SUNDAY 5TH DECEMBER 2021

NNPC's Monthly Deductions from FAAC Hit N200bn in December Nine-month petrol subsidy payments gulp N1.027tn FG vows to tackle cooking gas price hike Says PIA will boost per capita consumption of the product Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja and Francis Sardauna in Katsina The

Nigerian

National

Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited will again make a deduction of roughly N200 billion from the joint federal, state, and local government

account when the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meets later this month to share the statutory monthly allocation.

An analysis of the document

by THISDAY, detailing the presentation of the national oil company to FAAC in November, indicated that

the N200 billion will be the highest amount deducted by the NNPC since it resumed payment of petroleum subsidies in February this year.

In all, it further showed that the NNPC has netted off at least N1.027 trillion Continued on page 6

Buhari: Nigeria is Africa’s Most Viable Investment Destination... Page 5 Sunday 5 December, 2021 Vol 26. No 9736

www.thisdaylive.com TR

UT H

& RE A S O

N400

N

Anxiety in PDP as Supreme Court Hears Secondus’ Appeal Tomorrow Opposition party shifts inauguration of Ayu, others to Friday Chuks Okocha in Abuja There is palpable tension within the Peoples Democratic

Party (PDP) as the Supreme Court will tomorrow hear the appeal filed by the sacked National Chairman of the

party, Prince Uche Secondus, asking the apex court to quash his removal from office, THISDAY has learnt.

THISDAY also gathered that the apex court may also decide to rule on the matter tomorrow, or later within the

recent National Convention week.

It was learnt that the of the party has led the main fear that the decision of the Continued on page 5 Supreme Court may affect the

UK to Add Nigeria to Red List of Countries amid Omicron Spread Bans non-UK, non-Irish citizens from Nigeria FG, Afrexim Bank intensify talks on local vaccine production Nigeria can't be ready to produce vaccine in one year, says Tomori Ejiofor Alike, Chinedu Eze in Lagos and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja Following the 21 cases of Omicron variant of COVID-19 reported in England, which are linked to travel from Nigeria, the United Kingdom has announced a temporary measure to prevent further cases of the virus from entering the country from 4a.m. tomorrow (Monday).

Under the new measure, which would be reviewed after three weeks, the UK will tomorrow add Nigeria to the red list of countries

from where people arriving must quarantine in a hotel for 10 days, in an effort to limit the spread of Omicron strain of COVID-19, Health Secretary, Mr. Sajid Javid, said yesterday.

This implies that from 4a.m. on Monday, UK and Irish citizens and residents arriving from Nigeria must isolate in a government-approved managed quarantine facility for 10 days, and receive two negative PCR tests, as further precautionary action is taken against the Omicron variant.

Continued on page 12

SELLING THE NIGERIAN BRAND… President Muhammadu Buhari (left), and the Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, at the Nigerian Pavillion during the Expo 2020 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)…yesterday

Army Says No Cause for Alarm as Terrorists Bomb Maiduguri...

Page 6

2

SUNDAY DECEMBER 5, 2021 • T H I S D AY

SUNDAY DECEMBER 5, 2021 • T H I S D AY

3

4

SUNDAY DECEMBER 5, 2021 • T H I S D AY

5

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

PAGE FIVE

PROJECT INAUGURATION… L-R: Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa; his Sokoto State counterpart, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal; and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar III, at the inauguration of the multi-billion naira Advanced Medical Diagnostic Centre in Sokoto…recently

Buhari: Nigeria is Africa’s Most Viable Investment Destination Investors commit N412bn to 35 Nigerian startups in 10 months Festus Akanbi in Lagos and Deji Elumoye in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari has declared that Nigeria remains the most viable and attractive investment destination in Africa.

Buhari also said Nigeria is on the path of becoming Africa’s leading industrial and trading nation.

This is coming as some foreign and local investors have invested a total of N412billion ($992million) across 35 Nigerian startups in the first 10 months of 2021.

The president, who stated these in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) while addressing a trade and investment forum at Dubai Expo 2020, said Nigeria is reaping from the efforts his administration has made to consciously improve the investment environment.

According to him, "Nigeria’s pavilion at the Expo 2020 clearly shows why we remain the most viable and attractive investment destination in Africa. Our location, our natural resources, our population, and our regulations are there for all to see. Nigeria is on its way to become a leading industrial and trading nation in Africa. To achieve this, our government focused on policies, projects and programs that support private sector investors.

“We introduced numerous fiscal incentives and infrastructure projects aimed at enhancing the viability of investments.

“Despite the adverse global economic environment of recent years, Nigeria’s investment environment has greatly improved both at the national and sub-national levels,’’ he said.

President Buhari assured captains of industry, and entrepreneurs, who have shown interest and commitment to further enhance trade and investment relations with Nigeria, that his administration would continue to work with them to improve the business climate especially as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) comes into full effect.

“Just last month at the Intra Africa Trade fair in Durban, I reminded business leaders that most of Africa’s challenges, whether security, economic or corruption, can be traced to

our inability to domesticate the production of our most basic requirements and provide jobs to our teeming and dynamic youth population.

“I am pleased that this Forum focuses on ‘Unveiling Trade and Investment Opportunities in Nigeria,’ and will encourage you all to keep an open mind and look beyond the challenges. ‘‘In this room, we have governors, ministers and heads of government agencies that can address all your questions and concerns. ‘‘We are here to support you and I hope you will all take this opportunity to move your investment decisions forward,’’ he said.

The Nigerian leader also used the occasion to express profound gratitude to his hosts, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates and the Emir of Abu Dhabi, for their unwavering commitment to strengthen trade and investment relations between both countries through various initiatives, partnerships and support.

Investors Commit N412bn to 35 Nigerian Startups in 10months Meanwhile, some foreign and local investors have invested a combined sum of N412billion ($992million) across 35 Nigerian startups in the first 10 months of 2021.

Similarly, Google has pledged to invest $1billion in Africa over the next five years aimed at promoting digital transformation and innovation across the continent.

The Financial Derivatives Company Limited (FDC), which disclosed this in its monthly economic report for December, described the rising interest in Nigerian startups as a good omen for the Nigerian economy.

Startup traditionally refers to a company still in its early stages of operations.

The report noted that on its part, the federal government has developed the Nigerian Startup Bill, which is on its way to the Senate for approval, adding that

if passed, the bill will empower the Nigerian tech ecosystem by fostering cooperation between stakeholders in the startup space and Nigerian regulators to ensure that subsequent laws and regulations are in line with the best interests of the sector.

According to the report, the development is an indication that Nigeria, in recent years, has witnessed the advent of a new type of company, one more forward-looking and technologically savvy than those of the past.

“These companies typically leverage technology to disrupt already established industries and offer a new standard of value to consumers,” the report said.

It explained that these companies, apart from obviously creating employment opportunities, bring huge swaths of foreign capital and investments into the country. A number of them also help to solve burning societal and economic issues that impede the living standards of many Nigerians.

FDC believed that “The copious amount of startup firms

with decent value propositions, and the availability of a large market with active demand for their service offerings, coupled with the large in the flux of foreign capital, all illustrate the fact that we are at the genesis of the golden age of startups in Nigeria.”

According to the report, the global boom in startup popularity is not exclusive to Nigeria or the West, Africa currently has about 577 registered startup companies.

Nigeria is said to have accounted for the second-highest number of these at 144, just behind South Africa which has 154 startups.

By far the most popular startups in Africa are the tech startups, consisting of fintech, e-commerce, e-health, ed-tech, and agri-tech among others.

In 2020, African tech startups raised a combined sum of $701.41million; $625.66million (89.2 per cent) of that went to the ‘big four’ African technology investment destinations – Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Egypt.

The FDC said that the number

of Nigerian startups that secured investments in 2020 represented a 77 per cent increase from the number recorded in 2019, which was 48.

It added that the Nigerian startup funding has risen every year since 2016, with 2020 representing a 22.8 per cent increase from funding secured in 2019.

This trend is projected to continue as estimated funding secured in the third quarter of 2021 alone ($248million) surpassed the totality of funding secured in 2020 by 64.89 per cent.

“In 2020, certain Nigerian startups distinguished themselves from the pack by raising prodigious amounts compared to the rest of the startup industry. For example, Flutterwave, a fintech company, raised $35million in its series B funding round. Flutterwave would later go on to raise $170million in its series C round in 2021, which would elevate the company to Unicorn status.

Fintech company Bitfxt and e-health firm, 54gene secured $15million each in 2020,” the report said.

ANXIETY IN PDP AS SUPREME COURT HEARS SECONDUS’ APPEAL TOMORROW opposition party to hurriedly shift the date of the swearingin of the Dr. Iyorchia Ayu-led National Working Committee (NWC) from Thursday, December 9 to Friday, December 10.

The National Chairmandesignate of the party, Ayu, and other members of the NWC were elected at the October 30 and 31 National Convention of the party after Secondus was removed from office.

Secondus wants the Supreme Court to interpret the PDP constitution as it concerns the power of the party to sack a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC), particularly, the national chairman of the party.

The Supreme Court, it was gathered, will hear Secondus’ petitions on Monday, December 6.

Secondus had filed a notice of appeal before the Supreme Court asking it to declare that he is the only one who had the legal right to preside over the last national convention.

He is also seeking an order declaring that his suspension at the ward level was not enough reason for him to vacate the office

of the national chairman of the party.

On August 23, 2021, some members of the party had instituted a suit marked: PHC/2183/CS/2021 at the High Court of Rivers State, Port Harcourt Judicial Division, with Secondus and the PDP as defendants.

The applicants had asked the court to stop Secondus from parading himself as the PDP chairman as he had been suspended at his ward.

The court subsequently restrained Secondus from performing the functions of the office of the national chairman of the PDP. Secondus, however, filed an appeal before the Court of Appeal, demanding that his suspension be declared illegal and the party be prevented from holding its October 30 and 31 conventions unless he was allowed to preside over the exercise.

But his appeal was thrown out and the appellate court gave the PDP the green light to hold its convention.

At the national convention, a

former Senate President, Ayu, emerged as the chairmandesignate of the party, and his inauguration along with other members of the NWC was initially fixed for December 9, 2021.

However, Secondus is now praying for the Supreme Court to declare that the appellate court erred in its judgment.

According to the appeal filed by his lawyer, Mr. Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), there are three grounds for appeal.

Secondus said Section 222(c) of the Nigerian Constitution requires every political party to have a constitution, which shall be registered with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

According to him, Article 35(1) (b) of the PDP’s Constitution confers on the national chairman of the party the right to preside over the national convention, but the appellate court gave the party the right to hold the convention without him.

The embattled chairman also argued that the fact that he was suspended at his ward did not translate to him being suspended

as the chairman of the PDP. His notice of appeal to the apex court read in part: “The Court of Appeal erred in law when it held that the appellant had no legal right or interest to protect by his application, which was filed on October 14, 2021, and re-filed on October 27, 2021.

“The Court of Appeal erred in law and violated the appellant’s right to a fair hearing when it held that the appellant, having been suspended as a member of the 6th respondent (the PDP), could not continue to function as the national chairman.

“The Court of Appeal erred in law in dismissing the appellant’s application, which was filed on October 14, 2021, and re-filed on October 27, 2021.”

Secondus subsequently sought four reliefs, including an order allowing the appeal, an order setting aside the decision of the appellate court, and order confirming that Article 35(I) (b) of the PDP Constitution confers on him the personal right to preside over the convention of the party.

It is feared that if the Supreme Court grants Secondus’ prayers, the election of Ayu and other

members of the NWC, as well as all other actions taken by the party in his absence will become null and void.

This fear may have informed the decision of the main opposition party to hurriedly shift the date of the swearing-in of Ayu and other members of the NWC from December 9 to December 10.

According to a statement by the Governor of Adamawa State, Hon. Ahmad Fintiri, who was the Chairman, National Convention Organising Committee (NCOC), "the swearing-in of the newly elected National Officers of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), earlier scheduled for Thursday, December 9, 2021, has been rescheduled for Friday, December 10, 2021, at 9:30 a.m.

"All party leaders, stakeholders, and members nationwide are advised to note this accordingly, please.

Fintiri’s statement was titled: ‘Change of Date for the Presentation of Certificate of Return and Swearing-in Ceremony of the Newly Elected PDP National Officers.’

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

6

NEWS

CONSULTATIVE MEETING… L-R: Alhaja Tanwa Olusi; Princess Adenrele Ogunsanya; former Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki; Mr Abdulaziz Olajide Adediran (Jandor); and Senator Duro Faseyi, during the declaration by the Lagos4Lagos group to move from All Progressives Congress to the Peoples Democratic Party, at the group’s office in Ikeja, Lagos…yesterday

Army Says No Cause for Alarm as Terrorists Bomb Maiduguri Six-month-old baby injured We have to fortify Maiduguri, says Zulum Ejiofor Alike The Nigerian Army yesterday urged the public not to panic after terrorists linked to the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) fired bombs at some areas in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

Reacting to the incident, Borno State Governor, Prof.

Babagana Zulum, stressed the need to fortify Maiduguri town against future attacks.

The Borno Police Command said a six-month-old baby was injured when ISWAP terrorists fired five mortar bombs into Maiduguri yesterday.

The Commissioner of Police, Abdul Umar, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri that the terrorists fired the bombs from the outskirt of Ngomari Old Airport, behind Borno State University.

He said the mortars landed in different locations within the city causing minor damages.

The CP said the first bomb landed inside a house belonging to one Ibrahim Abba-Fori, burning down a Honda Civic car while another destroyed a room in Alhaji Bukar Modu-Kullima house and injured the six-month-old baby, Fatima Alhaji-Bukar.

“Another one landed at Gambari Njimtilo Ward near the house of Ahmed Yahaya, where the fence of the house was destroyed.

“The last explosive landed in a farm at Shuwarin Atom Village,” he said.

Umar explained that the sixmonth-old victim was treated for minor injuries at the Umaru Shehu Ultra-Modern Hospital and discharged.

No life was lost in the attack, the CP said, adding that more police and military personnel had been deployed to the outskirt of Maiduguri for monitoring and patrols.

He urged residents to be on alert and report any suspected activities that would be detrimental to peace while assuring them of the total readiness of security agencies to protect lives and properties in the state Residents of the Gomari

airport area of Maiduguri woke up yesterday morning to heavy rocket fire into their community.

The insurgents were said to have misfired the rockets meant for the Nigerian Air Force Base but went into their community causing great havoc to some structures.

In a statement signed by the spokesperson of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier-General Onyema Nwachukwu, the army described the attack as a “security breach by suspected Boko Haram and Islamic State

of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists who made futile attempt to maintain potency early this morning, December 4, 2021, with explosions in the outskirt of Maiduguri Metropolitan Council.”

The explosions reportedly hit the Gomari community and 1,000 Housing estates in Maiduguri but no deaths were reported.

“This unfortunate incident has caused some level of damage and apprehension in residential areas. Although no life was lost, sadly a minor

sustained injury,” the army said.

“Ground troops in conjunction with the Air Component of OPHK responded swiftly and dominated the area with ground and air interdictions that successfully neutralized the threats and infiltration attempt by the terrorists.

“The general public is urged not to panic as troops are on the ground and aggressively dominating the city to effectively take out any perceived threat.

“The good people of Maiduguri are equally enjoined

to go about their normal socioeconomic activities and provide actionable information on the movement of these criminal elements.”

Saturday’s attack comes a day after seven soldiers were reportedly killed by ISWAP jihadists near a base at Rann, close to the Cameroonian border.

Borno State Governor, Prof.

Babagana Zulum, visited the scene of the explosions yesterday and sympathised with those affected.

“It seems the insurgents

came very close to the town, the military has to wake up and ensure adequate surveillance,” Zulum said.

“This is something that we can avert its occurrence. For the insurgents to have come such close to fire rockets, I think there is something wrong that we should have to check.

“We have to fortify Maiduguri town, we have to ensure adequate patrols daily to avert future attacks.

“It is very sad and unfortunate we have to witness this kind of attack at this time.”

NNPC'S MONTHLY DEDUCTIONS FROM FAAC HIT N200BN IN DECEMBER from monies accruing to the three tiers of government in the country between February and October as payment for the controversial petrol underrecovery.

To encourage the use of gas as domestic and vehicular fuels, the federal government has said it was leveraging the pricing framework and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s gas development fund to create appropriate funding models to support the use of gas among vulnerable Nigerians to tackle the price hike.

While lamenting that the North-west zone of the country consumes only four per cent of the cooking gas consumed in the country, the federal government also stated that the recently signed Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) of 2021 would increase the per capita consumption of gas in Nigeria.

A breakdown of the various deductions indicated that payments have increased progressively, growing from N24.3 billion in February to N60.3 billion in March and N61.9 billion in April this year.

Furthermore, in May, the NNPC removed N126 billion as a subsidy, while June came next with N164.3 billion.

In July, the document stated that N103.2 billion was spent on what the government terms under-recovery.

August had the year’s lion’s share of N173.1 billion.

However, this will be overtaken by the N200 billion planned deduction later this month, while September’s deduction stood at N149.28 billion and the October figure was N163.709 billion.

However, the overall crude oil lifting by the newly rechristened company almost doubled in September, according to the national oil company during the presentation which held on the 17th of November.

In addition, the presentation signed by Bello Abdullahi, on behalf of the Chief Financial Officer, Umar Ajiya, noted that for October, the NNPC spent over N7.7 billion on its strategic holdings and fixing of its pipelines.

Besides, the NNPC stated that product losses amounted to N143.3 billion, stressing that the “value shortfall” of nearly N200 billion would be subtracted later this month when the FAAC meeting holds.

Part of the presentation obtained by THISDAY read: “The overall NNPC crude oil lifting of 11.49 Mbbls (export and domestic crude) in September 2021 recorded 98.5 per cent increase relative to the 5.79 Mbbls lifted in August 2021.

“Domestic gas and other receipts in the month was N6.78 billion. The domestic gas in the month was N4.07 billion. Feedstock valued at $59.43 million was sold to Nigeria LNG during the period out of which $52.57 million was received during the month.

On domestic crude and gas sales, it added: “The sum of

N252,968,629,898.13 was the gross domestic crude oil and gas revenue for October 2021.

“The recoveries were: strategic holding cost and pipeline repairs amounting to N7,757,631,778.84, product losses worth N143,386,571.87, and value shortfall of N163,709,314,928.61.

This comprised of the N123,709,314,928.61 for September 2021 and N40,000,000,000.00 value shortfall deferred in June 2021.”

For November operations revenues which are due for sharing in November, the NNPC indicated that almost N200 billion will be netted off or removed as it had done in the previous months.

“The October 2021 value shortfall of N199,007,758,422.75 is to be recovered from the November 2021 proceeds due for sharing at the December 2021 FAAC meeting,” it emphasised.

On its other receipts, the national oil company noted that the sum of $95.63 million being miscellaneous receipts, gas and ullage fees as well as interest income was received in October 2021.

Compared to the previous month, the overall NNPC crude oil lifting was 5.79Mbbls in August 2021, a record of 33.5 per cent decrease relative to the 8.71Mbbls lifted in July 2021.

The NNPC said that Nigeria recorded 1.417 barrels per day million production in September 2021, just like it did in August 2021, adding that while crude oil export revenue received in September 2021 amounted to $8.38 million equivalent of N3.22

billion, for October “there was no crude export revenue”.

In June, the NNPC told the nation that Nigeria was losing about 42 million litres of petrol to the activities of smugglers across the country’s borders, increasing Nigeria’s estimated daily consumption of 60 million litres to 103 million litres, thereby worsening the subsidy payment regime.

Nigeria has not been able to reap the full benefits of rising international oil prices because it doesn’t refine a drop of the fuel it consumes locally, so almost all the revenues are spent importing petrol and paying subsidies, even for neighbouring countries where the product is smuggled into.

On November 23, the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, projected that petrol would sell for between N320 and N340 per litre from February, next year.

Stressing that Nigeria would be out of the subsidy regime in the first quarter of 2022, Kyari explained that subsidy would have been eliminated this year, but for certain (unnamed) factors that prevented it.

To ameliorate the impact of the petrol subsidy, the federal government said it was planning to give N5,000 each to 40 million poor Nigerians.

This proposition has been rejected by many Nigerians who believe there’s no sense in replacing a lesser subsidy with a much more burdensome one.

In addition, the labour unions have cautioned the federal government against unilateral removal or stoppage of the petrol

subsidy regime, warning that removing it without meeting labour’s demands will be met with stiff resistance.

“There will be no provision for it (subsidy) legally in our system, but I am also sure you will appreciate that government has a bigger social responsibility to cater for the ordinary and therefore engage in a process that will ensure that we exit most subtly and easily,” Kyari said.

The NNPC boss spoke during the presentation of the November edition of the World Bank Nigeria Development Update, titled: “Time for Business Unusual.”

In August, Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, speaking on behalf of his colleagues in reaction to the new Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) signed by President Muhammadu Buhari said he didn’t believe in the credibility of the subsidy figures churned out by the NNPC.

FG Vows to Tackle Cooking Gas Price Hike Meanwhile, the federal government said it was leveraging the pricing framework and the CBN’s gas development fund to create appropriate funding models to support the offtake of gas among vulnerable Nigerians to tackle inflation.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, disclosed this yesterday during the Continued on page 10

SUNDAY DECEMBER 5, 2021 • T H I S D AY

7

8

SUNDAY DECEMBER 5, 2021 • T H I S D AY

SUNDAY DECEMBER 5, 2021 • T H I S D AY

9

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

10

NEWS

Despite Power Shift Clamour, Northern PDP May Present Presidential Aspirants FCT PDP adopts Saraki as North-central candidate Chuks Okocha in Abuja Despite the popular clamour for the presidency to shift to the southern part of the country, there are strong indications that the two other zones in the north may as well pick their presidential candidates.

The 17 southern governors had called for the presidency to shift to the South in 2023.

Some progressive northern governors such as Prof.

Babagana Zulum of Borno State, Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State, Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Bello Masari of Katsina State, Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, and a host of others had thrown their weights behind the clamour for power shift to the South.

However, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also yesterday adopted former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki as its presidential candidate Six other states in the Northcentral had earlier adopted Saraki as their preferred candidate.

The Governor of Benue State, Ortom had variously said that the PDP would choose its presidential candidate for the 2023 general election by consensus like it did in the election of its National Working Committee (NWC) members during its National Convention.

PDP leaders and stakeholders in Gombe State had last week adopted former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as their preferred candidate for the zone during the North-east business community summit.

Earlier on as part of his consultations, Atiku was in Bauchi State where he commissioned some projects executed by the state government and thereafter, continued his consultations on his presidential aspirations For Saraki, chieftains and stakeholders of the PDP in the North-central zone have resolved to support him as their consensus aspirant for the 2023 presidential election.

Leader of the Movement for North-central Presidency, Prof.

Yorwuese Hagher, gave the hint while speaking to journalists in Lafia, Nasarawa State capital.

Hagher, a former Nigeria’s Ambassador to Canada who described North-central zone as the bleeding wound on the conscience of Nigeria, said it was time for the zone to lead the country.

According to Hagher, the zone has been a cord which holds the country together in difficult times since independence, and has been supporting other zones to produce presidents.

“Out of the country’s six geo-political zones, three have produced presidents – the Northwest, the Southwest and the South-South, the North-Central, the North-east and the South-east are yet to

produce presidents.

For the governor of Sokoto State, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, his aspiration has received a boost in the Northwest.

THISDAY gathered that the party may go for a consensus presidential candidate as it did in the election of Ayu as the national chairman but where there is no consensus among the aspirants, they may go for

elective convention.

So far, former Senate President, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim and Sam Ohuabunwa have officially indicated interest to contest for the presidential ticket of the PDP from the South-east.

Meanwhile, like other states in the North-central zone, the FCT PDP yesterday adopted Saraki as its presidential candidate The FCT Chapter of the PDP also adopted a motion that

the North-central geopolitical zone should produce the next president of Nigeria.

With yesterday's adoption of Saraki as the consensus presidential candidate, it means that all the six states in the North-central, and the FCT have adopted the former senate president as their presidential candidate.

The motion for the adoption of Saraki was moved by Alhaji

GET WELL QUICK SIR… L-R: Chief of Staff to Senator Solomon Adeola, Chief Kayode Odunaro; former Ogun State Governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba; and Senator, representing Lagos West Senatorial District, Senator Solomon Adeola, during their visit to the former governor at his London residence...yesterday

To Tackle Insecurity, Osinbajo Tasks Security Agencies on Technology-driven Solutions Deji Elumoye in Abuja Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the weekend charged security agencies to leverage more technology-driven solutions and intelligence-driven collaboration to improve the nation’s security architecture in line with global standards and to more effectively tackle challenges nationwide.

Osinbajo stated this at the graduation ceremony of participants of the Executive Intelligence Management Course 14 at the National

Institute for Security Studies, Bwari, Abuja.

According to him, President Muhammadu Buhari had emphasised an approach that leverages inter-agency collaboration, joint operations, technology-driven enablers, and the optimisation of existing capabilities to avoid duplication of resources and expenditure.

The Vice President also noted the investments made and initiatives taken by the administration to beef up the nation’s security architecture and protect the lives and

property of Nigerians.

Osinbajo identified some major challenges in the security environment, including the global dimensions to local security, country size and the challenge of covering extensive terrain, the availability and use of technology by criminal and terrorist individuals and groups, and inter-agency coordination.

He said, “in May this year, arising from our deliberations in the National Security Council, the President established the Committee on Needs Assessment of National

Security Requirements, which he tasked me to chair with the mandate of assessing the needs of the defence, security and intelligence agencies in the light of the current challenges and recommend options for containment. “The President personally handpicked the membership of the Committee which had representation from the military, the police, and the security and intelligence community. As a result of our work, the President signed a supplementary budget of N802 billion for the military, security,

NNPC'S MONTHLY DEDUCTIONS FROM FAAC HIT N200BN IN DECEMBER inauguration of a 100-metric tonne LPG (cooking gas) storage and bottling plant, constructed

by Butane Energy Limited in Kabukawa, Katsina State.

Sylva, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Sani Gwarzo, explained that the pricing of LPG was a major threat to gas affordability and penetration in the country.

He said the declaration of Decade of Gas by President Muhammadu Buhari, was to reinforce Nigeria's aspiration to leverage on its gas resources estimated at 206 TCF to develop the country's national industrial, commercial and agricultural base.

He reiterated that the federal government had embarked on numerous gas-based initiatives

Ogah Dona with the chairman of the FCT Chairman of the PDP, Sunday Zakka seconding the motion.

When it was put to vote, the decision to adopt Saraki was unanimously carried.

At the event were: PDP stalwarts, including FCT chairman of the party, Sunday Zakka; Senator Sulaiman Adokwe; Dr. Musa Ahmadu, among others.

such as the Nigeria Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme, the National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP), and the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline to accelerate economic development.

"I cannot conclude this speech without touching on gas pricing which is a major threat to gas affordability and gas penetration.

"The federal government is leveraging on the gas pricing framework and the CBN gas development fund to create appropriate funding models to support offtake of gas especially among vulnerable groups".

He added, "The deliberate focus of this administration to develop the gas sector is largely the driving force behind NCDMB commercial intervention

in partnering with the private sector, to establish Butane LPG bottling plant in several northern states including Katsina, Kano, Kaduna, Bauchi, Niger, and the FCT," he stated.

The minister averred that the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act of 2021 by President Buhari has reinforced the government's commitment to transform the oil and gas industry by creating an enabling environment for accelerated investment in exploration and field development projects.

This, he said, would pave the way for the integration of host communities into the benefit plans of the industry and entrenchment of local content as the driving philosophy for oil and gas transactions in Nigeria.

"In effect, the PIA and the intensive investment in gas transportation, storage, and marketing infrastructure will no doubt increase per capita consumption of gas in Nigeria which currently stands at 80 cubic meters per capita consumption despite our huge gas reserves".

Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr. Simbi Wabote, said despite the utilisation of 1,000,000 metric tonnes of LPG in 2020, Nigeria has one of the lowest per capita LPG consumption in Africa.

He affirmed that available data from the office of the National Gas Expansion Programme revealed that LPG utilisation in the North-west was four per

cent compared to 14 per cent in the South-west and 15 per cent in the South-east.

"That is why we chose to partner Butane Energy to increase the level of LPG utilisation in the North as they understand the market in the region, possess the technical capability and the determination to embark on such a venture," he added.

In his remarks, the Chairman of Butane Energy Limited, Mr. Isa Inuwa, said by September, the company would have five gas plants with a total storage capacity of 820 metric tonnes.

He noted that the five gas plants would be located in Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Bauchi, Niger, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with the capacity to process 9,200 12.5kg of cylinders.

and intelligence agencies.

"This was in keeping with his commitment since the outset of this administration to ensure that those charged with keeping Nigerians safe are adequately equipped for the job. At a time when national resources are stretched thin, we have to come up with technology-driven solutions to addressing our security needs - whether we are discussing the policing of our borders or surveillance and reconnaissance programmes aimed at identifying criminal elements within our coastal waters, or locating terrorists hiding within the general population. When applied creatively, technology can be a force multiplier, amplifying our potential and capacity to effectively secure our territory.

It is not enough to know that we should deploy technology for surveillance and combat. We must become much smarter in the deployment of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance tools to compensate for the human resource deficits within our security establishment."

In the same vein, he urged the nation’s security and intelligence agencies to reinvent themselves and adopt a more empirical and data-driven institutional culture defined by analytical and forensic rigour, while also emphasising inter-agency collaboration and synergy.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 5, 2021 • T H I S D AY

11

12

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

NEWS

CHANGE OF BATON… L-R: Chairman of the occasion and Chairman of Juli Pharmacy Plc, Prince Juilius Adelusi-Adeluyi; Chairman, Board of Trustees, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Chief John Odeyemi; immediate past President, LCCI, Mrs. Toki Mabogunje; President, LCCI, Dr. Michael Olawale-Cole; his wife, Adebola; and past President, Mr. S.K. Onafowokan, during the 2021 investiture of Olawale-Cole as President of LCCI in Lagos…yesterday

Terrorists Release 70 Baptist Church Members, Nine Others after 35 Days in Captivity John Shiklam in Kaduna and Laleye Dipo in Minna Terrorists have released 70 abducted persons, including 61 members of the Baptist Church, Kakau Daji, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The victims were said to have been released after an undisclosed ransom was paid to the terrorists.

This is coming as no fewer than 10 passengers travelling in a commercial car were kidnapped by bandits in Niger State.

The criminals had on October 31, 2021, invaded the Baptist Church during a Sunday service and abducted 66 worshippers.

They later took five of the

abducted church members close to the community and killed three, while two others were shot.

Chairman of the Kaduna State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Joseph Hayab, who confirmed the release of the remaining 61 church members, said they were freed on Friday night alongside nine others after an undisclosed amount was paid as ransom.

The CAN chairman commended traditional rulers and stakeholders for ensuring the release of the victims.

The bandits had earlier demanded N99 million for the release of the 61 Baptist Church

members.

Hayab urged Christians and other Nigerians to be prayerful against the insecurity that has brought untold hardships to the citizenry.

The spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command, Mohammad Jalige, could not be reached when contacted on his mobile phone.

Kaduna has been under siege by terrorists despite tough security measures adopted by the state government.

On September 30, 2021, the government, among other measures, shut down telecom networks in some parts of the state to tackle terrorists unleashing mayhem on residents

at home and the highways.

Telecom services were restored on November 26 after a deadly attack along the Kaduna-Abuja Road, where Alhaji Hamida Sagir, a retired Director of Protocol at the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) was killed while several other people were reportedly abducted.

In the early hours of last Friday, the terrorists also invaded Anguwan Juji, a suburb in the Sabon Tasha area of Kaduna metropolis, killing two people while 50 others were reportedly abducted.

Meanwhile, no fewer than 10 passengers travelling in a commercial car have been kidnapped by bandits in Niger

State.

The travellers were said to have boarded the commercial vehicle at Kontagora and were heading to Minna, the state capital when they ran into a blockade by the armed bandits between Garin -gabas and Zungeru towns.

An eyewitness told THISDAY that the travellers were taken into the bush after valuable items belonging to them were forcibly taken away by the gunmen.

The vehicle in which they were travelling was also abandoned by the roadside.

The bandits said to be about 100, were carrying sophisticated weapons on motorcycles.

According to an eyewitness,

the bandits blocked the MinnaKontagora road for several hours making travellers make a detour or run into the bush for safety.

Some journalists coming from the wedding of the daughter of one of their colleagues, which took place in Kontagora town, were among those trapped in the blockade by the bandits, but none of them was kidnapped.

The gunmen operated for more than four hours without any response from the security operatives around the area.

All efforts to get a reaction from the Niger State Police Command Public Relations Officer, DSP Wasiu Abiodun was abortive as he did not respond to calls made to his cell phone.

months to verify things before formal certification would be given to Nigeria.

Ehanire noted in his speech at the special session of the National Council of Health that took place in Abuja, that one of the lessons, Nigeria had learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic was the need to develop a minimum level of self-sufficiency in medical infrastructure.

The minister who was referring to the difficulties encountered by Nigeria in the procurement of basic treatment tools during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and is still experiencing it with regards to vaccine procurement, said: "It has been said that COVID-19 has been an eye-opener for the country. It has its realities, which we all have to adjust to. The first is that there is no way we can rest on our oars and believe that we have won. There is no way we can believe that nothing is happening. We all must agree to strengthen our health system and be prepared to tackle any of the health challenges.

"At the time we were looking items like personal protective equipment, reagents, and other commodities, we realised that when push comes to shove, most of these countries would like to take care of themselves before considering even their friends and therefore we have realised that we need some level self-sufficiency".

Ehanire said that the federal government was pleased that in many ways the country is responding to the challenge and

that industries have sprung up to produce personal protective equipment, hand sanitisers.

"Our research institutes have been able to develop equipment and materials. So, we are on a good way into that and our research Institutes have developed equipment and materials They have also been able to carry out sequencing and reagents and are on the way to making vaccines.”

He said his ministry is working with the NCDC, Nigeria Medical Research, in Lagos, and the Centre for Excellence in Ede, Osun State, and trying to get the best from them.

Concerning local vaccine production, Ehanire said the government was determined to achieve that.

"We are working with the Bio-Vaccine Nigerian Limited and I met with the Managing Director of the firm today and urged him to speed up all the processes for us to use the opportunities and support we have from outside this country to enhance the manufacture of vaccines.

"I also received the President of Afriexim Bank yesterday to discuss a few things. Part of it is the mopping up support in the area of vaccine production and when the details are clear we will be able to announce.”

Ehanire said that the vaccine production is not just for COVID-19 but vaccines against various diseases, adding also that the country wants to be able to tackle future health emergencies as they emerge.

UK TO ADD NIGERIA TO RED LIST OF COUNTRIES AMID OMICRON SPREAD A temporary travel ban would therefore be introduced for all non-UK and non-Irish citizens and residents who have been in Nigeria in the last 10 days, meaning they will be refused entry into the UK. This does not apply to those who have stayed airside and only transited through Nigeria while changing flights.

Canada had on Tuesday banned travellers from Egypt, Nigeria and Malawi over fears of the spread of the new Omicron variant.

Meanwhile, the federal government has, however, intensified talks with Afrexim Bank to fast-track local production of COVID-19 vaccine within the next one year, according to the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire.

However, a renowned Virologist and Chairman of the Board of the Bio-Vaccine Nigerian Limited, Prof. Oyewale Tomori, has told THISDAY that the local production of the COVID-19 vaccine in the country may not be possible within the next one year despite the ongoing efforts to fast-track the process.

Speaking on the UK’s decision, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing said:“I know that this decision will have a significant impact on people in both our countries, particularly at this time of year. This decision is a precautionary measure to protect public health in the UK, whilst we try to understand this new variant.

“We continue to work very

closely with the Nigerian authorities in tackling the pandemic and commend their ongoing work.”

UK Health Secretary, Javid also stated that travellers heading to the UK would now have to take a COVID-19 test before their departure in an effort to limit spread of the virus.

He said the tightened requirements would come into force from Tuesday.

According to him, travellers would be required to submit evidence of a negative lateral flow or PCR test to enter the UK. Javid confirmed that Nigeria would be added to the red list of countries from where people arriving the UK must quarantine in a hotel for 10 days.

BBC reported that currently travellers only need to self-isolate until they test negative within two days of arriving the UK. Javid said the government's strategy since the discovery of the Omnicron variant had been to "buy time" to assess and to "put in place protective measures", adding that "we've always said that we would act swiftly should new data require it".

He said: "Over the recent days we have learnt of a significant number of growing cases linked to travel with Nigeria "There are 27 cases already in England and that's growing and Nigeria now is second only to South Africa in terms of linked cases to Omicron.

“So today, the government has decided to add Nigeria to the travel red list and that will be effective from 4am on Monday.

This will mean that only UK residents or citizens of the UK can enter the UK from Nigeria from that point onwards, and they would have to quarantine in one of the relevant hotels.

“We’ve also decided to require pre-departure tests for all inward travellers that will be effective from 4am on Tuesday, and they’ll be required maximum of 48 hours before the departure time,” he explained.

UK said the new protocol does not apply to persons “staying airside and only transiting through”.

Javid added the government had "been clear that we will take action if it is necessary," adding that it was important to remember vaccinations "are our first line of defence" and calling on people to get a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine when called to do so by the NHS. The moves come after pressure on the government to tighten the policy had been growing over the course of the week.

Last week the government's scientific advisory body Sage, said pre-departure tests for those arriving in the UK would be valuable, in the leaked minutes of a meeting seen by the BBC. The Labour Party had previously criticised the government's current testing policy and called for the reintroduction of pre-departure tests.

While Labour has pushed for pre-departure testing to avoid Omicron spreading, travel businesses will see it as a significant setback - just when

green shoots of recovery were emerging.

Airlines have supported the red list re-introduction and extension.

But they view the introduction of blanket restrictions as unnecessary and ineffective.

FG, Afrexim Bank Intensify Talks on Local COVID-19 Vaccine Production Meanwhile, the federal government has intensified talks with Afrexim Bank to fast-track local production of COVID-19 vaccine within the next year, the Minister of Health, Ehanire, has said.

Ehanire disclosed at the weekend that the federal government had been meeting with the top officials of the Afrexim Bank to secure their financial support to fast-track the process of reviving vaccine production in Nigeria.

Part of the readiness for local production of vaccines is the meeting of the recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO) by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojishola Adeyeye, had stated that the country had met the 868 requirements demanded by the WHO to qualify for the production of vaccines in the country.

However, Adeyeye added that WHO would still send an assessment team in a couple of

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 5, 2021

13

EDITORIAL

Editor, Editorial Page PETER ISHAKA Email peter.ishaka@thisdaylive.com

THE COVID-19 OMICRON CHALLENGE The federal government must speed up the vaccination of the citizenry

L

ast Wednesday, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) raised the alarm that the latest COVID-19 variant, Omicron, has been recorded in three travellers from South Africa, a situation that has now placed Nigeria on red alert.

Identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the latest variant from the two years old COVID-19 outbreak, Omicron has been designated to be of ‘high concern’.

With 28 other countries now reporting the variant, we cannot afford to be careless, especially regarding vaccination and border requirements.

Although experts differ on the potency of COVID-19 vaccine against Omicron, many are of the opinion that persons already vaccinated stand a chance against the variant. But that is where the real chalThere is no better lenge is for Nigeria. Over time than now for 203 million persons in government to the country enforce COVID-19 are yet to receive rules already in the first dose of the place. Use of face vaccine, a situation masks in large that makes the countr y gatherings should par ticube encouraged. larly vulnerable. Fearing Maintaining social that gains made through vacciand physical nation may slow should the distancing should be down Omicron variant re-initiated, among spread, some countries have other measures. already started instituted travel With COVID-19, no ban. The federal government must one is safe until therefore speed up its vaccination everyone is safe processes.

Meanwhile, it is ridiculous that at a period when we are yet to give the very first dose of vaccine to more than 95 per cent of citizens, the federal government is recommending the administration of booster doses for those who have completed two doses of the approved vaccines. While we do not understand the basis for that decision, it is important for the authorities to ensure strict adherence to travel advisories. There must be insistence on negative

Letters to the Editor

COVID-19 results before entering the country, as well as further tests upon entering our borders. Just like other nations, if there is need to place travel ban on countries with high cases of the new variant, we must not hesitate to do so. But the federal government must go beyond awarding contracts for the procurement of vaccines.

As things stand, it is one thing to have vaccine availability and quite a different thing to get the affected public to patronise the vaccine. Long held superstitions and unscientific beliefs have tended to obstruct the application of modern scientific methods in disease control and treatment in Nigeria. Going by persisting irrational resistance to the Covid-19 vaccine in many parts of the world, the psychological battle to compel our people on the importance of vaccination may be as challenging as the process of development of the vaccines themselves. It is therefore compelling urgent for the federal government to launch an enlightenment campaign, especially in rural areas of the country. But the bigger challenge is in the local production of vaccines. n April last year, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced that in order to encourage greater research and development of drugs and vaccines that would help prevent the spread of COVID-19, it was developing a framework under which grants and long-term facilities would be provided to researchers, science institutions and biotechnology firms to develop the Nigerian vaccine. Challenges were thrown to scientists at home and in the diaspora “to go back to their laboratories and develop a Nigerian vaccine.” We are yet to hear of any breakthrough from Nigerian universities. While we recognise that the sector has not been adequately funded, money is not the only problem. More critical is the intellectual quality of their academic staff.

In the absence of an effective COVID-19 vaccine distribution across board, all the country has for now are the infectious disease protocols which must be adhered to pending when every Nigerian receives the jab. Under the prevailing circumstance, as we keep reiterating, prevention remains the most plausible cure.

Unfortunately, religious centres are still drawing huge crowds of worshipers while schools and markets shun the safety protocols. There is therefore no better time than now for government to enforce COVID-19 rules already in place. Use of face masks in large gatherings should be encouraged. Maintaining social and physical distancing should be re-initiated, among other measures. With COVID-19, no one is safe until everyone is safe.

I

S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R EDITOR DAVIDSON IRIEKPEN DEPUTY EDITORS FESTUS AKANBI, EJIOFOR ALIKE MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN MANAGING EDITOR BOLAJI ADEBIYI THE OMBUDSMAN KAYODE KOMOLAFE

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

TO OUR READERS Letters in response to specific publications in THISDAY should be brief (150-200 words) and straight to the point. Interested readers may send such letters along with their contact details to opinion@thisdaylive.com. We also welcome comments and opinions on topical local, national and international issues provided they are well-written and should also not be longer than (950- 1000 words). They should be sent to opinion@thisdaylive.com along with the email address and phone numbers of the writer.

NIGERIA’S HIGHWAY OF BLOOD

T

he road to hell is paved with good intentions and for years now, one of Nigeria`s most notorious roads, the Abuja-Kaduna expressway, has continued to capture the terrified imagination of Nigerians.

When travellers ply the road, eager to arrive their destinations for business, social engagements, visits with loved ones or whatever, devious criminals jump out of the bush and spatter blood on one of Nigeria`s most iconic highways.

Abuja, Nigeria`s capital, is also its `Centre of Unity’. It hosts Aso Rock, the seat of the Presidency as well as the National Assembly, Nigeria`s highest law- making authority. The Supreme Court, Nigeria`s highest court, also sits in Abuja.

Kaduna State is Nigeria`s ‘Centre of Learning’. The state

disproportionately hosts many of Nigeria`s premier citadels of learning. Some of the schools include the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Air Force Institute of Technology, Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology, Nigerian Army School of Military Police, Nigerian Military School, Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Nigerian Army School of Legal Services, Nigerian Navy School of Armament, Nigerian School of Artillery, Nigerian Defence Academy, to mention but a few.

Is it then not brutally ironic that a road between two of Nigeria`s most iconic cities has become a highway of blood, a veritable axis of evil?

Nigeria`s topsy-turvy journey to become a country with its own soul has now taken 61 years and still counting. In these 61

years, there have been a civil war, military coups, massacres in communities, and all manner of upheavals. Somehow, the country has survived, albeit with varying degrees of injury.

Since 2009, Nigeria`s porous security edifice has been coming apart stone by stone. In 2009, Boko Haram decided to go full throttle at the Nigerian state after years of playing hide and seek.

What has happened in the country in the face of the sect`s relentless onslaught is a sobering tale of the relentless evil that terrorism is and the incalculable damage it can wrought to men and minds. If Boko Haram`s terrorism was the precursor of Nigeria`s nightmarish insecurity, banditry has proven its destructively capable contemporary.

Kaduna State may not have been the cradle of banditry in Ni-

geria – that honour must go to Zamfara State. However, if Zamfara State was its cradle, Kaduna State, Nigeria`s ‘centre of learning’, has since become its kiln – a place where the bandits learn just how weak the Nigerian state is and are hardened to assault it.

It is in Kaduna State that the bandits have refined their tactics, reinventing in perversely innovative ways the chilling mechanics of banditry.

Again, it is savagely ironic that the bandits have targeted schools of all levels in Nigeria`s ‘center of learning’.

They have struck higher institutions, secondary schools and primary schools, marching away students for ransom, and holding them for many, many days.

On August 24,2021, bandits plucked their courage and fell upon the Nigerian Defence Academy in Kaduna. In their wake, two Nigerian soldiers lay dead while one was abducted. He was later rescued but the attack tolled alarm bells across the country forcing many to fear

for what could happen to the shell of the softshell turtle if the shell of the iron snail could be so easily cracked.

Their raids have continued in Kaduna State as well as in Niger State where the bandits have taken over entire communities, abducting people and advising their relations to sell their farm produce to pay ransom.

Yet, it would appear that the killers have some adamantine apologists among Nigerians. While many Nigerians including speakers of the 36 State Houses of Assembly and the Kaduna State Governor, cried out for the bandits to be declared terrorists so that the tactics deployed against them could be altered dramatically, crafty but ultimately empty arguments were proffered to delay the inevitable.

– Kene Obiezu, keneobiezu@ gmail.com Read the full article online - www.thisdaylive.com

14

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 5, 2021

OPINION

WAYAS: A NATIONALIST AND SYMBOL OF PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY Liyel Imoke pays tribute to Joseph Wayas, former Senate President

L

ike every other Nigerian, who knew him, I received with shock the news of the death of former Senate President, Joseph Wayas.

Death is inevitable, but even in death, Wayas will ever be a colossus. He was an illustrious son of Cross River State and nationalist in all ramifications. He was more than a political figure, but also an embodiment of progressive politics both in governance and politicking. A distinctive man, with a well measured and calm mien. As a politician, Wayas taught us how to be famous, and still be humble and reserved. In the real sense, he was unperturbed about the vagaries of big man show and the paraphernalia of office.

As a true son of Cross River State, he endeared himself to most Cross Riverians, by representing and pushing for a new drift towards clamouring for politics of national unity, and initiating the vibes of cohesive politics. In the build up to the 1979 democratic transition, Wayas railroad then old Cross River State to the national. In like manner, and in subsequent polls, he would later be rewarded with his elections to the Senate, representing Ogoja Senatorial District.

Having built political networks across the country; North, West and South, Wayas would at the inception of the 1979 Senate be elected as the Senate President, a great feat for a minority then. His ability to galvanize support across a broad spectrum of Nigerian tribes was remarkably phenomenal.

Wayas was popularly known for building political consensus across the gamut of Nigerian politics, reaching out to allies and non-allies as well. It was not surprising therefore, that he steadily stirred the ship of leadership of the then Senate to global acclaim. Distinguishing himself from the trappings of ego-centric politics; he brought to bear on the nation's legislative business some sense of decorum, thereby, enriching and expanding the frontiers of parliamentary democracy, specifically under the then President Shehu Shagari's government.

Critically, Wayas was in a true sense, a democrat in word and action, and was defined by the ethos of nationalism and democratic culture. In many instances, he was not given to duplicity. One could easily figure out where he stood on any national issue. Also, among his co-evals, he was a true party man, and knew ahead on how to navigate the murky waters of party politics.

He was more of a nationalist than a clannish individual, spreading his political tentacles far and near. In his

death, he remains an institutional legacy, particularly, within the frame of Nigeria's legislative democracy.

The former Senate President was a firm believer in a united Nigeria, and even extended that rational thinking to Cross River, his home state, shading off all traces of tribalism and embracing a broader approach to statehood and nation-building. He never for a day doubted or disputed Nigeria’s oneness and its lofty position in the comity of nations. To many, he became a symbol of Nigeria's nationalism, all encapsulated in his landmark contributions to the independence of the legislature, as another branch of government.

Even as Nigeria grapples with the question of restructuring and devolution of powers to the federating units and other components of the Nigerian nation-state, Wayas was far ahead, canvassing for true federalism as a panacea to Nigeria’s chequered crisis of structure and overbearing centralized state. He saw in federalism Nigeria’s hidden treasures capable of unearthing and unbundling her potential to greatness. It’s pathetic that Wayas died at a time Nigeria is unable to restructure herself constitutionally and structurally to prominence.

A pathway, he saw for Nigeria to become a real world power of the black race.

Thus, as a founder of the defunct All Peoples Party (APP) in 1998, he would jettison the primordial politics of APP for the nationalist politics of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2001, arguing in favour of the imperative of a national party, which the PDP still represents till date as opposed to tribal political parties.

Without any equivocation, he had a fierce hatred for authoritarianism and despots, pitching its tent with liberal democracy. He was also close to his roots, and

The former Senate President was a firm believer in a united Nigeria, and even extended that rational thinking to Cross River, his home state, shading off all traces of tribalism and embracing a broader approach to statehood and nation-building

understood quite well the importance of cultural heritage.

As a businessman, well even before his sojourn to politics, Wayas was discreet and transparent, attuned to the detects of business, economic growth and development. Throughout his tenure as Senate President, he pursued these ideologies of economic independence and democratic governance with tact and firmness. Given his wealth of education and exposure then, Wayas definitely prepared for leadership. And he wasted no time in showcasing those innate qualities, developing the concept of collective bargaining and consensus even on party politics.

Wayas had more than a passive love for the black world and her people around the globe. His connection with the late legendary boxer, Muhammed Ali in the United States is a testimony to his conviction of a strong black race. He also had love for his people in Cross River State, from the mountains of Obudu Cattle Ranch down to Calabar. It is such conviction that compelled him to work fervently for Cross River to remain one as state. Despite his often misunderstood antics, he never gave up his belief for a strong and prosperous Nigeria and Cross River State.

To some, death brings forgetfulness; but with Wayas, history will be recalled. Even in death, the late political juggernaut is aware of his place in Nigeria’s history. One which sits in the hearts of men, beyond monuments. It is possible to visit the National Assembly and find Wayas' photo in the gallery, but his place in our hearts and history is permanent. His curtain might have closed, but his legacies tower above sea level, particularly, in the annals of legislative history.

I therefore send my condolences to the good people and government of Cross River State on the death of former Senate President, Joseph Wayas, his family and close associates. I shared the sober sentiment of this moment and pray for the repose of his soul, as he will be truly missed. Yet, the life of Wayas will ever remain timeless and a beckon of institutional memory in Nigeria's democratic history.

–Sen. Imoke, is former Governor of Cross River State (2007 - 2015) and Minister of Power (2003 20007)

Read full article online - www.thisdaylive.com

THE TASK BEFORE IYORCHIA AYU The newly elected national chairman of the PDP has the challenge of rebuilding the party into a formidable force, writes Gbenga Giwa

O

n December 9th 2021, the four-year tenure of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), led by its National Chairman Uche Secondus, will officially come to an end and that of Iyorchia Ayu, elected 40 days earlier, on October 31st, will begin.

Secondus himself will not be around to oversee the handing and taking over, because he has been consumed by the power play that engulfed the party for over six months before the party’s National Convention of October 31st. And because of that tussle for the soul of the party, many had feared that the national convention will be acrimonious. But to the surprise of many onlookers, the convention turned out to be the best the PDP has organized in recent times. The ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, (APC), which had expected mayhem at the PDP national convention must now really be envious at the ease with which the PDP managed itself and achieved tremendous success. For the record, 18 elective offices, including that of the National Chairman, out of the available 21, were filled through consensus. Even the losers in the other three offices contested for, heartily congratulated the winners, with the top echelon of the party, singing ‘no winner, no vanquished’ tune. And the icing on the cake was the emergence of a 25-year-old, as the party’s National Youth Leader. No doubt, the PDP displayed finesse and class at its national convention of October 31st.

Now that the Secondus tenure is about winding up, how does Ayu ride on the feel-good factor, occasioned by the successful national convention, when he takes over? What are his blueprints to disappoint the naysayers who said the silence at the PDP Convention, was that of a graveyard?

How would he shed the toga that he will be a lackey of the governors because they were largely instrumental to his emergence as chairman? How is he going to tackle the issue

of impunity and imposition of unpopular candidates, usually fostered on the party by the governors and other bloc of godfathers? And most importantly, going into an election year, how is he going to handle the delicate issue of the high-octane ambitions of Atiku Abubakar, Bukola Saraki, Aminu Tambuwal, Sule Lamido, Pius Anyim, Tanimu Turaki, and other heavyweights, to become the Presidential candidate of the party come 2023?

These are not the end of plethora of challenges facing Ayu and his new NWC team. But if they can device a road map that addresses these aforementioned issues, then PDP could be on its way back to prominence and power. Fortunately, Ayu is not a novice in the dense Nigerian political chess game. As a matter of fact, he was part of the first eleven of the PDP in the form of the G7, G17 and G34, that eventually became the Peoples Democratic Party in 1998. An academia of repute, he was Chairman of Jos University chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). He is also a Marxist.

You don’t confront Olusegun Obasanjo and dare the consequences without being a tiger yourself. Together with Atiku he wrestled Obasanjo to the ground on ‘3rd term’, although, he will be the first to display the scar of the injury he too sustained for his gallantry.

So, confronting intra-party crisis, daunting as it is, Ayu would be well served from his experience in the past. And it’s heart- warming to note what he said about the party shortly after being officially pronounced as the new national chairman: “We were not happy that we lost power in 2015. However, with the benefit of hindsight, it is good that APC came to power. Nigerians have now seen the limit of falsehood, the emptiness of propaganda and the shallowness of demagoguery. APC has shown us that a party can manipulate its way into power, but if it has no ideas or coherent programmes

about how to govern, then such a party will resort to executive surrender, recklessness and perpetual excuses. As a party, we have learnt our lessons in both defeat and opposition. We have also reinvented ourselves and we are coming back, united and stronger than before”. He then pointedly addressed party members: “To our faithful members, the new National Working Committee (NWC), pledges to be guided by our constitution, teamwork, internal democracy and constant consultation”.

Ayu said Nigerians should look up to PDP for succour, because according to him, “we are in a sorry state as at present, because the gloom, the insecurity, the attendant bloodletting, the widening North-South divide, the ethnic tensions, religious suspicious, etc., are all on a scale that has never been seen before in our nation. And what is worse, the nepotism, mismanaged economy, rising cost of living and the unbelievable incompetence of the APC-led government have taken the destruction of our country to the NEXT LEVEL”.

After the party’s national convention, the party organized a two-day retreat for the newly elected NWC members, a couple of weeks ago which was conveyed in order for “stock-taking, honest selfassessment and bold decision taking”.

No doubt, the PDP has demonstrated seriousness in putting its house in order. The goodwill is there. Can Ayu take advantage of this goodwill and offer better alternative to the APC? He, more than anyone, knows that the attention span of Nigerians is very short and the honeymoon occasioned by the recent happenings at Wadata House can easily disappear as quickly as it appeared.

– Giwa wrote from Abuja

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 5, 2021

15

LETTERS

COVID-19: AS OMICRON VARIANT CREEPS IN ON US “At this point, we need to increase community testing, make sure that people are fully vaccinated. This is not just for civil servants alone but for all calibres of people.

Also, it is important that we may continue to witness several mutations if we continue to have vaccination gap.”

-Prof. Marycelin Baba (a professor of medical virology at the University of Maiduguri)

W

hen in July, 2021 I wrote an essay titled: ‘COVID-19 Delta Variant: The time to act is now!’ it was with the scientific knowledge that all viruses are obligate parasites. That simply means that they cannot live on their own. They “lack the metabolic machinery of their own to generate energy or to synthesize proteins”.

So they depend on the host cells to carry out these vital functions.

It is also significant to understand that as a virus replicates, its genes undergo random “copying errors”.

These are referred to as ‘genetic mutations’. With time, these genetic copying

errors can lead to changes in the virus' surface proteins or antigens. That indicates that a virus has the capacity to mutate into different variants with sundry debilitating health implications on their hosts. It should be stated that June Almeida was the first scientist to identify a coronavirus in 1964 while operating an electron microscope at the Ontario Cancer Institute in Toronto, Canada. And in 1965 scientists discovered that the human coronavirus caused common cold.

As for the COVID-19 virus its presence came to the public sphere first on the 31st December 2019. Then the World Health Organization (WHO) was informed of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan City, China. A novel coronavirus was identified as the cause by Chinese authorities on 7th January 2020 and was temporarily named “2019-nCoV”. Then in July of 2021 WHO raised the alarm about the Delta variant which Dr. Mike Ryan of WHO described as “highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19” being “the fastest and fittest coronavirus strain that will ‘pick off’ the most vulnerable people. It has the potential ‘to be more lethal’

because it’s more efficient in the way it transmits between humans.”

This background information has become imperative for the readers to understand what we are up against.

Now, in the 21st century world we have to battle the Omicron variant with mass enlightenment and the government’s political will to spend more energy and resources on preventive measures rather than cure.

In fact, is there any lasting cure to the virus? That is the million-naira question.

According to WHO there is still no cure for Covid-19 although there “are ongoing clinical trials of both western and traditional medicine”.

For now, the panic-stirring headlines paint only part of the picture of the possibility of the B.1.1.529 SARS-COV-2 lineage also known as Omicron variant of COVID-19 becoming another global health challenge like the Delta variant was. One stated that: ‘COVID-19: Nigeria confirms Omicron variant, steps up vigilance’.

Another admitted that: ’Vari-

ABIODUN AND OGUN BUDGET OF RESTORATION

O

n Tuesday, November 30, 2021, Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, presented the 2022 appropriation bill to the Ogun State House of Assembly. During the presentation, the governor expressed regret that implementation of the first full budget of his administration was disrupted with the outbreak of COVID-19.

“Amongst other drawbacks, the pandemic constrained our revenue earning capacity thus forcing us to eventually review downwards the budget size in July, 2020,” he said.

The governor, however, struck an optimistic tone when he told the house that his administration remained committed to recovering from the shock of COVID-19.

He assured that the state’s economy was getting back to pre-pandemic level and steadily recovering to its flourishing glory. “Therefore, the main task in Year 2022 is to increase our pace of the implementation of our development plan as already designed and encapsulated in our Administration’s ‘Building Our Future Together’ agenda,” said Abiodun to the state assembly.

Despite the disruption caused by the outbreak of COVID-19, the N338.6 billon 2021 ‘Budget of Recovery and Sustainability’ showed significant improvement from the previous year.

For instance, Ogun State’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) target for the fiscal year had an 80 per cent success as OF September 30. This means that out of the state’s IGR budget size of N122bn this year, a sum of N73bn,

was generated as at the third quarter; as against 44 per cent proportionate performance recorded during the same time in 2020. Analysts attribute this to budget credibility and fiscal responsibility, as well as the digitalisation of payment processes, introduction of central billing system, efficient and effective regulatory frameworks, among others.

The result of this improved performance has been increased investment in infrastructure, social welfare, education, youth empowerment, public service, health and security.

It is on that positive and resilient note of the 2021 budget performance that the 2022 appropriation bill was received with heightened hope and expectation, especially as the economy continues to recover from the pandemic. With dwindling oil revenue, continued economic impact of COVID-19 and political timeline, the priorities of Prince Abiodun are evident in the proposed budget. When passed and assented to, the 2022 Budget of Restoration will accord priority attention to completion of existing projects; implementation of projects with revenue potential and those consistent with priorities articulated in the State Economic Development Strategy; and projects that can enhance employment generation.

The 2022 proposed budget is estimated at N350.74 billion, just around N12 billion higher than the 2021 budget.

A breakdown of the total funding of the bill shows that Ogun State Internal Revenue Service (OGIRS) is estimated to generate N56.30 billion, while other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are estimated to generate N96.87 billion,

totaling N153.17 billion.

Statutory allocation (i.e. FAAC and VAT) is pegged at N73.01 billion, while capital receipt is estimated at N124.56 billion (i.e. Internal and External loans, including grants and aids, etc).

Although personnel cost, estimated at N75 billion in salaries allowances and debt servicing, takes the largest portion under recurrent expenditure, Prince Abiodun explained that his administration was committed to the welfare of its workers and meeting its debt service obligations, specifically to attract capital investment into the state economy.

On the other hand, general capital expenditure totals N170 billion, as against the N160 budgeted for same in the 2021 budget. Infrastructure, with an estimated budget of N77,775 billion and 22 per cent of the total budget, is the highest key capital expenditure. Education has the second-highest estimate of N56,071 billion and 16 per cent of the total estimated budget.

The Ogun 2022 Appropriation Bill is testament to Gov Dapo Abiodun’s continued commitment of resources to completing and funding key infrastructural facilities capable of unlocking the socio-economic potential of the state.

Just like the ‘Budget to Build Our Future Together’ of 2020 and the ‘Budget of Recovery and Sustainability’ of 2021, the 2022 proposed Budget of Restoration is a carefully articulated financial plan which will require managers of public funds in Ogun State to be innovative. With increased public expectations, stakeholders, including members of the Ogun House

of Assembly where the bill is being scrutinised, have a responsibility of devising fresh thinking and new approaches to fulfilling government policies and programmes.

Prince Dapo Abiodun’s investment, development and empowerment priorities, strategically embedded in his administration’s ISEYA mantra, depend on the 2022 proposed budget than any other. Apart from being Yoruba for ‘Time to roll up the sleeves’, ISEYA is also Abiodun’s acronym for his administration’s developmental blueprint, which is: I – Infrastructure; S – Social Development and Wellbeing; E – Education; Y – Youth Development, and; A – Agriculture and Food Security.

In 2019, the governor laid down a vision “to give Ogun State focused and qualitative governance and to create the enabling environment for a public-private sector partnership, which is fundamental to the creation of an enduring economic development and individual prosperity of the people of Ogun”. That vision is coded in the “Building Our Future Together” agenda.

If the first two full budgets of the Abiodun administration are signposts to his credibility and competence, the third full budget will definitely be an appraisal of the administration’s performance; whether the future of Ogun people is being built together with the instrumentation of ISEYA. The 2022 proposed budget is the legacy budget of Governor Abiodun, and he understand its import.

– Kunle Somorin, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Ogun State

ant detected in three persons with travel history to South Africa, says NCDC’ even as the last highlighted the fact that: ‘Contact tracing never effective, variant already in circulation – Virologists’.

The experts stated these as Canada placed travel bans on Nigeria, Egypt and Malawi.

The variant, named B.1.1.529, was first detected in Botswana on 11 November, although other cases have since been identified in South Africa and in a patient who travelled to Hong Kong from South Africa. In a statement released on 25 November, South Africa’s Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said that 22 positive cases had been identified so far, with further genome sequencing currently taking place that might identify others.

B.1.1.529 is known to contain 32 mutations in the gene for the coronavirus spike protein, compared to the original strain of SARS-CoV-2 first identified in Wuhan, China. Many of these mutations are also found in other Variants of Concern (VOCs), including the Delta variant, but many others are not. “Given the large number of mutations it has accumulated apparently in a single burst, it likely evolved during a chronic infection of an immune compromised person, that was possibly in an untreated HIV/AIDS patient,” said Prof Francois Balloux, Director of the University College London Genetics Institute, UK. Indeed, the virologists, including Marycelin Baba

recently expressed concern that there was a high risk of community transmission of Omicron variant of COVID-19 in the country.

It has however, advised the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to place less emphasis on contact tracing but more on the preventive measure of mass vaccination of the citizens.

They have called on the federal government to increase the vaccination rate, with the aim to prevent more mutations. According to Baba: “Engaging in contact tracing a week after the samples were taken is a futile adventure and simply a waste of time. Contact tracing has never been effective. Do you know the number of places the person has been to? The variant is already in circulation and there is a high risk of community infections but how will we even know when we do not even engage in community testing?” Well said, one would add.

Furthermore, Nigerians have to come to the hard fact and bow to swallow the bitter pill that coronavirus is not going to go away with a wave of the hand anytime soon. If it has mutated from the 2019-nCoV to the Delta variant and currently the Omicron variant in less than two years, stranger ones may still be on their way. Ours is to play our part by wearing the nose masks, washing our hands regularly with soap and maintaining the policy of social distancing. It is for our own good.

– Ayo Oyoze Baje, Lagos

SAVE THE LAGOS NATIONAL STADIUM In 1972 when the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos was reopened, it was the cynosure of all eyes. It was a sparky new stadium and Yakubu Mabo of Mighty Jets of Jos, scored a goal for good measure that day to celebrate it. Our National Stadium in Surulere has become a home for sporting memories, amongst them is the African Nations Cup in year 2000.It was another glorious day in the finals and the stadium was filled up. Cameroon took the lead and went ahead in the game, but the Super Eagles were ready to fight back. Austin Jay Jay Okocha volleyed an equalizer that made the game 2-2. We jubilated at the national stadium and the story ended with penalties.

I will never forget Victor Ikpeba’s penalty kick. I knew it was a goal, we had no VAR, but someone seated next to me asked why did he put his hands on his head?

Other people on my seating row argued his reaction was wrong. Cameroon took the Cup back to Yaounde. I saw a little Samuel Eto’o Fils play that day. In this same stadium, the mathematical Segun Odegbami taught many defenders what a quadratic equation was and

his dribbles left them drawing parallelograms. Muda Lawal would run miles and miles, people wondered what kind of lungs Muda had.

All of this culminated in winning the Nations Cup in 1980 after the disappointment of Godwin Odiye in 1978 World Cup qualifier. In this same stadium Sam Okwaraji died. This same museum of Nigeria’s sporting dream has become a dump site. I went to the main bowl of the National Stadium Surulere and I cried because human faecal splattering was what I saw. The National Stadium is left decaying and nothing has been done about it. It is sad that Nigeria doesn’t know how to maintain its infrastructure. I will like to ask what is the government doing about it? Is it possible to give it to private investors? What will it cost to rehabilitate? We must save the National Stadium and stop this nonchalant attitude about our national heritage.

I look forward to the day when the Eagles will play at the National Stadium in Surulere again.

That is the home of Nigerian football. We need to save the stadium.

– Rufai Oseni, rufaioseni@gmail.com

16

SUNDAY DECEMBER 5, 2021 • T H I S D AY

17

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 5, 2021

BUSINESS

Editor: Festus Akanbi 08038588469 Email:festus.akanbi@thisdaylive.com

Fuel Subsidy Removal: As World Bank Joins Conversation on Appropriate Palliatives The clock is ticking for the implementation of the policy on fuel subsidy removal. Economists say unless the subsidy regime is brought to an end, Nigerian economy may crumble; the organised labour describes the planned policy as a recipe for misery; while the World Bank insists the sincerity of the federal government in its choice and implementation of palliative programmes will save the day, reports Festus Akanbi

A

s the federal government continues to push out its narratives on the urgent need for fuel subsidy removal, members of the organised labour appear to have gone back to their trenches, mapping out plans to call out their members in what promises to be a long-drawn battle to resist the higher cost of fuel in 2022.

While the government claims to be doing all it can to stave oͿ a government-labour face oͿ, some economists, who had been rooting for the end of the subsidy regime again wondered if the current administration possesses the balls needed to put an end to a regime of subsidy that has proven to be a cesspit of corruption.

Some observers even argued that the worry is not really about subsidy removal but that some Nigerians do not trust the government when it comes to the implementation of the palliatives being dangled in their faces. They contended that given the gale of criticisms trailing the handling of the home-grown school feeding programme and the conditional cash transfers policies of the federal government, it will be di΀cult to convince Nigerians that post-subsidy era will usher any transparency in palliative distribution.

Organised Labour Spits Fire In its rejection of the federal government’s plans to increase the pump price of petrol, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) called for a consideration of options to help the country achieve developmental governance and accountable leadership.

A statement signed by NLC President, Ayuba Wabba said, the union has questioned the federal government’s bait to pay N5,000 to 40 million Nigerians as palliatives to cushion the eͿect of the astronomical petrol price increase, describing it as comical.

According to him, the Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Malam Mele Kyari, announced that petrol could cost as much as N340 from February 2022.

He said the total amount involved what he called “queer initiative“ was far more than the money government claimed to spend currently on fuel subsidy. Therefore the NLC says it’s already mobilising the Nigerian workforce for an industrial crisis should the go ahead with its plan to remove the subsidy.

Some analysts are of the opinion that the increase in the price of petrol by over 200 per cent is a perfect recipe for an aggravated pile of hyper-inÁation and astronomical increase in the price of goods and services with more hardship to Nigerians. This scenario, it is feared, will open a wide door to social consequences such as degeneration of the current insecurity crises.

The World Bank’s Narrative However, the World Bank believed what the government should do is to put a human face to the choice of palliative measures being put in place to cushion the eͿect of higher cost of fuel when subsidy is removed.

In what looks like a new dimension to the subsidy debate, the World Bank’s Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, said time is ticking for the Nigeria’s economy and that the situation is far worse than many Nigerians could think of. He, however, argued that Nigerians will begin to trust their government in

World Bank Country Director in Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri

NLC President, Ayuba Wabba

the crusade against fuel subsidy if they start to live by example.

Chaudhuri, who spoke during an o΀cial visit to THISDA< o΀ce in Ikoyi last week raised the alarm that “The urgency of the reform has remained but what we are saying now is that the Àscal pressures that have built up as a result of the growing burden of petrol subsidy are likely to hit Nigeria very hard next year unless they are addressed almost immediately. As of last month, the cost of petrol subsidy to the federation, meaning both the federal government and the states, was N250 billion monthly.”

In an interview published in THISDA< last week, Chaudhuri had put the issue of subsidy removal in a clearer perspective.

“Supposing you say federation’s gross revenues next year (if oil production picks up) could be somewhere in the N12 trillion range. This N250 billion per month means N3 trillion over the next 12 months, which means the federation will essentially be spending 25 per cent of the entire federation’s revenue on premium motor spirit (PMS) subsidy. And then, that is the federation’s choice obviously, but is it an informed choice and does the public know who exactly is beneÀting from this N3 trillion or who will beneÀt from this N3 trillion" And our concern is that if there is no action taken on PMS subsidy, there is a risk that the federation’s revenues in 2022 could actually be lower in ordinary terms, not only compared to 2021, but compared to 2020, which as you know was a kind of hard year,” the World Bank chief said.

So, the question is what happens when revenues deplete further" The World Bank o΀cial said it would become very di΀cult to pay wages and salaries, a development that will signiÀcantly push oͿ the cost of living.

Chaudhuri explained further, “So, if the federation revenues go down further in nominal terms, it

means wages and salaries will be aͿected negatively and the cost of everything will go up, because of the high inÁation. Whereas if revenues go down in nominal terms, one of two things is going to happen: either the government, both at the federal level and especially, at the state level, is going to start running into problems paying wages, making payments to vendors, Ànancing basic services, which is essentially what happened back in 2015 and 2016, when there was a Àscal crisis at the sub-national. But you could also see this happening at the federal level, because the federal government revenue will be hard hit next year if the PMS subsidy continues and especially, if oil production does not pick up as much as it is currently anticipated in the budget.”

Implementing the Palliatives Programmes He said that shouldn’t be the case as he suggested that funds for PMS subsidy should be directed towards things like basic education, primary healthcare, rural roads, or things that Nigeria needs to grow inclusively and reach its potential.

As the debate progressed, some analysts said there is no enough evidence to convince Nigerians that the government will do as promised, arguing that the N5000 largesse to some indigent Nigerians may end up in politicians’ pockets. There is also the fear that by the time Nigerians are made to pay for full cost of fuel, at a period of hike in prices of cooking gas and increase in electricity tariͿ, the misery level of an average Nigeria would have gone up signiÀcantly.

Chaudhuri said the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) categorically stipulates that fuel subsidy must be removed six months after it was enacted, explaining that in line with the PIA, fuel subsidy should be eliminated around February 15. He however, will not rule out the possibility of a shift

Minister of Petroleum Resources,Timipre Sylva

in the date of policy implementation.

He said, “The fact that people are talking about June already tells you that this is something everyone is hesitant about. If you go by the language of the PIA, it says six months after it was enacted. I believe it was enacted on August 16th. It would be good that the provisions of the PIA are implemented and PMS subsidy will just disappear completely.” &ushioning (;eFts oI InÁation The World Bank o΀cial is of the opinion that “when the PMS subsidy disappears, there will be an uptick in inÁation and what we think other countries have done is to help ordinary Nigerian cope with that further uptick in inÁation, which is why we think that as part of the PMS subsidy going away, large-scale cash transfer programme is time-limited, to help ordinary Nigerians cope with any increasing prices over and above what they are already experiencing.”

According to him, some Nigerians are against subsidy removal because they felt that fuel subsidy is the only thing they could beneÀt from the administration.

“Many Nigerians know the fact that there is a PMS subsidy and therefore, the prices of PMS are a bit lower than it otherwise should be. They feel it is the only benefit they are getting from the government.

And if that gets taken away, things will be worse off. We are trying to make the case that it doesn’t have to be that way.

There are many ways of using those funds to directly benefit ordinary people. That is because right now, with N3 trillion, it is mostly benefiting the wealthy and super wealthy.”

On what to do to rekindle the hopes of Nigerians at this critical period, the World Bank chief stressed the need for the commitment of the government to assure the Nigerian people that as PMS subsidy is removed, they will also help cushion the eͿects by protecting them from the impact of that removal. This, according to him, will be done by doing more that the large-scale cash transfer already promised.

18

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 5, 2021

BANKING

Wigwe’s Blueprint for Access Bank’s Aggressive African Expansion As the Managing Director Chief Executive of Access Bank Plc, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, has remained the chief marketer of the fast-growing financial institution, who sei]es every opportunity to tell the story of how the bank continues to break more grounds. In his recent interview with an international agency, Wigwe released the bank’s ambitious plans of expansion in Africa, as captured by Festus Akanbi

W

ith a few three weeks to the end of the year, it is expected that businesses would be winding down to Àne-tune plans for the coming year. In the case of banks, the wounding down cannot be total as banking transactions are bound to spill over to the new year.

However, in the case of Access Bank Plc, the ambitious expansionist drive which took oͿ early this year will keep its management and staͿ on their toes even as the new year beckons.

In its move to conquer the African continent, the bank under the leadership of Mr. Herbert Wigwe has continued to defy the limitations of boundaries as Access Bank continues to plant branches in most parts of the African continent.

This ambitious move was conÀrmed by Wigwe who disclosed that the bank’s target is to have a strong presence in major trade centres in Africa.

Interestingly, while the bank is extending its network to cover more jurisdictions in Africa, it has shown that it is not taking away its eyes from the opportunities in Nigeria, with Wigwe saying the bank is driving to serve 50 per cent of Nigeria’s bankable population.

Speaking during an interview session with Julia Chatterley, Anchor of First Move on Cable News Network (CNN), the Access Bank boss said, “We are making sure that we have a strong presence in all the major trade centres in the continent, to make sure that we use Access Bank 8nited Kingdom as a strong anchor and that we can support corresponding banking and that we can build that model around the continent that supports payments within the continent.”

The bank is banking on its successful outing in the 8nited Kingdom, an experiment that has vindicated Wigwe that a good institution will shine anywhere. He said, “That was the same thing when we went to the UK, people said it was a very tough market and I think we are almost the strongest African bank in the UK. Now, what are we doing in South Africa?

“We are going to ensure that it becomes a hub for the continent as far as correspondent banking services are concerned, we would help support corporates because there are interesting niches in that market that are yet to be served and we would help to ensure greater Ànancial deepening.”

“I think we are on track in terms of proÀtability our diͿerent franchises are doing extremely well and I think 2022 is going to be a big year for the institution.”

5esponding to a question on what is attracting the bank into other regions of the African continent, Wigwe explained that such ambitious expansion is being driven by the realisation that Africa still has a large market yet to be served.

“Without revealing much of our strategy, there are interesting markets that have not been served that we would cater for.

But apart from that, you need to see us in

providing and ensuring greater Ànancial inclusion, and that in itself would help to jumpstart and support the economy,” Wigwe stated.

Determined to take a commanding role in the Ànancial inclusion drive of the Central Bank, Wigwe said that Access Bank will use its wide coverage to support the Ànancial inclusion policy.

He said, ‘there are several reasons why we are doing this and at the end of the day it is proÀtable to bank them. High net worth individuals, private banking, and a΁uent professionals is a market that we are very familiar with, but it is a very competitive market and the margins are thinning out there.

“So, what we need to do is to take it down market and ensure that there is greater Ànancial inclusion, just in line with some of the things the central bank has been pursuing by the way and to ensure that all of this can help in the development of our market and ensure greater Ànancial deepening.”

Wiwge

the context of a large player in the continent, banking several corporates in diͿerent parts of the continent and putting that whole network together is extremely important.”

Access Bank, according to him, is also aiming to play a very big in the area of trade and correspondent banking in the African continent. Inter-African trade requires stable and strong Ànancial institutions, a role that Access Bank is poised to play.

He said, “trade is important, correspondent banking is important and of course facilitating the development of the country within the South African context, which is, of course, the largest monetary ]one in the continent would be very important for us.”

While conquering more grounds in the continent, Wigwe believes Access Bank should continue to maintain its pre-eminence position in the ranking of banks in Nigeria, especially given the sheer population advantage Nigeria has in Africa. Despite this huge population, it is unfortunate that a huge percentage of this is still unbanked.

“We have about 200 million people in Nigeria and there is still a very large unbanked population. We have people outside of major commercial cities who don’t have a bank to service them.

What are we doing?

“Apart from ensuring that today we bank over 50 million Nigerians, which means that we bank 25 per cent of the population, but in terms of the bankable population, we have one-third of the bankable population. Now, banking

one out of every two Nigerians should take us to about 100 million people.”

“Now, in terms of bankable Nigerians, it would be anywhere between 80 million and 100 million for us to get there. So, we are going to be pursuing this activity through our agency banking network and the fact that we have created a diͿerent type of branch network in speciÀc localities that are outside the major city,” Wigwe said.

Robust Customer Base Access Bank, according to Wigwe, is already making signiÀcant headway in building a robust customer base, a feat which he said will grow signiÀcantly in 2022. He is banking on a series of innovations brought to the bank as well as the role the bank is paying in agency banking.

“Today, we are probably going to be bringing in about 00,000 customers every month and I think that Àgure is expected to grow a lot more as we get into 2022 with some of the things which we have done and the increase in agency banking that we have done.”

“Now, the question as to whether we need all of those people is the fact that if you went back 20 years ago, you would have said some of these customers didn’t have enough disposable income to be banked. But, technology has changed that whole narrative.”

“There is a cheaper cost to serving all of these people. But besides that, we see ourselves as one of those institutions that are leading change in Nigeria by

More Branches The Access Bank boss believed there is still a need for more branches to meet the yearning needs of customers. According to him, “There are two perspectives to banking.

We have the traditional branches that are serving customers who may want to go to some branches. But let me also let you know that if you look all over the world and ask yourself if the banks are shutting down branches? The reality is that the banks still need a reasonable number of respectable branches.

“Now, we also have those digital solutions that serve customers who don’t even want to get to the bank branch. Now, we understand that the Àntech players may be getting an interesting proportion of that customer base. But guess what?

“At the end of the day, if you have a physical branch, even if the customer doesn’t want to get into a bank branch, it helps from an integrity standpoint for the customer to just know that he has a place to go to.”

Gender Empowerment Wigwe recalled that as a gender-friendly bank, Access Bank in 2006, the Gender Empowerment Programme, pointing out that what the bank wanted to do then was basically to help provide Ànancial services to women and help support their businesses grow.

“We set target, working with the International Finance Corporation, of how many women we wanted to support and what threshold we wanted to take them as far as their turnover and proÀtability was concerned.

“We did extremely well and we had less than one per cent in terms of default as far as the loans that we granted was concerned.

But eight years after, in 2014, we created the ‘W’ programme, which is much more robust and it is about inspiring and connecting women.

There is no doubt that Access Bank is not only ready for the year 2022, the bank is also ready to take Africa by storm.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 5, 2021

19

AVIATION

Airport Concession: Stakeholders Make Case for Indigenous Companies The federal government is at an advanced stage of the concession of four major airport facilities in the country, as many companies both local and international have expressed interest. But stakeholders in the aviation industry have observed and pointed out the gains, if indigenous companies with expected competencies are given the chance to manage some of the airports’ infrastructure as concessionaires, Chinedu Eze writes

A

irportconcession,whichwas part of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s road mapintheaviationindustry was the only programme that attracted controversy when the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika Àrst muted the idea in 2016. Aviation unions dug their trenches and poised for a Àght. They swore that no airport in the country would be given out in concession.

They acknowledged and supported the minister’s plan to establish a national carrier, Aerospace University, aircraft leasing company, and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility which are other programmes in the road map, but insisted that no airport would be given out in concession, despite the explanation by Sirika that government does not have the funds to modernise the airport facilities and put it in the standard obtained in major countries of the world.

But today, while it cannot be said that the unions have backed down, they and other Nigerians are beginning to see the gains if the private sector is involved in airport development in the country, hence the support for public, private partnership (PPP) plan of the federal government through concession.

In October the federal government announced that many companies had expressed interest in the concession and THISDA< gathered that out of about 13 companies that indicated an interest in the concession, only three were indigenous.

The airports’ facilities to be concessioned include the terminals at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos; Nnamdi Azikiwe InternationalAirport,Abuja;Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, and the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa.

Of the three indigenous companies, many have posited that only Bi-Courtney is believed to have all the necessary competencies and track record to manage airports. Investigation revealed that others are merely looking forward to partnering foreign companies for the job.

Many stakeholders who spoke to THISDA< said that Nigerian companies should be given a chance to manage some of these airports because of so many beneÀts, which include job creation, no capital Áight, security, and skills acquisition.

They faulted the federal government for not giving a company like Bi-Courtney the opportunity of Àrst refusal before seeking to advertise the bidding process abroad. They added that Bi-Courtney, over the years, has proven capacity to deliver and has all it takes to manage the international airports.

Security Aviation security experts have also noted that because of the critical role airports play in the life of nations, they should not be handed over to foreign concerns that may build espionage systems, which the security operatives may not have the sophisticated equipment to detect, noting that in many African countries, expatriate personnel who come in as engineers, scientists and others are spies for their home countries.

The CEO of Centurion Securities and the former Commandant of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, Group CaptainJohnOjikutu,acknowledgedthisandsaid that is the reason why he did not want sensitive aeronautical infrastructure to be included in the facilities that would be given out to the private sector in concession.

He added that because more than 12 of the federal airports are joint users with the military, it will not be ideal to handover the country’s airports to foreigner as concessionaire.

“This is the main reason why I do not support the inclusion of any aeronautical infrastructure, facilities, and services in the concessions, and ICAO (the International CivilAviation Organisa-

Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos

tion) too does not support it either for African member states. Moreover, more than 12 of the federal airports are joint users with the military.

This again is one major reason I have been demanding the establishment of the National Aviation Security Committee (not Civil Aviation Security Committee) so that the national civil aviation security programmes, written by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) are vetted by the committee.

“We need a unitary security control for the multiple security agencies in the airports. The multiple agencies and multiple controls bring conÁict of interest and put airport security and national security in danger. This is the reason for the establishment of the Transport Security Administration (TSA) of the US,” Ojikutu said.

On June 27, 1976, Israeli forces used their knowledge of Entebbe Airport in Uganda to rescue 139 citizens, when Air France Flight 139 was hijacked and Áown to Uganda and only Israelis were detached and detained. The success of that operation was credited to the Israelis’ knowledge of the airport.

Ojikutu who is also the Secretary-General of Aviation Round Table (ART) said that such espionage and action could take place in Nigeria.

“If you don’t have an e΀cient contingency plan forcrisismanagement,youcanhavemorethanthe Entebbe experience. We had a similar experience in 1993 at MMIA when a UN aircraft carrying troops coming from Operations Desert Storm landed in Lagos without security clearance. The troops came out and were walking freely around the airport with their ri΁es. Airport workers ran away. We were having a meeting with FAA(US) Federal Aviation Administration) o΀cials in the o΀ce of the airport manager when my attention was called to it. I had to talk to the troops to return to the aircraft while we tried to get diplomatic solutions in solving what eventually got some controllers suspended. The situation, like the (Umar Farouk) Abdulmutallab case, caused the suspension of Nigeria Airways direct Áight to N< except through Dakar, which the Nigeria government rejected,” he said.

Credible Local Company Ojikutu said that the government’s Àrst choice oughttobeanindigenouscompanyandremarked that the concession parameters should be made clearer, recommending that government should make clear the models for the concession, adding that concession should include both international and domestic terminal facilities.

“We have just one experienced company in Nigeria today. The alternative we, therefore, have for Bi-Courtney could be a foreign company in the absence of a credible local company. Bi-

Courtney experience in airport management is unique because it is BOT (Build, Operate, and Transfer). Unfortunately, the model of the planned concession is still not well deÀned or transparent.

For me and for the concession to be meaningful, it must be only the non-aeronautical and aside from having periodic maintenance programmes, it must have periodic development plans.

“It must not be limited to the four international airports but must include the domestic airports.

Each of the international airports must go into the concession with four of the domestic airports, that way a local company can gain experience from the principal foreign company. The concession of the domestic airports along with the international airports will save the government the revenue that would be needed for regular repairs and the periodic maintenance of the aeronautical infrastructure and services. We must have the records of the worth of each airport and revenue earnings, the costs of repairs, and periodic maintenance to be able to accurately determine the beneÀts from the concessions,” he said.

EͿciency The Managing Director of Flight and Logistics Solutions Limited, Amos Akpan told THISDA< that a Nigerian managed airports e΀ciently in the UK,soaNigeriancompanycane΀cientlymanage Nigerian airport facilities as a concessionaire.

“A Nigerian owned company bought over, successfully managed, and sold with proÀt the London Gatwick and Stansted airports in the UK. Nigerian Ànancial institutions have foreign collaborators that would be joint Ànanciers of the project.

The problem will be the clarity of the items concessioned, the terms, the tenure, and the respect for the terms by the parties involved.

The business viability in terms of the existing market and the potential market is attractive.

“I repeat what we already know which is: will successive governments and their institutions respect (honour) the terms in the concession agreement? Hurdles to clear also include the issue of existing concessionaires within the current four viable airports. Nigerians are Ànancing and managing more complex institutions than the four airports planned for concession.Air Peace is more complex to manage than Enugu airport, or Port Harcourt airport, or Lagos airport. Dangote conglomerate is much more complex. Forte Oil, Oando, BUA Group, =enith, GTBank, etc are owned and managed by Nigerians,”Akpan said.

Collaboration CEO of Mainstream Cargo Limited, Mr. Seyi Adewale, said that concession would be more successful if foreign companies partner

indigenous ones.

He noted that there are strong views and perspectives from both sides of the divide (options) but from his independent analysis, the advantages are skewed more in favour of a joint foreign and local collaboration or partnership for the following reasons: in the joint partnership, the foreign Àrm would have an international airport already in its management and they would leverage on this for Nigeria’s immediate advantage, including international synergy.

“The local partner will leverage its strength on local knowledge, public sector management, labour unions management, and general stability.

The existing arrangement would have clauses to protect local content including staͿ percentage up to 85-90 per cent and the foreign and local partner would share reasonable equity amongst themselves,” Adewale said.

He also said there could be repatriation based on management, technology, and ICT fees in favour of foreign partner should only be for an agreed period and thereafter, it must be domesticated and knowledge transfer would have been realised, remarking that the foreign Àrm would bring real and new funds and investment into the sector.

He said there could be further knowledge transfer in energy e΀ciency; environment management control and airport management is enhanced.

“However, I recognise that we have local companies that have proven to be stars and can favourably compete with foreign companies. In aviation particularly, Bi-Courtney has proven capacity to deliver. Bi-Courtney in my opinion must further prove its Ànancial capacity (that new and real funds) would be invested in the airport as necessary because this is very critical to the growth and development of any concessioned airport they potentially may be interested in. This issue is to avoid another ‘DISCO 4uagmire’ as witnessed in the electrical sector post-PHCN,” he added.

In his own response, an aviation analyst, Inyang Okoro, said: “Sincerely, I really do not know what the federal government wants. This is a government that is constantly drumming for made in Nigeria goods.As far as I am concerned, Bi-Courtney has demonstrated capacity. Since it started managing the MMA2, power has never failed, water has never stopped running.

Everywhere looks cleans, elevators and others facilities are working e΀ciently. Why not give it a chance? Why look elsewhere?”

Companiesthathavesubmittedtheirexpressed interest in the concession programme are waiting and hoping for the process to come to an end and winners for the concession to emerge.

20

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 5, 2021

DEVELOPMENT

Lafarge Team in Lagos market during World Clean Up Day

Building Impact through Sustainability The global response to the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020 gave rise to renewed ambitions towards Environmental, Social and Governance.

Lafarge Africa has continued to stay resilient in the face of new realities with a commitment to ‘build progress for people and planet’ in unprecedented times and beyond. The company is focused on further entrenching sustainability at the core of its business while contributing positively to ameliorating the impact of the pandemic on its communities and stakeholders. Kunle Aderinokun reports

I

n its recently released Annual Sustainability Report for 2020, the company gave details of its economic, social and environmental activities and impacts while also detailing its social and environmental policies aimed at creating a safer planet.

In 2020, Lafarge Africa’s commitment to the social, human and economic wellbeing of its host communities was put to test. Despite the coronavirus pandemic impacting businesses globally, Lafarge supported its communities with over N1 billion disbursed to help provide relief materials and medical equipment for communities. This swift and decisive action paved the way for the outstanding performance recorded in 2020. Lafarge recorded sales revenue grew by 8.3per cent to N230.6 billion in 2020, while earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) climbed 30.8 per cent to N 45.7 billion.

Speaking during the presentation of the Facts Behind the Sustainability Report Session of the company at the Nigerian Exchange Limited, Chairman, Lafarge Africa Plc, Adebode Adefioye, stated that the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic highlighted and brings

into focus the importance of a robust environmental, social and governance system for investors, governments and communities alike.

“Despite an unprecedented turn of events and a challenging year, Lafarge Africa was able to demonstrate resilience through the successful implementation of several initiatives such as our Health, Cost and Cash action plan,” Adefioye noted, pointing out that the company’s health and safety action enabled it to achieve its economic objectives, while prioritising the health and safety of its people, suppliers and communities as part of the mitigating strategies.

“Our journey has been one of resilience, integrity and sustainability, as we strive to meet the needs of customers, while adapting to the changing economic situations and the growing demand for sustainable practices in the constructing industry,” said Country CEO of Lafarge Africa Plc, Khaled El Dokani. “We also accelerated the Business Resilience Team and immediately initiated daily meetings to agree on our response to the growing

pandemic. With these in place, we were able to prioritise our people and operations and close out the year with a remarkable performance,” he added.

In the same vein, Head, Sustainable Development and Brand, Titilope Oguntuga, reiterated: “As leaders in the sustainable construction space, we continue to develop and maintain strategic partnerships, employ best practices and industry trends in the global response to climate change.”

However, a crucial component of the sustainability strategy is the expansion of the company’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) priorities of global acceleration towards achieving net-zero and a more inclusive future. Lafarge has adopted a holistic approach on its journey towards net-zero through setting and monitoring country-specific targets across all its pillars; investing in and deploying innovative green solutions such as the use of alternative fuels for renewable energy while also conducting stakeholder-centric initiatives such as the Maiganga Wetland project positively impacting the

people and the environment.

To substantiate the path to netzero, Lafarge Africa’s total specific CO2 emissions for the year 2020 was 583 kilogrammes per tonne of cementitious material (kg/ tonnes), substantial progress that sets a solid base for the Group’s ambition to achieve the targets mapped out in its Net Zero RoadMap of achieving 550Kg net CO2/tonne of cementitious material by 2022.

To enhance environmentally sustainable management of scarce water resources, Lafarge Africa has installed water flow meters at its plants, which measure its water consumption, withdrawal and discharge rates. The company’s freshwater withdrawal in 2020 was 201L/tonne for cement and 228L/ M3 for ready mix.

In line with its group’s environmental and biodiversity directives, Lafarge Africa remained committed to implementing sustainable practices that mitigate the negative impacts of its operation on the environment.

Integrated into its yearly extraction plan, is a 100 per cent rehabilitation target of all seven of its quarry sites to minimise any harm its operations may pose to the ecosystem.

So far, about 933 hectares (ha) of land has been rehabilitated.

Deploying eco-friendly and energy-efficient solutions the company’s investments are showing measurable returns that have a direct positive impact on its net-zero ambitions.

The Holcim Group aims at reusing 80 million tonnes of waste annually to generate power. In 2020, Lafarge Africa commissioned a new waste treatment and a co-processing facility designed to allow shredding and blending of various solid wastes before they are co-processed in the cement kiln. The company has invested over 10million Swiss Franc in alternative fuel projects over the past 4 years, through facilities used to mop up societal waste, thereby positively impacting the environment. In 2020 alone, Lafarge utilised 71,029 tonnes of waste, which include incinerated ash and discarded car tyres in its operations at its Ewekoro, Sagamu and Ashaka plants. Currently, 9 per cent of the company’s energy is derived from alternative fuels such as palm kernel shells, cashew shells, sawdust, rice husk etc.

This has been a massive job creation platform by the company as local suppliers accounted for over 35,000 tonnes of biomass supplied to Lafarge plants in 2020 and a total of 3,000 jobs were thus generated in the host communities. In its quest to protect the environment, Lafarge joined forces with the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance (FBRA) of Nigeria and regulatory agencies like NAFDAC, as well as pharmaceutical companies. Through these partnerships, Lafarge Africa gains easy access to industrial wastes that it recycles for fuel.

The year 2020 tested Lafarge Africa’s oft-repeated commitment to the social, human and economic resilience of its host communities. The company committed N1.2 billion to social investments. This included interventions to curtail the spread of the new coronavirus and to reduce the social and economic burdens created by the restrictions on movement imposed by the government to control the pandemic.

Lafarge’s stellar result from its investments in sustainability is an affirmation of the company’s commitment to the environment. It has been over 60 years since Lafarge began its operations in Nigeria. As Nigeria’s leading innovative and sustainable building solutions provider, it has continuously transformed and improved its products and services, market reach, achievements and value-add to its stakeholders.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 5, 2021 • T H I S D AY

21

22

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

MARKET NEWS NE WS A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager.

Investors with similar objectives buy units of the Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities that willl generate their desired return.

An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust): is an investment vehicle that allows both small and large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg.

Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their investments. The assets are divided into shares that are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 02Dec-2021, unless otherwise stated.

Offer price: The price at which units of a trust or ETF are bought by investors.

Bid Price: The price at which Investors redeem (sell) units of a trust or ETF. Yield/Total Return: Denotes the total return an investor would have earned on his investment. Money Market Funds report Yield while others report Year- to-date Total Return.

NAV: Is value per share of the real estate assets held by a REIT on a specific date.

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS

MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS

FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 818 885 6757 Coral Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 161.85 163.25 -0.02% Coral Income Fund N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 9.15% Coral Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Nigeria International Debt Fund 317.84 317.84 -17.07% INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Afrinvest Dollar Fund 100.58 101.63 -8.98% Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Abacus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 7.75% Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Vantage Balanced Fund 2.84 2.90 -0.52% AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 9.98% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 4.50% AIICO Balanced Fund 3.25 3.31 -5.75% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 155.50 155.78 0.00% ANCHORIA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED info@anchoriaam.com Vantage Equity Income Fund (VEIF) - June Year End 1.25 1.29 -0.76% Web:www.anchoriaam.com, Tel: 08166830267; 08036814510; 08028419180 Vantage Dollar Fund (VDF) - June Year End 1.06 1.06 3.94% Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Anchoria Money Market 100.00 100.00 8.66% Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Anchoria Equity Fund 135.79 137.46Adelusi-Adeluyi; 2.09% L-R: Chairman of the occasion and Chairman of Juli Pharmacy Plc, Prince Juilius Chairman, Board of Trustees, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Chief John info@anchoriaam.com Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.14 1.14 -14.10% Odeyemi; immediate past President, LCCI, Mrs. Toki Mabogunje; President, LCCI, Dr. Michael Olawale-Cole; his wife, Adebola; and past President, Mr. S.K. Onafowokan, during the 2021 ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.48 1.50 8.33% investiture of Olawale-Cole as President of LCCI in Lagos…yesterday Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,152.36 1,152.36 7.99% Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 20.13 20.73 10.97% Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 ARM Discovery Balanced Fund 449.17 462.71 12.19% Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 11.45 11.53 9.47% ARM Ethical Fund 39.71 40.91 17.81% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 10.14% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.07 1.08 -2.14% ARM Fixed Income Fund 0.99 0.99 -5.59% NORRENBERGER INVESTMENT AND CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LIMITED enquiries@norrenberger.com ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 8.55% Web: www.norrenberger.com, Tel: +234 (0) 908 781 2026 AVA GLOBAL ASSET MANAGERS LIMITED info@avacapitalgroup.com Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Web: www.avacapitalgroup.com Norrenberger Islamic Fund (NIF) 101.28 101.29 7.53% Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Norrenberger Money Market Fund (NMMF) 100.00 8.83% AVA Shiklam GAM Fixed Income Dollar and Fund 5.80% at home and the highways. abducted church members 107.61 members. 107.61 State. the bandits100.00 blocked the MinnaJohn in Kaduna PAC ASSETservices MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com AVA GAM FixedinIncome close to the community and 1,058.20 Hayab 1,058.20 urged Christians5.82% and Telecom were restored The travellers were said to Kontagora road for several hours Laleye Dipo MinnaNaira Fund www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632making travellers make a detour AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com killed three, while two others other Nigerians to be prayerful onWeb: November 26 after a deadly have boarded the commercial Fund along Name the Kaduna-Abuja vehicle at Kontagora andBid Price Offerthe Price T-Rtn Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 were shot. against the insecurity that has attack or run into bushYield for /safety.

Terrorists have released 70 Fund Namepersons, including Price Yield /to T-Rtn PACAM Balanced FundHamida Sagir, were heading to Minna, the 1.58 1.61 coming 13.16% Chairman of the KadunaBid Price broughtOffer untold hardships the Road, where Alhaji Some journalists from abducted Mansard Equity N/A N/A N/A a retired PACAM Fixed Incomeof Fund -8.71% Director Protocol at state capital when they ran 11.09 the wedding11.11 of the daughter of 61AXAmembers of Income the Fund Baptist State chapter of the Christian citizenry.

AXA Mansard MoneyDaji, MarketChikun Fund N/A N/A N/A the PACAM Money MarketDevelopment Fund 7.73% Association of Nigeria (CAN), The spokesman of the Federal Capital into a blockade by the armed 10.00 one of their 10.00 colleagues, which Church, Kakau CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET ANDof TRUSTRev. LIMITED PACAM Equity Fund 1.44 place in 1.45 Joseph Hayab, who info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Kaduna State Police Command, Authority (FCDA) was killed bandits between Garin -gabas took Kontagora-8.91% town, Local Government Area Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel:the +234 803 307 PACAM EuroBond Fundpeople were and Zungeru towns.

111.59 113.83 1.77% confirmed release of5048 the Mohammad Jalige, could not be while several other were among those trapped in Kaduna State.

Fund Name were said to have remaining 61 church members,Bid Price Price Yield on / T-Rtn SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com reachedOffer when contacted his reportedly abducted.

An eyewitness told THISDAY the blockade by the bandits, but The victims CEATreleased Fixed Income 2.03 phone.

2.03 -3.47% In the early hours of lastTel: +234 that the travellers were1-taken into none of them was kidnapped. been afterFund an undisclosed said they were freed on Friday mobile Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; 1-280 2226,+234 280 2227 Capital was Express Balanced Trustees Mixed nine Fund) others after 2.21 2.25 been under 1.81% Friday, night alongside Kaduna has the terrorists also invaded the bush after valuable itemsBid Price The Offer gunmen for ransom paid to theFund(Formerly: terrorists. Union Fund Name Price operated Yield / T-Rtn mutualfunds@cardinalstone.com CARDINALSTONE LIMITED amount was paid siege by terrorists despite tough Anguwan a suburb in the belonging to them were forcibly 129.25 more than 131.61 four hours without This is comingASSET as noMANAGEMENT fewer an undisclosed SCM CapitalJuji, Frontier Fund 10.45% Tasha NIGERIA area ofLTD Kaduna taken away by the gunmen. any response from the security than 10www.cardinalstoneassetmanagement.com passengers travelling in a as ransom. ; Tel: +234 (1) 710 0433 4security measures adopted by Sabon Web: SFS CAPITAL investments@sfsnigeria.com The CAN chairmanBid Price the stateOffer government. killing two people The2801400 vehicle in which they were operatives around the area. commercial Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) Fund Namecar were kidnapped Price Yield / T-Rtn metropolis, On September the while others were reportedly travelling was also abandonedBid Price All efforts to getYield a reaction byCardinalStone bandits inFixed Niger State.

Fund50 Name Offer Price / T-Rtn Income Alpha Fund commended traditional rulers 1.04 1.04 30, 2021, 5.11% government, among other abducted. by the roadside. from Police The criminals had onMANAGEMENT October and SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.07 the Niger 1.07 State 10.06% CHAPELHILL DENHAM LTD stakeholders for ensuring investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com the release of the victims. measures, shut down telecom Meanwhile, no fewer than The bandits said to be about Command Public Relations 31,Web: 2021, invaded the Baptist STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 The bandits had earlierBid Price networks in some parts of 10 passengers travelling in 100, were carrying sophisticated Officer, DSP Wasiu Abiodun was Church during a Sunday service Fund Name Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel:motorcycles. +234 1 280 1266; 0700abortive MUTUALFUNDS the state to tackle terrorists a Web: commercial car have been weapons on as he did not respond and abducted 66 worshippers. demanded N99 million for the 100.00 Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 9.55% Fund Nameby bandits in Niger Bid Price / T-Rtn release of the 61 Baptist Church unleashing mayhem on residents kidnapped According to an eyewitness, to calls Offer madePrice to his Yield cell phone.

They later took fi ve of the Paramount Equity Fund 16.79 17.10 5.01% Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 3,347.90 3,379.62 4.18% Women's Investment Fund 138.46 140.03 4.03% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 235.05 235.05 4.54% COVID-19: UK TO ADD NIGERIA TO RED LIST OFassetmgtteam@cordros.com COUNTRIES AMID CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED StanbicOMICRON IBTC Ethical Fund SPREAD 1.24 1.26 5.93% Web: www.cordros.com, 019036947 Stanbicshoots IBTC Guaranteed Investment 311.57 5.74% that industries have sprung up closely with the Nigerian This will mean that only UK green of recovery wereFund months to verify things before 311.57 A temporary travelTel:ban Fund Name Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 7.78% to produce238.75 personal protective formal certification would be 235.19 residents or citizens of the UK emerging. would therefore be introduced authorities in tackling theBid Price Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 8.85% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 7.73% equipment, hand sanitisers.

Airlines have supported the given to Nigeria. for all non-UK and non-Irish pandemic and commend their can enter the UK from Nigeria Cordrosand Milestone Fund who have ongoing work.”

130.74 131.54onwards, 11.57% Stanbic Nigerian Equity Fundand 11,062.58institutes3.93% "Our research have Ehanire noted in his speech10,906.61 from that point and red listIBTC re-introduction citizens residents Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.29 able to develop 1.29 equipment 4.96% - in Nigeria in the last 10 at the special session of the been UK Health Secretary, Javid they- would have- to quarantine- extension. been Stanbic IBTCview Shariah Income Fund National Council of Health that 116.58 116.58So, we are 4.95% and materials. on in one of the relevant hotels.

But they theFixed introduction days, will be also stated that travellers heading 110.09 Cordrosmeaning Dollar Fund they ($) 110.09 5.58% Stanbic IBTC Enhanced Short-Term as Fixed Income Fund in Abuja, that one of 105.71 105.71 a good way into that andtook place to the UK would now have to “We’ve also decided to require of blanket restrictions refused entry into the UK. CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD the lessons, Nigeria had learnt our research Institutes have take a COVID-19 test before their pre-departure tests for all inward unnecessary and ineffective.

This does not apply to those Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel:the +234 01-6317876 from COVID-19 pandemic developed equipment and travellers that will be effective who Fundhave Namestayed airside and departure in an effort to limitBid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Fund Name Offer Price was the need to develop aBid Price materials They haveYield also/ T-Rtn been from and FG, only transited through Nigeria spread of the virus.

Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 4am on 1.00Tuesday,8.01% Afrexim Bank United Capital Balanced Fund 1.32 to carry1.34 2.94% minimum level of self-sufficiency able out sequencing He said the tightened they’ll while changing ights.

Coronation BalancedflFund 1.24 be required 1.26 maximum 3.58% Intensify Talks on United Capital Bond Fund 1.95 reagents1.95 6.26% in medical infrastructure. and and are on the 48 hours before Canada Fixed hadIncome on Fund Tuesday requirements would come into of Coronation 1.42 1.42 the departure -10.59% United Capital Equity Fund 0.91 to making 0.93vaccines.”

14.13% Local COVID-19 The minister who was way time,”mutualfundng@ecobank.com he explained.

EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED force from Tuesday. banned travellers from Egypt, United CapitalProduction Money Market Fund 1.00 8.98% referring to the difficulties He said 1.00 his ministry is According to him, travellers UK said the new protocol does Vaccine Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Nigeria and Malawi over fears of United Capital Eurobond Fund 121.83 the NCDC, 6.40% Name Offer Yield / T-Rtn encountered by Nigeria in the 121.83 working with not apply toPrice persons “staying theFund spread of the new Omicron would be required to submitBid Price United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.07 1.09 4.94% the federal procurement of basic treatment Nigeria Medical Research, EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A evidence of a negative lateral 100.00 100.00 6.93% Meanwhile, airside and only transiting variant.

United capital Sukuk 1.07 1.07 7.03% hasFund intensified tools during the outbreak of the in EDC Nigeria Money Market Class B flow or PCR test to enter the UK. 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 7.62% government Lagos, and the Centre for through”.

Meanwhile, the Fund federal QUANTUM ZENITH ASSET MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENTS LTD service@quantumzenithasset.com.ng EDC Nigeria Fixed has, Income Fund 1,194.27 1.86% talks with Afrexim Bank to COVID-19 pandemic and is still Excellence in Ede, Osun State, Javid confirmed that Nigeria 1,170.39 Javid added the government government however, Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; +234 1-2784219 assetmanagement@emergingafricafroup.com local production of Tel: EMERGING AFRICA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED experiencing it with regards to and trying to get the best from would be added to the red list had "been clear that we will fast-track intensifi ed talks with Afrexim Fund Namevaccine within the vaccine procurement, said: "ItBid Price COVID-19 them. Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn of countries from where people take action if it is necessary," Bank to fast-track local Web:www.emergingafricagroup.com/emerging-africa-assetZenith Balanced Strategy Fund 12.93 13.05local vaccine 8.99% next year, the Minister of Health, management-limited/, Tel: 08039492594 has been said that COVID-19 Concerning production of COVID-19 arriving the UK must quarantine adding that it was important to Zenith ESGhas Impact Fund 14.45 14.60 18.38% Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn said. has been an eye-opener for production, Ehanire said the remember vaccinations "are our Ehanire, vaccine within the next one in a hotel for 10 days.

Zenith Incomedisclosed Fund 24.77 3.21% Emerging Africa Money Market Fund 1.00 and calling 7.93% Ehanire at the the country. It has its realities, 24.77 government was determined BBC reported that currently fi1.00 rst line of defence" year, according to the Minister Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 6.60% people to get dose weekend that the federal which we all have to adjust to achieve that. ofEmerging Health,Africa Dr.Bond Osagie Fund Ehanire. travellers only need to self-isolate on 1.04 1.04a booster3.48%

CHANGE OF BATON…

Terrorists Release 70 Baptist Church Members, Nine Others after 35 Days in Captivity

R E I T S had been meeting to. The first is that there is "We are working with the However, a renowned until they test negative within of a COVID-19 vaccine when government Emerging Africa Balanced Diversity Fund 1.11 to do so 1.11by the NHS. 10.25% with Fundthe Name NAV Per Share Yield / T-Rtn top officials of the no way we can rest on our Bio-Vaccine Nigerian Limited called Virologist and Chairman of two days of arriving the UK. SFS REIT Bank to secure their 10.62% Fund 104.26 come 4.22% with the Managing oars and believe that we and I met 124.98 Javid said the government's 104.26 The moves after Afrexim theEmerging BoardAfrica of Eurobond the Bio-Vaccine Union Homes REIT to fast-track support FBNQUEST ASSETProf.

MANAGEMENT the firm today7.24% and have won. There is no way Director of 54.20 the government financial Nigerian Limited, Oyewale LTDstrategy since the discovery pressure oninvest@fbnquest.com XCHA G E Tvaccine RADED UN D S that nothing is urged him to speed up all the of N reviving Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 weFcan believe variant had to tighten the policy had been theEprocess Tomori, has told THISDAY of the Omnicron Fund Namein Nigeria.

Bid Price Offer for Priceus to Yield / T-Rtn Fund Name Yield /ofT-Rtn processes use the happening. We all must agree growingOffer overPrice the course the production that the local production of been to "buy time" to assessBid Price Lotus Halal Exchange 14.00 5.18% Bond Fund vaccine in the and to "put in place protective 1,379.55 11.41% Part of theEquity readiness forTraded localFundto strengthen our health system 13.90 opportunities and support we week. 1,379.55 theFBNCOVID-19 SIAML Pension 40 5.57% FBN Balanced 173.40 3.35% production ofETF vaccines is the and be prepared to tackle any126.95 have from130.10 outside this country Last week the government's country mayFund not be possible measures", adding that "we've 172.15 Stanbicof IBTC 30 Fund 101.27 2.07% theETF recommendations of the health challenges. to enhance103.49 the manufacture of scientific advisory Sage, meeting FBN Halal 114.84 body 9.25% within theFund next one year despite always said that we would 114.84 MERGROWTH ETF 17.57 17.67 -4.04% the WorldETF Health Organisation "At the time we were looking 21.29 vaccines. 21.39 said pre-departure those of MERVALUE theFBN ongoing efforts to fast-track act swiftly should new data 100.00 15.07% Money Market Fund 100.00 tests for9.13%

by MANAGERS the National items like personal protective "I also received the President require it". arriving in the UK would be (WHO) the process.

VETIVA FUND LTD funds@vetiva.com Agency for Food andTel:Drug equipment, reagents, and other of Afriexim Bank yesterday to He said: "Over the recent days 121.97 valuable, in121.97 the leaked minutes Speaking Web: www.vetiva.com; +234 1 453 0697 3.96% Administration FBN Dollar Fund on (Retail)the UK’s and Control commodities, we realised that discussOffer a few things.

Part of it decision, the British High we have learnt of a significant of a meeting seen by the BBC. Fund Name Bid Price Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Smart Beta Equity 148.72 Party11.26% is the mopping in The Labour had (NAFDAC).

Commissioner toFundNigeria, number of growing cases linked 146.75 Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund when push comes to shove, 3.77 3.87 up support 0.70% FCMB ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Director-General of NAFDAC, the area of vaccine production previously criticised the Catriona Laing said:“I know to travel with Nigeria Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Tradedmost Fund of these countries would 5.42 5.52 -4.56% Web: www.fcmbassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Mojishola Adeyeye, had Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund like to take care of themselves 17.44 17.64 and when the details are7.75% clear "There are 27 cases already in government's current testing Prof. that this decision will have a Fundcant Name Vetivathat Money Fundhad met 1.00 to announce.”

7.72% theMarket country before considering even their 1.00 we will be able policy Offer and Price calledYield for/ T-Rtn the stated signifi impact on people in England and that's growing andBid Price Industrial Goods demanded Exchange Traded friends Fund 22.02that the vaccine 6.29% Legacy Market Fund 1.00 1.00 7.27% theVetiva 868 requirements and therefore we have 21.82 Ehanire said of pre-departure both ourMoney countries, particularly Nigeria now is second only to reintroduction S&P Nigeria Sovereignfor Bond Traded Fund -15.10% the WHO to qualify theExchange Debtof Fund 3.99 3.99 3.24% byVetiva realised that we need some level157.60 production159.60 is not just for at Legacy this time year. This decision South Africa in terms of linked tests.

I N F R Aof ST RUCT R E self-suffi F U N Dciency". vaccines inUthe Equity Fund measure to cases to Omicron.

1.71 1.75 has pushed 12.41% production COVID-19 but vaccines against While Labour is Legacy a precautionary Fund Name NAV Per Share adding Yield / T-Rtn Ehanire said that the federal various diseases, also “So today, the government has for to country. protect health Legacypublic USD Bond Fund in the UK, 1.20pre-departure 1.20 testing 5.83% Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund 107.28 13.11% However, Adeyeye added government was pleased that that the country wants to be whilst we try to understand this decided to add Nigeria to the avoid Omicron spreading, The value of investments and the income themthat may fallbe as well as rise.

Past performance notwould an indication of future returns. publishedis in this are also available on that and WHO still send an in manyFund waysprices the country ableedition to tackle future health travel redfrom list and will travel businesses will see it is asa guide new variant. assessment team in a couple each to fund manager’s FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng.

Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the of relevant fund andtoare purposes only.emerge. responding thepublished challengefor andinformation emergencies as they effectiveand from 4am on Monday. a significant setback - just when “We continue work very website

SUNDAY DECEMBER 5, 2021 • T H I S D AY

23

24

SUNDAY DECEMBER 5, 2021 • T H I S D AY

A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

5.12.2021

H

The Enigmatic Charm of Larry Gaaga His name evokes admiration and respect in the music industry, owing largely to the enigmatic charm that wraps around him like a warm embrace. Yet, when the hitmaking singer-songwriter Larry Gaaga lets his guards down, he is engaging with a good sense of humour. Vanessa Obioha writes about her recent encounter with him, offering snippets of his life and music career.

e does not like granting interviews. Larry Gaaga reminded us midway into the impromptu conversation on a cozy Tuesday evening. We were at the residence of the U.S. Consul-General who was hosting the creative industry. The gathering at the serene courtyard was engulfed in an ambience of camaraderie.

Everyone knew one another and secretly sized up themselves, as stars often do.

It was a good place to mingle with the Nollywood stars and other celebrities, particularly those who hide behind the scenes. Gaaga falls into this category. With over a decade in the music industry, producing hits for artists who trust his musical judgment, it wasn’t until 2017 that his name became synonymous with hit songs, starting with 2Baba’s ‘Gaga Shuffle’ single.

We spotted him having a chat with a colleague and for a moment, we debated if he would grant our request for an interview, with the majority of us kicking against the idea. Yet when a female colleague and I approached him, voila! It was an amiable Gaaga that smiled and led us to a corner, away from the blaring speakers and chatter.

It was one of those rare moments the music producer and songwriter tucked away his diffidence, unlocked the gates of his private world and gave us a sneak peek.

He revealed his engaging persona with a good sense of humour.

Gaaga who was born Larry Ndianefo (though Gaaga is also a real name) has mastered the art of mystery. His enigmatic presence is often seen in music videos where he dons a godfather look accentuated by glasses, a cigar hanging from his lips, and beard sprinkled with grey hairs. Some may even argue that he is indeed the godfather of hits. Think of his collaboration with Davido on ‘Doe’ or his latest song ‘Egedege’ featuring the Queen of the Coast, Theresa Onuorah, Flavour and Phyno. Gaaga recounted how an unusual meeting with the highlife singer Onuora led to the collaboration.

“I actually went for a burial.

Was just sitting with my friend and there were kids around me hailing my name. Then the lady Theresa Onuorah walked in.

And I remember her very well.

Growing up, my dad used to have this turntable. In fact, he recently sent it to me. I saw kids shouting her name. I was surprised that

ASSISTANT EDITOR OLUFUNKE OLAODE/victoria.olaode@thisdaylive.com.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 5, 2021

50

COVER

Everything I Do, I Do it Well she was still alive. Randomly, I told myself that I would do something with this woman.”

When Onuorah heard of Gaaga’s intention, she called him and agreed to work with him.

For the Anambra State indigene, working with Onuorah was a huge opportunity and he knew he needed to hit the right spot.

So he listened to all her songs and picked one of his favourites.

“To think that while growing up, I used to be scared of this song,” he revealed with amusement. “There is this thing about her voice that just scared me.”

It took Gaaga over seven months to round off the production. Even though the song is one of the massive hits of the year, garnering millions of streams on different platforms, Gaaga is yet to acknowledge the song’s success.

“I know it’s big. But you know I’m used to hits. I don’t know, I have not felt it deep down inside like how I should but in the east, I think it’s very big because the messages I’m getting from the east are overwhelming,” he said.

His response is somewhat expected. Describing himself as a perfectionist, Gaaga doesn’t rush his music production. It may take him a year or more to make hits but when he does, it is always a ‘banger’. Most of his songs take seven months to produce, just to ensure that they have the right flavour.

“I’ve always been like that.

Everything I do, I do it well.

I really take my time to make music. For this song, there was a lot of back and forth because she was based in the east.”

With an eclectic taste in music, his ears for good sounds made him the go-to guy for hit records.

He could easily tell whose voice would be good for a beat just by listening. Therefore, when it came to deciding who to collaborate with for the ‘Egedege’ song, Flavour and Phyno were his top choices.

He expressed excitement that the highlife genre is trending at the moment and wished some of the legends like Osita Osadebe and Oliver de Coque were still alive. Who knows, he may have performed wonders with them.

Even though his name is on almost every lip, not a few still believe that Gaaga dropped from the sky with a jukebox. But the alumnus of the University of Lagos has been making music since the 2010s. His career in the entertainment industry started with his management of the rapper Vector at the record label YSG. However, things went awry and he couldn’t achieve much with the artist. He further disclosed that he grew up in the same neighbourhood with the defunct R&B boy group Plantashun Boiz made up of Blackface, 2Baba and Faze.

“I actually met Blackface first,” he disclosed. Of the three, he is closest to 2Baba.

Music, he said, has always been part of him. It is a childhood passion that finally started taking

shape when he began to roll with 2Baba in the mid-2000s.

“I have been in the music industry for a very long time but mainly behind the scenes.”

He pointed out that it was not a deliberate plan to stay away from the glittering spotlight.

“You know this music started because a lot of artists come to me and plead with me to listen to their album. They have this confidence that I can choose the right songs for them.”

Seeing how many artists were depending on his musical judgment, 2Baba sold the idea to him to start producing his own sounds. He quickly bought the idea and their first experiment was with ‘Gaga Shuffle’.

“It took us seven months to release that song,” he said in pidgin, laughing.

Gaaga hinted that he may likely start performing on stage.

“I’m receiving a lot of calls from the east. I recently got back from Warri. The people didn’t even want me to sing. They just wanted me to stand on stage so that they could be looking at me,” he said, subtly acknowledging his star power.

His music catalogue now includes producing soundtracks for films, notably the sequel to the classic Nollywood movie ‘Living in Bondage’, which was produced by Charles Okpaleke. His enigmatic charm has made him ambassador to many brands.

As he spoke, his lower incisors glimmered like a twinkling star in a night. I tried to find out if the two silver teeth were a fashion whim.

“No, I have had this since 2006.

I used to be a boxer. The teeth got separated after a fight. One small boy finish me,” he said, making a jest of the situation.

However, what made him hang up his gloves was his mother’s dislike for the sport.

“She never really liked it and was always complaining so after the fight, I decided to quit boxing. I travelled to Dubai to fix my teeth.”

Despite his fame, Gaaga did not shy away from calling himself a hustler. He is into oil and gas and has other businesses.

He pointedly stated that “music doesn’t pay” but the good thing is that the other sources of income allow him to invest quality time in his music.

As much as Gaaga allowed us into his private world, he is very tight-lipped about his family. It is protected by walls higher than that of Jericho and may need more than a shout to penetrate it. At least, we know that he loves travelling to his village and currently has three chieftaincy titles.

Gaaga

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 5, 2021

51

GLITZ FOCUS

How ARISE Fashion Week Flew Made-in-Nigeria Flag High in Dubai Vanessa Obioha who was in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for the ARISE Fashion Week, reports not only how the event lit up the city, but reminded the world why Nigeria is a land of endless opportunities and outstanding talents

L-R: Naomi Campbell, Banke Kuku and Alton Mason

D’banj dancing with a guest on AFW runway

O

n Nigeria’s Day at the ongoing Expo 2020 Dubai, ARISE Fashion Week reminded the world why Nigeria is a land of endless opportunities and outstanding talents. With a stunning runway and riveting music performances, the fashion event puts the spotlight on the creative sector and the youths propelling it.

Returning this year with a physical gathering at the Armani Hotel, Burj Khalifa, in Dubai, United

Arab Emirates (UAE), the ambience was a collision of style and stardom as top fashion designers showcased pieces that celebrated the cultural heritage of Nigeria. From Kenneth Ize’s signature handwoven Aso Oke styles to Yutee Rone’s wandering dreams inspired attires, the collections demonstrated the artistic ingenuity of Nigerians.

Keeping up with tradition, musical performances from Nigerian music star D’banj and international act Akon brought the well-heeled guests to their feet, particularly D’banj who ensured that the audience enjoyed each pulsating beat of his songs.

Since the Expo officially opened in September, participating countries have been selling their country to the world through the sub themes of the Expo: ‘Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability.’ For the Nigeria Pavillion, it was all about the opportunities that abound in the country with focus on the creative sector and technology.

These were reiterated by President Muhammadu Buhari who was represented at the event by Minister Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo. The president

acknowledged that the creative industry is driven by youths whose ambitions demonstrates the great determination and natural talent that exists in the Nigerian polity.

He indubitably believes that the sector has the potential to become the hub for exporting Nigeria’s culture.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele echoed similar sentiments when he disclosed that “the creative industry is a very important and large industry in Nigeria today with revenue standing as close to about $4.5 billion annually, and the government is doing everything possible to support the creative sector.”

The creative sector which includes film, music, fashion and technology, according to reports currently employs more than four million people and is projected to be worth over $10 billion by the end of 2021 and has the potential to produce 2.7 million jobs by 2025.

To a large extent, ARISE Fashion Week, since its debut in 2006, has continued to put the spotlight on Nigerian fashion. From the dazzling city of Johannesburg to megacities of London, New York, Paris, ARISE Fashion Week runway not only displayed the dynamic styles of Nigerian fashion but created a platform where future stars were born. Not a few international stars have identified with the platform, notable among them, the British supermodel Naomi Campbell.

Last year’s virtual event saw the Global Chief Content Officer for Condé Nast, Anna Wintour commending ARISE Fashion Week for “bringing young design talents from Africa and beyond to the fore, showcasing their work and allowing them the chance to receive business and development support.”

Similar comments were bestowed on the organisers for always putting Nigerian fashion on the global map.

In his vote of thanks, Adebayo noted that the collaboration between his ministry and THISDAY/ARISE Media Group in hosting the show is an impactful one.

“We are indeed very grateful because this has given us an opportunity to show the government’s commitment and support to the creative arts. Mr. President, mentioned in his speech that his government will continue to support our youths. Seventy per cent of the population of Nigeria today are under the age of 25. So we believe that a lot has to be done, because many of our youths are out of work and we believe that by putting the energy in the creative arts will do a lot to take them off the street and earn them a livelihood.”

As rightly pointed out by the Chairman of THISDAY/ARISE Media Group, Prince Nduka Obaigbena, ARISE Fashion Week is committed to connecting the minds and creating the future, as the theme of the Expo posits.

“Our generation will ensure that we build a Nigeria that can stand the test of time in 2050 when we become the most populous economy of the world and those building blocks you can see in the power of creativity, technology and everything else. We are determined to tell the world that the time of Nigeria is here,” he said.

52

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 5, 2021

GLITZ ENTERTAINMENT

After Raking N5.2 billion in O2 Arena, Wizkid Dominates

Spotify’s Wrapped Wizkid

Stories by Vanessa Obioha The past week has been a historic one for Nigeria’s Afrobeats superstar, Wizkid. His three-day ‘Made in Lagos’ concert held at the London O2 Arena saw the famed star driving fans to a frenzy in the sold-out venue. It is reported that the singer raked in a record N5.2 billion in gross earnings. Online ticket sales for the various tiers and locations at the arena ranged from $108 to $270. The arena has a 20,000 crowd capacity.

Continuing in his dominance, the newly unveiled Wrapped — an annual round-up of the top artists, albums, songs and playlists of the year as streamed by users on the platform from around the world — by music platform Spotify placed Wizkid as the most-

streamed artist of the year in Nigeria. Davido and Burna Boy followed in the second and third positions respectively while Drake is the only international artist that occupied the top five. Following in her mentor’s shoes, Tems took the lead in the most streamed female artist of the year. The young singer who was recently nominated for the 64th Grammy awards has had a successful year so far with her collaboration with Wizkid on the song ‘Essence’.

Wizkid’s ascendancy was also seen on the top streamed album list. His Made in Lagos (Deluxe Edition) came first while the original album took second place.

Other Nigerian artists on the Wrapped lists include Ladipoe whose song ‘Feeling’ topped the most streamed track of the year, while Hot Hits Naija took the number one spot for the most streamed playlist in Nigeria

Ahead of Christmas with Sinach and Friends, Onyeka Onwenu, Ayo Vincent Share Expectations The upcoming Christmas Concert with Sinach and Friends is eliciting reactions from gospel acts billed to perform on December 12, 2021, at The Monarch Events Centre, Lekki, Lagos.

Staged by Nigerian gospel artist Sinachi Kalu Okoro, aka Sinach, who has become a familiar face in many global Christian congregations, the show was conceived to deliver wholesome family entertainment during this yuletide season.

“These sets of ministers have blessed me so much,” she said at a recent press briefing. “These are people, who, when you come to watch them, you go back inspired. We want wholesome entertainment that is inspirational and godly while pointing people in the right direction as to what Christmas is all about. It is about family, joy, peace, and faith, and hope in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Veteran singer Onyeka Onwenu, who was recently confirmed in the lineup, commended the concert’s goals.

“The concert is a wonderful idea to end the year with such a bang! We kind of started with a whimper. We had so many issues: we had just come out of the COVID-19 situation, #EndSARS, and all the limitations that they brought along.

The concert is a show anyone can’t afford to miss. When do you have this number of artists at this level get together for Christmas? It doesn’t happen often.”

Onyeka Onwenu to perform at Sinach and Friends

Anticipating the day, based on the current progress achieved so far, vocal powerhouse Ayo Vincent said: “Christmas Concert with Sinach and Friends is something for the books. It is a programme that everyone should attend.

It is going to be a night of excellent, spirit-filled music, dance, and much more. It is an incredible honour to be one of two Nigerians to be ministering alongside great international artists that night.”

Will Omicron Ruin Detty December?

The new COVID-19 variant, Omicron, is upsetting plans for individuals and countries hoping to have at least a degree of normalcy this yuletide season. The celebrations that often mark the season were suspended last year since the pandemic began. Music concerts and tour companies hoping to get back to the groove this year are now reconsidering their plans since South Africa announced the new variant which experts say is more transmissible but uncertain if it causes more disease than its predecessor, Delta. Over 20 countries have reported cases of the variant. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) so far confirmed only three cases of the variant.

How Omicron will impact celebrations in Nigeria was seen when the Governor Ben Ayade has cancelled the famous Calabar Festival.

Detty December — as the season is christened — is always lined up with music concerts and other festivities.

It is a season for the cool kids, the ‘pepper dem gengs’ and ‘I just got back (IJGB)’ to show their dynamic style. Some of the events that usually stand out this period include the Flytime Music Festival, Soundcity MVP Awards, XChange 100, Greater Lagos Fiesta, Livespot X Festival and Born in Africa Festival.

A few of these events have altered their programmes while some are yet to unveil any plans for the season. For instance, Greater Lagos Festival, a Lagos State Government initiative, initially scheduled for December 1 was suspended after health officials warned of a fourth wave of the virus. However, Flytime Music Festival is still going on with their plans from the updates on their official Instagram account. Starting with the Wizkid concert on December 21, the line-up events include Pepsi Rhythm Unplugged slated for December 23 at Eko Convention Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos. Artists like Blaqbonez, Teni the Entertainer, Ladipoe will be performing at the event.

Cardi B at Livespot X Festival in 2019

Celebrating Davido’s music career, the festival will be wrapping off with the artist concert. The four-day music festival will be requiring attendees to show their proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test done within 48 hours of the concert date.

For Livespot X Festival, the season will be a six-day affair starting on December 16. Known for spellbinding concerts such as the Cardi B concert in Lagos in 2019, the organisers are promising another memorable experience this yuletide season.

One of the concerts that will make fans go gaga is the advertised reunion of the Okoye twins, P-Square. After five years of their disbandment, the twins will be performing together for the first time at the Reactivated concert scheduled for December 18 at the Livespot Entertainment Centre, Ikate, Lagos. Wizkid, Tiwa Savage, Tems will also be headlining their concerts with DJ Spinall crowning the event with a Party of Dreams.

One of the unique events curated by the organisers is the Gen Z Republic. It is an immersive space that offers everything the younger generation is interested in.

From music, arts, dance to games, the space opens daily and will have artists like Omah Lay, CKay, Wurld performing.

Tosin Martin, Bisola Aiyeola Perform NUGA 2022 Theme Song at Flag Off Ceremony Ahead of the 2022 Nigerian University Games Association (NUGA) games, Nigerian singers Bisola Aiyeola and Tosin Martin performed the 2022 official theme song at a flag-off ceremony at the J. F. Ajayi Auditorium, University of Lagos (UNILAG).

Accompanied by singers Wavy the Creator, and Magixx, the quartet delivered an energetic rendition of the song, sending a crowd of close to 500 students into a frenzy.

Likewise, important dignitaries like the Minister of Youth and Sports of Nigeria, Sunday Dare; The Vice-Chancellor, UNILAG, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe; sports icon, Chioma Ajunwa; music producer Don Jazzy among others, were captivated by the performance, observing from a secluded area in the arena.

Titled ‘Champion’, the Don Jazzy produced track that spanned less than six minutes embodied resilience, hope, strength; detailing the spirit of sportsmanship.

The ceremony also doubled as an unveiling of the game’s mascot and lighting of the torch for the 26th edition of the games that will host 136 universities across the nation.

Going against the grain, it partnered with The Temple Management Company to create

fanfare for the games – “a first”, as confirmed

by Ogundipe, who believes in exploring and harnessing sports to benefit other sectors of the economy, especially within the creative sector.

“The significance of this unveiling is to create awareness for our students, community, nation, and the world. This is the first time that we are something like this, with the flag-off taking this format. We are coming up with the songs for the game,” he said.

Dare also touched on the sea of opportunities available to youths.

“We are reclassifying sports as a business. Sports were mere recreation in the past. Today, sports is business.

Through the value chain of sports, as an athlete, medical personnel, a writer, broadcaster, artiste, sports is alive in this country, and it offers tremendous opportunities, especially for our youths to dominate the continent in every sphere,” he said.

Kicking off on Wednesday, March 16 to Saturday, March 26, 2022, the 10-day sporting event will be the university’s fourth time hosting NUGA games. It was first hosted in UNILAG in 1968, and then in 1978, before its last outing in 1998.

Tosin Martins, Bisola Aiyeola, Don Jazzy, Idris Olorun

SUNDAY DECEMBER 5, 2021 • T H I S D AY

53

54

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 5, 2021

HighLife

with KAYODE ALFRED 08116759807, E-mail: kayflex2@yahoo.com

...Amazing lifestyles of Nigeria’s rich and famous

Oyindamola Adeyemi’s Still Earth Construction Wins at 2021 Global Excellence Awards

Rabiu

John Keats, the late English poet in Endymion wrote that “a thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness.” These lines are suitable for introducing one of the most impressive principals in Nigeria’s construction sector, Oyindamola Lami Adeyemi. In the aftermath of Global Excellence Awards’ recognition of the outstanding character of her company, Still Earth Construction & Realty Limited.

It is the end of the year 2021 and prestigious organisations are handing out even more prestigious awards. Adeyemi’s Still Earth Construction and Realty is one in the midst of organisations that was honoured recently. The company was recognised for its outstanding work for the year and placed on a bar for its peers to see, appreciate and challenge in the next year.

A company founded and steered by a graceful lady is fast overtaking veterans of the industry. With Adeyemi, it has always been about going above and beyond. Since she made

her debut on the scene, the lady has exceeded expectations and even the most extreme projections, making a perfect case for the old cliche that what men can do women can do better.

To be sure, there are few Nigerians on Adeyemi’s level when it comes to pure grit and a determined steadfastness to vision and legacy. After earning her place in society, the silent achiever has grown even more silent, preferring to let her accomplishments speak for her than the loaded praises that others will happily dish out for her.

Today, Adeyemi’s company has danced the tango with grade-A companies like Julius Berger Nigeria, Dangote Refinery, and Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd, not to mention government parastatals like the Federal Ministry of Transport. Moreover, Lagos, Oyo, Ekiti, Delta, and Akwa-Ibom have also benefited from Still Earth’s expertise as a top Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC) company in Nigeria.

Adeyemi

As 2021 eases to a close and we prepare to welcome the new year, it must be said that women have felt both the scalding heat of human nature and its soothing coolness. But, thanks to agencies and organizations like the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), the year is ending on a positive note for some women.

3,369 women would each receive TEF’s nonrefundable seed capital of $5,000.

Tony Elumelu, the Nigerian economist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist has made his mark on the world. From running one of the biggest financial institutions on the African continent to steering one of the biggest empowerment foundations, TEF, the man’s vision for the economy of Africa is vast and overwhelming, starting with youths and women.

During the most recent TEF entrepreneurship program, Elumelu and his team trained 1.5

million young Africans across the continent.

The course content revolved around setting up and scaling businesses for maximum value, profit, and effect on the economy in general. To set them off, TEF empowered each of these 5,000 Africans with a jaw-dropping $5,000 that is N2 million to serve as the beneficiaries’ seed capital.

Even bigger than this gesture is the fact that 68 per cent of the beneficiaries are women.

In other words, 3,369 women will start the new year with N2 million in their accounts waiting to be used for impactful business.

The figures are striking, especially since it all comes very close to N7 billion. That excludes the funds that went to the remaining 32%. Even so, it demonstrates Elumelu’s seriousness regarding Africapitalism which requires active inclusive education, empowerment, and development.

For Elumelu and company, as well as his wife, Awele Vivian Elumelu-a champion of female entrepreneurs in Africa, this is just a step in the right direction. To be so trusted and entrusted with that magnitude of seed capital, these women are nothing but elated.

Abdul Samad Rabiu: A Tycoon’s With A Jaw-Dropping Sum, Tony Elumelu Charitable Charm Foundation Buoys Up African Women The everyday motivational speaker will tell you that wealth does not inspire wisdom or encourage foolishness. When it changes a person’s character, if at all it does, it only illuminates aspects that once were obscure. This is why it is easy to think of wealthy people, Abdul Samad Rabiu is a case in point, as one who is more inclined to good works than the average middle-income earner. But this is not true.

Rabiu, a relentless philanthropist and benefactor to foreigners and friends, has shown time and again that his heart beats for the common people. The man draws from his deep cache of effort-yielding riches to make life bearable and better for the next man. He does not discriminate between dark and fair, handraising or knee-bending. He is, once again, a friend to all and a godfather to many.

The citizens of Ogun State are the latest to share in Rabiu’s largesse. Through his Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative (ASR Africa), Rabiu recently donated N2.5 billion for healthcare support. The donation is Rabiu’s gift to the Ogun State government and people to reduce the economic burden of constructing a Mother & Child Hospital within the premises of the state-owned Olabisi Onabanjo University.

During the event that saw Rabiu’s donation pass under the management of Governor Dapo Abiodun, it was explained that the BUA founder and boss wanted to give back to his country and continent as much as time will allow him. In fact, the N2.5 billion grant is a part of his annual $100 million ASR Africa Fund for the development of African society.

Rabiu, by every such gesture, puts national governments and international organisations to shame. He is a tycoon worth his salt, a philanthropist that sees beyond the accolades and appreciations of people everywhere. A beacon of hope exemplified in every heartfelt donation from him, Rabiu reminds us all that there is goodness in man.

Elumelu

A solid and reliable government agency pursues its goals without compromise. In many ways, this is one of the biggest differences between the agency under the watch of Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa and those of her peers.

Despite being so versatile and attuned to the nittygritty of governance and politics, the woman maintains her lane, polished to perfection, one might say. Such diligence and focus always bear fruits, and it has in the case of Dabiri-Erewa’s agency.

Hon. Dabiri-Erewa and the agency under which she serves Nigeria and Nigerians, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) are doing well. This evaluation is based on the fact that the iron lady and her agency are likely the most highly decorated government bureau in Nigeria in the last six months.

A few days ago, the biographical and supplemental information management company, Profiles & Biographies, presented both Dabiri-Erewa and NiDCOM with an award of excellence. The company reported that Dabiri-Erewa and NiDCOM are worthy of all celebrations because they are a transparent

Thumbs Up as Dabiri-Erewa’s NiDCOM Tops the List of Corrupt-free Govt Agency

Dabiri-Erewa

duo that is both corrupt-free and responsible by every ethical standard. The report was submitted as an update on the almanac of all the best things that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has accomplished in six years.

The state of affairs in politics and governance in Nigeria make it inconceivable there is any government official who is not corrupt. The same is true for the bureaucracy. However, after the official and agency are commended multiple times, people have to reconsider their biased perspectives. And this is the case with Dabiri-Erewa and NiDCOM. In the last six months, Dabiri-Erewa has received such awards for her work at NiDCOM. The most recent one before that of Profiles & Biographies was in October 2021 with the Photo Journalists Association of Nigeria (PJAN) titling Dabiri-Erewa the ‘Citizens Advocate Ambassador.’ Meanwhile, in May 2021, NiDCOM was mentioned alongside a few others on the list of the top 20 most outstanding Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of government in 2021.

Let there Be Light: Uzoka Lights Up Lagos The festive season is here again! December is a special month with special swag. Folks around the world tend to be happier, more relaxed, and willing to bask in the gradual eclipse of another year.

People like Kennedy Uzoka make this season even brighter, figuratively and literally, edging us closer to heartfelt jubilation.

For the year 2021, Uzoka has commandeered the glints and glitters of his United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc. to start the season of jollity. The CEO, ever committed to making the most of every opportunity to appreciate UBA customers and Nigerians in general, spearheaded a light-up ceremony to commemorate the delights of December.

Remarkably, Uzoka is well-suited to every task he sets his mind to. The light-up ceremony was not your average event where a boring committee raises a boring candle to a stadium of bored onlookers. The man’s every

action, along with the excited encouragement of key management staff, stirred the crowd and stoked the fires in the hearts of everyone.

By every indication, Uzoka in his role as UBA CEO has paid his dues. He is an unapologetic advocate for customer participation in the little things, such as this, that characterise client satisfaction in the modern world. Sometimes, Uzoka leads UBA to spread love and joy across every inch of Africa. Other times, it is the comfort of an organization that is interested in the well-being of its customers.

The latter character of UBA was visible during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under Uzoka’s leadership, UBA donated more than $14 million to the cause of contending against the dreaded virus and reducing its economic burden on rural communities and entire metropolitan regions.

That was another form of lighting up the world.

Uzoka

55

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 5, 2021

HIGHLIFE

Posh Love as Oba Saheed Elegushi Stages Lavish 45th Birthday for Olori Sekinat The graceful proprieties of Olori Sekinat Elegushi, wife of the 21st monarch of Ikateland, Lagos do not bring proverbs to mind. They are not that kind. Hers is the sort that inspires flowery poetry in a heart of stone. Her aura and ambitions, beauty and bearing, all of these lend credence to old tales of mighty kings who are worshipped by their people, and lovely queens who are worshipped by kings.

The image is apt for Oba Elegushi, the relentless lover and husband of Olori Sekinat. Knowing the strength of the monarch’s mind, one can only say that only someone as delectably enchanting as Olori Sekinat can maintain the king’s romantic side. This was clear for others to see some days ago as Oba Elegushi treated the pillars of high society to a lavish party in honor of Olori Sekinat’s 45th birthday.

Sekinat

As one would expect, folks at the upper tiers of Nigerian society were

on ground to clink a glass or two in commemoration of the birthday of Olori Sekinat. In an atmosphere of quick-fire flashes, one could see the monarch’s appreciation for his wife as she gladly entertained their guests and therefore reciprocated her husband’s good gesture.

The king is mighty and the queen is loved, they say. The Elegushis have us readjusting this old fact. Now, we say that the king is loving and the queen is loved. This is the case with Oba Elegushi and his Olori Sekinat.

At 45 years old, if Olori Sekinat has not changed the world and won the hearts of the people, she has changed her royal husband’s monarchy disposition and made him into Yemi my lover. This is the truest brand of love and appreciation, this thing between Oba Elegushi and his Olori Sekinat.

Pinnick

Olalekan Adebiyi: The Road Master on the Move Olalekan Adebiyi, the man and the mountain. A master that hides under the shadow of his natural predisposition to silence, and commandeers projects that set the tongues of foreigners wagging.

Adebiyi, a man whose works are louder than his voice can ever bear, even though he cares little for false adulations and glorification. In recent days, Adebiyi has, against his best intentions, one might say, become more and more visible as the road master that he is.

The Nigerian construction industry is a cluttered cluster of characters. The individuals in charge of some of the indigenous companies are far more colorful characters than they need to be. This is especially true since they are supposed to be people who, by definition, remain in the background, building roads and bridges.

Very few of them, like Adebiyi, have been able to show how a master construction contractor should carry themselves.

Adebiyi’s company, LaraLek Ultimate Construction Limited, has always been

a sight for sore eyes. Knowledgeable folks would always sigh whenever they see this name on a project board somewhere.

LaraLek has become synonymous with quality projects finished at record time, and lasting forever. How does one raise a middling firm to such heights without relying on an unrivaled university certificate, Harvard Business badge, or thick web of political connections?

For Adebiyi, the answer is grit. A man that knows himself has no need for flattery.

Adebiyi’s long chain of achievements could be used to shoulder a bridge in Lagos State.

But how many people know about this?

He is determined to contribute his quota to Nigerian society by building its roads.

Do anything with enough passion and diligence, and time will help you perfect it.

This is the case with Adebiyi and LaraLek. To date, you will not see Adebiyi tooting his horns to compete for a contract. No! His reputation as a road master, an ordinary hard-working man passionate about his work, precedes him.

Trials and Triumphs of Amaju Pinnick at 51

Adebiyi

Right Peg in Right Hole: Osaro Onaiwu Becomes Nat’l Coordinator of Saraki Support Group for 2023 Presidency

Onaiwu

Ahead of the 2023 presidential elections, intending candidates have begun making their moves and setting substructures in place to inherit President Muhammadu Buhari’s mantle. Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, is not left out. His The happiest celebrations in life come in pairs, but the greatest arrive like waves of the sea, one after another after another after another. This is the case in the ancient kingdom of Akokwa, in Ideato North Local Government Area of Imo State. Come December 28, 2021, the potentate and people of the kingdom will celebrate the 2021 edition of their prestigious Odu-Obi festival. For the happy community, it’ll be a fitting conclusion to an awesome year.

For people everywhere, reaching December is a milestone. For that, this year’s December is special indeed. This is because the monarch of the kingdom, Eze (Sir) Ikenna C. Okoli (KSC), Okoli V, Agbakwuruibe III, the 11th Obi of Akokwa, has sent out invitation cards to have some of the most prestigious Nigerians make their way to Akokwa on December 28 for the Odu-Obi festival.

Among those specially invited are high monarchs, such as Aseme Alabo Duma JackBrown the Kongo XVI of Finima Kingdom, Bonny Local Government Area, Rivers State; Igwe Lawrence Agubuzo, the Chairman of Enugu State Traditional Rulers Council; and many others of similar sovereign status.

Besides having these high-ranking personalities visit their kingdom, the Akokwa

recent appointment of Earl Osaro Osaze Onaiwu to head his support group has been hailed as one of the smartest choices he will ever make regarding his presidential aspirations.

Saraki is proving himself to be a progressive and far-sighted politician once again. In preparation for his tango with peers from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and opponents from the All Progressives Congress (APC), among others, Saraki recently got Onaiwu appointed as the National Coordinator of his Saraki Support Group for President 2023.

Onaiwu, for those who can’t tell why folks are applauding Saraki for this move, is a socialite of socialites. The man has so many contacts up at the top of society and down below that he is essentially one giant spider with nearly omnipresent webs. A champion of top-tier politics, as well as grassroots campaigning, Onaiwu is anyone’s best bet for a grand momentum.

At present, Onaiwu serves as the Director-

General for the PDP Governors Forum. An Edo man with that characteristic far-seeing ability to correctly evaluate the big picture, Onaiwu has a significant fraction of the Nigerian elite class figuratively eating out of the palm of his hand. Thus, anybody with half a grasp of politics would employ Onaiwu’s vast web of contacts and connections to get the most out of the 2023 elections. And Saraki is someone with a creditable grasp of Nigeria’s special brand of politics.

All in all, things are looking good for Saraki. Since declaring his intention to join the race, some might say that this appointment of Onaiwu to oversee things is the first indicator that the 2023 election will be anything less than fascinating. By all accounts, Onaiwu is the right man for the job. Saraki knows this. Saraki’s supporters know this. Saraki’s opponents know this. Ergo, Saraki just got himself a qualifying chip for Aso Rock—Onaiwu.

Akokwa Hosts Nigeria as Eze Okoli Celebrates Odu Obi Festival

people are also excited because the event will commemorate the 19th anniversary of Eze Okoli, meaning that it is almost two whole decades since he took up the mantle to oversee and look after his people. Moreover, he also clocked the golden age of 50 this year, on February 28. So, Akokwa is scheduled to witness all shades of jollification.

This edition of the prestigious Odu-Obi festival is Eze Okoli’s second one since he became king. Thus, it is going to be special in its own way.

Among the anticipated features of the event is the hosting of the festival by Sir Tony Ezenna (OFR), the Chairman of Orange Group and Ijele & Ikenga of Akokwa. Plus, Eze Okoli is set to confer a handful of chieftaincy titles on deserving individuals during the event.

Indeed, this edition of the Odu-Obi festival has the shadow of Eze Okoli cast upon it.

Therefore, it exhibits that ebon glow that true royalty is known to radiate from time to time. Then again, nothing less is expected of a detribalised leader the likes of which are rare in modern times. This is why this year’s Odu-Obi festival will see a temporary exodus of people from all walks of life, ethnic and religious characterisation, bathing in the glory that is Eze Okoli’s remarkable reign.

Okoli

In every human endeavour, there are masters and amateurs; folks who have distinguished themselves at an art form because they are immeasurably good at it, and others who have achieved the same effect because they are irredeemably bad at it. Amaju Pinnick is the former and the sports industry is his forte. At 51, the man has managed to make a resounding name for himself on the African continent, casting his shadow across the globe.

Pinnick clocked 51 on December 1, 2021, and gave Africans something to munch on besides the new strain of a virus. At 51, Pinnick has made enough contributions to the game of sports that gigantic statues and pocket-sized figurines might soon be crafted in his honor and distributed worldwide. The truth is that he has represented Nigerians and other Africans to the best of his ability, for which the country and continent has been nothing but grateful since Pinnick made his debut as a football administrator.

Currently serving as President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Pinnick has come a long way. Who could have ever imagined that a Warri boy would one day sit on the administrative side of the FIFA Council, one of the executive members of the highest decision-making body in the world of football? But this is exactly Pinnick’s story.

At 51, so far has Pinnick come.

But, the path was not free of fissures and bone-chilling gales.

Over the course of his tango with football administration, Pinnick has seen the four walls of courts too many times, often figuratively wearing the colors of an outlaw.

The stench of humiliation after humiliation is long past now, but it was not the same a few years ago. We could argue that Pinnick has borne the brand of a scoundrel more times than anybody else in the same business on the African continent. But then again, no guts, no glory.

At 51, Pinnick has had his guts spilled too many times to count.

But, at present, the brilliance of his glory demonstrates that it was all worth it. He had to travel through and overcome all that murk to get here, the summit of his career.

56

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 5, 2021

LOUD WHISPERS

with JOSEPH EDGAR (09095325791)

Omicron Virus: No More Fear Please let me even ask, who gives these viruses their names? Is it that there is a branding team at the World Health Organisation (WHO) that researchers on ground send the configurations to and those ones will come out with the names – Delta, Omicron and the like? They will soon come out with Afang and Jollof viruses the way this thing is going.

Mbok, the world is tired. The thing

don too much as people say. Today lockdown, tomorrow mask, next tomorrow no sex, then vaccine, then booster dose, then vaccine again, then travel and no travel. Quarantine, then no quarantine.

The whole thing has reached a point where some of us are even saying, let the Omicron come o. When you run too much at one point you will say, ‘I am

not running again, let the thing come.’

Me, I have taken vaccine two times.

I have worn mask so tey, people no longer recognise me when I pull off the mask. I have kept social distance; I have done it all. I don tire. I no do again.

Whether na Omicron or Obotex. I no do. Please, you people should just leave us alone. It is too much. Kai!

ABU SULEIMAN: A STERLING BANKER I had reached out to this my brother sometime last week asking for a session to discuss the finance environment especially with its changing face. Close to my chest was this CBN’s e-Naira, the dynamism of Fintech and other such issues that I felt would make me better understand the terrain.

That is how bro say I should meet him at the Federal Palace Hotel after work one evening. I should have known. Na lecture o. By the time bros finish, I could write a dissertation on the environment and present at Harvard Business School.

I tell you.

His grasp of the issues, his transformative thinking and much more importantly, his lack of fear all combined in making the evening one of my best this year.

Abu has built for himself a separate entity in the space. He is not ‘normal’ o. His thinking, his approach to his work and his passion for technologically-assisted growth as a vehicle for national development is nothing but just crazyyy.

His talk about HEART – Health, Education, Agric – I don forget the rest abeg - was the highlight of the evening. Sterling’s attempt at transforming these key sectors by embedding viral thinking and out -of-the box re-engineering makes you think you were talking with a millennial innovator and not a full-fledged major bank Managing Director.

That I enjoyed the session could be gleaned from the fact that when it came to eating, I for once forgot about Afang and asked for a ‘fruit bowl’.

Abu like myself believe very strongly

in his country and it is not about its ‘potential’- yeye potential that I have been hearing since 1969 when my papa give my mama belle to born me- but in the actual exploitation and engagement of the myriads of opportunities that keep staring us in the face.

As I watch him drive himself into the Lagos Night, I say to myself, ‘if only we can get a little bit more of his type, our problems will be solved.’

Brilliance and humility wrapped in one person? Life is not fair.

faux Christian marauders who leverage on this to hold us captive.

Every street in Akwa Ibom is a church with plenty adherents running from ‘ifot’. The fear of ifot is the beginning of wisdom. You will hear people say things like – ‘Mbiam’, ‘ akpaubeng’ – this is in real life stroke that can be medically and scientifically explained. But in our parlance, these are the works of the very wicked, the witches and wizards who lurk around in our homes and communities.

Thankfully, the narrative is gradually receding and prophets like these are daily witnessing a massive movement out of their dirty places of worship hence the need for such banal and shocking videos to ramp up the fear.

Akwa Ibom has one of the highest literacy rates in the country, some of the best infrastructure, the brightest minds and some of the most influential leadership and they are not by any stretch of imagination any ‘ifot’.

This is not to throw any challenge to any ‘ifot’. Mbok, don’t come and try me o. I don’t have any power o. I am just writing article wey them send me o. As my mother will say, ‘Ndidia ekpeme edong ke nke ka.’ na daily food I dey find o no be witch trouble.

Suleiman

Emmanuel

AKWA IBOM: LAND OF WITCHES Everybody in my home state is a Witch or a Wizard. Real life ones o.

Not the type we see in Hollywood Movies or the ones we see in Nollywood offerings that will be wearing red and be drawing chalk all over their bodies.

The ones in Akwa Ibom are real life ‘ifot’. That is what we call ourselves.

In fact, there is a local government -Iruan- where it is said is the ground zero of the thing and this is why until very recently me, I never used to go near Akwa Ibom o before they go and eat my testicles and suck my blood and make me look like a malnourished and skinny version of a former Emir.

Well, this is what this mumu prophet really wants us to believe.

Leveraging on the myth and the tales by moonlight, the white robbed smelly mouthed Prophet proclaims in a now virile video – Akwa Ibom has 2.3m witches and wizards. I shout. This one is mad o. So, in a state of a little over 6m people more than 40% are witches?

My people, let me talk seriously. This narrative has been very prevalent and until recently been the bane of the socio-economic development of our people. This has turned into a very serious limiting factor driving droves into the hands of clandestine

COSMAS MADUKA, BE STRONG The sad news of the loss of Mrs. Maduka hit the airwaves with a thud.

If you know Mr. Maduka or have come anywhere near him, you will understand the magnitude of this happening in his life. I once sat with him at his Maza Maza office for a long talk on the platform of the Lagos Business School Class of SMP 32 and he spent almost half of the time talking about mummy.

He was so enamoured by her and the stories where both instructive and very funny. Kai. When he tells you

Maduka

Ehanire

how they met as a poor village boy.

How he had nothing to offer her and not even a bicycle to ride on the only date she agreed to, you would marvel at her strength.

When they talk about pillar, this was it. Mummy was more than a pillar o. She was the pillar. A very strong and matured pillar that stood till the very end.

Cosmas knew this and did not joke with her. His lecture that day to our class was filled with anecdotes on her and the role she played in building and securing the empire.

You know when things of this nature happen, we can only just bow our heads to the ultimate power and wisdom of the highest. Stay strong my Lord.

SULTAN ABUBAKAR MOHAMMED III: I STAND WITH YOU Discussions on national issues are usually based on emotions and non-facts. Now, the highly respected Sultan has reechoed this. He has said somewhere that our people will be discussing Nigeria’s unity on the basis of emotions and it is true.

If you listen to some of these arguments even at the highest of levels you will just weak as we say it in Shomolu. Myths, half-truths, emotive, barely literate engagements and all.

Surprisingly, some of these crap seep into policy and form the basis of our engagement as differing units of a federation.

If I begin to tell you some of these stories, you will laugh and fall from your seat. I think we should slow down on these fables and engage as the Sultan has said in mature

Mohammed III

57

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 5, 2021

LOUD WHISPERS discussions driven by pure logic and facts that way you will see that we really do not have any fundamental differences except the fact that Yoruba people can die for stew although the pepper and tomatoes come from the North and the pile that the stew used to give them, it’s only Igbo native doctors that used to cure it in Ajegunle.

I rest my case.

JIMMY ONYEMENAM: A BRIDGEWAY TO WEALTH Let me give one small gist and I hope my oga will not say that I can rigmarole o. My senior in secondary school, Jimmy Onyemenam reached out. ‘Edgar, I have something I want to discuss with you.’ ‘When can we see?” I say, ‘Oya’. He was my main supporter when I came out for the presidency of our 11,000 strong Alumni. That I failed in that pursuit did not make him lose his respect for me.

Anyways, that was how he showed me a brochure that opened my eyes to the power of a vision. The massive relocation of the Computer Village.

My God, only a State Executive with visionary foresight could have put breath to this dream.

Jimmy told me how he made a presentation to the State Exco on the matter and how his Excellency engaged him and how he came out of that encounter drained.

His performance backed by the full weight of the Lagos State government promises a massively transformative project.

Let me give you tit bits - the proposed ICT park is on 15.75 hectares with shopping plaza, banking and food courts, kee klamp malls, Innovation Hub, Mini Industrial Park, residences, hotels and utility facilities. With 2,500 car parking facilities it comes in as one of the biggest in sub–Saharan Africa.

This is a strong anchor of Governor Sanwo -Olu’s plan for turning Ikeja into a Mega City within the robust Lagos Mega City Plan.

What else is remaining to say than to wish this unique Private -Public Partnership model all the best. Wow. SANWO-OLU’S LONG WALK TO NO WHERE Oya, let me talk about daddy a second time. You see when someone is doing well, you hail him and when he is not doing so well, you also do not spare the rod.

Baba has missed it with this #EndSARS matter. I think he is too much in a hurry to make amends or jump on a populist bandwagon and it is hurting him. I fear if he doesn’t pull back, this could be fatal.

The thing is like when ‘Tambolo’ is biting you; they come at you from different angles and the only way you can fight it is to run away. In fact, in some cases you strip as you run.

Sanwo-Olu, you need to run away from this matter. This thing was not about you, no be you but the way you have unwittingly enmeshed yourself in the matter, may be because it happened under your watch in Lagos is making you look like the devil in this matter.

I know you have very good intentions and you want to quickly heal so we can move on.

These wounds however are deep and run far beyond the causative factors of the crises itself.

Asking for a ‘peace walk’

immediately after the submission of a very controversial report which has been caned and abused from all angles is just naivety in display.

Opening yourself up for people who are looking for social media ‘likes’ to chew you is kind of sad. Falz, Mr Macaroni, Seun Kuti and the rest who have used your platform to fire at you cannot be blamed. Na, you give them the base.

Your Excellency, it’s like you have not played ‘Okolo’ before. Okolo is local lawn tennis. When you want to ‘wicked’ your partner, you will now throw the ball up so that the opposing person will slam him.

This is what you have done, you have raised the ball for Seun Kuti and Falz to slam you and they have slammed you with glee. Now you are wounded and bloodied.

It’s not too late to let go. Run my brother, run away from these things and when things ease out you can start engaging with proper policies and engagements and not rhetoric or symbolic things like this ‘trek’ which to me is meaningless if I am to put it lightly. Egbon, you will be ok, just let go.

FUEL SUBSIDY REMOVAL: MY POSITION That is how they invited me to Silverbird TV to come and talk this matter. Looks like I will not be invited again, cos na fight end am.

The two young presenters came at me with the old and now mundane arguments about fuel going out of the reach of the ‘poor’, how it will boost inflation and how we should wait for the right time.

My people, let me be very blunt.

Really blunt. There cannot be any right time for this matter. These subsidy crap throws in inefficiency into the system and causes dislocation in other areas like health, education and infrastructure.

So, this subsidy we are enjoying now, we are paying for it badly in other areas. So let us remove the thing now and immediately work on a collaborative multi sectoral push that would open up the economy, create more jobs, grow income and you will see that the forces of demand and supply will arbitrate the price of fuel and we will be the better for it.

It is the cowardice of waiting for the right time that has moved us from

RICHARD MOFE DAMIJO: IS A FINE WINE Do I love watching Nollywood movies? I’ll just say make I no talk. Anyways, this one came at me with a difference. Someone called all the way from Cyprus and said, ‘Edgar, I think you should go on Netflix and see Fine Wine, it is our story’.

I was curious. I have many stories o. Which particular one is someone trying to tell in that movie? That was me thinking that it was a nice Hollywood offering or at worst a British Romcom, so I went.

The first thing I saw was the usual attachment our girls put on their head, I just hiss and make to switch channels. Then something caught my eyes- the diction.

The actress was good and that kept my attention. I remained glued as the plot unfolded. It was

Mofe-Damijo

beautiful, the casting, locations, costumes it was beautiful and scenic. I even forgave RMD for always being rich man in all movies.

He carried it well even though some lines were ‘cheesy’ especially the place where the young lady in berating her young boyfriend had said, ‘He has more swag than you even though he is way older than you’. That was unnecessary and I am sure that line was put there for RMD’s ego.

Segun Arinze gave a good account of himself and the female protagonist was beautiful and well talented. It was a masterpiece although in trying to show that true love goes beyond all challenges, it may have served to strengthen the plot of older men and their side chicks.

Brilliant.

the time of IBB to where we are and still on the same message.

By the time I finish talking, the ‘children’ were just staring at me on live TV and could only say, ‘Thank You Mr. Edgar’. Me, I know they will not call me again. Wetin concern me?

I had to wake up 5.30a.m. to get to the studios on time. As a retiree, that was one huge sacrifice for Nigeria that I am not ready to make again.

EMIR SANUSI LAMIDO: NOT YET UHURU If you are close to me, you would have known that I am already planning a huge play next year titled – ‘Emir Sanusi.’ Now this play is not on the present deposed Emir but actually on his also deposed grandfather as told from the mouths of the ‘dogaris’ that served both of them.

So, when my friend told me yesterday that the Emir had won a court case against his dethronement, I want to cry o.

How can Oga win this kind of case, it will spoil my drama and characterisation o.

He must remain deposed at least until after my play then they can put him back. So, it was with relief that I saw that the case won was on his banishment where the court even granted him N10million as damages.

Even me sef, I had wondered how someone could be banished as a full-blooded Nigerian from any part of the country. I also understand that having him within the Emirate would be one kind, especially as my oga will still be wearing peacock shoe and causing confusion, but his ‘banishment’ should be voluntary and not sanctioned.

Anyways, Kano Government have expectedly said, dem no gree, so we are watching.

KENNEDY UZUOKA: A FORCED U-TURN Just as I was about to take a slight poke at this gentleman, my eyes catch a news item on the cover of the THISDAY Newspaper by the couch.

The headline screams – UBA wins African Banker of the Year Award.

Wow. I said to myself. Here was I about to yab this oga that he has been very quiet recently ‘ashey’ he has been silently doing what the shareholders of the bank have mandated him to do – building a powerful financial institution.

As I gleaned the report, I see that UBA and its subsidiaries spread all over Africa won 14 awards in total.

The first time in the 100-year history of the Banker Award I am told.

This is a powerful testimony to the Kennedy Uzuoka led Management team and let me quickly add to the strong and firm direction provided it by its Board led by my brother, muscle man Tony Elumelu.

Well-done to the team. Let me add that when my brother Charles Aigbe was there which made me a little bit close to the institution, I used to marvel at its dynamism. The way it blended the new and the old to bring out a powerful synergy in human capital putting it in a strong position to harness its growth initiatives.

All these are beginning to come home to roost with not only this award but also with the kinds of figures we are seeing.

Well-done guys, I will postpone the small yab I was going to give Brother Kennedy, he has done well. Congrats to the team.

58

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 5, 2021

Adebayo Adeoye bayoolunla@gmail.com; 08054680651

SOCIETY WATCH

Awele Elumelu Complements Her Husband’s Milk of Kindness Though she is not as famous as her husband, it is deliberate, Dr. Awele Elumelu, the beautiful wife of Africa’s banking guru, Tony Elumelu, shies away from publicity. She values her privacy.

It was gathered that she complements her husband’s efforts in the area of empowering young entrepreneurs.

The brilliant woman is also a trustee of the Tony Elumelu Foundation and can be best described as the silent supporter of female entrepreneurs in Africa.

It was gathered that 3,000 young women across Africa will receive a non-refundable grant of $5000 each to further their entrepreneurial and business ideas, courtesy of the beautiful woman.

Elumelu

This mother of twins, through her Avon Healthcare and her husband’s NGO, has been catering to many indigent persons in the society, just as the TEF has made many entrepreneurs to be on the upswing.

What you can’t take away from Awele, a feminist, is her uncommon frankness, particularly on issues that are dear to her heart.

Very brainy, the CEO, Avon Medical Services Limited, holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree from the University of Benin. She worked with the Grantham and District Hospital, Grantham, United Kingdom. She had also worked with the Lagos University Teaching Hospita; (LUTH).

John Chijioke Nnajiofor’s International Recognition Fashina

US-based Lola Fashina’s Date with History

Lola Fashina is one of the successful Nigerian women in the United States of America, making Nigeria proud.

She is one woman who does not have any airs around her; she is ever willing to give her shoulders to anyone to lean on in moment of need.

Indeed, those whose paths have crossed hers always affirm that the Lagos State-born entrepreneur sure understands the true meaning of friendship and has made huge sacrifices, at different times, to keep the sanctity of friendship as humanly possible.

The fashionable mother of three, who runs Exquisite Touch Events in Chicago, has been identified as one woman who is committed to the service of humanity and one who has invested with seriousness the words of famous English writer, John Bunyan, who said: ‘’You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”

Well, that is no longer news!

Interestingly, her contributions towards the growth of the society are being recognised, as she is set to have a date with history on December 16, 2021 when she will be honoured with the Yeye Bobajiroro of Ota- Awori Kingdom by Olota of Ota, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Prof. Adeyemi Abdulkabir Obalanlege.

At the moment, the installation is said to be the only thought dominating the mind of the society lady.

A source confirmed that the event is already generating some buzz among the Nigerian elite.

Already, the best party planners have been contracted, while some fashion designers have also been engaged by the beautiful Fashina.

It was also gathered that the Americabased businesswoman is not leaving any stone unturned to make the event the talk of town for many years; she is sparing no costs to fete all invited guests that day.

The woman has assured the invited guests of her sense of hospitality.

She is known as someone who does not do her things in half measure.

The ancient town is expected to welcome top political officials, captains of industries and socialites, who will move in their large numbers to celebrate with the stylish woman of substance.

Apart from being a serial entrepreneur, she has worked in several organisations as such the University of Chicago Hospital, Bolingbrook Women’s Clinic and Athletico Physical Therapy, among others.

Fashina, a graduate of Healthcare Management and Hospitality Management from the Triton College, Illinois, worked with United Bank for Africa before relocating to the US over two decades ago; she also attended Triton College, River Grove Illinois Computer Science, Westwood College, among other institutions.

John Chijioke Nnajiofor, 25, is a luxury fashionpreneur and stylist.

The Managing Director/CEO of Jochi Luxury Enterprise’s quiet humanitarianism and philanthropy have impacted his spheres of influence so remarkably that he gained the traction of the renowned International Society of Diplomats (ISD), which is reputed internationally for its interventions and initiatives that usually proffer impact-making solutions to the most pressing challenges confronting humanity worldwide.

Recently, the ISD appointed the fast-rising realtor as a Special Emissary to Africa in order to equip and encourage him to relate more intimately with both the career and causal diplomats (members of the ISD), whose collective vision is a world, where both government and nonstate actors can work in harmony for a common goal of improving and sustaining the universal fundamental rights of every human being,

irrespective of the race, gender, social status, religion or beliefs, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

To ease his cross-country movements across Africa, his appointment was complemented with a diplomatic *laissez passer*, an international identity card, a diplomatic automobile plate number, a VIP Lounge access at the airports, and a special VIP Airport Protocol arrangement.

The stylish dealer of luxury designer clothes, shoes, bags and wristwatches derives pleasure in quietly pleasing his rich clientele, which parades business moguls, directors high up the corporate ladder, and brand influencers including the popular stand-up comedian, movie and video skit producer, Owen Gee. However, Nnajiofor’s passion for luxurious fashion - which streams from his desire to boost the confidence of his clients by providing them

Nnajofor

with classy ensembles sourced from both within and outside the country - would not let him remain in hiding for so long, just as his remarkable acts of humanitarianism and philanthropy.

Oladipipo Yusuf Olaseni: A Serial Entrepreneur Sleeker Than Your Average

Olaseni

South Africa-based Nigerian businessman, Oladipupo Olaseni, is regarded as a model and prototype for entrepreneurial astuteness and leadership.

His company, Goalsbam Ventures, with a net worth conservatively pegged in billions of Naira in net worth, is registered in Nigeria, South Africa and Canada, as an export company dealing primarily in the exportation of Nigerian food stuff in containers to South Africa. He has several outlets in the country where these commodities are sold.

Olaseni’s other business interests include

real estate, in Nigeria and South Africa, and a travel management company.

Olaseni is also a stakeholder in the beauty and fashion industry, with several outlets across South Africa.

Born to an Awori father, and a mother from Ikorodu both in Lagos, Yusuf studied Ticketing and Reservation at Anis International School of Aviation, in Lagos.

He also bagged a degree in Public Administration from the prestigious University of Lagos.

Given his experience as a tourist, he set up a complete travel and ticketing agency then known as OlaMayo Limited fully registered in South Africa. And in less than two years of operation, it became a success story.

Olaseni’s propensity to build structures and reinvent himself as a leader is proven, since he relocated back to Nigeria in 2017.

In his words, “people merely survive in Nigeria. The day-to-day life in Lagos is quite challenging. I did not realise that until I began travelling to experience other cultures and climes.

“Give it to Nigerians. Comparing life in Nigeria to some of the cities I have travelled to around the world, I’ll say it is more hectic here. The average child that goes to school and graduates here in Nigeria must be really determined. And that is my story, I can identify with that.

“Our education, health and other core sectors are not as well structured as what is

obtainable in developed countries globally.

When the basic amenities are provided, it makes life easier for citizens. However, there are abilities in disabilities. Anyone that can survive Nigeria can live through anywhere else in the world.”

So far, he has travelled to not less than 19 countries across different continents, including the US, Canada, UK, UAE, Turkey, Belgium, France, Holland, Singapore, Kenya and Ethiopia.

He thinks of himself as privileged to be where he is today, even though he did not grow with a silverspoon. He grew up with his mother, a trader in raw foodstuff, and a one-time distributor of Dangote and BUA products in Daleko Market Mushin.

Although he started importation business on a small scale, he recounted how he added investment to scale up his importation business.

According to him, the property he inherited from his late father was sold, and the money amounted to N6 million.

The money, which was supposed to be shared between himself and his elder brother, was invested in his importation business, with then permission of his elder brother.

Married to a South African lady who runs a fashion business, Olaseni revealed that he decided to invest in the fashion industry in South Africa, after his wife complained about certain challenges her business was experiencing.

Ex-Ogun Governor, Gbenga Daniel’s Troubled Heart To say that Otunba Gbenga Daniel, a former governor of Ogun State, is troubled is an understatement.

This has nothing to do with either his political career or his 2023 senatorial ambition.

Society Watch gathered that OGD, as he is famously known, is distraught and confused over one of his businesses, Conference Hotel in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

It’s no longer news that the construction of the hotel had suffered several setbacks and difficulties before its completion. It all began after he left power in 2011. How? His successor, Ibikunle Amosun, who came under the umbrella of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), had allegedly literally inflicted so much pain on him, as many of his property, including his multimillion naira hotel in the state, were allegedly seized.

Following the recommendation of the

Daniel

Committee set up by Amosun, the government had revoked the Certificates of Occupancy (Csof- O) granted to Gateway Front Foundation (GFF) and the Golf Resort Hotels in Abeokuta, the state capital.

The recommendations were contained in the Ogun State of Nigeria Gazette No. 6 Volume 37. The gazette stated that the government of

Ogun was taking over the said properties in the public interest, “as there is allegation that state funds were used in the construction of the hotels.”

The government also maintained that “no money shall be paid as compensation to Daniel, GFF or Golf Resort Hotels Ltd until the said allegations are determined.”

Consequently, the hotel was taken over by security personnel, who barred the former governor from gaining access to his private property.

Not only that, the building was looted by hoodlums who carted away virtually everything in the hotels, including air conditioners, refrigerators and bedding materials, among several other things.

Sadly, the architectural masterpiece, which oozed taste and wealth, was in ruins and became a shadow of itself.

But Daniel was said to have heaved a sigh of relief when Amosun left office.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ JUNE 24 2012

ARTS & REVIEW A

PUBLICATION

5.12.2021

THE NATIONAL GALLERY AND THE ALLURING QUEST FOR AN EDIFICE The wide consensus at the recent Stakeholders’ Forum organised by the National Gallery of Art in Lagos seems to tilt in favour of building a befitting edifice for the gallery and while downplaying a grassrootsdriven gallery culture. Okechukwu Uwaezuoke reports

J

ust when exactly the quest for a beÀtting National Gallery of Art ediÀce became its leadership’s recurrent mantra is no longer so certain. But any no iota of doubt that it has become the current Ebeten William Ivara-led management’s predominant pheromone should have been dispelled by recent events.

First, in an interview published in the gallery’s in-house magazine Artivity, Ivara deplored the nonexistence of an ediÀce for the National Gallery of Art ² which is often abbreviated as NGA ² in the federal capital.

“We urgently need an ediÀce to showcase the creative genius of Nigerian artists,” he was quoted to have said. “The >National@ Gallery of Art is very important. We have to think about building a gallery ediÀce, a house of arts where the works and creativity of those prominent persons in the Àeld of art will be displayed and properly kept to attract tourists.”

Months later during the Stakeholders’ Forum, which was held on Friday, November 26 at the NAN Media Centre in Iganmu, Lagos, his recurring emphasis on this quest seemed to inÁame the smouldering passion of cultural activism in many. “On my appointment and eventual assumption of o΀ce, I made the building of an ediÀce, a cardinal part of my agenda,” he disclosed in his brief welcome address.

Thus, he left no one in doubt about his resolve to make this quest the focal point of that penultimate Friday’s stakeholders’ meeting, which was the third edition. “No country worth its salt can do without a world-class structure for its Gallery of Art,” he added.

Talking about the Stakeholders’ Forum itself, there could have been no better choice as a guest speaker than the renowned art collector Omooba <emisi Shyllon. Shyllon’s credentials as possibly African’s largest collector and the Ànancier of the Pan Atlantic University-based <emisi Shyllon Museum of Art ² known as <SMA #PAU ² made his choice for this task the right one. Hence, the event’s moderator Mufu Onifade, to whose lot the duty of reading his citation fell, found much of his job made much easier.

As for the title of the lecture (“Gallery EdiÀce as a Major Drive for DiversiÀcation of Nigerian Economy”), few stakeholders have been as passionate about it as this Abeokuta prince. Besides, the fact that he is also a fellow of a handful of professional bodies ² namely, the Nigerian Society of Engineers, the Chartered Institute of Marketing of the UK, the Chartered Institute of Stock Brokers, the Nigerian Institute of Management, the Institute of Directors - Nigeria and the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria ² and a member of one ² the Nigerian Bar Association ² further burnished his oratorical integrity.

The polymath, who is not known to sugarcoat facts, went straight for the jugular as soon as he took his place behind the lectern. “Since its establishment in 1993, our NGA has failed woefully to fulÀl its primary vision of becoming a world-class gallery and global tourist destination, particularly its failure to organise and position a permanent

An artist's impression of the proposed National Gallery of Art edifice

The NGA DG Ivara delivering his welcome address

Guest speaker at the Stakeholders' Forum, Shyllon, addressing the audience

exhibition space for its collection in creating a national ediÀce for fulÀlling the main purposes of its establishment,” he blurted out.

But this was only a prelude to the actual bombshell. And this was how his oͿer three years ago to the NGA’s leadership to contribute to the birthing of a virtual gallery in the absence of the needed support of its parent ministry was turned down. According to him, he had as a member of the National Heritage Commission and Endowment for the Arts ² instituted by the former president Goodluck Jonathan ² oͿered to lead the private sector to build an ediÀce for the NGA. This was on the condition “that such a national gallery shall be led and controlled by the private sector with government as >an@ only minority stakeholder.” But, his oͿer, he said, was “dead on arrival in acceptance.”

Perhaps, the most worrisome fallout of the NGA’s cardinal sins ² gleaned from Shyllon’s

speech ² is the potentially huge revenue loss caused by the absence of this ediÀce. And one of these alleged NGA’s cardinal sins ² being stuck in a time warp ² frustrated the guest speaker’s inability to display his table of “Comparable Statistics for National Galleries In 10 Countries”, which was sourced from the World Bank, Wikipedia, Forbes and Indexmundi.

Trust the guest speaker ² almost legendary for his gift of gab ² to have practically everyone in the audience eating out of his hand.

And that could be why the fact that he harped on about Nigeria’s loss of a potential annual income of 56 billion earned him the listening and concurring ears of many in the audience.

Seated among this audience, by the way, were such eminent artists as the one-time Guild of Fine Arts president Edosa Oguigo, the Society Nigerian Artist’s Lagos State chapter’s former deputy chairman Dotun

Alabi, the University of Lagos lecturer Dr Bolaji Ogunwo and the Universal Studios of Art chairman Bunmi Babatunde and gallery owners like Signature Art Gallery’s Rahman Akar and the Mydrim Gallery’s Sinmidele Adesanya.

Among the guest speaker’s notable proposed way forward are the creation of a national gallery in compliance with the digital world, the creation of programmes and activities aimed at sustaining a continuous symbiotic relationship with artists and the exploration of new areas for national collection growth. Of course, there is also the inevitable setting up of a committee of stakeholders as well as the continuation of discussions on the value of art and making the gallery more accessible to Nigerians.

Perhaps, what should be deemed the most important feature of his list of recommendations, which sounded mostly didactic, if not sometimes pontiÀcal, is the need for such a longed-for and muchsighed-over ediÀce to be preceded by a thriving grassroots gallery culture. The subsequent speakers, swept along the tide of his opinion, were too intent on making the NGA take the Áak that they seemed to downplay this ground-up possibility.

Curiously, with their sights set on a brandnew ediÀce, no one ² except for the NGA’s director-general Ivara, during his interview with Artivity ² thought about exploring the use of any of the abandoned public ediÀces as a stop-gap measure to house the estimated 5,000 artworks in the national collection.

Undeniably, the need for a gallery ediÀce is imperative, as virtually everyone at the Stakeholders’ Forum agreed. Ditto to the recommendation to make it a private sectordriven initiative. Still, a lot of work needs to be done in a bid to carry along huge swathes of the artists’ population, which exist in the oblivion of either the NGA or even the SNA.

EDITOR OKECHUKWU UWAEZUOKE/ okechukwu.uwaezuoke@thisdaylive.com

60

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 5, 2021

ARTS & REVIEW\\LITERARY CAFÉ

(L-R) Reuben Abati, Toni Kan and Chief Yemi Ogunbiyi

AT LABAF 2021, STAKEHOLDERS MULL BOOK SECTOR IMPROVEMENT Yinka Olatunbosun

O

ne of the most profound sessions at the 23rd Lagos Book and Arts Festival, LABAF was the Publishers Forum where stakeholders in the book sector charted new thinking for

the sector s development.

The session which had as its theme ‘Getting books to readers across the country and the Role of Library and Resource Centres in Getting Books to Readers was moderated by Mr Richard Mammah, President, Network of Book Clubs and Reading Promoters in Nigeria, NBRP. It was coordinated by Segun Aribisala on behalf of CORA and supported by 4uramo Publishing.

The book industry players were

urged to raise their voices and make their activities more visible through enhanced public awareness and sensitisation.

It was also agreed that the full implementation of a National Book Policy within the shortest possible time would help to resolve some of the challenges that beset the sector and threaten the knowledge economy.

The stakeholders resolved to encourage the attachment of functional and

viable book clubs to all libraries in the country. In addition, they want all governments across board, and particularly at the local government area level, to establish, maintain, staͿ and furnish at least one community library per LGA, whose book stock must be renewed and updated annually.

That going forward, libraries should be seen and regarded as more than ‘houses of books,’ but even more appropriately as ‘living community houses and centres of ideas and culture’ where unfettered dissemination and transmission of information is maximally encouraged and takes place,” read the communique signed by Jahman Anikulapo, the founder, LABAF. Besides clamouring for conditions that can lead to improved readership patronage, stakeholders are optimistic that the establishment of a ‘National Books Distribution Company’ as a practical vehicle for lowering distribution and marketing costs will strengthen the distribution network for books and ease availability.

In addition to the tradition route of book publishing and distribution, publishers are urged to take advantage of the Information Technology tools to package their contents for readers across various formats (audio books, e-book, 9-book, braille etc) to encourage and promote reading amongst the youths.

The stakeholders were drawn from, among others, the Committee for Relevant Art, the Nigerian Book Fair Trust, the Nigerian Publishers Association, the Booksellers Association of Nigeria, the African Library and Information Associations and Institutions, and the Network of Book Clubs and Reading Promoters in Nigeria.

Some of the select speakers and panelists that made presentations were Mr. Dare Oluwatuyi, Chief (Hon.) Uchenna Cyril Anioke, Dr Nkem Osuigwe, Mr. Gbadega Adedapo, Mr Dotun Eyinade, Iquo DianaAbasi, Farida Ladipo-Ajayi, Princess Irede Abumere, Mrs Funmi Ilori, Amara Chimeka, Rufus Onaopemipo and Ademola Adefolami.

LITERARY CAFÉ

ANTICIPATING MBOM UZO FESTIVAL, A FESTIVAL THAT CELEBRATES A PEOPLE’S HOMECOMING Onyeka Nwelue

I

n 1821, centuries after the Portuguese Àrst arrived and met with the Igbo people in the 15th century, as my recently deceased grand-uncle Nze Christopher Nnadum would tell me.

My paternal great-great-grandfather, Nze Ukwu Nnadum, asked that Nwangborie Iwundu, a woman from Umuezeala Nsu, who was sold into slavery to the Portuguese merchants, be allowed to return to Nsu, from where she had been taken as a slave and sold to the Portuguese.

It was Nwangborie Iwundu who brought Christianity to my village and helped begin the building of St. Paul’s Cathedral in 1903.

A scene played out in my people’s history.

It is about Nwangborie Iwundu. When the envoy of Eze Nsu Palace travelled, they heard someone speak like them; in the same accent and intonation.

When my grand-uncle told me the story of my paternal great-great-grandfather, Nze Ukwu Nnadum, how he was the Royal Court Adjudicator at the King’s Palace and how he translated for the palace when the Portuguese arrived my town, I needed to know how he learnt to translate. That question was never answered, because nobody knew. It’s still a mystery that I am trying to understand till today. However, I am quite sure that I belong to the Nze na Ozo caste, which is the caste of intellectuals.

According to this piece: “Madam Nwangborie Iwundu born on Orie day, the second market day in Igbo land was renowned as a woman who God used to introduce and advance Christianity in Ezeoke land and neighbouring towns. She was sold into

Nze Nwelue Nnadum

Nwada Ezeoke Nsu

slavery, waiting to be transported to the western world to serve in tobacco and sugar cane plantations.”

As history has it, men from Ezeoke-Nsu notably oil merchants but nicknamed “Ndi Potokiri” (Ekeoba, Duru Ochie etc) travelled to Arochukwu to sell palm oil to the Portuguese; while these men were in the market, they came in contact with a woman called Nwangborie who spoke Igbo with Nsu accent. Through some interrogations, these men discovered that Nwangborie Iwundu was a native of Umuezeala-Nsu, a neighbouring town to Ezeoke-Nsu. She narrated that she was sold into slavery by her own people as she then resided in the king’s palace as one of the king’s concubines.

Consequently, the men from Ezeoke-Nsu informed Madam Nwangborie that slavery had been abolished in their land and Madam Nwan-gborie showed immense interest to return home and settle with her people. She was given directions on how to locate home.”

Looking back at this time in history, one can aͿord to conclude that it was the power of language, the language of authenticity, the authenticity of the woman to even stick to her accent, that saved her. Her authentic voice was her salvation.

Nze Ukwu Nnadum, my ancestor, as I was told, was the Royal Court Adjudicator who interpreted languages and laws for the people.

He belonged to the Nze na Ozo caste, which is part of the Igbo caste system. Today, they

can be compared to the Senate and House of Representatives - or, broadly, as a member of the House of Parliament. As widely known, the Nze na Ozo society is the highest and most important spiritual, religious, and social grouping in the Igbo society of Southeast Nigeria. Initiation into the aristocratic Nze na Ozo society marks the person as nobility, but it is hereditary. Other castes are not allowed into this sect because there is a certain way they communicate and carry themselves, with utmost elegance, just like one conscious of his genealogy. The Nze na Ozo caste, comes after the Diala caste - who are known to be the landowners.

Almost every 20th of December, or thereabouts, there is the Mbom Uzo (Ibo Uzo in Igbo Izugbe) Festival, which celebrates the home-coming of Urashi to Nsu. This festival was so elaborate in the past and observed by many, with the rituals that would take place before the procession of people to the market.

Slowly, the traditions of Ezeoke Nsu began to fade away. Nothing much is practised there.

Now, the question is, how do we restore the visibility of these gorgeous festivals?

With the advent of Christianity, there is a break down in hierarchy, that people began to refuse to adhere to classiÀcation, which I assume is important in keeping the society in check.

For the legacy of Nwelue Nnadum, we are doing our best to also remember his birth on 20th December every year.

Nwelue is an Academic Visitor at the University of Oxford’s African Studies Centre He is author of over 11 books, including the recently published The Strangers of Braamfontein

61

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 5, 2021

BOOK REVIEW

Books on Adenuga's Quotes Let out His Witty Mind Akeem Lasisi

U

nlike many other prominent Nigerians, Otunba Mike Adenuga is not a party person. He is not a billionaire you will spot at many social gatherings.

This is to the extent that if he attends your event, you almost deserve to hold a special thanksgiving for the feat.

Because he is not an afternoon crawler – let alone a night crawler – or someone you see even at many corporate venues speaking on diͿerent issues, it is not easy to get an insight into his perspectives about many issues.

Many could even think he must be an introvert, or a sadist as the case may be. Ironically, inside the Ijebu-born business mogul lives a boisterous, vocal and witty personality that must be very interesting to encounter. When he is in his own world, he generously dishes out profound views on matters cutting across diͿerent areas of life. Indeed, he can blow so much vibes and ‘yabis’ that you would Ànd it unbelievable that he is the same ‘introvert’ character.

This is the revelation from a bouquet of three books I recently came across about the mortal behind big business organisations such as Globacom and Conoil. Titled Memorable Quotes at 55, Memorable Quotes of the Great Guru (Part 2) and Memorable Quotes of the Guru (A Compendium in Commemoration of his 60th birthday), they are a catalogue of quotes by The Bull, as Adenuga is also called. But they are not just your usual books of quotes. Rather, they are presented in the form of cartoons, with each quote Áowing out of the mouth of the subject, who appears on every page in the form of a caricature. This is how every page keeps you learning and laughing.

In many of the quotes, which emanated not from prepared texts but from direct encounters with staͿ, Adenuga comes out as a business leader with a strong vision and personal conviction. In some, he speaks from a mind with the added mission to make a point on behalf of his community, country and continent, in terms of the need to bless his space with his ideas and other means.

In several quotes Adenuga exudes the aura of a corporate leader desirous to mentor people – his managers and staͿ. Here are some of such: - There is no school to learn to be C.O.O or Chairman.

- In life, you must always have a back up to a back up.

- At least, when history is written, it will be said that Adenuga did it diͿerently. He did his own way.

- If we don’t develop our country, no foreigner will come and develop it for us.

- Gentlemen, I have always known my strengths. One of them is to look through people and identify talents. That guy is good.

- At Glo, what we have with our partners isCatholic marriage, not a man and his mistress that jumps from one bed to another.

- Can I crash the tariͿ and drive these jokers out of the market?

Yet, while he can be compassionate with words in many of the thoughts presented, he is brutal with facts, threats and admonition in many. But what seems to be most revealing about the billionaire also called the Gamechanger, based on how Globacom entered the telecom market with per second billing, is that he is incredibly witty and humorous as he is a bunch of sarcasm in a good number of the quotes.

As a matter of fact, it seems that he talks not just to get the business done, but he also does so to enjoy himself s a creator and successful nurturer of ideas: - Rule No 1: The Chairman is always right.

When he is wrong, refer to Rule No 1.

- Please, respect our presence round this table. I don’t have to be here. I have 2 jets packed at the airport. My mates are in Bahamas.

- Gentlemen, your department is the sick bay of this company.

- I may have been born at night but certainly not last night.

- He says ‘No problem’ and that is the beginning of problems.

No wonder, in the foreword to Memorable Quotes of the Guru the editors describe him as a human-oracle. They note, “We deem it most auspicious to present a compendium of some of the words that have emanated from him – words sometimes so ferociously hot that that they can make hearts freeze in serious contemplation, words sometimes so soothingly warm that they tear the thin layer that veneers his stern business disposition and magnetically draw you into his amiable personality, words that have the power to inspire and motivate to unimaginable levels of performance and achievement.”

Here are some of other quotes from the latest in the series of the books: - We need to empower middle-level management. That is the what will drive this company.

- We are going for broke with a lot of hard work.

- Borrow, beg, cajole: we will Ànd the money.

- On technology and infrastructure, we will always beat them. Money is not an issue.

- This is myopic. Can you give me a more robust and aggressive presentation, so that I can take the market?

- You can’t pull the wool over my eyes because I am a Nigerian.

- Women are like witches. They are very nice to you when they know you have just made some money. They can even call you ‘Daddy’ if you are lucky.

- My friends, I’m your boss. I’m not your colleague.

- You are sending me text messages and calling me every now and again. That is abuse of access.

- If not for pretty girls, I would have called it a day. Why do you think I’m behind this desk?

- Globacom is too big a brand. I will not let you rubbish it for me.

- Stop bringing me house girls to employ.

Go to Globacom and see some pretty girls.

- Let’s take the business to where our bread is buttered.

- Uncle, stop sleeping. The rich don’t sleep.

You pay people to sleep for you.

- Pleases, speak the truth – no padi padi here.

- I will send you to your village if you don’t get that job done.

- Bros, do your best to make sure that it happens. If it does not work out, I won’t resolve it in your favour.

- You send me one text message, you don’t hear from me, and you conveniently go to sleep. I am the Chairman, I cannot be chasing you over the place. You have to learn my way.

I cannot change for you or I show you the way out.

- When a man has made a little money, he might as well spend a bit of it to buy some honour and prestige.

- If you don’t grab the opportunity, somebody else will grab it.

62

SUNDAY DECEMBER 5, 2021 • T H I S D AY

63

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 5, 2021

CICERO

Editor: Ejiofor Alike SMS: 08066066268 email:ejiofor.alike@thisdaylive.com

IN THE ARENA

Now Branded Terrorists, will Bandits Get the Boot?

Initially unencumbered by any deterrence, rewarded with ransom for kidnapping, raping, robbing and murdering both the rich and poor, will the court-sanctioned rebranding of bandits as terrorists become their waterloo, Louis Achi asks

S

aint Augustine, the Algerian-Roman philosophertheologian who lighted the candle of Christianity in pagan Roman Empire moved the poser: “What are kingdoms without justice? They’re just gangs

of bandits.

What are kingdoms without justice? They’re just gangs of bandits. Saint ...

Saint Augustine “What are kingdoms without justice? They’re just gangs of bandits.”

This irksome, criminal social malady, which has evolved from the old fashioned robbery, kidnap-for-ransom, among others, to swatting fighter aircraft from the skies like flies, has finally forced a definitive, offensive stance from the federal government.

Ruling on an ex parte motion filed by the federal government, Justice Taiwo Taiwo a the Federal High Court in Abuja had declared bandits anywhere in the country as terrorists, stating that such groups as Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda are nothing other than terrorists.

In his reaction to the court’s verdict, Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Justice Minister, Abubakar Malami (SAN), announced that the federal government would now deal ruthlessly with all terrorists groups and their sponsors with a view to bringing a lasting solution to the nation’s dire security challenges.

“The development is a pointer to the commitment of the federal government to adhere to international standards in respecting the rules of engagement in the fight against terrorism, separatist organisations, insurgency and banditry in the country,” the AGF said in a statement through his media aide, Dr. Umar Gwandu.

Also speaking in an interview, he recalled that a court order had been sought and obtained and would soon be gazetted.

He further clarified that as a challenge that kept evolving, contrary to the assertion that it took too long to declare them terrorists, the government needed to address the issues as they arose, stating that terrorists should be

described as “terrorists within the context of the order granted by the court.”

For emphasis, the AGF added that the appellation is now in force even when the court order has not yet been gazetted.

According to him, the gazette is a formal process, adding that it doesn’t take away the legality and effectiveness or the legality of an order of the court.

He also noted that all the security agencies have the information on the new status.

The federal government decided to approach the court for the order following a directive by President Muhammed Buhari upon receiving a legal opinion from Malami on the issue.

The AGF had, in an October 29, 2021 letter to the President, advised him to move against the various bandit groups in the country, particularly the likes of Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda because their activities were threatening national security and existence.

The president gave his approval on November 3, 2021 following which Malami directed the Director of Public Prosecution of the

Federation (DPPF), Mohammed Abubakar, to lodge an application before the Federal High Court, Abuja to that effect. The application, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1370/2021 was filed on November 9, 2021 by the Assistant Director, Public Prosecution of the Federation and Head, Complex Case Group (CCP), Federal Ministry of Justice, Aminu Alilu.

It could be recalled that when the Northern Governors’ Forum (NGF) hosted northern political and traditional leaders a year ago, including the Senate President, ministers and the chairmen of Northern State Traditional Rulers led by the Sultan of Sokoto, they largely focused on condemning the #EndSARS protests and expressing support for censorship of social media.

It was Matawalle who declared that dialogue with bandits was still relevant, stressing that he would not abandon it because fire power alone cannot solve the problem of banditry in the state.

Hundreds of people have been kidnapped, mainly for ransom, by bandits in Zamfara and

neighbouring states in the past few years.

More, during a visit to his counterpart in Zamfara, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State suggested that governors in the NorthWest region should consider reconciliation with bandits to end the security challenges facing the region.

Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State had also tried a policy of rapprochement with the bandits and kidnappers but the results have been mixed. Killings and kidnapping have continued in the state.

But perhaps the stoutest and most articulate backer of bandits and advocate of negotiating with them is the Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi.

Incidentally, in the wake of their courtsanctioned declaration as terrorists, Gumi dismissed the development as political. The court decision, he said, would change nothing, the same way government’s previous declaration of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has not stopped the separatist organisation from its activities.

According to Gumi, “So, it’s just a nomenclature which I believe will not change the dynamics on ground. If you can remember IPOB was also declared a terrorist organisation, the declaration was even backed by the order of the court but as you can see even the international community did not recognise federal government’s declaration of IPOB. So it has failed to be effective or to achieve the desired results.

“I sincerely hope that Nigerians will not take the herdsmen as terrorists but should regard the criminality of the few among them against innocent people as act of terrorism just as we see IPOB and their attacks on security agencies.”

Significantly the emerging consensus is that the declaration of bandits as terrorist is overdue and that the federal government, which has the constitutional monopoly of force, should crack down massively on bandits who are almost overrunning the both country’s governed and ungoverned spaces.

Now finally branded terrorists, will bandits get the boot? Big question!

P O L I T I CA L N OT E S

Ganduje: Unpretentiously Primitive!

Ganduje

If it’s about looks, then, you wouldn’t rate the Kano State Governor, Abdulhahi Ganduje. His look does not typify his very poor essence. Better described as unassuming, he is unfortunately, the opposite of his personae. Even for the optics, he can’t do better than himself.

Sadly, for a man who had spent roughly some 22 years in public office, both as deputy and substantive head, this Kano State governor has clearly learnt nothing about or admitted that power is indeed transient. He suffers sweeping insecurity as much as he boasts huge complex.

From his narrow and primitive mindset to his evidently vindictive disposition, how a character like Ganduje made it to such sensitive and high public office should elicit some interest in political science scholars. That education doesn’t reflect in his character is not even the problem

but the fact that he isn’t pushing for attitudinal changes is confounding.

Thus, for anyone very much familiar with this side of Ganduje, it was a sure bet he’d come after some persons in the state immediately a Kano High Court, last Tuesday, sacked the governorbacked faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state and upheld one supported by a former governor of the state, Senator Ibrahim Shekarau.

Not long after, the campaign office of Senator Barau Jibril, the lawmaker representing Kano North, who is also an intending governorship hopeful in the state, was attacked and burnt by thugs, allegedly sympathetic to the state.

Although the state government had denied this, expectedly, the police too have reportedly arrested some 13 people in connection.

And for anyone, who closely followed the governor’s feud with the recently deposed Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, till he was removed from office, some of the current developments in the state are not too far from what he is capable of doing. His disagreement with Sanusi was purely one stoked by his inferiority complex - for Sanusi’s awesome, elegant and dignified carriage.

What’s even the more worrisome is the fact that Kano is volatile and a flashpoint state to watch out for in 2023 as with previous elections. Therefore, for the governor’s hands to be identified in some of these unsavoury happenings means the unfurling violence already has an official stamp, and that, definitely comes with a price for all. No thanks to a mind unable to live above its weakness.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 5, 2021

64

BRIEFINGNOTES Okuwobi Stands Tall Despite Govts’ Criticisms While the federal and Lagos State governments have faulted the report of the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution on Lekki Toll Gate Shooting Incident and Cases of Police Brutality, Ejiofor Alike writes that one important fact they may have overlooked is the competence, courage and integrity of the Chairman of the panel, Justice Doris Tami Okuwobi

I

n Nigeria, it is quite unusual to see a panel set up by a government, indicting the same government at the end of its sitting. Many think that it takes extraordinary courage and integrity to do that. This is exactly what the Justice Doris Okuwobi-led Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution on Lekki Toll Gate Shooting Incident and Cases of Police Brutality, constituted by Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, last year did recently when it submitted its report.

Since the report was submitted on November 15, 2021, Justice Okuwobi has been celebrated not because she did the very difficult assignment, but because as the chairman of the panel, the outcome of the report is a reflection and clear testimony of the sterner stuff she is made of.

She could have compromised or succumbed to pressure, or tactically influenced others to follow suit, but she refused to toe that denigrating path.

Though there are other eminent people of integrity such as a former Deputy Inspector General of Police, Mr. Taiwo Lakanu (rtd); respected human rights lawyer, Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN); Director of Citizens Mediation Centre in the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Odusanya, the chairman of the panel set a standard, providing the moral compass that other equally men and women of integrity in the panel followed religiously.

Justice Okuwobi-led panel, which showed doggedness and courage in action had sat for well over one year, listening to testimonies of aggrieved petitioners, their witnesses, forensic experts and lawyers.

Those who know Justice Okuwobi closely feel that the courage and integrity with which she discharged her job was not limited to the panel, as she equally displayed these qualities all through her career as a private practitioner, civil servant and on the bench.

The panel, judging by the submission of the chairman, had divided its assignment and report into two principal segments to comprehensively capture and cover general cases of police abuses and the special case of the Lekki Toll Gate incident.

Expectedly, the startling revelations in the report have received massive reactions from the Nigerian public as well as the international community who had waited patiently for the outcome of the panel’s report.

Those indicted in the report, particu-

Okuwobi larly the Army, police and Lekki Concession Company (LCC) seem to be uneasy.

In the face of all denials by the Army, police and LCC that innocent lives were wasted at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, last year, the panel’s findings revealed the truth about what really happened at the “massacre ground,” contradicting the blatant denial by the federal and Lagos State government that no deadly force was used against the peaceful protesters.

All attempts to cover-up evidence of the shocking, abominable horror at the Lekki killing field were unmasked by the Justice Okuwobi-led panel.

The courageous panel had listed desperate measures taken by the soldiers, police and officials of the government to cover up evidence of the alleged massacre. There were several chilling shockers revealed in the report. For instance, it noted that the soldiers “removed many bodies and corpses

of fallen protesters which they took away in their vans.”

Another shocker was: “One of the protesters who was shot and taken for dead, Olalekan Sanusi, who eventually escaped to narrate his ordeal and experience, stated that 11 corpses were in the van, where he was placed in and presumed dead.”

Yet another bombshell: “Several unidentified bodies were removed by security agencies and LASEHMU (Lagos State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit) and deposited at various hospital mortuaries in Lagos State.

“Immediately after the protest, there was palpable fear that the Army and Police were visiting hospitals to ‘finish up’ the protesters to the extent that some of them could not return home immediately. Some of the protesters received threats and some were being trailed by unknown persons.”

Most commentators have noted that the

submission of the findings of the judicial panel would accelerate the process of justice and accountability if the government will treat the recommendations of the report with absolute sincerity.

Though officials of the federal and state governments have publicly or clandestinely condemned and disparaged the report, many know that it is not unexpected.

What Nigerians want to see going forward is the full implementation of the recommendations to the letter.

President Muhammadu Buhari had promised to speak on the issue as soon as the Lagos State government White Paper is out.

Though the Lagos State Government has released the White Paper where it accepted 11 of the 32 recommendations by the panel, it rejected the report of nine deaths.

Despite this disagreement, the panel has made its point, with the chairman and other members standing tall.

The eminent retired judge started her professional career with private practice and later worked as a legal practitioner with the chambers of Kehinde Sofola & Co in Lagos State from 1978-1979, after she bagged her LLB (Hons) at the University of Lagos in 1976 and her BL (Barristerat-Law) certificate from Nigerian Law School, Lagos in 1977. As she moved to the Lagos State Ministry of Justice as a State Counsel, she rose through the ranks to position of the Solicitor General and Permanent Secretary from 1996 –1998.

Her Lordship was appointed a judge of the Lagos State Judiciary on September 17, 1998 and has worked in virtually all the High Court divisions in the performance of her judicial functions.

During her time in service, she had handled huge special responsibilities under the judiciary for which she did well including; being the representative of the Chief Judge on the “Integrity Committee” (2002 – 2004), Member, Public Complaints Committee (2004-2006), Probate Judge (2006 – 2008), member, Election Petitions Tribunal in Ekiti, Ogun, Bauchi and Anambra State Panels (2007-2009), Administrative Judge, Ikeja and Lagos Divisions of the High Court, 2016.

For her, she has done her job the best way she could and acquitted herself. The ball is now in the court of the governments, civil society organisations and the victims to take it to the next level.

NOTES FOR FILE

Alleged Cultism in Lekki College

Adefisayo

Parents of Dowen College, Lekki, Lagos, were thrown into panic recently when news went viral that 12-year-old Sylvester Oromoni was tortured to death by a group of his fellow students for refusing to join cult group.

Oromoni’s death became public knowledge after a family member, identified as Perri, posted about the incident on social media.

On Wednesday, a family member alleged that the Junior Secondary School 2 pupil died from the injuries he sustained during an assault by fellow students who wanted to initiate him into cultism.

He noted that Oromoni suffered internal

injuries afterwards, and died while receiving treatment in a hospital.

However, a statement by Dowen College Principal, Mrs. Adebisi Layiwola, has denied the allegation, saying that “the whole incident was strange and unbelievable because the school had effective antibullying policies and consequences are well spelt out to all the students”. She further disclosed that the five students named by the deceased had been questioned by the school authorities, adding that no such incident of bullying occurred in the school.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folasade Adefisayo, has however announced the closure of the

school.

While not pre-empting the outcome of further investigation, the school authorities should know that mere questioning of the five accused persons was not enough to ascertain the truth.

No student would easily admit killing a fellow student.

The deceased was not known to have any mental case to warrant accusing his colleagues of such heinous crime.

Therefore, a comprehensive autopsy should be performed to ascertain the cause of his death, while the Police should also conduct discreet investigation and interrogate the five accused.

65

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 5, 2021

CICERO/ISSUE

As Anambra, EFCC Bicker over Watch List While Anambra State government is not taking lightly the fact that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has placed Governor Willie Obiano on its watch list, DavidChyddy Eleke writes that observers are strongly looking forward to what will happen after March 16, 2022 when he is no longer covered by immunity

A

head of the March 16, 2022 change of government in Anambra State, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has placed the outgoing governor of the state, Willie Obiano on watch list.

In a letter to the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) dated November 15, 2021, the commission requested the service to place the governor who as the time of filing this story was out of the country, on watch list and inform it anytime he is travelling out of the country from any of the international airports and other points of entry and exit.

While the spokesperson for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, did not give reason on how the commission arrived at its decision, sources close to it said the move was an indication that it may have been discreetly investigating the governor who though currently enjoys immunity from criminal prosecution, is planning to travel after handing over power to his successor, Prof. Charles Soludo.

However, it later became clear that the governor was placed on EFCC’s watch list based on petitions by some indigenes of the state, who accused him of mismanaging over N17 billion Paris Club refund and security vote.

The federal government had shared N388.3 billion among the 36 states and the Federal Capital as part of the reimbursement for the over-deduction on the Paris Club loan in December 2016.

Seven states reportedly got above N14 billion, four states got over N13 billion, two states received above N11billion and five other states were given amounts above N10 billion while the remaining 11 states got less than N10 billion each.

Anambra State was said to have received N11.3 billion.

The state governments had submitted their claims of over-deductions for external debt service arising between 1995 and 2002 to the federal government due to the First Line Charge deductions from Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations.

The debt service deductions concern the Paris Club, London Club and multilateral debts of the federal government and the states.

Many of the states reportedly shared their portions with their local governments mostly to settle the backlog of salaries and some of the state debts.

The federal government subsequently released the second tranche of the Paris Club refund totalling N243.7billion which was shared to the states and the Federal Capital Territory following the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari on May 4, 2017. Anambra State reportedly got over N6billion from the fund Many unnamed citizens of Anambra State were also said to have petitioned the EFCC, accusing the governor of allegedly frittering away the huge sums of money left behind by his predecessor, Mr. Peter Obi. Obi reportedly left billions of naira in the state’s coffers for his predecessor while handing over in 2014.

It was learnt that the EFCC had earlier invited some commissioners and principal officers over the alleged mismanagement of the state funds.

But the state Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr. C-Don Adinuba, has insisted that the

Obiano move against his boss was politicallymotivated by the All Progressives Congress (APC). He added that the action of the anti-graft agency was inelegant.

“Nigerians were dismayed that the EFCC went a new low on Wednesday, November 24, 2021, when it sponsored media reports claiming that it has placed Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State on its watch list.

“The EFCC provided no details of how Governor Obiano has been placed on its watch list, but made a reference to a letter it purportedly wrote on November 15, 2021, to the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) asking it to inform the anti-graft agency anytime the governor is travelling out of the country.

“Everything that can be wrong with politically-motivated statements like this one is obviously wrong with this statement. The EFCC knows full well that it is acting inelegantly in this instance, and so has tried as much as possible not to make an official public statement on the alleged placing of Chief Obiano on the watch list. It furtively gave a section of the media the news report it wrote based on ostensibly its letter to the NIS on November 15.

“Governor Obiano is out of the country currently and he travelled

through one of the country’s international airports. He did not disguise himself, but rather left the country with his identity fully disclosed at the necessary immigration point.

“The EFCC sounded more inelegant when it claimed in the sponsored press report that it received intelligence reports that the governor plans to “flee” from Nigeria once he hands over power next March 17 to the newly elected Anambra State governor, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo.

“Governor Obiano has a whole four months to remain in office as the Anambra State chief executive.

Nobody in Nigeria can circumscribe his constitutionally conferred immunity which shields him from both criminal and civil prosecution.

“The EFCC went too far to announce in November that it is observing him. We are not aware of any state governor who had up to four months to be in office and the EFCC went on to sponsor media reports that he was being investigated.

“It is, indeed strange that the EFCC is making a show that it is investigating a high public officer.

Anti-corruption agencies, like intelligence services, conduct their investigations discreetly, and not on pages of newspapers. Media trial has never benefited the EFCC.

“The whole nation knows those behind all the present histrionics about Obiano. They are those who didn’t want the November 6 election to hold. They are those in high places who unsuccessfully canvassed for emergency rule in Anambra supposedly on security grounds. They are those who masterminded the Birnin Kudu High Court charade in Jigawa State over the APGA leadership and, more importantly, the authentic APGA candidate in the November gubernatorial election in Anambra State. They are those responsible for the sacrilege of a customary court in Abuja issuing criminal summons to Professor Soludo, a former Central Bank of Nigeria governor. These people are still fighting the gubernatorial battle on behalf of their badly defeated friends and political associates in the Anambra vote. They will fail badly, as they have done in the recent past.

“The EFCC should not allow itself to be used by politicians who are mere birds of passage. Its ongoing Anambra drama is in bad taste. It did not serve Governor Obiano any notice. Nor did it invite him to answer questions about his service record. It just went to the press. Yet, the governor is willing to answer any questions about his years in office. After all, he has received a prestigious award from the United Nations Development Programme for social service integrity.”

On his part, a public affairs analyst, Carl Umegboro, who described EFCC’s action as politically-motivated, said it could drag Buhari’s name through the mud big time.

Umegboro argued that if Obiano who is presently covered by immunity from criminal prosecutions as a state governor has queries, making it public doesn’t show professionalism knowing that the broadcast gives the respondent an opportunity to be on the run.

“EFCC’s action was discernibly politically-motivated for vendetta with blackmails to appease some paymasters. But Buhari must not allow such nuisances to continue unabated considering that he takes all responsibility. Ridiculously, a performing governor with enviable capital projects to showcase embezzled security votes and public funds but those with nothing to show are saints.

“The dangerous implication is that the anti-graft agency has been hijacked and positioned for political abracadabra by desperate politicians. Emphatically, the president should consider reconstitution of EFCC. This ‘watchlists formula’ which was first introduced by Nuhu Ribadu during his tenure as EFCC helmsmen in Obasanjo’s administration for political persecution cannot flourish in this era. If the agency has substantial proof against any public office holder on corruption, the appropriate thing is to proceed accordingly. But to resort to media trials and blackmails, it is unacceptable.

“From observations, the ‘watch list’ only surfaces during election periods. So, Mr. President is under obligation to look into activities of the anti-graft agency which if not done expediently may affect credibility of 2023 general election and tarnish his hard earned reputation. The president’s policy of non-interference in duties of MDAs is constructive, however, he must ensure that all government agencies working for him discharge their duties ethically, diligently and responsibly.”

As March 16, 2022 handover date approaches, many Nigerians are eagerly awaiting EFCC’s next move and Obiano’s counter-action.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 5, 2021

66

CICERO/REPORT

Banishment as an Anachronism From the judgment of Justice Anwuli Chikere of the Federal High Court in Abuja last Tuesday, the banishment of the former Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, by the Kano State Government on March 9, 2020 was not only an archaic and barbaric tradition, but an illegality which does not have a place under the 1999 Constitution, Alex Enumah writes

T

he deportation or banishment of deposed traditional rulers in Nigeria by government has been an age-long practice. During the military regime when the constitution was suspended, Nigerians had witnessed how traditional rulers were banished.

Even during the colonial era, the Oba of Benin, Ovonranwen Nogbaisi, was dethroned and deported to Calabar in 1887.

There were also cases where the Emir of Kano, Ado Sanusi; the Alake of Egba-land, Oba Ademola; the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Adeyemi; the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki, and the Emir of Gwandu, Alhaji Mustapha Jokolo, were all dethroned and banished from their respective areas where they held sway.

Sanusi, who was seen as a reformist, had been critical of some government policies – a stance that frequently put him at loggerheads with ruling the politicians in the state. He was never shy of voicing his opinions on pressing issues within and outside the country. This seemed like a break with the tradition where an Emir can only be seen and not heard. More so, since the seat is not adequately protected by the Nigerian law, the norm has always been that even if a traditional ruler does not like the government in power, he exercises patience and act like he does; till the government’s tenure elapses, so as to protect his traditional seat. To many observers, it was just a matter of time before he would run into trouble So when the Kano State Government led

by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje dethroned the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, popularly called Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, on March 9, 2020 on claims of disloyalty and in-surbordination, and consequently banished him from Kano State to Nasarawa State, never to return to the state, many were not shocked.

However, it was obvious that the state government was biting more than it can chew as such an action is a breach of the1999 Constitution (as amended).

Little wonder a Federal High Court in Abuja not only described the action as archaic and barbaric tradition, but also unconstitutional.

Delivering judgment on a fundamental rights enforcement suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/ CS/357/2020, filed by Sanusi, the court presided over by Justice Anwuli Chikere, held that the Kano State Government has no power under any law to ban the former Emir from further visiting the city or to confine him to a particular part of the country without his consent.

Justice Chikere held that, having not committed any offence known to law, Sanusi should be able to enjoy the constitutionally guaranteed right of any Nigerian to reside in any part of the country, including Kano.

Justice Chikere, who upheld the argument

by Sanusi’s legal team led by Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), declared as illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional, the purported house arrest and restrictions placed on the former Emir by the Kano government, the police and the Department of State Services (DSS).

While the judge did not say anything about the dethronement of Sanusi as it pertains to the Emirate Chieftaincy Law 2019, she voided his purported banishment to Awe in Nasarawa State on the grounds that it constituted a serious infringement of his fundamental human rights.

The judge said: “Fundamental rights law is weighty, inalienable and cannot be wished away as done by the respondents in the instant case.

“There is no provision in the Nigeria’s supreme law (Constitution) that, where a person is dethroned, he should be banished to another place without his consent.

“Every Nigerian citizen must be treated with dignity, except where such a citizen commits a capital offence.”

The Kano State Government had, shortly after dethroning Sanusi, forcefully moved him and his family members, with the help of men

Sunusi of the police and DSS, out of Kano, first to Abuja, then to Loko (Nasarawa State) and later to Awe, also in Nasarawa State.

He was confined to Awe until March 13, 2020 when Justice Chikere issued interlocutory injunction restraining the respondents in the suit from further restricting Sanusi’s movement.

Respondents in the suit included the Inspector General of Police (IG), the Director General of the DSS, the Attorney General of Kano State and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF).

Sanusi, who said he was not challenging his dethronement, had argued in the suit that his forceful removal from the palace, movement to Abuja and later to Awe, where he was restrained, violated his fundamental human rights guaranteed under sections 34, 35, 40, 41 and 46 of the Constitution.

Justice Chikere, in her judgment last Tuesday held that the manner Sanusi was forcefully removed from the palace after his dethronement and taken, first to Abuja and later to Awe in Nasarawa State against his will, was a gross violation of his rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement.

She further held that the right to freedom of liberty and personal dignity granted under Section 34 of the Constitution cannot be violated as done by Kano government, the police and DSS, except with express order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

The judge declared as unlawful Sanusi’s purported banishment and proceeded to issue an order of perpetual injunction barring the first to third respondents from further arresting, detaining, harassing and containing Sanusi’s movement.

Justice Chikere declared as a nullity the Emirate Chieftaincy Law 2019 under

which the Kano State Government claimed to have acted, on the grounds that it was in conflict with express provisions of the Constitution.

The judge, who awarded N10milion damages against the Kano State Government, the IG and the DSS, also ordered them to offer public apology to Sanusi to be published in at least, two national dailies.

Reacting to Sanusi’s banishment, a lawyer, Mahmood Abdulbasit Adewole, condemned the action of the Kano State Government, describing it was unlawful and unconstitutional “The Government of Kano State has no right to act outside the clear and unambiguous provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (applicable to this case); even while acting under the state’s law, because Section 1 (3) of the 1999 Constitution provides for the nullity to the extent of the inconsistency of any law that contradicts the provisions of the Constitution. Section 35 (1) of the said Constitution guarantees the personal liberty of every citizen of Nigeria, except in the circumstances stated thereof. Section 41 (1) of the Constitution guarantees the right of every citizen to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof, and no citizen of Nigeria shall be expelled from Nigeria or refused entry thereby or exit therefrom. In the instant case, the Kano State Government has not been able to establish that the banishment of the dethroned Emir Sanusi from Kano State and his deportation to Nasarawa State were in accordance with the clear provision of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria. The Court of Appeal has settled this in the case of Government of Kebbi State

vs. HRH Mustapha Jokolo (2013) LPER. “In holding the view that the banishment was unconstitutional, we are not oblivious of the fact that Section 45 of the Constitution provides that “nothing in Sections 37, 38, 39, 40 and 41 shall invalidate any law that is reasonably justifiable in a democratic society – (a) in the interest of defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public health, and (b) for the purpose of protecting the rights and freedom of other persons.”

“Be that as it may, it is still our contention that the said Section 45 does not cover Section 35 of the same 1999 Constitution which guarantees the right to liberty. It is relevant at this juncture to state that the laws contemplated by the said Section 45 of the 1999 Constitution regarding the right to freedom of movement are no more than laws allowing the restriction of movement of the citizenry and imposition of a curfew during the threat or actual outbreak of war, violence, breakdown of law and order or an epidemic; or such laws allowing people suffering contagious diseases or psychiatric ailments to be confined to hospitals or psychiatric homes, while the instant case of the dethroned Emir does not fall in any of these categories.

“In conclusion, the competent court of law is the only recognised enforcer of any law that seeks to restrict the enjoyment of any constitutional right or freedom of any citizen in order to protect the right of that citizen and other members of the society. Therefore, no executive order of banishment or deportation can be justified under Section 45 of the 1999 Constitution, notwithstanding the rehash of the phrase “is reasonably justifiable in a democratic society”.

The Kano State Government, has however rejected the judgment and would be approaching the Appeal Court in the coming weeks.

67

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 5, 2021

GAVEL

Editor: Ejiofor Alike SMS: 08066066268 email:ejiofor.alike@thisdaylive.com

A broadcast studio

As House Moves to Regulate Broadcast Practice The House of Representatives recently passed for second reading a bill seeking to regulate broadcast practice in Nigeria, Udora Orizu writes

T

he House of Representatives at its plenary on November 25, 2021 passed for second reading a Bill seeking to regulate the practice of the broadcasting profession in Nigeria.

Over the years, the executive and legislative arms of government have through various legislations sought to regulate the media. In the past, governments had often relied on the media to communicate with the public on policies that will shape their everyday decisions, behaviour and general well-being. Similarly, the masses depend on the media to make known to the government their social and political views and expectations. However, with technological advancement and innovation, media freedom is in a downward spiral across the globe. The right to seek and disseminate information through independent media is under severe attack and threat.

Such instance was seen October last year when the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Àned three media houses namely ARISE NEWS Channel, Africa Independent Television (AIT) and Channels Television for reporting the October 20 #EndSARS at the Lekki Tollgate using eyewitness reports.

The regulator maintained that the media houses got the footages from unveriÀed and unauthenticated social media sources.

The NBC Act is a federal legislation which sets out, amongst other things, to regulate and control the broadcasting industry and set policies with respect thereto. Section 1 of the Act establishes the National Broadcasting Commission, the regulatory authority, and section 2 lists the extensive powers of the commission ranging from receiving, processing and considering applications for the establishment or ownership or operation of radio and television stations.

Section 2 (2) prohibits transmission by cable, television, radio satellite or any other medium of broadcast except in accordance with the Act. Furthermore, the Act provides for the procedure for obtaining licences and the granting of licences as well as terms of a

license and of renewal thereof. The commission is imbued with the power to enforce the National Broadcasting Code made pursuant to the Act. The NBC is viewed by many as lacking in independence as it is directly under the control of the Minister of Information and Communications as well as the President. It has been repeatedly accused of being quick to muzzle privately owned broadcast stations with little or no justiÀcation while turning a blind eye when government owned stations violate the provisions of the Broadcasting Code, particularly during electioneering periods.

Also, the Nigeria Press Council Act is a federal legislation that provides for the establishment of the Nigerian Press Council “to promote high professional standards for the Nigerian press, and deal with complaints emanating from members of the public about the conduct of journalists … and for other matters connected therewith.”

The council is also charged with monitoring the activities of the press with a view to ensuring compliance with the code of professional and Ethical Conduct of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (sections 3 and 9).

Few months ago, media professionals rejected move to amend the Nigeria Press Council (NPC) and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) bills.

The Nigeria Press Council was established as a regulatory agency for the profession.

The body was championed by media owners before it was taken over by the government.

An attempt to amend the Press Council bill has now generated controversy.

The bill titled “A Bill for an Act to amend the Nigeria Press Council Act CAP N128, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1992 to resolve bottlenecks aͿecting the performance and make the council in tune with the current realities in regulating press and for related matters” was sponsored by the Chairman of the House Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values,” Hon Segun Odebunmi.

A close study of the Bill reveals several contentious clauses. The law increases the

Àne placed on a journalist for publishing a false news from N2,000 to N20,000 upon conviction by the court to N250,000 Áat with an imprisonment of between six months and two years. It also increased the Àne for media houses from between N30,000 and N100,000 to between N1 million to N10 million with an option of total closure of such media house. Other provisions include the fact that media houses will now be required to pay a percentage of their annual Ànancial return to the Press Council as part of its funds, but however failed to specify the actual percentage, but vested the council with the power to determine the percentage to be paid. Under the old law, such percentage of fees and levy were paid by the NUJ, NGE, NPAN and BON. This is in addition of license fees, Ànes and penalties to be charged by the council.

The bills were resisted by Nigerians, including media solidarity groups, calling for the bills to be thrown out. Media groups called it draconian, but the lawmakers said it was aimed at oiling the machineries of the press for optimum performance. The media groups would have none of that as they launched a widely circulated advertorial that ran with the caption ‘Information Blackout,’ on the front page of many national dailies as well as television chyron and lead graphics on online media.

Shortly after in July, Odebunmi suspended the bills for more consultation.

Not deterred by the failed attempts in the past to regulate the media space in the country, the parliament seems to have begun yet another fresh move to regulate the media.

This time, the lawmakers passed for second reading a Bill seeking to regulate the practice of the broadcasting profession in Nigeria.

The proposed legislation titled, “A Bill for an Act to Provide for the Regulation and Conduct of the Practice of Broadcasting Profession in Nigeria and for Related Matters (HB.1150)” is sponsored by Hon. Olaifa Jimoh Aremu.

Aremu who presented the Bill for second reading said it seeks to establish a regulatory authority to regulate broadcasting in Nigeria, set required academic qualiÀcations and

ethical standards for broadcasters, broadcast journalists or broadcasting practitioners.

He also said it the Bill proposes that a person shall be qualiÀed to practice as a broadcaster or be identiÀed as a broadcaster only if such person has acquired or attained the prescribed academic or standard of training set by the council and such person has been so certiÀed and registered to practice as a broadcaster by the council.

On qualiÀcation to practice as a broadcaster, he explained that one can also be qualiÀed if prior to the commencement of the Act, such person has acquired requisite practical knowledge, training or experience in a recognised academic institution or broadcasting station or organisation which shall entitle the council upon veriÀcation to certify him or her as a broadcaster and register him to continue to practise as such.

According to him, “There shall be established a body to be known as the Broadcasting Practitioners Council (in this Act called “the Council) which shall comprise of broadcasting practitioners of the highest distinction in the broadcasting profession in Nigeria. The council shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal. The Council shall be charged with the responsibility and performance of the following general duties.

“Formal admission, certiÀcation and registration of persons seeking to become broadcasting practitioners. Formal admission, conferment of recognition or certiÀcation on deserving persons who have been trained or have been practicing or working as broadcasting practitioners prior to the commencement of this Act. Prescribing, determining and setting the standard of knowledge and skills to be attained by persons seeking to become members of the broadcasting profession and reviewing those standards from time to time. Regulating and controlling the conduct of the practice of broadcasting profession.”

It’s expected that a public hearing will be held on the Bill where various media stakeholders will give their inputs on the proposed legislation.

68

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 5, 2021

INTERNATIONAL Nigeria-South African Ties: PMB’s Call for People-to-People’s Rapprochement, a Desideratum

N

igeria’s relations with South Africa have generally been fraught with irritants since 1994 when the political enslavement of Black South Africans was ended, at least, temporarily. Temporarily, because Black South Africans have little economic power, as White South Africans control the South African economy.

Black South Africans suffer considerably from this situation and often wrongly hold foreigners, especially Nigerians legally residing in South Africa, responsible for their problems.

Apart from this, Black South Africans do not know much about Nigeria’s global leadership roles in bringing apartheid to an end.

And true, most South Africans did not and still do not know the sacrifices made by the Government and people of Nigeria in tormenting the White Supremacists and compelling them to have eyes that see and ears that hear. The sacrifices made by Nigerians were not simply the forceful deductions from the salaries of all government workers to assist the liberation movements, which prompted the international recognition of Nigeria as a Frontline State in the struggle against apartheid, but also the instruction given to every Nigerian holding the National Passport to use whatever means available to him or her to fight apartheid and its agents. The instruction was printed in the inner back cover of the old Nigerian passport. If South Africans are not much aware of the commitment of the Nigerian people to the freedom of black South Africans, the reasons cannot be far-fetched: as explained by the South African government, there used to be two wings of the African National Congress during the anti-apartheid struggle: national and international wings. Nigeria related more with the international wing, but not to the knowledge of the national wing.

In fact, when Brigadier-General Buba Marwa was Nigeria’s High Commissioner to South Africa, he drew attention to one radio-television discussion programme during which it was said that Nigeria engaged in the anti-apartheid struggle only for economic motivations. With this horrible thinking, no one should be surprised if there is always heightened hostility vis-à-vis Nigerians in the country. This factor alone largely explains the need for a better rapprochement between South Africans and Nigerians and why President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB)’s call for a people-to-people’s engagement in the relationships of the two countries is a desideratum.

Cyril Ramaphosa’s Visit and PMB’s Call Without scintilla of doubts, Nigeria-South African relations have witnessed development from the ordinary level of bilateralism to the level of Strategic Partnership and currently to that of Bi-National Commission (BNC). Bilateral ties have a general character. Strategic collaboration requires joint planning and harmonization of views. In both bilateral and strategic partnerships, only senior government officials are involved in negotiations. At the level of Bi-National Commission, discussions are generally held at the level of Vice Presidents and Presidents.

The Tenth Session of the Nigeria-South African BNC took place on Wednesday, 1st December 2021 in Abuja, Nigeria, with the receiving, and visiting, president participating. Thus, a BNC is necessarily a summit and the crescendo of bilateral consultations.

And like any summit, consultations had already taken place at the level of the plenipotentiaries and then the Ministers before the engagement of the two presidents.

During the summit, PMB called for greater emphasis on people-to-people relations. The call, though significant, was only towing the line of what the South Africans had already embarked upon, and this observation is quite evident in PMB’s own statement. In the words of PMB,‘some of the challenges identified during the last BNC have not been completely addressed. We need to ensure that our people-to-people relations are enhanced to a point where there would be no need for unhealthy competition.’PMB noted further that,‘in this regard, we need improvement in educational and scientific cooperation, mines and energy resources, transport and aviation, tourism, youths exchange programmes, trade and investments, and military cooperation.’

How do we explain the inability to address all the challenges identified during the 9th session of the BNC? Is it because of force majeure or lack of political will to address them? For sure, Nigeria’s foreign policy under PMB has always been most unfortunate because the foreign policy makers always ignore the situational and environmental reality of other foreign policies in Nigeria’s foreign policy and strategic calculations. For instance, PMB does

VIE INTERNATIONALE with

Bola A. Akinterinwa Telephone : 0807-688-2846

e-mail: bolyttag@yahoo.com

States, has been promoting South Africa internationally to the detriment of Nigeria’s interest. Does Nigeria expect South Africa to dance to the whims and caprices of Nigeria in this case? Nigeria’s policy makers should stop engaging in excessive dreams.

Realpolitik is the order of the day in international negotiations.

Nigeria’s foreign policy should not in any way be allowed to become beggarly. When considering the issue of a permanent seat, it should be for Africa south of the Sahara. Nigeria has been the main defender of Africa in her capacity as the terra cognita of the highest number of black people in the world. The Permanent Seat should be for the Black people of the world, in the same manner that the United States wants a seat for the Arab World.

There can be a seat for the Arabs, but it must never be a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul. There is no way in the foreseeable future that the struggle for such a seat would not be an issue. In fact, it already generated a diplomatic row at the level of NigeriaEgyptian relations.

Additionally, PMB applauded President Ramaphosa for initiating the Nigeria- South Africa Youth Dialogue which is expected to be inaugurated soon. PMB sees the Youth Dialogue as another veritable instrument for bilateral interaction and creation of shared values and aspirations. In this regard, if President Ramaphosa had already initiated the Youth Dialogue between Nigerian and South African youths, PMB’s call for enhancement of peopleto-people relations at the summit cannot but be a reaffirmation of and support for President Ramaphosa’s initiative. PMB is only towing the lead of his counterpart What is significant about the call for people-to-people relations and the expectation of the use of the Youth Dialogue as another veritable tool in the promotion of Nigeria-South African relations is that the two presidents are talking about citizen diplomacy, the second track of diplomacy. This is precisely what Chief Ojo Maduekwe, an astute politician and former Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, has advocated and called Citizen Diplomacy.

In strengthening official ties between Nigeria and South Africa, citizen diplomacy has also become a desideratum.

Citizen Diplomacy as a Desideratum Ramaphosa not want an unhealthy competition, implying that he is not opposed to competition for as long as it is healthy. In the conduct and management of international relations, it is the protection of the national interest that takes priority, nothing else. Unfortunately, too, the quest for protection of the national interest is also necessarily conflicting, because international politics is a conflict system. Consequently, the quest to protect one’s national interest often requires engagement in intrigues. For instance, there is absolutely nothing that the US Government cannot do just to protect the life of an American citizen.

We posit here that there is no way Nigeria can avoid an unhealthy competition and one illustration will suffice here.

One major reason why there has been much controversy on Africa’s permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is the question of whose candidature should be considered: South Africa or Nigeria? In this regard, African leaders initially wanted five seats to enable every region of Africa to have a seat, but which could not sail through, even following the Ezulwini (Swaziland) Consensus. The international community wants to consider the possibility of only two seats and out of the two seats, the United States wants Egypt to be given one, meaning that the other seat should be contested for by Nigeria and South Africa.

More interestingly, going by the conditions of eligibility, Nigeria is most qualified than South Africa and Egypt. Egypt is both an African and Arab country. There are international pressures to have the Arabs permanently represented on the UN Security Council, but the Arabs do not constitute a‘region’by UN definition. This partly explains why the United States is pushing for the candidature of Egypt, primarily because of their strategic needs.

In the same vein, South Africa only acceded to both recognized national and international sovereignty in 1994. Even though Egypt and South Africa contribute more to the UN in terms of assessed dues, none of them has contributed more to the UN in terms of UN peacekeeping operations than Nigeria.

Thus, the international community, and particularly the United

However, focus should not be simply on the youths in both countries. Emphasis should be on dialogue of professionals, young or old.

Many youths on both sides do not know much of the bitterness of apartheid. South Africans keep historical records but the same cannot be said of Nigeria. We once asked the Government of Nigeria to fund research into Nigeria’s roles in the dismantlement of apartheid. It has been to no avail. But when Professor Alaba Ogunsanwo observed that there is little regard for Nigeria in Southern Africa, in spite of Nigeria’s efforts at de-apartheidisation, that streets were named after Frontline States but not after Nigeria, and that, even at the protocolar levels, when Nelson Mandela died, Nigeria’s name was nowhere, Nigerians only complained bitterly, but to no avail. Any country that relegates history into oblivion must expect to be disregarded and unremembered in the future. To be reckoned with in international politics, one must have a record of achievements and reassert oneself when not properly acknowledged.Therefore, a bilateral dialogue between professionals in various disciplines should be encouraged.This is what can mitigate unhealthy rivalry, as professionals are the advisers of governments. Friendship and hostility begin in their minds.The professionals should begin to work closely towards securing the two Permanent Seats to be earmarked for Africa whenever the international community is ready to democratize the UN system.

Diplomacy, especially as an art, is one of the techniques of negotiation and relationship in multi-track diplomacy which includes citizen exchanges, international business negotiations, contacts and exchanges between religious leaders and followers, public opinions, and communication programmes. Citizen diplomacy is the engagement or involvement of the citizen in official diplomacy in various ramifications. The main rationale of citizen diplomacy is to assist in the attainment of foreign policy objectives.

In the context of Nigeria’s citizen diplomacy, Chief Ojo Maduekwe sees it as the centrepiece of Nigeria’s foreign policy which must meet the country’s development aspirations. In his eyes, citizen diplomacy requires that Nigeria’s diplomatic missions engage the Nigerian community abroad and the Nigerian Diaspora and to render to them quality consular and other services as a matter of rights, duties, and obligations. And perhaps more significantly, Chief Ojo Maduekwe posited that foreign policy making and implementation should be democratized to involve Nigerians in various climes rather than leaving it to a small circle of experts and practitioners alone. He suggested in addition the‘diplomacy of consequence,’that is the principle of reciprocity and rejected the criminalization of Nigerians based on despicable conduct of a few Nigerians. From the conceptual perspective of Chief Maduekwe, citizen diplomacy is all encompassing in terms of the scope of possible assistance to official diplomacy which is generally considered as track-one diplomacy while citizen diplomacy is seen as the second-track diplomacy.

The irritants in Nigeria’s relationship with South Africa are basically generated by the two peoples of South Africa and Nigeria.

Hostility often begins at the level of South Africa and then the people of Nigeria respond in the spirit of retaliation. Xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa are cases in point.

There were reported cases of xenophobic attacks against Nigerians and other Africans in 1998, 2000, 2008, 2009, 2013, and 2020. One untenable rationale for the attacks, apart from the national wing of the ANC not knowing what other African countries had done for South Africa during the anti-apartheid era, was the statement credited to the Zulu King. He said that all foreigners should leave South Africa because they were responsible for the economic adversities in his country. Nigerians were particularly accused of not only taking the jobs of South Africans but were also taking their wives.

Before then, institutional xenophobia already existed in South Africa. In 1913, the Immigrants Regulation Act was promulgated to ensure the exclusion of unwanted people. The Indians were specifically targeted. Besides the 1924 Township Franchise Ordinance was done to deny Indians residing in the country of municipal franchise. It was as from 1994 when the Nelson Mandela administration started to put in place policies of national cohesion and inclusiveness and that several thousands of Africans wanted to seek greener pastures in South Africa that South Africans also began to show hostility to the influx of foreigners. In fact, several hundreds of Nigerians were expelled in Zimbabwe for engagement in drug trafficking and the expellees opted to go to South Africa.

Read full article online - www.thisdaylive.com

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 5, 2021

ENGAGEMENTS

69

with ChidiAmuta e-mail:chidi.amuta@gmail.com

Which Presidency is it Anyway?

I

t is presidential succession season in Nigeria.

Even before President Muhammadu Buhari begins gathering his belongings from Aso Villa, a throng of successors is virtually at the doorstep imagining what drapes to change and which to keep. Some ambitious wives may already be practicing the dance steps of First Lady in anticipation of the big day. The parade of presidential aspirants is typically and predictably Nigerian. All men. No woman yet. Scarcely any of the starry -eyed youth of the generation that trooped out to rattle Abuja with the #EedSARS protests last October.

So far, it is a mixed grill of the familiar long -suffering cult of perpetual presidential aspirants: former governors,legislatorsandsomeanonymouspolitical quantities. They are being joined by a thin squad of not so familiar names ranging from academic technocrats, some bureaucrats, failed corporate executives and a few noisy lawyers whose legal practices have not done too well.

At this early point, party affiliation counts for little. Declare as an ‘independent parties to join a party later or join one of the myriad other parties except the APC and PDP who have their succession lineup fairly frozen. Better still, just wake up in your bedroom,donacostumethatfitsyourpoliticalfancy andposebeforeyourcellphonecamera.Declareyour intention and aspiration to save Nigeria on social media. Low budget politics in the era of everyman as celebrity is a new growth industry!These are still earlydaysinwhathasbecomeanationalcircusevery four years.

Inallfairness,theaspirationtoassumethehighest office in the land is a legitimate license that democracy freely grants every citizen. Democracy confers on all citizens the right to aspire to be president without charging you a fee. The theory is that in the absence of disabling factors such as criminal convictionormedicallyconfirmedinfirmity,terminal debility or proven insanity, every Nigerian is free to join a party, canvass an interest in or claim a right to aspire to become president subject to the rules set out by the parties.Therefore, the current parade of presidential aspirants is all within the parameters of the democratic ritual of legitimate rights and entitlements.

Over and above the charade and the comic pageantry of the season, it is also fair to say that a few of the known aspirants are people who mean well for the country.Their interest in Mr. Buhari’s job boils down to a desire to do a better job than the Daura herdsman.Buttheprimaryentryrequirementforthe cult of presidential aspirants is that one must fit into the mould of the specie globally recognised as zoon politikon, political animal. Politicians are a special breed. They are incurable optimists, instinctual salesmen of intangible goods and subscribers to a uniquelanguageinwhicheveryfantasyisapossibility.

Let us have the magnanimity to assume that we have in our midst Nigerian political animals with enough patriotic fervor to want to spend the next four to eight years worrying about everyone else’s problems. They want to chase bandits and Boko Haram around the savannah and the Nigerian end of the Sahel. They want to rescue those kidnapped, senddelegationstoassuagethosewhosewiveshave been raped.They want to worry about unemployed youth, women with unwanted pregnancies with no husbands,thepriceofcookinggas,ASUUonanother strike, undulating oil prices and the generous supply of fake drugs in public hospitals. I know a few good men and women who suffer insomnia because antiquated refineries are being fixed with billions of dollars every year but refine next to zero liters of crudeoil.Anotherfriendofminewantstobepresident so that he can attend climate change conferences since he could not be bothered to understand what it is all about. He already offered me a seat on the presidential jet if I can spare a few days!

What no aspirant will tell you is that they are applying for one of the most lucrative jobs on earth.

In truth, the Nigerian presidency is one of the most powerful offices on earth. It is replete with benefits and little mandatory responsibility in real terms.

There is a guaranteed four years of publicly paid endless vacation, rent- free housing, free food and wine for self, family and an endless string of hangers on and pointless guests. While the US president has free housing and attending butlers and other staffers,theoccupantoftheWhiteHousehastopay for food for himself and family as well as all food and drinks consumed by his guests except on officially scheduled state banquets.

In our case, there is the unstated limitless air miles and sometimes foolish foreign junkets in

Buhari search of ‘investors’ from backwater countries with economies smaller than Ikeja local government. A Nigerian presidential tooth ache is best checked in the best European dental clinics!

In the line of officially mandated duty, the presidency of Nigeria comes with unlimited powers and unfettered license, privilege, pomp and indulgence.

On paper, the Nigerian president is constitutionally fettered by the powers of a bi-cameral legislature and modulated by the presence of the judiciary. But in reality, the Nigerian president is a near absolute monarch. He can convert the legislature into a gigantic rubber stamp, inundate the judiciary with a collectionofbewiggedyesmen(andsomewomen!)as judges. Our presidents have been known to frighten off or blackmail many state governors into nodding obeisance in exchange for federal handshakes.

These excesses and abuses do not however detract from the reality that the presidency as an institution has evolved with time. A presidency that is merely 42 years old may not be expected to have acquired all the institutional refinements of those in older democracies. Yet from the inception of the presidential system in 1979 to the present, the character of the institution has evolved into a life and identity of its own. I take it that from 1979 to date, everything that has taken place at the seat of political power in Nigeria can be ascribed to the ‘Presidency’asthecentralinstitutionofgovernance and political authority.

We need to be clear about the cultural identity, historical necessity and philosophical basis of the PresidencyinNigeria’sdemocracy.Asanimmediate buthelpfulcontrast,theUnitedStatesequivalentto a philosophical premise for its presidency is rooted in its history. There was a need for America’s New World political authority to reject but also resonate with some trappings of the monarchical absolutism of old Europe from which America’s founders were fleeing. Above all, the political authority of the new nationneededtoembodythePuritanethosthatwove the pursuit of wealth and individual happiness into the heart and soul of a new creedal nation.Thus was born the US presidency as both ultimate authority, mandated dictator and perennially checkmated symbol of democracy.

Nigeria is both an ancient cultural collective and a modern nation state. We came into modern nation statehoodfromadiversityoftraditionalformations.

So, our supreme political institution must appeal to both dimensions of our heritage.We are a state that revers the ceremony of traditional authority but requires the governance management of a modern corporate state. So, the Nigerian presidency must combine ceremonial festival authority with executive fiat and the constitutional powers of modern statesmanship.TheNigerianpresidentisbothquasi

royalty and constitutional chief executive rolled into one.

As an institution therefore, the Nigerian presidency has evolved with time and the varying character of different occupants of the office since 1979. With Alhaji Shehu Shagari as the inaugural executive president of the new system, therefore, we had the rudiments of a Bureaucratic Presidency.

Bred and socialised into a British parliamentary political culture, Nigerians expected Shagari to adhere strictly to the best traditions of orderly British-style civil service governance. He was also expectedtobeguidedbytheoutlinesofWashington style presidential executive authority.The strength of the Shagari presidency derived from a trinity of structures. First, party supremacy ensured that the president was implementing the mandate of the party- the National Party of Nigeria (NPN).

Second, an orderly civil service ensured that the deep civil service state endured to stabilize the keel of government and insulate it from the vagaries of periodic change. Thirdly, a gamut of presidential executive appointees- Special Advisers and sundry aides- guaranteed that presidential orders were carriedoutwithadispatchthatjustifiedtheexecutive requirements of the new system.

The return of the military did not erode the centrality of the presidency as the new heart of power and nexus of political authority.With Ibrahim Babangida, we enter easily the most powerful and decisiveexecutivephaseoftheNigerianpresidency.

An army officer who came to power assuming the curious title of ‘President’ deserved special attention. This was the birth of the Imperial Presidency.

For Babangida, the presidency was not merely a source of governance direction. It was the centre of ultimate political authority and symbol of national power at home and abroad. For the bureaucracy, the spirit of the presidential system was to become real. Permanent Secretaries became Directors -General who would leave office the moment the tenure of the administration that appointed them ended.Theentirenationbecameauniformeconomic and political space, a landscape of wide ranging reforms towards a new economy, a new polity and a new society. National power was no longer a manner of speaking but a reality to be projected beyond our borders. Nigeria moved to alter the national histories of Sierra Leone and Liberia, to export trained manpower to third world countries, to summon the medium powers of the world into a concert of relevance. Nigeria moved and South Africa became free under a freed Nelson Mandela.

The presidency became a symbol of power, glory and influence.

After Babangida, Mr. Sani Abacha presided over a tragic shrinkage of the presidency to his personal

stature.Wole Soyinka opined then that the only way Mr. Abacha could rule Nigeria was to reduce it to his modest physical and mental stature. Enter the Autocratic Presidency. The presidency was reduced from an institution of national greatness to a pathetic object of personal aggrandizement and general political suffocation. Goons and killer squads stalked every island of liberty. Many lovers of freedom died needless deaths. The presidency becamethecentralmachineryofevilandrepression to the extent that peace and order could only be restored by the terminal subtraction of the autocrat himself.

The Babangida inspired imperial reformist traditioncontinuedunderanelectedPresidentObasanjo.

TheebullientOwuchiefcontinuedwithamoderated version of Babangida’s Imperial Presidency. This president was a combination of traditional chief, military general and cane-wielding chief executive.

The institution became an extension of the strong personality of a president with strong convictions about Nigeria and the world. For Obasanjo, the presidency would be strengthened if it became an institution for the establishment of other institutionsonwhichdemocracycouldthriveandgrow.Anti graft agencies were born to prosecute his almost personal war on corruption especially among state governors who did not share his political leanings.

After Obasanjo, we enter a phase that began with thenationalistictemperofMr.Yar’dua.Butfatedealt us a deathly blow in the rather brief tenure of Mr. Yar’dua, an altruistic good man with a bad health.

With Ya’dua and Jonathan, we enter a phase of rule by persons of anonymity. It is a ohase that that can be described as the “Presidency of Ordinary Things”.Nonewgroundsweretobebroken.Nonovel initiatives or bold strides. No innovation either in visionorenterprise.Onlyameresustenanceoftraditions, institutions, practices took place. At best an incompetent prefecture presiding over a self driven corruption gravy train at a slovenly pace and a desire not to rock the boat.This was the dominant temper of the Jonathan presidency. It was this timid posture that energized the 2015 clamour for ‘anything but Jonathan’. Political entrepreneurs invested in Mr. Buhari’s mythic antecedents to sell the world and the nation an incompetent militarist as a messiah riding on a mantra of ‘Change’.

With an elected Buhari as president, the presidency entered its present worrisome phase. A man elected as an executive president to preside over a democratic republic has been most deficient in exercising either executive authority or obeying the dictates of democratic civility . A slovenly civil service pace of governance has sometimes drained the life out of governmental processes. A detached monarchical absolutism has deprived Nigerians of the instant responsiveness of an executive presidency. A reliance on force and belief in fights has deprive the nation of the benefits of dialogue.

A certain monarchical distance has ripped apart the republic essence of Nigeria’s democracy. In its place, Mr. Buhari’s natural autocratic disposition has created a quasi garrison regime in which the military has been drawn into civil internal security assignments at a scale unknown under any other civil democratic presidency in our national history.

Under Buhari then, what we have is best described as an absolutist Monarchical Presidency.

It is precisely the many limitations of the Buhari presidency that have defined the agenda of the present scramble for his succession.Those who are currently consulting and canvassing their interest in the top job have their task well defined and jobs cut out.Awholegamutofnationaltravailsandcalamities define the current state of the nation. As it were, nearly all the factors that can kill a nation have been activatedbyMr.Buhari’smonumentalincompetence and lack of capacity to run anything bigger than a small agrarian local government.

Primarily, the next president has to cobble back the fabric of our nationhood to reassure Nigerians and the world that the Nigerian state will not finally fail.Intheabsenceofaviablenation,alltheparadeof aspirants will come to naught. An effective management of our diversity through inclusive governance requires a president that is first and foremost a Nigerian nationalist, not a sectional bigot. This requirement automatically disqualifies all those seeking to succeed Mr. Buhari because they hail from any so-called marginalised section of Nigeria.

It is not the turn of any geo-political zone to produce the next president. Rather, it is the turn of Nigeria to have an effective, knowledgeable and detribalised president. Nigerians have waited in the rain for over sixty years.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 5, 2021

70

NEWS

News Editor: Gboyega Akinsanmi E-mail: gboyega.akinsanmi@thisdaylive.com,08152359253

Osoba Defends Direct Primary, Urges Buhari to Sign Electoral Bill Says president submitted himself to direct primary 11 senators pay get-well visit to him in London Gboyega Akinsanmi A former Ogun State Governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba yesterday noted that direct primary, as provided for in the newly Electoral Act Amendment Bill, 2021, is the best means of selecting candidates seeking political offices.

Osoba, who chaired the committee that drafted the Constitution of All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2013, challenged President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the bill, noting that the president himself was a product of direct primary.

He made these remarks yesterday when 11 Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria visited him in London, where he is currently recuperating after a knee operation.

The visited came Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun and Speaker, Ogun State House of Assembly, Hon. Olakunle paid a get-well visit to the APC leader in London about three weeks ago.

The delegation comprised Solomon Adeola (APC, Lagos West), Kashim Shetima (APC, Borno Central), Isah Jubril (APC, Kogi East), Micheal Nnachi (PDP, Ebonyi South), Ayo Akinyelure (PDP, Ondo Central), Gershom Bassey (PDP, Cross River South), Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf (APC, Taraba Central), Sadiq Sulaiman Umar (APC, Kwara North), Tokunbo Abiru (APC, Lagos East) Bashiru Ajibola (APC,

Osun Central) and Hassan Gusau (APC, Zamfara Central).

While expressing appreciation to the senators, Osoba he would return home on completion of his treatment, adding that he was getting better by the day.

During the visit, the APC chieftain threw his weight behind the use of direct primary as a means of selecting candidates of all political parties as contained in the Electoral Amendment Act. He urged the president “to sign the newly passed Electoral Act, stressing that the president submitted himself to direct primary in 2019.”

He expressed confidence that the president would sign the bill, which according to him, made provision for the use of direct primary as a means of selecting candidates seeking different political offices.

He said: “I have a feeling he will sign it. The president himself is a product of direct primary.

He submitted himself to direct primary in 2019 throughout the country, heaven did not fall.

“After he subjected himself to direct primary throughout Nigeria in all the wards, he also subjected himself to a National Convention to ratify his election at the primary.

“And quote me, I had cause to tell him at our National Caucus during the Edo election issue that ‘Mr. President, if you can subject yourself to direct primary and national convention, I do not see why anybody should

be afraid of direct primary.

“I said this to him and we must be honest when we are talking to our leaders. That is why I believe that the president, having been a product of direct primary, will sign the law for direct primary,” he explained.

The former governor said the ninth National Assembly has done very well in supporting what they think is right for the executive and the country.

“In the case of direct primary, we are running a presidential system of government patterned

after that of the United States.

It is direct primary in US that we copied.

“Why are we selective? If we do not want direct primary, then let us go back to parliamentary system like India where party caucuses select candidates.

“We cannot be selective on some aspects of the presidential system that we practise while jettisoning what is its democratic content. The idea of ‘we’ governors handpicking should stop.

Let the people have a say.”

Speaking during the visit, the

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Solomon Adeola noted that the senators were in London and decided to pay the former governor a visit.

He said: “It is gratifying to see that Osoba is fast recovering from his surgery as evidenced in his personally coming to receive them at the door from the first floor and going back up with them to the sitting room upstairs.

Also at the meeting, Senator Kashim Shetima said they went

to London as Nigerians devoid of political party or regional colouration to wish him well as an elder statesman at 82.

Shettima, a former governor of Borno State, said: “As Senators of the Federal Republic, all of us are interested in the growth and progress of our nation.

“We did not come here for partisan consideration but to seek wisdom from an elder statesman that had contributed positively to the growth of the nation and still willing to do more even in advanced age.”

GREAT IFE… L-R: Chairman, Great Ife Advancement Foundation, Mr. Gbenga Oyebode; Mrs. Adebisi Ebiti; awardee and OAU alumnus, Alhaji Rafiu Ebiti; Pro-Chancellor/Chairman Governing Council, Obafemi Awolowo University, Owelle Oscar Udoji and Global President, Great Ife Alumni Association, Mr. Wale Olaleye at the inauguration of Great Ife Advancement Foundation and conferment of awards on distinguished alumni in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the university in Lagos…. yesterday …..

ETOP UKUTT

Amid Controversies, 82 CSOs Canvass Fuel Subsidy Removal Festus Akanbi About 82 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) under the aegis of Civil Society Coalition for Economic Development (CED) have hailed President Muhammadu Buhari over plans to end subsidy regime in Nigeria.

The coalition gave the commendation in a seven-point communique issued at the end of a conference of the coalition

in Abuja at the weekend.

In the communique by the convener, Yusuf Dan Maitama and the Secretary, Badaru Ayewoh, the coalition said it was a right step in the right direction.

The coalition noted that the subsidy regime was unsustainable, saying the best way to tackle the problem was to remove subsidy.

According to the communique, the conference, titled: “Fuel

Subsidy Removal in Nigeria”, was deliberately chosen in view of the realities of the times.

He said that if the money being paid as cost of fuel subsidy was channelled into provision of infrastructure and other social sectors of the economy, there would be growth and development.

They further recommended that fuel subsidy regime be stopped from January 2022.

They said the subsidy regime

was a major challenge forcing the federal government into external borrowing.

“The resource persons who are world class researchers in the oil and gas industry extrapolated issues bordering on Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, and identified Nigeria’s major economic challenges as that of active fuel subsidy regime.

“In the group discussions, participants were unanimous that Nigeria was the only country

in the world that sustained fuel subsidy regime for the past 20 years.

“The fuel subsidy regime was a capitalist and elitist policy that services only the top-heavy, hence, successive governments found it difficult to implement their economic policies.

“It was pointed out that the federal government spends N250 billion on fuel subsidy every month.

“The development, discussants

averred was largely responsible for national debts as revenue coming into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) account are used to settle the fuel subsidy.”

They pleaded with the organised labour not to embark on strike on account of ending subsidies.

The urged the federal government to forward a budget for N5000 grants to be disbursed to citizens to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal in 2022.

Buhari Mourns as Ex-Supreme Court Judge, Babalakin Dies at 94

Falana: White Paper on Lagos #EndSARS Panel Report is Illegal

Saraki Meets Lagos4Lagos, Seeks Defection to PDP

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

Segun James

Nseobong Okon-Ekong

President Muhammadu Buhari has condoled with the family of former Supreme Court Judge, Justice Oyegoke Bolarinwa Babalakin, who passed on yesterday, at theageof94.

The retired jurist was buried the same day, according to Islamic rites, at his Gbongan, Osun State, country home. Islamicprayersforthedeceased commenced by 4:25 p.m and was led by the Chief Imam and Mufusir of Osogboland, Alhaji Isola Maruf Olawale.

ChiefImamofGbonganland,Alhaji Salman Oloyede, thereafter supervised the burial.

Dignitaries in attendance included Malam Yusuf Olaolu Ali (SAN); Prof. Siyan Oyeweso; President of Muslim Ummah of southwest Nigeria (MUSWEN), Alhaji Rasak Oladejo; and Executive Secretary of MUSWEN, Prof.

MT Yahya.

OtherswereChiefBayoOyero,Alhaji AkinOlajide,andAlhajiDitiLadapowho are members of the board of trustees.

A devout Muslim, the late Justice Babalakin was an active member of the Muslim Association Of Nigeria, Ansarudeen Society. He was also a former president of MUSWEN. He is survived by many children and grandchildren including the Chairman of Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited, Dr. Wale Babalakin (SAN), and Mr. Tayo Babalakin, among others.

President Buhari, in a statement issued by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, equally commiserated with the government and people of Osun State on the loss of the eminent Jurist who rose to the pinnacle of his profession as a Judge of the highest court in the land, becoming one of the final authorities in legal issues in the country, thereby greatly enriching the nation’s jurisprudence.

Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), has said the White Paper on the report submitted by the Lagos State Judicial Panel on Police Brutality is illegal.

On November 15, the panel submitted two documents — a consolidated report on police brutality and an investigation into the Lekki shooting incident — to the state government.

After receiving the report, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu constituted a four-member committee to come up with a white paper on the panel’s recommendations.

Citing Section 15 (2) of the Tribunals of Inquiry Law of Lagos State, Falana said the report of the judicial panel is as effective as a judgment of the Lagos State High Court, adding that its findings can only be challenged in a competent

court.

“It was my view that since the committee is unknown to law, the members were not competent to edit, modify, alter, edit or reject the report of the commission,” he said.

“More so, that the members of White Paper committee did not have the opportunity of taking evidence from the witnesses who had testified before the commission.

“I argued further than that the governor cannot reject the report, summary of evidence and findings of the Okuwobi Judicial Commission in any material particular.

“I am not unaware that it is the practice of governments to issue a white paper on the report of a commission of inquiry. But since there is no provision for a White Paper under the law, the Lagos State Government is bound by the findings and recommendations of the Panel.

A former President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki yesterday held a meeting with the leadership of Lagos4Lagos Movement, challenging them to drop its political affiliation with the All Progressives Congress for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Saraki, Chairman of the PDP National Reconciliation Committee, added that the messages of justice, liberation and equity being propounded by Lagos4Lagos Movement “is now catching fire everywhere.”

He made these remarks at a meeting held in Adeniyi Jones, Ikeja yesterday between the leadership of PDP National Reconciliation Committee and Lagos4Lagos, a leading interest group in Lagos APC.

While Saraki attended the meeting alongside Senator Duro Faseyi, Senator Ahmed Obembe and Senator Rafiu Ibrahim, the founder of Lagos4Lagos, Mr. Olajide Adediran led the Chairperson of Lagos4Lagos apex body, Princess Aderenle Adeniran-Ogunsanya and its State Chairman, Mr. Sunday Ajayi, among others to the meeting.

However, leaders and members of Lagos PDP were obviously absent at the meeting between the PDP National Reconciliation Committee and Lagos4Lagos.

Speaking at the meeting yesterday, Saraki insisted on a decisive declaration for the PDP, saying earlier meetings did not produce the desired goal of having the Lagos4Lagos Movement crossover to the PDP.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ DECEMBER 5, 2021

71

NEWSXTRA Bamidele: Appointment of Judges Shouldn’t Be Subject to Discretionary Practices Gboyega Akinsanmi The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele has faulted the process of appointing judges in the country, warning that the appointment of judges should not be subject to discretionary practices.

Bamidele, also Chairman of the Southern Senators Forum, also lamented that failure of most state governments to grant judicial autonomy to the judicial

arm of government was not in conformity with the provision of the 1999 Constitution.

He made these remarks on Friday during an interview with THISDAY in Abuja, warning that the appointment of judges all over the world “is never meant to be an arbitrary exercise.”

There has been concern in the recent times about the growing trend of favouritism and nepotism in the appointment of judges at both federal and state levels, especially with the botched appointment of 33

judges in the FCT High Court..

Concerned about the trend, legal practitioners had petitioned the National Judicial Council (NJC) and Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, demanding that due process be observed to ensure sanity and stability in the judiciary.

Amid this public disapproval, Bamidele acknowledged that there were growing concerns about deviation from the procedures and standards of appointing members of the

FG Begins Airborne Survey of Minerals in 19 States James Sowole in Abeokuta

The federal government in pursuant of the World Bank assisted Minerals Sector Support for Economic Diversification (MINDIVER) Project, has started an Airborne Geophysical Survey Activity that will involve 19 states of the federation.

The survey, covering 112 local government areas of the country, is to determine accurate solid minerals locations in specific areas of the country using modern-day aeromagnetic mechanism.

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, disclosed this at a news

conference in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Adegbite, who spoke through the Director, Special Duties in the Ministry of Solid Minerals and Steel Development, Yisau Adepoju, said the survey would cover the South West states of Oyo, Ondo, Ogun, Osun and Ekiti.

Other states to be covered in the exercise are Kwara, Ebonyi, Enugu, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Kaduna, Niger, Kogi Taraba, Venue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Bauchi and the Federal Capital Territory.

The minister explained that the survey, was scheduled to commence in June 2021, but

rescheduled to last quarter of the year, due to the inability of the contractors to travel out of South Africa as a result of the recent COVID-19 lockdown in that country.

Adegbite said similar exercise, carried out 10 years ago, involved the use of aircraft that flew at high altitude, which made the exercise unnoticed by people living in the areas where it was carried out.

He explained that the current exercise involve deployment of aircraft that would fly at low altitude and which will make people living in the areas to be covered to see the aircraft that would be deployed.

Bench.

He said a lot of Nigerians, even in the legal profession, had become really concerned in the recent times as to what they perceived as a deviation from the normal standard.

He said the trend called for concern on the ground that the appointment of judges globally “is not meant to be an arbitrary exercise. It is not something that should be subject to discretionary practices.

“There must be standard.

Nigeria is not an exception.

There are procedures for the appointment of judges. The procedures set the minimum requirements that anyone, who desires the office of judge, must attain.

“Also, there is a standard as

to the mode of appointment.

Part of our own concerns is to continue to ensure that there is no deviation from this standard,” Bamidele pointed out during the session.

As the representatives of the people saddled with the responsibility of supervising the judiciary, Bamidele said the senate would not shy away from its role to ensure that there is sanity in the process.

He, also, emphasised the need for stability in the judiciary by making the procedures predictable, noting that if it “ceases to be predictable, it subjects to an arbitrary exercise of discretion. I think that will not service the purpose of justices in this country.

“Even when we receive petitions with respect to the

appointment of judges, we always take up those petitions with both the Bar and Bench. Sometimes, we found the petitions and issues were unfounded. Each time we found substance in the petitions, we insist on the right things being done.”

Bamidele cited the case of anomalies that characterised the appointment of 33 judges by the FCT High Court under the auspice of the NJC, noting that his committee insisted on due process.

According to him, we did all we could as a committee to ensure that the leadership of the Bar and Bench look into these petitions.

That is part of what caused delay in finalising the appointment.

Lagos, Firm Partner on Market Place Conference The Address Home has partnered the Lagos State Government on the 2nd Real Estate Market Place Conference and Exhibition scheduled to hold on December 7 at Eko Hotels and Suites.

In a statement by its Founder and Chairman, Dr. Bisi Onasanya yesterday, the company said the Lagos State Real Estate Market Place provided solution

to the challenges facing Nigeria’s real estate sector and serve as a credible avenue for connection among investors, developers, construction professionals and other stakeholders.

The statement explained that the partnership between Address Homes and Lagos State Government on this conference and exhibition would further propel the already existing

collaboration to promote integrity, professionalism, customer satisfaction and safety in real estate industry in Nigeria.

It noted that Address Homes Limited is a leading luxury real estate company with a pragmatic approach to solving problems and prioritizing customers’ specific needs in real estate in Nigeria.

TR

Sunday December 5, 2021

UT H

& RE A S O

N

Ortom to FG

COVID-19 Tests & Vaccinations

This service is provided in association with accredited service providers

N

years

“I call on the federal government to include Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association and Fulani Nationality Movement, FUNAM in the category of terrorists because those bandits are their members” – Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, calling on the federal government to include Miyetti Allah on the list of terrorist groups in Nigeria.

‘COVID’ TO 58123

& RE A SO

26

Price: N400

MISSILE

Book Your TEXT

TR

UT H

SIMONKOLAWOLE SIMONKOLAWOLELIVE!

simon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com, sms: 0805 500 1961

A Yellow Bus Ride and Musings on 2023

O

n Thursday, I did something I had not done in Lagos since 1999: I rode in a public bus. I had taken my car for service at Oba Akran Avenue, Ikeja. I was told it would be ready “in two hours”. I thought to wait at the reception to do some office work. But as the guy started amending “in two hours” to “between two and three hours”, I suspected that it might stretch to between “four and five hours”. After all, I was not in front of the queue. I decided to return to my office. My first instinct was to hail a cab. My office was not far away and I should normally be there in 15 minutes. Then I remembered the kilometres of traffic jam I had seen on Awolowo Way. This was not a problem Uber could solve.

Then an idea struck me: take a yellow bus!

My enthusiasm was babyish. The last time I rode in a yellow bus was in August 1999. That was the month I got my first car, an official property that effectively created a wedge between the good old yellow bus and myself. As I walked towards Ikeja bus stop, one conductor was shouting “Ah-eh-gey!” I smiled. So, these people still pronounce “Agege” this way? The world has not changed a bit. I kept walking till I got to the bus stop where the conductor was yelling “Ojodu Berger!” I approached him and asked, in whispers, if the bus would pass in front of “Coca-Cola”. He responded: “N200!” I didn’t need an interpreter. Deal sealed.

Everything was very familiar. It was an 18-seater bus with battered seats and severely scratched plastic windows. I got a seat on the third row.

I was the third passenger on the row, so there was still a seat beside me. The row behind was not filled yet. No passenger wanted to sit on there. They would come, peep inside the bus and stay outside, waiting for the person who would volunteer to the back. I never used to like the back row myself — I am a six-footer and always had to squeeze my legs into the tiny space. I still have knee pains from my previous life riding in public transport for hours between Ilorin and Lagos. Eventually, the yellow bus filled up and the conductor took his seat.

Barely 100 metres after take-off, before even reaching cruising level, the conductor started demanding payment. Things were so familiar.

The policewoman in front of me did not pay.

They call people like that “staff”. I don’t know when this culture started, but uniformed men and women were not paying transport fare in those days either. I won’t be surprised if NSCDC members have joined the free riders’ association too. In a sense, you could say the bus drivers are trying to recognise and reward the sacrifices of these officers to the nation. But, in truth, the conductors dare not insist on collecting the fare.

It is not voluntary appreciation: this is pure impunity and daylight robbery.

The man on my right was smelling of ogogoro.

This was around 11am. Legend! I had noticed that when he jumped into the bus, he was grimacing.

I had thought he hit his leg or head against something. All my “sorry” went unnoticed. It was when a wave of ogogoro-laced air started blowing in my direction that I understood the game. I had my face mask to thank for the protection I enjoyed from the alcoholic pollution. For the 30-minute ride between Ikeja and the closest bus stop to my office (the traffic was that bad), the man slept most of the time. He had given the conductor N1,000 and seemed to wake up each time he remembered he had not collected his N800 change.

I was happy to volunteer as the “assistant conductor”. I would collect the fare and pass it on to my boss — the chief conductor — and then convey the change to fellow passengers. It was

Kolawole service to humanity. There was no commission.

Full disclosure: I am a veteran fare collector.

In the 1980s when I was a secondary school student back in my village, my holiday job was serving as conductor in my grandfather’s transport business. He had a fleet of vehicles all bearing the inscription: “No Condition is Permanent”. He often accused my grandmother of overpampering me and always looked pleased each time I volunteered to be a conductor. One more disclosure: I always got paid. It was pure fun.

Only four of us wore masks. After all, how many Nigerians believe COVID-19 is real?

In my interactions with ordinary Nigerians, even those who believe COVID-19 is real would tell you it is “ordinary malaria” that has been glorified. I once asked one of those pushing the idea: was it “ordinary malaria” that killed Abba Kyari, Abiola Ajimobi and the rest? The response shut me up: “It kills only big men!” My barber told me as much too. “I have never worn a face mask and nothing has happened to me. It is a disease for the rich!” he declared. My silent response: we should be thankful that COVID does not behave like Ebola. Otherwise, Nigeria would have become a gigantic graveyard.

There was no AC. The heat was much and I was sweating a flood. One passenger suddenly opened a bottle of my favourite drink — chilled Coke Classic. Thirst overwhelmed me instantly and I coveted a sip. But my grandmother, God rest her soul, used to caution me against eating or drinking from strangers. “They will drug you and kidnap you,” she would say. Kidnapping used to be only for ritual purposes. Today, it is also a commercial venture, bringing in billions of naira as criminals create businesses and jobs in the dark economy. In Lagos, though, there is this “one chance” phenomenon in which ritualists use buses to kidnap passengers.

Thankfully, I didn’t remember before the ride.

There were downsides to my ride. One, I kept checking for my phone and wallet. Do I have trust issues? I hear phones and wallets disappear from pockets inside the bus. I did not stop touching them until I got to my bus stop. My bus stop? That was another issue. It dawned on me I did not know the name of the one closest to my office. Testing Ground? Radio?

Coca-Cola? Should I ask my boss? No way! We Lagosians would rather eat grass than show our vulnerabilities. We would be seen as JJCs. And

that was how I watched in horror as we went past my bus stop. I quickly told the conductor I would drop at “next bus stop”. I gallantly trekked back. Too much sense won’t kill me!

When I got to office and narrated my experience to my colleagues, I got an important piece of information: I took the wrong bus. I should have taken “Secretariat”, not “Ojodu Berger”, and the fare would have been N100, not N200. It now made sense why the conductor yelled “N200”.

He probably thought I wanted to use “Lagos sense” to negotiate a cheaper fare for “Coco-Cola” and was not in the mood for that nonsense on a Thursday morning. When I went back for my car two and a half hours later (yes, they kept to time), I was wiser. I paid only N100. This time, I even enjoyed the privilege of sitting beside the driver, who instructed me with a smile: “Oga, wear your seat belt.”

My yellow bus experience got me thinking on so many things. One, why can’t public transport be decent, comfortable and safe in Nigeria? It will save us so many headaches. Who says I must drive a car to the office? Imagine the impact on the traffic and the environment when we all put our cars on the road. More so, an efficient and affordable public transportation system will relieve the burdens on the low-income earners in terms of transportation cost and quality of life. Even CEOs should be able to use public transport without feeling scared about security or getting worried about the conditions. After all, Wall Street executives use public transport.

This is something we need to think about.

Two, I was also thinking about the contrasting living conditions of Nigerians. Let us do some math. If I was living in Ikeja and working in Ojodu, I would spend at least N400 on transport daily. That is N8,000 monthly, minus lunch. If I pay a monthly rent of N10,000 and give my children transport fare to school — in addition to buying foodstuff for the house and paying utility bills, and the little matter of school fees and hospital bills — my monthly expenses would be far in excess of the N30,000 minimum wage, which most Nigerians don’t even earn. Throw in the fact that over 20 million Nigerians don’t have jobs and you would catch a glimpse of the real story of Nigerian poverty.

The inequality in Nigeria is too much. In the same country, some people — by virtue of their unfettered access to the treasury — ride the most expensive cars and jets, send their children to the most expensive schools home and abroad, and receive the best medical treatment money can buy. For sure, I know that there are poor people in advanced countries. Jesus Christ himself said we would always have the poor among us. But that is relative poverty. What we are dealing with in Nigeria is extreme poverty, with tens of millions of citizens surviving on less than N600 per day. People can be poor but they should also be able to enjoy some comfort here and there.

The ruling class must do some soul-searching and ask themselves honest questions as we approach another general election. It is not enough to coin sexy slogans and wear colourful attires. How many millions have they pulled out of poverty since 1999? How many Nigerians now have decent accommodation with water and electricity? How many can afford basic medications? These real-life issues should ordinarily shape the agenda for 2023. But, unfortunately, my yellow bus colleagues are more likely to be excited by ethnic, religious and partisan emotions. That is how issues are being framed by the political elite — who have already taken good care of themselves.

Frustrating.

And Four Other Things…

OROMONI’S AGONY The ghastly story of Sylvester Oromoni Junior, a 12-year-old student of Dowen College, Lagos, is something no parent should experience. He was reportedly bullied, bruised and battered by fellow students. The bullies were said to have forced him to say he got injured playing football and this was apparently the line the school towed, although the boy reportedly confessed when his parents took him home to Warri, Delta state, that he was bullied by five students. Painfully, he died afterwards. A lot of things went wrong on all sides. While nothing will bring Junior back to life, this tragedy offers an opportunity to seriously tackle bullying in our schools before another soul is lost. Condolences.

END GAME The Lagos state government has rejected certain aspects of the End SARS panel report, pointing out what it calls “inconsistencies”. The government says names of nine people just “sprang up” as killed at the Lekki Toll Plaza but the circumstances surrounding their death were neither explained nor investigated by the panel. (Ironically, three of those listed as killed are reportedly still alive — which is why some have alleged that the panel was working to an answer). While I do not doubt that there are loopholes in the report, the key issues still have to be comprehensively addressed: police brutality and civilised management of public protests. Justice must be also served.

Non-negotiable.

HEADLESS SPENDING Mr Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation, made a revelation on Tuesday but it did not trend.

He said about 60% of federal government’s overhead expenditure (an aspect of recurrent spending) from 2012 to 2014 was spent on travels, maintenance, local and international training, welfare, office stationery/ consumables, honoraria, etc. Recent data from the budget office, he said, showed that MDAs’ recurrent spending is still on the rise: from N3.61trn in 2015 to N5.26trn in 2018 and N7.91trn in 2020. Ladies and gentlemen, that is the summary of how our money is spent in Nigeria. I bet this is what also happens in the states — in the spirit of true federalism.

Priorities.

OMINOUS OMICRON The world has gone into a frenzy since the discovery of another variant of the coronavirus, which the World Health Organization (WHO) has promptly named “Omicron” (WHO is very good at naming viruses). Nobody is sure if Omicron will evade the current vaccines since it is new. As a result, many countries have been taking harsh measures in trying to keep it at bay. Many commentators have been angry at the “knee jerk” reactions, especially the ban on flights from southern African countries. I think countries are only trying to be cautious. If the world had banned all flights from China when Wuhan happened, the story might have been different today. Hindsight.

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 .

All Correspondence to POBox 54749, Ikoyi, Lagos. EMAIL: editor@thisdaylive.com, info@thisdaylive.com. TELEPHONE Lagos: 0802 2924721-2, 08022924485. Abuja: Tel: 08155555292, 08155555929 24/7 ADVERTISING HOT LINES: 0811 181 3085, 0811 181 3086, 0811 181 3087, 0811 181 3088, 0811 181 3089, 0811 181 3090. ENQUIRIES & BOOKING: adsbooking@thisdaylive.com