SUNDAY 9TH JUNE 2019

Forces Realign as Race for 9th Speakership Peaks Ahmed Bago may pair Nwajiuba Gbajabiamila considers Wase as deputy As PDP N'Assembly caucus fails to reach consensus Lawan, Ndume boast, confident of victory Deji Elumoye, Chuks Okocha and Shola Oyeyipo in Abuja Ahead of Tuesday’s inauguration of the 9th National Assembly and the elections of the presiding

officers for both the Senate and the House of Representatives, there is a new but stealthy realignment of forces, both for and against the candidates gunning for the different leadership positions.

Sources from the contending camps disclosed at the weekend that the realignment of candidates showed that Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila from Surulere, Lagos, might contest for the speakership of

the House of Representatives with Hon. Idris Wase from Plateau State as his deputy.

In the same breath, Hon. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba from Imo state is likely to pair with Hon. Mohammed Bago

from Niger State as speaker and deputy speaker for the next Tuesday elections of the presiding officers of the lower chamber of the National Assembly.

Also, it is still being decided

who between Nwajiuba and Bago should step down as the meeting of their realignment is yet to be sealed.

A meeting to decide between Continued on page 8

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Emir Sanusi Escapes Deposition By a Whisker Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano

GOING FOR GROWTH… L-R: Chairman/Editor-in-Chief, THISDAY Group/Arise Television, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena; Chairman, Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Jim Ovia; Chairman, Honeywell Group, Oba Otudeko; Governor, Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele; President, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, and Founder, Stanbic lBTC, Mr. Atedo Peterside, during a consultative roundtable session between the CBN governor and private sector operators, tagged: 'Going for Growth' in Lagos… yesterday abiodun ajala

Huge relief yesterday came the way of the embattled Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II following the intervention of the Governor of Ekiti State and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Dr. Kayode Fayemi and a foremost business mogul, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, both of whom were finally able to convince Governor Abdullahi Ganduje to stand down the move to depose the emir.

Continued on page 9

Godwin Emefiele: Rising Shale Oil Portends Risk to Nigeria’s Economy Says CBN’s policies targeted at the vulnerable

Sanwo-Olu vows to ‘fight’ power providers in Lagos until supply improves Dangote: How do you have economic growth without power? Obaigbena urges CBN to intervene in education sector Obinna Chima Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, yesterday warned

that rising volatility in the crude oil market occasioned by the rapid increase in the supply of shale oil by the United States, which has seen

its production rise from nine million barrels per day in 2017 to over 12 million barrels per day today, portends great risk to Nigeria’s growth trajectory.

Emefiele, said this at a roundtable session titled: “Going for Growth,” with private sector operators in Lagos.

The event was for private sector operators to express their views and also provide inputs into the roadmap to be unveiled by the CBN Governor

for the next five years, in the coming days.

He stressed the need to Continued on page 8

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

PAGE EIGHT

Apapa Gridlock: How Successive Govts Failed to Construct Truck Terminal Approved by Gowon in 1973 Eromosele Abiodun The failure of successive governments since 1973 to construct a truck terminal approved by the military government of General Yakubu Gowon before its overthrow is responsible for the mess of today in the port city, THISDAY investigation has revealed.

The terminal approved for construction west of Apapa Road, was designed with 800 trucks capacity, living accommodation for 200 drivers, cafeteria, vehicle servicing facility, and telephone link with Apapa quays for coordinating requests for vehicles.

The contract, now valued between N120 billion and N200 billion, was originally awarded to Gufantti Nigeria Limited by the Gowon government and Chief Femi Okunu, then Commissioner for Works and Housing.

In a memorandum presented to the Supreme Military Council, referenced EC (68)

36th Meeting, Conclusion 7(4), the Commissioner for Works and Housing had stated, “Council, in the conclusion quoted above, agreed to the inclusion of the Truck Terminal in the Apapa Road Contract and approved the sum of N1, 200,000 for the construction of the Truck Terminal with a capacity of 800 vehicles, on a site west of Apapa Road. “Council also approved the award of the contract for the hydraulic sand fill to the Westminster Dredging Company, subject to a ceiling of N374, 000.�

He added, “The truck terminal has always been part of the Apapa Road/Ijora Causeway project as a necessary complement to remove the vehicle congestion outside the port area and make full use of the Apapa Road/ Ijora Complex. This terminal, in addition to parking facilities, will have living accommodation and cafeteria for lorry drivers, vehicle servicing facilities, and a telephone link with Apapa

Quays for co-coordinating requests for vehicles at any one time. Provision is made under head 624 subhead 156A of the 11973/74 approved capital estimates for the construction of the truck terminal. “The works involved, described as contracts 1264 A and B, consist of the construction of an interlocking flexible pavement of ‘Trieff’ blocks in parking area for 600 vehicles, roads, provision of access bituminous pavement on Kayode Street, drainage works, water mains and ducts for telephones and electricity cables. The works also include the erection of a three-storey hostel to accommodate 200 people (2 persons per room), cafeteria with cooking facilities, an administrative building for the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) officials and police and a workshop.�

The commissioner explained that in view of the specialist nature, “And because of the

type of pavement required for the parking area, i.e. interlocking flexible pavement of ‘Trieff’ blocks, and the complicated piling works and reinforced concrete columns required for the hostel building, I approved a list of 10 contractors of proven ability to be invited to tender. Only three of the 10 contractors submitted tenders; and they are all major contractor who have satisfactorily carried out large-scale civil engineering contracts for the Federal Military Government.�

He added that all the three tenders were completely prepared, with a total cost variation of only 10 per cent between them.

Declassified documents obtained by THISDASY revealed that while Guffanti Nigeria Limited bided for the contract for sum of N2, 336,062 with a completion period of 12 months, Julius Berger Nigeria limited bided for N2, 471,306 with a completion period of 10

months, and Sterling Astaldi Limited bided for a contract sum of N2, 584,943 with a completion period of 12 months.

The Commissioner for Works, thus, stated in the memo, “It can be seen that the choice for the contract award lies between Guffanti and Julius Berger. It is, however, considered that the saving of the months by the latter does not justify the additional cost of N135, 244 which would be involved if the contract were to be awarded to that company. “The federal tenders board recently considered the three tenders and recommended that the combined contracts 1264 A and B for the construction of the Apapa Road Truck Terminal be awarded to Guffenti (Nigeria) Limited in the total contract sum of N2,336,062 with a completion time of 12 months. Attached Annex 1 is the report on the tenders.�

Okunu further stated that a joint committee of his ministry,

the Federal Ministry of Transport, NPA, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Lagos City Council, and the Lagos State Ministry of Works and Planning had discussed the question of the administration of the terminal after its completion, “And recommended that the NPA should be responsible for the dayto-day running of the terminal while a Management Committee comprising the above-mentioned agencies and the Nigeria Police should be responsible for policy matters. “The joint committee also suggested that the terminal should be self-financing, that is, that the management committee should be empowered to impose user charges. Any profits accruing from the running of the terminal should vest in the FMG and be paid into a designated sub-head with the ultimate aim of recovering the cost of the investment over a period of time, say, fifteen years.�

avoid any marginalisation of any zone and ensure inclusiveness to avoid tension in the House on the account of marginalization.

"All the candidates, who have presented themselves for election for either as speaker or as deputy speaker are all qualified, but we are looking at factors will help engender unity and avoid crisis within the parliament.

"This is where equity and justice come in. Gbajabiamila and the vice president are from the same zone. Whereas zones like the North Central and the South-east have nothing so far coming to them in this power equation.

"We expect our party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) to take the trajectory of power

equation by ensuring that zones are represented and avoid accusation of marginalisation.

We are meeting Saturday on this and our positions will be communicated to the leadership of the party".

Consequently, there is palpable tension within the camps of the

corruption,� he explained.

He, however, said the biggest challenge in the country was implementation. “How do you have economic growth without power? Without power there can’t be growth.

Egypt electricity increased by 10 gigawatts, which is equivalent to 10,000 megawatts, in 18 months. “But in Nigeria we have been struggling for 18 years without adding 1,000 megawatts and we have spent about three times the amount Egypt spent.

Why? So, I think we all need to be concerned about that. I keep saying that when you look at the contributions to the GDP, the government is only about 17 per cent and 80 per cent is private sector,� he added.

Owing to this, he advised private sector operators to remain committed to contributing to the growth of the economy. “It is only the private sector that can partner with government to create this. It is not difficult but we must drive the process. No foreigner can invest unless we the locals invest in our country.�

He pointed out that smuggling was causing a lot of harm to businesses in the country, citing Nigeria’s porous border as a challenge.

Dangote said there was need to focus on import-substitution.

Jim Ovia, in his contribution, stated that to engender growth, there is need to get all the fundamentals in the economy right. “No matter the economic theory we propound, if the fundamentals are not right, it definitely cannot work. If we have the fundamentals right, the common man does not want to know whether interest rate is high or low,� Ovia declared.

The Zenith Bank Chairman also supported Dangote’s call for consumer lending, saying the reason why the initiative has not blossomed in the country was because of inadequate KnowYour-Customer.

Atedo Peterside in his remarks, noted that monetary policy has its limits.

He advised the CBN to ensure that the issue of multiple exchange rate is addressed.

He also said there was need to implement policies that would ensure that inflation gradually drops to about five per cent.

Peterside called for friendly policies that would encourage fledgling entrepreneurs, saying, “when Aliko Dangote and I were in our 30s, we were allowed to grow, but today we are killing the youths.�

He also urged governments in the country to address the issue of multiple taxation.

Herbert Wigwe, the Chief Executive Officer, Access Bank Plc, also said there was need for a conducive environment for businesses to thrive. He called for stability of government policies to enable investors plan long term.

He faulted a situation where policies are suddenly changed in the middle of business decisions.

Nduka Obaigbena, the Chairman of THISDAY and ARISE News Network, advised the central bank to extend its development finance intervention to the education sector so as to enhance the quality of graduates that are churned out annually.

This, he said would have a multiplier effect on productivity in the country.

Obaigbena added: “We spend lots of money on school fees and our educational institutions are getting worse. “What the central bank can do is to consider a framework for student loans, where proper salaries are paid to cutting edge professors so that we can get the quality we need in education. “And then, you structure the school fees in a payment system that can last 30 years or more.

So, it is that intervention in education that can begin to build the next world class innovators and students for Nigeria.�

FORCES REALIGN AS RACE FOR 9TH SPEAKERSHIP PEAKS the two who becomes the speakership candidate has been scheduled for Sunday night in Abuja.

Nwajiuba is from the South-east geo-political zone, while Bago is from the North Central zone respectively.

In the senate, however, the struggle for senate presidency has been narrowed down to between

Senator Ali Ndume and Ahmed Lawan, following the withdrawal of Senator Danjuma Goje from the race at the weekend, even as both Ndume and Lawan have continued to boast of sufficient supports from senators-elect, enough to see them through on Tuesday.

But the point of convergence in the House, it was learnt, was how

to ensure equity and balance in the political equation amongst the six geo-political zones of Nigeria, a development said to be generating attention among members of House of Representatives ahead of the election.

According to some new members-elect, in a position made available to THISDAY, "We are operating on this platform to

Continued on page 9

GODWIN EMEFIELE: RISING SHALE OIL PORTENDS RISK TO NIGERIA’S ECONOMY take actions that would wean the economy from excessive reliance on crude earnings for survival. “This means that we must strengthen our efforts over the coming years to stimulate growth and create jobs in critical sectors of our economy that will help insulate our economy from shocks in the global economy. “In doing this, the CBN has recently been caught in a syndrome which we term “The Dilemma of Monetary Policy in Nigeria.� “Typically, for a nation to be seen prosperous, any citizen of that country will expect the following macro-economic indices to prevail: That is, a low interest rate regime, a stable exchange rate regime and robust reserve position, a low inflationary environment, and lastly, an environment of full employment. “In fact, I love these and would have less stress in monetary policy if all these are possible. But the question we should ask ourselves at this session is, in the Nigeria of today, are these all possible at the same time? “Indeed, we are fully cognisant of the diversity of opinions of even some of you in this audience regarding our actions on monetary policy.�

He maintained that the bank would continue to defend the naira, saying that the CBN Act demands that the Bank “defend� the Naira using the foreign exchange reserves. “In effect, the CBN would be disobeying the law establishing it, if it sits idly by and allow the Naira to be determined wholly by the so-called market forces. “Second, those who call for floating of the currency betray their willful ignorance of the effects of significant depreciation, however short-lived, on inflation. “Several empirical analyses have shown that the pass-through of changes in the exchange rate on consumer prices is almost one-toone. “This implies that for every percentage point depreciation in the Naira, there is almost the same

rise in inflation. “I have also heard a lot of people suggest that all they want is for the CBN to reduce interest rates. In fact, for us at the CBN, achieving a low interest rate regime will give us a great sense of accomplishment. “Indeed, given our determination to stimulate economic growth, it is obvious that we would want to pursue a policy of moderating interest rates. “Yet, in an environment where inflation recently was a high as 18.72 percent, it would be counter-productive to reduce interest rates because any attempt to ease interest rates under a high inflationary environment will no doubt retard growth. “While we are delighted that we have been able to fight inflation down to very low double digits, we believe it is still too high for the Nigerian economy. Our goal is to moderate it down to single digits. “More also, we need to keep in mind that Nigeria’s high interest regime reflects not only the cost of capital, but also the cost of doing business in the country. “A typical branch of Nigerian bank provides its own security with sometimes permanent police presence, its own electricity supply with several generators, diesel tanks and inverters and its own broad band internet services. “For banks whose main source of income is from interest earnings, these deficiencies become costs which it must necessarily pass on to borrowers. So regardless of what we do at the CBN, it is important that we realise other aspects of our business environment that promote and sustain high interest rates.

Speaking further, the CBN Governor who just last week assumed office for the second term of five years, said the policies of the apex bank in the past five years have been focused on protecting the purchasing power of the poor and vulnerable persons in the country.

The meeting had in attendance the Governor of Lagos State, Mr.

Babajide Sanwo-Olu; captains of industry led by President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; founder of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Jim Ovia; the Chairman, ANAP Foundation, Atedo Peterside and CEOs of banks and other leading private sector organisations.

According to Emefiele, the apex bank is very comfortable staying on the side of the weak, vulnerable, and poor masses and protecting their purchasing power.

He argued the central bank’s development finance initiatives and foreign exchange intervention are targeted at supporting vulnerable persons in the society. “Sadly, while most people in this room may be spared the brutal consequences of inflation, the majority of Nigerian masses and fixed income earners are not. “The poor masses are the ones that bear the brunt of losing purchasing power of the meagre salaries they receive, ever so infrequently. “Indeed, given the current resistance to pay increased minimum wage of N30,000, one wonders how the fixed income earner would survive the consequences of inflationary pressure arising from the passthrough from exchange rate depreciation being proposed by the naysayers,� he told his audience.

Emefiele said the task of building a stronger economy was far from complete; with the pace of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth still very fragile and badly lagging behind population growth rate of 2.7 per cent. He reiterated the fact that the level of credit to the private sector by financial institutions was still very low.

According to the CBN Governor, domestic industries particularly high employment generating sectors like textile and garment sectors have continued to deal with rampant smuggling and dumping of materials through our borders. “These challenges no doubt

call for action by the monetary and fiscal policies through the implementation of policies; the spirit and letter of which must be respected by all,� he added.

Governor Sanwo-Olu in his remarks, pledged to continue to “fight power providers in the state,� until there is increased power supply to households and firms.

The governor emphasised that making Lagos a 21st century economy requires improved power supply to drive businesses and households.

He pledged to modernise essential services in the state and strive for maximum efficiency in the public sector institutions. “We are going to do this so that we can become increasingly competitive and innovative. It is important to unleash the potential of the state so as to attract foreign direct investments (FDIs) to the state,� Sanwo-Olu. He urged the Central Bank of Nigeria to remain vigilant so as to safeguard the economy from external shocks.

According to Sanwo-Olu, there was need for policymakers in the country to positively take advantage of ongoing US-China trade war as well as the Brexit to reposition the economy.

Aliko Dangote on his part, described consumer credit as a vital tool for fighting corruption in the country.

To this end, Dangote urged the CBN and commercial banks in the country to work towards developing consumer credit products so as to encourage low income earners. “We need to work very hard on consumer lending. It is even going to help the government in fighting corruption especially for the low income earners. If somebody has a paid job and there is consume credit, you can take such credit to buy household equipment and pay for four years. “We must also do mortgage. It will also help in terms of fighting

9

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

PAGE NINE FORCES REALIGN AS RACE FOR 9TH SPEAKERSHIP PEAKS APC following allegations by the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) that Gbajabiamila, who was positioned to clinch the seat had earlier been convicted for “willful dishonesty� by the Supreme Court of the State of Georgia in the United States of America and that Doris Wase is also being accused of enriching himself while in office.

The CUPP, through its spokesman, Ikenga Ugochinyere Imo, said in a press conference in Abuja that Hon. Gbajabiamila’s choice for speaker, was “morally, politically and constitutionally wrong�, because of allegations of conviction and perjury against him.

The CUPP spokesman also disclosed at the press briefing that the Action Peoples Party (APP) had commenced criminal proceedings against Gbajabiamila before Grade I Area Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting in Karshi.

Though Gbajabiamaila has since denied the allegations of dishonesty, insisting that he was not corrupt and has never been indicted of corrupt practices anywhere in the world, THISDAY gathered the CUPP allegations might have thrown spanners in the works for the APC choice candidate as some members of party are said to be weighing other options especially, with the consequences of electing someone with skeletons in his cupboard.

It was learnt that it was as a result of the allegations raised against Gbajabiamila that some chieftains of his party asked him to address a live world press conference to address issues raised against his person.

A member of APC, who spoke to reporters in confidence, as he was not authorised to speak, said, "We don't want to support any candidate, who is said not to be clean or has some dirty skeleton in his cupboard. We recall the case of former Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1999, Salisu Buari, who was forced to resign his seat as speaker and member of the House of Representatives, because of certificate forgery, claiming that he went to university of Toronto in Canada.

"Any candidate with baggage will certainly not command respect among his colleagues and such a person will easily be tossed around because of his past encumbrances. “Also bearing in mind that in this dispensation, the southeast has elected members of the House of Representatives, unlike in 2015, when there was no Member of

House of Representatives from the Southeast", the APC chieftain said.

Already, there are two members of the House of Representatives from the southeast in the race.

They are Nkeiru Onyejiocha and Emeka Nwajuiba. Nwajiuba, who is the current chairman of Tertfund and a close ally of President Muhammadu Buhari, stepped up his campaign for the House speakership last night with presentations before APC members elect and those of other political parties.

Group Champions South-east Speakership The South-east Equity Alliance headed by a former commissioner in Imo State, Dr. Orikeze Ajumbe and the Chuba Okadigbo Rainbow Organisation led by Dr. James Okoroma, have joined the campaign for the emergence of Hon. Nwajiuba as the next Speaker of the House of Representatives.

In a statement issued in Abuja, the National Chairman of the Chuba Okadigbo Rainbow Organization, Okoroma said Nwajiuba’s election as speaker would give the South-east, a sense of belonging in the country.

He said any arrangement in the National Assembly that excludes the South-east would generate perceived marginalization of the Igbo and therefore appealed to the National leadership of APC led

by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole to balance the polity by ensuring that all ethnic nationalities are represented in the sharing of leadership positions to curb restiveness.

He added that since the Southwest has produced the vice president, the South-east should also be allowed to produce the speaker for fairness and balance.

He further expressed the view that the race for the speakership should be left to the South-East and the North-Central, which appear short-changed now at the topmost level of the nation’s political leadership.

But newly elected members of the House of Representatives under the auspices of Forum of First Term Members-elect announced their endorsement of Gbajabiamila and Wase.

The group, which comprises 183 members drawn from various political parties, announced their support for the APC preferred candidate Saturday at an event held at the Chelsea Hotel, Abuja.

The Coordinator, Hon Olubunmi Tunjl-Ojo told journalists that the decision

to throw their weight behind Gbajabiamila was as a result of experience and the widespread support he enjoys among old and new members.

This however prompted Gbajabiamila to assure the elected lawmakers that if he emerged Speaker, he would ensure a cordial working relationship between the legislature and the executive arm of the government and avoid the stagnation witnessed in the 8th assembly.

Similarly, the odds seem to favour Senator Ovie Omo Agege to emerge the deputy senate president of the 9th Senate. He is from the South-south zone.

THISDAY gathered that he appears the preferred candidate for the balancing of geo-political interests. His closest contender is former governor of Abia State, Orji Kalu, who won the senatorial election on the platform of APC.

already committed on whom they would vote for on the Tuesday, June 11, when the legislature would be inaugurated and the election of principal officers held.

Leo Ogor was later seen leaving the venue of the meeting at exactly 20.40 after failing to convince the lawmakers on the agenda of the meeting.

Some of the members-elect from North Central and South-east were seen canvassing for support for either Nwajiuba or Bago.

According to them, they wondered how two zones of southeast and North Central should be left out in the sharing of political offices.

But to further show strength, Senator Lawan’s camp might today openly display the list of all the senators supporting the candidacy of their candidate for Senate Presidency.

PDP N'Assembly Caucus Fail to Reach Consensus

Lawan: I’ve Support of 60 APC, 38 PDP Senators-elect

Indications that senators and House of Representatives memberts-elect on platform of the PDP did not reach a consensus for a block vote for any of the candidates aspiring to become a presiding officer in the 9th National Assembly came to the fore, when they walked out of a recent meeting designed to reach a consensus.

No communique was however issued at the end as the meeting ended abruptly.

At the meeting, which took place at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, not one of the PDP senators-elect for the 9th Assembly attended the meeting, while only the immediate past Minority leader in the 8th House of Representatives, Leo Ogor, attended.

Leader of the party in the 8th Senate, Enyinnaya Abaribe, who heads the PDP National Assembly caucus, was absent at the meeting.

Before the meeting, however, five returning senators-elect: Peter Nwaoboshi from Delta state, Clifford Ordia and Mathew Origheade both Edo State and Abba Moro from Benue State have already endorsed the candidacy of Ahmed Lawan for senate presidency.

Outside the Lagos hall venue of the meeting, a majority of the House of Representatives members in attendance were heard asking their colleagues that they should vote their conscience.

While others were seen asking others to go on individual negotiations as some of them were

Former Senate Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan, has said 38 out of the 44 Senators-elect of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are backing his ambition to become the Ninth Senate President.

Lawan, who made the disclosure at his public endorsement by 60 All Progressives Congress (APC) Senators-elect in Abuja, declared that most of the PDP Senators were working for his emergence as the presiding officer of the Ninth Senate.

"Let me start by paying tribute to very distinguished PDP senators, who have identified with us. Many of them are working for us. It was a conscious decision not to have their signatures for endorsement in this paper.

"Theirs is a sacrifice recognised by all of us. And I can tell you that out of the 44 PDP (senatorselect), we cannot have less than 38 senators-elect supporting us.

And we are looking forward to a time that we will all sit like this with everyone".

For his colleagues in the APC, the Senator emphasised that his endorsement was the first time legislators of a particular political party "would come together in this unanimous way to endorse a candidate for the office of a Presiding Officer.

"Out of the 62 with returned certificates in APC, 60 have signed here. But you know we will love to have the 62 sign. We are a family. And we will not get tired of talking to people because we

want to get there united, focused and perform for the sake of our people. We are not prepared to go and start fighting amongst ourselves. We will do everything possible to bring everybody on board, because we don't want distraction".

According to him, Nigeria needs a legislature that would do its work of representing the people of the country "and ensuring that we address those issues that are agitating the minds of Nigerians as to do otherwise will be to fail and we are not prepared to fail".

Lawan said his endorsement by his colleagues spoke volumes and showed that he was not imposed on the lawmakers.

Said he: "The trouble we have gone through tells a story that we are not an imposition, because everybody here wrote his or her name and signed. We have been working extremely hard, talking to each and every senator-elect to say this is who we are".

Speaking earlier, Secretary of the Ahmad Lawan for 9th Senate President, Senator Barau Jubrin (Kano North) had read out the names of the 60 APC Senators-elect that endorsed Lawan as contained in six pages personally signed by the lawmakers with red biro.

The list include Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central), Barau Jibrin (Kano North), Francis Alimikhena (Edo North), Solomon Adeola (Lagos West), Aliyu Abdullahi (Niger North), Olubunmi Adetumbi (Ekiti North), Ibrahim Gobir (Sokoto East), Robert Borrofice (Ondo North), Sadiq Umar (Kwara North), Yakubu seni (Kogi Central), Adelere Orilowo (Osun West), Biobarakuma DegiEremenyo (Bayelsa East), Bulus Amos (Gombe South), Hezekiah Dimka (Plateau Central), Ignatius Longstan (Plateau South), Halliru Jika (Bauchi Central), Kabiru Gaya (Kano South), Ajibola Basiru (Osun Central), Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa West) and Umaru Al-Makura (Nasarawa South).

Also on the list are Senators Danladi Sankara (Jigawa NorthWest), Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia (Jigawa North East), Kashim Shettima (Borno Central), Sabo Mohammed (Jigawa South-West), Godiya Akwashuki (Nasarawa North), Ovie Omo-Agege (Delta Central), Buhari Abdulfatai (Oyo North), Adedayo Adeyeye (Ekiti South), Bello Mandiya (Katsina South), Yahaya Abdullahi (Kebbi North), Bala Ibn Na'Allah (Kebbi South), Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf (Taraba Central), Oluremi Tinubu (Lagos Central), David Umaru (Niger East, Isah Jibrin (Kogi East),

Sanusi that it was important he tread with circumspection since becoming the Emir of Kano had been his life-long ambition, such that, even when he was asked to run for the presidency, he declined and opted to be an emir, therefore, the responsibility to protect the stool rested solely on him.

It was on that note that the truce meeting ended and both gladiators, shook hands and congratulated each other, the source said, reiterating that the duo of Fayemi and Dangote could not however do anything about the division of the emirate, more so that the matter was already in court.

This development was also confirmed by the state government in a statement signed by the chief press secretary to the Governor, Mr. Abba Anwar, which stated that, “The two leaders met, they congratulated each other for the successful completion of the Month of Ramadhan Fast and the Sallah

festive period. “Both leaders spoke jointly to all Muslims and urged them to continue with the good teachings and spirit of the fasting period of the Month of Ramadhan�.

Sanusi seized the opportunity to formally congratulate Ganduje for his second term victory and wished the governor a successful tenure in office till 2023. “For healthier relationship between the two institutions of government and the Kano Emirate, dialogue continues,� the statement added.

Meanwhile, the Kano Emirate has cleared Sanusi of an alleged misappropriation of N3.4bn, saying the Emir is not the accounting officer of the council.

Sanusi, in his reply contained in a letter by Abba Yusuf, Acting Secretary of Kano Emirate Council, dated June 7, and obtained by THISDAY stated: “I am directed to refer to your letter NO. SSG/OFF/03/V.I/ dated June 6th, 2019 to which was

Suleiman Abdu Kwari (Kaduna North), Ashiru Yisa (Kwara South), Ibrahim Geidam (Yobe East), Ahmad Babba Kaita (Katsina North) and Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto North).

Others are Senators Lawal Yahaya (Bauchi South), A.M. Bulkachuwa (Bauchi North), Ashiru Ahmed (Adamawa Central), Michael Bamidele (Ekiti Central), Olalekan Mustapha (Ogun East), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun Central), Abubakar Kyari (Borno North), Teslim Folarin (Oyo Central), Uba Sani (Kaduna Central), Abubakar Shehu (Sokoto South), Tolu Odebiyi (Ogun West), Orji Uzor-Kalu (Abia North), Kabir Barkiya (Katsina Central), Bima Muhammad Enagi (Niger South), Ibrahim Shekarau (Kano Central), Ibrahim Oloriegbe (Lagos East), Osinowo Adebayo (Lagos East), Danjuma Goje (Gombe Central), Saidu Alkali (Gombe North), Ahmad Lawan (Yobe North).

attached a copy of the report of the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission, containing some allegations of financial misappropriation of the sum of N3.4 Billion by the Kano Emirate Council. “You may wish to note that at the time His Highness was appointed Sarkin Kano, the exact amount in the account of Kano Emirate Council was N1,893,378,927,38 (One billion eight hundred and ninety three million, three hundred and seventy eight thousand, nine hundred and twenty seven naira, thirty eight kobo only). “It is also important to note that His Highness, Sarkin Kano is not the accounting officer of the Kano Emirate Council, but the secretary of the council. We thank you for giving us the opportunity to respond to the various allegations contained in the report and accordingly give our responses as per the attached.�

Ndume: I Do My Numbering Not by Publishing Names Another major contender to the office of the Senate President, Senator Ali Ndume has said his ambition would translate into votes on Tuesday when his colleagues would elect him, saying he had done his numbering too but not by publishing names fdor the optics.

Reacting to Lawan's alleged endorsement, Ndume told reporters yesterday evening that he was not looking for endorsement but votes of his colleagues.

"I do my numbering too but not by publishing my colleagues’ names. I am not looking for endorsement but looking for votes on election day. You know clearly that there is the difference between endorsement and election. “You would recall too that in 2015 that story of endorsement was canvassed. He has the endorsement but what happened on the floor of the Senate was different. This kind of thing has been there all along. We have seen endorsements against several elections.

"I believe that my colleagues shall vote according to their conscience and they shall vote for a candidate that is more suitable for the position of the Senate President. “I am not bothered about endorsement rather, I am more worried about the election. I shall go into the election on Tuesday and it shall have two sides which is either one loses or wins," Ndume further said.

EMIR SANUSI ESCAPES DEPOSITION BY A WHISKER The news of their successful intervention came after weeks of rising tension that had reached fever pitch on the back of plans by the state governor to depose Sanusi from his exalted throne.

Although the reconciliatory meeting was largely successful to the extent that the governor was prevailed upon to shelve his planned removal of the emir, there was no consensus however on the division of the emirate especially, since the matter is already in court and therefore subjudice.

Similarly, the Emirate Council, last night, replied the query from the state government, which accused the Emir of financial misappropriation and exonerate Sanusi from any such malfeasance.

THISDAY gathered last night that unknown to many, Fayemi being one of the closest persons to Governor Ganduje, the reason he was the only one around among the APC governors to support him during his rerun poll, had

been under intense pressure to wade into the crisis.

Many of Ganduje’s northern colleagues had reached out to the Kano governor to step back from deposing the emir but he (Ganduje) turned them down. Fayemi became their last resort and they eventually reached out to him to intervene and save the emir from looming demystification.

Sources close to the Ekiti governor said Fayemi too had been making underground moves particularly, meeting with some of the stakeholders before the lot frontally fell on him to broker truce between the two.

According to sources, Fayemi had called to see Ganduje and had told him why he was coming but added that he would like to have Aliko Dangote join them since he was a prominent Kano indigene.

Thus, when contacted, Dangote too consented to be part of the meeting, and jetted to Kano to

see Ganduje who yielded to their pressure to forgive the emir whatever transgressions he may have committed, thus ending weeks of bitter feud between Sanusi and the governor over the emir’s alleged unbridled interference in the politics of the state to the extent that it almost cost Ganduje his re-election.

One of the sources privy to the meeting said they told Sanusi to his face that he could not continue to meddle in politics without incurring the wrath of the government, knowing his place as a traditional ruler of note and knowing also, how much hurt his political intervention could cause.

According to the source, the Kano governor had overwhelming evidence on Sanusi’s alleged involvement in his election, including tape and notes from many of the meetings, where he directly campaigned against Governor Ganduje.

The source said they also told

JUNE 9, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R

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SUNDAY COMMENT

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

THE CHALLENGE BEFORE NINTH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY The country is in a hurry. The ninth assembly should make a big difference

T

he Ninth National Assembly will be inaugurated on Tuesday at a period many basic services such as education, health and infrastructure are decrepit while a demographic crisis is looming large on the horizon.

The unemployment rate, especially among our young population, is not only frightening but breeds the risk of social, economic and security turbulence. The poverty level is at an all-time high while the security situation remains treacherous. It is therefore important that the in-coming Senators and members of the House of Representatives understand that their job is already well cut out for them.

As the engine room of democracy and the theatre of politics, a vibrant and effective legislature is important for the development of our country, especially at this most challenging period in our history. And to the extent that law reforms the society, if the National Assembly is desirous of regaining credibility and taken seriously by Nigerians, it must understand that guided business tours of committees for pecuniary purposes cannot substitute for genuine oversight functions. With the election of the presiding officers as the first item on the agenda, it is also important for the lawmakers to demonstrate a high sense of responsibility in their choice. They should be encouraged to choose leaders with rich legislative experience who can command the respect of their colleagues and restore the dignity of the embattled legislative institution.

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) that has an overwhelming majority in the coming National Assembly has put forward the current Majority Leaders in both chambers (Senator Ahmed Lawan

for Senate and Femi Gbajabiamila for the House of Representatives) as their nominees. Lawan is the highest ranking member in the National Assembly. He was first elected into the House in 1999 and the Senate in 2003. He has been a senator ever since. Gbajabiamila has also been a House member since 2003.

So both come highly recommended. But the decision of who presides over either of the chambers is not that of the APC but the members themselves.

As we reiterated recently, the APC must learn from its recent history.

Failure to manage the pre-leadership and post-leadership election in 2015 led to mutual suspicions between the executive and legislative arms of government at the federal level and it hampered the required cooperation and ultimately impeded the smooth operations of government. We hope the party will this time put its house in order so that both the presiding officers in both chambers can emerge in a manner devoid of any kind of acrimony or imputation of imposition from the executive.

As the engine room of democracy and the theatre of politics, a vibrant and effective legislature is important for the development of our country, especially at this most challenging period in our history

Letters to the Editor

A

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

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

T

o avoid the needless distractions that almost marred the previous session, there is also a compelling need for the lawmakers, as elected representatives of the people, to be mindful of the expectations of Nigerians.

These expectations include revival and diversification of the economy, employment generation, strengthening national security, curbing corruption, tackling the electricity crisis and general infrastructural decay, improving health and the educational system, etc.

Against the background of a long tradition of shallow debates, the ninth assembly is challenged to make greater use of legislative aides to research the subjects that would come under its purview.

Meanwhile, whatever one might say about the Eighth National Assembly that adjourned sine die last week, it was able to achieve a measure of bipartisanship, perhaps because of the compromise that led to the election of its presiding officers. Given the putative dominance of the ruling APC in both chambers, there is an increased risk that such bipartisanship may come under threat. That would be unfortunate as the national interest is best when legislations reflect a wider national perspective rather than that of a single party.

As things stand in Nigeria today, the enormity of our social and economic challenges makes it compelling for targeted legislation rather than cosmetic lawmaking.

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

Somolu, Bariga And Imperative of A New Narrative

cross the world, development grows in a vicious cycle, influencing the nucleus of neighbouring environment like wildfire. Regrettably, however, some anti-developmental traits usually make it practically difficult for development to thrive in some areas, regardless of developmental strides around them. The tale of two popular communities - Somolu and Bariga in Lagos State shows how communities might unknowingly thread the path of retrogression.

Although these two communities are home to some of the earliest private and government institutions such as the University of Lagos, Akoka, West African Examination Council (WAEC) office, CMS Grammar School, Bariga, St. Finbarrs’ College, Igbobi College and a host of others, it is difficult to

pinpoint real developmental strides in these areas in recent time. This could be traceable to the increasing volatility of the areas, especially in the last two decades.

Worthy of note is the activities of several rival cult groups in both Bariga and Somolu. The activities of these anti-social groups have turned the areas into citadel of urban chaos.

In a bid to even developmental pace across the state, improve local economy and discourage youth restiveness, the Lagos State government has embarked on a total face-lift of the Ilaje area through the construction of Bariga Waterfront Jetty, Five Transport Ferries and the Ilaje Road. The projects were executed in response to security challenges in the area.

To further enhance development in the area, about 12 other roads within Ilaje and Bariga are being constructed in addition to the jetty,

road and ferries. With this, it is hoped that business activities within Bariga and its environs will receive a massive boost.

Now that government is bringing development to the area, residents must embrace orderliness and eschew all violent acts. Thus, the ugly experiences where officials of the Lagos State Public Works Corporation were attacked while carrying out maintenance works on some roads within Bariga as well as public assault meted out to some members of the Lagos State Fire Service at different instances while responding to fire incidents should be laid to rest and must not be allowed to re-occur.

To say the least, those attacks have not portrayed the communities in a positive light. As a matter of fact, rehabilitating roads in these areas or responding to distress calls had been a nightmare for first

responders and security agencies.

Since development only thrives in a peaceful and conducive environment, the ‘crime zone’ which these communities have been synonymous with had overtime bastardized the image of the entire area, thus affecting commercial activities and government presence. It is a common sight to see an array of armed policemen within these areas and sometimes with their Armoured Fighting Vehicles as though these communities are war zones.

It has been alleged that crime and violent activities in these communities are directly linked with some political ‘bigwig’ who usually exploit some ‘tarmac guys’ as political thugs. Worse still, it has been asserted that some of these ‘big dudes’ equally use their influence to frustrate efforts by the Police to nap some of the hoodlums.

The police should be commended for always living up to the occasion whenever these ‘bad boys’ are on the prowl. But

then, much still needs to be done in restoring peace to these communities.

Hence, the police should not retreat from bringing to book anyone, no matter how highly placed, who instigate trouble and chaos in the areas.

As government continues with its tempo of development around the two communities, there is an urgent need for all stakeholders to create more job opportunities for youths in the areas. Cultism and other related acts of violence are social problems that must be addressed by creating an enabling environment that encourages job creation for jobless youths who have found solace in crime. Efforts should also be made, by both public and private interests for the establishment of recreational centres where youths can always relax and refresh.

––Ayo Afuwape, Lagos State Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja (See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

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SUNDAY JUNE 9, 2019 • T H I S D AY

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JUNE 9, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R

NEWS

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

Afenifere: Fulani Herdsmen Plan to Subjugate S’West People t Laments alarming cases of kidnapping along Ibadan-Ife road Gboyega Akinsanmi

With the pervasive insecurity across six states in the Southwest geo-political zone, the National Chairman of Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), Hon. Olawale Oshun has accused Fulani herdsmen of an intent to subjugate the people of the region and take over their land.

Oshun, Chief Whip of the

House of Representatives in the Third Republic, has supported his claims, citing the rising cases of kidnapping along Ibadan-Ife expressway and occupation of farmlands and farm settlements in different states in the region, which were allegedly perpetrated by Fulani herdsmen.

He made the allegations in an interview with THISDAY in

his Omole Phase II residence at the weekend, disputing the position of some opinion leaders that the region’s pervasive insecurity stemmed from the country’s unprecedented rate of unemployment and abysmal economic woes it had been going through in the last few years.

He dismissed the argument of some national leaders, which ascribed insecurity in the South-

west to abysmal economic challenges, noting that before now, the relationship between Fulani herdsmen and farmers had at best been friendly.

In the South-west, Oshun said, “We have always had herdsmen or nomadic, who go about their business in the South-west. Never before were they attacking their host communities. In fact, they were

BREAKING NEW GROUND...

L-R: Managing Director,Techno Oil Limited, Mr. Tony Onyeama; the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo; Managing Director, Techno

Gas & Power Limited, Mr. Collins Onyeama and Executive Vice Chairman /CEO Techno Oil, Mrs. Nkechi Obi during inaugration of the firm’s LPG cylinder manufacturing plant at Ajah, Lagos....Friday

friendly based on the little I know.

“Even as a young man growing up, they used to be friendly, and they were accommodated.

They were not destroying the farms of their hosts. What has changed that they are now attacking the farms of their hosts?

There is the uncaring aspect.

“When their hosts complained, they attacked them. It is so sad how they treat women they meet on the farm. They raped them. Sometimes, they killed them. This cannot be part of the relationship we have witnessed in the years before.

“What could have changed?

That justifies my own concept about subjugation and about wanting to traumatise. But why will they want to subjugate? Why will they want to traumatise? There must be an intent behind all these acts.”

He, therefore, argued that the intent “is that we are the ones in charge. We can take your land or your property if you want to. Whether it is kidnapping or herdsmen-farmers conflict, we cannot attribute what is going in the South-west state just pure economic deprivation or high rate of unemployment.” that is making people to do that.

In terms of intent, Oshun claimed that the dynamics and nature of insecurity “is

purely a question of wanting to subjugate and take over people’s farmlandsandproperty,”which according to him, could stoke resistance if not addressed.

With the grave threat to human lives and dignity, Oshun noted that any reasonable people “will ordinarily resist if nothing is done. That is normal.

Whether locally, nationally or internationally, it is a normal reaction. There will be resistance.”

In entirety, he rejected the economic explanation of kidnapping and occupation in the South-west, pointing out that Nigeria “has always run through disequilibrium in terms of its economy. There have always been the oppressed.”

Oshun, equally, pointed out that there “has always been inequitable allocation of resources. What we have heard consistently is the widening gap betweenthearmedandthenonarmed.Whetherthisissufficient to create the mindless criminals that we now have on its own is another matter entirely.

“If you look at the rate of crime in the past, even at the time civil war when there was proliferation of weapons in the country, the crime we had then was more of robbery targeted at making quick money. What we now have is greater than robbery.

Makinde Flouted S’Court Precedent on Dissolution of Councils, ALGON, SAN Allege Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan

The Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Olu Daramola yesterday noted that Oyo State Governor, Mr. Seyi Makinde flouted the precedent of the Supreme Court for dismissing democratically elected local government chairmen.

Amid their controversial dismissal,theyaskedalltheaffected council chairmen to approach a court of competent jurisdiction to reverse the decision of the state government, which they

describedasaviolationofjudicial precedent.

They rejected Makinde’s decision in separate telephone conversations yesterday, lamenting that it “is a contempt of a subsisting court injunction against any dissolution of the local government chairmen in the state.”

The Chief of Staff to the governor, Chief Bisi Ilaka, had penultimate Wednesday announced that all local government authorities had been dissolvedwithimmediateeffect.

He, also, directed that all

chairmen in the councils should hand over to the Heads of Local Government Administration or the most senior directors, in theirlocalgovernmentareasand councils, a decision that stoke stern public reactions.

Rejecting Makinde’s decision yesterday, Daramola said under the1999Constitution,governors “lacks power to sack democratically elected local government chairmen,”notingthattheyhada tenurethat“isguaranteedunder the law.”

Daramola, who is of the Afe Babalola Chambers, therefore

said the decision of the state governor to dismiss the council chairmen “is an illegality that should not stand.

Daramola said there “is a judgment of the Supreme Court, which has made it clear a democratically elected council chairman cannot be sacked by the governor. Anything to the contrary is nothing, but null and void.”

Onwhatthesackedchairmen should do, he enjoined to go to court to fight what he described asinjustice,maintainingthatthey would triumph.

18 Burnt to Death along Akure-Owo Road

CACOL Commiserates with THIDAY MD

James Sowole in Akure

The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) yesterday commiserated with the Managing Director of THISDAY Newspapers Group, Mr. Eniola Bello on the transition of his wife, Hellen in a hospital abroad after a brief illness.

CACOL,ananti-corruptionand opennessingovernanceadvocacy group,consoledtheentirefamily ofthedeceased,assuringthatshe had transited to eternal rest.

Thegroupconveyeditsmessage inaletterofcondolencesignedby itsExecutiveChairman,Mr.Debo Adeniran,lamentingHelen’ssuddenandunexpectedpassageinto eternal realm after a brief illness.

The letter read in part: “This

Eighteen persons were yesterday burnt to death at Oba Ile junction along Akure-Owo expressway in a road accident involving a Toyota Hiace Bus and a lorry collided on the road.

Theaccident,THISDAYchecks revealed, occurred at about 3:30 a.m.,whennopersoncouldplace distress calls to officials of the Nigeria Police, Federal Road Safety Corps or Ondo State Emergency Management Agency on time.

THISDAYchecksalsorevealed that the two vehicles involved a ToyotaHummerBuswithregistrationnumber ADAMAWAYLA 25XUandalorrywithregistration

873 XM LAGOS GG 873 XM .

An eyewitness account told THISDAY that while the lorry was heading towards Lagos, the buswasheadingtowardsAbujaon theAkure-Owoexpressway,which linksthecountry’spoliticalcapital to its commercial nerve centre.

The Ondo State Police Command confirmed the accident yesterday, though had given full reportonwhatculminatedinthe accidentandthenumberofvictims.

Giving a preliminary report yesterday, the command’s Police PublicRelationsOfficer,MrFemiJosephsaidpreliminaryinvestigation showedthattheaccidentoccurred whenthelorrywastryingtoavoid a bad portion on the expressway.

is not because we ever believed that she or any other human is immortal, but for her bubbling spiritandirrepressiblesupportto youasherhusbandasaseasoned columnistandacerebralmember of the fourth realm.

“Throughouthertimeandlife, she remained a veritable pillar of support, kindness and diligence whose invaluable support to the entirefamilyremainsimmeasurable.“Withourknowledgeofwhat sherepresentstotheentirefamilyof EniolaBello,itisveryobviousthat she would be sorely missed. Our only consolation is that she lived a most remarkable and diligent life to her family and others that knew her.”

According to him, the governor has no power to sack any elected council chairman and this has been made clear by a judgmentoftheSupremeCourt.

The sacked chairmen should go to court and I know that they would win.

Inanothertelephoneconversation yesterday, the Chairman of ALGON, Oyo State, Mr. Ayodeji Abass-Aleshinloye said the dissolution by the new administration in the state flouted the injunction of an Oyo State High Court.

Hesaidthecourtpresidedover

by Justice A.A. Aderemi ruled against the dissolution of the councils, stating that the association would use democratic and constitutional avenues to fight the dissolution.

He said ALGON, Oyo State, rejected Makinde’s unconstitutional decision, noting that it “is illegal. It is contempt of a subsisting court injunction against any dissolution of the local government authorities as ordered by Justice Aderemi of High Court 2, Ibadan, Oyo State, on May 6.”

Dangote Compensates Victims of Anambra Truck Accident David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

The Dangote Group has paid a sum of N10 million to traders affected by an accident involving one of its trucks which lost control and swerved into Afo Ibughubu Market, Umuchu, Aguata Local Government Area (LGA), Anambra State. The company presented the cheques to the beneficiaries at the State House, Awka in the presence of the Deputy Governor, Dr. Nkem Okeke and representatives of NEM Insurance Plc, among others.

The accident, which occurred sometimesin2018,claimedatleast threelives;sevensufferedvarying degreesofinjuryandsometraders losttheirwaresandcommodities

At Akwa yesterday, Dangote Groupcompensatedthevictims oftheaccidentNEMInsurancePlc, an insurance company engaged tosettledamagescausedbyanyof thecompany’sheavydutytrucks across the country.

Addressing the delegation through his deputy, the state governor, Mr. Willie Obiano, commended Dangote Group for compensating the victims of the accidents.

Unlike before when the company’s drivers are known to run away from accident scenes, leavingtheirvictimstobeartheir loss alone, the governor said the companyhadstoodbythevictims and compensated them.

SUNDAY JUNE 9, 2019 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 9, 2019

OPINION Is Nigeria Bedevilled By ‘Ungoverned Space’ Syndrome?

Yes, it is, reckon Ejeviome E. Otobo and Oseloka H. Obaze

U

ngoverned space is a new concept applied to an old problem, namely the lack of effective government presence in parts or places within its territory. Ungoverned space is a direct reflection of the inability of the state to effectively perform its minimal statutory functions: exercise of monopoly of use of force; full territorial control; and provision of basic social services. Many analysts think of ungoverned space in strictly security terms.

In reality, however, ungoverned spaces are also marked typically by significant absence or limited provision of basic social services, making such places vulnerable to the control of criminal networks, radical extremists or other groups that offer alternatives to state authority by addressing, or spearheading agitations against, long held political, economic or social grievances of particular communities. Contrary to popular belief, ungoverned spaces occur as much in a national context as in sub-regional or regional context. Indeed, the so-called ungoverned sub-regional spaces are nothing more than an aggregation of ungoverned national spaces. When such spaces lie in contiguous border areas between countries, it exacerbates the challenges of ungoverned spaces.

Experts have identified six drivers of violent conflicts, which are also pertinent to ungoverned space. These include lack of quality governance and transparency, ethnic rivalry, religious extremism, mismanagement of land and natural resource, declining economic conditions and proliferation of small arms and light weapons. Grappling with the manifestation of the ungoverned space syndrome in Nigeria, warrants acknowledging that effectiveness of state presence or lack thereof makes all the difference.

Four clear manifestation of ungoverned space currently pertain to Nigeria. The first is banditry and kidnappings, which have extensively taken hold in various parts of the country. Indeed, besides the well-known kidnap of the Chibok Girls and Dapchi Girls, very few parts of Nigeria are exempt from menace of banditry and kidnappings. The second is terrorism; over time, Boko Haram and its affiliates have successfully plotted and carried out suicide bombings and military-style attacks in Nigeria, notably in the North-

east. Such attacks are aimed at, but are not limited to soft targets like motor parks, churches and mosques, restaurants and schools. Military and other government installations are also targeted. Whatever progress has been made in curtailing Boko Haram’s atrocities is periodically undermined by spasmodic attacks.

The third is herdsmen and farmers clashes. Violent clashes between cattle herders and crop farmers remain a major source of conflict and insecurity in Nigeria. Well over 4000 lives were lost between 2010 and 2019 from herdsmen and farmers clashes. Whereas the festering clashes are generally attributed to conflict of interests over scarce resource such as land and water, ambiguous policies and inaction on the part of the government are perceived as exacerbating the crisis.

The cumulative effect of Boko Haram and herders attacks have led to huge internal displacements, estimated at two

Ungoverned spaces do not occur because of lack of military presence.

They persist because of lack of well-functioning institutions that can promote dialogue, foster reconciliation, adjudicate economic, social and political disputes; and provide basic services to various communities

million internally displaced persons (IDPs).

The fourth is piracy and militancy. Insecurity within the Niger Delta region and Nigeria’s continental shelf remains a cause for concern due to piracy and militancy. Of the recorded 53 incidents of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea in 2016, 34 occurred with Nigerian territorial waters. In 2017, 56 Mariners were kidnapped off the coasts of the Niger Delta. These numbers exclude foreigners and Nigerians kidnapped for ransom in the oil-rich Niger Delta.

The resort to military response seems to be the preferred intervention method for addressing conflicts in ungoverned spaces. This choice of force over dialogue overlooks unwittingly, expert warning that “failure to appreciate the way these areas are governed can lead to flawed policy choices.” Yet ungoverned spaces do not occur because of lack of military presence. They persist because of lack of well-functioning institutions that can promote dialogue, foster reconciliation, adjudicate economic, social and political disputes; and provide basic services to various communities.

This prevailing lacuna explains the paradox of several military operations, for example, Operation Crackdown, Operation Lafiya Dole, Operation Pulo Field, and Operation Crocodile Smile existing alongside pockets of ungoverned spaces. While the military may offer “hard power” security, they are not equipped or trained to undertake or play the “soft power” role that other institutions can provide, including civilian police problem solving duties.

Is Nigeria bedevilled by the "ungoverned space" syndrome? This is no longer a rhetorical question.

Ungoverned space does not imply absence of governmental authorities at various levels. Instead, it suggests that various tiers of government are unable to fulfill the full spectrum of state functions. The manifestations of ungoverned spaces in Nigeria underscore an important fact: a clear nexus exists between the state’s inability to protect and to provide for constituent communities and the emergence of ungoverned spaces in Nigeria.

––Otobo is a Non-Resident Senior Expert at the Global Governance Institute, Brussels while Obaze is a public policy expert and Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Selonnes Consult Ltd., Awka.

Economics, Economist, Financial Times And Nigeria Garba Shehu urges foreign media to report beyond crime, conflict and disease

O

ne would imagine that business papers like economic success stories; apparently not.

Instead, they feast and thrive on negatives.

Financial Times, for instance, is worried about a government policy that is enabling boom in rice production in Nigeria. And the Economist is panicky about toothpick manufacturers springing up following tariffs that protect local manufacturers to get off the ground and compete globally.

Both papers only see negatives. Specifically,Economist dwells on out-of-date statistics. Deliberately it turns away from the positives as it will complicate already tailored narratives.

Some foreign correspondents keep the storyline simple: Africa is home for all bad things: poverty, disease and crime. And unremitting bleakness lives on the continent, and success is the aberration.

Since only negative reports on Africa make it to the international media, a backward picture of a nation is painted succinctly and efforts at growth in different ramifications, both investment and diplomacy are ignored. From the content of these stories, readers must be baffled that Nigerians know toothpicks, let alone be able to manufacture them.

The fact remains that with squeeze in media budgets there are not enough knowledgeable foreign correspondents based on the continent to report accurate news and uphold journalistic standards. And the parachuting style clearly defies ethics and quality. To cut cost, many media houses rely on the expedience of technology. The highly revered and sacrosanct fact-checking skill of journalism slips as a result. Anyone with a laptop is trusted as credible source. Cogent arguments no longer have a place, instead we have jumbled and emotive criticisms.

For instance, the Financial Times declares proudly that President Buhari failed to spur rice growing, whilst stating that production was at record levels up 60 per cent in 2018 from what we had in 2013. TheEconomist talks about overdependence on oil, yet criticises policies such as subsidies

or financial incentives that allow local businesses to compete and diversify the economy. It frowns at power shortfalls, but turns around to attack Alhaji Aliko Dangote – the man building the world’s largest oil refinery and improving power infrastructure in Nigeria.

Fundamentally, the foreign correspondents fail to appreciate context – understandably if they have to cover a large “patch’’ with shoe-string budgets, but never-the-less it is impermissible as facts must remain sacred. The Economist states that the economy was “sputtering’’ when President Buhari’s first term began in 2015, and still concluded he made a “bad situation worse”. “Sputtering’’ sounds euphemistic. The reality is that the economy was on its knees. The overdependence on oil, paired with impending global commodity crash, made the entry into recession at the beginning of the term inevitable. Now, however, the first quarter growth of 2019 has been the strongest.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently said analysts and onlookers must recognise “how deep the shock” was to the economy. As a famous American business magnate observed: “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked.” Indeed, Nigeria had been awash in oil dollars (over $100 a barrel), yet previous governments failed to add muscle to the economy.

Since the recession struck (crude oil went below $40 per barrel), the government has taken measures to redress weaknesses in our economy. The IMF goes on to praise the strong diversification in the economy and welcome the focus on public investment. For instance, the government has spent record figures on infrastructure in the past two years and capital expenditure is now around 30 per cent of the budget, rather than inadequate 10 per cent in 2015.

There has also been a drive to self-sufficiency where possible. It makes no sense for Nigeria to import rice, yet foreign shipments were dumped to maintain dependency.

Farmers needed help: strategic tariffs were applied to allow for initial competition, whilst the Central Bank of Nigeria

financial initiatives allowed growers to access capital for fertilizer and equipment. Over the past three years, production has risen year-on-year. Nigeria, as of 2018, is Africa’s largest producer of rice. Self-sufficiency has almost been attained.

From reading some foreign articles, you would be surprised to find these success stories mentioned; amazed that anyone would cheer the decision on tariffs to ward off desolation. And the failure to see or present any achievement perpetuates stereotypes that serve as disincentives to Foreign Direct Investment and partnership.

Granted, there are challenges in Nigeria. The country is a large and diverse nation with structural challenges that have been passed down through decades. But foreign reports ignore the complexity, and instead offer platitudes as solutions. This diminishes the difficulties facing those in governance: they must merely “stamp out corruption” or “improve governance” – common advice amongst those quick to criticise, but barren in tangible and measurable solutions.

Similarly, we are told to “harness the vim of Nigerians’’ – which is true. But this seems obvious as to even need mentioning. It is – to be sure – how you do that. We in governance have no illusion about this. Vim is harnessed when a nation has decent infrastructure that connects the economy, and thousands of miles of road have been constructed, as well as the expansion and upgrading of colonial-era railway network. When children have good education; we are currently ensuring nine million free school meals daily across the nation and it has boosted enrolment and attendance. And when business reforms create enabling environment; already Nigeria has gone up 24 places in Ease of Doing Business ranking since 2018, and the country is currently one of the top 10 global reformers, which is good news!

––Shehu is Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 9, 2019

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LETTERS

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President Buhari’s Second Chance

ere millions of Nigerians not exhilarated when Muhammadu Buhari defeated Dr. Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 Presidential election? Their joyous celebration of his electoral victory stemmed from the fact that Nigeria was tottering on the brink of collapse under the inept leadership of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.

So they believed that Buhari would offer us purposeful and qualitative leadership that would set our country on the path of irreversible and sustainable economic progress and technological advancement.

Their confidence in his abilities should not be faulted as President Buhari was perceived as a man with Spartan and austere lifestyle. And he’s believed to have zero tolerance for corruption. But regrettably, President Buhari’s ascension to power in Aso Rock led to his demystification.

Based on millions of Nigerians’ assessment of his first term in office, President Buhari performed abysmally.

All Nigerians but APC faithful are agreed on this: Buhari’s leadership scorecard during his first term in office was far below our expectations. Our economy dipped and went into recession, although it got out of it after. It should be

Buhari noted that his leadership of Nigeria between 2015 and 2019 has revealed his true personality to us. He’s an ethnic jingoist and chauvinist, who is enamoured of his Fulani kinsmen, which accounts for his handling of their infraction of the laws with kid gloves.

So, in the run-up to the 2019 Presidential election, political pundits predicted that he would lose the Presidential contest by wide margins owing to many factors. Then,

millions of angry, hungry and unemployed Nigerians were disillusioned with his uninspiring and clueless leadership.

However, against our expectations, President Buhari trounced Atiku Abubakar, the PDP’s standard bearer in the 2019 Presidential election.

However, Alhaji Abubakar has alleged that electoral malfeasance perpetrated by the ruling APC was behind his loss. The election result is now a matter of litigation at the

Presidential Election Tribunal.

This election matter at the tribunal is a cause célèbre.

At the commencement of proceedings at the Presidential Election Tribunal, President Buhari’s legal team alleged that Atiku Abubakar is a Cameroonian. Instead of providing answers to the posers stated in Atiku Abubakar’s election petition, Buhari’s legal team raised a red herring to distract Atiku Abubakar’s legal team and cause delays.

However, irrespective of the 2019 presidential election result matter pending in court, President Buhari was sworn for his second term in office on May 29, 2019. So, another great opportunity has been offered to him to make amends to his lackluster performance in his first term in office and write his name in gold.

Now, it’s time for President Buhari to provide us with good political leadership in order that he’ll pull Nigeria out of abyss of underdevelopment.

And offering us good political leadership will cause him to join the pantheon of Nigeria’s great political leaders when he leaves office.

Now, it is incumbent on President Buhari to speedily cobble an inclusive cabinet that should be made up of technocrats who have leadership qualities and proven track records in political administration. These ministers should be

BODMAS Scatter-Gram

F

ish is caught by hook or crook. Crook-means of a net, that comes from grouse, gross profit of cash, catch with magicnet, magnet, the Lord-stone of Israel being Josephs’-many colours of Peter fishers’-Coat of Arm. Amu-let down for a Shekel, check of El by the bank with hook, meant for Leviathan.

Levia than-Jonah, Jonathan-levy, on sons of the soil, Sauls’-soul of Isaacs’ father, Abraham. Riches are in cash, wealth is in kind, of Land Labour and Capital, the factors of production. Labour is female-factor, Land and Capital are malefactors Lk23:32. In Ehugbo, the fish is known as Uba, co-terminous with wealth, common to ‘Ali’, their holy-land of Ndjamena-rite, of Tele-ikuru pilgrimage to shylock-depth, debt of seven shy-lucks of hair, Oha combed in razor-barbing of the head. Barb yisim, baptism at bath, lo-mew-cat, apulted stone-one over two, o-tele-halfcast as ration of pair, rented off father by mother, as better-half of their king-domino cause and effect of weather.

Whether may or may not, as choice-value in opportunity-cost of free-masonry, taken as chances of seasonal-due. Dew falling as ‘Aku’, the riches of heaven to cheat in bed.

Heavenly reaches of bed-sheet as water-fall, on the 3rd -Reich, to rise for 4th and last-Aku fe weda. Fair-weather riches, which as Prov23:5 implies, are heavenly sun-rise of the morning with wings to fly. Flies Ecc10:1, of apothecary that is foul, fowl of

the air in a trade-wind-break of farting.

Farthing of foul weatherriches to-ask, tax- Leviathan, the king-fish to catch. Cash they con-tribute to ship of state, levied on Izik, spelt I-sac, ‘akpa-Amu ochi Chi’ which is to say ‘God hath made me to laugh’ at visiting Tor-tivs. Thieves, the male-factors of production being Abrahams’ body-mass.

BODMAS, an acronym in math-matricks of Ribeka.

Ribekas’ matrix of numbers, of name known as Afa. Alphabeta order resolved in stone-otele-caste, as curse ‘ikwu’ of mother-nation-Abia, the course of Elia isabeth Lk1:5, ikwu-nation, equation, a form-ula Gen2:7. Form ulate incarnate filling in ‘feel me’ Gen27:12, a formu-laughter ‘ochi’ at Shiloh. Ochi-Chi-ilo, ‘ILO’, a space, found as much-room.

Mushroom ‘ero’, aero plain-inearth, planet found at China Gen11:2, as upper layer-uzanna, fee-male-room of labour, oratory of prayer to be accommodated, by the visiting-Tor, for lodge entry-price sons pay as tax, in Jacob by head, of Pen-IS. Penis-head of state per-capitacollection by the orifice, officer in charge of sojourn. So, John was the one de-capitated at circumcision, over two thirst-IS, testis, the malefactors Jn19:29, the right-one o-tele cast, left-out of two tails, in-between-the thigh of Pen-IS, the King of kings’-head, super-inscribed on farthing, as note of com-promise in Herods’-aver-jinn.

Virgin-promise, ‘nkwa umu-agbogo, in ozizza-ogbor-

agha’, a duty of tides. Tidying-up front of war-dance, dalliance of carnal knowledge, in ‘ali-men-tari’ as the vow, of meat helping to venison, very-son of promise. Promissory notes of legal tender redeemable in gold of Havilah-river-currents.

Currency of cash-flow-traffic-rev anew, revenue of state-ships’ cargo-unit by the head and motive power-man, dated by his fiancée, finance of turn by turn-key project of mannequin robotics, as sign meant for what Isaac-taste bud gets, state-budgetcycle in the fathers’-will.

Wheel of the two, bi-cycled at ride, bride-price as a fare, affair of state on Jacobs’ head, over heels of Isaus-fall in love, made by parent as bricks, a chip off the old block-us, vas-difference of nations in mono-language of uni-verse-grammar. Grams, a-weighted in BODMAS, body-mass, a pound of flesh, in mortar, with helping-hand on pestle the ‘odo-aka rib’.

Rib-aka-odom Ali-money, bill of thy-voice of Jacobs’ income, footed by the hand of Isaus’ return from Havilah, the iyi-ngene egbo-ochu. ‘Egbochu’, a fore stall monopoly technique building, of upper-room-Elia, isa-bet, on profit-table of venisonlove, made pottage on cons-table, eaten as ‘iri’ the ten, of IS-love, made with his Church.

‘Chi-ochi’ the laughter of Sarah that came with doubt of IS, him asking you to ‘prove me here’ with levy for Levi, by the LORD that stayed up to stare, up-stair at mono-polytechnic building Gen17:17 Gen18:12 Gen21:6 1sam1:19 Job37:22 Jn5:4

Judg13:5 Gen2:11 Mt 22:19-21 Mal 3:8 Lev27:32 Acts10:10-16 Mt 12:42 Mt17:27 Job41:1 Jonah2:10 Psm139:9 Mal4:2 Lk5:6 Gen49:24 Jn21:7 2pet2:22.

Now, your alimentary canal is not satisfied after meal at table-tennis, shall it for a morsel of vomit? a-vow-meat, tooth-picked as piece, peace of money, the farthing that belongs to Caesar and unto God, the I-Amu-let out Ephphatah, in prise of fish-mouth apart, a party for cere-money-food, ofuudi efe-wedding-garment, aso-ebiready-made, love of Ten-IS, the Alpha and Omega-bet on be-half of king-domain-Thomas called epi-Didymus, bet- doubter, daughter of Magdalene the Church, en-trance-figure-head at Gabatha of Peter prevented, from enter-prise-son, prison he must enter for laughing-stock of store, storey building of ill-gotten wealth, amass of body healed in wings, of his only begotten Son-rise, Head of the figure, BODMAS-star-Key, Sign of Jona than others, Epistle of Immortal-flesh, Oha made bread to buy, bye to hunger and thirst for wine, the cure better than prevention of Commonwealth.

Fore-going are implicit inter-alia, in Gen 11 vs 1-7, as follows: Vs1) Mono-language of universe Vs2) Planet found at China Vs3) Body-mass-weight in grams as pound of flesh Vs4) Mono-poly-technique building as storeys of Universe-city Vs5) Building Up-stares Vs6) Mono-language-grammar Vs7) Vas-difference of nations Vs8) BODMAS Scatter-gram.

––Abili Willy, Lagos.

drawn from all political parties in Nigeria.

Those people will help him to entrench national unity, and drive our country’s development initiatives and set it on the path of irreversible and sustainable economic progress and technological advancement.

More so, President Buhari should treat the issues bedevilling our educational system holistically since education is the cornerstone of national development. The federal government- ASUU impasse should be addressed, as ASUU’s incessant industrial actions cripple universities’ education and alter their academic calendars. And government should conceive and implement educational policies that will reduce the number of out-of-school school children in Nigeria, which is estimated to be over 10 million.

Since an idle mind is a devil’s workshop, the vagrant out-of-school children and

other unemployed youths constitute the vast pool from which the Boko Haram group recruits its foot soldiers. Now, the North East has remained a hot-bed of insurgent activities and theatre of blood-letting.

The displaced people there, who are mainly farmers, have abandoned their homesteads and fled to other states and Cameroun for safety.

In addition to insurgency, banditry in the North West, kidnapping, and the Fulani cattle herders’ menace are ravaging the country. In Zamfara State, for example, life is short, brutish and nasty.

Sadly, the sanguinary deeds of the bandits have continued to decimate the population of that state.

Buhari should reinvigorate and diversify the economy to create employment opportunities for the teeming millions of unemployed Nigerians.

––– Chiedu Uche Okoye, Uruowulu-Obosi, Anambra State.

London As a Queer Multicultural Wheel

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ne expression that is cool amongst the Muslim subset of Arab, Southeast Asia, Turkish, Persian and others at Britain is “multicultural London,” a term that indicates that London, and by implication Britain, has lost its Christian character and it is now a land of aggregations of several core anti-Christian activism, exemplified surprisingly not by atheism but by other tenets professing that they are a “superior religion.” These days, especially coming from the mouth of Sadiq Khan, the Muslim Mayor of London, you will hear annoying arguments that the “gains” of liberal political thoughts and movements in Britain are about to be eroded by right-wing (read “endangered natives”) elements.

It is really a tragedy that Britain has come to this point; actually, wasn’t it a Christianinfluenced Great Britain, over the course of these past three or four centuries or so, that changed the character of the world in pursuit of prosperity and the common good for humanity?

Where would I be today if the Christian missionaries had neglected to bring education to Africa? No one should make the argument that it has not occurred to Sadiq Khan & Co that those “liberal political thoughts and movements” are what the Muslim homelands of Pakistan (where Mayor Khan’s parents migrated from), the Arabian Peninsula, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, etc., really detest when dealing with the tiny Christian enclaves (the numbers of native Christians are so small in these countries that the thought of a “Christian population” in context with the larger Muslim population is statistically embarrassing) in their midst?

Why should it be so?

Could it be the generally-held

beliefs amongst Muslims that countries that practice multiculturalism are not “smart?” Surely, it must have also occurred to Sadiq Khan & Co that it is truly not fair on the “native indigenes” of Great Britain who endeavour to keep their population steady in order to do sustainable development only to have Muslim immigrants flood their homeland and begin birthing uncontrollably whilst also doing the twin harm of terrorism, bombing and stabbing “real British Christians” to hasten the takeover of Great Britain.

And, now, I must say to Sadiq Khan & Co that this realisation was the reason for Brexit (a gradual process of reclaiming the homeland for the “natives”); really, were it not for Brexit, Turkic types would have swamped Great Britain in a flood of human armada when Turkey eventually joins the EU. The English gave to the world a very smart adage that says “what is good for the goose is good for the gander;” thus, if Sadiq Khan & Co think “multicultural London” is a great idea, then “multicultural Islamabad,” “multicultural Ankara,” “multicultural Riyadh,” “multicultural Tehran,” “multicultural Kabul,” “multicultural Dhaka,” etc., should be great ideas too.

No one, especially Mayor Khan, should criticise Donald Trump and Boris Johnson for their politics because a threat to the White Race is a threat to practical Christianity which is a further threat to world economic development. Who hasn’t heard of the maxim that, “multiculturalism will sound the death knell for Western societies?”

––Sunday Adole Jonah, Department of Physics, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER t+6/& 2019

NEWS APC NWC Can’t Discipline Me, Says Shuaib Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The Deputy National Chairman (North) of All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Lawal Shuaib yesterday said he would not appear before a five-man disciplinary committee set up by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.

Shuaib, a senator representing

Zamfara North between 1999 and 2007, also said under the Article 21 of the APC Constitution, the NWC “does not have power to constitute a five-man disciplinary committee that will determine my fate as an official of the party.”

He disputed the position of the party in a letter he addressed to the Deputy Chairman (South), Otunba Niyi Adebayo on Friday,

acknowledging the receipt of the letter of invitation to appear before the five-man committee set up to look into his allegation against the APC National Chairman, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole.

Shuaib had in a letter dated May 27 asked Oshiomhole to resign his position for being unable to add to the value of the party, citing APC’s loss in Zamfara,

Imo and Oyo as well as states where the party chapters were plagued with festering internal crises.

Consequently, at the end of its 38th regular meeting, the NWC had passed vote of confidence on the embattled national chairman despite calls by aggrieved members of the party, asking him step down.

Responding to a letter of invitation by the disciplinary committee, Shuaib queried the power of the NWC to discipline any member or party official under the APC Constitution, noting that he was too informed to get involved in illegality.

He acknowledged the receipt of the letter of invitation to appear before the disciplinary committee, though regrettably said would not be able to appear before it citing its illegality.

He said, “I do not know where the NWC derived the power to discipline from. The APC Constitution in Article 21 states that such power shall only be exercised by the party through the respective Executive Committee of the party at all levels.

“I am not a lawyer. But l have been in the political party system for about a decade now to be able to know that every decision of the party shall be in line with what its constitution stipulates.

“Given the NWC has the power, how can the chairman preside over a meeting in which discus-

sions that border on allegations against him are discussed? Let me repeat again as in my letter to the chairman, you cannot be a judge in your own case.

“To even say he was seated there to accept a vote of confidence as well as preside over setting up a committee to punish the member that accused him. Those eminent leaders of the APC had fairness on their minds on matters of discipline and disciplinary procedures when they drafted the constitution.

“They entrusted the matter of discipline in the party to the larger Executive Committees and not a group of few members of the party some of who might probably be culpable in some instances.”

Shuaib said the fact that the NWC members had earlier passed a vote of confidence on the chairman before resolving to set up the committee put its purpose in doubt, saying the committee had already put the cart before the horse.

He said he never expected to

Oyo Overtakes Edo in Girls Trafficking, Says NIS Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan

PAYING HOMAGE Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi; his former school principal and Afenifere leader, Pa. Reuben Fasoranti, and former Speaker,

Ondo State House of Assembly, Hon. Bakita Bello; during Fayemi’s visit to the Afenifere leader at his residence in Akure, Ondo State recently

We Have Offered PDP Lawmakers 60 Committee Slots, Says Gbajabiamila Group Shola Oyeyipo in Abuja About 48 hours to determine the leadership of the ninth National Assembly, the Director General, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila/Hon. Ahmed Wase Campaign Organisation, Hon. Abdulmumini Jibrin yesterday disclosed that the candidates had offered a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members 60 committee leadership slots.

Jibrin made the revelation during a chat with journalists at the Fraser Hotels and Suites, Abuja saying the APC “is sparing no effort in poaching the rank of the opposition party ahead on the election slated

for Tuesday.”

He said, “As it is today, the reality of the matter is that the PDP has been split into two factions. We have closed down a deal with one of the factions and for the other faction we are still talking.

“But we also understand that we are only doing that as a safety net. We do not need the whole of the PDP to win our election.

In fact, you may not even need a vote from the PDP because we are defending our 223 votes religiously!

“But as a safety net, we already have over 60 members of the PDP working with us. In 2015, there was a bit of complacency because the

APC was only guiding its votes.

We believed then that we had the number to win the election. So, we were not bothered about the PDP. “But the PDP were concentrating on how to poach the APC and that was how the election was won.

But this time around, the APC is much more comfortable because we have more number. We have 223, but even at that our campaign is more aggressive more PDP than the aggression of PDP members trying to poach our members.

“Then, the secondary aspect of it is that we have offer for the opposition party and they have accepted it. At least, we have over

60 of them. They are going to 60 offices. It means every one of them will have a position to hold. If what they need in terms of committee have been sorted, then what else?”

Jibrin said as the election date “draws closer, the campaign team is assured of victory. It has never looked so bright. It has never looked so sure – so clear to us that we are going to win the election.

“Though we cannot take anything for granted; we cannot allow ourselves to be victims of once bitten twice shy and the good thing is that we are all coming from the background of the experience of 2015.

The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) yesterday disclosed that Oyo State had become the hot spot for human trafficking with the yearly increase in the number of rescued trafficking victims in Ibadan and its environs.

The Assistant Comptroller, Anti Human Trafficking and Child Labour unit of the NIS, Mr. Foluso Akintola made the disclosure at the public reading of a new book, From Frying Pan to Fire by the Chairman, Editorial Board of THISDAY Newspapers Groups in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Akintola, who was a discussant at the book reading, lamented that Nigeria “is the only country that serves as source, transit and destination for trafficking. The Immigration service in Oyo state has rescued several children of ages between 6 and 10 years.

“These are gross minors while many minors of less than 18 years old have equally been rescued in lbadan and its environs. These are mostly used as house-helps, shop attendants and vendors/hawkers.

“In 2016, we rescued 134 victims and arrested 38 traffickers, 107

end-users with 11 victims, four traffickers processed to NAPTIP. In 2017,139 victims were rescued, one trafficker and one end-user were arrested and processed to NAPTIP. “In 2018, 163 victims, 27 traffickers arrested while one victim and one trafficker were processed to NAPTIP. In the first quarter of 2019, 28 victims have been rescued, eight traffickers with 12 end-users arrested.”

He said the phenomenon of human trafficking “has become in Nigeria, a big illegal criminal business. Occurrences of these businesses are more prominent in Oyo, Edo and Delta states of Nigeria.

“They are now a major national problem for the already crest fallen Nigeria. The fear in Nigeria of sudden disappearance of children and adults to migration and human trafficking is real and palpable.”

He warned that the problems posed by the issue of human trafficking had far-reaching effects on Nigerian’s image to the outside world, noting that recent media reports “tend to portray Nigeria as a major hub for illicit movements of persons.

Obi, CACOL Condemn Suspension Maharaj Ji Canvasses 10% Bomb Blast: Irona, Security Rewards for Whistle Blower Chiefs Visit Eziorsu Community of AIT, Ray Powers Licences The vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Peter Obi and Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) have has condemned the suspension of the licenses of African Independent Television (AIT) and Ray Powers.

Speaking to newsmen at the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, Obi said that it was anachronistic to behold such news in this time and age and described it as “an affront on the freedom of the press and

speech as enshrined in our constitution.”

Obi said more than 20 years of uninterrupted democracy was worth celebrating, but that the news of affront on any type of freedom, rather than offer reasons to celebrate democracy reminds Nigerians about the better-forgotten years of military dictatorship and brutality.

Obi said communication medium accounted as “enemy often turn out to be ones to be appreciated when history finally gives her verdict.”

Kemi Olaitan inIbadan Founder of One Love Family, Sat Guru Maharaj Ji yesterday warned that the fight against corruption might soon collapse if the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari did not review its strategy to effectively fight the crime.

Maharaj Ji, therefore, asked the president “to as a matter of urgency, increase the reward for whistle blowers, in order to attract more Nigerians to embrace the policy and expose corrupt practices in both private and public sectors.”

He made the call at a news confer-

ence he addressed in Ibadan, Oyo State yesterday to mark the 26th anniversary of Nigeria Declaration as the new holy land of the universe.

At the conference, the spiritual leader said Nigerians irrespective of party affiliation, all leaders across all sectors should “to support the president for him to salvage the nation’s economy.”

Specifically, he explained the need to review the reward for every whistle blower to 10 percent, noting that by increasing the reward to 10 per cent, it would encourage more Nigerians to take up the challenge.

Imo State Deputy Governor, Hon. Gerald Irona yesterday visited Eziorsu community in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State to commiserate with the families of those that lost their lives in Thursday’s bomb explosion that claimed the lives of three.

On Irona’s team were the Imo State Commissioner of Police, Rabiu Ladodo, Director, State Security Services in the State, I.H. Arthur-Worray and Brigade Commander, 34 Field Artillery Brigade, Brig. General Y.I. Tukura.

Speaking during the visit, Irona condoled with the people of the area over the incident, assuring them of the state Government’s support.

“The Governor of Imo State, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha sent me to, on behalf of himself and entire people of Imo State, condole with the Eziorsu community and Oguta LGA at large over the unfortunate incident that claimed the lives of three citizens of your area. The bomb blast is unfortunate. We will take steps to ensure that this does not happen again.”

SUNDAY JUNE 9, 2019 • T H I S D AY

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J Î Ëœ ͺ͸͚Π˞ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

INTERNATIONAL Threats to Global Peace and Security: The New Selfdetermination in Africa and US New Nationalism

G

lobal peace and security is increasingly threatened by various factors, ranging from threats of Iranian and North Korean nuclearisation programmes to the emergence of ‘new self-determination’ in Africa and ‘new nationalism’ in the United States. The empirical conception of self-determination and nationalism is new because of the new attitudinal disposition of civil society organisations and opposition political parties, which have not only opted to protest against incumbent governments but maintain the continuity of the protests until the incumbent governments accept their will.

This situation has prompted the international community, and particularly the various international organisation, to be seized with the attendant threats to global peace and security.

For instance, for reasons of nationalism and fear of foreign aggression, Iran and North Korea want to acquire nuclear capability, an objective that the Nuclear Weapons States are not prepared to condone for two main reasons: fear that terrorists might have access to and acquire nuclear weapons and non-preparedness to increase new membership of the exclusive nuclear club. This means in itself a double standard approach to the management of nuclear matters. The Nuclear Weapons States, recognised as such by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, want to maintain that status but do not want any other country to so acquire.

Apart from the question of nuclear problems, the world has been rejoicing that, since the end of World War II, there has not been any inter-state war that would have degenerated into a new World War. What the world has simply been witnessing is intra-state crisis and conflicts. Most unfortunately, however, the crises and conflicts are now deepening to the extent that global peace and security is being threatened by the same intra-state crises and conflicts. One of the threats is the new self-determination approach to the resolution of national disputes. The protests in Sudan, Algeria and Uganda, which have also become violent, are manifestations of this observation.

In the same vein, the new nationalism policy adopted

by President Donald Trump in the United States is a case in point. Donald Trumps’ foreign policy is largely predicated on ‘America First.’ The main rationale for this is to be able to ‘Make America Great Again.’ This twin-policy is driven by a new brand of nationalism which does not see any goodness in any view that is not consistent with the viewpoint or interest of the United States. It is a policy that does not allow for compromise.

Put differently, the interest of the United States must be second to none, that is, every other national interest must come after that of the United States. The United States and Chinese trade war, the United States and Mexico immigration saga, as well as the United States and Venezuela dispute over election results in that country are clear manifestations of projection of the new nationalism which is done by manu militari. Nationalism is not in any way new except that Donald Trump is putting it bluntly, without due regard to any diplomatic protocol or respect for the principle of pacta sunt servanda, that is, sanctity of agreements.

Without any shadow of doubt, the new self-determination in Africa, which is to protest against sit-tight leaders, insist that the incumbent government must listen and accept the directives of the public protesters acting on behalf of the generality of the people, as well as the manu militari mania of the United States under President Donald Trump, are gradually destabilising global peace and security. When likened to Nigeria, the nature of insecurity in Nigeria is quite different. The mere fact that the Boko Haram insurrection has international support, especially in terms of terrorism funding, supply of weapons, and particularly the suspicions that there are many elements of Boko Haram in government but without the Government being able to look at the suggestion, necessarily constitute another source of threats to global peace and security. And these cannot but raise many questions.

What really is wrong with the black people, and particularly black Africans? What is the problem with military-turned politicians in Africa? What is responsible for the violence in the post-Al Bashir era in Sudan? How do we explain the violence in

VIE INTERNATIONALE with

Bola A. Akinterinwa Telephone : 0807-688-2846

e-mail: bolyttag@yahoo.com

Guterres, UN Secretary General Uganda? Will the developments in Venezuela not heighten the emerging new Cold War? Can the United States under Donald Trump win a unilaterally-provoked crisis or war in a world that is also gradually developing much animosity against the United States simply because of the attitudinal disposition of Donald Trump? Whatever is the case, time will always tell, but the problems must not be left unattended to.

The New Self-determination The cases of the violent protests in Algeria, Sudan and in Uganda provide a good basis for understanding the new selfdetermination approach to the issue of sit-tight governments in Africa. In all the three cases, one common denominator is the rationale for self-determination. The oppression, injustice, unfairness and ruthlessness in the act of governance is particularly noteworthy.

In the case of Uganda, for instance, it is the factor of intolerance of opposition and public criticism that largely explains government’s inhumanity in the management of public affairs in Uganda. Robert Kyagulangi, the opposition leader in Uganda, has been having running battles with the Government of Museveni for more than a decade. Government’s security agents mistreat protesters, beating them recklessly and violating the fundamental rights of the protesters while the President keeps quiet about the recklessness of the security forces.

As explained by Maria Burnett in her “History of Violence on Repeat in Uganda,�on September 10 and 11, 2009 Ugandan government sought to prevent a cultural leader of the Buganda ethnic group from travelling to Kayunga, a town near Kampala where national Youth Day festivities were planned. His supporters took to the streets, in some instances throwing stones and setting debris alight. The military and police beat demonstrators and quickly resorted to live ammunition, killing unarmed

The main problem with the various protests is that it does not appear that there will be a quick end to them. Besides, there is nothing to suggest that the imbroglios will not degenerate into fresh civil wars, a development that has the potential to deepen the emerging Cold War politics and the likelihood of testing of new weapons. And perhaps most disturbingly is the fact that, if a section of a given nation-state afďŹ rms the principle of self-determination, not simply for purposes of change of government, but also for possible autonomy or separation, and the incumbent government is opposed to it, there is no way global peace and security will not be threatened, beginning from the nation affected and through the immediate regional insecurity that will be created. This is also because an order and counter-order cannot but ďŹ rst engender an encounter, the prompt non-removal of which cannot but result in disorder. Consequently, it has become a desideratum to avoid prolonged protests.

Both al-Bashir and the Transition Military Council in Sudan should be referred to the International Criminal Court for trial for disregard for the African Union

protesters and bystanders.’ The notable problem and challenge here is not simply that Government claimed that only 27 people were killed while hospital records have it as more than 40. The opposition claimed that 46 people were killed. The figures actually increased to 108 and the government accepted only 61 people were killed. In fact, the Transitional Military Council justified the killing by saying that hoodlums had joined the protests.

Perhaps more challenging is the fact that the Government never investigated the allegations of extra-judicial killings by the security forces and excessive beatings of unarmed protesters.

Maria Burnett put it thus: ‘ in contrast to the lack of investigations into the security forces’ killings, the police response to the protesters’ alleged wrong doings was overwhelming. Almost 850 people were charged with crimes, such as unlawful assembly and including violence. 11 were prosecuted on terrorism charges, only to be acquitted after three years in a maximumsecurity prison. A judge labelled the police investigation “incurably tainted, rendering the prosecution a nullity.� Each time, the state pours massive resources into arresting citizens and stopping protests, even when they are peaceful, but none into ensuring the conduct of its forces, remain within the law and human rights victims receive justice.’ Put interrogatively, why is the government of President Museveni only mercilessly interested in containment of protests but not interested in the manner of such containment? Why should he be condoning violations of human rights? Why the brutalisation of the people of Uganda? And perhaps more disturbingly, is the African Union unaware of President Museveni’s mania of political oppression? In fact, why is beating made a policy of governance under President Museveni?

Oryen Nyeko, an Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch, has it that ‘beating and arresting journalists is evidence (that) the authorities want to cover up security forces’ conduct and curtail the public’s access to information.’ As further explained by Mary Serumaga, who wrote following the 2016 general election, ‘there are campaign beatings, ballot beatings and post-election beatings. Ugandans this week witnessed the swearing-in beatings.

They can expect swearing-in beatings, after which there is every chance there will be post-swearing beatings. Then the election cycle over, the country shall revert to ordinary beatings. It is tear gas season in Uganda again.’ The foregoing gives a picture of political governance in Uganda. Uganda had its first presidential election in 1996 and President Museveni has been winning all elections since then, implying the continuation of his mania of political governance.

It is the perception of this type of mistreatment that is essentially driving the principle of self-determination in the three cases under examination. What is self? What is determination? What is self-determination? And most importantly, how does the quest for self-determination impact on global peace and security, especially in Africa? How should Nigeria react to these developments in light of her own home-grown protests? In which way will redrawing of the current international boundaries of African States not come into permanent conflict with the rule of uti possidetis?

In Sudan, the dynamics of the quest for self-determination, as evidenced by the 2018-2019 protests, is quite different. The expression of and quest for self-determination have taken different forms: demonstrations, arson, sit-ins, strike action, riots and violent riots, online activism, etc on a continuous basis. It is important to note at this juncture that Sudan had been playing host to various protests and uprisings that had forced governments out of power in 1964 and 1985, that is prior to the Arab Spring.

The protests from 30 January, 2011 to 26 October, 2013 were prompted by allegations of corruption, unemployment, austerity measures and inspirations from other regional protests and the quest for removal of the austerity measures, entrenchment of democracy, and ultimately resignation of Omar al-Bashir.

This did not succeed, especially that President al-Bashir was able to douse the tension by promising not to contest in the 2015 presidential elections. However, more than 200 people died during the protests while 2000 people were arrested for engagement in the protests.

As regards the current protests, they began on 19 December 2018 as a result of rising costs of living, and particularly rising costs of basic goods like bread, austerity measures, the end put to wheat and fuel subsidies, currency devaluation, high inflation, limits put on AT withdrawals and other deteriorating economic conditions. The initial objective was to seek economic reform and solutions.

However, the objective quickly changed to demand for alBashir to resign and go, especially in light of his perception as a don’t care president. Expressions of anger against his autocracy, his political repression, human rights abuses, manifest corruption, etc, became more pronounced. This eventual perception led to the resolution that there cannot be an end to the sit-in protests until President al-Bashir leaves power. The protests were effective to the extent that the military were compelled to accept to convince President al Bashir to also accept to leave power which he did.

(See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

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Lagos metro rail project

Growing Concerns over States’ Debts There appears to be a mismatch between the growth rates of debts incurred by state governments in Nigeria compared to the level of revenue they generate internally, and there are concerns they will not be able to sustain the repayment plans, given that locally generated revenues that should serve as buffers are not increasing at sustainable rates, reports Bamidele Famoofo

A

nalysis of figures provided by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), by the state governments and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), showed that the second tier of government in Nigeria were able to grow IGR by paltry 0.03 percent or N239billion in fiscal year 2018. Total IGR in 2018 stood at N1.17trillion from N931.23billion in 2017.

Total revenue available to states including the FCT in the review fiscal year amounted to N3.74trillion. The aggregate revenue was buoyedbya44percentincreaserecordedinthemonthlyallocationthe states receive from the federation account, which was N2.57trillion in 2018 as against N1.79trillion shared among the states in 2017. The total revenue available to states in 2018 increased by 39.6 percent or N1.06trillion from N2.68trillion realised in 2017.

Butastotalrevenueincreased,buoyedmainlybymoneydistributed to states from the federal allocation accounts and a marginal growth in IGR, total debt incurred by all states and the FCT increased to N8.08trillion as at end of 2018. Local or domestic debt accounted for 52.4percentoftotaldebtasat2018whileforeigndebtwas47.7percent.

Revenue/Debt Analysis There are however certain states that are more indebted than the others. Lagos State tops the chart with total debt of about N1.04trillion as at December 31, 2018. The state which is fondly referred to as the commercial capital of Nigeria still maintains its status as the leading revenue generating state inAfrica’s largest economy. The state had total revenue of about N501billion for use in 2018, accounting for 13.4 per cent of aggregate states revenue available for use in 2018.

IGR accounted for over76 per cent of Lagos state total revenue in 2018, increasing from N334billion in 2017 to N382billion in 2018.

Rivers State, which came next to Lagos in the highly indebted states chart had total revenue of N285billion, which was in excess of its total debt as at end of December 2018. Total debt according to figures supplied by NBS for Rivers state stood at N254billion. But IGR accounted for only 39.6 per cent of the state’s total revenue in 2018 while cash from the federation accounts and oil derivation accounted for more than 60 per cent of the balance. However, the oil -rich state from the South-south region increased it’s internal revenue base by 26 per cent or N23.3billion from N89.5billion in 2017 to N112.78billion in 2018. Rivers State accounted for 7.8 per cent of the total revenue available to all states in 2018 followed by Delta State with 7.3 per cent.

Delta State, a major oil-producing state in the Niger-Delta region was number three on the debt list in 2018 with about N252billion.

It only increased its IGR by about 13.0 percent or N6.6billion in 2018 as IGR moved from N51.9billion in 2017 to N58.4billion in 2018.

Meanwhile, total revenue available to the government of the state in 2018 was N20billion in excess of its total debt in 2018. Total revenue available for the use of the state in 2018 amounted to N272billion compare to a debt of N252billion in the same period.

Amongstateswithdebtspickedrandomlyfromthesixgeo-political zones areEdo,Kaduna,Bauchi,Akwa-Ibom,Taraba,BornoandYobe.

Edo state has a total debt of N189billion as against total revenue of N98billion as at end of 2018. IGR in the state increased by 12 per cent or N3.09billion from N25.3billion to N28.4billion.

Kaduna is having N167billion in its kitty as total debt while total revenue stood at N98billion as at end 2018. The state grew IGR by 11 per cent or N2.92billion from N26.5billion in 2017 to N29.5billion.

Others Include Bauchi with a total debt of N141billion as against a total revenue of N63.7billion with IGR standing at N9.7billion, moving up by 122 per cent from N4.4billion in 2017.Akwa Ibom raised IGR by 52 percent to N24.2billion in 2018. The state’s debt portfolio stood at N215billion as against total revenue of N227billion as at December 2018.

Taraba, Borno and Yobe are owing N69billion, N76billion and N38billion as against total revenue of N54billion, N70billion and N57billion respectively. Among the three, Borno did better in IGR generation, recording 31 per cent revenue growth from about N5.0billion to N6.5billion. Taraba and Yobe recorded IGR growth of 3.7 percent and 22 percent respectively in 2018.

Analysts A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria who does not want his name mentioned told THISDAY that the country has witnessed progressive growth in debt stock in the past 12 years. “We must move very quickly to slow down this growth so that we do not overburden the next generation with the yoke of debt repayments,� he said.

He said one of the ways out of the rising debt in the country was for government to reduce the share size of its structure. His words: “The share size of government structure is too high at the federal and state levels. The old Western Region (pre 1963) consists of eight states.Awolowo ruled the entire region from Badagry toAsaba with a cabinet size of not more than 10. Today, the eight states probably have over 200 combined, with cars (mainly Jeeps) for all of them and countless number of aids. No wonder they no longer have

enough funds to build schools, buy drugs, build roads etc. We need to trim down the size.�

The former deputy governor also advocated government to provide the enabling environment to attract global capital as he said government alone could not fund infrastructure. “We should widen the tax base to be less dependent on borrowing.

We should not however increase tax rate but widen the base to put more on the tax net and improve on compliance and government should be held more acceptable by the electorates,� he submitted.

Former Executive Director at Nigerite Plc, Engr. Yemisi Shyllon, said, “We should look more at the solution derivative content of our debts and question whether the debts were wisely spent on viable and/ or citizens standard of living and happiness projects.�

Shyllon argued that ratios, as quoted, in comparison with the ‘sane’ economies can be very deceitful. “Firstly, when those countries measure their debt performances, they are done in the belief that debt funds have been widely applied and not as compared to ours, where the bulk of the debt funds do not end up being used here to aid development or enhance living standardsorbuildeconomicmultiplyinginfrastructureoreducational development or welfare enhancement of our people. No. None of these or very low percentage of these happens. We all suspect that in no time, the so called debt funds end up at where they initially came from, in the private pockets of individuals. Yet our existing national assets/ economy gets charged for the repayment of both principal and interest of debt funds,� he lamented. “This is why the ratio of debt/GDP is an unfair ratio for measurement here. We want to tax more and more, the few taxable ones at the expense of attracting more investments into our economy?

Why are we not exploring more of consumptive taxation, which covers far more reaching dragnet, and cheaper to administratively apply and is more equitable? There is generally, a limit to which any institution or government can borrow,� he posited.

Experts said Lagos, with IGR of about N40billion per month should be able to service the current debt profile. “They are also smart that the bulk of the borrowing is in local currency. Government should only borrow to provide physical and social infrastructure.�

They also submitted that borrowings should be tied to capital projects with significant value addition, noting that the efficiency of expenditure should also meet global standards. “I will also prefer long-term funding through the capital market as the existing capital market rules will impose good behavior and transparency on the government,� the former deputy governor opined.

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As Buhari Sets to Implement ‘Budget of Continuity’ While the 2019 ‘Budget of Continuity’ is intended to further reposition the economy on the path of higher, inclusive, diversified and sustainable growth, as well as to continue to lift significant numbers of Nigerians out of poverty, the major concern is the ability of the government to raise funds and use that to better the lives of the people, writes Bamidele Famoofo

Buhari

T

he 2019 ‘Budget of Continuity’ has been enacted with a view to further repositioning the economy on the path of higher, inclusive, diversified and sustainable growth.

The budget, according Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, during a public presentation of the appropriation document in December 2018, said it reflected the key execution priorities of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), namely Restoring Macroeconomic Stability; Agriculture and Food Security; Energy Sufficiency (in Power and Petroleum Products); Transportation Infrastructure; and Industrialisation (focusing on SMEs).

Udoma promised that government will continue to create the enabling environment for private sector to increase their investment and contribute significantly to job creation and economic growth.

The minister said: “Already, diversification efforts are yielding positive results with significant growth in the non-oil sector (2.32 per cent growth in Q3 2018, up from 2.05 per cent in Q2 2018).�

But he was fair enough to acknowledge that the country faced significant challenges with respect to revenue generation, though he added that the challenges were being tackled vigorously.

Udoma assured Nigerians that key reforms will be implemented with increased vigour to improve revenue collection and expenditure management. “Our aim is to take all measure necessary to ensure that we grow rapidly while maintaining fiscal sustainability,� he noted.

2018 Budget Review As at the end of the third quarter, the federal government’s actual aggregate revenue was N2.84 trillion compared to N5.38trillion prorated revenue target for the full year to finance the budget. Year-on-year, the N2.84trillion achieved in Q3 was 40 per cent higher than the total revenue recorded in 2017. Breakdown shows that oil accounted for N1.51 trillion (101 per cent higher than 2017);Company Income Tax (CIT), N500.37 billion (23 percent higher than 2017); Value-Added Tax (VAT), N100.37 billion (5 percent higher than 2017); and Customs

Udo Udoma

Collections, N229.62 billion (11 percent higher than 2017). “The overall revenue performance was 53 per cent of the target in the 2018 budget largely because some one-off items such as the N710 billion from Oil Joint Venture Asset restructuring are yet to be actualized and have been rolled over to 2019.�

Of the total appropriation of N9.12 trillion, N4.59 trillion had been spent by 30th September, 2018 against the pro-rated expenditure target of N6.84 trillion. This represents 67 percent performance.

Debt service and the implementation of non-debt recurrent expenditure, notably payment of workers’ salaries and pensions were on track according to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning.

It would be recalled that capital releases commenced after the signing of the 2018 budget on 20th June, 2018. “As at 14th December 2018, a total of N820.57 billion had been released for capital projects.

Spending on capital has been prioritised in favour of critical ongoing infrastructural projects in the power, roads, rail and agriculture sectors.� Udoma hinted. He said the implementation of the 2018 Capital Budget will continue into 2019 until the 2019 Budget is passed into law.

2019 Budget On May 28, 2019, less than 24 hours to the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari for his second term of four years in office as president of Nigeria, the appropriation document was ready for execution.

The 2019 budget is projected to be N8.83 trillion, less than the 2018 approved budget by 3.22 per cent.

Recurrent (non-debt) spending is expected to rise by 34.2 per cent, from N3.52 trillion in financial year 2018 to N4.72 trillion (reflecting increases in salaries & pensions including provisions for implementation of a new minimum wage.

Capital expenditure is 30 per cent of total government expenditure while at N2.14 trillion; debt service represents 24.24 per cent of planned spending.

Provision to retire maturing bond to local contractors decreased by 36.84 per cent from N190 billion in financial year 2018 to N120 billion.

Minister of Finance, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed

Distribution of expected revenue shows that 52.9 per cent will be generated from oil while company income tax (CIT), will yield 11.5 percent of expected total revenue.

Expected income from VAT is 3.3percent, Customs, 4.3 percent; Independent Revenue, 9.0 percent, Signature Bonus, 1.2 percent; JV Equity Restructuring, 10.2 percent; Grants & Donor Funding, 3.0 percent; Domestic, Recoveries & Fines, 2.9 percent, Others, 1.7 percent.

Overall budget deficit of N1.859 trillion in 2019 represents 1.33per cent of GDP, though government argued that projected deficit remains within threshold stipulated in the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) 2007.

Udoma explained that budget deficit will be financed mainly by borrowing N1.649 trillion from both domestic and foreign sources.

Domestic sources are expected to provide N824.82 billion while the same amount will come from foreign sources. Government said there is a gradual shift away from commercial to more concessionary financing. Personnel costs including overhead & pensions account for about 72 percent of recurrent non-debt expenditure. “Allocation underscores our commitment to increase investment in national security and human capital development.� He said.

According to Udoma, expected funds to finance the 2019 budget have been earmarked to fund critical capital projects as this was not achieved in 2018.

Analysts Though government is optimistic that the recently passed budget, which it will begin to implement from now has the potential to grow the economy and create jobs for the unemployed and at the same stem the tide of poverty in the country, some economic analysts and public commentators do not share that sentiment.

A public affairs commentator, Mr. Dipo Oyewole, said the budget as laughable and unrealistic going by the projections. “It is a typical Nigerian budget.�

He noted that expenditure exceeded revenue as usual, “signaling that we will keep borrowing till world’s end�. Oyewole frowned on the government’s huge dependent on oil to fund the budget, arguing that deployment of technology would boost revenue collection

from customs/import duty. “They never measure the impact of capital expenditure and how investment in infrastructure would attract more foreign direct investment (FDI). Serious nations that are not your typical manufacturing hubs are attracting major FDI with development in infrastructure and other factors, taxes, wages and so on.

Ghana and Rwanda are excellent examples within the continent.� Oyewole said.

A manufacturing expert and former Executive Director at Nigerite Plc, Engr. Yemisi Shyllon, said the oil price and production volume benchmarks of the 2019 budget were delusional. “The exchange rate premise is self deceitful. The whole budget is a farce and dead on arrival. We are unfortunately being led into economic disaster arising from clear incompetence,� he argued.

Shyllon said growth projection as it relates to gross domestic product (GDP) was not feasible. “The projected growth of GDP by almost 100 percent of 2019 as compared to 2018, when sanely analysed macro economically, is annoyingly deceitful.�

Shyllon is of the opinion that the 2019 budget did not present any hope of survival for Nigerians much less prosperity.

A journalist and public affairs commentator, Janet Mba-Afolabi ,was of the opinion that government should spend more and work hard to check the rising security challenges if government wanted to achieve its goals with the 2019 budget. Besides security, she argued that power and roads must be given priority in the budget.

Meanwhile, some other analysts have raised concern about the transparency of the 2019 budget alleging that there were suspicious frivolities which government must take care of, if the document must help grow the economy. “To continue our fight for budget transparency and credibility, we dug further into the proposed budget and came up with items we tagged Suspicious items or Frivolous items.

We found quite a number of line items in the budget that could not be accounted for or that needed further breakdown as the need for the line item could not be easily ascertained. We expect that the National Assembly committee will review our submissions on the budget as they have done in the past, by removing frivolous items in the budget,�

BudgIt revealed.

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Dangote: Placing Sustainability ahead of Wealth Creation Since the traditional belief that businesses are set up for profit-making is fast being weakened by new global realities, brands across the world are left with no option than to consciously seek ways to create value for their employees, customers, shareholders and investors as well as governments and host communities.

Dangote Group has blazed the trail by becoming the first Nigerian company to publicly unveil how its business impacts lives, reports Bamidele Famoofo

D

angote Cement Plc, the most capitalised company in Nigeria and largest producers of cement in Africa, which also ranks amongst the top 10 in the world, recently blazed the trail as the first quoted company to present the facts behind its sustainability report to investors and analysts on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

The point it wanted to prove and which it succeeded doing as it presented its fact sheet to investors and analysts was to tell the world that its primary aim of spreading its fast-growing cement business across the continent of Africa, beginning from Nigeria, is not to just make the money, but to also better the lives of the people everywhere it runs its business in seven critical ways.

The President and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, made the objective of the conglomerate for embracing the global sustainability tenets succinctly clear: “It’s not all about making money. It’s about making impact. For more than 20 years, Dangote was just a trading company. Then we decided we wanted to be an industrial giant and we had to start from somewhere. It wasn’t just about cement. It was about industrialisation. If you look at what Dangote Group is doing, it’s about improving people’s lives�.

Dangote’s Group Chief Sustainability& Governance Executive, Dr. Ndidi Nnoli-Edozien, also notes that the main driver of sustainability in the group is the fact that the global business space is fast evolving and that more and more, the critical question that entrepreneurs and CEOs are made to answer is: “what is the impact of your business on stakeholders and the society?� “It is therefore part of our business strategy to always ensure that our market presence is positively felt, not just in the local communities where our businesses are directly sited, but within the larger population and host countries.

This is the only way we can continue to grow sustainably and make even greater impact,�

Edozien asserted.

Sustainability Pillars The Dangote Group sustainability programme is hinged on seven pillars. They are financial, economic, operational, institutional, social, environmental and cultural.

Financially, the group intends to achieve sustainable financial health through a business model that delivers strong returns to shareholders, whilst creating value in the economies in which it operates, by selling high quality products at affordable prices, supported by excellent customer service.

It wants to build a world-class institution centered around corporate governance best practices and sustainability principles that promote legal and regulatory compliance, transparency and business continuity.

Economically, the group is set out to promote inclusive, sustainable economic growth, self reliance, self-sufficiency and industrialisation across Africa, by establishing efficient production facilities and developing resilient local economies in strategic locations and key market.

In the area of operations, Dangote Group yearns to serve and satisfy its markets by working together with partners to deliver the best products and services to its valued customers and stakeholders, through continuous product improvement, new business development, employing state-of-the-art technologies and systems to constantly optimise cost-efficiencies.

Dangote Cement plant

Environmentally, the focus of the group is to create sustainable environmental management practices, through a proactive approach to addressing the challenges and opportunities of climate change, while optimising its performance in energy efficiency, water usage and emissions.

The cultural pillar embodies its core values in the way it does business which includes respect for cultural diversity and giving back to the societies in which it operates. “To achieve this, we actively encourage teamwork, empowerment, inclusion, equity, integrity and meritocracy within our organisation.�

And socially, it is creating a learning environment and platform for its employees to grow and achieve their fullest potential, whilst adhering to the highest standards of health and safety. “In our host communities, we strive to develop resilient and sustainable prosperity through direct and indirect employment, skills transfer and local entrepreneurial development.�

Impact For Dangote Group, operationalising its seven sustainability pillars means supporting Africa to develop rapidly and sustainably. This is why it continues to invest in sectors that have the potential to bolster infrastructure development, massive job creation, and to reverse Africa’s decades of import dependence which has stifled local industries and foreign exchange earnings.

For example, from importing 68 percent of its cement needs as at 2004, Nigeria is now a net exporter of the commodity, due mostly to Dangote Cement’s huge investments and aggressive expansion.

Today, Dangote Cement makes up seven out of every 10 bags of cement used across Africa. “As we grow, we are committed to ensuring that our business growth translates to positive socio-economic progress in the markets where we do business,� Dangote said.

Through its sustainability function, Dangote Group is enacting the philosophy that a win-win

approach to business helps it build a sustainable and respected brand. “We propose to earn our social licence to operate by building sustainable local economies around all our areas of operation. We value the contributions of our stakeholders towards the success story that the Dangote brand has become. We will continue to engage our host communities and build long-lasting, mutually-beneficial relationships.

We understand the importance of securing the well-being of our people, local communities, and the natural environment.�

Towards achieving its lofty sustainability goals, Dangote Cement Group held its first ever sustainability week across its Nigerian and Pan African operations in 2018 where over 500 Dangote employees took part in social impact initiatives that further strengthened its relationship with host communities.

Also to keep its sustainability journey on track, the group is leveraging various global partnerships which include the United Nations Global Compact, the World Economic Forum, and the Global Cement and Concrete Association. Dangote says it is committed to sustainability principles and standards such as the IFC Performance Standards, the Nigerian Stock Exchange Sustainability Disclosure Guidelines and the Global Reporting Initiative. “As one of the 10 biggest cement companies in the world, we recognise the need to align with global standards and best practices. We also realise that the adoption of global sustainability principles and standards is good for our business.�

The group says it is strongly optimistic about Africa’s economic prospects and is committed to using its quality products, services and investments to expedite the continent’s sustainable growth and development. “We aim to be the number one in everything that we do. Our business strategy has always been one that enables our ‘play to win’ approach.

Sustainability is gaining more traction across the Dangote Group as we deepen our commitment

to deploying a win-win approach to business partnerships, whilst retaining industry leadership in Nigeria, Africa and the globe,� Dangote assures.

BeneďŹ t Dangote financial performance in 2018 gives credence to its commitment to growing a world-class business that increasingly creates and sustains value for all stakeholders. Compared with 2017, group’s gross revenues in the year under review grew by 11.9 per cent, from N805 billion to N901 billion. Profit before tax also rose by 13.8 per cent year-on-year, from N454 billion to N517 billion in 2018. A review of its value added performance shows that earnings per share rose from N11.6 to N22.8, a 96.5 per cent increase over the 2017 figure. Wages, salaries and other employees’ benefits also increased by 15.4 per cent, from N49.9 billion to N57.6 billion.

Similarly, wealth created for local suppliers and vendors across its supply chain rose by four per cent, from N281 billion in 2017 to N292 billion in the year under review.

In addition to nurturing its growth numbers which are critical to its financial pillar, Dangote group also made tremendous progress in its economic and social pillars in 2018. With over N1.4 billion new investments in social projects and nearly 1000 students benefitting from Dangote scholarships in its Nigerian operations alone, it remains focused on building lasting relationships with host communities, enhancing their socioeconomic wellbeing and sustaining its social license to operate. “We also continue to improve on our health and safety standards in the workplace and in local communities as well as our investments in human capital development.�

The group says Dangote Cement Plc remains the flagship from which its sustainability agenda will be replicated across all the other businesses, being poised to harness best practices in sustainability and governance to further solidify its leadership in the diverse markets where it plays.

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The Making of a Global Brand Despite the challenging operating environment, efforts of promoters of the Globacom brand may have paid off with its show at the 2019 Africa CEO Forum, reports Raheem Akingbolu

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aking a business from the level of a company to a recognisable brand is always the desire of most business owners. However, experiences over the years have shown that starting a business is easier compared to growing it into an admirable brand. This explains why there are many companies with minimal statistics of successful brands. But when the chips are down, having a recognisable brand is one of the most valuable assets a company owns.

According to Nielson’s Global New Product Innovation Survey, 59 per cent of consumers prefer to buy new products from brands familiar to them. As a small business, the survey established that one may be competing against big brands with devoted customers. That’s why brand owners always find ways to differentiate–with a solid brand building process of their own.

Like few Nigerian brands that have become household names in the market, Globacom entered the market humbly about 15 years ago but with the ambition of becoming a brand that would command respect and be respected globally. With a clear vision, coupled with a properly aligned strategy and service offering, the Glo brand has grown from that humble beginning into a telecoms giant with admirable reputation that transcends the local market Today, Glo has birthed in the market a new communication direction and technology roadmap, which will bring unparalleled broadband enabling digitalised future for all its subscribers across Nigeria and West African sub-region. With customer empowerment at the heart of everything it does, Glo has anticipated the future and is investing in relevant technology, designing game-changing products and services that provide best value to customers now and in future.

The great work that has gone into building the bank into a formidable banking brand, beyond just a cool logo or wellplaced advertisement, but in terms of the cutting edge strategy and precision-driven, is not lost on industry watchers and has been fetching recognitions in various forms.

2019 Africa CEO and Globacom Recognition In what looks like the highest recognition that has ever been bestowed on any Nigerian brand, Globacom reinforced its rating as a fast emerging global brand and successfully flew the Nigerian flag at the 2019 edition Africa CEO Forum as business leaders, policy makers, finance experts and global investors in the continent’s business environment, spoke glowingly of the values of the brand.

According to the President, Africa CEO Forum, Amir Ben Yahmed, the 2019 Africa CEO Forum was meant to “unite its 2,000 participants around a transformation agenda‌ What priorities must be identified to boost the level of intra-African trade and investment? What must a united Africa do to better protect its interests and industries? How can we mobilise the private sector around cross-border infrastructure and logistical projects?â€?

Speakers at the forum included Togolese President, Faure Gnassingbe; CEO of International Finance Corporation (IFC), Philippe Le Houerou; Amadou Diallo of DHL and Pierre Guislain of African Development Bank.

Others are Ambroise Fayolle of European Investment Bank, Mathieu Lamiaux of Boston Consulting Group, Luis Cunha of McKinsey & Company Africa, and Mustapha Bakkoury of Nigeria LNG. The theme of the forum was ‘Open Africa: from continental treaties to business

L-R: Moderator of the “Digital Economyâ€? session at the forum, Eugene Anangwe of TV47, Kenya; COO of Africa’s Talking, Bilha Ndirangu; CEO of Computer Warehouse Group, Adewale Adeyipo; Globacom’s Executive Vice Chairman, Mrs Bella Disu; Chief Customer OďŹƒcer, Safaricom, Sylvia Mulinge, and CEO of Group Sonatel, Sekou Drame, in Kigali, Rwanda

realities’, and it featured over 40 panels, private-public workshops, and case studies.

Globacom was the apex Diamond sponsor of the event.

How Globacom stood out Although some other Nigerian companies (such as BUA, Seplat and Standard Chartered Bank) participated in the forum, Globacom is believed to have stood out mainly because of the sterling outing of its Executive Vice Chairman, Mrs. Bella Disu, who chaired the “Women in Business�, as well as participated in the “Digital Economy� session.

Another strong point that observers admitted gave Glo an edge was the quality of what it brought to the forum.

At the company’s exhibition stand, its array of digital solutions – mobile money, Artificial Intelligence, e-health, internet of things – generated a lot of interest among several CEOs from different countries who attended the forum.

Women in Business Session At the “Women in Business� session, Disu talked about her journey to the top, especially how she became a director of four leading companies, including Globacom and Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Nigeria’s apex construction company, as well as Abumet Plc, a glass and aluminum manufacturing company.

In a well researched lecture given by the EVC at the forum, a copy of which was made available to THISDAY, she encouraged women to strive for excellence and break the glass ceiling. She recommended determination, self development, confidence, enthusiasm for innovation and change saying these attributes assisted her in her steady ascension to the boards of the companies. “There are no two ways about it, women must continue to advance, after all, we make up more than half of the world’s population. There is the need to have more women on boards of companies, but the women must show enthusiasm for innovation and change, build strong support network and be close to their constituents.

They must show discipline and diligence, embrace their individuality, keep climbing the career ladder confidently, and when you get to the top, give a hand to those coming after you,� Disu said.

Digital Economy At the “Digital Economy� session,

the Glo EVC canvassed the need for governments across the continent to create a sustainable environment for telecommunication companies to connect cities and rural communities to the internet. She said this would help operators adopt digital solutions that would make Africa catch up with global trends.

She added: “The world is experiencing rapid digital transformation, and because we live in an exponential world, it’s no longer a question of ‘do I have to innovate’, we must innovate. So telecoms operators will spearhead this innovation.

First, we provide the infrastructure, the network, the platforms and connectivity for digital transformation to occur, and the resulting effect is big data, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and internet of things, which connects everything to everybody. So businesses must run on new business models to stay in business�.

Presidential endorsement As one of the few CEOs who held a private meeting with Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, Disu perfectly played the role of a brand promoter when she engaged the President in a private meeting after the opening session, where it was agreed that Globacom could use its massive infrastructure, including the Glo 1 international submarine cable, to drive digitalisation on the continent.

Kagame was quoted as saying that Africa’s hopes of achieving regional integration and economic growth would not be realised without modern technology. “I am pleased to note the success Globacom has made particularly in West Africa, and I want to urge you to see how you can extend this to other parts of Africa,� he stated.

At the meeting, the EVC said Globacom’s Glo 1 armoured submarine cable and digital solutions such as mobile money, artificial intelligence, E-Health, Smart Cognitive Learning and Smart Energy, could help Africa achieve a digitalised economy. “I commend President Kagame for his exemplary leadership and for the tremendous success Rwanda has achieved under him. I also commend him for his role in ensuring that the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement becomes successful. I have no doubt that greater regional integration will lead to continental growth and a more prosperous Africa,� Disu said.

Partnership As part of its commitment to the development of Africa’s business landscape, prior to the top business leaders’ meeting, Globacom had announced its partnership with the Jeune Afrique Media Group and Rainbow Unlimited on the 2019 Africa CEO Forum.

At a meeting with the forum organisers in January 2019, Disu said Globacom was pleased to partner the organisers to provide a networking platform for decision makers to identify ways to improve intra-African trade and investments.

Globacom was the 2019 apex Diamond partner of the event and the telecoms company said this was part of its efforts to support initiatives that nurture Africa’s economic potential.

The company had emphasised that the event would provide a platform for chief executives of African businesses, international investors and policymakers to champion private sector-led growth on the continent. “We share Africa CEO Forum’s objective of using regional integration to drive private sector growth and create more African champions,� Globacom said in a statement issued in Lagos before its team departed to Kigali.

Showcasing of digital solutions Positioned as the grandmasters of data, Globacom was said to have leveraged the event to showcase its range of customised digital solutions.

Among other things, the company showcased how its extensive infrastructure, voice and data connectivity solutions could help the organisers of the forum and participants realise their objective of spurring Africa’s economic prosperity. A statement issued by the company after the event stated that some of the digital capabilities Globacom exhibited at the event included; artificial Intelligence, cloud computing, third generation of the industrial Internet of Things and 5G technology.

The telecoms service also showcased the strength of its Glo 1 submarine cable which is capable of providing internet bandwidth requirements of the West African subregion. With the global recognition and the arrays of products been paraded in recent time, it is not in doubt that the Glo brand is not only working to top the chart in African telecom market but building a brand that would appeal to a global audience.

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Of Debtors, Law Enforcers, Nigerian Banking and International Perception Femi Abimbola

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London based economic and political risk analyst that I have known for more than 10 years reached out to me a couple of weeks ago to ask this poignant question: “What’s going on in your country banking industry?�

I wasn’t sure what he was after this time as he often calls me up to catch up on political and economic developments in Nigeria, whenever he was researching to do a report for clients. “What are you on about this time around?�

I asked him. “I’m doing a risk assessment for clients who are looking at making some money available to the banking industry and I have come across a lot of reports where the police are being used by debtors to prevent legitimate debt obligations being carried out by the banks.

This is odd and is not good for your country.�

He explained his observation.

In the last few months, there appears to have emerged, a new trend where the relationship between some banks and their debtor-customers goes awry over the latter’s failure to keep up with debt obligations. What is even stranger, and this was what the London economic and political risk analyst was alluding to, is that it would appear that the debtors, many of who have been established to be chronic defaulters, take refuge in some law enforcement agencies, such as the police, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the courts, among others. I have seen and followed cases of these agencies appearing to completely ignore the issue of indebtedness of the chronic debtors and then go after banks, particularly their chief executives; in a manner often bothering on harassment and criminalization.

It was only 10 years ago that the world was hit by a global financial crisis, which reverberated in Nigeria and led to some drastic measures being taken, including the setting up of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to take over delinquent debt-assets from the books of banks to keep some of them afloat.

Some banks did not survive the crisis, and even now, the financial system and some parts of the economy are still reeling from its aftermath.

The peculiarity of the Nigerian financial crisis, which hit the banking industry hard, was largely due to huge loans gone bad that were given to customers, many of who simply refused to pay because they considered themselves the untouchable in society, who should get away with not observing the obligations that come with borrowing money from the banks.

Law enforcement agencies cannot, 10 years later, after all the noise that went down with the development, claim to have just forgotten or do not now understand that there are obligations tied to loans or bank advancements that are given to individuals and organisations. They cannot have forgotten the thousands of jobs that were lost in the banking industry because of the crisis that resulted from the many debt defaults on account of this behaviour. It would seem that the new tactics being applied is to create as much embarrassment as possible for banking executives, especially their chief executives, with a view to forcing the hands of these banks. The goal, it is now clear, is to force the banks to stand down from pushing forward with collecting what a chronic debtor owes. This cannot be what the various law enforcement agencies involved in this act want to see themselves being used for at this time of Nigeria’s development. It leads to asking the question, how much of the matter do these enforcement agencies really know in the cases between banks and debtor-customers before they step in to invite bank executives for the purpose of this orchestrated harassment?

It is obvious that there is a less than adequate understanding on the part of different law enforcement agencies about the issues involved in the matter between the two parties, especially the simple matter of customer obligation over loans taken from banks. Or they are deliberately choosing not to understand them with that strangeness of the Nigerian kind. Here is a

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simple scenario. A customer walks into a bank for a facility, which is availed to him with certain obligations to perform. A loan agreement is signed with all parties, including lawyers present and counter-signing, and clearly stated actions the lender can take to recover its money when the debtor fails to meet the obligation. What is now playing out is that at the point where the bank is exercising these actions, some law enforcement agencies are showing up with a chronic debtor to accuse, not just the bank, but its executives (obviously aimed at maximum embarrassment), of some indiscretion. In logic this would fall under some fallacies.

There is something particularly unwholesome that this development brings for the Nigerian economy, the banking industry and the executives who run banks. It is unhealthy for the economy because we are having law enforcement agencies appearing to provide a cushion and take sides with recalcitrant and chronic bank debtors, providing them a platform to avoid fulfilling their obligations on loans they obtained with their eyes wide open. For the economy, it is important that this situation should immediately attract the attention of its managers and the relevant authorities as it could easily lead to a gradual build up to the crisis

of 10 years ago.

The international financial community feeds on information and information shapes perception.

This new method of handling chronic debt matters, where the debtors appear to enlist the police, courts and others, sometimes including the EFCC, on their side so as not to meet their obligations is veritable ground for negative scores on the reputation table for Nigeria, its economy, its banking industry and its bank executives who are supposed to relate with their counterparts across the world on deal negotiation tables.

While we are here hyping some banks, their CEOs and other executives as some of the best in the world for their performances, the stories the world is reading and seeing especially on social media are that they are routinely invited based on some rather strange charges raised by debtor-customers before law enforcement agencies. In many cases they are accused of such a serious reputation damaging act as theft of their debtors’ goods. Some credit scores are damaged by this kind of information and they come into play in different global board rooms when determining whether an on-lending facility should come to Nigeria or go elsewhere. If a CEO who has been harassed in this manner, because he or she has been accused by a chronic

The action of the law enforcement agencies harassing bank executive in the behalf of bank debtors leads to international observers raising Corporate Governance questions. In a world where the demand on the banking industry for their Corporate Governance credentials is high, the ethical issues that are emerging from all this must be concerning to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Bankers Committee

debtor, whose collateral has been exercised for falling behind on his obligation, is sitting in a board room in London or New York or Hong Kong trying to negotiate an on-lending facility for his or her bank, how is he or she expected to look when asked to explain a report of theft contained in a risk analyst’s report? He will look small and embarrassed, of course! And that would rub off on Nigeria.

It is, therefore, being advocated here that this is a matter the relevant authorities must look at seriously. While the authorities are yet to wake up to this developing danger to Nigeria’s economy and its reputation, the group being directly targeted by this, the banking industry, has an onerous responsibility to act. Chronic, defaulting debtors who go from one bank to another throwing their political, economic connections and supposed business weights around to secure loans are well known. But the lack of cooperation among banks, driven by the cut-throat competition among them, is allowing this to carry on. It, therefore, calls for cooperation and collaboration to identify and blacklist such well known loan offenders, who think they can use law enforcement agencies to avoid meeting their obligations. Cooperation and collaboration will allow for a list to be developed, a black book, more or less, with banks sharing information, and refusing to lend to these types of borrowers who are fund of hopping from one bank to another, once they are caught out by one financial institution or the other.

One of the strategies that have become clear is that once these agencies have been brought into the picture, the next thing is to go legal by charging bank executives to court, for sometimes frivolous reasons. Banks often appear to be caught unawares because they seem unprepared that the agencies and the law courts would be involved in the harassment and embarrassment of their executives, when they try to enforce loan agreements. It therefore calls for a deeper understanding of the legal framework that can be used to tackle this matter. There must be robust legal strategy and approach to tackling this matter. Banks in Nigeria, as a group, cannot allow it to just lie low. They must seek wise legal counsel of an industry-wide nature.

Aligned to the above will be engagement with the regulatory authorities who seem to have been silent so far on this harassment. It is highly important that regulators are brought into the picture so that this can become an economy-wide matter given its potential to injure the reputation of the country and thus damage the economy, if it is not already doing so; especially going by the question put to me by the London-based analyst. The involvement of regulators is important also because it provides a strengthening of position collectively on the matter. The regulators need to see this as damaging to the credit agency concept, which is currently in place in the country, because it would seem some chronic debtors are still getting away with deliberate infraction of the banking system borrowing rules with regard to their loan obligations.

This matter also throws up a lot of ethical issues which need serious attention, especially as they relate to loan defaults in the system.

The action of the law enforcement agencies harassing bank executive in the behalf of bank debtors leads to international observers raising Corporate Governance questions. In a world where the demand on the banking industry for their Corporate Governance credentials is high, the ethical issues that are emerging from all this must be concerning to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Bankers Committee. There are questions around the ethical behaviour that are coming up because of this development; and it needs deeper examination, exposition and understanding. The earlier this matter is tackled and nipped in the bud, the earlier that we can save the Nigerian economy, its banking industry and those who lead banking institutions and manage the banking industry from international embarrassment and damage to their reputations. –Abimbola, an economic analyst, writes from Abuja.

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A New Type of Regulatory Reckoning Rolake Akinkugbe-Filani

his opinion piece references the current stand-off between local oil firm Oando PLC and Nigeria’s Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) but is not intended to provide commentary of the merits or not of SEC’s actions nor on the merits or not of allegations levied against Oando.

Instead, it is primarily intended to highlight the dynamics underpinning the emergence of financial and capital markets regulation and the growth of indigenous firms.

The stand-off represents a new regulatory reality in Nigeria’s private sector. There is a new era of scrutiny of local and regional corporates as industry competition deepens and Governments face policy dilemmas and in some cases, popular pressure. Then there is the convergence between financial and economic regulation, and the rapid and aggressive growth of what I call “expansionist� and ambitious local firms. As regulators become more proactive in implementing rules and regulations, corporate giants have lagged behind in being proactive about staying clear of regulators’ wrath. Across Africa, over-zealous implementation of regulation, without thorough due process can be counterproductive and actually hamper genuine efforts at snuffing out really bad corporate eggs. For too long, complaints about the lax standards of African regulatory bodies went unheeded, particularly where economic and financial regulation were concerned.

Now, African regulators, including those in Nigeria are finally catching up and have developed sophisticated, close to best-in-class mechanisms for policing markets. But has this been a double-edge sword?

First a brief look at the oil and gas sector and its peculiarities in relation to capital markets. Globally, the dip in oil prices, despite Brent’s early 2019 recovery, has already created a higher entry bar for any energy sector capital market plays on the continent, including Nigeria. Stock market adventures for the energy sector have historically been few and far between on the Nigerian market.

In any case, appetite for new oil and gas stock has tended to converge around periods of economic booms or higher growth, reflecting an abundance of local sources of capital or periods of sustained high oil prices, when would-be investors see potential upside in the E&P story.

Since oil prices fell steeply more than two years ago, the oil and gas sector (upstream in particular) has been an even harder-sell for investors. Understandable, since some would-be market entrants, reeling from the profit implications of the price fall, were also grappling with stalled corporate maturity, a squeezing of credit lines, outstanding debt obligations, limited asset diversification, regulatory uncertainty, challenges with oil transportation and evacuation infrastructure, and in some cases insecurity and operational downtimes. However, downstream sector capital market forays have historically been a relatively softer sell given rapidly moving physical products market, and growing energy demands amongst Nigeria’s ever expanding population and commercial industries; factors which are relatively easier to explain to investors.

Today the deep and aggressive regulation of financial and capital markets globally and in Africa is coinciding with the continued equally aggressive expansion local private sector giants. Changes in Nigeria’s energy sector over the past decade - upstream divestments, regulatory policy moves, new partnerships, capital markets entry by oil firms etc - have represented the largest opportunities for indigenous Nigerian firms with the requisite expertise, partnerships and capital to ascend into the league of major upstream players in Nigeria and expand operations. Indeed, local operatorship of divested assets, as well as a corresponding boost in local production – which currently accounts for roughly 15% of Nigeria’s total oil production – has been a key indicator of the extent to which Government policy on

Acting SEC DG, Mary Uduk

local content participation has been successful.

Today, local Nigerian companies own more than 100 blocks across Nigeria’s oil-producing regions, and own at least 32 marginal fields.

Those figures could still double over the next few years, creating new local contractor opportunities and thus new local financing opportunities. In short, Nigerian firms are no longer minnows in the oil game.

However, this rapid expansion has had unintended consequences, as local companies’ participation has also heightened, regulatory and financial scrutiny. A case in point is the Government’s early June rescinding of 6 oil licenses over alleged financial obligations owed by 5 local firms. These setbacks regardless of the eventual outcomes on regulatory violations, reflect an increasingly more crowded market of players, competition for assets and the high stakes pressure to enforce regulation. Operating in Nigeria’s energy sector is not for the faint-hearted. Both factors internal and external to operators, ranging from corporate governance missteps to infrastructure bottlenecks can potentially undermine investment and corporate integrity.

Primarily for local oil champions, reputational risk arising from the general public’s perception that the oil sector is an enclave industry with little wider benefits to the rest of the economy is a factor. On the other hand, there is a tendency for the same general public to see the oil industry revenues and corporate bounty as an alluring target for speculative stock investments. Meanwhile, oil firms also have the additional high burden of proof when it comes to allegations of financial mismanagement, again in large part dictated by the ‘enclave’ industry label often ascribed to the industry.

There are big lessons to be drawn from the unfolding Oando-SEC saga. There’s no doubt that any publicly-listed company in the domestic market should be a leading private sector force, underpinned, ideally, by an abundance of capital and an impeccable reputation where disclosure, reporting and probity are concerned.. However, when companies like Oando first emerged in Nigeria, the field of local firms playing in energy was extremely limited, even downstream. Many evolved organically, some started as family business or trading concerns that took advantage of demand and supply trends in Nigeria’s rapidly but

Oando CEO, Wale Tinubu

insatiable energy market. The ambition to become corporate giants was spurred by commercial factors; such as the need to secure new markets, or sources of demand and also secure sources of supply. Hence many solely trading entities began to vertically and horizontally integrate, mirroring to some extent operating models more typically seen with global mid and large cap independents or international oil companies (IOCs). With such corporate expansion into the capital markets, financial reporting and accounting standards expanded the scope of scrutiny, and in relatively underdeveloped capital markets, shined the spotlight on opacity.

Commercially now, industry players are pruning businesses and focusing on core operations and the wheel is now moving back towards divestment and asset rationalization as seen with the partial divestments of Oando Gas and Power and Oando Downstream in 2016. However, the regulatory trend is moving in the opposite direction, it is becoming expansionary.

As capital markets have grown, regulators have increasingly sought to benchmark themselves against global standards in line with global securities regulation post-2008 financial crisis. There is rationale to this approach, since in emerging global areas such as digitalization and technological innovation, adoption has helped stock exchanges in Africa scale operations, and attract new listings to the market. In fact regulators like SEC are very crucial to not just financial and capital markets development, but broader economic development due to the role they play in attracting investors who may eventually go on to bring in Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs) . Regulators also help promote financial stability, by developing and policing a system of rules of regulations that protect investors, and preserve market integrity as a whole. Relative market illiquidity in Africa compared to some global markets has however exposed some regulatory inefficiencies, since it weakens market discipline and thus corporate governance and control.

The dearth of energy firms on the stock exchange has also limited institutional depth and know-how in building a mutually reinforcing system of engagement between regulators like SEC and oil and gas firms.

Although sectoral diversity and breath is important in developing capital markets,

so is sectoral depth. Think of it this way, the more experience regulators have of engaging with firms from a specific sector, the easier it is for issues to be amicably and transparently resolved, through advocacy and shared-learning. Today, oil and gas companies represent less than 0.1% of companies listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE).

The unfolding events - notwithstanding the merits of investigations or probe of Oando’s corporate and commercial activities – also underscore an emerging consumer- and investor- centric approach to regulation, which in itself is a good thing. But blind regulation, devoid of thorough and detailed due process, can ultimately pose a challenge to free enterprise, not excusing corporate excesses where they do exist. There’s a saying that good regulation should be conducive to both consumer protection and to business.

There is a massive responsibility on the main protagonists in this instance to make good on this dual imperative. Oando’s beginnings and its aspirations to transform Nigeria’s energy landscape are laudable, having grown from a small trading concern to one of the largest indigenous players of reckon with around 50,000 barrels of oil production. It cites amongst its aspirations to “change the Nigerian and ultimately African narrative through the building of Africa’s leading indigenous energy solutions provider‌and to proffer innovative solutions that solve Africa’s energy needs and in turn enhance the quality of life for millions of Nigeriansâ€?.

These goals must be done with a great deal of responsibility, circumspection and dare I say, introspection, given unfolding events.

As capital markets regulator, SEC’s mandate has always been clear, but the body itself will come under scrutiny if its ‘howâ€? in the way it deploys its mandate does not reflect global best practices. Regulators have an overarching obligation to protect investors and consumers regulate. But they also have responsibilities to market operators to protect the integrity of a system that those same operators have to abide by but also need to depend on. None of these actors can do it alone, and there should be room to work together. rAkinkugbe-Filani is an energy industry expert and ďŹ nancial services professional

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ĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ Demola Ojo Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă– demola.ojo@thisdaylive.com

Transcorp Hilton Wins Africa’s Best Business Hotel for 5th Consecutive Year Demola Ojo

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ranscorp Hilton Abuja has been recognised as Nigeria’s Leading Hotel for the seventh consecutive year, and Africa’s Leading Business Hotel for the fifth consecutive year at the prestigious World Travel Awards held in Mauritius earlier this month.

At the 2019 Africa & Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony, Transcorp Hilton scooped five of eleven awards won by Hilton properties, as voted for by travel and tourism professionals globally.

Built in a remote location of the city in the 1980s, Transcorp Hilton Abuja pioneered a bustling community and catalyzed Abuja’s evolution into the thriving capital city it is today.

Centrally located in the capital’s commercial district, the hotel is one of the largest in sub-Saharan Africa and serves as a national landmark, having hosted countless heads of state and global events.

With hundreds of industry leaders in attendance at the awards ceremony held at the Sugar Beach Resort Mauritius, the Abuja Hilton - which is owned by Transcorp Hotels Plc, the hospitality subsidiary of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc – was also awarded Nigeria’s Leading Business Hotel, Nigeria’s Leading MICE Hotel and Nigeria’s Leading Hotel Suite, all for the seventh consecutive year also.

With a host of on-site facilities including 670 guest rooms, eight restaurant and bars, a shopping arcade and extensive recreational facilities, the Abuja Hilton is stands tall among the competition and is acclaimed as the beating heart of its host city.

Receiving the awards on behalf of the hotel, Owen Omogiafo, MD/CEO Transcorp Hotels Plc,

PR Manager Transcorp Hilton Shola Adeyemo (3rd from right) and other members of the Hiloton team after receiving the awards in Maritius

said, “It is an honour to have been recognised by the World Travel Awards 2019. “The award is a testament to the genuine passion and dedication our hotel puts into going the extra mile for our guests. Thank you to all our guests and our amazing team members at Transcorp Hilton Abuja who are at the heart of our successes; without them we wouldn’t have been recognised for this great achievement.�

Kevin Brett, general manager, Transcop Hilton Abuja, said, “We are honored to have been recognised by the World Travel Awards 2019. This recognition is a testament to our commitment to excellence and to providing an outstanding guest experience and is a reflection of our hotel’s exceptional team members and facilities. “Winning the award for Africa’s Leading Business Hotel 2019 is also a recognition for the

destination of Nigeria being elevated among the best on the African continent.�

The prestigious World Travel Awards, established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the tourism industry, have become a key global institution of the industry, and are recognised as the ultimate hallmark of quality worldwide.

The winners set the benchmark to which all others aspire.

Airbus Launches Furniture Collection UNWTO: Africa Generated Made from Old Aircraft $38b from Tourism in 2018 Airbus is giving aviation enthusiasts the chance to furnish their homes with striking furniture items recycled – or ‘upcycled’ – from end-of-life aircraft parts.

The ‘A Piece in the Sky’ initiative was showcased at Airbus’ Innovation Days, held at the Leadership University Centre in Toulouse last month.

Airbus employees Anaïs Mazaleyrat and JÊrÊmy Brousseau thought up the innovative idea at an Internal Training program at Airbus’ Leadership University in Toulouse in 2017. It was then picked up by Airbus BizLab, the company’s global network to support start-ups in 2018.

There’s currently a small pre-order collection available online, with delivery scheduled for January 2020. Within the collection, customers can purchase items such as a side table crafted from an A320 cabin window frame and a smart mirror, made from an A320 cabin window frame.

The mirror is also a connected device which will inform you of the weather forecast and outside temperature. Those looking for more exclusive pieces can choose instead to browse the limited

collection, though the opportunity to slouch in the nose of an A350 has disappeared, as the Cloud chair conceived by Christelle Doutey has already sold for â‚Ź7000.

Other limited-edition pieces include the mechanicallooking Spine X chair, crafted from rare Elm wood and an aluminium wing rib from the Airbus Flight Test Centre. Conceived by Fabien Puginier and Faustine Milard, the set of 5 chairs, each with a slightly different form, costs â‚Ź1500.

Set to be delivered this month, the Moon Crater is another eye-catching design by Bertrand Marc.

The dinner table has been constructed from an A380 jet engine used by the Airbus Flight Test centre, and combined with titanium, pale wood and glass.

The initiative also feeds into Airbus’ commitment to sustainability, with an emphasis on reusing materials before recycling them.

Airlines have also got on board with the notion of upcycling, with Delta donating old returned uniforms to charitable organisations, and transforming them into backpacks, travel kits and passport covers.

Ethiopian Airlines Connects Johannesburg from Lagos The General Manager of Ethiopian Airlines in Nigeria, Mrs Firihiewot Mekonnen, has announced that starting June 15, Ethiopian Airlines will start daily flights to Johannesburg from Lagos via Lome.

The airline also wished Nigerian teams participating at the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations Cup well, promising to provide connections to the two host countries, France and Egypt.

This follows the airlines’ support in connecting fans of Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur to Madrid where the teams played for

European Champions League final match.

Ethiopian deployed three chartered flights from London, Liverpool and Manchester to ease fans’ travel. “Ethiopian Airlines is delighted that the supporters of the football teams enjoyed the features of its latest aviation technology, along with the airline’s award-winning customer service and the overall travel experience. Ethiopian Airlines would like to thank the fans for choosing and giving us the opportunity to serve them,�

Mekonnen said.

The African continent earned $38 billion from tourism in 2018, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). Some 67 million tourists visited Africa, it indicated.

According to the UNWTO’s World Tourism Barometer, international tourism for Europe and Africa grew at equal levels of four per cent for the first quarter of 2019.

This squarely meets the UNWTO’s forecast of three to four per cent for this year.

However, Europe’s stake as the world’s largest tourism region may have contributed to the area’s growth. The report said areas in Southern and Mediterranean Europe, Central

and Eastern Europe recorded growth levels of four per cent. In Africa, it said North Africa’s recovery led to 11 per cent of growth. “International tourism continues to perform strongly worldwide fueled by a positive economy, increased air capacity and visa facilitation,� Zurab Pololikashvili, the General Secretary of UNWTO said.

The UNWTO barometer data also shows tourism receipts for Europe reached $571 billion for 713 million arrivals.

It indicated also that tourism has started to pick up after slowing down at the end of 2018 and believes performance for the first three months was a “positive� sign.

AirbnbBookingsOutpacingHotelGrowth Airbnb revenues have grown faster than those of hotels, and properties have been added at an “exponential� rate in major US cities since 2008, according to a report from Tarik Dogru, an assistant professor of hospitality management at Florida State University.

Writing in the International Business Times, Dogru said that every 1 per cent increase in the number of Airbnb properties decreased hotels’ average revenue per room by 0.02 per cent. “Although this impact seems small, consider Airbnb’s phenomenal year-over-year growth rate when measuring the company’s impact on hotel room revenues,� he wrote. “Accordingly, every time Airbnb’s supply doubles – which is its average yearly pace since inception – hotel revenues fall 2 per cent.�

In New York alone, Airbnb potentially decreased

hotel revenues by $365 million in 2016, according to Dogru’s analysis.

Room prices fell 0.003 per cent to 0.03 per cent for every 1 per cent increase in Airbnb supply, the report found, while hotel occupancy declined by 0.008 per cent to 0.1 per cent.

The impact of Airbnb was seen in luxury markets as well as lower-end segments of the lodging industry. “Our findings also showed that midscale and independent hotels were the least hurt by Airbnb’s increasing supply, probably because both have very similar price points,� Dogru said. “Another possible reason is that people who chose independent hotels perceived those properties to be more authentic compared to chain hotels, and so those consumers were less motivated to switch from independent hotels to Airbnb.�

26

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Why Content Marketing is Important for Medium and Small Business Entrepreneurs Anita Solomon

I

n today’s world of business, competition is quite fierce especially because the economy is transitioning into a digital marketplace. Most consumers will rather identify with trusted brands and services, and small businesses need to level up or keep on struggling.

Starting a business and getting it to thrive in this era of digitalisation is an intentional process, and it sure won’t happen by accident.

You will need to be particular and deliberate about your kind of content and marketing strategy to succeed. This is what the multinationals and trusted brands have that you don’t.

Dear Small Business Entrepreneur, how equipped are you?

Social Media has opened a gateway to reach millions of people from the comfort of our homes and offices, this is a great medium for business owners to reach out to potential and existing customers. Social media marketing costs more time investment than finance, it is also a good avenue to reach customers and forge relationships that lead to increased sales. To succeed using social media platforms to promote your business, you must have a strategy to share unique, interesting, and informative content on your pages consistently. This is where your content marketing skills come to play.

What is Content Marketing?

“Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.� –Content Marketing Institute.

page and try to understand who their followers are? What strategy are they using on their ad’s and post, and what you think can be What is not Content Market- implemented to make the business do better, take this information ing? and implement in your business?

Content marketing is not tradir 8IBU BSF ZPVS (PBMT 0OF tional advertising, which interof the key elements of content rupts your audience to ask them marketing is content marketing to purchase. Content marketing is goals; why do you need to set driven by the creation of content these goals? You should map out that will resonate with and help your goals before creating content. your target audience using social media, and other tools as a vehicle This is because you need to have a clear vision of why you are to distribute your message. engaging in content marketing in Elements of Content Market- your business and what you want your audience to do after reading ing your content. Some of these goals The following are major key can be building relationships with elements in Content Marketing your new and existing customers, you should know; r *EFOUJGZ ZPVS 5BSHFU "VEJFODF building an email list, boost the credibility of the company. Use The first step in Content Marketing is identifying your target audi- this goal setting resources to map out your goals effectively. ence. There are various factors to r "O *OGPSNBUJWF XFCTJUF :PVS consider such as age group, social website is the hub for your entire class, interest and buying habits. market strategy, customers visit How do you correlate data for your website before and research this information? One way is to ask your existing customers about on your products and services before they reach out to you. their opinion on your products and services. While doing this, try This is why it is important to hire professionals such as a web to learn to understand who your designer, copywriters and a good customer is. hosting company to ensure you Furthermore, you can do a have a great website that has high survey form using tools like speed and mobile optimisation.

Typeform to create a survey on r 1MBO B $POUFOU 4DIFEVMF your website; there are templates Once you are done with goal that can fit into any kind of setting, you should concentrate business you are into. Moreover, on scheduling your content, the you can survey your competitor’s

frequency is entirely up to you but I recommend you post at least three times daily on social media platforms. There are various content scheduling/automation tools available for this purpose; 1MBOPMZ )PPUTVJUF 0OMZQVMU Schedugram, etc. You should also share different kinds of content, e.g infographics, blog post, videos, eBooks, case studies, etc. Your content should focus on adding value to the customers, engaging, seek out the opinions of your followers, etc. r 6TF PG 4FBSDI &OHJOF 0QUJNJTBUJPO 4&0 4FBSDI &OHJOF Optimisation plays a critical role in your content that will help search engines find your page FBTJMZ 4&0 JT UIF QSPDFTT PG VTJOH keywords in your content that will help search engines find it when those keywords are entered into a search. While you are focused PO 4&0 JU TIPVME OPU SVJO UIF information or relevance of your content. So make sure you are creating interesting and actionable content for your audience while optimizing the content for search engines. r 5IF 3JHIU 4PDJBM $IBOOFMT GPS %JTUSJCVUJPO :PV XJMM BHSFF UIBU there are various social media platforms which have different content style, for example, the kind of content you upload on Instagram will be different from what you post on LinkedIn because LinkedIn is for profession-

als. So you want to post content that will make you stand out as a professional in your field at the same time sending the message that you are the right man for the job. While Instagram is more of a lifestyle application that deals more with flexible content so you do not want to come off as boring while sending a message. For instance, if you sell clothes, for example, Instagram is your best bet, not LinkedIn so find what suits your business and content.

Finally, as a small business owner, your content must add value to your potential customers, it is not just about driving sales, it is more about adding value to UIF MJWFT PG UIF DVTUPNFST 1FPQMF buy the value your product and services can add to them, so make them realize that value and spice JU XJUI JOUFHSJUZ &WFSZPOF XBOUT to be associated with a brand or business that is honest, transparent and cares about the customer.

Your content marketing strategy should ensure you meet these criteria.

Anita Solomon is a Digital Marketing Consultant and Online Business Coach. Connect with her on Instagram and Facebook @anitasolonline and learn how to launch your online business, and grow your existing business using proven online marketing strategies.

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Regulatory Compliance in Cloud Computing As companies dive deeper into the cloud to leverage the benefits of re-engineering their technology stack to take advantage of its elasticity, scalability and effectiveness as well as its usage-based pricing models, a new skill set to deploy the infrastructure as code, and doing this with securityinmindwillbeanabsolutenecessityforprotecting data and also meeting compliance requirements. With this trend continually escalating, there is a burden on Cloud Service Providers to demonstrate a high level of security and compliance expertise in a regulated environment, writes Adedayo Adejobi

C

loud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources that can be rapidly provisionedandreleasedwith minimal management effort or service provider interaction.

Choosing to upload your data to the cloud is, for the most part, a moot point; the advantages of mobility, scalability and convenience have proven that cloud platforms are a necessary and vital tool for the advancement of modern-day industry.

However, some issues are still a challenge for the online world, including that of regulatory compliance and protecting sensitive data.

Many times, businesses focus so much on the technological aspect of incorporating a cloud platform into their business management strategy that regulatory compliance gets set somewhere in the background. After all, setting up a cloud, synchronising data and then training employees on how to use this database is a monumental task.

Add to the mix, the complexities of the law and your once brilliant idea of updating your company quickly becomes overwhelming and expensive. Nonetheless, those companies, clients and employees who have sensitive data stored in the cloud are the ones who will benefit from the safeguards of the law.

Features such as elasticity, scalability, universal access, low entry cost, and flexible billing motivate consumers to migrate their core businesses to the cloud. However, in doing so there are challenges about security, privacy, and compliance. Businesses are pressured to comply with regulations depending on their service types. But for work on compliance issue, the lack of reference architectures and relevant patterns makes compliance harder than it should be.

In the last few years, the use of cloud services has become widespread. According to International Data Corporation (IDC), public spending on cloud services reached $107 billion billing in 2017.

Despite the increase in demand and popularity, there are major challenges in moving a business to the cloud, such as compliance, security, and privacy.

There are many works considering security and privacy in clouds but we are concerned here only with compliance aspects, which have strong relation to those attributes; in fact, there are relatively few works dealing mostly with compliance aspects.

Regulations are sets of policies that govern the use of sensitive business data. The main intents of these regulations are to protect consumer privacy and provide security by enforcing attributes such as confidentiality, integrity, availability, and accountability (CIAA). Compliance implies enforcing the rules that implement the policies defined in the regulations. The cost of not being compliant may result in penalty fees, lawsuits, and bad business reputation.

The world over, regulations are often verbose, hard to read, redundant, ambiguous, and in some cases, inconsistent. Even though these documents are indeed intended for lawyers and not software developers, in the case of Nigeria, there is none to examine in detail.

Often, compliance and security are only addressed either at the testing phase or at the last stage of development, which could potentially result in applications that do not identify potential threats, as in the case of cloud computing.

As the situation stands, there are huge possibilities

of identifying overlaps and patterns, inconsistencies as well as security threats in the era of cloud computing. It is worthy of note that there is little or no knowledge on privacy and security regulations. These commonalities are important in complying with multiple regulations and for understanding regulations in general.

Most businesses use independent third-party certifying agencies and internal IT auditors to assure compliance, security, and privacy. In addition, government agencies in Nigeria that support cloud computing must fulfill the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Programme (FedRAMP), as is the statutory procedure worldwide.

To begin with, Nigeria must identify and publish certified cloud service providers and Third Party Assessment Organisations (3PAOs) that can be used as a reference for any cloud service providers and consumers. Service providers such as Jumia, Konga, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, HP and others claim compliance by certifying their cloud services with 3PAOs. There is the need for some industrial compliance efforts with a view to providing significant issues and guidance about how cloud architecture should be territorialised.

Compliance is one of the main reasons why many organisations hesitate to fully engage in a cloud-first strategy. However, a clear understanding of how compliance can be achieved in the cloud enables companies to capitalise on the business agility and growth that the public cloud provides.

With a complete understanding of how compliance can be attained in the public cloud, even the most heterogeneous organisation can operate in an ever-changing regulatory environment.

The questions yet unanswered are, does the cloud services come with installed and maintained firewall configuration to protect data against ethical and unethical hackers? What are the security parameters? Is sensitive information transmitted across public network encrypted? How often are the applications on the cloud updated? How safe and secure is the cloud system? Who do you hold accountable for an insecure interface, data loss or leakage, account or service hijacking, or breach in information maintenance, abuse and nefarious use of cloud computing - threats related to abusing cloud network and services by using Denial of Service (DoS), malicious file upload, and malware? How do you define what is a threat and a vulnerability?

There are still many uncertainties with respect to compliance and privacy in cloud computing.

As a result, it is becoming very difficult to analyse security, privacy and compliance among cloud service providers.

It is virtually impossible to not talk about security when addressing compliance requirements, since the controls necessary to achieve compliance are often implemented under the auspices of security.

That said, there are primary security challenges that affect the success of compliance on-premises or in the cloud that organisations should be aware of: When it comes to operations, inconsistency equates to inefficiency. Whether you are manufacturing, importing, retailing, or providing a service, the more you standardise basic operations, the better.

As organisations move to the cloud, the effective operational security and compliance functions that existed on-premises must be applied to respective cloud services. From a compliance perspective, the more an organisation drives consistency of operation, the easier it is to respond to audit requests and enforce security.

27

28

˜ ˞ JUNE 9, 2019

MARKET NEWS

NSE Introduces X-Academy e-learning for Affordable Experience Goddy Egene The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has launched its online learning platform, X-Academy e-learning in a bid to make quality learning accessible and affordable to individuals, corporations and institutions.

According to exchange, X-Academy e-learning is an innovative online learning

platform that offers users ease of access to highly structured and comprehensible self-paced capital market and soft skills learning content, at their convenience.

It provides flexible, interactive and personalized learning that fits the user’s schedule beyond geographical location.

The platform currently features some free courses and can be accessed on its website.

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

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

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

Commenting on the launch of X-Academy e-learning, Chief Human Resource Officer, NSE, Ms Pai Gamde, expressed satisfaction at the continued success of X-Academy in providing financial education in Nigeria. “Since the launch of X-Academy in 2017, we have facilitated over 50 training programmes for over 2,000

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

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

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

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 06June-2019, unless otherwise stated.

individuals. With a carefully curated list of courses led by industry experts within and outside the capital market, X-Academy e-learning will make the training on offer at our brick and mortar X-Academy reach a much wider audience than ever before, thus increasing the number of users and making it more impactful,� she said.

According to her, the launch

of X-Academy e-learning will redefine learning experiences, as users can now take control of their learning when and where they need it. “This initiative will support our drive to building and sustaining financial literacy, by providing accessible, cost-effective and high-quality learning to our ecosystem. The provision of X-Academy e-learning is surely

a breakthrough for us at the Exchange, as we look to give our stakeholders the tools to achieve excellence,� Gamde added.

Also, speaking on the launch, Head of Technology Services at the NSE, Mr. Abolaji Oyebo said: “X-Academy e-learning platform is a game changer in capacity building for the Nigerian capital market and the financial market in general.

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

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

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

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 818 885 6757 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 146.33 148.31 -6.99% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 8.11% Nigeria International Debt Fund 276.34 276.34 1.14% ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund N/A N/A N/A ACAP Income Funds N/A N/A N/A AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 13.19% AIICO Balanced Fund 2.30 2.33 3.67% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 15.43 15.90 -6.99% ARM Discovery Fund 343.59 353.94 -3.66% ARM Ethical Fund 28.85 29.72 2.16% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.17% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund 96.73 97.41 -4.40% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.03% CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Paramount Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Women's Investment Fund N/A N/A N/A CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.39% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 98.91 99.37 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 98.87 99.18 CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.47% Coronation Balanced Fund 0.82 0.83 Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.20 1.20 7.13% EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A N/A N/A N/A EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B N/A N/A N/A FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,193.27 1,194.11 6.87% FBN Heritage Fund 144.27 145.23 1.04% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.96% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional 115.86 116.27 4.91% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 115.82 116.23 5.13% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 139.07 141.03 -7.29% FIRST CITY ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD fcamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcamltd.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 11.28% Legacy Debt Fund 3.42 3.42 5.27% Legacy Equity Fund 1.13 1.15 -7.74% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.05 1.05 2.05% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund 3,029.64 3,058.69 1.49% Coral Income Fund 2,906.79 2,906.79 6.10% GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 11.58% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 108.13 108.59 0.47% GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gdl.com.ng Web: www.gdl.com.ng ; Tel: +234 9055691122 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn GDL Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 12.95%

INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.33% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.15 2.17 0.03% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 16.02% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 131.06 131.15 4.86% LOTUS CAPITAL LTD ďŹ ncon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.21 1.23 5.11% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,105.69 1,105.69 5.89% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 10.72 10.81 -6.79% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 12.16% PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.27 1.29 3.46% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.50 11.57 3.38% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 12.51% SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 120.25 120.63 -0.47% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.02 1.02 5.21% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 2,342.46 2,356.00 1.22% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 202.01 202.01 6.24% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.91 0.92 -3.68% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 256.16 256.26 5.68% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 156.30 158.17 -4.15% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.77% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,961.78 8,063.44 -6.17% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.11 1.11 2.65% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.20 1.22 1.02% United Capital Bond Fund 1.71 1.71 6.97% United Capital Equity Fund 0.69 0.70 -2.52% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.20% United Capital Eurobond Fund 111.02 111.02 3.50% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.14 1.14 3.93% QUANTUM ZENITH ASSET MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENTS LTD service@quantumzenithasset.com.ng Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 10.64 10.82 0.93% Zenith Ethical Fund Zenith Income Fund Zenith Money Market Fund

11.43 21.90 1.00

11.58 21.90 1.00

-3.71% 13.52% 10.73%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

5.40 120.61 52.31

-44.85% 2.45% 1.10%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

9.85 98.38 81.20

9.95 100.46 82.70

-6.56% -16.14% -8.43%

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

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

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

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

3.56 6.24 13.22 10.90 157.62

3.60 6.32 13.32 11.10 159.62

-10.93% -18.03% -9.71% -11.70% 18.74%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

106.90

17.40%

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž Î Ëœ ͺ͸͚Î

29 LESSONS TR

UT H

& RE A SO

3

N

LIFE LESSONS WITH AYO AROWOLO

ayo.arowolo@thisdaylive.com

09067059433 (SMS only)

I LEARNT MY PUREST LESSONS IN THE VALLEY

– Bunmi Oni “Sometimes the greatest lessons are learnt in the valley‌and this period has helped me to know who truly I am and what is valuable to me.â€? What do you do when you have built a reputation for integrity over the years, but without warning, everything comes crashing like a pack of cards? How should you react when friends and dignitaries who have thronged your home and office when you were in command vanish into thin air when the wind goes against you? How should you respond when those who have seen you as a role model are shattered by the reversal of situation? For quite some time since the Cadbury incident happened in 2006, I had tried to speak with Mr. Bunmi Oni, the man in the centre of the storm. The reason was not to talk about the incident, which has been well-reported, but to share some of the life lessons he has been able to learn in all that. I eventually met him in his house, and over time, he was able to distill those lessons into the 14 nuggets summarised below.

Success books are plenty on the bookshelves, but only very few people are willing to share why they missed it. If you read Bunmi Oni’s lessons with reflections, you will gain wisdom that should be written in gold.

In our first meeting, when I asked him what would be the single most important lesson he has learnt from all the experience, he said: “Sometimes the greatest lessons are learnt in the valley,� adding, “and this period has helped me to know who truly I am and what is valuable to me.� Enjoy the reading: LESSONS:

1

Live ready and be prepared at all times.

First, in 2005, my plan was to leave Cadbury at 55 which was 2008. Second, I travelled abroad for a week and so was not present when all of the issues and press were going on in 2006. Third, the UK internal auditors had conducted a comprehensive audit in July 2006. As with any audit, they made observations but nothing shattering.

PwC PricewaterhouseCoopers) brought in to audit did not speak to me or the Finance Director at all. They admitted this in the report which I only got to see about eight months after. That was handy when I later decided to sue, especially as efforts I made at an amicable resolution failed. It was also gratifying that the company’s public statements confirmed that money was not missing.

Naturally, I went through many emotions, but quickly decided I had to look ahead.

Fortunately, I had long chosen a moderate lifestyle and was not a social bird. The first thing was to extend my stay abroad for several weeks and enrolled for French lessons to occupy myself. That gave me time to reflect on next steps, including better managing my investments. Retirement really is the outset of a new phase of life (something to look forward to), not the beginning of the end of life (something to be downcast about). It’s wonderful to be finally free of school fees.

Remember that at 60, you are barely twothirds of the way through your life. Keep pressing on no matter what, and as one gets older, keep mentally and physically active.

Learn something new after you’re done with career. George Eliot said: “It’s never too late to be what you might have been.� By the way, I would rather live by God’s statement in Genesis 6:3 that “...yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years� than by what David said in Psalm 90: 10 that “the days of our lives shall be seventy years ....�

LESSON

2

Prepare for life after work.

I had a retirement plan but couldn’t describe it as sound. I left more of the savings than I should in current account instead of having it work for me. I learned the virtues of saving long ago and tried to be guided by the principle to live on no more than 80% of income, and the rest spread over other commitments - retirement savings, tithe, contingency or the unexpected. Of course, this wasn’t always possible especially when all children were in tertiary institutions and mortgage payments.

Managing investments was something I did not do well until I left office. I later built a structure that works for us - smarten up the investment and get a good spread across asset classes; set a deposit that generates interest to finance day-to-day expenses. Others include planning for children’s weddings (I cannot claim I was caught unawares!), insurance, medicals, routine maintenance around the house, and of course, vacation. It’s good to set out all known expenses and decided precisely how each will be met while having your eye on the unexpected.

Come to think of it, we spend a third of our

lives in retirement. That’s a long time and we must plan for the period. Therefore, three basic questions to ask: where will you live? What will you live on? And, how will you keep mentally and physically fit? On the latter, it’s good to do something new like learning a new language, or to play the piano, do puzzles like Sudoku. In addition, I decided to teach postgraduate courses on a part-time basis.

ALL TIME MODELS Nigerian leaders I see as role models for future generations to emulate: Mr. Akintola Williams and Chief Chris Ogunbanjo.

FAVOURITE QUOTES 1. The hardships we dread are the means God uses to bring us to spiritual maturity; and the only way to get to the good is to endure what seems bad from our perspective.

- Dr Charles Stanley 2. The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.

- Mark Twain

BOOKS Daniel Kahneman: Thinking, Fast and Slow Robert Greene: The Art of Seduction Robert Cialdini: Influence, The Psychology of Persuasion C. K. Prahalad: The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid

Wisdom comes only with hindsight and reections: What I would do differently. a. Once as Logistics Director about 1991, I took a forward position on sugar which turned out to be disadvantageous because the market took a different trajectory. That decision raised the average cost of sugar for that year. With hindsight, I was overconfident that I knew exactly the direction of the market based on analysis of 5-year trends and prevailing circumstances in the trade.

The overconfidence biased my judgment.

I should have paid more attention to future developments in the commodity space globally. b. When the company faced a loss on account of the new plant that failed (the plant was designed by the UK colleagues and came with many design defects; the actors chose to deny responsibility which left us with a huge bill). I accepted, as the CEO (Chief Executive Officer), to spread the resultant loss from the asset purchase (stock in anticipation of higher capacity) over three years to reduce the impact on performance of the ongoing activity.

Charging it in one year would not have lessened the distrust that arose on account of the denials by the UK technical team, but would have removed a complication.

LESSON: To grow your career, you have to do more than you are paid to do.

4

If you really want to grow your career, it’s important to consciously seek ways to expand your responsibilities beyond what your job description says and step up to expand the boundaries of your authority. You can’t expect to be promoted just by doing the same things very well for many years. You need to demonstrate the capacity to handle more, not just say it - and sometimes you need to go “get it�, and even then, don’t use it as a bargaining chip for promotion.

But there can be a risk in asking for or taking on more tasks than your current job description because your action could be tagged an inordinate ambition if you have an insecure boss, or if your own performance does not match the expectation of the higher level to which you aspire. The point is, don’t just count years you have been on the same level. Start performing at the higher level before you get promoted to it.

Shortly after I was transferred to HR (Human Resources) and then, became HR Manager, I decided I was not going to handle mundane things like signing leave papers. I delegated those and focused on higher and more tasking stuff. There were, at that time, certain documents that could only be signed off by the HR Director after vetting and due analysis. I studied these issues and on an occasion, I set out all the analysis and then wrote the sign-off letter in my name but did not sign it. I put a covering note on it to the Director, explaining what I had done and how I arrived at the conclusion. I then closed the covering note by saying, “I will proceed to sign the accompanying authorisation document unless you direct me otherwise.�

The Director read through it and gave the go ahead for me to sign off. From then on it became part of my remit. Admittedly, this worked because I had a boss who felt secure.

Second, my boss travelled overseas once for a number of days. He was to give a speech at an event in Lagos but he had to extend his stay which meant he could not arrive in time to give the speech. That was before the days of e-mail, Internet, or even laptops. He sent me a telex about 9a.m. the day before the speech, saying I should send an apology to the organisers since he definitely would not have arrived. In a fit of boldness I phoned and said they would be so disappointed, and offered to take the speech.

Reluctantly, he told me what he was to speak about. From 10a.m. that morning, I cleared my desk and worked on the speech till 4a.m. the following morning. I had told my Secretary to get to the office at 7a.m. and she was there. She typed out the speech and off I went to the 11a.m. appointment (having ...Continue reading at www.thisdaylive.com

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WEEKLY PULL-OUT

09.06.2019

JUDITH AUDU

Inside Story of a Queen of Make-believe ASSISTANT EDITOR OLUFUNKE OLAODE/funkola2000@gmail.com

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COVER

JUDITH AUDU

As a Nollywood Actress I Want to Have a PhD Plush hair, resplendent face, luscious crimson lips, Judith Audu’s eyeballs sparkle. With an effervescent smile, she has lit the world of many people. In her characteristic gait, she exudes elegance and brilliance either as a movie star or as a filmmaker. Audu has been there, done that – exceptional and methodical in artistry, the Nollywood star is dramatic, creative and inspirational. A woman of substance and at the pinnacle of her creative ebullience, her shelf is filled with award trophies as she stands tall like a well-decorated five-star general. Funke Olaode explores the intrinsic fabric of her excellence

T

Judith

here are millions of women. Very few are Amazons. Judith Audu is an Amazon. If you can read lips, you will notice the words playing on her lips: “I have the Midas touch!� You look at her again: you notice her stately figure and her sizzling state of sexiness. She packs brilliance and beauty in simplicity. Her artistic essence has not gone unnoticed in TV series like Emerald and Tinsel.

Plush hair, resplendent face, luscious crimson lips, Audu’s eyeballs sparkle as she sits as if floating on a piece of cloud with an effervescent smile that illuminates her apartment. In movies, she sparkles like twinkling stars in midnight skies. She is more than a queen of make-believe. She has lit the world of many people, on screen and off the screen.

In her characteristic gait, Audu has never failed to exude elegance and brilliance either as a movie star or a filmmaker. Audu has been there, done that – exceptional and methodical in artistry, the Nollywood star is dramatic, creative and inspirational. A woman of substance and at the pinnacle of her creative ebullience, her shelf is filled with award trophies as she stands tall like a well-decorated five-star general. “I have always romanced the idea of being on TV,� says Audu as she reflected on her incursion into the creative industry. “But I used to be a shy person and never thought I would be able to do it.�

If she was shy, her desire was complicated by the fact she did not know how to realize her dream. “I had no idea how to even go about it; who to talk to or where to go.

So after my secondary school education, my friend and I would go

to Dolphin Estate, where Regina Askia used to stay to see if we could meet her as she was one of my favourite actresses then,� recalls Audu about her journey to moviedom and eventual stardom.

From Dolphin Estate, she also went to Surulere in search of another screen goddess, Liz Benson. “But all our efforts amounted to nothing. They all got me into trouble at home as no one knew where I was going.

So I dropped the idea and concentrated on my studies,� Audu adds.

Beneath her heaving, plunging cleavage lies a passion, in one breath electric and eclectic. As the only daughter of a military officer, you can imagine her personal fabric made wholly of toughened texture.

If everybody was against her dream, her dad was not one of them. She explains why: “I have a father who is very liberal.

I had an upbringing of becoming an independent person who makes decisions on his or her own, knowing full well everything that one does has consequences One should be responsible enough to stand by it.�

Her parents, unlike many others, gave her their blessing when she chose to become an actress. “I remember when I was going around looking for how to get into acting instead of concentrating on my studies and my dad found out,� she recollects with a distant fright in her tone. “I thought he would be furious; instead he sat me down and told me there was a time for everything and it is never too late to be anything I wanted to be. He told me that my future wasn’t running away.�

From that moment, Audu exerted herself to become what shes had always dreamt and desired to become. A native of Edo State, the Nollywood star has conquered the world and she is creating her own universe – beyond her early childhood in the bustling barracks brimming with bullies. Audu represents

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Where My Search for Liz Benson, Regina Askia Led Me zest, hard work, discipline, courage, and respect.

Against that backdrop, Audu took solace in French Village and later in the University of Lagos. At Unilag, she joined a group, Theatre 15, where she learnt the rudiments of acting, discipline and other things she needed to know to become successful. In 2004 (while still a student), a breakthrough occurred: while Denrele Edun – a member of the T15 – was working with SoundCity, Tajudeen Adepetu invited her to feature in the TV series, One Love. In that series with one cameo, Audu emerged like a whirlpool.

She sparkled in the TV series, Emerald, with her character, Mofe, who was in the police force and had to struggle with her single father who doubles as her boss, a nonexistent love life. After that, Tinsel came calling “I totally loved it,” she lets out with glee.

Her quiet revolution and pedigree did not take long to be noticed. In one year, she starred in two movies – Life is Beautiful and Tears of the Ghetto 2 by Femi Ogedengbe, and Hammer by Izu Ojukwu.

That same year she had to stop acting so that she could focus on her studies. Two years after, she was in Kebbi State serving her fatherland under the one-year compulsory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme – she was appointed the drama director.

In 2010, she returned to the movie industry. But a lot had changed when she made that comeback.

“It had changed; everything was different,” she admits. “I attended an audition for Tinsel and I got a call. I was given the role of ‘Doctor’. I featured in a lot of TV series. At a point, I was on TV from Sunday to Saturday.”

Since her debut in moviedom, Audu has not looked back, starring in Gold Statue (presently showing in cinemas in Nigeria and Ghana), alongside Richard Mofe Damijo (RMD), Sola Sobowale, Alibaba, Tina Mba, among others.

The exceptional actress has many awards to her name: Audu was the best producer (The Intellects Giant Awards 2019); best actress (African Woman Arts & Festival, 2018); best director (Inshort Film Festival, 2018); outstanding female producer of (Nigerian Achievers Award); bestsupporting actress (Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival 2018); (best supporting actress (African Film Awards 2018);best producer (ZAFAA Awards 2018); (best actress Abuja International Film Festival 2016); (best actress Best of Nollywood Awards 2016); (best actress Inshort Film Festival 2014), etc.

Even though she is living happily ever after, Audu’s trajectory is not a bed of roses without thorns and thistles.

“The industry is a peculiar one,” Audu acknowledges with a tinge of reality in her voice. “It’s like an applicant that continuously goesfor interviews.

After a job, you have to immediately start thinking of the next job – how to bring it to life, getting an investor, pitching to an investor, etc.”

Like many other brilliant minds with fantastic creative ideas, Audu’s major challenge is funding. She keeps hoping to find an investor that believes in her – that will invest in her projects. Driven by success and ingenuity, her executed projects have always been top-drawer.

Asked if sex scandal rings a bell in Nollywood, Audu did not simply shrug

I had an upbringing of becoming an independent person; someone who makes decisions on his or her own, knowing full well everything that one does has consequences. One should be responsible enough to stand by it Judith

her shoulders.

“I sincerely don’t think there is any industry in the world where sex for a job doesn’t come up. So, Nollywood isn’t an exception,” Audu argues. Beyond the sexual overtures, the movie star is more concerned about what happens after the sexual offer.

She explains: “The question usually is what happens after. Someone offers you sex for a role, walk out! The industry is filled with independent producers that employ cast and crew based on merit as they have to make their money back – so, they don’t joke around.

“So, we have tried spreading the word that upcoming actresses and actors shouldn’t be desperate for roles so when they meet ‘animals’ like that they should walk out and never let anyone feed on their desperation.”

As elegant asAudu is, she does not hesitate to get her hands on the grind as she is already cooking up two feature films – working on a

documentary about women with special gift for fertility. The cast of the film is expected to be an all-women ensemble and the filming will be across four states.

Audu’s trajectory began as a pupil at Navy Town Primary and Secondary School, Ojo, Lagos. After graduation, she went to French Language Village, Badagry in 2001, where she obtained a diploma in French.

Thereafter, she was admitted into Unilag in 2002 to study French (first and master’s degrees). Inasmuch as she loves filmmaking, her desire to achieve further academic heights lie within her horizon.

“I just threw everything away and gave my 100 percent to acting and filmmaking. During my master’s class I was already making arrangements to return for my PhD, which I would love to still do,” she confesses.

“I guess sometimes when you have this burning desire that makes you lack

concentration in every other thing and guarantees you fulfilment and happiness, you get to take it and not look back, that is what acting is for me.”

Audu finds acting and filmmaking compelling, sometimes overwhelming – the emotion, the passion, the raw energy that go into such an artistic venture just cannot be shared with another desire.

“I derive so much joy from it and just keeps wanting to be in that space,” admits Audu.

She just wants to keep becoming different people, keep living different lives, keep creating new realities, and keep bringing stories from nothing to life.

Apart from being an actor and a filmmaker, she thinks “I may just end up in the diplomatic field – as an ambassador”.

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Balogun

DELE BALOGUN

Pastor in the Morning, Master of Ceremonies at Night Looking dapper in a black blazer and fitted trousers, Dele Balogun cannot be easily missed in a crowd. His six-man band’s melodious music keeps everyone in their seats swaying gently from side to side with delightful grins he performs with depth and delight. He is the popular face behind ‘The Anchor’ has been serenading his high profile clients over the past decade. Following an interview with him, Funke Olaode writes about the journey of a corporate-player-turned-event anchor, whose self-conviction plays an important role in actualizing his vision and mission

F

or years, he has been plying his trade as the anchorman at high-octane occasions. His six-man band’s melodious music keeps everyone in their seats swaying gently from side to side with delightful grins he performs with depth and delight. A game-changer who has transformed the hosting of corporate

events in Nigeria, Balogun is also a pastor in This Present House, winning souls for Christ. Looking dapper in a black blazer and fitted trousers, Dele Balogun cannot be easily missed in a crowd.

His sense of humour, his eloquent delivery and high sense of professionalism distinguish him as a real anchor and not a ‘joker’. Eloquent, articulate, self-assured, and suave, all

combined to make him the go-to individual when it comes to corporate events. Balogun’s service delivery has earned him mouth-watering jobs among the high and mighty in society.

He didn’t set out to be an anchor, serenading high-profile clients, but self-discovery came after many years of plying his trade as a corporate player first as a banker and later

telecommunication expert and now a pastor. He has combined his role perfectly well both in the corporate circle and in the church’s sanctuary – and has remained true to himself.

Born in Lagos but raised in the ancient city of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, by his loving and disciplined parents. His late father was a senior lecturer at the University of Ibadan and his mother is a

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My Life in the Church and the Corporate Circle retired medical doctor. According to him, the Balogun are fervent believers of the Christian faith, resulting in the young Balogun joining a choir at the age of six.

Despite his exposure and education, he has not left the vineyard of God. Recounting his good old days growing up in Ibadan, Balogun said, “I was born in Lagos but grew up in Ibadan right from a very young age. Ibadan to me was a blessing for me and those who were raised there. I have always expressed the pride of being raised in that ancient city because it gives you that strong of balance and identity in yourself as things were not done based on social classes or class system. It didn’t matter your background everybody was equal.”

Continuing, he added: “When we were young, my parents constantly sang into our ears that we should know whose child of who we are; family name, etc., that actually kept us in check to do what is right and what God stood for. I was blessed to have great parents who raised me in the way of the Lord. I was brought up to embrace God. I joined the choir at the age of six essentially and I haven’t stopped since except when I went to England for further studies. I have been brought up to know the important things in life. I am blessed to have parents with good health and long life. I did lose my father last year at the age of 87 and my mother is still alive and close to 80 now.”

No doubt, Balogun’s comfortable background gave him a good footing in life. After his secondary education, he moved to England in 1988 and enrolled at the University of Leicester for a degree in banking. He left the UK in 2000 to pursue his vision.

Considering the mad rush to go abroad, what prompted his decision to return home? Is it self-conviction or a sense of patriotism?

His response: “Well, I lived in the UK for 12 years, I went to school; worked and the truth is that I have always wanted to come back home. You can call it patriotism. I have always had an eye on coming back and the opportunity arose in the year 2000 and I came back.

I still go abroad but Nigeria is my base.

Partly patriotism, self-conviction and I believe in the Nigeria project. Yes, we have our challenges but this is our land and we are all tasked with an assignment to fix it and we can be on the outside to fix it we have to be on the inside to make that happen.”

He returned to Nigeria in 2000 and joined the then Econet that went through four brand changes in four years. He later moved to Etisalat as a pioneer staff and together with his team helped build the company to one of the most enviable telecommunication companies in Nigeria. He later quit the corporate world to become his own boss – having been called into the ministry, he felt he needed something that would allow him to focus on his job and give top priority to God. “I wear many caps as a banker, telecom expert and have a lot of experiences in the telecommunication sector. I am a pastor and an anchor. And how I have been able to juggle all? God has been gracious. I didn’t even think I was juggling that much but the highest feeling of responsibility is being a pastor to look after others. I have been able to juggle it well. And being an anchor – what many refer to as a master of ceremonies (MC) – I felt there was a gap in the corporate event space and I felt called to step into that space.”

Then what influenced his decision to be an anchor? Is it Self-discovery or

says we are the salt of the earth and light of the world and there is no way I cannot function outside of the church and there is no conflict because of my belief and standard,” Balogun explained.

“I do not compromise my standards for anything. God has helped me and He will continue to help me. So striking a balance between the two is not difficult and of course, sometimes there are hard decisions that you take, the prayer is to take the right decision that will glorify God.” If there is anything that gives Balogun fulfilment, it is the ability to see other’s people’s lives transformed. “I feel most fulfilled in helping people,” he admitted, “which is ministry and ministry for me is not just about preaching but bringing God to people and seeing that their lives are transformed in counselling, preaching, advising in whatever way one is meeting spiritual needs. Those are my best moments knowing that I am fulfilling my calling. And from my professional perspectives is when I deliver an event into the point where you know that every expectation of the client has been met and even surpassed it, it is also very special.”

To stay on top of one’s game, Balogun shares his life lesson. “There are always life lessons but more important is: whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your mind. Diligence is very critical, tenacity is very importance, focusing on the positive and not being a pessimist is very key. We all know that procrastination is an enemy that causes delay,” Balogun warned.

“Try and be the best at what you do, try and invest in yourself but most important, try and bring God close to everything you are doing. You cannot function or thrive without God. God created each and every one of us and he knows what the best is for us. Keeping the line of communication with God is very critical. And that is the differed between best and great.”

Balogun

people’s observations?

“It is a bit of both in an equal measure.

It is something that I had done for many years without even knowing it. I would go to an event, coordinate it and even in the church there is also event happenings and people look at me and suggested that I should do it professionally. In fact, a few people have been very instrumental of me doing it many years ago. I remember a gentleman who put me in his car and drove me to a photo studio that they needed to do my photo shoot today. So out of the push, this particular one was instructive because it got me thinking that ‘okay’ now I have to do this. So, it was partly self-discovery and people observations and God has helped me in that regard.”

Balogun as a master of ceremonies is always a man on the pulpit. You can call him a pastor in the afternoon and a master of ceremonies at night. At what stage did he develop a passion for the pulpit? And

how does he strike a balance between the two?

“I didn’t develop a passion for the pulpit. It was a calling because it wasn’t something that I woke up in one day and said I wanted to do. I have been in church since I was a child. After coming back to Nigeria I came to Lagos. I was a choir in This Present House and that was how the call to leadership started. It was a gradual journey but within a few years I became a pastor in the choir,” he said. “And later on, my wife and I were appointed to co-start a work which we did and it was a turning point. I didn’t jump at it because I wasn’t sure but here we are. Interestingly, my wife and I were called about the same time. It’s been a journey of growth, ups, and downs but the truth is that you cannot serve God and remain down. It is always fulfilling and the best one can do.”

And striking a balance?

“The balance is not difficult because if you want to go scriptural, the Bible

The balance is not difficult because if you want to go scriptural, the Bible says we are the salt of the earth and light of the world and there is no way I cannot function outside of the church and there is no conflict because of my belief and standard,” ...“I do not compromise my standards for anything. God has helped me and He will continue to help me.

So striking a balance between the two is not difficult

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High Life Olalekan Adebiyi… The Game Changer Olalekan Adebiyi’s name resonates across the business world like a bugle proclaiming a new dawn. He is a breath of fresh air in a stale environment, reminding everyone caught in the torpor of mundane existence how it feels to be young and passionate.

Whenever he enters a room, everyone stands to attention, knowing they are in the presence of a genius transplanted from a higher realm to grace the world with excellence.

The chairman of Laralek Construction is not your typical firm head who leaves the strategy to underlings to crack heads over. He thinks up in a moment ideas that take most people an age to come up with.

Peerless in intellect and matchless in determination, Lekan is a veteran of the business world despite his relative youth. He knows all the tricks of the trade like the back of his hand. And he invents many new ones his rivals never see coming.

While others boast loud and long about playing the game, Lekan creates new games for them to play. His oeuvre of accolades merely reflects the achievements he wants people to know about. The construction field is his playground and nobody can play like he does. An astute and vibrant entrepreneur, he has left his marks on the sands of time. The national landscape is dotted with his works, each one a preening monument to the brilliant mind behind it.

The giant strides made by the Laralek Construction boss in public construction stand as tangible evidence of his unswerving belief in the viability of the Nigerian Dream — that one day the country will proudly raise her chins and stand tall as a bona fide member of the comity of progressive nations. To Lekan, dreams delayed do not have to be dreams denied. The numerous road and infrastructure projects completed for state and national governments up and down the country are his contributions to this grand vision.

Little wonder his company has become the beautiful bride for road projects, especially in the SouthWest. And however grand the initial concepts are, the finished product is always grander. He is that fussed about surpassing his clients’ expectations.

He has become the gold standard for quality and excellence in construction.

Olalekan Adebiyi

61 with KAYODE ALFRED 08116759807, E-mail: kayflex2@yahoo.com

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

Emir Sanusi in the Eye of the Storm When trouble comes for men in high places, they do not come in single file, like bank customers pressed into line in front of a misbehaving ATM. They come together, like an unruly mob of passengers wrestling to enter a vehicle during rush hour. The beleaguered Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II is finding this out the hard way.

Barely had he had a time to defend against missiles launched from the north than several more came flying his way from the south, east and west.

The powerful Emir and the governor of his state, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje have been embroiled in a running battle for supremacy, culminating in the last elections when the dollar-loving governor barely scraped through the finish line after a rerun.

Since then, he had vowed to make Sanusi’s life a living hell for allegedly playing partisan politics and supporting other candidates while undermining him.

A few weeks back, Ganduje struck a decisive blow in the Kano version of the game of thrones by balkanizing the Kano Emirates with the creation of four first-class Emirs of Gana, Rayo, Bichi and Karaye through the passing and gazetting of the Kano State Emirs (Appointment and Deposition) (Amendment) Law 2019. With this development, Sanusi became a lame

Sanusi

duck, now able to count on just one fifth of his territorial powers.

The rains of trouble are not about

to relent, however. Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission who had resumed a probe dropped two years earlier at the behest of powerful personalities, have recommended that Emir Sanusi be suspended over allegations he illegally helped himself to a huge slice of 3.4 billion of Kano Emirate funds between 2014 and 2017. The commission recommended suspension as an initial step to facilitate further investigation after which more stringent punishment may be implemented.

The latest development has sent shivers down the spine of supporters of the former CBN governor. Deposition clouds now hang above the Emir Palace. Those in the know claim the governor isn’t even done yet; he will leave no stone unturned until Sanusi either resigns or is removed from office.

Alarmed by the series of setbacks, Sanusi allegedly sent powerful men to plead with the governor under a flag of truce but the move didn’t yield the desired result. Observers are now watching to see how he responds or if he will return fire for fire. Those close to the matter expect him to change tack and come out all guns blazing now that his tactic of lying low and waiting for the storm to blow over didn’t work.

Encomium As Rev. Dele George Celebrates Little Saints Orphanage 25th Anniversary You can never measure the milk of human kindness unless you throw yourself at charity and benevolence, and solicit and ensure succour for victims of calamities or catastrophes or unfair circumstances. One woman whose milk overflows like the Atlantic is Rev Christina Bamidele George,and whoever questions her motives or dedication to the cause of the downtrodden can talk after giving 25 years of their life to looking after the less privileged like she has.

The Little Saints Orphanage, founded in Lagos on June 4, 1994, celebrated its 25th anniversary a few days back. It was a joyous occasion for all those in attendance, some of who are “graduates” of the orphanage.

A number of important personalities were also on hand to donate cash gifts and other items while the management used the opportunity to honour some of the veteran staff of the home with awards.

Since it opened its doors to orphans and the abandoned after being licensed by the state government, the orphanage has become a tower of refuge for those rejected When duty calls, the vast majority of men sprout emergency wings and fly away to safer havens where the clarion call of service cannot reach. But Otunba Timehin Adelegbe is made of sterner stuff. One of those who can wade through the murky waters of politics and emerge spotless from the mud, he embraces the challenge to serve his people.

While some of his peers-to-be are already calculating how much of the money meant for constituency projects they will make away with, Otunba Timehin calculates how best to spread the limited funds to be made available over as many projects as possible. The House of Representatives-elect representing Ose/ Owo Federal Constituency is a man on a mission. He is hell-bent on transforming the fortunes of his long-suffering kinsmen through dedicated service from the hallowed halls of the legislature.

As a son of the soil, Otunba Timehin got a front row seat to the decades of wanton

by family and shunned by society. Acting out a divine mandate to give them a place to call home, a community to call family, Rev Dele George has given everything she has, and many things she does not have.

Initially launched in Akowonjo, a suburb of Alimosho Local Government in Lagos, the Little Saints Orphanage has since blossomed like the sweet alyssum, nurturing generations of children without hope into determined and motivated young adults, some of who have gone on to make their mark in the wider world.

The orphanage has also found families for scores of these kids through adoption.

It now has branches in four states with centres in Warri, Ibadan, Itele, Ogudu, Akowonjo and Abule-Egba among others.

Rev Dele George is the first daughter of thelate Samuel Ogbemudia, former governor of the Old Bendel State, and wife of Goldmyne TV founder Captain Jide George. Upon returning to Nigeria, she founded the Strong Tower Mission with a mandate to be the beacon of hope in the darkness to vulnerable people. Little Saints Orphanage, is the arm of the organization

Rev. Dele George

dedicated to caring for orphans and the abandoned. Relying on the continuous generosity of donors, sponsors and the tireless work of dedicated social workers and volunteers, it has successfully rehabilitated, reformed and reintegrated the kids through education and modulated social interaction.

Man On A Mission: Otunba Timehin Adelegbe Takes Big Leap Into Legislative Politics neglect suffered by his people as successive governments at the state level dismissed the region as a non-factor in the grand schemes of things. Even the men on whom their hopes were pinned over the years to bring the dividends of democracy from the green chamber largely turned out to be turncloaks who gleefully lined their pockets while paying lip service to their primary assignments.

Little wonder the former Commissioner for Commerce, Industries and Cooperatives in the cabinet of Ondo governor Rotimi Akeredolu decided to throw his hat into the ring for the House Of Representatives . At first, it seemed like he was on a wild goose chase as friends and

advisors put huge pressure on him to shelve his ambition.

At one time the going became tough, but that was when Otunba Timehin kept going. A lot of people jeered him at the time but they are now singing his praises following his sound trouncing of his opponents at the polls.

However, for Timi, service, not approval, is what matters. To this end, he and his team have already identified key projects that will be implemented as soon as he assumes office.

They are working round the clock to ensure that the handsome dude fulfils all the promises he made to the good people of his constituency.

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Small Girl, Big God: Dabota Lawson Bounces Back An anonymous cocoon might be a good temporary place to hide away from the storms of life and the derision of traducers, but it is no permanent resting place for a champion and certainly not as roomy as a palatial home. This is the conclusion former beauty queen and beauty entrepreneur Dabota Lawson has made after a period of introspection. The ex-wife of billionaire has bounced back in a big way from her troubles. She’s firmly dumped her sordid past in the dustbins of history and relaunched herself with full gusto into public life.

Having gone on a rollercoaster ride of emotional highs and lows in recent years, the woman who runs her own make-up line, Dabota Cosmetics, has finally come to the realization that the best refuge is the one constructed by oneself. Hence, she went all out to spoil herself with the gift of a new home as she turned a year older on June 2.

Grinning from ear to ear like a Cheshire cat, Dabota was in ecstatic mood as she revealed the beautiful house ,where she and her adorable little daughter will be living in for the foreseeable future, to her teeming followers in social media. She bore the aura of a woman transformed as she happily exhibited her joy while lapping up the adulation of her fans who praised her to the high heavens for having the presence of mind to invest in personal real estate during these

F Dabota Lawson

turbulent times.

Recall that, for a little bit, it seemed as if

Dabota had bitten more than she could chew from the cake of fame. She was hounded and jeered by many who felt that she got

Sad.... Popular Socialite, Toyin and Bola Atobatele Part Ways

Fear of Kidnapping Grips Ondo Elites

Death is an impenetrable wall that separates the living from the death, as everyone well knows. What is less acknowledged, though no less true, is that death also separates the living from one another. Or how else to explain the case of socialite couple Toyin

and Bola Atobatele? Things have been on a downward slope for the duo since they lost one of their children few years back. Having tried and failed to recapture the years of “happily ever after�, the two of them seem to have finally

thrown in the towel.

For a while now, the rumour mill has been buzzing with news that all has not been well with the marriage of top socialite Prince Bola Atobatele and his wife Toyin. And now, it seems, they have become Egypt and Israel, forever divided by the Red Sea. The marriage has reportedly fallen apart. The centre can no longer hold and they have called it quits with each other.

Despite the best efforts of those who know them to make them reconcile, Toyin and Bola, it is said, just could not find that one match to lit again the flame of their love that slowly burned lower and lower before expiring in a cloud of regretful smoke. Family and friends are at a loss as to what to do next given that neither Toyin nor Bola seems particularly interested in reconciliation.

Those in the know claim that the death of Michael Atobatele, their third child, was the iceberg that finally sunk the ship of their union. Toyin was never the same after Michael’s death.

She was totally devastated by the loss. Unable to come to terms with the untimely passing of such a young, promising man and her dearest child, Toyin was inconsolable then, and is still affected by the sad event several years later.

The couple just could not move on together from their son’s death and now they are trying to move on alone.

The wedge that came between them proved irremovable and slowly expanded until it became a yawning chasm that the two couldn’t bridge. Hence Toyin has moved on without Biola. The socialite prince isn’t handling the development too well. He’s said to have sold off some of his properties recently, though nobody knows exactly why.

Fear of Kidnapping Grips Ondo Elites Ondo, the self-proclaimed Sunshine State, is looking less sunny by the moment.

The entire state has been covered in a pall of terror and fear following the increased activities of daredevil kidnappers whose operations have been netting high-profile residents of the state.

The situation has deteriorated to such an extent that the leading lights in the state now go about under heavy cover of armed public and personal security.

Hardly is any prominent individual sighted without a full complement of alert security personnel in tow. Travellers and residents alike have been taking extra measures to avoid being taken away and subjected to physical and emotional anguish pending the payment of ransom.

Hitherto one of the most peaceful states to live in, Ondo has in recent times

Bye Bye, Oil License: FG Seizes Oil Blocs from Kola Abiola, Others

become a den of thieves, kidnappers and ritualists who boldly strut their stuff, sometimes in public. Most of the highways in the state have become unsafe, especially the Akure/Owo/Akoko Road where three medical practitioners and two lecturers were recently kidnapped.

The recent western incursion by Fulani herdsmen has heightened fears of the elite. Some of the herdsmen now reportedly kidnap at will and most of the recent suspected kidnappers are of northern extraction. This has led to increased tensions, with the lingering threat of wide scale sectarian violence hanging in the air.

In a bid to save themselves from possible kidnap, some of the wealthy residents in the state have packed their bags and transplanted themselves to other

states deemed safer at the moment.

Some have withdrawn their wards from the institutions in the state and sent them abroad or to private schools.

The rest have transformed their residences into formidable fortresses.

Sophisticated anti-invasion apparatus like barbed wires and complex alarm systems, not to mention extensive CCTV monitoring, are now the order of the day.

Private security agencies, on the other hand, are smiling to the bank like never before. They are in high demand and have been charging a premium for their services. With the state government seemingly powerless to halt the kidnappers’ advance, the elites are taking matters of protection into their own hands.

or ďŹ ve of Nigeria’s oil tycoons, it is a ďŹ nal goodbye to the oil blocs which they have sat on for so many years, turning into proďŹ tless, resourced-draining, debt-ridden, unproductive ventures on their watch. After many years of losing billions of Naira to joint ventures which were yielding little or nothing into the national treasury, the federal government ďŹ nally declared enough is enough.

As you read this, Summit Oil International, currently run by Kola Abiola, the eldest child of the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential elections, MKO Abiola, has lost its rights to Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 206. The company had been groaning under heavy debt burden, rendering it incapable of developing the juicy oil ďŹ eld. It is currently ďŹ ghting against a winding up petition instituted against it at the federal high court by Seistech Energy Company over an alleged failure to fulďŹ l its contractual obligations.

In the same boat are four other companies whose oil mining licenses have been revoked by the Department of Petroleum Resources based on a directive from the presidency to “recover legacy debts�. Among those who now have one less oil bloc to boast about are billionaire businessman Dr Festus Fadeyi whose company Pan Ocean Oil Corporation lost its rights to OML 98, northern oligarch Aminu Dantata whose ownership of OML 108 through Express Petroleum and Gas Company was revoked, and Borno billionaire Alhaji Zanna Mai Deribe who lost his company Cavendish Petroleum Nigeria’s OML 110. Also affected were OMLs 120 and 121 which were revoked from Allied Energy Resources Plc owned

by US-based moneybag Kase Lawal.

While Kola Abiola and Summit Oil ďŹ ght for their lives in court, Festus Fadeyi is embroiled in his own legal saga with the family of the late Vittorio Lecca Ducagini Fabbri, the founder of Interocean Oil Exploration Company, over ownership of Pan Ocean Oil. The court cases and myriad other challenges facing Kola and Festus have rendered them incapable of sparing whatever scant resources they have left towards developing the oil ďŹ elds awarded their companies.

However, not a few people were totally caught unawares by this development.

They were shocked that some people hitherto thought to belong among the untouchables could suffer such a fate.

Even when the warning signs that the government would crack down on corruption and waste in the oil sector ashed bright, most chose to ignore it.

Kola-abiola

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Billionaire Cosmas Maduka Spotted Preaching on Streets in Lagos In a country where strange things happen every day and 16 is often greater than 19, few things can be counted as genuinely surprising or shocking. But the sight of a billionaire who wines and dines from the laps of luxury getting into the muck and preaching on the streets, shirt unbuttoned and face dripping with sweat like an itinerant crusader, certainly tops the list.

The man in question is none other than Cosmas “Coscharis� Maduka.

For the uninformed, Cosmas is the founder and chairman of Coscharis Motors, the foremost automobile company in Nigeria and flagship brand of the Coscharis Group. Latest

Cosmas Maduka

released figures put his net worth at approximately $800 million.

For such a personality used to having underlings ready to do any little bidding to stress himself occasionally is one thing. But to actually emerge onto the streets of Lagos, Bible in hand and interpreter by his side, to preach the gospel with unmistakable vehemence and authority is quite another. Once pictures of Cosmas preaching surfaced on social media, it predictably generated a lot of reactions.

Many were full of praise for the billionaire for descending from his high perch and “humbling� himself to preach the good news to the masses.

They claimed his action is worthy

of emulation by other big men and women who often turn up their noses at those they deem beneath their notice.

Others, however, dismissed the dude, calling his action a publicity stunt that gained neither him nor his audience any tangible thing.

According to them, he is best served donating part of his huge fortune to the needy who would then be moved to embrace the gospel by acts of charity by its practitioners. Some even called it unnecessary noise pollution that has no place in public in 2019. They told him in no uncertain terms to mind his car business instead of competing with actual career crusaders.

Royal Rumble‌ As Alake Battles Olota Tension is mounting in several areas of Ogun State as two of the prominent monarchs in the region trade verbal tirade over claims and counterclaims of sovereignty over several disputed towns. The Alake of Egbaland ba Michael Adedotun Gbadebo is facing off against the Olota of Ota in Aworiland ba Adeyemi Abdulkabir Obalanlege.

The bone of contention revolves around who gets the historical, customary and legal royal authority over the Awori towns of Sango-Ota, Atan-Ota, Ijoko-Ota, AbĂşlĂŠ Ore-Ota, Adekoyeni-Ota and the GbalefaOta peninsula. The Alake, claiming paramountcy over these towns and other Awori areas, is said to have installed new kings to head the towns, drawing the ire of the Olota who claims that he remains the royal authority in charge of the area.

The conflict between them harks back to a wider historical dispute between the Awori and the gbĂĄ over which side has historical supremacy.

The flamboyant Alake had gone ahead to install rulers for the disputed towns

which he says fall under his domain.

He claimed that a legal case had settled “for all time and beyond all reasonable doubt, the legal authority of the Alake of Egbaland to administer traditional oversight in all the areas�

The disgruntled Olota fired back, schooling the Alake of the fact that the Awori preceded the Egba in the area by more than two centuries and therefore the Alake’s claims of historical dominance do not hold water. ba Gbadebo however doesn’t care a hoot. He is determined to use any means, including revisionism if need be, to maintain his control of the disputed areas.

Royal fathers and top politicians in the state have since waded in to prevent the verbal war from descending into a physical encounter. Prominent citizens have been dispatched to urge both sides to sheath their swords and come to the table of peace to settle their differences. It remains to be seen if the purported legal action being taken by the Olota to overturn the installation of new rulers by ba Gbadebo yields any fruits.

Alake

As AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq Takes Over

AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq

Festive ambience permeates the ancient city of Ilorin, the Kwara seat of government.

A first-time traveller to the north central state would be forgiven for thinking he arrived in the middle of citywide carnival.

Yet there is no festival going on, nor is any important personality in the state marking any landmark occasion.

Rather, the cause of happiness among the masses and elites is the emergence of a new government in the state. One free from the accumulated stains of generations of dynastic influence. Everyone has found in the new governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq a beloved leader in whom they are well pleased.

Wherever one turns, the tune of optimism is invariably palpable. The citizens could finally taste freedom from the stifling yoke of godfatherism and they are determined to celebrate their deliverance irrespective of whoever is offended by their jubilation. The newly-installed governments aren’t left out of the new mindset. They have vowed to repay the voters for the confidence reposed in them at the polls.

As you read this, the new governor and his kitchen cabinet are hard at work picking the best commissioners for each portfolio.

There is an expectation that the chosen

ones will quickly get to work delivering the dividends of democracy to the people. Core frameworks and guiding policies are already in place awaiting implementation. From all indications, the new APC government will be, for once, a government of the people and for the people.

Meanwhile, a few people who feasted large while the state groaned under the imperial yoke of the Saraki clan have become pariahs and outcasts. The former senate president Bukola Saraki whom many thought would immediately return to the state to rebuild his broken political base seems uninterested in fighting more political battles for now. As a result many of the Saraki foot soldiers have overnight become orphans without direction.

Meanwhile, despite being on seat for just a few days, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has already become a star.

Everywhere he goes he is mobbed by jubilant and expectant citizens who sing his praises and their trust in him to the high heavens. He’s the symbol of the new dawn they never thought they would see.

Coupled with his easygoing nature which makes him very much approachable, leader and followers became an easy match made in heaven.

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Adebayo Adeoye bayoolunla@gmail.com; 08054680651

SOCIETY WATCH

Olusegun Osoba’s Ex- Intercontinental Bank Director, Hyacinth Enuha, Wife’s Grave Concerns Rising ProďŹ le

Osoba

If there is any man who is presently enjoying himself as a political gladiator in the country at the moment, he is no other person than the former executive governor of Ogun State and the Akinrogun of Egbaland.

The journalist-cum-politician’s Â™Â›Â˜Ä™Â•ÂŽČąÂ’Â—ČąÂ›ÂŽÂŒÂŽÂ—Â?ČąÂ?Â’Â–ÂŽČąÂ’ÂœČąÂŒÂžÂ›Â›ÂŽÂ—Â?•¢ȹ reaching to the skies, thank God for the current political situations in the gateway state.

Many will recall the political persecution the political gladiator œžěŽ›ŽÂ?ȹ’—ȹÂ?‘Žȹ‘Š—Â?ÂœČąÂ˜Â?Čą ‹’”ž—•Žȹ Amosun, the immediate past governor of the state.

But for providence, Osoba’s political career would have died an untimely death in the hands of Amosun. Čą ’”ŽȹŠȹÂ?›žŽȹęÂ?‘Â?ÂŽÂ›Ç°ČąÂ‘ÂŽČąÂ‘ÂŠÂœČąÂŠÂ•Â ÂŠÂ˘ÂœČą emerged a hero. Perhaps, this explains why he has, once again, become a reference point and a colossus in the game today.

Since Amosun lost out in the political game plan in Ogun, with Â?‘ŽȹÂ?ÂŽÂ?ŽŠÂ?ČąÂœÂžÄ›ÂŽÂ›ÂŽÂ?ČąÂ‹Â˘ČąÂ‘Â’ÂœČąÂ™Â›ÂŽÂ?Ž››ŽÂ?Čą candidate, Adekunle Akinlade, the respected politician is back in reckoning.

It was gathered that his Government Reservation Area home in Abeokuta has fast become a Mecca visited daily by his loyalists, political associates as well as those who need favours from the newly sworn in governor, Dapo Abiodun, whom we hear has his ears.

Before now, many could not hide their dismay when Amosun deliberately rubbished him.

In 2011, Amosun, in his bid to realize his political ambition, was reportedly on bended knees, begging to be accepted into the fold of the Action Congress of Nigeria, A.C.N. As proof that he was ready to toe the line of the party, he threw in his weight behind Amosun, thereby making him coast home to victory over Gboyega Nasir Isiaka, who was the preferred candidate of Gbenga Daniel, a former governor of the state and even former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s candidate, Olurin.

But not long after he took over the reins of power in the state, he called ÂŽÂ&#x;ÂŽÂ›Â˘Â‹Â˜Â?Â˘Č‚ÂœČąÂ‹Â•ÂžÄ›ÇŻČą Â?ČąÂ ÂŠÂœČąÂŠÂœČąÂ’Â?ČąÂ‘ÂŽČąÂ ÂŠÂœČąÂ˜Â—Čą a revenge mission, and he hijacked the existing structure in the state.

This crisis snowballed to the extent that the former Daily Times Managing Director moved to another party, Social Democratic Party, towards the 2015 general election. Â?Â?Ž›ȹ’—Â?Ž›Â&#x;Ž—Â?Â’Â˜Â—ČąÂ?Â›Â˜Â–ČąÂ?’쎛Ž—Â?Čą quarters, there was a semblance of peace between both politicians. But critics maintained that the relationship could be likened to that of a cat and

To many, Hyacinth Enuha will feel greatly relieved if his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, triumphs in Delta State.

But Society Watch gathered that Enuha, a former director with the defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc, will be more relieved and even go to bed with his two eyes closed only if he is able to emerge victorious in an ongoing legal battle.

He may even need to embark on ceaseless prayers, as a Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos is hearing a suit he instituted against the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON. In the suit, the plaintiffs - Enuha, his wife, Carol and company, CINCA Nigeria Limitedare claiming that they are not indebted to AMCON to the tune of 7.500, 227,634.61.

However, the defendants - AMCON and Intercontinental Bank (now merged with Access Bank) - are urging the court to dismiss the claims of the plaintiffs as being “frivolous, vexatious, and completely unmeritorious�.

The respondents also prayed that the court award substantial cost against the plaintiffs.

In a statement of claim filed before the court on behalf of the plaintiffs by Olatunde Adejuyigbe ,SAN, it was alleged that CINCA Nigeria Limited, in October 2006, applied for and was granted a term loan in the sum of N2bn to purchase shares of blue-chip companies in Nigeria.

Upon fulfillment of the conditions precedent by the company, the N2bn loan was utilized by Intercontinental Bank Plc to purchase the shares of blue-chip companies, for and on behalf of the company.

In another offer, the company, again, applied for and was granted a share loan

facility in the sum of N850m loan, which was used to buy N50m units of Bank PHB’s shares for and on behalf of CINCA. Though the bank was said to have traded with the shares and received full payment for the sale, it allegedly failed to disclose any information in respect of the transactions to CINCA. Enuha stated that the total amount realized from the sale of the shares was well over N8bn, which was more than enough to liquidate the credit facilities granted to the company together with the accrued interest thereon.

The plaintiffs further claimed that the purported indebtedness of the company assigned to AMCON by the bank emanated from the manipulation of the proceeds of the company’s shares sold by the bank and for which no account was presented by the bank to the company.

Society Watch gathered that, in view of the spurious and illegal assignment of CINCA’s account to AMCON, it was included in the list of Top 100 AMCON debtors published by AMCON in various media platforms, with the plaintiffs’ names as directors of the company.

In a letter dated June 5, 2017, AMCON made a demand on CINCA for the sum of N7, 500,227,634.61, which is said to be the indebtedness of CINCA to AMCON. The plaintiffs contended that the demand made by AMCON is “unlawful, baseless and unwarranted�; hence, they are seeking a declaration that the demand made on CINCA

by AMCON, via a letter dated June 5, 2017, for payment of the sum of N7, 500,227,634.61 was “wrongful, illegal, null and void.�

The plaintiffs are also seeking an order restraining AMCON from making further

Enuha

demands on the plaintiffs for the payment of N7, 500,227,634.61 or any sum at all.

However, the bank, in a statement of defence filed before the court by Paul Usoro and company, denied almost all the claims of the plaintiffs, saying they represented absolute distortion and misrepresentation of facts.

In specific response to the statement of claim of the plaintiffs, the bank alleged that CINCA approached defunct bank and was granted a loan in the sum of N2bn for the purpose of financing its capital projects and assets acquisition, which the company had “willfully failed, refused and neglected to pay till date.�

It claimed that the offer was accepted

by Enuha on behalf of the company as its Executive Chairman.

The bank denied that it was responsible howsoever for the utilization of the N2billion, as the term of the loan placed the control of the loan firmly in the hands of the company.

Telecoms Wiz, Funke Opeke’s Daring Steps Funke Opeke had a successful career in telecommunication business in the United States of America, USA, for over 20 years.

While she was abroad, she noticed a lacuna in the telecoms sector in Nigeria. So, with a resolve to right the wrong, highly cerebral Opeke, who is the Founder and CEO of Main One Cable Company, left her comfort zone, where was an executive director with the US largest wireless provider, Verizon Communications in New York, to toy with the idea of running a 7,000-kilometre undersea high capacity cable submarine from Portugal to Lagos, Nigeria. No doubt, she had been shocked by the low level of internet connectivity in her country of birth.

Despite the initial skepticism of the very ambitious project, Opeke, who was also a former Chief Technology Officer of MTN, through her company, Main One, delivered the internet services and broadband to Nigeria and seven other West African countries.

She has since brokered other mega deals in the Nigerian telecoms industry and even spread her tentacles to other African countries.

Penultimate week, Ondo State-born Opeke pulled another big deal with the launch of her company’s “Digital Lagos:

Opeke

Broadband for All� campaign initiative to enable the digital transformation of Lagos State through deployment of ubiquitous broadband infrastructure across the state.

The new broadband project, inspired by the vision of the newly sworn-in Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, will improve the rule of law, education, ease of doing business and government processes of Lagos.

It will involve investment by MainOne of over N25billion over the next two to three years to develop critical fiber optic infrastructure to enable broadband services across the state.

To date, Opeke has led her company to invest over N120billion funded by leading African banks and has proven its capabilities in expanding and identifying localized fiber networks in neighbouring Ogun and Edo States by deploying almost 1,000kms of fiber in partnership with Facebook to expand broadband access and connect government institutions and other areas of interest. It was gathered that, as the licenced InfraCo for Lagos zone, the resulting network to be built by MainOne will provide essential connectivity to critical state institutions, cover over 300 government agencies, up to 10,000 state CCTV locations, telecom operators and ISPs, public Wi-Fi hotspots, Smart City components/IOT devices, in addition to enterprises.

Sen. Florence Ita Giwa Spreads her Tentacles Earlier in the year, precisely in March when she turned 73, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, who once represented Cross River Senatorial District, pleasantly shocked many with the opening of Echoes of Calabar, an upscale restaurant on Akin Olugbade Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

For her, the move was like giving life to a passion she is known for: cooking.

Those close to this successful politician and activist, famously known as Mama Bakassi, attest to the fact that she is blessed with an uncommon culinary skill.

Interestingly, since the push kitchen was presented to the public three months ago, it has been enjoying impressive patronage by notable Nigerians in quest of a wow hospitality experience.

Echoes of Calabar is a full- service restaurant that offers an exquisite menu, including the best of intercontinental meals and mouthwatering Nigerian dishes, especially the Efik cuisines.

It was further gathered that this woman of substance is planning to open a branch in Ikeja, Lagos to cater to the taste buds of those salivating for Efik cuisines.

Ita Giwa

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SOCIETY WATCH

Former Beauty Queen, Nike Oshinowo Still Taking Back Seat Nike Oshinowo, a former Miss Nigeria, once held many spellbound!

Following her emergence as a beauty queen, Oshinowo reigned supreme for many years, courting all the attention, while the paparazzi tried to outsmart one another to have her photographs glaze the cover of their tabloids.

As a glittering star, not a few deep pockets across the country also craved her attention.

Interestingly, many years after, she remained in the warm embrace of stardom, thereby making her arguably the most-talked about beauty queen in the history of Nigeria. Typical of someone who is constantly seeking relevance, the celebrated entrepreneur, ex-pageant director, style icon, socialite and television presenter, went into a talk show tagged Late Night With Nike Oshinowo.

At that time, not a few had expected that

it would be an instant hit within a short period of time. But it was a disappointing outing as it was a colossal loss.

From being a beauty queen herself, she later took charge of the pageant franchise, which she tried to revamp also for about two seasons before things went south.

In the view of some, her celebrity status, among other reasons, had enjoyed interesting discourse owing largely to her relationship with Dr. Tunde Soleye, the medical doctor turned top businessman, who for several years maintained a top suite at the then popular Nicon-Nuga Hotel.

They both enjoyed each other for some time until they parted ways over irreconcilable differences.

Since the separation, Nike seems to have mellowed down completely and gone totally quiet, away from the same media attention that “forced” her in everyone’s consciousness.

Agony of an Oil Magnate

Oshinowo

Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdulrasheed Akande’s Unending Controversies It is amazing how the Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdulrasheed Akande, loves to court controversies.

Since he ascended the throne in 2015, his name has almost become synonymous with controversy.

Sadly, this alleged seemingly undisciplined attitude seems to be gaining attention in the public domain.

Already, some of his actions and comical displays in public are said to be giving some of his subjects grave concern.

But it seems he doesn’t care a hoot, even as he has been nicknamed ‘King controversy’.

However, if you think the former Canada-based monarch is ready to kick this habit soon, you had better have a rethink.

Society Watch gathered that the

Akande

flamboyant monarch is squaring up for another fight with a top Muslim cleric in the ancient town.

He was said to have chased and embarrassed the Islamic cleric, Alhaji Nurain Ashiru Adio, out of the prayer ground during the Eidel-fitr celebrations on Tuesday, June 4, 2019.

As if that was not enough, he was also said to have warned the cleric to henceforth stop appearing at the town’s central mosque.

A source revealed that the monarch took up the cleric, who is also a top member of Iwo Board of Trustees’, because of his alleged loyalty to Chief Abiola Ogundokun, whom he has been having a running battle with since 2017.

Many claim that Ogundokun contributed to Oba Akande’s emergence as the king of the ancient town. But there has not been any love lost between them, since the monarch reportedly revoked Ogundokun’s chieftaincy titles.

Billionaire Socialites, Anumudus, Host The High and The Mighty in Paris Plans for the long-awaited wedding of Enyinna Anumudu, son of top socialites, Nkiru Anumudu and her husband, William, Founder of Globe Motors, have now reached a lop gear.

Indeed, the Anumudus are set to host the high and mighty in honour of their son and his love, Joyce Jacobs, who have had to travel around the world to shop for their wedding stuff.

Society Watch revealed that many will be flying to the city of love, Paris, on June 22, 2019 for the much-talked about wedding.

It will be recalled that the court and traditional weddings had held on December 22, 2018, with many friends of the Anumudu in attendance.

While Enyinna, a graduate of the American University

In the oil and gas industry, Nigerian born- US based Dr. Luqman Kayode Lawal’s name evokes a mixture of admiration, envy and respect.

Famously known as Kase Lawal, he runs CAMAC HOLDINGS in Houston, Texas, comprising CAMAC International Corporation, CAMAC Energy Inc and Allied Energy Corporation, a thriving energy firm in the United States.

The Ibadan, Oyo State- born Oil mogul is considered as one of the richest Africans in Texas, where he has several businesses. He is also the Chairman, Board of Directors of Unity National Bank, the only federally insured and licensed African-American-owned bank in Texas.

However, this is not the best time for the billionaire, as the Federal Government has finally revoked the oil licence of his oil company, Allied Energy Resources Nigeria (OML 120 and 121}, among five other oil companies belonging to some prominent Nigerians. They were revoked following presidential directive to ‘’ recover legacy debts’’.

Society Watch gathered that the US-based billionaire has, for long, been enmeshed in several legal woes for his company, which has been gasping for breath for so long due to choking debts.

It was revealed that New York and Johannesburg- listed Erin Energy filed for bankruptcy in May 2017, as it seeks to restructure its debts and regain financial viability.

It was also disclosed that problem started after its battle with Agip, the Nigerian unit of Italian major ENI that was recognised as the operator of offshore OML 120 and 121.

Until then, the fields had been held by Erin Energy, a US-based subsidiary of Camac, headed by Kase Lawal.

The conflict dates back to 2012 when Agip sold its interests in the two blocks to Camac, though it reportedly never received the full amount due for the sale.

Before then, the OML 120 and 121, which included the productive Oyo oil field owned by the billionaire, was not as productive as envisaged.

This got some of the Erin shareholders angry and sued the billionaire over the deal that went awry.

The shareholders claimed the CEO of Erin Energy overpaid by almost $200 million in Oyo Field deal that also benefited Allied Energy, another company controlled

by Lawal.

Anumudus

of Paris, is an infrastructure finance transactor at Rand Merchant Bank, Joyce runs her

own makeup studio, Joyce Jacobs Beauty, which she launched in 2009.

Kayode Lawal’

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 9, 2019

LOUD WHISPERS

with JOSEPH EDGAR (09095325791)

Dino Melaye- Please, Run !

The most exciting news that hit me last week was the report of Senator Dino Melaye considering a run for the Kogi State Government House. You see, for me this is the best thing that would happen to that beleaguered state abi can they get it any worse after the tsunami of inefficiency and ineptitude unleashed on them by the incumbent?

Those people have really suffered o.

That governor should at best be running a video club but instead someone gave him a whole state and the man just confuse. You see me I believe very seriously in Dino. Look, forget all the charade, the jumping in and out of moving police trucks and the pretend

JOHNOYEGUN–WHATISTHEMATTER? Daddy you know you should really not be disturbing yourself. You should concentrate on the resting so that the blood pressure will not spike. I think you should even do like my friend and brother, Ned and take a fresh new young wife. But instead, I see that you seem to be everywhere creating wahala for your party. This is not the best thing to do and will not really earn you the kind of respect you deserve as an elder statesman. If Oshiomhole does not have the temperament to lead a national party nko, no be you train am? The man is toeing his path abi you no see am that day of the inauguration as he go stand beside soldier thinking it was NLC rally? I almost died from laughter. But seriously, oga Oyegun, please do not be letting small children to be talking to you anyhow. Even this writer that was not even born when you bought your first Volvo car will now be writing and be calling you names. Mbok, is it not better for you to maintain a dignified silence especially if you consider the fact that you really did not do better than this Osho Baba when you were there? Your own turn na the same confusion, the same wahala; the only difference is that unlike Oshiomhole you were a little bit ‘docile’ in handling the wahala. Everybody was just chancing you, pushing you around. I used to pity you o and be asking Duchess to help get your number so that I can call and advise you to just resign. Now you are talking to Osho who has shown that he can fight fire for fire even if the fire will consume him. Mbok let us mind our business, let Osho do him own when he finish he go retire come una Bende, na the same thing soldier go soldier come.

Kai,

faint when police come, the man has sense in that his big head. Everything he does is really strategic and as such comes across like the Beetle you cannot crush. He has made Kogi west the most popular Senatorial district in the country and has remained one of the most hard-working Senators in the last dispensation with an incredible amount of bills. Kogi people have nothing to lose especially when you consider the famine they are in. Mbok, Dino you have our support. Let us sing and Instagram our way to the State House. Na wetin, the people are behind you. This is a mission to save the people of Kogi, I tell you. My

friend Friday is from the state and the man feels like adopting Akwa Ibom, I tell you. Kogi is finished.

Nothing is happening in that state, the place is just desolate with their ‘Naira Marley’ governor just sitting down there and doing nothing but denying not owing salary. Mbok, it’s time for Dino-push and you will get it. We are behind you, just don’t go and be looking for police trouble, you know you don’t have power to withstand small breeze before you start to be fainting again and be doing like someone Oshodi boxer punch. This is the right time. Let’s make this happen my brother. Welldone.

Her Excellency Onari Duke–Where Art Thou?

This elegant and eternally beautiful ex-first lady has gone missing o. Nobody has kidnapped her; it’s just that we do not get to hear from her as usual o. The last time I heard from her was when she promised to go eat afang in my mother’s house in Uyo. She even had a phone conversation with her and that one has been burning my phones asking for her whereabouts that the afang was

ready and that she was getting tired of warming the soup o.

Your Excellency please if it is grand ma duties that is keeping you from going to eat the Afang or out of circulation kindly explain to the new baby that he has some older siblings who are missing your usual compassion and activities. How have you been? I really do hope that you are fine. Just to wish you well. welldone ma.

Dino

position at this time? This is not an Afang eating exercise o and with all respect to my “uncommon” senior brother, I think even if they offered him, he should just say NO and look for something less dramatic but also still ‘lucrative”. If this appointment is true, then it would mean that all the cry to Baba that he should look at his legacy in composing his cabinet may have fallen on deaf ears. So Akpabio with no initial experience except a recent uncommon past time of losing elections would only be learning the ropes and jargons of the ministry and before you know it, the four years would be over. I do not even think the man knows what a barrel of oil looks like talk less of understanding the issues that pervade that industry.

Anyways, na we vote for change na.

This the change coming to us in an uncommon manner. Only in Nigeria.

GODSWILL AKPABIO – PETROLEUM MINISTER? Is this for real? Is this true? I have just

heard this story and have seen some write-ups alluding to this possibility. As a fellow Akwa Ibom man I should be

very happy that this is coming to our region but as a patriot, I am asking, is this the best option for such a sensitive

SANI ABACHA – GOD BLESS YOU! Have you heard that they have found another over $200m that this short person salted away on our behalf?

This man was beyond is time. I tell you he had foresight. Those days, he will wear his dark goggles and be doing maximum ruler while ‘killing’ us with a very rare type of kleptocracy.

Well like they say, behind every cloud there is a silver lining. These funds are now coming out when we badly need them and that is why I am happy. It is beginning to look like the man had created a Sovereign Wealth Fund for us with the difference being that only him and his family were signatories to the accounts. I even hear that his name is being mentioned in the Malabo thing. That is the most lucrative and productive oil bloc in the land. I wish he was alive today, I would have asked one of these boys – Davido or whizkid to sing for him. The man was

John Oyegun

Godswill Akpabio

Sani Abacha

Tony Elumelu

Onari Duke

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JUNE 9, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R

LOUD WHISPERS

Wale Tinubu

Femi Gbajabiamila

Rochas Okorocha

Ita Giwa

revolutionary. See where governors are keeping Dollars in caps and big Babringa this one was just salting plane loads of our collective wealth into other countries making these ones look like petty pick pockets. You know the sad thing is that if the man was alive, some of us will still be carrying placards to his house hailing him as the goggledwearing saviour of mankind. That is what poverty does to man. Anyways let them return the money abeg a new set are waiting for it. A roulette table of kleptocrats seems to be our lot.

went to Sunday School together in the early 30s so when he turned into a pious Muslim beat his imagination.

While all that bickering is going on, we are hearing of court cases and injunctions and all that. For me, all these make me respect politicians so much, despite all these wahala they will still be carrying their greybeard and be pushing for these positions.

They have mind o. See Gbaja with the court matter. I am reading now that that happened while he was still in America. And he is still having this kind of ambition knowing what Nigerians are? He can only deserve my salute. Na big chest and strong man. Well we are here waiting for the outcome of it all. Anyhow they want to do it, we will still have speaker abi? Gbaja or not, New Jersey or not, Muslim or Christian Nigeria cannot collapse because of this one ambition. We dey kampe.

one. Mbok, I will sit on the fence o before I go and become grass when all these elephants are fighting o. The whole thing is very complex and the conspiracy theorists are going crazy with all sorts of calculations and stories. The funniest that I have heard so far is the one that said that it is the Mammy Water on that part of Lagos Lagoon that their office stands that is causing all these troubles because she was not pacified before the building was built. All I can say at this juncture is for people to calm down and watch the whole thing unfold; any which way the truth will unfold and we will all see. But from where I am standing, be like say SEC has a small point o but SEC spoil their case by not not giving Oando fair hearing. Way back Oando shares had stopped being a darling to portfolio managers because of the same reasons SEC is quoting.

That is all I will say at this point but make we dey wait and see. It’s only a matter of time. Patience.

nepotism beating us up and with all of our glory, our fitness and strong good looks being battered to submission. I cried and refused to eat afang that day.

I was really sad. I went back to the fight to see who beat us like this. The man was short, big tummy, sluggish and ugly. Our champion was a beauty of a man. Tall, well-built and fine. But that day, the beast beat us up and dashed our hopes. Well, just as I was about to pen this I saw an interview where our champion was talking. They tried to taunt him by blaming the judges and referees and he said ‘I had no business being on the canvass’ and I jumped up. That was my champion. That is the true Nigerian spirit not the amala spirit a lot of us walk around with. He refused to blame anybody but himself and stated very clearly that he would bounce back. He will, I believe in him, just that the next time, let us do some Cele prayers and get all the Woli’s and private jet flying pastors to back up our champion with strong prayers because he will need it. That guy wey beat am be like Porcupine with all that Tatoo. Mbok champion, don’t try fighting in Mexico o instead bring it here to Lagos or let’s go to Ijebu so that we can fortify you with juju.

This one is not to be talking Queen’s English. There are forces o and we can neutralize it them. Where is my cow horn sef? Kai. I wept.

TONY ELUMELU – WHAT DOES HE WANT? I am just staring at another picture of this young man with the French premier. Every day when you turn the pages of newspapers or even social media you are confronted with a photo or even a report of this gentleman with another world leader or pushing his idea of Afro Capitalism. He has given himself the task of empowering thousands of young Africans amongst other such laudable initiatives. If you look away from the obvious media hugging, you will see that the seeds he is planting would revolutionize Africa in the next few years. I like his energy levels, his passion, drive and ever-strong belief in the vast potential of this our country. The other day, at the vendor’s stall a major debate broke out. Some say, he wants to be President others say, he was just keeping busy while a third were of the position that he was headed towards Nollywood especially with the way he is always hanging out with its practitioners and the red socks he always wears.

As it is at such occasions, the three factions decided to resort to a physical brawl since they could not resolve the matter with strong logic. Anyways, for me I do not think he is trying to be any of these three. I just feel he wants to be that person who not only passed thru but made a difference. Well-done bro . Keep it up we are watching.

FEMI GBAJABIAMILA FOR SPEAKER Abeg, let them just give this daddy the thing let us rest. The hullaballoo around the whole thing is distracting and making him do some things that I can no longer explain. The other day, we saw a picture of him in faraway Saudi Arabia performing the Islamic rite. This one also sparked another round of ‘fight’ again at the vendor’s corner this time at Onipanu. They said he was a Christian and was only tying wrapper as he had just woken up from sleep. Others swore that he was a born Muslim and in fact was an Alfa in Surulere. One particular man with brown teeth swore that they

ROCHAS OKOROCHA – WHO DOES THAT? The other day, they say the new governor had to issue a 24-hour ultimatum to this my guy to come and properly handover or else…

But who does that mbok? Who runs away from handing over after presiding over the greatest statue-producing enterprise in the history of global governance? Just last week here, I was hailing this baba for the wonderful speech he gave at his last cabinet meeting.

For those of you who did not have money to buy the paper, I had hailed Rochas for asking the President to flee from Oshiomhole and El- Rufai amongst other such powerful comments and advice.

That this was out of character was lost on me and I went to town, hailing him and singing his eulogy to high heavens only to be brought down to earth with this report that he just packed his undies and walked away from State House without a proper handover. Mbok, Oga common go back and hand over before something else happens. Even me, when Nicholas sacked me from work, I still handed over even as I protested the injustice talk less of this one. Please let’s always think about how history will treat us as we decide to behave and also remember that little children are watching. What is that abeg?

WALE TINUBU, VOLPI AND OANDO I am still watching this drama unfold.

A lot of people have reached out for my thoughts stating very clearly that I must take sides on this one and that there is no sitting on the fence on this

SENATOR FLORENCE ITA -GIWA – LET’S HAVE A 3SOME This amiable former Senator and leading woman advocate would be gracing the showing of my exciting new Stage Play – 3some. The play is a powerful exposition on the role of the internet in our relationships in modern day Nigeria. You know mummy always lend support to issues that strengthen society especially as it directly affect women and youths. Getting her to accept this was not a very difficult one especially as the issues the play touches – emotional infidelity, trust, marriages are issues that play very close to her heart. She would be joining over 4,000 Nigerians who would be seeing this play at the Agip Recital Hall of the Muson Centre today Sunday. She is expected to give a riveting speech just before the commencement of the Play and later join the Cast and Crew at the After Party coming up at the latest exciting watering hole, The Kohinoor.

ANTHONY JOSHUA – DON’T LAUGH Immediately I saw that first fall by our champion, I ran back to that advert where he was talking about the spirit of the Nigerian and how we bounce back when life hits us to the canvass.

As I came back for the fight, my brother was on the canvass a second time. I could not believe my eyes. I ran back to the advert to find courage and hope but it was getting worse. This blub was beating up our champion. What was the matter, did he just finish a plate of amala before entering the ring? I started crying. He carried our hope, he was Nigerian and what I was seeing there was the evil of corruption, banditry,

CHILE UDEMGBA – A HEARTWARMING SHOUT -OUT Mbok let me hail this young lady who recently celebrated 40. This banker has with her group which she aptly named the 1k miracle group raised and donated over N11m mostly to patients at the Gbagada General Hospital.

Her story is simple, so she goes to the hospital every Saturday to jog and keep fit. According to her, while jogging she would be seeing people suffering from inability to raise little monies for treatment and drugs. Upon closer observation, she saw that at times the funds could be as little as N1,000 so she decided to do something. She set up a whats app group on her phone and invited her friends and colleagues to join. The simple idea is to get these donors to donate just N2,000 monthly to a Fund which she takes at the end of the month to the hospital and gives to the patients raw cash just like that.

From just two people, this group has grown in excess of 400 and the donations have also grown to about N800,000 per month culminating in the aforementioned N11m in about one year. So when she marked her 40th we all came out to celebrate her and her wonderful selfless service to humanity.

Happy birthday madam. God bless you

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JUNE 9, 2019 ˾ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

THE ALTERNATIVE

with RenoOmokri

Buhari and Nigeria’s Evil Citizens

A

t an event in the Presidential Villa where members of the Federal Capital Territory community had come to pay their annual Sallah homage to Muhammadu Buhari, General Buhari proved, again, that dictators and anti-democrats may grow old, but they do not grow to become democrats.

At the event, Muhammadu Buhari made a not so subtle threat against the citizens of the FCT. He said, inter alia, as follows: “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. I have all the results of all constituencies. I am not threatening FCT because to make FCT secure is to make myself secure and the Vice President. I think they are a NECESSARY EVIL that was why they decided to vote for PDP.” How petty and vindictive can Buhari get? This is a man who peeped at his wife’s ballot to see who she voted for. I thought that was the floor of his pedestrian behaviour. But, he broke new grounds by calling those who voted for the PDP, a necessary evil. How can you treat people good when you believe they are evil?

As Jesus said in Matthew 7:18 “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.” In calling those who voted against him ‘evil’, the quota system General, Muhammadu Buhari, has shown that he is not a good tree, which is why he is yielding evil fruits!

No wonder he once told the Telegraph of the UK that Nigerians are criminals. It is only now I understand what he could have meant. He probably did not mean all Nigerians. Given his mindset, he probably meant those who voted against him in 2015.

Buhari even said he has the results of ALL the constituencies that voted against him in his possession.

How can a leader be this unforgiving! See the grudges this vindictive man holds against those who did not vote for him to the extent that he has the names of all those “EVIL” citizens!

Buhari does not have accurate statistics of Nigeria’s out of school children population. He does not have precise details of Nigeria’s population of extremely poor citizens.

He does not even know Nigeria’s exact population. But he confessed that he has details of “evil” people who voted against him! Hopefully, he also knows the true number of children he has sired.

Muhammadu Buhari’s “EVIL” PDP voters comment is proof that the 97% versus 5% mindset that wrecked Nigeria’s economy over the last four years by promoting mediocre clan members of the 97% over qualified 5% citizens is not dead. It is alive and kicking!

This man spends all his time thinking about his enemies, instead of Nigeria’s progress. Under his watch, Nigeria became the world headquarters for extreme poverty. But rather than think of a solution, he is filling his head with names of EVIL Nigerians like a 10 year old class captain who writes only his enemies names in the noisemakers list.

What is the difference between Buhari and Game of Thrones’s Arya Stark, who spent her days and nights memorising the names of her enemies she wanted to kill?

At least Arya’s enemies did something EVIL to her. The only thing Buhari’s enemies did is to vote for PDP. Lest we forget the unnecessary evils that have visited Nigeria because of the plague known as Muhammadu Buhari, I will now list a few. Buhari brought our first recession in a quarter of a century. He made us the world headquarters for out of school children. We retrogressed to became the world’s third most terrorised nation, and according to Transparency International, Nigeria is now more corrupt than at any time during the five year administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Our currency, the Naira, has lost 100% of its value and our foreign debt has skyrocketed from N11 trillion in 2015 when Buhari took over, to N23 trillion today, yet, it is those who voted for the PDP that this bully is referring to as ‘necessary evil’!

Truth be said, Nigeria can be cured of at least 50% of her evils if Muhammadu Buhari is removed by the election petition tribunal. At least he admitted that we, who voted for the PDP, are ‘necessary evil’. What about him? How necessary is he? When he went to live in London for six months, did we die? In fact, his absence was a boon for our economy!

Muhammadu Buhari needs to be told that a so called leader who hates those that voted for him should not be the president of a nation. Such a person is better suited as the leader of a hate group like the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association. No wonder Buhari said we must respect them. They are also ‘necessary evils’!

The truth is that those Nigerians who voted for the PDP are NOT EVIL. In fact, they voted for PDP in order to CHASE AWAY EVIL. The type of EVIL that wants Nigerians to treat Miyetti Allah Herdsmen Association

Buhari with RESPECT even when their members are killing thousands of Nigerians nationwide.

Former President Jonathan lost the 2011 Presidential elections in the Northwest, yet he built more schools and universities there than in any other region. Muhammadu Buhari lost the 2019 Presidential election in Abuja and he designated the residents of the Federal Capital Territory “EVIL” people. Go figure!

India has 8 times Nigeria’s population. She conducted election May 19. She declared results May 23. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sworn in May 30. He named his cabinet the next day, on May 31. Meanwhile Muuhammadu Buhari, who won a rigged reelection in February, has not named his cabinet! However, he had enough time to request for the list of constituencies in the FCT that voted against him. You can see that this man is more interested in revenge against those he called “necessary evil”, than on delivering good governance.

Buhari can’t solve Nigeria’s problem because he is Nigeria’s problem.

The truth is that if not for standards dropping after Independence from Britain, a man like Muhammadu Buhari ought not to have risen to being an officer in the army. And certainly not a General. What is his intellectual ability? What is his input into strategy? Where has he distinguished himself on the battle field, other than by brute force? Don’t hate me because you share his ethnicity or religion. Counter me with facts.

The real question we should be asking is not who is a ‘necessary evil’. We should be asking, who is an unnecessary evil? Between a man under whom Nigeria became the world headquarters for extreme poverty and citizens who voted for the PDP, who is the real EVIL? Notice how quiet Muhammadu Buhari has been after it emerged that another £210 million Abacha loot has been unearthed? Abacha is his mentor. No big surprise.

After all, he said Abacha did not steal. If it had been a PDP politician, the hypocrite would have been shouting himself hoarse everywhere.

Let us face the truth, Buhari has situational ethics. He is partial. His anti corruption war is in reality an anti opposition war that targets ‘necessary evil’. If not, why the graveyard silence over this new Abacha loot?

I just feel sorry for all those who are expecting something good from Buhari’s stolen second tenure. Just look at the grim statistics from The Economist Magazine in its

May 30, 2019 edition.

“The Nigerian economy is stuck like a stranded truck.

Average incomes have been falling for four years; the IMF thinks they will not rise for at least another six. The latest figures put unemployment at 23%, after growing for 15 consecutive quarters. Inflation is 11%. Some 94m people live on less than $1.90 a day, more than in any other country, and the number is swelling. By 2030 a quarter of very poor people will be Nigerian, predicts the World Data Lab, which counts such things.”

After reading Mr. Buhari’s report card, it is safe to say that the greatest evil, necessary or unnecessary, in Nigeria today is a tall, gap toothed, lanky man in Aso Rock, who had the Midas Touch in reverse. Every gold he touches begins to rust. You see, Buhari so loves almajiri that he vowed to make all of us as poor as them!

Reno’s Darts

Dear men, It is not your responsibility to buy a PHONE, CLOTHES, CAR and FUEL for your girlfriend. If you have such a girlfriend, be a man. Summon up the courage to say these words to her-‘YOU DONT NEED A RELATIONSHIP. YOU NEED A JOB!’ And as a man, you should know that it is EXTREMELY WICKED of you to start a FAMILY before you start a JOB or a BUSINESS. Children should be your blessing, not your burden. Birth control is CHEAP. It is called ABSTINENCE. Don’t have sex until you marry. And don’t marry until you have an income #FreeLeahSharibu #RenosNuggets

Reno’s Darts

It has just been revealed that Sani Abacha, the kleptomaniac, bloodthirsty buffoon, who bullied Nigeria for 5 years, has more hidden millions all over the world.

The latest being the £210 million that was unearthed by British authorities in the island of Jersey, in the United Kingdom.

And these are the people Pastor William Kumuyi said we should “RESPECT” and not “ATTACK”. I fought this man as a teenager and almost died. If pastors like Kumuyi had spoken out when I was fighting this man, perhaps we will not have been so disgraced to have the world’s biggest thief as our leader! And someone had the guts to say “Abacha never stole” #FreeLeahSharibu #RenosDarts

ARTS & REVIEW A

AN AUTHOR’S FLAME OF ACTIVISM PAGE 71

PUBLICATION

09.06.2019

VIGNETTES OF AN ELECTORAL TRAVESTY Adewunmi

EDITOR OKECHUKWU UWAEZUOKE/ okechukwu.uwaezuoke@thisdaylive.com

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R Ëž JUNE 9, 2019

70

ARTS & REVIEW\\EXHIBITION

A PHOTOGRAPHER’S TAKE ON SOCIAL REALITIES Ayo Adewunmi’s photography exhibition, which opens on June 12, is not just about the reminiscences of the past elections. It also draws the viewer’s attention to the widening gap between the haves and the have-nots, writes Okechukwu Uwaezuoke

A

kaleidoscope of memories, dredged up from the ineffaceable records of Time, floats before the collective consciousness. Events swirling around that politically significant date, June 12, begin to resolve themselves into coherence before the viewer’s mind’s eye. For many, these events represent the turning-point for the country's democracy. Leading Enugubased artist, Ayo Adewunmi describes that general election, which took place in 1993, as his “first conscious and deliberate participation in elections in Nigeria.�

This is why he bases his photography exhibition – which opens on Wednesday, June 12, from 1 pm at the National Gallery of Art, Enugu – on the theme: Democracy, Election and the People: Photography Narratives.

With the exhibition, the Institute of Management and Technology art and photography lecturer hopes to share the outcome of his 12-year long self-funded photographic documentation of the country’s democracy and electioneering processes with his public. “It is a collection of photography narratives selected from over 5000 images,� he explains in his exhibition catalogue. “An exploration of the dynamics of photography as an aesthetic narrative tool and a means of metaphorical expression. The study queries the dichotomy between the rulers and the subjects. Rather than A photograph by Adewunmi drawing conclusion, this exhibition offers the and role of the audience the privilege to make their own conclusions.� under-aged were very remarkable issues for me. So, I knew I Back then, just the 1993 general elections loomed, the advohad to engage in this research later on.� cacy for change was being ramped up by starry-eyed activists.

A few more elections had held before these thoughts They wanted to see the back of the then military president, who eventually crystallised into reality in 2007. “Just before that 2007 was already in his eighth year in office. general election, I met the News Manager of Nigeria Television Somehow, the unexpected happened during that presidential Authority, NTA, Enugu and discussed my interest in joining the election. Nigerians put aside their ethnic and religious sentiments reporters to cover that year's election with my still photography to line up behind a southern Muslim candidate, whose vicecamera,� he says. “The deal was to make my car available, presidential candidate was also a Muslim. “At that time, the to drive around the reporters. I jumped at the offer. My team most important thing was to have an alternative government,� was to cover Udi and Awgu Local Government Authorities Adewunmi muses. “Like many other Nigerians, I shared in the of Enugu State. The outcome was not only interesting, it was excitement of participation. What this meant for me was to trek rewarding.� about three kilometres to the polling unit where I was to vote – a His experiences during that election opened his eyes to many task that was not in any way burdensome, bearing in mind the realities. Besides the fact that the elections were marred by perceived outcome of the election.� irregularities and malpractices, he realised that several journalists Perhaps, it was the use of the open-ballot system, a. k. a. were working for their interests. He also discovered that “there Option A4, that earned that election its enviable laurel as were several other election backstage stories that were of essence Nigeria’s “freest and fairest�. This system, conceived by Professor and would be required for a complete understanding of the Humphrey Nwosu the then National Electoral Commission system.� chairman, required voters to queue behind their preferred Covering these activities, he understood, would mean having candidate. “The turnout was unprecedented, the queues were to do it alone in the coming election. Of course, he didn’t forget long, voters were excitedly determined to vote and monitor the the disturbing images of thuggery, show of force, intimidation results,� Adewunmi gushes. and intrigued manipulations.

Even decades after, the ambience of those years continues So, during the next election, held in 2011, he thought it was to linger in Adewunmi’s mind. Thoughts of documenting high time he ventured into independent photo journalism. “I election day activities began to suggest themselves to him. “The approached the office of the Independent National Electoral long-distance trekking, the empty roads, the neighbourhood Commission to obtain a personal media pass, fortunately I was activities, the anxiety, the hope, and more importantly, the place given. This gave me the privilege to schedule my own itinerary.

I was mindful of the risk involved, but I was determined to embark on the project, capture vital images which may positively impact on our collective judgement as a nation.�

Getting media permit for the subsequent elections in 2015 and 2019 elections also posed no problems for the Kogi State-born artist, who had been honed by his previous experiences.

Thus, in 12 years he was able to accumulate enough photographic study materials on the Nigerian electoral process. “It is not mere documentation of the election, nor just creating art photography of the election,� he explains. “It is indeed a cumulative collection of metaphorical stories, photographic expressions selected from over 5000 photographs of the project...�

Though the study was carried out within Enugu State, Adewunmi calls it “a typology of what is obtainable elsewhere in Nigeria�, suggesting that “it is a true reflection of our common political experience.�

Adewunmi, who is better known as the art director of the annual Life in My City Art Festival (called LIMCAF) and the initiator of the Art is Everywhere (AIE) project, says the study is not an assessment of the electoral body’s success or otherwise. Neither did he intend it to be a formal evaluation of the performance of the government or even of the political parties per se. “The study, rather than drawing conclusions, offers the audience the privilege to make their own conclusions. The study is an exposĂŠ on the election process on one hand and sociopolitical conversations on the other. It seeks to explore the dynamics of photography as an aesthetic narrative tool and at the same time, a means of metaphorical expression. The study queries the dichotomy between the rulers and the subjects, but draws attention to the cumbersome and subjects manipulative electioneering process which is ironically the point of closest contact within the ever-widening socio-economic gap between the rulers and the subjects.â€?

The exhibition engages the viewers in four sections. In the first section, featuring photographs evoking the 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019 elections, is a visual narrative of what the University of Nigeria, Nsukka PhD holder in art history calls “progressive development of the system, the election process and the Nigerian social characteristics�. The next section, dubbed: “Their Utmost for the Nation�, is an evaluation of the enthusiastic commitment of the citizenry when duty calls. The artist goes metaphorical in Section Three, themed: “Fellow Nigerians�, where he explores the world of the less-privileged children as well as the physically/health-challenged individuals and focuses on the aesthetics in the election spaces in the final section. This exhibition, which is on until Friday, June 21, is not just about reappraising the past elections. It also offers the viewer a close-up view of the society reeling from the ever-widening gap between the haves and the have-nots.

DRAMA

The Big Comeback of Live Theatre Lagos Yinka Olatunbosun

F

or the Id el-Fitri holidays, the Live 7KHDWUH /DJRV ODXQFKHG LWV ÀUVW show in Ikeja to mark its much anticipated comeback. Known for a monthly tradition of free theatre experience, Live Theatre Lagos had remarkDEO\ OHIW D ODUJH VKRH WKDW KDG QRW EHHQ ÀOOHG in the past few years. The producer for the ÀUVW SURGXFWLRQ 2OXZDQLVROD $GHQXJED was glad to restore theatre experience to the Lagosians living on the mainland, who have had to cross the bridge to see plays of premium TXDOLW\ $W WKH /DJRV 6WDWH &RXQFLO IRU $UWV DQG &XOWXUH ,NHMD WKHUH ZDV D KXJH WXUQ RXW RI WKHDWUH EXͿV ZKR VDZ WKH RSHQLQJ VKRZ :ROH 6R\LQND¡V FODVVLF WUDJHG\ 'HDWK DQG WKH .LQJ V +RUVHPDQ EDVHG RQ UHDO OLIH RFFXUUHQFH :LWK KelvinMary Ndukwe as director of the play, WKH SHUIRUPDQFH VWDUUHG 3DWULFN 'LDEXDK DV WKH OHDG DFWRU (OHVLQ 2ED (OHVLQ 2ED KDV WKH PDQGDWH RI FRPPLWWLQJ ULWXDO VXLFLGH LQ IXOÀOPHQW RI WKH WUDGLWLRQDO

rites of passage for the late king on the night of his EXULDO $FFRPSDQLHG E\ 2ORKXQ ,\R KLV SUDLVH VLQJHU WKH (OHVLQ 2ED ERDVWV RI KLV ZLOOLQJQHVV WR GLH D VDFULÀFLDO GHDWK LQ WKH SUHVHQFH RI KLV ZLYHV However, he makes a drastic turn when he sees a beautiful virgin. He tells Iyalode that he wishes to travel light, that is, he needs to release himself of the sudden sexual surge that has enveloped his body upon sighting the beautiful virgin. Iyalode warns him of the consequence of delaying his ritual VXLFLGH EXW KH GRHVQ¡W OLVWHQ +H VHHNV WKH SOHDVXUH of the young blood, ravishing the moment, causing a widespread bewilderment in the kingdom. +LV VRQ 2OXQGH D PHGLFDO VWXGHQW LQ WKH 8QLWHG Kingdom has arrived to bury his father whom he taught would have died on the same night that the King was interred, according to tradition. Little did he know that his father has delayed in honouring the traditional rites and had been arrested by the %ULWLVK FRORQLDO UXOHU 0U 3LONLQJV IROORZLQJ D WLS RͿ IURP $PXVD 8SRQ GLVFRYHULQJ KLV IDWKHU V SUHGLFDPHQW 2OXQGH GHFLGHGO\ FRPPLWV WKH ULWXDO VXLFLGH WR SUHVHUYH WKH KRQRXU RI KLV IDPLO\ 6KDPHIDFHG (OHVLQ 2ED NLOOV KLPVHOI LQ SULVRQ FXVWRG\ EXW ZDV

denied the ceremonial burial and honour by his people.

The play is arguably one of the most SHUIRUPHG RI 6R\LQND¡V SOD\V 5RRWHG GHHSO\ LQ $IULFDQ P\WKRORJ\ LWV SURGXFWLRQ LQ D contemporary society has not failed to ignite WKH DSSUHFLDWLRQ IRU ULFK FXOWXUDO HOHPHQWV $ FDVH LQ SRLQW LV WKH DXGLHQFH¡V ZDUP UHDFWLRQ WR WKH RUDO SRHWU\ RULNL E\ WKH 2ORKXQ ,\R whose lyrical intervention is symbolic in the plot development. /LJKWLQJ HͿHFWV FRQVWLWXWHG WKH SURGXFWLRQ¡V $FKLOOHV¡ KHHO DV WKH LQWHQVLW\ ZDV KLJK DQG ZKDW VKRXOG EH WKH VWUREH OLJKW HͿHFW created too much distortions that distracted IURP WKH DXGLHQFH V YLVXDO DWWDFKPHQW WR the on-stage action. Managing the theatre requires that the audience is issued a warning in anticipation of anyone who has photoVHQVLWLYH HSLOHSV\ 2I FRXUVH WKH SURGXFWLRQ went well without incidents.

The opening show is also expected to serve as an eye-opener for the crew members to make adjustments to subsequent productions. From all indications, the audience

A scene from the play for Live Theatre Lagos has grown and more performances are needed to meet the demand.

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71

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 9, 2019

ARTS & REVIEW\\LITERARY CAFÉ

A TRANSCONTINENTAL SAGA Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

Imminent River by Anaele Ihuoma; Prima – Narrative Landscape Press, Lagos, Nigeria; 2018; 347pp

T

here is the compelling need for me to go back to the publishing of Alex Haley’s Roots in 1976 to find a book that bears comparison to Anaele Ihuoma’s debut novel Imminent River.

Just as Haley after hearing grandma’s tales, Haley traces his roots back to the adolescent Kunta Kinte who was kidnapped into slavery to America from West Africa in the 18th century, Anaele Ihuoma regales us with the intriguing story that goes way back to early 19th century West Africa. The soul of the tale is the old matriarch Daa-Mbiiway, the bearer of the formula to prolong life.

Ihuoma stresses from the beginning that Imminent River takes its roots from fact as he writes in the author ’s note: “This story may be fiction, but it is built on, rather than merely imitating, real life.

The grand matriarch of the epic, Daa-Mbiiway is unashamedly a great maternal aunt of mine, by the same name although spelt (if it ever was), Daa Mbiwe. One of my most exhilarating exhibitions as a little boy growing up in Eziudo community, my maternal home, was when I was asked to go to Itu, now HQ of Ezinihitte LGA, Imo State, Nigeria, by my maternal grandmother Daa Nnennia Iwe, nee Abii, to go visit Daa Mbiwe.”

It is a mark of Anaele’s mastery that Daa-Mbiiway who uncannily disappears at the beginning of the novel curiously ends up holding the entire tale together through the spell of the much-coveted longevity recipe.

The span of the novel divided into three parts can be appreciated thus - Part One: The Progenitors (West Africa. Early 19th Century); Part

Two: Prodigious Leap of Limbs (West Africa. 19th Century to Early 20th Century); Part Three: Blindfolds and Iron Fists – The Rocky Road to the Imminent River (Southern Nigeria: 20th Century). There is a mini-section in Part One bearing one chapter (14) entitled “Mid-19th Century. TransAtlantic to New England).

The book ends with “Epilogue: Ajaelu Tastes the Hiatus Music” where we read: “Urem Okakuko sat, pensive, in front of the Centenary Hall, Ake, Abeokuta, bathed in her own tears. Inside the Hall, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong were performing Satchmo’s ‘Back O Town’ and Armstrong himself, the lead vocalist, was rhapsodising.” Further down the epilogue, Ihuoma writes:

“It was 13 July 1934. Duke Ellington had released his hit track ‘Symphony in Black” in New York. That same day, not far from the Centenary Hall, a baby was born to the family of Pa Ayodele Soyinka in nearby Isara, Abeokuta.”

Let’s call that baby Wole Soyinka, the future Nobel Laureate in Literature who was Ihuoma’s Head of Department at the then University of Ife from 1978 to 1982.

Ihuoma’s blend of fiction, fact and fantasy in Imminent River intervolves the longevity progenitor Daa Mbiiway and her husband Okpuzu, the feuding plutocrats Jesse an Opuddah warring to take custody of long life medicinal formula, the matriarch’s hostile sons Chimenam and Dioti-Ojioho, the suitable boy Ezemba and the village belle Agbonma whom Ezemba loves madly, Edidion whom Daa-Mbiiway almost adopted as a granddaughter, the treacherous and cultic High Chief Nnanyereugo Chris Ojionu, Urem Okakuko the story teller, Wopara etc.

The quest for certitude is not deterred by a letter that informs: “I have just realised that there is no such thing as the Longevity Formula. Or rather that the documents we have, with figures purporting to point us to Eldorado, is nothing but an attempt to send us on a wild goose chase.”

Cracking the Nsibidi code of the Longevity Formula remains a lifeaffirming mission.

Disunity in the land makes the people susceptible to conquest and slavery. Conspiracy rules the roost.

The comeuppance of evil comes translated in the news headline: “Strange River swallows HCO’s Ojionu Cottage.” It is a brave new

world in which “Youths Demand jail for Eagloma cultists”, by listing “the alleged crimes of the fraternity to include, murder, unhealthy sexual practices, the so-called ‘Eagloma double’, political blackmail, archaic cultural practices such as bride battering and perversion of justice.”

Ihuoma’s Imminent River strikes a chord with Ayi Kwei Armah’s 1978 novel The Healers in which the protagonist Densu envisions African unity, just as the hero Ezemba gets the ultimate introduction from David thusly: “Sir, my name is David. I’m the son of Jesse, the healer from the Healing Home. We were rescued from the sea of malevolence. We are here to help the just retool.”

Ihuoma’s reputation as a poet is well-established. He has equally done commendable work as a playwright.

His novel Imminent River is ample evidence of his roundedness in all the genres. His power of description can be enchanting, as note: “Even though he liked to reassure himself that it was Agbonma’s character, rather than her looks, that held his attention, he would be hard pressed convincing God in heaven that her physical beauty had no part in it. She had such lush supply of eye lashes and brows.

Her deep, brown eyes themselves appeared to be set deeper from the rest of her face.

This tended to project her face outwards, giving her something of a permanent smile and an inviting visage. You would think Leonardo Da Vinci had wanted to capture her in that immortal brushwork but could not and had to settle for the Mona Lisa instead.”

However, there is an error in the blurb of Imminent River which the publishers will need to correct in the next edition where “will take advantage off” is printed instead of “will take advantage of.”

Anaele Ihuoma is unafraid to tackle the big themes. With Imminent River he is poised to crack the canon. t 6[PBUV XSJUFT GSPN -BHPT

BOOK PRESENTATION

An Author’s Flame of Activism Yinka Olatunbosun

B

y the end of the public presentation of the book, Do Not Die in Their War written by Dele Farotimi, at Freedom Park Lagos, it seemed that the audience was left a few metres from civil action to affirm their humanity. The author, a lawyer and conscious citizen of Nigeria, had for some years nursed the ambition of documenting the downward journey of Nigeria along the lines of true democracy, good governance and egalitarianism. But some years ago, an unexpected happened.

One afternoon, after consuming his meal of pounded yam, he fainted.

After his recovery, he was thankful that he did not die with the dream of writing a book that purges his mind as well as those of other Nigerians on how Nigeria can be healed of this cancerous system that is self-destructive.

The master compere for the literary gathering, Jahman Anikulapo was joined by the filmmaker and convener of the IREP Documentary Film Festival, Femi Odugbemi who reminded the audience of the significance of holding the book presentation at the Freedom Park, Lagos, a former colonial prison. The opening prayer was led by Pastor Charles Abraham who gave an insightful review of the book as well as the temperament of the author.

“This is a book that can trigger transformation,” he said. “It is peppered with lots of anecdotes and history of Nigeria. It is not a novel rather it is a serious book for someone who wants to exercise the intellect.

It is a book for progressives and it is extremely intense. Dele is a pen warrior.”

Farotimi, in company of his wife and son, also read some excerpts from the book, pausing intermittently to express his state of mind while writing the piece.

“I have not written book; I have poured out my soul and my frustrations. Every experience with the Nigerian state brings pain,’’ he began, citing the myth of gnomes believed as spirit creatures who constantly cry.

“Like Egbere (gnomes), Nigerians are constantly grumbling, grieving and lamenting over issues.”

In his view, Nigeria has only reached a stalemate in resolving its crises because there is a systemic error that continues to sabotage all efforts at making Nigeria a great place to be born and to live.

“Our parents didn’t need to be rich before we could have good education. We are the worst that the Nigerian state has thrown up- existential in outlook, bankrupt in morals,’’ he said. Mrs. Farotimi, in her submission, expressed her initial concern for the content of the book before the final outcome.

“When I started reading the book, I was afraid. I left the book for about a week. Later, I wrote my observations and gave it to him. Imagine if he had bottled all these feelings inside,” she said, allowing the audience to murmur that various responses.

Described as a treatise on Nigeria’s contemporary political trajectories, the preface to the book published by Dele Farotimi is written by Taiwo Akinlami with four loaded chapters.

The book has interesting titles in subchapters such as “The Constitution As a Burden’’, “Collapse of Public Institution’’, “The Normalisation of Madness’’, “Awkward fight Against Corruption,’’ “The Weaponisation of Poverty and Ignorance’’, “Buhari Is Not to Blame? Really”, “Corruption of the News’’ amongst others.

72

SUNDAY JUNE 9, 2019 • T H I S D AY

73

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 9, 2019

CICERO

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

IN THE ARENA

Bandits Now in Free Reign Operations of bandits in many parts of the country have scaled up terrifyingly hence the authority must approach the challenge differently. Olawale Olaleye writes

L

ast week, the story of a certain woman and her family (husband and daughter), who were victims of some marauding bandits, alleged to be of the Fulani extraction, along the Akure-Ilesa road, South-west Nigeria, trended fiercely.

It was not the typical story of kidnappers, who picked up their random victims for instant financial reasons and moved on as quickly as possible to the next prey. This woman painted the gory details of the humiliation and dehumanisation her family was subjected to, in addition to parting with N8 million for their eventual freedom after six days in the dead and nondescript part of town.

The operations of the kidnappers were so organised that, according to her, the settlement was properly structured including a traditional medical section, where victims are sustained pending their release. She didn’t forget to mention that they trekked nine hours from the point they were kidnapped, when their tyres went bad to the operational base of these monsters.

This happened in South-west, Nigeria’s supposed most civilised region, a few weeks after a lecturer at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) was also kidnapped along the Bandits on rampage Ife road and released days after some ransom her frustration about the general security of the had been paid. country, and Katsina State in particular. She That was just two out of the many victims had warned that if the security agencies failed to of everyday assault by these evil elements, who quickly contain the menace of increased bancould not come out to tell their story. There ditry in different parts of the country, it could were too many details in the woman’s narration consume all of Nigeria’s civil population. to be ignored. From their molestation to what A flustered Mrs. Buhari had immediately they saw of the state of other victims, Nigeria, reminded the government of her husband, perhaps isn’t only sitting on a time-bomb, explo- President Muhammadu Buhari that it could sion appears inevitable at this rate except there not continue to watch bandits kill her people is an intervention that defies canal logic. of Katsina after giving him 1.2 million votes, From the homestead of the president, which she described as the highest in the counMuhamamdu Buhari in Daura, Katsina State try, during the just concluded general election. to Zamfara, Kaduna, Sokoto, the whole of the The first lady also called on all well-meaning North East, parts of North Central, South-east, Nigerians to talk about things that were not South-south and South-west, Nigeria is arguright in the country in order to force action by ably not a safe place any more. Recent statistics the government, saying silence could be counshowed that about 25,794 people had been so far terproductive. killed under the current administration.

But if anyone had thought Mrs. BUhari Although the Police Public Relations Ofwas playing to the gallery, how about a former ficer, Frank Mba, paraded some of the suspects Defence Minister, Lt. General Theophilus Danbelieved to be terrorising different parts of the juma; former Military Governor of Rivers State, country with loads of ammunitions recovered, General Zamani Lekwot and Chief Solomon in addition to seeking to link up with the said Asemota (SAN), who recently told the United woman mentioned in the opening paragraph Kingdom Parliament that President Buhari was with a view to combing the area and apprepursuing a jihad or Islamisation agenda and not hending the criminals, the challenge as it were serious about tackling insecurity arising from appears to be overwhelming and therefore, Boko Haram insurgency and herdsmen-farmers approach must change significantly. crises in the country.

The First Lady of Nigeria, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, The trio acted under the aegis of Nigerian last week alluded as much to the negative imChristian Elders Forum (NCEF), which also has pact of bandits’ operations, when she expressed General Joshua Dogonyaro; Justice Kalajine

Anigbogu, Elder Matthew Owojaiye, Dr. Kate Okpaleke and Elder Moses Ihonde, as members.

While blaming Lord Lugard for sowing the seed of ethno-religious crises and dichotomy between Northern and Southern Nigeria, they called for a deepening of democracy and rejection of sharia in a paper dated June 3, to the All Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief, APPG, UK Parliament.

Compounded by the intractable reign of insurgency, herdsmen attacks, ritual killings and armed robberies amongst others, what the government currently has on its hands, shows it must prioritise security as soon as possible as its second term begins to count.

There is no debating how bad the security of the country has degenerated and particularly disturbing is the seeming reality that the government is still unable to wrap its fingers around possible solution to the menace of bandits. The news that the police are currently seeking a different approach to the situation including the enactment of stronger laws that enable confiscation of assets linked to kidnapping and similar crimes is cheering.

Government must of course do more to prevent and burst crime scenes, a possibility that can only be facilitated through diligent intelligence gathering (with the cooperation of the people) and prosecution. The situation is currently very bad and the habitual pretence

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

Who Replaces Bulkachuwa?

W Bulkachuwa

eeks after the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa recused herself from the presidential election panel over allegations that she was involved by proxy, which queried her moral standing, finding a replacement has been more difficult than the initial composition of the panel.

It was bad enough that Justice Bulkachuwa could not by herself tell it was morally wrong to be on the presidential judicial panel knowing full well that the membership of the All Progressives

Congress (APC) by her senator husband and her son could colour perceptions; it took several interventions before sound reasoning could prevail, which forced her to recuse herself from the panel.

Now, for the panel proceedings to progress as expected, a replacement is imperative, yet, she has not deemed it fit to find one. This, again, is raising insinuations that she has probably not found that one person, who could do the kind of ‘hatchet job’ she would have done had she been on the panel. That may not be true but her disposition has only lent credence to it. Bulkachuwa needn’t wait any longer. A replacement is urgently required for the panel to move on.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ JUNE 9, 2019

74

BRIEFINGNOTES Abacha: Grandmaster of Larceny Since the news broke that the British Island of Jersey has seized about $268 million, plundered from the Nigerian treasury by former military Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, Nigerians have wondered how long it would take to unravel the grand heist the late dictator carried out against the nation. Yemi Ajayi examines the Abacha kleptocracy and its price for Nigeria

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ehind his inscrutable visage, perfectly coveredby a pair of dark goggles, he hid his lust. General Sani Abacha, Nigeria’s most brutal dictator, who died in power in 1998, was as enigmatic as he was taciturn. In him, Williams Shakespeare’s immemorial quote in Macbeth that “there’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face” was befitting just as Robert Greene, the author of 48 LAWS OF POWER, could have been proud of what a good example of the principles he enunciated in the book on how to take and retain power.

He must have learnt so much from his years of involvement in successive military coups in Nigeria that he became so adept in the art of deception, which he elevated to statecraft during his five years brutal regime.

The Road to Infamy

In 1993, Nigeria, which was on the cusp of an unravelling new order, was plunged into turmoil.In June, the then military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, had superintended over the conduct of the presidential stanza of a general election that would have ended 10 years of military interregnum and birthed the return to democracy after the sacking of President Shehu Shagari by military adventurists a decade earlier.

The election, considered historic in Nigeria’s annals, was between business mogul, Chief M.K.O Abiola of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Alhaji Bashir Tofa of the National Republican Convention (NRC).

Abiola was on the verge of being declared winner when Babangida struck to abort the process. Acting on a contrived judicial crisis following the order of Justice Bassey Ikpeme that stopped the conduct of the election, despite an ouster clause in the enabling decree, Babangida ordered the electoral commission to stop further announcement of the results.

The annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election triggered a global outrage and a national crisis that consumed the regime. Babangida was forced to step aside.

In leaving, he announced the constitution of an interim national government, headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan.

However, contrary to the expectation that Babangida would go with key military officials of his regime, he left behind Abacha, the then chief of army staff, on the excuse that his presence would safeguard the Shonekan administration by discouraging junior officers, who were rumoured to be disenchanted with the mishandling of the transition programme, to seize power in a bid to course-correct the political scheme.

It was, however, widely speculated that leavingAbacha behind was tactical as there was said tobe an understanding between Babangida and Abacha that he would succeed him.

A Blemished Stewardship

On November 17, 1993, Abacha, who as defence minister in the transitional administration was the most senior cabinet member, took over the government, which was wracked by June 12 violence, by forcing Shonekan to resign.

He justified his action in a nationwide broadcast, with the accusations that the Shonekan administration had suffered paralysis and had been unable to discharge its core function of managing the democratic process in the country. He served notice of his unravelling dictatorship when in September 1994, he enacted a decree that placed his government above the jurisdiction of the courts, effectively giving him absolute power. Another decree gave him the right to detain anyone for up to three months without trial.

Abacha took over and unleashed a brutality never witnessed before on the people. Human rights activists, politicians, journalists and other credible opposition voices became targets of statesponsored terror. He turned the arms bought with public funds on taxpayers.

Many were killed in protests seeking the de-annulment of Abiola’s mandate, while many others were kidnapped by security agents right before their families. Those who could were forced to flee into exile.

The international community became incensed with Abacha’s human rights records, especially in the wake of the execution of the Ogoni Four,which included renowned writer and poet, Mr. Kenule Saro-Wiwa. Nigeria became a pariah nation, suspended from many international organisations, including the Commonwealth of Nations, an agglomeration of former British colonies However, under him, Nigeria made some appreciable progress.

The nation’s foreign reserves grew from $494 million in 1993 to $9.6 billion by the middle of 1997. External debts fell from $36 billion in 1993 to $27 billion by 1997.

Abacha reviewed the controversial privatisationprogramme of the Babangida administration and brought down inflation rate that

Abacha...It’s a graveyard alert stood at 54 per cent under Babangida to 8.5 per cent between 1993 and 1998. This was at a period that the price of oil, Nigeria’s chief source of foreign exchange, averaged $15 per barrel.

He created the Petroleum Trust Fund, a special purpose interventionist agency through Decree 25, which became one of his signature achievements. He picked former Head of State, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, whom he led other military officers to oust from government in December 1983, to chair the organisation.

During the period, the PTF intervened in so many developmental issues across varying sectors. It built between 25km and 100km of road in major cities such as Kano, Gusau, Benin, Funtua, Zaria, Enugu, Kaduna, Aba, Lagos, Lokoja, andPort Harcourt each. In 1996, it awarded N27.3bn contract for road rehabilitation in many parts of the country. As at December 31, 1997, funds available to PTF stood at N115.1bn. It realised a total of N1.049bn from various investment activities.

On the security front, he cracked down on criminals; albeit state actors such as Sgt. Rogers and his colleagues replaced non-state actors as merchants of insecurity.

Then in 1994, he set up a National Constitutional Conference to birth a fresh process that would return Nigeria to democracy effective October 1, 1998.

As part of the plans to return the country to democracy, the military ruling council had got ready the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1995 (with Amendments) to be promulgated by decree to usher in a new administration on October 1, 1998.

The constitution, based on experience garnered over almost four decades of Nigeria’s independence, introduced some fundamental changes, including the creation of six geopolitical zones to guarantee a stable Nigerian polity But while politicians and the world were awaiting the impending democratic order, Abacha was scheming into a farcical exercise.

He planned to succeed himself, a vogue then among military dictators in Africa by transmuting from a military leader to a civilian president. His plan was to either suborn all the political parties to adopt him as their presidential candidate or force them to do so.

Kleptocracy as State Policy

In his time, Abacha ran Nigeria as a personal fiefdom. He brooked no opposition and silenced virulent critics, such as his former military boss, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, Abiola’s wife, Kudirat, the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi and the late Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, through death or prison terms based on contrived charges.

His brutality served as a perfect decoy for him to pillage the treasury. Nigerians and the global community were more focused on his human rights records and political agenda than his management of public funds.

According to a report by Transparency International, the late military dictator was suspected of looting between $3 and $5 billion in public money; is more than the annual spending of the

federal government and enough to build at least two of the 11.8km long Third Mainland Bridge, reputed to be the longest bridge in Africa when it was opened in 1990 and until it was displaced by the October 6 Bridge, located in Cairo.

According to Babangida, he completed the Third Mainland Bridge with less than N1 billion then.

The amount of money stolen by Abacha then was enough to build two or three power plants in the mould of the3,050-MW Mambilla hydropower plant, whose cost would have been significantly lower than the $5.79 billion that the current Buhari administration is spending on the project to address the nation’s power supply deficiency.

But how did Abacha perfect and execute such a grand heist, the biggest so far in Nigerian history? In a detailed account published in his column on the back page edition of THISDAY on July 3, 2014, Chairman, Editorial Board of the newspapers, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, said he committed the grand larceny with the looting of the government accounts with the CBN and shady business deals.

By his account, before his death in 1998, Abacha had pilfered a total sum of $2,263,520,497 “in cash withdrawals, travelerscheques and telegraphic transfers, in the name of “security vote”.

Further investigation by the Obasanjo administration, which heralded the return tocivil rule in 1999, showed that the late maximum ruler was involved in shady deals, including “inflation of (or unexpected) contracts”, that resulted in his scamming the country of about $4 billion.

These stolen funds were stashed in safe haven for illicit wealth in the United States, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg and Spain.

Abacha got help in masking his spoils of office from some foreign businessmen in Nigeria and the incumbent Kebbi State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Bagudu, who squealed on him upon his death to the late Abacha’s successor, General Abdulsalami Abubakar.

In addition, Bagudu returned at various times $604,743,187.19, £60,090,984.93 and £5.25 million to government coffers out of the loots in his custody.

The duo of Abubakar and later Obasanjo launched probes into the Abacha looting and began tracing them. But the government faced a challenge from the Abacha family, which headed to court to challenge the recovery process.

However, the recoveries were met with stiff opposition from countries were the loot was stashed. A worried Obasanjo, miffed by the recalcitrance of the recipient nations, seized the occasion of his address to the United Nations General Assembly in 1999 to prick their conscience.

“It is morally reprehensible, unjust, unfair and against all established human values to engage in actions that actually encourage corruption in poor countries to fatten your own country….

The thief and the receiver of stolen items are guilty of the same offence,”Obasanjo said.

Over the years, Nigeria has continued to receive different tranches of the Abacha loot both from nations and individuals.

These include $110 million from Uri David; $50 million from Abdulkadir Abacha (younger brother to the late Head of State); $170 million from Doraville Properties and about $700 from Switzerland. Nigeria has also received $227 million from Liechtenstein as part of the looted funds from the Abachas and another $380 million from Luxembourg.

The latest of such recoveries was announced during the week, with the seizure of $268 million Abacha loot by the British Island of Jersey, after a four-year legal battle. However, the cash is to be shared between Nigeria, the US and the Island of Jersey.

Protecting the Loot from Re-looting

One major dilemma facing the international community in helping Nigeria to recover Abacha loot is the fear of the illicit wealth being stolen by another set of unconscionable leaders.

This led to negotiations between Nigeria and the international community on how to deploy the returned loot. The understanding is that Nigeria would use the loot to fund social intervention programmes to reduce poverty.

In line with this agreement, the Buhari administration has used part of the Abacha loot to fund the Tradermoni, N-Power andschool feeding sectors of its social intervention programme.

But given the crisis of confidence over the programme, following recent broadsides by Buhari’s wife, Aisha and the opposition, the time is auspicious to review the spending pattern.

Such funds could be helpful to redress the decay in public education and health sectors that are severely overstretched by inadequate and lack of infrastructure as well as personnel and equipment deficits.

The nation needs to spend the loot wiselyand across several sectors as Abacha’s alerts from the grave would not be for eternity.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ JUNE 9, 2019

CICERO/ONTHEWATCH

OSHIOMHOLE-OYEGUN-SHUAIBU GRUDGE MATCH

It’s Fight to the Finish With the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and his predecessor, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun locking horns and Senator Lawal Shuaibu calling for party chair’s head, the future of APC looks bleaker than brighter, Shola Oyeyipo reports

A

fter the All Progressives Congress (APC) fumbled and wobbled to a second term victory at the general election, only a few were not expecting a spark soon after. That spark, however, came a penultimate week from the least expected quarters.

First, it was the Deputy National Chairman of APC (north), Senator Lawal Shuaibu, who fired a shot at his boss, National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole via a letter.

Senator Shuaibu’s petition demanded Oshiomhole’s resignation. It took the APC national chairman to the cleaners, accusing him of being responsible for virtually every misfortune that has befallen the ruling party since the last general election.

Oshiomhole immediately sought protection from his kinsmen, the chairmen of APC in the six states of the Southsouth zone, who issued a statement expressing support for him.

However, the South-south APC state chairmen in an attempt to exonerate Oshiomhole from possible blame for the loses recorded by the party that accused his predecessor, Chief John Odigie Oyegun of laying landmines that precipitated the APC pre-election crisis.

Senator Shuaibu had said in his letter dated May 27th, 2019 and titled: “APC: Its Fortune and Misfortune, Time to Act!”, that Oshiomhole lacked the requisite capacity to effectively run the affairs of the party, adding that the national chairman was always acting unilaterally, attacking and alienating prominent party men from the affairs of the ruling party.

He also accused Oshiomhole of diverting official meetings of the National Working Committee (NWC) to private residences, outside the national secretariat. Even more indicting was Shuaibu’s assertion that under Oshiomhole, most of the decisions purportedly reached were not backed by minutes of the meeting and that “where minutes were taken, they were doctored”.

He therefore regretted that the respect APC usually commanded among its members and sympathizers had been completely eroded, while its goodwill had equally evaporated with the type of attitude of threats to members that Oshiomhole often deploys, including senior members like governors, senators, ministers and other government officials whose functions do not fall within his jurisdiction.

“In advanced democracies, people, who fail to add value or build on what they met on assumption of duty normally resigns honourably. In that connection, therefore, I want to advise you to take the path of honour, to step aside and allow the party to embark on the onerous task of reconstruction and rehabilitation in those states that were weakened by the way and manner the last primary election exercises were conducted.”

Perhaps, Shuaibu’s letter was a response to Oshiomhole’s move to probe anti-party activities against some party bigwigs and stakeholders for their alleged roles in causing crisis during the party primary elections and the general election. The fiveman committee was headed by the Deputy National Chairman (South), Otunba Niyi Adebayo.

Everyone had expected that some of the weighty allegations contained in Shuaibu’s letter would attract immediate response from Oshiomhole or the party, but there was studied silence at least for a one week.

It was the chairmen of the state chapters of APC in the Southsouth zone, where the former Edo State governor comes from that rose in defence of Oshiomhole and attacked Oyegun. In the process, it triggered what has now turned to a war of attrition between two brothers, former governors of the same state, Edo and also former activists in their own rights.

In a resolution jointly signed by the six South-south APC state chairmen, the zone passed a vote of confidence on Oshiomhole and blamed the electoral losses suffered by the party in some states on the alleged landmines created by Oshiomhole’s predecessor, whom they said were bent on destroying the party before departing.

The South-south state chairmen said they were surprised that Senator Shuaibu was just realizing the issues he raised barely a few days after the NWC set up a committee to “look into petitions against the highly placed party stakeholders, who were involved in anti-party activities that were responsible for the loss of the number of states mentioned in his letter”.

Those who signed the resolution were Hon. Ini T. Okopido, (Akwa-Ibom), Hon. Amos Lalabunafa (Bayelsa). Mr. John Ochalla (Cross Rivers). Others were; Prophet Jones Ode Erue (Delta State), Aslem U. Ojezua (Edo State), and Hon. Ojukaye Flag Amachree (Rivers State) The chairmen, who held an emergency meeting in Abuja to consider issues raised by the deputy national chairman, said they did not find anything untoward in the stewardship of the party’s national chairman.

But there is an aspect of the statement by the South-south chairmen that angered Oyegun and woke up the tiger in him.

It was where they accused him of laying the foundation for the present crisis that led to the misfortune of the party in the just concluded 2019 general election.

Oshiomhole and Oyegun during handover...the battle is just beginning Reacting to the allegation that he laid landmines for the Oshiomhole-led national executive, Oyegun described it as “ludicrous and infantile and an attempt to dream up justification for the failings of the party under the Oshiomhole Chairmanship”.

In a statement issued last Sunday by his Public Affairs Adviser, Chief Ray Morphy, Oyegun said Oshiomhole failed, because he lacks the temperament required to run a big political party like APC. Regarding the brewing crisis of confidence and the misfortune the ruling party witnessed at the last general election, the former chairman said the crisis in states arose out of sheer incapacity on the part of the current chairman.

“He engages his mouth before engaging his mind, so he offends party members, so how does that constitute booby traps

by Oyegun, the erstwhile chairman.”

Oyegun said part of the poor sense of judgment Oshiomhole committed was when he gave the states the freedom to choose their methods of picking candidates for elections.

“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 the 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?

“Only a bad carpenter quarrels with his tools. Indeed Oshiomhole is degrading and de-marketing the party. Rather than seek to bring more people on board, he is chasing people out of the party with his agbero style of engagement,” Mr. Odigie-Oyegun said.

As if endorsing the position taken by the South-south state chairmen, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mallam Lanre Isa-Onilu, quickly fired back at Oyegun, accusing of condoning impunity during his reign as national chairman of the party.

In a statement debunking the allegations made against Oshiomhole and his leadership style, Onilu said the new leadership of the party is much focused and has purged its ranks of bad eggs and trying to instill discipline amongst its ranks.

“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.

“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.”

On the Oyegun-led NWC, Onilu said the past leadership of the party accommodated impunity, adding that certain members were superior to the party. He therefore countered Oyegun’s position, saying the immediate-past National Working Committee lacked the courage required to confront the pockets of political despots, who could not operate by the party’s rules.

“The resultant effect was widespread indiscipline across party ranks, lack of respect for party supremacy as witnessed in the 8th National Assembly leadership and its overall inability to align the varying interests of the legacy parties that came together to form the APC in 2014.”

Issa-Onilu blamed the loses recorded by the APC at the state levels on the actions of some of the state governors, whom he said acted against party’s instructions and had to pay dearly for their indiscipline.

At the moment, there seems to be no end in sight to the brewing crisis in the APC. It has been the same blame game coming from the stakeholders and unless something is done to call the warring parties to order, the situation might deteriorate further and become utterly injurious to the collective interest of members.

For now, all attention are focused on President Muhammadu Buhari to see what he can do to stop the infighting among the APC leaders and this, he has indicated interest to do.

For Oshiomhole, it would be instructive to note that Senator Shuaibu was part of a similar move to oust Oyegun during the time his NWC was tinkering with the idea of tenure elongation.

The Zamfara state-born politician with the active support of exgovernor Yari, the former Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha played out the script endorsed by one of the national leaders of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to ensure that Oyegun didn’t get a day added to his four-year tenure.

No doubt, the ongoing altercations amongst the leaders of the APC are not what the party bargained for, neither were they the best behaviour to expect of a party in power at the national level, whose primary role should be to provide the right energy and stable polity to enable its administration to deliver good governance. The party, no doubt, needs to buckle up or be ready to face the consequences of its obvious lack of direction.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 9, 2019

CICERO/REPORT

Yari

Marafa

In Zamfara APC, It’s a Peculiar Mess!

Aftermath of the loss of Zamfara State by the All Progressives Congress to the Peoples Democratic Party through a Supreme Court judgment, the crisis in Zamfara further deepened last week with the suspension of Senator Kabiru Marafa and others, writes Adedayo Akinwale

F

ollowing the loss of all elective positions from the just concluded 2019 elections by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara State to the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), after a Supreme Court judgment, there are indications that all is still not well with the ruling party in the state considering the recent action by the party to address the fallout of the Zamfara debacle.

Though it was expected that the APC would react to the loss of Zamfara to the main opposition party, which is now well positioned to challenge the APC come for the presidency 2023 with sixteen States already in its kitten. These include; Bauchi, Benue, Taraba, Zamfara, Sokoto, Cross river, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Oyo, Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, Abia and Adamawa States.

The Supreme Court had on Friday, May 24, 2019, voided all the votes cast for the APC in the 2019 elections in Zamfara State. In a unanimous judgment by a five-member panel, the apex court noted that the party in the state failed to conduct primaries in accordance with the party rules.

Justice Paul Adamu Galinji, who read the lead judgment, held that all votes cast for the APC were “wasted votes” and declared that any political parties with the second highest votes in the elections and the required spread is elected to the various elections.

The former Governor Abdulazeez Yari faction of the APC, which emerged after the October 3, 2018 primary of the party had in the appeal by their lawyer, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), asked the apex court to set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Sokoto, instituted by the Kabir Marafa faction of the party, challenging the outcome of the primary.

All the candidates fielded by the Yari faction of the party for the Governorship, National and State House of Assembly elections had won.

Though the two factions of the party, led by Marafa and Yari had locked horns in a supremacy battle over who controls the soul of the party in the state. Their seemingly irreconcilable differences denied the party valid primary elections for sponsorship of candidates as required by law.

However, rather than the ruling party carrying out a proper appraisal of what went wrong in the state, as well as embarking on the review of the 2019 elections with the aim of forestalling future reoccurrence especially, with what happened in Ogun, Imo and Zamfara States, the party decided to engage in blame game, which led to the suspension of some party members, with Senator Kabiru Marafa and some of his supporters being the latest victim of the ill-treatment. The party had earlier suspended both former governors of Ogun and Imo States, Ibikunle Amosun and Rochas Okorocha.

A faction of the Zamfara State chapter of the APC had

last week expelled the Marafa, for alleged anti-party activities. Marafa represented Zamfara central during the 8th Assembly. The Yari faction also suspended the immediate past Deputy Governor of the state, Ibrahim Wakkala; and member representing Kauran Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Aminu Jaji.

The party’s state Publicity Secretary, Shehu Isah, in a statement issued on behalf of the state chairman last week, said the decision to suspend the three politicians was reached at a meeting of the State Executive Committee in Gusau, the state capital.

He said, “The provision of Article 21 (A) ii and (D) v of the party’s constitution was activated against the three members for violation of the constitutional provision and engaging in acts inimical to the interest of the party.

“Consequently, a resolution was passed expelling all of them from the All Progressives Congress. We are therefore by this notice informing the general public that from the date of the said resolution, the aforementioned members cease to be members of the All Progressives Congress and consequently are disentitled from enjoying rights, privileges and benefits from the party.”

But in what could be described as a counter move, the faction of the APC in the state led by Marafa also expelled the immediate past governor of the state, Abdullaziz Yari, who is believed to be behind the other faction and the Deputy National Chairman (North) of the APC, Lawali Shuaibu, for allegedly scuttling the party’s chances in the state. The decision was contained in a statement jointly signed by the factional chairman of the party in Zamfara State, Alhaji Surajo Katako and the Publicity Secretary, Muhammad Bakyasuwa.

Nevertheless, with the suspension of Marafa by a faction of the party in state and with the ‘sidon-look’ approach of the national leadership of the party, it shows that the ruling party has not learnt any lesson on how to prevent a reoccurrence, by entrenching internal democracy and challenging the impunity of the political elite in the party.

A political analyst, Mr. Jide Ojo, was of the opinion that in a saner clime, Marafa and Senator Magnus Abe would have been the heroes of this democracy, because they decided to use the instrumentality of the court to seek redress and challenge impunity within the party.

He said rather than castigate or suspend Marafa for the misfortune the APC suffered in Zamfara state, he believed that the person that should be suspended is Yari.

Ojo said, “It is medicine after death. Just like what they did to Rochas Okorocha, and Ibikunle Amosun, after they had carried out their anti-party activities, they now decided to suspend them. Of what benefit and importance is that?

“The point is that APC has lost out in Zamfara, whether

they suspend Marafa or even expel him, it doesn’t change the misfortune that has happened to the party. Marafa is supposed to be categorised as hero of this democracy, because rather than embarking on inciting their supporters to make the state ungovernable and worsen the security situation in the state, they decided to approach the court to seek redress to injustices that were meted out to them.

“Don’t forget, the man bought form, his supporters but forms, but they were not allowed to participate in the primaries. The person who actually should be suspended is Yari, who defied the national leadership of the APC. “Marafa and senator Magnus Abe are the heroes of this democracy, because they decided to use the instrumentality of the court to seek redress, they could have mobilised their supporters to make the state ungovernable, but they decided to use the legal process, “You can hear an Oshiomhole saying Supreme Court judge imposed strangers on Zamfara, what does he mean?

The 189,000 people that voted for Matawalle, did they not express their preference for him? And I was highly disappointed in Prof. Itse Sagay. For me, he is becoming an embarrassment to the legal profession. I’m sorry to say that.

“How could you say Supreme Court should reverse itself, because you want to condone the impunity of a section of the political elite, who have decided to railroad Nigeria’s democracy to autocracy?

“I believe that whether or not the party sanctions Marafa for anti-party, the man has every right to join the party of his choice. He has lost out in his governorship ambition and all his supporters have lost out. If they push him out, are you sure that PDP will not even woo him to come and give him something that will make him relevant in the polity?”

Ojo believed that there is a need to reform the country’s party system. He stressed that Nigeria’s political elite are the major challenge in this country now.

According to him, “The political elite needs to behave themselves if this democracy is to survive. We can’t continue to have this kind of impunity by the Nigerian political elite, who would even want to subvert the due process, subvert the Electoral Act, subvert the constitution, does not have respect even for the INEC guidelines and regulations, that is why we had the 2019 general election the way it was.”

For whatever it is worth, if the national leadership of the APC refuses to intervene and allow the problem in the Zamfara State chapter of the party to snowball into a major crisis to the extent that Marafa and his supporters would be forced out of the party, it may mark the beginning of the end of the party in the state.

While it will also be a loss to the APC, it will be a huge gain for the PDP that will be ready to welcome Marafa and his supporters into its fold and further cement its authority in the state.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 9, 2019

CICERO/REPORT

Ashafa’s Eight Years in the Senate In his eight years at the Senate, Senator Gbenga Bariu Ashafa, Lagos East, wrote his name in legible prints, writes Shola Oyeyipo

B

y every standard of evaluation, it would not be wrong to say Senator Gbenga Ashafa’s sojourn in the red chamber of the National Assembly was epic. Through the dint of hard work, commitment to serving his people of Lagos East and Nigeria at large, the immediate past Lagos national lawmaker imprinted his name on the sand of time as an exemplary

politician.

As a member of 7th and 8th sessions of the Senate, apart from his legislative achievements, there are records that he directly facilitated the empowerment of no fewer than 25,000 people in his constituent, Lagos East, during his stay in the National Assembly.

He did this through various verifiable and existing intervention projects spread across the senatorial district.

Just as in the proverbial statement that ‘the best time to quit the stage is when the ovation is loudest,’ Ashafa threw in the towel, but this time around it was not, because he was defeated, he opted to jettison his ticket for a third term because the party demanded of it.

A member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the APC and Vice Chairman, South-west, of the Southern Senators Forum, Ashafa voluntarily bowed out of the Nigerian Senate meritoriously in October 2018, when the intrigues around his election became tardy and ungodly.

But he had this to say: “Upon due consultation with party leaders and relevant stakeholders, I believe that the time has come for me to sacrifice my ambition for the unity and continuity of our party at the senatorial level and across all elective offices. Hence, I hereby release my unopposed ticket to the leadership of the party in Lagos State.”

Though not returning to the National Assembly for the 9th session, his records of achievements within the period he served are indelible. In the 7th session, he was the vice chairman, Senate Committee on Lands, Housing and Urban Development as well as the Treasurer of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), now APC Senate Caucus. He was also a member of the Senate Committees on Environment and Ecology; Federal Character; Gas; and Senate Services.

When canvassing for votes during the 2011 election, Ashafa vowed to put his public service and the private sector experiences spanning about 30 years to play to advance legislative service delivery in the upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly.

And in an attempt to actualise his legislative agenda of Effective Representation, Youth Empowerment, Educational Enhancement and Sustainable Agricultural Development, aptly phrased as E.Y.E.S, he sponsored important bills, moved motions on the floor of the senate and extended kindheartedness to a lot of people, beyond his constituency.

Some of his bills are Income Tax Holiday Bill for Corporate Companies (2011); a bill on the creation of an agency which would cater to the promotion and preservation of our local languages (2011); a bill on Treaty-Making Process (Amendment Bill) (2012); a bill on Criminal Code (Amendment Bill) (2012); the National Directorate of Employment Act (Amendment) Bill (2013); the Harmful Waste (Special Criminal Provisions, etc) (Amendment) Bill 2013; the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill 2013; the Minerals and Mining Act (Amendment) Bill 2013; and the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act (Amendment) Bill (2014). Others to his credit are Bank and other Financial Institutions Act (Amendment) Bill (2014); Advertising Practitioners (Registration, etc) (Amendment) Bill, Declaration of Assets (Amendment) Bill, Motion on the Deteriorating Services of GSM operators in Nigeria; Motion on the Imminent Collapse of the Third Mainland Bridge and he co-sponsored others such as Prohibition of Same Sex Marriage Bill, which has now become law in Nigeria; Motion on the Lagos Flood; Motion on the Creation of Unemployment Data and Creation of Job Centers in the Country; and Motion on the Solutions to Terrorism in Nigeria.

Under his concept of youth empowerment which aimed to empower beneficiaries with the capacity to generate wealth through acquisition and application of practical skills and knowledge, 558 youths of Lagos East senatorial district were trained.

So far, 36 desktop computers and printers had been donated to the best graduating students in the programme. His Youth Energy Career Program (YECP) was also a major milestone, because young graduates were trained pro bono on Power/ Energy systems at the Siemens Power Academy in conjunction with the Lagos State Electricity Board.

items to the concurrent legislative list to give more legislative powers to states did not see the light of the day, the Lagos lawmaker is an unrepentant stickler to his conviction that the exclusive legislative list must be reduced so as to give more powers to the states.

He played key roles in the activities of the Senate Committee on Water Resources; he canvassed for higher allocations to the Ogun – Osun River Basin Development Authority, which services Lagos State and other states of the South-west.

He openly opposed the passage of the Water Resources Control Bill due to the fact that some sections it would affect his constituency, Lagos East and Lagos State generally.

He contended that Lagos State was in court against the Federal Government (NIWA) on the control of water ways/resources and that as such, the legislature must not be used as a tool to circumvent the judgment of the Supreme Court.

He supervised the activities of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) in Lagos on several occasions in order to ensure that as many pensioners as possible were captured in the Federal Government’s data base and condemned the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa through the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs.

As a member of the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, he, with other members of the committee met regularly with security and intelligence chiefs to proffer workable solutions to security challenges facing Nigeria and his participation contributed immensely to federal government intervention by providing security to address some issues of insecurity in parts of Lagos.

Ashafa is passionate about the rail sector development and he exemplified that by his defence for the appropriations sought for by the executive for capital intensive rail infrastructure projects across the country like the Lagos to Kano (Standard Gauge) Nigerian Railway Modernisation Project and the Calabar to Lagos Standard Gauge Coastal Rail Project.

In the 8th assembly, the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act Amendment Bill 2016, Ashafa...and he conquered the Chartered institute of Logistics and Transport Bill 2016, the City University of Technology Bill 2016, the Sporting Tax Holiday Bill On completion of the six-month training cum internship, 2016, the Nigerian Postal Bill 2017, the Nigerian French Language participants were engaged one way or the other with various Village Establishment Bill 2017, the South West Development Comnational and international organisations, such as Lagos State Electricity Board (LSEB), Oando Gas, EcoSolar, Marine Power and mission Bill (2018), the Federal Polytechnic Iwerekun, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State(EST) BILL 2018, were all to his credit.

ALM Consulting.

He also sponsored nine motions and they are Fuel Tanker TragHe definitely had too numerous achievements that touched edies on Nigeria’s Highways, Nigerians Involvement in Illicit Global lives in his first term to list in this one-page piece. These covered aspects of scholarships to pupils at various levels, provision of sup- Drugs Trade and Increase in Domestic Drug Abuse by Nigerian ports to the people, various donations to school, unions, healthcare Youth, the Rising Incidence of Jungle Justice Among Nigerians, urgent need for the Nigerian police force and other security agencentres, building of garri processing unit, women empowerment, cies to intervene in the increased rate of kidnapping in the Lagos grading and rehabilitation of about 21 roads in the Lagos East east senatorial district and securing the waterways, the outbreak of Senatorial District and other contributions towards community Meningitis, urgent need to curb the spread and stop further deaths self-helps. and on the inadequate Releases In The 2017 Budget And The Need His achievements in the Senate during the second term were equally legendary. At the commencement of the 8th session, before To Expedite Releases in Order to Stimulate the Economy.

Further still, he moved a motion on the Preventable Economic the Standing committees were inaugurated Ashafa was appointed to serve in Senate ad-hoc Committee on the Review of the Finance Loss and National Embarrassment Accruing from the failure of the Federal Government to Complete the National Library after of the Senate and Senate ad-hoc Committee on Import Duty 11 Years, Motion on the need to minimise the possibility of air Waivers.

But when committee Chairmen were announced on Novem- mishaps and near fatalities in Nigeria and Motion on the need to enforce stricter driving regulations against petrol tankers, trailers ber 4, 2015 by Senate President Bukola Saraki, he was named the and other articulated vehicles across Nigeria.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Land Transport, a position he He also moved motion condemning illicit and excessive held till the end of the 8th National Assembly. charges

by Nigerian Banks on customers’ accounts with particular He was active participant of the Senate Committees on Constitution Review, Water Resources, Establishment, Pension and focus on Automated Teller Machine (ATM) Maintenance and withPublic Services, Foreign Affairs, National Security and Intelligence drawal charges and motion on the sad demise of two illustrious Nigerians in the recent Ethiopian Airlines crash. He co-sponsored and Legislative Compliance. four other motions within the period under review.

As an advocate of restructuring in Nigeria and being a Ashafa received commendations and awards locally and member of the Senate Committee on the review of the 1999 internationally for his meritorious service by making hays while the Constitution, Ashafa played important roles in ensuring that sun shone and that seemed to make it easy for the Lagos lawmaker critical amendments to the 1999 constitution scaled through. to bow out with his head high. It would not be surprising to find Though the fourth alteration bill, which sought to alter the him being called up to higher service any time soon.

Second Schedule, Part I and II that would have moved certain

NOTES FOR FILE

As Ninth Parliament Opens for Business… high-wire politics.

Saraki

The eight National Assembly closed business last Thursday at a ceremony, which afforded members to reminisce on the last four years on their performance as lawmakers and Nigeria’s development partners, particularly with regards to how they had partnered their counterparts in the executive and judiciary wings of the government to steer the ship of state. It was indeed a moment of emotion and history.

With that cleared out of the way, President Muhammadu Buhari is billed to reopen the legislature for business on Tuesday for the operations of the Ninth National Assembly to commence as quickly as possible, starting of course with election of its leaders, whose lead-up had been tainted with intrigues and

One thing is however certain, the outcome of the elections of the Ninth National Assembly leadership, which has been sharply de-notated along unbridled interests by some leaders at the expense of collective and development notions, would ultimately shape the future of the government for the next four years. It needn’t be retold how the mismanagement of the 2015 experience impacted on the government for four years. So, let those who have ears and refused to become the guinea pigs of history hear and act decently. The ninth federal parliament is hereby declared open in advance.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 9, 2019

CICERO/INTERVIEW

George Muoghalu

Buhari’s Re-election Is Performance-based The National Auditor of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief George Muoghalu, had played prominent roles in opposition politics until he joined the All Progressives Congress. In this interview with Onyebuchi Ezigbo, he talks about why President Muhammadu Buhari can be trusted to restore Nigeria’s fortunes. Excerpts:

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ould you say President Mohammadu Buhari was reelected, because he had justified his first term in office?

By my own assessment, he did quite well, extremely well, taking into account the challenges – the enormity of the challenges he met on assumption of office and the circumstances. But barring all these, he did quite well.

If you’ll recall in the course of the campaigns, the campaigns were anchored on three major planks: addressing security challenges, fighting corruption, and expanding the economy, and these three areas he did quite well.

Recall that as at the time he was being sworn into office, about 14 or 15 local governments of this country were under the control of Boko Haram insurgents. The terrorist group was running crazy, attacking everywhere and taking control.

But today as we speak, no piece of Nigerian soil is under the control of Boko Haram or ISIS, no matter the name they go with.

As we speak, the issue of Boko Haram has been reduced drastically. That is not to say that you don’t have attack on soft targets, like you also have in some developed economies, where once in a while you have security challenges.

Overall, the President has done very. There are new challenges, like the issue of Herdsmen, kidnapping and so on, but government has demonstrated commitment unlike before.

The morale of the military and the police is quite high. The effort is being sustained in that Muoghalu sector. So, in the area of security, he has done quite well. And if he continues with what he’s doing, I’m sure that in the nearest future the security issues will be a thing of the past, because if you look at the roadmap, the new security architecture, you will agree that a lot is being done.

Then, on the issue of corruption, even the man’s enemies will agree that he has fought corruption frontally, but as being said, if you are fighting corruption, corruption is fighting back; so he is doing quite well in addressing issues that have to do with corruption. He is addressing it seriously.

The agencies of government that are responsible for fighting corruption are living up to expectations and effort is being made to sustain that.

You and I agree as most Nigerians that corruption is endemic in the country, so it will require a sustained action to stem it. Like the President would say, if you don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill you. He has been fighting corruption frontally. Though it has been resisting, I’m confident that if he continues the fight, it would soon be a thing of the past.

Today, people do not steal with impunity, people look at their back before they commit any crime that has to do with corruption unlike before. So, that fight is on; it has to be sustained; it has to be continuous so that in the end, we can achieve the objective.

On the issue of the economy, it is being widely expanded.

Today, we are talking about developing alternative sources of revenue, and that has to do with the investments government is making in the agricultural sector, solid mineral sector and even investment in infrastructure development, which has a way of providing opportunities for expanding the economy, providing opportunities for employment of additional hands and making money available in the hands of Nigerian people.

If you look at the investment government is making in road and rail infrastructure, the transport sector and power sector. So, overall speaking, he has done quite well but that is not to say all our problems have been solved.

The problems are still there, but these are problems that are associated with everyday living and so we’ll continue to address them as they come up. But overall, he has done quite well and that is why Nigerians gave him the opportunity for a second term. I am sure that if he didn’t do well, Nigerians would have not endorsed him for a second term.

You talk about Boko Haram being degraded, but the greatest concern of the average Nigerian today is security, which has become worse in recent times. With herdsmen ravaging communities, kidnapping, rustling and banditry, many states are now affected. The situa-

After nearly three and half years, the ministers have been relieved of their duties.

How would you rate their performance?

They have done well. It is a collective responsibility. The President alone couldn’t do it. It is a team work, the Vice-President is involved, the ministers, even the civil servants are involved because when they see the direction of the government they are bound to work in line with that government.

I think they have done reasonably well. But like I said, all our problems have not been solved and cannot be solved in four years and in one fell swoop. The important thing is that they are in the right direction. The president is focused in what he wants to achieve and he has the support of the Nigerian people, that’s why he was reelected.

tion is scary. Do you still think so?

If you want to make your assessment based on social media, then, you may be wrong. One thing about the social media is that they may pick up pictures of things that happened in say Libya and post and put some titles and people tend to believe that it is what is happening in our country. Most of them are not correct. That is not to say the issue of the herdsmen is not there. The important thing here is whether the government is committed to addressing them.

That’s the question anybody will need to ask.

And you and I know that government is doing all that is possible to ensure that these issues are addressed. When you talk about the issue of security, you also juxtapose it with the economy. Someone might say that because many young people are unemployed, there’s no money and therefore they are looking towards crime. That may be an excuse but that is not the position, because government is at the same time addressing these areas by way of investment in alternative sources of revenue, and investment in agriculture as a means of providing employment opportunity.

There is a massive investment in transport infrastructure by way of road and rail infrastructure so that many of our youths can be meaningfully engaged. But I agree with you that the scourge of insecurity is worrisome, but government is addressing it. Don’t forget that these are new phenomena.

By the time he came in to office in 2015, the issue that was on the front burner was Boko Haram. And Boko Haram has been sufficiently reduced to the point that it was not like before.

Now the other security issues are also being addressed.

The government is providing equipment to the fight these criminals and the morale of the security forces is high.

Recently the police said they were recruiting more personnel.

Also don’t forget that the issue of security is not only for government, it is also for us citizens, because if we help the security agencies with information they need to achieve the same objective. At times, you find that these criminals we know them. They didn’t fall from the sky. The citizens know them.

They are people’s relatives and friends. They operate in the community and environment so we also have a responsibility and role to play to making sure that the environment is secure. The people are also trying by giving police the right information. We saw when the police paraded about 95 persons involved in kidnapping. My prayer is that efforts should be intensified in the area of intelligence gathering and citizens should continue to assist the security forces in information gathering.

In the next four years what direction would you like the party and government to focus?

Let the government sustain the effort that is being made. The vision of the president to leave Nigeria far better than he met it is clear. If you look at the issue of infrastructure investment, I will like that to be sustained. There is no state today, I want to be shown that state, that has no single federal government presence, either road repays or new roads, or rail lines and what have you.

Nigeria is like a project site now – everywhere infrastructure is being addressed. My prayer will be that government will sustain what they are doing, in pursuit of improved power generation, sustain the issue of infrastructural development, sustain the issue of economic growth and development; further investment in agricultural sector and things like that. At the end of the day, I think we will achieve a better result. But I’m confident that the incoming cabinet will see Nigeria from the prism of the president.

What manner of persons would you like to see in the new cabinet?

Nigerians, who are committed like the President, to achieve results; Committed, and I mean committed; Nigerians, who will see Nigeria from the bird’s eye-view of the president.

You’re from the South-east and many believe the zone has not benefited much from the administration, especially in sharing of key positions. Do you share that view?

That’s a misconception. The president has done a lot even for South-east and I can name projects. He has done a lot and is still going to do more. It’s an absolute misconception that the South-east is not beneficiary of this government. The 2nd Niger Bridge that we have been living on promises for the past 16 years, Buhari is doing it aggressively. I was there with the Vice President the other day.

The Onitsha-Enugu road is being constructed. The EnuguPort Harcourt road is being reconstructed. The contract for Aba-Ikot Epkene-Abak Road has been awarded. These are key first class government projects that were abandoned by the previous administration. Our sons are in key positions of responsibility.

We are beneficiaries of the tradermoni, the social investment trust we are part of it. So, where are we excluded? Key positions are being shared. It is not about me deciding. The president has said that he was not discriminatory, and indeed he is not discriminating. The party is not discriminating.

The important thing is that every part of Nigeria will be represented, and that I can assure you.

Key positions of the National Assembly are being decided, every zone is positioning for one slot or the other; some say deputy senate president; some Speaker.

What would you like the Southeast zone to go for?

Every zone wants these positions you are talking about. I will not say which position, the important thing is that the party will decide and after deciding, we appeal to our people that this is what we want done. It is still the choice of our representatives in the two Chambers to decide where the leadership will come from at the end of the day.

So, what the party is doing is recommendation, because we are interested and justifiably so. Left to me, due to the selfishness in humans, I would want the president, vice-president, senate president and speaker – all to come from my local government, but it is not possible.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ JUNE 9, 2019

CICERO/INTERVIEW

Uwoghiren: Obaseki Has Set a Fresh Standard for Integrity, Objectivity, Enthusiasm Jefferson Uwoghiren, a lawyer and media practitioner is based in Benin City. In this interview with Bayo Akinloye, he shares his perspectives on the gains of the governance model adopted by the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, the impact of his two years and six months old administration, challenges and sundry issues.Excerpts:

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hat are the key areas you think government should pay serious attention to?

Development economics. It is a simple prescriptive response I can readily give.

First, we should ask ourselves, how come, a child that is born, today 6th of June, in London, United Kingdom, and a child born in Nomayo Street, in Upper Sokponba area of Benin City are likely to have two different career paths, and are likely to have two different challenges within the first ten years of their lives? The answer lies in the nature, quality of leadership provided by political leaders of each City.

A child who is born this very day in the UK is likely to have access to a good home, is likely to have access to quality education, quality food, more protective and organised security and he is likely to have opportunities to go to good schools, and possibly fully develop his innate potential and desires.

In contrast, a child born in my area here in Benin, Upper Sokponba axis, or Ologbo or Evboneka or Abudu, or Uromi, or Auchi, or Fugar or Okpe, or Igarra, or Owan, is likely to face a lot of development impediments. As the child develops and grows, the child is likely to face problem of poor access to quality healthcare, he’s likely to face problem of inadequate feeding, problems of light to do home-works, likely to face problem of access to justice, absence of recreational facilities and activities, access to quality education, problem of security, because when your parents are facing the danger of being robbed, it affects the family.

If every night your father is involved in what we call “civil defense”- going to stand or lay ambush in horrific junctions Uwoghiren within your community, with some group of men, children What’s your assessment of Obaseki’s performance in the made to experience these nightly scare tactics are going to be areas you have just highlighted? psychologically affected. It’s also going to affect the home, it’s Obaseki as governor of Edo State, as a fine economist and going to affect the child, because when daddy comes back from a fearless, principled and compassionate leader has set a fresh his civil defence work – the work that should have been done by somebody else, who is the agent of government – the child is standard for integrity, objectivity, enthusiasm, compassion and insight that will be difficult to surpass for a long time. This is my going to be mentally scarified. own personal opinion. He is an overflowing vessel of economic It is the ability and skillful deployment of materials, money development strategies, a development economist, who has and men by political leaders to attend to all those impediments fostered a challenging regime of economic development, which that are likely to make a child born on this same day in our seeks to liberate Edo State from the distractive, noisy and environment to achieve that full potential as a child born on a combative politics of the recent past, by creating numerous similar day and time in a place like the UK and other advanced beneficial incentives to work, save, invest and succeed. countries.

Obaseki administration cannot be discussed without checking How do we diminish these challenges if we cannot his impacts on governance. Adding my voice to the chorus of completely eliminate them? How do we ensure that a child opinions about the personality of Governor Godwin Obaseki born on this same day in Edo State, will have some level of and his reinterpretation of Edo history reflects a personal health protection – if not commensurate to what we have in the UK, at least to some extent – have access to proper and edifying approval of his illuminating and impactful leadership.

He is a very eclectic leader with the presence of Prof. Ambrose learning environment, to assimilate knowledge dispensed by Alli; the timing of Tunde Idiagbon; the sincerity of Hayford Alile quality teachers, as a child born the same time and bred in the and the endearing warmth of Dr. Osaigbovo Ogbemudia. He UK. We need knowledge-driven politics and leadership. The job of kind of embodies these four persons I have described.

If you recollect how Alli impacted the educational sector; he our political leaders is to ensure that they create access to quality ensured that there was massive investment in schools which reading and learning environment, quality teachers, because resulted in high enrolment of students in schools, free books, free if the teacher is challenged, he is going to also pose a lot of tuition, in fact we had free and qualitative education. A lot of problems to the children too. There is no child that is dull; there persons still give thanks and praises to him for the opportunities is no child that is bad. Time and chance happen to everybody. he created. So, if you see what Obaseki is doing in the educaSo, the job of our political leader is to begin to see how they can tional sector today, you can easily see why I can say that he has begin to lower, if not completely eliminate those impediments: that presence of Ambrose Alli. poor access to quality healthcare, quality education, quality On the timing of Idiagbon, Tunde Idiagbon was bold for the learning environment, quality teachers, food, security, good good of this country. He stepped on many toes in the process. housing.

He ensured there was both physical discipline and individual Essentially by combating endemic and ancestral poverty development. To the extent that we had War Against Indisciwrecking damage everywhere. We may not have taken note of pline (WAI), launched at different states, Obaseki, like European the dire implications of raising families under oppressively poor political leaders of industrial revolution era, imbued with the conditions. It’s incurably and horribly destructive for a family duality of Protestant Ethics and Spirit Of Capitalism, has in the of eight to be raised in a one-room apartment. Over 40% of our past years inaugurated a very powerful work ethic. people are in it everyday. In the night, they will lift the centre The only difference is that Idiagbon was wearing military table, and place it somewhere in the passage and spread mat uniform and Governor Obaseki is wearing a corporate tie. So, for all the children. Five will be sleeping on the floor, one will Obaseki embodies inspiring calmness that even a lot of persons be on the couch and two will be under the bed. Mum and dad working with him have been forced to adopt as work ethics. and maybe the newborn on the bed! Everybody wakes up and When I talk about the sincerity of Hayford Alile. If you are continues as if nothing is wrong. good in your business, you will get to the top. In the slippery But many of these children from this background are going financial world of blue collar crime and dangerous insider to face a lot of psychological challenges. Our ability to effectively trading, Obaseki was able to navigate dangerous minefields access fresh visions for changes depends on our willingness to to emerge as a top corporate player in the Nigerian economy make several basic commitments – to bring healthy children prior to becoming the governor of this state. When I talk about into the world and get them into shape to learn when they start school. To make sure that they all learn what they need to know his endearing warmth, Obaseki’s administrative skills, strategy and position on a lot of policies that he initiated and nurtured to participate as productive members of a global economy. As portray him as a person with warm regards to how history will leaders, it is our abilities to eliminate these kinds of intensely absorb or absolve him. inhibiting living conditions that transform nations. It is the high Very few intelligent economists imbue with political powers percentage or number of persons every year that are lifted out of would wish to go through governance without leaving a such condition that makes for transformation. positive trace behind to mark his passage. Late Dr. Samuel

Osaigbovo Ogbemudia must be very proud of Governor Godwin Obaseki.

Prior to this time, you had to have a politician on your street for you to have hope of your road being tarred, or any form of development coming to your area. Now, you don’t even need to know anybody, and that is the way it should be.

Before now, if you wanted your road tarred, and you are a member of the opposition, your community will compel you to decamp to the ruling party so that you do not pose a problem to them. The whole community will threaten you and accuse you of being the reason for their underdevelopment. That the government in power probably would have tarred their road, but because you are in opposition, government does not want your road tarred, as they want you to live in defeat. But you don’t find this kind of horrid politicking under Obaseki. So, Obaseki is making a lot of people feel different about government and governance, and that is one of his key attributes.

If you look at the civil service, it was a very atrocious environment for a lot of persons, where promotion to the high rank was so politicized, resulting in shameful outcomes that impacted negatively on productivity. Obaseki changed all that in the system by insisting on formal qualifying examination. Nobody has been appointed permanent secretary since he became governor without passing that basic examination. He brought in the Administrative Staff College officials to conduct the examination.

This policy has spurt a new culture of frantic reading among civil servants, because they now know that for you to move to the next level in your career, you have to imbibe and internalise the knowledge-driven Route. Merit is now being advertised and rewarded and there is a hierarchical struggle based on merit. No amount of lobbying will make you move to the next level unless you work hard. The culture of knowledge, hard work and the culture of consistency in applying the rules and studying very well, have opened up a new vista, so those persons who didn’t pass, and who were not promoted have nobody to blame other than themselves.

Obaseki has moved further to ensure that the environment in which they work as civil servants is very conducive. Nothing diminishes productivity as a very unhealthy work environment.

If you work in a place where you don’t have a chair, you don’t have table, you don’t have fan or light, you are not going to be productive. Government work will be stifled and challenged, and it explains what you see in the ultra modern State Secretariat, which unarguably is the biggest in the whole of South-South and South East zones.

It will interest you to know that one key administrative model that governor Obaseki has inaugurated is how to achieve efficiency at reduced cost, instead of mediocracy at a very high cost (giggles). This is his major point of departure from previous governments. Local and foreign investors have noticed this and are daily setting up businesses making Edo State the new destination for business.

I believe that if we have had this kind of economic interventions by previous governments, it would have helped reduce unemployment, youth restiveness, brain drain and irregular migration, which have become major challenges today. So, it is actually very rewarding to have Obaseki as our governor in this trying time.

But some politicians do not think so, at least from remarks attributed to some of them. Are they being mischievous or playing the ostrich?

I think it is a very unfortunate development, and a lot of persons are quite edgy discussing it, because they don’t want to offend this side or that other side. But, my brother, we have to call a spade a spade and address the issues and move forward.

The truth of the matter is that the immediate past governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole created a very highly extractive set of policies that benefitted many politicians.

Unfortunately, Obaseki inherited these set of leaders. There is a world of difference between Adams Oshiomhole and Governor Obaseki and their deployment of power. Comrade Oshiomhole believed that the influence of government is related to its naked raw display, like the liquidation of opponents, empowerment of societal base elements, solidarity visits, conferment of unmerited favour, owing to his background in activism. Obaseki, in contrast, believes that power is more powerful when less used. So, coming from two different temperaments, two different backgrounds, it was obvious that there were going to be challenges. The politics that led to the emergence of Oshiomhole as governor of this state is not the same politics that threw up Obaseki. With due respect, Oshiomhole did not prepare for the office of governor, it’s not something he planned for and anticipated. He was a disinterested beneficiary of power tussle and conflict between the Chief Lucky Igbinedion faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the Chief Tony Anenih group.

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Eighth National Assembly in session

To the 8th N’Assembly, It’s Goodbye!

Legislators of the 8th National Assembly, last Thursday, at their valedictory session, reminisced on their four years legislative tour of duties, report Deji Elumoye and Shola Oyeyipo

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he Eighth National Assembly, inaugurated on June 9, 2015, last Thursday adjourned sine die but not without the federal lawmakers taking stock of their four years legislative activities.

The day began with showers of blessings as the heavens opened up, resulting in the late take-off of the valedictory session as both Senators and House members took their time to arrive the two chambers of the Assembly.

From the lobby, one could see the aides and relatives of the lawmakers itching to be part of the last day of their principals.

At the Senate, the session witnessed a large turnout with many Senators, who had been absent since the last February general election turned up and stood to be counted as part of the last session of the Assembly. Those in this category included former Senate President, Senator David Mark and former governor of Benue State, Senator George Akume.

Conspicuously absent at the session was the Senator representing OgunEast,KashamuBuruji,whocontestedtheMarchgubernatorial election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party ((PDP) in Ogun State and lost as well as the former governor of Plateau State, Senator Joshua Dariye, who is serving a 10 year jail term in Kuje Prisons since June, 2018 after being convicted of financial impropriety as governor of Plateau State (1999-2007).

With the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, saying the opening prayer and after welcoming the Senators to the session, the floor was now open for the legislators to give their valedictory speeches. The Senators took their turns to speak about their legislative experience in the Eighth Senate.

On his part, Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, whoisreturningtotheupperlegislativechamberlegislativechamber, expressed happiness that he was able to work with the calibre of lawmakers in the 8th Senate. He said the 9th Senate will work on other legislative areas not covered by the outgoing legislative body.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Dino Melaye, who is also re-elected showered encomiumonSaraki,saying,“Youwillrecallseverally,Mr.President, I addressed you as the irremovable President of the Nigerian Senate, when cankerworms and caterpillars arose against thee, when the seat of power took you to Code of Conduct Bureau, when the state petitioned you and took you to the courts and established a case of forgery against you.

“Today, Mr. President, you are not just completing your term but you are going to have a glorious exit against the machinations of some demons. I congratulate you. And to my surprise, many of those who orchestrated your removal, downfall on this floor, called you their mentor. Mr. President, it is your time to laugh.�

He recalled his travails as a Senator since June, 2015 and thanked God for seeing him through all tribulations.

His words: “When the governor of Kogi State and his allies took on me and planned a recall exercise, I was in police custody, when the recall failed woefully. I am here to thank God, because in 2017, I was arrested eight times. In 2018, I was arrested 18 times and out of 365 days in 2018, I spent 124 days in police custody. “I campaigned only four days to the 2019 election. I have every cause to glorify God, who is above every other man. Last year, I was arraigned in 12 different courts but here I am standing and returned undisputedly as a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. And I say to God alone be the glory forever and ever�.

Melaye advised his colleagues, saying once you take the oath of office, you cease to represent your political party, religious organisation or a cabal on this platform. “We must know that in the Ninth Assembly, fortunately or unfortunately, some of us are going to be there. We will continue to ask without fear or favour that Nigeria shall be ahead of any political permutation, presidential or gubernatorial, party permutation. Nigeria shall come first before any selfish interest. And we will stand by that and continue to speak the truth not minding whose ox is gored. “I congratulate my colleagues, who are coming back. You have another opportunity to prove that you are truly a Nigerian, because no Nigerian is more Nigerian than any other Nigerian. We must prove that we are here on behalf of the people. “And we must continue to do only those things that will promote the unity and prosperity of Nigeria. Enough of presidential orders; enough of party directives!Any order that is contrary to the progress, unity and prosperity of Nigeria should not be entertained on the floor of the Senate,� he further said.

On his part, former Senate Leader and another returning Senator, who is eyeing the 9th Senate Presidency, Senator Ali Ndume emphasised that notwithstanding his disagreement with Saraki, they were able to forge ahead in the interest of not only the legislative body but the nation at large. “We have been together for the past four years in the 8th Senate.

We have at lots of time had cause to disagree with you (senate president), but I respect him for one thing and that is his unequal resilience and standing for what he believes in. Perhaps, that was why he and I had some differences, because I also stand for what I believe in, just as I try to take it to the end. “In the course of that, there would be disagreement, because you are Saraki and I am Ndume. But all I want to add is that throughout the four years, I’ve never had differences with anybody consciously on personal basis. It is either what I think is right, ran in conflict with the view of another person, but definitely not as a result of personality or the person involved�.

To him, the concern principally is about the independence of the legislative arm of government.

He went further to say “My greatest concern is the independence of this institution, which is not to say that we should not work in harmony with the other arms of government; but it is incumbent on us not to compromise independence of the legislature, which I see as the most dangerous thing coming our way in the next senate. “The only difference between the rules of the military or any form of tyrannical rules is this institution or legislative arm of government. We need to support other arms of government but must avoid doing so by acquiescing or compromising the principle governing independence of the legislative arm of government.�

For the Senate Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan, who came late to the valedictory session there was need to build a strong relationship between the executive and the legislature, without necessarily compromising the independence of the legislature!

Lawan, who is a strong contender for the 9th Senate Presidency, recalled that his experience as Chairman of Senate Committee on Defence taught him that the Nigerian military officers and men are very courageous and determined to fight the insurgency.

Going down memory lane, Lawan said his group led by Senator Barnabas Gemade cooperated with Saraki after inauguration on June 11, and expressed happiness that the 8th Senate was ending on a very good note.

Rounding off the session, Saraki, who at various times interjected his colleagues speeches with jokes thanked all and sundry for a successful outing by the 8th Assembly.

Reading from a prepared text, Saraki declared: “Distinguished colleagues, as we come to the final plenary and the last few days of the eighth Senate, it is a victory in itself that we are seeing the journey to its momentous end. That I am here today, that you

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To the 8th N’Assembly, It’s Goodbye! are here today, is a victory for democracy. It is a testament to what people can do when they come together for the greater good. This is also one of those occasions when the Supreme Creator reminds us once again, that power does not reside in any one person. “Before I proceed, let us pause to honour the memory of colleagues with whom we started this journey but who sadly are not here with us today. We lost SenatorsAli Wakili (Bauchi South), Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke (Osun West) and Bukar Mustapha (Katsina North) in the line of duty in this Senate. I ask that we observe a minute silence for the continuing repose of their souls. May the Almighty grant them eternal rest! “Distinguished colleagues, let me thank each and every one of you for your contributions towards making this the historic Senate that it is. When I think of the many trials and tribulations we have faced as an institution, and my personal travails particularly at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, I am humbled, because none of our achievements would have been possible without the support and cooperation of the entire members of this chamber. “The invasion of the National Assembly by armed security operatives in August 2018 will live in infamy. This way down the line, however, I realise that the day of that invasion was the saddest – but in many ways it was also a good day for asserting the independence of the legislature and the triumph of democracy. “It also turned out to be a showcase of the special relationship between this chamber and the House, as Honourable Members stood in unison with their Senate colleagues in defiance of the invaders. I thank the House of Representatives for the remarkable unity of the two chambers of the 8th NationalAssembly, for it was only in unity that we could withstand the storm. “The pieces of legislation we passed in the crucial areas and arenas affecting the daily lives of citizens – on the economy, in education, security, anti-corruption, health and so on – will remain a benchmark. Working together, we clocked many firsts in the 8th Senate, and we should rightly be proud of these, especially as they are imperishable legacies we are leaving for the people. “OurmanyfirstsincludetheNationalAssembly Joint Public Hearing on the Budget, which we started with the 2016 Appropriation Bill. The engagement of the private sector and other stakeholders in crafting the economic legislative agenda was a watershed. “For the first time, there were meetings and interactions with members of the public, which werenotpreviouslythenorm.Onesuchinteraction was the Public Senate, which gave youths the opportunity to spend a day with me as President of the Senate. I have pleasant memories of my reading to an audience of small children inside my office, where – in the true spirit of Children’s Day, the kids themselves were the dignitaries. “It was during this Senate that we patented the concept of the Roundtable. This was groundbreaking. We left the centre of power in Abuja to tackle pressing social issues at the very heart of the communities most affected. “Notable among these was the Senate Roundtable on the Drug Use Crisis held in Kano in December 2017, and the one on Migration and Human Trafficking held in Benin City in February 2018. At both events, we not only dialogued for solutions with the relevant government agencies, internationalpartnersandcommunityleaders–we heard from the victims themselves.�

Saraki also did not fail to comment on the frosty relationship between the Executive and the Legislative arm of government saying, “It is also important that I make some comments about Legislature-Executive Relations. My own take is that if the Executive sees the NationalAssembly’s work on the budget as interference despite the provision of the constitution, then there will continue to be problems between both arms of government. “If the presidency refuses to have engagements and consultations with the leadership of the National Assembly before the President submits the budget to the legislature, then, there will continue to be frictions. If the Executive sees the failure of a few of its appointees to secure confirmation by the Senate as a disagreement, then, the relationship will not improve. If the Executive encourages its appointees, who fail to secure Senate confirmation to remain in office, then, there will continue to be disagreement. “If the Executive believes the Legislature is a rubber stamp without the right to question its actions,then,itwillbeasubversionofthePrinciples of Separation of Powers and Checks and Powers.

My advice is that both arms of government have a role to play in our quest for good governance

Cont’d from pg. 80

Saraki and Dogara... an era ends in a blaze of glory

and their leadership should work for co-operation and fruitful engagement. “There is no way I can end this speech without recalling a certain injunction which goes thus: If we speak the truth, we will die; and if we lie, we will die, so we might as well tell the truth.

I am, of course, paraphrasing the inimitable Dino Melaye, whose flamboyance, catchy turns of phrase and songs meant that the 8th Senate was never in danger of becoming staid. Dino and Senator Kabir Marafa made sure that there was always just enough colour and exuberance to keep us chuckling now and then. They kept us from taking ourselves too seriously, and that too, had its place.�

AttheGreenChamber,theSpeakeroftheHouse, Hon Yakubu Dogara asked for forgiveness from those he might have offended in the course of his duty as presiding officer in the last four years. “I, and perhaps many of us, might have made one mistake or another and caused offence among ourselves these four years. This is expected since we are human. May I therefore implore everyone I might have wronged to forgive such wrongs! “On my part, I hold no grudges against anyone, and I plead with everyone to forgive his brothers and sisters. Let us leave here today without any resentment or bitterness in our hearts.�

Giving account of his stewardship, the Speaker emphasised that with 382 bills, the House he led surpassed records of all previous assemblies. He also bemoaned the growing rate of insecurity in the country and advised incoming assembly to spare no effort in ensuring that the anomalies that usually characterise Nigerian elections are corrected through their legislative efforts. “I want to charge the members-elect of the 9th National Assembly to be determined to raise the bar of the records of the 8th National Assembly.

Onesorepointthatisamust-cureinourdemocracy is the issue of flawed elections. “We must ensure the conclusion of the ongoing legislative processes on Electoral Reforms in a way that will make electoral fraud near-impossible, if wearetoenjoytruedemocracy.Wemayhavedone much, but the work of democracy still remains undone,� Dogara stated.

The Speaker, who reiterated that “The parliament was not designed to be an altar of praise for the executive but a co-equal branch to serve as a check on executive power,� reiterated his concern over the future of Nigeria, because of the alarming rate of insecurity across the country.

He declared that to address the spate of insecurity in the country, leadership must jettison partisanship and put the best of human and material resources to work in confronting the menacing level of the activities of criminals in the country. “It appears we are losing the fight against violence and as if that is not bad enough, the situation is so dire that known statesmen are becoming petrified and speaking up in ways that may further rend our national fault lines.

It is like we refused to hear the whispers and now the screams are threatening our ear drums. “This is a national problem that we can only solve if we pull ourselves together and not apart regardless of political persuasions or creed. The challenge is to get the leadership that throws out politics and partisanship out of the window – leadership that reins in all our best human and material resources to confront these menacing challenges. Yet, instead of uniting to confront this very danger, all one hears are sermons of divisiveness and permutations for 2023 elections.

I wonder daily if this is not how the bottom looks like,� he stated.

Highlighting the success of the 8th House, which he attributed to the unity and cooperation among members, Dogara noted: “This wonderful cooperation, no doubt, enabled us to have a very stable and peaceful 8th House of Representatives and to set records that have no parallels in our history of lawmaking as a nation. On your behalf, I make bold to say that the 8th House of Representatives, and the National Assembly as an institution, has been a huge success. “This is without apology to whoever may hold a contrary opinion. The stubborn facts are out there for every commentator to see. We took off amidst head winds and turbulence but on stabilising, we have witnessed book throwers and table climbers transform into solid leaders.

We have seen mace grabbers wrestled until they surrendered to the dictates of the Rule of Law, true friendship and brotherhood. “We have witnessed the transformation of those, who struggled to move mere motions to eloquent debaters and to crown it all, those who, at inceptiondidnotunderstandthemselves,working together, in spite of whatever differences, for the national good. This is the spirit that defines us as legislators – the institution of the legislature and I am happy we embraced it fully. “The 8th House holds the record as the most persecuted and harassed parliament, ever in Nigeria’s history. Some of our members bear the scars of reckless deployment of institutional prerogatives. We witnessed sieges and invasion by state operatives. Some members suffered witch-hunts, house arrests and false accusations. “Wearealsowitnessestobarrageofuncharitable criticisms and assessments bandied on daily basis in the media by hired mercenaries, who masquerade as analysts. Most of these analysts are ignorant of the fact that the parliament was not designed to be an altar of praise for the Executive but a co-equal branch to serve as a check on Executive power.�

Dogara however expressed satisfaction with his achievements as the leader of the 8th assembly, particularly because the assembly sustained the legacies of previous parliaments by ensuring that the House was not compromised or exploited. “The job of parliaments all over the world is to escalate constructive conflict. It is our job to search for the truth and without the clash

and compromise of ideas, the truth can never be found. Everything loses its meaning in the absence of the truth. Anyone who sees disagreement or conflict as inherently bad has no business leading a democracy, because we are not likely to ever see any healthy democracy that is not productively noisy. “This House and indeed the legislature, must always engage in debates about both pleasant and unpleasant issues, if it must continue to do the work of democracy. Progress ceases the very day we cease to disagree. Every invention, every innovation has always come from someone who disagreed with the status quo. “That is why the Athenian lawmaker, Solon, undoubtedlyoneofthosewhocradledDemocracy, once decreed it a crime for citizens to shrink from controversy. No Parliament anywhere can win a popularity contest and Parliaments are not meant to receive praise. Any Parliament that receives praises, especially from the Executive, must be an assemblage of enablers, who have abandoned fidelity to their oath of office. “To the chagrin of some, I am happy that this Assembly, just like others before it, did not allow partisanship to erode our system of checks and balances,� Dogara stated.

Reeling off the major achievement of the 8th House, Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, Hon. Edward Pwajok (SAN) said “In the first session, 685 bills were introduced and 68 were passed. In the second session, 379 bills were introduced and 41 were passed. In the third session, 446 bills were introduced and 94 were passed. In the fourth session, 143 bills were introduced and 63 were passed. The total I repeat, 1643 bills that we presented and 352 were passed. “For motions, 1413 were resolved, 1137 were referredtovariouscommittees,17werewithdrawn and one was deferred leaving a total of 1588. Petitions, the House received and laid on the table, 1192 petitions, laid and yet to be considered, 22; considered on the floor of the House 205, and rejected two,� saying “108 of the bills came from the Senate,� and that “1465 of the bills were private members bills.�

Pwajok added that “This 8th assembly made history by altering our constitution. Given our history and circumstances, it is not an easy thing to do. From the second to the third republic it is only the 6th Assembly that succeeded in amending the constitution with the first, second and third alterations. This Assembly successfully altered many sections of the constitution, including giving the state legislature and judiciary financial autonomy. “We also lower the age limit for those contesting in the not-too-young to run bill, which opened up the space for our younger citizens to offer themselves to be voted for offices. We also amended the constitution so that if there is any vacancy or something happen to Mr. President, the Vice President will not only step in but retain power and the same thing too for governors.

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SOCIAL MEDIA BITS

Last week, Emir Sanusi was queried, more ‘Abacha loot’ was found, and sister media houses got their licence suspended...

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ast week, out of the blue came news that a court seized the sum of ÂŁ211m (about N82 bn) traced to the late military dictator, General Sani Abacha, which was found in a Jersey bank account on Channels Island.

The money is now being held until authorities in Jersey, the US and Nigeria come to an agreement on how it should be distributed.

The Nigerian government has over the years, recovered loot traced to Abacha who ruled the country for five years. By the time he died in office in June 1998, he had reportedly stolen an estimated £5bn from the country’s coffers.

While some commentators joked on social media that Abacha is helping the country in death by releasing “credit alerts� for government to use for its social initiative projects, the opposition political parties – especially the PDP – found a way to criticise President Muhammadu Buhari following the revelation.

The President must be worried they said, since he worked under the late army general’s government, and has expressed doubt about his theft of public resources, rather commending him for contributing to the infrastructural development of the nation.

Anti government elements went further to suggest that President Buhari’s government is toeing Abacha’s path by clamping down on the press, following the National Broadcasting Commission suspending the operating licence of DAAR communications until further notice.

DAAR Communications is the parent company of Africa Independent Television (AIT), and Ray Power 100.5 FM (in Abuja and Lagos).

According to the commission, reasons for the suspension included alleged inability to pay license renewal fees, hate speech, as well as using and allowing the station to be used for selfish political ends Supporters of the NBC’s move pointed

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SOCIAL MEDIA BITS out that the media outlets flouted the rules, while stating that previous democratic governments led by Goodluck Jonathan and Olusegun Obasanjo had done likewise, thus no reason to bash the Buhari-led government.

The founder of DAAR Raymond Dokpesi, accused the Director General of the NBC, Modibbo Kawu, of bias and partisanship since he’s a member of the APC who contested in the 2019 general elections. By the end of the week, an Abuja High Court called for the maintenance of status quo as of May 31, pending the determination of a motion filed by DAAR. If both AIT and Raypower are broadcasting by the time you read this, it will go some way to debunk the notion that the government wants to gag media houses who air dissenting views.

Meanwhile, the noose is tightening on Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, as Kano Governor Umar Ganduje queries him over the alleged misappropriation of N2.4 bn. This follows the whittling down of the Emir’s influence, after his emirate was carved up into five parts by the governor.

The governor is certainly bent on having

his pound of flesh after the Emir reportedly supported his opponent during the last elections. Ganduje has been in the news continuously for months and he must be enjoying the fact that he is the one accusing another public figure of corruption.

Lest we forget, Ganduje it was, who was allegedly caught on video stuffing dollar notes in kickbacks into pockets under his flowing robes.

Meanwhile, the new development now is for those who embezzle money to cough up more than they took. The EFCC tweeted a few days ago: “Ex-NIMASA Boss, Calistus Obi, Bags 42 Years, Gets Option of N252 million as Fine for N136m Fraud.�

This could be one reason why Senator Danjuma Goje withdrew from the race to be Senate President. According to reports, the EFCC has in turn, withdrawn from a case of fraud to the tune of N25 billion brought against him.

The EFCC had been prosecuting him for eight years but now the case has been taken over by the office of the Attorney General, with some expecting it to be dropped.

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NEWSXTRA Banditry, Kidnapping Displace 25,988 in Katsina tFarmers flee their settlements, farmlands Gboyega Akinsanmi and Francis Sardauna in Katsina No fewer than 25,988 residents have been displaced from their ancestral roots and base of their economic activities due to the activities of armed bandits and kidnapers in different parts of Katsina State, statistics from the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) have revealed.

Likewise, the rising spate of armed attacks, at least in eight local government areas of the state, has forced a good number of farmers to flee their settlements and farmlands, citing hundreds of their colleagues who have lost their lives to banditry and kidnapping in the state.

THISDAY exclusively obtained the statistics of internally displaced persons (IDPs) at the weekend from Katsina’s emergency agency, which showed

that between January and May, the activities of armed bandits and kidnappers had displaced 25,988, at least in eight local government areas (LGAs).

As shown in the statistics, the agency classified eight LGAs as flashpoint of armed bandits and kidnappers, thereby depicting Katsina State as danger zones where banditry and kidnapping were prevalent and rampant.

Specifically, the statistics revealed that 1,707 persons were displaced in Katsina LGA; 18,544 in Batsari LGA; 135 in Kurfi LGA; 1,440 in Faskari LGA; 2,426 in Kankara LGA; 513 in Danmusa LGA; 616 IN Jibia LGA and 607 in Safana LGA. In a telephone conversation yesterday, the Chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Alhaji Umar Ya’u urged the federal government to deploy more security person-

nel to farmlands to protect his members against attack by armed bandits in the state.

He said the call was imperative to protect farmers now that some of them had started returning to their farms after

armed attacks, noting that proactive measures were necessary to encourage farmers to cultivate their lands during the farming season.

According to him, we are calling for deployment of military

and other security personnel to protect farmers in the fields.

We are making preparations for cropping activities but attack by the bandits in some communities is a source of worry to farmers.

He explained that the bandits “have launched several attacks on farmers in the state, forcing most of them to abandon their farmlands. But now that normalcy has been restored in some parts of the state.

Temitope Ita, Wife of ex-DSS DG, Laid to Rest Bassey Inyang in Calabar It was tributes galore yesterday in Calabar, Cross River State as the remains of Mrs. Temitope Ekpenyong-Ita, wife of former Director General of the Department of State Services (SSS), Mr. Ita Ekpenyong, was laid to rest.

Temitope, who passed on March 13 in Abuja after brief illness, was laid to rest in her family residence in Atimbo, in Calabar Municipality, after a requiem church service at the at Hope Waddell Parish of the Presbyterian church, Calabar.

The funeral was attended by dignitaries from across the federation including Cross Rivers State Deputy Governor, Prof. Ivara Esu, Rivers State Governor; Mr. Nyesom Wike; his Akwa-Ibom counterpart, Mr. Udom Emmanuel; former Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi; former Governor of Cross River State, Mr. Donald Duke; former Minister of Culture and Tourism, Chief Edem Duke and former Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Sen. Vic-

tor Ndoma-Egba, among others.

In his sermon during the burial service, the Prelate of Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, Revd Nzie Eke said Temitope’s death was a call to glory, noting that she had returned to meet her maker at the appointed time.

From all indication, the prelate said the deceased was a good wife who encouraged and stood by her husband and family, saying Temitope left ‘at a time that her family and the church needed her most.”

Eke said her demise “is just the end of her life on earth, but not the end of communion with God. So, our brother Mr. Ekpenyong, your dear wife, the mother of your children, and that beloved sister will be dearly missed. She touched so many lives. Her lifestyle touched so many people.”

Speaking his deputy at the church service, Cross Rivers State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade said the turnout of people from all works of life, who graced the event, had proved a great testimony of how Temitope and Ita led their lives.

British Council Marks 75th Anniversary Today Akinwale Akintunde The British Council has said it will unveil its exciting programme of events to celebrate 75 years of creating opportunities and making an impact in Nigeria by launching its “Thanks to You” campaign.

The Council, the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities, revealed this in a statement yesterday, saying it started operation on June 9, 1944 with the first library, known as British Council House on the Marina in the old exhibition hall, Lagos.

Since then, the statement said the British Council “has changed the lives of millions of Nigerians through our different programmes. We currently operate in over 100 countries globally.”

At the British Council, the statement said, “We have realised that people deserve opportunities that can provide better livelihoods, and that valuable

connections can facilitate these opportunities.

“In Nigeria, we do this through our work in education, providing training and capacity building initiatives to people in the Arts, enterprise, society and education sectors.

“We also provide access to global opportunities through our exams, where we provide Nigerians with globally recognized professional and university qualifications right here in Nigeria.

“Every year, we reach out to thousands of students, educators, policymakers, academics, researchers, creatives and entrepreneurs in Nigeria with our work across these sectors,” the statement said.

Quoted in the statement, the Country Director for the British Council, Lucy Pearson said since 1944, the British Council has changed the lives of millions of Nigerians through our different programmes.”

NO TO TEENAGE PREGNANCY Enugu State Governor’s wife, Mrs. Monica Ugwuanyi (right) with the Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province (Anglican Communion), Most Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Chukwuma, during the inauguration of a state government’s home for girls with unwanted pregnancy and children outside wedlock, in Enugu

PFN, CAN to Challenge Kaduna Preaching Regulation Bill in Court John Shiklam in Kaduna The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) yesterday rejected the passage of a controversial bill on the regulation of religious preaching in Kaduna State, thereby threatening to challenge the bill in court.

The two bodies, also, said the Kaduna State House of Assembly disobeyed a court order restraining it from taking any action on the bill pending the determination of a suit before a court of competent jurisdiction presided over by Justice Hajara Gwada.

In separate statement yesterday, Counsel to the PFN, Mr. Sunny Akanni and the Chairman of CAN, Rev. Joseph Hayab condemned the assembly for passing the bill that is

still a subject of litigation.

The bill, which had been before the house since 2016 after Muslims and Christians in the state, kicked against it was passed by the lawmakers on Friday before the house was dissolved.

But in his statement yesterday, Akanni threatened “to sue the house for disregarding the court order. In March 2017, the PFN filed a suit against the bill on the grounds that it is offensive to fundamentally human rights.”

Akanni said, “We are surprised that despite the court order restraining the house from continuing with the hearing or anything on the controversial bill pending the determination of the matter, the lawmakers went ahead to passed it.

“We are going to serve forms 47 and 48 on the house for

disobedient of Court order and if they do not respond. We will charge the Clerk and Speaker of the assembly for contempt of court.”

Also reacting to the bill, Hayab, expressed its reservation about the bill, noting that it would study it and take a stand.

Hayab said the association “is still studying the revised bill and will take a definite stand soon. If CAN is not satisfied, we are going to test that bill in the court of law because we are in a democracy, people should not just bring laws from the back door.

“You do not make laws with the intent of causing havoc. But you make laws with the intent of helping people to unite. You do not make laws and claim that the purpose of the law is for peace.

“But the law itself is used to cause crisis. We are stakeholders in nation building. But when people choose to treat us as if we did understand what is happening, then we have to show them that we also have a right.

“In the interim, I want to appeal to the governor not to be in a hurry to sign the bill. Signing the bill may not help him. It may not help the situation,” the chairman said.

On its part, however, the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), Kaduna State, applauded the bill, saying that the Muslim body “has no problem with it as it was given the opportunity to make inputs.”

The Secretary of the group in the state, Mr. Yusuf Adamu said anybody, who will preach according to the books, should not be afraid of the bill.

Christian Goup Tackles Wike Gives Andoni Chiefs 72 Hours to Release Expatriates FG on Insecurity Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has given the chiefs and leaders of Andoni Local Government Area a 72-hour ultimatum to ensure the immediate release of three kidnapped expatriates of Raffoul Nigeria Limited who are involved in the construction of the Unity Road in the area.

Wike said failure to secure the release of the three expatriates kidnapped by Andoni youths at the expiration of the ultimatum; he would formally withdraw the recognition of all government recognised chiefs in the local government area and cancel the Andoni aspect of the unity road

project.

Wike further stated that other communities across the state should take measures to protect contractors and workers executing projects for them.

He said the same sanctions would be meted out to other communities where Chiefs and leaders allow project contractors to be kidnapped by community youths.

The three expatriates were said to have been kidnapped last weekend while working on the unity road project.

The governor had earlier given traditional rulers the matching orders to check crimes in their domains or risk deposition by the state government.

Samuel Fasua Newly formed International Christian Conscience Initiative (ICCI) at its meeting in Lagos yesterday, urged President Muhammudu Buhari to urgently attend to the need of road users in the country.

At a press release arising from its emergency meeting yesterday, the body, in a statement by its national president, Prof. Olakunle Macaulay, expressed concern about the “insecurity, intolerance, banditry, and cases of insurgencies across the country.”

Welcoming President Muhammadu Buhari and the lawmakers, the ICCI said there should be no pretension as to the porous situation in

some Nigerian communities.

The association, composed

by Christian leaders worldwide, said it was pained that despite assurances that the country was safe for the common man, the reverse was the case.

In a statement on Saturday, signed by its national chairman, Prof. Olakunle Macaulay, the ICCI stated, “Leaders must talk less about politics but concentrate on proffering solutions to insecurity, poverty, immorality, intolerance, banditry, insurgencies and several allegations.”

Lamenting the worsening insecurity situation in the country, the group lamented, “It is now difficult for the common man who cannot fly in a plane to travel by road.”

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SUNDAYSPORTS

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

Zimbabwe’s Warriors Hold Super Eagles to 0-0 Draw

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Nigeria’s Super Eagles yesterday played a goalless draw with the Warriors of Zimbabwe’s in an international friendly played in Asaba, Delta State.

The game, a tune up match for the forthcoming African Nations Cup starting in Egypt June 21, was played under a torrential downpour that lasted the duration of the game.

The Super Eagles are making a return to the continental showpiece after missing the last two editions.

The visitors who are making only their fourth appearance and will be playing the AFCON opener against Egypt, kept a third consecutive clean sheet in warm-up matches, following a 2-0 victory over Comoros and a 0-0 with Zambia three days ago.

Nigeria, who will meet Guinea, Burundi and Madagascar in Egypt, dominated possession in challenging conditions at the Stephen Keshi Stadium but failed to breach the Zimbabwean defence.

Opportunities were few and far between in a rain-swept encounter that marked the return of captain Mikel John Obi to the camp of the three –time African champions after a year out, and despite the conditions, he showed his fitness and usual firmness in the middle and fully deserved the Man-of-the-Match award that

came at the end.

As early as the 5th minute, Mikel orchestrated what could have been Nigeria’s opener, as he quickly switched play and found Alex Iwobi, who found Paul Onuachu, but the Denmark –based forward, whose goal condemned seven –time African champions Egypt to defeat at the same venue in March, could only find the side of the net.

It was a game that switched from one end to the other, and in the 22nd minute, with only goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi to beat, Warriors’ captain Knowledge Musona steered his shot over the woodworks.

In-between Mikel Obi entertaining the crowd with some deft touches, Samuel Kalu flashed a number of shots way from goal, and Khama Billiat and Nyasha Mushekwi fluffed opportunities at the other end.

In the second half, the introduction of Ahmed Musa enabled more urgency to the Nigerian game. He sneaked behind the Warriors’ rearguard a number of times but Paul Onuachu, Victor Osimhen and Samuel Chukwueze failed to connect.

The introduction of Henry Onyekuru caused more problems for Zimbabwe at the left side of defence, but they held firm and Chigova even palmed out Ahmed Musa’s fierce shot for a corner.

The Super Eagles depart Asaba by chartered flight for Egypt today, where they will continue their final preparations in Ismailia before heading to their tournament venue, Alexandria on June 17.

Super Eagles captain Mikel Obi shone on his return to the team

Madrid Sign Chelsea’s Hazard for Fee That Could Exceed £150m

Barty

Barty Beats Vondrousova, Wins French Open Ashleigh Barty coasted to her first Grand Slam title with a 6-1 6-3 win over Marketa Vondrousova in the French Open final at Roland Garros.

Barty became the first Australian women in 46 years to claim the title in Paris since Margaret Court in 1973. “I played the perfect match today, it’s been an incredible two weeks,� said eighth seeded Queenslander Barty, who won the US Open doubles title with CoCo Vandeweghe last year.

Defeated 19-year-old Vondrousova - who had ousted British number one Jo Konta in the semi-final - ended the afternoon in tears after struggling with nerves on Philippe-Chatrier. “I was nervous,� said Barty. “I’m sure Marketa is going to be in many more Grand Slam finals. It was great to play her today.�

Barty joins 1969, 1970 and 1973 champion Court and 1971 winner Evonne Goolagong-Cawley on the list of Australian women who have lifted the trophy here in the professional era.

Barty raced to a 4-0 lead as she breezed through the opening set, taking full advantage of 19-year-old Vondrousova’s early jitters.

Vondrousova, who had been hoping to become the first teenager to lift the Suzanne Lenglen Cup since Iva Majoli in 1997, offered more of a challenge in the second set, but Barty was always in control. “Even though I didn’t get the win today, I enjoyed my time here,� said Vondrousova.

Real Madrid have agreed a deal to sign forward Eden Hazard from Chelsea for a fee that could exceed ÂŁ150m. Hazard has agreed a five-year contract and will be presented as a Real player on June 13, subject to a medical.

The Belgian scored 110 goals in 352 games for Chelsea after joining from Lille in 2012, and scored twice as they won the Europa League final last week. “Leaving Chelsea is the biggest and toughest decision in my career to date,� said Hazard.

Writing on Facebook, he added: “I hope you understand I had to pursue my next chapter, just as each and every one of you should when you have the chance to pursue your dreams. “Now it’s in the open I would like to put on record one thing was always clear to me, I have loved every moment at Chelsea and not once did I ever consider, nor would I have left for any other club.�

Real Madrid are paying an initial 100m euros (ÂŁ89m) for the attacking midfielder, though bonus payments could see Chelsea receive at least another ÂŁ60m from the sale of the player.

Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia said: “The memories he leaves us with will not fade. “He provided all who watched Chelsea play with great entertainment and many match-winning contributions, and for that we thank Eden enormously. “He has been a model professional throughout his time at the club, a wonderful individual to have around and a joy to work with.�

In seven seasons at Chelsea, Hazard, whose Blues contract was due to expire in a year, won the Premier League and Europa League twice, the FA Cup and League Cup. He was also named Chelsea’s Player of the Year on four occasions.

Hazard scored two goals for Chelsea against Arsenal in the Europa League ďŹ nal which was his last game “Although it is with sadness we say goodbye to Eden and we made it absolutely clear to him the club wished him to stay, we respect the decision he has made to take on a new challenge in a different country and follow his childhood dream of playing for Real Madrid,â€? Granovskaia added.

Chelsea have been placed under a transfer ban

by Fifa, meaning they will not be able to sign a replacement for Hazard.

The Blues are banned from signing players during the next two transfer windows until the end of January 2020. They failed with their first appeal to football’s world governing body, and have taken their second to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

France 2019: Norway Thrash Falcons 3-0 Former champions Norway kicked off their Women’s World Cup campaign with a routine 3-0 victory over Nigeria, despite the absence of Ballon d’Or winner Ada Hegerberg.

Guro Reiten’s deflected shot gave the 1995 winners the lead on 17 minutes in Reims before a powerful strike from LisaMarie Utland doubled their advantage.

Osinachi Ohale turned a cross into her own net before half-time as Norway cruised to an opening win in Group A,

leaving them level on three points with hosts France.

Lyon striker Hegerberg, who scored a hat-trick in Lyon’s Champions League final win over Barcelona last month, refused to come to the tournament due to a dispute with her national federation, which she accuses of failing to respect women players.

Ranked No. 12, Norway has qualified for every FIFA Women’s World Cup since the tournament’s inception. They were

runners up to the US in 1991 and winners of the 1995 tournament.

Nigeria has also qualified for every Women’s World Cup. However, the No. 38 ranked team have only advanced from the group stage once in 1993, falling to Brazil in the quarter-finals.

Nigeria will now move to Grenoble, where they take on Korea Republic on June 12. The Koreans lost 0-4 to host nation France in the championship opening match in Paris on Friday.

Sunday June 9, 2019

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MISSILE Awomolo to Sagay Nigeria is operating a constitutional democracy where obedience to the Constitution and the laws of the National Assembly must be held sacrosanct and none should be persuaded by sentiment and theory of the concept of democracy, that has no place in the law. – Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, faulting the call by Prof. Itse Sagay, SAN, for the All Progressives Congress to challenge the Supreme Court judgment on Zamfara election.

SIMONKOLAWOLE SIMONKOLAWOLELIVE!

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

NBC v AIT: Matters Arising

I

t started like a little rumour weeks ago that the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) was planning to descend on the African Independent Television (AIT) and Raypower FM, owned by Daar Communications Plc, for allegedly violating the broadcasting code. Its founder, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, is a prominent member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the major opposition party, and is currently facing trial over allegations of money laundering. He was also recently questioned by officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) after returning from a foreign medical trip. No reason was given by NIS beyond “we have the power to interrogate under the law”.

Not long after that, the FCT administration bulldozed an “illegal structure” within the company’s Abuja premises. According to the official explanation, the fence was encroaching on other people’s lands. Devoid of deeper interrogation, the bulldozing can easily be described as a routine attempt to enforce physical planning laws and restore sanity to the nation’s capital. Nigerians daily pray for a responsible government that listens to the cries of the people and swiftly does justice, so shouldn’t they be happy that the FCT acted decisively in this case? They should, just that things are not always the way they seem when politics enters the mix.

When Dokpesi raised the alarm that NBC was coming for AIT, it was not entirely weird. NBC listed a series of infractions which it said it had taken up with the management but which were not addressed.

The alleged infractions were not just about law but also about ethics. The NBC gave an instance of when a tweet that was read on air apparently referred to President Muhammadu Buhari as “lifeless” and which the programme presenter, reportedly, merely laughed off. The commission, in strong-worded letters, said the constant use of “inflammatory and divisive rhetoric” and “blatant disregard for broadcast rules” had become unacceptable.

In the end, the regulator brought down the hammer on AIT and Raypower, with collateral damage on Daarsat and Faaji FM. A court subsequently ordered that “status quo ante” be maintained, a ruling that effectively put the suspension of Daar Communications Plc’s licences on hold until the substantive suit it brought against the NBC is decided. I would say this was a fair intervention in the crisis — which had seen the regulator come under heavy public bashing. Many commentators have expectedly read political persecution to NBC’s action. Some have expressed fears and worries that this may just be the beginning of a broader clampdown on press freedom in Nigeria.

As a journalist, I am naturally inclined to defend AIT/Raypower — in defence of press freedom. That is my default position.

I would naturally say that what happened to AIT can happen to any other media

Dokpesi

outfit in the country. Nobody should rejoice that it happened to AIT. I started my journalism career under the military government of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida and I know how one media house after the other fell under state clampdown.

Those who thought they were safe fell victim in different ways and at different times. Therefore, injury to one, I would add, is injury to all. It is thus the collective responsibility of Nigerians to defend our freedoms and liberties.

That said, though, there are several matters that have been thrown up by the NBC/Daar Communications issue that must not be lost on us in the heat of the moment. One, the broadcast industry is the most regulated in the media sector in the country. A newspaper, either printed or digital, can call someone “lifeless” and the best they can do is file a libel suit, but a TV/ radio station can be shut down for committing the same “offence”? Why can’t the offended party also be asked to file a suit in court rather than the NBC withdrawing the broadcast licence? If you ask me, that is one of the issues we should be debating when the dust has settled.

Two, why is the broadcast industry so tightly regulated such that the president has to personally sign the operating licence?

The broadcast laws clearly tilt the balance of power in favour of the government. Why is this so? I am inclined to think that this law is a relic from our militarised past, given the role radio and TV broadcasts played in coup d’etat in our history. I think the military tried to keep things tight for the sake of regime security. In fact, it was not until Babangida became president that private ownership of electronic media was allowed by government. Guess the first private radio station to go on air? Raypower.

Three, how can we get the media to be more responsible and professional in their business so that we would not need an NBC to lecture us on laws and ethics? Again, this has been the elephant in the room for decades. Gate-keeping is a major issue in Nigerian media. There is a Nigerian Press Council (NPC) that is supposed to be the court for matters relating to the conduct

of the media in Nigeria — the same way the Medical and Dental Council handles matters of professional conduct among doctors and dentists. However, the NPC has either been inefficient or frustrated by journalists. It is as if it does not exist at all.

This inevitably makes the media vulnerable to regulatory intrusion.

Now, we need to get something very clear: the NBC has not committed any sin by enforcing the broadcasting code. AIT and Raypower were issued licences with rules and regulations. NBC has a job to do — to enforce the code. And if it is true that the regulator engaged several times with the management of Daar over the alleged infractions, we should not expect that it should fold its arms and not do anything. Whether or not we like it, this is the law and we cannot be complaining about weak institutions on the one hand and at the same time complaining about the ones that are trying to do the right thing.

No matter our misgivings and anger, we should not lose sight of this fact.

However, having said that, we now need to ask critical questions in order not to waste this golden opportunity. To what extent should the NBC regulate media contents in a democracy that guarantees free speech and press freedom? Is it acceptable in a democracy that a government agency should be allowed to define how long a political commercial should last? Why should a newspaper be able run an unlimited volume of political advertising but a TV station cannot? What sense does that make, for all intents and purposes? We inherited a terrible code and we decided to live with it rather than challenge it.

Let us even concede that because the government owns and allocates the frequencies, it has a right to determine the rules and should be able to withdraw the operating licences if these rules are not obeyed. Fair point. Still, in the interest of press freedom and democracy, there should be an arbiter so that the government does not become the accuser, prosecutor and judge in its own case. More so, there should be certain infractions that the NBC should deal with administratively. However, withdrawing a licence is equal to pronouncing the death penalty and that should not be the sole decision of the NBC. We need an umpire in this aspect, I would suggest.

For me, the most amazing thing is that broadcasters have been living with these laws for decades without questioning or challenging them in court or proposing amendments to the national assembly. This is amazing. They just simply accepted them as part of the drill. This is an opportunity to seek a legislative review. The review should be in a way that gives responsibilities and protection to all parties: to the NBC, the duty to regulate broadcasting without infringing on free speech; and to the media, the right to free speech without shirking professional and ethical requirements, particularly gate-keeping. No freedom is absolute anywhere in the world.

And Four Other Things…

‘PECK AND GO’ A few days after meeting with President Buhari and subsequently withdrawing from the race for senate presidency, Senator Danjuma Goje can now breathe easy as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has withdrawn from the N25 billion fraud case filed against him in 2011 when he left office as governor of Gombe state.

The case will be handled by the office of the attorney-general of the federation (don’t laugh!) henceforth. On-trial Senator Iyiola Omisore got his international passport back after backing the APC in the Osun governorship election last year. Senator Musiliu Obanikoro has benefited from similar deals since joining the APC. Bonanza.

ZAMFARA PRIORITY Alhaji Bello Matawalle, the governor of Zamfara, immediately set ball rolling after his assumption of office on May 29 by outlining his priority: building an airport in Gusau, the state capital. This was partly inspired by the fact that when the air force wanted to launch an operation against bandits in the state recently, there was no airport for their jets to land. That is the way we roll in Nigeria. There must be something about governors and airports though, especially in states where people have no water to drink, no drugs in hospitals and no shoes for children who want to go to school, if there are schools at all. We always seem to be moving from frying pan to fire. Exasperating.

TO ENI B The obnoxious disease called cancer has claimed yet another life with the death of Mrs Helen Eniola-Olaitan, wife of Eniola Bello, the MD of THISDAY newspapers. Losing his wife of 23 years, one whom he dated in his teenage years, would take time to deal with but our prayers will continue to be with him and his children in this hour of need. At some point, though, scientists will just have to find a cure for this deadly disease that sneaks on human beings like a thief in the night. Most cancers are diagnosed accidentally because of the silent way it grows in the body without symptoms. By the time it shows symptoms, it has probably reached the point of no return. Brutal.

MYTH BUSTER Were you deceived when someone posted this on social media recently: “I was today (sic) years old when I found out that Michael Jackson and Rihanna said ‘imma say one more time I’m not gone stop’ and not ‘mama say mama sa mama coosa’…”? In fact, what Jackson said was ‘mama-say mama-sa mama-ko-sa’ and it was a line he lifted from Manu Dibango’s 1972 classic, ‘Makossa’. The Cameroonian accused Jackson of copyright infringement and both of them later settled out of court — only for Jackson to give Rihanna the permission to use the line in her 2007 song, ‘Don’t Stop the Music’. That one also ended in court. Don’t believe everything that trends on Twitter. Unfollow.

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