FRIDAY 3RD JANUARY 2020

Oshiomhole: Buhari’s Reassurance on Alleged Third Term Strategic Dismisses calls for his resignation Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, yesterday dismissed the condemnation

of President Muhammadu Buhari's repeated denials of third term agenda, describing the president’s persistent reassurance as strategic.

Answering questions from State House reporters after

leading members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party on a new year visit to the president, Oshiomhole said contrary to the criticism of Buhari's new year message, which reassured

Nigerians that he would not seek a third term in office, such a repeated denial was necessary because the earlier attempt by a former president for a third term remained in the sub-conscious of Nigerians.

dismissed calls for his resignation, describing them as unnecessary, chronicled what he claimed to be his achievements since he assumed

He accused the former president, elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), of emptying the treasury to pursue his third term agenda.

Oshiomhole, who also

Continued on page 10

FG to Reopen Enugu Airport Ahead of Easter Deadline...Page 8 Friday 3 January, 2020 Vol 24. No 9034. Price: N250

www.thisdaylive.com TR

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& RE A S O

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20 Women Who Will Shape Events in Nigeria in 2020 See Story on pages 10 & 11

Aisha

Esan

Balarabe

Okonjo-Iweala

Usman

Opeke

Ezekwesili

Awosika

Anammah

David-Borha

Chimamanda

Tiwa Savage

Sadiku

Dabiri

Yesufu

Mohammed

Tinubu

Adesola

Farouq

Olujimi

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

INEC: Constitution Will Guide Us on Edo Assembly Crisis

Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has stated that it would be guided by the provisions of the 1999 constitution (as amended), in dealing with the crisis in the Edo State House of Assembly.

The crisis rocking the state assembly had worsened when the Speaker, Hon. Frank Okiye, declared vacant the seats of 14 members-elect that refused to be sworn in by him.

This followed an order of a High Court in Benin, which declared the seats of the members-elect vacant and directed INEC to conduct fresh elections to replace those that refused to attend their legislative duties.

When THISDAY contacted INEC to know why the commission had not acted on the directive of the court, the commission said though it had received the court order, it would rather be guided in the matter by the constitution, especially Section 109.

According to the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC

Chairman, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, the electoral body had received the letter from the House of Assembly, but it was yet to take a decision on it.

"While INEC is empowered to conduct a by-election into a State House of Assembly, it will be guided by, among others, the provisions of Section 109 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended),�

Oyekanmi told THISDAY. Section 109 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) provides that: "A member of a House of Assembly shall vacate his seat in the House if-(a) he becomes a member of another legislative house; "(b) any other circumstances arise that, if he were not a member of that House, would cause him to be disqualified for election as such a member; “(c) He ceases to be a citizen of Nigeria; “(d) If he becomes President, Vice-President, Governor, Deputy Governor or a Minister of the Government of the Federation or a Commissioner of the Government of a State or

a Special Adviser; "(e) Save as otherwise prescribed by this Constitution, he becomes a member of a commission or other body established by this Constitution or by any other law; "(f) Without just cause he is absent from meetings of the House of Assembly for a period amounting in the aggregate to more than one-third of the total number of days during which the House meets in any one year; (g) being a person whose election to the House of Assembly was

sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected, provided that his membership of the latter political party is not as a result of a division in the political party of which he was previously a member or of a merger of two or more political parties or factions by one of which he was previously sponsored; or "(h) the Speaker of the House of Assembly receives a certificate under the hand of the Chairman of

the Independent National Electoral Commission stating that the provisions of Section 110 of this Constitution have been complied with in respect of the recall of the member. "(2) The Speaker of the House of Assembly shall give effect to subsection (1) of this section, so however that the Speaker or a member shall first present evidence satisfactory to the House that any of the provisions of that subsection has become applicable in respect of the member�.

It was not clear if INEC, in its interpretation of the constitution, felt that none of those conditions has been met to warrant the declaration of the seats of the 14 lawmakers vacant.

But one of the members of the Edo State House of Assembly who did not want to be quoted, told THISDAY that the only resolution to the crisis would be political, adding that "those going to court are wasting their precious time,� because “there is no way, the minority will preside over the majority."

Court Orders EFCC to Detain Adoke for Additional 14 Days Davidson Iriekpen Justice A.O. Musa of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja yesterday granted the application of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to keep a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), in its custody for another 14 days preparatory to his arraignment.

In granting the application, the judge stated that the extension of the remand of the respondent for another 14 days for the purpose of his arraignment in court was necessary and granted as prayed.

The commission took custody of Adoke upon his arrival from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, last year.

Adoke, who fled the country in 2015, has pending criminal charge of alleged abuse of office and money laundering in respect of the granting of the Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 245 to Shell and ENI. The government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo had revoked the OPL 245, which the late General Sani Abacha granted his then Petroleum Minister, Chief Dan Etete, and reassigned it to Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company,

SNEPCO. Etete’s Malabu Oil and Gas, however, reclaimed the oil block in 2006 through the court. While Shell challenged the decision, a ‘fraudulent settlement and resolution’ was said to have been consummated under President Goodluck Jonathan’s government, with Shell and ENI buying the oil block from Malabu for $1.1billion.

Investigations by the EFCC into the deal revealed crimes that border on conspiracy, forgery of bank documents, bribery, corruption and money laundering to the tune of over $1.2 billion against Malabu Oil and Gas Limited, Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep (SNUD), Nigeria Agip Exploration (NAE) and their officials, culminating in criminal charges against Adoke, Etete and others, which are pending in both the FCT High Court and the Federal High Court, Abuja The absence of the defendants slowed the prosecution of the suspects, forcing the EFCC to obtain an arrest warrant against them on April 17, 2019.

Adoke, however, arrived the country on December 19, 2019 from Dubai, into the waiting arms of EFCC operatives at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

COMMITTING THE YEAR TO GOD...

Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province (Anglican Communion), Most Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Chukwuma (left), and Enugu State Governor, Chief Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, during a prayer session to oďŹƒcially commence work after the New Year celebration in Enugu... yesterday

PDP BoT Chairman Alleges Threat to Life over 2023 Presidency John Shiklam in Kaduna The Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Walid Jibrin, has alleged a threat to his life over the 2023 presidency.

He told journalists yesterday in Kaduna that he received calls from some people threatening his life for not saying that the PDP’s presidential ticket would be zoned to the North-east when he addressed the media last week.

He said he had petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IG) over the issue.

Jibrin said: “I have received calls from some people threatening my life over my coming out not to mention that the presidency of this country be zoned to

the North-east. They were saying that I am a traitor that I should have come out to say that it is only Atiku Abubakar because I said that Atiku was already overthrown by the Supreme Court. They said for that I should say Atiku is the man that I want.�

He said there was no how he could singlehandedly declare anyone as a presidential candidate of the party because it was the duty of stakeholders to select a candidate.

The BOT Chairman explained: “I am a leader; I have to make a lot of consultations with the National Working Committee (NWC), our governors; then the NEC had to take decision and they should not forget that the party has a constitution

and a guideline, which says there must be primary for whoever wants to contest. “We have not even discussed about zoning. “About three people went to Wadata Plaza (the party’s secretariat in Abuja) and demanded to see Munir Yerima. “ When they were there, Yerima rang me saying where am I and I said I was in Kaduna, then he said some people wanted to talk to me and I said let me talk to them on phone. He said they were intermediaries between me and some party people. “They said I have gone astray and if I don't recant they would arrange bandits to deal with me wherever I go. “So, I told the man to go and do whatever he wants

to do that I am equal to the task. Then I realise it is only a demonstration but they may be planning to assassinate me. “I have written to the Director-General of the DSS (Department of State Services) and the IG to ensure that the matter is seriously handled as people can't stand on their own. “I am an elder statesman, in the party and in Northern Nigeria. I am a Fulani man, who have tried to stop the threats of militant Fulani in my local government in my state. “I am a very religious person, who cannot even kill a rat or even an ant, yet people are trying to harass me, to assassinate me. I want the police to give me protection and stop this harassment.�

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FG to Reopen Enugu Airport Ahead of Easter Deadline

Christopher Isiguzo and Chinedu Eze in Enugu

The ongoing rehabilitation of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, will be completed and the airport reopened before the Easter deadline, the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika has said.

Speaking yesterday during an inspection visit to the airport, the minister reiterated the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that the rehabilitation is completed in record time in order to alleviate the suffering of airport users in the area.

He said the contractor, PW, had been urged to ensure that he delivered the best of jobs in order to ensure that what happened to the runway, which failed after six years, did not repeat itself.

The minister, who was accompanied by the Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo; the Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Aviation, Hon. Nnolim Nnaji; and the Managing Director of the Federal Airports

Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Captain Rabiu Yadudu, said the airport would be delivered before Easter with all the critical facilities that would enable international airlines to operate from there.

He said apart from the runway and terminal building, where work is also ongoing, critical equipment such as Instrument Landing Systems ( ILS), Air Field Lighting (AFL), approach lights, taxi lights, aerodrome markings and other facilities would be completed before the reopening date. “What is my assessment?

Honestly, I am very satisfied with the work, according to the work approved. We are beating the deadline - that is sacrosanct; we are bringing the runway before Easter,� he said.

According to him, the Buhari administration is determined to embark on projects that have direct impact on the people, adding that the future and fortune of this country cannot be mortgaged, no matter which way.

He said: "The government

itself was established on the principles and mantra of change; we are here to change the way things are being done. This is not the first assignment they will handle. By the special grace of God, we did it very well; so, this one will not be an exception. I guarantee and I will assure you that by the time we are done with Enugu, the people will be very proud of this airport and you will be very proud of the service we have rendered."

The minister reassured the

people that the government would ensure that all airports are properly secured and fortified, stressing that encroachment would no longer be tolerated.

On the international terminal building at the Enugu Airport, solely funded by the federal government, Sirika directed the Chinese Project Manager, Mr. Toby Luo, to ensure that all procurement should be delivered in 2020.

He explained that the Enugu terminal unlike the other four international terminals - Abuja,

Port Harcourt, Lagos and Kano - that are funded by Chinese loan of $500 million is being built by the federal government.

Sirika said though, the airport was not included in the Chinese loan financing, after considering the importance of Enugu to the South-east, the federal government decided to fund the terminal building through budgeting.

He said the airport, when completed, would be operational 24 hours while the Enugu State Government had promised to

supply water to the airport.

Also speaking, Ezeilo said the state government would continuously support the minister in this venture.

She acknowledged the importance of the airport to the entire South-east and South-south states. “The importance of this airport has come to bear with the closure. The impact is felt by the South-east and South-south and we will do everything to make sure it is reopened," she added.

Nigeria Shouldn't Be Rushed into ‘Eco’ Currency, Says Rewane Insists country not ready for currency convertibility Obinna Chima A member of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC), Mr. Bismarck Rewane, yesterday cautioned the federal government against allowing itself to be stampeded into making precipitated decisions on joining ‘Eco,’ the proposed single currency for West African countries.

Rewane, during an interview yesterday on, ‘The Morning Show’ on Arise Television, a sister broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers, said the country was not yet ready for currency convertibility.

The federal government, while reacting to the adoption of Eco as the currency of the French bloc of the West African nations, said it was studying the situation and would respond in due course.

But Rewane, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, said decisions about the economy, currency and regional integration were not issues any country should rush into.

He also noted that with its role as a giant in the continent, the federal government must always be strategic in its decisions.

According to Rewane, unless Nigeria’s economic condition improves, entering into the West African single currency arrangement means the country, which controls 66 per cent of the ECOWAS economy, would have to shoulder additional responsibility. “Of what interest is it for us at this point in time to protect other countries? Nigeria has to concentrate on how to manage its own economy more efficiently before going into any arrangement that would see it shoulder external responsibilities because you are only as good as your economic strength. “In the past, we took a position in Liberia and Sierra Leone, when they had crisis and

we put in place ECOMOG and all of that. “That time we had the resources, we had enough oxygen, so we could give oxygen to other countries, but now, we can’t afford that. We have to first of all make Nigeria great again, make the country reliable and as efficient as we can,� he stated.

He, however, noted that the factors outside Nigeria’s control presently are more than the factors within its control.

For instance, he stated that the global momentum, economic momentum, oil markets, non-oil markets, are all driving domestic economic decisions. “Therefore, you either have to be strategic or tactically responsive in good time,� he said.

Shedding some light on the history of single currency arrangement, the economist explained that the time between a Custom Union and a single currency took about 15 years, even in Europe, it took about 15 years. “There are regional convergence criteria and it comes with many risks. “I use the example of someone in turbulence in an aircraft and they say if the oxygen mass drops, you first of all put it on your nose before you put it on your child, because it is when you have stabilised that you can then put on for your child. “That is because if you put it on a child and your child cannot help you, then both you and the child would go down. Now, Nigeria is 66 per cent of the ECOWAS region, Nigeria is the biggest economy in terms of population and size of economy. “In my own judgement, Nigeria is not yet ready for currency convertibility. So, to engage itself as a country in currency convertibility, which has two stages – current account convertibility and capital account accountability and at this stage - Nigeria is not ready,� he said.

PROMOTING AGRICULTURE IN OGUN...

L-R: Consultant to the Governor on Agriculture, Ms. Oluwayimika Kuye; President, African Development Bank Group, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina; Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun; Commissioner for Agric Designate, Dr. Adeola Odedina, during the visit of the AfDB president to the governor in Abeokuta‌yesterday

Rejection of Empty Containers Prolongs Apapa Gridlock Traffic situation has improved, presidential task team insists Eromosele Abiodun As commuters and residents of Apapa, a once thriving port city, continue to suffer untold hardship due to the perennial gridlock on port access roads, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed that the rejection of empty containers by shipping companies has forced trucks to remain on the roads, thus prolonging the traffic crisis in the area.

THISDAY gathered that after a brief respite that accompanied the rehabilitation and reopening of the Kilometre 2 Apapa-Wharf Road and the Ijora link bridge in December 2018, the traffic situation has since returned to its bad state, with many road users losing their lives to containers falling on commuters, despite the efforts of the Presidential Task Team appointed to restore sanity.

The Presidential Task Team has, however, insisted that its efforts have yielded results, as trucks now spend less time on the roads.

But Customs agents and truckers told THISDAY that shipping companies and entrenched interest have turned the crisis into a “business enterprise.�

According to them, the shipping companies’ rejection of empty containers due to claims of lack of space in the ports as a result of the upsurge of imports through the port following the federal government’s closure of land borders, has forced the truckers to park permanently on the roads.

The President of National Council of Managing Directors

of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), the umbrella body of clearing agents in the country, Mr. Lucky Amiwero, said the federal government must call the shipping companies to order.

He said: “Shipping companies benefit from the crisis seriously; they are charging demurrages for doing nothing. They are happy with the current situation because when your container stays in the port you pay N20,000 per day per container and the more you stay, the more you pay. They do this only in Nigeria; there is nowhere else in the world where this happens. This problem is affecting the image of Nigeria. “What is the work of the shipping companies? They only bring containers and they charge even more than the terminal operators who own the space, pay concession fees, fuel trucks for freight lifters and equipment in the terminals. And you have government agencies at the ports; they watch them exploit their own people. The fact remains that the more you have containers in the port, the more the shipping companies smile to the banks. “What they are doing here is illegal; they collect double charges - one from their principal and another from their agents and importers here. These things are supposed to be reviewed because the shipping companies can just wake up and slam you with charges, but the government is doing nothing. That is why we operate the most expensive ports in the world.�

Amiwero said the Apapa gridlock could be solved, stressing that the situation has remained the way it is because

the right thing has not been done.

He said: “The first thing the government must do is to redesign the process of doing things at the ports. There are certain areas in the port that are not being utilised and we have one mode of transportation.

A perfect system must use three modes of transportation.

"However, from Apapa port we can move cargo to Kirikiri Lighter Terminal (KLT) using barges and they have empty container bay at KLT, which is owned by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). That will reduce the pressure on Apapa. “What we have now is that most of the trucks are coming to Apapa and Tin Can Island Port and the road to Tin Can is terribly bad compared with KLT. What the government must do now is dredge the channels and move cargo via the inland waterways. KLT alone can take 10,000 containers. Taking containers there will remove pressure from Apapa. Again, what many have not realised is that the concession that the government entered into with terminal operators have not been explained properly. There is need for government to sit with experts, shipping companies and terminal operators to resolve this issue.�

Also, Chairman of Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), Mr. Remi Ogungbemi, said the crisis had become a huge business for certain interests.

He also blamed poor infrastructure, especially the poor state of the ports access roads, for the crisis.

According to him: “All what they are doing right now is

never a solution because the infrastructure that we have can no longer accommodate the volume of activities that we have at the port, especially the road infrastructure. Apapa-Oshodi road leading to Tin Can Island Port has collapsed totally. Our population is increasing every day, so also are vehicles and other business activities. In the same vein, goods that are coming to the ports are increasing and to compound it all, there are people that are benefiting from the crisis. The necessary thing to be done to solve the problem is not acceptable to them because the crisis has become a source of income for them. “Even the Presidential Task Team that was called in to address the situation has over-stayed their welcome because many things have set in. Familiarisation has set in; preferential treatment has set in; personal interest has set in and so many things have set in.

Therefore, they have out-stayed their usefulness and many people have soiled their hands. “So, it is difficult. But I believe that this government is actually ready to solve the problem and they can because after God, it is government. But it is unfortunate that even people that government appointed to come and intervene, they, themselves have in one way or the other see it as an opportunity to make money.�

However, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Presidential Task Team, Mr. Koyade Opeifa, has said the effort of his team has led to improvement in the traffic situation in Apapa, adding that trucks now spend less time on the road.

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20 Women Who Will Shape Events in Nigeria in 2020 Yemi Ajayi, Davidson Iriekpen, Nseobong OkonEkong and Obinna Chima As part of its series on prognosis of what the new year has in stock for Nigeria and its citizens, THISDAY Board of Editors today presents outstanding

women it believes would have significant impact on the political and business environment that would shape events in the country.

Aisha Buhari:

Advocate in the Power Chamber

Time was when wives of

Nigerian leaders were only seen and not heard. Some of them were in the shadow of their husbands and were considered silent powers behind the throne.

But the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, is a cut from a different cloth. She has pushed back every effort to make her remain in the

shadow of her husband, President Muhammadu Buhari.

She remains vocal and critical about national affairs, especially the running of her husband’s administration.

It is a testament to her influence that she had made Buhari to rethink his decision not to have

a functional office of the first lady. And with her husband still in power, she will continue to shape events in the country.

To say that Nigeria has never had a First Lady like her is an understatement.

So, whether one loves or loath her, she will remain a factor this year.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: Voice for Transparency in Governance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a former Minister of Finance to two presidents, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Continued on page 11

PDP Condemns Demolition of Saraki’s Property in Ilorin Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday condemned the demolition of a property belonging to the father of a former Senate president, Dr. Bukola Saraki, by the All Progressives Congress (APC)led Kwara State Government.

Associates of the late Senate Leader, Dr. Olusola Saraki, alleged that gunshots and tear gas were fired at women and youths when agents of the Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, led by one of his aides carried out the overnight demolition of structures on Plots 1, 3 and 5, otherwise known as Ile Arugbo (Old People’s Home).

The PDP described the invasion and demolition as wicked, cowardly and a direct recipe for crisis in the state.

A statement by the National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, said it was clear that the action of the state government was borne out of hatred and political

intolerance in furtherance of the larger plot by the APC and its administration to intimidate, suppress, hound, crush and silence the opposition and dissenting voices in the country, in the bid to foist a siege mentality on the citizenry.

PDP dismissed the reasons given by the state government as dastardly, baseless, false and incongruous, stressing that the reasons failed to add up to justify the invasion, harassment of citizens and demolition of the said property.

The main opposition party said the demolition was a subversion of the rule of law as the matter is already in court.

It added that the state government could not wait for the outcome of the court process apparently because it knew that it was pursuing an illegal agenda.

"Nigerians know how the APC and its government have been hounding, harassing and dragging Senator Saraki around over trumped-up charges, for daring to be among

compatriots at the forefront of the quest to rescue our nation from misrule and strangleholds of the APC and its cabal.

"The APC and Kwara State Government should perish their idea of trying to use false claims and propaganda to justify their wicked act and take over the property, as such cannot hoodwink Nigerians from the truth," the party stated.

PDP added that the timing of the invasion and demolition, in the wee hours and under the cover of darkness, was a direct indication that the state government was carrying out an unwholesome and condemnable operation.

The PDP said demolition of property belonging to opposition leaders and other Nigerians perceived to be opposed to APC's administration had become a policy of the APC and its government in their bid to subjugate Nigerians and exclusively appropriate the common patrimony for their

selfish purposes.

It, however, cautioned the APC, its administration and in this particular case, the Kwara State Government, against overheating the polity with its policy of targeting the opposition.

The main opposition party said it was also instructive that in the years the PDP governed Kwara State, there was no case of government demolishing the property of opposition members or supporters under any guise whatsoever.

"Our party therefore stands with Senator Saraki and cautions the Kwara State Government to henceforth steer clear of the property," PDP said.

Meanwhile, the associates of the late Saraki have alleged that gunshots and tear gas were fired at women and youths when the agents of the Kwara State governor, led by one of his aides carried out the overnight demolition of the structures.

The late Saraki’s associates

alleged that the overnight demolition squad eventually set to work after four failed attempts, which were resisted by aged women and youths who had always gathered at the Ile Arugbo to benefit from the social welfare programme initiated by the late politician about 20 years ago.

According to the associates, the old women had resisted previous attempts to carry out the illegal demolition between the morning of December 31, 2019 and the early hours of yesterday.

In a statement in Ilorin and signed by the Chairman of the Saraki Legacy Forum, Alhaji Bibire Ajape, the family stated that following the announcement by the governor that he had revoked the title on the land, possessed by late Saraki for more than 20 years, they filed a case at the High Court, Ilorin, on December 31, 2019, challenging the action.

The suit with Number KWS/463/2019 between Asa Investments Limited

and Governor of Kwara State, Kwara House of Assembly, Attorney General of Kwara State, Director General of the Bureau of Lands and the Inspector General of Police was filed on Tuesday. “In an obviously desperate attempt to pre-empt the court case, the state governor directed one of his aides to lead a demolition team to the property on Tuesday morning accompanied by some policemen. However, the policemen withdrew when they saw the crowd of old women and youths who gathered to protest the illegal demolition exercise.

With the withdrawal of the policemen, the team from the state government was forced to quickly leave the place."

The statement alleged that it was about 3.30a.m yesterday that the security agents led by aide of the governor began heavy shooting of gun and tear gas canisters to dislodge the protesters before demolishing the buildings.

Military Liberates 147 Women, Children in North-east Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja Troops of the Nigerian Army yesterday rescued 147 civilians, including women and children held captive by insurgents in the North-east.

This is coming as the military has also recovered a cache of arms in Plateau State.

The rescue operation followed a fierce encounter with fighters of terrorist group, Boko Haram, in Guzambala Local Government Area of Borno State.

A war update issued by the Nigerian Army Operations’ Media Coordinator, Col. Aminu Ilyasu, said troops of Sector 3 Mobile Team in

conjunction with Sector 2 Multi National Joint Task Force conducted Operation Life Line in Monguno, Gasarawa, Wamiri, Badu, Gudumbali and Kukawa in Monguno, Guzambala and Kukawa Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Borno Sate.

It said the troops engaged the "marauding Boko Haram criminals in a fierce fire-fight, forcing them to speedily retreat in disarray towards Garere village, a critical gateway in Guzamala LGA, leading into the Lake Chad Tumbuns".

The statement said "the troops conducted a thorough search of the illegal market place and in the process recovered and destroyed

15 vehicles belonging to the Boko Haram criminals, arrested 75 suspected Boko Haram agents and equally rescued 147 civilians among whom were 79 males and 68 females who had been under the captivity of the criminal elements".

It said "the rescued civilians were conveyed to a humanitarian facility in Monguno and thereafter handed over to officials of Borno State Emergency Management Agency.

"The children among them were administered with polio vaccine by the Buratai Intervention Task Force Initiative".

In a related development,

Ilyasu said the Chairmen of both Langtang North and South LGAs of Plateau State handed over recovered weapons and accessories from repentant militia groups to the troops of Nigerian Army Forward Operational Base, Shendam.

The weapons include one Gun B10, three General Purpose Machine Guns (GPS), 13 AK 47 rifles, 5 FN rifles/ magazines, 8 G3 rifles, two Mark 4 rifles and three SETME Auto rifles.

Others are four SMG rifles, three Pump Action guns, one Single-barrel gun and 13 locally-made guns.

Other weapons and accessories so submitted were

six locally-made SMGs, five locally made pistols, 15 AK 47 rifle magazines, one AK 47 rifle Top Cover, one General Purpose Machine and I gun Piston and Breechblock.

The LG bosses also submitted 41 live cartridges, two Rocket Propelled Gun Tubes, three bombs, one locally made magazine, 5 SMG magazines, one Mark 4 magazine and six rounds of 38mm special ammunition.

Other assorted weapons received by the military include three SETME magazines, 34 rounds of 9mm ammunition, 101 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, 102 rounds of 7.62mm NATO ammunition, Beretta pistol,

OSHIOMHOLE: BUHARI’S REASSURANCE ON ALLEGED THIRD TERM STRATEGIC office as the party leader.

He said against this backdrop, it was necessary for the president to continually reassure Nigerians that he would not repeat the misadventure of a former president.

He said: "I think that is what the president's New Year message sought to do, and I am surprised to see that there are people who begin to wonder why the president should reassure Nigerians that he is not going to do third term in office because third

term was planted by PDP. "It is still in the subconscious of most Nigerians that the first Nigerian president that tried to do third term emptied the treasury to bribe members of the National Assembly and since that president left, thanks to the National Assembly, no other next president has done eight years in office.

"You can recall that President (Umaru) Yar'Adua unfortunately has since joined his ancestors, and President Goodluck Jonathan did six

(five) years and so, by the special grace of God, this president (Buhari), we pray, will do his eight years in line with the provision of the constitution; and because there is a level of idleness within a section of the political class, people can sponsor all kinds of publications to give doubt on whether or not the president is planning to stay longer.

"I think it is his decision that at every interval, he needs to remind Nigerians that he is not about to do what a PDP president did. For me, it is

necessary and in any case, it costs us nothing to reassure us that I am leaving."

Oshiomhole also reacted to persistent calls from his party for his resignation, saying no matter how well someone may perform in office, some people will still be dissatisfied.

Dismissing such calls as unnecessary, Oshiomhole chronicled his achievements since he assumed office as the party leader, saying as some people in his party are calling for his ouster despite records of election victories, some

others are ironically accusing the national chairman of the PDP of losing out in every election since he assumed office.

He said: "So, in every aspect of life, you will have supporters; you will have opponents. Even God our creator, even those that He created in heaven and earth, haven’t you seen people lamenting that 'how can God give me this little and give this man so much?' Even as we are encouraged not to be jealous.�

one 60mm Mortar, one fragmental jacket, and 121 rounds of 7.62mm metal link.

The arms haul included three chargers, 11 Anti-Riot Grenades and nine dane guns.

"This landmark submission of arms and ammunition portend great prospect for a reign of peace and security on the Plateau and its adjoining environs," it said.

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NEWS 20 WOMEN WHO WILL SHAPE EVENTS IN NIGERIA IN 2020 Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, is unarguably one of the most influential women in Nigeria as at today.

This economist and international development expert is on the boards of many international organisations and companies such as of Standard Chartered Bank, Twitter, Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), and the African Risk Capacity (ARC).

With her pedigree and stewardship, her views are sought and respected on many developmental issues concerning Nigeria and Africa at large.

Her views and advocacy for transparency in public financial system and governance as well as some of her legacies as minister will continue to shape events in Nigeria.

Folashade Esan: Bureaucrat in the Engine Room As head of the federal bureaucracy, she plays a critical role in policy formulation and implementation. Trained as a dental surgeon and having served in varied positions in her civil service career, she came fully equipped to take over the job of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.

With her position, Esan will play critical role in superintending over the implementation of the federal government policies, especially by ensuring that civil servants adhere to rules and regulations, particularly financial guidelines so as not to undermine the antigraft crusade of the Buhari administration.

Hadiza Balarabe: Shattering the Glass Ceiling From relative obscurity, Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, catapulted Balarabe into prominence when in 2018 he picked her, despite protests, as his running mate for the 2019 governorship election in the state.

Her final emergence as the state deputy governor gave Balarabe a rare berth as the first woman in the north to occupy such a high political position.

Knowing el-Rufai, his choice of Balarabe despite threat of backlash arising from a Muslim-Muslim ticket that could have cost him his re-election ticket, was a deliberate action to push an agenda that will unfold in future.

Already, with the push that the governor is giving his deputy to take on some critical state assignments, Balarabe has become one of the most prominent and influential female politicians in the North.

Hadiza Bala Usman: Retooling NPA for EfďŹ ciency Until her appointment as the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Usman is more known for her involvement in the #BringBackOurGirls that championed the cause of the Chibok girls abducted by Boko Haram in their secondary school in Borno State.

She, along with her associates, stirred a global storm with their advocacy which brought the plight of children in Boko Haram enclave to the world.

The passion and singlemindedness, which helped the Chibok girls’ cause she took to the NPA where she has caused a paradigm shift in both operations and management.

With the way she is running the NPA, one of the gateways to the nation’s economy, by blocking leakages and raising revenue for the Consolidated Revenue Account, Usman is in a position to shape national events during the year.

Amina Mohammed: Apostle of MDGs and Climate Change Mohammed was minister of Environment from November 2015 to December 2016, where she steered the country’s efforts on climate action, protecting the natural environment and conserving resources for sustainable development.

Prior to this, she served as Special Adviser to SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon on Post-2015 Development Planning, where she was instrumental in bringing about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals.

Before joining the UN, Mohammed worked for three successive administrations in Nigeria, serving as Senior Special Assistant on the Millennium Development Goals, providing advice on issues including poverty, public sector reform and sustainable development, and coordinating programmes worth $1 billion annually for MDG-related interventions.

Even when she is presently saddled with a lot of work as the Deputy SecretaryGeneral at the UN, she is very passionate on issues concerning MDGs and climate change in Nigeria

Oluremi Tinubu: Championing Gender Equality, Girl-Child Education Little was known of Oluremi until her husband, Senator Bola Tinubu, was elected as governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007, and she became the First Lady. In that capacity, she established the New Era Foundation, dedicated to establishing centres for all round development of young ones and to promote public awareness on environmental health and community service.

In 2011 she was first elected senator representing Lagos Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.

She was reelected in 2015 and 2019 respectively. In the Senate, she become a very strong voice championing gender equality, girl-child education, poverty eradication and promoting public awareness on environmental health and community service.

Abiodun Olujimi: An Indefatigable Female Senator Olujimi’s exploit in politics

started in 2003 when she was appointed the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayo Fayose. From there she was elected to the House of Representatives. She became the Deputy Governor of Ekiti State with Governor Ayo Fayose in 2005.

Olujimi attained other great heights in politics; from being the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure in her state to a Director of Women Affairs.

In 2015, she contested for a senatorial seat and won, thus becoming the highest-ranking female lawmaker ever in Nigeria. However, in the last election in February 2019, Mr. Dayo Adeyeye of APC was declared the winner of the head-to-head between the two of them but she was restored back to Senate after the Court of Appeal sacked Adeyeye.

Sadiya Farouq: Disaster Manager From 2011 to 2013, Farouq occupied the position of the national treasurer of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the party on which platform President Muhammadu Buhari contested for the 2011 presidential election, which he lost to former President Goodluck Jonathan. When the CPC merged with three other political parties to form the ruling APC , which eventually ousted Jonathan and the PDP in 2015, Farouq became the national treasurer from 2013 to 2014. She was thereafter appointed as a member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council.

She headed the election planning and monitoring, field operations, and fundraising committee making her play a pivotal role in the success of the party in the 2015 general election. To compensate her for her hard work, she headed the National Commission for Refugee, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

Currently the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, the position puts her on the spotlight as she regularly interfaces with internally displaced persons and disaster management.

Bola Adesola: Passionate About Women Empowerment Adesola is the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of StanChart African Region. Before now, she was the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank Limited, Nigeria.

She provides leadership for the bank’s business in West Africa to drive the continued strengthening of Standard Chartered Bank’s franchise in the region. Prior to joining the bank in March 2011, she was an Executive Director at First Bank of Nigeria Plc and prior to that Managing Director of Kakawa Discount House, Nigeria.

Bola is passionate about the development and economic empowerment of women and in 2001 co-founded Women in Management, Business and Public Sector (WIMBIZ), Nigeria’s fore-most women-

oriented network. She also actively mentors and coaches young people, and she is passionate about reading and travelling.

Aisha Yesufu: The Unrepentant Gady When the global social media platform, Twitter, blocked her account last year, it was clear that her strident criticism of the the Buhari administration was scoring a brutal telling blow and a formal report had been made against her to Twitter. However, Twitter could not handle the barrage of enquiries calling for a restoration of Yesufu's account. Her space on Twitter was promptly reinstated.

Rather than be apologetic or cowed, she pointedly labeled Buhari as heading the worst government ever in Nigeria.

There isn't a hint yet that Yesufu, who is a co-convener of the Bring-Back-Our’sGirls campaign, is ready to yield an inch, after all, the circumstances that fired the rebel in her are still with us.

Abike Dabiri-Erewa: Tracking Nigerians Abroad Taking into account the likelihood of occurrences; good or bad involving Nigerians living abroad in the New Year, there is no doubt that urgent demands would be placed on DabiriErewa, Chairman and CEO of the Nigeria Diaspora Commission.

Apart from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, DabiriErewa is the next official of government, who has the capacity to make valid intervention on matters concerning Nigerians in the Diaspora.

She has managed to execute her assignment with utmost discernment, while avoiding areas of potential clash with the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Yewande Sadiku: Making it Easier to Do Business in Nigeria?

In the l ast lap of her tenure, there will be a of lot pressure on Sadiku, Executive Secretary/ CEO, Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC). Her agency is one of the planks on which the Buhari administration hopes to showcase its achievements.

It would not matter that there are other factors outside her control that may have adverse effects on her work.

Sadiku, a hard-nosed banker would be called to account, for instance, on how well she has improved the ease of doing business since 2016, when she assumed her current designation.

Tiwa Savage: Her Transforming Year It does not look like she has only been with us for eight years, since Mavin Records signed her in 2012. Owing to her consistency, Savage has grown on a teeming number of Nigerians not only in her career in music, but in her complex reputation.

Savage is inching her way to history as the most consistent female musician in contemporary Nigerian

history. Since her debut, no year has passed without a release of, at least, three hit songs from her.

In 2018, she became the first woman to win Best African Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards.

If she finally takes her leave from Mavin Records this year, as it has been rumoured for a long time, 2020 may be a transforming year; in her career and the unabashed relationship with a fellow popular male artiste.

Chimamanda Adichie: More Honours Trail Her Having the distinction of her works translated into over 30 languages is a huge achievement. But the best is yet to come for the much decorated Nigerian writer, Adichie.

In 2013, a movie based on her book with the same title, 'Half of a Yellow Sun' was shot.

In the last few weeks of 2019, Chimamanda was accorded more honours, echoes of which will reverberate through 2020.

'Half of A Yellow Sun' was named in the BBC's list of '100 Novels That Shaped Our World.' The list covers English language novels written over the past 300 years.

'Americanah', another award-winning book by Chimamanda, is being turned into a mini-series.

Funke Opeke: The Cable Lady Ms. Funke Opeke is the founder and CEO of MainOne, formerly Main One Cable Company. MainOne is West Africa’s leading communications services and network solutions provider that built West Africa’s first privately owned, open access 7,000 kilometer undersea high capacity cable submarine, a $240-milliondollar project that was completed in time and on budget in 2010. MainOne also built West Africa’s largest Tier III Data Center, MDX-i’s Lekki Data Center, a $40 million investment with a capacity for 600 racks.

Opeke is an experienced telecommunications executive who returned to Nigeria in 2005 as the Chief Technical Officer of MTN after a twenty-year career in the United States.

MainOne, last year announced the extension of its submarine cable to Grand Bassam, Cote d’Iviore, which was the final leg of its expansion to reach Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire. The company’s is going to play a major role in broadband penetration in Nigerian and the West-African region.

Oby Ezekwesili: Agitator for Good Governance One of the elements of a working democracy is for the citizens to always hold the government accountable. This certainly is a role Ezekwesili and some other Nigerians have been playing effectively, which makes her one of the persons that would shape events in the country this year.

Ezekwesili is a Public Policy Analyst/Senior Economic Advisor and Co-Founder of #BringBackOurGirls

Movement, Nigeria as well as the #RedCardMovement.

A Chartered Accountant/ Consultant, she holds an MA in International Law and Diplomacy, an MA in Public Policy and Administration from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. She is a founding Director of Transparency International. She was Vice President of World Bank (Africa Region) and former Nigerian Minister of Education, Minister of Solid Minerals, head of Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit as well as Chairperson of NEITI.

Ibukun Awosika: An Astute Business Woman Awosika is the Chairman, Board of Directors, First Bank of Nigeria Limited as well as the founder and CEO of The Chair Centre Group. She also chairs a number of corporate and not-for-profit boards. This graduate of Chemistry from Obafemi Awolowo University has shown that what a man can do, a woman can do better, with the success she has recorded in the furniture industry that is mainly dominated by men.

She is an alumna of the Chief Executive Programme of Lagos Business School; the Global Executive MBA of IESE Business School, Barcelona-Spain; and Global CEO Programme of Wharton, IESE and China European International Business School (CEIBS).

Juliet Anammah: e-Commerce Leader Anammah is the CEO of Jumia Nigeria, a leading player in e-commerce space in Africa. Last year, she led the listing of the e-commerce company on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Jumia made history as the first African tech company to achieve that feat.

She is presently the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Jumia Nigeria, a position she undertook in 2015. She supervised the company’s transition from an online retail to a marketplace, its business expansion as well as expanding its footprint to 15 African countries. The Jumia boss holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree, an MBA in Finance and is an alumnus of Wharton’s Advanced Management Programme.

Sola David-Borha: Outstanding Female Banker Sola David-Borha is the Chief Executive Officer (Africa Regions) of the Standard Bank Group.

Prior to this, she was the Chief Executive Officer, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc. She started out her banking career at the NAL Merchant Bank (now known as Sterling Bank), where she worked in the Credit and Marketing Department from 1984 to 1989, before joining Investment Banking and Trust Company (IBTC), which later merged with two commercial banks to become IBTC Chartered.

She is outstanding female banker who started her career at the bottom of the industry and has risen to the top.

FRIDAY JANUARY 3, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

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NEWS

Police Arrest Alleged Mastermind of Abuja Bank Robbery Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The FCT Police Command has arrested a fleeing member of the

gang of robbers that attempted to rob the Mpape branch of the First Bank in Abuja.

The suspect, Ernest Ewim, 29,

NRC Boss Denies Gunmen Attack on Abuja-Kaduna Train Sunday Okobi The Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Fidet Okhiria, has denied any attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train by armed men suspected to be kidnappers yesterday.

Some national dailies (not THISDAY) had reported earlier that armed men suspected to be kidnappers had attacked the Abuja-bound train with guns and other projectiles.

The train, which left the Rigassa Train Station in Kaduna at around 10a.m. was attacked a few kilometres to Katari, about 70 kilometres to Abuja.

But Okhiria, in a short WhatsApp message to our transport reporters, denied the incident.

“This news was not correct,” Okhiria stated in the statement.

Okhiria said he had been inundated with calls since the news went viral on the social media.

Quoting Police sources, Okhiria said what happened was that a stone was thrown at the train by

some boys, which according to him only affected the window glass of Coach SP4.

He further stated that the situation was promptly arrested by police escorts on the train who restored calm before the train continued its journey, stressing that passengers disembarked peacefully at the Idu Station in Abuja without any other incident.

Ohiria assured train passengers of their safety even as he said investigation would still continue into the cause of the Katari incident with a view to dousing the fears of the commuting public who have come to see the train as very good, reliable and safer alternative for commuting between Abuja and Kaduna.

He said the Police would continue their onslaught to dislodge the road of kidnappers who have turned the AbujaKaduna road into a nightmare for travelers.

According to him, “we are assuring train passengers of their safety. The trains remain the safest and cheapest alternative to the road mode.”

CSOs Give Enugu Govt Two-week Ultimatum over Murder of Nurse Gideon Arinze in Enugu A coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Enugu State yesterday waded into the controversies surrounding the murder of former Head, Nursing Services, Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Enugu, Mrs. Maria Amadi.

The health officer was reportedly shot dead late last year, after which three of her colleagues in the hospital were charged to court and remanded in prison custody ever since.

The police, however, continued investigations which led to the arrest and arraignment of three other suspects, who were said to have confessed to the crime.

Following the development, the CSOs said despite a memo to Enugu State Attorney General from the police hierarchy seeking a withdrawal of the charge against the deceased’s colleagues, the government had failed to do the needful.

Addressing journalists in Enugu yesterday, the convener of the coalition, Igbokwe Onyebuchi, said if the government failed to withdraw the charges, they would be left with no option than to embark on protest.

He added that it was confirmed that about 15 persons were arrested on the course of the primary investigations and later, the real culprits, three of them, were apprehended and they made a voluntary confessionary statement how they: Chidiebere Ochi, Uchenna Onuorah and Amadi

Ekwo, murdered late Mrs. Maria Amadi, who they likely thought was carrying bag with reasonable of money.

“In view of the apprehension of the three real suspects that owned up to killing of late Maria Amadi, the Nigeria Police Legal Department headquarters and investigation department of federal Anti-Robbery Squared wrote reports dated 28th November, 2019 to Enugu State Government through the office of the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Enugu State and office the Chief Judge of Enugu State was equally copied,” he said.

Onyebuchi said the CSOs needed to know “the interest of Enugu State in keeping innocent people in detention and stopping their salaries, considering that most of them have family members that are dependent on them.”

“Enugu State Government should make public why they still kept the earlier accused in detention even when the police who are legally responsible in apprehending and investigation of crime have made their report available for necessary actions,” he said.

He vowed that “the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations are giving Enugu State twoweek ultimatum to either make available their reason of continuous detention of these innocent persons even after the real culprit has been apprehended or we embark on a peaceful protest as injury to one remains injury to all.”

who escaped with gunshot wound after a combined team of police and soldiers stormed the bank while the robbery operation was in progress, is believed to be the mastermind of the robbery attack.

Four of the gang members were arrested by the police at the scene of the robbery.

A statement by the command said “following the ongoing

investigation in the last Saturday’s foiled robbery attempt at a bank in Mpape, operatives of the FCT Police Command Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) have arrested one Ernest Ewim (male), a member of the notorious armed robbery gang who has been at large.

“The suspect, who played a major role in the foiled robbery

attempt, was arrested by the team of police detectives at his hideout in Katampe1 on Wednesday, January 1, 2020 at about 1600hrs”, it said.

The statement signed by FCT Police PRO, Anjuguri Manzah, said the arrest brings the number of suspects arrested in connection with the robbery to five, having earlier arrested Larry Ehizo ‘m,’

30 years, Princewill Obinna ‘m,’ 24years, Timothy Joe ‘m’ 21years, and Elijah David ‘m,’ 19 years.

“The command reiterates its unwavering commitment to ensure the protection of lives and property and provide FCT residents with quality service delivery.

“The suspects will be arraigned in court upon conclusion of investigation”, it said.

NEW YEAR GREETINGS...

L-R: National Publicity Secretary, All Progressives Congress (APC), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu; National Chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole; President Muhammadu Buhari; and National Vice Chairman, APC, North Central, Alhaji Suliaman Ahmed Wambai, during the presentation of New Year greetings card to the President at the State House, Abuja... yesterday

Obasanjo Dedicates His Achievements to God Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday dedicated his achievements as a military head of state and as a civilian president to God. Speaking at a Thanksgiving Service organised for him by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Ogun State Chapter, at the Chapel of Christ the Glorious King, Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, Obasanjo acknowledged that God has been faithful to him.

He vowed that he would continue to do things that will make God show him mercy.

“God has done a lot for me.

I want to do things that will make God show His Mercy on me. I can’t lie to God. Those of you who know where I was born - how many of you know Ibogun-Olaogun? The village where I was born is so small that no matter how large you make the map of Nigeria, Ibogun-Olaogun will never appear.

“And yet, somebody born in that village of pure illiterate parents will have the opportunity that I have now, to reach the stage that I have reached, to be used to achieve whatever I have been

used to achieve, I cannot thank God enough.”

“I always say this, whatever I have achieved, whatever I have done, I thank God because it is not me alone, there are those who have worked with me, some of them are dead, some of them are still alive and without them, I will not have been able to achieve much. On an occasion like this, let us just thank God and keep thanking God.” In his address, Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, attributed his victories at the election petition tribunal, Court

of Appeal and Supreme Court to God’s mercy.

He pledged that his administration would be accountable and transparent with all financial records.

Abiodun called on residents to cooperate with his administration in the development of Ogun State.

The governor described Obasanjo as a world ambassador, global icon and a son of Ogun State whom everybody is pleased with.

He urged Nigerians to emulate the lifestyle of Obasanjo.

Shutdown of PH DisCo Plunges Bayelsa into Darkness Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa People of Bayelsa State celebrated the Christmas and New Year festivities in darkness as the power outage occasioned by the altercation between Ijaw youths and Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) entered day 10 yesterday.

Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) had after almost a year of unbearably erratic power supply in the state besieged the offices of PHEDC, forcing the staff to ground operations or improve on their services.

The youths have since occupied the premises to protest the poor power supply to residents after several negotiations for PHEDC to supply 12-hour of electricity to the state capital broke down.

The disagreement resulted in

total power outage in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital and its environs including Ahoada and parts of Rivers, compelling residents to rely entirely on generators.

Filling stations in Yenagoa have also continued to struggle to cope with long queues of distressed customers who throng the stations and wait for hours to buy fuel in containers.

However, the distribution company claimed that it was grappling with a debt burden of N16.5 billion as at November 2019 which was hampering its operations.

But Kennedy Olorogun, IYC Central Zone Chairman, who spoke on the update of the dialogue convened by Bayelsa State Government to resolve the face-off, said

the debt claim was a “fairy tale” to cover up DisCo’s incompetence.

He said information from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) showed that there was sufficient power at the substation at Gbarain, Yenagoa, but PHEDC was not taking the power to homes.

Olorogun added that the alleged N16.5 billion debt had no bearing with power supply to Bayelsa State which was the basis of the protest.

“The leadership of IYC Central Zone is challenging the claim made by PHEDC that Bayelsa people owe electricity bill of N16.5 billion.

“The people of Bayelsa have not been enjoying uninterrupted power supply over the years, which was the reason we are protesting. How come such huge

amount when we are saying that we do not see power?

“The claim is just blackmail, we are demanding for service for which we are ready to pay. We are saying that we can no longer pay for darkness and services not rendered, that is our position.

“We call on PHEDC to justify and produce a proof of their claim with all necessary documents within this period, or be ready to face legal actions by Ijaw people for defamation of character caused by the allegation,” he said.

PHEDC Corporate Communications Manager, Mr. John Onyi, had regretted that Ahoada community also shut down PHEDC office in the area leading to total blackout in the ancient town compelling its customers to have a “black Christmas.”

FRIDAY JANUARY 3, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍąËœ 2020

COMMENT

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

Three Plots And A Needless Controversy Olatunde Ajikobi writes that the attempt to revoke the family land of the Sarakis is misguided

S

ince the controversy over the revocation of the rights of occupancy on Plots 1, 3 and 5, Ilofa Road, GRA in Ilorin broke last weekend, one has been wondering why Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq would dabble into such a needless venture which could only create crisis for his administration and divert it from the fulfillment of its electioneering promises to the people.

The fall-out from that announcement has been very predictable. It has created tension in the Kwara State Capital. It has further divided the state. The state has once again become a battle of ‘We versus Them’. And this is so because the target of this recent onslaught by the governor and his administration is a man who though is no more but represented and still represents the best of the Kwarans.

Again, one is concerned about what is so special about the three plots of land on Ilofa Road that the governor would want to sacrifice the peace of the state and the stability of his administration for.

Contrary to the claims by the governor, the three plots obviously are too small to house a secretariat with all the features that should accompany it. Also, it is not on the main road and it is in the midst of many residential houses. In fact, the Saraki family house where their patriarch lived, died and was buried was just opposite the plots and many other families live on that street.

Also, the last administration headed by Alhaji Abdulfatai Ahmed had in the twilight of its tenure built a new secretariat which is almost complete. Only last month, Governor Abdulrazaq announced that he had approved the release of N250m for the completion of the new secretariat. That means the secretariat would just require furnishing and be ready for use.

In fact, when the last administration commenced the building of the secretariat, the All Progressives Congress (APC) under its ‘O to Ge’ campaign severely criticized the projects and said it was not necessary. Now, when did Abdulrahman realize that not only was Abdulfatai right but that he too should build another secretariat?

It should be noted that the claim that some government offices are located in rented houses is a lie. Even as at today, the present secretariat is under-utilized. And now, there is the benefit of the one that is about to be completed. Who then needs a third one?

Against the background of the above consideration and the fact that Oloye Olusola Saraki, dead or alive, still evokes passionate support and emotional attachment by many Kwarans, what is the real motivation and inspiration behind Abdulrazaq’s move to attack the property owned by the old man? The desperation to quickly seize the property and demolish the structure on it is also confounding.

This is because despite the controversy, the governor who made an announcement that had evoked emotion and tension on the evening of December 27, by midnight on December 31 had sneaked in a demolition squad with bulldozer to bring down the structures on the plots. Why the hurry?

In my deep introspection and investigation on the matter, it occurred to me to look at the men who are advising the governor and why they will want to lead him to this costly blunder that may define the character, shape and future of his government. First, the governor is a man who is almost a stranger to Ilorin and its socio-political dynamics. He had his secondary education in Kaduna and afterwards had been living in Lagos. He has been coming around to Ilorin since 2003 only during elections to contest for one post or the other and immediately after losing, he will disappear.

THE CLAIM THAT SOME GOVERNMENT OFFICES ARE LOCATED IN RENTED HOUSES IS A LIE. EVEN AS AT TODAY, THE PRESENT SECRETARIAT IS UNDER-UTILIZED. AND NOW, THERE IS THE BENEFIT OF THE ONE THAT IS ABOUT TO BE COMPLETED. WHO THEN NEEDS A THIRD ONE?

Though, former Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki also had his primary and secondary education in Lagos and then had his university education in the United Kingdom, he had the advantage of having an excellent teacher in his father who was the embodiment of the socio-political and economic dynamics of the state. In the case of the present governor, his father had been resident outside the state for a long time and is currently too old to tutor his son.

This vacuum of a good trainer in the governor has been filled by some turn-coats who served in the Saraki and Ahmed governments and left with bitterness and hatred against their principals after they gained so much but were unable to get more.

These group of advisers those who served for 12 years in the government of Saraki and Ahmed or more in various capacities.

These men not only held offices in the last 16 years in the state, they cornered contracts worth billions of naira.

The quartet advising Abdulrahman left the Saraki camp after they rose from nothing to prominence and wealth. They only left that group after they were told to step aside and allow other people hold key positions.

Translated as ‘old people’s home’, for well over two decades starting from their late father, the Sarakis had used Ile Arugbo located on the disputed land to host their social welfare Programme for the aged and needy in the society. There is also a section on the land where the Sarakis address their numerous political supporters on key issues.

My suspicion is that since these coaches of the governor are conversant with his ignorance about the nitty-gritty of politics in the state, they decided to play on his intelligence by selling an idea to him that Ile Arugbo is the spiritual headquarters of the Sarakis and that if Abdulrazaq wants to decimate the political structure, he must pull down the place and deny the Saraki access to it. They probabaly sold him the idea that the magic behind the support the Sarakis enjoy in Kwara State is buried in Ile Arugbo and if the governor wants a second term without any organized challenge from the Saraki structure, he must decimate the place. The plot may also be that if that stretch of road in Ilofa could be militarized, stationing policemen there, it might be possible to also frustrate any political gathering in the Saraki home called Ile Loke.

Many in Ilorin know that the governor is vulnerable to manipulation from these sharp and hawkish individuals. These people are therefore the ones pushing him into several mistakes for the purpose of seizing control of the man and creating a cabal around him. For as long as these elements are in control of Abdulrazaq, they will continue to lead him into avoidable mistakes. They are using him to fight their personal battles and scheming to exclude him from other sources of advice and intelligence.

The question Abdulrazaq should ask himself is: If the target is Bukola Saraki, why will he create a huge political deficit for himself by joining the elder Saraki, who even in death, is still adored by the elders and the establishment in Kwara State? It can only be that he is being misadvised, manipulated and misled. One last thing: If Abdulrahman continues to describe the 16 years of Saraki/Ahmed as a period of waste, he should look critically at the books and see how much his advisers contributed to that period.

Ajikobi, a Political Economist writes from Ilorin

LAGOS AND THE DEFINING MOMENTS 2020 offers better prospects for Lagosians, especially in infrastructure development, writes Tayo Ogunbiyi

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crucial phase for Lagos State in the past year was the change in political leadership that ushered in Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu and Dr. Kadiri Obafemi Hamzat as governor and deputy governor respectively. Central in the mission of the dynamic duo is the vision to achieve a ‘Greater Lagos’. The vehicle to realize this is T.H.E.M.E.S, acronym for six strategic development agenda namely, Traffic Management and Transportation, Health and Environment, Education and Technology, Making Lagos a 21st Century Economy, Entertainment and Tourism as well as Security and Governance As it is usual with skilled professionals, upon inauguration, the duo spent quality time to diagnose the state’s various challenges in order to determine what will work. The result, of course, is the several landmark attainments that characterized various sectors of the state in the previous year.

For instance, amazing improvement was recorded in the health sector with the inauguration of the 149-bed Igando Mother and Child Center (MCC) in the Alimosho area. This further affirms the determination of the current administration to ease access to medical care by residents.

Recall that the 110-bed Eti-Osa Maternal and Child Centre (MCC) was also commissioned for public use in the preceding year. The Eti-Osa MCC was specially designed to provide integrated healthcare services for women of child bearing age and children. It has modern equipment and furniture that

would enhance the achievement of better maternal and child health indices in Eti-Osa Local Government Area and adjoining environs.

Similarly, the state’s infrastructure renewal plan received a major boost in 2019 as major roads and highways were rehabilitated to ensure smooth commuting. Work also commenced on the long abandoned Lagos-Badagry Expressway as well as the Pen-Cinema Bridge. Equally, 31 networks of roads were commissioned by the governor in Ojokoro Local Council Development Authority (LCDA).

The reconstruction and upgrading of strategic roads such as the 6.05 kilometer Phase 1 Road from Itamaga to Ewu Elepe town, the 7.8 kilometers Owutu-Agric-Ishawo Road Phase One and Bola Tinubu-Igbogbo-Imota Road in Ikorodu also began in earnest. Similarly, the Victoria Island, Lekki Traffic Circulation project on Oniru axis received a major attention. Preliminary plans for the construction of the 4th Mainland Bridge also got a key boost last year, thus raising hope that the bold project will at last become a possibility.

Intermodal multimodal transport system was also significantly strengthened with the recommencement of work on the discarded Lagos light rail project. Also, Uber Boat service, a partnership between the global ride-hailing company and Lagos State Waterways Authority, LASWA, commenced operation.

The education sector was not left out in the ‘Greater Lagos’ movement. A committee was set up to evaluate the state of public schools in the state

and come up with plans for their rehabilitation. At the first phase, 350 schools are already slated for total overhauling.

Similarly, towards the end of last year, some public school teachers were sent on capacity building training to enhance their skill. New teachers were also recruited to increase the number of teaching personnel, especially in some core subjects, in our public schools. History was also made as a major deal that will see the Lagos State University becoming a residential institution was sealed with some private developers.

In order to actualize its mission of ‘Making Lagos a 21st Century Economy’, the state government signed the $629 million financing facility aimed at completing the Lekki Deep Seaport project with China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC).

According to the agreement, in 30 months, Nigeria’s first deep seaport will be delivered in Lekki.

Upon completion, the project has enormous capacity not only to stimulate the Lagos economy, but equally to push it up in the index of largest economies in the world. The Lekki Port would become the first deep seaport in Nigeria and the container transportation hub in Africa.

In the area of Security and Governance, a foundation for the evolvement of critical reforms geared at giving the people greater access to justice was laid.

An integral part of this is a holistic plan to clamp down on criminals, land grabbers and other trouble makers to reduce crime and all forms of security threat to the barest minimum.

In a democratic dispensation, the people determine the performance of a government partly via the quality of service render by the public servants. In realization of this reality, concerted efforts were made to reposition the state public service. Thus, training and retraining of staff was accorded an utmost priority.

Also, the resolve of government to improve staff welfare was amply demonstrated by the swiftness with which it reached agreement with the organized labour to ensure the payment of the new minimum wage. Lagos, thus, remains among the very few states in the country that have commenced payment of the new wage. This is quite instructive because the present administration’s vision of making Lagos a 21st Century Economy cannot be achieved without a well-motivated workforce.

There was also a noticeable improvement in the area of environmental regeneration as two major agencies of the state government, the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), became livelier and more focused in the discharge of their statutory responsibilities. Consequently, the filthy and chaotic environmental situation of the old order is fast giving way to a more reliable and organized system. Refuse heaps are fast disappearing from the Lagos landscape while other forms of environmental nuisance are being frontally curtailed.

Ogunbiyi is of the Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja

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T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 2020

EDITORIAL DANGER OF OVER-THE-COUNTER DRUGS Pharmaceutical stores should act within the law

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pparently to sanitise the drug distribution system, Lagos State government recently shut down dozens of pharmaceutical and patent medicine shops across the state. The State Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, while reviewing the report of the enforcement exercise, said the exercise was carried out by a taskforce on counterfeit, fake drugs and unwholesome processed foods, for offences bordering on illegal operation and operating beyond scope of practice. The enforcement, which is part of the mandate of the Pharmaceutical Inspectorate Unit (PIU) of the Ministry of Health, is in line with the state government’s drive to stop unqualified personnel from dealing with drugs.

It is a notorious fact that many Nigerians hardly pay attention to health issues until MANY OF THE they become threatening. One DRUGS SOLD major fallout of the Cynthia ARE FAKE, Osokogu sensational murder SUBSTANDARD in a Lagos hotel by her FaceOR EXPIRED book friends some few years back is the ease with which AND COULD people can lay their hands on PUT PEOPLE’S drugs, no matter how dangerHEALTH AT RISK ous. It is on record that the suspected killers of Cynthia confessed that they bought the drug – Rohypnol (a prescription drug used in the treatment of insomnia) which they injected into her drink, from over-thecounter (OTC) store. It is illegal for a pharmacist to sell such a drug without a doctor’s prescription. But many of the illegal drug stores, operated often by illiterates, have little regard for the law.

Indeed, many people, eager to bypass the cost of seeing a doctor, visit such shops to purchase drugs for self-medication. In some instances, especially in the rural areas, there are no doctors and so the people are left to their own devices. Many drugs that

Letters to the Editor

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

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

should rightly come under prescriptions are sold in the open market as over-the-counter drugs. Even worse, many of the drugs sold are fake, substandard or expired and could put people’s health at risk. It was, for instance, discovered from raids on some of these drug stores in the past that many of the drugs contained too much or too little of the active ingredients. Some of the drugs are sold at kiosks or store, motor parks and market places, and most often, by illiterates.

The drug trade is reportedly lucrative and like many things Nigerian, has become an all comers affair. Many of these drug stores are kept in business by large scale importation by individuals and corporate bodies from Europe, India and China.

Indeed, former Director–General of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Dr. Joseph Odumodu once admitted that about 85 per cent of the imports – from electric cables to drugs- are substandard. But the implications are often dire. According to him, “once you patronise a substandard product, you are indirectly killing our local industry and by extension endangering your lives and that of others.”

What the foregoing suggests is that there is an urgent need to set up a water-tight regulatory framework in the drug administration environment.

In addition, we ask all professional bodies in our healthcare delivery system, and indeed the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), to get involved in the campaigns to stop this careless indulgence combined with abundant ignorance. There has to be a consistent effort to alert the people to the risks of self medication and reinforce the need for them to patronise the right health institutions. The Consumer Protection Council, the government agency saddled with protecting the public from unreasonable risks and injury should also be alive to its responsibilities. Many people are into the business of illegal sales and importation of counterfeit drugs evidently because sanctions are not being applied when the law is breached. There has to be an end to this impunity.

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

WHO WANTS GOODLUCK JONATHAN DEAD?

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ormer President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan automatically became a statesman of international repute when he voluntarily handed over power to the current President Muhammadu Buhari in May 2015. He was the first incumbent president to lose an election and he was famously quoted to have said ‘My ambition is not worth the drop of the blood of any Nigerian.’ This set him apart as a different specie of African leader in a continent where the sit -tight syndrome is the order of the day and there is the general unwillingness of incumbents to concede victory to their opponents. Former President of The Gambia, Yahyah Jammeh was reluctant to hand over power to his opponent, Adama Barrow who defeated him in 2016 and had to be forced to do so before he left the tiny former British colony for exile in Guinea.

Jonathan’s action made him the toast of the west as he was regularly invited to give speeches. He also became an envoy of the African Union on peace missions where he brokered peace deals in warring nations in the world’s second largest continent.

On Christmas Eve, there was an attack near his residence in Otuoke by some armed men. They were resisted by some soldiers who were stationed in the area and immediately repelled through the combined action of the former.

Fortunately, the ex-president wasn’t in his residence as he was said to have left for an event in the state capital, Yenagoa. The Ijaw Youth Council averred that there was indeed an assassination attempt on the former lecturer-turned politician who was lucky to have cheated death during the Yuletide period.

In a statement released by his media adviser, Ikechukwu Eze and made available via the Nation newspapers, he was quoted to have said that the gunmen had attacked a security post “located about 100 metres away from” Jonathan’s Otuoke residence.

“The attackers came in about five motorboats around 1:30am, he said. “They attempted to take away a gunboat belonging to the military stationed at the creek beside the residence.

They were, however, resisted by gallant soldiers who engaged them in a firefight.”

Tragically, a soldier was killed, and another was injured.

Three of the attackers were said to have been killed.

One wonders why these dare-devil attackers chose to attack a security post filled with soldiers. Were they that asinine to want to risk their lives? Why fight the lion in its den? What was the rationale behind the attack of the security post near Jonathan’s edifice? The police have a lot of investigative work to do and owe it to all Nigerians to unravel the raison d’etre behind the sinister attacks.

We commend President Muhammadu Buhari for reaching out to Jonathan through a phone call and reassuring him that all was well. The sportsmanship of Sai Baba as he is fondly called is highly commendable but we urge him to extend his gesture to all Nigerians especially the vulnerable ones who get murdered on a daily basis without any presidential call or media coverage. In this New Year, the security of lives and property must be paramount in the mind of the president and he must fulfill this obligation he swore on oath before the Nigerian people. Life must be made bearable especially for the

masses that have no one to fight their cause through a heavy government intervention in the protection of their lives. It is not sufficient to grandstand – there must be the necessary action taken to ensure that the country is indeed a habitable place for all irrespective of social status.

Why would the attackers attempt to pilfer a gun boat? What did they want to use it for? Where they former militants who wanted to return to the creeks and hence needed it for their covert operations? More questions begging for answers await the police investigation. We commiserate with the family of the soldier who lost his life in active service to his motherland and pray the good Lord grants the family the fortitude to bear the loss. We urge the president to declare him a national hero and ensure that the welfare of his family is adequately taken care of.

If foreign investors are to come into the country with the much needed funds required to jack up this ailing economy, then security must be of paramount concern to the government.

It is not enough to junket around the globe trying to attract them when news like this travels faster than the speed of light to meet them. The president really must do something urgent to stem the tide of this ugly trend. The incident is highly embarrassing and lot of damage control needs to be done in order for the country to still be found investment worthy.

We hope we never see this again and this New Year must see a drastic reduction in crime and insecurity if Buhari is to leave a legacy as time is fast ticking.

Tony Ademiluyi, Lagos

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FRIDAY JANUARY 3, 2020 •T H I S D AY

FRIDAY JANUARY 3, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY JANUARY 3, 2020

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POLITICS

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

Labour and Employment in the First Year of the Next Level William Nwankwo Alo chronicles the achievements of the Federal Government in the labour and employment sector

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ew steps recently taken by President Muhammadu Buhari confirmed once more, the unwavering commitment of his administration to the welfare of the Nigerian workers. First is the signing into law of the new National Minimum Wage bill on April 19, 2019 and the commencement of payment to workers on Grade Levels 1-6 in August, three months after.

Another is the successful negotiation of the Consequential Adjustment of the Minimum Wage and the swift directive of the Federal Executive Council that the payment of the new wages be commenced before December 2019, effective April the same year.

It is important to note at this juncture that though the process leading to the new Minimum wage, especially its Consequential Adjustment was long and tedious it, however, brought to the fore, the readiness of the Federal Government for openness in finding a solution to numerous challenges that impede the progress of the nation. The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige who is the Chief Labour Officer of the nation foreshadowed this new disposition of the Federal Government, first by his neutrality as the Competent Authority in the Nigeria tripartite community in line with the convention of the International Labour Organization (ILO) He also demonstrated this through his quintessential negotiation skills which thawed the ice of impasse that hitherto beleaguered negotiations. The Federal Government had on his advice, laid open its income and expenditure in the 2019 and 2020 budgets to the leadership of the organized labour, to appreciate its position on Ability-to-Pay as an essential accompaniment of Collective Bargaining as provided in the ILO Convention. The Minister had earlier guided government against anti-labour disposition while urging the organized labour not to play the sword of Damocles with perennial threat of strikes.

On the other hand, the government side of the negotiation led by the Acting Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan brought thoroughness and statistical finesse on the linear adjustment of figures without unbalancing the equilibrium that exists among different salary scales. The patriotism with which it approached the negotiation stands out.

It is to its credit that notwithstanding the inflexible posture which labour leaders initially brought to discussions, the Federal Government’s resolve on give and take eventually prevailed, resulting to a win-win for both the government and the organized labour.

Equally, the preference for dialogue over strike and disruption of national productivity by the labour leadership, its acceptance of the critical rudiments of Collective Bargaining and the imperative of collective sacrifice as pushed by the Minister of Labour and Employment must be commended.

Similarly, another decision by the Buhari administration in the year worthy of mention is the setting up of a Five-Man Presidential Committee on Salaries and Wages and the promise of a future general wage increase.

Knowing full well the implications of the astronomical rise of the Federal Government’s personnel cost from N1.88 trillion to N3.08 trillion between 2016 to date, the committee will evaluate all the earnings in the public service to ensure that work done and salary earned are synchronized in a manner that factors productivity as a denominator .

Now that the Minimum Wage and the Consequential Adjustment are fully implemented by the Federal Government and negotiations for implementation shifted to states, the Ministry did not lose sight of its role in the enforcement of its enabling Law. It has therefore put its Inspectorate Department to work and urged the labour

unions to establish similar units in its state chapters to join hands with the Ministry to monitor implementation.

Overall, in discharging its responsibilities, the Ministry has continued to develop strategies geared towards employment generation and wealth creation which are key factors in poverty reduction envisaged in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan

(ERGP) Hence, to open up vast avenues to tackle unemployment, the Ministry is already in liaison with the organized private sector, key ministries and agencies of government with high potentials for job creation.

Verily, in compliance with the decision of the Federal Executive Council, it has also commenced the tracking of direct and indirect jobs created through contracts awarded by

Time to Insist on True Federalism Elliot Ugochukwu-Uko argues that there is an urgent need to devolve powers to the regions by reverting to the 1963 constitution

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his New Year 2020, provides a wonderful opportunity for the leadership and political elite of Nigeria, to rise up and do the needful: urgently begin the process of reconstructing the polity in order to whittle down excess power from the centre and devolve same to the federating units via a new people’s constitution.

A bipartisan, respectable committee of eminent and patriotic leaders should be raised now, to begin the process of a holistic restructuring of the polity. We have pretended for too long that this military Decree 24 of 1999, aka, 1999 Constitution, can sustain, unite and grow Nigeria.

We have lied to ourselves for much too long. Consistently, resisting the truth, in preference to falsehood, is a dangerous and unhelpful response to the stark reality facing us as a country.

Voting huge amounts to acquire military hardware just to contain internal disaffection, setting up dozens of military operations, (some codenamed after reptiles and wild cats) only deepens the anger, bitterness and frustrations in the land.

Anti hate speech laws and suppression and repression of rights to free speech, again, only succeeds in establishing an atmosphere of apprehension and fear which in turn, only encourages more dissent and revolt.

Circumventing reality and going round in circles, while struggling to avoid the needful, did not help Somalia, Sudan, the USSR and Yugoslavia. It will never save Nigeria.

Only doing the needful, which is: devolving powers to the regions by reverting to the 1963 constitution will. Only returning to true federalism will save Nigeria.

2020 should be a season of stock taking, reminiscing and ruminating on development strides of the first republic 1959-1966 and the unwieldy rigmarole of today. The untidy and unjust unitary system has destroyed cohesion, enthroned nepotism, prebendalism and hatred from the oppressed peoples, which in turn has given birth to every thing

evil dominating the land today. Continuing to deceive our selves, is unkind to the good people of Nigeria, especially our progeny.

Our decade’s old hypocrisy has not and will never solve the problems. Things can only get worse with time.

The hunger, poverty and criminality ruling the land today are only signposts of a dysfunctional unitary structure imposed on the country by the military. Corruption, unemployment, disequilibrium and calls for revolution are direct consequences of ignoring reality for too long. Calls for secession only confirms to the deaf and the blind that the termites of injustice and oppression has eaten the foundation of the edifice called Nigeria the cracks are so obvious, yet our leaders across board prefer to paper over the cracks in pretence.

We have pretended for too long.

The trumpets could sound any day now.

Nigeria’s restructuring agenda should be rolled out without further delay as,time is clearly running out. 2020 calls for urgent reality check.

Which brings us to the quite disappointing comments from regional and ethnic groups in response to Mr President’s New Year address. Nigerians are shocked that all these groups could concern themselves with are mundane and banal desires of the political class: appointments and accommodation.

Pity. Nigeria is tottering at the precipice and all our “leaders” could care about is political accommodation in this squeaky rickety vehicle burdened with a frightening foreign debt profile, crawling in a most directionless manner to only God knows where. Sad, so sad.

All hands should be on board to both plead and pressure the government to embark without further delay on the only solution to our miseries, the holistic restructuring of the polity.

-Ugochukwu-Uko is the President of the Igbo Youth Movement

Federal Government. In another vein, it established the Nigerian – German Centre for Jobs, Migration and Reintegration and through it, organized a job fair in Abuja where a number of applicants were directly employed. Plans are under way to hold similar fair in other states of the federation.

Furthermore, the Global Youth Employment Forum organized in conjunction with the International Labour Organisation was held in Abuja last August, with youths from 63 countries in attendance, making it the first time the summit is held outside Europe in the one hundred years history of the ILO. Tapping into the changing dynamics of the world of work and realising the elastic opportunities in the blue collar jobs, the Ministry has rehabilitated vocational skills development centres in Lagos, Ibadan, Kaduna, Bauchi, Calabar and Warri, furnishing them with consumables. There is also an ongoing construction of nine specialist Skills Centres at Konduga, Borno State; Owowo, Kogi State, Alor and Ifite Dunu in Anambra State; Zaria, Kaduna State; Opeffia and Okpokuegbe both in Ebonyi State; Enugu in Enugu State; Lafia in Nasarawa State; and Ibi in Taraba State. Four others sited in other states and billed for 2020 include Jibia, in Katsina State; Ikene and Ijebu-Ode both in Ogun State; Ondo in Ondo State. Besides, a synergy with other skills centres operated by other Ministries and tiers of government to standardize their operations is being planned the Ministry. It is important to state here that the National Directorate of Employment which is under the supervision of the Ministry has churned out a total of 533,241 unemployed persons on various skills, including vocational, agricultural, environmental beautification, food processing and business training.

At another level, the mandate of the Ministry to provide a peaceful industrial milieu needed for optimal national productivity received unprecedented attention as the Ministry apprehended 1,425 trade disputes, with 788 completely resolved, 37 referred to the Industrial Arbitration Panel and 600 pending at various stages of mediation.

The Inclusive Services Delivery and Livelihood Enhancement Programme meant to ease a sustainable means of livelihood to the vulnerable especially in the North East zone, traumatized by insurgency which the Ministry developed in conjunction with the African Development Bank is an expression of its commitment to social responsibility .

It has also completed study to enhance the integration and resettlement of internally displaced persons with the Federal Capital Territory and Nasarawa State as pilot.

In the year ahead, the Ministry intends to move notches ahead in implementing the Action Plans on National Employment Policy and National Policy on Labour Migration to provide employment and labour migration services. It expects to also scale up the number of beneficiaries of skills acquisition, empowerment, poverty reduction and social protection. It has commenced the review of all labour acts and reestablished the National Labour Council.

It is hoped that with increased budgetary provision in the new year, the Ministry will frontally tackle the mismatch between educational curricular and labour market requirements through collaborative curricular review. Additionally, an innovative dispute apprehension mechanism to tackle the loss in man hours which results from incessant strikes is also top on the agenda.

Besides, the Ministry will catalyze investments in the public and private sector in a multi-pronged efforts to unlock massive job opportunities for the people and give fillip to the promise of the President on June 12, 2019 to take 100, 000, 000 Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.

-Alo is the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY JANUARY 3, 2020

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PERSPECTIVE

The Vindictive Politics of Governor AbdulRazaq Abdulateef Oniyangi contends that the decision of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State to fight perceived enemies may lead to anarchy in the state

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he Kwara state government, had in a statement, last week Friday, claimed that a parcel of land previously owned by the late former strongman of Kwara politics, Dr. Olusola Saraki was originally meant for a government secretariat and parking space of the Civil Service Clinic but was unlawfully allocated to a private firm, Asa Investments Limited, without any record of payment to the state government.

The statement, which was signed by Rafiu Ajakaiye, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, also claimed that no certificate of occupancy was issued in favour of the firm.

“Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has signed a constitutional instrument withdrawing the allocation of plots of land 1, 3 and 5 to the firm, asserting that the said land was unlawfully appropriated contrary to the purpose for which it was meant.

“The Governor ’s decision followed a resolution of the State House of Assembly urging him to reclaim the land because it was arbitrarily taken over in the 1990s without any evidence of payment by the Asa Investment Limited, even though the land was meant for public use,” part of the statement read.

With the recent development, many are aghast at what they called ‘the vindictive politics of Governor AbdulRazaq. They are of the opinion that the governor has made up his mind to fight and ridicule those who he believes are his “perceived enemies”, because he was recently alleged to have started a fight with his supposed benefactor and godfather, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

His decision to revoke the property belonging to the late Saraki may end up pitching him against the people of the state.

“Whether he likes it or not, the name Saraki remains a force to reckon with in Kwara State. The people may not like Bukola but at the same time, the governor can never rubbish that name of their father.

The family has paid its dues in Kwara State. This battle that the governor has started will make the people of the state to rise against him.”

The land revocation has also been generating reactions outside of the state, as the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) slammed the governor’s decision to revoke the ownership of the property.

The forum in a statement issued on Monday in Lagos, by its National President, Yerima Shettima, said that the brazen use of force by Governor AbdulRazaq to hijack the property of the late politician is a total disregard to the Saraki’s family and an insult on the people of Kwara State.

While noting that the move has potentials to destroy the legacies of “a politician who gave his all to make Kwara what it is today”, the forum stated that, “we take exception to the deployment of the powers of the state in a desperate move that smacks of political vendetta and failed attempt to rewrite history.

It maintained that, “If the incumbent governor thinks he could destroy the late Saraki’s legacies as a political gimmick of winning public sympathy, he is making a fatal mistake.”

While urging the late Saraki’s family to use all available legal and constitutional backing to fight for their cause, the forum also advised the incumbent governor to bear in mind that power is transient.

However, the former Senate President believes that the action of AbdulRazaq against his family, especially his late father, shows his lack of sense of history.

Saraki, while accusing him of setting out only to fight his family, stated that the governor has crossed the line of decency with his efforts to erase the legacies of his late father.

He pointed out that the war of attrition waged against the legacy of his father and everything that belongs to the late politician simply portrayed the governor as “a man who lacks the sense of history and set out only to fight the Saraki family but not to serve the interest of Kwarans,”

he said.

Speaking further, the former Kwara State governor, said, “The property was allocated to my late father under the name of one of his companies, Asa Investment Limited, and contrary to the claim of the Governor, the land was properly allocated

Samuel Ortom as Defender of Benue Valley Paul Mumeh extols the resilience of Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State in the face of daunting challenges

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n the build-up to the 2015 governorship election in Benue State, incumbent Governor Samuel Ortom was arguably the favorite of majority of the people. He was in the forefront of all the aspirants in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but for a twist of history which denied him the ‘famous’ ticket of the ruling party then.

Convinced that his popularity could take him to the zenith of his ambition, Samuel Ortom took a plunge into the little known but ambitious All Progressives Congress (APC). With good calculations and political brinkmanship, Ortom clinched the ticket of the APC. He also pulled a string; with a handful of aggrieved people from the PDP and the new folks in the APC, Ortom went into the battlefield assured.

Conversely, the PDP even with crack in its fold went to sleep albeit taking almost everybody and everything for granted as it were, “Anyone with the PDP ticket was sure of victory no matter the situation“. Unknown to many, things were going in the reverse order.

Nobody except destiny gave Ortom and his new APC in Benue State a chance.

So against all odds, Ortom won the 2015 governorship election in Benue; a development that ultimately changed the narrative and political equation in the agrarian state.

That 2015 governorship election no doubt disappointed political pundits and history makers when Ortom emerged as the governor of Benue State. He started well. Yes, he began on a steady note. But he soon ran into troubled waters when midway into his first tenure in office, issues of unpaid salaries and allowances took the front burner of his administration. With dwindling resources, he struggled to

offset the wage bill but the more he tried, the less result he got. Of course, the people became restive.

Ortom had to face another battle of his life; one he never prepared for. He had fallen apart with his supposed political godfather; Senator George Akume who vowed to give him ‘the Ambode treatment’ in Benue. Ortom was faced with the difficult choice of either toeing the line of the party in Abuja or stand to defend his citizens being felled by the bullets believed to be from the flanks of the Fulani herdsmen in what is now dubbed the ‘Benue massacre.’

East, West, South or North, Ortom believes that home is the best. So With all the threats, Intimidation and outright blackmail even by highly placed persons who ordinarily should have offered some sort of succour to Ortom, he refused to abandon his people. For him, his administration would be worthless if he abandoned his people.

Ortom stood like the Rock of Gibraltar to wit; “I am here (Governor) because of the people of Benue State, whatever happens to them happens to me. I am a true descendant of my forefathers, I cannot abandon my people.” For Ortom, if defending his people would cost him the governorship, so be it but he was convinced that history would be kind to him as a man who stood to be counted when it mattered.

The governor has insisted that he will be objective and neutral on all matters, but he will defend with the last drop of his blood on issues of the welfare and security of his people.

-Mumeh writes from Abuja NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

and a Right of Occupancy title issued on it. It should be noted that the excuse given

by Abdulrazaq in his revocation order holds no water since it is clear that this is the height of his vengeance against my father, Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki and I. “Till today, many Kwarans have been wondering what problem the Governor has with the late Oloye Abubakar Olusola Saraki or what the late politician did to offend him. It is surprising that of all vacant plots of land in strategic places across Ilorin Township, the one that Abdulrahman found useful for his vengeful plan is the one owned by late Dr. Saraki. It is beyond comprehension why a Governor would set as his main agenda the objective of undermining and waging a war of attrition against a man who is no longer around,” the statement read in part.

He also alleged that since the outcome of the elections in March, despite the fact that there are clear grounds to challenge the results in court, he had decided to demonstrate maturity, statesmanship and sportsmanship.

“I have chosen not to make comment on the policies, programmes and actions of the administration in Kwara State or that of its head. Also, I deliberately stayed away from the State to avoid creating any distraction for the administration. My decision is borne out of a genuine restraint to enable the administration settle down and fulfill its numerous promises to the people of our state.

“Perhaps, I should let it be known that if Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq thinks he is taking all these actions to get at me, he is only deceiving himself. There is no basis for competition between us. Our paths cannot cross because the status that he is struggling to attain, Almighty Allah has given it to me many years before now.

“However, his open antagonism against my late father and his legacies is unwarranted and will not be tolerated. He has definitely gone beyond bounds as he cannot be allowed to ride roughshod on the deceased. In this war against my late father, he will not win.”

What is happening Kwara now is appalling to all persons of decent disposition. t is obvious that the Mohammed Lawal elements have hijacked the government and are exacting revenge for perceived wrong of 2003, in which they were completely trounced by forces loyal to Saraki.

Some of the questions agitating the mind of the people are whether this is the best location to build the said secretariat.

Again, this cruelty is being unleashed on the Sarakis at a time when the secretariat built by the immediate past governor of the state has not been put to use.

Everyone who lives in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital know that the recent government statement that some government agencies operated from rented apartments is false. No government agency operate from rented apartments. So no new secretariat is needed The governor said recently that 70% of the state fund goes into payment of salaries, that means 30% is left for running of government business and infrastructure development. Based on this statement and coupled with new minimum wages that will take salary payment to 85% he is not ready to increase percentage going into salaries,based on this fact Abdulrasaq is not ready to recruit new personnel, so who will occupy the new secretariat he wants to build?

A rational move by the governor would have seen him addressing the infrastructure needs of the state, which is in a critical state, especially roads. Can’t money meant to build the new secretariat be deployed into constructing roads across the state, especially in Kwara North and South?

-Oniyangi lives in Ilorin, Kwara State

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FRIDAY JANUARY 3, 2020 •T H I S D AY

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BUSINESSWORLD

Group Business Editor Obinna Chima Email obinna.chima@thisdaylive.com 08152447875

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Quick Takes Qatar Airways Celebrates 2019

Qatar Airways has celebrated 2019 as a successful year of strong network expansion, new aircraft deliveries and as the only airline to win the Skytrax Award for the World’s Best Airline for a fifth time.

QatarAirwaysGroupChiefExecutive,Mr.AkbarAlBaker,said,“2019 wasanotheryearofgreatachievementforQatarAirways.Therehave beenmanyhighlightsduringthelast12months,inparticularreceiving thehighlyprized‘BestAirlineintheWorld’awardfromSkytraxatthis year’sParisAirShow.Tohavewontheaccoladeforarecordfifthtime for my country and our airline was a truly special moment. “Ourmanyachievementsin2019areproofofoneimmutablefact-that Qatar Airways will never deviate from our commitment to provide our millions of passengers with the very best onboard experience every time they travel with us. Our growth over the last 12 months, in the face of adversity, has been impressive and going forward we will look to continue to prosper. “As2019comestoanend,onbehalfofourmanagementandstaff,Igive ourpassengersourabsoluteguaranteethatwewillstrivetocontinue to deliver the very highest standards of quality and excellence in the industry. I look forward to another year of success in 2020.�

The airline continued its strategy of investing in the world’s most technologicallyadvancedaircrafttodriveitsambitiousroutenetwork growth.Throughthecourseoftheyear,32aircraftweredeliveredtoits Dohaheadquarters,includingits250th,anAirbusA350-900inMarch.

By the close of the year, the total combined fleet size of passenger, cargo and Qatar Executive (QE) was 259.

COURTESY VISIT

L–R: Head, Listing Business Division, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Olumide Bolumole; Executive General Manager Total Country Services/Company Secretary, Bunmi Popoola-Mordi; Chief Executive OďŹƒcer, NSE, Oscar Onyema; Managing Director, Total Nigeria, Imrane Baxter, and Executive Director (Secretary General) Finance Division, Lesley Baxter, during the NSE’s courtesy visit to Total Nigeria in Lagos‌recently

Experts Warn against Frequent Security Breaches at Airports Chinedu Eze Aviation security experts have warned that if the frequent security breaches at the airports continue it may lead to threat of lives and property, which would be injurious to the image of Nigeria and the air transport sector.

Last week, a 25-year-old man was caught at the runway of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, attempting to hide in aircraft wheel-well of Air Peace flight.

He was, however, arrested

by Aviation Security of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). Earlier this year, similar incident happened where

AVIATION a middle-aged man identified as Nigerien attempted to climb Azman Air aircraft on the same runway but was stopped and eventually he was arrested by security operatives.

There have also been unconfirmed reports of runway incursion, where it was alleged that some people access the airside of the airport to rob aircraft at withholding point, waiting for another aircraft movement.

Owing to this, industry security consultant and CEO of Centurion Securities, Group Capt John Ojikutu (retd),

has warned that FAAN and concerned security operatives should reinforce security at the airports.

Ojikutu, said that major security challenge is insider threat in which aviation security officials could be recruited by terrorists to carry out maximum damage at airport facilities. “Insiders threats from airport staff when and where there are no sufficient background checks on them before employment; there are others who have been disengaged but whose ID cards and IDC have not been retrieved but somehow gained access to the security controlled areas; there are issues of workers of contractors who

are not adequately processed for access into to security controlled areas, etc. “There are many access into the security controlled areas that need to be fortified, outside the 23km perimeter fence, especially around the cargo terminals, the general aviation operation terminals, etc.�, Ojikutu said.

The Managing Director of FAAN, Captain Hamisu Yadudu had acknowledged in a recent interview after the recent incident, that there could be insider threats at the airport who could help would-be stowaways to access the airport.

Continued on page 22

‘OMS’ SAA against International Law’ Eromosele Abiodun The Nigerian Association of Master Mariners (NAMM) has described the purported Senate support for the reactivation of the dismantled Secure Anchorage Area (SAA) as a decision born out of lack of information, stressing that the SAA was against international law and practices.

Their position came two weeks after the Senate purportedly okayed the Ocean Marine Services Limited (OMS), operators of the controversial SAA at the Lagos anchorage to continue its operations Concerned by threat to national security and the cost of doing business at the country’s seaport, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) had notified the Nigerian Navy of its

MARITIME decision to dismantle the SAA, operated on behalf of the Navy by a private company, OMSL Limited.

NPA had insisted that the security of the country’s waterways was the statutory responsibility of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Marine Police, and Nigerian Navy, which must all ensure a safe and secure Nigeria territorial waters.

A secure anchorage area is an area outside the Lagos port that the Nigerian Navy, with a private company, has defined as a secure place where vessels could anchor safely from the threat of pirate attack.

The SAA contract mandates

visiting ships to anchor at a marked area around the Lagos harbour and are made to pay a whopping $2,500 dollars per day in order to prevent their ships from being attacked However, addressing newsmen in Lagos, the President of NAMM, Capt Tajudeen Alao, said the SAA contract is making Nigeria look ridiculous to the rest of the world.

He urged foreign shipping companies visiting Nigeria to stop paying any charges and urged the federal government to provide security for all vessels, including fishing trawlers, local boats on Nigerian waters.

The master mariner questioned the Navy on the whereabouts of three vessels given to them by the NPA for the purpose of securing the waters.

He disclosed that the vessels bought by NPA for the Navy were - DOINA, TORIE and AGEDE, adding that the vessels were built in South Africa.

He warned the Senate against setting dangerous precedents that other companies could spring up and exploit in the future.

According to him, “A good administration does not create dangerous precedents, how can we stop it tomorrow if another company springs up and set another dangerous extortion or tariff, if we create these dangerous precedents, we are opening the flood gates for dangerous things to happen. “For the Senate to say that the SAA contract is not costing the government anything is a Continued on page 22

Dubai Tourism Incentivises Nigerians

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism),issettodelightNigerianswithprizesandfreetripstoDubaias partofactivitiesmarkingthe25thanniversaryoftheDubaiShopping Festival(DSF).DubaiTourismanditspartnersarekickingoff several competition offering Nigerians and Ghanaians the chance to win big just in time for the holidays. The gifts include shopping vouchers or fully funded trips to Dubai to enjoy unique experiences, world-class concerts, pop up markets, events, and daily firework displays during DSF, which takes place December 26, 2019 to February 1, 2020.

Established in 1996, the DSF is one of the first city-wide shopping festivalsintheworldandthebiggestintheregion.Itdemonstratesthe breadthofDubai’sretailofferingandthis25thanniversaryeditionwill featurecelebrationsandentertainment,includingthejubileeopening ceremony, concerts, live shows and cultural performances.

Therearealsofantasticretaildeals,includingoffersandextraordinary experienceswithunbelievablediscountson800+brandsatover3,500+ outletsaswellasglobalbrandsactivationsatmalls,shoppingdistricts, and Souks.

Commentingonthecontest,HeadofCampaignManagementforAfrica, SalimAliMohammedDahmansaid:“TheDubaiShoppingFestivalhas been always being an event that the entire city really gets into.�

Boeing to Compensate Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines has reached an agreement with Boeing over compensation for the financial impact relating to the grounding of the737Max.FlightGlobalreportedthatthecarrierwasintendingto introduce75Maxjetstoitsfleet,comprising65Max8sand10ofthe larger Max 9. But while it has received 12 of the re-engined aircraft, deliveries had been held up by the worldwide grounding of the type in March.

TurkishAirlineshasrevealedthatit,“cametoanagreement�withBoeing concerning,“compensationforcertainlosses�causedbythegrounding as well as the non-delivery of 737 Max aircraft.

It has not disclosed the extent or nature of the compensation, nor whether the agreement was final or interim arrangement.

TurkishAirlines’latestfleetplanshowstheairlineaimstohave48Max jets in its fleet, including the 10 Max 9s, by the end of 2020.

But these numbers, it said, are only based on the original fleetdevelopment strategy and are “subject to change� depending on developments within Boeing.

Turkish Airlines has increased the number of 737-800s in its 2020 fleet plan, to 88 from a previous figure of 75 given in June.

Its joint venture carrier SunExpress recently opted to increase its own Max commitment to 42 firm aircraft, through an agreement to take 10 more.

“Youths can be travel consultants.

Many of them can engage in travel business. So, I had to set up a school to help them acquire the necessary skills for them to function�

Managing Director, Finchglow Travels,

Bankole Bernard

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BUSINESSWORLD EXPERTS WARN AGAINST FREQUENT SECURITY BREACHES AT AIRPORTS Security expert and Chairman of Scope Centre Limited, Bayo Babatunde, told THISDAY that there are new security threats in air transport that could be combated with advanced technology system and urged the federal government to ensure that airports are protected with these modern security systems. “The threats to international aviation continue to evolve as the perpetrators devise methods to contravene procedures and improved counter measure technologies. It’s a case of both parties not resting on their oars. “While the global governing body, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) continues its global oversights and regulations through the ICAO Annex 17 which details the standards and recommended procedures for members contracting bodies, the local regulatory Civil Aviation Authority is responsible for domesticating the international rules in line with the National Security Program through the National Aviation Security Program / standards which must adopt the ICAO Standards as minimum standards,� he explained.

‘OMS’ SAA AGAINST INTERNATIONAL LAW’ wrong notion.�

Alao, said the master mariners were not invited by the Senate during the public hearing for them to get professional input on the controversial SAA contract. “Our professional advice is for the federal government to put money into maritime security throughout our waters.

It is the duty of the Navy to secure our waters, let the Navy be on ground, and the platform bought for them by NPA should be put to use, �he said Alao recalled the case of “MV Duden� a Turkish ship that was attacked on Nigerian waters twenty two times. “It became a serious issue at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the National Security Adviser (NSA) had to set up an inquiry, unfortunately the ship never made it back to Turkey, it caught fire around Brazil�

Also speaking, Capt Iheanacho Ebubeogu said Nigeria is only being tolerated by the rest of the world due to its big market size.

NPA Pays Severance BeneďŹ ts to Disengaged Dockworkers Eromosele Abiodun

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has commenced the payment of severance benefits to tally clerks and onboard security men who were sacked from the port recently.

The payment kicked off at the NPA sports complex in Surulere, Lagos, and witnessed the presence of the President General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Adewale Adeyanju, who personally handed over some of the cheques to the deserving dockworkers.

The payment had suffered an initial delay, which caused the dockworkers to develop a doubting mind as to the sincerity of NPA and the MWUN on disbursing the money.

Both bodies had however come out to explain that the exercise was delayed because of the verification of beneficiaries by stevedoring contractors.

THISDAY checks revealed that payment has commenced without hitches under the supervision of the NPA as well as MWUN led by Adeyanju, who commended the Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi and the Minister of State, Mrs Gbemi Saraki for making the payment possible.

Adeyanju also thanked the Minister of Labour, Dr

Obinna Chima

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Ogene

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Senior Correspondent

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

Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x; äĂ? (Aviation) ĂœĂ™Ă—Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă? ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜ (Maritime) Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă?ÔÙ (Finance) Ebere Nwoji (Insurance) Chineme Okafor (Energy) Reporters

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Chris Ngige, as well as the Permanent Secretary, Minister of Transportation. “I want to appreciate the Managing Director, NPA, for the role she played while the struggle for the payment was going on, she cooperated with us, and that is why we are able to get the money for our members,

�he said. “It is a long struggle, but I thank God almighty who made it possible for us to get this money for our disengaged members,� he added.

The MWUN boss, however declared that the exercise would be the last of such, as henceforth and dockworker who is retiring would be paid

their terminal benefits by their employers.

Adeyanju added: “I am happy to say that after this ongoing exercise, subsequent retirement benefits of dock workers will be paid by their employers, we now have a signed condition of service for all dockworkers by virtue of the NJIC agreements.

“Nigerian dockworkers now enjoy all benefits that are enjoyed by other workers in the maritime industry, we achieved all these without shutting down the ports, �he added.

The cheques were handed over to the visibly happy dockworkers by officials of NPA and the stevedoring companies.

MEDIA BRIEFING

L-R: Head, Finance and Account, Niger Insurance Plc, Ekperahwa James; Head, Strategy and Performance, Aleshinloye Rotimi; Head Legal and Compliance, Leke Oginbambo; Head, ICT, Kuponiyi Kundera; MD/CEO, Edwin Igbiti; Head Group Life Business, Umuolo Jane; Chief Finance OďŹƒcer, Salami Adeola, and Head Marketing, Seth Epelle, during a media brieďŹ ng organised by the company in Lagos‌ recently

Osun Speaker Harps on Local Content Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo

The Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Timothy Owoeye, has called on Nigerians to focus more on locally made products to stimulate domestic production in 2020.

Owoeye, also enjoined them to always strive for the good of the land, saying the much publicised ‘Next Level’ agenda of the

President Mohammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) must begin with every Nigerian for a more prosperous country.

The Speaker, in a new year message released by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Kunle Alabi, charged Nigerians to look inward and patronise indigenous manufacturers.

Owoeye, reminded Nigerians of the need to cut down their dependence on

foreign goods, especially food stuffs to increase local production and enhance entrepreneurship.

The Speaker noted that depending on home-grown food and other products would help save the local currency which currently carries too much pressure.

He expressed regrets that despite the huge potential in sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing, Nigeria has failed to make

use of the opportunities.

The Speaker who commended the federal government for closing all land borders, said the effort has been yielding good fruits with the increment in the patronage of locally grown rice and other cereals.

He added, “The recent border closure has yielded so much results in terms of local production. “We should sustain it

and Nigerians should do more to patronise local content, by so doing, we will be strengthening our economy and reducing unemployment in the country.�

Owoeye, also urged the people of the State of Osun to pray for the state and the administration of Governor Gboyega Oyetola, so that development, peace and security would continue to reign.

Coca-Cola Company Commemorates 100 Years Raheem Akingbolu

Group Business Editor

NEWS

Coca-Cola, arguably the world’s most popular beverage company recently celebrated its 100th anniversary of its initial public offering.

According to record shared by the promoters of the brand, investment of $40 at that time, would be worth more than $18 million today.

James Quincey, who led Senior executives and Board members of TCCC to the New York Stock Exchange, recently, rang the opening bell, in commemoration of the centenary celebration.

Speaking on the landmark achievement, a

statement quoted Quincey to have said: “Not many brands make it this far and not many have been able to grow at the speed that we have. It is a testament to the work that goes on behind the scenes and also thanks to our loyal consumers and investors across the world. It’s a big day for us and it’s a good time to look optimistically into the future.�

With strong presence in over 200 countries, the Coca-Cola Company and its beverage brands continue to drive economic growth across markets, making it one of the most recognised brands globally.

However, the incredible story of Coca-Cola goes be-

yond profits and revenue.

Over the years, Coca-Cola has taken the lead in good business, committing huge resources in laudable sustainability initiatives across its markets. “In 2009, Coca-Cola launched Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN) to improve access to safe drinking water for African communities. A total of over 4 million people have been impacted under this initiative. With profits comes responsibility, and Coca-Cola has continued to invest in women through its 5by20 global program that has committed to the empowerment of five million women by 2020, right up to its World Without

Waste campaign which has committed to retrieve and recycle equivalent of every product package by 2030. “Nigeria is not left out of the beverage giants’ good efforts. With the launch of the Safe Birth Initiative, Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health, the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals and an NGO, Medshare International Inc., has provided equipment and supplies, capability development of biomedical engineers as well as resuscitation and repairs of abandoned medical equipment in 15 government hospitals

across the country worth a total conservative value of about $10.8 million, i.e. over N3.8 billion. “The Safe Birth Initiative is a critical intervention that aims to tackle the high rate of maternal and newborn deaths in Nigeria. “Another critical intervention in the healthcare space is the Project Last Mile – a public private partnership working to make life-saving medicines available to people who need them most, to improve access to vaccinations by strengthening public sector refrigeration, or “cold chain� capacity using our vast experience in distribution and cold chain equipment management.�

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BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

Air Peace Scales through IATA Safety Audit r Begins Lagos-Ibadan, Kano-Owerri Flights

Stories by Chinedu Eze Nigeria’s major carrier, Air Peace has set the tone for the aviation sector in 2020 as it recently received its third International Air Transport Association Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certification.

The airline said the development is coming on the heels of its announcement of flight operations into Ibadan from Lagos, Kano and Owerri.

Air Peace noted that it set a record when it obtained its first IOSA, barely two years into its operations and was subsequently inducted as a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) In a reaction, the Chief Operating Officer (COO),

Air Peace, Mrs. Toyin Olajide, expressed delight that the certification was another feather added to the Air Peace’s cap and confirms the airline’s uncompromising adherence to safety standards in line with global best practices.

She explained that the exercise this time around was tougher than what obtained in previous years but the airline scaled through every phase of the certification process due to, “our unwavering drive to keep raising the bar in our operations.�

She also reassured the flying public of the airline’s resolve to continue to comply with best safety standards and promised more seamless connectivity and an expanded route network in 2020.

The COO applauded the IATA for its efforts at ensuring that stakeholders in aviation globally comply with stipulated safety standards. She averred that the airline would continue to blaze the trail in Africa’s aviation landscape. “Air Peace has attained an enviable position as West Africa’s leading airline and will continue to raise the bar in-flight services, while ensuring a hundred percent compliance with all safety codes as required by the industry regulatory bodies,� Olajide said.

In a message to Air Peace, the Director of Audit Programmes, IATA, Catalin Cotrut, congratulated the airline on the successful completion of the audit.

Tackling Challenge of Aircraft Leasing

Kwara Hajj

Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika

IATA Predicts $29.3bn Profit Globally from Airlines in 2020 The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has predicted that the global airline industry will record a net profit of $29.3 billion in 2020.

This, would be an improvement, over a net profit of $25.9 billion expected in 2019 (revised downward from a $28 billion forecast in June).

If achieved, 2020 would mark the global industry’s 11th consecutive year in the black.

In 2020 the global body expects return on invested capital to be about six per cent, as against the 5.7 per cent expected in 2019; the net profit margin was forecast at 3.4 per cent, up from 3.1 per cent for 2019; and overall industry revenue were estimated to reach $872 billion this year, up from $838 billion in 2019.

In addition, the industry operating expenses were projected to climb by 3.5 per cent to $823 billion, from $796 billion in 2019.

IATA also expects passenger numbers to reach 4.72 billion, up by four per cent, compared with the 4.54 billion realised in 2019. Freight tonnes

carried are expected to recover to 62.4 million, a two per cent increase over the 61.2 million tonnes carried in 2019, which was the lowest figure in three years, stating that stronger economic growth should support passenger traffic (RPKs) growth of 4.1 per cent, similar to 2019. “These negative developments contributed to softer passenger and cargo demand and corresponding weaker revenue growth, as passenger yields fell three per cent and cargo yields dropped five per cent, compared to 2018,� the body said.

Operating expenses did not rise as much as anticipated (3.8% vs. 7.4% June forecast) largely owing to lower-than-expected fuel costs; but this was not enough to offset the softness in revenue. “Slowing economic growth, trade wars, geopolitical tensions and social unrest, plus continuing uncertainty over Brexit all came together to create a tougher than anticipated business environment for airlines.

Yet the industry managed

to achieve a decade in the black, as restructuring and cost-cutting continued to pay dividends. “It appears that 2019 will be the bottom of the current economic cycle and the forecast for 2020 is somewhat brighter. The big question for 2020 is how capacity will develop, particularly when, as expected, the grounded 737 MAX aircraft return to service and delayed deliveries arrive,� said IATA’s Director General and CEO, Alexandre de Juniac.

In 2020, IATA said it expects GDP to expand by 2.7 per cent (marginally above the 2.5% growth in 2019). Also, world trade growth was expected to rebound to 3.3 per cent, from 0.9 per cent in 2019, as election year pressures in the USA contribute to reduced trade tensions.

Growth would be supported by actions from central banks as well as easing fiscal policy, it stated. In addition, passenger demand was expected to grow by 4.1 per cent in 2020, in line with the 4.2 per cent growth in 2019.

Arik Air Donates to IDP Camp in Jos Arik Air has visited the IDP camp in Heipang, Barkin Ladi LGA, Jos, Plateau state to donate some relief items to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

Addressing the IDPs, the senior official of the airline, Mr. Andrew Odion, noted that as part of the airline’s corporate social responsibility (CSR), the airline was there to support them and also to make the festive pe-

riod more enjoyable and memorable for them.

He said, Arik Air has always been supportive of the less privileged in the country. He advised the officials of the Camp to use the token brought by the airline judiciously and for the benefit of all.

Some of the items donated were Tins of Milo and Peak milk, Vaseline, mosquito net, bed sheets, detergent, Indomie noodles, clothing

items, among others The Arik Air team was received by the camp’s Coordinator, Mr. Elijah Bosoq, camp secretary, Mr.Sule Bigi and camp women leader, Mrs. Beatrice Asabe.

In his remark Mr. Elijah thanked the airline on behalf of everyone in the Camp. He promised that the items would be used judiciously and for the benefit of everybody in the Camp.

Chinedu Eze The major challenge Nigerian airlines are facing today is their inability to lease aircraft from lessors. The lessors have refused to lend to Nigerian operators after series of failure of some airlines to abide by tenets of agreements signed when they leased the aircraft.

What even enabled lessors to lease aircraft to Nigerian operators in the past was because Nigeria is signatory to the Cape Town Convention, which enables airlines of member countries to lease aircraft.

Under the treaty, if there is any default or compromise on the leasing agreement, government through the civil aviation authority is expected to assist the lessor to recover his aircraft.

Some airlines in Nigeria had gone to court when the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) attempted to help lessors recover their aircraft.

The Cape Town Convention is explained thus, “The Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment, or Cape Town Treaty is an international treaty intended to standardise transactions involving movable property. “The treaty creates international standards for registration of contracts of sale (including dedicated registration agencies), security interests (liens), leases and conditional sales contracts, and various legal remedies for default in financing agreements, including repossession and the effect of particular states’ bankruptcy laws. “The treaty came into force on 1 April 2004, and has been ratified by 57 parties. The Aircraft Protocol (which applies specifically to aircraft and aircraft engines) took effect on 1 March 2006 when it was ratified by eight countries: Ethiopia, Ireland, Malaysia, Nigeria, Oman, Panama, Pakistan, and the United States.�

Industry stakeholders suggest that government should wade into this problem.

That is why the federal government is planning to establish aircraft leasing company in the country. This, would enable the airlines to lease aircraft at a lower rate than what they had been paying before.

The aim of having the Cape Town Convention is to help, especially African airlines to be able to get leases easily and at affordable prices

But above all, the major advantage is that the aircraft will be available to be leased than what is currently obtained from the global aircraft leasing market.

Indeed, the current paucity of operating aircraft is because it has become extremely difficult for Nigerian airlines to lease aircraft.

They are forced to buy and buying even used aircraft could be very expensive.

So, in addition to establishing a leasing company, the CEO of Aero Contractors, Captain Ado Sanusi, suggested that government should intervene by reinforcing the Cape Town Convention and assuring the leasing companies that whenever there is a default on leasing aircraft by airline operators it would step in to recover the aircraft.

Former Director General of NCAA, Captain Muhtar Usman said that by reneging on the terms of agreement for leasing, some Nigerian airlines have damaged the image of the country in the global aviation market and made it difficult for lessors to lease aircraft to Nigerian operators.

Such bad image, he said has also affected even the acquisition of spares and made insurance companies to be circumspect about insuring Nigerian airlines aircraft.

It has also contributed in making the global aviation community see Nigeria as a harsh environment for business. This has reflected in the high insurance premium Nigerian airlines pay, which is the highest in West Africa and more than double what is paid in Europe.

Muhtar, noted that by helping the lessors recover their aircraft, government is merely abiding by the Cape Town Convention protocol, which Nigeria is, signatory to and also giving hope to lessors that they would always recover their aircraft if the airline that leased it defaulted on the terms of leasing. “The aim of having the Cape Town Convention is to help, especially African airlines to be able to get leases easily and at affordable prices. Of course, it came with certain conditions because the people who are going to lease will always need to have some kind of comfort that if there is any default they will be able to recover their mobile equipment, aircraft, engine or anything along that line. “Before we became signatory to Cape Town Convention, cost of leases were quite high and difficult to come by because of the difficulty experienced by those lessors in getting back their aeroplanes whenever there were defaults from the airlines. Of course, Nigeria has signed, we have ratified and we have even started implementing those provisions. The only problems with the implementation which we have been working to try and remove is where the airline which has leased the aircraft will go to court and ask for an ex-parte motion or order to stop the aircraft from either being de-registered or taken out of Nigeria,�

Usman said.

So government must have to inform the judiciary about the Cape Town Convention it signed and why courts should not stop the recovery of aircraft by the lessor after a default. Sanusi explained that once there is a default, the lessor must recover his aircraft and the issue should be resolved afterwards.

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2020: Rising Hope in Aviation Sector Chinedu Eze writes that there are indications that 2020 may be a better year for the aviation industry in the areas of infrastructure, aircraft acquisition and improvement in passenger traffic

T

here were three glaring challenges in the aviation industry in 2019. Firstly, it became evident last year that lessors were no more willing to lease aircraft to Nigerian operators. Secondly, there were too many flight cancellations and delays.

These were attributed to weather, dearth of operating aircraft and poor airport facilities. The third challenge was that although there were no accidents, but there were serious incidents involving domestic airlines.

The consequences of these problems were far reaching. Refusal to lease aircraft to Nigerian airlines by lessors led to fewer operating aircraft, high cost of airfares and the inability of the airlines to cope with their flight scheduling.

Poor weather meant that travelers had to stay too long at the airport and sometimes flights were subsequently cancelled to sunset airports due to lack of runway light.

And serious incidents involving many of the airlines disabled the aircraft and forced them to maintenance hangars; thereby further depleting the overall fleet.

Year 2020 Naturally it is good to step into the New Year with good feeling and optimism, but there may not be fundamental changes that can bring radical improvement this year because in aviation progress is marked by process, which could be long term or short term but obviously processes are a continuum that do not recongise end of the year and starting of a new.

It is expected that price of aviation fuel will oscillate the same way it did in 2019. But the expectation is that there would come a respite when the Dangote Refinery becomes operational in 2021.

Aircraft maintenance will follow the same pattern, but there are indications that more aircraft may be maintained in Nigeria at Aero Contractors maintenance facility and new one that may come up before the end of the year.

While there may not be clear agreement between lessors and Nigerian airlines, unless the federal government steps in with assurance, the operators must find a way to acquire aircraft and there is hope that the new aircraft ordered

by Air Peace will start arriving in 2020. The increase in fleet hopefully would provide the needed succour for robust airline operation.

In the area of infrastructure, it is hoped that the new airport terminals in Lagos and Kano will start operation this year. This will ease passenger facilitation, especially in Lagos and also provide comfort to travellers as they would be exposed to modern facilities in the new terminals.

Airspace The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) is expected to complete many projects it started in 2019 this year. The agency almost completed work on Aeronautical Information Service (AIS) to ensure the flow of information necessary for safety, regularity and efficiency for international air navigation. The project will be completed early this year. However, the AIS equipment in Lagos has been installed; but the agency is working on the installation of similar equipment in six other places.

Similarly, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) is expected to reopen the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu this year and also plans to install runway lights in some of the sunset airports under its management.

Autonomy THISDAY spoke to aviation industry consultant and CEO, Etimfri Group, Amos Akpan on expectations in the aviation sector in 2020.

Akpan, said the Director Generals and the Managing Directors heading agencies in the sector should be allowed more time and autonomy with their management to implement solutions to existing problems from their agency’s perspective.

He noted that FAAN, NAMA, Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) as presently constituted by the Acts that established them,

New Lagos Airport Terminal

have the capacity to turn around the industry. “They need to implement their agenda for the industry. If they are allowed, the funds available in their budget would achieve results and we will see the effects. “Regular maintenance of existing infrastructure and continuous training of personnel will cut wastages, keep our facilities functional and make us reliable. “Imagine a scenario where the entire airport is all lit, the bulbs are promptly replaced. It would be difficult for an activity in the apron to go unnoticed,� Akpan said.

Corporate Governance He said investors and managers of Nigerian airlines should imbibe and inculcate corporate culture in managing their airlines; otherwise, they would not be able to avoid bogus public relation expenses; urging them to also avoid diverting funds from their airline’s sales into non-core ventures. He said discipline, focus, and innovation are the critical ingredients needed to remain in the business. “The commercial banks need to reevaluate their approach to airline projects. Money from an airline should be programmed to flow in over a realistic time frame. “Realistic monthly income spanning five years to 10 years will allow room for both the airline and the bank to pay for current running cost.

Most important here is to keep the operations ongoing at times in that period. “It does not help the bank and the airline if they enter into a funding arrangement that has 80 per cent failure possibility. Both parties can structure a win - win plan. “The minister of aviation should give attention

Just to remind us that aviation in other continents have moved on. Airports have achieved 100 per cent self-check in services. Aeroplanes land in zero visibility.

Non-compliance to regulations is detected by remote monitoring

to maintenance repair and overhaul facilities.

Existing capacities in this regard should be examined with the view to growing them. If aircraft are maintained in Nigeria, if there are workshops to repair spare parts and put back into service in Nigeria, then the cost of operation will be reduced. Reduced cost means profit, profitable airline have the resistance not to cut corners, and safety is guaranteed,� Akpan said.

Airport Facilities and Service The Managing Director of FAAN, Captain Rabiu Hamisu Yadudu said that in 2020, the agency would revamp decaying facilities at different airports in the country under the agency’s management. “We do know we have a lot of infrastructure and equipment all around Nigeria. It is clear to us that a lot of our equipment and infrastructure are dilapidated, and we have been working to resolve all issues, from the smallest to the biggest. An Example is Enugu Airport.�

Continuing, Akpan said he expects an improvement in airport facilities and services rendered to passengers in 2020 by FAAN. “Just to remind us that aviation in other continents have moved on. Airports have achieved 100 per cent self-check in services.

Aeroplanes land in zero visibility. Non-compliance to regulations is detected by remote monitoring. “Accident investigation bureau covers air, sea, rail and land transport. Manpower training now concentrates on managing flying machines without pilots on the flight deck. Maintenance is based on diagnosis with 95 per cent accuracy than on trial and error, trouble shooting. Security checks and profiling of passengers and cargo is function of available database that is reliable,� he said.

Maintenance Akpan expressed the hope that government would show greater support to maintenance facilities being developed in the country like the Aero Aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) owned by Aero, adding that government in addition to what Aero has, should make conscious efforts to establish modern maintenance facility in the country. “Beyond the Aero facilities, there must be conscious steps to create repair workshops in Nigeria. There are skills in Nigeria that can do what I see repair workshops do in South Africa and America. Those willing to invest in tools, training of technicians, and certification should be encouraged. Nigeria Airways had workshop that was functional so it is not new in Nigeria. “Collaboration between NCAT and manufacturers should develop useful technicians training curriculum in this regard. Whatever must be done should be done to have flight-training simulators relevant to most aeroplane types

flying in Nigeria. Pilot’s recurrent training outside Nigeria is a huge cost to airlines. “We know that 65 per cent of the commercial jet operation is Boeing 737; 15 per cent is (Embraer) EMB 145-90; 10 per cent is CRJ and the rest aircraft types share 10 per cent. It is easy to determine the two training prototype to invest in. It cost about $18,000 per pilot, and it must be performed twice a year per pilot. “If you add the theory of refresher on operations and crew resource management, this will make a profitable business unit on its own.

The argument that our pilots in the regulatory agencies frustrate the establishment of one is faulty. Accessibility to recurrent training benefits the pilot more because it gives him job security.

Leasing Akpan noted that investment funds and aircraft lease issues has to be addressed. “Nigerian operators have not performed creditably in the past on repayment of loans and honouring agreements on aircraft lease.

We should stop giving excuses for breaking financial/equipment lease agreements. We should retrace our steps. Do not sign an agreement when the odds are against you especially in our type of environment. Do not borrow money with unrealistic non-implementable feasibility or cash flow projections. “You must understand and capture every thread of possible outcome: Multiple taxation, high cost of aviation fuel, unstable foreign exchange regime, 95 per cent foreign input to cost of operations, planned and unscheduled maintenance, political environment, and human resource issues. The key is to know you will be judged by industry’s global standard, not

by Nigerian standard,� he said.

Akpan, however noted that the potential for the aviation industry in Nigeria remains untapped. According to him, aviation business in Nigeria has many areas that are yet to be explored. “When I hear people talk about Ethiopian Airlines, or Ghanaian aviation, I feel they need to know more about our industry. If Nigerian aviation grows Ethiopian and Ghana will become appendages to Nigerian aviation. “Check the traffic Nigerians give to Ethiopian and Ghana in a year. British Airways will feel the impact of our growth. South African aviation will actually shrink if our aviation industry grows because of the volume of transaction with us on training, maintenance, and leases,� he added.

It is hoped that 2020 would provide a platform for a new trajectory in the industry. Among the aviation agencies, it is expected that that there would improvement in air safety, security and possibly, as FAAN Managing Director noted, more airports might be certified by NCAA this year.

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BUSINESSWORLD

MARITIME

Transformation of Eastern Ports Eromosele Abiodun writes that the increased activity at the Eastern Ports is as a result of Nigerian Ports Authority’s new investment in dredging, port equipment and the 10 per cent discount on harbour dues in all concession terminals

L

ike many sectors of the Nigerian economy, the maritime sector had its share of the many challenges that hit the economy. But with clever policy direction things turned out differently for sections that had hitherto remained moribund for years.

A case in point is the eastern port. With the Apapa ports clearly congested and traffic gridlock forcing transporters to stay on the road for days, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) came up with an idea that will attract vessels to eastern ports. As part of efforts to increase patronage at the eastern ports, and decongest Apapa port, the NPA approved a 10 per cent discount on harbour dues in all concession terminals early last year.

The NPA had in a statement stated that the ports that will be affected by this initiative are those in Cross River, Rivers and Delta states. “The authority, however, wishes to clarify that this discount will only apply to harbour dues payable by the following types of vessels/ cargoes: Container vessels with at least 250 TEUs, (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) general Cargo vessels with at least 16,000 MT, combo vessels with at least 16,000 metric tonnes and RORO vessels with at least 250 units of vehicles. These discounts shall not apply to: vessels coming INBALLAST, vessels calling at private jetties and vessels calling carrying liquid bulk. The application of these discounts will take immediately effect.�

The NPA had, as part of the effort to attract vessels to the eastern ports, commenced the dredging of Warri port at the cost of $44.861million (N16.150 billion).

The dredging has since been completed and vessels have started calling at the port.

A Warri-based Customs broker and former National Financial Secretary of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Val Orhobabhor, told THISDAY recently that the dredging project had been completed.

Aware of the perennial gridlock in Apapa as a result of the activity at the Lagos port, the NPA had recently announced that it was working with professionals in the maritime sector to make the eastern ports attractive for business.

The previous year, the NPA deployed equipment worth over $30 million in Onne Port, Rivers State.

The measure, which was taken by the Managing Director of the NPA, Hadiza Bala-Usman, was to boost efficiency, security and make the port attractive for business.

Onne Port Complex as one of the key ports under the NPA also got several equipment to boost activity at the port. It is situated on the Bonny River Estuary along Ogu Creek. It was also gathered that six pilot cutters, tug boats and 17-meter offshore patrol boats, have been deployed in the port to make the port attractive and stem the cycle of criminalities within and around the port.

Increased Activity in Calabar As NPA incentive regime took effect, containership traffic in Calabar port has revved up. The floodgate was opened by a container vessel, since then,container ship calls at Calabar port has been on the increase.

Last month, two more container ships called back-to-back at Calabar port. Most importantly, Marguisa Shipping has dedicated a container ship to Calabar route.

From all indications, it would appear that the successful maiden voyage of Marguisa shipping company owned containership, MV Boreas have provided the much-needed pep for more traffic of container vessels to Calabar Port.

MV Boreas made a maiden voyage to Calabar in September last year, after over 11 years of stoppage of containership service by Baco Liner Services and Maersk Line Shipping company, the two major shipping lines that operated containership services to Calabar port.

Barely two months after the last call of MV Boreas to Calabar, two more container vessels,

Bala-Usman

MV Zea Walawe and MV MCP Adamax have commenced calls to Calabar Port, with the duo arriving back-to-back at Calabar Port in November.

When containership services to Calabar was halted many years ago, the port landscape was awash with protests from shippers and other stakeholders. Terminal operators at port had complained that the halting of containerised cargo operations had caused a lull in their landside activities.

The port operators insisted that the situation hindered the attainment of their financial projections and rendered their huge investments in acquisition and maintenance of container handling equipment unprofitable.

It was at the wake of this that Bala-Usman, at a meeting with stakeholders in Lagos, encouraged shippers and shipping operators to consider using the eastern ports to ease the intense pressure being faced by the Lagos Ports.

Spanish Company Steps In A Spain-based shipping company, Marguisa Shipping Line decided to take the NPA MD’s suggestion on the use of the eastern ports. The shipping company approached ECM Terminals, Calabar Port Management and the Calabar shipping community for discussions on the commencement of containership service to Calabar.

Top on Marguisa’s list of requirements for the commence of this service were assurance of quick turnaround from relevant agencies, stakeholders’ assurance of cargo availability for their incoming and outgoing trips from Calabar, some level of rebate on NPA charges to compensate for the shallow draft of the channel, among others.

It was based on the feedback received from Calabar Port management and their direct interactions with Marguisa, that the MD and executive management of NPA approved the highly celebrated 10 per cent rebate on ship charges for all containerships that decides to use the eastern ports.

Although some maritime experts had expressed their belief that Calabar Port should have been granted more than the 10 per cent rebate due to its disadvantaged situation, others have described the gesture by NPA management as a good start that will set the port on the course to operational vibrancy.

While the clamour of the capital dredging of Calabar Port channel continues to resonate across the nation, observers have noted that there seems to be an emerging niche for Calabar in the flat-bottom ship market. Flat-bottom vessels that can sail through the port’s windy channel without raising concerns about the shallow draft have become the newest bride

of Calabar Port.

Taking a retrospective look at this development, one will recall that an experimentation of the use of flat-bottom vessels was earlier carried out successfully at Calabar Port in 2017 when Atlantic Bulk Carrier’s flat-bottom Bulkers, MV Desert Ranger and MV Desert Harrier made maiden calls to Calabar Port, laden with bulk wheat.

The vessels, which were about 200 metres Length Overall (LOA) were successfully maneuvered across the port’s windy channel to the berth, through the facilitation of an extra Tug Boat approved for the Port by the management of the NPA. The Calabar Port Pilot that brought the two state-of-the-art vessels, Pilot Mohammed Bida was not left out in the wave of accolades that followed after the berthing of the vessels, as the management of NPA went further to bestow the Best Worker of the Year Award on the heroic Pilot, with the attendant double promotion from Grade level 09 to 12.

Following the MD’s directive on the need to attract more flat-bottom vessels to Calabar, the port panagement launched a massive publicity campaign on various media platforms to encourage shipper to use Calabar Port.

One of such campaign tools is the development of an outstanding Port documentary tagged: “Why shippers should prefer Calabar Port�.

Many stakeholders are convinced that the exploits of MV Desert Ranger and MV Desert Harrier provided the foundational confidence that propelled Marguisa to deploy MV Boreas to Calabar Port.

Moreover, the impressive average turnaround time of two days recorded on all containerships that called at Calabar port appears to be a fulfilment of the promise of cooperation and partnership given by the Calabar Port business community and government agencies to all shipping operators desiring to use Calabar Port.

With the successful voyage of MV Boreas, Marguisa Shipping Line has dedicated a container vessel to operate regular calls to Calabar Port and there are indications that more containerships will join the Calabar route.

Rivers Port Success Story Just like Calabar and Warri, Rivers port stakeholders are excited over the success achieved by the port in this year 2019. The port, which is situated in the Gulf of Guinea, has made a lot of improvement in ship traffic and other operational efficiency. This is attributed to Bala-Usman, who on assumption of duty, pledged her commitment to ensure effective service delivery in all Nigerian ports with the intention of making the nations maritime sector more competitive and a become o hub in the

subregion.

THISDAY checks revealed that normalcy has returned to the port as economic activities are on the increase while security challenges have been reduced to barest minimum.

This, stakeholders said, is contrary to the recent impression that the port is dormant with low patronage.

For instance, over nine vessels called on the Port in 2019 after years of zero activity, hence increased throughput and revenue for the port. These vessels, General Manager, Strategic Communication, Adams Jato said, ordinary would have stopped at Lagos Port, “however with management interaction with the shipping community, this was made possible.

Some of these vessels are NNLG vessel (LPG) by name Navigator Capricon, which berthed on the 30th October with Length Overall of 160m, Gross tonnage of 18311, NRT 5493 DW 233333 with cargo BRUTANE at STOCKGAP jetty.This is the first LPG product that was brought direct to the south. “MV Northern Dance, she came in on 22/05 2019. LOA: 180M Draft 9.12M she discharged 26,000MT in Port Harcourt, MV Zafercame in on 08/09/ 2019LOA: 180M Draft 2.76M, discharged 22,000MT of Bulk wheat,MV Kota Bakticame in on 18/02/2019LOA: 161.33 DRAFT 9.6m,discharged general cargo of 1074MT in Port Harcourt with IPL as Nigerian agent. “MV JSP Portocame in 25/02/2019 LOA 130.16M Draft of 6.3M, discharged 10 Containers of 965MT and 10 Containers of 224. 82MT.MV Skala came in 22/03/2019LOA: 149.9MT Draft 9.5M, discharged 29010MT of Salt in Port Harcourt with the Westridge General Cargo vessels. MV Union Bienhvendo came in 10/04/2019 LOA: 169.37M Draft 9.36M, discharged Gypsum of 25,000mt all in Port Harcourt.MV Arelan came in on 05/11/2019 LOA: 91.91m, draft 5.7m., discharged 3101MT of Gypsum and MV Road Runner came in on 22/12/2019 LOA 189.99M Draft 7M, discharged 18,000MT of Bulk Wheat.

Onne Port’s Milestone He added: “Onne Port, which is regarded as one of the most modern port with huge potential among the ports operated by NPA, has also recorded a significant milestone taking advantage of the port facilities and the current permissible draft of 10.6 metres. “The achievement recorded by the port in 2019 is as follows: Onne Port on 8th December 2019, successfully berthed a Maersk line vessel JPO Volansat West African Container Terminal berth 8. The first gearless and largest container vessel (LOA of 265.07metres) to call any Eastern Ports of Nigeria.�

MV JPO Volans, he said, was berthed after proper planning, deploying the expertise and experience of Onne Port Manager and Onne Port Harbours and Maersk Line team to ensure safe berthing. “The assigned Onne Pilot conducted the Vessel through the channel in a safe manner with the cooperation of the bridge team (Pilot, Master, Duty Officer, Helmsman and lookout).

The berthing of the JPO Volanswas indeed an achievement for Onne Port and NPA in general, “he said. “Onne Port is a growing port and with the policy of the current leadership of the executive management and the vision of the port management, the port will gradually take its place as strong business hub in sub-sahara Africa. “Brawal was into containerization and receiving Baco LinerVessel in the past, these services was stopped in 2012. The Port have in 2019 open up another window of opportunities which paved the way for Brawal Terminal to add containerization to it’sOil and Gas logistic activities. “On 1st August 2019, Brawal Terminal received the first container vessel MSC Grace at berth, which made a total of five voyages during the period under review. MSCGrace was later substitute with MSC Maria which has made a total of nine (9) voyages so far,� he said.

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FRIDAY JANUARY 3, 2020 • T H I S D AY

THIS WEEKEND WEEKLY MAGAZINE

NEWS METRO THISLIFE ART WEEKEND ENTERTAINMENT Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com 08038901925

SixEntertainmentTrends For2020

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COVER

SIX ENTERTAINMENT TRENDS FOR 2020 VANESSA OBIOHA profiles six trends that will rule the entertainment sector this 2020

O

nline Event Ticketing Surge: The event industry in Nigerian has been on a steady rise in the past few years. In 2017, a report pegged the value of the industry at $20 billion.

With that figure, investors are foraying into the sector as the desire for colourful and glamorous events increase.

The past yuletide season witnessed an overwhelming number of events.

From musical concerts to corporate events, all of these signals the pending explosion of the industry. A key area of the industry that is gradually becoming very competitive is online event ticketing. More and more businesses are adding that part of event management into their portfolio.

Most social events organisers use online platforms to sell their tickets, thus increasing the number of players in that field. Where in the past, only few businesses could lay claim to that market, nowadays, there seems to be an online event ticketing platform popping up every second. Platforms such as Ariiya Tickets are facing stiff competition from platforms like Naija Ticket Shop. The number of players in this field is expected to increase in the new year.

Cinemahall

Kannywood Rising Profile: At the 2019 Nigerian International Film and TV Summit (NIFS), Moses Babatope of FilmOne Distribution disclosed that a great number of films are emerging from Kannywood, the Hausa-speaking language arm of Nollywood. In his report last September, Babatope indicated that out of the 79 movies that were released within that period, 17 were Kannywood movies. What this suggests is that despite the censorship shackles holding down filmmakers in that region, the industry which have produced stars such as Ali Nuhu and Rahma Sadau may quadruple that number in 2020.

New Luxury Cinemas: The arrival of streaming platforms continue to challenge cinema exhibition hall owners to offer more cinematic experiences for moviegoers. That way, they believe they can pull them out of their comfortable homes and direct the pool of eyeballs to bigger screens. A notable player which is at the forefront of transforming cinematic experience in Nigeria is Filmhouse Cinemas. The chain which is barely seven years in the business has continued to push the envelope, building luxury cinemas that offer premium entertainment. Just before the end of last year, it partnered Coca-Cola to launch the MX4D Motion EFX Theatre at Landmark Retail Boulevard in Victoria Island, Lagos.

The company also plans to open more cinemas across the country this year.

Film Collaborations will be Prevalent:The benefit of a joint effort cannot be underestimated and with the success of films such as ‘The Wedding Party’, ‘Sugar Rush’, ‘93 Days’, ‘Chief Daddy’, which are all products of collaborations, more filmmakers are likely to team up with their colleagues for film productions in 2020.

More Creative Interventions: Arguably, the creative industry has

ThefacesofKannyswood

shown significant growth in the past few years and as such, attracting corporate bodies to invest in the infrastructure and skills building of budding talents and practitioners.

MultiChoice Nigeria kick-started an educational talent programme MultiChoice Talent Factory in 2018, Ike Nnebue alongside Pafex Youth Development Initiative toured South-

BurnaBoy

eastern states and trained talents on smartphone filmmaking process.

2020 will likely see more creative interventions from individuals and corporate bodies.

Albums will Bounce Back: Towards the middle of the last decade, most Nigerian artistes opt to release more singles than a full

body of work partly due to the slow decline of physical CD albums and the short attention span of listeners. However, the tail end of the decade saw a number of artistes releasing their full album instead of an EP. Such artistes include Davido who released his third album ‘A Good Time’. The trend is likely to pick up speed in 2020.

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Ͱ͡

OlubunmiTalabi Promotes Hand Washing Culture with New Book Children’s book author and founding publisher of Clever Clogs Books, Olubunmi Aboderin Talabi recently launched latest book, “Why Do You Wash Your Hands?�

The book is targeted at promoting the importance of hand washing amongst children, parents, teachers and families.

According to the UNICEF, hand washing with soap has been cited as one of the most cost effective interventions to prevent communicable diseases.

For Talabi, this is a major reason why the book was written. “Why Do You Wash Your Hands? deploys a fun and pictorial style to help children and their parents understand the importance of regular hand washing and learn the different occasions before or after which they should wash their hands�, she said. “The book launched during the month of Global Hand Washing Day, was also in line with UN’s declaration of 2019 as the year of Indigenous Languages as it comes in a compendium version of four languages. This makes it the first Nigerian children’s picture book to be published simultaneously in four Nigerian indigenous languages – English, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba,� Talabi further added.

There were special readers

L-R: Renowned Economist and former Minister of Industry, Chief Nike Akande OON, CON with author, Olubunmi Aboderin Talabi at the launch of Talabi’s latest children’s book, Why Do You Wash Your Hands? in Lagos

who read the various versions of the book. Popular media personality and comedienne, Chigul read the Igbo version while Director of Business Process & Technology at Prime Atlantic Group, Foluso Gbadamosi read the Yoruba version. Haruna Abu, who also worked as translator for the book read the Hausa version and ten-year-old Ms Tiara Adeniyi, read the English version of the book.

Guest and speaker at the book launch, Dr. Ola Brown of The Flying Doctors Nigeria, couldn’t conceal her excitement about the book being

published in different Nigerian indigenous languages.

Drawing from her experience growing up in the UK, she shared that there are Nigerians in diaspora who are ignorant of their heritage and a book such as this helps to revive that and also show non-Nigerians that beautifully printed Nigerian-themed books can also be created in Nigeria.

In an insightful author’s chat with Chigul, Talabi identified her book as ‘the perfect bedtime story’ and further encouraged Nigerian parents to embrace the culture

of reading bedtime stories to their children as it is not only essential for children’s cognitive development, but also fosters the parent/child bond. The book launch which was held at Victoria Island in Lagos had parents, children and other respected public figures in attendance including Nigeria’s first female Minister of Industry, Chief Nike Akande OON, CON; Founder of Childsville School, Lady Gbeminiyi Smith; Managing Director, Punch Nigeria Limited Ademola Osinubi and foremost Nigerian architect, Jumoke Adenowo to mention a few.

AfrOganiks Rebrands, Rewards Partners Mary Nnah AfrOganiks Nutrition, Africa’s No. 1 Wellness products manufacturers, which is also solving fertility and wellness disorders across Africa since 2011, recently rewarded long standing partner who have stood by the company over the years at an event where it also rebranded its old products.

Co-founder, AfrOganiks Nutrition, Dr. Jeph Akaehie during the event said, “We want to reward our partners and also appreciate them for their supports and partnership with us and also to unveil our new packaged products to the general public. “We have a product that is competitive enough to compete globally with international brands. Also, as a Nigeria based manufacturing company we are doing our best to see how we can also ensure that a lot of people receive health through our products by making the products quite affordable for everyone.�

He said further that the company which used to be known as Green Power Healthcare, had decided to change its name to AfrOganiks Nutrition due to its broadened vison over the years.

Akaehie revealed that the journey, which stated in 2002 in a small village, was officially kicked off in 2011, and so far it has been an interesting journey, adding, “Although there have been challenges but we have been able to survive all of the challenges “So, far we have over 95 per-

Afroganiks boss, Jeph, anked by other stakeholders during the unveiling of the rebranded products

cent success stories regarding those who use our products.

We have over 9,459 verifiable success stories of people who have used our products with various wellness disorders, ranging from people with complex ovarian cysts, who within a period of 90 days got cured. “We have also had success story of women at the age of 49 years with 10 years menstrual seizure being resolved within 90 days of using our products.

We have had men with low sperm counts less that 5million using our products and within three months it increased up close to 50 million. These are ground-breaking records that our products have been able to achieve while restoring hopes and bringing joy to families�, he noted.

The journey, he explained

further dates back to 2002, when Akaehie who was living in a small village in Owerri West, Imo State, with his late father, an herbalist, picked keen interest in medicinal plants after he was healed of hernia using herbs.

In early 2002, there were lots of youths infected with various STD’s in the small village where he lived and due to his closeness to his late father, the youths trusted and confided in young Akaehie for treatments.

He decided to try out some of the medicinal plants he was taught and boom, more and more people were coming including expectant couples and the amazing outcomes announced him to the world.

So, in 2015, Jeph’s passion for healing Africans gave birth to this amazing brand, the AfrOganiks.

“At AfrOganiks, we strongly believe that nature has all answers to all health problems.

All human health conditions have a solution, except if the plant has not yet been identified and that is why we are totally committed to researching on plants and inventing evidencebased formulations that help individuals live better, healthier and happier�, he said.

With a factory located in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria and Corporate Office at Ago Palace Way, Okota, Lagos the company has a growing distributor network spread across major states in Nigeria while it has in the past years built a brand name and brand value that delivers results for the average customer who has experienced its products with a commitment to help its customers live well.

Book on Akpata Family Genealogy Launched Professor Enosakhare Samuel Akpata, a renowned dentist and academic has written a book on the genealogy of the Akpata family of Benin Kingdom. The book details the origin and accomplishments of the Akpata descendants, while also touching briefly on the history of Benin Kingdom.

Titled “Our Family Tree, Five Generations of Akpata Descendants�, the book, which is published by Narrative Landscape Press was formally unveiled on Saturday, December 21, 2019 at The Grand Junction Ballroom, Landmark Towers, Oniru, Lagos during the 2019 Akpata Descendants Annual Carol Singing Event.

The Chairman of the occasion was Emeritus Professor (Chief) Osato Giwa-Osagie while Mr. Uyi Akpata, Country Senior Partner at PwC Nigeria was chairman of the book launch organizing committee.

In the book Professor Akpata traces the roots of the Akpata family from the first to the fifth generation with a view to allowing Akpata progenies know their ancestry and facilitating networking amongst them.

His words: “Akpata descendants, including the extended family members, will find this book useful. Younger generations of the family, in Nigeria and in diaspora, who wish to trace their roots will find it invaluable. It may also be a useful resource for historians, and an inspiration for other people who wish to document relationships within their families�.

As revealed in the book, Akpata was actually a nickname of one of the progenitors of the family, Abraham Okoro Oviawe. “Abraham Okoro was a famous trader and travelled to several places including Otun, Ijero, Ilorin, Ijebu and the Lekki Peninsula in present-day Lagos State. According to the family archives that Emmanuel Fabiyi Akpata documented in 1925, Okoro participated actively in the expansionist wars of Benin empire. For example, he was head of a troop during the Obadan war, and Oba Ovonramwen was highly impressed by his performance� “It is possible that it was his prowess in war, or perhaps his reliability in the commercial circle that led to Abraham Okoro Oviawe being nicknamed Akpata (meaning rock in Yoruba language)�.

The nickname was eventually extended to the entire family.

Also worthy of note is the book’s expose on the close contact between Akpata descendants and the Yoruba people as well as the Yoruba names of some Akpata descendants. “At its zenith, Benin empire extended far beyond western Nigeria and Benin people, particularly those who took part in the expansionist wars, lived anywhere within its boundary. In fact, Idukpaye took his son, Abraham Okoro Oviawe along with him to Akure during the war between Akure and Benin. Abraham Okoro became a grown-up man in Akure and traded in different parts of Yorubaland. Just like many other Benin people in diaspora, he returned to Benin after the 1897 British punitive expedition. This explains the close contact between Akpata descendants and the Yoruba people as well as the Yoruba names of some Akpata descendants�.

In the book’s foreword, His Royal Highness, Professor Gregory Akenzua, the Enogie of Evbuobanosa/Abudu, Benin Kingdom commended Professor Akpata for writing the book.

According to Professor Akenzua, “Professor Enosakhare Akpata must be commended for writing this book. It may not be an Opus Magnum on Benin History, but it certainly provides inspiring insights into the life and times of prominent Nigerians of Benin extraction�. “The narratives in this book have the potential to spur all Nigerian youths to strive for noble and higher ideals. I therefore strongly recommend the book for all Nigerian youths�. “I encourage other Benin families that have not yet documented their family trees to follow this example, as this is bound to enrich Benin history�, Professor Akenzua added.

L-R: Mr. Uyi Akpata, Country Senior Partner at PwC Nigeria, who was chairman of the book launch organizing committee; Professor Enosakhare Akpata, Author of the Book, his wife, Professor (Mrs) Victoria Akpata; Emeritus Professor (Chief) Osato GiwaOsagie, his wife Dr. (Mrs) Angela Giwa-Osagie; and Professor Osagie Akpata of Faculty of Dentistry, University of Benin unveiling a new Book titled “Our Family Tree, Five Generations of Akpata Descendants�

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E-TRENDS

MUSIC SHOWBIZ

‌Your weekly entertainment delight

NOLLYWOOD

AustinAdigwe:MyMusicisaMessageofHope With over 10 years experience as a career banker and part time lecturer at the Lagos State Polytechnic, Isolo, one cannot help but wonder why Mr. Austin Adigwe decided to join the burgeoning gospel music industry. In this interview with CHINECHEREM OJIAKO, he explained that his foray into music is to bring a message of hope to the world, especially Nigeria, with his debut album

W

hy gospel music?

I want to preach the gospel of Jesus which is the ultimate because life without Jesus is useless. I have brought the message of freedom to the captives and the oppressed and love to the world. Love is what will heal the wound and my music will heal Nigeria of sorrow and tears. My music is to inspire, motivate and bring solution to issues such as reminding a woman who thinks that she would not have her own children to remember Hannah and Sarah in the Bible.

I wish to remind that man facing challenges about Job who later overcame all his own challenges. That you are having challenges does not mean that God has forsaken you. He is a great God, so you should call upon Him and challenge Him on all the promises he made concerning you. I want people to know that God honours His words because He said His words can never return to Him void.

Why did you choose the gospel genre which seemingly does not yield money like secular music?

It is just like asking me not to bear my own children because the world is overpopulated. Of course, you should know that I am not into music basically for ďŹ nancial gains. I am a banker with the FCMB and I have worked in other banks. I am also a part time lecturer with the Lagos State Polytechnic, Isolo.

The message of God cannot ďŹ nish. We cannot have enough of good news. God loves and He keeps ministering to the living souls. Only the living can praise the Lord . I am only passing a message of hope as a lot of things happen daily and I draw inspiration from them. My music is inspirational, and it gives hope to the hopeless, the needy and the oppressed.

My music is love and it is only love that can heal the wound.

Why did you single out Nigeria in your song?

I called on God to heal Nigeria because of what we are passing through. We are facing difďŹ cult times, but we need spiritual healing. Nigeria needs love and love is what we need to conquer all the evils and corruption in Nigeria. Love is what we need to stop kidnapping ,armed robbery and killing, including assassina-

Vanessa Obioha

Africa Magic will be kicking off the new year with a series of reality shows. It recently announced that it will be launching three new shows:‘Date My Family’,‘Dr. Laser’, ‘Confessions’ and a brand-new drama series ‘Unmarried’.

The ďŹ rst to launch is ‘Date my Family’a 45-minute show

Adigwe

tion. Love is what the politicians need to utilise the money meant for the publicZ The message of Jesus is very simple: love your neighbour as you love yourself and love God with all your heart. Once there is love, people would not go into kidnapping or killing their fellow human beings as if they are killing ram.

I am reemphasising the teachings of our Lord Jesus. Secondly, I am encouraging Nigerians to be hopeful and not pessimistic. Nigeria is going through spiritual cleansing. I compare Nigeria to Israel. The children of Israel passed through difďŹ cult times . They went into slavery in Egypt, into captivity in Babylon and they fought many wars and they were confronted with many difďŹ culties, but today, Israel is one country that the world wants to reckon with. Nigeria is like Israel; God will heal us and the world will sing a new song for Nigeria.

Who are your target fans ?

My music is for everyone and not for a particular audience. It is for Christians, Muslims and unbelievers. We all believe

in God and the message is a message of love and hope. The message is a wake up call for the worship of God. It is only the living who can praise God. Why did you delay in coming out with your music ?

Music has been in me right from childhood. I am a devout Catholic, I grew up through the ranks as an altar boy, a chorister and pianist. I headed the brass band of Saint Anthony’s College in my town , Ubulu- Uku in Aniocha South Local Government of Delta State. My music is inborn , but I needed to go to school ďŹ rst to acquire knowledge.

I am now a PhD student at the Lagos State University, Ojo. I have a good job and I am married with children. Now I can afford to do music without being distracted. If I had gone into full time music at a tender age ,perhaps I may have been distracted from my education.

What is your advice to the nation ?

First , I want the youths not to be discouraged. They should have hope in

God and not in drugs. The economy is bad, but God is greater than the economy.

I was once a youth and I went through hell. I went through lack and frustration in life, but I held on to God and He gave me hope and inspiration. Hold on to God and He will direct you on what to do.

For our government ,the authorities should do something to help the youths to come out of frustration. They should create enabling environment for the youths to engage in enterpreneurship.

The government should encourage investors so that there will be employment for our youths. There should be social justice. The church should preach the message of love and not prosperity only while parents should teach their children morals and stop worshiping money. There is so much moral decadence in our society mainly because of money.

We often forget to ask ourselves, that money or position that God has given us what did we do with it? When you consider all these, you will realise that everything is vanity.

Africa Magic Unveils New Reality Shows for January 2020 that will begin airing on January 5 and will run till April 26. The reality dating show follows the unique story of a suitor who goes to dinner with three different families of potential dates and eventually has to choose a date based on their experience with the date’s family members. He gets to pick his preferred date at the eventual couple dinner. ‘Confessions’launches the

following day, January 6. It is a gripping reality show where viewers get to see real-life confessions between friends, siblings, and love interests.

These confessions might be good or bad or both.The person being confessed to is not aware until the camera begins to roll, so viewers get to see real-life reactions and situations.The 30-minute show is bound to keep viewers on

the edge of their seats.

The new drama series‘Unmarried’ however will birth on the platform on January 8. The series follows three friends who face challenges in their careers, dating lives and relationships. ‘Dr.Laser’, a medical reality show about people undergoing plastic surgery in Nigeria follows next on January 10. It will run till April 3.

On the launch of the new reality shows, Channel Director Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu said:“Reality-TV shows are extremely popular because they showcase real people experiencing real-life circumstances and situations, thus connecting with viewers and fans on a more personal and relatable level. Following the success of the Big Brother Naija show, ‘Date My Fam-

ily’,‘Dr. Laser’,‘Confessions’ and ‘Unmarried’ have been curated to address and confront real-life issues from the African perspective.�

The new shows are the company’s way of creating platforms for sharing Africa’s stories as well as investing in the development of local content and talent.

All shows will be on Africa Magic Showcase.

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ETRENDS

‘Hertitude’ Weaves a Brilliant Tale on Impact of Parental Neglect on Young Girls Iyke Bede

When Kesiena Obue set out to introduce her stage play production to the world, she suffered a minor setback. Originally, the title of her production was conceived as ‘Heartitude’, but this changed after a trip to the publisher who mistakenly emblazoned thousands of materials with ‘Hertitude’. It was until that moment that she realised how the combination of the words ‘her’ and ‘attitude’ aptly describes the three strong female characters the story centers on.

The play opens to the nightlife marked in Rume’s (Maryann Ivy) nightclub that doubles as a brothel, and continues with the arrival of her sisters, Ogor (Martha Orihiere), a renowned Nollywood star facing a scandal in her relationship; and Kesiena, an overbearing elder sister who marries for wealth and status. With all three viewing live through different kaleidoscopes, they suffered the same heavy blow of their father abandoning them at an early age. They try to complement for their loss at any cost with the men in their lives.

Hertitude

Nuanced with contemporary afro pop culture, high-end fashion, and neon lights, the audience quickly identiďŹ es with all three characters, however different they appear. Whether it is the naivety that guides Ogor, or Rume’s gullibility when it came to seeking love, or the sanctimonious way with which Kasiena delivers sarcasm to stamp her authority, each moment with them unravels a deeper truth behind their awed characters, and the need to

keep up with appearances.

One of the major themes of the play is betrayal. An eerie quality that is quick to surface from the weak bonds of their sisterhood.

Even when it seems they could thrive using each other’s forgiveness, a bigger bombshell is revealed. There are certain moments however, when their conditional love for each mended fences; but this is often short-lived in the face of sibling rivalry.

With such young, pas-

sionate thespians that embody the essence of the play on the stage of the National ArtsTheatre, the show suffers a bit of technical difďŹ culty in sound output, but this is professionally managed to give a seamless performance. Another point of excellence was reached with choreographed dance interludes; a brilliant way of engaging the audience as the acts retires to change costumes. ‘Hertitude’ is still open to the public till January 5, 2020.

Abbeyyte EulogiesWomen in New Single Serial entrepreneur cum artiste, Omokaro Abiodun Ezekiel also known as Abbeyyte puts his versatility on display in his new single entitled ‘All I Want.’ The talented singer dedicates his new song to women and appreciates them.

Produced by Meshe, the mid-tempo song was ofďŹ cial released on December 12 on digital media for streaming and download and will now be playlisted on radio. ‘All I Want’ showcases the artiste’s exibility as he swings quite comfortably in between singing and rap-

ping over warm beat.

According to Abbeyyte, “All I wantâ€?is a song about peace, love, happiness, grace, success, knowledge and fulďŹ llment. Its direction relates to the women in every man’s life. This is the song dedicated to all the good, beautiful, inspiring, strong and powerful women who are homemakers and home keepers. It’s a song of appreciation, recognition and affection.â€?

Though, Ezekiel graduated from Igbinedion University, Okada with a Bachelor of Science degree

in business administration, he has never hidden his passion for music.This spurred him to set up Abbeyyte Studio in Ikate area of Surulere, Lagos. He also has interests in hospitality, tech His latest song is a precursor to an EP which he has incubated over a period of time.The singer cum investor plans to drop in 2020. He explained, “I’m looking to drop a body of work. All I Want is just a teaser of something to come. I’m eager to share a complete project with lovers of good music in Nigeria and beyond.�

Abbeyyte

Celebrities Storm Maison Valor for Launch of Flagship Store Recently, Dabota Lawson, Dorcas Shola Fapson,Tania Omotayo, Efe Tommy and Keturah King were among the guests that witnessed the opening of the luxury home store, Maison Valor in Lekki, Lagos.

The founder Emelda Obichie opened the doors of her luxury store to friends and families after a thorough research on her target audience.

The store boasts of home essentials such as Egyptian cotton sheets used by 5-star hotels in Nigeria; pillows,

Emelda and Tania Omotayo

towels, mattress protectors, bath mats, room sprays amongst other bedroom essentials.

Obichie emphasised the

importance of the bedroom during a brief chat, stating that “At home, the average human spends most of their time in their spaces, which is

a true representation of who we are and what comforts us - colors of the room, types of sheets and even the scent. The bedroom is the only place we can truly decorate to our taste level.�

She also said that Maison Valor is built to ďŹ ll the luxurious space in the bedding industry and that the products are handpicked from an array of ďŹ rst-class global bedding manufacturers to achieve a comfortable appeal with a luxurious taste level.

DifferentWorlds, an African Film to Reckon with Mary Nnah

Nigerian ďŹ lm producer, Austin OgbueďŹ , has revealed that everything is now in gear to distribute his Different Worlds movie. The ďŹ lm, which premiered on December 21, at Genesis Cinemas is set to hit the Nigerian cinemas from January 3, 2020.

One of the stars in the movie, KoďŹ Adjorlolo, expressed his joy in being in a movie like this. This is the ďŹ rst time he is collaborating in a movie collaborated by Nollywood and Hollywood practitioners.

KoďŹ said this is an African movie and a blessing to the continent. He believes his people and fans in Ghana will embrace the ďŹ lm once it hits the Ghanaian Cinemas.

At a press conference, the CEO of Stanford Film Production company also broke the news of how the ďŹ lm attracted the attention of Eddie Murphy and his distribution company. He noted that while Blue Pictures is in charge of the Nigeria distribution, the ďŹ lm will be distributed globally by Murphy Distribution.

OgbueďŹ who had earlier shared his U.S premier experience, noted that, “what I discovered from the U.S premiere is that Americans love Ngozi Ezeonu. A lot of them want to see her. They were all over her during the Different World premiere, taking pictures from left and right at the event. Others from the panel session of the premiere said they want Mama G. It was surprising to hear Americans demanding for Patience Uzokwo and even calling her by her stage nameâ€?.

Highlighting what should be done to create boom for the movie sector, he said, “Here in America, movie producers get tax incentives. If you shoot a movie here in America (in some of the cities or states) they give you tax incentives. From the money that you spent to make the movies because they know that when you make this movies, you are providing employment, job for the people, for the actors, so in America that’s how they think�.

Emem Ufot, who also played a role in the movie said this is one of the best project thus far and jokingly appreciated the fact that a project he featured in was seen and applauded by the great Eddie Murphy,“I could be acting with Eddie Murphy soon� , he added.

He acknowledged Different Worlds movie as a big budget project. “I have lost count of the budget. I am still spending for promotions and publicity. It’s the biggest project I have done up to date and of course the shooting in America was very expensive. Nigeria too is expensive as well but shooting in two different countries, you know of course makes it tough because I have to y some of the actors to Nigeria and pay for their hotels, ights and all that. And all other expenses involved, I had a lot of crew in the United States and a lot of locationsâ€?.

Different World is the story of an African prince (Kenneth Okolie) coming to America to celebrate his birthday. Before leaving Africa (Nigeria), he was already bethroted to a lady as it is the customs of the land. While he was in America, he ran into a lovely New Orleans lady and they started a love affair parallel to his Nigerian sweetheart (Lillian Esoro).

The ďŹ lm features Hollywood TadasayYoung and other American thespians. The Nigerian actors are Kenneth Okolie, Ngozi Ezeonu, Lilian Esoro and Ghana, KoďŹ Adjorlolo.

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NigerianInstitutionofCivilEngineers, OthersWalkagainstBuildingCollapse

AmericanBusinessCouncil IdentifiesNigerianPartners forBetter2020Business Rebecca Ejifoma

Chinecherem Ojiako As a result of the recurrence of building collapse and illegal structures in Lagos State, the Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers (NICE), Lagos State chapter, recently held a campaign tagged “Walk for Stability� .

The walk was done in partnership with the Lagos State Building Control Agency, (LASBCA), Lagos State Safety Commission(LSSC) and some other agencies of the state and federal government, totaling over 130 persons in attendance.

The walk started from Lagos State Fire Service, Alausa, Ikeja, through Opebi Link Bridge, Allen Roundabout, Obafemi-Awolowo Way, Ikeja.

NICE Chairman, Lagos State chapter, Engr. Omolola Adetono, said the aim of the exercise was to sensitise the public on the visions and missions of NICE, prevention of building collapse, efficacy of building with right materials, use professionals/certified Engineers for building project across the state.

To avoid quacks, she explained that prior to employing an engineer, it is better to ask for their registered certificates from Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), NICE or call the institution for confirmation as the names of all registered engineers and

Some of the participants at the walk

their registeration numbers are well documented.

These she said are stakeholders in the development of the environment, and they stand to lose their certificates if they do not deliver to expectation. She further adviced intending builders to go through the normal and legal process,patronise LASBCA so that at every milestone of the construction, there is certification from the state government.

The General Manager of

LASBCA, Engr. (Mrs.) Abiola Kosegbe, who addressed newsmen during the exercise said the involvement of all stakeholders in the exercise would help in cascading the message down to members of the public, property developers and all other professionals involved in building construction. The Director-General of Lagos State Safety Commission, Mr. Lanre Mojola described the coming together of the various government agencies with the

Lagos State Chapter of NICE as a boost for the campaign for a safer Lagos.

The National Vice Chairman of NICE, Engr. Tokunbo Ajanaku pointed out the alarming rate of unprofessional practices among some quacks impersonating the genuine professionals in the building sector, stressing that members of the society must insist on patronising certified professionals if the issue of building collapse must be addressed.

Red Carpet for Professor Ndubuizu as Ideato Nation Honours Him Eighty-two years on earth is a huge milestone. It is a no mean feat, albeit engineered

by God and not earned by man. Longevity is a mark of God’s special grace in one’s life.

Such rare grace calls for special celebration and thanksgiving to the Almighty.

The Ideato nation will exactly be doing that on January 5th 2020 when its sons and daughters will gather to celebration the life and time of Professor T.O.C Ndubuizu the pioneer Vice Chancellor of Imo State University Owerri as he turns 82.

A man who has seen it all and gave his best to Ideato, Professor Ndubuizu will be attracting the crème la de crème of the ancient Ideato kingdom, its illustrious sons and daughters, including Chairman of the Orange Group, Sir (Dr) Tony Ezenna, OFR,(Ijele Akokwa) as well as their friends round the world to the St. Peter’s Catholic Church, Ikpa, Uzoakolli, Urualla on the date above where the Catholic

Ndubuizu

Bishop of Orlu Dioceses, Most Revd. Augustine Ukwuoma will celebrate a holy mass in honour of the erudite scholar.

Mass over, the train moves to Ideato North local government headquarters, Urualla for reception which will be chaired

by Sir (Dr) Ezenna.

As a mark of honour for Professor Ndubuizu, and also to broaden intellectual discourse, cross- fertilize and ventilate ideas, the Orange Drug boss

will use the opportunity presented by the reception to declare open the first edition of the Sir Tony Ezenna Lecture series.

The maiden edition of the lecture series will be delivered by the Chief Guest of honour and President- General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo.

It is not by accident that Ezenna will be spicing Professor Ndubuizu’s 82nd birthday celebration with intellectual discourse. The Orange Drugs Chairman has over the years made huge philanthropist contributions to the advancement of education in Nigeria, particularly in the Orlu Zone.

He has awarded numerous scholarships, renovated avalanche of schools, built from scratch many more and donated teaching aids.

Sir Ezenna spares nothing in ensuring that education gets to his beloved Ideato. His desire is to see every Ideato child in school.

Consequently he has rebuilt

many schools and class room blocks in Orlu Zone, including Akokwa High school, Bishop Shanahan College Orlu, National Ndizuogu secondary school, Ntueke, Cor Marie High School, Urualla among others.

One of the numerous new schools adorning Ideato will be commissioned on the 9th of January, 2019.

Friends and associates of Professor Ndubuizu are elated that not only is the Ideato nation celebrating via his birthday reception but a greater honour is being bestowed on him, as an accomplished academic,

by Ezenna through the lecture series.

Essentially, come January 5th 2020, Professor Ndubuizu’s day with start with unreserved Thanksgiving to God for an impactful, unblemished and blessed 82 years on earth and ends with a knowledge- enriching intellectual discourse- a fitting and proper way to celebrate and honour an urbane and cerebral academic!

Nigerian US Trained Beautician Launches Salon in Nigeria Rebecca Ejifoma Raheem Kazeem Yaya - also known as Brow Daddy Yakky, is making a name for himself both locally and internationally with the new launch of his unisex beauty salon sited in the heart of Ikeja Lagos, as he dishes out best skincare therapy and advice for that dream illuminating skin.

Now, the salon – Glittering Health Beauty – officially

opened at the weekend with thrilling services like permanent make-up, barbing, lash styling, make-up, tattoos removal, natural massage, skincare therapy, lash extension, skin tightening and microblading treatment among a host of other exciting packages.

With about 14 years of international experience under his belt, Brow Daddy continues to do his homework. “This beauty salon has been my dream for years. I had always wanted

to have a beauty place where everything could be done�.

Having religiously trained in the skills of barbing, hair styling, make-up artistry and several make-up special effects, Brow Daddy Yakky furthered in permanent makeup in the US, and skin tightening among others in Texas US. Today, he makes bold to say he knows skincare and microblading inside out. “I would say I’m the best micro-blading artiste in Nigeria. This is a place

where you can get everything done from nails (pedicure), hair, body treatment to body skincare�. Ideally, Brow Daddy who also tapped from the arts of Indians on how to use herbs, seeds and fruits to treat skin for wellness and beauty, enthused, “We give the best body polishing here. “We have a spa where we do the India treatment and body polishing using herbs and things you can take from the kitchen to beautify yourself.

It’s a secret�.

As the year begins on a successful note for individuals and corporate bodies, the American Business Council (ABC) has given its partners the opportunity for recognition of great partnership in aiding the council’s initiative and mission in Nigeria.

This appreciation party, which was also to welcome new members, was held at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos recently.

According to the President,ABC and Country General Manager for IBM, Mr. Dipo Faulkner, the event is to recognise members, individuals and companies that have supported the council over the course of the year and on board new members. “I think it has been an eventful year as a council in terms of our membership growth. We have a louder voice in terms of advocacy this year. We engaged with a lot of government agencies,� he noted.

For Faulkner, ABC understands advocacy, which doesn’t happen overnight. It is about process and staying on course of the discourse, bringing key stakeholders together to have a discourse around topical issues that affect members of the council. Continuing, the President said, “It is hoped that the effort put in this year will yield critical result as we look further down the line�.

Accordingly, the ABC has a quest to drive business advocacy for American companies in Nigeria as well as trade and investment.

He added: “We will continue with the same thrust of the council. We speak with the voice of the American business in Nigeria. We do it basically through advocacy, help them settle in, plan the territory they are going to work in as well as other business interests of the American companies. “In its advocacy move, the ABC does this with the US mission in Nigeria via the embassy, the Consul General as well as the US chamber of Commerce.�

Speaking also, the CEO and Executive Secretary, ABC, Mrs. Margaret Olele, expressed that as a company very much into trade and investment opportunities between the US and Nigerian Government, it continues to strive to advocate for US companies operating in Nigeria.

Stakeholders at MACN Roundtable Seek FG’s Intervention at Eastern Ports Mary Nnah Stakeholders in the maritime sector of the economy have called for the federal government’s intervention to make the nation’s seaports situated in the Eastern parts of the country to be more attractive for port users.

To this end, they demanded for an increase in the incentives provided for those using the Eastern ports even as they pointed out that the present incentives were not good enough to attract port users.

They also called for consequences for those who violated the rules of the game in the cargo chain clearance, saying that impunity has become the bane of the maritime industry because no one is ever punished for any violation of the rules.

In the same vein, they also called for more awareness on the introduction of the Port Service Support Portal (PSSP), especially in the ports situated in the East to promote transparency and consistent application of standards in the nation’s seaports.

These were some of the positions taken by stakeholders at the one day roundtable to ensure effective and efficient service delivery in Nigeria’s seaports organised by the Maritime Anti-corruption Network (MACN) in conjunction with the Convention on Business Integrity (CBI) and the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA).

The roundtable with the theme “Towards Standard Operating Procedures That Works in Nigeria’s Sea Ports and Terminals� took place at the Rivers State capital, Port Harcourt.

The event which attracted stakeholders in maritime industry and beyond was coming on the heels of similar ones in Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre, Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

In his welcome remarks at the occasion, the chief executive officer (CEO) of CBI, Mr. Soji Apampa said the portal was targeted at eliminating corruption and “elements of delay� in the turn-around of ships in the country’s ports.

He said the challenge of gratification and maritime corruption had been the bane of effective and efficient service delivery at the ports over the years.

Apampa noted that MACN had implemented collective action by launching several serious procedures in cargo clearing in the ports, adding that through joint action, more efficiency would be achieved in the system.

In his contribution, the Deputy Director, Complaints Unit of Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), Mr. Moses Fadipe, pointed out that the support portal would help to submit and track complaints, recalling that the portal was launched in June 2017 by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

He said apart from poor infrastructure at the ports, other challenges identified include time and cost of doing business at the ports, government agencies and terminal operators efficiency to duties, government official documentation, berthing of ship and discharging of cargoes processes.

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ART WEEKEND

‌For pure art enthusiasts

Forecasting Nigeria’s Art Scene in 2020

Leaning on the events that shaped the previous year, YINKA OLATUNBOSUN predicts some of the new developments that will be evident in 2020 in Nigeria’s world of Arts

An Artist’s Solo Show Tackles Identity Rebecca Ejifoma

Burna Boy A scene from the play

All Eyes on Burna Boy: The 2020 edition of the Grammy Awards is one that music critics and enthusiasts are looking forward to albeit for different reasons. For the fans in Nigeria, Burna Boy must bring home the Grammy in the World music category, a feat that had eluded King Sunny Ade, Femi Anikulapo Kuti and his brother, Seun who leads the band bearing the music legacy of Fela, the Egypt 80. For critics, there is a little apprehension that the African Giant album isnot the best of Burna, having dropped other smash hits in the previous years. Another fear is that Burna is running for the award against the African music heavyweight, Anglique Kidjoamongst

Yinka Olatunbosun At the Lagos Fringe 2019, the prison warder (Segun Adefila) sat patiently until the strictly numbered audience gathered. Only 12 persons were needed for the drama to start. Based on the real-life story of Ada Esther Johnson, Esther’s Revenge is an experimental one-act play which tells a true life story of a crime of passion.

The 22-year old Esther is a Nigerian who killed her white lover, Mark Hall, a British railway worker, after finding out that Mark had married a British wife. Not only that, Mark had borrowed ÂŁ400 from Esther to procure a taxi for his new wife. Esther became enraged at the news that she grabbed a pair of scissors and stabbed Mark.

But that’s only a part of the oral history told about this 1953 event that is considered as one of the most sensational news of the period.

History was relived as the play was staged at its actual locale, the Freedom Park, Lagos where Esther was imprisoned and placed on death row. Freedom Park was formerly built as Her Majesty Prison also known

others.

Growing Feminist Theatre: The last holiday was packed with plays with feminist thrust or better still, women stories. Esther’s Revenge, Emotan, Fela and the Kalakuta Queens, Mamma Mia, Moremi the musical and other productions created a space for conversation about issues that concern women such as leadership roles, cultural influencers, sexuality, marriage, love amongst others. While some of the theatre producers may have consciously engaged with a feminist plot, some unconsciously found their themes revolving around the gender discourse and that points to the fact that our theatre is conscious and sensitive to the way women

are seen or treated.

Nollywood Tells Authentic Stories: Our existence as Nigerians is governed by what is happening in our political space. Nigerian film makers will be serving up more visual narratives that tell the true experience of a Nigerian whether in business or politics or just going through the routine of daily survival. We saw that shift with Kemi Adetiba’s ‘King of Boys’, Genevieve Nnaji’s ‘Lionheart’, Kunle Afolayan’s‘Mokalik’ as well as Ego Boyo and Akin Omotosho’s ‘The Ghost and the House of Truth.’ Gradually, short film makers are taking over the movie industry with their debut full-length flicks that arouse curiosity. More new film producers will

emerge in 2020 with interesting stories that are plausible.

More Books, Less Wit: Sadly, established writers with impeccable writing skills are aging, dying or writing less.

The literary space in Nigeria is replete with more books by emerging authors and everyone wants to document an experience. But we shall be seeing less fiction in fresh writings. Only a few will be witty and worth our time, data or power generator fuel.

Between Exhibits and Exhibitors: In spite of the growing festivals of visual arts, there is still a dearth in the field of art marketing.

Many artists rely on the social media platforms to showcase their works sometimes at the expense of media engage-

ment. There will be fierce competition in visual arts in 2020 as the world is paying more attention to the new creatives from Nigeria.

The Shrinking Media Space for Art: Many art reporters and editors are worried that art reportage is going extinct in the print media because of the shrinking space for art stories and discourse. Deploying brevity and focusing on only the top stories have been helpful to stay afloat but then it is ironical that although the art scene is burgeoning, art reports are declining. Media owners still wonder why film makers, musicians, publishers and other key players in the art scene still don’t advertise in print media. A change will come.

Entrapped in ‘Esther’s Revenge’

A scene from Esther’s Revenge

as Old Broad Street Prison.

The performance started with the warder’s aggressive warning that no one should give Esther anything. He led the audience upstairs to

the museum which served as the performance space.

He opened the door to the solitary confinement that Esther (Bolanle Stephen Atitebi) was kept.

Traumatised with teary eyes, Esther spoke with flies, the only company she had got since she was behind the bars. Quickly, she adjusted to seeing the different people around her. Esther led the audience to a bigger space to recount the events that led to the ugly outcome of a mixed-race romance in a colonial period.

According to her, Mark was a charming middle-aged man who became an abusive lover. Apparently, it was in self-defence that she killed Mark. What is particularly interesting about this performance is how the actress made the role believable as well as her clever and careful use of space. She buried herself in grief to interprete the role which is one of the most emblematic in colonial history in Nigeria.

There was no room for the audience to be mere passive observers. The actress’ creative energy was fuelled by the reaction of the audience.

Occasionally, she stared into faces, paced around the space and wailed in horror of the judgment that awaited her.

The 12-man juror decided her lot at the end of the play through a heated debate. Fi-

nally, she got a state pardon and her death sentence was changed to life imprisonment as it was in the real life story.

Watching the show takes the effort of a lady in heels during a prolonged cocktail.

There was no room for sitting; all were required to be consumed in the heat of the narration but still be able to rationalise the crime of the embittered lover to give sound judgment. Asides the torn-prison wear and unkempt hair, the play didn’t require much technical details for its execution.

Esther’s Revenge is short and emotionally eclipsing with Bolanle Stephen giving a good account of her Stanislavski techniques.

She later displayed a newsprint with a cover story on the trial of Esther and the news of the state pardon granted by the Head of State, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwewhich was widely celebrated in the papers to her applauding audience.

Esther’s Revenge was directed by Kenneth Uphopho and was performed at the Brystaat Arts Festival held at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein Campus earlier this year.

An abstract artist cum oil and gas professional, Jason Nnamdi Ogbazi, arrived at the Freedom Park, Lagos with 26 art pieces in a four-day solo exhibition to promote diversity recently.

The paintings varied in subject matter and are thought-provoking and philosophical. They are the windows with which the world and indeed humanity can be understood.

For the artist, the piece titled, “The Tree of Life (The Roots)�, is an allegory of man’s ultimate source in life.As peculiar with plants, the stronger the roots, the healthier the plant. Without the root, there is no tree.

While exploring the narrative embedded in the painting, Ogbazi remarked: “If you look closely, there is something that is spurring or powering him. That is his root, the source of his energy. We all have such structures in our lives�.

The artist reminds the world that the rich also cry with his timeless painting titled, “Tomorrow is Pregnant�. It was painted in 2011 at a time when the painter was going through some selfdiscovery. “When you go through such times, which is not by choice sometimes but by situations around you; you need to find answers to certain things concerning your life. This is a process that helps you gain more knowledge and grow,� he added. The artist’s choice of colours in his works over the years exudes restiveness. But with strokes of brightly interactive colours, it became clearer that he was finding fulfilment.

Although his works are different, they collectively interprete the theme of the exhibition, “Come As You Are.� ‘Come as You Are’ is laden with a message of hope and acceptance.

With the global issues of identity and racial deconstruction, the artist makes it a duty to remind us of the beauty in diversity. The painter expressed: “They feel like some certain skin colour is better than the one they were born with.

They need to understand that in life, there is variety. It is the spice of life.

That’s the fun and beauty of life. The human race is decorated with all kinds of species.�

Ogbazi, who hails from the South East Nigeria, had his elementary and secondary education in Nigeria. He proceeded to Middlesex University North London, where he bagged his Bsc in Computer Networks. He worked there as a model while studying.

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with DR. KEMI AILOJE Info@lifelinkfertility.com; Website: lifelinkfertility.com 08033083580

UnderstandingDiagnosticProceduresInAFertilityClinic:Hysterosonogram(HSN)Part3

This week we shall be concluding this topic emphasingthe role of HSN as a diagnostic procedure.

When not done by specialists, HSN may cause abnormal cramping, spotting, and vaginal discharge. Some women have cramping for several hours after the procedure. It is often recommended to take pain reliefsbefore this test. Some doctors may also prescribe stronger pain medication and/or antibiotics before the procedure. The woman can visit the doctor again if some other pains or discomfort arises in the 1-2 days.

The physician will determine the best test(s) based on the medical history. Some patients who have undergone Hysterosalpingogram (HSG) will also need an HSN based on the results of the HSG. Some irregularities that may not be identified by the HSG can be detected by this test. Vice versa, some patients who completed an HSN will also require a HSG if there are unanswered questions regarding the fallopian tubes.

Testing & Diagnostics Hysterosonogram (HSN) is sort of a combination of a HSG and ultrasound. However, instead of using radio-opaque dye and x-rays to view the uterus, sterile saline (salt water) and high-resolution ultrasound technique is used.

The result is a very sensitive method for displayingabnormalities inside the woman’s uterus. It is less painful and more comfortable compared to HSG,which sometimes causes abdominal pain. HSN, however, cannot replace HSG when it comes to evaluations of fallopian tubes. Diagnosis of infertility requires comprehensive testing on both the female and male partners. On the female side, infertility testing usually involves hormonal testing to determine the patient’s ovarian reserve, diagnostic imaging to see if there are any blocked fallopian tubes, patent tubes or uterine fibroids.However, immunological testing is advised to rule out any

maternal autoimmunity. Knowing the root cause of a couple’s infertility is the first step toward successful fertility treatment.

What are the limitations of HSN? This procedure may likely have certain limitations in clinical situations. In women with stenosis of the cervix, it may be difficult to insert the catheter into the cervical opening for the sterile saline to be injected. If the uterine cavity is unable to go through proper expansion, then the saline injection may also prevent good-quality ultrasound images from being obtained. This can occur especially with uterine scarring or large fibroids, which may

partially hinder the expansion uterine cavity, a hysteroscopy may be required.

In such cases where an abnormality of the fallopian tubes is suspected, a procedure such as Hysterosalpingography might be recommended for further exams.

BeneďŹ ts of this procedure r 5IJT QSPDFEVSF JT TIPSU QSPWJEFT JNBHF JG UIF cervix and the uterus lining. It can be considered less harmful and well tolerated by patients with a very few or in most cases no complications. r *U JT XJEFMZ BWBJMBCMF FBTZ UP VTF BOE MFTT expensive than most other imaging methods. r 5IF VMUSBTPVOE TDBOOJOH NBDIJOF HJWFT

a clear picture of soft tissues that do not show up well on x-ray images. r .BOZ VUFSJOF BCOPSNBMJUJFT UIBU NBZ OPU be seen adequately with routine transvaginal ultrasound may be viewed in detail with HSN. r 5IJT QSPDFEVSF DBO QSFWFOU VOOFDFTTBSZ surgery, and it can ensure that all abnormal growths are removed at surgery.

After a hysterosonogram is performed, it is common to see some spotting or bleeding. You can use pads or tampons. It is probably best to abstain from intercourse until the bleeding has stopped.

Pelvic / abdominal cramping is to be expected in some patients. Pelvic pain not alleviated by analgesic medications should be reported.

Afever is not normal. Afever may be an indication of an infection in the uterus or abdomen.

Any temperature elevation should be reported.

A woman may return to work or other normal activities immediately after having a Hysterosonogram. She may drive to the appointment and may drive afterward. Pelvic / abdominal cramping is to be expected.

In conclusion, once the couples have had a fertility profiling, it is time to start considering treatment options. However, treating infertility goes beyond fertility treatments. Infertility treatment can also include surgical interventions, lifestyle changes, weight loss, or treatment of an underlying medical condition.

Usually, infertility treatment plan will depend on the reason both partners are unable to have children.

Sometimes, after a woman completes aHysterosonogram procedure, she may able to conceive all by herself alongside her partner because the fallopian tubes are now blockage free and also noabnormalities are detected in the endometrium. Treating infertility can either be my medications use, surgery or by assisted reproductive technologies like IVF. It is important to visit a fertility expert if you are attempting pregnancy.

SenatorTejuoso, Benson, Okoli, Others Honoured by Nigerian – British Business Forum

Andu (ďŹ rst left), Senator Tejuoso (fourth left) with some of the award recipients

For Senator Lanre Tejuoso, the year ended on a high note, despite the turn of things at the political front as he was among the eight Nigerians honoured by the Nigerian Achievers Awards Institute, the licensors of the Nigerian-British Awards, an initiative headed by Prince Afolabi Andu.

Andu is a thought leader and business strategist, noted for his various endeavours in promoting Nigerian businesses and Nigerians across the world, with the Best of

Nigeria Expo as his flagship.

It was a colourful and celebrative night at the Hilton Paddington, London, with the hall filled with high flying Nigerians of different statuses in flowering attires, to celebrate the awardees, who were honoured for their immense contributions in various fields.

Tejuoso, Chairman of the 8th Senate Committee on )FBMUI BMPOHTJEF .ST +VMJFU Benson, a Nigerian – born lawyer of many years standing, and principal partner

XJUI +# 4PMJDJUPST 6, XFSF among those bestowed with .FSJU "XBSET XIJMF %S +PF Okoli, founder of the Abuja Graduate School was honoured with Life Achiever Award for 2019.

Andu, who is also the President of the Nigerian-British Business Forum, commended the eight recipients for their various contributions to both the corporate world and humanity while urging them to continue to strive for greater successes in all their endeavours.

In his concluding remarks, Andu used the occasion to unveil the Nigerian Achievers Compendium 2020, a publication proposed to project Nigerians embarking on great feats in the Diaspora.

Tejuoso expressed gratitude to the award organisers and Nigerians for finding him worthy of the honour as he pledged to continue to serve his people and Nigeria with all the resources available to him and in different platforms and positions that he finds himself.

Senator Tejuoso receiving his award from Major General Akinkumi Akintunde (Rtd)

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COLLAGE EVENTS

‘Warri Nor Dey Carry Last’, ‘Revolutionary Leader’ Launch in Lagos Sunday Ehigiator

General Olu Bajowa (rtd) and his wife, HRH Princess Oluyemi Bajowa, Regent of Ayeka kingdom, during the cutting of 79th birthday cake of Gen. Bajowa, at his residence in London,recently

L-R: Mrs. Chika Oguike; Mr. Tony Oguike; Host, Chief George Igboegwu, his wife, Mrs. Obiageli Igboegwu during the Christmas Barbecue party in Lagos...recently MUBO PETERS

Social Commentator, Idede Oseyande, has launched two of his latest literary works, ‘Warri Nor Dey Carry Last’, and ‘The Portrait of a Revolutionary Leader’ aimed at drawing attention to some leadership issues plaguing our Nigeria and its people, and proering likely solutions to same through satiric and objective manners respectively.

The books which were recently launched in Lagos State, according to the author, was inspired out of his concern for the leadership failures in the country.

While ‘The Portrait of a Revolutionary Leader’, has the image of popular Human Rights Activist, Mr. Segun Awosanya, (a.k.a Segalinks) on its cover page as an example of a revolutionary leader, and uses the biblical story of Nehemiah to likewise portray one; ‘Warri Nor Dey Carry Last satirically draw readers attention to the realities corruption in Nigeria at dierent sphere.

Speaking about what inspired the books, Oseyande said they were Inspired by the burning desire to ďŹ x the leadership problem of Nigeria.. “I grew up as a child with this burden of ďŹ xing Nigeria, perhaps due to my exposure to the life and times of Mahatma Gandhi at the age of 10. “As I grew older, it became clearer to me that the core of our problems is the type of leaders we have. This lead to my ďŹ rst publication with the title, ‘What Is Left Of What Is Right’, published in 2016. “After that publication, my readers seemed to see the reechoing of the problems without a solution, and I had to put down a more succinct roadmap and yardstick in this new work with ‘The Portrait (Yardstick) of a Revolutionary Leader’. “In essence, the book was inspired by my passionate concern to ďŹ x the leadership problem of Nigeria. “The second book, ‘Warri No Dey Carry Last’ was also spurred by my concern in ďŹ xing our attitudinal and behavioral pattern. The book was inspired by a growing trend in our nation where we gloss over evil and call what is bad good and term stealing smartness.â€?

On the message he is passing across with the books, he said, “the messages I intend to pass across with both books is to imbibe the right attitude in the followers as well as the leaders. To let all intending leaders know the challenges and also show them a real example as seen in the life of Nehemiah of old. “Both books cost just N3,500 per copy. It can be ordered online via Amazon or through my oďŹƒcial website, https://socialwatchdog.ng/shop/.â€? He said Also speaking, the book reviewer, Segun Adeleye, cautioned against being emotional about the leadership failure in Nigeria. Adeleye said it was important to state that every leader was once a follower, and emphasised that for anyone to be qualiďŹ ed to criticise a leader; he ought to have served and faced hopeless situations where the majority is displeased with truth.

The Lord Chosen Begins International Crusade at Mgbidi

All is set for the much awaited annual Lord Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries Holy Ghost inspired international four-day power packed programme themed, “What God has Determined Shall be Done�, scheduled to hold from Friday, January 3, 2020 to Monday 6 at the Chosen International Secondary School, Along Oguta Rd, Mgbidi, Imo State from 8am daily.

The programme, which is interdenominational, is designed to produce a spiritual rebirth that will usher the participants from all over the world into the New Year. This year’s programme which is the 13th of its kind is designed to produce a spiritual stronghold, which will help all to overcome the spiritual, physical and ďŹ nancial challenges of the New Year and above all, produce solution to our myriad national problems.

According to the church, “it is no longer in doubt that the world is going through its worst perilous time and this has given rise to despondency in the mind of the citizenry. Consequently, the future has become so bleak that human eorts can no longer guarantee the expected security. “But in the midst of the insecurity, corruption and hopelessness that have pervaded the mind of the people, God inspired this theme to elicit the fact that our social, economic and political security does not lie on our ability but L-R: Managing Partner, KCBC Partners, Emeka Ifezulike; his wife, Ola; Charles Essien; his wife, Miannaya Essien SAN and Dr. Eno Essein, during a service of songs for Mrs Margaret Uzo Nwandu held at Lekki Lagos...recently KUNLE OGUNFUYI on what God has predetermined. “What happens to us is the determined recommendation of God being accomplished, because He alone knows the future, plans and the end result.

God has the rightful authority, wisdom and power to bring about everything that He desires. “ This year’s program will help the participants to see God as the determinant of our destiny. We should recognise the fact that our lives are so troubled this time. People are losing their jobs, political alignments are crashing, and uncertainties are everywhere. “In our today’s economy, there is little to hope for the future. But God is not caught o-guarded, for it is still whatever He determines that shall be done. “When Jesus found Himself in the middle of a raging storm, He merely said, “Peace! Be stillâ€? and the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. So, there is no wind, storm, hurricane, cyclone, or trouble over which our Lord Jesus Christ will say “Be stillâ€? and it will not obey. And if it continues, it means He purposes it. “In this program, it does not matter the circumstances of your challenges or how long you have been in that situation or who is behind your predicaments, our assurance is that God has set aside the four days to prepare you for the year 2020 so that it shall be well with you. God Almighty will on that day in a dimension never witnessed before demonstrates His power to L-R: Mr. Kola Olasupo; Husband of the Celebrant, Mr. Afeez Oyebola; Mrs. Suliat Olagunju; Celebrant, Mrs. Khadijat Oyebola; Hadja Khadijat Lola Ojugbele and Mrs. Eniola Adegboyega, during a surprise 40th birthday celebration of Mrs Oyebola, by her husband, at the Bella Estate, Ota, Ogun deliver people from all aictions.â€?

State...recently

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LIFE

Celebrating Abiola Ajimobi at 70 Kemi Olaitan writes that the 70th birthday celebration of former Oyo State governor, Senator AbiolaAjimobi, was not just a shindig but also an avenue to dialogue on managing the dynamics of Nigeria’s advancement and its socio-economic perspectives

H

e came into political limelight in 2003 when he defeated an incumbent Senator to be elected Senator representing Oyo South Senatorial district. Since then he’s lived to serve humanity.

Senator Abiola Adeyemi Ajimobi, a management consultant and politician was the immediate past governor of Oyo State where he served for two terms between 2011 and 2019. While he contested and lost the Oyo South senatorial seat in the last general election, there’s no doubt that he has contributed his quota to democratic ideals both as Senator and governor.

A peep into the biography of Ajimobi, who recently marked his 70th birthday during a four days ceremony, reveals a man prepared by destiny to play major roles in the life of Oyo state.

Born on December 16 1949 to the Ajimobi family of Oja-Oba, Ibadan, he started his primary education at Saint Patricks Primary School, Oke-Padre in Ibadan and completed it at Ibadan City Council Primary School, Aperin. He moved to Lagelu Grammar School for his secondary education; and as a high school student, was active in athletics, table tennis, and football, including serving as the school’s games prefect.

His university education was in the United States, where he studied Business Administration and Finance at the State University of New York, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science. His MBA was in Operations Research and Marketing, with a concentration in Finance at Governors State University, University Park, Illinois.

As a result of his academic credentials and excellent performance at the New York Insurance examinations, he was engaged in Buffalo, New York as a state certified underwriter by Equitable Life Assurance Corporation, which was then the 2nd largest Insurance Company in the U.S. He came back to Nigeria in 1977 and joined Management and Industrial Consulting firm as a Senior Consultant, and thereafter worked briefly with Modulor Group (an architectural firm) as the Finance and Admin Controller, before joining Nestle Foods Plc., as the Operations Controller and later as Marketing Controller. In 1979, he joined National Oil and Chemical Marketing Company as the Consumer Products Manager and was the youngest Manager to occupy such a sensitive position. His performance quickly earned him promotion to the level of Divisional Manager within one and a half years. Thus becoming the youngest Divisional Manager to be thus appointed. Ajimobi was later promoted to head a newly created Corporate Credit division, reporting directly to the Managing Director. As a top flyer in the company and based on his problem solving ability, he was deployed to Ibadan Business District as the Area Manager to ensure the repositioning of the company’s entire activities in the area. The company and the district experienced landmark achievements in its modern retail network resulting. In 1987, he built the company’s first 3 in 1 and the largest petrol station retail outlet in Nigeria.

The district office built during his tenure still stands out today in Jericho, Ibadan.

In 1987, based on a worldwide international strategic positioning of the lubricants business desired by Shell International Oil

L-R: Wife of the Vice President, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo; Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo; celebrant and former Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi and wife, Chief (Mrs.) Florence Ajimobi, at the 70th birthday celebration of Ajimobi, held in Ibadan... recently

Company, he was appointed the Lubricants Manager. Ajimobi successfully built a new lubricant division which became the most profitable business of the company and the largest contributor to the corporate profit.

Having completed the strategic repositioning of the lubricants department, he was moved to manage another troubled business arm - the aviation department.

By 1993, he had acquired broad exposure in virtually all the marketing arms of the company. As part of the grooming programme, he was posted on an international assignment to Shell International storage company of Togo, serving the whole of West Africa as Chief Executive. He also was the Operations Director of Shell Marketing Company in Togo covering some West African countries.

Ajimobi returned to Nigeria in 1995 and was appointed in 1996 as Oil Sales Manager. In 1998, he was appointed to the board of the company as Executive Director, Marketing, a position he held before his appointment in February 2001 as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the National Oil and Chemical Marketing Company. As Managing Director he substantially improved the profitability of the company and the shareholders fortune.

In 2003, he voluntarily retired after 26 years of service in the oil industry. In his successful professional career spanning a period of over three decades, Abiola Ajimobi was quick witted and positively impacted on the businesses and people he interacted with.

Ajimobi entered politics in 2003 when he became a Senator of the Republic of Nigeria. He was a principal officer in the Senate, serving as the Deputy Minority leader. During his senate days, in 2005, he established the first and the largest free vocational training center in Oyo. This center has been recognised and certified both as a partner and training center by the Industrial Training Fund of the federal government.

In 2007, he contested the gubernatorial election under the umbrella of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) but lost the election bid. He contested again in 2011 under the Action Congress of Nigeria, and was elected in a keenly contested election.

As the incumbent, he contested for a second term in 2015 under the All Progressives Congress, against two of his predecessors, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala and Senator Rasheed Ladoja and won, achieving a remarkable feet by becoming the first

person to occupy the highest seat twice, and as well in succession.

A man of the people, to mark his 70th birthday, various programmes which include a Jumat service/lecture, medical outreach, interdenominational service and roundtable with the theme, “Managing the dynamics of Nigeria’s Advancement: The socio-economic perspectives�, were put together as part of activities marking the ceremony.

Like or hate him, for the eight years he held sway as governor, Ajimobi succeeded in entrenching his name in the annals of Oyo, no thanks to the various landmark achievements traversing every sector of the state, such as education, health, security and infrastructure.

At the grand finale of the birthday ceremony held at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and his wife, Dolapo; the First Lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, represented by Mrs. Tanko Al-Makura, led other prominent Nigerians that included governors, traditional rulers and clerics to honour Ajimobi and his wife, Chief (Mrs.) Florence Ajimobi.

Present at the event were Governors Babatunde Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), Abdullahi Gaduje (Kano) and Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi). In attendance was also the Oyo State deputy governor, Rauf Olaniyan; the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; Gen. Alani Akinrinade (rtd); Alhaja Serifat Aregbesola; former Osun state governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; former Oyo state governor, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala; former Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun; the Catholic Archbishop of Ibadan diocese, Gabriel A Abegunrin; Chief Imam of Ibadanland, A Shiek Agbotomokekere; wife of the Ekiti Sh State governor, Mrs. Bisi Fayemi; former St governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun go Osoba; former Minister of Industries, Chief O (Mrs.) Onikepo Akande.

(M Others were Prof. Tunji Olaopa; the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi; the Ooni of Ife, If Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi; the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi; O former Chairman of First Bank Plc., Mrs. fo Ibukun Awosika; Hon. Shina Peller; wife Ib of former Lagos State governor, Dame Abimbola Fashola; the Olubadan of IbadanA land, Oba Saliu Adetunji, represented by la former Minister of Sports, Prof. Taoheed fo Adedoja; wife of Edo State governor Mrs. A

Betty Obaseki; former Interim National Chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi Akande; the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu and Afenifere chieftain, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, among others.

Vice President Osinbajo, speaking at the roundtable, restated the federal government’s commitment to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty through its various social investment programmes launched to address the gap between the rich and the poor. He described the programmes, particularly the school feeding programme which the government embarked upon, as the first in Africa and endorsed by the World Bank. Describing the impact it had made on the lives of hundreds of Nigerians, he declared that there was no going back.

Osinbajo said the school feeding programme has provided jobs for over 500,000 people. While admitting the challenges of unemployment, and poverty despite the intervention, he said the government was unrelenting in its target, mentioning the ongoing infrastructural development, especially the massive investment on rail transport, and the provision of an enabling business environment to take the country to the next level.

Aregbesola in his own remarks said, one of the best ways to address the challenges confronting the country was to tax the privileged rich Nigerians and to use the money to create wealth to help the poor. “We must mercilessly tax the rich if we are to cure the problem of poverty. We have two contending forces, the poor and the privileged rich. The rich have no problem, they are comfortable. The problem is the poor, and they are in the majority. And the point is, if the rich fail to address this problem, the comfort of the rich will be taken away. So they must release much of their money to help the poor.�

The former governor of Osun State said though the social economic investment programmes of the current administration may be few, they have been impacting positively on the lives of the poor, especially the school feeding programme, cash transfer, and N-Power.

To cure the problem of growing poverty and unemployment, he maintained that those who have made their money from the Nigerian state must release more of it to help the poor and generate jobs for the teeming unemployed Nigerians. He nevertheless disclosed that in an attempt to tackle the problem of inequality, infrastructural deficits, unemployment and poverty, the current administration under President Muhammadu Buhari, has launched several social and economic investment programmes, but that the lack of funds remains a major constraint.

The celebrant who could not hide his excitement in clocking the biblical three scores and 10 years, acknowledged the presence of eminent Nigerians led by Vice President Oshinbajo, who came from all walks of life to honour him on the occasion. He specifically appreciated the Ibadan Elders whom he said, have been his ‘Rock of Gibraltar’ all along, stating pointedly that what was being celebrated was ‘the grace of God’, having served as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and a two-term governor of Oyo State.

Ajimobi who believed that he is now more a statesman, remarked that by attaining 70, he is no longer concerned about politics for elective offices but politics of service to the people.

37

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍąËœ Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

POLSCOPE

with Eddy Odivwri Ă?ĂŽĂŽĂŁË›Ă™ĂŽĂ“Ă ĂĄĂœĂ“ĚśĂžĂ’Ă“Ă?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ–Ă“Ă Ă?Ë›Ă?Ă™Ă—Ëœ ͸΀͸ͽ ͝͸͞ Π͝ͽ͞

What Lagosians Want From Gov Sanwo-Olu

Five Months After, Where is Mr Wadume?

A

Gov Sanwo-Olu

I

am one of those who had thought Gov Babajide SanwoOlu of Lagos State was merely corralled into governance seat without having a blue print of what he wants to do for Lagosians. That belief was not for nothing. His first four or so months in office was a near disaster: the state was not just on a standstill, it was indeed receding fast.

The gains and notches of previous governments were being wiped away effortlessly. The roads were in a deep mess. Pot holes were becoming craters and craters gullies. The rains only helped to make matters worse. And Lagosians were groaning.

But at the dawn of the dry season, the governor seemed to have woken up and activated his governance skills.

Already, many bad spots of the city’s road network are being fixed. Even not-so-bad areas (like the stretch between CMS bus stop and Army Officers’ Mess) have been smoothly over-layed with asphalt. Many are such spots around town, and driving round the city is becoming a far more pleasant experience.

However, as with every government, there are challenging areas which Governor Sanwo-Olu must pay attention to, if he wants his name and image on the right pages of history records. First thing is to ensure a sustenance of the road maintenance policy. That is about the first thing that hits Lagosians. Nobody enjoys driving on bad, rough and gully-ridden roads. Like Lateef Jakande did, Gov Sanwo-Olu should adopt zero-pothole policy. The engineers in the Ministry of Works must be seen to be earning their pay. They should hit the streets patching up broken spots. Too often, Lagosians groan and curse endlessly as they struggle through bad roads and bad spots.

I do not think it is too much asking for street lights in Lagos. If Lagos is described as the Centre of Excellence, for Christ’s sake, let it be so presented.

Too often, the city is dark at night. Incidentally, all the difficult parts (street poles, lights, connection) of lighting up the city are in place. Sometimes, it is just the bulbs that need to be changed and the streets will be aglow again. I am not certain it is the responsibility

of Federal Government to light up federal roads within the city. Needless to say that with lit-up streets, crime is discouraged and checked.

It is in realisation of this that former governor of Delta State, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan had to mount up dozens of diesel-powered generators to light up te street/highway lights on many kilometers of the Benin-Onitsha highway at night, all through his administration. I don’t know where those generators are now.

Another area that cries for attention is the state of cleanliness of Lagos.

No doubt, with the ever burgeoning population, maintaining a standard sanitary state will be a running challenge. It is worse with the mass of homeless people milling around Lagos. For such people, every dark corner is a prospective toilet. And a huge toilet they have made of Lagos.

So, cleaning up Lagos, I think should start with the provision of public toilets around town, just as the refuse collection system must keep being improved upon. With the tag of filth and oozing miasma, Lagos can be anything but excellent.

Perhaps, one crucial issue that remains a big headache to Lagosians irrespective of location and status is the menace of traffic snarl. Gosh, Lagos traffic is almost enigmatic. It kills slowly. The torture and waste it generates is beyond description.

Not even the introduction of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) or the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service, by the Tinubu administration nor the Traffic Radio (96.1FM) (introduced) by the Fashola administration, has been able to save Lagosians from the affliction. Matters are now even made worse by the millions of motor-cyclists (called Okada) that now cockroach the entire city, causing greater congestion on the highways. The admittance of O’Pay and Go Kada cyclists with over half a million bikes has further complicated a bad case Without any official pronouncement, the huge legislative effort put into the Traffic Control laws that banned Okada riders and tricycle operators from some 520 roads in the state has been killed. Today, no where is sacrosanct. I do not understand the kind of Excellent centre that condones

such degree of lawlessness. And that does not include the deadly act of driving on one-way by commercial bus drivers across the length and breath of the city. On typical days, driving round Lagos is akin to bedlam. And nobody is saying anything, not even the police. Are you in doubt? Check out what happens between Oshodi and Mile 2 . Implementation of traffic rules and measures is so weak and even ineffectual in the state. During Fashola’s tenure (2007-2015), those caught driving one-way are made to undergo psychiatric test and pay some huge fine before their vehicles are released to them. But now, it appears like a Lagos of anything goes.

Not even with the brag of a so-called “New sheriff in town�, has been able to tame the traffic madness. Needless to say all these help to worsen the traffic template in Lagos.

Government is a continuum. No one government is able to solve all the problems perfectly. However, Gov Sanwo-olu should raise the bar of effort by the last administration of former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode , to rein-in the land-grabbers (popularly called Omoniles) that harass Lagosians to no end. Too many cases are in court on such counts. Too many people have been killed or maimed on such counts.

The government can do something.

It should further the action plan and strategy of the Ambode administration to bring some sanity into land ownership system in the state. This will further encourage investment and industrialization.

Given the millions of jobless youths roaming the streets, it goes without saying that crime will be a natural corollary. Controlling the latter will thus require conscious efforts at providing conducive and enabling environment for the SMEs to grow and provide job plugs for the unemployed.

I have deliberately stayed away from the staple concerns of government: education, health, water and security. While I strongly agree they are crucial canons of governance, I dare say more impact and lasting impression will be made on the areas I have pointed at.

Luckily, Gov Sanwo-Olu has more than three years ahead to prove his mettle.

lot of times when I see and experience the glaring cases of injustice, oppression and undue skewing of the justice wheel, I cannot but remember George Orwell’s master piece, Animal Farm, where it is declared that all animals are equal, but some are more equal.

Were it not so, what explains the five month silence on the arrested Taraba kidnap kingpin, Mr Hamisu Bala, alias Wadume? Where is he and what is happening?

Here was a man arrested by the IGP’s Intelligence Response Team (IRT) on August 6, last year, at Ibi, near Takum, in Taraba State having been identified as a notorious kidnapper, who had become stupendously rich from the crime.

The IRT had reported at and documented their operations at the Ibi Police Station before going after Wadume.

They arrested him, and were ferrying him to Abuja, in handcuff, when they got to an army checkpoint mounted by soldiers from 93 Battalion. The soldiers at the checkpoint stopped the 3-man IRT and a civilian.

Despite the fact that the team identified itself, the soldiers shot and killed the three policemen and a civilian, went ahead to rescue Wadume. One of the soldiers had taken Wadume to a safe haven, where he got a welder to cut off the handcuff and encouraged Wadume to escape., in what has long been established as classical case of betrayal nurtured by sabotage.

Have we forgotten the case of DSP George Iyamu who aided the armed robbery feats of notorious Lawrence Anini in the defunct Bendel State in the 80’s. They were all sentenced to death. Why is Wadume and co not facing justice? Are they special? Are they sacred cows?

Meanwhile, the soldiers claimed the IRT were kidnappers. It was a smelly scandal against the Nigerian Army.

Two weeks later, the fleeing Wadume was re-arrested at the Layin Mai Hotoro area of Kaduna State.

He had long confessed how the soldiers have been on his pay roll, how some two policemen at the Ibi Police Station—the Divisional Crime Officer, Aondonna Iorbee (a Tiv) and the Station Officer, Inspector Aliyu, had been on his pay roll. Iorbee had called Wadume’s phone over 200 times.

The scandal was so damaging that the President ordered a joint investigative panel headed by Rear Admiral T.I Olaiya.

The panel which comprised representatives from NIA, DIA, Army, Police, DSS, Navy and Airforce had submitted its report since August 31, last year. The Chief of Defense Staff, Gen Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin was

Wadume

supposed to have studied the report, made recommendations and submit same to Mr President who would take final action.

And that is where the hitch has occurred.

We are not aware if Olonisakin ever submitted the report to Mr President or whether it is Mr President that is sitting on the report.

But two things are clear: One, the three policemen plus a civilian have long been killed by Wadume’s allies in the Nigerian Army. Two, Wadume is in custody of the police, being fed by tax payers’ money.

It is bad enough that the IRT operatives died in the course of lawful duty, but it is doubly wrong and offensive that their killers are being romanced by nauseating bureaucracy.

So what is behind this silence and inaction against a man who had caused the death of three officers of the law plus a civilian? Would those people die in vain? This does not even include the people Wadume may have directly killed during his criminal/kidnap venture.

Is Wadume being protected and shielded by some powerful forces in government? Is this part of President Buhari’s legendary inertia on urgent matters?

The Police had threatened to dismiss ASP Iorbee and Inspector Aliyu.

That is where it is. Mere threat. The duo have not been dismissed. The army has not even said anything about their men who not only aided and abetted the serious crime of kidnapping, but also and indeed, shot and killed innocent people on lawful duty. What kind of double standard is this?

One of the implications of this worrisome silence is that policemen still in service will be discouraged to do their best to combat crime, knowing that if they die in the process, they will literally die in vain. This is as despicable as it is depressing. Nigerians are looking forward to hearing the verdict on Wadume and his criminal allies in the Nigerian Army, Nigeria Police and all such other crooks. Justice delayed, is justice denied.

Wishing You a Happy New Year The year is already running. Today is the third day. It is a leap year. Just 363 days left for us to exit 2020.

2019 was rough. 2020 will be smooth for us all. Nigerians look forward to a better year. That it shall be a year where the acts of government will confluence with the aspiration of the people in such a way that N37 billion will not be spent on renovating a complex which was built with less than half of that sum, 20 years ago.

May more common and executive criminals find accommodation in the prisons The plagues of 2019 will not afflict us in 2020.

The issue of security will no longer haunt us, believing that the decision of the federal government

to withdraw soldiers from internal operations will not do us in, as a people.

Nigerians look forward to overcoming the seeming intractable trouble of unstable electricity supply.

It shall be a year of amazing light splash.

From my desk, I wish all of us a great year filled with fun and grace , garnished with capacity to be resilient, such that even when the ill storm blows, we shall stand our ground, resist the blow and tower strong and high, when the storm has ceased.

Above all, may the year bring unto us all, peace, protection, comfort and joy.

Happy New Year!

38

T H I S D AY FRIDAY JANUARY 3, 2020

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

NECA Urges FG to Focus on ERGP Implementation Chris Uba The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative of Association (NECA) has charted a course for the economy in the new year.

The Director General of the association, Timothy Olawale, said in a statement on Thursday, that the economy struggled with an average growth rate of two per cent in the first three quarters of 2019, while inflation was still in double-digit, orchestrated mainly by increasing food inflation as a result of the closure of land borders. He noted that, “though the economy has great potential for growth, a more concerted and collaborative efforts with

the private sector could have made significant impact.�

On his expectation for 2020, Olawale said, for “any economy to fulfil its full potential, efficiency and synergy of the fiscal and monetary authorities is critical.�

Speaking further on expectations, the NECA Director-General stated that “government should remain focused on implementing the Economic Recovery & Growth Plan (ERGP) as part of efforts to restore economic growth and expand the tax net to improve revenue generation, rather than focusing on tax increases that have remain burdensome to businesses. “Beyond the rhetoric of im-

proved Ease of Doing Business rating, we expect that greater effort would be made to reign in the excesses of some regulatory authorities, whose actions tend to stifle businesses, invariably increasing the unemployment rate. The private sector should be aggressively supported to create jobs through business-friendly policies and regulation.�

On the Budget 2020, he called for, “full and timely implementation of the budget and early release of funds in order to stimulate the economy.� “Monitoring mechanisms should be institutionalised to gauge how well the budget is implemented.

ARM Announces Investment inTroveTechnologies Eromosele Abiodun The Asset & Resource Management Holding Company Limited (ARM) has announced that it has made an equity (investment) in Trove Technologies Limited.

Trove Technologies is a micro-investing application that allows users to invest in financial securities in Nigeria and international markets.

ARM in a statement explained that the move was in line with its dedication to leverage technology as a means to change how clients access and consume financial services. The company had in May 2019, partnered with Ventures Platform to launch, Labs by ARM, which is focused on supporting start-ups utilising

technology, applications, and services to solve specific problems.

Trove emerged as one of the six participants in the program. “ARM will utilise the Trove application to offer her clients the opportunity of trading in government bonds, stocks, US exchange traded funds and stocks of US companies. “With the NYSE and NASDAQ having a market cap of $30.2 trillion and $10.1 trillion respectively, making them the most valuable markets, which have also consistently outperformed every other market, Nigerians through the use of Trove can have access to these markets. “ARM clients with the ARM Stocktrade App are able to seamlessly participate in the global economy and own

shares in valuable companies such as Facebook, Lyft, Pinterest and Zoom to name a few without the need to reside in the US or have social security numbers. “The team behind Trove are repeat founders and finance professionals with experience working in companies in the financial sector such as Goldman Sachs and UBS Investment Bank,� it explained. Speaking about the partnership, Managing Director of ARM Financial Advisers Limited Mrs. Henrietta Bankole-Olusina said, “We believe that this is a wonderful opportunity to enlarge the investment playing field for our valuable clients enabling them to trade in diverse stocks and accumulate wealth globally from the comfort of their homes.

OCP, Others Seek Collaboration On Agric Kasim Sumaina Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË In a bid to boost agricultural productivity, the OCP Africa in collaboration with the University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P), Morocco has begun move to foster a relationship between the university in Morocco and the Nigerian universities around issues of technology, environment, agriculture and innovation.

The program, structured around the entire agricultural value chain, from the soil fertility, agricultural practices, and production, would be to broaden agricultural education and promote global best practice among Nigerian farmers.

The Country Manager, OCP Africa Fertilizers Nigeria Limited, Mr. Caleb Usoh, while speaking

on the sidelines of the Interactive forum of the group recently, called for a review of Nigerian universities curriculum to focus on the reality of the agricultural industrial need and the structure of economy.

Usoh, said: “We need to change the curriculum and make it tally with the realities obtainable in the country. Efforts are ongoing to partner the federal government as well as blending plants across the country to build farmers’ capacity, deepen access to quality farm inputs and expand access to technology. “I think beyond agriculture and many other courses, we need to focus on the reality of the industry needs, the reality of how the economy should be structured. The idea of going to school is to learn what would be

relevant to times in the society, times are changing, so we need to change the curriculum a bit, to match basically with what the society needs.�

As part of the collaboration also, OCP Africa and UM6P visited the authorities of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU The MoU signed was aimed at strengthening cooperation between the parties in training, development, research, technology transfer in areas such as agriculture and fertilisation, architecture and urbanisation, chemical engineering and humanities/social sciences. Other areas covered were industrial management, mining, renewable energies and sustainable development.

Atlas Mara, Kenya’s Equity Group Deal Expire Bob Diamond’s plans to scale down his business in Africa are being delayed after Atlas Mara Limited failed to agree on initial terms for Kenya’s Equity Group Holdings Plc to takeover some of its operations, with both companies committing to reaching a deal early this year.

Equity Group and Atlas Mara were yet to sign a detailed pact that would see the company founded by the former Barclays Plc chief executive officer exit four African countries, Equity Group said in a statement on Thursday.

The preliminary agreement signed in April -- which would’ve given Atlas Mara a 6.3 per cent stake in Equity Group in exchange for the units --expired, Bloomberg quoted the statement to have said. “While there is no assurance that the potential transaction will be concluded on the terms previously announced, the parties continue to be engaged in discussions, with the objective to reach mutually-acceptable terms as soon as practicable in early 2020,� Atlas Mara said in a separate statement. The company said in September

that the due-diligence process had been substantially completed. “The transaction would mark a change in strategy for 68-year-old Diamond, whose Atlas Mara misjudged the caliber of competition in Africa and ultimately paid too much for acquisitions. “If the deal with Equity Group goes ahead, Atlas Mara would be left with operations in Nigeria, Botswana and Zimbabwe after switching out its businesses in Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia and Mozambique. A deal would need the approval of regulators in the different jurisdictions.�

L-R: Director Federal Ministry of Transport, Dr. Antonia Ekpa; MD/CEO NEXIM Bank, Mr.Abba Bello; Minister of State for Transport, Senator Gbemi Saraki, and Executive Director, Business Development, NEXIM Bank, Stella Okotete, during a courtesy visit to NEXIM Bank by the minister in Abuja...recently

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

SEPTEMBER 2019 Money Supply (M3)

35,029,779.72

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

7,374,356.91

Money Supply (M2)

27,655,422.82

-- Quasi Money

116,533,891.21

-- Narrow Money (M1)

11,121,531.60

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,625,047.69

---- Demand Deposits

9,496,483.91

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

13,911,335.83

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

21,118,443.89

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

35,918,179.45

---- Credit to Government (Net)

10,452,199.38

---- Memo: Credit to Govt. (Net) less FMA

11,007,422.79

---- Memo: Fed. and Mirror Accounts (FMA)

25,465,980.07

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

-14,799,735.56

--Other Assets Net

7,000,253.07

Reserve Money (Base Money

2,005,600.83

--Currency in Circulation

4,677,530.81

--Banks Reserves

317,121.43

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Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

15.16

Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR) Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

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OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT TUESDAY, 32 DECEMBER 2019

The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $67.96 a barrel on Tuesday, compared with $68.89 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), Oriente (Ecuador), ZaďŹ ro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

39

T H I S D AY FRIDAY JANUARY 3, 2020

MARKET NEWS

Investors Gain N12.4bn as Equities Market Opens 2020 on Positive Note Goddy Egene Investors in the equities market gained N12.4 billion yesterday as trading at the market started 2020 on a positive note. Having declined by 14.6 per cent in 2019, the market opened the New Year with the gain of 0.10 per cent with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (NSE ASI) appreciating to 26,867.79 due to buying interest in MTN Nigerian Communications Plc, FBN Holdings Plc and

Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc. Market capitalisation increased

by N12.4 billion to close higher at N12.971 trillion.

The first trading day of the year saw 22 stocks appreciate as against 13 that depreciated.

Royal Exchange Plc led the price with 10 per cent, trailed by Cornerstone Insurance Plc with 8.8 per cent. Courtville Business Solutions Plc chalked up 8.7 per cent, just as Transcorp Plc gained 8.0 per cent.

Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, which

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R

DEALS

announced a dividend of 42kobo per share on Tuesday rose 6.8 per cent as investors react to the results. The foam manufacturing company reported highly improved results for the year ended September 30, 2019, showing a jump of 296 per cent in profit.

Specifically, revenue rose from N19.534 billion to N22.283 billion. Operating profit grew from N2.092 billion to N4.444 billion.

Net financing cost declined from N1.377 billion to N1.049 billion,

S E C U R I T I E S

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

while profit after tax stood at N2.386 billion compared with N602 million in 2018.

Based on the improved performance, the board has recommended that a dividend of N525 million, which is 42 kobo per share be paid to the shareholders.

The dividend would be paid on March 5, 2020 after shareholders’ approval at the annual general meeting on March 4, 2020.

The Group Managing Director of Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, Mr. Taiwo Adeniyi had assured

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

the shareholders that the company’s financial performance would continue to improve regardless of the nature of the operating environment and this shall always translate to higher shareholder value.

Meanwhile, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc led the price losers with 9.9 per cent, trailed by Glaxosmithkline Consumer Nigeria Plc and Lafarge Africa Plc with 9.8 per cent apiece.

Fidson Healthcare Plc and Wema

O F

Bank Plc went down by 9.6 per cent and 8.1 per cent respectively.

Unilever Nigeria Plc and Sterling Bank Plc lost 5.9 per cent and 4.5 per cent in that order.

However, activity level declined as volume and value traded fell by 74.9 per ent and 4.8 per cent to 264.1 million shares and N5.2 billion respectively. The top traded stocks by volume were FBN Holdings Plc (60.3 million shares), Access Bank Plc (33.5 million shares) and Zenith Bank Plc (30.9 million shares).

3 1 / 1 2 / 2 0 1 9 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

40

FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS

Vetiva Rebalances Exchange Traded Funds in Line with NSE’s Review Goddy Egene

adjusted with no changes to the Premier Paints Plc was added individual securities, there were to NSE Industrial Index, while Vetiva Fund Managers Limited changes in the NSE 30 Index and Notore Chemical Industries Plc has rebalanced its exchange NSE Industrial Index rebalancing. was removed from the index.

The NSE Index 30 saw the According to the Vetiva, its ETF traded funds(ETFs) suite in line with the bi-annual review of the entry of Cement Company of suite is typically rebalanced half relevant indices by the Nigerian Northern Nigeria Plc, FCMB yearly in line with the NSE Indices Stock Exchange (NSE). While the Group Plc and MTN Nigeria review, as changes to components weights of the security components Communications Plc, and the exit and weights of the underlying of the NSE Banking Index and of Forte Oil Plc, Oando Plc and indices will typically require NSE Consumer Goods Index were PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc. Similarly, corresponding adjustments to A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is an Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager. investment vehicle that allows both small and Investors with similar objectives buy units of the large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg.

Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their that willl generate their desired return. investments. The assets are divided into shares that An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, GUIDE TO DATA: etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 31shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the Dec-2019, unless otherwise stated.

the ETF portfolios, to ensure the tracks the performance of the objective of tracking the price and NSE Consumer Goods Index, yield performance of the relevant the Vetiva Industrials ETF which indices. tracks the performance of the NSE Vetiva’s ETF Suite comprises Industrials Index and the Vetiva the Vetiva Griffin 30 ETF which S&P Nigerian Sovereign Bond ETF tracks the performance of the NSE which tracks the performance of 30 Index, the Vetiva Banking ETF the S&P/FMDQ Nigeria Sovereign which tracks the performance of Bond Index. The ETFs trade like the NSE Banking Index, the Vetiva any other listed stock on the Consumer Goods ETF which NSE and units of the ETFs can 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.

be purchased on the floor of the exchange.

Speaking on the ETFs and the Equities Market, the Director, Asset Management at Vetiva, Mrs. Oyelade Eigbe, said: “ETF returns in 2019, largely mirrored the performance of the respective indices they track and the broad sentiments of the equities market during the period.”

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 N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Plutus Fund N/A N/A N/A Nigeria International Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund 0.90 0.91 7.07% ACAP Income Funds 0.77 0.77 35.46% 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 11.45% AIICO Balanced Fund 2.47 2.51 11.40% 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 15.47 15.94 1.00% ARM Discovery Fund 348.91 359.43 1.00% ARM Ethical Fund 29.38 30.26 1.00% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 9.99% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 1.93 1.93 14.99% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 11.19% Paramount Equity Fund 12.45 12.58 5.52% Women's Investment Fund 110.80 111.90 7.19% 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 N/A N/A N/A Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 N/A N/A Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 N/A N/A CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Coronation Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Coronation Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A 100.00 100.00 9.61% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 10.40% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,222.40 1,229.26 22.39% FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Balanced Fund 146.82 147.90 2.83% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 9.14% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional 119.24 119.58 9.56% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 119.83 120.18 10.35% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 130.13 131.83 -13.25% FCMB ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcmbassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 10.63% Legacy Debt Fund 3.65 3.65 12.60% Legacy Equity Fund 1.11 1.13 -8.66% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.08 1.08 5.01% 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 3,065.92 3,100.02 2.78% Coral Income Fund 3,068.37 3,068.37 11.95% FSDH Treasury Bills Fund 100.00 100.00 10.51% 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 N/A N/A N/A Nigeria Entertainment Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 N/A N/A N/A

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 9.30% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.19 2.22 1.64% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 11.16% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 143.61 143.76 14.93% LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.17 1.19 6.13% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,125.67 1,125.67 12.86% 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 9.80 9.90 -8.26% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 8.39% 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 1.32 1.34 6.99% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 12.29 12.37 9.87% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 11.29% PACAM Equity Fund 1.01 1.02 PACAM EuroBond Fund 103.03 104.85 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 132.53 133.41 9.44% 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 1.03 1.03 13.29% 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 N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.18 1.20 1.63% United Capital Bond Fund 1.69 1.69 15.58% United Capital Equity Fund 0.69 0.70 -3.63% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 10.06% United Capital Eurobond Fund 111.58 111.58 8.05% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.08 1.08 6.79% 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 10.34 10.49 0.76% Zenith Ethical Fund 11.68 11.82 0.64% Zenith Income Fund 22.91 22.91 3.09% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 7.58%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

4.25 118.93 52.05

-56.35% 6.97% 3.98%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

8.72 91.92 73.42

8.82 93.90 74.81

-12.57% -18.86% -14.54%

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

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

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

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

3.55 5.89 12.48 10.66 168.88

3.59 5.97 12.58 10.86 170.88

-11.23% -22.60% -14.68% -13.68% 26.53%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

108.40

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.

41

˾ FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 2020

WORLD OF ISLAM

Edited by: MJO Mustapha Email deji.mustapha@thisdaylive.com

Integration of Knowledge As A Way Forward - 1

Spahic Omer/IslamiCity Islam is the religion of guidance and truth. It conveys truth to man and teaches him the ways how to grasp, actualize and apply it. Existence and truth are virtually synonymous. Islam thus teaches man how to be true to himself and live life not according to the fluctuating whims and limited capacities of his weak being, but according to the absolute will and infinite knowledge of his Creator and Master.

In Islam, man is created as an honorable being.

He is accorded the meritorious title of Almighty Allah’s vicegerent, or trustee, on earth. In order to succeed in his challenging tasks, attaining in the process his Creator’s pleasure and happiness in both worlds, man is asked, among other things, to seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave.

Such is seen as a key to all goodness.

Man is asked to awaken his consciousness and satiate his inherent cognitive capabilities. This is so because man is born to learn and know, just as he is born to submit to the will of his Creator and worship him. Knowledge is seen as the greatest asset, and ignorance as the ultimate liability and hindrance. While knowledge is a twin brother of guidance and truth, ignorance, on the other hand, is a twin brother of falsehood, misguidance, and skepticism.

Owing to that, the first revelation to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was to read (iqra’!). However, the reading was conditioned by “in the name of your Lord Who created” (al-‘Alaq, 1). Hence, the culture of reading is to be tripartite. It is to encompass the reading as a universal and endless pursuit, to be in the name of and for the sake of Almighty Allah, and to incorporate the prerequisites of both the heavens and the earth (matter and spirit, body and soul).

Although the Prophet (pbuh) was an unlettered man, he was asked to read because this was not like any of the established forms of reading. It was much more profound. It was about reading, comprehending and applying the revealed knowledge, together with the discovering, reading, comprehending and applying the conventional

knowledge attained from the physical realm of existence. Not only were the five senses and their observations and experimentations (empiricism), and reason (rationalism), to be utilized for the purpose, but also the heart and soul.

The new reading paradigm furthermore was about reading and implementing the signs (ayat) of the revelation, along with the signs (ayat) of the creation. It was about integrating and combining the revealed book (al-Qur’an al-tadwini) and the ontological or created “book” (al-Qur’an al-takwini).

This new and revolutionary type of reading and knowledge-acquiring engages the whole being. It involves in equal measure one’s physical, mental and spiritual dimensions. It comprises finding, comprehending, embracing, implementing and living truth. Established epistemological concepts and methods are just a part of this wide-ranging procedure.

This new reading – which could be termed a culture of iqra’ (read!) - means reading the revealed Word, the universe, life, nature, society, history and self. It means approaching all physical and metaphysical aspects of life with equal zeal and identical objectives. It means discovering and knowing truth, which is deposited and manifested as much in the smallest and least significant as in the grandest and most consequential.

It is on account of this that the learned men and women are the heirs of prophets; that as long as a person is on the path of seeking knowledge, he or she is on a path to Paradise (Jannah) and Allah will always make his or her task easy; and that the superiority of the learned men and women over the devout (but ignorant) worshipers is like that of the full moon over the rest of the stars (i.e., in brightness) – as explained by the Prophet (pbuh).

It goes without saying that Islam, life and knowledge are inextricable. Their combination constitutes the core of the notion of tawhid (Allah’s Oneness) and its manifold implications for life and thought.

Unlike in the West and its liberal materialistic civilization where science is employed as a vehicle for seeking truth and looking for answers to the most fundamental ontological questions, In Islam,

conversely, science is used to elucidate, substantiate and espouse the revealed and all-pervading truth.

In the former scenario, science, while on the face of it fascinating, assuring and enthusing, quickly turns disappointing, anticlimactic and even deluding.

However, in the second scenario, Islamic science is truly fulfilling and intellectually, ethically and spiritually enriching an undertaking.

In passing, science without revelation is fine as far as it goes. It can only lead to the threshold of truth, never to truth itself. It can only sense that something remarkable and mind-boggling is going on, but can never answer what exactly is going on, why and how. That is the case because of the incompatibility of the nature of truth and the nature of Western science: its worldview, compass, methods and objectives.

The Relationship between Mosques and Schools (Educational Institutions) When the Prophet (pbuh) created his mosque in Madinah as a catalyst for the cultural and civilizational development of the Muslim nascent community, the mosque functioned as a community development centre. One of its most prominent functions revolved around it serving as a learning centre where every member of the community participated.

In fact, the Prophet’s mosque was the first and most impactful learning institution in Islam. Whether an institution of learning is good, and how much, is measured by the impact its alumni generate on society and life in general. Fancy names of academic programs and their syllabi, artificial designations, manipulated rating processes, plus some subjective criteria and methods of assessment, are inadequate and mislead more often than not.

People end up living in the cocoons of their own academic arrogance, ignorance, and self-deception.

In the case of the Prophet’s mosque, its earliest alumni, the Prophet’s companions (sahabah), were so excellent and noble that they forever changed the course of human history, making the world a better place. Much of the goodness enjoyed today not only by Muslims, but also humankind at large, is due to their and their immediate successors’ genius and selflessness.

Learning as a means for achieving sets of high ontological goals became integral to the recognizable identity of Islamic culture and civilization. It became embedded in the Muslim psyche and total being. For centuries, Muslims were the greatest torchbearers of human civilization, enlightenment, and progress.

Since at first mosques as community centers were the only institutions, learning fared high on the list of their priorities. So much so that certain mosques were identifiable with schools (colleges or madrasahs), and when schools became independent institutions, they, in turn, bore a resemblance to mosques, both in terms of architectural appearance and core functions.

In order to accommodate the requirements of continuous systematic learning – and other social activities - the majority of mosques across the Muslim world were of a hypostyle type, featuring vast open courtyards that were surrounded firstly by arcades, and later by arcades as well as iwans. In this fashion, it was easy for mosques to accommodate and facilitate scores of diverse activities For instance, the Prophet’s mosque during the Prophet’s time functioned as: 1) a centre for religious activities; 2) a learning centre; 3) the seat of the Prophet’s government; 4) a welfare and charity centre; 5) a detention and rehabilitation centre; 6) a place for medical treatment and nursing; and 7) a place for some leisure activities.

Later when schools became independent institutions, they physically remained close to mosques and their multi-functional complexes.

Their layouts and architectural morphology were similar to those of mosques. It was often hard to distinguish between the two. Their respective appearances and roles were as good as identical.

Some mosques were called schools (madrasahs), and some schools mosques. People are still confused as to the actual identities of some such institutions.

Similarly, it is an endless and inconclusive debate as to when exactly the independent educational institutions in Islam started to emerge.

To Be Continued

42

FRIDAY JANUARY 3, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

24 HOURS...

24 HOURS...

Release El-Zakzaky from Detention, Falana Tells Malami A human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), yesterday urged the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), to ensure the release of the detained leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, and his wife, Zeenat.

Falana, who made this call in an open letter addressed to Malami, said the minister and the presidency never ceased to justify the detention of the couple, who have been in custody since December 2015.

He said the Department of State Services (DSS) had about a month ago, also justified the sect leader’s detention.

He said the minister could therefore not turn around to push the responsibility of the detention of the couple to the Kaduna State Government.

The SAN, who is the lawyer to the El-Zakzakys, was reacting to a last week’s claim by Malami that he could not ensure the release of the couple because they were being prosecuted by the Kaduna State Government.

Malami had while explaining why El-Zakzaky, and his wife, were not released on the Christmas Eve like the immediate-past National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, and Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, said “the federal government does not interfere with the cases that are being prosecuted by a state governments.”

Responding in his open letter to Malami yesterday, Falana stated, “Notwithstanding the pending criminal case in the Kaduna State High Court, your office and the Presidency have not ceased to

justify the refusal of the federal government to comply with the orders of the Federal High Court and the Kaduna State High Court.”

Falana recalled how the Federal High Court in Abuja presided over

by Justice Gabriel Kolawole, in its judgment on December 2, 2016, awarded the couple N50million damages for their illegal detention, ordered the Department of State Service to release them from custody and provide them with a house since the Nigerian Army had burnt down and demolished their house in Zaria, Kaduna State.

The senior lawyer stated, “Without any legal basis whatsoever, the Federal Government refused to comply with the aforesaid court orders.

“Curiously, the contemptuous acts of the federal government were publicly defended by your good self and some other high ranking officials of the Buhari administration.”

Falana recalled how the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, during an interview on Channels Television said the administration refused to obey Justice Gabriel Kolawole’s order on the release of El-Zakzakkys because it had appealed the ruling.

Falana also reminded the minister that on July 26, 2019, during his screening for reappointment as the Attorney-General of the Federation, Malami told the Senate that the disobedience of court orders by the administration in respect of Elzakzaky and others was based on national security.

“In justifying the decision of the federal government to detain Messrs Sowore and Bakare in

Fulani Herders Drag Oyo Govt to Court over Anti-open Grazing Law Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan The controversy over the antigrazing law recently passed into law by Oyo State House of Assembly has assumed a new dimension as Fulani herders in the state have filed a suit against the state government and the House of Assembly, saying it’s a gross violation of their fundamental rights.

The herders under the aegis of Gan Allah Fulani Development Association of Nigeria also joined the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the suit against the law aimed at checking persistent farmersherders clash in the state.

The idea to pass the bill was mooted in October 2019 and just some weeks after that it was debated and passed after allowing participation of all stakeholders to air their views.

The law had prohibited open rearing and grazing of livestock in the state and establishment of ranches for purposes connected to rearing of livestock.

In the suit marked M/744/2019 and made available to THISDAY, the herders wanted Oyo State High Court to declare the law illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.

They also wanted the court to grant them an order of

perpetual injunction restraining all the “respondents, whether by themselves, their servants, agents, officers or otherwise from carrying out any acts or omission which is likely to aid the enactment or even enact or pass the purported anti grazing bill into law as this would amount to a denial of their fundamental rights guaranteed under the constitution of Nigeria.”

Other prayers of the herders were that the court should declare the law as a coordinated attempt or strategy at curtailing their livelihood and further frustrating their lives in breach of constitutional provisions particularly “section 33 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) goes to naught and same is invalid, null and void.”

They also asked the court to grant them N100,000 against the respondents jointly and severally for the violation of their fundamental rights and for aggravated, punitive and general damages.

The herders stated that “as a matter of cultural heritage, open rearing or grazing of livestock having been passed onto generations to generations is the life and economy of the Fulani group on which the Fulani survives.”

defiance of the orders of the federal high court the State Security Service issued a statement

on November 14, 2019 wherein it claimed that the duo as well as Elzakzaky and Dasuki were

enjoying themselves in custody as ‘they are allowed access to people and use of other facilities

like telephones, gymnasium, TV, newspapers and medical facilities,” Falana explained.

WELCOMING NEW YEAR...

L-R: Osun State Deputy Governor, Mr. Gboyega Alabi; Governor Gboyega Oyetola; his wife, Kafayat; and Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Timothy Owoeye, during the Inter-Religious Service for the New Year at the Bola Ige House, Government Secretariat, Osogbo...yesterday

Labour, EKSUTH Clash over Sack of 200 Ekiti Health Workers Victor Ogunje inAdoEkiti Organised labour in Ekiti State and Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH) are heading for a serious clash over the sack of 200 professional staff of the health institution.

The workers were shoved out of the service in December 2019 through a process called reorganisation by the management, but which the Nigerian Labour Congress and other allied unions, had succinctly described as an “illegality and infringement of the civil service rules.”

Speaking on behalf f the staff,

who are majorly experts in various fields yesterday, the organised labour through the Chairperson, Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), EKSUTH chapter, Comrade Omotola Farotimi, said the management’s indiscretion would affect the hospital adversely.

She said: “We have heard of it as a rumour for a long period of time that some people will be disengaged. Since that time, we had been meeting with the management to find out what was going on.

Even the organised labour in Ekiti was with the management on December 30, where we told the management to pass through

the normal civil service rule even if they want to disengage any staff.

We advise the management not to do anything that will be against the public service rule.

“But unfortunately on December 31, when we got to work and people were being given letters, there were different errors that were made.

Some were disengaged based on the claim that there was embargo on employment when they were employed.

“EKSUTH is autonomous. We asked for the letter of embargo of that time, the management could not produce any letter to that effect.

If there is need for employment,

hospitals need professionals, there was no time that former governor, Ayo Fayose, gave any order of embargo on employment at EKSUTH. These people were duly employed through advertisement.

“We are against the purported exercise that they have done in the hospital.

Another error was that the professional groups were grossly sacked while the administrative area was not touched. We, the professionals, are not even enough; the professionals are the ones making the internally generally revenue in the hospital are grossly disengaged.”

BEDC Connects Edo Community to National Grid

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

In furtherance of its mandate of ensuring power availability in energising communities spread across its franchise states which were without power supply for a long period or yet to be connected to the national grid, the management of Benin Electricity Distribution Company Plc (BEDC) said it has connected Oke-Irhue, an agrarian community in Uhunmwode Local Government Area of Edo State to the national grid amidst

fanfare by her inhabitants.

BEDC, in a statement, explained that the connection of Oke-Irhue to the national grid was to demonstrate its resolve to partner with communities without electricity supply in addressing their power outage challenge having fulfilled all necessary preconditions for energisation.

Speaking at the occasion, a retired Commissioner of Police and Chairman of Oke-Irhue Community, Mr. Douglas Agbonleni, said: “We the

entire people of Oke-irhue are happy in that 15 months after the community’s General Assembly worldwide took up the challenge and struggle to light up our community, God finally answered our prayers during this special season of Christmas by granting our village the opportunity to be linked with the national electricity grid today (December 29, 2019), a project which has been ongoing since 2002.”

He added: “BEDC’s powering of the community with electricity

has put an end to the travail of some members of the community who over the years had relied solely on generator as the only source of power as they have never been connected to the national grid since inception. This has, however, slowed down the pace of development in the area despite being blessed with abundant resources even as the residents opined that the energisation will no doubt spur the socio-economic development of the area.”

Okowa Pours Encomiums on Delta SSG at 49 Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has congratulated and extolled the sterling qualities and distinguishing accomplishments of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. Chiedu Ebie, who turned 49 years on yesterday.

Okowa described Ebie, the immediate past Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education under his government, as an illustrious citizen who has displayed uncommon

commitment to “good governance, growth and development of Delta State” since coming on boarding.

Okowa especially acknowledged the role played

by Ebie in stimulation of sport development in the state, including the revival of the state Principal’s Cup and Headmaster’s Cup while serving as education commissioner.

While thanking Ebie for his outstanding contributions in overseeing the engine room of government as SSG, the governor urged him not to relent in his overall “contribution to humanity

by developing further ideas that would lead to the efficiency and effectiveness of governance and sustainable development of the state.”

As an astute lawyer, oil and gas executive, entrepreneur and a public servant, Ebie has had a distinguished career in the private sector spanning over two decades, he observed.

Okowa, in a statement yesterday in Asaba by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Olisa Ifeajika, read in part: “With his core competences in strong leadership

and execution skills, Mr. Ebie has brought his wealth of experience to bear by playing pivotal roles in the administration of the state.

“Mr. Ebie has continued to blaze the trail by providing and offering leadership at various levels of governance in the state.

“Over the years, you have by dint of hard work and discipline, established yourself with an unblemished leadership style as an industry player which has endeared you to many Deltans and Nigerians.

43

Ëœ ÍťËœ ͺ͸ͺ͸ Ëž T H I S D AY

FRIDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

LMC Boss, Dikko, Speaks on Challenges, Expectations for the NPFL Duro Ikhazuagbe Chairman of the League Management Company (LMC), Shehu Dikko, has revealed that the target of the Nigerian top-fight professional league managers in year 2020 is to consolidate on the progress being made despite the challenges confronting it.

In an Exclusive interview with THISDAY on New Year’s day, Dikko insisted that LMC’s comprehensive transaction with Next TV remains paramount amongst plans to uplift the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) in 2020. “Our objective is to consolidate on the progress being made in spite of all the challenges and to ensure the continuous commercialization of the league in line with international best standards. “Also, we hope to get our comprehensive transaction with Next TV up and going

so we can have our games on Television across all platforms - such as mobile, cable and FTA and others.

Dikko who also doubles as the 2nd Vice President of the Nigeria Football Federation, stressed that with full monetisation of the contents and other sponsorship windows in the league, the LMC will be able to generate the desired

revenues as envisaged which would now be reinvested in the clubs for the players benefits. “This measure of upgrading infrastructure is to keep making the league better,� observed the LMC chief.

He however agreed that despite criticism from a section of the sporting media on the performance of the league, “We will keep working with public authorities to ensure the enabling environment is provided through legislation, enforcement of existing laws.�

Dikko said the objective is to keep driving the league “towards being a key factor of the Nigerian economy, hugely contributing to wealth creation, redistribution, jobs creation and indeed a huge factor to the GDP.�

“We honestly believe that in spite of all the avoidable challenges, deliberate distraction, we are certainly on a positive track and thus we won’t allow ourselves to be distracted,� he pledged.

The LMC chairman asked genuine stakeholders to be patient “as the positive outcome will soon manifest as surely building is more difficult than destroying. It usually takes time to come together for the better. But we assured everyone we are on the right track and with the total support and backing of all stakeholders we will arrived at the desired destination sooner than later.�

Dikko said everyone can attest to what LMC has been able to achieved during the

period of semblance of stability and financial well being. “So we can certainly do more with the right support and stable environment.

Honestly, all stakeholders need to understand and appreciate the fact that we only have one NPFL and indeed football structure and it’s a public trust and therefore we must all come together in one direction to keep moving forward as this is the only panacea for success.�

He insisted that the current situation of ‘we against them and or if not us then no one else’ will do nothing but keep dragging the Nigerian topflight league backward. “You don’t have to like Amaju Pinnick or Seyi Akinwunmi or even Shehu

Dikko or anyone in position of leadership for that matter but just genuinely love the system and align to contribute positively for the system to grow. “Support those in charge positively and surely the sky will be our limit. This is what happens in all the developed jurisdictions we cherish and wants to emulate. “Everything over there is about the system and it’s growth and everyone is aligned to this fact regardless of personality, political or groups differences. So if we want to learn from international best practices and benchmark, this is the starting point and everything will fall in place,� concludes Dikko.

Shehu Dikko...LMC Chairman

Aruna Quadri Begins 2020 as 18th World Best Player Nigeria’s top table tennis player, Aruna Quadri, has started the New Year as the 18th best player in the world following the ranking for January 2020 released by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) yesterday.

Quadri ended 2019 as 20th best player globally.

In the new rating, Quadri moved up two steps to remain the undisputed best ranked African player. It is his career’s highest ranking to date.

An excited Quadri said the

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly known and addressed as MISS ALISON ONYINYECHI, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS ALISON ONYINYECHI OKONKWO. All former documents remain valid. The general public

should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS FOLARERA OLUBUNMI SUPO-ORIJA, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS FOLARERA OLUBUNMI OYEWOLE. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as AJEVUAWA ARUBASA, now wish to be known and addressed as AJEVUAWA IKHARIA. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS EDET KEDEI MACAULEY, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS OKIMBA KEDEI LOVE. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

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ranking means more hard work for him in the New Year. “I am happy starting this year with this ranking. This also means I need to continue to work harder because remaining on top is more work. So having achieved quarterfinal feat in Rio, I think medal is possible in Tokyo.

But I am hoping to qualify soon as the qualifiers will be more competitive this year.�

He however said that his latest ranking would not have been possible without the singular support he got from Baba Ijebu Bet, a company that kept faith with me. “I have been able to attend more tournaments with the hope that I will continue to improve,� he said.

For the Chairman, Baba Ijebu Bet, Sir Kessington Adebutu, the company is excited about the feat achieved by Aruna Quadri on the global stage, having attained his highest ranking under the support of the company. “We are happy and want to congratulate him as our sports ambassador; we hope he will continue to act as a role model for the youth as we remain steadfast in our support towards his Olympic medal dream in Tokyo�, Adebutu said.

Omar Assar of Egypt dropped to 29 from 28 while the success story of Senegal’s Ibrahima Diaw continues. He has again moved from a previous best of number 82 to 76.

This makes it the second month running, that he sets the highest world ranking ever achieved by a player from Senegal.

Nigeria’s Olajide Omotayo also dropped from 86 to 85 in the world rating.

China’s Fan Zhendong reclaims the summit, as Japan’s Mima Ito moves up to world number 3 p l a y e r.

Enyimba FC of Aba are the champions of the 2019/20 NPFL season.

Stoke City Loan Etebo to Laliga Side, Getafe Super Eagles midfielder, Oghenekaro Etebo, has joined Spanish Laliga side Getafe on a loan deal till the end of the season from English Championship side Stoke City.

According to www.owngoal. com, Getafe beat host of teams to the signature of the Nigerian who has struggled to get sufficient game time since the appointment of Michael O’Neil as coach in November despite recovering

fully from an injury he had earlier.

According to the coach the 24 year old didn’t do enough in training to get a spot in the team hence he last played for the team in October when he limped out of a defeat against Sheffield Wednesday.

The loan deal will give Getafe the option of making the deal permanent in the summer and the club are doing their best

to ensure that the move goes through before their Cup game against Barcelona last weekend.

Visa issues means he will miss this weekend game against Real Madrid despite the fact that the deal is as good as done and Etebo who was voted Stoke City player of the season last year will now have his second spell in Spain after playing on loan to Las Palmas from CD Feirense two seasons ago.

Etebo back to Spain on Loan

150 Students Light up Omu Aran Mini-marathon No fewer than 150 students drawn from public schools in Omu-Aran, Kwara, participated in the 2019 Mini-marathon organised by Skylarks’ Club of Omu-Aran in Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State last Sunday.

The 10 kilometers Minimarathon, the third in the series, was geared toward boosting youths’ participation in sporting activities, especially at the grassroots level.

The race, which commenced from Federal Government Girls College (FGGC) gate along Omu-Aran-Kabba Highway

as early 6:45 am terminated at Bareke Roundabout in the metropolis.

Oba Abdulraheem Adeoti, the Olomu of Omu-Aran, in his remarks, called for stakeholders’ collective responsibility in ensuring the desired sports development in the area.

Adeoti, who commended the organisers for their vision and foresight as regards sports development, urged more public and private partnership to achieve the desired objective.

According to him, goverment alone cannot shoulder the wants and demands of every

community, hence the need for collective efforts to achieving the desired target.

The monarch, who described running as a good form of exercise, urged the youth not to lose focus in combining sports with their academic pursuit for them to stay healthy and achieve excellence in their studies.

He was hopeful that the event would be a continuous exercise in order to move the community forward as far as sports development was concerned.

The monarch said:

“Running is a good form of strengthening our muscles and other parts of our body in order to be active health-wise. “As you can see, I have been walking around since morning even before the commencement of the marathon race to show and lead by example. “Our youths should be agile, active, particularly when it comes to sporting activities. “Such will be a good motivation for them to excel in their academic programmes also,’’ he said.

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MISSILE

Idahosa to Oshiomhole

“Oshiomhole should spare us the drama of asking Nigerians to pray for him over the APC crisis. It is just a case of bare-faced deceit, which is second nature to him. It is public knowledge that he is the cause of the crisis in the party, at the national and state levels. At the national level, the state governors are inching very close to removing him on account of his high-handedness, sabotage and tyrannical approach to running the party” –Chieftain of APC in Edo State, Mr. Charles Idahosa, accusing the National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, of causing the current crisis rocking the party across the country.

AKINOSUNTOKUN DIALOGUE WITH NIGERIA

akin.osuntokun@thisdaylive.com

Crisis and Criticism Fatigue Syndrome

U

pon ascension to the throne of Israel and in succession to the reign of his father (Solomon), King Rehoboam sought the counsel of two groups of his subjects (the elders and the youths) on how to respond to the plea of Israelites requesting him to ‘lighten the yoke your father put on us’. The elders gave the counsel that: “If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants”.Thereafter, he called on the youths to offer him the benefit of their thoughts and they responded with the following entreaty(which he heeded)-tell the people that: “My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.”

And then the consequences of the foolish entreaty inevitably followed as night follows the day.The question then arises that why would any sane ruler accept such a manifestly idiotic counsel? Down the line, purpose and clarification was subsequently given to this illogicality-it is to the end that God’s will and purpose may be served: “So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the Lord, to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite”.

When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse’s son?

To your tents, Israel!

Look after your own house, David!”

As it was so often the case in the scriptures, the whole scenario was orchestrated by God, in order that Rehoboam may fulfill the portion that God had assigned him- the loss of the substantial part of his kingdom, in the wake of the people’s revolt. In contemporary parlance, the sum of the biblical narrative above is captured in the saying that “those whom the gods want to destroy, they first make mad’. In Yoruba cosmological idiom, it is called ayògò-being driven to stupid impunity and excesses by triumphant inebriation. It is of course mostly futile drawing the attention of a drunken sailor to discern the danger that presently lies beneath his nose while his drunkenness is in full control. For him to acquire the necessary sobriety, he would need to wake up and smell the coffee.

Confronted with increasingly irrational impunity of this nature, Nigerians are succumbing to the pathology of ‘crisis and criticism fatigue syndrome’. In the manifestation of this syndrome, Nigeria finds comparison and illustration in the company of the United States of America, USA, where the erratic and skyrocketing impunity of Donald Trump has driven the otherwise exemplary country to the

Buhari

existential crisis of normalising absurdity and irrationality- where a President who tells an average of twenty lies per day; characterizes neo Nazis as fine people; curses black athletes as sons of bitches; on whom there is credible speculation of being a Russian asset (agent); who propagates and perpetrates adultery and pornography-is the darling of white American evangelicals and the fanatical base of the republican party (remniscent of the bigoted American South slavers in the mid 19th century American civil war).

And not surprisingly, their 21st century alter ego have been threatening fire and brimstone and perhaps another civil war should Trump lose his Presidency.

Coming back to Nigeria, an indignant General Yakubu Danjuma captured the essence of the same phenomenon in his typical no holds barred fashion “In Yorubaland, everybody seems to have lost their voice, scared. And people appear not to care about what is happening. If I tell you what I know is happening in Nigeria today, you will no longer sleep.

“If you want details, I will give it to you privately. We are in a big hole as a nation. And people who put us in this hole have continued today. So, we’ve to wake up. Only we can save ourselves.

The fifth columnists’ activities going on among your people are not helping matters. May Almighty God continue to bless this country, but only we can save ourselves from ourselves.” The peculiar development, Danjuma was trying to project is a manifestation of the ‘crisis and criticism fatigue syndrome’ we spoke about earlier.

Given the stupefication that goes on in the name of governance in Nigeria today, rationality and sense of proportion have taken flight and rendered Nigerians onto a steady descent to the valley of despair and self-pity. The danger inherent in this drift is the inclination to substitute fighting-fit critical engagement with resignation and prayers-that this dark hour may yet pass over Nigeria. What do you, otherwise, make

of a situation in which the office of the Vice President issued a statement denying speculations on the status of its staff, in the morning, only to be directly controverted by the spokesman to the President in the evening? Did Trump not similarly and peremptorily reverse the judgement of the American department of defense to apply combat engagement rule and regulation on a wayword Sergeant? I will now leave the rest of the admonition to the capable hands of Professor Moses Ochonu: “For the past several months, certainly after the election, two things have been happening in Nigeria on a weekly basis.

1. “Buhari’s regime has been replacing heads of federal agencies and establishments.

2. The regime has been appointing new heads of MDAs to occupy vacant positions.

At least 90 percent of those being removed are Southerners and their replacements are Northerners--overwhelmingly Muslim Hausa-Fulani or Kanuri Northerners to be sure.

At least 90 percent of the new appointments into vacant MDA leadership positions are northerners, and also overwhelmingly northerners of the aforementioned variety.”

“Someone said nothing is certain or guaranteed in Nigeria nowadays. Well, there is still one certainty, one thing you can count on without fail: almost every week, Buhari will appoint another northerner to occupy a vacant position or replace a Southerner with a northerner in an MDA. In his first term, the Buhari regime’s signature identity was nepotism.

Across the political and regional spectrums, Nigerians of conscience railed against this reckless northernization of Nigeria and pointed out its short term and long term consequences. The regime ignored the complaints and waxed defensive. In the second term, Buhari has doubled down on the nepotism. The nepotism has morphed into full-blown Arewa-ization”.

“A nation already fractured by divisive elections, electoral manipulation, bitter adversarial political contests, religious rivalries, and ethnic suspicions, is being further torn apart by a cabal of bigots dedicated to a northernization agenda that would have embarrassed Sardauna Ahmadu Bello, the architect of original northernization policy. Buhari is ruling Nigeria as an Arewa republic, in complete disregard of Nigeria’s diversity.”

“Between the runaway incompetence/ economic mismanagement and the mismanagement of our diversity, I don’t know which one will prove fatal to the country under this bigoted dictator.

When you talk, his provincial supporters will say the northerners he is appointing are qualified, as though other regions have no qualified people”.

“Other Northern supporters are even more honest and brazen in their chauvinism, declaring that other regions did not give the regime the majority of their vote and deserve to be ignored, or that the north can do as it pleases because it has the numbers to do so without being inclusive

and without taking the interests and anxieties of other regions into account.

But even if we take this nonsensical excuse seriously, would we not have to account for individuals in the southern regions who are either apolitical or supported Buhari? Would we not be endorsing the homogenization and erasure of individual political subjectivities”?

“We’ve had incompetent leaders before.

But they at least respected and delicately managed Nigeria’s multilayered diversity, which is a source of constant centrifugal tensions and pressures that threaten the social fabric. Their appointments reflected their foundational recognition of this diversity and the need to nurture it through practices and policies of inclusion and national belonging. In the case of this incompetent regime, the dysfunction is not only unprecedented, the provincialism is unfamiliar and brazen, setting a bad precedence that is sure to be replicated by a future non-Northern leader if Nigeria survives the current darkness. The regime is giving Nigeria and and Nigerians the middle finger. It is testing the limits of Nigeria’s fragility, almost daring the country to produce the much-speculated backlash against extreme parochialism.”

The Other Side of Social Media The social media innovation, like all human constructs, is prone to dysfunction and so is its negative potential liable to exaggeration.

Between the Nigerian government and the social media, it is difficult to draw the line on which one has stupefied Nigeria, the more. In its penchant for gross misconduct, the reality of the Nigerian government has outdone the social media in the capacity for outlandish behaviour. It is a reality that apes fiction on a daily basis. So when the lackeys in the National Assembly were exhibiting sham righteous indignation on the excesses of the social media, the physician should have been requested to remove the log in his eyes before drawing attention to the speck in the eyes of the other party.

By training, temperament, profession and vocation I am a searcher and seeker of knowledge. I have found that the Nigerian social media space, warts and all, has fewer rivals in the utility of serving a critical facility for consultation on information and knowledge. And some were as profound as the one that made the rounds over the Christmas break. It was from the master himself, Chinua Achebe.

‘A man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to redeem them from starving. They all have food in their own houses. When we gather together in the moonlight village ground, it is not because of the moon. Every man can see it in his own compound. We come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so. Therefore let us continue with the team spirit and enjoy the power of togetherness. Let’s smile not because we don’t have problems but because we are stronger than the problems’.

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