SATURDAY 28TH MARCH 2020

NNPC, IOCs Mobilise N11bn for Fight against COVID-19 Emmanuel Addeh and Peter Uzoho in Abuja The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in Nigeria and independent oil companies in the upstream

and downstream sectors, said yesterday that they were contributing about N11 billion in an effort to push back the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

The oil firms said the donation would be made to the Nigeria Centre for

Disease Control (NCDC) as part of its support to combat the Coronavirus pandemic in the country.

According to a statement

by NNPC’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru, the Group Managing Director

of the corporation, Mele Kyari, unveiled the donation in Abuja yesterday.

Kyari said in recognition of the impact of the pandemic on the Nigerian population and the economy, the oil and gas sector embarked on an industry-wide collaborative

initiative to support the effort to combat the ailment and its attendant impact.

He said: "The intervention initiative is in alignment with the ongoing Federal Government's efforts and in collaboration with the NCDC to curb the pandemic.

"It is aimed at supporting our national healthcare delivery facilities and covers three key thematic areas: provision of medical consumables; deployment of logistics and in-patient Continued on page 5

S&P Downgrades Nigeria, 4 Other Oil Producing Countries…Page 6 Saturday 28 March, 2020 Vol 25. No 9119

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COVID-19 Cases Rise to 81, Buhari Approves 4 Stadia for Quarantine Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja, Kaduna stadia listed NYSC orientation camps also to serve as isolation hubs Obasanjo donates former residence for seclusion Sanwo-Olu targets 200,000 families in stimulus Death toll surpasses 25,000 globally Military sets aside 17 hospitals for isolation Donations: President applauds Atiku, Dangote, Elumelu, Rabiu U.S. moves to mop up doctors, nurses worldwide China pledges to share containment strategy Our Correspondents Nigeria yesterday recorded 16 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 81, up from 65 earlier Friday morning.

The Nigeria Disease Control Centre made this known late yesterday night.

It said eight new cases were recorded in Lagos State, three in the FCT, two in Enugu State, two in Oyo State and one in Edo State.

“As of 11:55pm on 27th of March, there are 81 confirmed cases of #COVID-19 reported in Nigeria. Three have been discharged with one dead,” the NCDC tweeted.

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has given the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development approval to open and make available four federal government owned stadiums in addition to the National Youth Service

Corps (NYSC) orientation camps spread across the country as isolation centres for Coronavirus cases.

The stadiums are the National Stadium, Lagos; Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Ibadan; MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja and Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna.

The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare, confirmed this directive yesterday via his Twitter handle.

He said that the Ministry was already in touch with relevant authorities and stakeholders to make these facilities available in line with Buhari's approval and as part of the ministry's contribution to halting the spread of COVID-19.

He described the stadiums as huge complexes boasting of several outdoor and indoor areas and which can also be Continued on page 5

THE LAGOS STIMULUS...

L-R: Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture, Prince Gbolahan Lawal; Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; and the Special Adviser on Agriculture to the governor, Ms. Abisola Olusanya, during an inspection of the COVID-19 Emergency Food Response of the state in Agege…yesterday.

Zamfara: S’Court Maintains Finality Status, Dismisses APC’s Appeal... Page 6

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S&P Downgrades Nigeria, 4 Other Oil Producing Countries Obinna Chima

IMF: Global Economy Now in Recession One of the leading global rating agencies, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has downgraded Nigeria’s credit rating and that of four other oil producing countries - Mexico, Angola, Ecuador and Oman further into junk territory, with a B- rating, down from ‘B/B,’ due to the plunge in oil prices. This was a one-notch downgrade.

Under the American financial services company’s rating, the 'B' rating is more vulnerable than the 'BB' rating, even though the sovereign has the capacity to meet its financial commitments.

However, adverse business, financial, or economic conditions would likely impair the country’s capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitments.

Saudi Arabia and Russia, two of the world’s biggest oil producers were not affected. “We have lowered the ratings or assigned a negative outlook on some sovereigns because of their heightened risk to manage the fiscal and external shock resulting from lower (oil) prices in addition to the blow to economic growth as a result of the pandemic,�

S&P stated.

Oil prices have plunged more than 60 per cent this year as the combination of an oil market price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia and the global coronavirus spread have caused a perfect storm.

S&P also slashed its Brent oil prices assumptions for the year to $30 a barrel as part of its move.

S&P had earlier this month, stressed that weak growth, sizable public debt and external pressure were all weighing on Nigeria’s

credit worthiness.

It had noted that the country’s foreign exchange reserve levels have fallen from $45 billion at mid-year 2019 to $38 billion at end-2019 and $36.5 billion in February 2020.

financial needs of emerging markets is $2.5 trillion.�

But she warned that “we believe this is on the lower end.�

Over 80 countries already have requested emergency aid from the International Monetary Fund.

IMF: Global Economy Now in Recession

Brent Oil Dives to $24.41 a Barrel, Lowest Since 2003

The Coronavirus pandemic has driven the global economy into a downturn that will require massive funding to help developing nations, IMF Chief, Kristalina Georgieva said yesterday. “It is clear that we have entered a recession� that will be worse than in 2009 following the global financial crisis, she said in an online press briefing.

With the worldwide economic “sudden stop,� Georgieva said the fund’s estimate “for the overall

Oil prices slumped anew yesterday with Brent North Sea crude plumbing a 17-year low, owing to massive oversupply as the Coronavirus crisis paralyses global demand.

Around 1435 GMT, Brent for May delivery was down 7.33 per cent from Thursday, at $24.41 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate fell 5.97 per cent to $21.25.

Oil has tanked in recent weeks on the back of collapsing demand, as COVID-19 slams the brakes

on economic activity and the world’s appetite for energy.

Crude futures spiralled even lower this month after a fierce price war erupted between Riyadh and Moscow. “The Coronavirus pandemic is reducing oil demand,� wrote analysts at the Wood Mackenzie research consultancy in a note to clients. “The OPEC+ production restraint agreement fell apart on 6 March and Saudi Arabia is rapidly increasing supply. “The result: Brent crude has plunged,� they added.

Until recently, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia had cooperated closely since 2016 to curb production, support prices and protect their precious revenues.

That all changed this month when Saudi Arabia launched a

price war with Moscow, after OPEC and non-member Russia failed to clinch an output-cutting deal to curb the market impact of the deadly COVID-19 outbreak.

The perfect storm has sent oil prices collapsing to their lowest levels in almost two decades, while also stretching global crude storage capacity. “With Saudi Arabia attempting to flood the oil market by ramping up production to counter Russia, oil prices have halved this month prompting countries to stockpile under the low prices,� said Sun Global Investments head Mihir Kapadia. “With Saudi Arabia attempting to flood the oil market by ramping up production to counter Russia, oil prices have halved this month prompting countries to stockpile under the low prices,� said Sun Global Investments head Mihir Kapadia.

strengthen the health system to contain the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

The government in a statement published on www.travel.state. gov yesterday, advised foreign medical professionals already in the US to consult with their sponsors to extend their programmes.

The U.S. government further clarified yesterday evening that only medical professionals with a previously approved H or J petition would receive the emergency visa appointment.

According to the statement posted on its website, it said, "The U.S. Mission is aware of a misunderstanding caused by a message that led many to believe the U.S is recruiting foreign medical professionals to assist the COVID-19 response.

This is incorrect. Only medical professionals with a previously approved H or J petition will receive an emergency visa appointment. We are sorry for the misunderstanding."

As of Friday evening, the United States had at least 82,100 cases while China was reporting 81,782, while there have been more than 510,000 cases reported worldwide.

In New York, where more than half of the US cases have been reported, exhausted hospital workers are turning to increasingly desperate measures to combat the virus.

coronavirus pandemic.

The Defence Headquarters in a press conference in Abuja added that the military had also concluded plans to recall its retired medical personnel to complement those in the active service.

The Coordinator of the Defence Media Operations, Maj Gen John Enenche, said in Abuja that apart from medical preparations, the military has activated its Disaster Response Units across the country to manage security situations in any part of the country as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Enenche said, “Sequel to the ongoing fight against the spread of the Coronavirus disease 2019 by the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Armed Forces of Nigeria have put measures in place to aid the civil authorities.

As you may be aware, Section 217 (2) c of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), empowers the military to act in aid of civil authority.

COVID-19 CASES RISE TO 81, BUHARI APPROVES 4 STADIA FOR QUARANTINE put into use as testing centres.

He stated that because of space they will allow for required distancing, adding it is up to medical personnel and authorities to determine the appropriate areas of usage if and when necessary. “The world over, stadiums are being used by nations as they race against the ravages of COVID -19. The Santiago BernabĂŠu (Real Madrid Stadium) will be turned into a storage and distribution centre for medical materials donated to the health authorities in Spain.

London’s ExCeL Exhibition and Conference Centre is being repurposed to care for patients infected with COVID-19. In Brazil, top football clubs have turned over their stadiums to the country’s health authorities to use as field hospitals. The Hard Rock Stadium in Florida, United States was converted into a community testing centre amongst others. Back home, Lagos State Government has set up the Onikan Stadium (Mobolaji Johnson Stadium) to support efforts at halting the pandemic. “While our prayers are that Nigeria never gets to the level where these facilities will be put to this use, we must however all be prepared to support the system and ensure that the nation is not caught unawares,� Dare stated.

The minister assured Nigerians that together they will fight and win the battle against Coronavirus contagion.

He also called on the youth to be at the vanguard of dissemination of timely and accurate information via social media to Nigerians in their communities.

The Federal Government had on March 18 ordered the immediate closure of NYSC orientation camps nationwide over coronavirus fears.

But Dare, yesterday, said the President, approved the re-opening of the camps as COVID-19 isolation centres.

Nigeria is Racing against Time, Says NCDC DG The Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu has said Nigeria was racing against time in curbing

the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and advised Nigerians to cooperate and collaborate to stem a potential outbreak.

Ihekweazu, who stated this in an interview on The Morning Show on Arise TV, yesterday, said “70% to 80% of the infections we are dealing with have been in Nigerians that have come back to their country. We are not saying don’t come back to your country, but please do carry out that self-isolation very strictly.

We need you more than ever to stay at home in your room, let your family work around you for 14 days, if you’re ill, let us know.�

Ihekweazu said the Coronavirus outbreak was about to go into its third wave. “There has never been an outbreak that has been reported real time around the world the way this is being reported. We have seen the first wave of this outbreak go through mostly China and other countries. We’ve seen a second incredible wave now going through Europe and unfortunately we are seeing the beginnings of what is most likely to be a third wave, starting off in many countries in Africa, South America and in South-east Asia.�

Obasanjo Donates former Residence for Isolation Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has offered his former residence at the Presidential Hilltop, Abeokuta, Ogun State, to be used as an isolation centre for victims of the ongoing coronavirus disease.

An aide said Obasanjo made the offer on Friday, and has since handed over the 32-room facility to the Ogun government for immediate use. Ogun State has recorded three cases of the coronavirus, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

Obasanjo’s special assistant media, Kehinde Akinyemi, who confirmed the development said the former president was concerned about the pandemic. “And I think those who can in one way or another assist in this situation should do so,� Obasanjo was quoted as having said.

The facility located off the Presidential Boulevard, Oke Sari, Abeokuta has each of the 32

rooms ensuite, with a standby generator.

China Pledges to Share Coronavirus Containment Strategy The People’s Republic of China yesterday pledged to share containment strategies, drugs and vaccines of Coronavirus with Nigeria.

The Ambassador of China to Nigeria, Dr. Zhou Pingjian, disclosed this in Abuja while presenting some medical items, including hand gloves, sanitisers, automatic hand dryers and other hygiene products to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials.

He said that though the situation in China is now under control with life gradually returning to normal, but stressed that there is no way China would lower its guard or relax control.

Pingjian noted that he and other Chinese diplomats would stay in the country and work closely with Nigerian medical professionals to defeat the coronavirus pandemic.

The envoy said it was imperative for the international community to strengthen confidence, act with unity and work together in a collective response.

He stated: "Despite the daunting task of epidemic control remaining at home, China will try its best to provide medical supplies to Nigeria and do whatever it could to support Nigeria. “China will continue to share information and experience with Nigeria and strengthen cooperation on containment, treatment and vaccines in response to the coved-19 challenge, with a view to building together a community of shared health for mankind.�

Death Toll Surpasses 25,000 Worldwide The coronavirus pandemic has killed 25,066 people, with Europe accounting for most of the deaths, according to an AFP tally at 1430 GMT yesterday based on official statistics.

Europe was the worst-hit continent with 17,314 fatalities.

Italy had the highest number of deaths in the world at 8,165, followed by Spain (4,858) and China (3,292).

At least 547,034 coronavirus cases have been registered around the world since December.

The death toll in Spain soared over 4,800 yesterday after 769 people died in 24 hours, in what was a record one-day figure for fatalities in the country, the government said.

Spain has the world’s secondhighest death toll after Italy, and has so far suffered 4,858 deaths, while the number of cases jumped to 64,059.

Although the figures showed a daily increase of nearly 8,000 new infections, the uptick comes as Spain moves to dramatically increase its rate of testing, ordering millions of new kits from around the world.

Despite the increase, the rate of new infections appears to be slowing, registering a 14 per cent increase compared with 18 per cent on Thursday.

Even so, the number of deaths over a 24-hour period was far higher than Italy, which counted 662 deaths in its last update on Thursday night.

Italy has so far suffered 8,165 deaths as a result of the epidemic with 80,539 people infected.

Until Thursday night, Italy had registered the largest number of declared cases until it was overtaken by the United States, where 85,991 people have now tested positive for the virus.

U.S. Asks Doctors, Nurses Around the World to Apply for Visa The United States has asked medical professionals seeking to work in America to apply for a work visa at the nearest US Embassy as part of measures to

Military Sets Aside 17 Hospitals for Isolation The military yesterday said it had prepared 17 hospitals for the isolation and treatment of confirmed cases of the

FG Orders NCDC Staff Training Aboard Back to Nigeria The federal government has ordered all staff of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) currently training abroad to return home.

The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, who stated this while addressing journalists in Abuja yesterday, also said Lagos State was currently the epicentre of COVlD-l 9 outbreak in Nigeria, with its increasing number of cases.

Continued on page 54

NNPC, IOCS MOBILISE N11BN FOR FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19 support system; and delivery of medical infrastructure."

The NNPC boss added that the three thematic support initiatives amounted to $30 million (N11bilion naira) and would be delivered in phases, starting yesterday.

He noted that the increasing demand for medical services, medical consumables covering testing kits, medical protective suits and ambulances to the highly impacted areas across the federation informed the intervention of the oil industry.

The NNPC helmsman added

that as a responsive industry, the oil and gas industry was taking the action to strengthen the collective national resolve to stem the pandemic.

He stated that the effort was a collaboration between the NNPC and its partners in the upstream and downstream sector of the nation's oil and gas value chain.

"As a national oil company, the corporation on its own, would equip the intensive care unit of the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital with 16 beds; provide ventilators and

a dedicated laboratory.

"The medical infrastructure would be made available to the hospital immediately."

Kyari noted that the industry was prepared to make further contributions to the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

Some of the medical items to be donated to the NCDC include 200 ambulances, 86 ventilators, 2,000 test kits, over 4,000 coveralls and laboratory equipment.

Other items include one diagnostic centre and several medical equipment.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾MARCH 28, 2020

NEWS

News Editor Ahamefula Ogbu 08116759810 (sms only) Email ahamefula.ogbu@thisdaylive.com

RECOGNISING EXCELLENCE ...

L-R: Chief Operating Officer, MTN Nigeria, Mazen Mroue; Chief Enterprise Business Officer, MTN Nigeria, Lynda Saint-Nwafor; Chairman, Prudential Zenith Life, Jim Ovia; Director, Licensing and Authorisation, Nigerian Communications Commission, Mohammed C. Babajika and former Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos, Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe, at the launch of the Prudential Zenith Life Mobile Payment Service in partnership with MTN Nigeria held at the Civic Centre in Lagos

Zamfara: Supreme Court Maintains Finality Status, Dismisses APC’s Appeal Insists it lacked powers to set aside own judgment

Chuks Okocha and Alex Enumah in Abuja The apex court in a four-to-one ruling yesterday refused to set aside its consequential order that made the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) beneficiary of all elective positions in the 2019 general election in Zamfara State.

Reacting to the judgment, National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, felicitated with the Zamfara State Governor Alhaji Bello Matawalle on his victory which he said was divine and urged him to be a good team leader.

The apex court in a majority ruling just like in earlier rulings held that the Supreme Court cannot

review or set aside its judgment delivered in any matter except to correct clerical errors and other issues in line with Order 8 Rule 16 of the Supreme Court.

The lead judgment delivered

by Justice Inyang Okoro reiterated the position of the court that it could not sit on appeal in its own judgment and accordingly dismissed the appeal.

Recall that the apex court had declined two previous judgment set aside request involving the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP’s) sacked Imo State Governor, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha and All Progressives Congress (APC’s) Governor-Elect of Bayelsa State, David Lyon.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara State had ap-

proached the apex court to set aside its judgment of May 24, 2019 which disqualified all candidates of the APC in the general election in Zamfara State on grounds of not conducting a valid primary for the selection of its candidates for all elective positions in the state.

The APC in the application said the apex court had the power to set aside the consequential order that brought candidates of the PDP into elective offices in Zamfara because the court lacked the jurisdiction to make such an order.

The APC in its submissions presented by his lawyer, Chief Robert Clarke, SAN, also argued that the May 24 judgment was a nullity and should be set aside because the order benefited a non-party

in the suit, adding that the order disenfranchised the electorates of Zamfara who participated in the 2019 general election.

However, the apex court in its ruling agreed with the objection raised by counsel to the Senator Kabiru Marafa faction, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, that the application ran contrary to the provisions of Order 8 Rule 16 of the court which prohibits the apex court from reviewing or setting aside its own well considered judgment.

The court further held that the application brought by APC was an abuse of court process, incompetent and vexatious, because Order 8 Rule 16 was a clear and unambiguous law that prohibits it from going into a matter already decided.

Justice Okoro who cited several authorities to justify the position of the court made it clear that the farthest the Supreme Court could go in a matter already decided was to correct accidental errors and slips and not to sit as an appellate court in its own decision.

“Even, our fore-bearers did not leave anyone in doubt that a Supreme Court judgment, once delivered, cannot be adjudicated upon in the form of appeal by the same court,” he said.

Insisting that there must be an end to litigation, Justice Okoro held that the finality of the Supreme Court was sealed and that no one could come through the back door to interfere with it.

“The consequential order

complained of by the applicant is a legitimate consequential order and this application seeking for its review and setting aside is vexatious and frivolous as it violently violates Order 8 Rule 16 of the court.

“Let me warn here that political parties must obey their own constitution and relevant laws and where they fail or refuse to obey, the hammer of the court will always fall on them.

“It is the duty of the court to always take decision that will prevent anarchy in this country,” he said.

Okoro warned lawyers to bring only serious matters before the apex court since the court is already filled with litigations right from the Magistrates Court.

Troops Kill 100 Insurgents, Lose 29 COVID-19 Pandemic: IMF Enhances Debt Relief Trust for Eligible Low-Income Countries Soldiers, Officers Chika Amanze-Nwachuku International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board has adopted some immediate enhancements to its Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) to enable it to provide debt service relief for its poorest and most vulnerable members in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, which has taken a huge toll on the global economy.

The Fund noted that although the greatest health impact had been in advanced economies, emerging market and developing countries, especially low-income countries, would be particularly hard hit by a combination of a health crisis, a sudden reversal of capital flows and a sharp drop in commodity prices.

To this end, the Fund said “many of these countries need help to strengthen their crisis response and restore jobs and growth, given foreign exchange liquidity shortages in emerging market economies and high debt burdens in many low-income countries.”

The CCRT enables the IMF to deliver grants for debt relief benefitting eligible low-income countries in the wake of catastrophic natural disasters and major, fast-spreading public health emergencies.

The COVID-19 outbreak and the associated global economic turmoil, according to the Fund, created a critical need to support the Fund’s membership, including exceptional balance of payments support for the poorest members especially impacted by the pandemic.

According to the Washington based agency, well-targeted support would allow these countries to prioritise medical spending and health-related as well as other immediate needs in the challenging economic environment, characterised by sharp declines in income, lost revenue and higher expenses.

“In that context, the IMF Executive Board has approved changes to the CCRT that expand the qualification criteria to better cover the circumstances created by a global pandemic and to focus on delivering support

for the most immediate needs.

“Specifically, the decision will allow all member countries with per capita income below the World Bank’s operational threshold for concessional support to qualify for debt service relief for up to two years. This would apply when a life-threatening global pandemic is inflicting severe economic disruption across the Fund’s membership and is creating balance of payments needs on such a scale to warrant a concerted international effort to support the poorest and most vulnerable countries,” the Fund said in a statement yesterday.

“The IMF has also launched a fund-raising exercise that would enable the Trust to provide about $1 billion for the current pandemic.

“The Managing Director of IMF, Kristalina Georgieva has called upon the Fund’s economically stronger member countries to help replenish the CCRT, which had only $200 million available for the world’s poorest countries.

Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Military High Command said yesterday that combined air strikes and artillery bombardment by troops and Air Task Force of Operation Lafiya Dole decimated 100 insurgents during the confrontation between troops and terrorists last Monday in Gorgi, Borno State.

It said 29 soldiers and some officers were killed while 39 others were wounded during the fire-fight.

This comes as military authorities activated its national disaster response units in collaboration with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and recalled retired medical personnel to join the ones in active service.

It said the units would be in charge of security management of emergencies other than medicals.

Giving an update on the Nigerian troops killed and wounded during the clearance operation in Gorgi, Coordinator, Directorate of Defence Media Operations, Major General John Enenche, who earlier said 47

soldiers were killed, reviewed the number downwards based on new figures from the battlefield.

He said some officers were killed but could not make their names available since the procedure for informing their families were not concluded.

On the burial plans for the fallen officers, he said the next of kin of the deceased soldiers would be contacted while a befitting burial would be accorded the fallen soldiers and officers in line with military burial procedure.

“Following the encounter between Armed Forces of Nigeria and insurgents in Operation Lafiya Dole at Gorgi between 21 and 23 March 2020, a team was sent to carry out the due operational after action procedure which include reconfirmation of casualties and immediate medical evacuation required among others,” he said.

Enenche said “after the exercise, the team made the following findings: 29 Nigerian troops were killed in action and 39

were wounded in action, as a result of the explosion of the truck carrying logistics and ammunition resupply for the fighting echelon.

“This is contrary to the figures from the first contact situation report of 47 killed in action and 15 wounded in action. This is a common occurrence during combat operations due to the fog of war, encounters or conflicts, when first contact reports are released to higher quarters in contemporary times, in order to counter false reports and fake news by mischief makers.”

He affirmed that “the team also found a casualty of over 100 Boko Haram terrorists neutralised as the result of direct fire action and encounter with the gallant troops of the land component of the Armed Forces of Nigeria during the clearance of Gorgi.

“This figure is against the scores given during the briefing, 500 and 200 respectively provided by secondary sources.”

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GunmenKidnap23PassengersinNiger In Brief Laleye Dipo in Minna No fewer than 23 passengers who left Minna in Niger State and were heading for Katsina have been kidnapped by unknown gunmen.

The travellers were in a Toyota coaster bus belonging to the Niger State Transport Authority (NSTA).

Circumstances surrounding the incident are still very hazy but one eyewitness told THISDAY that they stopped along the road for some of the commuters to

ease themselves, unknown to them some kidnappers were lurking around the area.

"The kidnappers came out from the bush and asked all of us to come down, they selected those they wanted and led us into the bush."

Another account of the incident had it that the driver of the bus took a route not approved by the management of the transport authority for the journey.

"At a point the driver complained about shortage of fuel and parked by the road side. He

later picked up a jerry can and went in search of fuel.

As soon as he left, gunmen appeared from the bush and kidnapped us," an eyewitness said adding that out of the 35 passengers 12, mostly children were released while the others were forced into the bush."

It was gathered that the gunmen collected the cell phones of the travellers and asked for a ransom of N40m.

It was gathered two of the passengers were released on Thursday after their families

paid unspecified amount as ransom.

All efforts to get official confirmation from the General Manager of the NSTA Alhaji Yakubu Salau were abortive as he refused to pick his cell phones.

Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Wasiu Abiodun, said he could not comment because "the incident happened outside our jurisdiction." Sympathisers have however been visiting the families of some of the victims in Minna the state capital.

Dana Air Offers Aircraft, Crew to Ferry Relief Materials Chinedu Eze Dana Air has offered the federal government aircraft and crew in support of its fight to contain the spread of COVID-19 and treat existing cases.

In a letter signed by the Chief Executive Officer of the airline, Jacky Hathiramani to the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, the airline said it was prepared to ferry medical equipment and relief materials to different states and locations where they are needed within the country.

According to him, Dana Air would make available resources, aircraft in its fleet and crew for the national assignment and the airline's crew would be more than ready to carry out the assignment upon request.

Hathiramani said, ''This is a global issue and this is the

time for us to play our part by supporting the government's effort in stemming the further spread of this pandemic. ''I am not too comfortable with the rising number of cases in Nigeria and this is why we took the decision to suspend our flight operations for 14 days in the interest of our staff, our customers and the nation at large. The support we are offering as an airline will only be an addition to the efforts of the government in fighting the pandemic. ''We commend the efforts of the Ministry of Aviation, the Aviation agencies, Lagos State and the Federal Government and wish to reassure them of our commitment towards contributing our resources to enhance prompt response to the fight against the spread of this virus.''

Meanwhile, the Kenyan

Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) yesterday turned back a British Airways flight BA65, which left London Heathrow Airport (LHR) to Nairobi, the nation's capital.

The Boeing 777-200ER GRAES aircraft turned back near Frankfurt, Germany and returned to LHR after it was denied access to land. It is unclear if the plane was empty and if it came to evacuate British citizens.

The aircraft's pilot told the air traffic controller on ground that he received a message saying that the Kenyan authorities denied the aircraft access to land.

"We had a message the Kenyan authorities have denied us access to their airspace," the pilot said.

The National Emergency Response Committee (NERC) in Nairobi had on March 22nd, issued a Notice to

Airmen (NOTAM) stating that international flights into Kenya would be suspended on March 25th at 23.59 hours.

The Kenyan Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) then issued a statement on its Twitter handle shortly after, saying that all flights entering the country before March 25, would be banned except cargo flights in which case, the crew will be expected to self-isolate within designated airport hotels.

"Only cargo flights will be allowed into the country, with the crew expected to self-isolate within designated airport hotels. Emergency flights are exempted from the suspension.

"Evacuating flights into the country are allowed before midnight, March 25th, provided they come in empty for that purpose," KCAA said.

Ex-State House Commander, Wife Die in Car Crash, Buhari Mourns Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Abuja bemoaned the death of Commander MOPOL 24 in the State House, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Abdulahi Ibrahim and his wife in a car crash.

ACP Ibrahim, his wife and children were said to be travelling to Onitsha when the accident occurred.

His children who survived the accident are said to be responding to treatment in the hospital.

A statement by presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, said Buhari recalled Ibrahim's tour of duty as Commander MOPOL 24 in the State House, between 2016 and 2019 where he was entrusted with the delicate responsibility of ensuring the safety of the president

and his motorcade.

He quoted the president as saying, "ACP Ibrahim was a highly dedicated officer, responsible and extremely reliable.

"He undertook his job most professionally. He knew what was expected of him and carried it out to the letter."

The statement added that the President commiserated with the government and people of Bauchi, his home

state, the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, and the Nigeria Police Force "on the loss of such a highly dependable officer at a time that the nation looks up to such dedicated personnel."

It also said Buhari prayed the God Almighty to comfort his family, friends and colleagues who mourn, and grant the children quick recovery as well as the repose of the souls of the departed.

Makinde Approves 8 Roads for Rehabilitation, Reconstruction

Group Demands Creation of Ministry for Elderly Citizens

Kemi Olaitan inIbadan

Dike Onwuamaeze

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, has approved for immediate rehabilitation and reconstruction of eight roads in various zones of the state.

The state Commissioner for Public Works and Transport, Prof. Raphael Afonja, who made the disclosure yesterday, said infrastructural development remained a key focus of the present administration.

A statement made available by the commissioner quoted the governor as saying that his administration was prepared to ensure the uplift of infrastructure in state, adding that the government would ensure that adequate attention is given to road infrastructure that target the economic expansion drive of the state.

The statement further indicated that the determination to ensure infrastructural growth in the state informed the decision of Governor Makinde to devote a large chunk of the 2020 budget (23.93 per cent) to that sector.

It also reinstated the decision of the administration to institute a culture of quality road construction in the state, adding that the government was ready to build roads that would stand the test of time.

According to the statement, the present administration in Oyo State has a 20-year plan for road sustainability in the State.

The statement read in part, "Governor Seyi Makinde has also given approval for reconstruction of failed hydraulic structures in different geographical zones across the state.

A Non-GovernmentalOrganisationhascalledforthecreationofthe MinistryofElderlyCitizens(MEC), andtheenunciationofpoliciesthat would take care of the needs of elderly people in Nigeria.

The call was made by the Executive Director, Center for Gender Economics Africa (CGE Africa), Ms. Uchenna Idoko, during a recent media round table to call attention to the abuses being suffered by elderly people in the society.

Idoko said the MEC was needed because the abuses of elders were very endemic in most parts of the country to warrant a ministry that is dedicated to them so that all these abuses could be taken care.

She added that Nigeria had no agency that is exclusively meant for the care of the elderly men and women. “The Ministry ofYouths and

Sports Development was created to specifically deal with the youths while there is none that specifically attends to the needs of elderly people.

That is why some countries call it the Ministry of Gender to take care of both elderly men and women.

We need to call it an issue because,� she said. Idoko said that preventing and reporting abuse suffered by elders to law enforcement agencies should be everyone’s responsibility.

She also noted that it was worrisome that Nigeria had never signed any known specific international or United Nations’ agreement for old persons. Nigeria, according to her, in 2014 joined other nations around the world to adopt a resolution (E/ RES/2014/7) at the United Nations Economic and Social Council that recognised ageism as the common source of, the justification for and the driving force behind age discrimination.

Honeywell Supports Low-Income Families Honeywell Flour Mills has said it is partnering with the Lagos State government in its bid to feed 200,000 low-income families during the COVID-19 crisis. “The COVID-19 crisis reminds us of how intertwined we all are and presents an opportunity for every member of society to show responsibility and take action for the greater good,� the company said in a statement yesterday. Honeywell Flour Mills believes strongly in the power of community and in line with our mission of using enterprise to make our world better, they said. “We fully support the Lagos State Government’s objective of implementing social distancing policies across the State. We also recognise the unfortunate challenge this restriction of movement will place on many Lagosians, who need to leave their homes daily to earn an income to feed their families The company said, “We will be supporting the Lagos State Government’s goal of feeding 200,000 low-income families by providing customised Honeywell Flour Mills food packs. These packs, containing various food products, will feed one family for one month. “We commend the leadership of Lagos State in spearheading the efforts to help alleviate the burdens of the less fortunate amongst us caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone at this trying time. Let us continue to work together to stay safe and fight as one to win the battle against this global pandemic.�

AlaaďŹ n Enjoins Nigerians to Shun Rumours

The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, yesterday admonished Nigerians to stay at home, and adhere to all the guidelines laid down by the federal and state governments in a bid to curb the spread of the global Coronavirus pandemic. The monarch in a statement signed by his Media Aide, Mr. Bode Dutojaiye, cautioned Nigerians against vortex of cynicism but have confidence in the abilities of the government to secure them during this challenging period. According to him, “We should stop playing politics and rumour mongerings, but cooperate and support governments in their onerous task of getting rid of the pandemic.

Kwara Considers Palliative Measures

Kwara State Government yesterday said that, it is considering palliative measures to support the poorest of the poor of the state over the shutting down of social and economic activities in the state to curb the spread of Covid-19tothestateandNorthCentralregionofthecountry.Thegovernment however commended the people of the state for the excellent compliance with the partial lockdown of movement that commenced in the state on Friday. Speaking with journalists in Ilorin yesterday, the Chairman,Technical CommitteeofCovid-19andstatedeputygovernor,Mr.KayodeAlabihowever said that, "the committee will soon brief the public accordingly on it but it is important to state that this period calls for personal and collective sacrifice to save all of us." He said that, "Government will continue to do everything to support and protect the people.

Peace Corps on Humanitarian Services

The Peace Corps of Nigeria (PCN) has declared its readiness to partner with the federal and states governments in the fight against the spread of thedreadedCoronavirusravagingthecountrybyofferingfreehumanitarian servicestothegovernmentandpeopleofNigeria.NationalCommandantof the PCN, Ambassador Dickson Akoh, who made the declaration yesterday in Abuja said the corps currently boast of about 187,000 members and volunteers with requisite training and dedication in nation building, who can make a difference at this critical period of the country. Akoh in addition said the gesture was in line with the corps' cardinal function of serving as a reservoir and spring-board of man-power for volunteerism as well as involving in social and community services in times of needs.

Uzodinma Mourns Nwoga Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State has expressed shock over the recent passing of respected Imo elder statesman and politician of repute, Chief Innocent D. Nwoga. Chief Nwoga, former Minister of Establishment and Management Services in the Interim National Government led by Ernest Shonekan died onWednesday, March 25 at the age of 86. Governor Uzodinma regretted that Chief Nwoga, a pioneer chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo State as well as former chairman of Imo Elders Forum died when his fatherly counsel was most needed.

Eruiyawo Concepts

In celebrating a decade in Nigeria's event industry space, the Creative Director of Eruiyawo Concepts, Omowunmi Abayomi-Johnson, has successfully trained about a dozen women in the art and craft of traditional wedding gift wrapping and presentation business.The master class which was a hands on practical class for 3 days held recently in Ikeja , Lagos .This training was an eye opener to the women participants who were impacted with a lot of creative skills by the convener who did not hold back any useful information that would aid their success in that line of business.

‘Embrace Conict Resolution’

The Kaduna State Police Command have asked residents of the state to adopt alternative dispute measures to resolve minor issues and avoid trooping to police stations at a time the country is battling with a public health emergency. In a statement yesterday in Kaduna, spokesman of the command, Mohammed Jalige, the command enjoined members of the public to strictly adhere to all rules on social distancing order as the command would not hesitate to deal decisively with any person or group of persons who attempt to violate the order. The statement said the command, has commenced the enforcement of the 24 hour curfew imposed by the Kaduna State Government on Thursday, warning that anyone found violating the curfew, would be dealt with. The statement said the Kaduna State police commissioner, Mr. Mohammed Muri has directed all officers and men of the command to ensure that the curfew is fully complied with in order to maintain social safety within their areas of responsibilities.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾MARCH 28, 2020

08054699539

Now, they Need the Hospitals Snubbed for Years

W

ith the global lockdown, most of our big men are now at home.

I am specifically talking about Nigeria’s political leaders, past and present. These are people who celebrate going abroad for virtually everything. They revel going to the western world for medicals and sending their children to schools in Europe and America, while hospitals and schools at home wallow in poverty. Many of them have added Dubai and Saudi Arabia as favourites for foreign medicals and schools. With the global lockdown, they will be forced to use the decrepit hospitals they refused to pay attention to all this while. The same hospitals starved of funds for years in preference to foreign ones. Some are already patronising the once “unappealing” National Hospital in Abuja.

No doubt, federal tertiary hospitals are in tatters. They are all in a big mess, struggling to provide standard wards, equipment and manpower. Here, uninterrupted electricity and water are luxuries. The first time I critically looked at budgetary allocation for federal teaching hospitals was in 2016. I was almost shedding tears when I saw the figures. Then, the federal government proposed to spend more on capital projects at the State House Medical Centre than it would for its teaching hospitals and other tertiary health facilities.

In the 2016 approved budget, the State House Clinic got N787 million more in capital allocation than all the federal teaching hospitals combined. The State House Medical Centre is a facility that provides healthcare for President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, their families and other employees of the Presidency, all possibly less than 500.

Federal teaching hospitals cater for the health needs of millions of Nigerians, train medical doctors and other health professionals for the nation while also serving as top medical research centres. A breakdown of that 2016 Appropriation Bill showed that a total of N3.87 billion was allocated for capital projects at the State House Clinic. In contrast, the federal government-owned teaching hospitals got only a fraction of the allocation made for the presidential clinic. That year, (2016) a meagre N212 million was budgeted for capital projects at the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital, one of the country’s most populous, while the capital budget for the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Kaduna was N230 million.

Similarly, the 2016 budget for capital projects

47 Soldiers Killed in Just One Day Monday March 23 was a dark one for Nigerian soldiers battling Boko Haram. 47 of them, according to the account of the Defence Headquarters, were killed by the terrorists, who ambushed them in Gorgi, Borno State. Unofficial sources said the figure could be above 70. After the killings, a military source said: “The terrorists specifically targeted a truck loaded with soldiers with RPGs and incinerated the vehicle, killing all on board. So far, 70 bodies have been recovered but the toll is certainly more than that, as rescue operation is still underway. Several soldiers were injured and some others taken captive by the jihadists.”

The Director, Defence Information, Major General John Enenche, subsequently made statements that apparently left much to be desired from the leadership of the military. Enenche said some of the terrorists were killed and their gun truck immobilised after the Air Component of Operation Lafiya Dole immediately scrambled to the scene and provided close air support to the ground troops. So, he is telling us that the terrorists waited at the scene, after killing the Nigerian soldiers, for the Air Force to come and attack them? A retired army officer told me yesterday that it was very unprofessional for the army to embark on the clearance operation without air coverage/support. The leadership of the military should address this, instead of painting a ludicrous picture of what transpired after the attack on our gallant soldiers.

Ehanire

at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, was N230,904,795; University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu had N218,335,908; University of Benin Teaching Hospital, N212,886,502 and Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile Ife, N162,622,221.

Things did not change in the 2020 budget.

All the federal teaching hospitals and medical centres got about N5 billion in the budget for capital projects. In this same budget, 37 billion was budgeted for the renovation of the National Assembly and 150 billion for National Assembly members.

The State House clinic, Abuja, has been getting all that cash without anything to show for it. A 2009 report revealed that the State House clinic had 17 ambulances, the highest by any hospital in the country at that time.

According to the report, in 2008, 10 new state-of-the-art ambulances were brought from North Carolina in the United States, parked inside the presidential villa and left unused.

At the time the ambulances were left to rot in Aso Rock, the National Hospital, Abuja,

had only nine ambulances while the General Hospital in Nyanya, a decaying facility on the outskirts of Abuja, that served more than 300,000 people, had just a jalopy Peugeot 504 Station Wagon as its only ambulance.

In October 2017, the House of Representatives resolved to investigate the deplorable condition of the State House Clinic, its inability to deliver basic medical services and how the facility utilised the N10.98 billion budgeted for its operations since 2015. The clinic received budgetary allocations in excess of N3 billion in each of the years 2015; 2016; and 2017. In 2015, the clinic received N3.94 billion, in 2016, the allocation was N3.87 billion and in 2017, the clinic got N3.2 billion. The funds were voted for upgrading and the provision of necessary drugs and equipment. Nothing came out of the investigation.

State-owned hospitals are not better. In mother Nigeria, a governor will spend eight years in office and is unable to raise a single public hospital to world class standard. He prefers to run abroad with his family for medicals. The poor die like chickens in these hospitals. I will never forget how former Flying Eagles goalkeeper, Raymond King, died at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) in January 2018. He was initially admitted at the Ogun State General Hospital Ijaye, Abeokuta, before he was taken to the General hospital in Ikorodu, Lagos State, from where he was transferred to LASUTH, all in search of equipment and manpower to treat him.

He died waiting for the equipment and manpower. Tajudeen Disu, King’s former teammate lamented: “LASUTH told us initially that they didn’t have electricity to commence treatment or fuel to run their generator. But when they eventually started to set up their equipment to treat him, he was already gasping for air and he passed on.” Daily, many Nigerians experience this at state-owned hospitals. Many lives that should be saved are lost.

Now, let’s flip to cancer patients, who suffer a great deal in Nigeria. In fact, it is

now the biggest killer in this country. You hardly find functional radiotherapy machines essential for the treatment of cancer in the nation’s public hospitals. The few functional ones belong to private hospitals. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), over 100,000 Nigerians are diagnosed with cancer annually, and about 80,000 die from the disease yearly. Our political leaders and others, who can afford it, spend billions of Naira annually in the United States, Europe, India and other places with better healthcare systems.

President Buhari evidently cares less about the state of these federal tertiary hospitals.

He and his family are persistently abroad for medicals, unfortunately, there is no law stopping him from doing this. But he has failed to raise the standard of any of the federal tertiary hospitals to meet his requirement, so that poor Nigerians can also benefit. The burden on him is more of a moral one, considering that he had doggedly preached that we should look inwards for our needs to strengthen the Naira and save our limited forex earnings. My foremost issue with our dear president is that he is spending public money abroad for his medicals. The other day, our President spent about $50,000 treating ear infection. Only God knows how much of public fund had gone down for his foreign medicals in five years.

With focused investment in equipment and manpower by a forward-looking government, I doubt if there is any health challenge that can’t be handled in this country.

It was so depressing flipping through the list of projects attached to the mind-boggling $22.7 billion foreign loan request of the Buhari government and not finding a single federal tertiary health institution among beneficiaries.

Also, no single federal higher institution is on the list. In this same loan request, the federal government plans to spend almost $6 billion on power, a sector privatised almost six years ago. Well, all our political leaders can now start enjoying the fantastic hospitals they have put in place in the country, while Coronavirus reigns.

A Word for Bishop David Oyedepo I have spent quality time reading the statement issued by Bishop David Oyedepo’s Living Faith Church in defence of the service held at the headquarters of the church in Ogun State, on March 22, contrary to government’s caution against large gathering following COVID-19 pandemic. I find the explanation for not complying with government’s instruction preposterous and silly.

Part of the church’s defence reads: “Information has to be strategically disseminated to the grassroots. The Church is a family and not an industry; it is for this reason that enlightenment and sensitisation from the Church platform is a most effective way of getting people involved in playing their part in terms of prayers and intercessions and not just staying away from Church without knowing what to do.

“As we all know, the Church is made up of both literate and illiterate congregants; many are not in touch with any of the modern platforms of communication and this is what we did yesterday. Indeed, the service was devoted entirely to sensitising and mobilising members of the Church regarding the danger of this deadly virus and the need to comply with government directives.”

Enlightenment and sensitisation from the Church platform? Haba! When did gathering a large number of people in Church become the only means of mass sensitisation? Illiterates can be educated in large number via radio.

The service held last Sunday at the Living Faith Church was absolutely unnecessary.

It was an affront they later discovered was no longer sustainable. But instead of simply apologising, the church was still trying to justify the irrationality.

Of course, the members of the church

have been defending this illogicality. I’m not surprised. So many Nigerians, particularly in Pentecostal churches, have suspended their brains in the name of religion. Supposedly educated people behave strangely in the name of religion. What they are doing in most of these Pentecostal churches is hero-worshipping.

“Our pastor has said this” and they go with these prosperity preachers blindly. Many of these followers have been hypnotised and weakened to the extent that they can no longer read their bibles. For these people, their pastor is god. They just follow them thoughtlessly. In these churches, religion has become a combination of opium, heroin and cocaine of the people.

Most Pentecostal pastors in Nigeria are fast becoming modern day Jim Jones.

Remember him? He was an American preacher, faith healer and cult leader who conspired with his inner circle to direct a mass murder of his followers in his jungle commune at Jonestown, Guyana. The Jonestown Massacre occurred on November 18, 1978, when 909 members of the cult called the Peoples Temple died in a mass suicide under the direction of Jones. They died from cyanide poisoning, in an event termed “revolutionary suicide” chaired by the notorious Jones. The leader and four others died of gunshot wounds.

Jones, the self-proclaimed messiah of the Peoples Temple, promised his followers heaven if they died with him. His Peoples Temple Agricultural Project located in the South American country of Guyana was his “promised land.” In 1977 almost 1,000 Americans had moved to Jonestown, as it was called, hoping to get to heaven.

We are getting dangerously close to the Jim

Oyedepo

Jones scenario in Nigeria. Millions of followers are behaving strangely in the name of religion.

Daily, I pray for God’s intervention.

On the flip side, what was Mathew Ashimolowo, Founder and Senior Pastor of Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC), trying to achieve by asking his members to pay their offering online amid the coronavirus pandemic? In a video, the Pastor said his offices would still be open, and asked members to get online and see different ways they can send in their offering.

All this man is thinking about is how to collect offering amid the pandemic. His muddled members will applaud and oblige.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 28, 2020

SUPER SATURDAY Odion Ighalo and Sonia

The Controversy Lingers Has former Super Eagles star/Manchester United striker, Odion Ighalo, separated from his wife, Sonia? This is the big question begging for answer as Sonia reverts to her maiden name, “Adesuwa,” writes Ferdinand Ekechukwu

Odion and Sonia

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 28, 2020

11

SUPERSATURDAY Odion Ighalo and Sonia: The Controversy Lingers

Odion and Sonia

T

he marital crisis between former Super Eagles/Manchester United of England star, Odion Ighalo and his wife, Sonia has taken a new turn. Ighalo’s wife reignited marriage trouble rumours on March 20, with change of her last name on social media. Sonia reverted to her maiden name “Adesuwa”, weeks after she shaded her husband over his sister’s death. Though, early this month, she suppressed claims of going through a divorce with Odion via an Instatory post which read: “To those of u panicking....

Jude and I are still traditionally and above all legally married, No leave no transfer.”

Sonia has however reverted to her maiden name after Ighalo ignored her birthday on March 20. Sonia whose Instagram handle was @sjighalo24 before now, now goes with @desuwa30 on same social media platform.

Last year, Sonia ignited speculation of a marital crisis after dropping shades via her Instastory, in which she alleged that Odion staged a party barely a week after he lost his sister. She also insinuated that he was “celebrating in the name of an orphanage”, while his sister’s children who are now orphans were in deep pain in Canada. Her recent move of changing her Instagram handle from @sjighalo24 to @desuwa30, led to renewed speculation of a marital crisis.

A closer look at the couple shows that they are no longer together as husband and wife. After deleting each other’s photos on their respective social media pages, Odion and Sonia have now taken off their wedding rings and the lady has reverted to her maiden name after the footballer ignored her birthday on March 20, 2020.

Although she claimed that her husband woke her up with a birthday call. A quick check same day on Instagram had also

revealed that Odion was active on social media, though ignoring his “estranged” wife’s birthday. His last Instagram post shared on March 20 came with the caption “#imissfootball #itmustendinpraise”.

The comment section of the post was however turned off. The footballer has also ditched his wedding and no longer appears with it in public. Reacting to the troll comments that ensued thereafter, Sonia stated that those coming at her never knew her husband when he was in lower clubs and when he missed a goal at the World Cup in 2018. She also insinuated that she was present when Odion signed a six months contract with Manchester United in January.

The Manchester United star met and fell in love with his young wife in Italy more than 11 years ago and they have children.

In 2018, the Ighalos wowed Nigerians with their beautiful Christmas photos.

It was during Christmas same year that the footballer celebrated the opening of his mansion and gifts Sonia a brand new Range Rover Sport to celebrate her as well. He posted pictures with friends and family members during the housewarming party. Sonia had also taken to her social media page to share videos of the new building and the celebration on her Insta story.

The beautiful lady also prayed that God should continue to bless her husband.

As they used to be the envy of Christmas photos, last year, they never posted any picture of their family to celebrate Yuletide. Rather, the ex-Super Eagles star posted photos of himself alone to wish his fans a happy new year. They also did not celebrate each other on their 10th wedding anniversary last year which was looked out for.

However they did celebrate during their ninth wedding anniversary with a

dinner in 2018. It was star studded with celebrity musicians, comedians and actors. Back then, commemorating their ninth wedding anniversary, Ighalo posted a cute picture from the night party with the mother of his kids and captioned it with a simple message: Happy anniversary to us#emo… @ighalojude “Happy anniversary to us.” The anniversary message was completed with hashtags such as “#9years,” “#nov14,” “#blessed” and “#Godisthegreatest.”

The duo had unknowingly reacted to the trending rumours of their marriage dispute as they deleted each other’s pictures from their Instagram pages.

Their Instagram handles further showed that the striker and his wife, who are fond of praising each other on the Instagram, have deleted all the posts that link them together, hence giving considerable room for the roving rumours.

The happenings in the home of the Ighalos never revealed anything strange as it is with most homes where the couple acknowledges each other. To the popular footballer, who made the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations’ top scorer with six goals, “My wife has been very crucial to my impressive career. She has been able to build a good home and she makes me and the children happy. She is everything to me.”

A proud family man who has taken his personal life away from football doesn’t talk much about his family and relationship.

Odion’s childhood sweetheart was once asked her challenges of getting married to a footballer. “That one is not easy o,” she responded. “Many people see us in the public as if we are always happy but they do not know what we go through inside but by the grace of God, we are pushing on.” She even took it further to explain that decisions on the moves to make. “Yes, as a wife, we need

to decide together for his benefit, for the benefit of the children and for everybody because he is not single but married with three kids. So we always decide what we really want.”

On a different occasion, Sonia noted: “Anytime, before he goes out to play a game, I always pray for him and wish him the very best. It’s been God; He has been so faithful to us and we give Him all the thanks. There’s nothing much that I really do behind but I do encourage him as my husband anytime he’s out there playing.”

Sonia doesn’t take it mildly with any perceived threat or infringement to her home. Instances abound. There was a random lady who showed affection to her husband on Instagram post. Jude Ighalo’s wife swiftly called the lady out, after noticing what the lady wrote to her husband on a social media post about their match against Zambia during a Nations Cup qualifier. The random lady, though appeared to be married with two kids, had called the football star ‘babe’. Mrs. Ighalo took a screenshot of the post and wrote; “Bitch always want to show yourself, @iamhelenbrown #shametowomanhood#olosho”. Another instance when she called out her brother in-law on social media for using their house for a party while they were away.

She threatened to disrupt the planned party.

Odion travelled to Europe for the first time after a FIFA agent discovered him, and first played as a professional in Lyn Oslo – Norway where he scored nine goals in 20 games before moving on to Udinese – Italy where he scored a goal in six appearances. Then Granada came calling where he scored 16 goals in 26 matches in a season and also scored 17 goals in 95 appearances between 2011 and 2014 before getting his breakthrough in the English League with Watford.

12

ÍşÎ€Ëœ ͺ͸ͺ͸ Ëž THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

COMMENTARY

BETWEEN PANIC AND CALM, I CHOOSE HOPE There is light at the end of the tunnel, writes Simbo Olorunfemi

A

bout a month back, Nigeria joined the club of countries caught in the web of the COVID-19 pandemic. In that one month, a lot has happened around the world. The situation has become particularly pathetic in Italy and Spain with America increasingly becoming a source of worry.

Even before the virus made a landing here, there was already palpable fear of what it could mean if the wind blows our way. It eventually did, but somehow, in spite of the all of the doomsday scenarios, one month after, it appears that we are relatively holding strong, our heads seemingly above the water.

If we go the way of data, Nigeria would appear to have somehow held its own, in spite of the massive onslaught by the coronavirus. That, in spite of us. That, in spite of missteps here and there. That, in spite of some who rather than do the right thing, chose otherwise. Some even said it was a scam. Some have opted to act most irresponsibly, putting themselves and the lives of thousands of others in danger. Even right now, many are still carrying on, in the spirit of ‘It’s not my portion’, mistaken what might appear important to them as essential.

Because of the recklessness of some of our people and the unrepentant commitment of some to a life or personal irresponsibility, going forward, we can only approach the new month with cautious optimism.

Yet, there is hope. Some say Nigeria has only been lucky. Some are fighting the data. Some say we are under-reporting. Some say we are under-testing. Perhaps, we are. But this protocol that restricts testing to only those with symptoms and those who have come in contact with confirmed cases is what has been adopted in some other countries, like UK and US, even with startlingly different outcomes.

Perhaps, it is no luck. Perhaps, there is indeed a high level of preparedness over the years as those who know have explained, but difficult to comprehend and accept by many, out of cynicism that the name of Nigeria cannot possibly be in the same sentence with the word-’preparation.’ I have followed what some of our experts have had to say and I see the sense in it. But then, it is no reason to be lax, rather it is reason to be vigilant and maintain the hygiene protocols as we have been advised, while subscribing to the principle of social distancing.

Some of our people have been unduly critical and cynical, but I will like to see most of that coming from a place of concern and fear. Even when some of their propositions might not be wellgrounded in logic or fact-based, I want to assume them as coming out of concern. The argument was rife then that we needed to close borders, stop all international flights and all that. I am not sure many realised then that countries were not quite shutting the door in the faces of their citizens, rather they were encouraging all their citizens to return home, just as our people did.

From what I am seeing, stopping international flights then does not appear to have made much of a difference. Ghana, which many cited then as an example to follow, in spite of having stopped flights on March 16th, as at today has 132 confirmed cases while Nigeria which stopped flights a week after has 65 confirmed cases, in spite of the huge difference in the population of both countries. Perhaps, we are simply doing something right.

IT IS EASY TO SETTLE INTO THE GLOOM AND ONLY SEE DOOM, BUT IT IS ALSO POSSIBLE TO PEEP BEHIND THE CLOUDS TO SEE A NEW DAWN IN THE HORIZON, NO MATTER HOW FAR OFF

It would appear that there is not one answer or solution. Every country is struggling to fight her way through. That is one reason we must continue to lift up the hands of our experts and the medical personnel fighting this battle on our behalf. We might not fully understand their strategy and tactics. We can never understand that, in any case. But we must learn to trust them more and be less cynical.

So, sometimes, it is all about balance. It is about knowing that the men in the line of fire might be seeing what you are not seeing, hence the need to be more mindful of the words we speak and the effects they might have on morale. Between a little responsibility and recklessness.

It can only be discouraging for those in the line of fire to see possible gaps or mistakes on their part blown out of proportion.

The least to do for people out there for us, making judgement calls on their feet, while still in battle, is to continue to lift their hands up, in encouragement. They mean well and have no interest in bungling things. They have as much at stake as everyone else.

It is a tug of war. Between fear and faith. Between panic and calm. The streets in other continents are deserted. The virus has come with chains for the feet. The air is eerie. Those who would rather be out are in. Those who would rather be in are out, overworked and fatigued. They must be tired now.

But are we not all tired? Are we not tired of this monotonous, unending reports and analyses of how this virus is wreaking havoc around the world? Are we not just tired of this morbid count of numbers? What good is it breaking down how many people are dying on daily or hourly basis? Is this not triggering sensory overload? When does too much become really too much?

Can we find a balance somewhere? Do we even know about balance? Are we not more accustomed to oscillating between one extreme and the other? Where is the balance between panic and calm? Where is the balance between personal indulgence and recklessness in our conduct? Where is the balance between mounting pressure to trigger action and going overboard with undue criticism and mindless cynicism? It is about us striking that balance.

Between fear and faith. Between panic and calm. Between taking responsibility and carrying on recklessly. It is up to us. All of us.

Are our words soothing, cynical or sadistic? What is it, really, with fake news? What is that all about? What is it about gloating over the misfortune of others? Who says you are safe from this attack? Where is our sense of humanity?

At a time like this, it might appear that we do not have much of a choice. We really do not. We are grounded. We have to stay home to be safe and keep other safe. But we still have a choice how to see the situation. It is easy to settle into the gloom and only see doom, but it is also possible to peep behind the clouds to see a new dawn in the horizon, no matter how far off.

We are in a state of emergency, our words matter. At the end of the day, we are what we see. I see light at the end of the tunnel for humanity. Be a channel of faith, not fear. Do not induce panic, inspire hope. I choose hope.

Simbo Olorunfemi works for Hoofbeatdotcom, a Nigerian Communications Consultancy and publisher of Africa Enterprise

MILITARY OPERATIONS AND THE PUBLIC

Abdulsalam Mahmud writes that effective management of security information is vital to the success of any military operation

C

rime and violence are inevitable. They are permanent features of many societies. They result in wanton annihilation of human lives and property. Left untamed, violent crimes soon metamorphose into behemoth insecurity.

And for sure, insecurity seems to be reigning supreme across the length and breadth of the country. It has manifested itself in the mould of insurgency, banditry, cattle rustling, kidnapping, and a host of others. However, strategic, well-planned and excellently executed military operations have always come to the rescue of both the nation and her citizenry. They have helped to arrest numerous carnages perpetrated by ruthless criminal gangs and militia groups. Troops of the Armed Forces deployed for combat operations have fought, decimated and eliminated terrorists and other criminal elements. This is not only in the past, but also in our contemporary times.

Aside other notable factors, the effective management, coordination and dissemination of exclusive security information among relevant arms of the armed forces, greatly determine the success or otherwise of any military operation. It also has the potential to make or mar any military operation.

This, perhaps, may be the central reason why the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) in Abuja, wanted overhauling the way and manner information is not only coordinated among its security agencies, but also disseminated to the media and public.

With this in mind, the DHQ conceptualized and successfully midwifed the birth of the Directorate of Defence Media Operations (DDMO). The Directorate, for the records, will be coordinating joint information management on peacekeeping and other combat operations of the armed forces.

Tasked with the sole responsibility of disseminating information on the armed forces and other security agencies during special operations, DDMO will restrict its mandates to analyzing information on combat and peacekeeping, while strategically liaising with critical stakeholders.

It is heartwarming that a former Director, Defence Information (DDI), Major General John Enenche, has been appointed by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Gabriel Olonisakin, as coordinator of the newly-established directorate.

Enenche, a former Chairman of the Forum of Spokesperson of Security and Response Agencies (FOSSRA) and ex-Commandant of Army War College, will be assisted by Brigadier General Bernard Onyeuko, DDMO’s as Acting Director.

The trio of Col Umar Aliyu, Commander Abdulsalam Sani and Squadron Leader A. E. Obidake are the liaison officers for the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy and Nigerian Air Force, respectively.

Among other things, the directorate will periodically provide updates on the activities and joint military and security operations such as Operation Lafiya Dole in the North East; Operation Hadarin

Daji in parts of Zamfara, Sokoto, Kaduna, Katsina and Niger States; Operation Whirl Stroke in parts of Benue and Nasarawa States; and Operation Thunder Stroke on Abuja-Kaduna Highway/Railway.

The rest are Operation Awase in parts of Lagos and Ogun States; Operation Safe Haven in Plateau and Kaduna States, Operation Delta Safe in oil producing states, and Operation Safe Corridor for the deradicalization and integration of surrendered Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists.

Where necessary, DDMO will also analyze and coordinate information on peacekeeping mission of Nigerian troops abroad, especially in Mali, Gambia and Guinea Bissau.

Immediately after the setting up of DDMO, Maj. Gen. Enenche, it was learnt, convened a strategic meeting with relevant stakeholders including FOSSRA. This is in a bid to establish robust synergy and mutual understanding between the directorate and other allied organisations, together with key stakeholders in the nation’s security sector.

Speaking at the maiden press briefing of DDMO, held at the DHQ Conference Room last week, Enenche, expressed firm belief that the establishment of their media directorate will ensure that the armed forces communicate its operational activities through one channel to the general public.

He stated that DDMO is poised to providing authentic, credible and reliable information on

all issues bothering on military operations both locally and internationally, adding: “The Directorate of Defence Media Operations is to disseminate information on multi-agency operations of which the Nigerian military is the lead agency. In clear terms, DDMO is responsible for press briefings, releases and other press activities on all military and Armed Forces of Nigeria-led multi-agency operations, for internal and international engagements.�

In his remarks, Brig. Gen. Onyeuko, said the outfit is created out of the need to interface with the media and general public on all military operations in order to create a balanced understanding of their objectives.

At a time when fake news still thrives on social media platforms, a routine, accurate and timely updates on military operations will surely help the noble cause of DDMO. It is imperative for DDMO to sustain the dishing-out of actual and clear information on the daily activities of troops deployed for military operations in North East and other states, even as it behooves on them to also shun the temptation of being economical with the figure of casualties recorded and losses suffered by troops.

If Gen. Enenche, Brig. Onyeuko, and the liaison officers would sustain the tempo, then actualizing the cardinal objectives of DDMO will be a conclusion long foregone.

Mahmud wrote from Abuja

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ÍşÎ€Ëœ ͺ͸ͺ͸ Ëž THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

INSIGHT

In order to save lives

The Value of Regular Physical Exercise

“

All work and no play make Jack a dull boy,� is a cliche which is generally accepted as true. You could be healthy, but if you do not take some exercises or play games, you could become overweight and dull.

Regular physical exercises help to tune up the organs of the body, the muscles and nerves. Playing games also makes you to be emotionally and socially healthy. It makes our brains work faster and more accurately.

Even The Holy Scriptures acknowledge the value of physical exercise when it says, among other things, at First Timothy, Chapter 4, Verse 8, that “ . . . physical training (or “exercise�) is beneficial . . . .�

With regard to engaging in regular physical exercise, some people have erroneously concluded that they do not need to exercise because they are not overweight. However, although overweight and obese people stand to benefit greatly from a regular exercise program, even if you are not overweight, increasing your physical activity is very likely to improve your overall health and help prevent serious diseases, including certain types of cancer.

What are some factors that contribute to a person’s poor state of health? They include: unhealthy (high-calorie) diets and a sedentary life-style. Also, even though technology and other modern inventions have helped to make many laborious jobs more bearable, there is an irony in this. While modern technology has been conducive to better health, with the passing of time, it has also contributed to a sedentary life-style among many people.

This includes children, who are spending longer times in front of the television, or with video games, smartphones, or other technological devices. Also, for adults, having a job that requires little physical activity, can contribute to a sedentary life-style.

In view of the foregoing, how can regular physical exercise help to improve our health and counteract the effects of a sedentary life-style? Many scientific studies have given credence to the value of regular physical exercise. For example, in an article by Ujunwa Atueyi about “How to be happy and live a purpose-driven life . . . “ published in The Guardian of Monday, January 1, 2018, engaging in regular physical activity was top on the list among the steps listed on how we can boost our quality of life.

In the article, it was reported that “. . . many studies have focused on the role of physical exercise not only in keeping us fit, but also in improving our physical and mental health.� Furthermore, according to the article, “ . . . numerous recent studies have shown that exercise can counteract and prevent depression. . . As little as one hour of exercise each week, regardless of intensity, can keep mood disorders at bay� according to researchers from Australia’s Black Dog Institute.

Also, according to Michelle Segar from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, “any movement is better than nothing.� So we should stop feeling guilty about not reaching a set target or not exercising at a certain intensity. “

Even children need physical activity. Studies have shown that an increasing number of children, especially girls, do not engage in regular physical exercise. It is good to note that there are many ways that children can benefit from regular physical activity. These include: helping them develop strong bones and muscles as well as healthy joints; prevention of overweight and obesity; increase in self-esteem and prevention of anxiety and stress; development of an active life-style that may prevent a sedentary adulthood; among others.

The elderly also can benefit from a moderate exercise program.

However, they need to consult their doctor before they start a program of strenuous activity.

Although regular physical exercise has its merits, a word of caution for all would not be out of place: Before deciding to engage in more vigorous exercises, it would be wise to consult a doctor, to ensure beforehand that the more vigorous exercise program that you are contemplating, would be suitable for you, considering your current state of health.

Also, according to an article entitled: “Are You Getting Enough Exercise?� published in the May 22, 2005 issue of Awake! magazine, page 7, ( which you can access online at: www.jw.org/ en/library/magazines/g20050522/ ), drinking enough water is important during exercise. A part of the article reads: “Inadequate water consumption during exercise can be harmful. It can cause fatigue, decreased coordination, and muscle cramping.

Daniel Ighakpe, FESTAC Town, Lagos

Have You Written Your Will?

I

walked past them in the estate where I stay. They nattered about the Coronavirus – inspected a vehicle and, one asked the other if he had written his will in the light of the deadly Coronavirus.

That got me. This disease is no respecter of persons. How many Nigerians leave a will, only a handful with contestations which go on forever in court for some who left massive estates for their progenies.

The matter of writing a will, some people have said, is a sad reminder that they will die and it is much better for them to not think about death and for children to settle accounts themselves when they are long gone.

Have you written your will? This is a difficult subject matter in Nigeria. What is there to leave behind for children in Nigeria in the light of massive poverty?

What people earn is not within the threshold to solve major challenges, save and leave heirlooms for descendants. It is only to feed.

For those who love to read, they may leave books for their descendants but these generations, Y and Z prefer technology to reading books. Books therefore may make no sense. And if there are no children in the household, the phenomenal task would be to find extended family members who may love to read books, otherwise these books may be cashiered to public libraries and schools in need of such books.

Where are the public libraries by the way? You have to travel to the city to visit a library as there are practically no libraries in the suburban and rural areas in Nigeria.

Have you written your will? In the event of a total lockdown, how can Nigerians survive especially since there aren’t many organized restaurants to the type in the United States? Some borders in the United States have been closed by order of state governors as a coronavirus prevention measure but some restaurants are still cooking, delivering ‘take-out orders’ only, you notice this on their web page. You can call to make your order and drive over there to pick it up. Are there such services in Nigeria in all localities and not only in highbrow areas of major cities?

So how do we handle this disease knowing full well that not many Nigerians can boast of having food T H E SAT U R DAY N E W S PA P E R that will last them a week, except may be for political EDITOR YEMI ADEBOWALE persons. What comforting measures would the governDEPUTY EDITOR CHIKA AMANZE-NWACHUKU ment provide to cushion the effect of starvation and the MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO supplies of medicine in emergencies?

DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI There are no emergency ambulances in the area where EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN I live, and the amount to hire one from hospitals in MANAGING EDITOR JOSEPH USHIGIALE Nigeria on the days of difficulties is high.

At times – it is also hard for folks to donate their vehicles for people in an emergency. And suppose people need help, where does the government of Nigeria T H I S DAY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D come in to their aid?

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA I find it jarring to think that there is not much for GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, Nigerians to leave for progenies in the event of deaths ISRAEL IWEGBU, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU, EMMANUEL EFENI arising from the Coronavirus pandemic.

DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS BOLAJI ADEBIYI, PETER IWEGBU, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE It is scary but true. You work so hard in Nigeria with DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI little return on investment and there are no opportunities SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS PATRICK EIMIUHI, SAHEED ADEYEMO to sign credit card slips.

CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI This pandemic is not the end of the world, we will DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO outlive it. Recourse should also be given to the writing of HEAD, COMPUTER DEPARTMENT PATRICIA UBAKA-ADEKOYA wills, for death is a necessary end that will come when TO SEND EMAIL: ďŹ rst name.surname@thisdaylive.com it must come.

Simon Abah, Abuja

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÎ€Ëœ ͺ͸ͺ͸

NEWS

COVID-19... COVID-19... COVID-19...

Edo Converts Stella Obasanjo Hospital to Isolation Centre Adibe Emenyonu Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă˜Ă“Ă˜ ÓÞã

FOOD FOR LAGOSIANS ...

L-R: Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; holding one of the food item, supported by the Commissioner for Agriculture, Prince Gbolahan Lawal, and Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture, Ms. Abisola Olusanya, during an inspection of the COVID-19 Emergency Food Response of the state in Agege‌yesterday

In order to curtail the spread of Coronavirus in Edo State, Governor Godwin Obaseki has announced that the Stella Obasanjo Hospital as a test centre and ordered the evacuation of patients to the new Edo Specialist Hospital, Benin City.

Obaseki also announced its intention to give economic stimulus package to cushion the economic effect of COVID-19 outbreak in the state.

Deputy Governor of Edo State, Mr. Philip Shaibu, made the disclosure on behalf of Governor Obaseki who is still in self isolation following his contact with Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Muhammed; and Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Mallam Abba Kyari.

He said the idea of evacuation of patients from Stella Obasanjo was to use the facilities there strictly as a testing and isolation centre for the COVID-19 cases.

In view of this, Shaibu said the

Edo State COVID-19 Committee had visited the isolation centre at the Stella Obasanjo Hospital to ascertain the level of preparedness, adding that the centre was ready to attend to any case of infection in the state even as government is expanding capacity.

However, the Edo State deputy governor frowned at the level of compliance by residents of the state on the safe distance order by government, noting that many people still found it difficult to observe especially transporters in the state.

According to him, “The social distance rules are some of the measures to keep people alive. Some of the markets visited, the committee observed that the safe distance rule was not properly observed. Similarly, a lot of transporters still flout the social distance policy of government. “For emphasis, the policy is that for cars, they are to carry one passenger in front and two at the back; for buses, it remains one passenger in front and two on each of the back rows.

Total Shutdown of Nigeria will Cost N3tn Loss in Poultry Pathologists Worried over Inadequacy of Testing Centres Michael Olugbode, Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă“ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă‘Ă&#x;ĂœĂ“

The lockdown of Nigeria to combat the spread of coronavirus may result in the loss of over N3 trillion investments in poultry, the Poultry Association of Nigeria has raised the alarm.

Addressing a press conference on Friday in Maiduguri, the National President, Poultry Association of Nigeria, Mr. Ezekiel Ibrahim said Nigeria’s government needed to thread carefully in considering locking down the nation in response to rampaging coronavirus pandemic.

He said: “The situation of the poultry products market is not stable at the moment, and

if urgent steps are not taken to remove the restriction on the movement of vehicles conveying such critical poultry like day-oldchicks (DOCs), meat and eggs, poultry feeds and drugs which are daily needed by all Nigerians, the poultry industry which is on the part of becoming the mainstay of the Nigerian livestock industry might be completely destroyed.�

Ibrahim while claiming that present investments in the poultry industry was put conservatively at N3 trillion, said: “We are trying to communicate the close relationship between food producing companies that are considered system relevant and other infrastructural sectors

Asaba Airport Shut as Okowa AnnouncesVirtual Lockdown of Delta Omon-Julius Onabu Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă‹ĂŒĂ‹

Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has announced further and sterner precautionary measures aimed at strengthening the state machinery towards effective management of the Coronavirus outbreak in Nigeria, including the indefinite closure of Asaba International Airport beginning from 6.00p.m. (18 hours) yesterday.

The governor announced stricter restrictions on movement, social contacts, public congregation and controlled conduct of businesses in certain essential areas across the state, which will be amid increased security surveillance.

Okowa announced these measures in a radio and television broadcast after a meeting of the Central Committee on Managing/Containing the Coronavirus Pandemic in the state headed by the governor.

It was the governor’s third broadcast to the citizens and residents of Delta State in barely one week, to bring them up to date concerning the COVID-19

pandemic vis-a-vis the proactive efforts being made by his administration to manage the situation.

Text of Governor Okowa’s broadcast read in part: “As promised, we have continued to monitor and review developments concerning this global pandemic on a daily if not hourly basis.

Although there has been no confirmed case in Delta, nevertheless, we deem it fit to take further measures to avert any outbreak or contain its spread if it occurs. “Consequently, after a meeting with the Central Committee on Managing/Containing the Coronavirus Pandemic headed by me, several far-reaching decisions were made, and I hereby order as follows: “Asaba airport is to close to traffic effective from Friday, March 27, 2020 by 6p.m. “All land borders into and out of Delta are to be shut effective 6a.m., Sunday, March 29, 2020.

All businesses-malls, supermarkets, markets and shops -are to close from Wednesday, April 1, 2020.

that are tightly connected and without which the food supply chain can’t be kept on. “It is important to relax and make flexible the rules that restrict movement of all kinds of vehicles, and appealing to government at the federal and state governments to allow transport- trucks and buses carrying inbound supplies or outbound products of food, chicken and day-oil-chicks (DOCs) and other FMCG products to be allowed to operate to ensure supplies continuity of essential products.�

He added that: “While the above is considered as very urgent and utmost for the continued supplies

of protein to Nigerians, we implore the government to consider granting some palliatives to egg and day-old-chicks producers who are unable to sell their chicks, eggs and feeds as a result of the lockdown caused by the measures already taken by the state government in restricting inter-state transport movement.

He however commended this present administration of initiating the policy of producing locally what we eat and consume as a nation without which the food security of the country could have been threatened now with the complete lock down of the country as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.�

FCTA Threatens to Impose Curfew on Abuja Olawale Ajimotokan Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has said it would be forced to impose a curfew on the city if traders declined to vacate markets and allow the authority to carry out fumigation as part of measures to curtail the spread of Coronavirus in the nation’s capital, Abuja.

The FCT Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, issued the threat yesterday during an awareness campaign at Gwarinpa Market.

She said FCT authorities proposed to fumigate the major markets, parks and religious centres in the city centre and other satellite towns in the territory to mitigate the spread of the dreaded Coronavirus and to uphold the social distancing rule in market places and other social or religious gatherings across the territory.

The minister said she called the Commissioner of Police to ensure that the enforcement team was allowed to do enforcement immediately as

some people refused to quit the market, when the team that was to fumigate the market arrived. “If this situation continues, we will be forced to impose a curfew that is why I came out myself to monitor and appeal to their conscience to vacate the market especially those not selling food stuffs and other essential commodities. I am personally out to see things for myself,� Aliyu said.

The minister, who spoke mainly in pidgin and Hausa languages, appealed to citizens and residents to comply with the preventive measures outlined by government and vacate the market to make job easier for government.

She appealed to the traders to stay at home for the period of fumigation as inhaling the substances used in fumigating the market could be hazardous to their health. “Government is aware of the economic situation and it is not in our best interest to destroy your goods. Please stay at home and as a mother, I feel for you, “ Aliyu said.

Onyebuchi Ezigbo Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË

As number of Nigerians infected by the Coronavirus continues to rise, the College of Nigerian Pathologists (CNP) has asked federal government to substantially decentralise the testing centres as a strategy to accelerate the control of the outbreak.

In a statement issued yesterday by the CNP President, Professor P. O. Olatunji, the body warned against the use of non-validated test kits in handling Covid-19 disease tests.

On the restriction of testing centres to five facilities in Lagos, Irua in Edo State, Ede in Osun State and the national reference laboratories in Abuja, CNP said there were competent pathologists and medical laboratory scientists in the tertiary hospitals that carry out COVID-19 tests , thereby spreading out the testing centres across the country. “We do not see any reason why

our tertiary healthcare centres where competent pathologists and medical laboratory scientists are situated, cannot carry out COVID-19 tests. “We urge the federal and state governments to deploy a portion of the COVID-19 budget to bridge whatever deficiencies exist in our tertiary diagnostic laboratories, “ it said.

Olatunji said members of the CNP had been playing leading roles in case identification, case management and development of guidelines and protocol for infection prevention and control of COVID-19.

CNP also called for the adoption of a more innovative and quicker diagnostic approach as against the NCDC recommended Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RTPCR) being used at the moment.

The statement also said that CNP was concerned about a possible abuse of Chloroquine arising from its purported usefulness in treating COVID-19 infection.

Fayemi Tests Negative Victor Ogunje Ă“Ă˜ ĂŽĂ™ ÕÓÞÓ

The result of Coronavirus test conducted on the Governor of Ekiti State and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has been released and turned out to be negative.

Fayemi in his tweeter handle yesterday said : “I just received my test result from NCDC and it is negative. Thanks to all for your concern. “This, however, calls for continued vigilance on the part of everyone. Covid-19 is real and we cannot afford to be complacent,� he stated.

Fayemi, had on Monday gone on self-isolation over suspicion that he had came in contact with some people already tested positive for the disease.

However, as part of the

desperate measures to enforce Fayemi’s order directing the closure of markets and shops to curb the spread of Coronavirus, combined forces of security agencies have been deployed in the Ado Ekiti metropolis.

The security agencies, comprising soldiers, police and operatives of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, were deployed around 5.20p.m. on Thursday after the ultimatum given by Fayemi, had elapsed.

Governor Fayemi, had on Thursday issued a directive that all shops and major markets like the popular Oja Oba, Irona Market, Basiri Market and others be closed down with effect from 5p.m. on Thursday.

The governor however, exempted sellers of drugs, food items and other essential commodities from the order.

15

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÎ€Ëœ ͺ͸ͺ͸

NEWS

COVID-19... COVID-19... COVID-19...

I’m Sound, Calm, in Good Spirit, Assures Gov Mohammed Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi The Governor of Bauchi State, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, has assured the people of the state and his well-wishers that he is sound, calm and in good spirit despite being infected with COVID-19.

In a message issued by Comrade Mukhtar Gidado, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor on Media and made available to newsmen yesterday, the governor assured that he was strong, capable and equal to the task.

Governor Mohammed who only

regretted that his condition would not allow him to serve his people at this critical time of need, said by Allah’s grace, the challenges were surmountable.

The governor thanked wellwishers for their concern and care, especially their prayers as well as appreciated their love, encouragement and good wishes. “By the grace God, we shall have the courage, strength and faith to overcome all the tribulations.

Allah is the Greatest! He is Sufficient and Merciful. May these tests be the utmost expiation of our sins, limitations and inadequacies.

“Insha Allah we shall overcome.

With humility and gratitude, I wish all the people of Bauchi and Nigeria Allah’s bountiful blessings, prosperity

and protection from the scourge of sickness, insecurity and poverty,� he said.

Governor Mohammed however

appreciated the numerous calls, flurry of texts massages and WhatsApp posts sympathising with him, prayed God to continue to guide and protect

all of them out there. “Thank God I am still leading the fight against our numerous challenges from isolation.�

Nasarawa Gov Thanks God for Testing Negative Igbawase Ukumba in Lafia

Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State yesterday thanked God for testing negative from the CONVID-19 despite having had contact with persons who were confirmed positive of the virus.

This was even as he equally expressed appreciation to God for his deputy, Emmanuel Akabe, as well as the Emir of Lafia and chairman of the state council of chiefs, Justice Sidi Bage (rtd), for coming out clean from the CONVID-19 disease test carried out on them recently.

The governor stated this at a press briefing in Lafia, the state capital, adding that a man suspected with symptoms of the virus in isolation at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital (DASH) had also tested negative to the virus.

Sule continued that as a result of his contact with persons who were confirmed to be positive to the disease, he resorted into selfisolation in order not to infect his family, aides and associates with the virus.

He said: “Consequently, I sought for the services of medical experts who came and took my blood sample, alongside that of my deputy and the Emir of Lafia, for a laboratory test for the disease.

When the result came out, we were both found to be negative.�

The governor then banned

worships in churches and mosques across the state as part of precautionary measures to curtail spread of the Coronavirus.

According to him, “All social gathering including weddings, naming ceremonies are suspended, if not, attendance should be restricted to not more than 50 people.�

This was even as he added that all markets were closed with exception of those selling food items and pharmaceutical shops.

UPDATING ON COVID-19 ...

Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi on Friday disclosed that cases of coronavirus in Lagos could rise to as high as 39,000 cases in the coming weeks

FG Moves to Decongest Nigerian Prisons Alex Enumah Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË

As part of measures to contain the spread of the Coronavirus in Nigeria, the federal government has disclosed plans to further decongest Correctional Services Centers across the country.

The move which is against the backdrop that majority of inmates in various centres were persons awaiting trial is to reduce the spread of the virus among inmates.

Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, made the disclosure in a statement made available to journalists by his media aide, Dr. Umar Gwandu.

“Against the background of the prevailing pandemic COVID-19 health challenges, the federal government has taken bold steps to further decongest Correctional Service formations,� he said.

According to Malami, President Muhamadu Buhari has been mindful of the need to decongest prisons with particular regards to the fact that around 70 per cent of the inmates of the Nigerian Correctional Service Centres are awaiting trial.

To tackle the situation, Malami noted that President Buhari constituted the Presidential Committee for the decongestion of the Correctional Centers across the country.

Katsina Shuts Land Borders, Suspends Friday, Sunday Services Francis Sardauna in Katsina

The Katsina State Government has ordered the closure of land borders and routes linking the state to other parts of the country with effect from Saturday, March 28, 2020 to curtail the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The government also suspended weekly Friday prayers

by Muslims and Sunday service for Christians and other social gathering such as weddings and political events across the state.

The State Commissioner of Information, Culture and Home Affairs, Mr. Abdulkarim Yahaya Sirika, disclosed this in a statement issued to journalists yesterday.

He explained that movements in and out of the state were banned beginning from 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 28, 2020.

He therefore, urged residents to minimise all gatherings in view of the warning by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in order to tackle the spread of the dreaded epidemic.

Sirika said: “In continuation of its efforts to contain the possible spread of Coronavirus pandemic in the state, His Excellency, the Governor of Katsina State, Rt. Hon. Aminu Bello Masari, has directed for closure of all borders with neighbouring states and Niger Republic. “To this effect therefore, movement of people into the

state is strictly prohibited with effect from 6: 00a.m. on Saturday 28th March, 2020. “However, fuel tankers and vehicles carrying food items and other essential commodities will be allowed into the state subject to screening and test at the point of entry. Meanwhile people are at liberty to move within the state.�

The commissioner urged the people to adhere strictly and continue to pray for God’s intervention against the pandemic in the state and the country in general.

In a related development, the state government has directed all civil servants in the state to stay at home till further directive.

Gombe Spends N524m, Closes State Borders

Osun Speaker, Chief Whip Distribute PDP Commends Organised Hand Sanitisers, Masks to Osun Private Sector for Intervention

Segun Awofadeji in Gombe

Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo

Gombe State Governor, Alhaji Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya, has announced more stringent measures to be taken in containing the dreaded COVID-19 also known as Coronavirus in the state.

The governor, while addressing a press conference yesterday afternoon said the State Government had so far spent N524 million for activities aimed at containing the virus in the state.

The governor explained that, on Monday, he ordered the release of N28 million while N296 million was released to the State Taskforce committee on COVID-19 for procurement of necessities in containing the virus as well as N200 million to local government authorities for the same purpose.

He explained further that due to the non-compliance of his earlier directives on closure of all schools in the state and limiting of social gatherings, the administration took some measures which include, suspension of all interstate travels with effect from 12midnight on Sunday, 29th May, 2020.

According to him, the border closure, public gathering, travel for both public and private, clubbing, stood suspended till further notice while assuring that security personnel would supervise to ensure adherence.

Civil servants from grade levels 1 - 12 have also been asked to work from home for the next two weeks while only those on essential services like security men, health workers, power and water workers and the likes are allowed movement.

In a bid to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Osun State, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon.Timothy Owoeye, has distributed hand sanitisers, wash-hand tanks and soaps to some motor parks in Osogbo and Ilesa towns.

The Speaker in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Alabi, said the step was to assuage the fear of contracting the disease through public transport.

Owoeye asked the people to bear the inconveniences the social restriction order and closure of markets might cause them, saying it is meant for the good of the state.

He said, “People should not see the partial restrictions by government as one that is not

sensitive to the plight of the masses, but we should see it as a responsible decision to contain the spread of the deadly virus in our state. “We as transporters should comply with government directive that motorcycles should carry only one passenger, while all mini buses should carry only four passengers with one passenger in front, one in the middle and two at the back seat. “I want to also implore us that we maintain good personal hygiene, we should do away with hand shake, hugging and maintain the habit of social distancing. “We should ensure that commuters and all motor park workers wash hands regularly, use hand sanitiser and better still, disinfect our vehicles regularly.�

ChuksOkocha Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday commended the organised private sector and corporate bodies for their response in cash donations and other interventions in the efforts to contain and stop further spread of COVID-19 in the country.

The party also commended the health workers and other public safety functionaries for their sacrifices in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic despite lapses by the Buhari Presidency, which had failed in being visible and leading from the front in the effort to combat the scourge.

According to PDP in a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, following the lethargic approach of the Buhari Presidency, the PDP had taken up the onus in calling on the corporate bodies,

the organised business community, research and medical institutions as well as public-spirited individuals to immediately come to the rescue.

The party expressed happiness with the response so far received from the private sector, while urging the authorities to ensure judicious use of the resources while calling on other public-spirited organisations, groups and individuals to join in the overall effort to curtail the impact of the deadly virus in the country.

The PDP lamented that President Muhammadu Buhari had not demonstrated expected visibility to give hope and direction, as well as douse public apprehension particularly at a time the public space was awash with uncertainties regarding the status of the Presidential villa since his Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari that tested positive to COVID-19.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 28, 2020

NEWS

COVID-19... COVID-19... COVID-19...

Sokoto Closes Borders Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto

all parts of the world. It has so far caused losses in human lives and the economy of all nations, including Nigeria.

“Alhamdulillah, Sokoto State is experiencing a relatively safe situation, having so far recorded no case of infection. The only suspected case has tested negative of the Coronavirus.

“Notwithstanding the fact that the state has not recorded any case of this disease, the State Government constituted a task force team of experts under the leadership of the State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Muhammed Ali Inname on the 19th March 2020.

“The terms of reference of the committee are to advise government on all measures needed to be taken to prevent the entry and spread of the disease into Sokoto State and also to organise public enlightenment campaigns and statewide engagement with members of the public.

L-R: CMD FETHA, Dr. Emeka Ogah; Deputy Governor, Barr. Kelechi Igwe; Governor of Ebonyi State, Engr. David Umahi and Speaker of Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Francis Nwifuru as the governor addressed the state on measures taken to fight COVID-19 and other communicable disease at Ebonyi State EXCO Chambers, Abakaliki ... recently

Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State, in a statewide broadcast has announced the closure of the state land borders, with effect from yesterday night, Friday.

The closure for initial two weeks is with the exception of food and essential medical commodities, pending observations on trends of the disease in the state and country.

Similarly, all state civil servants on GL 12 and below are to work from their homes for an initial two weeks from yesterday to April 10, 2020.

These are parts of the outcome of a three days stakeholders meeting held in the state on ways to check the spread of the dreaded Coronavirus in the state.

According to the governor, “the outbreak of Covid-19, generally known as Coronavirus, was a global challenge that was affecting

Davido’s Fiancee, Chioma Tests Positive

Kwara Residents Comply with Stay at Home Order

UPPING THE ANTE ...

It is hard times for Superstar singer, David Adeleke (Davido), as his fiancee, Chioma has tested positive for novel Coronavirus.

Following the development, the superstar singer has gone into self-isolation owing to contacts he had made with his heartthrob.

Announcing the news, Davido wrote on Instagram:

“Hey everyone ! I came back recently from America after cancelling tour.

My fiance Chioma also came back from London recently with our baby. We had no symptoms and still both feel perfectly fine but because of our recent travel history we decided to take ourselves and our all close associates we’ve

come in recent contact with for the COVID-19 test on the 25th of March.

“Unfortunately, my fiance’s results came back positive while all 31 others tested have come back negative including our baby. We are however doing perfectly fine and she is even still yet to show any symptoms whatsoever.

She is now being quarantined and I have also gone into full self-isolation for the minimum 14 days. I want to use this opportunity to thank you all for your endless love and prayers in advance and to urge everyone to please stay at home as we control the spread of this virus! Together we can beat this! Love.”

FCT Gets N500m UBA Donation to Fight Pandemic Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has received a N500 million donation from the United Bank for Africa (UBA) to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in Abuja.

Receiving the cheque for the money from the Vice Chairman of UBA, Ambassador Joe Keshi, who led a delegation of the bank on a solidarity visit to FCTA, the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, said the donation was

the first hefty sum received by the FCT Administration since the onset of COVID-19.

Bello, who commended UBA for such a generous donation, said the money would serve as a major boost in the efforts by the administration to nip the spread of the virus in the bud in the FCT. He assured that FCTA was working hand in glove with the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), to ensure that the organisation gets the necessary working tools.

He said plans were already in motion to grade the road leading to the NCDC testing office in Gaduwa for ease of access, adding that the donation will go a long way to ensuring that the job is done as soon as possible.

The minister who described the Chairman of UBA, Mr. Tony Elumelu as a great philanthropist, said he was not surprised that the Financial Institution was the first to make such a donation to the FCT to help fight the pandemic.

Earlier, Ambassador Keshi

said the donation was a part of the bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and a show of support to FCTA in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keshi expressed concern over the likelihood of a spread in densely populated areas of the country and called on well-meaning Nigerians to join hands to fight the disease.

He said N200 million of the sum was being set aside for NCDC, explaining that the donation was to strengthen the testing capacity of the centre.

Christian Lawyers Call for Senator Lauds Buhari for N10bn Special Grant to Lagos Urgent Steps to Combat Spread Deji Elumoye in Abuja A member of the National Assembly, Senator Olamilekan Adeola, has lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for the special grant of N10 billion given to Lagos State to fight the dreaded Coronavirus pandemic.

Senator Adeola, who is the Chairman, Senate committee on Finance, in a one-page statement yesterday also reiterated his earlier call for a special status to be accorded Lagos as a former administrative capital of Nigeria.

The ranking Senator representing Lagos West senatorial district stressed that the grant was much needed at this time to compliment the untiring efforts of Lagos State Government under Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu in stemming the tide of the viral infection in the mega city.

His words: “I want to specially thank Mr. President for the grant of

N10 billion to Lagos State for the fight against COVID-19. The grant is not only merited on the basis of the pioneering and continuing role of Lagos State in combating the scourge of the deadly virus but in terms of the massive and concentrated population of Lagos State estimated at over 20 million of all tribes in Nigeria.”

The Senator called on all Nigerians to as much as possible adhere to precautionary medical directives from all relevant authorities including social distancing and staying at home for a period to stem the tide of the disease.

According to him, the pandemic has once again thrown into bold relief the status of Lagos as not only the commercial and economic nerve centre of Nigeria but the need for a special status and funding for Lagos State in the constitution as the former capital of Nigeria.

“It is clear now that Lagos State

John Shiklam in Kaduna

The Christian Lawyers Fellowship of Nigeria, (CLASFON) has urged governments at all levels to do everything within their reach to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus disease now threatening humanity throughout the world.

It also asked Nigerians to cooperate with government to stop the spread of the disease from spreading across the country.

These were contained in a communique issued at the end of its quarterly meeting which held in Kaduna between March 12-14, 2020.

The group expressed deep concern about the global pandemic and called for urgent steps by governments at all levels, to prevent the spread of the disease.

The communique was jointly signed by both the President of CLASFON, Mr. Arome Okwore

and the National Secretary, Olatunji Omole and made available to THISDAY in Kaduna.

“CLASFON notes with grave concern, the evolving trend globally with regards to the Coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic.

“We implore governments at all levels to take proactive measures to contain the spread of the virus, and save the lives of those already infected,” the communique said.

The lawyers also called for prayers against the calamity from spreading further and killing more people across the globe.

According to them, the two-day meeting also, deliberated on the state of the nation, especially as it affects insecurity, persecution of Christians, federal government’s policy on Boko Haram terrorists and interference with the Judiciary by the executive arm of government among others.

HammedShittuinIlorin Residents of Ilorin and other major towns in Kwara State yesterday complied with the state government order on stay at home as part of preventive measure to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the state.

The compliance with the order to stay at home by the residents according to THISDAY checks might not be unconnected with the deployment of men of the security agencies in the state like police, Civil Defence Corps among others to some of the areas of the state.

The state deputy governor, and Chairman Covid-19 Technical Committee, Mr. Kayode Alabi, had at a press briefing on Wednesday and various jingles on Radio stations ordered the people of the state to stay at home as from yesterday(Friday).

He also ordered the closure of all motor parks, markets, mosques

and churches while taxi and okada operators, markets and social engagements activities have been suspended with immediate effect.

The development, it was gathered, prompted residents of the state to storm markets on Thursday to stock foods ahead of the stay at home order.

The popular markets in Yoruba roads, Oja Tuntun Market in Surulere and other markets were overfilled with people who were in a rush to purchase food items.

THISDAY investigations further revealed that, prices of all the food items were unusually expensive leading to lamentations by customers.

All the banks in Taiwo Road, Unity area, Post Office and Muritala areas were overcrowded with customers who were eager to cash their money to stock foods as the stay at home directives had been declared indefinite.

Osun Govt Urges Citizens Outside State to Stay Put The government of the State of Osun has urged citizens and residents of the State that are currently out of the country, to stay put in their countries of residence, as it is generally hazardous for persons to relocate as a result of the Coronavirus.

This came as some indigenes of the State who reside in a neighbouring francophone country were denied right of passage through Ogun State on their way back to Osun.

Prince Wole Oyebamiji, the Secretary to the Government of Osun, who made this known in a statement on Friday, said the government was already making logistical arrangements to convey the stranded citizens back to the State with full compliments of the state’s security.

The statement reads in part: “the State Government of Osun has been notified by the Ogun State Government that some indigenes of our State, coming from a neighbouring Francophone country, have been denied the right of passage through Ogun State to their destination.

“As a responsible and responsive

government that places premium on the lives and well-being of its citizens, we are already making logistical arrangements to convey our citizens back to the state with the full compliments of the state’s security. We cannot afford to have our citizens marooned or abandoned.

“We urge other citizens of our state that are currently out of the country, to stay put in their countries of residence, as it is generally hazardous for persons to relocate in these trying times.”

The SSG added that as a precautionary measure, the affected people would be tested for the Coronavirus and certified free of it before they would be allowed to rejoin their families.

“The State Government shall convey these members of its citizenry to Ejigbo, where they hail from. They will be screened in this place before rejoining their families, if certified free of the coronavirus,” he said.

Oyebamiji also revealed that the State government may soon shut its land borders and may not be able to retrieve returnees to Osun going forward.

Plus Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa Don’t Wait Until You Have All the Money in the World Before Starting a Family

FASHION FILE

pg. 20

GLOBAL SOCCER

pg. 29

FAIRGROUND

pg. 36

SHOWBIZFLAIR

pg. 43

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾MARCH 28 2020

PLUS

Don’t Wait Until You Have All the Money in the World Before Starting a Family Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), is a courageous, eloquent, sagacious and meticulous legal luminary. This human rights activist says he hates injustice and will sacrifice anything to ensure there is justice in the society.

His sense of organisation was visible in the orderly manner he arranged his law books and seats within his moderately furnished Lagos office.

Dressed in a blue suit and fiddling with his laptop when we announced our presence, he quickly stood up to welcome us in an elbow-like salutation and offered us sanitiser to disinfect our hands. With a friendly smile on his face, he tells Charles Ajunwa and Ugo Aliogo about his childhood, family, career and many more What are your recollections of your childhood and teenage years? was born in a rural riverine setup in Ondo State, Ilaje Local Government Area, and my recollection is that of the normal village boy with no access to infrastructure or modern facilities like vehicles, motor transport and motorbikes. We were only using canoes as our means of transportation because the whole area was waterlogged. So it was just like a normal boy growing up. I followed my father to the farm, trekking long distances and coming back carrying farm produce. My father was also a founder of a local church (Cherubim and Seraphim). I also followed him for outreaches and retreats outside our domain while I was in primary school. Then I also go to the river for fishing because in my place, our major occupation was fishing. I learnt in my early years to fish. But I recollect clearly that my parents were interested in education and the reason was because my mother used to host the education inspectors whenever they visited my community.

Due to the position of my father as the founder of a local church, he was more like a local champion. Whenever these education inspectors come, they lodge in our house.

My mother will ask me to go and sit by the table, so I could look at them; they are always looking radiant, well dressed. So, I admired them and she also admired them. She wanted me to get education at all cost.

At that point, my father also became interested in ensuring that I acquired some form of education. But unfortunately, my mother died when I was in primary school. I was very young, clearly under 10 or so. She died

I

in the course of child birth. It was very painful because I had to leave my domain to go and stay with my grandmother and that disrupted the kind of peace I was enjoying because it was a polygamous house. My step mother took war against me and never wanted to see me because I was excelling within the family.

She would accuse me wrongly, and nothing I could do would ever please her. So it became a hot place for me. I guess because of the love my father had for my mum, he decided to send me outside our community for my secondary education.

Then it was the Adekunle Ajasin Government that was in power and they had free education, so I was sent to Ilaje Grammar School far away at Atijere, so I could be living in the boarding house and run away from the persecution and hostility at home. But as a young man, just barely about 12 years old, my stepmother discouraged my father from visiting me or sending provisions.

I was abandoned, nobody cared. I had to go into some form of survival for myself. Most times, I would not be in school because I had to be looking for something to do to make a living. In my second year, I was asked to leave the boarding house. I actually was expelled from secondary school. Then I joined a local gin company, where we were transporting gin from community to the other with manual truck made with woods and tyres. I became very well versed in that business and doing the truck pushing.

That went on for about a whole year. In the course of pulling the truck, you had to taste some gin. I was involved in other juvenile activities and I forgot about schooling totally.

It was about that somebody from my town,

Adegboruwa and his wife, Oreka

Mr. Ayetoro Awojinrin, who knew that my mum wanted me to have education, went back home and told my dad that his son was not in school, but was transporting gin. So my father came and took me back home to complete my education right under his watch.

Now, I was grown up and I was in a position to wrestle with my step-mother. I completed my secondary education at home, but it was still war. At that point, I guess my dad didn’t want that war because a man would always side with his wife, so he sent me to Lagos to stay with his younger brother for my tertiary education.

When I got to Lagos, my uncle called me and said if I wanted to stay with him, I must join his business and along the line we can now be talking about education. So, I joined his timber business for five years. In the course of doing the business, because I love education, I was always going with books like S.M.E Aka. In the evening, after coming back from the timber forest, I will take out the lantern and read to update myself on subjects like Economics, Government and English. I had my books each time we were travelling because I didn’t want to die a timber man.

It got to a time, I was agitated and I told my uncle I wanted to go back to school. So I approached a friend, who gave me a loan of N22 to apply for GCE. Then I applied for JAMB while still involved in the timber business.

When the JAMB result was out, I had a score of 264 and my uncle was very happy. When I told him, I wanted to study Law, he was very happy and he took me to Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Unfortunately, the cut-off mark was very high. I needed four points to make the cut-off, we pleaded, but Prof.

Fabunmi the Dean of Faculty of Law refused.

I had to enroll for another JAMB the following year which I passed and I was offered admission to study Law in Ife on merit.

Who influenced you the most between your dad and your mum? What were the

lessons you learnt from them?

Both parents influenced me, but my mum influenced me the most. My dad influenced me in the sense that he was a very hardworking person, very spartan. He was combining his pastoral work with farming. He had large expanse of farm land and was also involved in timber work. My father was well respected in our community and really admired for that.

He was a man who would say something and stand by it and never tolerated injustice. So a lot of people come to him for reprieve and for assistance, because he was a pastor and founder of a church. In that regard, I saw him like a hero and role model because he was always talking about truth, justice even as an illiterate. I wanted to be like him. My mum was someone who loved education and I guessed that she influenced me in that regard.

She would aways sit me down to say that she was not literate and wanted her children to become literate. But her major area of influence on me was that she didn’t like her children taking other people’s things. She was a moralist to the core. I remember very vividly that there was a time she just finished cooking and the portion she dished out for me was rather small and I took extra meat from her pot and she descended on me. She used a razor blade and cut my hands. I was bleeding and that was the first time I saw my dad fought her seriously. Those marks have remained and every time it’s always a reminder that you don’t take other people’s things or something you have not been authorised to take.

The other area of influence was the bonding, because I was her firstborn and a boy, she always took me everywhere she went. Another area where my father stood out for me, was when my mother was sick before she died, she was in labour for about two days. In our community, there was no hospital or health centre, you deliver by faith through the local midwives. She had a breach during labour, and all she needed was just a caesarian operation to bring out the baby. So my father was

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 28, 2020

19

PLUS ... While Growing up, Twice I Attempted Suicide But... praying and he assembled some prophets. I remember that my father was a very strong man of faith. So he also influenced me in that area. It was on the third day that people suggested to him that my mother should be taken to the local government headquarters for medical care. She died inside the canoe before they got to the local government headquarters. That almost ruined my life but my father stood by me and my siblings. So in that regard, I was also influenced by my father to be a man of faith and to be strong in difficult times. I’m not surprised now that I’m pastoring a church. It runs in the family right from my grandfather.

Will you say that you were pliable or stubborn as a child?

I was both but I can say that I was more of the stubborn type. I was pliable because of my mother. When she was alive, I couldn’t go beyond her, or dare go out without her notice or approval. She monitored everything I did. I was a gentle boy then. After her death, especially when I got into secondary school, I ran into a lot of truancy and stubbornness.

I remember vividly that in my year one in secondary school, I led a protest against our principal because we were not being fed well in the boarding house. He was coming from our local government headquarters through a motorised boat, so we all went and waited for him, dived into the water and seized the boat. I remember that I led that operation, which was part of the reasons I was expelled in year one. It was stubbornness at that stage, but I now understand it to mean something in me that resists injustice and to pilot the course of the common good, such that by the time I got to the university, I fully harnessed that potential which led me to becoming a member of the Students Union Government.

For instance in year one, I was chosen as the representative of my colleagues in the Law Students Society and in my year two, I was elected the public relations officer of the Students Union of Obafemi Awolowo University, and in my year three, I became the SUG President. Thereafter, I became a member of the Senate of National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS) and this platform enabled me to interact with Dr. Beko Ransome Kuti, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, and Femi Falana and other activists.

What motivated your pro-bono cases and investigations?

When I look at my past from what I have explained to you, it could only have been by the grace of God that I eventually got to school and graduated. I would have continued as a timber man. In the university, I was expelled, when we had a student protest against the IMF loan in 1992. The university authorities were not happy and they expelled 62 of us. It was a career truncated. But Chief Gani Fawehinmi called us into his office in Lagos and assured us that we were going to go back. With all the experiences I have had in my childhood, I could not go back home to tell my parents that I had been expelled, because it took so much to get there. So Fawehinmi filed that case pro-bono without asking for our parents, without asking for money and he was attending the court himself until he got judgment. After he got judgment, he followed us into the university to submit it and sat in the office of the Vice-Chancellor, insisting that we should be reinstated because examination was pending. So they reinstated us and we wrote the exams and passed and didn’t miss that academic session.

Eventually, when I finished from university and came to the Law School, I was denied admission because the university wrote that I was not a fit and proper person because I participated in students protest. So Fawehinmi came to the Law School and insisted that since we got a judgment, which had nullified our expulsion from the university, they cannot use that same expulsion to deny me admission. Therefore, I was admitted. So I look back into my life that I have benefited from the services of great lawyers which I could not pay for, so I felt I needed to give back to people to help others too with my calling.

That is actually my motivation because of what I benefitted from others. I cannot go to the road and be protesting as I used to do as a student. As a senior lawyer especially as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), I should now use my position to model other younger people and tell them that law is not all about money alone. Rather, we must see how we can use the instrument of law to challenge impunity, to challenge recklessness, to challenge lawlessness and direct the path of

Adegboruwa with his family

society for common good.

From your background, can we say you were born with a silver spoon?

I was never born with a silver spoon, even though my father was a founder of a church, and a big time farmer, he was not so rich.

Otherwise, there would have been no need for him sending us to other people for training.

I was totally from a humble background, but with parents who were well enlightened to know what to do for their children. So I grew up like a normal average child. When my mother died, I was always being told that it is those who don’t have mothers that should get wiser. It was a difficult background for me, but I thank God for being there for me always.

Have you had any near life experience?

Yes, when the hostilities of my step-mother became unbearable because I was very young, I didn’t know how else to survive in that environment. I just thought it was better to end my life. Twice, I attempted suicide.

The first was in my father’s fish ponds at the back of our house. My step mother was always starving me and making false reports to my father. So one day, I went to the pond and drank the mud water till I became unconscious. The entire village was searching for me and finally found me inside the pond.

They removed the water from my stomach and took me to hospital far from our village and I was unconscious for seven days. In those seven days, it was my father that took care of me. So I guess that was a lesson for him because he had to be there. On the seventh day I came back to life and he vowed that it would not happen again. When I came back, I had a brief reprieve, but the woman started again.

For the second attempt, I decided to run away. Around noon, one particular day, I just walked very far into forest and never looked back. By evening time, my father raised an alarm that I was not at home, so hunters gathered to search for me in the forest, but to no avail as I had walked several kilometres away from our town. So someone reminded them that there was a long bell for the Anglican Church which was what they used in waking up people for early morning service. It had a charming sound that attracts people and it goes very far. So they started ringing the bell continuously and I heard it as it was unusual to ring it at that time of the day, unless something has happened or a prominent person has died. So I started following the sound of the bell because by this time it was getting dark and I was afraid.

About some miles to the town, I saw hunters who were searching for me. But looking back now, it could only have been God because I could have been confronted by wild animals whilst walking around the forest aimlessly and alone.

How did you meet your wife?

Because of this background that I have so far explained to you, I could not marry early.

Given all the struggles that I had I passed through for education, I felt that it was going to be some form of ingratitude to get married into my uncle’s house, because I was living with my uncle after I graduated and I was working in Fawehinmi’s Chambers then. Even though I was now a lawyer and I was earning some little token, and I was old enough, I didn’t have the conviction in my spirit to marry and bring my wife into the small room that my uncle gave me to add to his burdens.

So I wanted to struggle to be able to have a descent place before I could marry but that didn’t come to pass; it took me a long time.

I left Gani’s Chambers after about five years of tutelage and there was so much pressure on me from family to marry. They insisted that I must marry from my local government and I didn’t know any lady from my local government in Lagos, so they said I should go to Ondo State University, where I could find people from my community. I got there and interviewed some ladies, it didn’t work.

One particular day, Mrs. Sola Adegbomire, who is also a senior lawyer, called me; she wanted do a research on oil pollution.

That time I was handling a case for some fishermen against Mobil because there was a Mobil oil spillage at Eket in 1998.

I was involved in prosecuting that case on behalf of some fishermen and she had read it in the newspaper. She called me and sent a lawyer from her office to me to pick the papers. The lawyer was a young lady who was serving her NYSC in their chambers. I saw her, a very young girl and very beautiful and well mannered.

You know how boys think, this will be a fish to catch and I was trying to use style to gain her attention. After solving the issue she came for and I gave her the papers; I invited her for lunch and she declined that she was sent to collect papers that she has collected it and was ready to go. I phoned her boss that I had done the job she asked me to do but I now have another job for her. I told her that I liked the lady she sent to me and requested that she should give me a background on her parenthood. It turned out that they were family friends and she knew her background very well. So she told me everything she knew about her and I was impressed.

I begged her to try to bring us closer, so she ended up sending the young lady many times to my office even when there was nothing substantial to collect. Then we became close and I made a proposal to her. She was serving in Bayelsa State in Kaima where Issac Boro hails from. I met her parents and we finally agreed to marry. I have never had any regrets since concerning that decision.

What attracted you to her?

She is very forthright. At that time

of my life, I had met so many ladies; besides I was an upcoming lawyer and had so many briefs that I was handling for clients and just coming from Gani’s Chambers and I had some little money. So my thinking that time was that there is no girl that will not fall for me. Every trick in this world that I tried on her didn’t work.

So I was impressed by her uprightness. She was conscious and inflexible in that regard, I couldn’t bend her. The stories I had from my senior lady lawyer friend encouraged me and she was very beautiful, very natural, plain and simple. There was no make-up, she just came as she was. She was very youthful, and a Christian to the core. When I visited her in Baysela State, she insisted I go and rent a guest house; that I couldn’t stay in her copers’ lodge. Anytime she visited me, she brought her friends along.

What have been your happiest moments in life?

July, 3 2019, will probably rank as one of the happiest moments of my life. I was before Hon. Justice (Prof.) Obiozor at the Federal High Court in Lagos, arguing a case for some IPMAN members, who were having disputes among themselves. I was there arguing from 10a.m. till about 3p.m. so I lost consciousness of things happening in the country. That day, the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee was meeting in Abuja to ratify the names of those to be conferred with SANs that year, because I was consumed in that case I lost sense of that event. After my submission, I sat down to listen to the arguments of the opposing counsel and to take notes for my response. Then I checked my phone only to see large volumes of text messages congratulating me. I read the messages and I jumped up instantly. Then my Lord asked, me what happened? And I told him. Everyone in the courtroom erupted in joy. Another day was on September 23, 2019, when I appeared before the Supreme Court, led by Honourable Justice Tanko Muhammad, who handed me the instrument of appointment and said I could now go and practice as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. That was the happiest moment of my life apart from my wedding day and also another one on February 6, 2003, when I dropped my wife at the Redeemed Maternity in Ebute Metta.

We were expecting our first baby. Then I went to court and when I came back, she had not delivered and the nurses wouldn’t allow me to see her. It was around 11p.m. while praying on the altar inside the church, someone tapped me on the shoulders and said congratulations that my wife had given birth to a baby. I was so relieved as it was my first experience and we had both agreed not to tell anyone about her stay in the maternity. r Read full interview online

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Fashion File

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͺ΀˜ 2020 with

Amede 2020 The Mix Collection

AZUKA OGUJIUBA

azuka.ogujiuba@thisdaylive.com

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÎ€Ëœ 2020

FASHION FILE

Amede 2020 The Mix Collection Amede 2020, The Mix Collection is a fusion of style and a mixed bag of ideas, for the young, working class or more mature woman! A versatile collection of fringes and frills, fitted for an alluring design and flowing for a freer look, encapsulating the

old, the new, the future in exciting vibrant colours. It’s a mix!

Photographer @mike_kure Model @d_jones36 Shoot direction @precious_john Makeup @didysignatureMakeup @didysignature.

21

22

˜ ˞ MARCH 28, 2020

TRIBUTE

Clem Agba, a Daring Team Leader at 56 Sufuyan Ojeifo

H

e is no less a child of providence, wielding power and privilege with fetching humility and exemplary focus. He has demonstrated with his life’s trajectory that royalty, economics, philanthropy and politics fundamentally address transformation of the human condition for good. As yet, he unabashedly maintains this unique, philosophical footing in his private and public exertions.

Little wonder, the famous American poet and essayist, Maya Angelou, once observed that “nothing can dim the light that shines from within.� Angelou’s captivating insight into the existential challenges that confront great men in the making, fundamentally captures the life of Clem Ikanade Agba, who was, at first, providentially born into the family of the Royal Highness, Pius Kadiri Ikanade Agba - the Oliola of Uzanu - in Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State, before he subsequently passed through the mill, cutting a niche for himself in the intercourse between possibilities and the audacity to try.

Traversing the various intersections in life, Clem, as he is fondly referred to by friends, is in the saddle, a critical juncture, as Nigeria’s Minister of State for Budget and National Planning where he, along with his colleagues in the federal cabinet, is putting his nose to the grindstone to delive r on priority mandates of the ministry towards achieving the overarching goal of national development. And, this, in itself, is just a cusp in his enthralling odyssey, which further validates the enduring wisdom that challenging roads often lead to beautiful destinations.

Indeed, an unwavering sense of loyalty and duty, rigorous erudition and professionalism, stern discipline, demonstrable integrity and almost a child-like faith in his beloved God had activated and summoned to duty those enigmatic principles that guide progress. Today (March 28), a cosmopolitan Prince Clem celebrates his 56th anniversary, not obligatorily with pomp and ceremony, given the gloomy socio-economic mood of the nation due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, but necessarily with gratitude in his heart to the Almighty God for the gift of life.

Significantly, the community close to him readily attests to the magnitude of his humanity anchored on his God-fearing and man-caring dispositions. I belong to this community, which has continued to grow as a result of his liberal worldviews that motivate him be good to all, irrespective of race and creed. Through the depth of his worldviews, Clem places premium on people even in contemplation of issues that should ordinarily engender self-interest and preservation of the same in the cosmos of rising complexities and defining battles for survival. He discountenances that first law of nature and provides others with ample opportunities not only to survive but also to flourish. In the intervening periods in which beneficiaries try to accentuate their sense of appreciation and loyalty, the Prince affords them the benefit of the doubt even when there are strong reasons for doubts.

The scenario supra is the sterner stuff of which a quintessential team leader is made. Again, as member of one of Clem’s numerous teams, I doff my hat to his eleemosynary spirit. And, beyond his proximate loops, the chemistry of brilliance, resourcefulness, charisma, humaneness, generosity and discipline has endeared him to many in Nigeria’s political landscape, oil and gas industry and the private sector. More, he has earned a huge reputation as a change agent, mentor and achiever.

In recognition of these attributes and his unwavering commitment to service and development of society, Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole had invited him to join the Rescue Team to serve as a member of the cabinet of Edo State in 2009. As Commissioner for Environment and Public Utilities, he brought in new energy and momentum to public governance; and, as Commissioner of Lands, Survey and Housing, he initiated the required fundamental reforms

For greater details, he had provided leadership in the urban renewal and drainage infrastructure drive of the Adams Oshiomhole-led administration, which included beautiďŹ cation; greening the streets, planting trees and ensuring that the state capital had functional street lights, as Commissioner for Environment & Public Utilities. He had also played a pivotal role in ďŹ nding solutions to Edo State ood and erosion challenge, about 30 years after the last major storm water project was done in 1979

Agba

within five months, setting up the Edo State Geographic Information Services (EGIS). He had also served as a member of the Edo State Economic team.

For greater details, he had provided leadership in the urban renewal and drainage infrastructure drive of the Adams Oshiomhole-led administration, which included beautification; greening the streets, planting trees and ensuring that the state capital had functional street lights, as Commissioner for Environment & Public Utilities. He had also played a pivotal role in finding solutions to Edo State flood and erosion challenge, about 30 years after the last major storm water project was done in 1979. This was in addition to the evacuation of the notorious Costain Isonorho dumpsite in just five days- a problem that dazed more than five previous governments (both military and civilian) for over two decades. During the same period, he had successfully increased the State Forestry nursery capacity from 200,000 to 650,000 trees with the objective of ensuring sustainable forest regeneration.

From Edo State, he had returned to his management position at Chevron Nigeria Limited consequent upon the expiration of his leave of absence in 2016. It was while at Chevron that President Muhammadu Buhari tapped him for appointment into his cabinet in 2019. Buhari had taken note of Clem’s power of articulation while briefing him during a presidential working visit to Edo State for the commissioning of some projects. Remarkably, Clem’s intellectual capacity has a riveting educational history to it: after his primary and secondary education, he obtained the Higher School Certificate (HSC) from Advanced College, Igueben, and graduated from the then Bendel State University, now Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, with a B.Sc. Economics degree in 1985. He holds two Master’s Degrees in Business Administration from the University of Benin (specializing in Management) and from the Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA, (specializing in Supply Chain Management). Indeed, from academic preparations to the workplace, he had effortlessly been upwardly mobile, even as his unremitting quest for professional excellence had continued to blossom.

Consider another aspect of his individuality: while privileged royalty often exploits their subjects, Prince Clem is an exception. Philanthropy is one of the important features that define his persona. He has unstintingly funded innumerable charitable works - from award of scholarships to provision of electricity, water projects and other humanitarian efforts.

For instance, when in 2012, floods devastated some communities in Etsako East and Etsako Central Local Government Areas of Edo State, Prince Clem spent considerable personal

resources on the provision of relief materials to them. His capacity to express love tangibly to the underprivileged in the society led to the formation of The Clem Agba Foundation (TCAF).

The Foundation is a vehicle for philanthropic activities but with a primary focus on the education, enlightenment, testing and treatment of different strains of Hepatitis (A, B, C, D and E) and its associated ailments, especially Hepatitis B & C. The death of his beloved mother on November 29, 2012 to hepatitis-induced cancer of the liver essentially motivated the formation of the Foundation. The TCAF collaborates with like-minded organisations and individuals to help in the research, treatment and alternative medicine approach to find a cure to the Hepatitis scourge that is ravaging not only Nigeria and Sub Saharan Africa, but also several other places around the world. Significantly, also, the need to intervene to stop these avoidable pains and deaths associated with Hepatitis birthed the idea of the Medical Mission to mark his 50th birthday, six years ago. Till date, TCAF has organised hepatitis awareness programmes, screening and vaccination for over 5,000 persons in Edo and Lagos States.

Society has helped to define Prince Clem’s eon. There is a vast spectrum of recognitions and awards to boot. He is a Professional Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Administration; and a Fellow, Nigerian Environmental Society, among others. The Prince has also been honoured as the Ofewosi of Uneme Land, in appreciation of his numerous philanthropic projects to his immediate community. On this voyage of altruism, he is constantly inspired by George Bank’s philosophical essence of life: “For the cause that lacks assistance; for the wrong that needs resistance; for the future in the distance, and; for the good that I can do.�

This provides a good plank on which to celebrate the life that he gives in his years as succinctly captured by Abraham Lincoln, US statesman and lawyer, who served as the 16th president of the country from March 1861 to April 1865, once quoted to have said on the issue of birthdays: “In the end, it is not the years in your life that count, but the life in your years.�

Certainly, a celebration of Clem on his birthday is a celebration of a wonderful, close-knit family-including four men (children)-that is constantly being calibrated and recalibrated by his beautiful, dutiful and hard-working wife, Catherine, a scion of the famous Gaius-Obaseki’s family of Benin Kingdom. Yes, the rhythm goes on; though, many more birthdays are ahead. Happy birthday to a wonderful team leader! –––Ojeifo, a team member, sent in this tribute from Abuja via ojwonderngr@yahoo.com

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÎ€Ëœ Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

MEDIAGAFFES

EXPRESSION/RELATIONSHIP

BY

EBERE WABARA

‘Re-open’ Incorrect

“P

RIMATE, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, would (will) retire from active service today having served for 10 years.â€? â€œâ€Śbut with (in) strict compliance to (with) government (government’s) directive against the gathering of people not more than 50â€? “Each of the 14 ecclesiastical provinces of the church is expected to be represented by two persons in (on) all the occasions lined up for Okos (sic) retirement.â€? â€œâ€Śthe government’s relief camp in Igando be re-opened (reopened) to accommodate the newest displaced persons.â€? “We urge the Federal Government to contribute generously into (to) the fund‌.â€?

(DAILY Sun Editorial , March 25) “A party on tenterhook (tenterhooks)â€? “Zenith Bank would never call, SMS (send SMS) or e-mail (send e-mail) requesting for your card details‌.â€? (Zenith Bank full-page advertorial, THISDAY, March 21) ‘SMS’ means ‘short messaging service’ and therefore cannot be a stand-alone (as applied here) or verb in formal communication—its everyday misuse notwithstanding. “Buhari commends Offor over (for/on) books donationâ€? “The facts are indisputable that President Buhari-led APC administration has woefully (abysmally) failed the people of Nigeria.â€?

(THISDAY Back Page Missile, March 21) “Oni: My grouse with Salami, Niyi Akintolaâ€? To avoid any litigation: my grouse about (not with or against)‌gentlemen of the press.

DAILY SUN of March 2 also committed the same blunder in one of its headlines: “My grouse against election tribunals‌.â€?

It is not everything that is in the dictionary that is correct at all times because of language

dynamism. It is for this reason that the dictionary and other reference books are continually revised. So, don’t go about dogmatically chest-thumping that you have an infallible authority when reacting to etymological issues published in this column.

You need to do a lot of research-based rationalization informed by voracious reading if you crave purity in communication. That is the only way to go for sticklers. “They, in turn, could be able to carry out their legitimate duties to their customers.�

Either: could or would be able. ‘Could be able’ is offensive. “Some people who have axe (an axe) to grind against (with) NIJ and its management� “That is one thing that is not so easy to come by at the Ogba campus of the NIJ� Get it right: on the Ogba campus. “The effort of such illustrious alumni are needed to lift it up from the present morass.�

Why the subject-verb discord? Effort is (not are) needed. “To those close to the corridor (corridors) of power.‌â€? “Let him breath the air of freedom.â€?

(Vanguard, March 2) Noun: breath; verb: breathe. “With a stroke of fate, Muhammadu Buhari has been thrust on (in) the leadership saddle of the nation.� “Rather, we prefer to import the latest from foreign countries, without trying to see whether we can produce better varieties�.

Delete ‘from foreign countries’. “Though successful (successive) governments had at different times urged Nigerians to‌.â€? â€œâ€Śthe armed robbers have already gone with their lootsâ€?. ‘Loot’ is non-count. “Nigerians need other people friendly (sic) foundations to join the bandwagonâ€?. Either climb or jump on/aboard the bandwagon. “Regard the face of our Head of State

ewabara@yahoo.com, 08055001948

at formal and informal occasions.â€? (THE GUARDIAN, March 2) To laugh is human: on (not at) all occasions. “That shoot-at-sight order in Libyaâ€? Get it right: shoot-on-sight order. â€œâ€Śa constitution designed to ensure peace and stability is this nation’s only antidote against (to) national disintegration.â€? “When our prisons are bursting at their seems (seams) with political detainees.‌â€? “The aversion of Nigerians for (to) military rule is clear and unmistakable.â€? “The way the principal actors in these two periods acted has become a re-occurring subject....â€? (Daily Independent, March 2) Why this recurring gaffe? â€œâ€Śalleging intimidation and harassments which made fair conduct of elections unattainable.“ ‘Harassment’ is non-count. “But I believe in a Nigeria in which what is good for the goose is good for the ganderâ€?

(Thisday, March 2) What is sauce for the goose.‌ �‌Nigeria which should be flying with the eagles is roaming about with the chicken�

(Source: as above) Always at the brink: delete ‘about’. “While those with matured (mature) minds were able to control their emotions.‌â€? “Musicians pay last respect to departed‌.â€?

Fixed: last respects “The armed bandits struck at Hawan-Kibo, about 60 kilometres from Jos.� Are there un-armed bandits?. “Members of ANCLA are now working on plans to see that this menace is reduced or wiped out completely.� Yank off ‘completely’ to foreclose lexical insanity. “The development is sad, pathetic and constitutes a terrible setback on the objective of the party reform.� Get it right: a setback to (not on) the objective. “Hopefully, we will end up with a human specie (species) that is half-man and halfdog.�

When A Disease Reshapes The Universe

L

ast week was the 13th week since the Nigerian effort to confront the seemingly unstoppable surge of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). The disease supposedly originated from Wuhan (China) late last year, and has since strolled across all borders of virtually every nation on earth.

The disease is so widespread and devastating that international news channels that used to feed us relentless menu of sop stories all over world, especially from the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Africa, have hardly had any news, except the vicious and suffocating effects of COVID-19 right in their backyards, sacking usually bubbly cities and dragging once proud metropoles to their sorry knees.

Nearer home, the news amongst Nigerians have changed from the uncritical braggadocio of the Blackman who believed that somehow in the unsearchable schemes of the Almighty Creator, he has made the pigmentation and climate of the Blackman domiciled inside the pistol-shaped African continent, impervious to the threats and attack of the pandemic.

Our numbers have moved up, mercifully still in less alarming multiples, within the past three or four weeks. Our governments, especially that of Lagos and Ogun states have responded admirably swiftly to challenge the spread, and motivate their residents to respond in similar agitation as the disease coursed through the ignorance and foolhardiness of January, 2020...when many Nigerians tagged COVID-19 an Asian disease easily contracted in the Western hemisphere.

The speed and vitality of few states have somewhat galvanised the Federal Government to act... though some Nigerians still feel the restrictive and precautionary measures by the Federal Government were not only belated, but haphazard...a sign of official slackness and perhaps mild negligence.

When the airspace was shut (by the way, planes are still landing, as at March 25, as we say on the street, “perse perse�) and some states started issuing orders and notices that were geared towards restrictions of free movement, in aid of “social distancing�,

and usually untouchable places of public interest, like churches, mosques, government offices, banking halls, etc, were “advised� to suspend “operations�... the message sank home that “e don happen�!

To add pepper to its drastic menu, and deter some of our people who find occasion to spit on the face of government and its orders by exercising their rights to die or live as they want, enforcement task forces went around shutting off recalcitrant event centres, night clubs, worship centres, and such places where more than 50 people could gather (it was sensibly cut down to 20 people - and one would hope that it should be further cut down subsequently).

Many celebrities and socialites (today’s influencers) have either tested positive or have declared themselves in self-isolation. Some markets, bus stops, and places where crowds often gather have been fumigated, in Lagos State. Trust Nigerians, more terminologies and pet-names are being churned out as people find ways to amuse and titillate one another in a period that is both frightening and, potentially, near hopeless.

We read about developed nations having massive challenges in coping with the health needs and emergency situations of their citizens, despite the sophistication and capacity of their public health services.... It is tremendously overwhelming to merely imagine the scenarios in developing nations where less than 10% of their huge populations can barely be fairly well served, even in moments of tranquility.

Sadly, Nigeria is in that second category.

Therefore, it is the primary responsibility of every government, corporate body and citizen, to conduct our affairs and moderate our activities in a way that prevention and precaution ought to be of extreme premium. We cannot wait for government to tell us to stay away from parties, ceremonies (however essential and vital), fun spots, events and whatever spaces that people (who are not your immediate family) gather. We must stop ourselves from endangering the lives of our loved ones and innocent strangers that we co-mingle.

The delicate “innocence� and voracious intrusion of COVID-19 can make the ignorant assume that the

“We must congratulate him for (on) these, but....â€? “Former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela expressed confident (confidence) that the Nigerian leader will enthrone an enduring democracy in the country.â€? “At the end of the day, their children still have to interact with the offsprings of the marginalized masses.â€? ‘Offspring’ is uncountable. “And Nigerians, as well as the international community, have evidently warmed to this new hopeful visage.â€? Get it right: wormed. “As we observed last week Tuesday in regard to.‌â€? Either: last Tuesday or Tuesday, last week “Do we have any right to demand for grain supplements from these countries?â€?

(THE GUARDIAN ON SATURDAY, March 21) Readers have the right to demand (not demand for) formal use of the English language by Nigerian newspapers. â€œâ€Śthe oba suffered the indignity in London of having some of his luggages (luggage) identified‌.â€? “Atimes (At times) the person falls asleep easily.‌â€? “Right from the time she served on the guild’s standing committees, she put in her very best.â€? The face of grammar: ‘best’ cannot be amplified (very best!) because of its superlative form which abhors inflection. “Firm plans MKO pavillion at polyâ€? Spellcheck: pavilion. “Hence the reluctance of some private sector employers to participate in the new welfare scheme is borne out of the precedence being set by the public sector.â€? Get it right: precedent.

Overheard on Wednesday morning: “Are you hearing me?� This is wrong. ‘Hearing’ cannot function as a verb because of its structural characterization. The correct expression goes thus: ‘Can you hear me?’

COUNTERPOINT

FEMI

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

well-bred, good-looking, well-dressed (even in protective gears) and such togas of respectability, combined in one man or woman, would not have the virus.

Or that only the elderly, and those with precondition ailments are at serious risk. Please, be assured that the virus has advanced beyond such infantile delusions.

While the economic cost of income-less hibernation, as a byproduct of outwitting COVID-19, is understandably worrisome, and governments must device some palliative measures to assist the most vulnerable amongst us - especially those who earn their daily bread in the true meaning of that phrase, we must unite in true goodness, to display acts of magnanimity, kindness and love. Hunger, idleness and desperation to provide for families will make the most law-abiding citizens search for “food money� wherever it can be found, irrespective of the present danger of contamination or infection.

It is thus critical, for those amongst us who are privileged not to be frightened by the thought of “until further notice� in the staying-at-home regime, as means of defeating COVID-19, to stretch hands of help and enablement to families in dire straits...you don’t have to break your “curfew� to help those in need. Technology is our great friend here. There are millions that can be reached via social media who can be touched with strains of godliness in sacrificial giving and extension of gifts, especially cash and food items.

As we continue in our “civil disobedience� against a crushing evil enemy (also known as Coronavirus), it is vital that not only do we survive the days ahead with as few casualties as possible, we must emerge from the ongoing pestilence with recharged vigour, enhanced appreciation of our humanity, more profound understanding of social and emotional intelligence...and an undeniable realisation that we are one and same before God, irrespective of our positions, status, accomplishments or stature.

We can choose to live as one...or die as one. Does it not profit our future and enterprise to live as one giant family... unbreakable by the most paradigmshifting phenomenon in living memory.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÎ€Ëœ 2020

24

MARKET PLACE with Omolabake Fasogbon... 08155131874

Retail Players Advised to Chart New Growth Channels Nigerian retail operators have been advised to reposition their business to harness growth opportunities in the sector.

Chief Executive Officer of FoodCo Nigeria Limited, Ade Sun-Basorun, gave the advice amid the falling oil price and coronavirus pandemic that are presently threatening the global economy.

According to him, while the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has downgraded the country’s growth projections, the retail sector appeared to be a shield for the national economy, hence, all hands must be on deck.

He said: “The present precarious economic climate emphasises the need for all stakeholders to collaborate in actualising government’s efforts at diversifying the economy. For instance, the retail market segment is currently the third highest contributor to Gross Domestic Product, GDP, at 16.1 per cent and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) estimates that it will grow by 20.4 per cent to hit N454b by 2025. “The current challenges notwithstanding, it is clear that the sector is critical to driving new growth frontiers for the country particularly if more formalised structures are put in place to optimally harness opportunities within the ecosystem. “In its current state, the organised consumer goods sector presents a paradoxical situation. While some Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies have delivered poor results within the past few years, there have also been notable expansions by some key players, especially within the formal retail space. Looking at the future, there are still ample grounds to be optimistic about opportunities within the sector given the country’s bourgeoning consumer market currently estimated at 52 million. “Also to consider is the large middle

class, pre-dominant youth population and rapid urbanisation. It therefore behoves sector stakeholders to make a critical assessment of inherent potentials across the value chain to chart new channels for growth,� he added.

The retail expert noted further that developing the formal retail sector will open up feeder economies for real estate, agriculture, small and medium enterprise as well as logistics.

He informed that FoodCo is taking the

lead in building capacity within the space through its FoodCo Fellowship initiative, a novel and specialised internship program targeted at grooming MBA and post-graduate students for leadership in retail.

L-R: Subject Teacher, Community Senior High School, Alapere, Lagos, Mrs. Mary Isibor; Director, Nosak Group, Mrs. Risi Ogunbor; Director, Co-Curricular Unit, Education District 11, Maryland, Lagos, Mrs. Tinuola Idowu; and some students during the Growing Women Career Summit organised by Nosak Group to mark the 2020 International Women’s Day in Lagos...recently

COVID- 19: Nigerians Want Telcos to Slash Call, Data Fee Telecommunication operators in the country have been enjoined to bring down the cost of data and call to foster communication activities.

This was sequel to the directive by federal and some states governments that workers should work from home amidst the COVID- 19 pandemic, which has taken a heavy toll on the country.

Already, one of the telecommunication firms, Airtel, has offered Nigerians free access to the websites of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) for situation update and relevant information.

But subscribers believed that the gesture could be extended to calls and data to the benefit of all, given the importance of communication this period.

In Canada for instance, Rogers Communications Inc. has announced a suite of policy measures in response to COVID-19 outbreak. The measures included waiving of roaming charges for Canadians overseas and suspending service cancellations for customers who cannot pay their bill.

The Canadian communication company also informed that it would be waiving long distance fees and working with Microsoft to offer Microsoft Teams and Office 365 free for the next six months.

Chief Executive Officer of Rogers, Joe Natale, explained: “We know that there is a lot of uncertainty in our daily lives right now. This is a challenge that affects every Canadian and every business across our country. We all have a vital role to play in supporting each other through it.

“Until April 30, we will not be charging customers for long distance calling within Canada and until the end of May, we will be suspending all data caps on home internet plans. Also, for the next 90 days, the company won’t cut off anybody’s service if they are unable to pay.�

In the same vein, Telus Corp., another Canadian telco has waived data caps for the citizens while planning to introduce flexible payment options for customers who cannot pay their bills due to a disruption in income. “We don’t want anyone to worry about not being able to pay their bill on time if they have been financially affected by the crisis. “We are also waiving roaming charges in China, Italy and other countries particularly

hard hit by the virus, because Canadians in those places may not be able to get home�, Telus spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, MTN South Africa has declared that it would slash down data price for its South Africa customers by next month April .

Chief executive of MTN South Africa, Godfrey Motsa, hinted further that the company would slash data price by up to 50 per cent and offer 20MB of free daily data to each customer in response to the call by the Competition Commission for the group to reduce data prices.

This development has however been greeted with harsh criticisms by Nigerian subscribers who believed such gesture should be replicated in Nigeria, being the firm’s largest market in Africa.

ARM Holdings Divests from Indomie Excites Customers with ‘Indomitables Magnet Promo’ Life Insurance Business ARM Holding Company Ltd has sold off its Life Insurance business, ARM Life, to Tangerine life Insurance Limited, (formerly known as Metropolitan Life Insurance Nigeria Limited) The firm disclosed this in a statement signed by its Chief Executive Officer, Jumoke Ogundare, recently.

According to the company, the move was part of plans to refocus its business and increase product offerings across a broad array of investment opportunities suitable for clients’ needs.

The statement reads: “The divestment also allows us to collaborate more efficiently with multiple insurance companies on product development. “We shall continue to maintain our business relationship with Tangerine life, the new owners of ARM Life. We assure our

clients who have insurance products with the organisation, of our continued oversight of their policy where they have asked us to do so. “As part of our overall plans to expand our service offerings, we have introduced a mobile trading platform, ARM Stocktrade, that provides access to domestic and international equity trading on the NSE, NYSE and Nasdaq. “I also use this opportunity to introduce ARM Fixed Income Fund and ARM Eurobond Fund which are Naira and US Dollar denominated mutual funds respectively. The Funds broaden our investment opportunities to clients with low to medium risk appetite.�

Ogundare also advised customers to stay safe amid the rage of COVID- 19, while also assuring them of uninterrupted service and operations via its online platforms during this period.

As part of efforts to appreciate its customers, Indomie has announced the commencement of a nationwide consumer promotion, tagged ‘Indomitables Magnet Promo’.

According to the company, the promo, which began in February, will end on May 25, 2020.

To participate in the exercise, consumers are expected to buy a promo pack or carton of indomitable indomie noodles and open the pack to get a free magnet, thereafter qualify to win other instant prizes.

Group Public Relations and Events Manager of the firm, Tope Ashiwaju, explained that in addition, consumers also stood a chance to win a redeemable gift by sending a picture of the image on the magnet with their name and address to the number provided on the pack via

Whatsapp.

He listed some prizes to be won to include iPads, bicycles, school bags, lunch bags, and Indomie noodles cartons among other consolation prizes.

He reiterated that the promo was a way of expressing gratitude to loyal customers for their continued patronage and support. “As a leading brand, we consider it an obligation to connect with our numerous consumers while building excitement in appreciation of their loyalty to the brand. “Participants across Nigeria will have the opportunity to win over 100 million naira worth of prizes within the three month duration of the promo. The plan is to ensure that everyone who participates wins something as the promotion is expected to produce at least 100,000 winners,� he said.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 28, 2020

25

POLITY

Calumny as Tool of Pay TV Signal Theft Dunni Majolagbe

T

here appears to be a desire in some quarters, not excluding some government officials, that the country’s pay-television landscape should be an ethics-free trade zone. That desire is regularly transmitted to the public in form of willful misrepresentation of facts, outright invention and hollow posturing. These are sold to members of the public who, being largely incurious, take them as the gospel truth. One of such appeared in the media early this week. It sought to present the theft of television signal and illegal rebroadcast of such as a way of widening access to pay television service. Fronted by an alleged coalition of human rights group, Nigeria Civil Society Group (NCSG), probably a special purpose vehicle for calumny, it targeted MultiChoice Nigeria.

NGSG was reported as calling on the Federal Government to put an end to the arrest of pay television signal pirates in the country, claiming that MultiChoice was using the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to harass the cable television operators illegally redistributing DStv, GOtv, StarTimes and BeiN, the Qatari broadcaster, to hundreds of homes in and around Port Harcourt and some communities in Akwa Ibom State. Were the NGSG faintly interested in human rights, it would have known that the rights of the signal owners had been breached.

But it is not. It griped that last year, the offices of Communication Trends Limited (CTL), CANTV and MetroDigital were raided by the EFCC because MultiChoice is desperate to maintain its “monopoly”. ‘’We have monitored these events with keen attention and discovered that it is all about market monopoly by a South African company MultiChoice/DStv who claim to have exclusive preserve to air all English Premiership League matches to the exclusion of Nigerian companies,” said the spokesman of the group, Dr. Jackson Omenazu, who bears the colourful title of Chancellor.

Omenazu appears to believe that illegal rebroadcast of other operators’ signals in order. He failed to tell the media that in 2010, CTL had its licence suspended for pirating the signal of the defunct Hitv and that the other operators raided for activities at variance with the country’s laws. The illegal operators are members of the Association of Cable Operators of Nigeria (ACON), which, last year, claimed that the illegal activities of its members are to make pay television services affordable to Nigerians, who they claim cannot afford DStv, GOtv and StarTimes.

ACON also claimed that his members are licensed by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to rebroadcast those channels without authorization by those who own rights to them. Its members were charging subscribers between N3, 000 and N5, 000 monthly for content exclusively owned by others.

They claimed to have been paying licence fees and two per cent

Lai Mohammed turnover to the NBC, whose code, they alleged, bars a single broadcaster from having exclusive rights to major sports content.

Last year in response to a letter by the lawyers of the rogue broadcasters, the EFCC said Section 40 of the law establishing it categorises TV signal theft as economic crime. The section defines economic crime as “non-violent criminal and illicit activity committed with the objectives of earning wealth illegally”.

The activities of the broadcasters is similarly in contravention of Section 51(1) of the Copyright Act, which defines broadcast piracy “as the rebroadcast commercial scale, without authorization, of content protected by copyright.”

The National Copyright Commission (NCC) on 26 January 2018 arrested one Idoni Joseph Osagie in Osogbo, with broadcast piracy equipment such as DStv and GOtv decoders, coaxial cables and signal boosters.

The NCC regularly carries out similar raids on facilities used for illegal broadcasts with many suspects facing prosecution.

Also in September 2018, the NCC warned two Kaduna-based cable television operators, ABG and QTV, that they risked suspension for unlicensed broadcasting.

The warning, according to Augustine Amodu, NCC’s Enforcement Director in Kaduna, followed the receipt of letters from international broadcasters such as Aljazeera, BeiN and Canal Plus that their content was being redistributed illegally.

“After doing vigilant surveillance and investigation, we have found out that the original and rightful owner of the content you are transmitting is MultiChoice. But ABG has gone behind without getting due licensing from MultiChoice to continue to operate on the cable of MultiChoice. The only people with the exclusive

license to broadcast English Premier League, UEFAChampions League, LaLiga among others is MultiChoice Nigeria. So, we are here to issue a very stern warning to you to desist from this illegal act or run the risk of been shut down,” the NCC wrote in a letter to the crooked broadcasters. But the signal pirates are persuaded that their activities are in the service of the nation.

They have found a patron saint in Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Information Minister, who in January directed the NBC to compel exclusive licensees to share such exclusive rights with other broadcasters “upon the payment of commercially viable fees.” Who determines the “commercially viable” fees? It certainly cannot be the minister or the pirates, who believe they need not pay. And in a free market space, the government is in no position to determine prices. He was not the first to come up with the idea.

The last Senate, under the Presidency of Dr. Bukola Saraki, made some noise about exclusivity and billing model, but did not do beyond getting people excited for nothing. Mohammed, since January, has not told operators how the sub-licensing plan will proceed.

But he has succeeded in inspiring inspired a band of illinformed commentators, who keep demanding the institution of a pay-per-view or “pay as you go” model, which they think is the same. In some cases, they claim this model operates in South Africa-a big, fat lie. AGoogle search would show that the monthly billing system is what operates in South Africa. Pay-Per-View (PPV), it should be noted, is not the same as serving television content a la carte. It is the model used for the broadcast of one-off, bigticket events and such are more expensive. In certain cases, as high as $100 is charged for events broadcast by PPV. The epic Manny Pacquaio vs Flloyd Mayweather boxing bout a few years ago was available on PPV at $99.5. Had it ended in the second round, it would have been almost hundred dollars gone. The ignorance that pushes some of these ideas is breathtaking. The Internet also can help-if we are willing. Pay TV companies, most often, do not own the content they broadcast. They pay eye-watering sums to acquire rights to such. Content producers/owners have all the powers and contracts to sell their shows, series, movies and other content to pay TV broadcasters for redistribution typically does not contain “pay as you go” basis. The system that allows you to pay for what you watch is video-on-demand (VoD) services.

That is what is close to the “Mama Put” model that is desired. To pay for only what we want to watch on TV, it has been stated by experts in the industry, will cost individual subscribers a lot more than it does with channel bundles. Areport on Stratechery states that if ESPN were offered on a pay as you go basis, it would cost the subscriber $100 monthly. Another report, published by the Future of TV, estimated that “50 per cent of total TV ecosystem revenue will evaporate and fewer than 20 channels will survive in a la carte world where consumers are required to bear 100 per cent of the cost of the channel.”

–––Majolagbe, a public affairs analyst, writes from Warri

Conoravirus: Anambra’s Proactive Response

C. Don Adinuba

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he Coronavirus, known as COVID-19, which has been devastating the world since late last December, has not reached Anambra State, Nigeria’s safest state.

Still, on Monday, March 23, Governor Willie Obiano shut down schools and directed civil servants not on essential services to work from home but also set up a 23-person Coronavirus Attack Team to work against the contagion in the state. To underscore the importance of the team’s work, Governor Obiano chose to head the team himself. Other members include the Speaker of the House of Assembly, the Secretary to the State Government, the Chief of Staff to the Governor, the Commissioner for Health and his counterpart in the Ministry of Information and Public Enlightenment, the state Commissioner of Police, heads of the two teaching hospitals in the state and specialists from relevant fields.

TheAnambra State government has once again demonstrated its belief in the old aphorism that prevention is better than cure. The cost of preventing the viral outbreak is, in every sense, far cheaper than the cost of managing the crisis if it erupts. If the contagion could wreck Europe, China, South Korea and the United States, with all their sophisticated advances in medicare, it is not difficult to imagine what could be the fate ofAfrican countries if the virus spreads here. Had the Italian,American and British leaders, for instance, acted promptly as theAnambra State government when the contagion was reported in their respective nations, the situation would have been as cataclysmic as it is in each of these places today. Italy records on some days over 700 deaths. No wonder open religious services have been closed all over the country, including the Vatican. In the United Kingdom, the British prime minister has issued a stay-at-home order to all. Some countries are on lockdown.

Anambra State has in the last few years displayed uncanny leadership, and its latest attempt to mitigate the spread of the Coronavirus in Nigeria since the nation’s index case was reported on February 27 is just the latest brave effort to grapple with the pandemic. TheAnambra State administration is the first government in the country to call citizens’ attention to the grave danger which the contagion poses. It played this role because it is fully conscious that its people are the most travelled in the whole country, and they frequently visit China and other nations hit by the pandemic for business. The government has also taken other measures like suspending burials of up to 30 persons,

parties and title taking ceremonies till the situation improves.

NdiAnambra need to cooperate fully with the government in the campaign against the COVID-19. There are a lot of markets and motor parks as well as churches in the state which record very large numbers of people. The Onitsha Main Market is reputed to be the largest open market in WestAfrica. Movement in the market is difficult because of the large crowds of people who buy and sell there daily, including those who come from West and CentralAfrica. In other words, the markets and motor garages in Nigeria are potential areas where the virus can spread fast, since it is contracted mostly through person-toperson contact and physical surfaces.

There are unfortunately people who are not yet aware of the virus.

This ignorance is more pronounced in rural areas. Worse, there are people who are aware of the highly infectious disease, but strangely believe that it cannot get to Nigeria because of the false belief that it cannot survive in our hot climate. This belief persists despite that the fact that there are already over 40 COVID-19 patients in Nigeria, including the son of a former vice president,AtikuAbubakar. More disheartening is the large group of Nigerians, many of them educated, who believe, for superstitious and other strange reasons, that they cannot be infected.

There are, in addition, those who believe that the disease can be treated easily with honey, garlic, ginger and hot water.

NdiAnambra are enjoined to seek proper treatment from doctors and other medical staff members trained to manage viral outbreaks like the Coronavirus. Symptoms of the disease are high fever, vomiting, cough, sneezing and difficult breathing.Any person showing any of these symptoms should not indulge in self medication on the assumption that he or she is afflicted by malaria or any common disease but should rather immediately contact the state’s Public Health Emergency Operation Centre via telephone numbers 08030953771 and 08117567363. It has to be noted that a person may be a carrier without showing any of the symptoms. This is why the government has been advising persons who have in the last two weeks visited any of the countries with up to 1000 recorded cases of COVID-19 to isolate themselves for 14 days. The earlier the disease is detected the easier it is to treat. The government will bear the treatment cost.

There are three hospitals in the state with isolation centres. They are NnamdiAzikiwe Teaching Hospital in Nnewi, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Teaching Hospital inAwka and Onitsha General Hospital. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Teaching Hospital, Ekwulobia General Hospital inAguata Local GovernmentArea and Umueri General Hospital inAnambra East LGAhave surge centres,

Obiano that is, they can absorb patients who may not be accommodated in the three hospitals with isolation centres based on existing facilities.

Traditional rulers, presidents general of town unions, market groups, transport unions, trade unions, professional groups, the organized private sector, civil servants as well as religious leaders should be in the frontlines of the spirited campaign to ensure that our state is spared COVID-19. It is not the job of the government or medical doctors to fight this monster alone, but that of every person.

Each of us can contribute meaningfully to the campaign by washing our hands regularly with water and soap for 20 seconds which must be poured away if it is in a bowel, by airdrying our hands instead of drying them with towel or handkerchief because it may be contaminated, by using hand sanitizers always, by not shaking hands or hugging each other, by keeping away from people by some six feet, and by regularly cleaning door handles and rail surfaces with liquids containing up to 60% alcohol. It is reassuring that a lot of hotels, hospitals, offices and homes have been observing these rules.

Churches, markets, motor parks, transport owners and operators have also joined in observing these rules.

TheAnambra State Government has shown the light, and the people are happily finding the way. God blessAnambra State, the Light of the Nation.

––C. Don Adinuba is Commissioner for Information & Public Enlightenment, Anambra State.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 28, 2020

POLITY

Asiwaju Tinubu: The Crucial Interventions Tunde Rahman

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he global coronavirus pandemic is really gathering speed. The numbers are frighteningly on the rise. As I write this on Thursday, more than 500,000 persons across the world, 65 of them in Nigeria, have been infected with the virus. Fatalities are now in excess of 22, 000. The world, indeed, is being confronted by a monster of a virus. The coronavirus crisis has been described as the worst, the most devastating, since after the Second World War, which is why individuals, organisations and nations are feverishly mobilising efforts and materials to confront and curb the effects of the pandemic.

Coronavirus has proven that it’s no respecter of nations, rich or poor, developed or developing. No nation is immune to the disease. It’s a global pandemic ravaging all continents and all countries. Interestingly, rather thanAfrica, perceived as a poor continent, with weak health institutions and facilities and believed to be mostly vulnerable to killer diseases like COVID-19, Europe has emerged the epicentre of coronavirus. The grim reality of the pandemic is that the virus is being brought back home to us inAfrica by people who have travelled to some of these developed countries, now turning to be coronavirus-high risk nations.

This piece is not exactly about the ongoing virulent disease, though there are ways in which it is connected to the crisis. The article is to draw attention to and contextually situate the two crucial interventions of the All Progressives Congress National Leader,Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on the cusp of his 68th birthday, which incidentally falls due tomorrow. The one issue is the yearly Bola Tinubu Colloquium, which has become widely known as a platform for proffering ideas and solutions to contemporary issues affecting the Nigerian society over the past 11 years. The other is on theAPC leadership crisis, which, mercifully, has simmered down, even if not completely exorcised. In both interventions, however, is clearly demonstrated theAPC national leader’s responsiveness, sensitivity and political sagacity.

It is in line with the imperatives of this moment and in synch with the global call for the adoption of precautionary measures to prevent further spread of coronavirus, thatAsiwaju Tinubu, along with the Planning Committee of the colloquium, took the right decision to postpone the annual event, which would have held on his March 29 birthday.Announcing the postponement of the colloquium through an advertised statement signed by one of the panel members, Mrs. Foluso Idumu, the Planning Committee said it was in consideration of the health and safety of all the guests expected at the event. “Following increased and overwhelming concerns about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, we felt this (postponement) was the best way to proceed during such an unprecedented global situation,” she said.

If that statement is apt,Asiwaju’s letter to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-olu and others involved in the organisation of the colloquium, as reported by some newspapers, is more pertinent and instructive. “I believe we have a unique social responsibility to help educate and lift public awareness on all issues, including the coronavirus. We must lead by example,” theAPC leader

Tinubu said in his letter, adding that he looked forward to the colloquium every year, this year inclusive. “This year I was greatly looking forward to the discussion on innovation in basic education. However, I think it even more urgent that we educate and increase awareness of this possible public health menace. We do not want a situation where we have gathered for a good cause only to later find that the event might have been a conduit to disseminate not only knowledge but also the virus as well. “ Since the postponement,Asiwaju has used every opportunity that comes his way to counsel Nigerians to obey all the measures put in place by governments at all levels to contain coronavirus and also impress it on them the need to take their personal hygiene seriously by washing their hands regularly and maintaining social distancing and taking other precautionary steps. The point is, on this coronavirus pandemic, the need to continue to focus public attention on the menace and harp on the importance of taking precautionary measures can hardly be overstressed.

It was no surprise therefore that coronavirus again became a metaphor forAsiwaju in his intervention in theAPC leadership crisis, precipitated by attempts by some powerful forces to oust National ChairmanAdams Oshiomhole at all cost.Against the backdrop of exchange of barbs and court orders, the interventions by President Muhammadu Buhari andAsiwaju Tinubu, however, saved the day and saved the party from the path of disintegration it was inexorably headed.

Although some people have tried to trivialize and even distort, mischievously,Asiwaju’s statement on the issue, the pertinent point he was making cannot be overemphasized. There must always be a gap between one election and the beginning of campaigns for another to give room for newly elected or re-elected governments to govern. Just imagine if the ruling party was at this time engaged in managing the unsavoury fallouts of removing its national chairman at this time. How

would the governments the party controls at the centre and the states be able to focus single-mindedly on the coronavirus crisis, which is a crisis of global dimensions? Future ambition that subverts and undermines present governance can be as deadly in their consequences as viral attacks on a polity.

Again,Asiwaju’s analogy is not relevant to theAPC alone. How do we explain a situation, for instance, where the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), driven by ambition and partisan political considerations decided to hold political events with large crowds both in Ibadan and Port Harcourt at this period of virtual national emergency?

That again shows how blind desperation for power for its own sake can, like a virus, rid a polity of its immunity with disastrous consequences.

Asiwaju said those who engaged, in the distracting politics of seeking to remove theAPC Chairman at this time were allowing their ambition to jeopardize the public good. Thus, he wondered why people were already entangled in the succession battle that is three years away rather than helping President Buhari to deliver on his mandate.

This is how he succinctly put it that members of the party “should be trying their best to help the president. Instead of seeing President Buhari as our present leader and commander-in-chief, their sole contemplation is upon his eventual exit. Yet, not even a full year has passed since his second inaugural. How can they be committed to helping him realise his mandate when the fullness of their gaze is affixed to seizing this very mandate for themselves?”

Those touched by the malady, theAPC leader urged to tell the time and discern the difference between the present and the future and the imperatives of the very season our nation finds itself, saying the party was not built simply as a vehicle for personal ambition. “We built the party because we saw it as perhaps the only enduring hope to bring progressive governance to this nation.”

The truth is that if ceaseless politicking from one election cycle to another marginalizes and undermines good and effective governance, and thus makes it impossible for the ruling party to fulfil its promises to the people, how will the party be able to face the electorate in the next election with any confidence? If politicians are preoccupied with elections that are still three years away now to the detriment of impactful and productive governance that the mandate of the ruling party demands, are they not creating the conditions for the non-realization of such ambitions if their party is unable to showcase a record of high performance to the electorate?

By the quality and incisiveness of his interventions in public discourse, which is akin to those of the late Chief ObafemiAwolowo, for example,Asiwaju is demonstrating, once again, that politics is not just about intrigues and jostling for office, it is also, perhaps more importantly, about thinking deeply and rigorously about public issues and intervening in such a way as to elevate public discourse and impact public policy positively.

On the occasion of his 68th birthday tomorrow, I join the teeming admirers in wishingAsiwaju happy birthday and many years of patriotic service to Nigeria and humanity.

––Rahman, Media Adviser to APC National Leader Asiwaju Tinubu, was formerly Editor,THISDAY on Sunday Newspaper.

PHOTO NEWS

L-R: Chief Operating Officer, MTN Nigeria, Mazen Mroue; Executive, Chief Enterprise Business Officer, L-R: Ashipa Iyalode of Ibadanland and one of the modern warriors of Ibadanland, Mrs. Onikepo Akande, CON MTN Nigeria, Lynda Saint-Nwafor; and Executive, Chief Transformation Officer, MTN Nigeria, Olubayo (middle), her husband, Abese of Ibadanland, Chief Adebayo Akande, MFR; former governor of Oyo State, Adekanmbi, at the launch of the Prudential Zenith Life Mobile Payment Service in partnership with Senator Abiola Ajimobi and members of the family, during the unveiling of Mrs. Onikepo Akande’s portrait as MTN Nigeria held at the Civic Centre in Lagos...recently one of the modern warriors of Ibadanland in Ibadan...recently

Graduating Class of 2020, Nestlé Technical Training Centre, Agbara, Lagos State

Prevention against Coronavirous

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 28, 2020

POLITY M a r i t i m e : W h e n t h e Wo r l d Stood up for Reforms in Nigeria The global community is increasingly acknowledging the accelerated transformation of Nigeria’s maritime sector in the last three years. Ikenna Asomugha writes

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auging the mood of players and stakeholders across the Nigerian maritime industry, there is a generally optimistic view that an unprecedented transformative spirit and pragmatism have, indeed, kicked in. Answers are rapidly being found to previously debilitating issues and the effects are becoming increasingly visible.

The changes are taking place across all levels of the maritime industry, from safety and security, to financial administration, ocean health, and maritime labour relations.

With the recent flood of commendations by international stakeholders, just before Nigeria hosted the Global Maritime Security Conference (GMSC) in October last year, it is obvious that the country’s maritime sector is in the middle of a profound transformation. The GMSC was held between October 7 and 9 last year in Abuja to seek coordinated solution to the issue of insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea maritime domain.

But just before the conference, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) sponsored a Maritime Security and Facilitation (MSF) meeting in London, chaired by the Secretary-General, Kitack Lim, who led other officials of the United Nations specialised maritime regulatory agency. The meeting had in attendance the management of NIMASA, led by the Director-General, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, as well as representatives of Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF), International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (INTERTANKO), International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners (INTERCARGO), Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), and President of Chevron Worldwide, Mr. Mark Ross.

The attendees, comprising key players in the international oil and gas as well as shipping businesses, praised NIMASA’s transformational initiatives and efforts to ensure security in the Gulf of Guinea. They also pledged their support.

The general tone of the meeting was one of objective commendation, intelligent inquiry, wholehearted encouragement, and unequivocal optimism as the maritime industry under NIMASA’s watch built on better profitability prospects into the future.

The IMO Secretary-General called on the stakeholder to collaboratively and frontally deal with the challenges in the Gulf of Guinea. Lim acknowledged Nigeria’s efforts to tackle insecurity in the region and pledged IMO’s support for the country.

Trying to muster the world behind Nigeria’s effort to secure the Gulf of Guinea, Lim stated, “We at the IMO are very much interested. It’s gladdening to note that something is being done about the issue of security in the Gulf of Guinea. Something is happening much more than ever before. We want to cruise together. I think we can make a big difference with collaboration from all stakeholders.

“The global maritime security conference in Abuja is also very important. It is a groundbreaking conference to chart a way forward for securing the Sam Megwa of OCIMF, who had led a team to Nigeria last year, spoke in a similar vein. Megwa acknowledged steps by the Nigerian government to stem piracy and maritime crimes. He urged NIMASAto put in place appropriate strategies to ensure sustainability of the security projects.

“Our visit to Nigeria was quit inspiring. The most important thing is that Nigeria has acknowledged that there is a challenge and actions are being taken now,” he stated. “NIMASAwas open to us as we saw all equipment for the C4i, among others. The Agency is doing so much but emphasis must be placed on sustainability of the project through proper governance. All we want is improved security situation in the Gulf of Guinea.”

It was in pursuit of improved security on the country’s territorial waters up to the Gulf of Guinea that Nigeria hosted the global security conference from October 7 to 9 last year. Themed, “Managing and Securing Our Waters,” GMSC 2019 was a high-level meeting of world maritime, shipping, and oil and gas stakeholders meant to facilitate a clearer understanding of the challenges of maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea region and develop tailored solutions as well as coordinate efforts at strengthening regional and international collaborations to eliminate maritime threats in the region.

The conference came out with deliberate strategies to deal with maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) and create a conducive environment for business and leisure. It resolved that there should be conscious efforts by the GoG states to establish strong legal and institutional frameworks for tackling the security issues in the region. The conference called for synergy among the GoG states and their international partners in the war against piracy and other maritime crimes.

The GMSC also resolved, “GoG States and the international community should put mechanisms in place to ensure that resources that are illegally harvested/explored in the GoG, includ-

Apapa Port, Tin Can Island, Lagos. ing stolen oil and Illegal Unreported and Unregulated Fishery, are intentionally banned, as was the case with the ‘blood diamonds’.”

The security conference was part of a broad reform agenda, which Dakuku initiated at the inception of his tenure in 2016 to reposition and restructure NIMASAunder five pillars, namely, Survey, Inspection and Certification Transformation Programme; Environment, Security, Emergency Search and Rescue Transformation Initiative; Digital Strategy Reforms; Capacity Building and Promotional Initiatives; and Structural and Cultural Reforms.

Similarly, in pursuance of the goal of maritime security, Nigeria recently became the first country in West/Central Africa to have a distinct antipiracy law. The Suppression of Piracy and other Maritime Offences Act 2019, signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on June 24, 2019, provides a legal framework for the prosecution of piracy and other maritime crimes through the country’s maritime security enforcement agencies: the Nigerian Navy and NIMASA. It fulfills a critical international requirement for standalone legislation on piracy, as against the approach of using the Maritime Operations Coordinating Board Amendment law to criminalise piracy. The drafting of the Suppression of Piracy and other Maritime Offences Bill in 2012 had been facilitated by NIMASA, in collaboration with the IMO. The law gives effect to the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), 1982, and the International Convention on the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Navigation (SUA), 1988, and its Protocols.

Nigeria is also playing a leading role in furthering international maritime law, with the ratification of many conventions. The country has ratified 40 conventions passed by IMO and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) covering Maritime Safety, Labour, and Marine Environment. Nineteen of the conventions have been domesticated by way of regulation, adoption or incorporation under the Merchant Shipping Act of 2007.

In addition, NIMASAhas forwarded to the executive arm of government for ratification six IMO instruments. They include the Hong Kong International Convention for safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships 2009; International Convention Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Oil Pollution Casualties, 1969, and the Protocol relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Pollution by Substances other than Oil (Intervention Protocol 1973); International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel (STCW-F); and 1996 Protocol on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims (LLMC).

Others are the 2002 Protocol relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea (PAL) and Protocol of 2005 to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation.

NIMASAis working with the Federal Ministry of Transporta-

tion under the auspices of an Inter-Ministerial Committee to realise the ratification of these instruments.

Besides the legal and institutional mechanisms, a comprehensive maritime security architecture, the Integrated Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure, popularly called Deep Blue Project, is being deployed to boost stakeholders’ confidence in the Nigerian maritime environment. It is a multipronged project involving the training of personnel from the military, security services, and NIMASA; establishment of a Command, Control, Computer Communication, and Intelligence systems centre (C4i) for data collection and information sharing to facilitate targeted enforcement; and acquisition of assets, such as Special Mission Vessels (SMVs), fast intervention vessels and surveillance aircraft.

Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, told participants of the C4i Intelligence System Operator Course for the Deep Blue Project in March, 209 in Lagos, “The length of our coastline, our exclusive economic zone, as well as our strategic location on a major shipping route, which is the Gulf of Guinea, means that we cannot afford illegalities, such as piracy, oil theft, sea robbery, and other crimes.

“The Deep Blue Project is a conscious effort towards addressing illegality in our territorial waters and, indeed, the Gulf of Guinea.”

According to Dakuku, “The Deep Blue Project is geared towards building a formidable integrated surveillance and security architecture that will comprehensively combat maritime crime and criminalities in Nigeria’s waterways up to the Gulf of Guinea.”

The Commander of DB Lagos, one of the SMVs, Navy Captain Maksun Mohammed, said the vessels would be a game changer in the fight against piracy and other maritime crimes. Mohammed stated, “We have had hijack cases on our waters and more often than not, the reason they are successful is because they are beyond reach. But with this craft, that is not going to be an issue anymore, because it is either we launch fast interceptor boats that are capable of attaining the speed of about 55 nauts – no vessel can beat that vessel out at sea – or we put our special forces on the aircraft and send them out to the target and capture the ship.

“This vessel is going to be a game changer based on its capabilities. We are looking forward to going into operations soon.”

Mohammed added, “The vessel is highly sophisticated and highly computerised. That is why there will be a rigorous training process before we launch into operation. The training will be overseen by experts with inept knowledge about the operations of the ship. There will be a lot of emphasis on training so that we can have sufficient competence to operate this craft the way we should.”

–––Asomugha is a Lagos-based business analyst Read full article online - www.thisdaylive.com

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 28, 2020

POLITY

How Africans Undeveloped Africa Araka Okolie-aboh

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he African Cultural Heritage is one that has been in existence long before the coming of Europe, America and China and members of the ends of the world into Africa. Their coming to Africa was as a result of their search for natural human and materials resources for the betterment of Mankind and humanity in general notwithstanding your colour nor religious affiliation.

Africa had long played a good host in the distribution of both global Human Capital Resources and Materials Resources which in the words of Prof Claude Ake the “Primacy of material conditions” in his book titled “The Political Economy of Africa” Also in the classical work of “Daron Acemoglu and James A Robinson titled Why Nations Fail”, they also postulated and to a large extent agreed with both the works of Walter Roddney title “How Europe Undeveloped Africa” which Europe had long apologized for the acts of Man in humanity to man melted on Africa and Africans.

Africa had always had a well-defined system of government and political administration, well-structured system of governance and public management just as it were in Europe and other parts of the world.

The African political economy was being based on wealth distribution via communalism and little of capitalism which is a system of individual ownership and control of what to produce, how to produce and for whom to produce, that is the control of Capital, means and factors of production.

The African political economy and system of administration is more likened to the mix economy as practiced everywhere in the world today. We at the African Centre for Empirical Dialectism, have empirical knowledge and empirical evidence to this fact or epistle. It is on record that Africa had long been the source of raw materials, that is converted to finish goods and services that had longed sustained this world for the past 500 years.

The building of Elimina Castle in Gold Cost now Ghana is a historical, archeological, architectural and empirical evidence to the fact that Africa hand long played a good host in the distribution of wealth, capital, human and material resources to the whole world.

From our empirical findings at the African Centre

For Empirical Dialectism, Comrade Araka Okolie-aboh Odibo-Oha and other sound African Scholars like Prof MEU Tedheke, Professor of African Political Economy, Nigerian Defense Academy Kaduna, Dr. Emmanuel Okonmah of the Department of Public Administration, University Of Benin, Benin City Edo State Nigeria, Prof. Sadeeque Abubakar Abba, the Head of Department, Political Science, University Of Abuja, Committee Chairman, Federal House of Representatives Committee on FCT, Hon Ifeanyi Chudi Momah, Hon Suilieman Bakari, Silars Uzorgor Melete and among others, had long postulated the need for strategic use of negotiations, not violence in the liberation of Africa Political Economy and the redistribution of wealth, health, knowledge as a panacea for our development and better life for all Africans.

We are of the view that, with the new world order and the recent change in the means and factors of production, Africa will be free to enjoy their natural resources cum capital with the rest of the world. From our historical materialism and Dialectism, African Centre for Empirical Dialectism is convinced that Africa will rise again to enjoy the same better life and superlative life as being enjoyed in Europe and America and some parts of Africa.

We are very optimistic that Europe, America, China and the rest of the world would see reasons with us(African) as per why we should be upgraded to the superlative life of abundance of food, shelter, clothing, security, knowledge since we are all part of humanity, mankind and also maintain the ecosystem or the new world order which will be expressed and managed by Emotional Intelligence and artificial intelligence.

Well, this and many other epistles, dialectics, empirical studies had long been reflected in my dialectics titled “How Africans Underdeveloped Africa.” This work was part of my PhD thesis at the Department of Public Administration, University of Benin, Edo State and the Department of Political Science, University Of Abuja.

I had long handed over all of these Research works, Empirical Studies and Dialectism to the African Centre for Empirical Dialectism for further studies, constructive criticism and proper dialectics.

We at the African Centre for Empirical Dialectism, will continue to make our work open for the perusal of all mankind and humanity notwithstanding their colour nor religious affiliation.

This is our mission, our vision and purpose for exis-

tence. These and many other epistles you will continue to find in our New Media (The Social Media).

We would like to position Africa in line with all the Neoliberalism theories and postulation on some conditions, one of which is to help Africa and African enjoy and directly benefit the Superlative life as being enjoyed in Europe, America, China and all the parts of the world for we are also part of the chosen ones and humanity.

It is also articulate in the Primacy of material conditions by Prof Claude Ake, it is also captured in the Dialectics of Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James A Robinson, it is also deliberated in the Dialectics of Prof Yusufu Bala Usman, it welled deliberated in the works of Prof Sadeeque Abubakar Abba, the Theories of Imperialism and final it was well captured and articulated in the epistle and dialectics of Comrade Araka Okolieaboh (Odibo-Oha) titled “How African Underdeveloped Africa.

This article cum epistle was put together by my humble self, the African Digital Scholar of the Department of Public Administration, University Of Benin, Edo State and a PhD Research Fellow of the Department Political Science & International Relations, University Of Abuja, and also the Founding President of the African Centre for Empirical Dialectism.

We are the custodians of African Political Economy, African Cultural Heritage and Dialectism.

This is my personal empirical dialectics and Opinion and it is being made Public for the first time this day 26th March, 2020.

Covid19 is real, stay home and read, take out time to Study and do more research for the benefit of mankind and humanity notwithstanding their colour nor religious affiliation and Dialectism.

For more information about the African Centre for Empirical Dialectism, do not hesitate to contact us or reach us through any of our social media handles. We are the African Digital Scholars and Prophets, Custodians of African Political Economy, African Cultural Heritage and Dialectism. We are the Digital Scholars of Africa. We know the Thesis, the Antithesis and we have the synthesis which will for the new world order and a new thesis as postulated by Hegelian Dialectism, Karl Max’s Historical Materialism/Dialectism and Claude Ake’s Primacy of material conditions.

––Comrade Araka Okolieaboh, the President, African Centre for Empirical Dialectism, wrote in from Benin City, Edo State.

ECCIMA Lauds Dangote on Patronage of ANAMMCO Trucks

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nugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, (ECCIMA), has commended the immense contributions of Dangote Industries Limited to the Nigerian economy as well as patronage of locally assembled ANAMMCO trucks.

Speaking at the Dangote Special Day during the 2020 Enugu International Trade Fair, the ECCIMA President, Mr. Emma Nwandu, acknowledged the Group’s contributions to the growth of Nigeria economy.

He said that the exploits of the indigenous conglomerate group showed great level and high degree of vision, creative thinking, research, innovations, doggedness, hard work and industry. According to Nwandu, the Chamber commended Alhaji Dangote for his untiring and adventurous spirit to buoy up productivity for the growth of the Nigerian economy and indeed the African continent.

The Chamber President specially praised Dangote for patronizing ANAMMCO locally assembled trucks, which has kept the assembly lines of the truck plant busy, creating value for all stakeholders, enabling the staff to hold their jobs and boosting the economy of the South East.

Representative of Dangote Industries Limited, Bankole George, in his remarks, promised to maintain the partnership with ECCIMA to stimulated economic activities in the South East.

Bankole described the Enugu Trade Fair as an avenue for the company to connect with their numerous customers in the South East. “It is a home coming as the region is known for innovation and industry.

We at Dangote Group and people of the South East share the trait of continuously pushing beyond limits and discovering new levels of success, he added.

Bankole who is also the Regional Sales Director, South East, Dangote Cement, the company has taken steps to improve the skills of block makers and masons who use cement in their daily work.

He said: “We also engage the Artisans pan Nigeria with continuous training and retraining of Artisans with practical demonstrations on the right usage of

L-R: The South East Regional Sales Director of Dangote Cement, Bankole George and the First Deputy President, Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA) Sir Jasper Nduagwuike during the Dangote Special Day at the 31st Enugu International Trade Fair

cement and the best practice in their chosen careers at various functions.

“We engage them in the right selection of the basic raw materials with emphasis on the mixing ratios, right applications and usage of the right tools for sandcrete blocks productions, tiling and brick layering activities. “We collaborated with other Building Industry professionals and Regulatory Bodies such as SON, COREN, NIA and NIQS on the sustainability of high standard of cement all the times.”

Dr. Orji Iheanyi of Sales & Marketing Unit, Dangote Fertilizer, in his presentation said the country’s

population is on the rise hence the need for large production of fertilizer to put food on people’s table.

There is an urgent need for fertiliser production in Nigeria to help increase farm produce. “If this cannot be done adequately that means there will be shortage of food in the country.” he said.

Dr. Orji added that with the fertilizer plant’s capacity, the farmers would not lack fertilizer for their farming, adding that once the company launched its indigenous fertilizer in few months time, Dangote group would be the major fertilizer producer in Africa.

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Victor Osimhen

Will ‘Ole’ AlsoTake Him?

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Victor Osimhen

Will ‘Ole’ AlsoTake Him? If reports from French publication Le10 Sport is anything to go by, Nigerian international , Victor Osimhen maybe a Red Devil next season as Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is said to have made getting the forward’s signature one of their priorities in the next transfer window. Aside from the claim that the Premier League giants feel Osimhen has “all the qualities” to succeed in England, the Norwegian Manager may have been buoyed by the Lille of France striker’s countryman’s success at Old Trafford

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ith less than a year after Nigerian international Victor Osimhen joined Ligue 1 side, Lille from Belgian club Charleroi, he has been in lethal form and has been attracting interest from top European sides, with Manchester United now the front runner.

The United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was desperate for striking reinforcements after losing Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku to Inter Milan last August, but he did manage to bolster his ranks in January with the loan addition of Odion Ighalo from Chinese Super League

side Shanghai Shenhua.

The ex-Watford ace has got off to a fine start at Old Trafford with four goals in eight matches, which may have inspired Solskjaer to be gunning for Oshimen Reports also have it that European giants Real Madrid and Manchester United are already locked in a summer transfer battle to sign Nigerian international centre forward.

It is claimed that Solskjaer is lining up a move for Osimhen as a replacement for Belgian hotshot Romelu Lukaku, who sealed a permanent transfer to Inter Milan last summer, while Real Madrid are said to be in the market for a striker to replace the aging Frenchman Karim

Benzema and are also willing to offload Luka Jovic, who has failed to hit top form since his arrival from Eintracht Frankfurt last summer, the French website has reported.

However, Spanish sports daily Marca, a trusted voice on Real Madrid has identified five potential targets Los Blancos are interested in signing and Osimhen has not been named to the list of strikers.

Norwegian scoring sensation Erling Haaland is their primary target ahead of Kylian Mbpappe, Lautaro Martinez, Timo Werner and Neymar.

Under contract with Lille until June 2024, Osimhen has caught the eye this season with 18 goals

across all competitions, meaning any interested suitors will have to cough out big to sign him.

The Nigerian is also Lille’s top scorer in this campaign, with Loic Remy coming in at a distant second with six goals in the league.

In the entire league, only Wissam Ben Yedder, Kylian Mbappe and Moussa Dembele have scored more goals than the young Nigerian forward.

He’s tied on number of goals with PSG’s Brazilian star Neymar, but the latter has two more assists (6) than him, while both are the only non-nationals in the top five goal scorers in Ligue Un so far this season.

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Osimhen However, suitors will have to cough up a staggering €100m if they want to sign Nigerian striker.

According to Le 10 Sport, Liverpool who enquired of Osimhen’s services have been told that they will have to come up with an offer of €100m (£92.8m) if they want to sign Osimhen from Lille during this summer’s transfer window.

Lille fans were left in anguish when their jewel attacker-Nicolas Pepe left the French club to join Premier League side, Arsenal.

And when the Ligue 1 side signed Nigerian international they felt he was not the kind of player that could fill Pepe’s shoes but Osimhen answered with a brace in his first game.

Osimhen announced his arrival in Ligue 1 with a brace for Lille against Nantes despite having trained for just five days with his new mates.

The then 20-year-old Super Eagles forward showed his control and speed when he outran Molla Wague and placed his shot past Alban Lafont.

Osimhen then crashed a shot from the tightest of angles with 10 minutes left on the clock to score the winner after Nantes had earlier equalised in the 51st to the relieve of Lille fans and Manager Christophe Galtier, who acquired the Nigerian for 12 million Euros.

Osimhen had been expected to struggle to fill the shoes of Pepe this season but the new arrival showed no signs of any pressure with both goals and was hailed as a potential new star in French football and he did not disappoint.

Osimhen has been all smiles since.

“I feel very good, I have been waiting a long time since I arrived here and I felt it was important to make a successful debut. Ligue 1 is a big jump up for me, I think it’s one of the best leagues in the world.

“When I get opportunities on the field, I do not want to miss them. I am not yet 100 per cent but I train hard and I know that with time I will be at the top physically,” he told reporters after the match.

Osimhen was liked with several European clubs before Lille paid 12 million euro to Sporting Chaeleroi to move the Nigerian to France for a new transfer record by the Danish-based club, breaking the six million euros fee they were paid by Pyramids of Egypt to sign Cristian Benavente.

Inter Milan once contacted Osimhen’s representatives about a possible deal as a replacement for former captain Mauro Icardi who was involved in a row with the club after he was stripped of the captain armband and his relationship with the management have hit rock bottom levels.

The deal however, encountered some complications as Charleroi are willing to use every means available to trigger the clause of buying him permanently before selling him for a hefty profit and also a percentage of his future sale.

Wolfsburg on the other hand, wanted the striker back after his loan spell but it is believed they want to trade him off as their player to recoup some of

their investment in the player they signed in 2015 following his exploits at the U-17 World Youth Championship.

His impressive form earned him a recall to the Super Eagles squad for 2019 Nations Cup qualifier against South Africa and he also started in 0-0 friendly draw against Uganda in Asaba.

“My confidence level was very low at some point and what going out on loan to Charleroi has done for me is unexplainable,” Osimhen said.

“It was tough in Germany because of the high expectations – some people started doubting me and also pushed me to start doubting myself as well.

“The football in Belgium has helped, I also have a wonderful group of players around me and the coaching crew have been great with me.”

Osimhen was the top scorer as Nigeria clinched a fifth Under-17 World Cup title in 2015 with 10 goals in Chile, which saw him win the Golden Boot and Silver Ball.

After the tournament he decided against joining English side Arsenal, to sign with the 2009 German champions Wolfsburg in January 2016, but injuries restricted him to 16 appearances for the club in all competitions.

Despite being a part of the squad for two years, his lack of games meant he missed out of the 2018 World Cup with Nigeria.

On the back of his impressive performance at 2015 U-17 World Cup with the Nigerian emerging the top scorer to claim both the Golden Boot and Silver Ball, the attacker joined the former German Bundesliga champions.

However, the 19-year-old failed to settle into the Wolves’ senior set-up amid injury struggles and was shipped on loan to Charleroi last summer.

Since moving to Belgium, the youngster has rediscovered his form.

Osimhen scored 19 goals in 34 league appearances last season, including the playoffs to finish as the highest-ranked Nigerian player in the European Golden Shoe rankings with 28.5 points.

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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How Nuno Santo Rose to Become One of Europe’s Leading Managers When former Super Eagles midfielder and Wolves Loans Pathway Manager, Seyi Olofinjana last year expressed his fears for the club as it was growing beyond the management’s projection. It was obvious he was not fully aware of the managerial capabilities of the team’s manager, Nuno Santo, who is fast building the reputation of a giant killer, Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola are living testimony Nuno Espirito Santo likes his players to have a sharp eye and to be able to hit the target but it is not just in front of goal that the Wolves manager values accuracy.

One of the factors that has enabled the 46-year-old former goalkeeper to lead his team to sixth in the Premier League is a focus on team morale and bonding.

Since the start of his coaching career, the

Portuguese has placed great emphasis on tight-knit squads, and it all starts with paintball.

After finishing his playing career at Porto in 2010 - having famously been an unused substitute in the club’s 2004 Champions League win under Jose Mourinho during an earlier stint at the Estadio do Dragao - the rookie coach

was handed his first chance at Rio Ave, a club used to plodding along in the Portuguese top flight.

To shake things up, a young squad and dynamic coaching team was assembled.

Hassan ‘Kouka’ Ahmed was in his first season as a professional at Rio Ave when Nuno arrived. He was part of a

squad that included both Jan Oblak and Ederson, now at Atletico Madrid and Manchester City respectively and two of the world’s finest goalkeepers.

“We used to go paintballing and zipwiring as a squad,” the Olympiakos and Egypt striker recalls. “It was a little bit risky but it was fun and brought the group together. After matches and training, the squad would spend

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Nuno recorded the double against Pep Guardiola

Nuno celebrated winning the champions League with Porto under Jose Mourinho

time together and this was something he thought was important - he wants everyone to be united and sometimes he does different things to create a good atmosphere.”

Shooting one another with pellets of paint is the only conflict Nuno will permit in his squad.

There has been an emphasis on creating a small, unified group of players to make up the first team at each club Nuno has managed, starting with Rio Ave and moving on to Valencia, Porto and now Wolves. Indeed, Wolves have used just 20 players in the Premier League this season, made more surprising by their success in the Europa League, a competition they started back in July.

His awareness of the importance of keeping everyone involved is likely a consequence of his playing experience.

Throughout his career, he was more used to sitting on the bench than being the starting goalkeeper and he never likes a player to think they have no chance of being part of the next match.

“In a small squad it is easier to manage the players and egos,” says Joao Teixeira, signed by Nuno from Liverpool in 2016 after the manager returned to Portugal

following a year as Valencia’s head coach.

“You have so many games in England that if you have a small squad everyone is going to have the chance to play, and players know. It keeps everyone motivated, as no-one can play 40 or 50 games a year straight.”

Few goalkeepers become head coaches but Nuno was always determined to be the main man. Whether he was in between the sticks, on the bench or in the stands, he regularly had the best view of proceedings throughout his playing career, allowing him to formulate ideas of how he would want his teams to play.

At Rio Ave a few players needed time to trust a goalkeeper and his coaching plans but Kouka was sold immediately.

“I think it was very quick that we had confidence in him,” Kouka says.

Teixeira adds: “Goalkeepers see the game from a different perspective. He was the guy behind the team, so he could see all the game, where everyone was on the pitch, so that helped.”

Nuno settled quickly into his new role at Rio Ave, leading them to a 1-0 away win at Sporting Lisbon in just their second game of the season, kick-starting

their first top-six finish in over 30 years.

The most notable thing Nuno did as a player was become Jorge Mendes’ first client and there is little doubt he has been aided by the clout the super agent has in the market, helping the club attract players of the calibre of strikers Raul Jimenez and Diogo Jota, midfielders Joao Moutinho and Ruben Neves and goalkeeper Rui Patricio, to name a few.

In moulding his squad, one key trait Nuno looks for is adaptability. He often changes tactics game by game and so needs players who can take on instructions quickly and who are able to fit into numerous formations.

A small - but important - demand Nuno places on his players is that they must wear shinpads at training. This is not the norm in the professional game, but Nuno sees it as essential so that training is hard and intense and ensures everyone is fully prepared for games.

Another key part of training is Nuno’s backroom staff, who have stayed with him throughout his managerial career.

“They were very intelligent and full of ideas, always making you want to work,” Kouka says. “Sometimes players feel a little bit lazy and maybe don’t want to work, but these staff would always keep pushing you. Even if you couldn’t see something in your game, they would spot it and try to help you.”

Keeping all of the squad onside is an important part of Nuno’s philosophy and his office is open to those seeking advice or to discuss any part of football or life.

Kouka says: “He always had time for every individual player and would make time to speak to them to explain things, as he was always trying to get

the best out of everyone. I will never forget when he told me that to reach the top level ‘you can’t just dream about it, you have to work for it’.

“I owe him a lot, as I learned a lot from him and I think he is a fantastic coach.”

Wolves have progressed to the last 16 of the Europa League and, assuming this season resumes at some stage, Champions League qualification through the league is not out of the question - they are two points off fifth place, which would be enough if Manchester City’s European ban is upheld.

Nuno’s pre-match team talks - a key motivational weapon for any manager have been part of their success.

Both Kouka and Teixeira describe his “speeches”, performed to whip up his players into a frenzy just in time for kickoff. The tone would vary depending on the situation but Nuno generally judged the mood right.

“He knew when to be calm and when to be angry,” says Kouka. “He sometimes would shout at me as he wants the best from everyone but he did it with respect as he respects everyone.”

As a goalkeeper turned elite manager, Nuno has already broken the mould as a coach and there seems little to stop him going even higher.

“There is not a lot of success with goalkeepers becoming a head coach but he has proved that wrong and he is one of the best coaches in the world and he’s ambitious,” Kouka says.

“We saw this in the first year and knew he was not going to just stick with Rio Ave. He was set for bigger things and he has been in very big teams, which makes sense from what we did in Portugal.” t $VMMFE GSPN ##$ 4QPSUT

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Lagos State athletes and officials celebrate their feat as winner of the maiden Maltina School Games which was rounded up recently in Lagos.

Anthony Joshua

The Joshua Fight that Never Happened Anthony Joshua’s semi-final opponent at an amateur event never stepped in the ring, his name is even spelt incorrectly on the world champion’s record, and Simon Haddon nearly rejected boxing after being denied his chance to withstand Britain’s fearsome young talent.

“I preferred not to know who my opponents were, to be honest with you, but I found out about Anthony Joshua,” recalled Haddon, a South East champion, who had compiled a promising record before securing his fight with Joshua in the semi-finals of the English ABAE Nationals.

A raw and rugged version of Joshua had quickly made himself known at Finchley Amateur Boxing Club, blitzing out opponents, despite heavily padded gloves and head guards.

Unbeknown to Haddon, Joshua’s name would soon be muttered ominously at Willingdon Trees Boxing Club, a smaller base for amateurs in Brighton where he had been preparing for his most significant bout.

The tall, rangy fighter had trod a similar path towards boxing as Joshua, with both seeking out the sport’s discipline and controlled aggression, rather than pursuing a troublesome teenage lifestyle.

Haddon’s formative fighting years had been spent in Dorset, with respected trainer Ben Geyser before he uprooted to Brighton, while Joshua’s concussive power had been primed by Sean Murphy, his Finchley mentor.

Sussex’s Scott Welch, the battlescarred former world heavyweight title challenger, had even assisted Haddon in training. With his age now creeping into the 30s, the former soldier initially paid little regard to his next foe, but gradually acquired a daunting assessment as he scoured for Joshua’s footage and stats.

“Just a young kid coming through the ranks,” said Haddon, when asked about his first impressions of ‘AJ’.

“I looked on the internet and seen snippets of him.

“I was reading it up in the boxing mags as well. I was reading about how he was getting on and thought, ‘ah, okay, I’ve got a heavy hitter here.”

Concerns raised by coaching staff were swiftly shrugged off by Haddon, who yearned for those enticing few minutes in an opening round, the moment of brutal clarity when a savvy veteran finds out whether he can defuse an explosive prospect.

But the fight never happened.

“The coaches at Willingdon were saying, ‘this is the next up and coming kid.’ I thought okay, fair enough.

“A few weeks later they said, ‘we don’t want you to box him.’ I was like, why not? I would get in the ring with anyone, even if they would have beaten me, that’s my mentality.”

Haddon walked out of the club and away from boxing for almost two years. With a free pass to the final, Joshua blasted aside Dominic Winrow in the first round to win his

Tokyo Olympic Games: Qualified Athletes to Keep Places All athletes who had qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will keep their spots for the Games next year following their postponement due to the coronavirus pandemic, says the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The IOC and Japanese organisers postponed the July 24-August 9 event until 2021 earlier this week

but confirmed that those among the 11,000 athletes set to compete in Tokyo who had already earned their spot would keep it.

The IOC also said the amount of spots allocated for each sport at the Games would remain the same next year.

“The 57 per cent that are qualified do remain in place and the goal is to

first senior title, and he would be fast-tracked to join the elite amateurs in Team GB. Joshua would be targeting Olympic gold in London when Haddon eventually walked back through the gym doors and healed the rift with his trainers.

“I think [it was] because of his reputation,” said Haddon. “He was hard-hitting and still is hard-hitting.

He was knocking out everyone left, right and centre, and I was getting a little older as well.

“I understand now, it was for my safety. I get it.

“My missus said: ‘You’re going to regret it for the rest of your life now.’ I thought, will I? Now look.”

A decade onwards, Joshua has regained three world heavyweight titles following a rematch win over Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia. Haddon follows his fortunes again, as a fan rather than a rival, but it does not stop him visualising how the fight could have played out.

“I was pretty fit, and I would have tried to outbox him as much as I can.

“I used to like a fight as well, but it’s not my ball game. Very much like Tyson Fury, dance about, quick for a heavyweight, I’m light on my feet.

“Try and out-jab him. Watch out for his right hand.”

And if they did finally cross paths, would he try to jolt Joshua’s memory?

“Definitely. If he wants to spar, he can call me back, but I would have to train again.” maintain the same athlete quotas across the different sports,” an IOC official said.

The virus has wreaked havoc with sports schedules and forced the cancellation of Olympic qualifiers across many sports.Athletes have also been restricted in their training due to measures taken to stop the spread.

Though a huge blow to Japan, which has invested $12bn (£9.8bn) in the run-up to the Games, the decision to postpone was a relief to thousands of athletes fretting over training, with the world heading into lockdown to fight a disease that has killed thousands of people.

Ajax Star Back Home with Family after Two Years in Coma Ajax’s Abdelhak Nouri, who suffered brain damage after an on-pitch heart attack in 2017, is out of hospital and communicating with his family at home, his brother has told Dutch television.

The midfielder, 22, was placed in an induced coma after the incident in a pre-season game in Austria in 2017.

“He sleeps, eats, sneezes and burps but is very dependent,” his brother Abderrahim told De Wereld Draait Door.

“Some communication is possible, for example raising eyebrows.”

Nouri’s family have renovated a house to accommoda t e h i m out of hospital. “ We h a v e t o t a k e c a r e o f him at our very best. We try to do a lot ourselves,” added his father Mohammad.

Former team-mates Steven B e r g w i j n , n o w a t To t t e n ham, Frenkie de Jong who is now at Barcelona, and Donny van de Beek were also part of a

special programme dedicated to Nouri.

De Jong described how Nouri had reacted when he visited him in hospital to break the news of his impending move to the Nou Camp.

“When I sat with him, his mother came in. He then asked Appie, ‘Appie, where should Frenkie go? To Barcelona?’, said De Jong.

“As soon as she said that, his eyebrow rose. That was a very special moment.”

Maltina School Games: Beyond Unearthing New Champions Having made landmark and long-lasting impressions on teachers across the country with the Maltina Teacher of the Year initiative, Nigeria Breweries’ Family brand, Maltina has done great again with students across the nation with the recently introduced School Games.

The Maltina School Games is the latest intervention in School Sports by the country’s number one family drink from the stable of Nigeria Breweries Plc. It involves a series of track and field sporting competitions held Pan-Nigeria, as an inter-school sports competition to grow future sports champions in secondary schools across Nigeria.

In just its maiden edition, the Maltina School Games has been regarded as a timely intervention to save the dying culture of school sports and more importantly helping produce quality young sound minds that could rightly be called leaders of tomorrow.

The Maltina School Games platform is carefully designed to promote the development of children, from improving their social and leadership skills, to bettering their well-being through sports.

All over the world, sports and education have been veritable instruments; lifting millions out of poverty and for Maltina with its School Games initiative, these twin platforms are getting the needed traction that would further aid development.

Beyond these also, the Maltina School Games no doubt has fostered national unity and raising active kids with its one-month event from the State Prelims all to the national finals.

To highlight the enthusiasm among Nigerian children in the Maltina Games, the just concluded maiden edition witnessed a huge turnout of schools with Lagos recording the most entries.

Lagos had 182 participating schools coming from its six educational districts. There were 120 schools from Kano while Anambra had 124 and the Federal Capital Territory, 116 all registered for the Maltina School Games.

From the over 20 million school children of both participating and non-participating schools that were impacted in this edition of the Maltina School Games, one name already ringing a bell in ears of many is 17 years old Joy Ojo. Ojo of Ijaye Housing Estate Senior High school emerged as the Overall Best Athlete (OBA) having won the sprint double in the 100m and 200m before adding the relay gold to her collection.

For her splendid performance, the young girl has gotten a scholarship to any Federal University of choice courtesy of Maltina.

No doubt, Ojo showed at both the Lagos State and National finals that she has what is required to take the global athletics world by storm in the not too distant feature.

Aside from Ojo, some of the other children also showed a glimpse of promise that the hitherto moribund sports talent factory in Nigeria has been resuscitated with the Maltina School Games.

“What the Maltina Brand has done is to provide a platform for the likes of Ojo and others to launch themselves to stardom, we hope others would learn from them because sincerely there are many talents yet to be discovered in this country,” Tayo Adewale and officer with the Lagos Education Ministry noted.

With the former fastest man in Nigeria, Seye Ogunlewe also coming out to motivate the children, one can only hope for better years ahead.

“Maltina has played its part by creating a talent expressive platform for young boys and girls to develop themselves. Unlike in my days, where we only participated in Inter House sports and occasionally Invitational School relay races, this platform from Maltina is one that will open the doors for more opportunities for young athletes.”

“Nigeria School Sports Federation (NSSF) must ensure that the organisation of such events should always be hitch-free so that a major corporate body like Nigerian Breweries Plc continues to support these events for a long time to come,” the foremost sprinter pointed out.

The Maltina School Games no doubt as created huge awareness with sports in the Northern part of the country going by the large attendance recorded during the preliminary and the state finals held in Kano. The event also marked the first time most of the athletes would be having a sports meet outside their confines not to talk travelling several kilometres to the finals held in Lagos.

The event no doubt has helped to build integration, unity, and fellowship among millions of youths in the country considering the fact all the participants will have stories to tell and the memories of their respective experiences will linger for a long time as well.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾MARCH 28, 2020

35

GLOBAL SOCCER

Odion Ighalo From Doubts to New Deal Lag

Very few Manchester United fans gave him a chance to blossom when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer brought Odion Ighalo to Old Trafford on-loan from Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua in January to provide cover, but had proved doubters wrong. With four goals in eight matches, the former English champions is set for a permanent deal for the Nigerian

F

rom the butt of Deadline Day jokes to banging in the goals, Odion Ighalo has silenced the critics and shown Manchester United exactly what they have been missing.

When Ighalo joined Manchester United on the final day of the January transfer window social media was awash with disparaging comments, aimed at both the club and their latest recruit. A sign of the times, perhaps, but on this occasion, there appeared to be reason behind the unrest.

Bruno Fernandes’ big-money arrival in Manchester the previous day elevated expectations to such a level that the signing of a striker - offloaded by Watford in 2017 from the Chinese Super League left an understandable sense of anti-climax.

Critics jumped at the chance to highlight the perceived desperation behind another questionable piece of transfer business after United had, not for the first time, failed to move swiftly and decisively in the transfer market to secure more notable targets.

But as the jokes circulated on Twitter, Ighalo quietly went about fulfilling his boyhood dream to play for Manchester United - and in the space of six short weeks, there was only one person laughing.

The Ighalo effect Ighalo’s impact has been both instant and impressive.

Before a ball had even been kicked, the 30-year-old’s infectious application drew admiration from his teammates and manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who knew at the very least he’d made a valuable addition to his squad.

“The best thing about him is his personality,” the United boss remarked. And when the time eventually came for Ighalo on the pitch, he proved he had the aptitude to match his first-class attitude.

Just as he looked to have really settled into his groove, the coronavirus outbreak limited Ighalo to just eight United appearances, but in that handful of games he

more than left his mark.

Premier League minutes - and, for that matter, goals - have proven tough to come by for Ighalo, but the half-anhour he has got under his belt has proven to be eventful.

Having nearly marked his top-flight debut for United with a goal, seconds after coming on in their 2-0 victory at Chelsea on February 17, Ighalo’s superb hold-up play and back heel laid the foundation for the attack which led to Scott McTominay’s strike in the Manchester derby.

But it is in the cup competitions where Ighalo has really come to the fore.

The striker has scored four goals in three starts, the latest of which came in emphatic fashion as he rifled United into the lead against LASK in the last 16 of the Europa League, hours before football was suspended. It was a strike that left Solskjaer purring.

“He had three touches before his fourth was the finish,” the United boss said. “All those touches were high quality, but he had to make them to create space for himself. The strike is on the half-volley, great timing, no one would have saved that one so anyone would have been proud of that finish.

“Odion knows his job and what his role in the team is, and he’s very good with his back to goal, a great link player. He’s got the whole lot really.”

A different type of forward All great strikers are judged first and foremost on their goal return, but Ighalo brings so much more to the table Ighalo brings something different.

In his 31 minutes of Premier League football for United, the Nigerian has not only demonstrated he knows his role in Solskjaer’s squad but shown how much he relishes it, offering a presence, a focal point up top that occupies opposition defenders and brings others into play.

It’s something United have yearned for since Romelu Lukaku’s departure, and you could even argue has not been fully addressed since Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s time at

Old Trafford.

What’s more, Ighalo’s selfless leading of the line could crucially unshackle Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford from duties at the spearhead of the attack the pair have seldom been able to fulfil with a level of consistency Solskjaer is searching for.

In his short Premier League career with the club, Ighalo averages nine more touches in the opposition box across 90 minutes than United’s two main striking options, figures which of course are caveated by the fact he’s played a mere 30 top-flight minutes, but credible figures, nonetheless.

Will Ighalo be given chance to finish journey?

Be it by chance, panic or desperation, United have a striker in their ranks that has the proven attributes to meet their attacking needs. More importantly, unlike a host of more illustrious players signed before him, Ighalo is relishing every minute of his unlikely Old Trafford journey.

Nothing is guaranteed in football but to let such an enthusiastic recruit slip through their fingers would appear to be unwise, let alone unfair on a player who is fulfilling his dream.

Thankfully for Ighalo, it would appear Solskjaer has no intention of letting him go. Sky Sports News understands his loan will be extended beyond its current May 31 expiry to June 30 in light of the coronavirus pandemic, but the United boss has hinted at prolonging his stay into next season.

“Odion has done really well since he came in and he’s enjoying himself. He will improve and get better,” Solskjaer said. “He has qualities we saw in him and qualities we needed, and we will still need those qualities for next season, so let’s see what we will do.”

With Shanghai Shenhua keen to reacquire his services, United need to secure his future fast, because who knows what Ighalo could go on to achieve if he continues on the same trajectory. t $VMMFE GSPN 4LZTQPSUT

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÎ€Ëœ 2020

FAIRGROUND

Blossom Chukwujekwu Thrills Viewers at 'Who’s The Boss' Premiere

with

AZUKA OGUJIUBA

azuka.ogujiuba@thisdaylive.com

W

hile this is not the first time Blossom Chukwujekwu has played a bad boy on screen, in 'Who’s The Boss', he absolutely delights as Lekan Davies - a rakish playboy who made his fortune in tech and now explores his talents as a Thespian. Celebrated for his acting dexterity, the Chinaza Onuzo written and directed comedy-drama takes Chukwujekwu to new heights. The two combine beautifully to create a character that is as annoying as he is charming.

Chukwujekwu as Lekan Davies manages beautifully to walk the tight rope without falling off, in his interpretation of this delicious character. Delivering memorable zingers and stunning performances with a killer smile and sex appeal that is very masculine, alluring & irresistible. This is especially evident in scenes where Lekan is his roguish best and yet the audience is cheering loudly and rooting for him.

Definitely one of the highlights of 'Who’s The Boss', is fun to see Chukwujekwu play such a left field role and we hope to see more of this side of him. In fact so enamored were we with Chukwujekwu’s delivery of Lekan, that we haven’t stopped day dreaming about being the sole interest of a rich playboy. Every woman needs a Lekan!

Thank you Inkblot Productions and Accelerate Studios for the gift of Lekan Davies.

The premiere event, which was held at the Imax Cinemas, Lekki had an array of guest celebrities and influencers who took the red carpet by storm in their best styled suits and dresses for the ‘Boss’ themed event. Guests at the premiere included Omoni Oboli, Desmond Elliott, Bisola Aiyeola, Nse Ikpe-Etim, linda Osifo, Elozonam, JJC Skillz, Ufoma McDermott, Denrele Edun, Michelle Dede,Charly Boy Niyi Akinmolayan, among others.

'Who’s The Boss', which also stars Funke Akindele-Bello, Sharon Ooja, Segun Arinze, Ini Dima-Okojie, Beverly Osu, Tayo Faniran & Bolly Lomo opened in Cinemas all over West Africa February 28, 2020.

L-R: Chinaza Onuzo, Zulumoke Oyibo and Damola Ademola (Co-Founders, Inkblot Productions)

Blossom Chukwujekwu

Funke Akindele-Bello

Ufuoma McDermott

Omoni Oboli

Chioma Akpotha

Bisola Aiyeola

Diane and Charles Oputa

Mr. and Mrs. Segun Arinze

Nse Ikpe-Etim

Michelle Dede

Lasisi Elenu

Beverly Osu

37

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÎ€Ëœ 2020

FAIRGROUND

Knorr Delivers Boxes of Surprise to Women of Impact

A

leading seasoning brand, Unilever’s Knorr celebrated the international Women’s Day (IWD)2020 with exceptional Nigerian women in various works of life. The brand which aims to promote gender equality, celebrate and empower women through various campaigns in the calendar year, took its objective a step further by celebrating and deliberately reaching out to women who are trail blazers in the society, in the month long activity for the brand.

With the theme 'Generation Equality', Knorr Nigeria had shown how important women are in the society, especially in homes and amongst family and friends, emphasising the need for an equal society where women take key roles in decision making.

The brand celebrated women by delivering gift boxes of Knorr Goodness to their door steps, with a heartfelt emotional letter of recognition. The recipients were excited to be recognised for their good works, giving them the encouragement to even do more.

Reacting to this move, Osas Ighodaro, award winning actor and convener of Joyful Joy Lafest expressed her gratitude to the brand and extended her warm regards to other amazing women. She took to her Instagram page and said: "To be a woman is truly beautiful, remarkable,

Latasha

Ife Durosimi Etti

Osas

Aramide Abe

strong, and incredible thing. Thank you so much Knorr Nigeria, You have

put a huge smile on my face with this one; thank you for celebrating me and

reminding me to keep inspiring. I am so honoured and I very much appreciate this. To all the amazing women out there doing amazing things everydayHappy International Women’s Day! Keep pushing, keep striving, keep being that fabulous woman that you are."

Speaking about celebrating Women, Nnenna Osi- Anugwa, Marketing Manager Savoury Unilever, Ghana/ Nigeria, stated that "It’s not just about celebrating women, it’s more of appreciating their impact in our societies.

Women have been an important part of every society and at Unilever, we take pride in celebrating and honouring our women. Knorr Nigeria has always been at fore-front, championing women empowerment and celebrating impactful women.

We will not stop doing this; our women know how importantly we rate them and we are very thankful for all that they do."

The brand will empower women throughout the month of March as it is referred to as the month of women.

More women would be reached out to and celebrated across the country Nnena added.

Over the years, Knorr Nigeria has been instrumental in promoting a healthy society through women empowerment with unique Knorr products and food recipes. The brand has created unique taste experience for families across the country, making the seasoning cube a household brand for many.

Honourees for Lord’s Achievers Awards Coming off the success of the pioneer edition of the Lord’s Dry Gin Achievers Awards held on March 24th, 2019, Lord’s Dry Gin will be hosting another edition this year to showcase individuals who have also made outstanding contributions in the Nigerian society.

The Lord’s Dry Gin Achievers Awards honours individuals who have attained a remarkable level of progress in their different industries. The initiative was launched to uphold the brand’s desire and mission to honour prominent leadership and achievements and to celebrate young people who strive to achieve distinct success in various professions.

This year, Lord’s Dry Gin will be celebrating: Piggyvest’s triple threat; Odunayo Eweniyi, Somto Ifezue and Joshua Chibueze, the duo behind Nairabox; Jay Chikezie and Tokunbo Adetona, Human rights activist; Segun Awosanya popularly known as Segalink, Art curator and founder of Rele Art Gallery; Adenrele Sonariwo, Jola Ayeye and John Adewusi of Salt&Truth TV, Human Resource specialist; Ivie Temitayo- Ibitoye, breakout comedian Samuel Perry aka Broda Shaggi and Endometriosis advocate; Dr. Nini Iyizoba.

The brand has carefully selected the above in recognition of their excellence and impressive footprint in their

various industries. Grand Oak is proud to highlight the unfolding journey of these individuals as they inspire the next generation to come.

In the previous year, the ceremony celebrated eight exceptional individuals who gave inspiring insights into their journey. This year, 12 individuals who have made notable achievements in their various industries would be honoured.

GM Marketing, Mridul Sharma added: “We believe in celebrating excellence and exceptional leadership. We established this platform for individuals who inspire others through their work despite the unfavourable challenges we face in Nigeria, they have proven determination and dedication to work is integral in moving the nation forward which is greatly encouraged by Lord’s Dry Gin.�

The event is strictly by invitation and is set to hold on March 29th, 2020, at the Federal Palace Hotel. As an enterprise of Grand Oak Limited renowned for its prominent marketing and distribution of Spirits and Wines in Nigeria, Lord’s Dry Gin is made of exceptional, international quality and has been in the market for 34 years. Lord’s Dry Gin endowed with leadership in the spirit market, is enjoyed among sophisticated ladies and gentlemen.

Honourees for the Second Edition of Lord’s Achievers Awards

Bolt Celebrates Female Drivers Bolt is undoubtedly the leading on-demand transportation platform in Africa and Europe and the company hosted its top female drivers at an appreciation event on Sunday, March 15 at the Backyard Grill and Bar in Lagos.

Gracing the event with their attendance were the numerous Women With Drive, who are driving change and breaking down the stereotypical barriers in ride-hailing. They add diversity to the Bolt platform with proof that driving is not defined by gender and can be a reliable and rewarding income stream for women.

Regional Marketing Manager, Bolt Africa, Terver Bendega said: "Overall we are always looking for opportunities to appreciate our drivers who are the corner stone of our business. So it’s important for us to make it easier for them to do business and so any opportunity we have to thank them we always do and a women’s day celebration like this is one of them."

Every day, Bolt drivers help bring safe, affordable and reliable transportation to millions of riders across Nigeria. This international women’s day, Bolt is celebrating the inspirational women who drive on Bolt and provide great service to riders every day.

Helen, a year-long driver with Bolt, said in a testimonial: “As double

Masters Degree holder, I pursued a career in driving for Bolt because it gives me liberty to be my own boss and have time for my family.

So far, It’s been a great experience as I have been generating income to fend for my family through Bolt for a long time�.

Speaking to the ladies on tools and strategies for success, the CEO of No Left Overs, Ayodeji Megbope, lauded the organisation stating: “Bolt has provided a platform for women to be able to handle their financial needs independently. Any effort to alleviate the struggle that women go through is a laudable effort�.

Also in attendance was the Lagos Operations Manager for Bolt Nigeria, Onyinyechi Madubuko, who shared that “Currently, women make up five percent of the driving force on Bolt. This 5 percent have proved that they can out-earn their male colleagues. At Bolt, earnings received by drivers are reflective of activity on the platform. Gender is not a factor. We applaud the great Women with Drive and continue to encourage female drivers to join the platform and break down the stereotypical barriers created by society�.

Women With Drive is part of initiatives lined up by the brand to support and reward female drivers for their loyalty and trust in the Bolt staff and some of the guests at the event platform and encouraging them to drive for success.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÎ€Ëœ 2020

38

AUTO Enyo Partners Honda in March to Easter Promo

Hyundai Kona

Stallion Motors’ Hyundai to Bring Nigeria’s First Electrical Car Stories by Bennett Oghifo

S

tallion Motors, Nigeria’s leading auto assembler and franchisee of nine global brands, including Hyundai, has hinted they would launch into the Nigerian market Hyundai – Kona, an Electric car.

As things stand, before the year 2020 runs out, Nigeria would officially join the rest of the world in embracing electric cars, the company said.

The company’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Anant Badjatya, recently hinted of their plan to officially launch the Electric car regarded

by European motoring journalists as world’s number one. “Well-meaning and concerned people globally are urgently making moves to save our dear planet,� explained Mr. Badjatya. “After operating successfully in Nigeria for over five decades, the least our company could give back to the country and by extension, the world is to be a leading pilot in steering the nation to the direction of clean energy use and reduction of emission.

“Not being dissuaded by the nation’s infrastructural challenges, one of our plans for this year is to introduce into the country Electric Vehicle (EV) and, in no distant future, embark on attitude change campaign for a clean environment in conjugation with Hyundai.�

Stallion Motors understands that climate change is for real. The changes in global temperature and weather patterns seen today are caused by human activity. They are happening much faster than the natural climate variations of the past. World over industries have started recognising this and are making the switch towards sustainable means of doing business and adopting technology with less environmental impact.

Responding to the problem, therefore, auto users around the world are, speedily, replacing internal combustion engine-powered vehicles with Electric Vehicles (EVs), which generate no pollutant. Like dry season wild fire, the revolution is moving with speed.

Versatile and powerful, the Hyundai KONA Electric will be the first All-Electric SUV in Nigeria. Its power packed performance will

provide a thrilling driving experience with high acceleration over long distances. Driving range for Kona Electric is 482 km with an acceleration of (0-100kms) in 9.7 secs. The ease of charging is unmatched, one can even plug it in at home or at work and charge it for 9.35 hrs for a full battery capacity. Hyundai Kona comes with a 5 years of battery warranty and 5 years of vehicle warranty. KONA Electric will change the way people think about going electric. It would make history as first EV to in Nigeria with local manufacturing. “Is Nigeria Ready?

While putting finishing touches to the National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP) for passage into law, the federal government of Nigeria, February 2019, laid bare interest in EV technology by assigning University of Nigeria, Nsuka (UNN), University of Lagos, Usman Dan Fodio University and Metrological Institute for design and production of a made-in-Nigeria electric car.

Less than a year after (July 2019), UNN announced completion of an EV put together with 80 per cent local content.

As a way of giving back to customers this coming Easter season, Enyo Retailing and Supply Limited, a customer focused and technology driven oil retailing company is partnering with Automobile Western Limited for a month-long promo activation tagged ‘March to Easter with Real Deal.’ The ‘March into Easter with the Real Deal Promo’ is scheduled to run from March 16 – April 16, 2020. Under this promo, individuals who purchase the all-new Honda HR-V SUV are entitled to a free N50,000 Enyo Velox card.

The partnership agreement was signed by both parties on March 17th in a press conference held at Enyo filling Station Stillwaters, 4th roundabout Lekki Epe Expessway, Lekki, Lagos.

The all new HR-V is an entry level SUV from the Honda Range which combines luxury and affordability. Apart from other features known with a modern functional SUV, the Hi-Rider Revolutionary vehicle (HR-V) is designed with a magic seat to change the norm. It is a 5 seater vehicle proudly assembled in Nigeria with keen adherence to the Honda global production standard during the assembly process. The vehicle which ordinarily should have been N11.262million can be gotten for N10.9million with other freebies.

Enyo Corporate Development Lead,Abayomi Alimi said, the partnership is the coming together of brand with similar value. The initiator of the partnership is immaterial but what is important is that we are a forward looking organisation, reputable brand where Honda flag can be hoisted and the consumers get positive perception that brand the has built for itself. Though, we are just three years in the market, we have built a reputable image for ourselves and we are known for that. We have also been able to sight our stations in 84 centers with presence in 19 states including Abuja within three years. In addition, we have sighted our stations in very strategic locations where every other brand want to be. So they see in us the value that they like and in the same vein whenever we do our partnership, some of the things we look out for, the boxes were ticked by Honda.�

According to him, “Honda is also a reputable organization, certainly one of the leaders in their industry backed by Japanese technology. Some of their vehicles are assembled in Nigeria. It was very easy when the opportunity came to partner in order to provide a reliable, convenient and safe fueling solutions to the new cars they are selling.

Porsche Presents Innovative 3D-printing Technology for Bucket Seats

P

orsche is revolutionising sporty seating: the company presents an innovative alternative to conventional bucket seat upholstery with the concept study “3Dprinted bodyform full-bucket seat�. Here, the central section of the seat, in other words the seat and backrest cushions, is partly produced by a 3D-printer. Customers will be able to choose between three firmness levels (hard, medium, or soft) for their desired comfort layer in the future. With this new technology, Porsche is once again underlining its close ties to motorsports, as this type of personalised sports seat follows the design principles and rationale of driver-specific seat fitting customary in professional motorsports. “The seat is the interface between the human and the vehicle, and is thus important for precise, sporty handling.

That’s why personalised seat shells customised for the driver have been standard in race cars for a long time now,� says Michael Steiner, Member of the Executive Board for Research and Development at Porsche. “With the ‘3D-printed bodyform full-bucket seat’, we’re once again giving series-production customers the opportunity to experience technology carried over from motorsports.� In addition to

2020 Porsche Cayenne

an ergonomic fit similar to that found in motorsport cars, this seat also delivers a unique design, lower weight, improved comfort, and passive climate control.

The “3D-printed bodyform full-bucket seat� is based on the lightweight full-

bucket seat from Porsche and features a sandwich construction. A base support made from expanded polypropylene (EPP) is bonded to a breathable comfort layer comprised of a mixture of polyurethane-based materials made using addi-

tive manufacturing, otherwise known as 3D-printing. The outer skin of the concept seat is made from “Racetex� and features a specific perforation pattern for climate control. Window panels provide a view of exposed coloured components in the 3D-printed lattice structure and give the full-bucket seat an unmistakable design.

The “3D-printed bodyform full-bucket seat� will be available from Porsche Tequipment as a driver’s seat for the 911 and 718 ranges from as early as May 2020. The range, in combination with a six-point seatbelt, will initially be limited to 40 seat prototypes for use on racetracks in Europe. Feedback from customers will be incorporated into the development process.

As a next step, street-legal “3D-printed bodyform full-bucket seats� in three different firmness levels and colours will be available ex-works from the Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur from mid-2021.

In the long term, this technology will also enable fully personalised solutions, should a sufficient number of customers express an interest in this. In addition to an extended range of colours, seats adapted to the individual customer’s specific body contour will then also be developed and offered.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÎ€Ëœ 2020

39

AUTO

COVID–19: Coscharis Scales Down Lagos Operations Advise on Safety Stories by Bennett Oghifo

N

igerian conglomerate, Coscharis Group has said it would scale down its Lagos operation, and advised their customers, staff and stakeholders not to panic but to take precautionary and safety measures as instructed by the World Health Organization, and the Nigeria Center for Diseases Control.

The advice follows the recent global outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) that has been declared a pandemic by the WHO. This is contained in a statement by General Manager, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Coscharis Group, Abiona Babarinde. In it, the President of Coscharis Group, Dr. Cosmas Maduka said, “We have been following with great details the global developments as it relates to the COVID–19 health situation which is really unprecedented that has brought the whole world to a standstill. As a responsible corporate entity, we are heeding to government and the health institutions’ advice to ensure the safety of our assets whom are our staff and all our entire stakeholders. We have therefore put

The new Defender

in place critical safety precautions in line with required guidelines across all our facilities and business concerns. In line with the Lagos State Governor ’s directives, all our Lagos

based offices have been directed to drastically scale down number of their staff that will be coming to the office to achieve the required social distance directives while

others work from home to be able to continually deliver value for all our stakeholders.� “Some of the measures already put in place are the hand–held scanners to check the temperature of all visitors and staff coming in and out of all our facilities. Automatic and manual dispensers in all touch points within all our locations. Consistent cleaning of critical areas of all our buildings where human traffic occurs. Likewise, all offshore business trips for staff have been put on hold while the foreign partners have equally been advised to stay in their various countries till further notice.�

The statement said, “During this challenging period, while we would be exploring options that will reduce physical engagements where it is necessary, to the barest minimum otherwise, we encourage our customers and stakeholders to utilise other platforms like telephones, emails and our website as credible options to engage for our services. “Coscharis group stand by all the efforts of the government to control the spread of this unfortunate virus and encourages every citizens and foreigners alike to remain responsible as we believe this is just a phase that will soon fade away in our lifetime.

COVID-19; KiaTakes Proactive Measures to Ensure Safety of Customers, Staff

K

ia Motors Nigeria has introduced measures to curtail the spread of the virus and to minimise the chances of their employee and customers’ exposure to the disease and to join responsive corporate entities across the country to restrain the spread of the COVID-19.

Rooted in the practice advised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), personal hygiene had been constantly reinforced in all their locations with designated handwashing places, deployment of the infrared thermometer for temperature checks at the points of entry into the facilities, hand sanitizers, nose masks, social distancing, amongst others.

There is no gainsaying the fact the current outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has taken the world by storm and ravaged cities across the globe, thereby paving the way for extreme measures like social distancing and in some cases, total lockdown. To curtail the spread, measures have been taken by quite a number of companies. At the frontline of this fight, like every person/customerfacing business, the auto industry expectedly needs to be conscious and cautious of the pandemic. Premised on this and having been recognized as one of the socially responsive companies in Nigeria, Kia Motors Nigeria has

instituted a more precautionary operational practice in their showrooms and service centers in order to avoid contracting and spreading the coronavirus, as the country comes to grips with a growing pandemic.

Further to the measures taken by Kia, the auto company has also restructured its workforce to a more dynamic operational base. In the meantime, quite a number of their staff are advised to work remotely starting March 23rd until further notice — “except those in business-critical roles that cannot be done away from Kia facilities. In addition, we join the WHO and NCDC to strongly advise anyone who feels like they are showing symptoms of COVID-19—which can be as mild as those of a cold, or more serious, like the fever or flu—are advised to seek medical attention and self-isolate while they take care of themselves,� said the Chief Operation Officer, Sanjay Tatpati.

People are understandably concerned about the COVID-19. To allay the fears of customers and ensure them of Kia’s readiness to provide premium care for their car and adequately support its customer base during this outbreak, Sanjay further stated that “as a business that interacts with the public on a daily basis, we understand car servicing and repairs may seem essential in this period as health officials advise against public transportation.

Thus, we are geared towards ensuring safe, secure and hygiene facilities as spelled out by the WHO. Kia bodyshop engineers working on a car at the Kia Plaza in Lagos

Is There Right of Way at Roundabouts in Enugu?

F

red Bright is not your big time standup comedian like Ayo Makun popularly known as AY, or even the grandfather of comedy Atunyota Alleluya Akpobome professionally known as Alibaba. The young man from Enugu state who practices his craft in the Federal Capital Territory is a master of the craft who always thrill me with his skills often interspersed with jokes from the South South, South East or the North and South West. I am not here to praise his mastery of his craft but to understand why for over three years he has consistently lamented about driving in Enugu and religiously pleading with me to come over to Enugu and collaborate with him in raising safety consciousness and promote a better and saner driving culture.

Bright’s pestering did not hit my cord until I touched down in Enugu in February 2020 and saw driving reminiscent of what I saw and experienced in Port Harcourt in 2016 especially at roundabouts which to me boils down to gross impatience, arrogance on the wheels and maybe impunity. So just like I did a piece I titled, BETWEEN LAGOS AND PORT HARCOURT DRIVING sometime in 2017, I am doing the same with what I have seen in Enugu with the above caption.

In the 2017 write up on driving between Lagos and Port Harcourt, I tried to compare driving in both cities with the conclusion that Lagos was not the only place noted for notorious driving

SAFE DRIVING with Jonas Agwu amnipr, mcipr,mprsa,arpa (Corps Commander) Corps Public Education Officer Federal Road Safety Corps. + 2348033026491 I observed that unlike Lagos, Port Harcourt driving was weird because of the increasing traffic infractions and the absence of a strong structure to curb and to deter these driving mannerisms that daily takes the garden out of the City. I also did say in that piece that Port Harcourt, like the typical Nigerian cities boast of numerous places of worship especially churches which adorns almost every street yet daily driving rarely shows any form of piety.

Enugu reminds of Port Harcourt where residents attend religious programmes without reflecting God’s teachings that dwells more on humility, patience and respect for the law of the land including respect for traffic rules. Like Lagos, traffic in Enugu can get better; traffic in Enugu can be tamed in the same manner the Lagos state government has succeeded in deterring the average Lagos drivers from impunity driving. I also noted that there was the need to rid the roads of street trading that practically eats off

part of the lanes thus restricting lanes to one in very busy roads and during rush hours.

I highlighted the incidences of overloading which was rampant, unauthorized and indiscriminate parking, absence of designated bus stops and parks or the absence of an agency to enforce usage, as well as the enforcement of minimum standard for commercial vehicles to rid the state of rickety vehicles with broken windshield, broken head lamps, worn-out tyres and the need to relocate markets which adorn most streets among other vices. I again mentioned that traffic issues in places like Rumuola, Slaughter, Peter odili road, Rumuokoro,NTA road all in Port Harcourt just to mention a few were nightmares in 2017. In these areas commercial drivers became a nuisance and lords unto themselves, committing all kind of traffic infraction without fear of arrest.

Despite all these mannerisms, if you ask the average motorists in Port Harcourt or even Enugu, he would prefer to blame all the crashes, the number of deaths recorded on our roads and the injuries sustained and gridlock on ignorance. Most would rather push the blame to government and its agencies.The private car driver would blame the commercial driver who in turn blames the private car owner. The parent who allows his son of sixteen to drive would hold government responsible for not clamping down on underage driving.The licenced driver who indulges in excessive speed would blame the Ministry of Works or FERMA for the crash and not his penchant

for speeding which is a violation of the law and which is critical in the event of a crash.

The question then is why does the average motorist in Lagos,Port Harcourt and other parts of the country such as Enugu indulge in violating laid down traffic rules?Why do convoy drivers believe they are above the law that governs speed,overtaking and decent driving.?Why would such convoy drivers with VIP and armed uniform personnel whose arms are bought with the taxpayers money jump traffic lights and assault motorists for daring to question them while the government officials or very important dignitaries keep mute?The same dignitary whose life is as fragile as yours and mine?

Why would a mother or a husband or both jump into their car bought for over a million naira strap themselves with a seat belt,yet dump their lovely child at the back seat of the car without any protection even when all efforts are made to educate this same parents on the dangers of their action?Why would this same parent hear of the death of a child because the child was not strapped in a car seat and yet hide under some spirituality by declaring that ‘’God forbid,it is not my portion!!!

Why do we dare God by our actions on the wheel?God says obedience is better than sacrifice.

That same God commands that none should kill.

He never listed the instruments which means that if you kill anyone through your reckless driving,you certainly run foul of God’s commandments.Why do we forget that of all the laws or commandments of God ,Love your neighbour is the greatest of all.

Yet in our usage of the roads, rarely do we have consideration for the other motorists .

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 28 2020

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 218 2020

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˜ ˞ MARCH 28, 2020

PERSPECTIVE ThoseWhose Prayers God May not Answer Olusegun Fafore

We need to comply with the social distancing and personal hygiene precepts. No one should commit suicide by disregarding these principles.

God holds human life sacred. That is why the 6th commandment, Exodus 20;13 “Thou shalt not kill� is a clear directive to preserve human life

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ith the public outrage following the flouting of government’s directives by some religious institutions last weekend over the number of worshippers that could attend mosques and churches for prayers in the face of the deadly pandemic ravaging the world, God may have nullified some supplications for putting His creations in danger.

The contribution of a South Korean Church to the Coronavirus spread, which represents about 60% of the country’s confirmed cases of over 4,000, motivated restrictions on the number of people who can congregate at places of worship at this time.

The restriction terms, which allowed 50 worshippers, was further revised to 20 people, with ample space between seats and individuals who must be at worship centres for their supplications to be heard by God or Allah.

As attendance at religious gatherings were monitored for compliance, social gatherings did not go off the sight of governments. This is because governors will be labelled as failures and ineffective if the ruthlessness of the virus overruns our communities.

At a speed matching the invasive tendencies of the deadly Coronavirus, governments across the globe made pronouncements and took decisions targeted at protecting their citizens, limiting the spread of the virus and managing the level of fatality.

In the city of Rome, the capital of Italy, a country that lost about 743 people to the Coronavirus outbreak in just one day, the lockdown forced churches to suspend Mass.

Meanwhile, before this outbreak, Rome was the downtown of Catholic worship. The Pope resides in the Vatican City, a sovereign City-State enclaved within Rome, which has been a center of Christian Pilgrimage for centuries.

With death in the air, excursion to the holy city stopped.

Priests in the Vatican found other ways to reach their congregations since science has established that Coronavirus thrives amidst multitudes.

Perhaps this was why Saudi Arabia’s King Salman locked-down the country’s capital, Riyadh, and the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Beyond this action, the country, which hosts millions of pilgrims annually, suspended all educational and Qur’anic activities at all Mosques, closed malls, restaurants, cafes and parks, and banned Muslim pilgrims from coming for Umrah this year.

These decisions, are not only unusual, but are far-reaching, and genuinely reflective of the value placed on citizens lives by the government of the county. And the impacts of these decisions are evident in the containment effort of the State, which has limited casualty of the dreaded virus to only 1, out of the 767 reported cases, since the country confirmed its first case on March 2, 2020.

Public safety sentiment echoes across the globe. It is a critical index for measuring purposeful leadership at this unnerving period in human existence. So that you know, the time has gotten direr in Israel and the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to implement a total lockdown.

The number of sick Israelis infected by novel Coronavirus has climbed to 2, 369. And it is the responsibility of the State to cater for them and prevent them from adding to the number of deaths attributed to the pandemic. “These steps we have taken here in Israel are being taken all of the world; however, they are not enough because the number of patients is doubling every three days� said the Prime Minister who added that “in two weeks we are liable to find ourselves with thousands of patients many of whom will be in danger of death�.

If this statement does not provide hint of the despair in the Prime Minister’s voice, it is reflective of the fact that he is under enormous pressure to protect his people from the scourging death and save his land from the spate of Coronavirus.

Netanyahu’s predicament reflects what every leader all over the world is going through at this period. Even, his case should be different because Israelis have an unending covenant with God, and they can afford to ignore the roving signs of over the world.

Leadership is a huge responsibility. People occupying such positions are wearing thorny crowns at this moment.

Whether they are calm or spirited, their minds are in crisis.

They are thinking about the safety of everyone, and the purity of their territories, which could be a sovereign or sub-national.

Forget the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide SanwoOlu’s calm demeanor. Every additional case of Coronavirus in the State unsettles him. Since when the first case, which later turned negative was announced in Lagos State, the Governor’s determination to contain the pestilence has increased. Every update, he wished had included the announcement of a vaccine, or drugs that can permanently wiped-out the deadly Coronavirus from our World. “There are about 22 million people in my care and

Pope Francis everyone is only an arm’s length away from the other.

This pandemic is highly transmissible and travels in the air from one person to the other. Aside from my domain being the most populous in the country, with an incredible density, it is also the major entry point into Nigeria. Daily, thousands of travelers come into Lagos from different parts of the world, even from Coronavirus worse-hit countries�, captures the minute-by-minute thoughts on Governor Sanwo-Olu’s mind.

So, his mind cannot idle away from the conjectures coming in gushes. Even, complicating the situation is the centrality of Lagos to managing the containment of the deadly virus in Nigeria. The level of the State’s preparedness and quality of facilities make it a destination for case management and patient treatment.

As the facilities get stretched by cases imported from outside Lagos, his mind skips; because of the ever-present imbalance between needs and available resources in life.

If not for our recklessness, may be the number of cases in Nigeria would still have been as low as five, and Lagos will be zero with the index case turning negative. And this would have perhaps contributed to reduction in his anxieties.

But we are strange and very funny people, with immeasurable capacity for disobedience. It is ridiculous that government needed to enforce compliance with directives to stem the tide of a lethal microbe that has claimed 21,367 lives from the 475,879 cases in 198 countries.

We sneered at instructions as basic as restricting the number of congregations to 20 if there must worship in our Churches or Mosques and self-isolate for 14 days, if we just returned from overseas trip, to abate the spread of Coronavirus amongst us.

Even, the call to avoid public places and social gatherings at this perilous time is pointlessly ignored just as much as the need for personal hygiene is discounted.

Excuse me, why are the doctrines of “wash your hands regularly with soap� and “observe the principles of social distancing� to protect yourself from a deadly infection difficult to obey? Are we just being suicidal, or deliberately inclined to committing large scale murder?

Don’t we understand that our disobedience endangers other people’s lives and diminishes government efforts at protecting the land against pandemic? If we assemble somewhere in the name of prayer or worship, and enable coronavirus fly at a geometric progression through community spread, we have not only disobeyed civil authorities, but also committed evil in the sight of God. Good citizenship is one of the conditions precedent to Godliness.

For Christians, Apostle Paul espoused this in his homily on civil obedience in Roman 13: 1-1.

The holy Quran does not defer on civil obedience and respect for constituted authority. In verse 59 of Surah An-Nisa in the Quran, which is known as Uli al-Amr verse, Believers are ordered to obey Allah, obey the prophet and those vested with authority (Uli al-Amr).

So, where did the disobedience come from? If your recalcitrance increases the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria and results in loss of several lives, you are a murderer!

If you fail to self-isolate when you return from overseas or are exposed an infected person, you are killer because your indiscretion will infect people with the novel coronavirus.

We need to comply with the social distancing and personal hygiene precepts. No one should commit suicide by disregarding these principles. God holds human life sacred. That is why the 6th commandment, Exodus 20;13 “Thou shalt not kill� is a clear directive to preserve human life.

More importantly, suicide is a grave sin before our creator. It is true that in times of pestilence, prayer is a means of privileged communication with the Almighty God. No one is in doubt about the power of prayer as a source of strength in moment of crisis, but like Peter cautioned Christians to conduct their lives properly; so that their “prayers be not hindered� (1 Pet. 3:7).

If your actions or activities cause self-death or death of others, or endanger the society, God may not answer your prayers.

Stay safe. Wisdom is profitable to direct. ––––Fafore is Executive Assistant on Public Relations and New Media to Lagos State Governor

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͺ΀˜ 2020

SHOWBIZFLAIR

2Baba and Annie

Seven Years Sturdier Angel Features Davido, French Montana, in ‘Blessings’ pg. 50

Life and Times of Kenny Rogers

pg. 51

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÎ€Ëœ 2020

SHOWBIZFLAIR

2Baba and Annie

Seven Years Sturdier Celebrity couple 2Baba and Annie say “forever to go� as they celebrate their seventh wedding anniversary. Ferdinand Ekechukwu reports

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any couples consider every wedding anniversary as a milestone, so, they celebrate with their spouses. Legendary singer, Innocent ‘2Baba’ Idibia and his wife, Annie are not in any way different. The celebrity couple recently clocked seven years in marriage and they decided to celebrate the milestone. Actress Annie took to her social media handle to share a video of her and 2Baba. In the video posted on her Instagram page, the couple was seen in a grey bathrobe dancing to a song from ‘Warrior’, 2Baba’s latest album.

In the message accompanying the video, Annie wished herself and her husband a happy wedding anniversary. She also prayed that they would celebrate forever. The video was accompanied by a terse post captioned: “Happy Annie-versary to us. Forever7yearsand4evatogo.� 2Baba and his lovely wife Annie have experienced good and bad times but with each year, their love seems to only grow stronger and better.

Despite how perfect their seven-year union appears, the Nollywood actress would readily admit her marriage to the popular musician is not without its challenges. The 35 year-old had mentioned this while responding to a fan who gushed over how “perfect� the couple looked after Annie posted a beautiful photo with her husband on Instagram with the hash tag #ACoupleOfForeverMore. The fan said: “As perfect as perfect can be.� Annie, who shares two children with the African superstar, then replied: “Not perfect but perfect for each other�.

For 2Baba, the singer once said about his wife: “I have been fortunate enough to have met a couple of nice ladies in life and two of them even have children for me. But I think that Annie and I understand each other more. As with matters of the heart, it is very difficult sometimes to find the right words to explain it. Somehow, you just know that this is the particular person that you want to stay with.� The story of 2Baba’s women is so incomplete without his legally wedded wife, Annie Idibia.

Interestingly, this is not because 2Baba chose the actress of all his women to be his wife but because she’s been a recurring figure in his life.

It’s public knowledge that Annie was one of the vixens in 2Baba’s first official video as a solo artiste - African Queen - shot in 2004. The music video also featured Nollywood actress, Yvonne Jegede. Prior to their wedding in 2013, Annie had been in the news at different times for slugging it out with some of the other women in 2Baba’s life. Annie was rumoured to have had a showdown with actress and single mother of 4, Caroline Ekanem in 2007 when the singer was recuperating from an attack by suspected armed robber.

On 2 May 2012, 2Baba and Annie had their court wedding in Lagos, Nigeria followed by a private ceremony. 2Baba had announced his marriage via his Twitter page after he proposed to Annie at Club 10, a nightclub on Victoria Island, Lagos owned by football legend, Jay Jay Okocha. The singer and his wife had their traditional wedding on March 8, 2013 in Eket, Akwa-Ibom State Nigeria. The couple also had a white

2Baba and Annie

wedding in Dubai, on Saturday, March 23, 2013 with Nigerian and Ghanaian celebrities in attendance.

Arguably one of Nigeria’s most loved couples, the ‘African Queen’ crooner and his African queen, Annie, have come a long way to be together and their true love story is one that resonates.

Annie Idibia first met 2Baba at Even Ezra Music Studio when she was just 15. She once said: “I think there was some electricity that second.� Coming back from Annie’s 16th birthday, 2Baba showed off his boyfriend status by paying bus fares for all her friends. He ended up not eating dinner that night

but he was content doing it for love.

Their relationship after some moments faced turbulent times. 2Baba during his on and off relationship got two women pregnant. Despite the ups and downs, baby mama drama and crazy careers, they found ways back into each other’s arms.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÎ€Ëœ 2020

SHOWBIZFLAIR

Bimbo Ademoye and Uzor Arukwe in a scene from A Thousand Ways....

A Thousand Ways to Break a Cheating Man Asides from having one of the longest movie titles in the history of Nollywood, there are other stand out things about A Thousand Ways to Break A Cheating Man that might cause you to want to watch it. Ferdinand Ekechukwu reports

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irected by Kayode Kasumu, and produced

by Titi Joseph, the 1hr 57mins feature film also stars Titi Joseph, and Ray Adeka. They say “Men are Scum� but surely a woman can do better. A player meets his match who gets pregnant for him just to teach him a lesson but the unexpected happens, captures the synopsis of the movie which was released February 2020. The review goes thus: In A Thousand Ways, Bimbo Ademoye’s character, Busola, shows the extent of the common saying “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned�.

After breaking things off with her cheating boyfriend, she discovers that she is pregnant and proceeds to move in to his home with him – uninvited – and force him to come along for the ride of her pregnancy

journey. Unbeknownst to him, however, it’s not just the two of them on this journey as Busola has turned their lives into an internet reality show that plays live for her audience every day. The concept is actually quite interesting and hemmed by the capable hands of Ademoye and Arukwe. It’s almost inevitable that it will tug at some heartstrings – if not all.

Arukwe, as a lover boy, is a find that has crept up on us but it’s not unwelcome. In his introductory scene, where Ademoye’s character is basically drooling over him, the audience is actually convinced of his ‘hotness’, if her reaction is anything to go by. It’s nothing like the difficult transition of seeing OC Ukeje objectified in ‘Alan Poza’. Uzor Arukwe, however, doesn’t just bring the looks, he brings the emotions as well. When he is a ‘Yoruba demon’ he sells it and you believe it, and right when he starts to convert to an angel,

you feel it in his performance before it is made obvious.

Bimbo Ademoye is quickly becoming everybody’s screen favorite and in a movie like this it’s easy to see why. The ease with which she becomes Busola and takes the audience along for the journey, as well as the moment when she begins to reconsider her actions and finds herself fighting her emotions, Ademoye’s act is easy to believe and is easy to love. Then there was who played Arukwe’s mother, Jaiye Kuti. It will be an actual atrocity to speak of the movie and not mention her.

In her few scenes, she manages to not only command the screen but also steal some of the audience’s love. Needless to say, we are excited to see her in something else and see just how well she does in other roles. The movie as a whole is a journey that doesn’t really lose steam at any point. Maybe the steam starts to

wane somewhere towards the end but it never entirely fizzles out to the point where it’s a drag. The story, though based on an unoriginal concept, still manages to surprise in a couple of scenes until it leads to the inevitable conclusion. Speaking of the conclusion, it was a bit rushed but it is hard to complain because if the film lasted any second longer than its run-time, then many heads would have ended up nodding off.

The execution of the film is many notches from perfection. For instance, there were many scenes that could have done with better lighting, and multiple moments of inconsistent audio – but be that as it may none of it took away from the beauty of the film.

The writing could have been more streamlined and concise to take this from good to great, but even here it does a fair enough job of being memorable.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÎ€Ëœ 2020

SHOWBIZFLAIR Olaitan Ademola

Life Situations Inspire My Content Olaitan Ademola, popularly known as Demo UK, is a celebrated writer, storyteller, content creator and a brand influencer. He has worked for a number of brands and corporate bodies, such as Pepsi, BBNaija, Dominos Pizza, Dodo Pizza, Ufitfly travel agency, Kampala Int’l Uni, Irasa Clothing, Kenny Blaq among others. He talks to Tosin Clegg about growing his brand, early stages and its challenges, works so far, future projections and a lot more I was born into a small family with two siblings grew up with my parents in a one-room apartment in Surulere, Lagos. Growing up was quite difficult for me. But with the help of God and my lovely mom, I endured what life gave to us. I attended Kraus Nursery and Primary School in Surulere, and then did my secondary school at Jubril MartinsMemorialGrammarSchool.Then, I went on to study Mass Communication at Lagos State University. My childhood dreams have always been to be a footballer, but life happened and I found interest in other talents I have. One of them is writing comics.

I

My journey started in 2010 And that was from the emergence of Twitter. I created trending and hilarious memes with my face. Which many celebrities fell in love with and always reposted. At some point, when social media wasn’t really paying like it does now, I deactivated my account to focus on real life. That was around 2013 when I finished my University. My mom told me she wasn’t going to be responsible for me anymore that I have to go fend for myself. Then, I thought to myself that to become something in life I had to get rid of distractions, and social media was the main distraction. And since it wasn’t paying me as at that time, I deactivated all my social media accounts in other to get a job and focus on life.

My brand is very unique as it deals with storytelling I created a genre called ComedyJournalism, which main goal was to make people read news in a comic way. This was what I infused into the content for brands to come up with comic adverts that capture the attention of many on the internet and, most importantly, get them their target audience or customers. No one was doing that when I started. So, I can say I am the pioneer of that. And now many people are following my footsteps. This I think is what sets me apart from others.

My challenge back then was getting heard I deleted my social media when I needed to focus on life then came back to the scene. It was difficult to get heard again after a long time off social media.

I came back in 2018 when there were brand influencers and content creators everywhere. So, breaking into the scene was pretty difficult and that was why I came up with something different from what others did on a daily basis. I did a comedy-journalism piece on Linda Ikeji.

It was a summary of how she became a baby mama. I summarised the story in memes. It was really hilarious that it went viral and since then I became an internet sensation with storytelling.

What inspires my content Well, real life situation is what inspires my content. I create my content on what people can relate with. What is happening or has happened in people’s lives then make it a form of comedy with matching

memes to go. My phone gallery is full of memes. I save memes a lot on the internet.

I practically have memes for every situation. That’s why it is always easy for me to put them together in my write ups.

Some of the successes I can recount over time Having my work go viral is one of the greatest successes of a content creator. It’s good to see people sharing and talking about your work every time. The best part of it is when I pitch my work to clients and I introduce myself as “Demo Uk�.

They don’t get to doubt what I am up to.

It is a household name already. I joked about losing my job on my platform, by writing a fictional story on it. I had a number of media companies reaching out to hire me immediately. And it’s also a good feeling when people work up to me to ask if I am “Demo UK�, telling me they love my content. All of these for me are my success stories. I worked for Naijaloaded at some point, created some of my comic contents for them. Currently, I am working for Krakstv and Boomplay as a content creator and creative writer respectively.

How I approach working with clients As I said, I have created a brand for myself. So, most of the time, when I introduce myself as “Demo UK�, they already know it’s that buzzing creative don. That has made things easy for me to a large extent. My thought process is coming up with something catchy, funny and profound around their brand, product or services to get their targeted audience.

An artiste or anyone in general needs a good image branding, which is pivotal.

We are in the world of digital marketing.

Everyone sells themselves through the internet and a good PR is all they need to brand themselves to the public.

The wrongs people in showbiz and entertainment do that affect their brand Oh well, this is a conversation we have on the internet almost all the time.

Objectifying women is one of the wrongs that trigger and upset the female audience.

Religious joke is another one. People get sensitive over the slightest thing, forgetting it could be a satire or just rants. And if we are being honest, any joke from any angle upsets a particular group of people. Many people are joking about Coronavirus but, trust me, a family that has a member battling with COVID-19 wouldn’t find it funny. So you can’t tell what joke can affect your brand but whatever it is, you just have to have the audience in mind.

My upcoming projects and plans I’m coming up with my own book titled “Book ofAll Memes�, Boam, for short. The book will contain new hilarious stories and some of my old stories; all in one book. The motive behind my book is to reach people that haven’t heard about me. That is, people that really do not use the internet. And it is also an avenue for my fans to get access to all my comics anytime. This is a book they can give to visitors to entertain them at home.

Olaitan Ademola

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÎ€Ëœ 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, In line with the directive from the Federal Ministry of Education, regarding the closure of tertiary his forthcoming projects and more institutions, secondary, and primary schools, PEFTI Film Institute has announced the suspension

PEFTI Ibadan Suspends Resumption of the resumption of students at its new ultra-modern campus located at Ibadan, Oyo State.

According to Abiola Adenuga, Managing Director of PEFTI, “Admission is still open, and registration continues on our website, which remains functional during this period.�

The establishment, approved by the Federal Ministry of Education, offers two-year National Diploma in Film and TV Production, Performing and Media Arts, and Music Technology; in addition to three and six-month Professional Practical Training in Script-Writing, Acting and Presentation, Costume and Makeup, Digital Photography, Cinematography, Film Editing, Music, Choreography, Producing and Production Management, and Directing; as well as a wide range of Skill Acquisition Programmes.

Abiola Adenuga Managing Director of PEFTI

Duke of Shomolu Productions Partners Orangeline Emerging theater Production power house, The Duke of Shomolu Productions Limited is partnering with frontline design and development, Firm Orangeline, to deliver one of the most iconic landmarks in the world of African theatre. Working very closely with its other partner, Nucleous 3 Limited, the Duke of Shomolu productions is poised to execute an exciting theatre project that Doro Music Team would see it build a 500-seater auditorium that would come complete with inspiring anxiliary value, including Food Courts, Conference Centres, Mini Hotel, luxury accommodations and further complemented with state of the arts rehearsal and recital halls to be named after historical Nigerian figures. Already, VFD Group has indicated interest to be funding partners while Access Bank and Sterling Bank would be bankers to the project. The Executive Chairman of Duke of Shomolu Productions, Joseph Edgar, said the project, which has been named the Duke of Shomolu Arena, - the Peoples theatre – will be a main vehicle for peoples empowerment, wealth and job creation and, much more importantly, a vehicle for the preservation and continuous enthronement of cultural ethos and traditions.

According to him, the project would engage over 1,000 youths serially and while giving about 100 Nigerians the opportunity to hold a 20 per cent stake on its way to be listed on the Nigerian Stock Excbange as the very first theatre production Company on the influential bourse. In its bid to achieve this, it has enlisted the support of Kedari Capital, an influential investment banking franchise that would be Joint Financial Advisers with Hamilton and George Limited.

Joseph Edgar, Olusegun Obasanjo and Yemi Shodimu

Fans Laud Ultimate Love Reality TV Show In what seemed like an uncertain start on Sunday, 9 February, the debut season of the Ultimate Love reality TV show has undoubtedly earned a sweet spot in the hearts of viewers and garnered a large devoted fanbase across age groups and gender.

The show, however, took on a new dimension, as the organisers informed the viewers and the love guests that the Ultimate Love Reality TV show will come to an end on Sunday, 29 March due to the rising concerns of the spread of the Corona virus in the country.

This announcement of the show ending one week early came as a shock to the Love Guests when the show’s host, Oluwaseun Olaniyan came into the Love Pad for a double checkout session Wednesday night unknown to the Love Guests. This saw the pair of ObiEbi and PreshDavid exit the Ultimate Love Show.

This was completely unexpected by the Love Guests, as their fates will now be solely determined by viewers and fans who have been effusive in their admiration for the show, especially the concept.

Some others particularly applauded the show for being uncontroversial and in sync with Nigerian culture, given that it has been lavishly infused with elements of culture and tradition, in addition to helping the contestants interact and find love Mrs. Ifeoluwa Folarin, a fan, believes that Ultimate Love has helped random individuals find love and develop intimate relationships that could last for years to come. Applauding the organisers for the show, she also stated that Aunty’s exit from the Love Pad should be a good omen for the Love Guests. “I love the programme because it opened my eyes to the fact that love can happen at any time, any place and anywhere once given a chance. I’d like to also commend MultiChoice for giving a good platform for matured singles to find love. I think Aunty exiting the Love Pad is good because it will give the Love Guests

the opportunity of being free of Aunty’s interference and develop on their own,� she said.

She predicted the Roksie, the duo of Rosie and Kachi, as the winners, adding: “I’m looking forward to another season.�

Another viewer, Mrs. Hope Adegoke, believes the show has set up a good platform for singles to find true love considering the increase in divorce rate in the country. “I think the show is very interesting. So many couples and intending couples have learnt a lot from Aunty, most especially from the master classes held in the Love Pad. I believe MultiChoice has created a good platform here and I laud the team who have put together engaging and insightful content over the past few weeks. It has educated not just the love guests but also viewers who are married and intending. I will want another season of the reality show,� she said. “The sudden end of the show is a good decision. We all need to play a role in order to flatten the curve with COVID-19. The love guests should go home and stay safe with their families� she added.

On the likely winner, she said: “My favorite couple is PreshDavid, even with their exit because I see their love is real. However, the winning couple might be Iykeresa.�

However, another fan, who identified herself simply as Temitope, said her highlight of the show so far, saying: “I always look forward to the Friday party and Sunday night check out show. I feel the show is a platform for singles to find love and hopefully lead to marriage. I will want another season, but they should screen the love guest properly in the coming season and ensure everyone is genuine with their relationship status.� The winning couple, according to Temitope, will be Iykeresa (Iyke and Theresa), saying: “they are young and focused. So far, they are the strongest to me.�

MezziBanks

MezziBanks

My Emotion, Environment Inspire My Music BBTB Worldwide recording and performing music star, Messiah Oyowe, popularly known as MezziBanks, a.k.a Mr. Hold Sumtin, is one of Nigeria’s fast rising music powerhouses. His style of music is exceptional and in its own class. He tells Tosin Clegg about his new project, musical influences and lots more

T

ell us about your recent project?

I just released the video to my spanking new single ‘Choko’. It is a tune like no other and was produced

by Demsa and it’s a different blend of Afrobeats and Afrovibes. The video is already topping music charts, with several mentions by top UK Magazines. A lot more, I can say, is in stock for me. ‘Choko’ is already being touted as one of 2020 potential hits and was mixed and mastered by Indomix.

What inspires your music?

I would say it is my environment, my current situation, how I feel at the point in time when I’m in the studio. My music depends on whether I’m happy, sad, depressed or feeling energetic. It’s all about my emotions and environment. That’s what inspires even the rhythm and sound.

Is the Nigerian music industry doing well compared to other countries’?

To be honest, the Nigerian music industry is doing well, especially coming from a country that doesn’t support talents. I see the Nigerian music industry dominating the world in the next couple of years because of the speed with which our music is traveling now. Our music artistes are doing a great job, and they will do more. Very soon, we’ll dominate the market and be like the toast of the world.

I see Naija afrobeat getting there.

Who are your role models?

To start with, what I listen to influences my music. Usually, there are music trends per session in Nigeria, like the Makosa, galala, Zanku, azonto, and all the rest. I literally just absorbed what the environment is giving at that point in time and challenge myself to make something of it. I grew up listening to the likes of Michael Jackson, Fela, R. Kelly, Shaggy, Akon, Wyclef, D’banj. I actually love D’banj a lot. 2Baba, Kanye West, Sean Paul, Usher, Lil Wayne, Wizkid. I’m a product of what I listen to. I listen to over a thousand songs a day.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ͺ΀˜ 2020

SHOWBIZFLAIR

Bianca Ojukwu in All Green Former Nigerian ambassador to Spain/former beauty queen, Bianca Ojukwu, stole the show on the social media this week when she released all-green photos. Bianca, wife of late Biafran warlord, Odumegwu Ojukwu, dazzled in the all green collection, leaving her followers asking for more.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÎ€Ëœ 2020

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SHOWBIZFLAIR

Gideon Uncovers Chidera and Ezra On Wednesday, actor, model and television presenter, Gideon Okeke shared an adorable photo of his wife, Chidera, and son, Ezra, all with smiles so bright on his instagram page. The actor, who became popular in 2006, when he appeared as a contestant on the first edition of Big Brother Nigeria, captioned the picture thus: “Nothing else matters. Hustle, grind, passion, ambition don’t matter.� The couple welcomed Ezra in 2019. In 2008, Gideon joined the cast of MNET TV series Tinsel, on which he is a regular to date.

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Davido, Angel, and French Montana on the set of “Blessings� video shoot

Angel Features Davido, French Montana in ‘Blessings’ Ferdinand Ekechukwu

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British recording artiste, Angel (Sirach Charles) is back with the official video to the remix of his previous single titled, “Blessings�. The remix features American-Moroccan rapper, French Montana and Nigeria superstar, Davido. Shot and directed

by Daps, the video arrives about eight months after the original track and visual premiered. While the first video was a salute to the R&B singer ’s hometown, the remix version is way flashier and much more created.

The new music video for the Blessings remix follows Angel, Davido and French Montana to hit up a bowling alley filled with dancing women and neon lights then a house party. The remix’s afrofusion sound pairs well with the video’s dancehall-inspired elements and bold colours. The

song, which was just a freestyle he rendered on Instagram, became a sensation, thus, compelling him to record an official track. Bubbling with a new remix, Angel takes “Blessings� from being an undertone to a vibrant tune. And this remix is a whole new vibe.

Blessings, which is built on addictive beat work and smooth guitar melodies, gets new life as the Nigerian star, Davido, and NY rapper, French Montana, inject it with their own distinct musical flavours.

Davido kicks things off in this new remix with his solid melodies, while French brings it home halfway through the remix.

Considering that Covid-19 has kept people homebound across the world, the song definitely lightens up a mood! Produced by Angel, the song was released on March 6, 2020.

Speaking with online OkayAfrica, Angel said: “I feel like French and Davido brought the track to an even wider audience.

We all come from different cul-

tures, me from London, French from NY and Davido from Nigeria with the Afrobeat movement. It was just so organic to blend all of these sounds. You see the track in a new light, and now the whole world hears the track with a new perspective.

The original was about appreciating the blessings and now it’s about celebrating our blessings.�

On Davido, he said: “I first met Davido in NYC when he recorded the vocal which was so sick to be there because there was no back and forth of sending the vocal.

It was a vibe to be in the room when he delivered it and it created a great bond between us. With French, I feel like he took it to a whole other level; so it was great to be all together. With all of us on set, it felt really organic, and no one was out of place, like three brothers coming together to send a great message to the world. The race is not for the swiftest, but for those that can endure. Blessings.�

The Blessings remix video premiered earlier this month, on

all major platforms. Earlier this week, French posted an Instagram video of his lively studio session with Chinese Kitty. The rapper suggested that he was currently working on the fifth installment of his Coke Boys mixtape series.

Sirach Charles, known by Angel, is an English singer-songwriter, rapper and record producer from West London, England.

In a report, the Storm Entertainment and a division of Sony Music RCA artiste, Angel last summer announced his signing to Mark Pitts’ ByStorm Entertainment/ RCA Records and released the original Blessings track and video which was Angel’s first U.S. based release.

The newly premiered video had garnered over 8 million video views and streams combined. For French Montana, this isn’t the first time on a joint work. Davido’s appearance on this record follows his most recent ones with American pop star, Chris Brown on Blow My Mind and Jamaican DJ and singer, Popcan on Risky.

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Life and Times of Kenny Rogers Ferdinand Ekechukwu

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s much a legend for his love of women as he was for the hit songs that made him a global superstar that sold 120 million albums worldwide, plus having a wild life that saw him marry five times and suffer a huge phone sex scandal, the death of American country music icon, Kenny Rogers, 81, marked the end of an epic life that featured the three times Grammy winner.

His family sadly confirmed his passing in a statement last Saturday, a day after his death. The statement said Kenny died “peacefully at home from natural causes under the care of hospice and surrounded by his family.� Available records on his life and times say the singer spanned jazz, folk, country and pop with such hits as “Lucille,� “Lady,� “Islands in the Stream,� and was the star of TV movies based on “The Gambler� and other songs that made him dominate the ‘70s and ‘80s music scene with top charts album.

Other hits included “You Decorated My Life,� “Every Time Two Fools Collide� with Dottie West, “Don’t Fall in Love with a Dreamer� with Kim Carnes, and “Coward of the County.� His biggest success was “Lady,� written by Lionel Richie, a chart topper for six weeks straight in 1980.

The Houston-born performer thrived for some 60 years before signing off touring in 2017 at the age of 79.

Despite his crossover success, he always preferred to be thought of as a country singer. “You either do what everyone else is doing and you do it better, or you do what no one else is doing and you don’t invite comparison,� Rogers told The Associated Press in 2015. “And I chose that way because I could never be better than Johnny Cash or Willie or Waylon at what they did. So I found something that I could do that didn’t invite comparison to them. And I think people thought it was my desire to change country music.

But that was never my issue.�

One of his hit songs, “Islands in The Stream�, was a 1983 duet with fellow country music legend Dolly Parton and people always saw electricity between them. But there was never any romance.

Instead, they became life-long friends.

Kenny joked of their relationship: “I’m a believer that tension is better if you keep it than if you satisfy it. And then secondly, she said no to me! Everybody thought we were having an affair but we didn’t. We just flirted with each other for 30 years.�

Dolly later said: “I’m not his type. We are almost like brother and sister. So we just never went there.� He once summed up his global popularity by saying: “I do ballads that say what every man wants to say and that every woman wants to hear.�

The lyrics, combined with his gravelly voice, led him to become one of the most successful country-pop crossover acts and the tenth bestselling artiste in history in terms of album sales.

He sold more than 47 million records in the United States alone, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. He had 20 No 1 singles from 1977 to 1987 and was inducted into Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013, getting a lifetime achievement award and playing the Legends slot at Glastonbury the same year. “Kenny was one of those artistes who transcended beyond one format

Kenny Rogers

and geographic borders,� said Sarah Trahern, chief executive officer of the Country Music Association. “He was a global superstar who helped introduce country music to audiences all around the world.� Kenny was a five-time CMA Award winner, as well as the recipient of the CMA’s Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013, the same year he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He received 10 awards from the Academy of Country Music.

A true rags-to-riches story, Kenny was raised in public housing in Houston Heights with seven siblings. His breakthrough came when he was asked to join the New Christy Minstrels, a folk group, in 1966. After the group broke up in 1974, Kenny started his solo career and found a big hit with the sad country ballad “Lucille,� in 1977, which crossed over to the pop charts and earned Kenny his

first Grammy. Suddenly the star, Kenny added hit after hit for more than a decade.

Kenny’s childhood was tough, with an alcoholic father, and he was raised in social housing with seven brothers and sisters. Before he finally found true love, Kenny’s personal life was wild, to the extent that in the 1980s, he even set up a special number for women to call so he could have phone sex with them — a scandal that threatened his career at the time. He later said: “I thought that phone sex was the safest sex there was, only to get hammered by it. It was great, it was exciting, it was fun.�

By then Kenny had enjoyed years of fame and fortune, though his success had not come to him on a plate. He went on to work with charities including the Red Cross and MusicCares, as well as being part of the 1985 all-star We Are The World recording for famine relief.

Kenny married first wife Janice Gordon

on May 15, 1958. In his 2012 memoir, Luck Or Something Like It, he revealed that the first time they had sex, Janice got pregnant with their daughter Carole, which led him to marry her. He said: “I loved her. At 19, I thought, ‘This is OK with me’. Her parents thought I’d ruined her life and were determined to break me.

The marriage didn’t work and it’s sad, because I think it could have.�

They divorced in 1960 and Kenny wed Jean Rogers in October that year. They divorced three years later. In October 1964, he married Margo Anderson - and this time, it lasted for 12 years and they had a son, Kenny Jr, now 55, before divorcing in 1976. Marriage number four was to TV actress Marianne Gordon, who Kenny wed on October 1, 1977. They had a son, Christopher Cody Rogers, now 37, but they split and divorced in 1993.

Finally, in June 1997, he married his “soulmate� Wanda Miller, 52, who, despite a 28-year age gap, he described as the love of his life. They had twin boys, Justin and Jordan, now 14. He said: “She’s 28 years younger than me, and I say this from the bottom of my heart - she is my soul mate.

She loves me better than anyone else has known me. She loves what I do and I’m not as insensitive to her needs as I may have been in the past.�

But in all, there was one regret in Kenny’s life, and that was having plastic surgery on his face. He said: “I had the money to do it and I had time off. You look at yourself and think, ‘Could I be better if I did this or did that?’ And I did it, and the guy who did it was one of the world’s best. He had this concept that the edge of your eyes had to be higher than a certain place, and I regret that. But the truth is I don’t know what I would have looked like if I hadn’t done it. You do it and you live with it.�

The sad news of his death sparked a flood of celebrity tributes from around the world. Actor Channing Tatum tweeted: “The gambler himself, RIP Kenny�.

Rapper MC Hammer shared an image of the star with the word RIP, while Piers Morgan recalled: “I asked Kenny Rogers which of his songs was his favourite. He immediately said, ‘Lady’, then corrected himself - ‘Actually it would be We’ve Got Tonight’. The lyrics seem apposite today: ‘We’ve got tonight, who needs tomorrow?

Let’s make it last, let’s find a way.’�

Kenny’s “Islands in the Stream� collaborator and friend Dolly Parton posted a heartfelt tribute to Instagram. “You never know how much you love somebody until they’re gone,� Dolly wrote alongside an emotional video in which she struggled to hold back tears. “I’ve had so many wonderful years and wonderful times with my friend Kenny, but above all the music and the success, I loved him as a wonderful man and a true friend. So you be safe with God and just know that I will always love you.�

Kenny’s longtime friend, Lionel Richie shared an emotional tribute. Taking to his Instagram, 70-year-old Lionel wrote alongside a heartbroken emoji: “I lost one of my closest friends. So much laughter so many adventures to remember, my heart is broken. My prayers go out to Kenny’s Family.� Kenny had previously admitted and explained during a joint performance that Lionel had a huge impact on his career by working on the song “Lady� with him. “He’s not just a friend of mine, but the song he wrote was truly a changing point in my career. It’s one of the most identifiable songs I’ve ever done.�

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Nollywood as Handshake Across the Niger Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

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igerian politicians always talk of the need for a handshake across the Niger. The politicos have from the First Republic been talking of forging an alliance between East and West toward the greater growth of Nigeria.

Thus far it has been all talk and no action on the political front.

The makers of Nollywood did not waste words in talking before making possible the handshake across the Niger.

It is generally agreed that the Igbo language film of 1992, Living in Bondage, played a pivotal role in the establishment of Nollywood. The highly under-celebrated lad that brought to life the story of Living in Bondage, Okechukwu Ogunjiofor (Paulo in the movie) made possible the handshake across the Niger in Nollywood as he said: “I had the story to share and I felt that since the eastern part of this country does not have a cinema culture, and all of them are rich enough to have video machines in their homes, why don’t I take the film to their homes so that they can watch it?�

Ogunjiofor reiterates his winning formula thus: “Unlike in the western part of Nigeria where the Yorubas always went to the theatres to watch movies, the easterners, especially the Igbo, needed the movies to be brought to their homes.�

Kenneth Nnebue (NEK) provided the money for the making of Living in Bondage while Chris Obi-Rapu was the ace director. The movie became an instant bestseller and thus initiated the Nollywood revolution. The handshake across the Niger in moviemaking quickly earned Nigeria the high pedestal of jostling with America’s Hollywood and India’s Bollywood as the world’s three largest movie producers. The not-so-funny aspect of the matter is that Ogunjiofor was only paid N500 for producing the story and acting in the movie.

Let’s hear from him once more: “The making of Living in Bondage marked the first time some people were paid in thousands of Naira to act on a film. I got N500 because I had not acted on television then. People like Bob-Manuel (Udokwu) and others were paid a thousand naira. As a producer and an actor, what I got was only N500.�

He adds the following words of fulfillment: “Since after we shot Living in Bondage the only happiness I have is that God used that opportunity to lift the celluloid era. And what we said was let’s bring the current format of celluloid film into digital and let’s create jobs for people and today we can imagine the number of thousands of people that are feeding from film.�

Kanayo O. Kanayo

The movies have since proliferated in the major languages such as Igbo,Yoruba, Hausa, Ijaw, Efik, Ibibio etc. The English language films are seen as welding the diverse ethnic groups together.

Actors who used to earn peanuts while hanging around the NTA premises are now worth their weight in cash.

The boom of Nollywood following the fabled handshake across the Niger should be emulated

by Nigerian politicians so that the country can rival the best all over the world in politics and democracy.

Remarkably, when the Nigerian national football team, the Super Eagles, was in 2005 having a pulsating match with the Zimbabwean national team in Harare, the Zimbabwean supporters had one big banner in the stands on which was written in bold red: “Nigeria – Good only for Films!�

For the many men and women of Zimbabwe, the prowess of Nigeria on the football pitch was

Ramsey Nouah

not as great as the accomplishment of the country in the film industry.

The Zimbabweans are not alone, for across the length and breadth of the African continent the Nigerian home movies are all the rage.

The relevance of Nollywood in the cultural renaissance of Nigeria cannot be gainsaid. It is getting obvious by the day that Nigeria can indeed conquer the world through the reach of movies just as the Americans did through the exploits of Hollywood.

Professor Jude Akudinobi who teaches film studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, says: “What Nigeria has in Nollywood is a global brand. I am always being consulted from all over the globe about the workings of the Nigerian home movie industry. The government has a goldmine in the industry if properly managed with the requisite technical competence.�

In the heyday of Nollywood, Leke Alder said, “The revenue generated by sales and rentals of

movies in Lagos State is N804 million per week.

This adds up to an estimated N33.5 billion per annum. Demand for broadcast content in Nigeria averages 836,580 hours of programming per year valued at N250 billion. Uptake of CDs at Alaba International Market, Lagos alone is estimated at 700,000 discs per day. The movie industry in Nigeria relative to the size of each state’s economy is at least N522 billion per annum.�

Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had at a seminar on “Global Imperatives for the Nigerian Movie Industry in 2005� said that the “Government expects the industry to generate about US 250b dollars in foreign exchange.�

The Nigerian politicians should henceforth stop their long talk on a handshake across the Niger and instantly shoot straight like the makers of Nollywood. As Eli Wallach, acting the role of Tuco, said in the classic western film, The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, “If you wanna shoot, shoot!

Don’t talk!�

MultiChoice Gives DStv, GOtv Customers More Access to Information, Entertainment Olaoluwakitan Babatunde

The prevailing circumstances have called on many across the African continent to adjust to new ways of living and working. Many are required to spend more time at home with their loved ones, and MultiChoice Group (MCG) remains committed to supporting its customers with the best available programming to keep families informed and entertained.

To ensure the most up-to-date information about COVID-19, Africa’s most-loved storyteller will provide broadened access to credible information at this time, by making news channels more widely available across the continent. From today we have included CNN (channel 401), Euronews (channel 414), BBC Word News (channel 400), Aljazeera (channel 406) and Africanews (channel 417), as well as the many other local DStv news channels in markets. GOtv customers will also get the brand-new channel Africanews (channel 47) available on GOtv Max and Jolli. While BBC News (channel 41) and

CNN (channel 42) will be open to GOtv Max, Jolli and Confam customers. “We have been in constant communication with health authorities such as the World Health Organisation, and we will be rolling out Africa-wide public service announcements on COVID-19.

It is important that all of us take heed of the announcements and advice from trusted experts so that we can look after our own health and that of our loved ones,� says MultiChoice Nigeria’s Chief Executive Officer, John Ugbe The video entertainment company is not only expanding its content offering for news, but there will also be more kids shows, movies and curated sports content. We are making revision accessible for lessons from our educational channel Mindset (DStv Channel 319) available on catch up; while also adding educational channels Da Vinci (DStv 318 and GOtv 66) until the end of May to help keep young minds stimulated and engaged. PBS packed with thrilling content opens to DStv Access (DStv Channel 313) and GOtv Jolli (GOtv Channel 65).

“In light of the disruptions to the school year in some markets, we are also working to provide access to the best available educational content, to help keep young minds stimulated and engaged,� continues Ugbe.

Live sports has suffered a notable impact globally as a result of sporting federations correctly prioritising the safety of players and fans alike, by adhering to accepted measures to limit the spread of COVID-19. MCG has acquired the best award-winning sport documentaries from around the globe and produced thematic channels for sports fans to relive the greatest sporting moments of all time. In addition, we have opened SS1 to DStv Compact plus and Compact, this channel will thrill customers with past sport stories that have created some of sports most magical moments. Also opened is SS7 which will showcase Motorsport action to DStv Access. While GOtv customers will have access to GOtv Select 4 opened to compact customers to Re-Live the Premier league. GOtv Select 5 which will showcase past WWE content will

also be opened to Compact and Family customers.

It is important to note that due care has been taken to ensure that employees, customers, production houses and suppliers also have limited risk of exposure.

A number of sports, film and production crews may not be able to continue working, but customers will be updated of any programme schedules and changes in the coming days and weeks. “We are taking great care for our staff during this time and have encouraged those that are able to work from home to do so,� Ugbe adds. “In light of this we have advised our customers that there may be a delay in our ability to attend to customer queries. However, we have a number of self-service and online platforms available, and we will do our best to sort out any issues they may have, timeously.�

There will be regular updates from various sections of the business providing further details around our commitment to ensure we continue to provide the best video entertainment even during these challenging times.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 28, 2020

OPINION

Covid-19, The Nigerian ‘Big Man’ and Stigmatization Mariam Mohammed Maktoub

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e not only live in interesting times, but very delicate one at that. Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus and its pandemic status by the World Health Organisation (WHO) it bears without saying that the world is going through an evolutionary process.

Country after country are evolving strategies other than the one laid out by the WHO in curbing the pandemic and its ravaging consequences.

Like in all things, there is the Nigerian situation and

this borders on transparency, accountability and clarity.

For now, these quotients are seriously in deficit because the Nigerian ‘Big Man’ does not wish to be found as bearer of “disease.” This was the same attitude during HIV/AIDS. People who should demonstrate it was not a death sentence hid their status and it became a national tragedy.

It seems, plausibly so, that our country is on a downhill again with the Covid-19. The Nigerian ‘Big Man’ that has traveled to endemic countries is either not subjecting to something as mundane as a temperature test or not disclosing what his current situation is like.

The opaqueness about the whole Covid-19 may just be our undoing. God forbid we become another Italy or Spain. In other

climes, presidents, prime ministers, celebrities including Prince Charles, heir to the British throne are coming out with their Covid-19 positive status, but not in Nigeria. The inherent danger of their not showing clarity is the possibility of building a ring of stigma round the disease, and the outcome will be catastrophic.

The Nigerian ‘Big Man’ must at this time stand up to be counted. He must show that there is something greater than self, and that is national interest and the good of his fellow countryman. The shroud of secrecy must be torn, the cult of non-disclosure should be shamed. Let’s not allow stigmatization take hold, and that means acting openly and transparently. God bless Nigeria!

––Ms Maktoub is publisher of Maktoub Magazine/ Political PR Consultant

TRIBUTE

Ejiro Ruth Emokiniovo: A Quintessential Life Lived Through Music Adedayo Adejobi

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Emokiniovo

orn in Sapele, Delta State on the 22nd April, 1987 to the family of Okunbor, music was Ruth Ejiro Emokiniovo’s passion and past time as a child as she was surrounded by music. She turned to music for solace. She loved God and the things of God with an undying passion.

She developed skills in drawing but eventually didn’t follow through because her passion for music consumed her. She sang for God. With her incursion into music at the Teenage Choir Church of God Mission, Sapele, Delta State, Nigeria, Ruth Ejiro Emokiniovo’s trajectory mirrored that of many of her fellow musical peers as she was bitten by the music bug at an early age; and subsequently graduating from the teenage church to youth then adult church, all in the music department. Her destiny was woven around the threads of sol-fa notations, vocal dexterity and a life hinged on performing to the nouveau rich.

With a gift so pure and heavenly, yet earthly used to gladden the ears, hearts and soul, she took the plunge to partake in a keenly contested challenge and won the Delta Talent Quest (DTQ) - a yearly talent showcase organised by Nollywood veteran, Mr. Richard Mofe-Damijo, who was then Commissioner for arts and culture in Delta State. In the course of the keen contest, Ejiro met the man of her youth, Desmond Emokiniovo, her husband, friend and confidant who was equally a judge and producer at the competition.

After the competition, her husband played a key role in seeing her record singles and a yet-to be released album. It is instructive to note that the competition brought her to the fore, thereon, she experienced a great leap career wise. Their meeting was such that struck a responsive chord and the spark of love blossomed until her death. She was the Managing Director of Veentage Band, whilst the hubby is the Chief Executive Officer. Together they made magic. The union is blessed with a four year old son Oghebekome Ovie Akpevwe Emokiniovo.

The late Singer was warm, convivial and a peacemaker. Weaving a tapestry of rich and royal hue, Ejiro’s heartrending musical presence was felt across the length and breadth of Nigeria, right from her girlhood in Sapele, Delta State where she was already jotting down lyrics and her adult years that culminated into recognition, through her growing up, marriage and songwriting years with her husband, Desmond Emokiniovo. Her deep commitment to music and philanthropy years down the line stood her out - her passion for music, smartness, selfless spirit, unassuming demeanour, humility and open-mindedness add to it.

One of the most deeply personal folders of Ejiro’s career communicates in song the hard truths and spiritual insights she has

gathered throughout her life and reflects the resilience that sustains her still. Comprised entirely of songs written by Ejiro, the singles premieres new compositions alongside soulful reinterpretations of enduring classics from her catalog. Ejiro in her lifetime, was a very great voice with distinctive performance. For everyone who encountered her, you couldn’t help but be smitten by her rapturous voice, independent spirit, immense talent and humility. She was an indispensable charm that drew the high and mighty to becoming fans of the fast rising band.

She re-created onstage the atmosphere that millions would now have to expect from the release of her singles which she recorded before her demise. Ejiro’s passionate engagement with all kinds of music, and her musical genius, is a delusion that eluded even the best critics.

Her works transcend age, class, colour and race. She was a key figure in Nigeria’s live band music scene, a pioneer in new music, and an intensely emotional force who’s following continues to grow even in death.

Ejiro, the smiley and warm vocal powerhouse, when not at private functions, spent most of the time balancing her career, with responsibilities as a musician, wife and mother. Experiencing her skilled craft for anyone, her voice came through strongly on every stage she performed, an engaging assortment of recollections. Ejiro had Jazz, Pop, Rhythm and blues running through her blood. As a collaborator, homemaker, singer and philanthropists, she, used her gift of voice to heal, entertain, and deliver humanity.

She has led a remarkable life of adventures, dreams and exploits with unflinching candor and sincerity. But most of all, Ejiro’s story is the story of the vocal powerhouse who made impact on the sands of time, in the music scene and ultimately triumphed remaining unwaveringly true to the music of her heart. As a fashion conscious woman of pristine beauty and role model, her life tells the story of a memoir of life as a musician, marriage, motherhood, independence, and as one of the few women in live band music.

Ejiro is the fascinating chronicle of a remarkable journey and an extraordinary musician. One of the most remarkable things about Ejiro Emokiniovo is how she renews her creativity time and again.

She was always honing her craft. Her life was full of beauty and power, inspiration, kindness, boldness and hope.

Ejiro was an undeniable superstar that never lived. For everyone who came in contact with her, a common thread that was manifest was that she was always warm, and convivial. She was a fierce, honest, cool, smart and dignified woman all rolled into one. With her loss, her Veentage Band wouldn’t be the same without her. Ejiro, the unconventional musician, intensely intimate performer with a unique voice will be sorely missed by the live band music industry and the nation’s high society.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÎ€Ëœ Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

NEWSXTRA

Oil & Gas Industry Intervention Initiative on COVID-19 Bennett Oghifo Operators in Nigeria’s oil and gasindustryhavepreparedwhat they termed intervention initiative to help curtail the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The Oil & Gas Industry Intervention Initiative on COVID-19, a strategy designed to put Nigeria way ahead of the crisis, is led by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), with partners, including Oil Producers Trade Section--29 member companies, Independent Petroleum Producers Group~25 Indigenous Companies, and Service Providers and Downstream Players.

They have 3-Pronged COVID -19 intervention initiative, which will be deplored and the first is provision of Diagnostic and

Protective Kits; Testing Kits; Medical Protective Suits; Face Shields; and Lab Scientists Kits.

The second will be provision of Logistics and In –Patient Support System; Toyota Hiace (retrofitted Ambulances); Ventilators; Respirators; Oxygen supply facility; and third is Intensive Care facility; an auxiliary/overflow hospital.

There will be a makeshift intensive care facility made by converting spare space in a General hospital or the new NNPC Medical site; ICU beds, the document stated.

The focus of the intervention is highly impacted epicentres, densely populated areas with strong communal transmission of the virus, Operational catchmentareas, and Nationaloutreach.

According to the plan, each of the 36 states will have at

least one Toyota Hiace High Roof 2WD 2.5L Turbo Diesel retrofitted ambulance, sets of testing kits and sets of patients supportsystem.

Another component of the Oil & Gas Industry Intervention Initiative on COVID-19 is the CSR Response Message &Plan, tagged We Care. “NNPC and the industry care about the health and safety of the Country, its people and its economy. “We will act and do the needful to support our health system to combat the COVID 19 pandemic.

We shall prevail. A message of hope: With the determination of our people and the help of God, we shall prevail over COVID-19. “As oil and gas companies committed to HSE, we recognise the importance of the safety of the personnel who are in the

frontline of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. NNPC will thus be leading the charge with industry players to donate the following PPE to protect our health workers and people.

They will provide 10 million surgical masks; 20 thousand N95 respirator masks; 120 thousand safety gloves; 20 thousand protective suits; and 3,000 safety googles.

BornoStateGovernor,Babagana Zulum, yesterday announced cash support of N23.5 million to families of 47 soldiers killed

by Boko Haram in last Sunday's attack.

The governor, who was at Maimalari Army Barrack in Maiduguri, said each family of the 47 fallen heroes would be given N500,000 cash, "which should not be seen as compensation for the lost priceless lives but as social protection considering the tough economic times caused by COVID-19 inspired lockdowns across the country."

Zulum, received by the G.O.C, 7 Division of the Nigerian Army,

Brigadier General A.K Ibrahim, was at the barrack to convey condolences and solidarity with the authorities of the military’s counter-insurgency operation in the Northeast, Operation Lafiya Dole.

The governor said: “The Government and people of Borno State shared the grief of the Nigerian military, particularly those of bereaved families of the soldiers who died last week at a time the country is faced with pandemic. We pray for the repose of these gallant soldiers and we salute and appreciate their supreme sacrifices. “Nothing can compensate for losing these precious brothers and patriotic Nigerians. We

commiserate with their families and because we are at a tough and unprecedented times, the government of Borno will support each family with N500,000. “Importantly also, we hope the unfortunate incident will not dampen the spirit of our gallant military in our shared fight against Boko Haram.�

The Borno Governor, who also used the occasion of his visit to address widows and other family women living at the Maimalari barracks, directed that an accurate and verifiable list of all widows and family be compiled with each identifying her choice of small scale business and bank account details attached to every name so that government can transfer

the pandemic into oblivion.

They plan to buy 40 ambulances, 10,000 Test Kits, 3,000 oxygen kit, 1,000 ventilators, and four diagnostic laboratories.

In their National Outreach, there will be makeshift intensive care facility in Katsina, Kano, Bauchi, Maiduguri, Ibadan, FCT, Makurdi, Enugu, Owerri, Lagos, Warri, and Port Harcourt.

FG Opens Debt Renegotiation Talks with Lenders Obinna Chima The federal government has started renegotiating the repayment terms for the countries debts with its lenders.

Borno Governor Gives N23.5m to Families of Soldiers Killed By Boko Haram Michael Olugbode Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă“ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă‘Ă&#x;ĂœĂ“

They will provide hospital and lab equipment. “We also recognize the importance of adequate logistics and equipment to enhance the preparedness and readiness of NCDC to Respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to show we care, the following hospital and laboratory equipment will be donated by NNPC and its partners to help combat

startup capital to them.

He said: “You the widows and those married women with children have borne the impact of the sacrifices made by your soldier-husbands. We know your pains and we share them. We are mightily proud of your husbands and we salute them and you who stand by them. We will support you in ways we can and we will support you directly through your bank accounts so that you start business and boost the ones you are doing� Zulum said to the ovation of the women.

The governor also told soldiers at the Maimalari barrack that he would be releasing additional transformer to enhance power supply.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, disclosed this yesterday while speaking on a television programme, monitored in Lagos.

The minister said part of the debt renegotiation discussions with Nigeria’s creditors included seeking a stay on the debt service of some of the debts. “We are also looking at our debt service obligations and we are talking to our lenders to renegotiate the repayment terms or even seek a stay on the debt service, to preserve some of our revenue, so that we can use it to meet the current national emergency demand. “We also have been able to access funding that is available from the World Bank that had already been signed and effective, which is about $90 million. We have just made a request for extension of that by another $100 million. We have been trying to raise funding to make sure we quickly respond to the health emergency. But while we are doing that, we are also making an assessment of the impact on the economy,� the minister disclosed.

Despite the threat to the health of the Nigerian economy due to the dire economic conditions, Ahmed reiterated that the economy was not broke, saying, “we have resources to manage, but we have been able to find new sources of funds that we were able to realise very quickly to keep Nigeria stable. What we want to make sure is that our growth doesn’t decline so badly that we would have to struggle after this health crisis.�

She further pointed out that the federal government was also prioritising its spending by making sure that it selects carefully where the limited resources would be deployed, as well as adopting some cost-cutting measures. “For example, we have stopped all employment so that we don’t grow our wage bill,� she said.

According to Ahmed, the Nigerian economy, just like every other economy in the world, has suffered significantly from the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent crash in crude oil price for oil producing countries.

COVID-19 CASES RISE TO 81, BUHARI APPROVES 4 STADIA FOR QUARANTINE Continued from Page 5 He said that the federal government had directed the Nigeria Air Force Command to facilitate the return of the NCDC staff since they were needed in the current campaign against the spread of the Coronavirus.

According to the minister, health facilities and health workers at all levels, whether public or private, have been put on high alert and to give full cooperation to contact tracers everywhere.

The minister said the Lagos State government and the Federal Ministry of Health were doing very commendable work. "They have scaled-up their response activities and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is supporting them, as well as other affected states through the Rapid Response Teams deployed."

Also, he said that precautionary measures were being taken by the federal government to protect the nation’s seaports, adding that currently, only ships that have been at sea for more than 14 days can dock, after crew members have been confirmed negative for COVID-t 9.

"An exception to this 14-day restriction is for vessels carrying oil and gas products as they require minimal contact," he said.

On the issue of increasing the number of testing centres for Coronavirus, the minister said that federal government

will upgrade the facilities at the medical laboratories in the Teaching Hospitals in Abakaliki, Ibadan and Maidugiri to national reference laboratories.

Sanwo-Olu Targets 200,000 Families in Stimulus Few days after the Lagos State Government issued a stay-at-home directive to residents in order to curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu yesterday unveiled economic stimulus package for the indigent and the most vulnerable in the society.

The stimulus, which comes in food packs, to be distributed to every local government in the State, is aimed at cushioning the effect of the 14 days stay-at-home directive.

Speaking after an on-the-spot assessment of one of the Stateowned food banks, located inside the premises of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives in Agege, Sanwo-Olu said the economic stimulus will reduce the burden of the temporary economic downturn on the citizens caused by the outbreak of COVID-19.

The Governor said the food packs, which were put together by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, will reach the most vulnerable communities and households across Lagos, saying that the indigents who rely on daily wages will be given priority.

He said: ‘‘We are here for an on-the-spot assessment, of our readiness, to see how we can fast track some of our stimulus package for our citizens. “We are all aware that this is a trying time for our citizens and since the partial drop in economic activities, our government deemed it necessary to reach out to the vulnerable ones in the society. “These people are those that fall below the pyramid, the aged and the physically challenged who need to move from one part of the city to another for them to have a living. “We felt that as a government, the least we can do is to identify them and give them these stimulus packages immediately.�

The Governor stated that the package will touch at least 200,000 thousand households in the first phase, adding that the food packs are produced for a size of six people per household and would last for at least fourteen days.

Sanwo-Olu said: “We have packaged dry food stimulus for about 200,000 families in the first instance for a household of husband, wife and about four children. “We would be giving bags of rice, bags of beans, garri, bread, dry pepper and we are trying to see if we can add water and some elements of vitamin C. “Each ration, we believe is going

to be able to last them at least minimum 14 days just so our advocacy around stay at home, stay with your loved ones will be respected.�

Boris Johnson Tests Positive British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced yesterday that he was self-isolating after testing positive for COVID-19. “Over the last 24 hours I have developed mild symptoms and tested positive for coronavirus,� he said on Twitter, posting a video message. “I am now self-isolating, but I will continue to lead the government’s response via videoconference as we fight this virus,� he wrote. “Be in no doubt that I can continue thanks to the wizardry of modern technology to communicate with all my top team to lead the national fightback against coronavirus,� he added in the video message.

ADowning Street spokesperson said in a statement that Johnson, whose partner Carrie Symonds is pregnant, experienced mild symptoms on Thursday and was tested for COVID-19 on the personal advice of England’s chief medical officer.

The test was carried out in No 10 by NHS staff, the spokesperson added.

In his video message, Johnson

thanked workers in Britain’s state-run National Health Service (NHS) for their efforts in battling the spread of the virus.

A total of 11,658 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Britain, and 578 deaths.

Earlier this week, Prince Charles, the eldest son and heir to Queen Elizabeth II, also tested positive for the virus.

British Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, has temporarily assumed the role of Prime Minister.

Also yesterday, Britain’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock tested positive for COVID-19. “Following medical advice, I was advised to test for #Coronavirus. I’ve tested positive. Thankfully my symptoms are mild and I’m working from home and selfisolating,� Hancock announced on Twitter.

Donation: Buhari Applauds Elumelu, Rabiu, Dangote, Atiku President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday applauded the generous interventions of affluent Nigerians such as Aliko Dangote, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Abdusalmad Rabiu, among others in the fight against COVID-19.

The president also expressed appreciation for the generous support of opulent men such as Femi Otedola, Tony Elumelu, Herbert Wigwe, Segun Agbaje and Jim Ovia in the battle against

the scourge.

Specifically, the president hailed Dangote, Elumelu, Otedola, Rabiu, Ovia, Agbaje and Wigwe who under the aegis of the Private Sector Coalition Against Covid-19 contributed N1 billion each to fight the scourge.

The president's media adviser, Mr. Femi Adesina, said Buhari commended these opulent Nigerians "for being in the vanguard of encouraging others in the private sector to do same."

Adesina also noted that Elumelu's UBA had equally donated N5 billion to both Nigeria and the entire Africa while Atiku pledged to offer N50 million and the First Bank offering to partner with the federal government in the war against the disease.

He said Buhari also praised the United Nations, and innovative technological firms which had offered to provide e-learning solutions to at least one million children through its ‘Keep Them Engaged, Keep Them Safe’ initiative.

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly known and addressed as MISS OGUH PATIENCE CHIOMA, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS AFOLAYAN PATIENCE CHIOMA. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾MARCH 28, 2020

SPORTS XTRA

Nigeria Climbs One Spot in Latest FIFA Women’s Rankings

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igeriamoved into 38th position on FIFA’s latestWomen’s World Rankings released for the first

quarter of 2020 yesterday.

The African champions climbed a spot from 39th position in December 2019 amid the country’s inactivity since bowing out of the Olympic Games qualifiers last October.

The Super Falcons missed out on a return to the showpiece event for the third time in a row at the expense of West African rivals Cote d’Ivoire on the away goal rule following a 1-1 aggregate score.

Nigeria retained the top spot in the standings in Africa after it garnered 1,614 points, while Cameroonkeptthesecondplace despite dropping two places to 51st following a shock loss to Zambia earlier in March.

A win over Lesotho saw South Africa rise three spots to 53rd and third on the continent, while Ghana are stagnant in the fourth position despite their runners-up spot at the Turkish Women’s Cup. The latest rankings saw no changes to the continent’s top 10 as Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Tunisia, Morocco, Mali, Algeria are fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth respectively.

However, Zambia climbed six places to 100th in the world and 12th in Africa after a maiden Olympic qualification, while Kenya

(137th), Tanzania (139th) and Uganda(146th)alldroppedfour spots.

On the world stage, champions USAand Germany retained the top two spots, while France and the Netherlands, Sweden, England, Australia, Brazil, Canada and Korea DPR completed the top 10.

Gambia are newest ranked team on the list, becoming the 159th country on the standings and are 113th ranked in the world and 17th best women’s footballing nation in Africa.

The next edition of the women’s ranking will be published on June 26.

Coe Says World Athletics Championships could Move to 2022

Super Falcons celebrate

Adesanya Takes a Dig at UFC Light-heavyweight Champion Israel Adesanya has had a lot to say about reigning UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who was arrested by the Albuquerque Police Department in the early hours of Thursday morning.

According to a report from the APD, Jones was taken into custody for allegedly driving while intoxicated and for negligent use of a firearm.

The incident is said to have taken place shortly before 1am PT, after which anAPD officer approached Jones in his black Jeep.

The arresting officer wrote in his report that Jones smelled of alcohol and denied

any knowledge of hearing gunshots.

But after the officer administered sobriety tests, they discovered a firearm, a bullet casing and a bottle of Recuerdo Mezcal in the passenger seat.

Jones, 32, tested twice over the legal limit for blood alcohol content and was subsequently taken to jail.

He has since been released and will be due in court on April 8 for a bond arraignment hearing.

Adesanya has been embroiled in a war of words with ‘Bones’ for several months.

And ‘The Last Stylebender’ couldn’t

help but make fun of Jones’ latest brush with the law.Adesanya’s mocking of Jones’ came in the form in a series of tweets, which included self-made memes.

One such tweet included a picture of an inspirational message Jones posted last week urging the public to do everything they can to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, in which he told people: “Let’s not screw this up.”

Adesanya’s accompanying caption read: “And on the 7th day got arrested. I mean God rested!”

The WorldAthletics Championships could be moved from next year to 2022 to accommodate the rearranged Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, according to World Athletics President Sebastian Coe. Coe said today that his sport’s flagship Championships, due to take place in Oregon from August 6 to 15, could be moved from 2021 to give space to the Tokyo Games, which have been postponed for up to a year amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“Nobody saw this problem (with the virus)...so the flexibility here is very important,” Coe told Japanese media in a teleconference.

Should the biennial Championships be postponed for a year, he said it would still be possible to “have a 2022 and 2023 Championships back to back,” although he added that was a matter of speculation at this point.

Speaking in a later teleconference with African and European media, Coe accepted that a delay of a year could mean more Russian athletes taking part in the next Olympics and Paralympics as their federation seeks to restore faith in its operation following the long-standing doping scandal.

“Nothing has been decided yet, but no International Federation is likely to be comfortable holding its World Championships in the same year as an Olympics.

“If we were to hold the next World Championships in 2022, a year after the Games, you would have the next ones in 2023, and then be in the Olympic Games in 2024.

“You would have athletics centre stage for four consecutive years…I think we could live with that, and that athletes could live with that.

“But it is still a matter for consideration.”

I’ve Never Premier League, EFL, PFA Say Difficult Decisions Await Clubs Alexander-Arnold: Thought about Leaving Liverpool

“Difficult decisions will have to be taken” to counter the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic on English football, say the Premier League and EFL. All games have been postponed until at least 30 April and will only resume “when it is safe and conditions allow”.

A Premier League, EFL and PFA statement said their thoughts “continue to be with everyone affected by the virus”.

“We have agreed to work together to arrive at shared solutions,” it added.

Further meetings were set for next week “with a view to formulating a joint plan to deal with the difficult circumstances facing the leagues, their clubs, players, staff and fans”.

Premier League clubs were already due to meet again on 3 April, when it is almost certain the current postponement of all

Messi Remains Highest Earning Footballer Despite Wage due to COVID-19 Barcelona have announced plans to reduce player and staff wages in a bid to “minimise the economic impact” caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Spanish football was suspended for an indefinite period earlier this month, with a resumption only taking place once the government and health bodies are satisfied there is no longer a risk to public health.

With no sport possible and the subsequent effect on income streams, Barcelona announced on Thursday

night they would be implementing measures in an attempt to reduce the economic impact of the crisis. Among the measures decided by the club’s board was “adapting the contractual obligations of the club staff to the new and temporary circumstances that we are experiencing”.

A club statement read: “Basically it is a reduction of the working day, imposed by the circumstances and the protection measures carried out, and, as a consequence, the

matches until 30 April will be extended again.

That could take it past the official end of the EFLleague season and towards the last round of Premier League fixtures, which was supposed to be on 17 May. Players at some clubs across Europe including Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund - have agreed to take temporary pay cuts.

proportional reduction of the remuneration provided for in the respective contracts.”

According to Forbes, Messi could take Barca’s wage cut and still be among the top three highest-paid athletes in the world. He earns $90 million annually.

Cutting the star winger’s pay by 70 per cent would save the club an estimated $50 million, which would more than cover its operating loss last year.

The Barcelona forward is the highestpaid soccer player, earning $111 million and taking home $84 million in salary and winnings, and another $27 million in endorsements.

Messi has a lifetime deal with Adidas.

Other deals include Gatorade, Pepsi, and Huawei.

Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold has insisted that he has never thought about leaving the club he loves “more than anything”.

The 21-year-old has become an integral part of Jurgen Klopp’s side atAnfield, establishing himself as one of the best right-backs in the world having helped the Reds to a Champions League crown and the brink of Premier League glory.

Alexander-Arnold’s combination of age and performance level means that he is one of the most valuable players in world football right now and, while he regards Barcelona as his ‘second team’, he talked up his “love” for Liverpool and has no intention of leaving the club any time soon.

“Growing up I was Celtic, but now, because of the Steven Gerrard connection, I’m probably neutral up there now. But I’d say my favourite other team would be Barca. I feel as though they’ve got kind of the same values and beliefs as Liverpool,” Alexander-Arnold told GQ. “Leaving Liverpool is] not something I’ve ever really thought about. I’ve always loved Liverpool. I’ve always supported them.

I’ve always played for them. So, I’ve never had that reason to think about it.

“Yeah, still now, I wouldn’t sit there in my room and daydream about playing somewhere else. Right now, I’m a Liverpool player.

I love the club more than anything. I love everything about it.

I love the fans, the people. I love the city. So, no, why would I think about that?”

Alexander-Arnold has made 125 appearances for the Liverpool senior team to date, creating 34 goals and scoring six of his own in that time.

Saturday, March 28, 2020

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MISSILE

Atiku on the Killing of 47 Soldiers “The ambush and killing of scores of our gallant soldiers by terrorists in Gorgi Village, Borno State, is a reminder that even as we are focused on the battle against coronavirus, we must never lose track of the Boko Haram war.“ – Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar warning Nigeria not to lose sight of its war against Boko Haram, as it battles Coronavirus.

PENDULUM DELE MOMODU

dele.momodu@thisdaylive.com

Abuja People and Their Lack of Straight Walk

F

ellow Nigerians, what a dramatic week in our Federal Capital, Abuja! We suddenly woke up to the most unusual headline: BUHARI TESTS NEGATIVE, ABBA KYARI TESTS POSITIVE. Whaaat, I screamed. My initial reaction was that of incredulity.

I did not think of the possibility of these two gentlemen being exposed to the corona virus, but then I had put to the back of my mind and subconscious that Abba Kyari had embarked on that inauspicious, ill-fated trip to Germany which is one of the major European countries in which COVID-19 is festering. At the time of the trip, I had wondered what his business was to be going to represent the country in respect of a major power transaction as he has no executive role in Government. My mind shut itself up as it reflected that this is the de facto Number 1A citizen.

Back to the sensational news that had caught the whole of Nigeria’s attention. I noticed that THISDAY newspaper had led with it. If any media organisation would know, THISDAY must know, I soliloquised. I tried frenetically to log into Thisdaylive online, but the server was down. My brain automatically switched on to conspiracy mode. Perhaps, the government has shut down the authoritative site, I wondered aloud. Nothing would ever surprise me. What haven’t we seen before in this land of powerful Emperors?

So, I put a call to the THISDAY Publisher, Nduka Obaigbena, a man I love to call the Publisher of Publishers. We’ve had a long history of relationship dating way back to that fateful day in April 1988, when I arrived in Lagos, from the ancient town of Ile-Ife, in search of greener pastures. Ever since we have been through thick and thin together.

I’ve come to trust and respect his uncommon nose for news based on his humongous networks and super access to men and women of “timber and calibre.”

Nduka did not pick my call. My tension heightened. What’s going on in our country?

I monologued. I didn’t want to trust any other person with verifying a story of such magnitude.

I realised that even my own online newspaper, www.thebossnewspapers.com had carried the news. I called the Editor to yank it off. I didn’t want us to act on rumours neither did I want us to join those who gloated and rejoiced that Mr Abba Kyari had fallen ill. That is not our style.

I will never support rabid hatred and reckless vindictiveness. Mr Kyari’s only sin is being very close to his principal and maybe he gets overzealous on occasions, but that’s not unexpected in the corridors of power generally. I believe, there must be good reason why President Muhammadu Buhari trusts him so much, gave him that power of life and death, which transformed him into the alternate President and de facto Vice President rolled into one. Who wouldn’t be happy to be in his shoes?

As I went through my interior monologue, my phone rang and Nduka was on the line. “Dele Momodu,” he exclaimed in his usual flamboyant voice. “The Publisher of Publishers, what’s going on in our country...?” I retorted. He confirmed the incredible story. We gisted generally and ended the call. Thereafter, other similar news flew in at supersonic speed! I switched my Television set between AIT, Arise News and Channels, expecting to get more information about developments inside Aso Rock. Surprisingly, it was like waiting for Godot. Nothing came. As usual, Aso Rock snubbed Nigerians. I wonder why they operate like secret cults. For me, what’s the big deal about the Chief of Staff to the President falling sick?

He is a mere mortal like the rest of us.

There were hushed whispers in high places

Buhari that some other fat cats in the seat of power may have also tested positive, but that the news was being tightly managed and suppressed. Some even mentioned the President as being down with Corona virus despite the strident denial from his handlers and spin doctors. The full day passed without anyone deeming it fit to bring out the President from his shrine, even if for one minute, to dispel the satanic rumours.

But hell no! Nigerians and especially the fabled “wailing wailers” can cry from now till Kingdom come, Buhari would rather stick to his legendary taciturnity. Indeed, some of his aides insulted our intelligence by saying it was not the style of this President to talk to his People. It beggars belief and is not even worthy of any response. How unfortunate can a country be?

As if to make matters worse, we were informed that the President was back at work. No video.

No picture. Word of mouth, simple, simplicita.

Holy Moses! How can a man whose closest aide was down with a rampaging virus of pandemic proportions return so soon to work, even if he’s a King Kong or better still the Incredible Hulk?

The next day another spin, the President’s office was being fumigated. This reminded me of when he was chased out of office by some evil rodents!

To continue the abracadabra, the following day we were regaled with tales by moonlight, as the President had apparently returned to the now fumigated office to work at night! So, the suspense and melodrama continued. In my view, this is what Chief Moshood Abiola would have called hiding behind one finger. As for me and my house, it didn’t fly at all. It was all beginning to take the nature of a sci-fi movie gone wrong.

Unfortunately, the great orator, our Noble and Learned Vice President, was also on sabbatical.

No word from that direction, whether by conspiracy, choice or coercion. So, we’ve been virtually operating on autopilot. To me that sounds charitable because autopilot suggests a system in place! How unfair can a government be to a country of ‘orphans’? On a serious note, this style must change. The APC government has dragged our country down the gutter. This was not what we promised in 2014/15 when we campaigned vigorously for a Buhari Presidency. We said PDP was useless, profligate and downright corrupt and that President Goodluck Jonathan was clueless and incompetent. We harassed the daylight out of the poor gentleman and forced him into premature retirement. What is happening today is much worse and unbelievably disgraceful. The country

is purposeless, rudderless and directionless. And the sheer I-don’t-care attitude of government sucks to high heavens.

Someone should please beg President Buhari to come out of his grove or from behind the palisades that he has been ensconced in, at this time when the nation needs him most, if only for reassurance. Nigerians did not vote for a masquerade. Nigerians placed their collective faith and hope in a man with a distinguished career in the Nigerian Army, who was controversially at the helm of affairs of the county some 30 years before. They trusted someone that they believed was a no-nonsense disciplinarian with their personal and economic well-being. And to whom much is given, much is expected. Nigeria needs Buhari urgently and desperately. Everyone is frustrated with our state of inertia, stasis and stagnation, except, possibly, his acolytes.

I will make a few humble suggestions once again.

Let it be on record that I did so. The President is under no obligation to accept any of them. But when tomorrow comes, he will discover why his predecessors could not lead Nigeria in the direction of prosperity and ended us in abject poverty and penury. The main reason was the love of power above service. Time flies and waits for no one. If in nearly five years since returning to power, we are still in this quagmire, not much is likely to be achieved in the final three years.

I do not have to be a naysayer to portend this.

My first advice is for our President to become more involved in the art and science of governance instead of wasting time and resources on unproductive visitors swarming all over the Villa. Two. Is he totally tired of his Vice President? I believe the President is wasting the one reliable asset he has left. In case his mind has been poisoned sufficiently against his deputy, I wish to assure him that he doesn’t have much options left at this late hour and the people goading him on will soon dump him when he becomes a lame duck. I must instantly add that I am not holding brief for the Vice President. I am confident of his intellect, ability, and strong will to know that he can fight his own battles and does not need my help or that of anyone else. I just cannot help but wonder why we are at this sorry pass when we have seen such a capable, competent man ready, able and willing to complement the President as demonstrated by his sterling performances while the President was away on medical vacation. Buhari should find time to study the history of Nigeria. No Nigerian President should fail ordinarily with the abundance of exceptionally intelligent talents it has pleased God to bless us with. However, the President seems to have gone the other way and chosen to rely on people who simply make him look inept and oblivious.

Three. I don’t know if President Buhari is aware of how other countries are approving unprecedented palliatives for their people. Fighting the virus is not just about containment which the Presidential Task Force and the Governors are finally getting to grips with. It involves rallying the entire country, particularly the masses on their side.

The level of ignorance on the part of the masses is abysmally shocking. An urgent sensitisation campaign needs to be carried out nationwide.

The common man is just simply sceptical about this ravaging scourge and its capacity for causing catastrophic and cataclysmic chaos and untold casualties in our country.

What can Government itself do to offer succour to the masses and prove to them that they are partners in the fight against this pandemic? I will briefly touch on a few of these, some of which

some other governments in the western world and even Africa have put in place.

Cut all waste. Political office holders including members of the executive, legislators, heads of MDAs and the like should sacrifice most if not all their allowances.

Shelve most, if not all capital projects except those that will add value in this crisis.

Reduce the price of all petroleum products by more than 50%. It is inconceivable that we still have high prices for these products despite crude oil prices crashing by more than 100%.

The recent token gesture by government is simply derisory and offensive. It is blackmail for marketers and retailers to say they will be economically damaged because they have stock.

They have benefitted in the past and now is a time for sacrifice.

Reduce tariffs on electricity for the duration of this crisis. All hands must be on deck and some businesses must feel the pain, in order that there is some gain for the masses.

The CBN should properly play its part by reducing the exchange rate and base rate. Even Zimbabwe, a parlous country by all accounts has done this. Banks and other financial institutions should likewise reduce their rates and grant a moratorium period of three months in the first instance on all repayments.

There should be tax reliefs to the extent that taxes should not be due until next financial year.

This is not a time to pour more agony on your populace when they are practically unemployed and groaning. The big players who have made donations towards the fight against the virus should be commended for their patriotism and also given sumptuous incentives.

The CBN’s decision to set up a private sector committee is welcome, although it is not its business. The Committee is lopsided on gender and categories of business as a result. We have many wealthy women who would make significant contributions. We also have IOCs, construction contractors and manufacturers, religious bodies, indigenous oil moguls and other entrepreneurs.

A committee of 20 people, which will be assisted only in terms of logistics and deployment by the PTF, should be adequate to raise the money and distribute whatever palliatives that they decide upon to ameliorate people’s food and medical situation in this lockdown. This will naturally lead to better coordination in terms of the individual donations that are presently pouring in. As I see it, the current lack of coordination will mean repetitive purchases and wasteful expenditure.

Once the money is properly coordinated and judiciously managed, there are several ways of involving the ordinary Nigerians, including purchasing from them essential sanitary, food and medical items and logistics and transportation of those products to each household. This will effectively keep everyone indoors because these products will be delivered to homes instead of asking people to come and collect.

The lockdown can be complete, most public transporters in all the States can be gainfully engaged and employed by these philanthropists.

Also, employment can be given to supervisors and monitoring personnel who would accompany the transporters and security personnel to distribute these products. Social distancing will of course be practised in respect of such distribution.

I am sure that there are other ways of ensuring that we work together to beat this scourge but the combined forces of the private sector and public sector collaboration that I envisage will accomplish this task and also sensitise the public as well.

Together we will beat this pesky virus!

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