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Clean Energy: 30m Nigerians to Benefit from Deal with US Construction of phase one starts first quarter 2023 Deji Elumoye in Abuja Nigeria and United States’ largest renewable energy company operating in Africa, Sun Africa LLC, have signed a $10 billion

agreement for the supply of clean and reliable power to more than 30 million people across the nation's six geo-political zones.

The signing exercise formed part of the events held at the

sidelines of the US-Africa Business Forum (USABF) in Washington, D.C last Wednesday.

According to a statement issued yesterday by presidential spokesperson, Mallam Garba

Shehu, the federal government and Sun Africa LLC, signed a development and Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) implementation framework agreement for the building of

5,000 MW of solar generation and 2,500 MWh of battery energy storage power plants.

The agreement was signed on behalf of Nigeria by the Minister of Industry, Trade and

Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo and for Sun Africa, the CEO, Adam Cortese in the presence of Amos Hochstein, Continued on page 6

CBN: Allegation of N89tn Stamp Duty Fraud is Ridiculous, Baseless... Page 6 Saturday 17 December, 2022 Vol 27. No 10112

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IG: Failed Politicians, IPOB,Yoruba Nation Agitators, Working to Derail 2023 Elections Bennett Oghifo in Lagos, Udora Orizu in Abuja

L-R: Chairman, Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area of Lagos State, Abdullahi Olowa; Globacom’s Regional Activation Manager, Oladapo Akintimehin; mother of House Prize Winner, Alhaja Abiodun; Festival of Joy House Prize Winner, Ibrahim Ayanleke Abiodun; Brand Influencer, Daniel K. Daniel, at the Festival of Joy prize-presentation of a brand new 3-bedroom house in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos…yesterday

The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, yesterday alleged that failed politicians and separatist groups like the Indigenous People Continued on page 6

Buhari Clocks 80, Jonathan, Atiku, Tinubu, Lawan Extol His Virtues Predecessor says president offering best efforts in pursuit of aspirations for country Charles Ajunwa in Lagos and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari is 80 years old today, and prominent Nigerians, including former president Goodluck Jonathan, former vice president Atiku Abubakar, All Progressives Congress’ Presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu and President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, are saluting the President and extolling his leadership qualities.

In a goodwill message he personally signed, Jonathan noted that President Buhari has had an exceptional opportunity of leading the country twice, both as a military Head of State and civilian President, and prayed for God’s guidance and protection

as he pilots the affairs of the nation in the remaining months of his administration.

The former President stated: “I am delighted to felicitate you on the occasion of your 80th birthday. I join your family, friends and other well-wishers to thank God for the gift of life and the strength to pilot the affairs of this nation for the past seven and a half years.

“As a leader, you are one of the few Nigerians who have been privileged to administer our country at different political eras; both as a military Head of State and civilian president.

During these times, you have offered your best efforts in the Continued on page 6

AFRICAN LEADERS IN US… President Muhammadu Buhari (extreme right) and other African leaders, in a group photograph with President Joe Biden of the United States, at the end of the US-African Summit in Washington DC…yesterday.

FG Declares Holidays for Christmas, New Year Celebrations... Page 14

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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2022 • T H I S D AY, T H E S AT U R D AY N E W S PA P E R

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CBN: Allegation of N89tn Stamp Duty Fraud is Ridiculous, Baseless James Emejo in Abuja The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday said allegations that stamp duty collection amounting to N89 trillion was unaccounted for by the bank were unfounded.

The CBN, Director, Corporate Communication, Mr. Osita Nwanisobi, also said such allegations were shocking since the assets of the entire banking industry were less than the amount being taunted.

He also said the central bank has nothing to do with the stamp duty collections other than keeping the records in line with the provision of law.

A member of the House of Representatives, Gudaji Kazaure, had recently alleged that N89.09 trillion purportedly realised from deductions by banks as stamp duty charges had been diverted.

The lawmaker also alleged that the CBN Governor, Mr.

Godwin Emefiele kept another $171 billion in the bank’s private investors' account as proceeds of stamp duty.

The presidency has however dismissed the allegations of misappropriation of Stamp Duty funds levelled against some government agencies.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, described the claim as a figment of the imagination of Mr Kazaure.

He said it was unconstitutional for a member of the parliament to be secretary of an executive committee.

In an interview with BBC Hausa, the lawmaker had claimed to be Secretary of the Presidential Committee on the Reconciliation and Recovery of All Stamp Duties.

He also alleged that critical institutions, including the CBN, Office of the Secretary

to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), and the Protocol Department of the State House prevented him from briefing President Muhammadu Buhari on findings made by his committee.

However, responding to questions on the subject matter on a radio programme in Abuja, Nwanisobi said, “We have been hearing these allegations, but they said N89 trillion stamp duty accumulated and the total assets for Nigerian banks is about N63 trillion and someone is claiming that fifty kobo accumulated to N89 trillion, how possible is it?

“If there is any committee in charge, that has nothing to do with us (CBN). The committee can do their work but has nothing to do with the CBN. Our most concern is the N89 trillion because the total assets of all the banks in Nigeria are not up to that amount.

CLEAN ENERGY: 30M NIGERIANS TO BENEFIT FROM DEAL WITH US President Joe Biden’s Special Presidential Coordinator for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment.

The project, the statement said, would be constructed in different phases across the six geopolitical zones and would provide clean, reliable and affordable electricity.

The statement also stressed that the technical and financial due diligence activities for phase one of the project had been completed for the first five selected locations for the grid-connected solar projects of up to 961 MWp of solar and 455 MWh of battery energy storage.

"Subsequently, ING Bank, US EXIM Bank, the Federal Ministry of Finance, and the Debt Management Office (DMO) have concluded all the financial negotiations and are closing the financing terms for up to $2 billion. Construction of phase one is expected to start in the first quarter of 2023,” said Shehu in the statement.

The statement added that the

transformative solar project is on top of the US climate and sustainable energy agenda and has been prioritised as a strategic lead for the US which is entirely in line with the federal government’s Energy Transition Plan, addressing clean and reliable energy supply, creating jobs and ensuring transfer of knowledge and technology.

President Buhari, in an address last Tuesday in the United States said: “As part of the National Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Policy, we set the vision 30:30:30 which aims at achieving 30GW of electricity by 2030 with renewable energy contributing 30% of the energy mix.”

Buhari, in the presence of President Biden and other world leaders, sought the United States’ support to achieve it.

Sun Africa, Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy Limited (S&W), a leading US and international solar EPC company, and the Nigerian government have been

working on the development of transformation grid-connected and mini-grids solar projects in multiple locations, including interconnection, electrification and smart meters infrastructure.

To ensure the broadest and most comprehensive approach to access electricity, Sun Africa is also implementing solar cabins and solar home systems where the mini-grids are not economically viable.

Shehu also noted that all the technical and financial due diligence activities for phase 1 of the project had been completed for the first five selected locations for the grid-connected solar projects of up to 961 MWp of solar and 455 MWh of battery energy storage.

Subsequently, ING Bank, US EXIM Bank, the Federal Ministry of Finance, and the Debt Management Office have concluded all the financial negotiations and are closing the financing terms for up to $2 billion.

“The publication which claimed that transactions by CBN on the I & E window hit $171 billion is false. The I & E window is a platform where people trade in FX, it is not an account, so banks come there to trade, CBN comes in also as an observer, we either buy or sell there because it is a platform.

“When amounts like these are heard of, I think it’s a little bit of a misunderstanding of what I & E window stands for because

it’s a platform for trading and people come in there to buy, sell and stock.

“The 40:60 (N100) ratio stamp duty is obedience to the law because issues around stamp duty are obedience to the law, this is not about CBN, but obeying what the law says.

“CBN is the creation of the law, and that is why we say, CBN is an institution with statutory flavour. Our responsibility is to keep up with the law. The

BUHARI CLOCKS 80, JONATHAN, ATIKU, TINUBU, LAWAN EXTOL HIS VIRTUES pursuit of your aspirations for the nation.

“As you celebrate, I wish you the strength, peace and God’s guidance in the remaining months of your administration and even beyond. On behalf of my family, I wish you a happy birthday.”

Atiku, in his goodwill message, said Buhari at 80, “continues to be a motivation for inner strength.”

The PDP presidential flagbearer prays for President Buhari “to continue to enjoy the grace of good health and vitality, as he continues to play his leadership roles in Nigeria and Africa.”

Tinubu: Buhari, a Patriot, Selfless, Steadfast Leader The APC Presidential Candidate, Tinubu, hailed the president for “his commitment to nation-building and long years of patriotic service to the country.”

In the statement from his Media Office, signed by Mr. Tunde Rahman, Tinubu further described Buhari as "a patriot, selfless and steadfast leader of uncommon zeal," and noted that Buhari enlisted himself into the service of the country as a teenager who joined the military immediately after secondary school.

Tinubu said: “At 80, President Buhari can look back and be

proud of his unblemished record of service to the nation throughout his military career as a soldier, platoon commander, General Officer Commanding, Military Governor, Minister of Petroleum, Head of State, Chairman of Petroleum Trust Fund and as the current leader of the country.

"I heartily congratulate my president and my leader, Muhammadu Buhari, on the momentous and remarkable occasion of his 80th birthday.

An officer and a gentleman, President Buhari has been a selfless and steadfast leader, and a patriot with uncommon zeal who has dedicated almost his entire life to the service of Nigeria.

"Our country is lucky to have this great man and dedicated public servant at this time.

President Buhari has led an extraordinary life of service to Nigeria at every duty post with unassailable integrity. History will be kind to him and record his contributions to the progress, unity and stability of Nigeria in volumes.

"As a people, we are truly blessed to have a president who sees no higher honour than the opportunity to serve his people, a responsibility he has always carried with utmost dedication.

"We are proud that at age 80, this noble man, an officer and a gentleman is still rendering his service, recording tremendous achievements, the country

IG: FAILED POLITICIANS, IPOB, YORUBA NATION AGITATORS, WORKING TO DERAIL 2023 ELECTIONS of Biafra (IPOB) and Yoruba Nation agitators are working to disrupt the 2023 elections.

This was contained in the IG’s presentation during the sitting of the House of Representatives’ ad hoc committee investigating attacks on the facilities of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

At the same forum, the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, declared that the commission would recover from attacks on its facilities and conduct the 2023 elections.

The IG, who was represented by the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Dandaura Mustapha, said the attacks on the offices of the electoral body increased after the ban on political campaigns was lifted.

Mustapha said: “The Nigeria police, being the lead agency in internal security and elections generally, is always at the receiving end. Whatever happens, the police must protect people and property here and there.

“When INEC finally lifted the ban on campaigns, the campaigns commenced, and what we realised initially was inter and intra-party disputes.

“We realised that members of political parties were destroying billboards, posters, campaign offices in some parts of the states. We quickly alerted the commissioners of police in charge of the commands and gave them clear directives that it is the right of every political party to go to

all the nooks and crannies of society and campaign.

“It is a constitutional right, so on no account should a state governor or any state actor prevent political parties from moving about to do their campaigns.

“We now come to the immediate attack on INEC facilities. Of recent are the ones that took place in Osun, Ogun, Ebonyi, Imo, and Enugu.

“It is a well-known fact that in the South-east geo-political zone, we have issues of secessionists, the IPOB and ESN. What we have discovered is that these groups are bent on stopping elections from taking place in the South-east.

“They have been attacking our personnel; they have been killing our personnel. They have been retrieving arms from members of the security agencies, not only the police — the military and other paramilitary organisations that are there.

“They have been doing it, especially now that the ban on campaigns has been lifted.

The election is approaching very fast and they are putting much pressure to see that this election does not hold in the South-east political zone.

“In the South-west, we have the pro-Yoruba secessionists that are equally bent on seceding and not allowing election to take place in their areas, hence the attack on INEC in Osun and Ogun states of recent.

“There are other ones that are sponsored by politicians

and other stakeholders. There is also an issue of failed and desperate politicians who are bent on stopping INEC from conducting this election.

“The failed politicians are those who could not come back (win election) through any political party, and as far as they are concerned, ‘let everything spoil; let everything scatter’.

“They are using that opportunity to sponsor illiterate followers of the party and hoodlums to make sure that this general election does not hold and should not be successful.

“On the part of the desperate politicians, they feel that since they cannot stop INEC from taking all these measures (to stop election rigging), let them sponsor hoodlums to make sure that this election should not be a successful exercise.”

Dandaura said the force had been taking measures to prevent the attacks on INEC offices.

He said the IGP met with political party leaders and INEC representatives in November, during which it was emphasised that politicians should caution their supporters to desist from the hooliganism and disrupting the campaigns of their opponents.

He explained that on Tuesday, the IGP also met with the operational officers of security agencies in Abuja and discussed measures to be taken, to safeguard the facilities of INEC. He added that the police will double the number of officers

law states that the act on stamp duty must be obeyed, and that is what it does.

"We keep a record of all transactions, that is why whenever we hear such allegations, we are shocked.

The committee is not approved

by CBN, CBN doesn’t set up a committee despite it being set up by President Muhammadu Buhari. And the issue of the committee has been addressed by the committee also.”

currently protecting facilities nationwide.

INEC

INEC Vows to Recover and Conduct Polls Meanwhile, the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Yakubu, has stated that the commission would recover from attacks on its facilities and conduct the 2023 elections.

Yakubu, who made the remark yesterday while making a submission before the same House Ad-hoc committee investigating the attacks on the Commission’s facilities, however cautioned that the attacks must stop.

He said the commission had witnessed 50 attacks in 15 states since 2019, with Imo State topping the list with 11 attacks followed by Osun with seven, five cases in Enugu and Akwa Ibom, while Abia and Cross Rivers also had four attacks each.

He further informed that two attacks were recorded in Anambra and Taraba states and one each in Bayelsa, Ondo, Lagos, Borno, Kaduna and Ogun states.

Yakubu told the committee that while the commission is working to replace damaged or lost items as a result of the attacks, it cannot be doing that forever.

He said while INEC is taking measures, including relocation of some of the offices

from vulnerable areas, it is working on use of technology and collaborating with security agencies to do everything to stop the attacks on its facilities.

He expressed optimism that despite the seeming threat to the 2023 elections and the spate of attacks by criminals on its facilities, “such attacks will not stop the conduct of the elections.”

In his opening remark, the Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, represented

by Leke Abejide, said the investigation was precipitated by a motion brought before the House on the need to condemn the attacks on INEC offices.

He said, “The House had noted the frequent systemic attacks on personnel, offices and facilities of INEC, which are presumably, targeted at crippling the commission and scuttling the 2023 general elections.”

In her welcome address, chairman of the ad-hoc committee, Taiwo Oluga, said: “It is on record that since 2019, over 40 INEC offices and facilities had been attacked and set ablaze.

These attacks have resulted in the destruction of INEC properties, elections materials and most importantly, thousands of Permanent Voter Cards.

“These systematically orchestrated attacks have the potential to not only undermine the capacity of INEC to organise elections, but could also have a negative impact on the outcome of the 2023 elections.”

making remarkable progress under his leadership, and his steady hands gradually guiding the country to the Promised Land. On behalf of our great party, APC, and my family, I join the family, friends, associates and all well-wishers of President Buhari to wish him happy birthday and many happy returns of the day in good health."

Lawan: Millions of Nigerians Inspired By Buhari’s Story The President of the Senate, in a statement he also personally signed, extolled the leadership virtues of President Buhari, while joining “the generality of Nigerians and Buhari's admirers across the world in rejoicing with his family over his reaching this milestone in good health.”

Lawan said: "Your Excellency, millions of Nigerians are inspired by your life story and legacy of service to our dear and great country. As a soldier, military Head of State and democratically elected President, you consistently fought for the unity, development and progress of Nigeria.

"As we approach the end of your tenure on 29th May, 2023, you can rest assured that millions of Nigerians across our vast country genuinely appreciate your achievements in nationbuilding and in strengthening the guardrails of democracy in Nigeria.

"The record of your administration in infrastructural development across the nation is unrivaled and will continue to speak for your stewardship long after your retirement. Your Excellency, once again, I wish you a happy birthday celebration and many more years in good health and happiness."

Former governor of Ekiti State and the President of the Forums of Regions of Africa (FORAF), Kayode Fayemi, praised Buhari at 80, saying as a leader, the President has done his best to fix the multi-dimensional problems plaguing Nigeria.

Fayemi noted: even the fiercest critics of the President would not deny his personal integrity, his ascetic lifestyle and his love for the common people, which has been demonstrated in the numerous social development and pro-people policies and programmes of the federal government in the last seven and half years.

“Buhari has shown through his personal example and conduct that a new kind of leadership is possible in Africa, one that is not exemplified by the accumulation of personal wealth but speedy social and infrastructural transformation through government action.

“As the President marks his 80th birthday, I felicitate with him and his family. I wish him continuous good health and a long and prosperous life.”

Buhari was born on December 17, 1942, in Daura, in the present day Katsina state.

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COMMENTARY

TRACKING A PRIME SERVICE PROVIDER Ibom Air has made a difference in the aviation sector, writes Eme Archibong

T

he aviation sector plays an important role in the growth of national and global economies. It attracts foreign direct investment, creates jobs, provides a means of rapid transportation, and also facilitates international and local trade, as well as tourism.

According to a 2018 report by Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), an independent coalition of member organizations and companies throughout the global air transport industry on aviation: Benefits Beyond Borders, the total economic impact (direct, indirect, induced and tourism-connected) of the global aviation industry reached USD 2.7 trillion, some 3.6 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2016. The air transport industry also supported a total of 65.5 million jobs globally. It provided 10.2 million direct jobs. airlines, air navigation service providers and airports directly employed around three and a half million people. The civil aerospace sector (the manufacture of aircraft, systems and engines) employed 1.2 million people. A further 5.6 million people worked in other on-airport positions. Furthermore, 55.3 million indirect, induced and tourism-related jobs were supported by aviation. This underscores the importance of the aviation sector to any nation’s economy.

In his 2019 Manifesto tagged Completion Agenda, Governor Udom said “Aviation development cannot be underemphasized if my vision for an industrialized state must be actualized. Having turned the state to investor’s haven in less than four years of my administration, there is, therefore, a strong need to improve infrastructure and facilities in our airport and get the airport ready for the influx of investors that are trouping in and out of the state on daily basis. Already, my three-and-a-half year administration has recorded remarkable achievement in the aviation sector some of which include, construction of two Airport Runway, upgrade of airport main runway to category two (CAT 2 Certification), construction of new Commercial Building Terminal at Ibom International Airport and installation of full runway lighting. In my completion agenda, top on the blueprint for aviation are the completion of the MRO, expansion of Ibom Airline operation and building of main terminal at the Victor Attah International Airport.

Other plans captured in my completion agenda which I intend to actualize before the end of my administration in 2023 are the establishment of Search and Rescue Center, the establishment of Flight Training School and Construction of Power Station to supply electricity at the airport”.

In keeping with his words, Ibom Air was established on June 7, 2019. In three years of operation, Ibom Air has lifted over 500,000 passengers. No doubt, the successful operations of the airline can be attributed to the sterling leadership qualities of the governor and his ability to partner with the private sector. Ibom Air currently has a fleet of seven bombardiers CRJ 900 aircraft, and currently covers seven destinations (Uyo, Lagos, Abuja, Calabar, Port Harcourt, Yenagoa and Enugu). In June 2021, two new A220-300 series were added to the Ibom Air Fleet. The airline has an unmatched record of schedule reliability and on-time departure. For instance, in January 2021, of the 694 total flights operated, 650 of them departed on time, leading to a 94% on time performance. In February 2021, of the 632 total flights operated, 594 of them departed on time, leading to another 94% on

IN MARCH 2021, OF THE 708 TOTAL FLIGHTS OPERATED, 678 OF THEM DEPARTED ON TIME, LEADING TO A 96% ON TIME PERFORMANCE. THE AIRLINE’S HIGHEST ON TIME PERFORMANCE OF 99% WAS RECORDED IN JULY 2019, WHEN OF THE 302 TOTAL FLIGHTS OPERATED, 299 OF THEM DEPARTED ON TIME

time performance. In March 2021, of the 708 total flights operated, 678 of them departed on time, leading to a 96% on time performance.

The airline’s highest on time performance of 99% was recorded in July 2019, when of the 302 total flights operated, 299 of them departed on time. Ibom Air has employed Akwa Ibomites not just in low and entry level to senior positions, but in the very highly skilled aviation professions of piloting, cabin crew and aircraft maintenance engineering, numbering over 200.

The airline has plans for extending its operations into other cities in West and Central Africa like Malabo, Douala, Libreville, Kinshasa, Accra, Abidjan, Freetown, Banjul and Dakar. This is evidenced in its placing an order for 10 A220 aircraft from airplane manufacturer, Airbus. The agreement for the purchase was signed on 16 November 2021, in the DWC Arena during the Dubai Airshow. Present at the signing of the agreement were, Governor Emmanuel Gabriel Udom; Chief Executive Officer of Ibom Air, Mr. Mfon Udom; Chief Commercial Officer of Airbus, Mr. Christian Scherer; the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of AkwaIbom State, Mr.UkoUdom, SAN; the Chairman of Ibom Air, Mr. Imoabasi Jacob; Chief Operating Officer, Mr. George Uriesi; Group Manager Marketing and Communication, Mrs Aniekan Essienette and the Group Manager Corporate Services, Mrs. Imelda Aba. The proposed aircraft have between 100 and150 seats, use 20% lower fuel per seat in comparison to previous generation aircraft and flies to a range of up to 3,400 nautical miles which is an equivalent of 6,297 kilometres). The aircraft will help to increase the number of people coming into Akwa Ibom such as first time visitors, business travelers and investors.

The CEO of Ibom Air, Mr. Mfon Udom, said this during the signing of the agreement. “It gives me great pleasure to be here at the announcement of Ibom Air’s order for 10 Airbus A220s. We are pleased with the steep growth we have achieved in the two years and five months since we commenced operations, a growth mainly driven by the massive embrace of our product and brand by the Nigerian domestic flying public. As we contemplated the next phase of our expansion strategy, we gave consideration and opted to procure two A220s on a one-year wet lease, in order to try out the aircraft to ensure it was fit for the purposes of our business. I am pleased to say here that the approach has been a huge success for us. We found out that not only can we fill up the aircraft, but it has also become a favorite in the Nigerian domestic market. Our passengers love it. And so, here we are today, ordering 10 A220s, having tested and validated it as the one stop solution for our domestic and regional aspirations.”

On his part, the Chief Commercial Officer of Airbus, Mr. Christian Scherer said “We are thrilled to add Ibom Air as a new Airbus customer. The A220 is ideally suited to Nigeria’s aviation needs, providing operational flexibility, growing the business, and responding to demand for increased passenger services. Through this investment, Ibom Air is underscoring its ambition for regional and in due course, international connectivity, efficiency and versatility.” With the purchase agreement signed, deliveries of the aircraft to Ibom Air will commence in the first quarter of 2023.

Archibong writes from Uyo

THERE WAS A COUNTRY…

Banji Ojewale remembers Chinua Achebe, novelist, poet, and author of Things Fall Apart In the distant past, you wouldn’t talk about Chinua Achebe without instant reference to his mountaintop novel, “Things fall apart.”

He was inseparable from this literary creature that outstripped its creator. But Achebe was lucky: he was spared the tragedy of bringing forth a monster, which would fatally prey on its Frankenstein god. Achebe’s own genie was genial. Upon escape from the bottle-cage, it gave the illustrious novelist a new identity tag: Africa’s foremost storyteller.

However, 2012 would deliver another lingering literary lease to this great man of letters. He wrote, “There was a country: a personal history of Biafra.” More than five decades had passed to serve as a hiatus between the book of Achebe’s youth and the new product of his advanced age. Both were mileposts, the one, his first published novel (1958), and the other, his last huge work before his death in 2013.

But when on November 16, 2022, the world quietly observed the eminent raconteur’s 92nd posthumous birthday, we were all drawn to his latter-day effort rather than to the one that lionized him. Why? “Things fall apart” adumbrates a system (community) collapse, whereas “There was a country” mourns the arrival of the foretold decadence and disintegration. Man is given to concerns about the now and how he can step on it to launch into a tomorrow unaffected by a deleterious yesterday. True, he needs to know what led him to the now, so he can disallow old pitfalls surfacing again. Yet, man must understand more of his present and work on it to enable him shape a future close to nirvana, a future defeating its own deadly past.

That’s what many compatriots salute Achebe for in “There was a country”. He writes of the past, the present and the future.

Of the past, he sees a near-perfect Nigeria that enabled him script a bestseller at 28.

There was a country that saw Achebe work at the old Radio Nigeria at Ikoyi, Lagos, in a senior position. Here, in this non-nepotistic country, he later became the Director of External Broadcasting. There was a Nigeria that put Achebe in the company of other Nigerians from the north, east, west and south, with none looking over his shoulder to see if a dagger-wielding figure was lurking in the shadows. There was also a country that took the Anambra State Ogidi-born Achebe to the University College of Ibadan in the old Western Nigeria, where, as he studied the Liberal Arts after dropping Medicine, he beheld the progressive socioeconomic and political developments of the Action Group administration under Obafemi Awolowo.

There was a country that blissfully enjoyed a centrifugal federal order where the regions were lifted to great heights because they didn’t take orders from some lordly central government. There was a country where the talking point wasn’t our fault lines that might lead to the creation of other destabilizing cracks. By the way, in that country, were there such open or concealed cleavages, which held us down as they do today?

Now, there arose another country that deposed the “ideal” one Achebe met. Here, the soldiers were at work. Dismantling the structures on the ground that had admirably nurtured the land to place her on the path heading for a golden future, the men in boots did to Nigeria what the Barbarians did to

the Roman Empire in 410 AD. They sacked Nigeria and imposed on us a sterile centripetal “federal” arrangement. Rome writhed into extinction after the Barbarians’ assault.

There was, indeed, a country.

Now, there was yet a third country that arose from the battle over what was left of Nigeria, following the dissolution of its federal soul into a unitary contraption: Biafra.

Those who brought it into existence said it was the answer to the untended injustices that accompanied the actions of the soldiers and their political collaborators as well as their shadowy friends in the civil service and the private sector. According to Achebe, Biafra happened because, “There was a strong sense that Nigeria was no longer habitable for the Igbo…(which) made us realise that Nigeria ‘did not belong we,’ as Liberians would put it.’’ He argues: ‘’Following the ethnic cleansing in the North that occurred over the four months starting in May 1966, which was compounded by the involvement, even connivance, of the federal government, secession from Nigeria and the war that followed became an inevitability.”

Wole Soyinka, Nobel Laureate in Literature and Achebe’s compatriot, has wished the book hadn’t been written. “It is a book I wish he had never written…not in the way it was. There are statements in that work that I wished he had never made.”

Why we’re revisiting “There was a country” on the recent natal anniversary of its author is simply because it addresses poignant political issues we’re all talking about as we prepare for new public office holders in 2023. If we don’t want to drop again into a rapid succession of “countries” the book

depicts, none of which was permitted the opportunity to lead us into the Promised Land, it does us priceless good to be guided

by Achebe’s observations, among them his claim that the Biafrans’ secessionist bid was a logical reaction to the apparent rejection of the Igbo by Nigeria. It’s neither here nor there decades after to ask if a breakaway was the answer to the challenge of perceived or proven marginalisation.

What matters is if we’ve learnt from what happened in those three “countries”. We must see more than one country, Biafra, in Achebe’s book. What we observe, sadly, is that the main players of the political class are back to that jejune old game by refusing to recognise the reality of injustice in the “ouster” of the South-east from the presidential race.

The presidential contest shouldn’t have been an all-comers’ affair. It should have been an exclusive South-east game to demonstrate our faith in what we profess: justice, fairness and equity for all in the land. We honoured these values in 1998, when the military and their political arm, beholding the injustice the Yoruba were suffering from following the raw deal given their son, Moshood Abiola, in an earlier poll, “arranged” for only candidates from the South-west to contest for the presidential slot.

In 2023, a better country must emerge from the ashes of the failed ones. That new country should outlaw political lopsidedness, which makes power to move in “circles” between only two geo-ethnic zones. No one would then take up arms to protest “Nigeria did not belong we” and seek justice in a new place carved out of Nigeria.

Ojewale writes from Ota, Ogun State

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DECEMBER 17, 2022 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

INSIGHT

At last...

Appreciating Gen. Irabor’s Rare Effort

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t was a tragedy for Nigeria when, on 28th March 2022, the Abuja-Kaduna train came under attack leaving some passengers dead and many others kidnapped by bandits or Boko Haram, as alleged.

While ransom was paid in bits, the kidnapped victims were also being released in bits; a situation that halted the AbujaKaduna train from resuming operations. This development plunged the country into chaos and fear as scores were held captive.

When hope of having all of them released seemed to have been lost, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor, waded into the matter and tactically brought the situation under control with the eventual release of what was left of the abducted victims.

This particular development and special operations that involved a carefully crafted presidential think tank was made possible with the involvement of General Irabor and his show of patriotism, responsibility and desire to see that Nigerian citizens anywhere in the country are safe. It shows, in all ramifications, the mastery of the military art and craft by the gentleman General.

Hence, in General Irabor’s desire to secure the release of the train victims, he set up a seven-man committee, better known as the Chief of Defence Staff Action Committee, that was mandated to look into the situation and ensure the release of the remaining 23 victims that were still held captive by the train attackers. In not mincing words, the Chief of Defence Staff Action Committee is the most efficient and effective committee so far in the country. Within a short period, the committee was able to articulate workable strategies that helped the Nigerian military achieve results in securing the release of the victims that were left in the abductors’ den. This committee showed high intellectual capacity and military prowess and was able to have the armed forces and the various security agencies collaborate in the clandestine operation that was initiated, carefully planned and executed.

In his nature, the Nigerian Armed Forces, under the command of General Irabor was able to take the Kaduna train attackers and kidnappers by surprise, and successfully rescued the remaining victims without recording any casualty.

In Nigeria’s leadership of the Armed Forces of all times, the personality, character, courage, charisma and purposeful leadership being experienced by the Nigerian Armed Forces under the amiable Chief of Defence Staff is

rare. General Irabor has repositioned the Nigerian Armed Forces to an enviable height as one of the finest militaries in the world.

The heightened insecurity that Nigeria faced before the appointment of General Irabor as Chief of Defence Staff is now a thing of the past. Aside from pockets of security threats being experienced from time to time in different parts of the country, insurgency and organized crimes, as were experienced with the activities and menace of Boko Haram and bandits, have entirely reduced if not eradicated. Thanks to Irabor’s determination and focus on ensuring that Nigerians are safe and that their security is paramount.

General Irabor has proven that results will always be achieved with exemplary leadership. In the fight against insecurity in Nigeria, the military has continued to pay the supreme price and has shown serious commitment to security. Therefore, there is a need to ensure that the armed forces continue to get the necessary support to keep delivering on security operations and further ensure that the peace and security that have now been restored in the country is sustained.

Philip Agbese, Abuja

Will INEC let the 2023 Election be Free and Fair?

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video footage went viral on social media on the 7th of December 2022 showing INEC Staff at FESTAC Town, Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area Office, Lagos manually extracting Voter Identification Numbers (VINs) from Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) and entering same into their phone in a bid to rig the 2033 General Elections.

In the video, two men narrated what they said was going on thus: “You can see INEC people, they are busy copying all the PVC numbers and putting them in their phones. This is PVCs that INEC said are not ready, that we should come on 12th and today is 6th. They are busy here putting numbers of all the PVCs in their phones. The other one is also busy doing the same thing. All of them said they are copying all the PVC numbers, everything. That is what they are doing in the office’.

Arising from the hue and cry generated from this video, INEC came forward with an explanation via a press release signed by Mr. Festus Okoye, Esq. According to Mr. Okoye of INEC, whatever the video tried to say was untrue.

This has shown the rate at which Nigerians have completely lost faith in the Commission and its ability to deliver a free and fair elections but this yet not far from the truth.

‘Actually, the video shows staff harvesting VINs from PVCs, but only as part of the T H E SAT U R DAY N E W S PA P E R inventory of uncollected cards, provided for EDITOR YEMI ADEBOWALE in the new guidelines for the management DEPUTY EDITOR AHAMEFULA OGBU and collection of PVCs, approved by the MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO commission implemented nationwide. In its DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI determination to enhance the rate of collection EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN of PVCs, the Commission decided to establish MANAGING EDITOR BOLAJI ADEBIYI a PVC collection process that includes an THE OMBUDSMAN KAYODE KOMOLAFE online component. The procedure entails that registered voters with access to the Internet could go to a dedicated portal to ascertain whether their PVCs are ready and to find their T H I S DAY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D locations for subsequent collection’, Mr Okoye EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA said.

GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, But most Nigerians are not convinced. The ISRAEL IWEGBU, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU, EMMANUEL EFENI DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS SHAKA MOMODU, PETER IWEGBU, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE scenario that played out from the viral video DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI indicates that there is more than Mr Festus SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH Okoye is saying. But without a doubt, let it be ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR PATRICK EIMIUHI known that Nigerians will continue to remain CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI vigilant and ensure due process is strictly DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO adhered to in the upcoming 2023 General TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com Elections.

Usman Nasiru, Gombe

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾DECEMBER 17, 2022

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NEWS

News Editor Charles Ajunwa 09157401421 (sms only) Email charles.ajunwa@thisdaylive.com

ACF: Cash Withdrawal Limit May Result in Collapse of Informal Sector John Shiklam in Kaduna The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has warned that the implementation of the cash withdrawal limit by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will result in the catastrophic collapse of the informal sector.

In a statement yesterday in Kaduna, the forum said the CBN may have the best of intentions while initiating the policy, but failed to consider its extreme

consequences on the informal sector.

The statement signed by the Secretary General of the forum, Murtala Aliyu, noted that the CBN anticipated cashless payments, slated to commence in January, 2023, is well justified, stressing that cash based economies are notoriously costly, inefficient and prone to attacks by evil people.

According to the forum, “A huge amount of time and money

CSOs Shutdown NASS, Call for Kazaure’s Arrest Over Allegations against CBN Governor Emameh Gabriel in Abuja Hundreds of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) yesterday stormed the National Assembly to demand the arrest of Hon. Gudaji Kazaure, over allegations of attempting to blackmail Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele.

The coalition of CSOs under the auspices of Coalition of Civil Society Organisations on Good Governance (CCSGG) blocked the gate of the National Assembly.

The CCSGG led by its President, Etuk Bassey, said Kazaure must be arrested over unfounded allegations on the alleged N89 trillion stamp duty fraud he accused Emefiele of.

The group described the Jigawa State member of House of Representatives, Kazaure, “as liar who is out on a mission to tarnish the image of Emefiele.”

In a large turnout, the group displayed different sizes and shapes of placards with inscriptions reading: ‘We support CBN Gov policies’, ‘Plans to discredit

cashless policy will be resisted’, ‘Cashless policy a solution to poverty’, ‘Corrupt Nigerians are after CBN Governor’, ‘Civil Society and youths support CBN Governor’.

Other placards read: ‘Cashless policy a pass mark to Buhari’s administration’, ‘Buhari and Emefiele carry go!’, ‘Security arrest Hon Kazaure now. He is a blackmailer’, ‘N89trn stamp duty is a blackmail’.

“Political propaganda as well as witch-hunting against the person and image in person of the Governor of the CBN. “Again, this man has been lying that he is investigating the Governor of the CBN and has been dropping names and that he met with the President, and we have so much respect for President Muhammadu Buhari, and we know that the President loves Nigerians and would not allow this to happen.

“We are saying here today that Hon. Kazaure should be arrested forthwith and be prosecuted.

Okowa Signs N571.6bn Delta 2023 Budget Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, yesterday signed into law the state 2023 Appropriation Bill of N571.64 billion.

The budget, which is the eighth and last prepared by the Okowa administration, is made up of N235.5 billion for recurrent expenditure and N336.1billion as capital expenditure.

The governor also assented to nine other bills including, The Delta State Manufacturing and Use of Cotonou Boats Bill, 2022; Delta State Public Finance Management Bill, 2022; Delta State HIV/AIDs Anti-discrimination, Prevention and Protection Bill, 2022; Delta State Waterways Tax, Control and Licensing of Boats (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2022.

Others are Delta State Forfeiture of Property Bill, 2022; Delta State Maternal and Perinatal Deaths Surveillance and

Response Bill, 2020; Delta State Passenger Welfare Scheme Repeal Bill, 2022; Delta State Administrative Procedure Bill, 2022 and the Delta State Transportation Data Management Bill, 2022.

Speaking after signing the different bills, Okowa reassured Deltans that his administration will not relent in its quest for implementation of capital projects provided for in the 2023 budget and strive to complete ongoing projects before May 29, 2023.

The governor said that the other bills signed into law would ultimately enhance socio-economic development of the state and thanked the legislators for their commitment to legislative duties.

“To have found time to work through these bills in spite of the electoral campaigns shows that you have stayed committed to our people who voted you into office.

FG Declares Holidays for Christmas, New Year Celebrations The federal government has declared December 26 and 27, 2022, as public holidays to mark Christmas and Boxing Day. Also Monday, January 2, 2023, has been declared a holiday to mark New Year’s Day celebration.

The Minister of Interior, Rauf

Aregbesola, made the announcement in a statement by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr. Shuaib Belgore, yesterday.

Aregbesola urged Christians and Nigerians to make the best use of this festive period to pray for the total eradication of insecurity bedeviling the country.

is needed to print the currency and a lot more still to steer it through the system.

“The currency notes themselves have a shelf life after which they have to be replaced. Cash is the lifeblood of the underworld: difficult to trace and quite convenient for terrorists, money launderers, smugglers, vote buyers, etc.

“So, yes, the less cash available for all these criminals as the CBN is trying to achieve, the better for law abiding citizens.

“That said, we do need to remember that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

CBN officials may have the best of intentions while contemplating this policy but evidently failed to consider the unintended

consequences of implementing it in the way they have planned; consequences that may be extremely grave.”

Aliyu said, “If the CBN insists on implementing this wholly unrealistic policy of restricting individual’s cash withdrawal from the banks to N20,000 per day and N100,000 for a week or N500,000 in the case of corporate bodies, it won’t be long before we suffer a catastrophic collapse of the informal sector of the economy.

“More than anyone, CBN knows that transactions in commodity markets especially in the rural areas are entirely cash-based.

“The villager that brings to the market his chickens, beans,

onions, goat or cows does not typically have a bank account or internet skills.”

The forum maintained that “cash remains the overwhelming medium of exchange for much of the country particularly in the North.

“This should surprise no one as bank offices are largely unavailable even for people who are keen and have the skills to use them.

“Even by the CBN’s reports, over 38 million adults in Nigeria do not currently have access to banking services with ‘women, rural dwellers, Micro-Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Northern Nigeria’ being among the most disproportionately

excluded.

“And despite its pious pretensions, it is on record that the CBN under the present management, apparently out of desire to safeguard the interests of the commercial banks, has done much to undermine and stifle the progress of financial inclusion in Nigeria.

“Thanks to the decisions taken by the CBN, Nigeria today, despite its size, has the dubious record of having the lowest financial penetration in all of Africa, perhaps in the world.”

The ACF said under the circumstances, “The CBN will do itself and the country a world of good if it invests more efforts at addressing these challenges.”

TALKING GLOBAL FINANCE… L-T: Senior Director, Africa Investment Forum, Africa Development Bank (AfDB), Chinelo Anohu; Chair and President, Export-Import Bank of the United States (US Exim Bank), Reeta Jo Lewis; and the President and CEO, African Finance Corporation, Samaila Zubairu at the US-Africa Business Forum in Washington DC during the week.

Senate President Declares Open Public Hearing on 6 Paramilitary Agencies’ Bills The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, yesterday declared open a Public Hearing on six bills meant to strengthen the nation’s paramilitary agencies.

The Public Hearing was organised by the Senate Committee on Interior which is chaired by Senator Kashim Shettima.

The six proposed legislations are: Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps Act 2010 (amendment) Bill 2022, Nigerian Correctional Services Academy (establishment) Bill 2021, Immigration Act 2015 (amendment) Bill, Immigration and Prisons Service Board Act, CAP 12 LFN 2004 (repeal and re-enactment) Bill, Fire (Hazards and Safeguard)

Bill 2022 and Immigration and Prison Service Board (repeal and enact), the Internal Affairs Service Board Act(enactment) Bill 2022.

Declaring the Public Hearing open, the Senate President said: “Our paramilitary agencies are part of our security architecture in this country and I believe that we deserve to have efficient and effective paramilitary agencies.

“All the six bills sponsored

by Distinguished Senators are aimed at improving the capacity, the capability, the efficiency and effectiveness of these agencies.

“We in the Senate in particular and in the National Assembly, the Legislature, feel that we must

continue to support all our security, military, paramilitary agencies especially at this time when we need all hands on deck for us to deal with the security challenge that our country faces.

“It is therefore not an ordinary event to have six bills in a Public Hearing. This shows how important the committee takes this exercise.

“We are waiting for the outcome of this public hearing to pass these bills by the Grace of God. These bills will be passed expeditiously.

“Let me emphasise that this is a public hearing. An open hearing. No holds barred sort of discussions. Please give us

whatever position, whatever advice, whatever professional and competent positions that you feel can make these agencies better.”

In his opening remarks, the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Shettima said the Public Hearing was intended to fast track the legislative processes in order to ensure that these bills were passed without any form of complexity.

“The major purpose of conducting this Public Hearing is to ensure that we have a common ground on every aspect of the proposed bills so that it will be presented and considered in the Senate chamber for the interest of Nigerians,” Shettima said.

Ugwuanyi Urges Pilgrims to Pray for Nigerian Leaders Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has been commended for his dedication to the building of faith of the people of the state through his administration’s constant sponsorship of indigenes to the Holy lands of Israel and Jordan.

Ugwuanyi was also commended for always putting Enugu in the front position among states in the country that embark on Christian Pilgrimage.

The Executive Secretary, Nigeria Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC), Rev. Dr. Yakubu Pam, made the commendations on Friday, in Enugu, during the National flag-off of the December 2022 Christian Pilgrimage, which

witnessed the airlifting of 300 Pilgrims to the Holy lands of Israel and Jordan, sponsored by the Ugwuanyi’s administration.

Speaking at the event, the NCPC Executive Secretary said that Enugu State has always been number one in the national exercise, stressing that the state is the first to commence the 2022 December Pilgrimage in the country.

Rev. Dr. Pam who described Governor Ugwuanyi as “the governor of the masses, the governor who brought Israel and Rome to Enugu State, a man of peace and a man that his people love so much”, maintained that “Enugu State will always be number one.”

He disclosed that “the first flight

that is going to airlift people to the December Pilgrimage touched down first in Enugu and it is in the airport now waiting for you (Pilgrims).”

Appreciating Governor Ugwuanyi’s commitment to the religious exercise and its positive impact on the people of Enugu State, the Executive Secretary stated that the governor has demonstrated “dedication of faith to your people”, adding: “It is not every governor that will realise the blessings behind building the faith of their people.

“Many here are going there with prayer requests through you who have approved this journey. Their prayer requests

will be answered.

“I want to say from the bottom of my heart, this God who has given you this wisdom, never in this life will he ever abandon you.

He will always be with you and keep you.”

In his brief remarks, the Executive Secretary, Enugu State Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board, Barr.

Nestor Ezeme pointed out that Governor Ugwuanyi has remained consistent in sponsoring Christian Pilgrims to the Holy Land of Israel and Jordan in spite of the state’s limited resources, revealing that it was because of this feat that the NCPC honoured him with ‘Best Pilgrimage Governor in the South East Nigeria’ award.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾DECEMBER 17, 2022

RingTrue 08054699539

Yemi

Adebowale

yemi.adebowale@thisdaylive.com

IPOB’s ‘Sit at Home’ Garbage Must End

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or five days, December 9 to 14, the South-east was again the scene of blood and tears, with terrorists loyal to Simon Ekpa’s faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) enforcing a pointless five-day sit-at-home decreed by the scoundrel. As usual, while the terrorists went about killing and maiming, security agents failed the people. Three persons, including a pregnant woman, were killed in Enugu State by the lunatics enforcing Ekpa’s order. The poor pregnant woman came for early morning market, in a bid to feed her family, but ended up in the grave.

A video of the two other Enugu State victims lying lifeless, in a pool of blood, in front of the Enugu University Teaching Hospital, left me thoroughly dejected.

Policemen in Enugu State blatantly left many disappointed. In the case of the attack on New Market, the terrorists (10 of them) entered the place to shut it and kill traders that refused to obey the “stay at home” order. One would think that policemen patrolling the market area, with instruction to reassure the traders of their safety, would confront the terrorists.

Sadly, they fled. No reinforcement came and the terrorists confidently set ablaze the police patrol vehicle at the scene.

How will law-abiding citizens resist Ekpa’s evil/illegitimate order and go about their lawful businesses when the police can’t guarantee their safety? This is so disheartening.

In Ebonyi State, the terrorists set ablaze a vehicle and some motorcycles at Nwakpu Market in Ndufu Alike, Ikwo LG. The driver of the vehicle set ablaze was shot as he attempted to put out the fire. This market is just a few metres away from the state’s deputy governor’s house and Alex Ekwueme Federal University,

As long as the police can’t protect citizens, this boloney called “sit at home” will persist.

Most people stay indoors for fear of attack.

Commercial and economic activities were grounded by Ekpa’s terrorists because of the failings of the police and other security agencies. Economies of South-east states have been crippled by this unending twaddle.

Every Monday “sit at home” by Nnamdi Kanu’s faction of the IPOB is still alive. Many are living like refugees and always in fear as terrorists unleash mayhem on the whole region yet, the extremists operated freely.

The IPOB terrorists operating in Mbaitoli near Owerri, Imo State, killed Prince Iheme, the elder brother of Nollywood actor, Osita Iheme, aka Pawpaw, on the first day of the “sit at home.” The victim was shot dead while riding in the same vehicle with the state’s Commissioner for Solid Minerals, Martins Eke. Eke received machete cuts from the attackers.

A policeman was also shot dead at 7up Junction, in Orji while four people were killed along Owerri-Okigwe Road on that same December 9.

The same Ekpa’s terrorists attacked the Imo State headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Owerri last Monday. This office, a high security

zone, was attacked with so much ease.

Buildings and vehicles in the compound were set ablaze. This is shocking and can only happen in Nigeria. Somebody should be penalised for this carelessness.

Surprisingly, nothing along this line has happened days after the attack. That was why the Imo State Police Command boldly went about telling Nigerians cock and bull stories after shamelessly failing to defend the INEC office.

As long as the police can’t protect citizens, this boloney called “sit at home” will persist. Most people stay indoors for fear of attack. Commercial and economic activities were grounded by Ekpa’s terrorists because of the failings of the police and other security agencies.

NJC Must Be Swift in Tackling Rascal Judges

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ews 16 days back that the National Judicial Council (NJC) had set up probe panels to investigate allegations of gross misconduct against 15 judges of federal and state high courts, was good music to my ears. This followed NJC’s Preliminary Complaint Assessment Committees report, which considered 66 petitions from all over the country. The probe panels are to determine the culpability of the judges in the various petitions filed against them by individuals and corporate bodies.

The large number of petitions against judges should not come as a surprise to many. The shenanigans in Nigerian courts pour. Honestly, I was stunned that the NJC forwarded just 15 of the 66 petitions to its probe panels.

Besides, the process is so long. This current probe may not end this year. Cases of judges, particularly High Court judges, abusing their offices is rampant across the country. They do it with so much impunity. In order to restore credibility to Nigerian courts, the NJC must act swiftly, sturdily and decisively against recalcitrant judges.

Investigation of petitions should not take months. Besides, the NJC must devise a way of tracking wayward judges, without necessarily waiting for petitions. For example, the NJC should not wait for petitions before sanctioning judges disrespecting the principle of judicial precedent. This technical term also known as “stare decisis” (Latin) means “let the decision stand.” The code upholds that cases with similar facts should be decided alike. In other words, decisions of superior courts should be followed by lower courts in circumstances where the facts of a case decided by a superior court is similar to the facts of the case before a lower court.

Put simply, lower courts must stand by earlier decisions of higher courts and not disturb established matters. This is frequently

not the case in Nigeria. I often cringe when some judges dish out judgements against the principle of judicial precedent. A good example here is the case of Tonye Cole, the Rivers State All Progressives Congress’s governorship candidate, who was disqualified by Justice Emmanuel Obile of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt for two reasons, as demanded by the PDP, one of which was that Cole holds dual citizenship (Nigeria and the United Kingdom), “which disqualifies him from vying for any elective office in Nigeria.”

It was a clear case of rascality by Justice Obile. For me, it does not require any petition before the NJC moves in, in an obvious rascality like this. Obile failed to respect judicial precedent. In 2004, a similar case between Dr. Willie Ogebide and Mr. Arigbe Osula moved from a High Court to the Court of Appeal, where the panel of justices led by the then Justice Walter Onnoghen (who retired as CJN) held that a citizen of Nigeria by birth is not banned in law from seeking elective offices in Nigeria even when such person has willingly acquired the citizenship of another country as done by Cole in the Rivers State case.

Justice Onnoghen’s judgment, which remains the judicial precedent (locus classicus) on any similar matter held: “It is clear and I, hereby, hold that the acquisition of dual citizenship by a Nigerian per se is not a ground for disqualification for election to the National Assembly, particularly where the Nigerian citizen is a citizen by birth. That is the clear meaning of the provisions in sections 66(1) and 28 of the 1999 constitution when taken together.

“The only Nigerian citizen disqualified by the said sections is one who is a citizen of Nigeria by either registration or naturalisation, who subsequently acquires the citizenship of another country in addition to his Nigerian citizenship…When a Nigerian by Naturalisation or Registration acquires the citizenship

CJN Ariwoola

of another country, he loses his right as a naturalised Nigeria. Such a person would not be able to contest any election into any elective office in Nigeria.”

So, there should not be illogicalities in cases bearing similar facts and involving clarification of the same constitutional provisions relating to double citizenship.

Justice Obile acted contrary to this. Section 28 of the Nigerian 1999 Constitution on dual citizenship in relation to disqualification for election is very clear.

Justice Obile in the Tonye Cole’s case can’t claim to be unaware of the earlier decision by a higher court. The case law is clear on the matter. The interpretation of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution relating to dual citizenship as it affects eligibility for election has been resolved by the Court of Appeal. There ought not to be any problem with the interpretation of these constitutional provisions.

The NJC must act decisively against judges disregarding the principle of judicial precedent.

It must not wait for petitions before acting authoritatively and sending the right signals to judges across the country. This is the only way forward for Nigeria’s Judiciary.

Economies of South-east states have been crippled by this unending twaddle. Every Monday “sit at home” by Nnamdi Kanu’s faction of the IPOB is still alive. Many are living like refugees and always in fear as terrorists unleash mayhem on the whole region.

This nonsense must stop. Bloodshed and destruction must end in this region.

The South-east governors should strappingly lead the resistance against “sit at home,” by Ekpa and Nnamdi Kanu.

They must ensure that commercial activities take place on “sit at home” days by mobilising security for the people.

Governors should fix some state functions for “sit at home” days and turn their Ebubeagu guns on terrorists who come out to resist it. I challenge them to go after the terrorists in their hideouts with Ebubeagu. These governors should also mobilise federal security agencies with their security votes, to tame the guerrillas.

The Igbo socio-political organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, was apt when it recently called on South-east governors to take steps to end the “sit-at-home” order forced on residents by terrorists.

The organisation agrees that the menace is crippling the economy and destroying lives. Its National Publicity Secretary, Dr Chiedozie Ogbonnia wants the governors to end the activities of terrorists.

Ogbonnia said: “This is the first time I am seeing freedom fighters or whatever, facing the barrel of the gun inwards, crippling the economy and destroying people. What is going on is very strange. Some of them think that by chanting, ‘Biafra Biafra,’ they will become Ojukwu. Unfortunately, they don’t know how we got here. I don’t understand how somebody can wake up from his house and begin to chant Biafra. It is nonsense.

“Anyone who wants Biafra should let us discuss, to know whether we are embarking on it or not. This Biafra has created problems for us in the South-east. It is crippling our economy, creating militancy and also unnecessary restiveness among the youth. It’s painful that somebody can wake up to begin to broadcast a sit-at-home order. We condemn it vehemently and we ask that people should go about their businesses. The government of the South-east should rise to the occasion and ensure that citizens and businesses are protected.”

The evil called Simon Ekpa is living in Finland in peace and inflicting pain on his people at home. Kudos to Nigerians all over the world for signing a petition appealing to the Finnish government, Nigerian government and the European Union to arrest Ekpa, the devil behind bloodbath in the South-east. Signatories are now in thousands.

The petition reads, “One Simon Ekpa (also known as Ifeanyi Njoku), a Nigerian living in Finland and holding Finnish citizenship, has by proxies, successfully established and coordinated an armed rebel group in Eastern Nigeria whom he now wields to destroy lives, property, and businesses in Eastern Nigeria.

“Simon is a separatist fighting for state secession but has never been brave enough to come home and lead the war from the front in Nigeria. He is rather igniting and fueling terror on his ethnic group who decline his call for secession. Simon’s action is stirring up bloodbath – a genocide in the region, and innocent women, children, the aged and youths are the victims dying daily.”

I’m encouraging more Nigerians to sign this petition to prick the conscience of the government of Finland. As for the Nigerian government, it must intensify diplomatic efforts to repatriate the wicked Ekpa. He must be brought home to account for his crime against humanity.

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SATURDAY DECEMBER 17, 2022 • T H I S D AY

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 17, 2022

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Ferdinand Ekechukwu 08035011394 Email: ferdi_adthisday@yahoo.com

SHOWBIZFLAIR

All-star ‘Battle On Buka Street’ Premieres Ferdinand Ekechukwu

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rust when it comes to anything Funke Akindele, it’s always huge and loud.

Hence the carnival like atmosphere at the Landmark Event Center, Oniru, Lagos last Sunday night, when the Nollywood actress and producer, premiered her latest project, ‘Battle On Buka Street’, which opened in cinemas nationwide yesterday.

It attracted personalities from movie, music and fashion; all stepped out bold to support Akindele.

Cast and colleagues like Iyabo Ojo, Mercy Johnson, Sola Sobowale, Nkem Owoh, among others showed up to FHOHEUDWH ZLWK WKH ÀOPPDNHU FXP SROLWLcian. Photos and videos spotlighting fun moments from the star-studded premiere trended as guests made their way through the red-carpet to catch a ÀUVW JOLPSVH RI WKH IHDWXUH ÀOP SURMHFW Popularly known as Jenifa, Akindele KDG HDUOLHU DQQRXQFHG RQ KHU R΀FLDO Instagram page that guests attending the event show up in Christmas colours, red and green. As expected, many who came out to celebrate the actress who is running to become the next deputy

governor of Lagos State kept to the theme of the night.

The new title, which parades an array of stars including Bimbo Ademoye, Kevin Ikeduba, Regina Chukwu, Tina Mba just to mention a few, joins other titles including Inkblot production’s Palava! and the Toyin Abraham’s Ijakumo, all coming to the cinemas this December.

‘Buka on The Street’ follows a food challenge which focuses on who wins the crown as the ‘King of Buka Streets’.

Produced by the newly unveiled Funke Ayotunde Akindele Network (FAAN) and Co-Directed by Tobi Makinde, “Battle on Buka Street’ is the actress’s third co-directorial since EbonyLife’s Your Excellency and the record breaking Omo Ghetto: The Saga.

Once speaking about her involvement in the project, Akindele said: “‘Battle on Buka Street’ is like a farewell because I am going to be the next deputy governor of Lagos State. So, I am passing the baton to the new ones because we need to give them an opportunity. Yes, I will be in the background to advise and supervise them, but let them be the face, let us celebrate them, are you not tired of seeing old faces?”

Funke Akindele, Sola Sobowale and Nkem Owoh

DJ Cuppy is Officially Engaged Ferdinand Ekechukwu

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Cuppy and Taylor

he news is everywhere that billionaire heiress, Florence Otedola, aka DJ Cuppy is engaged. The disc jockey cum singer is engaged to British boxer Ryan Taylor.

The daughter of Nigerian business mogul, Femi Otedola was in the news a few weeks ago following a viral video of the marriage proposal from the British boxer to her on social media. &XSS\ PD\ KDYH ÀQDOO\ IRXQG WKH PDQ of her dreams. Recall that Cuppy who is one of the most talked about female disc jockeys in Nigerian had made a startling revelation about her love life.

The award-winning entertainer once in an interview disclosed that she has dated every race of men apart from Asia.

Cuppy, who met Ryan barely a month ago, has been mute about the engagement

since it surfaced online, but took to her Instagram page last MonGD\ WR FRQÀUP WKDW VKH·V R΀FLDOO\ engaged. Ever since the news of the engagement popped-up last month, they have been spotted WRJHWKHU RQ GLͿHUHQW RFFDVLRQV in the company of each other since after their “fun nigh out”.

Describing him as the love of her life, the ‘Gelato’ crooner stated that sometimes one falls for the most unexpected person at the most unexpected time. According to her, love is a beautiful WKLQJ WKDW GHÀHV WKH FRQFHSW RI time and reason, adding that it could be found when you least expected it. She also disclosed that they met at the Gumball 3000 driving rally in Dubai, and the connection was instant.

Describing him as the love

of her life, she stated that sometimes one falls for the most unexpected person at the most unexpected time. She wrote, “I FDQ R΀FLDOO\ DQQRXQFH WKDW ,·P engaged! Only 25 days ago during @Gumball3000 driving rally, I met the love of my life.

Sometimes you fall for the most unexpected person at the most unexpected time and for the most unexpected reason. I love you deep @RyanTaylor”.

Snippets of the Otedola empire heiress’ engagement to the British ER[HU DQG <RXWXEHU ÀUVW VXUIDFHG on the internet on November 20, 2022. Not a few over the last few days have taken to social media to share their opinions about the relationship between the popular singer/DJ Cuppy and her Oyinbo lover, Ryan Taylor.

CJ Obasi’s Work Selected for Sundance Film Festival

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en years ago, the 26-year-old Ryan Coogler received a standing ovation at Sundance Film Festival, this year, a recently selected Nigerian Director, CJ Obasi might be next.

2EDVL PDGH ÀOPPDNLQJ KLVWRU\ RQ 'HFHPEHU EHFRPLQJ WKH ÀUVW KRPHJURZQ 1LJHULDQ ÀOPPDNHU WR EH VHOHFWHG E\ WKH SUHVWLJLRXV 6XQGDQFH )LOP )HVWLYDO ZLWK KLV ÀOP 0DPL Wata ,Q D ÀUVW IRU WKH FRXQWU\ D 1LJHULDQ ÀOP “Mami Wata” has been selected in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2023 edition of the Sundance Film Festival, taking place in Salt Lake City, Utah in the United States from January 19 to 29, 2023.

Born and raised in a small town, Owerri, Nigeria, Obasi grew up in horror movies and novels. Comics and character development were also a favourite pastime for him, a talent he made money from as a young boy. The screenwriter and editor studied computer science at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, EXW GHFLGHG WKDW ÀOP PDNLQJ ZDV KLV OLIH·V calling.

2EDVL LV QRW QHZ WR ÀOPPDNLQJ +LV IHDWXUH debut, titled Ojudu debuted at the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) in 2014, winning the award for Best Nigerian Film.

For his groundbreaking work in Ojudu,

Obasi won the Trailblazer of the Year Award at the 2015 AMVCAs and has now been listed in IndieWire’s Top 12 Best Zombie Movies of All Time.

As a writer, Obasi may best be remembered for writing the drama “Lionheart,” directed

by Genevieve Nnaji and contributing to the Living in Bondage sequel directed by Ramsey Nouah.

The Sundance Film Festival brings together the most original storytellers for its annual programme of the dramatic, documentary, DQG VKRUW ÀOPV HSLVRGLF VWRU\WHOOLQJ OLYHO\ ÀOPPDNHU FRQYHUVDWLRQV DQG SDQHO GLVFXVVLRQV The gathering has seen the launch of the careers of several well-known directors, including the director and writer of Black Panther, Ryan Coogler as well as other industry heavyweights like Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, Darren Aronofsky, and the Coen brothers.

Produced by Oge Obasi, and distributed in Africa by Film One, Mami Water is the story of two sisters who, when their village LV WKUHDWHQHG PXVW ÀJKW WR VDYH WKHLU SHRSOH and restore the glory of a mermaid goddess WR WKH ODQG 7KH ÀOP·V VHOHFWLRQ LQ WKH :RUOG Cinema Dramatic Competition makes it a nominee for the festival’s World Cinema Grand Jury Prize, Directing, and Special Jury Award.

Reacting to news of the selection and Sun-

dance’s announcement, leading production and distribution company, Film One Distribution, GLVWULEXWRUV RI WKH ÀOP LQ $IULFD H[SUHVVHG their excitement and declared it a boost for WKH 1LJHULDQ ÀOP LQGXVWU\ ´7KLV LV D ELJ deal for us. We had a good feeling about WKLV ÀOP DQG EHOLHYHG LQ & - ·V H[FHSWLRQDO talent as a director, and while we have looked forward to this selection, it is still very gratifying to know we are supporting the very best coming out of Nigeria,” said the company’s co-founders, Moses Babatope and Kene Okwuosa.

Excited, C.J. and Oge Obasi said: “We are so very thrilled about this selection. It is such a great honour and honestly, it feels surreal. You put in the work and hope for the best, then when recognition comes, it LV ERWK UHPDUNDEOH DQG YHU\ IXOÀOOLQJ ,W LV also a challenge to keep raising the bar and inspiring others to do the same.”

The Sundance Film Festival also hosts daily ÀOPPDNHU FRQYHUVDWLRQV SDQHO GLVFXVVLRQV and other events. Since 1985, hundreds of ÀOPV ODXQFKHG DW WKH IHVWLYDO KDYH JRQH on to gain critical acclaim and reach new audiences worldwide.

Approximately 4,000 submissions for feature ÀOPV DQG IRU VKRUWV DUH VXEPLWWHG WR the Sundance Festival each year. Of these, only 120 or so features make and about 60-70 shorts make it in each year.

CJ Obasi

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 17, 2022

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SHOWBIZFLAIR

Asake Laments Disruption of London Show Ferdinand Ekechukwu

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ave-making singer/ songwriter Asake yesterday issued an emotional statement after fans were left injured at his gig last Thursday in London. The incident occurred during the last of three sold-out performances at the 02 Academy in Brixton. The breakout star was forced to cancel his sold-out show at O2 Academy Brixton midway through after crowds of people, many of whom did not have tickets, attempted to gain access.

The Nigerian Afrobeats singer, 27, in the statement said his heart is with those who were injured during his performance in London on Thursday, December 15. Asake is touring his debut album, ‘Mr. Money with The Vibe’.

Taking to his Instagram story last Friday, Asake wrote: “My heart is with those who were injured last night and caused any form of discomfort. I pray you will get well soonest. I am also in the process of reaching out to the individuals. I still do not have the full brief from the venue management themselves as to what led to the disruption at the entrance of the Brixton Academy, but we are thankful that all was peaceful at the end.”

According to reports, ticketless fans tried to breach the venue doors, forcing the sold-out show to stop halfway through on Thursday night. Social media footage shows a large crowd building up outside the venue. Another video from social

Asake

media appears to show people trying to evade security. Four people were critically injured and four others were hospitalised following a crush at the concert venue in south London.

Police and other emergency services were called to the O2 Academy in Brixton following reports that a large number of people were attempting to force entry into the venue. Metropolitan police noted that serious crushes at UK gigs are very rare,

hence, the incident was described as upsetting.

The police arrived to find a number of people with injuries believed to have been caused by crushing.

Detectives are investigating the circumstances which led to four people sustaining critical injuries,” the Metropolitan police said. “Two less seriously injured people were treated at the scene while the eight others were taken to hospital by ambulance.

No arrests have been made. This is an extremely upsetting incident which has left four people critically ill in hospital. A police investigation has been launched, and it will be as thorough and as forensic as necessary to establish exactly what happened last night,” Commander Ade Adelekan said.

He added that specialist officers will examine the scene and CCTV, but appealed for anyone with information to come forward. The O2 Academy Brixton has a standing capacity of nearly 5,000 people, according to its website.

Asake’s debut album ‘Mr. Money With The Vibe’ broke streaming records and emerged as the biggest Afrobeats artiste.

On Friday, September 30th 2022, Asake put RXW WKH WLFNHW IRU KLV ÀUVW /RQGRQ VKRZ ZKLFK was held on October 3rd and the ticket sold RXW LQ ÀYH PLQXWHV 7KLV OHG $VDNH WR SXW RXW another date for 15th December which sold out in minutes and led to the announcement of another 17th December show which like the two dates also sold out in minutes.

Asake admitted that he might have downplayed the level of acceptance and patronage he enjoys in the UK where the album reached NO.1 on the UK Apple Music Album Chart and spend multiple days atop the chart.

2022 has been an incredible year for the artiste, real name Ahmed Ololade, who has enjoyed an unprecedented run he capped with his recordbreaking debut album ‘Mr. Money With The Vibes’.

His music has travelled internationally where it found an impressive audience in UK and the US. Everything that concerns the artiste is here to stay.

Toro Entertainment’s Achievas Entertainment Engages Pencil the Comedian Mega Showdown Tosin Clegg

all hands are currently on deck towards putting out a standard concert that the Achievas brand is associated with.

Guests can get a premium boat pickup from any of the jetties from Ikoyi to VGC, and an opportunity to enjoy entertainment under a lush space with a beautiful ocean view.

A

s part of plans to deliver a world class event, top notch RXWÀW FUHDWLYH KXE $FKLHYDV Entertainment has engaged WKH VHUYLFHV RI SUROLÀF comedian, event compere and actor extraordinaire, Nwanevu Ogechi Cyril, better known as Pencil as one of the producers of its coming event tagged ‘Beer With Us festival’ billed to on January 6, 2023 at the Landmark Leisure Beach, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Pencil stated that judging by the track records of Achievas Entertainment in the industry, one should be considered lucky to be a part of a formidable team known for excellence.

He said, “I am bringing in all my experiences as a show producer to this particular festival to make it the talk of the town and the biggest event ever; I will be working tirelessly with other producers on the board so that all expectations are met. Guests should be assured WKDW WKH\ DUH LQ D WUHDW IURP VWDUW WR ÀQLVK DW WKH event.”

With names of the performing artistes still under wrap; guests will enjoy performances from rave of the moment, surprise international artiste and host of remarkable DJs and comedians.

Achievas Entertainment top executives Chiori Daniel Cole and Paul Cole Chiori disclosed that

Pencil

Tosin Clegg

T

oro Entertainment Company, is set to host a series of events this December in Lagos, carefully packaged and prepared to entertain a wide array of fans and give them a blast from the 29th to the 31st of December 2022.

7KH VHULHV RI VKRZ LV VHW WR NLFN RͿ with Eko4show and Wave of Afrobeats on the 29th of December at Landmark Beach, Oniru and it would be a roll from the 90s back to 2000s. The experience would be an opportunity to see Awilo, 2baba, Dbanj, Wande Coal, Dr. Sid, Femi Kuti and MI. The 30th of December show with BigWiz is one a lot of Wizkid fans are looking forward to, judging by the announcement Wizkid had made earlier about his last show in Lagos.

As usual, the second dose of Vibes with Wizkid is going to be a blast, with melodies from his album, More Love, Less Ego. Founder/CEO, Toro Entertainment Company, Adetoro Fowoshere appreciated the partnership of Landmark in joining hands to host the events at

Wiz Kid

their turf. She also assured fans that the shows would be an experience and in a video call with Wizkid’s manager, Sunday Aare, an assurance of Wizkid’s DWWHQGDQFH ZDV IXUWKHU D΀UPHG 7KH UROO RI HYHQWV ÀQDOO\ FRPHV WR an end with The DJ Rave on the 31st of December as they take center stage.

The likes of DJ BigN, DJ Maphorisa, DJ Neptune, DJ Tunez, DJ Spinall, DJ Consequence, will be in action.

Covers Africa’s Sing to Stardom Season 2 Set for 2023 Oluchi Chibuzor

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overs Africa is set to beam its searchlight again on the next big music talents from Africa, through a music TV show designed to empower up-andcoming music acts and to showcase their creativity, through the talent of other established musicians’ original produc-

tion.

With season 2 set for 2023, ‘the 13 weeks show will be aired and publicized across top media channels in Africa, promoting the vocal delivery skill of up-and-coming African music artistes. According to the organizers, Covers Africa season 2 also boasts of strategic partnership with DKK, Films House Cinema and TSTV and there are still windows for more sponsorship.

7KH &KLHI 2SHUDWLQJ 2΀FHU ([HFXtive Producer of the show, Mrs Daisy

Okwa, said the second edition would feature some of Africa’s biggest music stars drilling and grooming the contestants at various stages. She revealed that the judges for this year are; Bennett Ogbeiwi (Uncle Ben), Simidrey, Efe Macroc and Daniel Etim; with VJ Adams and the delectable Bamike (BamBam) as the host.

Okwa adds, “Audition takes place in Lagos on January 14,

2023. Our team has gathered some of the best talents in music and media production to put together a show that is fashioned to give entertainment and music lovers a lifetime experience on TV. “To the musicians out there, so you think your vocal delivery game is top notch...then bring it on! All interested applicants are to register on www. coversafrica.com “. In season 1 of the show, John C emerged overall winner and carted home millions of naira and a major boost to his musical career.”

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 17, 2022

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SHOWBIZFLAIR

Eze

Gerald Eze Shakes the Rafters with Debut Album Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

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A multi-instrumentalist, he also plays the Ubo-aka, the Igbo musical instrument that would have gone completely extinct but for his effort in teaching it to children and his university students. It is noteworthy that the “Igbo Rising” album project is a celebration of the heroic “Igbo Landing” incident of the Igbos who refused to be slaves and instead drowned at Dunbar Creek, St. Simons Island, Glynn County, Georgia in 1803

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 17 , 2022

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n Saturday December 10th, 2022, Prominent Religious Leaders, Muslim Faithfuls, Members of the Academic Community, Well-Wishers, Family Members from Ifetedo in Osun State and dignitaries from all walks of life converged on lbadan the Oyo State capital to felicitate with the mother of erudite and successful lawyer, Mallam Yusuf Ali, SAN, Alhaja Fomosara Taibat Ali who was Turbaned as Iya Adini Musulumi of Carew Central Mosque, Beyerunka Street, Ibadan. At over 90, the agile, cool and calm newly installed Iya Adini of Musulumi thanked Almighty Allah to be alive to witness the great honour bestowed on her. Dignitaries were later treated to a lavish reception at Watershed Event Center, Old Ife Road, lbadan. Here are a few faces that graced the occasion

L-R: Daughter of the celebrant, Mrs. Fausat Adepoju, newly installed Iya Adini Musulumi of Carew Central Mosque, Beyerunwa, Alhaja Taibat Ali and son, Mallam Yusuf Ali, SAN

R-L: Mrs. Balikisi Aderinoye, Prof. AbdulRasheed Adewunmi Aderinoye, son of the celebrant, Mallam Yusuf Ali, SAN and Alhaji Adebayo Adelodun, SAN

Newly installed Iya Adini Musulumi of Carew Central Mosque, Beyerunka, Ibadan, Alhaja Fomosara Taibat Ali at the turbaning ceremony

L-R: Vice-Chancellor, University of Ilorin, Prof. Wahab Egbewole, SAN, son of the celebrant, Mallam Yusuf Ali, SAN and Professor of Islamic Studies and Former Commissioner for Local Government, Osun State, Prof. Muibu Opeloye

L-R: Celebrant and newly installed Iya Adini Musulumi of Carew Central Mosque, Alhaja Taibat Ali and Aare Musulumi of Akinyele, Alhaji Salahudeen Akinleye

L-R: Dr. Wale Babalakin, SAN and son of the celebrant, Mallam Yusuf Ali, SAN

L-R: Eketa Balogun of Ibadanland, Rear Admiral Akintola Ibikunle, Olubosin of Ifetedo Kingdom, HRM Oba Akinola Akinrera, Latiiri 1

JAMB Registrar/Coordinator of the Turbaning Ceremony, Prof. Isaq Oloyede

L-R: Chief Imam of Ilorin, Dr. Mohammed Bashir Imam Solih, OON and The Grand Chief Imam of Ibadanland, Sheikh Abdul Ganiyu Abubakri Agbotomokekere

L-R: Chief Judge of Kwara State, Hon. Justice Sulaiman Durosinlohun Kawu, Chief Host, Barr. Kunle Carew and Executive Secretary of MUSWEN, Prof.

Musliu Yahaya

L-R: Deputy Managing Director, CourteVille Business Solutions Plc, Alhaji Wale Shonaike, Alhaji AbdulGafar Adetomiwa and Mogaji Ile-Ali, Ifetedo in Osun State, Alhaji Abdul Rafiu Ali

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 17 , 2022

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L-R: Osi of Ifetedo Kingdom, High Chief Olaleye Fayemi , Bishop Adepoju Albert and Mr. Alfred Akinloye.

L-R: Executive Director, African Re-Insurance Corporation (Johannesburg, SouthAfrica,) Alhaji Ibrahim Ibisomi, Deputy President 1, MUSWEN, Alhaji Rafiu Adisa Ebiti and Group Managing Director, CRC Bureau Limited, Dr. Ahmed Tunde Popoola

L-R: Ajanasi Agba Ilorin, Sheikh Muritala Yusuf and Imam Imole of Ilorin, Dr. Abdullahi AbdulAmid

L-R: National President, Muslim Ummah of South-West Nigeria (MUSWEN), Alhaji Rasaki Oladejo, Pioneer Executive Secretary, MUSWEN, Prof. Daud Noibi and Prof. Kamil Koyejo Oloso

R-L: Former Vice-Chancellor, Osun State University, Prof. Labo Popoola and Dr. Gani Adeniran

L-R: Alhaju Suleiman AbdulMalik, Chief Imam of Carew Central Mosque, Alhaji Nurudeen AbdulKareem Ojasope, Alhaji AbdulGafar Awwal and Alhaji Mutiulai AbdulAhmed

L-R: Babasale of Ilorin, Mallam Abdullahi Sadiq and Alhaji Balogun Alanamu

R-L: Son of the celebrant, Alhaji Ahmed Ali and Barr.

Bello Afolayan

L-R: Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Health Science, Ila-Orangun, Osun State, Prof. Akeem Lasisi, Prof. Ayo Hammed of Department of Counselling and Human Development and Former Dean of Arts, University of Ibadan, Prof.

Afiz Oladokun

Chief Missioner Islamic Prayer Group/Chief Imam of Challenge Central Mosque, Sheikh Najimudeen

L-R: Daughter of the celebrant, Mrs. Fausat Adepoju, Alhaja Nurat Jimoh and Alhaja Modinat Hamzat

L-R: Grandchildren of the celebrant: L-R: Dr. Yusuf Ali, Ms. Nimah Ali and Ms. Barakah Ali -Nagode

Dr. Ojo-John Olusola of Tertiary Education Fund (tetfund)

L-R: R.A Lawal Rabana, Prof. AbdulRasheed Adewunmi Aderinoye and Alhaji Kamar Isola Dairo

L-R: Dr. Mobolaji Ojibara and Mr. Kehinde Eleja, SAN

L-R: AbdulRahman Nagode, Alhaja Hafsat Nagode and husband and Executive Director, NNPC Alhaji AbdulKadir Nagode

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 17, 2022

PEOPLE Season of Honours for Tony Elumelu Charles Ajunwa writes that the entrepreneurial and managerial acumen of the Chairman of United Bank for Africa and Heirs Holdings, Mr. Tony Elumelu, attract recognitions from across the globe

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he Chairman of the United Bank for Africa UBA, Heirs Holdings and Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mr.Tony Elumelu, is one of the most sought-after bankers and entrepreneurs, who through tenacity, resilience and philanthropy has continued to thrive where others fear to tread. Elumelu’s business model is winning him respect and recognitions from notable organisations and leaders across the globe.

Army’s Recognition Award Charity, they say, begins at home. At the just concluded 2022 Chief of Army Staff Conference in Sokoto, Elumelu received a Recognition Award from President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Award from the Army was in recognition ofThe Tony Elumelu Foundation’s economic empowerment for wives of soldiers who lost their lives fighting to keep Nigeria safe and secure.

Tony Elumelu Foundation’s Economic Empowerment for widows of the Armed Forces of Nigeria gives widows of slain soldiers business training and seed capital of $2,000 each to begin their entrepreneurial journey and cater for their families.

Commenting on the award, Elumelu who is known to be always passionately disposed to helping the less-privileged, expressed profound gratitude to men and women of the Army who continually risk their lives daily to defend the territorial integrity of Nigeria. Also, he thanked President Buhari, Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Staff for considering him worthy of the award.

Elumelu was recognised alongside Chairman of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Chairman of BUA Group, Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank, Jim Ovia, Col. Hameed Ali, Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service, and Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, a former Chief of Army Staff.

All these people had made a sterling impact on the Nigerian Army in different ways.

Excellence Award from ECOWAS Elumelu was honoured recently with the 2022 ECOWAS Prize of Excellence Award for Deserving Citizens of the Community by the President of the Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS), Dr. Omar Alieu Touray. According to Touray, the award was in recognition of Elumelu’s contribution to promoting regional integration, peace andsocio-economicdevelopmentacrossAfricathrough his work at Heirs Holding Group and the impact of his philanthropy through the Tony Elumelu Foundation.

An elated Elumelu, described the honour done him thus: “This award is a recognition of our contribution to promoting regional integration, peace and socioeconomic development across Africa, through our work at Heirs Holdings Group and the impact of our philanthropy, the Tony Elumelu Foundation.”

CFR National Honour On October 11, 2022, Elumelu received the National honour of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic.

Elumelu,whoisknownforshortbutconcisespeeches reacted this way: “I am humbled and honoured to have received Nigeria’s second highest national honour - Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) - conferred by H.E. President @MBuhari, today at the International Conference Centre Abuja.”

TIME 100 Impact Award Africa’s leading investor and philanthropist, Elumelu, in March was honoured with the TIME 100 Impact Award, a recognition for his track record of business turnaround and value creation, and economic empowerment of young Africans.

Elumelu was one of the four Africans named by TIME magazine in the 2020 TIME 100, the annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

At the well-attended ceremony which took place at the Museum of the Future in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Elumelu when he mounted the podium to acceptthecovetedawardspokewithasenseofurgency.

The trained economist thrilled his audience made up of celebrities, politicians and prominent business leaders. He announced that “The world is in need of people like us- more than ever before,” adding, “In the 21st Century, there’s so much poverty, sickness, and bitterness in the world. Our calling should be one that has to prioritise humanity.”

Apart from stressing that Africa, and the world,

President re esi sid ide dentt Buhari Buh uhar har arii presenting pres pr esen es enti ting ing Army Arm rmy y Recognition Rec ecog ogniiti tion ion Award Awaard d to to Elumelu Elu lume lume mellu lu

needed investment and opportunities more than ever, Elumelu called for pulling together resources to tackle the hydra-headed problems of poverty and unemployment.

Past Awards and Honours Elumeluhasgarneredmanynationalandinternational awards.

In 2003, the Federal Government of Nigeria granted Elumelu the title of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR), a national honour. Also in 2006, he won the African Business Leader of The Year Award conferred by the United Kingdom-based magazine, Africa Investor. In 2009, the Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua asked him to serve on the Presidential Committee on the Global Financial Crisis.

Elumelu in 2012, received Nigeria’s prestigious award of Commander of the Order of the Niger, (CON) for his service in promoting private enterprise.

At the 5th edition of the annual Economic Forum of the Ivorian National Council of Employers, CGECI Academy, (CGECI) in Abidjan in April 2016, he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Also, in 2016, he was awarded the Daily Times, Nigerian Man of the Year. The same year, Elumelu received the Daily Times Man of the Year award, he received the Inaugural Dwight D. Eisenhower Global Entrepreneurship Award in 2017, Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU) and the French President Macron ‘Tech for Good’ global coalition award in 2018.

Also in 2018, Elumelu received the Person of the

Year Award from the Vanguard Newspapers, Nigeria. In 2019, he received the National Productivity Order of Merit, the Jeune Afrique ‘100 Most Influential Africans, and Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration (Honoris Causa), Impacts Elumelu is the Chairman of leading African financial services group, the United Bank for Africa (UBA), with presence in 20 African countries, and offices in Paris, London, and New York. He is the Founder and Chairman of Heirs Holdings Ltd, an African propriety investment company, with interests in power, oil and gas, financial services, hospitality, real estate and healthcare The Delta State-born internationallyacclaimed businessman sits on numerous public and social sector boards, including the global advisory board of the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All Initiative (SE4ALL), USAID’s Private Capital Group Partners Forum (PCG), and is Co-Chair of the Aspen Institute’s Global Food Security Working Group.

He serves on the international boards of the Washington DC-based think tank the Wilson Centre and a member of the Global Advisory Council, Harvard Kennedy School’s Centre for Public Leadership, Harvard University, Global Advisory Council, UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited (GenU), an initiative of the United Nations refocused youth agenda, Member,

I am where I am today because of luck. Let me be clear, luck is important, but it is not a substitute for hard work or labour. Luck is part of the cocktail that you need for success. You have to work hard and be more passionate and committed about what you do, to be successful and make your own luck

Global Shapers Foundation, World Economic Forum and Member, World Economic Forum Community of Chairmen.

Elumelu is known for his significant contribution to entrepreneurship in Africa. In 2010, he created The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), the philanthropy empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, catalysing economic growth, driving poverty eradication and ensuring job creation across all 54 African countries.

The foundation has given $5,000 each to 15,000 young entrepreneurs from 54 African countries as part of its effort to grow the entrepreneurial spirit in Africa and encourage economic development. Bretton WoodsCommittee,whichbringstogetherseniorleaders in the global banking industry, a recognition of his work on African development.

Elumelu who is a Fellow of the Nigeria Leadership Initiative (NLI), is involved, through his Foundation, with the Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative (AGI) in a partnership to strengthen the private sector’s role in the economic transformation of select African countries. This partnership is called the Blair-Elumelu Fellowship Programme. He is co-chair of the Africa Energy Leaders’ Group (AELG).

Secret of Success Recently, Elumelu revealed that luck brought him where he is today, but was quick to add, “luck is important but that doesn’t make it a substitute for hard work or labour. Hard work and passion are the two most important ingredients for luck.

“I am where I am today because of luck. Let me be clear, luck is important, but it is not a substitute for hard work or labour. Luck is part of the cocktail that you need for success.

“There are two ingredients for luck – hard work and passion. The more work you put into something and the more passion you apply, the ‘luckier’ you find yourself.

“You have to work hard and be more passionate and committed about what you do, to be successful and make your own luck.

“Hard work and passion are within your power and control, and you should apply them to earn your own luck and to help us foster a better and more prosperous world.”

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾DECEMBER 17, 2022

POLITY

Enugu 2023: Agric and Agro-allied Revolution Beckons Chuka Asadu Nigeria’s calamitous economic state can be likened to that of a man, who lives on the bank of the river, but washes his hands with spittle.

The consequence of the protracted obsession with petrodollars and abandonment of agriculture, which used to be the nation’s economic mainstay, is that a country so blessed with rich, arable lands and wonderful climate, has been reduced to a net importer of foods. According to the Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s international trade in agricultural goods in 2021 totalled N3.24 trillion with the import towering above exports by a whooping N2.23 trillion.

It is also recalled that Nigeria used to be the largest palm oil producer in the 1950s and early 1960s, commanding 43 per cent of the world market share of palm oil. Today, Nigeria has not only dropped, the country now imports to meet local deficits. According to Statista, a German market and consumer data firm, Indonesia lead in palm oil production with 45.3 million metric tons in 2021/2022, followed by Malaysia with 18.3 million metric tons, Thailand with 3.1 million metric tons, Colombia with 1.7 million metric tons, while Nigeria produced a paltry 1.4 million metric tons to place fifth despite the country’s huge potentials.

Likewise, Nigeria imports 99 per cent of her wheat needs, mostly in forms of flour. Out of the 5 million metric tons of national wheat needs in 2021, Nigeria only produced a paltry 36,943 tons, according to NBS. Also, Nigeria imported N258.3 billion worth of wheat in the first quarter of 2022, making it the second most imported goods in that quarter. Ours is such a pathetic case that even a Mbah war-torn Ukraine, in November 2022, announced plans to ship 125 tons of wheat and corn grains in humanitarian aid to Nigeria, Sudan, Yemen, and His core objective in the Kenya. agricultural sector is to feed and However, despite these backdrops, the agricultural blueprint of the Peoples Democratic Party turn Enugu State into the food (PDP) governorship candidate in Enugu State, Dr. basket of the nation and the hub Peter Mbah has continued to elicit massive interest, of export of cash crops. He targets awakening hopes of brighter agricultural future in Enugu State in particular and Nigeria in general. to eliminate food insecurity in It must be admitted that the current administrathe state by 2031. Dr. Mbah seeks tion in the state has commendably taken some positive steps such as the local cow-breeding to make agriculture a profitable venture, the Public Private Partnership with Ellah business that creates jobs for the Lakes Plc. towards the overhaul and restoration of youth and women, increase factor Adani Rice Farm (Adarice) in Uzo-Uwani LGA of the state, and training of farmers. It is good news, productivity five folds, deepen therefore, that Dr. Peter Mbah is not only ready to agricultural markets, increase build on these, but has made agriculture one of the cornerstones and major contributors to the state’s incomes to farmers and revenue GDP in his agenda of building Enugu from a $4.4 contributions to Enugu State, billion to a $30 billion economy in eight years. and turn the rural areas into His core objective in the agricultural sector is to feed and turn Enugu State into the food basket of the agricultural economic zones nation and the hub of export of cash crops. He targets to eliminate food insecurity in the state by 2031. Dr. Mbah seeks to make agriculture a profitable business that creates jobs for the youth and women, increase The accelerated Technologies for Agricultural factor productivity five folds, deepen agricultural Systems Transformation in Enugu State (TASTE) markets, increase incomes to farmers and revenue programme, which is modeled after African contributions to Enugu State, and turn the rural areas Development Bank’s Technologies for African into agricultural economic zones.

Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) that has It is also noteworthy that Dr. Mbah is not talking assisted many African nations in achieving selfabout just agricultural revolution in Enugu, but also sufficiency in key staple crops will engage the agro-allied industrialization that transcends producprivate sector and development partners towards a tion to fully exploiting the economic gains in the rapid access to agricultural technologies like fertilisvalue chain like processing, packaging, logistics, and ers, machinery, seeds, logistics, and fertilisers that marketing. promote productivity in the sector.

To achieve this, he plans to create Agro-Industrial Adopting the car-sharing platforms models like Processing Zone (SAPZ) in each senatorial district Bolt and Uber, the above will be implemented with catchment power sources, integrated rural through technology-enabled machinery sharing infrastructure that covers roads, ICT, water, and mobile platforms, partnering with existing platsanitization, among others. These will facilitate acforms like “Hello Tractor” and equally motivating cess to farm inputs such as improved technologies, local entrepreneurs to collaborate with international high-yielding seeds, machineries, and fertilisers, investors to set up indigenous companies through among others. local and international franchising policies.

The E-Wallet system, which has worked in over 32 countries, including Nigeria, will also be deployed to avail farmers of high-yielding, diseaseresistant, and drought-tolerant seeds, while also making inputs like fertilisers and herbicides readily available to farmers at subsidized rates.

Technology-enabled extension services, on its part, will see the prospective Mbah-led administration provide structured training, technical assistance, and extension to farmers through electronic mobile platforms. Dr Mbah, in his manifesto and various interactive forums with professional bodies and town hall meetings across Enugu’s 68 development centres, continually lays out plans to partner with existing platforms supported by the U.S Department of Agriculture to avail farmers of advisory services to optimise productivity.

There will also be an M-Farm technology to link farmers to markets, improve price discovery, and contact purchasing by Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and export markets. The farmers will simply send a dedicated code by SMS to get information pertaining to the retail price of their products, buy their farm inputs directly from manufacturers at favorable prices, and find buyers for their produce.

Meanwhile, to develop the agricultural produce value chain, Dr. Mbah intends to have the Enugu State Government partner with the private sector to develop MSME for the processing, packaging, logistics, and marketing of agricultural produce in the SAPZs and the farmer cooperatives in the rural communities. The value chain development will transcend staple crops to equally target cash crops such as Ogbono, maize, Nsukka pepper, palm oil, and cashew nuts, among others.

The agricultural-allied masterplan also includes encouraging and enhancing private investment in piggery, poultry and egg production, small ruminant production, and fish production. In this respect, government will ensure the provision of technical assistance and agricultural extension services, introduction of hybrids of livestock, and encourage investments in value chain, using best practices in order to meet international certifications to facilitate the acceptability and marketability of Enugu’s value-added agricultural products in the international market.

To address the issue of availability of land, Mbah plans to, among others, work with the Enugu State House of Assembly and the communities to legislate the harmonisation of land tenure under government’s control for onward lease to commercial farmers and agro-industrialists.

He also has a clear idea on how to address the insecurity and challenges associated with animal husbandry in the state, as he intends to open up areas for private investments in modern animal husbandry, particularly ranching. This will in turn reduce open grazing and substantially reduce crisis between herders and natives.

Furthermore, while massive agricultural development will take care of the idea of ungoverned spaces that criminals use as hiding places, Mbah explains that each additional hectre of farmland to the existing ones in Enugu will create four jobs. Therefore, he has committed to adding 100,000 hectares of farmland in each senatorial zone. That would amount to 400,000 jobs in each zone and 1.2 million jobs generated from agriculture alone across the state.

Meanwhile, beyond these commendable plans, which many have expressed their faith in Mbah’s capacity to deliver, given his feats in the private sector where his company, Pinnacle Oil and Gas Ltd, sits atop the downstream petroleum sub-sector, they also believe that his agricultural and agro-allied vision, when delivered, is capable of triggering a fresh agricultural revolution and engendering less dependence of states on the Federation Account.

Asadu writes from Nsukka, Enugu State

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾DECEMBER 17, 2022

POLITY

Ogun 2023: Gov Abiodun’s Exciting Leadership Style Femi Ogbonnikan

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ometimes, it is taken for granted that every political party that appears on the ballot paper has the potential to dislodge a ruling party. It is not true. That is mere fantasy. Except where there is a viable alternative to the existing government, power doesn’t change hands for the sake of change. But then, such is an unfounded optimism you often find among the political class.

For those who have mastered the art of politicking, optimism is the first rule of the game. A good politician will always see hope where there is looming hopelessness.

That positive attitude must be imbibed by everyone desirous of making an impact in life. But again, the truth remains that some political parties exist just to fill the gap.

For instance, there was a time Nigeria had over 70 registered political parties, making the ballot paper crowded and clumsy with different shapes and sizes of their logos. At the end of the experiment, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had to prune down the number by delisting those that could not make any appreciable showing in the general elections.

Currently, under the present dispensation, 18 registered political parties are jostling for one elective position. Out of this figure, only four have a fairly national spread that can genuinely make the 2023 general elections truly competitive.

Already dwarfed by the leading giants, many of them are only struggling to show their presence in their narrow enclaves with little or no chance of winning any election. Of course, to fulfill all righteousness, the electoral umpire will have to include them in the ballot papers, but the outcome of their participation in the coming election is predictable.

As in other states, contending forces in Ogun State are doing their very best possible to wrest power from the incumbent Governor Dapo Abiodun. But the All Progressives Congress (APC) family in the state remains unperturbed by the threat because the people are content with the performance of the governor. Yet in its movement of embattled lucidity, one of the frontline opposition political parties went completely off the line, blaming its prolonged internal crisis on the innocent governor.

To be clear, only the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and African Democratic Congress (ADC) have so far presented a semblance of opposition to the ruling APC in the state. The rest are largely budding political parties that are managing to show their relevance in the scheming for power. It, therefore, sounds queer and strange to hear the National Chairman of the ADC, Prof. Ralph Okey Nwosu, accusing Governor Abiodun of sponsoring 25 court cases against the party in the state.

While addressing a press conference on Monday at the party secretariat in Abeokuta, Nwosu heaped the blame for the prolonged litigation battles which had crippled the campaign activities of the party’s candidate, Dr. Tunji Otegbeye, on the antics of Abiodun, which he said, were aimed at getting him out of contention for the coming governorship election.

His words: “It is unfortunate that the judicial ambush that the party currently battles in Ogun State is not due to any indiscretion on our part but rather, it is traceable to the infamous role being played by the ruling APC in Ogun State, under the diminishing watch of Dapo Abiodun-as the ‘Defacto’ sponsors of the litigations; using different political parties and individuals to file 25 different lawsuits against the

Abiodun ADC-to get us out of contention for the 2023 elections.”

The unfounded allegation is coming on the heels of widespread speculation that the ADC has agreed to work with another political party for the 2023 general elections because it no longer has candidates, an insinuation he dismissed as false.

It is already a public knowledge how Otegbeye has been battling to validate his candidacy for the coming election.

A lot of stakeholders have watched with consternation the gradual drifting of the party and why the leadership has been unable to find a common ground for an amicable resolution of its internal crisis. So, for Nwosu-led leadership to now turn around to blame Governor Abiodun for its protracted litigation is not only strange, weird and simplistic, but completely unfounded. It doesn’t add up. In the first place, which political party is immune from an internal disagreement?

At one time or the other, party members have to disagree to agree. That is part of the norms of democracy. Sometimes, disagreement rare its ugly head to test the administrative and managerial capacity of the leadership. However, where the leadership is inept, lax, and unfocused, a simple dissent can snowball into a huge crisis of an unimaginable proportion.

Currently, the Labour Party (LP) in the state is battling with corruption crisis. The governorship candidate of the PDP, Oladipupo Adebutu, has just got some reprieves from his prolonged legal battle with the Jimi Lawal faction of the party, following the recent judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja which affirmed his nomination as the authentic candidate. Other budding political parties also have one unresolved issue or the other to settle.

So, if Governor Abioun has to spend all his useful time and energies poking his nose into every affair of other political parties just to run them out of context, what time will he have left to deliver on his mandate and focus on his campaign

activities? What will be his gains, if he has to stoke the ember of disunity in other parties without any tangible achievement to show for the mandate freely given him by the electorate?

Some months back when the storm gathered against the APC in the state, nobody engaged anyone in the blame game.

Rather, the party leadership led by Governor Abiodun took the challenge in its stride, deployed the necessary machinery to calm the frayed nerves, and forged ahead with stronger unity. Why is it now that the party is cruising for a safe sail that people are pointing an accusing finger at the innocent governor? It doesn’t add up. Everybody should please carry his cross and leave the man alone.

What his accusers don’t seem to understand is that the increasing popularity and acceptance of Prince Abiodun is for no reason other than his hard work, committed leadership, and inclusive governance style, all of which have culminated into the impressive achievements which could now be seen in all the nooks and crannies of Ogun State.

As of today, there is hardly any traditional ruler left in Ogun State who has not attested to the good work the present administration is doing to change the fortune of the economy for the better. On separate occasions, virtually all of them have given their blessings to Governor Abiodun’s re-election bid because there are concrete things to show for his mandate in every locality, depending on the choice of priority projects endorsed by the people directly concerned. For the first time, the grassroots people are enjoying the full benefits of the bottom-top approach to governance which is now the in-thing around the world.

Just recently, some 54 traditional rulers under the auspice of Egba Traditional Council unanimously endorsed Governor Abiodun for a second term in office. The President of the Council, the Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, while announcing the endorsement hinged their support on his sterling performance since he assumed office in May 2019, saying he had done creditably well to deserve a second term to finish what he had started.

He said: “The governor has done very well. In the last 16 years, two governors have done second terms, why will our governor who has done so well not do a second term”?

Alake stated. He particularly commended the governor for completing some abandoned projects in Egbaland including the Traditional Council’s Hall in the Alake’s Palace.

Also speaking, the Osile of Oke-Ona Egba, Oba Adedapo Tejuoso, said the entire people and traditional rulers in Egbaland had given full support to the governor’s second term bid. The Olowu of Owu, Oba Saka Matemilola, and the Agura of Gbagura, Oba Sabur Bakre further added their voices, expressing optimism that the governor would perform better if given another opportunity.

While enumerating some of the projects executed in the Ogun Central Senatorial District, the governor said plans were underway to finalise the concession, operation, and transfer of the ongoing construction of a 250-bed hospital to an international hospital management company that would complete and manage it. According to him, “the hospital is a world-class health care facility of excellence that will attract health tourism from all over the southwest and Nigeria.”

–– Ogbonnikan wrote from Abeokuta, Ogun State Read full article online - www.thisdaylive.com

Lower Limbs Deformity Patient Needs N1.5m for Rescue Operation

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iss Blessing Maria John, a 21-year old lower limb deformity patient, is appealing for N1.5 million support to urgently undergo a third operation faced with the challenge of not being able to walk again.

She had her first surgery at the National Orthopedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos in August’ 2019 in an effort to correct her severe bowing of both limbs and deformities, using the Ring Fixator/Taylor Spatial Frame due to the grotesque nature of her deformities, and a second surgery in July’ 2020 to effect some adjustments, arising from the first operation on the legs to make it possible for her to walk.

Though the operations were said to be successful, doctors had warned that unless she carried out a third that might probably be her final to fully correct the anomalies, she could becoming bed- ridden.

Unable to raise the necessary funds for the operation, Blessing has not been able to do that since then, and her condition has continued to get worse.

With her health condition daily plummeting, Blessing returned to the hospital on Monday, November 28, 2022. Her sight was pitiable, and doctors immediately prescribed an x-ray for her and thereafter stated again that she immediately carries out the same operation she has continued to evade for lack of money at a cost of N1.5million.

For Blessing, getting the money for the surgery is better imagined. How will she get it, keep the issue to herself, become bed-ridden and miserably die?

As she remains in misery in her mother’s one-room apartment in the Ewu area of Oshodi, a Lagos suburb, she again attracted the attention of THISDAY this week, thanking the

medium on its effort on her in the past, and appealing in tears for urgent assistance to help reach out to the public to quickly aid her to raise the N1.5million to carry out the operation and save her life.

She prayed for God’s blessings for all that have given her help in the past and appealed for public support once more to be able to undergo this operation and ensure that all they had committed on her before now do not go in vain.

“The doctors are saying that unless I undergo this operation, I will become far worse than I was before, become bed-ridden and consequently die in frustration,” Blessing said, pleading that all assistance towards raising the N1.5million to enable her get the surgery done should be made to John Blessing Maria, GTBank Account No. 0468466784.

Blessing had experienced a 12-year unabating harsh pains from severe bowing of both limbs and dropped out of school in the Senior Secondary School (SSS) 1 in 2016, unable to walk to and fro from school anymore.

Her hope-raising medical report signed by Dr. Izuagba Emeka B., Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Padiatric Orthopaedics and Limb Reconstruction Unit, NOHIL, dated March 26, 2019 and entitled: Re: Medical Report on Ijachi Blessing Maria/ Female/17years, Hospital No. 639273, reads: “The Above named patient of our hospital was first seen on 17/09/2018 with complaints of severe bowing of both limbs of 12years duration. There is associated knee pains, difficulty in walking or running.

“She initially presented to the hospital seven years ago for treatment but defaulted as she could not afford the cost of the required surgery. The deformities have since progressively worsened up to the present state.

“On presentation, she was thoroughly re-examined and a di-

Blessing agnosis of severe Bilateral Infantile Blounts disease was made following clinical assessment and X-ray imaging studies.

“She requires a surgical treatment of gradual correction of lower limb deformities, using Ring Fixator/Taylor Spatial Frame due to the grotesque nature of the deformities. A surgical assessment has already been given to her detailing the cost estimates required for the surgery.”

Blessing lost her father at a very tender age.

26

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 17, 2022

MEDIAGAFFES

EXPRESSION

Christmas, Not ‘Xmas’

A

S Christmas (not ‘Xmas’ in formal/ standard settings) approaches and petrol scarcity lingers, let us mind ourgrammar.“…andasmuchN400 per litre on (in) the black market.”

“Star struck (Star-struck) Saka asks Beckham for picture” “Police arrest two men over (for) break-in at (into) Sterling home” “Morocco (Moroccan) players celebrate with heart patient” “Felicitations with a dear brother and friend. You have consistently strove (striven) for excellence in business and service to humanity…. ” Get it right: Felicitations dear brother “HIV: Ogun pallies (parleys) TBAs to check mother to child (mother-to-child) transmission” “The CBN said it wants (wanted) to promote financial inclusion via electronic banking” “Aregbesola (Aregbesola’s) kinsmen dissolve faction, seeks (why?) members’ reintegration into Osun APC” “Even as many said that (sic) Enugu is (was) not isolated from the national consensus for a new Nigeria…”

“Non-oil exports receipts hits $2.5bn—CBN” What’s going on here?

“NECA hails OPS (OPS’) resilience amidst (amid) economic challenges” “Beaming with smiles….” Just ‘beaming…’!

THE PUNCH of December 2 continues the battle today: “Four arrested over (for) killing of ‘debtor’” “MTN Service Center in (on) Victoria Island” (MTN Full-page advertisement in the above medium) From DAILYINDEPENDENTof December 2 comes this wrongdoing: “Lafarge Wapco launches a three prongempowermentprogram(programme,preferably)” Voice of Ogba: a three-pronged…(adjectival usage) THE GUARDIAN of December 1 plotted against the English language: “Specifically, the Senate had then recommended the withdrawal of 3,645 plots from the holders on ground (on the grounds) that they were allocated between May 17 to (and) 29….”

Next is a faulty Editorial extract: “This is appalling

and, literarily (literally), incendiary to the tempers now fraying at these oil wells.” “…to the extent of temporary (temporarily) accepting 55 per cent of the National Minimum Wage pendingwhenfinancesofgovernmentimproves(sic)….”

“Wishing you many more success (successes)” (Full-page advertisement by Proserv Security) From Rutam House we move to Fatai Atere Way. Last week’s edition of this medium contained many lexical inexactitudes right from its front page to other sections: “Kaduna stands still for Sambo’s daughters wedding” Truth in defence of freedom: Sambo’s daughters’ wedding “I quickly completed my mansion and moved in with my family so that the electorates (electorate)….”

“Two teenagers were at the weekend shot dead in Kano by unknown gunmen.” How do you know the gunmen? Most publications are guilty of this juvenility! “…because that child sees the mother does same (doing the same) and begins to cry for a piece of the action.”

“The face-off between former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan over sundry differences degenerated to (into an) open verbal confrontation recently before Jonathan suddenly flagged off an official ceasefire.”

“WhitherAPGA’sreconciliationmoves?”EitherAPGA’s reconciliatory moves or just reconciliation—there is a difference between a noun and an adjective, which applies here. “...close ranks and bury all hatchets in the interest of peace…,” Political ripples: bury the hatchet (stock expression, number notwithstanding) “Babatunde Faseesin rocks with less privilege” Social Circuit: the less privileged “John Edokpolo who began to collect art works since 44 years ago, (needless comma) gathered contemporary artists and stakeholders together….”

Obliterate ‘since’ and ‘together’ for contemporariness.

Let us round off the foregoing review of last week’s edition ofTHE NATION ON SUNDAY: “How we escaped assasination (sic) attempt” ‘Escape’ means an attempt in the context. So, yank away ‘attempt’:

How we escaped assassination!

“Miss Ada’s mum atimes (at times) rides with her daughter to the club.”

“The contribution should be acknowledged, especially since it also results into (in) some form of dislocation for the people.”

“This brings to the fore, once again, the flaws and contradictions in the present constitutional arrangement with regards to Nigeria’s fiscal federalism.” To live in truth is to serve: either as regards or with regard to.

“Lagos clashes: Panel to tour troubled spots: Get it right: trouble spot, but troubled water.

“GSM: Stakeholders converge in Abuja” Truth and reason: converge on Abuja.

“The United States remains engaged with Russia to curtail the proliferation of nuclear arsenal and to dispose off enriched uranium.…” This way: dispose of.

“America will not revert into (to) its traditionally risky isolationism.”

“He therefore holds the priviledge of….” Spell-check: privilege.

“A particular aspect of the southern governors’ meeting is their believe (belief) in the constitutional approach to solving significant national problems.”

“Justice of double standards” This way: double standard.

“Delta Police to combat crime with vigilante groups” City diary: vigilance groups.

“Jonathan, I remember, said in the television interview that he has (had) since.…”

“These people are already falling over themselves (one another) to clinch the offer.”

“Samboattheministryofdefencemerelyexchanged banters as..”. Heart of the matter: ‘banter’ is uncountable. “…yet the level of development in these places go (goes) beyond those from his home state.” “…which in turn offer their accredited courses at (on) those campuses.”

“British Council backs grassroot soccer” Get it right: grassroots soccer.

“LG lawmakerspassvoteof confidenceonchairman” No brief: confidence in chairman.

“Shareholders poise for showdown with companies”

Return to Radio

I

t is an exciting time. For me. This may seem strange to some people, and a knowing smile will crease the “long” faces of others. Why? How on earth is working a source of excitement, especially if it is indeed an added workload, and it is not as if you are shipping a truckload of cash with the stress of the excess “overtime”. Who cares?

My interest today is to share with readers the joy of returning to radio, nearly 22 years after the first voyage.

You see, in early 1999 (I believe) with the encouragement and support of the then General Manager of Radio Lagos and Eko FM, Lekan Ogunbanwo (he retired a few years ago as a Permanent Secretary from the Lagos State public service), I started a one-hour talkshow called FAJ-Alive.

My producer was the quietly brilliant and uncompromisingly efficient ace broadcaster, Tokunbo Ojekunle. He was and is still a good friend, brother and supporter.

He was the one who prodded me, nurtured me, and showed me the ropes of finessing my raw talent and proclivity for igniting controversies to produce a weekly show with promise and presence - on the crowded airwaves of Nigerian broadcasting.

FAJ-Alive on Eko 89.75 FM was not my first foray into broadcasting. I have always been enamoured by the creative process, followed by a churning desire to appropriate the riches of the motion picture - acting, talking, broadcasting, and what have you. In cahoot with Toyin Munis, the elegantly talented and some sort of management whizz kid, who founded the Clapperboard Television (arguably the first privately run television station in Lagos, Nigeria), we started the scripting and production of pilot episodes of FAJ-Alive in 1994! The project was quite elaborate and ambitious, and who else could capture the vaulting imagination of Munis and I than the uproariously brilliant

combo of Gboyega Adelaja and Remi Ogunpitan of the then “latest sensation” in private ownership of professional broadcast management and production, Solar Productions.

We shot two episodes, I believe, in the studios of Solar on Town Planning Way, Ilupeju - on a fantastic set layout reminiscent of the great CNN talkshow, Larry King Live. I believe the rushes never got edited to make appearances on Clapperboard Television until the station ran into the usual storms Nigeria concoct to frustrate and devastate entrepreneurial ambitions and initiatives of her restless brilliant children.

Let’s flip back to Eko FM and the FAJ-Alive of 1999. For the more than one year it ran on the radio station, it was a wonderful weekly lesson and lifetime training in production of contents and management of human resources at close quarters with my interactions with Ogunbanwo, his senior directors, including my friend, Ojekunle and other senior producers. One standout incident was an encounter with a well-known movie producer who took a vile exception to a review I wrote in one of our publications (I was then Editorin-chief of Encomium magazine and a couple of other titles). The producer seized advantage of the phone-in slot of the live programme to lambast and torment me over what was considered as wilful and unfair comment. Of course, I would not condone challenges to my professional opinion, especially on areas I consider myself suitably qualified to offer genuine and wellintentioned advisement. Though admittedly, the tenor and colour of my language in critical reviews were

somewhat heavy-handed and unsparing - it was basically driven by a desire to see my contemporaries embrace their professions and their offerings as unique opportunity to advance the goals and stature of the creative process as agents of light, development, hope, and posterity - to the generality of Nigerians, Africans all over the world, and the universe at large.

So, we had a long and vitriolic exchange which caused a lot of commotion in the studio as the angry party did not care to observe the codes of etiquette and profanity while emoting perspectives.

And 22 years after, we are back on radio - a new station, under a new concept and hopefully a more enlightened listenership. Today, 10 December, from 7am, God willing, shall be the fourth episode of “The Vintage TalkShow - with the FAJ” on TopRadio 90.9 FM, a flourishing Lagosbased radio with passionate youthful orientation stretching across diverse demographics.

Why Vintage? A friend asked, obviously burrowing back to the defunct “Vintage People” founded by Mr. Muyiwa Adetiba While another friend thought Vintage meant “old stuff”. So, to each, I explained: the second one first - the fact that most vintage cars, etc are often “old stuff”, the main operative essence of vintage is its rarity. Other synonyms would be something of high quality, something highly regarded… respectfully appreciated, etc.

And to the throwback to “Vintage People”, frankly, Adetiba’s creation didn’t cross my mind when adding Vintage to the list of titles I shared with over 40 contacts on my WhatsApp line.

Usually, when I post some of my write-ups on Facebook or in WhatsApp, one of the most common phrases of encouragement I get is “Vintage FAJ” in different compositions. So, after a few days of back-and-forth with scores of my con-

EBERE WABARA

ewabara@yahoo.com, 08055001948

No illiteracy: poised for showdown. “…on the spurious ground that Ouattara is not a bona fide Ivorien.” To live in truth is to serve: the spurious grounds.

“All these have culminated into (in) the horrible and deplorable situation in the country today.…” “…by unpatriotic and evil men of power of yesteryears (yesteryear).” “…most people, rightly or wrongly, are getting disillusioned about (by/with) our democracy….”

“Promises were made, the expectations....is (are) therefore legitimate, which any government that wants a re-election must take seriously.”

“Given the politics of the times was the incidence of the tarmac lights going off....” There is a world of difference between ‘incidence’ and ‘incident’ (which applies here), just like ‘precedence’ and ‘precedent.’ “...to that extent shall we congratulate its authors for (on) hearing the deafening cry of Nigerians for an affective legislature.” “…were simultaneously a continuation of the power-bloc struggle in Nigeria and unanticipated fallouts from that struggle.” ‘Fallout’ is uncountable. “…appeal to the discredited tactics of past times also wreak havoc on the procedural sanctity of the democratic path.” Notes of disquiet: pastime.

“AU has always been a helpless on-looker as other do-gooders from Europe and America flock to these troubled (trouble) spots with relief materials.…”

“The reduction in the number of road accidents and casualities….” “This way: casualties.

“Why fight, especially since we all are groping in the dark.” A poser: can we grope where there is light? So, why not just groping?

“FG sets to fill vacancies in Civil Service” Get it right: FG set to…No loose thinking! “…ask questions or demand for their credentials.”

Delete ‘for’ from the extract. “…never mind that ‘saboteurs’ have since done their worst by returning Nigeria back to darkness.”

Yank away ‘back’ in the interest of morphological sanity.

COUNTERPOINT

FEMI

AKINTUNDE-JOHNSON fajalive1@gmail.com 08033622806- (SMS Only)

tacts, Vintage trumped all in a “landslide” (to borrow a political jargon) with 32%.

Even my preferred title, “The EyeWitness” came a distant second (16%)! In fact, I kid you not…I still have the collation papers of the “election” in my “strongroom” - for I-don’t-know-what reason.

Well, the first three episodes were quite challenging as one had to manage producing the show with presenting and driving the core contents of the show.

I had interesting guests and ended up overshooting the two-hour time slot which I initially thought was large enough to accommodate all the segments and add-ons designed to feature in the talkshow. With the help of the station’s management, and the good grace of the ace sports analyst and old-time colleague, Godwin Enakhena, I spent about three weeks understudying his two-hour daily sports show, “Top Sports on TopRadio”.

Twice a week, I watched Godwin as a master of his trade - he has been at it for more than three decades, and is currently running syndicated programmes on more than 10 radio and television stations. His control, pace and spontaneity on the sessions I watched were a joy to behold.

His professionalism, encouragement, input and warmth gingered me to confront what was initially a frightening encounter with the multi-layered sound mixing console, the ubiquitous computer desktop with the almighty “Jazler”…and to the glory of God, and the support of good people that surround my return to radio, “The Vintage TalkShow - with the FAJ” will attempt to change the early morning face of Saturdays as we know it. ‘Katchya’!

25

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾DECEMBER 17, 2022

Imperatives of Atiku, Integrity Group’s Reconciliation

F

ormer Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election is not new to party politics.

Among all those angling to replace outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari, Abubakar, or Atiku as people prefer to call him is the most experienced and holds the record for presenting himself to be elected President the most times since 1992 when he narrowly missed being picked as the late Chief Moshood Abiola’s running mate to Babagana Kingibe on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Although Atiku served as Vice President with Chief Olusegun Obasanjo for two terms of eight years, his ambition to lead Nigeria has remained central to his political maneuvers since he left office in 2007. So when he again joined the race to seek the exalted office in 2023, many believed he was the man to beat. With the dismal performance of the ruling party and the evident disenchantment of the people with the prevalent hardship and poverty in the country, the majority of Nigerians now seek alternatives to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in PDP and other parties.

With the seeming political wave blowing in his favour following his clinching of the party’s presidential ticket, all that was left for Atiku to do was to manage success. Regrettably, his very success became his current albatross; Atiku is watching as his presidency is gradually slipping away from him and possibly consigning him alongside Chief Obafemi Awolowo as the president Nigeria never had because of the almost intractable misunderstanding with the five governors (Integrity Group) led by Rivers state governor, Nyesom Wike.

The spat with the Wike’s group which has dragged on for months now, defying several interventions is threatening to scuttle both the opportunity for the party to return to power and an Atiku presidency. As the group insists on the National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu’s resignation as a panacea to peace, some of the party’s hardliners are insisting that Wike and his group should be ignored.

As this disagreement festers, Atiku has glaringly failed to show leadership. For a man who aspires to lead a complex country like Nigeria, why would it take him centuries to settle with the splinter group within the party and set his gaze squarely on the big picture?

For those asking that Wike be ignored, between Ayu and Wike and his group, who has more electoral value? Ayu has just his vote while all the five governors control their states.

This internal fracas is not a new development to the PDP. In the build-up to 2015, a new group New PDP (NPDP) emerged asking former President Goodluck Jonathan to drop his 2015 ambition including dropping then national chairman, Bamanga Tukur, and other demands. Today, we all know how the influence of the group cost Jonathan the presidency.

Since Ayu and his cohorts based on their bloated egos have decided to stay put even when the Chairman, BoT, Walid Khalid voluntarily resigned, Atiku ought to have shown leadership by asking Ayu to resign for peace to reign.

There are several reasons why Wike should not just be dismissed with a wave of the hand. In 2015, after the PDP was ousted by Buhari, it was Wike who picked the pieces of the party, nurturing and bankrolling it till another election cycle. Many would argue that Wike is selfish and a bad loser. Every politician including Atiku works for his selfish interest. While Atiku has gravitated from PDP to APC and back, Wike has remained steadfast in the party.

If there is any party man that has bragging rights over PDP because of his commitment and dedication, that is Wike. Atiku, who is reported to be living abroad, is a fair-weather party man who stays aloof whenever it comes to financing and managing the party only to swoop in during the period of election for the party’s ticket. Wike has every right to be angry because he has invested heavily in the party only for Ayu to manipulate the primaries in favor of Atiku.

He feels betrayed, used, and dumped by the party. Wike believes that the party would have stuck by its agreement on zoning and not changed the rules halfway through the game. He strongly believes that, had the zoning arrangement been sustained, his main interest of power shift to the South after Buhari would have been a fait accompli.

Wike is being accused of wanting to be president. Yes, and so what? Are those angling to be president now and those who have served more qualified than Wike? Wike is eminently qualified to be Nigetia’s president and he knows it.

However, Wike is not entirely exonerated from what is happening to him now. Infact, his traducers say it serves him right. In other words, Wike can rightly be credited with

L-R; Director of Marketing, Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON), Mr. Richard Adewumi; Director, Lagos Operations SON, Mrs. Talatu Ethan; Executive Chairman/CEO, Lydin Ltd. Mrs. Regina Imoisili; and State Coordinator, Lagos State Office1(SON), Saidu Yakubu at the SON 50th Anniversary Exhibition/Award held in Lagos…. yesterday SUNDAY ADIGUN

.L-R President Independent Media Practitioner Association of Nigeria, Mr Femi Adelusi; Chairman House Committee on Information, Olusegun Odebunmi; Director General Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) Dr Olalekan Fadola and Cmmissioner of Information and Strategies, Akwa Ibom State, Comrade Ini Ememobong during the Annual National Advertising Conference held yesterday in Abuja Juius Atoi

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

being the architect of his own misfortune. For instance, as a party man who is well versed in the party’s constitution, what did he do when a committee was set up to review the position of the party on zoning? Did he also raise a voice when yhe comittee submitted its report? What did he do when the report zoning the presidency to the north was endorsed by the party’s highest decision making organ NEC? Perhaps all southern governors were positioning themselves for vee Pee jettisoning their earlier declaration for a southern president.

Atiku needs to have a rethink, rather than carrying on as if he is already president, he needs to realise that from the point of equity, a southerner and not another northerner ought to be the PDP flabearer.

Now that he has emerged, he should not ride roughshod over southerners who were instrumental and would still pave his way to victory. His utterance at Arewa event where he publicly declared that the north does not need the south to win the presidency is very divisive and does not fit a person who should be viewed as a unifier.

Atiku has no choice other than to reconcile with Wike, he has no moral justification not to because you can’t seize a child’s sweet and still hush him from crying. Atiku has to table a compromise to rein these five governors back to the fold to secure his victory.

What Atiku needs to urgently consider is to ask Ayu to step down for peace to reign. Wike and his four cohorts have political capital, Ayu has none just ego. So in the coming days Ayu should be compelled to step down for the party to move forward.

Atiku needs to be reminded that if he has forgotten so soon that Wike has a huge war chest. He’s rumoured to have single handedly financed Atiku’s past election with about $16m. Apart from Atiku, Wike is also believed to have been instrumental to Tambuwal’s second term triumph as governor in Sokoto.

Atiku should realise that all these people asking him to forget Wike and his colleagues can’t even win in their polling booths. Wike, Ikpeazu, Ortom, Ugwuanyi are all two term governors and Makinde is set to return for a second term. These five governors have full control of their party structures in their respective states and would decide where the pendulum swings in 2023.

The current attitude of behaving as if all is well and some people don’t mater has its draw backs, the NPDP caused havoc in 2015, the G5 or Integrity Group could re-enact same scenario. A stitch in time saves nine.

L-R: Human Resouce Business Partner, Customer Development, Unilever, Ghana/Nigeria, Maureen Ayodeji-Akinpelu; Director, Corporate Affairs and Sustainable Business, Unilever, West Africa, Soromidayo George; Quality Manager, Unilever, Ghana/Nigeria, Temilade Abass; and National Finance Director, Unilever, Nigeria, Folake Ogundipe at the BusinessDay Inspiring Women Series II, recently.

L-R: Big Brother Titans Co-Host, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu; Head, Product Marketing, Flutterwave, Onyedikachim Nwankwo; Executive Head, Content and Channels West Africa, Dr Busola Tejumola; CEO, Bamboo, Richmond Bassey; and Executive Head of Marketing, MultiChoice Nigeria, Tope Oshunkeye at the Big Brother Titan Press Conference in Lagos… recently

3

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ APRIL 24, 2011

GLOBAL SOCCER A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

NEWS

GOING ONE STEP FURTHER

17.12.2022 PAGE. 29

Te re m Mo ff i Can Lorient Hold on to Nigerian Jewel?

28

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾DECEMBER 17, 2022

GLOBAL SOCCER

Terem Moffi celebrating with Lorient’s teammates

Terem Moffi

Can Lorient Hold on to Nigerian Jewel?

After his 14 goals helped keep FC Lorient at the elite division of French football last season, chances that the club could still hold on to Terem Moffi looked very slim especially with interest from top European sides. This term, he has scored 10 goals in 14 games for Les Merlus and is only two goals behind Ligue 1 top scorer, Kylian Mbappé and one behind Brazilian Neymar. His performance is therefore attracting interest from three Premier League clubs- Brighton, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa, with the Villa Park side leading the race. It would therefore take more than persuasion from Lorient’s egg heads to stop the striker from‘jumping the ship’

I

f Jeunesfooteux’s report is anything to go by, FC Lorient will find it really tough to hold on to their Nigerian striker, Terem Moffi. Premier League trio of Brighton, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa are set to price away the in-form Super Eagle from Les Merlus, while Bundesliga club, Borussia Mönchengladbach, are also lurking.

Moffi has been outstanding for FC Lorient this season, contributing a reasonable number of goals to the team, and has therefore drawn the interest of a few Premier League teams thanks to his great play for FC Lorient.

After scoring 10 goals in 14 games for the French team, the forward’s confidence has returned.

The striker is now in third place among Ligue 1’s leading goal scorers, two goals behind France’s Kylian Mbappé and only one behind the Brazilian attacker, Neymar, who has 11 goals.

However, registering 10 goals in 1032 minutes played for his club this season, the striker’s performance did not go unnoticed.

The striker is the top target for three teams, including Brighton, Crystal Palace, and Aston Villa, according to jeunesfooteux.

The powerful FC Lorient striker’s performances are reportedly being closely watched by Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach, according to other sources.

Terem Moffi’s name has been added to the shortlist of players the German club

is considering replacing Marcus Thuram, whose contract expires at the conclusion of the current campaign.

The 23-year-old, who has a contract with the Ligue 1 team, is obligated to remain at Stade du Moustoir until the 2024 season.

Aston Villa are interested in signing Moffi in the January transfer window.

According to reports, Aston Villa is a possible landing destination for the Nigerian.

Should Villa decide to follow through with their interest, they would be getting a certified goalscorer who is a handful for defenders. Although Moffi will have to compete with Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings for a starting spot, the fact that Villa are heavily intent on recruiting somebody in that position means there is an opening in attack.

The strikers current deal at Lorient is set to expire in 2024 and it is believed that an offer of around €20million would be enough to secure his services.

The attacker has earned rave reviews this season and may have played his way into the current Super Eagles setup despite the avalanche of player at coach, Jose Peseiro’s disposal.

The former Kortrijk star has gone on to become a real star for Lorient this season and would cause teams to raise their heads in his direction after being linked with a transfer away from the club last season.

Lorient are one of the most in-form teams

in the top five European Leagues at the moment with six consecutive wins in the top-flight, same as La Liga giants Barcelona.

Moffi has been their key player in that run, with his brace at the Stade Francis-Le Blé adding to his efforts against Olympique Lyon and Auxerre.

With a rating of 9.1, Moffi was the bestrated player in the Team of the Week ahead of Rennes’ Martin Terrier (9.0) and Clermont Foot’s Grejohn Kyei (8.8).

Against Stade Brestois, the Super Eagles striker registered a game-high three shots on target, made three key passes, won two aerial duels and was accurate in 81.3 per cent of his passes while making 34 touches.

With 14 goals in Ligue 1 last season, bettered only by Mbappe, many felt Lorient will find it hard to hold on to their jewel but against all odds, the Enugu-born striker stayed put.

Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund trailed the Lorient’s new kid on the block as the German side were in search of a replacement for striker Erling Haaland who moved to Manchester City.

Last season, Moffi took the French topflight by storm, netting 14 goals for lowly FC Lorient in just his debut season in France.

Six of the Nigerian’s goals have come in his last three games as he powered struggling Les Merlus away from relegation troubles.

Indeed, Erstwhile Nigeria manager,

Gernot Rohr believes Moffi can become a great striker in future given his qualities.

Moffi made the headlines back in his homeland after netting his first career hat-trick in the French Ligue 1 against a club very close to Rohr’s heart, Bordeaux.

“Christophe Pelissier (the Lorient coach) is in a better position than I to know, because he sees him every day in training,” Rohr had told French newspaper Ouest France.

“Personally, I am waiting to see him in training. I think he can be a good striker; although the bar is quite high in Nigeria, there have always been good center-forwards.

“But I must say that the progress he is making at Lorient is impressive.”

Rohr added: “He gained confidence. You can see it in his game; he dares to dribble, to perform technical gestures that can only be done when you are confident.

“He is in great shape, in full physical possession of his means.”

For now Moffi his not thinking of any other club aside Lorient inspite of dreaming to play for a bigger club in future “Like any footballer, I dream of playing for top clubs. But now, I am focused on Lorient.

“Soccer is the most important sport in Nigeria. When the national team plays, the country stops. Everyone is in front of their TV. I wouldn’t say it’s a religion, but everyone loves football back home.

29

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾DECEMBER 17, 2022

GLOBAL SOCCER Q ATA R 2 0 2 2 . . . Q ATA R 2 0 2 2 . . . Q ATA R 2 0 2 2 . . . Q ATA R 2 0 2 2 . . .

M

orocco, Africa’s surprise team at the 2022 FIFA WorldCup here in Qatar, will this evening take on Croatia in the third place match in a reminiscent of the Balkan nation’s success run at the last edition of the Mundial in Russia four years ago.

The Atlas Lions have not only surprised themselves and their teeming supporters in Qatar but have punched above their weight in continental football.

Their first meeting in Group F here at this tournament ended in a stalemate.

The two nations’ only other meeting was also a draw, 2-2 in Casablanca in 1996 –

though Croatia prevailed 7-6 on penalties. So their second time meeting with Croatia is bound to produce a winner this evening with the winner of the third place match going home with $27million!

Will Coach Zlatko Dalic who led his wards to the final against France in Russia four years ago allow the Atlas Lions smile away with

DURO IKHAZUAGBE Reporting live

the third position ranking in this first tournament in the

Morocco hope to go a step further

Lilian, Marcus Thuram Eye History, may Become First Father, Son to Win Mundial

W

hen or if France wins the World Cup tomorrow as it files out against Argentina at the final showdown, history would have been written in gold for a family in France.

In 1998 when France won her first World Cup, one of the major players was Lilian Thuram.

Today, his son, Marcus stands tall and strong in the French squad rooting for gold and glory.

When France actualises its dream, Lilian and his son, Marcus would be the first family in the history of football, especially

father and son, to win the World Cup. Apart from the Thurams, Jean Djorkaeff was a French player at the World Cup in 1966 that was won by England.

In 1998, 32 years after, his son Youri as part of the French squad won the World Cup. World football enthusiasts and lovers are expectant to write that history and wish the Thurams the best as they are on their way to this lofty history. Best of luck to Marcus as he repeats his dad’s feat.

In 1998, Brazil filed out its war chest against France in Paris at the World Cup final match. It was led by the man of the moment, world’s undisputable best, Ronaldo da Lima.

The bookmakers gave it to Brazil from their history and for having the world best leading her squad.

Ronaldo with all his charm didn’t know what struck him. Brazil didn’t just lose but was totally lost in the game as France hit Brazil 3:0 Sunday may be a repeat of that history.

FIXTURES TODAY THIRD PLACE

Croatia v Morocco TOMORROW FINAL

Argentina v France

Sponsored by:

Africa’s Surprise Team, Morocco, in Battle for ‘Golden Bronze’ with Croatia

Middle East? Or is it going to be this illustrious Ambassadors of Africa and the Arab worlds that will win what we in Nigeria have tagged “Golden Bronze”?

To get to this penultimate match of Qatar 2022, Morocco defeated Belgium and Canada in the group stage before eliminating 2010 world champions Spain on penalties in the last 16 and then also triumphed over 2016 European champions Portugal in the quarter-finals.

Morocco’s dream run has wiped the tears of Russia 2018 for African teams who all left the tournament in the Group Stage. It this new reality that is making Croatia ‘s gaffer, Dalic, to become cautious of the Lions ahead of this evening’s game at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha. “They (Morocco) deserve to be here. They will be a more challenging opponent than in the first match,” observed Dalic yesterday.

“They have grown in self-confidence and are motivated. For both it is a huge and major match.”

Croatia and Morocco had drawn 0-0 in the group stage before both advanced to the knockout stage.

“For us it is a major match.

We have a lot of respect for the Moroccan team. I think they have the same mindset as us.

It is a huge match for them as well. They will come up with

a major lineup.”

Croatia have several injury concerns with Josko Gvardiol, Marcelo Brozovic and Josip Juranovic doubtful but Dalic said he would take a decision at the last minute.

“This is the seventh match in a month and we are a bit tired and drained. We have some issues with (Josko) Gvardiol, (Josip) Juranovic and (Marcelo) Brozovic. We will see what will happen. We have to be cautious.

“We need to be fair and if someone is not 100% fit we need to talk about it.”

Morocco’s coach, Walid Regragui who is battling with lots of injuries since the semi final on Wednesday night, has promised to give opportunities to players who have not played the tournament today. He however insisted that the Atlas Lions are not where they wish to be yet. Regragui attributed the fairytale run to hard work and not miracles. He insisted that the World Cup can’t be won by miracles but with hardwork the only solution to becoming the best side.

“To reach the very, very highest level, to win a World Cup, we still have to work but we are not very far away.”

Croatia have yet to concede a goal against African opposition at the FIFA World Cup, wins against Cameroon (4-0 in 2014) and Nigeria (2-0 in 2018) preceding this year’s

Fifa to Reconsider Format of 2026 World Cup

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ifa is to reconsider the format of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, says president Gianni Infantino.

The teams will increase from 32 to 48 for the competition and were set to be divided into 16 groups of three, with the top two progressing to the last 32.

Infantino said that would be looked at after the “success” of the four-team groups at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

“Here the groups of four have been absolutely incredible,” said Infantino.

“Until the last minute of the last match you would

not know who goes through.

“We have to revisit or at least re-discuss the format.

This is something that will certainly be on the agenda in the next meeting.”

The group stages in Qatar included some exciting final games as countries tried to secure a top-two place to qualify for the last 16.

The four-team group format, with the top two going through to the knockout stages, has been used since the men’s World Cup expanded to 32 teams in 1998.

Infantino was speaking at a news conference in Qatar after attending a Fifa council meeting.

FACTS *Victory for Morocco today would see the Atlas Lions record the best finish of a non-European or South American nation in the FIFA World Cup since 1930, when the USA finished third (note: there was no match for third place in 1930, the USA finished third via their overall record at the 1930 finals). *There has never been a penalty shoot-out in the play-off for third place in a FIFA World Cup final competition.

Lilian and Marcus Thuram

*If selected, Hakim Ziyech and Achraf Hakimi will become the first Moroccan players to reach 10 FIFA World Cup appearances.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾DECEMBER 17, 2022

GLOBAL SOCCER

L-R: Former commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Kano State, Ahmed Yakassai and Col. Abba Mulmanani during the presentation of trophy to Barewa College, winner of the just concluded Rugby tournament

L-R: Director of sports development, Lagos State Sports Commission, Kolawole Moses; Japan Ambassador to Nigeria, Matsunaga Kazuyosi; Chairman Lagos State Judo Association, Sheriff Hammed and Vice Chairman, LSJA, Runsewe Babajide

GOTV BOXING NIGHT 27

Sheriff Hammed: Taking Lagos Judo to New Heights

‘We’re Not Inferior to Men’ Say Female Boxers Female middleweight boxers, Sofiat Lateef and Abosede Akinsanya, who are billed to fight each other at GOtv Boxing Night 27 on December 26, have declared that they are as good as their male counterparts and are ready to prove it.

The fight between the duo is the only female duel scheduled for the event, which will be held at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos.

In separate interviews yesterday, Sofiat and Abosede, expressed gratitude to the sponsors for including a female bout on the card.

“I’m happy that we have been considered to fight. Boxing promoters in the country have tended to view female boxers as inferior to male and are reluctant to give us bouts.

We are not inferior to men and

we will show that at GOtv Boxing Night,” Sofiat said.

Abosede equally thanked the sponsors and promoters, Flykite Productions, for the opportunity, saying it was something for which many female boxers have waited for long.

“I’m delighted to see this happen. I have sparred with men and I do not see any difference between us. We can do as well as the men, if not better,” she said.

GOtv Boxing Night 27 will be headlined by the World Boxing Federation (WBF) Intercontinental title bout between London-based West African Boxing Union (WABU) featherweight champion, Nigeria’s Taiwo “Esepor” Agbaje, and Richard Pumicpic of the Philippines.

It will also feature bouts

across weight categories.

In the lightweight division, Adeyemi Adekanla will take on Bartholomew Abuchi. The featherweight category will also see a clash between Michael Adesodun and Idris Aloma, while Opeyemi Ibrahim and Sodiq Adeleke will duel in the bantamweight category. The super featherweight division will see the return of Sikiru Shogbesan, who will square up with Sodiq Oyakojo.

The show is sponsored by GOtv, with support from Supa Kommando. The event will also feature live musical performances by big time musical artistes- Ruger, Pheelz, 9ice, Chinko Ekun and renowned DJ Xclusive.

It will be broadcast live on DStv, and GOtv in 50 African countries.

Betway Donates Relief Materials to Bayelsa Flood Victims Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa Nigeria’s premium online and gaming brand, Betway, has donated food items worth millions of Naira to victims of the recent flood that ravaged communities in Bayelsa State.

The presentation of the food items was done at the Bayelsa office of The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

The Chief Operating Officer, Betway Nigeria, Otunba Kunle Olamuyiwa, who made the presentation to NEMA and BYSEMA officials commiserated with the flood victims, many of whom were left homeless. The floods also destroyed residents’ only means of livelihood, inevi-

tably leading to increased hunger amongst affected communities. This he said, is the reason why Betway as a responsible company is supporting NEMA in its disaster relief provisions for affected communities in Bayelsa.

Olamuyiwa stated that the donation was part of the company’s social responsibility to it’s customers in order to leave positive imprints in the countries that Betway operates in, in addition to it’s offering of unique betting products and encouraging responsible gaming amongst players.

Receiving the relief materials, Igrubia Walaman, Chairman, Bayelsa State Emergency Management Agency, (BYSEMA), applauded Betway’s

generosity.

While calling on other corporate organisations to emulate the kind gesture of the online betting outfit; he expressed joy over the company’s support to BSEMA and NEMA in providing succor to flood victims in the state.

This donation, which he described as being timely due to the period which almost coincides with the yuletide, will surely bring smiles to the faces of recipients.

He called on other corporate organisations and well-meaning individuals to join NEMA in providing the much-needed supports to communities affected by flood and other natural disasters in the country.

Abia Teams, Imo, Edo Book NDDC U-17 Peace Cup Semis The two teams from Abia State playing at the ongoing NDDC U17 Peace Cup football competition in Delta State have booked their semifinal spots after defeating the Akwa Ibom State teams in the quarter finals.

In the quarter final fixtures played at the Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi Uku yesterday, El-Godz FC of Abia, booked their spot in the semifinals with a 3-1 victory on penalties, after playing a one all draw with hard fighting Carabana FC of Akwa Ibom State.

In the other quarter final

game, Donastars FC of Abia added salt to injury for Akwa Ibomites, as they defeated Dynamic SPMD, another Uyo based team, two goals to nil.

The victory now see Abia following the footsteps of Delta State which had two of their teams - Delta United and Delta Force, featuring at the semifinals, last year at the maiden edition hosted in Akwa Ibom, with Delta United finishing second after losing one nil to eventual champions, Kifa FC of Akwa Ibom, while Delta Force lost their third place match to Sam Decent Academy of Imo State.

In the first quarter final fixture, Imo state’s Campus FC defeated Delta Force three one on penalties after a goalless draw at full time, while Ine Stars of Edo State booked the last spot after defeating resilient Bayelsa’s Future Dynamics FC one nil in a difficult tie.

The semifinal fixtures will see Campus FC (Imo) take on Donastars FC (Abia) at 8am, while the second fixture, ElGodz FC (Abia) will encounter Ine Stars of Edo State at 9am.

Both games will be decided at the Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi Uku.

Since he started paddling the canoe of the Lagos State Judo Association (LSJA) Sheriff Hammed’s tenure has brought a lot of vibrancy to the sport while more young people have also embraced it. He spoke on the strides as well as challenges made with the sport From his personal research on judo in Lagos and Nigeria as a whole, Sheriff Hammed was able to discover that judo in Nigeria has had a great history in Lagos.

“We’ve had athletes that started in Lagos and went on to perform at the highest level, including the Commonwealth Games, the Olympics, and more. So, what has changed it’s the need for a sustainable approach to managing our sports resources. This includes people and talents, machinery, raw materials, information, skills, and financial capital.

“As sports administrators, we are responsible for supervising the use of our talents and other resources, to achieve our goals as a state and nation as a whole.

However, we (sports administrators and various stakeholders) need to build our capacity to do this. We need to improve our capacity to manage our sports resources very well.

Sport is always evolving, and it is business! When you commit resources, you expect outcomes, and all stakeholders must have a clear picture of the vision for the sport. What we have tried to do since I became chairman is to find a similar ground for all stakeholders - the government, corporate organisations and sponsors, our coaches, athletes, and others, and this is what led us to set up the “Judo that Works” campaign,” Hammed expressed.

The Chairman Lagos State Judo Association said the goals of the association is to show judo as more than just a sport, but rather an opportunity for the government to enhance the educational experience of students in Lagos.

Also, an opportunity for brands to think long-term, and therefore connect with young Lagosians and Nigerians.

He however admitted that issues like poor awareness, limited funding for Judo, and low participation in Judo as a sport, are symptoms of the greater challenge, of the need for capacity development in sports resource management.

On the giant strides he has made since the assumption of office. Hammed reacted thus: “I have led a campaign that has helped to create more awareness for judo in Lagos. The Judo that Works Campaign finds root in

the three core principles of sports, that is to increase participation levels in Judo, increase levels of inclusivity, and help people progress their level of the sport along a ‘sports development programme. When we kicked off, we started with the Judo and the girl child workshop in 2021, with the aim of teaching self-defense training to girls and women, and then we had the Judo that Works seminar for Games masters and PE Teachers, in 2022 and more, creating awareness for Judo with schools, and young Lagosians. So far, we have engaged over 3,000 pupils in Lagos State. We have also built a sustainable relationship with stakeholders, such as the Nigeria Judo Federation, corporate organisations such as MTN Nigeria, Kellogg’s, and the Embassy of Japan. Part of what we have achieved is the promised donations of judo equipment - judogi, and tatami mats which are on their way to Nigeria and other resources, from the Embassy of Japan.”

On where he sees judo in Lagos in the next few years, the LSJA boss, said: “We have set the tone and built the foundation for the further development of Judo in Lagos. We have built relationships with key stakeholders and helped to set a direction to revive and strengthen Judo in Lagos state. Over the next few years, I expect to see a judo programme that is part of the Lagos State education experience.

“This will help us enhance the educational experience and help us teach very important life values at our schools, at an early stage. Judo’s great eight values are essential values in the development of any society. I also look forward to seeing Lagos State judo athletes at the future World Championship, Grandslam, and the 2024 Olympics in France.

We have got amazing athletes and this possibility would go a long way to inspire and motivate them and their coaches.

“On the events and competition side, I look forward to our hosting more local and international workshops, seminars, and competitions. Lagos State hosted the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Trials, NUGA Games at UNILAG, IGP Police Veterans Judo Competition, Judo,

and the Girl Child Seminar, and more, in less than 2 years. I look forward to our hosting an African Judo Championship or even a World Judo Championship in the near future. We have what it takes and I believe with the right team and adequate planning, we can achieve this.”

Hammed would indeed like to see a Judo that would improve health through recreation, encourage job creation, and enhance the education standard in Lagos, while creating a safe and crime-free community, in the next few years.

As a way of popularising judo in Lagos, he is hoping to use the football model. “I think we can borrow a leaf or two, from how football has become the most popular sport in the world today. This has come to be because almost anybody, can watch a football game, and tell what is going on. We all know what a tackle is, a foul - handball, a penalty, a football pitch, an 18-yard box, football boots, a goalkeeper, a referee, and more.

We can identify all these with ease, and this is an outcome of the way football has been sold to us. If we really think about it, it is all in the power of marketing! The same must apply to any sport that wants to become popular or survive the evolving sports industry,” he noted.

For him, managing judo has given him enough to see the potential in sports, especially coming from a marketing background and having worked with various brands and marketing campaigns.

“I have been trained in knowledge and experience, to identify potential. Aside from this, my experience as chairman of LSJA, has helped me function from a place of understanding the potential of Judo, and other forms of sports, for Lagos State.

These two experiences have influenced my perception of sport and development in Lagos state,” he said.

Hammed believes sports can also help Lagos State and indeed Nigeria tell their story, influence positive mindset, and inspire young Lagosians to become the best they can be, by helping them to understand healthy competition.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾DECEMBER 17, 2022

GLOBAL SOCCER

Josh Maja

Turnaround of Fortunes Talk of turnaround fortunes and Nigeria international, Josh Maja comes to mind after going from being a perpetual benchwarmer to Bordeaux’s top goal scorer

N

igeria international, Josh Maja has shut down many of his critics following a brilliant first half of the season, culminating French football analyst Jonathan d’Agostino revealing his surprise at the incredible return to goalscoring form for Nigerian and Girondins Bordeaux forward.

Previously much maligned in France, Maja has seen a turnaround in fortunes at Bordeaux.

The former Sunderland ace has gone from being a regular benchwarmer to being the number-one goalscorer at the club.

Maja has been leading Bordeaux’s charge towards an instant return to Ligue 1, following their relegation last time.

Aside from his recent goal in a friendly win over Brentford, the Super Eagles striker has contributed 10 goals (7 goals, 3 assists) to Bordeaux’s cause.

That excellent output has forced even his harshest critics to sing his praises.

One of those is Ligue 1 expert Jonathan d’Agostino who confessed to WebGirondins that he never expected Maja to come good for Bordeaux after his mediocre first few years in France.

“We see that the more it goes, the more the attack is less and less effective,” d’Agostino said.

“However, we (Bordeaux) have strengths, especially with Bakwa who manages to make a difference in 1v1s.

Josh Maja who scored seven goals and delivered three assists in 15 games, it’s still a ratio that is very interesting for a player we thought we would never see again at a good level.”

Maja joined Bordeaux from Sunderland in January 2019, scoring nine league goals in his first three years at the club before the start of this season.

Meanwhile, Bournemouth are being tipped to move for Super Eagles star with 10-goal contribution in 15 games The Nigeria international is experiencing a resurgence in the lower division in France and he could offer a different attacking dimension to the Blues’ lineup Maja has been named among the possible transfer targets for Birmingham City even as the English side continues to struggle with goals this term.

The season is not going according to plan for Birmingham City with the Blues stuck in 14th position on the Championship table.

Birmingham City have been solid in defence conceding only 20 goals and boasting the fourth-best defensive record

in the division.

It is in attack, though, that John Eustace’s men have faltered, managing only 23 goals in 22 matches.

Striker Scott Hogan has shouldered most of the Blues’ scoring burden. The 30-year-old has scored nine goals, a jointhigh with highflying Nigeria-eligible star Chuba Akpom.

In the Birmingham squad, only 34-year-old Troy Deeney and American defender Auston Levi-Jesaiah Trusty (both on three goals) have scored more than once.

A new goalscoring striker is needed and according to The 72, that man could be Nigerian forward.

Maja is experiencing a pleasant resurgence in France where he has ditched a barren goalscoring run to become the toast of fans and critics alike.

The former Sunderland ace has had a hand in 10 league goals (seven goals, three assists) to the Bordeaux cause.

The 24-year-old was set to join Birmingham in the summer but the deal hit the rocks at the last minute when all seemed ready to sign.

Maja was named the French Ligue 2 Player of the Month award for October, beating Le Havre’s Gautier Lloris and Stade Lavallois’ Julien Maggiotti to the honour.

He becomes the first Bordeaux player to win the Ligue 2 Player of the Month award in 13 years after Yoann Gourcuff claimed it in April 2009.

Maja, who has one cap for the Super Eagles won the prestigious award for his outstanding performances for Bordeaux.

He scored two of those goals in October in the 2-1 win at Laval and the 2-0 home triumph over Metz to help Bordeaux secure three victories and one draw in the four matches played during the period.

Bordeaux were relegated from the French top-flight last season, but the Marines and Whites are on course for a return to Ligue 1 next season-thanks majorly to Maja’s goals contribution.

G LO B A L S O C C E R ASSISTANT EDITOR KUNLE ADEWALE THISDAY ON SATURDAY EDITOR YEMI ADEBOWALE DEPUTY EDITOR AHAMIFULA OGBU THISDAY NEWSPAPERS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 17, 2022

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FEATURE How Grooming Centre Impacts on Nigeria’s Real Women’s Businesses Early in the year, Grooming Centre, Nigeria’s leading microfinance NGO celebrated some of its members including 30 women who told the story of their lives and businesses through the lens of a photo book: Stories of Impact: Real Women, Real Lives, Real Growth, with Oby Ezekwesili as the reviewer. Nduka Nwosu who was there reports

I

t was a mood of celebration accentuated by the virtual presence of Oby Ezekwesili former Education Minister, and Director of Budgetsometime this year. Ezekwesili was the reviewer of a photo book: Stories of Impact: Real Women, Real Lives, Real Growth, published by the Grooming Centre, an NGO and microfinance company based in Ejigbo Lagos.

Admittedly, Ezekwesili’s presence added colour to the event attended by the creme de la creme of society, the big guns of the Nigerian microfinance sector and the 33 women whose lives and businesses have been impacted by their partnership with this brilliant outfit that keeps churning out innovative ideas on how to move the lot of humanity to the next level.

Dede Mabiaku, a disciple of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, a grassroots advocate, livened the occasion with his pulsating band that provided old school danceable renditions, which was an exhilarating aside.

There was so much to eat and drink not when Grooming Centre was showcasing the success story of these 30 women who have benefited so much from its membership of the Centre.

As the founder of the organisation Godwin Nwabunka once said, the business of microfinance all over the world has been justified by the presence and partnership with the female folk. Women are more committed when they borrow money; they keep to the rules of the game; they belong to thrift organisations and cooperative associations where basic principles must be complied with.

The acknowledgement and celebration of these women from various parts of the country connected with a familiar environment and situation known to Dr. Ezekwesili, a former Presidential aspirant. When a family from ground zero springs from the dust, from nothing to something, it calls for a handclap and a victory song to the Almighty. The story of the grassroots is the story of millions of young men and women, of the youth of Nigeria, who were denied the opportunity to rise to stardom, to maximise their talents. Some end up as criminals where their brilliance is exited like a dying star.

Therefore, when a loan finance company, a talent hunter, a humanitarian organisation such as Grooming Centre recognises and aggregates these human frailties into a portfolio basket of products, and confronts each one headlong for positive change, whether it is a product to confront poverty, lack of education, or ill health, a revolution is kick started.

The presence of an Ezekwesili whose campaigns against the social ills of society, galvanised the event for another crusade for societal evolution.

As stated in the book, Grooming Centre currently has over 700,000 members (about half the population of Hawaii), each of whom deserves to be celebrated, and “while it would be impossible to tell all their stories, we chose to start by telling the stories of 30 women who, in their own everyday way, are visionaries chasing dreams, building businesses and changing lives-their own lives and those of others,” Nwabunka adds. As he put it, these women have diverse backgrounds and varying levels of formal education, “but they are all business savvy and hard working. As you read their stories, you will find that they have overcome diverse challenges-business related or personal while building and sustaining their businesses.

“Their success despite that, is worth celebrating, and providing them with resources to overcome challenges, is the reason Grooming Centremwas conceived in the first place.” Grooming Centre was established or founded by Nwabunka in 2006.”

Olaitan Okubena, clothing store owner based in Kubwa Abuja tells her story: “My neighbour introduced me to Grooming and I began taking the loans for a business I started 15 years ago, but I eventually closed that business because my husband and I moved down here. One day my new neighbour in this area

Nwabunka

As the founder of the organisation Godwin Nwabunka once said, the business of microfinance all over the world has been justified by the presence and partnership with the female folk. Women are more committed when they borrow money; they keep to the rules of the game; they belong to thrift organisations and cooperative associations where basic principles must be complied with introduced me to Grooming again. I joined a group here, and I have to say the money has helped me a lot. After the experience of closing my old shop, I was motivated to get back into business because I had lived with my sister and my mother and helped them with their own businesses as well. For ten years I would go to Dubai on behalf of my elder sister. So, when I got this shop, a friendof mine suggested that I do the same business as my sister since that is familiar territory and that was how I started with this second shop, For small scale businesses like mine, it is hard to get a loan from a bank, but Grooming has made it possible for us to access loans. That has made a great impact in my life; it has helped me to grow. It does not take more than a week for me to get the money. Any time I want to travel to buy goods, I add the loan to money I have made from the store, and it is enough for me to buy everything I need. It is also easy to make the repayments. It is important for me to run my own business because I cannot be asking my husband for money all the time or anyone else for that matter.”

Coming thus far with Grooming, Mrs.

Okubena can assert with confidence that having her own business has empowered her and without any encumbrances on her family. “I set it up in such a way that it will not affect my family. My house is close to my shop and the rent here is very affordable.

“So, I cannot say I have any challenges. It will not be wise for me to go and rent an expensive shop in a busier area where I would struggle to pay the rent. However, I would like to open another store and sell different things there, especially in the Village Market when it is finally open.”

Ahead of the resumption of schools Mrs. Afolabi Rebecca can be seen sewing a lunchbox for sale. On the other hand, Mrs. Blessing Idowu-Fanu, in her Karu Abuja shop, markets plastic wares and household goods, and Mrs. Njoku is seen proudly standing beside her decorations and accessories, originals that put a stamp of creativity to her products.

Adds Nwabunka: “Many of our members testify that the loans they receive from the Centre are a lifeline used to scale their businesses, increase their income and improve their personal lives.” What do you make of Mrs. Felicia Kenbi, with hands of gratitude and praise stretched in the air? Her business success prodded by the Grooming Centre has inspired her desire to make a success out of other people.

Again, Nwabunka underscores this gesture and mood in his opening remark or preface to cover in the photo book: “Oftentimes, when entrepreneurship, success, career growth and impact are celebrated in society, people look to the moguls and executives at the top, ignoring the contribution of millions in the informal sector especially those of women who run smallbusinesses.However,overadecadeofsupporting and engaging with hundreds of thousands of these women, Grooming People for Better Livelihood Centre (Grooming Centre) understands the magnitude of their contributions to the progress of their households, society, and the Nigerian economy at large.” Mrs. Bukky Moshood, a bead maker agrees with Mrs. Okubena that Grooming Centre has made it easy for small business owners like them to access loans.

Back in Lokoja Kogi State, Teni Abdullahi and her young daughter are found in their grain shop attending to customers while Mrs. Ishola with her apprentice is in her Sango Ogun State premises roasting cow skin to edible meat known in local parlance as pomo. Fish traders Mrs. Adrat Oluwa and Mrs. Aishat Ojebisi with her son, can be seen in their Awoyaya community in Lagos State where they ply their trade hugely protected and warmly covered by a reliable umbrella, the Grooming Centre.

Alice Ogbonna, a farmer whose daughter Mrs. Ifeoma Nwaeje runs a provision store in Abia State, and both of whom are in the Grooming Centre family, tells her story: “I farm and supply vegetables-ugu, waterleaf, ncho-anwu (scent leaf) and garden eggs to traders. For many years I was managing my farm with what money I had, but every time I had to wait till planting season before I could buy seeds and by then it was always quite expensive. I had long heard about microfinance organisations that give loans but everyone around me used to say they are dubious, so I did not go near any.

She continues: “When I joined Grooming Centre, my experience was different from what I had heard.

In 2013 I became a member and the first loan I got was N20,000.00. I spent it on farming tools and seeds. Because of the loan, I was able to buy leaf seeds for planting when the prices were low, and I stored them until planting season.

This helped me to make more money. “Grooming Centre’s loans are good and profitable. I used my profit to finish raising some of my children. They all went to secondary school and are now running their individual businesses. All of them are independent; they live on theirown. Grooming is so good that I advised my first daughter, Ifeoma Nwaeje, to join so she can use it to grow her provisions store business.

Ever since she started collecting the loans too, her business has also been growing.”

Nwabunka adds his voice to underscore the Grooming Centre experience and the totality of its quest to liberate its fold from the shackles of poverty, illiteracy and sickness beginning with financial empowerment and keeping everyone constructively busy since an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. His imprimatur: “Each of these women has been utilising the Centre’s credit facilities for at least two years and their stories highlight the impact of microfinance in realising and fulfilling their potential. As they recount the paths they have journeyed in business, one cannot help but salute their courage, resilience, and skill.

Many of them share insights into the peculiarities of living and working at the bottom of the pyramid in Nigeria, what it takes to be successful in business and how they balance work and family.”

Nwabunka concludes: “These accounts of the challenges, successes and dreams of the future, have been translated from local languages and pidgin English and summarised for the purpose of this publication, but they are all straight from the mouths of our featured members. These are stories of real women, their real growth, and the real impact they make daily on the lives of their families and on the economy. They are true stories of impact, and we celebrate them. Be inspired!”

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 17 2022

MARKET PLACE with Omolabake Fasogbon... 08155131874

L-R: State Coordinator, Lagos State Office 1, Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON), Saidu Yakubu; Director, Lagos Operations, SON, Mrs. Talatu Ethan; Director of Marketing, SON, Richard Adewumi; and Director, South West Region, SON, Mrs. Yeside Akinlabi at SON Training for SMEs and Exhibition of MANCAP Certified Locally Made SMEs Product in Nigeria, held in Lagos…. recently

L-R: Founder/Group Managing Director Primera Africa Group, Boye R. Olawoye; Director Hartleys Supermarket and Stores, Oluseyi Oladapo; Chairman, Hartleys Supermarket, Yewande Zacchaeus; Director Hartleys Supermarket, Subulade Giwa-Amu and Director Hartleys Supermarket, Mahmoud Tabaja at the official launch of the 5th Hartleys Supermarket, Victoria Island, Lagos…yesterday

Hartleys Supermarket Expands Footprint in Lagos

Laserderm Aesthetics Academy Graduate 26 Beauticians

In a bid to up skill young Nigerians, provide employment while delivering utmost quality in the field of aesthetics, Laserderm Aesthetics Academy, an internaTo further strengthen its position as a as Hartleys’ staying power amidst Nigeria’s she revealed.

Reiterating the company’s commitment tionally accredited aesthetics and leader in unique in-store shopping experience, worst national and economic crisis, Mr. premium retail store, Hartleys Supermarket, Olawoye pointed out: “Although it’s been to continually excite and reward its loyal beauty training facility in Lagos KDV XQYHLOHG LWV WK DQG ODUJHVW VWRUH LQ /DJRV a tough year with devaluation, random customers, the chairman added: “We want State, offering in-house and online Hartleys, which opened its first store in increase in prices of consumer goods, we to make sure we always give our customers training Thursday graduated KDV HYROYHG WR EHFRPH RQH RI WKH PRVW also want to keep ensuring we make shopping an excellent experience. The first thing we its 2022 set of 26 students. This reliable supermarkets, from its exceptional a pleasant experience for customers. The are going to be doing is a loyalty system. If follows months of intense training in-store services to unmatched home delivery last thing you want is for a customer who you have a Hartleys loyalty card, whenever where the new aestheticians were services on a wide range of product categories comes in frequently to see prices changing you come, whichever of our branches you exposed to different courses and best global aesthetic practices. which include Butchery, Fresh Produce, Wines every week. We try to absorb as much as go into, you are able to get a discount.

The Laserderm Academy has “And then, of course, you see how beautiful and Spirits, Deli, Confectionery, Bakery, possible to further deepen the loyalty with Personal Care, Household products and more. the customer, yet it’s been tough. But we our stores are. We want to always make sure continued to affirm its commitour stores are at the level of supermarkets that ment to improve capacity and Speaking at the launch of the new are here to stay.”

Yewande Zaccheus, Chairman, Hartleys, are of high quality anywhere in the world. manpower development in the outlet, Boye Olawoye, Founder/Director of Hartleys Supermarket, said: “We think who spoke on the company’s plans for I am really proud of our new addition to beauty industry, with the view to provide and equip the industry there is a lot of room in Victoria Island for GLVFORVHG WKDW WKH\ ZLOO EH IRFXVLQJ the Hartleys family.

“We ensure that our stores are well stocked, with the needed personnel capable more supermarkets, and we believe in not on e-commerce and expansion to the Lagos and we never sell expired products. So, you of delivering on the emerging spreading ourselves too thin. Having started mainland.

“Next year we also want to focus on our can always be sure of quality, and of our trends. Speaking at the graduin VI, we will saturate this market before online shopping and we also want to begin price points. Of course we all know what ation ceremony in Lagos, the gradually moving to other areas.

“We already have one in Oniru and Ikoyi to deliver to customers who make orders the foreign exchange is saying, and a lot of COO Laserderm Group, Omolade online. Those are some of the things that our stuff is imported. But we still ensure Olatawura, urged the students as well. that we have a price point that is sensitive to comply with various ethical So gradually, we will start to expand to we plan to do for our customers. standards that operate within “We have plans to expand to the mainland. to the financial situation of the country.” the Lekki area and also on the mainland, (VWDEOLVKHG LQ +DUWOH\V KDV PDLQWDLQHG the young industry. and ultimately outside of Lagos. This is the Unfortunately, we slowed down our expansion She said courses are curated ODUJHVW RXWOHW DQG LW·V DERXW VTP 7KH plans this year because of a lot of things an enviable position as a leader in its category, plan is that, hopefully, subsequent stores that took place. We are aggressively looking continually offering its customers unique to deliver in-depth knowledge at Ikeja to start with. Customers can look in-store shopping experiences and the to people wanting to pursue or ZLOO DOVR EH DERXW WKLV VL]H µ Citing resilience and customer-centricity forward to seeing more stores around them,” continuous delivery of high-quality products. further careers in the aesthetics or beauty industry. “We are currently the only school that is only dedicated to aesthetics; we have other beauty schools Nigerian-owned wristwatch and jewelry drive and a move to satisfy yearnings of wristwatch customers brand and presently one of the world’s most- sought after luxury brand, Bay Ice has strengthened its presence jewelry lovers in the host environment.

He said the objective of the organisation wristwatches. in Nigeria with the launch of a new outlet.

2ODWXQML VDLG WKH ÀUP LV SUHVHQWO\ WHDPLQJ The new outlet is located in the highbrow ZDV WR PDNH MHZHOULHV IURP DͿRUGDEOH basic materials down to high-end expos up with popular Nigerian singer, David Lekki area of Lagos State.

With a strong presence in Canada, Bay Ice HDUO\ MHZHOULHV ,Q WKH ÀUVW PRQWKV RI Adeleke, better known as Davido to launch is impacting and participating in the growth launching its wristwatch collection, Bay D FODVVLF ZULVWZDWFK FROOHFWLRQ +H GLVFORVHG WKDW HͿRUWV ZHUH EHLQJ SXW of the global fashion sector. Founder of the Ice reportedly rakes in total sales of over Nigeria’s fundraising software, together to open more luxury stores across ÀUP $]HH] 2ODWXQML H[SODLQHG WKDW WKH QHZ PLOOLRQ ‘FundACause’ has been adjudged 7KH ÀUP DOVR ERDVWV RYHU WHQ WKRXVDQG major cities in Nigeria. outlet was part of the company’s expansion Best Crowdfunding platform at the 2022 Nigerian Fintech Awards.

Developed by SystemSpecs Technology Services Limited (STSL), the platform was awarded for its impact in optimising donation-based fundraising in Experts have stressed the need been disruption in the industry The Standard Organisation engineering laboratories, National Nigeria and beyond. of Nigeria, SON has pledged Metrology Institute in Enugu, for operational transformation SULRU WR &29,' VWDWLQJ WKDW Commenting, Managing Direccontinued support to Micro Small Leather and Textile Laboratory in in the supply chain industry to challenges such as infrastructure tor of STSL, Demola Igbalajobi enable sustainability.

GHÀFLW GHYDOXDWLRQ DQG LQVHFXULW\

and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Kaduna, and the Foods, Chemical said the honour was due to They said that transformation underscored the need for urgent to enable them meet up with global and Electrical Laboratories in Ogba, how the platform had made and disruption became imperative operational change. specifications and standards.

Lagos. fundraising seamless, secure and Speaking on the theme,” LeverThe organisation said it would Salim who was represented by WR ÀOO WKH KXJH JDS FUHDWHG E\ transparent for individuals and double efforts in offering trainings, SON Marketing Director, Richard &29,' DQG HFRQRPLF FKDO- aging Supply Chain Excellence organisations from any part of lenges. in the Changing World Order”, rebate and other incentives to spur Adewunmi said, “SON has over the world.

Speaking at the African Centre %DQGHOH DVVHUWHG WKDW SHUFHQW productivity in the sector. the years put in place programmes He added, “FundACause for Supply Chain (ACSC) annual of companies need supply chain Director General of SON, Mal- for capacity building of MSMEs gives donors multiple payment lam Farouk Salim reaffirmed this with discounts, waivers and prod- Dinner and Awards, Customer transformation. options including card, internet He said, “Supply chain is GXULQJ WKH FHOHEUDWLRQ RI 621 # uct’s certification processes to ensure Supply Chain sub-Saharan Africa, banking, electronic wallet, USSD, in Lagos, saying that steps were that products and services meet Friesland Campina, Temitope a game of smart player and bank transfer, phone number and towards ensuring superiority of specified requirements and compete Bandele challenged operators requires smartness to operate. eNaira. It also shows in real-time to up their game, adding that For operators to remain relevant, local products and acceptability favorably in the international space, donations on the fundraiser’s supply chain must be agile and in global market. He listed other thereby creating job opportunities challenges will be there. campaign.

He maintained that there had ready to adjust where necessary”. efforts taken as: equipping SON’S for Nigerians.”

Bay Ice luxury Store Unveils Outlet in Lekki

in hair and makeup, but we are the only one. What that means is that we have honed our skills in this area.”

Olatawura further noted that anybody planning to come into the industry must acquire knowledge about the sector. She added, “People should learn about aesthetics, skin care and learn to work with your hands. One thing that sets us apart is that our students write ITEC exams that would allow them to work LQ FRXQWULHV The opportunity is great and they should come and improve themselves.”

Giving his keynote speech, representative of Skinetics, Dr. Bruce Nwachie, said, “I Am glad that the aesthetics industry is opening up in Nigeria and this is the best time for anybody to get in it. There is a great opportunity in this field and anyone that is dedicated will make it in the industry.”

For the Head of School, Laserderm Aesthetics Academy, Omotoke Sikaiye, each one of them should stay in their lane and “do not cut corners and try to be as ethical as possible in the products you are using or treatment that you are offering and not to deceive clients.”

‘FundACause’ Awarded Best Crowdfunding Platform

SON Restates Commitment Experts Call for Robust Transformation in Supply Chain to MSMEs Growth

“The software allows for quick and easy campaign setup, live monitoring of campaigns and donations, support for overseas donations and comprehensive reports which results in transparency and accountability of fundraising activities.

“Our success story is dependent on our pursuit to positively impact humanity and make fundraising in Nigeria easier.

We are incredibly satisfied with the rapid results the solution is garnering; this demonstrates its much-anticipated long-term success.”

Also at the award ceremony, Group Managing Director (GMD), SystemSpecs Group, John Obaro, was presented the Special Leadership Award.

Igbalajobi avowed that the company will continue to reinvent with innovations that will enhance consumers experience.

SATURDAY DECEMBER 17, 2022 • T H I S D AY

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾DECEMBER 17, 2022

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 17, 2022

AUTO WORLD

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

Twincustom Presents Customised Luxury CX 5, CX 6, CX 7 Cars

T

wincustom Nigeria Ltd, a reputable company in auto remodelling has unveiled three customised car models, the CX 5, CX 6 and CX 7.

All the three models have ZHOO GHVLJQHG LQWHULRU ÀWWLQJV that are bound to give comfort to both riders and drivers.

Managing Director/CEO of Twincustom Nigeria Ltd, Twinkle James Oruwariye, said the CX series took his company six years RI KDUGZRUN WR ÀQLVK DQG WKDW PRVW RI WKH top quality materials were sourced locally.

2UXZDUL\H H[SODLQHG WKDW WKH ÀUVW WKUHH years out of the six were dedicated to research and development, while three years were used to work on the cars.

The event which was witnessed by some KLJK SURÀOH FDU HQWKXVLDVWV LQFOXGLQJ D UHDO estate investor, Dennis Nwokedi; Dr. Bayo Kuku of EKO Hospital; and Honorary Australian Consul, Alan Davies, drew attention to the vast local input in the cars and the ingenuity of Oruwariye and the Twincustom technical team.

The representative of the Lagos State Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mrs. Temitope Akintunde unveiled the theme of the event which was inscribed on a board: ‘Boosting Local Content in the Nigerian Automobile Industry.’

Oruwariye whose Twincustom has been in the business of making head-turning versions out of luxury cars since 1986, disclosed that unlike many years ago when his company accepted customisation jobs from customers who came with cars of various brands, the focus now is on customising original Volvo XC 90 models (between 2004-2013) which Twincustom imports directly from the USA. It is after being meticulously customised by hand, according to Oruwariye, that the cars are sold to those who appreciate top quality features in luxury automobiles.

One of the highpoints of the event was the unveiling of the Automated Ventilation Control System (AVCS) which is currently undergoing the process of earning International Patent.

AVCS was introduced to the guests at the launch by the Chairman of Sterling Bank PLC and founder of Banwo & Ighodalo law

When you turn your key to start your car, the repetitive chirping sound the engine makes for a second or two is the starter, turning the engine over so it can begin running under its own power. that sound is called “cranking,” and you want to hear that noise because it means your car’s starter is doing its job. but what if you hear the engine crank and the engine just won’t start and run on its own? That means there’s a problem in the engine itself that’s preventing it from getting started.

L-R: The MD/CEO of Twincustom Nig. Ltd, Twinkle Oruwariye; Auto enthusiast and Australian Honorary Consul, Alan Davies, admiring the impressive design and features of CX 7, one of the CX cars unveiled by Twincustom at Silverbird Galleria, Victoria Island, Lagos… recently ÀUP $VXH ,JKRGDOR Designed and developed by Twincustom research and development department headed by the CEO, the AVCS helps to protect passengers from getting cancer from their vehicles.

This was preceded by the introduction of Twincustom by Kaladata Oruwariye, daughter of the MD/CEO, who gave a brief biography of the man behind the project and the history of the company.

Many of the invitees who witnessed the unveiling of the cars thumbed up for Twincustom Nig Ltd Research and Development Department when they were informed that it is the heart of the company which is responsible for the concepts that make the company tick.

It was learnt that the department is headed

by Twinkle Oruwariye himself and comprises his only daughter, Kaladata Oruwariye, and his two sons - Tralapuye Junior Oruwariye

and Damiete Oruwariye.

An indication of how well received the CX models would be among special car lovers came when it was announced that one of them, the CX 7, was sold even before it got to Silverbird Galleria, the venue of the launch and display in Victoria Island.

The three-day event planned on behalf of Twincustom by Renee Cole Events (Tosin Southey-Coke), continued on Saturday and Sunday with privileged views by car enthusiasts.

Twincustom made a debut decades ago with the wave-making Twintana Z1, a redesigned DQG PRGLÀHG YHUVLRQ RI WKH WKHQ SRSXODU Volkswagen Santana assembled then by Volkswagen of Nigeria, Ojo, Lagos.

So attention-grabbing was Twintana that LW ZDV QRW RQO\ D WUD΀F MDPPHU EXW DOVR earned the approval of the VW plant in Lagos, and boosted the popularity of the sleek Santana model.

CFAO Suzuki Graduates Female Technicians After Intensive Training

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uzuki by CFAO has proven its willingness to contribute its quota towards the empowerment of women with the Suzuki Empower Her (SEH) programme.

The training programme, which lasted four months, ended with a JUDGXDWLRQ FHUHPRQ\ WKLV ZHHN IRU WKH ÀUVW set of female automotive technicians in its maiden edition.

The female technicians received thorough theoretical and practical insights into a variety of topics, including but not limited to gearboxes, engine diagnosis, repairs, and sensors, during their training in partnership with Automedics, which began on August 1, 2022.

During the graduation ceremony, the general manager, Aissatou Diouf, stated that she envisages a successful long-term partnership that will empower the female gender beyond training and emphasised the need for consistency.

“We don’t want to just train them and let them go.” We need to do a lot of things to empower them more. It has to be something consistent, not to show that we are doing something but to know that Suzuki by CFAO has empowered women.”

The ceremony, which was held at the Suzuki

by CFAO showroom in Akin Adesola, Victoria Island, Lagos, was themed “Getting Ready for WKH )XWXUHµ DQG VWDUWHG RͿ ZLWK D TXHVWLRQ DQG DQVZHU VHVVLRQ ZLWK +HOHQH 3DUDGLVL ÀQDQFH director of CFAO Mobility, and the general manager of Suzuki by CFAO, Aissatou Diouf.

A panel discussion followed with Vivienne Oche Bamgboye, non-executive director of Greenwich Merchant Bank; Funmi Abiola, head of marketing for CFAO Mobility; Ifetayo Ogundele, auto-technician and founder of Autozest; and Jennifer Ishike, senior sales executive for Suzuki at CFAO. The panelists got the chance to talk about their work experiences and give motivational tips for the young graduates.

7KH JUDGXDWHV ZHUH ODWHU DZDUGHG FHUWLÀFDWHV and the two best-performing students were granted an internship opportunity with Suzuki

7,36 2) 7+( :((.

Why Your Engine Cranks But Won’t Start

Cross section of first batch of graduands awarded certificates under the CFAO Suzuki Empower Her (SEH) programme by the CFAO. The SEH programme is an industry initiative that further reiterates a commitment to allowing women to grow and make a mark in the automotive industry, which is predominantly male-driven.

Interestingly, Suzuki by CFAO, with its GLYHUVLÀHG ZRUNIRUFH DQG ZRPHQ WDNLQJ RQ challenging roles from the top management level, is an embodiment of one of the CFAO Group’s core values, diversity.

The SEH programme seeks to empower ZRPHQ LQ WKH DXWRPRWLYH VHFWRU E\ RͿHULQJ free training to individuals who don’t have the resources but want to begin and advance their careers as technicians.

The curriculum is now complete, and the

graduating female automotive technicians will have the chance to look for employment LQ WKH FDU LQGXVWU\ DQG RWKHU UHOHYDQW ÀHOGV Recall that on August 1 of this year, Suzuki, CFAO Nigeria, and Automedics Limited signed a Memorandum of 8QGHUVWDQGLQJ 0R8 WR NLFN RͿ WKH Suzuki Empower Her (SEH) programme that ended last November.

During the signing of the MoU that heralded the new partnership, General Manager of Suzuki by CFAO, Aissatou Diouf, expressed her appreciation to the $XWRPHGLFV WHDP IRU RͿHULQJ YDOXH WR the girl child and shared her delight in supporting the ongoing work in her capacity.

,QVXͿFLHQW &RPSUHVVLRQ In order to start running under its own power, an engine needs four essential things: air, fuel, compression and spark. an engine ZLWK ORZ FRPSUHVVLRQ FDQ EH GL΀FXOW RU impossible to start, and it means seals and gaskets could be leaking in the engine. you may need things like new valve seals, new piston rings or other components replaced so that the engine can withstand the intense pressure it needs to run. &ORJJHG )XHO ,QMHFWRUV If the car cranks when you turn the key, but the engine won’t start, it could be because fuel isn’t getting to the engine.

One potential reason for this could be dirty fuel injectors. over time, the fuel injector nozzles can become clogged with rust, corrosion or debris. once clogged, the fuel injectors may not add the correct amount of fuel to the cylinders, and the vehicle may not start up at all. To keep your fuel injectors clean and working as intended, be sure to only add high-quality gasoline to the tank. gasoline from less-than-reputable sources that has been improperly stored or transported is more likely to contain damaging debris that could make its way through the fuel lines and to the injectors -- ruining them. %DG )XHO 3XPS Another reason fuel might not be getting to the engine is a bad fuel pump. most gasoline from chain service stations is perfectly clean and properly stored, so bad fuel injectors aren’t often the problem. you’re even more OLNHO\ WR VXͿHU IURP D EDG IXHO SXPS ,I the fuel pump in your car goes bad, gas ZRQ·W EH DEOH WR ÁRZ IURP WKH WDQN WR WKH engine, and it simply won’t be able to run on its own. we’ll simply recommend that you have the pump replaced. %DG 6SDUN 3OXJV If the engine holds compression well, and the fuel system is working correctly, but it still won’t start, that tells us that your car’s spark plugs may not be working. The spark plugs ignite the air/fuel mixture inside the engine’s cylinders. it’s the resulting explosion that actually powers your car.

Modern spark plugs can last 100,000 miles or more before going bad and needing to be replaced, but they can go bad earlier than that for a variety of reasons: If the engine experiences too much carbon build up, this can foul your spark plugs. or, if oil leaks into the engine, it can coat the spark plugs and prevent them from working. The problem may also be with one of the components, like the computer or the ignition coils, that supply power to the spark plugs %DG &UDQNVKDIW 3RVLWLRQ 6HQVRU Not only does the engine in your car need a spark to begin combustion, that spark has to take place at the exact right moment. Too late or too early and the air/fuel mixture won’t entirely combust, reducing performance and potentially failing to start the engine entirely. One of the reasons your spark SOXJV PLJKW EH ÀULQJ LQFRUUHFWO\ LV GXH to a faulty crankshaft position sensor.

It’s this sensor that tells your engine’s computer the position of all the valves and pistons at any given moment.

The Ecu then uses this information to GHWHUPLQH ZKHQ WR ÀUH WKH VSDUN ,I WKLV sensor has gone bad, the Ecu won’t know ZKHQ WR ÀUH WKH VSDUNV DQG WKH HQJLQH might not start.

(Source: Chevrolet)

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 17, 2022

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AUTO WORLD

Does Loud Music Distract?

I

L-R: Unit Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps, Esther Uzoma; Deputy Managing Director, Retail North, Access Bank, Victor Etuokwu; Group Head, Women Banking Division, Access Bank Plc., Abiodun Olubitan; Managing Director, AA Rescue, Miron Nadvinski; and President/Founder, Ladies on Wheel Association of Nigeria, Abiola Nkechi Toluwani, during the ‘Ladies let’s drive graduation ceremony’, organised by Women Banking, Access Bank Plc., held in Lagos… recently

20 Graduate from Access Bank’s Lady Drivers’ Campaign

A

ccess Bank Nigeria Plc., recently held a graduation ceremony and presentation of certificates to the first set of ladies that were successfully trained to drive.

Access Bank said it is committed to women’s empowerment, and takes women’s needs seriously which has fueled its passion for the W-Initiative.

The W-Initiative is the home of everything Access Bank has to offer women. ‘W’ speaks to the strength that every woman around the world carries, according to officials of the bank.

“It is about women, Nigerian women, and women around the world.” This new approach to banking women, according to the bank, provides banking solutions to meet their financial and lifestyle needs.

The ’Ladies, Let’s Drive initiative’ is one of such solutions by the W-Initiative of Access Bank in conjunction with the Federal Road Safety Corps that provides a novel platform for women to attain the necessary driving skills and support to ease their mobility.

One of the many ways women are empowered under this programme is access to driving lessons and certification at discounted prices across the country. This training is deployed by two FRSC-accredited

driving schools-AA Rescue Limited and Ace Driving School.

This initiative was launched in July and in the last five months, over 1,800 people have indicated interest to participate and over 120 women have been directly impacted by this initiative.

According to Oluwadamilola Osoyemi, programme co-ordinator, the driving lessons were held in seven states in the country, namely Abuja, Akwa Ibom, Benin, Calabar, Kano, Kaduna, Lagos, and Port Harcourt.

The bank said, “This graduation was hosted to celebrate the success of all the women who have successfully concluded the training and to help other women appreciate the credibility and impact of the programme on their daily lives.

“It re-emphasises Access Bank’s commitment to women’s empowerment and positions as the Bank of choice for women of all ages.”

Speaking during the ceremony, Victor Etuokwu, Deputy Managing Director, Retail Banking North, expressed satisfaction that, the driver’s training programme conducted by the bank on quarterly basis is primarily aimed at empowering women in Nigeria to be better drivers, adding that the exercise which started many months ago can add value to the female graduands and how they are able to explore the vast and varied opportunities presented by what they have learnt in the future.

NITT Building National Intelligent Transport System, Says DG

N

igeria’sforemost transport training and research institute, the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), Zaria, Kaduna State, is in the process of building a national Intelligent Transport System, that will deploy technology to collect and collate transport and transport related data across the country.

This was revealed by the Director General of the institute, Dr. Bayero Salih Farah, during the familarisation visit of the Minister of Transportation, Alhaji Muazu Jaji Sambo to the institute during the week.

The National Intelligent Transport System is expected to provide real-time transport information and intelligence, as well as assist researchers and policy formulators.

In his welcome address to the minister and his entourage, the DG

said “it may interest you to know that NITT is by law mandated to serve as the nation’s Transport Intelligence Centre.

“Accordingly, with the support of the Buhari led administration, NITT has established a Databank for the collection, collation and analysis of all economic and technological data relating to all aspects of transportation in Nigeria.

“To fulfill this mandate, the Institute is building an Intelligent Transport System (ITS) Centre to be equipped with state-of-the-art equipment. At the moment, the databank project has commenced with the installation of equipment in some major highways namely: AbujaLokoja, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and Kaduna-Zaria Highway.

“Traffic data generated by these equipment will be transmitted in real time to the Data Centre in Zaria. Data from transport organisations are also being collated and inputted into the Databank System in the Institute.”

love music. Hip hop, rock, jazz and pop, as well as native music from my favourite village dance group, Oje (Q\D /HUL IURP $PDVLUL LQ $ÀNSR North of Ebonyi State. If you call me a music freak, you will be absolutely correct. But please don’t challenge me to a dance competition. My dancing dexterity/ moves which I thought was in the class of the late American singer-songwriter, Michael Jackson KDV VLQFH À]]OHG RXW GXH WR OLIH LVVXHV 7RGD\ I have refused to allow the love for music die GHVSLWH ORVLQJ RXW RQ WKH GDQFH ÁRRU Although I love music, my friend Princess Snips would always tease me that what I call love for music is basically love for gospel music.

My only explanation is that being an unrighteous man, I need to daily create an atmosphere of ZRUVKLS ERWK LQ P\ R΀FH DQG DURXQG P\ FDU especially as I head to work daily as I seek God’s mercy for the day at work. I equally seek His mercy during worship over everything that I might be engaged in, including His mercies over my family, the Federal Road Safety Corps where I work and Nigeria as well as over, my little princesses I nicknamed, ‘BED’.

Even as I write, Nathaniel Bassey’s “Ndum bu nke chineke”, meaning my life belongs to Jesus hundred per cent, Satan has no stake in this life is playing in the background. Before then I had enjoyed “My Advocate” by Mr M & Revelation music which has helped to lift up my spirit for the week ahead of the Christmas celebrations. But before I bore you to death, please forgive me as my focus is not on my love for music or my faded dexterity on the dance ÁRRU EXW WKH SODFH RI ORXG PXVLF ZKLFK LV P\ pastime too as a distractor while on the wheels.

I don’t know if you have ever given the thought of loud music as a distractor especially if you are a music freak like me. I know I have written several times on the subject of distracted GULYLQJ XQGHU GLͿHUHQW KHDGLQJV 0\ ZULWH XSV then focused majorly on the common distracted tendencies such as phoning behind the wheels as well as texting among others. Not once did

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

I write about music.

I know that most road users associate distracted driving with texting or talking on the phone. These users should know that there are legions of behind the wheels activities WKDW ÀWV GLVWUDFWHG GULYLQJ FODVVLÀFDWLRQ 'LG you know that listening to loud music can seriously hamper your reaction time and can even cause serious crashes as evidenced by UHFHQW UHVHDUFK ÀQGLQJV Did you also know that, studies reveal that those who listen to loud music when they drive take up to 20 percent longer to perform mental and physical tasks. Did you know that this delayed reaction time can have disturbing FRQVHTXHQFHV ZKHQ LW UHVXOWV LQ D URDG WUD΀F crash between two vehicles or a vehicle and a pedestrian or cyclist?

There are a number of studies conducted by respected research institutions on this which I hope to share. For this purpose, we will be relying on studies conducted by RAC Foundation and IAM RoadSmart in the United .LQJGRP %RWK FRQÀUPHG WKDW OLVWHQLQJ WR loud music is a form of distracted driving.

7KH\ DOVR FRQÀUPHG WKDW OLVWHQLQJ WR ORXG music may be the probable primary cause of many crashes. Let us start with The RAC Foundation. In their study, they found that drivers who were listening to music were twice as likely to miss a red light than drivers who were not.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾DECEMBER 17, 2022

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NEWS Imo LP Assembly Candidate Murdered at Home Amby Uneze in Owerri Labour Party’s candidate for Onuimo Local Government Area in the Imo State House of Assembly, Mr. Christopher Elewu, was found

dead in his home yesterday with several machete wounds inflicted by suspected assassins.

The gunmen, witnesses said, arrived at the home of Elewu, also known as Wasco, in the early hours

Sanwo-Olu Launches Data Centre to Enhance Safety on Water Commuters using Lagos State’s water transport services are in for a fresh safety experience, with the activation of modern monitoring gadgets and infrastructure to enhance security across the State’s waterways transportation network.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu yesterday commissioned the newly installed Waterways Monitoring and Data Management Centre (WMDMC) at the Five Cowrie Terminal - the headquarters of the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) in Falomo, Ikoyi.

The Data Management Centre, which is first of its kind in the country, is a centralised monitoring base for all activities on the Lagos waterway. By the technology, LASWA is now empowered to generate real-time information, enhance safety and gather data for continuous improvement of the inland waterways.

The Governor also unveiled advanced DJI Aerial Drone for surface surveillance and BlueEye

Pro drone for underwater search and rescue operations. He handed over units of automatic U-SAFE rescuing gadgets for emergency evacuation.

Sanwo-Olu, at the event well attended by private operators, inaugurated LASWA Search and Rescue Unit (SAR), which will be responsible for patrolling and enforcing the State’s waterways rules and regulation.

The Governor said the development further demonstrated his administration’s commitment towards improving mobility through multimodal transportation system and create affordable transit options for the residents.

Sanwo-Olu maintained that Traffic Management and Transportation remained the key component of his Government’s economic development plan, stressing that waterways transport had enjoyed special attention in the last three years because of the need to link it with existing rail and road transportation networks.

MeCure Unveils PET-CT Scan for Early Detection of Cancer Funmi Ogundare MeCure Healthcare Limited has unveiled its first ever cyclotron and PET-CT scan, a device that produces tracers and other radiopharmaceutical reagents which can be used to detect the physiological activities of cancer cells in the body.

Speaking at the unveiling of the radiopharmaceutical, held recently, in Lagos, the Chairman of the organisation, Sir Samir Udani, noted that cyclotron, the first in West Africa, will help to reverse medical tourism and reduce the stress and cost of cancer care in Nigeria.

He expressed excitement about the device, saying that before now, it was difficult to access.

According to him, “The arrival of the cyclotron will reverse medical tourism and reduce the stress and cost of cancer care in the country.

Hence, it is good news for the entire oncology patients, Nigeria

and West Africa.”

The acting Director General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. Monica Eimunjeze, who unveiled the project, said it will ensure targeted interventions, early detection and better management of patients who have cancer, adding that the costs are cheaper in the country than buying a ticket to travel abroad for the treatment.

“To a large extent, it is affordable and accessible and when you look at the financial implications as an individual,” she stated.

She expressed delight about the partnership with Mecure, saying that respite will come to patients who have the disease in Nigeria.

“It could be me, a family member or a friend that would use the facility. With the device, Mecure will be able to provide advance care diagnostics to support Oncology.

Abiola Akilo, Wife of Ekiti Retired Perm Sec for Burial Mrs Abiola Rhoda Akilo (nee Owotade) is dead. Mrs Akilo passed on to eternal glory on Friday, November 11, 2022.

According to a funeral arrangement released by the Akilo and Owotade families, commendation service holds on Thursday, December 22 at All Saints Anglican Church, Opopo Gboro, Ado-Ekiti.

Wake Keep/Night of Tributes hold same day at Ilogbo Road, IdoEkiti Funeral service is scheduled for St John’s Anglican Church, Ido-Ekiti on Friday, December 23.

Late Akilo The deceased was survived by her husband, Tunde Akilo, a retired Permanent Secretary in Ekiti State, and children.

of yesterday shooting randomly for over two hours, within which time they set ablaze his house and a motorcycle.

The police are yet to make a statement on the development but witnesses said the gunmen left Elewu’s home and went in search of other politicians but

did not meet them at home.

About 10 days ago, another LP candidate in Okigwe Local Government Area, Chukwunonye Irono, slumped and died suddenly, a night before the LP’s presidential rally he was billed to anchor.

Irono was confirmed dead at

the Federal Medical Centre in Owerri, where first responders took him.

The party’s new media officer in the state, Salvator Amadi, confirmed the incidents, disclosing that the party members were having an emergency meeting to deliberate on the incident.

He said: “Yes, the incidents happened. In fact, the party members are holding a crucial meeting now. It is unfortunate.”

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), in the state, Michael Abattam, could not pick the calls put across to him, before this story was filed.

MARITAL BLISS...

L-R: Groom’s father, Mr. Joshua Adekunle Adegoke; bride’s mother, Mrs. Fehintola Kehinde Ikuomola; groom, Mr. Samuel Oluwatosin Adegoke and his wife, former Miss Victoria Taiwo lkuomola; bride’s brother, Victor Kehinde Ikuomola and Groom’s mother, Mrs. Grace Oluwatoyin Adegoke, during wedding ceremony of Samuel and Victoria held at Light Bible Church, Lagos... recently.

Buhari: Nigeria Remains Destination of Choice for Corporate America to Invest Deji Elumoye in Abuja and Ugo Aliogo, in Washington DC President Muhammadu Buhari has declared that Nigeria remains the best destination for American investors to put their money.

According to the President, aside from the population advantage in size and demography, various incentives and policies implemented by the Nigerian Government make it a destination of choice for investment.

Speaking yesterday in Washington DC at the U.S – Nigeria Business and Investment Forum, Business Roundtable organised by the American Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) in conjunction with the Federal

Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, on the sidelines of the US-Africa Leaders Summit, President Buhari explained that Nigeria as the most populous country and largest economy in Africa, remains Africa’s largest single consumer market, projected to account for over 15 per cent of overall growth in Africa’s spending, by 2025.

He said: “Investors in the country would have access to new markets under the African Continental Free Trade Area, (AfCTA), which would be the world’s largest free trade area, would be expected to connect 1.3 billion people across 55 countries and a consumer market that will be worth over $3 trillion

by 2030, and a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) valued at US$3.4 trillion.”

According to him, “Since 2015, when my administration assumed office, fixing of the infrastructural gaps needed for business to thrive in Nigeria, namely; roads, railways, air and sea ports, energy and telecommunications, constituted greater priorities for government. Related to these conscious and practical efforts, is the resolve by our Administration to improve the business environment through business incentives, regulatory reforms and visa-regime that are business-friendly.

“The outcome of the massive efforts and investments by our

administration in Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment, i.e. Road Construction and Rehabilitation, Investment Tax Credit Policy, led to the reconstruction of 21 selected federal roads, totaling 1,804.6 KM. With regards to railways, sea and air ports as well as energy, which are expected to facilitate movements of people, goods and services as well as sustain the stabilisation of industries and their growth respectively.”

President Buhari stressed that despite the global challenges occasioned by COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, the Nigerian economy has continued to record impressive growth in many sectors:

Nigeria Army Promotes 52 Brigadier Generals, 70 Colonels

Medical Experts Seek Sustainable Options for Healthcare Financing

Bennett Oghifo

Bennett Oghifo

The Nigerian Army Council has approved the promotion of 52 Brigadier Generals to Major Generals and 70 Colonels to Brigadier Generals.

A statement issued yesterday by the Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, said the promotions were based on merit.

“In recognition of their meritorious service to the nation, the Army Council has on Thursday 15 December 2022, approved the promotion of senior officers to the ranks of Major General and Brigadier General.

“In the promotion signed and released by the Military Secretary (Army), a total of 122 senior officers of the ranks of Brigadier General and Colonels were elevated to the next higher rank.

“While a total of 52 Brigadier Generals were meritoriously promoted to the rank of Major

General, 70 Colonels were also elevated to the rank of Brigadier General,” Brigadier General Nwachukwu, said in the statement.

Some of those promoted to the rank of Major General are: Brigadier Generals AA Ayanuga of the Department of Army Transformation and Innovation; EH Akpan of Theatre Command Operation HADIN KAI; NM Jega of the Defence Headquarters; JO Ugwuoke of the Department of Army Logistics; PAO Okoye of the Department of Army Operations; EF Oyinlola of the Department of Special Services and Programmes; AA Adekeye of 21 Special Armoured Brigade; AE Edet of Nigerian Army School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, AB Mohammed of Army Headquarters Operations Monitoring Team, and MT Usman of the Headquarters Guards Brigade.

Others are: Brigadier Generals IM Abdullahi of Headquarters

Medical experts have called on government at federal and state levels to adopt sustainable options for healthcare financing in 2023.

The experts, who discussed at a one-day symposium, organised by a not-for-profit organisation, BOSKOH Healthcare Mission International (HMI) in Lagos yesterday practically set an agenda on the need for aspirants into political offices, to include in their plans the provision of access to healthcare in underserved and vulnerable communities to improve the health, wellness, and quality of life of the population mostly in need, ahead of the 2023 general election.

Featuring some of the best minds in the medical field in Lagos State and even beyond, participants converged on the Adeyemi Bero Conference Hall of the State Government Secretariat in Alausa, Ikeja to

deliberate on the theme, ‘HealthCare Financing: The Sustainable Options.’

The symposium was also positioned against the backdrop of the campaign for the re-election of the Lagos State governor, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, on one hand, and the presidential bid of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima, the presidential flag bearers of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The symposium, which also came in timely because of the need to revamp Nigeria’s health sector as the country prepares for the polls in next year’s General Elections to elect leaders that will lead the country for another four years, became necessary as Nigerians move to elect candidates that have demonstrated acumen for developing the health sector in order to bring their expertise to bear at the national level.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 17, 2022

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DELIVERING INFRASTRUCTURE… L-R: Ogun State Deputy Governor, Noimot Salako-Oyedele; Governor Dapo Abiodun and Orimolusi of Ijebu-Igbo, Oba Lawrence Adebajo commissioning Molusi College Road, Ijebu Igbo in Ijebu North Local Government Area of the State...yesterday

Irabor Taps Rights Commission to Probe Allegations of Forced Abortions of Terrorists’ Spouses in North-east Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

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54

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 17, 2022

NEWS Air Force, Other Security Agencies Launch Joint Lagos Prime Show by Oxygen Debuts Tomorrow $ ÀUP DGHSW DW WDOHQW singing sensations like Akunna Operation to Flush out Bandits in Kwara hunt and development will Okechukwu who was the last tomorrow present the Lagos girl standing at the Season 6

Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

The Nigerian Air Force 303 Medium Airlift Group (MAG) Ilorin will today commence a joint operation with other sister security agencies to smoke out and eliminate criminal gangs along Eiyenkorin-Peke-Okolowo axis in Ilorin, Kwara State.

The operation, according to THISDAY checks, might not be unconnected with the alleged LQÁX[ RI VRPH FULPLQDOV WR WKH state from other neighbouring states.

The operation is code named ‘Exercise Apejopo Idi’ (meaning gathering of the eagles) and will run till the end of December for maximum impact.

Exercise Apejopo Idi, which L-R: Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service, Isah Jere and former Comptroller General of Immigration (rtd) is planned for 16th to 31st David Paradang at the 2023 Immigration gala night yesterday in Abuja December 2022, aims at utilising NAF ground and air of 303 Medium Airlift Group, eggs and any possible kidnap- Eiyenkorin-Peke-Okolowo assets to comb the bushes and Air Commodore Ibrahim pers’ den along that axis. general area.” vulnerable communities within Garba Jibia, said “The operaThe statement added, “All “The operation will involve Eiyenkorin-Peke-Okolowo tion would also involve 22 a large movement of troops. It peace loving citizens should Axis.

Brigade, the DSS, police and is part of the combined military not fear but go along with A statement issued in Ilorin local vigilante and hunters DQG VWDWH JRYHUQPHQW·V HͿRUWV their normal activities during yesterday by the Commander groups to get rid of the bad at reassuring security along the period.”

SOLIDARITY IN CELEBRATION…

Prime show which will be a report card to the public on their discoveries in the fashion and entertainment industry in the country.

The well packaged show is slated for Prime Chinese Restaurant, Bishop Aboyade Cole Street, Victoria Island, is organised by well-heeled company, Oxygen which prides itself as talent hunter and builder.

The event to be hosted by former Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria 2019, Miss Tosin Araromi starts at 8p.m. and will parade an array of Disc Jockeys, showcasing designer performances as never seen.

A statement by Oxygen said the event “features a DJ competition, runway presentations by several budding fashion designers, performances by upcoming

of the famous Nigerian Idols competition, and a host of other activities that will keep you entertained.”

Oxygen which is putting together the event was founded about 32 years ago by Mr. Princewill Utchay, started as a processing and packaging company called Prime Sea Foods, to export seafood to the United States of America which 10 years later birthed to his second business which is Prime Chinese Restaurant in Vitoria Island of Lagos.

The serial entrepreneur who studied marketing at the New York Institute of Technology boasts of close-knit network of childhood friends as well as more recent circle of friends and acquaintances constitute the nucleus of Lagos Island’s socialites and therefore a proper home boy.

Tech4Dev Sensitises 59,535 Girls on Careers in STEM

The Tech-Girls Drive is a With strong emphasis on balancing the gender divide in Nigerian and African-wide onsite Science, Technology, Engineering grassroot advocacy campaign 2023: Saraki Tasks PDP Campaign Council and Mathematics (STEM) related HͿRUW XQGHU 7HFK 'HY·V ÁDJcareers in Africa, Technology for ship programme – The Women to Reclaim Power from APC in Kwara Social Change and Development Techsters initiative. It is designed Initiative (Tech4Dev) has directly to create awareness and spur the Hammed Shittu in Ilorin Kwara State also called on at hand and you must move challenged party members reached and sensitised a total interest of young girls between PDP members to move into into your polling booths and to capture their individual of 59,535 girls between the the ages of eight to 20 to take up Ahead of 2023 elections, their various polling units canvass for votes for the polling booths in all the 193 ages of eight to 20 across 15 careers in STEM. It serves as an wards, said that they stood African countries on the need initial touch point for young girls former Senate President, across the state to canvas for elections.

“The era of winning elec- a chance of getting adequate to pursue careers in STEM and who will eventually participate Dr. Bukola Saraki, has tasked votes which would translate tions by staying outside has rewards after the general WKH VLJQLÀFDQFH RI D 67(0 FDUHHU in Africa’s growing technology the newly inaugurated presi- to victory in 2023.

About 850 members PDP gone and you must take time elections. through the Tech-Girls Drive ecosystem. dential and state campaign He said that, “I pray God advocacy campaign.

The campaign involved councils of Peoples Democratic campaign councils were now to visit your polling The Tech-Girls Drive advocacy visits to various primary, Party(PDP) in Kwara State to inaugurated on Thursday booths because at least 1,000 to give you members of the work day and night towards at Mandate House, Adewole people have registered in your campaign council the strength campaign, which launched junior, and senior secondary reclaiming political power Area, Ilorin, in preparations polling booths and you must to deliver. Millions of people on October 11, 2022 the day schools throughout the 36 make sure to take more than are relying on you. We should designated by the United Na- states of Nigeria, including from the All Progressives for the 2023 elections.

Speaking at the event in half of the registered voters all know that every member tions as International Day of the Federal Capital Territory, as Congress (APC) in next year’s of the party is a member of the Girl Child, lasted through well as across 14 other African Ilorin yesterday, Saraki said available.” elections in the state.

The PDP party leader, who the campaign council. countries, including Kenya, The former governor of that, “There is no more time November 4, 2022.

A 2021 UNESCO Science Ghana, Uganda, Ethiopia, South Report revealed that Sub-Saharan Africa, Egypt, Mozambique, Africa countries account for Madagascar, Tanzania, Algeria, about 28 per cent of women Sudan, Angola, DR Congo and in STEM careers while the Morocco.

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in A total of 327 schools and 56 global average of women in at the State Police Command management, adding that, as added.

Umuahia Abia State with 32 Police STEM stands at 30 per cent. cities were visited in 15 African partners in progress, the media headquarters, Umuahia.

He said that in a crisis situation and other security agencies must Divisions and six Area Com- Although women enrolments countries while the advocacy The Commissioner of Police lives are saved when information work together to help the nation PDQGV LV WKH ÀUVW GXW\ SRVW RI in STEM related courses are campaign also engaged young Abia State, Mushapha Moham- is properly and responsibly man- achieve a successful transition Bala following his promotion increasing, it’s still a long way girls and teenagers in 45 local to the rank of CP. His last duty to the perceived goal which is community centres which inmed Bala, has called on media aged whereas sensationalism and programme in 2023.

“There is no way we can do post was in Imo State where he balancing the gulf. professionals to cultivate the irresponsible mismanagement of clude churches and orphanages . habit of responsible information information come with disastrous this job alone without partnering was a Deputy Commissioner of with the media hence there must Police (DCP) in charge of the State management in order to avert consequences.

CP Bala, therefore, harped on be synergy between the partners Criminal Investigation Department Experts Give Framework for stoking crisis and endangering proper management information so that the goal of achieving (CID), Owerri. lives.

While acknowledging the Promoting Compliance Culture The Abia CP, who assumed WR VDYH OLYHV UHVROYH FRQÁLFWV sustainable security would be relative peace in God’s Own duty late October, made the call and nip the crisis in the bud, realised,” he said.

“We will carry you along in State, the new CP assured Adedayo Adejobi when he received the executives adding that journalists should deep into the nation’s treasury of the Correspondents Chapel see themselves as an integral all our activities. We must work Abia people and residents that together to ensure peace in Abia he would work hard in order would become a thing of the of the Nigeria Union of Journal- part of security management.

He described the media as a and a successful conduct of the to sustain and improve on the ists (NUJ), Abia State Council, With an increasingly chang- past.

Some of the corruption who paid him a courtesy visit critical stakeholder in election 2023 general election,” the CP existing peace in the state. ing global compliance landscape YLV j YLV UHQHZHG HͿRUWV E\ WKH challenges highlighted include global money laundering and WKH G\QDPLF QDWXUH RI ÀQDQFLDO NDDC Donates Food Items to Edo Flood Victims Lord’s Chosen 20th Anniversary WHUURULVW ÀQDQFLQJ ZDWFKGRJ crimes, emerging money launthe Financial Action Task Force GHULQJ DQG WHUURULVW ÀQDQFLQJ Adibe EmenyonuinBenin City 18 different items to the government Celebration Set for Tomorrow (FATF), the need for compliance (ML/TF) threats, advancement of Edo State.“ These items which professionals in combating in technology and changing and power of God. crime, money laundering international standards.

The Niger Delta Development are in two categories consist of food Mary Nnah At the sixth induction “The Lord’s Chosen was DQG WHUURULVW ÀQDQFLQJ KDV Commission (NDDC) has handed and non food components totalling Lord’s Chosen Charismatic established on 24th December been brought to the fore by and investiture ceremony of food items worth millions of naira 9,426 in number.

“On behalf of the Ag. MD/CEO, Revival Ministry is set to mark 2002 according to the guidance frontline experts in Nigeria and Compliance Institute, Nigeria to the Edo State Government for onward distribution to flood victims management and staff of NDDC, its 20th year anniversary tomorrow of the Holy Spirit. And today, the West African sub-region. (CIN), a body established to I hereby handover these donations at the church’s International by the grace and power of God The need, experts said, is encourage, promote and revive in the state.

Presenting the items to the state of: 1,350 bags of rice, 675 cartons Headquarters at Ijesha, Lagos State. the church has expanded to Asia, pertinent to bringing in profes- the consciousness of compli6SHDNLQJ GXULQJ D SUHVV EULHÀQJ Europe, the Americas, and all the sionals to enhance compliance ance within the regulatory government in Benin City, NDDC of noodles; 675 bags of beans; 675 culture and weave into the environment, the institute Director in Edo State office, Mrs. bags of garri; 204 kilogrammes of to announce the anniversary, the continents of the world.

“Through the ministry, there fabric of citizens’ common restated its commitment to the Mercy Babawale, said, the com- salt; 69 cartons of milk, 69 cartons of General Overseer of the church, implementation of Anti-Money mission as an intervention agency beverage; 204 kilogram of sugar; 675 Pastor Lazarus Muoka, attributed have been testimonies upon existence. testimonies. The church has They argued that if compli- Laundering/Combating the was complimenting the effort of bottles of vegetable oil (3 litres); 102 the church’s successes to God. cartons of seasoning cubes; 675 tins He maintained that whatever touched armed robbers, lesbians, ance culture was adequately Financing of Terrorism (AML/ the state government.

She said: “We are here today to of tomatoes; 675 cartons of bottled the church has become in the last prostitutes, and kidnappers, and enhanced in Nigeria, the issue CFT) as preventive measures of corruption that had eaten LQ WKH ÀQDQFLDO VHUYLFHV VHFWRU officially hand over our donations of water; 675 numbers of nylon mats. 20 years is based on the grace made them born-again.

Abia CP Calls for Responsible Information Management to Save Lives

55

T H I S D AY, T H E S AT U R D AY N E W S PA P E R •SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2022

BACKPAGE CONTINUATION BUHARI AT 80: 12 THINGS NIGERIANS NEED TO KNOW countries but China. Nigerian government under President Buhari pulled out the country out of the Covid-induced recession at a global record time. No Nigerian bodies were picked on the streets from Covid deaths as the pundits projected. In fact, West Africa suffered the least number of casualties in the subregional grouping on the continent, thanks to the ECOWAS COVID-19 Champion, working with regional leadership, the AU and the UN. Six. In seven-and-a-half years, he is credited with the introduction of some of the country’s long delayed reforms, among these is a most ambitious infrastructure push since the 1970s – delivering roads, rail, ports, power plants, airports etc; and deploying innovative financing mechanisms like the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF), Executive Order 7, Sukuk Bonds, and Green Bonds.

Seven.He is presiding over the largest program of legislative reforms in Nigeria’s history: the Company and Allied Matters Act, CAMA revised for the first time in 30 years, Prisons Act for the first time in almost 50 years, Police Act for the first time in 70 years.

And a surfeit of all the new Acts too – the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, Climate Change, the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offenses, SPOMO, the Finance Acts, Electoral Amendment, the new Terrorism Act, among others.

Eight. The President is building the largest social investment program in Africa, and one of the largest in the world, serving tens of millions of Nigerians. The school feeding component, giving a free meal a day to 10 million children has increased school enrollment and lowered the distressing number of outof-school children in our country.

Nine. The President is successful in

rebuilding the confidence of the Nigerian military, and degrading Boko Haram/ISWAP. He has commenced the rebuilding of the Northeast; making the biggest investments made in military platforms and assets in more than 40 years; Police Reforms (New Police Act, Police Trust Fund, Community Policing, Police Recruitment of 10,000 men in uniform every year, community policing, New Police Salary Structure); Nigeria’s Coastal Waters (in the Gulf of Guinea) are the safest they have ever been in almost 3 decades.

Ten. In the sphere of foreign affairs, the President has distinguished himself as a global leader respected by the world. He has enhanced Nigeria’s standing in the International Community. At the African Union, AU he is the outgoing Anti-Corruption Champion; at the ECOWAS, he has performed wonderfully as Covid-19 Champion; His leadership of the Lake Chad Basin Commission has come to an end with a lot of benefits, not least the degradation of Boko Haram terrorism.

His recent inauguration as the Chairman of the committee of of Heads of State of the African Great Green Wall Agency is to fortify the continent against harmful effects of the climate change.

Under his leadership Nigeria presented Ambassador (Professor) Mohammed Bande, Nigeria’s Permanent Representative as the President of the UN General Assembly, and Mrs Amina Mohammed got appointed and reappointed as the Deputy Secretary General of the UN. He spearheaded the campaign for the election of Dr. Ngozi Okwonjo-Iweala, NOI as the World Trade Organization, WTO DG- the first for an African and the female gender, and promoted the election and reelection of Akin Adesina for the Second Term in AfDB – in the face of concerted opposition. He sealed the very helpful military

deals with the US Government; made bold interventions to restore stability in Gambia and Guinea Bissau and Nigerians have been pushed into holding leadership positions in recent years at the International Criminal Court, African Civil Aviation Commission, and several others.

Eleven. Muhammadu Buhari as a young army Colonel and Federal Commissioner for Petroleum Resources was convinced by science, not geopolitics or native instinct that oil and other hydrocarbons were plenty in existence in the Northern States as well as the Southwest and knew that the political stability of the nation will be helped by the sense psychological equality or balancing its discovery could help to bring.

He fought hard for this as Federal Commissioner Petroleum Resources and Chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation until his very last day in office but it didn’t work.

When he found himself in office as elected President 30 years after leaving oil, he resumed his passions as oil finder at the Lake Chad Basin area, considered a low hanging fruit until kidnapping and killings by the Boko Haram terrorist group spoiled things up.

Explorations shifted to the Benue trough map and his vindication came by way of the unveiling of the Kolmani Oil Well straddling Bauchi and Gombe states, promising more than a billion barrels of crude oil an over 500 billion cubic feet of natural gas. The project has already attracted over USD 3 billion in investment. For doing the most work to discover the new oil fields, President Buhari deserves a gold medal, and the Asiwaju Bola,Tinubu, an easy ride ride to power for the promise he made to take the explorations further afield.

Twelve. While the work of nation-building

under his incomparable hardwork, dedication and creativity continues to advance the country in many ways, the same cannot be said of some follow country who put all manner of obstacles in the way to accomplishing two major projects about which he very passionate: completing and commissioning of the Ajaokuta Steel Rolling Mill and construction of the 3, 500 megawatts Mambila Electricity Power Project. Thankfully, the long-drawn legal tussle on Ajaokuta just got ended and the Minister, Solid Minerals Develpment Arch.

Olamilekan Adegbite has already hit the road running, hoping to achieve what is possible before the administration ends its term.

While the legal contestation for Ajaokuta was ongoing, the country under President Buhari has begun to record progress in the production of liquid steel through the private sector.

Same however cannot be said of Mambila Power Project where the problems have defied solutions. ChinaExim has withheld funding to Mambila as did the Qatari Sovereign Wealth Fund due to the challenges by one man claiming to have a contract that doesn’t exist anywhere. We are hearing that he wants to be paid on the basis of this improperly awarded contract to be paid money in hundreds of million of US Dollars to cover the cost of his litigation. President Buhari is not one to give anyone free money from the treasury.

As he marks this milestone by attaining the age of 80, in extraordinarily state of high physical and mental fitness, Muhammadu Buhari’s life continues to symbolize service to the nation and humanity as well as dedication and commitment to the building of of a secure, stronger and prosperous Nigeria.

•Shehu is Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media and Publicity).

NIGERIA AND OUR BROKEN NATIONALISM history will create a lot of problems. Then it occurred to me, that not doing so will create more problems that are even worse.

The inevitable imperative, then is that our history, no matter how obscured, when told with the boldest intentions will provide us with inexorable growth in our developments.

In a proper study of our country’s political evolution, one must adopt the fact that we were founded within struggles against chaos, contraptions, confusion, contradictions and with the forces of particularism. These variables became Instrumental in making us forever fight over the meaning of our history. Will telling the Nigerian history be an albatross, will it offer us the nationalism as desired by the ones who fought for our independence?

The more nagging question that keeps agitating my mind is if the telling of our history as was the case at this lecture, shows us the way to have a government founded upon justice, equity and fairness; with no one components of the country claiming higher authority over the others? Will it assist us to repudiate a government that puts its people and purse in the service of a particular tribe, religious creed, or family and friends? The answers to these questions, are perspicaciously, yes.

The now common saying that “those denied justice, equity, fairness and equality will have no interest in peace”, has today become a popular and realistic saying in our land. I must also not hesitate to add that those denied these basic tenets of existence, will not have any interest in Nationalism. When they feel the heavy burden and weight of injustice and other forms of persecution, they will, one way or another, negotiate their way out of the country.

Nationalism and Nation building in the history of our country present us with both constitutional and structural problems. In order for one to be a good citizen, that person must feel a sense of belonging to the nation. Most reasonable Nigerians believe that our present Federal constitutional structure negates the principles of strength in diversity; that it diminishes the system of government that promotes and recognizes the ethos of justice, equity and fairness.

Whilst writing this essay, a friend of mine whom I considered a good citizen, walked in and asked me what again I was writing about. I told him that I was writing about nationalism and its impact in the development of our country. With anger and a hint of sarcasm in my friend’s voice, he asked me why anyone that resides in this country should feel and act nationalistic towards a country that has treated us all with such disdain and opprobrium.

Hear him: “why should I feel nationalistic towards a country that offers me and its

Prof Jide Osuntokun

citizens nothing but pain and agony..., no drinking water, no roads, no food, no security, no standard healthcare, no peace of mind... no nothing”. My friend continued: “is this not a country that superintended over the killing of millions of its own people in a silly war? A country that didn’t care to rehabilitate and ameliorate the suffering of the survivors?” I tried to calm my friend down by reciting the JFK’s “think not what your country can do for you... “ My friend, fuming, got up and stormed off from my presence with a staccato of expletives following his departure. My mouth opened with my jaw flapping and no words came out. I continued to write.

If love of the nation is what drives our leaders and most followers to inflict this level of pain on our people, what then is nationalism? For me, and for many other well-meaning Nigerians, it must be obvious to us now that nationalism has become a contrivance, an artifice and a disappearing act in our body politic. That in essence it is easy to predict that our nation and its people have become anachronistic with both having no interest in promoting and defending the other. For those who claim love for this country because they may not have suffered the pains and indignation of others, and who call those who feel otherwise unpatriotic, I invite them to revisit and study the meaning of our history and see it in the context of how it may have instinctively made some of us who have suffered the most heinous fate to succumb to the point of absolute paralysis

and faithlessness.

Nationalism has today attracted a bad reputation in our land. To attribute the benign affection for one’s homeland as a pure virtue for patriotism and translate it to mean nationalism, may be narrow-minded. This may even become immoral if you consider that to be loyal to a country that witnessed the pogrom, the massacre and the wanton and senseless killings in Biafra, and the current upheavals that have adversely affected all in the land, one’s loyalty may be referred to as blind loyalty. No wonder, some Social Scientists have referred to nationalism as “an ideological poison”.

It may, at this point be viable to visit the events of the civil war, a subject of my recent book; Biafra, The Horrors of War, and bemoan the compunction and the lugubrious fact that we have failed in a grand scale, to learn our lessons from that bitter war. Before that senseless war, the structures of our government allowed us to operate in a multinational state as regional autonomous entities. The war brought with it the irresponsible creation of unviable miniaturized entities that took powers away from the constituent entities and placed it in the hands of hungry vultures in the centre.

This invariably created the monster of a “Fake Federalism” which took away the desires of citizens to feel the sense of belonging and the need to become nationalists and even patriotics.

As the unbelievable violence of the horrible war that took the lives (mostly children) of 3 million Igbo and Easterners recedes into a blurry history, it becomes harder and harder

to invoke the specter of nationalism in the lives of the survivors. How do we suggest to a people who suffered this aghast adversity in the hands of their fellow citizens in such pharaonic and tyrannical manner to forget these horrible memories of the oppressive past, and turnaround and suddenly become patriotic and nationalistic? The lingering comminatory nature of our existence in this country, makes a precatory incision here, utterly difficult.

To be clear, I am an advocate of nationalism regardless of its type or form as long as it shares and bears the tenets that from the onset, members of the nation understood as a group of equal citizens that a shared history and a future political destiny should rule the state, and that they should collectively do so in the interest of the nation. This very rational disposition has not manifested in our politics, thus giving us a peep into how deeply the lack thereof has shaped our country’s progression. We have failed as a country to use good governance to promote nationalism as a vehicle to help citizens identify with recognizing the nation as an extension of our family units in which all members owe one another love, loyalty and support. In so doing, the state and the rulers are expected to uphold these tenets of good governance, while the citizens reciprocate and respond by embracing a nationalist vision of the country.

This sense of mutual obligation and shared political destiny and commitment is not evident any more in our country.

Many have posed the question of how we can overcome this deleterious burden of broken nationalism in our country. It appears theoretically not to be a difficult question to answer, but the all-pervasive problem of fostering an all-inclusive system of government that promotes ethos that are embedded in the constitutional and institutional fabric of the nation-state still lingers. To boost nationalism, our rulers must fashion a mechanism that embraces all the ethnic nationalities rather than pitting them against each other, by emphasizing their shared interest. There must be a renewed national contract between the elite and people in government and the common citizens through the establishment of inclusive coalitions that tie the rulers and the ruled together.

To repair our broken nationalism, our political elite and leaders will have to become committed citizens, and in the process become better nationalists that will promote the general welfare and interests of all our people. This demand is just and timely and will help to make citizens feel connected and committed to a worthy and meaningful country.

•Dr. Okey Anueyiagu, a Political Economist writes from Ikoyi Lagos

Saturday, December 17, 2022

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MISSILE

Ohanaeze Ndigbo on IPOB “This is the first time I am seeing freedom fighters or whatever, facing the barrel of the gun inwards, crippling the economy and destroying people. What is going on is very strange” The National Publicity Secretary, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dr Chiedozie Ogbonnia condemning the violent “sit at home” order of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

GARBASHEHU Buhari At 80: 12 Things Nigerians Need to Know GUEST COLUMNIST

F

irst thing to know is that President Muhammadu Buhari, retired General and former Military Head of State was born in Daura on December 17th, 1942. He lost his father at the early age of three years.

He was enlisted in primary school by the District Head of Daura, Waziri Alasan and fell under the guardianship of his older brother, Alhaji Dauda Daura, Malam Mamman’s father, then a Head Master at Mai Aduwa, from where the young Buhari went to the middle and secondary schools.

After his education at the now Government College Katsina, he went to the Nigerian Military Training College, Kaduna which is now known as the Nigerian Defence Academy.

He trained at the Mons Officer Cadet School, a British Military training school in Aldershot and also attended the US Army War College (USAWC) Carlisle, Pennsylvania and the National Defence College, New Delhi, India.

Apparently, Muhammadu Buhari, as a young officer had already been gifted with “wisdom and strength for the future,” the motto of the USAWC even before he got there.

The young Buhari was sent by his country to Congo (DRC) on a UN Peace Keeping mission assigned to command a battalion

Buhari

commander, but in carrying out his duty, he almost lost his life before earning his first salary.

Caught in a tricky and the dangerous situation of either protecting a prisoner to face the wrath of 5,000 armed natives and, possibly his losing his life and the relatively small number of 400 men under him, or finding another a solution to mollify the mob, he gathered the needed courage and wisdom to stop a major tragedy from happening.

By this, he saved his own life and the troops under him.

As a soldier, he fought in the 30 months Nigerian Civil War and did not take a single day off while the war lasted. He traversed the entire Eastern Region literally on foot and suffered a gun shot in the lower leg. He was the second in command in the battalion that fired the first shot in the war.

Two. He was a military Governor of the Northeast, now broken into six states as a young Colonel and thereafter, Federal Commissioner (Minister) and Chairman, Nigerian National Oil Corporation, now renamed NNPCL. As a General, he had the record of commanding all four army divisions they had in their time. As Military Secretary, he did the meticulous work of the documenting the records of the entire officer corps.

That is why it baffled him to no end

that some officers in Army Records Office, obviously playing politics with the issue in 2015, claimed that the army didn’t have his WAEC certificate which was no more than a ploy to stop him as a candidate in the election.

Three. As a politician with more than 4 million followers on Twitter and an equally huge following on Facebook, Instagram and the others, President Buhari is one of the most popular politicians that this country has ever produced.

Four. He holds the record of being the first opposition candidate to defeat an incumbent in an election to take office as President of Nigeria. He is the only non-PDP President to win two consecutive terms of four years. He is a charismatic leader with the capability to sway the masses. In all five elections he ran as president, three of which were recorded as losses, there was none in which he got less than 12 million votes.

Five. The Covid-19 pandemic seized the world by its collar. Covid-19 lockdown shut all businesses and threw people out of their jobs all over the world. National economies slowed down and were in a recession in all Continued on page 55

OKEYANUEYIAGU GUEST COLUMNIST

Nigeria and Our Broken Nationalism

R

ecent political upheavals and wranglings have reinvigorated my long running curiosity about the level of our country’s nationalism which in the last five decades, or so, has suffered its worst decline since the struggle for independence from Britain began in the early 1900s.

Recently, this issue of Nationalism took centerstage when a Public Lecture organised

by Ohaneze Ndigbo, a pan-Igbo socio-cultural group took place at The Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The title of this lecture delivered by the erudite professor of history, Jide Osuntokun, was; “Nationalism and Nation Building in Nigerian History”. The turnout to this lecture showcased a list of who-is-who in the affairs of our country.

The chief host of this lecture Professor George Obiozor, in his capacity as the President – General of Ohaneze set the stage for an explosive afternoon when he solicitously questioned the foundation of the Nigeria State as one indivisible united nation, probing the illogical and untenable argument of the non-negotiability of Nigeria’s unity. Forcefully, Obiozor questioned the imposed 1999 Constitution and the dubious indissolubility concept entrenched therein.

This illogical nonsense as provided in this

constitution, drafted and imposed on us by the military, has erroneously rendered our country stagnant as an immutable entity in an unprogressive shamble. As Professor Obiozor argued, the unity of our country is negotiable, constitutions, or not. After all, our democracy which is a model drawn from that of America, should copy from that of that country whose constitution since its adoption in 1787, has been amended 27 times. The reluctance of our leaders to agree to the amendment of our constitution, which is nothing, but a living document, is partly why we have not evolved to being a nation in the true sense of the word.

The crux of this powerful and impactful lecture was the prevalence of a general consensus that Nigeria will be eluded by peace and prosperity if the crucibles of the question of true nationalism imbedded in equity, fairness and justice are not addressed. It is evident that all the crisis that have befallen the country from time; political violence, coups, killings, kidnappings, and other baleful vices are largely as a result of the evilness characterized in our history and the realities of our refusal to evolve into nationhood from our stagnated levels of sovereign statehood.

In this Lecture, Professor Osuntokun exposed the dilemma of how the shaky foundation of our formation as an entity right from 1914 made

it difficult for us to build a true nation and there from, develop nationalistic habits. The failure of the pre-independence constitution to provide for ethnic or regional unity or hegemony, made it difficult for us to expect nationalism to thrive after independence.

The lecture focused on the origin of nationalism in Nigeria assessing the key roles that the many component elements of the social and political systems played in its formation.

Political stakeholders, and particularly the press presented strong perspectives in defining what nationalism meant at that time. Recognizing the difficulty in finding a definitive definition of nationalism within the African framework, Osuntokun used definitions provided by other western writers to wit; “that nationalism is the consciousness on the path of individuals or groups, or membership of a nation, or a desire to forward the strength, liberty or prosperity of a nation”. The question one must ask is; what happened to our nationalism that was evident when we clashed with European imperialism?

Did it die after we gained independence?

As a student of Political Science, I discovered from this lecture, in which I served as a Moderator, that the role of our historians and our political scientists can never be ignored, because if they fail to provide us with a valid and universally defined history,

others, less critical, less renowned and less informed will take over the job of defining our political evolution for us. At this lecture, I reconfirmed a notion that I have always held strongly; that when historians and political scientists abandoned the study of the nation, and when scholars stop trying or attempting to write a common history for a people, the essence of the people’s lives will vanish and disappear. This lecture, became a veritable source for the discovery of where the river began to soil and sour in our nation’s journey and history.

Nigeria became a fictional nation when the founders conceived an absurd proposition by bringing together people who did not share any common ancestry, and forced them to believe and see themselves as a nation. This became an impediment to the development of nationalism in a confederation of ethnic states and enclaves. It became rather difficult to create the peculiar hybrid that one can conveniently call a nation-state.

As I sat in that historical arena at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs listening to speakers upon speakers, I began to ponder if telling and discussing our national Continued on page 55

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