SATURDAY 10TH SEPTEMBER 2022

ICPC: Corruption by Military Responsible for Worsening Insecurity Says former senior military officers under investigation for embezzling security funds Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Prof Bolaji Owasanoye, yesterday

identified corruption by the military, the Police and civil servants as responsible for the worsening insecurity in the country.

Speaking at a one-day "Policy Dialogue on Corruption

and Insecurity in Nigeria" in Abuja, the ICPC Chairman said: “At face value, insecurity is seen to be, and is sometimes treated as a matter requiring only a military response or reaction, but an indepth look

into its possible root cause(s) shows that corruption is a major contributory factor to the continued existence and propagation of insecurity in the country.

“In fact, a clinical diagnosis

of the insecurity menace in the country reveals that to effectively combat insecurity, we require the collaborative efforts of Security Agencies (the military, intelligence, Police, Customs, Prisons, others), as

well as Law Enforcement and Anti-Corruption Agencies.

“ICPC’s research and investigation findings on the subject matter show that Continued on page 5

FG Drags ASUU to Industrial Court, Declares Negotiations Have Failed... Page 8 Saturday 10 September, 2022 Vol 27. No 10014

www.thisdaylive.com TR

UT H

& RE A S O

N

N250

In Inaugural Address, King Charles III Pays Tribute to ‘Darling Mama’ See story on page 5

King Charles III

2

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2022 • T H I S D AY

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2022 • T H I S D AY

3

4

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2022 • T H I S D AY

5

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2022 • T H I S D AY, T H E S AT U R D AY N E W S PA P E R

PAGE FIVE

Yakubu: INEC Result Portal Attacked by Hackers During Ekiti, Osun Polls The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu yesterday in Abuja disclosed that the commission’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV) came under attack from hackers across the world, during the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections.

Yakubu, who was delivering

a keynote address at a stakeholders’ conference organised by YIAGA Africa, a civil society organisation (CSO), to launch the election result analysis dashboard (ERAD) report agenda, said some of those who tried to hack the cyber security system of the result viewing portal were from as far as Asia.

“Another technical concern for us is the repeated attempts to break through our cyber security system for the portal.

I am glad to note that all of them failed.

“However, while we are confident in the security solutions that we have deployed for IReV and all our web presence, we must

remain vigilant and continue to strengthen our defences. We have tasked our engineers to do everything possible to fully protect the IReV and all our web resources,” said the INEC Chairman.

Yakubu also stated that INEC was working to address other challenges which are administrative in nature.

“For example, we found that some of the low-quality uploads that occurred in the field, which some of the observers have also noted, were due to the unavailability or substitution of presiding officers that were trained prior to the elections.

“We shall administratively deal with this challenge and

ensure that only adequately trained Presiding Officers are deployed for elections.

“Also, more hands-on training may be required to ensure that all those involved throughout the value chain of the IReV are fully ready for what is bound to be a major outing during the 2023 general election,” he said.

The new king ended on a personal note: “And to my darling mama, as you begin your last great journey to join my dear late papa, I want simply to say this: thank you.

Thank you for your love and devotion to our family and to the family of nations you have served so diligently all these years. May flights of Angels sing thee to thy rest.”

bouquets of flowers left on the palace fence by members of the public, before entering their new London home.

Yesterday, the new king also held his first audience with Prime Minister Liz Truss, who was only appointed on Tuesday in one of the queen’s last official acts before her death.

At 73, Charles is the oldest monarch yet to ascend the throne of the United Kingdom, following the death of his “cherished” mother at her Scottish estate of Balmoral on Thursday.

Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, and the nation’s figurehead for seven decades, died at her home in Scotland aged 96 last Thursday.

She died peacefully at Balmoral Castle, her estate in the Scottish Highlands in the afternoon, marking the end of an era in the United Kingdom.

One of the planet’s most recognisable people, she was the only British monarch most people alive today had ever known.

IN INAUGURAL ADDRESS, KING CHARLES III PAYS TRIBUTE TO ‘DARLING MAMA’ Charles Ajunwa King Charles III yesterday formally addressed Britons and the Commonwealth for the first time as King, in a pre-recorded address from Buckingham Palace’s Blue Drawing Room.

Guns fired, bells tolled and mourning crowds greeted the new King as he led Britain into an uncertain new era.

In his speech, he paid a moving tribute to his mother's “life well lived" and vowed to renew her “promise of lifelong service.”

Charles also gave a nod to his own children, announcing that Prince William would take on his former title as the Prince of Wales and expressed his love “for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas."

The new King said on her late mother: “I speak to you today with feelings of profound sorrow. Throughout her life, Her Majesty the Queen — my beloved Mother – was an inspiration and example to me and to all my family, and we owe her the most heartfelt debt any family can owe to their mother; for her love, affection, guidance, understanding and example.

“Queen Elizabeth’s was a life well lived, a promise with destiny kept, and she is mourned most deeply in her passing. That promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today.

“Alongside the personal grief that all my family are feeling, we also share with so many of you in the United

Kingdom, in all the countries where the queen was head of state, in the Commonwealth and across the world, a deep sense of gratitude for the more than 70 years in which my mother, as queen, served the people of so many nations.

“In 1947, on her 21st birthday, she pledged in a broadcast from Cape Town to the Commonwealth to devote her life, whether it be short or long, to the service of her people. That was more than a promise: it was a profound personal commitment which defined her whole life. She made sacrifices for duty.

“Her dedication and devotion as sovereign never wavered, through times of change and progress, through times of joy and celebration, and through times of sadness and loss.

“In her life of service, we saw that abiding love of tradition, together with that fearless embrace of progress, which make us great as nations. The affection, admiration and respect she inspired became the hallmark of her reign.

“And, as every member of my family can testify, she combined these qualities with warmth, humour and an unerring ability always to see the best in people.”

Going Down Memory Lane Going down memory lane, the new king said when the queen came to the throne, Britain and the world were still coping with the privations

and aftermath of the Second World War, and still living by the conventions of earlier times.

But said in the course of the last 70 years, “we have seen our society become one of many cultures and many faiths.”

He said the institutions of the State had changed in turn, “but, through all changes and challenges, our nation and the wider family of Realms — of whose talents, traditions and achievements I am so inexpressibly proud — have prospered and flourished.

Our values have remained, and must remain, constant.”

Continuing, he said: “The role and the duties of monarchy also remain, as does the Sovereign’s particular relationship and responsibility towards the Church of England — the Church in which my own faith is so deeply rooted.

“In that faith, and the values it inspires, I have been brought up to cherish a sense of duty to others, and to hold in the greatest respect the precious traditions, freedoms and responsibilities of our unique history and our system of parliamentary government.

“As the queen herself did with such unswerving devotion, I too now solemnly pledge myself, throughout the remaining time God grants me, to uphold the constitutional principles at the heart of our nation.

“And wherever you may live in the United Kingdom, or in the Realms and territories across the world, and whatever

may be your background or beliefs, I shall endeavour to serve you with loyalty, respect and love, as I have throughout my life.

“It will no longer be possible for me to give so much of my time and energies to the charities and issues for which I care so deeply. But I know this important work will go on in the trusted hands of others.

“This is also a time of change for my family. I count on the loving help of my darling wife, Camilla. In recognition of her own loyal public service since our marriage 17 years ago, she becomes my Queen Consort.

“I know she will bring to the demands of her new role the steadfast devotion to duty on which I have come to rely so much. As my heir, William now assumes the Scottish titles which have meant so much to me.

“Today, I am proud to create him Prince of Wales, Tywysog Cymru, the country whose title I have been so greatly privileged to bear during so much of my life and duty.

“With Catherine beside him, our new Prince and Princess of Wales will, I know, continue to inspire and lead our national conversations, helping to bring the marginal to the centre ground where vital help can be given.

“In a little over a week’s time, we will come together as a nation, as a Commonwealth and indeed a global community, to lay my beloved mother to rest. In our sorrow, let us remember and draw strength from the light of her example.”

ICPC: CORRUPTION BY MILITARY RESPONSIBLE FOR WORSENING INSECURITY Public sector corruption, directly and indirectly, enables insecurity, and can sometimes complement it.”

He said some former military and security personnel were being investigated by ICPC and EFCC for embezzlement of funds allocated for the security of the nation.

“There are also ongoing investigations into military contract spending. Recently, ICPC arrested a military contractor that received over a period of less than 10 years cumulative sum of about N6 billion from the Nigerian Army in suspicious circumstances and in violation of extant legislation.

The Commission’s recovery of huge cash sums in local and foreign currencies, luxury cars, customized mobile phones, designer watches, including three Rolexes, as well as property documents from the premises of the contractor underscores the corruption that often attends military procurement.

“Some former military and security personnel are being investigated by ICPC and our sister agency for embezzlement of funds allocated to security.

For example, a former head of one of the arms of the military in the twilight of his tenure

deposited the sum of N4 billion from the military budget into the accounts of two companies where he is the beneficial owner and sole signatory.

“The proceeds were used to purchase properties in Abuja in the names of cronies and proxies. Some of the properties paid for by his service were also fraudulently converted to his use. ICPC’s prosecution of this high-ranking officer to recover all the implicated assets was strangely and perversely frustrated by a recently retired High Court judge who decided to forfeit some of the assets to FGN and the rest left to the suspect.

While the Commission has filed notice of appeal, this strange development aggravates an already bad situation and escalates insecurity and impunity.

“Another case under investigation is theft of part of a special intervention fund approved for security operations by some civil servants in the line ministry, who transferred about N1 billion to four shell companies.

A special investigative team under the leadership of NSA and ICPC recovered some of the diverted assets, including state of the art buildings

located in Abuja and over N220 million cash. Investigation in this matter is still ongoing.

“Funds to retool and reposition the police to a world class institution are no less threatened by corruption.

The newly established police special intervention framework, designed to eliminate underfunding of the police, the Police Trust Fund, is already under ICPC investigation for abuse, fund diversion, bogus, questionable welfare packaging that is not for the police who are the beneficiaries of the fund and sundry corrupt practices. One may safely conclude that other security agencies are dogged by similar practices albeit to varying degrees.”

The ICPC Chairman said the Buhari government had in the last seven years, with the aid of the 9th National Assembly, ensured significantly increased funding for the security sector and queried why this has not translated into commensurate effectiveness in the war against insurgency and insecurity, despite the gallant and sacrificial effort of the soldiers, policemen and other security operatives working daily to secure Nigerians.

“Experts have attributed

the aggravation of insecurity partially to misapplication and misappropriation of funds in the defence sector procurement practices. Investigations by anti-corruption agencies will seem to bear this out. What is worse is that soldiers are often reported in social media complaining of being poorly-equipped and poorly motivated.

“These challenges can be partly traced to the revelation by the Centre for Democracy and Development, (CDD) that about $15 billion has been squandered through fraudulent arms procurement deals in the last 20 years in the country.”

Owasanoye said while the ICPC and EFCC are investigating some of these anomalies, the efforts will not yield much without proactive prevention measures and a review of extant procurement practices.

“ICPC in furtherance of its statutory mandate to prevent corruption by review of the systems, processes and practices of agencies of government and to direct improvement where they predispose to corruption has through its research and training arm convened this policy dialogue,” said the ICPC Chairman.

God Save the King!

Earlier yesterday morning, the new monarch was greeted by cheers and cries of “God save the king!” from a waiting crowd as he returned to the palace to assume his birthright at the age of 73.

He shook hands and took time to observe some of the many floral tributes left in honor of his mother when he arrived at Buckingham Palace shortly after 2 p.m. local time Charles traveled to London from Balmoral, the Scottish castle where the royal family rushed to be by the queen’s side in her final moments.

Mourners had been gathering outside the palace to lay flowers and to witness history, as a well-rehearsed plan for how the nation will bid farewell to one monarch and welcome another swung into action.

There were gun salutes at nearby Hyde Park and at the Tower of London. 96 rounds were fired, one for each year of Elizabeth's life. Flags on official buildings are flying at half-staff. The bells at St Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey rang out at noon (7 a.m. ET), echoed by church bells across the country.

The queen's death at 96 shortly after doctors placed her under medical supervision, came as little shock given her age and recent health issues. But with the country facing unprecedented economic hardship due to spiraling energy costs and inflation, her absence may be felt even more keenly as Britain confronts a crisis without her for the first time in seven decades.

Mixing with Wellwishers A smiling King Charles III shook hands with some of the thousands of well-wishers gathered outside Buckingham Palace yesterday as he returned to London following the death of his mother.

Shouting “God save the King” and with an impromptu burst of the reworded national anthem, members of the crowd greeted Charles and Queen Consort Camilla after they emerged from their car following a flight from Scotland.

The royal standard was raised for the first time in Charles’s reign, as the new monarch and Camilla inspected

UK Rail, Postal Staff Halt Strikes British railway and postal workers, at the forefront of sector-wide strikes over a cost-of-living crisis, have halted upcoming walkouts following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. The Communication Workers Union had planned to continue a 48-hour stoppage yesterday but it was called off “out of respect for” the queen, CWU general secretary Dave Ward said in a statement following the queen’s passing in Scotland on Thursday.

The Trades Union Congress said it had postponed its four-day annual conference due to have begun Sunday.

“The UK’s trade union movement sends our condolences to the Royal Family on the death of the Queen, and recognises her many years of dedicated service to the country,” the TUC added in a statement.

The RMT rail union said it was suspending walkouts planned for next week and the TSSA transport union has called off its September strikes.

Train drivers’ union Aslef has also suspended a planned stoppage.

“RMT joins the whole nation in paying its respects to Queen Elizabeth,” its general secretary Mick Lynch said in a statement.

“The planned railway strike action on 15 and 17 September is suspended.

“We express our deepest condolences to her family, friends and the country,” Lynch added.

Network Rail, which manages Britain’s railways, said it welcomed “the unions’ decision to call off” strikes.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

6

NEWS

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

DSS Raids Relations of Terrorists’ Negotiator, Mamu John Shiklam in Kaduna The Department of State Services (DSS) has raided the residences of two relations of Tukur Mamu,

the terrorists negotiator.

In a statement yesterday, Ibrahim Mada, Special Projects Manager, Desert Herald newspaper, published by Mamu, said the DSS

Electricity Workers: Why Power Supply Remains Comatose in Nigeria Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City Electricity workers under the aegis of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) have decried the privatisation of Nigeria’s power sector since 2013, adding that investors who took over the sector did not have the technical competence and financial muscles to fix and improve power generation and distribution to Nigerians.

The union noted that when it raised the alarm, their outcry was misunderstood by Nigerians and those within the corridors of power with a well-orchestrated propaganda against the union which was mischievously accused of trying to protect inefficiency even as it tried its best to educate Nigerians of the impending evil.

Not only that, the electricity workers lamented that the same persons who advised the government to sell, also deceived it to pay about N2 trillion as subvention to the investors that bought the companies.

Addressing a press conference in Benin City, capital of Edo State, yesterday, the Zonal Organising Secretary, National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), Edo-Delta zone, Nash Shaibu said, “The consequences and pains that goes with privatisation exercise as the union had predicted, have manifested and Nigerians

are today groaning expectedly without electricity.”

He added that today, electricity workers have been vindicated because the power sector is not only collapsing but has collapsed as the distribution companies are being taken over by the banks to recover money borrowed by the investors from their banks.

According to him, most of the distribution networks within the zone comprising Edo, Delta, Ekiti and Ondo states were begging for attention because the equipment they inherited after privatisation have remained the same because there is no visible attempt by the company to upgrade and expand their network capacities.

Consequently, Shaibu noted that customers and communities within the various catchment areas have been cut off from power supply for non-payment as a result of outrageous/estimated bills, pointing out that it is inhuman and insensitive to increase electricity tariff without notable improvement and provision of prepaid meters to Nigerians by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Discos as directed by the federal government.

Similarly, the electricity workers picked holes in the Generation Companies (Gencos), noting that since they took over, they have not added 1MW to what they inherited after privatisation.

Gunmen Kill 4, Injure 2 in Kogi Market Day Ambush in Kogi Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja

At least four persons have been confirmed killed while two others sustained varying degrees of injuries from gunmen suspected to be hoodlums at Ofeapo along Idris-Bagana Road in Omala Local Government Area of Kogi State.

Sources disclosed that the victims who were returning from the war-torn Bagana Market around 8:30p.m. on Thursday were ambushed and killed by suspected bandits.

It was learnt that the victims who were mainly traders were travelling in a commercial tricycle when gunmen opened fire on them at close range, killing four on the spot, while the two lucky survivors are being treated of their injuries at a nearby medical facility.

The Police Public Relations Officer, SP William Aya, confirmed the incident and said one person, the rider of the tricycle, was killed while two others who sustained injuries were rushed to medical facilities in Abejukolo, headquarters of Omala Local Government Area.

He explained that the Commissioner for Police, CP Edward Egbuka, has mobilised a

tactical squad and officers of the Division to the scene to possibly fish out the perpetrators.

Meanwhile, the paramount ruler of Omala Local Government Area Traditional Council, HRH Boniface Musa, the Ojogba of Ife, has condemned the dastardly act and prayed to God to give the family of the victims fortitude to bear the loss.

The monarch decried the incessant attacks on the Bagana people by unknown gunmen, lamenting that “these killings have taken the peace process back, at a time when all hands have been on deck for the safe return of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their ancestral homes.”

He, therefore, appealed to the state Governor Alhaji Yahaya Bello to as a matter of urgency wade into the lingering Bagana crises that have killed tens of people and rendered many homeless.

The Ojogba of Ife urged the governor to implement the recommendations of the Col. Suleiman Babanawa (rtd.)led committee and called for the deployment of the security agencies to Bagana town to forestall further bloodshed in the communities.

stormed the Kaduna residences of the publisher’s brother, Ibrahim Mamu and his brother-in-law, Abdullahi Mashi in the early hours of Friday.

Mada, said Mashi was whisked away by the DSS operatives after his house was searched.

The statement also cautioned the DSS against “media trial” of the terrorists negotiator who was arrested on Thursday.

He faulted claims by the DSS that military accoutrements and huge amounts in various currencies were recovered during Thursday’s raid on Kaduna residence and office of Mamu, saying the military uniform found in the house belonged to his son who is a Naval officer.

Mamu was arrested on Tuesday

in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, alongside his family on their way to Saudi Arabia for lesser hajj and was repatriated to Nigeria on Thursday.

The publisher who is also a media consultant to popular Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, had been in the forefront for negotiations with terrorists for the release of the abducted passengers of the March 28, Abuja- Kaduna train attack.

Though he later withdrew from the negotiations following alleged plans to blackmail him, millions of naira was said to have been paid as ransom for the release of 39 of the 62 victims who were freed in batches.

The DSS had in a statement on Thursday said Mamu’s arrest fol-

lowed request by Nigeria’s military, law enforcement and intelligence community to their foreign partners to bring him back to the country to answer critical questions on ongoing investigations relating to some security matters in parts of the country he has questions to answer on security issues in some parts of the country.

The DSS also said large sums of money in various currencies and denominations as well as military accoutrements were recovered after raiding his Kaduna residence.

Mada however called on the DSS to “avoid media trial of Malam Tukur Mamu.”

He said, “The DSS in a press release on Thursday 8th September, 2022 titled ‘Update On Tukur Mamu’ claimed during their

raids on his residence and office in Kaduna that a large sum of money in various currencies and denominations as well as military accoutrements were recovered.

“While the DSS did not indicate the actual amount of the so-called large sum found in his house and office, we want to make it clear that the ‘military accoutrements’ found in his house are military kits (uniform and barrett) belonging to his son, Yahaha Bello, a Naval officer who graduated from NDA.” He said Bello was brought up by Mamu and he lives in his house.

The statement said, “about two weeks ago, Mamu’s younger brother, Muhammad Mamu, an Air Force officer was killed while on counter terrorism’s mission in Zamfara.”

REWARDING HARDWORK… L-R: Director Group Strategy, Flour Mills of Nigeria, Sadiq Usman; Chief Operating Officer, Lucid Audio-Visual, Abiola Williams; Chief Operating Officer, Mojisola Saka; Chairman, Board of Directors, LEAP Africa, Udeme Ufot; Board Member Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Rabi Isma; MD/CEO Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc., Dr Ademola Sogunle, and MD/CEO Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc., Wole Adeniyi; during the recognition of Ufot for 10 years of selfless service at the Gala and Awards Night organised to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of LEAP Africa in Lagos…recently.

I will Align with You, Tinubu Tells Nigerian Farmers Emameh Gabriel in Abuja Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has given assurances to farmers across the six geo political zones of the country that his administration would invest massively in the entire agricultural value chain if elected president next year.

Tinubu, gave the assurance yesterday when he received farmers at his campaign office in Abuja, noting that investment in the nation’s agricultural sector has been captured in his proposed road map to food security in Nigeria as the country was set to become a focal point for global food production.

Tinubu who left his campaign office for an emergency engagement after a brief meeting with other farmers groups, was represented by his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, to address other group of farmers who came under the of umbrella of Asiwaju Farmers Forum, disclosed that there were already strategic plans by his team to fortify the nation’s agricultural sector through the adoption of intermediate partnership and enhanced agriculture practices that would guarantee increase in yields and better job opportunities for the youths.

He expressed concern over the poor outputs suffered by Nigerian farmers, resulting in

huge annual losses, a situation he said was not favourable to the country’s economy when compared to what farmers in other parts of the world record during harvests. This is just as he noted that there were also plans to address marketing constraints to promote exports of agro products from Nigeria to part Europe.

He said: “The incoming Tinubu’s administration will invest massively in the entire agriculture value chain. The whole mantra is on increase in yield.

“The whole mantra is on increase in yield and we cannot achieve that without embracing or adopting intermediate and

enhanced agriculture practice.

“I want to assure you on behalf of our principal, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, that we will align with you.

“The future belongs to you. The trajectory of global food security is in Africa and it is Nigeria that will make or mar that trajectory.

“The future of Africa, I mean that of the black race, rests on the people of this country. By 2050, Nigeria would be the third most populous nation on earth, with a population of over 400,000,000 people. We have the window of transforming the anticipated demographic trajectory into demographic dividends or it would be a demographic disaster that will consume all of us.

Kema Chikwe Laments Learning Conditions of Children As the world celebrates the International Literacy Day, former Minister of Aviation in the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration, Ambassador Kema Chikwe, has declared that the government at all levels need to focus more on the learning conditions of Nigerians.

In her message on the occasion of the International Literacy Day, she advocated for the closure of schools that do not fulfill the stipulated standards of physical structures,

hygiene standards, tutelage from qualified personnel, safety that allows for focus and other key aspects.

The former minister said, “My heart goes out to children who do not have the privilege of access to education and those who go to school under unbearable conditions due to poverty and environmental factors. This year, the theme is ‘Transforming Literacy Learning Spaces’.

According to her, “Individual human, intellectual and social

development depend solely on the exposure offered by educational facilities. The word ‘transformation’ has become generic in the Nigerian socio-political lexicon. However, its implementation has sadly remained elusive.

“Nigeria’s literacy rate in 2018 was reported as 62.02 per cent which was an increase of 10.94 per cent from 2008. With this slow rate, achieving SDG 4.6 for quality education by 2030

seems a rather ambitious feat.

However, this gloomy forecast must not deter us. Progress is progress, regardless of its pace.

So, as a nation, we must keep pushing forward, regardless.

“This must all change. Literacy Learning Spaces must be transformed, by the will of the government and the people and above all, by God’s grace. May this year’s International Literacy Day introduce a new beginning of improved educational standards and consequently, living standards.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2022 • T H I S D AY

7

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

8

NEWS

FG Drags ASUU to Industrial Court, Says Negotiations Have Failed Onyebuchi Ezigbo inAbuja The raging dispute between the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) that has kept many

universities shut for more than seven months will shift to the Industrial court next Monday.

ASUU had embarked on strike since February 15 to protest alleged decay of infrastructure at the various

Another Nigerian Missing in Northern Cyprus, Mother Cries for Help The authenticity Barely 24 hours after repeated advisory offered by the management of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) against seeking educational succour in Northern Cyprus, another Nigerian student, Abdulsamad Abubakar has been reported missing in the country.

The emotionally disturbed mother of the 28-year-old student, Mrs. Dije Ibraheem, cried to NIDCOM management yesterday pleading for the Commission’s intervention in locating her only child. According to the 54-year-old trader, who hails from Kogi State, she last spoke with her son on August 2, through another person’s phone number, where the son raised an alarm that “they have come to pick me up to a detention camp.”

Ibraheem said AbdulSamad is a 300-Level International Relations student of Cyprus Science University (CSU) and was living off campus.

She said since that call on 2nd of August, 2022 from an unknown number, with her son wailing and asking for help, she has not known his whereabouts or heard any news from him or the school authorities.

Confused on what to do, she reached out to the agent who secured the admission and travelling documents for her son but he was not forthcoming too.

“I was advised to write a petition to Consular and Legal Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which I did before someone hinted me that Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa advised Nigerians to be wary of Northern Cyprus, hence reaching out to her to help me out,” she said.

“So I am here today at NIDCOM to beg you in the name of God to help me bring back my son alive, as I am scared of hearing any bad news about my only child. Please help me, I am a single mother. He is my only child. I haven’t slept well nor fed well since August 2nd that I last spoke with him.”

Royal Father Defy Rain to Grace 2022 Argungu Festival Justina Uzo The respected Emir of Argungu, His Royal Highness, Alhaji Samaila Mera, was the cynosure of all eyes when the royal father defied the rain to grace the 2022 Argungu Polo Tournament and Cultural Fetes which kicked-off on Thursday, September 8, 2022.

Locals said Thursday evening’s rainfall was unexpected and heavy. They feared it could ruin the programmes scheduled for the day.

Suddenly, the Emir of Argungu Emirate showed up and that apparently put smiles on the faces of people who in turn hailed their beloved Emir.

Patron of Argungu Polo Tournament and Cultural Fete, Alhaji Nura Sani Kangiwa, who also holds the traditional title of the ‘Turakin Kebbi’, was obviously pleased.

He extolled the pioneering efforts and fatherly support provided by the Emir in giving sports tourism the push it deserves. The Emir is Grand Patron of the Polo Tournament.

The 7th edition of the tournament has six Polo teams, including NSK Farms Team. Others are H. Hago Team, Ayatun Team and JRB Solar Team, as well as NIHOTOUR Team and Osolo Team. Not less than 24 polo players, most of them the best in the country and well over 80 horses, are involved in the ongoing tournament.

The clubs in the tournament are playing to win any of the prestigious cups, such as the Governor’s Cup, Sultan’s Cup and Emir of Argungu’s Cup. Other Cups to be won are Emir of Kano’s Cup, King Appolos Chu’s Cup and Lai Mohammed’s Cup, as well as Shehu Kangiwa’s Cup and the Abubakar Dangiwa Umar’s Cup. Apart from polo, cultural activities have been held in the ongoing event.

Traditional displays, such as culinary arts, traditional wrestling, camel racing, horse racing, music and dance, took centre stage exciting tourists. Already, the local communities are counting their blessings, as people are busy leveraging the economic benefits of the event.

Tinubu Hails Kemi Badenoch’s Appointment All Progressives Congress Presidential standard bearer, Asíwájú Bola Tinubu, has congratulated Kemi Badenoch on her appointment

by Prime Minister Liz Truss as the Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade in the United Kingdom.

Tinubu described the appointment as cheering news “that yet again underscores the globally -acknowledged fact of the endless potential of every Nigerian when

afforded opportunities to thrive.”

In a statement by his Media Office yesterday in Abuja, the APC presidential candidate said “Badenoch’s meteoric rise to party leadership contender and, now, senior cabinet member attests to her resilience and talent.

“The elevation, after a rousing leadership campaign during which she showcased her eloquence and other personal qualities, is very well deserved.

institutions, as well as neglect of the welfare of its members.

A reliable source at the Federal Ministry of Labour told THISDAY last night that the ministry’s Trade Dispute Department had filed a case before the Industrial Arbitration Court in Abuja and that the hearing would commence next Monday.

According to the source, “The federal government has filed a case at the Industrial Court challenging the continued strike by the university teachers. This is

in conformity with Section 17 of the Trade Dispute Act.” There have been series of negotiations between the federal government and the ASUU leadership but all ended in stalemate without a tangible outcome.

However, talks between the federal government and ASUU finally hit the rocks last Tuesday after both sides met at the National University Commission’s office in Abuja.

The federal government had said

that it would not sign any other agreement it cannot implement.

Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, disclosed this during a meeting of Pro-Chancellors and Vice Chancellors of Federal Universities, held at the NUC’s office.

Adamu said President Muhammadu Buhari had warned the government’s team involved in the negotiation with ASUU against signing an agreement that the government would not be able

to fulfil.

The minister said the government had offered the union a 23.5 per cent salary increase “for all categories of the workforce in federal universities, except for the professorial cadre which will enjoy a 35 per cent upward review. He said the government had also promised that N150 billion “shall be provided for in the 2023 Budget as funds for the revitalisation of federal universities, to be disbursed to the Institutions in the First Quarter of the year.”

DRIVING FOR EQUITY… L-R: Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Chief Judge of the State, Hon. Justice Kazeem Alogba and Attorney General/Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo, SAN during the swearing-in of members of The Standing Tribunal of Inquiry into Chieftaincy Matters in Lagos State, held at the Lagos House, Alausa…yesterday.

EU Commits €39 Million to Electoral Process, Democracy in Nigeria

Michael Olugbode inAbuja

The European Union is committing €39 million towards Nigeria’s electoral process and democracy.

The programme tagged ‘EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) Phase II’, is funded under the EU’s Neighbourhood Development and International Cooperation Instrument, over a five-year period. This is a re-affirmation of EU’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s electoral process and

would be launched on Monday September 12.

According to a statement yesterday by the EU, the programme is aimed at promoting transparent, inclusive and credible elections in Nigeria. The statement added that the overall objective of the EUSDGN is to foster a functioning pluralistic, inclusive, participatory and representative democracy in Nigeria, insisting that inclusive, participatory and transparent elections were prerequisites for a strong democracy.

The statement quoted the

Ambassador of the EU to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms. Samuela Isopi, to have said that: “Ahead of the 2023 general election, Nigeria is at a pivotal moment that allows the country to take important steps to consolidate democracy and strengthen the electoral process.

The European Union continues to partner with Nigeria in the on-going reform process with a view to strengthening the capacity to conduct well-managed elections and with ample participation of all Nigerians. For this to happen, all must contribute, from the key

institutions to the political parties and candidates, from media to civil society.”

According to the statement, the project will be anchored on the priorities identified by the Nigerian government. It also builds on the lessons learned from the implementation of phase I of the programme 2017-2022 and the recommendations of the EU Election Observation Mission made after the 2019 general election as well as those of the EU Election Follow-up Mission to Nigeria.

Bauchi Police Arrest 1,460 Suspects, Rescue 55 Kidnapped Victims Segun Awofadeji inBauchi Bauchi State Police Command has arrested 1,460 suspects in connection with various crimes committed within and outside the state from November 2021 to date.

The Commissioner for Police, Umar Mamman Sanda, who resumed duty on November 29, 2021, disclosed this yesterday

during the launch of the Police Public Complaints Committee (PPCC) sensitisation campaigns for the North-east sub-region held at Command Guest Inn, Bauchi.

Sanda said since his assumption of duty as the 43rd Commissioner of Police, the Command has recorded 722 cases and rescued 55 kidnapped victims from their captors.

According to Sanda, exhibits

recovered from the kidnappers within the period under review include five AK-47 rifles, 145 live ammunition, 20 local revolvermade guns, 10 dane guns, 20 cartridges and 45 machetes.

Other exhibits recovered include one AK-47 rifle, two assault rifles, eight live ammunition, one pistol revolver with five rounds of ammunition and one locally made pistol revolver.

The Command also recovered 13 dane guns, nine fabricated revolvers, one single barrel, one double barrel, three cartridges,14 motorcycles, five laptops,10 Keke NAPEP, 81blocks of Cannabis and 101 different handsets.

He disclosed that the command under his watch has recovered N7.2 million from suspects in the period under review.

SURCON Threatens to File Contempt Charge against Lagos Surveyor General Wale Igbintade Surveyors Council of Nigeria (SURCON) has warned that it may file contempt charge against Lagos State Surveyor General, over his failure to respect court judgement, which nullified Section 5 of the State Survey Practice Law, and granted registered surveyors to practice the profession in any part of the

state without any hindrance.

Addressing a press conference yesterday in Lagos, Surveyor Adaranijo Rafiu stated that a subsisting order of the court must be obeyed by all, no matter how lowly or highly placed in the society.

He called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lagos State, to

call on the state Surveyor General to obey the court order and stop controlling survey practice in the state.

According to him, Section 19 of the SURCON Act, gave SURCON exclusive authority to direct activities of all qualified surveyors in the country.

He said, “The purpose of this press briefing is to inform the general populace and

fellow surveyors all over the country about the judgment delivered by Honourable Justice Daniel Emeka Osiagor of the Federal High Court, Lagos on August 2, 2022, which states that SURCON is the only statutory body that is legally empowered to regulate and control to control the activities of survey practice in any part of Nigeria, especially Lagos State.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2022 • T H I S D AY

9

10

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

NEWS Gov Makinde to Chair PDP Governors’ Forum, Tambuwal Heads Party’s Presidential Campaign Chuks Okocha in Abuja

SPREADING SUCCOUR… L-R: Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State (left) with three physically-challenged persons (right) he identified and empowered with huge amounts of money when members of Peace Ambassadors and Mmagha Support Group for Gburugburu 2023 paid him solidarity visits and declared their support for his senatorial bid, that of the PDP governorship candidate, Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah and other PDP candidates, at the Government House, Enugu, yesterday.

Kidnappers of A’Ibom School Principal Demand N50m, As Police Recover His Stolen SUV Okon Bassey in Uyo

Kidnappers of the Principal General of Madonna Community Secondary School (MCSS), in Oruk Anam Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Monday Ekoriko, have demanded the sum of N50 million before his release.

The abductors that established contact with the family threatened that the victim risked being killed if the demand was not met within the stipulated time frame.

Family source said Ekoriko

was abducted by unknown gunmen at his country home, Udianga Enem Village in Etim Ekpo LGA, last Saturday, while going to attend a church service at the United Evangelical Church (UEC), which he personally built in the community.

The eldest son of the victim, Menyene, said yesterday that the hoodlums called him demanding the family to hurriedly pay N50 million before the victim is released.

“The discussion was so brief and sharp with threat that some people have paid for my father to be killed, that

only a higher amount would save him,” Menyene said, adding that his father’s Lexus SUV the kidnappers used in whisking him away, had been recovered abandoned at the Ekparakwa axis of Oruk Anam LGA. The Youths’ Leader of the community, Comrade Udeme John, described the incident as sad and enjoined the police and other security agencies to LQWHQVLI\ WKHLU HͿRUWV ZLWK D view to rescuing the teacher alive and unharmed.

The Police Public Relations 2΀FHU 3352 0U 2GLNR Macdon, a Superintendent

RI 3ROLFH 63 FRQÀUPHG the incident.

He said the teacher’s SUV has been recovered, assuring that “operatives of the Command are closing in on the criminal elements. ´:H FDQ FRQÀUP WKH UHFRYery of the car, the police have nothing to do with ransom, but I can assure you that very soon the hoodlums will be apprehended and brought to justice because the Commissioner of Police (CP) Olatoye Durosinmi, who is personally directing the operation has zero tolerance for crimes,” he stated.

Igbo-Etiti LG Chairman Leads Youths to Ugwuanyi The Chairman of Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area, Hon. Ikenna Nwodo, led the youths of the Council, under the umbrella of ‘Peace Ambassadors” to declared their unanimous support for Gov. Ugwuanyi’s senatorial bid and that of the governorship candidate of the PDP, Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah and other candidates of the party, declaring that “the sins of the fathers, the mistakes of those before us can never

befall us”.

Hon. Nwodo, a leader of the PDP in Igbo-Etiti LGA, explained that the group’s phiORVRSK\ UHÁHFWV WKH SULQFLSOHV of party supremacy, peace and togetherness, stressing: “We are standing together as youths and writing our own future.

We are standing together on a platform of peace, a platform of progress, a platform of prosperity.

“We are telling you (Ug-

wuanyi) that all Igbo-Etiti youths are solidly behind you to represent Enugu North Senatorial District in the Senate in 2023, our incoming Governor by the special grace of God, Mr. Peter Mbah, and from Hon. Ezenta Ezeani (PDP House of Assembly candidate) to Rt. Hon. Dr. Martins Oke (PDP House Representatives candidate).

The Council Chairman appreciated the Director General

of Peace Ambassadors, Hon. Martins Ugwuamadieze, for his immense support and grassroots mobilization and charged huge members of the group to remain focused and committed to the tasks ahead, saying: “It is operation deliver your polling units. We are here not only to support our leader, support all other PDP candidates for the coming elections, it is operation deliver your polling units.”

Medical, Dental Consultants Identify Factors Nigeria Must Promote Capabilities for Ease of Doing Business, Says Oyelaran-Oyeyinka Hampering Good Healthcare Delivery Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

meeting with theme: ‘Needed Entrepreneurial Skills In The President, Medical and Medical Practice In Nigeria Dental Consultants Associa- To Reverse Brain Drain And tion of Nigeria (MDCAN), Outward Medical Tourism Dr. Victor Makanjuola, yes- To Brain Gain’, Makanjuola WHUGD\ LGHQWLÀHG WKH P\ULDGV VDLG WKH PHHWLQJ ZLOO SURͿHU of challenges bedeviling the pragmatic solutions to the health sector to inappropriate YDULRXV FKDOOHQJHV DͿHFWLQJ remuneration for members, the nation’s health sector. worsening brain drain, The medical expert asinadequate infrastructure in sured that meeting will hospitals, as well as generally also provide its members unsatisfactory conditions of opportunity to brainstorm on strategies and policies service.

Speaking in Benin city, the towards sustainable growth, and Edo State capital, during entrepreneurship, the MDCAN 2022 National general development of Executive Council (NEC) the association.

Funmi Ogundare The Senior Special Adviser on Industrialisation to the President, African Development Bank (AfDB), Prof. Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, yesterday, called for the strategic promotion of industrial technological capabilities for manufactured exports as well as investments in infrastructure and institutions that will foster ease of doing business in the country.

Oyelaran-Oyeyinka made this known in a lecture titled,’From Consumption to Production: The Role of Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones’, which he delivered during a webinar at

the assembly of Fellows for the Nigerian Academy of Engineering (NAEng).

He expressed concern about the widening wealth gap in technology and scientific knowledge between developed production nations and a poor consumption nation like Nigeria, saying that the country has failed to produce and sell such to others.

“If crude oil was the basis of wealth, Nigeria would not be too far down the prosperity ladder, yet, we are sadly among the poorest on earth. Rich nations on the one hand have a long history of producing, learning from their mistakes and selling to consumption nations.

To ensure peace within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State will now chair the PDP Governors’ Forum.

In the same manner, the former chairman of the Forum Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State will now head the PDP Presidential Campaign.

These are some of the major decisions taken yesterday by the National Executive Committee (NEC) and the National caucus of the party in the two meetings held Wednesday and Thursday this week.

Tambuwal will operate in his new capacity as the Director General of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council.

A source close to the Sokoto State governor said that “the

chairman of the PDP Governors Forum is expected to resign as chairman next week and assume a major role in the campaign council.”

National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba who read the communiqué of the NEC meeting, said that the NEC approved the organogram and the structures of the Presidential Campaign Council.

Ologunagba, who gave insight into the communiqué said, “NEC DSSURYHG D XQLÀHG FDPSDLJQ structures across the country for the PDP for the 2023 general elections which will focus more on the grass roots.

“NEC approved the proposed Structure and Organogram of the National Campaign Council as well as the National Campaign Management Council for the 2023 general elections.

Sanwo-Olu Charges Newly Appointed Perm Secs on Improved Service Delivery John Omo-Izirein Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said the need to VFDOH XS H΀FLHQF\ DQG UHSRVLWLRQ the wheel of governance for improved service delivery led to his approval of the appointment of 11 new Permanent Secretaries in the Lagos State civil service.

The newly appointed Permanent Secretaries took the oath yesterday at a ceremony held at Banquet Hall in the State House, Alausa, and presided over by the governor. The swearing-in followed weeks of rigorous screenings of 54 candidates shortlisted for the positions.

Besides, the governor DSSRLQWHG D ÀYH PHPEHU Standing Tribunal of Enquiry on Chieftaincy Matters led by retired Justice O. A Dabiri, just as he reassigned some serving Permanent Secretaries for improvement in their discharge of duties.

Sanwo-Olu said the 11 ap-

pointees were picked from a SRRO RI HOLJLEOH SXEOLF R΀FHUV interviewed based on their “exceptional” performance and track record in their respective areas of duty across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

The governor stressed that the selection process was competitive, thorough and fair to the candidates, noting that all the shortlisted persons were given equal opportunity to showcase their competence and their capacity.

He said: “The role of Permanent Secretary is fundamental to the success of every government.

This administration appreciates the contribution Permanent Secretaries are playing to reach our goals and pleasant achievements we have recorded so far.

I am delighted to congratulate this class of public servants for their numerous contributions made in their MDAs and in the state to have merited this opportunity.

FUDMA Wins N32m South African Research Grant Francis Sardauna in Katsina The Federal University Dutsinma (FUDMA) in Katsina State has won a N32 million research grant from the National Research Foundation (NRF), Pretoria in South Africa.

The university’s Director of Research and Development, Dr. Muhammad Ghazali Garba, in a statement issued yesterday by the Public Relations Officer of the institution, Habibu Umar Aminu, said the funds would be judiciously utilised for the purpose it was meant for.

The statement read: “The funds shall be used for Transdisciplinary Research for Pathways to Sustainability Collaborative Research Action.

“NRF is an agency of South African Government created to contribute to national development by supporting, promoting and advancing research and human capacity development through funding and the provision of necessary research infrastructure, in order to facilitate the creation

of knowledge, innovation and development in all fields off science and technology, including humanities, social sciences and indigenous knowledge.

“Its vision is to identify and initiate pertinent and strategic partnerships with role-players within and beyond the national system of Innovation to respond to national priorities and international agendas to benefit society and ensure a better life for all.”

The statement added that the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Armaya’u Hamisu Bichi, while lauding the university community for the feat, assured of his determination to continue to strengthen the institution to attract more grants that will enhance the capacity of staff and students on research.

According to the statement, the Vice Chancellor commended the university’s directorate of Research and Development for not only securing the grant but putting the name of the university in a global perspective which is in line with its vision and mission.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2022 • T H I S D AY

11

12

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2022 • T H I S D AY

13

SEPTEMBER 10, 2022 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

INSIGHT

One too many...

A Queen and the Wounds of History

Happy Birthday, Callista Azogu

D

eath, man`s ultimate end, has in its power the ability to drag men hither and thither, even to those places n an atmosphere of conviviality, camaraderie and love, family, friends, they would rather not go. colleagues and teeming admirers turned out in their numbers to In many ways, the finality of death lays bare celebrate a trailblazer and an Amazon, Mrs Callista Azogu. man`s greatest fears and his most grievous foibles. What The celebration started with a well- attended Mass at the Holy makes death even more excruciating is the fact that unlike Trinity Catholic Church, Maitama, Abuja with six Reverend Fathers birth which comes amidst limited awareness, death often to mark the 60th birthday and retirement of Mrs. Azogu, from oil wields clarity and consciousness like a club. The whole being giant, AGIP. In the homily by the Reverend Father in honour of the is open to what transpires. chief celebrant, glowing tributes were paid to Nigeria’s first woman On Thursday September 8, 2022, the British Monarch to attain the position of General Manager, Human Resource and Queen Elizabeth II who had been on the throne for all of 70 Organization, at Agip. At the reception that followed immediately at years breathed her last at the ripe old age of 96. Across the the Event Center of the Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Maitama, Abuja, world, many people were immediately plunged into grief. more personalities joyfully thronged the venue to mark this epochal Understandably, the grief was rawest for some members event. Colleagues, family and friends saluted her administrative of the royal family and some citizens of commonwealth sagacity, economic viscosity, intellectual firepower, infectious humility, countries which were countries colonized by Britain. and bounteous business acumen and of course her fear of God For Britons, there is quite anything unlike their monarchy.

Almighty signposted by her unbridled love and undiluted kindness to It is at once a symbol of the royalty Britons feel and a sentinel both family and friends. of the superiority they feel towards other people.

Her Unique selling points which everyone spoke about included However, for all its glitz and glamour, and even for its curthe fact that she is inextricably linked to her work and inexorably rent status as a favourite destination for migrants, it remains connected to her family, especially her children and grandchildren. a country whose colonial legacy is an especially odious one.

Most of her colleagues, especially the Italians, Europeans, and other Many of the countries colonized by Britain remember its nationalities came in their numbers to celebrate a beautiful woman.

Nigerians and foreigners alike especially her family and most especially her youngest daughter sang a duet with her mother and a heart-tugging, awe-inspiring and spirit-lifting special rendition T H E SAT U R DAY N E W S PA P E R EDITOR YEMI ADEBOWALE which got some of the guests teary-eyed. The solo DEPUTY EDITOR AHAMEFULA OGBU artist and the musical band that performed at this MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO August celebration were truly marvellous and a DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU delight for all the guests.

CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN Mrs. Callista Azogu, in her vote of thanks extolled MANAGING EDITOR BOLAJI ADEBIYI the virtues of a disciplined, honest, and committed THE OMBUDSMAN KAYODE KOMOLAFE relationships in both office and the home front. She is of the view that when you selflessly serve God Almighty and humanity the bountiful harvests of everlasting joy will always be present. Mrs. Azogu T H I S DAY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D enjoined her colleagues to always perform optimally EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA in any assignment they are given and that in retireGROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, ment she will forever offer support in any form to ISRAEL IWEGBU, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU, EMMANUEL EFENI Agip if needed.

DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS SHAKA MOMODU, PETER IWEGBU, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI The Reverend Fathers present ended with excelSNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH lent prayers for the celebrant, wishing her retirement ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR PATRICK EIMIUHI in pristine peace of mind laden with excellent CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI health, boundless energy and continued Service to DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO God Almighty and humanity.

TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com Willy Sohwo, Abuja

I

chilling actions in those heady days of colonialism. Those days explain what remains a cold relationship even to this day. Britain`s colonial legacy explains the animosity and ambivalence many feel toward the country and by extension its monarchy which embodies all it is in many ways. It explains the indifferent reaction of many to the Queen`s death.

Immediately news filtered out that the Queen was in her final moments, Uju Anya, a professor at a university in the United States reached for her verbal rapiers and rustled to the microblogging site Twitter. In tweet after tweet she did not hold back but let loose a cannon of long-held resentment at the Queen. She also wove into her tweets memories of the Nigerian Civil War which was by far the darkest moment in Nigeria`s history.

Ms Anya`s tweets have generated considerable backlash and the wisdom of some of the words she wove into her tweets remain debatable. However, what is clear is that among many Africans who were colonized, colonialism`s biggest legacy remains one of biting bitterness.

It also remains one of deep-seated resentment. It does not help that in spite of decades-long independence by some of those former colonies, they are still racked by crises, many of which are put down to the creaky foundations laid for the countries by their colonial masters or the absence of those foundations at all.

A lot has happened in the history of the world that brutally laid bare just how twisted some people can be, and how brutally they broke others because they were themselves irreparably broken.

Colonialism was a painful scar on the conscience of humanity. Its odious legacy lingers still. It will linger for as long as its effects abound in those countries, many of them African, who were hopelessly and helplessly forced into its crushing claws.

As a new era begins in Britain, perhaps, the country may elongate the pause which it must now take to ponder on its actions in those countries where it once played the role of colonial master and lingering effects of its actions even till this day.

In many ways, it must reserve special scrutiny for the many atrocities it committed or commissioned in those difficult days.

Kene Obiezu, Twitter: @keneobiezu

14

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

NEWS

FG Inaugurates N274m TETFUND Projects in FCE Obudu John Omo-Izirein

the institution for the judicious XVH RI UHVRXUFHV DV H[HPSOLÀHG The federal government in the timely completion of the through the Tertiary Education projects.

Jedy-Agba, who said that Trust Fund (TETFUND) has inaugurated projects worth aside from giving face-lift to over N274,000 000 at the the institution, the projects will Federal College of Education enhance teaching and learning DPRQJVW VWDͿ DQG VWXGHQWV (FCE), Obudu.

The projects include a Sci- urged the institution to maintain ence Complex comprising six the projects appropriately to laboratories, one auditorium, 29 inspire the government to do R΀FHV D J\P KDOO DV ZHOO DV D more.

The minister said that the feat storey building comprising four FODVVURRP EORFNV DQG R΀FHV was a testament to the commitInaugurating the projects lo- ment of President Muhammadu cated at the main campus of the Buhari’s administration to college yesterday, the Minister of improve infrastructural developState, Power, Goddy Jedy-Agba, ment in tertiary institutions in commended the management of the country.

According to him, “the President is very happy with these projects that’s why he sent me to personally come down to commission and hand them over to the college. As I go back, I’ll report to the President that the funds have been properly utilised, and I’ll also pass the message that the school needs more investment in its internal roads. For power, I’ve heard the request.”

While delivering his goodwill message, Cross River State Governor, Senator Ben Ayade, commended TETFUND for the projects as well as all the interventions done in the states owned institutions.

Ayade, who was represented by the State Commissioner of Education, Dr. Godwin Amanke, said that “the framers of the TETFUND laws should be commended because they have brought so much development to public tertiary institutions in the country. We commend TETFUND for these projects and all the ones executed in our state owned institutions. We encourage them to continue to do more.”

Executive Secretary of TETFUND, Arch. Sonny Echono on his part, said that the projects were executed through the 2015/2018 merged normal intervention funds.

Gov Fayemi Elected President Forum of Regions/States of Africa Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, yesterday, was elected as the President of the Forum of Regions/ 6WDWHV RI $IULFD LQ WKH ÀUVW meeting of the body in Saïdia, Kingdom of Morocco.

Governor Fayemi (Nigeria) represents West Africa, Vice President - Central Africa (Cameroon), Mr. Oumarou Ousmanou - Governor of

Northern Region of Cameroon.

Vice President - East Africa - Prof. Peter Anyang Nyongo - Governor, Kisumu County, Kenya, Vice President - North Africa - Mme Bouida Mbarka - President, Morrocan Council of Regions and Vice President, Southern Africa David Makhura - Premier, Gauteng Province.

Masari: I’m Bitter Katsina Varsity Lecturers Joined ASUU Strike Francis Sardauna in Katsina

The Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, has expressed dismay that lecturers of the state-owned Umaru Musa Yar’Adua University (UMYU) joined the prolonged industrial DFWLRQ E\ WKH $FDGHPLF 6WDͿ Union of Universities (ASUU).

The governor said his administration was adequately funding the university, with prompt payment of lecturers’ salaries as well as providing infrastructure and the enabling environment for academic activities to thrive in the institution.

Masari, who spoke while addressing former members of the state House of Assembly at the Government House, said he was

bitter that the lecturers joined the strike despite the governPHQW·V HͿRUWV RI UHYDPSLQJ DQG sustaining the varsity.

He said some state governments have stopped paying the striking lecturers and were threatening to sack them but his administration is paying them every month in spite of the meager resources accrued to the state.

The governor noted that the government had also implemented the federal government’s approved minimum wage for the lecturers and other workers on the payroll of the state government but wondered why they decided to join the strike.

Majeurs Academy Sets out to Address Talents Capability, Value Challenges in Africa’s Furniture Industry BREAKING NEW RECORDS… L-R: Kennedy Mbele, Dr. Stanley Dikedi, Medical Director, S.E Medical Clinics, Lagos, Nigeria Country Head, Max Group of Hospitals, Saravanan Arimuthu, Senior Lecturer/Consultant Gastroenterologist, Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Ogun State, Dr. Adeleye Olufunke and the group’s Assistant Marketing/Sales Manager in Nigeria, Oluseyi Emmanuel, at the unveiling of Liver Transplant by Max Group of Hospitals, at Hotel Continental, Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island...recently

Buhari Flaunts Growth of Nigeria’s Economy Despite Disruptions in Global Economy, Internal Troubles Deji Elumoye in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari has declared that Nigeria’s economy has continued to be resilient and recording an upward growth despite the disruptions in global economy and internal troubles.

Speaking yesterday at the State House, Abuja, while inaugurating the Presidential Committee on the National Economy headed by him, the President emphasised that “our economy continues to grow despite the adverse effects of

rising interest rates, a stronger US dollar and higher inflation across the world.”

He stressed that the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the loss of substantial volumes of oil have had negative impacts on the Nigerian economy.

His words: “Starting with COVID-19 and now the conflict in Ukraine, the past three years have been turbulent ones for the global economy. Global interdependence has become more apparent as we have had to deal with volatility, uncertainty,

complexity, and ambiguity.

“In this period, challenges faced by the world have been many including: (i) lockdowns as COVID-19 raged; (ii) disruptions to supply chains around the world; and (iii) sharp fluctuations in prices.

“Just as the world was beginning to recover from the Coronavirus, the conflict in the Black Sea region between Ukraine and Russia worsened the challenges already being faced and created additional problems to which policy makers are having to respond.

President Buhari noted, however, that some of the problems could be addressed internally, making the constitution of the seasoned economic experts expedient.

According to him, “It is however important to note that some of the issues we must address are peculiar to us.

For example, the decline in our production of crude oil. It is estimated that last month, August 2022, we produced less than 1mn barrels. The fall in production is essentially due to economic sabotage.

Urban Stakeholders Support Emenike, Say He Possesses Competence, Credibility to Become Abia Governor Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

Stakeholders of Umuahia Urban Constituency have thrown their weight behind the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Ikechi Emenike, in his quest to rescue and develop Abia by winning the governorship seat in 2023.

The stakeholders expressed their stance during a reception held for Emenike at Afaraukwu, which attracted notable personalities and groups from the

constituency at the heart of the capital city.

Various speakers at the occasion lamented the poor state of Umuahia, saying that they see Emenike as the only person in the race for Government House who has genuine plans to give WKH $ELD FDSLWDO D ÀWWLQJ IDFH OLIW Expressing the minds of the stakeholders, Dr. Chuks Ukaegbu, director of Ijere Campaign Organisation, said that “we have made our choice that Emenike will lead us to take power from looters in Government House so that Abia would experience

real development.”

The APC candidate for Urban constituency, Kenneth Adighibe, fondly known as Ijere, regretted that Umuahia as the capital of Abia State has been underdeveloped by both the current and previous administrations.

“We hope that when High Chief Emenike becomes governor in 2023 he will bring joy to the residents of Umuahia, who have continued to endure absence of the necessary infrastructural facilities obtainable in a capital city,” he said.

In his address, the Chairman of Umuahia Township Old Boys Association, Mr. Godwin Nwosu, stated that no politician would be allowed to use political party to deceive Umuahia residents again, saying that Emenike’s credibility and strong personality has endeared him to the people.

He revealed that his organisation had since 1999 supported the governorship candidates presented by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) only to be disappointed as none of them have cared about Umuahia’s stunted growth.

Innovative training institute, Majeurs Academy, has launched with the mission WR FUHDWH VLJQLÀFDQW VKLIW DQG improvement in how value is created in Africa’s furniture manufacturing industry.

The institute intends to attain this mission by careful selection, training and grooming of young furniture manufacturing enthusiasts and talents across the African continent.

Africa’s furniture manufacturing industry has been plagued with enduring challenges such as unprofessional work attitude, low levels of relevant competence and skills, poor customer experience, disinterest in furniture manufacturing all contributing to substandard products, unsatisfactory consumer experience that threatens the economic prospects of the $282 Billion industry.

Understanding these unwholesome realities and best industry practices, Majeurs Academy has partnered with best in-class facilitators, industry experts, and government bodies to design revolutionary training programmes in furniture making that is structured to integrate character, theory, and practice.

Students of the academy will go through programmes that prepare them for real-life work situations through the Student’s Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES), and our “inTECHgrated” learning approaches that also ensure students are future-focused DQG WHFKQRORJLFDOO\ SURÀFLHQW to compete in a global market.

In line with its commitment to education and capacity development, Majeurs Academy Innovative Training Institute is authorized to award Professional

Diploma (P.Dip) and Advanced Professional Diploma (AP.Dip) in Furniture manufacturing within 3-5 years. This includes students’ exposure to thriving furniture industry across the continent through work placements and internships.

15

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2022 • T H I S D AY, T H E S AT U R D AY N E W S PA P E R

TRIBUTE

Queen Elizabeth with Some Past and Present Nigeria Leaders

Queen Elizabeth II greets President Muhammadu Buhari at Buckingham Palace in London, during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2018

Queen Elizabeth II receiving Nigeria’s former President, Late Umaru Yar'Adua at Buckingham Palace, London, during an official visit by the late president in 2008

Queen Elizabeth II and Nigeria’s former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo at the Millennium Park, Abuja, where she planted a tree in 2003

Queen Elizabeth II, former Commonwealth Secretary General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku and some Nigerian officials at Marlborough House in London for a Commonwealth Reception for the then retiring Anyaoku in 2000

Queen Elizabeth and former Nigeria's Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, travelling by horse carriage from Victoria Station to Buckingham Palace after Babangida’s arrival in London for a four-day state visit in 1989

February 3, 1956 – Queen Elizabeth II tour the model village at Children's rally held on the Kaduna Racecourse with Minister of Education, Makaman Bida (left), pointing out various wooden figures to her Majesty while on the right, is the Prime Minster of the Northern Region, Sardauna of Sokoto, during the Royal visit to Nigeria

Jun. 06, 1973 - General Gowon The Nigerian Head Of State Arrives In Britain For A State Visit: Photo Shows Queen Elizabeth II rides with General in a horse drawn carriage, during the State procession to the Buckingham Palace, following the arrival of General Gown and his wife for a State visit to Britain.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

16

FAIRGROUND with

AZUKA OGUJIUBA

azuka.ogujiuba@thisdaylive.com

Tessy Igomu, Punch

L-R: Moturayo Alaka; Adedoja Allen; Toun Okewale Sonaiya; Beatrice Eyong; Azuka Ogujiuba; and Uche Pedro

Dialogue on GenderResponsive Reporting Ben Ezeamalu, Premium Times

Lady Gwen Oshoniyi

L-R: Gbenga Adefaye, Vanguard; Dr Suleiman Suleiman, Daily Trust

M

edia executives have committed to giving Nigerian women more visibility in order to increase their participation and representation in leadership positions. This commitment was made on September 1 in Lagos during a National dialogue on Gender Responsive Reporting.

The executives analysed the gender inequality gaps and underscored the need for a balanced media representation of women.

Recognising the important role of the media as gatekeepers in democracy and critical stakeholder in sustaining Nigeria's growth and development, UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms. Beatrice Eyong urged the media executives and editors to ensure women journalists are given similar opportunities as their male colleagues.

Eyong further charged the media to “Champion women’s rights and gender equality issues through editorial articles, features, and news coverage; and adopt a gender-sensitive Code of Conduct on Reporting.”

She emphasised the need to include women in decision-making processes in Nigeria to achieve Sustainable Development Goals.

A female media executive, Toun OkewaleSonaiya appealed to her colleagues to consider a 50:50 approach to the number of guests, analysts, commentators, speakers with an ultimate aim of a 50:50 representation of women and men at news gathering and reporting stages.

She called for primetime positions for women on television, radio and front pages in newspapers and magazines.

Okewal-Sonaiya also called on the PHGLD WR LQWHUYLHZ SURÀOH DQG IHDWXUH female candidates for the 2023 elections on primetime and front pages like their male counterparts.

Speaking on the Trends and Issues in Media Coverage of Women at Elections, Lanre Arogundade of the International Press Centre, noted that the voices of women and other marginalised stakeholders should EH DGHTXDWHO\ UHÁHFWHG DQG DFFRUGHG DV much visibility and prominence as equal stakeholders in the society: ”Women can only unleash their potentials and contribute to politics, electoral process and governance when their voices are

L-R: Mahmood Halihu, Mni, NAS FM; Beatrice Eyong, UN Women NG; Toun Okewale Sonaiya, Women Radio 91.7; Adedoja Allen, City FM; and Imoni Amarere, AIT

heard and not subjugated in the media.”

The media executives agreed to meet quarterly to review their commitments in giving prominence to women's stories while reporting women as equal stakeholders in Nigeria.

On the sideline of the National Agenda was a 2-day training for political reporters on Gender Sensitive Reporting. Resource persons were Motunrayo Alaka, Executive Director, Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism, who presented the “RUSH” model (Report Until Something Happens) to underscore the need for journalists to follow up on gender-based stories until justice is served.

Dr. Oluseyi Soremekun, National InforPDWLRQ 2΀FHU 8QLWHG 1DWLRQV ,QIRUPDWLRQ Centre (UNIC), drew participants’ attention to unconscious gender bias and charged the journalists to avoid stereotypical comments and generalizations in their reports.

Ene Ede, Gender and Media Strategist urged reporters to intentionally amplify the voices of women in a male-dominated Nigeria to balance the reports.

The National Media Dialogue was organised by UN Women in collaboration with Women Radio, and support from the Canadian government.

Olabisi Deji-Folutile

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

17

Ferdinand Ekechukwu 08035011394 Email: ferdi_adthisday@yahoo.com

SHOWBIZFLAIR

Charles Okpaleke Remakes Shina Rambo Ferdinand Ekechukwu

S

ince the exceptional remake of Nollywood classic “Living in Bondage,” directed by Ramsey Nouah, businessman Charles Okpaleke has won the hearts of Nollywood fans. He won even more hearts as he went about remaking more Nollywood classics like “Rattlesnake: The Ahanna Story”, “Nneka The Pretty Serpent” and “Glamour Girls”.

Though, opinion on these remakes varies, Okpaleke has commenced work on his forthcoming movie on Shina Rambo, a legendary Nigerian armed robber. The biopic will be directed by Ramsey Nouah.

1RXDK SRVWHG WKH ÀUVW ORRN WHDVHU RQ KLV R΀FLDO ,QVWDJUDP SDJH ZLWK WKH FDSWLRQ “Nobody can tell our stories better than we do. Shina Rambo in the making.” ,Q WKH WHDVHU WKH IDPHG 6KLQD 5DPER WDONHG about making a deal with the devil and one of his robberies on the third mainland EULGJH ´, DP 3DVWRU 2OXZDQLÀVH 0DWWKHZ $NRNR IRUPHUO\ NQRZQ DV 6KLQD 5DPER , made a covenant with the devil,” the former kingpin revealed in the teaser.

Shina Rambo who is from Ogun state is well known for his story as a former bandit and armed robbery kingpin whose name sent shivers down the spines of people in some parts of Nigeria, and in places like Benin Republic DQG QHLJKERXUKRRG LQ WKH V He turned a new leaf and became a pastor after serving jail time for his crimes. The Executive Producer and CEO/Co-founder of Play Network 6WXGLRV 2NSDOHNH ÀUVW DQQRXQFHG WKH ELRSLF LQ +H GLG VR YLD DQ ,QVWDJUDP SRVW WKDW FRQÀUPHG WKH company had acquired the intellectual property rights after a long conversation with the former bandit and that steps were on to make it into an action-packed IHDWXUH ÀOP The producer shared a photo with ZULWLQJV DQG FDSWLRQHG LW ´,·P LQ WKLV industry to tell our Nigerian stories (and we have a lot of them). ´,·P QRW SHUIHFW EXW , VWULYH WR EH DQG DV D QHZ ÀOP PDNHU GRQ·W H[SHFW instant perfection. But expect one thing ´,·P KHUH WR VWD\µ DQG ,·OO JHW EHWWHU DW LW This is just the beginning guys! We are fearless! We move!! @playnetworkstudios.

0RYLH 7LWOH 6KLQD 5DPERµ

Okpaleke

Netflix Scholarship for Creatives ZEE World’s Dance Naija Dance in West, Central Africa Premieres on DStv, GOtv Ferdinand Ekechukwu

G

lobal streaming SODWIRUP 1HWÁL[ has announced the H[WHQVLRQ RI LWV 1HWÁL[ Creative Equity Scholarship Fund (CESF) WR ÀOP DQG WHOHYLVLRQ students in the West and Central Africa region. The Fund, which was launched LQ DQG ZLOO EH GLVWULEXWHG WR YDULRXV LQLWLDWLYHV RYHU WKH QH[W ÀYH \HDUV ZLWK the goal of building a strong, diverse pipeline of creatives around the world, includes a US$1 million scholarship fund for students from Sub-Saharan Africa.

The scholarship fund will be available to students who have obtained admission WR VWXG\ LQ YDULRXV ÀOP 79 IRFXVHG GLVFLSOLQHV IRU WKH DFDGHPLF \HDU at the following partner institutions: ,QVWLWXW 3KLOLSSH 0DXU\ GH O·DXGLRVXHO HW GX &LQHLP *DERQ ,QVWLWXW 6XSHULHXU GHV 0HWLHUV GH O·$XGLRYLVXHO %HQLQ 1DWLRQDO )LOP DQG 7HOHYLVLRQ ,QVWLWXWH *KDQD 1DWLRQDO )LOP ,QVWLWXWH -RV 1LJHULD

and Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria.

Announcements were made at instituWLRQV LQ %XUNLQD )DVR %pQLQ &DSH 9HUGH &{WH '·,YRLUH *DPELD *KDQD *XLQHD /LEHULD *XLQHD %LVVDX 0DOL 0DXULWDQLD Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.

The scholarship fund will cover tuition, housing, study materials, and living expenses at selected partner schools in 1LJHULD ZKHUH EHQHÀFLDULHV KDYH EHHQ accepted to pursue a programme of study LQ WKH WHOHYLVLRQ DQG ÀOP GLVFLSOLQHV LQ WKH DFDGHPLF \HDU 7KH 1HWÁL[ &(6) LV VHW WR ODXQFK DFURVV the region in the academic year beginning LQ DQG 1HWÁL[ ZLOO SDUWQHU ZLWK Dalberg as an implementation partner and fund administrator in the West and Central Africa region.

7KH 1HWÁL[ &(6) LV LQWHQGHG WR SURYLGH ÀQDQFLDO DLG LQ WKH IRUP RI IXOO VFKRODUVKLSV at partner higher educational institutions in Nigeria, Benin, Ghana and Gabon to help ambitious creatives from West and &HQWUDO $IULFDQ FRXQWULHV REWDLQ R΀FLDO TXDOLÀFDWLRQV DQG WUDLQLQJ

D

ance Naija Dance, a show coined from the fusion RI 1LJHULDQ DQG ,QGLDQ cultures, has premiered on Zee World.

7KH =HH :RUOG·V UHDOity dance competition, aims to reveal the best dance crew in Nigeria.

7KH VKRZ LV WKH ÀUVW RULJLQDO LQGLJHQRXV content of Zee World in Nigeria. ,W LV SUHVHQWHG E\ D EOHQG RI 1ROO\ZRRG and Bollywood personalities and dancers.

These include the Hosts - Hero Daniels DQG 3HOXPL %XDUL &KRUHRJUDSKHUV 0HQtors - Sashin Kandhai and Kenneth Agabata; Kunle Remi and Uraysha Ramrachia will be the judges.

7KH UHDOLW\ VKRZ ZLOO UXQ IRU ZHHNV every Saturday and Sunday at 7 pm on =HH :RUOG '6WY FKDQQHO DQG *2WY FKDQQHO :LQQHUV ZLOO UHFHLYH D FDVK SUL]H RI 1 million and hampers from all sponsoring EUDQGV 7KH ZLQQLQJ JURXS JHWV 1 PLOOLRQ WKH UXQQHUV XS JHW 1 PLOOLRQ DQG WKH solo winner receives N1million. $W WKH VKRZ·V XQYHLOLQJ =(( $IULFD &(2

$IULFD ,QGLDQ 2FHDQ ,VODQGV 6RPQDWK 0DODNDU VDLG ´,W LV RXU ZD\ RI JLYLQJ EDFN to our vast Nigerian community that loves Zee World. Nigerians love to dance to music, they love Bollywood, and we feel that if we can make a fusion of that, it will be well embraced. As the biggest market in Africa for Zee, we owe it to our Nigerian fans to always dish out what brings them happiness.”

0DODNDU IXUWKHU VWDWHG ´7KLV IXVLRQ RI ERWK cultures in entertainment will further expose Nigerian acts to a global community of over one billion people that enjoy Bollywood.

Zee just started local production in Africa, so all the faces that we see today in Nigeria and in countries in Sub-Sahara Africa will EH VHHQ LQ ,QGLD RU LQWHUQDWLRQDO SURGXFWLRQV because we will take them to more than FRXQWULHV LQ WKH ZRUOG µ Dance Naija Dance Presenter Hero Daniels said, “One unique thing about the dance VKRZ LV WKDW LW·V QRW IRU WKH IXQ RI LW LW is a tool to address certain societal issues, which the dancers must interpret the theme for each episode and pass the message via entertaining dance steps to the viewers.

Nigerian Screenwriter, 3 Others for Training in S’Africa, Switzerland

F

our creative young African screenwriters from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa have been selected for the AuthenticA Series Lab, SUHVHQWHG E\ WKH 5HDOQHVV ,Qstitute in partnership with The Storyboard Collective, a Swiss philanthrophic organisation dedicated to the development of authentic and transformative stories, and 6HULHV 0DQLD 7KH ODE LV VHW WR FRPPHQFH at the end of September.

Realness Executive Director, Elias Ribeiro said: “After a rigorous selection process in which screenwriters had to submit their original story ideas for an episodic series, the four participants announced are Angela Wamai (Kenya); Chantel Clark (South Africa); Jessica Hagan (Ghana) and Tony Sebastian Ukpo (Nigeria). They will undergo a six-month television series lab to develop their stories, under the mentorship of story expert, Selina 8NZXRPD DQG &UHDWLYH 3URGXFHU 0HKUHW 0DQGHIUR “The four selected participants all have a range of ideas and approaches to their

episodic series, which will make for a creatively dynamic lab.”

The programme, designed by Ribeiro, also RͿHUV RSSRUWXQLWLHV WR HQJDJH ZLWK D KRVW of industry experts. .HQ\DQ $QJHOD :DPDL VWXGLHG ÀOP LQ +DYDQD &XED DQG ZRUNV DV D ÀOP HGLWRU in Nairobi. She has written several short ÀOPV DQG UHFHQWO\ FRPSOHWHG KHU GHEXW IHDWXUH ÀOP 6KLPRQL 7KH 3LW ZKLFK VKH wrote, directed, and edited. She was recently DZDUGHG EHVW ÀOP HGLWRU E\ WKH :RPHQ LQ Film Awards-Kenya.

Director and screenwriter, Chantel Clark, is an Honours graduate in Television 'UDPD 8&7 DQG KROGV D 0)$ IURP WKH Film Program at Columbia University. Her script for her directorial feature debut, Wit Gesigte (Pale Faces), was selected for several development labs including the Sundance ,QVWLWXWH·V 6FUHHQZULWHUV /DE +HU 0)$ WKHVLV ÀOP 2XU $OEHUWLQLD ZDV VFUHHQHG DW RYHU LQWHUQDWLRQDO ÀOP IHVWLYDOV 6KH LV FXUUHQWO\ an ambassador for Girls in Film South Africa.

Accra-based Ghanaian-British writer, Jessica Hagan, enjoys exploring themes of identity,

displacement, and misogynoir in her work.

Her debut play, Queens of Sheba has won numerous awards over the years. )UDQFH EDVHG 1LJHULDQ ÀOPPDNHU DQG photographer, Tony Sebastian Ukpo, trained at the London Film School (LFS), before which he had already explored various creative enterprises in theatre, graphic novels, DQG SKRWRJUDSK\ DV ZHOO DV ÀOP +H KDV written and directed an eclectic range of ÀOPV LQFOXGLQJ 3DULV -DSDQHVH PXUGHU mystery Random 11 with Haruka Abe, British 1ROO\ZRRG URPDQWLF FRPHG\ 0XP 'DG 0HHW 6DP VWDUULQJ -RVHSK %HQMDPLQ DQG immigration drama Simana among others.

“StoryBoard seeks to promote independent African episodic content. We seek to support powerful, authentic, and unapologetic voices.

We understand that these narratives must start with good stories; these four scriptwriters KDYH PRVW GHÀQLWHO\ DFKLHYHG WKDW 1RZ it is up to AuthenticA to support them throughout the Residency and, ultimately, DW 6HULHV 0DQLD WR GR RXU XWPRVW WR JHW these brilliant stories on national, regional, and international screens,” said David Rimer,

Founder of The Storyboard Collective.

To kick-start the programme the four participants will begin the Lab with an eight-day residency in South Africa in September. This will be followed by a few months of online mentorship, meetings, and VXSSRUW FXOPLQDWLQJ LQ D ZHHN UHVLGHQF\ LQ 6ZLW]HUODQG LQ 7KH RXWFRPH RI WKH Lab is to support and mentor each participant into delivering a pilot script, a pitch deck and a professional pitch which they will SUHVHQW DW 6HULHV 0DQLD )RUXP ZKLOH also attending meetings with international decision makers.

“We have been amazed by the quality and the diversity of the applications, which prove again the creativity of the talents coming from all over Africa. We selected four compelling projects, with a strong market potential that for sure will raise interest among our professional attendees. This partnership with AuthenticA Series Lab reinforces Series 0DQLD SRVLWLRQ DV WKH EHVW SODFH WR GLVFRYHU new voices from all over the world,” said Laurence Herszberg, General Director of 6HULHV 0DQLD

18

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

SHOWBIZFLAIR

Mr Eazi Releases ‘Personal Baby’ Tosin Clegg

O

luwatosin Ajibade, popularly known as Mr. Eazi has released his second single 3HUVRQDO %DE\ RͿ his yet-to-be-titled debut album. The track follows “Legalize” released last June. Like Legalize, “Personal Baby” deals with love, but this time it’s from a somewhat darker perspective. Mr. Eazi enlisted noted Beninese artiste, Dominique Zinkpè to hand paint the cover image for the single. Zinkpè’s piece is entitled “L’amour en tête,” which translated to English means ‘love in mind’.

The art video captures the recording

process of the song with Nigerian songstress, Teni and Grammy-winning producer, Kel P while in Accra, Ghana and also the creation process of the artiste Zinkpè in his home studio in Abomey Calavi, Benin.

As he announced, art continues to be a mainstay theme of his new album and every song will be represented in the form of a series of individual SK\VLFDO DUWZRUNV FUHDWHG E\ GLͿHUHQW contemporary African artists. “These pieces will be tokenized and shared with the public through specially curated metaverse and physical events,” sad Mr. Eazi. ´3HUVRQDO %DE\µ DQG LWV R΀FLDO music video have been released on Youtube.

Night of Stars at ‘Humor Xclusive’ with Hezekiah Tosin Clegg

“H

umor Exclusive with Prince Hezekiah” had a successful maiden edition recently in Port Harcourt. The event was graceful, attendants had fun and lots of memorable experiences. According to one comedian, MC Amani, “Humor Exclusive, for me, is an amazing properly packaged in Port Harcourt and it is already big. The show is upgrading while showcasing a proper standup comedy culture in city”.

7KH QLJKW ZDV ÀOOHG ZLWK YDULRXV FDOLEHU RI personalities, from those occupying reserved positions, seated much closer to the stage and performers, to the V.I.P.s next to the reserved personalities and those far behind cheering.

The show had various jaw dropping and rib cracking performances.

Mc Kelz opened the show, dishing out soothing and carefully-orchestrated jokes that thrilled the audience. Other comedians include MC Nutrient, who started by confessing that ‘Humor

Prince Hezekiah

([FOXVLYH· ZLWK 3ULQFH +H]HNLDK ZDV KLV ÀUVW ever big stage performance. Sound Mouth had the stage next. MC 1st October, MC Yudee alongside MC Amani and MC Dave followed.

Prince Hezekiah then came on stage and was in his element totally. His appearance was captivating and truly exclusive.

Mr Eazi

Keke Ogungbe, ID Cabasa, Asha Unveil Game Flow for Naija Star Search

Y

ou know them as music executives, producers and talent managers, but you have never seen them as talent mentors?

As Naija Star Search NLFNV RͿ .HQQ\ 2JXQJEH ID Cabasa and Asha Gangali will square up against themselves in the group stage of the music reality show as coaches. Each coach will have contestants assigned to them, with some game twists unknown.

Thus, aside from the electrifying performances by the contestants, the show is full of drama, intense competition and passion as the twists of the game cause mixed emotions. ,Q D JDPH ÁRZ XQYHLOHG E\ WKH RUJDQLVHUV WKH show will be a blend of music performances and D JOLPSVH RI WKHLU OLYHV RͿ WKH VWDJH ,Q D SRVW seen on Naija Star Search social media handles #QDLMDVWDUVHDUFK WKH JDPH ÁRZ FRQVLVWV RI WKH Group Stage Competition with 3 teams led by the 3 Judges; Pair Battle with 12 contestants performing in twos; eight Solo Performances; and the Final 3 who will slug it out for the grand prize of N10,000,000 and more.

In the Group Stage, three teams are formed ZLWK ÀYH HYLFWLRQV LQ WKUHH HSLVRGHV $IWHU WKH weekly performance, the team with the lowest score will go on probation, by audience votes.

Then members of the team on probation will nominate their team members for eviction.

The Pair Battle, the next phase, will have the remaining twelve contestants divided into six teams of two each. The judges will decide which four contestants get evicted. Likewise, LQ WKH VROR SHUIRUPDQFHV ZKLFK ZLOO KDYH ÀYH evictions, the judges will decide who goes home. Four contestants will compete in the ÀQDO HSLVRGH FRQVLVWLQJ RI WKUHH ÀQDOLVWV SOXV one contestant saved by audience votes. The audience will vote using USSD. Naija Star Search, a reality show aimed at discovering the next generation of Afrobeats superstars, airs every Sunday at 8 pm on ST Nollywood Plus, ST Nollywood and ST Yoruba channels on StarTimes.

The judges say, unlike other music reality shows, the Naija Star Search show is unique because the focus is solely on Afrobeats, an umbrella term for all kinds of songs originating in Nigeria.

In a media chat, Ogungbe said that he and his fellow judges would look out for authenticity, potential, originality and street credibility among the talents, adding that the WRS VHYHQ ÀQDOLVWV IURP WKH VKRZ ZRXOG EH groomed by the Kennis Music label and given a platform to turn their raw talents into superstars.

ARB Inspires with Soulful Sound Tosin Clegg

B

uilding a unique music brand with inspiring, relatable and soulful sound is one thing that excites ARB, a contemporary music band, as they continue to register their name and songs on the minds and lips of many following their career.

To them, it is not about making music, it is more about making impact and touching lives with their songs. ARB wants the world to be a better place with their music. The group, made up of Anthony Osunde (DrT), Odenose Dele-Damisa (OD) and Ifeoluwa Adedeji (Ifektive), has continued to entertain music lovers across the globe.

Speaking about their rise and exploits, the group in a recent interactive session in Lagos, the band revealed it is constantly inspired by the huge love they receive from fans, and this means they have to stay on their toes as they share their God-given talents with the world.

They described their brand of music as Afro soul and Afro pop, saying they love to mirror societal challenges while they also pay attention to the fun part of their job.

From playing at school gigs and church, to the big stage where they now work with top music artistes and music producers, they unveiled a new music collaboration with Goya Menor and famous producer, Hit Sound, describing the experience as amazing.

The band also talked about their next music video and indicated that comedian, Bovi is supporting the video.

L-R: Osunde (DrT), Ifeoluwa Adedeji (Ifektive) and Odenose Dele-Damisa (OD) - ARB band

19

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

MARKET PLACE with Omolabake Fasogbon... 08155131874

ICSAN to Address Nigeria’s Rising Debt Profile at Confab The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administration of Nigeria (ICSAN), has said that it would address Nigeria’s increasLQJ GHEW SURÀOH ZLWK D YLHZ WR SURͿHULQJ UHDOLVWLF VROXWLRQV at its upcoming 46th National Conference.

Vice President of the ICSAN, Mrs Funmi Ekundayo disclosed this during a press conference announcing the conference in Lagos.

She revealed the theme of the conference as: “The National Debt %XUGHQ &DXVHV (ͿHFWV DQG Realistic Economic Solutions”, adding that the discussion around the theme was apt given the trend in Nigeria’s debt history.

According to Debt ManagePHQW 2΀FH '02 1LJHULD·V

total public debt stock rose from N39.56 trillion in December 2021 to N41.60 trillion by the end of the second quarter of 2022.

Ekundayo said an escalating GHEW SURÀOH LV GDQJHURXV WR WKH economy.

She said there are some gaps that needed to be addressed, hence the inspiration for the conference theme and several other sub themes.

She said, “Debt is an important DVSHFW RI WKH ÀVFDO HFRQRP\ However, it must be used judiciously such as developing infrastructure; investment and capacity. This will help to support the economy in the long run and HQVXUH WKDW D GHEW LV SDLG RͿ without much ado and within VSHFLÀHG WLPH µ

She noted that a number of notable speakers had been lined up for the conference, coming up on September, 15 2022 in Lagos.

6RPH RI WKH FRQÀUPHG VSHDNers are the Director General, %XGJHW 2΀FH RI WKH )HGHUDWLRQ Ben Akabueze and the Head of Service of the federation, Mrs. Folashade Yemi-Esan, with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila as the Special Guest of Honour.

Earlier, the Chairman of Publicity and Advocacy Committee, Mrs. Lynda Onefeli assured participants to expect a robust conversation on the theme, adding that “the topic is unique as it captures a subject matter that is of utmost concern to Nigerians.”

FIRS Sensitises Traders on Tax Payment The Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS has reiterated the importance of tax to growth and development at a sensitisation and awareness workshop held for Alaba/Badagry tax jurisdiction and environs.

The programme organised

by The Alaba Micro and Small 7D[ 2΀FH RI WKH ),56 DLPHG WR promote voluntary tax compliance, necessary for the optimization of tax revenue collection in the environment.

Speaking, Executive Chairman Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Muhammad Nami stressed that the minimum that is required of citizens is to pay their taxes promptly and correctly.

He noted that the workshop, themed, “Tax Payers Education: Voluntary Compliance for Improved Revenue Generation”,

was apt to enlighten the public on topical issues on taxation and further intimate them on the roles of the service.

He said, “Taxes are legal and civic obligations of citizens and paying such enables one to be a contributor to national development.

“Last year, FIRS collected N6.4 trillion, the highest in the history of tax collection in Nigeria. As of July 2022, we collected N5.2 trillion and we are on course to surpass the collections of 2021.

We thus need your support and cooperation in this regard, without this we won’t be able to reach the heights that we intend to, and this will impact on the amount of revenue available to governPHQWV DW DOO OHYHOV WR ÀQDQFH WKHLU budgetary provisions.”

On her part, Tax controller of Alaba Micro and Small Tax

2΀FH &HFLOLD 2GLER ´,W LV QR longer news that oil and gas revenue has dwindled and the most reliable source of revenue is now from taxation of non-oil sectors. We should thus focus on how we can play our part to generate non-oil revenues that will sustain the economy.”

Group Lead, General Tax Operations Group, FIRS, Kabbi Abba told attendees not to be ignorant of their rights and obligations as taxpayers.

He said, “Taxpayers have a ULJKW WR VHHN IRU FODULÀFDWLRQ RQ any tax laws from revenue agency, they are not expected to pay more than is required by the tax laws and their incomes and they have the right to be issued tax clearance FHUWLÀFDWH XSRQ VHWWOHPHQW RI DOO tax liabilities within two weeks of application or be given reasons for non-issuance.

Vice President, Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administration of Nigeria (ICSAN),Mrs. Funmi Ekundayo; (middle) flanked by Members of the Conference and AGM Committee and the Chairman of Publicity and Advocacy Committee, Mrs. Lynda Onefeli, during a press briefing to announce the institute’s 2022 annual Conference & Awards in Lagos.... recently

Executive Coordinator, House On The Rock, Kolawole Oladunmoye; Social Innovator and Founder, CIUCI Consulting, Chukwuka Monye; The Senior Pastor, House On The Rock, Paul Adefarasin; Co Pastor, House On The Rock, Ifeanyi Adefarasin; Ellis Oscar Ossai and Chief Executive Officer, EFG Hermes Nigeria, Lilian Olubi at a Leadership Conference organised by the church in Lagos...recently

Organisations Tasked on Effective Leadership at Conference Hudson Sandler Rejigs, Appoints

Organisations across both the public and private sectors have been advised to embrace innovative leadership style suitable for this critical time.

Experts gave this advice at a Leadership Conference, organised

by House on the Rock in Lagos recently. The conference themed, ‘’Disruptive Leadership in Critical Times” had leaders across the public and private sectors exploring the situation in the country and how the narrative could be

improved with right leaders.

The event featured different panel sessions where participants got equipped with tools needed to be effective leaders in dynamic times.

Speaking during panel session, Lagos state Commissioner For Economic Planning And Budget, Samuel Egube stated that a leader who wants to be successful must learn to be flexible and submissive.

He said, “To be able to lead

you must create a system where the Chief Executive Officer is also subjected to certain rules. You must allow debate. The leader must be questioned. It takes guts to be able to submit to a cabinet you established.”

Also speaking, Founder of House on the Rock, Paul Adefarasin stated that like a nation, both organisations and ministries planning for the next phase must not compromise good leadership.

He said, “Leadership happens when those who can take the lead, maximise the opportunity to bring the needed change”.

Also, the Co-founder of the church, Ifeanyi Adefarasin asserted that a leader must be proactive, resilient and have a problem-solving skills.

Other speakers at the conference were: Founder of The House of Tara, Tara Durotoye; Social Innovator and& Founder of Ciuci Consulting, Chukwuka Monye.

new Partner for W’Africa

Integrated communications consultants, Hudson Sandler has appointed Nigeria’s Onyebuchi Ajufo as its Partner in charge of its West Africa business.

7KH DSSRLQWPHQW UHÁHFWV Hudson Sandler’s continued growth in Africa, GULYHQ E\ ÁDJVKLS R΀FHV in Kenya and Nigeria.

Hudson Sandler Africa has grown rapidly over the last two years, providing The Place restaurant, one value when it comes to healthy pan-African and internaof Nigeria’s leading fast food meals, making varieties available, tional consulting services (GXFDWLRQ GHYHORSPHQW ÀUP Comic Republic, Jide Martin and to many of Africa’s most T4 Education has announced the the former President of Tanzania, business is set to open its doors beautiful, conducive and hygienic dynamic and progressive environment, consistency in taste, to customers on Monday, 12 overall winner of the maiden Jakaya Kikwete. companies and institutions.

Africa Education Medal.

According to the award organis- September, 2022 at the newly and top-notch customer service.

Onyebuchi is an advo6SHDNLQJ DW WKH EULHÀQJ constructed Ikoyi Plaza.

This The award, launched by T4 ers, the Africa Education Medal cacy and communications Head of Operationsat The announcement was made during Education in collaboration with initiative was founded to recognise advisor with over 15 years’ HP and Intel, aimed to honour and the work of changemakers who D SUHVV EULHÀQJ DW WKH KHDG R΀FH Place restaurant, Chinelo experience working across Umeugochukwu said: “We are in Lekki, Lagos last week. appreciate outstanding individual are transforming African education According to Susan Izenegu, excited to launch our 2nd Outlet Africa, the Middle East and who has demonstrated impact, and inspiring others to follow their Head of Marketing, “The Place in the Ikoyi environs and 24th the United Kingdom. leadership, and advocacy in the footsteps, with a view to bringing She joins Hudson Sandler ÀHOG RI $IULFDQ HGXFDWLRQ lasting change in African education. restaurant is committed to outlet in Nigeria. This landmark from Africa Practice, where is as a result of our persistent ensuring that customers get a The organisers named VicePhakeng is a leading scholar in she led the Strategic ComChancellor of the University of mathematics education. She was variety of home-made meals at journey that began over 15 years munications and Advocacy Cape Town, South Africa, Prof. WKH ÀUVW EODFN IHPDOH 6RXWK $IULFDQ a great value. In line with our DJR ÀOOHG ZLWK KDUG ZRUN DQG Practice across the Africa Mamokgethi Phakengas the to achieve a PhD in Mathematics expansion goals for the year, commitment to our customers. Practice Group (Nigeria, we will be bringing a variety We will continue to deliver on overall winner from among the Education in 2002.

South Africa, Tanzania, WHQ ÀQDOLVWV HDUOLHU DQQRXQFHG In two decades, Phakeng had of healthy meals closer to our our promise of making a variety Botswana, Kenya and the 7KH VKRUWOLVWHG ÀQDOLVWV published more than 80 research customers. We appreciate our of homemade meals available United Kingdom). included two Nigerian educators SDSHUV DQG ÀYH HGLWHG YROXPHV customers for standing with us DW DQ DͿRUGDEOH SULFH µ In her new role with The place is said to have more QDPHO\ &KLHI ([HFXWLYH 2΀FHU that continue to shape mathematics all through our 15 years of operaHudson Sandler, Onyebuchi of Teach for Nigeria, Folawe education in classrooms across tions as we continue to pledge outlets opening before the end will also act as the global of the year. our commitment to delivering Omikunle; Founder and CEO of Africa and far beyond. lead on policy and advo-

Winner Emerges in Africa Education Medal

The Place Launches New Outlet

cacy across the consultancy Onyebuchi possesses a master’s degree in Business Analytics from the University of Warwick and is on the Board of Haima Health, an organisation building a network of voluntary blood GRQRUV IRU VDIH DͿRUGDEOH and quick access to blood in Nigeria.

Commenting on the appointments, Chairman of Hudson Sandler Africa, Chris Genasi said, “Africa is a key strategic market for us. We are proud to work with Africa’s leading businesses, foundations, and NGOs, to tell positive stories about the contribution they are making to Africa’s sustainable economic and social development.

“Onyebuchi brings a unique perspective on the African business environment, a wealth of experience in corporate communications and advocacy, as well as strong leadership and business development skills, which will be instrumental in our further expansion as we continue to grow our fantastic teams across the continent.”

20

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

SUPER SATURDAY Hilda Dokubo

I’m a Church Girl, My Mother, a Sunday School Teacher, My Father, a Lay Preacher She wears many hats such that they put her in enviable positions. In Nollywood where she towers above her contemporaries, her name remains evergreen three decades after. With a voice so vocal, she holds sway in the polity. A distinguished personality, Hilda Dokubo, Executive Director, Centre for Creative Arts Education, a one stop support centre for women and youths, is readily a subject of delight and one to reckon with in every sense as you would find in this conversation with Ferdinand Ekechukwu. She bares almost all about her facet of engagements and acting career that gave her life

L

et me start with what you are known first as an actress, an activist and youth advocate. Can one add any other appendage to these?

(Laughs)… Oh my goodness.

You do know I’m an educator.

So, I don’t know there’s just a lot that I do. I’m an entrepreneur, so because I do business as well. But I think that will do for now.

Basically, just these?

Well, is there anything else you want to find out whether I do that I don’t or do not?

Well, for the purpose of those who really don’t know you that much…but if you feel we should leave it at that then There’s already like a lot okay... So I coach people, I’m a mentor. I’m a humanitarian. I’m

Hilda Dokubo an author. Isn’t that like too much? I don’t know. But I wear a lot of shoes than a lot of that.

You are very vocal on happenings in the polity, always giving opinion on issues, what is the motivation for it?

I’m a Nigerian. I live here. I work here.

My children are from here. Shouldn’t it be my concern what happens here?

It should right because whatever happens here will affect me. So, it’s important that my voice is heard. It’s important that I speak up when things are not working well, and to also speak up when they are working well. So, that’s what the motivation is. Plus we deserve the best. God has actually, really truly blessed this country. So, we should enjoy the best of everything.

To that, based on what you have just said, looking at your younger days compared to what we have now could be seen as far cry. Can you just share with us a bit of your growing up, background and the fond memories you hold of the happenings then in the society, your childhood?

I have fond memories of a lot... My childhood I grew up in Port Harcourt, born to an engineer father and a teacher mother. I attended public schools. My entire life, from age 7, I have been working. I was discovered during a talent hunt programme. And then I went on radio as a 7-year-old presenting a radio programme. From there, I went on to Rivers State Council for Arts and Culture as a kid performer and then from there to Rivers State Television as a continuity announcer. In all of these times, I was in

school. As a matter of fact, in the University I was blending my university programme and working with RSTV, owning a small drama club and working with the Rivers State Council for Arts and Culture. I have beautiful memories of what Port Harcourt looks like. But that’s it. So, I can’t say that I know a lot as a child about governance and leadership. Plus, you know it twitched rapidly because it was also military rule. So, it kept changing and I can’t tell you that you know that obviously wasn’t my concern as a young person. What I knew about it was what was taught as history or as civics or as government when we got to late secondary school.

But in the university, I was an activist! Gosh.

I spoke up because at that point, I had my own voice you know. As a child, your parents and older siblings, if you have them, speak on your behalf. As an adult you have the right to speak up and I did speak up. But then, as an

21

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

SUPER SATURDAY My Entire Life, from Age 7, I Have Been Working adult, even in Nollywood, they would tell you I was first to complain about welfare. I will always complain about wrong leadership.

Activism has been a part of you from way back. Your acting career, which you are well known for, has been a part of you growing up as far back as when you were a child. Both seem to have a mix kind of?

My acting career has been with me my entire life. My activism parts of me, as a matter of fact, you know thinking about it now, the programme that I anchored as a child - Young Brains – was actually an activism programme for young people because, that’s thinking about it now, but at that time it didn’t look like that to me. Because what Young Brains at about that time was young people discussing things that they wanted around them, things that their teachers or adults did, like we had topics you know stuff like that. And so, teachers and parents used to listen to know what teacher or what adult did what. And you know I remember people teasing and saying to each other ‘don’t let this children discuss you on radio tomorrow’ (laughing). You know but we were very young, it was more entertaining than activism because, anyway, for that age, what did we even know about activism. So, activism has always been a part of me.

Your journey into Nollywood started in 1992 and that’s some good 30 solid years in the industry. And it’s worth commending really. What’s your staying power? What has the experience been like working in Nollywood?

Well working in Nollywood is like working anywhere in Nigerian (laughing). You have to understand, first of all for me, by training and by experience I know the best things that you do for yourself as a human being, as an actor, is to keep recreating you. You have to always see that ‘yes I did that job it was beautiful’ but you have to upgrade yourself. Two, you need to understand that we all have our emotions and we all come with them. So, humility is the answer. So, stay humble and know that everybody else on that set is as important as you are. And know that you are who you are because the audience loves you. So, you have to love them too. Thank God for the days of social media you know. When we first started, there was no social media. So, we had nowhere to keep posting things. I wish that we were all posting maybe some of us today I don’t know how many million followers we would have on social media.

And even when I went to do community service and government work, if I had posted my activism in the creeks online, I also don’t know how many followers I would probably had today. And by doing my job well each time I get a good job to do. And by refusing some jobs that I don’t think deserve my time.

Talking about government you served as Special Adviser on youth affairs in your state. What did you take away?

I tell you I leant a few things; some very good, some not so good. One, I learnt proper administration. Don’t forget that up on till then, every job that I have done didn’t give me that opportunity of doing what they call memos. I learnt government kind of administration. I learnt also that government likes to duplicate things. So, you have offices that you don’t understand why you should have that number of people on the same project. I also found out that there’s what you would call politically right or politically correct statements. Up on till that point, I didn’t know what those things were and if anybody say them to me, I would be wondering what they are talking about. But having served, which was also why I had to like take a leave, and then began to work on the things I had found out that I needed to do. Serving as SA opened up a lot of opportunities. . . I saw that there was a huge gap between the people and the government. So, I breached that gap. Which is the reason why I can go in their midst today and be very safe and protected by them. . .

They wanted to do something but they just didn’t know how to start and that was how I started the Street to Star Project.

The industry now, is it one you are happy with the way things are generally?

Let’s put it this way. We are not where we started from. We are not yet where we are going. We are on a journey. And when you are on a journey, you expect bumps and potholes here and there. You expect traffic jam at certain points. You expect roadblocks at certain points. And we are experiencing all of it. This journey is very intriguing. But some of us have been able to weather it because we have very scintillating characters amongst us who know how to handle things because they don’t let challenges stop them. They actually stop challenges. Am I happy that we are growing?

Yes. We are growing in different directions.

People are making a lot of progress financially, some are not. Technically, we are also growing. People are getting to own more equipment. International streaming platforms are coming into the country. Again, like we always say, it is our handlers who mess us up all the time. It is not the organisations. They come in they have their own expectations and then we have handlers who go in there and mess up everything for everybody. You know it’s crazy how some handlers make the real practitioners look small. But it’s okay that people are here. It’s only a question of time. Very soon it will get clearer because a discussion is on.

Is there anything you would like to point out that is lacking and how would you love to see it addressed?

When we started Nollywood, we didn’t know it was going to get this big. But we all believed in our talents in our skills and in our trainings. And we saw the opportunity that was there. And we went into it. Luckily,

I’m a pioneer. We told African stories which are stories that you and I can relate to as our stories. Now we have historic stories that are ours to tell. That if we don’t tell the world will listen to those stories and try to bend them because we have seen history overtime people want to rewrite history. And some of us, we need to always hold them back to the truth. There are people who came into this industry after ten years of its takeoff…who were already in entertainment; some of them were in the TV stations, or in soaps but they didn’t believe in Nollywood so they stayed away.

It took ten years to convince themselves that they can come in and today people call them the “Masters of Nollywood” and we laugh because what they know is from the point they entered. So, the stories we are losing out first on telling our original African stories.

We are losing out in telling the proper history of Nollywood. We are getting those told in bits and pieces. We are leaving out important names. It’s funny how Africans, not just Nollywood, never know how to celebrate people when they are alive. So, I’m looking forward to us being able to tell African stories the African way and using the right equipment. I’m also looking forward to some of those things being corrected. And some of the award giving bodies doing better than just saying this is viewers’ choice. Award people award for excellence because they are excellent at what they do. It’s also like I’m not against people casting people from social media but I’m against you picking up somebody from social media because the person’s algorithm is high and not training the person or even preparing the person for this character that

you want the person to play. It’s an abuse on the profession. These are the few. There are a lot more.

Looking at the movies you have featured so many that one may not easily count. You even I don’t think you personally can…

I can ‘biko’ (please)…

Okay tell me how many movies have you featured? Put a figure to the movies you have featured Okay let me just tell you about this year.

So, about this year this is the eighth month right? And in this eighth month I have done ten movies. So, I’m just looking at just this year alone. And this is me combining it with acting classes, combining it with my other business, combining it with travels, combining family and I have created time to shoot ten movies. And I’m starting another one (laughing).

Which of these movies you featured generally easily comes to your mind?

Okay, before this year, we had counted over a hundred and thirty. And this year alone I just decided that okay let’s just count from this year and say okay these are the new ones so we don’t bother so much about the older ones. Amongst the new ones I tell you the truth all of the ten are solid. Solid in terms of story, they are solid in terms of theme, crew, cast.

They are solid in terms of the platform they intend to put them. As they begin to release them, we would see them. But the older ones, I love them by what they are. ‘Another Campus Tale’ was my first production; a true-life story on student cultism at the time when cultism was killing a lot of young people in school. It was my own advocacy for stopping cultism, and stopping the killings in schools. And it did work. We took it to universities across Nigeria and people denounced cultism after watching that movie. It was my goal and we achieved it.

What do you consider the greatest influence in your life?

Hmmm… I want to believe my father.

He died early. Fine I had a beautiful childhood. But after my father passed. I knew the meaning of poverty. But he instilled a whole lot of discipline. My mother is still the disciplinarian in my family. But my father will talk you through your problem and help you see why he’s unhappy with you. And show you all the way out.

So that’s a great influence. My parents influenced me in different ways. And then society and what I see. Don’t forget I’m a church girl. My mother was a Sunday school teacher, my father a lay preacher. My both grandparents were reverend.

What’s a typical day like for you?

Wakeup, pray, makeup my room, shower.

Well, sometimes shower comes before watching a programme, sometimes the programme comes before shower and then a cup of coffee. And I run off. So, the time that you are using now is the time I usually use in watching a programme. So, that’s why I said this will be the best time. Usually, between by 6am I should either be praying or have just finished praying. So, basically that’s my day. And then in the evening I share with family we just go through our day’s work which was the time I said okay you can call. Because at 9 I can then call anybody except I’m working…

Hilda Dokubo

How do you unwind?

I read a lot. I watch TV a lot. I gist with my friends I like to hang out with friends. I love to travel. So, every time I get the opportunity I run. Then I do a lot of experimental cooking (laughing). I tried to create recipes out of things you know something I just say ‘what would this taste like really if I blend this and that together’. And I do this not when people are hungry but when I just want to play around. Sometimes they turn out really beautiful and they become one of the items on our menu. Sometimes they don’t and we laugh over it and say ‘this experiment no work’.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

22

MEDIAGAFFES

EXPRESSION

Marching Orders, Not ‘Order’

Y

OU are welcome to this edition as we begin the countdown to year-end!

Do you know that most Bibles in Ephesians chapter six verse six used ‘eye-service’ instead of ‘lip-service’—even New King James Version? I hope I will not be accused of blasphemy! I recollect Ndaeyo Uko questioning the correctness of ‘The wages of sin is death’ in the heyday of our Daily Times of Nigeria.

DAILY INDEPENDENT of August 29 formally welcomes us this week with headline blunders: “Buhari gives advisers marching order as he begins to round off his tenure” Voice of arrested independence: marching orders.

“Bishop, Monarch (sic) commend Buhari over (for) commitment to police reform” Is it not when somebody does something extraordinary that we commend the person? Not performance of statutory functions!

“Igbo hunted (haunted) by spirits of those who died during the war” Lastly from DAILY INDEPENDENT: “Rest in the bossom (bosom) of the Lord….” (Full-page advertorial by schoolmates (UNN) & friends of….)

THE GUARDIAN of August 28 laboured in vain on six occasions beginning from its Editorial: “It should not become another white elephant project….”

Military industry and national economy: yank away ‘project’ because of its redundancy!

“But projects like this are not always favoured by the industrial giants….”

Either projects like these or a project like this—no mix-up, my dear Rutham friends.

“Mix (Mixed) reactions trail NUT’s call for review of teachers’ retirement age” “I appeal to PHCN workers to settle the present crisis through dialogue instead of resorting to strike action and disruption of the system.” Delete ‘action’ or alternatively: industrial action/work stoppage/ service withdrawal….

“In as much as I refrain from….” Not my own opinion: Inasmuch as I refrain from….

Finally from THE GUARDIAN: “… whom they value between $15-$19 million.”

Premiership: between $15 and $19 million.

Last Tuesday’s edition of THE NATION circulated four Comment and general school-boy howlers: “…the continuing quest for a restoration of normalcy in (to) the country.”

“Olympics (Olympic) gold medalist speaks out” “…his interests include, but not limited to, financial advisory, investment advisory, marketing, among others.” ‘Include’, ‘but not limited to’ and ‘among others’ cannot all function in this environment—just one of them will suffice. This is what I call lexical superfluity (redundancy/verbosity/ padding)!

BUSINESSDAY of August 23 did not show any commitment to the English language on many occasions: “The state government is not a charity organization that will commit millions of naira on (to) a project with a view to….”

“Are the motorcycle riders (why not motorcyclists?) aware of and sufficiently sensitized (sic) about (to) the new law?”

Next time round, let government use ‘pidgin English’ to address the marginallyliterate members of the society.

“Tunisia journalists protest against Islamist govt” World news: Tunisian journalists…

“31 killed in Syrian forces onslaughts in Damascus” Get it right: forces’ onslaughts “Turkish-Cypriot’s tycoon convicted after 17 years on run” This way: on the run “I remember once when he came to Port Harcourt we worked on a case till 5 p.m. in the evening.” Not allowed! Consult dictionaries/reference books on ‘a. m.’ and ‘p.m.’ “…in the meantime, there has been series (a series) of systems collapse....”

“It was sometimes (sometime) in 1993 while I was still in Abuja….”

“For a NAFDAC that has in almost two years been performing creditably towards ensuring that food and drugs need of Nigerians are (is) given standard manufacturing preparation….” “…his predecessors who were on (in) seat for years without actually doing the work for which they were paid.”

“It is also on record that the same government shot itself at (in) the foot by dismissing the audit report as a junk.”

This way: audit report as junk. The last word in the extract is non-count.

Let us welcome thisdaylive.com to this column for the first time: “Omolememen said the Federal Government has terminated a contract for the reconstruction of the Ikorodu-Sagamu road it awarded to Impresit Bakolori for non-performance.”

Reported speech: the FG had (not has)….

“More grease (power) to their elbow” (AIT Sports, August 10) “The highest number universities can accomodate is 150,000 students.”

Spell-check: accommodate.

Danladi Bako@65: Versatile Man of Letters and Vision

D

uring these first few days of September 2022, two gentlemen dear to my creative side, and diametrically opposed in many ramifications, marked landmark dates on the calendar of life’s intractable journey towards an inevitable destination. One on the first day of the month, is a man who now luxuriates in the intangible perquisites of his sterling contributions to Nigerian television production and presentation, dramatic arts, broadcasting, entertainment, culture, and more.

The other, five years younger, has chiselled indelible marks in the arcane business of the promotion and distribution of popular music, management and nurturing of musical talents, and professionalising the commercial prospects of the much neglected traditional Nigerian music counter-culture.

DANLADI BAKO, OON: He doesn’t need a quota system or affirmative action to escalate his talents; this brilliant broadcaster had used the auspices of the tube to increase the stock and craft of many of the cream of today’s superstars... at their gateways to elusive fame. From the detective serials, Special Protection AntiCrime Squad, SPACS (1985 - 1987) which featured RMD and Mahmood Ali-Balogun (yes!) as co-leads; to directing and producing the creative writings of 1984/1985 graduands of NTA/BBC Writers’ Workshop (with Zeb Ejiro, Andy Amenechi, Bond Emeruwa, Murtala Sule, Taiwo Ogundipe, Ralph Nwadike, Charles Owoyemi, etc, as shimmering stars); Nasir Danladi Bako, PhD, has been at the nerve centre of the prenatal and birthing process of the Nigerian video success story.

And with NTA’s adaptation of the British sit-com, Mind Your Language that was popular with Nigerians of the 70s, our own hilarious Second Chance was born. Bako, who was installed as Kogunan Sakwatto by the Sultan on May 12, 2001, directed a boisterous classy cast of Olu Jacobs, Lai Ashadele, Soni

Bako Irabor, Funso Alabi (all played Teacher Gyang alternately), Tony St Iyke was Nicodemus Okonkwo, Abiola Atanda was Madam Kofo, Collins Onomor was Odiri, Tola Osinubi was Kucha, Joke Silva was the coquettish Roli, Isaac Ijoma was Anuka, James Johnson was Fyne Face; and Ghanian actor, Evans Hunter who was the first teacher, in the half-hour drama - from 1984. Of course, the cast list is not exhausted. Even the show’s scripting department was packed to the rafters with quality: the sublime Ihria Enakhimio, Charles Owoyemi, Zeb Ejiro, Akin Clinton, etc. RMD also contributed a couple of scripts. Bako also produced a few teledramas, like The Lost Tribe (1985).

Ebullient and more popular as the talk show host of Morning Ride and MasterSports, the multi-talented gentleman is noted for his encyclopedic grasp of the trends and talents of Nigerian visual media. Voracious in study and expression,

Bako has a BA (Hons) English from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1978); MSc, Mass Communication (UNILAG, 1981), and almost forty years after, a PhD, Development Communication from ABU (2019).

His broadcasting career shot off from 1973 at Rima Radio, Sokoto, and culminated as the Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission (1999 - 2002). The Koguna also served as Sokoto State Commissioner for Information (2012 - 2015), amongst other national communication assignments.

On the 1st of September, 2022, the suave, genteel and coyly youngish chief turned 65 - even the highest office in the land confirmed it with a rousing congratulatory missive. Surely, it is in order to celebrate this bold, gently boisterous pathfinder, in many fields, and a consummate conversationalist, Mallam Danladi Nasir Bako, PhD, OON. Happy birthday!

TEMITOPE AKINYELE: Sometime in the heady 90s, I came across this young man - he was the Promotions and Publicity Manager (or assistant, I’m not too certain which is what now) of Sony Music, then domiciled on Aromire Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos State. Temitope B. Akinyele was eager to work, willing to learn, not one of those hopelessly disposed to underhand plots of luring journalists into using their relentless “press releases” - yet his warm candour and open admiration made you more considerate in dealing with ‘his case’.

Over the years, as we moved from one publication to the other, and as we planned and executed one award ceremony or the other, Akinyele was a constant though distant associate, willing to help us push the letters that made the rounds in search of logistical and other support frameworks.

When we started the first major gospel music award in 2013 (named Music and Entertainment Gospel Awards, MEGA), Akinyele, now the CEO of his own promotions outfit, Collective Communication Ltd., was

EBERE WABARA

ewabara@yahoo.com, 08055001948

“Whose actions or inactions rubs (rub) off negatively almost all the time on the image of the industry?”

“This is the time for them to prove what they have learnt from the sordid events of yesteryears.” ‘Yesteryear’ is an uncountable entry. “…unless our real politicians put their acts together and learn from the ugly events of yesteryear, we may be in for yet another serious trouble in the land.”

Fixed expression: put their act (not acts) together.

“Out of almost 62 years of Nigeria’s independence, the military held the reins of power for a period of….” Standard phrase: reins of government.

Wrong: on the saddle; right: in the saddle “Coalition of parties protest election results in….” Not yet proximity: coalition of parties protests.

“Time for warring artistes to sheath sword” Get it right: sheathe their swords.

“UNIBEN alumni holds award night” Either alumni association holds or alumni hold.

“The music impressario makes a final bow” The music impresario (note the spelling) takes (not makes) a bow. “…the main stumbling block to the restoration of lasting peace in (to) the nation’s universities.”

“The threatened sympathy strike by NUPENG can be averted if only government should tow (toe) the path of honour.”

“The University of Ibadan recently compiled list of hundreds of students who had no entry qualification but had gained admission into the institution” Either: a list or lists of students, depending on the desired context.

COUNTERPOINT

FEMI

AKINTUNDE-JOHNSON

fajalive1@gmail.com 08182223348 - (SMS Only)

one of the first set of people we assembled.

He didn’t have to wait and think about it - his instant reaction was both supportive and motivational.

Akinyele has spent a large portion of his time, resources and pedigree promoting Nigerian traditional music, with special craving for gospel music, and traversing several towns and villages of the South West and South South, pushing and pulling the enormous but repressed potential of the Nigerian gospel music.

Suddenly Tope Akinyele is 60! On Wednesday, 7 September, 2022. Unsurprisingly, the cadence, tendon and connotations of my expectations and estimation of him have remained unchanging and resolute - a character of the Divinity that Akinyele also clings to.

If you need a formidable partner; if you desire a relentless supporter; if you crave for a dogged intermediary; if you long for a dependable ally... a man who will continually impress and astound you with unselfish, remarkable yet un-sycophantic friendship and stewardship… Yes, if you need a man who speaks his heart without whimpering, or lambasting, yet exuding humility and passion that provoke admiration... Then the person to have in your corner is Temitope Akinyele.

Though a strong character with immense drive for good and for God, Akinyele is also a reserved man who prefers to work humbly in the background. We therefore seize this auspicious moment to rejoice with our friend, supporter, and encourager whose love and devotion to his adorable wife (whom we call Erelu Sunshine) and his remarkably precocious children with peculiar name tags…humble and impress us as father and husband.

Happy birthday!

23

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

POLITY

Muritala Awodun

Many Nigerians Fell for APC’s Booby Trap in 2015 Muritala Awodun is a Professor of Business and Entrepreneurship. He is a member of the Governing Council of Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, Kwara State; Director, Centre for Enterprise and Human Capital Development, Crown-Hill University, Kwara State; Chief Operating Officer, CSDC Consulting Enterprise Solutions and Founder/ CEO, Fiftyfifty Institute Limited. He was the Executive Chairman that reformed the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service between 2015 and 2019. Awodun talks to THISDAY on a number of issues affecting education, security, politics, economy and the 2023 elections

A

Not paying attention to the insecurity problem is permitting the continuous downward trend in levels of production, and the supply shortages that will continue to support rising prices and inflation.

SUU’s strike has lasted for over 6 months. Who is to blame?

We all have a share of the blame for the longlasting strike of ASUU. The government’s insincerity is however, the number one factor in prolonging this strike, and I want to say that it appears as if it is a deliberate attempt by the government to lock up the universities. For what benefit you may ask? What started as a warning strike has taken the toll of a logjam that nobody can say there is an end in sight. First, the ministries that have direct responsibilities for the universities could not authoritatively address the issues of parastatals under them for this prolonged period, and the government that put the people in charge is comfortable with the situation. What they are telling us is that they don’t care about the people. Education, to governments in Nigeria, whether at the 774 local government levels, that are saddled with the basic education, or at the 36 state government levels, that are saddled with the secondary education, or the federal level that is saddled with the tertiary education, are all lacking in solutions to make the various levels of education what they should be. The outcome of the bastardization of several years is what is staring us all in the face today in terms of huge numbers of out-of-school children, staggering unemployment figures, brain drain, insecurity, inflation and unrestricted devaluation of the currency through the uncontrollable exchange rate of the naira.

Sad is the least of the feelings I could express. We are only creating another round of problems for the nation that will manifest in years to come. Every action or inaction, right or wrong will obviously have its effects that would be good or bad at the end of the day. While some few ones will leave the country for better opportunities outside, some will catch in to even grab opportunities to create some enterprises for themselves locally and succeed better than being in school.

However, the majority will loaf around and become burdens to their parents, families, communities, friends and foes, and their reactions will result in negative vibes on all of these stakeholders directly or indirectly, including you and I.

What should be done to grow university education in Nigeria?

The time for us to revisit the funding system of our university education is now if we want a better and sustainable university education in Nigeria The 2023 election is by the corner. International investors are scared? What is your advice to them?

There is no advice you can give to international investors because they are not foolish. They are already taking steps to safeguard their investments. You can see Emirates, because of their inability to get their funds out of Nigeria resulting in winding down their operations. If they continue to operate, at the same scale, they already know that they will be risking having more funds accumulating which may become more difficult to recover for effective operations. That is just one good example.

Awodun Nigeria is still ranked as the poverty capital of the world. How do you respond to this and what are the solutions?

I think we are enjoying it. At least we are first in something worldwide and we are not ready to let go that first position for a long time to come because we are not making any significant effort that can see us out of that position in years to come.

You can mistakenly fall into a ditch but you cannot get out of it without making efforts to come out, so, we are in this for a record time in history, unless we start to do something to climb the ladder. We will remain at the bottom of the ladder for a long because every country that we may be looking up to for help is also saddled with global problems that, for them to remain steady on the ladder, and not fall down, is to concentrate on their journey and forget about trying to salvage a drowning Nigeria.

Nigeria’s inflation rate is on the rise. What is the way out?Inflation is a price-related problem arising out of an excess of demand over supply of any item which obviously results in rising prices. It has been said over and over that we are not producing enough of anything in Nigeria except criminality and corruption. Even where we have some comparative advantages, in music, film and the entertainment industry, the economic policies of government are making a mess of those sectors and the benefits inherent in them. Our consumption level is rather unprecedented as we have a high taste for things we don’t produce. So, for us to address the high level of inflation, we have to address production, and this cannot happen if we don’t resolve our insecurity problem that is making it practically impossible to freely go to the farm in areas of the country that are infested by the gruesome insecurity situation.

Ooni Ogunwusi Finds Love Again Ferdinand Ekechukwu

U

ntil his recent marriage which has dominated the social sphere, the Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II was single. The revered monarch has quietly maintained the single status since his marriage to Prophetess Naomi Silekunola ended some months ago. A new bride, Mariam Anako, was ushered into the Ile-Ife Palace last Tuesday evening after completion of wedding rites.

It was learnt that the arrangements started in March. The monarch at the time sent a high powered delegation to her family to request for her hand in marriage. In a series of videos, which went viral, the Ife monarch and some chiefs showered prayers on Mariam while she was on her knees. Oba Ogunwusi in the video shared on the Facebook page of his spokesperson, Moses Olafare, was assisted by chiefs and close aides, in welcoming the new wife into the palace.

Mariam becomes Ooni’ fourth wife after his last union with Naomi Silekunola was dissolved in December 2021. Naomi

appears to be the most celebrated of the ex-queens. “I waited patiently upon the Almighty the King of kings, He eventually did it in the midst of many trials”, the revered monarch had said of Shilekunola, Moronke, Naomi.

“The greatest arsenal you can apply on this highly revered throne with many rules and regulations in the midst of undiluted tradition, heritage and culture is the ‘Fear of God In You’, which is the beginning of your wisdom on this throne of Oduduwa. You are welcome home my beautiful and adorable queen.”

Indication that the Ooni was trying to settle for Mariam as his new wife was strengthened with the renovation of the quarters vacated by the last queen, with news spreading round the Palace that a new wife is coming.

According to reports, the relatives of Anako from Ebiraland in Kogi State and Ilorin in Kwara State were in attendance at the wedding ceremony. Those in the know claimed the Ooni has done everything possible to keep the relationship secret. With Mariam’s entry makes the Ooni of Ife, married for the fourth time.

Insecurity is still a challenge in Nigeria. What measures should be adopted to address this?

We cannot overemphasize the unacceptable state of insecurity of our nation. This government promised us heaven and earth when they were clamouring for power in 2014. They made everybody believe that there is no better option for us as a nation than to vote in the newly and hurriedly assembled APC with General Buhari as the messiah that will bring an end to the child-like insecurity situation then when compared to what we now have as the adulthood of the same situation.

We all fell for that booby trap, as the propaganda then was unprecedented. With no better option, we all surrendered our future to the hands of the APC government and the rest today is history. What is painful is the fact that the government sees nothing wrong with the downward trend in the state of insecurity, and rather than act will be concentrating on defending what is obvious for all to see. The most honest response ever from the government concerning the insecurity situation is the President’s submission that he is tired and cannot wait to hand it over to the next administration.

2023 General Elections are by the corner. What is your advice to INEC, security agencies, the electorates and political parties?

We are in another season of electioneering and we have really not learnt our lessons as a nation. We have failed to realize how significant our choices are that we left the processes leading to the selection of the flag bearers of the various political parties to be determined under the auspices of ‘business as usual which is why we are on our kneels today. Without a change in the process through which people emerge for the election proper, there will be no change in the outcomes of the elections and no change in the performances of the elected officers.

So, all the noise about 2023 as a make or mar year for us as a nation will not happen. For the type of change that we all desire to happen, there must be a paradigm change that will require those with capacity getting involved in the various political organizations to effect and affect these organizations positively that will begin to throw up people of character and value that will have the interest of our nation at heart, in the real sense of it. For the INEC let them give us a very transparently acceptable election. Let the security agencies be vigilant and up to their responsibilities.

Let the electorates vote for a competent, capable and courageous leader. Let the political parties put the interest of the nation above their selfish interests. With a credible election in 2023, we will be moving closer to getting it right by 2027, all things being equal.

Until her marriage to Ooni, Mariam is said to be working as an administrative manager in an oil and gas firm that is also into engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning. Mariam is from the Ebira ethnic group in Kogi State. Her parents were based in Ilorin, Kwara state.

She lost her dad at a young age. She was raised in the home of former Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Dikko.

Her mother is a retired police officer. Her elder sister, Medina Anako is a lawyer, businesswoman, and also Special Adviser on Intergovernmental Affairs and Kogi State Diaspora Focal Point Officer (DFPO) to Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State.

Mariam’s elder sibling, Mrs Raliat Abdulrahman nee Anako is a Special Adviser to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Rt. Hon Femi Gbajabiamila. It would be recalled that the revered monarch’s former (third) wife, Naomi Silekunola, announced that her marriage to the revered monarch was over in December 2021.

The Ooni of Ife and the former queen got married about three years ago and have a son together. Ooni has been married to other women including Adebukola Bombata the Ooni of Ife’s recorded first wife. She was his wife at the time he ascended the throne in 2015. It is reported that Bombata was against the Ooni’s decision to join the race for the throne.

24

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

POLITY Residents Gain from Gov Abiodun’s Bottom-Up Approach Projects For residents of many communities in Ogun State, road projects of the Dapo Abiodun administration in their areas have been very impactful, beneficial and without pains, writes James Sowole

P

roject conception and execution is a very crucial decision in act of governance at all levels. In a democratic dispensation, projects are expected to be initiated and executed according to the needs of the populace in the spirit of distribution of democratic dividends. However, in developing countries like Nigeria, some projects are executed without proper planning and consideration for their functionality for the people, that they are meant to serve These lapses are responsible for various abandoned and uncompleted projects and some of which can best be described as ‘white elephant’ projects at the expense of moderate and functional ones in various states in Nigeria. Though, there is nothing wrong being futuristic in projects planning and execution, but should not be at the expense of moderate ones needed immediately by the populace. It has been observed that some cases arose, because the people, were not carried along in the planning and execution of the projects.

Though, past administrations in Ogun State introduced futuristic projects, particularly, road and bridges, to the people, most of these projects are unrealistic, unnecessary, considering their location and state of the economy.

The Adekunle Mokuolu-led Committee set up by the Ogun State Government when Governor Dapo Abiodun, came on board, had reported that the State as at 2020 needs over N218 billion to execute road projects inherited from the administrations of Otunba Gbenga Daniel and Senator Ibikunnle Amosun.

However, a review of some of these projects, showed that many of them should not have been embarked upon at that time, when a more pressing ones, were left undone in the face of economic reality.

Since Governor Dapo Abiodun came on board in Ogun State, many road projects were planned, some completed while some are at various stages of completion in various parts of the Gateway State.

Comparatively, some of these projects, particularly road projects, were modest in size, but are very impactful and gainful to communities, where they were located.

Abiodun Two of such projects are the Fajol-Alogi-Osara Junction -Gbonagun -Odoeran Road and the Kemta- Ilugun- Somorin Obantoko Road, both of which traversed two local governments Abeokuta South and Odeda in Ogun Central Senatorial District.

While the Fajol-Alogi-Osara Junction- Gbonagun-OdoeranRoad, had been completed and already being used with very positive impact on residents, the Kemta- Ilugun--Somorin Obantoko Road, is at over 85 per cent completion stage.

For residents and property owners that were connected to these two road projects, it was a dream come true as value of their properties had appreciated in multiple folds. The roads have led to springing up of many commercial and residential buildings as they can now boasts of many shopping complexes and even hotels.

Speaking with THISDAY, the Chairman of one of the Community Development Associations (CDA), that were linked by Fajol-Odoeran Road, Chief Adewunmi Adegboyega, described the road as very impactful and a great dividend of democracy in the real sense of it.

He said, “This road has raised development in this axis

from Fajol to Odoeran. Before the construction, many property owners had stopped driving their cars and became regular customers of commercial motorcycle riders popularly, called okada, with attendant problems. While some completely stopped driving their vehicles due to high cost of maintenance caused by very bad road then, some drive their cars, only on occasional days like Sundays when going to churches.

“The road has also led to increase in rent as a two-bedroom flat, which hitherto goes for as low as N120,000 per annum now goes for N250,000 per annum.

“For landed property, those who invested in land in this axis and are now selling it cautiously, are now smiling to banks. A plot of land that was sold for N400,000 before this road was constructed, now goes for N2 million and even depending on their closeness to the main road. Some go for as much as N6 million.

“One unique feature of this road is that it was constructed without inflicting or better still very minimum pains on some residents and house owners. During its construction, properties were not demolished, except where extremely necessary and very rear cases, owners of such structures, knew they must give way for the construction,” Adegboyega said.

Like it happened to residents and property owners connected to Fajol-Odoeran Road, Mr Dele Ologede, a resident of Ilugun- Kemta, the 6.9km Kemta-Ilugun-Somorin Obantoko Road, said the impact of the road is unquantifiable.

Apart from the gains and benefits that this road had brought to property owners that were connected by it, the road now save commuters, a lot of manhour lost to traffic issues that they hitherto, experienced on the ever busy Oshiele- Obantoko- Asero-Adatan Road.

The road that is already in use even at its level of completion, is now serving as a major bypass for motorists going to Idiaba, Oke-Mosan, Ijaye, Sapon and other areas of Abeokuta metropolis from Oshiele, Camp and Obantoko on AbeokutaIbadan Road.

Read full article online - www.thisdaylive.com

Marketing Edge Awards @10: Credibility as Niche Strategy Ten years after the unveiling of the Marketing Edge Awards, Raheem Akingbolu writes that the promoters of the reward and recognition platform have carved a niche for it through adherence to standard and painstaking assessment.

L

ike every new thing, the debut of the Marketing Edge Awards 10 years ago was received with mixed feelings. Perhaps because local recognition to practitioners in the marketing communications industry was just coming up or general aspersion towards existing rewarding platforms in other sectors, only a few people expected something different from the promoters of the award. To another set of people, who believed the Lagos Advertising & Ideas Festival (LAIF) had already filled the gap, any other award in the industry was unnecessary. It would be recalled that LAIF, a brain child of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) was instituted in 2006 with the aim of recognising, rewarding and fostering creative excellence in all areas of marketing communications.

But for John Ajayi, who initiated the new award as an offshoot of his wholly Marketing Communications journal – Marketing Edge, it was a well-thought-out idea, conceived, to look beyond agencies and identify corporate organisations and brand custodians, who have excelled in what they do. According to him, the award was conceived to reward excellence across the nation’s integrated marketing communications spectrum. The awards ceremony has become the acme of events in the calendar of industry stakeholders in Nigeria and a talking point globally.

“The decision to initiate this award was basically to create a popular and acceptable industry event around our raison deter which is to promote the brand idea. Having been a pace- setter and a passionate apostle in brand journalism for quite a while, we felt we could give full expression in practical terms in promoting the brand idea. This I would say encouraged us to further expand our frontiers in creating more awareness in the business of brand management and the management of brand businesses,” Ajayi told THISDAY during the week while reviewing the award brand in the last 10 years.

Have the awards lived up to expectation? Has it actually stimulated the industry? What is it’s worth and rating in the market? These are the questions many industry

players have tried to answer in the last few years. Based on feedback, it may not be out of place to conclude that the promoters of the award have proved beyond a reasonable doubt that they know their onions and carve a niche in the industry.

One major edge that Marketing Edge award has, that hasn’t been rivaled by any of such institution in this part of the world is the intellectualisation of the event through Marketing Edge Annual National Marketing Summit, which set it apart from the jamborees that characterizes similar award in this part of the world. Beyond reading of citations and receiving of plaques, the Marketing Edge award is recorded as the greatest convergence of industry legends. Hence, it is always a two-in-one event where global and local industry issues are discussed by top professionals with the aim of sharing experiences on brand management and businesses. Every year, the team creates some degree of industry intellectualisation as part of its bouquet. They instigate contemporary conversation around most profound themes that touch the heart of brand marketing business. This is one important segment that seems to excite industry players the most as it helps them to further expand the frontiers of marketing and advertising knowledge.

Ajayi, who argued that to a very greater extent, the Marketing Edge awards has met its target objectives, said it has become an incredibly most sought-after award in the country.

“We have consistently and robustly raised the bar and improved on our standards and value additions through innovative ideas that characteristically set us apart from other “ me too’ awards. The credibility of the awards and the high expectations and excitement our awards generate year in, year out continues to encourage us and ginger us in taking it always a notch higher in terms of quality and superb execution. This has been the impetus and the elixir that pushes us up the most in creating a credible and well-respected platform for brands and advertising excellence. Nigerian marketing and advertising professionals are fantastic people who have built great and market leading brands. Most of these brands have over the years become legacy brands,” Assessing the brand in the last ten years and setting the tone for the upcoming 10th edition, the czar of the Nigeria’s marketing industry, Mr. Biodun Shobanjo, in his terse but highly loaded

congratulatory message to the team, described the job of sustaining the tempo of the award as being magnificent. “You know I always applaud your incredible efforts. And to think you’ll be 10 years in the industry next week is just so amazing,” Shobanjo said.

Last year, the awards made a smart leap and looked beyond its comfort zone by spreading its dragnet into the public service environment. It was its 9th edition, which was a prelude to the 10th anniversary. In an unprecedented move, the award fished out two state governors; Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos and Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State. The decision to settle for the two political leaders was understandable. As at the time of the event, the Lagos helmsman, who was honoured with “Outstanding Political Brand Icon of the Year”, had just succeeded in creatively averting a calamity that would have consumed the state, following the #EndSARS mass protest and economic challenge posed by COVID-19 and lockdown. On the other hand, the Ekiti State Governor, who was conferred with the Marketing Edge Outstanding Political Brand Personality of the Decade, as the chairman of the Governors’ Forum, leads the respected group of state executives without hassles and provided quality leadership that fosters mutual relationship between the federal and state governments.

Commending the awards at its 9th edition, Sanwoolu had acknowledged the contributory efforts of Marketing Edge in repositioning the integrated marketing communications profession in Lagos and Nigeria at large. Expressing his profound gratitude for the prestigious recognition, he said: “I say, thank you very much for your roles in making the marketing communications profession respectable. I cannot deny that our nation, our state and indeed the industry have benefited immensely from your professionalism, ingenuity, and knowledge.”

He said: “During the trying days of our stay in office, I benefited immensely from the strategic counsel of members of your trade who work with me internally and those who provide strategic counsel to me externally.

Let me promise you one thing today, I have become the Marketing Ambassador of your profession amongst my colleagues in the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) and indeed to our government at the national level. We all need your craft.”

25

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

POLITY

Pepc Foundation Inaugurates ‘Back to School’ Initiative in Lagos Ferdinand Ekechukwu and Ijeoma Okonji The much awaited ‘Back to School’ initiative of the Pepc Foundation, a Non – Governmental Organisatiion (NGO) based in Nigeria and United States of America (USA), which has been impacting on students across local governments in Lagos State for about five years, was inaugurated on August 30, 2022 at the Lekki Local Council Development Area (LCDA).

The foundation has been distributing educational items such as school bags, socks, branded exercise books, calculators, pencils, pens, erasers and sharpeners, as part of the foundation’s educational support for school resumption annually.

About 400 students were presented with school items at the Lekki LCDA. While 700 others benefitted from the gesture in Ibeju Lekki Local Government.

Requests for the educational support materials were Officials of Pepc Foundation with students at Lekki Local Council Development Area (LCDA), after presenting education support made across the state. The founder of Pepc Foundation, materials…recently.

Barrister Luqman Akinsanya, speaking at the start of the programme, thanked the council for accommodating his Constituency II and former Special Adviser to the Goverconverged on the Ikorodu Youth Centre to partake amid fun team to impact on the community. nor on Commerce and Industry, Hon. Temitope Ogungbo; and joy.

He also promised to make the humanitarian gesture a Supervisor for Education, Ibeju LG. Hon. Abdullahi Sesan A total of 5000 students are expected to benefit as the continuous exercise. One of the schools visited include Olowa; and the Chairman, Ibeju Lekki Local Government. distribution train would move to other parts of the Magbon Alade Grammar School, where the foundation In a related development, it was commendations and state. A former aspirant for the Ikorodu Constituency I also distributed educational materials. Other stakeholders prayers galore in Ikorodu last Wednesday, as the Pepc in the Lagos State House of Assembly and a close ally who graced the occasion include Hon. Rasaki Bamidele Foundation in same manner distributed educational items of the founder of the Pepc Foundation, Prince Eniola Kasali, and the Chairman, Lekki LCDA, Mr. Oladele to over 2000 students in Ikorodu LG, Ijede LCDA and ‘Wakeup’ Adeyemi, in his remarks at the event in Ajayi.

Imota LCDA as support for their resumption at school.

Ikorodu, said: “This is one of those exemplary deeds needed in Others are the APC candidate for the Ibeju Lekki A massive crowd of students, parents and other residents the society.”

Capri-Sun Excites Kids with Back-to-School Promo

W

ith school resumption on the minds of parents and children, Nigeria’s leading kids fruit drink, Capri-Sun, is ushering kids back to school with a new consumer promotion. The promotion tagged “Capri-Sun Back-to-School Promo” began on September 1, 2022 and will run for a period of five weeks.

Through this promotion, Capri-Sun will be rewarding kids across Nigeria, as they have the opportunies to win free Edu-Kit inside every carton of their favourite Capri-Sun 200ml carton that they purchase within the promo period.

Each Edu-Kit contains school supplies – 2 pencils, 1 sharpener, 1 plastic pair of scissors & 1 eraser for school

children as they return to school for the new academic session.

As part of the Capri-Sun Back-to-School Promo, the cartons have been designed to look more attractive and distinct from the regular Capri-Sun cartons. Children now have one more reason to enjoy their favourite fruit drink as they go back to school with learning, excitement, adventure and the taste of fun.

The promo is being amplified nationwide with an effective media campaign.

Capri-Sun offers a convenient way to hydrate with a natural taste that appeals to kids. It is made with all-natural ingredients – that means no artificial colours, no artificial sweeteners, no artificial flavours and no preservatives. CHI Limited’s Marketing Director, Mrs.

Toyin Nnodi, stated that the Capri-Sun Back-to-School Promo is another unique platform to reward fun-loving kids with educational supplies as they begin a new academic session.

“The Capri-Sun Back-to-School Promo is an opportunity to create excitement by rewarding children with Edu-Kit cases for learning as they relish the delicious taste of fun in every carton of their favourite drink purchased within the promo period,” she said.

The Edu-Kit case is available in the Capri-Sun Back-toSchool 200ml cartons of 40 units and 16 units. Capri-Sun is available in Orange and Apple variants, and comes in 200ml and 100ml fun pouches. It can be purchased in all departmental stores, neighbourhood shops, open markets and supermarkets located across Nigeria

L-R: Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; President Muhammadu Buhari; Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal, and Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed, after the meeting of the Presidential Committee on the Review of Nigeria’s National Economic Situation in State House…yesterday.

L-R: Chief Executive Officer, Lagos Free Zone, Dinesh Rathi; Divisional Head, Capital Markets, Nigerian Exchange Limited, Jude Chiemeka; Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited, Funso Akere; Director, Lagos Free Zone, Adesuwa Ladoja and Chief Financial Officer, Lagos Free Zone, Ashish Khemka during the closing gong ceremony for LFZC Bond listing on NGX in Lagos….. yesterday

L-R: The Brand Manager, Sunlight, Unilever Nigeria, Kolade Oluwapelumi; West Africa Nutrition Business Lead, Unilever, Kehinde-Lawal Bolanle; Director, Corporate Affairs and Sustainable Business, Unilever, West Africa, Soromidayo George and Category Manager, Homecare, Unilever Nigeria, Oladapo Oshuntoye; during the Sunlight Masterbrand Relaunch held in Marriott Hotel, Lagos ….. recently

L-R: Centre Manager Euracare, Dr. Busola ESO; Chief Operating Officer Euracare, Sylvester Shih; Managing Director Euracare, Pieter Slabberts; Vice Chairman and General Manager, Nigerian Rugby League, Ade Adebisi; Chief of Staff Euracare, Chigozirim Otefe-Edebi; and NRLA Strategy Advisor, Michael Ogungbiyi at the signing of MOU on health support between Euracare and Nigerian Rugby League in Lagos… recently

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

26

POLITY

Tackling Out-of-school Children Scourge with BESDA in Katsina Francis Sardauna writes that the Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) programme has significantly reduced the out-of-school children crisis in Katsina State

T

ackling the scourge of out-of-school children has become imperative in Katsina State in the light of myriads of social vices inherently tied to the problem. These out-of-school children eventually become adults, with no formal education, and therefore bereft of ideas or motivation to boldly contemplate life without indulgence in heinous activities.

It is therefore on account of the compelling urgency for taming the scourge that the World Bank, through the federal government in 2019, commenced the implementation of its $21 billion Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) in 22 local governments out of the 34 local government areas in Katsina State in order to increase equitable school access for all children.

Additionally, 13 local governments were later selected in the state for the World Bank intervention programme for intensive literacy programme, using the Reading and Numeracy Activity (RANA) and Jolly Phonics models as part of efforts to strengthen accountability for results in basic or elementary education in the state.

The five-year BESDA intervention programme is implemented in the state through three thematic areas - increase in the equitable access to children’s education, improving literacy and system strengthening - are geared towards eradicating the out-of-school syndrome which has been a nightmare for educationalists in the state.

These thematic areas are aimed at enhancing the enrolment and retention of learners (especially girls); supporting improvement in literacy; strengthening schools through capacity building of education managers and monitoring, technical and field officers on project management, data collection, analysis and reporting.

It also seeks to conduct annual school census and improve monitoring and evaluation system, data utilization, learning environment and sanitation. In the first phase of the programme, 1,004 conventional primary schools were selected in the state.

In order to achieve the literacy aspect of the programme, 224 master trainers and mentors were identified, screened and trained on Reading and Numeracy Activity pedagogy and on how to step down the knowledge gained or acquired to 5,161 teachers across the state.

To ensure accountability and sustainability of the programme in the state, the state’s government inaugurated an implementation committee headed by the Executive Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Alhaji Lawal Buhari Daura, while the monitoring team is under the supervision of the state’s Commissioner for Education, Prof. Badamasi Lawal Charanchi.

The committees immediately went into action,

Katsina SUBEB Chairman, Lawal Daura. identified and integrated 55 Qur’anic schools and registered 25,922 Al-majirai from across the selected local governments. They equally identified and trained 540 facilitators and mentors between 2019 to date.

Within the period under review, the Better Education Service Delivery for All had returned no fewer than 361,525 out-of-school children to different schools across the selected local governments in the state which represent 36 per cent of its set target. 255 Qur’anic schools were also integrated into the formal education sector in the state.

For effective and efficient learning to thrive, 1,550,616 learning materials, comprising both textbooks, teachers’ guide and writing materials, have been procured and distributed to thousands of formal and non-formal learning centres across the benefiting local governments. 25,922 mats were also procured and distributed to the non-formal centres.

Renewed priority attention by the implementers of the BESDA programme towards curbing out- of –school children, led to the purchase and distribution of 90,000 pairs of school uniforms, sandals and bags to formal and non-formal learning centres as well as the construction of learning shades and boreholes in 25 learning centres.

To boost e-learning and monitoring of the programme, two dynamic websites were established at SUBEB and the state’s Ministry of Education, while 1,500 monitoring tabs, 40 laptop

computers were procured and shared to the BESDA’s monitoring team. 400 copies of admission registers and 20,000 white boards were equally distributed to schools in the state.

Addressing journalists last Friday on the achievements of the BESDA programme in Katsina, Daura said 7,378 personnel, including technical team, management, head teachers, centre facilitators, mentors, SBMC and teachers had been trained on capacity building.

Under the programme, he said, 2,136 facilitators and 394 proprietors of integrated Qur’anic schools, as well as mentors, had been receiving monthly allowances of N15,000 each in order to ensure effective and efficient service delivery in the education sector.

He explained that the government, through the BESDA programme, had provided grants of N362,944 to 945 schools across the state, adding that one block of two classrooms, office, store and 2,856 sets of furniture have been provided to 60 schools. Daura said: “We also procured two Hilux vehicles for monitoring and distributed 250 sets of first aid boxes with supplement to learning centres.

Training of 100 gender, legal, zonal coordinators and six GBV service providers on school related gender-based violence, response mechanism, referral and pathways channels, child right and code of conduct was also done.

“We equally produced 6,000 copies of Code of Conduct for Integrated Qur’anic schools (IQS) facilitators and proprietors. 145 Samsung (Tab A7 lite) tablets were also procured and distributed to 34 LGAS regulating team by the BESDA programme in Katsina state.”

Consequently, the SUBEB boss called on the World Bank, through the federal government, to consider the extension of the programme beyond its closing month of October this year because of the programme’s significant impacts on the lives of the citizenry in the state.

He added, “I would like to express our deep appreciation to the federal government through the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) for providing us with these grants to develop the basic education in the state. I would like to also express our appreciation to Governor Aminu Bello Masari for all the necessary support given to us towards the development of basic education in the state.”

Education remains a leveller that must be accorded priority if Katsina, which has an estimated population of eight million people, must overcome the present hydra-headed monster of insecurity.

Therefore, it is a matter of priority for the state government to keep up with the current momentum in tackling the challenge of out-of-school children as future prosperity and stability of the country depend on success recorded. The government should also ensure that the Better Education Service Delivery for All, BESDA, is sustained.

About ADVAN President’s Desired Retention of Unfair Advantage Kanene Obiajulu

B

ased on most recent public intervention in the Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) industry matters, Osamede Uwubanwmen, President of the Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN), can be deemed to have a dim view of advertising agencies.

In an undisguised dismissive interview with Brand Communicator, an IMC-focused publication, Uwubanwmen described agencies as “just one vendor” out of many, an echo of the sneering “Eleyi”.

The interview, perhaps expectedly, brimmed with blames.

Of course, none went in the direction of ADVAN. In addition, it contained no little chest-thumping, thrown in to amplify the worth of his interventions, as a way of projecting agencies as inconsiderate and unbending.

In the main, Uwubanwmen and ADVAN are unhappy that the newly revitalized Advertising Regulation Council of Nigeria (ARCON) is finally taking the business of advertising as seriously as it should be. Uwubanwmen and a few businessas-usual cohorts are in a the wrong headed disagreement that advertising agencies are desirous of a more robust industry and healthier individual businesses by insisting on adherence to the provisions of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria’s Advertising Industry Standard of Practice (AISOP) in relationship with their clients.

“When I was elected President of ADVAN the first thing what I did was to use my first one month to meet with all the Presidents and the Excos of other associations because I felt we could reach a middle point, especially with the Heads of Advertising sectoral Groups (HASG). My thought was that we should lay down our arms.

“The last time we met, it seemed some attendees were in a warlike mood as someone forcefully declared that the Advertising Industry Standard of Practice (AISOP) has come to stay, and added that only a court order can stop AISOP. It was not conciliatory in any way,” said the ADVAN President.

Easy to see that Uwubanwmen believes that a law that had been enacted before his emergence as ADVAN leader should be changed just because a new sheriff ( his majesty Osamede Uwubanwmen) had come to town.

It is no surprise that the ADVAN President and the association he leads have remained red-eyed since AISOP was issued. AISOP’s primary objectives are to ensure mutual agency-client respect, eliminate unfair advantage, unethical inter-agency competition and inequitable policies among stakeholders in Nigeria’s advertising and marketing communications ecosystem.

The framework straddles policy of agency engagement, payment terms and mode, media rates and commission, disengagement protocol, audience measurement and dispute resolution among others.

Somewhat predictably, of all AISOP’s provisions, the one that got ADVAN’s goat-and still does-is the 45- day payment policy, which replaces the previous practice under which clients pay agencies -in the best case-between 90 and 120 days. In case the stipulated payment period is exceeded-as it frequently was under the old arrangement, AISOP provides for the payment of a certain percentage as default penalty to agencies to enable them to afford their own lenders’ default charges.

The lengthy payment period of before was accompanied by the grind of reinvoicing when invoices went missing-not an uncommon occurrence. This means agencies would start invoicing all over again, lengthening the waiting period of

their own suppliers, including media organizations whose lifeblood is advertising revenue. But agencies could do nothing in a relationship that is more oppressive or abusive and one in which the victim could be easily ditched, forcing it to carry on as though things went on swimmingly for fear of being blacklisted Uwubanwmen and ADVAN continue to argue that agencies need to understand their clients better, as what AISOP provides for is impossible because of the peculiarities of each industry their clients operate in. But you have to ask if the industries do not have equivalents in South Africa, Kenya and the Western World where they have regulations on payment similar to AISOP, making payment periods infinitely elastic and crushing not just the business of the agencies but also those of many stakeholders like the media.

The ADVAN’s President does not come across as someone who wants agencies to stand with their heads raised when relating with their clients because he thinks very little of them.

He prefers to have their heads droop and hands-behind-backs like hostages posing for photos their abductors need to use as proof of life. The evidence is available in the concentrated condescension borne by his words in the interview.

“I was talking to an Executive Director and he was lamenting that all the agencies they invited for a pitch had an extremely similar template. The creative director in agency A moves to agency B in two years’ time and as he leaves, he takes the template there. The same thing is replicated everywhere as they move aggressively in search of greener pastures. When you sit down at presentations, you virtually hear similar things from all the agencies.

Read full article online - www.thisdaylive.com

3

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ APRIL 24, 2011

GLOBAL SOCCER A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

10.9.2022

NEWS

DATE WITH HISTORY

Calvin Bassey Living up to Billing

PAGE. 29

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

28

GLOBAL SOCCER

Calvin Bassey in action for Ajax against Rangers in the UEFA Champions League during the week

Calvin Bassey Living up to Billing

Very few players have been able to manage big price tag on them, but for Calvin Bassey, he has surpassed expectation in spite of his record-breaking move from Glasgow Rangers to Ajax Amsterdam. Little wonder the club’s legend, Frank De Boar said the Nigerian is‘undroppable’

W

hen Ajax confirmed the signing of Super Eagles defender, Calvin Bassey from Rangers on a five-year contract for €27.5m including add-ons, some analysts were doubtful if the Super Eagle could cope with the pressure of the big transfer money which is the second highest fee ever paid by Ajax for a signing, coming some way short of Steven Bergwijn’s €31.25m move from Tottenham Hotspur earlier.

His departure saw Rangers pocket a clubrecord fee for a player that cost them a mere £230,000 from Leicester two years ago.

The 22-year-old joined Rangers from Leicester City for a Training Compensation Fee in the summer of 2020, making 65 appearances for the Light Blues.

Bassey has however been impressive since joining Ajax and has been hailed by the Amsterdam boss, Alfred Schreuder as a massive signing for them.

Ahead of his Ajax clash against Bassey’s former team-Glasgow Rangers in the Champions League at the Johan CruyffArena on Wednesday, Schreuder hailed the Super Eagles defender as a massive signing for them.

“I think he’s a great signing for us,” Schreuder said ahead of his sides against Rangers.

“We’re happy that he’s here on our team. He’s a very positive guy, good energy in the team; he’s improving with the ball. We’re very happy he’s in our squad,” he said.

Earlier, Dutch football legend, Ronald De Boer hailed the young Super Eagles defender, saying he loves how quickly the Nigerian has settled to life at Ajax.

He said he has shown great strength, speed and good football skills, and that’s not common with new young players.

The Ajax great described the former Rangers man as a fantastic signing and said his former club should not look forward to him.

“I’ve been really impressed by Bassey. He was unlucky to be sent-off in the Super Cup,” he said.

“He started the game well and we have already had the people who thought he was just a big lump, charging around kicking people, changing their opinions.

“He gives Ajax strength and speed and on the ball he’s alright. Of course, he can still improve on that part of his game but I think he showed in the last few games that he’s undroppable.”

De Boer added that; “Rangers won’t be looking forward to meeting him again. I thought he was one of the best players in the Europa League final, he was unbelievable.

“He’s still very young so it’s a great signing for Ajax. He has some rough edges but Ajax is the perfect place to polish those up. He’ll come under the wing of Daley Blind and be taught the Ajax philosophy, which is to play the ball along the ground and make combinations.”

Bassey made his Champions League debut for Ajax, and he put in a strong performance to help his side.

He admits he will let his former Rangers pals recover from their hiding in Holland before passing on his best wishes.

It was a miserable reunion for the Ibrox side as they came face to face with the breakout star of last year’s incredible Europa League run. Bassey won his £20million move to Ajax on the back of that Seville surge but has remained close with his former team-mates, even visiting them in Eindhoven ahead of last month’s play-off win over PSV. But he admits the aftermath of Wednesday night’s Champions League pummelling was not the time for a fresh catch-up. He said: “I didn’t think I could just message them just like that tonight. I’ll give them a day. It just depends on how they are. I haven’t seen them for a while.

Obviously, I’m buzzing on one side but (on the other) I can’t explain it, it’s a weird feeling.

“When I’m not playing against the (Rangers) boys I wish them the best and I’m always rooting for them to win. But being on the pitch against them, I just had to switch that focus because now I’m here. I’ve got to give 100 per cent and I’m just pleased to get the win.

“I wouldn’t say it was easy for us. I just think we executed what the manager wanted from us right at times. There’s still work to be done for us to get better but we’re pleased with the performance. We just need to keep working on.”

Speaking after his side’s loss to Ajax, Rangers coach Giovanni Van Bronckhorst admitted that he wishes that he had the services of Super Eagles defender when they took on Ajax in the UEFA Champions League. But he maintains that the team has to move on.

“Of course, I would have loved to have Calvin on the bench today, but we sold him for so much money. Players go and players come. They are

good players but they are not playing for us anymore.

Bassey played his part in Rangers’ historic 55th league title victory, won the 2022 Scottish Cup, while also having a huge role in the incredible UEFA Europa League run to the final in Seville last season.

The highly-rated defender attracted interest from Brighton and clubs across Europe, including Bundesliga and Serie Asides but Schreuder had spoken to Bassey over the phone and made huge impression on the 22-year-old.

Bassey made 50 appearances across all competitions for Rangers last season and was named in the Europa League team of the season following Rangers’ run to the final.

He also played a key role as the club won the Scottish Cup in May, adding to the Scottish Premiership title he won the previous campaign.

Former Rangers striker, Kris Boyd told Sky Sports News: “Especially towards the end of this season, and the Europa League run that Rangers had, Bassey was unbelievable. He’s versatile too; he can play left-back, he can play the left of a two, left of a three, the centre of three and I think that’s why he’s attracting clubs. We know, nowadays, that when teams are looking at players, they are looking at them to cover numerous positions and he, Bassey, certainly falls into that category.

“These performances towards the end of the season for Rangers were outstanding and you felt as if the team got lots of belief from that as well. They didn’t have to protect the back line as much because of his pace, recovery, ability to deal with one-on-one situations. If he has to go, as it looks as though is going to happen, he will be a big miss for Rangers.

“Players have left in the past and they replaced, but I think this one could be a little bit difficult because of that versatility. I think Rangers will need cover. So, they are going to need someone to come in at left-back, and someone that can play on the left-hand side of a two or a three as well off the back of losing Bassey.

“Virgil van Dijk proved it at the top level, but I think is very harsh on such a young boy, at this moment, time to label him. But he’s showing that he’s got the attributes; he’s got the pace, he’s got the aggression, he’s good with the ball, he can defend one-on-ones, so he will be an attractive signing for someone.

The 22-year-old shot himself to the top of every major club’s shopping list after a great week that saw him excel in the Europa League and Scottish Cup finals.

Rangers lost to German foes Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville, but Bassey was outstanding at centre-back, and he subsequently made the competition’s Team of the Season.

A few days later, the versatile Super Eagles defender claimed the Man-of-the-Match award playing at left full-back as the Light Blues defeated Hearts at Hampden to lift the Scottish Cup.

29

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

GLOBAL SOCCER

Sport Pays Tribute to Queen Elizabeth II As world leaders continue to pay tributes to UK’s longest-serving monarch, after Queen Elizabeth II, sports governing bodies, clubs and athletes have also joined in paying tribute to the Monarch who died at the aged of 96

Queen Elizabeth presenting the World Cup to Enland Captan, Bobby Robson in 1966

Sports fraternty pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth II

M

essages poured in from sporting governing bodies and personalities after her death was announced on Thursday. A minute’s silence was held at Manchester United, Arsenal, West Ham and Hearts’ European matches.

And in horse racing, the sport closely linked to Her Majesty, she was described as its “greatest supporter”.

HORSE RACING Ascot, the racecourse most deeply connected with the Queen, paid tribute to one of the sport’s leading advocates.

The Berkshire venue is famed for its royal meeting and procession from nearby Windsor Castle, with the Queen having enjoyed many high-profile victories at the track - not least when Estimate won the Gold Cup in 2013.

Sir Francis Brooke, Her Majesty’s representative at the track, said: “The nation mourns the loss of a much loved and respected monarch. The world of racing has lost one of its greatest supporters.

“We at Ascot are privileged to have so many memories of Her Majesty, the Queen, at this, her racecourse, including some wonderful victories in the royal colours.”

Nicky Henderson, who trained racehorses for the Queen and Queen Mother, added: “Racing has lost its best friend and greatest patron, the country has lost its Queen - but she was more than a Queen. The country has lost somebody who was its greatest servant.

She was absolutely the greatest.

“She knew horses inside out, so it was always a pleasure to be able to talk and discuss horses - and lots of other things as well. Her loss is immeasurable. It is an emotional day and I am very emotional.”

Sir Michael Stoute, trainer of Estimate, said: “It was an honour and also a great pleasure to train for the Queen because she had such a formidable knowledge of the horse.”

AP McCoy, the 20-time champion jump jockey and knighted in 2016, said the Queen had an “irreplaceable presence” while fellow jockey Frankie Dettori described it as the “honour of a lifetime” to ride for the Queen and “a greater honour to have known such a remarkable person.”

FOOTBALL Manchester United and Real Sociedad players observe a minute’s silence prior to the Europa League group E match

All Premier League clubs posted individual messages paying their respect to the Queen and the Premier League said it was “deeply saddened” by her death.

“Our thoughts and condolences are with the Royal Family and everyone around the world mourning the loss of Her Majesty,” the league said.

English Football League chair Rick Parry added: “On behalf of the league and its clubs, we join the rest of the nation and people across the world in mourning the passing of our Queen, Elizabeth II.” West Ham United fans sang ‘God Save The Queen’ at the end of a minute’s silence at London Stadium before their Europa Conference League win against Romanian side FCSB. England men’s and women’s captains Harry Kane and Leah Williamson described the Queen as an “amazing inspiration” and “a light so bright, she gave us hope when there seemed to be none”.

Former England captain David Beckham said the Queen “served her country with dignity and grace”.

Brazil legend Pele said: “I have been a great admirer of Queen Elizabeth II since the first time I saw her in person, in 1968, when she came to Brazil to witness our love for football and experienced the magic of a packed Maracana. Her deeds have marked generations.”

MOTORSPORT Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton said the Queen was an “inspiring and iconic” leader.

“Since the sad news yesterday, I’ve been reflecting on her incredible life. She was a symbol of hope for so many and she served her country with dignity, dedication and kindness,” he said.

“She was truly like no other and I’m grateful to have lived during her time. Her legacy will be long-lasting and her passing deeply felt.”

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said: “The Queen was undoubtedly one of the most respected heads of state ever to have lived, and I send my condolences, and those of the entire FIA community, to the Royal Family and all of the citizens of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.

“Motorsport, and especially Formula 1, has its heart in the United Kingdom, and the Royal Family has, over the years, given great support and patronage to the sport.

“For this we thank them, and those events taking place around the world this weekend will undoubtedly be undertaken in honour of Her Majesty.”

CRICKET The England and Wales Cricket Board said it was “deeply saddened at the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II”.

ECB chair Richard Thompson said: “I’m sure I speak for everyone in the game when I say how truly sad I am to hear of the Queen’s passing. Her Majesty has been such a great supporter of the game and was always so vocal of her and her late husband’s enjoyment around the sport.

“Her dedication to her country will never be forgotten. For her service and her selflessness over her extraordinary reign, we owe her a debt that can never be repaid.”

Golf Royal and Ancient Golf Club captain Peter Forster said: “Although not a golfer, Her late Majesty’s 70-year patronage of the Club was a great honour for its Members.

“We hold His Majesty The King and all The Royal Family in our thoughts at this time of mourning.”

The 2018 European Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn, of Denmark, said:”Living most of my adult life in England I’m deeply saddened by the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. An inspiration to so many all over the world. Rest in peace, Your Majesty.”

US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick tweeted his sympathies and fellow Englishman Tommy Fleetwood added: “Rest in Peace Your Majesty, you will be forever in our hearts.”

OLYMPICS International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said the world had lost “a great supporter of sport and the Olympic movement”.

“Her Majesty was the only head of state to declare open two editions of the Olympic Games and was already present at the Olympic Games London 1948,” he said.

“As patron of the British Olympic Association, she provided invaluable advice and help to the Olympic community.”

RUGBY LEAGUE Rugby Football League chair Simon

Johnson said the governing body was grateful to the Queen for her support of the game.

“On behalf of the RFL and the whole Rugby League family, I express our deepest and most sincere condolences on the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The whole sport is in deep mourning at this extremely sad news,” he added in a statement.

“Rugby League was honoured to have her as our patron until 2016, and throughout her long reign, Her Majesty’s sense of duty and commitment, her spirit and wisdom has been an example to all of us.

“We give grateful thanks for Her Majesty’s constant and positive influence on our communities over many generations.

“We send our deepest sympathy and most sincere condolences to the Royal Family including the RFL patron, HRH The Duchess of Cambridge. Our clubs and players at all levels will display their respect to Her Majesty wherever rugby league is played in the coming days.”

RUGBY UNION Dominic McKay, chairman of European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) - which oversees the Heineken Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup competitions - paid tribute on behalf of the organisation.

“It is with great sadness that all of us at EPCR have learned of the passing of HRH Queen Elizabeth II. We stand with our leagues, unions, clubs and beyond to honour Her Majesty and her inspirational life.

“Queen Elizabeth II was a monarch who embodied steadfastness, dignity and faithful public service and was greatly admired, respected and loved by people around the world.”

England Rugby said: “On behalf of the rugby union community in England, all at the Rugby Football Union are very saddened to hear of the death of Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II and offer our condolences to the whole Royal Family at this time.”

Scottish Rugby said it was “deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Her Majesty The Queen and offered its condolences to the whole Royal Family”, while the Welsh Rugby Union added: “We send the sincere and heartfelt condolences of Welsh rugby to the Royal Family after the passing of Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II. “Our Royal Patron for over 50 years graced our national stadium many times. We thank The Queen for years of service on this profoundly sad day.”

Irish Rugby added: “The IRFU express our condolences to the Royal Family on the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Our sympathies are with our friends in the Home Unions and their supporters.”

TENNIS Swiss legend, Roger Federer said her “elegance, grace and loyalty to her duty will live on in history” while another icon of the sport, Rafael Nadal, expressed his “deepest condolences”. Lawn Tennis Association chief executive Scott Lloyd said in a statement: “Her Majesty dedicated her life to public service throughout her 70-year reign.

She was universally admired and respected throughout the country and supported many charities and organisations unstintingly.

30

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

GLOBAL SOCCER

Winner of the first Betsy Obaseki Women Football Tournament, Bayelsa Queens pose with the trophy and dummy cheque

Ons Jabeur and Iga Swiatek

US OPEN

BETSY OBASEKI TOURNEY

Swiatek Stands between Jabeur and History

Edo Queens Zoom into Quarter Finals

Tunisian Ons Jabeur will be looking to become the first African woman and Arab player to win a Grand Slam as she takes on World No 1, Iga Swiatek in the US Open women’s singles final tonight in New York.

The two best players of the season prepare to battle it out for the final Grand Slam title.

Swiatek is a long way clear at the top of the rankings but Jabeur will climb from fifth to second after reaching her second successive major final.

Swiatek has not found the same form that carried her to a 37-match winning run earlier this season but she has

battled and come up with her best when she has needed to.

Swiatek, 21, is looking forward to meeting again with Jabeur, saying: “She has a different game style than most of the players. She has great touch. She’s just a tough opponent. I think it’s going to be a great battle.”

The Tunisian is ready to learn from her Wimbledon experience, when she won the first set of the final against Elena Rybakina but lost out in three.

Jabeur has backed that up brilliantly in New York, and she said: “It feels more real just to be in the finals again.

At Wimbledon I was kind of just living the dream, and I couldn’t believe it. Even after the match, I was just going to do my things and not realising it was an amazing achievement already.

“But now I hope I’m getting used to it. I’m just happy the fact that I backed up the results in Wimbledon and people are not really surprised I’m in the finals.

“I feel very positive about this one. The most important thing is not to regret, because I’m going to give it all on this one. Even if this one is not going to happen, I’m very sure that another one will come.”

Osimhen Ruled Out of Napoli Champions League Clash with Rangers Super Eagles striker, Victor Osimhen has been ruled out of Napoli’s Champions League clash against Glasgow Rangers on Tuesday, September 13.

The Nigeria international aggravated an existing injury during the matchday one fixture against Liverpool on Wednesday, leading to his substitution in the 41st minute.

Osimhen had been rated as doubtful to play his first Champions League game for

the Blues but was passed fit in the hours leading up to the start of the match at the Diego Maradona Stadium.

The 23-year-old did not train fully with the Napoli squad for two days before the visit of Liverpool.

According to Napoli’s official website, he underwent medical examinations on Friday morning and tests revealed a second-degree injury to his right hamstring.

The Parthenopeans did not

reveal Osimhen’s return date but it is all but confirmed that manager Luciano Spalletti won’t count on the Nigerian for the visit of Spezia this weekend and the trip to Glasgow.

Rangers confirmed yesterday that the UEFA Champions League fixture against Napoli will go ahead as planned.

All SPFL fixtures this weekend were canceled as a mark of respect following the death of The Queen.

Aruna Breaks Assar’s Jinx to Claim African Title Since 2018, Quadri Aruna has been playing second fiddle to Egyptian Omar Assar in finals of continental tournaments but yesterday in Algiers, the Nigerian broke the jinx to emerge as the new African Men Champion.

Both players were not really tested at the ITTF African Senior Championships until the final where they both played their best match at the tournament.

Aruna won the title in a comeback fashion having been

down 2-0 against the Egyptian and was on the verge of losing again when Assar was leading 3-1. But the Nigerian tenacity and prowess came to fore as he fought back to level at 3-3 and was leading in the final game for the tie to go into 12-12.

Good shots from the Nigerian were all he needed to conquer the Egyptian and claim his first continental title since 2018. Aruna won 4-3 (8-11, 9-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-7, 13-11, 14-12)

An elated Aruna described the tie as energy-sapping while he lauded his opponent for good display. “I think I gave my all and even when I was down I did not give up. I think I just stayed focus and this worked out for me and I am happy that my efforts in Algiers paid off for me,” he said.

This win will surely shore up Aruna ranking in the world while Taiwo Mati performance will also help his rating in the world.

Chukwueze, Olayinka Make UEFA Europa Conference League Goal of the Week Two Super Eagles stars Samuel Chukwueze and Peter Olayinka have been nominated for the UEFA Europa Conference League Goal of the Week, informs the official website of UEFA. Making his debut in the competition, Chukwueze registered a goal and assist to help Villarreal secure a hard-fought 4-3 win over Lech Poznan at Estadi Ciutat de València on Thursday evening.

After Michal Skoras had opened the scoring for the visitors, Chukwueze restored parity in the 32nd minute when he latched onto a ball from Mojica and smashed a left-footed volley into the corner of the net.

Five minutes before halftime, Álex Baena gave Villarreal a two-goal cushion assisted by the Nigeria international.

Peter Olayinka helped Slavia

Prague earn a valuable point at Ahmed Musa’s Sivasspor.

The number 9 won the ball in the Sivasspor half and rushed towards the goal before firing under the crossbar from a tight angle to make it 1-0.

Chukwueze and Olayinka are up against Hasan Ali Kaldırım (stanbul Baakehir) and Wouter Burger (Basel) for the UEFA Europa Conference League Goal of the Week.

Edo Queens Football Club of Benin City yesterday booked a place to play in the quarter final of the second Betsy Obaseki Women Football Tournament holding in Benin City, Edo state.

Edo Queens got the quarters ticket after defeating Royal Queens of Warri 1-0 to amass six points and + 10 Goal Difference from two matches.

Edo Queens lone goal was scored by Yemisi Samuel in the 80th minute of play after she got a pass from substitute Jumoke Alani, whose introduction changed the attacking formation, before taking a powerful shot in the penalty area that hit the cross bar before sailing into the net for a beautiful goal. This

was followed by wild jubilation by the Edo Queens bench whose team had been asking questions without getting needed answers.

In other matches played in Day Two of the Second edition of the Betsy Obaseki Women Football Tournament, Nasarawa Amazons defeated FC Robo 1-0, in a game played at the University of Benin, Ugbowo Campus, while Naija Ratels of Abuja defeated Fortress Ladies of Benin, 2-0.

Despite the 1-0 loss to Nasarawa Amazons, FC Robo still qualified for the quarter finals of the competition as the second placed team in Group A.

At the Western Boys High School venue, Ikpoba Hill, Delta Queens of Asaba beat Heartland Queens of Owerri 2 - 0 in their first game of the tournament.

In Saturday’s Day 3 of the tournament, Nasarawa Amazons will play against Brave Hearts FC of Benin at the University of Benin, Ugbowo Campus at 10 am.

The second game at the Uniben, Ugbowo campus, will see Confluence Queens confront Fortress Ladies of Benin.

At the Western Boys school, Royaltoms will be home to Royal Queens at 10am, while the second game at the Western Boys holds 1pm between Osun Babes FC and Heartland Queens.

Curtains Draw on Okunbo @ 60 Golf Tourney Today Golf activities at the Kingsley Okunbo @ 60 Invitational Golf Tournament (Pro-Am) will come to a close today at Benin Club Golf Section (BCGS), Benin City, Edo State.

The grand finale will commence with ceremonial tee-off by 9am just as men’s hcp 1-18 and ladies hcp 1-28 that make the cut from Friday event are to join all

guests to play while presentation of trophies and dinner party commences from 4pm.

According to Ignatius Aigbokhaode, Chairman, who is organising the birthday golf tournament was organised

by Committee of Friends, and attracted over 200 golfers and 80 Caddies from different golf clubs in Nigeria in honour of

Okunbo, who was a former two-term Captain of BCGS: and has contributed greatly to golf development in Edo and in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, trophies and other fabulous prizes will be presented to all those who excelled in their various categories as well as individual cadres at today’s closing ceremony.

Lagos LG Bestows Award on Egbe The 2022 Award for the Ambassador of Ajegunle has been bestowed on the MD/CEO of Monimichelle Sports Facility Construction Ltd, Mr Ebi Egbe, by the Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Government Area in Lagos State.

The Chairman of the Organising Committee for the Ajeromi Ifelodun Heroes and Icons Award, Comrade Andrew Olaseni Collins, in a statement noted that Egbe was selected for this year’s award based on his track record of constructing world class sporting facilities across Nigeria and beyond.

Comrade Andrew Olaseni Collins also alluded to Egbe’s unmatched excellence, professionalism and attitude in his field of endeavor which reflects the

Ajegunle spirit of resilience and dilligence.

The Ogboinbiri, Bayelsa State born FIFA match Agent has been on the forefront in the drive of eradicating poor football playing pitches across Nigeria and the Sub-Saharan region by partnering with state governments and the private sector through soft and revolving loan arrangement to drive the growth of football at the grassroots level.

Responding to the rare privilege by the organisers of Ajeromi Ifelodun Heroes and Icons Awards for this recognition as the Ambassador of Ajegunle, Mr Ebi Egbe thanked them and promised to continue his

drive to eradicate poor football playing pitches across the length and breadth of Nigeria and Sub-Sahara Africa.

Monimichelle Sports Facility Construction Ltd has over the years built and refurbished various stadiums across Nigeria ranging from the Muhammadu Dikko Stadium in Katsina, Aper Aku Stadium in Makurdi, Samson Siasia Stadium in Yenagoa, Mobolaji Johnson Arena (former Onikan Stadium) in Lagos, Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne, Enyimba International Stadium, amongst others.

Egbe has promised to grace the Ajeromi Ifelodun Heroes and Icons Awards ceremony later in the year to receive the prestigious award.

Cadiz vs Barcelona, Madrid vs Mallorca Live on DStv, GOtv Second-placed Barcelona will pay a visit to bottom-placed Cadiz for this weekend’s league match. The host has endured a torrid start to the season, they have recorded four defeats from four matches and scored no goal.

The match will be live on SuperSport La Liga (DStv channel 204) and Select GO La Liga (GOtv channel 32).

League leaders and reigning champions, Real Madrid

will play host to Mallorca on Sunday afternoon at 1:00pm on SuperSport La Liga (DStv channel 204) and Select GO La Liga (GOtv channel 32).

Other games to watch out for include Rayo Vallecano vs Valencia at 1:00pm, Espanyol vs Sevilla at 3:15pm and Atletico Madrid vs Celta Vigo at 8:00pm. They will all be showing on SuperSport La Liga (DStv channel 204)

and Select GO La Liga (GOtv channel 32).

On Sunday, live action resumes with Elche vs Athletic Bilbao at 3:15pm, Getafe vs Real Sociedad at 5:30pm, Real Betis vs Villarreal at 8:00pm. While Almeria vs Osasuna will be showing on Monday at 8:00pm. The games will be live on SuperSport La Liga (DStv channel 204) and Select GO La Liga (GOtv channel 32).

31

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

GLOBAL SOCCER

Alex Iwobi From Doubtful to Everton’s Mainstay Alex Iwobi celebrates his goal against Newcastle

When he left the Emirate Stadium in 2019 for £35 million Arsenals fans saw the move as a good radiance to bad rubbish, and after failing to settle down quickly at Goodison Park, the Merseysiders started seeing his big price move as a waste of money. Last season under Frank Lampard Alex Iwobi found his groove and has taken his new found form to the new season, which has endeared him to Goodison Park faithful. So-much-so a fan tweaked his name to Iwobidinho to sound Brazilian

B

efore now the general opinion was that it was a bizarre decision from Everton to sign Alex Iwobi for such a hefty transfer fee given that his bestattacking return in a single season was three goal and six assists for Arsenal and given his performance in front of goal at Goodison Park it appears to be yet another huge waste of money by the club.

Under Frank Lampard however, the Super Eagle seems to have found his groove and now one of the first names in the manager’s list and has also warmed himself into the heart of the Evertonians.

On his 100th appearance for Everton against Nottingham Forest, Lampard showered encomiums on Iwobi after the Nigerian impressed once again.

“I thought Alex Iwobi was fantastic. Receiving it, controlling it and breaking through lines and passing well,” Lampard told Everton’s official website.

“The movements of the back three and the angles of trying to play through, especially in the early parts of the game, were really good.”

“Iwobi could have won it for Everton in stoppage time but his effort narrowly went over the crossbar.”

Reacting on his new-found form, Iwobi said: “I had a meeting with the manager (Frank Lampard) before the game (vs Chelsea) who told me – especially when we are going on the attack – that I should look around and be aware of my surroundings,” Iwobi told evertontv “It helped me going into the game and felt like I did okay.

“I felt quite comfortable in midfield. The defence was always talking to me and helping me, so I was always in the right positions at the right times.”

He added: “The gaffer is always talking to me, motivating me and telling me to go out and express myself, kick on from last season, and I feel like I’ve done that so far.

“But it’s a long season, it’s a marathon and there’s a long way to go.”

He also praised the Everton fans for backing his whole-hearted efforts.

Since joining Everton from Arsenal in a £35m deal in 2019, Iwobi has had his best few years. He has gone from a maligned player to one who has shown great versatility and style to his game.

The midfielder has found a resurgence under Lampard despite Everton’s struggles and has continued to stand out.

The Nigerian midfielder met a young Everton fan who tweaked his name to sound Brazilian, most especially like Ronaldinho’s.

“Met This Lil Legend Today, Appreciate The Love Lil Man” he tweeted.

The young fan has Iwobi’s name on his yellow Everton away jersey and has Iwobi’s number 17 spotting Iwobidinho.

Everton fans have set aside praise for Iwobi since his resurgence last season helped push the team out of relegation waters.

The new season has also seen the midfielder emerge one of the key men in the team, despite the presence of Abdoulaye Doucoure and new signing Amadou Onana in the midfield.

Fans have singled him out for praise this season as he continues to show great improvement in his application and form.

Former Arsenal striker, Ian Wright has showered praises on Iwobi for rejuvenating his career at Everton, even in the face of harsh criticisms.

Wright has watched as Iwobi has become a key figure at Everton and one of the Premier League’s most impressive playmakers.

Under Frank Lampard, Iwobi has transitioned from a winger to a wing-back and presently to a deep-lying midfielder, a role that has seen him convert his harshest critics to his ardent admirers.

Wright has highlighted Iwobi’s work-rate, ability, and vision, and the Gunners’ second-highest scorer of all time believes manager Mikel Arteta would appreciate an Iwobi in the current Arsenal midfield.

Iwobi came through the Arsenal football academy and made 149 appearances for the senior team before leaving for Everton in 2019 for €30 million.

Wright is not ruling out a return to Arsenal for the workaholic Super Eagles star.

The Englishman told Wrighty’s House podcast: “I’m so pleased with the way it’s going for him.

“I remember Arsenal fans; it’s the same thing they did with (Alex) Oxlade-Chamberlain; they ridiculed him.

“I remember watching him play in midfield early days for Arsenal at West Ham, and you’re seeing something.

“His ball progression and work rate, what Frank has now recognised him and put him there, listen to the Everton fans when he’s doing his work, they are adoring him now. I’m loving the way it’s working out for Iwobi.

“I’m just talking about somebody who’s making a massive difference to what Everton need – the work rate, his ball progression, his passing, everything.

“He’s the pass before the assist, people don’t realise it. Everton fans are now starting to realise that if they get the right players in and around him, he’s going to be a force for them.

“You look at his work rate, it’s unbelievable. It’s the kind of intensity that Mikel wants now and needs now, we need that, we need somebody who can press like that.”

Everton manager and Chelsea legend Frank Lampard and former Super Eagles midfielder and head coach Sunday Oliseh are two of football’s notable figures who have lauded Iwobi’s showings this year.

The former Chelsea midfielder highlights the Super Eagle’s display in the midfield and backs him to perform irrespective of his role in the team.

Everton manager Frank Lampard has discussed why Alex Iwobi deserves the praise and recognition he is receiving from the fans.

The 26-year-old Nigeria international has in recent months won the hearts of the Toffees faithful since the former Chelsea player took charge of the Premier League outfit. Last season, the Super Eagle was key for the team, playing 12 straight matches as they avoided relegation with two games to spare.

“He’s gaining so much respect and backing…from the fans, particularly,” Lampard told the club’s official website on Iwobi’s recent form, adding: “The benefits of Alex were very clear early in my days of getting here.

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

32

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

INTERVIEW

Oji: Government Must Drive Growth of Universities The International President, Zenith Environmental and Social Protection Network (Zespronet), Boris Chukwuemeka Oji is calling for the funding of Nigerian universities beyond grants coming from the federal and state governments. Oji who donated an N80 million post-graduate hostel to his alma mater with family and colleagues, explains how, in a chat with Nduka Nwosu

A

ltruism, which is the moral practice of concern for the happiness of other human beings is the word that best describes the love for country, the motivating force behind the activities of Boris Chukwuemeka Oji, a descendant of the royal house of Arochukwu in Abia State.

Oji is the Chief of Medicine and Chairman, Department of Medicine, Banner Del Webb Medical Center, Sun City West Arizona, United States. He does an annual pilgrimage back home to awaken the consciousness of his fellow Nigerians on the way forward, to move the country to the next level.

In each case he leads by example, first tasking himself, his family members, and his Diaspora citizens, alumni set and colleagues back home, to help him actualise his vision of the New Nigeria. All of Oji’s public-spirited campaigns flow from this understanding, that our positive inputs in others determine and sustain our wellbeing as children of God. On August 13, Oji flew into the country for the annual conference of the Zenith Environmental and Social Protection Network (Zespronet) and fund-raising dinner held at the Centenary Hall Ibeto Hotels Abuja.

During the dinner, he told an assemblage of former and current Vice Chancellors from the Southeast, top government officials and corporate chieftains, that there was an urgent need to find ways of improving the wellbeing of Nigerians through quality and affordable education, good health, and environmental protection, among others. For Oji, collective effort, and self-sacrifice, create the narrow path to the actualisation of this dream living by example always.

At a time students of Nigerian public universities have been home for six months, where the striking lecturers are insisting the time has come for government to sit up and do something on the falling standard of education in Nigeria, at a time Nigeria has become the poverty capital of the world, nothing could have been more heartwarming than the Oji narrative of doing good for the sake of improving the lot of others especially in the educating sector.

Oji’s argument is that public spirited people, alumni associations, and corporate Nigeria should come together to the aid of public institutions at this critical moment of nation building adding, “Our society is as good as our public education institutions,” and this is the primary aim of Zespronet, which is the revival of quality education in the country through the coming together of good people who are concerned about Nigeria’s fallen standard of education.

Back in Arizona Oji, a former university lecturer at Abia State University (ABSU), quickly adds his voice to the ASUU/Federal Government impasse: “From my less vantage position, I think the current protracted ASUU strike is counterproductive and is neither to the benefit of our students nor the public education system. Put in perspective, in the current 2022 education cycle, the UK issued 8000 student visas to Nigerians but in the 2023 cycle, it has issued 62,000 student visas to Nigerians; that is only the UK; we do not have the figures from Canada, India, Ghana, South Africa etc.

“Trade unionism must be a balancing act.

Rights to industrial action must not destroy the industry, in this context the universities, but ASUU, it seems, is unfortunately destroying its credibility as a union. Can we hold the leadership of ASUU and its NEC to the same scrutiny we hold our leaders? If the answer is yes, then how many of them have their children and wards in these public schools that have been thrown into indefinite strike?”

Oji is reminded that ASUU had held this government, and the ones before it to ac-

Oji

count, in keeping to its promises, which have been hardly kept. His response: “You do not get all you asked for in negotiations; you must balance the public good with your demands. I am not privy to Prof Emmanuel Osedeke’s reckless statement on state owned universities. If he did say what was attributed to him, which he has tried to walk back in vain, regarding state owned universities, then his associates need to re-evaluate his competence as ASUU President.

“Again, public education is paramount to the development of any country and that includes both state and private institutions. We have now seen the serious effects of this dichotomy whereby the private universities keep graduating their students while students in the public-school system have been home for almost a session now. Both the government and ASUU have failed these young minds.

“I love this country and I know that we are functioning below our capacity, not out of the making of the citizens, but out of the making of the elite and bad leadership,” hinting he might be home in 2023 as an election monitoring observer for the 2023 elections, hoping there would be a positive exchange of batons every Nigerian is looking forward to.

An old boy of the prestigious Methodist College Uzuakoli, Oji passed out as best allround student of his set in the Department of Optometry Abia State University (ABSU) at the age of 22 in 1996 and travelled to the US to study Medicine. “I read Medicine and did my residency at the Louisiana State University with a fellowship in Geriatrics, dealing with older folks.”

Oji did not forget his alma mater especially when it opened a School of Medicine. “When I left the country in 1996, I started thinking of what I can do to impact ABSU. In 2010, I approached the Vice Chancellor who had started a medical school. I started sending books for the Medical Library, spending $5,000 worth of books and journals annually for the past 12 years.”

As a distinguished alumnus, the university awarded him an honorary doctorate degree in 2018, the same year he founded Zespronet with his colleagues.

What brought Oji to the limelight was his setting up of Zespronet with his alumni set and the building of an N80 million post graduate hostel for ABSU where he contributed N65 million with members of his family including his younger brother Ebere who chairs a top oil company, giving him the support, he needed, with his alumni set, colleagues at the workplace and many well-wishers. “My family and I, including my younger brother, gave N65 million for that project. That was

the only way the project would have been done, and in the name of the organisation.”

He had asked the university to name what he and his set could do for ABSU. That same year, the colleagues agreed to start an NGO capable of driving its ideals which included the building of an N80 million post graduate hostel.

The big plan is to impact as many tertiary institutions in the Southeast as possible, extending its philanthropic gesture to Imo State University (IMSU) where the Provost of its College of Medicine is an alumnus of ABSU. Beyond the educational institutions, Zespronet is actively involved in the campaign to keep the environment neat, whether in terms of climate change, tree planting in Abuja and Lagos and erosion prevention in the Southeast.

According to Oji, “Our plan in IMSU was to provide it a modern public rest system because somebody visited there sometime and noticed that was not in existence.”

Happily, the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) took up the responsibility by granting the university some fund to that effect while the Vice Chancellor asked Zespronet to consider donating a printing press to the university, “because a printing press would help the business unit of IMSU generate funds for the institution.”

The complex issue for Zespronet now is the arrest of erosion ravaging ABSU, IMSU and many towns of the Southeast. As he puts it, “I do not know how God will help us because it is going to be a huge project.

Erosion runs from Abia to Imo, and Anambra states. The institutions are threatened by erosion; we want to tackle the erosion menace.

These are things that state governments can do, but they are not doing them. Erosion is pulling down one of the female hostels. My association’s goal is to get expertise from the US; we are going to tackle that erosion through tree and shrub planting, and canal diversion. It is going to be huge; if you think N80 million was big, this one is going to cost more. We shall do it together with Imo and Abia state universities.”

For IMSU, where an alumnus had risen to be a Vice Chancellor, and an ABSU alumnus Professor Bond Anyaehie, as Provost of the College of Medicine, Zespronet donated books to help accredit the medical library, sponsoring the best graduating female medical student for two years running. “We give an award to the best graduating female student with some monitoring on her academic performance.”

Oji adds for emphasis: “We need to study the evolution of the developed countries whose success story is linked to its education system especially with public institutions.

“Most of the vaccines distributed globally are developed in these public institutions. For example, the US National Health Institute is domiciled in a public university. We should be studying all of this and see how research is carried out here, the relationship between the gown and the society. Harvard and most American universities which are not private, get sponsorship from different organs or bodies including the government, the alumni, and corporations.

“These schools are all public institutions.

We had public universities that were good and outstanding but immediately we started issuing licenses for private universities, the government’s focus shifted, and those who had the resources gravitated towards the private and foreign universities especially with incessant strikes of Nigerian public universities fighting for decent infrastructure, students’ welfare, affordable school fees and accommodation, academic development, exchange programmes, research, and development, which received minimum national attention.

This is the critical mass facing us as a people.”

33

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

INTERVIEW Ekuma Eze

There is No Future without Sustainable Communities As countries around the world strive to achieve net zero emissions over the coming decades, corporates are investing in cost-effective and economically productive pathway, resulting in a clean, dynamic and resilient energy economy dominated by renewables. In Nigeria, Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Limited is leading in this regard. Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Director at NBC, Ekuma Eze talks to Eromosele Abiodun about the Coca-Cola Hellenic Company’s commitment to zero emission targets by 2040 and NBC’s investments in Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants to further reduce carbon footprint

W

hat is your job all about as the Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Director at NBC? I like to describe myself as a business leader who solves business problems by leveraging my skills in reputation and brand management, public policy management, stakeholder engagement, community relations, crisis communication, sustainability, and corporate communications. I have been in the business of building winning reputation for businesses for over two decades with experience spanning the media, banking industry, and the FMCG sectors.

As the Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Director, one of my most important tasks is to manage one of the most critical assets of the organization, which is its reputation. As a forward-thinking organization, we believe that the reputation of businesses in the next five to ten years will be tied to two major drivers of business performance and valuation: sustainability and public policy. There is an increasing need for circularity in the way companies do business, a drive for climate-neutral operations, a renewed emphasis on human rights, social impact, diversity, and inclusion.

Therefore, my job is clearly cut out to steer the business along this direction. For me, building a reputation for sustainability will be an important tool for building a competitive advantage for the business. In summary, my job entails deepening community trust, and strengthening partnerships with our key stakeholders so we continue to earn our license to operate.

As one of Nigeria’s leading manufacturers, what are some of the most important factors you consider when developing sustainability programmes for your host communities?

Across the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, which is our parent company, sustainability is embedded in every aspect of our value-chain – from how we source our raw materials to our packaging. At NBC, we say that sustainability is to us what oxygen is to life. It is the philosophy that shapes our values; what we do and how we do it. So, when designing our sustainability programs, our focus is always on our environmental, social, and governance priorities.

For each intervention we design, we take the pain to ask ourselves the difficult questions: What is the impact on our people and communities? What are the material issues to our stakeholders? How do we manage risks? How would the programme affect the environment? We want to leave the environment better than we met it without compromising its sustainability for future generations.

All these questions help us design the best possible frameworks and strategies for our communities and the market where we operate. For you to do all of these, you must have an in-depth understanding of the operating environment and what the rules of engagement are. In essence, whenever we are designing any sustainability program or framework, these are some of the key considerations that motivate what we do. I can tell you that overseeing sustainability in the business is something that gives me oxygen. I am always excited when I see lives being transformed, societies being changed and the business making an impact in our communities.

What is NBC’s major sustainability commitment and how does this align with your business strategy?

Nigeria is one of the largest markets in the CocaCola Hellenic Bottling Company, and our sustainability commitments are encapsulated in what we call the Coca-Cola Hellenic Mission Sustainability 2025 Commitments. These commitments address the following areas: how we reduce our emissions, water use and water stewardship, a world without waste and, our people and communities. This covers the

are socially equitable, environmentally sustainable, and economically beneficial. In our facilities, we challenge ourselves with over-ambitious targets on how to reduce the liters of water we use to produce our beverages and over the last 5 years, we have made significant progress. These are part of the commitments we have made and are working towards them to ensure that we deliver on each of these goals way ahead of time.

Eze Eze

six buckets that make up our sustainability commitments.

Now, let me dive a bit deeper into these buckets. When you visit any of our customers’ outlets, you see our coolers, which we use to provide chilled drinks to our consumers. So, our commitment is to increase the number of energy-efficient coolers to 50% of all our coolers in the market to help drive down our CO2 emissions by 2025. It is capital intensive to achieve this, but this is the responsibility that comes with being an industry leader. We are also committed to sourcing our electricity from clean and renewable energy sources.

At NBC, we are committed to helping secure water availability for all our communities in water-risk areas.

In the area of world without waste, which speaks to our recycling initiatives, we are committed to collecting an equivalent of 75% of our primary package materials by 2025. Again, this is a tough call, considering the scale of investment you need to achieve this target. But the fact is that we are always happy to lead the way and be part of the solution.

Diversity and inclusion are also big on our sustainability agenda. We are committed to ensuring that women hold 50% of the managerial positions at our Company and this would help us to create a gender-balanced and diverse workforce. Lastly, we are committed to empowering youths to build capacities to maximize their potential and make a difference

in their communities. Since 2017, over 23,000 youths have been empowered through the Youth Empowered program, thus providing young people in our communities with the skills and knowledge they require to face the future with confidence.

You will observe that these are not just commitments we have made as NBC or Coca-Cola Hellenic, they are also fully aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. If we do a deeper dive into what I have enumerated as our commitments, especially on the issue of a world without waste, here in Nigeria, we have provided leadership to the industry to ensure that we develop strategies to ensure sustainable PET collection and recycling solutions. NBC is one of the companies that led the formation of the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance, which is a producer responsibility organization for the food and beverage sector that is set up to implement the extended producer responsibility framework of the Federal Government of Nigeria. This is because we understand that plastic is becoming a challenge to the environment due mainly to how it is being disposed of, so we are committed to being part of the solution. We have over time evolved our package recovery strategy to end the challenge of plastic pollution in our drive to realize a world without waste.

On the issue of water use, we know that one of the most important ingredients in our products is water. So, we are committed to being a responsible steward of water resources in communities where we operate by using water in ways that

We know that it is an industry-wide issue and plastic is not biodegradable. What is NBC’s contribution as regards recycling and the issue of waste management?

Let me begin by saying the Coca-Cola System in Nigeria spearheaded the recycling interventions we all see in the country today. As far back as 2005, the Coca-Cola System, comprising the Nigerian Bottling Company and Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited pioneered a partnership with a recycler here in Lagos, on plastic recovery. We thought that it was the right thing to recover the plastics from the environment and recycle them. The partnership with the recycler lasted for about eight years within which period we were able to recover over seven billion bottles of plastics, which were converted to some other industrial use.

Let me also add that our world without waste roadmap has been designed to respond to the plastic challenge in Nigeria. We want to be the solution and we have said repeatedly that we want our PET bottles back because we want to recycle them. Our position is that there is value in every beverage package even after its initial use. We believe there is an opportunity to recover, recycle and reuse it. I believe that in the not-too-distant future, people will begin to see what we are cooking behind the scenes in this regard. We also believe that to achieve the most impact in addressing the problem of waste, it must be a shared responsibility among value chain players - private sector operators, government, NGOs, recyclers, regulators, and most importantly, development partners. As an organization, we continue to show leadership in this area in the industry, working closely with the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance.

Furthermore, you will see that in the last two years, the Coca-Cola System has constructed over twenty-two functional recycling banks starting from Lagos and Abuja. The whole idea is to bring recycling closer to our communities to promote responsible recycling of plastic wastes and to let people know that there is value in what they throw away as plastics. What they throw away is actually wealth. I recall a few years ago, I was in Uganda, and I met a lady who had leveraged the plastic collection initiative to build houses and train her children in the university. So what people are throwing away as waste is wealth. We have also intensified consumer education by partnering with other organizations and some regulators to bring this message of responsible disposal of waste to communities. We are confident that by working with all the critical stakeholders, we will be able to scale impact and make a difference.

Hydrocarbon and fossil fuels are much talked about as major contributors to climate change.

What is your organization doing to mitigate climate change in Nigeria?

First and foremost, I think it needs to start with the awareness that climate change is not only real, but the impact is also all around us. I recall while growing up, you could predict when the rain or harmattan will start and end. But nowadays, things have changed.

Sometimes, it rains up to December. It was not like this before. Now, we see droughts, desertification and flooding more than ever before.

Read full interview online - www.thisdaylive.com

34

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

AUTO WORLD

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

TIPS OF THE WEEK

How to Declutter Your Car

If your car is disappearing under family clutter, here’s how to sort through it.

Whether it’s school runs or family days out, you may find the cleanliness of your car has reached new lows post-half-term. We’ve put together a guide to sorting through the mess and ways you can prevent future clutter!

The Suzuki S-PRESSO mini SUV

Suzuki S-Presso Mini SUV Infused With Safety Systems

T

he Suzuki S-PRESSO mini SUV is becoming very popular on the streets of Nigeria, particularly for its safety systems.

CFAO and Moove recently announced a partnership to facilitate access to brand new vehicles in Nigeria. Since then, CFAO Motors Nigeria, the sole distributor of Suzuki cars in Nigeria, has successfully delivered several KXQGUHG FDUV WR 0RRYH WKH ZRUOG·V ÀUVW PRELOLW\ ÀQWHFK SURYLGLQJ UHYHQXH EDVHG YHKLFOH ÀQDQFLQJ DQG ÀQDQFLDO VHUYLFHV WR mobility entrepreneurs.

Many Nigerians now have the invaluable opportunity to work toward vehicle ownership thanks to the programme. The increasing number of mini-Suzuki SUVs on Lagos’ streets and other parts of the country is another clearly noticeable outcome of this collaboration.

Built with a compact but sturdy appearance and a distinct design, the Suzuki S-PRESSO has generated a lot of interest.

Why has the Suzuki S-Presso become so

popular among Nigerians?

Although considered a small vehicle, the S-Presso is packed with features that make it arguably the best in its class of compact vehicles. $ͿRUGDELOLW\ 7KH 6X]XNL 6 3UHVVR RͿHUV WKH EHVW YDOXH IRU PRQH\ ZKHQ LW comes to one-time price point and cost HͿHFWLYH LQ WHUPV RI WRWDO FRVW RI RZQHUVKLS IXHO H΀FLHQW ORZ PDLQWHQDQFH cost). This allows for the middle-income HDUQHU WR DͿRUG D EUDQG QHZ YHKLFOH under full warranty.

Unique features- It is a city car with several crossover-inspired design elements and a high ground clearance of FP HQDEOLQJ LW WR GULYH RQ GL΀FXOW terrain. It has a lot of headroom, a lot of cabin space, and a lot of luggage space.

Safety features -The safety features have been validated in a thorough second safety test, which was conducted in South Africa by the Global NCAP, with the vehicle scoring a 3-star rating in safety.

The vehicle is equipped with dual SRS airbags fr both driver and passenger. Its high tensile steel body is Suzuki’s TECT 7RWDO (ͿHFWLYH &RQWURO 7HFKQRORJ\ ZKLFK helps protect the cabin in the event of a FROOLVLRQ E\ H΀FLHQWO\ DEVRUELQJ DQG dispersing energy.

It is also equipped with a seat belt with pretensioner and load limiters which enhances passenger safety in case of an impact.

During an emergency braking situation, the anti-lock brake system (ABS) keeps the tyres from locking. The electronic brake-force distribution (EBD) optimally distributes front and rear braking forces to help stably stop the vehicle.

Furthermore, the Suzuki S-Presso is equipped with reverse sensors to avoid collision with obstacles and protect pedestrians.

These factors have undoubtedly made this particular Suzuki model a formidable competitor in the automobile market.

The CFAO Group continues in its business of distributing renowned brands in Nigeria and the African continent at large.

1. Clearing out your car First things first, clear out all rubbish. Start from the front and work your way to the back, including under the seats. Organise items into those that are to stay in the car, those that belong in the house or garage and what you’re going to throw away.

2. Wipe upClean the dashboard, armrests and steering wheel with wipes. Halfords Car Dashboard Wipes come in packs of 24 and are ideal for storing in the car, but you don’t need a speciality product, as regular baby wipes are equally effective.

3. Cleaning car mats Remove, shake out and vacuum the floor mats. Treat spills and stains with a carpet cleaner – Simoniz Upholstery & Carpet Cleaner is simple to apply, and you just wipe it away with a damp cloth. Before you slip the mats back in, try sprinkling with baking soda overnight and vacuuming the next morning, as this will get rid of any lingering odours.

4. Cleaning door pockets Transform the door pockets from a space for empty wrappers and plastic bottles to a useful one. Fill an empty cleaning-wipes tube with plastic shopping bags for rubbish, wet umbrellas or muddy shoes and store it in the door pocket.

5. Cleaning glove compartment Your glove compartment should contain essential items, such as insurance and registration documents, and roadside assistance information.

A pen and a small notepad are also handy additions.

6. Visor An organiser attached over the passengerside or driver’s side visor means you can store sunglasses, a phone or receipts easily. Amazon and Ebay stock a wide range.

7. Cup holders To avoid cup holders becoming sticky, pop in a couple of silicone cupcake liners to keep them clean. Lakeland does a variety of sizes and colours. Keep loose change in a small empty jar and store it in your centre console.

8. Back seats Toys, food wrappers, and items of clothing can all add to the clutter in the rear of the car, so utilise the back of the front seat for a hanging organiser to store books, games or whatever else your little ones need in the car. The Diono Stow N Go Backseat Organiser comes with seven full-sized pockets and two drink holders in a washable, waterproof fabric. You can also make use of a shoe organiser, as the pockets are the ideal fit for toys or snacks.

(Source: Goodhousekeeping)

Nissan to Acquire Shares in Vehicle Energy Japan

N

issan Motor Co., Ltd. announces that it has entered into D GHÀQLWLYH DJUHHment to acquire shares in Vehicle Energy Japan Inc., a company engaged in the automotive lithium-ion batteries business. Nissan will acquire the shares after the completion of regulatory procedures, including necessary approvals and permissions.

Nissan will acquire all the common shares of Vehicle Energy Japan held

by INCJ, Ltd. and subscribe to common shares issued by Vehicle Energy Japan. Following the transaction, Vehicle Energy Japan will become a consolidated subsidiary of Nissan, in which it will hold shares alongside existing shareholders Maxell, Ltd. and Hitachi Astemo, Ltd. Vehicle Energy Japan has an integrated production system from battery cells to packs, and advanced battery management system technologies.

It develops, manufactures, and sells

lithium-ion batteries, battery modules, and battery management systems for hybrid vehicles that are expected areas of growth.

Nissan, in its long-term vision, Nissan Ambition 2030, aims to FUHDWH VLJQLÀFDQW YDOXH EH\RQG PRELOLW\ E\ SODFLQJ HOHFWULÀFDWLRQ at the core of its business strategy and expanding the possibilities of journeys and society. As a key supplier to Nissan, Vehicle Energy Japan will play a crucial UROH LQ LWV RQJRLQJ HOHFWULÀFDWLRQ strategy under the vision. The investment will allow Nissan to secure a stable battery supplier and contribute to the development of next-generation batteries with a competitive edge in terms of both performance and cost.

Vehicle Energy Japan will provide a stable supply of batteries to Nissan as well as a broad range of other customers, with ongoing support from shareholders Maxell and Hitachi Astemo, along with Nissan.

2023 Nissan Maxima

35

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

AUTO WORLD

GR Supra Manual Transmission Now on Sale at US Toyota Dealerships

T

KH 7R\RWD *5 6XSUD DGGV a new dimension to the driver experience thanks to a new VL[ VSHHG LQWHOOLJHQW 0DQXDO Transmission option. Already a blend of performance, power and VW\OH WKH 6XSUD·V DGGLWLRQ RI D VWLFN VKLIW EULQJV KDQGV RQ HQJDJHPHQW WR WKH PL[ ,W DOVR KROGV WR 7R\RWD *$=22 5DFLQJ·V RQ JRLQJ WZHDNV WR WKH ÀIWK JHQHUDWLRQ 6XSUD ZLWK \HW another update to the model that continues to make its mark in the sports car segment.

“When we revealed the GR Supra back in ZH WDSSHG LQWR D KHULWDJH QDPHSODWH IRU Toyota,” said Mike Tripp, vice president of 7R\RWD 9HKLFOH 0DUNHWLQJ DQG &RPPXQLFDWLRQV “But we were regularly asked if there would be a manual version. We immediately took that feedback to heart and started developing it, and we’re happy that we can now bring customers the perfect complement for Supra’s KLJK WRUTXH KLJK RXWSXW HQJLQH ZLWK D VL[ VSHHG manual.”

The Manual Transmission is available as an option on the Supra 3.0 and 3.0 Premium. Supra DOVR DGGV WR LWV KHDG WXUQLQJ ORRNV ZLWK QHZ FRORUV DQG VSHFLDO HGLWLRQV $ OLPLWHG $ 07 (GLWLRQ PRGHO ZLOO DOVR EH SURGXFHG IRU PRGHO \HDU RQO\ $YDLODEOH FRORUV IRU WKH 07 3.0 and 3.0 Premium will include all standard Supra colors plus a new Stratosphere Blue color, which will also be available on Supra 7KH $ 07 (GLWLRQ ZLOO EH DYDLODEOH LQ %XUQRXW PDWWHG ZKLWH DQG &8 /DWHU *UD\ The GR Supra MT is arriving on dealer lots now with a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail 3ULFLQJ 0653 VWDUWLQJ DW Powerful Engineering Drivers Can Feel Developed by Toyota GAZOO Racing (QJLQHHUV LQ FRRSHUDWLRQ ZLWK 7R\RWD 0RWRU (XURSH DQG *HUPDQ WUDQVPLVVLRQ VXSSOLHU ZF, the GR Supra’s manual transmission was EXLOW ZLWK FRPSRQHQWV GHVLJQHG VSHFLÀFDOO\ to suit the power and torque characteristics of LWV OLWHU KS VWUDLJKW VL[ HQJLQH

The 2023 Toyota GR Supra

Ford Bluecruise Adds Hands-free Lane Changing, Tech to Ease Road-Sharing

F

ord Motor Company continues mak LQJ KDQGV IUHH GULYLQJ HYHQ EHWWHU E\ ODXQFKLQJ %OXH&UXLVH DQG /LQFROQ $FWLYH*OLGH ZLWK QHZ IHDWXUHV ² LQFOXGLQJ KDQGV IUHH ODQH FKDQJLQJ ² DQG system updates to create more of a KXPDQ OLNH GULYLQJ IHHO The available new system starts arriving on vehicles IURP WKH IDFWRU\ WKLV IDOO ² EHJLQQLQJ ZLWK WKH )RUG 0XVWDQJ 0DFK ( “We are investing in our ADAS team to constantly improve BlueCruise and ActiveGlide for our custom HUV µ VDLG 'RXJ )LHOG &KLHI (9 'LJLWDO 6\VWHPV 2΀FHU )RUG 0RGHO H ´7KH ODWHVW LPSURYHPHQWV DOORZ customers to command lane changes using just a WXUQ VLJQDO DQG PDNH KDQGV IUHH GULYLQJ IHHO PRUH KXPDQ OLNH E\ VPRRWKO\ VORZLQJ GRZQ IRU WXUQV DQG giving more room to large vehicles in neighboring lanes. These improvements are just the beginning of a constant journey toward improving safety and, in the future, giving customers valuable time back.” $YDLODEOH %OXH&UXLVH DQG $FWLYH*OLGH LQFOXGH WKUHH QHZ IHDWXUHV Lane Change Assist can help drivers move through WUD΀F RQ WKH IUHHZD\ ZLWK PRUH FRQÀGHQFH ZKLOH XVLQJ %OXH&UXLVH 7KH V\VWHP ZLOO SHUIRUP D KDQGV IUHH

Ford launches hands-free lane changing system updates

lane change when requested by the driver tapping the turn signal, and it can even suggest if a lane FKDQJH ZRXOG EH EHQHÀFLDO ZKHQ IROORZLQJ VORZ PRYLQJ WUD΀F Predictive Speed Assist automatically and smoothly adjusts the speed as drivers approach a sharp curve and will help signal the driver ahead of time when a speed change is about to occur, so they understand why the vehicle is slowing. ,Q /DQH 5HSRVLWLRQLQJ PDNHV WKH KDQGV IUHH KLJKZD\ driving experience feel more natural, keeping the vehicle in its lane while subtly shifting the vehicle’s position DZD\ IURP YHKLFOHV LQ DGMDFHQW ODQHV ² HVSHFLDOO\ helpful when next to bigger vehicles such as semis.

Ford engineers also are dedicated to improving its $'$6 WR GHOLYHU PRUH KXPDQ OLNH GULYLQJ SHUIRUPDQFH LQ DGGLWLRQ WR UHÀQLQJ YLVXDOV VHQVLQJ DQG VWHHULQJ experiences. They’ve also been continually improving PDSV ZLWK RYHU WKH DLU XSGDWHV LGHQWLI\LQJ SUHTXDOLÀHG sections of divided highways where BlueCruise can EH XVHG ² FXUUHQWO\ VSDQQLQJ PRUH WKDQ PLOHV 2QFH D SUH TXDOLÀHG URDG LV LGHQWLÀHG %OXH&UXLVH HTXLSSHG YHKLFOHV VHQVH DQG KHOS FRQÀUP ODQH OLQHV are visible, the driver has his or her eyes on the road and other conditions appropriate before transitioning WR KDQGV IUHH GULYLQJ

What Is Rotational Number Plate?

I call him Senior Oduniyi. He was my senior at CMS Grammar School Bariga, Lagos. Senior 2GXQL\L ZDV WKH ÀUVW WR DOHUW PH RQ WKH WUHQGLQJ video. He was eager to know what a rotational number plate was.Bisi Kazeem, the spokesperson for the Federal Road Safety Corps press statement provided what Senior Oduniyi and others needed.

I couldn’t treat this subject last week. Today, I hope my piece will refresh our minds especially in the face of the current security challenges and the need to be safety and security conscious. *OREDOO\ QXPEHU SODWH LV YLWDO LQ LGHQWLÀFDWLRQ of vehicles for security reasons either in the face RI FULPH RU URDG WUD΀F FUDVKHV ,Q WKH 8QLWHG Kingdom where there is rising number plate crime, authorities regularly warn motorists to patronize only reputable registered vendors. To demonstrate this claim further, it was revealed that there were LOOHJDO QXPEHU SODWH RͿHQFHV LQ LQ WKH 8.

The owners according to the report, either drove or kept a vehicle with obscured plates or irregular OLFHQVH SODWHV $YDLODEOH GDWD IURP WKH 8. SROLFH further revealed that number plate crime rose by SHUFHQW LQ IURP LOOHJDO SODWHV LQ ,Q Nigeria, there are cases of number plate violations ranging from use of plastic, broken or one number plate instead of two or three depending on the category of the vehicle. The use of defaced number plate or outright non registration of a vehicle is equally captured as a number plate registration.

Meanwhile, authorities daily battle with the illegal transfers of number plates or the use of unauthorized number plate for ulterior motives.

1XPEHU SODWHV ZKLFK LGHQWLÀHV D YHKLFOH DQG its owner whether in the developed clime or in Nigeria must show the correct registration number.

It is therefore illegal for you to rearrange letters or numbers, or alter them, making them hard to UHDG 6XFK DQ DFW FRXOG UHVXOW LQ D ÀQH XS WR which is over seven hundred Naira in the case RI WKH 8. DQG WKLV ZLOO FDXVH \RXU YHKLFOH WR IDLO

SAFE DRIVING with Jonas Agwu

amnipr, mcipr,mprsa,arpa Assistant Corps Marshal Zonal Commanding Officer Federal Road Safety Corps.

the MOT test. In Nigeria number plate violation is just three thousand naira which is why I am championing for a review to deter defaulters.

So what then is rotational number plate which the Corps says is also illegal. I checked to see if rotational number plate was legal in any part of the world without any result. The spokesperson for WKH &RUSV FODULÀHG WKDW WKH )56& GRHV QRW SURGXFH rotational number plate, saying that the number plates are unauthorized and only intended for sinister motives. He cited the trending rotational QXPEHU SODWH .8- %9 ZKLFK ZKHQ DXWRPDWLFDOO\ ÁLSSHG FDUULHV D QXPEHU WDJJHG SUHVLGHQF\ ZLWK WKH IROORZLQJ GHWDLOV % )* )56& KH IXUWKHU FODULÀHG GRHV QRW SURGXFH D QXPEHU SODWH ZLWK such double features, stressing that only one number can be assigned to one vehicle and its owner at the same time Rotational number plate is not the only illegal act committed by motorists. Daily, I receive calls, text messages and emails from motorists seeking FODULÀFDWLRQ RQ WKH SRVLWLRQ RI WKH ODZ ZLWK UHVSHFW to the indiscriminate removal of vehicle number plates by law enforcement agents. I will refrain from reprinting the comments of some of these callers who often express disgust over these actions described by some as annoying. I recall vividly the most recent call from an old friend who could

not hold back his frustration while narrating his experience to me. $FFRUGLQJ WR <LQND -D]PDQ QRW UHDO QDPH KH said he was driving along the Lagos Ibadan when he was pulled over by a law enforcement operative IRU FHUWDLQ RͿHQFHV $IWHU VHULHV RI TXHVWLRQV RQ certain infractions, one of the operatives walked away only to appear with a screw driver which he used to unscrew the vehicle number plates and WKHQ DVNHG PH WR UHSRUW WR WKH R΀FH WKH QH[W GD\ A second caller was not as lucky as Yinka as his rear vehicle number plate was forcefully removed with bare hands.

What really is the position of the law? First, I wish to state here that it is illegal for any law enforcement operative to engage in removal/ FRQÀVFDWLRQ RI QXPEHU SODWHV IURP D YHKLFOH 7KLV how the Federal Road Safety Corps captured it LQ D UHFHQW FODULÀFDWLRQ IRU DSSURSULDWH JXLGDQFH WKH IROORZLQJ SURYLVLRQV RI WKH ODZ DUH LQVWUXFWLYH 6HFWLRQ K RI WKH )56& (VWDEOLVKPHQW $FW VWDWHV WKDW LW·V DQ RͿHQFH WR EH RQ WKH URDG ZLWKRXW D YDOLG YHKLFOH OLFHQFH RU LGHQWLÀFDWLRQ PDUN EHLQJ GLVSOD\HG 6LPLODUO\ 6HFWLRQ V of the Act makes failure to display number plates RQ YHKLFOHV DQ RͿHQFH 7KH 1DWLRQDO 5RDG 7UD΀F 5HJXODWLRQV 1575 DOVR SURYLGH DV IROORZV 6HFWLRQ 1575 makes it mandatory for all private and commercial YHKLFOHV WR KDYH QXPEHU SODWHV ZKLFK VKDOO EH À[HG on them in a manner as not to be easily detachable.

6HFWLRQ VWDWHV WKDW $OO SULYDWH DQG FRPPHUFLDO vehicles shall as from the commencement of these 5HJXODWLRQV KDYH RQ WKHP 9HKLFOH ,GHQWLÀFDWLRQ 1XPEHU 3ODWHV ZKLFK VKDOO %H FDUULHG E\ WKH PRWRU vehicle on two plates which shall conform to the requirements of these regulations; and the number SODWH VKDOO EH À[HG LQ VXFK D PDQQHU WKDW HDFK LV not easily detachable; and in an upright position RU ZLWKLQ GHJUHHV RI VXFK SRVLWLRQ 6HFWLRQ D states that “All vehicles private and commercial

VKDOO KDYH RQ WKHP YHKLFOH LGHQWLÀFDWLRQ QXPEHU SODWHV DQG VKDOO EH DQ RͿHQFH IRU DQ\ YHKLFOH QRW to have the said number plates”.

It concludes by stating that ‘that apart from LGHQWLÀFDWLRQ SXUSRVHV YHKLFOH UHJLVWUDWLRQ QXPEHU plates are security items that are captured on the national security architecture and have been used to assist security operatives in tracking some serious national security issues. Removing VXFK LGHQWLÀFDWLRQ LWHPV IURP YHKLFOH SO\LQJ RXU URDGV ZLOO QRW RQO\ RͿHQG WKH ODZ EXW ZRXOG further jeopardize national security. ,Q 6HFWLRQ RI WKH VDPH 5HJXODWLRQV LW VWDWHV WKDW 7KH ,GHQWLÀFDWLRQ 1XPEHU 3ODWHV carried by a motor vehicle or articulated vehicle shall be displayed on two plates for a motor vehicle and three plates for an articulated vehicle and shall conform as to lettering, numbering and otherwise with the provision set out in ÀJXUHV RI VFKHGXOH WR WKHVH UHJXODWLRQV The number plates shall in respect of a motor YHKLFOH EH À[HG RQH RQ WKH IURQW RI WKH YHKLFOH DQG WKH RWKHU DW WKH FHQWUH RU RQ WKH RͿ VLGH RI the rear of the vehicle or as may be provided by the manufacturer. ,Q UHVSHFW RI D WUDLOHU RQH VKRXOG EH À[HG RQ the front of the vehicle and two at the rear of the trailer in an upright position. For a motorcycle, RQH SODWH VKDOO EH À[HG LQ IURQW DQG RQH DW WKH UHDU with the plate having white background but blue lettering for private green lettering for the Federal, State or Local Government, black lettering for the Armed Forces, Paramilitary Service and red lettering IRU FRPPHUFLDO VR WKDW HYHU\ OHWWHU RU ÀJXUH RQ WKH SODWH LV XS ULJKW DQG HDVLO\ GLVWLQJXLVKDEOH in the case of the front plate from behind. In the FDVH RI WKH UHFRYHU\ RI D VHPL WUDLOHU WKH RSHUDWRU of the prime mover shall be required to ensure that the entire articulated vehicle carries the same LGHQWLÀFDWLRQ QXPEHU LQ UHVSHFW RI WKH SULPH PRYHU DQG WKH VHPL WUDLOHU

36

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2022 • T H I S D AY

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2022 • T H I S D AY

37

38

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2022 • T H I S D AY

39

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

IMAGES

Q

ueen Mother Olori Margaret-Mary Ayoola Badejo hosted a thanksgiving Mass to celebrate her 90th birthday anniversary at St. Agnes Catholic Church, Maryland, Lagos a few weeks ago.The well-attended thanksgiving Mass was presided over

by His Grace, the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Arcbishop Alfred Adewale Martins. Reception was thereafter held at the Mc. Govern Hall, within the church premises. Here are some of the personalities that graced the PHOTOS: ABIODUN AJALA occasion.

Olori Margaret-Mary Badejo

L-R: Tayo Bamgbose-Martins; and Arch. Sukky Onadeko

L-R: Pastor Dorothy Ajakaiye; and Olori Iyabo Ademiju-Oyekan L-R: Son-in-law, Pastor Olusegun Omotosho; and Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi

L-R: Children of the Celebrant; Omotayo Omotosho; Rev father Martin Badejo; Fabian Badejo; and his wife Regina

L-R: Erelu Abiola Dosunmu; and Senator Cordelia Agboti

Odein Ajumogobia, and his wife Awuneba

L-R: Disun Delano; Yomi Jones; Ladi Oni; and Biodun Koyejo

L-R: Mrs Rukky Val Tongo; and Arch. Yinka Williams

L-R: Hon. Justice Rita Ajumogobia; and Mr. Femi Adefowope

L-R: Elder Ibilola Olaniyan; Celebrant, Margaret Badejo; and Elder Sola Owojuyigbe

Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, His Grace, Alfred Adewale Martins

Celebrant, Olori Margaret-Mary Badejo (m) flanked by her children. L-R: Pastor and Mrs Omotosho; Oluseyi Abimbade; Prof. Sokan; Pastor Ann Dada; Prince and Mrs Fabian Badejo

Saturday, September 10, 2022

TR

UT H

& RE A S O

N

Price: N250

MISSILE

Archbishop Ndukuba on Muslim-Muslim Ticket “When you appoint people of the same faith, either Christian-Christian or MuslimMuslim, you are being very insensitive to the feelings of the people. For us, it portends danger… It is unwise to continue to promote those things that further divide the country” –Primate, Church of Nigeria (Anglican communion), Rev. Henry Ndukuba, chastising APC’s decision to field a Muslim-Muslim ticket in the 2023 presidential election.

PENDULUM DELE MOMODU

dele.momodu@thisdaylive.com

My Personal Take on Atiku, Wike and Ayu F ellow Nigerians, I come in peace. According to the Holy Bible: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God...”

Matthew 5:9.

The political party I belong to is PDP. I had contested its Presidential Primary months ago but lost spectacularly. I’m not here to offer excuses about what happened or did not happen. I’m writing this epistle first as a peacemaker and also, secondly, as an academic exercise. I’m interested in exploring the possibilities of how our big gladiators can re-embrace one another. Once upon a time, they were all friends.

Friends sometimes fight bitterly. Even husbands and wives do disagree vehemently and, at times, to a point of irreconcilable differences. However, even in those times, miracles can happen and events and circumstances bring them back together. This is the stage we are right now. Only a miracle can save the once buoyant and vibrant relationships that existed between these major anchors of the PDP and restore the trust between The Wazirin Atiku Abubakar, Dr Iyorchia Ayu and Governor Nyesom Wike.

The key words in the middle of this war of attrition are MISTRUST and DISTRUST. I need to emphasise that earlier this week, I and four other former Presidential aspirants visited our Party’s Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in Abuja.

The delegation was led by Alhaji Mohammed Hayatudeen. Those former aspirants that attended the meeting were Mohammed Hayatudeen, Dele Momodu, Tari Oliver, Bar Charles Ugwu and Bar Chikwendu Kalu. This was the first official meeting of it’s kind by any group of aspirants after the National Convention that saw Alhaji Atiku Abubakar emerge as the Presidential flag bearer of our great Party, PDP. I must emphasise that we represented the small group of six former aspirants who had met in Lagos and reached a decision to meet our candidate. Only one of us was absent, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, because he had to leave for the US before the meeting took place.

It is not true that our small group was snubbed by anyone of the other aspirants. We did not invite Governor Nyesom Wike since he we understood and knew that he is still angry about the conduct of the election, it’s outcome and events that transpired shortly thereafter. Before meeting with our Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku, we had reached out to some of our party’s leaders who were reachable. We had even paid a visit to former Governor Ayodele Peter Fayose who is currently recuperating from a major surgery, in order to show our empathy and consideration for him and his condition. Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State had actually agreed to host us soon.

Chief Anyim Pius Anyim also promised to host us since he was unavoidably absent and away from Abuja at the time we met Atiku. Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki also offered his apologies as he was out of the country.

The truth is that everyone is anxious to see an end to the imbroglio rocking our party. Even our opponents are eager to see an end to it, one way or the other, because PDP has been getting all the good and bad attention (and every publicity in PR parlance, is good publicity). So we decided to start the peace process from our own side as former Cocontestants for the Presidential ticket of the PDP, in a bid to ensure that we reduce the almost perennial bad news about our Party.

Our candidate was happy and delighted to see, and welcome us to his home. The atmosphere was both convivial and jovial. He expressed his great pleasure to see his former colleagues and co-contestants and assured our team of his readiness to collaborate and build a formidable team that would not only see the PDP winning the upcoming election, but also strategically position the Party for the upcoming

L-R: Wike, Dele Momodu and Ayu in Port Harcourt last year business of governance after our resounding victory.

The team spoke about our foremost interest in ensuring peace and stability in the Party, stressing the need for the Party to walk and talk through the difficult challenges that it currently faces, and restore peace speedily through meaningful dialogue and reconciliation.

I need to interject by stating that my article and opinion herein is strictly personal to me. This would be my third troubleshooting intervention following on the earlier two I had circulated widely on other platforms. The first was addressed directly to my very dear friend and Brother, Governor Nyesom Wike as follows:

“MY KOBO ADVICE TO GOVERNOR NYESOM WIKE...

My dear Brother, good evening. I have watched you in recent months with trepidation. I’m scared about your inability to comprehend the country called Nigeria. You must have underrated how the owners of Nigeria operate. I have studied the biography of CHIEF OBAFEMI AWOLOWO. I was an insider in the June 12 1993 crisis, and a veritable witness to the tribulations of my great mentor, CHIEF MOSHOOD ABIOLA. Closer home, you must have seen how your predecessor, DR PETER ODILI, was stopped in his tracks in 2007.

You’re certainly one of Nigeria’s best performing Governors, if not the best. Personally, I’m very proud of your uncommon achievements. I know you are very angry. It is your right to be. But I’m begging you in the name of God not to take decisions based on anger... Nigeria has been very kind to you. Rivers State has been extremely generous to you. GOD has blessed you beyond imagination. You have such a beautiful family. Your people love you stupendously for services delivered to them. PDP has been your solid platform. You should never destroy a bridge after crossing the river. Even if you no longer need the bridge, what of your friends and family? I pray you kill this excessive and perpetual ANGER. It is getting out of hand. Most people around you will keep quiet for fear of losing patronage. Many politicians survive only on power. My Brother, I love you. But someone must be able to tell you the truth. No General fights on too many fronts. Please, apply the brakes, before it is too late...”

To his credit, Wike called me that night and although he was still simmering we spoke briefly, but cordially, about my humble admonition.

Wike has been like a combination of Ronaldo and Messi in our Party and I believe he must be appeased by all means possible. I was encouraged when I saw pictures of his meeting with our Party’s Presidential candidate with a few of our Governors having dinner in London. But nothing seemed to have come out of

what I thought was an auspicious meeting.

So I wrote a second letter addressed to the generality of the Party faithful as follows:

“A LETTER TO PDP MEMBERS

My dear party members, good morning. I woke up thinking about the sad and unfortunate crisis rocking our party. I’m wondering if we’ve not been victims of mass hypnotism. Someone needs to wake us up from this state of somnambulism.

Months after we concluded our Presidential primary, we are still busy fighting and calling ourselves unprintable names, thus forgetting that, once upon a time, we were friends, with shared dreams and aspirations. We all looked forward to how our party would dislodge the APC behemoth that deceived Nigerians with highfalutin promises but failed spectacularly on delivery.

Agreed, costly mistakes were made in our party Presidential primary, some of them avoidable, but we cannot continue to dwell on it, lest we throw the baby away with the bathwater.

Now that we’ve narrowed the principal actors to our National Chairman, Governor Nyesom Wike and our Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, I wish to appeal once again to them to urgently rise above this war of attrition for the sake of long-suffering Nigerians who need our attention desperately. PDP is the oldest party in Nigeria, since 1999, with the requisite experience to tap into in order to reverse our perfidious descent into anarchy.

I salute the courage of Governor Wike in boldly and vociferously letting the world know what went wrong and what should be done moving forward.

He should please sheath his sword and allow party machinery fix the rest. I also appeal to our party elders to resist making inflammatory statements that may further escalate the crisis. Truth is, we can, and should, defeat APC spectacularly in the next election and hopefully form a Government of National Unity in 2023, as suggested by our candidate. Let’s not destroy this opportunity with our own hands.

Nigerians are waiting to see the practical presentations and demonstrations of our manifesto. Majority of the other candidates and members of their parties were at different times members of our party, PDP. For every finger they point at us, four others will point back at them.

Time has come for our party to retake the victory and regain the glory.”

My personal takes today are that one, we must recognise that issues of injustices in our Party must be addressed and not swept under the carpet. No attempt should be made to make the Southerners in our Party feel like bystanders. We need massive votes from every part of Nigeria. Two, whatever promises were made privately to Wike should be

re-visited and reviewed and if they have changed and can no longer be sustained, fresh decisive and sincere negotiations should take place between our candidate and Wike. The aim should be to try and meet him at a point closely aligned to those initial promises. That is the hallmark of justice and integrity on which our great Party was founded and built.

I’m not saying anyone is indispensable, but Wike deserves our respects for his humongous support for our Party. There was a time that PDP would have been consumed and destroyed, but Wike was one of those few who stood tall like a colossus and held the Party together. Three, I will plead with Wike to calm down and let God fight his fight. I’m not happy the way the media is exploiting the crisis while making him look too cantankerous and obstinate. He has proven his point too well. Now he should let his cause take its course. I believe history will eventually vindicate him. The head that will wear the crown can never be denied. No matter how long it takes, it will happen if it is God’s will. King Charles III is the most recent example of this truism!

Four, PDP should link up more to the many younger talents and self-accomplished technocrats that abound in Nigeria and abroad and stop giving attention only to career politicians. A political party that wishes to dislodge a ruling government must target and attract first time voters.We must appeal to those in the Diaspora who send money back home to their families and friends.

I pray our leaders and elders would see reason and embrace peace urgently...

GOOD NIGHT OUR DEAR BELOVED QUEEN

I have often been asked who’s the greatest personality I ever met and my unequivocal response was always: HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II. The extraordinary and remarkably graceful and regal woman and monarch has impacted the whole world in a way none other has. She is one of the few people known only by their Titles, the Queen.

But, of course, she is the most renowned of them all.

On July 29, 1995, I landed at the London Gatwick Airport from Accra, Ghana. For me, it was the beginning of an unplanned and unanticipated sojourn in the land of unpredictable weather for the next three years.

I will forever treasure the unbelievable support and the unimaginable protection my family and I enjoyed as asylum seekers and later, refugees, from Her Majesty’s Government...

I was so grateful on behalf of myself and family that I started dreaming of meeting Her Majesty, but never knew how this tall dream could ever be actualized. However, nothing is impossible with God. And when things happen for me they do so oftentimes in a blaze of honour and glory. Indeed, when the appointed time came, the Deputy British High Commissioner was the one who contacted me, shortly before Her Majesty’s last visit to Nigeria in 2003. Apparently, the High Commission had been trying to reach me for a while because they had a mission for me. I recall that I was in Ghana when the call came through that Ovation International magazine and Thisday newspaper were the only two publications shortlisted by Buckingham Palace as the official titles allowed to cover the extraordinary visit....

I was thrilled beyond measure at the recognition and honour. I knew then that dreams come true in the most unusual of ways. Naturally, I was invited to be a guest at the cocktail reception organized by the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Sir Philip Thomas, and I got an opportunity to introduce myself to the Queen.

I had rehearsed and rehearsed what I would say to her within the few minutes of standing before her and it was a most fulfilling experience indeed...

The rest is now history...

May her beautiful soul Rest in Peace...

Printed and Published in Lagos by THISDAY Newspapers Limited. Lagos: 35 Creek Road, Apapa, Lagos. Abuja: Plot 1, Sector Centre B, Jabi Business District, Solomon Lar Way, Jabi North East, Abuja .

Printed and Published in Lagos

by Leaders & Company Limited . Lagos: 35 Creek Road, Apapa, Lagos. Abuja: Plot 1, Sector Centre Jabi Business District, Solomon Lar Way, Jabi North 08155555929 East, Abuja .

All Correspondence to POBox 54749, Ikoyi, Lagos.

EMAIL: editor@thisdaylive.com, info@thisdaylive.com.

TELEPHONE Lagos: 0802B,2924721-2, 08022924485.

Abuja: Tel: 08155555292, All Correspondence to POBox 54749, Ikoyi, editor@thisdaylive.com, 0802 2924721-2, 08022924485.

Abuja: Tel: 08076290487, 08076290488 24/7 ADVERTISING HOTLagos.

LINES:EMAIL: 0811 181 3085 0811 181 3086, 0811 181info@thisdaylive.com.

3087, 0811 181 3088, 0811TELEPHONE 181 3089, 0811 Lagos: 181 3090.

ENQUIRIES & BOOKING: adsbooking@thisdaylive.com