SUNDAY 15TH SEPTEMBER 2019

Drone Attack Disrupts Saudi Oil Output, Export About five million barrels of oil affected Chineme Okafor in Abuja with agency report Saudi Arabia’s oil production and exports have been disrupted after drone

attacks on two of Saudi Aramco’s plants, including its oil processing facility was reported. This according to market experts could impact global oil prices.

According to Reuters, sources familiar with the development said the attacks have impacted about five million barrels per day of oil production by Saudi Arabia.

This volume, it stated was almost half of the kingdom’s current output.

It added that Saudi Aramco operates the world’s largest oil processing facility and crude

oil stabilisation plant in the world at Abqaiq, in eastern Saudi Arabia, and the plant has a crude oil processing capacity of more than seven million barrels per day (mbd).

Further reports from Oilprice.com explained that the kingdom's interior ministry confirmed the drones attacked Continued on page 8

Buhari, Jonathan, Okowa Pay Tributes to Okonjo… Page 8 Sunday 15 September, 2019 Vol 24. No 8924

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Oshiomhole to Obaseki: NameThose AskingYou to Share Edo Money Explains how Dangote, governors’ interventions failed Says allegation of likely Ambode treatment false, imaginary Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has challenged

his successor in office, Governor Godwin Obaseki, to substantiate his allegation that he was under pressure to share state funds by naming and exposing those who asked him to do so.

In an interaction with some journalists in Abuja at the weekend, Oshiomhole explained how he had involved some of their mutual friends, including billionaire businessman, Alhaji Aliko

dangote, governors, and a minister to try to mend fences with Obaseki. He alleged that the effort was bungled by the governor, and insisted that he had nothing personal against Obaseki but was only seeking

his success in office.

Oshiomhole also dismissed allegations that the feud between him and the governor was being compounded by rumours about the possibility of treating Obaseki to a similar

fate as the immediate past governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode. Ambode was the first civilian governor of the state to be denied a Continued on page 8

NYT: Boko Haram Now Stronger, Well Armed with Sophisticated Drones Controls 4 of 10 zones in northern Borno Nigerian military demoralised, on defensive, as weapons, vehicles fall into disrepair West African leaders agree billion-dollar anti-jihadist plan Olawale Olaleye

A report just published in The New York Times (NYT) has painted a depressingly grim picture of the Nigerian military in their battle against Boko Haram, claiming the terrorist sect has returned to the battlefront stronger and better armed. The story follows hard on the heels of audacious raids on military brigades at different times by Boko Haram, using more sophisticated weapons, including drones, to aid their operations.

Meanwhile, West African leaders on Saturday announced a billion-dollar plan to fight the rising problem of jihadist violence in the region, at a summit in Burkina Faso.

The plan, to be funded from 2020 to 2024, was announced at end of the Economic Community Summit of West African States Continued on page 8

CELEBRATING ESAMA OF BENIN KINGDOM @ 85...

L-R: Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu; Edo State former Governor, Chief Lucky Igbinedion; Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki; Celebrant, Esama of Benin Kingdom, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, and Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, during the Early Morning Dew Interdenominational Service in Commemoration of the Esama's 85th Birthday at his residence in Benin City...yesterday

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ÍšÍ˝Ëœ ͺ͸͚Π˞ T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R

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Buhari, Jonathan, Okowa Pay Tributes to Okonjo Tobi Soniyi in Lagos and Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday paid his final tributes and respects to Professor Chukuka Okonjo, the late traditional ruler of Ogwashi-Uku in Delta State and father of a former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

The late Okonjo was a professor of mathematics, an administrator of repute, and an international consultant. He passed on at 91.

A statement by the president's spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, said Buhari commiserated with the government and people of Delta State, the academia, the Umu Obi Obahai Royal Family of Ogwashi-Uku, friends, and professional colleagues of the scholar, who dedicated his life to teaching, research and service

to humanity.

The president said the traditional ruler contributed immensely to Nigeria's development with his uncommon pursuit of knowledge, and by encouraging his wife and children to follow the same path, and sponsoring other people’s children to acquire quality education.

Buhari said he believed that the wise and fatherly counsel, intellectual depth, and valuable insights of the scholar would be sorely missed by his family and the entire nation.

He said Okonjo’s place in Nigeria's history was guaranteed.

The president prayed that the Almighty God would grant the soul of the elder statesman rest and comfort his family.

Also yesterday, former President Goodluck Jonathan condoled with the Okonjo family

on the death of the mathematics professor. In a letter of condolence to Okonjo-Iweala, who was Coordinating Minister for the Economy in his administration, Jonathan described the late professor as an excellent teacher and worthy custodian of the tradition of his people.

Jonathan said in the letter, which he personally signed, “On behalf of my family, I condole with you, the Okonjo family, the Ogwashi-Uku people and the Government of Delta State on the demise of your father, Professor Chukuka Okonjo, who died at the age of 91. “Papa was a patriot, who lived a life of service, devoted to promoting peace and reconciling the less privileged with hope. “As an academic, he was an excellent teacher who rose to the pinnacle of his career. He was also an exemplary traditional

ruler who served as a worthy custodian of the culture and tradition of his people. “I know the death of one's parents no matter the age is a painful experience, but I want you to be consoled by the graceful footprints and legacies of integrity, honour and selfless service that your father left behind for the rest of humanity. “May God strengthen you and your entire family as you mourn your departed patriarch.�

Similarly, the Delta State Governor, Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa, commiserated with the Okonjo family and Ogwashi-Uku community.

A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Olisa Ifeajika, on Saturday in Asaba, said the governor also commiserated with the Umu Obi Obahai Royal Family over the death of the

respected academic, international public servant and accomplished traditional ruler.

He noted that the departed monarch devoted his life and time to the promotion of peaceful coexistence and development of education in several parts of the world, where he taught as secondary school teacher, university lecturer, and administrator.

The governor described the deceased as a world class public servant whose love for education was unparalleled, saying this accounted for the successes he recorded everywhere he worked.

According to Okowa, “Apart from being the King of Ogwashi-Uku, I believe that the late Chukuka Okonjo will be remembered for his role in refocusing tertiary education in Ghana. It was in the course of this that he developed the

double intake system designed to achieve significant increase in student enrollment rates in Ghana, which later earned him the highest civil national award from the Government of Ghana.

The governor paid tribute to the deceased’s contribution to peace and development, particularly his role in ensuring peaceful coexistence between the people of Ogwashi-Uku and their neighbours. “My condolences also go to his wife of 66 years, Professor Kamene Okonjo and former Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and her siblings on the passing of their beloved father and renowned academic. I pray that Almighty God will comfort the family and grant the deceased eternal rest and reward his good virtues while he lived,� the governor added.

to do a documentary on all the equipment at the hospital and I placed it on different television stations, including Channels.

When people saw that, then, public opinion changed. “Then rather than open this hospital in obedience to public outcry, they decided to set up an inquiry by the Speaker (Adjoto), who is aggrieved, because he lost the House of Representatives ticket to Peter Akpatason, who is an incumbent lawmaker. “Based on his open bitterness, he was encouraged by the state government to set up this panel to rubbish themselves. And then they removed all the documents from the Ministry of Health to give the impression that the construction was a verbal transaction.�

Oshiomhole also spoke about the interventions of some governors and a minister, who tried to reconcile him and the governor.

He said, “The last time we

had a meeting with Governors Bagudu, Fayemi, El-Rufai and Niyi Adebayo, we all agreed that the way to go, given the divisions in Edo APC, is to have an all-inclusive meeting. We need to meet in a room and resolve our differences and come out for people to know that APC is one. You cannot solve problem without talking. “The governors encouraged him to meet with me so we can arrange the meeting. In fact, the governors offered to accompany us to Edo State to hold meeting with all the groups so that we can iron out our differences. Unfortunately, as we speak, the governor has refused to convene that meeting. “We have to work now on how to get such a meeting on, because there is no way to solve such a problem without reaching out to the aggrieved parties. Let me assure you that this governor is not under threat.

of motivation and seeming poor leadership as some of the factors responsible for the military’s pitiable battlefield performance, the report noted, “By many accounts, the Nigerian military is demoralised and on the defensive. Some soldiers have complained they haven’t had a home leave in three years. “Their weapons and vehicles have fallen into disrepair. In August, the new commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, which means ‘Peace by Force’, publicly reminded his field officers to give food and water to troops. He is the eighth commander in 10 years. “The military announced in August that it is pulling back its troops from far-flung outposts in the countryside and gathering them into fortified settlements it calls ‘super camps’. “The super camps are inside of garrison towns, where the Nigerian military in recent years settled tens of thousands of civilians — either after Boko Haram chased them away, or soldiers burned their villages and rounded them up, saying it would secure the countryside.�

Continuing, the report explained that though the garrison towns were ringed with trenches to contain militant invasions, the pullback had also given free rein to Boko Haram fighters in the barren countryside. “Inside the super camp in Bama on a recent afternoon, a camouflaged tank lurched down the street, blue smoke pouring from its underside, its tracks looking like loose teeth about to fall out – it was piloted by helmetless soldiers with open shirts, and a gunner wearing a crown of leaves, who plowed into a parked minivan, partially blocking the road, smashing the vehicle,� the report observed.

One of the sources approached

by The New York Times, Major Ak Karma, told the newspaper that a Boko Haram attack there had been thwarted days earlier, downplaying the threat. “We have one or two problem attacks by Boko Haram, but that doesn’t mean they have a grand offensive,� said Major Kama, who reportedly added, “Bama is a fortress.�

Unfortunately, for Major Kama, the camp was attacked

the following day, The New York Times noted, adding, “The war with Boko Haram has devastated the population in rural northeast Nigeria, one of the poorest regions on earth. “More than two million people have fled their homes, tens of thousands have been killed and many more injured, abducted and conscripted to join the fight.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said this week that nearly 22,000 Nigerians have been reported missing during the crisis.�

The New York Times report was soon seemingly accorded credibility after the Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters on Thursday carried out deadly attacks on military formations and civilians in three towns of Gubio, Gajiganna and Gajiram in Borno State, killing six soldiers and a civilian militia leader.

The attack also came three days after ISWAP ambushed Nigerian soldiers in Gudumbali town, also in Borno State, killing nine soldiers of Operation Lafiya Dole, while 20 others could not be accounted for.

quoted a Houthi spokesperson to have explained that: “We promise the Saudi regime that our future operations will expand and be more painful as long as its aggression and siege continue.�

It said the Iran-backed Houthis have recently been behind a number of assaults on Saudi pipelines, vessels and other energy infrastructure as tensions grow in the region.

Further, Agence France-Presse

(AFP) quoted Saudi’s interior ministry spokesperson, Mansour al-Turki, to have said that there were no human casualties as a result of the attack.

It equally explained that this latest strike highlighted the risk posed by the Houthis to Saudi Arabia's oil infrastructure as tensions between the groups continues to escalate.

According to reports, the growing power of the Houthis' drone operations is likely to

reignite the debate on where the militant group is securing the weapons.

Recently, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia who are key members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), pledged to cut back their oil production levels in compliance with the production limitation agreement they signed with non-OPEC member countries led by the Russian Federation, to stabilise oil prices.

OSHIOMHOLE TO OBASEKI: NAME THOSE ASKING YOU TO SHARE EDO MONEY second term ticket.

The APC chairman accused Obaseki of taking advice from “merchants of confusion�, who are keen on feasting on their disagreement. He said with such characters around the governor, the possibility of restoring good relations with him seemed distant.

Oshiomhole stated, “Let me also say this, it is absolutely incorrect for the governor to say anybody asked him to share money. If he insists, let him mention the name. But what I have advised him is that, reconstitute the boards; let people become board members. “The only way we can win elections is to show presence across the 192 wards in Edo State. I believe there is still enough time for the governor to make up by encouraging in good faith, the peace effort that many of our mutual friends had offered so that we can give everybody a sense of ownership

of the government. The beauty of democracy is that when you have elected a government, you will say this is my government.�

Giving details of how he had invited Dangote and others to mediate in the feud, Oshiomhole said after the opposition began to use the “five star hospital� he built while in office as a tool of attack, because the governor would not open it for business, it became clear to him that he had to do more to engage Obaseki.

He said apart from building a beautiful edifice at the hospital, which was commissioned

by President Muhammadu Buhari, he engaged a competent hand, a Professor of Medicine at the University of Benin, to superintend the procurement process. His government also engaged Vamed Engineering Nigeria Limited, a renowned company manufacturing hospital equipment, in the contract, Oshiomhole said, yet Obaseki still left it shut down.

According to the former governor, “I kept speaking to the governor that the best way to answer PDP criticisms was to open the hospital. When it is open for business, people who go there for medicals will bear us witness, but you don’t leave the hospital closed. At a point, I felt so embarrassed and I went to Aliko Dangote, who is a mutual friend of the governor and myself, and I said, I am unable to understand why the governor is unable to open the hospital. “Meanwhile, the equipment are there with warranty and whether you open the hospital or not, those warranties are running and if they run out and tomorrow you have a problem, you need another money to buy equipment or to repair the old one. “Aliko Dangote, God will bless him. He told Godwin that if he builds a factory and locks it up for two years, the grease will dry up, the oil will dry up and

you will invest a lot of money to service the machines before they can be operated. Not to talk about sensitive hospital equipment. He now told the governor to go and open the hospital. “I get bashing everyday, because people believe there is nothing inside. And I am no more the governor, so, I cannot go there to defend myself. I live with this pain, even though, I did my best to provide that facility to the people of Edo State and, indeed, Nigerians, who are in Edo and may need medical care.�

In spite of Dangote’s intervention, Oshiomhole said Obaseki did not open the hospital, even as the opposition continued to pick it as a major case in their allegation of inefficiency against the APC government.

He continued, “When the governor refused to open the hospital after I complained to Dangote, I asked the company

N Y T: B OKO H A R A M N O W ST R O N G E R , W E L L AR M E D W I T H S OP H I ST I CAT E D D R ON E S in Ouagadougou, where the ECOWAS nations were joined

by Mauritania and Chad.

ECOWAS had decided to mobilise “the financial resources of up to a billion dollars for the fight against terrorism�, said Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou.

The money, paid into a common fund, would help reinforce the military operations of the nations involved — and those of the joint military operations in the region.

Full details of the plan would be presented to the next ECOWAS summit in December.

The fight against the rising tide of jihadist violence in the region has so far been hampered by a lack of funds.

The G5 Sahel, a joint taskforce, was created in 2014 to try to tackle the problem, backed by former colonial power France.

From July 2017, it pooled troops from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger in a bid to drive back the jihadist groups.

But a lack of finance, training and equipment, limited their effectiveness and their numbers.

For the moment, the force numbers 4,000 troops, when 5,000 were originally planned.

ECOWAS — the Economic Community of West African States — brings together 15 countries whose economies range from regional heavyweights Nigeria and Ivory Coast to the impoverished Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Landlocked Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are non-coastal states.

The September 13 report by NYT, authored by Dionne Searcey, and titled, “Boko Haram is Back.

With Better Drones,� claimed the war against insurgency might have suffered a major setback, as the insurgents still roamed the countryside of the North-east with impunity.

According to the report, Nigeria’s war against the Islamist extremist group, Boko Haram, was meant to have been over by now, a situation President Muhammadu Buhari also boasted about when he alluded to the progress so far recorded in the fight against the sect.

The report noted that despite repeatedly declaring that Boko Haram had been “technically

defeated�, “A full decade into the war, however, Boko Haram militants are still roaming the countryside with impunity. “Their fighters now have more sophisticated drones than the military and are well armed after successful raids on military brigades.�

NYT report quoted local politicians and security analysts as some of its sources.

Contrary to recent reports by the Nigerian military that there was no territory under the control of the insurgents, the New York Times report said, “Militants control four of the 10 zones in northern Borno State, near Lake Chad,� adding, “They are pulling off almost-daily attacks, including opening fire last week on the convoy of the governor of Borno State (Babagana Umara Zulum). “To people in villages, like Konduga, Boko Haram’s defeat seems distant. The attack on June 17 that wounded Abdul and his friends (his last name is being withheld to protect him from reprisals) also killed 30 people — eight of them children.�

Citing corruption, lack

DRONE ATTACK DISRUPTS SAUDI OIL OUTPUT, EXPORT Abqaiq facility and the Khurais oil field, sparking a massive fire at the crude processing plant which is essential to global oil supplies.

It noted that the closure will impact about five per cent of the world's daily oil production, adding that while Aramco was confident that it can recover quickly, the world could face a production shortage of as much 150 million barrels of oil per month.

This, according to oilprice. com could send oil prices into the triple digits, and possibly hitting $100 per barrel.

Accordingly, the Houthi rebels, who are backed by Iran in a yearlong Saudi-led battle in Yemen, have apparently asserted responsibility for the strikes and pledged that more assaults should be expected in the future.

A Saudi-led coalition has been at war with the Houthi

movement in Yemen since March 2015. The battle has created one of the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

The violence has also pressed Yemeni citizens to the brink of starvation. And the death toll has soared to more than 90,000 individuals since 2015, according to the US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, which tracks the conflict.

However, Oilprice.com

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ÍšÍ˝Ëœ ͺ͸͚Π˞ T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R

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How Jonathan Signed Himself Into Trouble with Fourth Amendment Bill 2015 Ex-president resisted intense pressures to use impeachment, emergency declaration to annex more states ahead of 2015 polls Olawale Olaleye Sizzling details of some of the behind-the-scene power games during the five years reign of former President Goodluck Jonathan are beginning to surface, one of which was how the former president had already signed himself into trouble with the Fourth Amendment Bill 2015, if not for the last minute intervention by his former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke.

Apart from this, the former president also endured intense pressure from prominent members of the political class, who wanted him to use his office to annex more states ahead of the 2015 general election, using the impeachment tool and the declaration of a state of emergency in supposedly vulnerable states.

Sharing some of these personal experiences in his latest book titled: “Burden of Service�, Adoke, who claimed to have travelled shortly after the 2015 elections, returned to his desk to discover the president had signed the Fourth Amendment Bill 2015, without running it by his office, as was the normal practice.

Unfortunately, by signing the controversial bill, initiated by the seventh National Assembly into law, it would mean that certain crucial powers of successive presidents would have been taken away and handed over to the federal lawmakers, the senate especially, because they were purely self-serving provisions, he argued.

For example, Adoke noted in his book that the law would have “taken away the power of the president to assent to constitutional amendments.

That meant that the legislature would, on its own amend the constitution and it would become operational without the consent of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. “Two, the bill sought to make

presiding officers of the National Assembly life members of the National Council of State. Only former presidents/Heads of State and Chief Justices of Nigeria were permanent members. “Three, the bill sought to put presiding officers of the National Assembly on life pensions irrespective of the duration of their service. Four, the bill also granted immunity to the lawmakers in the same vein as the president, vicepresident, governors and deputy governors�, he explained.

Ths, upon his return from his vacation shortly before the administration left office, Adoke said he had learnt that the president, apparently having stooped to pressure from vested interests, had not only signed the bill into law, it was waiting to be transmitted back to the National Assembly, when he halted the whole process. “I quickly placed a call to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Administration, Mr. Matt Aikhionbare, to confirm if, the president had signed the bill.

Upon confirmation that he had, I requested Aikhionbare not to transmit the instrument to the National Assembly, as I needed to discuss some of the amendments with the president. “I felt I owed a duty to the nation to prevent such a calamity as the amendments were fraught with irregularities and were done without due process. Immediately, I rushed over to the Presidential Villa. I met the SGF, Anyim, with the president. When I asked the president if it was true that the National Assembly had sent the constitution amendment bill to him and if he had signed it, he confirmed that he assented to the bill ‘a few minutes ago.�

With this clarification, Adoke said he quickly explained to him some of the contentious provisions in the amendments, which if not addressed, would be anti-development especially, the cost of catering to the life pensions of the lawmakers as well as conceding immunity to

them, adding that a majority of the people would think it was deliberate on the part of the president because he had just lost an election, more so that he had a few days more in office. “I further enumerated some other lapses in the bill, including the fact that the thresholds for amendments in respect of provisions of chapter two and four were not met; some policies verging on the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy, which are not justifiable, being in chapter two, were moved to chapter four, which made them justiciable. Moreover, I pointed out the economic and financial implications of the items being introduced by the bill�, he said.

It was at this point the president, according to him, knew he had just signed himself into trouble, particularly, having allegedly realised some of the far-reaching implications that the amendments connoted, such as the bifurcation of the office of the AGF and Ministry of Justice portfolio, of which he (Adoke) had been a strong advocate. “The president looked genuinely surprised and promptly withdrew his assent. He directed me to prepare a memorandum, elucidating all the issues I had raised and why he would have to veto the bill. Then I pressed him for the reason he had not sent the bill to the ministry of justice, contrary to the usual practice. “His response showed that he was put under pressure by certain senators to sign the bill as time was of the essence. Even as he made the explanation and handed me the bill to review, it still left a bad taste in my mouth to think that he would sacrifice the benefit of a sound legal advice on crucial amendments to the constitution on the altar of exigency.�

However, the news that he (Adoke) was the reason Jonathan withdrew his assent had allegedly set him against some of the senators, who were waiting to benefit immensely from the bill, including Senator Esther Nnenadi

Usman, whom he claimed had gone to lie against him to Jonathan that he was a Buhari boy and that he was working in Buhari’s interest.

She was said to have buttressed her point to the president by accusing him of allegedly confiding in the then Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu that he was a Buhari boy and would do everything possible to protect the powers Buhari deserves to enjoy as president, adding that she came up with the story, because she had boasted to her colleague senators that she would get the president to sign the bill again into law.

Adoke, however, said he didn’t realise how much damage they had done to his person and his relationship with Jonathan until it dawned on him that the president had also bought into the lies that he was Buhari’s boy to the extent that he confronted him with the allegation. “On May 12, 2015, we held the last National Security Council meeting under the Jonathan administration. After the meeting, the president asked me to see him in his office. There, he confronted me with the accusation that he was told I had prevailed on him to withdraw his assent to the amendments, because I was a Buhari boy. “I found the allegation ridiculous. I was being accused of disloyalty by the very president to whom I had given my total and unalloyed loyalty. I was devastated and sad. Within myself, I went down memory lane, recalling some instances, when I could have betrayed him, but had stood firmly by him,� including the pressure to contribute to Buhari’s campaign like many of his cabinet members allegedly did but which he refused.

He said the leadership of the seventh National Assembly did not however give up on the bill as they went back to make some adjustments, leaving behind the life pension and immunity

provisions. But while capitalising on time, he employed technical delay till it was impossible for the president to sign himself into trouble again. “They kept calling me frantically to find out if the president had signed it, and I kept giving excuses. But I knew I was not going to advise the president to sign that bill. I knew that if the president had signed it, he would have signed himself into trouble. I knew that many stakeholders would have gone to court to challenge it. I refused. “As at the night we went for the dissolution of the FEC, it was too late for the president to sign.

I told him that the amended version was actually sent to me but that it was too late for him to sign. I advised him to allow the bill go to the next assembly to do the proper thing.

That was how the self-serving bill ended up not being signed,� he narrated.

On some of the alleged surreptitious moves to get the president to annex as many states as possible, either through instigated impeachments or declarations of a state of emergency as part of moves to strengthen the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), ahead of the 2015 elections, especially after the exit of some five governors and others had clearly affected the fortunes of the party, Adoke said his insistence on what was right had resented some power blocs to the extent that they openly pushed for his removal.

In chapter fifteen of his book tagged, “The Impeachment Menace�, spanning through pages 149 to 153 and which comes under Part IV, with the theme: The Challenges, The Controversies, Adoke said the successful impeachment of a former governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako under questionable circumstances had emboldened certain elements in the system, who cared less about the health of the nation but their narrow political interest.

Although a known critic of

the president and member of the APC, Adoke thought that the former president should have been happy about the fate that befell Nyako. “Perhaps, the president was conscious of a possible constitutional crisis, given that the deputy governor, Chief James Nggilari, was forced to resign at the same time. The president might have known that there was a political scheme afoot. “It was not an ordinary impeachment. Removing Nyako and Nggilari at the same time would automatically make the speaker, Alhaji Umaru Fintiri, the acting governor. At that time, there was a lot of indiscipline in the PDP. The Adamawa legislators had their way and illegally and wrongfully forced Nggilari to resign and subsequently removed the governor.�

Fintiri, who is the current governor of Adamawa, was eventually sworn-in as expected before a Federal High Court, Abuja, reversed the forced resignation of Nggilari, who was subsequently sworn in, saving the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the troubles of conducting a bye-election, which had earlier been slated but called off in the light of the new development.

However, seeing that the Adamawa scheme had succeeded, the team behind the impeachment plots had moved to Nasarawa State, another APC state, where unfortunately for them, then governor, Tanko Al-Makura, was smarter and had moved ahead of the lawmakers, calling those necessary for intervention, including the possibility of having influenced the choice of the panel members set up by the judge to investigate him.

But those behind the plot refused to give up even after the panel had cleared the governor and sought audience with the president, asking for support to remove the governor at all cost, adding that it was all to strengthen his chances during the 2015 elections.

FEC Approves N166bn for Repair, Construction of 14 National Roads Chineme Okafor in Abuja The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved N166 billion for the repair and construction of 14 federal roads across the country, a statement from the Ministry of Works and Housing has said. The statement, which was sent to THISDAY yesterday

by Mr. Hakeem Bello, who is Senior Special Adviser on Communications to the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, explained that the approval was in furtherance of the government’s commitment to improving the country’s transportation infrastructure.

It noted that the move would restore the country’s road network, create employment, and boost the economy.

The approval, the statement added, was sequel to a memorandum presented to the FEC by Fashola, in line with the objectives of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of the President Muhammadu Buhari government.

According to the statement, the roads expected to be repaired or constructed under the approval include the Kotangora-Rijau road in Niger State, which will involve the construction of two bridges; Kano-Katsina road, which will involve the construction of an additional lane from the Airport Roundabout to Dawanau Roundabout in Kano State; Kotangora-Bangi road in Niger State; and the Outer Marina-Bonny Camp Road and Eko Bridge through Apongbon Bridge with Access Ramp in Lagos State.

Also on the list are the IrruaEdenu-Ibore-Udomi-Uwessan road in Edo State, which has been slated for rehabilitation; Ilobu-Erinle road in Kwara and Osun states billed for construction; construction of Wudil Bridge to link Gaban Komi with Wudil bypass along Maiduguri road in Kano State; the Wukari-Ibi road in Taraba State, which is billed for rehabilitation; and construction of Baro-Port Gulu Town Road in Niger State.

Others, according to the

statement, include the AjingiJahun-Kafin Hausa road in Jigawa State, slated for rehabilitation; Aba-Owerri road and NNPC Expressway in Abia State, also billed for rehabilitation; Kaleyeri-Damaturu road in Yobe State, billed for rehabilitation; two outstanding sections of ObaNnewi-Arondizuogu-Okigwe road in Imo and Anambra states, also for reconstruction; and the construction of Yaba-Yangogi road in Abuja.

The statement explained that the contract for the construction of two bridges – Lioji and Gulbin-Boka bridges on Kotangora-Rijau road will be executed by Messrs Nael & Bin Harmal Hydroexport Nigeria Limited at a contract cost of N1.13 billion, with a completion period of 12 months, while the construction of additional lane on Kano-Katsina road in Kano will be executed by Messrs Zerock Construction Nigeria Limited within a period of 24 months at the cost of N9.5 billion.

Similarly, the reconstruction of Kotangora-Bangi road in

Niger State will be executed

by Messrs CBC Global Civil & Building Construction Nigeria Limited within 48 months at the cost of N20.4 billion, while the rehabilitation of Outer Marina-Bonny Camp Road and Eko Bridge through Apongbon Bridge with Access Ramps will be done by Messrs CCECC with a completion date of 12 months at the cost of N9.3 billion.

Additionally, the rehabilitation of Irrua-Edenu-Ibore-UdomiUwessan road in Edo State was awarded to Messrs Mikky-Tai Engineering & Construction Limited/Messrs Rodnab Construction JV at the contract cost of N4.6 billion, with a completion date of 12 months, while Messrs IAC Allied Technical and Construction Company Limited will construct the Ilobu-Erinle Road in Kwara and Osun states within 36 months at the cost of N18.042 billion.

Messrs Triacta Nigeria Limited will construct the Wudil Bridge along Maiduguri road in Kano State within a period of 15 months at the cost of N2.6 billion,

the statement added, while the rehabilitation of Wukari-Ibi road in Taraba State will be done by China Worldwide Limited within a period of 18 months at the cost of N12.31 billion.

Similarly, Messrs GR Building & Construction Nigeria Limited will construct the Baro-Port-Gulu Town road in Niger State within a period of 24 months at N10.62 billion, while the rehabilitation of Ajingi-Jahun-Kafin Hausa road in Jigawa will be done by Messrs H & M Nigeria Limited within a period of 24 months at the cost of N25.04 billion.

Messrs Roudo Nigeria Limited will rehabilitate the Aba-Owerri road, NNPC Expressway in Abia State within 18 months at the cost of N6.1 billion; Messrs JM & A’S/Lubell Nigeria Limited will construct Yaba-Yangogi road in Abuja within 24 months at the cost of N17.31 billion; while Messrs Rick Rock Construction Limited will complete the rehabilitation of the KaleyeriDamaturu road in Yobe State within a 28 months at the cost of N17 billion.

The statement explained

that Messrs IIC Construction Company Limited/Wiz China Worldwide Engineering Limited were to rehabilitate two outstanding sections of ObaNnewi-Arondizuogu-Okigwe road in Imo and Anambra states within a period of 18 months at the cost of N12.8 billion on completion of the project.

On expected impacts from the road works, the statement said the rehabilitation of two outstanding sections of the ObaNnewi-Arondizuogu-Okigwe road in Imo and Anambra states will generate between 150 and 200 jobs while the construction of Yaba-Yangogi road in Abuja will generate no less than 250 jobs.

It added that the rehabilitation of Kaleyeri-Damaturu road will generate employment for between 200 and 250 persons, while that of Aba-Owerri road, NNPC Depot Expressway in Abia State will provide employment for no less than 150 people. The work on AjingiJahun-Kafin Hausa road will generate between 250 and 300 jobs, the statement added.

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 2019 • T H I S D AY

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SEPTEMBER 15, 2019 ˾ T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R

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SUNDAY COMMENT

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

THE GROWING MENACE OF ‘PETRO-PIRACY’ The menace of oil theft has gone on for too long without reasonable response

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hen last year, the EOS Risk Group warned the Nigerian authorities about “the resurgence of ‘petro-piracy’, involving the hijacking of tankers for oil theft”, there was no sign that anybody paid attention. But the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, recently described perpetrators of illegal oil bunkering in Nigeria as the seventh largest oil producers in Africa because of the volume of oil they steal from the country. Shortly after Amaechi’s apt summation, the National Economic Council (NEC) disclosed that the nation lost about 22 million barrels of crude oil production to theft between January and June 2019 according to Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki and Chairman of the NEC Ad-hoc committee on crude oil theft.

While Nigerians now have an idea of the quantum of their oil being lost to some thieves, the pertinent question remains: Who are these people and what are the authorities doing to contain their activities? From the NEC’s figures, it is estimated that the country lost approximately 121,546 barrels of oil in every of the 181 days within the six months. In his explanation of the depth of the crisis, Obaseki even raised the alarm that with the current trend, the figure could double by the end of the year.

The international community has for several years been paying attention to the monumental loss of Nigeria’s prime asset. But it would appear that the local authorities seem to have given up on any serious attempts to rein in the criminal gangs. Yet there can be no solution until Nigerians themselves resolve to fight the menace. In 2016, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) disclosed that the nation

lost over 136 million barrels of crude oil estimated at $10.9 billion through pilfering and sabotage between 2009 and 2011. This was one of the findings in the audit report of operations in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, which covered the period under review.

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While oil theft poses great danger to our economy and our security, it is also evident that the problem persists because there is some form of official complicity

Letters to the Editor

S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU DEPUTY EDITORS OLAWALE OLALEYE, TOBI SONIYI MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN MANAGING EDITOR JOSEPH USHIGIALE

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

ore disturbing is that the recent disclosures by both Amaechi and Obaseki coincided with that of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in its June 2019 Monthly Financial and Operations Report (MFOR), which stated that it recorded a staggering 77 per cent rise in cases of oil pipeline vandalism across its network of pipeline infrastructure.

According to the report, 106 pipeline points were breached, representing an alarming increase from the 60 points vandalised in May 2019. The corporation in fact explained that products theft and vandalism have continued to make it impossible for it to maximise value addition. It indicated that between June 2018 and June 2019, it recorded a total of 2,038 vandalised points on its oil lines, from where theft is perhaps also carried out.

Exploring the political economy of oil theft in Nigeria, its causes, dimensions and efforts to curb the practice which had largely been unsuccessful, the NNRC report reviewed previous discussions on oil theft and some of the key recommendations. The NNRC explained that there seems to be an increased cooperation for the menace because of little or no deterrence from enforcement agencies. Several investigations, according to the NNRC, have high¬lighted the complicity between state actors, oil companies and militant elements in all categories of oil theft. For example, the report explained that over lifting is another form of oil theft in Nigeria and it refers to the underestimating of the total number of barrels received at any point of the extraction process, but typically after it has been refined in order to sell the remaining on the black market.

As we have consistently argued on this page, while oil theft poses great danger to our economy and our security, it is also evident that the problem persists because there is some form of official complicity in what has become an organised crime. Aside the loss of enormous revenues, the security implications of these criminal activities are better imagined against the background that a huge chunk of the proceeds are used to buy arms. It is therefore time that the authorities took serious interest in unmasking who these criminals are, checkmating them and bringing them to book.

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

Preventing Non-Communicable Diseases

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ince death is inevitable and every soul will taste it, there is no need to fear or worry about it. But we must be concerned about circumstances causing or leading to untimely and avoidable deaths, particularly among young persons.

It can be very painful facing the reality of the death of loved ones in their prime age. Experts believe that certain factors are responsible for untimely and avoidable deaths and that such could be prevented.

Aside accidents, Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) have been identified as the leading cause of death and disability worldwide.

According to Dr. Adeniyi Samuel Oginni, a public health physician, 39.5 million people die from NCDs every year. Oginni who is the Executive Secretary of Osun Health Insurance Agency said

death due to NCDs constitutes 65% of global deaths. In his presentation at the Osun State House of Assembly, last week, Oginni said 38.9 per cent people die in their prime age as a result NCDs. He said NCDs are leading cause of morbidity and mortality in persons below 70 years.

He said that cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, cancer, diabetes mellitus, chronic respiratory diseases, sickle cell disease, mental disorders are major NCDs in Nigeria. He identified smoking of tobacco, harmful alcohol intake, physical inactivity and unhealthy diet as major NCDs risk factors.

Oginni said: “Low and Middleincome countries bear 80% of the burden of premature deaths with most deaths occurring in the 40s and 50s age bracket. Most of these premature deaths are preventable

through strengthened and responsive health systems, and public policies in sectors outside health."

Now, it’s good that we know that most of the premature deaths are preventable and we can begin to tackle the problem and promote healthy living. That was why the 2019 Global Week for Action on Non-Communicable Diseases was marked last week with focus on ensuring healthy lives for all by dealing with NCDs in line with the Universal Health Coverage target of SDG goal three.

The major NCDs in Nigeria include cardiovascular diseases which come with hypertension, coronary heart diseases and stroke, chronic respiratory diseases (e.g.

COPD, asthma), mental, neurological and substance use disorders; violence and road traffic injuries,

and oral health disorders. The major NCDs risk factors or causes include tobacco use -smoking, harmful alcohol intake, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, environmental pollutants and also the climate change as globalization and industrialization have adjusted the ecosystem with unhealthy lifestyle patterns.

Up till 2015, no more than about 2-3 per cent of all official development assistance (ODA) for health was actually targeted at NCDs but surprisingly, NCDs were not addressed in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Meanwhile, the 2030 agenda for sustainable development adopted at the United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development in September 2015 recognises NCDs as a major challenge for sustainable development.

It is imperative that momentum be built to make increased funding available to countries which are going to be most

affected in the next 10-20 years from the growing NCD burden.

At individual level, Nigerians must imbibe healthy lifestyle as panacea to NCDs so as to reduce preventable deaths which is rampant among the middle age. Collectively, we must embark on necessary advocacy, galvanise broader health and developmental agenda, push for enhanced good governance that would integrate the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases into the nation’s health-planning processes and development plans. We desire a world where everyone has the opportunity for a healthy life, free from preventable suffering; stigma, disability and death.

We must unite to stimulate collaborative advocacy, action and accountability for NCD prevention and control in Nigeria.

––Hameed Oyegbade, Osogbo, Osun State.

SEPTEMBER 15, 2019 ˾ T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R

NEWS

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Acting News Editor Gboyega Akinsanmi E-mail: gboyega.akinsanmi@thisdaylive.com, 08081986590

TI, Others Fault Governors on Security Votes Say spending N241bn outside budget can’t continue Gboyega Akinsanmi

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has disclosed that farmers-herdsmen clashes and activities of armed bandits have displaced no fewer than 309,755 persons in eight states in North-central and North-west Nigeria.

IOMGboyega Akinsanmi Transparency International

(TI), the world’s leading anticorruption organisation, has rejected the claim of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) that the abolition of security votes will breed chaos and disorder rather than addressing the vicious challenge of corruption.

TI’s position is supported by Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and the Centre for Anti-Corruption and

Open Leadership (CACOL).

They said that spending a whopping sum of N241.2 billion annually should not continue.

The leading anti-graft organisations rejected the NGF defence in separate replies to THISDAY inquiries on the legal and moral justification for security votes, unaudited funds provided for the executive heads of the federal,

Decry rise in unaudited funds under Buhari state and local governments to disburse at their discretion.

In principle, security votes are reserved for covering unforeseen security needs. Its disbursement is not subject to legislative oversight or independent audit because of its ostensibly sensitive nature.

Although elected officials spend some of these funds on safety and security, they release sub-

IN AKEREDOLU’S HONOUR...

L-R: National Leader, All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu; former Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi; former National Chairman, APC, Chief Bisi Akande; Ondo State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu and his wife, Betty at the traditional marriage of Atheir daughter, Teni and Olatunde Oyeyiola in Owo, Ondo State... yesterday Kunle Ogunfuyi

stantial part for political activities or misuse it completely.

Given its susceptibility and vulnerability to corruption, civil society organisations (CSOs), especially those involved in anti-corruption campaigns, have been calling for the abolition of security votes, demanding justificationforspendingfundsthat are not captured in the appropriation laws.

The debate about the legality and morality of security votes last Wednesday dominated the quarterly policy dialogue on accountability for security votes put together by the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria (ACAN) held at the ICPC Auditorium located at the Central Business District, Abuja.

At the policy dialogue, the Chairman of NGF and Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi had argued that the abolition of security votes in the country would breed chaos in the polity instead of curbing corruption.

He argued that security votes had existed even before the coming of the military. He said doing away with them would hinder development and security in the country instead of addressing corruption.

The Head of TI Nigeria, Mr. Musa Rafsanjani claimed that security votes, funding mechanisms widely used by the elected political leaders, showed grave tendency for corruption because the funds “are not subject to legis-

lative oversight and independent audit.”

Rafsanjani, also an Executive Director of CISLAC, said: “We did extensive research on security votes. It shows tendency for corruption. Therefore, we are actually not in support of the continuation of siphoning public funds through the so-called security votes.

“If you want to strengthen security sector in Nigeria, budget it and ensure its effective utilisation. When we looked into the utilisation of security votes, we discovered that most of the organisations or government agencies that claimed to have used security votes do not have anything to do in terms of complementing safety and security in Nigeria.

“So, security votes have been a major source through which politically exposed corrupt persons siphon public funds. It is so because the fund is not audited.

The fund is not over-sighted. The fund cannot show serious impact in terms of contribution to the security.

“What we need is to work out how to improve budgetary allocation to our security sector. For the politician to collect funds in the name of security votes, we think it is not proper. We think this practice has to end because it promotes corruption. It is a practice that promotes wastes. It is a practice that promotes financial impunity,” Nigeria’s TI chief explained.

PDP: With N111bn Debt, Akeredolu Can’t Justify N50bn Bond James Sowole in Akure

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday deplored the Ondo State House of Assembly for allowing the state governor, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu to raise a whopping sum of N50 billion through bond issuance programme.

Besides the state’s fresh N50 billion bond issuance programme, the party expressed discomfort with the penchant of the governors in the Southwest state to putting their states under burden of debt.

The PDP Publicity Secretary, South West, Mr. Ayo Fadaka criticised the decision of the state government to borrow

additional N50 billion through bond issuance apart from its debt stock currently standing at N111.709 billion in an interview with THISDAY yesterday.

Fadaka said Akeredolu had no justification “to put the state under another burden at this time with the huge debt on the neck of the state.

He claimed that the debt stock of the state according to data gathered from the Debt Management Office through website stood at N111.709bn.

He alleged that the Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi did the same thing during his first tenure which became problem for the state till date.

He added that the same thing

Kumuyi Canvasses National Rebirth Amid Security Challenges Chibuzor Oluchi

The General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor Williams Kumuyi and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) have called for national rebirth and revival as panacea to security challenges nationwide.

They also emphasized the need for the body of Christ to come together and unite in faith for an end-time revival expected to spread across Lagos and beyond.

KumuyimadethecallataNight of Glory held at the Abundant Life Gospel Church, Agege where he encouraged Christian leaders nationwide to focus on the message of Jesus Christ to ignite revival and rebirth across the federation.

Theprogrammewasorganised by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Lagos State, for ministers’ development and networking support with the purposeofunitingthechurchand preparing it for end-time revival.

Among others, the programme was attended by the Chairman of Lagos CAN, Apostle Alexander Bamgbola and the secretary, Prophet Israel Akinadewo.

In his message, Kumuyi explained that the ministry of Jesus Christ “has a threefold manifestation that entails teaching, preaching and healing. The gospel is good news that brings grace to the believer; peace and salvation. it is a gospel of the kingdom of God.”

was done by the former Osun State Governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, who borrowed money to execute white elephant projects and many of which he was unable to complete.

Fadaka observed that the debt burden of Osun State made it impossible for the state “to pay salaries of workers because of huge deductions on monthly basis.”

According to him, it is absolutely unfortunate that Ondo State is embarking on the same voyage despite the huge debt on ground just as the Federal Government had just said that it would start to deduct bail out fund given the state’s from their allocations.

“There is nothing to justify the need for such bond. We all know some of the revenue accrued to the state lately. The current administration has fallen short of accountability.

“The wealth of any state is not pocket money of any governor that can be spent anyhow.

As far as we are concerned, the essence of taken the money now would be defeated.

“The governor wants to take the money to brighten his chance for his second term ambition among the other contestants for the party ticket and also to prosecute the real 2020 election in the state. This will fail.”

He explained that the people

of the state “are more enlightened and cannot be bribed again during election. The people want somebody that would impact on their lives.

“The people remember that before Akeredolu got into office they enjoyed free maternal and child healthcare, free education at primary and secondary levels while students of the state’s higher institutions were paying cheapest tuition and they know how much they are paying now.”

He noted that it was visible “to anybody now that people are now paying for their wards to access secondary education while they pay through their nose

for maternal and child health, which they enjoy freely before Akeredolu came on board.

“We maintain that there is no justification for the new loan but if he is hell bent on taken the loan, he should be ready to account for every kobo because we are going to ask for everything when the PDP takes over the government,” Fadaka said.

However, the State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr Donald Ojogo said that the bond would strictly be spent to complete ongoing infrastructure projects and to fund new ones to be initiated by the administration of Akeredolu’s in the state.

Tiv, Jukun Conflict Can Stoke Food Shortage, CAN Warns

Peace Group Calls for Patriotism, Commends Air Peace

Wole Ayedele in Jalingo

Segun James

The Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, Taraba State, has said that food crisis was imminent if the communal violence between Tiv and Jukun ethnic groups was not checked.

The Chairman of Taraba CAN, Pastor Isaiah Jirapye expressed the concern in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jalingo yesterday.

Jirapye said the tribes locked in the conflict were predominantly farmers, and regretted that the violence had made it difficult for them to visit their farms.

The clergy, who particularly condemned the gruesome

murder of Rev. David Tanko by unknown gunmen along Takum-Wukari road, advised the perpetrators to repent and seek the face of the Lord.

“It is worrisome that both Tiv and Jukun, who have been living together as brothers, will fight so dirty, killing and destroying their homes.

“Another issue of concern is that both ethnic groups are predominantly farmers who have been forced to desert their farms due to fear of attacks.

“The adverse effect is that this crisis will lead to food shortage and that will affect everybody.

I am appealing to both parties to sheath their swords and embrace peace.

A group of eminent Nigerians dedicated to peacebuilding and national development under the umbrellas of Center for Peace Reorientation and Human Development (CPRHD) otherwise known as Nigeria Peace Group, NPG, has called for renewed sense of patriotism among Nigerians in the wake of recent Xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

In a statement issued in Lagos, the president of the NPG, Ikem Ume-Ezeoke, also commended the gesture of the Chairman of Air Peace Nigeria, Chief Allen Onyema for evacuating Nigerian stranded in South Africa.

The group noted that for

Air Peace Airline, to singlehandedly airlift stranded Nigerians from South Africa, at no cost to the returnees, showed that there were still Nigerians with a deep sense of patriotism and the love of nation.

It said that the gesture was timely and should serve as a motivation for others to do likewise and through any channel.

It called on well-meaning Nigerians everywhere to show faith and volunteer more resources to enable Nigerians stranded in South Africa who wish to return to Nigeria to do so, while urging that same help be extended to those who have returned, to enable them settle back in quickly.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ SEPTEMBER 15, 2019

OPINION Defending The Goalpost of Sports David Ugolor canvasses a measure of sanity in sports administration

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owards the dawn of the millennium while the component units of the universe were taking quantum leaps into space and investing massively in research for the development of artificial intelligence (AI) Nigeria was in the throes of regular and consistent assault by the purveyors of corruption and large-scale theft of public funds. The records are there that around $148 billion is stolen annually from Africa by politically exposed persons, multinational corporations, the business elite and civil servants with the complicity of banking and property industries in Europe, North America and elsewhere. Estimates indicate that Nigeria lost about $40 billion as illicit financial flows between 2001 and 2010 alone. Transparency International (TI), recently ranked Nigeria 144th out of 180 countries in its 2018 Corruption Perception Index (CPI). The country, according to the CPI, scored 27 out of 100, a figure lower than the average in the sub-Saharan region.

There have been many attempts to take corruption head on, and this has been at the behest of regular organs of government and at non-government divides. At both divides, the attention has been mostly on that popular triumvirate of conspiracy – the big politicians, the multinationals, the banks and lawyers who assist to launder these monies. However, let us pause and consider the fact that apart from this network of politically exposed persons and institutions, there is yet another spectre in the shadows, sports administrators in Nigeria, who are quietly exploiting our passion for sport and football glory for their pockets.

Today, wars and the battlements of war are no longer fought with bayonets, grenades or blunderbusses. Wars no longer take years to prosecute. Some wars between, and among countries these days take place on a battlefield with some 11 men or women. Depending on the circumstances, these wars last only 90 minutes, with zero bloodshed and any one of the debutantes that clinches victory takes all the spoils and gets a garland of prestige recognized internationally. Perhaps this is why most countries prepare for a sport competition like football or the

Olympics the way they prepare for war – hefty budgets are made available for the deployment of men and materials.

In Nigeria, sport and especially football is more than just ‘warfare’. It is that one thing known to emulsify the separate aspirations, visions and goals of more than 350 ethnic tribes. Urhobo, Isoko, Tiv, Ibo, Hausa or Yoruba all speak footballque – a lingua franca known only to Nigerians. Our locus classicus is that when you play against Nigeria, you play against 140 million people instead of the regular 11. In 1967 during Nigeria’s brutal civil war, both sides called a two-day armistice just so that they could watch Pele play an exhibition match. Therefore, because of its ability to market goods and services, lift the soul of a nation and confer governments with a modicum of legality and legitimacy, everyone is eager to use it as driver of their aspirations.

Loving football and sport is not entirely a Nigerian thing. Globally, football is a veritable money-spinner. According to the BBC, ‘the big five European leagues generated a record €14.7bn (£12.6bn) in revenue in 2016-17, a 9% annual increase, according to new figures from Deloitte. It says the European football market is now worth some €25.5bn (£21.9bn).The English Premier League was the market

Because of its ability to market goods and services, lift the soul of a nation and confer governments with a modicum of legality and legitimacy, everyone is eager to use sports as driver of their aspirations

leader, with record revenue of £4.5bn, as each of the 20 clubs set their own annual revenue record’.

Daniel Kahneman in Thinking, Fast and Slow (2011) says of executives that they too easily fall victim to the planning fallacy wherein they make decisions based on delusional optimism rather than on weighting of gains, losses, and probabilities. And that perhaps is why people that are trusted with the management of this significant aspect of our lives often betray that trust.

First, it was Joseph Blatter, 8th FIFA President, now serving a six-year ban over allegations that he enriched himself with FIFA’s monies. After Blatter, we heard it was the turn of one of our heroes, Michel Platini. Reports had it that as EUFA president, Platini got the boot from football over ethics violations.

But the tendency for delusional optimism in sports administration in Africa (euphemism for outright pilfering of public funds), is common as well. Again, it was with Isa Hayatou, the man who once ran African football at the highest levels and who also went down on accusations that he was involved in the illegal sale of exclusive rights of broadcasting and sponsorship.

Shortly after Hayatou, a sting operation nailed Nigerian coach, Salisu Yusuf. He was caught on camera asking for money from supposedly football agents before featuring certain football players. And prior to the banning of former Super Eagles Coach Samson Siasia for receiving bribes to fix matches, the financial mess currently ravaging the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) had persisted for a long time.

If at this point Nigeria has been blind to the obvious, she must not remain blind to her blindness. If the fight against corruption must be total and comprehensive, no effort must be spared to put in motion a machinery for sanitizing this aspect of our lives that brings succor to Nigerians in their daily struggle to eke a living. While Nigerians pay to support the growth and development of football and sports in Nigeria, there are individuals out there reaping from this goodwill and patronage.

ANEEJ as an anti-corruption organisation working for an Africa without poverty will continue to collaborate with stakeholders and relevant institutions to bring a measure of sanity to football and all sports activities which bring Nigerians together.

––Rev Ugolor is executive director, ANEEJ.

Restoring Dignity of Pensioners GovernorIhediohaofImoStatehassetnewstandardsforthetreatmentofpensioners,writes Okwudili Ojukwu-Enendu

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hereas across Nigeria, all cultures value old age and celebrate it, officialdom apparently views it otherwise. For the greater part of the last two decades, it seemed that old age is a curse, from the prism of officialdom.

Public pensioners, who had spent their youth working for government till old age and taking abridged salaries over the period for the promise and contract of life-long pensions, have especially over this period been monumentally mistreated.

Across much of the nation, governments, both federal and state have attended to the pension contract much in breach.

When civil servants currently on seat cranking the wheels of government are owed, one would be an eternal optimist to expect the retired to be paid their pensions. It is common seeing state governments owe their civil servants for over a year. Some lucky ones like in Osun State got a federal grant with which it paid 11 months arrears just before the state’s gubernatorial elections. The former government of Imo, despite being in the same party with the federal government was not that lucky.

In Imo State, civil servants were paid fractions of their salaries ranging from 40% to 70% for the greater part of the last eight years that Rochas Okorocha was in power as governor. As one can guess, that was hardly the scenario under which pensioners would be paid. Yes, pensioners were owed some 77 months of pension arrears – almost seven years of pension out of the eight years that the former governor was in power!

Like in much of Nigeria, not only were these pensioners owed, they were consistently subjected to abuse in the name of pension verification exercises. The narrative is that governments are not notified of the passage of pensioners and families keep drawing pensions for their deceased pensioners, which is an abuse of the system, for the pension is supposed to last the lifetime of pensioner and not beyond.

So, under the guise of verification, these senior citizens are often gathered at designated government offices for the physical exercise. In the light of their ages, many of these pensioners are infirmed, suffering age-related diseases which make movement difficult and expensive for them.

Across Nigeria, including Imo State, photographs of senior citizens arriving verification venues in all manner of vehicles including wheel-barrows, were common. At the venues of these exercises, no provisions are made for their comfort, and they sit on the bare ground, under the elements. Making matters worse was the fact that after these exercises, payments rarely came.

That was precisely the case with Imo State under the Okorocha

government.

These senior citizens have in places also suffered and endured verbal abuse. A former governor in the neighbouring Anambra State referred to them as dead wood. Okorocha didn’t verbally abuse them, at least not openly, but they would have perhaps fared better if they had been paid their 77 months arrears from a bad-mannered paymaster. Owing them this much and laughing in their faces was open mockery. That was the lot of pensioners in Imo State.

In his inaugural speech on May 29, 2019, the Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha lamented the plight of these pensioners and pledged a positive change for them. As soon as he found a place to put his table in the dishevelled Government House, Governor Ihedioha set up a committee of experts to review the issue of pensions in the state and work out a payment scheme.

It was one of his first acts as the state governor, and he made his chief technical adviser, Mr P.G.U. Madu, the committee’s chairman.

The committee found out that there was no proper record on pensions in the state. There were some scattered files, and it served the former government and its head to quote different figures at different times as the monthly cost of pensions (which was never paid, anyway). For Governor Ihedioha, it was an unconscionable situation, and he ordered a speedy and permanent solution to the problem.

Working with dispatch, the committee acquired some 500 units of laptop computers and recruited an ad-hoc staff of some 1,000 youth to work on some 50,000 files and produce an electronic pension base for the state. This was done between the sixth and ninth weeks of the life of the new government.

With this basic file uploaded, the committee summoned pensioners for a verification exercise which is distinguishable from what has been seen in any other part of Nigeria.

Unlike the frequent verification exercises across the nation, this exercise in Imo State is billed as a one-time exercise that would produce a living record for the seamless payment of pensions. Never again would these senior citizens in Imo State be troubled with unending verification exercises.

After this exercise, which includes their biometric capture, their pensions would simply be paid into their personal accounts, and they would receive payment alerts on their telephones at home. Embedded in the exercise is a system that filters out pensioners that have passed on and checks abuse of the scheme. It could hardly be better for the pensioners!

Besides the lasting objective of the verification exercise, one of its outstanding features is the manner in which it is being

carried out.

Unlike the widespread manner of leaving these senior citizens to sit on the bare ground and under the sun and the rain, Governor Ihedioha has set the standard of dignity with which to treat these old workers. Across all 27 local government areas of the state where the verification exercise is being carried out, seats with backrest as well as tents in places where there are no adequate halls have been provided for these pensioners for the duration of the exercise.

Recognising the health needs of the aged, each verification venue has a mobile health centre, where the basic health needs of the aged are attended to. These health centres check the blood pressure of pensioners and dispense basic drugs where needed at no cost to the pensioners!

In addition, the government ordered that these pensioners while waiting to be attended to must be given a good meal!

This order has been observed right across the state. It is unprecedented!

Furthermore, the governor has ordered that pensioners, who are bed-ridden or physically incapacitated, would have their verification done right in their own homes! All that has to be done is for the relations of such pensioners to get to the relevant exercise centre and give details of such pensioners including contact details. Then the officials would call, agree on date and time and get to the homes to do the verification.

The caring welfare state has come to Imo. To cap it all, the governor has promised that pension payment would start as soon as the data entry and verification is finished. So, these retired workers would soon start getting payment alerts for their pensions, and it would be a continuous thing.

The Ihedioha philosophy is that being a pensioner is not a crime, and the Igbo reverence for old age must be reflected in officialdom. It is a total break from the past!

In doing these, Governor Emeka Ihedioha has started wiping off the tears that these pensioners. Old age would no longer be something to approach with trepidation in Imo State. Dates of birth may no longer be adjusted by civil servants in dread of retirement, thereby making way for the swathe of graduates that need employment in the state.

Governor Emeka Ihedioha has produced a new and pleasant template in the way that governments, state and federal, should treat their retirees. He has set new standards of best practice in this regard which is worthy of emulation and commendation.

––Ojukwu-Enendu wrote from Owerri.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ SEPTEMBER 15, 2019

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LETTERS Robert Mugabe: End of An Era

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he news of the sudden demise of the foremost nationalist and doyen of liberation struggles in Southern Africa, former President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe was received by the global community with shock and grief. Former President Mugabe who later became the maximum ruler of Zimbabwe after her independence in 1980 recently died in a Singaporean hospital after a protracted illness at the age of 95 years.

It will be recalled, however, that Mugabe was ousted from power in 2017 in what could be described as “a Palace Coup” by the military wing of the ruling powerful ZANUPF which had dominated the politics of Zimbabwe since her independence in 1980.

The international media had described Mugabe as the strongman of Zimbabbwe, foremost nationalist, a hero, and uncompromising freedom fighter who confronted the white minority settler regime of Ian Smith in what was then known as Rhodesia.

President Mugabe was a controversial figure.

Initially he was the toast of the Western powers soon after Zimbabwe’s independence apparently due his prowestern policies. However, the honeymoon with the Western powers suddenly became sour and terribly strained when Mugabe began to adopt stringent and anti-white policies in favour of his black majority Zimbabweans, an action considered inimical to the interest of the white minority settlers who were in total control of the nation’s

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Mugabe economy at independence.

Mugabe will be remembered as a fearless and revolutionary icon who confronted the racist white minority settlers despite their military might in the then white dominated Rhodesia.

The erstwhile British colonial power was then ruling what used to be known as the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland under Sir Roy Wellinsky as Prime Minister.

The Federation was made up of Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Nyasaland (now Malawi).

During the fierce and relentless struggles for liberation and freedom then sweeping across the continent of Africa between early 50s and 60s, the British was forced to grant independence first to Zambia, under the leadership of Kenneth Kaunda as the

first President, then quickly followed by Malawi, under the leadership of Hastings Kamuzu Banda as her first President.

Regrettably, in the case of Southern Rhodesia now Zimbabwe, the British in her characteristic dubious diplomacy of divide and rule tactics refused to grant independence to the genuine black majority but rather surreptitiously encouraged the white minority settlers to continue to dominate and subjugate the black population purely for her selfish economic interest as Rhodesia was then the economic powerhouse of Southern Africa during the dark era. The nationalists and freedom fighters led by the indefatigable Joshua Nkomo, together with Bishop Abel Muzarewa, Rev. Ndabaningi Sethole and Robert Mugabe, among other nationalist

fighters, immediately declared total war against the white minority settler regime led by the arch racist and oppressor, Ian Smith who had boasted that black majority rule in what was then known as Rhodesia could only happen after one thousand years and certainly not in his life time.

As the liberation war raged in intensity, some of the moderate nationalist leaders notably Joshua Nkomo and Bishop Abel Muzarewa were later lured and compromised to join the white minority government, an action considered by Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF as an unpardonable betrayal and complete sell out, prompting Mugabe and his associates to launch a guerrilla warfare against the racist regime.

In 1965, Ian Smith unilaterally declared independence for Rhodesia otherwise known as (UDI). The then British government responded swiftly against the illegal declaration of independence by dispatching a naval warship “NS Tiger” to Rhodesia ostensibly to quell the insurrection.

Paradoxically, the warship was conveying the then British Prime Minister Harold Wilson who on arrival in Rhodesia merely invited the rebel leader Ian Smith for talks aboard the warship.

It was indeed a great irony, illogical, and hypocritical of the British government to have treated the glaring case of rebellion by Ian Smith with such levity without adequate sanctions. Rather the rebel leader Ian Smith was accorded rare diplomatic niceties and respect by the erstwhile British colonial powers simply because he was a white and

The State of The Country

efore the white imperialists came to Nigeria, the diverse ethnic groups in the country had their peculiar systems of government.

And, the pre-colonial systems of government practised by Nigerians during the pre-colonial era guaranteed peace and unity among the peoples. However, our coming into contact with western culture nearly caused the obliteration of our cultural practices. And it is an indisputable fact that the imposition of white rule on us disrupted our pre-colonial system of government.

But is representative government, which the white people brought to us, not the best type of government? Is democracy, which originated in Greece, not better than aristocracy, plutocracy, and military rule? In addition to bringing democracy to us, they established schools in our country, where native Africans where taught subjects like English Language, Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, and others.

Education, we all know, is the light which illuminates the stygian night of ignorance on the African continent. So, armed with quality education, African nationalists like

Kwame Nkrumah, Leopold Senghor, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Awolowo and others fought for the decolonization of Africa. Not a few African people died while fighting for the political emancipation of African countries.

That’s why shouts of immense joy greeted Nigeria’s attainment of self-rule in 1960, which was marked by the symbolic lowering of the British Union Jack and the hoisting of our green and white flag. At that time, Nigerians reposed trust and confidence in our first republic politicians, believing that they would better the lots of the hoi polloi by giving them good and responsible political leadership. However, the first republic politicians, who were ethnic chauvinists, religious bigots, and unscrupulous people, frittered away the golden opportunity offered to them to build a virile, peaceful, united, and progressive country. They sacrificed the national interests on the altar of their primordial sentiments, ethnic loyalties, religious affiliations, and base selfish interests.

Not surprisingly, Nigeria was embroiled in a civil war which devastated it and caused its economic stagnation and technology underdevelopment.

Thereafter, the country suffered and experienced military interregnum with its calamitous and devastating effects. Military rule is characterized by the suspension of the constitution in which our fundamental human rights are enshrined.

It is an incontestable fact that the military incursion into our politics caused the economic depredation and technological stagnation of Nigeria.

So, we heaved a sigh of relief when representative democracy was restored to Nigeria in 1999. We have had 20 years of uninterrupted political leadership in Nigeria. However, it’s incredible that Nigeria, which is touted as the giant of Africa has not realized its potential.

For all its oil-wealth, population, large land mass, equable weather conditions, many waters, the country is still stuck in the mud of infrastructural rot, graduate unemployment, security challenges, electricity problem, and others.

But can Nigeria become an economic giant and hub of technological innovation when her educational system is in a shambles? Rapid national development and dysfunctional educational system are diametrically opposed. Our tertiary institutions are not

bastion of knowledge and centers of academic excellence where innovative scientific and educational researches are conducted to push the frontiers of knowledge. Our schools have failed to evolve and develop our own variant of technological culture to mass-produce assortment of goods for exportation, which will yield revenue to us. Consequently, today, we import things like toothbrush, toothpick, and others.

More so, a country with near anarchic condition cannot hope to achieve sustainable economic growth and technological advancement. Insecurity of lives and property is not a force for national development. No thoughtful and percipient foreigners would build industries in a country that is susceptible to descending into war. Here, in Nigeria, the Boko Haram insurgents, who are opposed to people’s acquisition of western education in schools, have run amuck killing people and sacking farming communities in the North-east, especially in Borno.

––Chiedu Uche Okoye, Uruowulu-Obosi, Anambra State.

(See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

obviously one of their own.

That was the height of British perfidy and double standards reminiscent of her inglorious colonial era in Africa. It must be noted however that Ian Smith had rebelled against Her Majesty’s government at the time he unilaterally and illegally declared Rhodesia independent from Britain as the colonial powers.

As the liberation struggles were raging unabated and the white minority settlers became more vulnerable and at the receiving end, the British government was forced to convene independence conference in London where formal independence was finally granted to Zimbabwe to be preceded by a general election under the universal adult suffrage and participated in by all parties. Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF won a decisive victory and controlled the majority seats in parliament and subsequently became the first Prime Minister of independent Zimbabwe in 1980. Mugabe later became the President of Zimbabwe in a flourishing and strong economy that was engineered and managed by the white farmers who were controlling the nation’s economy at independence.

However, Zimbabwe’s hitherto strong economy suddenly began to witness a downturn as a result of the arbitrary seizure of the farm lands owned by the white settlers by the Zimbabwean

government which were later redistributed to the black Zimbabweans who knew little or nothing about mechanized farming. The consequences of the misguided and ill-advised state policy otherwise known as Afrikanisation policy was the beginning of the total collapse of Zimbabwe’s economy which had since nosedived to all time low.

It is a matter of deep regret that President Mugabe had unwittingly squandered tremendous goodwill he hitherto enjoyed across the globe soon after Zimbabwe’s independence as he was then looked upon as a beacon of hope for other nations still under colonial domination.

Sadly, Mugabe later embarked on authoritarian and dictatorial tendencies aimed at suppressing political dissent and cowing his perceived political enemies.

As it is common with all dictators, Mugabe had transformed himself into a medieval emperor to be greatly revered and worshiped by his “subjects” and thereby totally alienating himself from the people on whose mandate he came to power. It is said that absolute power corrupts absolutely and this common saying summed up the tragedy of Robert Mugabe who progressively became a despot and tyrant against his own people.

Nze Nwabueze AkaboguJP, Enugwu-Ukwu, Anambra State.

Digitisation in Nigerian Education

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he world is increasingly becoming a global village, due to interconnectivity among nations.

This is made possible through digitisation.

Development in technology is gradually creeping into the academic system in Nigeria.

But some view it as a menace, especially, the E-examination.

In academia, plagiarism is a serious offence, many have lost their certificates and credibility because of it. With digitisation, the rate of such acts is becoming rampant.

Students are becoming lazy to visit libraries, hard copy of books are no longer patronised. With just some click on multimedia phones or computers, one may access thousands of information.

But the tragedy is that the information doesn’t have reliable sources, but still students make use of it.

The acceptance of digital learning system and the thirst for knowledge is still trying to get ground.

Ranging from the lecturers complaining of finding it difficult to set e-test questions to students who exclaim that they are not finding it easy with the e-test, the system has not been aborted.

Questioning some students in University of Maiduguri which is the institution in

the forefront in the Northeast that accepted the e-testing, the students lamented that e-testing is doing more harm than good to them, noting that many unqualified students will be graduated.

Some Mass Communication students said that their career is in writing but with the etesting system, they are being deprived of such a right.

On the other hand, the benefit of digitisation cannot be overlooked. It has positively improved the education system in the country.

Digitisation makes it possible for nearly all hand copy text books, journals and other literary works to be converted into soft copy and stored on the World Wide Web for easy access.

With just some click one may have access not only to books written by our nationals but other international authors. Therefore, it bridges the gap of access to international books. Books with high cost may be affordable in soft copies. Digitization interconnects students from different schools, even internationally in discussion of academic related matters which widens the research of many students. E-libraries are available in many varieties.

––Ahmad Mohammed Bashir, University of Maiduguri

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SUNDAY SEPTMEBER 15, 2019 • T H I S D AY

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 2019 • T H I S D AY

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S ÍšÍ˝Ëœ ͺ͸͚Π˞ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

INTERNATIONAL For a Long Time, Nigeria Will Remain ‘Fantastically Corrupt’: High-level Institutional Corruption and Dynamics

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former British Prime Minister, David Cameron, observed on May 10, 2016 that Nigeria was ‘fantastically corrupt.’ It was an affirmative statement which, according to the reports of The Punch, President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) agreed with in a Commonwealth conference in London.

What meaning he intended to give the word, ‘fantastic,’ was not explained. However, ‘fantastic’ can have a positive meaning such as ‘extraordinarily good’, hence we can talk about an ‘extraordinary corruption,’ that is attractive. But why should any act of corruption be considered as good? The word ‘fantastic’ can allso mean ‘imaginative or fanciful, as well as remote from reality. What former Prime Minister might have had in mind by describing Nigeria as fantastically corrupt appears to be the last meaning, remoteness from reality or imaginative dimension to the issue of corruption. In this case, he must be thinking about Nigeria being a country of monumental corruption.

Put differently, David Cameron might be also looking at the capacity of Nigerians to be very imaginative, very scientific, and very committed to the promotion of corruption. It is this factor of an imaginative techniques of corruption that might have prompted the looking at Nigeria as fancifully corrupt. If something is fanciful but tainted with corruption, it is good for nothing. This is precisely how the anti-indiscipline and anti-corruption efforts of the Government of Nigeria should be seen. I strongly believe that, no matter the efforts of both the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and those of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), in fighting corruption and societal indiscipline, not to mention the case of the National Anti-corruption Volunteers Corps (NAVC), there is no way Nigeria will not continue to remain fantastically more corrupt in the foreseeable future for one obvious reason: high-level public institutional corruption. It is always on the increase. So is the situation at the level of private business institutions.

My unanimous election and inauguration as State Coordinator for the National Anti-Corruption Volunteers Corps on Tuesday, July 30, 2019 at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, by the Chairman of the ICPC, Professor Bolaji Owasanoye and the NAVC National Coordinator, Mr. Mike Sowe, has considerably widened my scope of vision on what really constitutes corruption.

Even though David Cameron did not give the elements of fantastic corruption, there is no disputing the fact that it is the Nigerian system, the Nigerian way of self-governance, self-deceit, business operations, that largely make corruption quite interesting and fantastic. The NAVC secretariat in Yaba, Lagos has been receiving and looking into some cases of fraud brought to its attention, how they are perpetrated and how they are sustained by government policies and public acquiescence.

Let me begin with one of my personal experiences, that of how the Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB) and the Mallmart engaged in defrauding their clients. GTB is undoubtedly one of the leading banks in Nigeria by virtue of service quality. Mallmart is an emerging big shopping centre located in between Alagomeji and Sabo bus stops in Yaba Mainland Local Government. I went to the Mallmart in the afternoon of Saturday, August 31, 2019 and made a purchase of some items that cost N7,420= (Seven thousand, four hundred and twenty naira only). At the point of payment, I gave my GTB card.

After two attempts to deduct the amount, the cashier told me that the Point of Sale (POS) transaction failed, allegedly because of internet network failure. She, therefore, gave me a ‘decline receipt.’ On this basis, I accepted to find an alternative payment. Acolleague of mine, with who I went to the Mallmart, Mr. Mumuni Adeoti, offered his GTB card to pay the sum of N7,420= on my behalf, with the use of a First Bank POS on the spot. I transferred the same amount to his own account with my mobile banking platform.

Most unfortunately, however, on that same day, by evening time, I received an alert from my bank, Polaris Bank, indicating that the sum of N7,420= had been deducted from my account. I wondered why this should be so, as it amounted to double payment. I went to the Mallmart the following Monday to lodge a complaint. I went there in company of Mr. Adeoti with evidence of double payments. I requested for refund or to replace the amount with new items worth the amount. The Mallmart rejected the proposition, explaining that

VIE INTERNATIONALE with

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Buhari the amount in dispute was not yet credited to its own account and therefore, there would not have been any good basis for refunding or allowing me to take new items in lieu of the amount. The Mallmart pleaded with me to refer the matter to the GTB, since it was the GTB POS that was used and that it was owned by the GTB. I took my dilemma the following day to the GTB in Alagomeji bus stop, where it was admitted that it was true that the amount had not been credited to the account of Mallmart, and that the money was still hanging at the level of the NIBSS Instant Payment Solution, that is, online real time inter-bank payment solution. The NIBSS is Nigerian Instant Banking Settlement System. The explanation also given was that the bank was simply complying with the directives of the Central Bank of Nigeria on issues similar to mine.

In this regard, which directive of the Central Bank of Nigeria will have it that money be deducted from my account and not be transferred to the desired ultimate destination? I was told that the amount would be re-credited into my account within the following eight days. I complained against the long period and asked if there would be interest on the amount in the period of delay. There was to be no interest. It is already more than eight days now. For already two weeks now, my money, deducted from my account, has neither been returned to me nor to Mallmart. Where is the location of the money?

I am told that it is with the NIBSS-NIPS. Why should my money be there for two weeks when it was not stolen or embezzled? I have not invested the money in the NIBSS-NIPS. What really is the money being used for? Or why is it still being kept as at this time of writing?

Why was my money quickly deducted within minutes but it is taking weeks to pay either the Mallmart or refund my money? This is corruption per excellence, stealing by scientific arguments, and killing Nigeria softly.

There is another dimension to this fraudulent system of fund transfer. When payments are to be made, the Mallmart has different

There is the report by the Point Blank News according to which‘Professor Charles Quaker Dokubo, Coordinator of the Niger Delta Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), with the assistance of his Senior Management Staff, allegedly laundered over $14 million (N5 billion) in twoTurkish banks.’The laundering of over $14 million is not really the big story but the fact of involvement of many of PMB’s associates.As the report has it,‘the few registered companies on the long list that got huge contract sums are linked to some powerful individuals in the villa. Most of the contracts they got were either never done or abandoned but were paid for in full.’And most disturbingly, the report says EFCC officials are‘currently piqued by the sudden discontinuation of the probe that led to the discovery of the huge cash in two banks inTurkey.’This is the crescendo of the challenge in the continuum of corruption and why the future of the anti-corruption struggle is, indeed, very bleak

POS belonging to different banks. I took time to monitor the choice of which POS to be used by the cashier. I noted that cashiers hardly want to use the POS of the card presented. I challenged one cashier at the Mallmart why she should use a different POS for me when the POS from my bank was available. I complained simply because I am always charged N50 for banking service in addition to N2.50 tax (N52.50k), whereas there is no charge if the POS of my bank is used. There was no explanation, good or bad, offered by Mallmart.

This suggests that the cashier simply wants to promote a bank of his or her choice, especially if such a bank of choice has, in the Nigerian parlance, has made a ‘settlement plan.’ The import of the foregoing is to note that financial transactions, on the basis of the alleged directives of the Central Bank of Nigeria, are, at best, very fraudulent. It is an inefficiency-driven fraud, which is neither new nor a big deal. Political governance in Nigeria has been largely characterised by inefficiency, indiscipline and corruption from one government to another. No matter how anyone wants to make noise, use loudspeakers to tell any Government of Nigeria about corruption and other societal ills, such noises can only fall on deaf ears.

Perhaps for the umpteenth time, how do we explain the fact that the Federal Government of Nigeria collected deposits from the people of Nigeria for the building and allocation of houses in 1994, when Alhaji Lateef Jakande was Minister of Works and Housing, and as at 2019, or 25 years thereafter, no building has been constructed for purposes of allocation? This is an expression of governmental defrauding of innocent Nigerians. Why should Government sanction any citizen for corruption offences when the same Government is the main source, the main terrain, and the terra cognita of sharp practices that are ingredients of corruption? True, corruption is increasingly becoming scientific in style of engagement.

What about the sale of government houses to public and civil servants under the administration of former President Olusegun Okikiola Obasanjo? President Obasanjo tried to bring efficiency and effectiveness into Government’s official accommodation policies by selling non-critical houses and flat to the general public, but with priority given to the incumbent officials. Thus, flats, houses were purchased and fully paid for but the relevant Certificates of Occupancy have not been given to many buyers who have refused to lobby for their entitlements. The style of public administration in Nigeria has never been to inform applicants of developments about their purchases. The style is to keep quiet about it and expect applicants to come forward to lobby in order to allow room for extortions. What is this if it not again an expression of systemic corruption?

Why is it that it is always in Nigeria that there are complaints of poor internet connections when faced with complaints of poor services? Why is it that it is in Nigeria that telephone connectivity is always a problem? Every social service in other African countries, especially the territorially smaller states, is efficient. If the challenge is the territorial size of Nigeria, what about Lagos State, the self-declared ‘State of Excellence’? It is territorially small, yet it is not free from administrative inefficiency that is the characteristic of public governance in Nigeria.

In fact, how do we explain the fact that the allocations of land under the Isheri North Development Project, begun under Military Governor Buba Marwa in the mid-1990s have not gone with the allocation of the Certificates of Occupancy? Arguments of the land space being water-locked have been advanced for the delay. But why should applicants have to go to Government to have information on the matter? Why is it difficult for public officials to notify all applicants by individual letters or by public notice? For over two decades, applicants, again including me, are yet to be given land.

It is important to also note the corrupt and fraudulent aspect of the allocations. When the allocation was made under Brigadier-General Buba Marwa, the size of the plot was 800 square metres. I paid over N500,000 (five hundred thousand naira) for the 800 square metre- plot. When Asiwaju Bola Tinubu succeeded Buba Marwa as Governor of Lagos State, he not only increased the cost of purchase for buyers who had not made full payments for their land, but reduced the size of the plot from 800 to 700 square metres without reduction in the costs of purchase.

And perhaps more disturbingly, it should be said that Lagos State, the very State of Excellence, is visibly the State of reckless indiscipline.

It is a state of road and traffic lawlessness, a State of double standard.

Governor Sanwoolu’s new traffic rules are commendable in theory but meaningless in application. LASTMAofficials are more interested in extortions, rather than arresting commercial buses and motor cyclists or tri-cyclists which openly defy the traffic rules in the presence of law enforcement agents.

Put differently, why is it that motorcycle riders do not obey traffic lights in Lagos State? Are they not part of the road users or are they exempted by law? Why are the commercial vehicles disregarding with impunity traffic light and the traffic wardens? Without any shadow of doubt, dishing out regulations designed not to be implemented or which are flagrantly flouted but condoned by Government, is nothing more than an expression of corruption per excellence. It is self-deceit and self-mockery. It does not give any respect to Government. This is why Nigeria is permanently in a junction of confusion and problems. Most unfortunate!!

Why is it that, more often than not, it has not always been possible for Government to have people who would promote efficiency and effectiveness in public governance? Why is it that public officials are always the people involved in embezzling public funds?

(See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

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Budget 2020: Hard Times Beckon as Oil Prices Drop There are indications that Nigeria’s economic situation will bite harder on the people in 2020 fiscal year as the federal government adjusts to the realities of dwindling oil prices. Oil revenue is projected to decline by about N1.32trillion impacting negatively on capital expenditure which is expected to drop by N1.14trillion, thereby slowing down economic growth. Bamidele Famoofo reports

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iscal 2020 is not likely to be a year of economic boom for Nigeria if the current economic indicators and projections for 2020 are anything to go by.

MinisterofFinance,Budgetand National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed,whilepaintingapicture of what Nigerians should expect in 2020 recently in Abuja, said government should not envisage generating enough revenue from oil to fund its proposed N9.78trillion.

The reason for the pessimism is not farfetched: oil, which is the biggest revenue earner for the country is not enjoying a favourable pricing at the moment at the international market. According to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), there is no hope that there will be a positive change in oil prices in the coming year.

So, Ahmed said the most realistic thing to do was for government to backpedal on the $60 per barrel price on which it benchmarked its 2020 budget.

Ahmed, who made the disclosure Tuesday last week in Abuja, at the presentation of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) where N9.78 trillion was proposed for 2020 total budget, said, “Oil revenue is projected to decline from N3.688 trillion in 2019 to N2.367 trillion in 2020.� And because earning from oil will drop below the level in 2019 borrowing will escalate. “New borrowing is put at N1.605 trillion for 2019, projected at N1.7 trillion for 2020, N1.6 trillion for 2021 and N1.3 trillion for 2022. The borrowings will be 50 per cent local and 50 per cent foreign,� she said.

The direct impact of shortfall in oil revenue on the economy and the populace is a downsize in capital expenditure. Investment in capital projects is probably the only means in Nigeria, whereby the citizenry get the benefit of governance. But now, the government, according to Ahmed, will cut spending on capital projects in 2020 to the tune of about N1.14trillion.

According to the finance minister, the aggregate capital expenditure in 2019 was N3.187 trillion, but in 2020, it has been lowered to N2.05 trillion and the next year, the pattern would be the same thing. “Recurrent expenditure for 2019 had scored 100 per cent since the implementation began, while close to N300billion had been released for capital expenditure so far.� “Key Assumptions of the 2020 Budget Framework: Oil Production 2.18 mbpd; Oil Price $55/b; Exchange Rate N305/$; Inflation Rate 10.81 percent; Nominal Consumption N122.75 trillion; N142.96 trillion Nominal GDP; and GDP Growth Rate of 2.93 percent�.

In the meantime, the federal government has also warned Nigerians to brace up as the 2020 to 2022 fiscal years would be challenging with respect to revenue generation and rapid growth in personnel costs. The government, however, gave the assurance was ready to take firm decisions. Regarding rising personnel cost, Ahmed disclosed that “any government staff not captured in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS)

by October 2019 should forget their salaries.�

The government’s borrowing plan suggests Nigeria’s debt challenge persists, and this may take the country’s debt profile to a new height in the coming year, while capital projects may face some setbacks.

Going forward, Ahmed disclosed the Federal ExecutiveCouncil(FEC)hasapprovedthe2020-2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategic Paper, which would soon be presented

Barrels of crude oil

to the National Assembly for approval.

Alternative Funding Since non-oil revenue is tipped to grow marginally in 2020 and there is also constraint to the level of borrowing the nation could embark on going forward, given its near limit debt threshold, tax becomes the feasible option to generate revenue.

The Federal Executive Council on Wednesday last week, in a frantic effort to increase funding revenue, approved 7.2 per cent as new value added tax (VAT) rate for the country, up from the current five per cent. However, a decision has yet to be taken on the effective date of the new rate.

Ahmed, who spoke with State House Correspondents after the FEC meeting in Abuja, said consultations were in process over when the new rate would apply.

She explained that stakeholders, including the National Assembly and the states, would have to agree on the date. According to her, the VAT Act would also have to be amended by the National Assembly before the commencement of the new rate, which she said could be sometime in 2020. “We also reported to council and council has agreed that we start the process towards the increase of the VAT rate,� she noted.

The only justification given to increase VAT was that: “The states need additional revenue to be able to meet the obligations of the minimum wage.� According to the finance minister, the federal government only retains 15 per cent of the VAT while 85 per cent goes to the states and local governments.

She added, “This process involves extensive consultations that need to be made across the country at various levels and also it will involve the review of the VATAct. So, it is not going to be implemented immediately until the Act is reviewed.�

Total expected revenue for 2020 was N7.5trillion, “and N2.09trillion that will be accruing to the Federation Account and the VAT respectively.�

Ahmed said, “The federal government will be receiving proposed aggregate of N4.26trillion from

the federal account and the VAT pool, while the states and the local governments are expected to receive N3.04trillion and N2.27trillion respectively. “The 2020 budget has a debt service estimated at N2.45trillion and a sinking fund to retire maturing obligations issued to local contractors and other creditors in the sum of N296billion. “So, there is a total sum of N3.43trillion that is provided for personnel and pension cost inclusive of N218billion for the top 19 government-owned enterprises in the country.�

OPEC TheOrganisationofPetroleumExportingCountries has said Nigeria and other oil-producing countries must support market stability to avoid unwanted volatility and a potential relapse into market imbalance.

OPEC, in a feature article published in its Monthly Oil Market Report for September, reviewed global economic developments and highlighted major challenges to growth including the ongoing trade dispute between the United States and China.

It said an important support factor so far this year had been the relatively stable oil market, which continued to benefit from the on-going efforts under the OPEC-Non-OPEC Declaration of Cooperation.

OPEC said it pumped 29.74 million barrels per day in August, up 136,000 bpd on July, according to an average of the six secondary sources used by the organisation to track member output.

Crude oil output increased mostly in SaudiArabia, Nigeria, Iraq and the UAE, while it declined mainly in Venezuela, Iran, Libya, Kuwait and Algeria.

Nigeria’s oil production rose to 1.91 million barrels per day in August from 1.83 million bpd, based on direct communication.

OPEC, Russia and nine other allies in July agreed to extend their collective 1.2 million bpd supply cut agreement through the first quarter of 2020.

The group, on Wednesday, lowered its estimate for the demand for its oil this year, but left its 2020 outlook little changed ahead of a key OPEC/nonOPEC ministerial meeting set to review its current

output curbs and country level quotas.

Global demand for OPEC’s crude will average 30.61 million bpd, 80,000 bpd below its previous forecast, the producer group’s analysis arm said in its latest monthly oil market report.

OPEC said it saw world oil demand in 2019 growing by 1.02 million bpd, which is also 80,000 bpd lower than last month’s forecast.

The group pointed to an economic slowdown in the US and the Eurozone, lower-than-expected growth in India, rising sovereign debt issues in Argentina, and the continuation of the US-China trade dispute.

Looking ahead, OPEC left its estimate for the average demand for its crude in 2020 little changed at 29.40 million bpd despite a downward revision to expected US shale growth. However, OPEC cut its estimate of demand for its oil sharply by 390,000 bpd in the second quarter of next year to 29 million bpd.

According to OPEC, world oil demand is projected to increase by 1.08 million bpd in 2020, a downward adjustment of 60,000 bpd from its previous assessment.

Anine-country Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and Russia and scheduled to meet last Thursday was tasked with monitoring market conditions, assessing compliance with production quotas, and making policy recommendations to the wider coalition.

OPEC revised its non-OPEC oil supply growth forecast for 2020 by 136,000 bpd 2.25 million bpd to reflect to a large downward revision to the US oil supply, which is now expected to grow by 1.54 million bpd. “The forecast for next year remains subject to many uncertainties, mainly relevant to capitalspending discipline and a slowdown in drilling and completion activity in the US,� OPEC said.

OPEC also trimmed its non-OPEC supply estimate for 2019 by 10,000 bpd to 1.99 million bpd with upward revisions to production from Russia, Kazakhstan, Australia and Canada offsetting the downward revision to its forecast for US.

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Burden of VAT Increase on Nigerians The federal government is keen on making more money and has decided the people have to pay for it by way of an increase in value added tax. The proposed VAT increase is coming against the background of political and economic uncertainly occasioned by long-standing corruption, poor economic management and exacerbating budgetary financing. Nosa James-Igbinadolor reports

T

here is obviously a gargantuan hole in the country’s ‘purse’. The World Bank recently noted that fiscal deficits in Nigeria will likely widen further due to increased pre-election spending and sustained revenue shortfalls. Because the economy remains dependent on the ‘minute’ oil sector, which is less than 10 per cent of the GDP for the bulk of its fiscal revenues and foreign exchange earnings, this makes the country’s balance of payments and government budgets vulnerable to volatilities in oil prices.

For a government that has increasingly financed its fiscal deficit from borrowings, there is no doubt that it needs more innovative approaches to scaling up its revenue capacities to meet its growing funding commitments.

It was against this background that on September 11, the Federal Executive Council agreed to a 44 per cent hike in Value Added Tax, VAT from 5 per cent to 7.2 per cent. The decision of the federal government to undertake this increment was not unexpected as there had been murmurings in government circles on the need for an increase as a veritable way of meeting the expansive fiscal expenditure needs of the federal government that have ballooned over the last five years.

Commitments including payment of the new minimum wage, which the immediate past Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, and the Executive Chairman of the FIRS, Babatunde Fowler, hinted during an interactive session with the National Assembly earlier in the year when they noted that VAT rate was likely to go up to enable government fund the new minimum wage of N30,000 per month approved by the National Assembly.

Fowler had held that the proposed payable VAT increment will be between 6.75 per cent and 7.25 per cent as against the five per cent on all products in the country. This implied an increase of between 35 per cent and 50 per cent. He added that the increment would affect the Company Income Tax and the Petroleum Profit Tax only.

In July, the Chairman, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMFAC), Engr. Elias Mbam, added his voice to the demand for an increment in VAT from 5 per cent to about 7.5 per cent to shore up Nigeria’s revenue base which is heavily reliant on oil earnings with direct taxation, VAT and excise duties currently making up a small part.

Successive Nigerian governments have always insisted that the VAT rate is one of the lowest in the continent. CSL Stockbrokers agree that there is the need for government to bridge its revenue gap. They however fault the thinking that an increase in VAT would not lead to further economic scarring.

In their view, “it may further worsen the living conditions of consumers whose real income have been stifled over recent years.

Looking at the performance of consumer goods companies over the past 18 months, one striking feature is the consistent decline in reported revenue, suggesting that consumer demand remains weak.�

The proposed VAT increase is coming against the background of political and economic uncertainly occasioned by long-standing corruption, poor economic management and exacerbating budgetary financing.

Oyedele

Choji Pwol, an Abuja based economist, believes that while an increase in VAT in an ordinary case would have been beneficial to Nigeria in the medium to long term.

The current reason being proffered for this VAT increase is wrong and will lead to increased corruption and mismanagement, particularly at the state level since most of the money is not earmarked for capital projects or education. He posited that, “while the proposed increase will likely buoy and bolster the purchasing power of Nigerians by increasing the minimum wage, which on paper this government claims is the major reason for this increase to enable states pay for the increment, at best, the utilisation of funds at the state level is heavily mismanaged and the states stand to gain the most from this increase, because they already collect 50 percent of all VAT collection proceeds.�

Because VAT is basically imposed on consumption, it is pertinent to understand that the diminished scale of consumption in the Nigerian economy may affect the collection performance of VAT. From a simple economic point of view, any increase in VAT would disproportionately affect poor people. But even beyond that argument, the biggest challenge is that any increase in indirect taxes affects the price of goods and services. This in turn would affect the country’s inflation rate. With an inflation rate of over 11 per cent, the outcome of the proposed VAT increase is very critical given that the Central Bank of Nigeria is keen to contain inflationary pressures in the economy and bring inflation back to a single digit within a target range of 6-9

Mbam

percent. It is thus expected that the rise in VAT would likely lead to a rise in inflation Taiwo Oyedele of PwC Nigeria agrees that “contemplating an increase in VAT rate now is bad timing and inconsistent with current economic reality‌VAT increase will lead to higher inflation, interest rate hike, more unemployment and generally make people poorer. Any increase in VAT rate without a registration threshold and zero rating of basic consumption will increase burden on the poor and SMEs contrary to the 2017 National Tax Policy. Trying to expand the VAT net while also increasing VAT rate at the same time is a faulty tax strategy. Nigeria can make twice as much from VAT at current rate by reforming the law, expanding the net and ensuring robust administration rather than by increasing rate.â€?

Oyedele added that “in any case, the likely increase in revenue will not be sufficient to pay the new minimum wage.�

Pwol was of the same view when he told THISDAY that the mismanagement of federal government’s intervention and the looting of the Paris club interventions by governors across the country was so blatant “they many could not even pay salaries after collecting huge sums of money, owing salaries of workers for up to two years in extreme cases�. According to him, “if the projected N3 trillion VAT collections are realised in this year’s budget, it means the state governments will gain an additional N1 trillion in revenue this year alone without an increase in the VAT rate, which is expected to kick in in the first quarter of 2020�.

In its review of the proposed VAT hike, CSL Stockbrokers concluded that the plan by the federal government to finance the increment in the wage burden through tax increment would force companies to raise prices significantly, ultimately placing the incidence of the tax increment on the consumers. According to them, “in effect, we see this as a fiscal policy designed to ‘rob Peter to pay Paul’. We also expect the increase in minimum wage to be eroded by price increases of key household items, offsetting the expected improvement in purchasing power. The proposed tax policies will also pose a downside for foreign investments in the Nigerian industrial climate as well as growth of SMEs. We believe companies who are unable to raise prices might lay off workers in a bid to manage costs, further impacting on the level of unemployment.�

The reality is that any increase in VAT will be counter-intuitive to the goals of reducing poverty and inequality given the existing high economic disparity in the county where there is already a high cost associated with the poor accessing economic opportunities.

But then again, VAT will inevitably affect everybody that spends money, both rich and poor.

It is understandable that government needs money and should find ways of getting the monies, but more critically, the federal government needs to clamp down hard on the expenditure side of things. Most critical of these is corruption and the cost of corruption, which has become an economic leviathan that crowds out efficient expenditure that benefits the country and its citizens.

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Land Borders Closure: At What Cost ?

The partial land borders closure as a result of joint security exercise conducted by the customs, immigration, and other security outfits aimed at securing Nigeria’s borders may have yielded results, but the federal government has in the process subjected its citizens to more economic hardship as prices of foodstuffs and other commodities are soaring higher and the government itself losing billions in revenue, writes Eromosele Abiodun

A

little over three weeks ago, The Nigerian Customs Services (NCS) announced that it will be conducting joint border security exercise across 25 states along with the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and other security agencies as part of measures to secure Nigeria’s land and maritime borders.

In a statement, the Public Relations Officer, Joseph Attah said the joint border security exercise, codenamed “EX-SWIFT RESPONSE,� has support from the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN), the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), other security and intelligence agencies.

The NCS said the joint exercise is being coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and will take place in four geopolitical zones which are: South-South, South-West, North-Central and North-West, having a total of 25 states. “It is expected that the exercise will promote inter-agency cooperation and increase preparedness to address trans-border security challenges such as terrorism, armed banditry, smuggling, proliferation of small arms and light weapons, among others,�

NCS said.

Unknown to many, the customs actually planned to close the borders under the pretence of security exercise. Following reports of suffering being encountered by travellers and Nigerians living in the border communities, the customs rushed to the press to debunk reports in the media that the land borders were closed. But as the NCS was making effort to deny media reports of the closure, President Muhammadu Buhari in far away Japan announced to the world that Nigeria closed its land borders to check rice smuggling.

Since the confirmation by the president, many people have reacted differently with many hailing the move as a necessary step to check criminality along the border. However, it has been established that though the move by the government was good, it is also losing huge revenue and its citizens facing untold hardship as a result.

For instance, THISDAY investigation revealed revealed that Nigeria stand to lose as much as N1.593 billion in the event that the exercise last for 26 days.

Already, the country has so far lost about N464.4 million since the exercise began three weeks ago in the Seme and Idi-Iroko borders alone. This is excluding revenues from, Oyo-Osun, Kwara, Kebi and other land borders.

Aside the revenue loss, Nigerians are also suffering as prices of foodstuffs and other commodities have increased in many border towns and most of the country’s cities as the borders remain partially closed.

THISDAY checks revealed that many Nigerians who do trans-border business have been experiencing difficulties in carrying out their trade. This has forced them to cut their demand even as they increased the prices of their little stocks, our reporters learnt.

Worst hit are residents of border communities where prices of foodstuffs and other commodities have soared. In some border communities in Ogun State, petrol was even sold for N350 per litre, instead of government regulated price of N145/litre.

Also in border communities in Kwara state, petrol price that used to be N160 is now being sold for between N200 and N400. The increment in petrol price in the areas has also led to hike in transportation fare, which has also affected the prices of locally produced food items like yam, yam flour and others in most towns in Kwara State.

Analysts Reacting to the development recently, financial expert and Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, hailed the closure stressing that it had forced the price of petrol down to N144 per litre.

In a report presented at the monthly Lagos Business School’s executive breakfast meeting for September, he pointed out the closure had blocked smuggling of petrol to the neighbouring countries.

Seme border

He said the development showed that part of the nearly 60 million litres of petrol said to be consumed daily in Nigeria were smuggled to the neighbouring countries.

Rewane also revealed that diesel price had also crashed to N210 per litre from N250/litre.

The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Malam Mele Kyari, shares Rewane’s view.

The NNPC boss on his verified twitter handle @MKKyari, said the volume of petrol evacuated from depots to filling stations across the country had dropped significantly since the border closure became effective.

Between June 2018 and June 2019, the NNPC had imported 21million litres of petrol for consumption, out of which an average of 44,366,781.77 litres were consumed daily in June 2018; 39,154,764.15 litres in July; 54,144,365.76 litres daily in August of the same year, and 55,499,192.80 litres daily in September 2018.

However, THISDAY findings in states where Nigeria shares a border with neighbouring countries show that prices of rice, poultry products, some brands of vegetable oil, beans and even fairly used clothes have increased by between 10 and 30 per cent. For instance, a bag of 50 kg foreign rice which usually sold for N13,000 and N15,000 before the closure now goes for N16,000, N18,000 and N20,000 depending on the brands in many towns and cities in the country.

Rising Food Prices A sample of trading activity in major market revealed that prices of some basic food items have skyrocketed, with traders and consumers complaining of limited stocks. Frozen poultry is the most affected in Lagos as a kilogramme of frozen chicken, which sold for N1,200, now costs N1,600 while a kilogramme of frozen turkey now sells at N1,700. A trader at Alaba Rago, a major market in Lagos, Tawa Ibrahim, said the border closure was affecting his business.

She said: “Lake Rice (locally produced rice) would have been a better alternative for us, but we are not getting it to buy‌ Even the volume of okra needed to feed this nation cannot be produced in Nigeria. We rely so much on Cotonou for okra.

That is why its price has also shot up since the border was closed. A big basket of okra, which sold for N4,000 or N5,000, is now N8,000.�

Also, in Kebbi, the closure of borders with Niger

and Benin Republics is already causing economic hardship to people around the border areas of Dole Kaina, Lolo, Kamba, and Bachaka.

Customs Agents and Stakeholders Meanwhile, clearing agents operating at the Seme and Idiroko border station have rued revenue loss as transit cargoes remained trapped.

A source at Seme border told THISDAY that movement was restricted adding that only people with valid National identity card are allowed in or out of the country. “The present situation is that Nigerians are not allowed in without passport, National I. D. You can’t go out of the border without Nigerian passport and your mission must be very genuine. Right now, the border is partially locked down and the new perspective is that the security exercise may take up 28 days, � he said.

In his reaction, the National President of the National Council of Managing Director Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Mr. Lucky Amiwero, said government don’t close borders that way because Nigeria is not at war. “I don’t think it is right to say the borders are closed, it is a normal security situation. “We signed an ECOWAS protocol for free movement of people. Has Nigeria complied with the procedures of ECOWAS protocol? You don’t just close border like that because the borders are actually entry point. It is just like you are closing your airport or closing your seaports. Nigeria has three entry points, which are airport, seaport and border stations and all these are legal stations in line with the provisions of the law and we have ECOWAS protocol and the protocol is talking about free movement of persons and goods and you have signed this protocol. If you want to do any closure, it must be a country-to-country negotiations and the issue should be done according to information, which is contained in World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements, � he said.

On his part, the Chairman, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Seme border chapter, Mr. Lasis Fanu, said the border was still closed adding that all the borders across the federation are affected on order from the Presidency. “Since the border is closed, there is nothing agents are going there to do. Agents are to do documentations at the border for the goods coming in. Since goods are not coming in, there is nothing

they are going there to do. We pray that the issue is not up to 28 days we heard earlier because we have perishable items at the border and everything will be perished.�

NCS Count Gains However, the NCS believe the resolve of Nigerian security agencies to better secure the country’s territorial integrity particularly; the land and maritime borders against trans-border crime and criminality is a welcome development.

National Public Relations Officer of the NCS, Joseph Attah, said the NCS had arrested not less than 100 illegal migrants and 177 suspects engaging in smuggling activities since the nation’s land borders were closed three weeks.

Attah, in a statement, said the arrests were made after intensive joint border patrol by the security agencies coordinated the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

The security agencies, he said, has continued to receive reports of large numbers of seizures and arrests from the four sectors of North-west, North-central, South-west, and South-south geopolitical zones.

Specifically, he said, “As at September 10, 2019, 100 illegal migrants have been arrested while seizures so far include: 8,360-50kg bags of parboiled foreign rice; 122 bags of fertilizer; 77 vehicles; 781 drums filled with PMS as well as 16, 371 empty 200 litres drums to be used for smuggling PMS; 1,491 packs of assorted drugs; 3 outboard 40HP Engines; 13 Cotonou boats; 185 drums of groundnut oil; 6 trucks; 114 motorcycles; among other items with 117 suspects.�

He sated further that, “as part of the efforts to sustain the rigorous patrol along the national borderlines, the Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd), Comptroller General of Immigration, Mohammed Babandede, and the Coordinator of the exercise, Brig Gen Emmanuel Aliyu Ndagi, have commenced an on-the-spot assessment of the implementation and compliance of the ongoing border security drills. “The exercise, which is being led by the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), in collaboration with the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) as well as the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and other security and intelligence agencies is intended to better secure our borders, boost national economy and strengthen border security.�

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EmeďŹ ele

Sanitising the Contractual System to Boost Capital Inflows to Economy Following the recent award of $9.9 billion judgement debt against Nigeria by a British court, in a case of alleged breach of contract, the federal government must rise to the occasion to reassure the international community as well as local investors of the present administration’s commitment to honour contractual obligations, writes James Emejo

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n August 16, the news broke that a London court had ordered the federal government to pay $9 billion in assets or foreign reserves to an Irish private gas firm, Process and Industrial Development Limited (P&ID) following an alleged breach of contract agreement which Nigeria signed with the company.

According to reports, P&ID had reached a deal with the federal government dating back to 2010 to build a natural gas plant. But the deal reportedly went awry two years later as the firm sued the government for failing to provide the gas or install the pipelines it had promised to build as earlier agreed.

The firm was reportedly first awarded $6.6. billion (ÂŁ5.4 billion) in 2017 before the court then added $2.4 billion in interest.

The company claimed the deal would have allowed it “build a state-of-the-art gas processing plant to refine natural gas‌(that) Nigeria would receive free of charge to power its national electric grid,â€? according to a BBC report.

No doubt, the monetary sanction against Nigeria had unrattled the federal government which had found the development unacceptable and embarrassing to the country.

Expectedly, the ruling by the London court had attracted condemnation from Nigerians including the present administration and nongovernmental organisations who described it as an attempt by the international community to rip the country off its offshore assets.

The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, which was not privy to the contract agreement- as it predated the present dispensation- had further rejected the judgement, and described the contract as illegal as it failed to follow due process before it was signed.

Though in the spirit of patriotism, several analysts have called on the federal government to appeal the judgement of the British court, but others have criticised the manner with which

public contract agreements had been handled with levity over the years.

One of the recurrent anomalies in government had been the issue of policy somersault by successive administrations, often leading to projects abandonment across the country.

There have been similar claims that almost all the international agreements the country had signed were never domesticated.

Experts said if implemented, the judgement debt had the potential to drain the country’s foreign reserves. But others said the judgement award may not hurt the country significantly given the current levels of its external reserves.

But most importantly, concerns have also been expressed over the impact of the judgement on investor confidence in the economy which is easily swayed by market sentiment.

There had been expectations that the federal government would rise to the occasion and safeguard the image of the country as a result of the fallout with P&ID. They argued that identifying and prosecuting those who had benefited from the failed transactions will be a first step towards managing the country’s image.

And in a salutary development, to douse the tension over the judgement debt, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, had tried to assuage concerns when he disclosed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had begun to probe the gas pipeline contract agreement.

He had hinted the EFCC probe, notwithstanding, the federal government was determined to appeal the judgment by the London court.

Emefiele also tried to assuage the concerns of local and foreign investors whom he said had expressed concerns over the judgment, urging them not to be worried and promising that both the country and its foreign reserves will be adequately defended.

He said: “I am not scared at all and I think it is also important that this question has come up. Since the news about the judgment broke out, we have been discussing with our counsel

and they have advised that there are sufficient and strong grounds on the basis of which we could file a stay of execution and also an appeal against that judgment. “There are certain anomalies in the process leading to the award of that contract, which is currently being looked into by the EFCC and I believe that the EFCC themselves have their own investigation reports about that. “So, we will follow through and aggressively too on ensuring that the execution of that judgment is stayed and that the appeal succeeds at every level both within Nigeria and abroad. “It is important for me to use this opportunity to assure our friends, local and foreign investors, who called to express solidarity with us, not to express concern but to say that there is no need for anybody to worry. We know that the implication of that judgment has some impact on monetary policy and that is why the CBN is going to step forward and very strongly too to ensure that we defend the country and defend the reserves of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.�

However, economist and Managing Director, Bristol Investment Limited, Dr. Chijioke Ekechukwu, in an interview with THISDAY, said that unless the judgement was appealed, “it will negatively affect our reserves, which may affect the exchange rate of the Naira to the dollar. Our rating may be affected negatively and when it does, the ability of our local banks to access foreign loan facilities will be limited and investors confidence will be affected thereof.�

According to him, firstly, Nigerians need to know who led us into such a failed contract.

Which ministry and minister or parastatal led us into this situation? Necessary disciplinary measures should be taken again them. 20 per cent of our budget should not be spent paying for a mistake of an individual or persons. “We need to appeal the case because it is better to try to salvage it than not to try at all. There is likelihood of many of such cases in many countries and if not, with the outcome of this one, many others are expected to emerge.�

Emefiele’s assurance was cemented by a subse-

quent pronouncement by the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami, who categorically stated that the federal government would indeed prosecute all government officials involved in the failed P&ID gas to power project that has plunged the country into the huge judgment debt, adjudged as the highest in history of arbitration.

He said the federal government had taken steps to protect Nigeria from losing money as a result of legal battles arising from breakdown in contractual obligations.

Although, while these interventions appeared to hold water and give some sort of assurances, many believe it is unlikely the country will be able to reverse the judgement, blaming government for not doing enough to salvage the situation early enough in the course of legal proceedings leading to the award.

Acredible source confided in THISDAYhowever, that whole paying the judgement debt may not necessarily affect the country in a significant way, rebuilding investor confidence remained critical.

He said: “It is a negative thing because automatically, if the assets of Nigeria can be taken off like that, in reality it will not affect anything as far as the economy is concerned because the CBN has enough reserves to be able to accommodate our day-to-day activities, but if the assets go down to that extent, it may lead to systemic crisis. “Some investors might begin to think twice about first coming in and second, now that they confirmed that Nigeria does not honour its obligations. But the only way it will be mitigated is if the government comes out seriously with image laundering, bringing out the whole issue that happened, and possibly arresting the culprits. “In the eyes of the world, it can be clearly seen that something bad has happened, but a government has come in and it is doing a sort of house-keeping exercise. “That can give confidence because Nigeria is a big country and it is very difficult for foreign investors to ignore - 200 million people - what these people can consume is a lot. But at the same time, nobody wants to bring his money and have everything burnt up.�

If anything, the economy cannot afford any crisis which tends to scare foreign investors, some of whom had been critical over the business environment in recent times- and particularly at a period when fluctuations in oil prices had already created room for concern.

Furthermore, efforts should be made to pass a bill seeking to ensure that there is policy consistency in the country so successive governments don’t jettison contractual agreements going forward.

Nevertheless, the federal government’s recent meeting on September 3, with officials of the Irish company towards a possible deal following the judgement, offers a huge reprieve to investors, as well as provide an opportunity to redeem its image as a country in the habit of dishonouring contractual agreements.

The fact that the meeting had Vice President Yemi Osinbajo chair the discussion with a seven-man team from P&ID further showed the seriousness the current administration has attached to the issue.

Also, present at the high-powered meeting were the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Silva as well as the Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Festus Keyamo, Group Managing Director of NNPC, Melee Kyari.

Also at the meeting were the acting EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele.

No doubt, the world continues to closely monitor the resolution of the controversy which will have far-reaching impact on the country’s efforts to attract foreign capital to meet its development aspirations.

The amicable resolution of the crisis at hand becomes even inevitable when aligned with the fact that Nigeria’s total capital inflows declined to $5.82 billion in the second quarter of the year (Q2 2019) compared to $8.48 billion the preceding quarter, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Capital importation was recorded at $5.51 billion in Q2 2018 representing a year-on-year growth of 5.56 per cent, but a quarter-on-quarter contraction of -31.41 per cent.

Notably, capital inflows was dominated by portfolio investments, which accounted for 73.76 per cent of total receipts. Banking accounted for 32.5 per cent of inflows, financing 28.3 per cent and shares 19.24 per cent dominated sectoral inflows.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍšÍ˝Ëœ ͺ͸͚Î

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

Xenophobic Attacks and Economic Implications of Revenge Animosity between Africa’s two superpowers - Nigeria and South Africa- has sharpened in recent days over the persistent xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa, with strident demands by a vocal section of Nigerians, including the media, for harsh government response against South African interests in the country. That Nigerians are upset has culminated in widespread calls for extreme retaliatory measures to be taken against real or imagined South African interests in the country. Such calls target groups like the telecommunications giant MTN as well as Multichoice and Shoprite. The truth is that these calls are informed as much by inflamed passions as by ignorance. Nosa James-Igbinadolor reports

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igerians have seen all these before. The graphicvideosofSouth Africans attacking foreign businesses are at present trending rivetingly across the public space in Nigeria. Social media is awash with visuals of foreigners in South Africa been subjected to the crudest form of violence akin to what happened in Jos, Makurdi, Kaduna, Zamfara and other parts of Nigeria when we turned on ourselves.

South Africa has since the end of apartheid in 1994 become a major destination for economic migrants from neighbouring countries such as Lesotho, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. But others come from even farther than the neighbouring countries- from South Asia and Nigeria. The influx has led to intermittent epidemics of violence against foreign businesses, sparked by the perception that jobs are being taken away from black South Africans.

Nigeria and South Africa have in recent days witnessed rising tension over the persistent xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa with strident demands by a vocal section of Nigerians including the traditional and social media for harsh government response against SouthAfrican interests in the country. These demands range from the boycott and nationalisation of South African owned companies to recall of Nigerian diplomats and even the breaking off of diplomatic relations.

Trade boycotts, embargos and sanctions are all policy tools that have become increasingly ubiquitous in global international economic relations.

With globalisation and the easy movement of people and capital across borders, many countries have used these tools to drive and support their international relations policies.

No doubt, these demands have been driven by heightened emotions rather than objective rational reasoning and understanding and it is what has triggered oasis of retaliatory violence and massive looting of South African-owned brands in Nigeria over the past couple of days.

There is a lot of indignation and anger in Nigeria and from Nigerians as well as a taste for righteous revenge and rightly so, but a few facts need to be considered first. At various times in the past, thuggish elements in South Africa have attacked foreigners in a frenzy of xenophobia and lately it has become fashionable to go after Nigerians and their businesses. There is a widespread belief among black SouthAfricans that immigrants from Africa, especially Mozambiquans, Zimbabweans, Nigerians, Somalis and Zambians are “taking jobs away from SouthAfricans�. The unemployment rate in SouthAfrica is about 28 per cent, the highest since the labour force survey was introduced 11 years ago. What this means is that a large section of the South African population has no access to formal employment and hence is deprived of credible means of livelihood. This has culminated in growing resentment against other Africans, who are seen to be thriving against all odds.

That certain classes of foreigners have always been a convenient scapegoat when things aren’t going right, is nothing novel. History is replete with pogroms, concentration camps and graves of economic minorities that stand as witness to the global nature of xenophobia.

Nigeria as a country and Nigerians as a people are not as innocent as one seems to believe in this distasteful historical drama of xenophobia. Upset as we are as Nigerians, we cannot forget that in the 1980s, when the Nigerian economy began its

One of the shops inside Novare Mall, Sangotedo, Ibeju Lekki looted by thugs

descent southwards, it became very fashionable to blame illegal immigrants for the poor state of the economy. Buoyed by anti-immigrant sentiments, in January 1983, President Shehu Shagari ordered the expulsion of nearly two million illegal immigrants, mostly Ghanaians. “If they don’t leave, they should be arrested and tried and sent back to their home countries�, President Shagari threatened. He added ominously that “illegal immigrants should in fact not be given any notice whatsoever. “If you break the law, then you have to pay for it�. Some two million immigrants heeded the warning; they packed whatever they could into trucks, pick-ups, taxis and the famous “Ghana Must Go� bags and fled the country.

It was a sour of how not to be our neighbours’ keepers and how easy it is for countries to blame the immigrant for their own problems.

The Ghanaians, Togolese, Beninese and other illegal immigrants left Nigeria. With benefit of hindsight one can conclude magisterially that their forced departure did not in any way improve the economic fortunes of Nigeria. On the contrary, things went from bad to worse for a very long time with varying economic prescriptions from home and abroad unable to revive our sick economy.

That Nigerians are upset has culminated in widespread calls for extreme retaliatory measures to be taken against real or imagined SouthAfrican interests in the country. Such calls target groups like the telecommunications giant MTN as well as Multichoice and Shoprite. The truth is that these calls are informed as much by inflamed passions as by ignorance.

SouthAfrica has emerged among the top investors in many sectors of the Nigerian economy.

South African companies’ presence is visible in the Nigerian economy, especially in areas such as telecommunication, engineering, banking, retail, hospitality, property development, construction and tourism.

Nigeria and South Africa account for nearly

a third of Africa’s economic power, and have driven much of the conflict management initiatives in the continent over the last two-and-a-half decades. Both account for at least 60 per cent of the economy of their respective sub-regions in West and Southern Africa.

Truth be told that MTN Nigeria is as much a SouthAfrican company as it is a company owned by thousands of Nigerians who have invested in thecompany.Thefactthatthecompanyiscurrently the largest on the Nigerian Stock Exchange should be a pointer to its strong belief in the Nigerian economy and Nigeria’s economic future.

MTN, Shoprite and DSTV currently employ thousands of Nigerians including suppliers of farm produce, farmers, security firms, cleaners, etc, who could find themselves out of work, thus inflatinganalreadyalarmingarmyofunemployed people. In a country with an unemployment rate of 23 per cent, this becomes a national security risk.

Nodoubt,theseextrememeasureswouldcertainly hurt Nigerians even more than South Africa.

Morally, these are companies that responded to pleas for Nigeria to invest in the country, we have an ethical duty to protect them.

Nigerians also need to realise that there are major Nigerian investments in South Africa that could also become targets of South Africa’s retaliatory actions. Dangote cement remains the single largest foreign direct investor by an African in South Africa. Across the continent, the company is investing tens billions of dollars in new and existing cement plants Alasting damage would be that Nigeria might as well forget the idea of any foreigner making any substantial, visible and viable investment in Nigeria if they felt they could become targets of violence by Nigerians and Nigeria. The harm to Nigeria from acting irresponsibly would be massive and long lasting.

What is required is for both governments to be seen to be taking this issue seriously and to

engage in a far reaching and thorough conversation that will cool passions and prepare the ground for a basis to seek profound solutions that will spare Nigerians future incidents and harness the potentials of cooperation between the twoAfrican giants as promised years ago, but never realised. They must seek to understand the underlying reasons why incidents of this nature are reoccurring often and passionately as they do especially in South Africa.

Furthermore, narratives pushed by politicians and other socio-political and economic elite that the reason for South Africa’s social and unemployment challenges is caused by foreigners, particularly Nigerians, needs to be countered and countered effectively.

At the end of the day, the persistent economic malaise afflicting South Africa and expressing itselfinloweconomicgrowthandhighunemployment needs to be addressed and it can only be addressed by the SouthAfrican government and not be xenophobic attacks. This is also true for Nigeriawherethewholesaleexodusofwell-skilled manpower that the country is experiencing is not sustainable. Nigeria must create economic opportunities for economic development. On both sides, there are governance issues that must be seriously and promptly addressed so that both countries can play their rightful roles within the contest of the new African growth story.

It will be sad if at a time the African continental free trade could be a catalyst for improved cooperation and economic growth for African countries, these unwarranted challenges could be an impediment to cooperation and coordination.

Violence, whether caused by South African xenophobia or resultant revenge actions can never help issues.

Let’s not forget that those Nigerians who levied violenceonSouthAfricanownedbusinessescould tomorrow levy that violence on segments of the Nigerian population.

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24

Dubai to Present Expo 2020 in Lagos

ĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ Demola Ojo Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă– demola.ojo@thisdaylive.com

Stories by Demola Ojo

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n recognition of the Nigerian market’s contribution to Dubai’s tourist numbers, Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) returns to West Africa’s most prestigious travel trade event for the fourth consecutive year, with a special presentation of the global hub’s Expo 2020 celebrations.

Issam Kazim, CEO of DTCM will lead the delegation to Lagos next week for the Akwaaba African Travel Market which holds September 22 to September 24.

Dubai’s Expo 2020 is the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East and is billed to last for six months. The once-in-a-lifetime celebration will be the largest event ever staged in the Arab world, and is set to welcome 190 participating countries including Nigeria, and a projected 25 million visitors from across the globe.

Apart from the Expo 2020 team, Kazim will also lead a strong delegation of 21 Dubai-based partners to engage in a series of networking sessions with key industry players and trade media in Nigeria.

This is the latest in a series of ongoing efforts from Dubai Tourism to strengthen its relationships with key travel partners in the region, as a reaffirmation of its interest in Nigeria and the African continent.

Speaking ahead of Dubai Tourism’s participation at the tourism fair, Kazim said: “Our continued presence at the Akwaaba Travel Market is testament to our ongoing commitment to Nigeria and the African continent, and its importance to Dubai’s globally diversified market strategy. “Africa has continued to be a significant growth driver, with Nigeria posting a

Kazim

stellar 28 per cent year-on-year visitor growth from January to July 2019. This year, we hope to further engage with new partners and strengthen our relationship with the African travel trade ecosystem to highlight Dubai’s destination proposition to travellers in Nigeria, West Africa and Africa as a whole.�

The delegation will take centre stage on September 23 at a dedicated Dubai panel session with stakeholders, which

will begin with a welcome message from the Ambassador of United Arab Emirates to Nigeria, His Excellency, Fahad Obaid Mohamed Al Taffag, followed by an overview of the destination by Kazim.

Following that, Dubai Tourism’s Director of International Operations for Africa, Stella Fubara-Obinwa, will give a trade update, while Head of Campaign Management for Africa, Salim Ali Mohammed Dahman, will provide insights on ongoing campaigns

in Nigeria and the larger African market.

The team from Expo 2020 Dubai will then discuss the hugely anticipated event taking place from October 20, 2020 until April 10, 2021. They will shed light on the various elements that will come together at the Expo, and what visitors can experience.

Expo 2020 aspires to create a meaningful legacy that will benefit generations to come, both locally and globally, spanning everything from innovations and architecture to friendships and business opportunities.

In addition, 21 Dubai-based partners will be present at the Dubai Tourism stand at Akwaaba. They include; American Hospital, Avani Deira Dubai Hotel, Copthorne Hotel, Dubai Health Authority, Emaar Hospitality Group, Expo2020, Golden Sands Hotel Apartments, Golden Treasure Tourism and JA Resorts & Hotels.

Others are Jumeirah Group, Mida Travels, Pacific Destination Tourism, Rayna Tourism, Red Apple Middle East Tourism, Royal Arabian Destination Management, Tabeer Tourism, The Ritz Carlton Dubai, Travel Destination Online, W Hotel Palm Jumeirah and Wings Tours Gulf.

With the ultimate vision of positioning Dubai as the world’s leading tourism destination and commercial hub, Dubai Tourism’s mission is to increase the awareness of Dubai to global audiences and to attract tourists and inward investment into the emirate.

It is the principal authority for the planning, supervision, development and marketing of Dubai’s tourism sector; it markets and promotes the emirate’s commerce sector and is responsible for the licensing and classification of all tourism services, including hotels, tour operators and travel agents.

Ethiopian Tickets for Lufthansa’s 2020 Service to Ottawa on Sale Airlines Adds WiďŹ to A350s Ethiopian Airlines has introduced in-flight wifi across its A350 fleet.

The satellite technology is currently available on 10 out of 12 of the flag carrier’s Airbus A350-900XWB aircraft.

Passengers in any class can purchase wifi vouchers online or at Ethiopian Airlines customer service desks, boarding gates and from cabin crew. It will also be available to purchase online via card or Sheba Miles.

Ethiopian said connectivity would be expanded to its other long-haul aircraft in future. Pricing is per megabyte, with 100MB costing $10 or 4,000 miles, and 200MB costing $20 or 8,000 miles. Platinum Sheba Miles members will get 100MB free.

Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde GebreMariam commented: “We are glad to introduce inflight internet connectivity with the latest broadband satellite technology, Ka-band, offering our passengers seamless digital experience as they fly Ethiopian. “The launch of the onboard wifi internet is part of our relentless efforts to further add to passengers’ comfort keeping pace with the technology of the day. “As a customer-centric airline, we will remain focused on continuous service excellence, taking advantage of emerging technologies and infrastructure.�

The burgeoning number of Nigerians travelling to Canada will soon get another option when going to the North American country as Lufthansa announced a scheduled non-stop air link to the Canadian capital of Ottawa from it s Frankfurt hub.

The service which will be operated in conjunction with Air Canada, is to commence next year.

Lufthansa’s services will operate daily, except Wednesday and Friday, between its Frankfurt hub and Ottawa. A 279-seater A340-300 will be deployed with business, premium economy and regular economy seating.

It remains unclear as to whether or not Lufthansa will be maintaining its Ottawa link year round.

As might be expected, this flight is timed for connections to and from other European points plus destinations further afield including Nigeria.

Other Lufthansa Group members (including Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Swiss) will be marketing this route and there will be support from other Star Alliance members like Air Canada and Scandinavia’s SAS. Ottawa will become Lufthansa’s fourth Canadian destination after Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

Already tickets for the service are being sold, commencing Wednesday last week (September 11).

Lufthansa

British Airways Begins Flight Cancellations Ahead of Second Pilots’ Strike With two weeks to go until British Airways pilots plan to strike for the second time this month, the airline has begun offering affected passengers refunds or rebookings.

The industrial action called by the British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) is scheduled for Friday September 27, and follows the unprecedented worldwide grounding of British Airways’ fleet due to its previous strike on September 9 and 10.

With BALPA representing the majority of BA’s pilots, it seems that almost all flights

will be affected. The one-day action will also likely have a knock-on effect, as staff and aircraft start the following day in the wrong place.

BALPA took to Twitter last week to accuse BA of beginning flight cancellations in order to “avoid having to compensate affected passengers.�

However BA has countered this with the following statement: “We have put forward new ideas through ACAS this week and have called on BALPA to meet us face-to-face as

soon as possible to return to negotiations. “However, we need to give our customers certainty, so we have contacted all those affected by the union’s strike on September 27.�

Under EU261, the European Union’s flight compensation regulation, airlines that give two week’s notice of cancellations are not required to pay out additional cash compensation, though all passengers are entitled to a full refund or alternative flight arrangement.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ EPTEMBER 15, 2019

Ogun: As Abiodun Redefines Governance As pretenders and contenders for genuinely impactful governance, especially first-term governors strut the political space, often claiming unearned plaudits, Louis Achi ËÝÝÏÝÝÏÝ ÙàÏÜØÙÜ ËÚÙ ÌÓÙÎßØ ÙÐ ÑßØ ÞËÞÏ˪Ý ÐÓÜÝÞ ͹͸͸ ÎËãÝ ÓØ ÞÒÏ ÝËÎÎÖÏ ËØÎ áÜÓÞÏÝ ÞÒËÞ ÞÒÏ ßØËÝÝß×ÓØÑ ˩ÎËÜÕ ÒÙÜÝÏ˪ ÒËÝ ÝÏÜàÏÎ ÝÚÏÍÓÐÓÍ ØÙÞÓÍÏ ÙÐ Ë ØÏá ÎÓÜÏÍÞÓÙØ ÐÙÜ ÞÒÏ ËÞÏáËã ÞËÞÏ ËØÎ ÓØÎÓÍËÞÏÎ ÞÒËÞ àÓÝÓÙØ ËØÎ ÎÓÝÍÓÚÖÓØÏ ËÜÏ ÏÝÝÏØÞÓËÖ ÓØÑÜÏÎÓÏØÞÝ áÓÞÒ áÒÓÍÒ ÞÙ ÚÙÝÓÞÓàÏÖã ÍÒËØÑÏ ÞÒÏ ÑßØ ÞËÞÏ ÝÞÙÜã

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n reality, the first 100 days of a governor’s tenure is equal to about three per cent of a possible two-term, eight-year regime span. But interestingly, for decades, the opening stretch of an administration has become the barometer for measuring a state chief executive’s governance capability and direction, or lack of it. But the ‘quirky’ concept has apparently come to stay - fuelled by a feisty media eager for a measuring yardstick with which to assess or knock an executive in power.

Taking a big-picture view of a task before setting sail is a defining feature of uncommon leadership. That was what Governor Dapo Abiodun, the fifth democratically elected chief executive of the state did on assuming power in Ogun. These governance imperatives were captured in his vision statement: “To give Ogun State focused and qualitative governance and to create the enabling environment for a public private sector partnership, which we consider as fundamental to the creation of an enduring economic development and individual prosperity of the people of Ogun.”

Governor Abiodun declined to throw tantrums over the challenges, including the huge debt profile his government inherited from the previous administration, refusing to toe the line of traditional politicians who have made that their first act.

His first 100 days in office represented a deliberate phase of gathering and analysing specific information targeted at addressing the infrastructure deficit, declining quality of education, low morale among public servants as well as general welfare of the citizenry.

With an array of stars engaged to manage the strategic sectors of the state’s economy, including Mrs. Noimot SalakoOyedele (a civil engineer by profession), the Deputy-Governor; Mr. Tokunbo Talabi, Secretary to the State Government; Alhaji Shuaib Salisu, Chief of Staff; Mr. Dapo Okubadejo, Chief Economic Adviser; a whiz-kid and promoter of Jobberman, Mr. Kunle Olude, Special Adviser on Job Creation and a host of other seasoned technocrats, the task of, “Building Our Future Together”, as Governor Abiodun succinctly put it, has thus begun in earnest.

Deploying a crystal-clear vision grounded in commitment to service, the focus of the administration encapsulates both the enablers and pillars. These include good governance, security, ICT/Digital transformation, enabling business environment, agriculture and food security, health, education, power, housing, sports development, road infrastructure, environmental and physical planning, among others.

In concert, these represent the driving forces for effective, efficient and smooth service delivery. Reminiscent of his inaugural speech delivered at the MKO Abiola International Stadium, Kuto, Abeokuta, the state capital, on May 29, 2019, Governor Abiodun succinctly put the focus of his administration: “In our determination to achieve this vision and hit the ground running, we set up Economic Transition Committee of eminent sons and daughters of Ogun State and Work Groups to develop a blueprint and an Implementation Road map. The Work Groups held a series of engagements with stakeholders in the state, including but not limited to development partners and multilateral organisations”.

The governor also intimated his constituency with his vision to reposition the civil service as an efficient organ of government. He minced no word about his resolve to address the anomalies of the appointments of 18 permanent secretaries and recruitment of 2,000 staff into the civil service by the immediate past administration on the eve of its departure.

His promise was immediately matched with legislative imprimatur of the State Assembly, which reversed the appointments and classified them as actions taken in bad faith and without due process. This move has been appraised by many as good for the morale of the service as most of such appointments were politically motivated and could manifest as a landmine to sabotage the incumbent governor.

Significantly, the proximity of Ogun State in the SouthWest geo-political zone, to Africa’s 5th largest economy, Lagos, provides a significant development push factor for the state, a scenario that needs a nimble governor with vision to transform the Gateway State with. Providentially, an unassuming ‘dark horse’ has emerged to change the Ogun State story. From his talk and walk, Governor Dapo Abiodun is certainly not taking his weighty responsibility lightly.

He succinctly captured a deep awareness of the possibilities of positively changing the Ogun State narrative, at a maiden parley with both the civil and public servants held shortly after his assumption of office.

His words: “We intend to ensure that going forward, we focus on creating that enabling environment for people to come here and invest in the state. Before you come here to invest in the state, you will want to see electricity, good roads, security and others. All these are the things that anyone coming to invest in Ogun State will want to see. We have also decided that we are going to have an improved and indeed an Ogun State Investment Promotion Agency that will be headed by an investment banker, not just someone who doesn’t have what it takes to bring investment into the state.

I strongly believe that strategic positioning and close proximity to Lagos can also be maximised to our greatest advantage where we can easily generate as much internal revenue as Lagos State, if the opportunities are properly

Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu and Governor Dapo Abiodun, test driving one of the new Patrol cars donated to Ogun State Police Command

harnessed”, said the governor at a recent stakeholders’ meeting.

Wasting no time, Governor Abiodun inaugurated a “committee on the review of appointments and promotions in the state civil service and enterprises between February 1 and May 20, 2019, a development which is aimed at repositioning both the civil and public services for effective and efficient service delivery. The committee is chaired by Mr Dipo Odulate, an erstwhile Head of Service.

Immediately confronted with challenges of irregular salary payment and leave bonuses, defrayment of the outstanding deductions, partial and selective promotion exercises among the cadres, the dichotomy between HND and bachelor degree holders, among others, the governor began to address all the issues, promising to live up to expectations with the regular payment of salaries.

At press time, 10 months’ pension arrears have been paid, while workers have equally enjoyed the same treatment of regular payment of their salaries. The new administration has also offset salary arrears, and remitted deductions to the Pension Funds Administrators.

In consonance with its commitment to prudence and frugality, the new administration has also reduced leakages.

As a result, the government has been able to save nothing less than N2.5bn monthly in excess of what the immediate-past administration claimed it incurred.

The government, through the Public Works Agency, has begun the immediate rehabilitation of the following abandoned road projects: Oru/Iperu, 4.5 kilometre IjebuMushin/Ikija, 3.7 Kilometre Ogbogbo/Igbeba, 1.4 kilometre Balogun Kuku/Aje-Alapo, 7.65 kilometre Ejirin/Imowo/ Oluwalogbon, Ijebu-Ode/Idowa/Ibefun/Itoikin, Sango/ Abeokuta dual carriage ways, 32 kilometre Sango/Akute/ Ajuwon/Ojodu-Abiodun, Osi/Ita/Awolowo/Navy/AIT/ Kola and a host of others.

Others include the construction of Opako bridge at Adigbe, Abeokuta, culverts and gutters in certain parts of the ancient Ijebu-Ode community ravaged by the recent flood disaster. Through a joint collaborative effort, the governors of Ogun and Lagos states have received the blessing of the Presidency to undertake the rehabilitation of the Lagos/ Sango/Abeokuta dual carriage ways (undertaken, but abandoned in 2001) and the Sagamu/Ogijo/Ikorodu road to serve as alternative routes and also ease the traffic congestions often occasioned along the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway.

Of course not to be forgotten, in the education sector, primary schools located in each of the 236 wards have undergone rehabilitation to enhance the environment conducive to learning. The governor has also restored normalcy in the protracted crisis that engulfed the stateowned Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Ojere, Abeokuta. For well over two years, the institution had been enmeshed in a crisis over the attempt by the last administration to convert it into a university and the subsequent relocation of the students

to Ipokia.

The same exploit is equally being replicated in the stateowned Tai Solarin College of Education, Omu-Ijebu, where a committee has been inaugurated to investigate the crisis rocking the institution.

On the critical health front, rehabilitation works have commenced in earnest in each of the primary healthcare centres spread across the 236 wards in the state.

Well aware that the devil provides work for idle hands, Governor Abiodun has moved to empower the youth through job creation. The state government has opened a portal to help prospective applicants seeking employments, be it in the formal or informal sector of the economy. The logic here is to take stock of the data base of unemployed youths in the state and to also afford them an opportunity to load vacancies free of charge. So far, no fewer than 75,000 prospective applicants have registered through the job portal.

On the agricultural front, the state government through the “Ogun State Anchor Borrowers’ Scheme” has inaugurated a committee headed by Prof Peter Okunneye to oversee a programme designed to enhance self-sufficiency in food security, employment generation and poverty alleviation. The primary target of the scheme is to produce enough food to attain self-sufficiency both in the short and long-term.

Governor Abiodun has also continuously engaged regional and international development institutions in his quest to get them to commit to strategic partnership and critical assistance. The World Bank, for instance, has promised to partner with the state government on a number of social intervention and socio-economic programmes. This was disclosed in Abuja on July 31, when Governor Abiodun and his aides met with a team of country representatives of the World Bank, led by the Country Director, Rachid Benmessaoud.

The latter, while granting the governor’s request for assistance, stated that Ogun State had been included as a beneficiary of a $900m ecological intervention fund. And in relation to the agriculture drive of his administration, Abiodun has held fruitful talks with the African Development Bank (AfDB). The initiative has given birth to a proposal to develop a 300-hectare farmland in Ogun State.

Abiodun’s administration has also commenced efforts to establish a dry port around Itori in Ewekoro Local Government Area of the state. He announced this recently in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta during a courtesy visit by a team from the African Development Bank (AfDB), led by the Senior Special Adviser to the President, Prof. Oyebanjo Oyelaran-Oyeyinka.

In the estimation of many, 100 days can give a somewhat valid indication of a leader’s governance trajectory. Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has clearly served notice that visionary and disciplined approach to governance can positively change the human story. ‘weapons’ with which to positively change the human story.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R Ëž ÍŻÍłËœ Ͱ͎ͯ͡

25

TRIBUTE

Celebrating Chimamanda

BY OLUSANYA IBINOLA

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ODAY, September 15th, is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s birthday, and so it won’t be out of the ordinary to celebrate this stellar Nigerian who has achieved so much already at a young age.

But maybe we should not be surprised. After all, the late great Chinua Achebe said of Chimamanda early in her career, ‘We do not usually associate wisdom with beginners, but here is a new writer endowed with the gift of ancient storytellers‌Adichie came almost fully made.’ Born in 1977, and hailing from Abba, Njikoka L.G.A. of Anambra State, Chimamanda grew up on the campus of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka- where her father was a Professor of Statistics - in fact, the first Professor of Statistics in Nigeria. Chimamanda’s mother - in another first - was the first female Registrar of the University.

She has been writing from the age of four, with her very first publication while in JSS 3 at the University Secondary School in Nsukka. She subsequently also achieved the best WAEC result in the school.

Chimamanda entered UNN to study medicine, however, she left at the age of 19 for the US, where she applied her academic brilliance in a new direction. She graduated from Eastern Connecticut State University with a First Class bachelors’ degree in Communications and Political Science.

She also holds two Master’s Degrees in Creative Writing from Johns Hopkins University and in African History from Yale University.

In 2008, Chimamanda was awarded a Macarthur Fellowship, popularly known as the Macarthur Genius Award.

Chimamanda’s work is read around the world, and has been translated into over thirty languages.

Her first novel, Purple Hibiscus, won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, and is used in school curriculums around the world, including in Nigeria.

Her second novel, Half of a Yellow Sun, won the 2007 Orange Prize (now called the Bailey’s Prize), which is the world’s top prize for female writers.

Chimamanda’s third novel Americanah was published in 2013, and received numerous accolades, including winning the U.S. National Books Critic Circle Award. The award is the most prestigious literary prize in the U.S. because it is selected by professional book critics.

A television adaptation of Americanah is currently being coproduced by Lupita Nyong’o and Brad Pitt’s production company Plan B. In October 2018, she was awarded the PEN Pinter Prize, named in honor of Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter.

With many of these awards, including the Orange Prize, the

Macarthur Fellowship, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the PEN Pinter Prize, she has the distinction of being the first Nigerian and in fact, the first African, to receive these recognitions.

Chimamanda is also a highly sought-after speaker, and has delivered keynote speeches around the world. She has also given two landmark TED talks: her 2009 TED Talk ‘The Danger of A Single Story’and her 2012 TEDx Euston talk ‘We Should All Be Feminists’, which started a worldwide conversation about feminism, and was sampled

by BeyoncĂŠ in her song ‘Flawless’.

She has appeared in conversation with some of the leading figures of our time: interviewing Hillary Clinton during the PEN World Voices Festival in New York, and former First Lady Michelle Obama in London.

She has received 14 honorary Doctorate degrees from leading universities: including from one of her alma maters, Yale University.

Chimamanda is also seen as a style icon, and was included in Vanity Fair’s International Best Dressed List in 2016. In 2017, she launched her own project, “Wear Nigerian,� to promote Nigerian brands and designers.

Chimamanda is dedicated to assisting aspiring writers, and eleven years ago founded an annual Creative Writing Workshop in Nigeria. She is committed to Nigeria, and her deep love for our country is evident in her work. In 2011 the Nigerian government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, awarded her the Global Ambassador Achievement Award.

Chimamanda has however, unfortunately often been misrepresented by some Nigerians, and is also perceived by some as deliberately seeking to cause controversy. Nothing could be further from the truth.

She IS committed to frankly speaking her mind, and sometimes on difficult topics. Ironically, it is only in Nigeria where she is perceived as ‘controversial’. Nowhere else in the world is that the case.

The author’s personal life choices have also not been spared unreasonable criticism. She was attacked by some Nigerians for ‘disrespecting the traditional status of marriage’ because she chose neither to adopt the title “Mrs.� nor to change her name after getting married, even though she said very clearly that it was a matter of personal choice and that that it was completely valid for women to choose to be referred to as “Mrs.�. After all, her own mother goes by Mrs. Adichie.

Of course, Chimamanda has been recognised in Nigeria for her many achievements. But often, her words are taken completely out of context, or a misleading ‘headline’ is created. In this age of social media and instant reactions, often people do not actually read the article or watch the video that the ‘headline’ supposedly represents and a ‘controversy’ with accompanying ‘outrage’ is created.

A classic example was the Hillary

Chimamanda

Clinton interview. Chimamanda made a tongue-in-cheek comment about being ‘just a little bit upset’ upon finding out that Hillary Clinton’s Twitter bio began with ‘wife’- in contrast to Mrs. Clinton’s husband’s own bio. This did not sit well with some Nigerians and they took to social media to call out the author for lacking respect for Mrs. Clinton’s choice to define herself as she saw fit. What an irony (and hypocritical), that the validity of Mrs. Clinton’s right to personal choice was being paraded here by a handful of Nigerians who likely had a problem with Chimamanda’s own choice to keep her name after she got married. Hillary Clinton in fact DID change her Twitter bio, showing that not only was she not offended, but that she agreed with Chimamanda.

This abruptly silenced the mob.

These are just two examples of the various ways Chimamanda’s words have been misrepresented in Nigeria over the years. It is unfortunate that this happens so often, and only in her own country. However, irrespective of criticism, she loves her country and cares deeply about her fellow Nigerians.

Maybe some should take a little more time to actually read an article or watch a video that has created a ‘controversy’, and not just react to a ‘headline’. Chimamanda’s dedication to Nigeria surely deserves that small effort. She has become a global figure, celebrated around the world- but is a proud Nigerian first and foremost. So today, we celebrate “our� Chimamanda, who is after all, one of us.

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 2019 • T H I S D AY

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˜ ˞ SEPTEMBER 15, 2019

MARKET NEWS

Aderogba: Why Financiers Avoid Funding of Nigerian Entertainment Industry Goddy Egene A financial expert and one-time acting Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr. Adeniran Aderogba has said lack of understanding of the workings of entertainment industry and absence of repayment plan are

some of the factors discouraging financial institutions from funding the industry.

Aderogba, who is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria(ICAN), stated this in a presentation in Lagos titled: ‘The Nigerian Entertainment Industry, financing challenges and solutions.’

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

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

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

He said that content creators do not have bankable structures and their poor corporate governance principles are equally a challenge. “There is no operating vehicle (company) with clear board, management structure. No clearly definable historical track record. Proper business plans or

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

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

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

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 12Sep-2019, unless otherwise stated.

feasibility studies are not executed before starting a project certainty of receivables. There is never a clear line of sight to money after project is completed. An actress approaches a financier to fund a movie and request is all one sided - it only has the expenses side. Financier asks where is the repayment going to come from

and the reply is “we are friends now�. Even your friend doesn’t want to throw money away,� he said.

The founder of Calag Capital Limited, said entertainment can influence culture, global behaviour and attract huge investments, noting that because of the priceless feelings and happiness

entertainment can trigger, it is a multi-billion United States dollars industry today. “ We need to find ways to enquire how we can bring these big bucks to Nigeria and unlock the huge potential of our entertainment industry in a fair and equitable way, with win-win solutions for all,� he said.

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

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

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

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 818 885 6757 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 140.13 141.90 -10.97% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 12.35% Nigeria International Debt Fund 269.54 269.54 -1.35% ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund 0.87 0.88 3.87% ACAP Income Funds 0.77 0.77 34.70% AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.23% AIICO Balanced Fund 2.36 2.39 6.17% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 13.75 14.17 -17.10% ARM Discovery Fund 321.52 331.21 -9.85% ARM Ethical Fund 27.67 28.51 -2.01% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.34% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 1.86 1.86 11.02% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 13.60% Paramount Equity Fund 11.95 12.06 1.22% Women's Investment Fund 106.99 107.69 3.33% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 11.65% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 94.42 95.10 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 95.69 96.43 CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Coronation Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Coronation Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A N/A N/A N/A EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B N/A N/A N/A EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 0.00 0.00 -93.79% FBN BALANCED FUND 139.47 140.40 -2.32% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.68% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional 119.85 120.12 8.41% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 120.09 120.36 8.89% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 120.26 122.02 -19.83% FIRST CITY ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD fcamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcamltd.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 10.65% Legacy Debt Fund 3.53 3.53 8.68% Legacy Equity Fund 1.04 1.06 -14.50% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.07 1.07 3.62% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund 2,936.72 2,964.62 -1.61% Coral Income Fund 2,994.78 2,994.78 9.29% FSDH Treasury Bills Fund 100.00 100.00 12.41% GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 11.15% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 109.24 110.20 1.75% GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gdl.com.ng Web: www.gdl.com.ng ; Tel: +234 9055691122 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn GDL Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 12.50%

INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.51% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.15 2.18 -0.20% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 15.82% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 133.41 133.41 6.71% LOTUS CAPITAL LTD ďŹ ncon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.15 1.17 4.92% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,115.94 1,115.94 9.39% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 9.54 9.62 -10.62% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 11.42% PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.27 1.30 3.81% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.95 12.05 7.15% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 12.33% SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 122.12 122.17 0.94% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.03 1.03 9.88% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 2,342.48 2,353.61 1.17% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 203.89 203.89 7.23% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.83 0.84 -12.11% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 265.26 265.36 9.36% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 141.43 142.94 -13.33% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.07% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,472.09 7,552.27 -12.03% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.14 1.14 5.39% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 100.44 100.44 0.00% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.14 1.15 -2.54% United Capital Bond Fund 1.66 1.66 10.47% United Capital Equity Fund 0.65 0.66 -9.83% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.72% United Capital Eurobond Fund 109.29 109.23 8.15% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.04 1.05 5.15% QUANTUM ZENITH ASSET MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENTS LTD service@quantumzenithasset.com.ng Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 9.77 9.93 -7.99% Zenith Ethical Fund 10.89 11.06 -9.47% Zenith Income Fund 22.22 22.22 9.93% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 11.88%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

5.40 116.88 53.10

-44.85% 5.22% 2.63%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

8.63 85.14 68.57

8.73 86.99 69.88

-18.14% -27.40% -22.64%

Fund Name FSDH UPDC Real Estate Investment Fund SFS Skye Shelter Fund Union Homes REIT

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS Fund Name Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund SIAML Pension ETF 40 Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 Fund

VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697 Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva GrifďŹ n 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

3.31 5.16 11.63 10.84 147.04

3.35 5.24 11.73 11.04 149.04

-17.06% -32.13% -20.31% -12.22% 11.42%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

108.34

17.40%

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

15.09.2019

KELECHI AMADI-OBI Photography Is Me ASSISTANT EDITOR OLUFUNKE OLAODE/funkola2000@gmail.com

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KELECHI AMADI-OBI

The Way I Look At Things Keep Me Younger It’s easy to single him out. One can hardly miss his signature grey dreadlocks, blackand-white beard. His artistic eyes hide their brilliance behind the medicated lens.

Like troubadours, he hardly stays in one place. He exudes a calm disposition but his laugher bellows like an excited volcano.

His bubbling energy has sustained his relevance in the creative industry to date.

With a career in photography that has spanned two decades, Kelechi Amadi-Obi is one of the most renowned photographers in Nigeria. His uncanny artistic approach to his subjects cemented that prominence that sees him almost at the pith and core of every groundbreaking event, writes Vanessa Obioha Amadi-Obi

I

nside the bubbly ambience of the ritzy Sky Restaurant at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, ace photographer Kelechi Amadi-Obi observed his environment with keen interest. He was among the special guests invited for the unveiling of a new fashion initiative, Design Fashion Africa. He will be one of the resource persons in the initiative that will kick off sometime in October. It was easy to single out Kelechi — as he is fondly called — from the fashion buffs in the restaurant that was transformed to fit the essence of the occasion. One can hardly miss his signature scattered gray dreadlocks and black beard sprinkled with white hair. His artistic eyes hid their brilliance behind the medicated lens. The fashion photographer hardly stayed in one place.

One minute, he was chatting with a friend, the next minute, a doting fan was paying courtesies to him. Yet, in the midst of all the distractions, Kelechi exuded a calm disposition, only offering comments when needed. When he laughed, it was a deep sound that reverberated with energy.

That bubbling energy has sustained his relevance in the creative industry today. With a career in photography that has spanned two decades, he is one of the most renowned photographers in Nigeria today. His name sits on the top list of brands, fashion shows organizers, celebrities, and even aspirants.

His uncanny artistic approach to his subjects cemented that prominence that sees him almost at the pith of every groundbreaking event. He was particularly excited to groom young and aspiring photographers whose love for digital imaging have astounded him in recent times.

The photography landscape has changed significantly from the time Kelechi first burst into it. That was in the nineties. His artistic side came into full bloom during his university

days. Though a law student, Kelechi could not depress his eye for the arts. He started painting while in school and by the time he hung out with few photographers, he knew providence had a plan for him.

He ran an art studio and by 2001, he participated in an art exhibition in Bamako, Mali where he met exceptional photographers like him. They were Uche James-Iroha, TY Bello, Amaize Ojeikere, Emeka Okereke and Zainab Balogun.

Their experiences at the exhibition named ‘Memories Intimes D’un Nouveau MillĂŠnaire Ives Rencontres de la Photo’ led them to launch Depth of Field (DOF), a collective of Nigerian photographers, artists, and painters.

Through the body, the photographers strived for excellence. They organised art and photography exhibitions both at home and abroad.

Kelechi and his counterparts changed photography with the techniques they used.

They breathed life into images through creative lighting and aesthetics. They were among the first group of photographers that were termed, celebrity photographers.

Back then, people deployed the services of cameramen for special occasions.

Nowadays, Kelechi discovered that people want to capture every experience they go through. This he said gave rise to young photographers who showcase their talents on the image and video social app, Instagram. “The demand is growing and the new culture of Instagram and the likes is pushing imaging. Twenty years ago, people wouldn’t call photographers to shoot them on their birthdays, it was only weddings. But these days, people call photographers for a photoshoot for their 20th birthday and so on.

People want to look beautiful. Twenty years ago, I didn’t know there was anything like a professional make-up artist. I remember the first guy I met and he told me that was his

profession. I was stunned that it could be a job.

There was nothing like a stylist. Nigeria has come a long way. There is a need right now for photographers. The frenzy of people wanting to look perfect has led to a demand or a stampede for imagery. It is a good thing for the industry,� he said this sunny afternoon.

Technology, he noted, has played a major role in appreciating the value of photographs.

Unlike in the past where images were judged based on what was obtainable in one’s immediate environment, Kelechi revealed that the internet has blurred those seeming lines. There is only one recognized standard to evaluate a photographer’s work, which is the global standard. “The internet is global. You put your work there and within seconds you will know if it is terrible or not. Because it is the internet, not Nigeria that is looking at you so you can no longer say Nigerian standard or foreign standard. It is the global standard. There is only

Nowadays, Kelechi discovered that people want to capture every experience they go through. This he said gave rise to young photographers who showcase their talents on the image and video social app, Instagram

one global standard which is either good or bad. You can’t say it’s good for Nigeria only.

Everybody is international now. What the internet did was to demand a certain quality for work. And the younger ones are meeting up with the challenge,� he said.

As much as Kelechi is enthusiastic about the number of youngsters storming the photography field, he felt they were undervalued. Part of this stemmed from the dearth of training institutions. Kelechi pointed out that these institutions are necessary to guide the younger ones and make them understand the business of their creative works. He was very concerned that because the young photographers are trying to make ends meet with their creative works, they end up selling their works at ridiculous prices.

Kelechi could not hide his dismay with the development. His voice assumed a pitch reeked of pity and anger as he gave instances where younger artists are told their work is not valuable enough so that the client can get the work at a cheaper price.

He explained, “Instead of encouraging them to do a good job, the client ridicule their works so as to pay them less. It is a common trend in Nigeria but photography is an art and every artist is very vulnerable. Your art is part of your soul. If someone calls you ugly, it is an insult to your soul. You have committed abortion, you killed a part of him.�

Having been in the field for a longer period, Kelechi whose acclaim spread beyond Nigeria understood the value of every image. Though he said his works are expensive, he disclosed that he has found a way of negotiation prices such that he doesn’t go home penniless. He hopes to teach the participants in the upcoming show how to make wealth with their creative skills.

Nevertheless, what is more, worrisome to the ace photographer is the pervading culture of demeaning intellectual property. It is a trait

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Amadi-Obi

Discovering New Ways to Tell Stories he argued that is embedded in every Nigerian.

According to him, Nigerians do not respect creativity.

“Nigeria is notorious for either ignoring or pretending that they don’t know about intellectual property. We have not developed a culture where we respect creativity. We find it easy to pay for physical things like a Mercedes Benz car, but when it comes to intellectual property, we start to ask questions,” he stated.

“It’s one of the major limitations in the creative industry today. Nigerians will easily steal your image and feel entitled to it. People openly sell copies of intellectual property.

You see them in traffic, they sell fake CDs on the streets and even in shops and everyone is patronizing. People don’t have any qualms in downloading movies or images that they didn’t pay for. We have not developed that culture where people feel a pinch of guilt that they have taken the intellectual property of someone.”

He has and is still a victim of intellectual property theft. Right from his painting days, his works have been stolen and used without his permission. It was difficult to recall the first time he found himself a victim, however he remembered an incident where his brochure and images for an exhibition were stolen and used by someone. Another shocking incident was when a brand used one of his images for an advert. It has become more rampant in the digital age where people steal his works from his Instagram page and claim ownership.

Each time he came across such acts, his heart riven. At first, suing the culprits seemed the best idea but with time Kelechi realised that doing so will rob him of his sanity, and most importantly, his creativity.

“It will make you a cantankerous person.

You will end up being bitter for the rest of your

It’s one of the major limitations in the creative industry today.

Nigerians will easily steal your image and feel entitled to it. People openly sell copies of intellectual property life. You will lose your creativity,” he lamented.

Though his works are often boxed into fashion runways and celebrities, Kelechi revealed that he is very keen on the emancipation of the human mind. He quoted the popular reggae icon Bob Marley who stated that the people should emancipate themselves from mental slavery.

“Our people have been taught to hate each other. If I want to donate to a cause it will be about how do we disabuse the minds of our people so they don’t hate each other so much.

Yet, it’s a trick that they play so they can rob them collectively,” he said.

“They are busy. It is like you come into a room and you do abracadabra and they start fighting, tearing clothes, while you are safe, collecting their monies. You see this in the streets when people are fighting, area boys will be busy pickpocketing the fighters.

Because they hate each other so much, they

don’t realise that they are being robbed. Instead of them to unite and figure out how to catch the thief that is stealing from their pockets, they are busy telling you about cattle rearing. It’s crazy.”

You can say that Kelechi has seen it all. He has taken the photographs of the president, Muhammadu Buhari; captured supermodel and former Miss World, Agbani Darego; spent time photographing the richest man in Africa Aliko Dangote; went on a private jet cruise with Nollywood actor Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde where he produced stunning visuals for her 40th birthday; and more recently had the privilege taking images of the president of African Development Bank, Akinwunmi Adesina for Forbes Africa.

His Instagram page is filled with colourful images of most celebrities. His publication Mania Magazine which hit the newsstands eight years ago was prominent for its cover subjects. Though the magazine he revealed has not been frequent in publications due to the unfriendly financial policies, Kelechi ensured that it was a product of artistic brilliance and excellence. Another publication he said was in the works. He understands the language of branding and worked with major companies in the country. He has travelled to the most fashionable cities in the world and featured in their fashion magazines.

Despite these achievements, Kelechi has never stopped learning. He understood the transient nature of society, thus he adopted a flexible view of life. To buttress his point, he put it this way.

“People are looking for the next big thing.

Every generation always claim that theirs was better than others. My father listened to the Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatras. My generation listened to Michael Jackson. Now the kids are listening to Zlatan and Davido. People will keep saying the good old days were better. What I think they should do is to try to understand it.

It doesn’t mean that their time was better, it just means that this time is different. You just have to understand it. That’s the way I look at things, it keeps me younger. I don’t want to criticize it, it is just a different way.

Sometimes I resist it, sometimes I look at it as a new language and if you don’t speak that language, then you don’t belong to this era.

You are done.”

An attempt to recall high points in his career puts him in a reflective mood. He leaned forward, adorned a faraway look into the past, or perhaps the future? As much as he tried to pinpoint a significant breakthrough, Kelechi realized that it was a matter of breaking new boundaries every day, discovering new ways to tell stories. Ten years ago, doing a billboard advert for the beer brand Guinness would have thrown him into a frenzy. Nowadays, he looked for new things to show life. Once, he travelled to his village and was inspired to have a photoshoot with his 85-year-old mother.

That singular idea eventually led to a photo session with all the octogenarians in the village.

The other day he woke up to the idea of street photography. Each day brings new ways to tell stories and it doesn’t matter to the photographer who will be clocking 50 years in December what medium he is using to capture life and tell stories.

“I’m a storyteller by any means necessary. I could paint it, photograph it or film it. The end result is to tell a story. I enjoy the variety involved in travel. Like when you travel to a new place, there is an excitement of discovery. For me, the cinematography is a new place. Photography is me. It is an integral part of me and I don’t think I would have done anything differently,” he said.

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Ike

Chika Ike

In the Eyes of Beauty Having made a successful outing in Nollywood and then dabbled into writing, authoring a book, Nollywood diva, Chika Ike, a serial entrepreneur set out to redefine the beauty industry with the launch of Chika Cosmetics, writes Funke Olaode

N

o doubt, Nollywood diva is making a mark in all endeavours; first as a real estate mogul, actress, author and now an entrepreneur with the launch of her range of beauty products. She is going through life making a mark as she set out on how Nigerian women should remain beautiful. Chika Ike has joined the league of celebrities with a cosmetics line.

After making a mark in the film industry and fashion world with Fancy Nancy store, and lately an author of repute with her book “Boss Up� which was unveiled last year and recently got commendation from the prestigious Harvard University where she was an alumnus, Nollywood Diva, Chika Ike scored another first recently when she launched Chika Cosmetics named after herself. The well-attended launch which had the media in attendance took place inside the

conference hall of Westwood hotel in Ikoyi, Lagos.

Glowing in a pink net Cinderella dress, Chika looked stunning and gorgeous like a princess attending a banquet. Every year she keeps evolving as she is coming out with new things.

Chika Cosmetics is a personal project which was conceived two years ago. The screen diva said she is coming out with ranges of beauty products but eye shadow and lip gloss which come out in different colours are the first set.

Explaining her new trade, she said, “This initiative took me two years and I am happy that it is here. Chika Cosmetics is coming up with a range of products but we decided to start with the makeup line being the first product to be introduced into the market. It is very exciting for me and brain cracking one. It is interesting that I have been able to birth what I have conceived over a year ago and finally is here. Our first range of products is 18 pallet eye shadow with vibrant colours and 12

colours lip gloss.�

Considering the saturated market of beauty products, Chika said hers is special. “I will say the fact that my name being on the brand is a kind of endorsement for quality and high standard. And for me to push out a product and say this is it means I have tested and trusted it. And this makes it special. Also, the ingredients used are not regular type.

It took many months of research and visitation to factories around the world to ensure that we got the right ingredients for my product. It is a product that lasts for 24 hours if you don’t sweat a lot. The texture is smooth, silky and has vibrant colours. The packaging also is inviting. Beyond the product, the packaging is very attractive. My sweat, DNA is in this product. My word of assurance is that it is two years of testing, trial, and I can boldly say it suits all skin types.�

With her footprint in Nollywood, fashion and recently as an author,

why going into beauty line? She explained: “Within the entertainment and the beauty industry people look at you as a role model. I love cosmetics.

For me, I love to do something that I am passionate about. Passion comes before anything. I am very passionate about the beauty industry. The beauty industry is huge. And I said let me make a mark�

Though no prior training in the beauty business but her 14 years foray in the movie industry, her experience as a model, learning under the tutelage of beauty mogul all came in handy to push her brand to become a brand to reckon with.

How affordable and who are her target market? She said her brand is for everyone who wants to look beautiful. “Looking good is key. So we are affordable. The eye shadow pallet is N5, 000 while the lip kit is N2, 000.

As the products set to hit the Nigerian market, the actress who continues to be an inspiration to upcoming actresses and entrepreneurs said she intends to make it a pan African product as time progresses.

SEPTEMBER 15 , 2019˾ T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R

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High Life

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

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

Happy Times For Ifeanyi Ubah...

Defeats Uba Brothers at Tribunal

Political Siamese…The Bond Between Abiodun, Sanwo-Olu

Happiness, they say, is not something ready-made. It comes from your own commitment to it. As soon as the court upheld the victory of Ifeanyi Uba as the senator representing Anambra South, joy rested on the face of Mr. Ifeanyi. Like the stars in the sky, he glowed.

Ifeanyi Ubah had fought long and hard to attain this victory. In every tussle, Mr. Ifeanyi broke the tooth of the Uba brothers twice. As a political fighter, he earned his victory at the court and in the hands of the people. At the previous National Assembly Election held on February 12, 2019, he was declared the winner.

Ubah polled a total of 87, 081 votes to emerge, defeating two brothers, Chris Uba of People’s Democratic Party and Andy Uba. The two brothers, Chris Uba and Andy Uba, petitioned the election tribunal against Ifeanyi Ubah, claiming that electoral violence played a great role in the election that led to his victory.

Sensational stories of victory often come with a history of past defeats.

In 2014, Ubah lost the Anambra gubernatorial election under the platform of the Labour Party. He accepted defeat.

He was patient. Patience is hope.

Patience is not an absence of action; rather it is timing, it waits on the right time to act, and in the right way.

He contested for senate on 24 February 2019 and was declared the winner. The election petitions tribunal sitting in Awka, Anambra State validated both Uche Ekwunife and Ifeanyi Uba on Monday, September 9, 2019.

With his victory, Ifeanyi is at liberty to crow as loud as he likes. All his enemies have run back into their bunkers, feeding on pitiful morsels of humble pies. Now as the legally declared and uncontested senator for Anambra South, his dreams have come true. He is on cloud nine.

The news was graced with so much jubilation among his supporters. After so many false dawns, Ifeanyi can take his place in the upper chamber of the National Assembly without any legal hammer hovering on his head.

The wicked can have only accomplices, the voluptuous have companions in debauchery, selfseekers have associates, the politic assemble the factions, the typical idler has connections, princes have courtiers. Only the virtuous have friends.

True. A studious glance at Dapo Abiodun, Ogun State’s governor and his Lagos counterpart, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, affirms the notion that the people we get along with, trust, feel simpatico with, are the strongest links in our networks.

Judging by their bond and quality of their private and public interaction, it may be safe to say that Abiodun and Sanwo-Olu are connected in ways that defy the cutthroat politics of the world they inhabit. Each man is the strongest link in the other’s network thus setting a new standard of relations between Lagos and Ogun seats of power.

The Abiodun-Sanwo-Olu friendship signifies the first time in the political history of both states perhaps, that the governors establish and sustain a strong bond; they go to church together, do business together dream together and engage in joint pursuit of progressive ventures.

For instance, the two governors and friends recently came together under a joint development plan to synergize plans to harness opportunities both Lagos and Ogun states have in common. For the first time, hopes are high that the collaboration will be a catalyst for rapid socio-economic development within both states.

This is more so, as the two states have too many things in common, ranging from closeness in border, migration and emigration patterns, business establishment to manpower needs, among others.

It would be recalled that soon after they emerged victors at the gubernatorial polls, Abiodun disclosed that his administration and that of his counterpart in Lagos State, Sanwo – Olu had mulled plans to establish a “Joint Development

Ubah

˾How Ogun, Lagos governors redefine interstate power relations

Sanwo-Olu

Dapo Abiodun

Commission” to drive the internally-generated revenue (IGR) of both states.

He said the proposal is also geared towards enhancing rapid development and transformation of border communities of the two neighbouring states. These among other measures unite the governors in a bond grounded in honesty, integrity, comradeship, and a common desire to improve the lot of their respective domains.

It is often said, that, friends and good manners will carry you where money won’t go; going by the enviable relationship between Abiodun and Sanwo-Olu, one

could prove the notion a monumental truth.

The friendship between the two is hardly run of the mill; it exceeds the bounds of common human relationships. It’s almost spiritual perhaps. For instance, both men have developed a knack for vibrating on the same wavelength. Besides their unity in values and precepts of governance, they have developed a curious knack for connecting sartorially.

During a recent event at the Mountain of Fire Ministries (MFM), they presented an iconography of colour and wardrobe symmetry.

Davido Popped the Question, and Chioma Said ‘Yes’

Davido and Chioma

The only thing known to go faster than ordinary light is a monarchy. It is impossible to have more than one king, and tradition demands that there is no gap between kings, so when a king dies the succession must, therefore, pass to the heir instantaneously. Even in the age of the democratic system, Kings are still seen as important in society.

Councils are created for Kings, and one of them is chosen to be the head.

Just as ordinary patients would be in a quandary were the doctors in charge of their health to be in disagreement. In the same vein, if a ruckus emerges among kings, what’s to be done by their collective subjects? Fortunately, no such tiff is going to happen among the council of respected Yoruba Obas.

No thanks to his glowing reputation and status as an embodiment of cultural and kingly virtues, His Royal Highness, Frederick Obateru Akinrutan emerged as the undisputed choice.

A few days ago, Oba Obateru Akinruntan emerged as the new Chairman of the Council of Obas in Ondo State. Everyone is pleased about his victory. His wealth of experience will make him the most successful Chairman that has ever been nominated. Until 2009 when he ascended the throne of Olugbo Kingdom, he

In the fast-paced life of entertainment, the lines between real life and make –believe are sometimes blurred. This is the reason why fans initially took with a pinch of salt, David Adeleke’s profession of love to his girlfriend Chioma Rowland in the song ‘Assurance’, in which she featured as his love interest in the video.

The artist famously known as Davido has risen to global stardom ever since his debut in 2012 with hits like ‘Back When’ and ‘Dami Duro’. He has also had his fair share of controversies emanating from affairs gone awry.

A father to two daughters from different women, not a few were sceptical when Davido professed love and promised Chioma “assurance” and “lifetime insurance” in his hit single.

But the couple have grown from strength to strength, culminating in Davido popping the question last week. Of course, Chioma said “Yes!” . Their whispers that Chioma is expecting Davido’s baby

Best Man for The Job: Oba Obateru Akinruntan Becomes Chairman, Council of Obas was regarded as a successful businessman. He is an oil magnate and founder of Obat Oil, one of Nigeria’s largest and leading privately-held oil companies.

Oba Obateru Akinruntan, the traditional ruler of the Ugbo Kingdom, a town in Ilaje Local Government is married with children. In 1981, Obateru established Obat Oil. Today, across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria, the company has more than 50 gas stations. Obat oil owns one of the largest tank farms in Africa, a modern storage facility able to store 65 million litres of petroleum products.

Oba Obateru loves his kingdom. His reasons are valid for doing so. The Ugbo-Ilaje, a subethnic group of the larger Yoruba culture who presently occupy the country’s western coastline of the Atlantic ocean with fishing as the mainstay of their economic activities, have been confirmed by various historical sources and through living traditions to be the original inhabitants of Ile-Ife who had been living in the ancient community

Oba Akinruntan

centuries before the arrival of Oduduwa and his people from the East.

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HIGHLIFE

Brother’s Keeper: Allen Onyema Declares Free Flight for Nigerians Fleeing South Africa There’s a fine line between support and extortion and Allen Onyeama has strived to be on the right side of that all his life.

Indeed, when the maiden of profit beckons on the merchant as she dances over a floor of blood, many will throw away their morals in exchange for a fatter bank account.

Onyema has always claimed to be different. And recent happenings in faraway South Africa gave him a chance to prove it to the world in spectacular fashion.

Recent unfortunate xenophobic attacks in South Africa have compromised the security of Nigerian diasporas. A few Nigerians were reportedly killed in the attack. With Mandela’s country proving increasingly fractious and unwelcoming of their continental brothers after the passage of the great man, the water that had been bubbling finally boiled over.

As the air thickened with the wails of hapless Nigerians, emotions flew in the form of cutting exchanges all over the world, Onyeama, a beacon of hope, volunteered to send an aircraft to South Africa from the 6 September 2019, returning interested Nigerians home without a fee.

Onyeama had also warned against Nigerians scheduled for repatriation from South Africa to refrain from paying $1,000 or any amount of money whatsoever for their

Onyema

flight as there have been indications of such exploitative shenanigans. “We have not designated or recruited any agent in South Africa to collect money on

behalf of Air Peace,� he said.

Onyeama, Chairman of Air Peace Airlines and the President of the Foundation for Ethnic Harmony in Nigeria has always been concerned about the safety of Nigerians.

He was conferred with the prestigious Zik Prize for Entrepreneurial Leadership by the Public Policy, Research and Analysis Centre, Nigeria in May 2019 in recognition of his immense contributions to the development and human security.

Driven by development and sustainability, Onyeama, a shining torch of light, has remodeled air travel in Nigeria.

Onyeama knew that the human touch is that little snippet of decisions that brings a bit of comfort, support, and kindness. Kindness doesn’t take much from the one who gives it but can make a huge difference in the one who receives it. “Any Nigerian who has paid money for repatriation to Nigeria with Air Peace should request for a refund and report to appropriate authorities,� he had said, maintaining that the flight is free for all Nigerian returnees from South Africa.

Happy Times for Babatunde Fashola‌ As SanwoOlu Moves to Complete Abandoned Projects Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu began on a clever ground. The Lagos State governor had revisited all uncompleted projects in the state, a move that will please Tunde Fashola who.

Someone whom many thought was a political neophyte might just prove to be the most mercurial statesman of them all. Recall that not a few people thought Sanwo-Olu was just a lameduck governor imposed by the powers that be.

However, ever since he officially assumed office, he has been making many moves that have led people to do a double-take.

In less than 100 days since assuming office, he has already wormed his way into the heart of Fashola.

Sanwo-Olu has completed Fashola’s 492-flat housing project. The governor on Wednesday, inaugurated the Igando Housing Estate started

by Fashola under the Lagos Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme. “It makes no economic sense for any government to stop what the previous administration started. We’d ensure that all ongoing projects will be completed before we move on to start new ones,� Sanwo-Olu said as he unveiled the housing project. He noted that

he was committed to his campaign to deliver all critical projects inherited from the last administration.

Sanwo-Olu began his political career in 2003 when he was appointed a special adviser on corporate matters to the former deputy governor of Lagos State, Femi Pedro. He became the acting commissioner for economic planning and budget until 2007.

As the commissioner for commerce and industry under Bola Tinubu’s reign, he was instrumental to the success of the administration.

He was also appointed a commissioner for establishments, training, and pensions by Fashola.

Sanwo-Olu was made the managing director of the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC) by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode in 2016.

In 2019, he was elected the governor of Lagos State.

Why Is Wike in a Hurry to Congratulate Buhari?

Buhari and Wike

It is a case of the oppressed rushing to seek the favour of the oppressor in full glare of the public, without shame or any shred of dignity.

One must ask why Governor Nyesom Wike is in such a hurry to publicly congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari on his victory at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, especially since this is an ongoing process.

The People’s Democratic Party which Wike is a prominent member of, has

categorically stated that it will pursue the case to the Supreme Court, to get the justice which the party believes it has been denied.

Wike on the other hand, is on a Red Herring chase, validating the election of a man who as president, oversaw the militarisation of elections in Wike’s Rivers State, all in a bid to boot him out.

Apparently, Wike’s memory is not only short, he is exhibiting the symptoms of amnesia. Remember, he cried to high heavens about how security operatives were in cahoots

Fashola

with the APC to wrest Rivers State from his grasp at all costs.

It was ordinary Nigerians – whose voices were amplified by the media – that saved him, after a drawn-out process that meant the Rivers State election results were announced weeks after other election results of the 2019 general elections.

If President Buhari congratulated Wike after the fiercely fought battle that claimed lives and bastardised the democratic process, it must have been in private, most likely in the deeper recesses of Wike’s warped imagination.

However, following the understandable shock that trailed his unforgivable utterances, WIke doubled down and threw his fellow PDP governors under the bus.

He would rather congratulate the president in public than visit him at night, he sneered.

But it’s not so long ago that Wike himself was accused of the same thing he is accusing his fellow governors of.

Remember that it was alleged during the lead up to the PDP presidential primaries that Wike had a secret deal with President Buhari to make sure a “weak� candidate emerged as PDP flag bearer.

The Rivers governor fought tooth and nail to ensure current Sokoto Governor Aminu Tambuwal prevailed, to no avail.

His distasteful rush to congratulate the PDP’s nemesis during an ongoing battle only shows his disdain for his party’s candidate.

Uju Ifejika Laughs Last

T

he weather is about to get extremely cold but oil and gas Amazon Uju Ifejika is suffused with warmth and joy. Like a rainbow that breaks forth after a torrential downpour, the woman of substance has been getting nothing but the good news of late. After so many happenings rocked her world recently, many were expecting the well-connected lady to lie low for a while. What they didn’t know is that standing still isn’t part of Uju’s vocabulary.

Onward she marched, ignoring all the mud and slings and arrows being thrown her way. After all, she mused, excellence will always have slander and infamy as a shadow, both relentlessly pursuing it, seeking to lower the sun to their earthy level.

But Uju is not one to be stalled too long by vain rumours and occasional missteps. One doesn’t get to become the most high-proďŹ le female boss in oil and gas by being average.

The chairperson and CEO of Brittania-U Nigeria Limited has picked herself up and resumed what she knows how to do best — securing contracts. She recently scored big as one of those chosen to do business with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC. When the organization announced the 15 lucky companies that have been selected as partners in the exchange of crude oil for imported petroleum products, it was no surprise to ďŹ nd Brittania-U among them.

Uju is regarded as one of the top 10 most powerful females in oil and gas. And not just in Nigeria; her proďŹ le and inuence are global, a titan respected by world leaders and to whom they pay regular obeisance.

And no wonder; hers was a peculiar part from an initial foray into law before ďŹ nding a resting place in the competitive and cutthroat upstream segment of the oil industry.

Her career in the petroleum industry started when she joined Texaco’s Legal Department as Junior Counsel in 1987 and rose swiftly to become Company Secretary in 1997. In 2003, her Government and Public Affairs responsibilities were extended to Cameroon, Togo, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. She joined Brittania-U Nigeria Limited in 2007 as Chair/CEO and has since steered the indigenous company to its current market-leading position.

Basketmouth

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HIGHLIFE

Huge Backlash As Kunle Soname Pours Millions into Big Brother Naija

Soname

Big Brother Naija is one of the most followed TV reality shows in Nigeria. It is exciting, filled with intrigue, hope, loss, betrayal, fight, and joy. Big Brother Naija, a reality show with contestants live in an isolated house.

For months, they compete for a large cash prize at the end of the show by avoiding being evicted.

The last person standing will take home the huge prizes on offer. Except, this time, they are also likely to take home a huge dose of Nigerians’ ire. In a time of austerity when the need for meaningful initiatives has never been greater, a lot of people are angry at the huge amount being sunk into what has been described as a pointless show.

This year, Big Brother Nigeria has been airing for a while now. And attention has been drawn to those who have made that possible. And that includes Kunle Soname, the founder of Bet Naija.

A lot of people aren’t happy with

humble, amiable Kunle, over his support for the show. Kunle Soname is the founder of Bet Naija, the leading sponsor of Big Brother Naija “Pepper Dem�.

Few people have argued the intent of Kunle. His support for a morally degrading show has received major disapproval from people. It is believed that he wouldn’t have supported education in the same way.

Will he be quick to support other creative initiatives like talent hunt too?

Kunle’s company Bet9ja is an online bookmaker company that offers betting on major sporting events operating in Nigeria.

The sponsorship deal with Big Brother Naija is believed to be worth $3 million.

The sponsorship move may be aimed to support his brand, believing that it offers more exposure than any other reality show in Nigeria.

It is certainly not news that the amount being spent on the few talent hunts and educational shows in Nigeria falls a long way

Gbenga Adeyinka Returns with LaMatazz on October First

T

here are several laughter merchants in Nigeria, but all of them bow down to the king of stage comedy, Gbenga Adeyinka the 1st . The most popular rib cracker is at it again. Over the years, he has become known for sold out shows that always send attendees home still roaring with uproarious laughter, and he isn’t about to let up. His flagship show, LaffMatazz is set to return on October 1.

The stage is set for Abeokuta, Ogun State capital and venue of the Loud in Abeokuta, Independence Edition.

Abeokuta might have been built under a solid rock but the town is guaranteed to shake in merriment courtesy of Gbenga’s well-oiled tongue dropping hot jokes that will send everyone careening in fits if limitless fun.

The grandmaster of comedy is leaving no stone unturned to make sure attendees take a brief respite from their daily worries. It’s sure to be a

cracking occasion with everything in place to continue the success story of the franchise. Said Gbenga: “We are assembling the best just for our attendees with comedy that thrills and music that titillates as It is the ‘Sharing Happiness’ season through premium quality entertainment.�

Gbenga, the leading act, will be ably supported by veterans of comedy and comic up and comers like áťŒmáť?baba, Helen paul, Kenny Blaq, Dan D Humorous, Bash, Dr Smile, Koye, Dr Whiteberry, Bebe, Ajele, Damola, Peteru, Madiba of Comedy, Samo BABA, Still Ringing, Eteye, Baba Alariya , Remote, Arkbishop, MC BIshop, ATM, Dapreacher, Blaqtalk, NDAComedian, Koka Kaze, OVY Godwin and Parkage.

Along with the laughter therapy on display, the show hopes to bring everyone together to reminisce about the past and celebrate the future with its assemblage of legendary veteran

Adeyinka

and current acts like Sir Shina Peters, CDQ, Small Doctor, Qdot, Nino, Spyro, T Code, Agaga, LYNO, Psalme, DJ MJAY and DJ Vinnie.

Glad Tidings: Former Beauty Queen Finds Love Again How she fell in love with a popular prince In her younger days, this former beauty queen was blessed with a beauty and skin colour that can illuminate a pitch-dark room, and candour and charm that command attention, now in her early 50s, she is still irresistible to both genders.

Men desire her and women court her friendship. If you believed that the gods were real, then she is the masterpiece. Her face could get her anything and anyone; she only needed to smile before new prospects start jumping through hoops to please her.

This ageless beauty is no longer blearyeyed or lachrymose. At a time when many would have given up on love, the former beauty queen, who is one of the popular socialites in Lagos social milieu, has finally found love.

Her current love interest is a dark-hued prince from one of the traditional cities in the south-west. Unlike a thief in the night that threads stealthily, the smouldering beauty, has sashayed confidently into the life and home of this handsome prince, and if prayers and pressure are not intensified, is about to make away with him, warts and all, leaving his wife and children to mourn and mope over a potentially huge loss.

She is that uncaring and raring to go.

She is not new to interrupting or jolting conjugal courses. Because of her beauty, which makes men go weak in the knees at first sight while setting their hearts racing when she as much as opens her mouth to talk and her mellifluous occidental accent wafts through, she has men licking from her palms and she is skilled in tossing them about like a yoyo.

As far as the prince is however concerned, she is ready to go to the end of the world to have him to herself, for keeps and for life. So into each other are they that she tells whoever cares to listen that she is not ready to let go of prince anytime soon.

You couldn’t have forgotten so soon when the former beauty queen and her former socialite love planned to build castles in the air, have a fortress of a home with their kids rolling and frolicking on the lawn while they hold hands and give themselves a pat on the back for shaming critics who thought the older man especially was an irredeemable playboy, given his antecedents with society women, that would never settle down with her.

The plans were lofty and lovely. But things did not quite go as planned as the character traits of the two partners conflicted with their starry-eyed dreams. This lady chickened

out of the relationship citing irreconcilable differences with the man among other factors.

Even during her stormy relationship with this old dude, the beauty queen hardly had a breathing space. Initially, it was that his first wife was fighting tooth and nail to reclaim her husband’s love, forgetting the fact that she lost it many years ago to sensuous society women.

Interestingly, their ill-fated relationship packed up like a badly arranged pack of cards years back. But the good thing is the beauty is now a proud mother of two wonderful children and she has found love once again.

The prince, who is happily married, is really taking care of her and her children. He ensures she never lacks anything any time of the day, regardless of whose ox is gored.

An insider squealed the prince cannot imagine ever saying no to her because he literally worships the grounds on which she treads and turns to jelly in her celestial presence.

However, no more for her are lonely nights and lovelorn days; broken promises of marriage and the consequent heartbreaks; the sneers and sniggers from friends and fiends who thought she could not hold a man down.

Now, she is ready to tell it on the mountains that she has found love again and this time, it is for keeps, forever.

short of the millions of dollars of sponsorship sunk into Big Brother Naija. As a responsible and upstanding citizen, many felt he was better off putting his money in ventures that would prove more economically and intellectually beneficial to Nigerian youths, who are the major customers of his betting outfit.

Gbenga Omotoso: Right Peg in Right Hole It was jubilation galore in the media community when the governor of Lagos, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, hand-picked one of their esteemed members and daily editor of The Nation Newspapers, Gbenga Omotoso, among the first batch of commissioner nominees. It was felt that a sector often neglected in government appointments had finally begun to receive some of its dues.

Notwithstanding, there was some trepidation that it was a mere token selection that would come to no good. Fears lingered that he would be deployed to some nondescript ministry where he would just make up the numbers picking up a sinecure. Imagine the pleasant surprise, then, when it was announced that the respected journalism veteran will actually helm a critical state parastatal. Gbenga was chosen as the commissioner for information and strategy.

There is no doubt that this is one of those happy occasions in politics where the role and the person are perfect for each other. For a ministry that interfaces with information deployment and establishes critical strategic plans that drive policy, Gbenga is the right man for the job. It was instructive that the announcement of his portfolio met with universal acclaim. Here, finally, was a consensus choice that has the blessing of everyone.

As if to demonstrate the point, the one time Editor The Guardian Express and Editor Guardian on Saturday was one of the first to officially show up to commence his duties.

He was up and running before his peers even finished their vacations. This single-mindedness and devotion to duty had seen him steadily climb the media ladder. And it has already begun to have a positive effect on his new position.

With a vast array of contacts across the media industry cultivated over decades of dedicated service, Gbenga is well placed to serve as an intermediary between the government and the media houses. They know him and he knows them. Such harmonious relationship will oil the wheels of information dissemination, making it much easier for the masses to know what their government is up to.

The versatile information manager is a recipient of several awards including the DAME Informed Commentary, Nigeria Media Merit Award Editor of the Year in 2013, 2015 and 2017. Until his appointment, Omotoso, formerly of the Guardian, was the Editor of The Nation Newspaper.

Omotosho

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Adebayo Adeoye bayoolunla@gmail.com; 08054680651

Bode Oyedepo’s Political Misadventure On his return to Nigeria from his United States base some time ago, Bode Oyedepo, aka Bode De Way, instantly became the toast of many at social events.

As proof of his popularity, a number of Fuji musicians sang his praise to high heavens as a result of his generosity.

A successful businessman, he reportedly built and bought many houses in many parts of Lagos State.

Also, his garage was said Â?Â˜ČąÂ‹ÂŽČąÄ™Â•Â•ÂŽÂ?ȹ ’Â?Â‘ČąÂ—ÂžÂ–ÂŽÂ›Â˜ÂžÂœČą exotic cars.

Before our very eyes, the Kwara State-born socialite shocked his fans when he ventured into politics and contested a seat in the National Assembly to represent the Kwara South senatorial district.

Goaded by that ambition, he was said to have Œ˜––’ĴŽÂ?ČąÂŠČąÂ•Â˜Â?ČąÂ˜Â?ČąÂ–Â˜Â—ÂŽÂ˘ČąÂ’Â—Â?Â˜Čą the project.

Though he was not a popular candidate and many of his friends warned him against the idea, he did not heed their advice.

In the end, he lost in ÂŠÂ•Â•ČąÂ ÂŠÂ˘ÂœÇ°ČąÄ™Â—ÂŠÂ—ÂŒÂ’ÂŠÂ•Â•Â˘ČąÂŠÂ—Â?Čą politically.

Following his defeat, many had thought that he had bidden bye to politics. But like the proverbial stubborn Ě¢ȹÂ?‘ŠÂ?ČąÂ?Â˜Â•Â•Â˜Â ÂœČąÂ?‘ŽȹÂ?ŽŠÂ?Čą to the grave, the Canadabased businessman again reportedly made some moves to get back into the political scene this year.

But Society Watch gathered that he abandoned his ambition when all he could ÂœÂŽÂŽČąÂ ÂŠÂœČąČ Â?ÂŽÂ?ŽŠÂ?Ȃȹ ›’ĴŽ—ȹ’—ȹ ‹˜•Â?ČąÂ•ÂŽÄ´ÂŽÂ›ÂœČąÂ’Â—ČąÂ?Â‘ÂŽČąÂ™Â˜Â•Â’Â?Â’ÂŒÂŠÂ•Čą space for him.

Audu

Ex Osun Deputy Governor, Iyiola Omisore Left in the Cold?

Omisore

For some inexplicable reason, the silence from the camp of Senator Iyiola Omisore, a former deputy governor of Osun state, is palpably eerie.

Many will recall that earlier in the year and in the build-up to the governorship election in the state, he was very visible and in the consciousness of political observers, having suddenly been thrown up as the bride that the two leading political parties in the country, All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were scrambling to woo.

He wielded strong political influence, especially after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the governorship election in the state inconclusive and ordered a run-off.

After wide consultations with his camps, he pitched his tent with the ruling APC, a move that reportedly contributed to the victory of the incumbent governor, Gboyega Oyetola, over PDP’s candidate, Ademola Adeleke.

But many months after the election, it was gathered the man may have been ‘scammed’ as he has

been left out in the scheme of things by the ruling party both in Osun and at the federal level.

For this, a source described his predicament as that of a man wandering in a political wilderness.

It is a fact that his ambition of becoming the number one citizen of his state has pitched him against so many people in and outside Osun.

It all started as a deputy to then-governor of Osun, Chief Bisi Akande.

In 2014, he contested on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party but lost to the Action Congress’ candidate, Rauf Aregbesola. His political career would later suffer a huge blow.

But like a man with nine lives, he tried to come back into reckoning in the state.

Shortly after completing his Ph.D. in Engineering that kept him away for a while, he bounced back as a force to be reckoned with in Osun politics.

That was after Ademola Adeleke of PDP won the Osun West senatorial district poll. He was said to have contributed a great deal to Adeleke’s victory.

Following that development, some of his disciples who had left him during the turbulence years reportedly returned. In their thinking, it was his time to realize his age-long ambition of ruling the state.

But Society Watch gathered that the intrigues, horse-trading and power play in the PDP made a mess of his ambition.

In a desperate move to realize his ambition, Omisore dumped PDP for the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Sir Olu Okeowo’s New Business Exploit If you are seeking a faceto-face appointment with billionaire property developer, Sir Olu Okeowo, you may have to wait a little while.

Okeowo, Society Watch gathered, left the country for the United States of America, for a vacation a few weeks ago.

A source revealed that while his vacation lasts, he will use the opportunity to attend to his numerous businesses all over the world and explore new grounds for new business opportunities.

But if you think he is probably missing his family at home, you are dead wrong because he is accompanied on the trip with his loving wife and children.

The source further disclosed that Okeowo is beginning to show his children the

rudiments of running businesses successfully.

This is evident in the fact that his first son is in charge of his sporting business, GiBet. One thing is certain, the Knight of John Wesley Church is living life to the hilt; he lives in a dream home in Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Built through his company, Gibraltar Construction, one of the real estate giants, the three-floor white-coated Victorian-style house with all the luxury appurtenances named Palacio De Okeowo is a replica of Basille Palace in France.

Okeowo owns not just one luxury home, he has houses overseas too and has even developed over 10 other mega commercial projects in various choice locations in Nigeria.

Okeowo

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SOCIETY WATCH

Ex-First Lady Olufunke Agagu’s Headache

Agagu

Ask anyone about Olufunke Agagu, wife of former Ondo State governor, Olusegun Agagu, and they will tell you she has been minding her business.

Yes, those who say such about her are not totally wrong. But what they may find distasteful in their mouths is the legal

tussles she is currently enmeshed in over her business interest.

It was gathered that she was dragged before a federal high court in Lagos by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) over N32,136,877.25-debt.

Joined as co-defendants in the debt recovery suit are the son of the former governor, Agagu Feyisayo Opeyemi and Central Securities Clearing Systems Plc. In the application filed by Prime-Gentry Chartered Secretaries & Attorneys on behalf of the debt recovery agency, Agagu Feyisayo Opeyemi, who was a customer of United Bank for Africa Plc, applied for a loan and was consequently granted same by virtue of a letter of offer of loan valued at N6,177,600 dated 19 June 2007 for the acquisition of UBA approved shares from the capital market or public offer.

The loan had a tenor of the repayment period of 12 months and ought to have been fully repaid by June 18, 2008.

However, it was further learnt that the loan has not been repaid, thereby making AMCON categorize it as a non-performing loan.

AMCON also claimed that it is entitled to judgment against Agagu Feyisayo Opeyemi for failure to repay the outstanding loan facility.

Consequently, the court granted an interim order on December 12, 2018 directing the Central Securities Clearing

System Plc to transfer the subject shares to AMCON to preserve same pending the filing of the substantive suit.

It was also gathered that Agagu Feyisayo Opeyemi, in an attempt to foist fait accompli on the order of the court and frustrate the efforts of AMCON to recover the property, purportedly sold and transferred the subject shares to his mother, Agagu Olufunke Ibidun, on December 13, 2018.

AMCON, is, therefore, seeking an order of the court for the payment of the sum of N32,136,877.25 being the outstanding money he owed AMCON in interest at the rate of 15% per annum from 16 August, 2018 until judgment and thereafter at the rate of 10% per annum until liquidation of the judgment sum.

It is also seeking an order granting it the power of sale in respect of the stocks belonging to Agagu Feyisayo Opeyemi and all other shares owned by him to be applied towards the liquidation of his indebtedness.

The agency is also seeking an order of the court nullifying the purported sale of the shares by Agagu Feyisayo Opeyemi to his mother on the grounds that the said illusory sale made on December 13, 2018, was a deliberate and calculated attempt by Agagu Feyisayo Opeyemi to overreach the court and foist a fait accompli on the order of the court.

The presiding judge, Justice Chuka Obiozor, adjourned further hearing in the matter until October 8, 2019.

Toyin Saraki’s Milk of Kindness For elegant Toyin Saraki, wife of the immediate past Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, turning 55 on September 6, was worth celebrating in appreciation of God’s mercies in her life.

An elated Saraki planned big for the birthday celebrations, as she also unveiled a partnership deal with Lifebouy Soap.

The partnership, which she described as a special birthday gift, would enhance the distribution of clean and potable water for the consumption of rural communities and children.

Speaking on the occasion, the stylish mother of four said: “I am delighted today, on my birthday, as Founder-President of WellbeingAfrica to welcome Lifebouy Soap to Nigeria in our exciting new partnership to deliver water, sanitation, and hygiene to two

million children, their families, and communities in the next 12 months.�

Prior to this partnership, the daughter of billionaire businessman, Kunle Ojora, has been involved in a lot of humanitarian endeavours. She has remained committed to the cause, which among other things, revolves around combating social issues such as maternal mortality, newborn and child health care, gender-based discrimination and violence.

The former Kwara First Lady has galvanized global partnership and championed causes that attracted global attention.

Indeed, if there is one thing that excites the law graduate of the London School of Oriental and African Studies, United Kingdom, a great deal, it is to see Nigeria nay Africa rise above her challenges.

Saraki

Kunle Rasheed Adegoke’s Resilience

Adegoke

When young Kunle Rasheed Adegoke (SAN) chose to study law at the University of Ilorin, those who witnessed his growing up were not surprised at all.

He had exhibited the traits of not just a compelling orator but also a man who would never keep silent in the face of tyanny.

Adegoke had shown to all that he would

never keep quiet in the face of injustice.

True to prediction, he was involved in campus politics as secretary-general of the University of Ilorin Students’ Union and secretary of Zone C of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS).

Nick-named ‘KRAD’ ( a sobriquet derived from Kunle Radical), he paid the ultimate price for his efforts to fight for the rights of his fellow students as well as involvement in students activism.

At the time he was supposed to be rounding off his degree programme, he was expelled from the institution in March 1992.

But he did not resort to self-pity and didn’t court any empathy as well.

He knew what he wanted out of life, so he sat the University Matriculation Examination (UME) again in 1993 and was lucky to be admitted into the University of Lagos in 1994 to study law.

Again, his activism riled the University of Lagos authorities, who suspended him on September 5, 1997, when he was supposed to be celebrating his birthday.

Later that month, he was expelled from the institution.

Trust Adegoke, he immediately sought redress in court and was later reinstated in May 1998 by Justice Tajudeen Odunowo of a federal high court in Lagos.

In the end, he graduated with Second Class

Honours (Upper Division) from the university in 2000, against all odds.

Upon graduation, he began his career with Olaniwun Ajayi LP in 2003. The following year, he went into private practice in a thriving partnership in the law firm of M. A. Banire & Associates, where he worked for many years.

Since he set up Kunle Adegoke & Co., where he is the principal partner, he was counsel to the former Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, whom he represented during the long battles to reclaim his mandate between 2007 and 2010 and the infamous forgery trial that accompanied it.

Also, Adegoke was a lawyer to many members of the House of Assembly of Osun state during the same period.

He is a delight to watch in court for his brilliance.

Adegoke served as a member of the strategy committee for the election of AB Mahmoud (SAN) as the president of the Nigerian Bar Association in 2016.

He also served as the secretary of the North East Task Force of the Nigerian Bar Association responsible for rendering legal service for the rehabilitation of the victims of Boko Haram insurgency in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe.

He is currently a co-opted member of the National Executive Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association. He was sworn in as a Notary Public in 2017 by the chief judge of Lagos State.

Lagos Former Deputy Governor, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire By all standards, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, a former deputy governor of Lagos State, is a very focused woman.

This has contributed, in no small measures, to her success story today, particularly in the political circle.

For her commitment to the cause of the womenfolk in the state, she was first appointed a commissioner for women affairs and poverty alleviation under the Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu-led administration.

Her constituents in the Lagos West Senatorial Zone couldn’t be happier because she didn’t let them down in any way. It is on record that in her capacity as commissioner, she initiated a lot of trail-blazing programmes including economic empowerment, women development, promotion of campaign against child abuse and other allied matters.

Her achievements, however, didn’t go unnoticed. In 2011, she emerged the deputy governor to former Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola of Lagos State.

In her capacity, she demonstrated uncommon leadership trait, which has since put her in the good books of the party and its leaders.

As proof of her love for the party, she voluntarily sacrificed her political ambition, when she stepped down from the Lagos State senatorial race.

While announcing her withdrawal from the race, she cited the overall interest of the party and the need to strengthen its unity as the reasons for making the decision. It was, however, confounding that, rather than appreciate her humility and commitment to service, some idle minds tried to plot her downfall.

Towards the build-up to the 2019 elections, she had reportedly made clandestine moves to contest and wrest power from Senator Olamilekan Solomon Adeola.

But she changed her mind and supported the man representing Lagos West Senatorial District.

As fate would have it, and for her support for the party, she was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari as a senior special assistant on sustainable development goals.

Orelope-Adefulire

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LOUD WHISPERS

with JOSEPH EDGAR (09095325791)

Mohammed Bello Adoke – The Book is Fine I had gone to see my egbon and intellectual giant, Dr. Rueben Abati at the Arise TV studio in Ikoyi. You know he would be reviewing my new book – Aaarrgghhh!!! when he threw Chief Adoke’s new book at me. He said, read it o, the book has addressed a lot of issues. I said thank you sir and promptly threw the book into the back seat of my car. I was not really interested in what this gentleman had to say not because I don’t like him but because of other things on my mind.

However, when I eventually had the time to leaf through it, what struck me was the beauty of the book. Mbok, you know me too I am a book writer and the finesse and detailing of the printer really caught my attention. This made me take a quick cursory look at the book. However, as I did this, what struck me from the few chapters I had the presence of mind to go through was the way they ran their administration with rumours. It appeared that rumours and housewife-type gist was

BUHARI VS ATKIU – NOTHING TO SAY I have always said it that with a Wednesday deadline to submit this page, I will be missing some things - like this verdict on the Presidential Elections that would be announced anytime soon. I cannot wait for the verdict so that I can put in my usually very powerful analysis because I have to submit before the deadline.

Anyway, I am not expecting any earth-shaking declaration. I have a very strong feeling that status quo will remain and we will go back to our toothpick relaxed posture and Atiku will go back to whatever it is that he knows how to do better. Let me however seize this opportunity to congratulate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar on the maturity he has shown during the process.

His strict belief in our democratic institutions despite the situation must be commended. I thank him for this. For President Buhari, I also would like to thank him for cooperating with the system, defending himself democratically thereby ensuring the definite strengthening of the process. If he emerges winner as I am expecting, he should also rise above the limiting politics of division and stretch out a hand of fellowship to Atiku. We are in a critical state and all hands must be on deck to salvage this country. Sigh, this write-up for sweet more if only I could wait for the verdict. But no problem, next week we will deal with it.

SEYI TINUBU – LET’S DO THIS TOGETHER

Atkiu

the currency they dealt with. In fact you are confronted in the very first chapter after he had ‘shakarad’ us with contemplating suicide. I just dey look this one, he get mind? Na someone go don advise am say, open the book with drama to catch people interest and na so he come with this kind Chinese film gist. I no fit laugh.

Anyways, back to the main gist. He has told us of how Chief Babalakin rushed to him, that one other baba who was then Attorney General was crying like a baby that he wanted his job. He immediately told us of his shock and how he had just left the said man after devouring bowls of eba – my own jara o – so he did not understand all the noise. So he called or went to see, not sure again o but anyways he confronted the man and the man said one man told him and that somebody else told that one who heard it from another person who was eavesdropping when President Jonathan was in the toilet discussing on the phone with Chirac, the late President of

France who in turn was told during a fishing trip with Mandela. Mbok, I just drop the book go do better thing. You see the level of leadership we are confronted with in this country. So person hear say they want sack am, he start to cry, call him brother to go beg the person looking for his job instead of attacking the person who can take a decision. No be mediocrity and yes men we would be seeing who would be doing anything to keep the job and when you consider that the position being cried over na Attorney general o, not Minister of youth but a very sensitive and dangerous position being handled by crybabies, you begin to see why we are where we are. Mbok, I have dropped the book only to come back to check where it was printed so I can go and see the printer if it was done in Shomolu and then I saw New York, I thru away the book again. I go sell am for Third Mainland Bridge for morning. Thank you.

KEN ETETE – WELL DONE You know me I can sabi to be forward. I will not wait for press statement. I will just come and be blazing. Well, if I don’t shout who else will? My brother Ken Etete has just acquired a $40m FPSO. Well for those of you who do not know what FPSO is, it is a ‌. Me too I don’t really know jo. But I have seen the picture and it is big. It is a oating something that they use in the oil industry and I hear they are only two in Africa and Ken my brother has one. you see why I am really not interested in the thing but that fact that this my brother through thick and thin has emerged with this and mark transaction. My ďŹ rm Hamilton and George were advisers on the transaction and cannot talk too

much about our role because it is not the professional thing to do but let me just say that it was the most rigorous transaction/negotiation process I have ever seen in twenty years of Investment banking. The pole that stood through it all was Ken. His calmness in the face of near failure, his astuteness and his ďŹ rm belief that we will make it is something I should write a book about.

The man get lion heart. Many times I have run away only to come back and he is standing with my partner and also his man Friday Alaba whose loyalty and professionalism was enough fuel for Ken. Well done my brother and the team at Century Group, now we can sleep. What is next? Don’t call me just yet, let me rest from this one ďŹ rst.

Ken Etere

We have started hearing familiar noises that this my friend

Tinubu

will soon be thrown up either for the governorship or deputy

Oshiomhole

Adoke

governorship of this our Lagos state. Well, obviously there is no official confirmation and as such one cannot make an official statement, so let me just leave it at the level of gist. But then again, the man has every right to aspire no matter who him be or him papa be. As a free born Lagosian, at least his pedigree is not in doubt, he should aspire.

He should want to ‘change’ things as a young man who has seen things at the closest possible range. You see, at first, I was really against this position but on second thought, I come remember Gorbachev and how he decimated the Soviet Republic. You can only destroy such a weird contraption from the inside and Seyi is best positioned to unravel the cabal that has been enthroned to ensure our continued servitude. I like the ‘boy’ having met him twice.

He is calm, respectful and very humble. A wicked businessman and very warm. Very obedient and loyal to his father and in the very good books of his father and his people. So you see that if he is empowered and emerges, he should be able to come with more modern tactics of rapprochement and consensus building to rebuild and remodel his father’s empire along better democratic lines.

It would be near impossible to dismantle the structure from the outside, go and ask Koro or PDP who seems to be tired. Our best possible hope is this Seyi, I tell you and that is why I just might be throwing my heavyweight behind him. Seyi, when you are ready, let’s talk.

Obasanjo

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LOUD WHISPERS

Odegbami

Ibru

Runsewe

Osaze-Osemwegi

ADAMS OSHIOMHOLE – REALLY NOT YOUR BUSINESS You see at the Duke Summit, Demola and Ajanaku always talk and Demola will be throwing in cartoons that used to annoy me especially when we are talking very serious matter. I will be advising them especially Demola that it is not on every issue you will be talking. When the matter is out of your area of competence, you keep quiet and listen and learn. Na so me I dey do and also Akin my brother na so he dey do.

When the talk is about economy or capital market, you will see Akin leading in discussions, on politics, you will see Ken as former PDP Chairman aide and when it comes to the joys of Afang, you will see me. In fact, I even know when the Afang is not cooked by an Ibibio woman. Igbo woman Afang always taste different because they don’t really finish pounding the okasi.

Anyway, let me focus. Oshio baba this South African thing no be your own. No be Labour matters of increase minimum wage or increase of fuel price and no be Edo politics matter. This na matter of high international diplomacy with global political/economic implications.

So dem no dey wear khaki discuss these things. That your statement and if it is true you said it is quite unfortunate. That MTN and other South African companies be punished for the wicked xenophobic attacks by a blinded tiny minority whose actions have caused major reverberations on both sides. There are billions of dollars that we can ill afford to lose under our precarious economic situation if we go ahead with this your talk. These firms have Nigerian shareholders and like MTN even quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Hurting them is wounding us more. Please my brother concentrate on your lane and let the experts handle this matter. I am sure the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Finance and the rest are seeking practical solutions to this wahala. Na all of us he pain but we cannot wound ourselves more because we are angry. Don’t vex master, I still like you.

Aremu is the play based on the life of one of the most influential and respected global statesmen, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. The Play was written by enigmatic Professor Ahmed Yerima, former Director General of the National troupe and would be directed by massively talented William Benson.

We met up with Chief Obasanjo in his expansive Presidential library complex, with the Deputy Chief Coordinator of the Presidential library, Mr. Ayo Aderinwale who will be doubling as Co-Executive Producer of the Play. As is usually the case with ‘baba’ the over two hour session was illuminating.

It was exciting and most of all, enlightening. When my brother Yemi Shodimu who will be playing a major role in the production asked what OBJ would do differently if he had a second chance on the Fela Kalakuta Republic matter, I just look the man. How can he ask this kind of question when dem never give us food eat? I turn to look at Ibi Sofekun my egbon and our liaison from fear o. We should not have bothered o, because baba answered the thing powerfully. If you want to know what he said, wait for the play. This would be the biggest production in the history of Nigerian Thetre as it is expected to tour 13 countries with a projected 1m people seeing it globally. Baba went through the script thoroughly making sure that it was balanced and will not come out as a PR job, he didn’t need to worry because Prof Yerima was at his best. Can’t even wait to see who we will choose to play AREMU, your guess is as good as mine.

this talk of murder is unsettling and confusing. If you know so much, let us know exactly who you think murdered the icon so that we send xenophobia there. If you cannot help us in that regard, please just maintain your silence.

There are some things you just don’t do for media mention; this is sacrilege. Please stop, na beg.

Egbon. I used to like you o. What is this na?

beautiful damsel with the purest of pedigree and a profile that is beginning to look larger than life. As discussions continued, she was making her orders. She took a plate of meat and salad, Obuks her sister/manager ordered coffee and pastries. Me, just took water and my friend Seun who was on the beat also took water to respect ourselves. I wanted her so badly. Her charisma, looks and professionalism are second to none, making her casting an easy draw for me. As the negotiations commenced, Obuks called a figure that made me impotent. I lost my confidence and to make it worse, I glimpsed at the prices of the food they were eating. I start to shake and by this time sweat was already spiraling down my forehead. I should not have worried, as Elvina smiled at me and said, ‘Edgar you are my brother, I go do am for you.

This thing no be money’. I jumped up and hugged her and thanked her and immediately carry my bag and run away before they say I should come and pay for the food.

I don’t know what happened to Seun sha but I don reach Shomolu before I remember say I get partner.

AREMU AND OBJ’S GREEN LIGHT If you have been following this column, you would have known that I am working on the biggest theatre exposition ever- Aremu.

SEGUN ODEGBAMI – COMMON STOP THAT! Egbon stop this talk na that Yekini was murdered. This is not only funny but careless and of what use would your shouting this all over the place be to the deceased, his family and Nigerians? Please if you are really not busy, go and open viewing centre and make some small money. Rashidi Yekini was one of our most prolific strikers, he served his fatherland with humility. Came for all his call ups and did his work diligently. We were all very sad at his demise but then again what can we do? So all

NAFEST – WELCOME TO EDO STATE NAFEST is the National Festival for Arts and Culture and it is being held this October in Edo State. The Otunba Segun Runsewe led National Council for Arts and Culture is coordinating and midwifing this very powerful display of Nigeria culture. According to the Edo State Commissioner for Arts and Culture, my friend and brother Hon. Osaze Ero, the festival is expected to attract over 2m people into Benin the state capital, create jobs and further strengthen Governor Obaseki’s strident drive towards the cultural renaissance that he is fostering. I am excited as I would be showing my Play EMOTAN with MTN as major sponsor with the wonderfully talented Elvina Ibru as my star.

If you do not know the road to Benin, please go to GIGM park and they will bring you.

Na Benin I dey this October o.

Wow! ELVINA IBRU – ISN’T SHE LOVELY? She had asked me to meet her up at the Federal Palace hotel with her sister, Obuks. The idea was a meet and greet to discuss the possibility of working together on both Emotan and Aremu. She is a scion of the famous Ibru Family and one of the biggest movie stars in the country right now having played the lead in Bolanle Austen Peters’ Bling Lagosians.

That movie is the highest grossing movie in the Nigerian cinema this year and the biggest thing to come out of that movie is Elvina. After the movie, she ran to Scotland for a showing of Ify Fafunwa’s Hear Word and only just came in for this talk in between talks for the biggest Nollywood/ Bollywood collaboration. So you can imagine my state sitting next to this very

TUNDE OKENIYI – A SHOUT OUT You know I like to recognize excellence and hard work. Let me use this opportunity to send a shout out to my friend Tunde who has just been made Managing Director of frontline payment system Pay Attitude. This appointment, if you look through his profile, you will agree cannot be better timed. The economy is going cashless and driven by digital payment systems. Trillions are being transacted on all of these seamless wireless processes growing and deepening commerce. So Tunde with his wide experience and level of professionalism just best fits this position at this time. I have known him for some time, being a fellow Lagos Business school alumni and a close friend with another champion of the new economy, UBA Custodian’s Bayo Yusuf and as such remain quite excited at this his elevation. Please if you have his number call him and wish him well. If you don’t have it, don’t worry; it is not a national emergency. Congrats bro.

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Changing the Imo Story, Laying a New Foundation Ă?ĂŁĂ™Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă?Ă– Ă•ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂ‹ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă—Ă&#x;Ă?Ă– ĂŒĂ‹Ă•ĂĄĂ? Ă—Ă‹Ă‘Ă“Ă?Ă‹Ă– Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ÚËĂ?ĂžËœ Ă‹Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ˜ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ËŞĂ? Ă’Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂžĂ–Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽËœ Ă˜Ă™ĂĄ Ă—Ă™ ÞËÞĂ?Ëœ ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă˜Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂŒĂ–Ă‹Ă?Ă• Ă?Ă’Ă?Ă?Ăš Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă™Ă&#x;ÞÒ̋ Ă‹Ă?Ăž Ă‘Ă?Ù̋ÚÙÖÓÞÓĂ?Ă‹Ă– Ă¤Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ë› Ă&#x;Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă“ĂœĂ?Ăž ͚͸͸ ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ? Ă™Ă? Ùà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă™Ăœ Ă—Ă?Ă•Ă‹

Ă’Ă?ÎÓÙÒË Ă?Ă“Ă‘Ă˜Ă‹Ă–Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ Ă“Ă—ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ‹Ă˜Ăž Ă?Ă™Ă™ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒËÞ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă—Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă? ÞÙ Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă˜Ă‘Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă—Ă™ Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœĂŁ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă‘Ă™Ă™ĂŽËœ ĂĄĂœĂ“ĂžĂ?Ă? Adedayo Adejobi

D

eeply aware that there was little time for frivolous activity, preceding and following their swearing-in, Governor Emeka Ihedioha and his deputy, Engr. Gerald Irona swung into action by constituting a high-powered Transition Technical Committee (TTC) comprising distinguished Imo sons and daughters from both within the state and the diaspora. This was to harness the state’s huge human and economic resources to set a clear path in its rebuilding process.

A review of the work accomplished by the TTC resulted in the Imo State Development Agenda, eventually known as Imo Growth and Strategic Development Plan (G-SDP). The Plan involves a two-stage development horizon of a 5-year Economic Blueprint. Significantly, this crucial work came at no cost. It was simply driven by goodwill inspired by a very appreciative Governor Ihedioha.

The development plan include the delivery of 381km rural access road projects, restoration of an improved Owerri Masterplan, restoration of water supply in Owerri metropolis, roll-out of a State health insurance scheme as well as the reactivation of four technical education institutions in the state. Others include an economic growth and strategic development initiatives along 5 sub-themes of; Human Capital Development, Agriculture and Food Security, Infrastructure, Industrialization and Job Creation as well as Security and Environment.

With the full knowledge that good governance pivots on building institutional frame work, the Governor Ihediohaled administration set up a structure for transparency and accountability in the governance process. Accordingly, they have signed into law, Executive Order 005, known as Treasury Single Account (TSA) Order to consolidate all government revenues under one account. They also adopted other measures designed to plug leakages and increase Internally Generated Revenues (IGR) in the state coffers.

Knowing it was impossible to achieve the right growth as a state without a sustainable internal revenue generating system the administration took steps to reform the state Internal Revenue Service. From August 2019 all cash tax payments were banned and the government mandated the use of the PayDirect platform with a single source sweeping of revenue. This has started addressing the issue of multiple accounts and leakages, and the state IGR has grown from an all-time low of about N300m in July to N600m in August.

It’s worth recalling that Imo State has less than 5% of the working population of over 2 million paying taxes and this was clearly not an acceptable position. The new administration met an arbitrary tax collection system leading to leakages, fraud and all sorts of irregularities.

The new regime has commissioned a Central Billing System which will drive the use of technology in tax collection and started a tax payer enumeration exercise with the attendant benefit of identifying the tax payers and ensuring they pay the right amount of tax to the right source.

A transformation of the revenue service is in place, built on the pillars of People Processes and Technology to ensure that the needs of the populace are served in the most efficient and professional manner, by operationalizing the autonomy of the Imo Internal Revenue Service in line with global standards. The administration has also listened to Imolites issues on multiple taxation and commenced a tax harmonization exercise in a bid to eliminate multiple taxation and streamline taxes in a manner that will only focus on the most relevant taxes to be paid.

Due to these strategic and fiscal responsibility moves, Imo State has gained positive image and is now on track to join the Open Governance Partnership league. It also now qualifies for performance-based grants of the World Bank as well as other multilateral development institutions. The administration is also currently developing the Imo Growth and Economic Development Fund, touted to be conceptually unique in Nigeria and would serve as an investment catalyst for the Imo State economy.

Under about 12 more clearly defined, segmented arenas, the Ihedioha administration has moved to hone policy and streamline execution. Some of these include:

Reinventing the State Civil Service

The weakness of the State Civil Service due to high nepotism, lack of motivation, delayed salaries and under-payments by, sometimes, as much as 30 percent of salaries due was an issue to be dealt with decisively. Consequently the regime empaneled a review committee to look into cases of improper or irregular appointments, promotions and other related matters.

The Committee has turned in its report and, subsequently, approval for the restoration of payment of 100 percent salaries to all workers in the State was given. It also recalled all unjustly suspended Directors, reversed some undeserved promotions and sponsored officers to capacity building programmes. Similarly, Local Government workers have been paid the backlog of salaries owed them by the last administration.

Infrastructure Renewal

The new administration inherited considerable collapsed infrastructures. Except those built by the Federal Government that are useable, the roads built by the state are in a very bad shape, despite the billions of Naira purportedly spent on road construction by the immediate past administration.

Today, the expanded State Executive Council has approved the award of contracts for the reconstruction of 14 critical roads across the State to bring relief to the suffering people. These

Gov. Ihedioha being received by Imo women at an event in Owerri

counterpart funding.

Security

The governor laying the foundation for the construction of Four Ultra Modern Technical Colleges in the State

include: Naze-Federal Polytechnic Road-Ihiagwa-Obinze road; Ahiara Junction-Okpala Road; Aba Branch-Ahiara Junction road and the Imo Stare Teaching Hospital Road. Others include, the Umuowa-Old Orlu Road; MCC-Toronto Road; Mgbidi– Oguta road; Ogwoghoranya-Avutu with spur at Avutu Poultry FarmRoad andthe Douglas–Emmanuel College-NazeJunction road.

Further accommodated under this phase of reconstruction are: the Assumpta-PortHarcourt Road; OkigweOkpara RoadPolice Station Road; Control Post-World Bank–Umuguma Road; Okigwe Road-IMSU-Bishop Court Roundabout Road and the Concorde Boulevard Ring Road-Zuma–PH Road.

Just last week, at Onuimo, Isu and Mbaitoli Local Government Areas, the new regime flagged-off one of the most ambitious rural road construction projects in the country.

Valued at N13.5 billion the World Bank assisted Rural Access and Mobility Project (RAMP), involves over 70 rural road networks with a cumulative distance of 381 kilometers across most of the 27 Local Government Areas of the state. The Ihedioha regime actually met the project just on the drawing board and immediately harnessed the necessary resources to pay the

Security in Imo State has been a big challenge since the new regime assumed office. Several meetings with Security Chiefs in the state on how to resolve extant challenges led to the launching of Operation Iron Gate, as a strategic measure to combat crimes and criminalities as well as rid the State of all undesirable elements. It has taken practical and sustained steps to get the state’s health care delivery system working again. The administration has re-launched the stalled Health Insurance Scheme to connect effectively into the already existing federal government insurance scheme. The state has also committed 1% of its Consolidated Revenue to this scheme and is confident that, soon, a good percentage of its populace would have registered and started benefiting from the scheme.

It’s no secret that meaningful industrialization cannot take place where there is poor power supply. Power supply in the state, over the years, has been limited by generation shortfalls as well as transmission and distribution deficiencies. Other hindrances include - the absence of modern electricity management systems and the non-exploitation of green technology in the energy mix.

As a result, the government has set up the Imo State Power and Rural Electrification Agency (I-POREA) to evolve strategies to remove barriers to adequate exploitation of our power generation potentials. It has also empowered I-POREA to take advantage of the State’s natural gas and alternative energy resources to bridge the gap in access to electricity in the state and have also made remarkable progress towards the restoration of electricity supply to some areas of the State where they were nonexistent in the last seven to eight years.

This include, the replacement of 79 failed transformers across the State, completion of electricity supply to Inyishi Aluminum Extrusion Company and its environs as well as the Oguta 33kv line electricity project.

It could be recalled that for several years, the Otamiri Water Supply was not functional and our people in the state capital and contiguous areas suffered untold hardships. The administration provided what was required to get it working again. Specifically, water started running again in Imo on 24th July, 2019 after almost seven(7) years of dry pipes. In the same vein, work is ongoing to rectify cases of burst pipes across the major roads. Similarly, on assumption of office, it was discovered that there was no functional fire-fighting equipment in the state. The regime took prompt and practical steps. Today, it has successfully repaired four firefighting trucks to restore the operations of Imo emergency and firefighting services.

The administration is also tackling the housing deficit in the state by taking concrete steps towards re-positioning Imo State Housing Corporation and entering into partnership with primary mortgage institutions such as Federal Mortgage Bank, the Family Homes Funds and other reputable private sector investors, towards providing 5000 affordable homes by the year 2023. It has initiated a Social Housing Initiative designed to create about 15,000 jobs in the next four years.

The new regime has carried out the renovation of the Odenigbo lodge which presently serves as the offices of the Governor and Deputy Governor and commenced the renovation of Commissioners’ quarters and quarters of security chiefs. We have also completed comprehensive enumeration of all public buildings in the state capital for accountability purposes.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ EPTEMBER 15, 2019

POLITY t CHANGING THE IMO STORY, LAYING A NEW FOUNDATION t Continued from Page 66 Reviving Agriculture and Enhancing Food Value Chain

To fully exploit the state’s agricultural potentials as well as generate employment, it recently launched the Agricultural Roadmap which represents a comprehensive framework for selfsufficiency in food production, both for domestic consumption and for exports purposes. By its strategic location at the heartland of the South East and Imo’s endowment with the only international cargo airport in the region, the regime is confident that with the right investments, the state would harvest monumental benefits in this sector.

The first batch of 500 youths selected from all the 27 LGAs in Imo State will be sent to a modern farm at Nasarawa State, in a few weeks, under the Imo Youths in Agribusiness Programme (IYAP).

Here, they would learn the best practices in tropical agriculture, after which they will be supported to start their own businesses in Imo State.

The administration has also commenced the establishment of a Rice Seed Farm Cluster on the Imo River Basin at Amumara – Ezinihitte Mbaise LGA. This programme will clearly make Imo State self-sufficient in the production of improved variety of rice seeds with a view to strengthening our rice value chain. Experts in rice breeding, production and processing from the Africa Rice Centre at IITA Ibadan will be training our groups of rural young farmers to grow and process improved rice seeds.

The Ihedioha regime has also commenced the introduction of light mechanization to farmers in areas where full tractorization may not be possible. This is intended to reduce the drudgery of farming and make it more efficient and attractive for the youths.

Experts in power tillers, threshers etc. have been invited from the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanization (NCAM), Ilorin, to commence the pilot scheme.

Specialists in light irrigation and water management have also been invited and the government has released funds for equipment to pilot the teaching of youths on how to make use of the state’s perennial water sources for an all-year-round production of crops.

The process for the rejuvenation of Imo ADP has commenced and plans are underway to train staff and reintegrate them back to intervention programmes that have suffered severe setbacks in the past as a prelude to granting access to reputable, time-tested investors. It is noteworthy that, the Avutu Poultry Farm has been cleared for a full restoration to a world-class standard. Similarly, Adapalm is being cleared through the relevant Committee and we would soon commence operations. The challenge of pending legal issues is being attended in order to clear the way for full optimization of its potentials.

Imo State is set to host the only Agribusiness Park in Nigeria at Ngor-Okpala. This comprises an agribusiness academy, and a smart agribusiness centre, thus positioning the facility for revenue generation and job creation. In a few weeks’ time, data capture of affected Imolites in the upcoming agriculture revolution program targeting 400,000 participants between the ages of 15-64 would begin.

Sports Facilities

Aware that Imo State used to be the fishing ground for sporting talents, disgorging many celebrated sports stars. But in the last few years, even the state’s Heartland Football Club and the Grasshoppers Handball Club have performed abysmally due to complete neglect.

The Dan Anyiam Stadium was completely broken down to the extent that NFF barred it from hosting matches and Imo football team. The Heartland Football Club was nearly relegated from the Premiership as a result. Happily, the prompt intervention of government just before its inauguration halted the slide. Regrassing of the Dan Anyiam Stadium, installation of new flood lights, replacement of the seats and construction of Olympic standard tartan tracks have gotten underway. The Grasshoppers Stadium is beginning to wear a new look. Furthermore, local councils have joined the talent mining program of the state government through construction of sporting facilities in their respective local government areas.

Investment and Strategic Reforms

Imo State for years has been the ugly bride in the area of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country which Nno amount of moulding of statues could reverse or attract the needed investment in the state. But with new integrity the enabling environment environment for both domestic and foreign investments is being reinvented. Accordingly, the government has designed a framework for implementing the necessary reforms to improve its place on the World Bank Ease of Doing Business ranking, which has taken a battering in the last eight years.

In a few weeks’ time, Imo State would be inaugurating the Imo State Enabling Business Environment Council – ISEBEC. The Council, would draw up, implement and oversee an agenda for business process reforms. The government has commenced initial engagement with development partners like the World Bank and DFID, to provide technical assistance to the Secretariat and related MDAs to implement the reforms. The government is reworking the Tax Billing System (TBS), to stem the debate over multiple taxations and to restore transparency and accountability in our tax collection regime. The government has signaled that in the coming days Imo people will know exactly what taxes are due to them and how and where to pay such taxes.

The government has revamped the Imo State government Bureau of Public Procurement and Price Intelligence and appointed a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply as its Director-General. Thus far, the BPPPI has dusted and resurrected the State Public Procurement Law No.12 of 2010, which was kept moribund since its enactment. Similarly, we recently embarked on investment and trade promotion visits to the United Kingdom, Germany and others, where we interacted with prospective investors, development partners and donor agencies.

Pension Reform

The Ihedioha regime inherited over six years of pension arrears and discovered baffling discrepancies in the total number of pensioners in both the State and the 27 Local Governments.

Consequently, it is carrying out a comprehensive audit of the pension administration system in the state with a view to ascertaining the actual number of pensioners and ending the perennial cycle of verifications that has plagued the process. In

Flagging-off the 81km road construction in Owerri

a short while, the exercise will be concluded and all the troubles hitherto experienced by Imo’s senior citizens, would be a thing of the past.

Sanitation

In the last eight years, Owerri capital city witnessed a gross deterioration of its standards of beauty and sanitation. It could rightly be said that no State capital in the federation at any moment in history suffered a conscious infrastructural dilapidation and decay like Owerri. Every visitor that visited Owerri had alluded to this fact. But the current administration has changed all that.

It embarked on the removal of mountains of refuse dumps that littered the state capital and followed immediately with the desilting of blocked drainages to ensure a permanent solution to the issue of flooding in the capital city.

It has also revived the monthly state-wide clean-up exercises and have set up a high-powered committee to work with ENTRACO, the Imo State sanitation agency. Only last week the Nigerian Association of Town Planners gave Owerri the 2019 Green Cities Promotion Award.

Autonomy of LGAs

The new administration has fully restored the autonomy of the Local government as enshrined in the Nigerian constitution.

The Interim Management Committee for the Local Government as resolved by the 8th Assembly, is a stop-gap measure to hold the forte as we work towards free, fair and credible local government elections.

Technical & Vocational Education and Creating ICT Hub

Assuring that Imo children obtain quality and affordable education is a priority of our administration. Preparatory to the resumption of our schools in the new session, the government hosted a well-attended Education Stakeholders’ Summit in which it felt the pulse of the administrators, operators, practitioners and students alike. We are geared to this time, making our systems work.

In Ihedioha’s inaugural address, he promised to resuscitate technical and vocational education in the State. Clearly, the imperative of creating a pool of highly skilled youths that would be the pride of the State in the coming years, cannot be over-stressed.

Consequently, on June 2nd, 2019, it inaugurated a Task-force on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) under my office. It has been charged with the mandate to deliver tangible outcomes on the transformation of TVET within 180 Days.

The resuscitation of TVET being a priority of the Rebuild Imo Project is anchored on the government’s firm belief that the acquisition of critical technical and vocational skills by majority of youths has the capacity to stimulate sustainable industrial development, job and wealth creation and ultimately rapid improvement in the socio-economic life of Imo people. Security of lives and property will also be assured when its youths are off the streets because they are gainfully engaged.

Very recently, the government flagged-off the rebuilding and equipping of four technical colleges in the State namely; Government Technical College Owerri, Ahiara Technical College, Government Technical College Okporo, Orlu and Government Technical College Osu. Our target is that by 2020 it should have hit 60 percent mark of post-Basic students as enrolees in the TVET system.

Similarly, the government recognizes the place of Information & Communication Technology- ICT, as the bridge to the future.

Consequently, again just last week we signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a major technology incubation company in the United States to harness the budding technology potentials of our youths and it is also in contact with Google Inc. on how it can invest in the capacity of our young ones.

The launch of the first phase of the Chief Leo Stan Ekeh Entrepreneurship Support programme for Imo State indigenes is accomplished. In this first phase 1,300 people will be given interestfree loans. The main interest free loan for bigger businesses and school fees on the N1.5 Billion support shall commence on Oct, 2019. The objective is to encourage Imo people engaged in genuine

businesses and to empower the people.

Culture and Tourism

The administration has successfully and speedily revived the abandoned Ahiajoku Lecture Series. It has, indeed, been elevated to an Institute with the appointment of a Director-General to take charge of its affairs. By doing this, Ahiajoku has become a first rate cultural and intellectual resource centre on Igbo culture and civilisation like the Goethe Institute in Germany and the Italian cultural institute.

The lingering crisis between the indigenes of Nekede and the State government over the alleged misuse of the land designated for the zoological garden has been resolved and the zoo has been re-positioned to ultimately become a tourist destination.

Strengthening Separation of Powers

A cordial relationship with the legislature is evident. On assumption of office, a retreat with the members of the State Assembly was hosted and led to fruitful outcome such that a total of 8 Bills (3 in the 8th Assembly and 5 in the 9th Assembly) were signed into law in the period from May 29th to date.

Some of these include: Imo State Public Procurement (Amendment) law (2) Imo State Local Government Administration (Amendment) Law, (3) Imo State Universal Basic Education Board (Amendment) Law; (4) Imo State Power & Rural Electrification Law , (5) Imo State Electoral (Amendment) Law, (6) Imo State Market Development Authority Law, (7) Imo State Facility Management Agency Law and Imo State Sports Commission (Establishment Law). Moving forward, we are working on domesticating the Administration of Justice Act as well as the Child Rights Act, respectively.

Similarly, the government recognizes the independence of the Judiciary and are supporting the establishment of a multidoor court house to create alternative windows for dispute resolution. Only a few days ago, the government inaugurated the reconstituted Imo State Judicial Service Commission made up eminent jurists, renowned legal practitioners and reputable Imo citizens. All emoluments and other entitlements of the Judiciary are released as and at the when due.

Accountability Previous Administration

It is important to recall that we took over the reins of government without even a single handover note. Handover notes, traditionally, is the least responsibility an outgoing administration owes an incoming one. Usually it presents a clear picture of the status of government funds, assets, liabilities, pending judicial matters and even policies to enhance continuity. But unfortunately, this was not done.

Upon inception the new government discovered that the inability to provide the necessary documentation was due to a total abuse and neglect of laid down procedures of good governance.

Most shocking were the litany of “garnishee absolute orders” amounting to over N30 billion in addition to six years of unpaid pension as well as salary arrears. Projects were poorly conceived, shabbily executed or hastily abandoned. We have even found some of them very hazardous to human safety.

With a wage bill at an average of N2.5b per month, almost N1b monthly pension bill and in an atmosphere of very low IGR, very little is left for development. This is compounded by the almost N1b statutory deduction on our FAAC, majorly for the repayment of the N26.8b bailout funds, given to the last administration by the FG. But we shall not despair.

As a government that espouses the Rule of Law, the Ihedioha regime set up two judicial panels of Inquiry, namely: the Judicial Panel of Inquiry into Land Allocation from 2005 to 2019 and the Judicial Panel of Inquiry into Award of Contracts from 2005 to 2019. It also set up an Inquiry into the Management of Local Government Finances from 2011 to 2019. These panels are made up of very credible Imo citizens with impeccable track records and we are certain they will give Imolites justice.

Assessing the new Ihedioha regime from what it has accomplished in a 100 day simply confirms that story of Ndi Imo is indeed changing for good.

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SEPTEMBER 15, 2019 ˾ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

THEALTERNATIVE

with RenoOmokri

Of Buhari, Osinbajo, Mugabe, And Stranded Nigerians in South Africa

O

n Friday, September 13, 2019, I got an email from the office of Pastor Yemi Osinbajo stating that he would be representing Nigeria at the funeral in Zimbabwe of Robert Mugabe on Saturday, September 14, 2019.

I find this telling. Why? Well, because the General Buhari junta has not thought it either wise or necessary to send a plane to evacuate stranded Nigerians in South Africa in the midst of the crisis of xenophobia.

Yet, Osinbajo would be flying in our Presidential jet for a burial. It does beg the question of whether this regime cares for the dead at the expense of the living.

In any case, it is good Osinbajo is representing Nigeria at Mugabe’s funeral. Why? Because Zimbabwe is next door to South Africa. The Reverend Gentleman would do well to make sure to stop by in neighbouring South Africa to pick up stranded Nigerians in the plane bringing him back. After all, Nigerian taxpayers paid for the plane. But even more importantly, that is what Christ would have done.

After all, during the last elections, when Osinbajo needed Nigerians’ votes, he shared out N10,000 to Nigerians.

Now that Nigerians in South Africa need him, he has been nowhere to be found. He now has an opportunity to correct his error. Remember, pastor, it is not only General Buhari who is watching you. God is also watching you!

On this issue, I cannot help but notice that multiple chartered flights, paid for by the Nigerian government, are leaving Nigeria almost on a daily basis to airlift pilgrims to Saudi Arabia. Yet, General Buhari could not divert just one of such planes to South Africa to airlift stranded Nigerians, affected by the xenophobic attacks, back home.

It had to be done by AIr Peace, a private airline owned by an Igbo man. When I said that Buhari is not so concerned about the attacks, because the victims are mostly Igbo 5 percenters and not his favoured 97 percenters, some insulted me. Continue to hate the truth. It is not me you are doing!

Let me prove to my readers that the 97% versus 5% philosophy that General Buhari espoused at the United States Institute for Peace in June 2015 is still very much alive.

General Buhari budgeted BILLIONS for RUGA. His government proposed BILLIONS to IMPORT GRASS from

Osinbajo

BRAZIL. He increased his ministers from 40 to 43. He increased his media aides from 8 to 10. He budgets N1 billion for travel. He bought himself a new bulletproof Mercedes Maybach costing N150 million. And to pay for all of these, he INCREASES your VAT from 5% to 7.2%! Yet, General Buhari could not pay for a plane to evacuate Nigerians from South Africa! It was a private citizen, Allen Onyema, CEO of Air Peace, who sent a plane.

On February 2, 2010 Nigeria made history as the first nation to evacuate her citizens from Egypt, during the Arab Spring protest that swept Hosni Mubarak from power. Then, there was no 97% versus 5%. Then President Goodluck Jonathan personally ordered NEMA to send planes to Cairo.

On Sunday February 27, 2011 the Jonathan administration also evacuated 1,035 Nigerian citizens back to Nigeria, on two chartered flights. Two days later, just under 1,000 more were evacuated.

General Buhari could learn from that. He could learn that a leader who only cares for those who voted for him is not really a leader. He is rather a distraction. A waste of space and time. I want to believe that General Buhari would not want to reduce himself to that. I hope I am not assuming wrong.

I have been on the Presidential Jet that Pastor Osinbajo would be flying to attend Mugabe’s funeral tomorrow. It can easily seat 60 people. But such is the disdain of General Buhari for 5 percenters that he would rather provide a plane for his deputy to celebrate death than provide one for Nigeria to appreciate life.

At this point, I want to celebrate Apostle Johnson Suleman. I was overjoyed when he promised to pay for the evacuation of Nigerians from his own pocket. What a humanitarian gesture!

As an aside, let me say that it is selfish to accept POVERTY or be content as long as you have enough for your need. What of the poor? God does not want you to be rich so you can enjoy. He wants to bless the poor through YOU! If the Good Samaritan was poor, he’d have been USELESS. MANY criticise a man of God’s HARVEST. But, I HARDLY see people criticise a man of God’s SOWING. Apostle Suleman has SOWN HOUSES and CARS. Creflo Dollar has given out 100 HOUSES (yes!). But let these men of God PROSPER and people will ATTACK their PROSPERITY!

Reno’s Nuggets

Nowhere in Scripture does God say ‘just have children and I will provide for them’. God did NOT even create Eve for Adam until Adam had a job tending the Garden.

Nigeria’s poverty is SELF INDUCED. We are PROCREATING children without CREATING WEALTH. Nigerians are too active in the BEDROOM and less so in the BOARDROOM. Our POPULATION is EXPLODING, while our PRODUCTIVITY is IMPLODING. We have a government that celebrates 1.2% GDP growth, when we have 2.6% POPULATION growth. Are we competing with RABBITS?

Tr i b ute to ‘T h e B la c k Sc o r p i o n’ o f T he Ni ge r ian Ar my, B en j a min Ad e ku nl e Godwin Osaghae

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist that is all” - Oscar Wilde.

F

or anyone who had the privileged of knowing him, Rtd Brigadier Benjamin Adekunle fondly called black scorpion did something rare.

He lived his life to bring unity to Nigeria, he put everything to see that Nigeria remains one Nation.

Benjamin Adesanya Maja Adekunle was born on June 25, 1936 in Kaduna state. His father was a native of Ogbomosho south in Oyo state while the mother was a member of the Bachama tribe in Adamawa state. He attended Government College Okene, Kogi state.

Black Scorpion enlisted in the Nigeria Army in 1958 shortly after completing his school certificate examination. He was dispatched to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom for further military training.

Benjamin Adekunle was commissioned as 2nd lieutenant on December 15, 1960 and as a Platoon commander, proceeded to Kasai Province in Congo to serve with the 1st battalion in the United Nation peace keeping mission.

Benjamin Adekunle also serve as the aidede-camp to the then governor of the Eastern

Region, Sir Akanu Ibiam, before he proceeded to Defence Staff College in Wellington India in 1954.

Benjamin Adekunle played a very significant role during the Nigeria civil war when it erupted in July 1967, he was tasked to lead the 7th and 8th Battalion to Bonny in the Bight of Benin in 1968.

Black Scorpion won the admiration of his men on and off the battlefield, many of whom are still alive today and will remember him for his active participation beyond the war planning room.

After the civil war, Benjamin Adekunle was promoted to Brigadier in 1972 and was deployed to Lagos port, a position he held until his compulsory retirement came in August 1974. This post–war service was at a critical junction for the country because Nigeria economic activities were at a stand-still due to port congestion, he solved in short order what was feared to have been an insoluble problem.

Black Scorpion was a dogged fighter and his achievement during the war singled him out as one of the most mythologized military figure in Nigeria history.

He maintained a dignified silence ever since and vehemently refused to be dragged into the murky water of Nigerian politics or economic rat race.

Benjamin Adekunle, the Black Scorpion became ill in 2009 and eventually died on September 13, 2014 quietly in his bedroom.

Today, Rtd Brigadier Benjamin Adekunle is remembered by the children, who fondly recall him as an imposing charismatic yet loving figure.

A man entirely at ease looking after babies and one who made excellent okra soup. He is remembered by his children, grandchildren and the entire Thomas Adekunle family and all the people of Ogbomosho South in Oyo state, Nigeria.

Godwin Osaghae writes from Lagos

Gen. Benjamin Adekunle

ARTS & REVIEW A

PUBLICATION

ENCOMIUMS AT 'KANU: THE LAST ARO KING' UNVEILING PAGE 71

15.09.2019

TWENTY FIVE YEARS AFTER, ENWONWU IS STILL THE MASTER Enwonwu

EDITOR OKECHUKWU UWAEZUOKE/ okechukwu.uwaezuoke@thisdaylive.com

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ SEPTEMBER 15, 2019

70

ARTS & REVIEW\\TRIBUTE

TWENTY FIVE YEARS AFTER, ENWONWU IS STILL THE MASTER Long after his death in 1994, Ben Enwonwu’s legacy in the art scene is still sustained not only by the impressive sales figures of his works at both local and international art auctions, but also by a foundation named after him, Okechukwu Uwaezuoke reports

I

t's already 25 years since Ben Chukwukadibia Enwonwu departed this plane of existence. Even so, fame – not unlike a faithful dog– still stalks him. Indeed, not many contemporary Nigerian artist's works have so consistently enjoyed a streak of great sales like his works did in recent memory. For they have, in their current best-selling romp, they chalked up surprising sales figures in both local and international auction houses.

Only two years ago, one of the three versions of his portrait of the Ife princess Adetutu Ademiluyi (simply titled “Tutu”) sold for £1,205,000 in a Bonhams Africa Now sale in London. The buzz around the painting, which has been missing since 1975, had assumed legendary dimensions. If its rediscovery in a north London flat unleashed a buzz of excitement in local art circles, it was because the 1973 painting has assumed the status of a Nigerian national icon of sorts. After all, its poster reproductions adorn walls in private homes all over the country.

Months after this sale, Enwonwu’s bronze sculpture “Anyanwu” sold for N52 million as the best-selling work at the Arthouse Auction of Modern and Contemporary Art held in Lagos. Previously, this iconic work had sold at a Bonhams sale for a record £353,000 (N138.4 million) and at an earlier Arthouse auction for N21 million as its highest selling work.

This work, which was first produced for the Nigerian National Museum in 1975, has a bigger version at the United Nation's building in New York. For Enwonwu, the work expresses his notion of a new Nigeria, which is culturallyconfident and proud of her heritage.

“My aim was to symbolise our rising nation,” he was quoted to have said. “I have tried to combine material, crafts and traditions, to express a conception that is based on womanhood, woman, the mother and nourisher of man.

“In our rising nation, I see the forces embodied in womanhood; the beginning, and then, the development and flowering into the fullest stature of a nation, a people!

“This sculpture is spiritual in conception, rhythmical in movement and three dimensional in its architectural setting, these qualities are characteristic of the sculptures of my ancestors.”

Sometime in late July this year, Quartz Africa reported a discovery of another portrait by Enwonwu. According to the report, titled “How a Texas Family Discovered They Owned a Forgotten Ben Enwonwu Portrait Valued at

Ben Enwonwu's -- Tutu (1974)

Ben Enwonwu's --Anyanwu

$200, 000”, an almost-forgotten portrait of the Davis’ family matriarch was found in their family house in Texas. This led to the finder doing a Google search on Enwonwu’s name only to discover that what they owned preceded the best-selling “Tutu”.

The latest find, titled “Christine”, is a portrait of Christine Elizabeth Davis, a US-born stylist of Caribbean descent, whose many travels saw her living and working in Ghana before relocating to Nigeria’s former capital city Lagos with her British husband in 1969. It was while they were in Lagos that they befriended Enwonwu and in 1971, Christine’s husband commissioned the work as a gift for his wife. This was a few years before the couple’s eventual return to the US. Enwonwu, hailed as one of the pioneers of Nigerian modernism, is one of the most celebrated African artist of recent years. Through his successful fusion of the elements of his indigenous art traditions with those of the Western conventions, he was able to create a legacy that launched his art as a “unique form of African modernism”.

And it was to uphold this legacy that the Ben Enwonwu Foundation (BEF) was established in 2003. Indeed, the Foundation declares its aim as the sustaining and building on the artist's life and works

through which he forged a philosophical footing for contemporary Nigerian art.

The following year, 2004, the Foundation launched its series of distinguished lectures which has drawn eminent aficionados from both within and outside Nigeria. Soon, it became a platform for national and international leaders, renowned academics and policy-makers to share their understanding and perspectives on the role of art as an agent of desirable societal changes.

Students of tertiary institutions like Yaba College of Technology, Ahmadu Bello University, Obafemi Awolowo University and the University of Lagos have so far been the beneficiaries of its scholarships and grants, through which the Foundation supports research, exhibitions and publications that foster innovative and scholarly artistic expression.

It is in the light of its stated objectives that the Foundation deemed an art centre necessary. This art centre, which is located in the late artist's home offers a year-round educational programme that explores his art practice as well as the cultural and social context of his work and links to contemporary themes.

In addition, the centre also houses the Omenka Gallery, which represents a coterie of African and non-African artists in international art fairs and fora. Locally, the lagoon-front gallery is one of the most favoured venues for art exhibitions.

Among the several projects the Foundation is currently embarking on are the publication of a catalogue raisonné, biographies, lectures and writings on contemporary African art.

As one of the trailblazers of the contemporary Nigerian art scene, virtually everything about Enwonwu’s life prepared him for his role. A scion of a noble family of Umueze-Aroli in Onitsha, he had a father who, though trained as a technician, was a highly-esteemed traditional sculptor.

Indeed, the artist was reported to have inherited his father's tools after the latter’s death in 1921.

Much later, he would study study fine art under the renowned educationist Kenneth C. Murray at both Government College, Ibadan and Government College, Umuahia. The artist was later recognised as one of his most gifted and proficient students of Murray, who later became a director of antiquities.

Indeed, the period under this art educationist flagged off his formal education in art.

Subsequently, thanks to a joint Shell Petroleum Company and British Council scholarship, he was able to enrol at the reputable Slade School of Fine Art, University College, London in 1944.

The following year, he moved on to the Ruskin School, Ashmolean, Oxford University where the Slade had been relocated during World War II. After his graduation with a first-class diploma in 1947, he enrolled for postgraduate work in anthropology (with a focus on West African ethnography) at the University of London and completed his studies in 1948.

Besides working as Murray's assistant, Enwonwu later worked as a teacher at the Government College of Umuahia and, subsequently, in several other schools before becoming an art adviser to the Nigerian government from 1948. Much later, he worked as a supervisor at the Nigerian Information Service Department in 1959, became a fellow at the University of Lagos, cultural adviser to the Federal Government of Nigeria from 1968 to 1971, a visiting artist at Howard University, Washington DC in the US and later the first professor of fine arts at the University of Ife, Ile-Ife from 1971 to 1975. also, during the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC), which was held in Lagos of 1977, he worked at the art consultant at the festival’s international secretariat.

Long before that, his fame in the art world skyrocketed after he was commissioned to produce a bronze sculpture of Queen Elizabeth II, who was on an official visit to Nigeria in 1956.

EXHIBITION

LIMCAF: ENUGU ZONAL EXHIBITION CENTRE OPENSWITH A BANG Olufunke Adepuji

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n unprecedented crowd, consisting of about 300 art enthusiasts, graced the Thursday, September 5 opening of the Enugu Zonal exhibition of the 13th edition of the Life in My City Art Festival (tagged LIMCAF) at the Alliance Française premises along Neni Street, Enugu.

Among the dignitaries present at the occasion were top executives from the private and public sectors like the chairman of the festival Elder K. U. Kalu, a former chairman of Union Bank, and Chief Loretta Aniagolu, the chief executive of HELIU Residences. There were also Gozie Eneh, a former Special

Adviser to the Enugu State governor, Chief Ben Etiaba, the immediate past executive chairman of Enugu Sports Club as well as such Enugu’s leading artists as Bona Ezeudu, Chris Afuba and Okey Ikenegbu, former director of the School of Art and Design, IMT Enugu alongside other members of the festival’s Board of Trustees. This exhibition, the only of its kind in the south-east geopolitical zone, was one among other regional exhibitions of the 2019 of the annual nationwide youth art empowerment festival, which stomps towards its grand finale and award night in late October. Other zonal exhibitions held so far included Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja and Benin, among others. Port Harcourt, according to the schedule, will host the last of these zonal exhibitions before the grand finale in Enugu.

Featuring at the grand finale exhibi-

tion, which will be held at the International Conference Centre in IMT, are 100 of the best works culled from the zonal exhibitions.

A record 137 art works were featured at the Enugu exhibition. This is unprecedented in the history of the Enugu Centre, which formally known as a Zone has now been renamed a Regional Centre after the recent restructuring of the festival process.

Chief Etiaba, as the chairman of the occasion and LIMCAF’s Special Guest of Honour, led other distinguished members and art aficionados. He commended the consistency of the festival board and organising committee for nurturing the festival to its current status as the longest running art festival in Nigeria today. Obviously impressed by the quality of creative works on display, he described them as equal in every respect to what one would find

among young artists anywhere in the contemporary art world today.

Also commending the works, the LIMCAF’s art director Dr. Ayo Adewunmi also expressed special satisfaction with their constantly improving quality year on year. He expressed delight with the turnout of many members of the public, which he saw as a fulfilment that one of the objectives of the festival – to grow art appreciation and collection thereby empowering the young artists and growing art as a tool for socioeconomic development.

According to Dr Adewunmi, only about 25 of the 137 works on display will qualify for the grand finale exhibition in October. He also said that after the Port Harcourt Centre exhibition, the 100 qualifying works will be announced on the LIMCAF website and other media platforms.

––Adepuji writes from Lagos.

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ARTS & REVIEW\\EXHIBITION

THE MAKING OF A MICROSCOPIC PAINTING IN LAGOS Yinka Olatunbosun

T

hat breezy Saturday in Lagos, a Lagos-based Nigerian artist and art educator, Michael Fasakin was in the midst of artists gathered for a live painting experience in the Surulere neighbourhood when he broke a piece of news exclusively to THISDAY. “I think I just made one of the world’s smallest piece of paintings.”

The painting, a 0.5cm-square piece, which can only be viewed with the aid of a microscope, came into view as he scrolled through the images on his phone. His decision to do this phenomenal work was not a spontaneous action.

Flashback to 2008 when Fasakin just graduated from the Yaba College of Technology, he was eager to learn more and polish his painting skills.

“I had enjoyed the tutelage of Dr. Kunle Adeyemi with whom I worked as a student assistant and I got the baptism into printmaking,” he recalled.

“Printmaking is also an area that I delved into and at a point, I have been to Bruce Onobrakpeya’s studio which has always been a wonderful time. Incidentally, I always had conflicting schedules with the Harmattan workshop so I have never been there. I even got an invitation from Baba Bruce [Onobrakpeya] himself and he said, ‘Don’t worry even if you are not going to pay, we will give you a rebate.’ I owe the Harmattan Workshop a visit.”

Though he teaches visual arts in a private secondary school, he dedicates some quality time to painting. Recently, he noticed that his vision was diminishing. To make something great out of the depressing condition, he decided to put the eyes to test.

“I asked myself, ‘How far can I strain these eyes? Before then, I had not gone for any testing to know whether I needed a pair of glasses or not. To put it to test, I

decided to paint something very small.”

He went on the internet to see other existing small paintings. Eventually, he settled into his studio and in three days, the ‘little’ project was completed.

“I did one in water colour, another in poster colour and I wanted to do 0.5cm square painting. When I was painting, it looked bigger. But then, you will need a magnifying lens to see the work. Each time people discover what is on the tiny painting, they will say, ‘You are mad.

How did you paint it? Meanwhile, it was after I had finished painting that I got a magnifying lens to see what I had done.

Even a blind man can paint. I just knew that the patches of the colours would form something. I wanted to paint a landscape but then I thought that would be a very difficult thing to do. It turned out to be an abandoned hut so I called the title, “Ahere Di Ahoro’’ (loosely translated as a deserted hut). It means the hut which is a place of work for the farmer has become an abandoned property. As Nigerians, we need to go back to agriculture. That is the message in the work. It is not just to beat the existing records but also to pass a message,’’ he explained, as the sounds of blaring horns interplayed with his voice.

After he finished the amazing painting, he went for an eye test. He was told that he would be required to wear a pair of eyeglasses. His reaction was quite hilarious.

“Thank God I did some painting with my bare eyes. I have never loved putting on glasses. We grew up knowing that it was undesirable for anyone to wear a pair of glasses,’’ he said to his bespectacled reporter-guest who made effort to keep a straight face. “When I saw the ophthalmologist, he told me I ought to have been using the glasses before now. I can’t just read for long. If I try it, it will blur. I can see colours, long distance except if there are other definitions to colours.”

Fasakin had his first solo painting at the Yaba College of Technology in 2016. He is currently working on another solo exhibition scheduled for next year. He has been

Microscopic painting part of several group exhibitions and had served at the Lagos Chapter of the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA) as the assistant secretary in 2004. He explained why there seemed to be a delay between his last solo show and the next.

“Due to the change in jobs, I couldn’t prepare in time for it because I didn’t want to be giving excuses to my new employer,” he explained. “Art is jealous. If you embrace art, you will refrain from any other thing. It will not be long before you will discover that you are not putting in your best as an artist. There are artists that

use their day off from regular jobs to paint.

The job that is paying you can take more time if you are not careful.”

Speaking on the influences on his artistic style, Fashakin acknowledged the roles played by many leading artists in Nigeria especially his former teachers.

“Within Nigeria, I have found very inspiring artists. Bruce Onabrakpeya’s works sometimes fascinate me. Given his age, I think he has such energy and vigour for the art. I have been mentored by a lot of artists and I will not want to start mentioning names, so that I don’t omit any.”

BOOK LAUNCH

ENCOMIUMS AT 'KANU: THE LAST ARO KING' UNVEILING

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he lecture theatre of the Nigerian Institute for International Affairs, NIIA, Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, witnessed an unusual gathering of political, economic and social opinion leaders on Friday, September 6, for the public presentation of the book, Kanu: The Last Aro King.

Kanu: The Last Aro King is an exciting historical and cultural novel authored

by Ernie Onwumere and published by the reputable Ibadan based Kraft Books Limited with a foreword written by Professor Okoro Ijoma.

The public presentation of the book was anchored by Ogbonnia Okereke under the chairmanship of Chief Ben Okoye, Chairman DSV Group. The presentation was done by Uche Orji, the Managing Director, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority while Prof Ngozi Osarenren of the University of Lagos was the book reviewer. The Minister for Mines and Steel Development, Dr Uchechukwu Ogah was represented by Kelechi Ekugo.

Professor Ngozi Osarenren, the reviewer, took the audience through the 14 chapters of the book and threw more light on its rich cultural and historical content commending the author for the telling the story in a compelling and easy to read manner. She concluded her review by recommending Kanu: The last

Sir Ike Okoronkwo, the chief Host and Ernie Onwumere, the author during a kola presentation at the event Aro king without reservations to all those who sincerely seek the deep knowledge of the Aro people and their culture.

The Host Royal Father, His Majesty Mazi

Ogbonnaya Okoro, CFR, Eze Aro, ably represented by Prince Joshua Kanu Oji, in his speech, thanked the author, Ernie Onwumere, for documenting for posterity

the rich cultural values of the Aro people.

The book presentation attracted dignitaries from far and wide including the chief host ,Sir Victor Ike Okoronkwo, The Group Managing Director of Aiteo, the former bank chief, Dr. Alex Otti, former Managing Director of NAMA, Elder Nnamdi Udoh, Mazi Emma Ivi former President General of Nzuko Arochukwu, ,Alexx Ekubo and many Nollywood actors, actresses, movie producers, directors and many prominent Aro sons and daughters.

According to the author of the book, Ernie Onwumere, Kanu: The Last Aro King is a historical fictional representation of an epochal phase in the history of ancient Arochukwu Kingdom and he needed to document most of them for the future generation. He said that the next stage of the book will be for it to be turned into a movie and he is already working with renowned movie producers in that direction.

The representative of the Executive secretary, National Institute for cultural orientation commended the author as a worthy ambassador and for his ability to utilize his training at the institute.

High points of the event were the rendition of Aro National Anthem, the traditional presentation of kola nut to different individuals and groups, the official unveiling of the book and appreciation of the author by dignitaries present and represented, a cultural performance

by FAYA Lagos group and comments from the audience.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ EPTEMBER 15, 2019

What Is Contempt?

Usman Bukar Bwala

which are intended or likely to interfere with or obstructs the fair administration of justice.

Because contempt exfacie curiae did not occur in the presence of a judge, trial for it follows regular criminal trial, there must be an accuser Rt. Hon. Azikwe vs FEDECO supra.

CONTEMPT

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ontempt as a legal word has existed for thousands of years, traceable to the Mosaic Law. Judiciary and contempt exist side by side because contempt is a useful tool in the smooth functioning of the judiciary. However, contempt is not used in courts only. It could be is applied elsewhere. But what is contempt?

“Contempt may be defined as disobedience or disrespect to a lawful authority of House of Parliament or Court” (Shorter Oxford English Dictionary 3rd ed 380).

Contempt of court is anything done or published writing, calculated to bring a court or judge into contempt; to lower his dignity. See Agbachom vs RTAC 1992 5 NWLR (Pt 241) 366 where it was held: Contempt of court is anything done or writing published calculated to bring a court or judge of court into contempt or to lower his dignity.

Contempt is also anything calculated to obstruct or interfere with due administration of justice (Agbachom vs RTAC supra).

Acontemnor is a person who commits contempt [Chief Odu vs Chief Jolaosa 2005 All FWLR (Pt 262) 428]. Before an act or omission is deemed contempt it must be done with intention or intentionally [Basil Okoma vs Sunday Udoh 2002 1 NWLR (Pt 748) 438.]

Anything which scandalises or is calculated to bring a court into disrepute is contempt. See Mobil Oil vs S. T. Assan 1995 8 NWLR (Pt 412) 129. The question of motive is irrelevant in contempt cases [R vs Poplar Borough Council (No.2) 1922 1 K.B 95].

The power to punish for contempt is inherent in all courts; courts of first instance or appellate courts [Unipetrol vs Edo State Board of Internal Revenue 2001 10 NWLR (Pt 720) 169]. The power to punish for contempt is not for personal protection of the judge but that of the public [R vs Davidson 1821 4B and Ald 329]. Contempt of court is used from a sense of duty or under pressure of public necessity [Mcleod vs St Aubyn 1899 A.C. 549].

FUNCTIONS OF CONTEMPT

First, contempt preserves dignity and respect of courts. See Chapman vs Honig 1963 2 Q.B 502 at 518 - “Those pages show that for the purpose of deciding whether a contempt of court has been committed in a case of this kind, the determining factor is not harm done to the individual but harm done to the future administration of justice.”

Secondly, contempt ensures fair trial by ensuring dignity of court and reputation as an institution. See Jennison vs Baker 1972 1 All ELR 997 at 1001 - “The power exists to ensure that justice shall be done. And solely to this end it prohibits acts and words tending to obstruct the administration of justice.” In Chief Odu vs Chief Jolaoso 2005 All FWLR (Pt 262) 428, it was opined by court that: “By its nature, punishment for contempt is to punish an offender for an act that somehow affects the dignity of the court in the administration of justice.” All courts have innate power to punish for contempt. See Chief Odu vs Chief Jolaoso supra, where it was held: “…it is an inherent power in that it is innate to the court once it is established.”

Thirdly, contempt exists as a useful tool in the administration of justice. In Fame Publications vs Encomium Ventures 2000 8 NWLR (Pt. 667) 105, it was held: “It must be remembered that the principle enshrined in the law of contempt are to uphold and ensure the effective administration of justice.” Any act of disobedience to court order is checked by contempt. See Russsell vs East Anglia Railway 1850 20 Ch. 257 where it was held: “it is an established rule that is not open to a party to question any or process of the court by disobedience and it is not inconsistent with the general rule that the court in administrating punishment for disobedience to an order attendant to all facts of the case...”

Fourth is that contempt checks undue interference in the administration of justice. It was clearly opined in Hermone vs Smith 1887 15 Ch.D 449 at 455 as follows: “The object of the disciple enforced by the court in case of contempt of court is not to vindicate the dignity of the court or the person of the judge, but to prevent undue interference with the administration of justice.”

Last but not the least - contempt maintains order and decorum in a court, thus any person who misbehaves in a court can be checkmated by court. However, it is not every disobedience to court that will amount to contempt Awosanyo vs Board of Custom L.C.N 117 at 127.

TYPES OF CONTEMPT

There are various types of contempt. It was thus held in Rt. Hon. Azikwe vs FEDECO LCN (Law of Contempt in Nigeria by Gani Fawehinmi LCN) 285 at 287 that there are 2 types of contempt as follows: Contempt could either be in the face of the court (infacie curiae) or outside the court (exfacie curiae).

However, in St. James Evening Post Case 1942 Atk 469, it was held per His Lordship Hardwicke L.J. that there are 3 types of contempt.

There are three different sort of contempt. One kind of contempt is scandalising the court itself. There may be likewise contempt of this court, in abusing parties who are concerned in the cause, there may be also a contempt of this court, in prejudicing mankind

CIVIL CONTEMPT

Civil contempt is usually disobedience to a judgment of court, order or injunction of court. This is because all orders of court must be obeyed [Ngene vs Okuruket 2014 11 NWLR (Pt 1417) 147]. Civil contempt bears the same characteristics of criminal contempt [Phonographic vs Amusement Caterers 1963 3 All ELR 493]. They both lower the dignity of the court. Civil contempt does no less harm than criminal contempt. See American Security System vs Engene Peterson LCN 79; Scott vs Scott 1913 A.C. 417.

CRIMINAL CONTEMPT

Justice Bwala against another person before their cause is heard.

Historically contempt is classified as criminal contempt or civil contempt. The court in Fawehinmi vs A.G.F. 1990 5 NWLR (Pt 148) 42 at 83 held as follows: Traditionally contempt is classified into either: a) criminal contempt b) civil contempt Whether contempt is infacie curiae, exfacie curiae, criminal contempt or civil contempt, they all share one characteristic; they involve interference in the due administration of justice. A.G.vs Laveller Magazine Ltd 1979 A.C. 440 at 449 held as follows: They all share common characteristics; they involve interference with due administration of justice either in a particular case or more generally as a continued process.

CONTEMPT IN FACIE CURIAE

It is a contempt committed inside a court hall or precincts of a court in Re Olu Onagoruwa LCN 270 where it was held as follows: The common characteristics of contempt infacie curiae is that the act of contempt must take place near the court room or in the precincts.

Contempt in facie curiae has no closed category it is far and wide; Rt. Hon. Azikwe vs FEDECO supra. Contempt infacie curiae has no close category and examples of such instances are many. But broadly, it is words spoken or act done within the precincts of the court which obstruct or interferes with the due administration of justice or is calculated to do so.

Contempt infacie curiae occurs in the presence of the judge and his staff, the judge is an eye witness to everything Morris vs Crown Court 1970 2 Q.B. 114 at 123 as follows: He had before him all the necessary information about the circumstances of the offence, because it had taken place before his very eyes.

Because every event occurred in the presence of a judge, the judge needs no further evidence or witness to prove it, the judge will put the contemnor in the dock and ask him to show reason why he should not be punished instantly. See Okonofua Omoijage vs Umesu Umoru 2000 FWLR (Pt 29) 2401 at 2421 where it was held: The procedure for trial in contempt infacie curiae is as follows; 1) putting the alleged contemnor in the accused box 2) explaining to him what he did before the court 3) asking to show cause why he must not be punished.

The procedure to punish for contempt infacie curiae has been analysed in Contempt The Law and Practice by Justice U.B. Bwala page 70.

CONTEMPT EXFACIE CURIAE

This is contempt committed outside a court hall or precincts of a court. It is described in Rt. Hon. Azikwe vs FEDECO supra as follows: For contempt exfacie curiae it may be described as words spoken or otherwise published or acts done outside court which are intended or likely to interfere with or obstruct the fair administration of justice.

Similar opinion was expressed in Fawehinmi vs FEDECO supra as follows: The sum total of this judgment is that the offence of contempt of court can be divided into two broad based category viz-a-viz: (1) Those committed in the face of the court known as infacie curiae (2) Those committed outside the court hall or premises otherwise said to be exfacie curiae.

Contempt exfacie curiae has been defined in Re OluOnagoruwa supra as follows...exfacie curiae it may be described as words spoken or otherwise published or act done outside court

It is acts or words which obstructs or tend to obstruct or interfere in the administration of justice/ See Afe Babalola vs FEDECO 143 at 151-2 where the court described criminal contempt as follows: However, it is perhaps necessary to say that generally speaking criminal contempt consist of words or acts, which obstructs or tend to obstruct or interfere with the administration of justice.

Criminal contempt takes variety of forms but all contempt share common characteristic of interfering with the administration of justice [Okonofua Omoijahe vs Uwesu Umoru 2000 FWLR (Pt 29) 2401at 2417]. Criminal contempt involves some contumacious act, “...criminal contempt involves some disrespectful contumacious conduct towards the court” - Vines vs State 24 S.E. 2d 864.

Anything done to prejudice a judge or jury is a criminal contempt as it has the effect to pervert the cause of justice - Oshea vs Oshea 1890 15 P.D. 59. In criminal contempt a court can suo motu issue bench warrant for the arrest of the contemnor; which power is not available in civil contempt - Abdullah vs Military Governor Lagos State 1989 1 NWLR (Pt 97) 356. Criminal contempt could arise from civil or criminal matter before a court.

The proof required in contempt of any type whether civil or criminal, infacie curiae or exfacie curiae is proof beyond reasonable doubt as required by S35 of the Constitution. In Agbachom vs The State 1971 1 U.I.L.R 111 at 116 it was clearly held as follows: To our mind since contempt of court is an offence of a criminal character it must be proved beyond reasonable doubt.

The burden of proving contempt is on an applicant who initiates the contempt proceedings as he becomes the prosecutor and in law it is the duty of a prosecutor to prove his case beyond reasonable doubt. See Onagoruwa vs Adeniji 1993 5 NWLR (Pt 293) 317 at 325 where it was held as follows: Contempt being criminal charge the burden of proving it is on the applicant and he must prove the allegations contained in the affidavit in support of the application for contempt beyond reasonable doubt.

Courts are generally lenient to a contemnor who committed the contempt unintentionally, gives credible explanation and apologies to the Court - Alh. Usman vsDurojaiye LCN 263 at 268.

All contempts are criminal in nature as it affects the liberty of subjects so it must be proved beyond reasonable doubt. In Re Brambleve 1963 3 WLR 699 at 700, it was held as follows: Where a person was charged with contempt of court, which was an offence of a criminal nature involving the liberty of the subject, his guilt must be proved beyond reasonable doubt.

Even in summary proceedings in contempt cases, the respondents are presumed innocent so their guilt must be proved beyond reasonable doubt.

Contempt proceedings for disobedience to a court order is quasi criminal and must be proved beyond reasonable doubt. In Oba Alisinloye vs Oba Oyediran 2000 FWLR (Pt 3) 479 at 486, it was held as follows: It must be noted in contempt proceedings for disobedience of court order, the proceedings are quasi criminal and the standard of proof is not on the balance of probabilities but proof beyond reasonable doubt. The liberty of person(s) being at stake.

Where contempt proceedings are for disobedience to court order specific instances of disobedience to court order must be proved beyond reasonable doubt [Alh.Chief Faesan vs Coast Hotel 2004 All FWLR (Pt. 218) 964]. Contempt proceedings must be proved with necessary strictness [Re Brambleve supra].

Though contempt proceedings must be proved with necessary strictness minor or trivial defects are not fatal to its prosecution [Lawrence Okwueze vs Emmanuel Ojiofor 2001 FWLR (Pt. 48) 1277 at 1290].

Like all criminal trials the charge against a contemnor must be clearly stated and he is given an opportunity to answer it [Churchman vs Shop Steward Committee 1972 All E.L.R. 603 at 607]. The presumption in a criminal trial that an accused person is presumed to be innocent unless proved guilty is also applicable to contempt proceedings [Re Brambleve supra]. All doubts in law are resolved in favour of an accused person [John Okonji vs The State 1987 3 S.C. 175].

––Hon. Justice Usman Bukar Bwala is a retired judge of Borno State High Court, writes from Maiduguri (See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

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CICERO

Editor:Olawale Olaleye Email:wale.olaleye@thisdaylive.com, SMS: 08116759819

IN THE ARENA

Atiku VERSUS Buhari

As Battle Shifts to S’Court...

Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s decision to appeal the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, which weighed in favour of President Muhammadu Buhari, is in order. Olawale Olaleye writes

L

ast week’s decision by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to appeal Wednesday’s judgment by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, which ruled in favour of President Muhammadu Buhari, by approaching the Supreme Court is both a welcome development and an expected part of the legal process that challenges the nation’s judicial system especially in an election of this category.

Filed on March 18, 2019, Atiku and his party had failed to get the tribunal to declare them winner of the February 23 presidential election, as they had prayed in their petition, because according to the judicial panel, they were unable to prove their claims beyond reasonable doubt.

The petition was premised on five grounds. First was that Buhari was dishonest about his academic qualification and the schools attended in his Form 001 submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the election.

Justice Mohammed Garba, who delivered the lead judgment, held that the petitioners did not discharge the burden of proof and as such dismissed the petition.

Aside the alleged non-qualification and submission of information of fundamental falsehood to INEC by Buhari to aid his qualification, other issues the petitioners raised included deployment of electronic voting, over-voting, substantial non-compliance with the electoral law as well as use of security agencies to rig the election in favour of Buhari. Yet, the tribunal held that in spite of the 62 witnesses called by the petitioners, they were unable to prove their allegations against the conduct of the February 23 presidential poll and therefore dismissed Atiku’s petition in its entirety and affirmed Buhari’s election.

But an indication that Atiku might appeal the judgment first came from his lead counsel, Dr. Levy Uzuokwu (SAN), who when asked about the next step for this client, retorted: “Certainly, I don’t think that is the end of the journey.”

Soon after the news of the judgment went out, the PDP rejected it, describing it as provocative, barefaced subversion of justice and direct assault on the integrity of the nation’s justice system, adding that it would head to the Supreme Court to appeal the judgment.

National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, said the PDP was particularly shocked that the tribunal failed to point to justice despite the flawless evidence laid before it, showing that Buhari was not only unqualified to contest the election, but also did not score the majority of valid votes at the polls.

The opposition party said it found it bewildering that a court of law could validate a clear case of perjury and declaration of false information in a sworn affidavit, as firmly established against Buhari, even in the face of incontrovertible evidence.

This notwithstanding, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate continued to celebrate their victory.

The president, in a statement by his Special Adviser (Media and Publicity), Mr. Femi Adesina, described the judgment as victory for Nigerians, who trooped out to give him a fresh mandate for a second term in office.

“Good conscience fears no evil report. I was unperturbed all along, because I knew Nigerians freely gave us the mandate. We are now vindicated,” the president said, even as he dedicated the victory to God and to Nigerians while at the same time commending the judiciary for “dispensing justice without fear or favour.”

The APC, on its part, hailed the judgment and described it as a victory for rule of law and decency.

Buhari and Atiku...the battle is on APC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, in a statement yesterday, commended the judiciary for refusing to succumb to what he called the “PDP subterfuge”, because according to him, the judgment validated the decision of most Nigerians to do away with the past as expressed in their overwhelming votes in the 2019 elections. Curiously, there is a subtle attempt by the federal government to dissuade the PDP and Atiku from appealing the tribunal ruling in a manner that senses blackmail.

As against appealing, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, asked the PDP and Atiku to apologise to Nigerians for willfully distracting the President Buhari’s administration with frivolous election petition.

In a statement issued in St Petersburg, Russian Federation, on Thursday, the Minister said while the PDP and its candidate reserve the right to pursue their petition to the highest level, they would be better served by dropping their toga of desperation, realising that there is a limit to tomfoolery.

“Nigerians are tired of this orchestrated distraction, and will rather wish that the opposition, having lost at the polls and in court, will now join hands with the government to move Nigeria to the next level,” he said.

Since 2003 that Buhari started his journey to the presidency, there was hardly any time his petitions were not thrown out for one

reason or the other, including lack of merit. But he explored all the legal avenues and saw the cases through to the Supreme Court on each of the occasions without anyone dissuading him from doing so.

It is therefore preposterous and the height of mischief to canvass the PDP and Atiku to back down from approaching the Supreme Court. Not only is such an effort likely to improve the political system, it would also go a long way to strengthen the judiciary and the nation’s justice system.

Suffice it to say that a majority of the people have already lost confidence in the nation’s judiciary especially, given the tendency of the ruling party to want to muscle every institution including its penchant for disobeying court orders, the fact that someone was willing to repose a bit of confidence in the judiciary should have been encouraged by all.

Whatever the outcome of the Supreme Court ruling at the end of the day, Atiku and the PDP must be encouraged to go the whole hog and exercise their rights in the hope that the apex court would be able to address their concerns about what they considered injustice during the elections and as affirmed by the tribunal.

It is the way to go, because not only is the independence of the judiciary a concern for genuine patriots, such moves could also help to embolden them and begin to reset the place of the third arm of government in the body polity.

P O L I T I CA L N OT E S

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Onyema

Onyema is a Model Nigerian!

t a time Nigeria is receiving spanks across the globe over one obnoxious act of crime or the other, a situation that is almost tarring everyone with the same criminal brush, one certain Nigerian gave an example of how a typical Nigerian acts and looks and that fellow is the CEO of Airpeace Airline, Mr. Allen Onyema.

The fallout of the recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa had left many Nigerians living in the former apartheid nation in despair and fears of what could happen next. Importantly, it left them helpless on what to do next and boom – Onyema appeared

with a nearly impossible benevolence.

With over N270million naira put into bringing willing Nigerians back home, without any form of support from anywhere, Onyema broke boundaries and set a bar so high that corporate organisations would have serious rethink venturing into anything similar.

He won’t even bat an eyelid before putting so much personal resources into assisting people he had no relationship with except that they are Nigerians. He is a prototype Nigerian – a quintessential example of a true patriot and deserves not just commendation; his businesses deserve local supports at all times. Kudos, Mr. Onyema!

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ SEPTEMBER 15, 2019

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BRIEFINGNOTES

Maina’s Incredible Trajectory The treatment so far extended to a former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina, by the current government of Muhammadu Buhari, not only calls for concern, but despises the fight against graft, writes Shola Oyeyipo

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othing makes it more evident that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) national leadership is only paying lips service to its anti-corruption drive than the news making the rounds that the name of the Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina, indicted in the N2.1bn pension biometric fraud is no longer on the watch list.

As at press time, the government and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are yet to publicly deny reports by reputable newspaper organisations that the anti-graft body might have backed down from searching for the former pension reform boss.

Reports had it that he was a beneficiary of some high level protections within the system and that the nation’s anti-corruption watchdog was compelled to look the other way, because except on paper, he is practically a free man.

Since July 21, 2015, when he was charged alongside a former Head of Service of the Federation (HoSF), Stephen Oronsaye, Osarenkhoe Afe and Fredrick Hamilton Global Services Limited before a Federal High Court with a 24-count charge bordering on alleged $2.1bn procurement fraud and obtaining by false pretence, Nigerians have been treated to series of episodes showing unpreparedness of government to dispense justice in the matter.

During the hearing of his bail applications, Maina’s counsel, Esther Uzoma, maintained before the court that his client was not at large rather she said the EFCC had never invited him. The EFCC counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), told the court to prevail on Uzoma to produce Maina in court, because the EFCC lacked information on his whereabouts.

Even when the court granted Rotimi’s prayers, Maina continued to ignore court proceedings, hence the EFCC had no other option but to declare him wanted.

Though there were allegations that Maina converted pension funds for personal uses in secret accounts at the detriment of thousands of pensioners, Justice F.O.G. Ogunbanjo, was of the view that it was unlawful for the commission to declare Maina wanted. In the upper chamber of the National Assembly, the Senate Joint Committee on Public Service and Establishment and State and Local Government Administration, which investigated the allegations, also indicted Maina and issued a warrant of arrest against him. He was subsequently dismissed from the civil service for allegedly absconding from duty in his bid to evade arrest and be charged to court.

Characteristically, Maina took the Senate and the then Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar to court, after which he went back into hiding. Then, the police authority had declared him wanted.

While still on Absence Without Official Leave (AWOL), news filtered in through the social media that the fugitive had been smuggled back into the civil service in 2017.

Then Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winfred Oyo-Ita, told the House of Representatives committee investigating the disappearance, reappearance and reinstatement of Maina in the federal civil service that letters came from the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) to the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), ordering his reinstatement.

Even as the HOS, Oyo-Ita, in her shocking revelation said she was surprised to hear about Maina’s reinstatement in the media just as anyone else, adding that she never received any notification that Maina challenged his dismissal from civil service in court since her appointment.

“Maina was dismissed in 2013 from federal civil service.

Sometime this year, letters began to come from AGF to the Federal Civil Service Commission, copied to my office. AGF gave directive that Maina should be reinstated.When I got hold of the letter, I held on to it. I learnt through the media that he had been reinstated.

Those are the clarifications I have to make on this.

“No ministry has the authorities to issue reinstatement letters.

When I learnt through the media and a letter from the Chief of Staff that Mr. Maina had been reinstated, I wrote a letter to Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior. The permanent secretary never acted on any letter from my office. The Federal Civil Service

Maina

Commission has its own mandate.

“It is surprising that without my conveying this letter, the ministry of Interior went ahead to reinstate Maina. I decided to hold onto that letter to seek further clarification. I was concerned that the decision to reinstate Maina may not have been in the interest of the present administration. I held on because Mr. Maina may not have cleared the issue with the security agencies.”

The president, who called for a full report into the circumstances that led to Maina’s recall and posting to the Ministry of Interior immediately, ordered for his disengagement after he was secretly recalled and promoted to the position of Director in charge of Human Resources in the Ministry of Interior.

The president’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said Buhari’s directive was contained in a memo to the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and that the report on the reinstatement was to be submitted to the office of the Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari, but nothing concrete has come out of that yet.

Call him sacred cow or a cat with nine lives you will not be far from the truth, because even in the in the heat of the controversy – when the Senate ordered his arrest, he was reportedly spotted walking into former President Goodluck Jonathan’s office with security escorts while other senior government officials who have been waiting were still seated.

This corroborated public perception that during the Jonathan administration, some top government officials protected Maina.

It raised concerns among well-meaning observers that those looting the county’s treasury are getting presidential protection and are allowed to roam the streets free from arrest and prosecution, whereas petty thieves are being given penal servitude and imprisonment with hard labour!

Though the Buhari administration castigated the Jonathan administration, describing it as corrupt, the government has not done anything extraordinary to convince the citizenry that it is prepared to bring the former pension boss to book as well.

He soon showed an obvious affinity, when he recently congratulated President Buhari and Vice President and Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo on their victory in the 2019 presidential election.

The man, who has been on the run for years, didn’t leave it at that; he promised that he would continue to give President Buhari’s administration the “necessary support.”

He wrote thus in the paid advertorial: “We shall continue to

give you and your administration the necessary support while you continue making Nigeria great again and taking us to the next level.” Notable Nigerians, including the Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), and renowned lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) had tasked government to arrest Maina since he returned to the country.

But since October 2017, Maina had granted several television interviews from his hiding place, detailing how he helped the federal government to recover trillions of naira stolen by top public officials and urging Buhari to grant him an audience to prove his innocence. Speaking during an interview on “Brekete Family”, a reality talk magazine programme that usually airs on Human Rights Radio, 101.1 FM, Abuja, on Friday, Maina reiterated his readiness to come out of hiding only if President Buhari would assure him of total protection.

He said “the cabal” was earnestly searching for him and that his sources told him he would be “injected” once he comes out in the open, because of information at his disposal.

It was then that he said Oyo-Ita operated bank accounts that were not linked to the Treasury Single Account of the federal government as directed by President Buhari, and that was why she worked against his reinstatement in 2017.

Maina said he was willing to disclose to President Buhari some clandestine accounts being operated by all his ministers, saying “President Buhari, I want you to open your eyes and ears, there is a lot of money in your government. All your ministers, I can give you the accounts of what they have operated, who is doing what, and where the monies have gone to. I can show you on the system.”

Whatever the issues are, it is unacceptable that a government that hinged its campaign promises on fighting corruption has been dilly-dallying with a man, who has a reputation for converting public funds for personally uses.

While not being prejudice, it is important that the Buhari administration takes a step further by getting to the bottom of the issue and stop embarrassing the government with the Maina issue. Indeed, if need be, the president could grant him audience and hear him out.

However, if he has been exonerated of all the allegations against him necessitating the expulsion of his name from the watch list, it is equally important that government furnishes the nation with details of the investigations and not passing such moves through the backdoor.

NOTES FOR FILE

Swanky Lagos Sits on Craters

Sanwo-Olu

When last did you drive through the internal roads in both Ikoyi and the GRA in Ikeja? If you haven’t lately, you need to, even if out of curiosity, just drive round and see the horrible state of the roads in the two most expensive places in Lagos with the highest land use charge.

Although the roads did not just deteriorate, they have been there for a while, however, if the truth must be told, they provide handy metaphor on the state of governance in the state as well as the age of ideas of its leaders.

Even more shameful is the fact that, when you drive through the GRA, in Ikeja, for instance the Oduduwa Crescent, which links Oduduwa Way, a place housing some of the most prominent Nigerians including governors, justices and other eminent personalities, you would not

accept a property for free in this rich slum.

What about Ikoyi, take a drive around Rumus, Thompson Avenue, Lugard, Cameron, Probyn and environ, you would be shocked if those prominent Nigerians including the embassies living in that neighbourhood move around with a chopper. It is horrible and unbefitting of their status as Lagos upscale areas. Just don’t bother about other parts of the state. You may develop heart attack about the state of the internal roads.

Well, if truly there’s a governor in Lagos now as the situation report says, perhaps, someone would be motivated to discharge his responsibility and not just gallivant around, mastering the art of talking himself out of situations or responsibilities that come natural.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ SEPTEMBER 15, 2019

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CICERO/REPORT

Nigerians, who just returned from South Africa following xenophobic attacks disembarking from the aircraft

What Future for Nigerian Returnees from South Africa?

On Wednesday, about 187 Nigerians were evacuated from South Africa due to the hostility in that country, where indigenous blacks attack and kill other Africans. Over 800 Nigerians are still billed to return to their motherland. But what future awaits them back home here as they escape the bloodletting in a foreign land. Chinedu Eze reports

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s the Nigerians, who were evacuated by the indigenous carrier, Air Peace disembarked from the aircraft on Wednesday night, there was a mixture of happiness and despondency. They were happy that their lives had been saved. But deep down, they were worried about the future unknown.

The returnees narrated their narrow escapes from death in the hands of black South Africans, a situation that calls for celebration on the one hand. There was also a cornucopia of despair, because the future for them is cloudy and uncertain.

Although the ramp of the cargo/hajj terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos was dimly lit, some of the returnees still covered their faces, because they were ashamed of the unplanned return, of dreams that were aborted and of the cynicism that might grace their path after the euphoria of their return by relatives and friends alike.

This stems from the belief by many Nigerians that anyone, who travelled out of the country to live in a foreign land has gone to make money and must return with “forex”. Many of the returnees came back with their lives. They lost every material asset attached to their name. So, the question is, how long will their excitements last?

Truth is that Nigeria may not hold so much hope for them, because as they ran away from the killings in South Africa, they may not be sure of their safety in their motherland, which in the last four years has been riven by killers – from bandits, kidnappers, to ritualists and suspected herdsmen with a weak security architecture that leaves the citizens forlorn.

By hiding their faces, many of the passengers, bereft of hope and sad that they did not meet their people’s expectation, might be thinking of another country to travel to soon after the psychological recovery of the attacks in South Africa.

THISDAY learnt from a Nigerian resident in South Africa that some Nigerians who studied in South Africa

wish to head to other countries like Canada direct from that country instead of returning home. This was also part of the discussion during the interlude of disembarkation and transition to Customs makeshift facility for profiling that Wednesday night.

The returnees told their story of how they were hounded and how they watched the gory killings, the burning of Africans from other countries and the traumatic memory of the smell of burnt human flesh, which continues to haunt them and would be a sad, tragic companion of their lives.

One of the returnees, Aliu Saheed told his story thus: “I stayed in Pretoria city. I have been in South Africa for five years now. The police can’t control them (the killing South African youths). They just come to an area and start shooting and killing innocent people. It is only the white policemen that came from a far distance to help.

“When the North Pretoria police station was contacted, they did not respond until when backups came from outside the county. They released rubber bullets to the perpetrators of the act; and they won’t be affected, because the bullets are rubber. The fire fighters came to quench the fire at some point but the taxi drivers chased them away.

“They kept bragging that there is nothing anyone can do since this is their country. They kill us the way they like. We are calling on our President to save Nigerians, who are still in South Africa, because they plan to kill them. As I speak to you now, they are not allowing Nigerians work. They close all our shops as I speak to you.”

On the claim of raping the South Africans, Saheed said it was a lie.

“After registering and about leaving for Nigeria, a lot of South African ladies said they will follow Nigerians back to their country. When Air Peace came to evacuate us, the South African authorities gave them serious problems. They delayed us for several hours, saying they wanted to check our documents and their system wasn’t working well.

“But we know this is a big lie. They delayed the flight, because they know Air Peace will pay landing and parking fees as long as the plane is on ground.

They are doing this to punish Nigerians. Some people are currently in South Africa without food and water.

They asked for finger print documentation and that immigration has to check us in case we have criminal record.

“My advice for the Nigerian government is for them to make this country a better country. We have intelligent and hardworking Nigerians! I am not supporting fraud, but the government must ensure there are job opportunities for people and this is the reason why people are leaving the country,” Saheed said.

Another returnee, Uche Victor Nwaocha, told journalists that, “I have been in South Africa since 2007. I built my business in South Africa and everything has crumbled today. If you see the cars the South Africans burnt. All my achievements are gone. I don’t want the shame again. Those ones there must come back.

“They are taking people out systematically and their government can’t speak the truth to their people. Their problem is simply poverty. Nigerians are not barbaric and they don’t kill people. South Africans burn people and while these people are feeling the pains from the burns, they keep hitting them with instruments.”

The Chairman and CEO of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, who offered them free flight home, on getting into the aircraft on arrival to welcome the Nigerian returnees, shed tears when they sand a song to appreciate him and accompanied it with the National Anthem. The country unified at that point.

“When I stepped inside the aircraft to welcome them, they mobbed me and started singing the Nigerian national anthem. There was nobody there, singing about separation; they felt proud to be Nigerians. They rose in unison; that drew tears from me.”

It is hoped that the Nigerian government will heed Saheed’s advice by creating jobs for the citizens so that the country’s youths would stop travelling overseas to face precarious existence.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ SEPTEMBER 15, 2019

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CICERO/INTERVIEW

Theodore Ekechi

Northeast Suffering More Psychologically Theodore Okwuruni Ejike Ekechi is the chairman of Alliance Media and Marketing and Media, and member representing the Southeast in the Northeast Development Commission. Having paid his dues in business, with his hands in many pies – advertising, haulage, solar energy system, commodity brokerage as well as consultancy – he told Samuel Ajayi he was also taking his chances in politics. Excerpts:

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Political appointment should not be a Magna Carta for wealth acquisition, of getting rich. It should be for achieving glory, societal recognition and respect.

Those who hold political positions should be called out if they become wealthier after serving out their terms.

At the risk of sounding immodest, I opine that my tenures as Chief of Staff to the Honourable Minister of Interior, Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Imo State or as Director of Planning and Monitoring of the APC Presidential Campaign Council were for me periods of self-sacrifice, self fulfillment and service to humanity. That is probably, because I did not join politics with the objective of enriching myself and family.

This is in turn, because I was not impoverished spiritually – poverty is a spiritual condition. Otherwise, why would people whom you can credit with so much wealth go into government and steal to the last penny? This is poverty of the soul or you call it Spiritual bankruptcy! Those who conquer spiritual bankruptcy don’t steal from government coffers.

ou went into business at an early stage of your life. Can you say you are fulfilled?

Fulfilled? If that is suggesting whether I have been able to develop myself to the fullest potential or if I have been able to realise all my life ambitions and desires with respect to business, I will unequivocally say “NO”.

Perhaps, more appropriately, I should say I am not YET fulfilled.

As they say, where there is life, there is hope. But considering my personal circumstances – the generational and peculiar environmental constraints, I will be committing sin if I don’t praise God for his blessings and grace that have been part of my lot and family.

In the process of getting this far, I have also become a sort of business encyclopedia and it is my hope that young people, who believe in me and hang around me for counsel, will excel with my mentorship.

Can you recall the business that fetched you your first million?

It is a bit difficult to recall but I will give it a try. As you may know, my interests span marketing communications with strong bias for out-of-home advertising, brand building, solar energy, publishing, strategy consulting and commodity brokerage.

Although I have made a couple of bucks from each of them, I recall it was an out-of-home brand promotion campaign for Nestle Milo about 1998 that broke the Million-Naira jinx.

I am eternally grateful to the Akin Osewas of Nestle and Ojo Osagie’s of Insight for taking the risk on me. Related to this is the Society for Family Health (SFH), Guinness nationwide out-of-home promotions facilitated by a brother and friend, Obinna Aniche.

But the big one was when the Managing Director of Sterling Bank, Yemi Adeola against all known banking traditions and credit convention, against the advice of his risk advisers and Executive Directors approved a multi-million naira loan request to finance an ambitious digital display platform in Lagos, which was executed by a team of Chinese engineers. To these people who trusted my integrity and capacity, I remain eternally grateful.

As a businessman, you ventured into politics. Can you say it is a decision you haven’t regretted?

No regrets at all for venturing into politics, notwithstanding the familiar refrain of “you would have become much wealthier than you are today”. You see life is not all about making money.

It is also about service and self-fulfillment, which can only come when you are at peace with yourself in doing what you love.

I love the “service” perspective of politics. However, if I had to relive it all over again, I would choose a different route and timing of entry. My entry into politics in late 2002 was with a bang and a lot of very wrong assumptions of Nigerian Humans and their characters.

How different are the two worlds: that of politics and business?

There is no doubt that there is so much primordial negativity associated with doing business in Nigeria. However, this is a child’s play compared to the insincerity, lack of transparency, absence of integrity and trust, unpredictability, backstabbing and predatory disposition associated with Nigerian politics. Yet, politics is a necessary evil that must be played.

Truth is if you don’t play politics, politics must play you. So, since we know that directly or indirectly our lives and livelihoods are dependent on the political decisions taken by some people whom we may consider mediocre (and there are many of them) and misfits, there is increasing need therefore for more and more people, who consider themselves fit and quality to subscribe to active political participation – this must not necessarily be in the realm of partisan party politics. You don’t have to be a party card carrying member to serve the country through political participation.

The belief out there is that the “word” politics is treacherous. How true is this?

My response above I think clearly addresses that. Treachery in politics is not a myth; it is real. Almost a dog-eat-dog enterprise!

And this is simply, because many a good man has left the arena for social hyenas and jobbers to dominate.

The more professionals (who have established, verifiable source of livelihood) we have in politics the more decent the political turf will become. Only a decent political practice can guarantee sustainable dividends of democracy.

Have you had to cut corner as a politician to achieve

Ekechi your aim even when such was against your personal convictions?

In Christianity, there is this saying that just as fishes in the waters cannot deny of water, man on this earth cannot deny of sin. It is impossible to play politics in this country without cutting corners or at best be part of the system that is consistently cutting corners.

A politician is guilty of cutting corners even when he personally did not but looked the other way when corners are being cut or refuse to testify against any unhealthy, unethical and immoral practice. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. The difference, however, is that there are politicians who equate politics with trickery, treachery, 419, deceit, business in the realm of do-or-die.

By God’s Grace I, T.O.E. Ekechi, I am not in that mold. For me, politics is neither a vocation nor a profession or a career. It is not even a calling. Politics should be a platform for service to the soul for self-fulfillment to the people, to humanity and to God. Many corporate guys like you see politics as a no-go area; how can this mindset be changed?

Indeed, it is foolhardy to live in that mindset. The general belief is that politics is a dirty game, time-consuming and in fact, distracting. None of these assertions is far from the truth, though. But this is politics of Nigeria, politics of your country, politics of your state and of your community.

This is the politics that decides your present and your future and the future of your generations to come. Why leave it in the hands of desperados, who may not be as endowed as you.

Why play the ostrich or the idiot with your present and future?

Why attempt to run away from your own shadow?

If you care about our individual and collective socio-economic wellbeing, you must care about the country’s political wellbeing, because it is political power that determines, shapes and controls society’s socio-political equation.

So, corporate Nigeria should desist from being holier than thou and join the political fray. Sanctimonious pontifications from the height of corporate boardrooms will only make opportunistic politicians drink and toast to their own “good health”.

The average mindset about political appointment is about prebendarism. How can this belief be changed?

There is nothing wrong in a political appointee earning sufficient and adequate wage for his labour if that reflects a commensurate payment for the deployment of skill and time.

The challenge, however, is that the average politician looks forward to political appointment as a compensatory package for all his political investments as well as that for his constituency.

All that should change.

Do Nigerians really see politics about service to the people and society?

That is the crux of the matter. First, Nigerians see political participation as a Magna Carta for political appointment while the appointment in itself is simply a compensatory package while the amount of wealth you acquire while serving is measured as a return on investment on political time and resources.

The obvious consequence is that politics is not practiced in this clime based on conviction or belief. No doubt, therefore, there is not practiced in this country politics of ideology. Rather, we are proud to applaud what is now known in our political lexicon as politics of stomach infrastructure.

This attitude is so much entrenched in our political consciousness that it is even your constituents, admirers and supporters that worry more for you and even go as far as blackmail you when you are not “compensated” with appointment after rendering political service. This attitude can only change when we have more and more people, who don’t expect “compensation” coming into political activism.

You were recently appointed Commissioner representing the Southeast in the Northeast Development Commission.

After visits to the region, what is your assessment of the situation?

Well, I am not sure if it is appropriate to qualify me as a Commissioner in the Commission. But it suffices to admit that I am a Member (representing Southeast) on the Governing Board.

The situation in the North East continues to be precarious. The devastation is enormous and mind-boggling, requiring massive deployment of men and materials to alleviate the sufferings and build a sustainable future for the current population and generations to come.

While we always look at the physical destructions and report the colossal impact in terms of naira and kobo as most intervention orgainisations are wont to do, the real catastrophe of the Boko Haram insurgency is in the unconscionable destruction of the moral and social fabric that knit peoples of society and community together.

Do you think Nigeria has what it takes to restore the region to its old peaceful self?

It is up to Nigerians to so decide. Government alone cannot fix the region particularly with respect to restoring it to its peaceful old self.

As Government delivers on its commitment to deploying military, personnel and other humongous resources to flush out insurgency and rebuild the region, Nigerians, particularly, politicians from the region must passionately demonstrate and display patriotism in both words and deed in their response to the crisis before we can heal wounds, engender forgiveness and therefore achieve self and collective rehabilitation for a peaceful coexistence.

Those who seek to score cheap political advantages should for the sake of humanity seek God’s face and have a change of mind.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ SEPTEMBER 15, 2019

SUNDAYINTERVIEW Adams Oshiomhole

Oshiomhole

Obaseki Wants to Create a New Political Leadership The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, in this interview with select journalists, bares his mind on the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, the differences between him and Governor Godwin Obaseki and the crisis rocking the Edo State House of Assembly.Adedayo Akinwale presents the excerpts:

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ave you resolved your differences with Governor Obaseki?

This has been an issue I tried to avoid when I watch you talking about Oshiomhole’s faction and Godwin’s faction. The truth is that I don’t have any faction. Everybody in Edo State particularly, those of APC stock, are my people.

We founded the party from ACN, to APC. It hurts when people can’t make a distinction between policy positions and unhealthy debate about options in dealing with specific issues. Let me start with the issue of the inauguration of the Edo State House of Assembly. I was governor, when PDP had 16 members and ACN then had eight members. But we had to learn how to live with the reality that the parliament was in the hands of opposition.

So, all we needed to do was to cultivate ways and means of playing up what unites us as a people and getting the opposition to recognise that we were all elected even from different political parties, but for a purpose, namely the sustainable development of Edo State and we managed that until the people favored us with majority.

Right now in Edo we are obviously far more fortunate that the 24 members of the House are all APC. So, no matter if there are differences about preferred Speaker, I did not think this was enough for us to breach all the rules, regulations, customs and traditions that are well entrenched as regards the simple straightforward matter of proclaiming a House of Assembly.

When I see Nigerians taking side on it, I just pity people, who can’t make a difference between your personal affection or love for someone and dealing with issues of principles and law.

Do you not think this is for collective good?

Now, I remain convinced that it is not in the interest of our democracy for nine members at 9:30pm, which I understand the Supreme Court in another judgment has described as nocturnal hours, for an elected parliament to seek to secretly inaugurate a House so that a particular person can emerge as a Speaker and in the process you exclude 15 members of the House.

Nine persons cannot elect the Speaker or Deputy Speaker on behalf of 24 members. Two, it is also the tradition and the law that when you are elected by your various constituencies, the day of your inauguration, the proclamation is not a state secret to be shared by those who are favored. The proclamation must be published, stating time and date.

If there is any Nigerian who has followed inauguration in the 36 states and the FCT, particularly the last federal one, it is settled that the fact of proclamation letter must be communicated by the clerk to all the members elect so that they can go there that day with their families and loved ones.

Now to try and do that at 9:30pm, even if it was done by my biological son; God would give me the courage to tell my son that this institution is governed by law. Parliament is an autonomous arm of government, delete it and there will be no democracy.

So I found it strange that because we pointed out what I thought would be obvious to every Nigerian that first, some of the members of the nine out of 24, who are already on the minority, four of them on take, have said they were invited for an informal conversation with the deputy governor, then they were bundled into a waiting vehicle and driven to the House of Assembly.

And they were forced to take oath of office against their wish.

One of them was wearing nicker, where he went to buy suya.

These are facts, the people have spoken and they are still alive, they are still protesting.

Then somebody says that because I am National chairman of the party, I ought to turn the other way. If it is wrong in Bauchi, for them to do secret inauguration, how can it be accommodated in Edo State and for me, these are the issues. And it is much shameful that in this case, all 24 are APC members.

In your opinion, what is the way forward?

As a former governor, who had the privilege of presiding over Edo state for eight years, I will tell you that there is little or nothing a government can do in the final analysis. I was there at Government House, Benin, not too far away from Anthony Enahoro’s building, where the parliament seats, and I heard that the parliament met and decided to change their leadership.

And there is nothing I could do about is. It is their privilege thing to do. So, I did not really know what the issues are. That is not between the governor and me, and anybody suggesting that it is between the governor and me is just being mischievous. It is about what is right and what is wrong.

Speaker Okiye accused you of planning to impeach the governor with your loyalists and Governor Obaseki, also accused you of orchestrating the crisis from Abuja. Aren’t these allegations weighty?

First of all, Okiye is not the Speaker; he is a member-elect. I watched the governor say those things but the truth of the matter

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SUNDAY INTERVIEW t 0#"4&,* 4)06-% /".& 5)04& "4,*/( )*. 50 4)"3& .0/&: t is that he knows better than that. The question I will put to you is that is it within the discretion of state governor to decide who becomes the Speaker?

The only option for him is to lobby and if he lobbies and in end he is unable to get everybody to toe his line, he has to concede that these are not his Commissioners or Special Assistants for which he has absolute monopoly to appoint.

Even at that, if they were commissioners they still have to be screened by the House of Assembly. That is the law. So, if he chooses to put it in the manner that he has unfortunately put it, giving the impression that as the governor he could do everything, is there anything in the constitution that you know that empowers a governor to decide who becomes a Speaker?

But like very other person in a democracy, you get what you are able to negotiate. The operative word is negotiation and persuasion.

That is what we did in Abuja. But in spite of all the efforts we invested at the federal level, incidentally as the chairman I was active on that, we conceded in the end, when Senator Ali Ndume said he would not go the way the party wanted.

We could not deny him that right to contest and he went and contested and he got 24 votes. So, that is the way to go. It was not within the power of the President and Commander-in-Chief to use his state instrument to prevent Ndume from contesting, because it is his right so to do. All the President could do which he did was to deploy his influence both through the party and other channels to persuade people to ensure that this time around APC has a national leadership that we believe can work in harmony with the President.

When I was governor, I went through the same process, we persuaded the members. We called all of them. First, we explained to them the need to ensure geo-political balance. Sometime, we suggested who we thought was better equipped to handle legislative matters.

That is how far we coulf go. Sometimes we succeeded, some other times we did not. But the bottomline is that it is the responsibility and absolute prerogative of members of the House to do it.

But what hurts me is, when journalists take a word from me or the governor, even when the journalist knew what the constitution says. So I ask you, which section of the constitution says when the governor had decided on who should be the Speaker? So be it.

Number two, Okiye being the beneficiary of the purported inauguration, said the agenda was to impeach Obaseki, did he tell you what offence Obaseki has committed? Is he known to have committed any impeachable offence? Is it true that somebody who has just been elected and has not even been inaugurated, his first agenda is to disturb the system by seeking to impeach a governor, who is not known to have committed any offence?

But is there really a plan to impeach the governor?

Is impeachment a tea party? It does not make sense. By the way, who is Okiye? Does he know what was invested in the making of the governor? Can he possibly lay claim to loving the governor more than those of us, who went round the state and staked our reputation and invested our energy and persuasive skills to market the governor to the people?

If there is one man that wants Governor Obaseki to succeed so that everything I said on his behalf comes to pass, I think it will be me. I have absolutely nothing to gain if someone I told the people would do well ends up not doing well or I make statement that contradicts my earlier position.

Because all I have that I brought to this job called politics is integrity. And integrity is about being consistent and sometimes being predictable. So, Godwin knows that I have no quarrel whatsoever with him, but I do not think that it is right to inaugurate the House of Assembly at night.

What do you think is responsible for his action?

Exactly the same way the Governor of Bauchi said Oshiomhole was his problem. Let me say that one day, we may have a President, who may decide to order the military to make sure that they secure the National Assembly and allow may be ¼ of members to go in at 12midnight to elect a Senate President and Speaker and thereafter, whoever wishes to be inaugurated can go one by one.

That will be a sad day for democracy. And you know as they say, when a child starts stealing a piece of meat from the mother’s pot, he might grow to become an armed robber.

So if we refuse to defend the letter and the spirit of the constitution, as regards how the legislative arm of government will come into play and we reduce it to individual contestation, it will be unfortunate for democracy, not me at all. I am never going to be governor again. So, the issue is what was right constitutionally and what was wrong?

But the belief was that the issues were resolved when the governor visited you in the village during Salah?

The governor has slept in my house countless times before he became a governor and even after he became a governor. He is my friend; he is my brother. But I am surprised that Nigerians don’t appreciate the fact that even as brothers if I feel strongly that what my younger brother was doing was wrong, I should advise him quietly and when I do, it becomes factional war. That impression is wrong.

Secondly, the governor knows that there is no quarrel between us, because what could have caused quarrel? I consciously made decision from day one to avoid it. I was never going to decide for him who he pays. I was never going to suggest to him who he appoints.

But he alleged that those things were part of the issues and that politicians wanted him to share state funds?

You see, that is where investigative journalism comes in. It is not too much for journalists to go to Edo State and speak to the party leaders and find out what the issues are. But let me tell you the issues that I have discussed with him as a brother. First, is that political leaders in Edo State.

After a year in office, they started complaining that after they had worked hard to elect the governor, only three people are in government: the governor, the deputy governor and the SSG. What is their evidence? They claimed that the governor immediately dissolved all the boards and two and a half years after, he has not reconstituted the boards.

These boards are not to be occupied by Oshiomhole. I am not going to hold any position in Edo State any more. These boards were dissolved and the governor after two and a half years has not reconstituted the boards. These were part of the complaints.

The third one was the governor’s decision to create new political leadership.

And I said to him, Mr. Governor, you don’t create a political leadership; leaders emerge. And I said to him these people you refer as old politicians that you said you want to retire, that I met them in the game. They are not my creation, but I had to learn to work with them. Then, he tells me that the people are liars; they abuse people, all sorts of things.

But I said to him that I am the last to say that politicians are angels but what matters to me is how to manage them so that when I need them they would be there for me. There is no doubt that the Edo APC as it is now whenever I needed them they were there for me. There is no better proof than the fact that under opposition federal government, in my second term governorship election, I won in all the 18 Local Government Areas.

In Edo South senatorial zone, which is the largest, we had a Benin man, who was contesting for the governorship, yet Benin people voted for me en mass. I won in all the 77 wards in Edo South. And in Egor LGA I won 96 per cent of the votes in the heart of Benin. I defeated Chief Anenih, may his soul rest in peace, in his Local Government.

I secured about 75 per cent of the total votes cast. So, I said to the governor if after abusing me and insulting me according to him, and the people rewarded me with such massive support, I could do with more abuses. But the truth is anybody who does not want abuses should not seek leadership.

Not just leadership in politics but even leadership in business and I said to him, you just have to learn and manage and understand that politics is like a jungle; it is not like a gold course. In that jungle you have good animals like the antelope, grass cutter that the hunter wants to go for, even rabbit. But the hunter also knows that in that forest you have snakes, pythons and scorpions.

But what defines a successful hunter is his ability to go into that forest, get the grass cutter home without being harmed. Even if in the process you suffer snakebite, within that same forest, there are herbs that you use to treat it and you come back home and get ready for the following day. This is the reality of politics.

But it is beyond anyone myself inclusive, not even the President of Nigeria could say he wanted to retire politicians. I remember

when IBB said he wanted new breed, he found himself reversing himself even with all his military powers, when it turned out that there were really no new breeds. So, these were for me healthy conversations I had with him.

Then another one is that we do have genuine disagreement about what to do with the young people who were our foot soldiers. I usually refer to them as our infantry division. These are young men and women who on election day, stepped to protect our votes. To engage those who want to steal our votes. At a time when we were in opposition, when the PDP ruthlessly deployed the Army, deployed the Police and even the DSS to make sure that opposition did not win. Don’t forget that I was rigged out in my first election; thanks to the courageous judiciary, I reclaimed my mandate.

So, I do not think it is right. My idea of leadership is that when people have worked with me and made all those sacrifices and I am elected, I cannot abandon them. I think I have a duty to rehabilitate them and give them a sense of belonging and a sense of ownership of the outcome of the elections. Motor parks will always be motor parks, whether it is in Lagos, Maiduguri, Port Harcourt; they have their code.

The responsibility of government is to engage and manage them in a way that they could do their lawful businesses, because the National Union of Road Transport Workers and Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria are registered trade unions in Nigeria.

They have a right to operate. And it is not for a governor to proscribe them. I defended those rights when I was President of the NLC and I cannot accept that particularly when have supported us to win election. That we just carry computer boys to motor parks and purport to be collecting revenue.

Talking about the revenue of the state, what’s the situation report?

Talking about IGR, I met it at N250million a month and I raised it to at a point, N2.1billion a month without disturbing these people. So there are ways to manage things, but the bottomline is that government must understand that its primary is citizens’ empowerment.

Now, how you ensure that in empowering one citizen you do not subvert the interest of other citizens is in the heart of governance. The skill to manage this conflict of interest is the heart of leadership. And these are conversations we had. Now, I did say to the governor, not in a secret meeting – we were about seven person there, I did say to the governor that he has to sustain building schools because the Edo educational system school buildings have been devastated.

And I was proud that in eight years we introduced what is known as the red roof revolution. The beauty of that is that it does not just provide beautiful and attractive schools to pupils and students; we introduced modern furniture, one pupil one desk as opposed to using benches. We replaced the black board with white board.

What is interesting is who did we use to build these schools?

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SUNDAY INTERVIEW t 5)&3& 4 45*-- 5*.& '03 0#"4&,* 50 3*()5 5)& 830/(4 t We find that to build a school is within the competence of an average local contractor. These Local contractors are 90 or 85 per cent of people of Edo origins. Many of them active politicians, and they are also businessmen.

Politics is not all they do. I remember couple of persons I gave even N3million contract to build VIP toilets in primary schools and secondary schools. He makes a legitimate 25 per cent profit from the contract and if I don’t give it to him, I will give it to someone else.

And you be surprised that from N3million, somebody making about N700,000 profit is happy. I am proud to say that there is no evidence that those I gave the jobs to did not do them.

They did those jobs to the satisfaction of the state government and the communities those schools were located are happy that in a typical rural Edo, you will find that the most beautiful school was the government red roofs in primary and secondary schools.

And the ceramic ties with introduced were made in Benin by Chinese company. The rod we used to construct the pillars were made in Benin from scrap vehicles. So the money circulates. Tipper drivers that carry granites and co are all Edo people.

Now, when you give those jobs to political leaders, who are competent contractors, you are empowering your people and you are empowering the political class.

And they in turn have the resources to sustain. Now if this is sharing money to people, then I disagree. I think that if you did not give those jobs to those people you will still give it to another person and nobody will do a job without making business. When Nigerians asked government to empower them, what they are saying is that give us opportunity to work. They are not saying come and share money to us.

I think legitimate profits arising from jobs properly executed for the people and government of Edo State, which ensured the enrolment in public schools increased by almost one hundred per cent. If I were to go back to that state again, I will do it the same way. After all, I gave contracts to big civil engineering guys, foreign contractors, I did.

All the roads that were constructed before were obviously done by big time contractors, because our local people will not be able to do such jobs. So, this for me is empowerment, if anybody thinks that giving contracts to our local politicians, who are businessmen is sharing money, the problem is not mine.

But how do you assess the government so far?

I felt terribly bad and embarrassed that as governor, I decided that we should not lament the poor state of health facilities in Edo State particularly the Central hospital that was built in 1903. So, we built what I call a five star hospital and I deliberately went out to look for a competent commissioner for Health, a professor of Medicine, UNIBEN, to superintend over the procurement process and ensure that we bring state of the art equipment to that hospital.

We built the hospital with Edo taxpayers’ money. We gave the contract to VERMAD Nigeria limited. VERMED is well known for manufacturing hospital equipment. They operate in many African countries. We placed orders for them to supply equipment, which they did even though at times they gave the contract the exchange rate at 195 per dollar.

By time they finished their processes the naira had been devalued. But thanks to the governor of Central Bank, he assisted to ensure that we had access to forex at the old rate. They got their dollars at N308 to a dollar. Before I left government I paid 75 per cent of the total value. All I expected my successor to do was to pay the balance.

This hospital was locked and I see in the Newspaper every day my political opponents arguing that nothing was in the hospital, but this hospital was commissioned by President Buhari about one week before I left office. From the equipment that was already delivered, the President was impressed. But after I equipped this hospital, it was closed for two years.

I kept speaking to the governor that the best way to answer PDP criticisms was to open the hospital. When it is open for business, people who go there for medicals will bear us witness but you don’t leave the hospital closed. At a point, I felt so embarrassed and I went to Aliko Dangote, who is a mutual friend of the governor and myself and I said I am unable to understand why the governor is unable to open the hospital.

Meanwhile, the equipment is there with warranty and whether you open the hospital or not those warranties are running and if they run out and tomorrow you have a problem, you need another money to buy equipment or to repair the old one. Aliko Dangote, God will bless him.

He told Godwin that if he builds a factory and locks it up for two years, the deeds that will happen is that the grease will dry up, the oil will dry up and you will invest a lot of money to service the machines before they can be operated. Not to talk about sensitive hospital equipment. He now told the governor to go and open the hospital.

And I get bashing every day, because people believe there is nothing inside. And I am no more the governor so I cannot go there to defend myself. I live with this pain even though I did my best to provide that facility to the people of Edo State and indeed Nigerians, who are in Edo and may need medical care.

Did he now open the hospital after Dangote’s intervention?

When the governor refused to open the hospital after I complained to Dangote, I asked the company to do a documentary

all know that the responsibility of conducting primaries rest on the NWC of political parties, it does not rest on a state governor. It was this same issue he said that we had problems in Zamfara, so what he said does not make sense to me.

But has the governor come on common grounds with you now?

Now, that is the issue. The last time we had a meeting with Governor Bagudu, Fayemi and El-Rufai and Niyi Adebayo, we all agreed that the way to go, given the divisions in Edo APC is to have an all-inclusive meeting.

We need to meet in a room and resolve our differences and come out for people to know that APC is one. You cannot solve problem without talking.

The governors encouraged him to meet with me so we can arrange the meeting. In fact, the governors offered to accompany us to Edo State to hold meeting with all the groups so that we iron out our differences. Unfortunately, as we speak, the governor has refused to convey that meeting.

We have to work now on how to get such a meeting on, because there is no way to solve such a problem without reaching out to the aggrieved parties. Let me assure you that this governor is not under threat. It is those who are making money from the crisis, those I call merchants of confusion; they are only relevant when there is a fight. They are the ones that will tell the governor they want to impeach you. But the governor should ask himself what has he done to deserve impeachment.

But will you support him for a second term?

Have we gotten there? Let us get there first. As it stands right now, has he told you he is contesting? And has he told you I am opposed to him? on all the equipment at the hospital and I placed it on different Television stations, including Channels. When people saw that, then, public opinion changed.

Then rather than open this hospital in obedience to public outcry, they decided to set up an inquiry by the Speaker (Adjoto), who is aggrieved, because he lost the House of Representatives ticket to Peter Akpatason, who is an incumbent lawmaker. So, based on his open bitterness, he was encouraged by the state government to set up this panel to rubbish themselves.

And then they removed all the documents from the Ministry of Health to give the impression as if the construction was a verbal transaction. The then Commissioner for Health and Housing, brought out their own documents, showing the adverts inviting expression of interest and the meeting of the Tenders’ Board, where the shortlisting was done, the biddings for the job and the minutes of meeting, where the tenders were open.

Everything that transacted including a letter from the state Ministry of Health, acknowledging that Vermed has provided the equipment that was paid for. Lastly, Vermed was able to show a letter they wrote to the Ministry of Health, Edo State, asking them to nominate people for training to manage this sophisticated equipment.

At the end of the day, the Commissioner said he forwarded letters asking them to get people for training to the governor but he has not received any reply from him more than one year that was done. Now, the members many of whom lost nomination, who were looking for fault went to the hospital to see for themselves and after that, they wrote a report that the state government has no reason to keep the hospital close.

They asked the state government to open the hospital for public use and pay the outstanding balance to Vermed that supplied the equipment. But the governor decided to manage the hospital through a consultant rather than through the Ministry of Health. I don’t grudge him on that. Those are purely within his discretion.

But what is interesting is that this consultant wrote to the MD of Vermed to say that the cutting-edge hospital equipment installed in the hospital will require continuous collaboration between the consultant and Vermed, because in their words, these are cutting edge technology. That was my dream for Edo people. What I expected the governor to do, which is the benefit of continuity because that was what we promised Edo people, even if I was succeeded by a PDP government I don’t think they would have shut that hospital as long as the governor did.

But what really was the problem between you both?

We have no argument over money. We have no argument over appointment. In fact, in a meeting that we held with four governors, including Governor Bagudu, Fayemi, Niyi Adebayo now Minister and Alhaji Aliko Dangote, I asked the governor: how many Commissioners did I nominate in your cabinet? And he agreed that I nominated only one person out of twenty commissioners.

After that first meeting, the governor decided to remove that one commissioner along with seven others. The governor will not tell you that I dictate to him but the only thing I feel worried about is that some of the projects we started together have been abandoned including the Benin Water storm master plan. Where I left it they did not continue with it and if they don’t continue with it, flood will return to Benin. These are not personal issues. As the national chairman of APC, I want the progress of our governors, so I must be interested in what they do. The governor had agreed at the beginning that since he is not a politician, he would want help.

Now, when you start fighting politicians that is not governance.

The governor was also on television to say how could he as governor of Edo State, according to him, say that even if he was considered as the worst governor, that he conducted party primaries and I sat in Abuja and cancelled those primaries. But you

But why is he being told he would be given the Ambode treatment?

Who told him that? What will I gain if Godwin does not run a second term? Is Oshiomhole going to run a second term? If I did what I did, whether he acknowledged it or not, but people know what I did to support him to be, what comfort will I have if he is terminated half way? What is Ambode treatment? But let me tell you, Ambode treatment is not the worst treatment we have seen in the APC. What about M. Abubakar’s treatment in Bauchi?

He won his primaries and as a sitting governor, he lost the election. What about Adamawa State? Because of internal fighting, the sitting governor lost. Though we are hopeful in both cases that the court will give us victory, because we think we won the elections.

So, the point to me is that tickets are not the issues in politics.

I think the real issues in Edo State is that any one that loves the governor (Obaseki) should do what we tried to do; what those governors tried to do by reminding him that a divided house cannot stand. And the House remains divided if we do not make conscious efforts to bring everybody together. So, what I am doing is to encourage him and all our leaders to have an all-inclusive meeting of all APC leaders. Lock the door and speak truth to ourselves!

What is simply happening is that, there are people who think that their access to bread and butter will end if there is peace, and so, they encourage the governor wrongly. I have had meetings before where I urged the governor to carry people along. Whether you like it or not, if there is one business where one tree cannot make a forest, it is politics.

Frankly speaking, given all that had happened, do you think you will support him again as you did the first time?

If we have this meeting of all the various tendencies within the APC and remind ourselves of what unites us, rather than what divides us – working together wholeheartedly and everybody is being given a sense of belonging, there is no reason why we cannot continue to defeat PDP and there is no reason why Obaseki cannot win election.

But let me say, even if Obaseki thinks of himself as an angel, and he is a candidate of a party that is fragmented, he will need miracles. And that is why I still say to him, lets embrace peace. Let me also say this, it is absolutely incorrect for the governor to say anybody asked him to share money. If he insists, let him mention the name. But what I have advised him is that reconstitute the boards, let people become board members.

The only way we can win elections is to show presence across the 192 wards in Edo State. I believe there is still enough time for the governor to make up by encouraging in good faith, the peace effort that many of our mutual friends had offered so that we can give everybody a sense of ownership of the government. The beauty of democracy is that when you have elected a government, you will say this is my government.

How would you describe the recent victory of your party at the presidential election petition tribunal?

It is victory for us as a nation; victory for democracy. But we heard the PDP still wants to go to the Supreme Court. We, as a party, are confident that if it is within the Nigerian law for PDP to go even to the world court, we will meet them there. The Supreme Court of Nigeria is not that of PDP or the APC, the Supreme Court is governed by law and is to interpret the evidence before the Court of Appeal.

They are not at liberty to introduce new issues neither can they bring in new witnesses. So, if it is what I heard at the Tribunal, which I believe you also heard, thanks to the media, most Nigerians were detained for eight hours listening to arguments of the judges one after the other.

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Oshiomole sandwiched by Senate President Ahmed Lawan and Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila

1¡$VVHPEO\ (OHFWLRQ 3HWLWLRQV ,W¡V 'L͞HUHQW 6WURNHV The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunals sitting in the 36 state capitals and Abuja recently delivered judgments nullifying the elections of some federal lawmakers as well as upholding the election of others, report Deji Elumoye and Shola Oyeyipo

T

he way the cookie crumbles!

That expression best describes the recent judgments delivered by the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunals across the country, which had resulted in many Senators and House of Representatives members losing

their seats.

In some instances, the Tribunals ordered outright sack of the sitting lawmakers while in others, fresh elections are to be held within 90 days to determine the actual winners of the February 23, 2019 National Assembly polls.

Although the National Election Petition cases have the Court of Appeal as the final court of arbitration, the judgment of the Tribunals is already generating issues among the petitioners and the respondents, who in this instance are the affected Senators and House members.

Those negatively affected by the tribunals’ verdicts at the upper legislative chamber include Senate Chief Whip, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu; ranking six-time Senator, James Manager; ranking Senator Dino Melaye and first time Senator Adedayo Adeyeye.

Senators whose elections were upheld include Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege; immediate past Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and Senator Solomon Olamilekan.

Already, Senator Manager representing Delta South Senatorial district has hinted of his plan to appeal the judgment.

Chairman of the three-man panel, Justice E.I. Ngene, gave the ruling last week and ordered a fresh election within 90 days.

Manager, who was elected on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was challenged at the Tribunal by former governor of the state and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, who prayed the panel to cancel the election and declare him winner.

Senator representing Abia North, Kalu has also said he would reclaim his mandate at the Court of Appeal.

This is sequel to the call for supplementary election

in some polling units across Abia North senatorial district by the tribunal headed by Justice Cornelius Akintayo, a former governor of Abia State.

But Kalu has urged the electorate in his senatorial district not to lose hope, stressing that his mandate would be re-claimed at the Court of Appeal.

Senator Melaye (Kogi West), who was sacked by a split decision of two to one decision read by Justice A. O Chijioke, which ordered a fresh poll within 90 days, has approached the Court ofAppeal.

Confident of victory, he already filed 23 grounds of appeal in Abuja.

FortheChairmanoftheSenatecommitteeonMedia and Public Affairs, Senator Adedayo Adeyeye, the judgment of the tribunal is nothing short of open robbery and a direct assault on the integrity of the Nigerian judiciary. “To the teeming masses of Ekiti south, whose vote the tribunal is trying to steal for Olujimi, they should rest assured that the judgment would not stand. I have instructed my lawyers to immediately proceed on appeal. And by the grace of almighty God, we shall have justice. Meanwhile, I will remain focused on my duty to my constituents and the Nation. We shall prevail�.

However, to the victorious Senators, it was a song of joy even though their petitioners had vowed to pursue the election case to the Court of Appeal.

Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie OmoAgege,describedthepetitionasaneedlessdistraction but thanked the people of Delta Central Senatorial districtandallNigerianswhoseunwaveringsupport ensured undisputable electoral and judicial victory Ekweremadu, while reacting through his spokesperson,UcheAnichukwu,saidtherewasneverreally anything to worry about in the first place because the election was won fair and square.

On his part, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah (Anambra South), said the tribunal’s judgment “reinforces the confidence our people have in the judiciary.

This is a good development for the advancement of democracy in our nation Nigeria as the judiciary has shown it is indeed the last hope for all.�

Senator Olamilekan (Lagos West) dedicated his victory to his numerous constituents that voted for

him in the February 23 NationalAssembly Election, saying the judgment was yet another validation of the mandate of the people of Lagos West for him to continue his representation in the Red Chamber of the National Assembly.

The situation in the House of Representatives was not different. The election tribunal, sitting in Osogbo, sacked Hon. Bamidele Salam, a PDP member representing Ede federal constituency in the House of Representatives, who was challenged

by All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the election, Hon Adejare Bello.

The three-member panel, headed by Justice Eyo Ita, in their unanimous judgment, ordered a rerun in 12 units of the federal constituency, which are three units in Ede North, four units in Ede South and three units in Egbedore.

Hon Shamsudeen Dambazau, the son of a former Minister of Interior from Sumaila/Takai Federal Constituency Area of Kano State, was also sacked by the tribunal, which sat in the state.The tribunal also set aside the election of the member, representing Takai/Sumaila Federal constituency,Abdurrahman Kawu Sumaila.

The three-man tribunal, led by Honourable Justice Onyekan Abdullahi, disqualified Sumaila on the grounds that he did not participate in all the preliminary stages of the election processes and declared the next candidate, being Suraj Idris Kanawa, with the highest number of votes winner in the election.

Reacting, Nasir Aliyu, counsel to Sumaila, said as a law-abiding citizen, his client had accepted the ruling of the court, because he had no plans to appeal the judgment.

The tribunal sitting in Makurdi, Benue State presided over by Justice A.AAdeleye, had directed INEC to withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to Mr. David Ogewu of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and declare Mr. Samson Okwu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner of the Obi/Oju federal constituency election.

Delivering judgment in the petition filed by Okwu against the election of Ogewu,Adeleye declared that the petitioner won the election with a margin of 994 votes from the two local government areas (LGAs)

and disagreed with the decision of INEC to declare Ogewu winner without including results for Obi LGA in the final collation on the grounds that the margin of win, which theAPGAcandidate secured over the petitioner in Oju was inconsequential.

The lawmaker representing Okitipupa/Irele Federal Constituency area of Ondo State and PDP candidate, Ikengboju Gbolug has been sacked by the tribunal, for acquiring dual citizenship, a status that is clearly unconstitutional.

The APC candidate in the election, Albert Akintoye, was able to establish before the court that the respondent was a citizen of the United Kingdom and therefore not qualified to run for political office in Nigeria under section 66 sub-section one of the 1999 constitution.

The three-man panel headed by Justice NuhuAdi directed INEC to withdraw Gboluga’s certificate of returnandissueittoAkintoye,whosaidthejudgment isruleoflawatwork.Thereishowevernoendinsight to the legal tussle as Ikengboju’s counsel, Olumide Ogunje, has declared that his client would appeal the judgment.

A Federal High Court sitting in Owerri has also sackedthememberforNkwerre/Nwangele/Njaba/ Isu Federal Constituency of Imo State in the House of Representatives, Ugonna Ozurigbo.

In his judgment, Justice P.ARigime ordered INEC toissuethecertificateofreturntoKingsleyEchenduof thePDP.EchenduhadsdraggedtheAPCandINECto courtforsubmittingOzurigbo’snameasthecandidate of the party, praying the court to declare him as the APC rightful candidate, contending that automatic tickets were unknown to the party’s constitution.

Thejudgeagreedwiththepetitionerthatautomatic tickets were unknown to party’s law and therefore declared Ozurigbo’s candidacy as illegitimate.

In Plateau, the Court of Appeal, during the week upheld the election of Hon. Usman Bello Kumo, fromAkko federal constituency of Gombe State. The court dismissed an application challenging Kumo’s election under theAll Progressives Congress (APC) and upheld the decision of the National Assembly Petitions Tribunal, which had earlier affirmed Kumo’s victory.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ EPTEMBER 15, 2019

A Warning for The Foreign Minister and People of South Africa Femi Fani Kayode

“I would appreciate them in helping us as well to address the belief our people have and the reality that there are many persons from Nigeria dealing in drugs in our country” –– Dr. Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor, South African Minister of International Relations.

I

s this the sort of thing that ought to be said by the South African Government when we are still in mourning and when we have not even buried our compatriots that were cruelly slain, bludgeoned to death and cut to pieces in the streets of SouthAfrica?

At a time when this irresponsible, insensitive, shameless, conflicted, self-hating, pitiful and mendacious creature that calls herself the Foreign Minister of SouthAfrica should be apologising to the Nigerian people for the mindless savagery and barbarity of her blood-crazed compatriots, she is pointing accusing fingers at their victims and the objects of their collective hate and seeking to demonise them. What have we done to deserve this? First you kill us then you seek to justify it and criminalise us!

Does this she-devil of a Foreign Minister really believe that innocent Nigerian men, women and children should be butchered at will in the streets of SouthAfrica by bloodthirsty and bestial mobs?

Worse still does she think it is right and proper that this is done with the full endorsement and support of both the SouthAfrican Government and police? Is that the way forward? Is that the way to build bridges inAfrica and enhance peace and stability on the continent? Can such behaviour be justified or defended under any circumstances? What would she do or think if the Nigerian Government and people decided to reciprocate and mete the same treatment out to SouthAfricans that reside in Nigeria and South African companies that are situated here?

In any case how many of those that were butchered over the years were drug dealers? If it is true that as many Nigerians deal in drugs as she has suggested, why can’t the SouthAfrican Government apprehend, arrest and prosecute them and send them to jail rather than demonise, misrepresent, target and kill innocent and defenceless Nigerians? This is a clear case of racial stereotyping and a squalid and shameful attempt to justify hate, racism, xenophobia, self-hate, black on black violence and mass murder. Permit me to educate the SouthAfrican Foreign Minister and to set the record straight.

There are thousands of Nigerian professionals, academics, lecturers, intellectuals, businessmen, teachers, scientists, engineers and doctors in your country working hard, doing a great job and contributing massively to your development and economy.

The fact that your people hate Nigerians and enjoy killing us has nothing to do with drugs, human-trafficking or drug-trafficking. It is because your people are hateful, ignorant, xenophobic, lazy, racist and envious of ours.

And the few irresponsible Nigerians that go to SouthAfrica and indulge in terrible and unforgivable crimes like drug and human-trafficking and gang-related violence do so only because your people have a terrible weakness, an undue fascination and an insatiable appetite for hard drugs, alcohol, prostitues, men and women of easy virtue and the dark, ugly and wild side of life.

It is therefore not surprising that SouthAfrica has, for the better part of the last 25 years, been described as the “world’s capital for homicide” and the country with the “highest number of people that have been afflicted with HIVAIDS!” Rather than work hard, like their Nigerians counterparts, South Africans prefer to go to sleazy and cheap nightclubs, to gamble on gaming machines and poker tables, to drink huge amounts of beer, to take massive amounts of hard drugs and to stay at home, watch television and sleep. They are not particularly good at anything except singing beautiful songs and killing their fellowAfricans.

It is for this singular reason that their women love and respect Nigerian men and have nothing but contempt for their own.

Generally-speaking Nigerian men are strong, productive, virile, focused, courageous, industrious, adventurous and hard-working with a touch of arrogance and they excel in all their ways. Sadly the average SouthAfrican male does not possess these virtues or qualities. It does not stop there. For the better part of the last 50 years Nigeria has been the major military and economic power inAfrica and we have used our wealth, power and influence wisely and expeditiously to the advantage of many countries on the continent.

For example, had it not been for us the minority white Boers would still be ruling over the black SouthAfricans and apartheid would still have been firmly in place.

We nationalised British Petroleum and Barclays Bank because of them in the late 1970’s and thereby compelled the British to accept our demand of black majority rule in SouthAfrica and Zimbabwe and to stop supporting apartheid and white minority governments.

We are far ahead of SouthAfrica in terms of education and virtually every other sphere of human endeavour and we have opened up our country for them to come and invest in without any pre-conditions, obstacles or trade barriers.

Today Nigeria is by far the biggest market for their expertise, products, goods and services and if that market were to ever be closed to them or if their companies were nationalised it would affect their economy enormously. The truth is that they benefit far more

Mandisa Pandor

from and make far more money from us today than we benefit and make money from them.

In a trade war they have far more to lose than we do because not that many Nigerian companies have invested heavily in and operate in SouthAfrica whilst many SouthAfrican companies have invested heavily in and operate in Nigeria. As a matter of fact some of those companies make more money from the Nigerian market and their Nigerian operations than they do in the whole of the rest of Africa put together.

That is what we have offered and given them and yet they have offered and given us next to nothing in return.All we get from them are insults, violence and heartache! Historically and in every other way they are very much our juniors. Our people were educated at Oxford, Cambridge and the very best universities in the world since 1860. SouthAfrican blacks never went to a real university until the 1990’s after aparthied fell.

We have liberated and brought peace, justice and stability to many African countries and been a blessing to theAfrican continent for many decades despite our present challenges.

Whether it beAngola, Mozambique, Congo, Zimbabwe, SouthAfrica, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Ethiopia, Eritea, Ghana, Namibia, Sierra Leonne, Liberia, Sao Tome and Principe, Sudan, Chad, Niger and so many others, we were there in full force with our money, our resources, our arms, our logistical support, our oil, our economic concessions, our aid and in some cases our troops.

We shed blood and our blood was shed for otherAfrican countries over the years yet all we get in return are insults.

If you say Nigerians are drug pushers and human traffickers then I will say that SouthAfricans are losers, racists, drop-outs, failures and genocidal maniacs.

Worse still had the white Boers not built up SouthAfrica it would still be a barren land and the black population would still be nothing but slaves that live in filthy and squalid little townships.

Despite all the razzmatazz and great public relations about being a happy and prosperous “rainbow nation” where everyone is so happy and is treated so well, the truth is that SouthAfrica remains a country with a black body and a white head.

I say this because even though political control and leadership has been ceded to the blacks, 80% of the multi-national corporations, big business, industry, the private sector and the economy and 90% of the choicest land, the biggest farms and the best farmlands still remain in the hands of the white Boer minority.

Given this, is it any wonder that black SouthAfricans are literally going mad and are deeply frustrated and filled with hatred and bitterness? They have nothing and, unlike in the days of Oliver Tambo, Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki (all great and inspiring men of strength, courage, wisdom, conviction and profound wisdom) other than a handful of new political leaders who are essentially corrupt, weak, fearful, divided, conflicted and uninspiring token niggers and Uncle Toms (with the possible exception of a bright, courageous and rising young star by the name of Julius Malema), their prospects of ever amounting to anything over the next 100 years is very dim.

The real power still resides in the hands of the minority white Boers and the prospects for a prosperous and bright future lies heavily in their favour at the expense of the majority blacks.

If only the SouthAfricans knew and remembered their history and considered ours they would be praying for Nigeria and thanking us every day rather than insulting and killing us.

Without our support and the pressure we brought to bear, the great Nelson Mandela may never have been freed and theANC and its armed wing (Umkhonto Wi SIzwe) would not have received the massive and robust funding and support that it did throughout the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s. Together with the Cubans and the

Libyans, Nigeria did more for the liberation of SouthAfrica and SouthAfrican majority rule than any other nation in the world.

What the SouthAfricans are doing to Nigerians today makes me regret the fact that we did so much for them in the past.

They have repaid our good with evil and consequently evil will never leave their doorstep. They have shed our blood for no just cause and the heavens will respond and avenge us. They have made us weep and shed tears for our compatriots and for this they shall pay a heavy price!

The SouthAfrican Foreign Minister and those that share her racist and deplorable disposition and xenophobic views should consider these facts and the implications of her words and actions before she ventures to open her fat, ugly and very undiplomatic mouth to speak untruths and garbage about Nigeria and Nigerians again.

Failing to do so may provoke a series of cataclysmic events and unpredictable and harsh reprisals which would result in the final demystification and total humiliation of the “rainbow nation” and the painful and everlasting disgrace of its people.

Make no mistake about it, even a Nigeria in her weakened state and with all her challenges is still big and strong enough to bring SouthAfrica to its knees.

And if the killing and mass murder of our people does not stop that is precisely what we shall do.Aword is enough for the wise.

Permit me to conclude this contribution with the following.

Many years ago in the early to mid-1970’s, when apartheid was alive and well in SouthAfrica and when I was a young student at Harrow, which undoubtedly remains the best private school in England, I broke the jaw of a blond, blue-eyed English-speaking white SouthAfrican fellow student who said some very nasty things about black SouthAfricans during a history class.

During a heated debate about racial segregation and the South African Mixed RaceAct which made it a criminal offence for blacks and whites to get married or have sexual relations, he got up and said, before the entire class, that “allowing those dirty black dogs to touch our beautiful and pure white women is sacrilage. It is against the laws of God! It is like getting a monkey to mate with a human being!”

Finally he said “no sane white woman would ever want to have sex with a blackAfrican monkey and any of them that do should be sent to jail”. I reacted swiftly and without any hesitation. Without any warning or even words of anger, I left my desk, walked up to him and broke his jaw with one clean blow from my right fist. He never knew what hit him!

I remember hearing and enjoying the way his jaw popped open and cracked. It was a strange noise and as he hit the floor his legs started to shake uncontrollably after which he lost consciousness.

For one horrendous moment I thought I had killed him but thankfully eventually his eyes opened, he sat up and he was rushed to the hospital on a stretcher.

He hailed from one of the biggest and richest white families in SouthAfrica who were (and still are) in the diamond mining business. I almost got expelled from Harrow for my “wild and unruly” behaviour until I gave my reasons for hitting him to the school authorities. They were shocked and equally appauled by what he had said, which they rightly regarded as a grave and reckless provocation, and they decided to let me off the hook.

I was reprimanded and warned and I remember that the Headmaster wrote a formal letter about the incident to my father who was livid with me for jeopordising my entire academic career simply because of a racial slight and slur.

Papa said “you didn’t have to hit him and almost kill the poor boy: you could have just attempted to educate him in a civilised manner and at the worst insult him back!”

Yet I had no regrets or remorse about my course of action or the choice that I made and to my eternal credit I never apologised for my action to the SouthAfrican, the school authorities, my father or anyone else. The truth is that I was proud of what I did and I believed that defending the honor of my black SouthAfrican colleagues was far more important than staying at Harrow. I was prepared to risk it all by physically assaulting the white boy and I did it with relish.

My gamble paid off and the SouthAfrican boy, as sober as ever, never insulted or spoke ill of blacks again in my presence.

As a matter of fact we ended up becoming friends in the following years and I will never forget what he told me just before we left Harrow in 1977. I remember the words because I wrote them down at the time and have meditated on them for years.

He said “you don’t understand the Bantus” (meaning black SouthAfricans).

He went on to say “the day they get power in SouthAfrica is the day that SouthAfrica will begin to die. Since the 17th century we Boers built up everything there and they contributed nothing. We fought the Zulus and later the British and we built and developed that land with our flesh, sweat and blood. Giving a country like SouthAfrica to them is like giving a monkey a loaded gun. They will use it to kill everyone around them and eventually they will kill themselves. They are not like you Nigerians: they have no history or class. They are unenlightened, ungrateful, primitive, uncouth and very backward and one day the rest ofAfrica will know them for what they are!”

Judging from the words of the SouthAfrican Foreign Minister and the xenophobic and racist diposition of the SouthAfrican President, Government and people, it appears that that day has finally come.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R Ëž SEPTEMBER 15, 2019

IMAGES

R

ecently, a seasoned Politician, APC, GAC member and CEO ARESCO Limited , the Baba Ijo Saint Dennis Catholic Church, Akoka, Yaba, Lagos. Senator (Dr.) Anthony Ogunbemi Adefuye celebrated his 75th birthday with a Thanksgiving Service Mass at the Church and was followed by a grand reception at the Heaven Events Centre, Oba Akinjobi Way, GRA, Ikeja. Here are some of the personalities that graced the occasion.

Celebrant (4th left), Senator Dr Anthony Ogungbemi Adefuye, his wife, Chief Mrs. Bolaji Adefuye (5th left) his Son, Hon Bayo Adefuye (3rd right), Elderstatesman, Senator Femi Okurounmu (1st right) and the Celebrant’s other Children

L-R: Senator (Dr.) Anthony Ogungbemi Adefuye, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his wife, Dr. (Mrs.) Ibijoke

L-R: Mr. Aramide Tola Noibi, Mr. Olisa Adefalujo and Mr. Ade Mefus

L-R: Barrister and Mrs. Yemi Adefulu and Prof. Tola Atinmo

Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora and Mr. Oladipo Diya (rtd.) and Senator (Dr.) Anthony Adefuye

L-R: Tokunbo Adefuye and Bayo Adefuye

L-R: Engr. (Dr.) Femi Hamzat, Barrister Ade Ipaye and Prof. Olusoga Onafowora

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NEWSXTRA 40 Katsina Residents Still in Captivity of Armed Bandits Repentant bandits release 21 victims Francis Sardauna in Katsina

No fewer than 40 residents of Katsina State abducted by armed bandits in Shinfida, Mallama and Zango villages under Jibia and Kankara Local Government Areas (LGAs) are still in custody of their abductors, according to a document obtained by THISDAY. Aside from the victims who are yet to be released from the captivity of armed bandits, however, the document revealed that the administration of Governor Bello Masari had facilitated the release of 21 kidnapped persons including a nursing mother and her three-month-old baby.

With these records, the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Katsina Council, commended

the Masari administration for coming up with a peace deal with armed bandits and other initiatives to stem the wave of banditry and kidnapping in the state.

This figure was revealed in the document THISDAY obtained from the Katsina State Government, though the number of kidnapped residents still in the captivity of the armed bandits across the state might be more than 40.

Likewise, Masari confirmed the figure when he received five freed victims of armed bandits at the Government House, Katsina on Friday, promising to secure the release of every resident kidnapped in the state.

Masari had initiated a peace deal with bandits terroris-

NUJ commends Masari’s peace accord

ing eight frontline LGAs of the state where he met with leaders of the miscreants in Dankolo, Dansabau, Dangeza, Runka, Tsamiya, Shinfida and Baranda villages.

But the document, which showed the number of captives released so far, revealed that the state government was able to secure the release of the kidnapped persons with the declaration of amnesty for all kidnappers in the state and subsequent deal that offered

exchange of captors for their captives.

The document, also, revealed that four of the bandits handed over two Ak47 riffles and ammunitions to the state government after denouncing their heinous crimes, which had claimed many lives in the state.

The repentant bandits, who include Abdullahi Mairafi, Audu Danda, Ardo Nashawali and Sale Dangote, assured the state government

that the disarmament phase of the peace deal had just begun, saying more firearms in their custody would be surrendered to state government.

Speaking on the peace deal, Masari claimed that the state government released 21 suspected bandits earlier apprehended and detained by security operatives in Katsina, Kaduna and Kano States to ensure speedy release of remaining captives in custody of the miscreants.

Masari said: “From the report we heard, we are still awaiting 18 people to be released from Shinfida LGA, about 14 from Mallama all in Jibia LGA. We are expecting another eight from Zango in Zankara LGA. “There will be some people under their captivity that we don’t know. But for those that we know, we are expecting to receive from them (bandits) no less than 40 people covering from Kankara and Jibia local governments.�

Popular Farm Invests $70m to Boost Rice, Sesame Production Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano

A subsidiary of Stallion Group, Popular Farms and Mills Limited has invested over $70 million to boost massive production of varieties of agricultural produces especially paddy Rice and Sesame in Nigeria so as to enhance economic fortune of the country.

The Managing Director of the firm, Mr. Amit Kumar Rai disclosed this yesterday at the seventh annual supply chain meeting of its stakeholders and workers in Kano.

Rai declared that the group “is targeting of 1.50 million tons of paddy rice per annum in Nigeria through the setting of additional milling and structures facilities.�

He explained that the focus of the Stallion Group “is to make Nigeria self sufficient in the rice revolution policy of president Muhammadu Buhari led administration. “In the course of its interaction and integration services, the company entered into an MOU, with over 1,151 Cooperative Groups, having 41,486 member farmers as well as 65,715 hectares of rice farm area, with an installed milling capacity of 430 metric tonnes

per annum and projected a capacity of 44,000 tons.�

He said the company had also fulfilled its commitment to spend a dedicated budget, toward achieving expansion of rice and sesame valuechain backward integration initiative, in association, with various partners in order to expand the exportation of Sesame that would earn the country foreign exchange.

He said: “Our plan is to spearhead and lead the Nigerian rice revolution to self-sufficiency in rice production. We intend to achieve this through technical and farmers business skills training to over 24, 264 rice out-growers across the producing states and cooperatives, as well as empowering women and youths in the rice value chain. “To sustain our vision statement of ensuring genetic integrity of rice, we have introduced fairly priced certified ‘popular seeds’ for our valuable stakeholders.

We have collaborated with National Agricultural Seeds Council for the purpose of producing and satisfying the locally released and grown genetic seeds.�

ALL FOR NATONAL REBIRTH...

L-R: General Superintendent, Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM), Pastor Williams Kumuyi; Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, Lagos Chapeter, Apostle Alexander Bamgbola, and Secretary, Lagos CAN , Elder Israel Akinadewo at the ministers development held in Lagos... recently

FUOYE Reels under Burden of Killing, Sex Scandal

Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti

The Federal University, Oye Ekiti (FUOYE), one of the nine federal universities established under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, has been reeling under the burden of its two students killed during a recent protest and a 16-year student allegedly impregnated by a professor.

During its protest staged on Tuesday, the Students Union Government (SUG) alleged that operatives of the Nigeria Police Force shot live bullets at the protesting students, thereby

killing a 100-level student of Crop Science and Horticulture, Oluwaseyi Kehinde and a 300-level student of Biology Education, Joseph Okonofua.

Among other witnesses, the President of the SUG, Oluwaseun Awodola claimed that the shots, which killed the two students at the prime of their lives, were fired by police officers who tried to protect the wife of the governor of Ekiti State, Bisi Fayemi.

The Ekiti State Police Command through its spokesperson, Caleb Ikechukwu, denied the death of the two students, claiming that the report was “baseless,

Alaibe Sues PDP, Seeks Cancellation of Bayelsa Primaries

With AfCFTA, Obaseki Canvasses Stronger South-South Cooperation

Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

One of the aspirants in the justconcluded governorship primary of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) In Bayelsa State, Chief Timi Alaibe has approached the Federal High Court in Yenagoa, urging it to cancel the result of the election because of alleged procedural flaws.

The aspirant, who had earlier petitioned the PDP National Working Committee (NWC), filed the suit pursuant to Order 3(9) of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2019.

In his statement of claim, Alaibe, a former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), is seeking answers to questions bordering

on non-adherence to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Electoral Act 2010, the PDP Constitution and Election Guidelines.

Alaibe alleged that the ward congress held by the party was flawed due to irregularities.

He, also, asked the court “to examine the entire processes that resulted in the primaries and rule in his favour in the light of alleged violations committed in a move to impose a pre-determined, handpicked candidate on the people out of 21 aspirants.�

He had earlier raised objections against what he described as crass disrespect for legal procedures and party guidelines in the build-up to the conduct of the governorship primary election.

Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki yesterday called for stronger ties among countries in the global south with the ratification of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Obaseki argued that promoting mutual ties with countries in the global south “is imperative because it will ensure that the countries share models and development planning strategies that would benefit the AfCFTA.�

The governor canvassed the position at a public forum organised by the United Nations and its specialised agencies to commemorate

the 2019 International Day for South-South Cooperation At the commemoration, Obaseki stressed the need for countries in the global south “to band together and work for the uplift of their people and revamp of their economies through knowledge-sharing, innovation and mutually beneficial trade agreements. “As we mark the International Day for SouthSouth Cooperation, what comes into focus is the need to expedite work on the AfCFTA so there would be a robust engagement among countries in Africa and their counterparts in the global south.

unfounded and only intends to incite and create panic in the minds of the peace-loving people of Ekiti and the general public.�

But Fayemi’s wife denied ordering her police orderlies “to shoot at the students and that she did not meet the students directly during the protest. The casualties that were recorded did not take place while I was there. There are eyewitnesses, photographs and video footage to confirm this.�

Rather than speak on the death of the two students, the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Asuquo Amba claimed that the command had already arrested

two students in connection with the attack on the convoy of Bisi Fayemi’s wife and her security details.

The police chief, also, claimed that the two rifles seized from the police during the crisis had been retrieved and that two of his men were wounded while twopolicevanswereburntduring the attack.

Amid these controversies, the Ekiti Council of Elders has expressed grief over the killing of two undergraduates, asking the police to be more professional while discharging their duties and handling sensitive crisis situation to avert bloodshed.

THISDAY Columnist, Lanre Alfred, Unveils Ogun Vision THISDAY Newspaper columnist, Lanre Alfred, has released a new magazine, Ogun Vision.

Every decade has its defining literature and wordsmiths.

This epoch has Lanre Alfred.

Like the prolific wordsmiths of old, Alfred is a bit of an old blood; and his outsider’s fascination with all that is urbane, human and cultural is postulated as one of his assets. Well served by limitless curiosity, a high sense of professionalism and willingness to stand firm on behalf of his craft and subjects, he treats both with unprecedented diligence and artistry.

The wit and creativity that

are so much a part of Alfred’s craft are also what endeared him to his teeming readership throughout his illustrious career as a celebrity journalist and editor.

With Ogun Vision, is a monthly magazine, Lanre Alfred has created a media platform to inform, educate and enlighten Ogun State indigenes at home and abroad on the strides and successes of Governor Dapo Abiodun.

The maiden edition has a print run of over 10,000 copies. Published by OldEnglish Partners, it presents a very sharp contrast to now ubiquitous mundane publications.

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NEWSXTRA Rewane, Ahmed Propose Policy Options to Tackle Fiscal Crisis Recommend subsidy removal, ďŹ scal repositioning Gboyega Akinsanmi Experts in fiscal policy and macroeconomics have recommended alternative policy options to address fiscal crisis arising from the widening gap between public revenue and expenditure.

The experts also, identified poor investment flow and suboptimal as more fundamental problems currently confronting the Nigerian economy, which according to them, can worsen unemployment and low productivity, among others.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Bismarck J. Rewane; President, Nigeria’s Manufacturers Association (MAN), Alhaji Mansur Ahmed, among others,

expressed concern about the economy in separate interviews with THISDAY yesterday.

The Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation had at a public consultative forum on the 2020-2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) in Abuja confirmed that the federal government could only generate N2 trillion between January and June.

Within the period under review, however, the DirectorGeneral of the Budget Office of the Federation, Mr. Ben Akabueze had revealed that the federal government alone expended about N3.3 trillion compared with 2 trillion generated.

He disclosed that an aggregate

Blame crisis on sub-optimal growth, poor investment ow

of N4 trillion revenue was collected in 2018 with expenditure of N7.4 trillion, including N1.7 trillion capital budget within the period. However, he claimed, the remaining half of the year would be better in terms of revenue performance.

In separate phone conversation, the experts suggested alternative policy options the federal government could adopt to rejig the economy, ranging from removal of fuel subsidy, consolidated fiscal positioning, creating enabling environment for private investment flows and expansion of tax net.

Rewane, an economist explained the root causes of the fiscal crisis, which according to him, was partly structural and partly unstructural.

He argued that the federal

government only “needs revenue to meet its expenditure,� which he said, would not necessarily retard the growth of the GDP if the private investments were normal and steady.

He explained that if the GDP “is performing at 1.9 percent when the population growth is about 3 percent and the growth target is about 6 percent, then the economic growth will be affected. We need to deal with critical issues.�

With this illustration, he explained that there “will be a level of gross capital formation, which is lower than normal and which we need to deal with.

We need to separate structural problems from peripheral problems.�

Rewane, therefore, pointed out that the more fundamental

problem had to do with the fact that the investors “are not bringing in more monies.�

He argued that even when the revenue “declines and the government cannot spend, the economy can still grow if private investments are steady. “Fiscal crisis is simply about budget. It is about the government revenue and expenditures. Much more fundamental is when we have more revenue and our economy is not growing like Japan, we have a problem.�

He noted that the country “needs growth. It is growth that we want. We are not getting that.

To do that, we need gross capital formation. We need investment growth. We need fiscal consolidated positioning. Fiscal crisis is just a manifestation of the fundamental problem the

economy is facing.�

He, specifically, faulted efforts directed at addressing a part of the challenges confronting the economy, which according to him, might not yield desired outcome, thereby canvassing the need “to look the problem holistically. “If the economy is growing sub-optimally, there will be all sorts of things. Things are very clear. First, there will be unemployment. Also, there will be low productivity. There will be reduction in government revenues. “The problem we have today is because of sub-optimal growth. Private investments are not coming in. And that growth is because activities are concentrated in one or two areas, which are not job elastic,� he said.

Tribunal Upholds Abiodun’s Election as Ogun Governor Idowu Sowunmi

The Ogun State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abeokuta has affirmed the victory of Ogun State Governor, Mr. Dapo Abiodun, as the winner of the March 9 gubernatorial poll in the state.

Upholding Abiodun’s election in a six-hour judgement yesterday, the tribunal dismissed all the petitions filed by the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and its candidate, Hon. Abdulkabir Akinlade.

The petitioners had approached the tribunal to contest the declaration of Abiodun as the winner of the election.

They alleged that the election was fraught with irregularities and prayed the tribunal to discountenance the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

INEC had declared Abiodun as the winner of the election, having polled 241,670 votes as against the APM candidate who scored 222,670 votes.

The petitioners, also, accused Abiodun of age and certificate falsification, alleging that the credentials submitted by the APC candidate when he contested for a senatorial election in 2015 was contrary to the ones he submitted to INEC in 2019.

Delivering judgement yesterday, the three-man tribunal

led by Justice Yusuf Halilu, dismissed all the petitions against Abidun for lacking in merit and substance.

On the issue of over-voting and other malpractices alleged by APM and its candidate, Halilu ruled that the petition “does not only fail, but it was destined to fail.

The tribunal cannot waste its valuable time on irrelevant documents on over-voting. “Finally and in the light of everything said above, it is incorrect to contend that, the second respondent (Abiodun) did not win the election by the majority of the recorded votes. “We are satisfied by the electoral provision of sections 27 and 69 of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended. “We have no reason to tinker with the outcome of the March 9 governorship election in Ogun State. This petition is destined to fail, it fails and is hereby dismissed,�

Halilu ruled.

Akinlade had challenged results in 1,070 polling booths across the state, he only brought 36 witnesses. “It is unreasonable to do such and expect meaningful judgment,� Halilu declared.

The tribunal said it is unfortunate that the APM candidate relied on a chartered accountant as a forensic expert and not a data analyst who has knowledge to discover irregularities in election materials.

Abbas, 10-Year-Old Boy, Unveils Single Favoured Zone Entertainment has announced the release of its new single album titled chocolate by a 10-year-old prodigy, Awal Murutala Abbas.

The firm confirmed this in a statement, noting that Abbas, the newly found young star whose stage name is mustarSid, hails from Ogbomoso, Oyo State.

The statement added that the star kid “is currently working on his first official single titled Chocolate.� “Chocolate is produced by Young John and the video was directed by the mind blowing video director TG Omori.�

The statement said Abass was discovered while doing his numerous freestyle rap videos, which had earned him both lo-

cal and international audience.

It added that the title of the song “was borne out of the young lad’s interest in chocolate as a child. Abbas’ parents and family members give him chocolates and other goodies as a reward mostly for being obedient and hardworking at home. “As a result, the young star is using his talent to encourage others kids to always be obedient and resourceful so they can achieve their dreams in life.

Abbas

STRATEGISING FOR CAPITAL...

L-R: Founder, Nicky Okoye Organisation, Dr. Nicky Okoye; Director for Investment, Federal Ministry of Industries, Trade and Investment, Kemi Arodudu; Secretary to the Cross River State Government, Tina Abgor and Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Anderi Agarov at the global capital strategy session held at the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Lagos... recently

Fulfil Your Promise to Immortalise Agagu, Stop Politicising Provision of Infrastructure, Wike Urges Leaders Group Tells Akeredolu James Sowole

The Congress for the Rights of Ondo Southern Nationalities (CROSN) yesterday urged the Ondo State Government to immortalise a former governor of the state, Dr Olusegun Agagu who died six years ago on September 13, 2013.

The group made the call in a statement by its National Chairman, Mr. Abiodun Fanoro and National Secretary, Tunde Aiyenumelo.

It frowned at the delay by the state government to honour Agagu despite his unparalleled achievement.

CROSN, however, acknowledged the effort of the state governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu to honour Agagu when he announced during his visit to the Okitipupa Local Government early in the year.

During the visit, the statement claimed that Akeredolu promised that the University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa would be named in honour of the late former governor.

It urged Akeredolu and the state House of Assembly “to urgently take all necessary steps, including coming up with a bill

and a law that would change the name of the university in favour of Dr Agagu.�

The statement said one other way of immortalising Agagu apart from naming the university after him is by completing all the numerous life-enhancing projects the deceased embarked on when in office.

It noted that most of the projects initiated by the Agagu administration had reached between 60 and 80 percent completion, but were abandoned by his successor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko.

It listed the abandoned multimillion dollars water project planned “to serve Akure and five other local government areas, the Olokola Free Trade project, the Igbokoda Deep Sea Port project, the Okitipupa Cassava Factory project, estimated to employ over 3,000 youths and the various roads and bridges which were near completion.�

The statement claimed that most of these projects were abandoned by the Mimiko administration despite the fact that substantial part of funds for their completion had been set aside by Agagu before leaving office.

Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has called political leaders to stop politicising the provision of infrastructure meant for the people.

This, is as he said the immediate past administration in the state denied some communities needed infrastructure for political reasons.

Wike spoke yesterday at Elelenwo Community in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state while inaugurating the 5.6-kilometre RumuokwurusiElelenwo-Akpajo Road as part of activities marking his 100 days in office. He formally christened the Rumukwurusi- Elelenwo – Akpajo Road as Justice Iche Ndu Road in honour of the Former Chief Judge of Rivers State.

The governor said the dual carriage road, which connects Rumuokwurusi and Elelenwo Communities in Obio/Akpor local government area, and Akpajo Community in Eleme local government area, was neglected by the previous administration because of some individuals living in Elelenwo community.

He said: “Our people forget easily how this road was. The politics of this road was that the state government refused to construct this road because of some individuals who were

living along this road. “One of these individuals is former Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Iche Ndu and another person is the member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Kingsley Chinda. You can see the politics we play. “Some of us who are from the communities did not even ask the state government what was our benefit for supporting them.�

Wike urged the State Taskforce On Street Trading and Illegal Motor Parks, to ensure that street traders and commercial motorists do not take over the road.

The governor reiterated his commitment to construct three flyovers in the state within 16 months, saying that construction work on the flyovers would commence in October.

The governor was later treated to a civic reception by Elelenwo Community where the Paramount Ruler if the community, Ever Sunny Weli Chuku, Nyenwe Eli ElelenwoEtor, conferred in the governor the chieftaincy title of Eze Omekwa Eli ke Mbom of Elelenwo.

Responding to the community over the chieftaincy title, an elated Wike said he had all along rejected titles from communities but was forced to accept the one from Elelenwo because of the level if support he got from members of the community in his political career.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ SEPTEMBER 15, 2019

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with DEMOLA OJO demola.ojo@thisdaylive.com

SOCIAL MEDIA BITS

Last week, President Buhari’s election was upheld, two tax plans were announced, and some Nigerians lost faith South Africa...

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ano State governor, Umar Ganduje, and his image handlers would have us believe that he is the “best governor to have performed brilliantly in the first 100 days in office.” The award was reportedly conferred by African Group of Democrat based in Dakar, Senegal.

Why in heaven’s name will a Dakarbased organisation give a Nigerian governor an award after 100 days and by what metrics? The desperation of Ganduje and his handlers in selling the governor as the best thing since sliced bread won’t cut it. They should desist. Every time his name comes up, images of him stashing dollar notes in his pocket, in what he claims to be a doctored video, pops up.

There are more important things to occupy the country’s attention. Like the anti-climatic Presidential Election Tribunal ruling which validated President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory at the 2019 elections.

Only the most optimistic supporters of the PDP and its flag bearer Atiku Abubakar would have expected otherwise. Not surprisingly, it was a scramble by politicians to congratulate the president, including those you wouldn’t expect, like Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike of the PDP. Never mind that his party is challenging the ruling in court.

Around the same time, the Federal Government approved the increase of Value Added Tax from 5 per cent to 7.2.

As you would expect, a debate raged on the effects, with some making the bewildering assertion that it won’t affect the poor. But VAT affects everyone, and probably affects the poor the most, according to an Oxfam report.

Well, a tax plan that won’t affect everyone was also proposed, this time by Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria. It is restricted to advertisements on social media. In its drive to generate funds for the Federal

SEPTEMBER 15, 2019˾ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

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MEDIA

Government, the agency wants to issue a N25,000 levy to vet advertisements on social media.

But APCON didn’t do their homework apparently, because there is a legal hurdle to surmount. It would be easier reducing the bloated allowances of public officials, if government really needs to conserve/generate funds.

Thankfully, in the midst of doom and gloom was cheery news that a private Nigerian airline, Air Peace, took it upon itself to bring back Nigerians fed up with life in South Africa. For free.

It cost the airline N300 million though, but the benefits in goodwill is immeasurable. It is even more heart-warming that Air Peace CEO, Chief Allen Onyema, was at the airport to receive the returning Nigerians who gleefully sang the national anthem.

You can understand their relief; only 187 of the 640 who signalled their intention to come home made the trip, after South African authorities held some back due to lack of “proper documentation.” That further added

to the tense relationship between the two countries both at official levels and among ordinary citizens.

Nigeria’s foreign affairs minister, Geofrey Onyeama, has made sure to chastise his South African counterpart when necessary. The Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri, hasn’t held back either.

While it’s important not to encourage a breakdown of law and order in showing displeasure at the xenophobic attacks in South Africa, there is the argument that forcing the South African government to act by hurting its economic interests is a viable solution.

It is the reason why there’s growing animosity towards popular South African brands doing business in Nigeria, with the likes of Shoprite, MTN, Travelstart and DSTV among others, facing the prospects of a boycott.

Those who enjoy a near monopoly in the services they provide can breathe easy for now. For others, there is already a conscious attempt on social media to promote Nigerian alternatives.

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SUNDAYSPORTS

Edited by Demola Ojo Email: demola.ojo@thisdaylive.com

TerriďŹ c Tammy Tames Wolves with Hat-trick Demola Ojo

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igerian-born TammyAbraham continued his hot scoring streak by netting a hat-trick in Chelsea’s 5-2 away win over Wolves yesterday.

Chelsea’s ‘Loan Army’ came through for them as two other youngsters, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori, also got on the score sheet. Tomori is another who is eligible to play for Nigeria’s Super Eagles.

Abraham struck in the 34th, 41st and 55th minutes before being credited with an own goal and then limping off.

The game burst into life just past the half-hour mark when Tomori’s dipping drive from outside the box wrong-footed Wolves goalkeeper Rui Patricio and flew into the net to give the visitors the lead.

Abraham struck his first goal three minutes later, making the most of the advantage granted by referee Graham Scott to take a touch and swivel before firing home, and he headed a second before halftime to send his side into the break 3-0 up.

The Chelsea academy product, who has spent spells on loan at Bristol City, Swansea City and Aston Villa, completed his hat-trick 11 minutes into the second half before being replaced by Michy Batshuayi after 77 minutes.

Wolves pulled a goal back in the 69th when Romain Saiss’s header went in off Abraham for an own goal and striker Patrick Cutrone bundled home another in the 85th, five minutes before Mason Mount fired home Chelsea’s fifth to complete the rout.

With seven goals in five games, the 21-year-old Abraham is now joint-top Premier League top scorer, alongside Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero. “I hope this is my season. I have to keep

Abraham is now Premiership top scorer with seven goals working hard in every training session, every game. Every game I want to prove myself to the gaffer,� he said.

Abraham who has represented England at junior level has refused previous entreaties by the Nigeria Football Federation to play for Nigeria at senior level, signalling his intention to represent England instead.

According to the father of another Nigerian-born player who decided to play for the Super Eagles after representing England at junior level, the NFF need to do more to convince the likes of Abraham to don the colours of their fatherland. “These players have been treated so well by England over the years, hence their development.

Even us as parents are held in high regard and

feel wanted.

The Nigerian authorities need to show more desire in winning these boys over,� he said without wanting to be named.

Chelsea, who host Liverpool next week, are up to sixth on eight points while Wolves, who visit Crystal Palace looking for their first win of the season, are 19th on three points.

Fati, 16, Scores On Camp Nou Norwich Stun Man Debut as Barcelona Thrash Valencia City 3-2 Norwich City produced a magnificent all-round display yesterday to inflict Manchester City’s first Premier League defeat since January at an ecstatic Carrow Road.

The Canaries were missing eight players but made light of those injuries and took full advantage of a performance from the reigning champions that was careless in the extreme and characterised by chaotic defending.

Norwich were 2-0 ahead within 30 minutes after Kenny McLean rose unmarked to meet Emiliano Buendia’s corner and then Todd Cantwell finished a flowing move involving Marco Stiepermann and Teemu Pukki.

Sergio Aguero’s header just before the break hinted at a Manchester City comeback but a misunderstanding between John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi saw Buendia rob the Argentina centre-back and set up Pukki to score.

Rodri scored his first goal for Manchester City with two minutes left before referee Kevin Friend’s final whistle was the cue for wild celebrations for the home side.

The rare defeat, meanwhile, leaves Pep Guardiola’s side five points behind Liverpool.

It was inevitable City would miss the class and composure of Aymeric Laporte - set to be out for six months with a knee injury - but this display suggests the gap he leaves is even bigger than Manchester City may have feared.

Guardiola has lost quality and influence with Laporte’s injury, as well as

Vincent Kompany’s departure, and his nightmare scenario unfolded at Carrow Road.

Stones and Otamendi had a harrowing time and City’s manager will know he must now rely on the pair at least until January.

Guardiola himself should not escape criticism for the defeat though after he left Kevin de Bruyne out of his starting team then delayed his arrival until after Norwich had re-established their two-goal lead. They were mystifying decisions and a heavy price was paid.

It would be ludicrous to start writing off the title hopes of a team so rich in quality but that five-point gap to Liverpool looks large when you consider Jurgen Klopp’s team only lost once in the league last season, to City, and have won their opening five games this term.

Barcelona’s 16-year-old forward Ansu Fati yesterday marked his first senior start with a second-minute goal as the La Liga champions cruised past Valencia.

The teenager burst onto Frenkie de Jong’s square ball to score the opener with a firm strike at the Nou Camp.

Fati then returned the favour five minutes later when he cut the ball back for De Jong to double the hosts’ lead.

Kevin Gameiro hit back but Gerard Pique and a Luis Suarez double sealed victory before Maxi Gomez’s late consolation.

The Barcelona academy graduate became the club’s youngest La Liga goalscorer last month when he opened his account within six minutes of coming off the bench in the champions’ 2-2 draw at Osasuna.

And Fati, who joined the club’s ‘La Masia’ academy in 2012 after moving to Spain from birthplace Guinea-Bissau

Awaziem Debuts, Chukwueze Benched As Villarreal Trounce Leganes Chidozie Awaziem made his debut for Leganes who lost 3-0 at home to Samuel Chukwueze’s Villarreal in their LaLiga clash yesterday in Spain.

But Awaziem’s Nigerian teammate, Kenneth Omeruo, was however not listed in the Leganes’ matchday squad.

Super Eagles youngster, Samuel Chukwueze was benched for the entire duration of the game after previously

featuring in Villarreal’s opening three league games of the campaign.

Awaziem played the entire duration of the match, but would have wished for a good result to mark his first game for the Mauricio Pellegrino’s team.

Gerard Moreno’s double and a Jonathan Silva’s own goal gave Villarreal a comfortable away victory at the Estadio Municipal de Butarque.

Fati is Barcelona’s youngest goalscorer at the age of six, was rewarded with a starting berth against Valencia after his performance in Pamplona.

Having become the youngest player to play for Barca since 1941, when he featured in the win over Real Betis on 25 August, the exciting forward could not have wished for a better full debut.

With injured club stalwart Lionel Messi gleefully watching from the stands, and the game barely a minute old, Fati timed his run to perfection to meet De Jong’s pass and beat former Barca goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen with a crisp finish.

The pair then reversed roles as Fati showed some neat footwork by the byline before cutting the ball back across goal for the Dutchman to smash into the roof of the net.

The teenager showed some deft touches that belied his years, shooting narrowly wide on two occasions, but there were also signs of his inexperience as he was dispossessed trying to dribble past three

Valencia defenders just inside his own half.

The visitors sprung clear after winning the ball from Fati, and although nothing came from that particular move, they pulled one back moments later through Gameiro after the video assistant referee overruled the official’s offside decision.

Centre-back Pique restored Barca’s two goal-advantage when he was on hand to convert the loose ball from close range before Fati was replaced by Luiz Suarez to a standing ovation just before the hour mark.

Suarez opened his account just seconds after entering the fray with a fierce right-footed strike, before adding his second with a rasping low drive in the final 10 minutes.

Substitute Gomez then latched onto Denis Cheryshev’s low cross to secure a late consolation for the visitors, who remain in 12th place in the table, while victory for Barca moves them up to fourth.

RESULTS & FIXTURES

Liverpool Brighton Man United ShefďŹ eld Tottenham Wolves Norwich Real Madrid Leganes Real Sociedad Barcelona Fiorentina Napoli Inter Bournemouth Watford

3 – 1 Newcastle 1–1 Burnley 1–0 Leicester City 0–1 Southampton 4–0 Crystal Palace 2–5 Chelsea 3–2 Man City 3–2 Levante 0–3 Villarreal 2–0 Atletico Madrid 5–2 Valencia 0–0 Juventus 2–0 Sampdoria 1–0 Udinese v Everton 2pm v Arsenal 4:30pm

Sunday September 15 2019

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UT H

& RE A S O

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Price: N400

MISSILE

Shehu Sami to Federal Government “They closed the border and want people to go back to the farm;There’s no problem with going to the farm,the problem is coming back from the farm” – Senator Shehu Sani reacting to the state of insecurity preventing farmers from going to their farms.

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Avoiding Judgment Debt Doomsday

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cary. That, in one word, captures my conclusion after reading a chapter on judgment debts in Mr Mohammed Bello Adoke’s book, Burden of Service: Reminiscences of Nigeria’s Former Attorney-General, which is due for public release tomorrow. If care is not taken, judgment debts will bankrupt this country.

For starters, judgment debts are court-ordered payments for breach of contract, infringement of rights and other failings on the part of the state.

It is very, very scary the rate at which courts and tribunals are slamming heavy awards on the federal government because of avoidable lapses — although I reckon that some of these things are also orchestrated.

I find this very topical in the light of the award of $9bn against Nigeria by an arbitration panel in London following a breach of contract complaint filed by Process and Industrial Developments Limited (P&ID), a little-known Irish project management company. P&ID was awarded $6.6 billion for “loss of income” over the lifespan of a botched 20-year gas and supply processing agreement (GSPA) and another $2.3 billion in interests. The interests are still accumulating.

The figure we are quoting is the sum awarded as far back as January 2017. It is now going to three years, so the figure would be higher. We are battling tooth and nail to stop the enforcement of the award.

Nigeria is contending that the GSPA was, and is, a scam. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been quizzing those suspected to have participated in the entire arrangement. But while we are at it, a possible $2.3 billion fine is also hanging over us in France because of another alleged breach of contract in the Mambilla power project in Taraba state. This time around, it is a Nigerian company, Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited (SPTCL), making the claim. I understand there are several cases like these all over the place, some fresh and some inherited from previous administrations. They run into billions of dollars.

Adoke, who was AGF between 2010 and 2015, listed several instances in his book — such as the OPL 245 saga and the Ajaokuta Steel settlement — to illustrate how Nigeria sleepwalks into adverse situations that can drain its resources and bankrupt the treasury. In the OPL 245 case, for instance, Royal Dutch Shell dragged Nigeria to the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), an organ of the World Bank, claiming $2 billion in compensation for the revocation of the oil block by President Olusegun Obasanjo, who went on to enter into an out-of-court settlement agreement to return the juicy block to Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd. OPL 245 is a pretty messy affair on a good day. In 1998, Gen Sani Abacha, then head of state, had awarded the oil block to Malabu — co-owned by Mohammed, his son, Chief Dan Etete, who was the minister of petroleum, and Alhaji Hassan Adamu, then Nigeria’s ambassador to the US. Obasanjo revoked it in 2001 and gave it to Shell under a production sharing contract with NNPC. Malabu went to court, lost and appealed, but the Obasanjo administration settled out of court in 2006 and agreed to return the oil block to Malabu. The moral question of Etete getting an oil block while serving as petroleum minister remains unanswered. In fact, there is yet no legal challenge to it.

The zigzagging was always going to end up in chaos as Shell headed to ICSID for arbitration, claiming the Nigerian government

Buhari

had expropriated its assets having given it the go-ahead to explore OPL 245 in 2001. It claimed to have spent $535 million already on exploration.

According to Adoke, Shell was cocksure it would win the case in arbitration. So the federal government was damned: return OPL 245 to Malabu and get slammed with a $2 billion award; or restore OPL 245 to Shell and face further legal action from Malabu with a demand for billions of dollars in compensation. It was a Catch-22. This is what the government faces all the time for unilaterally ditching contracts!

When Malabu wrote to President Goodluck Jonathan in 2010 asking for the 2006 Consent Judgment to be enforced, Adoke said he told Jonathan the agreement was legally binding — but the Shell shadow remained. Now joined

by ENI of Italy, Shell was still in love with the oil block but its relationship with Malabu had hit the rocks. He said the federal government agreed to mediate on the condition that Shell would drop its $2 billion claim against Nigeria.

It seemed everything was settled when Shell and ENI paid $1.3 billion — $210 million “signature bonus” to the federal government and $1.1 billion to buy OPL 245 off Malabu.

It all looked like a closed matter.

But, of course, we now know that dirty dealings went under the table. The deal has been tainted by allegations of graft — which Adoke swore he did not partake in (“not even a cup of tea or a slice of cake,” he wrote in the book). For me, the question remains why Obasanjo withdrew OPL 245 from Malabu without a justification that could withstand legal challenge. He could have said Etete, being minister of petroleum, violated the code of conduct by the award of the oil block to a company in which he had interest. In fact, Etete should have gone on trial for abuse of office. That, in my opinion, would have made the revocation legally justifiable and probably saved us all the scandals.

In the P&ID case, I can see that the federal government is trying to prove that the entire deal was a scam ab initio. EFCC may put some people on trial following a series of invitations of the key characters. If you ask me, I would argue that this is what we should have done when the case was in arbitration, or before the final award was given in January 2017. We were simply too slow and nonchalant over the arbitration. I am not a legal expert — truth be told — but based on some technicalities about arbitration that I have read so far, proving that the deal was a scam could be enough ground to impeach the award. I hope we have not woken up too late.

In Burden of Service, Adoke discussed the knotty case of Obasanjo’s concessioning of the Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited (ASCL) and National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO), Itakpe, to Global Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (GINL), a company promoted by the Mittal Group, in 2006. A panel set up by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2007 had found GINL wanting in the execution of the concession agreements. In June 2008, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua finally cancelled concessions. GINL decided to pursue arbitration in a London court, claiming billions as compensation. Apparently, Nigeria was at fault in the NIOMCO case but had a good case on ASCL. According to Adoke, before he assumed office as AGF in 2010, a panel had recommended that the federal government should pay a compensation of $525 million to GINL for “wrongful termination” of the Ajaokuta concession. It would appear — and this is tragically typically Nigerian — that some insiders had proposed the compensation in order to have their own cut. This is a case of Nigerians working against Nigeria — punishable by death in China. When Jonathan asked him to review those recommendations, Adoke said he set up a committee which concluded that Nigeria should adopt a different approach to settle the dispute because most of the facts were in the country’s favour.

Adoke wrote: “I invited the officials of Global Steel for a meeting where I got the chance to appraise them and to discover their underbelly.

I challenged them regarding the compensation they were claiming, making it clear that I was aware that they had taken undue advantage of the negotiations. Prior to the meeting, I had done my homework and discovered that they had not been paying their taxes. I threatened them with criminal proceedings for tax evasion, in addition to other criminal infractions that they had clearly committed. I also observed that they had cannibalised machines and equipment at Ajaokuta Steel and had taken them to Aladja Steel” (page 207).

Long story short, the tone of the discussion tilted the matter in Nigeria’s favour. “When they noticed that I was closing in on them, the prime promoters refused to come to Nigeria for negotiations for fear of arrest and trial for tax evasion. I employed that tactic as a carrot-and-stick approach. To amicably resolve the issue, I insisted that Global Steel should relinquish their interest in ASCL for free without any form of compensation… In respect of NIOMCO, Nigeria was apparently in the wrong, unlike in the Ajaokuta matter.

The requisite notices had not been given and the procedure for termination had not been followed,” Adoke wrote. We saved the sum of $525 million in the end.

As we try to dodge P&ID’s Sword of Damocles, I think there are many lessons we need to take home. One, we must be more diligent in the nature of agreements we enter into. Two, we must understand the consequences of unilaterally breaking contracts. Three, if we must break contracts, we must be sure there are loopholes and leeway we can capitalise upon to avoid catastrophe — as in the cases with GINL and OPL 245. Four, those who conspire to foist unfavourable contracts on Nigeria should know that they could be called to account someday.

It has taken the P&ID case for Nigerians to pay a serious attention to judgement debts. Are we learning any lessons? If not, Armageddon beckons…

And Four Other Things…

PEPT TALK A lot has been said about the unanimous decision of the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) to dismiss Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s petition against President Muhammadu Buhari. While we are still debating it, I think the judgment provided enough grounds for Atiku to head to the Supreme Court if he so wishes.

It seems the most contentious issue is whether or not Buhari lied on oath when he said his secondary school certificate was with the military authorities — who denied having it. The tribunal does not think it is perjury since Buhari, who attended several post-secondary institutions, is eminently qualified and did not need to lie about a basic certificate. Remarkable.

DISAPPOINTED LOVE The last thing you expected Nigerian returnees from South Africa to do is sing the national anthem, but that was exactly what they did when Air Peace airlifted them for free from the xenophobic country.

Chief Allen Onyeama, chairman of the airline (God bless him), said he was moved to tears. I was moved to tears too. I have always maintained that Nigerians love their country. Their anger and bitterness are as a result of disappointed love and unfulfilled dreams. This incident further renews my faith in the country despite all the discouragement around me. Everything to make Nigeria great is here. Who will heal our wounds? Who will unite us? Who will inspire us? Posers..

VAT RISE The federal executive council has proposed to increase the rate for value-added tax (VAT) from 5 percent to 7.5 percent in 2020 to improve our revenue profile. Predictably, Nigerians are not enthusiastic about it. But that is not my point. Mrs Zainab Usman, the finance minister, said the proposed increase is subject to the approval of the national assembly which will have to amend the law. Not so, Madam Zainab. Section 38 of the VAT Act says the minister “may by order published in the Gazette amend the rate of tax chargeable”. It is very interesting that the senate has already promised to “summon” the minister over it. Hilarious.

SEUN’S ‘SIN’ Mr Seun Onigbinde, co-founder of BudgIT, has been appointed as a technical adviser in the ministry of budget and national planning. That is not the news, though.

Having been a fierce critic of the Buhari administration, he was immediately subjected to serious scrutiny on Twitter over his past vicious tweets against this government. This is a situation critics face all the time. Some are questioning why he should serve the same government he has been so critical of — but many also think it is an opportunity to practise what he has been preaching. There is no doubt that he is eminently qualified for the job and he will be a plus to the system. Never say never.

Pragmatism.

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