SATURDAY 15TH FEBRUARY 2020

Osinbajo Hosts World Methodist President, Pleads for Religious Harmony Our Constitution guarantees religious freedom not just in words but in practice Bennett Oghifo Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday hosted a delegation from the World Methodist Council led by its President, Rev. Dr. Jong Chun Park, at

the Presidential Villa, with a charge on faith leaders to make contributions and sacrifices towards ensuring harmony amongst people of different religious and ethnic backgrounds in Nigeria and

elsewhere.

Osinbajo told the delegation that was accompanied by the Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, His Eminence, Most Rev. Samuel Uche, that in most societies

that have been seamless, a lot of it has had to do with what men and women of God did.

The vice president said: “I think that the role of the church in bringing that harmony is crucial. The

political leadership is one, but the solutions to the world’s deepest problem lies in Gospel and I believe that we as the body of Christ hold the key to several of the problems.

“So, the question is how

we deploy the resources that God gave to us to unite people. Obviously, it requires tremendous sacrifice and it is really about the sacrifices that Continued on page 5

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Emirates Suspends Flights to Lagos, Hundreds of Nigerians Stranded in Ghana Chinedu Eze Dubai-based mega carrier, Emirates Airlines, has stopped flight operations to Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos until the

airport’s Instrument Landing System (ILS) is fixed.

ILS is a navigational aid that guides aircraft to land, especially during low visibility.

Since last Monday, airlines, especially foreign carriers

have been diverting flights destined to Lagos to Accra, Ghana and Dakar, Senegal due to Harmattan haze, which lowers visibility.

Last Thursday, Emirates diverted its Lagos flight to

Accra and engaged domestic carrier, Arik Air to airlift them to Lagos. THISDAY learnt yesterday that Emirates recalled its three sets of crew stranded in Lagos since Monday and flew them to

Dubai on a chartered flight via Abuja.

Reports indicate that over 1500 Nigerians are standard in Accra, Ghana as there were no adequate arrangements to airlift them from Accra

to Lagos.

Some of them are staying in hotels paid for by airlines that diverted flight to the neigbouring country, while Continued on page 5

Diri Sworn-in, Promises A New Dawn in Bayelsa Soldiers deployed, 3-day curfew imposed, as protests rock Yenagoa Houses of Dickson, Diri vandalised Jonathan congratulates new governor, says he will live up to expectations Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa, Chuks Okocha and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja Duoye Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was yesterday evening inaugurated as the fifth governor of Bayelsa State, amid violent protests by supporters of David Lyon of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), had declared Diri winner of the Bayelsa governorship election yesterday after the Supreme Court nullified the election of Lyon, barely 24 hours to his inauguration.

Diri scored 143,172 votes out of 146,999 lawful votes and was subsequently presented

certificate of return by INEC in Abuja earlier yesterday. He succeeds Seriake Dickson, also of the PDP. Chief Judge of the State, Justice Kate Abiri, administered the oath of office on Diri and his deputy, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpor.

The inauguration ceremony was moved from the Samson Siasia stadium for security reasons, following protests that erupted in the morning.

The ceremony, which took place at the Government House, Yenagoa, was met with huge celebration among the party supporters, who thronged the Creek House in their thousands.

Continued on page 5

EFCC Re-arraigns Ex-gov Babangida for Alleged Diversion of N4.5bn... Page 15

DIRI IN THE SADDLE...

Douye Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party being sworn-in as the 5th democratically elected governor of Bayelsa State in Yenagoa...yesterday

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T H I S D AY, T H E S AT U R D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ ˜ ͹ͽ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͸

PAGE FIVE DIRI SWORN-IN, PROMISES A NEW DAWN IN BAYELSA Speaking during the event, Diri declared that he would always work to achieve peace, love and prosperity for the people.

He described the swearing in day, as "a day made by God" which he said is "marvelous in the eye of the people of Bayelsa."

He said: "I have been sworn in today as your new governor.

My advice is that we have to be magnanimous in victory. We have to forget the bitterness, and the acrimony, because if we kill ourselves, who are we going to lead? Of course, we are not going lead animals.

"I, therefore bring to you a message of love, hope and prosperity for Bayelsa. Let us eschew all the bitterness and acrimony and learn to love ourselves irrespective of political parties."

The ceremony was attended by governors of Oyo and Bauchi states, Seyi Makinde and Bala Muhammad respectively.

Meanwhile, in an unexpected move, former President Goodluck Jonathan has congratulated the new governor, stressing that he was hopeful that he would deliver.

"I congratulate His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri who was sworn in today as the 5th Civilian Governor of Bayelsa State, in compliance with the Supreme court verdict of yesterday, 13th February 2020. As governor, the responsibility of building hope and sustaining peace across the state now lies on your shoulders. I urge you to always bear in mind that you are the Governor of all Bayelsans and to seize this moment of glory to build bridges of unity by entrenching a culture of love, fairness and justice in our polity.

"Your journey to Creek Haven is a divine one, so I advise you to use the position to do good to humanity and pursue the development of the state in order to write your name in gold.

"You have worked with me before as a commissioner, so I am without doubt that you will live up to the expectations

of our people.

“I call on all Bayelsans to be law-abiding, peaceful and embrace this transition in all sincerity, and work together towards a united and prosperous State”, he wrote in a tweet.

Violent Protest Following the violent protest, soldiers were deployed in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.

The Bayelsa State Police Command also declared a three-day dusk to dawn curfew in the state.

At a press briefing attended by security heads in the state, the Commissioner of Police, Uche Anozia, said the curfew was necessary to curtail any security breach.

He explained that anyone who violates the 8pm to 6am curfew, would be dealt with in accordance with the law.

The inauguration of Diri took place at Government House, Onopa, because of the crisis.

The hoodlums invaded the house of Dickson, in Opolo, Yenagoa, and destroyed several cars. However, scores of the hoodlums were apprehended by mobile policemen who were deployed to maintain the peace in the area.

Some of the items looted by the hoodlums, including several television sets and other properties were recovered by the security men.

Chanting anti-PDP songs, the angry youths also marched to the house of the governorelect, Diri and destroyed the windscreens of cars packed in the premises.

They also attacked the public library built by a member representing Yenagoa and Kolokuma/Opokuma federal constituency in the National Assembly, Prof Steve Azaiki, a staunch PDP chieftain.

Also, part of the PDP Secretariat in Yenagoa and Radio Bayelsa, owned by the state government were attacked by the hoodlums, who looted and destroyed the state’s property in the process, including buses parked at the premises.

Many residents remained indoors yesterday for fear of attacks while the streets across the city were temporarily deserted.

Some APC youths, on Thursday night made bonfires around Tombia roundabout and extended it around Opolo in Yenagoa by Friday morning.

The youths created a blockade enroute the inauguration venue in the state capital, where Diri was to be sworn in, with shouts of “No David Lyon, no governor”.

In Kaiama, Kolokuma/ Opokuma, travellers were stranded at the Kiama Bridge end of the East-West Road, which links the South to Eastern Nigeria. The protesters bearing APC banners blocked the road, grounding traffic on both sides.

Bayelsa Violence: Arrest Oshiomhole Now, PDP Tells IGP Dissatisfied with yesterday’s developments, the PDP has called on the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to immediately arrest the National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, for questioning, and subsequent prosecution for incitement.

The party in a statement by the National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said that the violence and arson perpetuated by APC agents in Yenagoa, was in furtherance of Oshiomhole’s inciting call that no governor would be sworn-in in Bayelsa State, contrary to the judgment of the Supreme Court.

According to PDP, "Oshiomhole’s statement is a direct call for sedition and violent subversion of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the statutory authority of the Supreme Court and the mandate of the people of Bayelsa State".

PDP said that the former governor should therefore be arrested for prosecution for inciting violence and arson in the state.

"Nigerians can recall that our party had on Thursday

cautioned Oshiomhole over his utterances and apparent plots to cause violence and a breakdown of law and order in the state.

"The world however watched with horror as APC agents, chanting APC slogans, assaulted the people of Bayelsa State, set the PDP secretariat in the state ablaze, attacked the premises of Radio Bayelsa, vandalised vehicles and equipment, took over major highways and attacked travellers, all in the bid to violently subvert the judgment of the Supreme court and forcefully take control of the state", the main opposition party said.

The PDP therefore charged the people of Bayelsa, the security agencies and Nigerians at large, to hold Oshiomhole responsible and accountable for the violence in Bayelsa state and deal with him accordingly in line with the provisions of our laws.

The party insisted that Oshiomhole must be brought to book and stopped from the use of garrulity and clear misuse of language to cause crisis in the country.

Meanwhile, Dickson has ascribed the verdict of the Supreme Court, which returned Diri as the governor, to the mercies of God. Dickson commended the Judiciary for their courage, strict and exemplary adherence to the ethos of the hallowed profession.

He also thanked the Bayelsa people, all Nigerians of goodwill and the clergy for their support and persistent prayers throughout the period of pre-election dispute in the court.

Dickson said in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Fidelis Soriwei that the victory was not just for the PDP but also the whole of Bayelsa and the entire Ijaw nation.

Secondus Dedicates Diri Victory to God On his part, the National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus declared that the Supreme Court victory of

Diri was the work of God, adding, “in deed, power belongs to God.” Speaking when Diri presented the certificate of return to him in Abuja, the national chairman said: "This victory is dedicated to God Almighty because as we know, power cometh from God not from man and in this case, it was a long journey to freedom.

"Now is the time for us to come together especially the people of Bayelsa State.

It is not in the falling, but it is in the rising, according to Mandela that makes a man.

"This is the time to establish the truth and reconciliation committee for the benefit and genuine reconciliation of all Bayelsans. There will be no victor, there will also be no vanquished. So we urge the new governor elect and deputy governor elect to quickly go to work, embrace everyone regardless of their linings or parties because this is what PDP represents."

Reiterating his position that power belongs to God, the national chairman of PDP, said: "God has given you power not man. So go and be good ambassadors of the nation and your state and the party. There shall be no rancour. Call all the elders, all the youths of both Bayelsan people together to work. It is not the party, party is important it is the platform, but the service you are going to render to the people of Bayelsa should be uppermost in your mind and that is how to build a nation."

INEC Wrong to Issue Certificate to Diri, Oshiomhole Insists Also yesterday, Oshiomhole insisted that INEC was wrong to have issued Certificate of Return (CoR) to Diri as Bayesla State governor-elect.

He lamented that INEC chose to appropriate the judicial powers of the court to interpret laws, when it (electoral umpire) was neither competent nor has the mandate so to do.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja, the

second after the judgement was delivered, Oshiomhole insisted that the Supreme Court for good reason gave a conditional order that INEC should swear in the second candidate with the highest number of vote and the required constitutional spread.

He stated: “I believe that the fact the Supreme Court insisted on constitutional spread is in recognition of the fact that the constitution does not want a situation in which anyone, governor or president, presides over the affairs of a state without at least enjoying two third support of electorate of that state.

“Clearly, the votes scored

by PDP and their candidate in that election only met requirements in five local governments and you need six local governments to meet the requirement of two third.

The PDP candidate did not satisfy this requirement.

“INEC is now choosing to appropriate the judicial powers of the court to interpret laws that is neither competent to do nor has the mandate so to do. INEC fails to recognise that its responsibility does not include legal interpretation and the Supreme Court did not ask INEC to go and begin to assume the judicial powers.

“All what INEC needs to do is simple arithmetic. Who has the next highest votes? Does such person have required vote spread? If the answer is no, INEC can do no more.

Now, INEC has decided to assume that the case of Bayelsa is exactly the same case as that of Zamfara.

“We recognise that having purported to have been sworn in, or issued certificate to PDP candidate, we still believe that there are viable legal widows that we will explore. We affirm our confidence in the judiciary even with pains in our hearts.”

The APC national chairman noted that if it were the intention of the Supreme Court to nullify or to declare the votes cast in favour of APC as wasted, the Supreme Court should have said so, adding that “INEC cannot import into the judgement or delete anything from the judgement.”

EMIRATES SUSPENDS FLIGHTS TO LAGOS, HUNDREDS OF NIGERIANS STRANDED IN GHANA others were left to fend for themselves by the airlines.

According to reports, British Airways (BA) has already cancelled its flight to Lagos due to operational constraints.

In an email sent to passengers, the airline notified them of its plans to airlift those interested back to the United Kingdom.

It said: “BA075-We would like to sincerely apologise for the disruption to your journey to Lagos. Due to adverse weather at the airport, we were unable to safely land into Lagos Airport…

If you wish to travel from Accra – London Heathrow, there are limited availability of seats to book on,” the email read.

“Please speak with our

colleagues at the airport to adjust your ticket, subject to availability. BA078 Accra – London Heathrow is scheduled to depart at 23:00 local time.

Please submit your receipts for claims hotels, transport, refreshment, the cost for calls and Internet access & transport to www.ba.com/helpme.

“Our Customer Relations team will review each case on an individual basis. We understand this is not what you expect when you travel with us and apologise for the significant inconvenience we have caused to your journey.”

Delta Air Lines was also reported to have taken its Lagos based passengers back to the

US when it could not land in Lagos.

However, the US based carrier diverted its previous flights to Accra and Dakar respectively.

The Harmattan haze reduced visibility below 800 meters minima, so airlines needed ILS to land but the Category 3 ILS, which enables aircraft to land at zero visibility was installed last year but the calibration was not completed so it could not be put in use.

So under the current dust haze occasioned by the Harmattan, it would be difficult to land at the airport, as the status at the airport could not meet many of the airlines’

standard operating procedure.

Many of the international carriers like British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France, KLM, Delta Air Line diverted flights and may also consider suspending flights to Lagos.

The airlines, aviation agencies have lost huge revenues over delays, flight cancellation and flight diversion, situations that left passengers stranded at the airports.

The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika on Thursday apologised to airlines and passengers over the bad weather and malfunctioning ILS and said that the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) was working tirelessly

to restore the ILS. The minister expressed concern over the suffering of air travellers to and from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos regarding flights diversion and, in many cases, outright cancellations, which have been occasioned by highly inclement weather conditions.

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), which earlier issued a circular to pilots and airlines over the weather, has announced that the adverse weather may last till March.

It stated that the prevailing inclement weather was a global experience at the moment, which had warranted cancellation of

in-bound international flights alike; therefore, not peculiar to Nigeria.

In statement signed by its spokesman, Sam Adurogboye, NCAA said: “Air-to-ground visibility may be considerably reduced due to dust haze; aerodrome visibility may fall below the prescribed operating minima and in severe conditions, dust haze can blot out runways, markers and airfield lightings over wide areas making visual navigation extremely difficult or impossible; and flights are bound to be delayed, diverted or cancelled where terminal visibility falls below the prescribed aerodrome operating minima.”

The World Methodist Council leader added that by working together, both President Muhammadu Buhari and the Vice President are demonstrating commendable and harmonious governance.

Park said: "I feel touched by your harmonised way of governance. May God bless President Buhari and you, the vice president.

God will bless Nigeria and all Christians and our Islamic brothers and sisters to live

together in harmony, peace and love."

In his own remarks, the Methodist Prelate, who introduced Rev Park both as a priest and University Professor, expressed satisfaction with the work of the Vice President saying, “we are proud of you” adding that this is also “because you attended our school”. He was referring to Igbobi College, which was founded by both the Methodist and Anglican Churches.

OSINBAJO HOSTS WORLD METHODIST PRESIDENT, PLEADS FOR RELIGIOUS HARMONY we are prepared to make.”

While noting that the Methodist Church in Nigeria had played an important role in maintaining harmony in the country, the vice president thanked the visiting global religious leader for underscoring the important points he raised.

Speaking further about the need for collaboration between government and other stakeholders in promoting harmonious coexistence in Nigeria, the Vice President

said: “I believe that religious harmony is possible and it is our duty to promote same.

We should try and bring our communities together.

We have a large Muslim and large Christian populations, and we can’t do anything without collaboration. Religious leaders can’t wish that away.

“Our Constitution guarantees religious freedom not just in words but in practice in Nigeria, again it is a duty that we accept this reality.

“Despite all the various challenges that we face as a country, we are all resolved that this country is one that is fair for all, that there is justice, equity and that we give everyone a chance to realise the objectives that they set for themselves.

He then commended the contributions of the Methodist Church in the development of society, noting that “the Church has not just contributed to the salvation of souls, but also to

human capacity development, education, and health care.”

Earlier in his remark, Rev. Dr. Park commended the role played by the Vice President in promoting religious harmony through his numerous engagements and activities across the country.

He also prayed for Nigeria and its leadership, expressing optimism that the leadership and wisdom exhibited by the Vice President would enable the country achieve its objectives.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͯͳ˜ ͰͮͰͮ

NEWS

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ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE...

L-R: Librarian, Edo University Iyamho, Mr. Abdulrahman Garuba; Registrar, Dr. (Mrs.) Isoken Ogboro; Vice Chancellor, Prof. Emmanuel Aluyor; Deputy Vice Chancellor, Prof. Stephen Omodia; and Bursar, Mr. Christopher Okhani during the 5th Matriculation ceremony of the University held at Iyamho, Etsako West LGA, Edo State…yesterday

Coronavirus: Nigeria to Host Capacity Training for Africa’s Response t NCDC: 2 suspects tested negative at our laboratory Onyebuchi Ezigbo ÓØ ÌßÔË The World Health Organization (WHO) has selected Nigeria to lead the rest of Africa in capacity training on surveillance and treatment of the Coronavirus.

Speaking at a weekly press briefing on the state of affairs on the fight against Coronavirus, the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu said that the country have been asigned a leading role

in the efforts to keep Coronavirus at bay in Africa.

"On behalf of Africa Centre for Disease Control, Nigeria has been asked to lead in the training on the infection detection and control for the continent," he said.

Ihekweazu said there will be a training programme beginning from January 20 in Nigeria on response plans with other African countries in attendance.

Speaking on efforts to keep Nigeria safe from Coronavirus

infection the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire said the federal government is taking the matter very seriously and has provided funds needed for preventive measures.

He said that the country has five specialist reference laboratories where suspected cases of Coronavirus can be handled, adding that effort is currently on to identify and create a network of suitably equipped laboratories across the country that will ensure quick response to disease emergencies.

Ehanire also spoke of ongoing research efforts aimed at producing vaccines against Lassa fever and Coronavirus.

He said that Nigeria scientists are not left out of the research endeavor.

While reassuring Nigerians on the state of things, Chikwe said: "We are working in synergy with other African countries and we are barely confident that we don't have a Coronavirus in the country at present and if we do, we know well what to do to respond to it".

Chikwe who was asked by the minister to respond to questions

posed by journalists during the briefing, said that out of 30 calls for investigation so far received by the centre, "two met the criteria for investigation and were tested but found negative while two cases are still being examined. " We have given out 24- hour free helplines for people to call us on any suspended incidence and so far we have received over 30 call for investigation and out of these number, two have been investigated and found negative, while two cases are undergoing examination, " he said

He said that unlike other illnesses that patients are advised to visit the hospital, NCDC team usually responds quuckly to any call for suspected cases of Coronavirus by visiting the person so that it does not escalate.

"Once we receive any call, our team moves immediately to see the patient at his house," he said Explaining why the authorities have not considered forcefully quarantining people coming into Nigeria, Ihekweazu said the government is being careful not to be seen as over-reacting.

Commendation Galore as Governor Parents of IPOB Leader, Nnamdi Kanu, Buried Dickson HoldsValedictory Session Emmanuel Ugwu ÓØ ×ßËÒÓË

The outgoing Governor of Bayelsa State, Hon. Seriake Dickson, was accorded standing ovation amidst commendations as he presided over his last state executive council meeting as governor.

The valedictory meeting, the 114th session, which held in the Executive Council Chambers at the Government House, Yenagoa, was attended by all members of council.

The meeting commenced with a praise and worship session led by the Governor who appreciated God for His blessings upon the people and government of the state in the last eight years.

Cabinet members who took turns to speak, poured encomiums on Governor Dickson not only for giving them the opportunity to serve but also for providing quality transformational leadership for people of the state and the Ijaw nation.

In his remarks, the Secretary to State Government, Barrister Kemela Okara, acknowledged the Governor's vision, courage and

indomitable spirit with which he pursued the development of the state and Ijaw nation.

Barrister Okara who described Governor Dickson as a politician of conviction, assured him of the unalloyed support and commitment of the outgoing cabinet members to work with him in task of providing support for the building the state.

The Chief of Staff, Government House, Mr. Talford Ongolo, described the outgoing governor as a benefactor who positively affected his cabinet members in various ways.

Ongolo also extolled Governor Dickson for his revolutionary developmental strides in all sectors particularly in the areas of education, health and road infrastructure and urged his colleagues to continually defend the administration's legacies.

In his contribution, the Special Adviser on Political Matters, Hon. Fyneman Wilson, commended Dickson's preference for collective decision-making and teamwork.

On her part, the state Head of Service, Mrs Biobelemoye

Charles-Onyema, hailed him for the courage and passion he demonstrated in carrying out the public service reforms to ensure effective service delivery in the state.

Other council members who spoke at the valedictory session include the former Commissioner for Solid Mineral Resources, Mr. Markson Fefegha, Commissioner for Youth Development, Mr. Ebipatei Apaingolo, and AttorneyGeneral and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Arthur Seweniowor.

Earlier, Governor Dickson who formally declared the Council dissolved at about 1p.m., profusely thanked God and members of the Council for the achievements of the Restoration Government.

The governor also expressed gratitude to people of the state for giving him the opportunity to serve them in the past years.

He noted that the achievements of his administration would not have been possible without the understanding and support of members of the cabinet.

Abia State capital, Umuahia, came to a standstill yesterday as thousands of mourners flooded the city for the burial of His Royal Majesty, Eze Israel Kanu and his wife, Ugoeze Sally, parents of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

The Afaraukwu monarch died early December 2019 barely three months after his wife passed on in circumstances their children linked to the destruction of their palace during the military operation of September 14, 2017, which had forced them into exile.

Biafra freedom songs rent the air as the bodies of the royal couple, who strongly believed in the self-determination struggle being championed by their son Nnamdi Kanu, were conveyed in a long procession through the major artery of the capital city.

The ceremony passed off without any ugly incident despite the huge crowd that took part in the traditional procession. The bodies were conveyed in separate hearses with two horse riders leading the procession which commenced from Madonna Hospital mortuary along Aba Road. From

there the procession headed to the headquarters of Umuahia North local government, then to Orie Ogwu Afaraukwu market before they were taken their home and finally to the church.

Before the burial, there was altercation between the Abia State Police Command and IPOB, whose members the police had threatened to arrest should they attend the burial.

There was no government presence from the South-east governors. However many dignitaries graced the occasion, including Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, presidential candidate of PDP and former governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, and Senator Victor Umeh, among a host of prominent traditional rulers.

But there was no denying the fact that the various pro-Biafra groups thronged Umuahia in their thousands, though without displaying their insignias, to pay their last respect to the royal couple they regard as "father and mother of Biafran struggle."

They crowned the parents of the IPOB leader "saints" of the Biafra struggle" in their various tributes, adding that the royal couple had paid "the ultimate price in the

Biafra restoration project." Bishop of Anglican Diocese of Umuahia, Most Rev. Geoffrey Ibeabuchi in his homily, said that the royal couple had lived lives worthy of emulation.

He called on Nigerians to mend their ways as everyone would give account before God of the kind of life they lived while on earth.

In their tribute read by the second son, Kingsley, the family of Eze Kanu praised their parents for giving them proper upbringing and bequeathed to them "opulence of health, education and a close knit family built on a foundation of love for one another and knowledge of God." Recalling the role the couple played in supporting the Biafra cause, the family stated that the lives and death of their parents "was ordained by heaven to usher in an era of freedom not limited to Biafra alone but will extend to the whole of black Africa and even beyond."

"In that respect they remain immortals to every generation that will ever walk this sacred land of Biafra. That is the greatest legacy, that is their gift to our nation and one which God purposes for them," the family said.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾FEBRUARY 15, 2020

Buratai, Time to Disband Prickly Super Camps

O

ne of the hopeless responses of Army Chief, Tukur Buratai, to the unending attacks by Boko Haram was the creation of his so-called “Super Camps” for the military in the northeast. It is an imprudent strategy, under which small army camps were withdrawn from several areas and combined into fewer larger bases. This happened early last year. The result has been tragic for the country, as it helped the terrorists to gain more grounds, thus, increasing the pummeling of innocent Nigerians and soldiers. My dear Buratai, this baloney is obviously not working. It has left many communities in Borno State vulnerable.

By now, the army chief ought to have impassively reviewed this strategy and have it dumped in the garbage can. His balderdash Super Camps have brought more pain on Nigerians living in the war zone. I often wonder if there is a tactical committee working with those implementing this war against Boko Haram. Otherwise, we should not be experiencing unending trauma heightened by faulty military strategy. Our sleeping defence minister, Bashir Magashi surely needs to put in place a war tactical committee, of about 20 members, made up of experienced combatants, to work with the Theartre Commander of Operation Lafia Dole. As for Buratai, I am not sorry to say that he remains the most incompetent army chief in the history of this country.

Auno, a settlement located on the major road leading to Maiduguri is one of the communities exposed to attacks caused by Buratai’s faulty Super Camp strategy. The terrorists have struck here six times in the last eight months, killing scores of people. The attack last Sunday was most brutal. The terrorists killed 30 people and abducted many women and children in a late night raid on blameless people waiting to cross into Maiduguri. The victims could not beat the irritable 6pm deadline for crossing into Maiduguri and ended up being slaughtered by Boko Haram.

The jihadists, unhindered, stormed Auno in trucks with heavy weapons, killing, burning and looting before kidnapping women and children. “Many of the drivers and their assistants, who were sleeping in their vehicles, were burnt alive,” civilian militia fighter, Babakura Kolo said. Thereafter, the terrorists combed the village, looting and burning shops and property before withdrawing.

Boko Haram fighters have been active in Auno for years, mounting roadblocks to target security forces and civilians.

Just like many other Nigerians, my very good friend and ex-classmate at the University of Leeds, UK, Abba Bashir-Shua has been in tears following the Auno attack. His niece, Fatima, who was a student of the University of Maiduguri, was one of those burnt to death during the Auno attack. Fatima was on her way to school when the tragedy occurred. An obviously disheartened Abba is hoping that Buhari will rise from his slumber and end the killings in his beloved Borno

death. The bandits killed two of my uncles in another building, while four corpses burnt beyond recognition were discovered along the bush path. Twenty-one persons were killed in all by the bandits while nine persons are missing,” laments the bereaved Bakali.

On Wednesday, the bandits attacked a local market in Maro village, Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, killing seven people. The President of the Adara Youth Congress (AYC), Mr. Peter Joshua, said the bandits came in a vehicle and were dressed in military uniform.

He said nobody suspected that they were killers because soldiers used to come to the market on patrol every market day.

It is pertinent to put in place stringent measures to tackle the deteriorating security situation in Kaduna State. This state, which can be conveniently described as the epicenter of abductions and banditry in Nigeria, deserves special attention.

Daily, scores of people are killed by bandits and kidnappers. Governor Nasir El-rufai has to rise above religious sentiments to effectively tackle this crisis.

Buratai

Late Fatima

State. My prayer is for aljana fidau for all those killed in Auno.

President Muhammadu Buhari was deservedly booed when he visited Maiduguri on Wednesday to condole with the government and people of Borno State over the Auno killings. It is shocking that our President did not visit the traumatised people of Auno. He simply visited the state’s capital, Maiduguri, and delivered his usual rhetoric that the terrorist would soon be tamed. I found it nauseating when Buhari further said: “I believe there is an improvement in security.” This is evidently not correct. By now, Buhari should be tired of this prostrate rhetoric. Nigerians want result and not rhetoric.

I was further shocked that our President went about telling the people of Borno State that Boko Haram or any of their factions would not carry out attacks without the support of some of the locals. Our President was so insensitive to the feelings of those that have lost loved ones to the terrorists in the entire North-east. Boko Haran doesn’t need the locals to carry out attacks.

These terrorists control territories with very strong intelligence network. Besides, the locals have been traumatised and are too scared to report Boko Haram movements. Those who dare to do this are eliminated by the terrorists. Even when the military are aware of Boko Haram location, appropriate response hardly comes. So, this talk about locals not cooperating with the military is cheap talk.

To end terrorism, the military needs aerial power.

Intelligence, technology, quality equipment and

quality manpower will be needed. Our gallant military lacks the competence and equipment for these. That was why the terrorists confidently attacked Jiddari Polo, on the outskirts of Maiduguri few hours after the President’s condolence visit to the city, causing many residents to flee into Maiduguri.

Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has shown courage in the moves to end insurgency in his state. He rightly wants the Nigerian Armed Forces to change strategies in the fight against terrorism in order to get result. During Buhari’s visit, he bluntly told him that the state had been witnessing horrific and spontaneous attacks by the insurgents in the last one year, resulting in the loss of hundreds of lives. “We need to keep taking the war to the enclaves of the insurgents on the fringes of the Lake Chad Basin, Sambisa Forest and some notable areas,” Zulum declared.

On the flip side, the pogrom in Kaduna State continued during the week with gunmen attacking Bakali village, in Giwa Local Government. The men, who struck last Tuesday, killed 21 people.

The bandits went round the village, shooting indiscriminately, during which two Islamic preachers, his neighbour and one of his friends were killed. A resident, Sani Bakali, who lost 13 family members in the attack, said the men operated for over two hours, without security agents responding. “Eleven of my relatives were killed in a house, comprising three women and eight children of my younger brothers. All of them were locked in the house and burnt to

Buhari, Bishop Kukah and Nepotism The Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Bishop Matthew Kukah, hit the nail on the head in his assessment of the Buhari government, in his sermon at the Good Shepherd Major Seminary, Kaukau, Kaduna State, before the burial of Michael Nnadi, a seminarian killed by kidnappers. The cleric remarked that Buhari was running the “most nepotistic and narcissistic government in known history,” and concluded that the President had not only relegated the national interest to the background, but he had also introduced nepotism into the military.

My takeaway from the Homily are these critical quotes: “No one could have imagined that in winning the Presidency, General Buhari would bring nepotism and clannishness into the military and the ancillary security agencies, that his government would be marked by supremacist and divisive policies that would push our country to the brink. This President has displayed the greatest degree of insensitivity in managing our country’s rich diversity. He has subordinated the larger interests of the country to the hegemonic interests of his co-religionists and clansmen and women.

“The impression created now is that to hold a key and strategic position in Nigeria today, it is more important to be a northern Muslim than a Nigerian. Our nation is like a ship stranded on the high seas, rudderless and with broken navigational aids. Today, our years of hypocrisy, duplicity, fabricated integrity, false piety, empty morality, fraud and Pharisaism have caught up with us. Nigeria is at a crossroads and its future hangs precariously in the balance. This is a wakeup call for us.”

“Today, in Nigeria, the noble religion of Islam has convulsed. It has become associated with some of the worst fears among our people. Muslim scholars, traditional rulers and intellectuals have continued to cry out helplessly, asking for their religion and region to be freed from this chokehold. This is because, in all of this, neither Islam nor the North can identify any real benefits from these years that have been consumed by the locusts that this government has unleashed on our country. The Fulani, his innocent kinsmen, have become the subject of opprobrium, ridicule, defamation, calumny and obloquy. His North has become

Fr. Kukah

one large graveyard, a valley of dry bones, the nastiest and the most brutish part of our dear country.”

Is there anything more to add about the character of the Buhari government? The Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese has said it all.

Ikpeazu

Why Should Convicted Governors Forfeit Assets to FG? Aside the conviction of former Abia State governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, for corruption by Justice Muhammed Idris of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on December 5, the judge also ordered the winding up of Kalu’s company, Slok Nigeria Limited, and all assets forfeited to the federal government.

Justice Idris held: “In respect of the third convict, Slok Nigeria Limited, an order is hereby made that the company shall hereupon and without further assurances, but for this order, be wound up and all its assets and properties forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.”

This aspect of forfeiting the assets to the federal government is what I find ludicrous in Justice Idris’s judgement. Since Kalu has been found guilty of conspiring and diverting N7.65 billion from the coffers of Abia State Government, then the forfeited assets should go to this state. I have been asking a number of lawyers to justify this controversial aspect of the judgement and nobody could do this. So, I am using this medium to challenge Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State to go to court and demand that the forfeited assets be returned to the treasury of the state. If Ik pe azu truly lo ve s his state , he w o uld tak e a sw if t actio n in this d ire ctio n.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ FEBRUARY 15, 2020

SUPER SATURDAY

Ripples of Tiwa Savage at 40 A robust music career, success amid controversy, determination and hard work make her one of the greatest artistes the continent has ever seen.That’s Nigerian self-acclaimed Number One African Bad Girl, Tiwa Savage, who clocked 40 on February 5. Ten years down the line in the industry, Tiwa is truly glitteringlikeasuperstar.At40,shelookssettooffertheindustrymore.Ferdinand Ekechukwureports

A

ge, they say, is nothing but a number. A lot of people would readily acknowledge this but it would take double acknowledgement for an abundant talent, who now at the age of forty, ten years after emerging in an industry populated by younger ones, held her own game and shone like the superstar she is. This relates to one of Nigeria’s top female entertainer, Tiwa Savage. The Nigerian singer, songwriter and actress clocked forty on February 5, 2020, to the joy of her numerous fans, who celebrated with her via birthday wishes. She was so grateful to the “Savage Armies”, her teeming fans, who are now 10 million on Instagram, becoming the first Nigerian female singer to do so.

Also, two years ago, Savage was also the first Nigerian woman to win Best African Act at the 2018 MTV Europe Music Awards.

Tiwa Savage’s story simply tells you one thing – it’s never too old to achieve your dreams. She started in the Nigerian music industry at a relatively older age but it didn’t stop her from giving the young ones a run for their money with her determination and hard work, making her one of the greatest artistes the continent has ever seen. Revealing the news of her special fortieth birthday on social media, the beautiful songstress, as she has often been described, shared a gorgeous photo of herself via her Instagram page.

Taken in the busy city of California looking like she’s reflecting past experiences, success, and failures, sexy diva captioned it “44-4”. You would need no one to tell what it means that 44-4=40. The day soon followed by a surprised birthday party kept low key by her friends. The height of her age is parallel to the realisation of her music career; a successful career that trailed controversies. Sourced materials show Tiwatope Savage, known professionally as Tiwa Savage began her music career doing backup vocals for artistes such as George Michael and Mary J. Blige.

That was five years later after relocating to London at the age of 11 for her secondary education. After participating in the UK edition of The X Factor and graduating from Berklee College of Music, Savage signed a publishing deal with Sony/ ATV Music Publishing in 2009. The deal allowed her to write for some of America’s greatest artistes. She received songwriting credits for her contribution to Monica’s soul-tinged ballad “Catch Me”.

Her collaboration with Fantasia on the song “Collard Greens & Cornbread” earned the American recording artiste a Grammy nomination in 2010 same year she moved back to Nigeria.

She was signed by Mavin Records in 2012. With Mavin Records platform comes a tremendous career that pushed her on to her present international Universal Music Group and its affiliates like Motown Records on a seven years publishing and distribution deal beginning a good year for the former Mavin first lady who will release priority album globally this year through the UMG. Tiwa’s career story would be incomplete without her former manager and husband, Tunji Balogun (Tee Billz).

In the beginning she had met with Tee Billz as her manager in America.

Inspired by the growth of the Nigerian

Tiwa Savage

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ FEBRUARY 15, 2020

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SUPERSATURDAY Ripples of Tiwa Savage at 40

Tiwa Savage

music industry, Tee Billz soon convinced Tiwa to move back to Nigeria after she impressed him with a demo tape and ultimately rebranded her.

The credit goes without saying as she once attributed a part of her success to him when she got a whooping offer from RocNation on her profile on the record label’s website.

She wrote: “You’re writing songs, you’re writing your experiences and then you’re giving them to somebody else. It never felt quite right; it was something I always wanted. I write these songs, I want to sing it and perform it the way I want to do it because it was something I loved through. I met Tunji and he told me about the growing Afrobeats scene back home in Nigeria. He thought I was wasting my talents being a songwriter & a backing singer and pushed me to move back to Africa. At first, I thought it was a bit of a step backwards but he was adamant that this was my future.

He knew it was what would set me

apart from the rest.”

Tee Billz was Tiwa’s manager when she started her music career in Nigeria under his 323 Management Company.

They began dating in the process and got married in 2013 and had a son named Jamal. Their marriage crashed in 2016 and Teebillz has since moved back to the US after unsuccessful attempts to bounce back after terribly falling out with Tiwa. Teebillz had accused his wife of infidelity and his mother-in-law of witchcraft.

In response, Tiwa extensively addressed her husband’s lengthy social media posts regarding their marriage in an infamous 44-minutes interview that had got tongues wagging and head rolling. That this did not drown Tiwa and her career shows how strong a personality she is. She would later acknowledge that, and said: “It’s been the grace of God and I think I have been able to pull through by simply immersing myself in my work.”

Often clad in sexy outfits, which

appear to be her trademark, gives out the impression of one who is misunderstood and being judged a lot for things she has little control. She had admitted that all that has been written about her doesn’t really affect her anymore. Because when she got into the industry, it was very difficult for anybody to realise this. But now, she has come to the realisation that “the hard work you put in and the positive things that you do as an artiste always outweighs the negative.” Truly, she has worked hard, a feat which has resulted to her break into the international market, which her dream was to grow the Tiwa Savage brand at home and abroad while basically just trying to strike a balance with both audience and market.

Same as she tries to balance her relationship status with industry colleagues. And for this has made the headlines in recent times for her repeated romantic displays with Wizkid - including stage kissing and

public butt smacking and fondling on and off stage. As you already know, the two great singers have shared some cozy moments together over the years and it got their fans confused as to what is going on between the two stars. Not long after, their fans and followers were left to conclude for themselves what was going on.

While a majority of their fans thinks they are romantically involved, some have a different opinion saying that is how close allies do. The two ‘besties’ as they fondly call each other managed not to give a direct answer to questions about relationship even as they continued to show support for each other’s career and occasionally spends quality time together. Tiwa has made it clear this year, she’s ready for a serious relationship and Starboy perhaps is not ready. However, the secret love affair between Tiwa and Wizkid seems to have fizzled into thin air with recent development which would be left for some other day.

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ÍšÍ˝Ëœ ͺ͸ͺ͸ Ëž THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

COMMENTARY

FROM OGBE TO OGBEMUDIA STADIUM

F

Dele Olowu traces the 50-year history of Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin

ifty years after it was built, the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium has undergone its most transformative reconstruction. Not only is this a worthy tribute to Dr Osaigbovo Ogbemudia, one of the Midwest´s most illustrious sons, it is also a fitting complement to the citizens of the legacy states, who have customarily topped the bill in most sports competitions across the Nigerian federation. It further acknowledges the rigor of Governor Godwin Obaseki in this area of work. He has personally hosted the reclamation and saved the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium from regressing into further disrepair. Amaju Pinnick, President of the Nigerian Football Federation, doubtless challenged by the prospect of Nigeria hosting the World Cup, has himself provided considerable ideological impetus to power the upgrade of the stadium.

However the story of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, as indeed that of sports development in the jurisdiction, is multilayered. Even if we allow that the sports revolution in the area can be attributed to many heroes, we will still find no difficulty in reaching the conclusion that Osaigbovo Ogbemudia must take overwhelming credit for the star status the region enjoys in sports.

The Samuel Ogbemudia stadium has historically served as the amphitheater for the sports resurgence in the geographic Midwest. It has itself had different phases and incarnations; it has hosted historic rivalries in football and athletics as in other sports and has also provided opportunities for people of talent to flourish, to shine, and transform the sporting stock of the Midwest.

For those who know the hierarchies of the ancient city, the location of the stadium itself is of some consequence. It is set in Ogbe quarters, the traditional residence of the Oba of Benin himself. This area thus enjoys a unique cultural primacy which confers a special glow and visibility on the sports asset. In Benin City, few entities are better known than the stadium in Ogbe. The stadium has not surprisingly, proceeded hand-inhand with the city in its march through history. When the great James Brown, President of soul music visited the Midwest in 1970, it was in the Ogbemudia Stadium that he entertained; when the football maestro Pele, and the Santos football club, visited Benin in 1970 it was in the Samuel Ogbemudia stadium that they played against the Vipers football club. The stadium has also hosted the Ogbe Hard Court lawn tennis competition raising local and international interest in the game.

The stadium is drenched in history and even though it promoted sports and hosted epochal sporting contests under Osaigbovo Ogbemudia, an assortment of other Nigerian men and women also assisted in making the jurisdiction great in competitive sports. Those who will be remembered with great fondness must include Chief O. N. Rewane, who turned the famous Hussey College Warri into a sports haven, providing a spring board for sporting icons like the legendary Tony Urhobo and Popoola. Urhobo a gifted all-rounder was induced from Government College Ughelli while Popoola, a sprint sorcerer was poached from Awe High School by Chief Rewane. Perhaps one of the most enthralling sporting rivalries that had been hosted in the Ogbemudia Stadium is the pole vault contest which took place in 1967. It was a straight fight between Tony Urhobo of Hussey College Warri and Omoregbe from Urhobo College Effurun. Jump after jump each contestant cleared the bar and sought to establish primacy. The fiber pole had just arrived Nigeria and they may have been the first to deploy it.

The contest went on, tension rising high as both contestants engaged in different theatrics; throwing the vault into the air and aborting a jump just before lift-off. Light was fading but in the end it was Urhobo who prevailed by a difference of two inches. The stadium rose in applause.

The Ogbemudia stadium has also been famous for producing exuberant football fraternities, and remains outstanding as the

JEREMIAH USENI FAMOUSLY DEVELOPED A COLLOQUIAL INTIMACY WITH THE FANS. ON ONE OCCASION HE ARRIVED THE STADIUM MARGINALLY LATE. ONE PETULANT FAN SHOUTED ‘GOVERNOR YOU ARE LATE’!

UNFAZED, USENI RETORTED ‘SHAT UP YOUR MOUTH’, AND IN QUICK STEP, WALKED UP TO HIS SEAT IN THE STATE BOX

home ground of Bendel Insurance. It won the Challenge Cup in 1978 captained by an iconic player Victor Oduah who died two years ago. Apart from Oduah, the team also contributed Chris Ogu, and Emmanuel Egede to the national team. Since Ogbemudia subsequent administrators have tended to be sports enthusiasts. Governor Jeremiah Useni was one of them and he was a regular presence at the Ogbemudia stadium. He even, famously developed a colloquial intimacy with the fans. On one occasion he arrived the stadium marginally late. One petulant fan shouted “Governor you are late�. Unfazed, Useni retorted “Shat up your mouth�, and in quick step, walked up to his seat in the state box. Ogbemudia stadium developed extraordinary mutualities amongst fans, many of them unknown to each other. Ekhosuehi, who once ran the Bendel Insurance club and later became Vice Chairman of the NFA, seemed to live most of his life in the stadium. Every match day he would arrive with a bowl of kola nuts and share it to friends and foes alike.

The camaraderie in the Ogbemudia was extensive, but when it mattered, there was no shortage of bile and harsh exchanges.

The Bendel Insurance Football club was amongst the most raucous in the land, and its members were not averse to threatening their own players if their form was poor. After one Insurance player missed a penalty, an irate female supporter, latched her considerable girth against the hoardings, shouting out obscenities and boasting that she was prepared to step in as substitute! Only that according to her, she skipped her meal before coming to the stadium. Insurance fans were a strong force and in 1981 a rouge cluster emerged in Benin led by a taxi driver named Iyobosa. Seeing that they had become irreverent and sometimes lawless, government sought to deal with the menace. Their leader was accorded strange protocol courtesies including a rendering of the national anthem when he arrived the stadium. And the lads seemed to love him. Government imposed a ban on the President and his rogue cluster. Iyobosa went to court seeking to uphold his fundamental human rights.

When the court now decided in his favour, the celebrations which followed, were so elaborate an impression was created that the whole stadium had been ceded to Iyobosa and his group. It was Governor Jeremiah who defused the situation. He ordered that Iyobosa should not only be let into the stadium, he should be allowed to sit with him in the state box. That way they both enjoyed co-eminence when the national anthem was played.

The Ogbemudia stadium across the years has had a huge weight of history and events on its back. When it was opened 50 years ago, it was received with some sense of wonder. It was designed by Mrs Asemota, a German architect married to a Nigerian. Its first Groundsman was Grange, a white man. Not many knew what groundsmen did. But it was not that long before flooding problems emerged. Interventions were carried out now and again but they never were far reaching enough.

Now under Godwin Obaseki and obviously in response to the obligation to host the National Sports festival, we appear to be gifted with a new Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium. The stadium area is an important complement for every metropolis. Its economy can be reinforcing and can multiply opportunities in related provisions. The governor’s charge that Edo must participate to win at the sports festival is perhaps natural. But winning at all costs must not be a fixation. It has in the past produced a narrowness of vision that caused those who are greedy enough, to use a gang of fixed sportsmen to win the national sports festival, from one state to the other. One successful coach once ran a racket in which he used same athletes to win the national sports festival first in Kano and next Delta.

His fame probably spread but our sports stagnated. Ogbemudia Stadium is about to experience a new flowering. Under support such as has been provided by Governor Obaseki, Edo could well turn in more success stories in sports.

INSECURITY AND US VISA RESTRICTION

Anthony Uwa argues that the implementation of BRISIN system for data governance will make a difference

W

ay back in 2000, the Nigerian government was told that the absence of data governance instruments constitute a disincentive to meeting development targets and sustenance of long-term development goals.

In order to better appreciate the issues, former President Olusegun Obasanjo at the G8 meeting in Italy requested to know the critical link between data governance and sustainable development in a country like Nigeria.

Although government had embraced and accepted e-government; this as we know, did not detail the fundamental platform for data governance. As such, Obasanjo was introduced to the Basic Registry and Information System in Nigeria (BRISIN), by a group of solution providers led by Dermo Impex of Italy.

The idea eventually turned out to be a lengthy, seemingly unending process. Government officials were at pains to comprehend how this single instrument can resolve almost all ailments bedevilling a nation this complex; considering its various ethnic, religious and other sentiments, outside national vices such as criminality and unemployment, all tied to lack of proper documentation and absence of reliable data.

However, to observe necessary diligence and due process, the former president insisted on holding consultations resulting in several presentations made to all MDAs. Subsequently, the Nigerian government sent technical experts to Italy for on-sport assessment and

to acquire knowledge and experience on how the BRISIN idea works real-time in Italy before its adoption and domestication to fit into the Nigerian multi-problematic situation.

On its return to Nigeria, the delegation, led by then Statistician-General of the Federation, Dr. Vincent Akinyosoye, obtained provisional approval from President Obasanjo. The former Minister of the FCT, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, made a provision in the budget for a pilot run in the FCT. In 2007, El-Rufai and the former Deputy Chairman of National Planning, Senator Wali presented the BRISIN initiative before the Federal Executive Council where it was ratified and approved for implementation.

As the country grapples with the spate of insecurity, issues about factual personal data on the identity of every Nigerian and almost endless military combat with the dreaded Boko Haram sect, the recent visa ban by the United States has brought to the fore the critical need for data consolidation and management on the BRISIN template. It is therefore appropriate to situate the worsening insecurity and disgraceful hammer of immigrant visa ban by the US to Nigeria’s unpreparedness to implement BRISIN. Meanwhile, had Nigeria garnered the will to achieve the BRISIN, by now, data on every Nigerian should have been known and his or her activities monitored. Similarly, foreign nationals living in Nigeria should have been identified and their activities scrutinized. The Nigerian economy should have improved,

well-tracked, monitored and controlled while crime and criminal activities should have been reduced to the minimum considering how easy it would have been identifying and tracking criminals, be they terrorists, bandits, cyber criminals and dangerous individuals to their hideouts.

Terrorism would have left Nigeria because security agents would have deployed data information to further identify, isolate and cut off resources to terrorists using shared intelligence and data to fish out extremists.

In addition, employment would have hit the massive pitch in every sector with every income earner adding value to the economy by paying appropriate tax to the coffers of government in a productive and buoyant economy; as such, Value Added Tax should have been the hub for internally generated revenue and every commercial and economic operator should have been paying gladly.

By now, health and education sectors should have regained their space in terms of coverage and quality, while social welfare would have been well organised. For sure, investors, local and international, appreciate the value of data for planning and business projections.

Rather than our governors trooping out of the country seeking investors, the reverse should have been the case.

Although the annual remittance by Nigerians in the Diaspora is always commendable, implementing the BRISIN project would have further consolidated the confidence of these

industrious citizens in investing at home with absolute confidence on reputable data administration which would have comfortably consolidate the Nigerian place as the most advanced economy on the African continent.

Today, a leap in the right direction is the creation of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development. The missing link is the implementation of BRISIN system as a base for data governance. This singular instrument is germane to the realisation of the mandate of the ministry, especially in responding to disaster management and effectively managing social development issues on a national scale.

To avoid further embarrassment therefore, it is imperative for President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently consider the need to constitute the National Board of Data Governance with BRISIN as reference point. Membership of the Board should comprise of the National Security Adviser, Ministers of Interior, Humanitarian Affairs, Science & Technology and Finance.

The Director-General of the National Bureau of Statistics, five experts drawn from the private sectors and three from the academia should also be members of the board while the Office of Secretary to the Government of the Federation assumes the responsibility to lead in the coordination of BRISIN implementation in Nigeria. t%S 6XB JT UIF IFBE #3*4*/ JNQMFNFOUBUJPO JO /JHFSJB

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͹ͽ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͸ ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

INSIGHT

Again, the court to the rescue

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 saturdayeditor@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 saturdayeditor@ thisdaylive.com along with the email address and phone numbers of the writer.

Town and Gown: The Weakened Interface

T

F

The Global Erratic Weather

he shocking revelation by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund that or some time now, the erratic weather has many Nigerian lecturers use the grants meant for academic research continued unabated, the scorching temperato buy properties has once again enlivened discourse on the rising tures, the dry air which attacks our nostrils; corruption in the academia. This and a similar allegation of personnel the dust everywhere and the skin tends budget inflation by some institutions including the University of Ibadan, to get ashy quickly. In some areas a fresh cloud and the reported certificate scandal involving Mr Chima Igwe of the Federal of dew covers the palm trees, the mountains; in Institute of Industrial Research (FIIRO) Oshodi, Lagos, is the height of it. other areas hot, dry and draughty air buffets the Speaking in Dubai on Monday, the TETfund’s director of research and rooms, making millions of people uncomfortable. development, Salihu Bakari decried the reduction in the number of research Seasons and time seemed poised in uncertainty. applicants. He noted that as of 2019, out of 229 eligible public institutions, The above scenario allows scientists’ prediction only 26 applied for journal publications. This is as the agency announced comes true. The scientists had long foreshadowed availability of funds for manuscript development, ICT development, that climate change would increase extreme advocacy, among others. But “lecturers and their institutions are not coming weather incidents but why is this so? That is forward to access the funds,” he said. The academics are running away simply the impact of global warming. According from research. What are the academics doing? What is academia without to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric research? Which nation attains development in economy, technology, Administration, “Global warming refers only agriculture and even politics without researchers? to the Earth’s rising surface temperature, while I think Nigeria’s biggest problem now is not the politicians who are climate change includes warming and the “side offshoots of a failed education system themselves but the academics who effects” of warming—like melting glaciers, are emerging the perfect portraits of the rot. It is better we stopped kicking heavier rainstorms, or more frequent drought. the can down the road. The town and gown anywhere means the haven The erratic weather is not only in Nigeria but a of knowledge and character. They recount the past, mould the present and global phenomenon. build the future. One may say the sanctity and virility of the town and Anyone travelling in the untarred road in gown in a nation points to its potential for growth. They research issues and some northern parts of the country would not phenomenon and publish the findings as template for further knowledge. only have wind sing loudly into his ear but will They are the model persons in the society. In learning and character, the be turbaned in dusty tan. In the past, one could academics take the lead. In a situation where they fail at these, they are predict assuredly when and how cloud of dust succeeding at nurturing the wolves who will h(a)unt the society. would envelop a trekker but today distorted A cursory look at this argument will further the questions: Did our seasons have come to stay. leaders fall from Heaven? Are Nigerian universities producing leaders When the whirlwind starts in some parts of and not mediocre? Are our academics of high morals? The pervading the world, some would begin to speak in tongue. immorality and corruption is so blinding I am tempted to conclude we are According to the guardian.com, “The current merely dreaming of renaissance if all we have left are the Chima Igwes and the lecturers using grants to acquire properties. These ones will give us more Evans and Oyenusis than Moghalus and Patanmis.

The Nigerian varsities appear to be overwhelmed by the filth T H E SAT U R DAY N E W S PA P E R in the society. It may be unfair to underpin the hefty weight EDITOR YEMI ADEBOWALE DEPUTY EDITOR CHIKA AMANZE-NWACHUKU of the nation’s descent in morality on their head. We also have MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO the shifty religious institutions and unceremonious family tree, DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE including the compromising media among the failing agents of CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI socialization. But we can’t excuse them for adding to the societal EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN woes as perhaps the most important unit of the society for failing MANAGING EDITOR JOSEPH USHIGIALE to maintain its decency and ardor for morality. This is what the TETfund story tells us. There is a disaster in the university walls and not only on our fields in the North or in the hallowed chambers in the East or on the streets in the South.

Unless we have concluded plans to be perpetually dreamful, we cannot allow the town and the gown join the wigs; and 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 the clergy, and the uniformed men, and others on the pulpit of GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, decadence or else. Therefore, we will need to take the news about ISRAEL IWEGBU, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU, EMMANUEL EFENI academics with seriousness. If corruption prowls the corridors DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS BOLAJI ADEBIYI, PETER IWEGBU, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE of power, should academia not be the bastion of our values? We DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI can only dream of attaining economic growth and technological SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH advancement only through purposeful research by the academics.

ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS PATRICK EIMIUHI, SAHEED ADEYEMO That is echoing Prof. Katampa’s saying that “a nation is as good CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI as the quality of her researchers.’’

DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO

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heatwave has been caused by an extraordinary stalling of the jet stream wind, which usually funnels cool Atlantic weather over the continent.

This has left hot, dry air in place for two months – far longer than usual. The stalling of the northern hemisphere jet stream is being increasingly firmly linked to global warming, in particular to the rapid heating of the Arctic and resulting loss of sea ice.’’

Australia is sweltering through record-breaking heat. And the worst is yet to come. While the current heat continues to cause problems for Australians now, scientists warn that without coordinated action on climate change, heat waves will become more likely. In the southern state of Tasmania, dozens of bushfires broke out, destroying homes and wilderness as hundreds of firefighters sought to get the blazes under control.

Scientists claimed that global warming can contribute to the intensity of heat waves by increasing the chances of very hot days and nights.

More droughts create dry fields and forest that are prone to catching fire, and increasing temperatures mean a longer wildfire season.

More effect of global warming include: rise in sea level which increases the amount of seawater, the seawater along with more rainfall can result in destructive flooding.

Yes, for many states, harmattan is characterized by very cold temperatures, particularly in the mornings and nights and very hot weather in the afternoons. The humidity also falls really low and the air is dusty which makes the skin dries up quickly. But this is much more than what was experienced decades ago where you are sure of when rain would fall. The climate has changed and we are at the threshold of telling what conditions we were during those changes and proffering a permanent solution to it, how and when it will happen is what we don’t know.

Science is too important to be left alone in the hands of the scientists. It is distressing to see that we have not taken the necessary action that would ameliorate the effect of climate change. It is high time we made an important cuts needed in greenhouse gas emissions… but more importantly takes daily steps to deliberately lessen the impact of global warming and climate change in our own small changes. Such steps include: Use of LED for lighting and avoid more energy demand, eat less meat, invest in your own sources of renewable energy, educate yourself on the CO2 impact of goods and services you consume, buy gas and electricity from retailers who sell renewable power, among others. I can say without mincing words that reducing carbon emissions requires a large scale action which the government must not shy away from.

TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

t0MVTBOZB "OKPSJO -BHPT

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͯͳ˜ ͰͮͰͮ

NEWS

Emirates Suspends Flights to Lagos, In Brief 1500 Nigerians Stranded in Ghana

Okowa is S'South Govs Chairman

Chinedu Eze Dubai based mega carrier, Emirates Airlines, has stopped flight operations to Lagos until the Instrument Landing System (ILS) is fixed.

ILS is a navigational aid that guides aircraft to land, especially during low visibility.

Since Monday, airlines, especially foreign carriers have been diverting flights destined to Lagos to Accra and Dakar, Senegal due to Harmattan haze, which lowers visibility. Emirates on Thursday diverted its Lagos flight to Accra and engaged domestic carrier, Arik Air to airlift them to Lagos.

THISDAY learnt yesterday that the major airliner recalled its three sets of crew stranded in Lagos since Monday and flying them to Dubai on a chartered flight via Abuja. The airline said it would no more operate into Lagos until

the ILS is fixed.

Reports indicate that over 1500 Nigerians are standard in Accra, Ghana as there were no adequate arrangements to airlift them from Accra to Lagos.

Some of them are staying in hotels paid for by airlines that diverted flight to the neigbouring country, while others were left to fend for themselves by the airlines.

According to reports, British Airways (BA) already cancelled its flight to Lagos due to operational constraints.

In an email sent to passengers, the airline notified them of its plans to airlift those interested back to the United Kingdom.

“BA075-We would like to sincerely apologise for the disruption to your journey to Lagos. Due to adverse weather at the airport, we were unable to safely land into Lagos Airport… If you wish to travel from Accra – London

Heathrow, there are limited availability of seats to book on,” the email read.

“Please speak with our colleagues at the airport to adjust your ticket, subject to availability.

BA078 Accra – London Heathrow is scheduled to depart at 23:00 local time. Please submit your receipts for claims hotels, transport, refreshment, the cost for calls and Internet access & transport to www. ba.com/helpme.

“Our Customer Relations team will review each case on an individual basis. We understand this is not what you expect when you travel with us and apologise for the significant inconvenience we have caused to your journey.”

Delta Air Lines was also reported to have taken its Lagos based passengers back to the US when it could not land in Lagos.

However, the US based carrier diverted its previous flights to Accra

and Dakar respectively.

The Harmattan haze reduced visibility below 800 meters minima, so airlines needed ILS to land but the Category 3 ILS, which enables aircraft to land at zero visibility was installed last year but the calibration was not completed so it could not be put in use.

So under the current dust haze occasioned by the Harmattan, it would be difficult to land at the airport, as the status at the airport could not meet many of the airlines’ standard operating procedure.

Many of the international carriers like British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France, KLM, Delta Air Line diverted flights and may consider suspending flights to Lagos.

The airlines, aviation agencies have lost huge revenues over delays, flight cancellation and flight diversion, situations that left passengers stranded at the airports.

The Governors of the South South geo-political zone, after elaborate consultations, have unanimously selected the Delta State Govenor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa as the Chairman of the Forum. He takes over from the outgoing Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson who concludes his eight year tenure today. A statement signed by the Governor'sSpecialAdviseronPublicAffairs,Mr.DanielAlabra,congratulates Okowa, and calls on the governors to extend the same cooperation the outgoing governor enjoyed, to Okowa. He noted that, it is when all hands are on deck, that the forum can frontally proffer solutions to the myriad of challenges confronting the region.

Sultan Lauds Oyetola’s Character

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar, has described GovernorAdegboyegaOyetolaofOsunStateasahumblemanwithimpeccable character worthy of emulation. Abubakar, who was in Osun to join other royal fathers at a one-day National Summit on Security organised by the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding, revealed that he calls Oyetola "Mr. Humility". The Sultan made these remarks at a dinner organised in his honour by Governor Oyetola at the Government House, Osogbo, the state capital. He added that on various occasions he visited the state when the governor was the Chief of Staff under the immediate past administration, he never met with him. "Oyetola doesn't do eye service. He did his work diligently. When he won the primary ticket of the All Progressives Congress, I was asking my people, 'Who was that man?' that shows his level of diligence and humility," the monarch stated.

Abubakar, therefore, urged other leaders in the country to emulate the governor's humility and unique leadership style and also implored Osun citizens and residents to continue to support his administration.

Buhari Orders Suspension of NBC DG Kawu

President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, ordered the suspension of DirectorGeneraloftheNationalBroadcastingCommission(NBC),Modibbo Kawu.The suspension is coming months after an ongoing prosecution of Kawu by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) for alleged corruption. ICPC is prosecuting Mr Kawu for allegedly “using (his) position to confer corruption advantage.” It thus asked the federal governmenttosuspendhimand32otherpublicofficers/civilservants undergoing corruption trial at the time. They are being prosecuted on 12-countcharges,allegedlyconspiredwitheachothertousetheposition ofMrKawutoconferacorruptadvantageonMrOmoluwa,hisfriendand associate.The Commission on May 2 arraigned Kawu and two others, Dipo Onifade and Lucky Omoluwa, over alleged N2.5 billion fraud.The mostseniorDirectorintheCommissionhasbeendirectedtotakeover fromthesuspendedDG,accordingtoasource.

FG Committed to Energizing Varsities

The Minister of State for Power, Prince Goddy Agba has described universities as centres of development for any country with interest to enhance the quality of its Socio-Economic environment. He added that the present administration is committed to making the country's universities a centre of excellence not only in academic issues but also in research and innovations.

Addressing journalists after inspecting the 8.03 MW Gas Fired Power Plant project inside the Obafemi Awolowo University campus the minister reiterated government's commitment to completing the project. He said his visit to the site was to access the level of work done by the contractor and to allay the fear of the school authority that the project might be abadoned by the federal government. The Minister stated that the project which was tagged Energizing Education is Co-funded by other agencies, hence, assured that it will not be abandoned.

IMPROVED POWER SUPPLY IN IMO...

L-R: Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma (right), with the Managing Director of Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), Chiedu Ugbo during the governor’s visit yesterday to the company’s head office in Abuja to discuss the process of improving power supply in Imo State

Ekiti Assembly Passes Amotekun Bill into Law Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti Ekiti State House of Assembly, yesterday, held a special session to pass the Ekiti State Security Network Agency codenamed Amotekun bill into law.

The assembly, whose members were supposed to observe constituency visit yesterday, shelved the legislative duty to hold the special sitting to pass the bill speedily.

The bill passed through the first and second readings during an extensive deliberation on the floor of the House, on Thursday, after the draft bill was transmitted

by Governor Kayode Fayemi to the House.

Subsequently, it was committed to the Committee of the House on Security and Special Duties, headed by lawmaker representing Ekiti East Constituency II, Hon. Lateef Akanle, who conducted a public hearing attended by traditional rulers, farmers, driver unions,

and other stakeholders , on Thursday evening.

At yesterday's proceeding, Akanle read the outcome of the public hearing at the plennary, which included that section 5 (I) of the Security Network Bill the governing board should be headed by a retired law enforcement agent, who should be a man of proven integrity or equivalent in the Nigerian Army not below the rank of Major General.

Exuding confidence that the governor will be thorough with the implementation after assent, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Funminiyi Afuye, said: "we can be rest assured that the implementation will be thorough, because we have not passed this bill in vain.

"You don't need to preach to the converts. We have a governor who is an Amotekun himself and we have not passed the bill in vain, so you can be rest assured that the law will be accorded speedy assent by the governor," he said.

Consultant Doctors Threaten Strike over PhD Demand on Clinical Lecturers Seriki Adinoyi in Jos

Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) has threatened to withdraw their services if the National University Commission (NUC) insists that doctors teaching clinical students in the university must have a PhD degree, demanding that the circular to Vice Chancellors of universities conveying the new policy be immediately withdrawn to avert the strike.

Addressing a press conference in Jos, Plateau State, the President of MDCAN, Professor Kenneth Ozoilo, said the modality of the strike will be that MDCAN will first withdraw services from teaching undergraduate medical students from the 24th of February, 2020. Then it will be followed with withdrawal from teaching doctors undergoing postgraduate training, before it will finally withdraw services entirely from the health sector if

NUC fails to withdraw the letter.

NUC had written to Vice Chancellors of universities that Medical doctors teaching students in the universities must have a PhD to qualify them for the job, noting that residency training leading to the possession of Fellowship is not enough to qualify them to teach medical students in the university.

It therefore advised doctors that have undergone residency training to enroll for a PhD programme to qualify them to teach in medical schools, noting that the prerequisite however, does not apply to doctors that are willing to limit themselves strictly to clinical practice without delving into teaching, since their residency training is sufficient for practice.

But reacting, the MDCAN President explained that the tedious residency training that lasts for a minimum of six years was equivalent to PhD degree and should be considered as a PhD.

Kogi JudiciaryValedictory Session forYakubu

The Kogi State Judiciary yesterday held a Special Court Session in honour of late Justice Tom Shaibu Yakubu of Court of Appeal Lagos Division, who died on the 24th of December last year. The Special Court Session, which was presided by the Kogi State Chief Judge, Justice Nasiru Ajanah was part of the activities put in place to pay last respect for the departed legal icon. The body of the late Justice was formally released to his family by the State Chief Judge, Nasiru Ajanah for burial at the country home of the deceased, Enjema in Ankpa Local Government Area of Kogi state. Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, who paid glowing tribute to late legal luminary during the Valedictory session at the High Court of Justice Headquarters in Lokoja, described him as an illustrious son of Kogi State who distinguished himself in the legal profession in various capacities he had served. “He was a man of deep learning and extraordinary insight who demonstrated humanness and high principles in the performance of his duties. “First as a Judge of the High Court and later as a Justice of the Court of Appeal, His Lordship distinguished himself as a fair and astute jurist with a reputation for honour, integrity, hardwork and modesty.

Deltans Outside Eager to Support Devt

Director-GeneralofDeltaEconomicSummitGroup(DESG),Chukwuka Monye,hassaidthatnumerousprofessionalsacrossvariousfields,who hail from Delta State but living outside the state, have indicated interest in helping the development process at home especially through youthempowermentandjobcreation.Henotedthathundredsofsuch professionalsofDeltaoriginbutcurrentlyresidentinLagosaxis,Abuja andotherpartsofthetechnologicallyadvancedcountriesoftheworld werepracticallyqueuingtocomplementthedevelopmenteffortsofthe state government but needed to be nudged by a dependable capacity management platform to guide their investment choices. Specifically, the D-G of DESG revealed the body has been positioned as a clearing house of sorts for dialogue on investment and business potentials in Delta State, stressingthattheGroup wasinterfacingwith"over 1,000 professionals across different disciplines." According to him, most of these Deltans, who are well-endowed professionals in high-skill jobs outsidethegeographicalboundariesofficestate,werenotonlydesirious oftakingadvantageofinvestmentopportunitiesthroughcollaboration withthestategovernmentbut"someofthemactuallywantgivebackto thesocietybycominghometoinvestandbuildingcapacityofourpeople."

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾FEBRUARY 15, 2020

15

NEWS

EFCC Re-arraigns Ex-gov Babangida for Alleged Diversion of N4.5bn Laleye Dipo in Minna Barely five days after they were discharged by a Minna high court in Niger state of corruption charges,

former Niger state governor Dr Muazu Babangida Aliyu, Chief of staff government house during Aliyus administration, Alhaji Mohammad Umar

Agba: FG to Inaugurate New Economic Devt Plan’s Steering Committee in March Peter Uzoho

The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Mr. Clem Agba, has disclosed that the steering committee for the new national economic development plan would be inaugurated latest by first week of next month.

This is coming as Agba also declared that the problem confronting Nigeria over the years was not caused by lack of good leadership but by the followership, who vote wrong people into power.

The minister made the disclosure yesterday during his familiarisation tour of the facilities of the Centre for Management Development (CMD) located at Ketu, Lagos State.

The new economic plan when drafted, passed by the National Assembly and assented to by the President, would replace the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERPG) which came to an end in December last year.

He said a lot of work on the plan had been going on since November last year, adding that for the steering committee, the federal government wanted to ensure that all segments of the country were duly represented.

Agba said: “We have actually gone very far and we have identified those people but we need to reach out and get acceptance. So I do believe latest by first week of March we should be inaugurating them.

“But already some of the technical committee members are working. So it is not as if there is no work going on; a lot of work started sometime in November last year, and then the real technical work is done at the technical working group.

“The central working group is already working because most of them are in government. But at the steering committee level, we want it to be truly national. So we are reaching out. You know we want to be able to capture all the diversities, most of the diversities that we have in the country.

“We don’t want it to be a federal government plan, rather we want it to be a federation plan, and if it is a federation, it means that you have there the sub-nationals, the private sector, the Civil Society organisations, the religious groups, the physically-challenged, the women.

“So we are trying to identify who these representatives should be, so that as the technical committee works, and the central working group brings everything together, there is a team that is truly national before we can go to the Federal Executive Council, the National Economic Council and all of that.”

The minister also said that an evaluation study of the short-term plans of the ERGP was ongoing, pointing out that such study was necessary as the results would be needed as a guide in the formulation of the new plan.

EFCC Stages Anti-Corruption Walk in Awka, Names Nigerian Youths Ambassadors David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has held an anti-corruption walk in Awka, Anambra State to create awareness about the dangers of corruption in the country.

The commission during the walk also named Nigerian youths as the anti-corruption ambassadors for their zeal to come out and participate in the walk.

The walk which began at the civil servants dominated Aroma Junction, Awka, kicked off at 8a.m. with members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in the state, journalists, civil society organisations, and all arms of security agencies including the para-military.

The two hours walk spanned about 10 kilometres, cutting through most streets of Awka and the crowded Eke Awka Market, while terminating at Federal Science and Technical School.

Mr. Michael Nzekwe, Head, Assets Recovery and Forfeiture Department of the commission and coordinator of the walk, told journalists at the end of the exercise that the essence of the exercise was to sensitise the people on the need to shun corruption.

He said, “Our youths are coming

together for the first time to show solidarity to phasing out corruption in Nigeria, and that is very encouraging.

“With this walk, even the market women will realise why they should shun corruption, and even report people that engage in it.

“EFCC is empowered by the Act that set it up to come up with strategies to fight corruption and that is what we are doing today.

We are here to create awareness among youths and it the first time Nigerian youths are walking against corruption.

“We must kill corruption, or else it will kill us. We want the youths to be ambassadors of anticorruption, and from today, we have named them the anti-corruption ambassadors. The NYSC director in Anambra, Mr. Aremu Kehinde also spoke, saying that, “For the first time youths have come together to kill corruption. We hope that this singular exercise will make Nigeria great again.

“The youths in one voice have today spoken against corruption, and we believe that if Nigerians heed them, this country will be great again.”

The walk featured dances, band display and distribution of flyers to members of the public.

Nasko and the state chairman of the People’s Democratic Party PDP, Alhaji Tanko Beji are to be re-araingned before the same court.

In discharging the trio last Monday February 10, Justice Mukhailu Abdulahi discharged the trio last Monday for lack of diligent prosecution of the alleged N2billion ecological fund diversion after the trial had lasted three years.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission however relisted the case before the same Justice Mukhailu Abdullahi, yesterday.

They are now to face a three count charge of conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and diversion of public funds amounting to N4.5

billion.

The anti graft body has therefore asked the court to relist the case for continuation of hearing.

After reviewing the motion by the Efcc justice Abdullahi fixed the 24th of this month for commencement of hearing.

All the three accused persons were however not in court.

The People’s Democratic Party PDP has swiftly reacted to the latest development through a statement it titled “ Plan To Harass Niger Opposition Figures Crafted.”

The party said through the Director of Communication Umar Nasko Campaign organisation Mohammed Yahaya that : “There

is a carefully designed plan to harass, witch hunt, drag and even throw leaders of the opposition PDP in Niger into incarceration and dungeons, using malicious tactics cooked up and garnished within the corridors of power and it’s agencies”.

According to the statement, “The 1st plan is to reinitiate the already dead litigation against Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu, Umar Nasko and Tanko Beji, with the Niger State high court that has lingered on since 2017 which has gone through three separate Judges, CJ Maiyaki Muhammad, Justice Mohammed Mohammed, Justice Mikail Abdullahi and came to a discharge of the leaders of

the opposition PDP on the 10th of February 2020, after 5 separate adjournment occasioned by the EFCC’s non- appearance in court.”

The statement continue: “Take note that the plan is clear, pre-determined and targeted at a tactically selected preys to arrive at a specific goal or goals of “crushing” them.”

Yahaya concluded that “It is pertinent and hoped that the Judges and the Judiciary which is the last hope and an independent arbiter will not allow itself to be dragged into the valley of political mercantilism.”

All efforts to get the three PDP chieftains for their comments were unsuccessful.

PEACE AT LAST . . .

L-R: PRO IPMAN, Mosinmi Unit, Alhaji Wale Badmus; PTD Zonal Chairman, Lagos Zone, Mr. Olabisi Akinlolu, Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun; Zonal Chairman, IPMAN ,Alhaji Dele Tajudeen; and Zonal Deputy Chairman, PTD , Alhaji Omogbolahan Adigun, after a crucial meeting at the Governor’s Office where it was decided that the Union should call off their warning strike in Ogun State

Community Policing: Parties, Criminal Elements Won’t Hijack It, Says Delta CP Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba

Delta State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hafix Inuwa, has said that the the concept of Community Policing is so dear to the police authorities in Nigeria that political parties and criminal or questionable elements would not be allowed to infiltrate or hijack the process when it becomes fully operational.

Inuwa noted that community policing does not mean abandoning the maintenance of peace and security in any given area entirely to the people of that particular locality but “the issue is the community must be involved” in the process of protection of lives and property real-time.

The commissioner, who stated

this while briefing newsmen in Asaba on activities of his command since taking over the leadership of the command in January this year, expressed confidence that the police would have fewer cases to handle with community policing.

Quoting the Inspector-General of Police (IG), Mr. Ibrahim Yusuf, the Delta police boss noted that all states in the federation will participate in the recruitment exercise for the special constabulary towards the effective implementation of community police in the country.

“The issue of nation-wide recruitment into the constabulary, which is different from that of community policing, is ongoing but would operate with a Nucleus Committee as its pivot,” he said.

“There will be a Nucleus Committee that will be made up representatives of the police - who will guide the formulation and operation of the process - market women or traders, professionals, artisans, the media and students; because they know their respective communities, in terms of the local terrain,” Inuwa said.

He stressed that “No political party will be allowed to control the committee. Members of secret cults and individuals with questionable character will be excluded from the nucleus committee for community policing.”

Under community policing, “Not all cases will come to the police” because the nucleus committee will be able thrash out some cases

currently brought to the police like land dispute.

“In that way, Police will have drastically reduced the number of cases it handles. In other words, the benefits of community police will include lightening the police workload, because some cases that shouldn’t ordiarily not be taken to the police are brought to the police,” he further said.

The police commissioner assured the people of the state that the state’s security architecture has been duly reviewed for better performance, noting that the arrest of 41 armed robbery suspects across the state, besides several other breakthroughs, between January and February indicates that the strategy is paying off.

Anambra Police Kill Three Robbery Suspects, Arrest Two, Recover N.9m David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

Police in Anambra State on Thursday killed three out of five armed robbery suspects, who engaged them in a duel after a robbery operation.

SP Haruna Mohammed, the state Command’s spokesman who announced this in a press statement said the suspects were killed in Onitsha.

Haruna said, “On 13/2/2020 at about 2:02pm, the Command Puff-Adder operatives in conjunction with patrol team attached to Fegge Division responded to a distress call

at Federal Housing Estates Fegge,Onitsha and rounded up a five man robbery gang who allegedly attacked one Nmandi “m” surname yet unknown of Chisco Park Upper Iweka in Onitsha and robbed him of unspecified amount of money at gunpoint.”

He said the suspects on sighting the Police opened fire after which the police responded promptly, resulting in a gun duel between the armed gang and the police, which eventually cost three of its members their lives.

“As a result, three male

suspects whose identities are yet be ascertained were fatally wounded during the gun encounter. They were taken to the hospital for treatment but confirmed dead on arrival by the medical doctor while two others were arrested.”

He gave the names of the arrested gang members as; Chigbo Igwe ‘m’ of New parts Market Nkpor aged about 25 years and Onyedika Okeke ‘m’ aged about 23years of Anieche Street Okpoko.

Exhibits recovered from the suspects included cash

sum of N900,000, one cut to size double barrel gun, one single barrel gun, seven live cartridges, two expended cartridges, a gold ring and four different types of handsets.

“Case is under investigation after which the remaining suspects would be charge to court for prosecution. The Commissioner of Police CP John B.Abang, reassures Ndi Anambra that the Command under his watch will continue make Anambra State unbearable to the criminal elements until they repent or relocate from the State,” he said.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾FEBRUARY 15., 2020,

NEWS

In Emeka’s Death, Part of Me also Died, Says Obi Charles Ajunwa

BE GODLY...

L-R. Synod Secretary, Methodist Church Nigeria, Very Rev Jaques Panugo; Bishop of the Diocese of Lagos Central, Methodist Church Nigeria, Samuel Nortey; and the Lay President, Olumide Oyetoyinbo, at the 10th anniversary of the Diocese, held at Williams Memorial Methodist Cathedral, Lagos… recently

Egypt Records First Case as Coronavirus Enters Africa Bennett Oghifo with agency report Egypt, yesterday, said it isolated a patient with the coronavirus, making it the first case of the dreaded illness in Africa.

Spokesman of Egypt’s Ministry of Health, Khaled Megahed, however, said in a statement that “the person involved is not an Egyptian”, but did not state person’s nationality Megahed said the World

Health Organisation had been notified of the development, adding that the patient was in quarantine at a hospital.

He said: “The ministry has taken preventative measures and is monitoring the patient… who is stable.”

Egypt had earlier in the month suspended all flights by its EgyptAir to China, and there will be no flights to that country until the end of this month.

Three hundred and one Egyptians were evacuated from

Students Develop App to Trap Human Traffickers with Support from UNODC, Facebook Bennett Oghifo Sixty-four young coders drawn from different universities across Nigeria have developed an App to trap human traffickers, with support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Facebook.

Representatives of Facebook; Representatives of UNODC were at Andela office (Andela Epic Tower, 235 Ikorodu Road, Ilupeju, Lagos, venue of the event, which theme was: ‘Sustainable Development Goal 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions’.

With support from 20 experienced mentors, the youngsters with ages ranging from 19 to 22 commenced the coding marathon at exactly 10:15 a.m. The university undergraduates had something in common – competing to showcase how youth can contribute through the use of technology to the implementation of Goal 16 on peace, justice and strong institutions of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

According to a statement by the UNODC Outreach and Communications Officer, Sylvester Tunde Atere, this activity is a part of UNODC’s Education for Justice (E4J) initiative, the objective of which is to educate youth on crime, justice and rule of law issues. The Hackathon4Justice event showcases how young people can play an active and creative role in promoting the rule of law, while learning about the issues that affect them. The E4J initiative is part of the Global Programme for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration of UNODC. Following the successful 2019

event in Lagos, the 64 Nigerian students were brought together by Facebook, Andela and UNODC with the aim to spark their creativity whilst pushing their coding capabilities to find technological solutions to tackle crime, uphold justice and promote the rule of law.

After two days of compelling creativity, four students of the team Predex were declared the winners. The winning project was an application that used artificial intelligence to send warning signals to users of chat applications if the conversation had indications that they might be recruited for human trafficking as well as other forms of sexual abuse. The team trained their model based on existing datasets of conversations between victims and recruiters for human trafficking or perpetrators of sexual abuse against children. As a prize, UNODC’s Education for Justice (E4J) initiative will bring the team to the 14th United Nations Congress on Crime prevention and Criminal Justice, to be held in Kyoto, Japan, from 20 to 27 April 2020, where they will have a chance to present their application.

This year’s runner up was an application by the team e-Recyclers.

Their project focused on developing a network aimed to inform consumers on how to legally recycle e-waste and hereby to keep it away from the domain of organized criminal groups.

The application would help users to determine how and where to recycle e-waste, as well as provide incentives for the lawful recycling of e-waste, with the sponsorship of technology companies.

Wuhan, epicentre of the virus in China, and have remained in quarantine for 14 days.

According to Aljazeera, China, yesterday, reported 121 more deaths from the coronavirus outbreak, 116 of which are from the epicentre of the infection in Hubei Province alone, bringing to at least 1,380 the total number of deaths across the country.

The latest toll reflected the removal of some deaths that had been double counted in Hubei, the health commission said.

On Thursday, Chinese health officials had already reported 1,367 deaths.

Hubei and its capital Wuhan, where the infection now known as COVID-19 is thought to have originated in late December, also reported a further 4,823 new cases of the infection, taking the total in the province alone to 51,986.

Nationwide, there are 5,090 new cases pushing the total number to nearly 64,000 as of yesterday.

Few Corrupt Individuals Left in Nigeria, Says Magu Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, yesterday claimed that the commission has eliminated corrupt individuals in the country except for a few.

This comes as President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Waba, said the high rate of corruption contributed significantly to youth unemployment in the country.

Magu, who made the assertion in Abuja during a nationwide walk against corruption, said the commission was working to eliminate corrupt individuals totally from the county.

The EFCC boss, who blamed mass poverty and insecurity in Nigeria on corruption, said Nigeria’s antigovernment forces were leveraging on mass poverty to work against the country. “Mass poverty in the region due in part to corruption by the ruling elite is largely to blame for the ease with which the Islamists are able to recruit fighters to sustain their aggression against the Nigerian state,” Magu said.

He maintained that the country would be unsafe if public office holders continue to mismanage public funds and make the people live in poverty.

“Whether we like it or not, corruption and terrorism have become the twin evils, undermining our collective efforts to make Nigeria a truly great country,” he said.

He stated that Nigeria’s failure to take full advantage of its natural resources could also be attributed to corruption as public office holders are in the habit of constantly siphoning

public resources.

Magu who called for more public enlightenment and sensitisation on corruption, said it was needful in exposing and tackling the scourge, stating that the anti-corruption fight should involve everyone.

Meanwhile, NLC boss, Ayuba Wabba, said that the rate of corruption in Nigeria was contributing to youth unemployment in the country.

Speaking at the occasion, the NLC boss said the issue of corruption in the country was becoming alarming in almost all the sectors, which according to him, would continue to increase unemployment.

He commended the EFCC Chairman for organising such an interesting programme on the Valentine Day, which he described as being significant day for youths and urged youths to embrace the event for their own good.

“Today, we stand in solidarity with our youths that have made themselves available to support the crusade and the fight against corruption. “We are doing this in your own interest without which youths will not have a future in this country, if we don’t address the issue of corruption, youths will not have employment in this country with the level of corruption,” he said.

Waba added: “Let`s continue to support the EFCC and other anti graft agencies to address this monster of corruption that have drawn Nigeria backward for some decades.”

He said the country was facing a prolong security challenges, other infrastructural under-development because the money meant for them were diverted by the people at the helm of affairs.

The Vice Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 23, general elections and former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, has described the death of his bosom friend and former Commissioner for Utilities in his government, Dr. Emeka Nwankwu as shocking and devastating, stating that “in his death, a part of him also died.”

Obi said this after the requiem mass for Late Nwankwu at St. Mark’s Catholic Church, Abagana.

Obi who recalled how he got a distress message about Emeka’s deteriorating health on December 30, 2019, said that by the time he got to his house, he was already taken to the hospital and eventually he met them while his mortal remains were being deposited in the mortuary.

Reflecting on death, Obi said that each time he encountered mortals that were full of life only to die a few minutes hence, he was reminded that life was nothing to warrant the abuse some people inflict on themselves and the society.

“As soon as those who got the opportunity to lead others realise that life is too short to warrant inordinate acquisition as mostly witnessed in

Africa, the better it would be for humanity,” Obi said.

Recalling how the late commissioner joined his government, Obi said: “When I was the governor, Emeka came to me for something else, I told him I would not grant that to him except he joined the Government. When he wanted to raise objections, I told him that I was like somebody trapped in the state and that my only redemption would be proving to the people of the state that we are not cursed but actually the cause of our tribulations. I told him that I needed good people of proven capacity to assist me. This was how he agreed to join us and he delivered as the Commissioner for Utilities. Today, ask all the towns in the state and they will testify that under him as the Commissioner for Utilities, they all got transformers, few towns without electricity got it and schools were provided with water.”

Corroborating what Obi said, Chief Joe-Martins Uzodike, who was the Commissioner for Information, said the deceased was noted for the timely delivery of all tasks assigned to him.

He also described him as a dependable friend.

The requiem mass was presided by the Catholic Bishop of Awka, Most Rev. Paulinus Ezeokafor.

Nigeria Gets $125m Grant for Basic Education Kuni Tyessi in Abuja A multi-donor funding agent for interventions in basic education in poor and developing countries, the Global Partnership for Education,( GPE), has extended a grant of $125 million to Nigeria to support the development of basic education.

This was revealed in Abuja when the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, received a delegation from the GPE on a working visit.

In a statement signed by the deputy director of media and publicity, Mr. Ben Bem Goong, the minister disclosed that the aim of the grant, a product of Nigeria’s Partnership for Education Project, NIPEP, was to improve access and quality of basic education in the country, with particular focus on the girl-child.

Disclosing that this is not the first time the country is getting such grant, Adamu Adamu acknowledged that the Nigerian government received a grant of $100 million from the funding agent in 2015 to help improve the quality of education in some states in the North-western region

of the country.

According to the minister, the benefitting states, under the $100 million grant, are Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna and Sokoto states.

The states billed to benefit from the current grant are Oyo, Adamawa and Katsina states.

The minister, who stated that preparations are ongoing to access the grant before its deadline of June 2020, expressed delight at the opportunity to strengthen the country’s drive to improve its educational standard.

In his remarks, leader of the delegation, Sven Baeten, said the visit was necessitated by his organisation’s interest in the educational development of the country.

In addition to the $125 million, Baeten disclosed that there is another $20 million grant to be made available to countries with ‘education emergency issues’, adding however that the requirements for accessing the grants such as institutional arrangements with clear cut checks and balances among others, must be fulfilled before Nigeria can access its own share.

Methodist Bishop Tasks Religious Leaders on Godliness The Bishop of the Diocese of Lagos Central, Methodist Church Nigeria, Samuel Nortey advised religious leaders that godliness with contentment is the path they must tread.

Nortey stated this at the 10th anniversary of the Diocese, held at Williams Memorial Methodist Cathedral, Lagos, recently.

Nortey also stated that Methodist Church Nigeria, as well as the Diocese of Lagos Central, condemns in the highest possible terms the issue of insecurity and lack of peace in the nation.

“Insecurity does not only reside in the North, but in the entire nation,

as some of our own members and clergy had been victims. We are not happy with the situation of things in this nation,” he said.

“Honestly, the federal government needs to do a lot more. From all that they tell us, they may be doing what they think they should do, but until we find solution, the problem still exists, he noted.

“The first thing we expect from our government is to secure us, and until this is achieved, they have not done enough. We use this opportunity to call on the federal government, who promised us “Change”, and this was what Nigerians voted for.”

Plus

FASHION FILE

pg. 20

GLOBAL SOCCER

pg. 29

FAIRGROUND

pg. 36

SHOWBIZFLAIR

pg. 43

Winfred Awosika At 80, I’m Still Myself, Although the Things I Used to Do, I Can’t Do Them Anymore

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾FEBRUARY 15, 2020

PLUS August, the other one died when she was 90 years ago. The eldest one disciplined me the most. She was a teacher. The girls had more discipline than the boys. Discipline by parents on the female child was different from that of the Male. The female must fetch water and sweep the house, the boys perform different roles. They didn’t have to fetch water like the girls. The boys go out with my father. My father was close to the Olowo of Owo then. Whenever he comes back from work, he would eat, rest and proceed to the palace. It’s only at night when he is returning from the palace, we know through the sound of the choral beads on his ankle. We will run helter-skelter to our room. He didn’t really cane us but we feared him.

What has life taught you at 80?

To be patient always. Some things may happen that you won’t know immediately but later, you will know the reason it happened. If it’s a challenge, God will give you the strength to pull through.

If you were given an opportunity to change something about yourself, what will that be?

If I can be wiser and keep silent. I think am too open and frank. People have come to appreciate my candidness.

At 80, I’m Still Myself, Although the Things I Used to Do, I Can’t Do Them Anymore Awosika

Whenever the name, Winfred Awosika, is mentioned, the education sector in Nigeria readily comes to mind. This founder of Chrisland Schools and Chrisland University is no doubt, one of the icons in Nigeria’s education sector. Her school, which she started in her home boys’ quarters 43 years ago has since spread across other parts of the country and today, she has become a household name in the country. Awosika’s contribution to the growth of the sector fetched her a national honour during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration. The Owo, Ondo State born educationist, who celebrated her 80th birthday last Thursday, shares her humble beginning, marriage and career with Bayo Adeoye

You clocked 80 last Thursday. How are you feeling?

Actually, I just sit and wonder why there is so much excitement. I don’t feel different within me. I am still myself.

Although the things I used to do I can’t do them anymore. I am still myself.

How did you spend your formative years?

There was discipline. Every morning, you wake up, you sweep the whole house, pack the dirt, take it to the dump site, take bucket to fetch water. My father dug a concrete well outside the family house down the road; we go there and fetch water before getting ready for school. When you get to the school gate, the headmaster is waiting with his cane. If you come late, you will surely get canned.

You dare not go late to school. Imagine sweeping and fetching water every morning. When it was Harmattan season, the bathroom was an open place covered with bamboo, so you have to be timely to avoid being late. When it’s raining, the headmaster is happy so he can cane latecomers.

Was your Father a strict man?

We were all afraid of him. If you don’t do what you are supposed to do at home and your Mum says ‘I will report to your father,’ you would be shaking in fear.

You don’t want to be reported. I can’t remember my father beating me. It’s only my mum. If I go out to play and I return late, she would tell me that my food is in the room. If I enter, she would lock the door and cane me well. I have two sisters. One of them was 90 years last year

During your early days, there was peaceful coexistence among all tribes, what do you think is the reason for the disunity among Nigerians today?

Are we united now? We keep hearing about killings in the North, in Zamfara, Gombe and other towns. Everywhere we hear killings and kidnapping; that’s not how things used to be. We should ask ourselves, what is causing this troubles and disharmony? What is causing the bloodshed? Muslims and Christians have lived together in my family. My father was the only Christian; he was the head of the family and a Chief. All our uncles and aunties are Muslims. Go and ask anybody from Owo in Ondo State of the Osuporu family. My father was the treasurer of the native administration as at that time. He was next to the District Officer. He held the family together surrounded by the cousins, nephews and nieces. Whenever we are celebrating, my father would call his elder cousins, who are Muslims to pray the Islamic way, before we say our Christian prayers. We were happy together.

Why are Muslims fighting Christians now?

In your own assessment, what do you think is the cause of the disharmony?

We know but we don’t want to admit it openly. Everybody is grumbling. It’s a mixed grill we cannot be specific about the cause. We should examine our heart individually. If we say the Muslims are oppressing the Christians, how many Christians are doing Christ’s bid. These days, a pastor will molest his member under various pretenses. We should examine ourselves, how sincere are we to the service of God and humanity?

You had your A levels in Enugu State, when you arrived there, did you experience any cultural shock and how did you cope?

The first fear was crossing the River Niger. As at then, there was no bridge. By the time I got to the end of Asaba, it was already late. The Big boat that should have taken me across River Niger had gone, so it was a small boat left at the shores. There were about three people in it already. The paddler said, ‘young girl, if you don’t go now, you will have to return to where you are coming from.’ I had no choice than to board and cross. I left secondary school in 1958, I taught briefly in Owo same year and proceeded to Enugu for my A’levels in 1959.

Would you say teaching runs in the family?

Sometimes I am marveled by it. My oldest sister was not that educated. My step and elder sister started school early, when they were flogged, my grandmother withdrew them from school. When my father returned from his journey and found out that his daughters were no longer in school, he was so angry.

Anywhere he travelled to, he would take the whole family along. My middle sister went to teachers training college, retired as headmistress of a school in Ibadan before she started her own group of school in Ibadan. Her eldest daughter also worked with me at Chrisland as a teacher. Her youngest daughter is a trained engineer,

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾FEBRUARY 15, 2020

19

PLUS My Husband Didn’t Believe a Woman Should Work started a group of school in Asaba. She is married to a Delta man. She has gone into education. I don’t know why my family all went into teaching. Sometimes, I ask myself how it happened, we are all teacher’s in my mother’s lineage.

all-knowing and he will surely guide you if only you trust him.

What did your husband find interesting about you?

I think he found me naive. When he told me, we should get married before he returned to England, he told me to tell my friends and family as well. I said they will ask when did I meet you, he said tell them we met four years ago. I was 23 years old in 1963.

At what point did you decide you were going to own a school considering the fact that back then government schools were very good?

When my Husband and I returned from England, he was posted to Ikeja General Hospital. We were told that there was a good school in Ikeja operated and owned by a white woman. My experience was that they were treating us like they were doing us a favour by admitting our children. I didn’t mean it at first to own a school. One of my friends, Mrs. Oyewole, said: “Mrs Awoshika can run a better school.” Now I have a group of schools.

When I had the urge to venture into education, I went for my post graduate education at the University of Lagos, and I told my supervisor, Professor Osiyale that I wanted to do a research on Nursery education. He helped me draft a questionnaire. One of the questions was, ‘what will you consider most before sending your child to a school? Is it distance, money or quality?’ Those who responded chose quality without minding distance and cost. That was one of the reasons I laid emphasis on quality. It has helped us at Chrisland.

Do you have any fear about life?

I have always had this closeness to God. I have been exposed to many books. I read many books on religion apart from the bible. I did Philosophy, Religion Studies and Theology of African Religion under Prof. Bolaji Idowu. My family consists of Muslims, Traditionalist but my father was a Christian. He managed to keep everybody together and maintained his belief. My father’s favourite Psalm was Psalm 46. When masquerade were having their festival, they must come to our compound to pay homage to my father. We were always indoors but we enjoyed their songs. It’s a background of combined spiritual belief and you take the best out of it.

Chrisland has expanded into group of school with a University, how do you feel?

I can just say it’s the Lord’s doing. When I started, my husband was the oldfashioned type, who believed the woman’s place is the home and not supposed to work. The man is the bread winner. He was catering for the family, but I became bored. I used to be angry and beat my children and cry that these children are not troublesome why am I beating them?

I had the inspiration to start in our boy’s quarters. When we moved to Opebi, he gave me a portion of land he had mapped out for an estate construction. He allowed me to use the land behind the house for Chrisland school.

Awosika Talking about cost and quality, you have invested a lot in education, was there any time people tried to talk you down from investing so much into education?

Nobody discouraged me. They became appreciative and supportive. One of my friends told me that she was referred to get my thesis at the University of Lagos library as reference book. She is now a teacher. People liked what I was doing and they referred their friends. I didn’t put any signboard outside the school but the school advertised itself. I only wrote Chrisland School at the gate and people were coming. If there was a block of five flat and one block has Chrisland children, at the end of the year, you see all the families bringing their children to Chrisland.

What are the challenges you faced building Chrisland School?

Apart from money, we faced challenge of government injunctions, rules and regulations. You have to do certain things that may not be necessary. All the big expanse of land required is not needed.

To build our University in Abeokuta, we were told to get 110 hectares of land. Our schools, by God’s grace, we have good portions of lands. May God bless the soul of my husband. He was a medical practitioner, he had patience. When he left government service, he went into private medical practice. He was a medical consultant to industrial companies. He met many people, some would sell lands to him at cheaper rate. Some he would buy and decline some. The good ones like the Land in Idimu, it was his hope that we would build a school for both boys and girls. The girls will be groomed the way I was groomed at my Alma Mata, St Anne’s secondary school. The boys will be groomed on the tradition of Government College, which was his own Alma Mata.

We would combine Government College and St Anne s’ tradition at Chrisland Schools, Idimu; that was the plan.

How did you come about the name

iven, g m a I r e v e What hose T . e t a i c e r I app ike, l I t a h w e asking m er v e t a h w , m I told the r me, o f o d o t t n that wa r the o f t i o d d l they shou university

Chrisland?

When I started creche at the boys quarters, I wanted to make it a nursery school.

I used the name All Saints School. I invited officials from the Lagos State Ministry of Education for facility assessment, one of them, when he heard All Saints school, told me there is a school using that name in Ikorodu. I told her I wanted to make this a nursery school and relocate to Opebi and the name is going to be Chrisland.

The name Chrisland came through an inspiration. When I came to see the land one day, I sat in my car and said to myself; ‘Opebi Onigbagbo’, this land is Christian Land. That was how I coined the word Chrisland. When they say Christland, I said Chrisland, meaning Christian Land.

When you look back at all you have achieved, what comes to your mind?

I see God’s grace. I see that I have been led by the Almighty God. Most of what I have done are based on inspiration. Many parents who brought their children, liked the name and uniform. I had the opportunity of the Green and Yellow colour during my days at St Anne’s School . Many people fell in love with the name, culture and uniform. At 6:30am, I will stand at the gate to bring out children from their parents car. If a child is not properly dressed, I will put the child back in the car and tell the parent to go and dress the child properly. People began to notice the discipline. When I appointed a white lady as headmistress, she refused to stay at the gate. She said her work was inside the compound not at the gate. One of our white parents told me she missed me at the gate, I replied that I thought I was embarrassing them, she said they liked it, that it’s part of the quality. I continued for a while but stopped later. We still maintain that tradition till date.

Of all your achievements, which one are you most proud of?

I think that humble beginning. That was the take-off. How the whole school layout was looking. It inspired those from the Education Ministry who commended us for a job well-done, 42 years ago, they

predicted the school was going to be great and it is now.

Your husband must have supported you so much to his best ability, how did you meet him?

At first, he didn’t agree. I had to beg him and kneel in the room for him. It was after then he now became supportive. We met at our days at the University of Ibadan, when I was at my final year. My friend’s boyfriend was his friend. She came to my room one day and said to me, this man said he met you somewhere and I told her, I can’t remember meeting him anywhere.

We were still at Queens Hall; that was how it all started. I had many excuses, I was going to my finals. I told him if we marry, no babies until after graduation.

He told us to get married. He said he was going back to England for his post graduate. I was surprised. He handled the whole wedding invitation and meals. My friends were all excited. At first, I had two suitors. One of them was begging while the one I liked was playful, taking me for granted. He left for his postgraduate in France. I started to worry that this guy, we are not married, yet he takes me for granted.

The other one was begging, sending my friends and sister in law to talk to me.

So, I went into prayer and fasting for God’s guidance. I was praying between the two suitors to know who I should choose before Dr. Awosika came into the picture. I said this is God’s answer to my prayer and fasting. It was after my fasting, my friend brought him that he saw me somewhere and I said where? I looked at him and I said to myself that he is not tall enough for me. I don’t like short men. I was not taller than him either. My friends insisted we go on dates and all. They encouraged me to date him.

The institution of marriage must be important to you, for you to have gone such length to seek God’s guidance.

It’s important, at that time, there was innocence of trust in God that he is the

How do you feel meeting students who have passed through Chrisland School?

We are just starting, one of them who bagged a first class at Covenant University, also bagged her PhD at age 25. She got me a birthday card last year and she said ‘Mama, we are coming to takeover Chrisland.’ I told her that I am ready to hand over to them. I am not doing it for money, let the legacy live on.

You are an icon of education in Nigeria, are there other things you will like to be known for apart from education?

I would like to be known as a good mother. I still manage to keep my family together even with the professionals I have.

I thank God for that. I pray they remain united. I would love to be known as a good mother.

At your age, do you still have any desire?

I desire to spend my time in a quiet area, reflecting, meditating and giving thanks to God. If I can write to inspire people, some spiritual nourishment for the world. We can learn a lot from nature and happening around us if we allow God lead.

If you were asked what gift you want for your 80th birthday, what would that be?

I don’t have an idea. Whatever I am given, I appreciate. Those asking me what I like, I told them, whatever that want to do for me, they should do it for the university.

How do you relax?

I love to stay in the garden. I like to be close to nature. I listen to the birds sing.

When I am in Owo at the crowing of the crow, I listen to them every time. God is in nature and everything he has created. I like to be in a quiet place and I love to write.

How did you feel when former President Olusegun Obasanjo, conferred you with a national honour of OON? I was very happy. One man said he went to see Obasanjo and he was telling him about me and he said: “I gave her a national honour.” So, I said, he remembered me among all those he decorated. It’s a great honour.

Following the decay in the educational system, what do you think is the solution?

I am very unhappy about it. The people around me make so many mistakes. Sometimes, I start to doubt myself. When I write to my 91 years old sister, who stayed in Akure then, she would correct my English and send it back to me in Owo. I will write out the corrected letter at that level in the late 40’s to early 50’s. The standard of English now is very bad. How can graduates make some silly grammatical mistakes? It’s not their faults, teachers are always on strike, when the call off strikes, they setup exams on things they didn’t teach the students, they pass anybody they wish to pass. It’s not right. The only solution is that we need to be closer to God. We need people who truly care. I can see signs that we are aiming at better things and we must get there.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͹ͽ˜ 2020

Fashion File

with

AZUKA OGUJIUBA

azuka.ogujiuba@thisdaylive.com

Luxury Handbag with Beech Wood Inspiration

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͹ͽ˜ 2020

21

FASHION FILE

Luxury Handbag with Beech Wood Inspiration Luxury brand, Julie Jules handbag is intricately crafted with eco-leather and fabric presented in brilliant colours for every woman who has an eye for class. It’s Beech wood-inspired clasp opening makes it a piece of art that gives tribute to a rich heritage of some of the world’s best craftsmanship of many years. The collection rolls out with a limited edition of women’s handbag line in 16 different beautiful colours that comes in medium and large sizes.

It’s Dubai-based creator, Julie Onyema-Okoroafor, offers more insight, “The wood is a beech wood, it's strong and it's mouldable. It can withstand any weather and the leather is eco-leather. It is soft when you touch it; it also comes in different colours. Julie Jules is handmade and it's organic. It just looks good on its own. It's done with beech wood. I love wood and I thought of incorporating in bags. This bag is for every woman that likes good quality and wants to feel good about herself. Not every woman can spend $5,000 or $10,000 on a bag.

We have seen designer bags that are ugly while so unbranded bags look so nice and cute. Julies Jules is for every woman that can afford quality, every woman out there really want to look good.”

Julie Jules luxury handbag was recently presented officially to the public at classy event which held at the Lagos Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Social media - Instagram @juliejules_shop

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˜ ˞ FEBRUARY 15, 2020

FAJ/JOE

THEFRONTLINES

Motorcycle, Tricycle Ban: Salute to Sanwa-Olu’s Courage

JOSEPH USHIGIALE

T

he mark of leadership goes beyond the mere formulation and making policy pronouncements by a government. Indeed the hallmark of a good leader is the building of consensus, formulation of policies and their implementation or execution to ensure such policies get the desired outcomes.

The recent decision by the Governor Babajide Sanwo-olu’s administration to sack motorcycles and tricycles otherwise known as Okada and Keke Napep from Lagos main roads, restricting them to rural areas is an example of how a leader exhibits the will to power.

The decision to ban these means of transportation although over due, is not new. Former governor, Babatunde Fashola of Lagos state banned the use of Okada and tricycles in the designated areas of the state, but the implementation died on arrival. In the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), Mallam Nasir El Rufai was the first to ban them when he administered the FCT. Former Cross River State governor, Donald Duke also initiated a well organised transition process that eased the menace in that state and so many other states have taken such bold steps to bring sanity to the chaos that Keke and Okada now create.

Why was it expedient for these states to take these decisions?

The first was the spate of accidents by the motorcyclists whose dare devilry accounted for several deaths as well as incapacitation of both passengers and riders. The statistics from the emergency and orthopedic units of several hospitals gave telling accounts of the danger that loomed ahead if nothing was done quickly.

From law enforcement came reports that most of these okada riders were involved in criminal activities as armed robbers, kidnappers and informants. There are several reported cases where okada riders vanished with their passengers only for the passengers to be sold to ritualists. Yet, others were used as means of escape after robbery operations.

In Lagos, it seemed there was a sinister plan by some northern elements to infiltrate the state. If you lived in Lagos in the last two years, you would have noticed a silent movement down south of young men, who were being brought on trailers daily to Lagos.

The established patterns of these northern elements with sinister motive was that the trailers would arrive in the night at

Sanwo-Olu

a designated part of the city, offload its human cargo repeatedly and return. Gradually, every imaginable space on streets in suburbs like Surulere, Ebute Metta, Palmgroove, Maryland, Ikeja, Lekki, Agege right up to Lekki were strategically commandeered by these occupation forces.

As soon as they arrived Lagos and without any abode, they were issued a motorcycle and pronto they commenced the Okada business without licensing, training and no means of identification. As the authorities turned blind eyes to this exodus, so did the movement increased with equal audacity.

Soon, some of these new okada riders ,who looked foreign, started exhibiting very strange anti-social behaviours. They rode in pairs, spoke a language only they understood and exhibited violent behaviours. Any face off with one of the riders was an invitation to chaos. In a few minutes of an encounter, over a hundred okada riders would converge, manhandle the person and you would be lucky if your car was not burnt down right there.

With all these unfolding drama, it was clear that no respon-

Valentine Letter to Our Daughters

Y

esterday was a distraction. To millions all over the world, a pleasant distraction. To some, in a few months, a regrettable distraction.

Valentine’s Day, for whatever it’s worth, is no longer a fad: many Nigerians, both young and those young at heart, have fallen totally for the sweet-nothings of enterprising Cupid-themed entrepreneurs whose business acumen and deliverables have fused the word, Love, with feasting, sexcapades, exploitation, carousel, gifts, revelries, and much more than I can imagine.

Few days to the “Day�, I dug into my archives, for a letter written to my daughters while still budding as teenagers, and giggly, at the prospects of a so-called lover’s day. I wanted to impress on their young minds, using the circumstance of that period almost a decade ago, that there’s more to life than ceremonial, thin-skinned adulation of a love-streaked moment observed universally. I believe the focus and admonitions within those letters have so much ring and truth for this moment.

Here we go: “I rarely write to you, forgive me. And do not fret; nothing bad is at the end of this letter. I have been worried lately‌ what does God purpose for the two of you? My worry arose after a series of discussion I had with your Mum about life, and a wife of one of our top leaders. If you don’t read carefully, you’ll think I’m talking about the gifts of the spirit. I am talking of this Madame, and her public outburst and dressing down of her home state chief executive. So, what has that got to do with you? I know you will start wondering and wrinkling, but be patient. We were not bothered much about the correctness of her statements, neither is her right to ‘fight for her people’ in dispute.

The main issue here is the theatre she chose to display her impatient care-freeness and loose mouth, more often witnessed by local gathering of political mammies.

Perhaps the Madame may get away with her less than admirable public drama, but my advice to you my daughters is based on the premise that a home with such “inflammable material� will surely combust, sooner or later. See, the little I know about this Madame’s family shows that the lady at least chose the right man. An impatient woman has a great chance of a successful matrimony if she is married to a humble, tentative, melancholic man; and if he has tons of good luck, then to God be the glory.

So, my daughters open your eyes and pick husbands that will complement you effectively and emotionally.

But as far as I can see, that is where the emulation should stop.

From what I can pick up since she broke into international infamy with her unbridled tongue, I have become worried and contemplative at the unpleasant reaches of fame, prosperity and officialdom.

I understand most of the information gleaned from the media and the new media (Internet) may be baseless, half-truths, outright fiction

or hate-induced vituperation; however, through the chinks of the dross and the dregs, you can patch some sort of a fairly recognizable identikit. I have done that for our robust Lady of sham, and have come to a baleful conclusion: that you my daughters must not take after her.

I strongly believe a wife like her can bring so much despair and disaster on her husband’s career or ambition if she doesn’t “hand-over’’ her tongue to a greater power. She can so easily talk her husband into ruin. Really, it is easy to conclude that if Madame can chastise a chief executive so comprehensively and contemptuously in public like that, her husband’s continuous exposure to such a tsunamic presence must be a psychological nightmare. Don’t laugh, and don’t raise your eyebrows, implying, “Daddy! You have come again with your exaggerations�.

This is life and death issue to me; so stick it on your hearts the few things I suggest to you in this letter.

If you find yourself in the home of a man of power or wealth, your roles, however much they have been stretched and polished in this fast-changing world, do not include creating enemies and detractors for your spouse.

If you become a powerful woman, on the strength of God’s favour in your own life or on account of your husband’s position or grace, never look down on someone else’s husband - even if they occupy a less dignifying or prominent position to you or your husband.

Please, my daughters, be true to your God and to people you come in contact with. Always... irrespective of how other people behave or conduct their affairs. You should never behave as if the world is not littered with ex-this and ex-that.

My dear daughters, please bear with me, and do be attentive...

Those who leave public offices with good names, warm the hearts of their fellow men. Even if it appears there is no immediate, clear profit for their meritorious, faithful and responsible service to humanity, the simple existence of pleasant imagination and good wishes in the hearts of your people will transmute into unqualified graces and purposeful living. On the other hand, my dears, a life devoted to giving hell to your subordinates; piling misery and recriminations on your workers; playing the tigress on your husband‌ such a woman will pollute everything and everyone she comes in contact with.

And because she distributes anguish, distaste and condemnation in the hearts of her community, the atmospheric cloud of evil thoughts and silent witnesses will make her life, in the privacy of her room, a painful, stressful, unfulfilled stream of discontent. She will, by extension, lack good health and peaceful mind. Then, you wonder, why do people grapple and scheme and work hard to be successful and applauded, only to end up in disgrace and ignominy - bringing their loved ones down with them?

That is what happens to a cannon built like an unfeeling tank whose mouth is loose. That and more will happen to our Madame

jushigiale@yahoo.co.uk, joseph.ushigiale@thisdaylive.com 08023422660 (sms only)

sible government would have folded its hands to allow the breakdown of law and order in such an important state like Lagos.

Although the implementation was shoddy and took a lot of Lagosians by surprise and currently inflicts a lot of trekking on them on some routes; overall it should be considered as a sacrifice to secure Lagos from Boko Haram and other criminal elements.

As this policy goes into full implementation, those vested with the authority to monitor it should note that its implementation took the pattern of putting the cart before the horse. The current long treks experienced by Lagosians could have been avoided if it thought through the entire process of implementing this policy.

From first hand experience, the Donald Duke administration conducted research to find out ways of curbing the menace of these okada riders, tricycles were not a threat then. First, it enacted a law establishing the motorcycle regulatory agency which was vested with the power of registering all motorcycles and their riders in the state. It also provided for two helmets for rider and passenger and a numbered reflective vests for the rider.

Before the policy went into full operation or implementation, the state government identified and reclassified the routes primary, secondary and rural routes. An initial 50 buses were procured and the designated primary routes clearly marked on them, Suzuki sedan cars with capacity for fours persons were procured and deployed on the secondary routes while the registered motorcyclists were to ply the rural routes where neither the big buses nor car could not easily accessed.

The idea really was for commuters to have different alternatives or choices to choose from and not be left with a single or no choice at all as is the case in Lagos today. People who have no means of transport are faced with the huge burden of trekking very long distances to places hitherto covered by okada and Keke.

Although I have reliably been informed that the state government is about to roll out a comprehensive transportation road map including palliatives to cushion the current sufferings inflicted on Lagosians by the new policy, these initiatives would have been put in place before implementation.

Readers can continued online www.thisdaylive.com

COUNTERPOINT

FEMI

AKINTUNDE-JOHNSON fajalive1@gmail.com 08182223348 - (SMS Only)

if she does not seek counseling; if she does not submit to truthful but seemingly harsh advisers who will teach and guide her on how to bridle her tongue. It’s not for fun that the Bible describes our body’s littlest member (the tongue) as the pit of hell, a firestorm practically impossible to control.

My prayer for you, my daughters, and by extension, to their most honorable and eminently adorable Madame, is simple and trite - no condition is permanent. So, if providence or good luck leads you to an exalted office, a high position or influential condition, please, do attempt to leave permanent, inspiring and good landmarks that will uplift and encourage the conditions of others around you.

A wise man once said: “Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies‌ she opens her mouth with wisdom and on her tongue is the law of kindness.â€? (Proverbs 31: 26). In your spare time, read the chapter fully, chew on the words, and adopt them as the credo for your daily living. Even if this letter displeases you, and you wonder aloud, “But Daddy, you know we are not like that?â€?

Take it from me my dears, power, money (I mean a mountain of it) and pageantry have a way of combining wickedly to choke out good upbringing, fine education and simple graces of decorum and humility.

We all need to constantly submit ourselves to a vigorous “check-up� on our lifestyle and comportment - are we still in tune with our good old self? Do we still remember the litany of guides to good conduct we were exposed to while growing up?

Sometimes, you don’t remember that it is not only your physical body that grows and changes with time: your character can change; your belief can change; your world-view can change‌all these and worse can change significantly - simply because your circumstances have changed, rather suddenly or unimaginably. Don’t ever say: “Never! Not me!!â€?

When such “good luck� happens, my daughters, remember... it is the grace of God which commands all the resources and the good luck you have, and you will ever have.

So, at such heady, dizzying moments, when the suffocating aroma of power, wealth and fame threaten to choke goodness out of you, take out this letter; re-read and re-ingest and re-understand that money has wings, fame does fade and power can vanish. But the lingering aroma of a good woman (or man) is the sweet-smelling memory of a truly ennobling human being whose heart pursues after the good of others.�

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͯͳ˜ ͰͮͰͮ

23

EXPRESSION/TRIBUTE

MEDIAGAFFES BY

2023: Neck-and-neck Battle

P

AGE 2 BUSINESSDAY of February 5 welcomes us today with this minor headline blunder: “Chi lauded for launching Hollandia Lactose Free (Lactose-free) Milk” “1 die (dies), 5 injured as police, criminals exchange gunfire in Anambra” (News around the city, February 5) Politics & Power of February 5 comes up next with this fault: “Or is the movement likely to come through this and become stronger like it has (had) always done in the past?”

“Minimum wage: Labour issues 14 days (14-day or 14 days’) ultimatum in Kwara” (AREWA NEWS, February 5) “Two killed, houses razed, hundreds displaced as Tivs (Tiv), Jukuns (Jukun) restart fight” (THISDAY Front Page Headline, February 8) “House probes Agric Ministry over $1bn donor assisted (donor-assisted) agricultural project funds” “Amotekun: Recruit non-Yorubas (nonYoruba) experienced in security outfit, PDP chieftain suggests” “FG task (tasks) youths to drive agricultural revolution” “Ozekhome receives pan African (panAfrican) award for defending Nigeria’s democracy” “Use $321m Abacha loot to develop oil producing (oil-producing) communities, activist begs Buhari” “Happy birthday to a quintessential business mogul, philanthropist extraordinary (extraordinaire)….”

“Community policing amidst (amid) regional security outfits” “No armed robbery, no banditry, no tribal (ethnic) conflicts….” What is the difference between ‘armed robbery’ and ‘banditry’?

“MAN express (expresses) fear over Nigeria’s readiness for AFCFTA opportunities” “Delta community raises the alarm over herdsmen (herdsmen’s) siege” “The unprecedented onslaught against PDP faithfuls and other citizens….” ‘Faithful’ is uncountable.

“…CJN yesterday read a riot act to judicial officers nationwide, threatening to dismiss anyone caught perverting justice.”

Fixed expression: read the Riot Act. “Buhari, APC plot take over of S/East” Noun: takeover (which applies here); phrasal verb: take over.

“APC, PDP in neck-to-neck battle” Get it right: neck-and-neck battle.

“Tomplo Boys lay siege on Shomolu, Bariga” This way: lay siege to Shomolu, Bariga “JTF arrests four over (for) illegal bunkering in Warri” (DAILY INDEPENDENT Headline, January 21) “…Africa’s richest man beseiged” Spellcheck: besieged.

Nigerian Tribune of January 23 did not confirm its self-adulation: “Under him, the body which comprised of eight countries grew to become 49.” The pride of LagosIbadan press: expunge ‘of’ from the extract.

“It seems the bickering between the two unions is deepening.” (DAILY TRUST, January 23) We can conveniently do without ‘two’ in this excerpt because of its irrelevance.

“They are little aware that our great men of yesteryears were able to achieve.…”

(Leadership, January 23) What has happened to the reputation of excellence?

‘Yesteryear’, just like ‘heyday’, is uncountable. ”Bandits kill two police, injure three others in Lagos” One of these: policemen, police officers, constables or cops; not just ‘police’.

Vanguard of January 23 bungled two expressions: “They would rather kill themselves over who is superior….” Friends of the Niger Delta: They would rather kill one another. It is not yet a suicidal stuff.

“But the governor has stuck to his gun, insisting that his action is perfectly constitutional.” (THISDAY, January 23) Stuck to his guns (not gun) “Well, dear honourables....” (Source: as above) Get it right: dear honourable members or dear lawmakers (legislators).

‘Honourables’ is Nigerian English not yet listed in Oxford English Dictionary as at January 31, 2020.

“Delegates in free for all fight” (Sunday

Vanguard, January 26) Towards a better weekly: free-for-all (take note of the hyphenation and the elimination of ‘fight’ which is otiose).

“The faithful performed creditably well….” (THE NATION, January 21) No lip-service (not eye-service, as most Nigerians misinform): delete ‘well’ because of its redundancy here. So, the faithful performed creditably.

“Why would the christians (Christians, please) distrupt a sober act of paying tribute?” (Daily Trust, February 22) Spellcheck: disrupt.

Nigerian Tribune of February 23 raised two questions:”…it is one agitation or the other (another: several agitations) against the present status quo” ‘Present status quo’ leaves a sour taste.

“That a man charged for (with) mother (father) of all crimes set free without due process.”

“The role played by people like…are (is) subject to thorough investigation.” (Business World, January 21) “The police is (are) on red alert.” (DAILY SUN, January 23) Always recollect that they (policemen) are not your friends and that bail is not free, contrary to what the authorities declare!

“But there he was, Clinton, the most powerful head of government in the world, has (had) to sweat it out before lawyers that he appointed.” (Daily Independent, January 23) “…we are being asked to bring our plates and we shall be duely (duly) served.”

“Libyan rebellion ignore peace offers” (THE PUNCH, January 23) No senility: Libyan rebels….”

“Essentially, those who spoke against it did so in (on) three main grounds” (THE GUARDIAN, January 23) ‘WAEC disturbed over education standard” (Nigerian Tribune, January 23) Nigeria’s most informative newspaper: educational standard.

“Influx of obsolete equipment worry (worries) radiographers” (THE GUARDIAN, January 23) Please, note that ‘reopen’ does not admit hyphenation (re-open).

“It is the duty of the police to conduct

EBERE WABARA

ewabara@yahoo.com, 08055001948

investigations into the sort of killings that wasted some of its (their) men in Jos, the troubled capital of Plateau State, and fish out the culprits.” (THE GUARDIAN, January 23) “Since AIDS run (runs) a long course atimes (at times) up to 5-10 years before it kills its victim….” (DAILY INDEPENDENT, January 23) “Seeing this non-challant attitude as a reflection of a people lacking in unity and cohesion….” Spell-check: nonchalant. “…others who thought they were immuned to injustice were arrested.” No round-up: just immune. ”At the outskirts of the town, a large signpost....” Get it right: on the outskirts. “…the instruments of instruction and education of the policy have been entrenched within the polity.” The road to Aso Rock: entrench in (not within).

“Within the last decade, the Mugabe government was involved in series (a series) of political and financial scandals.”

“Since he was voted out of office in 1980, Mr. Carter has visited Nigeria several times, usually in pursuit of one humanitarian mission or the other.” Certainly, the man had pursued several missions on these shores. So, the proper context should be: one humanitarian mission or another (multiple). The excerpt has just a dual function, which is wrong.

“At the start, when the politicians were told to form political associations, all manners of associations, with different ideological orientations and tendencies, sprouted like mushrooms.” Stock expression: all manner of associations.

For Isaac Aluko-Olokun

May the soul of Ambassador Isaac Agboola Aluko-Olokun, an ardent Wordsworth (Media Gaffes) subscriber, continue to rest in peace. We are celebrating who and what you were: a gentleman, a patriot and a universal citizen. “Good men must die, but death cannot kill their names.” From time to time, I remember our first-and-last meeting in the office of the editor of Daily Times of yore in its heyday, Barrister Ndu Ughamadu, now of the NNPC.

Conjugal Bliss and Avoidable Denials

C

onjugal bliss is a package that comes with marriage. Expectations are very high because of anticipations from the couple, members of their families and the societies in which we all grew up. Conjugal bliss is expected to be seamless, however, this is not always the case.

In view of a disappointment, which could give rise to altercations, if not resolved, may lead to a denial of conjugal bliss. Some of the times, men imagine their wives are delivered to them as virgins, which is not true in many cases. Hence, our male folks are advised to stop this imagination because curiosity of toddlers about how to experiment their organs with the opposite sex has grown beyond human comprehension before the receipt of a sex education.

A woman, who had better sex education than her husband, if she displays different sex positions in the bid to satisfy her spouse in bed, stands the risk of being labeled a prostitute. Consequently, for fear of being called “names” she would rather lie beside her husband allowing him to direct proceedings. This is a cultural issue that may affect conjugal bliss. The use of a condom between couples may be disregarded as an abomination by one of the two parties. The man may argue it is against his religious belief to waste the “seed” otherwise known as sperm, while the woman may disagree on the altar of her professional calling. If she is a career woman, she may insist she is not quite ready to have a baby.

Financial capacity, the mother of all excuses is another ground for a denial of conjugal bliss. The woman may suggest a reordering of priorities such as starting a new business in the bid to boost the family income or securing a car for a better mobility before getting pregnant, while her husband may not share the same view. A man who hails from a background where there are twelve children or more would experience issues with a woman from a background where there is a record of birth control. She may not consent to anything beyond two or more children especially if she had her children through caesarian operations.

When a woman suspects her husband sleeps with another woman, trust between them has gone on a sabbatical and hence she would put up an attitude which expectedly could deny her husband a conjugal bliss. A husband in retaliation may also refuse to shoulder primary responsibilities in the home. These are altercations giving rise to denials. There are understandable grounds that could lead to abstinence from conjugal bliss. One of such is either of the couple is currently experiencing a health

challenge, has embarked on a spiritual exercise or has agreed to abstain for the purpose of achieving an objective, such as having a baby at a defined moment. Otherwise, conjugal bliss is expected to be a free for all transaction between the couple at any point in time.

In this connection, cultural orientation had poorly situated male and female organs as what should not be celebrated or a taboo meant only for the darkest room in the house and also for the late and early hours of the day. This wrong perception was carried into marital relationship and had since hindered conjugal bliss.Our female folks are advised to recognize their husbands’ private organs as their portion and hence should give it a special treat whenever the opportunity presents itself. A treat in the context of handling, if the organ rises to the national call, she should engage and reengage it to different gear positions until her husband rises to give the royal treat and deliver the anticipated “seed” before getting out of bed.

Consequently, your spouse’s organ should be personalized and given the all-important treat, you would not only have redeemed your husband to yourself, but you would also have conquered cultural issues that hitherto took your husband away from you.

Lack of courage to intellectually connect your spouse is a sure way to hinder conjugal bliss. He had constantly grabbed you in the bedroom and hence you cannot perceive a big deal about sex. May be you should summon the courage to re -orientate him or her to relocate to some other parts of the house not primarily designed for that purpose.

The refusal of a couple to embark on holidays and rediscover themselves is an obvious denial of a newer opportunity for conjugal bliss. Calling off or rescheduling an official engagement to resolve issues or have an unscheduled sex is a positive development for conjugal bliss. Refusal to recognize your spouse as your best friend and seeking a third party opinion is one of the many ways to ruin your marriage and a denial of a conjugal bliss.

Inability to stand up to your spouse and engage him or her in an intellectual conversation is a denial of a conjugal bliss. Not coming to terms with what your spouse likes or suggest a better alternative is a denial of a conjugal bliss. Your inability to listen, evaluate and situate your spouse’s opinion within a reasonable context before replying is a denial of a conjugal bliss. A refusal to shift ground from a hitherto unproductive position and come to terms with a new suggestion by your spouse is a denial of a conjugal bliss.

emma3nueld@yahoo.com sms only: 09015976380 Your refusal to respect your spouse, recognize him or her as your own catch of a Gold is a denial of Conjugal bliss. A wife who retires to bed, dressed like a member of a national Football team has a preconceived opinion to deny her husband of a conjugal bliss. Expectedly, she should have retired with her natural skin, absolutely nothing on her as she slips her body under the bed sheet beside her husband. Not resolving an unpleasant issue that occurred earlier in the day before retiring to bed is a denial of conjugal bliss.

Not accepting an apology and consequently stretching an issue is a denial of conjugal bliss. Not coming to terms with a family planning methodology when the need arises is a denial of conjugal bliss. Refusal to work and support the family is a denial of a happy economy for the home.

Depending on only one source of income is an invitation to poverty and consequently an obvious denial of poverty.

Refusal to have a long term plan for the arrival of the children or their education is a deceit of the primary motive for running a home. Refusal to listen and understand the point of view of your spouse is way of situating yourself as a dictator. Spending productive time watching a movie when you should be at work is an invitation to hunger in the future. Refusal not to embark on a small project that could ultimately employ you and others is your refusal to be dynamic.

You were raised by two parents who had a career as government officials hence your hatred for embarking on a commercial venture is not coming to terms with the economic reality in the country today. Allowing your wife do all the chores is a denial of your support most especially if she is pregnant. Not discussing your housing project early enough in your marriage is an avoidable dependence on someone else’s accommodation.

Not encouraging your spouse to study for another degree is a way of denying an important variable for promotion in the future. Not investing in a Health Insurance is deliberately postponing a day when running cap in hand should have been avoided.

24

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ FEBRUARY 15, 2020

TRIBUTE

Bethel Amadi: The Icon that Exited to Glory As family and friends mark his one year remembrance, Ahamefula Ogbu pays tribute to former federal lawmaker, Bethel Nnaemeka Amadi, who died February 10, 2019

I

f goodness was a shield from death, Bethel Nnaemeka Amadi wouldn’t have died. If compassion assured longevity, he would still have been here smiling through most difficult circumstances in assurance of a better end; however, like water, he never was one to confront or contend but would calmly, surely and uncomplaining, work round a problem to achieve the desired result without a murmur of protest. No wonder it is a truism that the best never lasts long.

A colossus by every imaginable description who had a Midas touch, angelic in his disposition and rare adroit manager of men and materials whose maker was the controller of his path of ascendancy, he saw whatever came his way as a cross he has to bear for humanity.

Bethel was a blind man in several respects; he was blind to colour, race, tribe or nationality but would see humanity in every being hence the several calls he answered to serve in the cerebrally short but restive and eventful existence.

That is why his iconic exit was a loss to the global community he served without complaint.

Born April 25, 1964 to the family of late Chief Eugene Uzoma Amadi and late Mrs. Comfort Eberechukwu Amadi of Amii, Akabo in Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State. He was the fifth child of his parents who were Educationists, apparently where he got the desire to teach and serve without expecting rewards.

His childhood development and formation were influenced by the fact that his parents were teachers and devout Christians who instilled in their children, the importance of education, hard work and strong moral values as foundation for success.

Hon. Amadi excelled in primary and secondary schools and finished at the Federal Government College, Warri in 1981 in flying colours. He proceeded to University of Jos later the same year and gained a Bachelors Degree in Law with Honours from same University. He attended the Nigeria Law School Lagos and was called to Bar in October 1986.

After serving his fatherland in Benue State for the compulsory National Youth Service, Hon. Amadi worked for Christaben Nig. Ltd, .an Oil and Gas Services Company in Kaduna and for his unrivalled input and work ethic, was rapidly promoted to the position of Company Secretary. In November 1991, he became the Executive Director of Operations and Acting General Manager of Hunting Oil Field Services Nigeria Limited, a joint venture between Hunting Plc of the United Kingdom and Christaben Group.

In 1993, Hon Amadi established and became the Senior Partner of his Law Firm, Hallmans Legal Practitioners (formally Amadi, Eyo, Olagoke and Chiagozie). Two other companies, Petrofield Limited - an oil services company and Alfa Field Limited - a Pharmaceutical and Chemical Company were also founded by him.

Bethel was Co-Secretary of The Committee on Improving Foreign Investments of the Nigeria Economic Summit (NESII), 1995.

In 2000, he was appointed the Managing Consultant and Member of Board of Bendel Insurance Plc., Benin City, Edo State and in that capacity, he provided turnaround management with strategic and operational planning, implementation and general management.

He set up the Bethel Amadi Foundation in 2003, which saw many youths earning University degrees through scholarship and various skill acquisition programmes.

He was elected into the House of Representatives in 2003 to represent Mbaitoli/ Ikeduru Federal Constituency of Imo State, was re-elected in 2007 and again in 2011. He believed in interactive dialogue and was reputed for being a natural and persuasive communicator, created consensus among divergent groups. Creative, political savvy, and a man of novel ideas; he was noted for openness, integrity, dedication and commitment to excellence. He was elected by his colleagues as Caucus leader for Imo State, 2003-2007 and later appointed Secretary of the South East House Caucus from 2003 – 2007. He was also a member of the Central Planning Committee for the 2004 House of Representatives Retreat that provided strategic direction in capacity building to members.

Amadi served in very important Committees. He was the founder and co-coordinator of the Legislative Initiative for Education (LIFE), that reformed the Universal Basic Education Act, which was signed into law on 26th May 2004.

His leadership skills led to his appointed into several Committees including Chairperson of Sub-committee on NAPIMS (Upstream) of the Petroleum Resources Committee; Internal Affairs (Immigration Sub-committee), Inter- Parliamentary, Loans, Aids and Debt Management, Population and Co-operation and Integration in Africa. He was also a member of the House Committees on Finance, Foreign Affairs, Inter Parliamentary Relations, Industries, Special Duties and Public Service Matters and Federal

Amadi Character between 2008 and 2011.

As Chairman of the Imo Caucus, he led his colleagues to support the takeover of the Alvan Ikoku College of Education by the Federal Government of Nigeria and engineered the provision of nearly N1 billion in take-off grants and was instrumental in the transfer of the Imo section of the Onitsha – Owerri expressway construction to Julius Berger – a move that resulted in the rapid completion of the project.

He was Majority Chief Whip of the House till November 2007. His astute administrative prowess inspired his selection as the Chairman of the Important Aviation Committee between 2008 and 2011. He was also influential in Nigeria acquiring the FAA Category 1 Certification by leading the House Parliamentary delegation to the United States of America House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and their Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) in June 2009. In this capacity, Hon Amadi further initiated projects for the two major airports in the South East – Enugu and Owerri.. These projects were initiated and awarded during his tenure as Chair of the House Aviation Committee.

He chaired the House Committee on National Planning and Economic Development, a very critical committee to Nigeria’s bid of becoming one of the leading world economies by 2020. He was instrumental to formulation and preparation of long-term, medium-term and short-

term national development plans under the then President Goodluck.

On the international scene, he was Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association – Africa Region from 2009 - 2012. In May 2009, he was elected the First Vice President of the Pan African Parliament and in May 2012, was elected President of the Pan-African Parliament where he distinguished himself by setting the continental body on a path of ascendancy. Under him, the power to ensure protocols for proper exercise of powers were changed though awaiting ratification by member countries.

Hon. Amadi also championed the ratification and domestication of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance as part of his passion to consolidate democratic institutions and culture, good governance, transparency and the rule of law in Africa. This landmark legal instrument embodies the shared philosophy of entrenching a political culture that is premised on constitutional democracy on the African continent among other strides he achieved.

Like every mortal, he surrendered to the cold hands of death after being diagnosed of cancer.

Hon. Amadi is survived by his wife, Barr. Mrs Mabel Amadi (Nee Igbinedon), three children Chiamaka, Nnaemeka and Ebube and a grandchild Chisara.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ FEBRUARY 15, 2020

25

TRIBUTE

Nkanang: The Departure of an Inspirational Teacher Anietie John Ukpe

“T

he murky waters of politics?” This rhetorical question summed up Elder Gabriel Emmanuel Nkanang’s laconic response in 2013 to the information that there were plans for his son, Udom, to be appointed the Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Government. A few years earlier, he had undertaken the painful duty of the internment of his beloved wife and the void created by her departure was still palpable. Then came the concerning news that his son was about to take a dip in what he considered to be murky waters. Politics was not his forte, as a matter of fact he had grown to frown at it. Even more bothersome, his son stepping into politics meant stepping away from the comfort and security of his blue chip job as an Executive Director of Zenith Bank. A job which, by his estimation, did not pose as many challenges and vicissitudes as the one he was about to step into.

In retirement, God had blessed Nkanang with the fulfilling spectacle of watching his six children (four sons and two daughters) blossom like trees planted by the riverside. Even more pleasing to him was that they were flying the family banner of integrity and honor in their different careers and people spoke well of them.

A man who gave his life, spirit and heart to teaching and to serving God, Teacher Nkanang believed that God had justified the scripture that the children of the righteous cannot beg for bread in his family situation.

It was in consideration of this righteous heritage that he thought that stepping into the turbulent waters of politics was antithetical to the basic precepts and values of the family he had nurtured in righteousness as the patriarch.

Elder Nkanang, who passed on in December, 2019 at the ripe age of 90, need not have been worried. His son resolved his fears by explaining and promising him that he would maintain the family honour in his work as the Secretary to the State Government and in politics. He informed the septuagenarian that if the need were to arise, he would quit politics and return to his first love - banking. Udom Gabriel Emmanuel would go ahead to acquit himself creditably as the Secretary to the State Government and, thereafter, got elected the Governor of Akwa Ibom State. Elder Nkanang lived long enough to have his initial fears supplanted by pride in his son’s sterling performance as a governor.

What was his reaction when his son was elected governor in 2015? Ekerete Emmanuel, his fourth son and immediate younger brother of Udom, broke the news of Udom’s election to Elder Nkanang: “You are the proud father of the Governor of Akwa Ibom State!”

Nkanang did not betray the kind of excitement you would expect of a father receiving such great news. He smiled and said that he had brought up his children to be leaders and he was not too surprised. He said there was a leadership gene passed on to his children from his bosom noting that in his life he was always sought after to lead and he expected his children to lead and lead so well that God will be glorified and man would be satisfied.

Nkanang turned the last page of his storied life of service to mankind by asking to be dressed up in his best cloth at bedtime. He did not wake up the next morning - or to adjust that slightly, he woke up on the other side of eternity. It was a surprise that he did not opt for his usual pajamas that fateful night. It appears that he dressed up to breath his last and make it easier for his remains to be handled. Taken holistically, Nkanang was a man who paid great attention to detail in his life - and he appeared to have also paid great attention to detail in his death. “He would record the mileage of his motorcycle when leaving the house,” Gabriel, his first son, explained. So tucking himself into this best wear before embarking on an eternal journey to meet his Creator followed the pattern.

Nkanang was born on Monday, May 27, 1929, into a very pious Christian family. Six months after his birth, Nigeria suffered a national calamity when women in the eastern part of the country rose up in arms against the unfair Indirect Tax imposed by the British Colonial Administration. The uprising which is christened in history books as “the Aba Women Riot” claimed the lives of not less than 50 unarmed, hapless women. It actually occurred in the part of the world where Nkanang was born. As he woke up to his world, the rumbles of war shook the entire world as Hitler’s Germany began the preparation for another World War. When he was ten years old, the Second World War began in Europe and Nigeria joined the war on the side of the British Empire. But the strong Christian values of his family insulated him from the effects of war and crisis and he would remain a man of peace for the rest of his life. Not even the Nigerian Civil War which happened when he was in his 30’s could derail his peaceful disposition.

Nkanang A brilliant student, he was offered instant employment as an auxiliary teacher after his Standard Six Examination. He set his sights on more academic accomplishments and obtained the Royals Society of Arts certificate. He gained admission to the institution which later became the University of Ibadan but lost his father the same year. A man who placed family before all else he sacrificed the admission for his family and, as the first born, stepped into the role of a father.

Teaching was not just work for him, it was a calling.

He went out of his way to bring wayward children to his home and turn their lives around with prayers, instruction and counsel. “We used to have a lot of people in our house, it was more like a correctional centre. At a point we used to have about eight additional children in our house,” Gabriel, the first son, recalls.

The most dreaded school subject in those days was the almighty mathematics. But Nkanang had a way of teaching mathematics which simplified it and won it a lot of fans. “When my father teaches you mathematics, you cannot fail to like it,” Sylvia, his first daughter, enthuses. Others like Ekerete Udoh, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, and Aniefiok Udonquak, confirm how Teacher Nkanang’s approach to mathematics and his love for his pupils impacted on their lives. They described him as a quintessential teacher who was an inspiration to all his pupils. Udoh recalls how he used to insist that all pupils should come to the school assembly

every morning prepared to share at short notice. “It kept us on our toes and he even asked me to share once and though I almost pissed in my pants, I ended up doing a pretty good job,” Udoh says with a laugh.

Teacher Nkanang was also a missionary, who went about establishing churches and schools all over the country. Where it became imperative, he would sponsor and support the missions he had established. He had an obsession with bringing education to everyone.

Confronted with a geographical barrier at Nkan Ide and Ikot Idem Udo communities where a stream separated the two communities, he single-handedly constructed a make-shift bridge so that children would not have any reason not to go to school.

Teacher and Elder Nkanang who now belongs to folklores, fables and legends exchanged banters and pleasantries with everyone and went to bed with a smile. Like the American musician and songwriter, Jordan Smith, says, “When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you’re the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.” This sums up the life and time of Teacher Nkanang who left the world smiling and everyone crying and praying that God will send to this world more men like this great and inspirational teacher.

––(Pastor Ukpe is public affairs commentator based in Uyo.)

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ FEBRUARY 15, 2020

TRIBUTE

Life and Times of Victor Olaiya Ferdinand Ekechukwu

“M

ost of my contemporaries no longer exist. The chances of collaborating with them are cancelled.” Such earthly words from legendary musician, Sir Victor Abimbola Olaiya sometime in 2013, shortly after a remix of his song, Baby Jowo, with hip hop star 2Baba, signals the reality of humans as mere mortals as the highlife music maestro joined his contemporaries on Wednesday February 12, 2020, thus bookending a career that influenced many of today’s Nigerian sounds including the revered Afro beat.

He was 89 years of age. One of the best, and possibly the last from his generation, Olaiya a gifted trumpeter, rose to global fame in the 1950s and 1960s through his blend of gripping highlife sound. It is no exaggeration that many Nigerians still prefer listening to music tracks by legends like Victor Olaiya. Their tracks were enriched with educative lyrics and beats. Sir Victor Olaiya through his music had impacted many lives.

It was the former Managing Director of the Nigerian Daily Times, Alhaji Alade Odunewu, who gave him the nickname- ‘Evil Genius of Highlife’ and the name stuck ever since. His own evil genius was not in a negative sense like another evil genius in Nigerian politics, rather, he was an evil genius that attracts lovers of highlife from within and outside the country.

One of his evergreen numbers, Baakodaya, which he waxed in 1960 was used as the signature tune in announcing election results. A tribute to the late music maestro at his 80th birthday celebration recalls: “As expected then in the Southwest where the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) held sway, whenever Bakodaya was playing on the radio, everybody would rush to hear the result of the election, which would be predictably in favour of the UPN. Baakodaya became a sound track of announcing the failure of the NPN candidates at all levels during the 1979 general elections. The music goes thus, ‘Obo n bo Sokoto lona Baakodaya, Baba Iyabo Mama Iyabo nko, Baakodaya…”

While disclosing how he got the sobriquet, evil genius, the late octogenarian had in an earlier report said: “Highlife music is 10 per cent inspiration and 90 per cent perspiration. I am called evil genius because I make my fans sweat through dancing while enjoying my music.

To make a difference in the music, you need to sweat.”

Sourced materials revealed that Papingo Dalaya, as the Highlife maestro is called, was born on the 31st of December, 1930 in Calabar, Cross River State. The 20th child of a family of 24, his parents, Alfred Omolona Olaiya and Bathsheba Owolabi Motajo, came from Ijesha-Ishu in Ekiti State.

Olaiya came from a very rich family. His father’s house called Ilojos Bar stood on Bamgbose Street, Lagos Island, until it was demolished on September 11, 2016. At an early age, he learned to play the Bombardon and the French horn. After leaving school, he moved to Lagos, where he passed the school certificate examination in 1951 and was accepted by Howard University, US, to study civil engineering. Olaiya, instead, pursued a career as a musician, to the disapproval of his parents.

His musical style was influenced by James Brown, with horn parts harmonised in Brown’s style, as opposed to the mostly unison lines of Afrobeat. The music includes the swinging percussion of Tony Allen, but not the modified style that Allen later pioneered. Both Allen and vocalist Fela Kuti played with Olaiya and went on to achieve individual success.

Olaiya’s music was a bridge between Ghanaian highlife and what would become Afrobeat. According to the veteran broadcaster and music critic, Benson Idonije, “Olaiya was influenced by ET Mensah. He used to go to Ghana a lot to watch E.T. Mensah perform. At some point, both of them collaborated in a performance that held in Lagos tagged, Highlife Giants.” He later released an album with the Ghanaian highlife musician.

He played with the Sammy Akpabot Band, was leader and trumpeter for the Old Lagos City Orchestra and joined the Bobby Benson Jam Session Orchestra. In 1954, Olaiya formed his own band, the Cool Cats, playing popular highlife music. His band was chosen to play at the state ball when Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom visited Nigeria in 1956, and later to play at the state balls when Nigeria became independent in 1960 and when Nigeria became a republic in 1963. “I was in my highest spirit that glorious night when my band was set on the dais to thrill Nigerians, who in spite of the heavy downpour turned out in their thousands to witness the great occasion.”

That was how he captured the moment. Olaiya said: “Aside being elevated by the honour of being commissioned to perform at the Independence Day celebrations, I was in fact spurred by an overwhelming sense of patriotism and honour to thrill the large crowd that thronged the venue. We were given the rare opportunity and privilege of being introduced to the dignitaries like Princess Alexan-

Victor Olaiya

dria of Kent, Sir James Robertson, representing the Queen Elizabeth II of England and Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, (First Nigerian Prime Minister), among others.

“While my band was at the center stage, the Nigerian Police Force band led by Commissioner of Police, Mr. Benedict E. Odiase (rtd) and the Zeal Onyia led Nigerian National Band were at hand as supporting bands.”Olaiya renamed his band to the All Stars Band when they played the 1963 International Jazz Festival in Czechoslovakia.

On the latter occasion, Olaiya shared the stage with the American jazz musician Louis Armstrong. During the Nigerian Civil War of 1967–70, Olaiya was given the rank of a lieutenant colonel (honorary) in the Nigerian army and his band played for the troops at various locations.

The Cool Cats later travelled to the Congo to perform for United Nations troops. Olaiya also ran a business that imported and distributed musical instruments and accessories throughout West Africa, and established the Stadium Hotel in Surulere.

In 1990, Olaiya received a fellowship of the Institute of Administrative Management of Nigeria. For a period, he was also president of the Nigerian Union of Musicians. He retired from his long music career in 2017 and had some evergreen classics like Omopupa, Aigana, Pambotoriboto, Opataritius, Mo fe Muyan, Jemila, Kosowo l’ode, Odale Ore, So fun mi, Omolanke, Tina Mate, among so many others. And a long list of albums to name. His decision was hinged on failing health and doctor’s instruction to desist from performances.

Prior to making the decision, the highlife legend every week, staged a command performance at his Stadium Hotel, which is located on Iyun Street, Surulere, Lagos. His manager, Gbenga Adewusi, said: “Aside from attending

his gigs, he no longer comes to work regularly as a result of age-related health issues.” Olaiya had many wives, children and grandchildren. No one knows (at least the media) the number of children or wives Olaiye had in his lifetime. The late Nollywood actress, Moji Olaiya, was one of his children.

Many eminent Nigerians have reacted to his sad passing, with some touting his demise as the end of the Golden era of Highlife. The Mayegun of Yorubaland, Dr. Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, in a statement released by the media office, said: “Indeed, Sir Victor Olaiya’s death, though at the advanced age of 89, is a profound loss to the Yoruba race and global music industry; we are nonetheless comforted by the fact that he used his talent to bless humanity in general.”

Bimbo Esho, managing director of Evergreen Music Company, the legend’s record label, who first broke the news in a Facebook post, wrote: “We pray that the Doyen of highlife music find repose with the creator while wishing the family and entire music community the fortitude to bear this irreplaceable loss.

And to my namesake Abimbola Olaiya, I will miss your contribution to highlife music”.

Music star Innocent Idibia @official2Baba tweeted “Devastated by the news of the passing of Dr. Victor Olaiya - maestro, mentor, legend. Thanks for the beautiful music. Thanks for the inspiration. Blessed for the honour of sharing a mic and stage with you. Rest in peace baba.”

Former vice president Atiku Abubakar @atiku tweeted: “My condolences to the family of Nigeria’s highlife legend, Sir Victor Olaiya, OON. His artful delivery on the trumpet and his hits from the 50s, are moments we’d never forget.

Most recently, the duet with @official2baba, was a musical bridge to travel. May his soul Rest In Peace.”

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ FEBRUARY 15, 2020

POLITY

Dapo Abiodun: Walking the Talk Femi Ogbonnikan writes on the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ogun State Government and Organized Labour over the willingness of the government to pay N30,500 as new minimum wage

T

he Ogun State Government has joined the states that have agreed to pay the mandatory minimum wage as demanded by the Organized Labour. The administration of Prince Dapo Abiodun has even gone a step further. It surpassed the minimum N30,000 wage by N500.

With this, the state government has agreed to pay its workforce N30,500 a month as minimum wage.

This is cheerful news, being a rare feat that is unprecedented in the annals of the state by any government. It is a clear affirmation that the present administration, led by Prince Abiodun places premium on improving the living conditions of its workforce.

Wednesday, February 5, 2020, was the day of reckoning when the Organized Labour and the Ogun State government jointly reached a consensus for the payment of the new minimum wage, with effect from January 1, 2020.

In a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the representatives of the Organized Labour, comprising the Joint Negotiating Council (JNC), Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), and the Head of Service (HoS), Mrs Mope Chokor, who led the state government delegation, all the parties agreed on the Consequential Adjustment of 27 per cent for Grade Levels 07 and 08 (20%), Grade Level 09 (19%), Grade Levels 10 to 14 (15%) and Grade Levels 15 to 17 (14%).

The HoS expressed appreciation to the Organized Labour for their support and understanding during the lengthy periods of negotiations. She commended the governor for the good gesture and exemplary leadership in improving the lots of the state workforce, a savoury development, which, according to her, would spur on the workers to be more

productive and efficient in the discharge of their statutory duties.

She said: “We thank God for the past eight weeks. And finally, we have agreed with the Labour. We thank Governor Dapo Abiodun (MFR), for approving N30,500 minimum wage for workers.

“We believe that this kind gesture will make our workers to be more productive and efficient. And it will translate to more effective service delivery in the state.”

Speaking on behalf of the Organized Labour, the state chairman of the JNC, Comrade Olanrewaju Folorunsho, commended the state governor for taking the bold step in approving the new minimum wage. At the same time, he appreciated the workers’ patience during the negotiations and charged them to reciprocate the kind gesture by working hard and showing commitment, dedication and selflessness in the delivery of qualitative service to the citizens of Ogun State.

Also, the state chairman of NLC, Comrade Emmanuel Bankole, underscored the importance of the successful negotiations that brought about the agreement that was signed in the overall interests of the workers of the state, after they had considered its affordability and sustainability.

“And this agreement would be a morale booster for the workers in general”, said Bankole.

While lending credence to his avowed commitment to the “social contract” he entered with the state workers in his maiden address, shortly after he assumed the leadership seat on May 29, 2019, Governor Abiodun hasn’t reneged on the promise to live up to expectations.

“Whether FAAC or JAAC, our administration is committed to ensuring the regular

Abiodun payment of wages as and when due before the last working day of the month”, averred Abiodun.

Thus, he has been thinking out of the box, devoid of political vendetta or primordial sentiment, at ensuring that the conditions of the workers are germane for good governance.

Reminiscent of his inauguration address as the fifth democratically elected governor of Ogun state, Abiodun assured and promised to prioritise the welfare of the civil servants in the state, rather than compound their problems and deny them of their rights.

“Our administration would provide ‘people-centred’ governance that identifies with their yearnings and, not the one that glorifies the welfare of cronies and family members”, declared Mr Governor.

Also, Abiodun reinforced his commitment to the workers’ welfare at a recent send-forth

ceremony organised in honour of the immediate past Head of Service, Mr. Lanre Bisiriyu and 13 other Permanent Secretaries that were retired from the civil service.

According to the governor, the present administration would continue to take action that guarantees industrial harmony between the government and labour.

He said: “Our administration will continue to take the welfare of the civil servants as priority to guarantee industrial harmony. We shall continue prompt payment of salaries, leave bonuses and other allowances. And we shall not forget to pay our senior citizens their pensions and gratuities.

“I am happy that the outgoing HoS mentioned that Ogun State civil servants work with utmost professionalism as longstanding legacies of the former Heads of Service, like Pa Simeon Adebo, Pa AK Degun, Mr Sola Adeyemi and a host of others.

“We implore the state civil servants to sustain the utmost professionalism in its day-to-day activities.

To whom much is given, much is expected, the individual as a potential supplier of labour is a utility maximizer. Like the government job, what the individual wants to optimize is the returns or outputs he or she gets as a result of investing his or her time in work activities. The individual’s inputs are time and efforts and his or her outputs provide the means or access to baskets of desired outcomes.”

Among the 36 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Abiodun-led APC administration in Ogun State ranks among the few that have taken the welfare of its workers paramount.

It has also instilled prudence, financial accountability and discipline in the management of the meagre resources at its disposal in order to provide good governance to all and sundry in the state.

––Ogbonnikan, is Media Aide to the Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, MFR.

PHOTO NEWS

L-R: Head, Marketing and Communications, Polo Ltd, Esosa Osagiede; Regional Director Swarovski Africa, John Burns; Executive Director, Polo Limited; Jennifer Obayuwana; and Head, Business Development and Retail Operations, Polo Limited, Olamoniso Nduka , at the opening of the Swarovski Ikeja City Mall store in Lagos... recently SUNDAY ADIGUN

L-R: Managing Director, Maxima Media Group, Oluwafemi Ogundoro; Category Development and Activation Manager, PZ Wilmar Foods Limited, Toyin Popoola-Dania; Winner, King of Street Foodz Naija, Kayode Christopher Omowa; Celebrity Judge, Adedamola Ladejobi (a.k.a Askdamz); and Celebrity Judge, Chef Ette, at the King of Street Foodz Naija Finale held in Lagos... recently SUNDAY ADIGUN

L-R: Managing Director (Africa), Tolaram Group-promoters of the project, Mr. Haresh Aswani and ChairL-R: Father of the winner, Mr. Shola Aje; InterswitchSPAK 2.0 Winner, Oyindamola Aje; and Group Managing man, Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise Limited (LPLEL), Mr. Biodun Dabiri, at the presentation of the ‘African Director/Founder, Interswitch Group, Mitchell Elegbe, at the presentation of cheque to the winner of Inter- Infrastructure Deal of the Year 2019’ to Lekki Deep Sea Port at the 17th Project Finance International Awards Dinner held recently at the London Hilton, Park Lane...recently switchSPAK 2.0 Education Scholarship held in Lagos... recently

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ FEBRUARY 15, 2020

POLITY

L-R: NMA Chairman, Abuja representing the National President, Dr. Uche Ekpe; Medical Director, Obisus Medical Services, Ejiro Kragha-Ogomigo; CEO, Cerba Lancet Africa, Stephane Carre; Managing Director, NNPC Medical Services, Dr. Shaibu Musa; MD/CEO, Clina Lancet Nigeria, Dr. Olayemi Dawodu; Ambassador of France to Nigeria, Jérôme Pasquier; Senior Health Policy Advisor, Federal Ministry of Health, Adaeze Oreh; DG Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, Dr. Babatunde Irukera; Deputy Senior Executive Officer, Cerba Lancet Africa, Jerome Thill and General Manager and COO, Cerba Lancet Africa, Matthieu Gogue, at the launch of a new branch of Clina Lancet in Abuja...recently

How Clina Lancet Lab is Reducing Medical Tourism Deficit With medical tourism costing Nigerians at least $1 billion every year, the launch of a new branch of Clina Lancet in Abuja is a game-changer, writes Sunday Ehigiator

E

very year, Nigeria loses a whooping sum of $1 billion to medical tourism as hundreds of Nigerians troop abroad in search of medical and diagnostic treatments. Despite various promises by past and present administrations at local, state and federal levels to provide reliable and effective health systems regarding medical and diagnostic treatments, the hordes of Nigerian nationals leaving Africa’s most populous nation to seek health care delivery remain.

The last protracted visit of Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari to the United Kingdom for medical and diagnostic treatment still looms large in the mind.

His repeated visits to his favourite hospital in London are a testament that all is not well with the country’s health system. Some 20 years ago, Nigeria along with a couple of other African nations at a parley agreed to a pledge: that at least 15 percent of their annual budget would be dedicated to health care.

That has yet to materialise. It is little wonder that each year, from India to USA; from Britain to Germany; From South Africa to China, Nigerians have continued to place their hopes in foreign nations to stay healthy and keep living. The World Health Organisation (WHO), ranked Nigeria as 187 out of 190 in the health index. All that is changing gradually as Clina Lancet Laboratories was opened recently.

To put the emergence of Clina Lancet in Nigeria’s health care ecosystem in context, an anecdote will suffice.

At a restaurant, six medical doctors were discussing a man limping across a road. One of the doctors said: “From the way the man is walking, he should be suffering from left knee arthritis.”

But another objected: “No. No. It must be plantar facitis.”

The debate spread as a third doctor noted: “From what I could discern, the man has suffered an ankle sprain.”

Yet another doctor in the group stated: “My colleagues, just look at the way the man is walking: it’s obvious he can’t lift his knee. Apparently, he has lower motor neuron lesion.”

The fifth one stated: “I will conclude that the man is grappling with hemiplegia scissors gait.”

While the sixth doctor was about to give his medi-

cal verdict, the subject of their clinical calculations walked in, asking the restaurant attendants: “Please, is there a cobbler around that can repair the sandals I’m wearing?”

The history of medical misdiagnosis is long and unending in Nigeria, filled with the graves of prominent and obscure Nigerians.

However, with the grand opening of the new and modern diagnostic facility of Clina-Lancet Laboratories (a member of the Cerba-Lancet Africa Joint Venture) on December 10, 2019 in Abuja, many a Nigerian doctor does not need to depend on mental or historical calculations to diagnose.

Cerba healthcare has decided to invest substantially by building a local network of clinical pathology laboratories on the African continent. To illustrate its commitment and readiness, the group of laboratories which cut across Nigeria is ISO certified to ISO 15189 standards in recognition of process and procedures at par with global standards. The attestation to the value this expansion adds to the healthcare space is validated by its international accreditation by SANAS 15189: 2012.

Clina Lancet Laboratories, an ultramodern technologically- advanced and independent pathology laboratory in Lagos, unveiled its world-class facility in Abuja at 1, Yedseram Crescent (Opposite Farmers Market) Maitama to provide laboratory services of international standards with 100% accurate and reliable test results at all times. Maitama is strategically positioned to serve healthcare, corporate and environmental service delivery in the FCT and the public.

Besides Abuja and Lagos, Clina Lancet Laboratories have branches in Port Harcourt and Warri. As a longstanding group of laboratories, the leading medical diagnostics firm in Nigeria is focused on clinical pathology and providing over 4,000 test offerings covering haematology, chemical pathology, endocrinology, histology, molecular biology, cytogenetic, microbiology among others. Its goal is to provide medical laboratory, consultative and referral services with the most extensive range of tests available.

Not a few agreed that with the diagnostics firm’s spread across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones, medical tourism, brain drain and depletion of foreign exchange will be reduced.

Speaking at the launch of the firm’s ultramodern

centre in Abuja, the MD/CEO of Clina-Lancet Laboratories, Dr. Olayemi Dawodu, pointed out that the strategic role the new outlet plays in the company’s commitment to provide its quota in the delivery of universal health coverage by rendering quality worldclass diagnostic services in Nigeria.

A similar view was shared at the launch by the CEO of Cerba Lancet Africa, Stephane Carre.

The DCEO of Cerba Healthcare, Jerome Thill, expressed the belief that as Cerba Healthcare continues to build on its past experience and partnership with experts to expand clinical pathology in Africa and deploy a quality service to the medical community, Nigerians and other resident in the country will be the better for it.

Dawodu explained further: “Clina Lancet Laboratories is committed to providing its quota to the delivery of universal health coverage by rendering quality world-class diagnostic services to Nigerians.

Our decision to open a new branch here in Abuja is in line with our vision and commitment to provide international standard services. As an organization, we are looking forward to serving the good people of Abuja.”

Carre was full of praise for the invited guests who graced the occasion saying, “We thank all dignitaries and guests for taking out time to be present at this unveiling. We are also making plans to put in place grassroots quality healthcare not only in FCT but across the nation.”

The grand opening of the new branch was graced by leaders from the healthcare sector, members of the public and private sectors, diplomatic community and other stakeholders.

They included representative of the Nigeria Medical Association’s President, Prof. Francis Adedayo Faduyile; Dr. Phillip Ekpe; Chairman NMA FCT, Abuja, the Ambassador of France to Nigeria, Mr. Jerome Pasquir; MD of the NNPC Clinic, Dr. Musa Shaibu; Dr. Adaeze Oreh, FMOH; Dr. Babatunde Irukera, Executive Director Competition and Consumer Protection Council; and Dr. Olumide Okunlola, Senior Medical Adviser, IFC/World Bank.

Others were Dr. Banji Filani, Technical Adviser Basic Healthcare Coverage Fund; Vivian Ihekweazu of Nigeria Health Watch; and medical directors of several public and private health institutions.

3

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ APRIL 24, 2011

GLOBAL SOCCER A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

15.2.2020

NEWS

A TEST TO INVISIBLE DREAM PAGE. 29

Leon Balogun Unimpressive Start to a Career Revival

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾FEBRUARY 15, 2020

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GLOBAL SOCCER

Leon Balogun Unimpressive Start to a Career Revival After an unpalatable experience at Brighton, where he spent the better part of his time warming the bench and also lost his place in the national team as the number one choice central defender, Leon Balogun’s move to Wigan Athletic to revive his career did not start on a good note as wished. He was an unused substitute in what was supposed to be his first game, and last Tuesday, he was a substitute in Latics’ 2-2 home draw with Middlesborough

L

Leon Balogun had endured a torrid time warning the bench of Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion, before joining Wigan Athletics on loan till the rest of the season back in January with the hope of beginning a new chapter in his career, but all seems not to be going as planned as the former

Mainz 05 defender is not enjoying a good start at the Latics.

Speaking before the home doubleheader against Preston North End and Middlesbrough off the back of consecutive victories, the player told Latics TV that he is happy to join the club and can’t wait to start working with his new teammates.

“Now it’s on us to take on this chal-

lenge. I’m happy to come in and play my part in mastering this challenge together. Joining up with the lads was perfect timing, it was really good to start the week like that,” he said.

“The season hasn’t gone as the club wanted so far, but from what I have seen from the footage I watched when I was trying to gather some information about the club, I like

what I see.

“Now it’s on us to take on this challenge. The win on Saturday was massive and it’s another step in the right direction. I’m happy to come in and play my part in mastering this challenge together.”

Balogun failed to make his muchawaited Championship debut for Wigan in last Saturday’s 2-1 home

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ FEBRUARY 15, 2020

GLOBAL SOCCER

Galo

defeat to Preston North End, in spite, that the defender was among the seven listed substitutes by manager Paul Cook, he watched proceedings from the bench as his team suffered a setback in their battle against relegation.

In Tuesday’s encounter against Middleborough, Balogun was introduced as a second half replacement in the 65th minute and would only be hoping for his second appearance when his team face Cardiff City in Wales.

Having struggled for playing time in the top flight at Brighton and Hove Albion, the 31-year-old was shipped out to the DW Stadium in his bid to reignite his career.

Balogun’s lack of action has cost him his place in the national team, with Semi Ajayi now preferred as the ideal partner for William TroostEkong. He has not played for Nigeria since 2019 African Cup of Nations in Egypt because of his lack of playing time with Brighton.

Nigerian midfielder John Ogu has congratulated his national teammate on his move to Wigan, saying he is happy Balogun has put an end to his torrid time at the Amex and wishes him all the best in his new adventure.

“Congrats to you my guy @LeonBalogun I’m genuinely happy for you on this Move. All the best bro” he tweeted.

Balogun is the third Nigerian to join the Latics after Victor Moses and Julius Aghahowa.

When Balogun had his first Premier League berth for Brighton in the 3-2

win against Manchester United, the Nigerian international felt his dream had finally come true, but more than mid-way into his first season at the Amex he failed to establish himself as the preferred central defender of the Seagulls.

Indeed, when he moved to Brighton in the summer of 2018, after nine years of playing in the German League, he admitted it would not be a walk in the park donning the colours of the Seagulls as he has to fight for a shirt with the two central defenders already in the club fold- Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy. However, his opportunity came earlier than he expected as he came in as a substitute in just two weeks into his Premier League career against Manchester United.

The then Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton was indeed delighted with Balogun’s debut performance and he was impressive as Brighton recorded their first, win of the campaign.

“In Balogun, you have someone you know won’t be phased. He’s played at a very good level and played in the World Cup this summer,” Hughton said.

Balogun’s central defence partner, Shane Duffy said he was delighted with Balogun, saying, “He’s fitted straight in. He’s a big character in the changing room. He’s got a big voice.

He’s played with big players in big games. That’s why you bring in players like that. They push us. He was great. That’s another plus for us, that strength in depth with top players.

You pick up injuries and suspensions so you need these kinds of players to step in.”

However, after a season and a half, the Super Eagle player remained just a fringe player in the team he didn’t make the sort of impact envisaged at Brighton.

Despite an incredible career that has spanned over a decade, Balogun would have still felt like a little boy when he heard of Brighton’s interest in the summer of 2018. England is favourite destination for African football tourists, especially Nigerians.

For Balogun, it was a first-hand experience. The Bundesliga was all he knew.

Born in Berlin to a Nigerian dad, the 31-year-old took his first footballing lessons at hometown club, Türkiyemspor Berlin. He then practiced his craft at five other Deutschland sides, including Werder Bremen.

The Premier League is different.

There’s more cash, quality players, odds and managers as well as better coverage. Balogun didn’t want to be left. He had no qualms moving abroad, but that decision is already hurting the Nigerian.

Balogun was third choice in Hughton’s centre-back hierarchy behind Duffy and Dunk.

“My job is to be ready, there is no question about it, and the club knows what I can do. I feel a certain trust even when I’m not starting which makes it easy for me to fit into what s Dunk or Duffy have been doing. It’s never easy and you always want to play, but at the same time, you have

to be professional about it. You have to be ready for situations and moments and I think I was ready every time I came on - that is important,” he said.

Balogun has an imposing physical presence, standing at 6ft 3. He is fearless in tackles and brave in the air. He provides additional threats during set-pieces and could occasionally provide that odd goal to win games.

However, Balogun isn’t gifted in terms of pace.

It however remains to be seen if Balogun will revive his career with Wigan as the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier games just around the corner.

G LO B A L S O C C E R ASSISTANT EDITOR KUNLE ADEWALE THISDAY ON SATURDAY EDITOR YEMI ADEBOWALE DEPUTY EDITOR CHIKA AMANZE-NWACHUKWU THISDAY NEWSPAPERS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ FEBRUARY 15 2020

GLOBAL SOCCER

Norwich Test Liverpool’s Invisible Dream That Liverpool are just few distance away from winning their first Premier League title in 30 years is no longer in doubt after establishing a 22-point lead against defending champions, Manchester City. Ending the league unbeaten would be an icing in the cake, but against a Norwich side that still have a fighting chance of surviving relegation; the Reds are in for a tricky test Bottom faces top in the Premier League today when Norwich City host Liverpool at Carrow Road as both sides return to top-flight action following the mid-season break.

An enormous chasm of 55 points separates the two sides in the standings, with Liverpool looking certain to end their 30-year wait for a title while Norwich would need a great escape to avoid an immediate return to the Championship.

It was against Norwich that Liverpool’s remarkable season began back in August, when their 4-1 triumph at Anfield gave an early glimpse of what we could expect from both sides in 2019-20.

Many expected Norwich to fare a little better than they have considering the number of problems they caused Jurgen Klopp’s side despite the heavy defeat, but no-one could have predicted just how dominant the Reds would go on to be, even when they were four goals ahead at half time.

24 games later and Liverpool boast

a 22-point lead over champions Manchester City - already the biggest lead in Premier League history and one which they have the chance to extend to 25 courtesy of Man City’s postponed game against West Ham United last weekend.

No team in the history of Europe’s top five leagues can match Liverpool’s record so far this term, with Klopp’s side reaching the winter break having won 24 of their 25 league games, dropping only two points from a possible 75.

Indeed, the remarkable record stretches further back than the last time these two teams met in August, with Liverpool picking up 100 of the last 102 points on offer in the Premier League in a run which now stretches back almost an entire year.

A plethora of records have already been shattered and many more look destined to follow in a campaign the like of which has never been seen before and may never be seen again, but central to the relentlessness of their form is Klopp’s insistence to

take every game as it comes.

Such a zero-tolerance approach to complacency may be tested in a week which sees a much more alluring Champions League tie with Atletico Madrid follow this trip to the Premier League’s basement club, although even when chalking up win after win there have been enough scares to keep Liverpool on their toes.

A 4-0 win over Southampton in the last league game was nowhere near as straightforward as the result suggests, and it remains to be seen whether the Premier League’s first ever winter break could have an impact on the winning momentum Liverpool have enjoyed almost unimpeded since the start of the season.

Visiting the league’s bottom side is a kind way to get back into the groove, though, and should Liverpool avoid a slip-up at Carrow Road then it would be their 43rd successive top-flight game without defeat to move clear of Nottingham Forest’s 1978 team and haul the Arsenal

Invincibles that bit closer.

Another landmark within reach is the top-flight record for consecutive wins; victory today would see Liverpool equal their own mark of 17 which came to an end at Old Trafford earlier this season and leave them just one short of Man City’s record of 18.

An away win looks to be by far the most likely result in this match, and Daniel Farke’s admission that his side would need a minor miracle to avoid relegation could also be applied to their chances of toppling Liverpool.

The Canaries are seven points adrift of safety with 13 games of the campaign remaining, while their league-worst goal difference makes the gap even more difficult to make up.

Norwich have conceded the jointmost goals in the league this season while only Crystal Palace have scored fewer, which is a worrying record when facing a team with the second-best attack and by far the best

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER FEBRUARY 15, 2020

33

GLOBAL SOCCER Premiership Table Liverpool Man City Leicester Chelsea Sheff Utd Tottenham Everton Man Utd Wolves Arsenal Burnley Newcastle Southampton Crystal Palace Brighton Bournemouth Aston Villa

25 25 25 25 2 25 26 25 25 25 25 25 25 26 26 26 25

45 36 28 9 64 8 -4 7 3 -2 -10 -12 -15 -9 -7 -14 -15

73 51 49 41 39 37 36 35 35 31 31 31 31 30 27 26 25

PREMIER LEAGUE TODAY

Southampton v Burnley Norwich v Liverpool

12:30 17:30

SUNDAY

Aston Villa Arsenal Monday Chelsea

v Tottenham v Newcastle

14:00 16:30

v Man Utd

20:00

v v v v

Alavés Getafe Levante Valladolid

12:00 15:00 17:30 20:00

v Espanyol v Real Betis v Sociedad v Osasuna v Celta Vigo

11:00 13:00 15:00 17:30 20:00

v SPAL v Genoa v Roma

14:00 17:00 19:45

La Liga TODAY

Mallorca Barcelona Villarreal Granada SUNDAY

Sevilla Leganés Eibar Bilbao Madrid

Serie A TODAY

Lecce Bologna Atalanta SUNDAY

Udinese Juventus Sampdoria Sassuolo Cagliari Lazio

v Hellas Verona v Brescia v Fiorentina v Parma v Napoli v Inter

11:30 14:00 14:00 14:00 17:00 19:45

v Torino

19:45

MONDAY

AC Milan

Hot Shot PLAYERS

defensive record.

Farke’s side have won just one of their last 12 league games too, although there is perhaps some cause for optimism within that run considering many of their best performances have come when they have been the biggest underdogs.

Since the beginning of December Norwich have taken points off Arsenal, Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur, and they will need to muster those levels of performance again in a run which sees Wolverhampton Wanderers, Leicester and Sheffield United next up after Liverpool.

Indeed, six of their next seven league games come against teams currently in the top half, while trips to Chelsea and Manchester City also loom in the final three weeks of the season, so there will need to be more than one upset along the way if they are to haul themselves away from relegation.

The Canaries will certainly need to improve their home form considering that Southampton are the only team

to have picked up fewer points in front of their own fans this term, and they made a good start to that with victory over Bournemouth in their last outing at Carrow Road.

The 1-0 triumph not only secured a first home league win since their unforgettable triumph over Man City in September, it also saw them keep a clean sheet at home in the top flight for the first time since March 2016 - a run which stretched back 16 games.

Liverpool are an entirely different proposition, though, with Klopp’s side have scored in every game so far this season and conceded just one goal at the other end in their last 10 matches.

Sadio Mane is now back in training for Liverpool after missing the last two league games before the winter break with a minor hamstring tear.

The Senegal winger is available, although there is the possibility that Klopp could hold him and one or two others back with one eye on the

Champions League trip to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.

The break lessens the need for such rests, but the possibility of rotation is also likely to be boosted by James Milner’s recovery from an injury of his own, although Xherdan Shaqiri remains sidelined.

Perhaps the biggest decision for Klopp will be where to play Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has scored in Liverpool’s last two games but has seen competition for places in midfield intensify with the return to fitness of Fabinho and the fine form of Jordan Henderson.

Norwich, meanwhile, are able to welcome Ben Godfrey back from suspension after the defender completed his three-game ban.

Emiliano Buendia is expected to return to the starting lineup after being named on the bench for the goalless draw with Newcastle United before the mid-season break, while top-scorer Teemu Pukki, who scored in the reverse fixture, will lead the line.

Jamie Vardy Sergio Agüero Mohamed Salah Marcus Rashford Danny Ings Emerick Aubameyang Tammy Abraham Sadio Mané Raul Jimenez Teemu Pukki Harry Kane Dominic Calvert-Lewin Raheem Sterling Chris Wood Gabriel Jesus Richarlison Firmino Anthony Martial Kevin De Brune Riyad Mahrez Son Heung-Min Jack Grealish Ayoze Perez Dele Alli Neal Maupay Harry Wilson James Maddison Todd Cantwell Sebastien Haller Ashley Barnes

CLUB

GOALS

Leicester `17 Man City 16 Liverpool 14 Man Utd 14 Southampton 14 Arsenal 14 Chelsea 13 Liverpool 11 Wolves 11 Norwich 11 Tottenham 11 Everton 11 Man City 11 Burnley 10 Man City 9 Everton 9 Liverpool 8 Man Utd 8 Man City 7 Man City 7 Tottenham 7 Aston Villa 7 Leicester 7 Tottenham 7 Brighton 7 Bournemouth 7 Leicester 6 Norwich 6 West Ham 6 Burnley 6

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾FEBRUARY 15, 2020

GLOBAL SOCCER

L-R; Winner Women’s Double, Patricia Sulaiman;Men’s Double Runners-up, Olusegun Abijo; Abimbola Okubena;Managing Director/CEO, ARM Pensions, Wale Odutola;Winners Men’s Double, Olukayode Awokoya; Olusegun Dada; and Winner Women’s Double, Clara Falase, at the ARM Pensions doubles Tennis Championship 2020 in Lagos recently ETOP UKUTT

Leslie Oghomienor , chairman , Blaugrana Sports Group discussing with Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Ayeni, Administrator , St. Gregory College, Obalende, Lagos, during the visit.

WBC Heavyweight Title: Joshua Backs Fury to Beat Wilder Anthony Joshua has backed Tyson Fury to defeat Deontay Wilder, insisting his fellow Brit can “hurt or out-box” the American.

Fury will challenge Wilder for the WBC heavyweight championship on February 22 in Las Vegas, before Joshua is expected to defend the IBF, WBA and WBO titles against Kubrat Pulev with the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as the likeliest venue.

Asked about his rivals’ rematch, Joshua exclusively told Sky Sports: “Wilder coming through is better because a fight with me]is what people have been eagerly anticipating.

“But I think Fury can win. For Wilder to win he has to knock Fury completely out, and he couldn’t do that the first time.

“For Fury to win, he can hurt Wilder or out-box him. Fury has more to his arsenal so that’s why I’m leaning to him. “Fury can punch a bit. He’s underestimated with his punching power which makes him dangerous. If

you underestimate someone it makes them dangerous because you don’t respect them until you get hit.

“Fury is a really good boxer, to a certain degree, so he has the upper hand. Wilder isn’t the best of boxers but he has a right hand - if you can avoid that, you have the beating of him.

“Good luck to Fury - it would be great to have two heavyweight champions here in England.”

Joshua insisted he still wants to crown an undisputed champion in 2020: “I’m still clawing after the last belt that’s out there. I know I’ll get my hands on it eventually.”

He said about becoming a two-time champion: “I don’t want to do what Andy Ruiz Jr did, and lose it straight away. I want to hold it for a number of years. “Trust me, a different beast has been awoken.”

Joshua had previously claimed he could make a “curveball offer” to fight the winner of Wilder and Fury’s rematch, tempting them away from

a third fight with each other.

Promoter Eddie Hearn told Sky Sports on Wednesday a deal would be easier to make with Fury than with Wilder. “Wilder said he has no interest in Joshua, and Joshua is irrelevant. That is baffling,” Hearn said.

“That’s why I want Fury to win because I know he’s up for it! One phone call with me, Fury’s US-based promoter, Bob Arum and Fury’s management MTK. “AJ wants to fight Fury, Fury wants to fightAJ. It’s a two-minute callwithMTKandBobArum,donedeal.

“But I’m not sure who will win. The comments worry me that we’re in the same position.

“Thewinnerofthatfightwillbeunder so much pressure to fight Joshua that, this time, it will be unavoidable.

“The curveball is in terms of; those guys are preparing for their third fight and we have an opportunity in place that we can present to the winner to move them away from a third fight,” Hearn explained.

French Open’ll be Federer’s Only Clay Court Appearance in 2020 Roger Federer will play the French Open as his only clay-court tournament this season, says his agent Tony Godsick.

The Swiss skipped the entire clay court season in 2017 and 2018 and last year played only two tournaments on the surface before arriving in Paris for the French Open.

There was speculation that Federer would include the Madrid and Rome Masters in his truncated schedule for 2020 but his agent said that was not the case.

“As his schedule states, he plans on playing just Roland Garros,” said Godsick.

The 38-year-old has been cutting down on the number of tournaments he plays over the last few years in a bid to prolong his career.

Federer, who has won the French Open only once, in 2009, will arrive well rested for this year’s campaign at Roland Garros, which begins on May 24.

He has reached a total of five French Open finals, losing to Rafael Nadal four times and defeating Robin

Soderling in 2009, who had handed the Spaniard his first defeat since his debut in 2005.

W h i l e F e d e re r h a s g o n e seven straight Grand Slams without adding to his collection, the Swiss said in Melbourne he still thinks h e c a n w i n m o re . “ Ye s , I d o b e l i e v e t h a t , ” s a i d F e d e re r.

“I think by having the year t h a t I h a d l a s t y e ar, also with what I have in my game, how I’m playing, I do feel that, yeah.”

Halogen Security Hails World No.1 Wrestling Star, Odunayo The management of Halogen Group has commended Nigeria’s wrestling Amazon, Odunayo Adekuoroye, on her ranking as World No. 1 female wrestler in the 57kg category. Her latest world ranking is coming from winning her sixth gold medal with a 10-0 lead against Eman Ebrahim of Egypt at the final of the just concluded 2020African Championship inAlgeria.

Adekuoroye who was adopted by Halogen Group ahead 2020 Olympic Games in support of the federal government ‘Adopt an Athlete’ defeated her three opponents, culminating in a 10-0 technical superiority victory

against Egyptian No. 12 in the 59kg class, Eman Ebrahim in the final. The African Championship gold medal victory gave her 18pts, shooting her to the top of the world rankings at 57kg with 61 points. This is one point higher than the former No. 1, Kawai Risako of Japan who reigned until recently with 60pts.

In a statement issued by Halogen Group, the Group Managing Director, Mr. Wale Olaoye said, “We are proud of Odunayo’s impressive exploits. Her consistent wins are similar to Halogen Group’sgrandphilosophyofprofessionalism, integrity, passion, and excellence.

She has consistently displayed tenacity, zeal for possibilities in enterprise and eyes on the goal. Those are pristine qualities of aHalogenAmbassadoranywhereyousee them. Halogen Family is not only proud to celebrate with Adekuoroye Odunayo and Nigerians globally as she emerges World No. 1 female wrestler, but also confident that our adopted athlete will shine bright at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in July.”

Halogen Group has reiterated its commitment to be part of writing a new Nigerian story by identifying projects that drive excellence, passion for enterprise and integrity.

Alumni Bodies Catalyst for Sustainable Sports Development Globally, research has shown that the genuine and selfless involvement of educational institutions’ alumni bodies in furtherance of the individual institution’s vision and mission advancement is not only a pride to an alumnus, but a great catalyst for sports development.

Today, sport has been the major bedrock of effective youth engagement, development, and where possible empowerment.

Therefore, to drum support for this novel ideal, Leslie Oghomienor, Chairman Blaugrana Sports Group International, on hearing that the Sports Committee, Alumni Association, Saints Gregory’s College, Obalende, Lagos, a school in the past that was in the very forefront of shinning very brightly in both local and international academic sports competition, during the week, decided to visit the institution and see areas where his organisation can be of help in the facilitation that will ginger the restoration of the school’s leadership in sports.

Speaking with the media, after the meeting with the Administrator, St. Gregory College, Obalende, Lagos, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Ayeni, said it is a very welcome development. A very well refined lubricant in the wheels of the re-invention of the institution’s past glory.

He stressed that, the inculcation of high moral values and good character formation, which he agrees, are genuine parts of raising legendary sportsmen and women, as well as respectable and selfless leaders must not be watered down for any reason, if we are aspiring to see the much-desired change. Every citizen, including the children, youths, must be interested, take responsibility and work hard persistently in the direction of reaching our individual goals and objectives which collectively brings about the much anticipated tremendous change.

“As very valuable stakeholders in these areas - education and sports, our vision is to see our children do greater exploits than us, becoming not only great leaders, but dependable and reliable in their pursuits, for the good and wellbeing of the larger human race,” he said Oghomienor collaborating Ayeni’s views, said, that, a lot eminent and great stars have emerged who have done their institutions and the nation very proud locally and internationally. Even beyond the sports arenas are products from well-organised competitive sports programmes of the old days. A phenomenon he strongly believes if reignited will make an impactful great difference in the overall development and raising of patriotic and selfless young leaders and respectable sports legends that we will all be proud of as a nation.

“As an individual, and as a representative of my organisation we believe that wealth- no matter in what form, is better enjoyed when genuinely and selflessly shared, without strings attached, and of us when the haves in the alumni bodies give back to, not only their schools but others who might not be as rich,” Oghomienor said.

Pele Says Health Problems is Normal for People of His Age Legendary Brazil forward Pele has spoken for the first time since his son claimed he was reluctant to leave his house, saying his health issues were “normal for people of my age”.

Pele’s son Edinho said the three-time World Cup winner, 79, was “embarrassed” at needing a frame to walk because of his hip problems.

But Pele, widely regarded as the greatest ever player, said: “I am good. I continue to accept my physical limitations in the best way possible but I intend to keep the ball rolling.”

Pele scored a world record 1,281 goals in 1,363 appearances during a 21-year career, including 77 goals in 91 appearances for Brazil.

He had prostate surgery in 2015 and was taken to hospital with a urinary infection last year.

But friends of the former Santos and New York Cosmos player have said that this January was one of his busiest in years.

As well as doing photo shoots and sponsorship work, Pele is cooperating with a British director making a documentary about his footballing life.

“I am not avoiding fulfilling the commitments in my always busy schedule,” he added in a statement.

“I have good days and bad days. That is normal for people of my age. I am not afraid, I am determined, confident in what I do.”

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾FEBRUARY 15, 2020

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GLOBAL SOCCER

Oboabona

Godfrey Oboabona Retirement Not in the Card Former Nigerian international Godfrey Oboabona has pitched tent with Georgian top-flight club Dinamo Batumi after struggling with series of injuries which kept him out of action for a long period.

G

eorgian top-flight club Dinamo Batumi announced the signing of Nigerian international Godfrey Oboabona, which comes as reinforcement for George Geguchadze’s side ahead of the commencement of the 2020 Erovnuli Liga season.

Prior to the move, Oboabona recently played in the Croatian top-flight with HNK Gorica, where he made 14 appearances during the 201819 campaign. The 29-year-old also had stints in the Turkish Super Lig with Rizespor and in Saudi Arabia with Al Ahli.

Oboabona, 29, who played a crucial role as Nigeria coasted to her third Africa Cup of Nations title in South Africa had struggled with series of injuries which kept him out of action for a long period.

The former Caykur Rizespor centre-back had earlier took to social media to hint at his readiness to come back stronger having overcome his injuries.

He Tweeted: I’m back to my best after several

injury nightmares. For those who feel retirement is my portion, just wait and watch where God is taking me to. Back and fitter.”

Following his move to the Georgian topflight side, the Super Eagles defender has lifted the lid on his reason for joining George Geguchadze’s side Oboabona reveals Dinamo Batumi’s Europa League ambitions swayed him into signing for the Erovnuli Liga outfit.

Batumi were runners-up in the Georgian elite division last season and will feature in next term’s European club competition.

In a chat with Goal, Oboabona expresses his delight with the move and is keen to prove his worth for the Angisa Base giants.

“First, I am glad to be a part of Dinamo Batumi family because they are a big club in Georgia,” he said.

“There were a few clubs that were interested in having me, but the opportunity to feature in the Europa League made this choice an easy one.

“I didn’t know a lot about Batunmi as a club on arrival, but now I can say that I am feeling more at home because of the welcoming environment.

“My manager, Geguchadze, has also been coop-

erative in helping me adapt quickly to life in this new environment.”

He added: “There are quality players in this team and my immediate focus is to prove my worth to Batunmi, not just with individual performance, but as a team.

“We hope to go far in the Europa League as well as compete for the Georgian league title.”

Dinamo Batumi continue their preparation for the new season with a friendly against Olimpik Donetsk on Thursday.

Dinamo Batumi finished second in the Georgian top-flight last term and will participate in the Uefa Europa League qualifiers next season.

Oboabona’s last outing for the threetime African champions was in 2016 and he has expressed his desire to return to Gernot Rohr ’s squad as they aim to qualify for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon and the 2022 World Cup. “I get goosebumps every time I watch my goal for the Super Eagles against Namibia. Can’t wait to wear the green and white jersey again,” he tweeted.

Oboabona was born in Ondo State, Nigeria and began his professional career with local club Sunshine Stars FC. In August 2013, the BBC claimed there was speculation linking him with a move to English side Arsenal, a claim denied by both Oboabona and Sunshine Stars chairman Mike Odoko.

Later that month, he signed a four-year contract with Turkish club Çaykur Rizespor, a transfer he described the transfer as a “dream move.” In September 2018, Oboabona joined HNK Gorica in the Croatian First Football League.

Oboabona made his international debut for Nigeria in 2012, and has appeared in FIFA World Cup qualifying matches. He was called up to Nigeria’s 23-man squad for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

He was selected for Nigeria’s squad at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup and was named in the provisional squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Oboabona was selected by Nigeria for their 35-man provisional squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͹ͽ˜ 2020

FAIRGROUND Teni, Bankole, Nwigwe, Others Grace 'Dear Affy' Movie Premiere

O

with

AZUKA OGUJIUBA

azuka.ogujiuba@thisdaylive.com

ver 50 Nollywood movie stars were among dignitaries from different sectors that gathered at the Filmhouse Cinemas, IMAX, Lekki on August 25 for the premiere of Samuel Olatunji’s directorial debut, ‘Dear Affy’.

Teni Entertainer, Denrele, Williams Uchemba, Deyemi Okanlawon, Bimbo Ademoye, Debola Williams, Iyabo Ojo, Ayo Badmus, Timini Egbuson, Toyin Alausa, Charly Boy, Khaffi, Sir Dee, Rotimi Salami, Abayomi Alvin, Enyinna Nwigwe, Bimbo Thomas, Sophia Alakija, Seilat Adebowale, Uzor Arukwe, Lizzy Jay, Seyi Awolowo and a host of others gathered to watch for the first time the sexiest Nollywood movie of recent times, ‘Dear Affy’.

The hall could not contain the cheers, laughter, excitement and the fulfilment that came from seeing the biggest romantic comedy of the season.

Kehinde Bankole delivered a spectacular performance, switching between emotions without sweat just like a thoroughbred actor would. Bimbo Ademoye, Williams Uchemba, Odunlade Adekola, Faithia Williams were the unquestionable comic relief and the perfect icing on the cake in the execution of this project. Enyinna Nwigwe, Bimbo Akintola and Jide Kosoko delivered something extraordinary.

The movie, ‘Dear Affy’ was finally released nationwide across cinemas from Friday, February 14, 2020, with notable celebrities from the movie meeting their fans throughout the movie run.

L-R: Samuel Olatunji and Debola Williams

Teni Entertainer

Bianca Ugo

L-R: Charley Boy, a Guest and Samuel Olatunji

Kehinde Bankole

Tola Elatuyi and Khafi

Sir Dee

Lizzy Jay

Anto Lecky

Debo Adedayo

Eyinna Nwigwe

Beverly Osu, a guest and Denrele Edun

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͹ͽ˜ 2020

FAIRGROUND

Guinness Set to Raise the Bar on Cocktail Culture

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uinness Nigeria is set to revolutionise the cocktail culture in Nigeria as World Class 2020 commenced in Lagos.

World Class 2020, the world’s largest and most exclusive bartending competition, mixology education programme; celebrates the skills and creativity of bartenders and introduces them to the latest cocktail-making trend.

World Class will bring bartenders across Nigeria, train them in the art of mixology and prepare them to contest on the global stage at the World Class 2020 bartender competition in Sydney, Australia this year.

Speaking during the recent media briefing, which held at Z Kitchen, Victoria Island Lagos, Head of Customer Marketing Spirits at Guinness Nigeria, Mr. Ikechukwu Agu, said: “Nigeria has seen a shift in its drinking trends over the past few years. More and more people are now appreciating fine and responsible drinking, which is the core of what World Class stands for."

He added that the initiative was about "recognising and celebrating the craft and talent of bartenders around the world will have a positive impact on the alcohol industry in general and will serve as a career boost for mixology talents, while spreading the knowledge of the art and culture of cocktail-making among drinks enthusiasts .”

He mentioned that those who receive the World Class certification become synonymous with class, sophistication, impeccable service and creativity, and are true masters of cocktail-making. “If you see a venue displaying a World Class logo, you can rest assured that the service there is exceptional, drinks served are top-class, and bartenders are true masters of the art of mixology,” explained Agu. World Class training with bartenders is scheduled for the 10th & 11th of February 2020 at NTYCE in Lagos, 17th and 18th of February at The Dome, Abuja and 24th & 25th of February at Sky Bar, Port Harcourt.

Regional competitions will take place on the 12th, 19th and 26th of March at Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja, respectively.

L-R: Olisa Adibua and Ikechukwu Agu

Ayomide Odeh Heralds Allure by Ene Allure by Ene is a budding Nigerian design brand, which kicked off out of passion for fabrics and the creativity that can be achieved through them.

Brand owner, Ayomide Odeh who recalled she was good with sketching designs in her head, combining fabrics and the likes, with compliments earned on her outfits, decided to make money out of it and turned it to a lucrative business empire.

Talking about how her creativity works, Ayomide said: "I love to look good and I derive joy from doing it once music is on and there’s light I can work 20hours straight.

And what makes my works exceptional is the fact that it always has a touch of Ankara on it."

Ayomide Odeh is also a fashion consultant and she uses her skills to also help clients brush their taste in wears and also combine the best of wears together for a glamorous wardrobe.

As regards the future of the brand, she says, ‘I want to be one of the youngest and most successful entrepreneurs. I’d also like to train more people so we can team up and build an empire thereby creating job opportunities.’

Ayomide Odeh

Meet, Playaz the Originators of Slang And Song “Mad Oh” Playaz is a multi-talented Nigerian Afro-pop duo, founded in 2018. The duo is composed of two versatile Musicians, known by their stage names Gabana and Lynox.

The duo are Record executives, Record Producers, rappers, singers and professional songwriters.

Before their outbreak in 2019 with hit the song and creation of the viral slang ‘’Mad Oh’’ the duo has been prominent in songwriting for major artists in Africa.

Gabana Playaz, whose real name is Isaac Erhunse Obasuyi hails from Edo State, Nigeria and was born on September 23, 1992. Gabana is a singer and a songwriter.

He’s been involved in the development of many hit songs under Masterkraft as a songwriter and a backup singer for Wizkid and many others, Gabana has also worked with names like CDQ, just to mention a few.

Gabana and Lynox

He is well known for his creativity in Afro-pop Genre.

His first major recognition came when he won Fresh on BeatFM artist for a month and performed at the prestigious Nigeria Industry Night and gained lots of accolades.

Lynox Playaz: Real name, Adindu Linus Nnamdi, hails from Abia state and was born December 17, 1996, in Lagos, Nigeria. Lynox is a singer with a sonorous voice.

Lynox has shared stages and performed with the likes of MI Abaga, Timaya, Mode nine, W4 just to name a few.

Lynox is known for his spontaneous ability of songwriting and also very fluent in patois language which revolves around his genre of dancehall and Afrobeat.

The duo recently dropped the official video to the popular slang “Mad Oh” that was originated by them in the year 2019 and has now turned out to be a national slang both home and abroad.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͹ͽ˜ 2020

38

AUTO

Stallion Group Set to Launch All-New Hyundai Venue Stories by Bennett Oghifo

T

his fun-filled Valentine season is to be made even better as Stallion Group prepares for the Nigeria launch of the all-new Hyundai Venue.

“It’s valentine! From this day, clock will begin to tick in expectant of Nigeria’s launch of a new automotive ace from Hyundai’s stable. Hyundai Venue is it,” Stallion said in a statement.

Interestingly, Mr. Gaurav Vashisht, Head of Sales for Hyundai brand – Stallion Group, who recently hinted of the Venue’s upcoming arrival, pointed out: “We are quite confident about its success in Nigeria, because, with the 2020 Venue, Hyundai has managed to combine lower cost with quality styling, equipment, power and comfortable ride without compromising safety.”

How true is Vashisht’s claim?

Styling: Should there be an automotive beauty contest in future; Hyundai Venue can confidently

vie for a crown. Already, aside increased acceptability around the world, the 2020 version of Hyundai Venue is already in competition for the crown of World Car of the Year (WCOTY).

For, side by side with its siblings – Sonata and Palisade, it successfully made a list of nominees for the prestigious award.

Asmart little Crossover, from whichever angle it is viewed, the Venue is attractive.

Like a typical African fashion icon, the venue comes with colours; yes; not less than 80. For the body, roof, interior, and even mirror cap, there are colour options. So it wouldn’t be a surprise if, in not too distant future, certain Nigerian auto freaks and enthusiasts choose the Venue as Valentine gifts for their loved ones.

Indeed over the years, certain Nigerian auto freaks were known to love acquiring several cars so that, whenever they had outing, they cruised in cars that matched their dress colour, but can’t do soanymoreduetoeconomicdownturn.Promised to be less expensive, Venue’s arrival might turn the tide. They might be able to acquire various colour trims of the car for various occasions.

Despite its beauty and brine, the venue still has a tough and handsomely rugged look.

Comfort and Space: As testified by test-drivers in Asia and Europe, the car is roomy.

For a country like Nigeria, where motorists sometimes experience chaotic whether, motorists essentially need good visibility, a luxury that comes as add on with the Venue’s windscreen, which is as wide as that of Fiat 500L and even wider than one of its would be Nigerian competitors, the Kia Soul.

Equipped with McPherson-Strut front and torsion beam rear suspension, cruising through the nation’s pot-hole ridden roads is bound to be jolly.

It is even more so, as, being fully tropicalised, the car comes with a ground clearance of 195mm.

And for its class, Hyundai Venue is no less spacious, especially with a luggage space of not less than 350-litres.

Moreover, linking the venue with the mother earth are 5-inch wheels, another assurance of being rugged enough to throttle through rough terrains.

Kia Sorento 2020 Access Bank Lagos City Marathon lead vehicle

Toyota Launches Special Edition LandCruiser Horizon As Toyota continues to celebrate the 60th anniversary year of its formal establishment in Australia, it has launched the limited edition LandCruiser 200 Sahara Horizon.

It features bespoke styling treatments including a unique grille with a dark finish, black headlight and smoked chrome front foglight surrounds, semi-aniline leatheraccented seats with unique stitching and “LandCruiser” embossed into the backrest, and a black leather-accented heated steering wheel, with just 400 units to be made available.

Toyota Australia Vice President Sales and Marketing Sean Hanley said the LandCruiser held an iconic place in Australia’s automotive history and the special edition Horizon model was a celebration of that.

“Toyota’s history in Australia started with the original LandCruisers brought into the country to work on the Snowy Mountains Hydro Scheme back in 1958 and since then, LandCruiser has played a role in the lives of people across the country from the bush to the beach,” Mr Hanley said.

“This new special edition Horizon model offers LandCruiser customers stylish and more distinctive visual appeal in a vehicle that remains as capable and competent on and off the road, wherever they choose to travel,” he said.

Based on the top-of-the-range LC200 Sahara, the new Horizon variant also features unique door trim stitching, black interior and headliner with chrome accents, Horizon badging and the LandCruiser logo displayed in the front and rear puddle lamps.

Under the bonnet is a powerful 4.5-litre V8 turbo diesel that drives all four wheels complete with a full set of low range ratios - through a six-speed automatic transmission.

In addition to the bespoke styling attributes, the LC200 Sahara Horizon is very well equipped with LED lights, side steps, 18-inch alloy wheels, moonroof, poweradjustable heated and ventilated front seats, 4-zone climate control, multi-terrain monitor, premium audio system and rear seat DVD player, and satellite navigation.

A comprehensive suite of Toyota Safety Sense1 features includes pre-collision safety system with pedestrian detection, active cruise control, and automatic high beam, together with reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors, blind spot monitor and rear cross traffic alert.

Kia XCeed , ‘Imagine by Kia’ Concept Acclaimed in Latest iF Design Awards

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he Kia XCeed urban crossover and the ‘Imagine by Kia’ concept have been awarded with prestigious 2020 iF Design Awards. Both vehicles demonstrate Kia Motors Corporation’s design-led approach to product development, and the brand’s evolution in an age of electrified mobility.

Winning a prize in the ‘Professional Concept’ category, the ‘Imagine by Kia’ concept is a visual embodiment of Kia’s desire to champion and popularize exciting electric cars. The XCeed was awarded in the ‘Product’ category, following the successful introduction of the new urban crossover to the European new car market in 2019.

This double achievement once again illustrates the Korean manufacturer’s unrivalled strength in automotive design. Kia won its first iF Award in 2010, and has created at least one prize-winning vehicle design every single year since. A brace of prizes in 2020 brings Kia’s total number of iF Design Awards to 20.

‘Professional Concept’ prize for the Imagine

by Kia concept The ‘Imagine by Kia’ concept is a pure electric four-door passenger car which draws together elements of a sleek and athletic family sedan, a muscular sports utility vehicle, and a versatile, spacious crossover. Intentionally designed not to sit within the car industry’s predefined vehicle categories, it is also defined by its next-generation, zero-emissions powertrain: a low-mounted, induction-charged battery pack that powers electric motors on each axle. The ‘Imagine by Kia’ concept was revealed at the

2019 Geneva International Motor Show.

“It hints at something familiar, but is something entirely new,” said Gregory Guillaume, Vice President of Design for Kia Motors Europe, at the launch of the car. “I think of it as a categorybuster, and a disruptor – it’s familiar and understood but at the same time progressive

Range Rover Envogue

and new.”

In 2020, Kia is turning even more of its focus away from internal combustion engine vehicles towards those powered by zero-emissions electric power. Designed as a standard bearer for 21st Century motoring, the ‘Imagine by Kia’ reinterprets and evolves many of the brand’s

established design motifs, in a package designed to excite drivers.

Kia XCeed – another award-winning production car design Winning the iF ‘Product’ design award, the Kia XCeed is a new urban crossover utility vehicle (CUV) which combines compact SUV practicality with the sporty packaging and engaging handling of a hatchback. It addresses the growing desire among European drivers for cars which offer more emotion and dynamism than an SUV, both in terms of the way they look and drive.

Designed as a sporty alternative to a traditional SUV, the new CUV nevertheless offers comparable levels of space for occupants and luggage. The car engages drivers with its sporty handling and comfortable, assured ride, while providing a more commanding view of the road ahead than a conventional hatchback.

The car has been designed exclusively for European customers at Kia’s European design studio in Frankfurt, Germany. Offering something refreshing and different for European drivers, the Kia XCeed went on-sale in Europe in the second half of 2019. The first electrified variant of the car will go on-sale in the first half of 2020 with the arrival of the XCeed Plug-in Hybrid.

The XCeed’s trophy in the ‘Product’ category means all four members of the new Ceed model family have now received iF Awards. Kia was awarded with a hat-trick of iF Awards in 2019 for the five-door Ceed hatchback, Ceed Sportswagon, and ProCeed five-door shooting brake.

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AUTO

Range Rover Evoque is Europe’s favourite Compact SUV Stories by Bennett Oghifo

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he new Range Rover Evoque has won a top award voted for by motorists across Europe.

The luxury compact SUV was named Best Imported Compact SUV and Off-road Vehicle at the Auto Motor und Sport Best Cars Readers’ Choice Awards after a poll of more than 100,000 magazine readers. Evoque was praised for its combination of Range Rover luxury, modernist design and sustainable and innovative technologies.

Jaguar was also among the prizes, with the F-TYPE Convertible taking third place in the Imported Convertibles category.

Felix Bräutigam, Jaguar Land Rover Chief Commercial Officer, accepted both awards in Stuttgart.

He said: “The Best Cars Readers’ Choice award is among the most important barometers for the automotive industry, which is why we are even more excited that the highly discerning jury of magazine readers keeps choosing Jaguar Land Rover as winners year after year.

“By awarding top place to the new Range Rover Evoque, more than

100,000 readers are rewarding its unique concept, design and innovative technology. The third-place finish of the F-TYPE convertible is a testament to the unique character of the new Jaguar convertible. This success is a great affirmation of the work of our entire team. Our customers can continue to expect extraordinary vehicles from us in the future.”

Jaguar and Land Rover models have been consistently successful in the Best Cars Awards. The original Evoque was named Best Imported Compact SUV and Offroad Vehicle in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

The Jaguar F-TYPE was making its sixth consecutive appearance on the podium. The new F-TYPE was revealed in December and will be launched in sub-Sahara Africa in 2020.

The Best Cars Readers’ Choice Award is among the car industry’s largest and most important – and not just in Germany. Auto Motor und Sport readers are joined in the voting by those of 11 other European magazines and one non-European publication from the AMS stable. Their readers are seen by the industry as tech-savvy and discerning.

The new Range Rover Evoque

12th Special Edition from Mercedes-AMG Debuts

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ercedes-AMG and Cigarette Racing recently presented the all-new 59’ Tirranna AMG Edition alongside a one-ofa-kind Mercedes-AMG G 63 Cigarette Edition (combined fuelconsumption:13,3-13,1l/100km;combinedCO2 emissions: 304-299 g/km) at the Miami International Boat Show. Jointly developed by Mercedes-AMG and Cigarette Racing, the 59’ TirrannaAMG Edition represents the 12th special edition boat resulting from this strategic collaboration. The Mercedes-AMG G 63 Cigarette Edition also made its debut in Miami, which was individualized at theAMG Performance Studio in Affalterbach following the same design principles as the boat.

The latest in a highly exclusive line of special edition boats, the 59’ Tirranna AMG Edition sets new standards in terms of performance and design, striking the perfect balance between a luxury yacht and a performance-oriented super console.

Despite its 59’ length and 14’ beam, the Tirranna AMG Edition is extremely agile and optimized for high performance.

When designing their new performance flagship,

the Cigarette Racing Team engineers focused their attention on every detail, for example by utilizing lightweight construction in key locations: Its raked hardtop is made completely of carbon fiber, reducing the vertical center of gravity for better handling, while carbon fiber also features throughout its superstructure, with carbon-capped stringers and a carbon-fiber transom. The hull and deck are vacuum infusedusingahighlyoptimizedcompositelaminate schedule with PVC coring.

The instrument panel is a nano-coated solid surface that is anti-reflective and heat-resistant, which also features titanium fasteners.

Thestrikingdesignofthe59’TirrannaAMGEdition and the Mercedes-AMG G 63 Cigarette Edition is the result of close collaboration between the Cigarette Racing Team, the Mercedes-AMG design team and Gorden Wagener, Chief Design Officer DaimlerAG. “Mercedes-AMG stands for Performance Luxury.

The TirrannaAMG Edition is the perfect transfer of this principle to a boat: Its’ dynamic and at the same time deeply sensual proportions embody athletic beauty. In its powerful, clean look, the boldness of the Mercedes-AMG G 63 can be experienced,” says Gorden Wagener, Chief Design Officer DaimlerAG.

The all-new 59’ Tirranna Mercedes-Benz AMG Edition

Okada Operators Since the ban or restrictions on Okada operators was announced by the Lagos State Government, I have deliberately refrained from making comments despite my excitement on the development which for me is not just long overdue but should be clinically executed and copied by all other State Governments who sincerely mean well for their citizens. For the records, I was sector Commander of the Federal Capital Territory when the then Minister, Mallam El- Rufai, took the bold action of banning Okada within the municipal, restricting them to the satellite towns where transportation was not as effective. That action brought a measure of sanity in reduction of deaths due to Okada operations and crime. Again, I was also privileged to be Sector Commander of Lagos State Sector Command when Governor Raji Fashola also took the steps to equally ban or restrict okada operations in the State.

For me, I did not expect anything less from the Government of Babajide Sanwo-Olu because of the increased motorization in the State and attendant consequences of road traffic crashes.

Secondly this is the second time or so in the last nine years that this same kind of action is being taken by the State Government. As mentioned earlier under the watch of Governor Raji Fashola, a similar action was taken to address the same issues of safety and security. That action which would have sanitized the state was not sustained or executed to the letter although as at that time,

SAFE DRIVING with Jonas Agwu amnipr, mcipr,mprsa,arpa (Corps Commander) Corps Public Education Officer Federal Road Safety Corps. + 2348033026491 there were semantics on whether it was a ban or restrictions. It is interesting to note that the Deputy Governor Femi Hamzat appearance on Channels Television Popular Political Programme on February 12, 2020 also tried to deal with this semantics which to me has always been a bane of this intervention strategies. Despite this semantics, I salute the efforts of the Government but would plead like I did as a member of the committee under Governor Fashola that politics should be kept aside while security and safety which was highlighted by the Deputy Governor should form the basis for the action. I also do hope that the Government has done a post mortem on why the earlier attempt failed so as to bridge the identified gap which would include sustainability, strict enforcement and sustained advocacy and public enlightenment to bring all stakeholders on the same page.

Before I continue with my focus, let me first run through the position of the State Government on the

subject which borders on security and safety effective February 1,2020 in six local government areas and nine local council development areas. Here are the facts tabled by the Government as justification; the first by my calculation is that from 2016 -2019 over 1000 accident were reported in Lagos State General Hospitals, excluding unreported cases in non-Government medical facilities.Atotal number of 600 death of innocent passengers resulting from recklessness of Okada riders have been reported.

Okada has been used by criminals to rob and terrorise innocent citizens. The rate of crimes aided

by Okada and Keke keeps rising just as they have served as getaway means for criminals. Police figure are scary.

When it was banned in Kano and Edo, and FCT for instance, crime rates dropped. These operators are noted for their disregard for the Law and the impermissible movements of the commercial transport operators on highways contributed to traffic congestion across Lagos. More importantly the ban is in consonance with the Lagos State Transport Reform Law of 2018. It affects the following local government areas;Apapa Iganmu,Yaba, Itire- Ikate, Coker-Aguda,Onigbongbo,Ojodu, Ikoyi-Obalande, Lagos-Island East.

For those who are yet to see any rational for the swift action on these operators, I urge you to read through the end as I again share a material I surfed on the net on the dangers of this line of business.

I have chosen to run the material hoping that it

will convince the doubting road users on the need to give the action all the necessary support.

Motorcycle riders are unique as they are exposed to dangers that are not met by automobile drivers and other motorists. For they are less stable and less visible than other vehicles on the road. As a result, motorcyclists must be aware of the risks and remedies available if they are involved in a traffic accident.

For the records, motorcyclists according to current records are 26 times more likely to die in a collision than someone riding in a passenger car and 5 times as likely to be injured. Secondly, in two-thirds of motorcycle accidents involving another vehicle, the driver of the other vehicle violated the motorcyclist’s right of way and cause the accident. The fatality rate for motorcycle accidents has more than doubled as more riders without the needed skills jump into okada business to make ends meets especially in the absence of a standard driving structure.

Theyareproblemsthatareuniquetomotorcyclists such as visual Recognition because motorcyclists are smaller visual targets which are often times obscured by other vehicles, road, and weather conditions. Meanwhile,70 percent of motorcycle vs. vehicle collisions occur at intersections.

Potholes, oil slicks, puddles, debris, ruts, uneven pavement, and railroad tracks can all be minor irritations for a car, but a major hazard to motorcycles. On the issue of speed, the front of a motorcycle can become very unstable and begin to shake or wobble at high speeds. This may be due to a misalignment of the front and rear tires.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ FEBRUARY 15, 2020

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ FEBRUARY 15, 2020

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͹ͽ˜ 2020

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MARKET PLACE with Omolabake Fasogbon... 08155131874

Cadbury Delivers Promise to Winners of Talent Hunt Cadbury Nigeria Plc., has rewarded the winners of its ‘Bourn Factor Talent Hunt’ contest.

The just concluded competition provided a platform for children to display their outstanding talents after which they qualify for prizes based on their performance.

The top three winners were: Mona School, Sapele, Delta State, which came first; Difference Academy, Ile Ife, Osun State came second and Faith Heritage Gold Schools, Abeokuta, Ogun State was third.

True to the words of Cadbury, the top three winners were presented cheques of N3 million, N2 million and N1 million respectively, at the company’s headquarters in Lagos Speaking during the award presentation, Managing Director of Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Mrs. Oyeyimika Adeboye reaffirmed the company’s commitment to its value which is to love its community and consumers.

She added that the company recognised the Federal government’s efforts towards youth development and that it was ready to contribute its quota to realising the objective.

“Part of our value in Cadbury is to love our consumers and our brands. As a business, we are

not only concerned about making money from our communities, but we are also supporting people in the communities to grow and develop as a people. The idea of Bourn Factor was generated while we were thinking about how we can pay back those who are buying our products and mainly, for our younger children. Looking at the population of Nigeria, over 60-65% of the population is under the age of 14 and that is a big catchment area for our business. We want to make sure we touch the lives of these children and nourish them for the future.

“In the near future, we hope to come up with more ideas that would connect with our consumers. For our CSR, we collaborate with Helen Keller International (HKI), which helps us to touch our communities in a way that is transparent and will not distract our business.

We also look forward to more schools winning in subsequent editions such that we can touch more children.”

In her remarks, the firm’s Senior Category Manager, Cocoa Beverage, West Africa, Ifeoma Chuks-Adizue, lauded participants for showing commitment to the competition.

“About 183 schools entered the 2019 competition

Lafarge Shines in Forbes Africa CSR Ratings Forbes Africa has ranked Lafarge Africa the fourth-best Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability Company in Nigeria for the year 2019.

The Forbes Africa Award is culmination of impact assessments of over 910 organisations operating in Nigeria over the past 13 years.

According to Forbes Africa, selection criteria include company’s participation and recognition in national and international investments in CSR and sustainability projects for the period under review.

The assessment also focused on the work of the organisation in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the number of stakeholders impacted by the programmes.

Commenting on the feat, Communications, Public Affairs and Sustainable Development Director for Lafarge Africa, Folashade Ambrose-Medebem stated that the recognition would encourage the firm to give more of its best.

“Lafarge has become a global leader in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability and we are happy that our impacts are being recognised.

Our CSR and Sustainability programmes constitute major part of our business. Our empowerment programmes cut across four cardinal areas of social intervention which include education, health, infrastructure development and other forms of

support. “One of our flagship CSR programmes is the National Literacy Competition, presently in its sixth edition. We introduced the competition in 2014 to engage public primary school pupils across the country who display and improve their literacy skills by competing in literacy-related activities. Since inception, the competition has impacted more than 700,000 pupils in 1,665 schools across 544 local government areas.”

Giving more details on its CSR engagements, Medebem stated that the company recently empowered indigenes of its host communities in Ogun, Cross Rivers and Gombe states.

She said that the effort alone has created socio-economic opportunities that have raised over 100 micro-entrepreneurs through various skill acquisition and empowerment interventions.

“To enhance more collaboration and public services across the communities, we have contributed 4,200 business hours through our ‘Friends and the community’ employee volunteering initiative with over 380 strong volunteers.”

On its sustainability programmes, Medebem said: “We emphasise four critical areas which are climate and energy, circular economy, environment and the community. For instance, our 2018 reports showed that our net CO2 emissions per tonne of cementitious material decreased to 542Kg CO2 per tonne that was a 5.7% reduction from 2017.

and submitted over 800,000 wraps and containers.

We eventually narrowed them down to the top 10 schools and by December 2019, five schools made it to the live audition. The final selection was based on the video clips that were shared and the talents that the children displayed. Today, we are celebrating the final three. These winners represent millions of Nigerian children who, if given the opportunity, are willing to contribute

their quota to Nigeria’s growth.

“The competition is also aimed to consolidate and build sustainable communities across Nigeria.

For instance, we encouraged the winners to adopt orphanages within their area, where they could also give back to children in those orphanages and make them happy. Truly, we can learn a lot from these kids because their ideas were fantastic.”

First Lady of Lagos State, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu (middle); Group Public Relations and Event Manager, Dufil Prima Foods Plc, Mr. Tope Ashiwaju (left); National Coordinator, Indomie Fan Club, Mrs. Faith Joshua (right) with members of the Indomie Fan Club, during the Indomie team courtesy visit to the First Lady in Lagos... recently

L-R: Head, Transaction Banking Sales, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria (SCBN),Henry Akhile; Head of Cash, Transaction Banking, SCBN, Omolara Adenusi; Chief Executive of ACT, Caroline Stockmann; CEO, SCBN, Lamin Manjang; Head of Transaction Banking, Ibiyemi Okuneye; and Country Head, Commercial Banking Nigeria, Yetunde Oni, at the Association of Corporate Treasurer’s forum hosted by ACT UK in collaboration with SCBN in Lagos... recently

Lagos Provides more Buses to High Expectations as West Facilitate Business, Movement Africa Agric Show Hits Top Gear Lagos State government has provided 65 new buses to ease the movement of business operators, workers and others across the state.

This action followed the recent restriction order placed on motorcycles and tricycles in some parts of the state.

As a result of this restriction, many Lagosians have bemoaned the inconveniences that the new order has brought on their personal and business lives.

But the Lagos State government has assured that the new buses would ease the stress and other inconveniences faced by those affected by the restriction.

The new buses were inaugurated by the Lagos Bus Services Limited on the instruction of the state Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu. They would be deployed to new routes, including Ikeja-Ogba; Berger-Ogba; and Ikeja-CMS.

Others were Oshodi-Ajah; Obalende-Ajah; CMS-Ajah and Inner Marina- Ajah.

Speaking further on this, Managing Director/Chief Executive, Lagos Bus Services Limited, Idowu Oguntona, stated that the move was an affirmation of Sanwo-Olu’s pledge to make the welfare of citizens a priority.

Oguntona added that the new buses would help reduce the vacuum that might have been created by the restriction of motorcycles and tricycles in 15 local governments and local council development areas by conveying a minimum of 35,000 Lagosians daily.

He assured Lagosians that they would enjoy the comfort of the buses on the new routes, adding that fares for the routes range between N100 and N500.

Continuing, he said: “Plans are

at an advanced stage to add to the fleet, with no less than 550 mini-buses being expected.

They would be deployed to inner routes that are not currently being served by the high capacity buses.”

The Lagos State Government, had on February 1, commenced enforcement of the existing Transport Sector Reform Law 2018, banning operations of motorcycles and tricycles in some LGAs and LCDAs and restricted them from some highways, bridges, and roads.

The government explained that the ban was to reduce the high mortality from motorcycles and tricycles accidents.

“Okadas have been discovered to be part of the problem they set out to solve. Their riders are involved in accidents and breaking road rules,” Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotosho, had said.

The organisers of the ‘West Africa Agric Show’ have said the programme would accelerate food revolution in Africa and provide a platform for critical stakeholders to deliberate on progress in the agriculture sector.

Providing more details on the show, the convener, Mr. Idowu Asenuga, stated that the programme would gather experts, innovators and trainers from across the globe and the region.

They are expected to rub minds on trends and innovation that would push the sector.

According to him, the event is billed to hold between 18th and 20th February, 2020.

He informed that the initiative was thought of following

the menace of food scarcity in the West African region.

“Our resource persons are knowledgeable in the deployment of technology required for enhanced food production and processing. They will be on ground to provide information and know-how to participants.

The three-day event promised to improve food productivity and quality in Nigeria and West Africa sub-region,” he assured.

Also expected at the programme are small, medium and large scale farmers; research organisations, government parastatals and financial institutions. Others include, students, equipment manufacturers, suppliers, industry leaders and decision makers.

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SHOWBIZFLAIR

Olamide Drenches in Dreaded 999 EP Victoria Abattam Emelonye Kicks with ‘The Oratory’ pg. 45

Gospel Music Comes to Me Naturally pg. 50

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SHOWBIZFLAIR

Olamide Drenches in Dreaded 999 EP Indigenous rapper, Olamide Adedeji, (Olamide) has got a new body of work titled “999”. With 9 songs on it, the “EP” as he calls it, technically surpasses the normal track list of a standard E P, writes Ferdinand Ekechukwu

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hether he calls it an Extended Play (EP) or it’s a Long Play (LP), popular Nigeria’s hip hop artiste, Olamide Adedeji, who simply goes by Olamide, has got a new body of work. Earlier on February 9, 2020, the indigenous rapper had announced his new album, ‘999’ which, like a dreaded emblem, set Twitter awash with reactions till it was released on February 10, 2020. Incidentally this is Olamide’s 10th studio album in 10 years.

This comes as a surprise as the artiste left no hint of its release until it was announced. The new project follows his collaborative album, ‘YBNL Mafia Family’ which was released in December 2018. By his reputation, 2019 was a quiet year where he barely had hits at his usual level. Much of Olamide’s attention in the past eight months had been directed towards developing and pushing younger artistes signed to his label. With 999, the artiste reinforces his foot on the ground.

At 9 songs, the “EP” technically surpassed the maximum normal track list of a standard EP, which is six songs. Some of the tracks on the project include No Time, War lords, Billion Talk, Dance With The Devil, and Wonma. Other songs on the album are Demons, Mojo, Prophesy and Rich & Famous. The album features rising acts like Jackwillz, Sosa-E, Cheque, Rhatti and Snow, Jayboi and Nilly. Ever since the release of his debut album “Rapsodi” in 2011, hardly has a year gone by without a full body of work from the famous rapper who also featured on this project collaboration with his longtime buddy and collaborator, Phyno.

Olamide has blessed Nigerian mainstream with some immense talents while showcasing others who need a spotlight.

In a lot of way, the 999 album is like his 2014 album Street OT which showcased Lil Kesh, Chinko Ekun, B-Banks, Vikto and Chuka. The Baddest Guy Ever Liveth (2013), Eyan Mayweather (2015), and The Glory (2016) were other albums he released. On the 999 album Olamide gets credit as a producer for the first time, supported by Eskeez, Pheelz, Cracker Mallo and ID Cabasa. The album is mixed and mastered by budding engineer, STG. Over the past nine years, Olamide has endorsed certain acts with his co-sign and other times, he’s signed them. While some have since left him in acrimony, most retain respect for him. When his 10th studio project, “999 EP” was announced on February 9, 2020, Adekunle Gold and Fireboy, two artistes Olamide has helped, repeated the album proclamation on their Twitter handles.

Since he burst onto the Nigeria music scene with his monster hit single, “Eni Eduro”, …. Olamide never remained the same.

The song received critical acclaim nationwide and instantly shot Olamide to limelight. At the time, he was signed to ID Cabasa’s record label, Coded Tunes alongside Seriki and Kayefi. Under the label, he released his first album, Rapsodi.

The terms of his exit were amicable.

Olamide

Olamide then branched out and founded his own record label, YBNL (an acronym for Yahoo Boy No Laptop, a tribute to how much money he makes without being involved in internet scam) under which he released his subsequent albums, including an album of same title (YBNL) in 2012. In 2018, ID Cabasa was interviewed and he disclosed how he found Olamide as a 14-year-old boy who came into the studio to record with his

friend.

One thing led to another, Olamide jumped on the mic that day and Cabasa saw something. He then told the young man to keep coming back to the studio.

When Coded Tunes officially became a record label, Olamide, Seriki and Kayefi were the first artistes to be signed to the label. But since Olamide left the label after his first album, Rapsodi, Cabasa has produced on all of Olamide’s solo

albums except Lagos Nawa (2017).

But on 999, Olamide co-produces ‘No Time,’ the album’s opening track with Eskeez.

Olamide was born in Bariga, Lagos State on the 15th of March, 1989. In 2000, he decided to pursue a career in music. When asked why music, he said: “I found out I was gifted in it so I had to explore it. It’s my life, my hustle, my world”.

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Emelonye

Emelonye Kicks with ‘The Oratory’ Following a lull in the release plan for his highly anticipated biopic, “Badamasi: Portrait of a General”, prolific filmmaker Obi Emelonye is set to fill the space with yet another interesting story titled, “The Oratory”, writes Ferdinand Ekechukwu

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religious film, The Oratory tells the story of a BlackAmerican Catholic priest sent from Italy to a posh Parish in Lagos, Nigeria. On arrival, he showed more interest in the plights of street children from across the lagoon in Makoko. To reach these boys and empower them, the priest had to step on big toes, stared danger in the face and put everything on the line. The Oratory was conceived by reverend Fr. Cyril Odia (SDB), a Rector of the Salesian seminary at the University of Maynooth, Ireland.

His idea was to use the Don Bosco’s (a youth focused ministry) experience to explore the plights of young street children in the slums of Makoko, Lagos. In an exclusive chat with Thisday, Obi Emelonye stated: “This is the first time I am engaged in a collaboration of this scale with an organisation like the Salesians of Don Bosco which has 15,000 Catho-

lic priests and reverend brothers and about 17,000 reverend sisters worldwide. However, in 2019 I made a film titled Quiet Storm in collaboration with the Catholic Diocese of Orlu (in Imo State, Nigeria).”

The Oratory, which stars Nollywood stalwarts such as Florence Okechukwu, Charles Ukpong Temidayo Akinboro, Lawrence Nwali, Stephen Ogunnote, alongside Enyinna Nwigwe, also features some Italian and American actors like Andrea Ferrara and David Davidson. In the lead role is American musician, actor and filmmaker Rich Lowe. He plays the Black-American Catholic priest.

On the journey of The Oratory, Emelonye revealed that following a lull in the release plan for Badamasi, he discovered that he had some time on his hands and while he waited for the release of that important biopic, he wasn’t going to work on another ‘big’ project.

So in a convergence of convenience, Fr. Cyril and Emelonye

proceeded with the film. Although The Oratory has several layers of Christian meaning, Emelonye noted that deliberate attempts were as much as possible made to make it as secular in its rational and as cosmopolitan in its flavour. The result is a story that has a Catholic priest at its core but one that is told with the authenticity of a simple man’s journey in search of his essence in life. Discussions on the movie project started in 2015, and the principal filming between July 2019 and December 2019 in Turin, Rome, Atlanta and Lagos, the Nigerian part, representing 70% of the film.

The movie when released in April, 2020 will be screened in over 130 countries. “Now we are in the final stages of postproduction and sometimes I shudder at what we have managed to produce with very little resources and a good doze of grace, effort and sacrifice,” the UK based cinematographer added. “ Again with the unprecedented support of the highest echelons

of the Salesians Order, the film is shaping up for a global tour that will take it to nearly every country in the world with Salesians presence (Over 130 countries). Now, that is enough to excite any filmmaker.”

The Oratory premieres in Dublin in April 2020. Then it will premiere in London in May 2020; before heading to Nigeria, via Italy. At the moment, there’re no plans to have a normal theatrical release in Nigeria. Instead, a planned series of command screenings in cinemas in support of local street children charities across Nigeria and in about 35 other African countries.

This, according to the multipleaward winning producer/director, is uncharted territory in terms of a film release strategy.

“But we have a unique film that would enjoy the combination of devout evangelical support and authentic cinema credibility. My mind boggles thinking about the possibilities and I am most humbled by it,” Emelonye averred.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͹ͽ˜ 2020

SHOWBIZFLAIR Ijeoma Thomas

I Can’t Do Surgery Just to Be Sexy Ijeoma Thomas is a Nollywood actress and producer who is passionate about her craft and applies high level of discipline. She has grown in the industry and has become a toast of directors and producers.

She talks to Tosin Clegg about her acting, Nollywood at large and so much more I have featured in a lot of movies y first job was produced 2009 and it’s called Nkwocha. After that, I produced two jobs last year, which are yet to come out.

Asides production, I have featured in a lot of movies such as Return of the Billionaires, Stubborn Prince, B for Boy, Too Much Money, London Boy, Seed of Power, Never End, The Monk, Egg of Sacrifice, Eagle Sacrifice, Lesbian Queen, Soldier Ant, Business Girls, Wisdom of Thomas, Scout Master and so many others that I have lost count of.

M

The job is hectic Anybody that loves you will love everything around you and that includes your job. Anybody that loves you will cope, no matter how hectic the job is. Most people know that acting is not an easy thing. You have to leave your home, your family and just focus on the job.

Why I celebrated my birthday at an orphanage I celebrated my birthday at an orphanage and I was so happy and full of joy. You need to see the way the kids were around me touching me. They prayed for me, cut my cake with me and, you know, I was so joyful. I was so overwhelmed, in fact, I don’t know how to say it, you won’t understand how I felt that very day and I think if not for any other thing I am happy with my self.

Celebrities do surgery nowadays, but not me I am not considering any part of my body going under surgery just to be sexy or shape my body. This is how my God created me and I am still like that and I am not thinking or considering going under any surgery for anything. Yes, I try as much as I can to watch it by not eating everything that passes by and by going to the gym.

That is how I maintain the shape and for now I think I am cool with it; so I am not thinking of surgery.

One of my most challenging roles Most of them are challenging though, the one that I can remember is Stubborn Prince. At least, it is recent and challenging, because I was made to play a role I was not used to. In the movie, I play the role of a very wicked princess trying to protect her brother and family. I had to

go extra mile to do a whole lot of things and I dealt with the characters of Zuby Micheal and Chizzy Alichi. But for me, no matter the amount I am being paid to go naked, I will not do it.

There is huge progress in the movie industry When we came in, it wasn’t like it is now. There is progress, once you know what you are doing, then definitely you will make a way.

I have gone through a lot of newspapers; I’ve seen people talking about the industry, like women having lots of challenges bla-bla-bla. For me, I don’t call it challenge, because it is everywhere; even the people working in the bank, if they tell you what they are going through, you’ll know that the one in the industry is very small.

That of the bank is like you have to do it or you quit.

Embarrassing experience The most embarrassing experience I have had was after this movie in which I played a very mean girl. I was wicked to my sister; I was really mean in that role.

So, one day, I went out to get something and people were looking at me like ‘is that not the wicked girl in that movie?’ They accused me of being very wicked for treating my sister like that. I remember the film, it’s Ara Di. So, they were like I was very mean to have snatched my sister’s husband. I was trying to explain to them that it was a movie, but they didn’t want to listen, I was so embarrassed and left.

Plans for 2020 It’s to continue learning and this year will be a big year for me with some exciting stuff happening soon. In 2019, I gave it to them hot, hot, hot. Those following me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram know that there was no breathing space for me last year. This year, I promise my fans that I am going to work harder than last year. So, they should expect greater things from me.

Best Valentine gift Of course yes, I can recall my memorable Valentine gift which is life God has given me. At least, I’m alive today because He loves me. I think that is my memorable Valentine gift from Him. His gift is more than every other gift I can receive on earth. For me, Valentine reminds me of our Lord Jesus who’s a great gift to humanity.

Ijeoma Thomas

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͹ͽ˜ 2020

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SHOWBIZFLAIR

Tosin Clegg 07062816737 e-mail: tosinclegg@hotmail.com

MY STORY

Gists Ikechukwu Nnakenyi Miracle, aka Big Dol, is an artiste in his own class with musical creatives that are designed as audible art.

He draws inspirations from the likes of Fela, Wizkid, Davido, Olamide and a lot more.

He talks with Tosin Clegg about his music, Ataene-Spurgeon Hope and her partner, Patrick Nonso Igboanugo have just been crowned the winners of his forthcoming projects and more the Startimes aired, Hello Mr Right, which is the first of its kind in Nigeria. The show lasted for about 12 weeks

Lovebirds, Hope and Patrick, Win ‘Hello Mr Right’ Reality TV Show

and was anchored by Big Brother Naija 2017 contestant Uriel Oputa and comedian/actor, Emma Oh. Thé show is being considered as a perfect entertainment that portrays love, understanding, and togetherness among the contestants.

StarTimes Chief Operating Officer, Mr Tunde Aina said, “Sometimes it’s always a challenge for people to find the right partner and settle down with someone that matches what they want. So this show tends to bring out these issues for discussion and everyone learns a thing or two. Sometimes, people have a wrong idea of what a partner should have but with this show a lot more insights would be shared properly.”

The couple that emerged winner was undoubtedly excited about winning and shared with everyone at the event how their love story has been so far after the show.

There were other competitors, but emerging winners was everything to them. The show was sponsored by Bedmate and Darling Hair with Bedmate giving out choice furniture to the winners and Darling Hair glamouring participants of the show during the event.

Looking into subsequent seasons, Tunde had this to say, “This is the first season and we would be doing it every year and we hope it gets bigger. And as we go on we hope it helps young Doro Music people and that those watching it at home would learn fromTeam it.”

Cyclone Artemis

Cyclone Artemis

De Pulch Records Directors Speak on Vision Music Won’t Cheat On Francis Diemirie and Miracle Denila are directors of De Pulch Records, a fast rising music label which parades talented artiste, Scope. The duo, who started out as close friends before venturing into music business, speak on their passion: “We actually got to know ourselves since high school before we became business and entrepreneurial friends. We have always had the thoughts of owning a record label, and we decided to make a push and now we have De Pulch.

“In addition, we have always been music lovers and we believe is the inspiration towards our decision to own a record label. We are keen in supporting good music and taking the Afro pop globally by giving young talented artistes the opportunity.”

Speaking on their only signee at the moment, Scope, the label bosses maintained that they are ready to put in their best to make sure the artiste excels in all his endeavors.

“We have one artiste at the moment, ‘Scope’ and he has so far dropped good songs.

At the moment we have one titled ‘Zombie’. You can watch out for the video dropping soon. We are eager to give Scope our best to make sure he makes an impact in the global music industry. Before signing an artiste, we look out for talent, charisma and whether he has passion for music, as well as dedication. Also in relationship with our artiste, we believe in teamwork and respect. We all have our individual roles and obligations.”

They strongly believe, De Pulch would be internationally recognised soon. And they intend to build up the label and bring out the best out of their artistes and make an impact in the entertainment world.

Francis Diemirie

Ultimate Love as Valentine’s Season’s Opener Chigoziem Dike St. Valentine’s Day brings on its wings, the season of love and this opened in a most appropriate way with the debut of Ultimate Love, the romance television reality show now running on MultiChoice’s DStv and GOtv platforms. The first-of-its-kind reality TV show kicked off on Sunday, five days to Valentine’s Day, with a spectacular live show.

Ultimate Love offers single male and female strangers the opportunity to develop enduring romantic relationships. For the maiden edition anchored by actress Dakore Egbuson-Akande and events Compere Oluwaseun Olaniyan, a total of 16 Love Guests, comprising eight men and eight women will together live in the Love Pad for eight weeks in their quest to find life-long love and build a relationship as a couple that could culminate in marriage.

Cherry, Bolanle, Chris, Ebiteinye, Jenny Koko, Nkechi, Rosie and Theresa are the delectable ladies, while Arnold, David Wilson, Iyke, Jay, Kachi, Louis,

Michael and Obichukwu are the eligible young men competing to emerge as the “ultimate couple”.

The Love Guests will be live on television for 24 hours throughout the duration of the show and will be paired as they participate in a series of culture-inclined activities to test their compatibility as couples. Each couple will interact daily with a counsellor – veteran broadcaster and media entrepreneur, Adesuwa Onyenokwe – who’s be referred to as “Aunty”. She plays the role of a confidant and assists them in finding the perfect partner and true love.

The viewers will decide which couple remains on the show every week through voting. The winning couple will be rewarded with N5 million, a lavish traditional wedding ceremony and a fully furnished house, but only if they commit to getting married.

Therefore, as individuals express their deep affection for their beloved partners during this special season of love, it is apt that the reality television show provides a platform for the Love Guests who have had long-held desire to settle down to finally achieve their objective.

You Or Tell You Lies

Cynthia Atagbuzia, popularly known as Cyclone Artemis, is a graduate of Theatre Arts from the University of Benin. Cynthia’s passion for entertainment drove her to venture into the music industry in 2010. In this chat with Tosin Clegg, she talks about her career, her kind of music, experiences and so much more Tell us about your kind of music?

I will describe my current sound as Neo-Afropop Soul. I started my career as a rapper. So hiphop remains an underlying factor in my music. But, I am currently experimenting with others and I’m loving it. I have a burden of expression and I am always seeking new channels to best interpret my emotions. I figured rap limited me in certain ways so I chose to sing more.

What’s music to you and what would you say makes good music?

Music is the ultimate bae to me. Music won’t cheat on you or tell you lies. I believe good music is any piece that effortlessly resonates with whatever frequency one is tuned into at any given time and serves a unique purpose.

What are your upcoming projects?

I had an EP planned for this year but my team and I have changed the strategy into disseminating single projects over the year, while working on wholesome projects that will by then have decent listenership. I have at least three singles waiting to be released but I also have a lot of viral content and features in the cut too.

Who are your musical influences and mentors?

My musical influences are quite diverse and can dart from The Weeknd to Burna Boy, but there is a whole lot of other acts that sure contributed to my foundation - Beyonce, Lil Kim, Jarule, Modenine, Terry Tha Rapman, Avant, Jlo and many more. I have a lot of mentors across various sectors but in the music scene, there’s Michael Ugwu, CEO and Founder of Freeme Digital. Modenine and Terry tha Rapman have also been super instrumental to my career over the years and may even be responsible for the idea behind my first ever release.

What makes your music exceptional and what extra slice do you put in it?

I think that what makes my music special is the fact that it mirrors certain sides of me that people do not get to see on a daily basis. I put raw and honest emotions that I hope people on the same frequency and vibration as me can instantly connect with.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͹ͽ˜ 2020

SHOWBIZFLAIR

The Weaves and Wigs Ambassadors Nollywood star, Ini Edo and musician, Mocheddah opened 2020 on a good note, by penning a multi-million naira deal to promote a popular weave and wig as brand ambassadors. This week, the two stars lavishly shared pictures wearing the wigs of the brand. Ini and Mocheddah are really up to something big in 2020.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͹ͽ˜ 2020

SHOWBIZFLAIR

Anto Lecky in Red Big Brother Naija 2018 housemate, Munirat Antoinette Lecky, also known as Anto Lecky, stepped out in all Red to spice the premier of the movie, “Dear Affy” held last Sunday in Lagos. The Lady in Red left heads turning in her direction.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͹ͽ˜ 2020

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SHOWBIZFLAIR Victoria Abattam

Gospel Music Comes to Me Naturally Victoria Abattam is a singer, songwriter, educator and an insurance professional rolled into one. She exudes grace, poise, charm, confidence and great character. With an extremely great and breathtaking voice, she takes your breath away. A Praise and Worship leader in her home church, her unwavering passion for God is so inspiring both to the young and the old who come in contact with her music.

Her music Career started in 2004. With her recent single recording, she speaks with Adedayo Adejobi about her music, collaborations, motivation, fashion and her ideal man

T

ell us more about yourself I am currently an artiste signed under Topgrove Entertainment, Lagos, whose label I recently released a single titled “Chim ma”.

I am from Amichi in Nnewi south Local Government Area of Anambra state. I am also the first child of my parents.

As a Singer, How have you dealt with sexual advances?

I just set boundaries.

What are your other plans?

I am working towards recording more songs and releasing my first album hopefully by the end of this year.

How do you relax?

To relax, I watch a movies, read books. I take time out to actually rest or hang out with friends

How long have you been singing?

I have seen singing as a teenager but professionally since 2015.

How would you define style?

Style is creativity, its comfort and what makes one unique.

Your educational background?

I studied Business Administration and Management at Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechnic, Unwana, Afikpo, Ebonyi State. I also possess a Postgraduate Diploma in Education.

What motivates you?

I am motivated by the knowledge that some destinies are tied to me and my family.

What does success mean to you?

Success to me is making daily positive changes towards becoming better as a person and in your craft.

It’s putting a smile on someone’s face. It’s replicating myself in others and helping the next person stand.

What genre of music are you into, and why?

Contemporary gospel music. I do gospel because that’s what comes to me naturally.

What are your challenges and what are you doing to surmount them?

One of the challenges I see is about my Gospel music being relevant and impactful in the current Nigerian socio-economic reality. To tackle this, I’d have to be extremely creative and unique in my style of delivery. I’m working assiduously at this.

What 5 books have you read that have transformed you?

Finishing strong by Steve Farrar, Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, Goals by Brain Tracy, Everything happens for a reason and other lies I’ve loved. Kate Bowler’s Eat that frog has also transformed me.

What other things do you do, asides singing?

Asides music, I am an educator and an insurance advisor

If you were to meet a global figure, which would it be?

Chimamanda Adiche.

How many EP have you released?

I have not released an EP yet this is actually my debut single.

What do you do in your leisure time?

I write songs, I visit friends and family I have not seen in a while.

Do you have mentors?

Yes, Sinach, Tasha Cobbs, Mercy Chinwo and Waje

You seem to have a strong eye for fashion. What does fashion mean to you?

Fashion to me is an expression of who we are. It has to suit my body and be comfortable.

Who is your favourite artistes locally?

Oh! I have many favourites. I love Sinach, Mercy Chinwo, Judikay, Waje, Ese Chekwa, Psalmos, Blessing Okocha, IBK. These are ladies with strong vocal strengths and I admire them a lot.

What about foreign one?

Cece Winans, Kim Burrell, Tasha Cobbs and H.E.R Do you do secular music at all?

No I don’t. But I don’t have anything against secular songs as long as they have good rhythms and interesting.

What local or foreign artiste are you looking to collaborate with?

What fashion brands do you love?

I don’t really love or follow any particular brand or trend. I’m okay as long as the product is good, comfortable and fashionable.

Victoria Abattam

I will love to collaborate with Sinach, Mercy Chinwo, Blessing Okocha etc

If you could meet any musical Icon dead or alive, who would it be?

Cece Winans

Are you married?

No, I am not married What sterling qualities do you look for in the man of your dreams?

I look out for friendship and how we are able to connect on all levels.

What 5 fashion accessories would I find on you always?

A wristwatch, ear ring, necklace, hand bag, perfume Which of your accessories can you kill for?

I don’t really have any favourite accessories. I just wear what suits my outfit per time.

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SHOWBIZFLAIR

Rudeboy and Mercy in a scene from the video

Rudeboy Features Mercy in ‘Take It’ Video Ferdinand Ekechukwu

A

s promised, Rudeboy, Paul Okoye of the defunct music duo P-square finally released the visuals for his new song, ‘Take It’. The video which was released on Tuesday February 11, 2020, features Mercy Eke of the 2019 Big Brother Naija reality TV show and their fans are pretty much excited with the choice of Mercy as the video vixen. Rudeboy took to social media to announce the release of the project. “Out now #takeit link on my bio,” the music superstar wrote.

Rudeboy had earlier taken to his Instagram page to post a teaser of the new music video. In the classy visuals, Rudeboy is seen restating his determination to go any length, including giving up his money, for the sake of love.

The less than four-minutes video

tows the line of love and exotic living that the song exudes, with Mercy adding that juicy touch to it, flaunting her backsides several times. The music video opens with Rudeboy stepping out of an exotic car as he helps his lady out of the car.

They are greeted by staged paparazzi and fans wanting to take photos of them. They are on a shopping spree as Mercy picks out expensive fashion items like bags, shoes and clothes. Her sultry body is put on display in another scene as she strips down to a two-piece bikini and shares a kiss with Rudeboy. She goes on to dance seductively before taking a dip in the pool.

The video’s takeaway is about the feeling of being in love and the beauty it has when there is finance to the romance as yet another scene sees Rudeboy buying a car for his lover.

In the video, Mercy is treated to a luxurious lifestyle, a bit like her new real life. Doesn’t life indeed

imitate art, sometimes? The video release comes just a day after the newly minted celebrity held a house warming party at her new apartment inLekki Lagos.

The party was attended by many celebrities, including former housemates from the Big Brother Naija show. If Rudeboy and Mercy intended to take their fans by surprise with the release of the music video, they certainly succeeded.

The TG Omori directed music video sees the two stars playing the roles of lovebirds. Rudeboy sings about his love interest taking everything he has so long as she doesn’t break his heart. The video - characterised by exotic scenes - also sees the singer and the reality TV star entangled in romantic displays. Over the weekend, photos of the ‘Reality’ singer with the reality TV star went viral on social media with many suspecting a coded affair brewing between even beyond their little business engagement.

While they had both dropped

a few hints, they weren’t stated clearly.

At some point Mercy Lambo as she’s fondly called was spotted posing with a new Lamborghini Aventador meant for the video shoot. Announcing his new song, Rudeboy quizzed his fans, ‘Are you sure you are ready to take it?’

Rudeboy had dropped a couple of hit videos last year. In September 2019, he dropped the visuals for ‘Audio Money’, featuring Shatta Bandle, Ghanaian Instagram personality and self-acclaimed billionaire.

His record breaking ‘Reason With Me’ video gathered over 10 million views just a month after release. For Mercy Eke, this isn’t her first video appearance. She appeared in Davido and Ichaba’s “Baby Mama” video before her BBNaija exploit. The first female BBNaija winner also appeared in the music video “Nawo Nawo” by Airboy. She also made appearances in several other music videos like Ije Ego, by MC Galaxy.

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SHOWBIZFLAIR

Patoranking Falls in Love Patoranking

Ferdinand Ekechukwu

F

or Patrick Nnaemeka Okorie, popularly known as Patoranking, it is all about love this Valentine season as he comes through with the video to his new single “I’m In Love”. The new song which serves as his 2020 debut single, compliments the love season.

Love feelings could be therapeutic and intoxicating at the same time, as Patoranking depicts in the visuals and sings to his number one baby super woman “wey dey burst him brain”.

The Amari Muziq Empire frontman is a good example as he sings his heart out to share his uncontrollable love feelings. He crowns his girl as a perfect gift from God, the most expensive item in his life, a super woman and warms his fans to this new rave.

The romantic cut set to a bouncy mid-tempo beat “I’m In Love” accompanying music video shows Patoranking and a love interest playing around in a sunsoaked location that evokes the atmosphere of a beach vacation.

The beautiful scenery, catchy and simple, makes the video a delight.

Donning the attire of a groom, Pato meets his waiting bride and with the sandy beach serv-

ing as the amazing backdrop for the love song, the duo gets enraptured in the sensational melody. The new single and video

Patoranking

follows Patoranking’s stunning appearance on A Colors Show a few weeks back. The thing about the dancehall artiste is his unique

way of touching the listener with his music. “I’m In Love” is Patoranking’s first official release for 2020. It comes after his highly acclaimed body of work, the “Wilmer” album, released last year.

For lovers and music enthusiasts, the valentine season just became more exciting with this musical gift from Patoranking.

Preparatory to the visuals late last year, the reggae dancehall artiste took to social media to end the year 2019 with a public announcement. The 29 year old then shared a photo of himself alongside an unknown “Brown skin” girl rocking a bikini wear as they cruised around the beach.

Not only did he flaunt his new bae, he captioned the photo; I’m in Love.

The award singer started his music career doing underground collaborations with artists such as XProject, Slam and Reggie Rockstone. He signed a record deal with K-Solo’s Igberaga Records in 2010, releasing “Up in D Club” under the outfit.

Patoranking became a protégé of Dem Mama Records after collaborating with Timaya on his song “Alubarika”. In February 2014, he signed a record deal with Foston Musik and released “Girlie O”, a single that was well received.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ FEBRUARY 15, 2020

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FORTHE RECORD

Homily at the Funeral Mass of Michael Nnadi Matthew Hassan Kukah

W

e have gathered around the remains of Michael Nnadi in supplication but also as solemn witnesses to the penetrating darkness that hovers over our country. I have the rare honour of being considered the principal mourner in this ugly tragedy. It is not an honour that I am worthy of receiving. The honour belongs to God Almighty who created Michael and marked out this moment and pathway for him. The greater honour goes to his immediate family whose devotion as Catholics laid the foundation for his faith and vocation. To his grandmother, Mrs. Eunice Nwokocha, a most simple, beautiful and devout Catholic woman whose devotion and dedication saw Michael and his siblings, Chukwuebuka, Francis, Augustine and Raphael brought up in all the fine principles and disciplines of the Catholic faith.

The way that Mama and her grandchildren handled this family tragedy has shown clearly the depth of their faith. I got to know Mama only after the sudden death of her daughter, Caroline, who had been a devoted Lector in our Cathedral. On the day we learnt that Michael and the other Seminarians were kidnapped, breaking the news to Mama and the children was not an easy task. She took the news with equanimity and we focused on praying for their release. She and the grandchildren lived through the torments of the brutal, harsh and senseless haranguing of the kidnappers, who are totally empty of any show of human emotions.

When the worst finally happened, breaking the news to her and the grandchildren proved to be one of the most emotionally challenging moments for me. She had called me three days earlier to say that the kidnappers had told her that they had killed Michael. I dismissed it by telling her that first, I had discouraged her from taking their calls, and secondly that this was part of the psychological warfare by these evil men. On Wednesday 29th, Peter Paul, the brave young man who had served as the main negotiator with the kidnappers, had already told us that they had gone to the village where the kidnappers said they had dumped the bodies of both Michael and Mrs. Ataga but found no corpses. This was the thread of consolation we held on to as a means of solace that Michael was still alive.

When we concluded the negotiations with the kidnappers on Thursday evening, I was in the Seminary to receive the three Seminarians and, although we received only two, I was still confident that Michael was still alive. We were simply going to sit and wait out for the next call and the agonizing round of negotiations again. I left for Abuja that same evening to continue my trip to Sokoto the next day. It was on my way to the airport to catch a flight back to Sokoto on that Saturday morning that Fr Daboh called to tell me that the corpse of Mrs. Ataga had been found and that there was a second unidentified corpse, which they were being asked to come and identify if it was Michael. My heart sank.

After the call, I switched off my phone in denial, but hoping for some reprieve to enable me board my flight with some sanity. I arrived Sokoto and refused to switch on my phone for some time. When I finally did, I refused to read the text messages, but then, Fr Habila’s call came through at about 1pm with the news that, sadly, they had identified the corpse as that of Michael. I did not know where to start and how to break the news to Mama. Happily, two of our senior Parishioners, Sir Julius Dike and Matthews Otalike, were on hand and I summoned them to my house. It took us the better part of seven hours to negotiate how to break the news because, first, Mama was in the market and I felt she should at least finish the day’s business in peace. Finally breaking the news opened a different chapter in this ugly, painful but memorable tragedy. Like the death of Lazarus, it would become clear to me that Michael’s death would bring glory to God. Later that evening as I sat down to try and console Mama, she looked up at me and said tearfully, “My Lord, you said Michael was still alive. Is he really dead?” Before I could say anything, she provided a moving answer: “My Lord, but Michael entered Seminary with all his heart and body, all”, she said with finality. From that evening, I watched her regain her composure and right up to Saturday, the evening before I left Sokoto, she had become a consoler and an inspiration to others.

The depth and impact of this tragedy belong first, to the three surviving colleagues of Michael, the entire Seminary community led by the Rector, Fr. Habila Daboh, his team of formators and entire family of Good Shepherd Seminary. All have lived through almost two months of trauma, agony, pain and despair. They have been held together by the glue of deep faith, hope and family solidarity. I commend all the Formators for standing together and guiding the Seminarians through this dark tunnel of emotional pain in the days that turned to weeks, and weeks that turned to months. The entire Catholic community in the Province, led by our Metropolitan, Archbishop Matthew Ndagoso, all shared in this burden. His Grace and the Rector will both speak to us at the end of the Mass.

The third layer of pain has been borne by the entire country and the Catholic world. The national and international reactions to the death of this young man have made me step back and ask what message God has for our country. Michael

Nnadi is the first Seminarian to carry the mark of this brutality and wickedness. Priests have died in the hands of these wicked human beings. Michael was only a Seminarian in his first year of training. I had seen him in his cassock which he wore in my presence, not with pride but with dignity. Why would the tragic death of a young man such as him elicit such an unprecedented level of emotions here and around the world?

Maria Lozano, a staff of the Aid to the Church In Need, an organisation dedicated to the cause of the persecution of Christians around the world, called me frantically immediately after the news of the kidnapping of the Seminarians went out. The next day, she sent me an emotional voice message to say that she heard that Michael was an orphan and that since the kidnappers will be looking for money, his life might be in danger if they realise that he is an orphan? Could she mobilise especially mothers to become parents for him, to keep him and others in their hearts and to continue to pray for him? Maria remained with us emotionally and requested for information about the burial.

When the Archbishop approved the date of the burial, I passed the information to her immediately. By the next day, February 5th, she sent me a message to say that when she asked people around the world to light a candle for Michael on the date of his burial, 2, 436 persons from Afghanistan, Pakistan, United States of America, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Madagascar, South Africa, Congo, Mali, Spain, Turkey, Saudi Arabia responded. Germany alone had a total of 3,305 persons in a matter of hours. In the light of this, I wondered, who are we to mourn? Who are we to refuse this crown of honour and glory? We ceased to mourn for Michael thereon.

Your Grace, my brother Bishops, Rev Fathers, Rev. Sisters, and all the good people of God, I therefore bring you only greetings and praise to God from all of us in Sokoto Diocese.

This is a solemn moment for the body of Christ. This is for us the moment of decision. This is the moment that separates darkness from light, good from evil. Our nation is like a ship stranded on the high seas, rudderless and with broken navigational aids.

Today, our years of hypocrisy, duplicity, fabricated integrity, false piety, empty morality, fraud and Pharisaism have caught up with us. Nigeria is on the crossroads and its future hangs precariously in a balance. This is a wakeup call for us. As St. Paul reminds us, the night is far spent, and the day is at hand.

Therefore, let us cast away the works of darkness and put on the armour of light (Rom. 13:12). It is time to confront and dispel the clouds of evil that hover over us.

Nigeria is at a point where we must call for a verdict. There must be something that a man, nay, a nation should be ready to die for. Sadly, or even tragically, today, Nigeria, does not possess that set of goals or values for which any sane citizen is prepared to die for her. Perhaps, I should correct myself and say that the average office holder is ready to die to protect his office but not for the nation that has given him or her that office. The Yorubas say that if it takes you 25 years to practice madness, how much time would you have to put it into real life? We have practiced madness for too long. Our attempt to build a nation has become like the agony of Sisyphus who angered the gods and had to endure the frustration of rolling a stone up the mountain. Each time he got near the top, the gods would tip the stone back and he would go back to start all over again. What has befallen our nation?

Nigeria needs to pause for a moment and think. No one more than the President of Nigeria, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, who was voted for in 2015 on the grounds of his own promises to rout Boko Haram and place the country on an even keel. In an address at the prestigious Policy Think Tank, Chatham House in London, just before the elections, Major General Buhari told his audience: “I as a retired General and a former Head of State have always known about our soldiers.

They are capable and they are well trained, patriotic, brave and always ready to do their duty. If am elected President, the world will have no reason to worry about Nigeria. Nigeria will return to its stabilising role in West Africa. We will pay sufficient attention to the welfare of our soldiers in and out of service. We

will develop adequate and modern arms and ammunition.

We will improve intelligence gathering and border patrols to choke Boko Haram’s financial and equipment channels.

We will be tough on terrorism and tough on its root causes by initiating a comprehensive economic development and promoting infrastructural development…we will always act on time and not allow problems to irresponsibly fester. And I, Muhammadu Buhari, will always lead from the front.”

There is no need to make any further comments on this claim. No one in that hall or anywhere in Nigeria doubted the President who ran his campaign on a tank supposedly full of the fuel of integrity and moral probity. No one could have imagined that in winning the Presidency, General Buhari would bring nepotism and clannishness into the military and the ancillary security agencies, that his government would be marked by supremacist and divisive policies that would push our country to the brink. This President has displayed the greatest degree of insensitivity in managing our country’s rich diversity. He has subordinated the larger interests of the country to the hegemonic interests of his co-religionists and clansmen and women. The impression created now is that, to hold a key and strategic position in Nigeria today, it is more important to be a northern Muslim than a Nigerian.

Today, in Nigeria, the noble religion of Islam has convulsed.

It has become associated with some of worst fears among our people. Muslim scholars, traditional rulers and intellectuals have continued to cry out helplessly, asking for their religion and region to be freed from this chokehold. This is because, in all of this, neither Islam nor the north can identify any real benefits from these years that have been consumed by the locusts that this government has unleashed on our country.

The Fulani, his innocent kinsmen, have become the subject of opprobrium, ridicule, defamation, calumny and obloquy. His north has become one large grave yard, a valley of dry bones, the nastiest and the most brutish part of our dear country.

Why have the gods rejected this offering? Despite running the most nepotistic and narcissistic government in known history, there are no answers to the millions of young children on the streets in northern Nigeria, the north still has the worst indices of poverty, insecurity, stunting, squalor and destitution.

His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, and the Emir of Kano are the two most powerful traditional and moral leaders in Islam today. None of them is happy and they have said so loud and clear. The Sultan recently lamented the tragic consequences of power being in the wrong hands. Every day, Muslim clerics are posting tales of lamentation about their fate. Now, the Northern Elders, who in 2015 believed that General Buhari had come to redeem the north have now turned against the President.

We are being told that this situation has nothing to do with religion. Really? It is what happens when politicians use religion to extend the frontiers of their ambition and power. Are we to believe that simply because Boko Haram kills Muslims too, they wear no religious garb? Are we to deny the evidence before us, of kidnappers separating Muslims from infidels or compelling Christians to convert or die? If your son steals from me, do you solve the problem by saying he also steals from you? Again, the Sultan got it right: let the northern political elite who have surrendered the space claim it back immediately.

The persecution of Christians in northern Nigeria is as old as the modern Nigerian state. Their experiences and fears of northern, Islamic domination are documented in the Willinks Commission Report way back in 1956. It was also the reason why they formed a political platform called, the Non-Muslim League. All of us must confess in all honesty that in the years that have passed, the northern Muslim elite has not developed a moral basis for adequate power sharing with their Christian co-regionalists. We deny at our own expense.

By denying Christians lands for places of worship across most of the northern states, ignoring the systematic destruction of churches all these years, denying Christians adequate recruitment, representation and promotions in the state civil services, denying their indigenous children scholarships, marrying Christian women or converting Christians while threatening Muslim women and prospective converts with death, they make building a harmonious community impossible. Nation building cannot happen without adequate representation and a deliberate effort at creating for all members a sense, a feeling, of belonging, and freedom to make their contributions. This is the window that the killers of Boko Haram have exploited and turned into a door to death. It is why killing Christians and destroying Christianity is seen as one of their key missions.

On our part, I believe that this is a defining moment for Christians and Christianity in Nigeria. We Christians must be honest enough to accept that we have taken so much for granted and made so much sacrifice in the name of nation building. We accepted President Buhari when he came with General Idiagbon, two Muslims and two northerners. We accepted Abiola and Kingibe, thinking that we had crossed the path of religion, but we were grossly mistaken. When Jonathan became President, and Senator David Mark remained Senate President while Patricia Ette was chosen by the South West became a Speaker.

––Matthew Hassan Kukah, Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, presented this Homily 11th February 2020 at Good Shepherd Seminary, Kaduna, at the funeral of Michael Nnadi, who was abducted at the seminary and later murdered by bandits after collecting a ransom.

Read full article online - www.thisdaylive.com

54

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾FEBRUARY 15, 2020

NEWSXTRA

Bauchi Blames Previous Administrations for N2.3bn Debt to JEDC Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

WINNING WAR AGAINST GRAFT...

L-R: Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Mr. Sunday Dare; Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs. Paullen Tallen; and Acting Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, during the Nigerian Youths Walk Against Corruption event in Abuja...yesterday

The Bauchi State Government has admitted that it owes the Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDC) a whopping N2.3 billion as outstanding electricity bills.

The regional manager of the company in Bauchi, Auwal Jada, had told journalists in an interview in his office on Wednesday that the Bauchi State owes the firm N2.3 billion accumulated monthly bills.

Jada, who said this while reacting to citizens’ outcry over epileptic electricity supply in the state, said the accumulated monthly bill was from 2013 to date.

He explained that the government does not pay more than 50 per cent of its bills as and when due.

According to him, despite the huge unpaid bills owed by both government and residents, the company supplies a minimum of six hours power in all parts of the

FG to Pick Advisers for $3.3bn Eurobond via Open Bids Chika Amanze-Nwachuku with agency report The federal government plans to appoint transaction advisers for a potential $3.3 billion Eurobond issue through an open competitive bid process, the Debt Management Office (DMO) said on Friday.

The new Eurobond, the first after the 2018 issuance, will be used to partly fund the 2020 budget deficit and refinance an existing $500 million Eurobond due in January next year, Reuters quoted DMO to have said.

Already, the request for its approval had been sent to the National Assembly and the process is expected to be completed in the first quarter of this year, a source hinted yesterday.

Nigeria issued a record $10.7 billion of international bonds in 2018, and some investors were betting the country would sell more paper in 2019 to cover the shortfall, projected at N2.5 trillion ($6.9 billion).

But the federal government last year, kept to its stand not to tap international debt markets in 2019 due to time constraints before the end of its budget cycle.

The Director-General, DMO, Ms. Patience Oniha, said last October that the federal government would not sell international debt in 2019 because the implementation of the 2019 budget was already drawing to a close.

The last Eurobond sale was in 2018, where the country raised

$2.86 billion. Citigroup, Standard Chartered Bank and local firm FSDH Merchant Bank acted as financial advisers on Nigeria’s last Eurobond sale.

Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed hinted last December that the country could issue Eurobonds in the first quarter of this year to finance the 2020 budget, but would first discuss with concessional lenders before deciding.

But the DMO boss stated recently that Nigeria could still choose other sources of financing for this year, but noted that the timing of a bond issuance will depend on “market conditions and other considerations”.

Nigeria’s total debt profile,

Terrorism, Banditry: Lawmaker Tasks Governments on Strategic Policies for Youths Hammed Shittu in Ilorin.

A member of House of Representatives representing Ilorin East/Ilorin South federal constituency of Kwara State at the National Assembly, Hon. Abdulganiyu Cook Olododo, has tasked government at all levels to embark on strategic policies for Nigerian youths to secure their future.

He added that, this will also reduce the rising cases of youths involvement in kidnapping, banditry, terrorism, robbery among others in the country.

Olododo who noted that this became necessary because youths are the leaders of tomorrow, said that all hands must be on deck to secure their future with good policies.

The lawmaker disclosed this to journalists in Ilorin, yesterday, on the sideline of the Nelson Mandela Leadership Award bestowed on him by the African Youths Parliament led by Speaker, Babatunde Bankole.

Olododo, a former Secretary to the State Government (SSG) further advised Nigerian and African youths in general to enlighten their groups in this direction stressing that the only lasting solution to youth unemployment is for the youths to start learning how to be self-employed instead of looking for white collar jobs.

Olododo also charged leaders and politicians to start teaching youths how to fish rather than giving them fish all the time.

Olododo, however, used the occasion to commend the African Youths Parliament for the award, assuring them that it would go a long way to motivating him to bring

the dividends of democracy to the doorsteps of his constituents.Earlier in his remarks, the Speaker of the African Youths Parliament, Hon. Babatunde Bankole said that, the award was bestowed on Hon. Olododo for his sterling achievements and developmental drives over the years.

Gombe Governor Inaugurates Taskforce on Immunisation Segun Awofadeji in Gombe Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State has inaugurated a Taskforce on Immunisation and a Steering Committee on Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF).

Performing the ceremony at the council chamber of the Government House, Gombe yesterday, Governor Inuwa Yahaya said the inauguration further demonstrates his administration’s commitment to improving the well-being of the state through the provision of better healthcare services.

He said the Taskforce on Immunisation was constituted in order to ensure that children are immunised against preventable diseases associated with infant mortality.

The terms of reference for the Taskforce include: To ensure effective leadership and coordination of all immunisation activities in the state and to monitor the effectiveness of the Immunisation Plus Days in the state.

The Taskforce is also to prepare and review state plan for the intensification of polio eradication and routine immunisation activities required to sustain interruption of wild polio virus transmission.

On the Steering Committee on Basic Health Care Provision Fund, Governor Yahaya said the setting up of the committee is aimed at ensuring adequate and sustainable funding that will be efficiently used to provide quality health service, particularly to the most vulnerable members of the society.

according to information posted

by DMO’s website stood at N25.7 trillion ($83.88 billion), comprising N17.38tn ($56.72bn) domestic, and N8.32tn ($27.162bn) external as at last October.

In December last year, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said there was no cause for alarm over the country’s debt profile

both domestic and external as being speculated by those he described as scaremongers.

He claimed there were misrepresentations in the figures being pushed out in certain quarters about the debt profile, adding that the country had not reached its debt ceiling of 25 per cent in total public debt stock to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

state capital per day.

Speaking on the matter in an interview Thursday, the Senior Special Assistant to the Bauchi State Governor on Media, Comrade Mukhtar Gidado, who admitted owing the company, however, blamed it on previous administrations.

Comrade Gidado emphasised that since the Bala Mohammed-led government came on board, efforts had been made to settle the debts.

According to him, “Yes, it is true that there is a debt of this amount (N2.3 billion) that the government is yet to pay JEDC but you know that this government is just eight months in office now and this debt has accumulated for the past seven years.

He also said: “When this new government came on board, they (JEDC) approached it and out of the goodwill of this government, the two parties sat down and are now trying to reconcile.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾FEBRUARY 15, 2020

SPORTS XTRA

Football Coaches Association Debunks Rohr’s ‘Yobo No Coaching Qualifications’ Claim President of Nigeria Football Coaches Association, Ladan Bosso has disputed a claim by

manager Gernot Rohr that newly appointed assistant coach of the national team; Joseph

Yobo has no coaching qualifications.

The Franco-German football tactician did not

Controversy over Joseph Yobo’s appointment at Super Eagles assistant coach rages on

mince his words when he stated that the former Everton defender must have a coaching diploma in order to grow as a coach.

Bosso, who was privy to the appointment of Yobo by the Nigerian Federation before it was officially announced, stressed that the Super Eagles legend has met two of the three criteria required to be a coach in these parts, adding that he’s only lacking work experience.

“Yobo just came back from a course. Basically there are three criteria.

The first one is your certificate, then the second one is your playing experience, then your work experience. He has two out of the three playing experience and

. . .Brilliant Footballing Career Doesn’t Translate to Good Coaching- Onigbinde Nigeria’s 2002 World Cup coach Festus Onigbinde has insisted that newly appointed Super Eagles assistant coach Joseph Yobo was a brilliant footballer during his playing days but that does not guarantee him success in the dugout.

To drive home his point, Onigbinde cited Pele and Franz Beckenbauer - two of the best players that graced the game - but were forced to end their coaching careers prematurely, while Jose Mourinho, one of the best coaches in the world, enjoyed limited success as a footballer.

“Pele and Franz Beckenbauer went into coaching and had to pull out and those are two of the best players the world has produced,” Onigbinde said.

“There is a difference between being a player and being a coach. Somebody

with PhD in Mathematics may not be able to transfer the knowledge to people if he doesn’t have the methodology.

“I want to cite myself as an example. In 1983 after attending interviews and I was employed to handle the national team, some ex-players in the national team came up to say I had no business handling the national team because I didn’t play in the national team. Some of them said I didn’t touch football in my life. With all modesty, am I a failure as a coach?

“Mourinho is a good coach, in which national team did he play? Yobo was a fantastic player, he was one of the pillars in my defence in 2002.

“If people who employed him are convinced he has gained knowledge

and experience as a coach, I am not aware of that.”

Onigbinde pointed out that Yobo does not have the coaching experience and added that the Nigerian Federation have a reason for appointing the former Everton defender as an assistant coach.

“We all know the process of employment anywhere in the world, are they employing him as a player or as a coach?

“Which experience are they talking about, is it experience as a coach or experience as a player?

I wish Nigeria the best of luck.

“Do you agree with me that there’s a difference between being a good coach and a good player.

“Yobo was part of my World Cup team in 2002,

so I know him as a very strong dedicated player but I have not seen him as a coach. The people who employed him must have had their reason for employing him.”

When asked to highlight the difference between the appointment of Sunday Oliseh and Yobo, Onigbinde answered: “When Sunday Oliseh came in, he was a fantastic coach with brilliant success.

“Yobo was very close to me when he was playing in my team, so I wish him the best of luck. I am not criticizing his employment.

“People who appointed him must have ensured that he has relevant qualifications. I am not saying he is not qualified, that’s between him and his employers’’.

AMG Hosts Inaugural Sport Festival among IDPs Camps in Borno Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri

African Missions Global (AMG) will be organizing a Sport Festival among internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps in Maiduguri beginning from Tuesday.

The festival which will commence at the Government College, Maiduguri, is an inaugural competition, and has eight camps, Teacher’s Village, NYSC, CAN Centre, Dalori, Gubio, LCC Shuwari and stadium, all within Maiduguri metropolis competing for medals.

The IDPs from the competing camps will vie for medals in football, volleyball, basketball, table tennis and athletics, among others.

The event which kicks off with a football match between Bakasi IDP camp and CAN centre IDP camp is expected to end in March.

Speaking on the competition, the North-East Coordinator of African Missions Global, Dr. Sesan Akinnawo said it was introduce to fend off youths from idleness and crimes.

He said: “Some of the

youths are idle and because of idleness they are involved in crimes.

“In order to keep them busy and divert their energies into positive use African Missions Global came up with encouraging sporting activities and competition.”

He noted that each of the eight camps have been given sporting equipment for table tennis, football, basketball and volley ball.

He said the materials can be used even after

the competition, revealing that “we already have a sport coordinator in each of the camps to help them (IDPs) in the various sports.

The Commissioner for Women Affairs, Hajiya Zuwaira Gambo, said the Borno State Government is appreciative of the initiation by African Mission Global.

She commended its foresight and asked that all public spirited corporate and private individuals should come out to assist displaced persons in Borno State.

his certificate,’’ Bosso said in an interview with Nigeria Info FM “Yobo has been a registered member of the coaching association in Rivers State.

“Of course, I am supporting the process that brought Yobo in. He must have shown interest before accepting the job or gone for a course.

“He’s coming there as a second assistant coach not even the first. Salisu has a contract with the NFF except otherwise.”

Bosso went on to say that Yobo will get the backing and confidence of the present Super Eagles players because he previously played the game

at a high level and captained the squad.

“Most of the Super Eagles players basically are based in Europe, he is used to those places. The Super Eagles players on ground will give him respect because he’s an ex-international, he has captained the Super Eagles,’’ he added.

On if he sees Yobo eventually coaching the Super Eagles, Bosso said : “With time, nobody can tell”.

Yobo is the joint most capped Nigeria player in history, earning 101 caps in total before retiring after the 2014 World Cup.

Solskjaer Still Skeptical of Unleashing Ighalo against Chelsea Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says Odion Ighalo will travel with Manchester United for their game against Chelsea, but did not confirm whether the on-loan striker will play following his two-week ‘isolation’.

The Nigerian striker was kept away from the club’s AON Training Complex in Carrington amid fears over spreading the coronavirus.

The 30-year-old has not tested positive for the virus and, as part of the government’s precautionary procedures, was put on a two-week incubation period ending this weekend - coinciding with United’s return to the UK from their warm-weather training camp in Marbella, which Ighalo had missed over similar concerns.

He has been training in Manchester ’s Taekwondo Centre on the Etihad Campus since completing his Deadline Day loan move and will be part of United’s travelling party at Stamford Bridge.

“I never said he was going to be ready to play on Monday, he’ll be involved with us and he will travel down with us,” Solskjaer said.

“Now he’s out of that two-week period, just a precaution we made, let’s see if he’s involved or not.

“We’ve kept in touch with him and of course we’ve done our own programme, he’s done his, and it was always gonna be a case of him having to integrate having been out in China and needs to get used to the players, and the team, up to speed as quick as he can, he’s been working really hard.

“When I first arrived, it didn’t take me too long. I didn’t have a training session to come on. As a striker you get thrown on out there and it might be he’ll have to come off the bench and get us a goal.”

Man City Get Two Seasons Ban from European Club Competitions

Manchester City have been banned from European club competition for the next two seasons after being found to have committed “serious breaches” of Uefa’s club licensing and financial fair play regulations.

The reigning Premier League champions have also been fined 30m euros (£25m).

The decision is subject to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Manchester City say they are “disappointed but not surprised” by the “prejudicial” decision and will appeal.

The independent Adjudicatory Chamber of the Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) said City had broken the rules by “overstating its sponsorship revenue in its accounts and in the break-even information submitted to Uefa between 2012 and 2016”, adding that the club “failed to cooperate in the investigation”.

Manchester City said in a statement: “The club has always anticipated the ultimate need to seek out an independent body and process to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence in support of its position.

Saturday, February 15, 2020

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Price: N250

MISSILE

Northern Elders Forum to Buhari “The Forum regrets that by any standard of judgement, the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari has failed the nation in the vital area of improving its security.“ – The Northern Elders Forum (NEF), awarding a poor mark to the Buhari government on security.

PENDULUM DELE MOMODU

dele.momodu@thisdaylive.com

African World Airlines and Its Dangerous Greed

F

ellow Africans, let me start by making a confession. I was a big fan of Afriica World Airlines known in the aviation industry by the acronym AWA, when it started its humble operations in Accra, Ghana some years back now. I had been approached by one of its top staff, Tosan Woode, an extremely gifted personality in the regional aviation industry having worked in British Airways and Virgin Atlantic in Ghana.

The passionate lady sold to me the idea of this new airline that would change the epileptic operations of most airlines on the west coast of Africa. Tosan is an incredibly smart marketer who is capable of selling a lean horse at a premium.

She invited me on a test flight and although it took a while to get accustomed to its small operating aircraft, slowly but surely, I began to patronise the airline.

My first worry was therefore about the size of the airline’s aircraft. They were tiny like mosquitoes by comparison to what I was used to. I felt that if one wanted to fly in smaller aircraft, then one should go in the luxury and comfort of a private jet. I asked when the planes would be upgraded to the types flown by Arik, Air Nigeria and later Medview on this route.

Tosan assured me that this would happen before not too long. However, as it seemed that I was having an interminable wait for the spectacular to happen, I decided to dig deeper and make further enquiries as to when the waiting for bigger aircraft would be over. My independent investigation revealed that the airline was a joint venture with joint ownership by Ghanaian and Chinese investors. And I would not worry too much about this ordinarily, although I have always had concerns about the added value that Chinese investors bring to the African businesses that they partner or invest in.

However, what I discovered, alarmingly for me, was that no such plan was in the works for any bigger aircraft, not even one, at least, not in the immediate future.

Nevertheless, the airline had a big advantage over its Nigerian counterparts, discipline, which meant punctuality, cleanliness and civility. The airline kept to time with frightening regularity compared to what we were normally used to on thee Lagos-Accra route. Passengers marvelled endlessly about the timing and wished and prayed that it would not go the way of others.

The served snacks were neat and the juices were always chilled, except the water, which I gather was because a lot of people prefer room temperature water for health purposes. Later coffee and teas were introduced on some flights.

Not a perfect airline, but we were grateful for its efficiency.

I tried my best to support the AWA dream, same way I supported Virgin Atlantic when it arrived our shores for serious business. Virgin soon entered into barter deals with Ovation International. We marketed the new airline to high heavens. Twice, I was invited to the home of its Chairman, Sir Richard Branson, in Holland Park, London. It was such fun and Virgin made the job easier by introducing newer aircrafts and spa services in its Upper Class cabin. It even rejigged its Premium Economy Cabin which it now calls Premium because it is a cut more than the usual Premium Economy cabins of other airlines. It was also on Virgin Atlantic that I first had in-flight WiFi connection although you had to pay for it in all cabins. Virgin Atlantic has a cheap messaging service which makes it all worthwhile. But it was not the case with

Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika and Dele Momodu

AWA in terms of improvement to its fleet or its services, I guess because of the nature of the aircraft they obstinately and obdurately insist on deploying on such a prime and lucrative route as the Nigerian. AWA has simply refused to invest in comfortable aircrafts. The available ones are not exactly new or nearly new, but God’s case has no appeal. I understand though that maintenance is key for the airline and that provides some degree of comfort. The only strong point of the airline is that if you ever desire to arrive your destination timeously as planned, AWA was it.

AWA therefore very soon became the airline of choice from Accra to Lagos and Lagos to Accra. AWA virtually took over that route due to the virtual unseriousness of its Nigerian rivals.

Unfortunately, those airlines have remained epileptic with worsening service conditions and in some cases they have become moribund on this mouth-watering route.

As normal with most successes engendered in our part of the world, AWA’s head began to swell. The Airline started expanding rapidly and spreading exponentially to other West African routes. It grabbed Abuja which used to be the exclusive preserve of ARIK. With such monopoly in its kitty, AWA and its owners and operators began to grow wings longer than that of its aircrafts and beards longer than that of Karl Marx. One particular lady, a flight attendant, became notorious for rudeness and uncivil manners. One day she yanked me off a flight in Accra because I insisted on having my hand luggage on board which she claimed was too big for the hat racks on the aircraft. All pleas that her colleagues usually create space or allowed passengers to place their hand luggage on the floor in front of them fell on deaf ears.

I left the plane for her as I was not prepared to condone her unruly behaviour. I appreciate that ostensibly this was for passenger safety, including mine, but there was no basis for this as in the past and since then, I have not been challenged by anyone else but her about my hand luggage. Indeed, as I disembarked, all the ground staff exclaimed in unison “what is wrong with this girl that she’s always rude to passengers?”

I vowed not to fly AWA again, but some good friends prevailed on me and some staff promised to make sure it does not happen again.

However, the confrontation with the same lady did recur. The next time she saw me on her flight, she was going to offload me, but for the prompt intervention of the Captain. She refused to touch my hand luggage despite the instructions of the Captain, until her colleague came to my rescue. I thought that our altercation had somehow ended and that I could henceforth be able to enjoy my flight in peace despite the lack of comfort because of the seat size. As the Yorubas say “ a nroju j’eko obun … On another occasion, I sat on seat 3A. She walked up to me and asked rudely, “do you know you’re sitting in an exit row seat? In case of emergency will you be ready to assist in prompt evacuation?”

I nodded a yes and this lady shocked me and all the people near me to our marrows. “Speak with your mouth instead of nodding ...” I just knew she had no redemption.

I came to the sad realization and the miserable conclusion that it wasn’t the fault of AWA. If our home airlines operated efficiently, no one would dare talk to us in such manner.

I swallowed the insults and continued to fly AWA notwithstanding, because of their timeliness and my own scheduling issues.

It was the same way Virgin Atlantic started misbehaving at some point by withdrawing all the privileges we enjoyed at the beginning including all the spa treatment, Nigerian cabin crew, gifts for top frequent fliers and so on.

We also started going back to other airlines, and this helped me a lot as I discovered other African and European airlines, like RwandAir, Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines and also Turkish Airlines. Of course the class and comfort offered by Emirates Airline is on another level where these airlines are concerned. Such is life.

Travelling with those Airlines meant that I also had the opportunity of visiting the countries more, and take in the splendour of their cities.

They have afforded me of seeing the squalor and woes in our country and I just pity my fellow countrymen because we are constantly being short-changed by our leaders.

As for AWA, it now operates about five daily flights to Lagos and two to Abuja. It operates domestic flights to Kumasi, Takoradi and Tamale.

It now flies to Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cote d’Ivoire. All these in some of the tiniest aircraft you will see used by a commercial airline. I am aware that these aircraft are cost efficient, but it

must not always be about cost. Any airline on this route must also consider the comfort and sensibilities of its passengers. The fact that we seemingly have no choice does not mean we should be treated like the dregs of the earth.

One would expect that the airline would invest in some bigger aircraft given the significant revenue increase it has enjoyed over the years.

It can mix these with the smaller aircraft and still have effective and better synergy.

AWA has also partnered with some airlines to help distribute their cargoes across West Africa.

It is the airlines tendency for unbridled and uncontrolled expansion without apparently considering the comfort and safety of its passengers that has become so worrisome. I am very sorry, this is the reason I decided to sound a note of warning and caution today.

That AWA is biting more than it can chew.

I came to this sad conclusion early this week. I had planned to fly from Accra to Lagos last Wednesday. So we checked in at Kotoka International Airport. Everything seemed very fine until we were invited back to the check in counter and our boarding passes were withdrawn from us. The airline told us calmly that flights weren’t landing in Lagos. Wow, what’s this? I still did not smell a rat.

Then it was time for the next flight. What did we witness? Same routine, same ritual.

Passengers kept piling up, flight after flight.

They kept telling us they are sure there’ll be improvements, but only by Saturday. Yet they kept checking in, more and more people, and even selling fresh tickets to unsuspecting passengers. I decided we must put a stop to this nonsense before a monumental tragedy befalls Africa again.

AWA needs to slow down. Its desperation for expansion should never compromise safety and security of lives and property. AWA is clearly overwhelmed by its humongous operations.

It cannot continue along this dangerous path without running into some form of calamity.

I pray not because it has worked very hard to attain its current status. More importantly, I pray that such calamity does not involve loss of irreplaceable lives, because all this is avoidable.

It must invest heavily in more and bigger and newer aircrafts. This penny-pinching cannot be allowed to continue unabated.

Using the incompetence at Murtala Muhammed as excuse and alibi is not right or justified.

AWA should reduce its operations urgently to a more manageable one. We know that many of our airports are still very ineffective, are managed by incompetent people or lack proper technical facilities required of modern international airports. Airlines like AWA should not compound an already ugly situation.

In this regard, I note that many bigger airlines from America, Middle East and Europe confronted with the situation in Lagos, which was caused largely by ineptitude, and not simply the weather, turned back and headed to Ghana for succour. I must salute the Republic of Ghana for its conduct during this period.

It has provided an airport that is the envy of many, not just because of the full international facilities it offers to the airlines, but also because of the competence, maturity and graciousness of its various staff, even in the wake of an avalanche of aircraft and passengers. The aviation authorities in Ghana surely deserve a standing ovation. I salute all those involved with the management and operations in the Kotoka International Airport Accra.

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