SUNDAY 14TH MARCH 2021

Okonjo-Iweala Arrives Nigeria, Meets Buhari Monday Scheduled to engage Ahmed, Adebayo, Emefiele, others on nation’s economy FG: Her emergence as WTO DG a proud moment Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The newly appointed Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Saturday, arrived Nigeria on a five-day

working visit, about two weeks after she assumed leadership of the global body.

The visit, designed to enable her appreciate the support of the federal government towards her emergence would

see her hold discussions with President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, March 15.

Also, she has been scheduled to engage other top players in public and private sectors, including ministers on how

to leverage the WTO and the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to improve trade and the economy.

The former Coordinating Minister for the Economy

and Minister of Finance, who arrived the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja via an Ethiopian airliner with registration number, ET 911, which touched down at exactly 12pm was received

by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Nasir Sani-Gwarzo and other top officials of the ministry.

Continued on page 10

Tinubu Speaks on Herders-Farmers’ Crisis, Says They’re All Victims… Page 5 Sunday 14 March, 2021 Vol 26. No 9471

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In Gut-wrenching Video, Terrorists Torture Kidnapped School Students Demand N500m ransom Victims appeal for help Buhari: We won't allow destruction of school system Deji Elumoye in Abuja and John Shiklam in Kaduna A group of terrorists that abducted some 39 students

from the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation in Afaka, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, yesterday, released a new

video, using the students Facebook accounts, where it tortured the students and demanded N500 million as ransom for their release.

The students, some of who were crying, as they were being flogged by the terrorists however appealed to the federal government to

settle the bandits as soon as possible to save them from being killed.

But President Muhammadu Buhari, while reacting to

the development, sent a strong warning to terrorists and bandits targeting Continued on page 5

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WELCOME HOME...

Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, receiving flowers from little Miss Rukkaya Danbazzau on arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja...yesterday

Tinubu Speaks on Herders-Farmers’ Crisis, Says They’re All Victims Urges Buhari to hold stakeholders’ security meeting Tobi Soniyi One of the national leaders of the All Progressives Congress (AAPC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, yesterday, spoke for the first time on the lingering herders/ farmers crisis, saying the two classes of people were victims of circumstances and therefore needed help.

Tinubu, a presidential hopeful, however, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to convene a stakeholders’ security meeting of state governors, senior security officials, herder and farmer

representatives, along with traditional rulers and religious leaders to resolve the seemingly intractable herder-farmer crisis.

In a statement personally signed, Tinubu, who had been accused of maintaining an undignified silence on the crisis, canvassed a holistic approach to resolving the crisis.

"The purpose of this meeting would be to hammer out a set of working principles to resolve the crisis", he said, arguing that, both the farmers and the herders needed help and that to help the herders

at the expense of the farmers would not augur well for the country.

According to him, "Both innocent and law-abiding farmers and herders need to be recompensed for the losses they have suffered. Both need further assistance to break the current cycle of violence and poverty."

“After the federal government's initiated meeting, governors of each state should convene follow-up meetings in their states to refine and add flesh to the universal principles by adjusting them

to the particular circumstances of their states.

"In addition to religious and traditional leaders and local farmer and herder representatives, these meetings shall include the state’s best security minds along with experts in agriculture (livestock and farming), land use and water management to draw specific plans for their states," he explained.

Tinubu admitted that the herder-farmer dispute had taken on acute and violent dimensions and had cost too many innocent lives while

destroying the property and livelihoods of many others, in addition to aggravating ethnic sentiment and political tension.

He noted that despite the efforts of some of those in positions of high responsibility and public trust, the crisis had not significantly abated, and as such, expressed regrets that those, who should know better had incited matters by tossing about hate-tainted statements that fell dangerously short of the leadership they claimed to provide.

His words: "We all must get hold of our better selves

to treat this matter with the sobriety it requires."

While calling for a united front to confront the crisis, Tinubu urged Nigerians to resist the urge of casting the crisis as an ethnic confrontation.

"More to the point, those who cast this as exclusively a matter of ethnic confrontation are mistaken. This is no time for reckless chauvinism of any kind, on either side of this dispute. This matter is not ethnic in factual origin or

“A student of Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation Kaduna. I am appealing to the Governor of Kaduna state, the state government and the federal government.”

Kelvita’s Facebook post appealed to the Nigerian government to come to their rescue by paying the N500 million demanded by their abductors.

The post stated: “Please we really need your help; they are asking for N500 million.”

Consistent with his position, the Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, has dismissed the possibility of a ransom.

But the President, in a release by his Media Assistant, Garba Shehu, commended efforts of the Kaduna State government and early response of the military, which led to

the rescue of 180 students including eight staff members and urged that the others declared missing be found and returned safely to their families.

He also commended efforts and contributions of local intelligence in significantly thwarting the operations of the kidnappers, saying a country that has an efficient local intelligence network is a safer country.

“Our military may be efficient and well-armed but it needs good efforts for the nation’s defence and the local population must rise to this challenge of the moment.”

President Buhari, however, expressed sympathy with the victims of the incident and hoped for an early end to the ordeal of those still being held captive.

Continued on page 16

IN GUT-WRENCHING VIDEO, TERRORISTS TORTURE KIDNAPPED SCHOOL STUDENTS public schools, saying his government would not allow the destruction of the school system in the country.

The students were abducted last Thursday at about 11:30pm, when the hoodlums invaded the school located along the Kaduna Airport road.

In the two video clips, which had gone viral, the students were seen appealing to the federal government to urgently settle with the bandits so that they would be freed.

Wielding guns, the bandits were seen flogging the students, who were wailing and urging the government to help.

One of the students, Benson Emmanuel, who spoke in the video, said the bandits had threatened to kill them if government sent security personnel anywhere near them.

He said many of the students had health challenges while others had been badly injured and therefore appealed to the government to take immediate steps to settle the bandits.

“My name is Benson Emmanuel, from Forestry mobilisation. We appeal to the government to help us.

Most of us here have been badly injured. Time is going.

“Most of us here are having health issues and they (the bandits) are complaining about the government trying to send security operatives to come and rescue us from here, which is almost impossible, because these people have surrounded us, saying anybody that comes from anywhere to come and rescue us or do anything by force, they are going to take our lives”, Emmanuel said.

Therefore, he said, “We are

appealing to government to come now because these people have bad mind towards us. We are appealing to government to come and help us because without the government coming to our rescue this early and having any settled issue with them with us. We are appealing to government to come and help us”.

After Emmanuel spoke, the bandits ordered that a female should also speak.

The female students, who volunteered, however, spoke in the Hausa language, warning against security agencies coming close to the bandits.

“Asalamlaikum, I am one of the students of the (Federal College of) Forestry Mechanisation that were abducted the day before yesterday (Thursday). We are

appealing to the government to help us. I heard that they (government) will send soldiers to come and help rescue us.

“These people are telling us that any soldier, who comes near this place, none of us will go back home alive. Help us”, she appealed.

Three of the parents of some of the abducted students also confirmed to a national daily (not THISDAY) that the abductors had reached out to them and made a demand of N500 million for their release.

For instance, the Facebook waccount of Kelvita K. Dan, the 30 seconds video showed the abducted students in what appeared to be a forest area following which the gunmen pointed at a man in a red shirt and asked him to speak.

“My name is Abubakar Yakubu,” he said, aadding:

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NEWS

At last, Lulu Briggs Laid to Rest in Rivers Jonathan, Aisha, others bid farewell Finally, the remains of late oil magnate and renowned philanthropist, High Chief Olu Benson Lulu-Briggs, were yesterday laid to rest in his hometown, Abonnema, in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State. Former President Goodluck Jonathan; wife of President Muhammad Buhari, Aisha; and Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, were among dignitaries present to bid the late business mogul, who died over two years ago, farewell.

Mrs Alanyingi Sylva, wife of Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, represented Aisha at the funeral ceremony.

Lulu-Briggs died in December 2018 but his burial was delayed by disagreements within his family over inheritance and funeral modalities.

But the remains of the Niger Delta business mogul and Founder of Moni Pulo Limited were finally laid to rest on Saturday.

In a tribute at the burial ceremony, Jonathan described the late LuluBriggs as a philanthropist that touched many lives positively. The former president said Lulu-Briggs contributed to his election, first, as vice president during the time of the late President Musa Yar'Adua, and, later, as president.

Jonathan regretted that Lulu-Briggs left at a time he was needed more, but encouraged his son, Chief Dumu Lulu-Briggs, to carry on with the legacies his father.

He said, "It is a sad moment for us all. I know Chief O. B. Lulu-Briggs very well. In 2007 when I got into national politics, when the PDP nominated me as vice to the late President Yar'Adua, he contributed to the success of my position.

"Yes, he has his direct children, but we are also his children. Lulu-Briggs started his life from a humble beginning but ended successfully. He came from a very sophisticated community, Abonnema. He touched the lives of so many people and that is why you see the crowd here today.

"My prayer is that God

gives Dumu the grace to carry on the legacy of his father.”

Speaking also, Hajia Aisha Buhari said the late Lulu-Briggs was known in Nigeria for his proficiency in the oil and gas industry. Represented by Mrs Alanyingi Sylva, Aisha said, "His son, Dumu, is well known to the first family, hence the visit. Dumu should continue to fly the late Lulu-Briggs flag high."

Earlier in his sermon, Special Assistant to General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Belemina Obunge, urged the congregation to always work

on their integrity and inspire others to greatness in life.

Obunge said, "I believe we are all here because a legacy has been created.

Your greatness is seen in your ability to improve the lives of others. Our purpose in life is to make impact and inspire others positively.

"If you miss out on integrity, you have done harm to your children than good."

The chief mourner, Dumu Lulu-Briggs, thanked the dignitaries for coming to sympathise with his family as they laid their father to rest. He commended Wike for giving his father a state burial.

Dumu told the dignitaries, "It had not been easy for the sacrifice you all made to be here. Our father's humble beginning to successful end should be an encouragement and inspiration to all who want to succeed.

"I thank the former President Goodluck Jonathan, representative of the first lady and every other dignitary for honouring my father. My thanks also goes to His Excellency Nyesom Wike for deciding that he would give my father a befitting state burial."

Notable figures at the burial ceremony included Deputy Governor of Rivers

State, Dr Ipalibo Harry Banigo; former First Lady, Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan, who accompanied her husband; former Governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke, and his wife, Mrs Onari Duke; and former Governor of Rivers State, Sir Celestine Omehia.

Others were Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva; Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Uchechukwu Ogah; former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sir Austin Opara; Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),

Rivers State chapter, Ambassador Desmond Akawor; and Secretary to Rivers State Government, Dr Tammy Danagogo.

Present also were His Majesty, King (Dr.) Dandeson Douglas Jaja JP, Jeki V, Amayanabo of Opobo Kingdom and Chairman, Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers; Amayanabo of Abonnema, King Disrael Bob-Manuel; Chairman, Rivers Elders Council, High Chief Ferdinand Alabraba; and former Managing Directors of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Timi Alaibe and Ms Joi Nunieh.

BALA MOHAMMED VACCINATED...

Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State receiving his COVID- 19 vaccination being administered by is his personal physician , Dr. Murtata Abubakar, in Bauchi...yesterday

The Church Critical to Development, Says Obi The Vice presidential candidate of the PDP in the last election, Mr. Peter Obi has called the Church not to relent in her contributions to nation-building.

Obi made this remark yesterday while speaking at the 40th anniversary celebration of the founding of St. Domnic Savio Seminary, Akpu at the Seminary premises.

Obi who recalled the fruits of his partnership with the Church and other positivelyminded organizations, said the Church was useful to his achievement because they

were able to key in into his vision, which, according to him, included the restoration of education, health and other critical sectors.

Earlier in his homily, during the pontifical mass to mark the start of the event, the proprietor of the school and the Bishop of Ekwulobia Diocese, Bishop Peter Okpaleke described the seminary as a place for learning and spiritual/character formation.

He thanked the Reverend fathers and other staff who are helping in forming the young seminarians. He

advised the Seminarians to remain receptive to the training.

Speaking at the event, the Rector, Rev. Fr. Anthony Akabogu explained that for COVID-19, the event ought to take place in 2020.

While paying tributes to the past rectors of the institution, including Bishop Paulinus Ezeokafor who was present, he explained that the creation of the Ekwulobia Diocese has imposed the need for expansion of their facility since the Seminary, rather than taken care of junior secondary students

would nor accommodate senior students as well.

He therefore called on wellmeaning Nigeria to come to their aide in the area of building two additional hostels, science/laboratory block and more classrooms.

He also paid tribute to Mr. Peter Obi for what he did in education in the state, from which the seminary, like other schools in the state benefited vehicles, computers, generators, among other facilities.

He assured that the seminary shall continue to uphold the standards

seminaries are known for and shall continue to maintain 100% passes in external examinations.

The President of the old boys of the school, Mr. Celestine Oguegbu led other old boys to identify with their alma mater. After donating 500 thousand for the feast, he assured that the old boys would be part of building the new infrastructure in a big way.

The occasion was chaired

by Mr. Valentine Obienyem, who, after recalling the quality training the seminary bestowed on her students,

said that the old boys, as well as those who loved progress and development, should assist the seminary by identifying with her, especially in the present quest for renewal and rebuilding of her infrastructure.

The event was attended by many dignitaries, led by Hon. Chris Azubogu, who, besides monetary donation, pledged to undertake some projects.

Mr. Val Ozigbo who was not present, also identified with the seminary through donation and promise to remain in touch.

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Shake-up in Navy: 60 Rear Admirals, 123 Commodores, 74 Captains Moved Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Nigerian Navy yesterday announced the redeployment of senior officers following the recent appointment of new service chiefs. The reorganisation affected a total of 257 senior officers. The postings affected 60 rear admirals, 123 commodores, and 74 captains.

A statement issued by the Naval Headquarters, Abuja, listed those affected to include Rear Admiral Francis Isaac, formerly the Navy Secretary, who was appointed Chief of Administration, Naval Headquarters, and Rear Admiral Abraham Adaji, formerly Group Managing Director, Nigerian Navy Holdings Limited, who was appointed Chief of Training and Operations, Naval Headquarters.

Rear Admiral Danjuma Dogonyaro moved to Naval Doctrine and Assessment Centre, Lagos, as Admiral Superintendent, while Rear Admiral Taiye Imam was reappointed Director of Administration, Naval Headquarters.

Rear Admiral Elkanah Jaiyeola was reappointed Moderator at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, and Rear Admiral Baribuma Kole was reappointed Director, Foreign Liaison Directorate.

The redeployment also affected Rear Admiral Jatau Luka, who moved from Defence Intelligence Agency to Defence Headquarters as Director of Education, while Rear Admiral Raimi Mohammed, formerly Director at the Defence Headquarters, resumed as Director of Plans, Naval Headquarters.

Similarly, Rear Admiral Yaminu Musa was reappointed Coordinator, Counter Terrorism Centre at the Office of the National Security Adviser, while Rear Admiral Ibikunle Olaiya, formerly Chief of Training and Operations, Naval Headquarters, was appointed Director of Plans, Defence Headquarters.

The statement signed by Navy Spokesman, Commodore Suleman Dahun, said Rear Admiral Idowu Yusuf, formerly Director of Plans, Naval Headquarters, moved to Naval Headquarters as Chief

of Naval Transformation.

Additionally, Rear Admiral Kamarudeen Lawal, formerly Chief of Naval Standards and Safety, resumed as Flag Officer Commanding Naval Training Command, Lagos, while Rear Admiral Othaniel Filafa was reappointed Director, Veteran Affairs, Naval Headquarters.

Rear Admiral Abdullahi Adamu was appointed Chief of Defence Administration, Defence Headquarters. Rear Admiral Oladele Daji resumed as Commandant, National Defence College, from Headquarters Western Naval Command, where he was the Flag Officer Commanding, while Rear Admiral Maurice Eno, formerly Director at Defence Headquarters moved

to Navy Holdings Limited as Group Managing Director.

Rear Admiral Williams Kayoda was reappointed as Chief of Defence Space Administration, Defence Headquarters, while Rear Admiral Christian Ezekobe was appointed Chief of Policy and Plans, Naval Headquarters.

The reorganisation also affected Rear Admiral Frederick Ogu, formerly Flag Officer Commanding Naval Training Command, who was appointed Chief of Defence Civil Military Cooperation, and Rear Admiral Akano Adesope, who resumed as Moderator at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, from

Nigerian Defence Academy.

Rear Admiral Kennedy Egbuchulam was moved from Naval Headquarters to Central Naval Command as Flag Officer Commanding, while Rear Admiral Nnamdi Muogilim was reappointed as Director of Equipment Standardisation and Harmonisation, Defence Headquarters.

Rear Admiral Perry Onwuzulike, who was Fleet Commander, Eastern Fleet, was made Director, Lessons Learnt, Naval Headquarters, while Rear Admiral Akinga Ayafa was reappointed to Naval Headquarters as Chief of Naval Standards and Safety.

Rear Admiral Nuhu Bala, formerly Director

of Transformation, Naval Headquarters, resumed at the Defence Headquarters as Director, Project Monitoring. Rear Admiral Okon Eyo moved from Naval Headquarters, Abuja, to Defence Headquarters as Director of Training, while Rear Admiral Saidu Garba, formerly Flag Officer Commanding Central Naval Command, takes over as Navy Secretary at Naval Headquarters.

Similarly, Rear Admiral Barabutemegha Gbassa, formerly Director, Projects Monitoring, Defence Headquarters, was appointed Flag Officer Commanding Western Naval Command, while Rear Admiral Aminu Hassan, who was Director,

Naval Intelligence, was appointed Force Commander, Joint Task Force Operation Delta Safe.

Rear Admiral Uduak Ibanga resumed at Naval Headquarters as Director, Project Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate, while Rear Admiral Sanusi Ibrahim, formerly Director of Manning, Naval Headquarters, took over as Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Naval Command.

Rear Admiral Sileranda Lassa was reappointed as Flag Officer Commanding Logistics Command, while Rear Admiral Danjuma Moses moved to Naval Headquarters as Director of Policy, from Headquarters Western Fleet.

AFRICAN ARBITRATOR OF THE YEAR 2020...

L-R: Wife of Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mrs. Martha Udom Emmanuel; and Managing Partner, Dorothy Ufot and Co. Mrs. Dorothy Udeme Ufot (SAN), during the Gala Night by the Akwa Ibom State Government to honour Mrs. Dorothy Udeme Ufot (SAN) as the African Arbitrator of the Year 2020 in Uyo

OKONJO-IWEALA ARRIVES NIGERIA, MEETS BUHARI MONDAY Okonjo-Iweala was accompanied on the visit from Geneva, Switzerland by some ambassadors, including those from the Republic of Barbados and Cameroon.

Shortly after the airport formalities at the presidential wing of the airport, she was driven in a motorcade to her private residence in Abuja.

In a brief interview with journalists, the WTO DG said her visit was to see how to better leverage the WTO and AfCFTA to assist Nigeria and entrepreneurs to improve the economy, expressing optimism that Nigeria could use the AfCFTA to boost trade and investment.

She said: "I am not going to give you all the points for

the visit today; I know you want them. But what we are trying to do indeed is how to boost Nigeria's share of trade in Africa. We hope to be able to use the African Continental Free Trade Agreement to improve our trade, and of course, to do that you have to improve our investment.

"We have to add value to some of our products.

This continental free trade agreement is a unique opportunity for us to be able to engage commercially with other African nations and that will boost our exports. Then, when you boost exports, you will create more jobs.

"We are also going to talk about digital economy and how our young people are

accessing the Internet for e-commerce. Those are some of the issues. What can we do to support more of that and generate more activities?"

On her itinerary, she said she would meet with President Buhari and several top government officials as well as players in the private sectors, including women entrepreneurs.

"I will meet with His Excellency, the President; the Chief of Staff; the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment; the Minister of Foreign Affairs; Minister of Finance; Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Organised Private Sector as well as Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)

and women entrepreneurs.

“I will like to meet with the women, and the whole objective is to see how the WTO can better assist Nigerian and Nigerian entrepreneurs with respect to improving the economy.”

Speaking on her emergence as the Director General of WTO, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, said it was a proud moment for Nigeria and Africa.

Sani-Gwarzo noted that it was a unique moment and opportunity to thank the world for supporting Nigeria to achieve the feat of having a Nigerian as the head of the WTO.

“We have received a lot of support from many countries, we appreciate them. Her visit is specifically to start from home to say thank you to the President and Nigerians, who supported her from home and in the Diaspora.

“Tremendous support has gone into the process and we are grateful that she emerged, after a very thoroughly contested process as the DG. It is a proud moment for Nigeria, for herself and also for women in the world,” Sani-Gwarzo noted.

According to the itinerary of her visit released by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, OkonjoIweala, who assumed office on March 1, 2021 is scheduled

to meet with President Buhari; Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed; Minister of Industry Trade and Investment Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo on Monday.

On Tuesday, she is billed to meet with the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele; the Presidential Task on COVID-19 head by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha and the Director General of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chinwe Ihekweazu as well as captains of industries.

The WTO DG is also to meet with women entrepreneurs, and MSMEs players.

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EDITORIAL

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

CREATION OF ADDITIONAL POLLING UNITS New polling units will enhance access during elections

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he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has explained some of the factors that make creation of additional polling units very compelling: Nigeria’s rapidly growing population and changing demographics, registration of new voters over many election cycles, establishment of new settlements, including camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs), and the need to decongest crowded polling units that often engender violence in urban areas. These no doubt are noble objectives. But mutual suspicions between and among Nigeria’s competing ethnic nationalities which made INEC to shelve the exercise in 2015 are rearing their heads again.

While we endorse the proposal to create additional polling units and enjoin the INEC leadership to reassure critical stakeholders that the exercise will be fair, we are also mindful of the fears that have led to cynicism in a section of the country. It will be recalled that in August 2014, INEC under the leadership of Prof.

Attahiru Jega sought to create 30,027 additional polling units ahead of the 2015 general elections.

But there was an uproar when INEC proposed 21,615 such units for the north as against 8,412 for the southern part of the country. That disproportional imbalance in distribution eventually stalled its implementation as various ethnic and socio-cultural groups in the southern part of the country kicked against it. That is also the background to the current controversy over an exercise that is within the purview of INEC and is actually long overdue.

There are 119,973 polling units in the country at present. But aside the fact that not a single one has been added in 25 years, the existing number is no longer sufficient in the face of

COVID-19 pandemic as INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmud Yakubu explained at a recent session with Senate. “What is the state of voter access to the polling units in Nigeria? The simple answer is that it is in a crisis and has been so for some time. The right to vote is a fundamental democratic right. However, existing polling units can no longer guarantee the exercise of that right because of the crisis of access to them,” said Yakubu. “Some are located in conflict areas, homes of political chieftains, forest and even shrines.”

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What the commission must ensure is to avoid a situation that confers undue advantage on any state or geopolitical zone

Letters to the Editor

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

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

NEC, according to Yakubu, has been working with the National Population Commission (NPC) since 2017 with a view to aligning the enumeration areas to the registration areas but so far, only about 240 of the 774 local government areas in the country have been covered. INEC has also been working on applications by residents who seek fresh polling units. But it is a rigorous process that includes verification and approval in line with Section 42 of the Electoral Act. Besides, not only do these two exercises require huge financial outlay, they are also laborious and time consuming. That will not serve the purpose of the 2023 general election that is less than two years away. The low hanging fruit is for INEC to convert existing voting points and voting point settlements into full-fledged autonomous polling units.

The case for additional polling units has been well made by INEC. Under the current atmosphere, it will be difficult to conduct credible elections without carrying out the exercise. A nation with one of the fastest growing population in the world cannot continue to rely on polling units created a quarter of a century ago.

It is a recipe for chaos. We support INEC proposal to normalise the 57,023 polling points and baby polling units that have been operational since 2011 and can be easily verified using maps and for which there are satellite imagery of their locations.

We believe that INEC is on the right track by engaging all critical stakeholders so as to stave off controversy as was the situation in 2014.

Since the new polling units have been used in three previous general elections under a different nomenclature, INEC should be allowed to quickly commence the exercise. What the commission must ensure is to avoid a situation that confers undue advantage on any state or geopolitical zone.

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

A CALL TO LIVE WELL WITH K IDNEY DISEASE

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he kidney is an important part of the body system.

Kidneys remove wastes and extra fluid from the body, remove acid that is produced by the cells of the body and maintain a healthy balance of water, salt, and minerals, such as sodium, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium in the blood. The kidney cleanses the blood of toxins and transforms the waste into urine. The kidneys carry out a number of highly integrated functions that include maintenance of body fluid, electrolytes and acid-base balance, regulation of blood pressure via orchestrated changes in sodium balance and the

synthesis and secretion of renin.

The kidneys can become damage from injuries or diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure.

Indeed, high blood pressure and diabetes are the two most common causes of kidney failure. Kidney failure does not happen overnight. It is the end result of a gradual loss of kidney function.

The most common causes of kidney failure besides high blood pressure and diabetes are chronic kidney damage, polycystic kidney disease, blocked urinary tract, kidney infection, diseases and conditions that may slow blood flow to the kidneys and lead

to kidney injury such as, blood or fluid loss, blood pressure medications, heart attack, heart disease, infection, liver failure.

Kidney damage can be physically identified by swelling in the arms, wrists, legs, ankles, around the eyes, face, or abdomen, restless legs during sleep, joint or bone pain, and pain in the mid-back where kidneys are located.

Nevertheless, the need to live well with kidney disease will require serious medical attention and treatments such as high blood pressure medications, medications to lower cholesterol levels, medications to treat anemia, medications to relieve

swelling, medications to protect your bones, a lower protein diet to minimize waste products in your blood, and treatment for kidney failure. Others include kidney transplantation, which is an operation that places a healthy kidney into the body, and hemodialysis, which is a treatment that removes wastes and extra fluid from your blood.

Although, kidney disease is a non-communicable disease and currently affects around 850 million people worldwide, being diagnosed with kidney disease is a huge challenge, both for the patients and those people around them. The diagnosis and management, particularly in advanced stages of kidney disease, impact severely upon their lives by reducing everyday activities like work, travel and

socialising, causing numerous problematic side effects like fatigue, pain, depression.

And so this year World Kidney Day with theme "Kidney Health for Everyone Everywhere: Living Well with Kidney Disease", is essentially to continue to raise awareness of the increasing burden of kidney diseases and to strive for kidney health for everyone, everywhere. This is with the ultimate goal of encouraging life participation, to raise awareness of the importance of kidneys to the overall health and to reduce the frequency and impact of kidney disease and associated health problems.

––Aisha Abdullahi, Department of Mass comm., University of Maiduguri.

SUNDAY MARCH 14, 2021 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 14, 2021

OPINION

THE SENATE AND FORENSIC PROFESSIONALS’ BILL Innocent Okwuosa argues that the bill should be thrown out

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n 10th February, 2021 a bill titled “Chartered Institute of Forensic Investigative Professionals of Nigeria (Est) Bill,2021 (SB.615) sponsored by Senate Leader, Sen. Yahaya Abdullahi came up for first reading on the floor of the Nigerian Senate. There is another bill currently at the House of Representatives with the title "Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals of Nigeria (est) Bill,2020.”

Within two weeks this bill passed first, second and third reading in the senate and the news following on 3rd March is that the senate has passed the bill. When it gets to the house of representatives, harmonisation will take place, I was made to understand.

The speed of lightening with which the senate passed this bill shows it is more important to them than the security challenges confronting the country presently or the present economic sufferings of the citizens, none of which has attracted any bill from the senate. There was no public hearing on the current bill, but a mad rush, a hasty passage, designed to take them unaware.

It defies logic and reasoning how the Senate President arrived at a view that, “the new institute should provide the kind of services that would ensure that corruption in public and private sectors were identified and nipped in the bud such that we do not need EFCC”. That may be speaking from the perspective of a grand patron of the Institute which was conferred on him during the eighth assembly.

As such no answer was given to Senator Adeola when he sought clarification on the fundamental flaws and observations about the bill which was passed in the eight assembly but accent refused by President Muhammadu Buhari, because of these flaws. This is the more reason why the present bill should have passed through public hearing to see if these flaws have been addressed.

The first observation is the unprofessionalism and uncertainty in what is being promoted- “Chartered Institute of Forensic Investigative Professionals of Nigeria (Est) Bill,2021 for the senate and Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals of Nigeria (est) Bill,2020 for the House of Representatives.

When quacks gather together to label themselves as professionals, quackery first rears up its ugly head in the uncertainty of what is being promoted - is it Forensic Investigative Professionals or Forensic and Investigative Professionals. Let me remind Nigeria that these people started as forensic auditors and up till now, they are not sure what they are – the proliferators and “bastardisers” of the profession.

Uncertainty about what they want to practice leads to the question of whether forensic is a stand-alone profession on its own going by international best practice? A dictionary definition

of “forensic” is“scientific methods and techniques used in connection with the detection of crime”. Crime not fraud but what crime?

Crime can be located within different professions and does not stand on its own. If it stands on its own, then it is within the remit of organs like the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) to deal with. So there is no profession that detects crime like the NPF, otherwise it is a proliferation and bastardisation of the profession.

If we go by the Senate President’s view of “kind of services that would ensure that corruption in public and private sectors were identified and nipped in the bud” then prepayment audit undertaken by internal auditors of the accounting profession already does this better. But let us interrogate the crime further.

An idea of the crime referred to in the forensic bill can be gleaned from what the bill seeks to empower its members to practice.

Section 3(2) of the Bill provides that “members of this Institute will practice as forensic investigators in the following specialised areas of forensics – (a) Fraud prevention, detection and investigation (b) Cyber and computer forensics (including digital and multimedia forensics) (c) Forensic and trace evidence analysis (d) Forensic Linguistics (e) Criminalities and crime scene investigation (f) Forensic Auditing (g) Cyber Crimes Auditing (h) Litigation Support and Expert Witness (i) Cyber Security Forensic (j) Forensic voice and facial recognition (k) Forensic Sciences (l) Forensic Investigations (m)Forensic Pathology, anthropology and Toxicology These are investigations located within identifiable and well established existing professions. For example, criminality and crime scene investigation are within the purview of the NPF; cyber and computer forensic and cyber security forensic are within the

It is surprising that this bill is proposing that the highest level of proficiency in medicine, pharmacy, accounting, auditing, engineering should be ceded to outsiders and not those who have distinguished themselves within these professions

domain of Computer Society of Nigeria; forensic auditing is within the domain of professional accountants and there are already two professional accountancy bodies in Nigeria recognised by International Federation of Accountants. Forensic pathology, anthropology and Toxicology are within the domain of pharmacy, medicine and anthropologists.

The above provide a conclusive evidence of the proliferation and bastardisation of the profession which this bill seeks to institute in Nigeria. My independent investigation revealed that all over the world there is no profession called “Forensic” neither is there anything as “Institute of Forensic Professionals” or “Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals” backed by any law, at best you have association.

This is because “forensic” and forensic investigation cut across all professions. It is a specialist area reserved exclusively for only experts who have attained the highest level of proficiency in their profession. It is therefore surprising that this bill is proposing that the highest level of proficiency in medicine, pharmacy, accounting, auditing, engineering, architect should be ceded to outsiders and not those who have distinguished themselves within these professions.

Thus it becomes clear that this bill seeks to encroach, disrupt and appropriate to itself the practice of other professions to which its members are not trained, have no skills, do not practice and therefore non-existent. Profession derives from practice, for which prior training and certification must have been obtained.

It is not a theoretical reading or that memorised which can be recited. Therefore, in this bill, there is fraudulent claim to practice which all members of the so-called forensic investigative professionals do not have and therefore should be charged. They have behaved in an unprofessional manner and are not worthy of being associated with a profession.

I will therefore suggest that first, the Senate President rejects the “grand patron” title conferred on him by these un-professionals, so a clear vision develops. Members of the Senate and Federal House of Representative should disassociate themselves from this bill lest they and Nigeria be made a laughing stock among the comity of nations. Members of the so-called forensic investigative professionals should be advised to go and subject themselves to the rigorous training of those professions whose practice they seek to encroach, disrupt and appropriate unto themselves. They should stop cutting corners, taking the easy way as that is against professional behaviour. The Association of Professional Bodies of Nigerian (APBN) should intervene and call both the senate and this body to order to avoid Nigeria becoming a laughing stock among comity of nations.

––Dr. Okwuosa FCIB is Chairman, IFRS Experts Forum, Nigeria.

Intrigues, Hidden Gameplan And 2023 Presidential Poll Amid all the intrigues, the content and form of 2023 Presidential election is difficult to predict, writes Adewale Adeoye

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ike the ostrich, power brokers in Nigeria can no longer hide behind one finger. The plots, conspiracies and maneuver for the 2023 Presidential election have begun. Which party is likely to win the race? It is safe to conclude that two political parties are better placed to lock horns: All Progressives Congress, (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP). Many factors are against and in favour of the ruling APC. Let us take the APC’s weaknesses. Given the dithering social and economic downtown, Nigeria is worse than APC met it. Yet, this is not an indication that it would have been better if PDP was in power. Currently, the country hemorrhages from insecurity, killings, rape of women and children in a brutal and organized manner.

Nigeriais are afflicted with the twin evil of terrorism and wanton destruction of lives and properties never before seen in decades. The proliferation of arms is appalling. Might has become logic, brawn is brain and truth is defined from the prism of raw, savage power.

Nigerians now deal more with human right violations perpetrated by non-state actors than infringements carried out by the government. The country is being partitioned along base instincts, fractured into spheres of influence by heavily armed cartels ran by teenagers and young people familiar with human blood but strange to any compelling ideology. Food prices have gone into the sky, far beyond reach. Job losses are no longer news. Resistance by organized institutions like labor has weakened. Opposition to authority find expressions in armed rebellion against the state and the society fashioned in the image of budding armed ethnic militia, terrorism and riotous gangs. How will all these affect APC chances? In Nigeria wining the Presidential election depends not largely on performance but on three elements: Money plus influence peddling, geo-political strength and control of institutions of power and coercion.

The PDP has its own strength, not necessarily by its own intelligent design, but derived largely from the weaknesses and ineptitude of the APC. For one, the PDP has less controversy over which region should produce its next Presidential candidate. It has settled for the North. The PDP also has the potential to harvest from the APC

shotfall. Yet, the weaknesses of the PDP are stark. The party suffers from lack of organization, discipline, absence of a rallying opposition figure, poor precedence rating and a weak, ineffective media and propaganda unit. PDP has failed to reorganize itself and turn APC’s misfortunes to advantage. For six years, it could not even organize a rally around public outrage while its reflexes on burning national issues remain vile, petty and base. However, the greatest undoing of the PDP is its lack of cohesion and its members’ notoriety for promiscuity. The APC is picking PDP’s most influential figures like overripe fruits or gullible “Agric fowl.”

As at today, APC, despite its weaknesses, is in the best strategic position to win the Presidency. The party, through its many officials and the institutions they control, has a deep pocket. In terms of geopolitical strength, the APC is in control of the South West, the Middle Belt, the North West and very strong in the North East, interestingly the regions with the highest number of votes. Yet, despite the APC fortunes, there are deep internal contradictions and its success in resolving the challenges will determine its victory. The party is currently divided into antagonistic blocs in perpetual conflict with itself. At least three major but veiled blocs exist: Lagos with Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu as the arrowhead and Abuja with Mallam Nassir el- Rufai as the caliph, the third layers are pockets of local resistance elements in each of the APC structure in the 36 states, not organized, but potent in the local politics of some states.

There is also a fringe force, represented by the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo who is the weakest but can be reenergized through terrestrial shock. In terms of control of organs of government, the Kaduna group has the upper hand. With the appointment of sole administrators in the party, the group is in firm control of both the Presidency and the party. But a firm grip of the party structure does not automatically translate into the control of membership neither does it mean absolute dominion over the future of the party. In fact, the iron hold is a weakness, it has the potential of squeezing the party to a burst. The Kaduna group has

fortified its camp by attracting high caliber PDP leaders across the country through a combination of lobby, juicy offers and, maybe, threats. One of its greatest achievements is the ability to cut the PDP by its head. Former President Goodluck Jonathan expected to be the PDP’s most iconic opposition figure has fallen into the net of diplomatic chains held by the ruling party and lately with ambitious offers beyond his dream. Another PDP bigwig, former Senate President, Olusola Saraki has lost its political base necessary to guarantee high stature. It is not clear where the Kaduna group is going. But certain facts are emerging. The ‘attack’ on PDP is for two reasons: to consolidate the APC towards 2023 and to recruit puns that can be used to weaken internal opposition to the Kaduna group's bid to determine APC’s next Presidential candidate. The new recruits are also expected to broaden the group's control of the party in the forthcoming convention. The group has a trademark: isolate and destroy the opposition within, which may lead to the party's internal combustion.

It must be noted that one trend has emerged in the on going shadow boxing. The Kaduna group now employs “Maradonic” tricks espoused by former military dictator, Ibrahim Babangida who separately promised several aspirants the Presidency but kept his game to his chest. The El-rufai group appears to have reached out secretly to many aspirants in the South. The advantage is that it keeps the bees busy while the principal has enough time to consolidate power. It is said in the political circles that a section of the hegemony led by Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje is reaching out to Tinubu; a section is reaching out to Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi while also is reaching out to Jonathan. In this game, some are also reaching out to Osinbajo and some to Rivers State former Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

––Adeoye is a multiple award-winning journalist (See concluding part of the article on www.thisdaylive.com)

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 14, 2021

15

LETTERS

AGEGE AND THE ‘GREATER LAGOS’ TRAIN

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n Friday, March 5, 2021, it was the turn of Agege, a town renowned for trade and commerce, to welcome the ‘Greater Lagos’ train of the Babajide Olusola SanwoOlu administration as a new dawn was heralded in the town.

On that day, the longsought relief from choking vehicular gridlocks finally came the way of residents in the axis as Governor Sanwo-Olu inaugurated the Pen Cinema Bridge and five major road networks in the area.

Former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who was a special guest at the event, described the project as “needed catalyst” for the resuscitation of economic activities on the axis.

The construction of the 1.4-kilometre long flyover was part of the recommendation at the Lagos Economic Summit (Ehingbeti) under ex-Governor Babatunde Fashola’s administration, as a strategic intervention to achieving significant traffic improvement in the densely populated area.

The last administration created the right-of-way and set up the structural beams while the SanwoOlu administration substantially completed 80% of civil works on the bridge.

The imposing overpass ascends from Oba Ogunji Road and drops at Oke Koto area of Agege. The bridge also opens to the old Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway through Abule Egba. The axis, on which

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Sanwo-Olu

the flyover is sited, is one of the busiest in vehicular activities in Lagos. Therefore, with the coming of the bridge, huge relief would come to commuters, businessmen and others along the area.

The entire project consists of a dual carriageway, with a bridge component of two lanes with 3.65 cm width in either direction.

The road component consists of service lanes on either side of the bridge with median, kerbs and walkways that are complete with signalised traffic system. There are junction improvements with LED streetlight features.

Governor Sanwo-Olu

rightly described the delivery of the project as a “landmark progress” in the state’s drive towards eliminating bottlenecks causing suffocating gridlocks and relieving residents of stress associated with commuting on roads. Sanwo-Olu said the two-pronged approach, which his administration deployed to deliver critical infrastructure, gave priority to continuation and completion of strategic projects, regular maintenance and construction of new ones in line with the State’s Strategic Transport Master Plan (STMP).

He said his government decided to continue the project, because it was in

tune with the first pillar of his administration’s T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda, which targets the provision of roads for expedited economic growth and seamless mobility.

With the delivery of the Bridge, which is complemented with traffic signalisation and drainage channels, the perennial traffic arising from huge human and vehicular movement from Agege-Pen Cinema Intersection towards Abule Egba, Fagba, Oke Koto and Iyana Ipaja has finally been resolved.

To achieve a quick turnaround in commuting on the Bridge, the government identified and reconstructed five strategic principal roads with good connectivity to adjoining roads that could serve as alternative bypasses to other routes in periods of heavy traffic.

Considering the centrality of road transportation to economic growth and physical development, the project would inject more life into socio-economic activities of people living and doing business in the area.

A key outcome from the strategic execution of the Pen Cinema Flyover project is that the Sanwo-Olu administration has again demonstrated the priority it accords to the well-being of the citizenry. It is, no doubt, a true test of the current administration’s commitment to the ‘Greater Lagos’ vision and a reflection of the achievability of its audacious socio-economic goals.

It needs to be stressed

THE ISA PANTAMI QUESTION

here is a popular saying - Everything is politics and politics is everything.

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami has found himself in this situation, one that no political office holders in Nigeria escape.

Before becoming a Minister of the Federal Republic, when he was the Director-General of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Pantami’s name was often associated with the permutations of the 2023 politics. Today, as a minister, Pantami’s name is still being associated with the 2023 permutations, but in three scenarios - as a potential vice-presidential candidate from the northeast, as a governorship candidate of his home state Gombe, and finally as a potential senator of the Federal Republic.

As a human being, Pantami’s desires may align with any of these three.

2023 is far in the mind of

the ordinary people, but to the politicians and political pundits, 2023 has already come - especially the politics of the presidency. Furthermore, the truth is, anyone with the ambition for an elective office in 2023, and has not begun any move, he or she is technically out of the game, because, the race is already on.

Wherever Pantami’s heart is placed in this political permutation, there are questions to be answered. Does Pantami have the political strength, the war chest, the support of stakeholders and masses and good rapport with the political class inside and outside of the government? Has he utilized his ministerial position to attract support via government patronage?

These are the Pantami questions - being asked by students of politics, needing answers from Pantami’s promoters.

As a Sheik and a relatively young northerner with a UK PhD, Pantami is well-known and respected throughout the north and

beyond. But as a politician, Pantami still has some painstaking learning to do in terms of the intricacies of the Nigerian politics.

With his antecedents and current political standing, Pantami’s political strength may be strong at the local level, but weak at the party’s highest level- because he is ‘new’ there. However, people who believe in Pantami are optimistic about his capacity to serve as a young and technocratic vice- presidential candidate, which the APC can use as a political weapon in its 2023 campaign. On the other hand, those who oppose the Pantami candidacy always point that he is often detached from the real players and inaccessible as a federal minister.

Pantami is performing excellently in the areas of the digital economy in terms of introduction of ideas and innovation. However, pundits believe that the Nigerian political class sees everything from the prism of politics. The ‘Buhari

clique’ and the owners of the APC must feel at home with anyone who wishes to scale the hurdle of getting the APC vice-presidential ticket, which would be hotly contested for in the north.

If the promoters of Pantami mean business, they must do three things in order to sell Pantami, win over other blocs within the APC and have a strong fulcrum to face adversaries.

Firstly, Pantami should strengthen his local contact and popularity with an organized approach, diffuse the minds of people that see him as aloof and thirdly work on his weak patronage.

The profile of Pantami, a 48-year-old can easily scare his fellow contenders.

Pantami has all it takes to be a vice-presidential candidate and the northeast is strongly agitating for the slot. However, Pantami’s promoters should work on his unorganized political family, weak patronage and aloofness.

––Zayyad I. Muhammad, Abuja.

that while implementing the project, the government directly and indirectly created jobs for over 1000 people including engineers, supervisors, artisans and others. This is a clear indicator of the nexus between infrastructure development and employment generation.

The construction of the fly-over become inevitable, considering the importance of the road corridor and the critical congestion the area was known for.

There are intersections that lead to Oshodi and back to Lagos-Abeokuta Old Express Road. Also, there is another that leads to Ikeja for motorists, especially for motorists going to Alausa, Agidingbi, Ogba either from Alimosho axis or Sango-Ijoko.

There also exists another intersection for those going to Iju-Ishaga, etc. In essence, the Pen-Cinema Road corridor is essential for Lagosians, especially motorists plying the Lagos-Abeokuta Road either going to Ikeja, Oshodi, Mushin from areas like Ifako-Ijaiye, Alimosho, Sango-Ijoko axis.

It is absolutely fascinating that the current administration has completed the Pen-Cinema Bridge in record time. The governor, his deputy and some of his cabinet members have consistently toured the project since assumption of office. This mirrors the commitment of the administration to the project, which will, no doubt, change the skyline of the area and ease the perennial traffic gridlock.

From the onset, the Pen-Cinema Bridge started with the construction of alternative routes for traffic diversion and ease of vehicular movement especially when the intersections were closed The scope of work on the fly-over includes drainage channel construction, provision of service ducts, provision and laying of crushed stone base, provision and laying of asphaltic concrete binder and wearing courses, provision of laying of kerbs, provision and installation of street lighting and lane marking.

The socio-economic importance of the PenCinema fly-over lies in the development it will spread to Agege in particular, and the State generally.

Certainly, none can deny that the whole area is

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already wearing a new look with the inauguration of the imposing edifice.

When the completion and inauguration of the bridge is taken into cognizance, together with road improvement projects in several other sites across the State such as Agric-Ishawo, Igbogbo-Bola Ahmed Tinubu-Igbe Road, Ikorodu, completed network of roads in Ojokoro, Oniru, Victoria Island and several inner roads, it is only trite for the discerning minds to commend the Sanwo-Olu administration.

Good road network remains key to the economic development of any society as it is vital for smooth socio-economic activities.

The economic impact that good infrastructure has on the society cannot be over-emphasized. Famous American businessman and investor, Roger McNamee, clearly underscores the indispensability of infrastructure development to economic advancement when he affirms that: “We need to stop thinking about infrastructure as an economic stimulant and start thinking about it as a strategy.

Economic stimulants produce bridge to nowhere.

Strategic Investment in infrastructure produces a foundation for long – term growth”.

A prime test of democracy in developing nations is how to connect the government with the governed. In Lagos State, Governor Sanwo-Olu has been able to creatively connect with the people through his systematic programme of improving infrastructure in the state.

Today, it is clear to all that Lagos is undergoing a major infrastructure regeneration process. It is there for all to see and it is for the common good of all.

However, for Lagosians to continue to enjoy the fruits of innovative governance currently on display in the state, they must be ready to play their part, especially as it relates to voluntary payment of tax, protection of public infrastructure, environmental cleanliness as well as maintenance of law and order.

––Tayo Ogunbiyi is Deputy Director, Public Affairs, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa.

Job Done

hen I resigned from a job there was usually a morning tea, a few platitudes and occasionally a gift voucher. I never got to keep the company car, the company credit card, the work title, nor any

personal assistants, not that I ever had any of these as a teacher.

You aren't doing too badly after you resigned Harry. Time to move on with your own life and family in a new country.

––Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia.

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͹ͼ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R

NEWS

Ex-Emir Muhammadu Sanusi Installed Leader of Tijjaniyya in Nigeria As adherents pray against insecurity in the country

Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto In what may be interpreted as a new political twist that may impact future elections in the country, ex-Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II has been appointed by the African leader of the Tijjaniyyah sect, Sheikh Makki Nyass, as the leader of the sect in Nigeria at an event organized to honour a servant of God, Shehu Nyass in Sokoto state.

The appointment, which was made on Friday at Sokoto during the annual festival of the sect, is seen as

both a spiritual and temporal elevation of the deposed emir.

Shortly after the announcement, Sanusi II and many of his adherents converged at the Gawon Nama private residence of Gov. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State, where they worshipped for about two hours.

On Saturday, the Emir was sighted at the same residence with a retinue of his ex-palace guards, known as Dogarawa and other sect members, where he met behind closed doors with Tambuwal before taking his leave.

Muhammad Sanusi II, by this appointment succeeds his late grandfather, who held similar position before his death in 1990. Sanusi I was succeeded in the sect topmost position by the late Kano business mogul, Isyaka Rabiu, who passed on in 2018.

Some see the choice of Sokoto as this year choice of the sect's rendezvous as strategic and political brinkmanship as Sanusi II is very close to the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Saad Abubakar and Gov. Tambuwal.

The faithful also prayed against banditry and other challenges facing the nation.

The sessions were led by the leader of the organising association, Majma'u Ahbab Rasul Li Shehu Nyass, Alhaji Dahiru Abubakar and Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi in series of prayers against banditry, kidnapping and other crimes as well as prayed for peaceful coexistence and that of nation's progress.

Abubakar said the event was organized to honour a servant of God Shehu Nyass, who dedicated all his life towards the services of Islam.

He noted that whoever did a good thing should be commended and remembered.

Nyass lived an exemplary life filled with fear of God and noble character.

He said that the event show the light and strength of Islam, and urged leaders to live up to the expectation in safeguarding citizens along with proactive leadership styles for nation's progress.

Abubakar explained that the programme was designed to improve relationship among followers of Tijjaniyyah across the globe and immortalize the late Islamic Scholar.

“The essence of the celebration is to further cement the existing mutual relationship

of the adherents of Sheikh Ahmadu Tijjani all over the world, to immortalize and commemorate the legacy and teachings of the Sheikh and to pray for peaceful coexistence of the entire nation. ” He said.

The event was attended

by Gov. Bello Matawalle of Zamfara state among other dignitaries.

Prominent Islamic clerics from Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, United States of America, Mali, Egypt Senegal, Sudan, Ghana, Cameroon, Niger and other European and African countries graced the occasion.

KHALIFA MUHAMMADU SANUSI II...

Former Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II (left), and Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, at the government house during the ex-Emir's visit to the governor after his installation as leader of the Tijjaniyyah Sect in Nigeria...yesterday

TINUBU SPEAKS ON HERDER, FARMER’S CRISIS, SAYS THEY’RE ALL VICTIMS actual causation although in the minds and hearts of too many, it has become ethnic in recrimination and impulsive action," he said.

To come up with a lasting solution, the former Lagos State governor suggested rolling back violence, because according to him, only when the violence and the illogic of it are halted, can logic and reason prevail.

He said, "Until the violence is rolled back, we cannot resolve the deep problems that underlie this conflict.

We will neither be able to uplift the farmer from his impoverished toil nor move the herder toward the historic transformation, which he must make."

He contended that even though security was vital to resolving the crisis, the government must go beyond enhanced security to resolve the matter.

"Yet, as vital as security is to the resolution of this

matter, we must realise security measures alone will not suffice. Enhanced security may be the necessary first step, but it cannot be the only step. Nor do we resolve this by hitching ourselves to emotional, one-dimensional answers.

“More to the point, those who cast this as exclusively a matter of ethnic confrontation are mistaken. This is no time for reckless chauvinism of any kind, on either side of this dispute. This matter is not ethnic in factual origin or actual causation although in the minds and hearts of too many it has become ethnic in recrimination and impulsive action.

"There have been sporadic disputes in the past but this one is more severe.

The reasons for the greater violence of this current dispute are myriad. Economic hardship and its resultant dislocation, proliferation of weapons, generalised increase

in criminality, and weakening of social institutions all play a role.

“Desertification, increased severity and length of the dry season, diminution of water resources, impairment of land fertility and population growth, also contribute in no small measure. Thus, any durable solution must get at most, if not all, of these issues," he stated.

He, however, identified several factors he said were responsible for the escalation in the herder-farmer disputes.

According to him, economic hardship and its resultant dislocation, proliferation of weapons, generalised increase in criminality, and weakening of social institutions all play a role.

According to him, "Desertification, increased severity and length of the dry season, diminution of water resources, impairment of land fertility and population growth also contribute in no small

measure. Thus, any durable solution must get at most, if not all, of these issues."

Tinubu said farmers have a right to farm their land unmolested while herders have a right to raise their livestock without undue interference.

However, when conflict between these groups arises to such an extent, he said the government must set forth clear principles and policies to remove the tension, in order to allow both to proceed toward their stated goals and to live in harmony and according to their respective rights.

"Just as I cannot go into your house and take your shirt, because I do not have one of like colour, no one can destroy the crops of a farmer or seize the cattle of a herder simply, because such destruction sates their anger or their selfish, short-term interests.

"If such a condition were to hold, then, all would turn into chaos; all would be in

jeopardy of being lost. To destroy the crops or seize the property of the innocent farmer or herder is nothing if not an act of criminality," he pointed out.

Tinubu said the situation of the herder had become untenable, stating that, "Their nomadic ways fall increasingly in conflict with the dictates of modern society. This way of life is centuries old and steeped in tradition.

“We can never condone or accept violence as a valid response to any hardship.

However, we all must recognise and understand the sense of dislocation caused by the sudden passing of such a longstanding social institution."

The presidential hopeful explained that the dispute between herders and farmers was borne out of situational exigencies, stating that an ethnically fuelled response would be to vociferously defend the nomadic way

believing this tack would somehow protect the herder and cast the speaker as an ethnic champion.

To this end, he warned, "careless words cannot shield the herder from relentless reality. Such talk will only delude him into believing that he can somehow escape the inevitable. We do both herder and farmer grave injustice by allowing the herder to continue as he is – fighting a losing battle against modernity and climate change."

Tinubu said the country has a decision to make and consequently asked: "Do we attempt the hard things that decency requires of us to right the situation? Or do we allow ourselves to be slave to short term motives that appeal to base instinct that run afoul of the democratic principles upon which this republic is founded and for which so many have already sacrificed so much? In the question itself, lies the answer."

SUNDAY MARCH 14, 2021 • T H I S D AY

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SUNDAY MARCH 14, 2021 • T H I S D AY

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 14, 2021

BUSINESS

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Editor: Kunle Aderinokun 08033204315, 08111813084 Email:kunle.aderinoku@thisdaylive.com

The Fuel Price Hike that Never Was Emmanuel Addeh writes on the chaos that greeted last Friday’s purported increase in the pump price of petrol, noting, however, that it is akin to postponing the proverbial evil day

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eleaguered Nigerians who were looking forward to a relatively good weekend, woke up to the rude shock on Friday morning of the news of another rise in the price of petrol, a product that is literally the lifeblood of the country.

Although not unexpected, since the nation has been subtly put on notice by the authorities for a while, the jump from N162 to N212, an addition of over N50, riled many Nigerians who took to social to denounce the action.

0any Àlling stations across the country took advantage of the confusion that ensued , following the “announcement”, and immediately changed the pump price, from the initial price, with some of them selling for as much as N225. The scenes captured by angry Nigerians were at best tumultuous. &haracterised by long Tueues, tra΀c jams, immediate increase in the cost of transportation and the sudden shutdown of many petrol stations, it was déjà vu for Nigerians who have had to endure the pains of such decisions in the past.

The origin of the disconcerting news was traced to the Petroleum Products Pricing RegulatoryAgency (PPPRA) which at midnight posted the pricing template of the product for March on its website.

Since the federal government announced its “deregulation” policy on March 19 last year, the agencyhadsaiditwouldthenceforthstopthemonthly releases, since market forces would be allowed to determine prices.

Surprisingly, although the PPPRA neither communicated the template to the marketers nor categorically indicate that that would be the selling band for the month, the fact that it suddenly started making public the template was taken by the public as a collective government decision.

Although,thegovernment’sinformationmanagement system, again failed to live up to expectation, however, following the disruption in the daily activities of Nigerians, the dust eventually drew the attention of o΀cials who attempted to douse the tension.

Hours after the chaotic public response to the alleged increase, the federal government pushed back on the insinuations that it had increased the pump price of petrol from N162 to N212.61 per litre, saying that it had not given any such approval.

Describing the information as “misleading”, the government maintained that it was unthinkable to raise the price of the product when negotiations were going on with organised labour and urged the general public to disregard any such reports.

While apologising to Nigerians for the inconvenience the stampede caused by panic-buying embarked upon by motorists, it maintained that it would not intentionally deceive Nigerians In a statement personally signed by the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Mr. Timipre Sylva, in Abuja, the government added that there was no way a fuel pump price increase could have been eͿected without the knowledge of either President Muhammadu Buhari or the minister.

“Irrespective of the source of that information, I want to assure you that it is completely untrue.

Neither Mr. President, who is the minister of petroleum resources, nor my humble self who deputises for him as minister of state, has approved that the pump price of petrol should be increased by one naira. I would therefore urge you to disregard this misleading information,” Sylva stated.

According to him, for the past few months the government has been in consultation with organised labour to Ànd the least painful option to respond to the global rise in the price of crude, which in turn has inevitably led to increase in the price of petrol.

The minister maintained that it was unthinkable that government would unilaterally abandon the ongoingdiscussionsandactinthemannersuggested by the information under reference.

He added: “Cynicism and deceit have never been the trademark of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

“Iwouldliketoequallyassureyouthattheengage-

A fuel dispenser

ment with organised labour and other stakeholders will continue even as the calculations to arrive at a reasonable price regime are being done; all in good faith, and you will be availed of the Ànal outcome at the appropriate time.”

Thefederalgovernmentwarnedmarketersagainst taking advantage of the current confusion to inÁict hardship on Nigerians, stressing that it would visit sanctions on any such attempts.

“Until then, all marketers are strongly advised to maintain the current pump price of PMS before the emergence of this unfortunate information. Those who may want to take advantage of this unfortunate misinformation to extort Nigerians should not give in tosuchtemptationasthereareregulatorymechanisms that government can enforce to protect its citizens.

“In conclusion, I want to sincerely apologise to all Nigerians for any distress and inconvenience the unfortunate information might have caused,” Sylva noted.

In the same vein, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said it was sticking with its statement earlier in the month that there would be no fuel price increase in March, insisting on its o΀cial Twitter handle that “There shall be no increase in ex-depot price of PMS in March.”

Also, in an attempt to douse public tension caused by the information it released on its website midnight yesterday, the PPPRA, in a statement signed by its Executive Director, Abdulkadir Saidu, said that the document did not indicate that petrol price had been increased.

The PPPRAsaid that the “guiding prices” posted on its website was only indicative of current market trends and did not translate to any increase in pump price of petrol. It reminded the general public of the introduction of the market-based pricing regime for petrol regulation 2020 as gazetted by the federal government, declaring that based on the regulation, prices are expected to be determined by market realities in line with the dictates of market forces.

Saidu argued that one of the conditions for the implementation of the market-based pricing regime is the monthly release of the guiding price to reÁect current market fundamentals.

He said that it was in line with the PPPRA’s mandate to maintain constant surveillance over all key indices relevant to pricing policy, monitors market trends on a daily basis to determine guiding

prices that the data was made public.

“The agency is not unaware of the challenges with the supply of PMS due to some concerns leading NNPC to be the sole importer of PMS. PPPRAis also mindful of the current discussion going on between the government and the organised labour on the deregulation policy. “ While consultation with relevant stakeholders is ongoing, PPPRAdoes not Àx or announce prices and therefore there is no price increase. The current PMS price is being maintained while consultations are being concluded.

“Even though market fundamentals for PMS in the past few months indicated upward price trends, the pump price has remained the same and we are currently monitoring the situation across retail outlets nationwide,” the agency stated.

Sequel to the statement, it has also pulled down the template for petrol pricing from its website after the uproar and confusion caused by the development.

An analysis of the information further showed that the price of petrol may hit N212.61 per litre any time from now, if the authorities approved the latest price guide set by the agency.

Although the agency said last year that it would no longer be involved in Àxing the price of the product since the market had been “deregulated”, it however released a lower band of N209.61 and higher band N212.61 per litre for the month in the latest template.

The pricing template showed the average price per ton of the commodity was about $561.96, or N169.22 per litre, while the average freight rate coat (North-West Europe to WestAfrica) was about $21.63 per or N6.51 per litre.

Also, the agency in the Àgures released earlier, said the ex-coastal price was N175.73 per litre, average lightering expenses was Àxed at N . 1 per litre while the Nigerian PortsAuthority (NPA) charge was put at N2. 9 per litre; Inaddition,thetemplaterevealedthattheNIMASA charge is now N0.23 per litre; jetty throughput N1.61 per litre while storage charge is N2.5 per litre and average Ànance cost of N2.17 per litre, giving an Expected /anding Cost (E/C) of N1 9.61.

Further analysis put the wholesale margin at N .03 per litre; administration charge at N1.23 per litre; transporters’ allowance (NTA) was Àxed at N3. 9 per litre; bridging fund cost was N7.51 per litre and Marine TransportAverage (MTA) remained

at N0.15 per litre.

Withthis,theexpectedex-depotpriceforwholesale products marketers would be N206. 2 per litre.

Earlier in the month, the NNPC assured Nigerians that there will be no price increase for the product in March until all negotiations with labour were concluded.

In its reaction, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nigeria’s main opposition party, advised the federal government against increasing pump price of petrol.

The party in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, inAbuja said any contemplation to increase pump price of petrol to N212 would worsen the economic and social situations of Nigerians.

Ologbondiyan said that the N212 per litre reportedlycontemplatedintheMarchpricingtemplatewas not in the best interest of Nigerians, saying that it is a barefaced fact that there is no way that Nigerians can survive such a hike in fuel price, which will worsen the already agonising economic situation in the country.

“Our party maintains that with an honest and transparentadministrationofournationalproduction capacity and potentialities, domestic price of fuel should not exceed N70 per litre,” the PDP argued.

Ologbondiyansaidanyincreaseinfuelpricewould be unacceptable with over 100 million citizens living in abject poverty, 23 per cent unemployment rate and many more living below N500 a day and called on the government to save the nation by ending every contemplation of fuel price increase.

For his part, the minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige said discussions were still ongoing between government and the organised labour as well as other stakeholders on the matter.

“I have made contact with the relevant authorities, the federal ministry of petroleum resources and the NNPC and wish to assure members of the public, especially the organised labour and workers that there is no such increase for now.

“We have ongoing discussions and standing committees comprising labour and government on one hand and another, comprising the o΀ce of the Vice President, Secretary to the Government of the Federation , Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Group Managing Director of (NNPC) and the Ministers of Labour, Petroleum and Finance,” he said.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 14, 2021

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ENERGY

Whither Crude Oil Price On a good day, the increases recorded in the price of crude oil in the past week should call for celebration, considering the fact that the 2021 budget was benchmarked on $40 per barrel. Unfortunately, its impact on price of petroleum products at home, especially the highly combustible Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) with its accompanying inflammable discourse, policies, politics and public response, may have informed the nervous attitude by both the President Muhammadu Buhari administration and the Nigerian people to this otherwise good development. Chris Paul reports

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he drone attack on a Saudi Arabian oil facility, early March, had caused the price of Brent to hit the roof at $71.28 per barrel at the international market, barely a few days after the crucial meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and nonOPEC members had resisted pressures to increase output.

Although, the price recoiled to $68.66 at close of that trading day, when it became apparent that the targeted facility had been quickly repaired and restored to resume operations; the price of Nigeria’s Bonny Light also hovered at $67.69 per barrel, indicating that the stress on Nigerian government to generate funds for its 2021 budget, which was based on $40 and 1.8 million barrels per day, mb/d, including Condensate, had been greatly reduced.

But the journey to the consistent upward movement of Crude Oil prices began in earnest this year, early January, when prices rallied around $57 range.

The surge on the January 13 price increase, for instance, came on the heel of the announcement by Saudi Arabia to voluntarily cut its oil production by 1mbpd in February and March above its current quota; and the news of a further fall in the United States’ supply of the commodity to the market, creating an artiÀcial add-on to the cartel’s most recent cut.

Taken into cognizance Nigeria’s economic weaknesses amid the lingering impact of the pandemic, experts were skeptical about probable beneÀts of the increase on the Nigerian economy.

Tagged “Budget of Economic Recovery and Resilience” and passed into law with a total revenue estimate of N7.99trillion, expected for the 2021 Àscal year, the 2021 appropriation bill is clearly running at a surplus.

At 36.9 per cent higher than the N5.84trillion projected in the 2020 bill, underscoring the projected revenue, is an oil price assumption of US$40/ barrel and production of 1.86mbpd.

At the base of the logistic concerns surrounding the mass deployment of the coronavirus vaccines in the midst of rising number of cases and emergence of new strains, is the risk of another round of lockdowns globally; and the fear that the rising oil prices may cause the country another round of economic crisis.

Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, is obviously holding her breath at this time with the surging prices.

For one, Nigeria recently exited recession and when she should be breathing a sigh of relief, the dreaded downstream issues arising from contentious fuel price increase, hit the downstream with a resurgence of fuel queues across the country with its consequent impact on inÁation.

Her modest budget benchmark and damp expectation that the economy will recover to the path of growth early in this year may be heading to an uncertain destination, as the fuel price crisis deepens.

While the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, is still discussing with the Labour union on an acceptable price to accommodate current realities, the prices of fuel across Àlling stations in the country are hovering around the over N200 per litre range.

Barrels of oil

This is most likely going to aͿect so many other sectors of the economy as Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), who may not be able to cope with rising cost of fuel, will be grossly aͿected. That means many may have to shut down and lay oͿ their workforce; thereby throwing more Nigerians into the unemployment market.

Prices of foodstuͿs, transportation, among other products and services will hit the roof and with a highly depleted purchasing power, the capacity of Nigerians to shop for their homes and o΀ces will be further damaged.

Consequently, the retail sector of the economy will suͿer incidents of unsold goods, while the service sector will run out of clients.

This picture deÀnitely does not look good for the Finance Minister, who had said with some degree of enthusiasm, last year, “The total aggregate revenue that is projected for the 2021 budget is N7.89trillion and what is unique about the 2021 budget is that we have brought in the budgets of 60 government-owned enterprises.

The actual projection was $40 per barrel and that is the average price that we projected to be for the year. Some of the institutions that are responsible for tracking price of crude oil actually have crude oil price going as far as $50, $52 per barrel. We took the safer path.”

At the time she had taken that path, the current price of the crude oil in the market stood at $37.

The fear at the time was that Nigeria’s persistent economic problems, including rising inÁation rate, as well as fall in in the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) caused by dollars’ scarcity and depression in crude oil prices were likely to ¶stiÁe’ growth in Africa’s biggest economy.

There were worries that until crude oil prices stabilise above $50 amid falling

foreign exchange reserves that continue to add pressure on the Naira, Nigeria may walk on the thin rope of a potentially prolonged foreign exchange shortage.

This is because a protracted forex crisis could mean higher food prices, more borrowing to meet budget demands and di΀culty in servicing the country’s debts; and in a country with an “ineͿective local manufacturing industry, Nigeria has to depend on importing lots of her needs including food and healthcare resources.

With oil prices dancing around the $60 perimeter, the US$40/bbl Brent price may be standing on a $20-strong ground since the diͿerentials could help in cushioning the economy against shocks that could come from the growing tremor in the ongoing fuel crisis.

Generally, for now, it is healthy for the 2021 budget revenue projections; which is critical to achieving the historic revenue numbers projected in an ambitious budget.

Of great worry, however, are Nigeria’s external conditions expected to impact exchange rate.

The Finance Minister should not place her hopes on the fragile price rise in Crude Oil as one development on the global stage could send the price tumbling down in an instant and with it, all the dreams and castles built around such price hope.

Weakness in oil prices would drag on export receipts and thus foreign exchange earnings. On the other hand, it is important to note that an increase in oil prices will imply an increase in the price of petrol, which may either mean a further upward adjustment in petrol prices or a return to the subsidy regime.

It is a no-brainer that this development should compel the government to go bullish on policies that develop non-oil exports.

This is the time to re-evaluate the punishing multiplicity of taxes that is killing businesses across sectors of the economy.

It is the time to expand and extend the scope of concessions, reasonably and responsibly to strategic and sensitive sectors of the economy; so as to create a more policy-friendly investments and business climate in the country.

This will accelerate local industrialisation which would foster local production of many imported products and signiÀcantly help to reduce dependence on imported products; thereby conserving scarce hard currency.

As at last weekend, crude oil prices remained within the over $67 axis; while the global rate of coronavirus stood at 119,752,517, with 2,653,970 deaths.

In Nigeria, the number has spiked, relatively, at over 160,000 cases and 2,009 deaths.

But compared to top COVID-19 countries, her case can be said to be within the tolerable zone.

Meanwhile, the price of fuel at Àlling stations continues to run around the N200 per liter range for stations that are opened to Nigerians, willing and able to buy at that price.

On the other hand, most of the stations that are shut are the ones ‘honestly’ displaying the N162 per liter sign for the pleasure of the Petroleum Resources Minister but who are selling at the going ‘street’ rate at ungodly hours to ‘unholy’ middlemen; mindless of the misery, their ‘third party price’ would cause helpless, but desperate Nigerian.

These are the Àgures that will continue to determine the fate of the Nigerian economy domestically and internationally.

How the managers of the oil industry, in particular and the directors of the economy at large, navigate the nation around these parameters would deÀne the fate of the country and her citizens as the heart of the nation beats nervously towards 2023; its deÀning concourse.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 14, 2021

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ECONOMY

RORO Port, Lagos

Boosting Nigeria’s Declining External Merchandise Apart from the huge economic distortions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government must address inherent impediments to foreign trade as well as boost agricultural exports, writes James Emejo

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he COVID-19 continues to exactly its toll on the Nigerian economic landscape with several impairments.

Nigeria’s relapse into a second recession last year - and its sudden exit from the downturn is still being debated - with the pandemic blamed for the travails.

Only last week, Àgures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) further showed that on annual basis, Nigeria’s total merchandise trade declined to N32.42 trillion in 2020, compared to N36.15 trillion in 2019.

This represented the Àrst fall in total trade since 2019, after an annual consecutive increase from 2015.

Experts attributed the decrease in trade to the adverse eͿects of the pandemic, which had slowed down global businesses and almost brought them to go their knees.

However, total trade increased 8.9 per cent to N9.12 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2020 (Q4 2020), compared to N8.37 trillion in the preceding quarter.

According to the Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics (Q4 2020), the Q4 performance was nonetheless, lower by 9.9 per cent when compared to the N10.1 trillion in Q4 2019.

The value of trade in Q4 was the

highest recorded over the past year, the NBS noted.

But, the value of imports nearly doubled the value of exports, as trade deÀcit widened to its highest level and a Àfth consecutive quarterly deÀcit at N2.73 trillion, representing an increase of 14.30 per cent compared to Q3 2020.

The export component of trade stood at N3.19 trillion, representing an increase of 6.7 per cent over the N2.99 trillion in the preceding quarter.

In addition, the share of exports in total trade declined to 35 per cent in Q4 from 47 per cent in Q4 2019.

On the other hand, total imports reached a record high at N5.93 trillion in the quarter under review, representing an increase of 10.1 per cent over the N5.38 trillion in the preceding quarter.

Crude oil remained the predominant export which was valued at N2.42 trillion, representing 81.02 per cent of total exports while non-crude oil exports stood at N568.2billion, or 18.98 per cent of total export during the review period.

On annual basis, the value of total imports in 2020 stood at N19.89 trillion or 17.3 per cent higher than the previous year, while total exports was valued at N12. 52 trillion or 34.8 per cent less than in 2019.

The annual merchandise trade deÀcit in 2020 stood at N7.37 trillion,

according to the statistical agency.

India remained the top export destination for Nigeria during the quarter under review with N547.0 billion or 17.12 per cent total exports.

Exports to Spain, South Africa, the Netherlands and the U.S.A. stood at N313.4 billion or 9.8 per cent, N256.7 billion or 8.03 per cent, N194.5 billion or 6.09 per cent, and N170.4 billion or 5.33 per cent respectively.

These Àve countries collectively accounted for 46.39 per cent of the value of total exports in Q4 2020.

Analysts, however, told THISDAY that the federal government needed to install critical reforms in ports administration, address poor infrastructure as well as ine΀ciency and bureaucracy of border administration in order to boost external trade, which recorded about N7.37 trillion deÀcit in 2020.

They also called on the government to remove trade barriers, adding that a generally poor business environment does not mean well for foreign trade.

The analysts, in separate interviews with THISDAY, pointed out that the decline in the annual performance was a direct consequence of the negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic on merchandise trade, and urged both the Àscal and monetary authorities to sustain ongoing interventions to stimulate the economy.

The experts, among other things,

prevailed on government to boost eͿorts aimed at encouraging value addition to export commodities including cocoa, sesame seeds, yam as well as work towards their acceptability in more countries of the world.

Speaking on the development, President, Capital Market Academics of Nigeria, Prof. Ache Unalike, said the improvement recorded in Q4 was a reÁection of the increase in economic activities following the ease of lockdowns and restrictions and accounted for the impact of the interventions especially by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on production and volume of trade.

He said if sustained, the increase in merchandise trade will have positive implications for the economy depending on whether or not the trade balance is favorable as well as opportunities for job creation.

Also, Managing Director/Chief Executive, Credent Investment Managers Limited, Mr. Ibrahim Shelleng, said the average lead times for shipments remained some of the biggest hindrances to foreign trade in the country.

According to him, the average time for importation in Nigeria is about 33 days while average time to export is about 22 days.

He said these factors greatly impact on the cost of trade and ultimately aͿect the country’s ability to be competitive in global trade.

He said: “Relying on one major port alone (Apapa) is also a signiÀcant bottleneck and is part of the reasons for poor turnaround times. We must bring up other ports up to speed and utilise technology to provide a more e΀cient and modern port.”

Managing Director/Chief Executive, Dignity Finance and Investment Limited, Dr. Chijioke Ekechukwu, said an improvement in the security situation in the country will further improve the volume of trade transactions.

He said the drop in external trade in 2020 compared to preceding year of 2019 was expected due to the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns adding that Nigerians being resilient people resumed business activities as soon as lock down was lifted, thus boosting the Q4 performance.

Also, Managing Director/Chief Executive, SD&D Capital Management Limited, Mr. Idakolo Gbolade, said the government should do more to provide additional incentives to exporters.

He said the current intervention in the export sector was not enough to enable local exporters compete with their counterparts in other African countries.

He said: “We need to move fast on the port reforms to enable products to be exported move faster from our port to their destinations in record time.

He added that the federal government should as a matter of urgency mandate his ambassadors and representatives in other countries to prioritise the marketing of Nigeria made goods as part of their engagement with their host.

He added: “I believe that CBN also has a major role in ensuring exchange rate stability to ease foreign trade.

“Nigeria needs to create enabling environment for manufacturing sector to be able to compete favourably and take advantage of the Africa free trade agreement.”

Yet, in what should be of major concern to the government particularly in its eͿorts to diversify the economy, the value of total trade in agricultural goods in Q4 stood at N588.2 billion, representing 6.45 per cent of total trade in Q4 2020.

Exports of agricultural goods was valued at N55.8billion or 1.75 per cent of total exports within the quarter, compared to N60.6 billion recorded in Q3.

According to the NBS, the value of agricultural exports fell by 8 per cent and by 18.2 per cent when compared to the corresponding quarter in 2019.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 14, 2021

22

MONEY

,Q 'HÀDQFH RI &29,' 3URWRFROV &XVWRPHUV &URZG %DQNV %HFN\ 8ED 8PH\LOL

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ythenatureoftheiroperations, the banks have undoubtedly been aͿected by the fallout of the COVID-19 siege, although they struggle to remain aÁoat in business amidst dwindling economy.

Followingthestipulationsby thegovernmentoncertainprotocolstobeobserved for due prevention of the spread of the virus, most banks resumed services, but with a diͿerent story.

Wash-hand basins are installed in their premises with provision of hand sanitisers for every guest (required to wear face masks before entry into their premises) and necessarily asked to maintain safe distance from one another.

However, it has been observed that although these protocols are marshalled out to each guest visiting the banks, (some of which have provided canopies for their guests in the banking premises to prevent crowd mingling so as to guarantee social distancing), a lot of shortcomings exits to the inconvenience of these customers.

Delay in services caused by so many factors, makes customers lose their patience and throng the entrance points of these banks for various complaints; thus defeating the essence of preventing crowd movement and invariably, the spread of the virus.

Noticeably, banks have enfranchised private bodies to serve monetary needs of some of their customers. Very recently, the Point of Sale (POS) vendors have sprung up in the country in almost every nook and cranny of each community.

Previously, the POS terminals served as simple payment points in supermarkets, departmental stores, shopping malls, corporate o΀ces and other related business establishments where the ATM cardsareusedforpaymentbytheirclients/customers. However, the POS machines have gradually been improved to render more Àscal services and thence, individuals licensed by the banks now use it to serve monetary needs of people who deposit, withdraw and transfer money at will.

The invention of the POS vending system has obviously reduced the crowd that go to bank for transactions, albeit the dangers of fake currencies at such points, even as most vendor alongside their customers complain of network problems, which often times, delay smooth transactions.As well, problem of delay in non-reversal of unpaid debited sums causes friction between vendors and their customers.

Similar to the POS alternative, is mobile banking, where software applications are installed on customers’ mobile phone for self-processing of payment and other Ànancial matters to prevent going to the banks. While this system helps to promote a cashless society, it also has some drawbacks in the area of poor internet facility to support the network provision needed for Àscal transactions.

In the same vein, the fear of cybercrime (a network of criminal activities involving computers and/or internet networking for fraud, theft, blackmail,forgery,embezzlementandotherrelated crime) discourage some people from using the mobile banking application.

These aforementioned problems may not be eliminated but can be mitigated. Acollaborative eͿort by the government, organisations and individuals can lead to control of these militating factors.

Internet service providers should improve their delivery to end-users; banks should install latest software and other technologies that can facilitate quicker service to the public in their various units and departments, ensure proper security control and train their staͿ for constant supervisionofpublicfacilities,carefulobservations and communication of technical information to all customers particularly in times of urgent needs.

Government should create more jobs to keep youth busy and out of mischief and implement strictlawsagainstoͿenders,supervisetheactivities of the banks for customer-friendly relationship as well as ensure customers’ safety and strict compliance of the banks set down rules. Individuals on their parts should proactively, observe laid down rules for their personal wellbeing and Ànancial security.

Crowded entrance of a bank

%DQN &XVWRPHUV &RPSODLQ It has become a common sight to notice crowds at the entrances of most banks in the country, especially in Lagos, following easing of the lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic. This development has persisted with each bank’s situation peculiar to their management policy, while some have provided canopies for their customers, others simply organise their customers to form queues that are usually too long.Although there are other banking alternatives expected to ease these long queues, including ATM, phone mobile banking and most recently, POS agencies, customers have increased in numbers each day to gain access into the banking hall despite the inconvenience at the entry points.

THISDAY went round a number banks and spoke with some customers, who expressed their disgustandcomplainedagainsttherecentpractice and the inconvenience it causes them.

Mrs.Adeola Oluwatosin opined that an alternative measure could be introduced to eliminate the long queues experienced in banks before having access into their premises.As such, one has to go to thebankstooearlyinordertoobtainnumberbefore gaining entry into their premises. Consequently, she said she has resorted to using the ATM to prevent the stress of the long queues and further appealed to the banks to Àll theATM with money as well as ensure that they are working properly.

The story is not diͿerent with Mrs. Busola Olajuiyagbe, who acknowledged that the POS has been a relief to ease the stress of the long queues outside the bank. She however did not believe that the spread of the COVID-19 virus could be prevented considering the presence of crowds at the entrance of the banks despite the fact that customers wear their face masks and further appealed to the bank o΀cials not to concentrate only on the customers in the banking halls but should as well, consider the well-being of their customers’ at their gates.

“Really, in view of the essence of the COVID-19 pandemic, I think the banks have been doing well but they need to improve”, said Mr. Femi Timothy.

He observed that the restrictions were proper to preventeasyaccessintothebankswhichinvariably should encourage customers to use their online banking scheme and other alternatives for their monetary transactions.

At least, it will eliminate the discomfort of queuing up for too long because only those with basic needs for transactions requiring physical presence like procurement of new ATM cards, updating information and other very relevant needs would come to the banks. He, however, urged the banks to increase the ATM points and ensure that they are e΀cient.

Nevertheless, some persons still fail to accept that the fear of the spread of the corona virus

should open door for grave inconveniences that people have been suͿering since the easing of the lockdown last year. Mr. TJ who berated the recent bureaucraticprocessofentryintobankingpremises, particularly the long hours of waiting, lamented at howtoomuchtimeisspentattendingtocustomers inside the o΀ces at the expense of the ones waiting outside.HefurtherdecriedthefactthatsomeATM points were not functional, adding that even at the POS sometimes, money is withdrawn without being conÀrmed and this may not be reverted soon, causing another inconvenience too. “I still have my money trapped with the bank since a month ago that has not been paid to me and yet this queue experience is discouraging when one thinks of coming to the banks to rectify pending issues.Howcanonespendawholedayherejustto withdraw money" Imagine coming here as early as 6am just to collect tally number and yet it may be that it has reached about a hundred persons by that time. It’s up to the bank to ensure that their customers are not stressed; they should Àll the ATM machines with enough money and ensure that they are working properly. It’s not funny to see that out of about ten ATM in one place, only about two of them are dispensing?

One wonders how the elderly ones in the society whose health are more vulnerable to the pandemic feel about this development. Thus, for Mr.AdelekeAdebowale, a major point of concern is the provision of a waiting space for customers.

He observed that there was no proper shelter for customers waiting outside the banks and in cases wheretheyareprovided,theyareusuallytoosmall to accommodate the teeming crowd. Bigger tents are needed to enable the customers observe social distance in the sitting arrangements and possibly, fans can be provided as lieu to the air-conditioners inside the banking halls, considering the humid air outside in most cases.

In view of possible constraints in the knowledge of mobile banking, Pa Adeleke appealed to the banks to provide more ATM machines because they are more reliable and ensure that they are in good conditions to serve the public especially during weekends, as it has been noticed that most weekendsomemachinesdonotdispensecash.He also advised government to play a watchdog role to supervise how the banks are managing their customers ‘because if the banks know that they are being watched, it will make them perform better and prevent this stress on their customers’.

For Mrs. Momoh Olajumoke, it’s a litany of woes as she wonders why customers should undergo any form of suͿering or stress to collect their hard earned money? “In fact, I prefer leaving my money at home than putting it in the bank if not for security reasons. The ATM machines are not very helpful either; now I have been trying to withdraw with it and the system is telling me

‘invalid card’, meaning what? The weekends are worse; the machines will write ‘unable to dispense cash’. Here we are, sitting down in the sun and we have been here since morning. This is not fair at all because the banks are doing business with our own money so why put us through this kind of stress to collect our money after they have used it to better their own lots? When will all this rubbish stop? Where is our government? Where are our leaders? While we understand that this is to prevent the spread of the virus, but then the stress it gives us is worse than the covid-19 scare?

Every problem has a solution; something has to be done to alleviate this issue. Yes, the POS has helped a lot in reducing this problem but then, there are other things needing the banks attention that can make one come to the bank only to spend these long hours of waiting game with so many loopholes in the service to customers. Can you imagine, I tried using theATM to transfer money only to discover that the amount withdrawn from my account wasn’t paid and wasn’t reverted to my account? I complained to the bank, and since then, for almost four months now, nothing has been done and my money is just trapped like that Still in the wake of so much complaints, some customers’ attention is drawn to the substitute of ATM and POS units but for Mr. Bayo Salam, the banking sector should be more lenient in discharging their duties.Although, one can use the mobile banking or POS but yet there are transactions that require physical handling and therefore needs the attention of bank staͿ.

It is equally viewed as a Nigerian polity factor, consideringthefactthat in other countries, people may not be going through similar stress in such civil matters. ComradeAja Stanley, one-time staͿ of late legal luminary and human right activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, blamed the system on corruption as he wonders why both the Leaders and top hierarchy of the banking industry cannot address this issue? “What we are suͿering in this country is tremendous; who could have imagined that banking situations would be like this? Our suͿering really is attributable to our insincerity and lack of fear of God. The POS may not serve the desired purpose in due time because of crime; we lack honesty and people must not keep quiet”.

For Mrs Iyawande, simple solutions could be proͿered to alleviate the bottleneck associated with recent banking system in the country. She suggestedthatthebanksshouldadoptacustomerfriendly approach by avoiding delays and be brief with the customers so that they can attend to as many people as possible within a stipulated time.

Also, the banks should ensure that their internet serviceprovidersaree΀cientbecauseiftheirservice is eͿective, serving their customers will be fast and the congestion will be reduced.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 14, 2021

23

MEDIA

Adopting Omnichannel Marketing Strategy for Better RoI As a Ànancial metric, which is globally used to measure the probability of gaining a return from an investment, return on investment (ROI) is key to business growth, but recent Àndings have revealed that adopting required approaches can make the diͿerence. Raheem Akingbolu reports

T

he relationship between brands and consumers in today’s digital world has shifted.

In the past, brands could easily define the message and pre-determine the pathway of the customer’s journey. However, with consumers’ embrace of multiple devices (mobile, email, web, POS etc) as interaction points, the journey is now a multi-dimensional, multiplatform customer journey. This means that customers can appear at any time online (on the web) or offline (on mobile via SMS or USSD) – the path to conversion is now completely owned by the customer.

Interestingly, amidst this multiplicity of devices and platforms, the consumer also wants a seamless personalized experience across all platforms and devices. He doesn’t want to interact with an Advert via SMS and still gets bombarded with that same Advert when he logs into his Facebook account on the web.

This is where Omnichannel Marketing becomes important.

The use of various channels to create one, unified experience for customers is what is referred to as Omnichannel Marketing. This includes both traditional and digital channels, point-of-sale, in-store, and online experiences. It involves the creation of a seamless message that adjusts to your customer based on their behaviour through your sales funnel, providing the ultimate personalized customer experience.

According to Forbes, “Brands with superior customer experience bring in 5.7 times more revenue than competitors that lag in customer experience. In fact, 86% of buyers will pay more for a great customer experience.”

It is easy to confuse “Omnichannel marketing” with “Multichannel marketing.” While multichannel marketing starts with the company and moves outwards to the different channels, omnichannel marketing starts with the consumer and interacts between channels for a seamless experience. By this simple explanation, the fact that Brands will spend far less and get better performance on their Ad Spends adopting an omnichannel marketing strategy versus a multichannel marketing strategy is evident.

Omnichannel marketing pulls the customer into the centre of the strategy, and the channels that the customer uses to engage with the brand not only have a unified message, but that message adapts to each touchpoint a customer has with the brand. This means that the messages the customer sees, regardless of the channel, will update once the customer has taken the desired action.

For instance, with omnichannel marketing, a bank customer who started an account opening session via his mobile, but drops off and later logs into his Facebook account, should see an ad reminding him to

Elo Umeh

continue with the account opening, from where he stopped rather than being targeted as a new lead. This will guarantee a top-notch customer experience and reduce cost on ad spend.

With the level of personalisation that omnichannel marketing offers, more savvy Brands invest in technology tools and software such as a Customer Data Platform (CDP) to achieve this. According to a PwC report, the number of companies that invest in omnichannel marketing has jumped from 20% to more than 80% since 2020.

The Terragon Customer Data Platform (CDP) is one of such powerful tools that several multinational FMCG Brands and top tier Banks have invested in to get ahead of the curve in superior omnichannel customer experience. With online (web) and offline (mobile) activation channels, Brands can reach their customers intelligently via email, SMS on their mobile phones to their Facebook via the Facebook Conversions API.-With strategic partnerships with major Telcos, publishers, digital Platforms, Ad exchanges to enable reach via mobile, web, email

and most recently a direct Server-toServer integration to Facebook as the only African-founded CDP partner for the Facebook Conversions API in Africa; the Terragon CDP is uniquely structured to help Brands execute an effective omnichannel marketing strategy and ultimately make better returns on their Ad Spend.

Speaking with THISDAY, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer at Terragon, Elo Umeh said Terragon CDP also helps Brands to understand their customers by aggregating their customers’ first-party data from various sources, enriching it with data sourced from various third-party data supply-side partners and then giving a 360-degree view of customers.

“With well-modelled Machine learning and Artificial Intelligence, the CDP is able to segment these customers according to various data points (demographic, geographic, behavioural and psychographics etc) and allows Brands to activate campaigns via various channels – mobile (SMS and USSD), email, web and social media (Facebook).

With continuous ingestion of data and Machine learning analytics by

the CDP, Brands can tell exactly where each customer is on the sales conversion journey/funnel to allow for tailored adverts specific to each customer, based on their unique journey till they convert. This as well as the feedback loop capability (postcampaign), provides Brands with continuous updates for data enrichment and a better understanding of their customers, in order to know the most effective way to reach them.

For instance, a consumer Brand may choose to reach a millennial via social media advert, a middle-aged white-collar worker via email and an artisan via SMS to promote the same stable product. As the Customer continues to evolve over time, these channel preferences may change and these updates can be detected via the CDP,” he stated In today’s world where there’s a lot of attention on data privacy, customers are increasingly wary of how much information brands have about them and how frequently brands are able to reach them. This is a legitimate concern that the Terragon CDP seems to cater for by adopting the strictest of data privacy and governance measures.

24

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 14, 2021

BUSINESS INTERVIEW GABRIEL OGBECHE

Govt in Dilemma Whether to Remove Subsidy or Not The Group Managing Director of Rainoil Limited, Gabriel Ogbeche, in this interview with Peter Uzoho, talks about industry issues and Rainoil’s operations. Excerpts:

T

wo decades after, Rainoil is still thriving. How did it all start?

It’sbeenaveryexcitingjourney.

I left university in 1987. I worked brieÁyforacompanycalledPricewaterhouseCoopers.Thenjoined another company called Ascon oil Company Limited and worked there for about Àve years, learned the business, and then by 1997, I left Ascon Oil and started Rainoil. Rainoil, which we have run for about 24 years now, is a company that we started from scratch, from ground zero.

Over the past 24 years, we have grown to become one of the very signiÀcant downstream oil and gas companies in the country.

As of today, we own a 50 million-litre capacity petroleum storage depot in Oghara in Delta State.

We own another 50 million-litre capacity petroleum storage depot in Calabar in Cross River State; and a 50 million-litre capacity petroleum storage depot in Ijegun in Lagos State.

We have an 8000-metric tonne LiqueÀed Petroleum Gas facility also in Lagos State. We have a Áeet of more than 150 tank trucks to distribute petroleum products across the country. We have about 100 petrol stations also spread across the country, and we also own a ship. We are providing direct employment to more than 1,200 Nigerians.

Why did you venture into oil and gas?

When I was in university, I used to tell myself that I would like to trade. I’ve always loved the art of trading. As a kid growing up, I loved the art of counting money. I used to joke with my friends in university that I would like to sell cement when we left school. But most importantly, I worked for another downstream oil and gas company.

For the Àve years I spent in Ascon Oil, I saw the business and understood it. I knew where the opportunities were, and I felt it was something I could do. I incorporated Rainoil in 1994, then I was 28, so that was when I started planning to, at least, get out to do something for myself. Between 1994 when I incorporated the company, to 1997, I tried to raise the needed capital to start the business and, by 1997, I hit the road to do the job, and I’ve been on it since then.

'R \RX IHHO IXOÀOOHG WRGD\" @I feel very fulÀlled.Although, as they say, success is a journey; it’s not a destination. So we are still very much on that destination. But so far, I look back and have nothing but to give gratitude to God for how far we’ve come. Rainoil, today, is one of the very leading players in the downstream sector in Nigeria. As an indigenous company, we started from scratch to where we are today.

I never doubted if I would succeed, but, at the same time, I didn’t look too far. I kept it very simple.

We were taking it one step at a time. From one petrol station to two to three to four to about 100 that we have today; from one truck to two to three to about 150 trucks that we have today. We built our Àrst depot in Oghara in Delta State in 2011. We commissionedthesecondstoragefacilityinCalabar in2015,andwecommissionedthethirdoneinLagos in 2019. Rainoil is the only downstream oil and gas company I know today that owns three petroleum storage facilities in three out of Nigeria’s four key markets.Thefourkeymarketsforpetroleumimport into Nigeria is Lagos as a cluster, Oghara, Warri as the second cluster, Port Harcourt as the third cluster, and Calabar as the fourth cluster. We are in Lagos, and we are in Oghara and Calabar. The only place we don’t have a petroleum storage depot in Nigeria is Port Harcourt.

Do you still import petroleum products?

Yes, we bring in a lot of diesel into this country.

We bring in a lot of aviation fuels into this country.

The only product we don’t import directly as a company is petrol, even though we account for a very signiÀcant percentage of petrol sold in this

Ogbeche

country.Asoftoday,onlyNNPCisimportingpetrol into this country because of the price dynamics and the distortions in the system, so NNPC is the one Àlling that gap for now.

Marketers have called for petrol price to be increased as the oil price traded at $67 per barrel.

NNPC hasn’t responded. What do you think?

I think it will be a misnomer to say marketers are clamouring for an increase in petroleum products’ price. Marketers are not clamouring for an increase in the price of petroleum products. The price of petroleum products is driven by government policy. The government came out and said they had deregulated the price of petrol. Before now, the government deregulated the price of diesel and jet fuels, which is why today, nobody has any discussion on how much to sell diesel. Diesel at the depots today sells for about N235 per litre.

Diesel at the pump is going for about N250 per litre today. There are no conversations about that. You can go to the petrol station tomorrow, and diesel is selling for N260. Nobody calls a roundtable to discuss the price of diesel. The same is true with the price of jet fuel, which is aviation fuel or kerosene, depending on the way you want to look at it. Those prices are deregulated.

But petrol has always been a regulated product.

So the government Àxes the price. Now, once you Àx a price, it’s like you are drawing a straight line and say, this is the price. Now, the cost of crude, which is the product in which petrol’s price takes its reference, keeps Áuctuating daily. Once you draw a straight line and Àx the price of petrol, it means that as the price of crude keeps Áuctuating, somebody

has to bear that diͿerence in cost. Historically, the government has always borne that diͿerence, and that is what we call subsidy or under-recovery, depending on what name you want to call it.

The government, historically, has taken that hit.

According to a report, Nigeria might have spent about N8 trillion subsidising petrol alone in the last couple of years. The government came out about a year ago and said, we have deregulated. In other words, we have taken a subsidy out of petrol.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when we saw the price of crude oil fall to as low as $15 a barrel, we got to a point where the same government brought down the price of petrol from N145 to N125 per litre. Because at that point, the import cost of petrol was such that you could sell at N125 and make money and not have to pay the subsidy. But unfortunately, since then, the price of crude started recovering as the world started Ànding a solution to COVID-19.As crude oil prices started recovering, the cost of bringing in petroleum products, especially petrol, also started inching up. So, from N125, the government moved the price of petrol again to about N142; from there, we got to N162, where it is now. But when it got to N162, the price of crude oil now went further up, such that today, the price of bringing in petrol into the country, depending on the exchange rate you use, went up. The landing cost of petrol into the country today should be about N200 per litre.

At the pump, we should see prices of about N220 per litre.

The subsidy has inadvertently crept in. Unfortunately, it has now become a political problem.

Marketers don’t have a problem because NNPC

imports fuel and distributes it to marketers. But the policy is a government policy. The government has now found itself in a dilemma of whether to keep prices where they are and bear the subsidy’s cost or increase the price, at least, up to import parity, where the consumers pay for the actual cost of importing petrol. The government chose the route of retaining that subsidy. Unfortunately, we have gone back to a subsidy regime, and that subsidy regime is that you can still buy your petrol at anything between N162 to N165. But know that if you buy petrol at N162 or N165 today, the government subsidises it with nothing less than N50 per litre. Now, to put it in perspective, our daily consumption is about 60 million litres per day. If the government today subsidises it with about N50 per litre, the federal government spends about N3 billion every day to subsidisepetrol.Itmeansthattoday,thegovernment spends N90 billion a month to subsidise petrol.

If they continue that at this level, in the next 12 months, we run the risk of spending about N1 trillion on subsidy. Now, that’s going to be a very tough call for the government to make because the last time I checked, the budget on health and transportation is not up to that amount on an annual basis. For marketers, our responsibility is to do business as things are. It is what it is. But if you ask me, I think Nigeria can aͿord not to incur the cost of subsidy right now.

Whatshouldbetherightapproachtoderegulate for the masses, the government, and marketers WR EHQHÀW" I believe that the government should deregulate.

Deregulation brings e΀ciency and allows market

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 14, 2021

25

BUSINESS INTERVIEW

FG Spends N90bn Monthly on Fuel Subsidy forces to drive the business. It means the private sector will take complete responsibility for bringing in petroleum products. It will bring enhanced competition. It will bring increased investment in the industry. Look at diesel, for example. Diesel is completely deregulated. When last did you have a scarcity of diesel? If you drive along the road, if you go to four diͿerent marketers’ petrol stations, you will likely see four diͿerent diesel prices. It’s pure competition. Market forces determine the prices.

If you allow the same on petrol, yes, prices may go up initially, but sooner than later, the prices will come down because the competition will drive that price.

But most important, the government is going to save a lot of money. When you look at the system, why should you use N3 billion daily to subsidise one product? Why should you spend N90 billion in a month to subsidise one product? Now, look at N90 billion and imagine the amount of critical infrastructure (roads and railways) you can build if you have N90 billion. When you talk of the masses and when you speak of subsidy, who are you really subsidising? Is it the masses? When I’m going to work and I’m driving, I look at the number of SUVs on the road just going to work in the morning.

The SUVs are gas guzzlers. To Àll an SUV tank, some of them take 120 litres to Àll it up. Anybody who can drive an SUV doesn’t need your subsidy.

He can aͿord to pay the open market price of petrol.

With due respect, the poor people you talk about, how many of them even have cars? How many of them buy petrol? Yes, some of that subsidy impact the people at the lower rung of the social ladder, but the real people who enjoy the low price of petrol are the people who can aͿord to pay. The government should remove subsidy and re-channel that fund into putting more money in the poor people’s hands. Use that money to increase the minimum wage, for example. I struggle to understand why people should earn N30,000? You can Ànd ways of spending that money either to do those things I mentioned earlier; mass transit, free education, and social welfare that will impact the poor rather than spend it on petrol, subsidising it, and thinking that you are doing it for the poor. Now, I heard you when you talked of marketers introducing artiÀcial scarcity by asking some to sell today, some to sell tomorrow. Now, those are things that happen in an imperfect market. When the market is not perfect because the government is subsiding the product, there is a bit of scarcity because there is no proper competition. We are economic beings.

Naturally, once any product is scarce, the instinct is to want to take advantage. Whether it’s petrol or any product, whether it’s an air ticket, once there is a bit of scarcity, you begin to have those kinds of human economic behaviour. But if you remove the subsidy to allow a perfect market, that kind of behaviour won’t be seen anymore. I keep giving the example of diesel. When last did you see anything like that happen on diesel or inATK? But as long as the government keeps trying to determine the price of petrol, we will keep having this kind of hiccups.

Howwillcompetitionbringdownpetrolprice?

When you talk about price, price is relative.

The petrol price will always be benchmarked to the crude cost and always benchmarked to the exchange rate. Two things have happened in the last Àve years, so to speak, depending on your reference point. We have seen the exchange rate slide from N160 to N190 to N285 to N360 to N410 today, o΀cially or N490 (to the dollar), depending on the exchange rate you use. On the exchange rate alone, the naira has lost maybe, more than 50 percent of its value, which also impacts petrol price.

In terms of crude oil, crude oil is trading for about $65 per barrel today. You are not going to see those low-level prices on a naira-per-litre basis. As long as crude oil (price) keeps going up, as long as the exchange rate keeps sliding, we will see a higher naira-per-litre price of petrol. However, when I talk of competition driving down pricing, I mean, when there is competition amongst marketers, you will have a stable price that does not take advantage of the market because it’s an open market. Every single marketer is bringing in fuel. There is more than enough supply in the market. You are going to have a market-driven price.

How can the government mitigate the initial DGYHUVH H;HFW RI WRWDO GHUHJXODWLRQ RQ WKH PDVVHV" Again, as I said, if the government removes the subsidy, all the government needs to do is to channel those savings into social programmes.

There are a lot of things that can be done. People in the lower rung of the social bracket need mass transit. You need to give them mass transit. You need to invest a lot in railways. I look at a city like Lagos, a city of 20 million people. We don’t have what you call mass transit. If I want to go from Lekki

we thanked them for it. They have constructed a lot of roads, a lot of infrastructures. But for the amount of money given to them, they could have done far more than they have actually done. When I read the amount of debt that owed, the number of abandoned projects, the kind of sleaze that we hear coming out of the place, I shudder. I think the place needs to be completely overhauled. NDDC needs to be run as a business. People need to ensure that we get value for money. That’s something I always see missing. If you are going to spend N1 billion, are you getting N1 billion worth of value? It’s not just enough to bandy huge Àgures around and achieve so little. For example, I look at the East-West Road, which is a major road project that NDDC has been doing for a very long time. Hundreds of billions of naira have gone into that project. Yet, it’s still not completed. That is the main artery through Niger Delta, running from Warri to Port Harcourt.

Up till now, we see a work in progress largely.

NDDC needs to be completely overhauled, and I will encourage the federal government to take a very active interest in what is happening there

Ogbeche

to Okomaiko, for example, if trains are running, I should get to Okokomaiko in 45 minutes and be sure I will be there in 45 minutes. You should have a train (system) that can easily carry a thousand people, and those trains are just moving. These things cost a lot of money, and this is what the masses need. They need to invest a lot in housing and infrastructure; open up the cities. You need money to do all this. We also need to invest in education. I look at education, for example. A lot of us in my generation attended public primary schools. I went to a public primary school. I went to a public secondary school. I went to a public university -the University of Benin. Today, even the people in the lower rung of society all want to send their children to private schools. The public schools have collapsed, and the private schools charge so much money. The government can channel these savings to education, build more public primary schools, build more public secondary schools, and make those schools accessible. Education should be free.

You may spend more money paying for petrol, but you can save that money by ensuring that your child gets free education. It balances out, and everybody is happier for it. There is this book I’m readingnow,byBarackObama.WhenObamacame in (as US president), the US Ànancial institutions were collapsing, and they needed to rejig their economy. They needed to pump in about $800 billion into the US economy, and they were arguing where to spend the money, and the man said, ‘Let’s spend it on huge infrastructure. That is a faster way of putting money in people’s pockets.’ So, the government should Ànd ways of putting money in people’s pockets to have money to spend, which is why I talk about the minimum wage. You need to Ànd ways of increasing people’s wage. Again, I have found petrol to be a very emotive issue.

Once you talk about petrol, everybody gets very emotional about it. Petrol is just one commodity.

Why are you spending so much money on one commodity when you can channel that same money into doing so many other things that can impact people for the better?

Does the Petroleum Industry Bill currently at the National Assembly portend anything good for the oil and gas industry?

Yes, we will be very happy if, eventually, this NationalAssembly passes the petroleum bill. The Petroleum Industry Bill has bogged down in the National Assembly since the Obasanjo administration. It’s been there so long that many of us no longer know which version is in the National Assembly. But I’m happy that this current National Assembly has been able to harmonise it. It got bogged down with politics and self-interest. Many people were beneÀting from the industry as it is,

especially in the upstream sector. We look forward to this current National Assembly being able to pass the bill. They are going to consolidate DPR with PPPRA. Most of the regulatory agencies will have to come together and work as a single unit.

There are many beneÀts to the PIB, and we are very optimistic that this NationalAssembly will pass it.

The PIB proposes the establishment of the Midstream Infrastructure Fund. What is it, and how will it be funded?

I think it’s going to be funded by the government and, to some extent, by the marketers. Everybody is going to make some contribution to that fund.

A part of DPR will come together with the Petroleum Equalisation Fund and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Authority to form that Midstream Regulatory Agency to take care of both the downstream and the midstream sector of the oil and gas industry. The funding will come partly from the government. Today, for example, oneverylitreofpetrolthatsold,marketerscontribute about N7.65 to the Petroleum Equalisation Fund to ensure that the price of petrol is equalised across the country to buy petrol at N162 in Lagos and Abuja and anywhere in the country. The fund ensures the price of petrol is uniform across the country.

Are there any grey areas in the bill that you feel should be addressed before its passage?

You know, what happened was that the original PIB was very diverse. What the government has donethistimeislikesaying,‘Look,canwetakeaway the contentious areas and then reduce the PIB into the upstream part and then the midstream part?

Can we take those two sections, take them to the NationalAssembly,getitpassedandimplemented, and then, later, we can come to deal with the others?’ The version before the National Assembly is essentially a reduced and simpliÀed version of the PIB. For now, I don’t see any needlessly contentious part in the current PIB before the National Assembly.

You are from the Niger Delta. Are you comfortable with how NDDC is managed?

I don’t want to isolate NDDC from our national problems. NDDC is Nigeria in microcosm. NDDC is a representative of the malaise we have in the larger nation. Whatever is happening in NDDC is not peculiar to NDDC. But having said that, NDDC, I dare say, haven’t lived up to the expectation, especially when I see the level of abandoned projects; when I see the level of waste that has taken placeinNDDC.Muchhasbeengiventothem.They have also achieved a lot but not commensurate with the amount of resources that they have got.

For example, I know that NDDC built the road that passes through my village in Delta State, and

What’s your take on the current rise in the price of LPG? It’s one of the contradictions we Ànd in the industry; Nigeria is more of a gas-producing nation than an oil-producing nation. We have more gas than crude oil. Seventy percent of the LPG we use in this country is imported, and it’s a contradiction.

We have seen the national demand for LPG rise from about 300,000 metric tonnes per annum to a million tonnes per annum in the last Àve years.

We closed the year 2020 with more than a million tonnes per annum in national demand. NLNG exports most of the gas they produce. NLNG’s quota for domestic LPG consumption is 300,000 metric tonnes per annum. Our national demand is a million tonnes. So, we now have to go abroad to import the same LPG to Nigeria.

Meanwhile, we are gas-producing. We (Rainoil) have an 8000 metric tonnes LPG facility in Lagos.

One hundred percent of the LPG we have sold in Ijegun in Lagos were imported. Here we are, exporting our LPG and exporting our gas, and we are looking for dollar, the same scarce dollar, to use and import LPG back into the country, to meet our national demand. That is a contradiction that we need to solve. One of the things I have suggested for the policymakers is that Àrst and foremost, they should come up with a policy that ensures that 100 percent of the LPG produced in this country is consumed locally Àrst to meet 100 percent of the local demand. Then, any surplus can be exported. You can’t be exporting LPG and then be re-importing the same LPG using your scarce dollar. It’s a contradiction. I’m not surprised if you tell me that the price of LPG has gone up because, in the last six months, I have seen the price practically double at the depots. If you have to import LPG, the import cost of LPG is tied to crude oil price and the exchange rate. In the last months, we have seen crude oil kind of double. We have seen the exchange rate also slide. So, the price of LPG is impacted, and LPG is used for cooking.

So, whether you are rich or poor, everybody is using LPG, and I’m not surprised if people in the lower rung of the social ladder complain about the price of LPG. Are you keying into the federal government’s alternative energy policy?

Yes, we are keying into that seriously. That is the way to go. As the government keeps getting more pushback on the petrol price, we also see the government increasing investment in autogas, tryingtogetpeopletoconvert,runningtheirvehicles on autogas. Even if people are going to run their vehicle on autogas, you still need to come up with policies that will ensure that the price of gas also remains cheap relatively and remains aͿordable.

Thechallengewiththeautogasis,howmanypeople are ready to make that initial investment? There has to be an initial investment to convert your vehicle from running on petrol to LPG. The next thing people need to grapple with is availability.

For example, if I’m going to drive from Lagos to Abuja by road, I know that a full tank in my car will not carry me from here to Abuja, I Àll my car in Lagos, but I’m sure that if I get to Ibadan, I can get petrol to buy. I’m sure if I get to Owo, I will see petrol to buy. If I get to Lokoja, I will see petrol to buy. But if my car is running on LPG today and I Àll up my tank in Lagos, say, I’m going to Onitsha, what assurance do I have that if I get to Benin, I can easily get a petrol station to Àll up my LPG? What assurance do I have that I will get a petrol station to Àll up my LPG? A lot of these investments will need to go hand in hand. But it’s the right and proper thing to do. It’s the right direction to go. I also want to see a lot of electric cars come into the country in the near future.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 14, 2021

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BUSINESS INTERVIEW ROLAKE ROSIJI

Technology Will Bridge Skills Gap among School Graduates Chief Executive O΀cer, Jobberman, Rolake Rosiji, speaks about her vision for quality Job placements and the plans to leverage technology to bridge the skills gap between the employed and unemployed graduates across Nigeria and beyond. Emma Okonji presents the excerpts:

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ouwererecentlyappointedas the new CEO of Jobberman.

What new developments should job seekers and employers expect moving forward?

They should expect excellent customer service and fast response time. In terms of focus areas, we will broaden the impact beyond the white-collar space to leading on bluecollar services. We continue to work closely with Jobberman’s impact partners to tackle youth unemployment in Nigeria. We will do this by leveraging technology to cover more ground and bridge the skill gap between employed and unemployed graduates.

We continue to expand our executive recruitment, HR consulting such as Succession Planning and Salary Reviews.

We will continue to create transparency and access for both employers and jobseekers. Our online platform will continue to be easy to use and provide accurate up to date information which has been Àltered through carefully by clever algorithms and our in house team of recruiters.

Additionally, expect a lot of innovation and surprising approaches from us. I look forward to steering the company vision to build a diverse and inclusive market of greater technology adoption, democratic access, and transparency to handle dominant challenges, particularly youth unemployment and underemployment in Nigeria.

You’ve worked in the business services industry for several years now. What gaps have you observed in sub-Saharan Africa’s job market, and how can these gaps be closed?

The most signiÀcant gap is caused by the disparity in access to opportunities, which is closely followed by a wide skill and educational gap.

The second is a consequence of the Àrst. While some beneÀt from high and diversiÀed growth, the vast majority are trapped in low-productivity environments that do nothing to improve their employability. In a country like ours, the only way to bridge these gaps is to extend opportunities to low and middle-income communities while empowering them to take advantage of these opportunities through proper education, skill acquisitions, impactful training and empowerment programs, and adequate funding. In achieving this, we will create a more inclusive job market that will provide gainful employment for Nigeria’s teeming youth population across various social classes.

As one who has taken on a couple of roles leading up to this present one, how will your H[SHULHQFH LQ WKH SDVW UROHV LQÁXHQFH WKH JURZWK and development of Jobberman?

I have 10 years of experience in the UK, Nigeria, USA, West Africa and Europe. I have worked in FMCG, Àntech, renewable energy, management consulting and development. In every experience, I have gained new technical expertise, commercial capabilities and emotional intelligence in dealing with people at all levels in a range of sectors and organisations. This will mean Jobberman’s development will be bold, daring and focused.

We will use technology to secure our leadership in Nigeria and to be used by people who had not considered online recruitment, exec recruitment HR consulting such as salary surveys succession planning before.

In my previous role at M-KOPA, I led a business to provide solar power kits and Samsung smartphones on Áexible loans to customers in Nigeria. I built a sales force of around 200 sales agents and a commissions and incentives system to motivate loyalty and productivity from the

The truth is it is hard for women.And in Nigeria it is a special type of hard. However - there is also a climate where women can advance faster than men if you are bold and smart. Look at all the smart women advancing in the press recently like NOI and Ebi Atawodi just to name two.

Firstly, be excellent in your Àeld. Do the hard work and research and always show up with value to add. Combine this with emotional intelligence and putting yourself out there and the sky is your limit. Second, don’t see your gender as a limitation because that could stop you from putting yourself forward for big opportunities that come your way. The third thing I will tell you is, stand out. Invest in personal development, hone your skills, get more certiÀcations and give them something more to talk about, other than your gender.

Understand that there is no limit to what you can achieve, so don’t place a ceiling over your accomplishments. You also have to self-promote, we live in a very competitive world where you cannot be shy about your accomplishments, learn to promote yourself on LinkedIn, conferences and events and in fact whenever you meet new people.And network smartly. Decide where you want your name to be known and be intentional about meeting the right people.

One of my favourite quotes right now is “A ship in harbour is safe ³ but that is not what ships are built for.”

Rolake Rosiji

team. I handled complex digital payments to enable customers to repay the loan in small instalments and executed several strategic partnerships with leading Àntech companies in Nigeria. Working as Head of Strategy for Arla Foods, I have been responsible for large scale expansion projects that have contributed to the company’s progress and have led to other digital and technical transformations. In both roles, I have also been successful in raising funding from organisations such as The World Bank, REA, DFID, and DANIDA. In these roles and many others I have occupied, I have gained a wide and varied leadership experience in business and learned how to motivate people towards a collective goal, which are essential to moving the vision of Jobberman forward. I intend to utilize these invaluable skills to create more synergy between Jobberman and other leading companies and organizations in the country, consequently improving employability contributing to the career growth process of youths in sub-Saharan Africa.

It is evident that there is an existing gap between education and employment. How can businesses and organisations bridge this gap?

I Àrmly believe that there needs to be more synergy between the world of education and the world of work. Educators and employees need to work together to create innovative initiatives that can help bridge this gap. Professionals across various Àelds should take career talks to several schools and colleges across the country.

Internships are also a great way to help young people learn more hands-on skills useful in today’s workplace.

Many businesses have experienced several setbacks due to the pandemic. Do you think there’s an upside to this unfortunate turn of events?

Of course. The economic slump was a signiÀcant windfall for companies smart enough

to take advantage of it. Several companies have made some of their largest gains in this period.

In terms of technological advancement, it has drastically changed workplace dynamics and has also opened our eyes to see the possibility of working remotely yet being eͿective in our roles. While I am aware that many lost their jobs, many others have started their businesses and have become employers in that time. Sometimes setbacks are opportunities shrouded in challenges.

There has been innovation in remote working, part-time working and Áexible working which has saved costs for businesses whilst maintaining productivity. This is the future of work. If you’re not moving with the remote work trend you’ll be left behind.

How can small and medium enterprises harness technology to improve their businesses?

The world is becoming a global village and technology is fast becoming a major tool for businessgrowth.SMEsandotherstartupscanleverage it across all business processes. For example, from recruitment processes to HR management. Jobberman has an online platform that businesses can log in to manage the jobs they’re recruiting for and to manage their candidates.

I encourage SMEs and start-ups who probably don’t have massive funds to use our online platform for recruitment and talent management.

They can also access very useful online courses.

Jobberman provides free soft skills courses on our platform via Coursera and ThinkiÀc. We also ensure candidates or employees take a test after to prove to employers they were successful in the course. We use algorithms support by over 600 assessment tools to identify the best candidates for employers. With the COVID-19 lockdown , we have special discounts and some free products .

As one who has grown through the ranks in her career, what advice do you have for youths seeking to be employed and enjoy a progressive career journey?

I believe it is essential to have a vision as a youngprofessional.Knowwhatyou’repassionate about and what the big problems you want to solve with your career. I love the line from the Mary Oliver poem “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild, and precious life “.

The second thing is to put yourself out there and network hard and smart Send your CVs but also make sure you meet the people who you want to work with or to become like.

The third thing I’ll advise is to be a connector and provide advice even when you are not being paid. Being a “free” consultant is a fail-safe way of improvingyourskills.Peoplewillrememberwhat you’re good at and come back to you when they have paid opportunities. Whilst in my position at MKOPA I had peers in the sector who I gave advice on investments and business strategy, I was later elected to be Treasurer of the Renewable Energy Association of Nigerian in a democratic vote. That would not have happened if I did not volunteer information and guidance for free.

Keep developing yourself and give your best anywhere you Ànd yourself.

The most important thing is to put yourself out there. Jobberman is a great platform to start your job search as we provide opportunities to connect you to employers. We will also train you on soft skills so that when you meet employers you have an added advantage.

Yours is one name that has been on the lips of many in recent times. So, tell us, who is Rolake Rosiji?

Well, I am Rolake Rosiji. I joined Jobberman in February as the CEO. Prior to this, I worked as a country manager for M- KOPA Solar Nigeria, an asset Ànancing platform focused on smartphones and solar energy. In the last 10 years, I have garnered vast experience in You have served in various leadership roles strategic leadership and operational expertise LQ GL;HUHQW FRPSDQLHV :KDW DGYLFH ZRXOG \RX in positions in Nigeria, Europe and the USA, give to women who aspire to serve in leadership and I look forward to utilising these skills for the growth and development of Jobberman.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 14, 2021

BUSINESS INTERVIEW AISHA ABUBAKAR-ACHONU

Federal Govt Should Rescue Garment Manufacturers The fashion industry, like many other sectors in the economy, has been negatively impacted by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, permanently changing lives, livelihoods and societies. The industry, during this pandemic, has witnessed loss of sales, resulting in many cancelled orders, store closures, job losses, and tough times for existing workers and suppliers. Adedayo Adejobi speaks with Founder Fashion Spaces, Aisha Abubakar- Achonu, who gives a bird’s eye view of COVID-19 impact on the fashion industry and how Nigerian fashion industry is navigating troubled waters

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I think it made people realise that fashion was not a basic need, during the lockdown, people were not buying fashionable pieces anymore.Mostpurchaseswerebasicpants,Tshirts,Kimonos,convenientclothesthatcould be worn every day for their zoom meeting and at home. Professional women were buying things that are easy to use and interchange. It made sales slow, but after a couple of months based on the buying pattern, we realised what was going on and switched the creative process to inculcate some of the pieces that we usually would have on the rack since those were the things customers wanted at the time.

wearing some styles. My work has changed. How I interprete my designs have changed a great deal.

Some notable Nigerians have died. You were on the frontlines in the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic. Could you share your experience with us?

It took a while for us to get a pass for our deliveries. We had to have security and we had to isolate the security and my staͿ in the facility. Nobody went home as we isolated in the facility where we worked for 90 days. Because there were no test kits available at the time, we couldn’t risk any of us going home and coming back with COVID-19. We were always fully clad in the cover-all. Even before we got the breathable cover-all, we were wearing the one that wasn’t breathable. The way we were sweating I was thinking these medical personnel wouldn’t be able to work in this cover-all.

But I was wrong when I saw some of them using whatever was available as there was shortage of PPE. I have never been amazed by the Nigerian medical personnel until this pandemic happened.

Seeing them working in di΀cult conditions and they were pulling through. They were clad from head-to-toe in these coveralls with their face masks, gloves, and shield working 12 hours a day, some worked 18 hours. I was really proud to be a Nigerian. It was inspiring.

There was a contactless drop-oͿ points and you don’t come close.

Even when we got back, we washed our hands and went through a sanitising booth.

+DYH \RX SHUVRQDOO\ VX;HUHG D ELJ ÀQDQFLDO ORVV GXH WR WKH nationwide lockdown last year?

Yes. We suͿered for a few months. Export and logistics especially, getting products across was almost impossible. There was no way to fulÀll commitments that had been made and even with contracts because this was a ‘force-Majeure’ situation. So people understood what was going on, but that wasn’t good for us because we had made Ànancial plans based on some of the activities we had lined up. It aͿected us greatly then became better later in the year as we adapted our services to the production of protective gear especially face masks.After series of product testing, the face mask was certiÀed by the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) which gave us an edge over other face mask manufacturers.

Your apparel and fashion company seemed to have put their assets to good use in the crisis, by turning over your factory to make face masks and some medical supplies. What was it like navigating the crisis?

When we started we had challenges with raw materials. But then surprisingly, we found textile companies in Kano and Lagos that produced some of these materials for the coveralls, aprons, and general PPE’s used in the hospitals that could help create a Àlm against the virus penetration. We always only sourced for PPE for the construction industry. The biggest challenge we were faced with was the fact that it wasn’t breathable. The coveralls for example, medical personnel need to be comfortable if they have to wear it between ten to twelve hours a day. So that made things very di΀cult. The fabric was required to be breathable and Àlter microbes and viruses.

Several webinars by Ministry of trade and investment, the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and had furnished us with the production requirements. So when we realised some of the textiles we had gotten from here didn’t have those properties, we now had to import. Getting clearance for the consignments to come in even as essential commodities and services was a lot of hassle. We got in a good number and we started production eventually. The products were tested severally, we got certiÀcation and have since started production and distribution. Whilst companies and agencies have been buying. We are on track and just need to expand production.

Meanwhile, the garment factory is doing well. We are at 150 machine assembly line. A separate production facility was setup for the medical garments because it must be produced in a controlled temperature and environment. We moved our joiners to the new factory. Now, we have two facilities-one for clothing and the other for PPE’s. :KLFK LV PRUH SURÀWDEOH" The thing with medical equipment is that it would always be needed. This is something that people would buy and keep using whether there is a pandemic or not. I think the medical equipment is an essential, so we can’t compare. It would always be needed. With fashion, our client and customer base is growing and the economy is picking up. So we are seeing people coming to buy and go for events. Life is coming back to what it used to be. I however don’t know how to compare. PPE would always be there, even with slim proÀt margins the income is not so huge, but it’s consistent and sustainable.

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Aisha Abubakar- Achonu

that are happening have been scheduled in a much minimalistic manner. Nigerian weddings are considered a big industry for fashion designers. How has that impacted the entire business and sales?

It took a large chunk out of our business, but then we’ve been seeing brides that are also making their dresses and actually wearing them alongside just the groom and family members. The major part that is being removed I would say is the bridal train and guests. The brides, even mothers of the brides are still dressing up, with ten to twenty people. For me, the bespoke service arm of my brand focuses on the special occasions like life milestones, brides and the mother of the bride. It has always been this way so maybe that’s why I don’t feel it as much as others do. I know it has really impacted many businesses negatively.

You recently launched your new line. What inspired this new output?

It’s actually an oͿ-season collection. It’s a collection that naturally goes from pain to light. It’s like a restoration. COVID-19 is something that none of us ever imagined. In my lifetime I have never experienced anything like it before. And I’m grateful that it came.

I’ve experienced it and it has changed how I see fashion, my work, things, and life. People can use it for multiple purposes. If you buy the oͿ-season piece, you’ll Ànd that it has layers in that one clothing.

So you can go from day to night and casual to work or glamour. The collection has the client in mind in a diͿerent way, all of the things they have to do and all the money they have to spend. So in that oͿ-season collection, I have reversible capes, jackets, and dresses that you can take oͿ, detaching some parts and attach back on just so that it’s sustainable, versatile and people don’t need to spend as much. Let’s sort of up-cycle and recycle our clothing instead of just buying. People can buy one or two quality items at a good amount for it, but it’ll be something that you can use and re-use. Even when you had a good share, you can keep it for your daughter or son. We need to begin to build back the culture of handing down items of clothing to our children. I feel it’s good to re-enact history because some of our histories have been lost. We don’t even know what we are wearing anymore. We don’t even know why people started

Nigerian designers rely on artisans. With some major factories partially closed occasioned by migrant workers who have returned home, what impact will it have on production?

If I tell you that I don’t have any migrant workers, you’ll be shocked.

Initially, I did, but in 2018 the three that I had left as things were not working out. I was restructuring and sustainability was the core focus of my restructuring. I just let them go and since then all my staͿ have been wholly Nigerian.

With production and shipping of raw materials at a standstill in some countries occasioned by second wave of lockdown, how is the LQGXVWU\ H[SHFWHG WR IXOÀOO RUGHUV IRU WKH UHVW RI WKH IDVKLRQ \HDU" The lockdowns would aͿect production a great deal. We have relationships with a few shipping companies like Maersk. Because I’m a member of the She-trades initiative, Maersk in collaboration with She Trades has said they are creating something that would ease business for us, especially women with small and medium businesses. So we are hoping that that comes through as soon as possible. For local logistics, we have a few companies that are really good like GIG and others that have a good rapport with international shipping companies, so they usually get things across but it takes a bit more time. DHL and UPS oͿer discounts and support as well.

Should the federal government compel Nigerians to another lockdown in this second wave, how long do you think the domestic fashion industry can sustain itself without sales?

I think it would be really bad for us. Nigerian women and men are so resilient. After the Àrst one, we bounced back and ready to go at it again. I’m worried about the hic-ups it’ll cause, as they’ll aͿect timeless, deliverables, turnover, and projections. Economically I don’t think any business person would buy into this. If people are not making money, then they are not buying. So, if they are not buying, we are not making money.

Regardingcouturecollections,doyouexpectbuyerswillcontinue to spend lavishly?

With bespoke, it depends on what the client feels or what they want. Someone who can spend an amount of money on a piece must think it’s worth it-the value. For me, my brand oͿers value that equals the money any day. So I know that people who want that value will pay for it. For people who might be watching their budget, it’s a priority game. We’ve had clients who used to give us boxes of fabrics, but now they just send Àve. That’s a priority for you and that’s Àne. Financially we might be shrinking in terms of income but if a client really wants an Aisha Abu-Bakr piece they’ll pay for it.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 14, 2021

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ĞdžƉŽƌƚƐ ŽŶ Ă LJͬLJ ďĂƐŝƐ͕ ůĂƌŐĞůLJ ĚƌŝǀĞŶ ďLJ ƚŚĞ ϯϱ͘ϳй ĂŶĚ ϯϭ͘ϲй ĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ĞdžͲ ƉŽƌƚ ŽĨ ĐƌƵĚĞ Žŝů ĂŶĚ ƌĂǁ ŵĂƚĞƌŝĂůƐ ƌĞͲ ƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ dŚĞ ŵŽĚĞƌĂƟŽŶ ŝŶ ĐƌƵĚĞ Žŝů ĞdžƉŽƌƚƐ ŝƐ ĂƩƌŝďƵƚĞĚ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ϯϮ͘ϲй LJͬLJ ƌĞĚƵĐƟŽŶ ŝŶ ĂǀĞƌĂŐĞ ĐƌƵĚĞ Žŝů ƉƌŝĐĞ ƚŽ Ψϰϯ͘ϯͬďďů͘ ŝŶ ϮϬϮϬ͘ /Ŷ ĂĚĚŝƟŽŶ͕ ĂƐ EŝŐĞͲ ƌŝĂ ĞŶĨŽƌĐĞĚ ƉĂƌƟĂů ĐŽŵƉůŝĂŶĐĞ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ KW н ŽƵƚƉƵƚ ĐƵƚƐ͕ ĐƌƵĚĞ Žŝů ƉƌŽĚƵĐƟŽŶ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ϭϬ͘ϰй LJͬLJ ƚŽ ϭ͘ϴŵďƉĚ͕ ĐŽŵͲ ƉŽƵŶĚŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ŝŶ ƚŽƚĂů ĞdžƉŽƌƚƐ͘ ŽŶǀĞƌƐĞůLJ͕ ĞdžƉŽƌƚƐ ƌŽƐĞ ďLJ ϲ͘ϱй ƋͬƋ ƚŽ േϯ͘ϭƚŶ ŝŶ Yϰ͗ϮϬϮϬ͘ dŚŝƐ ƌĞŇĞĐƚƐ ƚŚĞ ŐƌĂĚƵĂů ƌĞƐƵŵƉƟŽŶ ŽĨ ƚƌĂĚĞ ŽŶ ŚŽƉĞƐ ŽĨ ǀĂĐĐŝŶĞ ĚŝƐƚƌŝďƵƟŽŶ ĂŶĚ ƚŚĞ ϯ͘ϲй ƋͬƋ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ĂǀĞƌĂŐĞ ĐƌƵĚĞ Žŝů ƉƌŝĐĞ͘ dŚĞ ƌĞĐŽǀĞƌLJ ŝŶ Yϰ͗ϮϬϮϬ ǁĂƐ ƐƵƉƉŽƌƚĞĚ ďLJ ĂŶ ϭϴ͘ϰй ĂŶĚ ϰ͘Ϭй ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞ ŝŶ ŶŽŶ Žŝů ĞdžƉŽƌƚƐ ĂŶĚ ĞdžƉŽƌƚ ŽĨ ĐƌƵĚĞ Žŝů ŝŶ ƚŚĂƚ ŽƌĚĞƌ͘ tŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ ƌĞƐƵŵƉƟŽŶ ŽĨ ĞĐŽŶŽŵŝĐ ĂĐƟǀŝƟĞƐ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ ŵĂŶLJ ƐĞĐƚŽƌƐ͕ ǁĞ ĞdžͲ ƉĞĐƚ ŐƌŽǁƚŚ ŝŶ ĞdžƉŽƌƚƐ ƚŽ ĂĐĐĞůĞƌĂƚĞ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƌĞĐŽǀĞƌLJ ŝŶ Žŝů ƉƌŝĐĞƐ ĂŶĚ Ă ƉŽƐƐŝďůĞ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞ ŝŶ Žŝů ƉƌŽĚƵĐƟŽŶ͘

dŽƚĂů ŝŵƉŽƌƚƐ ƌŽƐĞ ďLJ ϭϳ͘ϯй LJͬLJ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ŚŝŐŚĞƐƚ ŽŶ ƌĞĐŽƌĚ Ăƚ േϭϵ͘ϵƚŶ ŝŶ ϮϬϮϬ ũƵƐƚ ĂƐ ŝƚ ĐůŝŵďĞĚ ϭϬ͘ϭй ƋͬƋ ƚŽ േϱ͘ϵƚŶ ŝŶ Yϰ͗ϮϬϮϬ͘ ĞƐƉŝƚĞ ƚŚĞ ŐĞŶĞƌĂů ƐůŽǁĚŽǁŶ ŝŶ ĞĐŽŶŽŵŝĐ ĂĐƟǀŝƟĞƐ ĂŶĚ ĨŽƌĞŝŐŶ ĞdžͲ ĐŚĂŶŐĞ ;&yͿ ŝůůŝƋƵŝĚŝƚLJ͕ ƚŚĞ ŐƌŽǁƚŚ ŝŶ ŝŵƉŽƌƚƐ ǁĂƐ ĚƌŝǀĞŶ ďLJ Ă ϭϮ͘Ϯй LJͬLJ ĂŶĚ ϭϱ͘ϴй LJͬLJ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ŝŵƉŽƌƚ ŽĨ ŵĂͲ

ĐŚŝŶĞƌLJ ĂŶĚ ŵŝŶĞƌĂů ƉƌŽĚƵĐƚƐ͘ EŝŐĞƌŝĂ͛Ɛ ŝŵƉŽƌƚƐ ĨƌŽŵ ŚŝŶĂ͕ ŝƚƐ ŵĂũŽƌ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƉĂƌƚŶĞƌ͕ ŐƌĞǁ ďLJ Ϯ͘Ϭй ĂŶĚ ϯϮ͘ϱй ŝŶ Yϰ ĂŶĚ &z͗ϮϬϮϬ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͕ ƐƵƉƉŽƌƚĞĚ ďLJ ŚŝŶĂ͛Ɛ ĨĂƐƚ ƉĂĐĞĚ ƌĞĐŽǀĞƌLJ ĨƌŽŵ Ks/ ϭϵ͘ DĞĂŶǁŚŝůĞ͕ ŝŵƉŽƌƚƐ ĨƌŽŵ /ŶĚŝĂ͕ EŝͲ ŐĞƌŝĂ͛Ɛ ƐĞĐŽŶĚ ůĂƌŐĞƐƚ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƉĂƌƚŶĞƌ ǁĂƐ ĚŽǁŶ ϮϮ͘ϲй LJͬLJ ŝŶ &z͗ϮϬϮϬ ďƵƚ ŐƌĞǁ ϰϮ͘ϵй ŝŶ Yϰ͗ϮϬϮϬ͘ /Ŷ ϮϬϮϭ͕ ǁĞ ĂŶƟĐŝƉĂƚĞ Ă ĐŽŶƟŶƵĞĚ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞ ŝŶ ŝŵƉŽƌƚƐ ĂƐ ĂĐƟǀŝͲ ƟĞƐ ƚĂŬĞ ĨƵůů ƐǁŝŶŐ ƚŚŽƵŐŚ ĐŽŶƟŶƵĞĚ &y ĐŚĂůůĞŶŐĞƐ ƌĞŵĂŝŶ Ă ĚŽǁŶƐŝĚĞ ƌŝƐŬ͘

'ůŽďĂů ƋƵŝƟĞƐ DĂƌŬĞƚ͗ ĚĚŝƟŽŶĂů ^ƟŵͲ ƵůƵƐ ƵŽLJƐ ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ dŚĞ ƵƉƚƌĞŶĚ ŝŶ ŐůŽďĂů ϭϵ ĐĂƐĞƐ ƉĞƌƐŝƐƚĞĚ ƚŚŝƐ ǁĞĞŬ ĚĞƐƉŝƚĞ ƚŚĞ ǁŝĚĞƐƉƌĞĂĚ ĚŝƐƉĞŶͲ ƐĂƟŽŶ ŽĨ ǀĂĐĐŝŶĞƐ͕ ŵĂũŽƌůLJ ŝŶ ĚĞǀĞůŽƉĞĚ ĐŽƵŶƚƌŝĞƐ͘ dŽƚĂů ĐĂƐĞƐ ǁĞƌĞ ƵƉ Ϯ͘Ϯй ƚŽ ϭϭϵ͘Ϯ ŵŝůůŝŽŶ ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ ĚĞĂƚŚ ƚŽůů ƌŽƐĞ Ϯ͘Ϭй ƚŽ Ϯ͘ϲ ŵŝůůŝŽŶ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ h^ ;Ϯϵ͘ϵŵ ĐĂƐĞƐͿ͕ /ŶĚŝĂ ;ϭϭ͘ϯŵ ĐĂƐĞƐͿ͕ ĂŶĚ ƌĂnjŝů ;ϭϭ͘ϯŵͿ ďĞŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ŵŽƐƚ ŝŶĨĞĐƚĞĚ ĐŽƵŶͲ ƚƌŝĞƐ͘ DĞĂŶǁŚŝůĞ͕ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ h^͕ ĞŵƉůŽLJŵĞŶƚ ƌĞĐŽǀĞƌLJ ƚŽ ƉƌĞ Ks/ ůĞǀĞů ƌĞŵĂŝŶƐ ƐůŽǁ ĂƐ ǁĞĞŬůLJ ƵŶĞŵƉůŽLJŵĞŶƚ ĐůĂŝŵƐ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ƚŽ ϳϭϮ͕ϬϬϬ ĨƌŽŵ ϳϯϬ͕ϬϬϬ ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŽƚĂů ĐůĂŝŵƐ ĨĞůů ϭϵϯ͕ϬϬϬ ƚŽ ϰ͘ϭ ŵŝůůŝŽŶ͘ dŚĞ ĚĞͲ ĐůŝŶĞ ĐĂŶ ďĞ ĂƩƌŝďƵƚĞĚ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ƌĞŽƉĞŶŝŶŐ ŽĨ ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐĞƐ ĂŌĞƌ ǀĂĐĐŝŶĞ ƌŽůůŽƵƚ͘ ĨƵƌͲ ƚŚĞƌ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ŝƐ ĞdžƉĞĐƚĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵŝŶŐ ǁĞĞŬƐ ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ĚŝƐďƵƌƐĞŵĞŶƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ

Ψϭ͘ϵƚŶ ƐƟŵƵůƵƐ ƉĂĐŬĂŐĞ͘ ůƐĞǁŚĞƌĞ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ h<͕ ƚŚĞ ĞĐŽŶŽŵLJ ĐŽŶƚƌĂĐƚĞĚ Ϯ͘ϵй ŝŶ :ĂŶƵͲ ĂƌLJ ĂƐ ƚŚĞ ƌĞŶĞǁĞĚ ůŽĐŬĚŽǁŶ ƌĞĚƵĐĞĚ ĞĐŽŶŽŵŝĐ ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ͘

ĐƌŽƐƐ ƚŚĞ ĚĞǀĞůŽƉĞĚ ŵĂƌŬĞƚƐ͕ ƚŚĞ ƉĞƌĨŽƌͲ ŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ĂůƚŚŽƵŐŚ ,ŽŶŐ <ŽŶŐ͛Ɛ ,ĂŶŐ ^ĞŶŐ ŝŶĚĞdž ůŽƐƚ ϭ͘Ϯй ǁͬǁ͘ dŚĞ h^ ^ΘW ϱϬϬ ĂŶĚ E ^ Y ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ŐĂŝŶĞĚ Ϯ͘Ϭй ĂŶĚ Ϯ͘ϱй ǁͬǁ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ƐŝŐŶŝŶŐ ŽĨ ĂŶ ĂĚĚŝƟŽŶĂů ƐƟŵƵůƵƐ ƉĂĐŬĂŐĞ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ &ƌĂŶĐĞ͛Ɛ ϰϬ͕ 'ĞƌŵĂŶLJ͛Ɛ y dZ y͕ ĂŶĚ h<͛Ɛ &d^ ůů ^ŚĂƌĞ ŝŶĚŝͲ ĐĞƐ ƌŽƐĞ ϰ͘ϯй͕ ϰ͘Ϭй͕ ĂŶĚ Ϯ͘ϭй ǁͬǁ ƌĞͲ ƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ ůƐŽ͕ :ĂƉĂŶ͛Ɛ EŝŬŬĞŝ ϮϮϱ ĂƉƉƌĞͲ ĐŝĂƚĞĚ ϯ͘Ϭй ǁͬǁ͘

/Ŷ ƚŚĞ Z/ ^ ŵĂƌŬĞƚƐ͕ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ǁĞĂŬ ĂƐ ϯ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ϱ ŝŶĚŝĐĂƚŽƌƐ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ͘ ƌĂnjŝů͛Ɛ /ďŽǀĞƐƉĂ ĂŶĚ ŚŝŶĂ͛Ɛ ^ŚĂŶŐŚĂŝ ŽŵƉŽƐŝƚĞ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ůĞĚ ƚŚĞ ƉĂĐŬ͕ ĚŽǁŶ ϭ͘ϰй ĂƉŝĞĐĞ ǁͬǁ͘ >ŝŬĞǁŝƐĞ͕ ^ŽƵƚŚ ĨƌŝĐĂ͛Ɛ &d^ ͬ:^ ůů ^ŚĂƌĞ ŝŶĚĞdž ĨĞůů Ϭ͘ϯй ǁͬǁ͘ KŶ ƚŚĞ ŇŝƉ ƐŝĚĞ͕ ZƵƐƐŝĂ͛Ɛ Zd^ ĂŶĚ /ŶĚŝĂ͛Ɛ ^ ^ĞŶƐ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ĐůŽƐĞĚ ƚŚĞ ǁĞĞŬ ŚŝŐŚĞƌ ďLJ ϰ͘ϳй ĂŶĚ Ϭ͘ϴй ǁͬǁ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘

ĐƌŽƐƐ ĮŶĂŶĐŝĂů ŵĂƌŬĞƚƐ ƵŶĚĞƌ ŽƵƌ ĐŽǀĞƌͲ ĂŐĞ ŝŶ ĨƌŝĐĂ͕ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ƉŽŽƌ ĂƐ Ăůů ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ůŽƐƚ ƐĂǀĞ DŽƌŽĐĐŽ͛Ɛ ĂƐĂďůĂŶĐĂ D ^/ ĂŶĚ 'ŚĂŶĂ͛Ɛ '^ ŽŵƉŽƐŝƚĞ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ͕

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 14, 2021

ǁŚŝĐŚ ŐĂŝŶĞĚ Ϭ͘ϲй ĂŶĚ Ϭ͘ϯй ǁͬǁ ƌĞͲ ƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ DĞĂŶǁŚŝůĞ͕ EŝŐĞƌŝĂΖƐ ^/ ĂŶĚ <ĞŶLJĂ͛Ɛ E^ ϮϬ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŚĞ ďŝŐŐĞƐƚ ůŽƐĞƌƐ͕ ĚŽǁŶ ϭ͘ϳй ĂŶĚ Ϭ͘ϵй ǁͬǁ ƌĞͲ ƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ ůƐŽ͕ ŐLJƉƚ͛Ɛ 'y ϯϬ ĂŶĚ DĂƵƌŝƟƵƐΖ ^ D y ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ĚŝƉƉĞĚ Ϭ͘ϲй ĂŶĚ Ϭ͘ϭй ǁͬǁ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘

WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƐŝĂŶ ĂŶĚ DŝĚĚůĞ ĂƐƚ ŵĂƌŬĞƚƐ ƵŶĚĞƌ ŽƵƌ ĐŽǀĞƌĂŐĞ ǁĂƐ ďƵůůŝƐŚ͕ ĂůƚŚŽƵŐŚ ƚŚĞ h ͛Ɛ y 'ĞŶĞƌĂů ŝŶĚĞdž ǁĂƐ ƚŚĞ ůŽŶĞ ůŽƐĞƌ͕ ĚŽǁŶ ϭ͘Ϭй ǁͬ ǁ͘ ^ĂƵĚŝ ƌĂďŝĂ͛Ɛ dĂĚĂǁƵů ^/ ŝŶĚĞdž ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ƚŚĞ ŚŝŐŚĞƐƚ ŐĂŝŶ͕ ƵƉ ϯ͘ϳй ǁͬǁ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ YĂƚĂƌ͛Ɛ ^D ϮϮϬ ĂŶĚ dŚĂŝůĂŶĚ͛Ɛ ^ d ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƚĞĚ ϭ͘ϴй ĂŶĚ ϭ͘ϲй ǁͬǁ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ &ŝŶĂůůLJ͕ dƵƌͲ ŬĞLJ͛Ɛ /^d ϭϬϬ ŝŶĚĞdž ĐůŝŵďĞĚ Ϭ͘ϴй ǁͬǁ ŚŝŐŚĞƌ͘

ŽŵĞƐƟĐ ƋƵŝƟĞƐ DĂƌŬĞƚ͗ >ŽĐĂů ŽƵƌƐĞ džƚĞŶĚƐ >ŽƐƐĞƐ͙ ^/ ĚŽǁŶ ϭ͘ϳй ǁͬǁ dŚĞ ĚŽŵĞƐƟĐ ĞƋƵŝƟĞƐ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĞdžƚĞŶĚĞĚ ůĂƐƚ ǁĞĞŬ͛Ɛ ďĞĂƌŝƐŚ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ͕ ĂƐ ŝŶǀĞƐͲ ƚŽƌƐ ƚŽŽŬ ƉƌŽĮƚ ĨƌŽŵ ŚŝŐŚ ǀĂůƵĞĚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĚĞƐƉŝƚĞ ŝŵƉƌĞƐƐŝǀĞ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ĨƌŽŵ ĞĂƌŶŝŶŐƐ ƌĞůĞĂƐĞƐ͘ ĐĐŽƌĚŝŶŐůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ E^ ůů ^ŚĂƌĞ /ŶĚĞdž ĨĞůů ϭ͘ϳй ǁͬǁ ƚŽ ƐĞƩůĞ Ăƚ ϯϴ͕ϲϰϴ͘ϰϴ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ zd ůŽƐƐ ǁŽƌƐĞŶĞĚ ƚŽ ϰ͘Ϭй ǁŚŝůĞ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůͲ ŝƐĂƟŽŶ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ േϯϱϳ͘ϰďŶ ǁͬǁ ƚŽ ĐůŽƐĞ Ăƚ േϮϬ͘ϮƚŶ͘ ĐƟǀŝƚLJ ůĞǀĞů ǁĂŶĞĚ ĂƐ ĂǀĞƌͲ ĂŐĞ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ĂŶĚ ǀĂůƵĞ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ Ϯϰ͘ϴй ĂŶĚ ϯϭ͘ϴй ƚŽ ϯϭϰ͘ϳŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ĂŶĚ േϰ͘ϭďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ dŚĞ ƚŽƉ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ďLJ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ǁĞƌĞ h ;ϮϮϬ͘ϰŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕ & E, ;ϭϰϱ͘ϴŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ ĂŶĚ E/d, ;ϭϮϱ͘ϵŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ ǁŚŝůĞ E/d, ;േϯ͘ϬďŶͿ͕ DdEE ;േϮ͘ϳďŶͿ ĂŶĚ 'h Z Edz ;േϭ͘ϴďŶͿ ůĞĚ ďLJ ǀĂůƵĞ͘

WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ ƐĞĐƚŽƌƐ ǁĂƐ ŵŝdžĞĚ ĂƐ ϯ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ϲ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ƵŶĚĞƌ ŽƵƌ ĐŽǀĞƌĂŐĞ ƚƌĞŶĚĞĚ ƐŽƵƚŚǁĂƌĚ ǁͬǁ͘ dŚĞ ĂŶŬŝŶŐ ŝŶĚĞdž ůĞĚ ůĂŐŐĂƌĚƐ͕ ĚŽǁŶ ϱ͘ϴй ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ƐƵƐƚĂŝŶĞĚ ƐĞůů ƉƌĞƐƐƵƌĞƐ ŝŶ E/d, ; ϭϱ͘ϲйͿ͕ h ; ϭϬ͘ϭйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ hE/dz E< ; ϵ͘ϲйͿ͘ dƌĂŝůŝŶŐ͕ ƚŚĞ &Z / d ĂŶĚ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ĨĞůů ϯ͘ϱй ĂŶĚ Ϭ͘ϭй ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ŽŶ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ŽĨ ůŽƐƐĞƐ ŝŶ DdEE ; ϳ͘ϭйͿ͕ s E> Z ; ϵ͘ϱйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ Z' Z ; ϳ͘ϲйͿ͘ ŽŶǀĞƌƐĞůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ /ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ŝŶĚĞdž ůĞĚ ŐĂŝŶĞƌƐ͕ ƵƉ Ϯ͘ϴй ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ďƵLJŝŶŐ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶ >/EͲ < ^^hZ ;нϭϬ͘ϬйͿ͕ E D ;нϳ͘ϰйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ // K ;нϯ͘ϰйͿ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ ŽŶͲ ƐƵŵĞƌ 'ŽŽĚƐ ĂŶĚ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ƌŽƐĞ Ϯ͘Ϯй ĂŶĚ Ϭ͘ϲй ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ƉƌŝĐĞ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŽŶ ŝŶ , DW/Ͳ KE ;нϰϱ͘ϮйͿ͕ &>KhZD/>> ;нϭϬ͘ϬйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ K E K ;нϭϭ͘ϯйͿ͘

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ĂƐ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ŵĂƌͲ ŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ ;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ ƐƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶĞĚ ƚŽ Ϭ͘ϵdž ĨƌŽŵ Ϭ͘Ϯdž ĂƐ ϯϭ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ĂŐĂŝŶƐƚ ϯϱ ƚŚĂƚ ĚĞͲ ĐůŝŶĞĚ͘ dŚĞ ƚŽƉ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵŝŶŐ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ǁĞĞŬ ǁĞƌĞ , DW/KE ;нϰϱ͘ϮйͿ͕ Z ' >/E^ ;нϮϮ͘ϮйͿ ĂŶĚ DKZ/Ͳ ^KE ;нϭϵ͘ϳйͿ ǁŚŝůĞ d ZE ; ϭϴ͘ϵйͿ͕ D z Z ; ϭϴ͘ϬйͿ ĂŶĚ &Z/E^hZ ; ϭϲ͘ϳйͿ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŚĞ ůĂŐͲ ŐĂƌĚƐ͘ dŚĞ ƐĞůů ŽīƐ ĞdžƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ

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ůŽĐĂů ďŽƵƌƐĞ ƐŽ ĨĂƌ ĐĂŶ ďĞ ĂƩƌŝďƵƚĞĚ ƚŽ ƚ ƚŚĞ &D Y ^ĞĐƵƌŝƟĞƐ džĐŚĂŶŐĞ ;^ Ϳ &y ƉƌŽĮƚ ƚĂŬŝŶŐ ŝŶ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ƚŚĂƚ ŚĂĚ ƌĂůůŝĞĚ &ƵƚƵƌĞƐ ŽŶƚƌĂĐƚ DĂƌŬĞƚ͕ ƚŚĞ ƚŽƚĂů ǀĂůƵĞ ƐŝŐŶŝĮĐĂŶƚůLJ ďĞĨŽƌĞ ƚŚĞ ďĞŐŝŶŶŝŶŐ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŽĨ ŽƉĞŶ ĐŽŶƚƌĂĐƚƐ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ EĂŝƌĂ ƐĞƩůĞĚ Ăƚ ĞĂƌŶŝŶŐƐ ƐĞĂƐŽŶ͘ tŝƚŚ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ůĞĂŶŝŶŐ Ψϲ͘ϮďŶ͕ ƵƉ ΨϲϬ͘Ϭŵ ;нϭ͘ϬйͿ ĨƌŽŵ Ψϲ͘ϭďŶ ƚŽǁĂƌĚƐ ƚŚĞ ĮdžĞĚ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ ƐƉĂĐĞ͕ ƐĞŶƟͲ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƉƌŝŽƌ ǁĞĞŬ͘ dŚĞ :h> ϮϬϮϭ ŝŶƐƚƌƵͲ ŵĞŶƚ ŝƐ ĞdžƉĞĐƚĞĚ ƚŽ ƌĞŵĂŝŶ ďĞĂƌŝƐŚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ŵĞŶƚ ;ĐŽŶƚƌĂĐƚ ƉƌŝĐĞ͗ േϰϮϱ͘ϬϴͿ ƌĞĐĞŝǀĞĚ ŶĞĂƌ ƚĞƌŵ͘ ,ŽǁĞǀĞƌ͕ ǁĞ ďĞůŝĞǀĞ ƚŚŝƐ ƉƌĞͲ ƚŚĞ ŵŽƐƚ ďƵLJŝŶŐ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ǁĞĞŬ ƐĞŶƚƐ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ǁŝƚŚ ĂƩƌĂĐƟǀĞ ĞŶƚƌLJ ŽƉͲ ǁŝƚŚ ĂŶ ĂĚĚŝƟŽŶĂů ƐƵďƐĐƌŝƉƟŽŶ ŽĨ Ψϳ͘ϯŵ ƉŽƌƚƵŶŝƟĞƐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ĞƋƵŝƟĞƐ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ͘ ǁŚŝĐŚ ƚŽŽŬ ƚŽƚĂů ǀĂůƵĞ ƚŽ ΨϮϮϬ͘Ϭŵ͘ KŶ

ƚŚĞ ŽƚŚĞƌ ŚĂŶĚ͕ ƚŚĞ ^ W ϮϬϮϭ ŝŶƐƚƌƵŵĞŶƚ &ŽƌĞŝŐŶ džĐŚĂŶŐĞ DĂƌŬĞƚ͗ EĂŝƌĂ ZĞŵĂŝŶƐ ;ĐŽŶƚƌĂĐƚ ƉƌŝĐĞ͗ േϰϮϴ͘ϬϴͿ ǁĂƐ ƚŚĞ ůĞĂƐƚ ^ƚĂďůĞ ĂƐ Kŝů WƌŝĐĞ DĂŝŶƚĂŝŶƐ ZĂůůLJ ƐƵďƐĐƌŝďĞĚ͕ ǁŝƚŚ ĂŶ ĂĚĚŝƟŽŶĂů ƐƵďƐĐƌŝƉͲ /Ŷ ůŝŶĞ ǁŝƚŚ ƚƌĞŶĚ͕ ƚŚĞ E ĐŽŶƟŶƵĞĚ ŝƚƐ ƟŽŶ ŽĨ Ψϯ͘Ϭŵ ĨŽƌ Ă ƚŽƚĂů ǀĂůƵĞ ŽĨ ǁĞĞŬůLJ ŝŶƚĞƌǀĞŶƟŽŶƐ͕ ŝŶũĞĐƟŶŐ ΨϭϬϬ͘Ϭŵ ΨϮϮϴ͘Ϯŵ͘ EĞdžƚ ǁĞĞŬ͕ ǁĞ ĞdžƉĞĐƚ ƌĂƚĞƐ ƚŽ ǀŝĂ ƚŚĞ ^ĞĐŽŶĚĂƌLJ DĂƌŬĞƚ /ŶƚĞƌǀĞŶƟŽŶ ĐŽŶƟŶƵĞ ƚŽ ƚƌĂĚĞ ǁŝƚŚŝŶ Ă ƟŐŚƚ ďĂŶĚ ^ĂůĞƐ ;^D/^Ϳ tŚŽůĞƐĂůĞ tŝŶĚŽǁ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ ĚŝīĞƌĞŶƚ ƐĞŐŵĞŶƚƐ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ Ăŝŵ ŽĨ ŵĂŝŶƚĂŝŶŝŶŐ ƐƚĂďŝůŝƚLJ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ ƚŚĞ ĂƐ ǁĞ ƌĞŵĂŝŶ ĐŽŶĮĚĞŶƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ E͛Ɛ ĂďŝůͲ ĚŝīĞƌĞŶƚ ƐĞŐŵĞŶƚƐ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ͘ KŶ ƚŚĞ ŝƚLJ ƚŽ ĞŶƐƵƌĞ ƐLJƐƚĞŵ ůŝƋƵŝĚŝƚLJ ďLJ ƐƵƐƚĂŝŶͲ ĚŽŵĞƐƟĐ ĨƌŽŶƚ͕ ĞdžƚĞƌŶĂů ƌĞƐĞƌǀĞƐ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ǁĞĞŬůLJ &y ŝŶƚĞƌǀĞŶƟŽŶƐ͘ ďLJ Ϭ͘ϳй ;ΨϮϰϵ͘ϭŵͿ ǁͬǁ ƚŽ Ψϯϰ͘ϳďŶ ĨƌŽŵ Ψϯϰ͘ϵďŶ ůĂƐƚ ǁĞĞŬ͘ DĞĂŶǁŚŝůĞ͕ ƚŚĞ ƉƌŝĐĞ DŽŶĞLJ DĂƌŬĞƚ͗ ZĂƚĞƐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ^ĞĐŽŶĚĂƌLJ ŽĨ ƌĞŶƚ ĐƌƵĚĞ Žŝů ƐŽĂƌĞĚ ĂďŽǀĞ ΨϳϬ͘Ϭͬ DĂƌŬĞƚ ZŝƐĞ ďďů͘ ŽŶ DŽŶĚĂLJ͕ ƐƵƉƉŽƌƚĞĚ ďLJ KW н dŚĞ ŝŶƚĞƌďĂŶŬ ƌĂƚĞƐ K ĂŶĚ KsE ĚĞĐŝƐŝŽŶ ƚŽ ŬĞĞƉ ƐƵƉƉůLJ ůŝŵŝƚĞĚ͕ ĂŶĚ ƌĞͲ ŽƉĞŶĞĚ ƚŚĞ ǁĞĞŬ ůŽǁĞƌ Ăƚ ϭϭ͘ϱй ĂŶĚ ĐĞŶƚůLJ͕ ƌĞƉŽƌƚƐ ŽĨ ĂƩĂĐŬƐ ŽŶ ^ĂƵĚŝ ƌĂďŝĂŶ ϭϭ͘ϴй ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ĨƌŽŵ ƚŚĞ ĐůŽƐĞ ŽĨ ĨĂĐŝůŝƟĞƐ͘ ,ŽǁĞǀĞƌ͕ Ăƚ ƚŚĞ ĐůŽƐĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ϭϱ͘ϯй ĂŶĚ ϭϲ͘ϯй ůĂƐƚ ǁĞĞŬ ĚĞƐƉŝƚĞ ƐLJƐͲ ǁĞĞŬ͕ ƌĞŶƚ ĐƌƵĚĞ Žŝů ƉƌŝĐĞ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ŇĂƚ Ăƚ ƚĞŵ ůŝƋƵŝĚŝƚLJ ĨĂůůŝŶŐ ƚŽ േϭϱϳ͘ϵďŶ ĨƌŽŵ Ψϲϵ͘ϯϵͬďďů͘ േϳϰϯ͘ϱďŶ͘ LJ ƚŚĞ ĞŶĚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ǁĞĞŬ͕ ƚŚĞ

ƌĂƚĞƐ ĐůŽƐĞĚ Ăƚ ϭϯ͘ϯй ĂŶĚ ϭϰ͘Ϯй ŐŝǀĞŶ Ă dŚĞ E ƐƉŽƚ ƌĂƚĞ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ŇĂƚ Ăůů ǁĞĞŬ ƚŽ ĨƵƌƚŚĞƌ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ŝŶ ƐLJƐƚĞŵ ůŝƋƵŝĚŝƚLJ ƚŽ ĐůŽƐĞ Ăƚ േϯϳϵ͘ϬϬͬΨϭ͘ϬϬ͘ ƚ ƚŚĞ ƉĂƌĂůůĞů േϭϮϲ͘ϮďŶ͘ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ͕ ƌĂƚĞƐ ŽƉĞŶĞĚ Ăƚ േϰϴϮ͘ϬϬͬΨϭ͘ϬϬ ĂŶĚ ĐůŽƐĞĚ േϰϴϱ͘ϬϬͬΨϭ͘ϬϬ͕ ĚĞƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŶŐ dŚĞ E ĐŽŶĚƵĐƚĞĚ d ďŝůůƐ ƐĂůĞƐ ǁŽƌƚŚ േϱ͘ϬϬŬŽďŽ ǁͬǁ͘ ƚ ƚŚĞ /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ͛ Θ džͲ േϴϴ͘ϵďŶ ŽŶ tĞĚŶĞƐĚĂLJ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ ƚŚĞ ϵϭ͕ ƉŽƌƚĞƌƐ͛ ;/Θ Ϳ tŝŶĚŽǁ͕ ƚŚĞ E & y ƌĂƚĞ ϭϴϮ ĂŶĚ ϯϲϰ ĚĂLJ ŝŶƐƚƌƵŵĞŶƚƐ͘ ĞŵĂŶĚ ŽƉĞŶĞĚ Ăƚ േϰϭϭ͘ϲϰͬΨϭ͘ϬϬ ĂŶĚ ĐůŽƐĞĚ Ăƚ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ϵϭ ĂŶĚ ϭϴϮ ĚĂLJ ŝŶƐƚƌƵŵĞŶƚƐ ǁĂƐ േϰϭϬ͘ϬϬͬΨϭ͘ϬϬ ŽŶ &ƌŝĚĂLJ͕ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŶŐ ƐƚƌŽŶŐ ǁŝƚŚ ďŝĚ ƚŽ ĐŽǀĞƌ ƌĂƟŽƐ ŽĨ ϰ͘Ϯdž േϭ͘ϬϬŬŽďŽ ǁͬǁ ĨƌŽŵ േϰϭϭ͘ϬϬͬΨϭ͘ϬϬ͘ ĂŶĚ ϯ͘ϴdž ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ ϯϲϰ ĚĂLJ ĐƟǀŝƚLJ ůĞǀĞů ŝŶ /Θ tŝŶĚŽǁ ƌŽƐĞ ϭϬϱ͘ϲй ŝŶƐƚƌƵŵĞŶƚ ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ Ă ďŝĚ ƚŽ ĐŽǀĞƌ ƌĂƟŽ ƚŽ Ψϰϱϱ͘ϱŵ ĨƌŽŵ ΨϮϮϭ͘ϱŵ ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ŽĨ ϭ͘ϴdž͘ dŚĞ ŵĂƌŐŝŶĂů ƌĂƚĞ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ůŽŶŐĞƌ ƉƌĞǀŝŽƵƐ ǁĞĞŬ͘ ĚĂƚĞĚ ŝŶƐƚƌƵŵĞŶƚ ŝŶĐŚĞĚ ŚŝŐŚĞƌ ƚŽ ϲ͘ϱй

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ĨƌŽŵ ϱ͘ϱй Ăƚ ƚŚĞ ƉƌĞǀŝŽƵƐ ĂƵĐƟŽŶ ǁŚŝůĞ ƌĂƚĞƐ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ϵϭ ĚĂLJ ĂŶĚ ϭϴϮ ĚĂLJ ĐůŽƐĞĚ Ăƚ ϯ͘ϱй ĂŶĚ ϱ͘ϱй ;ƐĂŵĞ ĂƐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƉƌĞǀŝͲ ŽƵƐ ĂƵĐƟŽŶͿ͘

KŶ dŚƵƌƐĚĂLJ͕ ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ŝŶŇŽǁ ĨƌŽŵ KDK ŵĂƚƵƌŝƟĞƐ ǁŽƌƚŚ േϱϬ͘ϬďŶ͕ ƚŚĞ E ĐŽŶĚƵĐƚĞĚ ĂŶ KDK ĂƵĐƟŽŶ ǁŽƌƚŚ േϲϬ͘ϬďŶ ƚŽ ŵŽƉ ƵƉ ůŝƋƵŝĚŝƚLJ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƐLJƐͲ ƚĞŵ͘ ĞŵĂŶĚ Ăƚ ƚŚĞ ĂƵĐƟŽŶ ǁĂƐ ƌŽďƵƐƚ ĂƐ ƚŚĞ ϵϲ ĚĂLJ͕ ϭϴϬ ĚĂLJ ĂŶĚ ϯϲϮ ĚĂLJ ŝŶͲ ƐƚƌƵŵĞŶƚƐ ǁĞƌĞ ŽǀĞƌƐƵďƐĐƌŝďĞĚ Ăƚ ďŝĚ ƚŽ ĐŽǀĞƌ ƌĂƟŽƐ ŽĨ ϯ͘ϳdž͕ ϰ͘ϭdž ĂŶĚ ϲ͘ϱdž Ăƚ ŵĂƌŐŝŶĂů ƌĂƚĞƐ ŽĨ ϳ͘Ϭй͕ ϴ͘ϱй ĂŶĚ ϭϬ͘ϭй ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͕ ƐĂŵĞ ĂƐ ƚŚĞ ƉƌĞǀŝŽƵƐ ĂƵĐͲ ƟŽŶ͘

/Ŷ ƚŚĞ ƐĞĐŽŶĚĂƌLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ͕ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ďĞĂƌŝƐŚ ĂƐ ĂǀĞƌĂŐĞ LJŝĞůĚ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ ďĞŶĐŚŵĂƌŬ ƚĞŶŽƌƐ ƐƵƌŐĞĚ ϭϭϵďƉƐ ǁͬǁ ƚŽ ĐůŽƐĞ Ăƚ Ϯ͘ϵй͘ dŚĞ ůŽŶŐ ƚĞƌŵ ŝŶƐƚƌƵŵĞŶƚ ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ƚŚĞ ŵŽƐƚ ƐĞůů ŽīƐ ĂƐ LJŝĞůĚ ƌŽƐĞ Ϯ͘ϭй ǁͬǁ ƚŽ ϰ͘Ϯй͘ dŚĞ ŵŝĚ ƚĞƌŵ ĂůƐŽ ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ůŽƐƐĞƐ ĂƐ LJŝĞůĚ ƌŽƐĞ ϭ͘ϳй ǁͬǁ ƚŽ ϯ͘ϲй ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ ƐŚŽƌƚ ƚĞƌŵ ŝŶƐƚƌƵŵĞŶƚƐ ŐĂŝŶĞĚ ǁŝƚŚ LJŝĞůĚ ĚŽǁŶ ϮϱďƉƐ ǁͬǁ ƚŽ Ϭ͘ϵй͘ /Ŷ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵŝŶŐ ǁĞĞŬ͕ ǁĞ ĂŶƟĐŝƉĂƚĞ ŝŶŇŽǁƐ ĨƌŽŵ ŵĂƚƵƌŝŶŐ KDK ŝŶƐƚƌƵŵĞŶƚƐ ǁŽƌƚŚ േϭϰϯ͘ϰďŶ ƚŽ ƐŚĂƉĞ ƚŚĞ ŵŽǀĞŵĞŶƚ ŽĨ ƌĂƚĞƐ͘ ,ŽǁĞǀĞƌ͕ ǁĞ ĞdžƉĞĐƚ E ƚŽ ŬĞĞƉ ƌĂƚĞƐ ĂŶĚ ƐLJƐƚĞŵ ůŝƋƵŝĚŝƚLJ ŝŶ ĐŚĞĐŬ ƚŚƌŽƵŐŚ ƌĞŐƵůĂƌ ĂƵĐƟŽŶƐ͘

ŽŶĚ DĂƌŬĞƚ͗ ^ƵƐƚĂŝŶĞĚ ƵůůŝƐŚ DŽŵĞŶͲ ƚƵŵ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ŽŵĞƐƟĐ DĂƌŬĞƚ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƐĞĐŽŶĚĂƌLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ǁĂƐ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ƚŚŝƐ ǁĞĞŬ ĂƐ ĂǀĞƌĂŐĞ LJŝĞůĚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ϵďƉƐ ǁͬǁ ƚŽ ϵ͘Ϯй͘ ĐƌŽƐƐ ƚĞŶͲ ŽƌƐ͕ ƚŚĞ ŵŝĚ ĂŶĚ ůŽŶŐ ƚĞƌŵ ďŽŶĚƐ ƌĞĐŽƌĚͲ ĞĚ ŐĂŝŶƐ ĂƐ LJŝĞůĚƐ ŵŽĚĞƌĂƚĞĚ ďLJ ϮϳďƉƐ ĂŶĚ ϰďƉƐ ǁͬǁ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ ŽŶǀĞƌƐĞůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ ƐŚŽƌƚ ƚĞŶŽƌ ŝŶƐƚƌƵŵĞŶƚƐ ƐĂǁ ƐĞůů ŽīƐ ĂƐ ĂǀĞƌĂŐĞ LJŝĞůĚƐ ƌŽƐĞ ϭϭďƉƐ ǁͬǁ͘

ĐƌŽƐƐ ƚŚĞ ^^ ƵƌŽďŽŶĚ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ͕ ǁĞ ƐĂǁ Ă ďĞĂƌŝƐŚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ĂƐ ĂǀĞƌĂŐĞ LJŝĞůĚ ƌŽƐĞ ϮϰďƉƐ ǁͬǁ ƚŽ ϴ͘ϰй͘ dŚĞ 'ŚĂŶĂŝĂŶ ϮϬϮϮ ŝŶƐƚƌƵŵĞŶƚ ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ƚŚĞ ŚŝŐŚĞƐƚ ƐĞůů ŽīƐ ǁŝƚŚ LJŝĞůĚƐ ƵƉ ϯ͘ϯй ǁͬǁ͘ KŶ ƚŚĞ ŽƚŚĞƌ ŚĂŶĚ͕ ƚŚĞ ĂŵďŝĂŶ ŝŶƐƚƌƵŵĞŶƚƐ ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŐĂŝŶƐ ĂƐ LJŝĞůĚƐ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ϮϬϮϮ ĂŶĚ ϮϬϮϰ ŝŶƐƚƌƵŵĞŶƚƐ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ϭ͘ϳй ĂŶĚ Ϭ͘ϵй ǁͬǁ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘

&Žƌ ƚŚĞ ĨƌŝĐĂŶ ŽƌƉŽƌĂƚĞ ƵƌŽďŽŶĚƐ ƚŚĂƚ ƵŶĚĞƌ ŽƵƌ ƌĂĚĂƌ͕ ďĞĂƌŝƐŚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌͲ ŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ƐƵƐƚĂŝŶĞĚ ĂƐ ĂǀĞƌĂŐĞ LJŝĞůĚ ƌŽƐĞ ϲďƉƐ ǁͬǁ ƚŽ ϰ͘ϲй͘ E &/E E ϮϬϮϲ ĂŶĚ K&&/ , Z/&/ E ϮϬϰϰ ŝŶƐƚƌƵͲ ŵĞŶƚƐ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŚĞ ƚŽƉ ůŽƐĞƌƐ ĂƐ LJŝĞůĚƐ ƌŽƐĞ ϮϰďƉƐ ĂŶĚ ϮϮďƉƐ ǁͬǁ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ KŶ ƚŚĞ ŇŝƉ ƐŝĚĞ͕ ^ W> d ĂŶĚ 'ZKtd,WK/Ed ϮϬϮϯ ŝŶƐƚƌƵŵĞŶƚƐ ŐĂŝŶĞĚ ǁͬǁ ĂƐ LJŝĞůĚƐ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ϮϱďƉƐ ĂŶĚ ϭϳďƉƐ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ /Ŷ ƚŚĞ ĚŽŵĞƐƟĐ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ͕ ĂƐ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ĂǁĂŝƚ ƚŚĞ DĂƌĐŚ ďŽŶĚ ĂƵĐƟŽŶ͕ ǁĞ ĞdžͲ ƉĞĐƚ Ă ŵƵƚĞĚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ůŽǁ ƐLJƐƚĞŵ ůŝƋƵŝĚŝƚLJ͘ &Žƌ ƚŚĞ ƵƌŽďŽŶĚƐ ŵĂƌͲ ŬĞƚ͕ ǁĞ ďĞůŝĞǀĞ LJŝĞůĚƐ ŽŶ ƵƌŽďŽŶĚƐ ŝŶͲ ƐƚƌƵŵĞŶƚƐ ƐƟůů ƌĞŵĂŝŶ ĂƩƌĂĐƟǀĞ ĨŽƌ ŝŶͲ ǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ͘

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˜ ˾ MARCH 14, 2021

MARKET NEWS

AXA Mansard Forecasts 44% Profit’s Growth in Second Quarter Goddy Egene

a leading underwriting firm in Nigeria, has projected gross premium written of N34.237

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

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

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

billion of the second quarter (Q2) ending June 30, 2021 compared with N24.095

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

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

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

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 11Mar-2021, unless otherwise stated.

billion forecasted for Q1 2021.

In its forecast to the Nigerian Stock Exchange

(NSE), AXA Mansard said it would grow its profit after taxation by 44.03 per cent to

N2.994 billion in Q2, from N2.044 billion projected for Q1 2021.

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

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

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

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 818 885 6757 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 150.29 150.93 -7.36% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 3.67% Nigeria International Debt Fund 353.44 353.37 -11.21% Afrinvest Dollar Fund 112.42 112.42 -0.27% 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 1.02 1.03 13.12% ACAP Income Funds 0.65 0.65 -11.09% 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 1.95% AIICO Balanced Fund 3.23 3.39 -8.77% ANCHORIA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED info@anchoriaam.com Web:www.anchoriaam.com, Tel: 08166830267; 08036814510; 08028419180 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Anchoria Money Market N/A N/A N/A Anchoria Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Anchoria Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 17.98 18.52 -0.85% ARM Discovery Balanced Fund 399.95 412.01 -0.10% ARM Ethical Fund 35.13 36.19 4.22% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.20 1.21 -1.74% ARM Fixed Income Fund 1.04 1.05 -6.62% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 1.22% AVA GLOBAL ASSET MANAGERS LIMITED info@avacapitalgroup.com Web: www.avacapitalgroup.com Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AVA GAM Fixed Income Dollar Fund 103.01 103.01 1.28% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund 120.43 121.27 -4.55% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 2.26% CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 2.06 2.06 -22.67% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 2.13 2.17 -25.65% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Paramount Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Women's Investment Fund N/A N/A N/A CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 1.91% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 125.00 125.87 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 N/A N/A Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 110.31 110.31 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 1.91% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 1.59% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,156.82 1,160.19 -3.58% FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,348.24 1,348.24 5.48% FBN Balanced Fund 179.96 181.22 -4.11% FBN Halal Fund 110.19 110.19 4.58% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 2.01% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional N/A N/A N/A FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 123.86 123.86 3.00% FBN Smart Beta Equity Fund 145.22 147.10 -3.94% 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 N/A N/A N/A Legacy Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A Legacy Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Legacy USD Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 3,738.67 3,786.82 -1.69% Coral Income Fund 3,333.34 3,333.34 1.62% FSDH Treasury Bills Fund 100.00 100.00 1.42%

GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 0.76% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 125.95 126.49 17.01% 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 1.27% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.62 2.68 14.28% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 4.50% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 154.36 154.74 -0.70% Vantage Dollar Fund (VDF) - June Year End 1.08 1.08 5.19% 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 1.35 1.37 -1.38% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,141.30 1,141.30 1.59% 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 N/A N/A N/A Meristem Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 1.58 1.61 7.53% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 12.23 12.35 -0.04% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 1.50% PACAM Equity Fund 1.56 1.57 -1.52% PACAM EuroBond Fund 109.45 112.14 0.04% 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 126.12 128.28 5.44% 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 1.01 1.01 1.21% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 3,072.86 3,098.11 -4.44% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 226.94 226.94 0.93% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.11 1.13 -5.08% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 297.32 297.32 0.90% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 210.29 212.88 -3.77% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 1.84% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 9,756.31 9,882.08 -7.09% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.24 1.24 1.12% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 111.87 111.87 0.71% 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 1.31 1.33 -4.01% United Capital Bond Fund 1.91 1.91 1.09% United Capital Equity Fund 0.87 0.89 0.68% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 2.84% United Capital Eurobond Fund 118.46 118.46 1.17% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.06 1.07 -2.62% United capital Sukuk Fund 1.02 1.02 2.32% 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 11.96 12.07 0.79% Zenith Ethical Fund 24.20 13.37 53.09% Zenith Income Fund 24.20 24.20 0.93% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 2.00%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

121.84 52.76

0.91% 0.69%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

12.39 113.51 91.57

12.49 113.51 93.30

-6.25% -6.76% -7.84%

Fund Name 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 Money Market 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

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

108.05

13.11%

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.

SUNDAY MARCH 14, 2021 • T H I S D AY

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SUNDAY MARCH 14, 2021 • T H I S D AY

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WEEKLY PULL-OUT

14.3.2021

H

PROF. SOLOMON ADEBOLA HOW I TURNED MY DREAMS INTO REALITY He is currently a Professor of Management Science whose foundation was rooted in Mathematics as a federal scholar at the University of Ibadan. Again, he grew up in the 6os where his early exposure to the educational system was limited to secondary education due to the lean availability of the ivory tower then. But the dexterity and prowess with which he handled the subject Mathematics while in secondary school earned him the nickname ‘Doctor’ and the master tricks of all subjects, Mathematics.

From the backwaters of Kabba in Kogi State, he became a global icon acquiring education in universities across Nigeria, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Pragmatic and brilliant, meet Prof. Solomon Ajayi Adebola, President and Vice Chancellor of Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State. Funke Olaode unveils the Kogi-born erudite scholar.

e is an erudite scholar and accomplished professor of Mathematics whose life is torn between mathematics and the financial industry. But if you were to measure his early life when his vision was only limited to secondary education with his present position as a top echelon in the Nigerian academic sector, you would conclude that he allowed his sense of ‘Listening to advice” to prevail over what his environment presented back then. Meet Professor Solomon Ajayi Adebola, President and Vice Chancellor of Adeleke University, Ede Osun State.

Born on March 17, 1953, in Kabba, Kogi State, the accomplished professor began at St. Andrews Primary School, Kabba, in 1958. As a lad, his teachers and handlers began to notice his academic and leadership abilities and potentials. By the time he entered St. Barnabas Secondary School Kabba for his secondary education and Titcombe College in 1970 and 1971, his career path manifested.

A young chap whose vision was once restricted to his environment later blossomed, traversing different continents of the world acquiring knowledge. And simply put, he was unstoppable. Prof. Adebola became a federal scholar at the University of Ibadan where he read Mathematics graduating in 1975, Diploma in Management from South West London College, United Kingdom, 1983, Master of Business Administration (MBA Southern California University, Los Angeles, 1984, M.Sc. in Banking and Finance from Bayero University, Kano, 1992 and capped it with PhD in Management Science, the University of Ilorin in 2001.

Narrating his sojourn in the academic world, Prof. Adebola said, “In December 1969, while I completed the West African School Certificate (WASC) examinations, in St. Barnabas Secondary School, Kabba, the school principal, an elderly British gentleman, Mr. J.Q.S. Phillip handed over to me my school-leaving testimonial. I took a look at the comments of my mathematics teacher, also a Briton, Mrs. Elizabeth Campbell, and I noticed that she had written under the ‘Remarks’ column, ‘Solomon should go far in this subject of mathematics, and should teach others also, the master tricks of this master of all subjects.’ I deeply reflected on this young woman’s comments about me and mathematics, and it immediately dawned on me that I was bound for academics as a life vocation.”

His mentor must have noticed his academic prowess, but he was never interested in becoming a teacher as a young man.

“My early exposure to educational system did not go beyond secondary.

Up till my entry into form 1 in St. Barnabas Secondary School, I never heard of a university. Why should

ASSISTANT EDITOR OLUFUNKE OLAODE/funkola2000@gmail.com

58

T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 14, 2021

COVER

How I Became a ‘Doctor of Mathematics’ in Secondary School I blame myself for this crass ignorance? There were only five universities in the contraption called Nigeria at the time.

“The whole of the then northern region had only one university, the Ahmadu Bello University.

The eastern region had only one university, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. It was only the western region, undoubtedly far ahead, that had three universities: the University of Ibadan, University of Ife, and the University of Lagos.

Of course, the ivory tower’s lean availability would naturally translate into a natural scarcity of university undergraduates.”

But in all of his life’s calculation, destiny was playing a fast one that he was born to be an academic.

Again, an encounter with a missionary teacher during his ‘A’ levels must have been the very genesis and germination of interest in academics in the then young Solomon.

“It was in 1970 during my lower six class in the Higher School Certificate (HSC) programme, in Titcombe College, that some of the students in my class decided, and mischievously too, to nickname me ‘The Doctor.’ It was their idea that, with the dexterity and prowess with which I handled the mathematics, I was undoubtedly a ‘Doctor of Mathematics.’ This nickname so stuck like a leech that many students, and some teachers too, did not know my real name. All through my two years in the HSC, most schoolmates knew me as ‘Doctor.’

“Incidentally, one of the teachers at Titcombe College, at the time, was an American missionary, from the stable of the Sudan Interior Mission (SIM). The man, Dr. Kranchervick, was said to possess a PhD in Atmospheric Physics. He had the title ‘Dr.’ in his name. I believe that my encounter with this PhD holder, Dr. Krackervick, must have sparked or ignited in me that first flame of academic interest. I badly wanted to confirm in real life that nickname of ‘Doctor.’”

As a reputable academic, his life was defined by academics, the finance industry, and the church.

“With my God-given academic endowments, I did not want to jettison academic pursuits. At the same time, I realized that I wanted to be financially comfortable.

This was what a career purely and solely in academics was not likely to offer. That confusion gave me my initial problem of indecision. I had a Kwara State government scholarship to read Mathematics, and I also had a Federal Government Scholarship to read Architecture. While I wanted a PhD in whatever I chose to read, I also desperately wanted to acquire financial comfort and pastor a church where I would preach the gospel and would not ever need to canvass for any financial donations or offerings from any parishioner.

“That was my ultimate ambition.

I had imagined that a vocation in architecture would enable me to acquire the wealth that I would need to build and run my dream church. But a B. Arch (Bachelor of Architecture) five years degree programme was not likely to give me an early or easy lead to the PhD degree. That was how I eventually jettisoned the Architecture programme, and found myself in the Mathematics class.”

As the sun rose and set, Prof.

Adebola soon became a managing

director of a mortgage g g bank, a managing g partner in a tax ax consulting g firm, and, ultimately, a professor.

He is still p hoping that someday, omeday, y he will be privileged to enrol in a seminary.

He has unbeatable nbeatable records of being in several veral tertiary y institutions across cross the country, y with 79 publications cations (personal p and co-authored). red). That seems to be a lifetime. me. What was his experience like, ke, and why y did he seek a greener ener pasture abroad?

“It’s been a thoroughly exciting time traversing from one areaa of academic vocation cation to another. One ne unique thing is that monetary y or financial inducements did not induce thee movements.

Never! To the glory of God, I have travelled to not less than 25 countries around the globe, either in the course of searching for knowledge ge g or in the course rse of disseminating ting g knowledge. My main joy in serving g is seeing young ones growing g g into giants in academics demics and other industrial ial sectors.”

He added,, “When I come across some of my y former students who o have become professors, entrepreneurs ntrepreneurs p of note, and industrial gurus, I feel ustrial g highly elevated ed and generally g y fulfilled. What at more can one expect p in life than finding nding g the very y ones you have nurtured, rtured, springing p g g up p on to high pedestal destal of life’s platform p of achievement. got elevated to the nt. I g Professorial position about 15 years ago.”

In all of his achievements, Prof. hi P f Adebola acknowledges his humble background. “My father was a farmer, while my mother was a dealer in textile materials and a petty trader. We were six children: three males and three Females.

“My growing up was undoubtedly a mixed multitude of fun and terror. I had fun growing up in a larger compound of almost four different families. Although the house belonged to my father, other extended family members pitched their tents with ours.

“I took great interest and excitement in going to school. On the other hand, I developed a deeper loath and awful hatred for the farm. That was the beginning of my regular escape to Lagos for the school vacations.

“My senior brother, Raphael, was a marine engineer with the Nigerian Navy at the time. Whenever they spent time away from the Nigeria/Biafra battleground, I was always with him in Lagos for all my vacations. Brother Raphael was not married at the time.

I kept his apartment clean and did his cooking. That experience taught me a lot in self-independence and helped to inculcate in me the spirit of self-reliance, which I have found very useful even to date.”

He loathed going to the farm.

Acquiring formal education excited him.

“I had two great parents,” he recounted. “My mother was a religious, intelligent, and industrious woman. These characteristics helped greatly to shape my life ambition and core values assiduously.

Adebola

On the other hand, I was always terrified when I had to accompany my other siblings and father to his farm. I did not like the simple idea of being asked to go to the farm for whatever reason. While on the farm, I remember a particular day, instead of helping others to harvest coffee seeds, my father’s main source of economic support. I strayed away from the rest of the team to climb an orange tree searching for ripe oranges.

“Unfortunately, as I came down the tree, clutching a headful of oranges, I landed on a trap set for grasscutters that often terrorized the maize crops on the farm. And pronto, I was caught in the clutches of the trap. I threw the oranges away and howled for help.

My father heard my loud shouts and came to my assistance, setting me free from the trap. That singular incident made me hate farms all the more.”

Prof. Adebola has been married for 41 years. He met his wife, Eyitola, shortly before he left Ilorin in 1975 for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

“I had just graduated from the University of Ibadan in June 1975 and was deployed to the east-central state for the NYSC. I was at Ilorin with my senior sister at the time. Suddenly, there was this military coup that removed Gen. Yakubu Gowon from office. There was a general atmosphere of insecurity and instability in the

country. We were advised to hold on for a while before going to report for the NYSC. During this lull time of apparent idleness, I particularly strayed on to this beautifully clad lady in my sister’s house in Ilorin. Her father and my sister’s husband were great pals, and this lady had come calling to say her byes before leaving to resume as a student at the Specialist Hospital School of Nursing in Benin City.

“That was how we spoke; it clicked; one thing led to another, and on December 2, 1979, I found myself walking down the aisle to the alter in St. Andrews Anglican Church, Kabba.

The rest, with five children in tow, is now history. She is a nurse. She recently retired as a chief matron at the Lagos State Health Services Board. She has since joined me as a clinical technologist in the Nursing Department of my university in Ede. The marriage is blessed with successful children who responded to training.”

No doubt, Prof. Adebola’s trajectory is a lesson, having left the university at age 22 and has been consistent over the last 45 years. His staying power is staying focused, seeking a niche that will enhance the overall quality of humanity and human existence, “and fill the niche appropriately.”

He added, “And with my upbringing and behavioural core values, I’ve always found genuine satisfaction in Godly service.”

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͯͲ˜ ͰͮͰͯ

59

GLITZ FOCUS

The Aftermath of Harry and Meghan’s Interview with Oprah

By Vanessa Obioha

similar. He knows what pain is like. And Archie’s his grandson.”

When Prince Charles was asked about his son’s accusation during a visit to a London COVID-19 vaccine clinic, he chuckled and walked away as reported by the Daily Express.

However, Prince William, older brother of Harry has spoken about the racism allegations levelled against the British monarchy by Meghan.

“We’re very much not a racist family,” said the Duke of Cambridge during a visit to a school in East London. He also revealed that he is yet to speak to his brother since the damning interview. Harry described his relationship with his brother in the interview as ‘spaced’ at the moment.

Piers Morgan Leaves ‘Good Morning Britain’ After AntiMeghan Statements

Bridgerton Queen

I

Piers Morgan

Queen Elizabeth II

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

t promised to be explosive and it was by all measures. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s tell-all interview with veteran talk show host Oprah Winfrey which aired first in the United States on Sunday night grabbed headlines all week long. From the perceived repugnance of their son’s skin colour, the withdrawn protection, to the fraught relationship with the ‘Firm’— the most senior members of the royal family — to Harry’s relationship with his father Prince Charles, and his brother Prince William, the over one-hour long interview left not a few jaws on the floor.

Right from their courtship, Meghan’s relationship with Harry made headlines.

When their engagement was first announced, not a few snorted at the possibility of having a mixed-race in the deified royal lineage, even after the Queen’s approval. Meghan’s father is a European American while her mother is an African American. Notwithstanding, the couple had a glamorous wedding in 2018 and by 2019, they had their first son Archie.

Harry and Markle have somehow developed an uncanny ability to cause a royal rumble each time they make a public announcement.

For instance, before coronavirus became a threat to mankind last year, the couple announced their withdrawal from the British royal duties, their plans to relocate to North America as well as be financially independent from the family.

The announcement caused such a frenzy that it was nicknamed Megxit. If there were doubts about the relationship of the newlyweds and the senior royal members,

that announcement confirmed that all was not well in Buckingham Palace. The news of their exit led to an immediate meeting of the royal family.

A year later, the Palace confirmed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would relinquish their royal patronages, as they were not returning as working members of the royal family. A fortnight later, the interview happened and again, the family is under public scrutiny. Below are some of the events that have taken place since the interview which was watched by millions aired.

Queen Elizabeth II Brief Statement

A day after the interview aired in the United Kingdom, Buckingham Palace released a statement on behalf of the Queen.

It read: “The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.

The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be muchloved family members.”

Meghan’s Father, Half-Sister Dismiss Her Racist Claims

Meghan’s estranged father Thomas Markle, took a stand on the matter when he appeared on the ‘Good Morning Britain’ show. “The whole thing about the colour and the baby’s skin colour is bull****. I have great respect for the royals, and I don’t think the British royal family are racist at all. I don’t think the British are racist, I think Los Angeles

is racist, California is racist, but I don’t think the Brits are.”

He added that “the thing about what colour will the baby be or how dark will the baby be — I’m guessing and hoping it’s just a dumb question from somebody … It could be somebody asked a stupid question. Rather than being a total racist.”

In an interview on the Australian radio show ‘Fifi, Fev and Nick’, Thomas’ daughter from his first marriage, Samantha regarded her sister as someone with a narcissistic personality disorder.

“I’m not diagnosing her. She needs to see a counsellor.”

Samantha also said that Harry reminded her of one of those kidnap victims who “eventually starts to believe that their life was so horrible and they’re in love with their captor...

She pulled him away from his family, all of his friends, the life that he knew.”

On Meghan’s revelation that she considered suicide due to the pressure from the royal family, Samantha told Inside Edition that “Depression is not an excuse for treating people like dishrags and disposing of them.”

Prince Charles Stays Mute, Prince William Speaks Out

During the interview, Harry told Oprah that his father, the Prince of Wales, stopped communicating with him for a while and he was let down “because he’s been through something

The long-time host of ITV Breakfast show ‘Good Morning Britain’ was said to have stormed off set after a colleague criticised his remarks on the Duchess’ mental health.

Morgan had on Monday said that he doesn’t believe a word Meghan said.

“Who did you go to? What did they say to you? I’m sorry, I don’t believe a word she said, Meghan Markle. I wouldn’t believe it if she read me a weather report.”

His statement provoked a backlash and a formal complaint was lodged with ITV on behalf of the Duchess after the broadcast.

Expected to make a public apology, Morgan went on the programme on Tuesday to clarify his remarks.

“When we talked about this yesterday, I said as an all-encompassing thing I don’t believe what Meghan Markle is saying generally in this interview, and I still have serious concerns about the veracity of a lot of what she said. But let me just state on the record my position about mental illness and on suicide. These are clearly extremely serious things that should be taken extremely seriously, and if someone is feeling that way they should get the treatment and help they need every time.”

Reacting to Morgan’s attack on Meghan, his colleague Alex Beresford criticised him for always thrashing Meghan whom Morgan in a previous claim said stopped communicating with him after she became a royal.

“I understand that you don’t like Meghan Markle, you’ve made it so clear a number of times on this programme, and I understand you’ve got a personal relationship with Meghan Markle and she cut you off. She’s entitled to cut you off if she wants to. Has she said anything about you since she cut you off? I don’t think she has but yet you continue to trash her.”

Morgan was reportedly said to have stormed out of the studio, saying: “OK, I’m done with this, sorry, no, can’t do this,” forcing his co-host Susanna Reid to send the show to an early break. Beresford called his behaviour ‘pathetic’ and ‘diabolical’.

By Tuesday evening, the broadcasting regulator Ofcom had received more than 41,000 complaints about Morgan’s behaviour, prompting it to launch an investigation into whether his comments broke the UK broadcasting code relating to harm and offence.

The Debate Over Black Blood in British Monarchy

Meghan’s comments about the British royal family being racist spurred a search for black lineage in the royal family. A 2009 article by the Guardian UK was dug up where the writer Stuart Jeffries queried if the first British Queen, Charlotte, was black.

“If she was black, this raises a lot of important suggestions about not only our royal family but those of most of Europe, considering that Queen Victoria’s descendants are spread across most of the royal families of Europe and beyond. If we class Charlotte as black, then ergo Queen Victoria and our entire royal family, [down] to Prince Harry, are also black ... a very interesting concept,” argued a historian Kate Williams quoted in the article.

Queen Charlotte who was the queen consort of the British king George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until her death was portrayed as a black queen in the Netflix 2020 Regency-era romantic TV series, ‘Bridgerton’.

COVER 2

A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

14.3.2021

Eddie Murphy on the Legacy of ‘Coming to America’ ASSISTANT EDITOR OLUFUNKE OLAODE/funkola2000@gmail.com

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 14, 2021

COVER 2

Murphy and Hall in ‘Coming 2 America’

Eddie Murphy on the Legacy of ‘Coming to America’ Vanessa Obioha was among a group of journalists who attended the virtual media parley with the cast of ‘Coming 2 America’ where Hollywood black royalty Eddie Murphy spoke loftily about the legacy of the original movie among other things

H

ollywood star Eddie Murphy was barely scratching fame when he created and starred in ‘Coming to America’.

Released in 1988, Murphy film credits at the time were not copious as it is today.

His big-screen debut was in ‘48hrs’, a 1982 buddy cop comedy film. Prior to his film career launch, Murphy was widely known in America as a stand-up comedian, having gained popularity from his time at the Saturday Night Live (SNL) show.

Directed by John Landis, ‘Coming to America’ was an instant hit in America and worldwide. Murphy imagined an African kingdom lavishly dripping with wealth — a far cry from how the continent was portrayed at the time.

In Zamunda, kings and queens are regally dressed in finesse, princes are awoken by an orchestra and the grounds they walked on are littered with rose petals.

Murphy played Prince Akeem, heir to the Zamunda throne whose quest for real love took him and his best friend Semmi (Arsenio Hall) on a journey to America.

Instead of sowing his royal oats like his father, King Jaffe Joffer (James Earl Jones) advised, he chose to live in squalor in

the boroughs of New York City. The film had Murphy’s comedic flair sprinkled all over it. It was in the dialogues and the characters. For instance, during a breakfast encounter with his son, King Jaffe asked his son who he (Murphy) was to which the young Prince replied that he was a man who has never tied his own shoes before.

“Wrong,” replied King Jaffe, “You are a prince who has never tied his shoes.

Believe me, I tied my own shoes once and it is an overrated experience.”

There was also the randy Reverend Brown (Arsenio Hall), the soul singer Randy Watson (Eddie Murphy) with the fictional band Sexual Chocolate and of course the fictional rival of McDonald’s restaurant, McDowell played by John Amos.

Moments such as Murphy’s choice of an apartment with rats scampering around added to the comedic feel of the film.

These trappings gave ‘Coming to America’ a cult following, including in Nigeria.

Over three decades later, Murphy returns with a sequel, ‘Coming 2 America’.

The announcement was made in 2017 and by 2019, filming began in Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta. Murphy alongside Hall, Jones, Amos, Shari Headley, Paul Bates reprised their roles, while Hollywood

veterans like Morgan Freeman, Wesley Snipes as well as comedians Tracy Morgan and Leslie Jones were part of the new characters. There was a cameo appearance from Nigerian artiste Davido who also featured in the original soundtrack of the film. Other Nigerian artistes who lent their vocals to the Def Jam Recordings production include Tekno, Larry Gaaga and Tiwa Savage.

Originally slated for a theatrical release last December, the film was however picked

by Amazon Studios due to the coronavirus pandemic. It will premiere on the Amazon Prime Video on March 5.

At a virtual media parley, Murphy whose career spanned over three decades spoke loftily about the legacy of the film.

“In the history of movies that had an all-black cast that was successful all around the world, the very first one ever to achieve that feat is ‘Coming to America,” said the 59-year-old actor and comedian.

“There’s just a handful of movies that have had an all-black cast that has been successful all around the world. You can count them on one hand, and you’ll have fingers leftover. Two of those movies are ‘Coming to America’ and ‘Coming 2 America’. The legacy of this movie is that it’s accessible to all audiences.”

Explaining further, Murphy said that

one of the reasons black Hollywood movies don’t travel that far is because it is only provocative to their race.

“Around the world, they don’t give a sh*t about our stuff. Most of our movies, you know, shine light on some social injustice, civil unrest, or some sh*t that we went through. Around the world, they don’t give a sh*t about that. They just want the basic stuff. ‘Coming to America’ is not about any of those things. It’s just about family, and love, and doing the right thing and tradition. That’s what the movie is about. It’s these amazing images of black kings and queens and princes and princesses and all of that,” he continued.

In his estimation, the only other film that draws parallels to his films is ‘Black Panther’, because of its depiction of Africa as developed society.

To ensure the sequel doesn’t lose the tenor of the original, a good number of black actors and comedians were employed, as well as African actors like South African Nomzamo Mbatha. The sequel still follows the storyline of a romantic comedy, only that this time around, Prince Akeem’s trip to America is not to find love but to find his bastard son, a street-savvy Queens native named Lavelle (Jermaine Fowler).

Also, the women in Zamunda are no longer servile as in the first movie. Now blessed with three daughters, Prince Akeem trained them to be warriors too, a nod to women empowerment.

Interestingly, Murphy cast one of his real-life daughters, Bella in the movie.

“I saw the original when I was I was 11. It was cool to see my dad like that because that was the first time I saw royalty on screen. I felt really empowered,” she remarked.

Apart from their main characters, Murphy and Hall also reprised their other roles in the movie, with Hall playing a witch doctor in the sequel.

Murphy revealed that he originally planned playing that part and Snipes’ General Izzi character but ended up sticking to his former roles. Although the prosthetics which were heavily deployed in the first movie had a deterrent effect on his decision.

With the success of the original, Murphy is confident that the sequel would have a similar effect on audiences across the world but the litmus test for ‘Coming 2 America’ would probably lie in the efforts of the creators to tell a universal message that will be embraced by all in a slightly divided world.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͯͲ˜ ͰͮͰͯ

HighLife Ambassador Adebiyi Adesina Bags Chieftaincy Title

with KAYODE ALFRED ͮͶͯ​ͯʹ͵ͳͷͶͮ͵˜ E-mail: kayflex2@yahoo.com

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

Banking Legend: Otunba Subomi Balogun at 87 Chief Michael Olasubomi ‘Subomi’ Balogun is impressive on all accounts. One is hard-pressed to find a more spirited, impassioned, and delightful Nigerian businessman who is still a champion of his industry at 87. But that is Chief Subomi Balogun: 87 years a man, and over 50 of them being a paragon of vision and verity.

March 9, 2020, marked Chief Subomi Balogun’s 87th birthday. In commemoration of this, reclusive poets filled their inkpots, and myriad eulogists participated in the parade of praises. The legend of banking and industry is likely one of the few people who are not seated majesties but still get ancient princes and royal fathers’ accolades.

Only ignorance would urge one to pay no mind to Chief Balogun’s new page of life—not even animosity. After all, the lives this man has influenced and affected run into millions. A progenitor-level character, the founder of Nigeria’s indigenous First City Monument Bank (FCMB).

Balogun

The legends of how this many-titled Chief rose from a young lad of Ijebu-Ode to establishing one of the earliest indigenous banking institutions are inspiring. According

to the stories, Chief was born in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State. He graduated from Igbobi College, Yaba, Lagos, and went on to study Law at the prestigious London School of Economics.

It is said that young Balogun’s diligence and fiery brilliance made level paths for his success. But he trudged many paths before he found that smooth one. After several turns, Chief Balogun reached a height that permitted him to establish the institution of our pride. Aside from his contributions to the banking sector, Chief Subomi Balogun’s philanthropy is unrivalled. Was it not only a few months ago that he gave away a whole health centre (the Otunba Tunwase National Paediatric Centre (OTNPC)) for children’s care? That’s a legendary character for you.

And so accolades are signifying a second Noah’s Flood in his honour—and why not?

After all, millions of Nigerians can claim the title of ‘son of the soil’, but only a handful can plant something on Chief Subomi Balogun’s level.

Josephine Ozekohme Celebrates God’s Grace at 50 Adesina

T

hese are happy days for Prince (Dr) Adebiyi Adesina, Chairman of Unique Motors and ECOWAS Peace Ambassador. In a matter of months, the affable man has gone from being a reputable figure of business and industry to being a sky-trampling character of traditional reckoning.

Prince Adesina was recently reported to have earned himself a prestigious traditional position and title in his hometown, the ancient Kingdom of Ibadan, Oyo State. Because the man is well known and well-liked, folks did not find it incredible. Everything finally came to a head with the coronation ceremony held on the 6th and 7th of March, 2021, which cemented the gist.

Prince Adesina Adebiyi has become, for all intents and purposes, the Agbaakin Majeobaje of Ibadan.

Sources report that the ceremonies were an event unto themselves as the good people of Ibadan gathered under the goodwill of the Olubadan to celebrate Prince Adesina’s ascension properly. Such was the jubilation, it is said, that folks had to be told to go home. But who can blame them? A genial character on the celebrant’s level of amiability does not get promoted to nobility every day. Besides, popular musicians Wale Thompson and Taye Currency were on stage, so there was no dull moment. And the number of industry leaders and political figures that were on site discouraged any slim intention to go home.

Moreover, the ease with which Prince Adesina and his wife stepped into their new identities spoke volumes of their inherent fitness and suitability.

For the new Agbaakin Majeobaje of Ibadan, one good thing followed another, and then another, until they were all rushing towards him. A few months ago, the European-American University (EAU) awarded him an honorary PhD title; sometime before that, it was ECOWAS. Before folks could blink, the Olubadan of Ibadan had requested his presence, and when Prince Adesina emerged, he was a Majeobajein-waiting. That is a blessed man indeed.

Seeing the merriment and jubilation with which the family of Mike Ozekhome celebrated the 50th birthday of their matriarch, Lady Josephine Ozekhome, makes one wonder if Tolstoy was right to say that happy families are all alike. It does not at all seem like there is a Nigerian family happier than the Ozekhomes.

The birthday ceremony was organised by the Senior Advocate of Nigeria himself, Mike Ozekhome. Held at his Chambers in Abuja, the event played host to several prominent figures, all of whom sang songs and tirelessly applauded the celebrant.

Among the guests were former Nigerian First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, popular Kogi senator Dino Melaye, and several others.

Unsurprisingly, Dame Patience won the special guest seat on account of her age-long friendship

with the Ozekhomes.

The celebrant, Lady Josephine, was all smiles throughout the event, with her husband occasionally taking her hand. Of course, her radiance reached the heart of all and sundry, and so guests unhesitatingly got out of their chairs to wish the pride of the Ozekhome family a happy golden 50, many happy returns, long life, and prosperity. To be paid such grand tributes by so many grand characters is an honour that few deserve. But Lady Josephine numbers among this few, and so she took it all in stride, grateful, charming - the perfect host.

Those who know the Ozekhomes know that although Mike is a mover and shaker in Nigerian society, his wife is the judge and jury of their happy home. Reported to have been (traditionally) joined together in marital

Ozekohme

bliss in 1991, their relationship’s flame burns brighter and brighter. Neither the husband’s legal Brobdingnagian stature nor the birth of their six children has threatened the flame.

Some people really are meant together, and after 30 years together, her family is one reason Josephine Ozekhome insists on the presence of God’s grace in her life. A blessed woman and a blessed family indeed.

Celebrating Dickens Sanomi’s Two Decades’ Remembrance

A single decade can go by without anything happening, but two decades change everything. Bright eyes might turn dim; dim eyes might close indefinitely. But some things endure in the face of time’s ruthlessness:

memory, legacy—the defining facts of human life.

March 11, 2021, marks the 20th year since the passing of a great man, the late Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Dickens Oghenereuemu Patrick Sanomi. To outsiders, he was an impartial AIG, lover of talents and sports; but to the Sanomi clan, he was a compassionate husband, father, brother, uncle, grandfather, and father-in-law. It has been 7,305 days since he left, but his memory and legacy are still as fresh as ever.

The entire Sanomi clan remembers the late man today, sighing with helplessness at the eyes that shut, and will never open to this world again, at the calming hands that will never pat their heads and shoulders again. And yet, the memory of the Sanomi patriarch does not foreshadow despair but pride and hearts of celebration.

The children of the late Dickens Sanomi have ensured that their father’s memory will not expire, nor allow the greatness and kindness he embodied in his lifetime to slacken.

The Dickens Sanomi Foundation (DSF) is how they accomplish this, a foundation as solid,

Age 20 is coming out of adolescence, and age 50 is stepping out of youth. At 30, the clock hands run a bit faster. It is at age 40 that life truly embraces you. This is as true for Abisola Kola-Daisi as it is for every other person, but the enchanting businesswoman and Fashion Lady has decided that a trip outside the familiar green and brown of Nigeria is not bad.

News reaching us at the news and media corner is that Lady Abisola Kola-Daisi (alias ABI-KD) has taken her 40th Birthday celebration overseas. The lifestyle Queen is no longer holding back from the little delights of life, and so a change of scenery is essential. And when best to rouse oneself

to more happiness than a Birthday? So all is well and waxing for the lady, although things appeared heart-rendingly grim some months back.

No one expected the oak of the Ajimobi family’s sudden death, Senator Isiaka Abiola Adeyemi Ajimobi. It took months for the shock of the former Oyo governor’s passing to wear off, but even then, his daughter (Abisola Kola-Daisi) and the rest of the household held on to a ghostly hope that it was a simple nightmare. But it wasn’t, and so Kola-Daisi fell from her perch of formerly-unbroken rapture and remained down.

Sanomi

reliable, and charitable as he was. And with every accomplishment of the DSF, people remember Dickens Sanomi and celebrate him.

Since its establishment in 2011, the DSF has touched and influenced the lives of children everywhere. Designed to reflect the late Patriarch’s passions and interests, the DSF has improved many secondary school students’ lives, buoying their education with platforms for essay competitions, literacy programmes, music, and sports. But this is not the entire scope of the foundation’s work.

When River Niger flooded its banks in 2012 and interrupted Delta and Bayelsa residents’ lives and livelihoods, the DSF rose to help the victims with lifesaving relief packages, food supplies, and other necessities of life. The result was the rescue of over 12,300 people, which relieved the state government and won their appreciation and commendation. The DSF has continued to shine; a light on a hill cannot be hidden. It, and the rest of the Sanomi clan, represent something of the brilliant life that the late Dickens Sanomi lived. It has been 20 years of silence from the other end, but 20 years of uninterrupted impact from this end.

Abisola Kola-Daisi Celebrates 40th Birthday across the Sea Her daddy’s death encouraged her to see past old grievances and mend her relationship with her sister-in-law, Fatima Ganduje-Ajimobi. It was the impact of her daddy’s death that led folks to believe that life had changed for the brilliant Abisola Kola-Daisi, style genius and practitioner, Mistress and Madame of Florence H, luxury retail entrepreneur, and a personality of national and industry renown. This is the same Abisola Kola-Daisi that is vacationing overseas, 40 years of age and 40 shades of new brilliance and newer grace. What a relief!

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HIGHLIFE

Bishop Oyedepo and His ₦50 Billion Project: The Wise Master Builder

Bishop Oyedepo

Back straight, eyes on the board, blouse tucked in, sleeves folded, brain engines wiring away—this is Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa at her workstation, an inspiring paragon of a Chairman. Confidence without contentiousness, humility without timidity, smart and spirited, but not impetuous—a fine specimen of resourcefulness. This is what Nigeria hoped for but never anticipated: Abike Kafayat Oluwatoyin Dabiri-Erewa.

Many women have indeed done well, but one has to do excellently. And who else to bear this title but the country’s most forthcoming female politician and Commission Chairman? Hon. Dabiri-Erewa has done nothing but made us all proud in the years since she came into the limelight.

Dabiri-Erewa assumed the position of Chairman/CEO of the Nigerian Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) in 2018. Shortly after, she had wowed the presidency with her many accomplishments as Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora. Who would believe that the well-articulated and forthright daughter of the renowned Kind Teacher, Alhaja Sadiat Abeke Erogbogbo, was only doing what she does best

Let it be known that the Church has never run behind the Progress March of modern civilisation. In the last 2000+ years, the mandate of onward and forward has remained relevant and central to the assembly of Christian believers. This has translated to some of the most astounding accomplishments any person anywhere has ever seen at any time. Yet, Bishop David Oyedepo is set to raise the bar even higher.

The latest report from the Living Faith Church Worldwide (alias Winners’ Chapel International) is that between March of 2021 and an auspicious month in 2022, an auditorium with a carrying capacity of 106,000 would be built. Estimated to cost 50 billion, the anticipated edifice will likely replace the current 50,000-seater Faith Tabernacle and host the Shiloh in 2022.

To be sure, neither Bishop Oyedepo nor his worldwide congregation is known for

little things. (Even Pastor Paul Enenche of Dunamis, the beloved disciple of Bishop Oyedepo, recently built a 100,000-seater auditorium called the Glory Some!) Covenant University, Ota and Landmark University, Omu Aran are top-tier world-renowned tertiary institutions (probably among the first five most equipped private schools in Africa).

These are Winners’ Chapel productions. Not to mention the vast stretch of a little kingdom that is Canaan Land at Ota, Ogun State. Thus, the project in view—named The Ark—is the potential successor to other jaw-creaking projects.

According to reports, The Ark is going to sit on 1000 hectares all by itself, with a 20-floor edifice to serve as the administrative block for the global Church. This is excluding the ‘typical’ arrangement of schools, clinics, recreational facilities, etc., that will doubtless simultaneously accompany this project.

Abike Dabiri: Making a Difference through Diaspora Commission

Dabiri

and not working for accolades?

But looking out for others is what she knows to do best, as she demonstrated with Nigerians that have been hurt by foreign authorities—the

case of Nigerian students who were allegedly murdered in faraway northern Cyprus immediately comes to mind. Dabiri-Erewa was up and about during that period, as threatening as an anxious tigress protecting her cubs. Any wonder the authorities ran helter-skelter to pacify her? The Saudi Arabian government also aroused itself, fearing DabiriErewa’s wrath in the cases of Zainab Habib Aliyu and Mallam Ibrahim Ibrahim, who had been remanded in prison for speculated crimes.

And several other cases like these.

After six years in Diaspora matters (that is including her time as SSA on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora), Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa is celebrated at home because of her relevance outside—and celebrated outside because of her relevance at home. A Chairman that covers all bases is Dabiri-Erewa, an effective, unwavering Chairman; renowned and unique across tenures.

Rotary Recognises Exemplary Youths across Nigeria These are great times for Nigeria and its young people across the country. The recent celebration and award ceremony of six (6) notable youths (who are all under 40 years) have buoyed the spirit of the rest.

Thanks to initiatives like the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) and solicitous characters like Abiodun Richard Oshinibosi (Project Marshall and CEO of Abelinis Ltd), the young people of Nigeria have more than just their dreams to encourage them.

The RYLA recently sparked young people’s interests across the country when it awarded 6 Nigerian under-40 youths for their pursuits and achievements in different fields of endeavour. Challenging the irony of celebrating youths as ‘leaders of tomorrow’ but never letting them assume Captain roles, the RYLA Prize of Honour has promoted these awardees as paragons of youth and industry to be

admired and emulated.

RYLA is sponsored by Rotarians/ Rotary Clubs and facilitated by Citizenship and Leadership Centre Sea School, Apapa.

However, the RYLA Prize of Honour was introduced by Abiodun Oshinibosi while he was the Chairman/President of the Rotary Club. Before then (and it continues still), the Club celebrates young people between 14 and 30 years. So it was Oshinibosi that affixed the under-40 industry award—to the delight of innovative and progress-minded youths across the country.

The award ceremony took place at the close of the 2020 RYLA meeting that was held on February 21, 2021. The six awardees were honoured for their participation—and leadership—in technology/innovation, entrepreneurship, education, fashion, entertainment, agriculture, and community

Who’s After Zahra Indimi?

Indimi

Social media is flaring with the news of Zahra Buhari-Indimi shaking the table of media reporting with her threats to meet in Court.

The conditions that stoked the fires and rattled the former President’s daughter’s peace and comfort are not news, but the meaning behind them is.

The radiant and charming daughter of President Muhammadu Buhari, Zahra BuhariIndimi, has threatened to sue a news media outfit, Sahara Reporters, over what she construed as an “injurious and defamatory” indictment against her good name and person. Asking the News House to take down the story from all its platforms or face legal action, the pampered bride of the Indimi household is annoyed at what might have been a bit of gossip but has grown into a whirlwind of accusations.

The story goes thus: that a close friend of her native family, Alhaji Nasiru Haladu Danu, has gotten together with top figures of

Good News: Obasanjo and Iyabo Reconciled

service.

Opeyemi Owosho took the technology/innovation trophy for his work as the founder of Homefort Energy.

Abimbola Oluwakemi Oyegbami won the education category as the founder and proprietor of FeyiGrand Crèche and Preparatory School, Abule Egba, Lagos.

(She is only 29 years old.) Abodunrin Oluwaseun Buck represented the fashion category for his trending establishment, Buck, which employs over 30 others like him.

For entertainment, it was Dee-One, the comedian and entertainer, that got the winner’s applause. Ngozi Osawe captained the entrepreneurship category with her work as a beauty-enhancer and CEO of Zeekarh Cosmetics Spa & Beauty Place. And lastly, Ayeni Adeleke, CEO of industry-disrupting FarmToHome,

the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and then filched 51 billion meant for the NCS. Where Zahra Buhari-Indimi gets pulled into the hot topic is the report that 2.5 billion of the purportedly embezzled funds had been transferred to her account for the operation of one of her foundations.

Although her alleged part in the rumoured scam is secondary (when compared to the charge laid against the name and reputation of Nasiru Haladu, the Dan Amana Dutse of the Jigawa Emirates and top chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), that is), Zahra’s public character took a beating.

Her denial of the whole thing and insistence on Sahara Reporters retracting the story and apologising for the stunt has salvaged her some face. But, as some folks have noted, there might be someone out there who is not her fan, and who will stop at nothing to shatter the image she has built over the years. So the question stands: is Zahra Buhari-Indimi a victim of misplaced print, or is someone after her?

Obasanjo

T

he ties that bind daughters to their fathers and sons to their mothers are too thick and mysterious for any sort of severing.

After seven (7) full years of pretending that the other does not exist, former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello have finally reconciled.

In all honesty, very few people are close enough with both Chief Obasanjo and Senator ObasanjoBello (Baba’s first daughter with Chief (Mrs) Oluremi Obasanjo) to know whether they have been interacting in the last seven years of public silence. Nevertheless, this is the first time since that incident in December 2013 that either party publicly acknowledges the other’s existence.

The hint of reconciliation came from the former President.

According to him, his being diagnosed with the COVID-19 virus prompted him to put a call through to his first daughter, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello (a trained Epidemiologist). Perhaps, the threat to health did more good than harm.

On a side note, Baba is okay now, as free of the COVID-19 virus as he is of the burden of fighting with his first daughter. So Baba Obasanjo is back to speaking terms with the Senator. A big surprise for most, considering the height from which the father-daughter duo fell out. But an anticipated lifelong enmity has been thrown off.

Most people would recall the various conditions that led to Senator Obasanjo-Bello calling it quits with her father. She had accused him of turning a blind and cruel eye to the happenings in his family but never failing to involve himself in Nigerian politics, suggesting that the former President’s fingers in the National Pot would wreck the broth. And more and more. Baba responded in kind but a bit subdued compared to his usual fierceness. He suggested that his daughter was childish and had allowed herself to become the plaything of his opponents at that time. But all that is the past. The Obasanjo clan is restored.

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LOUD WHISPERS

with JOSEPH EDGAR (09095325791)

Buhari vs Osinbajo – The Vaccine Fight

This vaccine matter no easy as we see am o. You will not begin to imagine what went on behind the scenes before these two people came out to collect the vaccine. You know as the Duke, I dey get insider gist.

When they announce say they will be receiving the vaccines, Buhari say Osinbajo must collect first, that with all the pepper and tatashe Osinbajo don eat inside stew, if anything go happen make he happen to am first. When Osinbajo hear, he ask Buhari say, when he dey shout ‘Change, Change’ he know know. Shebi he say 15 million Nigerians vote for am. Oya vaccine don come now he dey push am for front. Na so dem begin to dey argue amongst themselves o. It was bad.

Osinbajo remind Buhari of his civil war heroics, say him na full General of the Nigerian Army and as such he cannot be fearing vaccine like that.

You know say, Osinbajo get argument o, that is why he be SAN. He argue say the only training he get na for

Law School, while Buhari get training for Sand Hurst and Pakistan. They even bring in their wives. Aisha say, she will take first and Osinbajo wife say she too will take. But Malami say it is not constitutional that both wives, despite their courage are not elected officials. That na Femi Falana go first shout. So Buhari and Osinbajo wey wear traditional Igbo outfits for billboards and TV adverts asking for our votes must do the right thing and that 200 million Nigerians were watching. Buhari say, OK, but please send for the Duke of Shomolu let me explain some things to him. They called me; I busy for bridge where Tinubu dey launch, so I no pick.

Finally, Buhari summon courage. He say to himself, him that destroy Maitatsine, him that withstand all of OBJ letters, him that marry Aisha will now be fearing vaccine. He will take it like a man. So, they summon the doctor for a background check. They had to be sure that the man no be PDP, no come from OBJ village, no relate in any way

to Wike and has never met Reno in his life. Finally, Buhari take him seat.

Them put seatbelt around am, so that he will not run away and he beg that they should give him the shot in his left hand because that is where his power is.

As they put the injection, Osinbajo just shout where he dey – yeeeepa, want ti kpa baba mi o. Buhari strong him face, he cannot cry in front of PDP. He try sha, he take am like a man. Osinbajo also siddon but madam don lace am with lafun the previous night so him body don freeze. So he take am. But since then, two of them have been sleeping non-stop and crying and wishing they didn’t win second term. As for me, me I am watching them very carefully and will only take my vaccine after the Minister of Health has assured me in a letter to the National Assembly that Mr. Buhari and Mr. Osinbajo are in good health complete with firm erections post-vaccine intake before I go collect my own. I cannot be running from covid and go and lose my erection. Mbok.

TINUBU STILL POINTING THE FINGER AT AMBODE? As I watch my daddy come out of the car in that stadium, complete with a face mask, I start to ask myself why he dey take all this risk because of a bridge. The police oga was there sef, me too I tire. Oga had just come fresh from shutting down Cubana – those ones sef really get problem - straight to the stadium with thousands, all with no covid compliance but had all come out to look at the bridge. Daddy made many statements but one struck.

He was quoted to have said that Ambode was a problem. My words. You see a lot has been said about this matter and Nigerians on social media took daddy to the cleaners, and as such, despite all the pressure, I will really not want to join words.

The only thing I will say at this point is that truly Ambode is a problem. Not anyhow problem but the kind of problem you get like a

boil in your anus. So the best thing is just to leave it o before it will turn into another thing. My friend in secondary school busted the boil on his nose and got his face disfigured.

Na so this Ambode thing want to be. Shebi, the master plan has been restored, the ‘people’ have spoken and he has been kicked to the dusty roads of Epe? So let him be. Let’s us move forward. Let us rebuild Lagos. Lagos needs to fulfil its full potential and I am happy that his successor is really doing his best to make things happen in the state.

Let’s leave Ambode alone, the man has suffered enough. He only wanted to serve and ‘the people’ say he has served enough. OK na.

Please let him be. It’s OK. Thank you.

country has gone to the dogs. I do not even know where they expect redemption to come from with such alarmist perpetration of pessimism. Everybody has given up. Really sad. But once in a while, incurable minority optimist like us will receive a strong jolt of confidence like this Flutterwave transaction. A Nigerian platform founded by Nigerians receiving $1 billion valuation and going ahead to raise over $100 million in capital. In this same country o. This country that people are doing banditry and sleeping with people’s maids and be shouting that it is over. This is massive and if we have sense, we should build on this and the other stories like this. I believe very strongly in this country. I am not talking potential, because they have been talking this potential since I was born in 1969 but in the now. The next generation is already moving the country forward. They are not falling on the tired expectations of our lame older generations to build massive

Tinubu

Harry and Meghan

FLUTTERWAVE – ANOTHER RAY OF LIGHT You just cannot imagine how I feel when I hear stories like this.

I am very active on social media, and I read all sorts of escapist and jaundiced narrations of how this

Buhari

wealth creation enclaves. We will be a great country sooner than you know it. God will keep all of us alive. For the naysayers, I say make una dey use una mumu eyes they watch. Things are happening.

A Nigerian firm valued at $1 billion? And you say the country is over? Be doing food blockade there and be running after cows.

Things are happening.

IBORI LOOT – A FUNNY RIDDLE I will not say much. I have met the gentleman and I must say I like him so this is not about him but the needless debate that is going on around whatever funds are being repatriated. So I hear the federal government want to use the money to build LagosIbadan road and other such roads, while the Delta people who I hear initially had said no funds were missing now want the money. The thing remind me of my former oga when we had problem with EFCC.

Ibori

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LOUD WHISPERS He come write statement that he does not know me and that he was about to sack me before the matter reach EFCC but come for back write another letter say the N50 million wey dey come as a result of the transaction is his company’s money. Even the EFCC people laugh when they see the two letters.

But this is different. There is a source account that the money left in the first place, and whether the people of Delta denied knowledge of the transaction or not, the money must be returned to that source account. It’s just common sense. All this debate is just distraction abeg.

Let’s face better things, thank you.

ADAMS OSHIOMHOLE – I APOLOGISE You see the thing with Nigerian fight is what just happen now. We don’t fight with principles. We just fight anywhere bele face and after some time, we will now reconcile and look for new people to fight.

This used to put us the followers in a tough situation. The day I saw the two gorimapa of Obaseki and Oshiomhole greeting themselves in church, I almost piss for my pants. See Obaseki ooo, that we all supported and started to abuse Oshiomhole now now he don go settle. Which kind leader be this na? So we that have been abusing Oshiomhole say his head is big and he no go school and say na tailor for Kaduna what would we now do? This is a problem. A leader that cannot even keep fight or malice for at least one year is not a good leader o. kai, I regret.

If I been know that Obaseki will go and beg so early, I for mind my business o. Or wetin concern Akwa Ibom man with Edo politics?

After all, the only thing that link me with them, my baby from Fugar don go marry another man from Auchi, dem Oris side. Please let me warn the following: Wike and Amaechi, Okorocha and Uzodinma, Ikpeazu and Adeyemi, if you know you want to fight cockroach fight, let me know so that I respect myself and ignore but if you know you are ready for the roforofo complete with pulling each other’s d…k let’s go there.

Please daddy Oshiomhole, kindly send your address let me also send a detailed letter of apology for my transgressions. I did not know. Kai. BELLO MATAWALLE – THAT’S MEANINGLESS ULTIMATUM This is leadership. Oga has given bandits a deadline to surrender or be flushed out. The thing reminds of when Erelu was alive. She will be chatting and I will be jealous.

The thing will be paining me and I will be asking her who are you chatting with? I will break the phone o. So I will say, ‘if you don’t stop chatting and going on social media I will break the phone’. She will just laugh and say, ‘Shomolu tout, everything must be violence, you cannot use s. Ie. The thing will pain me, I will hit my head on the wall dying from jealousy. So one day, I come do this thing wey Matawalle do, I give an ultimatum.

If you don’t stop chatting at night, I will scatter the phone and drive you away. She say, OK. She don hear. Then it struck me,

Oshiomhole

how do you control and enforce that kind of rule. Won’t I go to work, won’t I sleep, will I resign and come and be watching her 24/7 to make sure she does not go on social media and be chatting, exposing herself to errant men who are lurking out there. You know as they say it, ‘a man who kills with sword, cannot stand and be watching someone with razor’. That is the kind of deadline my lord has just issued. Plain meaningless, PR driven stunt that will do nothing. How can you give a deadline to breeze? Me I can’t think of any solution but this one

Unweni

no go work. Let’s go back to the drawing board.

HARRY AND MEGHAN - I FELT LIKE PUKING UP If you go to Shomolu market, you will see plenty rotten tomatoes.

The thing used to crawl on my skin and make me feel like puking. That is exactly how I felt watching that Interview by Oprah. Oprah don old o. kai, she no fine again, but a brilliant interviewer she remains with my crush still intact. I watched these two spoilt children struggling very hard to explain why they were moving against an institution that

ALIBABA – ACCEPT MY HEARTFELT APOLOGY The last I heard from my brother, the legendary comedian, was when he came out of the isolation centre. He had a harrowing experience as self-narrated on many media outlets. We disagreed on some fundamentals regarding the handling and management of the pandemic in Nigeria. We were on opposing sides, and I wrote a scathing commentary on his position.

By morning, he had blocked me, and I didn’t have access to my brother of over 20 years. We went to the same secondary school o and his wife, Mummy Mary, is my sister. If I was very sure that I would continue to have

Alibaba

Mummy Mary’s afang without settling with Alibaba, I will just ignore him and continue the fight.

But seeing the kind of love between these two, an attack on one is an attack on the other. So since Mummy Mary’s afang is one of the best in Lagos, I cannot risk it. So Great Alibaba, I am sorry, please take me back, and it is not because of the afang but because of the genuine love I have for you as a brother. Mbok, don’t vex, can you forgive me before Saturday so that I can make it in time for Mummy’s Sunday afang. Thank you. Make all of una follow put mouth.

has not only given them so much but has also given the world a lot.

Anything you want to say about the British monarchy, you will not discount the role it has played in world affairs and especially the stabilisation that the present queen has brought since her reign. Her role in the fight against Apartheid, Zimbabwe’s independence and in the Second World War. But what do these ones know? Much as I understand the trauma Harry would have felt losing his mother at such an early age, what is Meghan’s own? Didn’t she know that that expensive lifestyle will come with responsibilities when she was coming into the marriage?

She come say she come dey get mental health issues, well for where I siddon from my black man eyes, I know see any mental health issues at least it was not established in my estimation in that interview. By the time they were talking about losing their security, I just stand up go toilet go poo. Bloody waste of my time.

OSA UNWENI’S TALL AMBITION Osa is angry o. Osa is a great man.

Osa suddenly calls me, I am not sure what he was doing as at the time of the call but he wants to be President. I say of where, Magodo Phase 11 where he just won election? He says no, Nigeria. He is tired. Tired of all the charlatans that have been parading themselves.

Tired of the dancing chairs that keep throwing up the same people in a continuous swing of avarice and inept leadership. Na me dey talk all these big words o, I don’t think osa fit speak these kind big English sha.

But as Shina Peters says, English no be success. You see, I am very happy. I am not happy that this Osa’s ambition will last till evening after eating correct ogbono soup from his wife but I am happy that men, young men are waking up to the reality of our situation and are beginning to want to stand up. This, to me is the resolve of every right-thinking Nigerian. Let’s join the political process. Enough of all the debates in the beer parlour and on social media. Let’s stand up and make things happen. Osa well done.

EKDC – MY BILL IS EYE-WATERING N77,000 Mbok come and see my mouth when my last month’s electricity bill hit my phone. My mouth opened, and saliva came out. I looked and felt stupid: N77,000 in one month? Mbok, my other neighbour na N180,000 for the month o; not five years. If it continues like this, I will revert to lantern and candle. I did not come to Lagos to come do this kind thing, na spiritual problem. I hereby call on EKDC (shebi they say you guys now have pre-paid meters all over the place?), please send pre-paid meters to all of us within your district o. These bills are just not it.

It is mad and we run into millions suffering in silence. Just be that the rest no be Duke of Shomolu so them no fit shout, shame dey catch them. Me I dey shout o. I no get shame.

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Adebayo Adeoye bayoolunla@gmail.com; 08054680651

Is Zinox Group Chairman Leo Stan Ekeh Retiring Soon?

Ekundayo

Kennii Ekundayo, Ada Godspower, Others Headline Artpedia Nigeria

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iew weeks ago, Artpedia Nigeria launched a new gallery space tagged ‘The Persistence of Time,’ a group art exhibitions featuring top Nigerian contemporary

artists.

The Persistence of Time, which ends on Friday, April 30, brings together 28 paintings from the gallery’s expansive collection.

It features Ada Godspower, Elizabeth Ekpetorson, Frederick Idele, Ikechukwu Ezeigwe, Habeeb Andu and Sejiro Avoseh.

The exhibition’s title borrows from the iconic painting of Spanish artist, Salvador Dalí, one of the remarkable artists of the Surrealism art movement named The Persistence of Memory (1931).

In line with the movement, it presents a school of artistry that has been shaped by time — through individual experiences and social events — and distinctively marked by the capricious forms and precise reflections of the unconscious mind.

The show is a walk through the socio-political connotations of Avoseh, easily identified for his style of fusing collage and painting techniques to create dissimilar forms layered in a complex manner to the hasty yet measured brushstrokes of Elizabeth Ekpetorson, who logs the time and allows its resulting elements such as emotions and reactions fuel her artistic production.

The exhibition theorises the influence of time on artistic innovation.This is reflected in the interconnectedness of the 28 randomly selected and displayed artworks by six artists who have independently produced each body of work at different times since 2017.

Established in November 2020 by Onomen ‘Nomzky’ Onohi, a familiar name amongst the Nigerian music scene and an avid collector of art, this exhibition is the first in the Artpedia gallery space, officially launching it into the art community and sector.

‘The Persistence of Time’ is curated

by Lagos-based curator Kennii Ekundayo.

Artpedia Gallery is a contemporary art gallery and creative experience in the heart of Lagos, Nigeria. It offers an intimate space for lovers of contemporary art and fine wine to come together.The gallery boasts of a diverse range of authentic and affordable artworks crafted by legendary and leading contemporary artists.

With primary objectives to spotlight the best creatives in Nigeria and Africa; influence art appreciation; democratise art education; deepen and grow art followership and ultimately; make the engagements and conversations around

Sometime in 2018, foremost serial digital entrepreneur and chairman of Zinox Group, Leo Stan Ekeh, dropped a hint that he might retire from his multibillion-naira business at 65. Quite expectedly, almost immediately after he made the disclosure, the countdown had begun with some frenzy by his fans. So, when he eventually clocked 65 last month, not a few had looked forward to reading the news of his retirement. But contrary to expectations, the billionaire investor shocked them all as he kept silent on the issue.

Close sources revealed that he might have jettisoned the idea at the moment because he is a restless soul whose muse has never left him.

If there is anything you could say with certainty about Ekeh, it is the fact that he has his eyes fixed on the future. Renowned for his disruptive business mindset and strong attention to detail, Ekeh’s retirement will come as a surprise to many. This is especially so given his very active lifestyle, devotion to healthy living and Spartan discipline, which have made him look much younger than his years.

For instance, he recently called for the declaration of a Tech Independence Day, asserting that it is only a matter of time before Nigeria will start raising tech billionaires that would rival the likes of Jeff Bezos and Jack Ma. Ekeh has built Zinox Group into subSaharan Africa’s biggest integrated technology

conglomerate with his ingenuity and acclaimed successes as a globally recognised tech guru.

As an astute businessman, whose presence extends far beyond ICT and into other areas of the Nigerian economy with decades of successes under his belt, Ekeh’s Zinox Group in February 2018, in one fell swoop, acquired 99 percent of Konga shares from the majority of investors, Naspers and AB Kinnevik for $10 million just a few months after the third-party online retail marketplace laid off over half of its staff.

Three months later, Konga, founded in July 2012 by start-up whiz-kid Sim Shagaya as first-party direct retail in various categories of consumer goods and products, merged with Zinox’s retail outfit – Yudala to form the biggest e-commerce company in Africa.

Under the new merger, the brand name Konga was retained.

Ever since, Ekeh and his team have been working to ensure Konga retains its prominent position as the clear leader in the e-commerce sector. Konga currently has three subsidiary arms — KOS Delivery, KongaPay and Konga.com and they all have the potentiality to be individual product portfolios.

As part of strategic plans to make Konga the number one e-commerce giant in the African marketplace, Ekeh is currently constructing multibillion-dollar Africa’s first robotic warehouse in Lekki, where Artificial Intelligence

Ekeh

will be deployed.

It was gathered that acquiring the property cost over N7 billion. With the warehouse’s reconfiguration alongside the installation of necessary equipment, the Imo State-born billionaire will be committing close to N20 billion to bring the facility to fruition.

It was gathered that the facility would be open for operation by the middle of the year.

A first-rate Indian-trained economist and global advisor to Microsoft, Ekeh’s target, it was learnt, is to achieve a tech group worth $10 billion in valuation.

Quincy Ayodele on Cloud Nine with Dream Fulfilled

Ayodele

About 10 years ago, Quincy Olasunmbo Ayodele, the famed herbal slimmer, boasted that her children would one day revolutionise the alternative medicine sector as well as the ‘Quincy’ brand. At

that time, many had dismissed her claim as mere grandstanding, adding that most local brands’ lifetime is dependent on the survival of the founder. But Quincy is right. After all, that dream has become a reality right in her lifetime, and she has disappointed the naysayers. =Her America-trained first daughter, Dr. Tobi Ayodele-Keeny, has turned the popular Quincy Herbals Limited into a comprehensive health and naturopathic wellness centre, Society Watch gathered.

The modern detailed integrative medical centre with world-class facilities boasts a complete medical clinic, diagnostic lab services, healing medspa, aesthetics and skin care services.

Speaking on the development, Tobi, who expressed gratitude for her mother’s

support, said the new facility, now open for business along Macgregor Street in Ikoyi, is already championing the marriage of traditional and western medicine to provide people with the most accurate and effective solution to a variety of health and wellness issues, using scientifically proven naturopathic methods Quincy, the founder, is a World Health Organization-certified expert on the development of natural medicine in Africa. She comes from a long line of traditional medicine practitioners but became the pioneer of herbal medicine practised in a modern way by improving her paternal grandparents’ recipes and researching the best medicinal plants that could aid in weight loss and skincare improvement without adverse effects.

Oba Abdul Lateef Adeniran Akanni’s Prodigious Taste His Royal Highness, Oba Abdul Lateef Adeniran Akanni, the Olofin Adimula of Ado Odo, is widely recognised as a man who has a prodigious sense of taste and eyes for beauty. Everything he does, he has always added a touch of royalty, panache, glee and grandeur.

This seemed to be the takeaway by many, including royal fathers, notable politicians, Ogun State top functionaries, who witnessed the foundation-laying ceremony of his ultra-modern private kingdom located in the Ogun State Housing Corporation, Oke Oyinbo, Ado Odo, on February 20, 2021.

On completion, the structure, which sits on a large acre of land, is expected to incorporate all aspects and features of a traditional home, thereby making it one of the best residences of traditional rulers in

the country.

Just as expected, Olu of Ilaro and Paramount Ruler of Yewa, His Royal Highness Oba Kehinde Gbadewole Olugbenle and the Olota of Ota, Oba Adeyemi Abdulkabir Obalanlege led other top prominent rulers at the historic occasion at Alamuwa Grammar School’s football ground.

The multimillion-naira private palace of Oba Abdul-Lateef is designed to complement the town’s traditional palace. It will serve as the Oba’s residence, pending ongoing processes towards modernising the ancient palace.

Expressing his profound gratitude at the ground-breaking ceremony, the monarch thanked Governor Dapo Abiodun, Deputy Governor Noimot Salako-Oyedele, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Afolabi Afuape, the Commissioner of forestry, Tunji Akinosi, for their support.

Akanni

Metro & Castle Boss Adekunle Abdul Honoured

Abdul

‘A golden fish has no hiding place’ is an expression used to distinguish an exceptional talent. That perhaps was obviously at play when the Economic Community of West African States Youth Council was able to locate the yeoman’s job of Adekunle Abdul, as is evidenced by his “massive youth empowerment and human capital development.”

With over 200 direct and indirect employees with an average age of 25 under his watch, the real estate expert who sits atop Metro & Castle Homes was indeed a befitting young professional to be bestowed with the’ Nelson Mandela Leadership Award of Excellence and Integrity.’

Besides, he is an ambassador of the youth

organisation. Led by the President of the organisation, Williams Emmanuel from Ghana, Eto Francisca from Ivory Coast, the team, while making the presentation to Adekunle on March 9, 2021, in his Lagos office, disclosed that they had been watching the trail-blazing style he adopted in giving youths opportunity to work and express their youthful expertise.

The organisation said that was why they deemed it fit to encourage this apostle of change, philanthropist and lover of youth, education, who himself boasts of a degree in Construction Management at the Community College of Baltimore County in Maryland, U.S., with focus on Cost Control.

ARTS & REVIEW A

PUBLICATION

14.03.2021

IN FAÇADE, AFICIONADOS DISCERN ONOBRAKPEYA’S RESTLESS CREATIVITY Cover continued on Page 68 Onobrakpeya

EDITOR OKECHUKWU UWAEZUOKE/ okechukwu.uwaezuoke@thisdaylive.com

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 14, 2021

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ARTS & REVIEW\\EXHIBITION

IN FAÇADE, AFICIONADOS DISCERN ONOBRAKPEYA’S RESTLESS CREATIVITY An ongoing exhibition of the works of the octogenarian artist Bruce Onobrakpeya at Art 21 Gallery only scratches the surface of what he truly represents in the contemporary art scene, Okechukwu Uwaezuoke says

N

o, Façade – Bruce Onobrakpeya’s ongoing exhibition at Art 21 Gallery (at Eko Hotel and Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos)– is not just all about challenging aesthetic canons. Hasn’t that always been the theme song of the 88-yearold’s studio practice? Weaned on the “Natural Synthesis” principle of the Zaria Art Society – a group which he founded with his colleagues at the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology (NCAST) on Friday, October 9, 1959 – the artist’s works have always been known to appropriate local themes and motifs. This is besides their spanning across both conventional and unconventional artistic media.

So, why the needless rehash of this obvious fact in the exhibition’s curatorial note? As for Façade, which ends on Tuesday, April 6, the artist had – in an interview shortly before his 88th birthday on Sunday, August 30 last year – hinted that it was part of the “resonances” of the 60th anniversary since he held his first-ever exhibition.

And talking about that exhibition, held sometime in 1959, it had traipsed through such mediums of artistic expression as printmaking, painting, drawings, engravings and sculpture, among several others. Then, he was just a second-year student of the Zaria-based NCAST and was in the agrarian town of Ughelli, now in the present-day Delta State, for a vacation job. According to him, that endeavour was motivated by the fact that his Zaria Art Society associates – Uche Okeke, Demas Nwoko and Yusuff Grillo – had already had exposure to art shows.

Onobrakpeya, as a member of the now-defunct Zaria Art Society – defunct because it was officially disbanded on Friday, June 16, 1961 – envisioned the kind of synthesis, that would unearth traditional aesthetic values from their various ethnic backgrounds and giving them a new life on the pedestal of national significance.

For the contemporary Nigerian art scene, therefore, the “Natural Synthesis” philosophy, which was by no means an invention of the society, became a rallying call. It is indeed to this philosophy that contemporary Nigerian art owes much of its defining aesthetic credos.

With its precepts that favours the domestication of art practice, the philosophy, which was articulated by the society’s thenpresident Uche Okeke, chimed in so well with the country’s early post-independence years.

Onobrakpeya, alongside the society’s other six core members, had mainly deliberated on the nature of Nigerian art. They had wondered if it was right for them, as Nigerian artists, to discard their rich traditional heritage in favour of the kind of art they were exposed to at the institution. Somehow, they had to emboss the imprints of their Nigerian identities on their works.

Back to the activities marking the 60th anniversary of his presence in the exhibition circuit. They consist of a series of exhibitions and kindred art events, which had been lined up since 2019 to spread over three years. So far, there had been a show at the Freedom Park along Broad Street in Lagos Island and another at the Wheatbaker Hotel in the upmarket Ikoyi neighbourhood of Lagos. There was also a special retrospective of the works of the Zaria Art Society artists in Victoria Island organised by Arthouse Contemporary Limited as well as an exhibition featuring an aspect of his art practice in the Delta State town of Agbarha-Otor early last year as part of the annual Harmattan Workshop.

Curiously, Façade, the latest of these commemorative offerings, positions itself as an exhibition of paintings even when it also features a sizeable number of sculptures and installations. This is premised on the artist’s definition of painting as “simply the use of colours”. Because the African had traditionally been known to paint on any available surface – 2D or 3D – the viewer finds himself unexpectedly coshed on the head by a novel definition of what he hitherto assumed to be a familiar term. This is despite the curator’s forewarning to the effect that “the exhibition delivers a sharp

A view of the Art 21 exhibition hall contrast to the viewer’s expectation of what the technique entails, intrinsically conveying the artist’s limitless and eclectic capacity for storytelling.”

Meanwhile, the fact that Façade features works that beam the spotlight on a selection of periods in Onobrakpeya’s studio practice should not be seen as a unique selling point. For previous exhibitions on the works of this artist have done the same thing. “Some of the subject matters explored are peculiar to the messages treated by the artist,” writes the curator Kennii Ekundayo, who also discloses that these “range from social commentary as seen in the statement piece, Ibiero Djidara (2010/2020) that decries the violence against women as witnessed globally today and how they have become victims of barbaric acts such as femicide, rape, trafficking and other forms of dehumanisation; to works like Ekugbe (1994/2019), Smoke from a Broken Pipe (2005), Ekuoregbe (2003) and Travail of the Continent Masquerades III (2005) that address the political state of the country and continent.”

Really, it’s not hard for any aficionado to figure out why the octogenarian opted for the phase-by-phase exhibitions of his works.

Galleries or museums would have been overwhelmed by their sheer number and sizes. “No matter how big the gallery may be, it’s going to be difficult to show the works all at once,” the artist, who bagged the UNESCO recognition as a Living Human Treasure in 2006 and the Federal Government of Nigeria’s prestigious Nigerian Creativity Award on September 14, 2010, said in a previous interview.

Perhaps, were it not for the intrusion of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lagos art public would have been regaled with another Onobrakpeya’s serialised show. But then, the logistics of putting together such shows – as even Art 21 Gallery can attest – could be quite a daunting task. Of course, the job is not made easier by the fact that, even in his advanced years, the artist has continued to produce works at the slightest whim. During the last year’s governmentimposed lockdown to combat the pandemic, he produced a mixed-media assemblage, consisting mainly of plastic and metal, which he titled “Thorax of Antedulivian Insect (Orere)”.

Onobrakpeya’s vast range of works in diverse media since 1957

has so overwhelmed the industry’s consciousness that they had to – for art historical convenience – be segmented into periods. These periods have been identified as “Mythical Realism” (from 1957 to 1962), “Sunshine Period” (from 1962 to 1967), “Mask and the Cross Period” (1967 to 1978), the “Symbols of Ancestral Groves” period (between 1978 and 1984), the “Sahelian Masquerades” period (between 1984 and 1988), the “Mask” Series (from 1990 to 1995), the “Social Unrest” period (from 1995 to 1999) and “Installation Period” (from 1995 to date).

To the credit of this resourceful artist, who holds an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from the Delta State University as well as an honorary D. Litt from the University of Ibadan, the local art scene is annually reinvigorated through his annual Harmattan Workshops. This takes place in Agbarha-Otor, which since 1998 has been hosting artists and scholars from not only within Nigeria but also from outside.

Unarguably numbered among Africa’s most documented artists, Onobrakpeya has also asserted his presence on the global stage through his participation in several exhibitions and the number of his works in both public and private collections within and outside the country as well as his book illustrations. He had also been featured in several documentary films, among which are: Kindred Spirits: Contemporary Nigerian Artists by Smithsonian World, Washington, D.C. USA; The Magic of Nigeria, produced

by Delka/Polystar and directed by Ola Balogun, Lagos, Nigeria; Recalling the Future Art by Joanna Grabski, produced and directed by Claudine Pommier with the executive producer Cheikh Tidiane N’diaye/Arts in Action Society (Vancouver, Canada), The Harmattan Workshop Experience: The Journey So Far, on 10 years of the Agbarha-Otor Harmattan workshop experience, produced and directed by Onobrakpeya, 2009; RedHot, produced

by Communication for Change, directed by Sandra Obiago, June 2011, Lagos as well as two documentaries by the Lagos-based Back Page Productions.

Therefore, exhibitions like Façade, which only scratch the surface of what the artist truly represents in the local contemporary art scene, should only be seen as glimpses of his resourcefulness.

ARTBEAT

In Houston, Eko Art Gallery Evokes Nostalgic Feelings of Lagos

A

A painting by Samuel Uzoma at the exhibition

s one of Houston’s most iconic silo buildings, The Silos at Sawyer houses 97 workspaces for over 100 artists. Here, in good company among others, a visitor would find Eko Art Gallery, which was officially opened on Saturday, March 6.

At the grand opening of the gallery, ambitiously aspires to build a cultural bridge between Africa and the West, were Chief Mrs Nike Davies-Okundaye, her husband Chief Reuben Okundaye, Dr Kessington Okundaye, artists like Ayoola Omovo, Oluseyi Soyege and Bimbo Adenugba, among other guests.

Curiously, an attendee at the opening, captivated by the colours of the artworks, described them as “so vibrant and fantastic”, and had good things to say about the techniques of the paintings.

The gallery’s CEO, Uloma Okundaye, reiterated her “love for art and a need to be part of a cross-cultural dialogue between African and the West,” which, in her opinion, has become necessary because of the COVID pandemic.

Of course, the gallery also aspires to help boost the image of the international Nigerian artist. This is besides contributing its modest quota towards introducing contemporary Nigerian and African art to not only Texans but also to the entire US.

The gallery’s ambience would inevitably evoke a nostalgic feeling in any visitor, who has either lived or visited Nigeria. Besides its being named after the traditional name of Lagos, the over 500 artworks it displays – which are works produced by Nigerian artists – feature the popular sights of the megacity, everyday life of Nigerians, as well as the country’s rich cultural heritage. Among these works are works by the iconic Bruce Onobrakpeya, Nike DaviesOkundaye, Bolaji Ogunwo and Tola Wewe.

Meanwhile, the gallery hopes to leverage its location at The Sawyer Yard to keep its vision for the visual arts alive. Its CEO Okundaye said this would be through continuous dialogue, art collaborations, exhibitions and art exchange.

Read full article online - www.thisdaylive.com

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ RCH 14, 2021

FOCUS

Hussaini Rabiu: Raising The Bar for the Police Bomb Squads Ý ÞÒÏ ØËÞÓÙØ ÍÙØÞÓØßÏÝ ÞÙ ÑÜËÚÚÖÏ áÓÞÒ Ï×ÏÜÑÓØÑ ÝÏÍßÜÓÞã ÞÒÜÏËÞݘ ÞÒÏ ØÏá Ù××ÓÝÝÓÙØÏÜ ÙÐ ÙÖÓÍÏ ̙ ̚˜ âÚÖÙÝÓàÏ ÜÎÓØËØÍÏ ÓÝÚÙÝËÖ ̙ ̚ Ù××ËØΘ ËÑÙݘ ßÝÝËÓØÓ ËÌÓߘ ÜÏÍÏØÞÖã ÒÓÑÒÖÓÑÒÞÏÎ ÝÏàÏÜËÖ ßØÍÏÖÏÌÜËÞÏÎ ÌßÞ ÜÏ×ËÜÕËÌÖÏ ÝÞÜÓÎÏÝ ÙÐ ÞÒÏ Ù××ËØÎ ÎßÜÓØÑ Ë ×ÏÎÓË ÌÜÓÏÐÓØÑ ËÞ ÒÓÝ ÕÏÔ˘ ËÑÙÝ ÏËÎÛßËÜÞÏÜÝ ÙÐÐÓÍÏ˛ Ï ËÖÝÙ ÝÒËÜÏÎ ÒÓÝ ØÏá ÝÞÜËÞÏÑÓÏÝ ËÓ×ÏÎ ËÞ ËÍÞÓàËÞÓØÑ ÙÚÞÓ×ËÖ ÝÏÍßÜÓÞã ËÝ áÏÖÖ ËÝ ÚÜÙÞÏÍÞÓÙØ ÙÐ ÏâÚÖÙÝÓàÏÝ ËØÎ ÜËÎÓÙÖÙÑÓÍËÖ ×ËÞÏÜÓËÖÝ ËÍÜÙÝÝ ÞÒÏ ÍÙßØÞÜã˛ Ayo Arowolo ËØÎ Rebecca Ejifoma áÒÙ áÏÜÏ ËÞ ÞÒÏ ÌÜÓÏÐÓØÑ ØÙá ÜÏÚÙÜÞ

W

hen the new Commissioner of Police (CP), Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) Command, Lagos, CP Hussaini Rabiu enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force on March 3, 1990, it was in a quest to contribute his quota and protect lives and property of the compatriots then as a young officer.

Today, the dynamic CP, who started then as a Cadet ASP, is the 15th commissioner leading in the detection, diffusion and protection of explosives and biological weapons just to keep the nation’s security in checks.

At his Ikeja Headquarters office on a Thursday afternoon recently, the new EOD Head warmly welcomed the media, whose overwhelming presence he applauded as partners in the fight against criminality. His receptive mannerisms perfected his passion for his police calling, as he recounted his plans, among others.

First, he recalled how EOD personnel had activated their collective intelligence to revamp the Command.

In Rabiu’s words, “When I took over, we were trying to review the activities of EOD personnel in our command.

Sincerely speaking, I want to tell you that I appreciate the good works that I found my men doing on assumption of duty and they had recorded several achievements before I came in.”

Thrilled at their commendable wins, the CP lauded these feats recorded before his recent posting to the EOD Command, which are evident enough that EOD personnel are up to the task in the area of protecting explosives and radiological materials in the country. “On behalf of Inspector General of Police, IGP Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, NPM, Mni, who has been magnanimous in approving several internal security and mitigating initiatives and providing facilities and equipment to the EOD Command, we really appreciate his kind gesture,” he hinted.

According to the EOD boss, a native of Niger State, the initiative has paved the way for improved strategies and policies to enhance capacity building of EOD personnel such as donation of radiological and nuclear detection system for early detection, analysis and reporting of radioactive materials out of regulatory control, emphasising: “We want all materials to be regulated and under supervision of EOD personnel.”

Now despite the increasing spread of Covid-19 pandemic and its debilitating complications, Rabiu said EOD officers are always in the forefront in fighting criminals who may likely see the outbreak as an opportunity to intensify their notorious and nefarious gigs.

He disclosed that the EOD personnel had rolled up their sleeves and made some impressive strides like recovery of 150g of Ammonium Nitrate, 250g of high explosives and three inches of detonating cord behind old government house Jos on January 7 this year.

He further recounted how his personnel recovered nine pipes containing gun powder, ball bearings and electric conductors at Presidential Road, Independent layout in Enugu on January 8 this year. These same officers, he said, intercepted three muscle loading dane guns made for export at Sahco export shed at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in January this year.

Among the list is the regaining of a rocket-propelled grenade and two pieces of anti-aircraft ammunition at Bama Sport Centre, Maiduguri Borno State on January 2, this year; one cartridge of high explosive at Uyanga Akankpa Local government of Cross River State on January 28, this year. More wins include the recovery and demolition of other explosive ordinance at Abubua Eziagu Local Government Area of Enugu State on February 5, this year; two military fragmentation hand grenades; 940 AK47 live ammunition (7.62x39mm)and 216 GPMG live ammunition(7.92 × 57mm) from one Yakubu Sule ‘m’ at Danjuma Hotel Wulari in Maiduguri on February 24, this year.

While he commended the EOD for the remarkable feats, Rabiu lent his voice to spirited Nigerians to provide information as to where these explosives are hidden to enable them to retrieve and demolish them.

He emphasised: “We have in each state command, our EOD commanders and information can be given to them.

Rabiu Rest assured that their identity will not be exposed; it’ll be under special confidentiality. Our phone numbers can be reached through our command PRO for any verifications and information on 08126373636.

Even the PRO is doing a great job by disseminating our commanders’ telephone numbers to the public.”

In another twist, the EOD chief decried the security trend in the country. He admitted that there are a lot of problems which could not but be linked to lack of jobs and parental background where people will give birth to a lot of children and leave them to their fate.

“Definitely you will expect that they want to live up to expectations, hence, indulge into crime,” he said, adding that the aftermath of ENDSARS problem compounded criminal activities in the country.

While the EOD’s existence is of major importance to the police force, some of their tasks include detection, identification, recovery and field evacuation; rendering explosives safe; recovery and disposal by demolition, explosives that have become hazardous by deteriorating; inspection and control of commercial explosives/radioactive materials which are legally imported to ensure their compliance with import permit licences issued by the relevant authority, etc., and protection of the magazines at the explosive ordinance storage facilities.

“Our men are specialists in protecting and escorting them from the point of entry to the end-users, where they will be used. Our men are highly trained in the US, Canada, Germany and other foreign countries,” said the CP. On interference from other agencies on performance of their duties, the EOD head succinctly chipped in that EOD personnel remain ahead of the pack. According to him, “I think there is not going to be any conflict because our men are highly trained and specialised in our area of responsibility. No other can match up our capabilities; we are always number one.”

Today, the EOD Command has an additional responsibility. “We are already moving from explosives to CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear). When you look outside,” he said, pointing towards the window, “we have about three Mobile Detection System (MDS) vans donated by the US Government in collaboration with the office of the National Security Adviser and NNRA.”

With these MDS vehicles, Rabiu is certain they would counter all radiological threats from a distance and achieve a rapid upgrade from analogue to digital operations. He added, “They are fitted with some gadgets and cameras. Already we have two at the airport terminals, one at the international airport and the other at the cargo section.”

While rating the police as one of the best organisations in the world, Rabiu disclosed with a feeling of positive pride, “If I resurrect, l will join the police again.” His reason is connected to the fact that when men sleep, the police keep watch at night. “We are under the sun and rain 24 hours; performing 24 hours’ duty despite tasking challenges. We have always been the best in the United Nations Peacekeeping operations. Go to Liberia, Haiti and all other countries where police have been drafted to, you will see our police are one of the best in training and the job,” he said.

Rabiu lamented the treatment from the public despite the responsibilities of the Police to the nation thus, “One basic issue which I want you to know is that when the police err against an individual, human rights organisations will come in, but when the police is the victim, human rights outfits and even journalists will keep silent.”

He described the hate for police officers as being extreme. “I don’t know what is happening, the hatred for the police is just so much and I believe the journalists can make the police to be a greater organisation by way of public enlightenment. Let the public be able to appreciate the police so as to encourage them to put in their best,” he appealed.

For the CP, there was need to stress the slogan that “Police is your friend”. In his words, “When there is threat to public peace or life, the police will be called upon to intervene. Is the police having two lives? Let the public appreciate the police for once.”

Having been in the Nigeria Police Force for about 31 years now, Rabiu took a swift ride down the memory lane: “During my University days, we were involved in a protest which mobile police unit officers were drafted to quell. The gallantry and smartness of these mobile officers motivated me to join the police.

“They advised us that those property items were government property, and a lot had been invested through our hard work, taxes paid and there was no need burning them down; for this would amount to burning down taxes paid for such infrastructure and we the students would be on the losing side.

“Then I became convinced the police force is the appropriate place to contribute my own quota to the nation. That was when I developed interest to join the police. It is the only place you can ensure you’re giving your own contribution to the country in terms of security and protection of life and property that is it.”

The CP was trained at the Police Academy Annex, Kaduna. He keenly joined the force on March 3, 1990 as a Cadet ASP and trained for 18 rigorous months before graduating.

According to him, “We passed out with one star. My first point of call was Delta State as a Cadet ASP. When you are a Cadet, you must undergo some practical and field training while on duty. You will go to admin office and spend three months, you’ll come to the counter where you will learn a lot of things in this job.

“You will think some of the complaints you hear at the counter are fictions; they are true life stories. From there to MTD traffic division for three months, then to CID for another three months before you will be a policeman and be assigned duties.”

Just like every other new career, ASP Rabiu arrived Warri in Delta State. “I read the crime reports on the board, I saw security challenges everywhere. I looked at my friend and asked, ‘Are we going to be able to stay here at all because of threats to even our own lives’, he said ‘let’s see’,” he recalled with a touch of nostalgia.

“Anyhow it is discussed, I want to say that I have had the best of time with the Nigeria Police,” he said with a tone of finality.

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CICERO

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

IN THE ARENA

Matawalle’s Threat to Spill the Beans Unsettled by forces seeking to destroy his basic mandate of good governance and security of Zamfara State, Governor Bello Matawalle, threatened to unmask the sponsors. But this has since followed an uneasy calm, writes Louis Achi

A

hugely relieved Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State had twitted penultimate Sunday: “Alhamdulillah!

It gladdens my heart to announce the release of the abducted students of GGSS Jangebe from captivity. This follows the scaling of several hurdles laid against our efforts. I enjoin all well-meaning Nigerians to rejoice with us as our daughters are now safe.”

On February 26 2021, 279 female students aged between 10 and 17 were kidnapped in Zamfara State, Nigeria, in a raid by armed bandits at the Government Girls Science Secondary School, a boarding facility in Jangebe, Zamfara State. They were eventually released after different layers of interventions. Matawalle had correctly noted that security issues should always be seen and treated as everybody’s business.

Having ascended the throne as the legitimate governor of Zamfara State, he met a very dreadful security situation. Without any waste of time or blame game, he set about confronting the menace with great valour deploying his versatile, four-year experience as former Chairman House Committee on Security and Intelligence to good effect.

He kicked off with enervating meetings with critical stakeholders, different security outfits, from the National Police Headquarters, Abuja, meetings with the IG of police, President Muhammad Buhari and the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the Ex Minister of Defence, traditional leaders, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) leaders and CJTF and other key stakeholders.

With every consultation, a fact stood out that the crisis had taken ethnic dimensions most especially, after the creation of predominantly Hausa ‘Yan Sa-Kai vigilante groups by the former governor. Zamfara is one of the North West states affected by banditry.

A mix of the intensity of wanton criminal activity – kidnap for ransom, banditry and others in Zamfara State, culminating in the Jangebe kidnap pushed an angry Governor Mattawale to threaten to expose the shadowy sponsors. Many persons have been killed in the state and countless people abducted in attacks by different armed gangs. This was simply intolerable.

Governor Matawalle then threatened to shock Nigerians if he spoke out on those sponsoring bandits. “If I mention those behind Zamfara school kidnap, Nigerians will be shocked,” he said.

Matawalle, who spoke penultimate Sunday while playing host to 17 Emirs, who paid him a sympathy visit at the Government House in Gusau, the state capital, said he had many revelations about those behind the abduction as well as those who were not happy that he was negotiating with terrorists and bandits to bring peace to the state. His words: “They are not comfortable with the progress I am getting as a result of my peace initiative and they want to do all they can to sabotage my efforts. I will, Insha Allah, succeed at the end of the day and they will bury their faces in shame.”

More, he even offered to resign as governor, if taking such a step would bring a lasting solution to the high level insecurity in his state.

In a live television interview with Channels Television, the governor said, “If I know that my resigning as a governor will make the people sleep with their two eyes

Matawalle closed, I can resign. I am ready to do what will bring security. I am not power-hungry. I have been having a sleepless night to protect the people of Zamfara State.”

Since the Zamfara governor threatened to unmask the shadowy crises entrepreneurs, various stakeholders have been egging him on to go the whole hog and name names while some have saluted his courage.

The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF); the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere; the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF); Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) and the Kaduna State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) took on Matawalle and challenged him to reveal their identity.

In a recent statement, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) spokesman, Emmanuel Yawe, stated: “About a week ago, ACF issued a press release calling on Zamfara State Governor Bello Matawalle to name the people collaborating with kidnappers and bandits in his state, saying he knew the collaborators and that Nigerians will be shocked to know them.”

Significantly, in a key break, a soldier and his girlfriend

have been arrested in Zamfara for supplying arms and military uniforms to bandits. The deputy chief of staff to the Zamfara State governor said the arrest followed community-based intelligence.

The governor has also approved the removal of the Emir of Maru, Abubakar Chika and the district head of Kanoma, Lawal Ahmed, for allegedly giving support to bandits behind hundreds of deaths.

But a fact often glossed over by some stakeholders calling on Mattawale to spill the beans is that security is not prosecuted or procured using that strategy. It could even endanger the governor and worsen the situation in the state.

By working in close synergy with the security agencies, much can be achieved as demonstrated in the community-based intelligence revelations.

A former Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Security and Intelligence is certainly no push over when it comes to security matters, notwithstanding the constitutional hurdles in his way as the state’s chief security officer.

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

El-Rufai Knows His Onions!

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El-Rufai

he Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir ElRufai might be controversial by nature, he sure knows his onions regardless. And in spite of whatever misgivings people might have about him, some of which are sometimes justified, he definitely understands the issues and is able to sell them with confidence.

Since the north started to experience increasing insecurity in many of her states, El-Rufai had maintained position without batting an eyelid. Other governors from the region could see the sense in negotiating with criminals even when the consequences are more, such a solution, however, has no place in El-rufai’s leadership manual and he simply has it right.

Despite the fact that some 39 students from the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation in Afaka, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, were recently kidnapped, he has yet to buckle under the pressure to rescue the victims, such that would force him to a table with the criminals. The first thing he did was to dismiss the possibility of a ransom. He won’t sustain the lifeline of criminals.

It is no doubt a tough stance especially, when the lives of some young lads are involved, truth is that the ability to make hard choices is the hallmark of any leader, put differently whoever is involved. Unlike some of his colleagues who had surrendered to non-state actors and had been calling on God for his intervention, El-Rufai would rather take his chances. Kudos!

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 14, 2021

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BRIEFINGNOTES Battle for Delta’s £4.2 Million Recovered Loot Former civilian governor of Delta State, James Onanefe Ibori, is again in the eye of the global media storm though, this time, in an indirect way. Omon-Julius Onabu takes a look at the arguments about how to appropriate certain recovered monies stashed away in the UK by the ex-governor and his associates, which the British Government recently agreed to repatriate to Nigeria, soon

U

pon the restoration of democracy in Nigeria on May 29, 1999, James Onanefe Ibori, an economist and politician, took office as the elected governor of the oil-rich Delta State, supervising the affairs of the state for eight years, that is, the statutory maximum two terms.

However, more than 13 years after completing his tenure of office as governor, Ibori has continued to be in the news albeit notoriously or vicariously, specifically, because of the unending controversy his allegedly looted funds in foreign land had created.

This recurring echo from the past is in spite of the fact the businessman, who is excessively loved or admired by his own people in Nigeria regardless, had since served out a 13-year jail term that a United Kingdom court slammed him in 2012 for financial fraud totalling $50 million.

The said money, British and international investigators revealed, included “a $37 million or £23 million fraud from the sale of the Delta State’s shares” in Nigerian privatised GSM company known as Vmobile.

Very recently, precisely on March 9, 2021, the government of the United Kingdom (UK) expressed its readiness to begin to return to Nigeria in coming weeks, the sum of £4.2 million of the recovered “Ibori loot”, consequent upon a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the two countries on that day.

British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing and Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, signed the MoU for the UK and Nigeria, respectively.

According to the British high commissioner, the money was recovered from the former Delta governor’s family members and business associates in the UK. However, the attorney general of Nigeria stated categorically that Delta State was not in the calculation of the Federal Government of Nigeria on how to appropriate the expected recovered funds from Britain.

Presenting a picture of the said money being part of proceeds from a deal between the federal government and the UK government, Malami said the decision not to return the £4.2 million to Delta State was based on the resolution of the Buhari administration.

He said the issue of the looted money was based on “federal law” and not “state law”. Put differently, the attorney general stated that the money would not be given to the Delta State, because the said financial fraud was a federal crime.

“Whether Delta State will benefit (from the recovered money) is a function of local law”, the AGF said, adding that such was the federal government’s position.

“In consonance with existing framework or model engaged in the management of previous recoveries, the Federal Executive Council, under the able leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, has directed that the instant repatriated funds should be deployed towards the completion of the following legacy projects: The 2nd Niger Bridge, Abuja-Kano expressway under the coordination of the Nigeria Social Investment Authority (NSIA), to ensure integrity of the process,” Malami said.

He also claimed that his view or position of the federal government was supported by the terms of the said MoU between UK and Nigeria, including a condition that the money must be tied to certain specific federal projects.

Nevertheless, the statement by Malami, on behalf of the federal government, instantly sparked a new wave of reactions from different directions. The Delta State Government simply cried blue murder! The position of the state government that the funds belonged to Delta State was emphatically expressed by some officials of the government that spoke to THISDAY in Asaba.

According to the Commissioner for Information, Charles Aniagwu and the chief press secretary to the governor, Olisa Ifeajika, Delta State Government did not expect the federal government to carry through its threatened plan to use the £4.2 million recovered by the United Kingdom from Ibori and associates, to execute

Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa and one of his predecessors, James Ibori projects outside Delta State.

Speaking to THISDAY in Asaba, they argued that since the federal government merely made a statement of intention regarding what and where it might use the said money, it would be premature to begin to talk about going to court to challenge the federal government’s decision, that is, its stated cause of action credited to the AGF or to consider the roundtable option for now.

Nonetheless, they stressed that it would amount to monumental injustice and blatant impunity on the part of the federal government to divert the money to projects not located within Delta State.

They said the state government would only consider a court action in the unlikely situation that the federal government refused to hearken to the voice of reason from various stakeholders across the country.

“Delta State Government believes that the federal government erred by proposing that the money allegedly recovered from ex-governor James Ibori, and which is being returned to Nigeria by the UK, would be used for projects outside the state. We believe and hope that the federal government will listen to the voice of reason from numerous individuals, including legal luminaries and other stakeholders, and to do the needful by rescinding its plan to use the money for projects not connected to Delta at all,” Aniagwu said.

In the same vein, the chief press secretary said it would be understandable if Malami or the federal government had suggested that the recovered money be used to fund federal projects in Delta State. He said such a proposal would make sense if the federal government said it was concerned about judicious appropriation or application of the recovered funds.

“For instance, there are many federal roads in the state that are in very deplorable condition; so, one may be talking about committing the money to the reconstruction and rehabilitation of some of these federal roads that are very bad. We have the Asaba-Illah Road, Agbor-Umutu-Abraka road, roads like the Warri-Sapele-Benin road, Sapele-Eku Road.

“They could say, because we want the money to be judiciously utilised, let’s use the money for rehabilitation of these roads instead of the state government sourcing funds to fix these very rundown

but important federal roads,” Ifeajika stated, adding: “Otherwise, that (excluding Delta State) would be the height of injustice and impunity.”

Moreover, the Delta State Government has dismissed as preposterous, the claim by Malami that the said money did not belong to Delta State, because the negotiations and eventual signing of the MoU was a bilateral affair between the British government and its Nigerian counterpart. It said since it was international matters, only the national government could be involved.

On this, the information commissioner said, “In matters like this, Delta State couldn’t have gone into negotiations with the British Government. Such things are done national-government-to-national government, within the ambit of international law and diplomacy.

Moreover, the UK government, which is returning the money, was not equivocal as where the money is from. So, they know that it doesn’t belong to the Federal Government of Nigeria but to Delta State.”

Ifeajika, who observed that, the former governor was not an employee of the federal government and as such, could not have misappropriated or diverted the money in question from federal funds, further buttressed Aniagwu’s view.

“After all, Ibori was not a federal government worker; he didn’t serve as a federal minister.”

Many others, including individuals and groups had also reacted to the stand of the federal government on the recovered Ibori loot as expressed by AGF Malami. They include the fiery elder statesman and former information minister, Edwin Kiagbodo Clark; renowned Nigerian lawyer, Femi Falana as well as the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), which is the sociocultural organisation of Urhobo ethnic nationality worldwide. James Onanefe Ibori is of Urhobo ethnic extraction.

From all indications, if there was any Nigerian alive today that could speak authoritatively to any vexed issue in Delta State, and Niger Delta in general, that person is Chief E.K. Clark. Not only has he been involved in agitation for true federalism through resource control and restructuring of the country, Clark was evidently in the forefront of the clamour to recover funds from Delta State.

NOTES FOR FILE

Shanties Called Boarding Schools

One of the hostels from where students were abducted at the Government Science Secondary School, Kagara, Niger State, on Wednesday, February 17

The frequent kidnap of boarder students in northern part of the country has inadvertently exposed another leg to the situation, which is the living condition of the boarding students. If the shanties recently exposed on the social media were what the northern governors called schools, then, leadership in this part of the world is a curse.

In practically all parts of the north with no exception to any one state, the condition of schools let alone education itself attracts banditry. How governors and other northern leaders sleep in their swanky homes and call those shanties schools of the less privileged is incomprehensible.

There’s absolutely no difference in the boarding houses, where

these students were often kidnapped from in different parts of the north and the bushes where their abductors usually kept them. And, perhaps, whenever the options are thrown up, would these students not rather they aligned with bandits than study in such a filthy environment, where assimilation is very unlikely.

This development is a clarion call to the governors in the region and the northern elite in general. The rate at which criminality is growing and being sustained speaks largely to poor leadership, of which they are all complicit. What’s currently ravaging the north is much deeper than it seems and only an auspicious and sincere leadership can contain it.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 14, 2021

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POLITY

Restructuring: Going Around in Circles The renewed calls for the restructuring of the country offers no new solution to the governance challenges slowing Nigeria’s growth and development, writes Ojo Maduekwe

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Soyinka

n an interview with ThisDay, lawyer Kayode Adeniji said, if you decided in 1999 to stop listening to Nigerian politicians, “you wouldn’t have missed anything.” He claims nothing has changed.

“It is the same drama, the same issues of bloodshed, violence, incompetence, looting, political scheming, yet no outstanding personality and development.”

Take the conversations on restructuring for example. Election cycle after election cycle, Nigerians are inundated with headlines of “Prominent Nigerians call for restructuring”.

Except for the sometimes change in personalities, the ideas are but the same; nothing new.

It’s like we are living in a parallel universe.

We may be in the year 2021, however, it feels like 1999.

At the 2021 Obafemi Awolowo lecture, “prominent Nigerians” including Wole Soyinka, Nobel Laureate; Emeka Anyaoku, former Commonwealth Secretary-General; Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto and Odia Ofeimum, public intellectual, dissected Nigeria’s current state of affairs and suggested solutions on how to move the country forward.

Started in 1993, the annual event features notable Nigerians whose views on national issues are supposed to be “robust and agenda-setting”. Except for some comments made

by Mr. Soyinka, who was the lecture’s chairman, the solutions proffered by this year ’s speakers on the theme ‘Whither Nigeria?’, was in no way robust or agenda-setting. Put differently, there was nothing that was said at the virtual conference that has not been said before.

Soyinka’s charge to state governors to deshackle themselves from their “centralist mindset” was indeed a breadth of fresh air.

As he rightly put, it doesn’t matter how defective a contract the 1999 Constitution was, there’s still room for the governors to manoeuvre if they were genuinely interested in offering good governance to the masses. “Take in your hands any form of authority you can, if possible, constitute legal teams to advise you”, Soyinka said.

Also, except for the debate generated from comments made by some of the speaker ’s, there was nothing new with the ideas that was put forward on the modalities that must be adopted in restructuring Nigeria. The suggestion

by Anyaoku that the federal government and national assembly need to urgently initiate an “allinclusive national dialogue” is an old one.

How many times will Nigeria have a national conference?

There have been one too many diversionary dialogues over the years. Except for the 1958 London National Conference that birthed the

Independence Constitution of 1960, the rest were used by subsequent governments to douse frayed nerves and steer the country away from the brink of war.

For instance, the Constitutional Assembly of 1989 was military dictator General Ibrahim Babangida’s way of keeping the country distracted from the happenings in his government. In the end, he placated Nigerians with the 1993 Constitution, conducted an election for national assembly members and state governors but retained his position as military head.

This pattern of giving a divided country an avenue to jaw-jaw rather than war-war, continued sometime in 1993 with the National Constitutional Conference; then the National Political Reform Conference of 2005 and the 2014 National Conference.

Agreed that we’ve had too many pointless conferences, relying on President Muhammadu Buhari to initiate one will be asking for the impossible. Buhari has never hidden his opposition to any idea that seeks to question Nigeria’s indivisibility. A dialogue on restructuring appears to the president that some sections of the country are out to balkanise Nigeria.

To expect a president who thinks that the sovereignty of a “mere geographical expression” (apologies to the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo) is non-negotiable to call for a dialogue that questions that sovereignty, will be expecting fish to survive in the Sahara desert.

You can see that even the suggestion by Senator Shenu Sanni that the president could either choose to implement in full the report of the 2014 national conference, or some of it; donate the document to libraries, keep it in government shelves or shred and recycle it, and / or keep it in the national archives, saw Buhari choosing the last option.

In an interview sometime in June 2016, then Secretary to the Government of the Federation, David Babachir Lawal, said that the Buhari government would not implement “an exercise that we thought was essentially diversionary and a sort of, maybe, a ‘job for the boys’”.

The president’s dismissal of one of the most representative conferences, the 2014 National Conference, as a waste deserving of the “so-called archives”, gives you a window into how he sees some of these efforts at national unity. Agreed that all of the previous conferences may have been diversionary and pointless, at least they brought a divided country back from the brink of war, by giving aggrieved ethnic groups an avenue to vent off steam.

It will be nearly, if not outright impossible, to ask a president that is known for his lopsided appointments and policies, and his averseness to criticism, to assemble a diverse and truly representative group of Nigerians to discuss the country’s future.

Or should Nigerians rely on a national assembly whose principal officials they consider as a rubber stamp of the executive arm to initiate any idea that the executive is opposed to?

If Anyaoku knows that the current, as well the past national challenges bedevilling Nigeria, “cannot be effectively tackled under the present federal system of government,” he also should be aware that asking a president known for his divide and rule tactics to unite Nigerians, is like seeking for a solution from the same person that is the cause of your problem.

Nigerians will be going around in circles by expecting Buhari to restructure the country.

It is a waste of time pandering to a president opposed to the idea of a national dialogue.

Anyaoku and other prominent Nigerians that want to see Nigeria permanently pulled back from the brink of war must provide the people with other workable options and actors.

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NSA Monguno and Buhari

Beyond Monguno’s Repudiation Although the National Security Adviser, Major-General Babagana Monguno, has denied his recent statement accusing former service chiefs of misappropriating funds meant for arms, the issues are now beyond his refutation with its many implications, write Deji Elumoye and Kingsley Nwezeh

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he National Security Adviser, Major-General Babagana Monguno (rtd), for the better part of last week, was in the news over the current security challenges facing the nation. For over two hours, he spoke to State House reporters about the present administration’s efforts to improve the security situation in the country.

In the course of the interaction with newsmen, he spoke with the BBC Hausa service, which quoted Monguno as accusing the immediate past service chiefs of not delivering on the security mandate handed them by President Muhammadu Buhari as there were no equipment procured by them to fight insurgency and other security problems facing Nigeria.

The NSA was, however, quick to recant saying he was quoted out of contest. The Office of the National Security Adviser thereafter put in proper perspective what Monguno told the BBC reporter and denied saying funds meant for the purchase of arms had gone missing.

The statement read in part: “We would like to state that the NSA was quoted out of context as he did not categorically say that funds meant for arms procurement were missing under the former service chiefs as reported or transcribed by some media outlets from the BBC interview.

“During the interview, the National Security Adviser only reiterated the federal government’s commitment to deal decisively with insecurity and stated President Muhammadu Buhari’s continued commitment to providing all necessary support to the armed forces, including the provision of arms and equipment.”

The NSA said in the interview, clearly informed the BBC reporter that, “Mr. President has provided enormous resources for arms procurement, but the orders were either inadequate or yet to be delivered and that did not imply that the funds were misappropriated under the former service chiefs.”

Monguno also said he informed the reporter that, “Mr. President is following up on the procurement process as it’s usual with contracts relating to military equipment. In most cases, the process involves manufacturing, due diligence and tedious negotiations that may change delivery dates.”

Unfortunately, the revelation by Monguno has elicited reaction from the National Assembly with a promise to look into the issues raised by the NSA. Chairman, Senate Committee on Army, Senator Ali Ndume,

said the Senate would investigate Monguno’s allegation against the ex-service chiefs.

His words: “I have not ascertained the authenticity of the claims credited to the National Security Adviser as published in the media. It is a very serious allegation and we have to confirm from the source first.

“We will find out as part of our oversight functions. We will meet as a committee to take a decision on the matter. But we will first find out the genuineness of the claims. We cannot just act on rumours.”

On its part, the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee, spoke on the Need to Review the Purchase, Use and Control of Arms, Ammunition and Related Hardware by Military, Paramilitary and Other Law Enforcement Agencies in Nigeria, and also promised to investigate the “missing” arms and ammunition for which the former service chiefs were allocated funds to acquire.

The committee chairman, Hon Olaide Akinremi, noted that Nigerians were interested in the whereabouts of the funds and the arms and ammunition.

“It seems the money released to former service chiefs by President Muhammadu Buhari to buy weapons to fight terrorism, banditry and kidnapping is missing, because the new service chiefs have confirmed to us that they didn’t see where the new weapons were purchased in their handover notes.

“Apparently, the money is missing, and the money in question is in trillions of naira. And we must investigate (it). So, with all of these going on, coupled with international interest especially, the Nigerians we represent, they are all watching. So, we need to handle this issue with care. We all agree that it is very, very sensitive.” The question is, what has really happened to the funds appropriated in the past by the National Assembly for the government to procure security equipment? This is a question begging for answer.

Among several approvals made in the past by the legislative arm is the approval in 2018 of the request by President Buhari, for the withdrawal of $1bn from the Excess Crude Account for the purchase of weapons to fight insurgency.

Buhari had before then told the National Assembly that he already ordered the payment of $496m to the United States government for the purchase of 12 Tucano aircraft ahead of legislative approval.

Will the National Assembly go ahead to ask questions on the

update about the equipment that ought to have been bought in the last three years?

The leadership of the Assembly should summon courage and invite all those involved including the erstwhile service chiefs and the NSA to make public the different roles they played in the arms procurement saga.

The two chambers of the National Assembly should, as a matter of urgency, mandate their relevant security committees to jointly organise a public hearing for all stakeholders to discuss the contentious issues unravelled by the NSA. During the BBC interview, the NSA had said: “No one knows what happened to the money but by God’s grace, the president will investigate to find out whether the money was spent and where the arms went.

“It is not that we are not working to end the security challenge in the country. The president has done his own part and allocated huge amount of money to purchase weapons but they are yet to be here. We don’t know where they are. I am not saying that the past service chiefs have diverted the money, but presently we don’t know where the money is,” he said.

On the possibility of a probe into the alleged disappearance of the funds, he said: “I am sure the president will investigate this.

As I am talking to you now, even the Nigerian Governors’ Forum has started questioning where the money is. So, I assure you that the President is not playing with anything that has to do with the people.

“I can’t say the money was stolen but we didn’t see anything and even the new service chiefs said they didn’t see the weapons.

It is possible the weapons are on their way coming. Maybe from America, England and other places, but as at now, I didn’t see anything and the service chiefs too didn’t see any weapons too.”

Earlier on Thursday at a State House briefing in Aso Villa, the NSA said, the President had released a lot of funds for the military to purchase firepower and win the insurgency fight.

…Situating NSA’s Long Shot The position of National Security Adviser (NSA) is very sensitive. The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) is a clearinghouse for most security matters in the country. It is so important that it hosts weekly and, sometimes, emergency meetings with the military service chiefs and the Inspector-General of Police to thrash out pressing security issues.

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Buhari and former service chief With the spiraling violence across the country, the meetings are even more regular, with the NSA zooming the relevant security chiefs on several occasions.

Sounding the Alarm Monguno declared on Friday that billions of naira voted for the purchase of arms for the fight against insurgency and armed banditry could not be accounted for. Monguno, who spoke in a BBC Hausa programme, said the new military chiefs had not seen any evidence of arms procurement in their records and handover notes.

The ex-service chiefs are former Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin (rtd), former Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Tukur Buratai (rtd), former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (rtd), and former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar (rtd).

President Buhari recently appointed the former military chiefs ambassadors after their retirement, and the Senate has since cleared them.

In an interview with BBC Hausa service on Friday, Monguno said the failure to provide arms to frontline military personnel was a setback to the fight against insecurity in the nation.

“It is not that we are not working to end the security challenge in the country. The president has done his own part and allocated huge amount of money to purchase weapons, but they are yet to be here. We don’t know where they are. I am not saying that the past service chiefs have diverted the money, but presently, we don’t know where the money is,” he said.

On the possibility of a probe into the seeming disappearance of the funds, Monguno said, “I am sure the president will investigate this. As I am talking to you now, even the Nigerian Governors’ Forum has started questioning where the money is.”

Pressured Recant?

However, less than 12 hours after he spoke to the BBC, the ONSA issued a statement, obviously under pressure, claiming that Monguno was quoted out of context. Interestingly, the statement appeared to reinforce his earlier position during the BBC interview.

He said in the statement that the president had “provided enormous resources for arms procurement, but the orders were either inadequate or yet to be delivered”.

A Presidential Intervention On the same day, the presidency was swift in its response. In an interview with Channels TV, presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, claimed that such funds could not be missing under Buhari.

Shehu stated, “I imagine that you are talking about the $1 billion taken from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) with the consent of state governors and was used for military procurement.

I want to assure you that nothing of that money is missing.”

He said, “The reference to it in the interview with Hausa Service of the BBC by the National Security Adviser, I think, has been misconstrued and mistranslated.”

Shehu gave further insight into the arms procurement saga, and

stated that the arms were yet to be fully delivered. He disclosed that $536 million of the money was paid directly in a governmentto-government transaction with the United States government.

According to the presidential spokesman, “In August 2018, they allowed the Nigerian government to buy 12 Super Tucano aircraft suitable for the kind of war we are fighting in the North-east.

In addition to that, other arms of the military have also made procurements.

“The Nigerian Navy has done nearly 100 per cent of their procured equipment delivered, the Nigerian Air Force has bought a number of attack helicopters, 35 i-helicopters from Ukraine.”

Shehu, however, admitted that there had been problems with the procurements made by the Nigerian Army. He asserted that the equipment was coming in bits and pieces.

The presidential media aide said Nigeria’s biggest procurement was recorded in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

He said, “As I speak to you, it is held up in a situation which only diplomacy will resolve. The Nigerian Minister of Defence actually had a meeting with the Ambassador of the UAE to Nigeria and the idea is to resolve this so that these equipment held up will be released.

“We need them here, all these procurements are on-going; nothing can be bought on the shelf, they are bought on order.

“The NSA did not make accusations of misappropriation because there is none in dealing with this matter.”

Buratai Steps Forward, Denies Allegation Buratai (rtd) has reacted to Monguno’s alarm. In a statement the former Chief of Army Staff issued through his lawyer, Osuagwu Ugochukwu, he denied that funds meant for procurement of arms were missing under his command.

Ugochukwu said in the statement, “My attention has been drawn to an interview granted BBC by National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana Monguno, wherein he was alleged to have accused former service chiefs of filtering arms fund away.

“I can confirm that Lt. General Buratai and other ex-service chiefs were never mentioned in the interview and neither was any arms fund missing under the stewardship of Lt. Gen T.Y. Buratai.

“Interestingly, NSA Babagana Monguno has denied making such accusations. We, therefore, urge members of the public to discountenance any such misquoted narrative suggesting sleaze on the integrity of Rtd Lt Gen T.Y. Buratai.

“Anyone interested in knowing how arms were procured by the ex-service chiefs and particularly Lt Gen T.Y. Buratai should channel such request for information to the Ministry of Defence.”

NSA’s Spat With Former Service Chiefs This is not the first time Monguno is taking a swipe at the former service chiefs. Monguno had on December 9, 2019, in a widely publicised memo, fired a warning shot to the late Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, accusing him of interference with national security matters.

He accused the service chiefs of holding meetings and taking directives from Kyari.

Monguno warned the former service chiefs not to take any further directives from Kyari, accusing the former Chief of staff of “unwarranted meddlesomeness”. He said Kyari’s directives to the service chiefs were sometimes issued without the knowledge or approval of the president, a practice he said added to government’s failure to contain insecurity.

Monguno had stressed in the memo, “Chief of staff to the president is not a presiding head of security neither is he sworn to an oath of defending the country.

“As such, unprofessional practices such as presiding over meetings with service chiefs and heads of security organisations as well as ambassadors and high commissioners, to the exclusion of the NSA and/or supervising ministers, are a violation of the Constitution and directly undermine the authority of Mr President.”

Monguno further noted, “Such acts and continuous meddlesomeness by chief of staff have not only ruptured our security and defence efforts but have slowed down any meaningful gain that the President has sought to achieve.”

National Assembly Moves In The National Assembly has also weighed in. Chairman, Senate Committee on Army, Senator Ali Ndume, said the senate would investigate Monguno’s allegation against the ex-service chiefs.

Ndume said, “I have not ascertained the authenticity of the claims credited to the National Security Adviser, as published in the media.

“I have just read it in the newspapers. It is a very serious allegation and we have to confirm from the source first.”

Ndume assured that the senate would get to the root of the matter. He said, “We will find out, as part of our oversight functions. We will meet as a committee to take a decision on the matter. But we will first find out the genuineness of the claims. We cannot just act on rumours.”

Understanding the Military Budgets Over N3.5 trillion has been voted for the defence sector since 2015, a major part of which was committed into the war against insurgency, armed banditry, and other criminalities.

In the 2021 budget, the federal government earmarked N675 billion for the procurement of arms and equipment and training of 8,000 soldiers to end the Boko Haram insurgency and banditry in the North East of the country.

The insurgency has claimed an estimated 100,000 lives of civilians, security personnel and aid workers in 12 years, with property worth over N3.42 trillion destroyed in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States.

Speaking recently, Ndume stated that of the N675 billion military budget, N500 billion was for the procurement of arms and ammunition and operational fighting equipment. He said “Operation Lafiya Dole” in the North-east was allocated N75 billion for counter-insurgency operations in Sambisa forest and Lake Chad region.

“The N100 billion was for the on-going training of 8,000 soldiers in Zaria and Falgore Forest to match modern warfare against insurgency,” he said.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 14, 2021

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CICERO/REPORT

Ngwuta: Failed By His Country and People Although he died a week today, Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, had actually gradually died many times as a result of the humiliating treatment he received from a country he served meritoriously, writes Davidson Iriekpen

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igerians woke up last Sunday to the sad news of the death of Justice Sylvester Ngwuta of the Supreme Court. The jurist, who died just 23 days to his March 30th retirement, having turned 70 years, a statement by the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Mrs. Hadiza Mustapha, stated, died after a brief illness.

“The Supreme Court of Nigeria regrets to announce the death of the Hon. Mr. Justice Nwali Sylvester Ngwuta, JSC, CFR, by 2.30 a.m. of Sunday, March 7, 2021. He felt sick and was admitted in the last one week in the National Hospital, Abuja but before he was moved to the intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital on Friday, March 5, he tested negative to COVID-19 investigative test conducted on him,” the statement explained.

Born in 1951 in Amofia-Ukawu, Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, he obtained a bachelor’s degree in Law from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) lle-Ife and graduated in 1977, bagging his BL at the Nigerian Law School in 1978.

The jurist began his law career in 1978 as a state counsel in the Benue State Ministry of Justice. He started his private legal practice at Abakaliki in July 1978 to October 1995, from where he was appointed a judge of the High Court, Abia, in October 1995 and from there, promoted to the Court of Appeal on May 22, 2003, before he was finally sworn-in as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in May 2011.

Justice Ngwuta was the chairman of judicial panel of inquiry into the Obegu Enyibichirikwo Disturbance between 1997 and 1998 and had been a member of several Governorship and Legislative House Election Petitions Tribunals.

Both at the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, he was on the panels that heard so many important cases. At the Supreme Court, specifically, he presided over the ruling that affirmed Dr. Olusegun Mimiko as the governor-elect of Ondo State in the May 2013 governorship election.

He also presided over the ruling of the Supreme Court that affirmed Dr. Kayode Fayemi as the governor-elect of Ekiti State in the June 2013 governorship election and was supported by Justices Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad and Suleiman Galadima, amongst many others.

For those who knew the jurist, before his final departure on March 7, his spirit had long died – killed by the Nigerian State. He was a victim of a country that treats its bests shabbily; a country that runs down its own and rejects them.

After many years of meritorious career, sadly, on October 7, 2016, operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) under its former Director General, Lawal Daura, and on the orders of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, in an ungodly hour raid, invaded the residences of eight judges for inexplicable reasons and subjected them to serious harassments, intimidations and molestations.

In his pyjamas, when the invaders stormed his apartment, Ngwuta was made to sit for several hours as they ransacked his official house. Thereafter, they took him away, and kept

For those who knew the jurist, before his final departure on March 7, his spirit had long died – killed by the Nigerian State. He was a victim of a country that treats its bests shabbily; a country that runs down its own and rejects them

Ngwuta him with them until dawn.

He was later accused of money laundering. He was swiftly arraigned before a Federal High Court on the money laundering charges and suspended from office by the National Judicial Council (NJC). And shortly after, he was arraigned before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) for failure to declare his assets.

Like his colleague, Justice Inyang Okoro, Ngwuta knew where his travail came from and didn’t dance around it. In his letter to the then Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, he accused the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi of being behind his travails.

He said Amaechi had approached him in 2013, where he asked him to set aside the election that produced Mr. Ayo Fayose as governor of Ekiti State and replace him with Dr. Kayode Fayemi. He also said in the letter that Amaechi had also attempted to influence other justices on the Rivers State election panel.

He said: “My present plight started sometime between 2013 and 2014. I represented the then Chief Justice of Nigeria in an event organised in the International Conference Centre.

Amaechi came in late and sat next to me at the high table. He introduced himself to me and we exchanged contacts. A few weeks after, Fayose’s case was determined in the Court of Appeal.

“Amaechi called me by 6.45a.m. He said he had come to see me but was told I had left for my office. When he said he would return in the evening, I demanded to know what he wanted but he would not tell me. He did not come that evening but came the following morning, when I was already prepared to go to work.

“He begged me to ensure that Fayose’s election was set aside and another election ordered for his friend, Fayemi to contest. I told him I would not help him and that even if I am on the panel, I have only my one vote.

“After the Rivers State governorship election was determined by the Court of Appeal, he called to tell me his ears were full and he would like to tell me what he heard. I told him I was out of Abuja at the time. On my return, he came in the evening and even before he sat down he barked: ‘You have seen Wike.’

“I asked him whether that was a question or a statement.

Then he made a call and asked me to speak with someone.

The man he called said he was an operative of the DSS. We exchanged greetings and I handed the phone to him. Next,

he said ‘Oga is not happy’. I asked him who is the unhappy ‘Oga’ and he answered: ‘Buhari’. I retorted: ‘go and talk to his wife.’ He got very angry and left, remarking: ‘we shall see’ several times.”

Justice Ngwuta reminded the then CJN that he had brought the pressures by Amaechi before him and that he was assured that he was not alone.

“Your lordship may recall one morning, when I pleaded not be on the panel for Rivers Appeal. Your Lordship said I was already on the panel and asked me to explain why I made the request to be excluded. When I explained what transpired the previous night, your lordship told me Amaechi had also attempted to influence other justices.”

Amaechi denied the allegations, and accused some state governors such as Nyesom Wike and Ifeanyi Okowa as responsible for the allegations. But no investigation was done as he was asked to carry his cross himself.

Luckily for him, both charges were subsequently struck out in 2018 on account of a decision by the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division that an erring serving judicial officer must first be taken through NJC’s disciplinary mechanism before being subjected to trial in the conventional courts.

But that didn’t end his travails. Just when everyone thought he had been cleared, he was in the doldrums for close to at least another one year, where he was left idle at the Supreme Court. No cases were assigned to him. No communication with him. No files were passed to him. He would go to work, and just sit in the office, do nothing, except read some books, and newspapers. He was finally recalled to resume sitting on September 23, 2019.

What further demoralised Justice Nwguta was that his other colleague on the Supreme Court bench, who was subjected to the same humiliation, Justice Inyang John Okoro, resumed work almost immediately after the raid.

Like the Publisher of The Source Magazine, Madam Comfort Obi succinctly put it: “Until his final death, Ngwuta was bottled up. He was an angry man. He was angry at a country that humiliated him before the world. He was angry at a country that stripped him of his dignity. He was angry at his people, who never stood by him.

“All through his ordeal, nobody publicly spoke up for him. All through the time he sat idle in his office, with no case allocated to him, nobody spoke up for him. He bore his pain in silence. Nobody intervened. Not his Governor, Dave Umahi. Not the Southeast Governors’ Forum. Not even Ohanaeze Ndigbo. Nobody.”

When the immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, was subjected to another worst humiliation in 2018, the South-south Governors’ Forum headed by the then Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, rose in anger. The governors issued a strongly worded communiqué condemning the action and alleging persecution.

The Cross River State Government took their anger and frustration further by dragging the federal government and got a split judgment. And even though Onnoghen was still retired, his people gave him a sense of belonging. Perhaps, but for his people, it could have been worse. Even lawyers and civil society organisations in the country protested.

But this was not the case for Ngwuta, whose people and governor/governors abandoned to his fate.

Ironically, those who could not make any case for him or defend the allegations against him were the first to express sadness when the news of his death broke.

For the jurist, Nigeria simply failed him. After serving the country meritoriously for so many years, he expected commensurate treatment not humiliation and embarrassment.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 14, 2021

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CICERO/INTERVIEW

Aliyu: How States Are Stalling Our Housing Projects Minister of State for Works and Housing, Abubakar Aliyu explains why road and housing constructions are at a slow pace. He spoke with journalists in Abuja. Tobi Soniyi was there Excerpts:

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ast year largely shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic. How did the Ministry of Works and Housing navigate through these difficult times?

No doubt, COVID-19 pandemic has immensely affected the plans and programmes of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing. There was reduction of government activities as a result of the total lockdown, and this has affected execution of projects. But the ministry is still on course. We have adjusted. We are working now tirelessly to complete and deliver most of our projects.

What are those specific projects the government has delivered even in the face of COVID-19 pandemic?

First of all, let me make it clear how we go about doing projects. When you talk about completion of projects, you may likely mean completion of a road project, which we might differ in thinking.

Let me give you an example, if a road starts from point A to point B with a distance of say 500 kilometres, you may find three or more different contracts on that road, which we refer to as project sections, being handled by different contractors or a single contractor.

Because they are different projects, even if we have completed one or two projects on that stretch out of the different projects, we usually wait until we complete the remaining parts before we commission the road otherwise we have many projects that have been completed.

A typical example is the Kano-Maiduguri road project, where we have five contracts handled by five different contractors. Two out of the five contracts are completed and the remaining three have reached advanced stage.

But we are delaying the commissioning of the completed section until the remaining three sections are completed so that we deliver a pleasurable travel experience and worldclass facility to our people travelling along that corridor. However, we have not restricted traffic movement on the completed sections Out of the total 200,000 kilometres length of road in the country, only 35,000 kilometres belong to the Federal Government. We are currently working on 13,000 kilometres with over 700 contracts of roads and bridges on them.

Why is the execution of road projects by the ministry slow?

Unless rain recedes and the place starts getting dry, you hardly do much as far as road constructions are concerned. At the time the world was opening up following COVID-19 lockdown, the rain was heavy. It was around June/July.

The lockdown affected a lot of businesses worldwide. In Nigeria, contractors were laying-off most of their staff and closing sites, because they were running at a loss. Even without COVID-19, the rainy season is not a good period for road constructions.

In most cases, we do only remedial works during that period. That is trying to protect what we have built earlier. So, these are some of the things that affected us in 2020. The time that we were supposed to work – the dry period – there was lockdown

From our experiences, most states are reluctant to grant sizable/viable land to the federal government and this is impacting negatively on FGN’s ability to develop housing and other infrastructure. So, we have not been able to build in Lagos and Rivers States, but in most of the states, we have completed Phase I

Aliyu and when the lockdown was eased, there was another lockdown by rainfall and up to November. We planned, but the best planner is God, The Almighty.

So, what does it look like for the works sector this year?

We pray that the Almighty God makes things easy for us in 2021. We are already working. We have started our programmes and we are working on all our roads and all our major contracts such as LagosIbadan; Abuja-Kano through Kaduna is going on very well, and the second Niger Bridge among others, is going on pretty well.

Our projects across the country are progressing considerably. We might not finish the major signature projects in 2021, but Insha Allah, we will achieve a significant level of completion on some and our target is to complete some as well.

What has housing sector achieved too?

The Ministry of Works and Housing makes policies on housing, but that does not mean that, sometimes, we don’t come-up with pilot programmes to ensure acceptability and affordability before we release the design to our parastatals to continue to deploy. In that regard, we are currently working on national housing programmes in all the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The programme has not taken up in Lagos and Rivers States, because the state government that owns the Lands has not given us land that is suitable for the projects. They gave us land that was not easily accessible and as you may be aware, the housing we are building is supposed to be for low-income earners, therefore, if you put more money in land preparation, the end product may not be affordable to the target beneficiary. Securing a suitable land is key to the

success of the projects.

From our experiences, most states are reluctant to grant sizable/viable land to the federal government and this is impacting negatively on FGN’s ability to develop housing and other infrastructure. So, we have not been able to build in Lagos and Rivers States, but in most of the states, we have completed Phase I, which we plan to roll out the sales in 2021. The programmes for the sale of the completed houses have reached an advanced stage now.

So, when will the second phase of the national housing programme commence?

We have already started the second phase of the housing programme and they are designed in line with our standards. The Family Homes, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and other mortgage institutions are also working with us to address the housing deficits in the country.

We have developed the Affordable Housing Development and Management Initiatives (AHDMI), where we bring in housing developers across the country to deliver affordable housing units for the low-income earners. The Ministry of Works and Housing has a dedicated PPP Desk that handles this intervention.

The pilot scheme has already started at Gwagwalada, where we intend to build 3000 units over 100 hectares of land. We are also working with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to bridge the housing gaps in the country. Currently, our attention is on building affordable houses for low-income earners aimed at reducing the housing deficits.

The Federal Housing Authority is also delivering a lot in that regard. The FHA has built a sizable number of houses across the country. So, we are doing all that we can to ensure that we reduce the housing deficits in the country.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 14, 2021

GAVEL

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

A Legislative Intervention in Ibori’s £4.2m Loot The House of Representatives, last Wednesday, asked the federal government to halt disbursement of repatriated £4.2 million looted by former Delta State governor, James Ibori. Udora Orizu reports

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s the Federal Government gears up to receive from the United Kingdom, the £4.2 million forfeited by a former governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, the House of Representatives has faulted the decision to spend it on the completion of the Second Niger Bridge, Abuja-Kano Expressway and the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, because the money belongs to Delta State.

The House had at the plenary on March 10, declared that the money belongs to Delta State, urging the Federal Ministry of Finance to stop further appropriation or disbursement, pending the Ànal determination of the matter by the lawmakers.

The Green chamber requested the Federal Ministry of Finance and Attorney General of the Federation to furnish it with all particulars relating to the recovered money. It also directed the House Committees on Finance, Justice, Loans and Recovered Funds to investigate the matter and revert to the House within two weeks.

The resolutions were sequel to the adoption of a motion of urgent national importance, sponsored by the House Minority Leader, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu and nine other lawmakers from Delta State.

Movingthemotion,Elumelunotedthatthesum of 4.2 million pounds being proceeds of looted funds recovered from a former Governor of Delta State — Chief James Ibori is being transferred to the coͿers of the Federal Government of Nigeria for appropriation without recourse to the Delta State and or parliament in two weeks time.

He said the House is aware that assets seized

by EFCC from states were returned to such states hence the said recovered looted funds belong to the people of Delta State and ought to be returned to the coͿers of the Delta State Government for developmental purposes.

Elumelu expressed concern that, if the federal government appropriated the funds without recourse to Delta State, the people of Delta would be deprived of their legitimate resources to improve on the economy of the state.

He disclosed that all indications and information available to the state indicate that the actual moneywas£6.2mandfederalgovernmentshould ensure that the total of £6.2m was credited, not £4.2m as stated.

The lawmaker contended that if the federal government was not stopped from further taking charge of the recovered loot, it might not be accounted for and or have any direct bearing or beneÀt to the people of Delta State.

Flashing Back to Ibori’s Conviction In 2012, Ibori pleaded guilty to money laundering and other charges in a UK court and was consequentlysentencedto13yearsimprisonment.

Ibori admitted to fraud totaling more than $79m (£50m), said to be part of total embezzlement that could exceed $250m (£157m).

Prosecutor Sasha Wass told the court Ibori had accepted he was involved in “wide-scale theft, fraud and corruption, when he was governor of Delta state”.

When he ran for the governorship of Delta State, Ibori allegedly used a false date of birth to conceal previous convictions, because a criminal record would have excluded him from taking part in the election. Mr. Ibori tricked his way into public o΀ce. He had tricked the Nigerian authorities and the Nigerian voters. He was thus never the legitimate governor of Delta State,” said Wass.

“Wearepleasedwithtoday’sguiltypleas,which mark the culmination of a seven-year inquiry into James Ibori’s corrupt activities,” said Detective Inspector Paul Whatmore of the Metropolitan police, adding, “We will now be actively seeking the conÀscation of all of his stolen assets so they can be repatriated for the beneÀt of the people of Delta State.”

AsgovernorofDeltaState,Iborirackedupcredit card bills of $200,000 a month and owned a Áeet

Falana

Malami of armoured Range Rovers, said the prosecution.

He was trying to buy a plane for £20m at the time he was arrested. Once seen as one of Nigeria’s wealthiest and most inÁuential politicians, Ibori was seized in 2010 in Dubai at the request of the Metropolitan police and extradited to London last year.

His wife, Theresa Ibori, sister, Christine Ibori-Idie, mistress, Udoamaka Okoronkwo, and London-based solicitor, Bhadresh Gohil had all already been convicted of money laundering.

Their convictions could only be revealed after reporting restrictions were lifted.

His conviction, however, paved the way for the British police to conÀscate assets he stole and return them to Nigeria.

The MoU between FGN and UK The United Kingdom and Nigeria on March 9, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Abuja to kick-start the process of repatriating the money.

The Attorney- General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, who signed on behalf of the federal government said, in consonance with existing framework engaged in the management of previous recoveries, the Federal Executive Council had directed that the repatriated funds should be spent on completing theSecondNigerBridge,Abuja-KanoExpressway and the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway under the coordination of the NSIA. The decision, he said, was to ensure the integrity of the process, while a reputable civil society organisation has been engaged to monitor the expenditure of the recovered funds on the execution of the critical projects, which are evenly spread across the country.

Malami described the event as ‘’another major milestone in our determined quest as a nation to attain full recovery of all looted assets, prevent abuse of recovered assets and also to ensure optimal utilisation of such recovered assets for the beneÀt of our deserving citizens.’’

The British High Commissioner, Ms. Catriona

Ibori

Elumelu Laing, in her remarks, stated that the signing of the agreement, apart from showing the two countries’ determination to lead the way in a coordinated global eͿort to bring corrupt individuals to justice sent a clear message to Nigerians that the former governor had been held to account.

Laing said the agreement further demonstrated that money obtained through criminality or corruption was not welcome in the UK, adding that the UK would ensure the full weight of the law enforcement to crack down on those, who look to use, move or hide their proceeds of crime in the UK. Understanding Delta’s Exclusion Malami, while justifying the exclusion of Delta State from the money, declared that the Delta State Government would not beneÀt from the £4.2 million loot recovered from Ibori, because it was meant for the Nigerian state.

Speaking on Channels Television programme, Politics Today, last Tuesday, Malami said the agreement consummated by British Government and Nigeria over the repatriated funds was for the Nigerian state as a victim of crime and not Delta State Government, noting that the federal government was still working with the UK government to recover over £95 million looted by Ibori.

In Defence of Delta State The Delta State Government, however, got support from two Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs): Professor EpiphanyAzinge and Mr. Femi Falana, to lay claims to the £4.2 million. Azinge and Falana also rejected the expenditure outlay the federal government released last Tuesday.

Azinge faulted the federal government’s bid to appropriate the money, saying it should be returned to the state.

“By the time the case was concluded, Ibori was nolongeragovernor,andallthosemonieslinkedto himaretreatedasproceedsoffraud.Consequently, such funds could not have emanated from any other part of Nigeria except Delta, where he superintended and if for any reason the money

had h to be repatriated to Nigeria, common sense dictates that since it is considered to be money d looted fromthecoͿersofDeltaState,automatically l it i should be returned back to them,” he stated.

He recalled that in the case of the Paris Club refund, all the states involved got their money r directly and wondered how many of those states d engaged directly with the Paris Club. He added e that t the issues involved in the Paris Club were those on the exclusive legislative list. t Onhispart,FalanasaidthefundsbelongtoDelta State S and not the federal government. He faulted the t federal government’s plan to use the money to t construct the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the Abuja-Kano railway, and other federal projects.

A Falana, in a statement, stated: “The £4.2 million does d not belong to the federal government. The money conÀscated from Governor Joshua Dariye m in i the United Kingdom was recovered by the federal government, repatriated to Nigeria, and returned to the Plateau State government. r “The money conÀscated from Governor DiepreeyeAlamieyesiegha in the United Kingdom was rrecovered by the federal government, repatriated tto Nigeria and remitted to the account of Bayelsa State government.

S “Since what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, the sum of £4.2 million conÀscated from g Governor James Ibori in the UK and recovered G by the federal government has to be remitted b tto the account of the Delta State government.”

Also,DeltaElders’Forum(DEF),ledbyaformer Minister of Information, Chief Edwin Clark, M opposed the plan by the federal government to o use the funds to complete roads in other states u when federal roads in the state are in deplorable w ccondition.

The forum also found as unacceptable the argument by Malami, that the federal government was m aappropriating the funds, because the oͿenders committed a federal oͿence, contending that in the similar case of forfeiture by former governor Alamieyeseigha, the repatriated funds went to the state.

Delta Mulls Her Options Delta State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, told THISDAY that the state government was weighing its options to ensure that the federal government treats the state fairly.

“We believe that we have had a very cordial relationship with the President Muhammadu Buhari administration and to that extent, we are open to a fair and Àrm discussion with the federal government.

“We are convinced that every form of reasonableness and justice and, of course, equity is on our side. The federal government will not be averse to allow justice and fair play to hold sway in this matter, more so, when those who are repatriating the funds have clearly stated the source of the funds. So, we are convinced that the federal government will listen to us,” he said.

Also speaking with THISDAY in Asaba, the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Delta State Governor, Mr. Olisa Ifeajika, said the state government did not expect the federal government to carry through its pledge to spend the cash on projects outside the state.

Ifeajika stated that it would amount to injustice and impunity on the part of the federal government to divert the money to projects not located within Delta State.

He said: “The Delta State Government believes that the federal government erred by proposing that the money allegedly recovered from ex-governor James Ibori, and which is being returned to Nigeria by the UK, would be used for projects outside the state.

“We believe and hope that the federal government will listen to the voice of reason from other stakeholders and rescind its plan to use the money for projects not connected to Delta State at all. It would be understandable if they were proposing to use the recovered money to fund projects here in Delta State.”

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 14, 2021

POLITY

Ortom and the Insecurity Conundrum in Nigeria Paul Mumeh

law, hence any open grazing is a violation of the law.

No doubt, the enactment of the open grazing prohibition law in Benue State seemed to have ushered in albeit temporary fragile peace until recently when armed men suspected to be Fulani herdsmen attacked and killed scores of people including a lawyer and his wife at Agboghul near Makurdi, the State capital.

It is not debatable that Benue State is one of the most troubled States in the contemporary history of Nigeria. From some internal conflicts amongst some communities to the invasion by Fulani herdsmen in Agatu, Ukum, Apa, Otukpo, Guma, Buruku, GwerWest, Logo, Kwande, Gwer-East, KatsinaAla, Ado, Gboko, Makurdi and Tarka local government areas of the State leading to the death of over 3,000 people and the stagnation of development especially in the agricultural sector, it’s just trouble too many.

So many IDP camps established by the Benue State government to cater for the affected families due to the attacks have caused the State unquantifiable monetary loss. It has had more than fair share of the security challenges facing the nation.

Only recently, the intractable crisis believed to be perpetrated by Fulani herdsmen has compelled the Ondo State Governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu to give a seven-day ultimatum (on Monday January 18, 2020) to the Fulani herdsmen to vacate the forest reserves within the State.

In issuing the order, Mr Akeredolu lamented that the activities of the herdsmen have long been causing a threat to security ranging from kidnapping to other nefarious criminal activities; turning the forest reserves into hideouts for keeping their victims and negotiating for ransoms; as reported by the security operatives in the

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ate or love him, what has remained incontrovertible since his election as Governor of Benue State in 2015 is that Dr. Samuel Ioraer Ortom has provided leadership albeit cohesion in the State. His posture or physique does not present him as a warlord but like a leader whose domain is constantly under threat of invaders, he has two options ; either to throw his hands up in surrender or confront the invaders for his People’s preservation. Unarguably, Governor Ortom opted for the latter to wit; swim to safety with his people.

Needless to recap the circumstances that necessitated his jumping ship from the then octopus party; the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and back to the PDP but suffice it to submit that Ortom is politically savvy. He possesses the mental capacity to read the political barometer correctly.

From the Agatu invasion by the alleged expansionist tendencies of the rampaging Fulani herdsmen to Logo, Guma, Buruku, Apa, Konshisa, Katsina-Ala, Ado, Otukpo local government areas, virtually all the communities in Benue State have had the traumatic experience of the virulent attacks. The situation has complicated issues for the Ortom administration. He has a huge burden to care for thousands of citizens forced into internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, lost a good number of hitherto productive citizens and has to contend Ortom with food scarcity.

His resolve to defend his citizens against the marauders threatened his ambition to return as Governor of the State in 2019. But for Ortom, the lives of his people matters more than the luxury of the plum office. He damned the consequences, dumped the APC and returned to the PDP’s waiting hands. His political brinksmanship paid off when he won overwhelmingly under the PDP platform in 2019.

He has not also failed in terms of infrastructure development. For example, Benue State under his captainship has constructed numerous classroom blocks and rehabilitated comprehensive medical centres in Guma, Logo and Agatu Local government areas amongst others. Skill Acquisition Centres have been established across the 23 local government areas of the agrarian State.

Beside the over 50 Primary Healthcare Centres constructed across the State, the administration has procured referral (pool) vehicles and essential drugs as well as consumables for hospitals in the local government areas. Solar-powered and hand pump boreholes have also been provided in different parts of the State.

Only recently, the Ortom led administration in collaboration with Air-Peace Airline firmed up agreement to commence commercial flights into Makurdi, the State capital as part of efforts to open the State for investment.

Aside rural electrification projects, Ortom’s administration has as well completed the OshigbuduObagaji road in Agatu, Gbajimba-Origbo asphalt road amongst many other rural roads. Other projects undertaken by his administration includes the establishment of an Orange Packaging Factory in Ushongo as well as Garri Processing Factories in Ohimini and Agatu in addition to Soyabeans and Sesame threshing and cleaning plants in Tarka and Oju. Due to the devastating effects of erosion and flooding in Makurdi and other communities adjoining to the River Benue, Ortom’s administration has also embarked on drainage projects to combat the menace before the rainy season commences fully.

Not to deviate from the point of this discourse, that for inexplicable reasons, Benue State became the epic centre of alleged Fulani herdsmen invasion. Scores

of citizens were killed and hundreds of thousands rendered homeless and turned refugees in their homeland. The Fulani marauder’s attacks got to its climax in 2018, when the terrorists attacked a catholic worship centre (St. Ignatius Quasi Parish) in UkporMbalom community, Gwer-East Local Government Area of the State, killing 19 persons, including two priests.

The militia herdsmen who ransacked the entire village around 5:30am also set ablaze over 80 houses and destroyed foodstuffs and household utensils.

It was outrageous, heartbreaking and expectedly condemned by all right-thinking members of the society.

To curtail if not totally eradicate the farmers/herdsmen clashes; the Ortom led Executive Council then proposed the now famous Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, which promotes ranching as against the former. It was dully enacted by the State House of Assembly and has since been accented to by the Governor. Its implementation has taken full and uncompromising effect. For the avoidance of doubt, this is the global standard for livestock rearing.

Even as far back as April 17, 1969, the Hon. Justice Adewale Thompson’s Judgment on Open Cattle Grazing; suit no AB/26/66 at the Abeokuta Division of the High Court had ruled against open grazing.

In Justice Adewale Thompson’s words: “I do not accept the contention of Defendants that a custom exists which imposes an obligation on the owner of farm to fence his farm whilst the owner of cattle allows his cattle to wander like pests and cause damage. Such a custom if it exists, is unreasonable and I hold that it is repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience and therefore unenforceable...in that it is highly unreasonable to impose the burden of fencing a farm on the farmer without the corresponding obligation on the cattle owner to fence his cattle.

“Sequence to that I ban open grazing for it is inimical to peace and tranquility and the cattle owners must fence or ranch their animals for peace to reign in these communities.”

There was no appeal against this judgement so it is

State.

Consequently, the Ondo State government is in the process of embracing the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law being implemented in Benue State.

It was also reported that the South-West Governors and the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) struck a deal in Akure, Ondo State on Monday January 25th 2021 with a joint declaration banning open grazing which they considered a way out of insecurity and farmers/herdsmen clashes across the country.

The declaration conveyed in a communiqué stating in part that, “free-range grazing must be stopped to avoid conflicts between farmers and herdsmen”.

Interestingly, the Nigeria Governors Forum under the leadership of Ekiti’s Kayode Fayemi also agreed to adopt the open grazing prohibition law as a panacea to the security challenges in the country.

Politics aside, Ortom vows that the battle to protect the citizens of Benue State is non-negotiable. For him, “being the Chief Executive Officer of Benue State would be worth than worthless if I cannot provide security and welfare for my people.”

He said in no unmistakable terms that, “no part of the land belonging to Benue State would be ceded to invaders no matter the conspiracy or intimidation.”

A few weeks ago, what would have degenerated into another conflict in the State was averted through the government’s proactive crisis management approach. Curiously, the Hausa/Fulani community had concluded plans to install their own traditional ruler in Otukpo community; the Sardauna of Otukpo. The indigenes viewed this as an affront and a direct attack on their sensibilities and likely to distort the historical record of the people.

They protested against the development and the State government rose to the occasion and halted the move.

The burden of leadership is huge but hate or love him, Ortom has demonstrated capacity for leadership.

He stands with the People. And a leader who stands with his people under the rain or sun never falls. He was once a lonely voice in the wilderness but now the rallying point to end the intractable security challenges in the land. Ortom is the man who saw tomorrow.

––Paul Mumeh wrote from Abuja.

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MARCH 14, 2021 ˾ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

THE ALTERNATIVE

with RenoOmokri

The Widow Spider Effect: The Psychology Behind Meghan Markle’s Hold on Harry

T

o put it mildly, Meghan Markle is probably the most dishonest person to have ever been interviewed

by Oprah Winfrey.

She told many obvious lies during her now-famous interview and of her husband (some say wife) Harry. Suppose Harry sits down again to watch that interview, without his boss (sorry, wife) by his side, he may begin to see how he and the general public have been manipulated, especially with regards to the claims Meghan made before he joined her and Oprah. Even then, she kept on interjecting and guiding her husband with leading statements.

Most notably, Meghan’s bombshell statement regarding her shock that the “idea of the first member of colour in this family not being titled in the same way that other grandchildren would be” is just a classic case of the very clickbait journalism that she complained about throughout the interview.

As I have previously noted, her son Archie, is not a grandchild of the Queen. He is a great-grandchild of the Queen. And he is not the first great-grandchild not to have a title.

The children of Princess Eugenie (daughter of the Queen’s son, Prince Andrew), and Zara Tindall (daughter of the Queen’s daughter, Princess Anne), do not have titles and are not princes and princesses, as Meghan knows, but does not want you to know.

That is why she claimed ‘it was not their right to take away.’

The truth is that there was no right, and you can’t take away what never existed, as Meghan also very well knows but does not want you to know.

The only great-grandchildren who got royal titles are the children of the direct male heir, Prince William, in line with the existing royal protocols.

In fact, the children of Prince Edward, the last son of Queen Elizabeth II, who are themselves grandchildren, and not great-grandchildren, like Archie, do not even have princely titles. Please research this.

So, in truth, it was not a case that they (the Royal Family) did not want Archie ‘titled in the same way that other grandchildren would be’, it was more of a case that Meghan wanted her son to be given a royal title against existing royal protocols.

When that did not happen, she decided to blackmail them.

She worked on the mostly correct assumption that (sadly)

Harry and Meghan most people of Black origin will emote, rather than reason, once she brings up the race card. She did not care that it had the potential to destroy the family she and her husband claim they love.

And speaking of racism, tomorrow, Meghan could deny that she ever accused the Royal Family of racism. What she said was that there were questions asked about how her baby would look. And when prompted by Oprah about whether those questions related to him being too brown, she noted that, that would be a “safe assumption”.

And based on this assumption, literally millions of people are willing to overlook the facts of the long years of service that the Royal Family have done to promote racial equality and accuse them of racism.

Meanwhile, both Meghan and Harry, refused to name the royal who asked the question, on which they based their assumption.

To me, this was their intention. To name no one, so that everyone could be guilty.

Look at the facts: Her son, Archie, was not born a prince. This is as a result of a 1917 law, and not as a result of racism.

Year after year (and please Google this), Princess Anne, has been the hardest working royal. Yet, she spurns publicity and the media. Her children, though born great, do not have a royal title, and they are the Grandchildren of Queen Elizabeth II. Her

THE PUBLIC SPHERE with Chido Nwakanma

daughter, Zara Tindall, is a silver medalist Olympian. You do not see her whingeing about not getting a title or security.

This whole idea of poor Meghan and Harry (as the media refers to them, not Harry and Meghan), is just silly. These are two millionaires who sat down with a billionaire to complain about how their privileged lives were so bad.

On the issue of suicide, I sympathise with Meghan. However, if the British press is driving you to suicide, there is very little the Queen could have done. Great Britain has a free press.

If the Queen had power over the British press, why did she not use that power to protect her son, Prince Andrew from them, after reports linking him to Jeffrey Epstein emerged?

The British media excoriated Prince Andrew over the Epstein link, to the extent that his mother threw him under the bus.

Other than highly emotional people with easily excitable nerves, most serious-minded people, and I believe most fair people, will accept that the Queen of England does not have a button to press to gag the media.

People seem to forget that this very same British press turned on the Queen herself after Diana died. The big question is if she cannot protect herself from the media, is it Meghan and Harry she will protect? How? By suing the British press? That will be the beginning of the end for her as the head of the British Commonwealth. Let us be realistic.

If you follow British politics and their press, you would know that it is not the Queen that pays for senior royals’ security. It is the taxpayer. And every year, the British public has been expressing sentiments that the Royal Family costs them too much money. Please, I urge my readers to research this themselves.

There is a very strong Republic movement in The UK calling for the scrapping of the monarchy due to the huge costs of maintaining them. Every taxpayer penny spent on them is a matter of public record and is scrutinised.

The security cost of Meghan and Harry’s wedding alone was £20 million pounds. Please Google it.

As a result of pressure from Republic groups who want the monarchy scrapped for being too expensive, Queen Elizabeth II began voluntarily paying tax every year since 1992, even though she is not legally bound to pay tax.

It cost the British taxpayers £69 million pounds to maintain the royal family in 2020.

Read the full article online www.thisdaylive.com

@ChidoNigeria https://www.facebook.com/chido.nwakanma

Conundrum for Nigerian Political and Media Leaders

C

onfirmation of Nigerian political and media leaders’ low trust ranking should evince more concern than has been evident. The implications are dire for societal progress and cohesion if these two pillars continue to fall in citizens’ perception. The trust ranking has more profound consequences for

all parties.

Trust level in Nigeria is at a low 49 per cent overall for the four critical institutions of Government, Business, Media, and Non-Government Organisations. A breakdown shows the distrust is highest with Government; its poor scores pulled down the aggregate. Government scores only 24 per cent trust with Nigerians. Media score 44 per cent. Citizens trust NGOs highest at 65 per cent, followed by Business at 62 per cent.

A 49 per cent score means that half of Nigerians do not trust Government, Business, Media, and NGOs. How can we interact in an environment of trust deficit?

These results are recent and come from an OctoberNovember 2020 survey of 1150 Nigerians. In the Edelman Trust Barometer 2021, a study of social issues with trust at the apex conducted globally. The annual global survey is now in its 21st year, while the Nigerian version has done five rounds.

The report classified 100 persons in the survey population as “informed public”. Their characteristics include 25-64 years; college (tertiary) educated; in the top 25% of household income per age group in each country; and report significant public policy and business news engagement.

The 2020 survey captured in the 2021 report examined the “Pandemic’s on-going impact on trust”. The pandemic put trust to the test in Nigeria, as well as most parts of the world. Fake news and misinformation worsened the situation.

Nigerians live in a low-trust milieu overall. It is

worse with trust in Government. Conversely, at least 21 countries recorded increased faith in Government.

They include Saudi Arabia, China, UAE, Singapore, and Indonesia. Others are The Netherlands, Malaysia, Australia, Germany, Canada, Thailand. Trust also grew in France, South Korea, and Italy.

Trust in the media also increased in these countries.

The result hints at a correlation between trust in the two pillars of Government and the media.

The pandemic added to persistent personal and societal fears. Concern over Covid-19 registered a high 90 per cent of which 66 per cent are fearful. Worse, the pandemic deepened inequities around the world.

“Those with less education, less money and fewer resources are being unfairly unburdened with most of the suffering, risk of illness, and need to sacrifice due to the pandemic”, the authors state.

As a result, vaccine hesitancy in Nigeria was a high 59 per cent. The global figure was 64 per cent.

Nigerians enthusiastically registered for the vaccination, recording 2.3million in 48 hours. Does it mean a reduction in hesitancy?

The survey examines social conditions and captures the core concerns of Nigerians. They are addressing poverty (87%), improving our healthcare (87%), improving our education system (86%), protecting individual freedoms (86%), and addressing discrimination (81%).

The other core concerns include managing climate change (77%), finding ways to combat fake news (76%), and closing the economic and social divide (73%).

Citizens face a problem. While the raging infodemic feeds mistrust, respondents listed search engines as their most reliable source of information. Search engines scored 73 per cent, followed by traditional media (49%), owned media (45%) and social media at 42 per cent.

The Edelman Trust Barometer reports that Nigerians do not trust their leaders. Respondents say, “Our government leaders are purposely trying to mislead people by saying things they know are false or gross exaggerations”. They say the same about the media.

Sixty-one per cent of respondents say, “Journalists and reporters are purposely trying to mislead people by saying things they know are false or gross exaggerations”. In comparison, 57 per cent feel, “Most news organisations are more concerned with supporting an ideology or political position than with informing the public”. Then a further 67 per cent assert, “The media is not doing well at being objective and nonpartisan”.

The issues raised in the survey deserve more critical attention. Some connections do not seem obvious.

Government and the media need to collaborate more, practise better and sing from the same page. They represent the governing coalition. Elsewhere there is elite consensus on societal purpose, values, and strategy for their attainment. It cannot happen where trust is so low.

Trust is one of the essential foundations of society.

From a basis in morality, trust features in law, commerce, insurance and banking, jurisprudence, and almost everything that people do in the community.

Man is a social being dependent on interaction one with the other. Trust is the foundation of the gregarious nature of man. Trust is one of those seemingly abstract subjects but with practical consequences. Nigeria is reaping the fruits of distrust.

Trust ordinarily means a “firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something”. It implies freedom from suspicion or doubt. From the North East and North West, our increasing slide to anarchy is a function of growing distrust. Government is absent yet makes frivolous claims and outright lies that fuel distrust.

The growing distrust threatens our entire system more than even the government’s inefficiencies or the failings of the other sectors. We will examine in subsequent interventions the broader implications for the four pillars. Distrust is an invitation to the Land of Hobbes where every man looks out for himself, all hope on God and pray that the Devil takes the last even as he advances. Danger!

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 14, 2021

with ChidiAmuta e-mail:chidi.amuta@gmail.com

ENGAGEMENTS

Economics and the Politics of Food

I

n July 2017, the tiny land locked but oil and gas rich kingdom of Qatar fell out with its Arab neighbours. It was charged with supporting terrorism! What made news was not just that Arab states ganged up to accuse their Qatari kinsfolk of a familiar neighbourhood pastime. The neighbours went ahead to clamp an air and land blockade on Qatar. No food and essential supplies would be allowed into the kingdom nor would Qatar Airways be allowed landing and over flight rights by its neighbours. The hope was that food and essential supplies scarcity and a bit of regional diplomatic isolation would force Qatar into better behaviour. The kingdom which had previously relied on the ports, air corridors and logistics companies of its neighbours for its food and essential imports was in trouble. But it had one unusual advantage: its bank balances were good and its treasury bulging.

With surplus cash in the bank, Qatar could buy alternative supplies of food and other necessities from anywhere else in the world. But the loss of Qatar related food and supplies business took its toll on agriculture, logistics, haulage, shipping and related businesses in nearby Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Regional farmers who produced for the Qatari market were in some trouble because of the loss of that market. Banking and finance institutions in the rest of the region with vital links to Qatar felt the bite as well.

Almost overnight, Qatar shifted to air lifting its food and essential imports. It quickly negotiated alternative air corridors and landing hubs for Qatar Airways and other Qatar bound flights.

In one night alone, a series of Boeing 747 cargo planes landed in Doha, laden with grocery, food and other supplies including bottled water! One particular flight had a remarkable cargo. It was bringing in 350 well fed cows from Germany. More were to follow. In less than a fortnight, Qatar’s shops and markets were once again full of food and essential supplies at prices sometimes lower than what they were before the blockade. Soon afterwards, the diplomatic isolation and blockade withered as they began to have little or no effect on the lives of ordinary Qataris. Lesson? Be careful when you want to starve a free rich man!

I recall this distant scenario only to draw attention to the recent threat of a north-south food supply blockade in Nigeria. It was prompted by what started as an intra communal disagreements among Nigerians of different nationalities in the Shasha market in Ibadan, Oyo state. Fear and a bit of mischievous political propaganda led to a violent escalation and deaths. A very brief disruption of north-south movement of food supplies followed as a consequence of deteriorating inter regional relations. The prices of essential food items like onions, tomatoes and beef in markets in the South West and Lagos rose suddenly. Governors from some northern states trooped to Ibadan in search of an amicable solution. Meanwhile in the border towns in Niger state that serve as corridors for the north-south food supply route, there was a pile up of trucks laden with perishable food items and rebellious cattle.

As it turned out, farmers and traders in the north who depend on this vital trade to survive were being forced by politically minded elements to halt the southward movement of their merchandise to make a political point. The farmers, traders and transporters began feeling the pinch as their merchandise were rotting away and cash was rapidly in short supply. A primarily economic crisis was in the offing, fired by bad politics and irresponsible rhetoric. Capitalism was under the threat of the politics of bad manners.

Then the political hawks moved in even more overtly. Not content with fanning the embers of an imminent north-south confrontation over the Shasha market incident and recent criminal infractions by herdsmen, some politicians saw the looming north-south food blockade as yet another opportunity to enlarge the coast of a newfound politics of ethnic confrontation.

Some political contractors in both the north and south west began exchanging hate rhetoric about the consequences of an imminent north-south food blockade. They used the Shasha market bloody brawl to threaten a south versus north face off should the food blockade take effect.

Similarly, ambitious political groupings in the north such as the newly weaponized Miyetti Allah and a hurriedly assembled association of northern food traders liaised with political busy bodies of no fixed address. Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, and the political nomad, Mr. Femi Fani Kayode, saw an opportunity for a free traffic in incendiary rhetoric and vitriolic hate speech. They made an opportunistic trip to the Niger state border towns where hired field thugs had halted the south -bound food convoys for political effect.

The politicians had seen an opportunity. Their object was to appear relevant in resolving a worsening situation. They wanted to be seen to have helped negotiate a truce that would lead to the resumption of food supplies to southern towns, especially the south west and Lagos. Key security departments like Defence Headquarters(DHQ) and the Department of State Security(DSS) waded in to rein in the trouble makers facilitating the blockade of food convoys.

The politicians still wanted to be relevant in the resolution.

Professional political crisis hunters quickly arranged a well choreographed and televised visit to the President in Aso Rock Villa. The object was probably to conscript the president into a simulated resolution of a crisis that was never really there in the first place. Predictably, the food cavalry resumed moving after the security intervention and the visit to the presidency.

What this brief skirmish reflects is the growing Nigerian

Bello tendency to smuggle politics into nearly every facet of our national life. More often than not, politicians meddle in small inter communal fights and in the process magnify them into major national security crises. If common criminals embark on escapades of kidnapping, armed robbery and opportunistic rape, our politicians profile them along ethnic lines in order to make the crimes fit into a ready template. If housewives from different nationalities have a yard quarrel and it spills over into street fights between rival ethnic gangs and neighbourhood thugs, the politics of identity and militant ethnic nationalism wades in. Worse, if jobless urchins in some retail neighbourhood in a northern town loot or torch some shops belonging predictably to some southern traders, political hell is let loose.

No one can deny the reality and recent frequency of ethnic and identity frictions in our diverse polity. Nor can we deny a past history in which ethnic and regional differences have played a tragic role in igniting conflicts and crises that sometimes rocked the very foundations of the nation. But in nearly every recent upheaval along ethnic lines, the footprints of ambitious politicians can be seen clearly. They have been known to arm rival gangs, to inspire incendiary hate squads to unleash dangerous utterances. Political mischief has suddenly become a growth sector in today’s Nigeria.

In quest of solutions to our frequent ethnic disruptions, however, I contend that we should begin overriding political solutions with economic considerations as part of our diversity management strategies. A great majority of the sources of our frequent upheavals tend to be economic. Our most frequent headaches come from farmer/herder crises, spontaneous frictions among traders in multi ethnic markets and grazing rights and sectarian infringements. In other words, when issues of economic interdependence between regions of the country are at issue, we should not allow nasty politicking to muddle up and aggravate situations. Why not allow market forces to resolve issues with governments acting as mediators and enablers? In matters that have to do with economic production or the movement of goods and services across regions and states, it is only proper that economics rather than politics should lead the way to a solution.

Admittedly, the immediate theatre of anger in the Shasha market incident was a small private interpersonal aggravation which snowballed into an ethnic conflagration against a background of existing toxic relations fired by the activities of criminal herdsmen.

But the interactions that have kept markets like Shasha thriving for decades are primarily economic and commercial even if at a rather primordial level. The northern traders, some of whom have settled in southern market towns like Shasha, Ogbomosho, Old Umuahia and others, see only a market for their wares. Their life long markets have become the only homes they know.

The supply chain that feeds these markets and the larger ones in places like Lagos, Port Harcourt and Onitsha leads from the northern farms of Jigawa, Kebbi, Kano, Zamfara etc. that produce onions, cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce and assorted vegetables as well as the rearers and herders who sustain the cattle trade.

These wares and the trade that sustains them has been in place for decades if not centuries. It is a trade route that has created opportunities for other value chains. Truck owners and drivers find work. Farmers get cash returns for their sweat in arid farmlands.

Craftsmen who make fruit baskets and bags for transporting agricultural produce over long distances find work. Peaceful herders also find work, generate returns and master the national terrain as they ply their age long trade. A steady cash flow and economic sustainability is created which affects the livelihood of millions of Nigerians over a vast stretch of the country.

In the southern markets, wholesalers and retailers of agricultural produce thrive. Retail markets are accordingly fed. Butchers markets are supplied with cattle on a daily basis. Private homes and the food hospitality industry sector are supplied. An interdependence has built up over the years which has become a vital aspect of the national economy and commodities ecology. The average Lagos, Ibadan, Onitsha or Port Harcourt resident who

buys meat, tomatoes or onions probably does not care or know where the food items on his dinner table come from. The “Mama Put” woman in central Lagos who serves her clients sizzling hot amala with spicy tomato soup only knows which market to buy ingredients from, not the geo location of tomato and onion farms.

What binds farmers, traders, transporters, hoteliers and food vendors in this common national market is the force of demand and supply in a rudimentary open market economy.

This common market also happens to coincide with a certain sense of national community. Therefore, when inter communal disruptions such as Shasha occur anywhere in the country, the immediate challenge for leadership is to restore first the sense of community in order to recover the basis of supply and demand as the life blood of the market. The national meeting venue is the market of where citizens exchange goods and services.

When inter communal upheaval and fear threaten the free movement of goods and services from one end of the country to the other, the first obligation of the political leadership is not to allow political toxin to worsen a bad situation in order for factions to extract advantages. The urgent task is to restore confidence among members of the community first as compatriots and then as participants in a market governed by the best rules of supply and demand driven by the hunger for cash and profit. Instead of recruiting political thugs and agents provocateur, leaders should look for economic minds to restore the supply chain, bring back confidence among economic participants and thus promote national prosperity.

We need to develop the best capacity to keep supply chains uninterrupted, to protect demand and ensure stability in the flow of transactions and the traffic of monetary value which is the essence of a market. Instead of focusing on political and ethnic differences, let us concentrate on keeping markets open, balancing demand and supply and creating prosperity for as many Nigerians as possible. A prosperous population does not engage in foolish fights!

In the end, the primary forces at issue in our all too frequent simulated inter communal drama of violence and vitriol like the recent one in Shasha are food and money. Neither of them obeys silly sectionalist political profiling and calculations. The hungry fellow in a Lagos home who settles to a meal of tuwo or pounded yam with tomato stew and beef accompaniment is not likely to ask where the beef, onions or tomatoes with which the soup was prepared came from. Hunger and the food to heal it have neither regional, ethnic nor religious.

The Lagos consumer with some cash whose food supply from the north is suddenly blockaded will have no choice than to seek alternative sources. To feed his family, he would readily adopt whatever substitutes he can find. Over time, he is likely to deploy his cash to buy alternative supplies from wherever he can find them including buying imported or smuggled food. It is the forces of supply and demand, not political arithmetic, that will dictate his options in this regard. It is supply and demand that rule our lives and govern our options, not the gambits of politicians.

In the hands of the northern farmer in the tomato and onion fields of Kano, Jigawa, Yobe and Kebbi, the return for his labour is cash to meet his needs and justify his toil. That cash has no ethnic or a religious label. There is no Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Idoma or Efik label. For as long as the farmer and cattle rearer gets a fair cash reward for his labours and wares, he is not likely to bother about the ethnic origin, religion or political party of the money.

But if the farmer finds that he can no longer find a ready market for his produce and is therefore cash strapped, he is likely to find alternative means of livelihood including joining Boko Haram or buying or renting AK-47s for criminal exploits. He must find the cash to meet his obligations or perish in hunger.

There is of course a sense in which the political environment determines the economic activities and options of citizens. But such politics must be rational and reflect a national common ground. Contemporary Nigerian politics is toxic in the most primitive sense. There is no bipartisanship, no common ground on national priorities or any consensus on the common good.

Political behaviour in our context is governed by a primitive ‘winner take all’ competitiveness in which political contest is the equivalent of bitter factional warfare. If such politics is allowed to bedevil and threaten the national economic space, the sense of a common national market which has helped keep Nigeria united and alive over time will yield to divisiveness and disintegration.

Normal people do not make money in a situation of anarchy.

A prolonged food blockade by northern farmers and suppliers will in the short run create scarcity and high selected food item prices in southern urban centres. In the same short run, northern farmers will run out of cash as they helplessly watch their produce rot away. Incidentally, the nations that border us to the north are not exactly the wealthiest as to provide an immediate lucrative alternative market for the produce of our farmers.

On the contrary, the relatively richer consumers and entrepreneurs of the southern urban centres have what I may call the Qatar advantage. They mostly have ready cash and may be forced by higher prices to seek alternative food supply sources. In addition to the possibility of massive food smuggling and importation, Nigerian entrepreneurs with ready access to cash and credit are likely to quickly switch investment focus to huge agricultural ventures to find alternatives to over politicized local food supplies.

Perhaps the best way to save this polity is first to safeguard the national market place and community of citizens primarily as economic agents with complementary needs and obligations across all barriers.

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MA ͹ͼ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

INTERNATIONAL International Conditionality for Development Aid: From Structural Adjustment to Democratisation and LGBTQ

L

GBTQ is an abbreviation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer people. Development aid has many names and takes different forms in international economic relations: development assistance, foreign aid, loans, grants, donations, advice, training, technical assistance, etc. Even when a repayable loan with interest is given, it is still considered as a manifestation of one form of assistance to the borrower. Agrant is supposed to be truly free, and therefore, free from any conditionality. However, it still carries strings attached to it, by, for instance, sending the experts from the donor country to assist in the implementation of the grant or project donated or funds provided, or by insisting that the funds be applied specifically to a sector of the economy.

Essentially, foreign aid is the voluntary transfer of capital or goods or services from a more developed country to another country in need at the bilateral level. The aid can be economic loans and investments, donation of military equipment and provision of operational training, or humanitarian assistance following natural disasters at the bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral levels.

From the perspective of the World Bank, foreign aid is simply about money, materials and services given or loaned by governments, organisations and individuals in rich countries to help people in poor countries. What is noteworthy about foreign aid is that it is always attached to a conditionality that is not necessarily openly expressed. This is, in spite of the fact that the richer or developed countries are required by the United Nations to have increased their development aid to the level of 0.7% of their gross national income by 2015.

Most unfortunately, however, only Netherlands, Denmark, Luxemburg, Norway, Sweden and United Kingdom are on record to have either met or exceeded the 0.7% of their GNI target. Countries like France, Germany, Japan, Canada and the United States contribute 4% or less, but this does not remove of the fact that the United States still remains the biggest global aid donor (vide below) or France being the biggest donor to Africa. The essential point is that foreign aid is also a political business and a major instrument of foreign policy.

Democratisation as a Conditionality Before democracy was made a conditionality for development aid in 1990, there had always been strings attached to the grant of development aid. The case of the Breton Woods institutions is particularly noteworthy. They came up with the conditionality of structural adjustment of the economy in which there must be currency devaluation, promotion of market competition, removal of excess government controls on the economy. Thus, the grant of development aid is not only driven by economic factors, but also by political interests.

We noted in the same vein elsewhere, that the amount and extent of French assistance to Africa in the period from 1960 through 1985, was largely determined by three main factors: traditional link between metropolitan France and the former colonies; the need for economic expansion by courting further relationship with the Anglophone, Lusophone, and Arabophone countries, and humanitarian considerations. What is noteworthy about the three conditions is that humanitarian aid was often given, following natural disasters or economic problems, but the extent of assistance to be given was always defined by the other two conditions (vide Bola A. Akinterinwa, ‘’Franco-Nigerian Economic Relations, 19601985,’’ in R.A. Akindele and Bassey E. Ate, eds., Nigeria’s Economic Relations with the Major Developed Market-Economy Countries, 1960-1985 (Nelson Publishers Ltd, 1988, p. 242 et s). Thus, the grant of foreign aid is seriously politicised. It is a policy that enables acceptable interference in the domestic affairs of other countries in international economic relations. It is also a policy that encourages the control of international development. Powerful countries have specific conditionality for granting development assistance to countries in need. Apart from the conditionalities often imposed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, there is also the conditionality of democracy imposed in 1990 without which no development aid would be considered. In other words, acceptance byAfrican countries of democracy as official system of government was the condition for eligibility for development aid from France, as initiated by France within the framework of interdependence.

Today, a new conditionality, same sex marriage has also been

VIE INTERNATIONALE

Bola A. Akinterinwa Telephone : 0807-688-2846

e-mail: bolyttag@yahoo.com

Biden added by the United States, without seriously considering the implications for bilateral ties.

Explained differently, development aid, regardless of whatever name it answers in international economic relations, should also be explicated and understood within the context of the principle of interdependence. This is necessary because economic interdependence is a desideratum: no country can be an island unto itself. No country is self-reliant or self-sufficient in terms of economic needs.

Grosso modo, development aid is more about giving and taking, rather than taking and giving. It is necessarily vertical in nature and the more developed countries are generally the givers, while the developing countries are the recipients. Givers have different reasons and conditionalities for giving assistance.

The United States is on record to be the biggest aid giver in terms of net official development assistance. The United States has a total development aid of $34.62 billion, representing $95.52 development aid per capita. Germany takes the second position with $23.81 billion, with $214.73 development aid per capita. The United Kingdom has a total development aid of $19.37 billion, but with the highest development aid capita of $284.85. All these countries have reasons for their development policies.

With the volume of development assistance given to Africa, in particular, poverty and misery has still remained the portion of the poor people of Africa. Why is this so? Dictatorship and coups d’état have been identified as part of the main causes of African misery.

Probably in an attempt to help, the policy of democratisation was not only adopted by France but by the whole Western world which gave it an active support from its beginning.

It was at the Sixteen Franco-African Summit, held on June 19-21, 1990 at the Atlantic Coastal resort of La Baule in France that democracy was first introduced as a conditionality for development assistance. the policy was for the attention of Francophone African leaders. The Summit was well attended: twenty-three Heads of States and twelve ministerial delegations attending.

As presented by President François Mitterrand, ‘there will be a normal aid from France as concerns African countries, but it is obvious that this aid will be lukewarm towards those who behave in an authoritarian fashion, and more enthusiastic towards those

who courageously take this step towards democracy.’ With this statement, President Mitterrand did not stop the policy of foreign aid but revealed that countries that take the courage to democratise would be given preferential treatment as a democracy dividend.

President Mitterrand wanted to open up the democratic space.

In the process of the democratic opening, President Mitterrand cautioned as follows: ‘we do not want to interfere in national affairs.

For us, this subtle giving lessons to African States, and to those who lead them, is a form of colonialism as perverse as any other. It would be to consider there are superior peoples, who grasp the truth, and the others, who would not be capable of it. While I know the efforts of so many leaders who love their people, and who intend to serve them, even if it is not in the same way as on the banks of the River Seine or the River Thames.’

What does democracy or act of democratisation mean for France? François Mitterrand has the reply as follows: ‘when I say democracy, when I say it is the only means to reach a balanced state at a time when the necessity for greater freedoms presents itself, I have naturally a ready-made model: a representative system, free elections, multiparty democracy, freedom of the press, the independence of the judiciary, refusal of censure...’ Consequently, President Mitterrand indirectly pleaded with African leaders to accept to democratise by saying that ‘it is up to you, free peoples, to you sovereign States that I respect to choose your path, to determine the stages and the speed...’

Even though France often gave the impression that she did not want to interfere in the internal affairs of the Francophone African States, the request by France that African leaders should go along a particular political line is necessarily an act of interference. It is a truism that the origin of the Franco-African Summits may be partly traced to President Hamani Diori of Niger Republic, who in light of the challenges of the 1973 Israelo-Arab war wanted peace which interests the whole international community and not only the two Superpowers,’ also wanted.

Inspired by the African interest, the first Franco-African Summit took place in Paris on November 13, 1973 with eleven participants (seven Heads of States and four ministerial delegations) and with President George Pompidou of France presiding. The first summit served as a concrete foundation for future dialogues between France and Francophone Africa, because it decided ‘to become an instrument for mutual consultation, which would meet informally once a year.’

Additionally, at the Second Summit which was held in Bangui, Central African Republic, on March 7-8, 1975 with 15 participants (nine Heads of States, six ministerial delegations), a decision was reached to be holding the summits alternately and yearly. The Summit was dubbed a ‘Family Re-union.’ And perhaps more importantly, Paris played host to the third Summit on May 10-11, 1976. The number of participants further increased to twenty with nine Heads of States participating and eleven ministerial delegations taking active parts.

At this third Summit, two important decisions were adopted: establishment of an Extraordinary Fund for the promotion of Africa by industrialised countries having historical ties with Africa. The Fund was designed to be used in several development sectors such as in building railroad and roads for landlocked countries to enable them have access to the sea. The Fund is also to assist in the struggle against drought or in the development of mining to exploit mineral resources.

The second decision was the setting up of an African Solidarity Fund which was to be financed jointly by African States and France and whose aid would go to investment projects in the Least Developed Countries. As a show of serious commitment, France decided to join the OAU’s Africa Development Fund in which Germany, Sweden and Canada had already been playing active parts. Thus, it should not be surprising that, the outcome of the Sixteen Summit in La Baule, went a long way to strengthen Franco-African ties, but particularly also democracy as a conditionality for foreign aid.

In this regard, for instance, France unilaterally announced that she would only give grants to the Least Developed Countries with a yearly per capita Gross National Product of less than $500 per person. As for the middle income countries like the Côte d’Ivoire, Congo, Cameroon and Gabon, whose yearly per capita GNP was over $500, but less than $6,000, the interests rates on French public loans would be limited to 5% instead of ten per cent.

And, perhaps above all, at the 17th Summit held in Libreville on October 5-7, 1992 in which François Mitterrand could not participate for the first time as a result of his surgical operation, his Prime Minister, Pierre Bérégovoy, made it clear that democracy was never easy to build, ‘even more less so when economic crisis exacerbates tensions and exasperates impatience, to borrow Bérégovoy’s words. As he further put it, ‘democracy is the twin sister of development. It is a law of history from which none can escape. Everywhere democracy takes root, development can get a new start.’ This is the background to democracy as a conditionality for foreign aid in international economic relations.

Three points are made clear from the foregoing: the conditionality for qualification for foreign aid is always changing, from structural adjustment of economies to acceptance to democratise and currently to non-criminalisation of LGBTQ by any country. Second, US-Nigerian national interests and legal orders are competing. Third, a diplomatic row is in the making for which Nigeria should seriously prepare. President Biden can promote and protect LGBTQ in the United States being a sovereign State but cannot seek to prevail on any law in Nigeria, because Nigeria is another sovereign State like the United States. President Biden’s policy necessarily conflicts with Article 2(7) of the UN Charter which forbids interference and intervention in the Same Sex Marriage as a New Conditionality Unlike democracy as a conditionality for development aid, same domestic affairs of other countries, especially in whatever falls within the exclusive competence of other sovereign States. Since President Biden is coming up with an Equality Act to protect the sex marriage does not have the potential to fly too far. The factor democracy was quickly and generally acquiesced to for many LGBTQ people, an act which cannot but be in conflict with Nigeria’s own law on the matter, the of reasons.

Foreign Minister has the challenge of preparing for the diplomatic bomb shell that will, sooner Read full article online - www.thisdaylive.com than later, emerge within the first 100 days in office of President Joe Biden

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NEWS

News Editor: Gboyega Akinsanmi E-mail: ÑÌÙãÏÑ˲ËÕÓØÝËØ×Ó̶ÞÒÓÝÎËãÖÓàÏ˛ÍÙט͸΀͹ͽͺͻͽ΁ͺͽͻ

For Holding on to £4.2m Ibori Loot, FG Flouts UN Convention Undercuts sections 42, 162 of the 1999 Constitution TI canvasses legal framework for recovered assets

Gboyega Akinsanmi

The resolve of the federal government not to return stolen assets recovered from a former Delta State Governor, Chief James Ibori to the treasury of the Delta State Government is illegal and unconstitutional, according to legal agreements and documents verified by THISDAY. Contrary to the claims of the Attorney-General of the

Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN) that the federal government was a victim of Ibori’s loot, agreements and documents to which Nigeria is a signatory stipulate that stolen assets recovered from corrupt officials should benefit the people of entities, nations or sovereigns where the crime was committed.

This provision is evident in Article 35 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption

(UNAC), Principle 5 of Global Forum for Assets Recovery (GFAR) and Sections 42 and 162 of the 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria (As Amended).

While Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution states that the governments and people of Nigerian are entitled to equal rights and opportunities, the UN Convention provides that people or entities that suffered damage due to acts of corruption are

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L-R: Gombe State Governor, Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya receiving Country Director, Qatar Charity Foundation , Sheikh Hamdi Mohamed Elsayed at the Gombe Governor’s Lodge, Abuja.... yesterday.

entitled to stolen assets recovered from the corrupt public officials.

The United Kingdom had promised to return £4.2 million loot recovered from Ibori to the federal government. British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ms Catriona Laing signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to that effect with Malami in Abuja on Tuesday.

Consequently, the AGF had declared that the loot recovered from the former governor would go to the federal government and not the state, claiming that the law that Ibori breached was a federal law, and not that of Delta State.

He argued: “The major consideration to who is entitled to a fraction or perhaps the money in its entirety is a function of law and international diplomacy, among others. It is a function of law, in the sense that the law in contention that was alleged to have been breached is a federal law. That is the starting point.

“In dealing with international community and international diplomacy, the parties of interest are the state parties (referring to sovereign countries), and not sub-national governments that are involved. The federal government is the victim. Delta state was not involved in the recovery of the funds.”

Consequent upon the federal government’s claim to the loot recovered from Ibori, THISDAY specifically verified provisions of the UN Convention and Global Forum for Asset Recovery (GFAR) to ascertain Malami’s

interpretation.

Article 35 of the UN Convention, which focuses on compensation for damage, contravenes the position canvassed by the AGF after signing a memorandum of understanding with the UK Government on the return of the loot.

The article state thus: “Each State Party shall take such measures as may be necessary, in accordance with principles of its domestic law, to ensure that entities or persons who have suffered damage as a result of an act of corruption have the right to initiate legal proceedings against those responsible for that damage in order to obtain compensation.”

Though not binding, GFAR, an initiative of the UK and US with the support of the World Bank and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), similarly reinforces Article 35 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

Principle 5 of GFAR, which dwells on beneficiaries, states: “Where possible, and without prejudice to identified victims, stolen assets recovered from corrupt officials should benefit the people of the nations harmed by the underlying corrupt conduct.”

Principle 6 further states: “Where possible, in the end use of confiscated proceeds, consideration should also be given to encouraging actions which fulfil UNCAC principles of combating corruption,

repairing the damage done by corruption, and achieving development goals.”

As shown on the website of the World Bank, GFAR is a stolen asset recovery platform, which empowers investigators and prosecutors charged with identifying and tracing assets and getting necessary cooperation with financial centres in recovering and returning assets.

Also, section 42 of 1999 Constitution frowns at unequal rights and opportunities among entities, nationalities or people that constitute the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Section 42(1) states: “A citizen of Nigeria of a particular community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion shall not, by reason only that he is such a person:- (a) be subjected either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any executive or administrative action of the government, to disabilities or restrictions to which citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions are not made subject “Or (b) be accorded either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any such executive or administrative action, any privilege or advantage that is not accorded to citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions.”

Uzodinma’s Incompetence Cost Imo N50bn Investment, Group Alleges Commissioner rejects allegation, says it’s sheer blackmail

Tobi Soniyi

Concerned Imo Citizens has alleged that African Export– Import Bank, (AfrEximBank) has suspended its N50 billion investment in the state due to the inability of the state governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma to stem rising insecurity.

In a swift reaction, however, the Commissioner for Information, Mr Declan Emelumba dismissed all the allegations as baseless and mere blackmails.

In a statement it issued yesterday, the group cited several instances of criminalities, which it said could have been prevented

had the state government been proactive.

The group said at the inception of the Uzodinma administration, his Attorney General, Mr C. O. C. Akaolisa released some hardened criminals some of whom were already convicted for armed robberies, kidnapping and other vices.

The group said: “Since the release of these criminals there has been a sharp rise in criminalities like armed robberies, kidnapping, killing of law enforcement officers and prominent citizens of the state.

It claimed that due to the rising insecurity in the state

AfrEximBank had suspended its N50 Billion investment in Imo State..

The group listed instances of insecurity in Imo State to include the killing of two brothers by unknown assailants who made away with their vehicle near the vicinity of Imo State University, the kidnapping of a Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Valentine Ezeagu while attending the funeral of his father as well as the killing of two policemen at Orlu.

The group also alleged that there had been unprecedented rise in illegal oil bunkering in the oil producing communities in Egbema and Oguta.

It stated that the anti-oil bunkering committee set up by the state government is itself profiting from the illegal business.

“Besides the huge revenue losses to the government, there are monumental environmental hazards associated with the illegal bunkering activities perpetrated by this notorious Imo State Anti-oil Bunkering Committee”, it added.

It accused the governor of spending local government allocations without recourse to extant law on local government funds administration.

It said: “There has never been

JAAC (Joint Account Allocation Committee) for the administration of Local Government funds as required by law, instead the Local government Directors of Administration are coaxed to sign away the monthly allocations to the governor’s pleasure.

“This can be verified. So all allocations that accrued the 27 LGAs for this one year was spent solely by the governor without any visible evidence of projects executed.

“At present, the Local Government workers are owed 3 Months salary arrears despite the fact FAAC have not failed at any time to remit funds due to

the 27 Local Government Areas of Imo State.”

On insecurity, the commissioner said that the state’s Attorney General has “no power to release anybody from prison.

So he couldn’t have released anybody.

“What happened was that in the wake of Covid-19 in early 2020 there came the need for the decongestion of the prisons. So the governor using his prerogative of mercy authorised the release of some inmates who satisfy some conditions including staying long in detention as awaiting trial without conviction.

FG, Rungas Unveil $40m Gas Cylinder Manufacturing Plant Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The federal government has laid the foundation of a $40 million gas cylinder manufacturing plant, located at Alaro City, Lekki Free Trade Zone, Lagos State.

A statement by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) which has substantial equity investment in the project, said the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva performed the groundbreaking ceremony yesterday.

The facility alongside its sister plant, Rungas Prime in Polaku, Bayelsa State are being developed with equity investments by NCDMB. On completion, the facilities have a combined capacity of over 1.2 million cylinders per annum, surpassing the record held by a European firm that currently produces 900 cylinders.

Quoted in the statement, the minister said when completed, the plant would churn out the largest number of cylinders

every year globally.

Sylva described the cylinder plant as key to achieving deeper penetration of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), in line with the federal government’s commitment to ensuring economic diversification using the oil and gas industry as a pivot.

He stated that cylinders were the most visible element of the LPG value chain, saying the manufacturing facilities will not only bring affordable and

durable cylinders to Nigeria but also create many direct and indirect jobs for citizens.

Sylva also commended the NCDMB for recording another milestone in the drive to enhance domestic participation and capacity building of indigenous companies in the oil and gas industry.

In his comments, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr. Simbi Wabote, gave the expected completion date of the facility as 12 months and highlighted that the board had proven that

it delivers anytime it’s involved in a project.

He said the groundbreaking event confirmed that privatepublic partnership remains a pragmatic and workable model for putting in place the needed infrastructure, facilities and manufacturing base, to position Nigeria for the opportunities that abound in the region and continent.

Wabote listed other interventions by the board in the gas value chain to

include development of LPG storage terminals and jetties, inland gas processing for the production of LPG and propane, infrastructure for gas gathering and injection into gas pipeline networks and CNG facilities.

“Our handshake with the Rungas Group will catalyse the transition away from the heavy metallic LPG cylinders. It will also address the issue of high importation of LPG cylinders with the attendant economic losses,” he noted.

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NEWSXTRA EndSARS: Reddington Submits 25 Case Notes of Victims to Lagos Panel +HDULQJ UHVXPHV RQ 0DUFK IRU WHVWLPRQLHV Gboyega Akinsanmi Nigeria’s multi-specialist hospital, Reddington Healthcare Group has submitted 25 cases of some victims of the Lekki Toll Plaza shooting that occurred on October 20, 2020 to the Lagos State Judicial Panel on Restitution for Victims of SARS and the Lekki Tollgate Incident.

One of the hospital’s trauma and orthopaedic surgeons, Dr. Babajide Lawson yesterday tendered the case files of the victims treated in the hospital.

Some survivors of the shooting had petitioned the panel, alleging that soldiers from the 81 Division of the Nigerian Army shot at and killed several #EndSARS protesters that night.

The army has, however, denied the allegation repeatedly and has stopped further appearance at the panel, without giving any reason.

At its sitting yesterday, the counsel to the panel, Mr. Jonathan Ogunsanya, told the panel that he now had in his possession a total of 25 case notes submitted by the hospital.

He noted that the cases were more detailed and would help give clarity to cases of petitioners before the panel.

In February, Lawson told the panel that the hospital dealt with mass casualties on October 20, but proper records of the number might not have been kept because the medical staff on duty were overwhelmed.

According to the doctor, the hospital was more concerned with saving lives and so did not prioritise the time patients arrived at its facility.

“On the night of this event, in the Lekki facility, when patients were brought in, it was a mass gathering situation in which

case you have a large number of people presenting at the same time, literally overwhelming the facility.

“In that kind of situation, there are lots of cases that might be compromised. If this patient says he was treated at the hospital, he can present at the hospital and get a medical report,” the surgeon testified at the panel.

One of the patients, who was treated at Reddington, Lucky Philemon, also testified yesterday.

Philemon, who now walks with the aid of crutches, had claimed that he was shot by soldiers at the toll gate on October 20, but the absence of his medical

records before the panel had stalled proceedings.

Philemon had in his petition demanded a sum of N200m as damages for the inconvenience of losing his limbs as well as another $50,000 for Prosthetic limbs.

Counsel to Philemon, Mr. John Uthman told the panel that his client arrived at the hospital at about 9:00 p.m. contrary to the position of the Lagos State Government that he presented himself for treatment at 11.30pm and could not have been shot at the Lekki toll gate.

Uthman noted that the complete medical records of the petitioner showed that he received medical

treatment at about 9pm and later at about 11.30pm.

Another witness, Richard Oku who testified for Philemon, claimed that at 6.45pm on October 20, the army arrived at the Lekki Toll Gate and started shooting.

The witness explained how he helped Philemon after he was shot.

He said: “I heard on the radio that a protest was going on at the Lekki toll gate and I decided to go there around 4: 00 p.m. At 6.45pm or so, we saw the army people arrive and started shooting. DJ Switch was on stage telling people to be calm and sit down. Some sat down, others could not bear it and started running.

“I also found a way to leave.

I saw one man beside me shot. I saw another try to get up, his leg had been shot, he could not make it and other people were stepping on him and others as they were running. I stopped one man and we helped him to the side of the toll so that people would not step on him.

I picked his phone and left him.

“I found my way to Lekki gate and I saw private cars stopping there. I approached them to help.

I went back to the toll and helped an elderly woman and a young man to the hospital with the car that agreed to help.

House Urges FG to Install Fire Alert System in Public Buildings Adedayo Akinwale and Udora Orizu in Abuja The House of Representatives has called on the federal government to as a matter of urgency enforce the installation of fire alerting systems in all buildings across Nigeria to save lives and properties during fire outbreaks.

The lower chamber also urged the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and the Federal Fire Service, to ensure compliance with the Federal Fire Service Act by ensuring that every building and market within FCT installs fire alerting systems in their various structures.

It also mandated the committees on Legislative Compliance and Interior to ensure compliance.

The resolutions followed the adoption of a motion titled ‘Curbing the Menace of Fire Outbreaks in Nigeria, sponsored by Hon Henry Nwawuba.

Moving the motion, Nwawuba noted that fire incidence was a recurring phenomenon in Nigeria with cases of fire incidents reported across the nation without any sign of cessation.

He said these outbreaks were caused by many factors, including human negligence.

He said that public and private structures, including markets did not have adequate fire alerting systems in place to curb the menace.

He explained that the Federal Fire Service is statutorily charged by the Fire Service Act with Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat received Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at the Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH), Yaba.... Friday responsibility to facilitate all firefighting and fire prevention activities in its jurisdiction.

He noted that there had been reported cases of fire outbreaks in these allegations at a session with “The team destroyed several “I am appealing to the Nasarawa some plazas, high-rise buildings Igbawase Ukumba in Lafia journalists yesterday, lamenting basins of our smoked fish, beds State government and well spirited and major markets across the Again, a subsidiary of Dangote collateral loss to the demolition and beddings and other valuables individuals to come to our rescue country, which had led to loss in the fire they set on our houses by providing succour to our of lives and properties worth Group, Dangote Sugar Refinery exercise.

Narrating the ordeal of his as you can see. They snatched a pathetic condition,” Ti’igh appealed.

Tunga in Awe Local Governmillions of naira.

Also speaking at the session ment Area, Nasarawa State, has people, Ti’igh lamented that the bag containing some money and reportedly invaded Ugber with sugar firm did not even contact a handset from my son and took with journalists, Orkuha alleged bulldozers, thereby demolishing them about buying the land, let it away,” the village head alleged. that the demolition was happening alone talking about compensating He added: “I am lost as nobody for a second time as people from over 300 houses.

The demolition came about three the owners of the land in the compensated us but only to come Dangote firm did a similar thing in with bulldozers and levelled to the village last year and even months after the company carried communities.

He said: “We only woke up on down our houses as if we are at burnt down houses. out a similar operation that affected Shabi, as stated, “wandered into He said: “When I got wind of Ebute (waterside) area of Kirikiri about 200 houses belonging to the Thursday to see the company with war with Dangote.

The village head lamented that planned demolition of Tiv villages Town to make a living by assisting people of Kukurubi, a community bulldozers in our village, pulling down our houses. We lost 80 bags the Ugber inhabitants “have been in the area, I held a meeting with sand dredgers and sand buyers to in Awe LGA. The head of Ugber, Mr. Timothy of rice, 43 bags of sargam, 27 bags rendered homeless following the executive chairman of Awe load sand into tippers.”

During this time, Shabi met Ti’igh and Chairman of Tiv Devel- of soybeans, 3,000 tubers of yam the demolition of their houses LGA and heads of security agenGilbert Cardoso, who was from opment Association (TIDA) in Awe and 17 bags of bean seeds in the by Dangote firm as they now cies in the council to manage the sleep under trees without blankets. impending threat. one of the land owning families in LGA, Mr. Ezekiel Orkuha made demolition exercise.

Kirikiri. Cardoso reportedly took him in “and accommodated as an errand boy”.

During his lifetime, Cardoso was said to have leased swathes of land Tobi Soniyi facts from the court. or plan of the already developed upon which the order was made to certain Chiefs Mosheshe and The judge said: “I found property known as Niger Towers amounted to a gross abuse of Akhere. The petitioners said upon process.

Justice Ezekiel Oluwole Ashade and hold that orders of interim was liable to be set aside.

Cardoso’s mysterious death, Shabi of a Lagos High Court has lifted injunction granted based on the He noted that by the order the The interim order grossly made himself the prime agent of the an interim injunction granted to applicant ex-parte application 2nd respondent could only carry infringed on the constitutional right family land. He was also said to the Incorporated Trustees of Niger without proper disclosure of out improvement in Blocks A and of the 2nd and 3rd respondents/ have set members of the Mosheshe Towers Owners and Residents relevant facts or concealment B without affecting the common applicant to fair hearings amongst family against themselves and Association stopping property of material facts now revealed area as contained in the deed of others. willy-nilly made himself their management company, UACN by the affidavit evidence by the sublease.

Justice O.A. Ogala sitting at land agent.

The application for the lifting Ikeja division of the Lagos High Property Development Company 2nd respondent Mr Oluyemisi The Cardoso family eventually Plc and its agent Pro-line West Ade John and 3rd respondent of the interim order was brought Court had issued the order which removed Shabi as their land agent, Africa Limited from interfering Mr. Victor Osiemwonyi before pursuant to Orders 5,7,43 and 49 restrained property management but he continued to function as with the existing structure of this court is averse to the 2nd of the High Court of Lagos State company, UACN Property Desame. He later manipulated the the developed property known respondent proprietary.”

Civil Procedure Rules of 2019 and velopment Company Plc and its system through the assistance of as Niger Towers.

Justice Ashade further said that under the inherent jurisdiction of agent Pro-line West Africa Limited some unscrupulous local governfrom interfering with the existing In his ruling Justice Ashade said the interim order restraining the the court. ment officials and pronounced he had to lift the order because 2nd respondent from interfering Some of the grounds for the structure of the developed property himself as the baale. the applicant concealed relevant with existing structures, lay out application were that the process known as Niger Towers.

RECEIVING JAB . . .

Again, Dangote Demolishes 300 Houses in Nasarawa

Lagos Removes Shabi as Baale of Kirikiri The Lagos State Government has approved Chief Anthony Babatunde Folami as Baale of Kirikiri, in the Oriade Local Council Development Area, (LCDA).

In its statement yesterday, the government said it took the decision after painstaking deliberation and examination of the Obas and Chiefs Law, and Customary Law of the community (Kirikri).

The statement said an ad-hoc committee set up on the matter identified two ruling houses as those eligible to produce a candidate for the stool. These are the Agunbiade, and Folami ruling houses.

Prior, the two ruling houses had petitioned the state government against a certain Mr. Babalola Babatunde Shabi.

The petitioners, through their lawyers Taiwo Lakanu &co, affirmed they were the legitimate royal families and traced their ancestry to Tumbulu Babalola.

Babalola, they said, became the first Baale of Kirikiri Town in 1893. The ruling houses, more so, accused Shabi of usurping the stool, despite he not being a royal.

Court Sets Aside Interim Order on Niger Towers

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NEWSXTRA Uzodinma: IPOB Usurped S’East Security Initiative Promises to recover public assets taken over by Okorocha Amby Uneze in Owerri Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma yesterday disclosed that a Biafran separatist organisation, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) hijacked and bastardised a regional security initiative the South-east governors agreed to establish like other geopolitical zones nationwide.

Uzodimma, whose victory at the Supreme Court is currently being challenged, disclosed that the governors from the geo-political zone would soon establish a new regional security outfit to complement the conventional security agencies.

He revealed the plan at a session with members of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) at the Government House, Owerri, yesterday.

At the session, Uzodinma said before now, the Eastern Security Network was the brainchild of the governors of the Southeast geopolitical zone until the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) hijacked and bastardised the process.

He said: “We have to change the name. It is necessary for each geopolitical zone to now manage her own security. It is true that the Southeast and Ohanaeze Ndigbo tried to set up Eastern Security

Network. Before we could come out with something, IPOB hijacked the name and started messing up with it.

“Very soon, we will come up with a name and we will not allow any external invasion or allow anybody to take us to ransom.

This is no failure in government as its primary aim is to protect lives and property.

“Very soon, a security summit will be hosted in Owerri and something meaningful will come out to complement conventional security agencies”, the governor said.

On recovery of public property, Uzodinma promised that he would

not tolerate any sacred cow in recovering public property looted by officials of previous administrations in the state in line with the recommendations of the judicial commission of inquiry set up by the immediate past administration in the state.

He said the mantra of his administration that was anchored on reconstruction, rehabilitation and recovery would neither be based on nepotism, sentiment nor favouritism.

“We will sustain its credibility and public confidence. The complainants are the Imo people and we need the support of everybody to achieve it,” the governor said.

On changing the attitude of some public officials including civil servants and political appointees that had changed from good to bad, the governor vowed “to change the narrative for a better society.” While unfolding plans to reposition the agricultural and industrial sectors in the state, he decried reported cases of violence in some parts of the state by youths.

He said that he had ordered an independent investigation into the circumstances that recently led to the burning of a police station and killing of a young man in the Ihitte/ Uboma Council area to forestall

recurrence.

While tourism would be accorded a pride of place in his administration, the governor added that there would be a re-appraisal and re-assessment of all abandoned industries for revival and resuscitation just as the Onitsha Road Industrial Layout in Owerri would receive fresh impetus.

He challenged pensioners and workers who complain of non-payment of their salary and stipend to come up with cogent verifiable facts for payment, stating that efforts are on to sanitize the state and local government service to rid them of ghost workers.

Opay Hits $2bn Gross Transaction in 2020 Nigeria’s fast-growing mobile money platform, OPay Digital Services Limited, has disclosed that its gross transaction in 2020 grew to $2billion.

The digital firm, also, unveiled a growth plan for 2021, saying the previous year as successful and transformative.

The Managing VP for Opay Nigeria, Joshua Yau revealed the plan at a news conference in Lagos recently with a projection to take the digital firm to a higher in the future.

Opay, licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, is a mobile money platform established in June 2018 and spread its services across all 36 states in Nigeria with over 300,000 mobile money agents.

At the conference, the managing VP said amidst the pandemic, lockdown and global uncertainty, Opay had its most impactful and transformative year yet in 2020.

As a payment company, the company’s helmsman disclosed, it grew its total gross transaction value 4.5 times to over $2 Billion in December 2020.

It said the point of sale terminals deployed in its mobile money

agent and merchant network represented roughly 1/5 of offline payments in Nigeria by year end.

“Its mobile wallets have more than two million wallets with a total balance of over $17 million,” the managing VP disclosed during the news conference.

Opay Country Manager, Iniabasi Akpan gave a quick summary and review of the company’s operations and performance in 2020, focussing on how it provided Nigerians convenient access to cash and job creation, driven by innovation.

Akpan said: ”We helped to give easy access to financial services to close to more than ten million Nigerians in all corners of the country. Our agents serve a population that is far from bank branches and ATMs, often in the outskirts of cities, suburban areas or rural areas.

“The impact we have made so far could not have been without our most important partners - our agents and merchants. By providing their customers with convenience, they were able to earn a solid income with many expanding their businesses, even in the difficult pandemic.”

HONOUR TO AN AMAZON. . .

L-R; Wife of the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mrs. Martha Udom Emmanuel and Managing Partner, Dorothy Ufot and Co. Mrs. Dorothy Udeme Ufot (SAN), during a gala night to honor Ufot as the African Arbitrator of the Year at the Government House, Uyo... recently

Residents Kick against Relocating Court to Osborne Estates Tobi Soniyi

Stallion-Bajaj to Grow Female Workforce to 35% in 2022 The distributor of Bajaj threewheeler and four-wheeler intracity smart cab, Stallion-Bajaj Alliance has promised to grow its female workforce to 35% by 2022.

The Managing Director, Mr Manish Rohtagi disclosed this plan at a session with journalists to celebrate the 2021 International Women Day, promising to set up Africa’s first women-only assembly plant At the conference, Rohtagi noted that the brand “has been driven by one goal: to build a more inclusive workspace from the inception of Stallion-Bajaj Alliance.

“At the core is the plan to establish Africa’s first women-only assembly plant in Nigeria and significantly grow its female representation to 35% by the end of 2022,” Rohtagi said.

In line with this vision, the managing director disclosed, 40 women have been trained and integrated into the VON assembly plant in Lagos, Nigeria.

He said: “Women make up over half of the world’s population and are integral to the growth of the world economy.

The Stallion-Bajaj Alliance has put gender equality at the forefront of its SDGs. “For Stallion-Bajaj, International Women’s Day is a reminder that

there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure more spaces are created for women to thrive.

“It is a reminder for us to examine our processes and structures, to ensure wage gaps are closed and equal opportunities are offered to women at all levels.”

While conducting journalists round the company’s assembling plant, Rohtagi said: “To celebrate IWD this year, we will be welcoming a new set of female mechanics to the training program.

“This is in line with our goal to train and absorb 500 female technicians by 2022. To achieve this, we will be holding several more training sessions for female riders, female assemblers and female mechanics before the year runs out.”

When asked about the impact of the program, one of the women assemblers, Ms. Ayomide Sanyaolu said: “I am proud to be part of this exciting project.

“Being a member of the first cohort employed at the plant I have had to learn, fail and relearn. It has been a challenging but fulfilling period in my life.

“Seeing the end product of our work, the Keke is on the road gives me joy and job satisfaction.

I am grateful to be part of the process,” Sanyaolu said.

Osborne Residents Resident of Osborne Foreshore Estate in Ikoyi, Lagos have said that building a courtroom in the estate, a mainly residential area by the Lagos State would amount to endangering their lives.

In an application before a Federal High Court, counsel to the residents Mr Olayinka Olasewere argued that the proposed plan by the Lagos State government to build a courthouse in the estate would violate the master plan of the estate as the disputed land was

intended to be a green zone for recreational purpose only.

He maintained that the state government action of seeking to use the land allocated to it for other purposes other than that which was stated in the master plan of the estate was inimical to the interest and wellbeing of the residents of the estate.

In addition to the contravention of the master plan, the lawyer claimed that building a courthouse there could lead to security breach and consequently become a threat to the lives and properties of his clients.

In a written address on the

matter Olasewere said “The conversional use of the property which was designed to be used as a recreational center by estate residents into a commercial jetty or for any other purpose other than that which is in the master plan is wrong. It is therefore, the sole course of the legal action the residents commenced in the previous legal action in court.”

He said the construction, erection, building, managing of a commercial jetty and or setting up of a courthouse in a gated and highly exclusive federal government owned estate where the residents had acquired

proprietary and property rights and had put up structures for their peaceful and quiet enjoyment was wrong.

He alleged that the Lagos state government and it agents had been using the ex-parte order obtained at a Lagos High Court to intimidate and harass the residents of Osborne Foreshore 2.

Olasewere also stated that the proposed construction, building, erecting, relocation and operation of court rooms to Plot 10, block 11, Royal Park Avenue is illegal and grossly violates the original master plan of Osborne Phase 11, Foreshore Estate.

ASP Detains Man for Protesting Illicit Relationship with Mother David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka Danladi Edibo, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) in Anambra State Police Command, has allegedly handcuffed and detained a 22-years old man, Mr Chukwunonso Ogbukagu for disapproving the illicit relationship between his mother, Mrs Ogbukagu and the ASP. Chukwunonso revealed this after he escaped from the unlawful detention, narrating how the police officer arrested, handcuffed and detained him for protesting Edibo’s illicit relationship with his mother.

Edibo is a serving police officer,

currently attached to the anti-cult unit in Enugwu-Ukwu, Njikoka Local Government Area (LGA), Anambra State.

Sharing his ordeal, Chukwunonso narrated how he visited his biological mother in Nimo, where he claimed the ASP ordered his arrest and detention after he challenged the police officer for having an illicit relationship with his mother.

He said: “I visited Nimo, a town in Njikoka LGA to see my mother who recently left my dad to rent a separate house. I noticed that my mother has a

male friend who always visited her in the apartment.

“When I demanded from my mother who the man was, I found out it was the same police officer, ASP Danladi who had a problem with my father and caused my parents to separate.

“The man knew that I had noticed who he was and called some policemen who came with guns and handcuffed and detained me in a toilet in the apartment for days.

“I stayed there for four days without food or water. I later realised that I may die if I remained in the toilet where the

ASP detained me. So, I summoned courage and escaped,” he narrated his ordeal in the hand of the ASP. He, therefore, urged the State Police Command to come to his aid, alleging that his life “is in danger. ASP Edibo may come after me for protesting that he is having an illicit relationship with my mother.”

Meanwhile, the father of the victim, Chief Ikenna Ogbukagu has petitioned the Commissioner for Police, Anambra State, Mr. Bala Kuryas, asking him to restrain the ASP from further harassing him and members of his family.

86

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 7, 2021

SUNDAYSPORTS

Edited by: Duro Ikhazuagbe email:Duro.Ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

Troost-Ekong: There is Real Hunger for Watford to Return to EPL Duro Ikhazuagbe with agency report

S

uper Eagles centre-back, William Troost-Ekong, has said that there a real hunger to keep churning out the clean sheets and provide the best possible platform on which his English Championship side, Watford, to mount an automatic promotion push to the Premier League.

Watford defeated CardiͿ City 2-1 yesterday to step up to second on the log on 69 points from 36 games.

The Hornets have racked up 17 Championship clean sheets and boast the best defence in England in terms of goals conceded per game. With 10 games to play, the Hornets’ shut-out record is three shy of the 20 they kept in the 1994/95 season and eight short of the whopping 25 they recorded in the title-winning campaign of 1968/69.

“We’ve created that mentality this year,” said Troost-Ekong. “Every time the ball goes out of play we are reminding ourselves to keep a clean sheet. It’s an uplifting feeling to help the boys and take the pressure oͿ the boys up front. It means we only need to score one to win the game if we defend like that.

“It’s not just the centre-backs, the full-backs and the goalkeeper, though. It’s a team eͿort.

Everyone is doing some leg work for the team, helping to cover the spaces and that means we have one job, which is to defend. We have had some outstanding performances in a real

team eͿort,” the Nigerian international told the club’s website at the weekend.

The Hornets have conceded the fewest goals away from home in the league this season and that record was bolstered by the 2-1 defeat of CardiͿ yesterday.

KieͿer Moore has 16 goals this season and scored the winner at Vicarage Road early in December.

“Each striker presents a diͿerent challenge,” said Troost-Ekong. “You have to be smart and not try and Àght players like that all the time. You have to try and outwit them, make sure you stand your ground and not be pinned. You have to pick and choose your battles. I enjoy these sort of games and battles. We need to show them what we are about.”

Troost-Ekong has partnered Francisco Sierralta for 10 Championship games this season and the team have a winning percentage of 64 per cent when they start together, conceding just Àve goals in 900 minutes.

“Serra has been fantastic,” said TroostEkong. “He has surprised everyone a bit, but I knew him from before at Udinese. He didn’t get much of a chance at the start, but he has worked really hard, trained really well and it’s a perfect example of hard work paying oͿ. I am happy for him and really enjoy playing with him, just like I do with Craig and Kaba,” concludes the super Eagles central back who is expected to marshal that department against Benin Republic when Nigeria take on their West African neighbors on March 27.

William Troost-Ekong has revealed Watford’s burning desire to return to the English Premier League

AFCON 2022 QUALIFIER

Benin Top Scorer Says No Mistake Against Nigeria Benin on-form striker Jodel Dossou has warned the Squirrels cannot afford to make any mistakes against starstudded Super Eagles as they aim to win at home to book their ticket to the 2021 AFCON. Dossou has scored 10 goals for French club Clermont this season and he is widely regarded as the man to upset Nigeria in a crucial AFCON qualifier on March 27 in Porto-Novo.

Benin are a point behind leaders Nigeria and will qualify to the AFCON in Cameroon next year with win at

home.

Dossou, who was match winner against Lesotho and Sierra Leone in the qualifiers thus far, said the team are very much aware of the importance of the upcoming match and they hope not to leave anything to chance.

“This match is a very decisive match for us. We have the weapons to take on this team that we have already played against (Eagles best Benin 2-1 in Benin City two years ago) and a team that I respect very well,” he said in an interview with ORTB.

“If we are focused and play well, we can win.

“We are playing at home and we know a win will qualify us as our final qualifier will be against Sierra Leone.

It is therefore up to us to pull out all the stops to snatch this qualifying ticket for our fans who are always there for us.”

He further said: “As a team, we’ve been talking about it for a few months now. We know it’s a very difficult game for us. I can reassure you that we take this game very seriously.

Zaha First Premier League Player Not to Take the Knee Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha has become the Àrst Premier League player not to take a knee before kick-oͿ.

Zaha stood before Saturday’s 1-0 win over West Brom,an action he hopes will highlight that more needs to be done to Àght racism.

In a statement, the 28-year-old said he “will continue to stand tall”.

Zaha said in Februarythat he would no longer follow the initiative adopted in the Premier League last season.

Premier League clubs started taking a knee before kick-oͿ to support the Black Lives Matter movement, which rose to prominence following the death of George Floyd in the United States in May 2020.

“My decision to stand at kick-oͿ has been public knowledge for a couple of weeks now,” Zaha said.

“There is no right or wrong decision, but for me personally I feel kneeling has just become a part of the pre-match routine and at the moment it doesn’t matter whether we kneel or stand, some of us still continue to receive abuse.”

The game against West Brom was

Zaha’s Àrst opportunity to make his point after recovering from a hamstring injury.

Crystal Palace captain Luka Milivojevic says he is fully behind the stance that has been adopted by his teammate.

“I support him 100%,” said Milivojevic.

“We are taking a knee to show an example so, when kids see, they are asking why are players doing that.

Wilfried is going further, he did it the other way, and I respect him 100%.”

Mosengo-Omba Appointed New CAF Scribe Former FIFA employee Veron MosengoOmba has been appointed the new General Secretary of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

The Swiss-Congolese replaces Morocco’s Abdel Bah, who had occupied the role in an acting capacity since March 2020.

Mosengo-Omba has left his role at FIFA, ‘with immediate eͿect’ according to the global body, where he had recently been working as Chief Member Associations o΀cer.

“On behalf of all of FIFA, we would like to thank Veron Mosengo-Omba for his excellent work,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino and General Secretary Fatma Samoura in a joint statementon Saturday. “(We) wish him the very best of luck in his

next challenge as CAF General Secretary.

FIFA also looks forward to working with him on future projects in helping to project African football to the summit of world football.”

Mosengo-Omba’s appointment will raise further questions about the role of football’s world governing body in Friday’s African elections.

An old friend of Infantino after the pair read law together at university, the SwissCongolese was one of two FIFA employees spotted talking to the four then presidential candidates in Morocco two weeks ago.

In the Moroccan capital Rabat, it was mooted that Patrice Motsepe would become the new CAF president with the other three assuming secondary roles.

Lewandowski Now Joint-second All-time Bundesliga Top Scorer Robert Lewandowski moved joint-second on the all-time Bundesliga scoring list as Bayern Munich won 3-1 at Werder Bremen.

Lewandowski’s 268th goal in the competition means only Gerd Muller, with 365, has scored more goals in Germany’s top flight.

Leon Goretzka and Serge Gnabry had earlier scored as Bayern extended their lead at the top of the table.

Niclas Fullkrug hit a late consolation for the hosts who remain 12th.

Second-placed RB Leipzig could cut Bayern’s lead at the top of the table to two points if they win their game in hand against Eintracht Frankfurt today.

Hansi Flick’s side were rarely troubled in Bremen, carving out a succession of good chances that ought to have produced an even more emphatic victory.

On another day Lewandowski might have scored four - hitting the post twice and the crossbar - in a typically menacing performance.

And his 32nd league goal of the season keeps former Bayern forward Muller ’s single-season record of 40 goals firmly in view.

However, Muller ’s overall record is still going to take some catching, with the former Bayern and Germany forward registering a goal every 105 minutes in his 427 league games.

Poland international Lewandowski, 32, is 97 goals off that landmark but has managed his 268 from 345 games at 103 minutes per goal

SUNDAY MARCH 14, 2021 • T H I S D AY

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As We Prepare for State Police...

I

t would appear setting up state police in Nigeria is now a matter of “when” – not “if”.

What started as a campaign championed solely by south-west political and opinion leaders at the dawn of this democracy has gone on to win more disciples nationwide.

Support is coming from unlikely quarters in the north, with many of the region’s governors now in tow – even though they do not fully embrace the broader campaign for “true federalism” and “restructuring” as championed mostly by southern leaders and their allies in the middle belt. The kidnapping and banditry up north are clearly playing the key role in persuading the northern governors that the time for state police has come.

What is state police? Although the campaign has gone on for decades, there has been no proper articulation of the idea apart from what Senator Ike Ekweremadu, as deputy senate president, came up with in a bill some years ago. However, when people canvass “state police”, it is generally understood to mean a force controlled by the state that set it up. It will exist alongside the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), which is seen as the exclusive property of the federal government.

The inspector-general of police is appointed by the president. But the chief of state police, or whatever title they will go by, will be appointed by the governor. That is the concept as currently canvassed.

Why do people want state police? I want to believe that the agitation was initially sparked off by political currents under President Olusegun Obasanjo as he used and abused the police for partisan purposes. He deployed the police to intimidate his opponents ahead of the 2003 elections and subsequently captured many states.

In one fell swoop, he took five of the six states in the south-west, leaving only Lagos. To counter this abuse of power, many started arguing that state police would provide a “balance of force”.

The agitation was built on the foundation of “true federalism” – that is, every state should have control over its internal law enforcement, as in other federations.

On another front, it has also been well argued that Nigeria is too big for policing to be efficiently administered from Abuja. There are 200 million Nigerians, according to population estimates, spread across 36 states and FCT, 774 LGAs and a million towns and villages. Many proponents believe that the mammoth size of Nigeria is responsible, partly at least, for police inefficiency.

More so, there is the argument that if police officers serve in their states of birth/origin, their local knowledge can help in intelligence gathering and general crime fighting. It is argued, for instance, that posting a Hausa officer to my village in Kogi state can be unhelpful if he does not speak Yagba or Yoruba.

Today, the broader justification for state police is the pervasive insecurity. It is believed that if states had their own police forces, insurgency, terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other crimes crippling the country would have been prevented. It must be noted that there is nothing new about state police: policing was decentralised until 1966 when the military took over and centralised command (as with all things military). Every region had its own police force: Local Government Police in the west, Sheriffs and Court Messengers in the east and Native Authority Police in the north. With states now setting up quasi-police outfits, we are in a way already trying to cross the Rubicon.

What will state police look like? Under the “Ekweremadu Model”, the national assembly will set out the framework and guidelines; the state legislature will make laws for the administration; funding will be a first-line charge on state allocation; the police commissioner will be appointed by the governor (on the advice of a proposed National

Buhari Police Service Commission) and confirmed by the state legislature; the commissioner will serve for five years or until retirement age; the governor may give “lawful” orders to the commissioner, who can refer unlawful orders to the proposed State Police Service Commission; and the commission, not the court, will have the final say.

What’s more, the commissioner could be removed by the governor as recommended by the National (not State) Police Service Commission but this must be approved by two-thirds majority of the state legislature. It is noteworthy that the chairman of the state commission will be appointed by the governor subject to confirmation by the house of assembly, while the chairman of national commission will be picked by the president subject to senate confirmation. Both will have representatives from the civil society, labour and media. This, I suppose, is to provide for oversight and accountability. That is basically the Ekweremadu Model. I am yet to see or read other proposals.

Where do I stand? I used to be very sceptical about, but not completely opposed to, state police.

My argument had always been that our problems were deeper than they appear and while state police might address certain issues, they might create others. My main reservation was its desirability in a very complex and complicated entity like Nigeria where ethnic and religious emotions are always running high. Also, I have argued that if politicians really want the federal police to work, they would. Political manipulation is the major handicap. Today, it is not that my reservations have disappeared but I’m thinking: why don’t we try something “new” and see what happens?

If the people really think it is state police that will end or contain Boko Haram insurgency, banditry and herders-farmers clash, please let them have their wish. After all, regions are already setting up security outfits, even if the results so far are not overwhelmingly positive. Many states are already running bodies that perform police functions, just that they do not bear arms. In Lagos state, we’ve had LASTMA doing traffic management (a police function) for years, KAI enforcing discipline with frog jumps and Black Marias, and the governor’s task force (peopled by federal police officers) seizing freshly cooked rice (with steaming stew and fried meat) from roadside vendors.

However, I would like to highlight some issues as we move closer to decentralising the police. One, there is very popular notion that “decentralised police” is part of “true federalism”. In truth, unitary systems also have decentralised police. The United Kingdom runs a unitary system, but the police are

decentralised. There are 48 police forces across the UK; London alone has Metropolitan Police Service and City of London Police. Counties also have community police. Before Nigeria adopted a form of federalism under the Richards Constitution of 1946, policing was also localised. So even as a unitary system (where powers are highly centralised), policing was decentralised in Nigeria.

Two, while the impression is that we do not currently have decentralised policing, the argument should be that the command structure is too centralised. The police are somewhat decentralised: force headquarters in Abuja; 12 zones across Nigeria; 37 state commands (FCT inclusive); divisional police headquarters; police station; police post; and village police post. But operational orders are issued from Abuja by the IGP, an appointee of the president. State police commissioners, in theory, do not take orders from governors (although they do in practice). Basically, what the governors want is to be able to issue orders to the police commissioners without any IGP standing in the way.

Three, there is this argument that state police would be more efficient than the federal one.

Really? What do the states run better? Are state universities better managed than federal ones? Are state hospitals better run than the ones under the federal government? Are the toilets in the state secretariats cleaner than the ones in the federal secretariat? However, there is a bit of the argument that is sustainable: decentralisation should, on paper, improve the speed and quality of operations.

The current reality, I must highlight, is that states already spend a lot to support the police and they manage to get many things done, except when the federal government is an interested party.

Four, I worry about funding. States are already stressed financially. As I write this, some states are surviving on half salaries. Pensions are not even on the agenda. To set up and equip a police force, recruit and train personnel, and run overheads will cost more than one naira. I am also tempted to think that since the personnel would be Nigerians, they may not be too different from the federal ones. Politicians will have slots. Area boys, political thugs and career criminals would certainly find their way into state police. In which case, our problems would only be decentralised. But, yes, we can argue that state police would create jobs and take many would-be criminals off the streets.

Finally, I fear a bit about the potential political and ethnic manipulation of state police. While the federal police are not saints, they still behave like “mother hen” at times and allow a “level field” when they are not being used. I do not see state police being given to neutrality at any point.

We have seen how state “independent” electoral commissions always return council elections in favour of the governor’s party. Recently in Kano, APC won all the 44 chairmanships and all the 484 councillorships. It happens everywhere: the SIECs always “deliver” to the governors. We can make all the laws in the world to checkmate misuse but you and I know that law is law and reality is reality.

My conclusion: despite all my misgivings, let there be state police. The status quo clearly needs improvement and if state police would provide that, why not? There is nothing strange or unprecedented about decentralised policing.

More so, more people across the divides are buying into the idea, which means the political consensus is growing. This is critical in a country reeling under mutual distrust, morbid suspicion and fear of domination. However, we should be very clear in our minds that state police will not be the jolly ride that has been sold to us. From experience, there are plenty dangers ahead for everybody. And there will always be work to be done.

And Four Other Things…

BANDITS’ PARADISE It is very heart-breaking that at a time we are celebrating women, bandits went to the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation in Afaka, Kaduna state, on Friday and kidnapped several students, mostly female.

Once again, Nigeria has let down its citizens.

My first instinct was to say maybe we should shut all schools in the north until security improves, but that suggestion tends to assume that students are safe anywhere else. I keep wondering: how do these bandits move without being tracked, even with technology? How many are they that we appear so overwhelmed? For how long will this go on? My thoughts and prayers are with the captives. Nigeria needs help. Urgently.

CLOSED GRAZING Last week, the Ondo state chapter of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) said open grazing is “outdated” and herders need to seek modern alternatives. I told myself: “Finally!” Four years ago, we were being told open grazing is a culture that must not be tampered with.

Now that things have got out of hand – with many killed and ethnic relations at knifeedge – I am seeing some compromise that once looked impossible. The Kano state government is, commendably, building a massive ranch that can take millions of cows.

I feel sad that a lot of damage has been done before we are arriving at a solution, but it is better late than never. Forward.

HOUSE OF COMEDY The house of reps on Wednesday passed a resolution asking the federal government to hire foreign mercenaries to fight Boko Haram. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

It shows the level things have degenerated to in Nigeria that such a sensitive national security issue would be a subject of open debate and resolution by the legislature – something that should be discussed in an executive session and the resolution forwarded quietly to the president. The reps topped it up by proposing a law that will force a state to produce at least one female senator. There are three senatorial zones in a state. What zone will you compel to go first? How many terms can the senator serve? Jokes.

DELTA FARCE The UK has agreed to return the £4.2 million forfeited by associates of Chief James Ibori after the money laundering conviction of the former governor of Delta state. The federal government wants to use it to finance some projects. I like the idea. I favour extraordinary incomes being tied to projects so that we can see what we did with them. However, should the money go to the federal purse or Delta state? Since we returned funds recovered from Chief Joshua Dariye to Plateau state and Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha to Bayelsa state, why not Delta? As an aside, though, there is a risk that the Delta government could return the funds to Ibori through the back door.

Nigeria!

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