SATURDAY 4TH SEPTEMBER 2021

Buhari Extols SGF Boss Mustapha at 65 Says his respect for the ‘dedicated public servant’ has grown stronger

Deji Elumoye in Abuja Mr. Boss Mustapha, who has been serving as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), since 2017, will clock 65 today,

and President Muhammadu Buhari was quick to dispatch a birthday goodwill message to him, describing the SGF as a dedicated public servant.

Buhari’s message was contained in a statement by

his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, titled, “President Buhari extols boss Mustapha at 65, describes him as a dedicated public servant.”

The President said his

respect and admiration for Mustapha had grown stronger since he assumed his role as SGF. Buhari stated: "Since his appointment as SGF, my respect and admiration for

Mustapha have grown ever stronger and deeper because of the passion and energy with which he does his job.

"Mr. Mustapha is a remarkably competent person who enjoys the confidence and

support of his colleagues."

Buhari commended him for "playing a big part in the nation's unparalleled success in combating the COVID-19 Continued on page 5

IG Vows to Leave Legacy of ‘Professionalised’ Police… Page 5 Saturday 4 September, 2021 Vol 26. No 9644

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APC Holds LG Congresses Today Amid Controversies Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja With the dusts raised by the legal challenges to the status of Mai Mala Buni as the interim Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yet to settle, coupled

with the ward congresses of the party that ended in crisis in some states still generating controversy, the APC is today going ahead with local government congresses.

A High Court sitting in Asaba had restrained Buni

and other members of the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee from acting or parading themselves as such until the determination of a substantive suit before the court.

The trial court by Justice Onome Marshal Umukoro, also put on hold the local government congress scheduled for Saturday, September 4, 2021 in Delta State.

But Buni, in a statement

issued by his Director General of Press, Mamman Mohammed, on Thursday insisted that he was never restrained by the High Court order in Delta State.

He added that the restriction of the forthcoming local

government congresses was limited to Delta State and did not affect other states.

Buni, Chairman of the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Continued on page 5

Kwankwaso: Unending Crisis Has Weakened PDP, May Tear it Apart Declares internal fighting heightened by those desperate to control the party Urges combatants to allow Secondus complete tenure Bennett Oghifo The former governor of Kano State and a chieftain of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, yesterday said the unending crisis rocking the PDP had weakened it as an opposition and may eventually tear the party apart.

Justice O. Gbasam of the Degema Judicial Division vacation court, Rivers State had, few days back, granted an interim injunction restraining Secondus from parading himself as chairman and member of the PDP, sequel

to the consideration of an ex parte application filed by two members of the party against Secondus and the PDP. But last Thursday, Justice Nusirat Umar of the Kebbi State High Court ordered Secondus to return to his position, saying she was satisfied after reading the affidavit of the respondents that an interim order should be granted on the purported suspension of Secondus pending the determination of the case.

Based on the favourable court ruling, Secondus Continued on page 5

EFCC: Lekki is Epicentre of Cyber Crime... Page 42

VICTOR NWOKOLO BURIES MOTHER...

L-R: Member, House of Representative, Hon. Victor Nwokolo and his wife, Augusta, during the burial of the lawmaker’s mother, Mrs Ezinne Grace Nwokolo, at Igbodo, Delta State....yesterday kingsley adeboye

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Appeal Court: Ozigbo is PDP's Guber Candidate in Anambra Tells INEC to stop acting on orders of trial court Alex Enumah ÓØ ÌßÔË The Court of Appeal, Abuja, has declared Valentine Ozigbo as the authentic candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming November 6 governorship election in Anambra State.

The appellate court made the declaration yesterday while delivering ruling in two appeals filed against the judgment of Justice Obiora Nwabunike of Anambra State High Court in Awka, which recognised Senator Ugochukwu Uba as the party’s candidate in the November 6 governorship poll.

Both Ozigbo and the PDP, in two separate suits marked: CA/AW/223/2021 and CA/AW/234/2021, had approached the appellate court to challenge the decision of Justice Nwabunike, on the grounds that the lower court erred in law when it arrived at a decision affirming Uba as candidate of the PDP in the forthcoming election.

While the PDP in its own suit argued that it conducted its primary in accordance

with the provisions of the law and its guidelines on June 26 at the Professor Dora Akunyuli Women Center, Ozigbo claimed he emerged candidate of the party at that same primary having won majority of the votes cast.

They therefore urged the court to set aside the judgment of Justice Nwabunike and declare the primary held at the Professor Dora Akunyuli Women Center as legal, lawful and constitutional, and that the candidate from that primary be declared as candidate of the PDP in the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State.

Delivering judgment in the two appeals yesterday, a threemember panel of the Court of Appeal, held that the appeals were meritorious and after allowing them, went ahead to set aside the decision of Justice Nwabunike of the High Court of Anambra State which had earlier declared Senator Uba as PDP's candidate.

The panel, in the unanimous decision delivered by President of the Court of

Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, held that the primary election held at the Professor Dora Akunyuli Women Center, Awka, which produced Ozigbo as PDP candidate, was conducted in line with the law and the PDP guidelines.

While declaring as an aberration the parallel primary held at Saint Paul University, the Court of Appeal berated Justice Nwabunike for sitting as an appellate court over the judgment of Justice Olukayode Adeniyi of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court.

The panel faulted Justice Nwabunike for not only rubber-stamping the decision of Justice Adeniyi but also sitting as an appeal over a court of coordinate jurisdiction.

Justice Adeniyi of an FCT High Court had in a judgement ordered the Chukwudi Umeaba faction to conduct the June 26 primary which produced Uba, having sacked the PDP leadership in the state.

Similarly, Justice Nwabunike in his own judgment enforced

the earlier decision of Justice Adeniyi, recognising Umeaba's faction as the authentic leadership of the PDP in Anambra State to conduct the primary for the November 6 governorship poll.

But in their judgment, the three member panel held that it was convinced that the primary conducted by the PDP at the Professor Dora Akunyuli Women Center was valid having been done in compliance with the law and party guidelines.

The panel faulted the primary held at the Saint Paul University on the same day, which produced Uba because it was contrary to the law and the party's guidelines, adding that INEC in line with the law supervised only the primary at Professor Dora Akunyuli Women Center.

While accusing politicians of forum-shopping, the panel wondered why a litigant would take a matter which happened in Anambra before a court in the FCT and then return to Awka to seek enforcement of Adeniyi's

judgment.

The panel took turn to take swipes at lawyers who enable litigants to abuse the court's processes, stressing that relevant bodies like the NJC and the NBA must take decisive actions against culprits.

Justice Dongban-Mensem, while urging INEC not to allow itself to be distracted in preparation for the election, advised the Commission to wait for the decision of the final court in the land and not hurriedly rush to comply with the judgment of the trial court.

After granting the two appeals and setting aside the judgment of Justice Nwabunike delivered on July 19, 2021, the court accordingly ordered Uba to pay Ozigbo and PDP N10 million each as cost of the litigations.

PDP Savours Judgment The PDP yesterday said it received with delight the judgement of the Court of Appeal, which affirmed Ozigbo’s candidature

for the November 6, 2021 Anambra State governorship election.

The party in a statement, signed by Kola Ologbondiyan, the National Publicity Secretary, commended the judiciary for restoring peace and unity in the PDP, as well as strengthening the confidence of the people in the PDP ahead of the election.

The PDP noted that with the judgement, the time had come for all members, critical stakeholders and teeming supporters of the party to unite as a family to work in the interest of the party and its candidate, Ozigbo, knowing that the people of Anambra State were waiting for the PDP to restore the loses of the past years under the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).

The PDP thanked all stakeholders of the party for their resilience in keeping its ranks closed despite the challenges, while enjoining all members to put the past behind and work in the renewed hope that awaits them on November 6.

IG Vows to Leave Legacy of ‘Professionalised’ Police To punish operatives posting police activities on social media Bennett Oghifo Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba yesterday vowed to leave a legacy of a truly professionalised police force.

“I want to leave a legacy of professionalised police, a dedicated police force with sincerity of purpose, zeal and courage,” Baba promised during a tour of the Jigawa State Police Command.

The IG, who was appointed in April, also

swore to motivate officers and punish the bad ones, stating “I will also reward hardworking officers and punish bad eggs in service.

Reward is to motivate, while punishment is to serve as deterrent to others.”

Baba noted that some officers were in the habit of recording classified activities of the force and leaking them on social media, warning them to desist from such act or wait for the dire consequences if caught.

He advised the different

KWANKWASO: UNENDING CRISIS HAS WEAKENED PDP, MAY TEAR IT APART resumed on August 27, only for another court in Calabar, Cross River State, to restrain him from parading himself as the National Chairman of the party.

Kwankwaso, who spoke on the PDP crisis yesterday in an interview with BBC Hausa, said the crisis “is heightened by those who are after leadership of the party.”

He added: “Now, the strength of the party has reduced, and in the end, what will happen is that it will tear us apart.

“You see, the result will not help us, since we do not have a president and we do not have many governors.

“People like me have nothing to do with the crisis. I’m after what will bring development to people; every good leader should focus on that.

“The party chairman has only one month left. I think it’s better to wait so that we can emerge stronger.

“But the crisis is heightened by those who are after leadership. They are not doing it for the betterment of their people.”

The opposition party has lost several key members to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a result of its internal crisis.

Uche Secondus, the embattled National Chairman of the PDP,

has been under increased pressure to resign from office.

Following the court ruling in Calabar restraining him from parading himself as the national chairman of the party PDP’s national working committee (NWC) named Akinwonmi, the National Deputy Chairman (South), as the acting chairman.

‘God Brought Ganduje and I Together’ Kwankwaso also spoke of his recent encounter with his successor in Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.

The former governor said he had spent hours in the departure hall when he received information that Ganduje was also on his way to the airport.

“I said it’s okay, God has brought us all together. The place is like a park or station.

Nobody can ask someone to come or not to. So he came and we greeted each other.

“We boarded the same plane and landed at the Kano Airport.

I sat on the front seat, so I came out first. I greeted his people and made my way, while he too took his own way home,” Kwankwaso said.

commands to adapt to the challenges that confront them, adding that every sector had its challenges and that these should not stop the police from performing.

He said, “It should rather encourage you to do more by devising different means to overcome such challenges.

But we will do our best to address them.”

The Jigawa State Police Commissioner, Aliyu Sale, had informed the IGP of challenges such as inadequate manpower, and accommodation, lack of operational vehicles and obsolete communication equipment.

Sale said: “Regardless of these challenges, the command would not relent in fighting crimes, stating that “Jigawa is relatively peaceful. And since my assumption of duty on August 8, I’ve put in place some proactive crime-fighting strategies.

“By the grace of God,

Jigawa state will continue to be one of the safest places where inhabitants can sleep with their two eyes closed.”

The relative peace in the state, he said, was sometimes marred by ugly incidences of kidnappings, robberies and murders but that these were being addressed.

APC HOLDS LG CONGRESSES TODAY AMID CONTROVERSIES Committee of the APC, noted that some mischief makers, who never wished the party well, had continued to misrepresent the facts without having access to the court ruling.

The crisis generated by the judgement of the Supreme Court in the Ondo governorship election petition, has also left the APC in tatters.

The split judgment of four against three by the seven member Supreme Court justices, which sat on the Ondo governorship election petition, had contended that the reason it did not sack Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of the state, was because the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate in the October 10, 2020 election, Eyitayo Jegede,

failed to join Mai Mala Buni, even when the issues revolved around him.

Many stakeholders of the APC argue that all congresses be suspended, because holding such under the leadership of Buni, portend serious problem for the party, by the time the consequences begin to manifest before and after the 2023 polls.

The Supreme Court judgement apparently questioned Buni’s continued stay, both as national chairman of the party and governor of Yobe State.

Section 183 of the 1999 constitution unequivocally forbids a sitting governor from combining his office with any other job, both as executive positions, same as Article 17 (iv) of the APC constitution.

Notwithstanding objections to the continuation of the

APC congresses because of the status of Buni, the Buni-led interim leadership of the party insisted that today’s congresses in the local governments should go ahead as planned.

Buni, in a statement yesterday, called on the officials handling the local government congresses across the country to just and fair to all aspirants.

Buni in the statement issued by his Director General of Press and Media, Mr. Mamman Mohammed also urged members of the party to conduct themselves peacefully.

He said the Congress “is a family affair that should be executed without rancour in the interest of the party.

We should all abide by the rules governing the election to remain a role model to other political parties."

Buni added: "The leadership of the party has substantially complied with the dictates of the party constitution to promote internal democracy for the success of the congresses.”

The chairman charged the aspirants to respect the rule of the game and embrace the spirit of sportsmanship in the outcome of the Congress.

He commended the enthusiasm demonstrated by members of the party to elect leaders at the local government level.

The Chairman assured that the party would address all anomalies that were employed to manipulate the election results.

He called on aggrieved members to channel their complaints through the constituted channels to seek redress.

BUHARI EXTOLS SGF BOSS MUSTAPHA AT 65 pandemic.

The President urged other public servants to borrow a leaf from Boss Mustapha "who does his job with passion and amazing talent for details."

The SGF was born Boss Gidahyelda Mustapha on September 4, 1956 in Garaha, a village located in Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa State.

He attended primary school in Hong, Adamawa and proceeded to North East College of Arts and Sciences in Maiduguri, Borno State for his high school education.

He graduated in 1976. He also attended Ahmadu Bello

University in Zaria where he received Bachelor of Law (LL.B) in 1979. He proceeded to Nigeria Law School, Lagos for mandatory one-year law class and graduated in 1980.

He was called to Nigerian Bar in the same year. He did his one-year mandatory national service between 1980 and 1981.

Mustapha started his legal practice in Messrs Onagoruwa & Co chambers in Lagos as a Counsel in 1983. He had a stint at an Italian consultancy firm Sotesa Nigeria Limited earlier. In 1994, he stablished his own law practice firm, Messrs Mustapha and

Associates and served as its Principal Counsel until 2000. He later worked in another law firm, Adriot Lex & Co., serving as Principal Consultant from 2000 to 2006.

The SGF entered politics in the 1980s and was a member of the Constituent Assembly, the body that drafted the Constitution of the Third Nigerian Republic.

In 1989, Mustapha was the state chairman of the Peoples Solidarity Party (PSP) in defunct Gongola State, but the party was among the several others disbanded by military head of state, General Ibrahim Babangida.

Between 1990 and 1991, Mustapha was Adamawa State chairman of the Social Democratic Party, one of the two state-created political parties during the military regime. He ran unsuccessfully for Adamawa State governorship in 1991 under the party but lost to Abubakar Saleh Michika of National Republican Convention (NRC).

He was previously managing director of Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority until his appointment in 2017 to replace Babachir David Lawal as SGF.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

NEWS

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News Editor Charles Ajunwa Email charles.ajunwa@thisdaylive.com

Masari: I Didn’t Pass Vote of No Confidence on IG Police say report false, mischievous Francis Sardauna in Katsina The Katsina State Government has refuted a report published by one of the national dailies (not THISDAY) claiming that the State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, had passed a vote of no confidence on the Inspector-General of Police, Alkali Usman Baba.

The Director-General of Media to Governor Masari, Abdu Labaran Malumfashi, who addressed journalists at the

Government House, yesterday, on behalf of the governor, insisted that his principal had not passed a vote of no confidence on the police chief.

This is coming as the Katsina State Police Command described the publication as false, fake, mischievous and calculated attempt by those it termed evil machinations of fifth columnists to put the image of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) into disrepute.

Abdu, while describing the publication as a blatant lie, added

Ugwuanyi’s Benevolence, Outstanding, Says Methodist Prelate The Prelate of the Methodist Church Nigeria, His Eminence, Dr. Samuel Chukwuemeka Kanu Uche, yesterday extolled the leadership qualities of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, describing him as “an erudite scholar, quintessential, sagacious, benevolent, magnanimous and people’s governor who always cares for the people.”

Dr. Uche, who commended Ugwuanyi for his administration’s giant strides in promoting peace and good governance, also lauded him for his resilience and commitment to the welfare of the state’s workers and retirees, in spite of the nation’s economic challenges.

Speaking during the 9th National Convention of the Church, held in Enugu, the Methodist Prelate added: “You (Ugwuanyi) have been promoting your works, we are proud of you. You are making the Igbo man proud.

You are making Nigeria proud

and I don’t expect anything less because you occupy the seat of Michael Okpara who happened to be the leader of all the Igbos.

“Enugu is a home for all Igbo and we know it. Under you Enugu is peaceful and we are very happy.

“We have enjoyed your love, your kindness, your mercy and the Methodists are proud to be here.

“Let me tell you one of the motivating factors for bringing this gathering to Enugu. I brought them to our regional capital; I brought them to Enugu to come and enjoy the beauty of Enugu and we have been experiencing peace and cool weather here.”

The Prelate therefore thanked Ugwuanyi, who was present at the religious event, for his immeasurable support for the church, and beseeched the Almighty God to elevate the governor to greater heights after his tenure.

Sale: I Didn’t Faint after Being Sacked by Buhari Bennett Oghifo Former Minister of Power, Sale Mamman, has said he did not faint when he received news of his sack by President Muhammadu Buhari, as reported in some news circles.

The President on Tuesday, sacked Mamman and the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono of their ministerial portfolios, in a rejig of his cabinet to, as he said, strengthen it.

Mamman refuted rumours that he fainted in an interview with BBC Hausa, yesterday, stating that he did not faint, and that he was not hospitalised, though he had

been ill.

He said, “Even before this sack was announced, I was very unwell because I didn’t even go to the office earlier this week,” he said.

“So on Wednesday and Thursday, I also went back to the hospital for a check-up, and the doctor told me I needed a break so I remained at one place to rest.

“I found a serene and quiet environment to rest and take medication as recommended by the doctor. I didn’t stay at home because sympathisers are trooping to console me; this would prevent me from resting and convalescing on time.

“But I was also not hospitalised, and I did not faint as reported.”

Akeredolu Gives Workers Two-week

that the state government was disappointed over the headline of the newspaper.

He said: “As far as we are concerned, the Governor (Masari) has never passed a vote of no confidence on the Inspector-General of Police.

The newspaper lied about the story. The headline didn’t reflect what actually happened, unless the newspaper is trying to play someone or some people else’s card.

“The state government is disappointed by the headline of the newspaper. The governor never said anything related to what the headline said. The next line of action would be made known after the state government

The circular stated that vaccination card would henceforth be required from Public Servants in order to access some facilities.

It also charged workers on strict adherence and compliance with Covid-19 protocols.

3rd September, 2021 with the above mentioned caption. The Command wishes to categorically state that the publication was false, fake, mischievous and a calculated attempttoputtheimageoftheNigeria Police Force into disrepute.

“The fact of the matter was that on 2nd September, 2021, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Alkali Usman Baba, psc+, fdc, NPM, visited Katsina State Police Command on a one-day working visit and as the tradition demands, he paid a courtesy visit on His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Katsina State, Rt. Hon. Aminu Bello Masari, CFR, in his office at the Government House, Katsina.

“The IGP was warmly

received by the state governor, some members of the state executive council, the legislature, the Deputy Governor, the State Chief Judge, and Senator representing Katsina Southern Senatorial District among other important personalities, including many journalists from the Katsina State Correspondents’ Chapel.”

He added, “The command wishes to emphasise that there was no time the state governor made such remarks of no confidence on the Inspector-General of Police, during the visit but to our chagrin, the Sun Newspaper correspondent was the only journalist that mischievously crafted the fake story of vote of no confidence.

HERE’S MY SCORECARD. . .

L-R: Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) and President Muhammadu Buhari receiving briefing from the NDLEA boss at the State House, Abuja...yesterday.

PHOTO: GODWIN OMOIGUI

FG Inaugurates Food Distribution in Borno Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, has inaugurated the distribution of food and non-food items in Borno State.

The items were received in Maiduguri by Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Zulum.

The minister said that the aim was to address the rapidly deteriorating food insecurity situation in the North-east and Borno

State in particular.

She attributed food insecurity in the country to many factors, including insecurity, climate change, poverty and the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

“President Muhammadu Buhari has shown commitment to addressing the issues of food insecurity and malnutrition by initiating the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS). The Strategy specifically aims to address hunger, malnutrition and poverty through economic growth and

social protections programmes.

“Furthermore, the federal government is focused on promoting local production, providing loans to farmers and skills acquisition, to enhance socio-economic capacities,” she said.

After receiving the items, Zulum thanked the minister for her untiring support towards providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Borno State.

“I would therefore like to reaffirm our commitment towards implementation and execution of

projects that will impact positively on the lives of our people across the state and ensure the timely completion of all ongoing projects.

“I urge those in charge of these facilities to take good care of them as government will not condone anything inimical to standard government policies of maintenance culture in the state.

I therefore enjoin the beneficiaries to make proper and good use of the items distributed, including the housing units and other facilities,” Zulum said.

NEDC Will Continue to Impact North-East, Says Tarfa Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri

Ultimatum to Get COVID-19 Vaccine The Ondo State Government has given workers two weeks ultimatum within which to take Covid-19 vaccination.

The ultimatum, was contained n a circular signed by Permanent Secretary, Service Matters Mr O. J. Afolabi on behalf of the Head of Service.

discusses with the management of the newspaper.

Meanwhile, the state police command, in a statement issued yesterday by its Public Relations Officer, SP Gambo Isah, christened, ‘Re-Masari Passes Vote of No Confidence in IGP’, urged members of the public to discredit the report.

Isah, in the statement, added that the NPF would not be distracted by the activities of the evil machinations who were out to feed the public with falsehood intended to cause panic and disaffection.

He said: “The attention of the Katsina State Police Command has been drawn to the Sun Newspaper Publication of Friday,

The Chairman of the North East Development Commission (NEDC), Maj. Gen. Paul Tarfa (rtd), has promised that the commission would continue to impact on the lives of people of the North-east region.

The commission was established by the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari

to rebuild the North-east from the destruction of the Boko Haram insurgency.

Speaking at the inauguration of projects built by the NEDC and handed over to Borno State Government, University of Maiduguri and its Teaching Hospital (UMTH) in Maiduguri, Tarfa said the programmes initiated and implemented by the commission had impacted greatly on the lives of vulnerable people in

the region.

He promised that the commission would never stop doing this and bringing smiles to the faces of people affected by the crisis.

On his part the Managing Director of the Commission, Alhaji Mohammed Akali, said one of the major projects being inaugurated, 1,000 housing units was approved in 2019 under the Special Presidential Intervention at the cost of N2 billion to Borno

State to ameliorate accommodation deficit because of the displacement of many residents due to Boko Haram insurgency.

According to him, the twobedroom housing units would also consist of solar-powered street lights, four industrial solar-powered boreholes and provision for social amenities while the beneficiaries would be presented with food items and livelihood support to enable them build-back better.

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COMMENTARY

THE KING OF ARCHIVES

Anietie Usen pays tributes to Nyaknno Osso, librarian in a class of his own

T

he ordinary librarian is concerned with arrangement of books in the library. But Nyaknno Osso, who is 50 years today in the library profession, is not ordinary. His peers unanimously consider him extraordinary and he is. Osso is sold out and addicted to books, research and documentation.

Once he steps into any library, whether in Nigeria, United Kingdom or United States, he is not concerned about arrangement of books, but the content of books. This is precisely what has secured him the cutting edge that is rare in the annals of his profession. As a librarian, he is entirely in a class of his own, unequalled in excellence, diligence, rigour and performance.

Dele Giwa, the legendary American-trained, Nigerian editor and cofounder of the phenomenal Newswatch Magazine, described him as “the best of the best”. Celebrated architect, Chukwudi Eze, of the prestigious Columbia University, New York, USA, said “Osso is one of Africa’s most distinguished Librarians”. Writing about Osso recently, Taiwo Obe, a famed Nigerian journalist and founder of the Journalism Clinic, described Osso as “one of the world’s greatest librarians”.

Yakubu Mohammed, former Managing Editor of Newswatch Magazine said Osso is “one man I know that is married to his profession.”

In the pre-internet age of the 80s and 90s, Osso was the veritable google, the ultimate search engine for foremost journalists in Nigeria and beyond. At his beck and call, always and unfailingly, was the specific information on when, where and what any writer ever needed to write a respected story. Ray Ekpu, famous Nigerian journalist and one-time World Editor of the Year described him as “excellent”.

According to Ekpu “We call him the two-minute librarian, because he could get you what you wanted in two minutes or give you an idea of where to find it within that time frame….”

Diplomats posted to Nigeria relied on Osso’s competency to forage through a gamut of Nigeria’s political, military and business elites. Said Karl Kohler, Chargé d’Affaires of the Federal Republic of Germany in June 1995: “Osso, your publication “Newswatch Who’s Who in Nigeria” is of extreme importance to the work of this embassy.

Since my arrival in Lagos…I am using this book almost daily for my information.”

If Yakky, as he is fondly called by his friends, would not have the information you needed, you were likely not to find it anywhere else.

He was the final bus stop for virtually every celebrated writer and journalist. For this, he was sought after, courted, lobbied and perhaps worshipped by journalists in need of instant facts and figures for the next edition of their magazines and newspapers. Not to forget, he is the editor of the award-winning Newswatch Who’s Who In Nigeria and the Who’s Who in Nigeria by the Nigerian International Biographical Centre, NIBC. Till today, what you may not find on the internet about Nigeria is likely to be in his custody.

Yet, he was and remains humble, calm, soft-spoken and quickwitted. In my books AUDACIOUS JOURNALISM and JUGGING IN THE JUNGLE (co-authored with Ray Ekpu, etal), I singled Osso out as perhaps the tool that providence employed to carve a place for me as one of the pioneer reporters in Newswatch Magazine, the exceptional magazine that Nigerian Journalism Schools may never forget.

He had just returned from a six-month tour of top media libraries in the world. It was an assignment given to him by Newswatch founders to lay a solid foundation for their dream magazine. The expedition took Osso to the New York Times in America, Economist Intelligence Unit in London, BBC Media Enquiry Services in London, British Library at Colindale, North London, Financial Times in London and Europa Publishers, across Europe. He scavenged these libraries along with local libraries at home and gathered background materials for the

APART FROM HIS 13-ROOM PERSONAL LIBRARY IN ABUJA, STOCKED AND STACKED TO THE CEILINGS WITH HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF BOOKS, MAGAZINES AND JOURNALS, HE HAS EMBARKED ON, PROBABLY, THE MOST CHALLENGING TASK OF HIS SHINNING CAREER. IT IS A ONE-STOP, FIRST-INNIGERIA BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION DATABASE, BUILT TO SHOWCASE NIGERIA’S ACHIEVERS AND HEROES, HOME AND ABROAD, DEAD OR ALIVE, DATING BACK TO 1861

take off of Newswatch.

It was an incredibly massive operation. When he returned, his adventure made news. Dele Giwa announced that with the treasure trove of data that Yakky gathered, Newswatch magazine was ready to take off. When I stopped over from The Punch, Mangoro, Headquarters’ where I was a Writer/Reader, to cheer up Yakky at the 62 Oregun Road, Ikeja Office of Newswatch, I was practically conscripted on the spot by Dele Giwa and Ray Ekpu into the pioneer team of the magazine. t was from Newswatch that Osso’s fame soared to lofty heights.

One day in 1988, in the course of his endless quest for information, he placed a call to the Office of Olusegun Obasanjo. At that time, Obasanjo was a former military Head of State, and busy as well with a forum he set up called Africa Leadership Forum. Osso had expected a Receptionist or at best the Confidential Secretary of the big man to pick the call. Instead a shocker assailed him. This shocker was later to catapult his life into unexpected trajectory.

Obasanjo’s Secretary was not on seat and the big man happened to be passing through the Secretary’s Office when the phone rang. He picked Osso’s call and said in his unmistakable gruffly voice, ‘I am Olusegun Obasanjo, what can I do you for?’ Said Osso, “I was rattled, but I shot my shot…and the rest is history”.

Part of the history is that this otherwise normal phone call set in motion a chain of events and decades of close relationship between Obasanjo and Osso. When Obasanjo miraculously metamorphosed from prison to palace, as president of Nigeria in 1999, he appointed Osso as the Special Assistant to the President on Library, Research and Documentation for eight years (1999- 2007). Even after Obasanjo completed his tenure as president and all his ministers and aides went their different ways, the former president refused to part with Osso.

Two of them arrived Abeokuta into Obasanjo’s famous residence to begin a new life of breaking limits.

At stake was the proposal for the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, OOPL, which Osso had floated and pursued with the zeal of Paul of Tarsus. No such library had been built anywhere in Africa.

Osso visited 13 Presidential Libraries in the United States to compare notes and understudy the kind of presidential library he envisioned for Obasanjo. At the end he settled for and modeled the OOPL after the President Bill Clinton’s Library in Little Rock, Arkansas. In the process, he met Bill Clinton many times. He also met a host of world leaders including the Madiba (Nelson Mandela). In the official webpage of OOPL, Obasanjo attributes the idea of the gigantic project to Osso.

The journey to the first presidential library in Africa, Obasanjo wrote “began in 1988 between myself and Mr Nyaknno Osso”. And in the third volume of his last book, My Watch, where Obasanjo dedicated a chapter to the Presidential Library, he described Osso as “the OOPL’s man on the ground”.

With the palatial OOPL behind him, Osso returned to Abuja to build yet another library. This time an unprecedented library for Nigerians and seekers of information worldwide about the movers and shakers of Nigeria. Apart from his 13-room personal library in Abuja, stocked and stacked to the ceilings with hundreds of thousands of books, magazines and journals, he has embarked on, probably, the most challenging task of his shinning career. It is a one-stop, first-in-Nigeria biographical information database, built to showcase Nigeria’s achievers and heroes, home and abroad, dead or alive, dating back to 1861. A systematic and methodologically researched biographical information on Nigerians, it is by every standard a national legacy.

Usen, journalist, author and administrator, wrote from Port Harcourt

FALLACIES OF ETHNIC AGENDAS The only domination to fear is that of the elite, writes Fredrick Nwabufo

T

he fear of ethnic domination is as old as Nigeria. Mutual recriminations and suspicion have been the scourge of Nigeria’s cohesive development. The south-east says it is the north, and the north points the finger back; the south-west looks on its neighbour in the south with chariness, while the south-south is in perpetual trepidation of the south-east. A bartering of blames, mistrust and distrust.

Before Nigeria’s independence on October 1, 1960, the country’s forbears were united in their resolve to give the British the heave-ho.

They were called ‘’nationalists’’ because their cause, as it were, was for the emancipation of the indigenous peoples inhabiting the Niger terra firma. They fought well.

But these leaders retreated into ethnic igloos as soon as the British handed over the reins to them. Ethnic interest now supplanted national interest. The struggle for the collective now gave way for sectional scheming and machinations.

In fact, to put it clearly, while the preindependence struggle was against British colonialism, Nigeria’s independence agitators had ethnic interest secreted in their national agitation. As far back as 1949 -- 11 years before independence -- Nnamdi Azikiwe said in his speech of June 25, 1949, at the Igbo State Assembly, Aba, that the pursuit of the Igbo was self-determination within a

federated commonwealth of Nigeria.

Azikiwe’s words: ‘’The Ibo people have reached a cross-road and it is for us to decide which is the right course to follow. We are confronted with routes leading to diverse goals, but as I see it, there is only one road that I can safely recommend for us to tread, and it is the road to self-determination for the Ibo within the framework of a federated commonwealth of Nigeria and the Cameroons, leading to a United States of Africa.

Other roads, in my opinion, are calculated to lead us astray from the path of national self-realisation.’’

The fear of ethnic domination is a foundational Nigerian problem. In an interview in 1964, Ahmadu Bello, the first and only premier of northern Nigeria, vocalised his reservations about the Igbo.

He said: “Well, the Igbo are more or less the type of people whose desire is mainly to dominate everybody. If you put them in a labour camp as a labourer, they will try to emerge as headman of that camp and so on.”

As a matter of fact, it was as a result of the fear of ethnic domination and mistrust, that Zik’s National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons went into an alliance with Bello’s Northern Peoples Congress against Obafemi Awolowo’s Action Group in 1959.

According to Zik, Awolowo’s party must

be stopped from taking power at the centre because ‘’it would destroy political opposition’’.

Awolowo as well nursed these fears which he expressed in his public statements. It was the reason he utterly ensconced his political party in an ethnic understructure.

The fear of ethnic domination is as old as Nigeria. But how potent are these fears?

Ethnic rivalry can be beneficial if it is healthy – if it can spur competition on the basis of innovation, education and production. In fact, rivalry is a natural human phenomenon. Even at the cellular level of society there is rivalry – in families, workplaces and groups. It is only natural.

But what is uncomely is rivalry for national spoils which the political elite foisted on the country. This type of rivalry engenders hate, fear, suspicion and distrust.

Nigeria is nearly 61 years old, but the fear of ethnic domination is still a kindler of conspiracy theories. But how potent are these fears? Can the Igbo say with absolute certainty they have been hegemonised?

Discount the noise of marginalisation. Can the Yoruba, the Hausa, the Ijaw or any Nigerian group hold up such a claim with unimpeachable facts? I do not think so. No group is under the hegemony of another.

The fears of ethnic domination lack potency even though pervasive.

The quotidian refrain in Nigeria under Goodluck Jonathan was that there was an ‘’Ijaw agenda’’ -- that the former president had a grand scheme of empowering militants to put the country in Ijaw control.

Conspiracy theories were invented out of the insecurity at that time. The Jonathan government was accused of sponsoring Boko Haram and the fable of a special killing squad set up by the government rippled.

Time has proved these conspiracy theories to be vacant of verisimilitude.

And in Nigeria under President Buhari, what has changed? The same conspiracy theories -- but of northern domination and terror sponsorship – have been manufactured and propagandised. It appears with every new administration, conspiracy theories steeped in ethnic and religious prejudices are woven around the president – based on his/her ethnic origin and religious background.

Nigerians must realise we are all victims of elite domination. There is no other domination – be it ethnic or religious. The only domination to fear is that of the elite who foist a rivalry over national spoils on the people.

Let us bury these fallacies of ethnic agendas. fredricknwabufo@yahoo.com

13

SEPTEMBER 4, 2021 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

INSIGHT

Delightful performance...

In Praise of Boss Mustapha

“

Great occasions do not make heroes or cowards; they simply unveil them to our eyes’’ -- Brooke Foss Westcott I am writing about a man whose sense of patriotism and belief in the unity and progress of Nigeria is second to none. A man who believes in excellence and have demonstrated that the utopian society where everything is in perfect condition can be made real if given the necessary support.

This was the intellectual idea that influenced his decision to join the struggle to actualize the lofty dreams and ideals of our founders when in 1988 at the age 32, he became member of the Constituent Assembly; a think-tank group assembled by the then federal government to draft Nigeria’s constitution for its transition programme to the Third Republic.

Fellow Nigerians, I’m talking about the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on Covid-19, Barrister Boss Gidahyelda Mustapha as he turns 65 on September 4, 2021.

The essence of this article is to sincerely say ‘thank you’ to the man who put his life on the line to save the lives of millions from the deadliest plaque in human history after the ‘Bubonic Plaque’ better known as ‘The Black Death’ of the 14th Century.

Though the world has witnessed several plaques since then, but none has been as virulent as the Coronavirus. In a nation with over 200 million people, the Presidential Steering Committee started the fight against Covid-19 with just two molecular laboratories with daily testing capacity of 500.

Therefore, it takes courage, love of a country and unyielding faith in God to accept the responsibility of leading the fight against Coronavirus at that material time that Boss Mustapha was appointed Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on Covid-19 now known as the Presidential Steering Committee. Though the battle is not yet over, but looking at how far we have come and the availability of vaccines as well as the ongoing administration of the jabs on Nigerians, one can say that the aim of achieving herd immunity which will lead to eventual defeat of Covid-19 or flattening the curve is achievable in the nearest future.

However, if there is anything the outbreak of Coronavirus and the successful prosecution of the war against it by the Boss Mustapha-led PSC has taught us, it is the fact that there is no adversity or challenge that Nigeria cannot overcome if we have the right leadership and team in place.

From just two molecular laboratories and 500 daily testing capacity with inadequate manpower and facilities, the PSC successfully waged the war on Covid-19 with minimal casualties, averted national calamity, upgraded and repositioned our healthcare system and infrastructure to optimal level. Oliver Wendell Homes must be right when he said that ‘A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.’

Though we are not yet there, but because of what the PSC has done and is still doing, Nigeria’s

healthcare system is now better equipped to contain the outbreak of any disease in the future as we now have over 150 molecular laboratories with over 50,000 daily testing capacity as well as isolation and treatment centres in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory while the construction of Oxygen Production Plants in all the states and the FCT is ongoing. Nigeria has also joined the list of countries regarded as vaccine candidates because two vaccines produced by Nigerian scientists are awaiting clinical trials and the certification of World Health Organisation before it would be put in to use.

Against the initial fear on vaccine storage, the PSC rehabilitated existing cold chain facilities as well as the procurement and installation of Ultra-Cold Chain equipment across the federation.

Today, the PSC is administering Moderna Vaccines on Nigerians without encountering facility problem despite the fact that it requires refrigeration of about 2 to 8 degree Celsius. This is even as the WHO has ranked the country’s response to Covid-19 as the fourth most successful in the World.

In all these, I commend President Muhammadu Buhari for showing leadership and commitment to the fight against Covid-19 at the time the country needed him most.

Therefore, I’m using this opportunity to wish you a very warm and memorable birthday and many happy returns even as I also congratulate you for winning this year’s Leadership Newspaper ‘Annual Conference and Awards” as it’s ‘Public Service Person of the Year,’ while the Presidential Steering Committee which you lead emerged as the ‘Public Agency of the Year.’

Comrade Edwin Uhara, a UN-trained Negotiator and member, APC Presidential Campaign Council in 2019 Presidential Election, wrote from Abuja

T H E SAT U R DAY N E W S PA P E R EDITOR YEMI ADEBOWALE DEPUTY EDITOR AHAMEFULA OGBU MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN MANAGING EDITOR BOLAJI ADEBIYI THE OMBUDSMAN KAYODE KOMOLAFE

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 SHAKA MOMODU, PETER IWEGBU, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR PATRICK EIMIUHI CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

Waterlogged Pitches and Drainage

T

he recent embarrassment of waterlogged pitches at the Adamansigba Stadium and Teslim Balogun Stadium have left me wondering about the state of football pitches in Nigeria. In the case of Ibadan after N5.6 billion was spent, couldn’t attention be paid to the pitch and didn’t the engineers know about a pitch drain? In modern football hybrid is the name of the game, even the grasses have become hybrid and the drainage system could be hybridized.

Currently this is the most frequently used drainage system in pitches. Plastic pipe drains are commonly installed with laterals at spacing between 5m and 10m centres at a depth between 450mm and 600mm below ground level.

The plastic pipes can be wrapped with a porous material to prevent fine dust to enter it. All drains must be laid with a steady fall, no less than 1:150. When the drains have been laid, trenches must be backfilled with porous material to ensure the high percolation rates necessary for effective drainage.

Predominantly single-sized, hard, angular gravel or broken stone within the range 6–10mm must be used as backfill. This should be brought to within 150mm–200mm of the surface. The trench backfill is then ‘capped’ with a 50mm ‘blinding layer’ in the form of coarse sand or fine grit to prevent infiltration of topsoil. The trench is backfilled to ground level with sand. So I wonder why the engineers didn’t install a pitch drain.

Rufai Oseni, rufaioseni@gmail. com

14

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

SUPER SATURDAY Monica Swaida

My American Oyinbo Husband Loves Amala with Egusi Soup Racheal Oniga is dead. Victor Uwaifo is dead. So are several veterans. But their autobiographies have now been immortalised in “Tales of the Legends”, a documentary produced by US-based Nigerian actress, Monica Omorodion Swaida. In this interview with Chinedu Ibeabuchi, Monica talks about growing up in Nigeria, life in the United States, neglect of Nollywood veterans, the struggles of Nollywood actors who relocate abroad, insurance cover for Nollywood actors, and lots more

I

s Monica Swaida just about acting?

I’m a self-proclaimed multi-tasker. I am a Nigerian that has lived almost all my life abroad. I am an insurance company owner, who also owns a production company. I am also a musician and an actress.

Why the flair for entertainment?

Since I was a kid, I knew exactly what I wanted to do growing up. Listening to my dad singing and teaching us how to sing made me fall in love with music. My home was like that of “The Sound of Music”. My dad was a police officer who was very strict with his kids. The most memorable relationship we had with him was him teaching us how to sing. He bought music books and made us stand, all 9 of us, in the living room and he thought us songs.

Looking back now, it tears me up. He was way ahead of his game. He made us learn the songs and he went around singing. His voice made me fall in love with music. I started writing my own songs and showing them to him. He was a poet and also a musician. I am actually living his dreams. My music writing skills made me win a songwriting competition in Lagos while still in high school. I never looked back. Show biz became my first love.

You are involved in a project to make Nollywood more recognizable on a global stage. Tell us about it?

I happen to be one of the executives at the Hollywood and African Prestigious Award, HapAwards, in Hollywood California. I am also its ambassador. This position has helped me to venture into the world of Hollywood. The President of HapAwards is a Nigerian-American that has a love for the motherland. It’s not every day you find people that have a love for the motherland and want to showcase our talent. They loved my work and approached me since they knew I was in the industry. I am glad to take our business to the next level and have our directors and producers learn more via education and seminars. We have to take Nollywood to the next level and that’s where I come into the picture. I am very glad to be able to do my part.

You are based in the US and married to a White. Tell us about the cultural fit and shock you faced?

Yes. I have lived in the US for almost my adult life. I came here as a teenager, so I know more about the US than I know about Nigeria, but the Nigerian in me has never changed. I am a proud Nigerian. The biggest cultural shock is the misconception that Africa is just a forest and most people live on trees etc. I tell my friends here that Nigeria is just like America and most western worlds. Our only problem is just the mismanagement. Many are shocked to see us push as women. Children are not disciplined like we were growing up. It’s still a shock to this day. That apart; there is not much shock for me. I have been here almost all my life.

Does your husband eat Nigerian meals?

My husband eats more Nigerian food than

Monica Swaida

15

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

SUPER SATURDAY My American Oyinbo Husband Loves Amala with Egusi Soup

Monica, her husband and two children

over there?

I don’t blame the Nollywood veterans that have relocated abroad. Given the opportunity, who won’t leave? Nigeria is hard! Look at healthcare, look at electricity, and look at killings and banditry. It’s tough to survive abroad too though without legal papers. You take a big hit back if they don’t have papers.

Also, an actor who relocates starts all over again. In America, we have lots of stars here already. Most of the stars in Nigeria can’t be stars here. Most are not known. Many of them go back to driving cabs, working as regular people. They start all over again except they have money and planned right. It’s like starting all over again. However, it’s a win, win situation.

I do. When my mom was living with us, they had their own pot of soup separate from us because of the pepper. The only difference between my husband and a Nigerian is the skin and the language. He loves egusi soup and pepper soup. He loves amala. The only thing is that he would never eat it after the day it was cooked; you know how we warm soup severally; his Americanness comes out.

You are trying to preserve our cultural heritage. Tell us about it One day while visiting Nigeria, I met a veteran musician with a group called Sweat.

We met for dinner. I was amazed after talking to him. I thought to myself, this guy did so much for this country and most don’t even know this. This was our ‘Davido’ of yesterday fading away. No one knew his stories. No one will remember him. That night, I came up with a project called Tales of our Legends. It’s a very passionate project for me. I traveled round Nigeria visiting our legends who have done so much in Nigeria in different sectors. It’s sad that we hardly celebrate or know our legends.

Many of them die with their stories untold.

Most times when told, they are told from other’s perspectives and not theirs. If you ask a 10 years old person about Bob Marley, he or she will tell you his story, same as Michael Jackson and many other stars abroad. Ask about Pele the footballer, they will tell you; ask about Shakespeare, they will tell you. Ask a Kenyan man about Chinua Achebe, they will tell you all about his books. But ask Nigerian youth, most will not know. Ask them about Bongos Ikwue, they will not know. It’s sad. So I have made it my own way of giving back to Nigeria by going around and documenting all these. We must tell our stories; we must document our stories.

Several veterans are dying. Many died in penury or debilitating sickness. What’s your take on this?

It’s a shame. A big shame. Not too long ago, I went to Nigeria for a shoot and was invited to a walk for kidney awareness for a star. I asked questions about what was done for people like

What’s your vision for Nollywood?

My vision for Nollywood is this: to take our business to the next level. Our works have evolved over time. We are doing better but not making the money. A star in America makes one film and blows. In Nigeria, most only have lots of followers, but poor. They are not paid like they are paid in the western world. Look at Netflix for one, our films flood their package, but how much are they being paid? Almost nothing. We have stardom, but no money. We are suffering and smiling. It’s a shame. I say we have to stand united and demand to be paid like those abroad. We must have a union where the Nigerian government helps us make the right move in being paid right. We have to come together and speak in one voice.

Nollywood has to demand respect. We are good. We are loved all over the world We need to be paid right for our jobs. Right now we are not. The problem is us Nigerians. We ar

Monica, her husband this. I wasn’t given a good answer. Most of our stars don’t have life insurance or health insurance. Most don’t plan for the future. They plan for today or now. Most are hungry and don’t have money to eat let alone money to save for health insurance.

I am still open to helping the Nigerian entertainment sector. I own an insurance company and have very vast knowledge in this department.

Tell us about Nollywood projects you are involved in I have many projects in the works.

Currently have two movies in the works.

My other project is the one I talked about called Tales of Our legends. It’s a documentary coming on screen soon.

Several Nollywood veterans have relocated abroad. Is it rosy for them

Tell us about your family life I am from a family of 4 brothers and 4 sisters; married to a wonderful husband with two kids. My hobbies include traveling, swimming, reading, and politics. I am a motivational speaker and a poet. I am one of the very few black-owned insurance agency owners. I am also an investor. I have a non for profit org called street angels. I try to give money to struggling business owners just starting off in life as others did for me.

16

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 4, 2021 • T H I S D AY

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

17

Ferdinand Ekechukwu 08035011394 Email: ferdi_adthisday@yahoo.com

SHOWBIZFLAIR

Burna Boy at the London O2 Arena

Burna Boy

Ferdinand Ekechukwu

A

Burna Boy concert at the prestigious 02 Arena London expectedly, was deÀnitely going to be a big bang, even without his newly earned status as Grammy-winning superstar +is Àrst perIormance as a support act at the venue in 2019 was ecstatic, as the crowd went wild seeing him mount the stage. Then

the AIroIusion star, raving on his acclaimed ¶AIrican Giant· posture, appeared again the second time at the 02 Arena alongside British superstar 6torm]y Ior the B5,T Awards perIormance in 2020.

Burna Boy returned Ior his Àrstever headline show on Friday, August 27, 2021, with this concert at the 22 Arena as part oI his 6pace 'riIt Arena Tour.

The O2 Arena, the second largest indoor venue in the United Kingdom, and tagged the world·s busiest music arena, had its concert hall

packed to the brim with an overtly excited crowd. This is coming aIter the release oI Burna·s latest hit single “Question”, Ieaturing producer, Don Jazzy, which has recorded massive airplay. A highlight Irom the show that leIt the crowd in tenterhook oI the ¶Twice as Tall· crooner was his entrance and exit. The Grammywinner arrived at the concert on a giant spaceship, and he gave Ians an unIorgettable experience. ¶Oluwa Burna·, as Iondly called, hit the stage with thousands oI rave audience in attendance to see his

eelectriIying perIormance. ,n a video tthat was shared on social media, the sspaceship could be seen descending aand “vomiting” Burna Boy aIter heralding his arrival with some Iorm h oI eͿect. Literarily the venue went o aagog and was greeted with rapturous applause. The concert, which is o tthemed the ¶Space DriIt·, Ieatured eexhilarating perIormances Irom the ¶¶:ay to Big· crooner and his team aas he dazzled the audience with hit ttracks Irom his several discography.

Some oI his hit songs perIormed to tthe delight oI music lovers includes ¶¶Kilometre·, ¶Location·, ¶AIrican Giant·, ¶Pull Up·, ¶:ay Too Big·, G aand ¶Another Story·. +e was later jjoined on stage by 0arvin·s 5uger aand 5ema, King Promise oI Ghana, aand Omah Lay. The ¶AIrican Giant· ssinger was the third artiste enlisted b by the organisers &okobar in asssociation with Spaceship Entertainm ment Ior the O2 Arena·s ¶:elcome B Back Show· series lined up Ior m music lovers returning to the Iacility m months aIter it was shut down due tto the &O9,D-19 pandemic. The IIully packed arena, captured by 0ichael Tubes &reation, revealed 0 tthe artiste, known Ior his mercurrial perIormances, reinventing the ccataclysmic sounds that make up h his unique music.

That a Burna Boy concert at the p prestigious 02 Arena London was g going to be a big bang was Ioretold aand had been expected long ago to replicate the Ieats oI :izkid and Davido, twice at the same venue.

Following the concert, Burna Boy is billed Ior more perIormances in Los Angeles in the US; Paris in France; and Amsterdam in the 1etherlands on October , 1ovember 10, and 1ovember 1 , respectively.

The trips are part oI his Iourcountry tour Ior ¶Twice As Tall·, his Grammy-winning studio album. :izkid, another 1igerian music star, is also scheduled to perIorm at the 02 Arena on 1ovember 2 as part oI his ¶0ade in Lagos· album tour. Tickets are already sold-out.

BAP’s ‘Fela and the Kalakuta Queens’ For S’African Cinemas The stage play, “Fela and the Kalakuta Queens,” created and Directed

by Bolanle Austen-Peters, has been converted to screen, aIter successIul perIormances in &airo, Pretoria, Lagos and Abuja.

BAP Productions and Terra Kulture Arts and Studios, in collaboration with the South AIrican State Theatre SAST

have now entered into a partnership with Ster-kinekor, the leading South AIrican &inema chain, to screen “Fela and the Kalakuta Queens” in cinemas across South AIrica Irom September to October 2021.

Bolanle Austen-Peters said it was Tuite exciting to receive the news oI partnership Irom Aubrey Sekabi, the Artistic Director oI the South AIrican State Theatre. She adds “,t is indeed exciting times in the AIrican Theatre industry and BAP Production is proudly Áying the 1igerian Áag internationally. ,t is the Àrst time a 1igerian stage play has been converted to screen.”

“Fela and the Kalakuta Queens” is supported by the (state oI late Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

One off the O h K Kalakuta l k Queens Q on stage

Bolanle Austen-Peters B

18

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

SHOWBIZFLAIR

Victor Olaotan Can now Finally Rest Ferdinand Ekechukwu

“W

e fought. You fought... It’s time. There is more to be said... For now; we breathe. Rest Baba... Rest.” These solemn words of Nollywood star, Iretiola Doyle, appear consoling amid the many heartfelt tributes as Nigeria’s movie industry mourns the passing of their colleague, Victor Olaotan.

True to her social media post, Olaotan fought for Àve years, bedridden since 201 following a ghastly car accident he was involved in around Apple Junction in Amuwo-OdoÀn area of Lagos, while driving to a movie set.

He had faced the possibility of his two legs being amputated thereafter.

The accident had left him incapacitated and he was Áown to Turkey for medical treatment. The late actor was recently Áown back to Nigeria as his condition deteriorated when the family could no longer shoulder his medical expenses abroad. At some point, several of his colleagues solicited funds to help get the movie veteran back to his feet. In 201 , a Gofundme page was set up necessitated by the actor’s Ànancial request to facilitate his medical treatment abroad, after two years of being incapacitated.

The fund was to enable him undergo neuro-rehabilitation; a medical procedure designed to aid recovery from nervous system injury or disorders of the nervous system. Shortly after the appeal, Nigerian billionaire businessmen, Femi Otedola responded wholeheartedly by taking up the bill, the sum of N 9m 0,000.00 . The actor’s wife, Julia Olaotan would later conÀrm that the money was paid directly into the account of the hospital in Turkey. But that wouldn’t be all.

“The person who facilitated the GoFund0e was Gbenro Ajibade and R0D took it up from there through Otedola,” 0rs.

Olaotan had revealed. “I think one of the challenges we had was when we went to town announcing that Otedola has picked up all of his bills. I had a few people that called me to say I am not sure you know what is wrong with your husband; you can never say that you have enough. Even if truthfully the money is okay, what about post-medical when he returns" But I was looking at it like what are these people saying?”

The 9-year-old Victor Olaotan eventually

Victor Olaotan

gave up the ghost on Thursday August 2 , 2021 after a prolonged battle with his health condition. Best known for his role as Fred Ade-Williams in the long-running television drama series “Tinsel” where he warmed his way into the hearts of television viewers, the actor’s death came barely a month after the sudden demise of another colleague, Rachael Oniga. Olaotan’s widow, Julia, broke the news of his death. “He has tried. It is not easy to be trapped in your own body for Àve years. He can Ànally rest now,” she said.

In February 2021, 0rs. Olaotan recounted in an interview that though the actor was getting better, she could no longer pay the hospital bills that were already piled up.

“Medically, he is improving, and there has been a lot of improvement. His recent picture was what was used to do his birthday wish

on social media so there has been a lot of improvement. The major challenge is Ànancial and that has been a struggle. We have come out occasionally to ask for funds and we are not ignorant to the fact that there are challenges.

“With the COVID pandemic, everybody has been aͿected, locally and internationally. But I have bills to pay. His hospital bill is 7, 00 a month, and the main reason he is there, I actually haven’t done it, is to get his procedure done. We have done the Àrst stage of the medical procedure; it was that Àrst phase that Mr. Otedola paid for.” Born in Lagos in the early 0s, the late Olaotan studied Drama at the University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University and Rockets University in the United States of America.

A well-groomed stage and screen actor,

Uncle Victor, as younger colleagues fondly call him, began his career at a very young age. An accomplished actor who cut his teeth on stage featuring in Ola Rotimi’s epic play, God’s Are Not to Blame, Olaotan, who learnt under the feet of theatre greats, like Professors Adedeji, Wole Soyinka, Jimi Solanke and Dapo Adelugba, had a stint as a footballer.

But as he was at that, the urge to act crept up. Olaotan lived abroad for over 20 years and returned in 2002. He also had opportunities to take part in a couple of stage productions, including touring with the epic play, Sizwe Bansi is Dead and playing Othello in Shakespeare’s play of same title at the Shakespeare Festival. An actor’s actor of vast credit, Victor Olaotan last screen credits include ¶Love Struck’, ¶Lotanna’ and ¶The Three Wise Men’.

Introducing BILS, Afrobeats’ Newcomer Ferdinand Ekechukwu

The evolution of the social media has changed a lot of narratives around talented people across the world, especially the generation Z, coupled with the level of competition in the Nigerian music scene, mostly in the afrobeats genre. But for BILS, born Daniel Oshodi-Alagoa, his face is already on the digital space, but just making his way into the bursting Nigerian entertainment scene. He is an Afrorap/Afropop artiste, with a unique and engaging sound that is heavily inÁuenced by his late brother David Oshodi Alagoa, Fela Kuti, and Tupac Shakur.

His journey into music started just before he relocated to America to further his studies; there he bagged a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Sciences from Texas Southern University. “BILS Built-in Lagos State , it’s not about money. It’s where I’m from,” he says, talking about his journey into music.

He passionately recalls: “My brother gave me that. I used to go by Hoodbilli when I Àrst started, but my brother had always called me BILS. When he died, I took that name BILS, because every time someone says it, it reminds me of him. So anytime I hear BILS, it just reminds me of him you know.”

As a young chap growing up, BILS found

music out of depression when he left the shores of Nigeria. “I grew up in Nigeria. I left when I was sixteen. I went to America to further my studies. I went to University and now I’m done. So that’s one of the reasons I have been away for a long time. Generally, I have come back like maybe twice but I have been away for, since 200 . That’s when I actually left Nigeria. That’s when I found music. I found music out of like depression.

Because you know people have the story wrong when you go to the other side they think it’s all like greener on the other side.

You know you get there you realize how diͿerent you are. How you don’t Àt in you know.”

The four-time Nigeria Entertainment Award Nominee released a 7-track EP in 2019 titled “Mans On The Move”, a fusion of Afrobeats, soul-lifting melodies, and hard rap which charted 1 on the iTunes US world charts. BILs has gone on to perform at SXSW twice, which is one of the biggest conglomeration Àlms and music festivals with an average of over 200,000 attendees and its stage showcase some of the world’s biggest talents. His art has earned him recognition over the years and features with the likes of Afrobeats Superstar Olamide Badoo, Davido amongst others.

His music has been described by fans as catchy, engaging, and unique enough to grab any music lover’s attention. He talks

Bils

about his genre of music. “I make music based of half of how I feel with the fusion of afrobeats because that’s my core. That’s who I am. That one can’t change. But I can go to America and they like rap and I say ¶oh you like rap?’ I will mix my afrobeats with the rap and they will be like ¶this sounds diͿerence I like how this sounds’ you know.

And generally we know Africans don’t really, no let me not say Africans, Nigerians don’t really favour rap as much as other genre because it’s not as melodic. So with the afrobeats factor it really adds that you know the harmonies, the vibes, it gives you the bounce that people want to relate to.”

On what he’s bringing to the music scene, “I say this from a place of creativity, pain, the journey I have been on and my passion, nobody has what I have! And what I have is the best of both worlds. I have experienced that. And I have experienced the other side.

Dually I can tell a story to both sides. I can tell someone in America because there are kids in America that are Africans that were born in America. That can’t totally relate to what is here because they have never been.

And they want to come back because of me; my type.

“That weird you know ¶little box’ that was from there but it’s here. I’m the one telling them ¶you should go back o! Get your passport, go apply here, and go do this…’ So it’s basically what they have done. Or what I am right now is like an export. It’s like I’m exported to go bring more Africans back home that’s the idea you know. So what I have now I don’t think anybody has it. And even if they do, they don’t have my story. I have my own story to tell. Everybody has their own story. And I have my own story so that’s it.”

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

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BBNaija: More than a Pop-Culture Sensation Chigoziem Dike

C

ritics of Big Brother Naija have formed a habit of calling the show immoral, whether they watched it or not. Almost every season of the show is greeted with vitriols as if the mere thought of the housemates conjures images of orgies. Some of these thoughts are often based on viral clips on social media or a post suggesting an action that is deemed improper by critics.

But far from it. Anyone who has sat down to watch Big Brother Naija will know that beyond the house parties, the jacuzzi groove and the banter, there is a lot of education passed in the show.

A recent example was the housemates’ task on mental health following the exit of Kayvee. The invisible Big Brother tasked the housemates to delve into the various aspects of mental well-being - from bipolar disorder to depression. Before embarking on the tasks, they had a diary session where they shared their thoughts on the topic. Interestingly, a neighbour of mine whose child stumbled on the housemates’ presentation, opened up about her struggle with her mental health. The young lady in her twenties revealed to her parents that

she often felt inferior and unwanted because of the expectations placed on her as the Àrst child. Sometimes, she told her parents suicidal thoughts overwhelmed her. Shocked by her revelation, the parents booked a session with a specialist to help her overcome such thoughts, as well as manage their expectations of her.

The mental health assignment is one of the few ways Big Brother Naija is impacting the lives of millions of viewers across Africa. The tasks given to them are sometimes inspired by brands advertising their products on the show.

For instance, Dano Milk whose latest advert speaks on courage and zealousness gave the housemates a task to make theatrical presentations that depict the theme ‘Go For It’. The activity required the housemates to dig deep into the penetralia of their creativity to come up with an exceptional presentation that includes a playlet and songs. At the end of the day, the winning team was rewarded N1.5 million and a one-year supply of Dano Milk. Sometimes, the housemates are tasked to showcase Nigerian culture.

Now, with the various tasks given to the housemates, one wonders why critics would label the show immoral based on the parties.

As a reality show, the housemates are expected to express themselves and even those who tried to fake a lifestyle are easily Àshed out by devoted fans of the show. Staying in a conÀned place with strangers is bound to spark tension and

build relationships. After all, human beings by nature are emotional beings and as such, long for relationships and friendships.

The Friday Jacuzzi and Saturday Night Party which are often referenced by critics are the only time the housemates get to party.

These are the only periods where they get to have fun and enjoy themselves even within supervision as Big Brother’s omnipresence is always felt. The house has rules which the occupants must abide by and any infringement equally fetches them a strike or two. Some of the rules include deliberate provocation, whispering, bullying and Àghting. Previous editions have seen housemates disqualiÀed for breaking these rules.

It is no news that Big Brother Naija has made stars out of housemates. The host Ebuka Obi-Uchendu is one of the testaments to that.

Laycon, the winner of last year’s Lockdown edition had his dream come true as the show helped to promote his music. Not only that, he had the privilege to have his own reality show becoming the Àrst Nigerian original series for the streaming platform Showmax. Laycon’s story resonated with many youths who often give up on their dreams because of lack of Ànancial support and opportunities like the Big Brother Naija show. It is a show that oͿers a level of success to anyone smart enough to leverage the exposure received. Housemates

who didn’t clinch the grand prize have been able to use the platform as a springboard for their businesses. The likes of Tobi Bakre, Anto Lecky are good examples.

Another general perception about the reality show is that it favours only entertainers but Miracle, the 2017 winner proved otherwise. The aspiring pilot used his winning prize to pursue his Áying dreams and today is a certiÀed pilot.

Beyond the housemates, the show is a contributor to the Nigerian economy. It employs a lot of people for the production of the show.

From the carpenters to the vendors who cater to the housemates, the show oͿers employment opportunities for these individuals. SMEs looking for exposure use the show to reach millions of prospective clients across Africa.

Understanding that most viewers may be too conservative to watch the show, MultiChoice Nigeria, organisers of the show, allows viewers to block the channel through the privacy settings.

Big Brother Naija may have one or two shortcomings but it is not an immoral show. If anything, it educates, informs and celebrates the diversity of Nigeria, particularly at a time when agitations for separation are getting louder. It is one TV show that shows that Nigeria can tolerate each other and indeed, live in harmony.

Dike writes from Lagos.

AAAN Announce AdCademy Masterclass Winners The Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria has announced “Tecnovate Africa ‘’ as winners of its second AdCademy Masterclass.

The participants of the just concluded masterclass, split into eight groups, were tasked with conducting a market intelligence research and designing a mock marketing campaign which was presented to the CEO of MultiChoice Nigeria, John Ugbe and the AdCademy faculty at the end of the programme.

Group 8 “Tecnovate Africa” had the best campaign and was presented with a cash prize of N600,000. Members of the winning

team who attended the prize presentation include Emeka Obia, Leo Burnett; Rebecca Otepen Adenaike, Max Edge communications Ltd; SheriͿ Lanre Akinpelu, SPV Communications Ltd; and Femi Olotu, X3M ideas. Other members of the group include Kayode Soyemi, MultiChoice Nigeria; James Uti, Rage Media Global; Chimaobi Eluigwe, MultiChoice Nigeria; and Abdulhakeem Ogundipe, Verdant Zeal.

The AdCademy masterclass tagged “The Winning Strategy” which held virtually from 26 – 28 August was in partnership with University of Reading’s Henley Business

School. The programme was open to midlevel management staͿ in brand and client service, copywriters, artists, account/strategic planners, media managers and professionals involved in related functions in the private and public sectors and was facilitated by veteran industry experts from within and outside the country.

The three-day event commenced with training on Marketing and Marketing Intelligence, with participants exposed to insights on how the market works, market and consumer intelligence, advanced research and data analytics, data and insight in com-

munication and principles of media strategy and Public Relations management.

The second day was devoted to the course on essential leadership competencies, with participants taken through training in emotional intelligence, business networking and relationship management, leadership approaches in marketing, art of negotiation and presentation.

The Ànal session was on e΀cient work management as focus, with participants billed for insights into project management, the art of delegation and job crafting/workload management.

Entertainment Industry Urged to Project Morally-Viable Content Bennett Oghifo

The Lagos State Government has charged movie producers and other relevant stakeholders in the Àlm and entertainment industry to project valuable and morally viable contents that will sustain the rich cultural heritage of the state for economic development.

The Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture, Mr. Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf made this call at a stakeholders’ forum organised by the Lagos State Film and Video Censors Board, themed “Content Development as a Driver For Sustainable Growth in the Film and Video Industry”, which held in Lagos during the week.

Akinbile-Yussuf added that content delivery was important to sustainable growth and development in the entertainment and tourism sector adding that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is committed and passionate about repositioning the industry for its utmost possibilities.

While appreciating the stakeholders for their resilience and doggedness during the ravaging COVID19 pandemic, and extending the continuous support of the governor to the industry, the commissioner urged the stakeholders to accentuate eͿort in archiving professional content delivery.

“The gathering of top echelons in the entertainment and Àlm industry here is a veritable

opportunity to appreciate the consistency of the producers and all stakeholders amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and also encourage us to ensure professionalism in our content delivery and promote creativity. We are in full support of the industry and will not rest on our oars until we achieve desired result,” she said.

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture, Princess Adenike Adedoyin-Ajayi urged practitioner in the industry to conduct thorough research on the environment and community before giving out content. ”Thorough background check on the norms, values and tradition of our community will harness the delivery of content for e΀cacy and professionalism,” she stated.

In her address, the Executive Secretary, Lagos State Film and Video Censors Board, Bukola Agbaminoja acknowledged the commitment of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in utilising Arts, Culture, Film, Entertainment and Tourism as catalyst for economic and social development in the state. She maintained that Àlm producers should mirror and partner with the state government in shaping the society having in mind that the entertainment industry nurtures, invent, inÁuence and shape the society.

She said, “The theme of the event has been chosen to collaborate the eͿorts and contributions of the State Government in the industry aimed at shaping and reshaping societal

L-R: Executive Secretary, Lagos State Film and Video Censors Board, Bukola Agbaminoja; Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture, Princess Adenike Adedoyin-Ajayi; Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture; Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf; Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Tourism; Mr. Solomon Bonu; and Senior Special Assistance to Lagos State Governor on Tourism, Mr Tunji Seymour, during LSFVCB stakeholders conference held at Alausa, Ikeja Lagos... recently

conducts and values to build a formidable and productive system that can favorably compete with many of its kind globally.”

The resource person, Professor Sola Fosudo, who spoke on the theme, cautioned that quality content was the soul of the Àlm industry and that producers must strive to achieve it for acceptance in the society.

He noted that audiences would continue

to seek foreign content as long as it indicated brilliancy and was breath-taking.

“We cannot be doing the same thing the same way over and over and expect a diͿerent result. In Nollywood, we need to move our seat away from its current position of mediocrity and complacency so that we can stand in a new position of excellence and professionalism,” Fosudo said.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

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Things Fall Apart for 2Face, Annie Idibia Ferdinand Ekechukwu

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y taking down her husband’s surname from her Instagram bio and putting it back moments later could just be the height of Annie Idibia’s fuse hours after the actress and wife of Innocent ‘2Face’ Idibia called him out over his relationship with one of his baby mamas, Pero Adeniyi. Annie who has two children for 2Face (Olivia and Isabella) had initially removed Idibia, leaving only Annie Macaulay, her maiden name. The drama in the Idibia’s house made its way to the internet on Thursday, September 2, 2021, after Annie accused 2Face of mingling with Pero. Pero is 2Face’s Àrst baby mama who gave birth to three kids for the music superstar.

Annie also accused his family of not loving and caring about her since their marriage. She further claimed that 2Face (or 2Baba) spent nights under the same roof with his children’s mother, Pero Adeniyi, when he’s visiting their kids.

In the Instagram story post which she later deleted, the movie star wrote: “Your baby mamas constantly use your children as an excuse for all sort of rubbish.” She also called out 2Face’s brother, Hyacinth Idibia, for once housing the singer, his kids and Pero under the same roof.

She added that 2Face’s children’s mothers use their oͿspring as “an excuse for all sorts of rubbish”. She concluded by naming 2Face’s manager, Efe, Frankie and the singer’s relatives telling them that their action is “unacceptable”.

Reacting to Annie’s post, 2Face’s brother, Charles Idibia, slammed Annie and accused her of ranting online because she didn’t get her way today. He told her she must think his family members are fools because they are peaceful. He then added that 2Face is “dying slowly” and he has never seen a man “so unhappy in real life” like 2Face, yet the family has to cover for Annie to maintain peace.

He then insinuated that Annie’s mother does “juju”. However, Charles remark many see as brickbats. Annie would then hit back, telling Charles that 2Face Idibia is “tired” because everyone is “trying to suck him dry”. She added that Charles is coming online to insult her despite living under her roof. She also stated that if trying to protect her husband and the lives of her kids makes her evil, then she’s happy to be. Within the period Annie took to social media to slam 2Face, his baby mamas, and his family members, her Instagram follower increased by over a million!

Pero has been at loggerheads with Annie for years. Their rift can be traced back to 2015 and 2016 when they both called each other out on social media. Their frosty relationship took a front burner when photos of 2Face kissing Pero at the singer’s nightclub back in 2015 appeared on the internet. But overtime, the two women seem to have mend fences. For instance during 2Baba’s 45th birthday last year, to the joy of his loved ones and fans, Annie who happens to be his long-time partner and wife, ensured the day did not go unnoticed by putting up a surprise birthday party in conjunction with the singers’ baby mamas – Sunmbo Adeoye and Pero Adeniyi.

The music star’s wife later showed the revelries on her Instagram, revealing lovely intimate photos of her mother-inlaw, kids and step-children. Present at the party were four of the singer’s children.

A couple of 2Baba’s friends, including his long time business partner and manager, Efe Omoregbe were also there. 2Baba is a father of seven; Àve from his previous relationships with other women and two

2Face and wife., Annie

with his wife, Annie. Recall that 2Face and Annie got married on March 23, 2013 in a star-studded wedding ceremony in Dubai. In March 2021, pop star 2Baba, and his wife, Annie, celebrated eight years of marital bliss.

In 2012, 2Face had proposed to Annie on Valentine’s Day, a move that stirred her to tears when it happened as she wasn’t expecting it. 2Face and Annie started dating when she was 15. Their relationship has, however, faced turbulent times. 2Face during his relationship with Annie had diͿerent aͿairs with other women. His video African Queen, which saw Annie make appearances is the Àrst video to be aired on MTV Base Africa. By the time they shot the “African Queen” video in 2004, they were already an item on the entertainment scene.

2Face once opened up on why he

married his wife, Annie despite having kids from several other women. He said: “When I used to repeat just 3 sets of clothes, she would always hold my head, look me in the eyes and tell me things will be Àne one day. When I wasn’t handsome, she would call me her prince charming. When I wasn’t celebrated, she called me her king and said she is my number one fan and to this day, she still is.”

The superstar in another occasion said about his wife: “I have been fortunate enough to have met a couple of nice ladies in life and two of them even have children for me. But I think that Annie and I understand each other more. As with matters of the heart, it is very difficult sometimes to find the right words to explain it. Somehow, you just know that this is the particular

person that you want to stay with.”

Arguably one of Nigeria’s most loved couples, 2Face and Annie Idibia have come a long way to be together and their true love story is one that resonates.

Annie first met 2Face Idibia at Even Ezra Music Studio when she was just 15. She once said, “I think there was some electricity that second.” Coming back from Annie’s 16th birthday, 2Face showed off his boyfriend status by paying bus fares for all her friends. He ended up not eating dinner that night but he was content doing it for love.

Their relationship after some moments faced turbulent times. 2Face during his on and off relationship got two women pregnant. Despite the ups and downs, baby mama drama and crazy careers, they both found ways back into each other ’s arms proving that truly, love conquers all.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

INTERVIEW Adamu: I’ll Push Until the Water Bill is Passed Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, is a forthright man that talks from his heart. In this interview with StanleyNkwazema, the minister expressed unwavering commitment to ensure the passage of the lingering Water Bill at the National Assembly; the need to follow due process in awarding dam projects as well as efforts to harness loans from international financial institutions for development as well as commitment to meet the open defecation deadline, among other issues. Excerpts:

Y

our mandate as Minister of Water Resources is to oversee the development and maintenance of the River Basin Authorities across the country. Are these River Basin Authorities living up to their mandate?

The only problem is that we have not been able to really get them to do more on their mandate.

There are lots of Constituency Projects that are still finding their way to the River Basin Authorities budget. Some of them are not within their mandate.

This is something we keep negotiating with the National Assembly. For now, most of their core mandate projects are no longer at risk as used to be the case before.

Of course, there is the challenge of funding and we hope that going forward, the National Assembly will begin to see the importance and the need to providing more funds to the River Basin Authorities.

Don’t forget that we have brought a lot of innovations like the Songhai farming techniques, but again, one major thing is that we have been able to make the River Basins understand they are more of enablers than implementers. They can have poultry farms, water bottling companies to improve their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), but they should understand that whatever they are doing, what is important is that they impart knowledge to areas under their jurisdiction. That is to say that when they set up Songhai Farms, it is not just to earn money, but as training ground to bring in farmers, to introduce them to modern techniques, so that they can go back and replicate what they learnt, so that we can improve our productivity.

There have been accusations of your being selective in the commercialisation of the River Basin Development Authorities, what’s your reaction to that?

Well, the truth is that when we came on board, we started working on the process of revitalising the River Basins. I remember in February 2016, when I set up a committee to give us some ideas on how to revitalise the River Basins. While the committee was doing its work, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) took notice of what we were doing. They approached me and said as far back as 2008, the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) had approved a process of commercialising the River Basins. They wanted to start with partial commercialisation. I gave my blessings to it and we set up a technical committee and started working.

I told them I was going to continue with my reforms and it was up to them to catch-up.

At some point, consultants were appointed by BPE to look at what needed to be done. The cost of the consultancy was so high to do the 12 River Basins at the same time. It was the decision of the NCP that we should start with four as pilots. So, there is nothing discriminatory. They took some big ones and the consultants had the formula with BPE on what to do. For instance, they took Sokoto River Basin Development Authority, Upper Niger and then Ogun/Osun. Two in the North, one in the Sahel region in the North, one in the Middle Belt, one in the South-west and then another one in the South-south or South-east.

In the South-south, we have been told that we can have an idea based on the different locations and the comparative advantages each of the River Basins has that we were able to come out with a programme. So, they worked on that and came up with some ideas and activities that needed to be done. We started with these four River Basins and

Adamu if we are able to achieve what we want to achieve, either we take another four and do a comprehensive study. Or from the four that we have done, we would say okay, Hadejia/Jamare, you have similar characteristics with Sokoto River, apply the same rules and the same template and then we would have saved some costs.

their governors. But again also, you know that in politics, things are insinuated. Somebody can just wake up and politicise a sensitive issue and that is the greatest disservice that was done to this Bill. Politicising it was a very unfortunate action on the part of those that promoted that campaign of calumny.

The Water Bill has been there with the opposition against it getting stronger by the day. Are you engaging enough with the leadership of the National Assembly?

If you ask the leadership of the National Assembly, recently we had a meeting with the Chairman of the Senate and House Committees on the way forward. I equally had a meeting in camera with the House Committee on Water. Part of the problem has been the COVID-19 lockdown that has slowed things down. After we had the meetings, somebody went to report that I had a secret meeting with members of the Senate committee, which was not true. It was an open meeting and on camera. All that transpired in the meeting was recorded.

We are not shying away from this, we feel without that Bill, it means my mission is unaccomplished, so I am going to work to the last day to ensure that we get this Bill passed. Whoever we need to talk to, whoever we need to convince, we will continue to work on it. Even the Governor of Benue, Samuel Ortom after my meeting with the Governors’ Forum, they asked relevant questions and I answered them. Since then, I have not had any opposing comment or fear from his end.

I think the Benue State governor must have been satisfied with our explanation. You see, may be their commissioners did not explain these things to them because this bill was tabled at the National Council on Water Resources meeting in May 2016, before we took it to the Federal Executive Council. All the commissioners of all the 36 states of the federation were at that meeting.

Probably, some of them did not adequately brief

How do you explain the slow pace in the provision of irrigation facilities and adding more power to the national grid through the dams?

Like I said earlier, the COVID-19 lockdown slowed us down but that is not to say that things are not happening. We concessioned the Gurara Hydro Power to Messrs North South power. The concession of Dadin Kowa was already there since 2005, but it was not on stream. Now the Hydro power plant is injecting power into the national grid. It is working and it is a question of just commissioning it.

The concessionaire is having some issues trying to get buyers of the power. He is negotiating with various customers. The scheme has been tested and it is injecting power into the national grid.

Also, the Kashimbila with 40 Mega Watts Hydro Power Station. We have finished 100 per cent; it is the Ministry of Power through the Transmission Company that has finished the transmission lines.

It is also injecting power for the few months and also injecting power to the national grid.

We are in the process of concessioning it.

The transaction advisers have been working.

Already the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission has issued the outline business details to us. A lot of work is going on but there are processes involved and it takes time. The Itisi Dam is a proposal on the drawing board. The consultant has completed the final design. When we signed the MoU with the Kaduna State Government, it was on the preliminary design but we have to go now and do a detailed engineering design which took us about a year and it has been completed.

We have reviewed the draft final report and we

are waiting for the consultant to provide the final report for us to go into the next phase of the job.

It has not come in now; I expect it very shortly.

Already, we have gone far talking to potential investors and concessionaires. What we are looking at is a company that can take over the project and do it on a BOT basis from the dam, the hydropower, which also has a potential of 40MWs. We have about six companies that have shown interest and we are soon going to advertise for that project and we have been working with ICRC. Once the final engineering design has been done and we have an idea of the cost, we share with the potential investors.

Infrastructure projects are not like building projects, or like building a classroom block. You need to plan and especially that which has to do with dams and hydropower projects need a lot of time because you need hydrological data. Over a long period of time, you need geotechnical survey data and some times you need aerial mapping.

There is a lot of work involved because we want to do things properly unlike what used to happen before now. We are not in a hurry to take a project to contract without doing the necessary things.

In this ministry, when I came in, I found out that a lot of projects either have failed or have ended up costing so much more because all the necessary studies, evaluations and estimations were not done before the contracts were awarded.

That is very unprofessional and unpatriotic. At the end of the day, that is why you have so many abandoned projects because may be the site itself was not suitable in the first place or some projects were not even needed in the first place.

I have been compelled to cancel a dam project because I knew that the entire basin where the dam was proposed to be sited cannot support a dam. Simply, by word of mouth they awarded the contract for the dam. Let me tell you that there was a proposal to do a dam in Oji River in Enugu State, and I cannot see how Oji River can support a dam. I stand to be challenged by any geotechnical or water expert that the Oji River that I know can support a dam. The area is flat; their water table is very high. In fact, if you have artesian wells there and if you drill a borehole, the water will start gushing out without a pump.

So, how canyou even excavate a key trench? You know the first thing you do when you clear a dam site is that you have to dig a key trench to make a way so that the water cannot sip by the time you do the embankment. When you are digging a key trench and water is gushing ahead, how can you have a dam there?

Despite bureaucracy in the execution of projects, many also believe that it is difficult to convince you on the suitability of projects?

If you don’t plan a project, you are planning that project to fail. Sure, and simple, there are processes and procedures in planning a project.

You conceive, then you do some preliminary work, you do some pre-feasibility, then you do a detailed feasibility. You identify the site; you now go and do detailed engineering studies, which includes geotechnical and hydrological surveys if it is a dam. If it is a water scheme you have to do geological survey to know if the source of water is enough to last the next 30 or 40 years.

You equally need to do a head count of animals that are going to drink from that water. That is very true. You equally need to know the industries that are there and the quantity of water they will need in the next 15 or 30 years, the expansion plans for those industries; you have to factor water for fire fighting. You can’t do these things in six months. Unless you are just building a cattle dam or small animal dams to drink from.

I am unapologetic about these. Processes have to be well catered for and you have to go through the whole gamut. So, if anybody thinks that we are being slow, that is his problem.

That is not engineering. Engineering projects are not done by political whims and caprices. If you want to do a job and you want it to benefit the people; you have to do it right. We are not apologetic, we will do what is right. If you don’t do it right, I have seen projects in this ministry where contracts had to be revised two, three times because they had to change dam axis, or they say the soil is not good, simply because they never did their work.

Ordinarily, if you are going to do a dam, ideally, in your study, you should have like two or three sites that you are selecting at the same time. Then you pick the best out of the three. May be what has been going on in the last 20-30 years is that people will just come and say, I want a dam in my place whether that dam is feasible or not.

22

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

TOURISM

Aju Ugbo: Ancient Festival with Tourism Appeals Aju Ugbo festival harbours vast tourism potentials, writes Uche Anichukwu, a culture and tourism enthusiast, as he traces the origin, imports, and benefits of the triennial event, reliving the 2021 edition of the festival

A

s you approachthe Amoli/Ugbo junction, you are likea man at thefootofa mountain.Ugbo, atownofthreeautonomous communities inEnugu State, lookssoimposing,butalluring.It islikeZion, a citybuilt ona hill.

The green ambience istypical ofanAfrican village,but asyou snake upthe hilly roadintothetown,Ugbobeginstoannounce itself asa modern rural community.Tarredroad, NationalPower Holding Company service station, tall-standing solar streetlights, rural electricity, a state-of-the-artcivic centre, among others, which are dividendsofdemocracyattracted by their Senator,Ike Ekweremadu, and Hon.Toby Okechukwu,warmyourheart.

Butinthemidstofthismodernity,Ugbois steeped in the culturesand traditionsoftheir fathers.Onthisspecialoccasion,different masqueradesand dance troupes give you feelings offestivity asyou throttle upthe hilly road. You are captivatedbyvariousyouth groupsdrapedinred, white,and yellowT-shirtsand colourful wrappers astheymove ina single file, fluting and chanting “Ho!Ho!Ho!”astheythrashthegroundwiththeir youthful might toannounce totheir ancestors thattheyhavecomeofage.Theseancestors mustbe relishingthethuds,remindingthemof the yorewhentheyalsopassedthrough the same rite, which marks the initiationintoadulthood.

Welcome to Aju/Iwa Akwafestival, one ofthe mostimportantritesinUgbo,AwguLGAofEnugu State.

Inside the Aju Ugbo According toChief Chiedozie AlexOgbonnia, NationalPublicity Secretary,Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide and ChairmanofUgboCommittee onCultureand Tourism,Ajufestivalisa riteof passage,performed every three years tomarkthe transitionfromadolescents to manhoodfor males between the agesof19and 23. Itisone ofthe major culturallandmarks inUgbotraditional calendar andasignificantprocessin,notjustUgbo,butalso inmanyIgbosocieties.

He providesfurther insights: “Ajufestival dates backto Ugbo history.Our ancestors conceived it as a classificatoryprocess ofgroupingmales into specificage-gradesforsmoothandeffective communaladministration. Onthe other hand, both seniorityandagegradeareseriouslyemphasized suchthatinUgbo,oldagegoeswithhonour,dignity andgerontocracyrights.

“IwaAkwainvolvesvarioussocialprocesses aimed at initiating the adolescents intomanhood as wellasbondingthemembersoftheage-grade acrosstheentirehamletsofUgbo.Threedaysare usually set aside for the major processes: “Onthefirstday(Oriemarketday),allthe celebrantsfrom the kindred would converge withpomp and pageantries attheir hamlet squarebeforetheyproceedtothevillagesquare specificallyforthepurposeofIwaAkwa.Themajor hallmarkofthisdayisthatalmostallthedaughters (Umuada)ofUgbo,bothfarandnearareobligated toappreciatethe celebrantsfromtheir own kindred withvarious kinds ofgift.

“On the nextday,Afor, all the celebrantsare inductedintothe Ugbocosmology through the Mgbaheishi. Bythisorientation,all the celebrants are compelled totrekthrough the ancestral foot paths,round the major hamlets inUgbo; ascending and descendingthe Ugbohills,crossingthe rivers andstreams,etc.Mostimportantly,theyare expected tolavishlydisplayvigour,enthusiasm andagilityin about15hamletsquaresinUgbo.

Their flutesand songs would alwaysindicate their location at any particular time. This is strictly arrangedsuchthatthecelebrantsofUgboOkpala donot meetand clash withthose ofUgbonabo, nor would Ugbonaboencounter the Ngene-Ugbo celebrants. The parents and relatives would wait anxiously until their sons returnfromMgbaheishi.

“Thegrand finale, calledOzuzugboligbo comes uponthenextOriemarketday.Itofficiallyand

L-R: Chairman, PDP, Enugu West Senatorial District, Ozo Okey Ozoani; Member, House of Representatives, Hon. Denis Amadi; Mrs. Lilian Okechukwu; Deputy Minority Leader, House of Representatives, Hon. Toby Okechukwu; former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu; representative of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Barr. Steve Oruruo, at the event

theagemates. By monitoringtheprocessattained by one’s age mates, self-evaluation becomes very imperative. Aju reconcilesthe initiatewiththe innermost foundation of his being. It re-enacts onewithhisrootsthereby reinvigoratingthe innermostsoulofhispersonality.

“TheMgbaheishicomponentoftheAjuisan orientationtaskfor themastery ofthevital tracks that connect the Ugbo villages. The major hamletsquares (obodo) inUgbo are covered inthis exercise. Weare remindedthatour forefathers passedthroughthesametracks.Thiswillenable theinitiatesto passthroughUgbo andalso for Ugbo to passthroughthem.

“Age grade systemingeneral isa platformfor leadership training. Leaders such as Senator Ike Ekweremadu, OnwanaUgbo, wasthechairmanof his age grade at Mpu. “AjufestivalisequallyusedasanauthenticUgbo calendar. Most events are recollected using Aju as a referencepoint.

“Thevirtues ofIgbo stoicismare embodied in Aju festival. In the past, the celebrants were taken toa river,Oji,where theyswallow stone pebbles therebyremindingthemthesalientmanlyvirtues of courage, perseverance, stoicism and industry.

A group of initiates (Umu Ekwa) performing at the event Iwa-eze,the tooth gapping ceremonyreminds the celebrant that‘whatever comes out ofthe mouth mustbetruth, you are now anadult’. somanybenefits tothe Ugbo community, publiclyunitesall the celebrantsofthe three “Again, theAjuUgbo also helpsusto knowamong according toChief Ogbonnia. componentsofUgboat Ugbonabo,the thedaughters(Umuada),thosethatstillkeepfaith “It helpsin there-invocationofUgbo spirit. ancestral centreof Ugboactivities.

Thisistheonlyceremony thatgravitatesallthe withtheir roots.Every Ada,bothfar and near, is “Theinitiates are inthe process,fully Ugbosonsand daughtersfromfar andnear. It expectedtoanswer‘theAjurollcall’”, heexplained. incorporated and enculturated intothecore enablesthemembersoftheagegradeto know Becausethereisessentially nothing fetish Ugbospiritual essenceand cultural heritage. themselves. It is noted thatthebondscreated about Aju Ugbo, it has endured through the Apart fromimpacting the Ugboconsciousages, and not even the advent of Christianity in among the initiates lastfor life. All members ness in the initiated, the Iwa Akwa confers on Ugboland since 1919 has diminished it. byobligationrefertothemselvesasjianyi the celebrant all the privileges, rights, dignity (used toaddress an age mate).Itisa classificaand profound senseof belongingin theUgbo Colours and rhythms of Aju 2021 toryprocess by which the conflicts inage are society”.

Any male, who is yet toperform the Iwa Akwa resolved.Thisisbecausedisputeonseniorityis It is therefore not surprising that the 2021 edition of Aju festival did not disappoint. It draws resolved through theprocessofIwaAkwa. ceremony, isconsidered a minor in the Ugbo “It helpstoassign valuesandfunctionsto the corporate sponsors, top government functionworldview and culture,hencemay onlynot be aries and friends of the community. Governor age groups in the community development allowedtomarry,butwillalsonotbeentrusted Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, a regular guest to the event, projects. Age grade systemservesasan with serious responsibilities. Therefore, every was represented in this year’s edition by Barr. agentofsocial changeinIgboland. Invarious Ugbo father and mother passionately looks Steve Oruruo, while former Deputy President of communities,community development forwardtoadayhisorhersonwillperform projectsare carried out by the age grades, the the Senate, who represents Enugu West, Senathe Iwa Akwa ceremony. Even those who AzubuikeAge Grade of Ugbo for instance, built tor Ike Ekweremadu; Hon. Dennis Amadi, who reside overseasendeavour tobring their sons represents Udi/Ezeagu Federal Constituency; thebus-stop at theUgbo/OwelliJunction. hometojoinintheinitiationritessotheycan and of course, an Ugbo son and one of the pillars “It is alsoan enculturation and socialisation transform from boys tomen. of the Aju festival for many years now, Hon. Toby process. The initiates are fully incorporated andenculturatedintothecoreUgboessence.It Okechukwu, who is the Deputy Minority Leader Benefits of Aju Festival helpsinpeergroup review mechanism among of the House of Representatives, among others, The Aju orIwa Akwa festival comes with added colouor to the event.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

23

POLITY

Oba Ogunsanwo Celebrates Coronation Anniversary

Funke Olaode

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estivity rented the air as Ilara-Epe was abuzz with sounds of traditional drummers who set the mood for that Sunday afternoon. Shinning brightly were the glitters of beautiful decor mounted around the tent of his Royal Majesty, Oba Olufolarin Olukayode Ogunsanwo, Telade IV, and the 55th Alara of Ilara-Epe Kindgom in Eredo Local Government Area of Lagos State. The atmosphere was indeed colourful as the residents both young and the young- at -heart came out in large numbers to celebrate the traditional ruler’s one year anniversary of his ascension to the throne of his forefathers on August 16th, 2020.

The entire Ilara Epe Kingdom reverberated with music, oriki chant in honour of this influential monarch who is well loved by many including his families, friends, associates and fellow traditional rulers. This tax man turned traditional ruler was honoured by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Ogunwusi who sent his staff of office in lieu of his visit.

Prior to the Sunday finale, activities to mark the one year anniversary kicked off on Monday August 16 with Aje Traditional celebrations which was later followed by an empowerment programme. There was a coronation lecture held at Augustine University Auditorium, Ilara and Novelty Football March later in the evening. The celebration continued on Wednesday with Health Walk around Igbonla Road which was followed by the laying of the Foundation Stone for the New Hospital around Augustine University.

There was conferment of chieftaincy titles on prominent indigenes of the kingdom on Thursday. Friday marked the climax for the celebration with the Isere Day celebration that featured traditional groups paying homage to the Kabiyesi in his palace. After this session, Moslems moved to Ilara Central Mosque-a new site for Jumat Prayer.

Later that evening, a captivating variety night gave a beautiful wrap to the day. On Saturday, Kabiyesi and his entourage visited the Orphanage and home for

L-R: Representative of Ooni of Ife with his staff of Office, the Olugbon of Orile Igbon, Oba Francis Olushola Alao; Olori Bolanle Ogunsanwo and celebrant, Oba OlufolarinOgunsanwo.

PHOTO: ETUP UKUTT

elderly in the community.

The grand finale of a weeklong celebration came to a halt on Sunday August 22 with a thanksgiving service at St. David’s Anglican Church, Ilara.

In his sermon at the church service, Archdeacon Epe Archdeaconry, The Venerable Lawrence Adebayo Ajayi congratulated Oba Ogunsanwo for his one year anniversary. He extolled the virtue of Ogunsanwo, who as a traditional ruler, is already toeing the right path of righteousness as a Christian.

Waving aside the notion often associated with traditional rulers as regards rites, Ajayi said: “Do you know that you can be a king without doing a ritual because Jesus has paid the price over 2000 years ago.”

Ajayi admonished Oba Ogunsanwo to hold on to God. To support the work of God and the proposed

Vicarage of St. David’s Anglican Church IlaraEredo, Oba Ogunsanwo and his family donated generously while various individuals including the families of Oluwalogbon, Otedola and others too numerous to mention, pledged that the work of God shall continue through donations and pledges.

Church service over, dignitaries moved to the well magnificently decorated tent inside the palace where opulence meets royalty. The electrifying chandelier and beautiful roses turned the atmosphere into a garden of beauty. The charming and beautiful Olori Bolanle Ogunsanwo played a perfect host. There was enough food while drinks flowed freely. Music legend, King Sunny Ade, serenaded the audience to his juju classics that got many prancing around the performance venue. Indeed, it was a day to remember in the history of the ancient Ilara-Epe Kingdom.

MTN @ 20: 20 Customers Smile Home with SUVs

L-R: Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola; Recipient, MTN At 20 Honda SUV Alfred Iserhienrhien; and Chairman, MTN Nigeria, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe Funke Olaode

reporters across broadcast, print and online were treated to a night of comedy, music and poetry performances by t was a wet Sunday evening as the cool breeze, which blew foremost comedian Tee a, spoken word poet, Sage Hasson and a quartet led by Emmaolin. On Air Personality relentlessly ushered in all the carefully selected guests into and the face of ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’, Frank the cozy tent, inside the expansive compound of MTN Edoho put the top management on the spot with quesNigeria, located in its corporate Headquarters in Ikoyi, tions about the MTN and what it stands for.

Lagos. It was an important day for the management of At the event, MTN Nigeria’s management expressed the company. Apart from priding itself as one of the most gratitude to its customers and different stakeholders for successful telecommunication companies on the continent of Africa, MTN Nigeria rolled out the drum that Sunday their unflinching support during its first twenty years evening in an exclusive media event where the company of its existence in Nigeria. In a show of appreciation, Twenty MTN customers were rewarded with brand new celebrated its 20th anniversary with the media. cars at the event. Among the winners, who were ranThe soul music from speakers positioned in different domly selected from subscribers that joined the network corners provided an ambience of soul lifting for all the since inception in 2001, was Editor of Sunday Guardian invited guests as they smiled, exchanged banters catchNewspaper, Chuks Nwanne. Elated Nwanne who could ing up with old times. Of course, the glittering Yellow not hide his excitement thanked MTN for giving him such a colour, the trademark of the company on display added flavour to the venue. Customers, publishers, editors, and priceless gift.

I

In his remarks, Chairman MTN Nigeria, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, appreciated the role that all stakeholders had played in enabling and supporting MTN Nigeria’s journey in the past 20 years and the impact on the economy: “When we look at where we are today, and how far we’ve come, what stands out is not just the number of people connected, or the amount of revenue generated, etc. We see the multiplier effect connectivity services can have on the social and economic ecosystem. And now more than ever, I am optimistic about what the future holds for Nigeria’s digital economy and I look forward to building it together, with all of you.”

Commending various stakeholders for their support to the company in the past two decades, CEO, MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, stated: “This 20-year journey is the result of the boundless possibilities in our nation, the incredible potential that the Nigerian telecoms and technology sector represent, and the guidance and support that we have received from millions of Nigerians, in every corner of the country. We are here today because of the role that each of you – media, customers, trade partners, retailers – has played in this journey. For this, we are humbled and grateful. To all of you, we extend our deepest appreciation and gratitude, and we deliver an important message – the best is yet to come.”

With heart full of gratitude on behalf of all recipients of MTN largesse, one of the recipients of Honda HRV, Alfred Emwata Iserhienrhien who has been an MTN subscriber since 2001 said: “I got this SIM card in 2001 and everywhere I go, it has been going with me. I am happy about this gift; in fact, my mind is blown and on behalf of all the gifted persons I say thank you to MTN. We are all happy and grateful and will continue to dance because of this incredible gift.”

The ICT and telecoms company began operations in Nigeria in August 2001. Twenty years later, it has become an integral part of the country’s telecommunications success story. Earlier in August, MTN gave all customers free airtime and mobile data worth over.4 billion to commemorate its anniversary.

As part of its milestone anniversary celebration, MTN Nigeria will be participating in the Road Infrastructure Tax Credit Programme (RITC) for an opportunity to reconstruct some road networks in South-Eastern Nigeria, incorporating some of the latest technology. It will also build a world-class campus in Nigeria and sell down, up to 14% of its equity, to Nigerians.

24

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

POLITY

Coverage Under NHIS: Imperatives of Healthcare Trust Bunkaya Bitrus Gana

T

his educative article attempts a highlight of some of the salient aspects of the National Health Insurance Act, 2004, its operation and how the lacunae in the Act excluded a wider percentage of Nigerians from accessing healthcare. The article also attempts a summary of the Healthcare Trust Plan, its modus operandi and how it helps to extend the dragnet of healthcare provision to Nigerians, giving them a platform to access medical services using the same Health Maintenance Organisations (HMO’s).

The National Health Insurance Scheme was established under the NHIS Act, 2004 as a social health insurance system aimed at providing quality and affordable healthcare for all Nigerians and those legally residing within Nigeria. The scheme essentially pools together funds contributed by the members of the scheme and then periodically release those funds to purchase medical services through registered Health Maintenance Organisations (HMO’s). As a social health security and risk management scheme, it not only ensures access to medical care to all members of the scheme but also works towards mobilising and distributing medical resources in a fair and proportionate way.

The NHIS protects the vulnerable and financially handicapped members by reducing the use of out-of-pocket expenses in the attainment of healthcare services as well as sharing the risk of spending on healthcare amongst a large group of people. We all know that a large percentage of the Nigerian population rely on private funding for medical care and therefore those who are unable to afford to pay out of their pockets are put at an incredible disadvantage and this creates an imbalance in the distribution of medical resources. It is therefore correct to say that a significant portion of the population is being denied access to healthcare resulting in high degree of preventable deaths and a general poor state of health among the populace. The scheme, it was believed would help to tackle this issue by ensuring equal access to healthcare for all members of the public regardless of financial status.

When it was set up in Nigeria in 2005, it was projected that the scheme would achieve universal healthcare by 2015. Sadly, this goal has not been met. Nonetheless, the scheme operates

several programmes that allow for the coverage of different sectors of society.

For lack of space, we would briefly describe one of the most widely practised programmes only: The FSSHIP (Formal Sector Group has the Formal Sector Social Health Insurance Programme). This programme is targeted at the public sector employees, employees in the organized private sector and the Armed Forces, Police, and other uniformed officers. Here, a fixed percentage of the employee’s earnings are deducted and contributed to the fund by both the employer and employee.

For the public (federal) sector, the employer is to pay 3.5% while the employee is to pay 1.75% of the employee’s salary.

For the private sector and the other tiers of government, the employer pays 10% while the employee pays 5%.

The employer could also undertake to pay the entire 15% or more for extra coverage on the benefit package. The contributions provide health care services for the employee, his/her spouse and four biological children under the age of 18. If an employee wishes to add more dependants under his package, he would be required to make additional contribution.

Whereas this scheme is made compulsory by the Government, same cannot be said of the informal sector. According to stakeholders of the scheme, as of 11th January 2021 the Federal Government had been making the entire contribution on behalf of all employees in the public sector. The only exclusion are employees of the NHIS. This provides a practical explanation for the higher success rate of the scheme in this sector.

Despite the wide and ever-growing framework of the NHIS, there are still glaring gaps in the system. As has been established, the system takes account of employees in the formal an informal sector, students in tertiary institutions and vulnerable members of society. However, it fails to consider retired Nigerians who have ceased to access medi-care under the NHIS. This is a massive oversight on the part of the government considering that about 3.1% of the Nigerian population are aged 65 and above which is the retirement age range in Nigeria. That is not to say that those within this age range are all retired or those below it cannot retire. The pertinent point here is that a significant enough percentage of the population fall into this excluded group which also deserve easy access to quality affordable healthcare.

The use of Healthcare Trust is a good alternative of accessing

quality and affordable healthcare. It is is a type of private trust that is designed to assist two sets of Nigerians, viz: (i) Nigerians in diaspora who carry the burden of funding the medical expenses of their loved ones residing in Nigeria and (ii) retired public and civil servants here in Nigeria, who are unable to benefit from the NHIS because they have retired from paid employment and are therefore ineligible to access medical care through that scheme.

Instances abound where monies sent by Nigerians living abroad for the treatment of their relations here in Nigeria are diverted. Similarly, even when the money gets to the intended recipients, the quality of the health care provided by some of our healthcare facilities in Nigeria are substandard and unable to cater for certain types of ailments. Thus, whereas the poor guy keeps sending money for the medi-care of his relations, the money is either diverted, never used for the intended purpose(s) or the health facilities within that locality do not possess the requisite equipment or personnel to handle such ailments. The result is usually catastrophic as the patient dies from diseases that a good medical facility could easily have handled. This is where the Healthcare Trust becomes very important.

Through the HCT, Nigerians in diaspora can set up a Trust for their family members here in Nigeria to access healthcare through HMO’s and registered medical facilities. Once funded, the Trustee to the trust engages a registered HMO and periodically release the funds in the trust to make regular premium (usually subsidised) payments to the HMO to secure a healthcare plan on behalf of the beneficiaries to the Trust. Once set up, the settlor (the person setting it up) need not worry about the day-to-day management of the trust or the operation of the plan because the trustee handles the entire process. The Settlor receives periodic reports on how the Trust is managed and how the medical needs of the registered beneficiaries are being taken care of. That is the beauty of the healthcare trust. t #VOLBZB #JUSVT (BOB &TR JT UIF .BOBHJOH %JSFDUPS (SFFOXJDI 5SVTUFFT -JNJUFE Read full article online - www.thisdaylive.com

PHOTO NEWS

L-R: The Managing Director, Equipment and Protective Applications International Limited (EPAIL), Zulaykhah Aileru; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Police Affairs, Temitope Fashedemi, the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba; Chairman, Equipment and Protective Applications International Limited (EPAIL), Mr. Kola Balogun and the Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammad Dingyadi during a courtesy visit by the Ministry of Police Affairs to EPAIL factory at Orimerunmu, Mowe Ogun State …recently

L-R: Assistant Brand Manager, Mamador, PZ Wilmar, Fatimat Lawal-Ademo ; Disability Advocate and Author, Adenike Oyetunde-Lawal; Mamador Brand Ambassador and Food blogger, Ify’s Kitchen, Ifeyinwa Mogekwu; Mamador Brand Ambassador and Nollywood actor, Ufuoma McDermott; and Nollywood actor, Ngozi Nwosu at the Mamador August Meeting 2.0 held in Lagos….recently

L-R: Founder, Instrument of Africa, Ezekiel Temitope; Communications Director, Instrument of Af- L-R: Managing Director/Regional Executive, Ecobank Nigeria, Patrick Akinwuntan; grand prize rica, Toyin Okeshola; brand Ambassador, Instrument of Africa, Femi Leye and another Instrument winner, Lagos region, Badero Modupe Funmilayo; Acting Head, Personal Banking, Ecobank Nigeria, of Africa brand Ambassador, Paul Tao at the launch of Instrument of Africa, held at Tera Culture Victor Yalokwu during the presentation of cheques to Super Reward grand prize to winner in Lagos region in Lagos… recently SUNDAY ADIGUN in Lagos… recently

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 4, 20212021

25

POLITY

THEFRONTLINES

Insecurity: Masari, El-Rufai, What Has Changed?

JOSEPH USHIGIALE

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t is no longer a matter of conjecture that Nigeria is at war on its northern flank comprising Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, Kaduna, and Niger states. This war is not between Nigeria and an external aggressor but internal, provoked by violent extremists known as Boko Haram. Although the authorities have equally blamed the worsening violence on outside influence especially on some neighboring countries currently witnessing upheavals and also infiltrations from ISWAP and mercenaries from Chad, Yemen, and Libya; the immediate cause of insurgency was the 2009 extrajudicial killing in Maiduguri, Borno State by the police of Mallam Mohammed Yusuf, the terrorist Islamist leader of Boko Haram whose preachings were against western education.

According to different sources including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), between 2009 to date, over 350,000 persons have been killed directly and indirectly by the terrorist group. Another three million people according to the United Nations Commission for High Commission for Refugees (UNCHR) have been displaced while another 310,000 have become refugees in their own country with some fleeing to neighboring countries as far as Chad and Cameroun.

While the federal government through successive administrations since from the days of late President Umaru Yar’Adua embrace his policy engagement and amnesty for the Niger Delta militants who were agitating for resource control as a result of neglect by the federal government to put in place lasting solutions that would bring succor to the devastating effects of crude oil and gas exploration which remain Nigeria’s main revenue earner.

The killing of Mohammed Yusuf in 2009 turned the tables unleashing unprecedented violence resulting in killings and abduction of innocent citizens across the affected states. The former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration unsuccessfully mobilized the armed forces to flush out the insurgents who continue to grow and occupied swathes of territories in Borno State.

But the more government deployed men and resources to rid the affected northern states of the insurgents, the more the insurgents grew in number and became emboldened to

Masari challenge the multinational forces comprising of Chad, Niger, and Camerounian forces.

As the cankerworm festered, tongues started wagging and questions were being asked about who were the sponsors of these insurgents? The former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Obadiah Mailafia, told one of the television networks that “one of the northern governors is the Commander of Boko Haram in Nigeria.

Obadiah explained that “Some of us also have our intelligence networks. I have met with some of the bandits; we have met with some of their high commanders, one or two who have repented, they have sat down with us not once, not twice. They told us that one of the Northern governors was the commander of Boko Haram in Nigeria. Boko Haram and the bandits are one and the same. They have a sophisticated network. During this lockdown, their planes were moving up and down as if there was no lockdown. They were moving ammunition, moving money, and distributing them across different parts of the country.”

His expose earned him an invitation by the Department of State Services (DSS) and probably a reprimand. However, there have been two governors who evidently were perceived

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

to be romancing with the bandits and insurgents. The governors of Kaduna and Katsina States, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai and Alhaji Aminu Masari had through both their utterances and actions clearly favored a soft landing for the insurgents notwithstanding their level of damage inflicted on society.

In one of his treatises, El Rufai posited that IPOB was more dangerous than both Boko Haram and the bandits because, according to him, the Leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu was agitating for the country’s break up while Boko Haram and the bandits were purely in business for pecuniary gains.

According to him, “Nnamdi Kanu is the Leader of IPOB, a proscribed organization. He is identifiable in constant communication, and everyone knows where he is. Let us take Boko Haram, for instance. Shekau was in hiding, and for the past 10 years, and the Military had been waging war to get him. It is not like Shekau was in Saudi Arabia, sitting in one place, tweeting about the breakup of Nigeria, or asking Boko Haram to go and kill Helen and Nasir El-Rufai.”

He also noted that while Kanu could be located at a place and identified as the leader of IPOB, the reverse is the case with Boko Haram and the bandits whom he claims have no leader and are engaged in guerrilla warfare with the government.

Hear him: “Nnamdi Kanu is in one place, while Shekau is waging guerrilla warfare. The insurgency is still going on and the Federal Government is not giving up. Regarding bandits, they are not centralized under one Leadership. Who is the Head of the bandits? Who is the equivalent of Nnamdi Kanu with banditry?

Bandits are just collections of independent criminals. It is a business for them. It is not a case of ‘Nigeria must break up’. I want to challenge anyone to tell me the Central Leader of bandits in the same position as Kanu.”

Not done, the governor was to shock the entire country including the people of his Southern Kaduna communities when he said he had paid some Fulani militia to stop the incessant killings in the area. “For southern Kaduna, we didn’t understand what was going on and we decided to set up a committee under Gen. Martin Luther Agwai (rtd) to find out what was going on there.

Read full article online - www.thisdaylive.com

Oyedepo: Condition of Kwara State Appalling A leader of the All Progressives Congress and O To Ge (Enough is Enough) movement in Kwara State, Chief Iyiola Oyedepo, spoke with Hammed Shittu on the crisis in the Kwara APC, among other issues = What informed the recent setting up of the Think Tank called Political Dialogue ahead of 2023 polls in Kwara State?

O

ur state is having a leader without principle and without any form of ideology and even without any mission and vision and I discovered that we cannot continue like this. I have been in Kwara politics for 30 year. I cannot see any form of ideas generated by the past leaders, especially the present political leaders in the country and our state and I believe that we cannot continue like this. So, my idea, is to create a new set of leadership first for Kwara State and by extension Nigeria. We should start to think about who will rule properly, not just people coming and going without any legacy. Those are the things that informed the setting up of Political Dialogue ahead of 2023 polls.

You are clearly not satisfied with the level of development in Kwara State?

Yes, I am not satisfied with the past situations of governance in the state. I was a commissioner under former governor Shaaba Lafiagi. I was in the government of late former governor Mohammed Lawal and then in the state House of Assembly as Chief Whip of the House. But I have not been in the same camp with former governor Bukola Saraki and former governor Abdulfatah Ahmed. Now, I am part of those that brought this government led by AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq into office through O to Ge movement but I am not satisfied with the present situation in the state. I am not satisfied because Kwara remains unchanged.

I don’t tell people lies, the APC cannot move forward in Kwara State as it is being presently constituted. Don’t even talk of reconciliation again. There are many reconcilable

differences without positive results at the end of the day but only one person that is working for the destruction of the party is our Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and he is the only one person that is destroying APC. And I want to say that, if the APC national leadership still wants Kwara to be for the party, the first thing to do is to check the injustices and persecutions being carried out by the governor and also disallowing him from 2023 contest in the state. The leadership of the party should also ensure free, fair and transparent elections in the party. If these are not addressed and the governor is operating like the way he is presently operating, there will be no way for APC in Kwara in 2023 elections. I don’t see anything that the governor is doing that makes him remarkably different from the people we uprooted from governance in the state.

We complained that the past administrations in the state didn’t conduct the local government councils’ elections. I was on the radio severally and for us now it is even worst.

I told them that they didn’t conduct local government council polls then for the first six months and after one year, former governor Bukola Saraki started doing the local government councils polls until he finished his tenure and this also continued during Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed’s administration until they were uprooted during the 2019 elections. And this is the third year of APC-led government in Kwara State, there are no democratic structures in the local government councils and even if the governor is spending local government funds neatly, who will believe him? Is he the only person that can do it neatly? Why can’t he allow the constitution to work and get people elected to manage the people’s money at the local government levels in the state?

Are there regrets for helping to install AbdulRazaq?

Well, I cannot call it regret. If it is regret, I cannot call it a deep one, because the regret I have is that we don’t have in place

Oyedepo somebody that we can categorically say is better than the one we uprooted from the political governance of our dear state. That is the only thing. But as the motive for it, the motive for saying O To Ge in the 2019 general polls in the state, I am not discouraged and I am not disappointed and I believe it succeeded in the state. What we used to have in the state was one man dominating political space of our dear state.

A family dominated politics and even today somebody there thinks he can erect such a plan, he is just wasting his time. O To Ge has destroyed that type of politics in the state. Sometimes, I see some leaders, some people wanted to become something or the other and they believe the governor will make them. No, the governor must be made by the people.

And this governor, if he must repeat his term in office, it must be by the collective decision of the people. A person that cannot make himself cannot make others. So, O TO Ge has destroyed godfatherism in the politics of Kwara state.

Any young ambitious and focussed person in Kwara can now stand up and become what he wants to become without any hindrance or godfatherism and that is why we have this kind of political dialogue. We will build in them this confidence; confidence that they don’t really need any godfather to become somebody in politics of the state; they don’t really need any noble backing before they become somebody. So, it is a continuation of entrenchment of the O To Ge philosophy.

Read full article online - www.thisdaylive.com

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

POLITY Pa Abiodun: Celebrating the Teacher of Generational Leaders Femi Ogbonnikan

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hroughout his lifetime, my father never engaged in any shouting match with anybody. He was quiet. This discipline he instilled in us, his children, prepared us for the greater opportunities in life. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been where I am today as Governor of Ogun state.” Prince Adedapo Oluwaseun Abiodun, the eldest son of the Octogenarian, remarked when erstwhile President Olusegun Obasanjo paid him a condolence visit over the demise of his father at Iperu, Remo North Local Government Area, a fortnight ago.

Losing one’s parent leaves an empty place in one’s heart, no matter the age, but God in His infinite mercy offers comfort with the promise of eternal life, through Jesus Christ.

Ecclesiastes 7:1 which says that: “A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.”

The Bible passage speaks to the faith of all men who are overtaken by covetousness with the attendant hubris of this life. Death is very certain because this is something every human being must face to solve the riddle of sphinx. But life itself is uncertain, just as David said, there may be but one step between life and death.

This is because the earthly body, represented by flesh and blood, cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven. But our expectation is that “when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”

In celebration, his children and relations are grateful to God that he not only left his footprints in the sand of time, but also made the most of his life and left a legacy that in passing. The family is proudly celebrating his glorious exit at a ripe and fulfilling age of 89.

However, the showers of encomium and accolades on the late Octogenarian are a living proof to a popular maxim, “A good name is better than riches.” The following are the remarks of eminent personalities who have taken time out of their busy schedules to pay condolence visits to the Iperu home of the deceased.

Kayode Fayemi, Ekiti State Governor: “When we look back to what Baba achieved in his life time, we cannot be sad, no reason to be sad. We are thankful to God that he lived well, served well and fought good fights, won many battles and he did his own on mother earth before transiting to God’s bossom, and for that, we have every reason to celebrate him.

“He taught many people who have become champions in their chosen fields. We thank God for the life of excellence, service and sacrifice.”

“Pa Abiodun was a role model, a disciplinarian, who used his teaching profession to impact positively on the lives of so many people.

“He lived a good life and his memories will linger for a long time,” said Mr Jide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos State Governor.

Pa Abiodun “I am not here to share the sadness or mourn about the death of Baba. I am here to celebrate his death because his life is worthy of emulation. He lived his life to the fullest and part of what he had done is to raise this young and dynamic man God has chosen to be the governor despite all the obstacles,” Alhaji Adamu Mua’zu, said former Bauchi State Governor.

“Pa Abiodun lived a life of service, not only to his immediate environment, but also to the whole country, through impacting the right values, morals and character that those he taught are noted for, in the society,” said Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ooni of Ife. “We are here to share in your grief, to sympathise with you and your family, but we must all take solace in the fact that death is inevitable and one day we will all die,” wrote Mai Mala Buni, Yobe State Governor and Acting National Chairman, APC. Pa (Dr) Emmanuel Adesanya Abiodun, aged 89, passed on, on Monday, August 2, 2021 at a London hospital, after a brief illness.

Born to his parents, Pa Isaac Abiodun Okanrende and Madam Alice Olubowale Abiodun, on February 23, 1932 at Itasanyin, Iperu-Remo, Ikenne Local Government Area, Ogun state, the humble Christian background honed him for greater challenges ahead and this marked his exploits in life.

Likening him to a literary fruitful banana tree planted at the bank of a river, the birth of Pa Abiodun (aka Baba Teacher), as a devout Christian, was never in doubt. In 1942, he was baptised at St James Anglican Church, Iperu. He was born, schooled and bred within the Missionary circuit of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) which propelled him for

excellence in his teaching career.

Thus, his chosen teaching skill was intrinsic to the building of generational leaders during his active service.

Pa Abiodun began his formal education and teaching career at St James’ Anglican School, Iperu (First School Leaving Certificate between 1939 and 1947; and St James’ Anglican School, Iperu for his pupil teacher, between 1948 and 1950. In 1952, he got his teaching appointment confirmed. Subsequently, Baba Teacher proceeded for his Grade 111 Teacher’s Certificate at St Paul’s Anglican School, Odogbolu (1953-1954); St Luke’s Grade 11 Teacher Training College, Ibadan, Oyo state (1955-1956); Grade 11 Teacher’s Certificate at St Barnabas’ Anglican School, Ilisan (19571958); tutor at Joint Provincial Grade 11 Teacher Training College, Sagamu (IJABCO2) between 1959 and 1960; teacher at Christ Apostolic Grammar School, Iperu (1961); tutor at Joint Provincial Grade 11 Teacher Training College (IJABCOL), Sagamu, between June 1966 and December 1967; education officer at Comprehensive High School, Aiyetoro, Yewa North Local Government Area (January 1968-December 1970); and lecturer at Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo, Ondo state (January 1971-September 1999).

In the quest to actualise his pet dream, Baba Teacher traversed and attended the following institutions: the Joint Provincial Grade 11 Teacher Training College (IJABCOL), between 1962 and 1963; University of Ile-Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) on Western Region scholarship (1963-1966) where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in English Language and Literature, with Second Class Lower; Postgraduate Diploma from University of Ile-Ife (1976); Master of Arts in Education (MA.Ed); Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Education (Guidance and Counselling), from University of Ile-Ife, in 1984.

Among academic positions held at Adeyemi College of Education, include Head of Department (HoD), English; Dean, School of Arts; Head of Department (HoD), Educational Foundations and Counselling; Dean, School of Education; Director, Institute of Academic Extension Services; and Head, Department of Educational Foundations and Management.

After 35 years of meritorious service, he disengaged from active teaching career, on September 30, 1999 and returned to his home town, Iperu, on March 31, 2000.

He belonged to several professional, social and religious organisations, among which were Nigerian Association of Educational Psychologists; Akesan (Iperu) Club; Christian Unity Band, St James’ Anglican Church; High Society of Fellows, Remo Anglican Diocese; Remo Anglican Diocesan Board; Secretary, Iperu Palace Building Committee (2002-2003); member, Governing Board, Remo Anglican College, Isara-Remo (2004-2008); and Synod Delegate (2002-2005).

Pa Abiodun married his heartthrob, Chief (Mrs) Victoria Olaitan Abiodun, on May 10, 1960 and the solemnisation was perfected at Ibadan Registry. The marriage was blessed with four children, two males and two females-Dapo, Sade, Seye and Seyi.

His body will be committed to mother earth on Thursday, September 9, 2021. t 0HCPOOJLBO XSPUF GSPN "CFPLVUB 0HVO 4UBUF

Football Wins As Mustapha Weds Khadijah Duro Ikhazuagbe

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ootball scored a beautiful goal last weekend when Khadijah Damilola, daughter of prominent legal practitioner, A.U. Mustapha, SAN; and Mustapha Alao, son of popular sports journalist Dr. Mumini Alao were married in Ilorin, Kwara State.

Dr. Alao is the group managing director of Complete Communications Limited, Nigeria’s pioneer sports publishers while A.U. Mustapha, SAN is the current President of the Confederation of African Football, CAF Appeal Board.

The bridegroom Mustapha Alao, a UK-trained financial analyst and computer animator, successfully dribbled his way into Khadijah Mustapha’s heart, and the young lawyer, who also trained in the UK, was truly smitten.

The colorful solemnization ceremonies commenced on Thursday, 26 August when the bride’s family led by the scion, prominent Kwara politician M.M. Mustapha, received the traditional marriage gifts according to Yoruba tradition from the groom’s family. The following day, Friday, 27 August, the Muslim Nikaah proper took place at the Mustapha’s family house in Isale Aluko, Ilorin with virtually all notable Islamic scholars in the city in attendance.

Chairman of the occasion was Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq supported by Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi. Under heavy rainfall which observers saw as a spiritual blessing, Chief Imam of Ansar-ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, Imam AbdulRahman Ahmad conducted the Islamic wedding rituals formally joining the couple as husband and wife.

The wedding reception was held at the Arca Santa events center on Saturday, 28 August, drawing hordes of prominent personalities from across the country’s political, social and sports fraternities. Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai was the chairman of the occasion and he was assisted again by the host Governor, AbdulRasaq. Also present was the former Governor of Kwara State, AbdulFatai Ahmed.

The highlight of the ceremony was the grand entrance by the couple after both sets of parents had danced in to take their seats.

L-R: A.U. Mustapha, SAN; Hajia Muinat Seun Mustapha; the couple, Khadijah and Mustapha; Alhaja Medinah Temilade Alao and Dr. Mumini Alao.

Khadijah and Mustapha walked in majestically under a blaze of fireworks and paparazzi lights to the admiration of the enraptured audience. The couple’s love and fondness for each other was palpable all through as they chatted animatedly, seemingly oblivious of all the excitement and dancing happening around them.

In his remarks, Governor El-Rufai drew huge laughter from the jam packed venue when he issued a jocular threat of using his famous “Abuja bulldozers” against the groom if he maltreated the bride. Host Governor AbdulRasaq, former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN and current Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, SAN, all admonished the couple on how to build a peaceful home together.

Cutting of the wedding cake by the couple was conducted by Alhaja Bola Shagaya who was assisted by Hajia Ummi El-Rufai, wife of the Kaduna State Governor. The knife was brought down on the five-tier cake with the spelling of the word, love.

The toast to the couple was led by the bride’s brother, Kamal Mustapha who extolled the Islamic virtues of both lovers. In saying the vote of thanks, the groom expressed gratitude to Allah and thanked all the guests, their two families and well wishers.

Fuji music maestro, Wasiu Ayinde Marshal was on the band stand and took over the entertainment proceedings afterwards.

The two mothers of the couple, Hajia Muinat Seun Mustapha and Alhaja Medinah Temilade Alao were serenaded by gaily dressed close friends, family and well wishers on the dance floor.

GLOBAL SOCCER

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ APRIL 24, 2011

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WEEKLY PULL-OUT

04. 09.2021

NEWS

POSITIONING FOR EAGLES JOB PAGE. 29

Ademola Lookman Back to England’s Top Flight

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

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GLOBAL SOCCER

Ademola Lookman puts the ball behind Leicester goalkeeper, Kasper Schmeichel when Fulham visited the King Power Stadium

Ademola Lookman

Back to England’s Top Flight

His dream was always to play in the English Premier League but could not seal a permanent shirt at Everton and was eventually shipped out of the club. Ademola Lookman’s opportunity for an English top-flight finally came last season after he was loaned to Fulham but his 35 appearances and four goals for the Cottagers were not enough to save them from relegation. With just three weeks into the new season, another opportunity has come the way of the RB Leipzig winger to prove his mettle at the English league top-flight after Leicester City came for his signature

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demolaLookmanreturnstothe English top-flight weeks after his stint at Fulham ended in relegation as Premier League side Leicester City have completed the signing of the winger from RB Leipzig.

Confirming the deal, the Foxes revealed on their Twitter feed that the 23-year-old joined the Foxes temporarily for the remainder of the season.

The two clubs arrived at an agreement that see the former England youth international return to his country of birth.

The former Charlton winger spent two-anda-half years at Everton before moving to Leipzig permanently in July 2019, where he has made only 13 appearances.

Lookman said of his move to the King Power Stadium: “I’m delighted to be here. It’s a great honour to be at such a big and amazing club with such a huge history and a quality group of players.

“The facilities are incredible. It’s pretty mindblowing and I just can’t wait to get to work here. I think environment is very important for a player, so this is the right environment for me to work hard every single day and to help my craft be even better.”

Lookman, who has already started the process that would help him fulfil the dream of playing international football for Nigeria, will now team up with Super Eagles stars Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho, two of Leicester’s best players.

Lookman moved to RB Leipzig permanently in

2019 for €18 million after an impressive season on loan in the Bundesliga, but the Nigerian descent failed to settle in Germany.

The Super Eagles hopeful spent the second half of last season on loan at Fulham, and he was excellent as he scored four goals and provided another four assists in 35 league games.

But the Londoners were relegated at the end of the campaign and passed up the chance to sign Lookman permanently.

Lookman helped England win the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in the Korea Republic and was also part of the England team which won the 2017 Toulon U-20 Four Nations tournament in France.

In the penultimate summer, Lookman set a new Nigerian transfer record when he moved to RB Leipzig from Everton for a move worth up to £22.5m German Bundesliga club, RB Leipzig broke the Nigerian transfer record for Lookman after Everton agreed to sell the winger for a fee said to be worth up to £22.5m.Born as Ademola Olajade Lookman October 20, 1997, in Wandsworth, London to Nigerian parents, he attended St. Thomas the Apostle College in Peckham where he achieved three As and five As at GCSE. Lookman signed for Everton on January 5, 2017 for a fee of £7.5m rising to £11m on a fourand-a-half year contract and made his debut for the club 10 days later. He scored on his debut.

He received his first international call up on May 16, 2016 being named in the England U-19 squad for a double header against Mexico. He was subsequently named in the England squad

for the European U-19 Championships the same summer.

An eventful and largely successful transfer window is over for Leicester City, and now manager Brendan Rodgers must figure out the best way to utilise the new members of his first-team squad.

The likes of Boubakary Soumare, Patson Daka and Jannik Vestergaard have added significant strength to the Foxes over the summer, but it’s the arrival of RB Leipzig loanee Ademola Lookman that arguably brought the most intrigue.

Highly rated as a teenage prodigy, the 23-yearold has spent the last few years enduring a series of short-term spells at various clubs with a wideranging degree of success.

Now the time has come for Lookman to showcase his true potential on a regular basis on the biggest of stages, and Rodgers’ influence could be crucial to the former England U-21 international finally putting together a string of performances that his ability deserves.

However, after finding chances in the senior setup hard to come by during his first year on Merseyside, Lookman joined Leipzig on a sixmonth loan deal and excelled at the Red Bull Arena, bagging five goals and providing four assists in just 11 Bundesliga outings.

His return to Goodison Park for the 2018/19 campaign didn’t go as planned, though. Just three goal contributions in 24 appearances in all competitions saw him return to Leipzig the following summer on a permanent deal, but it’s a move that the youngster has regretted ever since.

TheEnglishmanwasgrantedjust377minutesof first-team action on his return to German football as Lookman started just two games all season in all competitions.

Unsurprisingly, another move occurred following the conclusion of 2019/20, this time taking him back to the English top-flight with Fulham.

A respectable total of four goals and four assists in 34 Premier League games for the relegated Cottagers put Lookman back at the forefront of many clubs’ minds, and it’s Leicester who have taken a punt on the talented.

His outstanding performances saw former Fulham manager Scott Parker label him as “unbelievable,” and as a result, Rodgers must now help Lookman reach his ceiling, as much for Leicester’s Champions League ambitions as the player’s own career.

With Harvey Barnes currently occupying the left-wing position, the Northern Irish tactician may be forced to field his new acquisition on his less-favoured right-hand side, but it’s a tactic that could prove rather beneficial.

Like most modern-day wingers, Lookman has predominantly featured on the left-wing due to being right-footed, allowing him to cut inside and shoot at goal with ease, but restricting his ability to get to the opposition byline.

By converting Lookman, Rodgers will be able to field two pacey, tricky wide men capable of wreaking havoc on any Premier League defence this season, providing Leicester with the attacking force they need to finally break into the top four.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

GLOBAL SOCCER

Finidi George: A Big Step Towards Eagles Job? Many Nigeria internationals have always wished to one day manage the senior national team after their playing career, one of which is Finidi George. But these ex-players have also been challenged to first prove themselves at club levels before dreaming of Super Eagles job. Is Finidi repositioning himself for the country’s football number one job with his appointment as Enyimba of Aba Technical Adviser?

George

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inidi George’s success as a footballer could not be overemphasised. He was once regarded as the world’s best crosser of the ball. He won the UEFA Champions League and played at the World Cup. The former director of international football at Real Betis has never hidden his intention to manage the Super Eagles and believes he has what it takes to do the job.

The former flying winger will begin his coaching career in the domestic league with one of the continent’s biggest clubs-Enyimba of Aba after the two-time CAF Champions League winner appointed Finidi as the team’s Technical Adviser.

Finidi will replace coach Fatai Osho who led the Aba Elephants to a second-place finish in the recently concluded 2020-21 season of the Nigeria Professional Football League.

Enyimba will look to count on the expertise of a man who was among the first Nigerian players to achieve success in Europe.

Finidi was a key member of the Ajax team that won three Eredivisie titles, the 1995 UEFA Champions League, the European Super Cup, and the Intercontinental Cup. He was capped 62 times by Nigeria’s Super Eagles from 1991 to 2002, winning the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia with the Super

Eagles.

The 50-year-old retired from active football in 2004 and has since pursued his dreams of being a coach by acquiring a UEFA B license.

Finidi George not only has the right to want to manage the Super Eagles, he also has what it takes to manage the team. The two teams that played in the finals of last Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt-Senegal and Algeria were managed by their former players and I don’t see them as better than Finidi,” former Nigerian international Paul Okoku said in a chat with THISDAY. “As a player, both coaches- Aliou isse of Senegal and Algeria’s Djamel Belmadi were not in the class of Finidi that I know for sure. If both could manage their respective countries why not Finidi,” Okuku further added.

Former Nigerian international Finidi George is keen to coach the Super Eagles in the future. George, who was also a key player for the Super Eagles, helped his country win the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title.

“We are ex-players, we are coaches, we had played this game and we know how to interact with players,” George had told a radio station.

“We also know how to manage them which is important as well, so if the opportunity arises, I would take it

with open hands.

George served as an assistant manager at current Spanish La Liga side Real Mallorca.

“I have been handling the youth players and it’s always good to do what you know how to do best, actually I have been an assistant coach in Mallorca,” he added.

George has also served as the director of international football at La Liga club Real Betis.

George is one of the foremost critics of current Super Eagles Manager, Gernot Rohr, saying the Franco-German led technical crew wasn’t getting the best out of the Super Eagles.

The 1994 African Cup of Nations winner hinted that the team was relying heavily on individual brilliance for results, rather than team work.

He said: “The current Super Eagles team are not better than the set that finished third at the 2019 AFCON finals in Egypt. I saw them against Sierra Leone when they conceded three goals in the second half, and they drew that game. All we have seen is individual brilliance, but they don’t function well as a team,” Finidi said on Channels.

“We have yet to see the team play good football under the current technical crew, so I can say I don’t have confidence in the technical crew led

by Gernot Rohr. For the team to do well in Cameroon, they must func-

tion as a unit and not the individual brilliance we are seeing now,” added Finidi.

George indeed feels that Rohr should have had a clear starting 11 and formation by now.

He believes that the German coach has not elevated Nigeria to the required level because of the inconsistent team selections and playing identity.

“We don’t have the best formation and this is the major cause of the team not having its best 11 players today,” Finidi said.

“You can’t look at the team now and say the team has an obvious formation.

“When we were playing you can tell which of the players that suit a particular wing and you can tell your formation and your team from there.”

The former Ajax Amsterdam player is concerned about what Rohr has been doing in terms of building perfectly fitting players for specific positions after four years as coach.

“For the coach to have failed to ascertain his first 11 for four years now, after he had been handling the team, shows he does not have the right players in place in their positions that’s why with the pool of players we have, he kept changing and not finding the right 11 in place,” George added.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

GLOBAL SOCCER

More football action like the Liverpool, Chelsea confrontation awaits sport fans on DStv and GOtv

Sadiq Umar

Almeria Reject Getafe’s Last Minute Bid for Sadiq La Liga side, Getafe reportedly made a last-ditch attempt to sign Nigerian forward, Umar Sadiq from Almeria on the last day of the summer transfer window.

According to reliable Spanish publications La Voz, the Deep Blue Ones offered their Segunda division counterparts a player-plus-cash offer for the former Partizan Belgrade striker.

Getafe were among the first clubs to make a bid for Sadiq this summer, offering €16 million (7.8 million naira) back

in July, which was promptly rejected by La Union.

The Rojiblancos valued the 24-year-old who scored 22 goals in all competitions in his debut season in Spain at around €30 million. That is half of the €60 million release clause in Sadiq’s contract with the Spanish club.

But Getafe waited until the final hours of transfer deadline day to present an improved bid of €18 million in cash plus an unnamed player and other add-ons that could have pushed up the transfer

fee to €25 million.

Still, Almeria were not impressed and refused to approve the deal, deciding instead to retain the services of the former AS Roma forward.

Despite his well-known dreams of playing in the Spanish La Liga, Sadiq has largely been unaffected by the rumours linking him to move away from Estadio de Los Juegos Mediterráneos. The ex-Rangers loanee already has a goal and an assist in three league matches for Almeria this term.

Rohr Gives Reason for Awoniyi’s World Cup Qualifiers Snub Gernot Rohr has revealed that the number of options available to him in Nigeria’s attack was why Taiwo Awoniyi is not included in the latest Super Eagles team.

The German-tactician named a 30-man squad for Nigeria’s World Cup qualifiers against Liberia and Cape Verde, but there was no place for the in-form Awoniyi.

Awoniyi has finally found his feet at Union Berlin- a club he joined permanently from Liverpool this summer following a successful loan spell.

The 23-year-old has been one of Nigeria’s best players in the new European football season. Awoniyi has scored five goals for Union Berlin in six games this season, including three in three Bundesliga matches.

But despite his brilliant start to the season, Rohr could not find a place for him in the Super Eagles squad that took on Liberia yesterday and will take Cape Verde on Tuesday.

Speaking ahead of the clash against the Lone Stars, Rohr revealed he could not call up Awoniyi because of the options

available to him.

“There are people calling for Awoniyi and other players. We can only invite three strikers.

We already have Osimhen, Onuachu and Moffi,” Rohr told the Nigerian media ahead of the match against Liberia.

“There’s also Kelechi Iheanacho, which makes it difficult for Awoniyi. He’s a good player, he will surely get his chance,” he added.

The Super Eagles kicked off their 2022 World Cup Qualifying campaign with a home clash against Liberia at the Teslim Balogun Stadium yesterday.

Paris 2024 Hails Tokyo for Successful Olympics Amid Pandemic

Paris 2024 CEO Etienne Thobois praised Tokyo on Friday for its “remarkable” ability to pull off the Olympics amid the COVID-19 pandemic and said Paris was ready to take the baton as it prepares to stage the Games in three years’ time.

Thobois said that Paris organisers would be as ready as possible to face whatever challenges come their way to deliver a successful games.

“My first reaction (about holding the Games during the pandemic) is that we need to thank our Japanese friends, to be able to pull that off in this

particular situation is kind of amazing, it’s a remarkable achievement,” said Thobois, who was visiting Tokyo for the Paralympics.

“They had to cope with it, and they did a fantastic job. Obviously we hope that in three years from now, this will be behind us, or not in the same level of worries.

But definitely we learned from that,” Thobois added.

Tokyo organisers, who had already postponed the Olympics by a year due to the pandemic, made the unprecedented decision to hold the Games without spectators in venues to help

prevent the spread of the virus.

They also implemented a series of protective measures including frequent testing, mandatory mask wearing and a bubble environment, outlined in “playbooks” distributed to athletes and other Olympic participants.

The Tokyo Paralympics are set to close on Sunday which will start the countdown to the next Summer Games, opening in Paris on July 26, 2024.

“The fundamentals for Paris 2024 are there. We are ready to take on those challenges and we will need to adapt. And that’s what we’ll do,” Thobois said.

More Football Action awaits Fans on DStv, GOtv after International Break Sports fans are already going wild with excitement nationwide over live sports programmes offered by SuperSport.

With just three weeks of intriguing Premier League action in the new football season, sports fans are already divided as to where the pendulum would swing at the end of the season.

While defending champions, Manchester City recovered from the loss to Tottenham in Week One of the Premier League, scoring 10 goals in their subsequent two matches against Norwich City and Arsenal respectively, despite not having their dream replacement of Sergio Aguero, with either Harry Kane or Cristiano Ronaldo to the Etihad Stadium.

Chelsea on the other hand proved that with an organised defense they could call the bluff of a vociferous Anfield crowd, despite being one man down against Liverpool, to pull a respectable 1-1 draw.

Premier League newboys, Brentford, are already making a statement that they are not just in the elite division to make up the numbers after defeating Arsenal in their first match. The Bees went on to draw with Crystal Palace and Aston Villa in their next two games.

The Premier League has so far lived up to its unpredictability as nobody would have predicted that after three weeks, one of the North London teams, Tottenham Hotspur, would be topping the table and with

a perfect record while bitter rival, Arsenal, would not just be rock bottom but with no point and yet to score a goal.

Though just three weeks old, the Premier League has not been short of controversies as witnessed in the Chelsea versus Liverpool game and Manchester United’s visit to the Molineux Stadium.

While the Stamford Bridge faithful believe referee Mike Dean got it wrong by sending off defender Reece James, the Red Devil’s goal against Wolves would be debated for a long time to come.

If week three fixtures were regarded as Premier League’s ‘Super Saturday’ courtesy of the two headline fixtures involving Manchester City vs Arsenal and Liverpool vs Chelsea, SuperSport is promising more mouthwatering fixtures after the international break.

Those that thought the departure of one of the greatest footballers of all time, Lionel Messi, from the La Liga as well as Real Madrid’s ‘spiritual leader’, Sergio Ramos would make the La Liga less competitive and attractive are already starting to have a rethink as the Spanish League has even been more competitive with the first six teams separated only by goals aggregate.

However, for a last minute own goal, defending La Liga champions, Atletico Madrid, would have suffered a home defeat at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium when Valencia came visiting. Meanwhile, Levante and Real Madrid

gave fans something to ponder on in their Week Two 3-3 thriller.

Barcelona on the other hand is fast adjusting to life without Messi, winning two and drawing one in their three games so far.

In Italian football action, Inter Milan and AC Milan picked up from where they left off last season after winning their first two games in spectacular fashion, while Napoli and Lazio were also early birds.

Jose Mourinho is indeed proving he still has something up his sleeves after guiding Roma to landslide victories in their two matches.

Fans cannot however wait for the international break to end to start following their favourite clubs.

MultiChoice is bringing all excitement of the 2021/22 football season with a special discount offer tagged ‘Biggie Goals’. With this offer, the DStv HD decoder, dish kit and one-month compact package subscription drops from N18,600 to N9,900, while GOtv decoder, GOtenna with one month Max package subscription, is reduced from N9,500 to N6,900. Visit the nearest MultiChoice office or dealer outlet to take advantage of the offer while stock lasts.

Customers can download the MyDStv and MyGOtv for the Auto-Renewal option to stay connected to quality entertainment without interruptions. Visit www. dstvafrica.com or www. gotvafrica.com for more information.

Excitement at Maiden National School Racket Games Over 200 Students from different states across the country convergedon and competed at the maiden National School Racket Games organised by the Nigeria School Sport Federation (NSSF).

The students drawn from primary, junior and senior secondary schools across Nigeria have been in Lagos for five days competing in table tennis and badminton events with the sole aim of outwitting one another for the coveted prizes in the 12 titles at stake at the championships taking

place at the indoor hall of the National Stadium Lagos.

Apart from the host, Lagos, Rivers, Adamawa and Kano states were part of the tournament which ended on September 2.

Speaking ahead of the grand finale, NSSF President Olabisi Joseph, said the event was part of federation’s efforts to harness the budding sports talents that abound in schools.

“NSSF is intentional about ensuring mass participation in sports with the aim of providing every Nigerian

child with a unique sporting experience in school while identifying exceptional talents and inculcating the intrinsic value of sportsmanship, teamwork, determination, discipline and fair play from an early age.”

President of NBF Francis Orbih commended NSSF for their genuineness and intentional efforts to support the federation to unravel talents from schools, describing the partnership as a long-time exercise that would be expanded in near future.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

GLOBAL SOCCER

Faustino Anjorin

Still off the Mark at Stamford Bridge When he signed a new contract with Chelsea last season, there was high hope that a first team shirt was in the making. Manager,Thomas Tuchel indeed went on to praise Faustino Anjorin’s incredible talent. It was however not to be as he was loaned to Russian powerhouse, Lokomotiv Moscow to garner more experience and ramp up playing time

last season’s UEFA Champions League, playing for eighty minutes in a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Anjorin had his medical in Russia ahead of a season-long loan move to Lokomotiv Moscow, according to reports.

The 19-year-old is highly rated at Chelsea by boss Tuchel but he is set to depart this summer, joining a crop of young talents to head for the exit doors.

The midfielder will depart in a seasonlong loan deal which includes an option to buy.

The fee to purchase the midfielder in January, half way through the loan spell is £17 million.

Chelsea have negotiated a buy-back fee which is worth €40 million (£34 million) that can be activated by the Blues in the future if Lokomotiv make the loan deal permanent.

Ralf Rangnick is the man leading the interest, and the director is somebody that Tuchel has looked up to in German football.

Anjorin only featured a handful of times for the Chelsea first team and will be looking for more regular football in Russia as he joins the team fourth in the Russian Premier League.

He will join fellow academy star Ethan Ampadu in securing a deadline day loan move, with the Welshman spending the season at Venezia.

Chelsea boss Tuchel provided an insight into the lack of minutes afforded to during the pre-season.

The 19-year-old has long been viewed as one of the most promising young talents on the books in South-west London.

The English youth international is an attacking midfielder by trade, but is also more than capable of lining out in a more orthodox central role in the middle of the park.

Anjorin’s starring displays at youth level saw him named the captain of Chelsea’s Youth Cup side in 2019/20, with a further four goals and four assists across 10 Premier League 2 appearances last season having seen the teen’s star continue to rise.

Such stellar exploits, in turn, even saw Anjorin carve out a regular spot for himself in the first-team setup of Frank Lampard late last year.

The midfield talent was afforded his Champions League bow in December, managing 80 minutes en route to a 1-1 group stage stalemate with Russian outfit Krasnodar, before also taking to the pitch in a pair of FA Cup ties.

As a result, the Chelsea faithful could not have been blamed for making clear their hope that the club’s latest up and coming young talent would be afforded a consistent chance to impress in this new campaign but it was not to be so after a loan spell with Russian club Lokomotiv came calling.

The Pensioners played a trio of preseason friendlies, versus Bournemouth, Arsenal and Tottenham respectively and Anjorin only featured in one, in a cameo off the bench.

Tuchel, as a result, was inevitably drawn on the surprising lack of gametime afforded to his side’s midfield starlet, during an exchange with the media.

And the Chelsea boss went on to cite a bout of COVID-19 as the determining factor, with Anjorin, unfortunately, having ‘really suffered for 10 to 12 days.’

G LO B A L S O C C E R ASSISTANT EDITOR KUNLE ADEWALE THISDAY ON SATURDAY EDITOR YEMI ADEBOWALE DEPUTY EDITOR AHAMIFULA OGBU THISDAY NEWSPAPERS

Anjorin

L

okomotiv Moscow reached agreement with Chelsea over transfer of Anglo-Nigerian wonderkid, Faustino Anjorin has completed his move to Russian Premier League side, Lokomotiv Moscow.

It should be noted that the summer transfer window is still open in Russia until Tuesday, September.

Lokomotiv Moscow signed the England youth international on an initial loan, with an option to buy inserted into the deal.

Transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano posted on Facebook on Wednesday: “Agreement done and completed between Chelsea and Lokomotiv Moscow for Tino Anjorin. Long term contract and loan to Russian club - where the market is still open.”

Anjorin’s signed a new contract at Chelsea last summer, keeping him at Stamford Bridge until June 30, 2025.

The 19-year-old is expected to join his new team after the international break as he was named in the latest England U-20 squad for their friendly against Romania at St. George’s Park on Monday, September 6.

Anjorin faced Russian opposition in the form of Krasnodar in the group stage of

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

MEDIAGAFFES

EXPRESSION

BY

EBERE WABARA

‘Heavy Downpour’ Wrong

Y

OU are welcome to the first edition this month: “Cladded (Clad) in black, they came in connection with….”

“I am making this post only because an unusually heavy downpour (because a downpour)….” We can also talk of ‘torrential rains’, but certainly not ‘heavy or torrential downpour’ because the rainfall intensity is encapsulated in ‘downpour’.

In other contexts, we also have ‘showers’, ‘drizzles’, ‘light/heavy rainfall’ etcetera.

“The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) said on Tuesday that the fate of…are now in the hands of their shareholders.” (DAILY INDEPENDENT Business, August 17) No commercialese: the fate of banks is (not are).

“The testimony of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, former CSO to late General Sani Abacha….” A fox and his bagful of yarns: former CSO to the late General Sani Abacha.

“The corporation said it is (was) determined to protect depositors by all means.” (THISDAY, August 15) “Food crop production has declined rapidly and this is largely attributable to soil despoilation….” Frequent oil spills in the Niger Delta axis: despoliation.

“Money speaks, we will interprete” (National News, August 15) Spell-check: interpret.

“He said the taking over of these banks

by AMCON will (would) not….” (Source: as above) Yet another Business English (commercialese)!

Still on the preceding edition: “It is very unfortunate that in a country with a shattered and troubled education sector like ours….” Counting the cost of

dormant funds: educational sector.

“The boys who were to kill us started fighting themselves” This way: The boys fought one another (not themselves).

Except, of course, they were on a suicide mission!

“English Premiership kicks-off in grand style” (THE GUARDIAN, August 13) This is incongruent with flagship journalism: inclusion of hyphens in phrasal verbs!

“Banks exorbitant charges: Accusing fingers point at regulators” (SATURDAY TRIBUNE Feature Banne r, August 13) A rewrite: Banks’ (take note of the apostrophe) nationalization: The finger points at regulators “Adanma who is based in the United States and works as a medical personnel….” (Source: as above) ‘Personnel’ is a collective noun and cannot function as used. Get it right: a medical official, employee, worker, service provider, assistant, hand…

“President Goodluck Jonathan has warned that forceful takeover of power through coup d’etats will no longer be tolerated….” (THE GUARDIAN Back Page, August 12) Conscience, nurtured by truth: coups d’ etat.

“Wike mourns late Hausa leader” (DAILY INDEPENDENT, August 12) The governor couldn’t have mourned someone who was alive! So, he mourns Hausa leader.

“Veteran golfers converge at Ikeja club” (Source: as above) Let’s go golfing as we converge on Ikeja Club. “…maintained that Ojukwu was hale and healthy in a far away London hospital.” (THE GUARDIAN, August 11) For the recuperation of Ikemba Nnewi: hale and hearty.

Nigerian TRIBUNE of August 11 circulated two embarrassing errors: “… even foreigners who should ordinarily

Raypower @ 27: Once Upon A Mustard Seed

O

n Wednesday, September 1, 2021, Nigeria’s pioneer private radio station marked its twenty seventh anniversary without much pomp. In recognition of the dire times, the managers of the network radio enterprise organised a Zoom multicast session (Factfile) that I was graciously invited to participate as one of the speakers, alongside Prof. Olayinka Alawode, the Dean of the School of Communication, LASU - perhaps, there were more programmes. Well, I have chosen to memorialise the occasion with a rehash of my tribute a few years ago, in recognition of the great sacrifice and keen acumen needed to start, run and sustain a business in this country - much more a media conglomerate.

“Writing about Raypower’s journey through the years - especially the first pioneering decade, didn’t need copious side-notes, tedious research, background interviews and such scholarship - for me is a stroll through history. We have always been at the fringes, from pre-launch, the test transmission, the false countdown, the shutdown, the miraculous reversal and the blast of the day one broadcast on September 1, 1994.

Sometimes, we have found ourselves deeply involved in keeping the dream alive, (especially after the even more prodigious erection of the massive television octopus in 1996) - swapping strategies and points of view with the incredibly energetic and visibly calculating spirit-being of Raypower, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, and the cream of his star-studded pioneering staff.

When Raypower started test transmission late December of 1993 on 100.5 frequency modulation, the country was in the throes of anguish, threats and general unrest as a result of the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election barely six months earlier. It was such a moment, on hindsight, that it was foolhardy to grant a broadcast license to a private citizen, for the first time, and be unwary of dire consequences of misuse or sabotage or whatever evil machinations enemies of a fast depreciating military junta could whip up. Obviously, Dokpesi must have been seen as an apple of Maradona’s eye who was above reproach...with absolute confidence that the experiment would not boomerang. That was in 1992.

Unfortunately, the new year (1994) ushered in a new Sheriff who perceived danger all around him, and lashed out as he deemed appropriate. The infant outfit, still doing “testing testing”, was declared an “illegal station” on January 15, 1994 under the vehement gaze of Gen. Sani Abacha. In the words of a leading “benefactor” of governmental rascality: “then began a period of extreme pain and suffering...”. Exactly nine months after, ostensibly finessed by the diplomatic skills and charm offensive of Dokpesi, the station received the “all-clear” signal on August 15. The work-starved professionals swung into action, and launched commercial broadcasting on that cool first day of September, 1994.

ewabara@yahoo.com, 08055001948

be living in utmost circumspection have the effrontory and confidence to dupe Nigerians and even kill them.” No lexical quackery: effrontery.

“We shudder to imagine how many of these foreigners are involved in various forms of criminality which the lax security system of the state have (has) permitted.”

“He will do it well, but if you give it to a mediocre….” (DAILY INDEPENDENT, August 11) People and Power: a mediocrity or mediocrist. ‘Mediocre’ is an adjective.

“FRSC records 180 causalities in Kogi” (National News Headline, August 10) Spell-check: casualties.

“Customs seize N25bn goods” (THE PUNCH, August 10) Customs seizes.

“She argued that a pact such as is being advocated for by the lawmakers amounted to Nigeria’s re-orientation.”

Remove ‘for’.

“I searched in vain for the Ministry of Defence and, unless the text I had was defective, it was conspicuously absent.”

‘Absence’ does not require any qualification. Simply, it was absent.

“His Excellency…Ambassador Extraordinary (Extraordinaire) and Plenipotentiary….”

“In fact, the situation has degenerated from that of epileptic power supply down to that of complete blackout which in most cases lasts from weeks to months.” ‘Blackout’ does not need any modifier—it means total extinction or concealment of lights.

“The reasons range from power generation limitation to the use of overaged (overage), antiquated and arsenic hydroterminal plants and so many others too numerous to mention.” Agreed that ‘overage’ means ‘too old’ (used mostly for

The first six months of Raypower were indeed rays of solid professional, hi-tech display of light programming, fluid presentations and the unprecedented capacity to take the “studios” outdoors... into clubs, homes, event venues, all sorts of spaces, and broadcast live...from anywhere around Lagos. If older state-funded stations were dazed by the dash and bravura of the new kids on the block...the realisation of what everybody thought was a reckless threat, to broadcast for 24 hours everyday, simply “killed” the cynicism of the ageing establishment.

The miracle of Raypower of the 90’s was not squeezed into reality by some magic, luck or some dodgy government patronage. The greatness of Raypower is carved by an admix of unassuming talents strangely infused with the capacity for industry, diligence, resourcefulness, dare-devil determination to tread where normal people would run mad...and the unNigerian ability to work, sacrifice, deposit all that the pioneer staff had or could muster...as if it was their personal business which must rise and soar, even as the world was coming to end!

One can also argue that it is either Dokpesi was the luckiest man in the world or the gods congregated at a sleepy swathe of forestland around Alagbado... somewhere on the outskirts of Lagos, in Ifako-Ijaiye LGA...and marked the spot as their “miracle mountain”.

One of the smartest things Dokpesi did in birthing Raypower was his ability to turn the hearts of some of the best voices and minds on radio, led by the young-looking headmaster at the high-flying new FM station of Ogun State, OGBC-2, self-styled “the ultimate in style”. The voice, skills and manipulation of songs and sense endeared me so much to Olusesan Ekisola that around 1979, I would risk expulsion from secondary school to be at the poolside disco weekend show inside the Ogun State Hotel, Ibara, Abeokuta, knowing that Ekisola and good fun would be available.

So, the swashbuckling salesman and bohemian jolly fellow that was Dokpesi, backed by the vast experience and easy conviviality of Ekisola; “conjured” the amazing appetite and glory-hunting verve of other young brilliant people in the three core spines of broadcasting: (Programmes) Ambrose “Brozuma” Somide, Dàpọ obukola, Yemi “Twinkle-Voice” Adenuga, Segun “Shy-Shy” Shyllon, Gboyega Sotunde, Abayomi Asekun and Tóun Okewale; (Engineering) Kayode Kilasho and (Marketing) Báyọ Adebiyi - leading a small troop into the rugged trenches of Alagbado.

Today, that forestland of Alagbado is now a city of sorts, dotted with tarred roads, residential buildings, electricity, and other modern amenities and infrastructure.

In recognition of the singularly momentous intervention the arrival, flowering and sustenance of Dokpesi’s dream has had, and still has on the trends, creativity, knowledge, culture and awareness of Nigerian listenership, I submitted perhaps the longest published entry in my 1999 “Millennium Mementos” dedicated to honouring the biggest influencers

human beings), but for contextualization and language grasp, ‘obsolete’ (for inanimate things) should have been it.

“Many people have lost their household properties as a result of uncontrolled power voltage.” Time to remove the immunity of DISCOs: property (not properties) in this context.

“The consensus of opinion in the country today.…” Despite the pockets of debate on what some learner’s dictionaries say, I insist on consensus (without opinion, which is optional anyway).

“It is also an open secret that a cabal of highly placed sacred cows holds the fuel distribution process in the country to ransome.“ Spell-check: ransom.

“Council chairmen and legislators at the council, state and federal levels would also later be sworn-in (sworn in) for the take off (take-off) of the Fourth Republic.”

Again, phrasal verbs do not admit hyphenation.

“The Yorubas, Igbos and even Northern minorities have grudges….” English is no politics: the Yoruba, the Igbo and the Northern minorities.

“Except round pegs are put in round holes, the nation will be the looser (loser) for it.”

“It is arguable if the current spate of advancement (advancements) recorded in the area of….”

“Thank God he is concerned at (about/ for/over/in—depending on context— never at) the security situation.”

“There were other ministers in the last dispensation who performed creditably well, but who were not re-appointed.”

Get it right: ministers who performed creditably or well. ‘Creditably well’ is an over-kill. Both cannot co-function.

COUNTERPOINT

FEMI

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

in the entertainment annals of Nigeria... here’s what I wrote then, and still stand by today, on Raymond Dokpesi: “When it comes to bold innovations and bravura in pulling chestnuts out of a broiling furnace, your best partner is Raymond Anthony Aleogho Dokpesi. You may not like his style or distrust his ambition, no one can dismiss the incredible attainments of the Aghenebode (Edo) high chief in the entertainment world of Nigeria. Born in Ibadan, Oyo State, on October 25, 1951 the Ray of Raypower FM, stormed big business with a loud splash - launched the first shipping line this side of the world with pioneer billionaire, Chief MKO Abiola, Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, still in his 20’s!

“Nearer home, and relevant to us, are his forays into broadcasting and entertainment. As usual, it was with the biggest splash late in the century that Dokpesi, a first class graduate (received his doctorate degree in Marine Engineering at age 26), seized our hearts and dance steps with the commencement of broadcast signals of Raypower 100.5 FM on September (1), 1994. He practically combed out a modern production city-village out of the rustic wasteland of Alagbado, on the outskirts of Lagos State.

“Working with some of the brightest minds in radio the new station soon launched a sleepless parade with its 24-hour programming and music jamming. It was so unprecedented that competitors were rolling on the floor, in reckless laughter, confident that the charade would fail. Of course, history has recorded their shock and distress at the phenomenal successes and dizzying elevation Raypower has recorded in so short a time. Instead of smirking with “didn’t-we-tell-them-so” recriminations, Dokpesi’s competitors have been chasing after his shadow ever since.

“And trust the hard-nosed businessman, while simple men and women would pursue means of calming their opponents’ nerves, the doctor of engineering from University of Gdansk, Poland, pushed in the screw-driver - and what a giant one. Large of frame and awesome in gait, Dokpesi revealed himself usually in the expansiveness of his projects. The concept, planning, financing, acquisitions and man-power outlay of African Independent Television, AIT, about two years after Raypower, in 1996, literally took away the breath of everyone, most especially veterans who wrote the scripts of Nigerian broadcasting.

Dokpesi tore the scripts into shreds, and wrote a sparkling new script - Nigerian broadcasting and entertainment have never been the same again.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

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BOOK REVIEW/ PERSPECTIVE

Bukar Usman: An Administrator and Quintessential Man of Letters Title: Kundin Hirarrakin Bukar Usman (Collected Interviews of Bukar Usman), Whetstone, 2018 Reviewer: Ismail Bala No. of pp.366 Price Not Stated

I

n the annals of Nigerian letters, Dr. Bukar Usman stands tall and is unmatched not just in sheer creative fecundity, but most significantly in the range of his creative concerns and intellectual interests. Dr. Bukar is the author of over a dozen books. Very few writers and public analysts are as productive or prolific as he is. Over the years, he has written in practically all the genres in addition to many works ranging across history, social and political commentary, orature and folklore, among others. He has written on a variety of topics, from the history of his native Biu to folktales.

His views and opinions, marked by over 30 years of experience as a public servant have reached a wide range of readers through his books, pamphlets, treatises, audio CDs and the lecture circuit, whether the subject is security in north-eastern Nigeria, Hausa orature or the question of good governance and development in Nigeria. With the publication of the present book, Dr Usman has scored another first and cemented his position as a quintessential man of letters. As far as this reviewer is concerned, Kundin Hirarrakin Bukar Usman [Collected Interviews of Bukar Usman] is the first book of its kind to collect interviews in Hausa into a single text.

Like a typical collection of interviews, the book gathers as diverse and representative of a range of interviews covering the intellectual and creative gamut of Dr Usman as is possible within the scope and limitations of a single book.

Over the years in his capacity as an administrator, civil servant (who rose through the ranks to become a Permanent Secretary in the Presidency), historian, folklorist, political commentator, cultural enthusiast and patron of the arts and culture, Dr Usman has granted a lot of interviews in different platforms and media (radio, television, and print etc.). The present book collates these disparate interviews and makes them available for the first time. The 37 interviews were conducted in both Hausa and English but they are all rendered into Hausa for this publication.

For both readers and scholars alike, literary (and to large extent, journalistic) interviews have become important gateways to literature and the arts generally. Barring the interviews popularised by the Paris Review, interviews are usually short and reader-friendly; they often are accessible in various popular media. Furthermore, especially since the rise of the Internet, interviews most of the time remain available in the public domain.

Personal interviews (the subjective in-depth interviews), along with accompanying

Usman illustrations (photographs, drawings, and sometimes also facsimiles of manuscript pages or letters), have significantly contributed to the visibility (or otherwise) of writers in contemporary literary and intellectual dispensation. They provide firsthand information from the writer about their works or intellectual or ideological leanings and literary opinions but also about their life, personal history and experiences, viewpoints, and personality and can contribute to a writer’s celebrity status. As sources of information, interviews derive (a significant part of) their credibility and acceptability from the lingering and renewed belief - against the intentional fallacy - that writer can offer unique insights into their work.

The various interviews collected in the book collectively record Dr Usman’s perceptions of his many (literary, historical and folkloric) works, describe the biographical and historical context of his intellectual poise and offer commentary on the larger literary, political and cultural fields and/or assimilated influences. The interviews are arranged chronologically

and thematically, by each interview’s date, in a sequence given in subsequent if not always consecutive years.

All the interviews took place in a face-to-face format, which means they reflect the immediacy and fluidity of such encounters (the to-ing and fro-ing, the back-and-forth), the informal question and answer language, the round abouting, making and remaking of a particular point, the challenge and counter-challenge of both the interviewer and the interviewee. Whether the interviews were edited for this publication: to make them “writerlier”, or published as they were originally conducted is not indicated. But they are as a whole a blend of direct discourse and clarification.

They are therefore primarily the records of different occasions, in a variety of times and places, publications, media and ultimately interviewers and many different situations, moods and concerns.

In one sense the interviews-ranging from the topic as diverse as the dawn of democracy in the third republic in Nigeria to the impact of the internet on reading

culture, the life of the writer in contemporary society, insecurity, the role of NGO in diplomacy and party politics in addition of course to literary themes and subjects-have arisen as responses to what Dr. Bukar has written over so many years in many books, articles and lectures. As such, they reflect the interest of both the interviewee and the interviewers.

Invariably, in the end, the interview as a genre and a mode of expression shows Dr. Bukar Usman at his most articulate and illuminating, particularly when he is reflecting on thorny issues about his own writing or the state of folklore and literature in northern Nigeria. This point doubly expresses the potential relevance of this book to anyone interested in Dr. Usman’s rich oeuvre and underlines a broader basis for assessing the other turf of Dr Usman’s life and times in which unflinching intelligence has been the shining light undergirding his works and actions. Despite the interviews’ informality and generally wide-ranging nature and concerns, they have brilliantly answered readers’ interests and concerns.

Ismail Bala is a lecturer at the Bayero .University Kano.

Giving.Ng Partners Run Club Abuja to Support NFI School Olaoluwakitan Babatunde

G

ving.ng, Africa’s first and only free crowdfunding platform has partnered with the Run Club Abuja (RCA) on a charity run to raise funds for The Not Forgotten Initiative School (NFI), a not-for- profit school based in Abuja, Nigeria. This was to celebrate the club’s one-year anniversary.

Run Club Abuja, a fitness & lifestyle club organized the ‘Charity Half Marathon’, preceded by a crowdfunding campaign to raise fund for the school designed to support less privileged children. The NFI School helps transform the lives of children of less-privileged community in Kpaduma Hills, Asokoro and its immediate

environs by offering free education, school uniforms, books, and special empowerment programs with the aim of empowering the children to become the best they can be and thereby breaking the vicious cycle of poverty.

Giving.ng also gave a grant of N500,000.00 towards the success of the crowdfunding campaign.

Speaking on the partnership, the CEO of Sterling One Foundation, Olapeju Ibekwe, commended the Run Club Abuja for the laudable project highlighting that the country needs more impact focused Nigerians who can choose to make a positive difference in the lives of others. She added that the Givin. ng platform was designed to provide support for such change makers who will not accept the status quo but are willing to create partnerships for progress within their various

communities. She reiterated that grants are available to fund raisers who qualify and noted that these are available on the Giving. ng platform.

The President of Run Club Abuja, Mr. Henry Okelue thanked Giving.ng for their partnership. He added that the funds will be used to build a classroom and provide computers for the computer learning room at NFI School.

Also, expressing her appreciation, the founder of the school, Mrs. Tosin Adeniyi, who was at the half marathon, said: “We at NFI are exceedingly grateful to Run Club Abuja for organising this run. We are also grateful to Giving.ng for helping to make this dream come true. We do not take this blessing for granted.”

She added that it was a major encouragement for her and the students and that it

has helped to reinforce her commitment to helping as many children as possible to have a better future.

The highlight of the charity event was the presentation of N2.02 million raised, via the giving.ng platform, to NFI School. Some of the pupils of NFI School were participants at the run event and expressed delight about the donations made towards their education.

Truly, extraordinary things happen when like-minded individuals, organizations and the society unite for a cause.

The Giving.ng Platform is the first and only free crowdfunding platform in Africa that helps raise funds and still gives grants to projects on its platform. The platform recently received an upgrade to make giving more seamless for the convenience of both donors and fundraisers from anywhere in the world.

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AUTO WORLD

Bennett Oghifo 07052343083 Email:bennett.oghifo@thisdaylive.com

TIPS OF THE WEEK What to Do When Your Car is Flooded

R–L: General Manager, Marketing & Corporate Communications Abiona Babarinde; Business Manager Tolulope Gbadamosi; Ownership Services Manager, Michael Onyewuchi; and Business Executive, Tehillah Okeleke, all of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Lagos at the recently held Ride and Drive event of the Rolls-Royce Cullinan with the media in Lagos… recently

Drive The Rolls-Royce Cullinan and Experience its Magic

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he 2021 Rolls-Royce Cullinan, the premium brand’s Sport Utility Vehicle, drives effortlessly, almost magical as it floats, glides over rough surfaces off-road and smooth slides on-road in cool comfort, at a push of a button.

It was great taking this beautiful piece of rare and customised machinery for a spin in Eko Atlantic City.

The ride and drive was powered by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Lagos, in collaboration with their sole franchise holder in Nigeria, Coscharis Motors and hosted by Eko Atlantic City development, builders of Azuri Towers.

Rolls-Royce Cullinan and Azuri Towers are both lifestyle must-have luxury items for those who see their price as no object. A small group of journalists had a rare opportunity to feel the Cullinan. Smooth ride, almost no noise, and quiet coach, as against cabin, used to indicate the interior of other cars/vehicles.

The Cullinan is the first-ever Sport Utility Vehicle to be produced from Goodwood in United Kingdom – the

house of Rolls-Royce.

Take a seat and close the coach door at a push of a button and push another to start the engine, of course, its keyless. You may need to listen hard to hear the engine run, but the great dashboard keeps you informed in the noiseless coach.

The Rolls-Royce Cullinan, known as the Rolls-Royce of SUVs, has upfront a golden Spirit of Ecstasy, bold and leading the way in the beautifully emerging Eko Atlantic City. The three Azuri Towers, at the front row of the city’s Marina, accentuated the beauty of the premium SUV. During the driver-briefing before takeoff, the General Manager, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Coscharis Group, Abiona Babarinde said, “The choice of this location is to give you the smooth drive a Rolls-Royce Cullinan will deliver for you effortlessly on all the different road terrains you can imagine. Right here, you will enjoy the drive on a smooth road and sandy areas on the beach side that gives you both the on and off road capabilities of the Cullinan within an

environment like what we have at this Eko Development City here in Lagos.”

The Business Manager, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Lagos, Tolu Gbadamosi delivered the “Ride and Drive” concept, and showcased the unique selling propositions of the Cullinan by driving each of the media partners on different routes/terrains. Thereafter, the media team equally drove the vehicle to have the ‘feel’ to deliver the total experience.

The Rolls-Royce team delivered a total presentation of the Cullinan for any discerning prospect of owning what was described as the ‘luxury of SUVs’ when Michael Onyewuchi, the Ownership Services Manager of the brand gave a rundown of all the aftersales offerings that are available to give the customer the ‘peace of mind’ owning the Cullinan. Aside the warranty that is guaranteed from the purchase of the Cullinan from Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Lagos, you are guaranteed of genuine parts to be fixed with the right tools by certified Rolls-Royce technicians to deliver the ultimate peace of mind to the customer based on the set global standards.

Kia Offers Over 70% Discount on Service, Repairs

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ia Nigeria has launched the Ownership Reward Programme with combined discounts of over 70% and loads of Free ValueAdded Services for customers.

The company’s resolve to compensate customers for their loyalty over the years is to ensure that all Kia owners enjoy the most pleasurable driving experience at a pocket-friendly cost. Customers’ evolving needs to keep their cars in shape at an affordable cost and enjoy a hitch-free ride despite the years of usage of their Kia are the basis for this year’s Kia Ownership Reward Programme (KORP).

The programme is aimed at offering greater value, convenience, and support to customers who have owned KIA from a month to nine years or more. It offers waivers ranging from 15% to 25% on service cost and up to 50% discount on aggregated parts like audio, engine, and transmission assembly amongst others. These discounted offerings are premised on the years of Kia ownership, as it progressively reduces the cost of maintenance based on the years the car has been in operation. KORP is set to substantially bring down the cost of maintenance as Kia vehicles get older. Weaved into the underlining exceptional service delivery of Kia Nigeria’s aftersales service, the programme will provide greater value for our customers.

“Following the success of the launch of this program in the year 2019, its wide acceptance and the satisfaction it brought to our customers, we’ve deemed it necessary to even take it to a whole new level by increasing the discounts up to 70% for our customers. This will further foster ‘peace of mind’ in our customers and affordability to engage them meaningfully and ensure an enjoyably hitch-free driving experience with their Kia regardless of the

2022 Kia Sportage interior dash and wheel

age of the vehicle. The huge discounts and free valueadded service are what make the KORP a unique program in the industry and continuously drive customer satisfaction to its peak. This programme is set to reward customers throughout the vehicle’s lifecycle,” said Sanjay Tatpati, Chief Operating Officer, Kia Nigeria.

The KORP goes the distance to deliver a more fulfilling experience for old Kia owners with discounted pricing and exceptional service delivery. Service and parts pricing flexibility and the undying resolve of Kia Nigeria to always roll out customer-driven

initiatives that match customers’ active lifestyles are hallmarks of the KORP. The programme is Kia’s way of saying thank you to old customers for their continued trust while servicing and maintaining at the accredited service center.

Over the years, Kia prides itself as the leading auto brand with a host of owners’ loyalty initiatives that are customer-oriented. With the relaunch of KORP, Kia is strengthening its place and setting a pace as the most customer-conscious brand with not only exceptional service deliveries that exceed expectations but with affordable pricing that’s value-driven.

Whether you have driven through a deep puddle, accidentally left your windows open or there’s a problem with one of the door seals; water can cause serious damage to your car, affecting its mechanics as well as how it looks.

Even if the interior has got damp in a downpour, it could leave you with stains and fusty odours which may impact your car’s value.

What to Do Immediately After Finding Out Your Car Has Flooded If you return to your car to find water in the cabin or a non-starting engine, there a few things you need to do to prevent serious damage: 1. Do not try to start the car again – If water gets into the engine, transmission or fuel system, it’ll only make the problem worse. Water can destroy internal engine parts and cause ‘hydrolock’, when the pistons fail to compress and move as they should. If hydrolock occurs, you’re looking at huge repair bills or the prospect of getting a new car.

2. Start removing water – The less time water is left to stand in your car’s interior, the less chance it has of causing damage and getting into mechanical components where it can cause more damage. If your car literally has puddles in it, you’ll need a wet/dry vacuum cleaner to get rid of them (don’t try using your standard vacuum, as you could get an electric shock).

3. Get air into the car – A good flow of air is essential to dry out a wet car, and will help prevent mould, mildew and bad odours. Park your car somewhere covered, open all the windows, and use an electric fan to get the air moving, pointing it at the affected area if possible.

If this isn’t possible but you need to get the interior dry, switching on the engine and running the fan heaters is another way of speeding up the drying process. Just make sure you check the condition of your engine (preferably with a professional) before switching it on, to prevent hydrolock.

Mechanical Faults Caused by Flooding If your car has been flooded by rain, there are lots of things that can go wrong with its mechanics – both under the bonnet and in the cabin. We’ve listed some of these common faults and problems below: Hydrolock – As above, hydrolock is the worst-case scenario for your car. It normally happens when water has got into the air intake and been sucked into the engine, where it damages the pistons and combustion cycle. Remember – don’t attempt to start your car if you think water could get into the engine.

Electrical problems – Electrical problems can occur in the cabin if water has got in after a downpour. Some of the most common faults affect the wiring, radio, computers, dashboard and electric windows. If you think water has got into the car, don’t fiddle with any electrics until you’re confident it’s dry, as you risk an electric shock.

Rusting – Rust is the obvious thing to look out for when your car has been flooded by heavy rain, and it can affect all exposed metalwork, including on the undercarriage, in the bonnet and in the boot. Check all metal surfaces regularly after a flood for the early onset of rust, and always take steps to dry the car as thoroughly as you can.

Mechanical problems with moving parts – From the brake and clutch assemblies to the starter, water can cause problems for different moving parts on your car. Have your car thoroughly checked over by a professional after flooding to make sure everything is working as it should.

Common Areas Where Cars Can Develop Rain Leaks No matter how old or well-maintained your car is, a faulty window or door seal can let rain into the cabin and boot, and that’s not good. Even if it’s just a few drips every now and again, a leaky door seal could lead to a bigger problem, especially if water gets into upholstery or electrical components.

Leaks generally occur when the weather stripping along the side of doors and windows is worn or damaged, letting air and moisture into the car. This can happen anywhere weather stripping is in place, but is especially common where the strip is placed horizontally – meaning that water doesn’t drain away as quickly.

The best way to prevent weather stripping from wearing and becoming brittle is to clean and maintain it like any other part of your car. We’d recommend carefully cleaning weather stripping with standard car shampoo, before treating it regularly with a silicone-based conditioning spray.

How to Clean a Water-Damaged Car Cleaning and drying a flooded car can be a difficult and time-consuming process, because water can travel a surprisingly long way from the point where it first leaked into your car. If the water has gotten into upholstery like the seats and carpets, it’s even trickier to clean, and may take several days before you can get it completely clean and dry.

(Source: Holts)

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

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AUTO WORLD

Production of First Performance Hybrid Mercedes-AMG Begins

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he Àrst performance hybrid from Mercedes-AMG is entering series production and draws on technologies from Formula 1. The concept includes a distinctive drive layout with electric motor and battery on the rear axle as well as a high-performance battery developed in-house. The Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E PERFORMANCE (weighted, combined fuel consumption: 8.6 l/100 km; weighted, combined CO2 emissions: 196 g/km; weighted power consumption: 10.3 kWh/100 km)>1@ combines superior performance and impressive driving dynamics with maximum e΀ciency thanks to its special powertrain.

The E PERFORMANCE model thus transfers the DNA of AMG Driving Performance into the electriÀed future.

The combination of 4.0-litre V8 biturbo engine and electric motor generates a system output of 620 kW (843 hp) and a maximum system torque of more than 1,400 Nm. The electric drive’s immediate response at the rear axle, rapid torque build-up and improved weight distribution make for a new, highly dynamic driving experience. As in Formula 1, the battery is speciÀcally designed for fast power delivery and draw. The electric range of 12 kilometres allows a practical operating radius, for example in the city or in residential areas. Mercedes-AMG is breaking new ground in communication on electriÀcation together with brand ambassador will.i.am: The world-famous musician and multiple Grammy Award winner is the protagonist of the marketing campaign “Everything but quiet”. He not only contributed to the concept, but also wrote an exclusive song for the release video.

“With the new Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E PERFORMANCE we are transporting our brand DNA into an electriÀed future. In doing so, we are following our own technical path, which is what has always made AMG so special and desirable. Developed entirely in AͿalterbach, the performance hybrid oͿers a fascinating level of driving dynamics and rightly bears our new technology label E PERFORMANCE. With this new concept, we are also opening up to new target

The Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E groups who will experience Mercedes-AMG as the performance luxury brand of the 21st century. Our departure into AMG-typical electriÀcation is Áanked by a large-scale campaign. And I am delighted that we have also been able to win over a special partner for this in the form of superstar will.i.am, who we have been able to inspire with our technology”, says Philipp Schiemer, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-AMG GmbH. “Mercedes-AMG has always stood for top performance and maximum driving dynamics. In developing our E PERFORMANCE hybrid strategy, it was therefore clear from the outset that we would pursue a standalone concept for AMG that combines our core brand values with high e΀ciency. It is now entering series production with the new Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E PERFORMANCE. The layout with the combustion engine at the front and Electric Drive Unit on the rear axle oͿers numerous advantages. The optimised

weight distribution, best possible utilisation of torque and the very fast power delivery promise driving dynamics at the highest level. Added to this is the high-performance battery developed in-house, which has twice the power density of conventional drive batteries and, like many other components, is inspired by technology from Formula 1”, says Jochen Hermann, Technical General Manager of Mercedes-AMG GmbH. ([SUHVVLYH GHVLJQ ZLWK VWULNLQJ IURQW DSURQ The expressive design with a low front section, muscular body, squat greenhouse and dynamic fastback highlights the sporty genes of the four-door coupp.

Another striking feature is the characteristic front apron, which is based on the design of the two-door AMG GT. It appears to be cast from a single mould, and blends homogeneously into the dynamic design of the overall vehicle. The outer air intakes are wider and more pointed towards the centre of the car. The

airÁow is channelled to the wheel arch coolers by three vertical Àns.

Exclusive identiÀcation features at the rear are the rear apron with integrated plug-in charging Áap and the model designation highlighted in red. With the hybrid, AMG is also introducing externally Áuted trapezoidal twin exhaust tailpipes. The “E PERFORMANCE” badge on the wings indicates the hybrid drive. As in the entire model series, numerous paint Ànishes and equipment features are available for the hybrid version. For example, there are four matt paint Ànishes, Àve metallic Ànishes and two non-metallic Ànishes to choose from.

In addition, there are seven new paint Ànishes from the extended customisation range. The exterior design can be further accentuated with the new AMG Night Package II or a combination of the Night Package and Carbon Package, for example. In addition, there are new 20 and 21-inch light-alloy wheels, each in two colour variants. The exclusive Edition is also available for the performance hybrid.

As the new Áagship of the model series, the AMG GT 63 S E PERFORMANCE is particularly extensively equipped. It has received all the upgrades of the latest model facelift, such as the AMG RIDE CONTROL suspension with new damping system. Also on board as standard are the adapted AMG ceramic high-performance composite brake system and the MBUX multimedia system with special hybrid displays.

0%8; PXOWLPHGLD V\VWHP ZLWK K\EULG VSHFLÀF GLVSOD\V The standard Widescreen Cockpit features the MBUX multimedia system with AMG hybrid-speciÀc displays and functions. In the instrument cluster, the driver can read the electric range, the power consumption, the output and torque of the electric motor and the temperatures of the battery and electric motor. Highquality graphics on the multimedia display visualise the power Áow of the entire drive system, rpm, output, torque and temperature of the electric motor, as well as the temperature of the battery.

BMW Group, Vodafone Integrate 5G, eSIM into Vehicle First Time With the BMW iX, the BMW Group is the Àrst premium manufacturer to integrate the 5G mobile radio standard into a globally available production vehicle and Vodafone is oͿering the Àrst 5G mobile radio contract for such a vehicle.

An existing multi-SIM contract can be extended with the Vodafone One Number Car option to activate the Personal eSIM in the vehicle. This makes the vehicle another interconnected device for customers, like a smartwatch. In addition to the high bandwidth and low latency of 5G, they also beneÀt from signiÀcantly improved telephone quality by the use of four external aerials and a 5G WiFi hotspot for up to ten devices in the vehicle. The activated Personal eSIM is linked directly to the customer’s BMW ID and can be smoothly transferred to other eSIM-capable vehicles, including the corresponding functions.

Mobility is entering the 5G era for the Àrst time.

The new 5G mobile radio standard will signiÀcantly increase the data transmission options compared to the previous standard. This will create new, data-based applications and increase the quality of existing applications many times over. For mobility, this means a comprehensive extension of data-based services in the Àelds of entertainment and infotainment, automated and assisted driving and, above all, road safety. The 5G standard is a decisive accelerator for future innovations in mobility and other Àelds of application.

Vodafone and the BMW Group use Personal eSIM and Vodafone One Number Car to connect the vehicle and the customer with mobile radio based on 5G for the Àrst time. The vehicle becomes an integrated part of the networked ecosystem of the customer.

The BMW iX with integrated 5G, personal eSIM

How To Guard Against Flat Tyre (2) Did you follow the introductory part of my piece on how to guard against tyre burst? If you did not, please I will advise you to kindly spare time to go through it. But in case you choose to foot drag, let me refresh your mind with some of the thoughts I shared in the Àrst part. My major concern was on the pain and disappointment you could experience in the face of a Áat tyre. There is also the danger in case it happens in an unsafe area. I also informed you that the antidote for Áat tyre is a tyre inÁator. To shed more light on how it can save you, I considered the steps you need to take to change to a spare tyre. I compared these with the steps you need to take to utilize the tyre inÁator and saw how much time was involved.

In the piece I identiÀed 35steps involved in changing to a spare tire. I asked you how much time and manual work do you think the whole process will take. Assuming each steps takes you about 1 minute (in reality, some steps will take more than 1 minutes), you would be spending about 38 minutes. Remember that you are not a professional vulcanizer so it will take you longer.

Let us now look at the process involved in using the tyre inÁator. All you need do is simply (1) take the inÁator from your booth or pigeon hole, (2) connect the plug to the cigarette lighter of your car and (3) the chuck to the valve stem of the Áat tyre (remember the Áat tyre is not removed), (4) start your engine and (5) switch on the inÁator. In

SAFE DRIVING with Jonas Agwu amnipr, mcipr,mprsa,arpa Assistant Corps Marshal Zonal Commanding Officer Federal Road Safety Corps.

about Àve minutes, your tyre is inÁated and you (6) disconnect the chuck, (7) disconnect the plug, (8) pack the inÁator and oͿ you go. The process of connecting (2, 3) and disconnecting/packing (6, 7 8) the inÁator will not take more than a minute! The pumping time is about 5 minutes so in all you will be spending about 7 minutes.

Now compare the 38 minutes you will spend to change to a spare tyre and the 7 minutes on the inÁator and you see that the inÁator will be saving you more than 80% on time. Not only that, the amount of manual work you do with the inÁator is very negligible compared to changing to a spare tyre. Anybody, including women, can use the inÁator without a single drop of sweat. +RZ FDQ WKH LQÁDWRU VDYH \RXU OLIH" The longer you stay on the road Àxing a Áat tyre the more you increase your chances of being

robbed, kidnapped and hit by a careless motorist.

If the Áat tyre is on the driver’s side (front or back), when you bend down to change to a spare, you are exposing yourself to tra΀c and risking being crushed. In changing to a spare tyre, your hands are engaged all the way and full attention is required so you would hardly know when danger is looming until it is too late.

What if an ambulance carrying a sick person has to spend about 38 minutes on the way changing to a spare tyre when time is of essence to the survival of the sick person? What of if it happens to medical personnel on an emergency call or security patrol on an emergency assignment? There was a situation when a school bus loaded with children was stranded in an isolated spot because of Áat tyre and the driver left the children there in search of a vulcanizer. You can imagine what could have happened to those children; a vehicle could run into them and crush them or kidnappers could have some easy catch there.

As you have seen from above, a tyre inÁator will drastically reduce the time spent Àxing the Áat tyre and consequently the chances of harm befalling you. When engaging an inÁator, you don’t need to give it as much attention/concentration as you would to changing to a spare tyre. Once you connect it, you stand up and allow it to operate.

While keeping an eye on it, you also have the chance to monitor your surroundings for any

impending danger.

The importance of having a personal tyre inÁator therefore, cannot be overemphasized especially now we are in the ember months. No matter how careful you may be or how new your tyres are, you cannot totally avoid having a Áat tyre. Therefore be prepared by carrying a compact tyre inÁator with you so that when it happens, you will minimize the time you spend Àxing it especially when it happens in an isolated spot that could pose a risk to your life and valuables. The times we are living in are very dangerous times indeed.

Please note: the tyre inÁator is not a replacement for a spare tyre. The law demands that you must have a spare tyre that is in good condition. The tyre inÁator is only to help you in an emergency situation so that you can save time and quickly get out of a danger zone to a safer place where you can more conveniently Àx the problem.

However, in cases of tyre blowout, you have no choice but to change to a spare tyre. But you can drastically reduce the chances of a blow out by ensuring that your tyres are in good condition, and, more importantly, have the correct pressures in them. Incorrect tyre inÁation – especially under inÁation –is a major cause of tyre blowouts even if you are using brand new tyres

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

MARKET PLACE with Omolabake Fasogbon... 08155131874

L-R: Partner, Technology Innovation & Fintech Practice, Olaniwun Ajayi LP, Damilola Salawu; Assistant Superintendent, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,Bright Chinweotuto and Executive Director, Payment Business, SystemSpecs, Ezinne Obikile at the Businessday Future of Paytech conference held in Lagos... recently

Trophy Extra Special Band Season 2 runner up, The Alian Tribe, receiving their N2 million cheque at the grand finale of the competition held in Lagos.... recently

Motomedia Makes History, Launches First World Remit Releases New Report on ‘Cost of Education’ Interactive LED Billboard in West Africa In its quest to change the face of Advertising in West Africa, Nigeria’s innovative and award winning Out-Of-Home (OOH) advertising company, Motomedia has made history by launching ‘The AI Screen’, globally recognized as the first-of-its-kind interactive outdoor- LED Screen in West Africa.

According to a press release by the company, which also started operations in Nairobi recently, The AI Screen is an outdoor advertising screen that would provide brands a platform to engage, interact and personalize campaign messages directly to their target audience in real time.

The release adds that the newly deployed interactive digital billboard also provides insights into audience profiling and behaviors to deliver targeted and effective campaign results.

The AI Screen is at the heart of Lagos mainland, strategically located at the Maryland T- Junction facing heavy vehicular and human traffic, with a massive reach for brands wishing to utilize the platform to showcase their products or services in an experiential way.

The record-breaking billboard interacts with traffic facing three (3) different directions. First with one of the most popular bus stops on the mainland, second with the famous Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, and thirdly with Ikorodu and Kosofe road connecting major parts of Lagos State. In addition, one of noteworthy landmarks in view is the foremost Nigeria’s independent tunnel.

Speaking excitedly about the monumental and historical achievement, the Chief Executive

Officer of Motomedia, Mr. Henry Orajiaka said the AI Screen with its interactive features gives advertisers the ability to spend campaign budgets more effectively and target audiences based on behaviors.

Orajiaka adds that the screen also provides location-based consumer insights and data analytics which was an innovation from the OOH ads, which until now were primarily sold based on media type and location.

He said, “This innovative solution from Motomedia has the potential to exponentially increase campaign effectiveness for advertisers by deploying personalized content and targeting OOH spend based on consumer behavior.

Furthermore, the AI Screen provides brands with the flexibility to pay per exposure.

CITN Charges Govt on Accountability, Transparency The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, CITN has urged government to make itself accountable to Nigerians with regards to tax administration and utilisation of tax income.

President of the Institute, Adesina Adedayo stated this at the institute’s fourth International Academic Conference, held in collaboration with Benue State University,Makurdi.

Adedayo in his welcome address resolved that being transparent and accountable to tax payers would spur an eͿective tax system needed to grow Nigeria’s revenue base to survive present tough time.

Speaking on the theme of the conference, ”Taxation and Socio Economic Development in Challenging period”, the CITN boss submitted

that all nations required adequate revenue to fund their programmes and projects, however, an eͿective tax system would engender sustainable and adequate revenue mobilization.

“In the same vein, there cannot be an eͿective tax system if socio-economic development is challenged by the pandemic rampaging the world over. Sadly, this is the case with developing nations of the world, Nigeria inclusive.

“Thus, stakeholders in the socio-economic development must play their part for the country to achieve economic recovery in this challenging period” He added that the conference was in line with the institute’s policy to promote academic

research and contribute to research development in Nigeria, especially in the area of taxation and Àscal policy.

Earlier, Vice-Chancellor of Benue State University Makurdi, Prof. Tor Joe Iorapuu, fsonta stated that the theme of the conference was apt given the di΀cult economic environment fuelled by COVID-19.

He noted that despite these challenges, government at diͿerent levels are obliged to ensure socio economic development.

“This conference will explore and proͿer ideas on innovative strategies for generating revenue through taxation in order to enhance socio economic development in this challenging period,”he said.

A new study by cross-border payment company,WorldRemit has shown that households globally spend more than 50% of their monthly income on educational pursuits.

The study further revealed that Nigerians of all remittance receive countries are most impacted by the disparity between average household income, fertility rate and cost of education Country Manager for Nigeria and Ghana at WorldRemit, Gbenga Okejimi noted that the multi -country study was embarked upon to determine the true cost of education as schools get in gear for a new academic year.

The study was carried out by mining data to compare average

Onga Crowns Nigeria’s Next Top Chef Leading culinary brand in Nigeria, Onga Seasoning has crowned Bibian Ugwumba as the winner of its 2021 ONGAlicious Next Top Chef Cooking Competition.

In May, the ONGAlicious Next Top Chef competition kicked off to identify the most promising chefs across higher institutions in Nigeria with the aim to support the future generation of ‘foodpreneurs’ by lending them a helping hand in achieving their dreams.

HEALES Holds Conference Fintech Firm Urges CBN to Strengthen on Big Data, AI Enforcement of Open Banking Healthy Life Extension Society (HEALES) has pledged commitment towards providing access to health information relevant for healthy living and human longevity.

The society rea΀rmed its commitment recently when its announced its forthcoming conference that is anchored on Big Data, ArtiÀcial Intelligence and Healthy Longevity.

Renowned technology experts across the globe have signed their attendance for the knowledge laden event that will hold virtually.

According to the organisers, the goal of the conference is to enable HEALES contribute to creating a system that is trusted by citizens, managed by a public institution or an NGO ,whereby all health data whether anonymised or pseudonymised can be used for scientiÀc research .

It expressed belief that in the future, citizens may be able to share their health data with healthcare providers and authorities of their choice.

Executive Director of Longevity Nigeria, Agbolade Omowole will join other notable speakers from across the globe to impact audience from their wealth of knowledge.

SpeciÀcally, Omowole will be speaking on “Application of A.I. and Big Data on Healthy Longevity in Africa and Data Ethics Oversight” He said, “ArtiÀcial intelligence refers to the ability of computers to mimic human like intelligence.

With the explosion of data, many information exists that can be leveraged to improve human lives and with artiÀcial intelligence, it will be able to make sense of the billions of health data available.

Nigeria’s leading Ànancial technology company, SystemSpecs has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN to scale up compliance with open banking regulation.

The Àrm expressed that doing so would spur the development of data-driven and innovative products.

Speaking at a Summit in Lagos recently, Executive Director in charge of Payment Business at SystemSpecs, Ezinne Obikile also sought for balance between innovation and regulation to ensure a healthy Ànancial technology ecosystem for the beneÀt of all stakeholders.

She decried a situation whereby regulation would be in conÁict with innovations, as she said that both should synergise to engender a growing and resilient Ànancial system. Speaking on the theme

‘Stick and Carrot: Walking the Tight Rope between Regulation and Innovation,’ Obikile called for more interactions and collaborations between regulators and players in Àntech industry.

She noted that growth in the payment technology sector has been hampered by ambiguities and uncertainty in new regulations, which can only addressed by deliberate collaboration between regulators and players.

She said, “The Know Your Customer (KYC) policy and updated guides to charges are some of the most challenging regulations in the Àntech sector currently. While the overall intention is to drive Ànancial inclusion and combat money laundering and fraud, obtaining and verifying KYC information has become challenging especially for those

costs of core educational equipment with average annual incomes and fertility rates.

Okejimi pointed out that knowing the true cost of education is a priority for the almost 250 million people who live in diͿerent countries than their families.

Quoting Consumer Expectations Survey (CES), he said that education is one of the primary reasons immigrants and overseas foreign workers (OFWs) send money back to their home country.

Because of the high cost of education in many regions and the opportunities an education provides to a young person, it is vital for senders to be able to support those dearest to them with the gift of an education.”

targeting the underbanked.”

“Calls for customer data acquisition and veriÀcation from data custodians come at sunk costs that are di΀cult to pass on to consumers if the regulated pricing must work. Also sometimes, data is not readily available and when it is, it does not always come in usable formats.

She thus called for the big stick of KYC compliance to be complimented by the carrot of data availability for both regulation and innovation to be simultaneously successful in the Ànancial technology industry.

“It is in engagement by regulators that they will better understand industry dynamics, and the feedbacks from such interactions will be very useful in formulating successful policies,” she maintained.

The final cooking competition which held on Sunday, 22nd of August 2021 at Red Dish Chronicles Culinary school in Lagos saw the emergence of Bibian as overall winner of a N500,000 grand prize; Joan Azonobor came second place and Rita Okon at third place winning N300,000 and N200,000 respectively. Drawn from ten finalists, the winners were judged based on their creativity, speed, hygiene, taste, and overall outlook of their meals.

The ten finalists who were selected from a first round of cooking competitions held in their respective schools, and were empowered with a week-long fully sponsored course on food entrepreneurship at Red Dish Chronicles, the foremost culinary school in Nigeria.

The other Ànalists include: Diana Joseph, Federal University Kashere, Gombe State; Farida Salma Abubakar, Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna State; Bamgboye Mayowa, Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijebu Ode, Ogun State; Olakanola Damilola Adenike, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State; Lawal Abiola, Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu, Lagos State; Aisha Hassan Bello, Bayero University, Kano, Kano State; and Oni Blessing, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State.

For years, Onga has consistently thrilled Nigeria’s culinary space with various cooking competitions and consumer engagement activities such as the ONGAcious TV Show, ONGA Foodies Hangout, ONGA Jollof Cooking competition, Onga Food4Bae Challenge, and the ONGAlicious Next Top Chef competition.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

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NEWS EXTRA Secondus: I’m Not against Southern Presidency Chuks Okocha in Abuja

SERVING HUMANITY. . .

L-R:: Chairman, Nigeria National Polio Plus Committee, Dr. Tunji Funsho; Rotary International President, Shekhar Mehta; spouse of the President, Rashi Mehta and Governor, Rotary District 9110, Remi Bello, at the Polio House, Ikeja, Lagos during Mehta’s official visit to Nigeria...recently.

2022 Budget: FG Gives MDAs Sept. 5 Deadline to Submit Proposals Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The federal government has given the over 900 ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), Monday, September 5, 2021 deadline to submit their 2022 budget proposals.

The directive issued by the Director General, Budget Office of the Federation (BoF), Mr. Ben Akabueze, was conveyed via a circular dated September 3, 2021.

Captioned ‘2022 Budget Submission Deadline’, the circular is a follow-up to the 2022 Budget Call Circular earlier issued by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed on August 21, 2021 as part of the annual

budgeting process.

The circular from the DG, Budget Office with reference DG/BDT/GEN CORR/2016/ IV/2225 was copied to the Chief of Staff to the President; Deputy Chief of Staff to the President; Office of the Vice President; Ministers/Ministers of State; Secretary to the Government of the Federation; Head of the Civil Service of the Federation; Chairmen of Commissions; and Permanent Secretaries.

Others are Service Chiefs/ Inspector-General of Police; Auditor General for the Federation; Accountant General of the Federation; Heads of Extra Ministerial Departments/Directors-General; Chief Executive Officers of

Parastatals and Agencies.

It said: “Please refer to the 2022 Budget Call Circular Part 7 which explicitly required GOEs (Government Owned Enterprises) and MDAs to make their 2022 Budget proposal submissions online using the BIMMS/GIFMISBudget Preparation Subsystem BPS) not later than Friday 27 August 8nd 3rd September 2021 respectively.

“The Ministry of Finance Budget and National Planning has committed to Mr. President submitting the 2022 Budget Proposal to the National Assembly this September 2021, in full compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007.

“Ministries Department and

Agencies (MDAs are hereby advised to fully comply with the final submission date of Friday 3rd September 2021.

“The GIFMS -BPS Platform wall will be closed to MDAs for Budget upload by midnight Sunday 5 September 2021, “MDAs are particularly reminded that their budget submissions must include the Revenue Sources and not just expenditures.”

The circular added that “for the avoidance of doubt, every single MDA is required to populate the Revenue Section on the GIFMIS BPS except for self-funded agencies that are only required to upload the budget on the BIMMS.”

Rivers: EFCC Arrest Suppliers of Adulterated Oil Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt Five persons suspected to be suppliers of illegally refined petroleum products to a multinational construction company have been arrested by the operatives of the Port Harcourt Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

A statement signed by Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, Head, Media and Publicity of the commission, said the suspects were arrested in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The EFCC further stated that the suspects were arrested at the premises of the company, around Rumuolumeni, Port Harcourt, while off-loading the suspected illegally refined

products.

He disclosed the suspects as: “Kelvin Ibe; Anslem Onyelosi; Kelly Omamogho, Jude Tochi and Kelvin Duru.”

According to the statement

by Uwujaren, “Report showed that the suspects have been supplying adulterated products to the company, without being detected. However, surveillance

by the EFCC led to the arrest.”

The suspects were arrested alongside four trucks with registration number; MBA 340 XA; XB 867 NGK, GWK 66XA and UMA 39 YW Meanwhile, the agency image maker revealed that the suspects would be charged to court as soon as the investigation was concluded.

FG Plan to Harness Youth Potential for Economic Growth

N1b Lawsuit: JAMB Hands over

Bennett Oghifo

Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

The federal government has said it would continue to harness youth potential in the country to enhance sustainable economic growth and development.

The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Akin Dare said this yesterday in Lagos at the closing ceremony of the six-week training on Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP), organised by the ministry across the 36 states of the federation, and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

According to a statement issued by the Director, Press and Public Relations, Mohammed Manga, the minister said deliberate and strategic investment in young people was required for the high percentage of the youth population in the country to become a

demographic dividend.

“When the youth are positively engaged, there will be a reduction in the indices of crime and delinquency, which are factors that are inimical to national development efforts,” Dare said.

He stated that the approach of the ministry had been the inclusion of youth employment as a priority segment of the National Youth Policy (NYP) for which a framework for implementation has been provided in the Nigerian Youth Employment Plan (NYEP).

He added that the agenda that would be launched in the next few weeks, would deliver a comprehensive approach to youth employment interventions through multi-sector collaborations that emphasised the Four Es: Employability, Entrepreneurship Development, Employment Creation and Equal Opportunity.

19-year-old to Police for Forged Results The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has handed a 19-year-old candidate in the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination UTME), Chinedu Ifesinachi John to the Nigeria Police for investigation.

John had claimed he scored 380 in the examination conducted in June this year and was surprised to receive 265 from the board after the results were released.

After several enquiries, 265 kept appearing as his score as against the 380 score.

Following the alleged “alteration” of the UTME score, his father, John Ifenkpam approached an Enugu-based lawyer, Ikeazor Akaiwe who wrote to JAMB for another opportunity for the boy to retake the examination and demanded N1 billion as damages.

The lawyer said the N1

billion was to cover for the physical and emotional trauma the boy had been through from being offered “two separate scores.”

Master John claimed that his UTME scores from 2019 till 2021 had been “altered” by the board, thereby denying him the opportunity to study his desired course - Medicine.

The candidate, his father and lawyers travelled down to Abuja from Enugu State yesterday following an invitation from the management of the board led by the Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede.

Initially, the boy was given a few minutes to “come clean” in a closed session with his father and lawyers about the results he was parading but insisted that his original score from the examination was 380.

After going back and forth, the board tendered evidence to counter the claim by John and his legal representatives.

The embattled National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, has described as laughable and baseless the allegation that the party in Rivers State suspended him because he was against the resolution by the Southern governors that the next president of Nigeria must come from South.

The Rivers State PDP Chairman, Ambassador Desmond Akawor, said that Secondus moved against PDP interest and the interest of Southern governors for wanting to recontest for a second term in office as national chairman of the PDP. Akawor had on Thursday said that by deciding to run for a second term in office, Secondus was prepared to rock the boat and work against the collective interest of the South.

He said: “The Southern governors took a decision that the presidency should come from the South as an individual or a politician he should have known that it is now time to come home.

“The position he is occupying is on behalf of the South, he didn’t go there as an Andoni man, he went there because the chairmanship of the party was zoned to the south.

“If Southern governors have taken a decision that they desire the presidency to come from the South, he should have known that there is no point trying to rock the boat by kicking and running for a second term in office,” Akawor said.

Akawor further said that Secondus had not paid his membership dues for six years.

But Secondus said he was reacting to the allegation because of the danger in allowing disinformation to enter public space unchallenged.

In a statement by Media Spokesman, Ike Abonyi, Secondus said that “One of such false information being dished out is the allegation from the Rivers State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ambassador Desmond Akawor that Prince Secondus is working against Southern interest and that he has not paid his dues to the party.

Amaechi Inspects Proposed Site for Bonny Deep Seaport Kasim Sumaina in Abuja The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, yesterday inspected the proposed site for construction of the Bonny Deep Seaport.

Amaechi who was in company of the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, the Acting MD, Nigeria Ports Authority(NPA),MohammedKoko and experts from the Ministry of Transportation, the NPA and the contractors, CCECC, noted that in choosing the site, considerations must be made towards cost reduction and ease in paying compensations.

He disclosed that while the South-east part of the Island was also viable, the most feasible may be the area to the West in Finima, as it would require less dredging.

According to him, “The experts have said it will take only 500 metres of dredging at this point to get to 17 metres draught which is our target for the depth of the seaport.

“The moment you reclaim 500 metres into the ocean, you get to 17 metres draught. You don’t need further dredging. While on the other end,youneed1.16kmsdredgingtoget to the water. It will be more expensive to dredge 1.16km than to build a rail line to this place. We can do the cost analysis and come to a decision.”

He also said selection of the area when finally decided upon would ensure that Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipes would not be tampered with or moved for the rail lines extending to the seaport to be laid.

Insecurity: KADSIECOM Postpones Elections in Four Council Areas John Shiklam in Kaduna The Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission (KADSIECOM) has postponed conduct of today’s council polls in four of the 23 local governments in the state following security concerns.

In a statement yesterday, the Chairperson of the KADSIECOM, Dr. Saratu Dikko-Audu, said elections would not hold in Birnin Gwari, Chikun, Kajuru and Zangon Kataf LGAs due to security challenges.

She added that elections in the four council areas had been rescheduled to September 25, 2021.

She assured that the commission was committed to conducting free, fair, credible and non-violent council polls.

The KADSIECOM boss also appealed to politicians and citizens of the state to conduct themselves in a peaceful manner during the polls.

“We are all aware of the recent escalation of the security situation

in Kaduna State.

“I have been reliably informed by security architecture within the state, that security reports in the state would make it impossible to peacefully conduct the local government councils elections in a number of local government areas.

“Consequently, in order to protect lives and property, including those of our election staff and materials, we have had to suspend the election in a number of local government areas and reschedule the election in these local government areas for a later date,” she said.

Dikko-Audu, explained that “After due consultation with members of the commission, the Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission has decided to rescheduled the 2021 local government councils election in the following local government areas: Birnin Gwari, Chikun, Kajuru and Zangon Kataf.

“The election in these local government areas will now hold on Saturday 25th

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

NEWS How Police Destroyed Weapons EFCC: Lekki is Epicentre of Cyber IG: Supply Chain to Bandits in Katsina Kingsley Nwezeh inAbuja Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Crime, 402 Suspects Arrested Mba, a Commissioner of Police, Bennett Oghifo

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said that its operational data showed that Lekki, a fast-developing upper middle class area of Lagos metropolis, was emerging as the new hub of internet-related fraud.

A statement issued yesterday

by EFCC’s Head, Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren said data from the investigation activities of the Lagos Command of the EFCC, for the second quarter of 2021, indicates that “Lekki

District is the preferred location for all manner of cyber fraud syndicates.”

Uwujaren said “Between April and June, 2021, the Advance Fee Fraud and Cyber Crime Sections of the Command recorded a total of 402 internet-related fraud arrests. While the Advance Fee Fraud Section was responsible for 243 arrests, the Cyber Crime Section executed 18 sting operations which resulted in 159 arrests, from which 13 convictions have so far been recorded.”

He said of the 159 suspects arrested by the Cyber Crime

Section, 70 were from Lekki, comprising communities such as Ajah, Badore, Victoria Garden City, Sangotedo and Oniru.

According to him, Ajah accounted for 24 suspects, while Oniru and Sangotedo had 14 and 13 suspects respectively. Badore had eight suspects. Neighbouring Ikoyi and Eko Atlantic City had two and one suspect each.

Ikorodu and Alagbado on the Lagos Mainland make up the remainder.

Uwujaren said, “The suspects are mostly millennials, with 82 of them aged between 25-34 years,

which speaks to the fact that most of the individuals arrested are either still in school, recent graduates or university drop outs.

“Analysis of the data from the Cyber Crime Section further shows that the dominant form of internet crime is Dating Scam/ Online Dating Scam/Romance Scam. Sixty Four per cent (64%) of individuals arrested are involved in romance scam, followed closely by “Middle Man Scam” and “Picking” which account for 8% and 7% respectively of those arrested.

The Inspector General of Police, Mr. Usman Baba, declared yesterday that the Nigeria Police had destroyed the weapons supply chain to bandits and criminal elements in Katsina State.

The IG, who spoke during an official visit to Katsina, said the disruption of the supply chain was evident in the interception and recovery of sophisticated weapons, including four General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMG), 37-AK47 rifles, 2-G3 rifles, 288 antiaircraft ammunition and 118 AK47 ammunition.

This comes as kidnappers invaded an Abuja home and abducted a father and son.

The IG said the force made tremendous success in breaking the weapon supply chain to bandits and other criminal elements in the state.

He affirmed that the operational strategies being implemented by the force to stabilise security order across the country and improve public safety had begun to yield positive results.

A statement issued by Force

said within the past four months of the present administration, a total of 1,503 suspected high-profile criminals were arrested in connection with different violent crimes in the state, including kidnapping, banditry, armed robbery, sexual and gender-based crimes among others.

The arrests include 267 suspected armed robbers, 304 suspected kidnappers and 97 bandits.

He stated that police operatives also successfully rescued 393 kidnap victims and had since reunited them with their families and communities.

The IG also commended the Katsina State Police Command for its eͿorts at crime Àghting. He gave the commendation during a one-day o΀cial visit to Katsina State as part of eͿorts to carry out on-the-spot security assessment in the state, mobilising members of the public and other credible stakeholders against crimes, boosting the conÀdence of police operatives in the command and providing the needed leadership for onslaught against crimes and criminality.

Obiano Receives Anambra Indigenes Evacuated from Jos David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

A GOOD HOST… L-R: Sales Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Uche Unigwe; Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo; Executive Governor of Enugu State, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; Managing Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Hans Essaadi; Corporate Affairs Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mrs. Sade Morgan; and Supply Chain Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Martin Kochl, during a courtesy visit by Nigerian Breweries Plc management team to Government House in Enugu …recently

Senate Summons Minister Over Alleged Loss of Mining Revenue Deji Elumoye in Abuja The Senate has summoned the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, over alleged poor regulation and loss of revenues in the mining sector.

This is just as its joint committees on Finance, National Planning, Gas Resources, Petroleum Upstream and Downstream, set N15 billion as target revenue for Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office (NMCO) in 2022 as against N4 billion proposed

by the agency.

The joint committee at a stakeholders meeting yesterday also threatened zero budget allocation in the 2022 budget for any revenue generating agencies without a clear cut revenue profile.

Invitation extended to the minister was sequel to the failure of Director General of NMCO, Obadiah Nkom, to furnish the committee with necessary explanations over reported low revenues being generated in the sector and the menace of illegal

Ayade Assents to Legislative, Judiciary Autonomy Bills Bassey Inyang inCalabar The Cross River State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, has signed into law the Legislative Fund Management and Other Matters, and Judicial Fund Management and Other Matters, thus granting autonomy to the state legislature, and the state judiciary.

The two bills were passed recently by the state House of Assembly pursuant to granting autonomy to the state legislature, and the state judicial arms of government.

Ayade signed the bills into law yesterday at the Government House Council Chambers.

The laws stated that all monies due to the House of Assembly, and Judiciary for capital and recurrent expenditure shall be paid by the Accountant-General of the state

into their accounts in monthly instalments, in accordance with provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

While signing the bill into law, Ayade said that the bills were very important in the life of his administration, explaining that it was a win for the APC-led government.

The governor thanked the lawmakers for their cooperation and collaboration, noting that his administration had achieved a lot because of the cordial relationship between the executive and the legislature.

The Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Eteng Jonah Williams, in his remark applauded his colleagues of the 9th Assembly, saying under his leadership they had recorded giant strides in the quality of bills passed and assented to by the governor.

mining across the country.

The Director General of NMCO had in his submissions before the joint committee said in 2019, N2.58 billion revenue was generated and remitted to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), which reduced to N2.3 billion in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic but already increasing in 2021 with N3.166 billion realised as at July this year out of the targeted N4 billion.

Expressing dissatisfaction with his submission, the Chair-

man of the Committee, Senator Olamilekan Adeola, as well as other members expressed concern over why such an agency could not generate revenue beyond the threshold of four to five billion Naira.

The committee chairman said: “Your submissions on revenue generation are low and not impressive at all because big companies like Dangote Cement, BUA and others, with combined yearly profits of about N5 trillion are under your purview.

Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano has received the third batch of Anambra indigenes evacuated from Jos, Plateau State, following recent killings and destruction of property in some parts of the state.

Obiano through an agreement brokered with transport giant, GUO, had Àrst instructed that all students of University of Jos who hail from Anambra should be evacuated home. He later extended the gesture to all Anambra indigenes in Plateau State.

The evacuated indigenes of the state were brought to GUO bus terminal, at the UNIZIK junction, Awka.

Obiano while receiving

them said his government had always factored in the welfare of Anambra indigenes in the diaspora, and would continue to ensure better livelihood for them.

The governor who was represented by Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr. C Don Adinuba said: “This is the third set of Anambra citizens evacuated from Jos by GUO in partnership with the state government. Government cannot wait to jeopardise their lives because of the need for prompt intervention.

“Now you are here, your safety is assured. Your personal data and other information will be collected for other necessary action.’’

Ekiti 2022: PDP Releases Timetable, PDP Lawmakers: We Didn’t Pass Commences Sale of Forms September 13 Vote of Confidence on Lalong Seriki Adinoyi in Jos The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Caucus in Plateau State House of Assembly has distanced itself from the claim that the state House of Assembly passed a vote of confidence on Governor Simon Lalong, adding that it was unaware of any meeting where the vote of confidence was passed.

Addressing journalists in Jos, the nine PDP lawmakers in the House warned that there were Legislative Procedures for passing a vote of confidence, and such was not followed by the House.

The nine PDP lawmakers are: Peter Gyendeng, Sohchang Zingtim, Musa Avia, Esther Dusu, Gwottson Fom, Timothy Dantong, Bala Fwangje, Pirfa Tyem, and Daniel Listick.

The lawmakers said they were

saddened with the present insecurity that had bedeviled Plateau, and wish to continue to proffer lasting solutions through quality representation, law making and oversight.

“Silence by the PDP Caucus of the state House of Assembly over the publication that Plateau State House of Assembly (PLHA) passed a vote of conÀdence on Governor Simon Bako Lalong would be misunderstood by the public that gave us their mandate to represent them hence the need to set the record straight.

“The general public should be informed that PLHA is made up of elected Honourable Members from twenty-four state constituencies and technocrats saddled with the responsibilities to carry out legislative business for the development of Plateau State and Nigeria at large.

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday released its timetable and schedule of activities in early preparation for the June 18, 2022 Ekiti Governorship election.

A statement by the National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said that release of the timetable was “the timetable, the National Working Committee (NWC) has approved the Sales of Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms from Monday, September 13 to Thursday, September 30, 2021, with Tuesday, October 5, 2021 as the last date for the submission of forms.”

The PDP NWC also Àxed the screening of aspirants for Monday, October 11, 2021 and appeals on the screening

exercise are scheduled for Thursday, October 25, 2021.

Consequently, it said the PDP congresses to elect the 3-man Adhoc Ward Delegates had been scheduled to hold from Friday, January 7 to Saturday, January 8, 2022.

Also it said that the local government congresses to elect one national delegate as well as one person living with disability from each local government area in the state have been scheduled to hold on Saturday, January 15, 2022.

PDP urged all leaders, critical stakeholders, aspirants, teeming members and supporters of the party in Ekiti State and the nation at large to be guided accordingly as the party “work together to strengthen our great party for the task ahead.”

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

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NEWS FG Explains Efforts Made to Stop Doctors’ Strike Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

GOOD SERVANTS… L-R: Vice President, Rotary Club of Ikeja, Sola Akinsiku; Vice-President, Interact Club Kinship Walkers Ilupeju, Shreyaa Sharma; President, Interact Club of Kinship Walkers Ilupeju, Karishma Lalit Kaul; President, Rotary Club of Ikeja, Gbenga Badejo and immediate past President, Rotary Club of Ikeja Rtn Dotun Lampejo, at the presentation of certificate of service to Interact Club in Lagos...recently

Marwa Warns N’Assembly Members against Legalising Cannabis Deji Elumoye in Abuja Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brigadier-General Buba Marwa (rtd), yesterday, warned National Assembly members against any move to legalise use of cannabis in the country.

He said any federal lawmaker that supported any legislation to legalise the use of cannabis should not contemplate returning to his constituency but stay put in Abuja.

The NDLEA boss who also revealed that President

Muhammadu Buhari had approved the construction of residential barracks for the agency’s operatives in all the 36 states of the federation while campaign against drug abuse was being taken to schools as kids now begin to use drugs from primary schools.

The former military Administrator of Borno and Lagos states, who made this known to journalists after a close-door meeting with President Buhari at the State House, Abuja, also said he received threats on a daily basis since assuming o΀ce

in January.

Commenting on calls in some quarters for legalisation of cannabis, he declared “we can never support legalisation and I don’t see how the National Assembly would pass the bill because I know 90 per cent or more of the Honourable and Distinguished members of the National Assembly know the implications of this legislation and they dare not go back to their constituencies if anyone signs legalisation because we’re seeing the implication on the ground.”

According to him, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had declared that cannabis aͿects the brain, alters brain function, destabilises, aͿects behaviour.

He said: “Cannabis also aͿects body organs, and at some point, it can lead to death. So while we appreciate those who want to legalise it for Ànancial gains, we have to be careful to reconcile it with life. So it’s money versus life.

And up to this point, science has not developed up to the point where it can remove the THC in cannabis to zero.

‘Atiku Most Prepared to We Have No Plan to Increase Tuition Rescue Power from APC’ Fees At FUL, Says Vice Chancellor Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja A group under the aegis of Amalgamated Atiku Support Group (AASG) has said that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar was the most adequately prepared and experienced politician in Nigeria to confront and rescue power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2023.

The National Coordinator of the group, Mr. Oladimeji Fabiyi in a statement issued yesterday, however, condemned a recent statement credited to a group that suggested that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should not field Atiku as a presidential candidate in 2023.

He said the anonymous group had launched a sustained media campaign against Atiku, but stressed that no group should have the right to tell the PDP who to select as its presidential

IbrahimOyewaleinLokoja

candidate.

The group stated: “This antiAtiku group is ignorant of the dynamics of our politics and recent election trends. Atiku is the most adequately prepared and experienced political candidate in Nigeria to confront the APC.” Fabiyi noted that in the group’s recent statement, it argued that Atiku should be disqualified on the grounds that he is too old to run and that the PDP didn’t win in 2019 because the former Vice President was not popular with Nigerians.

He added: “This logic is a tissue of nonsense. If the authors of the anti-Atiku campaign knew what they were talking about, they should not have brought up the age issue. President Joe Biden is 78 and Speaker Nancy Pelosi is 81 and she is one of the strongest and most effective lawmakers ever elected in the United States.”

The Management of Federal University, Lokoja, has disclosed that the institution had never contemplated increasing the school fees contrary to the rumour making the rounds.

The Vice Chancellor, Professor Olayemi Akinwunmi, disclosed this while speaking with journalists in his office at the permanent site of the university along Okene-Lokoja -Abuja highway, yesterday, saying it was not the true position of school authority.

Professor Akinwunmi, who was reacting to an online publication that FUL management had increased school fees and that people were protesting against such increments.

He however allayed fears already created in minds of the parents and guardians, adding the story was not correct and there was no iota of truth on the increase of school fees.

He said the university’s Governing Council had met and had not made

any recommendation for the increase of school fees.

According to him, the school only approved an increase on the amount to be paid for acceptance fees, which he said was still within the range of what other tertiary institutions across the country pay.

“Kindly disregard any information suggesting an increase in the school fees. School fees remain unchanged, please, ” he stressed.

He said that the school fees still remained the approved one by the federal government, noting that the new intakes are expected to N55, 000 including all other charges while the returning students are to pay 47,000.

He noted that it was only the acceptance fees that were increased from N10,000 to N20,000 which he described as optional, noting that those who could not afford to pay the acceptance fees could try other institutions as it was not made compulsory and only for those who had gained admission and chosen to come FUL.

APC Axe Dangles on Insubordinate Members in Abia as Party Holds LG Congress Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia The Abia State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has readied its members for the local government congress slated for today following the arrival of the congress committees headed by Hon. Sonny Goli.

But the disciplinary axe of the party appears to be dangling on insubordinate factional leaders who have deÀed the directive of the party’s Caretaker/ Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC).

The group led by Hon. Donatus Nwankpa had on Thursday reportedly inaugurated unelected ward chairmen

contrary to the party’s directive after the CECPC had ratiÀed and adopted the results of the ward congress conducted on July 31, 2021.

The National Secretary of APC, Senator John James Akpanudiedebe, had in a statement issued in Abuja said that “there is no need for any further inauguration”

since the CECPC has ratiÀed and adopted the results of the ward congress.

“Any state caretaker committee who swears in any person or group of persons who are not elected through a congress conducted by the designated National Congress Committees of the party is null, void and of no eͿect,” he said.

The federal government has said it did everything possible to stop the ongoing nationwide strike of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), which paralysed activities in government-owned hospitals across the country.

A statement by the Deputy Director Press and Public Relations at the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr. Charles Akpan, quoted the minister Senator Chris Ngige as having stated this while addressing the Nigerian Health Commissioners Forum Quarterly meeting in Abuja.

The minister recalled that the doctors were sleeping on their rights until COVID-19 pandemic broke out last year and the federal government felt that the N5,000 hazard allowance paid to them since 1991 was too paltry.

He noted that the federal gov-

ernment paid the doctors and other health workers bumper money as special COVID hazard allowance for three months in the Àrst instance, to the tune of N32 billion, while states were told to pay as much as they could aͿord.

The minister narrated to the health commissioners the trajectory of the current strike.

“In September 2020, they put a notice of strike, asking for a Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) by which each of them will get N542, 000 to cover the cost of books and journals for that particular examination, transportation and lodging for three days.

“Luckily, a supplementary budget was being put together and it was included and was paid to them. They called oͿ the strike. By March this year, they listed other things again. They said the Residency Training Fund is not in the 2021 budget.

Support Edo to Tackle Insecurity, Obaseki Tells Nigerian Air Force Adibe Emenyonu in Benin Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has called for support of the Nigerian Air Force to tackle insecurity in the state.

The governor made the appeal in a farewell message to the outgoing Commander, 107 Air Maritime Group of the Nigerian Air Force, Commodore Emmanuel E΀om, at the Government House in Benin City.

Commending the Air Force Commander, Obaseki said: “The level of work and commitment which you have shown generally are commendable. I recall your role during the #EndSARS demonstrations and how you provided leadership and support during that period.

“I can’t imagine how we

would have gone through that period without the involvement and commitment which you showed and displayed; this is one of the several incidents that I can point to since your time in this command.

“You understand the security challenges of this state; you know what we have been up to and what we need to do. We are glad that you are going to the headquarters and understand our needs here; you will now help us to use some of the resources available to help us deal with the emerging security challenges here.”

Responding, Commodore E΀om expressed appreciation to the state governor for his support during his time in the zone.

Igbo Cultural Group Inaugurate Runsewe’s Statue in Igboukwu A life size sculpture of the image of the Director General, National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) Otunba Segun Runsewe, has been unveiled in Etiti village, Igboukwu, the ancestral home of the Igbo nation in Anambra State, as the key agenda to herald the New Yam Festival across the South-east.

The historical project and first in perpetual remembrance of any Nigerian in public sector tourism administration in Nigeria, was inaugurated by MBIDO Igbo Association, an inter agency Committee on Culture, Arts and Tourism in the South-east.

The Igbo cultural body noted that Runsewe, would forever be remembered for constructing the biggest Yam House in Igboland nay Nigeria, and for listing the Yam festival on national and global cultural festival calendars during his time at Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) in 2007.

Words on marble at the site of six feet effigy of Runsewe in Igboukwu reads: This statue of Otunba Segun Runsewe, OON, the indefatigable icon of Culture

in Nigeria and Tourism Dynamo of our time, stands as testimony of a detribalised Nigerian who gave the igbo race the deserved voice in cultural tourism world.”

National chairman, MBIDO Igbo Association, Chief Okafouzu Ugochuchukwu disclosed that Otunba Segun Runsewe was so honoured for his enduring practical statement in the erection of the first national Yam House in Nigeria in 2007, and for enlisting the celebration of the Igbo Yam festival in national and international cultural calendar.

“Otunba Segun Runsewe stood with the Igbo cultural tourism history and tradition as an Iroko tree and Zuma Rock in a dogged effort, not only putting a national structure in recognition of the Igbo traditional hold as producers of yam but also in ensuring that the yam festival is listed in the national cultural calendar which has helped the yam festival celebrated in eastern Nigeria, gain international influence and sustainable prominence,” Ugochuchukwu explained at the unveiling of statue in Igboukwu, witnessed by top government officials, traditional rulers and Igbo cultural stakeholders.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

SPORTS XTRA 2022 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS

Nigeria Beats Liberia 2-0 to Go Top of Group C

S

uper Eagles of Nigeria yesterday defeated the Lone Star of Liberia 2-0 in their opening Group

C match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.

Playing with a full complement of players available to coach Gernot Rohr, Leicester City striker

Kelechi Iheanacho drilled home midway through the first half before a smart turn-and-finish sealed the win just before half-time.

The Super Eagles have now turned their attention

to their second Group C game against Cape Verde on Tuesday, while the Lone Star are scheduled to face the Central African Republic on Monday.

Seeking a fourth straight

Two goals hero, Kelechi Iheanacho celebrates one of his goals with teammate, Alex Iwobi at the Teslim Balogun Stadiumyesterday

Musa on the Heels of Enyeama,Yobo Nigeria’s all-time Appearances Super Eagles Captain, Ahmed Musa is fast closing in on a Nigeria national team record achieved by Joseph Yobo and Vincent Enyeama.

Musa earned his 99th international cap having featured in yesterday’s World Cup qualifier against the Lone Star of Liberia at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos.

With the three-time African kings winning 2-0 thanks to a Kelechi Iheanacho brace, he was introduced for the Leicester City man in the 84th minute.

The Kano Pillars legend went into the game on 98 caps, eight more than former Chelsea and Stoke

City star John Obi Mikel, who quit international football after the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations staged in Egypt.

Now, he is two matches short of Yobo and Enyeama’s mark and the ex-Leicester City and CSKA Moscow man, who has 15 international goals to his credit, could match their feat should he feature in the country’s next two features against Cape Verde and Central African Republic.

The Fatih Karagumruk forward had surpassed Mikel as the third most-capped Super Eagles player having featured in an international friendly against Algeria on October 9, 2020.

Musa shot into international limelight after helping Nigeria U23 win the 2010 Wafu Nations Cup where he scored goals against Benin Republic and Burkina Faso.

His performance saw him invited to the senior national team prior to the 2010 Fifa World Cup, although he did not make the 30-man squad due to an ankle injury.

At the 2011 Fifa U20 World Cup in Colombia, the former Kano Pillars man scored three goals in five matches and he was included by Fifa’s shortlist for the Adidas Golden Ball.

After representing the country at youth level, the speedy forward made his

senior debut on August 5, 2010, in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification versus Madagascar – coming in as a substitute for Mikel in the 2-0 win.

He scored his first goal for the Super Eagles in an international friendly against Kenya in March 2011.

The three-time Russian Premier League winner has gone on to feature for Nigeria at two Afcon championships as well as two Fifa World Cups.

Also, he is the country’s leading goalscorer in the global football showpiece with four goals to his name, all coming against Argentina.

US Open: Djokovic Advances to Third Round Novak Djokovic’s bid for a 21st major title that would complete a calendar-year Grand Slam picked up pace as the world number one cruised into the US Open third round with a 6-2 6-3 6-2 victory against Tallon

Griekspoor.

Just like his first round contest, Djokovic dominated early on but this time the 34-year-old Serb never let his foot off the gas as he registered his 77th win at the US Open.

Only three men have

won more matches at the US Open — Jimmy Connors (98), Roger Federer (89) and Andre Agassi (79). Djokovic, playing his first event since the Tokyo Olympics, found the intensity that had been lacking against Rune, speeding through the

opening set in 30 minutes The highlight of the evening for Griekspoor came in the second set when he broke Djokovic, but the world number one would break right back and then hold serve to take the set and a 2-0 lead.

Fifa to Investigate Racist Abuse on Black English Players Fifa has opened disciplinary proceedings after racist abuse was aimed at England players during Thursday’s 4-0 win over Hungary in a World Cup qualifier in Budapest.

Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham were both targeted.

England players were also pelted with objects in the second half and a flare was thrown on the pitch by the home fans at Puskas Arena.

England condemned the abuse as “completely unacceptable”.

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Bellingham, 18, tweeted on Friday: “Part of the game and always will be until proper punishments are put in place by those with the power. We can’t let hate win, keep smiling.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged Fifa “to take strong action against those responsible to ensure that this kind of disgraceful behaviour is eradicated from the game for good”.

Yesterday, football’s world gov-

erning body Fifa said disciplinary proceedings had been opened “following analysis of the match reports”.

It added: “Once again, Fifa would like to state that our position remains firm and resolute in rejecting any form of racism and violence as well as any other form of discrimination or abuse.

“We have a very clear zero tolerance stance against such abhorrent behaviours in football.”

World Cup and seventh overall, Nigeria will be without Iheanacho for their next game however as Cape Verde, who drew 1-1 with Central African Republic, is on the British government’s Covid red list.

The hosts dominated the game from the start and Ola Aina fired the first warning in the 10th minute as the Torino FC full-back’s thunderous shot narrowly missed the target.

The deadlock was then broken seven minutes before the half-hour mark following a perfectly executed corner-kick routine between Kelechi Iheanacho and Alex Iwobi.

Iwobi set-up Iheanacho, who then took one touch, before unleashing a powerful low shot that beat goalkeeper Ashley Williams at the near-post to hand Nigeria a 1-0 lead.

The hosts continued to surge forward after taking the lead and they managed to score their second goal of the match on the stroke of half-time with Iheanacho and Iwobi being involved once again.

Iwobi flicked the ball backward and Iheanacho pounced and fired past a hapless Williams from close range to hand Nigeria a 2-0 lead

heading into the half-time break.

Iheanacho, who was chasing a hat-trick in the second-half, played an inch-perfect free-kick for Leon Balogun in the 49th minute, but the lanky defender placed his header narrowly wide of the target.

Nigeria’s highly-rated striker Victor Osimhen was determined to put his name on the scoresheet and his header hit the crossbar just after he had connected with Moses Simon’s cross just after the hour-mark.

With his side trailing 2-0, Liberia coach Peter Butler decided to introduce attacker Peter Wilson as the Lone Star looked to pull one back in the closing stages and make it a nervy finish for the Super Eagles.

However, the hosts defended very well in the closing proceedings and ultimately, the match ended in a 2-0 victory in favour of Nigeria.

Earlier, two-time African champions Ivory Coast were held to a goalless draw in Mozambique as both sides kicked off their Group D campaigns.

There were no scoring problems for Zambia who were clinical in front of goal as they beat Mauritania 2-1 in Nouakchott in Group B.

Eagles Defender Sanusi Linked to Fernebache Move Super Eagles defender Zaidu Sanusi has been linked with a move to former Turkish Super Lig Champions Fenerbahce.

According to a tweet from Yagiz Sabuncuoglu, the Yellow Canaries see the former Santa Clara full-back as an excellent addition to their ranks.

The Portuguese league’s transfer window is closed. It means that they cannot register players, but they can still sell players.

And since the Turkish transfer window is still open till September 8, the Yellow Canaries can still snap up the Nigerian before deadline day.

Following his arrival from Santa Clara for $4.4m last summer, Sanusi became a constant figure at the left-back position for the Dragoes.

He played every minute of their victory over Juventus in the Champions League last season. Sanusi made 41 appearances in all competitions for the former Portuguese Champions to help them to a second-place berth in the Primera Liga last season.

The Nigerian defender was an integral part of

the Portuguese side last season, but he seems to have lost his place in the first team after the arrival of Wendell.

Sanusi is currently with the Super Eagles, ahead of their World Cup qualifiers against Cape Verde.

CHANGE OF NAME I formally known and called MISS AMUDALAT OLATUNDUN MOHAMMED now wishes to be known and called MRS AMUDALAT JAMIU IBRAHIM. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as SAKA ANUOLUWAPO SEUN now wish to be known and addressed as SAKA OLUWASEUN ANUOLUWAPO. All former documents remain valid.

The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as LINDA EJIROGHENE UDOAFA. now wish to be known and addressed as FAITH EJIROGHENE UDOAFA. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as EZEMELUE OGECHUKWU VERONICA now wish to be known and addressed as EZENNAYA OGECHUKWU VERONICA. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

TR

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Ortom to Akume

“All that Akume said were mere lies just for him to secure his meal ticket from his paymasters but I will not be deterred” – Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State refuting corruption allegations against him by the Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, George Akume.

PENDULUM DELE MOMODU

UT H

& RE A S O

N

26 years

dele.momodu@thisdaylive.com

The Threat against Broadcast Media in Nigeria

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ellow Nigerians, I was supposed to give the speech, largely reproduced below, two days ago in Ibadan, but I was in Accra, Ghana, so opted to speak via Zoom. The occasion was the seminar on Broadcast Media and National Security organised by the Foundation for Ibadan Television Anniversary celebration at the Press Centre in Iyaganku. Unfortunately, man proposes but God disposes, as the saying goes.

The event was to start at 10.00am in Nigeria and 9.00am in Ghana. I was very ready but the event itself was not ready in Ibadan. And when it finally took off, the highly distinguished speakers took the stage for a very long time. Since I had other engagements in Ghana, I couldn’t give the speech eventually. Being a topic that is very topical and germane to our present situation, I decided to edit and publish it on this page. The revised version now appears below.

“It is most pleasing to be part of this celebration.

The celebration is heartening for rekindling memories of a legacy, and eye opening, for reminding us of the promises of the future, if we learn from our past. It is a celebration that helps recollections of the past and engenders reflections towards understanding the present and aids us to interpret what the future portends. It teaches us loads of lessons on the vision of leadership, the strength of implementation, and the purpose of governance. It could also tickle our imaginations on the ambivalence of the present government, for not getting things right, despite the salutary seminal wisdom that should have been gained from past experiences. Added to this is why things seem to have been easier and better in the past, except for a few aberrations, and if at all we can do anything to correct our preference for the past over the present, regarding performance and accomplishment.

The noble efforts of the organisers are remarkable, and it is the reason we would not let an opportunity for evaluation slip past. The event can create a prospect for conversations around the progress the broadcast media has made, or has not made, and how the operation of the industry is affecting governance, or our growth and development effort.

I thank you most profoundly for the privilege of speaking on the topic, Broadcast Media and National Security, just as I look forward to a robust conversation on the subject and on related matters.

It is trite to acknowledge that the Foundation for Ibadan Television Anniversary Celebration (FITAC), for helping us travel the memory lane, recollecting the historic commissioning of the Western Nigeria Television Station (WNTV), in Ibadan, October 31, 1959, by the legendary Premier of the then Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

That feat was the first in Africa, and a step in advancing information dissemination from the audiovisual prism, and when media and communication was still ascending. Chief Awolowo established the station on the back of early developments in technologies of communication. Before then, the world had been a witness to the print media, the telegraph, the radio, the telephone, and then the Black-and-White TV. The world was yet to imagine the coloured television, satellite broadcasting, the Internet, and international mobile telephony. It was also a time when we were still imminently expecting political independence, and when you would imagine that technological and political circumstances were unfavourable to innovations.

Regardless, the late sage pulled through the psychological and physical barriers to see tomorrow.

In seeing the day after, he envisaged the flux of instruments of communication and the need to not just ensure the region’s integration into global communication patterns and peculiarities, but to share exposure to information, awareness and education, through a nascent audio-visual device. It is why Chief Awolowo’s great legacy will remain everlasting, and the more reason his vision will always be a lesson for remarkable and memorable leadership.

It is also the reason this celebration is worth

John Momoh our while, consistent with the importance of contextualizing processes, as a precursor to further efforts. I congratulate us once more, on this auspicious anniversary, just as I salute your wisdom for asking us to practically look at the relationship between Broadcast Media and National Security.

To do this examination, we should understand that the broadcast media is a media genre, entailing the electronic spread of information, using signals, audio, and video to a diverse audience over disparate places and spaces, and on different scales. The technique can include print, emails, texts, and nowadays through the digital and the internet media. The context of broadcasting has grown in sophistication from the simpler variant of audio-visual rendition of news to involve a convergence of methods like print, texts, emails, and on a variegated platform. The growth is easy because of the rise in technologies of communication and humanity’s predilection for creativity, in the bid to cope with nature, minimise the disadvantage of distance and to share real time information over locations, in picturesque formats.

Due to its peculiar features, broadcasting media may invalidate distance, provide a sense of immediacy, and grow the feelings of co-presences.

The multiple opportunity to watch, listen, read and revert, exemplifies the Broadcast Media as another tool for governance, and a determiner and instrument of national security. Though the concept of national security has been defined in different ways, it envisages the extent to which a sovereignty nation prioritises its safety, besides the steps taken to guarantee this. National Security is therefore about stability in the polity, progress, the predictability of a socio-political and economic system, and the measures deployed to actualise them.

The broadcast media is on the other hand a veritable tool of governance, for helping the diffusion of information, the ingraining of awareness and the provision of knowledge on issues. Doing this is significant for edification, the creation of citizen understanding, and the fostering of inclusion, integration and involvement. A salutary process of using the media genre in the manner that is consistent with a constitutional expectation of satisfying the wellbeing of the people through good governance would outline the Broadcast media in the positive light.

Deploying these media alternatives for hate, division, inciting violence, and much else means an improper use of the media variant. For its power of picturesque rendition of information, in real time and across distances, the broadcast media can be effective in instantaneous communication, and including the dispersal of message intent. It can also be otherwise if the intent is mischievous, unsalutary and unsavoury. What matters is motive and the control system.

In a free society, the broadcast media can stimulate

thoughts, be used as simulation of present and future propensities and expand understanding for the appreciation of governance and the course of national security. This is less so in an unfree system, where thoughts are controlled and only in line with the authority’s whims and caprices. This challenges and implicates the human element in the application of Broadcast Media character to the maintenance or substance of a national security ecosystem. In cautioning against the negative application of the character regardless, we need to understand that the media is, overall, a marketplace of ideas. In this market, we welcome all, subject to interests and the mechanisms for sieving content. An appreciation of this, especially in a democracy, is often always helpful for national security.

Deviations are a prerequisite for multiple opposition, dissenters, unrests, and a shrinking of the civic space. That space is the public sphere, the space of ventilation, where citizens are symbolic participants in the governance process.

The media, particularly the broadcast media has a vital role to play in the political sphere of any nation, more so that of a developing nation like Nigeria. When properly deployed the broadcast media is to be used as a complement to national security. For example, in the halcyon days of military coups, it was the broadcast media that was the essential tool and ally of the successful or unsuccessful coup plotter. Capture and control the airwaves and you were guaranteed success.

Fail in this mighty task and you were doomed as Lt. Colonel Buka Suka Dimka discovered to his chagrin in February 1976.

However, in Nigeria the converse seems to have been the case mainly because the broadcast media has been largely controlled by the State. Even when there have been private entities and practitioners competing with the government-controlled media, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has stepped in to whittle the independence of these private organisations and thus diminish and belittle freedom of speech and democracy. Several instances abound, but those that I will briefly mention are the attacks on AIT with regard to their coverage of the 2015 elections and their portrayal of the then APC Presidential candidate, now President Buhari, the recent debacle involving Channels Television on account of the disclosures by Retired Navy Commodore Kunle Olawunmi about the sponsors of the terrorist group, Boko Haram, and the protection they enjoy in this present dispensation, and of

course the notorious manner in which government tried to manipulate the broadcast media during the EndSARs protest. The positive side was the influence of social media, a genre of the broadcast media, in standing firm and resolute to inform and to defend our collective national security interests during that particular protest.

The media has then turned to being seen as a demonic body capable of scuttling the nefarious activities of whoever is our leader at the time, because of our penchant for demonstrating allegiance to personalities rather than the country and its institutions. It is this proclivity that has contributed to the great morass of inefficiency and incompetence that we find ourselves in where our national security is concerned.

The national security challenges which we now face is legion, scary and potentially damning and cataclysmic for our country. Now is the time to utilise the instrument and instrumentality of the broadcast media to disseminate information and educate the people about the national security threats that we face and implore the people to stand firm and cooperate in rooting out the terrorists and bandit, evil perpetrators of this nefarious and dastardly activities. We have the advantage of the social media network which is a new adjunct of the broadcast media family. Their reach is simply unbelievable and mind-boggling. Social media is a veritable tool to be sued in fighting the war against insurrection, terrorism and banditry. It can however only be meaningful deployed by a government that appreciates its attributes and not one that is willing to shut it down because it cannot stand the scrutiny and criticism that emanates from this genre.

The titanic Chief Awolowo recognised more than 60 years ago, even before then, and much afterwards, that broadcast media and national security are complementary features and institutions to be deployed for greater national development and unity, through information and education and was not to be used as a tool of repression and suppression leading to his multi-levelled and varied legacies in the media space. The onus is on present leaders to learn from the lessons of the past to grow our democracy, trigger development and consolidate our national security. The time to act is now. I congratulate us all, once more, on this anniversary, just as I wish us all joyful celebrations.

God bless you all.

God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Congratulations, Iya Adura, Esther Ajayi

E

xactly four years ago yesterday, September 3, 2017, I met the prayerful woman of God, remarkable Evangelist, effervescent Personality and global Philanthropist IYA ADURA REVEREND MOTHER ABIMBOLA ESTHER AJAYI in the city of London, after an introduction from a gentleman called MR ABIODUN PASEDA. This meeting would soon cause a major revolution amongst the spiritual sect popularly referred to as the “White Garment Churches” in Nigeria and beyond. Ovation International was engaged to wage and stage a blistering media and public relations campaign around the world towards changing the negative narrative associated with this variant of African Christianity.

Her determination and stupendous hard work made our job easier. She has always been a woman with passion on a mission to preach the Gospel of Christ in a distinct and different way. She wanted to touch the hearts and souls of myriads of people of diverse nationalities and cultures not just by preaching to them but by touching their lives with acts of grace, generosity and care. She had a clear vision

and mission about what she wanted to achieve, and this coupled with her humongous capacity to fund this vision meant that it was so easily achievable within a short period of time. We played our part in showcasing her to the world and she was warmly welcomed and received.

IYA ADURA, in four years has become a global phenomenon. Her generosity and kindness to not only members of her church in particular, but mankind in general is exemplary and legendary. This has endeared her to millions of fans worldwide. Her model and breed are rare and refreshing.

Tomorrow, IYA ADURA is set to change the landscape of Christendom on Victoria Island Lagos. The beachfront edifice aptly named LOVE OF CHRIST GENERATION CHURCH CATHEDRAL will blow your mind. Built by the construction giant, CAPPA & D’ALBERTO PLC, the Cathedral is an architectural masterpiece which even before its opening has already become a tourist attraction... I am convinced that it will also command the attention and devotion of the Faithful. IYA ADURA is proving to be a blessing once again. Hearty congratulations to her and her team at the Cathedral.

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