WEDNESDAY 5TH JUNE 2019

Oando: Concerns Mount over Non-release of Forensic Report SEC executives meet today over court order, plan next move

Goddy Egene As the executive management of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) meets today to decide the way forward

on Oando Plc after a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos suspended the sanctions the capital market regulators imposed on the company for alleged infractions,

stakeholders have raised concerns over the failure of the commission to release the forensic report upon which it based its decisions.

Stakeholders, who spoke

to THISDAY on condition of anonymity yesterday, said it was strange that the forensic report, which the SEC used to make such far-reaching decisions has remained under

wraps, wondering why the regulatory body would not make it public.

“It is difficult to understand why a regulatory body would keep such a report secret

even when it went public with serious indictment of an entire board of a publicly quoted company,” a source Continued on page 8

Report Lists Ways to Halt Medical Tourism, Brain Drain…

Page 8

Wednesday 5 June, 2019 Vol 24. No 8822. Price: N250

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Buhari to Intervene as APC, Oyegun’s Bickering Worsens Party attacks former chairman, exonerates Oshiomhole Don’t drag us into your crisis, says PDP Chuks Okocha and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari is unhappy about the ongoing public spat between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and its former National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-

Oyegun, over the performance and leadership style of the incumbent National Chairman, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, and is making moves to draw the combatants to the table, THISDAY learnt last night.

Continued on page 6

Nigeria, Jersey, US to Share $268m Abacha Loot Yemi Ajayi with agency report

Nigeria, the United States and the Island of Jersey are to share about $268 million, which was plundered from the treasury by former military Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha.

Reports yesterday by the BBC and JERSEY EVENING POST said the cash was seized

from a Jersey bank account.

It is, however, different from previous seizures from the late head of state.

According to reports, about $268 million was paid into the Island’s Civil Asset Recovery Fund from assets channelled to Jersey from Nigeria after being laundered through the

Continued on page 6

GURUS… Court Summons Gbajabiamila SHIPPING L-R: Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside; CEO, United (UN) Global Compact, Ms. Lise Kingo and an official of Dey Norse Veritas - Germanische Lloyd’s Group, Mr. Bjorn for Alleged Perjury… Page 6 Nations Haugland, during the Nor Shipping Conference and Exhibition in Oslo, Norway… yesterday

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Court Summons Gbajabiamila for Alleged Perjury Chuks Okocha, Alex Enumah and Udora Orizu in Abuja Ahead of Tuesday’s inauguration of the National Assembly and election of principal officers, a new twist has emerged as a major contender to the office of the Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has been dragged to court for allegedly lying under oath.

He has subsequently been served criminal summons by an Abuja Grade 1, Area Court in Karshi, to appear on June 10 to clear his name.

His accusers said he failed to disclose in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Form CF 001, which he filled, that he had been previously convicted by a court in the United States.

A political party, African People's Party, (APP), had approached the court seeking leave to serve the defendant criminal summons by substituted means for allegedly lying under oath.

The complainant also prayed the court for an order to serve the summons on the defendant through the office of the Clerk of the National Assembly.

Granting the order, the presiding judge, Hon. Anas Mohammed, said: "An order is hereby granted giving the complainant leave to serve the defendant the summon through the office of the Clerk of the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria."

The complainant had

brought direct criminal complaint pursuant to Sections 88 and 89 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.

The grouse of the complainant was that Gbajabiamila lied under oath in his INEC Form CF001 and thereby committed perjury.

The complainant contended that Gbajabiamila was convicted for fraud in the US but lied under oath when he denied in his INEC form that he had never been fined for any offence involving dishonesty or fraud or any offence imposed by a court or tribunal.

The APP who attached the defendant's INEC Form CF001 to the suit, also submitted that the defendant lied when he said that he had not in the last 10 years been convicted for an offence involving dishonesty.

It attached a copy of the decision of the US Supreme Court, which convicted Gbajabiamila in support of his case.

It contended that Gbajabiamila refused to state the correct position of his conviction and punishment in his INEC form but rather pretended as if nothing happened.

Speaking on the allegations against Gbajabiamila yesterday in Abuja, the National Publicity Secretary of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) Mr. Ikenga Ugochinyere, said the documents from the Supreme Court of the State of Georgia showed that Gbajabiamila had been convicted and indicted by the

been a member of the Bar since 2001, admits that he accepted payment of $25,000 as settlement of a client's personal injury claims, deposited those funds in his attorney's trust account in January 2003, failed to promptly disburse those funds to his client, withdrew those funds for his own use, closed practice and moved out of the country."

Ugochinyere accused President Muhammadu Buhari and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)

of fighting a fake anti-graft war, which he said was being used to intimidate political opponents.

He said: "How can a so-called clean president be lobbying, coaxing, coercing and mobilising House of Representatives members-elect to step down and support a man who has been convicted in the USA by the Supreme Court of the State of Georgia for willful dishonesty? “How could the president be demanding that Femi Gbajabiamila, a man convicted of dishonest acts, be anointed and imposed to occupy the speakership of the House of Representatives?

"CUPP is not interested in who parliamentarians decide to elect to lead the Ninth Assembly, what we are saying is that a man who has been convicted of dishonest acts and who is constitutionally ineligible to even come near where leadership questions are asked and answered should not be rail-roaded into the speakership of the Nigerian Parliament."

He said his group had secured the nod of the FCT court to commence criminal proceedings against Gbajabiamila for the offence of perjury and giving false information under oath.

He said: "This criminal case is instituted because in 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and most recently 2018, preparatory to the 2019 elections, Femi Gbajabiamila in answer to questions contained in the INEC form CF001 gave false

evidence and information on oath to the commission when he denied and claimed that he had never been indicted by a tribunal, court panel for fraud or dishonesty.

Yet it is the finding of the Supreme Court of the State of Georgia which in a unanimous decision found him guilty and sentenced him to 36 months disbarment as against the punishment of lifetime disbarment because he pleaded guilty and repaid the money to his client, which was done after three years of running away with the money."

Ugochinyere called on all lawmakers-elect to reject the candidature of Gbajabiamila by not electing him as speaker.

He also said the reversal of the secret ballot system used in 2015 election of principal officers of the National Assembly was non-negotiable.

Efforts to get Gbajabiamila to respond to the allegation were unsuccessful yesterday.

But an associate of the federal legislator told THISDAY last night that there was nothing to the summons, saying it had always been Gbajabiamila’s position that he had never been convicted by any court of law for any crime. “This is a worn-out matter that his opponents resuscitate in every election circle to embarrass him,� his associate said, adding that it was a mere blackmail his accusers hoped to use to stop him from contesting the position of speaker of the House of Representatives.

He also offered to tutor him on how to run a political party.

Amidst the recriminations between the APC bigwigs, the PDP warned the ruling party not to drag it into its crisis.

The APC accused OdigieOyegun of being responsible for the indiscipline in the party that cost its defeat in some states.

APC’s response came after Odigie-Oyegun had on Sunday accused Oshiomhole of deploying “agbero-style� engagement and being

incapable of running a political party.

He said: “Oshiomhole fails because he lacks the temperament that is required to run a political party. He lacks the capacity to manage the different interests and tendencies that constitute a political party. “He acts in direct opposite of decisions taken by NWC. No minutes of NWC meetings which, in any event, take place outside the party secretariat. “How would you not

have crises in states with the confusion that Oshiomhole created when he gave the states freedom to choose their methods of choosing candidates for elections? “Much of the crisis in states arose out of sheer incapacity on the part of the current chairman. How does this Oshiomhole’s incapacity become traps by Oyegun? “He (Oshiomhole) engages his mouth before engaging his

laundered during the military regime of Abacha.

A spokesman for Jersey's Law Officers Department said it had faced "challenges and appeals" all the way to Jersey's highest court, as well as "separate proceedings" by a third party in US court.

Jersey's attorney general, Robert McRae QC, said the seizure "demonstrated his country’s commitment to tackling international financial crime and money laundering".

He said: ‘In restraining the funds at the request of the United States of America, through whose banking system the funds were laundered prior to arriving here, and in achieving the payment of the bulk of the funds into the Civil Asset Recovery Fund, Jersey has once again demonstrated its commitment to tackling international financial crime and money laundering.’ In 2014, at the request of the

US authorities, the Island’s Attorney General applied for, and the Royal Court granted, a restraining order over the Jersey bank account balance of Doraville.

The restraining order was to preserve the money until a final civil asset recovery order could be registered in the Royal Court.

Doraville applied to the Royal Court for the restraint order to be discharged, but the Royal Court dismissed the application in 2016.

Then in 2017, Doraville challenged the Royal Court’s decision, taking the case to Jersey’s Court of Appeal. That challenge was again rejected.

However, following the decision of Jersey’s Court of Appeal, Doraville made an application to appeal against the restraint order before the Privy Council – Jersey’s ultimate appellate court.

In February 2018 the Privy Council announced

its rejection of this final legal challenge.

Gbajabiamila Supreme Court of Georgia for a dishonesty act.

The document dated February 26, 2007, and titled case No. S060829, "In the matter of Femi Gbaja", signed

by Theresa Tee Barnes, Clerk of the Supreme Court of Georgia, revealed that in his petition, Gbaja admits violating rule 1.15 (I) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, which led to his 36 months suspension by the presiding justices.

The document read in part, "Gbaja who has only

BUHARI TO INTERVENE AS APC, OYEGUN’S BICKERING WORSENS Odigie-Oyegun first hit Oshiomhole on Sunday, saying the APC chairman had shown that he was unfit to lead a party of that magnitude.

The party responded harshly yesterday morning in defence of its chairman, saying he had been saddled by serious crises created by Oyegun, a situation that led to its weak performance in the last general election.

Presidency sources said yesterday that the president felt the bickering was

unhelpful, particularly now that he is trying to put together a new government that would help him to deliver on the party’s promises to Nigerians during the general election. “The president is unhappy that a matter that could be easily resolved within the party has been allowed to escalate,� a source said, adding: “The president plans to call them to order privately.�

The APC had at a press briefing in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary,

Malam Lanre Isa-Onilu, attacked Odigie-Oyegun, accusing him of contributing largely to the losses it suffered in the last general election.

It also exonerated Oshiomhole, of any culpability in APC’s loss of some states to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

However, Odigie-Oyegun fired back at Oshiomhole, saying his successor conducted the most fraudulent primaries in the history of political parties.

Continued on page 8

NIGERIA, JERSEY, US TO SHARE $268M ABACHA LOOT USA. The money was laundered from the United States and paid into Jersey accounts by a British Virgin Islands shell company, Doraville Properties Corporation.

After a five-year legal wrangle, the money, which was frozen in 2014, but has now been recovered, will be split between Jersey, the United States and Nigeria.

The huge sum will be held in Jersey while an asset-sharing agreement is struck between the USA, Nigeria and the Island.

It was however, unclear how much each of the three nations will get as no sharing formula has been agreed upon.

It was learnt that more money held by the shell company might be seized and paid into the Civil Asset Recovery Fund in the future.

More than $450 million was frozen in 2014 by the US Department of Justice,

in what it described as the biggest kleptocratic forfeiture in its history. Abacha, who died in 1998, is believed to have embezzled and stolen billions during his five years dictatorship and stashed most of it in accounts throughout Europe.

In 2016 Switzerland negotiated with Nigeria to return more than $300 million.

The Swiss previously had returned about $700 million, the first time frozen assets in Europe had ever been returned to an African nation.

The Buhari administration has used the money to fund its Social Investment Programme, a scheme under which small time traders are given N10,000 each to grow their businesses.

Nigeria made a deal with the Abacha family: dropping the charges against the former Head of State’s son, who was believed to have assisted in embezzling the money, in exchange for all of his father’s

foreign funds.

Jersey's Law Officers Department declined to comment on the final distribution of the funds because it could "prejudice ongoing discussions".

Jersey's government said it had approached the US in 2007 to request legal proceedings begin in US courts over the laundered funds.

The US Department of Justice itself has refunded millions of dollars of money back to Nigeria, ruling that Abacha and associates laundered funds through the US banking industry.

Following an "extensive" collection of evidence in a variety of international jurisdictions, the funds were frozen by the Royal Court in 2014 and finally paid into the Civil Asset Recovery Fund on May 31, 2019.

The money is just a fraction of the billions of dollars that were allegedly stolen and

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Report Lists Ways to Halt Medical Tourism, Brain Drain Obinna Chima If Nigeria is to reduce brain drain and rising capital flight through medical tourism, it needs to improve the state of its healthcare facilities, earn patients’ confidence and retain some of its brilliant medical experts, a report has stated.

The report by the Financial Derivatives Company Limited obtained by THISDAY yesterday, pointed out that with Nigeria’s population at about 190 million and a population growth rate of 2.6 percent, the country would need about 303,333 medical doctors now, and at least 10,605 new doctors annually, to join the workforce to halt rising brain drain and capital flight. “Only at this level can we expect good quality patient care that is not undermined by mistakes, occasioned by fatigued and exhausted

medical doctors. “The need for doctors is on the rise. If Nigeria is to reduce brain drain, and the rising capital flight from medical tourism, then it needs to improve the state of its healthcare facilities, earn patients’ confidence and retain some of its brilliant medical experts,� it stated.

According to the report, health remains an essential driver for economic growth and human capital development, adding that to ensure economic development in a country, its citizenry must be healthy.

It, however, pointed out that health is extremely difficult to deliver without a qualified and substantial workforce of health care practitioners. “Herein lies the problem in Nigeria. Emigration amongst medical professionals has been a trend since the 1980s. “An estimated 2,000

medical doctors and other health care professionals leave Nigeria for greener pastures every year, and over 80 per cent of Nigerian medical doctors are currently seeking work opportunities abroad. “The exodus of doctors, primarily to the US and Europe, is due to a range of reasons such as poor salaries and incentives, a lack of health infrastructure, and the constant need to seek a better quality of life,� it stated.

It said addressing challenges that lead to brain drain would help in improving the health sector, the economy and the lives of Nigerians.

It identified salaries as one of the largest factors leading to brain drain in the country, noting that hardly a year passes without a major national strike by health practitioners, typically

focused on wages.

According to a survey, a doctor who works in a private hospital in Nigeria earns an average of N100,000 a month ($280 a month), while a doctor who works for the government earns an average of N175,000 a month ($486 a month). “This is meagre when compared to a healthcare practitioner in the United States that earns an average of $14,904.67 a month. “Thus, we see doctors moving to countries where they can be better paid for their services,� the report stated.

According to the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, Nigeria has about 72,000 registered medical doctors. However, only approximately 35,000 of them are practising in Nigeria.

The UK has over 3,000 Nigerian-trained doctors, the US has more than 5,000,

and Canada continues to attract medical professionals from Nigeria, reflecting an on-going trend of Nigerianqualified doctors choosing to practice elsewhere. “The impact is a poordoctor-to-patient ratio.

There is only one doctor for every 2,500 Nigerians, which falls far short of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recommendation of 1:600. “The lack of health infrastructure, specifically research facilities and advanced medical equipment, is a second major factor fuelling brain drain. “Most health practitioners must travel abroad to get exposure to modern medical equipment, as do many patients if they can afford it. “The high rate of healthcare tourism is a clear indicator that the state of Nigeria’s medical system is insufficient.

Nigerians spend about $1

billion annually on medical tourism, which is about 20 per cent of the annual government spending on the public health sector. “The lack of infrastructure is a result of the federal government’s low annual budget for the health sector,� said the report.

The allocation for the Ministry of Health was N340.46 billion in 2018, 4.17 per cent of the total national budget.

This was below the African Union’s (AU) 15 per cent minimum target to improve the health sectors of AU countries.

Nigeria spends only $67 per person on health care, whereas South Africa allocates seven times as much and Angola three times as much, it stated.

The report recommended an increase in the federal government’s budgetary allocation for health care.

companies for a period of five years and the imposition of N91,125,000 on Tinubu.

Justice Olatoregun, ruling in an ex-parte motion filed by Tinubu and Boyo, through their lawyer, Mr. Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), ordered all the parties to the suit to maintain the status quo.

The judge had adjourned the case till June 14 for further hearing.

Last Friday, SEC had in the aftermath of the sacking of Tinubu and Boyo, constituted the interim management headed by Sunmonu to oversee the affairs of Oando Plc and conduct an Extra

Ordinary General Meeting on or before July 1, 2019.

The regulatory commission not only barred Tinubu and Boyo from holding director positions of public companies for a minimum of five years, it also ordered other directors of the company to resign their positions immediately.

However, Tinubu and Boyo, who rejected the sanctions sought a redress in the court where Justice Olatoregun granted all their prayers.

The judge ordered that the order be served on the commission alone with the motion on notice, as well as

other processes.

The judge directed the applicants to file an undertaking indemnifying the commission in case it later turns out that the orders ought not to have been made.

The respondents in the suit are SEC and Sunmonu as the first and second respondents respectively.

Also on the same day the judge gave the ruling, a detachment of policemen laid siege to the Lagos head office of the oil and gas company to enforce SEC’s removal of Tinubu and Boyo, that was announced last weekend.

alleged that the national chairman is running the party like a sole administrator, does that mean the rest of us are incompetent? I doubt if he would have many members of the NWC supporting him in this. The ability to face up to the challenges and to take responsibility for mistakes is an important quality of a leader. If the NWC had taken any action that did not produce the desired result, it would be plain cowardice to look for a scapegoat or pass on the blame to another person.�

According to him, despite the electoral losses, the ruling party has improved significantly on the result of 2015 under the leadership of Oshiomhole.

He blamed the losses in some states on the failure of some stakeholders to ensure internal democracy. “These people who are looking for who to blame are not talking about Kwara and Gombe. These were PDP states that we won landslide. We won in these two states because the local players adjusted to the change agenda of the party. I am from Kwara, we won 100 per cent in such a transparent manner that the PDP had nothing to complain about,� he added.

Odigie-Oyegun in a statement yesterday by his media adviser, Mr. Ray Murphy, said as an elder and a leader, he would not take issues with those who apparently are looking for excuses for their inability to manage a ruling party successfully.

He said it was absurd to lose states with all the capacity at the disposal of the current chairman, adding that party members know that APC witnessed its golden years under his chairmanship and no one could change that bit of political history.

Odigie-Oyegun said: "It is common knowledge that Oshiomhole ran the most fraudulent primaries in the history of politics in Nigeria.

Recall that INEC said so when it adjudged Oshiomhole primaries as the worst so far.

The courts are saying the same thing today by upturning many APC primaries for being undemocratic and less than fair. Was it Oyegun who ran the primaries?

"Oshiomhole should not destroy what others had laboured to build. If he needs tutorial on how to run a party, he should ask for it civilly.

John Oyegun will be more than happy to help, after all, no man would like to see his son scatter what he had laboured to build.

"By the way, the vote increase to Mr. President is a reflection of the confidence the people reposed in the president despite the fumbles of the Oshiomhole sole administratorship of the

party.�

OANDO: CONCERNS MOUNT OVER NON-RELEASE OF FORENSIC REPORT said, pointing out that it was doubtful if SEC had the power to remove members of the board of a company without reference to its shareholders.

He said it would be helpful if SEC could cite the section of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) that gives it the power to make the decision it had made on Oando Plc. Another source spoke about the fairness of the process, asking to know if the affected company executives and board members were given copies of the report before they were shunted

aside.

According to him, SEC’s order for an Annual General Meeting on July 1, without making the report public is like asking the shareholders to grope in the dark. “With what are they suppose to make their decisions at the meeting,� he asked.

A top official of SEC had, however, confided in THISDAY yesterday that the regulator would meet today to review the situation and take a position on how to handle the latest developments.

"The management of SEC will meet on Wednesday

(today) to decide to way forward," the source said.

Justice Mojisola Olatoregun of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday had ordered SEC to halt the sanctions, which included the removal of Oando Plc Group Managing Director, Mr. Wale Tinubu, his deputy, Mr. Omamofe Boyo, and the constitution of an Interim Management Team, headed

by Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu, to take over the running of the company.

The order also affected SEC’s decision barring Tinubu and Boyo from being directors of public

BUHARI TO INTERVENE AS APC, OYEGUN’S BICKERING WORSENS mind, so he offends party members.�

Odigie-Oyegun had said all these in a response to an allegation by South-south party chairmen that he laid the foundation for the crisis in the party.

But reacting to OdigieOyegun’s accusations, Issa-Onilu, told journalists yesterday in Abuja that there were peculiar issues that caused the party’s loss of Oyo, Imo, Bauchi, Adamawa and Zamfara States.

According to him, the ruling party did not lose because voters preferred the PDP. He said: “I would put the painful outcomes broadly under two reasons. One is indiscipline on the part of some members of our party in most of the states. The second reason is that the party leadership did not do much between 2015 and 2018 to move the party from being an amalgam of different political parties to become a truly blended progressive political party.�

He added that the next three years were important as the APC under the leadership of Oshiomhole, would continue to strengthen compliance with the rules, build support structures for democracy, ensures discipline across board and deliver good governance for the benefits of all Nigerians. “We expect members who have different agenda to join their kind in PDP. We will welcome with open arms those who share our

progressive ideals so that by 2022, we will have a party whose members are truly progressives.�

He accused the immediatepast National Working Committee (NWC) led by Odigie-Oyegun of lacking the courage to confront APC members who could not operate by the party’s rules.

According to him, this weakness created widespread indiscipline across party ranks, lack of respect for party supremacy as witnessed in the Eighth National Assembly leadership election in which the party’s choices for the Senate presidency and House of Representatives speakership lost out, and failure to align the varying interests.

He added: “Let me agree that the NWC that led the party into the 2015 elections and continued till June 2018 did nothing different from what you would find in PDP. It was a period the party was seen as a mere vehicle to attain political office.

The system accommodated impunity as certain members appeared to be superior to the party. Their interests were far more important than the collective interests of the APC even when most times such interests are at variance with the ideals the party stands for. “You would recall that it was under that leadership that some impudent members of APC called the bluff of the party by imposing themselves on the National Assembly as leaders, contrary to the position of the party. Where

was the party? Where was the discipline when this happened? It would be difficult to calculate what lack of courage to assert the party supremacy cost APC over that period. The consequences of the inaction of the party were unimaginable. We all saw the consequences on governance as the National Assembly practically held our government to ransom.

"The impunity, which President Muhammadu Buhari has rightly described as lack of patriotism, constituted an unfortunate hindrance to the smooth running of government. “The leadership under Chief Oyegun, with due respect to him, condoned all sorts of acts of indiscipline from certain members. It is not surprising that the current National Working Committee inherited such a huge mess, where the party was struggling to differentiate itself from the delinquent PDP. "We all know that PDP was practically dead following the devastating defeat of 2015.

The PDP bounced back not because the party has changed its insidious way or did anything different, but because APC did not live up to expectations,� he added.

Reacting to the letter by the party’s Deputy National Chairman (North), Lawal Shuaibu, calling on Oshiomhole to resign, the APC spokesman said the comments made by Shuaibu portrayed the party’s NWC as cowards.

He explained: “When he

Again, Oyegun Indicts Oshiomhole However, Odigie-Oyegun rejected the allegations against him just as he offered to teach Oshiomhole on how to successfully run a party.

Don’t Drag Us into Your Crisis, Says PDP Against the backdrop of the unflattering comparison made against it, the PDP urged the APC to face its self-inflicted woes and warned against dragging it into APC’s “shameless internal wrangling, bordering on the incompetence, recklessness and treasury looting� by its leaders.

It said the APC, by bringing out its dirty linen to the market place at this time has again demonstrated its insensitivity and contempt towards the values and feelings of Nigerians.

According to the main opposition party, “how else can it justify its choice of fouling the national space at a time compatriots are observing the blessings of Eid-el-Fitr?�

In a statement yesterday by the party’s spokesman, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, the party said it was most reprehensible that after pushing Nigerians into anguish and economic misery, the “crisis-ridden APC will not allow our people to celebrate the end of Ramadan in peace.�

It added: “It is imperative to state that the PDP, as a responsible party, will not join the APC in its shameless dance; yet, the APC must know that it must answer for its failures, depravities and unrestrained looting of our national treasury in the last four years.�

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

Have Faith in Buhari’s Ability to Combat Insecurity, Babangida Urges Nigerians Killings have nothing to do with religion, ACF insists Laleye Dipo in Minna A former military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd) has urged Nigerians to have confidence in the ability of President Muhammad Buhari to check the spate of insecurity in the country.

Babangida’s position is coming as the mouthpiece of Northern Nigeria, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), has said the continuous killing of innocent persons by insurgents, armed bandits and militia groups in the north in particular, and the rest of the country, has nothing to do with tenets of religion.

Babangida stated this in a brief chat with some journalists after the Niger State’s acting Governor, Alhaji Ahmad Muhammad Ketso, and the Emir of Minna, Dr. Umar Farouq Bahago, paid him a sallah homage at his uphill residence in Minna, the state capital, yesterday.

“The president has promised to combat insecurity; I believe he will do so,” Babangida said.

The former military ruler appealed to Nigerians to have faith in the ability of the government to check insecurity and solicited for the cooperation of the people with the administration.

“We need to support the government and the security agencies; we should give valuable information to the security agencies about the locations of criminals among us,” he added.

Babangida also asked Nigerians

to continue to remain peaceful and also live in peace with one another, insisting that the country will not grow without peace.

In his remarks the state acting governor, Ketso, said the state government would continue to invest in projects that would ensure peaceful coexistence among the people, which he said would also translate to the economic growth of the state.

Ketso lauded the efforts of security agencies in the state, which he said had brought about relative peace, adding however, that “we still have a lot to do” The acting governor assured their host that the next level administration in the state will build on the gains recorded in its first term.

Earlier, Ketso and the Emir had led hundreds of Muslims to the prayer ground in Minna to offer prayers to Allah for the successful completion of the month of Ramadan during which Muslims abstained from eating and drinking in the day time.

The prayer was led by the Chief Imam of Minna, Alhaji Abu Fari.

He offered prayers for the peace and progress of the state and the country.

The two former heads of state, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd) and Babangida, as well as the state Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, were absent at the prayers.

Meanwhile, ACF has said the continuous killing of innocent

Canadian, Ghanaian, Kenyan Leaders, Others Condemn Discrimination against Women Charles Ajunwa in Vancouver, Canada The increasing discrimination against women, which has hindered them from achieving their desired ambitions in life has been condemned by some world leaders who canvassed for the empowerment of women globally.

The leaders, who made the call at the opening of this year’s Women Deliver conference themed ‘Power, Progress and Change,’ taking place in Vancouver, Canada, said the conservations for gender equality should be promoted from the community level in order to achieve better results.

The Prime Minister of the Government of Canada, Justin Trudeau; Presidents of Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia - Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Uhuru Kenyatta, Sahle-Work Zewd, respectively, including the Secretary-General of United Nations, Antonio Guteires, all supported the call for gender equality and empowerment of women.

Trudeau, who lamented that gender equality is being attacked globally, blamed politicians for this development, saying they are “trying to undue women.”

“It’s time to put an end to mistreatment of women and

girls,” adding “our government will always be a partner in building a better future for our children. Together, we are stronger to change the world”.

On his part, Akudo-Addo said his government has put in place policies and programmes that promote the participation of women in government, which said is 52 per cent.

Kenyatta, who pledged to end female genital mutilation before the end of his tenure, said opportunity and education are key to women development in the society.

UN Secretary-General, Antonio in a brief video presentation, said “all of us must be agents of change for a better future for all,” saying the world body must live by example on issues concerning women and children.

Earlier, President/Chief Executive Officer of Women Deliver, Katja Iversen, during a press conference, said women will not push back on gender equality.

She said when power is used smartly and positively, development follow.

“Investment in women and girls is the right thing to do and the best way to go,” Iversen said, adding that “we are on the path of progress and nothing can stop us on the path to achieving women equality.”

persons by insurgents, armed bandits and militia groups in the north and the rest of the country has nothing to do with tenets of religion.

In a Sallah message by the National Publicity Secretary of the forum, Muhammad Ibrahim Biu, ACF called on all elected public officers in executive and legislative positions to hit the ground running by delivering on their campaign promises.

Biu, who lamented that security situation in the country, has become more worrisome said: “ACF wishes to observe that the killings of innocent souls by insurgents, armed bandits, by clashes between herdsmen and farmers, as well as cult and militia groups and kidnapping in parts of the north and Nigeria are inconsistent with the tenets of all religions.

“While commending the efforts

of the security agencies, we urge them to redouble their efforts in combating the crimes, which have continued to be worrisome to Nigerians.

“In the spirit of the seasons, ACF calls on Nigerians to embrace peaceful dialogue and forgiveness as the most religious and civilised means of addressing grievances rather than engage in hate speeches, threats and intimidation, which

are capable of degenerating into avoidable conflicts and conflagration that do no one or group any good.

“ACF wishes to appeal to those beating the drums of succession, separation and balkanisation of Nigeria along ethnic and religious lines to have a rethink, as we are all better in a united larger Nigeria than in small confederation of regions,” the group said.

BARKA DA SALLAH...

R –L: President Muhammadu Buhari; his son, Yusuf Buhari; Special Assistant to the President on Domestic Affairs , Seriki Abba ; Chief of Army Staff , Lt. General Tukur Buratai; Majority Leader, House of Representatives , Femi Gbajabiamila; Senator Kabiru Gaya; Inspector General of Police, Adamu Mohammed; and Chief Imam of Mabala Barracks , Captain Yusuf, at the Eid-EL-Fitr Prayers held at the Mabilla Barracks praying ground , Abuja …yesterday GODWIN OMOIGUI

FG Lauds Muhammad-Bande’s Emergence as UNGA President

UN chief pledges support for president-elect The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has applauded the emergence of Prof. Tijjani Muhammad – Bande, as the President of the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA).

Muhammad-Bande, Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, emerged President of the 74th UNGA through acclamation at the 87th plenary meeting of the Assembly in New York yesterday.

He is the second Nigerian to hold the office after Major General Joseph Garba (rtd), a diplomat, who led the organ between 1989 and 1990.

Reacting to the election, the ministry’s Acting Spokesperson, Mr. Friday Akpan, in a statement in Abuja, said the election was a positive development and demonstrated the confidence in Nigeria’s ability to pilot the affairs of the revered global institution.

Muhammad-Bande will officially take over from the current President, María Garcés in September.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-

General, António Guterres, has assured Mohammad-Bande, of his support to actualise his vision.

Guterres gave the assurance in his statement shortly after the election.

“It is my pleasure to congratulate Prof. Tijani Mohammad-Bande as President of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

“Prof. Bande, you bring many important and remarkable qualifications to the job. From your years as permanent representative of Nigeria, you know the United Nations well.

“And from your wide ranging academic pursuit, you are an expert in political science and public administration.

“And as a Nigerian and an African, you have invaluable insight into the continent’s challenges such as the Sahel and the Lake Chad basin, and more broadly to the challenges our world faces across the six pillars of our work – peace, sustainable development and human rights.

“We wish you well in your preparation for this role in the

months ahead”.

In her remarks, the outgoing President of the 73rd Assembly, Ms Maria Espinosa, also congratulated MohammadBande, describing him as the man for the job.

“Amb. Tijani’s career and experience both as a scholar and a diplomat should serve him and the General Assembly well in a session that promises to be pivotal.

“Amb. Bande is well seasoned to provide the strong and creative leadership our august assembly requires as he positions himself to be relevant in a world in rapid change.

“Your presidency, Ambassador, comes at a very critical moment for the United Nations and multilateralism.

“I am confident, however, that under your able leadership we will make meaningful progress to advance the implementation of 2030 agenda for sustainable development, in sustaining peace and conflict prevention as well as the promotion of human rights and the empowerment of

women and girls.’’

She assured the presidentelect of her commitment to a smooth transition in September.

In his acceptance speech, Muhammad-Bande thanked the federal government for nominating him for the position, and the African Group in the Assembly for endorsing his candidacy.

He pledged to provide a vibrant and purposeful leadership anchored on accountability and transparency.

“As I announced in my mission statement and during the interactive dialogue on May 13, the implementation of existing mandates and the 2030 agenda with particular focus peace and security, poverty eradication, zero hunger, quality education, climate action and inclusion will constitute the major priority of my presidency.

“I am committed to promote partnerships that are needed from all stakeholders to achieve our objectives, and ultimately ensure that we do our best to ensure peace and prosperity, particularly for the most vulnerable”.

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NEWSEXTRA

MTN’s Biggest Shareholder Pushes for Board Changes Emma Okonji with agency report MTN Group Limited’s biggest shareholder is pushing for changes at the board level to avoid the regulatory, legal and political disputes that have cut its share price by more than half over the past four years.

The Public Investment Corporation built a 26 per cent stake in Johannesburg-based MTN by late November and used that

to call for the replacement of MTN Group’s Chairman, Phuthuma Nhleko, people familiar with the matter, have said.

According to Bloomberg report, Africa’s biggest fund manager, which is South African stateowned, also sent a letter to MTN demanding a board reorganisation, which resulted in the appointment of more politically-connected directors.

Last month, the carrier obliged, announcing Nhleko’s planned

departure and replacement, along with other director-changes and a new separate group of prominent advisers.

The PIC didn’t respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment.

Nhleko had however declined to comment.

Interactions with the PIC have been at the board level, MTN Chief Executive Officer, Rob Shuter, said in an interview last week in London, where he was giving presentations to investors.

“An important thing for them was on our board evolution,”

he said when asked about the company’s relationship and discussions with the PIC, without commenting on the specific changes on the board.

The PIC was moved to act following a series of disputes in Nigeria, Iran and elsewhere, the people said, asking not to be identified as the concerns weren’t disclosed publicly.

The biggest of those was a $5.2 billion fine in Nigeria in October 2015, which was eventually settled for N330 billion after plea bargain.

The PIC, which manages the

pension funds of South African government workers, wants the new chairman, former South African Deputy Finance Minister, Mcebisi Jonas, and the board to resolve outstanding issues such as a $2 billion tax dispute in Nigeria, the people said.

MTN’s separate advisory board is a council of “wise old men,” who can directly contact lawmakers and decision makers in the countries where MTN operates, one of the people said.

The current board doesn’t have a Nigerian director even though

that country is MTN’s biggest market by subscribers.

From July, it will include the Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi, who is a former governor of Central Bank Governor of Nigeria (CBN).

The advisory board will be chaired by Thabo Mbeki, a former South African president who has mediated in a number of political disputes across the continent, and will include a former Ghanaian president, John Kufuor, and Mohamed Elbaradei, the one-time head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Buhari: FCT Residents Voted against Me, But I Won’t Threaten Them President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, received Vice President Yemi Osinbajo alongside service chiefs and an FCT delegation, who paid him the traditional Sallah homage.

Buhari, while receiving the guests, said he was pleased with the activities of the vice president and urged him not to relent despite the challenges.

“I want to appreciate the number two man of the country (Osinbajo) because he knows what we are going through very quietly; I am very pleased that you came with this very powerful constituency.

“I appeal to you to remain exemplary so that those under you will know that the country is doing very well.

“If you break down and complain, the impact will reverberate all over and then government will not be popular and whatever

efforts we are making will not be appreciated,’’ he said.

According to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Buhari jokingly told Senator Philip Aduda, who was part of the FCT delegation, that his constituency did not vote for him in the last presidential election.

He said, however, that FCT was a strategic part of Nigeria and that securing it would be taken seriously by his administration.

But The Cable reported that the president went further and referred to residents of the federal capital as “necessary evil”.

“I have just spoken to the senator on my left (Philip Aduda) and I told him that his constituency did not vote for me. So, I was very pleased that when they made the arrangement they put him very far away from me,” the president was quoted as saying.

Ekiti Assembly Orders Suspended Council Chairmen to Refund N3.6bn Fayemi signs eight bills into laws Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti After thorough screening of the finances of the 16 local governments in Ekiti State and realised that there were alleged cases of fraud, the State House of Assembly has ordered the suspended council chairmen to refund N3.6 billion to the state’s coffers .

The lawmakers at their sitting yesterday said the order was predicated on the report of a panel which indicted the council chairmen of mismanaging the money.

The sitting was the valedictory session of the fifth Assembly as the sixth Assembly will be inaugurated by Governor Kayode Fayemi on Thursday.

Passing its resolution, the Assembly ordered the suspended chairmen to refund the N3.6 billion into the coffers of the state government and also recommended appropriate sanctions against them.

This was part of the recommendations by the House Committee on Public Account in its report on the local government chairmen which was adopted by the House.

The report of the panel was presented by the member

representing Ikere Constituency 2, Mr. Sunday Akinniyi.

The former Speaker, Mr. Kola Oluwawole, representing Moba Constituency 1, had pleaded for leniency on behalf of the suspended chairmen but his plea was turned down by the majority of his colleagues.

Oluwawole, like the suspended council chairmen, are members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

The PDP members opposed the recommendation for the sanction claiming that the screening was full of irregularities.

They were, however, overruled by the Speaker, Mr. Adeniran Alagbada, who claimed that the chairmen went too far in their actions.

Alagbada cited example of his council area, Ise/Orun, where over N300 million was set aside for building of secretariat but the contract was not executed.

Meanwhile, the governor of the state, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, yesterday signed eight bills into law, saying his government will continue to demonstrate strong political will in the implementation of the existing laws in the state.

The signing of the bills marked the end of the legislative duties of the fifth Assembly of the state.

HONOUR TO APOSTLE OF DEMOCRACY…

L-R: President, Women Arise for Change Initiative, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin; daughter of the late Kudirat Abiola, Hafsat Abiola Costello; former Military Administrator, Lagos State, Rear Admiral Godwin Ndubuisi Kanu ; human rights activist, Dr. Femi Aborisade; son of MKO Abiola, Jamiu Abiola; and former Chairman, Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area, Lagos State, Mr. Adewale Ayodele, shortly after laying the wreath during the remembrance anniversary of the death of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola at the late MKO Abiola’s reidence in Ikeja, Lagos… yesterday.

ETOP UKUTT

NUJ Decries Killings, Kidnapping in Katsina State tackles consultant over N66.268bn Paris Club refund Alex Enumah inAbujaand Francis SardaunainKatsina The Katsina State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) yesterday expressed dissatisfaction over what it described as unwanted killings, kidnapping and other forms of banditry bedeviling the state.

This is coming as the state government is currently embroiled in a legal battle with a financial consulting firm, Mauritz Walton Nigerian Limited, over the state’s alleged failure to honour its contractual agreement to pay the firm 20 per cent of the $217.3 million (N66.3 billion) due to it

from the Paris Club refund by the federal government.

The union, in its Sallah message to the people of the state, said the wanton destruction of lives and property by bandits in frontline local government areas of the state must be stopped by security agencies.

The state’s Secretary of NUJ, Tukur Dan-Ali, in a message sent to the union’s platform, said: “NUJ is quite aware and concerned about the unwanted killings, kidnapping, cattle rustling and other forms of banditry and insurgency particularly in Batsari, Safana, Danmusa, Kankara, Faskari and Sabuwa local government areas

(LGAs) of the state.

“In particular, the killings and kidnapping have put many of our brothers and sisters into tears that necessitated the celebration of this year’s Eid-el-fitr in low key and sorrow stage”.

While applauding security agencies for curtailing the carnage in some parts of the state, the union urged them to accentuate their efforts in order to eradicate the menace.

Meanwhile, the the state government is currently embroiled in a legal battle with a financial consulting firm, Mauritz Walton Nigerian Limited over the state’s

alleged failure to honour its contractual agreement to pay the firm 20 per cent of the $217.3 million (N66.3 billion) due to it from the Paris Club refund by the federal government.

The firm in a suit filed at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, claimed that it was appointed by Katsina State, by a letter dated August 18, 2014, with reference No: MOF/ STAFF/409/1/31 to ascertain and recover the excess deductions by the federal government from its account to service its external debt between July 1995 and March 2002.

Mother of Emir of Ilorin Dies at 124 Her demise personal loss to me, says Saraki Deji ElumoyeinAbujaand Hammed Shittu in Ilorin The mother of the Emir of Ilorin, Princess Alhaja Aishat Nma Sulukarnaini Gambari, has reportedly died Monday evening in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital at the age of 124.

The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has described her demise as a personal loss to his family.

The late Gambari was the granddaughter of the late seventh Emir of Ilorin; daughter of the late eightth Emir of Ilorin; wife of the late ninth Emir of Ilorin; sister of the late 10th Emir of Ilorin; and mother of the 11th Emir of Ilorin Meanwhile, the Kwara State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) has condoled with the Emir of Ilorin, H.R.H. Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, over the

passing on of his mother.

Reacting to the death of Alhaja Aishat Nma Zuluqarnain Gambari, Saraki has described her demise as a personal loss to his family.

Saraki, in a condolence message personally signed by him yesterday stated that “even as a Muslim who must submit to the wishes of Allah at all times, I want to say that Alhaja Zuluqarnain’s Gambari’s death is a personal loss to me and my

family”.

“I find it extremely difficult to accept that our mother and our revered queen-mother has departed. Even though I am short of words to express my sadness and to praise her virtues, I want to say that Nma Zuluqarnain’s demise has left a great void in our lives - my family and I - which will be difficult to fill.

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T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍłËœ 2019

COMMENT

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

TRIUMPH OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT

Imam Abubakar’s uncommon courage is praiseworthy, writes Sonnie Ekwowusi

N

igeria after all is not a hopeless project. There is still a glimmer of hope. Last week the United States Embassy, Abuja, honoured Imam Abdullahi Abubakar, an octogenarian Muslim Cleric, who rescued 262 Christians - men, women and children fleeing from attacks by Fulani herders in Yelwan Gindi Akwati, Swei and Nghar villages in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State.

The attacks and rescue took place on June 23, 2018. The United States awarded Imam Abubakar the Ambassador’s Peacemaker Award for Heroism. Although the Fulani herdsmen had succeeded in killing many of their victims but the 262 Christians managed to escape. On sighting them, Abubakar immediately came out of his house and beckoned them over to his home and mosque where he hid them. He separated the men from the women and children. While he took the women and children to his personal house, he hid the men in his mosque. When the advancing Fulani herdsmen drew near Imam Abubakar’s house they commanded him to release the 262 Christians to them. Imam Abubakar flatly refused.

He went on his knees and even rolled on the floor pleading with the killer herdsmen to spare the lives of the Christians. At a point, he told them that he was prepared to die rather than surrender the Christians.

The rescue of the 262 persons by Imam Abubakar is, above all, a triumph of the human spirit. It teaches the intrinsic worth of the human person. The moral instinct which prevailed on Abubakar to rescue the Christians is the moral instinct of human civilization. We should learn from Imam Abubakar how to imbibe this important liberating principle of human civilization. Certainly when the history of Nigeria is re-written Imam Abubakar’s uncommon courage in rescuing the aforesaid persons will be written in gold. Abubakar’s good example is more convincing than one million sanctimonious presidential speeches. In every man’s mind the intrinsic worth of the human person is implanted. We are members of the same human family - our religious, socio-cultural and tribal differences notwithstanding. The notion that Christians and Muslims share and live on the faith of Abraham and on one Almighty and Merciful God is still sacrosanct. That is why when a group of barbarians goes about murdering innocent citizens and setting their houses ablaze all in the name of religion the group should instantly be brought to justice. God created us in this world to cherish our fellow human beings not to destroy them.

Most people are worried about the increasing insecurity of lives and property in Nigeria especially in the North. Last week wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, Aisha Buhari tasked the security agencies in the country to immediately put an end to the banditry and other insecurity challenges in the North and other parts of the country. Hear the First Lady, “We should not keep silent while things are happening thinking that if something happens today, it will not happen tomorrow. What happened today will happen tomorrow, it will happen next tomorrow if we keep silent. It is compulsory to speak the truth, it is not proper for us to give the highest number of votes during elections and allow bandits to continue killing the people and keep silent.�

WE HAVE BEEN SPILLING UNNECESSARY BLOOD AND THAT IS NOT A GOOD TESTIMONIAL FOR ANY GOVERNMENT

Quintessential Aisha Buhari! Each time the First Lady opens her mouth and says something about the bleeding of Nigeria all of us cannot but bend down to gather her words of wisdom. But I hope Aisha Buhari knows very well that the chief security officer in Nigeria today is her husband President Buhari. Pursuant to section 14 (2) (b) of the 1999 Constitution it is the primary responsibility of the federal government to protect the citizens from all these serial killings and kidnapping. President Buhari is our President. No buck-passing of any sort. Responsibility in protecting Nigerian citizens ought to start and end on the table of Mr. President. I would assume that either from the “kitchen� or “from the other room� Aisha Buhari had discussed this insecurity issue with her husband before urging the security agencies in the country to put a stop to the killings and kidnappings in Nigeria. We have been spilling unnecessary blood in this country and that is not a good testimonial for any government. The killing of our fellow a being diminishes our own existence. But unfortunately we have got accustomed to shedding of human blood. The paradox is that despite the high religiousity in the country the killing of our fellow men and women means nothing to us. You will recall that in responding to issues relating to herdsmen killings and attacks a few years ago President Buhari announced to the country that the armed Fulani herdsmen killing Nigerians and perpetrating mayhem across the country were part of the gunmen trained by the late Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Gadaffi. Now that it is crystal clear to all including Mr. President that most of the killers are among us little or no concrete steps are being taken to get rid of the killers. I stand to be corrected, but I do not think that any of the notorious herdsmen had been arrested, tried by a court of law and convicted. It is on record that the Buhari government is still reluctant to outlaw the killer herdsmen.

The government wasted no time in outlawing IPOB which is not even out to kill their fellow men. But when will the Buhari government outlaw the killer herdsmen? Now we are being told that the federal government is about to open up a nomadic radio station for the herders. So, who is deceiving who in Nigeria? More importantly, the “Fulanisation� of Nigeria aimed at deconstructing the secular nature of the Nigerian state in order to serve the selfish interests of a privileged few is becoming a fait accompli.

So, while thanking Aisha Buhari for her intervention I suggest she tackles the issue headlong with her husband. Or, the First Lady could team up with the good Nigerian Imam Abdullahi Abubakar and other good Nigerians to put a stop to the spilling of blood. This is very urgent. As we speak, the North is incrasingly reminiscent of the Hobbesian state of nature. The worrisome aspect is that beyond the escalation of the herdsmen killings there are now incredible syndicated bandits and kidnappers laying siege to the expressways in the North and kidnapping and killing their captors.

Spilling of human blood cannot be a passport to heaven; rather it is a curse of a people. The killer herdsmen are a curse. They have cursed themselves and the very land on which they walk has become accursed.

CROSSING THE RED LINES Steve Osuji canvasses legislation for proper transition procedures

I

t is a perverse and graceless state out here in Imo State. One is not talking about the sheer dishevelment and post hurricane scenarios right from the Government Lodge down to the lost corners of the state. If a governor’s dwelling place is in a state of disgrace, there is no telling how the rest of his domain would be. No, I talk not about the bad behaviours of our immediate past governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha; it’s about the long-term debilitating effect of bad governance and about solution.

Again, this is not even about the heavy physical damage he inflicted on a once-beautiful, serene and upwardly mobile state. It is about the violence done to our psyche, our esteem and worst of all, our institutions.

It can be said that where there are no institutions, there really is no life in the true sense of it because there is no human essence; no culture, no tradition and of course no civilization. In this new age of mankind, institution is everything. Peoples and countries that understand that institutions are sacrosanct; those who have the best institutions will always lead the world.

But the Okorocha mystique was to obliterate and vanquish institutions. Thus for eight years, he waged a relentless war against all the institutions there were in Imo State. And of course he left no institutional edifice of his time; not a trace. He did not only crash all systems, he pulled out the memory card and yanked the hard drive.

Imo today can be likened to a vacuous state; a blind blunder-head groping about in the dark. Imo is devoid of any institutional memory whatsoever.

Consider this scenario: Commissioners for Information for eight years are: one, Obinna Duruji; two, Chinedu Offor; three, TOE Ekechi; four, Chidi Ibe; five, Orikeze Ajumbe; six, Obinna Nshirim; seven,

Nnamdi Obiaraeri; eight, Patrick Nze. There were about five secretaries to the State Government, about four commissioners for Land. This was the trend in his governance. Then there was balkanization of ministries and agencies, merging and de-merging including new ones like ministry of Happiness and all that jazz.

All of these were happening on the whims of Number one; as His Excellency woke up each day. Strategic appointees of state were called up and yanked off even before they were seated. In a situation like this, hardly any record is kept; there was no proper understanding of the importance of documentation and archiving, the state was run on the run so to speak.

In an environment like this, it would of course be difficult to have a proper report of stewardship or give account; especially if there was no intention to hand over in the first place as was the case with former Governor Okorocha. It is this manner of dilemma besetting the immediate past administration that has made it very difficult if not impossible for it to handover its affairs of eight years.

Of course, anyone who knows about the running of government would discern that a proper handover could not be achieved by the Okorocha administration. That there was no formal handover was made plain at the inauguration of the Secretary of the Imo State Government recently. During the occasion, Governor Emeka Ihedioha had called up the sitting Permanent Secretary of Government House who was the most senior personnel left to take the in-coming members of the new administration round the offices. He was asked about the status of formal handing over.

The Principal Secretary had told the audience in the hall that no handover had been put to effect whereupon there was much angry rumbling in the

audience.

It must be noted that there was no formal meeting between the governor-elect and the sitting governor in Imo State since the election was won and lost.

Here was no cooperation in the activities leading to the inauguration. A sham joint transition committee was set up by the Okorocha administration which proposed elaborate project visit, but it was only a ruse to distract the in-coming government.

There have also been photographs of the cover of a handover note flying about in the social media.

Some handover note, a man with understanding would wonder. Even if we assume that some notes are contained in that cover, the natural question to ask is: is that all Owelle Okorocha has to handover after eight years? For those who know, one consultancy and design report on one major road would be bulkier that Okorocha’s eight-year report of stewardship.

Owelle Okorocha has forgotten so soon how then Governor Ikedi Ohakim handed over to him in 2011.

According to officials who witnessed the ceremony held in the Exco Chamber of Imo government House between top government officials led

by Ohakim and the then in-coming governor-elect Okorocha and his team. According to report, the atmosphere was convivial between the sitting governor and the in-coming one.

Ohakim was said to have brought a truck load of documents representing his four years of stewardship which made Owelle Okorocha to joke that he wished all the documents were cash. Ohakim also handed Okorocha other paraphernalia of office as well as giving him confidential executive briefing.

It was a serious and comprehensive state ceremony; it was an act of governance and statecraft. More remarkable, it was an act of grace and statesmanship. Managing a state is not only

a serious business, it is a divine trust, it is about the lives of millions of people and must be carried out with the sobriety and in deed solemnity that it requires.

But Owelle Okorocha turned governance into a plaything, an infantile affair and for eight years, the governance of Imo State was like children playing in the sand, trying to reenact governance within the ambit of their childish estimations. The result today is pathetic to behold.

It is true that there were other wayward governors who practically absconded from government house without the right and proper transition procedures. This is unacceptable and indeed a crime to the people of the states they had governed for so long and abandoned at the end stage.

This piece advocates for a legislation to set the standards and procedures for ‘trasitioning’ from one government/administration to the other. This is both for the states and the federal government. In fact we suggest a publication of each state’s audited accounts of an administration before a formal handover of office. The law may also stipulate that an out-going governor MUST as a matter of duty, personally account for his stewardship at the handover ceremony.

This is a challenge to both the National Assembly and the States’ Houses of Assembly. A well made law would keep state executives on their toes as they run their states on a daily basis knowing that they would have to give a thorough account at the end of the day. This way, no in-coming governor would be left high and dry the way the Rochas Okorocha left Emeka Ihedioha.

We must relentlessly interrogate the way our country is run if we want to march in stride with the rest of the world.

Osuji is Media Aide to Governor Emeka Ihedioha

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2019

EDITORIAL Concerns Over Rising Debt Burden Excessive borrowing will prove painful to all

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hile it is standard practice for government all over the world to borrow, either externally or from the capital market within the country to finance projects, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has consistently warned Nigeria of the consequences, particularly of the servicing costs which could consume substantial amount of government revenues. If the aim of borrowing is to help government attain their developmental needs in the areas of infrastructure, health, education, power and transportation, it is a laudable idea. The challenge, however, is that over the years, the federal and states governments had accumulated huge debts at public expense which were largely frittered away.

Unfortunately, the authorities have continued to sneer at genuine concerns as the amount of borrowings keeps piling up, raising the NIGERIA’S DEBT PROFILE spectre of another GREW FROM N12.12TN IN debt trap in future.

JUNE 2015 TO N24.39TN According to the latest IN DECEMBER 2018. THIS data, Nigeria’s debt profile grew from REFLECTS MORE THAN N12.12tn in June A HUNDRED PER CENT 2015 to N24.39tn in INCREASE WITHIN THE December 2018. This PERIOD reflects more than a hundred per cent increase in the debt profile of the country within the period under review. Of this debt stock, the federal government accounted for N19.23tn while the 36 states and FCT accounted for N5.15tn.

Meanwhile, the external debt stock of both the federal government and states had increased from N2.03tn in June 2015 to N7.76tn as at last December. This means that within this period, the external debt of the country rose by N5.73tn. The question therefore is: with the growing percentage of money going into debt service, is the future not already mortgaged?

To compound the situation, many of the states have

Letters to the Editor

crossed the red line against debt accumulation. In no fewer than 18 states, their debt profiles exceed their statutory revenue by more than 200 per cent. In Lagos, Osun and Cross River States, debts exceed revenues by almost 500 per cent. Lagos, Kaduna and Edo chalked up the most external debts running into billions of dollars.

Expectedly, the Fiscal Responsibility Commission is most uncomfortable with the trend, as the development is contrary to dictates of the DMO on debt sustainability.

According to the guidelines, the debt status of each state should not exceed 50 per cent of the statutory revenue in the previous 12 months.

H T H I S DAY EDITOR BOLAJI ADEBIYI DEPUTY EDITOR DAVIDSON IRIEKPEN, YEMI AJAYI MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN MANAGING EDITOR JOSEPH USHIGIALE

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

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

UNDERSTANDING BALA MOHAMMED

M

allam Bala Mohammed has been sworn in as governor after winning the gubernatorial election in Bauchi State.Many of us who are sworn fan of the governor because of his impeccable character and leadership qualities congratulate the good people of Bauchi State for making the right choice, a choice which we believe shall bring development to the state.

The election of Bala Mohammed will bring a difference to the democratic space of the state and in so doing bring the democratic dividend to the entire people of the state.

The biggest problem facing liberal democracies is not a lack of economic growth but a lack of respect. So thinks Bala Mohammed since respect is an essential ingredient of a flourishing liberal society. Bala Mohammed has always stressed the importance of respect for liberty of others. He believes respect is the glue for relational equality.We typically think of equality in terms of rights, as enshrined in laws, or in terms of resources, as expressed in naira or dollars. But the basis of this type of equality he believes is equality in terms of relation which is sustained through mutual respects.

Bala Mohammed argues that the central premise of modern democracy is the ethics of reciprocity which he says means treating all persons with respect and weighing well their aspirations and their ways of looking at the world. He also believes in a society of equal respects. We can speak our minds and everybody can walk tall among fellows and look at each other squarely in the eyes.The capacity and willingness to look at each other in the eyes demonstrates our true equality.In an

owever, officials of the federal government have repeatedly argued that Nigeria’s debtto-GDP ratio is one of the lowest in the world and that the country has the capacity to meet its debt obligations. The federal government is currently in the forefront of the extensive external borrowing in a bid to achieve 40 to 60 per cent foreign to local borrowing ratio. Yet, the external debt is less than 50 per cent of the crisis point we attained in 2005 when the country, under President Olusegun Obasanjo, paid $12b to the Paris Club of creditors for a debt relief of $18b.

Meanwhile, many of the current governors on assumption of office complained of inheriting heavily indebted states on account of funds taken from the capital market by their predecessors. Incidentally, many of those governors have gone to secure their own loans which they also expect future governments in their states to repay. Aside the fact that many of the states can hardly meet their routine obligations after servicing their monthly debts, most of the loans were not deployed to tangible projects.

While it is understandable that the federal government would borrow to bridge the huge infrastructural gap in the country, there are growing concerns about repayments. It is therefore incumbent on the authorities in Abuja and the in states to reflect on the implications of the debt burden on the future of our country.

equal gaze is equal respect.

So to be clear he is not arguing for the restoration of some lost republic of respect in our polity.The definition of who qualifies for respect has always been a racist and sexist one.The demand for equal respect has been at the heart of civil rights movements, workers group and the religious in our state and country in general, but progress on this front has been halting but real.Negative populism, like the type promoted by most of our politicians and others threatens this progress. Bala Mohammed believes that negative ethnocentric populism is poisonous not just because it undermines mutual respects, but because it is specifically out to do so. But the elite are to blame too. He believes that those of them that have been privileged to be in positions of authority have paid too little respects to the people because we have not in effect looked them squarely in the eyes. We have disrespected our fellow citizens in thoughts, in words and in deed, he always says. Bala beleives meritocracy has been turned into a secular creed justifying rampant inequality.

Bala Mohammed believes there are steps that need to be taken to revive liberal societies like ours today, many of which have been articulated on these pages. But we need to start by building a foundation of mutual respect for our people, by dethroning the false idol of meritocracy, minding our words and by aggressively pursuing policies that do not benefit us but the people. Let us start by looking each other squarely in the eye. And Bala Mohammed shall surely do so to the Bauchi people because he respects all.

Musa Wada, Abuja

THE NEED TO RESTRUCTURE NIGERIA

A

s we ushered into a new administration, I want to use this medium to task the candidates elected not to see this as the time to roll out drums for frivolities. The task ahead of them is tremendous. In as much as we have largely reduced governance to celebrating electoral victory other than reflecting on the tasks we sought to address, the need to remind our new public office holders to set their priorities right cannot be overemphasised.

Going through the manifestoes of the incoming public officers, it is saddening that none of these touch on the core needs of our country at the national level or at the state and local government levels. Many of us only hope that there will be a turn around in the course of their stewardship. Northern Nigeria recently displayed insincerity regarding why Nigeria must be restructured. The silence of the northern elders on the restructuring of Kano and Jos Emirates, to many, connotes their support for the actions of the governors of the affected states. Sincerely speaking, the explanations of these governors are plausible and convincing. Their (the governors’) actions were long overdue. Too much concentration of power breeds abuse of power. But the salient

question is, why are these same people scared of restructuring Nigeria? In case they did not know, what happened in Ibadan, Kano and Jos is restructuring. If restructuring is needed in these states, why should it be forbidden at the national level? Personally, the task for the incoming governments is to address Nigeria’s core problems. How do we ensure that we utilise the material resources in our country to add value to our humanity? Our efforts on human capital development determine how developed our country will be. Our state today as a country is a reflection of how well our human capital has been treated.

Whenever people make reference to Nigeria during the regional government era and give credits to the level of development and healthy competition among the regions, they often fail to add that this was made possible because the country was well structured. Thus, the need to restructure Nigeria now cannot be overemphasised. The task ahead of the executive and the legislature is more than rolling out drums.

Rather, the men and apparatus needed for this task ought to be put in place immediately. They should roll up their sleeves and ensure that all hands are on deck.

Adewale Qudus Lawal, alaniadewale@ yahoo.com

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WEDNESDAY JUNE 5, 2019 • T H I S D AY

WEDNESDAY JUNE 5, 2019 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY JUNE 5, 2019

MIDWEEKPOLITICS

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

NEWSMAKER

From Agbokim Falls, a Gift to the Nation Nseobong Okon-Ekong writes that Senator John Owan Enoh has been in good reckoning before his interest in becoming governor of Cross River State. The Senator who is celebrating his 53rd birthday has built an excellent reputation from the state legislature to the National Assembly

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OFF THE CUFF: r8F NBZ IBWF PVS JOUFSOBM JTTVFT CVU UIF DIPJDFT BSF GBS CFUUFS UIBO SFFMFDUJOH (PWFSOPS "ZBEF CFDBVTF IF EPFTO U EFTFSWF B TFDPOE UFSN *U T OPU BMM BCPVU NF PS NZ SVOOJOH NBUF CVU B CBUUMF UP SFTDVF UIF TPVM PG $SPTT 3JWFS 4UBUF Enoh stating that he, and not the Minister of the Minister of the Niger Delta, Usani Usani, is the candidate for the APC regarding the governorship position of Cross River State in the 2019 national elections r5IF #MPPE PG $SPTT 3JWFSJBOT TIPVME OPU CF TIBSFE EVSJOH UIF DPVSTF PG PVS DBNQBJHOT (PW "ZBEF TIPVME OPU FODPVSBHF DBNQBJHO XJUI CMPPETIFE "T XF HP JOUP UIF Ã FME UP DBOWBTT GPS WPUFT XF TIPVME FOTVSF UIBU DBNQBJHOT BSF DBSSJFE PVU JO B QFBDFGVM NBOOFS * IPQF UP SVO UIF DBNQBJHOT VOJNQFEFE BDSPTT UIF OPSUIFSO BOE DFOUSBM TFOBUPSJBM EJTUSJDU PG UIF TUBUF 8F BQQFBM UP UIF MFBEFSTIJQ PG $SPTT 3JWFS 4UBUF VOEFS UIF XBUDI PG 1SPG #FO "ZBEF UP BMMPX QFBDF UP SFJHO JO UIF TUBUF * XJMM XFMDPNF NZ PQQPOFOU JO NZ WJMMBHF XJUI B SFE DBSQFU Enoh pleading with his counterpart in the 2019 governorship race in Cross River State, Prof. Ben Ayade of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to ensure that the campaign

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T H I S D AY ˾WEDNESDAY JUNE 5, 2019

19

ANALYSIS

Battle for the Soul of Bayelsa

Segun James writes that there is a string of impulsive maneuvering and realignment of aspirants in the impending governorship contest in Bayelsa State

Dickson

T

he 2019 general election, arguably, left a gaping chance for a major change in the shape of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State. The election revealed the sore crisis in the ruling PDP in the state and the fact that the party could be worsted in the November 16 governorship election, unless its leaders take the bull by the horn to begin a reconciliation process.

The party had surprisingly lost a senatorial seat, two House of Representatives and four House of Assembly seats to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in an election that was a pointer to the future.

At the parliamentary level, the battle is already lost and won. For a party that prides itself as an “Ijaw party”, this was certainly the PDP’s worst outing. Now, the battle has shifted to who becomes the governor after Mr. Henry Seriake Dickson.

All is quiet on the political front within the PDP following the “disastrous” performance of the party at the last general election. All the blames have been placed at the doorstep of Dickson who the party leaders have accused of playing God in handling the affairs of the party. To them, the primaries before the general election was a one-man-show, and this reflected in the outcome.

The governor believes he has the magic wand to ensure that the PDP continues to be the mighty Iroko in the political forest of the state.

Not surprisingly, he is confronted by a teeming number of aspirants jostling for the governorship ticket of the party.

These persons are determined to ensure Dickson does not determine their political future.

The stage is finally set for a battle between forces loyal to Dickson and those who are determined to wrest the party from him. Most of them are distressed by the attempt by the governor to humiliate people who were instrumental to his political ascendancy in the last eight years.

Among them is former President Goodluck Jonathan, who has been humiliated at different times by the governor. Since Jonathan returned home to Bayelsa, Dickson has told him that his six years in the presidency was a waste, an outburst which attracted

Jonathan

criticism from home and abroad. This is because the governor was the former president’s political godson. Jonathan ensured Dickson’s political ascendancy against all odds.

With Dickson in charge in the last election, Jonathan never had a say in who takes what position. The former president’s opinion was not sought for at all.

The governor even humiliated his deputy, Rear Admiral John Jonah (rtd.), refusing him any opportunity to nominate even the party’s candidate for his Nembe constituency, effectively making the admiral politically irrelevant.

All candidates in the election were personally nominated and imposed on the party by Dickson. Opposition to his choice was not tolerated and anyone suspected to be working against him was treated as an outcast.

Not done with his “victory” at imposing his supporters on the party, Dickson is now determined to decide the next governor of the state, a move which the aspirants are determined to resist.

Although the new political year began on the May 29, the governor is now at daggers drawn with the critical stakeholders of the party who are determined to ensure he alone does not determine the candidate of the party in the election.

But how did the party get to this level?

What will the situation cost the party?

Will the PDP continue to rule Bayelsa, a state in which it has 20 years unbroken run? These are the questions as the battle for the soul of Bayelsa State enters a critical stage.

It all began when Dickson insisted that there will be no party primaries in the state while imposing candidates on the party despite the order by the national working committee of the party. He ensured that people loyal to Jonathan and his most formidable opponent, Chief Timi Alaibe never had access to the nomination forms.

Loyalists of potential aspirants like Reuben Okoya and Godknows Igali among others also got a similar treatment. In order to effectively silent such formidable opponents as Alaibe, whom he cannot order about or control, Dickson promoted Alaibe’s kinsman, who was in the House of Representatives, Hon. Douye Diri, as the senatorial candidate.

With this, he ensured that both the senator and the governor of the state may not be allowed to come from the same place.

Not done, Dickson tinkered with the gentleman agreement worked out by the founding fathers of the party which stressed that the governorship in the state should not only be rotated among the three senatorial districts, but also among all the eight local government areas in order to give everybody a sense of belonging.

With this deft political reengineering, the governor successfully made himself the political godfather in the state knowing that the PDP still stands as a colossus in the political firmament of the state.

In the midst of these, there is the rumor that the governor is desirous to return to the National Assembly as a senator to represent the Bayelsa West Senatorial District. To ensure that his plan succeeds, Dickson imposed his Commissioner for Works, who is one of his closest allies and confidant, Lawrence Eghwhrujapor, as the senatorial candidate.

Eghwhrujapor, who is from a minority Urhobo enclave in Dickson’s Sagbama local government area, is to step down for the governor as he is “moved up” the ladder as deputy governor to the party’s candidate.

According to insiders, the governor is positioning the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Kemela Okara, as the PDP governorship candidate with Eghwhrujapor as his deputy. This will clear the way for Dickson to contest for the Senate seat vacated by Eghwhrujapor in a by-election.

It is with this calculation in mind that the groundswell of opposition to the governor rises everyday with the increasing number of aspirants for the PDP governorship ticket.

For some palpable reasons, the pending battle in Bayelsa PDP is not just one of ambition but more of survival – the survival of Governor Henry Seriake Dickson. He is ready to crush anyone in his way to survive.

There is no denying the fact that the race for the governorship election is on and that Dickson is not going to be on the ballot having completed his mandatory two-term tenure, but the governor insists on having his way,

afraid that his legacy may disappear.

To ensure this never happens, he has to determine his successor and also find his way to back to the National Assembly in order to have political relevance in the state and the nation. To achieve this, he must devise all ways to actualize his mission.

Bayelsa is one of the few nearly homogeneous states in the federation. But for some Isoko and Urhobo communities carved into it as a result of natural landmarks like rivers and creeks used as boundaries, the state would have been an entirely Ijaw state.

But within this facade of one holistic Ijaw state that is on display to the public is the strident cry of “core Ijaw and non-core Ijaw,” which has polarised the people and is almost bursting into violence. The main proponent of this political movement is Dickson himself.

And he has his motives.

Opposition figures such as Jonathan and former governor, Timipre Sylva, who come from Ogbia and Nembe in Bayelsa East, are regarded as none-core Ijaw speaking people. The proponents of this divisive politics made it clear that the next governor must once again come from the “core-Ijaw” areas of Bayelsa Central and West Senatorial Districts.

They hinge their reasons on the fact that Ogbia and Nembe areas, which make up Bayelsa East have not only produced two governors in Jonathan and Sylva, but have also produced two deputy governors in Jonathan and Jonah, the most by any district. These aside from the fact that the district has also produced a vice president and a president in Jonathan. They insist that the West and Central districts should be allowed another opportunity after Dickson, a move which effectively makes a mess of the gentleman agreement of the founding fathers.

As the battle for the soul of the state enters a critical stage, the people have a date with history on November 16 as the PDP and the All Progressives Congress (APC) battle it out.

How that history play out is of utmost interest to the generality of the people.

What is sure, however, is that Dickson has dealt Jonathan a most unkind political blow and the people may ask for a pound of flesh during the election.

T H I S D AY t WEDNESDAY JUNE 5 , 2019

20

FEATURES

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

Katsina and the Burden of Banditry The inability of security agencies to tackle illegal migration has made Katsina residents vulnerable to the thriving attacks by armed bandits and kidnappers, writes Francis Sardauna

I

n the past two years, residents of Katsina State have been experiencing different forms of crimes ranging from armed banditry, cattle rustling, abduction and arson.

The ugly threat began with pockets of tit-for-tat clashes in 2015 between herders and farmers over cattle rustling. The situation used to occur mostly during harvesting of farm products particularly where farm products were not moved out from the farmlands.

Poor handling by local authorities, who have been accused by both sides of bias, resulted in distrust that partly led to its escalation in some parts of the state. Since 2015, the conflict has left more than 500 people dead, destroyed farmlands, rustled more than 10,000 cattle and impacted about 50 villages, according to security experts who craved anonymity.

However, it took a different dimension this year when bandits started moving around Katsina communities in broad daylight brandishing their AK 47 riffles. As they moved freely in most communities, they told the villagers to mind their businesses and not interfere with theirs.

Today, the armed bandits attacks have engulfed nine local government areas of the state. Numerous communities have been destroyed and attempts to go to farms have become life-threatening ventures even as many people have been displaced from their homes.

The affected local governments are Batsari, Safana, Kankara, Jibia, Faskari, Dandume, Kafur, Danmusa and Sabuwa. Communities within these local government areas are being attack almost on daily basis despite the deployment of massive security personnel to the areas.

This, however, prompted the residents to accuse the security operatives of not doing "anything" to curtail or avert the wanton killings.

Hideout The worst-hit local governments share border with deadly Rugu Forest, which is so large that the bandits are said to have established so many camps inside. A security source said the gunmen hide there and only come into town to buy foodstuff in disguise and go back.

The hoodlums who had settled in the forest for years, according to residents, only come out of the forest when they want to kill people. The difficult terrain of the area also makes it impossible for security personnel to respond promptly to any emergency situation.

Toll on the State Investigations by THISDAY showed that residents are worried that while the bandits now rape many women, they kidnap the young girls. The ugly development is causing tension and mistrust among family members,

particularly rural dwellers.

The security agencies seem clueless in preventing or solving atrocities across the landscape, making residents vulnerable to attacks by bandits and kidnappers in the affected local governments.

This ugly scenario has taken a heavy toll on the state in recent weeks. Both the affluent and average citizens have been killed or wantonly abducted for ransom in several communities. The bandits have also held several villages in the state to a standstill.

Batsari Carnage At the end of their latest horrific killings, which occurred last two weeks, the criminals left 18 people dead in Yar Gamji village of Batsari Local Government Area of the state. The residents blamed the carnage on the negligence of the security agencies – particularly the police and failure to act on intelligence that a major attack was in the offing.

In what may be described as an audacious operation, the bandits, numbering about 20, stormed the area on motorcycles.

According to the District Head of Batsari, Alhaji Mannir Ruma, each motorcycle carried three persons, who were armed with sophisticated weapons.

Protesting the killings, aggrieved youths had on May 22, 2019, ferried the corpses of the victims from Batsari to Katsina, the state capital, where they displayed them before the Emir of Katsina, Dr. Abdulmumini Kabir Usman, and Governor Aminu Bello Masari.

Performing the funeral rites, the Chief Imam of Katsina Central Mosque, Mustapha Ahmed, prayed for the repose of the souls of the deceased and sued for peace.

Addressing journalists shortly after the funeral rites, the Batsari district head, said bandits had earlier threatened that there would be no farming activities in the area in this year’s rainy season.

The paramount ruler said the bandits had been harassing farmers in the area with sophisticated weapons, adding that the victims were cultivating their farms when the bandits ambushed them. He called on security agencies and the state government to rekindle their efforts to curtail the carnage to enable farmers return to farm.

Also speaking at the funeral, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of Batsari, Mr. Mannir Mu’azu, lamented that the horrific incidences of bandit attacks had continued unabated in the area due to inadequate security.

According to the council boss, security personnel in the state were not doing anything to tackle the deadly attacks against residents in the area. He stated that the situation if left unchecked would affect this year’s farming season, as according to him, many farmers in the area had vacated their farmlands due to fear of being attacked by the bandits.

Chief Imam of Katsina Central Mosque, Mustapha Ahmed, performs funeral rites of 18 persons killed by bandits in Batsari LG

This ugly scenario has taken a heavy toll on the state in recent weeks. Both the affluent and average citizens have been killed or wantonly abducted for ransom in several communities.

The bandits have also held several villages in the state to a standstill Faskari Bloodbath As residents of the state have now become easy prey for armed bandits, the attackers also stormed Sabon-layin Galadima village of Faskari Local Government and killed 11 persons.

Local sources said the bandits numbering about 30 were on motorcycles when they invaded the village at about 8.27 p.m, killed the victims and rustled many animals belonging to residents.

Danmusa Attack In a related development, five persons were also reportedly slaughtered at Mara Zamfarawa community in Danmusa Local Government Area of the state.

The armed bandits were said to have attacked the victims while working on their farmers in the village, forcing those that survived the deadly act to scamper for safety.

Arrests In an effort to tame the bloodbath, the Katsina State Police Command has so far apprehended over 70 suspected bandits and kidnappers including females who have been terrorising the state. Among the suspects

paraded were five suspected kidnappers of Governor Aminu Bello Masari's motherin-law, Hajiya Hauwa Yusuf.

The 80-year-old Hauwa who is the mother of Binta, Governor Masari’s wife, was kidnapped at her residence in KofarKaura Layout, Katsina, the state capital last March and released after spending eight days in captivity. Her release followed the payment of an undisclosed ransom by the family members.

Parading the suspects before newsmen at the command headquarters in Katsina, the state Commissioner of Police, CP Sanusi Buba, said the men of the underworld were nabbed based on intelligence reports.

According to him, "those arrested in connection with the abduction of Masari's mother-in-law were Abubakar M. Sani alais "KUBI", aged 23 years of Sokoto Rima Quarters, Katsina; Abdullahi Dani alias " Dan-Bose", aged 25 years of Sabuwar Unguwar Quarters, Katsina; Rabe Hamza alias "Tankabaje", aged 30 years of NasarawaBugaje, Jibia LGA of Katsina state; Marwana Gide, aged 25 years of Yar-Maiwa village, Batsari LGA of Katsina state.

"The last suspect, Abdulhakim Bishir, alias "Danruma" aged 22 years of Sabuwar Ungwar Quarters, Katsina, who has been on the run was arrested by the police on May 14t, 2019 in Kano State".

Buba affirmed that the achievements recorded by the command through operation 'Puff Adder' would go a way in tackling kidnapping, cattle rustling and banditry bedeviling the state. Items recovered from the suspects were 43 AK47 rifles, 1,500 ammunition, 19 dane guns, seven locally made pistols, 200 cartridges, 44 motorcycles, five vehicles, two English pistols, one Tavor 27 rifle among others.

The state police chief, however, called on the general public to support the police by providing information that would lead to the continued apprehension of persons committing such nefarious crimes, adding that the command under his watch would not relent in its ongoing onslaught against banditry and other heinous crimes. This

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FEATURES

Suspected bandits and kidnappers paraded by police

Some of the ammunition recovered from the suspects

in addition to fine and compensation to the victims.

Governor Aminu Masari during the ceremonial signing of the law at the Katsina Government House, affirmed that the law was amended particularly in areas to do with kidnapping, cattle rustling, rape and other related offences.

"The decision to make these offences serious with the above punishment cannot be over emphasised. We revisited the penal and procedural laws to deal with any suspect that may be found wanting. It is hoped and prayed that they will serve as deterrent to those that may be convicted. And those that have the intention of committing them," Gov Masari explained.

Gov. Aminu Bello Masari

is just as he warned those aiding bandits with information to desist from such or face the wrath of the law.

Measures by State Government Worried by this development, the Katsina State Government recently purchased 10 Toyota Hilux operational vehicles at the tune of N181 million and distributed to 10 local government areas bedevilled by banditry and kidnapping to boost security operations.

The 10 local governments were Danmusa, Dutsinma, Kankara, Faskari, Jibia, Bakori, Dandume, Safana, Batsari and Funtua. The vehicles were meant for surveillance and quick response to emergencies across the dreaded councils bordering the Rugu forest, one of the deadly forests camping criminals.

Aside the vehicles and financial supports, the government is planning to procure more logistics to boost operations of personnel.

Another step taken by government is the signing into law an amended Penal Code law proscribing death sentence for kidnapping and cattle rustling in the state.

With this law in place, rapists would also be sentenced to life imprisonment

Appeal to Security Personnel Despite this intervention by the state to avert bloodbath in the affected areas, the attacks on communities persist, this may have forced the governor to solicit for the assistance of security chiefs to come up with workable measures to end the killings and kidnapping going on in the state.

The governor, who made the appeal when he received a team set up by the Nigeria Army, led by Major General B I Ahanotu, to assess the recent attacks on communities in Batsari, Faskari and Danmusa Local Government Areas, said the deadly attacks, if unchecked, would hamper the state’s economic growth and trigger off a food crisis by the end of this year’s farming season.

The team was set up on the order of President Muhammadu Buhari, who had directed the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Adamu and the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin, to constitute an assessment team to intervene on the security challenges facing the state.

The team is also to find out how the attacks were carried out by the bandits and put structures in place to avert future occurrence.

Ahanotu while explaining why the team was in the state said: " We are in Katsina

to ascertain circumstances surrounding the recent attacks on some communities. After our assessment, we will put in place proactive measures to end banditry in Katsina and other states of the country".

The governor, represented by his deputy, Mannir Yakubu, said the state government had done its best to tame the criminals through the introduction of amnesty programme. However, he expressed regrets that such measures could not address the banditry; hence the outcry for help from the military to end the orgy of killings in the state.

Potential Food Crisis He attributed the persistent killings and abduction in the state to the porous nature of the country’s borders, adding that the insecurity facing states such as Zamfara and Kaduna has jeopardised the relative

Asides the provision of vehicles and financial support, the government is planning to procure more logistics to boost operations of personnel. Another step taken by government is the signing into law an amended Penal Code law proscribing death sentence for kidnapping and cattle rustling in the state.

peace being enjoyed in Katsina previously.

According to Masari, “Even before this administration came on board, there were cases of herdsmen and farmers clashes. But when we came in, we did our best to tame it by introducing the amnesty programme and as of that time the situation stopped.

Unfortunately, banditry and kidnapping surfaced. The latest was the very sad incident that happened in Batsari where dead bodies were brought to Government House and the emir’s palace. There is certainly a great need to bring peace to the state.

"Raining season is already on and our people need to go back to their farms. If we did not get them back to the farm by the end of this year, there will be food crisis.

So, I hope this assessment will be done as soon as possible to bring peace back to the state. Prompt action should be taken to ensure that peace is restored in Katsina State", he added.

Moreover, the killings also forced the government to announce the cancellation of all activities lined up for the inauguration of a new administration in the state. The decision was contained in a statement issued to journalists by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr. Mustapha Inuwa.

The SSG states that the decision was to commiserate with the families and victims of the recent attacks.

He said: “The attacks have led to the death of many people and left many others injured and homeless. To this end, all activities that are usually organised for the event have been cancelled, except the mandatory swearing-in of the governor and his deputy, as stipulated in the 1999 Constitution (as amended), will hold on May 29".

Nonetheless, the killings in Katsina are unacceptable and must be stopped by all possible means. Relevant security agencies should deploy troops to the affected communities and protect the people. They are Nigerians and they deserve to be protected by the government of Nigeria. Above all, it is an emergency security and humanitarian situation that needs urgent attention.

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Quick Takes Old Mutual Marks 174th Anniversary

MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT

L-R: Former President, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), Engr. Sunday Akintola; Deputy General Manager, Consumer Aairs, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Mr. Shittu Shuaib; Chairman, Momas Electricity Metering Manufacturing Company Limited (MEMMCOL), Engr. Kola Balogun and the Chairman, Academic Board, Momas Metering School, Engr.

Isaac Olorunfemi during the graduation of the ďŹ rst set of student from the metering school held in Ogun State‌recently PHOTO: SUNDAY ADIGUN

Credit to Private Sector Rises to N24 Trillion Obinna Chima Banking sector credit to the private sector rose by 6.4 per cent to N24.163.4 trillion at the end of February 2019, compared with the increase of 1.9 per cent and 0.9 per cent at end of December 2018 and the corresponding period of 2018, respectively.

The Central Bank of Nigeria disclosed this in its economic report for the first quarter of 2019 posted on its website.

The development was attributed to the 5.9 per cent increase in claims on the core private sector.

Also, aggregate credit to the domestic economy (net), rose by 10.7 per cent to N30.518 trillion at the end of February 2019,

ECONOMY compared with the growth of 6.3 per cent and 4.5 per cent at the end of December 2018 and the corresponding period of 2018, respectively.

The development reflected the respective increase of 30.6 per cent and 6.4 per cent in net claims on the federal government and claims on the private sector.

Net claims on the federal government rose by 30.6 per cent to N6.354 trillion at the end of February 2019, compared with the growth of 33.7 per cent and 26.3 per cent at end-December 2018 and the corresponding period of 2018, respectively.

According to the report, the development reflected the increase in holdings of government securities by the CBN. But foreign assets (net) of the banking system fell by 7.5 per cent to N17. 023 trillion at the end of February 2019. It, however, contrasted with the growth of 18.5 per cent recorded at end-December 2018. Relative to the level at the end of the corresponding period of 2018, foreign assets (net) declined by 3.2 per cent. The development was attributed to the 8.8 per cent fall in foreign asset holdings of the CBN. Other assets (net) of the banking system fell by 1.0 per cent at end-February 2019 to negative N12.743 trillion, in contrast to the growth of 1.3

per cent and 2.4 per cent at end-December 2018 and the corresponding period of 2018, respectively.

The decline in other assets (net) of the banking system, in the review period, was attributed to the fall in the unclassified assets of the CBN. On the other hand, currencyin-circulation (CIC) at the end of February 2019, fell by 3.8 per cent to N2.241trillion, but was in contrast to the growth of 20.9 per cent at the end of December 2018.

The development relative to the preceding quarter reflected, mainly, the 3.8 per cent and 6.6 per cent decline in its currency outside banks and demand deContinued on page 24

C&I Leasing, Dangote Flour Mills, Chams Count Gains amidst Bear Run Goddy Egene As the bears continue to ravage the equities market, sending 15 indexes to negative territory, investors in C & I Leasing Plc, Dangote Flour Mills Plc and Chams Plc recorded growth in their investments as at the end of May 30, 2019.

The market, which declined by 17.8 per cent in 2018, remained bearish from January to middle of May when MTN Nigeria Communications Plc was listed. The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (NSE ASI) had recorded 9.5 per cent year-to-date (YTD),

CAPITAL MARKET while market capitalisation fell to N10.6 trillion before MTN was listed.

Although the market capitalisation improved to about N13.6 trillion and NSE ASI improved to a YTD of 1.6 per cent, other sectoral indexes have suffered significant depreciation.

Out of the 17 indexes in the market, only two, the NSE Premium Board Index, where MTN is listed and Alternative Securities Market(ASeM) closed in the positive territory.

While MTN lifted the

Premium Board Index to YTD gain of 11.16 per cent, the ASeM Index ended with a YTD appreciation of 1.44 per cent. Other indexes recorded YTD declines between 0.76 per cent and 20.9 per cent.

Similarly, most stocks are counting their losses and unable to rise above the bear run.

However, C & I Leasing Plc, Dangote Flour Mills Plc and Chams Plc have fetched their shareholders significant capital gains. For instance, C & I Leasing Plc recorded the highest growth of 304.5 per cent as the stock rose from

N1.78 at the beginning of the year to N7.20. Dangote Flour Mills Plc followed with 145.9 per cent, appreciating from N6.85 to N16.00. Chams Plc rose 90 per cent from 20 kobo to 38 kobo.

Thomas Wyatt Nigeria Plc grew by 73.9 per cent, while Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc rose by 33.8 per cent, just as Japaul Oil and Maritime Services Plc appreciated by 33.3 per cent.

Union Bank Nigeria Plc and Sterling Bank Plc chalked up 22.3 per cent and 21 per cent Continued on page 24

Pan-African insurer, Old Mutual Limited, recently marked its 174th anniversary of providing insurance, savings, investment, lending and bankingsolutionstoover11.3millioncustomersin13Africancountries and China.

Aspartoftheactivitiesmarkingtheanniversary,it’sNigeriansubsidiary, OldMutualGeneralInsuranceCompanyNigeriaLimitedandOldMutual Nigeria Life Assurance Company, organised a forum with the theme: “Empowering Africa:The time is Now to do great things!�

The event, which took place in Lagos, was aimed at celebrating Old Mutual’sdeepAfricanrootsanditscommitmenttochampioningfinancial inclusion, education and prosperity in Nigeria and on the continent.

Addressingtheguestsattheevent,theManagingDirector,OldMutual LifeAssurance,KeithAlford,saidOldMutualbeganoperationsinCape Townin1845andnowofferslifeprotection,generalinsurance,savings, investments,lendingandbankingsolutionsto11.3millionin13African countries and China.

He said Old Mutual began operation in Nigeria in March 2013, having acquired the majority stake in Oceanic Life Assurance Company.

Accordingtohim,in January2014,OldMutualalsoacquiredamajority stakeinOceanicGeneralInsuranceLimitedtherebyofferingbothlife andgeneralinsurancesolutionstailoredtomeetuniqueindividualand corporate client’s needs.

HesaidsinceitsentryintotheNigerianmarket,OldMutualhasleveraged its proud heritage and expertise, launching a wide range of insurance solutionstailoredtomeetuniqueneedsofNigerian’sinsurablepopulation and corporate clients’. “The significance of this milestone anniversary is not lost on us. We understandthatourcustomersandindeedallourstakeholdersexpect to draw from the wisdom, knowhow and technical capabilities that come with our longevity. “

Firm to Organise Seminar

Motivational speaker, writer and founder of Business of Purpose, (BoP), Ms.Tobi Odukoya has said most businesses built by Nigerians were never designed to last beyond the lifetime of the proprietors because the promoters lack ideas and sense of purpose to push the business into the future.

Odukoya,alsolamentedthatwhatmostNigeriansdoisallaboutsurvival instead of finding their niche and ensuring that they create not only a business that would endure but survive beyond their lifetime.

Besides, she said what most Nigerian business operators do was to copyinsteadofbeinginnovative,addingthatthishadbeenthebusiness system in the country.

Whileinsistingthattheyouthmustnotbeallowedtofallintothistrap, shedisclosedplantoorganisetrainingonbusinesspurposethatwould encourage entrepreneurs.

Odukoya, disclosed that as part of the mentoring programme, the firstintheseriesoflectureswouldbeaddressedbyThepublisherand editor-in-chiefoftheCityPeoplemagazine,Dr.SeyeKehinde;authorand entrepreneur,DayoDurosinmi-Ettiandlifecoachandhostofpopular televisionprogramme,HangOutWithTee,TitiOyemadeamongothers.

Shesaidexpertsdrawnfromseveralindustrieswouldhelptheparticipants to identify their passion and strength in the business world.

She said the training which would take place at Elohims Tabernacle InternationalChurch,hasthesupportofAccessBank,UnionBankand the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria.

Cocoa Farmers Welcome Rains

Rains remained below average last week in most of Ivory Coast’s cocoa-growingregionsbutweremoreabundantcomparedtoprevious weeks, which could boost the April to September mid-crop, farmers said on Monday.

IntheeasternregionofAbengourou,farmerssaidrainfalllevelswere good for the trees but that it was becoming difficult to dry the beans. “Theweatheriscloudy.Itstartedrainingalotandwedon’thaveenough sun,� Etienne Yao, who farms near Aboisso, said. “There are enough pods to harvest but it’s hard to dry the beans.�

DatacollectedbyReutersshowedthatrainfallinAbengourou,including theregionofAboisso,was50millimetreslastweek,1.5mmbelowthe five-year average.

“You will all recall that in December 2018, I presented our 2019 budget proposal with the theme ‘Budget of Continuity.’ Our goal was to use this budget to move the economy further on the path of inclusive, diversified and sustainable growth�

President Muhammadu Buhari

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CREDIT TO PRIVATE SECTOR RISES TO N24 TRILLION posit components, respectively.

The report also showed that total deposits at the CBN amounted to N14.155 trillion at the end of February 2019, indicating a 9.9 per cent decline below the level at end-December 2018.

The fall was attributed to 16.5 per cent and 14.8 per cent decline in the deposits of the private sector and the federal government, respectively.

Of the total deposits at the CBN, the shares of the federal government, banks and private sector deposits were 46.8 per cent, 34.8 per cent and 18.4 per cent, respectively.

Reserve money rose marginally by 0.4 per cent to N7.167 trillion at the end of February 2019, compared with the increase of 4.9 per cent at the end of December 2018. The development reflected the rise in total bank reserves. “The money market was generally stable in the first quarter of 2019 despite mixed liquidity trends in the domestic money market.�

C&I LEASING, DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS, CHAMS COUNT GAINS AMIDST BEAR RUN in that order among others.

But the growth recorded by Dangote Flour Mills followed investors’ reactions to news of its planned sale to Olam for N130 billion.

On the other hand, C & I Leasing share price was boosted by investors’ renewed demand following expectations that the company’s diversification into marine industry would improve its financial performance and enhance return to shareholders on the long run.

The Managing Director of C & I Leasing Plc, Mr. Andrew Otike-Odibi had said the firm’s journey into marine sector as a service provider for the oil and gas sector, which started in 2010 and has culminated in the ownership of over 20 vessels consisting of crew boats, pilot boats, patrol boats, and platform support vessels for providing services such as line and hose handling, berthing and escort services, mooring support, fire-fighting, pollution control, security and floating and selfelevating platforms.

Group Business Editor

Obinna Chima

Capital Market Editor

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AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

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Comms/e-Business Editor

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

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

Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x; äĂ? (Aviation) ĂœĂ™Ă—Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă? ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜ (Maritime) Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă?ÔÙ (Finance) ĂŒĂ?ĂœĂ? åÙÔÓ (Insurance) Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă—Ă? Ă•Ă‹Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ě™(Energy) Reporters

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WTO Calls for ‘Boldness’ to Strengthen Trading System Obinna Chima The Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Roberto AzevĂŞdo, has stressed the need to strengthen the trading system across the globe.

He said this in his keynote address at the centenary summit of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) held in Paris recently.

He said that the creation of the ICC was a statement of intent about the positive role that business can play in the world.

He added: “As we look to a new century of multilateralism, we need to summon up that spirit once again. We need your boldness, ambition and innovation to help improve and strengthen the trading system for the future.�

AzevĂŞdo, noted that in his many years of experience working on trade and WTO issues, he couldn’t recall a time when business engagement has been greater, “nor can I recall a moment when this has been more important.â€? “As we look ahead to a new century of multilateralism, we are beset by challenges. The role of business and the ICC in helping to meet these challenges and shape the path forward will be vital once again. “So let me say a few words about how all of this is playing out in the trading system. You all know about the situation in global trade today. “Tensions are running high. In 2018, new restrictive measures were imposed on around $580 billion of trade.

That is over seven times the level of the year before. And this is hitting trade growth. Just last week we published our quarterly World Trade Outlook Indicator, which gives an early guide to the trajectory of trade

growth. It recorded a ten-year low. “Key trade measures on export orders, international air freight, agricultural raw materials, electronic components, and automobile production and sales, are all well below-trend.

And this does not capture some of the more notable trade measures that have been announced in recent days,� he said.

According to him, one of the key ways the trading system serves business is by providing certainty and stability.

But he pointed out that the current situation was compromising such goal. “We are in a situation of huge

uncertainty today. This weighs on investment and consumption. “If we were to let this situation escalate further, the economic impact could be quite damaging and long lasting.

A global breakdown in trade cooperation would have an impact to rival the financial crisis. “At the WTO we are working urgently to reduce tensions. We are dealing with record numbers of disputes and working hard to help deal with members’ concerns. “Some also see reforming the WTO itself as a step towards resolving some of these issues. The G20 leaders have called for such reforms.�

Continuing, he said: “In considering our path forward, I think we need to see the bigger picture. It is important to acknowledge that today’s tensions have not materialised out of thin air. “They are bound up in issues of geopolitics, and they are fuelled by the sense of economic insecurity that many people have today. “Workers are being squeezed by the lingering effects of the 2008 crisis and the fourth industrial revolution which is transforming the labour market. “Together these forces are fostering a heightened sense of fear and uncertainty about the

future. This has helped to create an upsurge in anti-trade and, even more broadly, anti-foreign sentiment. “One important element here is the perception that trade is taking people’s jobs and sending them overseas. In reality the key driving force behind job losses is innovation and higher productivity enabled by technology – not trade. “But, regardless of the causes, it’s clear that people feel left behind by the pace of economic change. And they don’t think that the existing institutional arrangements are properly equipped to protect them.�

COURTESY VISIT

L-R: Legal Adviser, Oil & Gas Cooperative Societies Association, Mr Henry Hector Amiwero; President, Mr Louis Ogbeifun; Trustee; Mr Rotimi Akintomide; Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Secretary of the association, Mr Zakari Kyari, during a congratulatory visit to Sanwo-Olu by the association in Lagos ...recently

Group Empowers Female Entrepreneurs Hamid Ayodeji The International Trade Centre (ITC) and the UPS have announced a series of training seminars and workshops for women business owners, as part of the Nigeria chapter of ITC’s SheTrades initiative.

The collaboration aims to increase the participation of women-owned businesses in trade by improving their

competitiveness, providing solutions for trade logistics and strengthening their support ecosystem to generate business opportunities.

By bringing together UPS’s smart global logistics network and unparalleled knowledge in reaching the global markets with the grassroots networks of its partners, the UPS Women Exporters Program is helping

the ITC SheTrades initiative to reach its goal of bringing 3 million women-owned businesses into international trade by 2021. “Creating higher value entrepreneurship will benefit the society as a whole.

Lowering the barriers faced by women entrepreneurs and helping them connect to a global value chain will bolster economic growth and stimu-

late long-term benefits for the region. As more women pursue education and move into careers dominated by men, younger girls will have role models to show them new opportunities,� a statement quoted UPS’ Managing Director West Africa, Mark Martyn-Fisher to have said. “Focusing on women’s education is a key investment for developing nations as female

education rates are directly correlated with national economic growth. “We’re delighted to partner with ITC, on the SheTrades initiative and bring UPS’s 112 years of logistics expertise serving 220 countries and territories to enable more women entrepreneurs to get access to necessary trainings to help them succeed and grow their businesses internationally.�

Akwa Ibom Deputy Governor Unveils Foundation Akwa Ibom state Deputy Governor, Mr. Moses Ekpo has launched his biography titled “Trials and Triumphs� and unveiled the Mrs. Martha and Moses Ekpo Jnr. Foundation.

The ceremony took place in Uyo. An Event which had in attendance, Governor, Udom Emmanuel as a special guest alongside his wife Martha was also attended by Chairman of MTN communications Plc, Chief Paschal Dozie, Vice Chairman Exxon Mobil, Udom

Inoyo alongside friends and well-wishers of the deputy governor within and outside the state.

According to a statement, while inaugurating the foundation, Governor Emmanuel, thanked his deputy for his dedicated support, his reliable counsel and being a role model in moving the affairs of Akwa Ibom State forward.

He further stated that, “the biography on the Deputy is a testament of being resilient in life no matter the challenges and

obstacles faced, and urged for Nigerians to always have hope, believe in God and be resilient in achieving their goals.�

The Governor also stated that the books would be procured on behalf of the state government and institutionalised in public schools in ensuring that students have access to such materials which would help them grow and learn to be exemplary citizens of the state.

Speaking at the event, Ekpo expressed gratitude to the Governor and his wife for

their unwavering support.

He stated that, “the mission towards the institutionalising of the foundation is one driven by the passion and zeal to implementing and funding projects that will improve the welfare and education of Nigerians.�

Moses further stated that, “the principal aim of the foundation is to accomplish his mission of funding and implementing improved access to quality education, health care, strengthening the capacity of

education and health professionals to achieve sustainable livelihood.�

The Deputy Governor further stated, that foundation would also focus on funding bursaries for students engaged in strategic and innovative courses, provide access to high quality health care to low income population, funding bursaries for health care professionals especially those in remote rural areas and tackle the roots of chronic poverty through financial literacy trainings amongst others.

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As SEC Wields the Big Stick Goddy Egene writes that stakeholders have hailed the sacking of directors of Oando Plc for alleged financial and corporate governance breaches by the Securities and Exchange Commission

T

he regulatory action taken by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Oando Plc last Friday would remain the centre of discussions among operators, shareholders and other stakeholders in the capital market for a long time. The regulator of the capital wielded the big stick last week following the conclusion of a forensic audit on Oando Plc and directed the directors of the company to resign. It also barred its chief executive officer, Mr. Wale Tinubu and his deputy, Mr. Mofe Boyo from becoming directors of any listed firms for five years.

Whatever the final outcome of SEC’s action would be, it is believed that it will go a long way in instilling corporate governance in the market. It has been espoused that adopting and operating in accordance with high standards of corporate governance is essential for a company’s sustainable long-term growth, financial performance and value creation.

Good governance practices, according to investment experts promote the development of the capital market. On the other hand, weak corporate governance practices would retard the growth of the market because it erodes confidence of investors in the capital market with potential wider implications for the Nigerian financial markets and the economy generally.

Corporate governance issues were at the heart of the market crisis in 2008. Hence, it was not surprising that the SEC has continued to penalise some companies especially for violating post listing requirements and other market infractions. However, the latest action against Oando Plc, which is a company listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), is a major milestone in its efforts to ensure companies adhere to code of corporate governance that meet international standards.

SEC had launched an investigation into the activities of Oando following the receipt of petitions in 2017 from shareholders of the company, accusing the company of financial misappropriation and mismanagement of its operations.

SEC’s action Last Friday, the SEC announced that it has concluded investigation of Oando Plc and directed among others immediate resignation of Tinubu Boyo and other directors of the company. The apex regulator also barred Tinubu and Boyo from being directors of public companies for a period of five years.

Thereafter, SEC, on Sunday, appointed an Interim Management Team (IMT) headed by Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu, to oversee the affairs of Oando Plc and conduct an Extra Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) on or before July 1, 2019. According to the regulatory agency, these were part of measures to address identified violations in the company. It also directed the payment of monetary penalties by the company and by the affected individuals and directors, as well as refund of improperly disbursed remuneration by the affected board members to the company.

As required under Section 304 of the Investments and Securities Act, (ISA) 2007, the Commission said it would refer all issues with possible criminality to the appropriate criminal prosecuting authorities.

In addition, the SEC stated that other aspects of the findings would be referred to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

SEC said: “Following the receipt of two petitions by the Commission in 2017, investigations were conducted into the activities of Oando Plc., (a company listed on the Nigerian and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges). Certain infractions of Securities and other relevant laws were observed. The commission further engaged Deloitte & Touche to conduct a forensic audit of the activities of Oando Plc. “The general public is hereby notified of the conclusion of the investigations of Oando Plc. The findings from the report

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revealed serious infractions such as false disclosures, market abuses, misstatements in financial statements, internal control failures, and corporate governance lapses stemming from poor board oversight, irregular approval of directors’ remuneration, unjustified disbursements to directors and management of the company, related party transactions not conducted at arm’s length, amongst others. “The Commission is confident that with the implementation of the above directives and introduction of some remedial measures, such unwholesome practices by public companies would be significantly reduced. “Therefore, in line with the federal government’s resolve to build strong institutions, Boards of public companies are enjoined to properly perform their fiduciary duties as required under extant securities laws. “The Commission, as the apex regulator of the Nigerian capital market, maintains its zero tolerance to market infractions, and reiterates its commitment to ensuring the fairness, integrity, efficiency and transparency of the securities market, thereby strengthening investor protection.�

Besides, SEC also fined Oando and its directors a total fine of N417.692 million for the various forms infractions violated.

A breakdown of the fine showed that while the company is to pay the sum of N8.450 million for publishing untrue statement in its 2012 financial statements, in violation of Rule3(4) of the SEC Rules and Regulations, made pursuant to the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2007, it is also expected to pay N7.850 million to the commission for publishing untrue statements in its 2013 and another N42.750 million to the Commission, for non-disclosure of related party transactions in its 2012 financial statements in violation of Rule 39 (1&7) of the SEC Rules and Regulations, 2013, made pursuant to ISA 2007.

Similarly, Oando was also asked to pay another N30.625 million as penalty to SEC for non-disclosure of related party transactions in its 2014 financial statements, in violation of Rule 39(1&7) of SEC Rules and Regulations, 2013, made pursuant to the ISA 2007.

Furthermore, Akinrele Ademola, Ammuma Alli, Engr. Yusuf Njie, Ike Osakwe, Oghogho Akpata and Tanimu Yakubu, Chief Sena Anthony and Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, all Directors of Oando, were directed to immediately refund to Oando Plc, the total sum of N145,767, 316, being remuneration and other benefits paid to them above the provision of the Board Charter.

In the same vein, for certification of untrue statements of material facts in the 2013, 2014, and 2015 financial statements of Oando Plc in violation of Section 60(2(b)(ii)of the ISA 2007, Tinubu, who is the Group Chief Executive Officer and Mr. Olufemi Adeyemo, the Chief Financial Officer were ordered to pay the sum of N91.125 million each to the commission.

Oando Kicks However, responding to the SEC ruling, Oando said: “Oando is of the view that these alleged infractions and penalties are unsubstantiated, ultra vires, invalid and calculated to prejudice the business of the Company. The company has not been given the opportunity to see, review and respond to the forensic audit report and so is unable to ascertain what findings (if any) were made in relation to the alleged infractions and defend itself accordingly before the SEC.�

Oando declared that it reserves its rights to take all legal steps to protect its business and assets whilst remaining committed to act in the best interests of all its shareholders.

Also, Oando, in a five-page letter dated June 1, 2019, demanded the withdrawal

by SEC of the penalties listed in the letter within three days, from the receipt of the letter, insisting that the findings were largely unfounded and remained unsubstantiated in the absence of any representation from the oil and gas company before the regulator arrived at its sanctions.

Besides, Tinubu and Boyo on Monday secured an interim injection from Federal High Court sitting in Lagos presided over

by Justice Mojisola Olatoregun r restraining SEC from removing as GCEO and DGEO respectively.

The court also restrained SEC, its servants or agents from taking any step concerning the commission’s letter dated May 31 in which it barred Tinubu and Boyo from being directors of a public company for five years. It also restrained the commission from imposing a fine of N91.13 million on Tinubu.

Stakeholders React Commenting on the Oando saga, an investment analyst and shareholder activist, Nona Awoh said SEC’s was based on the outcome of a forensic audit by Deloitte & Touche, a firm of international external auditors, “except the company (Oando Plc) can prove otherwise.â€? “Much more important, investors themselves need to learn to protect themselves, which means they must begin to ask the right questions and taking up management of public companies. I am not sure we are doing enough (as shareholders), because if we were doing enough, maybe we would have seen some of the things the SEC is talking about‌ Maybe we saw it, but did not take cognizance of the full impact of what they are talking about,â€? Awoh said.

The Chief Operating Officer, InvestData Consulting Limited, Ambrose Omordion, while applauding the SEC’s decision, said it was capable of sending strong signals to the management of other public companies as a proof that the commission is not only able to bark, but can bite too.

He expressed unhappiness with the fact that Oando Plc continues to declare a loss, meaning there have not been dividends

declared, as a result of which shareholders do not receive any return on their investment. “As if this was not enough, the value of their investment on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has nose-dived over the period. The SEC move will bring sanity into the company, just as it would enable investors to get the true health status of Oando Plc, beyond what has so far been disclosed, even as “other companies and their directors will seat up, seeing how Oando management and its directors ended up. In fact, SEC’s decision will further boost corporate governance and transparency in quoted companies at same time investors confidence going forward,�

Omordion declared.

Also speaking, Alhaji Gbadebo Olatokunbo, shareholder activist and Co-founder, Nigeria Shareholders Solidarity Association, said that as in a brief note to Investdata News, noted that as a shareholder of Oando, he had been suspecting the results of the company all along.

According to him, some people have been playing “very dangerous games with most of the reports and accounts (published), he is not therefore surprised at the SEC sanction. “Check the performances of other companies in the same sector with that of Oando, then you will appreciate my point of view, that Oando is a great disgrace, disappointment, and embarrassment to corporate Nigeria, because no multinational company in its shoe would have performed so badly like the management and board of Oando did, to be candid it was a dent to the Nigeria corporate world,� he said.

Olatokunbo said the management and board of Oando had taken their shareholders for a ride for too long, before the SEC intervention, saying the commission’s action would serve as a deterrent to other companies in the same bad habit.

Similarly, National President, Constance Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mallam Shehu Mikail, expressed shareholders satisfaction at the commission’s decision.

Mikali said that the ban would instill transparency and corporate governance in the nation’s capital market, stressing that the commission’s action showed that nobody was above the law in the market.

However, the National Coordinator, Pragmatic Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN), Mrs. Bisi Bakare, said the action of SEC was going to cause more damages for the capital market. “After forensic Audit on Oando Plc, they ought to have allowed Oando Board access to the outcome of the audit. All investors/ shareholders of Oando Plc should condemn SEC actions by not allowing the board to defend the outcome of the forensic audit before their announcement on Friday. This will further deepen the trust of foreign investors and investing public on Nigerian regulatory authorities,� she said.

Analysts at CSL Stockbrokers Limited, a Lagos-based financial advisory and research company, welcomed the action by SEC. They expressed confidence in the newly appointed IMT. “We believe his vast experience in the upstream oil and gas sector bodes well for Oando despite rumours of a close relationship between himself and the ousted Wale Tinubu.

The interim management is charged with the responsibility of convening an extra-ordinary general meeting on or before July 1 2019 to vote new directors who would subsequently select a new management for OANDO. “We view this development as positive for the equities market. In our opinion, the SEC’s hard stance on Oando provides confidence for the investment community that corporate malpractice offenders would be brought to book while ensuring public investments are safeguarded. “Though we expect a series of legal battles to ensue as Wale Tinubu has promised to contest his removal, we believe he has a very slim chance of winning any suit filed by him, considering the depth and rigor of the forensic audit,� they stated.

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Offering Succour to Business Owners There is an increasing focus on supporting operators of micro, small and medium scale enterprises so that they can compete favourably, writes Peter Uzoho

M

icro, small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) are globally regarded as the backbone of any economy. In fact, MSMEs in developed economies, especially in Asia, are widely known for their innovation, competitive edge and strong links to global enterprises as more than 97 per cent of business entities in these countries are MSMEs. Indeed, MSMEs contribute to improved living standards, bring about substantial local capital formation and achieve high level of productivity and capability.

They have also been identified as a vehicle for employment generation and providing opportunities for entrepreneurial sourcing, training, development and empowerment.

Developing nations such as Nigeria characterised as low income earners by the World Bank, value MSMEs for several reasons.

However, in Nigeria, because of some challenges in the economy, a lot of MSME operators in the country find it very difficult to effectively play their role.

Some of these constraints have been identified to include competition, infrastructure, taxes, accounting, management, marketing, economic, planning and finance.

In Nigeria, poor economic conditions, which also implies poor finance and inadequate infrastructure, have been identified as the most crucial factors.

No doubt, access to finance at relatively cheap cost is also one of the most crucial problems hindering MSMEs to have significant contribution to national output in Nigeria.

Therefore, in order to tackle some of these challenges, Access Bank Plc has enhanced its banking proposition for operators in the subsector.

The bank has reiterated its resolve to continue to offer solutions to its customers, especially operators of MSMEs. This was one of the reasons it has strengthened its Diamond Business Advantage (DBA) proposition.

This product covers a unique financial product tailor made to suit any stage of business, and a range of non-financial services that helps businesses make better decisions, manage cost, access finance and grow your business across local and international markets.

In addition, the Diamond Business Advantage offers convenience, value and flexibility for the entrepreneur and his or her business.

Available in three variants, the solution gives customers of the bank the freedom to upscale as their business grows.

For instance, for a basic micro enterprise, what is required is an account opening balance of N10,000; minimum operating balance of N5,000; maximum turnover of N4 million and monthly subscription fee of N2,000 and above.

On the other hand, it offers flexibility for new and growing businesses with monthly turnover of N4 million to N12 million; account opening balance of N15,000 with minimum operating balance of N10,000 and monthly subscription fee of N4,000 and above.

Similarly, it also has offerings for premium businesses and organisations with larger turnover of N12 million to N50 million monthly as well as an account opening balance of N35,000 with minimum operating balance of N25,000 and monthly subscription fee of N7,500.

Highlighting the benefits of the DBA, the Executive Director, Personal Banking, Access Bank, Mr. Victor Etuokwu, said it also provides access to the full bouquet of borrowing solutions for business growth; access to online and offline business management trainings and networking opportunities; access to dedicated business partners for business advisory; access to over 50 courses on the SMEZone among others.

In addition, the non-financial services include sector specific loan solutions to help customers meet their business needs; capacity building forums to equip you with the knowledge to manage and grow your business; networking and access to market opportunities and business management solutions and learning platforms. “We understand that businesses need access to funding, and we have designed different

CEO, Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe

loan options based on your business sector.

There is also a banking plan designed for the unique requirements of professionals in the health sector. “It can simplify your business banking, so you can focus on what you do best. Access Bank provides banking plans for the following professions: dentists, medical doctors, veterinarians, optometrists, diagnostic labs, pharmacist, medical laboratories, among others,� he added.

According to the executive director, the Mediloan QualityCare program is a partnership between Access Bank and the Medical Credit Fund to provide financial support and advisory services to healthcare organizations. Under the Mediloan QualityCare Program, customers can access funds at friendly interest rates.

Agriculture Beside crude oil, agriculture remains the mainstay of the Nigerian economy employing about two-thirds of the entire labor force and provides the main source of livelihood for most of the populace.

This had led to the bank’s active participation in various federal government initiatives to provide long tenured financing and at single digit interest rate to the sector.

Owing to this, under the DBA, Access Bank has internal financing opportunities for operators in the sector. Some of the available programs include the Commercial Agriculture

Indeed, MSMEs contribute to improved living standards, bring about substantial local capital formation and achieve high level of productivity and capability

Credit Scheme (CACS), which is a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) low cost (9% interest per annum) interest on-lending scheme targeted at medium to large scale agribusinesses seeking to expand their businesses for optimal production and profitability. Fund is currently targeted at rice, oil pal, fish, sugar, cotton and dairy value chains In addition, the bank is open to supporting the Nigeria Incentive-Base Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), an initiative of CBN, the Bankers’ Committee (BC) and Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development (FMA&RD), aimed at promoting lending to agribusinesses through value chain facilitation, capacity building and provision of interest rebates to agribusinesses.

In the same vein, the DBA solution supports operators in the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme (ACGS) which is managed by the CBN with the aim of promoting lending to agribusinesses through banks. The scheme also provides interest rebate to customers that meet loan repayment as and when due.

It also offers businesses financing opportunity from the central bank’s micro, small and medium scale enterprises development fund (MSMEDF), a N220 billion fund set aside to provide low cost finance to MSMEs in the manufacturing, agriculture and renewable energy sub sectors of the economy at single digit interest rates (9% per annum).

The DBA also finances the Anchor Borrowers’ Program (ABP), an initiative of the CBN, leveraging N40 billion fund set aside for the scheme from the N220 billion MSMEDF to provide low cost finance and access to market for organised/cooperative of small holder farmers and medium sized agribusinesses at 9% interest per annum. “It also covers the Access Export Finance (DEF), which is an Access Bank export financing facility which provides credit facilities to exporters of raw materials, semi-finished and finished non-oil products of Nigerian origin.

Education High quality education is often attributed to schools having state-of-the-art infrastructure and modern amenities. “At Access Bank, we provide a collateral-free finance product for private crèche, nursery, primary and secondary schools that are duly approved and registered by the Ministry of Education and Corporate Affairs Commission.

“Under this initiative, the schools have Access between N1 million to N10 million with termly repayment structure. “The funds can be used for renovation and facilities development, purchase of teaching aids and equipment procurement, staff salaries, purchase of school bus, generator set, etc. “It can serve as financing for procurement of artificial grass turf for the beautification of school premise and comes with competitive interest rates and tangible collateral not mandatory,� the bank explained in a report.

Hospitality/Real Sector There are also loans tailored to meet the asset financing needs of players in the hospitality sector. It is available for hotels, restaurants, bars and guest houses, lounges etc.

Some of the benefits available for SME businesses in the hospitality sector that have operated in current premises for minimum of two years include access to between N1 million to N20 million for the purchase of industrial sized assets only, which has tenor of up to 24 months For real sector operators, the financing solutions include a revolving credit in form of a line of credit or term loan for shortterm financing (maximum one year), with competitive interest rates; business instalment loan with competitive rates for expansion, new equipment purchase and technological innovations available for up to three years and local purchase order (LPO) finance to carry out supply requests.

Others include contract finance for the execution of contracts from approved list of companies.

Finance is available for a variety of legitimate contracts awarded by government agencies and reputable private organisations in the country operating in the different sectors and contracts with varying levels of complexity.

For its wholesale and retail customers in trade, some financing solutions under the DBA includes a revolving credit in form of line of credit or term loan for short-term financing (maximum one year) with competitive interest rates, business instalment loan with competitive rates and LPO finance to carry out supply requests.

The foregoing and the bank’s support for MSMEs in almost all segments of the economy shows its commitment to nation-building and economic development.

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BUSINESSWORLD

PERSPECTIVE

Up against the Tide industrial sectors. These sectors have the ability to absorb the growing labor pool of eligible workers in our effort to meet the household consumption needs of the Nigerian populace.

If efforts were made to improve productivity gains in these sectors, it will reduce our dependence on imported items that could be produced in Nigeria. r'VSUIFSNPSF JNQSPWFE QSPEVDUJWJUZ JO UIF agriculture and manufacturing could also help in reducing our dependence on proceeds from crude oil. In 2017, Nigeria’s total revenue from exports of crude oil was US$23 billion, relative to Indonesia, which earned close to US$22bn from the export of palm oil in 2017. Nigeria has vast amounts of arable land that can be put to good use in the cultivation of not only palm oil but also cotton, cocoa, tomatoes and rice to mention a few. Supporting growth in the agriculture and industrial sectors is critical in our efforts to create a diversified wealth base for the country.

Godwin EmeďŹ ele As many of us already know, balancing the objectives of price stability with output stabilisation, especially in the face of external headwinds, remains a challenge to monetary policy and central banks, particularly in emerging and developing economies. Since the global financial crisis, many central banks have begun to promote structural transformation and economic growth, beyond the singular mandate of price stability.

Consequently, policy toolkits now contain instruments that are aimed at developing the financial sector, engendering wider financial inclusion, and aligning financial policies with sustainable development and growth.

As some of you may know, the global financial crisis of 2008 – 2009, which was trigged by the housing price bubble in the United States, created considerable uncertainty in the global financial market and uncovered the weakness of many economies. It also exposed the inadequacies of conventional monetary policies in tackling the challenges that came as a result of the crisis. As a result, the United States and several countries within the Euro Area fell into a recession between 2008 – 2009.

Before the onset of that crises, policymaking at central banks had been dominated by neo-liberal and orthodox doctrines, as promoted by key Bretton woods institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

These tenets emphasised price stability as the sole and exclusive mandate of central banks.

However, lessons learnt from recent crises in addition to the global financial crisis, have raised doubts on the validity of this position.

What became obvious, following the GFS crisis, is that conventional monetary policy tools were not sufficient in dealing with the complexities resulting from the Crisis; such as debt overhang and stagnating economic growth.

As a result, Central Banks in the US and in the Euro Area had to utilize unconventional tools in their efforts to achieve their macroeconomic goals of output growth and price stability. The use of unconventional tools such as quantitative easing and forward guidance, led to a growth recovery in the US, as well as a reduction in the unemployment rate.

On the reverse side and not withstanding its achievements, it is conceivable that unconventional policies could heighten tradeoffs such as its resulting effect on the balance sheets of Central Banks.

In this discussion, I will highlight the CBN experience with unconventional monetary policies tools in light of the extraordinary challenges the Nigerian Economy faced as a result of drop in commodity prices between 2014 - 2016. I will also discuss some of the key challenges confronting the Bank in the formulation and implementation of unconventional monetary policy tools –including the reaction of key Bretton Woods institutions to our approach.

The Policy Remit of the CBN Though the 2007 CBN Act specifies price stability as the overriding mandate of the Bank, permit me to highlight here, that the operationalisation of this mandate is somewhat tricky. What exactly does price stability denote? Paul Volcker and Alan Greenspan, former Governors of the US Fed, have defined it as what obtains when “the public no longer takes account of actual or prospective inflation in its decision-making�. For the CBN, it is achieved when inflation lies within the tolerance band of 6–9 percent. Within this band, we believe that the evolution of relative prices is able to optimize the micro objectives of firms and households while maximising total utilitarian welfare of the economy.

For an economy like ours, which is yet to attain its full potential, utilitarian welfare maximisation requires a functional consideration for real growth. Thus, growth objectives cannot be overlooked. The CBN Act 2007, in recognising this, provided the Bank with the legal backing to undertake developmental functions that are consistent with price stability. This has enabled the Bank to simultaneously promote the development of financial markets and stimulate the growth of the real sector.

Recent Experience of the CBN Ladies and gentlemen, the CBN’s experience with heterodox policies expanded during the recent economic crisis that begun in 2014 due to a number of global shocks, three of which were simultaneous and significant in shaping the trajectory of the Nigerian economy, namely: i. Widespread and rising geopolitical tensions along critical trading routes in the world: This began around March 2014 with the United States’-led sanctions on Russia for its role in precipitating the conflict in Ukraine.

Other areas include Britain’s desire to pull out from the European Union, and rising trade tensions between the United States and China,

EmeďŹ ele

with its attendant implications on global trade and capital flows; ii. Softening crude oil prices: The significant drop in the price of Bonny light, Nigeria’s crude, from US$115 per barrel in June 2014 to US$31 per barrel by January 2016 exposed the structural vulnerabilities of an oil dependent economies like ours; and iii. Normalisation of monetary policy by the US Fed: In October 2014, the US Federal Reserve commenced the tapering of its quantitative easing programme towards a more conventional monetary tightening cycle. This decision led to acute capital flow reversals especially from emerging markets and heightened financial fragilities in these countries.

Effects on the Domestic Economy Unarguably, the most important of these factors to impact the Nigerian economy was the plunge in crude oil price. Nigeria’s overdependence on crude oil for over 60 percent of fiscal revenue and over 90 percent of FX inflows, meant that shocks in the oil market were transmitted entirely to the economy via the FX markets as manufacturers and traders who required FX for input purchases were faced with dwindling supplies.

Average monthly inflows of FX into the CBN fell from over US$3.4bn in June 2014 to a low of US$1.4bn in September 2016. The decline in FX earnings was further complicated by the foreign capital flow reversals due to rising yields in the USA. The impact of these on our economy was evident in the rising pressure on the naira-dollar exchange rate.

With the drop in FX inflows, the exchange rate at the parallel market rose from about N200/US$ in August 2015 to N525/US$ in February 2017. Inflation also rose from 9.6 percent in January 2016 to over 18.7 percent in January 2017. Our external reserves fell from about US$31bn in April 2015 to US$23bn in October 2016, and activities in the industrial sector witnessed a lull as manufacturers struggled to get access to key inputs needed in the production process.

Other vulnerabilities include, slowdown in government spending (following the fall in government revenue), build-up in the demand for foreign exchange, and high exposure of the banking sector to the oil and gas sector.

Driven largely by the downside effects of these shocks, real GDP growth plunged sharply from 6.2 percent in 2014 to a 1.6 percent contraction in 2016. Nigeria effectively slipped into a technical recession in the second quarter of 2016 and maintained negative growths in ensuing quarters of that year.

Disaggregation of the 2016 outcomes showed the worst contraction of 2.4 percent in quarter three and a turning point thereafter.

Addressing the Recession: The Monetary and Fiscal Policy Mix In a bid to contain rising inflation and to cushion the impact of the drop in FX supply on the Nigerian economy, the monetary and fiscal authorities took extraordinary measures to tackle these extraordinary challenges. Some of the measures we took, a number of which are indeed unconventional, include; r.POFUBSZ 1PMJDZ 0WFS UIF JOUFSWFOJOH period, the CBN embarked on a cycle of tightening which culminated in a July 2016

hike in the Monetary Policy Rate from 12 percent to 14 percent. This decision was expected to rein in expected inflationary pressures that may result from exchange rate pass-through to domestic prices and ensure that inflation expectations are well anchored.

It was also expected to stimulate increased capital inflows to the country, which should improve accretion to reserves. r$POTFSWJOH PVS '9 8F JOUSPEVDFE demand management approaches to conserve our reserves and support domestic production of certain goods in Nigeria. In this regard, we analysed our import bill, and encouraged manufacturers to consider local options in sourcing their raw materials, by restricting access to foreign exchange on 41 items (now increased to 43). Four of these items alone constitute over N1 trillion of our annual import bill. r'9 .BSLFU *O "QSJM XF JOUSPEVDFE BO Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, which allowed investors and exporters to purchase and sell foreign exchange at the prevailing market rate. In addition, exchange rate management was further liberalized following the operationalisation of the “Revised Guidelines for the Operation of the Nigerian Inter-bank Foreign Exchange Marketâ€? in June 2016. The commencement of this policy guideline introduced the Naira Settled Foreign Exchange Futures Market. r3JTL CBTFE TVQFSWJTJPO 5IF XFBLFOJOH PG the naira, following the shift to a more flexible foreign exchange mechanism along with the exposure of several banks to the oil and gas sector, impacted somewhat on the balance sheets of domestic banks. To support the health of the banking system, the CBN took a number of steps, including: r.POJUPSJOH DPNQMJBODF PG TVQFSWJTFE institutions with the foreign exchange management framework issued in June 2016 through our risk-based supervision methodology. r.POJUPSJOH UIF Ă OBODJBM QPTJUJPO BOE performance of supervised institutions; r"TTFTTNFOU PG UIF SJTL QSPĂ MF BOE governance management practices of banks and in the event of major deteriorations on any key risk indicator, we engaged with the affected bank in order to mitigate concerns and shore-up their capital base. r%FWFMPQNFOU Ă OBODF JOUFSWFOUJPO 5IF CBN increased its lending to the agricultural and industrial sectors, through targeted intervention schemes such as the Anchor Borrowers Program, Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme and the Real Sector Support Facility. In particular, we sought to improve domestic supply of four commodities (rice, fish, sugar, and wheat), which consume about N1.3 trillion annually in our nation’s import bill. r5IF "ODIPS #PSSPXFST 1SPHSBNNF "#1

which was launched in November 2015, was designed to build partnerships between small holder farmers and reliable large-scale agro-processors, with a view to increasing agricultural output, while improving access to credit for farmers. r0VS UBSHFUFE GPDVT PO UIF BHSJDVMUVSBM and industrial sectors were driven by the vast opportunities for growth in these sectors given our high population. It was also instrumental in taking Nigeria out of the recession. In 2017, over 50 percent of the contributions to GDP growth came from the agriculture and

Doctrinal Critique of our Policies by Bretton Woods While many of these measures were an attempt at using unconventional tools to mitigate the effects of a slowdown in growth, they were initially criticised by adherents of conventional monetary policy tools.

In the view of some critics for instance, our FX policies constitute exchange restrictions, rationing of FX, discretionary allocation based on priority categories, and a multiple currency practice. Many are also unaccepting of our 41 items restriction and its recent increase to 43 items, regardless of its apparent successes.

While there is sufficient evidence of significant reductions in our annual import bill, increased non-oil output and exports, and a robust BOP position, these critics assert that we are restricting trade and creating unfair competition.

To our critics, who are against the imposition of the FX restrictions, conventional Monetary Policy requires that to encourage domestic production, we should impose higher tariffs and levies. However, our experience in Nigeria has shown that this practice has never worked due to certain inefficiencies in attaining these objectives.

Our development finance initiatives in growth driving and employment generating sectors have equally not gone down well with the proponents of conventional monetary policy tools. While they acknowledged our measures have had a positive impact on output and employment, they assert that these tools constitute quasi-fiscal activities. They also maintain that implicit interest rate subsidies can have distortive effects on resource allocation.

Our argument for the unconventional Monetary Policy approach has always been that just like fiscal, monetary Policy could, at a time when development challenges abound, complement the efforts of the fiscal in employment generation, wealth creation and attainment of other growth objectives.

Policy Outcomes and Exit from Recession Regardless of these scathing views and critiques, the fact remains these unorthodox policies were well conceived, and has been yielding significant gains for the Nigerian economy. Noticeable successful outcomes are gleaned from: i. GDP– After 5 consecutive quarters of negative growth beginning in the first quarter of 2016, a coordinated approach by the fiscal and monetary authorities supported a rebound in the nation’s economy during the second quarter of 2017. The recovery has been driven largely by improved non-oil activities especially the agriculture sector which expanded consistently by about 3.5–4.3 percent reflecting efforts at diversifying the economy.

This was nonetheless, reinforced by the pickup in the oil sector as oil prices rallied in 2017.

The recovery, which has been sustained for eight consecutive quarters, is expected to strengthen in the short- to medium-term. ii. Inflation– As a result of the implementation of a tighter monetary policy regime, intervention programs in the agriculture and industrial sectors, as well as improved FX inflows, inflation began to decline, from its peak of 18.7 percent in January 2017. It currently stands at 11.37 percent as at April 2019. iii. Reserves– The introduction of the I&E window, along with improvement in domestic production of goods have helped shore up our external reserves. Transactions have reached over $48 billion since the inception of the window and our foreign exchange reserves has risen to US$45bn in April 2019 from US$23bn in October 2016. Nigeria’s current stock of external reserves is now able to finance over 9 months of current import commitments. With improved availability of foreign exchange, the exchange rate at the I&E FX window has remained stable over the past 24 months at an average of N360/US$, Continued on page 30

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BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Velusami: Vibrant Power Sector Required for Nigeria’s Industrialisation Arun Velusami is a Partner in the Energy Group of international law firm, Hogan Lovells, which is based in London. He has been working in Nigeria’s energy sector for over 15 years. In this interview with Hamid Ayodeji, he speaks about ways to develop Nigeria’s power sector. Excerpts:

C

onsidering the recent emergence of renewable energy in countries like China and the United States, do you think Nigeria should also invest heavily in renewable energy?

Yes. I think the key factor with the power sector in any country is to have a portfolio of different types of technology. If you look at countries like India and China, they have thermal power plants that burn coal alongside gas. They also have hydropower plants, solar projects, and wind projects that create a blend of conventional and renewable energy. I know Nigeria is strong when it comes to conventional energy, but we must not forget the significant amount of power-generating capacity that is based on gas in Nigeria and also hydropower in the North at the Shiroro and Kainji plants. Of course, there needs to be more capacity in investment. However, in terms of renewable energy, there is definitely the scope for more investment. I think the advantage of the renewable energy projects, particularly solar, is that as long as the grid is where they can be set up and they’re not reliant on supply chain of fuel. For example, if there is an interruption of gas to a gas power plant, the gas power plant cannot operate. The sun, on the other hand, is obviously always shining to a greater extent, so you can have smaller scale power plants in more isolated rural areas and having smaller scale power plants you can have more operating generating centres around the country. The other advantage is that renewable energy projects can vary in scale, which means they can be cheaper and quicker to construct and bring online.

So I definitely think there is a place for renewable energy projects in Nigeria, as part of a balanced energy portfolio.

How much impact do you think support from foreign and indigenous ďŹ nancial institutions will have on the growth and sustainability of the energy industry?

I think foreign investments and banks definitely have a key role to play. For a start, the cost of foreign debts is much lower than the cost of Nigerian debts, so that in itself, brings an economic advantage. In addition, having access to foreign investors greatly increases the pool of capital available for investment into the sector.

Very frequently, you see foreign investors partnering with Nigerian companies for the same project. The importance of the Nigerian companies in these developments cannot be underestimated, because they understand how the system works. I think attracting foreign capital will help revitalise the energy sector in Nigeria, and if the sector is revitalised, then that will lead to more opportunities.

Are there consequences you think the country will face if renewable energy is not maximised?

I think you lose a competitive advantage with other developing and developed nations. We must remember that many of Nigeria’s neighbouring countries are also looking at renewable energy, and that international investors have a choice as to who they lend money to. If you don’t maximise the opportunities provided by renewable energy, those flows of capital will simply be invested somewhere else.

So I think there’s obviously significant economic benefit to Nigeria to attracting that foreign capital that’s focusing on renewable energy and it will allow the sector to be significantly strengthened.

Right now we’re at the very start of a process where this renewable technology can be used throughout Nigeria and I think Nigeria should take the opportunity to attract this capital.

of support from the government. In relation to the production and construction of these refineries, we need to see increased support from the international investment and lending community to finance these refineries. This is because refineries do not come cheap. Depending on the scale, they can be some of the most expensive pieces of infrastructure that you can have.

Therefore, attracting those foreign capital inflows while also having domestic support with an agenda to promote the construction of these refineries is the combination Nigeria requires.

How do you think Nigeria can maximise foreign investment and job creation for the power sector?

It comes back to the earlier question regarding the stability of the energy sector. If the energy sector is stable, you will attract foreign investment, it’s as simple as that. Investors must know that their investment in the power sector is going to be profitable. Another key component is that the costs of producing power need to be covered by the revenues that you get from selling power. If that is stable, then the revenues that are going to be paid can be maximized. I think that will attract the foreign investment that is required.

Velusami

What steps would you advise should be taken to establish more stable energy sector in this country?

I believe there are a number of steps to be taken. If one is investing in this country to generate power, they need to know that the price of the power is going to be reflective of their cost, so we need to have cost-reflective tariffs implemented.

The investor needs to know that tariff is at a sufficient level to cover their costs and that tariff is going to be paid on time. There is also a lot of support being offered by the international development

If one is investing in this country to generate power, they need to know that the price of the power is going to be reective of their cost, so we need to have cost-reective tariffs implemented.

The investor needs to know that tariff is at a sufďŹ cient level to cover their costs and that tariff is going to be paid on time

finance institution (DFI) community. The World Bank in particular has proposed certain structural reforms for the power sector. I also think Nigeria needs to make a decision as to how much of that support the country wants to utilise and how it can best affect some of the reforms that have been proposed in other to experience growth in the industry.

Do you think there is an economic impact that will arise as a result of having more reďŹ neries and how will private-public relationships help foster this?

Clearly, if you have more indigenous refining capacity within Nigeria then that means that you have to import less diesel and fewer fuel oil products. Right now, all of those products are purchased in foreign currency, so all of that foreign currency is leaving the country and the country is not directly benefiting other than the fact that it’s getting the fuel. Now if you can produce that process and refine fuel and fuel products within the country, all of that money would theoretically stay within the country and be used to further invest and develop infrastructure and capacity within that sector. There is a clear benefit to retaining that investment within the country rather than have all of that foreign currency leaving the country.

It also contributes to a trade deficit if you are a net importer of these products. In an ideal scenario, the extent of the natural resources and the hydrocarbon assets that Nigeria has – if their refining capacity is sufficiently developed over the next decade– then Nigeria could even find itself being a net exporter of these products.

So what do you think is the best way to increase the reďŹ ning capacity of our reďŹ neries considering that most of them are not functioning up to optimal level?

Well, it needs to make business sense, and so there clearly needs to be a form

What does Nigeria’s energy mix look like and what energy sources should the country be considering to ensure stable energy supply?

A country should ideally have a portfolio of different technologies. So you have gas plants, you have hydro plants and I think we need to see some utility-scale solar plants. Nigeria also has coal resources, so you should consider whether you could use clean coal technology to generate coal electricity. If you look at both India and China, a significant proportion of their power is currently generated by coalfield power plants, so it is a question of making use of the other. Nigeria has been very good at using its oil and gas resources and it is a question of using some of the other resources that you have. The country has sunshine and coal and there could be potential for further hydro power. Basically, it is seeing what else you have within the country that could be used to create a more balanced technology mix for power generation.

So typically coal should also be the focus?

Coal should be considered alongside solar.

One should not be exclusive to the other. For example, coal can provide base load power, whereas solar is obviously limited to when the sun shines, although you can extend it slightly. That is why having a portfolio of different technologies is key so that they can work together. The other vital aspect is to ensure that the grid is capable of taking all of this power and distributing it. We tend to focus solely on generation but we should not underestimate the importance of distribution and also transmission. In Nigeria, there has been some investment in transmission and the distribution sector has been privatised. There is a debate as to how successful that privatisation has been in attracting new investment into the distribution sector and how much has physically been spent on rehabilitating and enhancing the distribution grids.

I think one of the other key points is if you have a stable power sector, it allows you to push forward with industrialisation and you can have more heavy industry.

Also, we need to remember the needs of Nigeria’s many mining companies, as they are very energy and powerintensive. Stable power supply allows you to develop other sectors of the economy.

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Amieyeofori: With Geopolitical Forces, Crude Oil Prices Uncertain The Executive Consultant, Operations, Pan Ocean Corporation, Felix Amieyeofori, in this interview with Eromosele Abiodun, speaks about the planned NNPC/Pan Ocean JV, which is expected to change the face of the oil and gas industry as well as its significance to the Nigerian economy. Excerpts:

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huge unsustainable debts prevalent in the power sector?

Every investor will worry about long overdue invoices and we are aware of the prevailing conditions in the market. However, if government must achieve their dreams of diversifying the economy, which will greatly depend on sustainable power generation and distribution, this is one of the areas – the huge debts in the power sector, that must be tackled to encourage investors in this sector. Pan Ocean fortunately have been lucky with payments from our off takers, and we are hoping that, we will continue to enjoy that working relationship with them.

an Ocean has been little silent in the last few years because the company was busy with some projects, can you give us an update of what you have so far achieved?

As you said, these are mega projects that will change the landscape of the oil and gas and energy space in the country and even at international platforms. The Amukpe-Escravos, 160000 bpd, 67 km x 20 in horizontal directional drilling (HDD) export line is first of its kind in Nigeria and Africa. With a burial depth of 45-150 ft, this is the most secured export route in the country.

The 200 MMscfd gas processing plant with LPG/Propane modules, is a game changer also in the energy space as we are positioned to provide gas to power Nigerian homes, offices and industries, while also supplying LPG to bridge the short fall in LPG market in Nigeria.

Finally, the production of oil and gas from OML-147 at Owa Aladima is one of the northern most development in the Niger Delta, and also the first to be on production amongst the 2007 bid rounds. All three projects which will be ready for unveiling at the technical start up taking place June 10, 2019, will contribute significantly to Nigerian industrialisation and economic growth, on the one part and empowerment of the host and impacted communities.

What kind of support did you receive from your joint venture partners?

The Gas Plant and the AmukpeEscravos pipeline are both Joint Venture Projects with NNPC, and we are bold to testify of their full technical, financial and moral support from conception to this present stage of technical start up and unveiling. The field development project at OML-147 in Owa Aladinma is a Production Sharing Contract (PSC), and as in all PSCs projects, NNPC-NAPIMS were fully behind us technically and morally, through our various engagement with them. We have very good working relationship with the various government establishments especially the regulatory authorities, and also from both houses of the national assembly, who have visited the projects sites several times to see things for themselves.

How sustainable is the pipeline project given the huge cost?

The Amukpe-Escravos pipeline is the first of its kind using the Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) technology that spans across 67km with burial depths of 100-150 feet. It thus provides the most secured export route in the country now, and also guarantees a 24/7 crude through put, which the needed incentive for potential users.

As we speak, we are already battling with over capacity allocation of the entire 160,000 bbls injection capacity with prospective customers within the pipeline route.

Should we expect periods of shutdown and force majeure which has been the bane of existing pipeline projects in the Niger Delta?

Shut down and force majeure are normal in any operation, but we are confident that they will not occur because of pipeline vandalism. Non-passage of the PIB has stalled a lot of investment decisions in the sector. What have given Pan Ocean the impetus to go ahead with these mega projects? Pan Ocean has been in this business for about 46

How did Pan Ocean cope with the several communities along Amukpe-Escravos pipeline during the construction stage?

Pan Ocean worked with all major contractors to ensure that the contractors carried them along in term of labour, access road clearing and other local contracts. We also ensured regular communication with community representatives. On few occasions when issues arose, we sought the intervention of the State Government through the Ministry of Oil and Gas to quickly resolve such impasse.

Amieyeofori

years since 1973 with first oil production in 1976. We are also the first Nigerian company to sign on the Participation Agreement with government to become a Joint Venture Partner in the industry.

Given this history and as the pioneer Indigenous Joint Venture Company

We have very good working relationship with the various government establishments especially the regulatory authorities, and also from both houses of the national assembly, who have visited the projects sites several times to see things for themselves

with NNPC, we have experienced continuous evolution of the Nigerian oil and gas industry, and so are not discouraged in our resolve to invest in these mega projects for the good of this country as Nigerians because of the delay in passing the PIB or the PIGB. This is because we are here to stay to contribute our quota, and are therefore confident, that in no distant time, given the level we are with the PIBG process, the government will pass this bill into law.

The crash in oil prices in the 2014-2015 period was a tempestuous time for many oil and gas industry players, how did this period affect Pan Ocean? Did you ever feel like throwing in the towel and abandoning any of these projects?

Yes, as you have noted, these are mega projects running into several billions of US dollars, and as you also know, securing such funding in this country has always been a major challenge. We were really pushed beyond our strength, and were in more than once, nearly threw in the towel, but by the grace of God, we held on and found willing partners and institutional financiers to augment our part of the funding. We are glad that we did not give up, as we would have missed this great opportunity of celebrating these landmark achievements in this country. It pays to hold on.

The gas processing plant is meant to supply lean gas to NIPP power plant. Are you worried about the

Perhaps it’s a good time for the OML 147 Oma Aladinma to come on stream given that crude oil price is hovering around $70 per barrel. Are you excited about this development?

We are happy that oil prices are looking good for now, but our sustainable strategy is always to operate the asset efficiently to deliver value to all stakeholders. This is because, crude oil prices have become more uncertain due to the interplay of geopolitical forces than the usual market forces of demand and supply, and as a prudent operator, we must continue to deliver value no matter where the pendulum swings.

We are in the age of automation and artificial intelligence. How much of technology were incorporated into these projects?

The Amukpe-Escravos export line is based on horizontal directional drilling (HDD) technology that helped to position the pipeline at burial depth ranging between 45 – 150 feet deep in the ground. This is the first of its kind as an export line in Nigeria and on the African continent. Our gas plant and LPG/propane plants and the crude oil and gas processing plants at OML-147 are all automated to run with minimal human interface.

Going forward, what are your expectations from government and National Assembly?

We expect the Nigerian government to take credit for such strategic economic projects by an indigenous company, and therefore provide sustainable business environment for the smooth operations of these assets.

What is the next big project we should expect from Pan Ocean?

We do recognise that the unveiling of these mega projects has placed Pan Ocean amongst the energy majors in the country. We are already aware of the expectations and are not relenting in our creativity. We are already on the drawing board and can only ask that you wait for the next unveiling in no distant time.

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BUSINESSWORLD

ANALYSIS

Tackling Extreme Poverty As at February 2019, World Poverty Clock, a body that focuses mainly on poverty trends around the world, named Nigeria, the poverty capital of the world, with over 91million people below the poverty line making it almost 50 per cent of Nigeria’s estimated 190 million population, now living in extreme poverty

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o put this grim stat in proper perspective, let us look at the other countries in the top three poverty ranking.

India, which has a population of 1.06 billion people – about seven times the population of Nigeria – has 75.1 million people, about 7.1 percent of its population living in extreme poverty, while the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country that is just coming out of a civil war that lasted for over two decades, has 60.9 million people living in extremely poor conditions.

If we blame the large population and the decadeslong civil war for the reasons of the poor stats of India and the DRC respectively, what can we blame that of Nigeria, a country with vast reserves of natural resources – oil and other minerals, arable land and good climatic conditions, on?

We also have a huge population of young, restive and industrious people but this, instead of boosting our stats, further pulls us down. To understand one major reason our population make-up does not boost our poverty rating, let us look at one case.

A young boy, after years of apprenticeship in a poultry farm wants to start up his own farm.

He has too little funds to set up and no property to sell or mortgage to achieve his objective of starting a poultry farm.

His friends and relatives are too poor to assist him with funds so, he goes to the commercial bank, he banks with, for financing but they demand for the collaterals that he does not have, and he gets turned down. He then goes to a micro-finance bank in his neighbourhood and the only offer he could get came with too huge an interest rate and a really short tenure, he wouldn’t be able to even break even, talk less of making profit. So, he stays underproductive and poor.

This case would be very familiar to all developmental economic analysts in Nigeria. A greater percentage of our 23.1 percent unemployed, as well as the 20.1 percentage underemployed population are so, because our banks are too reluctant to lend to micro-, small and medium scale enterprises, especially start-ups, and not because our people are lazy or lack the initiatives that could be turned into money.

While the Global Poverty Clock may have awakened some people to the poverty status of the country, the Nigerian government had, for a while, seen the trend and had commenced efforts towards tackling the issue. One of such efforts is the establishment of the Development Bank

Okpanachi of Nigeria (DBN).

The bank, established in 2017, by the Federal Republic of Nigeria in collaboration with some international development partners – the World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB), KfW Development Bank, French Agency for Development (AFD), European Investment Bank (EIB), is to address the major financing challenges facing the micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria.

DBN, set up with the mission of facilitating “sustainable socio-economic development through the provision of finance to Nigeria’s underserved MSMEs through eligible financial intermediaries,� has the objective of alleviating “financing constraints faced by the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and small corporates in Nigeria through the provision of financing and partial credit guarantees to eligible financial intermediaries on a market-conforming and fully financially sustainable basis.�

With this initiative of the federal government in place, people like the young man mentioned

earlier, and in fact any MSME that has financing needs could easily access funds for its infrastructural development as well as its day-to-day running costs on very friendly terms.

The DBN loan may just be the answer to his desires of expanding his business and the loan repayment tenure is flexible (up to 10 years with a moratorium period of up to 18 months) and the interest rates are on a market-conforming and fully financially sustainable basis.

The intention of the federal government in setting up an institution like the Development Bank of Nigeria is not just for improving access to financing. It goes beyond that. It intends to stimulate the economy by empowering MSMEs to grow in size and profitability so they can create more employment as well as provide platforms for wealth creation.

This will reduce the rate of poverty in the country and remove Nigeria from this inglorious list of countries whose large percentage of their populations are living in extreme poverty.

The Development Bank of Nigeria’s approach

experiences. Amidst the growing challenges, Nigeria has managed to keep real GDP growth positive and has avoided a double-dip recession in contrast to some other emerging markets economies.

In comparison and following its 2016 contractions, the South African economy recorded a double-dip recession with renewed contractions of 2.6 and 0.7 percent in the first and second quarters of 2018, respectively.

Its economy grew by .8 percent in 2018.

In Argentina, though the economy was in recession throughout 2016, moderate upticks which peaked at 1.9 percent quarter two of 2017 ended that recession. However, the Argentinian economy fell back into a recession as GDP growth declined by 1 percent in 2018.

The Brazilian economy had been in recession since 2015 and only emerged from it the first quarter of 2017 with a growth rate of 1.0 percent. Since then the growth has slowed progressively until the last quarter of 2017 when growth remained flat. Economic recovery still remains tepid with a GDP growth rate of 1.1 percent in 2018.

Possible Complexities of Heterodox Monetary Policy While developmental mandate enhances the ability of central banks to foster economic growth, this may come with appreciable hitches. Essentially, policies designed to attain price stability may in fact lack congruence with the goal of economic growth. There is, therefore, the need for a clear understanding of what the limits of central banks are when it is compelled to assume a growth mandate together with the traditional price stability goal. Some of the challenges include: Multi-mandate risks: Some of the risks that might arise from central banks’ increased mandate are identified;

Trade-offs may possibly arise from the pursuit of growth and price stability objectives.

Unconventional monetary policy tools could inadvertently cause liquidity surfeit and undermine price stability.

Developmental roles may expose central banks to undue political pressure to the detriment of the economy.

Balance Sheet - Following the 2008 financial crisis, many central banks, including those of key advanced economies, quickly realised the inadequacy of the conventional approach as they hit the lower limits of adjustments to their interest rates. They thus looked for other approaches to bolster the real economy. These banks (including the US Fed, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan etc.) experienced considerable expansions of their balance sheet while adopting an unconventional monetary policy approach.

Their experiences show that growth financing monetary policy may lead to unsustainably expanded balance sheet of the central bank especially if there are no robust means of contracting the balance sheet when the need arises. An expanded balance sheet could portend inflation risk (as monetary aggregates grow) and financial stability risk (due to excessive credit expansion).

Regardless of these probable complexities, the cost-benefit analysis of undertaking unconventional monetary policies indicates that the societal gains of such policies outstrip whatever challenges that may subsist. The experience since the global financial crises show that growth consideration cannot be sacrificed over the long-term for an exclusive focus on price stability, because unabated real contractions (and the associated persistent negative output gaps) can only lead to declining potential output. An outcome which is

to promoting economic development through the empowerment of MSMEs is three-prong – increasing access to financing, sharing the risks in lending and building capacities of stakeholders to achieve their desired objectives.

In access to financing, the DBN provides wholesale funding to Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs – eligible retail intermediaries such as commercial banks, microfinance banks, existing retail DFIs and leasing companies) for on-lending to MSMEs. In this regard, the bank disbursed over N31 billion, last year through the PFIs, as loans to about 35,000 MSMEs. Furthermore, it recently released the sum of N25 billion to Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), which stands in record as the single largest disbursement to any financial institution for onward lending to MSMEs. This landmark grant brings the total loans granted to MSMEs by DBN to a whooping N56 billion.

This clearly sets DBN as the first amongst its peer development institutions in funds disbursement to the MSME sector.

DBN also provides partial credit guarantees for these retail institutions to encourage them to take the risk of lending to MSMEs. The essence of this is to encourage the PFIs to lend to the MSMEs. Another approach of DBN to economic development is through building the capacities of the PFIs to enhance their ability and willingness to lend to the MSME segment. They provide technical assistance in terms of know-how, intelligence and personnel to ensure that the profitability and sustainability of the scheme are guaranteed. DBN also extends this technical assistance to end-borrowers to increase their profitability and thus increasing their ability to pay back the loans as at when due.

While it might be too early in the day to expect to see the much needed impact of operations of the Development Bank of Nigeria on the country’s rating in the world’s poverty index, one can comfortably say that the wholesale financial institution is on track to achieving the goals for which it was set up, at least judging from the landmark achievements it has made so far.

Riding on the back of these achievements, and of course, other government interventions, one could only look forward with hope that as Nigeria marches towards the year 2050, when it is expected to become the world’s third most populous country, we will also be attaining the status of the country with the fewest number of people living in extreme poverty.

Up against the Tide and the parallel market exchange rate has appreciated from N525/US$ in February 2017 to N360/US$ today. iv. Anchor Borrowers Program– The program has helped to bolster agricultural production by removing obstacles faced by small holder farmers. We have also improved access to markets for farmers by facilitating greater partnership with agro-processors and industrial firms in the sourcing of raw materials. So far the program has supported more than 1,059,604 small holder farmers across all the 36 states of Nigeria, in cultivating 16 different commodities over 1.114 million hectares of farmland. It has also supported the creation of over 2.5m jobs across the agricultural value chain. v. Industrial Sector– Activities in the industrial sector also witnessed significant improvement between August 2016 and February 2019, as the Primary Manufacturing Index rose from a low of 42 percent in August 2016 to 57 percent in April 2019. This development was attributed to sustained supply of FX and the dogged implementation of our FX restriction on certain items. vi. Because of our unconventional FX and development finance policies we have recorded spectacular improvements in domestic production of most of the targeted items. Local manufacturers are consequently reporting major boosts to their revenue and profit.

Peer Review In assessing Nigeria’s recovery efforts and performance, it is essential to conduct a comparative assessment of our peers. Strikingly, it will be discovered that Nigeria did not fare badly vis-à -vis other emerging market economies like Brazil, South Africa, Turkey, and Argentina, that had similar economic

entirely dangerous for any economy given the structural fall in its long-run growth trajectory.

Way forward Ladies and gentlemen, relative to our peers, the favourable outcomes and strengthening outlook of the Nigerian economy is traceable to the timeous adoption on non-traditional policy methods. The CBN has been able to reduce inflation, build our FX reserves, maintained FX market stability, and foster real growth. Nonetheless, challenges still remain.

The pace of population growth at about 2.6 percent still outstrips real growth rate while inflation is outside our tolerance band.

Unemployment rate and incidence of poverty remain at unacceptable levels.

I am happy to note that much of the success we see today is due to the adoption of heterodox macroeconomic policies. Within the CBN, our unconventional methods (especially in the management of the FX market and our development financing) supported by the orthodox approaches (in the form of our timely adjustments of monetary policy rate) have been able to optimally balance the delicate objectives of price stability and real output growth. We will continue to develop policy instruments and device ways of ensuring that an optimal mix of heterodox policies is continually deployed to engender the overall wellbeing and prosperity of the Nigerian economy. Our overall aim remains the concurrent attainment of price stability, real growth, full employment, and poverty reduction.

A lecture delivered by Emefiele at the distinguished leadership programme lecture series at the University of Ibadan on May 24, 2019

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Transforming Edo with Production Centre Initiative Oluchi Chibuzor

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he ever-pressing need to break the ground in fast-tracking industrialisation and economic diversification has led many state governments to tinker with diverse industrial models, with a number of them recording negligible successes.

This trial and error approach has led to the creation of industrial clusters or zones that dot the country, all of which, analysts say, are boggled with numerous challenges ranging from ill-thought out policy measures, decaying infrastructure, little or no incentives for investment or in-fighting among initiators.

Policy flip flops and other man-made errors have made it difficult for these clusters to provide conducive environment for innovation and production to foster the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). This is cast against the backdrop of what obtains in other climes, where deliberate government policy has sparked industries in India, the United States and Europe.

In Edo State, Governor Godwin Obaseki has pooled resources to set up the Edo Production Center, an industrial cluster for over 200 SMEs in Sapele Road axis of Benin City, fitted with 24 hours electricity, as an incentive to boost productivity. The governor is focused on repositioning the state as an industrial hub in Nigeria by creating the environment to stimulate the smooth operation of manufacturers, expand the space for youths to be engaged in productive activity and promote inclusive development.

The Initiative The Production Center is an initiative of Governor Obaseki, to provide a multipurpose production facility with conducive environment for manufacturers to work in clusters. The multipurpose production cluster will serve as hub for Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in the state.

According to the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor on Jobs Creation and Skills Development, Mrs. Ukinebo Dare, at the one-stop-shop and production Centre to be located across the three Senatorial Districts of the state, MSMEs would enjoy economies of scale and low cost of production.

Some of the major attractions include constant electricity, good road network, security, solar powered street lights and other business support services so as to boost capacity to produce at scale, create more jobs and deepen industrialisation. The cluster is also expected to aggregate different manufacturers with sections for welders, metal and fabrication, polythene cut, printers, woodwork, recyclers, shoemakers, among others. The site of the Production Centre in Edo South Senatorial District is located along the Sapele Road-axis of Benin, in a formerly abandoned government warehouse refurbished by the Obaseki-led administration. The facility of four blocks has been described as the future of production, to accommodate local manufacturers.

When the Centre opens for business in June, it will host over 200 Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) involved in fabrication, furniture making, printing and polythene production and a number of other interested small business owners. Dare explained that through the Production Centre initiative, Obaseki was focus on encouraging the growth of smallscale businesses to spur economic growth and create jobs and wealth for the people, as it only makes more sense to groom local manpower as step to attract big investors, by creating the enabling environment for everyone to work harmoniously with the right policy framework. Dare added that the initiative is being set-up by the state government with support from the Bank of Industry (BOI), MEND and Benson Idahosa University.

Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Hon. Edorodion Oye Erimona, noted that aside being a one-stopshop for MSMEs to enjoy economics of scale and low cost of production, “the Centre will accommodate MSMEs clusters while the Benin Industrial park will host big industries.

The electricity that will be at the hub will be drawn from the Ossiomo Power Purchase arrangement. Pollution in the environment will be minimal at the businesses will be MSMEs.�

Obaseki

Another key factor in favour of the initiative is that it would provide conducive environment for the development of other business clusters which will serve as incubation centres for new businesses in the state.

The Centre is also expected to bring many small businesses together that will cooperate with each other in an attempt to efficiently share resources such as electricity, information, materials, water, energy, infrastructure, and other resources, and help achieve sustainable development, with the intention of increasing economic gains and improving the quality of lives for Edo people.

The production cluster would feature facilities designed to drastically reduce cost usually incur during production, increase income for small business owners, while at the same time reducing the price of goods and services in local economy, and growing foreign exchange earnings for the state and country.

For Governor Obaseki, the Production Centre will enable his administration assists entrepreneurs into small scale production cut down on cost of production and grow their businesses with ease in accessing finance and funding from financial institutions.

We want to create several job incubation centres/hubs, where job seekers will be trained and employed by the entrepreneurs in the state. We have the potential to create all we want as we have the base materials, so we have to prepare our youths to ďŹ t into these new jobs we intend to create via training

This is in fulfilment of his promise to ensure a conducive environment for businesses to thrive and improve the quality of lives of the people. This will also complement the Obaseki-led administration goal in driving industrialisation of the state and undeniably revolutionise the state’s economy.

A unique attraction at the Centre according to Obaseki is the provision of uninterrupted power supply to the facility, as the state government has made arrangement for provision of 24/7 electricity to assist owners of small-scale businesses eliminate initial setup cost on electricity.

As entrepreneurs are set to commence operation at the Production Center, three 500KV transformers have been installed at the facility to demonstrate Governor Obaseki’s promise to provide 24-hour electricity at the center.

According to the Head, Energising Edo, Mr. Paul Okungbowa, “The 500KV transformers will be connected to the 33KV line in the area.

The plan is to have at the onset 1.2MW of power, which we intend to expand to 4MW in the near future. We want to ensure that the heavy machines to be run at the facility have 24-hour electricity to work optimally.

Essentially, there will be no downtime, if the occupiers wish.�

In addition to provision of 24/7, the Centre is fitted with factory space, security and office space, the Production Centre will provide spaces for live-in desks for relevant government agencies to engage, support and provide services to the small businesses at the Centre.

The agencies to be hosted at the Centre according to the governor’s aide, are the Bank of Industry (BoI), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Edo Internal Revenue Service (EIRS), among others. These supports will make owners of MEMEs more productive.

A representative of fabricators and welders to be hosted at the Production Center in Benin, Rev. Lugard Ekhosuehi Michael, said the arrangements for working space and constant electricity supply will help them eliminate the major problem they are faced with. “The state government has provided space for us and promised 24 hours electricity supply as these are the problems we are faced with as welders and fabricators in the state,� Michael said.

Economic Transformation With the Production Centre in Benin

about to be open for business, the state’s economy stands to gain immensely with complete turn-around in terms of quality of what will be produce at the Centre.

Dare, who heads Governor Obaseki’s jobs creation and skills development agency, EdoJobs, said, “As we are looking forward to the commissioning of this project, in the very near future, we will see a complete transformation in terms of the quality of what we produce, capacity to produce and the number of jobs created by this Production Centre.�

According to the governor’s aide, the hub would boost his promise to create a minimum of 200,000 jobs before the end of his first four years in office, as his administration planned to create more jobs from industries through providing opportunities for industrialisation driven through private sector participation.

Dare, said the hub was also expected to affect the growth of local capacity, and support the state government skills acquisition programmes which will create lasting impact and provide viable paths to prosperity for youths in the state. With the Centre in place, skills acquisition will be delivered alongside entrepreneurship and business management, start-up acceleration, digital marketing and branding programmes.

The Obaseki led-administration is also not relenting in formulating the necessary policies and programmes that would empower youths to fit into the emerging economy which his administration is creating.

For Obaseki, “We want to create several job incubation centres/hubs, where job seekers will be trained and employed by the entrepreneurs in the state. We have the potential to create all we want as we have the base materials, so we have to prepare our youths to fit into these new jobs we intend to create via training.�

The direct and indirect jobs to be created at the hub will contribute significantly to Nigeria’s manufacturing sector.

Access to Finance, Funding for MSMEs The production Centre initiative pursued by the Edo State Government is quite grand and offers a wide range of benefits to local investors who are being strategically organised as a cluster to improve access to funding and other financial instruments.

During a visit to the hub, the Governor of Central Bank Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele while lauding Governor Obaseki’s initiative in setting up the Production Hub, said the Centre will enable financial institutions like the apex bank easily reach SMEs and assist them tackle the problem in accessing finance and other support.

With the cluster, it becomes easy for the CBN and other financial institutions, to meet with entrepreneurs who are doing business at the hub. According to Emefiele the creation of the hub is a timely intervention by the Edo State Government as the CBN is making plans to deal with issues affecting financing for SMEs. According to him, the CBN in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee have set-up the National Micro Finance Bank to assist deposit money banks and SMEs access fund easily. “We have set up over 20 centers for the National Micro Finance Bank (NMFB) across the country and I am sure Edo State will have a share,� the apex bank governor said.

Dare, explained that the state government is also collaborating with the Bank of Industry (BoI) for funding as the Obaseki-led administration will leverage on the BoI’s expertise in industrialisation and production to attract funding for the MSMEs at the Production Centre.

Small-scale businesses who will operate their businesses at the Benin cluster will now have easy access to funding, with the opportunity to take loan as a cluster. With the ease to access loan at about 9 per cent interest rate and provision of constant electricity, the Production Centre has provided solutions to challenges faced by SMEs, which according to Emefiele will enable owners of small-scale businesses to cut cost of production, even as they are better prepared to compete effectively and create employment for themselves and others, while supporting the government to also grow the economy.

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2018

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EDUCATION UNIABUJAVC: Problems Exist to be Solved Professor Michael Umale Adikwu was elected Vice-Chancellor of the University of Abuja on June 30, 2014. He will complete his five-year tenure in the next few weeks.

In this interview, he talks about his achievements and challenges. He speaks with Kuni Tyessi

W

ith the end of your tenure in the next few weeks, what leadership legacies are you leaving behind?

There are so many things you can’t explain in life. But the real thing is that God has helped us in life. What we have basically is that we are not too hard on anybody. Sometimes when a leader gets into an office, people begin to shiver. They get things done but sometimes grudgingly, and not in a refined way. I always tell people that there is no one who is 100 per cent right and no one is 100 per cent wrong. Look for the good sides of everyone and work on that. If a man complains about his wife and puts her in a black spot but others testify about her in the positive, it means the outcome is as a result of the approach towards her and the same thing happens in our approach towards life. It also depends on how close you are to the person. During a launch three days ago, we did mention that there is someone who can’t write well; that there is a need to look for someone who can write well to be of assistance. If you are going to a place where there are many quarrelsome people, go with someone who is prudent in speech and he will save you from such persons. So, we all must learn that everyone has a quality reposed in him. But, what we usually do is to focus on the negative aspect of people, and that is why most people fail.

I listen to people when they come to my office and have a story to tell. It might not be what I want to hear; but I just listen and I tell them my own perspective and they leave. So, I am not rigid. Most times, people fail in leadership because even those below them find it difficult to work with them. Assume all my subordinates don’t want to work with me, what would I do?

I can do nothing. Sometimes Nigerians will blame the president and say our problem is the president; but that is not true. For you to catch a mad man, you have to be mad yourself. But, if you are mindful of your hygiene and announce to him that he must come to the road, while you are there, the mad man will never turn up. For you to catch him, you have to follow him to the bush. Assume there are five mad men to be caught, who will be caught and who will be spared?

So leadership is not usually at the top.

What happens below is very critical. There are people who will not want to see me for one hour and will not want to hear anything about me; but I don’t bother about them. They need to exist; because if problems don’t exist, people will have nothing to solve, and if you don’t have what to solve, then you are not living.

It’s only when one is alive that problems can be solved.

University of Abuja had several issues about non-accreditation of courses.

Have they been completely resolved and, if no, how many are yet to be fully accredited?

We now have 100 per cent accreditation; but not all have been approved. 90 per cent are now okay, while about 10 per cent are interim. When there is interim accreditation, it will take two years before the regulators come back and it usually depends on people’s judgement. I give you an example: People came some two years ago and failed accreditation in physics.

Within the interim period, they came

have moved from the mini campus. We are awarding contracts for the Faculties of Education and Environmental Sciences as the world is shouting about global warming and others. Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences is also in the kitty. But, as I will always say, what impress me are not the buildings, but the capacity to develop the human minds. Many will come to me and say, “Oga, I have no office”, and I would say, “what happened to your personal office?”

The position is just a name. But they want new cars, new buildings, new fridges and everything new without bringing 10 kobo.

Many of them don’t want to do research in Nigeria; they want to go overseas where they will be given estacode; and you will hear them say that government is not funding education. So, those are some of the problems in the system. Have we been able to develop the human mind?

In an attempt to achieve that, I have tried to organise inaugural lectures. From the beginning of this university to when I came, it had hosted only 11 inaugural lectures. Since I arrived here, the last we had was the 35th inaugural lecture; when, for 26 to 27 years, there were only 11. We have awarded the contract for our stadium and this will keep the students busy. I am advocating that a recreational centre be built and this has been budgeted for.

Professor Adikwu

back again and passed it. Sometimes, accreditation can be nonsense. So, it all depends on who comes. You might look at this classroom and say it is terrible and someone else might say otherwise. We called some people to do accreditation for the Faculty of Law and they said the place was so dirty and capable of spreading Ebola and that was very abnormal. We invited the Council for Legal Education and they said the Faculty of Law was very wonderful. So, beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder and it depends on the people who come. So, if you are careful, you wouldn’t fail accreditation.

How many of the courses fall under the 10 per cent, which are yet to be fully accredited?

I can’t count them. However, we have about 53 departments and about five or six of them are yet to be fully accredited.

But in other departments, we also have programmes. For example, if you go to Science Education, you can get different certificates under different programmes.

So, the Department of Science Education is fully accredited, but in Geography and African Education, some have full accreditation, while some have interim.

Not so much has been heard from the university management about the case of a 100 level student who got drowned at a swimming pool in one of Abuja’s hotels. Why the passivity?

We didn’t even know immediately that it happened. As a student, you came here to read and you are going to swim in town. I have told the Dean of Students’ Affairs to give exit cards as it is done in

private institutions. You cannot leave the hostel and go to town without anybody getting to know where you are going.

It has been in the news and just two or three days ago on radio, there was an analysis of the suicide rate in the country.

So, you will find out that the students of these days are not like the students of the past. In those days, when a student was introduced to you, you could even entrust your life to that person, but not today - because these are people who cannot even take care of themselves. We are getting it all wrong by practicing the white man’s culture. There are many things we are doing that are so ‘un-African’.

Look at the Europeans, what keeps their countries going? It is their attitude to work.

When they see work, they put in all their time and energy. When football is played in their countries, look at the turnout in terms of spectators and compare that to ours. You will notice that not too many go to watch football in our stadia, but for them, such is what keeps them happy.

So, the problem we are really having is multi-faceted and not just the problem of cultism. Humans are degenerating by the hour. Killing has now become like a joke. What we have done, which has helped us, is that we have some vigilante on campus. Today, a child that is still being carried in the stomach is already thinking of the Mercedes he will ride.

Tell us more about what you have done in the past five years?

If I must say some, they include the construction of more buildings and physical infrastructure. Some have been completed, some are on-going and some are yet to start. By next year, all our faculties would

What were some of your challenges?

There were some things I felt we should have done, which we didn’t succeed in doing. I felt that we should have had the best equipment in pharmacy laboratory, but we do not do these things outside buildings. There are also courses that I would have loved to introduce. This university is in the Federal Capital Territory, and we don’t have Fine Arts. The other day, I was watching TV and I saw that one of the paintings of Leonardo Da Vinci sold for 450 million dollars. Such places are where people can get themselves employed, and we keep talking about oil. We don’t have music (department).

We get to hear unpleasant stories about admission. Why has this become a trend till date?

That is not true. I was told when I came that everybody was involved in admission rackets; but we have been able to reduce that. I have a committee that is in charge of admissions, and I must tell you that the competition is indeed very high. This institution is in the FCT and everyone wants to come here. Many parents from the south are no longer comfortable sending their children to the far north. There is insurgency everywhere, and people don’t want to go to those places. Now, when you are going to Kaduna, your heart is in your mouth. So, the pressure is very high here. Sometimes we hear few complaints; but they remain just that. Of course, we do not have a perfect system. I am not too sure if it’s still going on. Last week, I watched the committee very closely.

The National Universities Commission stated recently that it had over 300 private universities proposals and that the country was in dire need of more. Do you think this is good for the system, especially in terms of quality and global recognition?

I see it as a positive move. The more the number of people trained, the more geniuses will be discovered. Some institutions in America don’t offer Masters and PhD programmes; and some of them are specialised.

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Impacting Lives through Adopt-A-School Initiative Concerned about the need to impact lives, bridge the existing education infrastructure gap in public primary schools, and create conducive learning environment for pupils to grow and thrive, Oando Foundation is supporting Plateau State through its Adopt-A-School initiative. Funmi Ogundare reports

D

ecrepit classrooms with broken down desks and chairs was what we used to have at LEA Bungha Gida Mangu Primary School, Mangu Local Government Area, Plateau State”, said the Headmistress, Mrs. Priskila Solomon-Dakai, as she described the pathetic condition of the school to journalists before Oando Foundation’s intervention.

She said the school was established 43 years ago, but was neglected by successive governments until 2017 when help came through the foundation.

According to her, “the school was established in 1976, now with a population of the school 305 pupils. I was worried that the government seems to have abandoned the school to its fate.

When I came to this school in 2015, there was no collection of PTA levy then, so I called the attention of the community to collect levies to maintain the structure and enhance the classrooms, even some teachers contributed willingly towards it, but then the wind storm came and blew away the roof. Through community effort, we had to fix the school roof again in 2017, yet another windstorm came and pulled down the entire structure.

“We had to call on the education secretary, who took photographs of the dilapidation, went to the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) office where we were linked with the foundation.

When they came they saw that the building was in pathetic condition and they came in to assist the school in 2017.”

The foundation recently inaugurated various infrastructure consisting of two blocks of six classrooms, furniture, boreholes, toilets and wash bays, as well as completed other projects across its five other adopted schools within the state, with the objective of addressing all the critical, but deplorable conditions necessary for improving academic standard in public schools.

The event was jointly organised by the Plateau State government and SUBEB, in collaboration with the foundation.

The Programme Manager for Oando Foundation, Ms. Tonia Uduimoh reiterated its commitment to improving learning environments across adopted schools in the country, saying, “we understand that the immediate environment where learning takes place is crucial to the overall learning outcomes of pupils, hence the reason we have heavily invested in ensuring that pupils in adopted schools learn under the right environment that will further enhance their learning capabilities.

“Infrastructure development is a key driver for progress across the African continent and a critical enabler for productivity and sustainable economic growth. It contributes significantly to human development, poverty reduction, and the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”

She stressed the importance of community participation for school improvement process, saying, “we saw support at the SUBEB level and we said to ourselves that whatever we can do to support learning in this school we will. This is the only school that serves quite a number of children within the community. We have provided two blocks of six classrooms which is still not enough. Now that there are proper structure, more children are coming, we build teachers’ capacity

LEA Primary School, Bungha Gida, Plateau State before it was rebuilt by Oando Foundation

The new block of six classrooms built by the foundation

and develop ICT. You can see from the faces of the children, they are happy that something positive has come to their community.”

Uduimoh appealed to government and other corporate bodies, private sector in areas they operate to ensure that the needs of the teachers and learners are adequately met for better learning outcomes.

In his remarks, the Deputy Governor of Plateau State, Professor Sonni Tyoden, who commissioned the project, expressed delight about the foundation’s effort in the education sector within the state, saying that it will help drive efficiency and effectiveness in the process of teaching and learning. He appealed to the teachers, pupils and members of the community to be cautious in handling them so they can last for a longer time.

“Let me use this opportunity to appeal to the traditional rulers across the state to take interest in the management of public primary schools in their domain. They can assist in the monitoring and supervision of teaching, learning activities and report any unwholesome situation(s) to the relevant authorities for necessary action”, he said.

The Chairman, Plateau SUBEB, Professor Matthew Nshim Sule opined that the foundation’s initiative may have been predicated on the high rate of out-of-school children in the country, as well as the restricted school access which public school offers to the teeming population of the lower socio-economic status children.

He explained why there has been no government presence in the community over the years, saying

that it is due to overwhelming demand to public education, limited fund and dwindling resources.

He said he believes that the Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative will go a long way in enhancing socio-economic and political development of the country.

“Indeed, the participation of the private sector in the task of building a virile nation is imperative, as government does not have all the resources to deploy for the overall development of the nation. Thus, it has continually invited the private sector and particularly development partners to collaborate with it for the purposes of improving on the quality of education at different levels.”

Sule commended Oando Foundation for the intervention, while promising that the adopted schools will not be neglected, but accorded attention in the areas of capacity development of school facilitators, consideration of school officers and teachers for periodic training, support of PTAs and SBMCs by the board’s social mobilisation officers, among others.

The Education Secretary, Mangu, Mr. Usman Mohammed said education is the responsibility of all and that government alone cannot do it, adding that there are so many schools that need intervention.

The SBMC Chairman, David Dasul expressed excitement about the foundation’s intervention saying, “before the intervention, it was as if the school was going to be condemned, but for the foundation’s timely rescue. We are indeed very

grateful.”

The House Committee Chairman on Education, Honorable Idris Ahmed said, “it is a welcome development from Oando Foundation worthy of emulation by other private organisations and individuals. What they are doing is to complement the efforts of the government in ensuring a conducive environment in our public schools.

Though there are so many dilapidated structures in most of our public schools, the state is doing its best.”

The Chairman, Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Mangu chapter, Mr. Isaac Dapul said, “as a teacher, we do not only press home our demands concerning our salaries, our concern mainly also to touch the lives of the pupils which is determined by the environment in which they learn. So we ensure that we put on government’s notice that schools can be seen as a second home when they come to learn.

He said the union usually encourages the PTA and SBMC to ensure that schools that are dilapidated are repaired so that pupils can learn in a conducive environment.

“In all our schools, you will discover that there are a lot of projects embarked upon by the SBMC and PTA,” he said, while appealing to them to sit up. “You will also discover that since establishment, there has been no government presence in some public schools. The government should identify such schools and give them a helping hand so that they can have good structures.”

Academic Excellence: KWASU VC Seeks Alumni Collaboration Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

T

he Vice-Chancellor of Kwara State University (KWASU), Professor Abdulrasheed Na’Allah has called for the collaboration of members of the alumni association of the institution to make the university a positive reference point for academic excellence and research development.

This he said would also ensure the continued manifestation of the dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the university.

Na’Allah stated this during the inauguration of the newly elected executive council members of the alumni association, at the main campus of the institution in Malete, Moro Local Government Area.

“The management and staff of the institution are looking ahead for the positive ideas and opinions that would be of good help towards making the university a world class institution.

“In the last 10 years of the establishment of KWASU, the institution has become a world class institution among its peers in academic excellence, research and community development and most especially in the area of entrepreneurship that has made our students job creators rather than job seekers in the market and this must be sustained.

“And now you have passed out and moved into the world now, we expect that each one of you should use your various good offices and positions to attract infrastructures and other things that would boost the academic excellence

of your alma mater.

“Let me tell you that you must all strive harder to complement the giant stride of the owner of the institution and management by bringing good things that would add value to the academic and research development to the university.

“As good ambassadors of the university, all hands must be on deck to shun all forms of negative tendencies and other divisive postures that can affect the image of the university.”

Na’Allah, who added that alumni association remains a major partner in the growth of any university, urged the members to be up and doing to come out with issues that would be of importance to the development of the institution.

He therefore enjoined the newly sworn-in executive members of the alumni association

to see their election as a call to service and shun all actions capable of hindering the development of the association and the university.

In his acceptance speech, the President of the association, Mr. Usman Abdulkadir promised that the new executive members would do everything possible to add value to the association and the university.

He said they would continue to collaborate with the management of the institution to move the institution to a greater height.

Abdulkadir, who commended the vice-chancellor and the management for making the institution a world class citadel of learning, promised that the alumni would continue to collaborate with the management in the task of continuing the development of the university.

al

T H I S D AY Ëž WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2018

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EDUCATION

SOW&G Foundation Educates Students on Effects of Drug Abuse Uchechukwu Nnaike The Save our Women and (JSMT 'PVOEBUJPO 406 (

recently organised a seminar on drug abuse for students of select schools in Lagos State with the aim of educating them on the effects of drug abuse and how to avoid being addicted to drugs.

The seminar tagged ‘Let’s Do Drugs’, featured presentations from experts in the health sector, as well as a panel discussion, where school heads and other stakeholders shared ideas on how to curb the menace among youths.

In her remarks, the Executive Director of the foundation, "NCBTTBEPS 6OZJNF *WZ ,JOH said the event is part of activi-

ties making the International Day of Families, adding that the foundation decided to focus on drug abuse because of its negative effects on the wellbeing of families.

In her presentation, a representative of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency /%-&" .ST +VMJF 6HXV said to live a healthy life, one must avoid habits like eating wrongly, eating late, living in dirty or unhealthy environment, avoiding hard drugs and drugs misuse.

She stressed that a healthy nation consists of healthy citizens and appealed to youths to shun actions and habits that will affect their health, thereby affecting productivity, and ultimately affecting the

development of the country.

6HXV BEWJTFE ZPVUIT UP avoid stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens and other substances that when taken, affect the body functions, she added that when anyone is introducing something strange to them, they should check the substance out first and confirm from an elder.

On how to avoid drug abuse, she urged them to be equipped with information, engage in other productive activities, build their self-esteem, be committed to their school work or their jobs and obey rules and regulations. She also advised them to talk to an elderly person when there is a problem, encourage those who have a problem to seek professional help and to

report abusers to the authorities.

In his paper, ‘The Effect of Drug Abuse on Families in Relation to Climate Change’, Mr. Desmond Majekodunmi identified climate change as the major cause of drug abuse, saying that when a country or city is hit by natural disasters like earthquake, tsunami or fire, the affected people resort to drugs as a way out of depression.

According to him, tobacco is the highest killer drug in the world, followed by alcohol, among other drugs that are harmful to the users, thereby affecting other members of the family and community.

To reduce the effects of climate change in the environment, Majekodunmi called for more focus on clean energy.

L-R: The founder, St. Bernadette School, Mrs. Clementina Doregos; founder, Konsol School/Chairman OMEP Lagos, Mrs. Kadijat Adenmosun; a lecturer, Elect/Elect Department, University of Lagos, Dr. Ibukun Adewale; and Chairman, Organising Committee, Mrs. Bola Adebayo, during the Children’s Day celebration by Mondiale Pour L’ Education Pre Scolaire (OMEP) World Organisation for Early Education, held at UNILAG‌ recently ETOP UKUTT

NECO Releases 2019 Cowbellpedia Qualifying Exam Result

With two representatives each, Anambra, Benue, Ogun and Rivers States took the lead in the 15 perfect scores recorded by 14 schools from 10 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja as the National Examinations Council (NECO) announced the result of the 2019 Cowbellpedia Mathematics Qualifying Examination, which was conducted on February 9, 2019.

The competition is sponsored by CowbellOur milk, the flagship brand of Promasidor Nigeria Limited and the result is now available on www. cowbellpedia.ng, it can also be accessed on Facebook messenger @cowbellmilk Twelve of the high-flying students emerged from the junior category, while the remaining three are in the senior category.

Schools represented in the junior category by the outstanding students include Gloryland Secondary School, Benin City, Edo, State; Grundtvig International Secondary School, Awka, Anambra State, which has two candidates scoring 100 per cent; Grace-

land International School, Port Harcourt, Rivers State; Nigerian Tulip International College, Abuja; Nigerian Tulip *OUFSOBUJPOBM $PMMFHF ,BEVOB Makurdi International School, Mount Saint Gabriel’s Secondary School, Makurdi, Benue State; Princely Academy, "CFPLVUB BOE 6OJWFSTBM Scholars Secondary School, Ota, Ogun State.

Others are Topfaith International Secondary School, 6ZP "LXB *CPN 4UBUF BOE Whitesand School, Lekki, Lagos State.

The three candidates with the perfect score in the senior category are from Marist Brothers’ Juniorate, 6UVSV "CJB 4UBUF #JCP 0MVXB Academy, Ilesa, Osun State; and Jesuit Memorial College, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The 15 perfect scores recorded this year are also ground-breaking as they rested the 2016 feat of six perfect scores.

A total of 56,073 students, comprising 29,073 (junior category) and 27,000 (senior category) sat for the qualifying exam in 203 centres across the

country.

With stage one over, 108 students (54 each for junior and senior categories) will now proceed to the second stage, which is the television quiz show. The second phase will run through preliminary, semi-finals and finals with the best six students in each category competing for the grand prize.

The show will be serialised into 13 episodes and aired on six local stations, AIT Network, DSTV Africa Magic across the country from August 10, 2019.

The Managing Director of

Promasidor Nigeria Limited, Mr. Anders Einarsson had announced at the commencement of the competition that the winner in each categorywill receive N2 million in addition to an all-expense paid educational excursion abroad.

Also in each category, the first and second runners-up will win N1.5 million and N1 million respectively.

The teachers of the top prize winners will be awarded N500,000 while those of the first and second runners-up will receive N400,000 and N300,000 respectively.

Don’t BurnYour Bridges You might be familiar with the implications of taking things for granted or may have experienced the consequences of over-looking certain seemingly inconspicuous things in favour of other more prominent ones. You may actually have a preferred child, staff or style that you try very hard to overtly acknowledge, or that you insensitively acknowledge to the distaste of others.

As things do have the power to unfold, you may have gotten an instant name and shame feedback like the one a colleague of mine was given, a short while ago. On this occasion, my colleague had talked over a profoundly physically disabled young man whom he assumed: had no cognitive abilities; was unable to hear anything; was unable to speak and was blind.

These were all the “truths� my colleague told myself after taking one swift glance at his subject on entering the room.

It so happened on this fateful day that my colleague had walked into the conference room to conduct his subject’s initial admissions on behalf of the unit. My colleague exchanged verbalised greetings pleasantly and respectfully with the subject’s accompanying carers and non-verbally with him - the subject. Next he asked the question, “What’s your name?� - requesting his subject’s name but giving his eye-contact, his attention and body positioning to the accompanying carers. Much to his surprise and of course embarrassment, the subject answered, with in a tone of anger laced with bitterness, “My name is Francis, I can speak, hear and see. My colleague rushed to express how sorry he was at making this error but immediately realised that he had just hugely offended Francis.

My colleague knew at that instance that he had a lot of work ahead to gain Francis’s trust and possibly respect. It took him some months of reassurances and seeking opportunities to demonstrate that he deeply regretted his actions before he could get Francis to relax in his presence. Francis had a diagnosis of cerebral palsy and quadriplegia. He was however not severely learning-disabled to the point of total cognitive loss. All of his life, as he later told us, many people at first contact took him to be non-verbal, deaf and blind. Francis added that this hurts.

So with this illustration you can guess that my concern today is on the assumptions we make in full view of our customers. In this narrative, by customers, I mean people that receive our output, that is, productivity and your communications. By this definition you should see immediately that everyone is your customer and vise-versa.

Your students, staffs, parents, school-board and employer are your customers. You have a great part to play in their overall experience. You cannot afford at any time, like my colleague was in the narrative above, to be self-focused at his first contact with his customers. A great communicator uses both conscious (chosen words) and subconscious (non-verbal language) communication in a congruent way to pass across their message and establish relationships.

For outcome-focused results, in your teaching profession or otherwise, endeavour always to be aware of the impact of the conscious and subconscious language you use.

First impressions matter a lot. Depart from making assumptions hurriedly, Rather, rest your assumptionsmake no conclusions in a rush! There isn’t always time to rebuild bridges. Therefore, don’t burn your bridges the first time around. r 0NPSV XSJUFT GSPN UIF 6,

Youth Employment: Rector Wants Agric Opportunities Tapped in Nigeria award from the opportunities in agriculture and mentorship among the James Sowole in Akure The Rector of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Abeokuta, Dr. Adeola Odedina, has appealed to government at all levels and corporate bodies to exploit the opportunities available in agriculture to tackle unemployment and youth restiveness in the country.

Odedina, who said this while receiving the Outstanding Provost

South-west Heralds Magazine in Akure, regretted that despite the frantic efforts put in place by the federal government to diversify into agriculture, several state governments and corporate organisations have not maximally utilized the opportunities.

The rector, who is a former Provost, Federal College of Agriculture, Akure (FECA), noted that the value chain

offer attractive vocations and gains for the youths, rather than engaging themselves in activities that further jeopardise the peace of the nation.

He said youths are taking new career in agriculture,“but the gap is that we don’t have enough youths taking up these opportunities to create prosperity.

Odedina also called for a strong synergy to create models

youths who could be inspired by the success stories of others, thereby making agriculture more attractive.

The Deji of Akure, Oba Aladelusi Aladetoyinbo, among other dignitaries at the occasion, implored the federal government to upgrade FECA to a university status so as to maximise the full potential of agriculture for development.

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2018

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62 Graduands Bag First Class at Babcock Varsity Ugo Aliogo Babcock University, Ilishan Remo, Ogun State last week produced 62 first class graduates out of a total of 2,405 that graduated from the institution.

A total of 1,926 students were awarded undergraduate degrees; 372 received master’s degrees; while 102 were awarded Doctors of Philosophy (PhD).

Speaking at the 2019 convocation ceremony, the best graduating student from the Department of Business Education with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.97, Miss Edafe Bawa-Dogo thanked

the university and the lecturers for the knowledge imparted in her, adding that its academic excellence has also been of immense help to her.

She attributed the secrets of her success to God and her family who were supportive throughout her undergraduate programme.

“I didn’t start taking first position in my early school days, I had some challenges.

But during my university days, God turned everything around for me. My course mates were amazing, they didn’t settle for less. We taught each other and inspired ourselves to succeed.

“After now, I am hoping to leverage on the knowledge I have gained to impact and support students of the university to fulfil their God-given potential and destinies.”

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ademola Tayo said the university has remained focused on its core mission of providing the finest undergraduate and graduate education, as well as maintained a research endeavour.

He noted that despite its challenges and drawbacks, the institution has worked in a disciplined and prudent manner to achieve its goal, adding, “the

results have been remarkable leading to the smooth drive of the academic calendar which reflected on our graduates.

“Babcock University is recognised as a private university in Nigeria that takes seriously the issues of quality, adherence to ethical practices, and academic programme stipulations guidelines, well as assessment metrics.

“To this extent, 35 of our 38 undergraduate programmes have received the full accreditation of the National Universities Commission (NUC), International Board of Education, USA, and the Adventist Ac-

crediting Association (AAA). The remaining three programmes were recently approved by the NUC to take off and therefore, not mature for accreditation visit.”

In his remarks, the commencement speaker, Professor Toyin Falolo said faith cannot be separated from knowledge in order to produce better citizens, saying that a student can be spiritual and knowledgeable, which is important to the development of the country.

As a way of improving the education system in the country, he stressed the need for more funding and provi-

sion of resources, adding that government should focus on supporting private universities.

Falolo advised the graduands to look beyond the knowledge they have acquired by developing themselves and equipping themselves with skills.

“I have had the opportunity of giving convocation lectures on rising unemployment. The days government absorbed everyone has gone. We need to combine acquisition of skills with many of these certificates. There is nothing wrong in combining a degree in English Language and having a skill in plumbing or painting.”

Agbami Restate Commitment to Quality Education, Donates Classroom to Abia School and furnished storey building Emmanuel Ugwu in Umuahia The consortium of oil firms operating the Agbami Oil Field has deepened its commitment to the promotion of quality education in the country by transforming school infrastructure and facilities under its social investment programme.

The Director, Deepwater and Production Sharing Contracts, Mr. Ricks Kennedy made this known during the handover ceremony of an integrated model classroom block built for Community Model High School, Isieke-Ibeku, Umuahia.

He said the intervention by the Agbami parties in promoting quality education was borne out of their belief that “education is key to unlocking the potential of the youth and developing their capacity for societal relevance.”

The director, who was represented by the Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Mr. Michael Kabi, said the company “is committed to promoting quality education in partnership with the government and other stakeholders.

“The drive behind our education support is to improve access to education for all Nigerians through the donation of hybrid libraries, science laboratory complexes and scholarships,” he said.

The Agbami parties comprise Star Deepwater Limited, a Chevron company, Famfa Oil Limited, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Equinor Nigeria Energy Company Limited, and Petroleo Basileiro Nigeria Limited.

The model classroom block described as an integrated learning centre, is a fully equipped

with 12 classrooms, three laboratories for physics, chemistry and biology, each with a prep room.

The complex also boasts of a computer room with capacity for 48 computers, a fine arts studio, a library, a sick bay, staff rooms, offices and other facilities.

In his address the Chairman of Famfa Oil Nigeria Limited, Mr. Modupe Alakija noted that said “quality education is key for the development of any nation”, adding that a sound education is important for achieving success in every sphere of life.

“The provision of the model classroom block underscores our resolute commitment to promote quality science education in Nigeria in line with our corporate social responsibility programmes,” he said in the address presented by Obinna Iheonu.

The Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu thanked the Agbami parties for donating the integrated education complex, saying that the oil firms have been helpful to his administration by improving education infrastructure.

Ikpeazu, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Ude Oko Chukwu, said education remains the foremost industry of Abia and “everything is working well for us in this regard.

“You have really changed the landscape of this school,” he said, adding that the state government would do everything to ensure proper maintenance of the facilities and also provide qualified staff, as well as security for the school.

L-R:The Lagos Island Local Government Education Authority Secretary, Moshood Mayegun; the Head Mistress, Olowogbowo Methodist Primary School, Ms. Esther Obidairo, the Community Relations Manager, Mr. Aloiye Aigbonoga and Engineering Supervisor, Operations, Ezra Nwachukwu, both of Axxela Limited at the inauguration of the refurbished school and donation of books and school supplies… recently

Axxela Unveils School Project, Donates Books, Others Ogechukwu Obi

In commemoration of this year’s Children Day, Axxela Limited (“Axxela”), a subSaharan Africa’s gas and power portfolio company, recently inaugurated a newly refurbished Olowogbowo Methodist Primary School, donated books for the school library and provided school supplies for the students.

Olowogbowo Methodist Primary School is one of the schools adopted by the company under the Lagos State ‘Adopt-a-School’ project, aimed at assisting the government to develop the education sector in the state.

The refurbishment project included general repairs of

16 classrooms, replacement of all damaged windows, installation of new library book shelves, restoration of the playground, provision of a fully-equipped sick bay, and replacement of all toilets and sewage system.

Speaking on the initiative, Axxela’s Community Relations Manager, Aloiye Aigbonoga said: “In line with our CSR efforts to give back to communities where we operate, we adopted and refurbished the school, upgraded the library, and furthering our commitment to improve the learning habits and reading culture among our youth. We are also proud to empower staff of the school by providing an improved

workplace environment, as this initiative gets us closer to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 4 of Quality Education.”

Speaking also, the Lagos Island Local Government Education Authority Secretary, Moshood Mayegun commended the company, saying, “we are indeed grateful to Axxela for its intervention that will go a long way in boosting the morale of the students, while giving them access to quality education with the much-needed resources and facilities.

“The pupils of Olowogbowo Methodist Primary School can now learn in a more conducive environment and we promise to make

judicious use of the facilities Axxela has provided.”

The school is located within the right-of-way of the Greater Lagos IV (GLIV) gas pipeline, which was developed by Axxela’s subsidiary, Gaslink Nigeria Limited, in partnership with the Nigerian Gas Marketing Company (NGMC). It spans from Ijora through Lagos Island’s Marina axis, supplying gas to commercial and industrial off-takers along its route.

As part of the company’s commitment to improve the standard of living of its host communities, it also recently inaugurated the newly reconstructed Elegbata Sports Complex in Lagos Island.

Ogun Applauds Coca-Cola Foundation for Upgrade of Educational Facilities in Abeokuta Coca-Cola Nigeria, through its foundation, in partnership with the Ogun State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) has inaugurated a block of five classrooms, 10 units of sanitation facilities, playground and a library complex at the First Baptist Primary School, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

The project is part of the Coca-Cola Foundation/UNDP New World Programme, in collaboration with Ogun State government and Youth

Empowerment Foundation (YEF), aimed at upgrading critical infrastructure in the school, which was established in 1910 as a missionary school adopted by the First Baptist Church before becoming a public primary school in the 1970s.

Speaking at the handover ceremony recently, Governor Ibikunle Amosun, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology,

Aikulola Olu Ola, thanked the company, saying that the project would go a long way in improving the quality of education offered to the pupils of the school while also impacting the community positively.

While delivering the keynote remarks, the Managing Director, Coca-Cola Nigeria, Mr. Bhupendra Suri, who was represented by the Public Affairs and Communications Manager, Amaka Onyemelukwe, reiterated

the company’s commitment saying, “each decision our company makes is a chance for us to do the right thing.

We are relentlessly self-aware of our role in the world and the impact we can have. That is why we are investing to help care for the people and communities we deepen on to succeed.

“The Coca-Cola Foundation since its inception in 1984 has given back nearly $1 billion to help strengthen local com-

munities worldwide. Originally focused on learning inside and outside the classroom, today the foundation supports our global water leadership programmes, community recycling, and women’s economic empowerment programmes.

It’s our belief that this project will impact positively in shaping the lives of these future leaders of our country,” he said.

Delivering the project’s overview, the Project Manager, who is also the Public Policy

Analyst, Coca-Cola West Africa Business Unit, Mr. Emeka Mba explained that the project is part of the 4th Generation Programme by The Coca-Cola Foundation and Global Water Challenge implemented by Youth Empowerment Foundation to support the SDGs on water, sanitation, hygiene and education. He stated that the project began with detailed needs assessment conducted in consultation with Ogun SUBEB.

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY JUNE 5, 2019

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CITYSTRINGS

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

L-R: Assistant Director of Physiotherapy Services, Lagos Island Maternity Hospital, Mistura Alabi; Mouka’s Senior Marketing Manager, Tolu Olanipekun; Director of Physiotherapy Services, Lagos State Health Service Commission, Jumoke Smith; Principal Social Welfare Officer, Medical Social Services Department, Mary Olayemi; Accountant Lagos Island Maternity Hospital, Sodiq Oshodi; and on the far right, Apex Nurse, Lagos Island Maternity Hospital, Adebukola Cole during the presentation of the Mouka Dreamtime mattresses to beneficiaries at the hospital to commemorate Children’s Day

A Children’s Day Largesse To mark the recently commemorated Children’s Day, Rebecca Ejifoma reports that Mouka Limited donated some Dreamtime mattresses to some of those termed the ‘leaders of tomorrow’

I

n Nigeria, the International Children's Day is marked on May 27 as against other nations that celebrate the day on different dates. However, despite the disparity in dates, the objective is the same; a day set aside to celebrate children. It was on that premise that the United Nations adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child on November 20, 1959 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child on November 20, 1989.

Thus, to commemorate this year’s anniversary, Mouka Limited took its corporate social responsibility (CSR) to the target; children by donating Mouka Dreamtime mattresses were donated by Mouka Limited, foremost foam and mattress manufacturer in Nigeria, to babies born on May 27, 2019, a day set aside to celebrate children.

Babies in three hospitals – two in Lagos and one in Ibadan – were beneficiaries of the gesture on May 27, 2019. While the mothers of 10 babies received Mouka Dreamtime mattresses on behalf of their babies at Lagos Island Maternity Hospital, six mothers had mattress donations made to their babies at the Gbagada General Hospital, also in Lagos.

In Ibadan, four babies born at the University College Hospital were picked for the donations. In addition to the donations was a Children’s Day treat co-sponsored by Mouka in Lagos which ran from May 24 to May 27.

The gesture was Mouka’s way of giving back to the society and celebrating children in Nigeria.

Speaking about the gesture, Mouka’s Senior Marketing Manager, Tolu Olanipekun said Mouka was out to celebrate children with its water-resistant Dreamtime mattress specially designed with children in mind.

From left: Digital Marketing Manager, Damilola Taiwo; Function and Brand Manager, Jide Odelola; Regional Sales Manager, South West, Banji Aluko, all of Mouka Limited presenting mattresses to the Chief Medical Director, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Prof. Jesse Otegbayo on Monday to commemorate Children’s Day

“The Dreamtime mattress is made with a special fabric that is water resistant which prevents water from soaking the foam.

Sleeping on mackintosh often makes a child uncomfortable due to the texture and heat produced during sleep. Dreamtime on the other hand is covered with a soft and breathable fabric which keeps the body cool at night. These donations are to appreciate our children born on this day,” Olanipekun said.

On the Children’s Day treat co-sponsored by the brand, Mouka’s Brand and Innovation Manager, DejiOdelola described the move as one geared towards engaging children as it relates to the importance of quality sleep, a phenomenon which, according to him, has a direct relationship with children’s academic performance.

“Anything you want to be in life, you need quality sleep to achieve it. And at their

age, they need quality sleep for proper development of their brain. So we are here to talk to their parents and guardians about the importance of quality sleep. Mouka Dreamtime offers the best mattress design to cater for kids of their age bracket. So that is the reason we are here; to add value to the society,” explained Odelola.

He further said: “Dreamtime is the first mattress of its kind for kids in Nigeria and offers water resistant cover and at the same time, breathable. Water resistant in the sense that water cannot penetrate through the fabric into the foam. And it’s also breathable in the sense that air can pass through. So it’s a new technology that we used for the production of the fabric. And that is why Mouka Dreamtime is different from Mackintosh because people try to compare it with Mackintosh. The technology behind Dreamtime is far beyond that of

Mackintosh.”

Reacting to the donations, the Chief Medical Directors of the concerned hospitals expressed their gratitude to Mouka for the philanthropic move, while hoping that other organisations in the private sector would emulate the brand.

According to them, the fact that the company embarked on such a socially responsible mission was reflective of the fact that the operations of Mouka are not just profit-centred but also protective of the interest and overall good of the society.

“What Mouka has done goes a long way.

The mothers are happy. One of the children even smiled at the point of the donation and I know the child will dream of the future while sleeping on that mattress. I’m very elated,” said Mrs Adebukola Cole, the ApexNurse of Lagos Island Maternity Hospital, who stood in for the Medical Director, Benjamin Eniayewun.

Dr. Adeleke Kaka, Medical Director of Gbagada General Hospital said: “Mouka represents one of the top range mattress manufacturers. I know they make quality products and they are also philanthropic.

They are socially responsible. Since I became saddled with the headship of this hospital, I’ve received them at least once, apart from this particular occasion. They came here for the New Year celebration with the presentation of the gifts of the Dreamtime mattresses which are high quality, new technology mattresses for children. By and large, it’s been nice knowing them.”

The mothers all expressed their gratitude to Mouka, describing the gesture as commendable. While noting that the company was already a household name, they added their optimism that such move would keep the brand solidly etched on the minds of customers.

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CRIME&SECURITY

Ă™Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă? Ă?Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă–Ă? Ă™ ÕÙãÓ ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă&#x;Ă—Ă? Ă•Ă?Ă‘Ă’Ă?

As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility, (CSR), the Management of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) on Thursday, May 30, visited the Ikoyi Prisons in Lagos with relief items.

In a statement signed by the General Manager, Corporate Communications of EKEDC, Godwin Idemudia, he said the gesture is to identify with the inmates and give back to the people within its operational network.

Managing Director of EKEDC, Engr.Adeoye Fadeyibi who was represented at the cor-

rectional facility by the Chief Financial Officer, Mr Joseph Esenwa, stated that the visit was a follow up on the promises made by the company during a similar visit in 2018.

He said the EKEDC is passionate in its drive to empower the quality of lives no matter the situation.

Deputy Controller in charge of Ikoyi Prisons, Tolu Ogunshakin thanked the management of EKEDC for their efforts in providing support for inmates in the facility. He acknowledged the fulfillment of earlier promises made by the organisation and admonished

them to continue to lend their hands of support to the prisons.

He urged other corporate bodies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to emulate EKEDC as that will go far in relieving the conditions of inmates.

Ogunshakin urged members of the public to look into the state of the facility as it is highly overcrowded. “The capacity of the Ikoyi Prisons is 800 and we have 2,937 inmates here. Only 493 of the inmates have been sentenced while the remaining 2,444 inmates are awaiting trial.

110 inmates occupy a room

just about the size of a small classroom�, he said.

He also appealed to the government to look into the pending cases and resolve minor cases to avoid overcrowding the prisons.

The Deputy Controller was happy to inform EKEDC that 85 per cent of the 57 inmates that sat for the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination scored above 189. He appealed that visits should be made often to the prisons as it gives the inmates hope and relief. He thanked EKEDC for the immense contributions made to the welfare of the inmates.

Ě‹ Ë? Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ă˜Ăž Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă– Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?ĂœËœ Ă?ĂŽĂ“Ă‹ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ù××Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă•Ă™ Ă–Ă?Ă?ĂžĂœĂ“Ă?ÓÞã Ă“Ă?ĂžĂœĂ“ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ăœ Ă&#x;Ă–Ă‹Ă“Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ Ă–Ă?ĂŽĂ?Ă’Ëž Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ™Ă–Ă–Ă?Ăœ Ă™Ă? ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ëœ ÕÙãÓ ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ëœ Ăœ ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă&#x; ĂŽĂ?Ă‘ĂŒĂ™ĂŁĂ?Ă‘Ă‹Ëž Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă– Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ăœ Ă™ĂœĂšĂ™ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ? Ù××Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ëœ Ăœ Ă™ĂŽĂĄĂ“Ă˜ ĂŽĂ?Ă—Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ“Ă‹Ëž Ă?ĂšĂ&#x;Þã Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ™Ă–Ă–Ă?Ăœ Ă™Ă? ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ëœ ÕÙãÓ ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă™Ă˜ Ăœ ÙÖĂ&#x; Ă‘Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă•Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă? ĘŠĂ?Ă?Ăœ Ăœ Ă™Ă?Ă?ÚÒ Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂĄĂ‹ ĂŽĂ&#x;ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? Ă?ÙÙÎ Ă“ĂžĂ?Ă—Ă? ÞÙ ÕÙãÓ ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă™Ă˜ ĂŒĂŁ ÞÒĂ? Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă‘Ă™Ă?

Ă?Ă‹Ăœ Ă™Ă˜Ëœ ËÞÒĂ?Ăœ Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă?ĂŽ Ă“Ă?ËÚÚĂ?Ă‹ĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂĄĂ™ Ă™Ă˜Ă?

ËãÙÎĂ? Ă‹Ă?Ă&#x;Ă‹ A distraught father in the Ojodu-Berger area of Lagos, Mr. Raufu Bamidele Adebanjo, has cried out to both the government and the police authorities to help trace the whereabouts of his two sons who have gone missing for the past one year.

Adebanjo, in a statement issued, a copy of which THISDAY obtained, lamented that his sons, namely Emma Adedayo Adebanjo, and Samuel Adefemi Adebanjo, were separately kidnapped by a notorious cult group operating in the Ojodu-Berger locality and that, this same group had been threatening the other members of his family since the incidents occurred.

“I want to bring to the attention of the general public, the disturbing development of my missing sons, Emmanuel Adedayo Adebanjo (23) and Samuel Adefemi Adebanjo (21) and the continued threat to other members of my family by an unnamed cult group,� Adebanjo said.

He said his family members started looking for Emmanuel around 7pm on July 3 2018, when they noticed that he was nowhere to be found and was not responding to calls made to his phone. “We were thereafter reliably informed by an eyewitness that he became caught up in violent clashes that involved two rival cult gangs engaged in a battle for supremacy and forced recruitment exercise code-named, ‘Circumcise

the Jews.’ “This was the last day we heard of or saw my son, Emmanuel. We also learnt those clashes on July 3, 2018 led to many injuries and deaths,�

Adebanjo bemoaned.

He added that the unthinkable soon happened while the family initiated a search party to trace the whereabouts of Emmanuel, when this same cult group descended on his younger brother. “There was a sudden and violent invasion and attack on our family house located at Oremeji Close, in the Olowoira section of the Ojodu-Berger-Alagbole area.

The attack occurred around 11.pm on Monday, July 9, 2018, and it involved about 10 masked men, all clad in black vests and armed with

guns, cutlasses and other dangerous weapons.�

He said during the second attack, the hoodlums beat him and other members of his family to a pulp, before seizing his second son, Samuel, who they abducted in his presence.

Adebanjo who added that his family and the neighbourhood were yet to recover from the shock caused by the two incidents, added that he and his neighbours had been living under the perpetual fear of cult attacks, which are common with the area.

He thus appealed to both the government and the security agencies to help him intensify efforts on the search for his missing children, and also help beef up security in the Lagos community.

̥ ̢͚ Kidnapping, which is the act of taking somebody away illegally and keeping them as prisoners or hostages, especially in order to get ransom or other benefits before they are released, is evidently giving us cause for concern now.

Kidnapping is a serious offence. In fact, in some states of the federation, kidnapping is now considered a capital offence, that is, an offence that is punishable by death. As the police and other critical stakeholders are doing everything humanly possible to combat it, frankmba.ng is on its own proffering a few tips on some of the ways not only to avoid being kidnapped but also on how to survive when you are unfortunately kidnapped.

To avoid being kidnapped, you may consider adopting some of the following security tips: * Do not work-out, drive, go to work or take children to school using the same route all the time especially where you have alternate routes.

This is because felons may rely on your routines to track you down and look for a time when you are most vulnerable to strike. *Do not accept rides offered by strangers, because you would be at their mercy if they turn out to be kidnappers. * Always let someone know your whereabouts or where you are going. Give the name and other useful information of the person you are going to meet, in case of any eventuality. *Do not accept drinks, gums, cigarettes, and food from anybody you are not familiar with. You could easily be drugged and taken hostage. * Teach the children not to accept gifts from persons they are not familiar with. It is however important we do this with utmost care so as not to make our children become paranoid. * Do not draw unnecessary attention to yourself, especially by making public donations or appearing flashy or spraying money carelessly at events. Note that even when musicians and praise-singers are praising you to high heavens during such events, they may unwittingly be attracting unscrupulous elements to you. * Be familiar with your surroundings; also know your neighbors as these are critical to your personal safety and well-being. Remember the case of Evans, the billionaire kidnapper who lived in a beautiful estate in Lagos for years yet none within the neighborhood had an inkling that they were living with the “most wanted kidnapper� in Nigeria until he was apprehended by the Police. * Identify Police Stations, barracks and other security zones that are close to your residence or place of work in case of any exigency. * Ensure you have Control Room numbers of relevant security agencies especially the ones nearest to you in case of emergencies. *Make sure you secure your home. You could do this by: – Simulating human presence especially when you are alone in the house or you feel insecure. –Activating home security such as alarm system, CCTV if any. –At night ensure that your home is well-lit. – When in the house, ensure your doors are properly shut/locked especially at night or whilst alone. t $VMMFE GSPN GSBOLNCB OH

Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă”Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ? Ă?ĂœĂŒĂ‹Ă–Ă“Ă?Ăž Ă™Ă?Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ Ă–Ă–Ă?Ă‘Ă?Ă? Ă’ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ăž ĂŒĂŁ Ù××Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂŁ

ËãÙÎĂ? Ă‹Ă?Ă&#x;Ă‹ Amiddle-aged Lagos businessman, Mr. Kaosisochukwu Charles Udoji, has called for the intervention of rights bodies over the insistence by people of his native community of Ogbakugba inAnambra State, that he must become the community’s herbalist, or face unpleasant consequences.

Udoji, who claimed to be currently hiding from com-

munity witch-doctors on his trail, said as a born-again Christian, he would never accept the bestowal.

In a statement made available to THISDAY with a copy of the affidavit he swore at the Ikeja High Court alleging threat to his life, Udoji said his father is a renowned herbalist in Ogbakugba, Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State, and the latter, having become of age and drawn, the

community insisted that he, being the heir apparent, must take over his responsibilities. “By the virtue of native customs and tradition, I am the next person to take up the herbalist work from my father, but this contradicts my new-found Christian faith,� he stated.

He said ever since his refusal in 2017 to take over this responsibility from his father, the entire community of Ogba-

kugba had turned against him, amid various threats to his life.

He called on the authorities, in concert with human rights organisations, to come to his aid, as he could no longer enter his community, and that, he lived under fear any time he arrived in Anambra, his home-state.

Udoji added that while in Lagos, he was always avoiding people from his localities, as he found it hard to trust anyone.

ĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ă• ĂŒĂ‹

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WEDNESDAY JUNE 5, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY

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EID-EL-FITR MESSAGES...

EID-EL-FITR MESSAGES...

Governors Preach Harmony, Peaceful Co-existence Our Correspondents As Nigerian Muslims celebrate Eid-el-Fitr to mark the end of Ramandan fasting, a cross session of state governors yesterday including Imo State Governor, Chief Emeka Ihedioha and the National Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus felicitated with Muslim faithful on the successful completion of the Ramadan fast, wishing them a joyous Eid-el- Fitr, and urging them to promote peace, tolerance and patriotism.

Ihedioha noted that Eid-el-fitr, which marks the completion of one month Ramadan fast, is characterised by charity, love, worship, and forgiveness, adding that it is a period of total detachment from pleasure in pursuit of spiritual rebirth and upliftment.

He admonished the Muslim faithful to use the occasion to reflect on the lessons of Ramadan to move the State and Nigeria forward.

On his part, Secondus,urged Nigerians to use the period of Eid-el-Fitr to reflect on the situations in the country and pray fervently for the survival of the nation.

He said in a Sallah message to mark the end of the 30-day Ramadan fasting period by the Muslim faithful, that the situation in the country was still dicey and discomforting, hence needs God’s intervention.

In a statement from his media office, signed by Ike Abonyi, the party’s national chairman said that after four years in the hand of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), all indicators point to the fact that Nigeria as a country is under severe pressure that need prayers and commitment of all to survive.

The PDP boss said that everything points to it that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has failed woefully in harnessing the abundant human and material resources in the country and has instead resorted to various undemocratic acts to thwart the will of the people.

Yobe Gov Asks Muslims to Show Compassion

Yobe State Governor, Alhaji Mai Mala Buni, has enjoined Muslims all over not to neglect the needy but show them compassion.

The governor, in his Sallah message to the people of the state, called on them to continue to imbibe the lessons of Ramadan, just as he called on the people of the state to give his administration the necessary support to succeed as their chief servant.

“Ramadam fasting strengthens in the Muslim community the values of love of justice, equity and unity among other cherished virtues.”

Okowa Felicitates with Muslims on Sallah Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has felicitated with the Muslim community on the celebration of the Eid-el-Fitri, saying that though Ramadan fast is over, it is important that the lessons of the season are sustained and replicated in their daily lives for the good of society.

He congratulated all Muslims for successfully completing this year’s Ramadan fast.

In a Sallah message yesterday in Asaba, Okowa urged the Muslim community to pray for the unity and peace of the nation as they celebrate. He urged Nigerians to promote religious tolerance, adding that such virtue would ensure peace across the country and enhance national development.

“I will like to remind Nigerians of the importance of respecting the faiths and beliefs of all and enjoined all Muslim faithful and Nigerians in general to use the occasion of the celebration for sober reflection and pray for peace, unity and progress of the nation,” he said

Muslim faithful during a prayer session at the Hausa Muslim Community Praying ground, to mark this year’s Eid-el-fitr at Ile-Zik, Agege in Lagos... yesterday AKINYELE ABAYOMI congratulated Muslims on the successful completion of the Ramadan fast, stressing that witnessing another Eid-el-Fitri is a special privilege from the Almighty Allah and not by power or might.

Fayemi said the 30-day spiritual exercise had drawn the faithful closer to Allah. He, therefore, urged them to put all the lessons learnt during the holy month into good use, especially in their daily dealings with fellow citizens.

He said current situation in the country and in the world at large has made it imperative for Muslims and adherents of other religions to live in love, peace and harmony with one another so that they can collectively confront and arrest the menace of violence and banditry.

Sustain the Tempo of Supplication, Yahaya Tells Gombe People Governor Mohammed Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State has called the Muslim Umma in the state to sustain the tempo and momentum of the supplication, devotion and prayers for the peace, security and prosperity of the state and Nigeria as a whole.

The governor made the call during his first Sallah goodwill message to the state in a release signed and made available to newsmen by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Imaila Uba Misilli.

Yahaya enjoined the Muslim faithful to replicate in their daily lives, the lessons learnt in the holy month of Ramadan.

The statement quoted the governor as saying, “As we celebrate the Eid-el-Fitr festival, I want to admonish us to learn from the good lessons of Ramada which connotes piety, obedience, and selflessness. We must all imbibe the tenets Islam which promotes peace, tolerance, modesty and love.”

Bauchi Gov Calls for Tolerance, Peaceful Umahi Calls for Peaceful Cohesion Co-existence among Citizens Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State has commended the Muslim Bauch State Governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, has called for tolerance and peaceful coexistence among the various ethno-religious and political communities in the state.

The governor who made the call in his Sallah message to the people of the state signed by his spokesperson, Dr. Ladan Salihu assured that “Government will continue to work for the peaceful coexistence amongst the various ethnic groups and individuals in the state.”

Mohammed added that the protection of lives and properties of the entire people of Bauchi State is paramount to his administration.

While thanking the people of Bauchi State for giving him the mandate to serve them, he reiterated his pledge to provide basic amenities in order to improve their general wellbeing.

The governor also called on people to make necessary sacrifices and reflect on their spiritual commitments during Ramadan as well as help the less privileged.

faithful on peaceful cohesion in the state while he stressed for continuous prayer, supports, collaboration for more development in the state.

Umahi made the commendation in Abakaliki when Muslim communities in the state paid a Sallah homage to the governor.

The governor, who was represented by his Deputy, Mr Eric Igwe acknowledged the fact that Muslim communities in the state contributed to the successful 2015 and 2019 general elections in the state.

“The state government attests to prayers of the Muslim communities during elections.

“We encourage you to continue in the peace existing and also grateful for remaining resolute.

“We appreciate your supports and collaboration to ensure peace in the state,” Umahi said.

Fayemi Greets Muslims

Remain Steadfast, Nasarawa Gov Urges Muslims

Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has congratulated Muslim faithful in the state and in the country in general on the celebration of the Eid-el-Fitri, which marks the end of the Ramadan period.

The governor in his Eid-el-Fitri message, in Ado-Ekiti yesterday,

Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has implored all Muslims in the state to remain steadfast in applying the virtues of Ramadan through sustained supplication, hospitality and good neighbourliness.

The governor stated this in his Eld-el-Fitr message in Lafia, the

state capital, adding that the spirit of sharing in the daily activities of the people should be sacrosanct.

He said: “All good citizens of Nasarawa State should continue to pray for the peace, security and economic prosperity of the state.

Let me reiterate my call to the people to be law abiding and live peacefully with one another.

“Government will not condone any acts capable of breaching the existing peace in our society and will deal decisively with any individual and group whose stock in trade is to perpetuate crime and fan embers of disunity among the diverse ethnic nationalities in the state.”

Emir of Kano Leads Eid Prayers, Advocates for Female Education The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, yesterday urged political leaders in the country to give attention to female education as they did with their male counterparts.

Sanusi spoke in Kano shortly after he led the Eid prayers at Kofar Mata Central Eid Ground, adding that “The people need to prioritise their commitment toward the education of females just like their male counterpart”.

The emir who met face to face with Governor Abdullahi Ganduje for the first time since the creation of four additional Emirates in the state, said there was need for Nigerians to continue to pray for peace and progress of the state and the country at large.

The emir also advocated for the rights of the girl-child to education and urged Muslims to fear God in all their activities, reminding them that each and every one of them must give account of his or her deeds hereafter.

Sanusi called on the people of the state to continue to pray against banditry, kidnapping and other vices.

He admonished Kano people to support each other and work as a team for the overall development of the state.

Ihedioha Preaches Peace, Tolerance, Patriotism Imo State Governor, Chief Emeka Ihedioha, has felicitated with Muslim faithful on the successful completion of the Ramadan fast, wishing them a joyous Eid-el- Fitr, while urging them to promote peace, tolerance and patriotism. hedioha noted that Eid-el-fitr, which marks the completion of one-month Ramadan fast, is characterised by charity, love, worship, and forgiveness, adding that it is a period of total detachment from pleasure in pursuit of spiritual rebirth and upliftment.

He admonished the Muslim faithful to use the occasion to reflect on the lessons of Ramadan to move the state and Nigeria forward.

“Let me reiterate the commitment of my administration to good governance, due process, inclusive government, transparency, overall wellbeing of the citizens and religious harmony “The task of rebuilding our state involves all, irrespective of religious affiliations. And in line with the policy of our government, we will give religious adherents a conducive atmosphere for a peaceful practice,” he stated.

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EID-EL-FITR MESSAGES...

EID-EL-FITR MESSAGES...

Ooni, Others Urge Muslims to Place National Interest Above Personal Gains Our Correspondents The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, has advised Muslim faithful across the country to place the national interest above personal gains.

Oba Ogunwusi made the call yesterday in his Palace in Ile-Ife, when he received the Muslim Community in the area who paid him courtesy visit, after the two Rakat Ramadan prayer service.

The Ooni said that the just concluded Ramadan was filled with blessings and lessons for those who could enhance peaceful coexistence among all individuals.

“Now that the period known for core worship and abstinence from sins is over, we must continue to live that good life and keep seeking the face of God Almighty for Nigeria to live in peace,” Ooni said.

While commenting on the country’s current security challenges, the monarch prayed for the restoration of peace across Nigeria.

He said that the country would be a better place for all if citizens agreed to live in peace and harmony.

Earlier in his sermon at Ife Muslim praying ground, the Chief Imam of Ife Muslim Community, Alhaji Abdul-Samih Abdul-Ahmid, thanked Almighty Allah for giving Muslims the opportunity to witnessed the 2019 Ramadan.

Abdul-Ahmid urged Muslim faithful to imbibe the fear of Almighty Allah which he said was the basis for the just concluded fasting.

Ortom Promises Sustained Peace, Security The Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, yesterday felicitated with Muslim faithful on the occasion of this year’s Eid-el-Fitr even as he gave assurance that necessary measures had been put in place to guarantee a hitch-free celebration.

The governor urged Muslims in the state to promote the values and lessons of Ramadan such as piety, generosity, peaceful coexistence and justice.

He made this known in a press release by his Press Secretary, Mr Terver Akase He acknowledges and appreciated the prayers made by the Muslim community any time the state is confronted by challenges.

The governor assured the people of the state that security of lives and property will remain the priority of the present administration in his second term in office.

Kogi Gov Calls for Peace, Unity Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, has extended his heartfelt greetings to Muslims in Nigeria and around the world on the successful completion of Ramadan and the Eid-el-Fitr celebration.

In the statement released by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Onogwu Muhammed, he described Eid-el-fitr as a joyous end to Ramadan’s month of fasting and spiritual renewal, noting that it was a festival characterised by charitable giving; generous hospitality; and spending time with family, friends and neighbours.

While congratulating the Muslim Ummah, the governor said the values of generosity, forgiveness and compassion, which are celebrated during Eid, are ones which should be valued and upheld across the state and the rest of the world.

As doing good is not limited to the holy month of Ramadan and it should continue throughout the year, governor Bello urged philanthropists and well-to-do individuals in the society to continue to support the needy and poor with their generosity.

82 Div Chief Imam Urges Muslim Faithful to Sustain Lessons of Ramadan The Chief Imam of the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Lt. Col Awali Musa, has charged Muslim Faithful across the country to hold on to the lessons they have learnt during the month of Ramadan.

The Chief Imam, who was speaking during the Eid prayers which held at the parade ground of the division in Enugu on Tuesday, noted that the faithful must continue to control their desires the same way they were able to do it during the holy month.

According to him, the faithful must strive to always live in peace irrespective of their religious, ethnic and cultural differences.

He said that they must continue to fear God even as they fear him in the month of Ramadan and that they must be kind and merciful to one another.

Abdulrasaq, Ashiru Urge Continued Brotherhood among Muslims Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq, has enjoined Muslims faithful in the state to continue to be their brother’s keepers and promote common humanity.

The governor stated this in Ilorin yesterday on his Eid-el-Fitr message to the people of the state.

The message was contained in a statement signed by his Deputy Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Agboola Olarenwaju.

He said: “As we bid Ramadan goodbye, I urge Kwarans of all faiths to not jettison the spirit of Ramadan. We should remain our brother’s keepers, promote common humanity,

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike (right), with Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari and Muslim leaders during the Sallah Homage by Rivers Muslim community at the Government House Port Harcourt...yesterday do to others what we want done to us, and be good citizens.”

He greeted residents of the state on the successful completion of Ramadan fast and observance of the Eid.

Muhammad Ibrahim, urged Nigerians to continue to pray, worship and work for the peace and unity of the country.

The forum condemned the killings and kidnappings of Nigerians by bandits, noting that it was against the tenets of all religions.

Ogun Deputy Gov Charges Muslim Faithful on Tenets of Quran Rivers Muslims Say Wike’s ReThe Ogun State Deputy Governor, Noimot Salako-Oyedele, has election will Attract Greater Devt charged Muslim faithful in the state to imbibe the tenets of the holy Quran and sustain all the good deeds, even after the Ramadan.

Salako-Oyedele gave the charge while addressing faithful at the Ota Muslim Community Praying Ground on Tuesday.

According to her, she said good deeds such as giving alms, helping the less privileged, good conduct and observing regular prayers should not end after the Ramadan.

She said: “As Ramadan ends today, we should endeavour to continue to imbibe all these good things in our lives because Islam preaches peace and love. During Ramadan, we do a lot of community service and look out for the less privileged to assist them but many stops doing all of these things after Ramadan.”

Nigeria’ll Be Great If People Adhere to Teachings in Holy Books, Says Lalong Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, yesterday said that the nation would be great if its citizens adhered to the teachings contained in the Holy books.

Lalong, in a message yesterday in Jos, urged Nigerians to be faithful to their religious beliefs so as to attract the blessings of the Almighty on earth and in the hereafter.

The message, which was signed by Mr Solomon Gujor, Deputy Director (Press and Public Affairs), called on Muslims to pray for peace and rapid development of Plateau and Nigeria, .

He also urged the Muslim faithful to use the period to offer prayers for unity, prosperity and healing of the nation.

Emir of Zazzau, Katung, ACF Preach Peace Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) deputy governorship candidate in the just concluded elections in Kaduna State, Hon. Sunday Katung and the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) have called on Nigerians to pray for the peace and unity of Nigeria.

In their separate messages yesterday to mark Eid-el-Fitr celebrations in Kaduna, they urged Nigerians to cooperate with security agencies to tackle the challenges of banditry, kidnapping and other criminal activities bedeviling the country.

In his message, Idris who is also the Chairman, Kaduna State Council of Chiefs, called on the people of the state to cooperate with security agencies in the fight against kidnapping, armed banditry, drug abuse and other social vices.

In his message, Katung urged Nigerians to intensify prayers for the unity, peace and progress of the country.

Katung who represents Zangon Kataf/Jaba federal constituency in the House of Representatives, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure justice for all Nigerians irrespective of tribe and religious beliefs, so as to promote unity among the people.

On its part, the ACF in a message signed by its spokesman,

The Muslim community in Rivers State has stated that the victory of Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike during the last governorship election has positioned the state for greater development in the next four years.

Speaking during a special Sallah homage to the governor at the Government House Port Harcourt yesterday, Islamic leader of Rivers State, Nasir Uhor, said they are confident that Governor Wike will consolidate on the gains of his first term.

He said: “On behalf of the state Muslim community, I very heartily congratulate the governor on his re-election.

“This victory has positioned Rivers State on the corridor of further development. We pray God for the safety of the Governor and key leaders of his administration all through second term “.

He said that Rivers State has a governor with a burning desire and commitment for development as depicted by the state-wide roll-out of projects.

Cleric Tasks FG on Economy, Insecurity As Muslims celebrate Eid-el-Fitr across the country, the federal government has been tasked to expedite actions on policies and programmes that would improve the nation’s economy and tackle insecurity to reduce the suffering experienced by citizens.

The Chief Imam of Uyo Central Mosque, Akwa Ibom State, Alhaji Mohammed Adamu, made the call yesterday while fielding questions from newsmen after the Eid-el-Fitr prayers to mark the end of Ramadan in the state.

The spiritual leader pointed out that citizens all over the country irrespective of tribe and religion in last four years were going through difficult times.

Lauding the policies and programmes of government in the first term of President Muhammadu Buhari, Adamu stressed that these must be translated into better living condition for citizens in the next level.

Muslims Mark Peaceful Sallah in Ilorin Muslim faithful in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital yesterday joined their counterparts across the globe to mark Eid-el-Fitri, which signified the end of Ramadan fast.

The Chief Imam of Ilorin, Alhaji Muhammad Bashir Solihu, led the prayer at about 9:38a.m. amidst heavy presence of security personnel.

In his sermon, Solihu admonished Muslims to sustain the teachings of the just concluded holy month of Ramadan, adding that Muslims, in accordance with the prophetic saying, were expected to be their brother’s keepers and eschew any conduct that could derail them from the will of Almighty Allah.

It was, however, observed that the prayer was held under peaceful atmosphere.

Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman Abdulrazaq, had arrived the praying ground around 8:45a.m. and ushered into the space provided for him in the midst of other worshippers

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2023: You Can’t Stop Tinubu or any Yoruba Man from Becoming President, Salvador Tells Afenifere Segun James As the battle to stop the National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu from pursuing his ambition to contest the 2023 presidential election continues, a leader of the party in Lagos State, Alhaji Moshood Salvador, has said that those fighting Tinubu and any other Yoruba leaders from contesting are fighting a lost battle.

He condemned the leaders of the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, the Afenifere, saying if it is the wish of God for a Yoruba man to be the next president of Nigeria, the group cannot stop him.

Salvador, a former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, said it was wrong for any Yoruba leader or elder to oppose a Yoruba man from becoming the president, adding that such action amounted to treason against the people.

Addressing journalists yesterday against the backdrop of the statement reportedly made by a leader of the Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, that the 2023 presidency should be ceded to the South-east, and that Tinubu would

be day-dreaming if he thought he would contest or be the president in 2023, Salvador said rather than speaking on the 2023 presidency which is a premature discussion, the elders should proffer solutions on issues affecting the country and the Yoruba race in particular, which was the reason for setting up the Afenifere in the first place.

He said any Yoruba leader opposing the aspiration of a fellow Yoruba man or South westerner is not worth being called a Yoruba leader. According to him, it was the same set of Yoruba leaders who supported the opposition against their son, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo in the last general election.

He said the argument of Adebanjo that the South-east has never produced a president was false, noting that it is on record that the first President of Nigeria, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, was from the region. He described the posture of the Yoruba leaders as “rabblerousing, inciting, offensive, illogical and terrible”.

Salvador stated that no Yoruba leader has empowered the people more than Tinubu, saying it was Tinubu who brought the Southwest to the “centre of governance.”

Dokpesi to Lead One-man Protest to N’Assembly Tomorrow Davidson Iriekpen DAAR Communications Plc yesterday disclosed that its founder, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, would tomorrow stage a ‘One-man Demonstration’ to the National Assembly to protest against plots by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government to gag the media and suppress free speech.

This followed a threat by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to move against Africa Independent Television (AIT) and RayPower FM over some reports it considered unfavourable.

The regulatory body has accused the broadcast stations of airing “offensive, unfair and unprofessional” content in violation of its rules.

In three letters made available to the organisations, the commission’s Director of Broadcast Monitoring, Armstrong Idachaba, asked AIT and RayPower to state why they should not be sanctioned over the issues raised.

“The continued use of your licence (given in trust to you on behalf of the entire Nigerian people), to embark on attacks and vilification of the regulator shall attract appropriate sanctions going forward,” he wrote.

In one of the letters, Idachaba alleged that the stations had the motive of inciting the public against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the government.

“Monitoring reports on AIT and Ray Power FM indicate that a news commentary replete with unfair allegations against the judiciary was aired from Monday, May 20, 2019.

This commentary was aired on the two stations during the week.

The broadcast is a contravention of the provisions of the Code and extant laws regarding discussion of cases pending in the law courts which could be termed as contempt of court.

It cited many instances where “inciting words” were used and how social media users fanned the embers of discord.

“Your station is by this letter advised to be cautious when discussing issues relating to matters pending in the court of law and refrain from use of language inimical to the broadcast profession,” it said.

Meanwhile, DAAR Communications Plc has announced that its founder, Dokpesi, would tomorrow stage a ‘One-man Demonstration’ to the National Assembly to protest against plots by the APC-led federal government to gag the media and suppress free speech.

In a statement made available to THISDAY yesterday, the communication company said the protest would hold after a world press conference at AIT Complex, Gbaduma Hill, Asokoro, Abuja by 8 a.m.

It urged Nigerians and the international community to note the act of brigandage against freedom of speech and association as clearly expressed in Nigeria’s Constitution.

“AIT and RayPower have not violated any code of broadcasting as alleged by the NBC. The NBC and the government in power are not comfortable with the broadcast industry because of its courageous and dogged stance in informing Nigerians on happenings in the country.

“We are in a democracy and must all rise to defend Nigeria from anti-democratic forces,” the statement said.

He reiterated that it is the people and not the Afenifere leaders that would decide who becomes the President. “These

leaders forget that Nigeria is practicing party politics and in a party politics, any candidate can emerge.

“It is left for the party and the presidential candidate to reach out to other tribes for support. It is the people who

now decide who becomes the president not an individual or group of people,” he added.

IN THE SPIRIT OF EID AL-FITR...

L-R: Chairman, Unilag Estate Magodo Residents Association, Mr. Bashir K Momodu; Prof. Sulaiman Talabi of the Kwara State University; Mr. SK Babalola; and Mr. Bayo Alabidun, at the Eid praying ground of the Unilag Estate, Magodo, Lagos...yesterday

Miyetti Allah Denies Alleged Plan to Attack South-east David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, (MACBAN) has denied recent reports, in which it was quoted as saying that it would soon attack the five south eastern states of the country over what it described as the stubbornness of their governors.

The Chairman of the group in the South-east, AIhaji Gidado Sidikki who briefed journalists in Awka, Anambra State capital,

during a short prayer to mark the Eid Al-Fitr celebration for Muslims in the city, said that the reports ascribed to him, in which he was quoted as saying that the states of the South-east would be attacked by herders were blatant falsehood.

“Few days ago, we woke up to a malicious publication in a social media platform, purporting a phantom statement in Abuja entitled ‘South-east will Boil any moment from now because of their Stubbornness,’ ascribed to

the leadership of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, erroneously assigned to me.

“My mission here is simply to expose the lie in the mischievous publication. First, while it is my wish to inform the public that Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria did not make any statement to the effect of the content of the publication either in Abuja or anywhere for that matter, I humbly would wish to correctly place my designation

as the Chairman of South East Zone of the association.”

Sidikki said the publication which referred to him as ‘the leader of cattle breeders in Nigeria,’ was another confirmation that the interview was not granted by him.

He insisted that his group has always had a warm relationship with the five South-east governors, just as its host communities have also been in good terms with them, despite few squabbles that were immediately settled.

Ninth N’Assembly: Kalu Deserves Deputy Senate President, Say ArewaYouths Esther Oluku Ahead of the inauguration of the ninth session of Nigeria’s National Assembly, the deputy senate presidency bid of former Governor of Abia State and senator-elect, Abia North senatorial district, Mr. Orji Kalu, has been endorsed by the Arewa youths.

According to the leader of Arewa Youths Consultative Forum, Mr. Shettima Yerima, Kalu, who is also Mayaki of Katsina, is a pan-Nigerian, who has contributed immensely to business and political circles.

Describing Kalu as a friend of Nigerian youths, the activist stressed that the former governor has the political dexterity and administrative acumen to work harmoniously with other principal officers of the National Assembly.

Yerima, while calling on returning senators and senatorselect to place the collective interest of Nigerians above selfish ambitions, admonished Kalu not to relent in his philanthropic gestures across the country.

In a statement issued and signed in Kaduna yesterday, Yerima called on members of

the yet-to-be inaugurated ninth National Assembly to live up to expectations, stressing that all arms of government must work collectively for the sake of nation building.

He said; “As we await the June 11 inauguration of the National Assembly, we believe that senator-elect, Abia North senatorial district, Mr. Orji Kalu, should be considered for the position of deputy senate president.

“We believe that with Kalu’s antecedents in the private and public sectors, he will, alongside the senate president, sustain a

healthy relationship with the executive and judicial arms of government in a bid to build a prosperous Nigeria.

“Kalu has over the years played key roles in advancing the cause of the people and as such he is the right choice for the position of deputy senate president in the ninth National Assembly” Yerima called on the members of the soon-to-be inaugurated ninth National Assembly to be patriotic in their legislative duties.

He urged Nigerians to be law-abiding, steadfast and optimistic.

FG Lists Adadevoh, Kudirat Abiola, Others for Hall of Fame The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs through the National Centre for Women Development (NCWD), Abuja, has listed 22 women to be inducted into the Nigerian Women Hall of Fame, including the late Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, and the late Dr. Stella Adadevoh.

The NCWD said the women, who would be inducted by June 10, two days to the Democracy Day, were selected for their

iconic contributions to national development.

The induction is themed, “Celebrating Nigerian Women Icons of Hope.”

Adadevoh, who died in August 2014, was a Nigerian doctor who helped to curb the spread of the Ebola virus by ensuring that a Liberian patient, Patrick Sawyer, remained quarantined despite pressures from his country.

Also, Kudirat was assassinated on June 9, 1996, during the heat of the June 12 struggle for democratic freedom in Nigeria.

Apart from the two, other women in the shortlist for the Hall include; Senators Oluremi Tinubu, and Binta Garba; Prof. Adenike Osofisan; Mrs Folorunso Alakija, and Dr. Stella Okoli.

The NCWD’s Director-

General, Mary Ekpere-Eta, said at a briefing in Abuja that the selection was based on a comprehensive display of records of legendary women who played leading roles in different aspects of the Nigerian society.

The DG added that there were over 100 Nigerian women in the hall with the last induction in 2007.

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Abubakar Orders NAF Pilots, Special Forces to Eliminate Insurgency Kingsley NwezehinAbuja Against the backdrop of the capture of headquarters of Marte Local Government Area of Borno State by terrorist group, Boko Haram, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, yesterday ordered Nigerian Air Force (NAF) pilots and special forces involved in the ongoing war against insurgency and armed banditry to fight to the finish.

The charge came as the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, has urged the troops of I

Brigade Nigerian Army involved in the fight against armed bandits in Zamfara State to remain steadfast.

In a goodwill message to the NAF officers and airmen involved in the twin war against insurgency and armed banditry to commemorate Eid-el-fitr, Abubakar ordered pilots to display rugged determination in the fight against the enemies of the country and ignore the propaganda machinery of the insurgents and their sympathisers.

“I wish to particularly thank all NAF personnel for their patriotism, dedication and countless sacrifices

Group Kicks against Enugu Govt’s Plan to Relocate Adada ESUT Campus Adedayo AkinwaleinAbuja The Uzo-Uwani Professionals Association (UZPA) has kicked against the plan by the Enugu State Government to relocate the Enugu State University and Technology (ESUT) located in Adada community, describing it as injustice.

The President of the association, Mr. Jonathan Eze, while addressing a press conference in Abuja, said that it has become imperative to call the attention of the state government to the sustainability of the Adada campus following a comment that the state government was undecided over the location of the Enugu North Campus of the state university.

He stressed that the Adada Campus of ESUT was closed 15 years ago in a bid by the then administration of Governor Chimaroke Nnamani to centralise the university structure in his native Agbani community in Nkanu Local Government Area of the state in negation of the Act establishing the institution.

To this end, Eze therefore called on the state government to reactivate the Adada Campus in line with the multi- campus system recently passed into law by the state House of Assembly.

He stated: “The people of Uzo-uwani Local Government Area where the Adada Campus is located consider it a mark of injustice against its people for the state to relocate the university campus.

“We understand that following the restoration of the multi- campus structure of the university by your government, the school viz: Faculties of Medical Sciences, Agriculture and

Social Sciences have been returned to Enugu North zone. We are also aware that the state government will take advantage of the 400-bed specialist hospital, which is currently under construction in Igboano to host the proposed College of Medicine. That is commendable.

“It is on record that the original campus of the University of Enugu North is in Adada, and so it is naturally expected that the Faculties of Social Sciences and Agriculture should suitably return to Adada from where it was forcibly relocated to Agbani.

“In the light of the current development, the location of particularly the Faculty of Agriculture will benefit from the following facilities which no other local government in the zones possesses. Like the Forest Reserve or the defunct East Central State in Adada, the Adada River/Dam, the Cattle Ranch, the Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC) of old Eastern Region and the proximity of the Adarice World Bank project in Adani.”

“However, we are taken aback that the state government is said to be undecided on the location of the faculties being restored to Enugu North. As we mentioned above, Adada is original campus of the faculties of ESUT located in Enugu North zone. Therefore, any shift of this original located is a grave injustice to the development aspirations to Uzo-Uwani people,” Eze added.

The association therefore called on the state government to consider the development of the local government a priority in line with his declaration of 2015.

CACOL Establishes Anti-corruption Advocates in Lagos Peter Uzoho The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL), yesterday inaugurated its Good Governance, Accountability, Transparency Education (C-GATE) programme in 13 units from 11 local government areas in Lagos State.

The Executive Chairman of CACOL, Mr. Debo Adeniran, in a statement issued on his behalf by the Coordinator, Media and Publications, CACOL, Mr. Adegboyega Otunuga, said, “Today’s inauguration of our anti-corruption educators at the

grassroots was watershed in our onerous assignment of stamping out corruption out of Nigeria’s body polity.

“It is a culmination of various activities hitherto embarked upon towards taking full ownership of the fight against corruption in the country. It would be recalled that since the advent of this democracy which many observers, nationwide and internationally, prefer to describe as a civil rule rather than true or wholesale democracy, successive governments have enacted one law or policy programme to fight the menace of corruption”.

made in the various theatres of operation. Your valuable contributions have ensured that aircraft and ancillary equipment are available, logistics requirements are in place, administrative necessities are met and personnel are combatready to tackle the challenges confronting the nation.

“The commitment of commanders and supervisors at all levels has also facilitated higher standards of professionalism in the service through robust, job-focused training; commitment to improving personnel welfare as well as resultoriented Research and Development (R&D), which have all had a marked positive impact on our operational

effectiveness”, he said.

The CAS maintained that “our gallant fighter and helicopter gunship pilots as well as our regiment and special forces personnel are adapting creditably to the threats facing our nation and are making good progress. “This is critical to the NAF’s increasing capacity for projection as well as protection of air power, which are the core functions for which the service is uniquely positioned,” he said.

Abubakar urged them to redouble their efforts and engage the “security challenges with rugged optimism and renewed determination, while remaining

professional in the discharge of your constitutional duty of ensuring the security of our beloved nation and its good people.

“You must be courageous, take the battle to all the adversaries of our great nation, be they terrorists, insurgents, bandits or any other criminal elements, in synergy with our sister services and other security agencies.

“Fight them to the finish, not minding the malicious propaganda of the terrorists and their sympathisers. You must also remember, in the course of your duties, to always operate within the ambits of extant local and international laws, while showing

compassion and respect for all law-abiding citizens”.

Meanwhile, Buratai, yesterday urged troops of the 1 Brigade of the Nigerian Army on Operation Sharan Daji to remain steadfast as they confront raging armed banditry in the North-west.

Buratai made the charge while on a morale boosting visit to the troops in Zamfara State in commemoration of the Eid-el-fitri.

Buratai who was represented

by Major General Lamidi Adeosun visited troops deployed to the Forward Operation Base (FOB) Kauran Namoda, Operation Hadarin Daji in Zamfara State.

SALLAH HOMAGE…

Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele (right), paying Sallah homage to President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja…yesterday

Chevron Nigeria Supports World Environmental Day Emma Okonji Chevron Nigeria Limited has restated its commitment to support the World Environment Day, which is being celebrated today globally as the biggest event to promote environmental awareness and sustainability across the globe.

Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972, it aims to raise global awareness and mobilise people to take positive environmental action to protect nature and the planet Earth.

This global event has since

become the principal vehicle through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness about the environment. It also gives a human perspective to environmental issues, empowers people to become active agents of sustainable development and advocates multi-stakeholder partnerships in support of the environment.

“Air Pollution,” the theme for World Environment Day 2019, is a potential environmental risk that can impact people as well as the environment. Available statistics show that air pollution

is the fourth-largest threat to human health, behind high blood pressure, dietary risks and smoking. The World Health Organisation (WHO) data shows that there were an estimated 6.5 million deaths worldwide from air pollution-related diseases in 2012.

Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), the operator of the joint venture between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and CNL (NNPC/CNL JV), said it would continue to conduct its business in a socially and environmentally responsible manner

in compliance with regulatory requirements, best practices and has made environmental stewardship part of its social investment programs.

Explaining CNL’s commitment to the environment, its Chairman/ Managing Director, Jeff Ewing, said: “CNL is happy to be part of the solution to global environmental issues wherever the company operates through its sound environmental management policy that supports environmental stewardship and sustainable development.”

Cleric Urges Catholic Knights to Defend Faith Against the many persecutions facing the body of Christ today in Nigeria, including killings, the imposition of religions, growing moral decay, as well as disunity arising from the proliferation of churches, the Catholic Church has asked the knights to draw their swords and defend the faith.

Speaking during the investiture of no fewer than 50 brothers and sisters with the Third Degree of the Knights of St. Mulumba at the Church of the Assumption, Falomo, in Lagos, the Chaplain, Eko Metro Council, Rev Fr. Vincent Ubili OP, warned them against complacency and compromise, but

to abide by the true intendments of their symbols.

According to him, while the headgear symbolises spiritual banner of God’s protection, “the cape symbolises selfless and sacrificial service to God and to the church, and the sword symbolises the spiritual sword, which represents the word of God, the Holy Eucharist and the teachings of the church.

“You are to hold onto it without compromise to defend the church religiously, politically, economically and spiritually. If time requires that the ancient crusades be brought back, you will be at the forefront

in the fields. Today, however, it is for spiritual battle.”

In his homily earlier, the Parish Priest, Rev Fr. Pius Omofuma, regretted “cosmic upheaval” around the world today, as “Christians are being killed for their faith, and some out of fear renounce their faith for other religions.

Based on Acts 7:55-60, Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17,20; Jn. 17:20-26, he reminded the knights that Christ already foresaw the persecutions of his followers today and prayed for their unity as part of his last wishes.

“It was not the unity of one

standing alone, but so many coming together to form one. He saw the different backgrounds of his followers, even those that would come in the future, and was so sure that it might separate them if they are not well grounded in His gospel; therefore, he prayed for unity.

“Tribe, colour, language, and race, among others, are factors tearing Christians apart today. False religion, and imposing one’s religion on another bring disunity.

It is something that makes people worship God against their own will.

46

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2019

WEDNESDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor: Duro Ikhazuagbe Email: duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 08111813083

N P F L S U P E R S I X P L AY O F F

Enyimba Cage Rangers in Opening Game Kano Pillars, Akwa United draw 2-2 in four-goal thriller Duro Ikhazuagbe Joseph Osadiaye’s 49th minute strike was all Enyimba FC needed in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) Super Six Championship Playoff clash with Rangers International FC of Enugu to pick the first maximum points of the opening day.

The People’s Elephant defended the goal stoutly, resisting all attempts by the Flying Antelopes to even scores. Changes made by the Enugu side gave Rangers some bite in the second half but failed to earn them a share of the booty.

Despite the opening day set back, Rangers’ Coach, Gbenga Ogunbote and captain, Godwin Aguda remain confident they will bounce back to reckoning for the league title.

“We are here for a tournament of five games but have lost one already. That naturally has put pressure on us but we will definitely make up in the remaining matches,” Ogunbote said at a post match conference.

He however praised Enyimba for their tactical discipline while admitting that his squad didn’t start off well.

“We have taken the positives from this match and will work to remedy observed weaknesses so we can remain in contention for the title and a continental ticket,” stressed Ogunbote.

On whether he is under pressure to win the title, the Rangers Coach asserted, “there’s no coach that goes into a competition not planning to win. Yes, I want to win the title but the defeat hasn’t put me under any negative pressure but is rather a motivation”.

On his part, Rangers Captain, Aguda, who also spoke at the post match conference said their error was in the poor start to the match and assured their fans that the team will get better in the remaining matches.

“I think what we didn’t get right was our slow start to the game. You can see we played better in the second half but failed to get a goal,”

rued Aguda.

Like his coach, the diminutive player insists one bad result is not sufficient to mar their title ambitions.

“We will go after three points in the remaining games and at the end, we will consider our chances”,

Aguda noted In the other match played yesterday, Kano Pillars and Akwa United shared points with the thrilling 2-2 result.

David Ebuka gave Kano Pillars the lead in the 3rd minute of play in the keenly contested clash. The Promise

Oshoala Says Not under Pressure to Deliver as Falcons Land in France a permanent deal after netting eight goals in 11 competitive matches. ‘’I am not under any pressure, I’m just going there to have fun, I’m not looking for a club or whatever. I am just going to the World Cup to have fun and help the team and give 100 percent, do the best I can,’’ said Oshoala. ‘’The goals were not just coming in the Nations Cup which is normal, sometimes you get a goal, sometimes you just help the team, so you don’t have to score all the time. Scoring in Barcelona, probably I am getting it right, sometimes it happens like this.’’

She added : ‘’For me it’s one step at a time, we go by each

game. First game against Norway, second game against Korea, third game against France and then we pick it up from there. After the group stage, we know what’s next.’’

The Super Falcons departed the Avita Resort in Bad Tatzmannsdorf in Austria, where they were on a two-week residential camping on Thursday.

The delegation of the Super Falcons players and officials landed at the Aeroport Charles de Gaulle just before 5pm, three days to the kick-off of the tournament.

Although their best performance till date has been a quarter final appearance at the third edition of the competition in the United

States of America 20 years ago, the Falcons are one of only seven teams to have appeared in every edition of the championship since it was launched in China in 1991.

The others are the senior women teams of Germany, Norway, Brazil, USA, Sweden and Japan.

In France, the nine-time African champions are up against host nation France, Norway and Korea Republic in Group A. They open their campaign against Norway on Saturday in Reims, before other matches against Korea Republic in Grenoble (12th June) and France in Rennes (17th June).

...Team Briefed on Integrity Variables World Cup-bound Super Falcons of Nigeria have been educated on what signs, symbols and issues constitute threats to the integrity of the game.

The Integrity Officer of the Nigeria Football Federation, Barrister Okey Obi, took the Falcons’ players and officials through the fine lines of integrity variables at their EventHotel Pyramide in Vosendorf, Austria on Monday night, ahead of their departure to France.

“Match manipulation, in one way or the other, poses serious threat to the careers of football players in particular and the growth and development of football in general. That is one of the reasons FIFA has made integrity briefings mandatory

for teams heading to the FIFA World Cup finals.

“In order to generate, capture and sustain the interest of the players and the officials, I enlisted the buy-in of the Head Coach, Mr. Thomas Dennerby and the captain, Desire Oparanozie.

“I also made the presentation interactive, with one of the players, Onome Ebi, a veteran of several World Cups, Dennerby and an assistant coach sharing their experiences and helping with practical examples and potential situations of match manipulation,” Barrister Obi, who is the Single Point of Contact (SPoC) for Nigeria for the 8th FIFA Women’s World Cup finals, revealed yesterday.

Obi rated the session as highly successful: “I was pleasantly surprised with the level of

United rallied back almost immediately with Godspower Aniefiok grabbing the equaliser in the 37th minute.

Lobi Stars and FC IfeanyiUbah were yet to conclude the third game of the opening day of the Playoff as at press time.

Super Falcons’ players and officials on arrival in France…yesterday evening

F I FA W O M E N ’ S W O R L D C U P

Barcelona’s Asisat Oshoala has said that she is not under any pressure ahead of Nigeria’s 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup opener against Norway on Saturday, June 8 in France.

The former Arsenal and Liverpool striker did not make an impact that fans are used to seeing at the 2018 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON), scoring three goals, all coming in the 6-0 rout of Equatorial Guinea, and did not win an individual accolade at the end of the tournament in Ghana.

Oshoala impressed in the second half of last season at Barcelona and the Spanish side have turned the loan into

Keepers recovered from the early setback and got the equaliser through Ndifreke Effiong a minute after the half hour mark.

The Sai Masu Gida again went ahead three minutes later courtesy of a fine strike

by Nyima Nwagua. Akwa

acceptability which actually surpassed my expectation. The players were very attentive and participated actively; they took pictures of the slides during the presentation and appeared to truly like the features of the mechanisms, especially the

anonymity of the reporting that considered the safety and security of the person reporting.

“The briefing was a huge success considering that it was the first time this was happening in respect of women football,” he concluded.

AFN Chief Blasts NOC over Illegal Meeting A top member of the board of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has said that the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) lacks the power to convene a meeting of the board of the federation and revealed some members have threatened to boycott the meeting scheduled for Thursday inside the conference room of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development inside the Federal Secretariat in Abuja.

The letter, dated June 3, 2019 and signed by NOC Secretary General, Olabanji Oladapo made it mandatory for all board members of the AFN to attend the meeting without stating any agenda.

“The NOC does not have the power to convene a meeting of the AFN neither does it also have the power to interfere in the internal affairs of the AFN,” said the AFN board member who pleaded not to be named.

“What the NOC is doing is trying to assert an authority that does not exist because the body thinks Nigerians are naive and ignorant of the rules governing international sports.”

“The AFN, for the avoidance

of doubt is only answerable to its parent body, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) who has acknowledged the decision taken by the AFN board on Tuesday, May 28, 2019 asking the President, Hon. Ibrahim Shehu Gusau to step aside following allegations of gross misconduct and misappropriation of funds levelled against him.”

“The IAAF in an email sent to the federation on Friday, May 31, 2019 by Jee Isram, a senior manager in-charge of Governance, Member and International Relations and who is also head of protocol acknowledged the fact that a panel has been set up to investigate the allegations against Hon Gusau,” revealed the top AFN member.

The email reads inter-alia: “Dear Secretary General, We acknowledge the receipt of your email regarding the suspension of the president of your federation. With regard to the contents of your email, we understand that a committee has been set up to investigate the allegations levelled against the president.

SWAN Tasks Gov Sule on Youth Restiveness Igbawase Ukumba in Lafia The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) has tasked Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State to harness the potentials in sports to tackle youth restiveness in the state.

SWAN in a statement

issued by its Nasarawa State Chairman, Cheke Emmanuel, in Lafia, SWAN urged the governor to place sports on top agenda of his administration.

The association stressed that the governor can achieve this by creating more sports facilities and improving on

the existing ones as well as helping in capacity building of athletes and officials for them to realize their potentials.

SWAN further urged the governor to reposition the state-owned football clubs, Nasarawa United and Amazons, by way of dissolving

the current managements and reconstituting new ones to inject new blood to achieve their set targets.

The sports writers however assured the governor of their unflinching support and cooperation for his administration to succeed, especially in the sport sector.

47

WEDNES Ëœ ÍłËœ Ͱ͎ͯ͡ Ëž T H I S D AY

WEDNESDAYSPORTS

Oduduru: World Championship Glory Next After NCAA Heroics It perhaps says much of the modern world that despite being the world’s fastest 200m sprinter in 2019 – Divine Oduduru perhaps remains better known for his hilarious and entertaining post-race interviews at the 2013 World U-18 Championships.

Back then the wide-eyed and charismatic 16-year-old Nigerian sprinter became a YouTube sensation thanks to his candid and heart-warming interviews in which he memorably referenced the 200m final as being “a deadly day.�

Some six years on Oduduru, now a third year student-athlete at Texas Tech University, still remains the same outgoing, relentlessly positive guy he always was. But rather than be best known for his amusing interviews, today he prefers that his feet do all the talking – and as current performances have shown he is on track to realize his wish.

Last year he blitzed to USA’s National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) outdoor 200m title and earlier this year scorched to a 20.08 indoor clocking in Lubbock, Texas, which elevated the 22-year-old to third on the all-time lists behind Frankie Fredericks and Elijah Hall-Thompson.

Since then, Oduduru secured the 2019 NCAA Indoor 200m crown but it was in Waco, Texas in April when the powerfully-built sprinter perhaps enjoyed his finest day so far when sprinting to a pair of stunning PB’s – a 9.94 100m followed by a blistering 19.76 Nigerian record in his favoured 200m. “When warming up that day my coach told me I had what it takes to run fast. I did my warm up, my body felt great and the weather felt great but then to run 9.94, I was so happy. I ran to my coach and hugged him. At first I did not want to run the 200m but because the coach has given me the programme, I had to get ready. To then run 19.76 was amazing.�

Humble Beginnings

Growing up the youngest of 10 children in abject poverty in the small rural village of Ovworo near the town of Ughelli in Delta State in Nigeria, life was a grind.

Each day he had to help out his father on the small farm to cultivate crops. The work could be arduous and as the sprinter recalls of his younger days: “Life was really tough.

For everyone it was a struggle to survive. We walked to and from school and some days I didn’t eat, I was starving. It is only when I came home to the farm I get something to eat like Garri (a flour grain).�

Yet determined to one day make himself a better life he vowed as a youngster to one day haul himself out of the poverty trap. “I knew that I wanted to create a platform for myself and I was determined not to end up the same way as others,� he explains. “This was a big motivation. I told my mum (Christiana) that I will not go to school in Nigeria and that someday I will travel.

She always believed in my dreams.�

First National Team Appearance at 16 First realizing he had a sprinting talent as a child by successfully running away from the trouble he frequently found himself in, Oduduru formally started sprinting at high school.

He worked hard at his craft and aged 16 enjoyed a dream international debut by winning the African U-18 100 and 200m double in Nigeria.

Four months later he competed at the World U-18 Championships in Donetsk and overnight he became that international YouTube star for a video interview that has attracted more than 400,000 views. “Looking back at the interview; it was all from the heart,� reflects Oduduru. “I was just a young boy excited and privileged to represent my country. “African people were

Outdoors he took this up a notch by setting a PB of 20.13 and later taking a 200m title at the NCAA outdoor championships in Eugene. “It meant a lot to me (to win). I don’t just want say I was here (at Texas Tech). I wanted to make my mark. My coach has been able to create that platform. He has been wonderful to me, the team and the programme.�

Divine Oduduru on the hunt for track glory born great with a great determination. I wanted to fully express myself and how I felt at that moment. I am proud of that interview.�

On the track, however, he fell short of his goals. Eliminated in the semi-finals of the 100m and placing sixth in the 200m final in 21.37 – slower than the PBs he set in the heats (21.24) and semi-final 21.13 -left the Nigerian frustrated. “I was really hoping for a medal but I used that experience as a motivation for doing better at the 2014 World Juniors (U20 Championships).�

World U-20 Success Oduduru was good to his word and 12 months later he collected a 200m silver medal at the World U20 Championships in Eugene – clocking a windassisted time of 20.25 in the final. “It was a really wonderful moment to be number two in the world,� he explains. “But everyone wants to be a champion so I made many changes to improve.�

Oduduru moved to Sapele and switched coaches to join Daniel Etse, former coach to

2013 World Championship 200m silver medallist Blessing Okagbare, and so his exciting progression continued.

In 2015 he grabbed the African U-20 100m and 200m double and he climaxed his competitive year by blitzing to a personal best of 20.45 to win silver – just 0.03 behind Wilfried Koffi of Ivory Coast - at the All-Africa Games in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Still aged just 19, the 2016 campaign also proved memorable as he swept to 200m victory at the Nigerian Championships to qualify for the Olympic Games where he faced his idol, Usain Bolt, not once but twice.

After unleashing an inspired run to place second in a PB of 20.34 - just 0.06 behind the Jamaican sprint superstar – in his heat, a sore groin then hampered his performance in the semi-final. On this occasion, Bolt blasted to a 19.78 clocking while Oduduru placed seventh (20.59). Yet the experience proved unforgettable for the teenage sprinter. “It was like a dream come true for me, a real privilege.

I didn’t say anything to him after the race (heat), I just gave him (Bolt) a hug.�

Adjusting to the Collegiate Circuit Yet it was to be the Nigerian’s next move by taking up a scholarship at Texas Tech which has, arguably, proved the smartest decision of his athletics career so far. “I’m not going to lie,� he explains. “This has been the best part of my life so far. It is something I’ll never regret. It is a real privilege and opportunity to be allowed to run for Texas Tech.�

Injuries marred his freshman year in 2016-2017 as his body took time to adapt to the new training regimen. However, inspired by a strong group of team-mates and a coaching team around him led by Calvin Robinson, whom he describes as “a father figure,� he came out firing in the 2018 indoor season.

Winning NCAA Indoor 200m silver in a time of 20.21 having earlier that season recorded a Nigerian indoor record of 20.18 filled Oduduru with a rising belief.

Doha Next on the Agenda Hard endurance training in the winter months plus an extended run at the 4x400m have added further strength to Oduduru’s natural speed and the 2019 season is proving his finest to date.

But the most exciting part is the best could be yet to come. Later this week he hopes to defend his NCAA 200m title in Austin. Then he will look to target the Nigerian Championships followed by the World Championships in Doha.

Given his relative lack of senior international experience, it is hard to judge the Nigerian’s chance in Doha but given his performances so far it would be foolish to dismiss his chances. And the 22-year-old sprinter is not lacking confidence. “I’m definitely thinking of a medal (in Doha) and I’m working towards that goal,� explains Oduduru.

Away from the track his personal life has taken a jolt following the sudden death of an older brother in 2015 and two years later the loss of his father, Elijah.

Both incidents left a profound impact on the African’s life but he remains committed to his main motivation for starting athletics – which is beyond the pursuit of medals and PB’s. “My main wish it to get my mum and my family out of poverty,� he says. “I’m just really grateful to be given this opportunity.�

-Culled from IAAF.org

FRENCH OPEN

Federer Sets up Sâ€™ďŹ nal Clash with Nadal Roger Federer set up a French Open semi-final against defending champion Rafael Nadal by overcoming fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka in four sets yesterday.

Shortly before Federer won, Nadal completed a 6-1 6-1 6-3 win over Kei Nishikori in the last eight.

But 20-time Grand Slam champion Federer endured an energy-sapping three hours and 17 minutes on Court Suzanne Lenglen to win 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 7-6 (7-5)

6-4. “We played a great match today,� said Federer, 37.

Both matches were interrupted because of thunderstorms in Paris. “The break for the rain makes it’s tough for players because it breaks your rhythm,� added Federer, who dropped his first set of the tournament. “Stan has had some tough years with injuries.

I had to break his rhythm because he’s so powerful.

I took some risks and they came off but I was pretty lucky at the end.�

Nadal, 33, is into his 12th semi-final at Roland Garros and has won the tournament on all of the 11 previous occasions he has reached this stage. “It is an i n c r e d i b l e feeling, so much emotion,� said Nadal. “It is important for me to make another semi-final. I am very happy.�

Sevilla Appoint Lopetegui Manager Former Spain and Real Madrid boss Julen Lopetegui has been appointed as Sevilla manager on a three-year contract.

Lopetegui, 52, was sacked

by Spain two days before the start of the 2018 World Cup

after he was named as the new Real manager.

He was then sacked by Real in October after fourand-a-half months in charge following a 5-1 defeat by Barcelona.

Sevilla finished sixth in La

Liga last season and sacked Pablo Machin in March after their Europa League exit.

His successor Joaquin Caparros, who was only appointed until the end of the season, revealed in April that he has chronic leukaemia.

L-R: Former Super Eagles Captain, Nwankwo Kanu; Senior Vice President, Marketing / Communications, Middle East and Africa, Mastercard, Beatrice Cornacchia and Ex Eagles player, Austin Jay Jay Okocha, at the Mastercard live viewing of the UEFA Champions League ďŹ nal between Liverpool and Tottenham in Lagos penultimate Saturday ABIODUN AJALA

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MISSILE

Okorocha to Ihedioha “We do not think that the new governor came to power only to vilify Okorocha. Since May 29, 2019, when he was inaugurated, he has never said any other thing aside talking down on the former governor.� – The immediate past Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, telling his successor, Emeka Ihedioha, to stop blackmailing him.

CHIDIAMUTA Not Quite Fulani Empire Day GUEST COLUMNIST

O

n the raging uptick in crime and insecurity in the country, faulty logic and bad politics have joined forces with abysmal governance.

The subject of the needless controversy is the increasing involvement of roving Fulani herdsmen in various armed crimes.

Faulty logic insists that the Fulani herdsmen now dominate the thriving national crime industry. Faulty governance has drafted more soldiers and police teams to find and shoot proven armed bandits. It is reportedly floating a Fulani specific radio station to massage and better inform the errant teams. Bad politics says there is a Fulanisation agenda on the cards in Abuja and that it is a matter of time before we all come under some Fulani caliphate complete with superintendent bearded mullahs with other familiar untidy religious connotations. I disagree with all three angles.

It is true that an increasing number of roving Fulani herdsmen have taken to the more lucrative business of transactional kidnapping and armed robbery. I understand this shift as first an economic one: kidnapping for ransom is more instantly rewarding than patient herding. of a few miserable cattle in anticipation of long term reward. The returns from armed robbery and kidnapping give the criminals instant access to the good things of life. A more lethal wing of these roving gunmen has found pleasure in razing whole settlements and villages and carrying out industrial scale killings. They are all armed with military grade weapons and seem quite organised. This has led to serious questions about the adequacy of government’s security and crime fighting strategies and the apparatus for containing new forms of criminality.

An influential body of opinion is saying the current wave of insecurity around the country is mostly a Fulani herdsmen problem.

It is not.

It is true that some Fulani herdsmen are involved in current armed crimes. It is also true that this is a shift away from the extant culture of harmless cattle herding, primitive as it is. It is also true that this phenomenon has flowered and flourished in the last four years. Even more unsettling is the fact that squads of these herdsmen are in possession of military grade rifles and copious supplies of ammunition.

I see the problem as first a crime control challenge, not an ethnic one. Illegal Possession of firearms, transactional kidnapping, armed robbery and murder on any scale are crimes punishable under our laws. The responsibility of government is to fight these crimes and rigorously apply the law. In an atmosphere of dispassionate enforcement of anti crime laws, it would not matter what clan or tribe the criminals hail from. If the law is applied even handedly, it won’t matter whether the convicts are from one family or clan.

To advocate a tribe specific security strategy that targets just Fulani herdsmen is wrong headed and a dangerous precedent.

Moreover, there is nothing in current crime statistics that indicates that these crimes are necessarily dominated by Fulani actors. There is nothing in prevailing crime statistics that indicates that Nigeria will suddenly become crime free merely by rounding up all rifle-

President Muhammadu Buhari

wielding roving Fulani herdsmen criminals.

We can not replace effective scientific crime control with lazy ethnic name calling, collective abuse and serial stigmatisation of whole nationalities.

On the contrary, if government devices and enforces a foolproof crime control strategy that reins in all criminals, there will be no more Fulani or Igbo or Yoruba or Tiv criminals. My understanding of a modern society is one in which ,on matters of criminality, there are only two tribes: criminals and non criminals.

It is the duty of the state through the law and the agencies of law enforcement and a sensible security system to clearly establish that distinction and make criminality unprofitable, unattractive and untenable.

Beyond crime control, however, the increased involvement of armed Fulani squads in scorched earth operations like mass killings and arson on settlements, communities and villages raise more far reaching national security questions. Who is arming these squads? What is the source of these weapons? Do we have a biometric national register of roving herdsmen? Do cattle owners need to secure licenses to traverse state boundaries? Does the free movement of citizens include the free flow of destructive animals across people’s farms? Questions!

Nonetheless, in the quest for solutions, We need to understand the danger of ethnic profiling in addressing the Fulani involvement in our current insecurity. The ethnic isolation and labeling of specific crimes has not quite yielded the security we earnestly desire. The military in its creative coding of specific targeted regional security operations has almost exhausted the animals in the bush without much dividend. After operations Python Dance, Crocodile Tears etc, the affected regions still remain bad places as witnessed by the pattern of violence in the last general election season From far and near, the dangers of ethnic profiling stare us in the face. It does not matter whether it is racial profiling of blacks and Hispanics in Trump’s America or Palestinians in Netanyahu’s West Bank, the consequences remain the same. The profiled and labeled

group quickly gains solidarity as they band together for collective protection. Once isolated for negative finger pointing, they tend to act out their ‘otherness’ in ways that could hurt the larger community. Soon, it becomes the rest of society versus the profiled and branded ‘other’. Worse still, a mentality of permanent victim hood grows among the profiled group which is hard to wipe away.

On this Fulani matter, therefore, we had better not take that bend.

On the axis of our thriving politics of bad manners, former President Obasanjo recently allowed himself to play untidy mascot. Forever adept at privileged mischief making, he carefully chose the podium of a church event to sound the alarm of a looming Fulanisation of the nation. I hope Obasanjo’s intelligence on this conclusion is credible because the contrary intel is overwhelming.

It is of course undeniable that a certain sectional cabal maintains a vice grip on the commanding heights of the current federal state. It is the nativism of the present power overlords and their support deep state structure that is tempting the current conclusion that there could be a Fulanisation agenda somewhere. Yes indeed, the incumbent power arrangement tends to isolate the Fulani interest for primitive favouritism in the form of choice appointments and crude bureaucratic protection. Power incumbency could tempt the promoters of this interest to occasionally ‘mask’ their narrow interest as the national interest. This must be the thinking behind misadventures like advocating cattle colonies in all states, floating a Fulani radio station funded with public money or indeed the laughable idea of wanting to pay Fulani troublemakers a huge trove of cash to discourage them from disturbing the peace through violent crimes. These silly excursions in the absurdity of ill gotten power should not tempt us in the dangerous direction of isolating the Fulani nation for negative profiling and vicious targeting. After all there are by far too many decent Fulanis who are dedicated to the Nigerian republic.

Let us take nothing for granted in this place.

The distance between such ethnic profiling and some form of ethnic cleansing in the hands of a subsequent reckless regime can be quite short. Nigerian history is still dripping with the blood of victims of previous similar isolation and profiling from 1966 onwards.

Whatever our interests and grievances, therefore, we must not allow the country to degenerate to the level where the narrow perspective of a transient ruling cabal becomes the directive principle of state policy.

I happen to believe that a non discriminatory but effective crime control and internal security strategy will put both the cabal and their armed foot soldiers out of business. The supremacy of the law of evidence will replace selective applications of off -the -shelf justice.

Here then is a unique opportunity for this government to be government in a true sense.

As an instance of leadership by example, let the president who is himself a Fulani with a cattle ranch order an immediate moratorium on migrant cattle herding in favour of compulsory ranching in cattle states.

That will end migrant herdsmen kidnapping and allied crimes.

This brings us squarely back to the quality of governance that has made Fulani ethnic profiling an option in our national discourse.

It is part of the distinguishing testimonial of this government that it has admitted the Miyeti Allah association of cattle herders onto the table of national discussion. This curious body has been reported to use its access to apex power to mount spirited defenses of criminal acts by its migrant foot soldiers. It does not concern Abuja that other associations- poultry farmers, vegetable farmers, fish mongers, street traders and market women deserve no less a privileged audience. It is precisely the prominence and privileged access accorded Miyeti Allah and other such aberrations that has led to these wild charges of Fulanisation.

I refuse to be conscripted into believing in the veracity of any such infantile agenda.

First, I believe the leadership of the Fulani have enough common sense to assess the risk in any possible expansionist fantasy.

There is enough residual warlike culture all over rural Nigeria to counter any such project. The Agbekoyas of Yorubaland, the Bende and Awka warriors of Igboland, the Tiv warriors of the Benue basin as well as countless others are alive and well. The consequences of any ethnic expansion agenda are too frightening to contemplate. We have seen the bloody rehearsals in Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, southern Kaduna and Zamfara already.

Moreover, no sensible political interest group can sponsor an agenda against its continued hegemony even in its own backyard. Check: the northern half of our country now happens to be the theatre of the bloodiest exploits of the roving gangs of criminals. The virtual collapse of security in the northern states cannot be blamed on either Fulanisation or its religious correlates. If the Fulani gunmen are shooting to conquer their own very home bases-including Daura-, then something must be fatally wrong. Who wants to Fulanise who? Instead, what is staring us in the face is the direct tragic consequence of the serial failure of governance in most of these states.

It is the cumulative outcome of decades of neglect by successive governments. We have come face to face with the north’s midnight children, the ugly result of the use of mass immiseration as a tool of political ascendancy and overlordship. The armies of the night are out on prowl to exert recompense for their stolen yesteryears. Like the ghost of Hamlet’s father, these dark forces of violence and destruction will roam night and day in quest of social and economic justice. Only purposeful reparation through repentant state governments will calm the restless ghosts.

The way out is not through the dark waters of Nigeria’s sickening politics as usual. Name calling and scapegoating the Fulani is an invitation to anarchy. The challenge is squarely one of modernization of government thinking and processes in the solutions it seeks to evolving challenges. The management of our diversity and complexity dictates that we avoid divisive and simplistic governance as well as hateful public discourse. r %S $IJEJ "NVUB B .FNCFS PG 5)*4%": &EJUPSJBM #PBSE JT $IBJSNBO 8JMTPO 8FJ[NBOO "TTPDJBUFT /JHFSJB

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