SATURDAY 9TH MAY 2020

Kalu Gets Reprieve as EFCC Prepares for Fresh Trial Ex-governor celebrates, lawyers disagree Deji Elumoye and Alex Enumah in Abuja The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday described the Supreme Court judgement

that quashed the conviction of the former governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor-Kalu for corruption and the order for his retrial, as a technical ambush of his trial.

Justice Mohammed Idris of

Federal High Court, Lagos, had last December sentenced the ex-governor to 12 years imprisonment for fraud he allegedly perpetrated during his tenure as Abia State governor. The Court of Appeal

also concurred.

But in a unanimous judgment of the Supreme Court delivered by Justice Ejembi Eko yesterday, the apex court nullified the entire trial, on the grounds that the

constitution does not permit a judge elevated to a higher court to return to a lower court to conclude a part-heard case.

The EFCC, in a swift reaction by its Spokesman, Dele Oyewale, said it considered

the judgment of the apex court quite unfortunate and that the commission was prepared for a fresh/immediate trial of the case because its evidences Continued on page 5

Powerful Individuals Behind Illegal Mining in Nigeria, Says Minister… Page 6 Saturday 9 May, 2020 Vol 25. No 9161

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Isolation Centres Running out of Bed Spaces, FG Warns Cases rise to 3,912, with 117 deaths Lagos, Kano, Zamfara struggle with places for patients Lagos fears patients may increase to 120,000, begins hydroChloroquine trial FG moves to resolve NCDC, Kogi row Fact finding mission lands in Jigawa State 253 Nigerians back in Lagos from UK Buhari commends THISDAY, Dangote, BUA, GTBank, others WHO: 190,000 may die in Africa Onyebuchi Ezigbo, Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja, Chinedu Eze in Lagos and Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja The federal government yesterday raised the alarm that many states in the country may soon run out of bed spaces for COVID-19 patients at their isolation centres due to the increasing number of Nigerians testing positive to Coronavirus.

The desperate situation with COVID-19 patients' accommodation came just as the Federal Ministry of Health said it had weighed in to resolve the disagreement between the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Kogi State government over the deployment of rapid

response team in the state.

On the same day, the number of COVID-19 cases in the country rose to 3,912, up from the 3,526 recorded on Thursday. In all, 386 new cases were recorded nationwide yesterday. Deaths recorded also rose to 117 from 107 recorded on Thursday.

Speaking at media briefing by the Presidential Taskforce on the Control of COVID-19 in Abuja, the Director General of NCDC, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu said some states were already experiencing difficulties accommodating patients in their over-burdened isolation facilities.

When asked to assess the bed space situation, Ihekweazu Continued on page 5

NSE Commences Recruitment Process for Onyema’s Successor... Page 6

BRAINSTORMING ON COVID-19...

L-R: The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, at a media briefing by the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 in Abuja…yesterday razaq abiol

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PAGE FIVE ISOLATION CENTRES RUNNING OUT OF BED SPACES, FG WARNS said: "We are still plus or minus where we are. We have a big challenge on our hands in the country right now, especially in Lagos, Kano and Zamfara and in a few other states where the number of cases currently outweighs the capacity to continue implementing our policy of institutional isolation of all the patients, whether they are asymptotic, mildly symptomatic or severe. Right now, the reality that we are facing is that the implementation of that policy is very difficult."

Also, the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire said the ministry and other organs of government were seeking measures to check or break transmission of the virus and so control its spread.

He said the ministry had employed tried, tested approaches and is applying innovative measures and guidelines in dealing with COVID-19 pandemic.

"Our ideal is still to identify all positive cases and isolate both the symptomatic and asymptomatic, to safeguard the health of the rest of the population, as well as provide care to the symptomatic," he said With regards to the distribution of personal protective kits, Ehanire said that the federal government was making sure that every state got supplies according to the cases they have.

On drugs for treatment of COVID-19, Ehanire said that Nigerian clinicians are participating in World Health

Organization’s (WHO) sponsored study to find out the efficacy of certain drugs, including Chloroquine and anti-ritroviral drugs.

As for those who claim to have developed herbal remedies for COVID-19, Ehanire said they can approach the Nigeria Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development which would assess such claims before referring them to NAFDAC for certification.

On the controversy trailing the deployment of response team from the Federal Ministry of Health and NCDC to Kogi state, Ehanire said: it had to do with disagreement over processes.

He said the ministry was going to reengage the governor with a view to securing a working agreement to enable the NCDC officials to reenter Kogi State and complete their assignment.

"Kogi State is one of the two states that have said that they do not have COVID-19 patients and they seem to be sure about that so the agreement we had with them after discussion with the governors of the two states is that we will send a team of experts to validate that fact and to be able to engage the commissioners and the state governors and also the other public health authorities just for validation "It is also for us to update our national records and to be able to report to the world what the situation is in our country because the whole world might not know that we don't have any actual records from these

two states.

We agreed to send the team from the Ministry of Health and NCDC to Kogi State yesterday but there were some differences as to processes which we need to explain to the state governor again and to work with his team to create atmosphere in which the NCDC and Federal Ministry of Health can complete their job," he said.

The minister said the federal government deployed a multisectoral technical team on a fact finding mission to Jigawa State yesterday morning at the request of the governor.

According the minister, the challenge in Jigawa revolves around repatriated Almajiris, many of whom have tested positive for COVID-19.

On his part, the NCDC boss said the mandate of the centre in the states was merely supportive, adding that NCDC would usually intervene where its services were needed.

Ihekweazu gave update of new COVID-19 laboratories, saying that NCDC had activated two new laboratories in Rivers State.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation/ Chairman, Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha said the PTF had intensified the monitoring of the level of compliance with the advisories and guidelines already issued.

He said PTF had asked the security agencies to ensure strict enforcement. “Nigeria is presently at the community transmission phase

and yesterday – Thursday 7th May, 2020, we witnessed the highest single-day number of 381 confirmed cases. This could be considered worrisome but for the fact that this rise is associated with our increased testing capacity, which has provided an opportunity to detect hitherto hidden cases. “However, this increased testing does not translate to higher fatality rates, as in the last few days, we have witnessed a good number of discharges and a continually reducing daily fatality rate.�

Lagos to Begin Hydrochloroquine Trial Lagos State government has made arrangements to begin a hydro-chloroquine trial on COVID-19 patients.

The state’s health commissioner, Prof Akin Abayomi, disclosed this yesterday while speaking at a press conference.

He also predicted that the total number of confirmed Coronavirus cases in Lagos State may increase to 120,000 between July and August.

Abayomi said the virus was expected to reach its peak in Lagos at that time, adding “Just a month ago, on April 7, we saw 10 cases per day, two weeks later it was 32, then 70 cases. We are now seeing above 100 cases per day. This shows our graph is moving in a gentle incline upwards. “We definitely have not reached the peak of our

outbreak, we suspect that the peak will happen sometime in July or August and so we are preparing for the oncoming of about 90,000 to 120,000 cases during that period. We are increasing our capacity and strategies to deal with this situation.�

The commissioner urged residents not to panic over the increasing cases witnessed in the state, saying it was caused by the presence of sample collection centres in 20 Local Governments.

Prof. Abayomi also disclosed yesterday that he was not infected with Coronavirus.

The commissioner had earlier on Thursday announced that 10 persons associated with the Lagos State Government House, Marina, tested positive for the virus.

But he stated yesterday via Twitter that he did not test positive for the disease, urging the public to disregard false reports claiming otherwise.

FG Repatriates 253 Nigerians from UK The federal government repatriated about 253 Nigerians from the United Kingdom yesterday, just as the British High Commission evacuated another batch of its citizens from Nigeria.

The Nigerians were brought back into the country by British Airways.

The flight landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos at 2:45 pm local time.

This was the second evacuation of Nigerians by the federal government, as Emirates on Wednesday started the evacuation of Nigerians from different parts of the world.

The Emirates flight brought in 256 Nigerians from the United Arab Emirates and it was slated that tomorrow, Sunday, Ethiopian Airlines would bring in about 300 Nigerians from the United States.

THISDAY learnt that on arrival the passengers were subjected to thorough checks by the Port Health with temperature screening by officials of the Port Health Services, as the passengers were led into luxurious buses onward to the isolation centers.

Officials of the Lagos State government and that of the NCDC and other partners in the evacuation process were on ground to ensure seamless facilitation of the evacuees.

The British Airways that brought in Nigerians evacuated about 215 Britons from Nigeria, thus repatriating about over 1800 of British citizens from Nigeria since the second week of the lockdown occasioned by Coronavirus pandemic, which started on March 23, 2020.

The British High Commissioner Catriona Laing said: “I’m so pleased we were able help Nigerians get back home whilst also helping more British nationals return home to the UK. We work around the clock to support British nationals who remain in the country.

Continued on page 15

KALU GETS REPRIEVE AS EFCC PREPARES FOR FRESH TRIAL against Kalu and others “are overwhelming.�

The anti-graft agency said: “The EFCC considers the judgment of the apex court as quite unfortunate. It is a technical ambush against the trial of the former governor. The commission is prepared for a fresh and immediate trial of the case because its evidences against Kalu and others are overwhelming. “The corruption charges against Kalu still subsist because the Supreme Court did not acquit him of them. The entire prosecutorial machinery of the EFCC would be launched in a fresh trial where justice is bound to be served in due course.�

Meanwhile, Uzor-Kalu has spoken on his five month incarceration saying it was profound and challenging.

He also pledged his readiness to ensure that justice was henceforth served to all Nigerians irrespective of where they hail from.

Kalu, in a statement issued after the Supreme Court quashed his 12-year conviction, said the apex Court ruling had affirmed his right to fair hearing and equal protection of the law.

According to him, "the past five months have been quite a profound period for me and as challenging as that period has been, it has provided me an opportunity to learn invaluable lessons about our country, our peoples, our justice system and the true meaning of love. I mean love for family, love for our country and love for humanity."

The former governor of Abia state also thanked all those who stood by him during his trying times.

He said: "I want to use this moment to thank my family, my colleagues, my friends, my supporters, the people of Abia State, and all Nigerians for their unflinching and unwavering confidence and trust in me through the very testing period.

We all know today that their

prayers have not been in vain.

I also use this opportunity to express my gratitude to the Nigerian Correctional Service for the unalloyed professionalism and sincere humanity extended to me by its staff while I was in their custody.

"Overall, my experience tested and reaffirmed my belief and confidence in our country, Nigeria. My case is a true Nigerian story with a bold made-in-Nigeria stamp on it. It is a story of initial injustice that was caught and ultimately corrected. It is a story of restoration. It is a story of how a wrong was righted and how justice and truth prevailed in the end. “It is a story of the power of hope. My case should teach us all that even though we may not get things right at the first attempt, with patience and dedication, we shall get them right eventually. That is the lesson of my case and that is the lesson of our country - that with dedication and patience, we shall place Nigeria in its rightful place eventually.�

Reacting to the judgement, the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption, Prof Itse Sagay, SAN, expressed his displeasure.

Sagay said no section of the constitution prevented a judge, who was promoted to a higher court, from continuing to hear pending cases in the lower court.

He said: “I think this judgment is a great disservice to this country. It’s a great setback because it drags us back into the iniquity of cases that have no end without any good reason at all.�

The constitutional lawyer noted that the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 allowed judges to continue with pending cases because of the “grave disadvantages� that had been noticed with regard to the interpretation of the Supreme Court.

He said: “We found, in many

cases, judges that had spent up to five to seven years on a case, they were promoted and then they could not continue with it. A new judge would start and the case would begin all over again. It was killing our judicial system. That’s why the National Assembly passed that law under the ACJA. “I’m not aware that the constitution specifically outlaws it. In my view, if the Supreme Court had interpreted that situation in that manner previously, that is interpreted to mean that, once you’re promoted, you cannot continue with cases in a lower court. “But if the National Assembly then passes a law that grants the authority to that judge, I think the Supreme Court doesn’t have the power to insist on its own interpretation by referring to the constitution, which has no such provisions,� he added.

Mallam Ahmed Raji SAN, while agreeing with the judgment, however said that the Constitution must first be amended to empower elevated judges sit and conclude cases they were handling before promotion.

According to Raji, the idea of allowing elevated high court judges to conclude part-heard matters was not a bad one taking into consideration the congestion in the courts. But it has to be sanctioned by the ground norm.

Another senior lawyer, Dr Kayode Olatoke said, "The decision of Supreme Court is the correct interpretation of the law and that has been my own view of the position of the law. That aspect of ACJA which allow a Court of Appeal justice to come and sit as a high court judge is unconstitutional and an aberration.�

Also reacting, Mr. John Baiyeshea said: "My reaction, first and foremost is that the Judgment of the Supreme Court is correct. But it is a sad and tragic story of how the fight

against corruption is being frustrated purely by technical judgment/Justice.

"This case took more than 10 years to prosecute, because the accused persons did everything possible to ensure that the case was never successfully prosecuted. They even went as far as the Supreme Court on appeal on preliminary objections just to frustrate the case. The Supreme Court after more than seven years held that his trial should go on and be concluded.

"This type of judgment encourages the criminallyminded political office holders, and other criminal elements to commit crimes with relish. They take advantage of our porous, permissive and technical legal system, and the nation continues to bleed to death," Baiyeshea said.

On his part, Mr Dayo Akinlaja, SAN, argued: "Once a Court lacks the requisite jurisdiction to determine a cause or action, the proceedings thereof would invariably amount to a nullity no matter how well otherwise conducted.

"The net sum of it all is that the Supreme Court is impeccably right with its decision and the order for the trial to start de novo is equally irreproachable on account of the fact that, in the eye of the law, it is like the defendants have never been tried on the charges brought against them."

Justice Idris, who was elevated to the Court of Appeal bench, had returned to the Federal High Court in Lagos to complete the case, which started in 2007.

To prevent further setback of Kalu’s case, the then President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa issued a fiat to Justice Idris to return to the lower court to conclude cases being tried by him before his elevation.

Thereafter, Justice Idris in December last year found the former governor guilty of corruption allegations to

the tune of N7.6 billion and consequently sentenced him to 12 years improvement.

While Kalu and a Director of Finance, Jones Udeogu, who served under him when he was governor, were both sentenced to jail terms of 12 and 10 years respectively, his company, Slok Nigeria Limited, was liquidated and its assets forfeited to the federal government.

Dissatisfied with the judgment of the court, the second and third defendants approached the appellate court to set aside the judgment of Justice Idris on grounds of jurisdiction.

Delivering judgment in the appeal in March this year, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal for lacking in merit.

Still not satisfied the appellants took their case to the Supreme Court where judgment was entered in their favour yesterday.

The Supreme Court held that the Federal High Court in Lagos, which convicted Kalu, his firm – Slok Nigeria Limited and his former aide, Jones Udeogu, lacked jurisdiction to do so.

It explained that Justice Idris, who conducted the trial, was no longer a judge of the Federal High Court at the time he sat and delivered the judgement.

The court added that Justice Idris, having been elevated to the Court of Appeal before then, lacked the powers to return to sit as a High Court Judge.

The apex court held that section 396 (7) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 on which Justice Idris acted upon to convict and sentenced Kalu was unconstitutional.

According to the apex court, the trial court acted without jurisdiction when it convicted Kalu, his firm, Slok Nigeria Limited and Mr Udeogu.

Justice Eko held that "the president of the Court of Appeal acted ultra vires her powers when she issued the fiat to Justice Idris to sit as a

judge of the Federal High Court.

"The Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal are established by the Constitution with distinct powers and functions. The president of the Court of Appeal has no powers to assign dual powers to a Justice of the Court of Appeal to meddle in the internal affairs of the Federal High Court.

"Justice Idris having been elevated to the Court of Appeal ceased to be a Judge of the Federal High Court and therefore lacked the jurisdiction to adjudicate on the case.

"Section 396(7) of ACJA did not give him new powers to perform dual functions. “Section 396(7) of ACJA conflicts with section 253 of the constitution which provides that: “The Federal High Court shall be dully constituted if it consists of at least one judge of that court. It is therefore a nullity.

"The implication is that Justice Idris acted without jurisdiction.

It is settled law that jurisdiction is the life wire of adjudication and if a court has no jurisdiction to decide a case, the proceedings remain a nullity ab initio, no matter how well conducted and decided. This is so since a defect in competence is not only intrinsic but also extrinsic to the entire process of adjudication," he held.

The apex court further held that section 396(7) was also in conflict with the provisions of sections 1(1), 1(3), 238(2), 239, 240, 250(2) of the 1999 Constitution, and therefore liable to be struck down.

"Accordingly, the judgment delivered on December 5, 2019 I hereby set aside. The case file is to be remitted to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to be assigned to another judge for trial de novo.

"This is because you cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stand as the whole trial was a nullity ab initio," Justice Eko held.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MAY 9, 2020

NEWS

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

NSE Commences Recruitment Process for Onyema’s Successor Obinna Chima The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has started the recruitment process for the role of its Chief Executive Officer currently held

by Mr. Oscar Onyema.

This followed the appointment of Executive Search and Consulting Firm, Stanton Chase, by the Governing Council of the NSE to advertise the role of the CEO of the Nigerian Exchange Limited.

In the advertorial obtained by Arise Television, a member of THISDAY/Arise media group,

Stanton Chase invited qualified individuals to apply for the role.

Also, market operators conversant with the development, disclosed that Onyema would be stepping down in April 2021, when he is expected to have completed the second of his 5-year tenure as CEO. Providing clarification on the name change of the Nigerian Stock Exchange to Nigerian Exchange Ltd as published in the recruitment advert, operators said that the planned demutualisation process of the NSE would bring about the

Irate Youths Raze Fulani Hamlet over Killing of Deltans Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba As the people of Okpanam community continue to vent their anger following Thursday killing of two members of their local vigilance group, an angry mob yesterday set ablaze a hamlet occupied by Fulani herdsmen.

The small Fulani settlement called Obodogba situated within Okpanam in Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State was apparently a reprisal for the killing of two vigilance members by gunmen alleged to be Fulani herdsmen.

Three persons were shot, two fatally as the local vigilance combed nearby bushes on Thursday for a woman kidnapped with her daughter abducted from her residence in Okpanam.

The leader of Okpanam local vigilance group, identified as Emeka alias “Chosen” and another were killed by the suspected kidnappers who ambushed the search party; a third person was shot in the leg.

Angered by the senseless

killing while the abductees were still missing, Okpanam youths demonstrated against the incident on Thursday, barricading the ever-busy BeninAsaba-Onitsha Expressway at Okoanam Junction near the Asaba International Airport, disrupting for hours both socio-economic activities and traffic on the expressway and adjoining streets.

It took the deployment of soldiers, who complemented the efforts of the policeman on ground to disperse the protesters and restore normalcy.

However, the youths of Okpanam accused Fulani herdsmen for the state of violent attacks, kidnapping and killing of innocent people and declared that they had had enough of the intimidation by Fulani, saying they did not behave like visitors.

It was learnt that several little huts made of thatch were razed, some of the occupants’ belongings destroyed while a cow was killed by the irate mob that stormed the hamlet or camp used by the Fulani nomads.

Villagers Flee Kaduna Community over Alleged Bomb Blast John Shiklam in Kaduna

Residents of Kabrasha Village, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, have fled the village following a bomb explosion allegedly dropped from a helicopter.

Although no life was lost in the incident, said to have occurred on Thursday afternoon, the Assemblies of God Church in the village and a nearby house were destroyed.

President of the Gbagyi Development Association (GDA), Mr. Peter Aboki who disclosed this in an interview said, before the bomb explosion, the villagers had complained of a helicopter that was always hovering around the community and dropping some things in the bushes.

He said hours after the bomb explosion, a group of armed men numbering about 100 were seen passing around the area.

He said some of them

were trekking while others were riding on motorbikes, adding that one of them was carrying a strange flag while one other person was making some incantations in Arabic language.

He said residents of the village, including the village head had fled the community for fear of the unknown.

Aboki said he was not in a position to say whether the bomb was dropped by terrorists, noting that it could have been mistakenly dropped by security agencies pursuing bandits.

According to him, “the helicopter used to be hovering around the area and dropping some things. We don’t know what they have been dropping.

“Yesterday (Thursday) in the afternoon, the helicopter came and dropped a bomb and a church, Assembly of God Church was destroyed including a nearby building.

Many of the villagers were in the farms when the incident happened.

creation of a holding company (holdco) structure.

Under the holdco, the Nigerian Exchange Limited would be the operational arm and one of the four subsidiaries held by group, including the Central Securities Clearing System Limited.

Demutualisation is the conversion of not-for-profit entity limited by guarantee into a profit-making, public limited liability company owned by shareholders.

Members of the NSE had in March approved the process to conclude the demutualisation of the Exchange to become a profit-making, limited liability entity. The approvals were given

at a court-ordered meeting (COM) and an extra-ordinary general meeting (EGM) held in Lagos.

Owing to this, the nine-page advertorial stated that the Nigerian Exchange Limited serves the largest economy in Africa and champions the development of Africa’s financial markets. It added that the market offered listings and trading services, licensing services, market data solutions, ancillary technology services, and more.

The company would be a subsidiary of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, to emerge once the demutualisation process is finalised.

It further explained that,

the CEO was expected to be an individual with proven leadership skills, sound technical knowledge and experience, as well as a robust track record of successes and achievements.

“The job holder will be responsible for the general management of the company’s operations and expected to demonstrate excellent administrative, strategic, operational and business management skills.

“Reporting to the Board of Directors, the successful candidate will have overall P&L responsibility for the Nigerian Exchange Limited, oversee the implementation of strategic value adding projects as well as hold responsibility for the

day-to-day management of its operations.

“The CEO will sit on the Group Executive Committee (GEC) chaired by the Group CEO,” it added.

In addition, the advertorial stated that the desired candidate would be expected to successfully drive the achievement of the Exchange’s financial and non-financial targets; champion the development and refinement of the Exchange’s strategies towards deepening market penetration and achieving sustainable growth and profitability, and oversee the execution of the Exchange’s go-to market and operating model priorities.

Powerful Individuals Behind Illegal Mining in Nigeria, Says Mines Minister Vows to prosecute 19 apprehended foreign nationals

Kasim Sumaina in Abuja

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr. Olamilekan Adegbite, yesterday disclosed that ‘Powerful individuals’ were behind the surge in illegal mining activities in recent years across the country.

This is even as he disclosed government’s readiness to prosecute about 19 foreign nationals recently apprehended over illegal mining in Osun and Zamfara states.

The minister, while briefing the press in Abuja on the recent activities of illegal miners particularly in Osun and Zamfara states, said the federal government in the interest of the nation would have to prosecute the criminals in the court of law to serve as deterrent to others.

He informed that it had been discovered that the foreigners perpetrate the illegal act using the cover of the artisanal miners whom government in a bid to

grow the economy at small scale levels had identified with their activities and christened them Artisanal and small-scale Miners with the consent of some monarchs and elites in the country.

According to Adegbite, most of the foreigners arrested in connection with crime were largely Chinese and a handful of Bukinabes and Senegalese who connive with powerful individuals in the country.

Giving the breakdown, the minister, “said the two arrested in Zamfaraand15ofthoseapprehended in Osun State were all Chinese, one from Burkina Faso and Senegal.”

Speaking further, he observed that unlike in the past when illegal mining cases were frivolously handled and let off, the suspected foreigners and their local accomplices would be investigated and prosecuted, adding that in the face of the dwindling fortunes of oil in the international market, the

federal government had no other option than to focus on agriculture and solid minerals to survive as already captured in its diversification agenda.

He explained that the two states were the epicentres of the surge in illegal mining because the only mineral selling very well in defiance of the current global COVID-19 crisis is gold, and Osun and Zamfara states are the most endowed in the precious mineral.

“It is all about gold this time because other minerals are not selling very well now as the industries that use them have been closed down as a result of the global pandemic.

Secondly, as a result of the economic downturn occasioned by the pandemic, currencies world over are being devalued, yet the price of gold, which was about $1,768/ounce the last time I checked, is still rallying.

He said, “We found out that there are a lot of miners

especially the foreigners, they are also here illegally, so some of the measures that we would want to take is with Ministry of Interior because what is the status of these people when they come in, some of them have only visiting visa and some of them have visas that have expired.

“How do we make sure that the Minister of Interior keeps track of all these villains who come into Nigeria and they go back as at when due. These are some of the measures to checkmate this.

The minister who commended the governments of Osun and Zamfara states for their role in the arrest of the illegal miners, said “It is a good development that states are now waking up in safeguarding the mineral deposits within their jurisdiction, having realised that with the crisis being experienced in the oil sector, solid minerals will be a major way out for all economies.”

Food Crisis Looms as Banditry Resurfaces in Katsina

Francis Sardauna in Katsina

The resurgence of nefarious activities by bandits and kidnappers in Katsina State if not promptly nipped in the bud by security agencies and state government, would stoke unprecedented food crisis in the state, farmers have warned.

The bloodletting orchestrated by the bandits who refused to accept the state government’s peace accord, the farmers said, would not only lead to food scarcity and hunger, but would have grave economic implications on the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari had granted amnesty to bandits after a tour to Fulani settlements and strong enclaves of the bandits in Rugu Forest on September 4-9, 2019, during which the bandits and their forest commanders denounced banditry.

The rapprochement saw significant reduction in massive attacks on the state’s rural communities. But the resurgence of the banditry, observers said might not be unconnected to how some of the repentant bandits refused to surrender their weapons after the peace deal.

The farmers who expressed concern about the activities of the hoodlums in separate interviews with THISDAY yesterday, said there was no way the state would not experience food scarcity because farmers were running away from their farms due to persisting attacks.

They berated the state government over what they termed untimely deaths of their colleagues, insisting that between January and May 2020 alone, over 73 innocent farmers had been massacred in Dutsin-Ma, Kankara, Danmusa, Faskari, Safana, Sabuwa and

Batsari Local Government Areas.

One of the farmers, Murtala Sani Kankara said there would be a great shortage of food produce in the state because most farmers could not currently access their farms.

He said: “We supposed to clear our farms now for this year ’s cropping season but nothing has been done because of constant attacks by armed bandits. For your information, between January and may this year, the bandits killed over 73 farmers in Dutsin-Ma, Danmusa and Safana local governments alone.

Imo Building Collapse: NSE’ll Prosecute Erring Members, Says Mohammed Funmi Ogundare

The President of Nigerian Society of Engineers, Babagana Mohammed, has said it will prosecute any of its member found culpable in the collapsed eight-storey building that occurred last week at Yar’Adua Drive in Owerri, the Imo State capital.

Mohammed who briefed

journalists in Lagos, said already its team of engineers had done preliminary investigations and submitted their report to him, adding that it would be sent to the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) for further investigation.

According to him, “I have the report before me, we have seen some infractions. We are

going to pass this report straight to COREN, so that further investigations will continue from the council. Am assuring that any of our members caught in this, will face the full wrath of the law.

“We have engineering standards and ethical issues that engineers know about and they must abide by the rules.

Of recent, we have an amended

Coren Act which empowers us to deal with infractions. Any erring member caught will be made to face a tribunal and we are going to delist such person from our membership and they will face the law. When building collapses, lives are lost.

You need to hold somebody responsible for something, and that is how it works everywhere in the world.”

SATURDAY MAY 9, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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NEWS

Akpabio Says no N40bn Fraud in NDDC Deji Elumoye Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË

Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has stated that contrary to the allegations of the National Assembly, no N40 billion fraud had been perpetrated in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

The two chambers of the National Assembly had on Tuesday resolved to probe the alleged N40 billion financial recklessness of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the NDDC in the last

three months.

Akpabio, whose ministry supervises the NDDC, in a statement entitled 'Re: National Assembly probes alleged N40bn corruption in NDDC', issued yesterday by his Chief Press Secretary, Anietie Ekong, explained that under the supervision of the Niger Delta Affairs ministry, no corruption has been recorded in the NDDC. According to the release, "there had been an upsurge in attacks on the Commission, the Interim Management

Committee and the Minister through spurious and unsubstantiated allegations since the commencement of forensic audit of the Commission.

Unfortunately, these phantom allegations have found their ways into the hallowed chambers of the National Assembly."

The Commission, the statement said, had explained that the Interim Management Committee has only approved the total payment of N18 billion for contractual claims.

The release stated inter alia: “The payments to con-

tractors are all payments for contracts awarded by previous administrations, especially the payment for contracts below N50 million. The present management has not awarded any single contract. So where is the bogey N40 billion coming from? “It is instructive that the Commission under the supervision of Senator Akpabio has devised a strategy by which only duly verified and inspected contracts with photo and video evidences are recommended and approved for payments. The Interim Management Committee has been very prudent in managing the affairs of the interventionist agency.

“The interest of Senator Akpabio has been to ensure that the NDDC completes its headquarters building started since the days of the defunct Oil Minerals Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC), the contract of which was awarded with the approval of the Federal Executive Council many years before Senator Akpabio became the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs. “Following the recent Presidential approval, the NDDC is also providing intervention support to complement efforts of the Federal and State governments against further spread of COVID-19 in the nine states of the Niger Delta.

“Senator Akpabio is upbeat about the plan to probe the NDDC as he has no skeleton in his cupboard. In fact, he will welcome a public hearing beamed live for all Nigerians to see. The probe of the Commission along with the ongoing forensic audit will expose those who have used their exalted positions over the years to fleece the NDDC through fully paid contracts which were never executed and other forms of contact racketeering. “While we await the probe if carried through, we find it extremely insulting for Senator Akpabio’s name to be dragged into what is obviously a smear campaign."

Ozigi Forfeits N426m to Federal Government Bennett Oghifo

A Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday ordered retired Brigadier-General John Onimisi Ozigi (rtd) to refund the sum of N426.7 million to the federal government, following a suit brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The trial Judge, Muslim

Hassan said the respondents, Brigadier-General Ozigi (rtd) and Diamond Head Ventures and Dev. Company Ltd, failed to satisfy the court with concrete evidence why the money, suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities, should not be forfeited to the government.

Justice Hassan said the money linked to the retired BrigadierGeneral was above his

monthly salary of N750,000. “The application has met the conditions stipulated in Section 17 of the Advanced Fee Fraud and other related offences Act “The application is meritorious and it is hereby granted as prayed," Justice Hassan said. The judgement followed a motion filed by Ekereuwem Anana, counsel to the EFCC.

Police Parade Randy Pastor for Allegedly Defiling 3 Siblings, One Other in Edo Adibe Emenyonu Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă˜Ă“Ă˜ ÓÞã

KICKING OUT COVID-19 Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State (middle) during his visit to Enugu-Abia boundary, along

Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, to monitor compliance with his administration’s closure of land boundaries/inter-state transportation as well as the Presidential directive on nationwide curfew... yesterday

Tinubu Commiserates with Buhari, Daura over Nephew’s Death All Progressives Congress National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has commiserated with President Muhammadu Buhari over the death of his nephew, Alhaji Mutari Dauda, who is also Mallam Mamman Daura’s younger brother.

The APC leader also con-

doled with Mamman Daura, the extended family and the entire Daura Community in Katsina State over the passing.

In a condolence message issued yesterday by his Media Office and signed by Mr. Tunde Rahman, Asiwaju Tinubu said: “I would like to commiserate with President Muhammadu

Buhari over the passing yesterday of his nephew, Alhaji Mutari Dauda, who is also Mallam Mamman Daura’s younger brother. “May Allah SWT forgive Alhaji Dauda his sins, show mercy on him and grant him Aljanna Firdaus. May Almighty Allah also comfort the family that he left behind.

‘Dickson as Tested Leader is Who Bayelsa West Need’ Prominent Bayelsa political leaders and elders have called on the people of Sagbama and Ekeremor to give the requisite support to the former Governor of Bayelsa State, the Honourable Henry Seriake Dickson in the bid for the Bayelsa West Senatorial slot in the National Assembly.

The elders unanimously agreed that Hon. Dickson was the best candidate for the Senatorial slot and should be supported by all to fill the vacant position.

They stressed that Bayelsa West and the Ijaw nation required a person with a vast knowledge of the workings of the National Assembly like

Dickson who served the area effectively as a member of the House of Representatives.

The political leaders noted that there shouldn’t have been any need for a contest for the vacant position if not for the need for election in a democracy to fill the position going by the former Governor’s antecedents, achievements and demonstrated commitment to the development of the Ijaw nation. The leaders and elders, in a statement signed by Former commissioner, former Chairman Governing Council, Federal Polytechnic, Ekowe, Hon. Etiffa Bekeakpo and former Senior Special As-

sistant to President Jonathan on Household and Domestic Matters, Chief Sylbriks Obiriki on Thursday, said that the political leaders after extensive deliberations decided to go for the ex-Governor because of his track record as a politician who displayed incontrovertible commitment to the defence and promotion the interest of the Ijaw nation.

They described former Governor Dickson as an asset who was available to be utilised to contribute to the pressing need to defend the burning issues of interest to Bayelsa, the Ijaw nation and the Niger Delta.

A pastor of the Believers’ Ministry Church Incorporated, Benin, one Otobong Emerson, was among suspects, paraded by the Edo State Police Command yesterday, for defiling siblings aged six, seven, nine and another minor aged 11.

Edo State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP. Chidi Nwabazor, while parading the suspect, said he had confessed to the offence.

Emerson, aged 48, while confessing to the crime said, after having carnal knowledge of the minors multiple times, he had to confess to his General Overseer for his deeds, adding that a spirit influenced him to do so. “After sleeping with them for several times, my conscience

started judging me, so I went to confess to my G.O. I don’t know what pushed me. I don’t really know what is wrong with me, I really feel sober for my deed.�

In another development, the Command also paraded one Patrick Ayesan, aged 38, for having carnal knowledge and impregnating his 18 years old daughter.

The suspect made confessional statement to the offence, and thereafter, was charged to court and was consequently sentenced to 10 years imprisonment while his daughter is currently with the state Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.

He confessed that he had been sleeping with his daughter since January 2020, adding that he got into it whenever the urge

for sex comes.

He disclosed that mother of the girl was no more with him, hence he stayed with his daughter at Okosa community, Iguobasuwa, Ovia South-west Local Government Area of the state.

He confessed, “ I only sleep with her when my body moves, and started sleeping with her January this year. My wife is no more with me, so myself and my daughter stay together, and I sleep with her when the urge comes.�

The police command also paraded one Joshua Aiworo, aged 38, and his wife, Blessing Ogieva, aged 25, for stealing and selling a baby of two months and seven days to one Felicia Imaguomaruomwan at the rate of N300,000.

Mysterious Deaths in Jigawa Attributed to ‘Pre-existing Chronic Illnesses’ Ibrahim Shuaibu Ă“Ă˜ Ă&#x;ĂžĂ?Ă?

The five-man committee set up

by Jigawa State Government to investigate recent strange deaths in Hadejia town has attributed the incidence to pre-existing chronic illnesses.

The five-man committee also revealed that the number of deaths recorded in the area was not related to COVID-19.

The committee Chairman, Dr. Mahmud Abdulwahab said the investigation which was conducted with WHO and NCDC officials collected three set of data from the Hospital, community and the two graveyards.

Dr. Mahmud said at the hospital they recorded 44 deaths over a week period, at the community there were 46 deaths while at the two graveyards in the town 92

deaths were recorded. “Our finding was that none of the deceased had history of travel to any state where there is cases of Coronavirus. “Similarly, none of them also had history of contact with anybody that was suspected or confirmed of having COVID-19. “Incidentally also 70 per cent of the 46 people that died in the community within the one week period had pre-existing illness; either they had diabetes, stroke, liver disease, and dementia or kidney diseases. “So you can see that they were above 60 years of age and were already having pre-existing chronic illnesses,� he said.

According to him, only one of the deceased had symptoms the community suspected of COVID-19 because he had fever, difficulty in breathing and

diahrial disease, cough and chest pain. “So it was only one person out of the 46 that had these symptoms that are suggestive of COVID-19 and unfortunately he died at home and no sample was taken. He said the committee would have recommended to the state government that his close contacts especially his family be quarantined and possibly, samples be taken to make sure that the state was not dealing with COVID-19 disease in the town. “So overall our conclusion is that there is no significant increase in mortality in Hadejia because we have compared our data with our previous data especially from the hospital and the graveyard count we conducted that week and the week before.

9

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž Î 2020

08054699539

COVID-19: The Way to Go is Herbal

I

n most third world countries, we love waiting for the Western world to do virtually everything for us. With Coronavirus, we are also waiting for them to come up with drugs and vaccines.

What a shame. Our leaders that should lead the match towards change suffer from extreme neo-colonial mentality and are so happy to continue on that lane. Western countries have total lockdown in place, so we have to also impose a total lockdown.

They are working on drugs and vaccines, so we have to wait for them as if we don’t have anything here. For me, COVID-19 manifests all the symptoms of what is called Ako Iba (high fever) in South-west Nigeria and can be effectively tackled with herbs.

Few days back, the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Chikwe Ihekweazu was threatening Nigerians with another total lockdown if they continue to violate some health guidelines.

He fears new cases of Coronavirus will arise from non-compliance with health guidelines in some parts of the country where the total lockdown was lifted. The likes of Ihekweazu only think in terms of what the Western world is doing. The truth is that even if we lockdown from now till eternity, without the government taking pragmatic actions, cases of Coronavirus will continue to rise.

Tackling Coronavirus is not supposed to be a big deal. The deaths recorded are needless. With our approach at present in Nigeria, we won’t have enough bed if there is a surge of patients. The way to go is herbal, which we can all apply at home. My personal experience in the last six weeks is a pointer to this. I placed myself on herb tea that is both preventive and curative. It is tested and trusted by my kinsmen in the South-west. The ingredients are Lemon Grass, Osan Wewe leaves, Dogoyaro, Mango and Paw Paw leaves, two mediun size lemons (to be sliced into the pot) and small Ginger. Just put them in a pot; boil all for 45 minutes and you are good to go. Take a cup in the morning and night and you are protected against any virus, including Coronavirus. These are plants that are readily available across our country with documented evidence of their efficacy.

Few weeks back, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, unveiled another tested herbal combination that can kill Coronavirus. According to him, the following herbs are potent enough to heal anyone down with COVID-19: Boundary tree leaves (Botanical name is Newbouldia laevis, Yoruba is Ewe Akoko); Neem leaves and fruits or Indian lilac (Botanical name is Azadirachta Indica, Yoruba is Ewe Dogoyaro); Onion; Forest Anchomanes (Botanical name is Anchomanes difformis, Yoruba

Wike

is Ogirisako); Aridan (Botanical name is Tetrapleura tetraptera); African pepper/ Ngero pepper/Guinea pepper; Bitter leaf and Sulfur.�

Some of the components of my herbal tea and that of the Ooni are in the anti-COVID-19 herbal medicine developed in Madagascar.

This country’s “Covid-Organics�, is an herbal remedy made from local plants that are also used to cure malaria. Madagascar has been using it to treat COVID-19 patients successfully. This remedy is also used for prevention.

The languid World Health Organization (WHO), a neo-colonial tool, is only interested in COVID-19 drugs from laboratories of Western countries. That was why it said there was no proof that Madagascar’s “Covid-Organics� works. WHO says the only hope for the world is in a vaccine expected from Western workrooms. Is this not preposterous? This global health manager bluntly refused to carry out any scientific test on Covid-Organics and issued a warning against people using the remedies for Coronavirus, saying: “Africans deserve access to medicines that have gone through proper trials even if they are derived from traditional treatments.� WHO is headed by an African, who is evidently just a tool in the hands of the West. Madagascar has provided scientific data on the safety and efficacy of this herbal tonic but WHO pretends

it’s unaware of this. Many outside the continent think nothing good can come out of Africa. They will be forced back to the reality that Africa has the solution to this global pandemic.

Some African countries, including Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea and Liberia, have already ordered CovidOrganics, produced from the artemisia plant - the source of an ingredient used in malaria treatment - and other Malagasy plants. Last week, Niger Republic received a consignment of the herbal tea from Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina.

He hopes to distribute the infusion across West Africa and beyond. We have our own potent Covid-Organics in Nigeria. Let’s cuddle it.

I challenge WHO to pick Covid-Organics and commence its lengthy process, in which potential drugs are tested in four phases, scaling up from a trial on a small number of patients to using it on a population countrywide. Three teams of Western researchers - Germans, Danish and Americans - are already combining efforts to carry out analysis on the preventive and curative scope of the use of Covid-Organics for the treatment of Coronavirus.

Total lockdown has done more damage than good to this country. We should also learn from the COVID-19 experience of Sweden. In this Scandinavian country, there is no lockdown, no shuttered businesses or schools, no stay-at-home and no disaster.

With a death rate significantly lower than all other European Union countries, Swedes can enjoy their lives without panic or fear of reigniting a new epidemic as they go about their day in a largely normal fashion. This model is built on calibrated precautions and isolating only the most vulnerable than imposing a full lockdown. Sweden bucked the conventional wisdom of every other nation and carefully examined the insubstantial evidence that social-isolation controls would help reduce COVID-19 deaths over the full course of the virus.

There is no scientific consensus on most of the Western measures taken so far against Coronavirus by WHO. So, Nigeria as a country should be careful about how we go about adopting them.

Just this week, a former WHO doctor, Professor Karol Sikora, said the excruciating social distancing rule was needless. He rubbished the two-metre social distancing rule put in place by most governments of the world, saying it should be scrapped as it has no scientific backing. Different countries have different guidelines on social distancing, which is based on the idea that the closer you are to someone who is infected with Coronavirus, the greater the risk of contracting the disease. According to

Danna

Akeredolu and Ondo Workers’ Deductions

Akeredolu

The Trauma of Maryam Danna For those who have not been following her story, a quick recap. Mrs. Maryam Danna, an accountant, was General Manager (Audit and Compliance with the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC).

She was the whistle-blower who exposed corrupt practices and other irregularities in the federal agency some time in 2016.

Some NDPHC officials were thereafter suspended. Surprisingly, few months after, the indicted officials were reabsorbed and promoted. Rather than being rewarded, Danna was arbitrarily sacked without justification in July 2016. When people close to President Buhari hinted him about the case, he directed that Danna be reinstated in the agency. In a memo dated October 25, 2016, the Justice Minister, Abubakar Malami (SAN), wrote the late Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, intimating him of the decision of the President in which he

the WHO, a distance of one metre is safe, while countries have advised a distance of as much as five meters.

But Sikora, an Oncologist, said changing government guidelines on how far apart people should stand will be key in getting more people back to work as major governments of the world ease lockdowns caused by the Coronavirus crisis. He said: “The way we use our drugs and the way we do investigations have bases in science, but this two-metre rule has nothing. The politicians are lost because they get conflicting advice.

There is no science about the separation.

There are some studies on droplet spread from people that have been done in the past but they are not conclusive.�

On the flip side, it is heartwarming that the Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine Department of the Federal Ministry of Health has taken a pragmatic step in support of Nigerian herbs for the treatment of Coronavirus. It has come up with an herbal cough mixture made of Nigerian medicinal plants for the treatment of COVID-19 patients’ respiratory challenges and wants approval from NAFDAC. The herbs blended for the cough mixture are Garlic, Onions, Ginger, West African Black Pepper and Baobab fruit. These plants have documented scientific evidence for the management of cough and other respiratory infections. I urge NAFDAC to quickly carry out necessary procedures for the listing of this herbal medicine.

had ordered a recall of the widow to her job at NDPHC. That has not happened after almost four years.

Danna took her case to the 8th Senate under the leadership of Bukola Saraki. A resolution was passed on May 3, 2018, ordering Danna’s immediate recall to her position at NDPHC. This did not also happen.

Her case came up again in the 9th Senate under the leadership of Ahmad Lawan and the upper legislative chamber dispatched a letter in March this year to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, urging him to direct the Managing Director of the NDPHC to comply with and implement its resolution on the case of Mrs. Danna. This traumatised woman is still waiting for this to happen. Today, I urge SGF Mustapha to, in the interest of justice and fair play, ensure the recall of Mrs. Danna.

The organised labour in Ondo State is angry with Governor Rotimi Akeredolu and justifiably too. When salaries are paid to civil servants, deductions for cooperatives, loans and union dues are hardly remitted. This has been on for months.

The Chairman, Ondo State branch of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Oluwole Adeleye bluntly told Akeredolu during the last May Day celebration to amend his ways on unremitted deductions, else the workers will show him their ugly side. Civil servants in this state have up to four months unremitted cooperative deductions, which form the bulk of savings for them. According to Adeleye, this has disrupted operations of many cooperative societies with many workers experiencing untold hardship.

This inhuman act has to end. I am shocked that it is happening under Akeredolu, who was a human rights activist before he became governor. He should swiftly respond to the yearnings of the workers by remitting all deductions from their salaries.

10

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MAY 9, 2020

SUPER SATURDAY

The ‘Trial’ of Clarence Peters World-class video director/cinematographer, Clarence Peters, is evidently going through the most difficult period of his life, following the bizarre death of music video dancer, Love Divine Ike (aka Picture Kodak) in his studio in Lagos. Clarence was invited and detained by the police for a few days. He is now out on bail while investigation continues. Will this gentleman come out unblemished? Ferdinand Ekechukwu reports

“P

Clarence Peters

lease note that no one has been charged or arrested, by the police. The witnesses and I willingly made ourselves available to the police and we have all pledged our full co-operation, through every part of this process. I will be helping out in every possible capacity.”

That was in part the statement given by ace video director and cinematographer, Clarence Peters following the allegation of murder of video vixen, Love Divine Ike, aka Picture Kodak.

The popular music video dancer, with Instagram handle @ picturekodak, was said to have been electrocuted while charging her phone in Clarence Peters’ Lagos home on Wednesday, April 29. Police in Lagos had detained Peters and four others, due to circumstances surrounding her death. However, when the news of the vixen’s death became public knowledge, Nigerians while commiserating with the victim’s family, demanded an investigation to unravel the true circumstances surrounding Kodak’s death.

Though, Clarence Peters had debunked report of him being arrested, he revealed in the statement that he willingly made himself available to the Lagos State Police on Monday May 4.

Bala Elkana, spokesperson of the state police command had in a chat stated that Clarence was being investigated for murder. He said since the incident happened in Clarence’s apartment, himself and some others, who were present at the time of the unfortunate incident, had been invited.

According to the force spokesperson, ‘’Yes it is true; he is in our custody answering some questions. We are investigating the circumstances that led to her death; so, definitely, there are questions investigators will need to find out and he is one of those that need to answer some of those questions; that is why he has been invited and some few others who were there,’’ Bala said.

When asked if they will be detained beyond that Monday May, he responded. “They are detained. It is full-fledged investigation. It is a murder charge. We are probably looking at murder.

We are not concluding at this stage. If she died of electrocution according to reports, it is left for us to find out. Was she actually electrocuted? What went wrong?

“Autopsy will also show,’’ he said.

However, a crew member who claimed to have been a witness to the death of video vixen had narrated how she died, while insisting that Clarence was not at the scene. The crew member known as Melvn gave his narration of the event after Clarence Peters was called in for questioning over Kodak’s death at his house. Melvn, according to a report, said Clarence was not present when Kodak died, a claim which was also made by Clarence longtime girlfriend, Jennifer Alegieuno. He also claimed that

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MAY 9, 2020

11

SUPERSATURDAY The ‘Trial’ of Clarence Peters...

Clarence Peters and Love Divine Ike the incident happened in a studio, and not in Clarence’s house. Recounting the events that led to her death, Melvn began his narration by warning against the use of phones with a metal body.

Melvn said Kodak was charging her phone which has a metal cover and she was also trying to use a metal socket while her body was sweaty with no shoes. He added that, suddenly, they heard a bang which got them curious. He said: “We looked back to see what happened and saw a spark on LD’s phone lying on her chest, we rushed to her and saw that she had been electrocuted. We carried her somewhere safer, tried to revive her, she was responding with gasps, her colleague was calling her name, I went out to call for help, (and) then Clearance was notified.

“After first aid, we carried her in a car and went to hospital in the estate, they wouldn’t even open gate.

We moved to another hospital, finally, doctor came and checked her and said she was dead….” To Clarence Peter’s girlfriend, Jennifer Alegieuno, the makeup artist, said the investigation carried out by the IPO in charge of the case after the on-scene investigation was done and the body visited at the morgue, concluded that the death was a result of a natural accident.

Alegieuno added: “Events took a different turn when The DCP- Yetunde Longe, came in and asked that the report be torn. She wrote a second one that she tore again. By the third report, then came in Mr. Oye and his father Sir Shina Peters and she (Yetunde Longe) couldn’t continue with her foul play. She agreed they had no case

with him and the rest of the witnesses. So why are they still holding him? Everyone asked and she said she was waiting for the autopsy result so she can attach it. When she saw she had been caught, she sent them to put out a press statement that he was charged for murder. So thinking Nigerians, can someone be charged without an autopsy conducted?”

Until her death, the top dancer worked with a number of top artistes like Olamide, Burna Boy, Korra Obidi and ace dancer, Kaffy among others.

When Clarence spoke to defend himself in a lengthy statement five days after Kodak died, he said he was not in the same building with the late dancer when the unfortunate incident occurred. He also said his attention was called only after Kodak collapsed; claiming that two hospitals they had rushed the late dancer to assumed she was a COVID-19 patient. He added that they refused to admit her.

He wrote on Instagram: “On the 29th of April 2020, Love Divine Ike (Picture Kodak) was in the dance studio, on the premises of Capital Dreams Pictures, with 5 other team members and myself - 7 people in total.

“At about 7:30 pm on the same day, while in another office - a building beside the dance studio, on the same premises, some people who were said to be with Love Divine at the time, rushed in and called my attention to the fact that Love Divine had collapsed. We immediately rushed her to the nearest hospital, which refused to let us into their premises, let alone admit her. They assumed she

was a Covid-19 patient. We tried, but we were not able to gain entry into a second hospital.

“We eventually got her to a third hospital where she was pronounced dead 30 minutes after arrival. I was not physically in the same room with her when the incident occurred, and when I inquired, I was told by those present at the scene that Love Divine, while taking a break from the dance session, was sitting on one of the metal sliding door rails, charging and using her phone plugged to an extension box.

“The witnesses didn’t realize anything was wrong, until they saw down, and they noticed smoke coming from her chest area. She was said to have been electrocuted, her phone was found on her chest, with severe burn marks, and the phone’s imprint on her chest. The witnesses were taken to the Ojodu Police Headquarters straight from the hospital where statements were taken and the phone (which had traces of burnt flesh on it) was deposited.

“Love Divine and the entire West Life Crew was a huge part of Capital Dreams Pictures, and losing her hurts us all deeply. She was an exemplary person and a legend in her own rights. We will miss her very much. Words will never be enough to describe what her family is going through in these things trying times. My thoughts and prayers are with them, and I ask God to grant them all the strength & fortitude at this time. This is a truly difficult time for us all, and we’re asking for a lot of patience and goodwill from the general public, in these difficult times.”

12

Î Ëœ ͺ͸ͺ͸ Ëž THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

COMMENTARY

WIGWE: BETWEEN FACT AND FICTION Herbert Wigwe, Group Managing Director of Access Bank, is a good man, writes Jackson Ugbechie

O

ne noble attribute of the average African is that he or she seeks opportunity to do good. The African man is his brother’s keeper. This ďŹ nds strong expression in an Igbo adage: “Let no one leave his kindred behind.â€?Access Bank and its Group Managing Director, Herbert Wigwe, just did that as Nigeria and indeed the rest of the world buckle under the Covid-19 pandemic.

Wigwe and his bank donated N1 billion apiece to a common purse managed by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under the auspices Coalition Against Covid-19 (CACovid). The donation was not directly to the Federal Government. It was to be administered by the apex bank for the building of isolation centres and acquisition of other medical facilities to combat the pandemic. Other corporate bodies and good-hearted Nigerians also contributed to the purse. By last count, over N27 billion had been donated into the purse.

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, oil magnate Femi Otedola are among the donors. Politicians like Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar also made donations in their own unique ways. It was clearly a freewill donation. Corporates who donated only fulfilled a part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR). Every year, corporate organisations vote millions and billions for CSR, as a way of giving back to the society. In recent years, CSR has become an integral component of corporate budgets and budgeting.

It helps to give capitalism a human face. It’s become a powerful public relations tool. If you make money from a community, it’s only fair that you donate to the same community. It is part of global best practices. Corporates now recognise that an organisation is as good as its environment; that profit is not everything but impact is. Wigwe and his bank chose the path of impact. They chose to add value to society, to be a part of the solution to a plague that got the whole world into a lockdown mode. The efforts of these corporates and individuals is noble and commendable, especially as they are not under compulsion to give. What they donated was used to build isolation centres in all the six zones of the country. It was to serve all Nigerians, poor or rich, irrespective of ethnic configuration. And truly, all categories of Nigerians have been profiting from these donations. The very fact that Nigeria has been able to increase the number of test centres, increase number and capacity of medics and successfully treated and discharged over 600 covid-19 patients owes largely to the efforts and goodwill of these donors. It’s therefore unfair to vilify any of these donors under any guise.

Wigwe, a chartered accountant, banker and economist while explaining reasons for the donation said: “In our characteristic manner of offering ‘more than banking,’ Access Bank is at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19. Through our various projects, we are looking to support the government and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) by providing facilities that can serve as both testing and isolation centres. “Despite the strides being made, we implore all Nigerians to adhere to stipulated social distancing guidelines, and practice regular hand-washing as directed by the World Health Organization. We are positive that we can beat the spread of the virus, if we all comply with

WIGWE AND HIS BANK CHOSE THE PATH OF IMPACT. THEY CHOSE TO ADD VALUE TO SOCIETY, TO BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION TO A PLAGUE THAT GOT THE WHOLE WORLD INTO A LOCKDOWN MODE

the safety measures as advised by the NCDC and WHO,� he stressed.

Worthy of note is the fact that the same bank made similar donation in Ghana and got rave commendation, not denigration. Access Bank donated a fully equipped ambulance to the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) to improve health care delivery on campus and in the community in which it operates. The ambulance, which will be managed by the UPSA Clinic on campus, is equipped with basic emergency kits such as oxygen inhaler, fire extinguisher, stretcher among others. While the bank has been roundly commended in Ghana for its gesture, the contrary is the case in Nigeria where it gave even more. Is this a case of a prophet not being honoured at home?

Outside Africa, other public-spirited individuals and corporates have continued to make donations in cash and in kind. Chinese billionaire and e-commerce mogul Jack Ma has his donations shared across the world including Nigeria. World richest man, Bill Gates of Microsoft fame, through his foundation has been dishing out money to find a cure for the virus. He has already splashed $250 million of his money for this cause. He, too, needs commendation, not vilification.

It is therefore shocking to hear some Nigerians pour venom on Wigwe and his bank for making donations in the manner they did.

It is an act of ingratitude to say the least. His maligners point to an imaginary sacking of Access Bank staff and an anticipated cutting of salary of staff as reasons for their criticism. Here, they miss the mark.

The bank has not sacked any staff on account of covid-19 economic impact. Staff sacked were non-essential casual workers inherited from Diamond Bank which it acquired recently. Staff rationalisation is usually a consequence of mergers and acquisition. To continue to hold to the notion of staff layoff, therefore, is to continue to dwell on fiction, not fact. Even with the intervention of CBN on staff layoffs, the impact of covid-19 on businesses cannot be ignored. Some Nigerian corporates including media houses have served notices to staff of inevitable layoff. The biggest and profitable global conglomerates have furloughed staff, some embarking on outright sack. General Motors, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), Air Canada, Marriot (the world’s largest hotel conglomerate), Tesla (the automobile maker) have furloughed staff in thousands. The sombre song is same in South Africa and other parts of Africa, Asia and Europe. Note that most of these corporates also donated for the cause of Covid-19 in their respective countries.

Commercial ventures are no charities. They mind the bottom-line.

Singling out Wigwe and his bank for purloining on a false premise of staff layoff is a show of ingratitude to a man of immense goodwill and a corporate citizen that has a history of public good. The Malaria to Zero initiative, Access Lagos Marathon, the “W� Initiative which seeks to broaden women participation in entrepreneurship, the UNICEF Charity Shield Polo Tournament 2016, and Health Awareness Programs focusing on awareness and sensitization on: Sickle Cell, Diabetes, HIV/AIDS, Cancer, Obstetric Fistula amongst other health-related challenges are a few of the many public-good ventures undertaken by the bank. Wigwe and his bank deserve garland, not guillotine.

Ugbechie wrote from Abuja

COVID-19 MANAGEMENT: LATE STEPS AND MISSTEPS

John Danfulani writes that government should compel adherence to laws designed to stop community transmission of Covid-19

D

regs of information from Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Presidential Task Force(PTF), and other Covid-19 watchdogs piqued that the terminator disease is in most of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory(FCT). The high frequency of its spread and lethal casualties has become an unprecedented calamity.

A critical perusal of variables responsible for Covid-19’s speedy surge are internal and external-thus multifarious or multifaceted in outlook. However, two factors are outstanding: first, unprofessional management and coordination by the federal government committees and agencies; and second, denial syndrome by influential community and religious leaders in some parts of country.

Most, if not all reasons for Covid-19’s spike are attributable to FGN’s tactical and strategic blunders when a few cases were discovered.

They wobbled effort by reacting sluggishly or refusing to act, completely. Example of those procrastinations were lateness in closing our borders and invoking and deploying of the Quarantine Act. Late closure of our entry points made asymptomatic and a few symptomatic persons running from the epicenter of Covid-19 (Europe) slipped-in and disappeared to various states and the FCT. Next to FGN’s inactions and sluggish actions were tactless and thoughtless composition of the PTF on Covid-19, and palliatives distribution team(s) under the ministry of disaster management. Characters in these and other teams are some perfect examples of square pegs in round holes. A run through the list gives no room for second guessing that they

will not deliver. It’s commonsensical that people can’t give what they don’t have.

The right people to be in PTF are: scientists; public health experts; representatives of all medical associations, some key agencies of federal ministry of health, governors forum, NCDC, NOA, and CMDs of tertiary health institutions, WHO representative can be an observer/adviser. A representative of the ministry of external affairs should also be in the loop. An internationally known public health expert like Prof. Emeritus Umaru Shehu or any of such professionals should head the team.

The PTF should have power and authority to: a) give daily briefings to Nigerians; b) when/where/how to lockdown should be dictated by them; and c) when/where/how to relax lockdowns should be recommended by them. Again, they should have unimpeded power to embark on international procurement of essentials like PPE, ventilators, sanitizers, gloves, etc. Crucial: they should have a 24/7 access to the president along with the minister of health and NCDC boss.

Covid-19 crippled economies of developed and less developed countries. Countries recessions automatically pushed citizens to economic depression. To cushion the unexpected and sudden consequences of covid-19 on Nigerians, the FGN embarked on palliative schemes. Like the PTF, the composition of the team was very lame. The composition should have been made of; NLC, JNI, CAN, political parties, traditional ruler (who are the gatekeepers of communities) from each geo-political zones, and a few NGOs that already have mapped out areas and have been involved in community development at

the grassroots.

There is much to believe that a committee with members cutting across various facets of life will be able to identify the class in need of palliatives. And most importantly, avenues to route the palliatives to the targeted layer of our societies. Lack of this broadbase representation is responsible for allegations of unholy and sharp practices by the agencies and the mother ministry responsible for sharing of the palliatives. For example, while the lockdown was on, the committee claimed to share palliatives to over 2m people in FCT within 24hrs. Still, we saw photos and read horrific stories of how expired by extension poisonous rice were sent to states. Some stories associated with distribution are appalling, scandalous and highly ungodly.

Wrong steps have been taken by the FG, the negative consequences are telling. To freeze the rampage of Covid-19, FG should immediately reverse most of its decision in tandem with recommendations advanced hereinbefore.

Adopting a headlong attitude will make Belinda Gates prediction of corpses littering the streets come to nought.

SGF Boss Mustapha, Alh Lai Mohammed and their team must accept this incontrovertible reality that we are fighting a war with an invincible foe. The enemy can’t be defeated with propaganda, politics of confusion/deceit and throwing of unprofessional claims in the public domain.

On his part, Mr. President should hike his visibility. His fortnightly recorded broadcasts are far below expectations. The whole world is in a war with a deadly enemy, his actions and

utterances must reflect that reality. He should take a cue from his colleagues like Presidents Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa who are symbolically appearing in military uniforms.

One fact is known: our C-in-C is fragile due to age and failing health. Sequel to that, he should delegate such and similar tasks to his much younger and mentally strong vice president that the cabal rendered redundant.

Now is good time to end his ghosting from the public radar.

Nigerians should adhere to covid-19 safety guidelines published by NCDC, WHO, public health experts, their doctors, scientists and other pandemic watchdogs. Hanging to some cultural mores and religious beliefs will boomerang. There must be a complete change and upgrade of attitude to flow with the exigencies of the moment. Lest they forget, cultural mores and religions will cease if every soul on earth - in this case Nigeria is terminated by Covid-19 or any other pandemic for that matter. Only the living worship and practice traditional rites.

Lastly, governments at all strata should compel adherence to laws designed to stop community transmission. And descend mightily on so-called community or religious leaders violating guidelines in the name of worship or whatsoever. Safety of lives is a traditional schedule that has been part of all social contracts from time immemorial. In moments like this, government must be seeing passionately and religiously discharging this task irrespective of whose ox is gored.

Dr. Danfulani wrote from Kaduna

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INSIGHT

To assist in containing the pandemic...

A Letter to MUSWEN Leadership on MURIC

Africa, Covid-19 and Child’s Right

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Children are not the face of this pandemic. But they risked being among its biggest victims. While they have thankfully been largely spared from the direct health effects of COVID-19 at least to date, the crisis is having a profound effect on their wellbeing. All children, of all ages, and in all countries, are being affected, in particular by the socio-economic impacts and, in some cases, by mitigation measures that may inadvertently do more harm than good. This is a universal crisis and, for some children, the impact will be lifelong. Moreover, the harmful effects of this pandemic will not be distributed equally. They are expected to be most damaging for children in the poorest countries and in the poorest neighborhoods, and for those in already disadvantaged or vulnerable situations.

UNESCO estimates that over 89% are currently out of school because of COVID-19 closures. This represents 1.54 billion children and youth enrolled in school or university, including nearly 743 million girls. Over 111 million of these girls are living in the world’s least developed countries where getting an education is already a struggle.

As Covid-19 forces 743 million girls out of school in 185 countries, there are concerns that rising drop-out rates will disproportionately affect adolescent girls.

This will widen gender gaps in education and lead to increased risk of sexual exploitation, early and unintended pregnancy, and child’s early and forced marriage. Government must take steps to mitigate the effect of school closures on girls, boys and their families.

With gradual ease of lockdowns globally, Nigerian education authorities and schools must ensure education continues in the event of school closures and for schools that remains open support and precautions to prevent and control the spread of Covid-19 must be strictly followed to the last.

According to Plan-international, out of the total population of students enrolled in education globally, the risks posed by the Covid-19 crisis to children are enormous. The Nigerian government should work urgently to protect children during the pandemic, but also to consider how their decisions now will best uphold children’s rights after the crisis ends. Similarly, millions of refugee, migrants or internally displaced children live in overcrowded camps, informal reception centers, or quarter settlement, where basic Covid-19 prevention measures such as constant hand washing, sanitizers and social distancing are nearly impossible.

These brings to forefront, the plight of the almajiris in the northern part of the country and various IDP camps across the nation.

University of the people highlighted some alternative measures that can be adopted during closure of schools because of Covid-19. Government needs to take urgent measures to protect children’s rights by prioritizing effort to continue education for all

children, using all available technology; expanding public education awareness campaigns, hotlines and other services for children at risk of violence in the home or online sexual exploitation; increasing efforts to identify children orphaned by Covid-19 and expanding networks of extended family and foster care; providing economic assistance, including cash transfers, to low-income families that will be hit first and hardest to help them meet basic needs without resorting to child labour or child marriage. Many schools and universities are opting to continue their normal classes on online platforms. This includes the use of online tools such as group video programs, that allow teachers and students to meet and conduct classes over the internet.

In light of the pandemic, and the interruption of normal education, many online educational platforms have been advertising free educational tools for students around the world who are stuck at home.

Companies such as Scholastic and Coursera are advertising free online course to encourage students to continue learning at home, and websites such as UNESCO and OPENCULTURE are creating list of free online courses and resources for anyone who wishes to learn at home.

Grace O.Abu, Program Assistant, Women&Children’s Safety Program, Cal-Maji Foundation

I

write this open letter to you (Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria leadership) as a devoted muslim to express my deepest concern about the regular divisive and inammatory activities of a said muslim organization popularly known as Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) led by Prof. Ishaq Akintola in South - Western Nigeria.

Foremost, I must draw your attention to the monumental havoc recorded due to religious bigotry in Nigeria. The Maitatsine movement religious violence in some Northern states around 1980s, the muslims and christians’ riot in Kaduna in 2000, the 2001 crisis in Kano and Jos, the 2002 religious mayhem in Abia State, the 2004 Adamawa crisis and the 2009 Bauchi violence, among others, claimed thousands of lives and property.

Religious bigotry has been a longstanding menace to social stability and communal cohesion in some sections of Nigeria. The intolerance stemmed from unconscious misinterpretation and fanatical adherence to religious principles.

Religious bigotry is usually laced with political undertones in the contemporary times. The ember of this disharmony is fanned to actualize some political goals across the country.

The South West has a rich history of religious

harmony and social stability. Virtually, every religious leader has embraced and maintained this heritage through religious teachings and exemplary character to their followers despite some irreconcilable tenets in each religious activity. The myriad beliefs were being managed in the region until the formation of MURIC. MURIC is on the verge of throwing the cordial relationship and mutual respect existing among religious adherents in the South West into the dusbin of history. It has continued to label the non - muslims all sorts of derogatory appellations and raises false alarms likely to cause religious tension.

The motive behind MURIC establishment transcends this peripheral outlook. MURIC resembles a product of political calculation configured to achieve future political goals. A movement targeted at dividing the South Western people along religious lines for political agenda.

I sincerely hope my observations are treated with urgency to avert the ticking time bomb of terrorism and religious crisis in the South West.

The genesis of Boko Haram insurgency in the North West still lingers in my heart.

Binzak Azeez, Faculty of Law, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife

Farewell Balarabe Maikaba T H E SAT U R DAY N E W S PA P E R EDITOR YEMI ADEBOWALE DEPUTY EDITOR CHIKA AMANZE-NWACHUKU MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN MANAGING EDITOR JOSEPH USHIGIALE

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

W

hen I received the report of the demise of Prof Balarabe Maikaba, reservoir of Communication Research, my mood altered instantly. I started to sweat as my entire body was shaking. Is it true? If it’s, then what caused his sudden death? When and where did he die? Who will teach Communication Research Methods’ in an enjoyable way like Maikaba did? What is really happening in Kano?

My answer to the questions was Inna lilLahi wa Inna Ilaihir Raji’un! Ya Allah forgive him. Balarabe Maikaba was the first professor to teach me in my life after I gained admission through Direct Entry to study Mass Communication at Bayero University, Kano. I can vividly recall his first class with us on the topic: Documentation - How to cite references and bibliographies. Looking at the bulkiness of the topic, the hardworking professor used about three separate lecture schedules explaining everything in detail. His prayer was, ‘’I wish I have enough time to teach you this’’. I respect Prof. because of this sentence. It shows that he cares about his students and always willing to contribute his knowledge. Prof. specialized in giving advice and sharing his experience as well as having fun with his students.

Bilyaminu Gambo Abubakar, Bayero University, Kano.

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NEWS

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

Wike Arrests 14 Hidden in Trailers Conveying Cattle to Port Harcourt Mobile Court convicts 170 persons for violating lockdown Ernest ChinwoinPortHarcourt Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has arrested 14 persons hidden in two trailers conveying cattle from Adamawa State to Port Harcourt.

This is as a mobile court sitting in Port Harcourt convicted 170 persons for violating the lockdown of Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor Local Government Areas of the state.

Speaking on the arrests on the first day of the lockdown, Wike said the trailers were intercepted following intelligence from well-meaning Nigerians who saw them making

their way into Port Harcourt.

They were arrested at Rumuigbo in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.

Wike ordered the prosecution of the 14 persons by the Mobile Court constituted by the administration under the Executive Order 6 signed for the declaration of the lockdown.

He also directed the State Ministry of Health to conduct tests on the 14 persons to ascertain their Coronavirus status.

He said: “This fight has nothing to do with individuals. The law must take its course. You are aware of

what is happening and then some people want to illegally smuggle persons into the state. “The Port Harcourt and Obio/ Akpor are under lockdown and the law must be obeyed. The trailers and the cows will be auctioned tomorrow. “ Wike said the arrest of the trailers had vindicated him, as the security agencies had failed the people of Rivers State as they collected money and allowed defaulters to slip through the border. “You heard them saying that they gave money to the security

agencies before they were allowed to cross the border. The owner of the cattle in the phone interview said they have fallen short of the law,� he said.

He decried the level of desperation to smuggle people into Rivers State, but assured the people that the State Government would remain vigilant, despite the challenges it is facing.

One of the defaulters, Ahmed Aliyu, said they were contracted from Adamawa State to bring cattle to one Alhaji at the new slaughter in Oyigbo, adding that he thought that the lockdown will start by 10p.m.

Ekiti to Establish Own Laboratory PDP Chieftain Urges Sensitisation Victor Ogunje Ă“Ă˜ ĂŽĂ™ ÕÓÞÓ Yaya-Kolade, who said the state Of Rural Communities presently had seven patients on The Ekiti State Government has disclosed its readiness to set up a Covid-19 laboratory facility in the state to increase the capability for more tests for the residents.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Mojisola Yaya-Kolade, said this facility would be provided

by Governor Kayode Fayemi, in partnership with well-meaning Ekiti indigenes and other private sponsors.

Yaya-Kolade spoke in Ado Ekiti on Friday, during a COVID-19 update press conference held by the task force in charge of the pandemic.

She said: “The federal government promised to provide a facility but it has not been forthcoming. The Governor, Dr. Fayemi now used his own initiative to reach out to well-meaning Ekiti indigenes and friends to provide a facility that will boost our testing capacity. “We are very optimistic that the testing kits, reagents and other materials to be used will arrive Ekiti next week,� she said.

admission, hinted that some of them have turned negative but still awaiting second tests before they can be discharged. “All of them are also stable. We are still tracing about 11 contacts who had contacts with the patients in isolation.�

On the number of results being awaited, Yaya-Kolade stated that blood samples were being taken continuously, especially for those who entered the state through illegal means. “Some people who came into Ekiti and those who are manifesting signs are being quarantined and their blood samples were being taken on daily basis. “We are determined to ensure that Ekiti records no death again and our testing capability is still going to be increased with the test laboratory we are planning for Ekiti.�

Yaya-Kolade clarified that Ekiti had not absolutely banned burial ceremony, saying such could be done with proper approval from the state government.

Sylvester Idowu inWarri

A Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Delta State Governorship aspirant, Chief Sunny Onueoske has called on the Federal and States Governments to take Covid-19 sensitisation campaign to the rural communities to curtail its spread.

He also urged Nongovernmental Organisations (NGOs) as well as Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to complement the government’s campaign on the protocols set out by the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

The protocols according to him include regular hand washing, avoiding crowded areas, observing social distancing as well as using of face masks and hand sanitisers.

Chief Onuesoke, in a statement issued in Warri yesterday commended the efforts of the

various governments and prominent Nigerians for their efforts in curbing the deadly virus which is ravaging the world.

He prayed for the recovery of those infected by Covid-19 and advised Nigerians to adhere strictly with the protocols of NCDC to avoid being infected.

Onuesoke particularly joined other Nigerians in praying for the quick recovery of the founder of DAAR Communications Plc, owners of AIT and Raypower, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi and members of his family who tested positive to Covid-19.

His prayer was in response to the confirmation that Chairman, DAAR Communication, Chief Raymond Dokpesi Jnr tested positive for COVID-19 as well as eight members of the Dokpesi family, including High Chief Aleogho Dokpesi.

Aurebles Gas Donates Medical Oxygen to Imo State Duro Ikhazuagbe

The General Manager of Aurebles Gas Company Ltd, Mr. Sam John has explained why the Owerribased indigenous medical oxygen manufacturing company donated 600 cubic meter of their product to Imo State government in the fight to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking with THISDAY during the week, the General Manager said that as an Owerri-based Company, it was natural that charity should begin at home to support the effort of Gov. Hope Uzodimma in the battle to contain the virus that has killed hundreds of thousands of persons around the world. “We are an Owerri-based company and since we manufacture medical oxygen which is one of the major components needed in hospital to resuscitate those already afflicted with the respiratory illness, we deem it proper and fit to start our Corporate Social Responsibility from home,� observed the former editor with the Daily Times Newspapers Group.

He said that Chairman of Aurebles Gas Company Limited,

Chief Reginald Omeni Ikpeawujo who made the 600 cubic meters donation to Chairman of Imo State Task Force on Covid-19, Prof.

Maurice Iwu, at the Government House in Owerri recently expressed his delight at the commitment of the state government in the efforts to check the spread of the dreaded virus in Imo. While expressing his concern over the rapid spread of the virus in the country, the Aurebles Gas Chairman noted that the 600 Cubic meters of gas his company denoted to Imo State will be sufficient to provide oxygen for over 1,000 patients.

He stated that Imo State will not have any oxygen shortage if ever there is need for it.

Chief Omeni further assured Imolites that his company will be willing to offer any assistance deemed necessary by the Gov. Uzodimma administration as part of his company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Prof. Maurice Iwu, while receiving the donation on behalf of the state, thanked the management of Aurebles Gas for identifying with Imo at this trying time.

Iwu stated that their donation of medical oxygen was very essential to the fight against coronavirus, stating that the disease is a respiratory one that requires enough oxygen to handle it.

The former INEC Boss appreciated the owner of the company for citing the multi-million naira company in the state and assured him that Governor Uzodimma who is desirous to help investors in the state will partner Aurebles Ltd in

the days to come.

Apart from the donation to Imo State, Aurebles Gas Ltd has also listed donations to be made to Edo, Delta, Abia, Rivers states amongst others as part of the company’s support for the fight against the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

As at Thursday evening, there were 381 reported new cases of the virus, taking the total infection in the country to 3,526.

CACOVID Donates 100-bed Space Isolation Centre, Equipment to Kwara Hammed Shittu in Ilorin As part of efforts to support the Kwara State Government on the war against COVID-19 pandemic, a private sector group under the aegis of Coalition Against COVID-19, CACOVID yesterday donated a fully equipped isolation centre of 100-bed space with other needed equipment to the government.

The isolation centre is located at Sobi Specialist Hospital, Ilorin.

Other equipment donated by the group include 100 bins, stainless steel, and pedals 8; 1000 laboratory specimen bottles; 10 oxygen concentrators; 20 oxygen cylinders/ regulators; 2500 syringes/needles; five trolleys/ward; 10 chlorine crystals; 1000 goggles; five monitors/patient multiparameters; and 2500 personal protective equipment (PPEs)-coveralls.

Speaking at the handing over ceremony in Ilorin, the leader of CACOVID, Mrs. Grace Olagunju,

said that the gesture was basically meant to support the state government to successfully fight the virus in the state.

According to her, “As you are aware, as a result of the pandemic that is ravaging the world and the country, CACOVID, a coalition of private sector organisations felt the need to join together with various governments and agencies.�

She said, Kwara State being one of the active governments we found it worthy to make our own contribution such that the state can fight the war and win. “Of course our interest is health and lives of the citizens of every state, we felt as a responsible corporate organisation we should do this to support the state government.�

She nevertheless canvassed for the support, and understanding of all and sundry in the state to play their roles to enable the state government win the battle against the ravaging pandemic.

Edo Orders Shut Down of Lagos Street to Business Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City The Edo State Government has ordered the immediate shutdown of Lagos Street, an epicentre where non-indigenes ply their trade and commerce in Benin City metropolis, to check the spread of Coronavirus in the state.

The shutdown as gathered was as a result of the refusal of the traders to participate in the state ongoing testing exercise to halt the spread of COVID-19 in the state.

This was confirmed in a statement by the Special Adviser to Governor Godwin Obaseki on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie.

According to the statement, the decision to shut down trading activities on Lagos Street followed the refusal of residents to comply with the state government’s directives to participate in the ongoing screening and testing exercise for COVID-19, as part of efforts to contain the pandemic.

He said, “The Edo State Government has ordered the immediate shut down of all form of activities including trading on Lagos Street, a business hub in Benin City, over refusal of the residents to participate in ongoing screening and testing exercise to halt the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.�

Osagie said Lagos Street will remain closed to activities until residents in the area take part in the exercise to protect themselves and other members of the public, noting, “The participation of all residents in the exercise is important

in curtailing the spread of the virus in the state. “Being a business hub, a large number of residents in Benin City and other parts of the state visit Lagos Street daily for various activities making the area a hotspot for the spread of COVID-19.

This makes it important for residents and other persons in the area to participate in the exercise.

Lagos Street will remain closed to all form of activities until the residents participate in the screening and testing exercise.�

Meanwhile, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN Edo State chapter yesterday demanded the reopening of churches in the state with full compliance to the extant guidelines.

Reopening of churches, according to PFN would assist government efforts in a number of ways.

In a communique issued at the end of Executive Committee meeting of the Edo State chapter, the PFN said the pulpit would increase awareness of Covid-19 and embark on aggressive intercession for divine intervention to terminate the evil plague that has defied human solution. “PFN is not unaware of the efforts of the state Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, and the efforts of churches to be closed for two weeks to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in Nigeria and in Edo State, the markets are allowed to run, and the populace is also allowed to move about to a reasonable extent which is commendable.

Edo Discharges 2 More Patients Kano Patients Hold Doctors, discharged two more COVID-19 Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City patients after they tested negative Nurse Hostage The Edo State Government has twice for the virus. This brings the announced the discharge of two more COVID-19 patients, who have tested negative twice for the virus and cleared from the state’s isolation centres.

The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, who disclosed this in a statement, charged all residents to support the state government efforts at stemming the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic by complying with all laid down directives.

Obaseki said, “My dear good people of Edo State, we have just

number of patients successfully managed and discharged from our isolation facilities to 12. We seek your support as we continue to make efforts to contain the spread of the virus.�

Meanwhile, Commissioner for Health, Dr. Patrick Okundia, noted that Edo has recorded 65 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and four deaths, adding that the state has so far collected 625 samples for testing, out of which 423 have tested negative.

Two doctors and a nurse were on Thursday held hostage by COVID-19 patients at the Kwanar Dawaki Isolation Centre in Kano State.

Former chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Kano branch, Aminu Mohammed, stated this on a radio programme yesterday.

The health workers were on ward-round when the patients locked them up in a room for hours, according to Mohammed, but the

Mohammed said health workers who are battling with inadequate personal protective equipment (PPEs) still have challenges managing hostile patients.

He appealed to the public to cooperate with doctors and nurses and not discourage them in the line of duty.

However, Head of Kano COVID-19 Technical Response Team Tijjani Husaini, said he was not aware of the incident.

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NEWS

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

Hoodlums Machete Police Officers, DestroyVan in Jos Seriki Adinoyi in Jos

Attempts by officials of COVID-19 Task Force in Plateau State to arrest a driver who violated lockdown order and closure of border turned violent at Naraguta area of Jos North Local Government Area as hoodlums in the area descended on Divisional Police Officer, his men and inflicted machete cuts on them.

A source close in the area revealed that the Task Force on patrol arrested a bus driver with passengers from the neighboring Bauchi State who violated the lockdown order, and in an attempt to evade arrest, the driver sped off, forcing the men of the task force to go after him.

According to the eye witness, when the men of the Task Force eventually caught up with him, he ran into a house at Naraguta where he mobilised youths of the area to come against the police.

He narrated that, “The youths suddenly went berserk and descended on the Divisional Police Officer, SP Musa Hassan, his men and other members of the task force on patrol. They macheted the DPO and his men, destroyed police patrol vehicle and also caused commotion in the area. “The security men had to call for reinforcement which led to the arrest of some of the hoodlums.

The driver of the vehicle and some

Enugu Distributes 1m Free Masks Enugu State Government yesterday launched the distribution of one million units of fabric face masks to its residents across the 17 local government areas for protection, free of charge.

The face masks were produced by the state government using fabrics by indigenous traders and trained tailors as a means of socio-economic empowerment.

Consequently, it is expected that over 30,000 youths will be empowered through the production of the face masks.

Presenting the items to the public, the Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Hon. Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo, said that the gesture was a demonstration of the “unique leadership of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi�, his administration’s proactive response since the outbreak of the pandemic as well as “his deep empathy and concern for all, especially the vulnerable.�

Mrs. Ezeilo disclosed that the event, which was witnessed by the Speaker of the State Assembly, Rt. Hon. Edward Ubosi, the Chairman, Enugu State Council of Traditional Rulers, HRH Igwe Amb. Lawrence Agubuzu, and the State Chairman of Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Hon. Solomon Onah, among others, was also a means of creating awareness on the compulsory use of face masks by residents of the state as well as

all other precautionary measures aimed at containing the spread of the viral disease.

The Deputy Governor who advised that the cloth face masks must washed often and ironed, added that “those caring for the ill, those already experiencing respiratory symptoms, like coughing and sneezing, the elderly and those with chronic and underlying medical conditions, must wear medical face masks and not cloth face masks.�

She maintained that Governor Ugwuanyi’s administration had remained in the frontline of tackling the COVID-19 and combating its inherent socioeconomic challenges as well as other issues through the provision of palliatives to cushion its adverse effect on the vulnerable and implementation of economic and health related measures. “Let me reiterate that this face mask that we are being strongly persuaded to wear is a Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) designed to protect us and our dear ones and reduce our exposure to contagious and infectious health hazards, such as COVID-19 and its harmful effects that could include death. “So I tell you in plain language and with all the emphasis at my disposal, wear your face mask always and correctly�, she further advised.

of the passengers escaped while the bus was towed to Nasarawa Police station in Jos North local government.�

The State Police Public Relation

Officer, Mr. Ubah Gabriel who confirmed the incident, said the DPO and some of his men were at boarder area at Naraguta when they sighted a vehicle with passengers

that followed illegal route into the state and were arrested and in the course of interrogation the youths in the area swooped on the policemen trying to free the violators

and inflicted wound on the DPO and some of his men.

He added that the attack on the Police was uncalled for, considering that the driver committed an offence.

Abia Speaker Distributes Relief Materials Emmanuel Ugwu in Umuahia As lockdown in Abia over COVID-19 pandemic continues, the Speaker of Abia State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Chinedum Orji, has called for adequate provision of palliatives and proper targeting of people that needed them most.

He made the call while distributing relief materials to the vulnerable segment of his constituency in order to alleviate the hardships associated with the lockdown in the state.

The Speaker, who was represented by the Clerk of the House, Mr.

Johnpedro Irokansi, noted that it would amount to an exercise in futility if palliatives were given to people that didn’t need them while the real targets continue to suffer The palliatives were channeled through scores of churches, mosques, charity homes, hospitals, all located within Umuahia Central State constituency, which the Speaker represents.

Some of the beneficiaries included the Abia State Specialist Hospital and Diagnostic Centre, Amachara, Federal Medical Centre Chapel, Umuahia, St. Vincent De Paul Centre for the

Kano Donates Equipment to Dala Orthopedic Hospital In his bid to tame the threat and further transmission of the global pandemic of COVID-19 in Kano state, and promoting safer working environment for health workers, while joining hands with the federal government institutions, governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has donated Personal Protective Equipments (PPEs), cartons of hand sanitizer, boots, face masks, pump buckets, soaps, among others, to Dala Orthopedic Hospital, Kano.

Other items donated to the hospital include hand gloves and other fumigating materials, all in an attempt to cleanse the facility environment and help the facility deal decisively with the pandemic.

At a brief official presentation of all the items donated to the management of the hospital, Friday, governor Ganduje assured the Chief Medical Director Dr Muhammad Nuhu Salihu, that the state would continue to give its helping hand to the facility. “I am glad to inform you that, this federal government facility is performing wonderfully well, as

far as healthcare delivery system is concerned. That is why we are always happy to push forward our assistance to the hospital,� he said.

He said the state government “...is so much concerned about the hazardous nature of health workers responsibility in both state and federal facilities. So also in our private facilities. What we are bringing today are items that can help in protect your health workers from contracting the deadly disease.�

Governor Ganduje urges for good and proper coordination between the state and the Hospital, adding that, “Without proper coordination between us we won’t be able to achieve much in this respect. Our system of coordination must be effective.�

Ganduje ordered for general fumigation of the facility, which he directed the state Ministry of Environment, as the Commissioner of the ministry, Dr Kabiru Ibrahim Getso, was at the event during the presentation of the materials to the Orthopedic Hospital management.

Mentally and Physically Challenged, Umuafai Ndume, School for the Blind, Afara, Agape Charity Home for Children, Ubakala, Motherless Babies Home, Ahiaeke, among others.

He expressed confidence in the ability of religious organisations and charity homes to take the donated materials right to the intended targets without parochial considerations like political party affiliation.

He also urged all Abians not to get tired of adhering strictly to the guidelines issued by as part of efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

He gave the advice in a statement

made available to journalists in Umuahia, saying that the Coronavirus had become a global reality requiring the cooperation of everyone to prevent, manage and control it. “The Coronavirus is a new reality worldwide but it can be defeated as long as citizens comply with directives from government and follow all the guidelines issued with regard to it. “At the House of Assembly, we have followed up with the procedures put in place by the State Government and are satisfied with them. It is now for all Abians to ensure they play by the rules,� he said.

AFAR Demands Forensic Audit of Donations to Nigeria Omolabake Fasogbon The Association of Forensic Accounting Researchers (AFAR), has called for forensics audit of cash donations coming from both corporate and foreign organisations to support Nigeria in the fight against Coronavirus pandemic.

The association said that this was necessary to monitor and ensure accountability and transparency in the utilisation of the funds.

The association decried that the whole process of fighting the pandemic had been shrouded in secrecy, most especially, areas that had to do with spendings.

It further expressed fear that the virus might extend more than expected in the country as a result of corruption in the response process.

It worried that lack of accountability and transparency would not only heighten public pessimism on the outcome of the fight against the pandemic but posed a great danger to an already frail economy.

President of AFAR, Prof.

Godwin Oyedokun, an anti-fraud expert believed that COVID-19 was product of corruption and urged Nigeria not to counter it with deception if it was willing to defeat the health challenge as soon as possible. “Corruption has so much enmeshed the system that it has become more prominent in a period of emergency when no one can determine the future. “Already, our health system has failed us, our emergency response to the pandemic has equally not fared well.

The whole process has been battered by breaches of anticorruption standard such as cutting of corners in procurement processes, pocketing of donations and inflation of COVID-19 cases amongst others. “This invariably has led individuals in charge to enrich their own personal pocket at the detriment of the citizen; hence, we continue to hear reports of patients fleeing isolation centres and protest of poor health care.�

Isolation Centres Running out of Bed Spaces, FG Warns Cont’d from Pg. 5 “I want offer a huge thank you to the Nigerian government for their support and assistance in arranging these flights. The strong cooperation we have had from our Nigerian partners demonstrates the enduring bonds between our two countries�.

Buhari Commends THISDAY, Dangote, Others President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Abuja commended THISDAY Media Group, Aliko Dangote, Abdulsamad Rabiu, Guaranty Trust Bank, among other individuals and organisations for their support for the fight against COVID-19.

A statement by presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, said the President appreciated public-spirited Nigerians and organisations for what he described as their financial and material support for the fight against COVID-19.

Shehu said the President acknowledged the provision of isolation, treatment and laboratory centres and facilities by THISDAY, Dangote, Rabiu, Guaranty Trust Bank,

among others, in several states and the Federal Capital Territory.

According to the statement, the president appealed to other privileged Nigerians and organisations to emulate these laudable gestures. “We are facing a national challenge and all hands must be on deck to navigate this difficult course. In this respect, all types of assistance are welcome, big or small. The spirit behind the contributions is salutary,� the president was quoted as saying.

The statement also said records obtained from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation showed that 111 individuals and organisations had lodged N697, 538, 108 into the federal government’s Covid-19 eradication support accounts in the five designated banks between April 1-30, 2020.

190,000 May Die in Africa Up to 190,000 people in Africa could die of coronavirus in the first year of the pandemic if containment measures fail, the World Health

Organisation warned on Thursday.

The UN health agency cited a new study by its regional office in Brazzaville which found that between 83,000 and 190,000 could die and 29 to 44 million be infected during the period.

The research is based on prediction modelling and covers 47 countries with a total population of one billion, the WHO said in a statement.

Experts have consistently warned that Africa is particularly vulnerable to an outbreak, due to weak health infrastructure, high rates of poverty, numerous roiling conflicts and a proven susceptibility to previous epidemics.

But the virus has been slow to spread across the continent, which has yet not recorded the soaring number of infections or deaths seen in Europe, the United States and elsewhere.

WHO Africa Director Matshidiso Moeti said “while COVID-19 likely won’t spread as exponentially in Africa as it has elsewhere in the world, it likely will smolder in

transmission hotspots�.

Lagos Discharges 42 The Lagos State Ministry of Health has announced the recovery and discharge of 42 COVID-19 patients.

The Ministry made the announcement via its twitter handle, yesterday, stating that 20 females and 22 males – all ‘’42 more #COVID19Lagos patients; 20 females & 22 males; all Nigerians have been discharged from our Isolation facilities at Onikan, Eti-Osa (LandMark) and Lekki to reunite with the society.

The patients; 2 from Onikan, 32 from Eti-Osa (LandMark) and 8 from Lekki Isolation Centres have fully recovered & tested negative twice consecutively to #COVID19. With this, the number of patients successfully managed & discharged in Lagos has risen to 448, ‘’the tweet read Drama as NCDC OfďŹ cials Flee Kogi There was a mild drama in Kogi State when NCDC officials sent to

ascertain the COVID-19 status of the state fled to avoid being subjected to COVID-19 test.

The official, who reported at the Government House in Lokoja on Wednesday night mistakenly shook hands with the Protocol officer Kogi is one of the two states yet to record a single COVID-19 case in the federation.

When the team met Governor Yahaya Bello the following day, he told them that the state had resolved to comply with the protocols of the NCDC by putting the officials in quarantine for 14 days and to also collect their samples to ensure they are COVID-19 free.

He predicated his decision on the fact that they came from an infested area.

The Officials said they were not ready to be tested for COVID-19 and went back to Abuja.

The State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mr. Kingsley Fanwo told newsmen that NCDC should come hard on

its Officials for violating its rules. “Today, the Governor showed the statesmanship in him once again by appreciating the support of the NCDC and defending the health interests of his people. “NCDC quarantined the Chinese professionals that came to give them technical support and also took their samples for test. It is a normal practice and protocol set by NCDC. “So NCDC will have a lot to explain as to why its officials refused to be tested for COVID-19. How can we be sure of their status? What are their fears? Why did NCDC send people who are afraid of test to our State? What was their intention? “The officials that came have done an integrity blow to the works of the NCDC. Is there something they are hiding? It is time NCDC opened up and apologise to the good people of Kogi State. “How will they encourage people to come forward for testing when its own officials are afraid of test?

This is sad�.

16

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˞ ͚͸˜ 2020

AUTO FG Lauds Stallion, CFAO, Innoson, Simba, Others for Support

Interior of 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe

Hyundai Motor Extends Warranties for more than 1m Vehicles Worldwide Stories by Bennett Oghifo

H

yundai Motor Company has launched Hyundai C A R E, a warranty extension policy for its vehicles worldwide.

The programme aims to support Hyundai customers who may face difficulties in getting vehicle maintenance due to restricted access to service centers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hyundai C A R E ensures that all Hyundai vehicles with original warranties that expire between March 1st and April 30th 2020 will benefit from a warranty extension of up to three months until 31st May 2020. All warranties that are originally due to expire in May will

also be guaranteed coverage until the end of the month, said a statement by the automaker.

More than 1.21 million Hyundai vehicles in 175 countries will be eligible for the Hyundai C A R E warranty extension.

Hyundai’s decision comes amid a global reaction to the outbreak of COVID-19, which has caused many countries to take various precautionary measures that include closing non-essential facilities. With Hyundai C A R E, the company expects to help address any concerns customers may have about being unable to visit a service center to get vehicle maintenance or warranty repairs during government-imposed lockdowns.

The well-being of Hyundai customers and employees is a high priority at the company, which is closely monitoring COVID-19 de-

velopments and complying with measures in local markets to mitigate the spread of Coronavirus.

Bang Sun Jeong, Hyundai’s Vice President of Middle East and Africa said: “We appreciate that many of our customers may have limited or no access to vehicle servicing during these extraordinary times. “With Hyundai C A R E, we wish to set their minds at ease regarding eligibility for warranty repairs and related services in the coming months. Not only do we care about our customers’ health and safety, we care about the ‘health’ and safety of their vehicles as well.�

Hyundai Motor dealers will contact all affected customers separately in the coming days, with more details about the Hyundai C A R E programme, the statement said.

Seat Belt Experience

L

ast week I shared the touchy and pathetic story of the man who lost his ten-year-old daughter due to failure to use seat belt. An excerpt read thus,’’ sir, I killed my own daughter, my Jewel. It was my entire fault. She could have been alive today if I had insisted that she buckles up at the rear just like her mother and I did in the front seat. His self-confession hit me real deep beneath my cord. I barely managed to hold tears rolling down my cheek for fear that I might further break him down. I don’t have a daughter but I do have sons whom, like every parent I love dearly with my whole life.

I know the pain of losing a loved one; the kind of pain I felt when I lost my parents and brother; I therefore can imagine the pain of losing your cherished daughter through your own fault. I listened captivated as he went on explaining how they set out on a journey to Ekiti from where they were billed to travel to Lagos for a United Kingdom Visa. But every dream was cut short along this busy corridor where as they were driving at a speed he couldn’t tell; there was a tyre burst and the car somersaulted several time and threw his pearl off. When the car finally came to a stop, he told me, he came out and rushed to his daughter; Pamela who had sustained severe head injuries and died immediately.

Although, he continued his journey after, but it was without his ten-year-old daughter who from our few minutes’ discussion, he cherished and loved dearly. The second leg of the journey was done with him seated as a passenger as he was too heartbroken to drive. As they set out in a vehicle driven by his

SAFE DRIVING with

Jonas Agwu amnipr, mcipr,mprsa,arpa (Corps Commander) Corps Public Education Officer Federal Road Safety Corps. + 2348033026491 friend’s driver, all my thoughts were on the trauma and pain and regrets he will go through for years.

How does a father forgive himself for causing the death of his lovely daughter? It will take only God to heal his wounds and make him live again for his other children if there are others and other members of his family.

But as I ponder on this tragedy, the question I keep asking is why do parents toy with the safety and life of their wards? Why do parents drive above the speed limit when they have precious family members with them? I say so because I know that Pamela could have been alive maybe with some bruises or fractures if only the speed at which the vehicle was going was common sense speed based on the high traffic volume, and the fact that every family member was in that vehicle? I pray that other parents who read though this piece will pause and ponder on how safety conscious they truly are especially when driving with their family in the vehicle. They should equally ask themselves why they play lip service to the use of seat belt by both front and rear seat passenger including the use of child restraints for children below twelve years.

Some years ago, a very senior colleague of mine told me a pathetic story of a friend of his who died as a result of a brief error in judgement towards the seat-belt use. According to his story, his friend had gone out with a girlfriend on a certain Friday night. After some drinks, it was time to leave, and the friend obviously thought, and probably spoke it out loud, ‘well, it’s a Friday night, no pestering law enforcement agent on the road to jaw-jaw on seat-belt.’ Note that this man had hitherto been known to be highly compliant to the practice of belting up. But, unfortunately, this particular Friday took a different turn. Even when his girlfriend advised him to use his belt, the man refused. And so, tipsy, (outright drunk?) he engaged gear and drove off. But the girlfriend, smart girl, decided to use her own seat belt. And that’s probably why she’s still alive. Because on approaching the big round-about by the Area 1 Junction in the FCT, the man had a crash and died.

The girlfriend was alive to tell the story of what had transpired.

Tie this to another story involving a colleague’s brother-in-law, who is a military Officer. He had just rounded up from a late night assignment, and, obviously fatigued and sleepy, was driving home without using his seatbelt.

On his way, somewhere in Lagos, he lost control, ran into a pavement, bounced back to hit a stationary vehicle, which acted as a wedge to finally stop him.

But not before the force had snapped his head forward to crash into the windscreen, with his chest hitting the steering. Fortunately, he is still alive to tell the story by himself.

There are so many others, people we know, some of them dead, some of them alive to tell the story by

The federal government has lauded all stakeholders and companies in the nation’s automotive industry for their support in the fight against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

According to reports by a local newspaper, Transport Day, the Director-General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Mr. Jelani Aliyu said, “NADDC is very happy with the support the Automotive industry is giving to the federal government. It shows the stakeholders’ commitment to safeguarding and strengthening societies across the nation. “Automotive stakeholders such as Innoson, Simba and others have also risen to the occasion of producing relevant health-related vehicles such as ambulances�.

Recently, prominent automotive industry players, such as Stallion group, CFAO, CIG, Weststar, Toyota Nigeria Limited, among others gave their supported the government in the fight against COVID-19.

Stallion Empowerment Initiative (SEI), the philanthropic arm of Stallion Group, is supplying locally produced rice and fish to all the government-run hospitals dedicated to COVID-19 for three months.

The Chief Executive Officer of Stallion Group, Anant Badjatya, further committed one staff bus each for the five government-run COVID-19 hospitals in Lagos.

The Multinational Group is also providing drivers and fuel for these buses. This arrangement will help ensure safer and comfortable transportation of our health care workers who are in the frontline in this fight against the virus.

Chairman, Stallion Group, Mr. Sunil Vaswani, stated that “These are exceptionally difficult times and urgent emergency resources have to be deployed to cope with the needs of affected states and support their health care systems. “At Stallion Group, our top priority is the health and safety of our employees, customers and our community.

There is nothing greater than the safety of the people of this country and it is our responsibility to support the government and the community in this time of need. We are deeply grateful to every health care worker and person who has risked their life to fight this pandemic and will continue to support them.�

Also, foremost auto company in Nigeria, Massilia Motors, (sole distributor of Mitsubishi Motors in Nigeria), has provided food items to 1000 homes in Ijora, a suburb of Lagos state, where the company’s headquarters is located. themselves, some with life scaring injuries, some of them drivers, some of them passengers. The deaths, or severity of injuries, could have been avoided if only they had worn their seatbelts. Seat belts save lives. It can’t be put simpler than that. Seatbelts have been adjudged to be the most effective traffic safety device for the prevention of death and injury in the event of a crash. Wearing a seat belt can reduce risk of crash injuries by fifty percent, according to the Global National Safety Council.

In Nigeria, when the issue of seatbelt is raised, our minds immediately run to front seat occupants.

It is a general consensus that seatbelts are basically for those in front. Come to think of it, it has been a widely-held belief that seatbelt use is just a necessary nuisance to avoid the greater nuisance of been stopped by an over-zealous Road Safety Official. But that is a far cry from the truth.

A seatbelt is designed to protect the occupants of a vehicle against any dangerous movement in the event of a crash or sudden stop. A seatbelt reduces the severity or even the possibility of an injury in a crash by preventing the occupants from colliding with interior elements of the vehicle or other passengers. It keeps occupants positioned correctly for maximum safety, and prevents them from being ejected from the vehicle.

Statistics from traffic management agencies and groups in developed countries reveal percentage of severity of injuries of deaths resulting from non-use of seatbelts in the event of a crash or a sudden stop.

In the United Kingdom, a quarter of people who died in crashes in 2017, were not wearing a seatbelt.

The report shows that despite wearing rates of 98.6percent for car drivers, 27percent of those who died in cars on the roads in 2017 were not wearing a seatbelt. This amounts to more than 200 deaths; an additional 1,000 people were seriously injured.

17

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž Î Ëœ ͺ͎Ͱ͎

JOE/FAJ

THEFRONTLINES

Tribute to Akin, A Good Man

JOSEPH USHIGIALE

T

here is no news as heart-rending and devastating as an announcement of the passing of a loved one, close associate, or a colleague at work. It is that unforgettable moment most people dread and yet it is inevitable because once you are born, the natural order is that in the end, you would die. While some deaths are recorded at childbirth, some people die at over 80 years plus; it is the deaths of young men and women who die at their prime that is most painful. That singular moment provokes you into rethinking the essence of living.

We all are born nursing dreams of becoming something, owning something, traveling to a particular country, or achieving a particular vision. We toil going to school, waiting tables or engage in menial jobs working long hours to eventually gain a breakthrough or make it in life While some have the providence of seeing their dreams come through early or later in life and go on to live their dreams, others are not so lucky; they die before their dreams come through. And in death, the entire dreamworld evaporates into thin air leaving in its wake anger, sorrow, and regrets. It is even worse when some young people leave behind young families with no secure future.

Some parents even have the misfortune of burying their own children who are cut down by death in their prime and some grieving aged parents end up dead.

Akintunde Akinwale, our judiciary reporter and utility staff of THISDAY LAWYER left home last Monday bidding his pregnant wife and two-year-old son, Akintayo bye as he proceeded to work in Apapa. Little did they know that it would be the last time they would see him alive. Akin arrived at the office looking forward to a fruitful day and also head back home at the close of work to the warm embrace of his family. As he went about his official duties, exchanging banters intermittently with colleagues, he had no premonition that his hour would soon come and he was about to keep a date with his creator.

After work, he left the office, heading home. Akin owned a car, but for inexplicable reasons, that day, he chose to take public transport. As soon as he left the office premises, he boarded a motorcyclist popularly called Okada, halfway along the short journey he was involved in an accident within the Apapa area. According to some policemen who were at the scene of the accident, the motorcyclist ran into a trailer that was in reverse mode.

These good samaritans graciously took him in their vehicle and brought him to our corporate headquarters on number 35, Creek Road, Apapa. I was on my way home then but in traffic around Alaka area when my phone suddenly came alive. It was Davidson Iriekpen, my colleague at the other end calling to inform me of what had happened and that they needed money to take him to the hospital. After a few phone calls, money was promptly

Akinwale

released and he was taken to the hospital.

It was therefore shocking to learn that Akin, who reportedly could talk when the policemen brought him to the office, passed on a few hours later because, according to his pastor, there was no matching blood in the hospital for a transfusion. That was how Akin’s curtain finally drew to a close, signaling the end of family life, an active and vibrant journalism career, and a life of serving God as a minister.

The next day when I broke the news of his demise to my colleagues on our staff portal, the entire THISDAY was thrown into a state of mourning. The first reaction came from the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of THISDAY Group, Nduka Obaigbena and here is how he captured it: “It is very very sad. Needless. May his soul find peace. Perfect peace. THISDAY will meet all financial costs of his burial, his continuing salary, and the cost of the full education of his children.

May God bless and keep his family.�

Former THISDAY Editor and Managing Director, Arise News Channel Africa, Ms. Ijeoma Nwogwugwu wrote: “Terrible. What a big loss. May his blessed soul rest in eternal peace.� The Deputy Managing Director, THISDAY Group, Kayode Komolafe penned the following words: “Tragic and shocking! Akin was a pleasant and conscientious guy. God rest his soul and comfort his family.

There were also condolence messages from Peter Ishaka, Bawo Golde, Angelina Anochirionye, Femi Emiloju, Nduka Moseriernest, Yinka Olatunbosun, Ezekiel Akiemughu, and Eric Ojeh all alluding to his capacity for hard work and to do good.

Last Wednesday, he was buried and THISDAY took full charge

Kano’s COVID-19 Mess - 2: Dangerous Missteps of Ganduje

M

y people have a saying: the one who steals the hen of the miserable, has become the star character in vicious tales of attrition that will flood the community. Serves him right, doesn’t it? That scenario has been chiselled in bold relief with the devastating news coming out of the sprawling ancient city of Kano, and outlying communities.

We have, from last week, been exploring the eloquent allegations of one Kano medical practioner, Dr. Abdullahi Mohammed (we suspect that it is a num de plum, a fake name to.deflect official sanction or peer harassment). The article should have enjoyed more “virality� when we consider the weighty projections and ungarnished condemnations of the initial processes and clinical procedures adopted by the Kano State government, led by the uncharismatic Abdullahi Ganduje - and the Presidential Task Form of Boss Mustapha.

The good doctor’s prognostications have proven so uncannily accurate in his calamitous expectations that one is now seriously worried about the competence, or lack of it, in some states where cavalier handling and slipshod preemptive measures make it clear that some states governments grossly underestimated the virulence of this pandemic, or God forbid, some still harbour a childish insistence that the Coronavirus disease is possibly not as frightening as it has been made to appear. Kogi, Jigawa, Katsina, and other fringe states come to mind.

Sadly, the consequences for the fool-hardiness of state actors, and the criminal immaturity elaborately disguised as preventive and remedial measures would only end in the sufferings, pains and deaths of their citizens. Worryingly, there is nothing we have seen so far to indicate that they would be seriously aggrieved or sanctioned when the statistics of deaths and positive cases soar exponentially.

It is with such trepidation that we recall Dr. Mohammed’s posers and suggestions, and hope people and process indicted or fingered in the Covid-19 mess in Kano State, and other floundering states, would move beyond pettiness and self-serving posturing, and make prompt and penetrating amends. “Worthy of note is that the Kano COVID-19 team was badly structured with sheer nepotism and packaged with less

qualified folks. Those who should matter are not involved, probably for political reasons. The daughter of the Governor Ganduje (involvement) is (being) silly and overbearing and in consequence running down the activities of the committee.

For inexplicable reasons too, KNSG is not in any form of synergy with the AKTH which is the highest medical facility in Kano. KNSG chose to deal with NCDC directly which has no bearing on the outcome profile of the patients load presenting to AKTH in particular and states health facilities.

This of course is because even at federal level, attention is more on the isolation centres without recourse to scenarios that will dangerously play out in the hospitals, Federal and states owned.�

(While one is not in a position to highlight the quality and accomplishments of the Kano Covid-19 Task Force, it is clear that the list is better balanced and intrinsic to the peculiarities of the matter than the federal PTF: chaired by the deputy governor, Dr. Nasiru Gawuna, who has a background in biochemistry; co-chaired by the Head of Infectious Diseases unit of Bayero University’s AKTH, Prof. Abdul-Razaq Habib; Kano’s Health Commissioner, Dr. Aminu Ibrahim Tsanyawa, and also Dr. Imam Wada Bello, the director of Public Health and Disease Control, who acts as the Secretary of the Task Force. Other members are Prof. Isa Sadiq Abubakar and Dr. Amina Abdullahi Ganduje (both from BUK); Dr Shehu Abdullahi, Director Medical Services, State Ministry of Health; Dr. Bashir Abba, State Coordinator, World Health Organisation (WHO); Dr Shamsuddeen Sani (from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation); Maulid Warfa, Chief of Field Office, UNICEF; and Dr Mustapha Tukur, State Lead, CDC/NSTOP. As it is the case of politically motivated social interventions, there are folks from here and there: representatives of all security agencies, of the Emirate Council, District Head of Ajingi, Secretary of the Red Cross and Director from the state Ministry of Information, Inuwa Idris Yakasai; among other stakeholders. The above motley crew would have caught the ire of the writer, especially the bare-faced inclusion of Ms Ganduje into what ought to be a high-powered, sensitive and expeditious technical assignment involving the lives and welfare of millions of Kano people. Such nuances cavalierly administered by the Abdullahi Umar Ganduje government deserves opprobrium from all and sundry, more so with the recent statistics of “unexplainable� deaths, and

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

of his burial expenses back to back. Buried against the background of the current COVID-19 physical distancing policy, the brief ceremony was largely witnessed by his family members and several other sympathizers who were present but watched from afar.

In a short meeting with the family immediately after he was interred, I intimated his family members of THISDAY’s plan to endow a foundation in his memory; train his children up to university level, take the full cost of his burial expenses and continue the payment of his salary to sustain his wife and children.

Akin was a good man, a team player, unassuming, humble, and ever-smiling. He was a great family man with a doting wife and son. He only got married a few years ago and God answered his prayer promptly; they were blessed with a boy. His wife is currently heavy with a second child. Although he never worked with me directly, our paths crossed from time to time, and in the whole time we engaged each other, Akin never turned down a request to help someone on my prompting; or do a story here or assist someone in a court-related matter. He was ever willing to help even at his own expense or resources.

Akin’s kind was rare and God-fearing. He was a hands-on reporter, meticulous, and extremely hardworking. His colleagues who worked closely with him praise him for being a jack of all trade and master of all. For instance, during production, once Akin arrives at the office and the stories are ready, Akin would not waste his time waiting for a page planner. He would roll up his sleeves and plan all the pages to save time.

Just for emphasis, page planning is a very specialized field in newspaper production process and is handled in most newsrooms by designated planners. So it is almost rare to see a reporter double as a page planner. But Akin would have none of that. He dedicated his time to learning the design package and became good at it, saving time and resources at no extra cost.

He was just 43, looking forward to an exciting and rewarding life when he died last Sunday night. He began his early education at the Army Children School, Bonny Camp in 1983; after which he proceeded to Ireti Grammar School, South West, Ikoyi where he obtained his secondary school certificate. Aiming to acquire higher education, he attended the International Centre Informatics, Research, and Development, Victoria Island. On graduation, he later proceeded to The Polytechnic, Ibadan to study mass communications where he obtained a national diploma in 2001.

He is survived by a pregnant wife and a son. May his soul rest in peace. Amen.

COUNTERPOINT

FEMI

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

more tragic statistics from the state). “Above all, as it stands now, we are in dire situation that warrants going back to the designing table not later than immediately! We must treat our situation as national emergency. Mr. President and Governors are not doing enough and must sit up. All hands must be on deck 24/7, if we must defeat this war against coronavirus and avoid drifting into an extremely calamitous stage. “The PTF COVID-19 should be re-jigged and synchronized with states COVID-19 committees and RRTs (Rapid Response Teams) with efficient lines and channels of communications. Professional bodies and experts should be more involved. A staged operational template that (with) clearly assigned roles for federal, states and private health care facilities be quickly designed and holistically implemented.

(Now, to solutions...the essence of discussions and recriminations...and then more specific suggestions, though edited, in the light of recent actions of government). ‘’Based on our local peculiarities, the following measures should be looked into, refined and implemented.

(1. Stop interstate travels. 2. Provide and make use of face masks mandatory to all residents in all the states, outside homes. 3. Make provisions (in) public places for hand washing with soaps and sanitisers. 4. Ban all forms of gatherings, including social and religious.)

5. Do extensive public health education and enlightenment on the behavior of the coronavirus... (including the) use of media and local jingles.

6. Mass testing to check community transmission in heavily hit states. More testing centres in states of the federation is needed.

7. And lastly, governments: federal and states should shut down other government activities/programs for now and in the interim concentrate on the survival and welfare of the citizens by providing far reaching palliatives.

(Though some of these suggestions have been activated, however belated, yet we encourage that those concerned swallow the better pill of laser-guided criticisms, and do the urgent and needful, for the sake of future generations in danger of being blighted by the scourge of Covid-19).

18

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MAY 9, 2020

POLITY

Appraising Edo Homeschooling Model Amid COVID-19 Francis Osadolor

T

he deadly Coronavirus outbreak has presented a host of challenges for different sectors of the society, education inclusive. Over 180 countries have ordered the closure of schools nationwide, as a result of the outbreak, which has claimed over 183,000 lives and infected more than 2.6 million people globally. This is unprecedented, as the world has never seen this large number of children out of school at the same time.

Having recorded the first case in Nigeria on February 28, the federal government, three weeks later, ordered closure of all public gatherings including schools, from primary to tertiary institutions, as part of measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

With the disruption, some state governments, who are in the know of the many consequences of being out of the classroom for so long a time, began the scramble for online solutions to ensure learning continues at home. As a response, the Edo State Government has introduced a novel homeschooling initiative, Edo-BEST-AT-HOME, a platform that provides digital learning alternatives for pupils and parents who have been forced to stay at home due to the lockdown.

The programme, which specifically allows for real-time tracking of users, deploys the data of 280,000 pupils and their parents in the state’s public primary and junior secondary schools to monitor active learners on the platform to ensure efficiency.

Chairman, Edo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr. Joan Osa-Oviawe, said the EDO-BEST-AT-HOME initiative is a well-thought programme to support pupils whose schools have been closed due to the restriction of movement caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Already, several schools and pupils from various parts of the country are leveraging on the opportunities provided by this online platform, with thousands logging in daily to benefit from the innovation on the platform. The initiative provides for downloads with zero-data access or through free Short Message Service (SMS) supported by MTN Nigeria. Over 50,000 users have already accessed the lessons on SUBEB website.

Oviawe said the home-schooling model has been reviewed by the World Bank and appraised to be pace-setting, as it allows for real-time tracking of users, as against the resort to only television and radio channels, which does not provide data on who and how many persons are watching or listening respectively.

According to her, “We have developed a digital, multiplatform framework for the Edo-BEST-AT-HOME initiative, to serve the 250,000 pupils on our database. We have the contact number of their parents as well. Details are being worked out with a telecommunication firm to provide free airtime for these

Governor Godwin Obaseki (left), Chairman, Edo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr. Joan Osa-Oviawe (2nd left) with pupils and teachers in one of the state’s primary schools in Benin City, Edo State. parents, specifically on the lines they would be using to access our home-schooling materials.

“The telecommunication firm is also working to confirm the kinds of phones these parents are currently using to determine what kind of services they would need. This would ascertain those using android, feature or only SMS-enabled gadgets.”

She noted that the lesson materials are available at https://subeb.edostate.gov.ng/home-school/, adding that the model takes care of the needs of parents in rural areas, where mobile tutors are being mobilised to attend to the peculiar needs of the pupils. The e-lessons are categorised weekly with the instructions: “Each day with your child, complete the learning activities for every subject.

Now that the term has ended, the activities review content from throughout the term and provide extra practice in reading, writing, and mathematics. For daily reading practice, download the story from the African Storybook app and read with your child.” According to Governor Obaseki, “In order to cater to the educational needs of our children who are to resume school on the 27th of April, we have designed EDOBEST-AT-HOME

in partnership with MTN. EDOBEST-AT-HOME consists of interactive audio lessons with customized messaging, digital self-study activity packs, mobile phone based interactive quizzes, digital storybooks and virtually moderated teacher-student classroom interactions. Private schools are welcome to access the materials which will be updated on the Edo SUBEB website.”

Some parents, who commended the novel programme, tasked the government on sustenance, noting that digital learning was the future of the nation’s education sector.

Esther Okosun noted, “The Edo State Government, through the EdoBEST programme, has continued to change the narrative of the country’s educational system and it is commendable. We cannot be talking about industrial revolution without innovations such as this. Why should we stop learning in the first place because of the pandemic, when we could have ordinarily deploy our learning management system in such a way that students in all parts of the country can learn from home.

Read full article online: www.thisdaylive.com

Rivers State Beyond Covid-19

Austin Tam-George

O

ne of the unintended ironies of the coronavirus pandemic is that although it brings great suffering and death, it also presents an incredible opportunity to re-imagine the world we live in, and to build a better future. In Rivers State, we can not afford to miss the opportunity that this crisis presents.

As our forebears did after the Civil War, we have a chance to think and work together to recreate our State, from the emotional and psychological debris of this pandemic. But this means that we must think critically and keep an open mind. It means that our response to the pandemic must go beyond lock downs, food aid and contact tracing. We must also look beyond the pandemic, and ask: what should Rivers State look like after COVID-19?

Below are five steps I think we can take to move Rivers State in a new direction:

Investment in Education Whenever I think of Taiwan I have only shivers of admiration for the society they have built. This is a territory that has no natural resources. They have only typhoons, cyclones and earthquakes. The topography of Taiwan is so daunting that they import sand and gravels from China. But through a massjve investment in education, Taiwan has emerged as one of the most technically proficient and dynamic economies in the world. Taiwan has the fourth largest foreign reserves in the world. We can do the same in Rivers State. Our most vital resource is our people, not oil or gas or clay. We can invest decisively and strategically in the education of our young people. And we can commit to do so now. Although Taiwan is a territory of China, it thinks independently and thrives on its own genius. Although Rivers State is part of Nigeria, we can create a different destiny for our people. If there is an oasis in every desert, Rivers State can be that oasis. We can rebuild a State that is modern, successful and properous. We can begin now to plan to convene an “Education and Innovation

Summit” for Rivers State.

The purpose of the Summit should be to work out the modalities for a comprehensive overhaul of the State’s educational curriculum, with emphasis on research in renewable energy, ICT, cyber law and security, medicine, engineering, artificial intelligence and robotics, mathematics, tourism, rural and urban development, agriculture, and civic education. The target of the Summit should be to transform Rivers State into Nigeria’s innovation hub in 20 years.The Brazilians did exactly the same in Sao Paulo. The Summit must consider a completely different and competitive pay structure for teachers, full scholarships for our students, and a plan for global educational partnerships. The challenge of our generation in Rivers State must be to prepare our young people to burst into the new world as innovative thinkers and skilful citizens.

Focus on Agriculture Anytime I get the honour to talk to young people, I like to remind them that the Stone Age did not end because people ran out of stones. It ended because people invented metal and kick-started the Industrial Revolution. In other words, if you want things to change, you will have to do things differently.

Rivers State has some of the best soil patterns and wetlands in the world. We can grow most crops in the State, all year round.

If we develop the right plan, build committed partnerships with agro experts in Malaysia, Finland and Brazil, we can start an agricultural revolution in 15 years. We can create thousands of high quality agro jobs, and make farming both prosperous and prestigious. In addition to state farms, every sizable hotel, church and school will be required to own a farm, with land guaranteed by the State.

Health And Wellness The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us of the critical importance of an effective health care delivery system. In Rivers State, we need to develop a universal health care plan that provides medical cover for every citizen. We will develop a data base, and Income earners will contribute to the scheme. But

the State will provide medical cover for senior citizens and those who have no jobs. The universal health care coverage may be called “RIVERS CARE”. Once the political leadership on this policy is provided, the planning and implementation must be expert-led, with the broadest possible consultations and debate on the best mode of implementation. We will have to completely rebuild our health infrastructure.

Rural And Urban Development One afternoon in Barcelona, in 2011, I walked into a city planning office. And I was suitably impressed to see a plan of what Barcelona would look like as the population grows and the city’s demographics change. We must cultivate a mindset for planning in Rivers State.

But more than that, we need to have a leadership that sees the State, not in its mutilated parts, but the vast beauty of its biodiversity and coastal character. Rivers State has a lot in common with the Netherlands in terms of its rich coastal character and topography. But we are a lot less developed. We can change all that. In rural development, we could follow the example of Rwanda by building simple but functional model villages. And make it a policy to provide basic services in all our communities. In urban planning, we need to develop satellite cities and a vibrant cluster of modern suburbs.

Leadership.

Finally, we need to start an important conversation on how we can identify and put forward the kind of leadership that can recreate Rivers State. We have lost a lot of grounds, and our State has probably reached a point where even “good” governance will no longer be enough to turn things around.

Toxic politics has driven our State towards the cactus fence.

We need a creative, modern, visionary and inclusive leadership in Rivers State. Inclusive because, as Chinua Achebe once said, no monologue however brilliant can replace a dialogue.

Like the Taiwanese, we need to draw from the collective genius of our people.

–––Dr Austin Tam-George was Commissioner for Information, Rivers State.

19

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MAY 9, 2020

POLITY

Re: Seyi Makinde’s Unenlightened Self-Interest Jesse Oludare

I

followed Femi Akintunde-Johnson’s writings from the mid-’90s. When the story of the Nigerian media is told, there will be a footnote about how the man, popularly known as FAJ rose to the height of journalism. These days, he writes a column for This Day newspapers, where he “focuses on diverse issues of national importance - political, socio-economical, philosophical…” few weeks ago, his focus was on Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State. It is still difficult for me to understand what that piece aimed to achieve.

First, FAJ suggested that Governor Makinde certified himself positive and then negative for COVID-19. This suggestion calls into question all the data that has so far been released by the Nigerian Government through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). Are we to believe that Mr Akintunde-Johnson does not know that tests in Nigeria are only conducted in NCDC certified laboratories? Or is he unaware that certified doctors conduct the tests?

Insinuating that the governor’s test results are a ruse means that Governor Makinde, the doctors who collected his samples and managed his case and the virologists who carried out the tests and generated the results are all in on a scam.

Interestingly, in Governor Makinde’s case, his first test and one of the negative results were sent to the Diagnostic Centre at Ede, Osun State. So, by Mr Akintunde-Johnson’s analysis, Osun State is also in on this scam.

Come to think of it, why is FAJ questioning Governor Makinde’s test results? Do we ask who conducted the tests and signed the results for all other cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria or is this something personal? Or is Governor Seyi Makinde’s sin that he has been open, honest and transparent about his coronavirus experience? Even while in self-isolation he granted phone interviews and continuously updated his social media pages. If Mr Akintunde-Johnson was so interested in Governor Makinde’s case, the least he could have done was light research. All the answers he seeks are already available online.

COVID-19 is novel. No one in the world fully understands how it operates in the human body but what is now clear is that people can contract the virus and be asymptomatic throughout. They can infect other people even though they are not showing any symptoms. The test results do not reveal when a person contracted the virus; they only tell that the person has the virus or doesn’t and what their viral load is.

The experts managing the governor’s case decided when his repeat tests would be done, as is the routine for all COVID-19

RIGHT OF REPLY cases.

To be clear, FAJ’s question about the treatment regimen is suspect. There is no treatment yet for COVID-19. Patients who contract the virus have to be managed if they develop moderate to severe symptoms, but it is their body which has to fight off the disease. For their bodies to do this, patients are advised to take certain foods and medicines that can boost their immunity. This is the same advice the governor’s doctor friend gave him.

In fact, the telephone interview with Fresh FM 105.9 on April 06, 2020, where Governor Makinde stated his friend, Dr Muyideen Olatunji, recommended black seed oil as an immune booster which was quoted by Akintunde-Johnson in his piece contains answers to some of these questions. Did the writer only read the part about the black seed oil recommendation and skip the other parts of the transcript? Or is he for some other reason tending towards selective recall?

To show how transparent Governor Makinde has been about his COVID-19 experience, I will demonstrate that the information in my response is already available online. Let’s start with the isolation process.

Governor Makinde was in isolation for a week before his result came back positive because of advice from the Nigeria Governor’s Forum that all governors who attended the National Economic Council meeting on March 19, 2020, had been exposed to a positive COVID-19 case and should immediately self-isolate and test. He revealed this in a phone interview on Fresh FM 105.9, Ibadan on March 31, 2020. The video and transcript of the interview were published on his social media pages on the same day. Traditional media outlets also published the information.

After testing positive for COVID-19, Governor Makinde was in isolation for another week before his results came back negative twice. He stated this in a second phone interview on Fresh FM 105.9, Ibadan on April 06, 2020. Again, the video and transcript of the interview were published on his social media pages on the same day. It was after he received the second negative result that the self-isolation came to an end.

This is standard practice everywhere. Daily, we read that state governments all over Nigeria have discharged patients with COVID-19 from their isolation centres immediately after they receive two negative test results. Why should the governor’s case be different?

Governor Makinde observed isolation in his home before testing positive, and after testing positive, he continued to self-isolate at home. His contacts were traced when his test result came back positive, a fact he revealed in his phone interview of March 31, 2020, referred to above.

His administration has been outlining measures it is taking to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Oyo State.

A person who is interested in focusing “diverse issues of national importance - political, socio-economical, philosophical…” would rather dissect the efforts of the Oyo State Government and come up with ideas about how to make things better.

It is on record that Governor Seyi Makinde has been as proactive as the novel virus will allow, while taking into account the local circumstances of the Oyo State people. He was one of the first state governors to push for a diagnostic centre in their state. The Oyo State Government collaborated with the Virology Department of the University College Hospital, Ibadan to upgrade its laboratory to a certified NCDC molecular laboratory which can test for COVID-19.

More recently, he has appealed to the NCDC to certify the Diagnostic Centre at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).

Governor Makinde is pushing for more testing centres because the more we test, the more we know how the virus behaves. He is aiming at testing 10,000 persons within the shortest possible time, with the first tranche of 2,000 persons already happening at the drive-through/ walk-through testing centre at Adamasingba Stadium, Ibadan.

It is also on record that the governor of Oyo State is the first to talk about the wearing of face masks in public spaces as an added measure to prevent, control and contain the spread of COVID-19. He has gone a step further to commission 100 tailors to sew one million masks. Today, other governors in the country are adopting the same measure.

Of course, no one is saying Governor Makinde is perfect.

Even the governor himself uses every opportunity to remind people that he is always open to criticism. But this should not be used as an excuse for nit-picking and drawing funny conclusions. I want to believe that FAJ mistakenly sent in his first draft. After all, he did say that the article was at some point, lost in transit. He probably sent this version out without giving it a thorough read. I believe he is already doing further research for a follow-up article where he will explain what went wrong. I want to think he will do a rewrite when he gets this memo.

–––Jesse Oludare sent this piece from Ilaju, Ido LGA, Oyo State.

PHOTO NEWS

R-L: Minister of State, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Hajiya Ramatu Tijjani-Aliyu, receiving a donation of 350 bags of condiments as palliatives to the vulnerable people in FCT from members of Indian Cultural Association in Abuja ...recently

L-R: The Relationship Lead, Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise Limited (LPLEL), Mrs. Adesuwa Ladoja; a Director of the company, Alhaji ‘Bode Oyedele; the Baale of Itoke Community, Chief Lateef Shokoya; and Manager, Landside Infrastructure, Engr. Olakunle Fadumiye, during the presentation of food items to Lekki Port’s host communities at the project site in Lagos...recently SUNDAYADIGUN

Officials of Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission (LSWRC), Led by the Executive Secretary, Mrs. Funke Adepoju, during hand washing advocacy with soap and running water to stop the spread of Coronavirus in Lagos...recently SUNDAY ADIGUN

L-R: Communication Lead, Mask4AllNG initiative, Bolaji Abimbola; the Strategic Team Lead, Mask4AllNG initiative, Lanre Oyegbola; the Baale of Oko Oba, Agege, Chief Josaih Balogun; and a Member, Execution Team, Mask4AllNG initiative, Bountiful Busayomi Adelanwa, during the flag off of the free face mask for vulnerable communities by Mask4AllNG held at Eid Ground Oko Oba, Agege, Lagos... recently SUNDAY ADIGUN

20

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MAY 9, 2020

TRIBUTE

Ekweremadu at 58:The Man and the Constitution As former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu clocks 58 years next Tuesday.

Uche Anichukwu, chronicles his contributions to Nigeria’s constitutional development

I

n their work, “The Nigerian Military and the Crisis of Democratic Transition: A Study in the Monopoly of Power”, Abubakar Momoh and Adejumobi Said, posit that there is an “intrinsically contradictory relationship between the military and democracy”. Also, Vivian Hart, writing on the subject, “Democratic Constitution Making”, says democratic constitution cannot be written in a hurry.

Nevertheless, the making of the 1999 Constitution was an exception to the established rule, as the General Abdulsalami Abubakar regime had little time to midwife the 1999 Constitution to usher in the 4th Republic. The Justice Niki Tobi Constitution Amendment Debate Coordinating Committee inaugurated on November 11, 1998 and given only one month to draw new ideas from Nigerians on matters highlighted in the 1995 Draft Constitution in relation to the 1979 Constitution. However, Nigerians did not take these aberrations to heart. So long as the military retired to their barracks, we appeared ready to accept whatever constitution they dumped on us.

Among the Igbo, it is said that when a woman conceives standing up, she is not likely to give birth to a normal baby.

Thus, so many things are wrong with the 1999 Constitution, given the circumstances of its birth. It is not surprising that agitations for a truly people’s constitution started immediately after May 1999.

Constitution amendment in a multi-ethnic society like ours does not come easy, hence efforts to amend the 1999 Constitution suffered serial failure until Senator Ike Ekweremadu emerged in 2007 as the Deputy President of the 6th Senate and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitution Review. Fortunately, Ekweremadu and his colleagues were able to manoeuvre through the political landmines to break the jinx of constitution amendment in 2010.

Yet, it wasn’t a walk through the park. Not all amendments received presidential assent. Some amendments could not even scale through the National Assembly, while many more could not muster the approval of at least 24 State Houses of Assemblies (two-thirds).

Amendments assented by the President between 2010 and 2019 include: amendments to Sections 145 and 190 of the Constitution to compel the President/Governor to transmit a letter to the National Assembly/State Assembly to enable their deputies act whenever they are to proceed on vacation or unable to discharge their functions. Failing to do so, the Vice President or Deputy Governor automatically assumes office in acting capacity after 21 days and amendments to enable a person sworn in as President or Governor to complete the term of an elected President or Governor, but disqualified from election to the same office for more than one more term.

Following Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in the case brought before it by former Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State that a Governor’s or President’s tenure only begins to run from the date he/she was sworn into office, governors whose elections were annulled, but won rerun, wrongly believed they should also benefit from the verdict. Thus, Sections 135 and 180 of the constitution were amended to straighten the remaining term of office of a President/Governor, who won a rerun election to include the period already spent in office.

Sections 81, 84, and 160 of the Constitution were amended to make the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, financially and administratively independent. For instance, a proviso was inserted in Section 160 that in the case of INEC, its “powers to make its own rules or otherwise regulate its own procedure shall not be subject to the approval of the President”. Section 156 of the Constitution was amended to remove membership of a political party as a qualification for appointment into INEC, thereby insulating members from partisan politics.

Other approved amendments bothering on electoral reforms include amendments to Section 285 (5) to (8) to set a time limits for the filing, hearing and disposal of election petition because to quicken justice; amendments to Sections 76, 116, 132, and 178 to provide for a wider timeframe for the conduct of elections; amendments to Section 285 and the Sixth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution to reduce the composition of Tribunals to a Chairman and two Members and the quorum to just a Chairman and a member; amendments to Sections 66(h), 137(i), and 182(i) to delete the disqualification of persons indicted by an Administrative Panel from standing for election. this was sequel to abuses witnessed ahead of the 2007 general elections when many perceived “enemies” of the administration, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, were disqualified.

Additional amendments include: stipulation of timeframes for filing, adjudication, and disposal of pre-election lawsuits in order to quicken justice; reduction of age qualification for political offices (Not Too Young to Run Bill); amendments to Sections 134, 179, 225, of the Constitution to extend from seven to 21 days the period within which INEC shall conduct run-off election between the two leading

Ekweremadu presidential/gubernatorial candidates; insertion of Section 225A to stipulate the conditions and process for deregistration of political parties.

Also, the Constitution was amended to grant financial autonomy to the National Assembly to make it more independent and promote checks and balance. The same was extended to state legislatures and State Judiciary in the last National Assembly vide amendments to Section 121 (3).

Sections 6, 84, 240, 243, 287, 289, 292, 294, 295, 216, 318, the Third Schedule and Seventh Schedule to the Constitution were amended and a new Section 254 inserted to make the National Industrial Court a Court of superior record and equal in status with Federal High Court.

Meanwhile, the greatest loss to Nigeria was the Fourth Constitution (Alteration) Act 2014 in the 7th National Assembly, which the President did not sign. The very elaborate amendments include devolution of power by reorganising the Legislative Lists to move Railway, Aviation, Power, Stamp Duty etc. from Exclusive List to Concurrent List and the separation of the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation/State from the Office of Minister/Commissioner for Justice. Office of the Attorney-General was granted financial autonomy and security of tenure to insulate it from political control. Also, to appoint an AGF, the National Judicial Council would advertise, then interview applicants, and recommend three candidates to the President, who would nominate one to the National Assembly for confirmation.

Such an AGF could only be removed by a Presidential request supported by two-thirds majority of the Senate.

Others were: Procedure for the enactment of a new constitution, which included referendum; inclusion of basic education and primary healthcare in fundamental and justiciable human rights; independent candidature; inclusion of electoral offences as grounds to disqualify candidates from future election; mandatory presentation of yearly State of the Nation address to a joint session of National Assembly by the President; straightening the processes for state creation to make them less cumbersome; removal of presidential assent of constitution amendment Bills as is the case in the US; financial autonomy for Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation to make it more independent; amendment to Section 59 compelling the President/Governor to transmit assent/veto of a Bill to parliament within 30 days (it is 10 days in the US), failing which such Bill becomes law automatically.

Where override is necessary, parliament must exercise such

power within seven days.

Other unsigned amendments include sanction for disobeying legislative summons; inclusion of all former Presidents of the Senate and Speakers of the House of Representatives in the membership of the National Council of State as former heads of the other two arms (CJN and President/Head of State) are already included; creation of Office of the Accountant-General of Federal Government different from Accountant-General of the Federation to promote transparency and accountability.

Also rejected were the prohibition of courts/tribunals from granting a stay of proceedings on account of interlocutory appeals in electoral matters; and conferment of criminal jurisdiction for electoral offences on the Federal High Court.

Sadly, with the regime change, most of those strategic amendments such as devolution of powers could not even scale through 8th National Assembly. And quite a number of those passed by the National and State Assemblies were not also signed by President Muhammadu Buhari.

They include: compulsory presentation of budget estimates

by President/Governor latest September and passing of same latest December 31; reduction of the period the President/ Governor could approve expenditure from the federal/state treasury based on previous year’s budget (in the absence of a new budget) from six to three months; timeframe for submission of ministerial nominees, which must also be accompanied with their respective portfolios; and compulsory savings of a defined percentage of oil revenues for rainy days.

Prominent among amendments passed by the NASS, but were serially rejected by State Assemblies was the extensive reform of local government system to ensure financial autonomy, uniformity of tenure, and a review of mode of Council elections.

Yet there were proposed amendments, such as decentralisation of policing to create state police and single tenure of about five/six years for President and Governors, which Ekweremadu championed as the panacea for rising insecurity and succession crisis/electoral excesses by incumbent candidates, respectively, were not passed by the National Assembly.

Attempts to abrogate the immunity clause were also never approved.

Given all this, there is no doubt that Senator Ike Ekweremadu, CFR, Ph.D. (Constitutional Law), who clocks 58 on 12th May, has earned himself a place in the annals of our nation as a consummate constitutional engineer. Happy birthday, Ikeoha Ndigbo, the jinx breaker, and legislative icon.

––Anichukwu writes from Abuja

21

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˞ Π˜ 2020

SHOWBIZFLAIR

Mike Bamiloye’s Journey of Faith Pregnant Simi Inspires with ‘Duduke’ Dance pg. 24

Davido’s Getting Set for a Better Time with Nicki Minaj pg. 25

22

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˞ Π˜ 2020

SHOWBIZFLAIR

Mike Bamiloye’s Journey of Faith Movie producer/founder of the Mount Zion Film Ministries, Mike Bamiloye startles with a new film that chronicles his life’s story. Ferdinand Ekechukwu reports

T

elevangelist and founder of the Mount Zion Film Ministries, Mike Bamiloye has released a new movie titled “The Train�.

Subtitled, “The Journey of Faith�, the movie chronicles his true life’s story. It tells the early life, trajectory, marriage and more about the popular evangelist. The biopic, written and produced by Damilola Mike-Bamiloye and directed by Yemi Adepoju and Isaac Femi-Akintunde, premiered on YouTube on May 3, 2020.

The movie stars Seun Adejumobi, Omolara Ayoola, Tolulope MikeBamiloye and many other members of his drama ministry. His Mount Zion Film Productions gave a first look of ‘The Train’ in a less than two minute trailer late in April. The trailer’s opening scene shows a native doctor reciting incantations in his shrine. He fires at the spirit medium before him and the scene changes to quick shots trailing the childhood days of Mike Bamiloye.

From being a very restless child running around the neighbourhood, to a young pre-teen on a self-discovery, the shots devoid of dialogue, show a child full of mischief; one that mimics the mannerisms of an old man and even attempts to grow his own grey beards. Although there is a physical in the trailer to the biopic, it is quite obvious that the train is a symbolic accessory to the life story of one of the pioneers of Christian cinema in Nigeria.

Speaking about the new project, The Train, recently, Bamiloye who has touched lives through his faith-based movies said: “It’s a very complex story but the Lord helped them all. I never thought of it at all. I never saw it coming.�

He further said “He just came up to me and said the Lord had put it in his heart to do a movie on the Story of My Life ahead of my 60th Birthday.

And I did not want to stop him. But I didn’t know how he would achieve it, because I have a very complex life story. I thought how he would do it: even from my birth to Age 12 was a very, very complicated story. Only the Lord Jesus Christ could couple together such a dislocated life. It is the Story about How Jesus Christ can mend a dilapidated life. How Jesus can transform a bad hopeless life to a life of glory and honour. May the Lord God of Heaven bless all the Casts and Crew.�

This won’t be the first straight-toYouTube release of a Nigerian film production. In fact, this is also not the first Mike Bamiloye’s film on Youtube. A recent production of the Mount Zion Faith Ministries entitled: ‘Gbemi’, has over 4,000 views on YouTube. Similarly, other Christian film producers apart from the Mount Zion Ministries also release YouTube movies which are in great demand.

Even before the Coronavirus outbreak, filmmakers without huge budgets for cinema exhibition, had resorted to YouTube to monetize their productions.

He just came up to me and said the Lord had put it in his heart to do a movie on the Story of My Life ahead of my 60th Birthday. And I did not want to stop him. But I didn’t know how he would achieve it, because I have a very complex life story However, in the case of Mike Bamiloye, it is not because of its commercial value, but evangelism.

A household name in faith-based movies on television through his brand and effort in keeping the gospel alive, Mike Bamiloye was born on April 13, 1960 in Ilesa, a town in Osun State. He is married

to Gloria Bamiloye, a film actress and evangelist. He founded Mount Zion on August 5, 1985. His debut drama, titled “Hell in Conference� was staged at the National Christian Teachers Conference in 1986 at Ilesa in Osun State.

The filmmaker, actor, dramatist, and director has featured, produced

and directed several Christian films over the years in Yoruba and English themes.

His catalogue of movie productions include ‘Agbara Nla’, ‘Apoti Eri’, ‘Ajeboye 1 & 2, ‘Shackles’, ‘Captive of the Mighty’, ‘One Careless Night’, and ‘The Hunting Shadows’ 1-3.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˞ Π˜ 2020

SHOWBIZFLAIR

Wale Ojo Quarantined in Dominican Republic Remember Wale Ojo? He is the lead actor in the popular Nigeria-British comedy series, “Meet the Adebanjos.�

Well, he is trapped in Dominican Republic because of Coronavirus and he is making good use of the ugly situation, writes Ferdinand Ekechukwu

W

hile a good number of his colleagues outside the country were busy running back home at the dawn of the deadly Covid-19 outbreak, it didn’t occur to acclaimed thespian, Wale Ojo, who was in London at the time, that a trip which he had inadvertently embarked upon would get him stuck in a remote Island on the Caribbean region of Dominican Republic.

The British-Nigerian trained actor, who had got his legs in and out of Nollywood, took off for Puerto Rico from London in the month of March at the height of “corona wahala to go attend my friend’s event (Smade) in Puerto Rico,� Wale Ojo said. “On getting to Heathrow I was nearly refused entry onto the plane because Trump had just banned all flights from UK. “They asked me if I was going to utilise my return ticket as it’s highly likely that flights wouldn’t be coming back into Heathrow. My flight from London was to Miami to connect to Puerto Rico. I had to declare that I would not return and boarded the flight to Miami. On boarding the plane to Miami I found out that Smade’sAfro Nation event had been cancelled!�

Continuing, the lead actor in the popular comedy series, ‘Meet TheAdebanjos’ said: “Also my friend from Puerto Rico warned me that if I get to Puerto Rico they would quarantine me fully for two weeks straight without any possibility of going out! The plane took off and landed at Miami. I got off at Miami to find nakedness everywhere as students were celebrating spring break and either were unmindful or totally unaware of the looming Covid-19 pandemic. “The incident actually made the news that day.

As my expenses began to rise in Miami I took off for the Dominican Republic on the advice of a friend who lives there. The moment I landed there, the government of the Dominican Republic banned all flights and closed the airports. I have been happily stuck here now for over a month!�

Until normalcy returns in the real world, Wale Ojo, however has embarked on some projects driven towards entertainment and charity.

Like a host of other showbiz personalities

Wale Ojo

home and abroad, Wale Ojo has tapped into the virtual space which has seen not a few entertain their fans and followers across the globe while keeping abreast of happenings in the social scene. “As I have had plenty of time on my hands I have set up several projects namely, The Wale Ojo Show, a live Instagram show. “I am doing a comedy sketch on my Instagram called Quarantine From Coro Coro and I am posting Shakespearean monologues as part of my Shakespeare series called ‘Shakespeare in The Time of Corona’. My Shakespeare monologues have been very successful and I think I would always keep doing them. It’s enlightening to see how many people enjoy

it and ask for more.�

Wale Ojo also noted that it just shows how pertinent William Shakespeare still is to these current times, while revealing that his charity Virgo Foundation at (www.virgofoundation. org.ng) has teamed up with Kaffy Dance Foundation to contribute towards feeding hungry mouths in Lagos and the country as a whole.

The New Nigeria Cinema advocate came across Kaffy’s post on Instagram which detailed how her foundation was going from place to place feeding people in the poorest areas of Lagos. “I felt this was a wonderful thing to do so I decided that my charity, Virgo Foundation, would team up with her to contribute to the

vast work that her charity was already doing.

We contributed a small amount of money to her foundation and we are now looking for ways to further strengthen the collaboration and affect in a positive and direct way people affected by the Corona virus. “And I have to say it’s been very heartening to see other entertainers and philanthropists come to the fore and actually feed the hungry in many parts of the country. Charities like kokunfoundation, food bank, Rachel Piper Foundation and AY’s lockdown relief support are but a few of the many wonderful initiatives that entertainers and philanthropists are doing in this era of Covid-19.�

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˞ Π˜ 2020

SHOWBIZFLAIR

Pregnant Simi Inspires with ‘Duduke’ Dance Energetic singer, Simi, opens ‘Duduke Challenge’ with a stunning video of herself rocking with her baby bump. Ferdinand Ekechukwu reports

S

ongstress, Simisola Ogunleye, better known as Simi has mesmerized her fans with a stunning video of herself dancing to her latest track ‘Duduke’. The viral video signals the opening of the ‘Duduke Challenge’. Simi, who recently announced her pregnancy in a music video to the new single, shared a TikTok video of her dancing to her song on Instagram while effortlessly rocking her baby bump.

She is seen dressed in a dark coloured hoodie, bum-shorts and pair of thigh-length socks. She accessorized her look with a black leather beret. The singer gave her fans some really cool dance moves and she appeared to be having fun with it.

Tagging it the #DudukeChallenge, she wrote: “They said ‘Simi can we see you dancing?’ Follow me on @tiktok and lemme see whether you can move your body like this with ur real bellies or fake towels... no judgement.� ‘Duduke’ is presently on the 1.3 million viewers mark on YouTube after its release just two weeks ago. This was one of the reasons she started the #DudukeChallenge on Instagram calling on her followers to make a cover of the song at first. The various covers were so beautiful to the ears that dancers decided to make dance videos of the same song.

Simi being the energetic and talented entertainer has joined in the dance challenge herself calling on her fans dance with their bellies or fake a baby bump made from a towel. The ‘Duduke’ love song is dedicated to her unborn child as the video features pregnant Simi at the beach as she sings passionately about her love for the little one and how she can’t wait to meet him/her. The track drops just after her recent collaboration with Ladipoe where the duo released the track ‘Know You’.

Simi released the video of Duduke on April 19. Coming four months after her single, Selense, the release of the video also coincides with the singer’s 32nd birthday. The song is Simi’s first official single in 2020. The song opens with a pop piano riff and then came the switch to highlife with smooth guitar riffs and African percussions. The beautiful singer is expecting her first child with husband, singer Adekunle Gold, whom she tied the knot with in January 2019.

Prior to sharing the news, fans and followers had been talking about noticing that the ‘Joromi’ crooner was carrying a child. They spotted it from photos shared by the singer. A recent video of Simi and her husband, Adekunle Gold, however, confirmed the suspicion of her fans. Last year saw Simi making some serious moves.

She officially parted ways with her record label, X3M, following the release of her third studio album titled Omo Charlie Champagne, Vol. 1.

Both Simi and the record label made the seemingly amicable decision to not renew her contract and the Nigerian

Simi Inspires in ‘Duduke’ Dance

singer-songwriter went on to establish her own imprint, Studio Brat, that same year. Although the duo got married in a private ceremony, they did however give fans a sneak peek into their love story in the

music video for ‘Promise’. Simi became popular in 2014 after releasing “Tiff�. The track was nominated for Best Alternative Song at The Headies in 2015. She released her debut studio album ‘Ogaju’ in 2008.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˞ Π˜ 2020

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SHOWBIZFLAIR

Nicki Minaj and Davido

Davido’s Getting Set for a Better Time with Nicki Minaj Ferdinand Ekechukwu

J

ust about the moment Nigerian superstar David Adeleke announced he has an incoming single with American superstar Nicki Minaj, he had also hinted of a new album tagged ‘A Better Time’. The Sony Music act, well known as Davido, had barely dropped his sophomore album last year titled ‘A Good Time’. The record was released on November 22, 2019. Davido took to twitter days ago to announce he will be dropping his third studio album ‘A Better Time’ by July 2020.

The album which will feature Tiwa Savage already has eleven tracks recorded.

This, Davido announced on Monday via his Twitter handle. In another Tweet, he also revealed that it took him and everyone who worked on his new album 14 days to put all the tracks together.

While Davido’s sophomore album, A Good Time was released over five years

after his debut album, OBO, the DMW honcho is ramping up efforts to fill his discography and his fans are excited.

The multi-award winning singer, in December 2019, announced a North American tour in support of the album; the tour was scheduled to begin in the winter and end in spring 2020. In March 2020, the singer postponed the tour due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Judging by how successful his Good Time album was, fans are really excited about the upcoming album. It came as no surprise that fans went wild with excitement on Twitter. Amidst the excitement on Twitter, a Wizkid fan saw the news as an opportunity to hate by comparing Davido’s success to Wizkid. According to the troll, if Nicki Minaj was working with Wizkid, she would have been the one tweeting about the news and not the other way round.

The troll then added that Davido should calm down because there are levels to this. Davido was obviously not impressed

with the constant trolling from Wizkid’s fans who are also known as Wizkid FC. The singer expressed as much in his reply to the troll. Two years ago, Nicki Minaj and Wizkid had shared their photos during a studio session on their respective Instagram pages. Reacting to fans, Davido tweeted: “All I see is fans up in my mention arguing every f#cking day!!! Damn una never tire all these years?

Person no fit even see road for Twitter again damn‌ corny AF.�

Davido has worked with many International artistes, including Chris Brown, Summer Walker, Popcan, Cardi B, Quavo, Tinashe, Casanova, Meek Mill, Tory Lanez, Wale and others. Nicki Minaj is the latest addition to an already long list of international ‘features’ that Davido has amassed. In spite of the Covid-19 induced lockdown, the singer is still making massive moves to top the spotlight.

The Risky crooner recently premiered the video for D & G, a song off his last album featuring American singer Sum-

mer Walker.

The music video was shot while Davido was still in Los Angeles as part of his North American tour just a few months ago. Millions of fans who streamed the music video could not help but praise the singers for their creative genius and the synergy between them on the project.

Interestingly, the music video was not just one of his regulars, but one dedicated to a greater cause.

During a feature on American news station, CNN, the singer while speaking with entertainment reporter Chloe Melas, opened up about his collaboration with Italian luxury fashion house, Dolce and Gabbana.

The ‘OBO’ explained that while he was on tour, he was working on a campaign with the fashion brand. Along the line he learnt that D&G was embarking on a research to fund a vaccine for the Covid-19 virus. This was what motivated him to donate proceeds from the music video project towards the research.

26

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ ˾ MAY 9, 2020

SPORT XTRA

The children of Barca Academy Nigeria, with their coach display the trophy Nigeria won at the Barca Academy World tournament in Barcelona, Spain

Ighalo

Ighalo Wants to Extend Loan, Finish Season with Man Utd Odion Ighalo hopes his loan deal at Manchester United is extended until the Premier League season is completed.

The Nigeria striker, 30, moved from Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua in January and has a contract until 31 May. PremierLeaguebosseshopetoresume the season in June but, with China’s Super League also intent on a restart, Ighalo may have to return to Shanghai.

“I would like to finish the season if it’s possible,” Ighalo told BBC Sport.

“I was in good form, good shape, scoring goals and now we’ve stopped now for over a month. I’ve given it my best and hopefully we’ll come back to play.

“The team had a good momentum before the pandemic started. At the

moment I’m on loan, and this will cut short my time at the club.”

BBC Sport understand United are keen to extend Nigeria international Ighalo’s contract.

He has scored four goals in eight games in all competitions for United, including once in the 5-0 Europa League last-16 win over LASK on 12 March, a day before the Premier League season was suspended.

“The club, myself, every footballer is going through a lot because we can’t do what we love and what we know how to do best, so we’re just thinking about that for now and to finish the season before we start thinking about the contract,” said Ighalo.

“I just want everyone to be safe and see what the future holds.”

United are fifth in the table with nine games remaining.

Ighalo said the Premier League will make the right decision in order to ensure players are “safe and healthy” if and when play resumes.

Premier League clubs will meet on Monday to discuss a resumption to the season.

The Chinese Super League is hopeful of restarting in late June.

The Chinese football association has made a proposal for all professional clubs to cut the salaries of players and coaches by up to 50 per cent to help combat the financial impact of the pandemic.

Stakeholders Call for Implementation of Oronsaye Report Seek NFF’s autonomy

Football stakeholders in Nigeria have called for the implementation of the Stephen Oronsaye Report, which they said would guarantee the total independence and autonomy of the Nigeria Football Federation and free the football governing body from undue interference by government.

The report, which is meant to restructure and rationalise government commissions and agencies, recommended that the federal government stopped funding the NFF. It added that the law enabling

of the Nigeria Football Association be amended to reflect the directive of FIFA that the organisation be renamed a ‘federation.’

“This will stop further debate on the currentcontroversialstatusoftheorganisation and that government stops further funding of the NFA/NFF in accordance with FIFA’s Statutes,” the report stated.

But football stakeholders believe that the latest move will release the country’s football body from the clutches of the government, who have severally been

criticised for interfering in football matters, which at some point almost led to the country’s ban by world governing body, FIFA. They stated that the present NFF board should be able to run football without funding from government, based on their achievements in the past.

In 2018, the NFF was 65 per cent selffunding, and the stakeholders believe with an enabling environment between then and now, the NFF should be selffunding.

The NPFL: Between us and Our Game Fred Edoreh

Recently, the League Management Company engaged club owners for solutions to stably steer the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), post Covid-19 lockdown, but it was greeted with the familiar misinformation attacks by pathological disrupters of Nigerian football who suggest that the only way to advance the NPFL is a return to the old order whose rapacious and ill-conceived deals left the league in squalor until the League Management Company (LMC) came to rescue it.

Inimically praying for the failure of the currentbroadcastandcommercialization partnership with NEXT Digital TV and even calling on club owners “to rise up” against the LMC, they conveniently hid the fact that the old Nigeria Football League Limited (NFLL) ran a transaction in which the league broadcaster paid $5.4m per season to a middleman who only pinched N150m (barely $1m at the time) to the league and its 20 clubs and kept $4.4m as profit.

At a point, the league could no longer fulfill its obligations, including indemnities for match officials, as it revolved in

indebtedness to the agent which lent it money just to keep it afloat to enable collection of new season payment from which the old season debts were further deducted from its bare bones.

Even before the first tenure of the TV deal was due, the NFLL jumped to knot the niggardly arrangement till 2022 and moved to further expand the rapacity by considering to award the title sponsorship of the league to same middleman for far lower than what was actually asked of a telecommunications company on pitch. Such was the lowliness with which the NFLL steered the league.

Ironically, because of the possible private benefits its leaders enjoyed from the skews, the tussle for succession became so feisty that the protracted multipledisputesinseveralcourtsboomerangedwith a judicial declaration that the NFLLwas notincorporatedcorrectly,thusunknown to law and therefore an illegal body.

That declaration led the NFF, the clubs and the sports ministry to seek a different legitimate vehicle to save the league.

Thus was the League Management Company Limited (LMC) birthed as a non-profit organisation acting in the

interest of the participating clubs in the NPFL and also the NFF as is the case with the FAPremier League Limited in the UK, DFL GmbH in Germany, the LFP in Spain and other such bodies in France, Portugal and various European countries.

The NFF and the clubs deliberated extensively on a new governance structure and, with the endorsement of the congress, the supreme governing organ, they settled for a hybrid of several structuresfromthemoredevelopedleaguesin which, like in the EPL, the participating clubs nominate their representatives, rotated every football season, while a joint “selection committee” with the NFF appoints an independent chairman and two other independent directors on a four years tenure, to constitute the board.

This has ensured stability on the LMC board which thenceforth has operated seamlesslywithoutanyrancourincluding duringtheseasonalchangeofclubdesignate directors and or the reappointment of the independentChairmanandDirectors for another term.

NOTE: This piece is concluded in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

‘Barca Academy Nigeria Players Structured for off the Field Challenges’ Kunle Adewale As the entire world strive to contain the biggest health challenge of the times, that has motivated the postponement of many global sports events, even the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was not spared.

However, visionary individuals and organisations are seeing the situation as a challenge to do things that would add good value to life and build structures that will outlive this generation, with a sound role modelling reference.

In this direction, the Blaugrana Sports Group International, after a teleconference strategic and technical team meeting, during the week, in a telephone chat with the media, the Group team leader, Leslie Oghomienor, revealed that the times was the most challenging period of our generation.

A call for the world to see herself as one in the spirit of the reasons for all world sports programmes like the FIFA World Cup, the Olympics and others.

He stated that “visionary nations, organisations and individuals with good will and determination will come out better than before this time, because the challenge is not discriminatory. All the nations of the earth are affected. So is the sports world. The economy is neither free nor immune.

We must be determined and innovative in order to win the game against the pandemic.

“Therefore, we must see things differently and smartly work in the manner, such that our tomorrow would be better in all sectors of human callings than now. This we can accomplish by a collective change of attitude, in-depth research into sports medicine, and put in place functional utilities and health structures that would guarantee a better and healthy life of the people.

“We as an organisation with core quest for the nurturing of young children to be great leaders and legends, we though determine to conquer, is approaching the situation innovatively, with humility of unshakable effort, though ambitious, engaging the virtue of respect for all, embracing efficient and sound, value adding teamwork and sportsmanship, though off the pitch we are as ready as we had always been, would be in our best when the doors of the pitches and schools where our facilities are sited are thrown open as may be directed by the government and other regulatory bodies,” he said.

He opined that the children of Barca Academy Group Nigeria, are well disciplined, properly honed in moral values, and are well taught the true essence of life, and the beauties of living life fully by taking full responsibility of their lives, beginning with personal hygiene and safety.

“In the Academy, children with no shin guard are not allowed to train. Some of these little details, a lot of us ignore and in many cases end up causing serious life-threatening injuries.

We do not compromise discipline. You abide by the rules or you are out. If you are asked to wash your hands that you should do. We want the best for them and our nation Nigeria.

“I must mention that our children are determined and well prepared for the challenge in and off the field. Our children are looking forward to winning more group and individuals trophies at this year’s Barca Academy World tournament.

Exploring and conquering more grounds,” Oghomienor explained.

He commended the media for their efforts during this trying period, by diligently serving the society. He prayed for the heroes - the medical professionals the world over, who were risking their lives to ensure a healthy world. He implored government to ensure that those who have lost their lives in the course of the pandemic should not be in vain.

3

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ APRIL 24, 2011

GLOBAL SOCCER A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

9.05.2020

Bukayo Saka

Arsenal Battle to Retain their Jewel

NEWS

NIGERIA ON HIS MIND PAGE. 29

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MAY 9, 2020

28

GLOBAL SOCCER

Bukayo Saka Arsenal Battle to Retain their Jewel After an incredible spell of form so far this season, Arsenal are finding it increasingly difficult to hold on to their jewel- Bukayo Saka. With five Premier League clubs and two Bundesliga sides monitoring the AngloNigerian winger’s situation, it would almost be a miracle for the North London club to convince him to stay at the Emirate

A

t least five English Premier League clubs are believed to be monitoring the situation of Arsenal’s Nigeria-eligible wonderkid Bukayo Saka for a possible transfer in the

summer.

Arsenal risk losing the England U-19 international with his current contract set to run out at the end of the 2020-2021 season and they have not yet revived contract talks as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Hale End Academy product was earlier linked with Manchester United, Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.

Now, 90min.com claims Manchester City, Leicester City and Chelsea were also involved in the race for the talented winger.

Though Saka is attracting interests from big Premier League clubs, Arsenal remain confident that he would sign a new multiyear contract.

Borussia Dortmund are searching for a winger as everything indicates that Jadon Sancho, who shares the same agent as Saka, would be returning to the Premier League.

If Arsenal were to cash in on the AngloNigerian teenager, he would be valued in the region of 20 million euros.

The 18-year-old academy graduate has been a regular for the Gunners this season, racking up 30 appearances in all competitions, with both former Arsenal boss Unai Emery and current head coach Mikel Arteta having reposed plenty of faith in the talented youngster.

But Arsenal are desperate to keep hold of Saka, who is out-of-contract at the Emirates Stadium next summer.

Though talks have stalled in recent weeks between the club and Saka because of the COVID-19 crisis, Arsenal remain hopeful that they could convince the teenager to extend his stay at the Emirates Stadium.

And Arteta, who has shown plenty of faith in Saka, could play a key role in persuading

the teenager to stay in north London.

Arteta’s tactical acumen and ability to improve players on the training ground is also a factor which could sway Saka’s decision.

Arsenal fans were given a reminder of their head coach’s understanding of the game, after a video from FA Wales’ training conference in 2017 surfaced online.

In the clip, Arteta can be seen in front of a screen explaining to young players the runs he wants them to make and how he wants them to receive the ball and escape their markers.

The Gunners boss previously spoke about how he and the other staff at former club Manchester City had to iron out the bad habits in Raheem Sterling’s game.

Meanwhile, the Gunners may already have been preparing for the exit of Saka after Arsenal claimed to have ‘made contact’ with Real Madrid over a potential transfer move for left-back Sergio Reguilon, a report claim.

It promises to be a busy transfer window for Gunners coach Mikel Arteta by the time it comes around and the Spaniard is seemingly using his time without football to plot his transfer plans.

Whilst bolstering the centre of his defence and the centre of his midfield are top priorities for the Gunners boss this summer, he also has plans to address the left-back berth, with Reguilon reported to be on his radar.

The 23-year-old is currently on loan at Spanish outfit Sevilla and has made a very strong impression during his time with the club, racking up four assists in 25 matches from left-back.

And it is claimed that up to 10 clubs, including Arsenal and their North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, have expressed an interest in landing the defender.

The report claims that Arsenal are weighing up a swoop for Reguilon as a potential replacement for Bukayo Saka, who is attract-

ing interest from German giants Borussia Dortmund, despite Arsenal having no plans to sell the 18-year-old.

But with Saka having not yet committed his long-term future to the club, and his contract set to expire in the summer of 2021, there are fears beginning to mount that the left-sided star could leave the club.

Arsenal are struggling to reach an agreement with Saka over a new long-term deal as the Gunners have so far failed to tempt him into signing a contract extension.

Arsenal are prepared to offer him a five-year deal and increase his wages significantly following his breakthrough season at the Emirates.

Saka has made 10 assists and scored three goals in 29 appearances in all competitions this term.

And the young star ’s incredible spell of form has not gone unnoticed by some of the biggest club’s in Europe.

Saka made his Premier League debut as a 17-year-old and became the first player born in the year 2001 to feature in the elite division, having replaced Alex Iwobi in the 83rd minute of Arsenal’s 4-1 victory over Fulham at the Emirates.

The winger has made his way up through the Gunners’ youth ranks and even progressed in England’s setup. Before making his league debut, Saka had appeared twice in the Europa League against Vorskla and Qarabag.

With the Gunners having a healthy lead, the youngster was introduced for Super Eagles midfielder Iwobi in the 83rd minute, meaning Saka was the first player born in 2001 to play in the Premier League at 17 years, three months, 27 days.

Born and raised in London, Saka is of Nigerian descent and has represented England at youth level where he currently plays for the U-19s.

Saka turned down Chelsea, Tottenham

Hotspur, Fulham and Watford to sign for Arsenal as a child.

“I had invitations from Spurs, Chelsea, Fulham and Watford but the only choice was Arsenal,” said Saka. “I enjoyed the way that Arsenal played so the choice was easy for me.

“I trained at Hale End and signed when I was nine years old. Receiving a scholarship and then signing a professional contract a couple of months ago and playing for the first-team has made this year very special already.”

How well Saka still enjoy the way Arsenal play remain to be seen as he is yet to sign a contract extension at the Emirate.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Football Federation is hoping to beat England to the Arsenal Wonderkid, but the federation are still lagging behind their English counterparts in the race for the services of Arsenal starlet Bukayo Saka.

Amaju Pinnick, President of the NFF, is said to be an admirer of the 18-year-old, with the football administrator likening him to a goldfish with no hiding place, adding that he does not need to lobby before he is invited to the Super Eagles. Saka is provisionally cap-tied to his country of birth, England, having played competitively for the Young Lions at U1-7 and U-19 levels, meaning he has to apply to FIFA for a change of association if he decides to switch allegiance to Nigeria.

The 2019-2020 campaign has been a banner season for the versatile winger, so much so that there was speculation that he was going to be included in England’s European Championship squad.

The postponement of Euro 2020 by one year means the Nigerian Federation have more time on their hands to convince Saka to switch his allegiance to the three-time African champions.

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

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MAY 9, 2020

GLOBAL SOCCER

Valuev’s 7ft height dwarfed Haye when both boxers clashed

Nikolai Valuev: The Beast from the East Nikolai Valuev’s enormous body was once crammed into the back of a car, with heavy metal and rap music being blared out, much to his disgust.

His next ring-walk music was being pitched to him by promoters keen to pair ‘The Beast From The East’ with a fearsome tune that matched his reputation. Valuev, with his knees crammed into the back seat, removed his earphones and dismissed every option.

He had been listening to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.

This was the burden that Valuev carried on his massive shoulders. The largest-ever heavyweight champion stood seven-feet tall and is best remembered for being called “a circus freak show” and “big, hairy and ugly”

by David Haye prior to their fight in which Valuev weighed-in a whopping eight stone heavier than his opponent. He never escaped the perception that he was an ogre but, deep down, Valuev is described as a gentle giant and a philosophical thinker by those who knew him best, who hope his true purpose may be in his current guise as a politician.

There are other stories of the Russian monster whose personality never fit his exterior.

Late for his UK debut at Battersea Town Hall, event organisers were panicked by how they could possibly misplace someone so big. Finally they made contact with him, just a couple of hours before his fight, and found that Valuev was on Baker Street at the Sherlock Holmes museum. He was an enthusiast for classics by Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie, they discovered.

Valuev’s parents were just 5ft5in tall, so they say, and his grandmother believes his physique descends from an ancient tribe called the Tartars known for being oversized warriors. Such mythology was music to the ears of Kellie Maloney (then known as Frank Maloney), the London promoter who loved few things more than a novelty heavyweight.

Valuev was being touted around the globe and would fight in Australia, Japan, Korea and eventually the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City where you-know-who took an interest. But his fifth and sixth fights were in

London promoted by Maloney.

“I needed publicity for him,” Maloney told Sky Sports. “I phoned the local press and brought them to the hotel. I told them that Valuev couldn’t fit in the bath or the bed.”

Was that true?

“No. “I dressed him up as the Russian guy from the Rocky films.

“I saw a novelty value in Valuev. I didn’t think he was very good. You could have made films with him. He was a promoter’s dream. I thought: ‘I’ll make him a national hero, I’ll go to Russia and be treated like royalty!’

“I fell in love with the guy. I had heavyweights like Lennox Lewis and Julius Francis but this guy was the monster of monsters!

“He didn’t eat as much as I expected him to eat.” Maloney, insisting Valuev exceeded 7ft tall, coined the nickname ‘The Beast From The East’ but any hopes for longevity with this project were thwarted by an ominous phone call.

“I had a deal with Valuev’s agent and a really nice guy associated with the Russian federation,” Maloney explained. “When they heard about the publicity he was getting, his agent mysteriously got ill. He was taken into hospital so our contract never got made.

“I got a phone call in a Russian accent saying: ‘Forget about The Beast From The East’.

“The agent that we had been dealing with told me to be careful.

“A few days later the agent died in hospital.

“At that point I just left it. I didn’t pursue it.” Despite the dark undertones associated with him, Valuev’s true personality shone through.

“He was a very respectful man who always thanked us,” Maloney remembered. “He always spoke about his love for his family.”

Too easily forgotten is that the Valuev mystique was able to build because he was winning fights. “He had fought around the world and not been taken seriously because his size overshadowed everything else,” promoter Kalle Sauerland, whose father began working with Valuev, told Sky Sports.

“We promoted him from being a circus

act to the first-ever Russian heavyweight champion.

“There are lots of big guys. Put Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder together and you get Valuev! He’s ginormous.

“He worked very well off his jab. If he got his jab going it became physically impossible for you, even for other big fighters.

“He adapted his style around his size but he didn’t rely on it. People expected him to be a huge puncher. But the time it took to throw a punch from one size of his body to the other? It was like sending an email to his opponent! His size was an advantage but also a disadvantage - he worked around it and put a lot of hours in that.”

Sauerland once boarded a 5am flight out of Moscow and found Valuev asleep laying across every seat in the front row, still needing to curl up to fit.

“I felt for the people who had to sit in the first row,” Sauerland laughed. “You definitely wouldn’t fancy asking him to move!”

Unbeaten Valuev defeated Evander Holyfield, John Ruiz twice, Clifford Etienne and Larry Donald and became WBA heavyweight champion in 2006.

Legendary American promoter Don King got involved alongside the Sauerlands and, to hype Valuev’s fights in the US, labelled him “the eight wonder of the world”.

The big Russian never wanted to be gawped at.

“I want to win the hearts of the American people,” he said. “I want them to welcome me not for my size, but for my boxing skill.”

His world heavyweight title defence against David Haye was dubbed, you guessed it, David vs Goliath.

“I have watched The Lord Of The Rings and other films with strange-looking people, but for a human being to look like Valuev - it’s pretty shocking,” Haye taunted.

“The one thing I’m not looking forward to is getting into clinches with him, because he’s so hairy. It’s disgusting!”

Haye won the fight in Germany to become a heavyweight champion for the first time and later said: “It’s easy to rewrite history, but very few were backing me to beat ‘The Beast

from the East’ at the time.”

Valuev retired three days after losing to Haye. Perhaps the only regret was never fighting either of the Klitschkos.

Were there talks? Kalle Sauerland said: “Lots with Vitali. But never with Wladimir - he didn’t fancy it. We were once very, very close to a deal with Vitali but Don King was involved and that’s where it ended.”

Larry Donald fought both Valuev and Vitali Klitschko and told Sky Sports that the latter would have won. He also claimed Valuev had little skill, just overwhelming size.

Valuev, a heartfelt soul outside of the ring, was quoted in the book The Greatest Sport of All: An Inside-Look at Another Year in Boxing: “I am not a machine. I am not a piece of meat. I am not a circus show.

“I am a normal human being. I have human feelings. I have a beautiful family. I have many friends. I like good music, classical music. I read books. People sometimes do not treat me like a human being because of my size. They make a sensation. I try not to take it personally because they do not know me as a person.

“But there are times when it hurts me inside.”

The chess lover who wooed his 5ft2in wife by writing her poetry became an actor, including a lead role in a film about a boxer, and then bizarrely a children’s TV presenter on a famous Russian show which is equivalent to Tyson Fury getting the top job on CBeebies.

Valuev is now a politician and a recognisable face in the Kremlin where he has a specialised seat to fit in. The book All the Kremlin’s Men: Inside the Court of Vladimir Putin said he “stood out from the crowd by virtue he was attired in grey (and also happened to be a gigantic former professional boxer)”.

Last year he revealed having brain surgery but has resumed his politics career.

“People look at him and see a big lump but he is extremely intelligent,” Kalle Sauerland said. “He’s one of the cleverest fighters I’ve ever met. r Culled from Skysports

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾MAY 9 2020

GLOBAL SOCCER

Ovie Ejaria: Super Eagles on His Mind In 2017, with the help of seven players of Nigerian descent, England won its first major trophy in football-2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup, since winning the 1966 Mundial. Three years after the feat, one of the players, Ovie Ejaria has returned allegiance to fatherland

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or the delay by the world football’s governing body, FIFA on the clearance of Liverpoolowned midfielder, Ovie Ejaria, Nigeria Football Federation boss, Amaju Pinnick‘s VIP scouting would have succeeded in bringing on board the U-20 World Cup gold medallist who had declared allegiance to play for the Super Eagles.

The former Arsenal youth-teamer was a member of the England squad packed with star-studded players such as Dominic Solanke, Fikayo Tomori, Ademola Lookman

and Josh Onomah that won the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in South Korea, but has now opted to switch his allegiance from England to Nigeria following a lack of opportunities at U-21 level.

Ejaria always had Nigeria in his heart and desperately wanted to play for the Golden Eaglets at the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup but coach Manu Garba opted not to take the player to the United Arab Emirates because he was not impressed with his physical attributes as at that time.

“Ovie Ejaria hasn’t been cleared by

FIFA, he has started the process though but not yet through,” one of Gernot Rohr’s assistants told allnigeriasoccer.com.

“We have passed all the information to the Nigerian Federation and they will take it up from there. Processing of the paperwork is an administrative issue not a technical one.”

Ejaria is currently on loan at Championship outfit Reading, for whom he has made 32 appearances in the second-tier and has three goals to his name.

He secured a loan-to-buy exit from Liverpool, two-and-a-half years on from a brief spell in the first team which saw him play eight times.

Ejaria joined the Reds from Arsenal in 2014, and made his senior debut for the club in 2016, coming off the bench as Jurgen Klopp‘s side won 3-0 at Derby in the League Cup. The midfielder was a regular in the first team that season, featuring seven more times and spending another eight games as an unused substitute.

But he faded out of the picture the following summer, and at the start of 2018 was loaned to Sunderland, before spending last season with Rangers and Reading.

His time at Reading was arguably Ejaria’s most productive yet, and that prompted the Royals to secure a season-long deal for the 21-year-old on deadline day.

The deal will then become permanent at the beginning of next summer, for an initial £3 million with £500,000 in addition.

A gifted technical midfielder with height and the ability to cover ground quickly with the ball, Ejaria could develop into a top player in the Championship in years to come.

That could well lead to a return to the Premier League, with Klopp’s faith in his first campaign as Liverpool manager a sign of clear potential in the youngster.

Born in London on September 17, 1997, to Nigerian parents, Ejaria grew up supporting Arsenal for whom he played for nine years before signing for Liverpool in summer 2014.

His first senior appearance was in a preseason friendly prior to the 2016-17 season against Tranmere Rovers on 8 July 2016.

Despite being relatively unknown prior to the game he performed exceptionally well and caught the eye of first team manager Jurgen klopp who selected him for four more friendlies over the summer.

His first competitive call-up came on 16 September in a Premier League match against Chelsea as an unused substitute in Liverpool’s 2–1 victory. Four days later, he made his first team debut against Derby County in the League Cup replacing Roberto Firmino in the 3–0 victory.

On 25 October, Ejaria made his full debut in the fourth round of the EFL Cup in a 2–1 win over against Tottenham at Anfield and on 6 November 2016, he debuted in the Premier League, coming on as a substitute in Liverpool’s 6–1 home win over Watford.

In June 2018, Ejaria moved on loan to Scottish Premiership club Rangers, after signing a new long-term contract with Liverpool and made his debut on 12 July, coming on as a second-half substitute in Rangers’ 2–0 UEFA Europa win over Macedonian side Shukpi.

On 7 January 2019, Ejaria joined Reading on loan until the end of the 2018-19 season and on 8 August 2019 Ejaria rejoined Reading with the club having an obligation to sign Ejaria permanently at the end of the season.

Ejaria is eligible to represent England or Nigeria internationally. He trained with the Nigeria U-17 team in 2013 and stated that his international allegiance lay with the country in 2014. However, despite rumours of a senior Nigeria call up being in the offing, Ejaria accepted a call up to the England U-20 team on 30 September 2016. He made his debut for the team on 7 October, in a 3–1 win against Germany, playing the whole match.

In December 2019, Nigeria national team coach, Gernot Rohr urged the NFF to get Ejaria to switch allegiance to Nigeria.

SATURDAY MAY 9, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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MISSILE

Professor Akintoye on Federalism “Over- centralisation of governance has suppressed over 56 million people in Yoruba speaking tribes. We want to go back to that original plan in which each federating unit is free to manage its life without interference” – Foremost Yoruba nationalist/emeritus Professor of history, Banji Akintoye, agitating for true federalism.

PENDULUM DELE MOMODU

dele.momodu@thisdaylive.com

Who Shall Protect Job and Wealth Creators in Nigeria?

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ellow Nigerians, I am excited to report to you the feedback I got from my article last week, May 2, 2020, titled TIME TO PROTECT NIGERIAN COMPANIES AND JOBS. Reactions were varied but instructive. A few of the names I mentioned, who I had not seen or heard from for many years, reacted directly to thank me for the piece especially as they considered that they were doing a thankless task of trying to generate jobs for the mass of our citizens, and create wealth for a sizable proportion as well. Also, a top government functionary personally spoke copiously to me to give me the government perspective.

My simple conclusion is that while Nigerians from different walks of life moan and groan about lack of jobs, government needs to do much more about protecting those who create jobs and spread prosperity. My main grouse is that we are yet to understand the fact that we cannot harass businessmen and women in the same manner we treat politicians who run afoul of the law. Everywhere in the world, the government would usually invite members of the business community to explain their challenges or inform them of whatever government has against them so that any issues can be resolved if they are capable of resolution. This is more so where the purported violations are more regulatory than anything else. When there are criminal allegations to be faced, the businessmen are to, and should, be treated with the same principle of innocence until proven guilty as that given to the ordinary citizen. The fact of his wealth, visibility and fame should not be used as an opportunity to create a circus out of the event in a bid to demonstrate that government can catch big fishes! They must not be pronounced guilty on the pages of newspapers or scandalised permanently and globally without considering the business and commercial implications, the impact on the economy or how many jobs may be lost if care is not taken.

Imagine how many times the Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, has been invited to face charges bordering on suspected criminality.

One of the most recent examples was the doublebarrelled attack he got from lawmakers in the United Kingdom who labelled him a “digital gangster!” and from lawmakers in the United States where prosecutors frenetically scrutinised the activities of Facebook and subpoenaed two companies that had engaged in business with the powerful and influential social media platforms.

As serious as the charges were, Zuckerberg was still accorded maximum respect and allowed to answer questions in a dignified atmosphere devoid of convictions before prosecutions!

As recent as March 30, 2020, Microsoft was accused of violating antitrust laws. Long before then, Microsoft and Bill Gates were charged at various times including in 1998 for the same antitrust issues. In 2019, Reuters reported that Microsoft Corp agreed to pay $25.3 million, plus a criminal fine, as settlement for “improper payments that were used to bribe government officials in Hungary and other countries...” Nothing you might say could be dastardlier. Yet, the countries involved did not seek to humiliate or scandalise Microsoft in the process. The government did not cut off the heads of the Microsoft operatives.

Bill Gates was not treated like a pariah or made to appear responsible for the activities of his company. He was not forced into exile or made to withdraw into his shell because those countries understand the fact that throwing the baby and the bath water away simultaneously would spell bigger doom for the countries and the world at large. There was therefore no backlash at all on the promoter of Microsoft. Bill Gates continued to be the darling of the public because both

President Muhammadu Buhari government and the populace generally recognise the good work that he has done and still does, notwithstanding the major violations and the significant punishment that has been meted out to his company and the humongous fines the company had to pay.

The essence of my epistle today is to appeal to our country to learn didactic lessons and useful tips from other places. Many important companies and their owners have been ruined just for the fun of it or because someone wanted to play God and no one considered the plight of thousands, who may lose, or have lost their jobs! Some founders of big corporations lost their investments, hard work and sweat in a jiffy and even more painful, innocent shareholders, workers and indirect beneficiaries suffered collateral damage. This is unGodly. Mistakes are bound to be made and there are always remedies and punishments that are meant to be corrective and not destructive.

Recently one case resurfaced in the public consciousness. I was amazed, shocked and disheartened at the potential for ill-will and economic damage that this trait can portend.

This trending case in point is that of Drexel Tech Nigeria Limited and the calumniation of one of its Directors and promoter. The media went agog, a feeding frenzy ensued, and the mission was basically to guillotine and kill the company and its principal owner, just like others who have fallen victim in similar circumstances. This type of systemic and systematic annihilation is most unfair and unfortunate.

What is more stupefying is that in this particular case, the matter is in court. Courts must be allowed do their job conscientiously without unnecessary pressure, distractions or possibility of bias by the sound and fury of the baying public who have no idea of the nature and amount of information being presented by either side. The business adversaries and detractors sneakily supply or provide the driblets of information that the media feasts on. They cannot take on the role of the investigator, prosecutors and judge. “Nemo judex in causa sua – no man shall be a Judge in his own cause.” It offends against every grain of the principle of fair hearing.

Incidentally, Mahmood Ahmadu is also the quintessential promoter and owner of OIS Integrated Ltd. OIS Integrated is a wholly owned and driven Nigerian visa processing company. He grew this business from the rubble to the riches it has now attained, pitching it in the same league with some of the best visa service companies in the world. He is reputed to have employed about

1000 people mostly Nigerian formal workers in his group of companies, which has a presence in more than 56 countries traversing every corner of the globe and providing a technologically savvy algorithm for non-judgmental processing of visa applications and related matters.

Within a space of under 10 years, Ahmadu has changed the nuances of the Nigerian biometric visa ecosystem around the world so much that even his business adversaries acknowledge that he has done an extraordinary job on improving the Nigeria biometric visa regime to the surprise of the world.

Today, he stands tall among his peers because under the aegis of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the Nigeria biometric visa ecosystem has become fair based and standardised, where everyone follows the same process according to their needs. He has technologically energised the biometric visa case management system where communications synergy between the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Nigerian overseas Missions and his OIS Integrated Ltd have become seamless.

Under the control of the Nigerian Immigration service, Mahmoud Amadu introduced the biometric visa management system in the Nigerian visa regime from start to finish of the application process as directed by the NIS, thus protecting the Nigerian border by linking it delicately with the relevant international agencies for the prevention of cross border and cyber crime including other related issues in line with international best standards and practices and Nigeria interest.

In doing this, he is also assisting in ensuring the protection of our internal security apparatus because unwanted villains and migrants are deterred from entering the country. He has also set up several processing centres around the world with transparent application payment regimes boosting government revenue, alongside so many more dramatic value-added features.

Under his watch and innovation, the Nigerian Biometric Visa system is reputed to be the best in the world next to only that of the United States of America and the United Kingdom.

Peeping into the corporate world that this silent Nigerian giant has created, under the most challenging conditions, inspires and justifies the quest for the desirable support of every patriotic Nigerian who understands that the architecture and framework of running a thriving business in a free market economy is predicated on the substructure of a sound, independent and vibrant private sector. Every serious free market economy thrives on the content value of its private sector and today, an all-embracing private sector must be global in nature and resonate resoundingly on all platforms.

Countries around the world have their strategic plans for international trade and development woven around the successful ones in their private sector. It is another reason for separating the individual from the company, unless in proven cases where the company is a mere sham. The vagaries weakness and foibles of the individual should not affect the fortunes of the company. In the same vein the misfortunes and misdemeanours of the company should have no negative impact on the progress and goodwill of the dynamic and enterprising entrepreneur. Our governments should realise that there is merit in separating these two compatible but discordant forces in the business terrain if our homegrown businesses are to simply survive not to talk of competing and flying.

Expectedly, business adversaries and detractors in all spheres of Mahmood Ahmadu’s theatres of engagement have gorged on the plight of his other company, Drexel Tech which merely set out to modernise the methodology of enlisting

would-be applicants into our para military service to cast negative aspersions on their rival and competitor, the enviable OIS Integrated Limited.

In the process, they have vilified the personality of the reserved and reticent Mahmood Ahmadu and crucified both Drexel Tech and OIS Integrated for their selfish and avaricious reasons without minding the domestic and global damage that such primordial actions have, and the consequential continued battering of the beleaguered image of Nigeria and its fledgling economy.

The world has become such a global village with information transmission being translucent.

Every story attracts a global audience and thus affects the mind of the unsuspecting reader in other parts of the globe at a time when Nigeria haemorrhages for foreign exchange and for the Foreign Direct Investment that will allow that kind of investment to flow into the country again. Why do we hate ourselves so much that we are open and prone to self-destruction and self-immolation with a nonchalant and insouciant attitude that is devoid of any passion or commitment to our nation?

Incidentally, these business predators and unpatriotic Nigerians would stop at nothing in their apparent desperation to continue to destroy this consummate Nigerian who is favourably competing in the global space. It would seem that the anonymous marauders and their faceless allies keep yearning to torment and disparage the businessman, and his soaring business successes, for nefarious reasons, totally unconnected with the immigration recruitment saga. To do this they have resorted to media trial, whilst feeding the frenetic media half-truths and blatant falsehood.

The efforts of these shenanigans to sully and besmirch the reputation of Mahmood Ahmadu lends credence to the desire of unknown traducers to destroy the astute business savvy gentleman and affect his competitive edge in his national and global endeavours.

The government requires to protect our investors and their companies from the hands of these rapacious entities that negate the mission and effect of the much vaunted ease of doing business in Nigeria which this present administration has declared is in the vanguard of its policies for the economic revival of the country.

It is preposterous that when government is assiduously engendering policies that would attract local, and foreign investments, some citizens in pursuit of their narrow, parochial interests would precariously jeopardise this and expose the entire country to ridicule, disrepute and odium. This certainly serves as a disincentive tonic and has been responsible for turning many businessmen and businesses away from Nigeria whether they are Nigerians or foreigners. It is time to put a stop to this inapt and regrettable tendency.

This is the time to provide the appropriate framework that would guarantee and protect our indigenous businesses and their promoters.

We must allow the rule of law to prevail where litigants aren’t made to face trials in court and by the media at the same time. This smacks of double jeopardy and must be mitigated, if not eradicated, otherwise our international trade and development agenda cannot achieve its desired objectives.

Above all, the failure to entrench investigatory and prosecutorial practices that are fair, just and constitutional, and which recognise the fundamental right of innocence until proven guilty, will not augur well for the millions of unemployed youths that litter our country, because the few people that are seriously creating viable job opportunities are being serially persecuted and hounded.

We must celebrate our super stars and wealth creators not depreciate, deprecate, or denigrate them.

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