speaker of this great House,â&#x20AC;? Onyejeocha said, stressing that given the opportunity, she would improve on communication with the general public, facilitate improved internal communications among members, adopt a legislative agenda with a clear framework for compliance and monitoring and ensure improved lawmaking. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A number of key reform bills were proposed, considered and passed in the 8th House of Representatives, chief among them are the constitutional amendment bills, which contained significant amendments such as financial independence for counterpart in the state i.e state assemblies. A number of some constitution

Mohammed Tahir Monguno

Yusuf Yakubu

Magaji Daâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;u Aliyu

amendments were not assented to while some others key reform bills were not concluded or adopted by the 8th House with its term running out. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These include bills such as the Police Reform Bill, Petroleum Industry and Governance Bill (PIGB), Universal Basic Education Act amendment Bill, the National Assembly Budget and Research Office (NABRO) Bill, Audit Bill, Witness Protection Bill etc. I will work to ensure that these bills are revisited.â&#x20AC;?

Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Abdulrazak Namdas representing

Jada/Ganye/Mayo Belwa/Toungo federal constituency of Adamawa State, has not only officially declared to run for the office of speaker of the 9th House, he is also embarking on robust consultations and discreet meetings with his colleagues, which are indicative of his seriousness.

Noting that as the Nigerian democracy grows, it requires competent and committed individuals with requisite experience and pedigree to build and strengthen institutions during his declaration, Namdas said â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am offering myself for the position of Speaker, because the ninth assembly deserves the best of leadership. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am convinced and I believe you are aware that I possess the necessary legislative and personal credentials to effectively lead the House to enviable heights. As spokesperson for the House, I represented and defended the legislature effectively for four years hence I am better positioned to preside and speak for the House as Speaker. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Apart from competence, experience, untainted personal record and excellent leadership traits,â&#x20AC;? he claimed, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are presenting a new legislative charter, which is our contract with the Nigerian people. This is a contract that will be driven by good laws and ethical legislative practices. We are desirous to enter into a contract with the Nigerian people for the good of the nation.â&#x20AC;?

Also in the race, a former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Borno State, Hon. Mohammed Tahir Monguno, representing Jere federal constituency. He is capable of pulling off a surprise.

Parading every qualification needed to become the Speaker, and as the leader of the North-east caucus, who has equally been in the House for the fifth time, underestimating Monguno would only serve as the undoing of whoever does that.

Another lawmaker, Hon. Yusuf Buba Yakub representing Gombi/Hong federal constituency, also from Adamawa State, has taken his ambition to vie for speakership beyond speculation.

Apart from putting up a campaign structure to actualise his dream, the two-time member of the green chamber told THISDAY that his interest in the job is basically to contribute to building a team of patriotic Nigerians that would address some of the major problems confronting Nigeria. These problems, according of him, are unemployment, youth restiveness, high level of insecurity and corruption, among others. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is so much to do within so short a time. Our nation requires nothing but men and women, who share the vision of a great Nigeria to beat a path of national vision and ambition so that others will followâ&#x20AC;?, adding that â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am vying for this position, because I am driven by the ideal of service to continue to offer my humble talents, treasure and time to see how I can adequately contribute to the growth and development of my country.â&#x20AC;?

Yakub said given the opportunity, he would work to facilitate executive-legislative harmony and collaboration that would make for better Nigeria, adding: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I see the best years ahead and I know that we at the National Assembly particularly, we in the green chambers, can make it work.â&#x20AC;?

Like others, who had declared their intentions to run for the speaker position, Yakub has also indicated his readiness to abide by the zoning arrangement of his party, the APC. Interestingly, while others are jostling to become Speaker, Hon. Magaji Daâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;u Aliyu representing BirninKudu/Buji federal constituency of Jigawa State, has declared interest in vying for Deputy Speaker.

Aliyu told journalists that he hopes to bring his legislative experience to bear in the day-to-day running of the House in that capacity. Also, a second time lawmaker, he said if elected as Deputy Speaker, it would offer him an opportunity to add value by working in collaboration with the Speaker to effectively relate with other arms of government. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have every qualification to become a Speaker. The requirement is that you should be voted for and my people have voted for me, but I believe people underrate the position of Deputy Speaker. The deputy is not a spare tyre. If you look at the president and vice-president, you will see that deputies are not spare tyres â&#x20AC;&#x153;As a deputy, I can be a source of communication with other arms of government and I believe I have the capacity to carry my people along. I am going to be a just leader, because what brings quarrel is injustice,â&#x20AC;? he said.

With all the gladiators throwing their hats into the ring, the election of the leadership of the 9th National Assembly will be interesting with all the issues and factors springing up almost on a daily basis.

It is only hoped that the ruling party, APC, would as soon as it releases the zoning formula for the Assembly positions, call a meeting of all stakeholders especially, the legislators-elect and stress the need for the lawmakers to speak with one voice on the day the 9th Assembly would be inaugurated. This is the only way to avoid a repeat of what transpired on June 9, 2015 when the candidates supported by the party lost out when the presiding officers of the 8th National Assembly were elected.

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with DEMOLA OJO demola.ojo@thisdaylive.com

SOCIAL MEDIA BITS

Last week on social media, the Minister of Agriculture made a shocking revelation, the Minister of Power made a bold claim, and Orji Uzor Kalu issued a threat...

E

lections have been concluded (apart from Rivers State) with the emergence of Ahmadu Fintiri of the PDP as governor-elect of Adamawa State. But the politicking and jostling for powerful positions continue.

After the ruling All Progressives Congress - which has the majority in the Senate â&#x20AC;&#x201C; revealed that it had settled for Ahmed Lawan as Senate President for the 9th Assembly, former Abia State governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, issued a warning: unless he is made Deputy Senate President, he will contest against Lawan.

Kalu wants the APC to zone the position to the South-East â&#x20AC;&#x153;in the interest of equity and justice.â&#x20AC;?

Equity was achieved two days ago when President Muhammadu Buhari met with the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria and later with Imams and senior Islamic scholars from across the country.

It was reported that they congratulated the President on his victory at the recent elections notwithstanding the fact that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s being challenged at the election tribunal by the main opposition candidate, Atiku Abubakar, who seeks justice.

Images emanating from the aftermath of the meetings with religious leaders show the President and his deputy, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, in very buoyant mood.

The day before, they were among the many members of the APC that eulogised the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, as he celebrated his 67th birthday.

First Bank was also celebrated on its 125th anniversary. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are celebrating 125 years of trust, safety and security as well as 125 years of long term value to all stakeholders,â&#x20AC;? said CEO Adesola Adeduntan on the bank established in 1894.

GTbank was also a trending topic on

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social media last week but it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the best of news as Innoson Motors secured a court order over a controversial debt.

While the court seemed to empower Innoson to take over properties belonging to the bank as part of ways to recover a N2billion debt that has risen to about N8billion due to interest, Innoson in its press statement on Twitter gave the impression it was taking over the bank.

This sent the social media platform into overdrive, with some going overboard with comments, including former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, who referred to GTBank CEO Segun Agbaje as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;formerâ&#x20AC;? MD. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now the bank has been taken over by Innoson and Segun has lost his job, his reputation and his name and he has been taken to the cleaners,â&#x20AC;? he tweeted, with glee perhaps.

However, the bank has moved to assure its customers of the safety of their funds, clarifying that the said judgement is applicable to the account of the Nigerian Customs Service Board domiciled with the bank, rather than the bank as an entity. Not so fast, Innoson.

Another debt story also trended on Twitter, albeit for a lesser amount. Richard Nnadi, owner of popular Victoria Island nightclub,

Escape, revealed that debts of up to N120 million forced him to close the five-year-old club.

He threatened to publish the names of the debtors, among whom he said were politicians, footballers, musicians, Big Brother housemates and other celebrities. Day of publication is tomorrow, April Foolsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Day. In another development with a similar narrative of living beyond means, the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, expressed sadness over the unbridled importation of goods into Nigeria.

While defending the ministryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s budget before the Senate Committee on Agriculture in Abuja, Ogbeh claimed some Nigerians import pizza from London and get it delivered by British Airways.

Nigerians were not having it though as they descended on Ogbeh for what â&#x20AC;&#x201C; on the face of it - was a preposterous statement. Digging through comments on Twitter and Instagram however, it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t as strange as it sounds. These things happen.

In fact, a more outlandish statement is the revelation by Power Minister, Babatunde Fashola, that some states enjoy â&#x20AC;&#x153;almost 24 hoursâ&#x20AC;? power supply. The question is, how much is â&#x20AC;&#x153;almostâ&#x20AC;??

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T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R ˾MARCH 31, 2019

GLITZ LIFE

Rising Above the Scars As she turned the valve, a booming sound ensued and the force of the blast threw her from the kitchen to the living room. In that moment of fear, panic and confusion, fireball consumed her favourite chandelier and razed the roof. Life dealt Yinka Matthews a fatal blow when a gas explosion ravaged her apartment leaving her with scars. Vanessa Obioha captures the episodes of Matthews’ traumatic tale and the miraculous ending

T

he day began like any other day for Yinka Matthews.

She was in a joyous mood.

A client had paid her handsomely for a job the previous day. Waking up to the beautiful morning rays that Saturday morning, Matthews, an interior designer had had her day planned. First, she was going to change the tyres of her Benz car, then treat herself to a sumptuous meal before heading for the salon later to get her hair and nails done.

Everything went on as planned until the sun began its journey back home.

Matthews was already back at her delicately furnished apartment in Balogun Street, Alausa Lagos. The building was owned by her father. Usually, she spends her Saturdays evenings preparing for church on Sundays. With her hair still in rollers, Matthews busied herself with the outfit to wear to church the next day. It was while carrying out this routine that she felt her stomach protesting for food.

At first, she ignored it, but when the growling got intense, she walked to the kitchen to fix a quick meal. A strong smell of leaking gas hit her nostrils the moment she stepped into the kitchen that further churned her gut. Surprised that she had left the automatic gas stove cylinder on, she quickly turned it off, before heading back to her chores, determined to ignore the biting hunger.

But 40 minutes later, her stomach felt like it was being dug out. She knew then that she really had to eat something.

Walking back into the kitchen, she sniffed around, ensuring that the gas was no longer smelling. Satisfied that the environment was safe, Matthews reached for the gas cylinder, unknown to her that the gas concentration has increased from an undetected leak.

As she slightly turned the valve, the next thing she heard was a booming sound that threw her from the kitchen to her living room. It all happened so fast that at first, her mind couldn’t fathom the fiery image unfolding before her. In that moment of fear, panic and confusion, Matthews watched the sparkling chandelier that once adorned the ceiling of her living room consumed by the raging fire, the roof following suit.

With her body also on fire, Matthews threw away the burning piece of wrapper she had on and managed to make it to the

bathroom where she poured a bucket of water on her body. Yet, her body was on fire.

Outside, neighbours gathered, shouting and calling for help from no one in particular. Some carried buckets of water, others soapy water, pouring all in the red fiery flames. On seeing the burning apartment, her father collapsed, thinking his precious daughter was already burnt alive. The whole neighborhood was in chaos.

It was in that chaotic ambience that Matthews emerged from the inferno naked and crying for help. The mixed cry of joy and despair saw everyone pouring all manner of liquids on her to douse the fire before she finally slipped into unconsciousness.

That day was June 8, 2013.

“I will never forget that day,” Matthews said. ‘“The memory is still very fresh in my mind.”

Before the Accident Anyone who knew Matthews before the incident attested to her spontaneity.

An indigene of Oyo State, Matthews was the only daughter of her mother and had no worries. She had a good job, lived in a good apartment – life was beautiful.

Her bubbly infectious aura and stylish personality endeared her to many. Need a companion for a six-hour road trip?

Matthews was the best candidate. Need to party all night long till your feet hurt?

Call on Matthews. She was literally the life of every party. Once she dabbled into acting, playing a minor role in Chico Ejiro’s ‘Sunset in Africa’.

But everything changed after the gas explosion.

Trauma and Betrayal When Matthews finally woke up later that evening, it was to a painful reality.

She had sustained second and third degree burns according to the medical report from Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) in Ikeja where she was first taken to.

“I didn’t understand what was going on. My body began swelling. I was just in pains. The doctors gave me an injection which finally calmed me down.”

She was later referred to the hospital unit in Gbagada which specialises in burns.

The first two days were a living hell for Matthews; she couldn’t sleep or do

Matthews… A glowing Matthews after the fire incident

anything. Her whole body was in pain so also was her heart. Each time she looked at her scarred skin, her heart bled. It took her awhile to gather the courage to look at a mirror. When she finally did, she was devastated by what she saw. Her face was a mask of scars, her legs, fingers and some parts of her body were scarred.

“I asked the doctor calmly to give me an injection that will put me to death that I couldn’t live like this.”

A therapist was sent to counsel her.

But the kind words did nothing to lift her spirits.

“I remember the therapist telling me that I should be grateful that I’m alive, that I will only have scars. But how do I start living with a scar for the rest of my life.”

Matthews spent almost seven weeks in the hospital. At a point, she left the hospital to go home to watch a basketball game.

“Everybody thought I was insane but I needed that break to regain my confidence. The doctor made me sign that I would return immediately which I did. Luckily, my team won,” she recalled heartily.

During those days in the hospital, her mother never left her side. Only few friends visited her. And they never returned after the first visit.

“The people I counted on...” she paused between sentences as she recalled how her friends rejected her.

“They said I was burnt; I was scarred for life. The people that I trusted the most, that they will have my back, they mocked me. Who mocks a burns victim?

Even someone I dated abandoned me.

My friends all left. I was told that some said they couldn’t come because after visiting me, they were unable to eat – that I was too disgusting. I actually

overheard a friend on the phone saying I was too disgusting to look at.

“I lost everything in that fire. I almost lost my well-being. People don’t understand the traumatic experience fire victims go through.”

Regaining her composure, she continued: “When I returned from the hospital, I couldn’t live in that house. My flat was the only flat affected in the incident.

Though I got it renovated, I just couldn’t live there. Each time I slept, I could hear the explosive sound. It was like reliving that horrible incident. I was so traumatized. I couldn’t even go to the kitchen. Three weeks later, I moved out.”

The emotional battle continued for Matthews. She couldn’t leave the house for fear that people will mock her. Actually, they did.

“When I moved out, people were staring at me. When I went to the mall, they continued staring me, mostly in disgust.

Some would stop me and asked what happened to me. Sometimes, out of genuine concern; other times out of curiosity.” For four years, the only places she went to was to work and church. Her social life was completely erased.

“I was unable to be intimate. I don’t want anyone to touch me for fear that my skin will peel. Burns is so unbearable. You can’t eat, you can’t bathe, and you stink.”

That same year, she visited the Redeemed Church of God camp and prayed to God to heal her scars. All she got was silence. But her faith never wavered. It was in that moment of need that she drew closer to God. She prayed, fasted, read her Bible, hopeful that one day, a miracle would knock on her door. She summoned courage to start her own interior decoration business.

Two years later, her father died, her mother had to join her brothers in the UK.

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GLITZ LIFE On Fire, Scars, Fears and Redemption

A scarred Yinka Matthews at the hospital

However, they never stopped caring for her.

Her brothers introduced a dermatologist to her who advised her to stay away from sunlight for a year and gave her a new nutrition plan.

“I ate 10 boiled eggs per day, took vegetables a lot. Then she prescribed shea butter, diprobase cream, special soap and other items. They were very expensive.”

Despite her pecuniary challenges, Matthews obeyed every word of her dermatologist to a T, while still clinging to God that something divine would happen.

Then It Happened Late 2015, Matthews started noticing some of the scars disappearing but she didn’t really pay attention to it.

“The first day I noticed I didn’t have a scar, it was like a miracle. I had just finished bathing and I looked at my legs because they were more affected, there were no scars. I couldn’t believe it. I ran back to the hospital. I showed myself to the doctors. They couldn’t believe that I was healed. They asked what I used because they couldn’t understand. The last scar I saw was in 2017.”

Like the doctors, most people didn’t believe that she was totally healed, such that when she took the boldness to post a picture of herself before and after her burns on Instagram last April, people were awed.

“People thought it was make-up, but it wasn’t. Today, I don’t have one scar on my body.”

With a new lease of life, Matthews is determined to make the most use of it.

She started a foundation named, Yinky Care, which she hopes will help other fire victims.

“Burns victims are stigmatized because of the scars. The emotional scar is lingering and I just had to share my story to help people being stigmatized and struggling to live with burns.”

On April 7, she will hold her first seminar and plans to give out some of the medication that helped her through her long journey to healing.

“We will be giving out creams, rs. There will be doctors from souvenirs.

H who helped me with my healing LASUTH k to burn survivors. There is also an to speak o speak on preventive methods to o expert to se keep us safer, because most of these osions are avoidable.” gas explosions rcoming this battle Overcoming ght Matthews a few w has taught lessons. One of them is ng the gift of life. cherishing “Lifee can be cruel but the miracle is ng. This life is surviving. d it’s for the a gift and living. I don’t worry etty things about petty e. If it’s not anymore. g me joy and bringing ng God, it’s glorifying not even n worth the ife is too short shorrt stress. Life asted on silly y to be wasted ’m more things. I’m e-driven now w, purpose-driven now, helping others and being a genuinely rson,” she good person,” ledged. acknowledged.

86

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 31, 2019

NEWSXTRA Bago: No Agreement with APC, Oshiomhole over Consensus Candidate Says North-central denied position for 20 years Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja A candidate for the position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Umaru Bago yesterday said there was no binding agreement between members of the House of Representatives and the ruling All Progressives Congress on the consensus candidate for the speakership position.

Bago, currently representing Chanchaga Federal Constituency of Niger State, also lamented that the Northcentral geo-political zone had been denied the speakership for 20 years since the dawn of the Fourth Republic.

He spoke to THISDAY in Abuja against the position of the APC National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomole that the Senate Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan and Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila were the party’s anointed candidates for the leadership of the two cham-

bers of the National Assembly.

Bago, a three-term lawmaker, insisted that it was time to ensure equity and justice considering the contributions of the zone to the growth of the party.

The lawmaker said such pronouncement was not binding on members as the party was expected to zone positions to ensure equity and fairness.

Specifically, Bago noted that the North-central zone “frowned at Oshiomole’s pronouncement. By and large I am from the North-central.

We have contributed very well to the success of the APC. “If North-central was not part of APC, the victory of APC would not have been complete. It is not okay as a zone. We are frowning at the statement of the Chairman and we are saying that we cannot be alienated in this nation.

Fayemi: Olusola, PDP Free to Challenge My Victory Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi declared that he never perceived the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic party, Prof Kolapo Olusola as an enemy, saying the opposition is free to make useful suggestions for smooth running of his government.

Fayemi, however, said Olusola and the PDP are free to challenge his victory to the Supreme Court in spite of his readiness to entertain contributions from the main opposition party.

He made the remarks in Ado Ekiti during a programme tagged Meet the Governor, saying he had never perceived Olusola as an arch enemy in spite of the petition he filed against his victory in the July 14, 2018 election.

He said, “I have never seen Olusola as an enemy. But I have been seeing him as a co- contestant. So, we will not shy from approaching him to seek his advice on any is-

sue we feel he cab be of help for smooth running of our government.

“But this should not be misinterpreted to mean that we are trying to prevent Olusola from seeking justice up to the Supreme Court, he is free to challenge us.

“The appeal court on Thursday delivered it is judgment and said the PDP has no evidence of rigging against us, so we are not afraid of being challenged,” the governor said.

On the just concluded presidential, National and state assembly elections, which APC won wholesomely in the state, Fayemi denied the allegation that federal might and money were deployed to muzzle the opposition in the elections.

“If you look at the results, there was no local government where opposition didn’t score at least 30 percent in all the 16 local government areas. So, the conduct had been adjudged free, fair and the outcome was credible going by what INEC said.”

“We should be given opportunity like any other region and allow us to produce within ourselves the leadership of the House of Representatives.”

He said it was even wrong “to anoint a person as a party.

I expect the party to zone it.

And leave for people within the zone to decide who among those people in that zone to lead instead of saying this is our anointed child.

“The same crisis we had in 2015 is what is looming so we have to be very careful. My advice for our party is that it

should look very well and do more consultation.

“And in his statement when he was welcoming party members, Oshiomole said the party will do deep consultations, consult widely even with the President and bring out a zoning formula that is

in tandem with both the party constitution and the Nigerian constitution.

“So, if the party is coming again to say this thing, then they are contradicting the constitution of the party and that of the country,” the lawmaker said.

AGAINST GAS FLARING...

L-R: Principal Partner, George Etomi and Partners, Mr. George Etomi; Programme Manager, Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme, office of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Opelamina Derefaka; Country Director, Wycliffe Advisory and Consulting Services Limited, Mrs. Abimbola Olufore; Managing Director, Syncrest Energy and Gas, Mr. Wale Ogunbufunmi and a Guest, Mr. Jide Loye, during a two-day workshop on gas KOLAOLASUPO flaring prevention in Lagos...Friday

ANRP Vows to Challenge A’Ibom Guber Election Result Okon Bassey in Uyo Armed with relevant evidence of electoral irregularities, the governorship candidate of Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP), Mr. Iboro Otu has vowed to challenge the result of the election at the Election Petition Tribunal.

Otu made the pledge during a joint press conference with the governorship candidate of the Young Democratic Party (YDP), Architect NyaEtok Ezekiel held in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital.

While the YDP candidate is from Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area, the ANRP candidate, Otu is from Ini local government area both in Akwa Ibom North West (Ikot Ekpene) Senatorial District.

Otu lamented that the

unfair advantage brought about by the vote -buying actions of the two major political parties in the state, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressive Congress (APC) across the 31 local governments in the state, made it impossible for himself or other candidates to compete fairly.

Based on this, he is seeking the cancellation of the elections result just as he spoke of approaching the International Criminal Court to highlight the effects of the vote buying and voter-intimidation epidemic in the electoral process in the state.

He expressed optimism that going “to court will bring about penalties that will punish individuals, organizations and parties who engage in such act.

“From the data collated so far, it is evident to us that widespread vote-buying and voter intimidation occurred across 75 percent of our polling units.

“The two major political parties employed several schemes to extort votes from helpless electorates either by offering instant financial rewards for votes at the polling units or by taking voters to undisclosed locations to pay for their votes and voter’s cards; the price ranging from N1, 000 to N10, 000, depending on ward and location.

“These political parties permeated not only the electorates but also some electoral staff to play ball and look the other way while these despicable actions took place.

“Some of the parties paid

in dollars while others paid in Naira. It is widely known that the PDP, for example, paid N1.1 million in every polling unit.

“We have videos and photographic evidence to this effect and hundreds of individuals to testify and corroborate this.

“At instances where some electorates elected to vote their candidates other than APC and PDP candidates, these electorates were threatened and stopped from voting while others who had it worse were beaten and threatened not to return.

“It got so bad that even some of our agents were barred from carrying out their lawful functions as PDP and APC agents and touts overran the polling units.

Amnesty Office Unveils Strategy to Reintegrate 30,000 Ex-Niger Delta Agitators Gboyega Akinsanmi The Presidential Amnesty Office at the weekend unveiled Entrepreneurial Revolution for Sustainable Peace, a disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration strategy designed to empower at least 30,000 former agitators in all states of the Niger Delta.

The amnesty office, equally, disclosed that it evolved the new strategy in partnership with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI), among others.

The Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and

Coordinator of Presidential Amnesty Programme, Prof.

Charles Dokubo cited the figure in a statement, saying the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was committed to sustainable peace in the Niger Delta.

The Concerned Niger Deltans for Sustainable Development (CNDSD), had staged a protest, alleging that Dokubo could not exonerate himself from the recent looting of the multi-billion naira vocational training centre in Boro, Bayelsa State.

Dokubo, however, reeled achievements under one year he was appointed the Special Adviser to the President on

Niger Delta to drive the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) under the Buhari administration.

In November 2018, the special adviser said the amnesty office initiated the Entrepreneurial Revolution for Sustainable Peace, a disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) programme under the supervision of the United Nations.

According to him, the Entrepreneurial Revolution for Sustainable Peace represents the third and final phase of the DDR programme with a plan to empower at least 30,000 former agitators in all states of the oil-rich region.

Dokubo explained that the programme was designed “to get the former agitators certified in their chosen fields; establish them as employers and ensure they contribute peace and development in the Niger Delta.

“We have equally entered into partnership with the National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI) towards improving the quality and certification of agricultural and other products of Amnesty Programme beneficiaries.

“This partnership is mainly on technology incubation, especially in the area of food production. In some cases, public office holders collude

with contractors to siphon public funds or engage in contract racketeering. Under my watch, all contractors must account for money they collected for projects.”

He, thus, warned all contractors implement the contracts in line with the terms of the agreement, saying this became imperative due to increasing reports on sale of contracts awarded to some companies in breach of contract agreements.

According to the Amnesty Office, “It is illegal and criminal for a contractor to be awarded a job and then goes behind to sell the contract to another individual or com-

pany. As part of the terms of agreement for contracts awarded by the Presidential Amnesty Office, a contract is not transferable. It should be satisfactorily implemented.

Dokubo

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ͚͝Ë&#x153; ͺ͸͚Î

87

SUNDAYSPORTS

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

Liverpool Host Spurs in High Stakes Premiership Match Demola Ojo

A

few weeks ago, the Premier League title race was touted as a three-way race between the favourites and holders Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.

However as things stand today, it is clear that the title is a matter that will have to be settled between City and Liverpool, while the third-placed Spurs will have to battle it out with the other members of the Big Six to stake a claim to a Champions League qualification spot.

In what promises to be a thrilling encounter today, Liverpool host Spurs in an attempt to return to the top after Man Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s win against Fulham yesterday.

Meanwhile, Spurs (61 points) will hope to extend their lead over Manchester United (61 points) and Arsenal (60 points), with the Gunners playing Newcastle tomorrow.

Every game is crucial in a tight title race but this fixture carries extra weight for the league leaders.

On paper, Tottenham are the toughest opponent remaining for JĂźrgen Kloppâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team and a 15 point advantage over a side that finished last season two points ahead is further evidence of the hostsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; outstanding progress.

Liverpool have lost only one of the last dozen games with Mauricio Pochettinoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team and one of the last 24 league meetings at Anfield.

Extending that run would be hugely significant for a squad that welcomes back Joe Gomez after almost four months out with a fractured leg.

On the other hand, Tottenham are without Eric Dier and Harry Winks. Dier was forced to withdraw from the England squad after picking up a groin injury in the 5-0 win over Czech Republic, while Winks is continuing on-field rehabilitation after a groin injury.

Right-back Serge Aurier will be assessed ahead of

Georginio Wijnaldum leaps to score for Liverpool in a 2-1 win against Spurs at Wembley in the reverse ďŹ xture in September the game after sustaining a hamstring strain while on international duty with the Ivory Coast.

Mauricio Pochettino will be envious of his counterpart, Klopp, who has virtually a fully-fit squad ahead of Spursâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; trip to Anfield.

Right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold and midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri have also resumed training after recovering from injuries which forced them to withdraw from international duty with England

and Switzerland respectively.

Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 36 home Premier League matches. If they avoid defeat here, it will be the joint-second longest unbeaten home run in the competitionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history (Chelsea 86 2004-2008, Man City 37 2010-2012).

Spurs are winless in their last four Premier League games (D1 L3). They last went five without a win in the same campaign back in February-March 2012

under Harry Redknapp.

No player has scored more Premier League goals in 2019 than Liverpoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sadio Mane (9, level with Sergio Aguero), with the Senegalese starâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nine goals coming in his last nine games.

After a run that saw him score 11 goals in 12 games in all competitions between December and February, Son Heung-min has failed to score in his last five appearances for Spurs.

Man City Back on Top La Liga: Messi Brace Seals Barca Win after Fulham Win Manchester City cruised back to the top of the Premier League as they condemned strugglers Fulham to their eighth consecutive defeat.

Pep Guardiolaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s side quickly established their superiority in the west London sunshine, with Bernardo Silvaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 20-yard drive finding the bottom left corner inside five minutes.

City, who had 10 shots in the first 15 minutes, added their second when Sergio Aguero sublimely lifted the ball over home goalkeeper Sergio Rico from close range.

Some woeful defending from Fulham -

who have now conceded 72 goals, the worst record in the top flight - contributed to both goals, with Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Joe Bryan both guilty of gifting the ball to City near their own goal.

Scott Parkerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s side also struggled to make an impression at the other end of the pitch and failed to register a shot on target.

City, who are chasing an unprecedented quadruple, move one point above Liverpool, who host Tottenham today.

The Cottagers stay second bottom, 16 points from safety with six league games remaining.

Bahrain GP: Ferrariâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Leclerc Takes Maiden Pole Ferrariâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Charles Leclerc beat team-mate Sebastian Vettel to take his maiden pole position at the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Monegasque, 21, beat the four-time world champion by 0.294 seconds as Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas took third and fourth for Mercedes.

Leclerc was fastest in all three parts of qualifying, a powerful statement of intent. Hamilton was 0.324secs behind, pipping Bottas by just 0.66secs.

Leclerc said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am truly happy. In the last race I was not satisfied with my qualifying and I worked really hard to do better. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Seb is an amazing driver and I have learned a lot from him and I will learn from him all year. But today is a good day for me.â&#x20AC;?

Vettel, who had only one run in final qualifying, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Charles did a very good job today and he deserves to be on pole. I felt happy with my only run and we are in a good place for the race.â&#x20AC;?

Leclercâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s switch to Ferrari this year, as a replacement for Kimi Raikkonen, was highly anticipated as he has talent in abundance.

He qualified fifth for his first race two weeks ago but finished it on Vettelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tail and had to be told to back off by the team to protect their

positions in the closing stages.

Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto said on Friday that Leclerc was free to lead the race and stay there, so their new driver has a great opportunity to take his first win today if he can convert pole into a lead at the start.

It remains to be seen whether Ferrari really will carry through on their commitment to let the drivers race, but with this performance Leclerc has confirmed his huge potential.

He has looked quicker than Vettel for much of the weekend and was ahead throughout qualifying.

RESULTS & FIXTURES

Fulham

0â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2

Man City

Brighton

0â&#x20AC;&#x201C;1

Southampton

Burnley

2â&#x20AC;&#x201C;0

Wolves

Crystal Palace

2â&#x20AC;&#x201C;0

HuddersďŹ eld

Leicester

2â&#x20AC;&#x201C;0

Bournemouth

Man United

2â&#x20AC;&#x201C;1

Watford

West Ham

0â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2

Everton

Cardiff City

v

Chelsea

Liverpool

v

Tottenham 4:30pm

2:05pm

Lionel Messi scored twice in the second half, including a chipped free-kick, as leaders Barcelona beat Espanyol to go 13 points clear at the top of La Liga.

Messi dinked his first goal from the edge of the box, with Espanyol defender Victor Sanchez failing to head clear as he ran back towards the goal-line.

The Argentine finished off a counter-attack late on to take his tally to 31 goals for the season.

Messi has scored 22 goals in his last 15 La Liga games, while he has also surpassed 40 goals in a season for the 10th successive time.

He had been an injury doubt for the game after missing Argentinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s friendly with Morocco in mid-week, but showed no ill-effects when he had Barcaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first chance of the game, only to see his shot deflected over the crossbar.

Barca - who face Manchester United in the Champions League quarter-finals - dominated the first half, with Ivan Rakitic and Luis Suarez both going close to breaking the deadlock, and it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t until the second half that goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was first troubled, by Oscar Melendo.

Messiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s opener saw Sanchez substituted by Espanyol soon after, before he sealed all three points by slotting home a Malcom cross.

Messi has scored 22 goals in his last 15 La Liga games

Salaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pilot, Ibbotson, Not QualiďŹ ed to Fly at Night The pilot of the plane which crashed into the English Channel with Emiliano Sala on board, was not qualified to fly at night, BBC Wales understands.

David Ibbotson is thought to have been colour-blind, and his licence restricted him to flying in daytime hours only.

Footballer Sala, 28, died when the plane carrying him from Nantes to Cardiff crashed late on 21 January. The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said it could not comment.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said licensing â&#x20AC;&#x153;continues to be a focusâ&#x20AC;? of its investigations.

Regulatory authorities have confirmed that Mr

Ibbotson, from Crowle, North Lincolnshire, did not hold a â&#x20AC;&#x153;night ratingâ&#x20AC;? on his UK private pilotâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s licence, the BBC understands.

His UK licence was mirrored by a US pilotâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s licence - enabling him to fly the US-registered Piper Malibu in Europe.

The public record of his Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) licence states Mr Ibbotson â&#x20AC;&#x153;must have available glasses for near visionâ&#x20AC;? and that â&#x20AC;&#x153;all limitations and restrictions on the United Kingdom pilot licence applyâ&#x20AC;?.

There is no publicly available record of UK pilot licences, which are held by the CAA.

Sunday March 31, 2019

TR

UT H

& RE A S O

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Price: N400

MISSILE

Oshiomhole to Amaechi

“I have never spoken at any forum that we have aligned with any party.

There is only one party (I oversee) and that is APC, if there is going to be alignment, I will know.” – APC national chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, denying a claim by Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, that APC will throw its weight behind Awara Biokpomabo, governorship candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the state.

SIMONKOLAWOLE SIMONKOLAWOLELIVE!

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

An Aerial View of 2019 Polls

W

ith the exception of Rivers state — where former friends are at war — governorship elections have been concluded across Nigeria on the not-so-unfamiliar note: the good, the bad and the ugly. As typical of Nigerian politicians, if they win, “the election was free and fair”; if they lose, “the election was rigged”. No politician rejects a result that favours him or her. It is worth celebrating, though, that many are accepting defeat these days and sending congratulatory messages to the winners.

We can take this as a positive trend — as the Fourth Republic approaches its 20th anniversary.

And, yes, I intend to take you through some interesting historical facts today ahead of the anniversary. A lot has happened in 20 years that we need to recollect.

Elections were held in 29 out of 36 states because of what Mr Peter Obi (then of APGA) did in 2007. Having fought for three years to win his election petition against Dr. Chris Ngige (then of PDP), Obi had spent just one year as governor of Anambra state when the 2007 election was held.

He went to court to enforce his constitutional right to four years in office and the courts agreed with him. So his first term expired in 2010. Other states with similar litigation outcomes soon joined the train of “out of season” elections: Ondo, Edo, Ekiti, Osun, Bayelsa and Kogi. That, in sum, explains why governorship polls are now held in only 29 states during the general election. It is practically impossible to align them with the general election, so we will live with this for life.

But contrary to what you might have been told, Ngige was not the first sitting governor to be asked to vacate office. The “honour” goes to Mr. Boni Haruna (PDP), whose re-election as governor of Adamawa state in 2003 was nullified by the tribunal in March 2004 — but the Court of Appeal saved his neck thereafter. His opponent, Alhaji Adamu Modibbo (ANPP), would have done a Peter Obi before Peter Obi. At the time, the Court of Appeal was the last bus stop for governorship petition. This was changed to the Supreme Court by the National Assembly in 2010 to “deal” with Justice Ayo Salami, then president of the Court of Appeal, who had been accused of using his position to award governorships to Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). He denied the allegation.

Haruna might have survived by the skin of his teeth in 2003, but many governors were not that lucky. In fact, 11 incumbent governors were swept out of office that year — the highest in a single season. All but one of the six south-west governors (all AD) were defeated by PDP candidates. Only Governor Bola Tinubu of Lagos survived. However, in the 2015 general election, only one incumbent was defeated — Alhaji Ramalan Yero (PDP) of Kaduna state. Later in the year, Captain Wada Idris failed to get re-elected as the governor of Kogi state. In 2019, only two incumbents have lost so far — Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi and Jibrilla Bindow of Adamawa. We have to wait for the outcome of Rivers’ election to know if we need to update the casualty figure.

Despite all the hue and cry, PDP did not do badly in the 2019 general election. It gained four states (Bauchi, Adamawa, Oyo and Imo) and lost two (Gombe and Kwara). Zamfara is still in play.

If the Supreme Court rules that APC was not qualified to field candidates in Zamfara, PDP would gain an additional state. And if Senator Ademola Adeleke maintains his victory at the tribunal up to Supreme Court level, Osun would also go the way of PDP. If Rivers goes in the bag too, PDP could soon be in charge of 17 states as against 18 for APC. With Kogi in play in

Tambuwal November, PDP could even dream of having 18 states to APC’s 17 and APGA’s one. It is a possibility. On the evidence of this, I wouldn’t think the 2019 general election was such a bad outing for the leading opposition party.

Comparatively, PDP lost eight states (all in the north) in the 2015 general election (before losing Kogi later in the year to make it nine).

In fact, PDP did not gain a single state then, compared to four in 2019. As things stand, PDP will control 14 states, APC 20 and APGA one by May 29 (the missing state on the list is Rivers, whose result we may not know until another week). I understand that political emotions are still raw, but for PDP to even have the possibility of controlling up to 18 states by November 2019 is like a fairy tale. The party was virtually dead and buried after the 2015 elections and the mass defection to the new bride, the APC. It could be that Nigerians are disappointed in APC’s performance and are returning to their first husband. I can’t say for sure.

PDP used to pride itself as the largest party in Africa. In 1999, it produced 21 state governors as against APP’s nine and AD’s six. After the 2007 general election, PDP was controlling 28 states!

The party was so arrogant that it continued to tell us it would rule Nigeria for 60 years, like the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) which ruled Mexico for 71 unbroken years from 1929 to 2000. PDP probably borrowed its green-white-red flag from the PRI. The PDP started showing signs of break-up in 2007 with the formation of the Reform Group, led by Senator Ken Nnamani, Senator Adolphus Wabara and Rt. Hon. Aminu Bello Masari. Things began to fall apart with its “zoning” (power rotation) controversy in 2011 after the death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

The PDP could be mischievous by talking about the number of its “alumni” who are now APC governors. The governors-elect of Kebbi, Kaduna, Katsina, Kano, Bauchi, Kwara and Ogun, among others, were once in the PDP in their careers, although they are wearing the APC jersey today.

That was how powerful the PDP used to be. It is accurate to say it produced most governors, either as current members or alumni, in this year’s general election. Despite its famed power, PDP has never ruled three states: Borno, Yobe and Lagos. Its record of having ruled 33 out of 36 states in the last 20 years will be hard to match; APC and all its legacy parties have only ruled 26 states, with no luck in 10 yet. Taraba is the only northern state APC or any of its legacy parties has never ruled.

APC’s hold on Borno, Yobe and Lagos looks solid, so also is the eternal record held by Alhaji

Ibrahim Geidam, the Yobe governor. When he leaves office in May, he would have ruled Yobe for over ten years. He became governor on January 27, 2009 when Senator Mamman Ali died. Giedam, as deputy, stepped in to complete Ali’s term and subsequently won two terms in office in 2011 and 2015. This record cannot be broken. Under the amended constitution, if you succeed your principal, your tenure starts counting immediately. There is no “completing” anybody’s tenure again. Yobe had also produced the second longest-serving governor: Senator Bukar Ibrahim, governor in the Third Republic from January 1991 to November 1993 who later served two terms from 1999-2007.

Ibrahim served as governor for 119 months while Geidam would have spent 124 months and two days by May 29, 2019. Rev. Jolly Nyame also governed Taraba thrice and matches Ibrahim’s record. Alhaji Abubakar Audu was in the same class; he could have matched Ibrahim’s record if he had not died on his way to winning the 2015 election in Kogi state. He was elected in 1992 and 1999 but lost in 2003. Only one living person can still equal their record: Chief Segun Osoba, governor of Ogun state from 1992-93. He was elected again in 1999 but lost in 2003. He can still have a go, legally speaking. A court had ruled in 2003 that the Third Republic tenures of Audu, Osoba, Nyame and Ibrahim would not count in the two-term limit permitted by the 1999 constitution.

Back to the 2015 governorship elections, it is very interesting to note that Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal defeated APC’s Aliyu Ahmed with a margin of 342 votes. Tambuwal has described this as the slimmest victory margin in the history of Nigeria. I do not have any evidence to contradict him. But if Senator Adeleke eventually becomes governor of Osun state, his own margin could be 354. The tribunal has annulled the supplementary election of September 2018 which gave victory to APC’s Alhaji Adegboye Oyetola. The difference of 12 votes would still make Tambuwal the “slimmest margin” record holder. The biggest gap in 2019 is in Borno state, where APC’s Babagana Zulum scored 1,175,440 — that is 1,109,325 more than his opponent who got 66,115 votes.

Alhaji Mohammed Imam, the PDP candidate in Borno, should still thank his stars — Senator Ayo Eze, the APC candidate in Enugu state, got a miserable tally of 10,423, the lowest of any PDP/APC governorship candidate. But you just have to pity PDP’s Alhaji Abba Yusuf whose 1,024,713 votes in Kano still did not allow him to be crowned. Dr. Abubakar Ganduje scored 1,033,695 to edge him out, although the alleged irregularities that greeted the supplementary election means the tribunal will soon receive a visitor.

There were five “millionaires” in all — Ganduje (1,033,695), Zulum (1,175,440), Nasir el-Rufai (1,045,427, Kaduna), Aminu Masari (1,178,864, Katsina) and Yusuf (1,024,713, Kano). Yusuf is the only “millionaire” to lose.

Finally, despite the allegations of irregularities, elections were very competitive in several states, particularly in Sokoto, Adamawa, Kano, Oyo, Ogun, Plateau, Sokoto and Bauchi. The figures look credible, although the Kano supplementary poll is being disputed. Over all, we seem to have fairly contained the fraudulent writing of results in some parts of the south, but the underage voters in the north are still getting a pat on the back.

General voter turn-out needs to improve. INEC must get its act together in the area of logistics and speed of announcing results. Certainly, the 2019 general election was not better than 2015, but to call it the worst in our history cannot be accurate. As a journalist, I covered the 2003 and 2007 general elections. I know what I saw.

Perspectives.

And Four Other Things…

WHITHER IGBO? The Igbo once again gave their votes to the PDP in the presidential election and this has raised yet another issue over the sharing of the “spoils of victory”. If the APCled government insists on “winner takes all”, then national cohesion will take a hit in the next four years. While the hawks will be telling President Buhari to “deal with those guys” for not voting for him, I would say two things: one, he should not ignore the fact that south-east’s votes for him have been on the rise in the last three general elections, no matter how marginal; two, he needs the support and energies of everybody. He has to be president of all, including those who did not vote for him. Inclusion.

EXPORT-IMPORT LOGJAM Is there a way of really understanding the Nigerian situation? We depend heavily on imports, yet we do not have enough reception facilities at the ports. Imported goods spend months before they are cleared. Now there is another problem: even though we have been talking about promoting non-oil exports and encouraging Nigerians to go into agriculture, the ports are such a mess that exporting has itself become a nightmare. According to a Bloomberg report, shipments of cashew nuts worth N108 billion ($300 million) have been trapped at the Apapa port since January because of “inadequate capacity and infrastructure, stifling red tape and corruption”. Nigeria!

PIZZA PIMPS Chief Audu Ogbeh, minister of agriculture, might have bitten more than he could chew on Wednesday while defending his ministry’s 2019 budget before a senate committee. Ogbeh complained that some Nigerians now order pizza from the UK via their cell phones and take delivery the next day through British Airways. He sounded genuinely angry. Some commentators have taken him on, reminding him that government officials gleefully patronise foreign goods and services. Some said he was exaggerating his “pizza by air” claim so as to be retained as minister. Can Ogbeh please give us details of how much forex Nigerians expend on importing London pizza yearly? Spicy.

AND FINALLY… Mr. Babatunde Fashola, minister of power, shocked many of us when he said on Wednesday that some states in Nigeria now enjoy nearly uninterrupted power supply.

I did not know things had improved so dramatically in the sector. All I know is that my bills for diesel at home and in the office have gone up considerably in the last three weeks. However, it seems some Nigerians do not agree with Fashola: someone said on Twitter that to be fair to the minister, he did not say the states enjoying “almost 24 hours of power supply” were in Nigeria.

Maybe he meant American states! Or was the minister adding the power supplied by generators as well? Electrifying!

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