Theniche december 14, 2014 edition

Nigeria's Sunday Exclusive December 14, 2014 Vol. 1 No. 35

₦200

Making of showbiz politicians

CBN loses control of naira stability

PAGE 46» TODAY'S WEATHER

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Lagos 24oC - 30oC

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Abuja 20oC - 35oC

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Port Harcourt 20oC

APC narrows VP slot to Fayemi PAGES 7»

Fayemi

Politics

2015: The die is cast PAGE 16»

FASHION 42»

FAITH

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Other News

Lawyers differ over Obasanjo’s book launch, court order

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HEALTH 53» BUSINESS 57» SPORTS 67»

Special Feature

With the South East in tow, Buha Muhammadu Buhari is an also-ran. Bad strategy combined with wrong public perception ruined his quest for Aso Rock in 2003, 2007, and 2011.

Yet, his loyalists cite his antecedent as military Head of State between December 1983 and August 1985 to argue he is the best man to clean up a country with corruption intricately woven into its psyche.

Buhari, 72, says this is his last shot. And he wants to serve only one term. To get the job after his heart, Victor Ebimomi and Ishaya Ibrahim, explain why his best chance is with Chris Ngige or Ogbonnaya Onu as running mate.

P

resident Goodluck Jonathan will clearly be walking a tight rope in the 2015 vote if the All Progressives Congress (APC) makes the right calculation for Aso Rock.

The battle is squarely between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the APC, an amalgam of sundry parties into a mega one last year with the sole aim to dislodge the PDP behemoth.

for Progressive Change (CPC), and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

The basic idea behind the merger, according to the principal actors, is to be formidable to give the PDP a run for its money. It is a herculean task, as incumbency is a strong factor in Nigerian politics. But it is not impossible if the APC puts its house in order.

PDP’s winning streak

Buhari won the APC presidential ticket on Wednesday, December 10 to run for the Villa once again, his last throw of the dice after three failed attempts.

Those who contested against him were former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; publisher of Leadership newspaper, Sam Ndah-Isaiah; Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso; and Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha.

House of Representatives Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal, withdrew from the race “in the interest of the party”.

Though all the contestants were qualified, for the APC to make maximum impact, party members agreed with analysts and picked Buhari as the best bet. This argument is premised on three planks.

One. The North is clamouring for power shift and the APC took the ticket up North. And among the Northerners in the presidential race, Buhari is the most popular and the most likely to carry the Northern vote.

He has a huge following, reflected in the last election in which he polled more than 12 million votes, even though his CPC was barely one year old at the time.

Two. Buhari is perceived as an upright person who can confront headlong the cancer of corruption that has eaten deep into all the

The PDP has been in the saddle since 1999 when this democratic dispensation began. That year, its candidate, Olusegun Obasanjo, a retired General and former military Head of State, defeated All People’s Party (APP) candidate, Olu Falae.

In 2003, Obasanjo in his second term, trounced the APP flag bearer, Muhammadu Buhari, also a retired General and former Head of State.

In 2007, the PDP candidate, Umaru Yar’Adua, also defeated Buhari, who contested on the platform of the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), the new name adopted by the APP to accommodate more interests.

The feat was repeated in 2011 when the PDP candidate, Goodluck Jonathan, coasted home ahead of Buhari who contested under his newly-formed Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

The unbroken chain of PDP victory emboldened it so much that its then National Chairman, Vincent Ogbulafor, boasted that the party would rule Nigeria for 60 years.

Formation of APC The APC was formed through the merger of three parties – the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), Congress

Buhari back in it

Many observers say the choice of Buhari’s vice presidential candidate should naturally be from the South East. This will solve two fundamental problems for the APC. It will demystify the anti-Igbo sentiment associated with the party. And it will impact heavily on the campaign of Jonathan as the region is his second stronghold, after the South South.

Jonathan nooks and crannies of Nigeria.

During his 18 month as Head of State, he herded all politicians of the Second Republic to prison on the slightest suspicion that they were corrupt.

His transparency is also exemplified when a youth group, Buhari Support Organisation (BSO), started an initiative to pool campaign funds from among his supporters.

Their aim is to raise N7 billion from an estimated 70 million party supporters and Buhari’s admirers who would contribute N100 each.

Buhari agreed to it on the condition that, to ensure transparency, he would be the sole signatory of the First Bank account number 2026724405 in the name of BSO in which the funds would be kept.

“What makes it worthy of praise is the fact that the initiative comes with its in-built mechanism for ensuring acceptability that is also transparency-friendly. If we preach accountability, we should be able to practise it,” Buhari said.

A new game for Jonathan The factors that ensured Jonathan’s victory in 2011 may not persuade voters in 2015 – his tale of attending elementary school barefooted; being a minority of the minorities in the South South; the support of the Northern establishment (politicians and traditional rulers).

The issues the electorate will assess him on in 2015 include • His handling of Boko Haram, especially the missing Chibok girls.

• Unstable power supply.

• Unemployment.

• The $20 billion oil money that former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Lamido Sanusi, alleged got missing.

• His refusal to fire or probe Petroleum Minister, Diezani Allison-Madueke, for allegedly spending N10 billion on private jet hire.

• The mysterious manner a jet owned by Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) President, Ayo Oritsejafor, got involved in air freighting $9.3 million to buy arms in South Africa.

• Other corruption scandals.

Tall order versus advantages The stigma that Buhari is a Muslim zealot may not stick in 2015 following recent disclosures that his

Sambo first daughter had been married to a Christian Igbo before he ventured into politics, and that his domestic staff of many decades are mostly Christians.

Buhari has two advantages.

He has a strong base in the North, which wants power shift that it will not get in 2015 from the PDP, with Jonathan as its sole candidate.

The South West is largely APC terrain. That favours Buhari.

But much of the South South, Jonathan’s domain, will go for the president. The South East, the battleground in 2015, is toss up, even though most political leaders in the zone are not happy with the APC. The Northern vote will be largely tilted in favour of Buhari while Tinubu can use his influence to garner the vote in the South West, where the APC controls four of the six states (Lagos, Osun, Ogun, and Oyo).

Even in Ekiti and Ondo, which are controlled by the PDP in the South West, Buhari can get more than 25 per cent of the vote, as required by law.

The APC can also make a good showing in the South South, with the efforts of Governors Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers) and Adams Oshiomhole (Edo), and others.

In the South East, too, the likes of Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, former Anambra State Governor now Senator Chris Ngige, and former Abia State Governor, Ogbonnaya Onu, can make the impact for the party.

South East, APC’s master stroke But a major factor that can swing victory for Buhari is his choice of vice presidential candidate, the zone, and religion.

As is Nigeria’s history since independence, a Muslim-Muslim ticket is frowned at just as a Christian-Christian ticket.

The only time the same religion ticket was tolerated in a presidential election was in 1993 when Moshood Abiola paired Baba Gana Kingibe.

Abiola won the ballot although former military President Ibrahim Babangida, annulled it.

Many observers say the choice of Buhari’s vice presidential candidate should naturally be from the South East. This will solve two fundamental problems for the APC. It will demystify the anti-Igbo sentiment associated with the party.

Ngige And it will impact heavily on the campaign of Jonathan as the region is his second stronghold, after the South South.

Ngige or Onu as Buhari’s best pick APC heavyweights from the South East include Okorocha, Ngige, and Onu. Ngige has charisma that cuts across the zone, as well as political experience, and is endowed with a fighting spirit.

His popularity is such that after former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, defected from APGA to the PDP, some members of APGA mounted pressure on Ngige to defect to APGA and be its rallying point.

Ngige was equally under pressure to join the PDP. But he stood his ground not to leave the APC, which he described as “a mass movement for the emancipation of Nigerians.”

APGA members want someone of Ngige’s calibre to galvanise the party and reconcile all warring factions before the vote.

A source in the party said: “With Peter Obi out of APGA, some party members are not comfortable with the absence of a strong arrowhead that is on the ground and has the capacity and experience to boost the morale of party members.

“Obi’s dumping of APGA will adversely affect the party, and the only politician in Anambra – and if possible Igboland – that can make the difference and also douse the tension occasioned by Peter Obi’s departure from APGA is Ngige.

“Some people have already commenced moves to get him join the party due to the true Igbo man’s spirit in him.”

Anambra State APC Chairman, Emeka Ibe, confirmed the move to lure Ngige to APGA. His words: “I know that so many people have been trying to bring him into the PDP, and not only the PDP but APGA also. Last year, there was pressure for him to join these two political parties.

“The pressure is even more now from APGA. They know that he is a beautiful bride and every political party wants him.

“They have been coming; especially the APGA people, and they are still coming. But the problem is that the ideologies of the APC and APGA

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ari’s last shot can hit the target Down To The Wire To win the Villa, a candidate has to score at least 25 per cent of the votes in two-thirds of the states (24) and carry the majority vote nationally.

In terms of governorship posts, the PDP controls 21 states, APC 14, and APGA one. However, going by the number of registered voters, Jonathan and Buhari will go to the presidential ballot neck and neck, considering that many PDP states in the North may vote for Buhari.

Onu are not the same and Ngige will not join APGA despite the pressure, he has made it clear that he cannot be jumping from one party to another.

“Ngige believes wholeheartedly in the APC and will not bow to their pressure. Some of the members of APGA have been coming and they are lamenting that they do not have any fatherly leader in APGA and that is why they want Ngige.

“But I must tell you that they have lost their deposits.”

Ngige may want to run for a second term as senator, but the prospect of becoming vice president, then president after Buhari, would be a huge draw.

Ibe said: “Ngige is a serving senator and nothing stops him from going back to the Senate. And even as a senator nothing stops him from being chosen as a running mate to the presidential candidate.

“All these things are good aspirations and in due time he will make public his ambition. All we know is that these two positions are okay for him.”

In the alternative, Buhari can pick Onu, who governed old Abia between February 1992 and December 1993.

Onu, as Chairman of the then ANPP, led the talks between it and the other parties that formed the APC last year.

If Buhari chooses Ngige or Onu as deputy, that will split the South East vote for the PDP, which controls three of the five states in the region (Abia, Enugu, and Ebonyi).

Imo is APC domain, and Anambra is in APGA’s column.

Better prospects of Igbo presidency Buhari’s promise to serve one term, which ends in 2019 if he wins the election, presents an opportunity for the South East to produce the president in 2019, the highest post in the land, which the zone has clamoured for since the end of the civil war.

The South East producing

Buhari

Why would the South East wait till 2027 to produce the president through the PDP when it can do so in 2019 through the APC? This will weigh heavily on the minds of South East voters in February 2015 and tilt their scales in Buhari’s favour.

Because of his reputation for integrity, they know he will keep his word to step down for their man – a credible person like Ngige or Onu – to have the best gambit for the Villa in 2019.

the president will finally assuage the ill feelings caused by the Biafran war of 1967 to 1970.

If Buhari picks Ngige or Onu and pitches on stepping down for him in 2019 if the ticket wins the Villa in 2015, the prospect of the South East getting the presidency through the APC in five years’ time is something the region will find hard to resist.

In this scenario, the collective lot of the South East is better in the APC in the foreseeable future than in the PDP. If Jonathan wins the ballot with Vice President, Namadi Sambo, the PDP will rotate power to the North in 2019.

And if the party wins Aso Rock in 2019, the tenure may stretch to two terms of eight years.

That means power may remain in the North till 2027.

Some South East leaders have argued that the region has benefitted a lot under Jonathan in appointments and infrastructure, but others disagree with that notion.

One of the proponents of the view, Abia State Governor, Theodore Orji, said: “In terms of appointments, we are better than what it used to be. In terms of projects, we have benefitted from some landmark projects.

“It is under [Jonathan] that we realised the Akanu Ibiam Airport as an international airport. It had been a local air-

port all along.”

He also cited the OnitshaOwerri road and the second Niger bridge as “some of the visible things we can be happy about. Jonathan has kept his promises for us and I know he will do more for us by the time we give him another massive support.”

However, it is better for the South East to produce the president than for it to be given political appointments and provided infrastructure by a president from another zone.

Orji expressed hope that the South East will produce the president at the right time.

“We know we will be president, there is no doubt that a president of Igbo extraction will emerge one day but it is good for us to go when the time is right,” he said.

But even if the PDP, currently the largest party, factors the South East into its calculation post-Jonathan, that means the earliest someone from the region may become president on the platform of the PDP is 2027.

Why would the South East wait till 2027 to produce the president through the PDP when it can do so in 2019 through the APC? This will weigh heavily on the minds of South East voters in February 2015.

• Look out for the best possible strategy for Jonathan to win a second term.

State Control Registered voters 1.

Abia PDP 1,387,844 2.

Adamawa PDP 1,682,907 3.

Akwa Ibom PDP

1,621,798 4.

Anambra APGA 1,784,536 5.

Bauchi PDP 2,502,609 6.

Bayelsa PDP

590,679 7.

Benue PDP 2,340,718 8. Borno APC 2,570,349 9.

Cross River PDP 1,169,469 10. Delta PDP 2,044,372 11. Ebonyi PDP 1,020,011 12. Edo APC 1,593,488 13. Ekiti PDP

688,950 14. Enugu PDP 1,313,128 15. Gombe PDP 1,208,927 16. Imo APC 1,672,666 17. Jigawa PDP 1,817,087 18. Kaduna PDP 3,743,815 19. Kano APC 4,751,818 20. Katsina PDP 2,928,046 21. Kebbi PDP 1,459,734 22. Kogi PDP 1,305,533 23. Kwara APC 1,125,035 24. Lagos APC 5,426,391 25. Nasarawa APC 1,291,876 26. Niger PDP 2,427,081 27. Ogun APC 1,796,024 28. Ondo PDP 1,472,237 29. Osun APC 1,318,120 30. Oyo APC 2,487,132 31. Plateau PDP 2,082,725 32. Rivers APC 2,466,977 33. Sokoto APC 2,113,698 34. Taraba PDP 1,279,394 35. Yobe APC 1,203,324 36. Zamfara APC 1,802,301

FCT PDP

892,628

Total 70,383,427 • Source: Independent National Electoral Commission.

Breakdown Of Registered Voters By Party • 21 PDP states plus FCT – 38,764,228 • 14 APC states – 31,619,199 Total – 70,383,427 Breakdown Of Registered Voters By Region • 16 Northern states (14 core North plus Kwara, Niger, FCT) – • North Central (Benue, Plateau, Kogi) – • South West (Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo) – • South East (Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo) – • South South (A’Ibom, Bayelsa, C’River, Delta, Edo, Rivers)– Total –

34,800,629 5,728,976 13,188,854 7,178,185 9,486,783 70,383,427

Permutation For APC North Most of the 19 states will vote Buhari. Exceptions likely to be three of the five PDP North Central states (Benue, Plateau, Kogi) partly because of historical grudges against the core North.

South West Four states (Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Oyo) are APC ground; therefore, advantage Buhari. With Tinubu’s influence, Ekiti and Ondo, PDP states, expected to yield some votes to Buhari.

South East The real battleground. It will be too close to call. Who wins will depend on how well the region is carried along.

South South Jonathan, in his primary territory, will grab four PDP states (Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta). Edo and Rivers are APC.

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TheNiche on Sunday December 14, 2014

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News

Victor Ebimomi Head, News Desk 0803 305 7718 vickooo2000@gmail.com

MDAs groan under unremitted allocations

•January, February, March, September, October arearrs in contention •Budget Office officials allegedly demand bribe before releasing funds

Budget Office Director General, Bright Okogu

By Chuks Ehirim

Assistant Editor, North

A

lleged diversion of funds and demand for bribe have left several ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) in the cold and they may have to forfeit unremitted allocations unless they get the money before the year ends.

Most of them are groaning under unremitted allocations from the Budget Office with regard to overhead costs and capital votes.

TheNiche learnt that al-

Education Minister, Ibrahim Shekarau

location was not made to virtually all federal government MDAs between January and March this year.

Allocation only started coming in April.

A source who did not want his name in print recounted that “when they started making releases in April this year, they did not say anything about the arrears of three months namely, January, February, and March.”

Nothing to do with oil price fall The MDAs have not had allocations since August, and officials of the Minis-

“What happened in the first three months of this year and in August, September, and October? These months were before the oil price fall so why were our allocations seized, so to say, by the ministry officials?”

try of Finance are said to be planning to release only the allocation for November.

“What this means,” explained the source, “is that the MDAs are actually going to forfeit their allocations for the months of January, February, March, September, October, and possibly December.

“These months' allocations are all in arrears and we may not get them.”

The Ministry of Finance has stressed the need for austerity measures arising from the fall in oil price on the international market.

But some argued that the non release of statutory allocations to the MDAs has nothing to do with the fall in the price of oil, because it only occurred in the last two months.

“What happened in the first three months of this year and in August, September, and October?

These months were before the oil price fall so why were our allocations seized, so to say, by the ministry officials?”, asked another source.

The MDAs had hoped the problem would be resolved at their last bimonthly meeting at the accountant general’s office, but it was not even dis-

Okonjo-Iweala

cussed.

“We were shocked that this issue, as important as it is, was not even mentioned during the meeting.

They only talked about the possible release of the fourth quarter capital budget,” said a source who attended the meeting.

“Nobody has told us why this is so. They just prepare whatever they want and send to the Minister of Finance (Ngozi OkonjoIweala) for approval. No explanation is given to anybody as to why things are done this way.”

The source blamed the Budget Office in the Ministry of Finance for the problem.

Alleged bribery

diversion,

Non compliance with budget has been a recurring decimal in Nigeria but experts say it got worse this year.

This is compounded by another allegation that Budget Office officials have turned the release of allocations into honey combs, with MDAs officials arm twisted to part with funds before their allocations are considered for release.

Those who agree to this

This is compounded by another allegation that Budget Office officials have turned the release of allocations into honey combs, with MDAs officials arm twisted to part with funds before their allocations are considered for release. secret proposal may get what is left of their allocations before the year runs out. Those who have refused to play ball may forfeit what is legitimately theirs.

Most MDAs are in a mess as they cannot honour financial obligations to contractors working for them.

Some are not able to carry out capital projects.

Some parastatals find it difficult to run their offices. Even major ministries, such as that of education, have reportedly not paid staff salaries for three months running.

Civil servants in the MDAs are warming up for

industrial action in the New Year if the arrears are not paid.

No response from Finance Ministry Okonjo-Iweala's Media Adviser, Paul Nwabuikwu, could not be reached for comment.

A visit to his office on the seventh floor at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja did not yield result.

Though TheNiche left contact and telephone numbers with the receptionist, with a plea that they be given to Nwabuikwu, or any other person in that position, there was

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News

Lawyers differ over Obasanjo’s book launch, court order

Kashamu

By Mary Ogedengbe

Reporter, Lagos

F

ormer President Olusegun Obasanjo launched his book, My Watch, on Tuesday, December 9 amid controversy because he violated a court order.

The order was made by an Abuja High Court on the request of Buruji Kashamu, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain in Ogun State and a senatorial candidate, who alleged that the three-volume book contain material which libeled him.

Obasanjo Wale Ogunade, a constitutional lawyer, faulted any act that demeans the courts and stressed that it is the trademark of Obasanjo.

“What Obasanjo has done is characteristic of Olusegun Obasanjo, choosing what orders to obey and disobey,” he said.

He insisted that Obasanjo deliberately defied the court order and tried to outsmart it by launching the book in Lagos instead of Abuja, the original venue of the launch.

“Intentionally he left Abuja where he wanted to launch the book and came to Lagos. He knew what he

was doing,” he added.

A lawyer based in Kaduna, Abdul-Aziz Ibrahim, said: “The judge actually gave an order and he was indicted for contempt and given 21 days to explain himself why he should not be found guilty for contempt.

“So ordinarily by going ahead to publish it, he defied the order. One thing we should understand is that no matter how frivolous the order of the court is it is still binding. He should have obeyed.

“The court has done the needful by indicting him for contempt and what Nigerians should understand is

Ubani however frivolous the judgment is, the judgment of the court still subsists.”

Ibrahim maintained that Obasanjo could face jail term for disobeying the court order, and “it could be between three months and eight years until when he purges himself of the contempt.

“Or he might be told to pay a fine or both fine and imprisonment but since he is on appeal to an extent the judge might stall proceedings until the germination of the issue.

“Although I sympathise with Obasanjo, I understand what is happening

here, but someone should have told him.”

But Ogunade countered that “it could be settled before it gets to that level. It is either settled out of court or a fine will be paid. We just use that as lawyers to intimidate ourselves. It could be settled between two days and a week.”

Others maintained that stopping the launch of the book was wrong from the start. Monday Ubani, former Ikeja branch Chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), said the court should have heard from Obasanjo before issuing the order.

“What happened was that

somebody went to court and was alleging that the book that is about to be published is libelous or whatever.

What Obasanjo needed to have done was to file a defence that the book is not libelous or whatever because he has to put up a defence.

“It is after the court must have heard both parties that the court can come to a judgment and say this is the situation, whether the man should be restrained or should not. But the court gave what it called an exparte order without hearing from Obasanjo,” he explained.

NLNG rallies investors for dockyard to boost Nigerian economy

By Terh Agbedeh

Assistant Life Editor

B

abs Omotowa, Nigeria LNG (NLNG) Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, says the company is rallying investors to build a dockyard because it has a huge potential to boost the economy.

“Our LNG vessels and very large crude carriers (VLCC) of other companies in the oil and gas and marine industries, which are currently maintained overseas, resulting in millions of dollars being spent overseas, will soon be maintained in-country with tangible value-adds for the Nigerian economy,” he explained.

Omotowa made the point at the investment forum held at the proposed site in Badagry, Lagos.

NLNG General Manager (Shipping Division), Temi Okesanjo, expressed confidence that the company’s 13 vessels will patronise the

dockyard when built.

“When our company receives its six additional vessels from Samsung Heavy Industries and Hyundai Heavy Industries, those vessels will also be maintained here.

“I have no doubt the other players in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry will also be looking to service and maintain their vessels at this shipyard once it becomes operational,” he said.

NLNG has reached out to banks and other financial institutions to promote the potential of a new dockyard, the company’s General Manager (External Relations), Kudo Eresia-Eke, added in a statement.

The feasibility study on the project was done by Royal HaskoningDHV, an independent, international engineering and project management consultancy headquartered in The Netherlands.

The study is one of the benefits of NLNG’s $1.6 billion contract with shipbuilders, Samsung Heavy Indus-

tries and Hyundai Heavy Industries for the building of six new vessels.

NLNG, leveraging on the agreement with the ship manufacturers, secured a number of lucrative opportunities beneficial to the Nigerian economy, including the training of about 600 young Nigerians in various aspects of ship-building, procurement of goods from Nigerian companies and the feasibility studies for building a dockyard.

Feasibility study on the dry dock was carried out in seven locations – Badagry, Lekki FTZ, Ladol Island, Ogogoro Island, Olokola FTZ, Onne, Bonny – before Badagry was chosen.

Maritime sector observers have long lamented the absence of an operational dockyard to cater for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The lack of such a facility has meant that owners of large vessels in Nigeria and other West African countries pay large sums to docking

Omotowa (left) presenting the report of the feasibility study to Maikanti Baru Group General Manager, LNG Investment, NNPC (middle); and Ernest Nwapa, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB). facilities located mainly in Asia, Europe and the Americas.

The dry dock is also planned to be operated and managed according to inter-

national standards and generate jobs and revenue.

NLNG is owned by the federal government, represented by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corpora-

tion (49 per cent), Shell Gas BV (25.6 per cent), Total LNG Nigeria (15 per cent), and Eni International (10.4 per cent).

6

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News

Centenary book launch rekindles Nigeria’s census debate •Author urges South to boycott 2016 census

By Kelechi Mgboji

Assistant Business Editor

N

igeria’s census came up for knocks at the public presentation of a centenary book with the author urging Southerners, particularly the Igbo, to boycott the 2016 census if ethnicity and religion are not in the questionnaire.

Peter Anosike, author of 100 years of Amalgamation; Igbos What Hope in Nigeria? raised a question that always agitates the minds of scholars: Is the arid North actually more populous than the humid South as the results of successive head counts portray?

A n o s i k e said there has never been any exhaustive census in Nigeria since 1931; what has been going on is awarding fresh figures to the old census template to maintain a predetermined balance in favour of the North, which it uses to hold the South to ransom politically.

Anosike, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Publicity Secretary (South West), argued at the book launch in Lagos that the superior population claim by the North is fraudulent, and insisted it is one of the strategies the North has used to hold the South to ransom since the foundation of modern Nigeria.

According to him, there is no accurate demographic data to support the superior population assigned to the North, it was an invention of British colonial masters to compensate the North and to punish the South for asking for self rule.

Anosike, a journalist with Daily Sun, said there has never been any exhaustive census in Nigeria since 1931; what has been going on is awarding fresh figures to the old census template to maintain a predetermined balance in favour of the North, which it uses to hold the South to ransom politically.

He argued that 54 years of political independence is enough period to correct this anomaly and put the country on the path of progress.

According to him, the only way to do this is for ethnicity and religion to be tracked in the questionnaire for the 2016 census.

Anosike advocated that the members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), who have demonstrated impartiality in national assignments like elections, should be used as enumerators.

He added that if these conditions are not met in the questionnaire, the Igbos in particular and the entire Southern Nigeria should boycott census.

His words: “I will personally mobilise all Nigerians to persuade the relevant authorities, including the Na-

tional Population Commission (NPC), to ensure that ethnicity and religion are tracked in the 2016 census questionnaire and that members of the NYSC are used as enumerators.

“We cannot continue to live a lie after 54 years of our nationhood. Nigeria deserves accurate census. We want to know how many we truly are. We also want to know how many Tivs, Ibibios, Igbos, Yorubas, Hausas, and others there are in Nigeria.

“I am sure that the emir of Kano would be happy to know the number of his subjects living in Port Harcourt, Umuahia, Lagos, and so on.

“In the same vein, the ooni of Ife would be happy to know the number of his subjects living in Abuja, Kano, Jos, and so on. We need this data to develop this country.”

In Anosike’s view the current crisis in the National Assembly as well as the collation of signatures to impeach President Goodluck Jonathan by some legislators have their roots in the grand plot of the British colonial masters against the South, to compensate the North which never objected to British rule.

“However, the time has come to tell them that enough is enough. They cannot continue to ride us roughshod for ever.

“It is proclamation rather than exhaustive head count that gave Kano more population figure than Lagos because the Northern ruling class decreed it as part of perpetuating the fraud started by the British colonial masters that the most populous state in the South must not be more than the most populous state in the North.”

NPC Chairman, Eze Duruiheoma

“We cannot continue to live a lie after 54 years of our nationhood.

Nigeria deserves accurate census.

We want to know how many we truly are. We also want to know how many Tivs, Ibibios, Igbos, Yorubas, Hausas, and others there are in Nigeria.”

See who is reading TheNiche...

Pascal Dozie, Partner at African Capital Alliance

Quick Read 118,984 benefit from SURE-P in 2014 A total 118,984 Nigerians were employed under the SURE-P programme in 2014, Labour Minister, Kabiru Turaki, has disclosed.

He said the scheme, with beneficiaries in all states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), down to ward and community levels, is a potential force for youth and women employment creation and poverty alleviation component of the Transformation Agenda.

Turaki expressed government’s commitment to making the Community Services Women and Youths Employment (CSWYE) project of SURE-P a success.

He spoke in Abuja at his maiden meeting with State Coordinators of the Implementation Committee (SCIC) of CSWYE project of SURE-P. “I want to assure you of my full cooperation in any way I can be of assistance to minimise challenges against the project to make it a huge success both at the federal level and individual states,” he pledged.

But he expressed concern over poor budgetary allocation, one of the key challenges militating against the success of the project.

He said the 2014 budget, was reduced from N20 billion to N15.5 billion, which is not sufficient to fund the project to the end of the year.

Onyekpere knocks govs over councils autonomy National Coordinator of Centre for Social Justice, Eze Onyekpere, has knocked governors for neglecting the rights of Nigerians by frustrating council autonomy.

Council autonomy is on the front burner in the amendments to the Constitution going round state Assemblies for endorsement.

Onyekpere urged state Assemblies to approve it to end injustice at the grassroots.

“Since 1999, each 774 local government in Nigeria has received not less than N30 billion from the Federation Account.

“This is over N23.22 trillion accruing to local government councils and it is believed that such money is in quotes because the bulk never got to the local councils.

"It was hijacked by state governments through the State Joint Local Government Account,” he said.

According to him, neglect of council autonomy is an indirect abuse of the constitutional rights of the people.

He said the National Assembly (NASS) has proposed amendments to the Constitution which include direct council funding and abolition of local government and states joint accounts.

Onyekpere also touched on health, saying “according to World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics, our immunisation coverage is poor and improvements in the sector have not been sustainable.”

He said the high mortality rate is caused by improper implementation of social welfare.

He lamented that the federal government has failed to implement Universal Basic Education fully, stressing that Nigeria contributes 20 per cent out-of-school children in the world.

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News

The Week Ahead NPC begins interactive session tomorrow The National Pension Commission (NPC) plans interactive sessions in Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt.

The one in Lagos holds tomorrow, December 15 at the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) House, Ikeja.

On Wednesday, December 17, it moves to Chelsea Hotel, Abuja; and on Friday, December 19 at Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt.

APC narrows VP slot to Fayemi

Lagos health agency organises meeting, December 17 The seventh stakeholders’ meeting organised by the Lagos State government in conjunction with the Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) will hold on Wednesday, December 17 at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa, Ikeja.

NCC holds conference, December 17 The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will host the second West African Conference on Electron Magnetic Fields (EMF) Exposure and Health on Wednesday, December 17 and Thursday, December 18 at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

With the theme, “EMF in a Highly Connected Society: Understanding the Myths and Realities”, the conference will help create a platform for policy makers, legislators, operators, stakeholders, and others to better understand the health effects, if any, involved.

The keynote address will be delivered by Communications Technology Minister, Omobola Johnson.

Okechukwu

David-West

International Migrants Day, December 18

Tinubu

By Victor Ebimomi and Ishaya Ibrahim, Lagos The International Migrants Day will be observed on Thursday, December 18 to honour migrants worldwide for their contribution to the development of their host and home countries and to also encourage respect for their rights.

UN Arabic Language Day, December 18 Established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the United Nations Arabic Language Day will be marked on Thursday, December 18 to commemorate the day the General Assembly approved Arabic as an official UN language.

L

oyalists of Muhammadu Buhari say he has no absolute control over the choice of his running mate because the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has ruled that it is its responsibility to determine who pairs with him in the presidential race.

TheNiche learnt on Friday, December 12 that the chances of former Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, are very high, as the APC leadership has narrowed its choice to him.

This time, Buhari does not have the luxury he had in 2011 when he turned down the proposal by the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) which wanted an alliance with his Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) on the condition that he replaced his running mate, Tunde Bakare, with an ACN member.

Buhari’s spokesperson, Rotimi Fashakin, said the APC “will decide who becomes the VP candidate. The Gener-

Amaechi al will have an input, but the party will have a lot of input too because there are many things that must be taken into consideration for the choice of the running mate.”

Buhari’s confidant, former Petroleum Minister, Tam David-West, dismissed reports that Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, has been anointed by the party to be Buhari’s running mate.

“That is not true. If it were the case, I would have known,” declared DavidWest, who is also Amaechi’s close associate.

He added: “The running mate can add value to the ticket but it is not the decisive factor. It is the other way round. It is the presidential candidate that carries the running mate along.

“God who has given him the ticket, we are praying to the same God to, in His infinite wisdom, direct him and the party to get a running mate who will be complementary to him.

“What happened is beyond human understanding. I listened to Doyin Okupe, he is not ashamed. Okupe said APC cannot stand, that it will scatter.

“But God has brought us this far, and He will not leave us alone. He would choose a running mate for Buhari.

“The vote of Atiku, Kwankwaso, Okorocha and Nda-Isaiah is less than Buhari’s own.

All their votes are 2,562. Buhari has 3,430.”

TheNiche learnt that since the party ended its convention on Thursday, December 11, different interest groups in the party have been struggling to produce his running mate.

The camp of Bola Tinubu is said to be the most eager to field its own man, because the ACN, one of the parties that merged to form the APC, was led by him.

By virtue of its electoral strength when the APC was formed last year, the ACN is regarded as a senior member in the merger that include the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), Congress of Progressive Change (CPC), and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

The argument for the vice presidential slot from the ACN camp is said to hinge on the fact that the president has emerged from the CPC. If that happens, Buhari’s

running mate is likely to come from the South West.

Some names thrown up in the zone include Yemi Osinbajo, former Lagos State Attorney General, and Kayode Fayemi, former Ekiti State Governor.

The choice of Fayemi, a source in APC said, is strategic because the South West where he comes from, has a huge voting population and would be persuaded to vote for the party if one of their own is the VP. According to the source, the South East is not in contention for the slot because the party leadership thinks it does not have a large following in the region.

But a chieftain of APC, Osita Okechukwu, told TheNiche that “the party is the one to decide who will be the vice president. The General (Buhari) has left that to the party.”

Asked whether there is a possibility of the slot going to the South East, he said: “We have eligible people in the South East. We have Rochas Okorochas, Chris Ngige, Ogbonnaya Onu, and others.

“It they give it to the South East, I will be the happiest

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News International Across the Arab world, rulers tighten their grip on the mosque

S

audi Arabia has long used a simple method to regulate mosques. The oil kingdom lavishes clerics with money and perks that can suddenly vanish if their preaching goes astray. If that does not work they are fired or parked in jail.

Now Saudi preachers face a new constraint: starting next year authorities will install centrally monitored cameras in every mosque to record what goes on inside. The move is ostensibly meant to prevent theft and regulate energy use, but few doubt the real intention is to tighten the state’s grip on Islam, part of a trend across the Middle East.

Critics have long reviled Saudi Arabia for its sponsorship of a rigidly puritanical brand of religion. The ruling Al Saud family, whose legitimacy rests in part on a 270-year-old pact with the Wahhabi school of Sunni Islam, has tended to shrug off the complaints.

But in recent months it has worried about a backlash from conservatives angered by the government’s enthusiastic support for the crackdown against the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, as well as its participation in the American-led military coalition against Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq.

Apparently fired up by IS propaganda, radicals in the kingdom have lately targeted “infidel” Westerners and “deviant” Shias in a string of small but deadly terror attacks.

In fact, the Saudi effort to tone down its clerics is mild, hesitant and belated compared to what some Muslim states do.

Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan already routinely use cameras. Kuwait has long installed tape-recorders to monitor Friday sermons.

Preachers in the neighbouring United Arab Emirates need not write their own sermons.

Except for a few trusted senior clerics, they read instead from a text delivered weekly by the government department for religious affairs that also pays all their salaries. “Protecting Youth from Destructive Ideas” and “Our National Flag, Symbol of Affiliation and Loyalty” provided two stimulating recent topics.

Similarly, Turkey has for decades enforced a monopoly of Islamic discourse via a religious bureaucracy, known as Diyanet, that wields 121,000 employees and a budget of $2.3 billion.

Other governments aspire to such dominance. Tunisia’s government has in recent months restored strict state control of mosques that had slipped following its revolution of January 2011, leading to a brief flowering of Wahhabist-style jihad promotion.

Morocco, whose king has traditionally posed as Commander of the Faithful delivering televised Ramadan sermons has steeply boosted state promotion of a relatively tolerant version of the faith.

Its budget for training imams,

Today In History December 14 1819. Alabama becomes 22nd U.S. state Nicknamed the yellowhammer state, Alabama is the 30th most extensive and the 23rd most populous of the 50 United States.

Alabama became the 22nd U.S. state on December 14, 1819.

1903. Wright flyer flies for the first time The Wright flyer was the first successful heavier-than-air powered aircraft designed and built by the Wright brothers. It was flown for the first time on December 14, 1903.

The airplane is now on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C, United States.

1962. Mariner 2 becomes first spacecraft to fly by Venus The Mariner 2 was the first successful spacecraft in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Mariner programme.

It launched on August 27, 1962 from Cape Canaveral and successfully flew by Venus on December 14, 1962.

The spacecraft helped reveal that Venus has cool clouds and an extremely hot surface.

1963. Burst Baldwin Hills Dam kills five Five people were killed and about 277 homes destroyed in the Baldwin Hills Dam, California disaster on December 14, 1963.

The disaster resulted from a lining failure in the reservoir causing it to flood residential homes. Strong rescue efforts were put in to avoid the loss of more lives.

1971. Nigerian boxer, Tiger, dies Famous Nigerian boxer, Dick Tiger, died of liver cancer on December 14, 1971 at age 42.

Tiger, born Richard Ihetu, is described as one of the greatest fighters to come out of Africa. He was a two-time undisputed world middleweight champion.

He was also an active participant in the Biafran movement, which led to his ban by the Nigerian government.

including a growing number of foreign students, has swollen tenfold in the past three years.

The unspoken aim is to counter the spread of extreme Salafist ideas in places such as Mali and northern Nigeria.

Egypt is conducting a still more radical overhaul. As long ago as the 1990s its government responded to a wave of Islamist violence by declaring the aim of bringing every mosque under full state control.

The goal was never met, and by the time of the July 2013 army coup that toppled an elected government led by the Muslim Brotherhood, barely half of the preachers in the country’s 100,000-plus mosques were vetted or salaried by the state.

The wide-scale infiltration of religious institutions by the Brotherhood and more radical groups markedly boosted their

social standing and political influence.

Egypt’s government has of late clamped unprecedented controls. In January it decreed that all Friday sermons must adhere to a weekly theme set by the religious-affairs ministry, establishing a hotline to allow worshippers to denounce preachers daring to voice political dissent.

Further decrees required all preachers to be governmentlicensed, imposed a code of ethics forbidding discussion of politics in mosques, and banned smaller prayer halls from holding Friday prayers.

The ministry fired 12,000 preachers and now allows only those trained in governmentapproved institutes to deliver sermons.

As a foil to the powerful Brotherhood, the state had long allowed followers of quietist forms of Salafism to run some 7,000 mosques. But the

ministry in September decreed it would take over their mosques too, after reports of a sermon forbidding the faithful from buying interest-bearing government bonds.

Amr Ezzat, an Egyptian researcher, sees the effort to impose state-ordained orthodoxy as misguided and possibly dangerous. Religious institutions will lose legitimacy with time, pushing more Muslims towards radical margins. And by acting in effect as the imam, the state takes upon itself a duty to enforce morality.

It is perhaps as a sop to religious conservatives, for instance, that Egyptian authorities have mounted an increasingly lurid campaign against homosexuality, most recently by staging a midnight raid on a Cairo bathhouse on national television, dragging a score of naked men to prison.

• Culled from The Economist.

2004. World’s tallest bridge, The Millau Viaduct, officially opened The Millau Viaduct, formally opened on December 14, 2004, was designed by French structural engineer, Michel Virlogeux, and British architect, Norman Foster. It is the tallest bridge in the world with one mast's summit at 343 metres (1,125 ft.) above the base of the structure.

It has been ranked as one of the great engineering achievements ever. It received the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering Outstanding Structure Award in 2006.

2012. Shooting in U.S. elementary school leaves 28 dead Adam Lanza, 20, shot 20 children and six adult staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newton, Connecticut, United States on December 14, 2012. He shot himself afterwards.

Lanza had killed his mother in their home before getting to the school.

The incident is the deadliest mass shooting at a high school in the U.S. and the second deadliest mass shooting by a single person in American history, after the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007.

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News from Ghana

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Nigerians schooling in Ghana being cedi wise, naira foolish

By Martin-Luther King

Special Correspondent, Accra

P

oor academic and infrastructural standards, exorbitant tuition fees, rising levels of xenophobia and frequent deaths of Nigerian students in Ghana threaten to trump perceptions of that country’s educational system as an Eldorado.

And, rather than being the choice destination for quality foreign education close to home that many Nigerian students and their parents hoped for, the former Gold Coast is gaining notoriety as a place where Nigerian students, in search of the proverbial Golden Fleece, become routinely fleeced.

Nigeria loses $1.9b yearly to Ghana Nigeria loses over $1.9 billion yearly to Ghana on education tourism, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The question is, what quality of education do Nigerians get from Ghana? Of Ghana’s 76 universities, only a few operate fairly competitive admission curricula criteria that measure up to global standards.

The country’s premier institution, the University of Ghana, Legon; Kwame Nk-

rumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi; University of Cape Coast; University for Development Studies; University of Energy and Natural Sciences, Ahafo; University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa; University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho; and University of Education, Winneba; are among public universities reputed for quality academic standards.

These play host to some Nigerian students.

Poor academic programmes of private universities But most of the 67 private universities are a different ball-game. Most run academic programmes of doubtful quality and operate from a one-storey building.

They claim that their teaching techniques are flexible so students may not need to be at lectures, provided they access the course materials on the internet.

One of them, Knutford University, is located in the high-brow East Legon area of Accra metropolis. It operates from a one-storey building that used to be a car shop.

Another, in the Lapaz area of Accra, shares a threestorey building with sundry other organisations, including business centres, salons, and fashion shops.

It offers only two courses in information technology

Nigeria loses over $1.9 billion yearly to Ghana on education tourism, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The question is, what quality of education do Nigerians get from Ghana? Of Ghana’s 76 universities, only a few operate fairly competitive admission curricula criteria that measure up to global standards.

and management studies, is not accredited by the Ghanaian educational authority, and has 200 students, 90 per cent of them Nigerians.

Sikkim Manipal University, located around the Nkrumah Circle area of Accra, is registered as a business, but has been given the franchise to operate in the name of a university based in India.

It offers three courses: information technology, mass communication and journalism, and business management. It awards diplomas, degrees, and masters in the disciplines.

Manipal University’s General Manager, Abhishek Tyagi, claimed that the standard of a university is not determined by its size.

And he drew support from S. Patnalk, Director of Academics at the Mahatma Ghandi University, Accra, who argued that what matters is academic quality, not quantity.

Said he: “When you want to access education, you do not look at the size of the infrastructure. If a student, for instance is not happy, even though it is a big infrastructure, his performance will be affected.

“Although infrastructure is an important component of university education, the most important aspect of any university is the knowledge it impacts.”

Experts criticise bad learning conditions But experts countered that learning under such objectionable conditions in some of the so-called universities in Ghana impedes learning.

They explain that students need space. For instance, an average classroom should have all the facilities to encourage learning, be properly ventilated, and have a board that uses markers and a projector.

They counsel parents to be selective of the universities they send their children to in Ghana, saying it is fruitless to earn a degree from a private

university that limits one’s scope.

Regardless, Manipal, Mahatma Ghandi, and other Ghanaian private universities continue to rely on agents to entice unsuspecting students from Nigeria to register with them. In return, the agents get financial rewards whose value rises according to the number of students they bring.

Exorbitant fees Last month, a team of agents from the Ghana Telecom University College (GTUC) in Accra was at the Airport Hotel in Ikeja, Lagos seeking to attract Nigerian students with ability to pay in United States dollars.

It offered instant admissions into the GTUC. The driving objective of most private universities in Ghana is to make money and milk innocent students and parents most of whom, ironically, are Nigerians.

Manipal University, for instance, gives instant admission to anybody with a West African Examination Council (WAEC) result who has a third of the $3,000 it charges per session.

Nigerian medical students at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology pay $6,000 per session.

State-owned University of Cape Coast charges foreign students $6,000 per session for the least paying faculty and $10,000 for medicine.

University of Legon, another state-owned institution, charges foreign students $5,500 per session for the least costly courses; the privately Ashesi University charges $15,000.

These fees exclude the cost of feeding, accommodation, transportation, and books.

In addition to the high tuition fees, Nigerian students also contend with other layers of fees imposed by the Ghanaian government through its various agencies such as the immigration.

These include $30 charged annually for resident permit

Ironically, the $1.9 billion that 75,000 Nigerian students in Ghana pay far exceeds the annual budget for all federal universities in Nigeria.

What Nigeria gets in return is a double jeopardy: annual loss of $1.9 billion plus a stream of mostly half-baked foreign-trained graduates who only swell the country’s already bloated pool of the ill-educated and unskilled, with all its negative economic implications. and $120 for non-resident National Identity card.

Besides, landlords turn Nigerian students’ search for habitable accommodation into a veritable business opportunity, and commercial transport operators, aware of unavailable students’ buses, hike fares.

Frequent death of Nigerian students Nigerian parents send their wards to school in Ghana because of regular distortions in Nigeria’s academic calendar because of insecurity in the country where a little child could be kidnapped, a family wiped out in church by Boko Haram, or a bright young man wasted by cultists.

Parents also send their wards to school in Ghana to side-step the rigorous admissions procedure of Nigerian universities, where in addition to the uniform matriculation examination, students may be required to pass other entrance examinations modulated by their universities of choice.

But, the recent spate of murder of Nigerian students in Ghanaian institutions may have dispelled many a romantic illusion about security in Ghana while also hinting of the harsh realities of the living and working conditions of Nigerians in the country.

Godwin Ayogu, a 19-yearold Nigerian social science student at the University of Cape Coast, was recently found lying in the pool of his own blood, murdered on the university campus.

Five fellow students were arrested for allegedly killing Ayogu when he tried to recover money lent to one of them.

Before Ayogu, two other Nigerian students at Knutsford University College, a private university in Accra, assumedly drowned while on an outing with university officials.

In October, Austin Ogukwe, 15, another Nigerian student at Ideal College, a private secondary school in Tema, died in mysterious circumstances.

Double jeopardy Ironically, the $1.9 billion that 75,000 Nigerian students in Ghana pay far exceeds the annual budget for all federal universities in Nigeria.

What Nigeria gets in return is a double jeopardy: annual loss of $1.9 billion plus a stream of mostly half-baked foreign-trained graduates who only swell the country’s already bloated pool of the ill-educated and unskilled, with all its negative economic implications.

A case of cedi-wise, nairafoolish.

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Diplomacy Essence of foreign direct investment Correspondent, SAM NWOKORO, x-rays President Jonathan’s recent trip to London for HIIC summit and its economic importance to Nigeria.

Jonathan

R

ecently, President Goodluck Jonathan was a guest at the summit of the Nigeria Honorary International Investor Council (HIIC) chaired by Conservative Baroness Linda Chalker, in London.

The summit and its essence cannot immediately be fully appreciated, unless one takes a profile excursion on the personalities behind the HIIC and the extent the council can go in positioning the country’s fledgling democracy before high networth investors overseas.

Trip with a mission The president’s trip to London only confirmed that he is keeping tabs with global development trends and consolidating partnership as they affect Nigeria.

In the school of leadership, according to Professor Pat Utomi, a development expert with the prestigious Lagos Business School (LBS), “one of the lessons a leader must learn is the ability to focus on issues and attend to priorities. He must have a sense of priority; otherwise he would be beating about the bush. The whole essence of leadership is to achieve result.

“There is no leader anywhere in the world that does not encounter opposition. But the value of such leadership is its ability to always stay above the fray and not to allow itself to be distracted. That way, you demonstrate you know what is desirable. At the end of the day, what counts is the result, not the action.”

Perhaps, the president may have had this in mind when he travelled to London for the HIIC summit under the chairmanship of the famous Baroness Linda Chalker, the former member of British parliament.

HIIC under Chalker offers leadership advice to influential heads of government about development and investment best options as well as leadership strategies in discrete manner that do not necessarily need the debate and politics of home countries.

The profile of Chalker speaks volume about the essence of Jonathan’s trip to this investment summit.

At a moment Nigeria is till scouting for investments here and there, for some other high scale capitalintensive infrastructure, both from government and private entrepreneurs, there is need for relentless investment drive for the rail transport and agriculture sectors. In fact, there is no amount of capital that can be said to be too much for these two sectors. To depend entirely on Nigeria’s local banks to bankroll these projects under the planned PPP (Public Private Partnership) is to starve other borrowers, especially the small businesses, of capital to expand and open the economy inclusively.

Besides, the corporate players who have the requisite ability to mobilise capital and partner with government in its infrastructure upgrade programmes already have their hands full, because these people have been buying everything since Nigeria’s market economy started in 2004. So, the involvement of foreign investors in the remaining part of the county’s capital mobilisation in infrastructure upgrade is important. This shows that the president’s trip to London had a lot of economic and political benefits.

Rubbing mind with global bodies Baroness Chalker is the honorary chairperson of Nigeria’s HIIC since the regime of former president Olusegun Obasanjo and the late Umaru Yar’Adua presidency. In that capacity, she serves as Nigeria’s private eye on global development and leadership trends, and advises Nigeria’s presidents discreetly on how to key in.

It is not only Nigerian governments, but also for other countries big and small. Uganda’s adoption of market reforms, which has seen the country’s economy open up in the last 10 years, owes much to leadership expertise drawn from the resource personages that constitute the Global Leadership Foundation (GLF), Chalker’s non-governmental organisation (NGO).

GLF is an organisation that works to support democratic leadership, prevent and resolve conflicts

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the economy through mediation, and promotes good governance in the form of democratic institutions, open markets, human rights and the rule of law. It does so by making available discreetly and in confidence the experience of former leaders. It is a not-for-profit organisation composed of former heads of government, senior governmental and international organisation officials who work closely with heads of government on governance related issues of concern to them.

Chalker was a British conservative Member of Parliament (MP) from 1974 to 1992. She served as Minister of State for Overseas Development and Africa at the Foreign Office from 1989 to 1997. She headed the

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During the summit, the president had the opportunity of receiving more information about how the business world feels regarding the goings on in Nigeria.

It is ironic that though the summit took place while there was political tension in the land, but the issue of Nigeria’s politics did not feature in the dialogue.

Chalker

Chalker had been like a satellite for many developing nations’ public and private sector players, aligning them into the mainstream of global leadership and entrepreneurial know-how.

Yar'Adua British delegation that participated in the first Tokyo international conference on African development in 1993. Currently, she holds the 20th century record for continuous service to institutions and humanity.

Since leaving the parliament, Chalker has been chairman of African Matters Limited, an independent consultancy group that provides advice and assistance to companies in area of initiating development strategies and growing their activities. She is also a member of the international advisory Board of Lafarge, one of the reputable building materials companies in the world, and also sits on the Board of Trustees of the think-tank, Investment Climate Facility for Africa.

Importance of foreign capital in today’s economy In today’s global economy, nations court foreign capital with as much desperation as they courted political independence. In the evening of the 20th century, most developing economies were chocked by the fear of owing external debt to the detriment of growing their local economies. This was particularly the case with many sub-Saharan African nations whose economies were shambled by incessant military rules.

Until the turn of the century, most African nations still ran state-controlled economies. One study conducted by the World Bank showed that the rapid growth of most South East Asian nations owed to the drive for foreign direct investment (FDI). This came as the state let go of managing business entities. To fasttrack growth of private enterpreurship, their banking systems were also reformed. Family ownership of banks were systematically stripped through higher demand for capital base, followed by corporate restructuring and rights issues. Some family banks that could not meet the state’s recommended capital bases were either taken over by states asset management vehicles or were forced to sell off themselves or merge with willing financial houses, exactly what the Nigerian government did a few years ago through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under Chukwuma Soludo.

The effect of the banking reforms of the South East Asian nations was that it boosted banks’ capital bases.

The number of brand names were few, but their balance sheets were healthy enough to give international credit institutions like World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and other development partners’ confidence to advance credits and grants to

investors in those South East Asian nations’ economies.

Today, many developing countries want more of foreign investors into their domestic economy. For some nations in sub-Sahara Africa partnering private investors in their physical development and economic activities that facilitate fiscal programmes like infrastructure development, the need for private capital from far and wide can hardly be over-emphasised. For Nigeria in particular, whose source of state revenue, crude oil sales, is dwindling due to major customer demand cut-back and fall in oil prices in the international market, a renewed drive for foreign capital this time is of utmost importance.

Perhaps, this may have necessitated President Jonathan’s recent trip to London for the HIIC summit.

During the summit, the president had the opportunity of receiving more information about how the business world feels regarding the goings on in Nigeria.

It is ironic that though the summit took place while there was political tension in the land, but the issue of Nigeria’s politics did not feature in the dialogue.

The president told his audience that his government would solve the problem of terrorism in some parts of the country and appealed for international cooperation. He also lectured them that infrastructure upgrade is ongoing in many parts of the country, since that remains the needed catalyst for private sector-led growth. He told his audience that what he is doing in the economic front is to erect enduring development structures that future Nigerian leaders would build on.

Peeping into the future The HIIC has been a veritable source of courting high profile investors into African economies. Most growing economies in the continent, including South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana etc have always availed themselves the platform of HIIC to leverage on networks of reputable corporate international investors who have aided the capital rating of newly created businesses in their economies.

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TheNiche on Sunday December 14, 2014

Photo News

From left: Head of Abuja Furniture Production Company, Mathias Mohrle; Transcorp Hotels Project Director, Peter Donnellan; and Transcorp Hotels Managing Director, Valentine Ozigbo; at the official commissioning of the company in Abuja.

From left: Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano; Works Commissioner, Callistus Ilozumba; and CCC Construction Company Country Manager, Bassam Kaawash; during Obiano's inspection of the Aguleri-Otu Oil Rig road.

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From left: Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Offences Commission (ICPC) board member, Isa Salami; ICPC Chairman, Ekpo Nta; Aviation Minister, Osita Chidoka; and Presidential Aviation Adviser, Victor Iriobe; at the launch of anti-corruption intervention in the aviation sector, held at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.

From left: Lumen Christi Secondary School Old Students Association (LUCOSA) Lagos State chapter Chairman, Jude Omozegie; Poorest of the Poor Children's Home Abuja Co-ordinator, Oresoa Ojeme; and Emeka Enwerem at LUCOSA grand reunion in Lagos.

Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola (second right); being presented with his resident card by House of Assembly Science and Technology Committee Chairman, Wahab Alawiye-King (second left); Lagos State Residents’ Registration Agency (LASRRA) General Manager, Yinka Fashola (left); and Science and Technology Commissioner, Adebiyi Mabadeje; at the unveiling of the Lagos State resident card by LASRRA at the Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant, Senator Ganiyu Solomon, addressing his supporters on the rumour of his defection to another party at the Blue Roof, LTV complex, Ikeja, Lagos.

From left: Archbishop of the West, First African Church Mission, Solomon Abimbola; Bishop of Agege diocese, Michael Dare; and Cathedral Vicar, Samuel Iwatan; at the 2014 adult harvest thanksgiving at the Cathedral Church of Jehovah Shammah, Iju Ishaga, Lagos.

From left: Honorary Consultant Cardiologist, University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Dike Ojji; Senior Consultant Cardiologist, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Mahmoud Sani; Consultant Gastroenthologist and Hepatologist, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Funmilayo Lesi; and AKTH Chief Medical Officer, Aminu Mohammed; at the AstraZeneca research grant award at Protea Hotel, GRA Ikeja, Lagos.

13

CONFAB

TheNiche

PARLIAMENT

THE GRASSROOTS

INTERVIEWS

on Sunday

December 14, 2014

Politics

www.thenicheng.com

Big Issue: 2015: Emeka Alex Duru Editor 0805 4103 327 e.duru@thenicheng.com nwaukpala@yahoo.com Daniel Kanu Assistant Editor 0805 618 0203 kanuemperor@yahoo.com d.kanu@thenicheng.com

INTERVIEW

PAGE 23

»

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The die is cast

Oshiomhole not involved in Edo Assembly crisis – Adjoto

JUDICIARY

PAGE 25

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Judiciary autonomy: FG bows to JUSUN’s demand

Why Obasanjo denied me second term, by Mbadinuju PAGE 14 Anambra State governor between 1999 and 2003, Chinwoke Mbadinuju on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was denied the opportunity to run for second term. This, he blames on former President Olusegun Obasanjo, among other issues in this interview with Special Correspondent, OKEY MADUFORO.

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TheNiche on Sunday December 14, 2014

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interview Why Obasanjo denied me second term,

by Mbadinuju

Mbadinuju

H

ow has life been with you since leaving office?

It is 11 years since I left office, not by the will of God, but by the intrigues of man.

But I know that whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap.

I was in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) right from its inception in 1998 and was in Jos for the first convention of the party. It was no mistake to attach myself close to the former Vice President, Alex Ekwueme, whom I served as Special Assistant in the Shehu Shagari administration in the Second Republic.

I took a kind of permission from the then PDP candidate, Olusegun Obasanjo, telling him I was too close to Ekwueme and for that reason, I would vote for him. Obasanjo agreed and told me he would do the same thing if he was in my shoes. This was the beginning of a sour relationship between the would-be President Obasanjo and I. The other four South East governors voted for Obasanjo at the convention. From that time, our relationship became frosty.

It was on record also that Obasanjo did not, at all, want me as governor because a few months that Anambra was in crisis as to who would become Speaker and as solution was being proffered, he instructed the then Speaker of House of Representatives, Salisu Buhari, to prepare a bad report to show that Anambra was ungovernable, and to prepare for my impeachment.

Unfortunately, the Speaker filed a different report and praised my efforts at bringing together some disparate groups fighting unnecessary “wars”. As soon as the report was made available, Obasanjo was very sad, to the extent that he sacked Buhari, alleging that, he (the Speaker) forged his certificates.

So, you see that whether good or bad, Obasanjo tried his best to ensure I was removed from office within four months I was in office. So it had been between me and my then president.

Apart from opposition from money-bags in Anambra, Obasanjo constituted himself into a one-man opponent against my government and made sure my federal allocation was the poorest. There was a month I received N200 million out of which I was supposed to pay salary of workers which was N583 million per month, but we managed.

By the time the president visited the state, he saw a dif-

ferent thing. And after inspection of projects, he concluded: “I have come, I have seen, I have heard, and I have been heard, all in all I’m satisfied with what I saw on the ground.”

The Obasanjo I knew was such that if he didn’t see anything on the ground when he visited Anambra, he would shout it to high heavens. But then, what he saw simply impressed him and he said so, as anybody could see from my book, How I Governed Anambra State.

So that your question is one which anyone who knows me could answer quite easily. At my earliest age, my father was a tailor, while my mother sold fish. I was sent to a kindergarten school, grew up a bit, and went to a teacher’s missionary school. While there, I studied and passed in GCE ‘O’ Level in six subjects, and three papers at Advanced Level. From that point, I got admission at the University of Ibadan (UI) but I had no 10 pounds to pay for entry.

However, during the same week, I got a letter of admission from Staten University of New York with all expenses paid as scholarship. I took my bachelor’s degree in Political Science and went on to Ohio University, Athens Ohio, where I took my master’s degree in International Affairs, and then went to Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, again on scholarship at Cornell (an Ivy League School). At Cornell, I took my Ph.D degree in International Law and Relations at the age of 28.

Meanwhile, I got an appointment as Assistant Professor at the State University of New York, Cortland, and rose to the rank of Associate Professor and chairman of the Black Studies Department.

My CV tells the whole story of where I came from, and how I later returned home in Nigeria. Eventually, I became governor of Anambra which I never contemplated upon.

You wrote a book on how you governed Anambra where you told stories that seem to suggest that you were stampeded by some forces. How do you mean?

Yes, as I said earlier, I wrote a book, How I Governed Anambra State (Stewardship & Accountability). Later I wrote the Book Summary (Legacies and Challenges) which books tell my stories from A to Z. These books are free of charge.

My books on Anambra State are not fiction, but truth and reality. It is from the books that one can see that I did not just become governor of Anambra; rather I was the best of all the aspirants in the contest in 1998 to emerge winner with

96 per cent of the votes cast. No candidate in Nigeria has won such election, without rigging.

Having won such an electoral victory, we began by making sure that workers were happy with the government. The three months arrears of salary the military administration left unpaid, I quickly paid them off and began to pay workers their salary on the 27th day of every month.

We passed that test by paying salaries as and when due.

Anambra State under my watch took a gold cup (first position) in a national competition of 36 states.

For four years, I was the only governor to banish kidnapping, armed robbery and so on. The propaganda that I closed schools cannot hold because the period opponents were talking about closing schools, students were still taking their final examinations and passing with distinction.

We did everything humanly possible to make Anambra governable.

It had been expected that you would be given a political appointment as a loyal PDP member. Why has it not been so?

What people expect in politics are often not what they get because, as they say, (in politics) two plus two is not always four. So people’s expectation that I would have been given a political appointment, having been a PDP loyalist from the start till today, sounds good, but it didn’t follow.

Actually, at a time, I felt bad the way the PDP was treating me during the second term issue. Almost everything good I laboured for were forgotten. I didn’t really join the Alliance for Democracy (AD) because that was where I wanted to go.

AD didn’t even want me.

That’s why immediately the election was over, I quickly sneaked back to PDP where I truly belong. My movement then was a kind of protest action. Since 2003 when I finished my four-year term in office, and since I left Awka, there has not been much in Anambra PDP till today.

It was one-man leadership that killed the PDP in Anambra, and it may remain so until those who were responsible take the initiative to restore or resurrect both the party they destroyed because of their lust for power and money. But progress will continue to elude them.

Until the PDP allows some of us to go back to Anambra and start picking up the pieces, Abuja, which destroyed the PDP at the state level, must take the responsibility to restore

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December 14, 2014

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I support President Jonathan because he has the fear of God in him, and the manner in which he became president suggests that God was with him. How many people can rise from deputy governor of a state to governor, then to vice president, and to president of the country in such quick succession?

Is it not clear that God has hand in it? Further, Jonathan is an underdog.

God has always been on the side of an underdog, and Jonathan will not be an exception.

that which they destroyed. But as for political appointments, it is entirely up to the president. It is his constitutional right, prerogative, and privilege.

Our party, the PDP, decided to allow the first term governors go on to second term in a kind of gentleman’s agreement. But the agreement did not extend to me. Our party leader stopped me from second term and barred me from any appointment.

May be it was because I didn’t vote for Obasanjo at the Jos Convention I never was considered.

Your political opponents claim that you did nothing while in office.

I am happy you called them my political opponents. Is it possible to find a politician who has no opponent or opposition? I am yet to find one. Of course, I had opposition while I was governor of Anambra, and till today, it seems I have got stronger opponents now that I am on the sideline. My shadows still haunt my political opponents. They have tried everything possible to get me out of the way, but God has delivered me from them.

If my opponents say I did nothing while in office, why have they not been able to instal a better governor, or indeed become governors themselves after the 11 years since I left office? Political opponents are known to talk too much and do so little.

If anybody wants to know what I did as governor of Anambra, I advise such persons to read my books on Anambra.

What would you say were your regrets while in office as governor?

Governance is like a relay race. In a relay, the first runner takes off with his baton in his hand; he hands over to the next runner till the fourth and final race. In this respect, there were good projects for Anambra people which I initiated and built up, but which were not completed before I left office. There are projects like Zik’s Place at Awka; they are still standing uncompleted. The other project was the expansion of the Onitsha Main Market to help the electronic market grow and expand towards Oba. The then Vice President Atiku Abubakar, took interest in the project and raised funds from banks. He was clearly magnanimous. When the project was nearing completion, the then President Obasanjo did Anambra proud to come and inaugurate and bless the project.

The electronic market was about to take off when I left office and my successors swore they would not touch the projects or continue from where I stopped. But I’m not the loser; Anambra was the loser.

The same thing with the Oba Air Strip, a project for air cargo to assist traders mainly in Onitsha Market and environs. The ceremonies were almost coming to an end when

I left office and no governor after me accepted to continue from where I stopped. There were several other abandoned projects in the state, but my successors said they won’t touch the projects.

But hope was raised recently when the present Anambra Governor, Willie Obiano, said he would tackle those abandoned projects which are vital to economic growth of the state.

These are my regrets, but there are now indicators that politics should not be allowed to deny Anambra people projects that will enhance the living conditions of our people.

You seem to admire the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Only the opposition will fail to admire the leadership qualities of Mr. President, Goodluck Jonathan. First of all, the president came to office and made up his mind to do his best to follow the dictates of our constitution which he publicly agreed to uphold and protect. He has so far done it, not being dramatic about it.

Most people would agree that President Jonathan is one of the best presidents Nigeria has ever produced. Many a time, some people accuse the president of moving too slowly.

But we have also had military regimes who threw aside the constitution and ruled with iron hand. During their period, Nigerians groaned under heavy burden of not being allowed even to talk freely.

President Jonathan is a true democrat, despite all efforts of political opponents to drag him into unnecessary argument and insinuations that nobody can prove.

I support President Jonathan because he has the fear of God in him, and the manner in which he became president suggests that God was with him. How many people can rise from deputy governor of a state to governor, then to vice president, and to president of the country in such quick succession? Is it not clear that God has hand in it? Further, Jonathan is an underdog. God has always been on the side of the underdog, and Jonathan will not be an exception.

But the opposition is out to stop the re-election bid of Jonathan. How possible is it?

Whatever the APC is doing to stop the re-election bid of Jonathan is neither here nor there. It is true that the job of the opposition party is to try to stop the president from succeeding. They would try to drag his government down by any means possible, sometimes unconstitutionally.

From all indications, it seems that APC as a party commits several constitutional infractions, but Jonathan very often over-looks the excesses of the opposition as sacrifice for peace, as he bends backwards to accommodate whosoever wills.

But this bending backwards does not mean that the president can only bark and not bite. Nigeria is already getting over-heated as we move towards 2015, and it is the job of the president to do all that is possible to slow down the

tempo, and to lessen some acrimony engendered by clash of interests as between parties and opponents.

PDP still remains the winning party, and it will take more years than 2015 for APC to dislodge it. I have not seen anything to dislodge the president’s ambition.

Insecurity remains one of the problems of the present day Nigeria. How did you manage the menace while in office?

When I look back and see what we passed through to establish peace and security in Anambra, we can pat ourselves on the back and thank God for the miracle of the period.

Before I moved to Awka to start governing Anambra, insecurity was so bad at Onitsha, particularly, as the hoodlums were in the habit of sending letters to streets informing them of the dates they would visit the occupants. Women were sleeping in churches to avoid confrontation with the kidnappers and armed robbers.

The three communities of Umuleri, Aguleri and UmuobaAnam had fought themselves for over 50 years, burying their dead in wheel-barrows. I invited Obasanjo to visit the three communities. He advised them, preached to them, and miracle began to manifest.

I developed a blueprint to end the internecine wars, and we succeeded. Till today, there has been no such community wars. We also set up the Vigilante Boys, otherwise called ‘Bakassi Boys’ who took control of the state and within a few months, like a magic, Anambra became free of killings, kidnappings, stealing. Banks opened for business and Onitsha Main Market, Nnewi, and others came alive for economic activities.

Some people attributed the peace and harmony we achieved to prayers of what we started as “Monday Morning Prayers” with all workers in government circles responding very well.

The prayers often shifted to main markets and till today the prayer regime has continued. This remains a big miracle for the State.

Till today, Anambra is happy for these accomplishments.

How have you been able to strike a balance between politics and your new calling as an evangelist?

There is nothing extra-ordinary to have a Christian or Muslim being a politician at the same time. Actually, I began my life as a Christian, at the moment I was born, and at four years of age I was already reading the Bible.

I was born into an Anglican family and remained in the Anglican Church till my studies abroad ended and I returned to Nigeria in 1977. In 1983, I attended a Pentecostal crusade at the Grace of God Mission in Onitsha. So I repented and joined Pentecostal fold in 1984.

Christianity is a religion in motion as we see in the Bible.

In any case, evangelist is not a title; it is a ministry for the purpose of perfecting the Church.

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Big Issue

2015: The die is cast

By Emeka Alex Duru Editor, Politics/Features

nthusiasm. Excitement. Apprehension! All summarise the feelings of Nigerians with the approach of 2015 election. The date means many things to many Nigerians. To some, it offers an opportunity for change, while others see it as a time for consolidation. But then, there is apprehension of sort.

In some quarters, it is whispered that the era may witness the end of the Nigerian nation. Somehow, politicians do not help matters as they embark on moves that tend to set the polity on edge.

Their build-up to the contest began too early enough. While some elected officials began surreptitiously to plan for re-election shortly after their inauguration in 2011, others tarried awhile. But by the close of 2013, it was clear that governance had given way for politicking in some states and even at the federal level.

Drawing the battle line The two leading political parties in the land – Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) – were not left out in the obvious rat race.

Early in the year, it was apparent that they had kicked off their campaigns in various guises. That was in sharp contrast to the electoral guidelines.

Section 99 of the Electoral Act stipulates: “For the purpose of this Act, the period of campaigning in public by every political party shall commence 90 days before polling day and shall end 24 hours prior to that day.”

But while the parties engaged in what had all the trappings of campaigns, they simply called them rallies. For instance, the APC, in a well-attended event on March 7, 2014 in Abuja, reeled out what it said was the party’s roadmap, detailing what Nigerians stood to benefit from voting for it in 2015. It later followed it up by sending unsolicited text messages to Nigerians, highlighting some of its campaign promises which included free healthcare and education, monthly stipend of N5,000 to the elderly among other political goodies.

PDP, on its part, embarked on even more elaborate show to woo voters to its side. The party, in what it cleverly termed ‘Unity Rally’, toured parts of the country, showing off its winning edge.

Incidentally, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that was supposed to call the parties to order appeared helpless. Aside conceding that some of the political parties were in breach of the Electoral Act by engaging in early campaigns, INEC chairman, Attahiru Jega, chose to play safe by avoiding naming the offenders and their particular offence.

That was the trend. But as it is, the hide-and-seek game is over. Finally, the battle line is drawn. With the political parties successfully concluding their primaries for the various elective positions, the contest for 2015 is literally underway.

PDP set the tempo of the engagement by throwing

PROLOGUE

E

Jonathan

TheNiche on Sunday

December 14, 2014

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up President Goodluck Jonathan as the arrowhead of its attack. At an impressive affirmative congress that lasted from Wednesday to Thursday last week, it formally adopted the president as its candidate for the presidential poll. Not many were surprised at the turn of events, given that the entire organs of the party, had, by October, adopted him as the party’s sole presidential candidate.

In fact, in a bid to ensure that the agenda did not, in any way, go awry, feeble efforts by the first son of the late Prime Minister, Dr. AbdulJhalil Tafawa-Balewa, at running against the president were effectively extinguished, as he surprisingly announced his withdrawal from the race, after selling the dummy of offering stiff challenge. Similarly, Professor Akasoba Duke-Abiola, who also had indicated interest in the race, later chickened out. With the obstacles dismantled, Jonathan picked the PDP ticket, almost effortlessly.

But not so for General Muhammadu Buhari, who emerged APC presidential flag-bearer at its primary, also last week. His was a gruelling encounter that featured stiff challenge from former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso; Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha; and publisher of Leadership newspaper, Sam Nda-Isaiah.

Jonathan’s campaign is anchored on consolidation of his transformation agenda, which, his foot soldiers claim, has fixed the country’s infrastructure, job creation, enhanced security and boost in the country’s global perception, among others.

Buhari, on the other hand, aside his traditional disposition to transparency and zero tolerance to corruption, will also lean on the APC roadmap to woo voters.

Action in the states But the battle will not be limited to the centre. The states will also witness action from the two parties. In Lagos, for instance, it will be a battle of the establishment represented in Akinwunmi Ambode of APC and a new order manifested in Jimi Agbaje of the PDP. Ambode, whose candidacy had earlier been advertised by the Oba of Lagos, Rilwanu Akiolu, to the chagrin of fellow party men and the opposition, rides on the wings of the so-called Bola Tinubu tendency that has been on the driver’s seat of the state’s politics since the onset of the current democratic dispensation in 1999. Supporters and beneficiaries of the system are expected to rally round the candidate to sustain the arrangement.

But PDP and critical Lagos electorate, who see the existing order as thriving on godfather and entitlement politics, accuse it of slowing the pace of the state’s development potential. Agbaje, who had run an exciting campaign on the platform of Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA), in 2007, is thus, seen as a veritable face of the new Lagos.

The same battle of wits is expected to play out in Oyo as Governor Abiola Ajimobi of APC takes on Rasheed Ladoja of Accord Party (AP), Teslim Folarin of PDP and Adebayo Alao-Akala of Labour Party (LP).

All have antecedents that promise a tight race. Ajimobi comes on board with the so-called power of incumbency. Ladoja and Alao-Akala are former governors of the state, while Folarin was at a time Senate Majority Leader. While the governor will flaunt his achievements in the last four years to seek re-election, his opponents, apart from their individual characters and goodwill, will lean on the myth that no governor had governed the state twice, since its creation.

The contest in Kaduna will see Governor Ramalan Yero of PDP and former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nasir El-Rufai of APC, locking horns. Both incidental-

ly are Muslims and will rely on the largely Christian-dominated Southern senatorial zone of the state for victory.

In the East, action is expected in Imo and Abia states. In Imo, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, has clinched the PDP ticket. APC ticket was, until last Thursday, held in trust for Governor Okorocha by his son-in-law and Commissioner for Lands and Urban Development, Uche Nwosu. Captain Emmanuel Iheanacho, former Internal Affairs Minister, is the preferred choice of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). With Okorocha finally picking the ticket, it promises to be an engaging encounter. Ihedioha, whose Owerri zone, has been laying claims to the post on account of a zoning arrangement that Okorocha’s governorship appears to have altered, is not looking back on the race. With his chances of returning to the House of Representatives foreclosed, he will pull his network of contacts and years of political experience to give the governor a huge fight.

Such is the case with Iheanacho, whose membership of APGA contributed a lot to Okorocha’s victory in the last election. He was also said to have played key role in Owerri zone producing the party’s only senator, Chris Anyanwu, in 2011. Anyanwu has, however, returned to PDP. But the governor, who hails from Orlu zone that is said to have had its fair share of power slot in the state, is certainly not a push-over. Seen in many quarters as a man of the people, he can always count on the lower echelon of the society who, incidentally, constitute the voting population in the envisaged contest.

In the neighbouring Abia, Okezie Ikpeazu of PDP, who is seen as enjoying the blessing of the governor, Theodore Orji, is billed to meet a strong match in Dr. Alex Otti, former Group Managing Director of Diamond Bank, who is running on the platform of APGA. Delta, Ogun and Niger may also witness similar tight races.

Parties in crisis There are also possibilities of dissensions or insurrections of sorts in states where party chieftains had cried blue murder in their primaries and congresses.

In these states, the governors and/or the godfathers were alleged to have practically selected candidates that would fly the parties’ flags.

Rivers State features prominently in this league.

The governor, Rotimi Amaechi, and the APC leadership in the state, to the surprise of many, handed the party’s ticket to Dakuku Peterside, member of the House of Representatives, against the expectation of Senator Magnus Abe emerging the candidate.

Since the action, Ogoni,

But while the parties engaged in what had all the trappings of campaigns, they simply called them rallies. For instance, the APC, in a well-attended event on March 7, 2014 in Abuja, reeled out what it said was the party’s roadmap, detailing what Nigerians stood to benefit from voting for it in 2015. It later followed it up by sending unsolicited text messages to Nigerians, highlighting some of its campaign promises which included free healthcare and education, monthly stipend of N5,000 to the elderly among other political goodies.

Buhari

17

Abe’s ethnic group which has been crying marginalisation in the state’s politics, has literally been up in arms, threatening to pay APC back in its own coins during election. It is also not rosy for PDP that has settled for former Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike.

The PDP candidate, who hails from the same senatorial district with Amaechi, is said to have had his way on orders from the presidency. His emergence has not gone well with party chieftains and voters from other sections of the state.

Akwa Ibom, Niger, Abia, Enugu, Cross River chapters of PDP have allegations of imposition of candidates by respective governors and stakeholders. There are, thus, fears of aggrieved aspirants moving out of the party or staying behind and sabotaging its efforts. Alao-Akala has taken the step of leaving the Oyo wing of the party for LP. Governor Martins Elechi of Ebonyi State has also followed suit, joining LP after he lost out in the political equation in the state's governorship primary. Similar action is expected from some chapters in days and weeks ahead. For example, some embittered members of Cross River State chapter of the party who blame Governor Liyel Imoke of being behind their woes, last week, put up an advertorial, threatening dumping the party if their complaints at marginalisation were not treated to their satisfaction.

Which way out?

In other instances, there have been reported moves at appeasing the aggrieved members. Not much is known on the success of the efforts. Would they remain or leave? That is the question. But the battle line is drawn for 2015 politics. And the die is cast.

• Additional reports on pages18-21

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TheNiche on Sunday December 14, 2014

The die is cast

Alao-Akala

Ladoja

Ajimobi

Veterans at war in Oyo

Folarin

Head News Desk, VICTOR EBIMOMI, takes a look at Oyo politics and the gladiators, ahead 2015 elections.

O

yo State is known for its political sophistry and at times, violence. But beyond that, it has a history of political dynamism that is rooted in one-term governor syndrome.

The current governor, Abiola Ajumobi, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), however seems determined to rewrite the history. In 2011, he beat the then governor, Adebayo Alao-Akala of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Now, he has been given the ticket by his party to run again the 2015 election slated for February.

He defeated Dr. Abayomi Adesina, a political prince and son of the former governor of the state, Lam Adesina, and others to get the return ticket.

And from his utterances and mien after the victory, there is no doubt that he is resolved to break the jinx of one-tenure syndrome.

He told newsmen that he was hopeful that he would also win the 2015 governorship poll.

Many people claim that Ajimobi has relatively performed well. Perhaps, this encouraging assessment could be one of the reasons why he sounds confident to return to Agodi Government House.

But that may be a tough nut to crack with the emergence of Teslim Folarin, a politician who cut his political teeth under the late strongman of Ibadan politics, Lamidi Adedibu, who bestrode the political landscape of the state like a colossus till his death on June 11, 2008. Folarin is contesting the governorship on the platform of PDP. His antecedent, political analysts say, is a pointer to his ruggedness and a testimony that he was a good student of his master.

As a new entrant in the highly sophisticated Ibadan politics in 2003, he surprised the bookmakers, though through the influence of Adedibu, to clinch the ticket of Oyo Central

Senatorial District and eventually went ahead to win. At the expiration of his four-year term in the Senate, Folarin took another shot at the position in 2007 and did not only win but also emerged as Senate Leader.

In his quest for the gubernatorial ticket of PDP, Folarin was able to outmaneuver many of those that might pose obstacle on his way with his political dexterity sharpened by his closeness to Adedibu. In a race crowded by 12 aspirants, he edged out others. And in a rare political feat, one of the political heavyweights in recent time in Oyo politics, AlaoAkala, apparently unable to face the battle ahead, quit the party and picked up the Labour Party (LP) ticket for the race.

TheNiche gathered that more than any other contestant to the post, Alao-Akala had since January 2014 made his intention known with his campaign posters flooding the city of Ibadan.

He stated that he was angling to be back to the seat he vacated four years ago to help the PDP take over from APC, which he argued came into power fraudulently and so “they must go back as they cannot sustain it”.

So his failure to get the ticket and eventual dumping of the party, analysts say, is an indication that the latter must have a steely stuff to confront any opposition.

Also, another former governor of the state, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, recently disclosed that he would have re-joined the PDP, a party on which platform he became governor in 2003 but for the ‘cunning’ attitude of Folarin. Ladoja is now the leader and governorship aspirant of the Accord Party (AP).

Other aspirants for the 2015 race in the PDP appeared to have embraced Folarin’s candidacy, which many observers say, is a testimony to his potential to turn the apple cart.

This much was amplified by some of the party members. For instance, a former PDP secretary, Bashiru Akanbi, recounted how they approached Folarin to run for governorship election, maintaining that, “for the PDP to send packing the APC, a strong and credible politician is needed to face them”.

The feat of PDP in Ekiti governorship election may have emboldened it to go for a strong and popular candidate in person of the former senate leader.

Aside APC, the PDP may still have many rivers to cross on its way to Agodi Government House.

Alao-Akala, for sure, may play the spoiler. Apart from having a sizeable following, the former governor might not be comfortable with Folarin occupying the exalted post for fear that he might revenge the indignity he suffered during his time. Apart from having a stint in prison over the murder of a factional chairman of the state branch of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Lateef Salako (Eleweomo), on December 30, 2010, Folarin was also denied his senatorial ticket by the leadership of the party under Alao-Akala.

Some political watchers even argued that that could be one of the reasons why Alao-Akala is throwing his hat into the ring under LP as a ‘veteran’ of the game and one-time protege, who is also adept in political intrigues.

Accord Party, can also not be ruled out in the impending dogfight for the soul of Oyo. From all indications, it is not a push-over. In 2011 general election, despite its short period on the state political landscape, the party made a very strong showing by winning seats at both the National Assembly and the State House of Assembly.

And the party has been repositioning to give account of itself in the coming election. Analysts believe that Ladoja’s experience and popularity are enough for the party to spring more surprises in the election. They are also of the view that given the recent comment attributed to Ladoja, in which he said he was denied return to PDP, the party might at worst decide to mend its strained relations with APC to spite the PDP and give the ruling party an edge.

But how far Ajimobi, Folarin, Ladoja and Alao-Akala can go in pushing through their ambitions will go a long way to make a loud statement about the politics of the state.

TheNiche on Sunday

December 14, 2014

www.thenicheng.com

19

The die is cast Tinubu tendency and emerging order clash in Lagos

Ambode

Fashola

Tinubu

Agbaje

Assistant Politics Editor, DANIEL KANU, looks at Lagos politics in the 2015 governorship contest between APC and PDP.

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ith the emergence of Jimi Agbaje as the governorship flag-bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Akinwunmi Ambode as that of All Progressives Congress (APC), a tough battle is envisaged in Lagos State.

In fact, ahead the real contest, the battle is already being dubbed “mini war’’ by analysts.

This is especially as the state is regarded as microcosm of Nigeria with virtually every culture, tradition, religion as well as the sociopolitical systems of the components of the country manifested in it one way or another.

Agbaje, in clinching PDP ticket, scored 434 votes to defeat four other candidates including former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, despite joining the party barely some months.

He is however not new in politics. He was for instance, gubernatorial candidate of the Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA), in 2007 and was reputed to have perhaps run the most vibrant campaign.

Above all, he is believed to have discharged himself equitably in the court of public opinion.

Agbaje, a renowned pharmacist has the political finesse, intellect and highly organised with massive admirers among Lagosians, a reason many believe he was drafted to the party to give APC a run for their money.

From day one, Agbaje enjoyed full support of the party leadership and it was not surprising he emerged as the party candidate.

Most Lagosians who have felt aggrieved on some of the policies of the APC government in Lagos state say the time has come for a payback as they promised to vote out the party in the next poll.

Some, who allege that some of Governor Babatunde Fashola’s policies are anti-poor and targeted against the non-indigenes, vowed that they would vote out the APC come 2015.

Many also see the electoral battle as a fight between the establishment and a new order with a paradigm shift.

Flying the flag of PDP, a party in control at the national level, Ag-

baje is also said to have a coverage as he would not be intimidated by the state apparatus.

Ambode’s credentials are also very intimidating. He is a public finance expert, former Accountant-General of Lagos and retired civil servant who served the state for 27 years; holding key positions across all cadres of the state’s civil service such as the Auditor General for Local Governments and Permanent Secretary.

After his retirement from the civil service at 49, he established Brandsmiths Consulting Limited – a public finance and management-consulting firm with a deep knowledge of the Nigerian public sector.

At 21, he was already a graduate with Honours in Accounting from the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and at 24, he had become a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), finishing a master’s degree in Accounting specialising in Financial Management, via a federal government scholarship. He says he is passionate about the development of Lagos.

By all standards, none of the candidate is a push-over.

Ambode 51, won the election which was held on December 4, which had about 3,000 APC delegates in attendance.

He had to go head to head with other aspirants such as former Attorney-General of the state, Olasupo Shasore, who reportedly had the support of Governor Babatunde Fashola, and the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, among others.

Since the return of the democratic dispensation in 1999, only a particular party transmuting into different parties has held sway in Lagos.

For instance, Senator Bola Tinubu rode on the crest of the proJune 12 struggles and advocacy to become the governor on the platform of Alliance for Democracy (AD).

He administered the state for two terms spanning eight years and was able to pass the baton effortlessly to his former Chief of Staff, Fashola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

Although Fashola won on the platform of the Action Congress (AC) and would be serving out his last tenure, the political party

has remained the same despite change of party name, now APC. In theory, the ruling party in Lagos is supposed and expected to retain its stranglehold without any major challenge from the opposition PDP, but analysts are of the opinion that the tide may change as the election is not going to be that simple.

The party appears currently as a house divided against itself and may collapse if care is not taken. Tinubu, national leader of the party, is believed in many quarters to have imposed Ambode on the party, and in the process, provoking unusual dissension in its fold.

Our reporter reliably gathered that some aggrieved contestants that lost have vowed to work against the interest of the party, unless some issues are resolved.

At a time, the APC National Legal Adviser, Muiz Banire, boldly came out to warn about the danger the issue of imposition poses to the good health of the party. Banire was merely echoing the loud whispers from behind the scene of those who have expressed disenchantment.

What is playing out is that the hard-core politicians among the party seem to be raising dust underground, insisting that Ambode is at the very best a bystander, if not an outsider who wants to reap where he did not sow.

Lagos politicians, including APC members, appear bent to demystify Tinubu as the ultimate powerhouse in the state and this may negatively affect Ambode’s chances of victory.

Some observers are of the view that since the influence of Tinubu’s fabled war chest could not save Ondo and Ekiti states, it may not have influence among very critical Lagos voters.

For Ambode, his biggest strength is also his greatest weakness and that is Tinubu. He is a fantastic gentleman with exciting credentials, but critics are of the view he must make extra effort to pacify those who see him as a mere stooge of the former governor.

In all, observers agree that the contest will be too close to call, and, unlike in previous elections, Agbaje may likely make a difference by posting a surprise.

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TheNiche on Sunday December 14, 2014

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The die is cast Southern Kaduna Christians determine Yero, El-Rufai’s fate

El-Rufai

Sambo

Yero

Yakowa

Senior Correspondent, ISHAYA IBRAHIM, examines the 2015 governorship election in Kaduna State, situating the place of religion in deciding who picks the prize between Governor Ramalan Yero of PDP and Nasir el-Rufai of APC.

T

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has had firm grip on Kaduna politics, wining all four previously governorship elections since 1999 with landslides.

But in 2015, the All Progressives Congress (APC) wants to turn the table around with Nasir el-Rufai, its flag bearer, who will square up against Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, the governor who doubles as the PDP candidate.

El-Rufai, former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, has a huge following in the state, especially from the Northern senatorial district which has traditionally been opposition stronghold.

In previous elections, the voting mood of the Southern zone had largely favoured the PDP, while the Central had served as battle ground for both parties.

But in 2015, the APC might encroach into Kaduna South, the PDP stronghold. This is because the people of the area harbour a grudge against Yero for allegedly abandoning projects in their area which their son, former governor Ibrahim Yakowa who died halfway into his first term, initiated.

Yero said he discontinued some of the projects because he inherited an empty treasury from the Yakowa’s administration, a charge that has angered many indigenes of Southern Kaduna.

The indigenes noted that soon after the demise of Yakowa, Yero had at different forums claimed that the late governor left nothing in the purse of the state. Under the aegis of the Concerned Realists of Southern Kaduna Professionals, they had remarked that it was time for the governor to stop casting aspersions on their late son as they were yet to get over his demise.

They however added that if the governor had concrete evidence that the late governor left empty treasury, he should bring such forward rather than talking ill of the dead.

The Convener of the group, Dr. John Danfulani, who spoke at a press conference in Kaduna earlier in the year, insisted that no government in the world ever met a robust treasury, noting that it took leaders with ideas to create wealth for the sustainability of the state.

Danfulani asked the governor to forget his dream of coming back to the seat of power in 2015 because the people of the area had vowed to mobilise against him.

He said that the governor deliberately scuttled most of the projects initiated by his predecessor and also frustrated efforts meant at bringing lasting peace to the area.

He words: “Stop persecuting Yakowa in death; you remain unelectable in Southern Kaduna come 2015 because of your insensitivity to the killings ravaging the Southern Kaduna area of Kaduna State; deceit and deliberate scuttling of all projects started by late Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa. All the road projects and other projects initiated by late Yakowa which Governor Yero promised to continue have been put on hold without sufficient reasons.

Apart from the new Kaduna Bridge constructed by the late Governor which was said to have been named after Yakowa, Governor Yero has not found it worthy to name a significant institution or structure after the late Governor.”

With this sentiment, analysts predict that the Southern zone might vote el-Rufai in protest against Yero.

In 2015, Yero, the governor and protege to Vice President Namadi Sambo, may have a double challenge, because his Godfather has little to contribute to his election.

This is because Sambo lost in his polling unit in the presi-

dential election in 2011. He was pelted by angry voters who wanted Muhammadu Buhari of the then Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), a Northern candidate, to win the presidential election.

Similar sentiments may play out in February because the electorate in Vice President Sambo’s poling unit are likely to reenact the same attitude against him.

Yero’s relationship with Sambo is also not likely to help his reelection. With a relationship which dated back to 1997, when he worked in Nalado Nigeria Limited, a company owned by Sambo, where he served at various times as chief accountant, many in Kaduna believe that the governor is a stooge of the Vice President.

However, El-Rufai also faces mountain of challenges in his bid for the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, the seat of power in Kaduna State. He is likely to face stiff opposition in the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Kaduna State who may reject his candidature.

The former Minister is a major critic of the CAN national President, Ayo Oritsejafor. When the private jet of the CAN President was allegedly involved in illegal arms purchase deal in South Africa, he was critical of Oritsejafor, a situation that led to unpleasant releases from CAN. There had also been occasions where he had been alleged to have made statements that were targeted at Christians and Christianity.

In the coming election, the leadership of CAN in Kaduna State might consider it payback time for the former FCT minister for daring to hit at its national leader.

Kaduna people are historically religiously sensitive and any allegation of religious bias against a politician is taken seriously whether based on facts or not.

TheNiche on Sunday

December 14, 2014

www.thenicheng.com

21

The die is cast Individual, sectional factors at play in Rivers

Peterside

Amaechi

Wike

Abe

Personal traits of APC, governorship candidate, Peterside, and his PDP counterpart, Wike, as well as group and sectional considerations, come to play in Rivers governorship election, Assistant Editor (South South), JOE EZUMA, writes.

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ith the conclusion of primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State, the state seems set for the complex battle that may witness geo-political, ethnic, and socio-cultural forces at play.

While Dakuku Peterside, who represents Opobo/Nkoro/ Andoni Federal constituency in the House of Representatives clinched the APC governorship ticket at the party’s affirmative primary on Wednesday, December 5, former Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike emerged PDP gubernatorial flag-bearer, following his victory at the party’s primary on Monday, December 8, 2014.

Before the emergence of the two candidates, observers of political activities in the state in the past four months had waited with berthed breadth the conclusion of the primaries. This was against the backdrop of intrigues, subtle threats, as well as sheer mutual recriminations and other activities by ethnic and interest groups before the exercises.

But with the primaries over, the main consideration now is who wins the governorship in 2015 and by what factors?

Interestingly, Wike and Peterside are going to the battle field with many attributes that can swing victory on their sides as well as many debilitating factors, mostly outside their individual control that can work against them.

The man, Peterside Peterside first came into political limelight as Wike during the Dr. Peter Odili administration as Special Adviser (S.A.) Youths.

He later became a commissioner for works in Governor Chibuike Amaechi’s cabinet where he had exemplary service performance, according to his close associates, before going to the House of Representatives where he is the chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum (down-stream).

Relatively younger than his opponent and known to be humble and large hearted according to those close to him, he had been seen as meek and can imbue his flock with confidence.

More importantly, he is seen as one who can be persuaded to sustain Amaechi’s development politics in the state.

Rivers APC Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, perhaps, had this in mind when he boasted that with the emergence of Peterside as his party’s flag-bearer, PDP would be in trouble in 2015 election. Ikanya who saw Peterside’s choice as a divine mandate, described him as a man whose love for the emancipation and development of Rivers is infectious, noting that his performance profile as Works Commissioner, remains enticing.

Besides, the choice of Peterside from the riverine zone of the state, although from its fringe, was seen as a clever strategy by the governor, to calm down, and get the support of, the riverine ethnic clusters which had been marginalized from the state power equation since 1999.

With his emergence, APC may feast on the prevailing sentiments in the area where 13 of 19 governorship aspirants from the riverine zone, who felt maltreated at the PDP primaries are still waging war against the party. It is expected that if the PDP does not handle the disaffection carefully, it may lead to mass exodus from the part to either APC, Labour Party (LP) or APGA that appears to be in search of membership for relevance in the state. Where this happens, Peterside will be the beneficiary.

Amaechi factor at play The APC candidate is also expected to reap from the Amaechi factor that will obviously be very significant in the election.

Amaechi has transformed the state in terms of infrastructure, Health, Education, Road. A major stride in his developmental agenda is the commencement of Greater Port Harcourt City which at completion, will not only lead to decongesting Port Harcourt metropolis but will also remove the tag of a mono-city state from Rivers. It is widely believed by residents and outsiders that the state had not witnessed the level of infrastructural development it witnessed under Amaechi since the administration of Alfred Diete-Spiff, immediate post-war military administrator of the state.

Amaechi had at the conclusion of the APC primary in Port Harcourt, while commending the 26 House of Assembly members who stood by him to stave off his impeachment at the height of the Rivers political crisis, extended them automatic tickets to return to the House next year. This singular action, it is estimated, will offer Peterside ready structures in the legislators’ constituencies and facilitate his reach to the grassroots But how far these leverages would help the APC flag bearer is still largely debatable in Rivers political circles, especially with the scanty riverine voting power and the alienation of the Ogoni which although from the same Rivers South East with him, felt shortchanged by their son, Senator Magnus Abe, being dropped from the governorship race.

Ogoni is the only major ethnic group that had not ruled the state since its creation in 1967. The group boasts of 400,000 votes as against the riverine cluster that can barely raise 200,000 votes. If the Ogoni allow the bitterness arising from the loss of governorship to linger, then their votes may not be available for Peterside. Another drawback for him is that he is widely seen

as green horn and less visible politician compared to Wike, his opponent. Even his interactions with the press is often not embracing.

Enter Wike Wike, former Supervising Minister for Education, two time Chairman of the Obio/Akpor Local Government and former Chief of Staff to Amaechi and Campaign Director -General for his re-election in 2011, has been long time player in the state political turf unlike his opponent. A political mobilizer and good dispenser of resources who understands the gimmicks of Nigerian political engagements, he has acquired the image of a grassroots politician in the state in the past four years.

The way he prosecuted President Goodluck Jonathan’s proxy war with Amaechi and survived the groundswell of opposition from crowd of governorship aspirants and some elder statesmen from the riverine sector of the state to emerge the PDP flag bearer, had elevated him to the status of an enigma in the eyes of watchers of political developments in the state.

Wike’s ethnic group, the Ikwerre, emerged from political minority to new power bloc with the excision of Bayelsa State, a largely riverine state from the old Rivers state in 1996 as well as further balkanisation of the remaining riverine section of Rivers by the Senatorial divisions during the Peter Odili era.

This development instantly turned the riverine zone to new minority with depleted voting power. Wike may also get the backing of the 11 local governments with which the Ikwerre forms what some politicians in the state call the Igbo cluster.

Ogoni question Even with the two candidates looking good to go, there are fears that the highly disenchanted Ogoni could turn out the battle field for APC and PDP in the election. The ethnic group felt alienated when, against their long quest to taste power at the highest level in the state, and against their optimism, Abe was denied the governorship ticket by the APC. They got further angered when the PDP which they had looked forward to, for succour, rather gave its ticket to Wike, an Ikwerre. What thus, is left for Ogoni is to support any of the political parties that offers them better political offices and the one that has the chance of winning the 2015 election for that matter.

Aside the Ogoni question, Wike has to contend with the internal discontent within his party and the possible gang-up by riverine politicians and people whose appeals to democratic morality that could have made the Ikwerre to drop from their interest after producing two governors in quick succession fell on PDP deaf ears.

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TheNiche on Sunday December 14, 2014

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interview Oshiomhole’s administration, a disaster – Orbih Edo State PDP Chairman, Dan Orbih, in this interview with Special Correspondent, TITUS OISE, takes a swipe at Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s administration, describing it as a disaster.

Orbih

A

ssessing Governor Adams Oshiomhole's administration at six I have already described Oshiomhole’s sixth anniversary as celebration of failure and deceit. Never had we seen anybody in public office celebrating abysmal failure in the way and manner Oshiomhole invited people from outside Edo State to mark that event.

In fact, based on close observation of what transpired from the first time he came in with so much promise to this moment where his popularity has fallen to the lowest ebb, one will be right to describe him as a man who fits into the lyrics of legendary Jimmy Cliff with the words, “the harder they come, the harder they fall”. That is exactly how Oshiomhole is.

Edo people were actually looking forward for him to tell us what he had achieved and what he intended to do with the remaining two years. Instead, he turned the occasion into an arena of throwing punches at the president. Listening to him, I was also reminded of another great song by Jimmy Cliff titled ‘Hypocrite’. This was the same governor who, few weeks ago, welcomed the president and went with him to commission the Benin-Ore Road, which he described as the best road in this part of the world, that now turned round and abused Mr. President that he came to re-surface the Benin-Ore Road. The same man who, a few months ago, when the Minister of Agriculture came to commission irrigation project, praised the

federal government to high heavens, eulogising the impact the project will have on the people, now says that the president has not done anything for Edo. I am aware that even a blind man travelling from Benin City to Abuja will appreciate the on-going construction work.

Incidentally, that road passes Oshiomhole’s house in Iyamho. I also know that we have today 200 motorised borehole projects through the effort of the Benin Owena River Basin. But the man who has not been able to fix Benin roads is saying Mr. President has not done anything for Edo. I am aware that Jonathan has approved the establishment of a new university – Federal University of Building Technology – in Uromi. Staff are already on the ground supervising the construction of some of the buildings. Even in my own community, Mr. President has given us Government Girls Secondary School. The same thing is happening at the University of Benin (UI). I want to say it loud and clear that come 2015 presidential election, we will vote massively for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate.

We have seen very clearly the difference between what the PDP-led federal government stands for and what the All Progressives Congress (APC) government of rascality stands for. There is no basis for comparison.

Jonathan doing enough to guarantee him a second term For the first time, we are seeing a president who is going about quietly addressing fundamental issues

facing our nation. What he has achieved in the power sector in the last few years and his roadmap towards provision of power, which is the bedrock to any administration especially as it relates to industrialisation and production capacity of most industries, is novel.

In the transportation sector, people can now travel at ease. I believe if given a chance, some of the foundations he has laid in various sectors will manifest in another one or two years, and Nigeria will be better for it.

Tom Ikimi and Osagie Ize-Iyamu who defected to the PDP shortchanged in ward congresses I can appreciate where your question is coming from. At the time we started depleting the number of APC in Edo, Oshiomhole’s only hope was that at the PDP congress, the party would be divided and abandoned. But to his greatest surprise, nothing in that light happened. He is now the one saying we are aware Ize-Iyamu and Ikimi are not happy. I want to say that the two are happy and satisfied with the way the party conducted the primaries.

Defectors from APC crying out to the President at South South rally over marginalisation I was at the presidential rally at the Ogbe Stadium.

I didn’t see anybody cry, neither did I see anybody holding any handkerchief. The only man who was holding handkerchief was the musician, Sam Okposo; he was singing Ijaw song waving the handkerchief.

Nobody cried. I want to tell you that today we are one big family.

TheNiche on Sunday

December 14, 2014

www.thenicheng.com

interview

23

Edo Gov. not involved in Edo Assembly crisis – Adjoto Chairman, Edo State House of Assembly Committee on Youths, Sports and Information, Kabiru Adjoto, representing Akoko-Edo I Constituency, speaks to Special Correspondent, TITUS OISE, on the crisis in the House and other issues.

Adjoto

A

PC members and efforts to resolve Assembly crisis Since this unfortunate crisis began, we have tried our best to make sure that all our actions are within the limits as defined by the laws of Nigeria. We have refused, not minding all pressure, to be pushed into taking laws into our hands. We have followed constitutionality all through.

We only have one functional House of Assembly under the leadership of the Speaker, Uyi Igbe. We don’t have any other Assembly. If anybody is posing as Speaker now, it is just a wishful thought.

APC lawmakers meeting outside legislative chambers Before we left the Ring Road Office, that is the Chief Anthony Enahoro Complex, there was a publication. The rule of the House says before you can move the plenary of the Assembly to anywhere, there should be a publication.

That publication is in form of public notice. It was in form of advertorial in some national newspapers, and it was pasted on the gate of the House of Assembly that we were relocating from the Anthony Enahoro Complex to the old House of Assembly chambers in Dennis Osadebay Avenue. There was enough notice, and having given that notice, we have fulfilled all the requirements. The reason given for our relocating to Dennis Osadebay Avenue is because we wanted to embark on renovation. During the crisis, policemen came to the Assembly, shot sporadically and destroyed a lot of government property. So, we gave notice that because of what happened, a lot of damages had taken place and we needed to vacate that place to give room for renovation.

The Anthony Enahoro Complex is Edo State Government property. The fact that they are sitting there doesn’t make whatever they do there legitimate because; one, none of them has been sworn in by the Clerk of the House as a substantive speaker. They don’t have a deputy speaker and the symbol of authority, which is the official mace of the Edo State House of Assembly.

Difficulty in resolving the crisis We are not saying we should not reconcile; if you want us to reconcile, simply obey what the court has said. If the court now reverts the suspension on some of them to say “no you people wrongly suspended them”, we will obey. But some persons see themselves far above the law of the land. If we now say: okay let us reconcile because people are saying we should reconcile, to hell with court order, we are setting bad precedence. Tomorrow, the ordinary person in the society will ask, did members of the Edo State House of Assembly not disobey court order? What came out of it?

Remember, they went to High Court and the High Court gave an order, and they insulted the judge that gave that order.

On their own, they appealed at the Court of Appeal, and the Court of Appeal in that interesting judgment said a contempt cannot be heard, that all of them that came were contemptuous, that they should go back and obey the court order. Have they obeyed? So, it is not our duty to now start flirting, making friends. If we do that, we have joined them to disobey the court order. So we are not saying we should not reconcile. Since the matter is in court and the court has no pronouncement, obey the court order. From there, we can start.

Allegation of the governor failing to wade into the crisis.

What is happening is purely an internal affair of the Edo State House of Assembly. The governor has no hand in the crisis and, time without number, he has tried his best to make sure that the crisis is resolved. Those pulling the hands of the clock are the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members. The PDP as a political party wants to destabilise Edo State. And the governor has tried to resolve the crisis, but the PDP does not want the crisis to be resolved.

Recent attack on Abdulrasaq Momoh and mayhem at the legislators’ quarters The matter is in court and it is not in our practice to comment on matters that are before a competent court of law. However, the destruction on the legislators’ quar-

ters is most unfortunate. I was not here when the attack happened. If such incident is not checked, it’s capable of derailing our democracy because hoodlums aided by the police came in and wreaked havoc on properties and attempted to kill some honourable members. Some honourable members escaped death by the whiskers. It’s most unfortunate, and my appeal to law enforcement agents is that you don’t wait until an attack happens before you take action. There was no proactive measure to stop the attack. They said they have arrested some suspects.

Crisis denying some of you ticket in 2015 election As a legislator, my people know me very well. They have seen my performance; I have attracted a lot of projects to communities in my constituency. I have contributed to a lot of bills that became laws, making Edo move forward today. I have participated in oversight functions that have brought about positive changes in the state.

So my people are happy with me, and I am sure some of my colleagues too have tried their best. That is what makes democracy sweet. We will go back to them. They will decide, based on the prevailing reality, whether we have done well or not. That is the sweetness of democracy. If you have done well, your people will give you pass mark; if you have not, they will say you have not done well; hence you don’t deserve to go back. So, this crisis, to a very large extent, will determine whether some persons will come back to the assembly or not because some persons got the mandate of the people and they went to the black market and the mandate was sold for cash. Some people sold the mandate of the people and collected the money from PDP. Will such person go back to the people and say ‘vote for me again’? Their people will say, no if we give our mandate again you will go back to Anthony Enahoro Complex and possibly sell to PDP again. Certainly there will be setback for some lawmakers because they did not defend the mandate given to them by their people; rather they used it for selfish interest.

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TheNiche on Sunday December 14, 2014

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grassroots Garlands for Abiriba women achievers

Assistant Editor (South East), CHRISTIAN NWOKOCHA, who recently witnessed conferment of honour on deserving Abiriba women by the community’s traditional ruler, writes on the significance of the occasion.

S

ome women were recently honoured by Eze Kalu Ogbu (IV), Enachioken of Abiriba Kingdom, and his wife, Ugoeze Florence Ebele Kalu Ogbu, on the occasion of 2014 Abiriba Women’s Day celebration held at Akahaba Stadium.

The personalities honoured included Elder Inyang Anya, wife of Professor Anya O. Anya; Professor Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke (OON), Professor Lady Okpete Kanu, Hon. Justice Mrs. Onyekachi Aja Otisi, Commodore Uche Enyidiya Onuma, and the Controller of Prisons Abia State, Ukwuori Ndukwe Kalu.

Others are Linda Oyeni Ugbaja (Chief Magistrate), a United States of America-based Medical Director, Dr. Ureh Nnenna Lekwauwa; former Director of Education in Abia State, Elder Mrs. Kalaria Anyaeru; Managing Director of Techno Oil Limited, Mrs. Nkechi Obi (MON); and Elder Mrs. Nene Ikodiya Uche.

Professor Anya, chairman of the organising committee, who spoke at the occasion, said the idea of celebrating the womenfolk every November 25 was borne out of the history of the people of Abiriba.

“It was the women acting together in unity and in a spirit of creative protest that brought back the kingdom from the precipice of impending disaster to the path of responsible leadership. We salute the prowess and patriotic zeal for peace

and development of our women.”

The occasion, he said, was for the Abiriba traditional ruler to use the prerogative of his office to honour outstanding women who have made reasonable impact in the town and the larger society.

His words: “These outstanding women have made exceptional contributions in education, judiciary, military, social services and in the Nigeria’s economy. We salute them not only because they are great achievers, but in doing so they have brought their feminine best into the mix. In honouring them, the Abiriba Kingdom is once more pointing the way to the future – the indispensability of our womenfolk as outstanding leaders in the development of the society.”

Okereke-Onyiuke, one of the personalities honoured at the occasion, has worked in more than 20 reputable establishments, including the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Nigeria International Investment Council (NIIC), African Development Bank (ADB) Economic High Command, and United Nations Economic High Command, Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the United Nations. She was a former voting member of the International Olympic Committee for International Baseball Federation 2008.

She told TheNiche that she was happy having been honoured by the people of Abiriba.

“As a team-builder and leader with a proven track record and having played a role in the development of Nigeria’s economy and beyond, I feel fulfilled that these contributions I have made globally as a woman cannot be forgotten in a hurry. To be honoured by a community made up of achievers gives me joy and I want to state that for whatever reason by a way of recorded achievements as a woman, this does not confer an authority over a man because men are meant to be in charge as our husbands,” she said.

Another recipient, Linda Oyeni Ugbaja, a Chief Magistrate and the first female Magistrate in Abiriba, has a master’s degree in Law and was the best graduating Law student in Abia State University (ABSU). She joined ABSU judiciary after years of private practice as a lawyer. She said that among numerous awards bestowed on her for the development of justice and a fair society, “the honour given to me by my people is the most cherished honour”.

Going by a publication in the brochure of the event, titled “Abiriba Kingdom: Our women, our pride”, over the years, women have played remarkable roles in the development of the community, including ensuring that their children go to school.

TheNiche learnt that it is celebration of this role that a day is set aside yearly for the recognition of women in Abiriba Enachioken Kingdom.

TheNiche on Sunday

Judiciary

www.thenicheng.com

December 14, 2014

25

Judiciary autonomy: FG succumbs to JUSUN

Adoke

Turaki

The federal government, recently bowed to JUSUN’s demand for the implementation of the court judgment on financial autonomy of the judiciary. In the MoU, the funds will henceforth be released through the NJC, Senior Correspondent, JUDE KENNETH, reports.

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he Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) planned strike of December 1 to press home their demand for the implementation of the court judgment, which granted financial autonomy to the third arm of the government – the judiciary –was averted due to positive outcome of series of meetings held between representatives of the federal government and the leadership of JUSUN. Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had on January 13, 2014 restrained the federal government and the 36 states of the federation from holding onto the funds meant for the judiciary, only to be disbursing the funds in bits as its pleases the executives.

When it became obvious that the executive arm of government was not keen in implementing the judgment, JUSUN commenced its strike in August and only suspended it in September when the federal government representatives promised to set up a technical committee to look into the implementation of the judgment. However, the technical committee began to dilly-dally on the implementation, thus prompting JUSUN to give a seven-day ultimatum to the federal government and the 36 states of the federation to implement the judgment, otherwise the union threatened to embark on indefinite nationwide strike from December 1.

Apparently aware of the negative impact of the strike, the federal government invited the leadership of JUSUN for a meeting to ratify the issue at stake. After series of meetings on the issue, the federal government agreed to implement the court judgment with effect from the next federal allocation.

MoU reached According to the agreement reached by the parties, the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) will commence the implementation of the federal high court judgment delivered during the next Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting which is holding in two weeks.

In a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) reached at the end of series of meetings between the Supervising Minister of Labour and Productivity, Kabiru Turaki, the leadership of JUSUN and other stakeholders, it was agreed that the AGF will make deductions during the next FAAC meeting to the National Judicial Council (NJC) in line with the court judgment. However, it

was agreed that the deductions will be done based on the actual funds released that can be defended by the respective states and concurred by JUSUN. Part of the MoU reads: “The issue of concern to the members of JUSUN remains the implementation of the subsisting judgment of the Federal High Court delivered on January 13, 2014, regarding sections 81(3), 121(3) and 162(9) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

“On November 27, 2014, as a follow-up, a meeting was called in the instance of the Supervising Minister of Labour with JUSUN among other stakeholders to discuss the outcome of the last meeting held on November 19, 2014, in that regard.”

The meeting noted that the assignment given to the Director, Home Finance, had been executed. “The figures submitted by JUSUN had been reconciled with the budgeted estimates by the states’ accountants-general. Based on the above, it was concluded that the AGF will make deductions during the next FAAC meeting to the NJC in line with the court judgment, based on the actual funds released that can be defended by the respective states and concurred by JUSUN.” According to the MoU, which was jointly signed by the permanent secretary, Ministry of Labour, Clement Illoh; the accountantgeneral of the federation, Jonah Otunla; JUSUN President, Marwan Mustapha Adamu; Director, Home Finance, Federal Ministry of Finance and others, the proposed strike of December 1 was suspended.

Implementation In order to be in tandem with the agreement reached with JUSUN and to act in conformity with the provisions of the constitution as regards judicial autonomy, Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State has signed Judiciary Autonomy Bill into Law. Assenting to the bill at the Executive Council Chambers of Government House, Governor Dickson said “the move was a demonstration of the importance my administration attaches to the financial autonomy of the Judiciary”.

He added: “Having had the privilege of being a member of the Bar as well as attorney-general of the state and now governor, I am in a better position to provide the requirements of the judiciary towards improving the delivery of justice in the state.”

With the autonomy of the judiciary now in place, he expressed

confidence in the third arm of government to manage its affairs, especially in financial matters in line with the rules of the public service.

“With effect from the life of the next budget, I or any other governor that will come after me will not have to treat approvals and requests from the judiciary anymore,” Dickson said.

“Our democracy is not safe and it cannot be secured. Our civil rights cannot be protected unless we strengthen our judiciary, which alone has the constitutional authority to deepen our freedoms and protect our fundamental liberties.”

In the same vein, Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, has given legal backing to financial autonomy of the judiciary in the state by signing the Delta State Judiciary Financial Autonomy Bill into Law. While signing the bill, he said his administration would ensure that the judiciary handles its capital project independently without interference from the executive.

It is expected that with the MoU reached between the federal government, JUSUN leadership and other stakeholders, other state governments will toe the line of industrial harmony in the judiciary sector by signing into law the financial autonomy of judiciary in the their respective states.

More importantly, the National Judicial Council (NJC) should follow up along with JUSUN, the full adherence to the MoU by all the 36 states of the federation.

Accountability It is cheering news that the federal government has agreed to implement the court judgment on financial autonomy of the judiciary, but the allocation should be judiciously managed by the judiciary. There should be proper accountability of the funds released to the judiciary by the NJC, and the funds should be used for the benefit and uplift of the judiciary at both the federal and state levels.

There should be massive re-construction and expansion of court buildings across the nation, provision of equipment for quick justice delivery. Items such as electronic recording equipment, microphones for usage in the courts, verbatim recording gadgets, files, computers, air conditioners for conducive courtrooms and good lighting should be provided, so that our courts can measure favourably with other courts of international standard.

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TheNiche on Sunday December 14, 2014

www.thenicheng.com

Civil society platform

Coca-Cola draws ire of consumer rights groups

Mumuni

Kent

The failure of Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited to comply with the recommendations of Consumer Protection Council on safety and quality of its products, in line with international standards, has attracted the ire of consumer rights protection organisations, reports Senior Correspondent, JUDE KENNETH...

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coalition of six Nigerian civil society organisations (CSOs) have written a petition to the Chairman of Board and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Coca-Cola Company, Muhtar Kent, over alleged consumer rights abuses by Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited.

The coalition comprising Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), Women Empowerment and Legal Aid Initiative (WELA), Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre), Partnership for Justice (PJ), and Human Rights Advancement, Development and Advocacy Centre (HURIDAC) are worried about the continued refusal of the company to comply with the recommendations of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) of Nigeria.

In the letter dated December 9, 2014, and signed on behalf of the coalition by SERAP Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, the groups expressed serious concerns about the continuing refusal by Coca-Cola Nigeria to comply with the recommendations by CPC, and urged Kent to use his “good offices and leadership to prevail on the company to respect due process and international standards in its operations and manufacturing process”.

According to the petition, “The failure by Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited to effectively comply with Nigerian laws and regulations is illustrated by the company’s refusal to subject its manufacturing process to inspection by appropriate authorities, in particular the CPC; failure to establish a Shelf Life Policy for its products in the country, which clearly would help to facilitate the removal of expired products from the market; and failure to address health and safety implications of its operations and practices.”

Other instances listed by the groups are: “Failure to put in place appropriate grievance resolution policy that can address compensation for injuries, or compensation in instances where replacement will be inadequate; failure to review the company’s supply chain management to include retailers in order to minimise the distribution of defective, non-conforming or expired products and failure to bring the company’s traceability policy in line with international standards by only relying on information as to the place of purchase to trace their products.”

Impunity, the groups further expressed, persists when Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, despite its many years of operation and profit-making in the country, continues to fail to provide strong leadership and embrace best practices in the implementation of international standards, and therefore

failing to provide value for money for millions of Nigerian consumers. “Yet, investment guarantee and profit considerations should not take precedent over consumer inalienable rights and satisfaction.”

In the petition, the group noted that: “The lack of due diligence clearly has implications for the enjoyment of consumer and human rights. The lack of accountability and impunity by Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited is not only unethical but also inconsistent with international standards such as the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations Protect, Respect and Remedy Framework.

“The Guiding Principles were endorsed by the United Nations Human Rights Council in June 2011. The principles require that Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited shows genuine commitment to product safety and quality in Nigeria, and to respect and accept the recommendations of appropriate authorities on the compliance of its plants and operations with international standards, as the parent company does in developed economies.”

According to the groups, Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited is also required to ensure that its activities do not directly or indirectly cause consumer rights abuses, and to provide effective remedies to victims in cases of abuses of consumer rights.

The company, they charged, must seek to prevent or mitigate adverse consumer rights impacts that are directly linked to their operations, products or services by their business relationships, even if they have not contributed to those impacts.

“The responsibility of Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited to respect consumer rights is a global standard of expected conduct for all business enterprises wherever they operate.

It exists over and above compliance with national laws and regulations protecting human rights. We contend that addressing adverse consumer rights impacts in its operations and practices requires taking adequate measures for their prevention, mitigation and, where appropriate, remediation,” the groups maintained.

“We would consider appropriate legal action if the situation is not urgently and effectively addressed.”

Consequently, the coalition in the petition, has urged Kent to “direct and instruct Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited to urgently and publicly state the steps it will take to fully and effectively comply with the recommendations by the CPC, and to publish widely the company’s existing environmental, health and safety policies and practices; to avoid causing or contributing to adverse consumer rights impacts through its activities, and address such impacts when they

occur; and to seek to prevent or mitigate adverse consumer rights impacts that are directly linked to its operations, products or services.

Besides, the groups also urged Kent to develop and publish its policy commitment to meet its responsibility to respect consumer rights, including a consumer rights due diligence process to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how the company is addressing its impacts on consumer rights and processes, to enable the remediation of any adverse consumer rights impacts which the company causes or to which it contributes.

The groups also demand that Kent should develop a process of meaningful consultation with potentially affected consumers and other relevant stakeholders and appropriate authorities; honour the principles of internationally recognised consumer rights when faced with conflicting requirements; and treat the risk of causing or contributing to gross consumer rights abuses as a legal compliance issue.

When TheNiche sought the position of Coca-Cola Nigeria on the petition, its Public Relations Manager, Clement Ugorji, confirmed receipt of the petition by the company, but added that he cannot comment on it now because the matter is in court.

The CPC – an agency of the Federal government of Nigeria, supervised by the Federal ministry of Trade and Investment –was established by the Consumer Protection Act No 66 of 1992, but became operational in 1999 when its institutional framework was put in place. It provides a holistic protection for consumer in line with the United Nations guidelines.

With the mandate to eliminate hazardous products from the market, provide speedy redress to consumers’ complaints, undertake campaigns that will lead to increased consumer awareness, and ensure that consumers’ interest receive due consideration at the appropriate forum, the CPC also encourages trade, industry and professional associations to develop and enforce in their various fields, quality standards designed to safeguard the interest of consumers.

Consumer rights and consumer law provide a way for individuals to fight back against abusive business practices.

It protects consumers as to the safety, quality, purity, potency, healthfulness, durability, performance, repair, ability, effectiveness, truthfulness, dependability, availability and cost of any real or personal property, tangible or intangible goods, services or credit and it provides protection of the legal rights and remedies of consumers.

The Lagos State Consumer Protection Law was signed into law by Governor Babatunde Fashola on March 10, 2014.

TheNiche on Sunday

December 14, 2014

www.thenicheng.com

27

Civil society platform Anti-corruption Day: Groups demand collective fight against graft GENDER

ViolenceWatch

By Josephine EffahChukwuma

01-820 9387, 0818 009 1072

Letter to a sister on domestic violence

By Christianne Roberts

Mitee

Larmode

December 9 is the International Anti-Corruption Day. This year’s edition was marked in Abuja with civil rights groups in attendance. At the event, groups stakeholders brainstormed on how to fight corruption in the society. Senior Correspondent, JUDE KENNETH reports...

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uesday, December 9, 2014 was the International Anti-Corruption Day. The date is internationally set aside every year to create awareness and re-state commitment to the fight against corruption.

In Abuja, the nation’s capital, some civil rights organisations and agencies such as Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-corruption Reform, and Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), among others gathered at the National Centre for Women Development, Abuja, with the theme: ‘Break the Corruption Chain’ to mark the day.

The event, which was organised under the auspices of Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) had in attendance the executive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Lamorde, who solicited the support and cooperation of Nigerians in the fight against corruption, stating that “the job of fighting corruption should not be left only to statutory organisations”.

Lamorde disclosed that the Commission had been deploying the social media platforms to reach the public, adding that the fight against corruption could not be fought only by traditional model of public enlightenment. He said the Commission had developed a stateof-the-art forensic laboratory, which deals with all types of analysis in the fight against corruption.

“We have trained a lot of analysts and financial crimes investigators who specialise in modern techniques of identifying frauds,” he said.

Also speaking at the event, chairman IATT, Ledum Mitee, emphasised the need to empower the anti-corruption institutions with the necessary resources to confront corruption.

Citing the Jakarta Principles for AntiCorruption, which includes remuneration, authority over human resources, adequate and reliable resources as well as financial autonomy, he expressed doubt that the anti-corruption agencies in Nigeria meet the standards.

Mitee posited that if Nigeria was to make significant progress on developmental issues, it must break the corruption chain by reducing corruption to the minimum.

He also called for the effective implementation of laws at all levels of governance without fear or favour, saying: “Not only must there be no sacred cows and the culture of impunity wiped out, but the replication of anticorruption measures and institutions at the sub-national levels must be seen as a priority.”

In his contribution, Bala Sanga, from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), stressed that corruption can weaken governance, which in turn could fuel organised crimes, including human trafficking, money laundering, terrorism and other forms of criminality.

While pledging the support of UNODC to eliminate corruption, Sanga disclosed that the UNODC had just started the implementation of 34.5 million euros project funded by the European

Union (EU) to assist anti-corruption agencies, the police, the judiciary and civil society organisations.

A Public Complaints Commission representative, Obunike Olaegbu, who graced the event, advised the EFCC, ICPC and other anti-corruption agencies to do more in the area of enlightenment and sensitisation of the public on the ills of corruption.

Also, Kolade Omoyola, representative of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), urged Nigerians to declare their assets, stating that the Bureau was doing its best to break the chain of corruption through public enlightenment.

Chairman of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Chidi Odinkalu, who gave the keynote address, charged leaders who are nonchalant about fighting corruption to have a rethink.

“I do not congratulate people on erecting buildings, but I ask what they have done to build our values,” he said.

The highlight of the commemorative event was the unveiling of the Interfaith Anti-Corruption Manuals – teaching aid for both Christians and Muslims.

While unveiling the manuals titled, We Can Fight Corruption with Religion, Lamorde said: “The public unveiling of the inter-faith manuals is only one stage in a long process that also includes the training of those who are expected to put it to use – the faith leaders, women and youths. Along with the committee, the Commission will organise workshops in the six geo-political zones, using the manuals to build relevant local capacity critical for an effective war on corruption.”

Dear sister, I trust you are good and I hope this letter meets you well. I have observed some things that I would like to share with you. I am writing to tell you some facts you need to know about being in a relationship. Please share this with all the ladies you have around, as knowledge is wealth.

I have noticed that a lot of young ladies out there are just so ignorant about relationships, especially marriage. It saddens my heart that even you, my beloved sister, is about to jump on the bandwagon of what I would like to term ‘chewing gum chics’.

All they want is to get married without knowing some basic facts. These facts are what I would like to present to you.

I won’t take too much of your time, and if I do, I hope in the end you will be better off for it because I believe in the saying, ‘Prevention is better than cure’.

I sincerely hope you learn from these things.

Don’t fall for the erroneous belief that you can change a man. The way you meet him is most likely the way he’ll be for the rest of his life.

If there are some traits you have noticed in him that you don’t like (e.g. drinking, smoking, overbearing attitude), please don’t pretend to like it when in actual fact you don’t.

Discuss it with him and put your cards on the table. No need pretending because you want to marry.

If he doesn’t have a viable and stable source of income, please discuss it and come to an agreement. Money matters are one major cause of violence in the home.

If you don’t pick his calls and he gets upset or violent, please know that the guy has anger management issues.

If you met him on the internet or you are in a longdistant relationship and you have not been together for an extended period of time, please, know that you are in what I call ‘e-love’. E-love is just a pseudo kind of love that is not real just based on sentiments, where you don’t really get to know the practical side of the person you are in a relationship with.

If he’s not going to church

or mosque, don’t think he’ll start going once you get married.

Don’t you ever stop working because a man says you should. Trust me; you’ll live to regret that decision. A real man would want and even support his partner to be successful and advance as high as she wants.

If he has no respect for anybody, even his parents, and nobody can call him to order, know that he’s a no-go area – a time bomb waiting to explode.

Don’t fall for the outrageous belief that you can hook a guy with pregnancy. It just wouldn’t work. You can’t force someone into marrying you, and if you do, you will definitely regret it.

Any man that doesn’t want you to know what he does for a living and just says ‘I am doing business’, without telling you the nature of the business or even his place of work/business, is a fraudster.

Don’t be ignorant about your partner’s business.

It goes without saying that if he doesn’t have a place to stay and wants to get married to you, and stays either in the family house, or your own place, it is a red alert. You shouldn’t fall for that.

If he starts abusing you (physically and psychologically) while courting, then he’ll most certainly continue or even step up the abuse once you get married to him. Know that once he starts and you accept the abuse, he won’t stop until he is coerced by an external force.

If you are in an abusive relationship already, please speak out and get help. Don’t keep silent or keep it to yourself.

Also, you cannot pray it away.

Dear Sister, I saved the best for the last. I really hope you take heed to these words.

Don’t you ever be desperate for a relationship.

Learn to love yourself first and truly, because only then can a man deserving of your love will come your way and appreciate you. Desperation is the breeding ground for contempt and all manner of abuse.

Thank you for taking time out to read this epistle, I pray that beyond reading, you act accordingly.

Yours Affectionately, Say No To Domestic Violence

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TheNiche on Sunday December 14, 2014

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Editorial Agenda for the election

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ith the nomination of the flag-bearers of the two major contending political parties for next year’s pivotal presidential election, the phony war is over. The real political season has, well, truly commenced. In this connection, a significant observation has to be made.

This is that all democrats must be profoundly grateful that despite all of its imperfections, democracy continues to endure in our country. This means that we must be perpetually on our guard against the destabilising and retrogressive forces perpetually trying to roll back the march of democracy and its entrenchment.

For our democracy to endure, the upcoming general elections must be used to consolidate the ethos of democracy and indeed celebrate our democracy’s coming of age. To do so, we must break the mould and set a vitally needed new template. This is necessary because, for far too long, we have indulged in shenanigans whereby the real issues are neglected or at best relegated to the background. This has been a self-serving device by sections of the political establishment to provide a diversion from the real issues. In this opportunistic manner, irrelevances such as contrived fault lines such as a purported North and South division and religious differences are played up. This has proved useful, acting as an opium to divert the populace from facing the real issues. The end result is that only a handful of people have benefitted from the so called ‘dividends of democracy’.

This is rather unfortunate, for the people deserve better. Fortunately, today, at a critical juncture for the nation, we have to discuss the real issues. These are: the state of the economy; the unacceptable level of

For our democracy to endure, the upcoming general elections must be used to consolidate the ethos of democracy and indeed celebrate our democracy’s coming of age. To do so, we must break the mould and set a vitally needed new template. This is necessary because, for far too long, we have indulged in shenanigans whereby the real issues are neglected or at best relegated to the background. corruption, which has held back our progress; the on-going security problems which is directed at the soul of the republic, as well as the profoundly disturbing inability to meet the United Nations rather minimalist Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Weaved together, all of this constitute the ‘Nigerian Paradox’ – a bizarre situation whereby the majority are impoverished even as the national coffers get fuller.

Ironically, the next elections will be contested against the backdrop of declining national income. The decline is structural; it is not temporary. The profound shift in the international terms of trade have to be addressed and accommodated. The contestants must be compelled to address the fundamental question, which is how to survive within drastically-reduced circumstances. For let it be clear, whoever wins the elections will have to face a brutal reality.

This is, therefore, not the time to trade blames. On the contrary, it is the time to bring forth well-costed and convincing solutions to what will be an enduring problem. In doing so, they will prepare the public to brace up for the tough times ahead. Let no mistake be made about it, now that the chickens have come home to roost, it’s going to be tough.

After the election, whoever wins is going to have to take unpopular decisions. For this reason, it will be an act of gross deception not to prepare the people mentally for the hard reality ahead now. The task of the contestants is to show us they will navigate the ship of state through stormy weather, so that in the process, we can find, to quote the great soul artist, Otis Redding, “sunshine on a cloudy day”.

For the electorate too, there is also a warning. At this critical juncture, the difference between poverty and wealth will be decided by their votes. They had better, in their own interest, use it wisely. This cannot be the time for vote selling. It is, in this vein, also important to make an observation on the preparedness (or the lack of it perhaps) of the ‘opposition’.

By now, just a few weeks away to potentially game-changing elections, it is derisive to talk at this point of an opposition. We ought to be having a discourse instead on the quality or otherwise of the government-in-waiting. That we are not doing so portrays a drawback in our political development. By now, there ought to have been a widely disseminated alternative realistic programme waiting to be implemented. It’s about time we got one. In a few weeks’ time, the country has an opportunity to turn danger into opportunity as in the Chinese ideograph for crises. Our politicians, who have the most to lose, have a historic opportunity to do so.

Bring it on!

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nyone who cares about the future of the country must be delighted that President Goodluck Jonathan is set for debate with the flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Coming from the publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh, the authenticity cannot be doubted. There must be no backing out now and the APC must accept the challenge. It is a significant advance movement.

If the parties are sincere, the niceties and nuances about the format and general modus operandi must not be used as an excuse to truncate the proposed debate, or more appropriately debates. After all, the people of our country have every reason to expect a meaningful debate about what the candidates really have to offer. Slogans,

the use of inevitably vacuous buzz words and assorted shibboleths. All of this can be left to the rough and tumble of the hustings.

However, in our current situation, we need real meaningful debates.

This has for long been the accepted norm in main democracies world over. And for sensible reasons. For ever since the United States’ League of Women Voters initiated the Kennedy/Nixon debate in 1960, country after country has followed suit. In fact, had Kennedy not been assassinated, there would have been a potential format whereby Kennedy and the presumptive flag-bearer of the Republican Party, Senator Barry Goldwater, would have taken part in a series of six debates in different geo-political locations across the country. Had fate not intervened with the assassination of Kennedy, such a format would have extended the frontier of the discourse. In a modified way, it has

Observations from...

Politicisation of declining oil prices Over the past few days, I have read and listened to various discussions about the state of the Nigerian economy, and it is disheartening to see some supposed opinion leaders feeding the public with half-truths or blatant lies all in a bid to achieve their sinister objectives. One would expect an issue as crucial as this to be taken with all seriousness rather than being used as an opportunity to score political points while launching ill-advised missiles at wellmeaning public servants.

Like King Solomon said in the Holy Writ, sensible people foresee trouble and hide from it, but gullible people go ahead and suffer the consequence. This aptly describes what we are experiencing in Nigeria today. Like a sentinel watching over the economic affairs of our nation, the finance minister has repeatedly warned of an impending shock. This apostle of prudence, who set up the Excess Crude Account to build up savings for the nation, has continued to caution the political class against profligacy while advocating for healthy savings.

These moves by the finance minister, in addition to her consistent calls for cutting down recurrent expenditure and setting lower budget benchmark in light of global economic realities, have met with stiff resistance from our lawmakers at the National Assembly and our all-powerful state governors. Is it not therefore surprising that some folks would say she didn’t sound the alarm early enough when she has been drawing attention to these realities for more than three years now? Shouldn’t we rather

question the governors and legislators who have depleted our reserves by constantly laying heavy demands on our oil earnings to fund their profligacy?

While commenting on the issue in April 2012, the minister noted that fiscal federalism has made it difficult for the country to save. “It is difficult getting governors to agree to $1bn savings for the SWF. We had the state governors saying they can only allow $1bn. Now they say it is illegal and the country is not able to save. In the excess crude account today we have left only about $3.6bn. Should the oil price drop today we have no cushion because $3.6bn for this economy is not enough to take us to any length of time,” she said.

Rather than criticising Madam Okonjo-Iweala for everything that goes wrong, we should commend her for working hard to stabilise the economy. She has continued to defend the interests of the average Nigerian in spite of stiff opposition from those who would rather squander our commonwealth on selfaggrandisement. Even in this difficult period, she has advanced measures to protect the poor through the retention of critical infrastructure projects and building of social safety nets. Another commendable move is the planned luxury tax on private jets, champagne and other luxury goods such that the rich would also bear the brunt of the economic downturn.

• Olusola Daniel

TheNiche on Sunday welcomes letters, maximum 250 words, from readers. Send to oguwikeng

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December 14, 2014

already been modified and put into play in many countries.

This being Nigeria, it is to be hoped that some paid hack is not induced to go to court to secure the usual injunction on all manner of spurious grounds. Since as, we are aware, injunctions are two for a dime in Nigeria, the idea is not that farfetched. It is probably waiting to happen.

A possible ground will be that all the presidential candidates should take part in the debate(s).

This will truncate the objective. It might be unfair, but a meaningful debate cannot really accommodate more than the perceived front-runners.

Certainly not a motley crowd.

The debate is crucial because it is obvious that the country has taken a wrong turn. All is far from well with the country. The republic is ill at ease with itself. The populace clearly disenchanted. This has nothing to do with just party affiliation. There is a deep cynicism with the ability of the political class as a whole to deliver, to make life just that little better.

In actual fact, there ought to be two or three well-defined debates. For the issues that confront the country such as security, economy, attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and so forth cannot be thrashed out in just one debate. This is because any debate that goes on for over two hours will begin to lose significant parts of the audience. This means that for the process to be meaningful, there really ought to be more than one debate.

Debates will also help to focus on the real issues, away from the hate-filled atmosphere where the emphasis will just be on rancorous contrived divisions on ethnicity and religion. This can be left to the attack dogs and jobbers. The presidential front-runners should be compelled to face the real stuff. This is because whoever wins in February next year will have to take the country right through a reality check. For example, contrary to the pretence, there is nothing that is temporary about the collapse in the price of crude oil. 'Happy Days' are not going to rebound around the corner any time soon. Not that it was ever that happy for the unfairly ignored, longsuffering majority.

In the face of reality, whoever is going to have to take over will, like it or not, have to take draconian decisions. On the economic front, the international terms of trade have turned against us. And as far as the security situation is concerned, Boko Haram is not suddenly going to vanish. The objective conditions which led to Boko Haram will have to be tackled. After all, no one was born a terrorist.

The debates should act as a guide to sift through what is actually on offer. At this critical juncture, the country is in dire need of it. It has to be encouraged. Please bring it on! Anyone who attempts to subterfuge the debate clearly does not wish the country well and is not a democrat.

The future of the Republic could very well hinge on it.

On the beat Oguwike Nwachuku

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oguwikeng@yahoo.com, o.nwachuku@ thenicheng.com

CJ, you’re right on corrupt lawyers

O

ne good thing that came out of the conference of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) in Owerri on July 14 and 15, where Augustine Alegeh was elected its 27th president, is the public acknowledgement by lawyers that corruption is destroying the NBA. From the views of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairman, Chidi Odinkalu, to those of human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, and other legal minds like Zik Obi, Kunle Ogunba, Jibrin Okutekpa, how to salvage the situation is the point of convergence.

They expressed concern that the election cost the aspirants a fortune, making the love of money the kernel.

Odinkalu said: “Candidates spent freely on the transport, accommodation and subsistence costs of their delegates.

Arguably, for the first time in the NBA’s history, some candidates deployed private jets as they rushed around the country canvassing for the delegates’ count to get them across the finish line.

“In these elections, money spoke very loudly. By some estimates, the NBA’s 2014 elections were the first in which the campaign expenditure easily crossed the one billion naira mark.”

Ogunba said: “The NBA elections have become difficult to run and conduct. There are many challenges, many of our colleagues openly made demands on contestants.

Contestants spent fortunes on the elections. Honour, integrity, candour and sincerity, which are hallmarks of the legal profession, seem to have taken flight from the sub-consciousness of almost all our members, the old and the young inclusive.”

Obi confirmed that “we heard of stories of people being given money to vote for a particular candidate. Branch chairmen were alleged to have collected huge sums of money.”

I wrote in this column on July 27 that “it rankles that these are men and women of our society, some with the over-rated ego of incorruptibility and priding themselves as the last hope of the common man.

“Over the years, we have seen and heard of lawyers, including judges, who soiled their hands with sharp practices of monumental proportion. Attorneys romance with the high and mighty in government, ready to do anything to please such government officials, mainly politicians, with little concern about the impact of their attitude on the larger society.

“This year’s NBA election was key because it was coming on the heels of the country’s general poll next year, which is less than seven months away (now two months away).

“As the NBA official said, it is not possible for the government not to show interest in who emerges as the president of the NBA as the nation prepares for the general election. Lawyers, whether they like it or not, are conscious of this fact, which explains why all the candidates for the presidency of the NBA from the South West insisted on contesting, instead of the old practice of presenting a consensus candidate from the zone for an easy win.”

The reference to this piece is borne out of last week’s comments credited to Chief Justice Mahmud Mohammed and three other justices of the Supreme Court that lawyers aid corruption in the judiciary.

I agree with the justices. But they should realise that lawyers are not just aiding corruption in the judiciary, they are swimming in it in the larger society.

Mohammed spoke out when Alegeh visited him in the presence of Justices Mohammed Tanko, John Fabiyi, and Bode Rhodes-Vivour.

He decried the frivolous way today’s men of the Bar handle briefs, mainly appeals, and insisted that most lawyers fail to

advise their clients appropriately.

“I just want to use this opportunity to urge the Bar to put the interest of the system far above the individuals.”

The justices found it incomprehensible that lawyers muddle up appeals from the lower courts up to Supreme Court to make things difficult.

“Some cases ought not to be remitted to the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court that are now causing excess baggage in these courts. The Supreme Court is still trying to clear the 2002 and 2003 appeals not to talk of recent ones.

“Yet you lawyers are equally not helping matters by not advising your clients correctly.”

Tanko argued that “there are not Supreme Court justices in the world that work like their counterparts in Nigeria” a result of baseless appeals, Fabiyi warned that “lawyers filing funny appeals just to beat the time must stop forthwith.”

Rhodes-Vivour located the anomaly within the corrupt tendencies in the judiciary. Said he: “Appeals on electoral matters were so huge due to the jumbo pay politicians pay lawyers.

“In Shagari’s days, legislatures were on part time and their remunerations were so meagre compared to the present time when they coast home with close to N20 million periodically.

“It has become an industry, hence the courts were turned to battle grounds after elections were won and lost.”

Mohammed has shown early signs of willingness to check the corruption in the legal profession. That is commendable.

What is worrisome is that those who were there before him started the same way, but along the line lethargy set in and they could not continue with the campaign against sleaze in the judiciary and its bar and bench staff.

The period to test Mohammed’s willingness to tame lawyers is from next year when the elections would have been held

and winners and losers emerged, and rejection of election results rent the air from losers.

Lawyers connive with friends at the Bench whose interests are linked to those of politician clients because of what they both gain. What the judiciary and the society lose does not bother them.

Obasanjo’s Watch Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday, December 9 defied an Abuja High Court ruling by Justice Valentine Ashi barring him from launching his autobiography: Olusegun Obasanjo: My Watch.

Buruji Kashamu had procured a motion ex-parte on November 29 that ordered Obasanjo to shelve the book launch pending hearing on the main suit on December 10.

Kashamu is the South West Chairman of the Mobilisation Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Ogun East senatorial candidate.

He sued Obasanjo to court on the allegation that the book contains defamatory content against his person. But it was launched at the Lagos Country Club, Ikeja despite the court injunction.

I was not surprised because Obasanjo is not used to obeying the courts. Even as president he never did.

I have read snippets of the book and I enjoy the unfolding scenario. I hope to read the whole book to make informed comment.

I understand the fears of Kashamu even though I am yet to read the aspect of Obasanjo’s swipe at him.

However, the portion I read is not kind to President Goodluck Jonathan, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, former PDP National Chairman, Audu Ogbeh, the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, and a few others.

The book is a challenge to those mentioned in it to write theirs.

Funny

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30

TheNiche on Sunday December 14, 2014

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Words &Worlds

Remi Sonaiya

»

Forging a national identity

I

DENTITY, noun Whatever makes an entity definable or identifiable.

E pluribus unum -- “Out of many, one.” That Latin phrase was quoted by the President of the United States of America, Mr. Barack Obama, in his famous speech to the Muslim world delivered on June 4, 2009 at Cairo University, Egypt. Mr. Obama’s message to Muslims on that day was aimed at bringing them to understand that they were a part of America too, since the United States counted among its citizens many who were adherents of that faith. In effect, he was trying to tell them: “Stop thinking in terms of us against you; in reality, we are together – you are a part of us, and we are a part of you.”

It is uncertain how much success that speech had on those for whom it was intended. There were several high moments during its presentation which elicited thunderous applause from the audience; however, given the developments in the world since it was pronounced, it is uncertain that it has had much impact on how life is lived on the streets of Gaza, Beirut, Damascus, Baghdad, or even Cairo, where it was pronounced. Clearly, it will take more than a few well crafted speeches – even though backed by all the good intentions in the world – to upturn entrenched ideas and perceptions resulting from many decades of anger and distrust.

While it is obviously important to seek reconciliation with even external enemies who could pose a serious threat to one’s very existence (what happened on September 11, 2001 was the raison d’tre of Obama’s speech in Cairo), it is even more crucial to labour hard at seeking peace and harmony when the enemy is your neighbour next

Mac Odu INDELIBLE MARKS 0806 8909 467 ezemarkodu@yahoo.co.uk

T

he machinery of government of Imo State is now rickety. A cabal can quarantine a governor from full awareness of the facts about his territory for over one year and no head is rolling.

It shows that there is disconnect between Imo State governor and the people. And this represents a sad commentary on governance worth recording in the Guinness Book of Records.

A cabal led by one ex-permanent secretary, Nze Chukwuma Nwachukwu, and six others seems to have vowed to do anything to prevent light from entering Amohuru Community by due process as enshrined in the community’s constitution and have held sway for a year, bribing their way into positioning a surrogate as Eze and forging documents to sustain that surrogate in office. This ugly scenario speaks volumes of disconnect between a governor and the governed and a governor and his public service in Imo. Three revolts have since been recorded in Amohuru Community since March 30, 2014 when the governor erroneously recognised Anthony Anyanwu as monarch. By garrisoning our community with hired policemen to prevent the people from showing up at Owerri to puncture their plans to foist a stooge of Nze Nwachukwu and his cohorts on my people for mercenary purposes, a first revolt was born. Citizens of Amohuru were prevented from coming to Owerri on March 30. I prevented a breakdown of law and order by securing a pendency document from Aboh Mbaise High Court concerning a matter initiated by Anyanwu and his cohorts.

This moved Governor Rochas Okorocha to institute a Panel of Enquiry into Amohuru Ezeship. The panel submitted its report, which indicted Nwachukwu and his gang. The cabal

door. It is a sad and dangerous situation indeed when people who have to live together have an “us versus them” mentality; it is like covering up fire in one’s bosom – and we all run the risk of being seriously burnt!

The ethnic and religious upheavals which we have experienced over and over again in our nation reveal clearly that we have not taken seriously the task of trying to forge a national identity, even though it is obviously so desperately needed. Our leaders have continued to fan the flames of division and bigotry, bringing everything conceivable under the umbrella of ethno-religious considerations – be they ministerial appointments, candidatures for elections, resource distribution, the location of industries, what have you. It was given a baptismal name which sought to make it seem fair and just: Federal Character. Unfortunately, the ideas upon which the concept of Federal Character is founded are fundamentally divisive and ensure that the nation loses out on the long run, for the most qualified persons do not get the job if they are not from the appropriate region of the country.

An important issue, of course, is how we determine where a person “comes from”. In our country today, someone who has lived for 40 years in a place cannot be considered as coming from that place if he or she is not an “indigene” – that is, in the sense in which we choose to understand the word. It is sad that at a time when such barriers are being broken down around the world and immigrants are becoming mayors of their host cities and representing their constituencies in various legislative bodies, I cannot be a candidate for any election in Osun State since I am from Ibadan (Oyo State), although I have practically lived in Ile-Ife since 1972. This is so funda-

mentally unacceptable, and one would have thought that our leaders should have seen the importance of acting proactively and decisively to correct such an injustice.

The extent to which we pursue this indigene versus non-indigene nonsense is ridiculous. It would have been utterly laughable had it not been so pathetic. For example, when new states are created, “non-indigenes” are sent packing in order to make room for “sons of the soil” – and so, the Imo lady who had worked all her life in her husband’s state of Anambra suddenly finds herself out of a job! Are our policy-makers mindful of such issues?

There are clear steps that we must take as a nation if we truly want to forge ahead. We cannot continue to maintain retrogressive laws and practices and expect that our nation will move in tandem with the progressive nations of the world.

There are no two ways about it; we will be left behind except we decide to address the fundamental issues which continue to divide and hold us back.

We will be condemned to spending all our energies trying to quell the kinds of “infernos” which have continued to ravage our nation for decades now, instead of dedicating ourselves to the pursuit of those goals which would result in a better life for our people.

President Obama told the Muslims gathered in Cairo: “I am convinced that in order to move forward, we must say openly to each other the things we hold in our hearts and that too often are said only behind closed doors. There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other; to learn from each other; to respect one another; and to seek common ground.” Could the need for Nigeria be any less at a time like this?

Imo governor and Amohuru Ezeship dilemma paid public servants with doubtful character to mutilate records and keep the error that Anyanwu was Eze in public records up till this day.

A second revolt occurred when the cabal attempted to foist Anyanwu on the community. The people, without prompting, rose in defence of their rights of self-determination. They disowned a number of people with acts of total rejection. This revolt did not stop the cabal in its tracks. The cabal bribed its way to the police authorities to harass the community and cow them into submission to the will of the cabal. But it failed woefully. Twenty citizens, including yours truly, who resisted the designs of the cabal were accused of acts of arson and kidnapping at Abuja and were interrogated at Zone 9 Umuahia. Their mission failed for want of evidence.

The police were paid to keep mum to a complaint I raised subsequently requesting action against Nwachukwu and his gang for false accusation. The matter has been left in abeyance since them. A similar accusation had earlier been levied against one Jude Chukwu, secretary of Eze Selection Committee, at Central Investigation Department (CID), Owerri, for planning kidnap and murder against Nwachukwu. I debunked the allegation and bail was granted.

Nwachukwu had also paid State Security Services (SSS) to interrogate me and other members of Amohuru Community on the allegation that I was preventing his stooge from exercising his mandate as Eze. Of course, that allegation was dismissed when the panel chairman was invited by the SSS. I had prevented a revolt of the people.

The Imo State governor should have been privy to all these, but aides have successfully excluded him from the state he governs. I had made at least 10 attempts to speak with the governor. His aides, who are aware of my national

and internal stature, have prevented him from acceding to my multiple requests. Yet I am a member of Imo State Council of Elders, and secretary of Board of Trustees of South East Communities Development Association as well as member Imeobi Ohanaeze. I am now convinced that the governor has chosen to ignore Amohuru Autonomous Community.

The final revolt of the community occurred last Sunday, December 7, 2014, when it became apparent that despite rejection of their false king by the community, the cabal planned to celebrate the conquest of the Amaohuru stool.

The panel report that indicted Anyanwu and found for my legitimate election had once again been ferreted out of the records of a government ministry. A revolt was consequently enacted by youths, and the roads were barricaded against Anyanwu and his cohorts gaining entrance to community church and hall for purposes of enforcing this rape of the public will of Amohuru people.

I now want to let law enforcement authorities know that it is the worst act of sabotage of the state to enthrone false leaders on the basis of gratification received.

Impunity in criminal accommodation of miscreants damages health and welfare of citizens and structures of governance, and should render governance incapable of delivering services to the people in right idiom in the long run.

A failed state is the ultimate status following such ruinous tracks. Nigeria is on the steep downward slope into failure on account of my multiple evidences of rape of our common will and commonwealth. A governor must be held to account when he fails to apprehend this level of corruption in his polity. I have a duty to resist a government that is leading its electorate astray for the sake of inheritors of our undivided patrimony.

TheNiche on Sunday

December 14, 2014

www.thenicheng.com

The Diaspora

31

Ngozi Uche

How I pulled down the Berlin wall with my bare hands

A

nd the wall came tumbling down! The Berlin wall, that is. Last month, the world commemorated that momentous event that occurred 25 years ago before our very own eyes. As I have said before, I played a small role in the collapse of that wall, and at least one living friend can attest to that.

It was in the Summer of 1989 that I visited Germany, which was then still divided into East and West Germany, and got the chance of a lifetime to affect a world event. I am eternally grateful to my two classmates, at the International Space University’s Summer session who invited me to join them on the trip to Germany during a school break. ISU was based in Strasbourg, France, close to the German border.

When we got to the East Germany border the driving lanes were divided by country groups. The lane with the label, Allied Countries, is the one that we drove towards.

I started sounding off as I got out of the car: I am going to go through the same lane two. No way am I going to walk across traffic to the other end of the road to find which gate they expect me to pass through. My people fought in this war alongside the British, the Allied Forces.

It suited them to have us fight with them and now the war is over, they have forgotten us.

When it was my turn to present my travel papers, I told the mean-looking guards: My uncle fought in this war, so I should be allowed to pass through this gate ( Allied Countries). Something along that line of logic. To my sur-

prise, before I could go any further they asked, “ What’s your uncle’s name?” And before I could come up with a name they waved me on. I wanted to say: to them, “I am not done yet.”

I have been wondering, do they still have the list of those who fought in World War 2? Even the recruits from developing nations? Recently, the United States came to the conclusion that the recruits from the Philippines who fought alongside the Americans in that war were entitled to a compensation by the U.S. government. I have since confirmed that two uncles served in the British Armed forces during World War 2. One uncle, Mr. Eke Uche, was in the British Royal Air Force during that war. A photograph of him in his Air Force uniform has surfaced, bringing much joy and pride to our family, especially, his only child, my cousin, who never got to know her father. This always makes me tear up inside.

Buckingham Palace should honour the soldiers from Nigeria and other Commonwealth nations who fought with Britain during the World War. Those brave soldiers and/or their families are more deserving of British government money than many of the people currently on their welfare roll. The Nigerian media should launch a campaign to secure some sort of compensation for those soldiers and they should start by telling their stories --lest we forget the impact their service had not only on the war but on Nigeria also.

Okay, let’s keep moving. It’s hard to talk about Germany without talking about the World War. When we

drove into West Berlin we discovered that the Germans had decided to let the relics of the war tell the story of their recent past without distracting too much from their resolve to move on to a better future.

When my travel buddies and I visited the Berlin Wall, we scrawled our own messages on it. “This wall will surely come down soon, “ I wrote. Before writing, I laid my hands on the wall and performed a little ritual based on the Biblical story on the fall of the wall of Jericho.

I just felt it in my gut that the wall would collapse soon.

The soldiers who guard the river that divides East and West Berlin looked like lost souls weary of performing their duty ---amongst them, shoot and kill anybody who tried to cross from one side of Berlin to the other. And from what I saw inside East Berlin I intuited that no nation can survive long if their stores shelves are empty --and their soldiers are weary. Besides the empty shelves, the feeling of impending doom was heavy in the air. It reminded me of the dying days of Biafra.

As the images of the fall of the Wall unfolded on T.V a few months later, my two travel buddies (one of whom now deceased) called me and exclaimed: You said so. Yes, I did, I declared and decreed it and it came to pass. I came, I saw and I conquered the Wall with the word of my lips and the power in my hands to pull down strongholds.

So there you have it, the small role I played in the spiritual realm to bring down the Wall of Communism. May such a wall of separation be never again erected to divide and conquer.

32

TheNiche on Sunday December 14, 2014

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Viewpoint There is something Obasanjo and Jonathan are not telling us

O

LUSEGUN Obasanjo, a retired General and former president of Nigeria, is not yet through with President Goodluck Jonathan. He is still spitting fire. It is not clear what Obasanjo’s intentions are.

After describing Jonathan as incompetent a few weeks ago, the war-tested General still has a bag-load of mischief. In his latest outburst, Obasanjo is calling the man he brought to national politics a failure.

He has written a book, something he loves doing, and which I appreciate, but this time, to formally document, for posterity, his hatred for and condemnation of the Bayelsa-born politician.

Jonathan had sailed through a questionable Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary for Bayelsa State in 2007 when Obasanjo pulled him over to Abuja as running mate to the late President Umaru Yar’Adua.

When Yar’Adua died before completing his tenure, Jonathan stepped into the dead man’s shoes. Just then, the leadership of the PDP said Jonathan would not be allowed to contest the presidency.

Obasanjo moved in with a bag of tricks.

He did what only Obasanjo could do. He protected his “boy” against humiliation. Suddenly, those against Jonathan had court orders dangling over their heads. Jonathan contested and won.

It is difficult for outsiders like us to understand what really happened between the two politicians. All we know is that they fell out.

Obasanjo says the longest time he has ever spent with Jonathan since the election is about 70 minutes. No comments.

Some of the statements in the book are disgusting, humiliating and very unbecoming. The book has simply stripped Jonathan; and has almost completely demystified the presidency.

Obasanjo has carefully picked his words to tell the story, which, from all indications, is meant to present him as the best thing to hap-

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Obo EFFANGA

A

s you read this, we have just 62 days to the February 14 general election OnOnce Sunday in Nigeria. again, the election will square up incumbent President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ) against General Muhammadu Buhari (GMB). This much emerged last Wednesday and Thursday at the national conventions of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC). Both men were the top finishers in the 2011 elections, a contest which left in its aftermath, sorrow, death and blood, following days of post-election violence across the land.

Should the planned rematch raise worries?

The worries stem from the post-2011 election incidents. This is because both men have been anything but friendly towards each other, post-2011. There have been overt and subtle allegations of either promoting violence or incompetence in handling incidents of violence. Even if both men do not openly deride each other, their followers and supporters tend to exacerbate the gulf between. The effect of this on the political space has been enormous.

Interestingly, the processes that threw both men up as candidates in 2011 seem to have played out again this year, but in a reverse manner. In 2011, President Jonathan fought for a presidential election

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» PoliticsXtra

with Sam Akpe

pen to Nigeria. Just this past week, he picked the right moment to present the book to the public despite a court order to the contrary.

One of the issues raised by Obasanjo in his book, My Watch, is that Jonathan is morally disqualified from contesting the presidency in 2015 because of what he calls “the position” agreed to by Jonathan in 2011 to be a one-term president.

This issue has been overbeaten by politicians from both sides of the divide who said they were privy to the agreement, and those who insist that there was no such agreement or understanding.

It is difficult to know who to believe; not even Obasanjo can be believed because of his personal quarrel with Jonathan, neither can Jonathan be believed because of his personal interest in the matter.

I am not one of Jonathan’s fans; although I can’t but accept the fact that he is my president.

If I have any reason to condemn his performance since assuming power, or to condemn him as president, I’ll hold Obasanjo responsible.

I have stated this before. Jonathan is slow; and sometimes undecided when action is needed urgently. In addition, he has surrounded himself with people who do not even allow him access to the dailies.

Until recently, he knew little or nothing about the exercise of presidential powers. This made it possible for his opponents to deal him wicked but avoidable political blows and walk away unruffled.

This is one of Obasanjo’s description of Jonathan: “Although he might wish to do well, he does not know how, nor does he have the capacity to. To compound his problem, he has not surrounded himself with aides imbued with the qualities and abilities to help him out. Most of them are greedy hangers-on or hungry lacklustre characters interested only in their mouths and in their pockets.”

Though I’m persuaded to agree with him here, the description sounds like the type of people Obasanjo used to execute his third term project: political jobbers and spin doctors.

Then this: “After watching, reaching out to, studying, talking to, and listening to the president himself and the people around him, I came sadly to a number of conclusions that mark Jonathan out as a man of adequate intelligence to run the affairs of Nigeria…”

His concern, however, is that Jonathan is a president “…lacking in broad vision, knowledge, confidence, understanding, concentration, capacity, sense of security, courage, moral and ethical principles, character and passion to move the nation forward in a fast trajectory.”

In other words, Jonathan, the president of Nigeria, brought by Obasanjo from the obscurity of Bayelsa politics, is empty and completely bereft of any progressive ideas.

When did the former president discover all these shortcomings in Jonathan? What were Jonathan’s Unique Selling Points (USPs) in 2007 when he was brought as presidential running mate? Or did Obasanjo discover Jonathan’s inadequacies after he made him president, only for both of them to disagree over power-sharing? We need the details.

It is so unfortunate that a presumed leader of Obasanjo’s status could come this low just to win public sympathy over his personal disagreement with Jonathan. I wish he had come clean. I wish we could believe him.

Whatever may be the reason behind the sickening consistent attack by Obasanjo against Jonathan, the nation will eventually be the loser. There is something both of them are not telling us.

Obasanjo is a senior citizen of the world; and people of his status talk with caution. He does his with reckless abandon. Can somebody out there call him to order? Or are we all enjoying this show of shame?

GEJ v GMB rematch 2015 ticket from his party against formidable oppositions and still got through. Buhari on the other hand got the ticket of his then party, Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), on a platter, even as he ‘owned’ that party.

Today, conversely, Jonathan got the PDP ticket with little stress, even as the party blatantly refused to allow other interested party members a fair chance to give it a shot. The signpost of what a party’s internal democracy should be was on Wednesday and Thursday when the APC held what could be described as the best party primary in recent times.

Interestingly, the main legacy parties that formed APC – namely the ANPP, CPC and the ACN, including its progenitor, Alliance for Democracy (AD) – had reputations for non-democratic decision-making.

They were in the habit of pressuring aspirants to abandon their ambitions and allow the preferred candidate of the ruling class to prevail. All that became history last week. All the five aspirants in the APC stood election and wooed about 7,000 delegates with Buhari emerging the clear winner.

As both men go into the race, one hopes they would focus on the real issues besetting the country such as corruption, the collapsing economy, insurgency, poor state of roads and other infrastructure and provision of social services such as health and

education. Just as the country begins to groan under the effect of austerity, we want to know how the aspirants plan to get us out of this economic mess through sound policies which must necessarily include cutting down frivolous costs associated with governance.

And while they consider the above, we should remind them to cut off the sophistry and tell us their real blueprints for addressing those issues. We should remind both men and their managers not to further divide the country into the fragments of ethno-religious identities. Those identities, after all, do not define honesty, integrity, competence and commitments. They only appeal to our base instincts which are not sustainable. As the Chinese saying goes, ‘it doesn’t matter if a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice’.

It is time for GEJ and GMB to commit to issuesbased campaign and rein in their supporters from doing anything that could lead to violence before, during and after the elections. And for the blind supporters out there who see the elections as ‘door-die’, we should also remind them that we have a country to protect and defend. After all, if we lose our country after the general elections, it would not matter who won the elections.

TheNiche on Sunday

December 14, 2014

www.thenicheng.com

Obanikoro’s defeat, loss for APC

I

mmediate past Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Olatunde Obanikoro, has shown in very clear terms what many had known all along.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) needs more than Korobucci and ‘latrine infrastructure’ to stand a chance of wresting Lagos State from the All Progressives Congress (APC) come 2015. And the self-proclaimed biggest party in Africa has found what it needs in latter-day convert, Joseph Olujimi Kolawole Agbaje, a pharmacist and former Lagos coordinator of Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG).

Obanikoro’s defeat at the governorship primary election held in the Oregun area of the state on Monday, December 8, is not just a loss to the man who has made the uncomfortable transition from the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to becoming his party’s governorship reject. It is also a setback for former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, whose anointed candidate, Akinwunmi Ambode, emerged the APC candidate a few days earlier.

The point must be made that APC still stands head and shoulders above PDP in Lagos politics, but the emergence of Jimi Agbaje is an extra mountain Ambode has to climb, if he is to succeed Babatunde Fashola come May 29, 2015.

Although the exercise that threw him up as governorship candidate was marred by violence and protest, the former Afenifere national treasurer is widely regarded as a polished politician. And while Obanikoro is not known to have done much outside politics for most of his adult life, his conqueror at the PDP primary combines politics with an envy-inducing record of achievements in the private sector.

Perhaps, Obanikoro has played too much politics for his own good. A former caretaker committee chairman of Surulere Local Government and later chairman, Lagos Island Local Government, Obanikoro was appointed Commissioner for Home Affairs and Culture by then Governor Tinubu in 1999. He served for four years before he was elected senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the platform of Alliance for Democracy (AD). He soon dumped the party and pitched

33

OLUMIDEIYANDA

On my radar

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his tent with the PDP, with eyes on the governorship seat.

Obanikoro was arrested along with other aspirants in 2006 when Engr. Funsho Williams, who was also seeking to become PDP candidate for the governorship election, was murdered. They were all later released for non-involvement.

Williams’ widow, Hilda, contested the 2007 primaries but lost to Obanikoro in controversial circumstances. The governorship election was eventually won by Fashola of the then Action Congress (AC). Agbaje, who was Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA) candidate, came third with behind-the-scenes support from aggrieved AC and PDP members. Obanikoro owes his loss in that election in large part to Bode George, a man in whom he was well displeased.

Agbaje abandoned AC for DPA, after failing to get the former’s ticket to get the 2007 election. His achievements in the private sector and the articulate campaign he ran endeared him to many. He raised the bar by running a well-organised, ethical and focused campaign. A fall-out of his participation is an increase in the number of otherwise passive citizens who have since shown more interest in the electoral process.

The slogan ‘JayKay is Ok’ was a singsong back in 2007. The question, after he lost seven years ago, was: when would he return to take another shot at Alausa’s top seat. Unlike Obanikoro, he is regarded as a professional in politics, not a professional politician.

The late President Umaru Yar’Adua made Obanikoro High Commissioner to Ghana in 2008. President Goodluck Jonathan later appointed him Minister of State for Defence. Like Adeseye Ogunlewe before him, Obanikoro used his position at the federal level to flex muscles against the Lagos State Government. His decision to engage a more popular and admired Fashola in needless battles did not go down well with many Lagosians. While Obanikoro demonstrated his bitterness at everybody but himself for losing the 2007 election, Agbaje went back to his Jaykay Pharmaceutical and Chemical Company Ltd business and involvement with movements like Afenifere and Save Nigeria Group (SNG).

Reports that Bode George was wooing Agbaje to come over to PDP began circulating in 2013. The lid was finally

blown open when the man announced in July this year that he had pitched tent with the party at the centre. The announcement was no music to APC, especially its godfather, Tinubu. With Fashola’s government losing popularity over decisions like restriction on okada movement, Lagos State University (LASU) fee hike, relocation of some destitute Igbo to Anambra and Lekki toll gate fee, the return of Agbaje was not okay with the Lion of Bourdillon. APC is better off with an Obanikoro as opponent. Few are bothered that Agbaje is George’s “boy”.

While APC is still the strongest party in Lagos, it would have preferred a candidate it can beat hands down without breaking sweat. Agbaje may not be that kind of candidate.

The neutrals like him and, like Fashola, he can hold his own articulately against anybody in a debate. APC’s initial reaction when he formally joined PDP was an emergency meeting held in London with Tinubu and other chieftains in attendance.

A Fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (FPSN), West African Post Graduate College of Pharmacists (FPCPharm) and Merit Award Winner (MAW), Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (Lagos State), Agbaje is a consummate professional in the mould of Fashola. He has held various professional appointments which include National Chairman, Nigerian Association of General Practice Pharmacists (1990 – 1993); Chairman, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Lagos Chapter (1994 – 1997); Chairman, 1994 National Conference Planning committee of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, and National Secretary Nigerian Association of General Practice (1987 – 1990). He was a member, Lagos State Task Force on Fake and Adulterated Drugs (1989 – 1993), Member, Essential Drug Formulary and Essential Drugs List (1986 – 1993); and Member, Lagos State Hospitals Management Board (1994 – 1997). He was appointed National Treasurer of Afenifere in 2000.

PDP needs not worry about Obanikoro. Aso Rock can always use cohesive diplomacy to whip him into line. JayKay is okay for the party. It is now left to Lagosians to decide if he is okay for them come 2015.

Lagos and mind infrastructure

By Tayo Ogunbiyi

R

ecently, stomach infrastructure became another addition to the growing list of lexicons in the socio-political life of our dear nation. In view of the prevailing poverty situation in the country, some of our leaders ‘ingeniously’ devised stomach infrastructure as a short term intervention approach for poverty alleviation. This is done through the intermittent provision of sundry food items and, in some cases, cash gifts to the poor, to cushion the effect of hunger, which has been described as the highest level of poverty.

Leaders, who resort to this strategy, perhaps, hinge their judgement on a Yoruba adage that: ‘Bi ebi ba kuro ninu ise, ise buse” (once hunger is tackled, poverty is defeated).

The objective of this piece is, however, not to analyse the merit or demerit of stomach infrastructure as a policy of governance.

The main goal is to draw attention to another and, perhaps, a crucial form of poverty that, if not appropriately tackled, could effectively cripple the wheel of progress in any society. This is the poverty of the mind. As it is typical with any study into the mental world of man, the concept or theory of the human mind is a complex one to comprehend.

According to psychologists, the mind has an innate potential to aid an individual create the kind of world he desires. Based on this hypothesis, it is possible, for instance, for an individual to live a life full of exploits, joy, successes, victory, discoveries, excitement, hope, attainment of dreams and uncommon achievements, if he is able to put his mind into vigorous and positive use.

Sadly, however, it has been discovered that as powerful as the human mind is, the average man only utilises 10 per cent of his mind capacity. The few people that make the difference on the world are those that often go the extra mile to exploit the innate but dynamic power of the mind.

Electricity, telephones, automobiles, airplanes, ships, the

internet, television, radio, computers among others, without a doubt, represent some of the numerous inventions of man that have made the world a better place to inhabit.

But, they are a reflection of the results that man gets when the human mind is put into creative use.

Thus, the ability of a person to effectively develop and utilise the human mind has profound implications for man and the society. Whenever the innate but largely hidden potential of the human mind comes in contact with the probing ability of man, a miracle occurs. It is because this secret has since been discovered in developed countries that lots of emphasis is often placed on the development of the capacity of the human mind to unleash its inherent potential.

To underscore the priceless worth of the human mind, it is often said that the state of a man’s mind determines the quality and state of his life. Hence, a deficit mind produces a deficit life. A deficit mind is often subjected to control or manipulation from others who have come to understand and master the power of the mind. It is, therefore, in view of the invaluable supremacy of the human mind that the Lagos State government has evolved several strategies, policies and programmes aimed at improving the capacity of the youths to put their minds to good use. Youth and children are particularly focused on because early development of the mind is important.

The focus is strategic because youths represent the future and strength of every society. Their energies, inventiveness, character and orientation define the pace of development and security of a nation. Through their creative talents and labour power, a nation makes giant strides in economic development and socio-political attainments.

Provision of qualitative education for the youths remain a core area through which the state government has been investing in mind development. The core values of the state’s education policy include provision of qualitative and accessible formal education, vocational skills acquisition, sports development, development of recreation facilities, volunteering and environmental awareness. Voluntary or-

ganisations such as the Boys’ Scout, Girls’ Guide and Boys Brigade were re-lunched in the states’ public schools for early introduction of children to selfless service to humanity as a realistic way of ensuring the emergence of patriotic future leaders.

In addition to the re-launch of uniformed organisations in its public schools, government equally re-packaged competitive intellectual activities such as ‘School Debate’ and ‘Essay Writing’ competitions.

Also, to help the youth embrace environment-friendly traits, a school advocacy programme was evolved, while government also launched climate change clubs in primary and secondary schools to call attention to current global threats posed by climate change.

True democracy cannot exist in a society incapable of supporting the aspirations of its youth, and indeed its people. A truly representative government must be able to create the enabling environment for its citizenry to freely express itself in positive ways, so that the diverse potentials of its people could easily be harnessed for growth and development. The development of the mind is at the heart of every development. According to a former United States of America President, Franklin Roosevelt, “men and women are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds”. Therefore, any government that shuts its doors against mind development, especially among the youths, has inadvertently shut its doors against growth.

French political thinker and writer, Alexis de Tocqueville, in his classic, Democracy in America (1835), insists that building the people is more necessary than creating wealth, for the value of the latter is tied to the existence of the earlier. Without doubt, Lagos Governor, Babatunde Fashola, was having Tocqueville in mind when he declared recently that “if this investment (i.e. the development of the mind) matures, Lagos will be a better place because we believe clearly, without any doubt, that the greatest resource this country has is not oil, but its people”.

• Ogunbiyi is of the Features Unit, Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.

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Spotlight

www.thenicheng.com PEOPLE CULTURE FOOD FASHION ENTERTAINMENT FAITH HEALTH

TERH AGBEDEH Assistant Life Editor terhagbedeh@gmail.com t.agbedeh@thenicheng.com TEMITOPE DAVID-ADEGBOYE Woman Editor 0708 479 6140 REGINA WHENU Reporter 0706 098 3213 ADEWALE OJELEYE Photographer

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Why you should avoid energy drinks

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The Experience Lagos: Seeing off 2014 in great fashion PAGE 50

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FASHION

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Prof. Mike I rites of pass

Kanmi Ademiluyi takes a look at a life bordering on scholarship

T

HE delightfully erudite Professor Mike Ikharile undertook the Esan rite of passage into the Elders’ council (The I-R-V-E-N) robbing ceremony yesterday, the 13th of December, 2014.

Quite a milestone for a noted scholar, whose punditry in his must read newspaper columns, makes him to stand out in the commentariat. The rite of passage undertaken by a cosmopolitan intellectual is not as contradictory as it sounds on the

surface. Prof is a committed Esan, very proudly so, never far from his

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Ikhariale's sage

roots. Here tradition and modernity are not in conflict.

Yesterday’s Iruen (clothing) ceremony is a critical milestone in Esan land. The ceremony is highly celebrated across Esan land due to its common significance. It is performed by a man of means who is mature in age and possibly with children. The nature and customary requirements of the ceremony vary from phase to phase, depending on “common hardship and necessity”. The central significance here is that it is considered to be a thing of joy to attain the age required for the ceremony.

Once successfully performed, the social status of the celebrant within the community changes. Significantly, yesterday’s ceremony means that the unfailingly polite, amiable Prof could be made the Odiomwale if he becomes the oldest man in his village. Whatever providence holds, from now on he is strictly regulated by certain laws calculated to make him live honourably for the rest of his life. Culture aside, this is somewhat superfluous.

For Ikhariale’s integrity has always been acknowledged as unimpeachable. This is why he has kept his nose clean in spite of the murkiness of Nigeria’s contemporary firmament.

The professor who is a visiting fellow at the Harvard Law School has for long made a notable contribution in his areas of specialisation spanning constitutional law, law and development and regulatory impact analysis. He has shown strength-in-depth as an accomplished academic with considerable international research and teaching exposure.

In a seminal trawl he has gained national recognition in legal curriculum development and general university administration.

A significant con-

tribution is the path breaking introduction of the multidisciplinary post-graduate degree in law programme, the Masters in Legal Studies (MLS). The programme is designed for those stepping into managerial and public formulating positions in both the public and private sectors of the economy to the Nigerian Legal Educational System in 1995 while he was serving as the director of Post-Graduate programmes of the Lagos State University.

The initiative has now been spread to several law schools in the country.

Another significant undertaking is the first wholesale annotation of the entire statutory laws of a state government by the successful annotation of the “Laws of Delta State”. He is presently engaged in the wholesale annotation of the Laws of the Federal Capital Territory. He also designed and initiated the centre for human and people’s rights at the law school, University of Venda, South Africa while on a sabbatical appointment.

Yesterday’s ceremony comes during a critical juncture for the nation for which Ikhariale had contributed so much. For someone who has seen a lot and has been through a lot, he obviously finds it difficult to pinpoint what can be described as a defining moment in his life.

His reflection is philosophical. He sees life as a continuum in which every day is just an installment of a life-long journey.

“Between birth and death so much would have happened that searching for a single event that would surpass the rest is a herculean task.” He emphasises that the question is about “so far” and not a complete inquiry into what the entire life has been. ‘’I would therefore say my defining moment was the day I learnt to read because to a large extent my life has been dictated by issues bordering on scholarship.”

Having held visiting fellowships at leading universities abroad, the temptation cannot be resisted to ask Prof to make a comparative analysis with our own weatherbeating institutions at home. He is not surprisingly at a crossroads here between diplomacy, espirit de corps and not pulling the punches. ‘’It is really not possible to compare universities abroad with what we have these days in Nigeria. Nigerian tertiary institutions and, in particular, the universities like anything in the country have fallen on bad times. Several theories have been advanced to explain the phenomenon. Some have pointed to the fact that for too long the

country was held hostage by an anti-intellectual military class that ruled the country through dictatorial means.

Others have pointed out that flowing from the first, there was a deliberated humiliation of scholarship by the ruling elite under the military through all manners of disregard, underfunding of universities and the deliberate denial of the much needed materials for quality teaching and research within the campuses.

You will recall that at independence in 1960, the professors at University of Ibadan were earning more than the ministers in Tafawa Balewa’s government. But over time, their pay was reduced to peanuts which could not recruit and retain quality academics within our campuses.

Ignorance is the reward for killing teachers."

Finally, there are those who reason that the undue materialism that engulfed the nation diverted attention away from education to quick money. "What is more than the ruling class no longer have the cerebral Awolowos and Ziks to ignite their curiosity for learning and their places were taken by soldiers who in all probability were dropouts before they enlisted in the army and now that they have found themselves in power. They did everything to undermine quality education. Now we have schools that cannot deliver with respect to the impacting of the requisite competencies and skills on their graduates.

There is not a single university in Nigeria that minimally meets the standard much less world standards. That is why you hear of first class graduates who cannot undertake graduate studies abroad without much of remedial actions. That was not the case in our time. Perhaps we were lucky.’’

Ambivalence is reflected in his observation about the country’s future. How does he see Nigeria’s future – ‘’I would say it is bright, certainly not as bright as I would have loved to say for the simple reason that we have not started putting in place the necessary remedial policies that would redress the mounting problems of underdevelopment confronting the nation. The moment we begin to sincerely address them through government policies, the brightness of Nigeria’s future would begin to manifest.’’ The new status fits the man.In the years ahead we will still hear a lot from this remarkably clever, astonishingly well read scholar. Ikharile still has a lot to contribute to community, society and nation. This charmingly self effacing scholar and gentleman has many,many more miles to go.

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FOOD &DRINK

Regina Whenu

»

A little about Ghana High

eating out

G

HANA High Restaurant is a household name when it comes to having the ‘buka’ experience. It has been in existence for over three decades.

Owned by Fatima Amekpo, a Togolese, the eatery was first located at a corner very close to the Ghana High Commission on King George IV Road, Lagos. At this venue, the proprietor recorded a lot of success. With the proceeds of the huge success, Ghana High developed a building at McCarthy Street in the heart of Lagos Island. The building ready, the outfit relocated to its own property.

According to Amekpo, they have been selling at this present venue for years.

Ghana High Restaurant acquired its name from the Ghana High Commission building near it. The name always give the erroneous impression that the restaurant is run by Ghanaians. On the contrary, it is not only owned by a Togolese, it is also run by the Togolese.

The restaurant caters for all and sundry, as it starts selling as early as 5.30am because of early risers, who would go to work in the morning.

“We start selling as early as 5.30am because of bachelors and others who go out very early,” Amekpo told TheNiche.

The hype of Ghana High Restaurant may be justified, considering the quality of food served. Some people wonder if there is anything spectacular about the meals served, while some are of the opinion that the eatery is living on past glory.

Above all considerations, the restaurant itself can boast of a very delicious meal. Small wonder you meet the classy and sassy on the food queue.

“The taste of our food is fantastic, and I can boast of it anywhere, especially our beans and plantain, ewa agoyin and yam too. Our customers have told us that they love the taste of the food,”Amekpo said.

Ghana High Restaurant has made wave and, at the moment, is still making wave. But like every successful business, it has had its share of ups and downs. For the restaurant, there is relatively no challenge other than having to cook very early to meet the demands of customers.

Amekpo’s words: “I cannot really say we have any serious challenge; but nothing comes easy in life. If you are determined to work, you have to make sacrifices and be ready to meet challenges too. I would say waking up as early as 3am to get things done is not fun.

But we are used to it.”

When Amekpo was asked the secret of her good cuisine and what makes the taste distinct, she said: “The main thing is that the taste of the food does not change, if we use a packet of seasoning and salt today, that is what we continue using. The same quantity of ingredients is what differentiates us.”

Some customers, who were on the queue when TheNiche visited, had the following to say about Ghana High: Lilian: “I love their jollof rice, turkey and salad; it is usually served hot. I cannot remember when I started patronising Ghana High Restaurant because it’s been a long time.”

Banji: “I come here for my beans and yam; they are delicious and very filling too.”

The Wine House

T

he Wine House, at Mekunwen Road, off Oyinkan Abayomi Drive (formerly Queens Drive), Ikoyi, Lagos, is an ideal location for your evening and after-work get-together.

Nicely located. In a quiet property surrounded by palm trees and vines. As you approach the building, you see clusters of wine barrels that have been neatly polished.

There is an outdoor area near the barbeque grill.

Since the Lagos State government banned smoking in public places, an area is reserved for the smoking clientele.

Known for classic wines from South Africa, Argentina, France, Chile, Spain and Italy, it also serves snacks and appetisers like excellent peppered snails and meat, barbecued chicken and fries, and many more.

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Recipe of the week Barbecue pork sandwich Barbecue pork sandwich is a continental dish that is not totally barbecued. It is very simple to prepare and cook.

However you need to allow plenty of time for it to roast in a low-heat oven. Choose a good quality barbecue sauce to coat the pulled pork and add a dash of desired sauce if you like a spicy flavour.

Serve piled into large soft rolls or warmed and split pitta breads.

Ingredients: Boneless pork shoulder joint

2kg Paprika (smoked) 1 tablespoon English mustard powder 1 tablespoon Oregano (dried) 2 tablespoon Salt 2 teaspoon Black pepper (freshly ground) 2 teaspoon White wine vinegar 1 litres Water 1 litres Soft brown sugar 4 tablespoon mustard powder, oregano, salt and pepper and rub into the pork shoulder.

Ready-made barbecue sauce Mix together the vinegar, water and sugar and pour the mixture around the pork.

2 litres Cover the pork closely with grease-proof paper, then cover tightly with foil.

White rolls to serve Roast in the oven for three hours 30 minutes; then uncover the pork and baste with the pan Directions: Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Fan 150C. Place the pork shoulder in a large roasting tin.

Mix together the paprika,

juices.

Roast, uncovered, for a further one hour until the pork is very tender.

Lift the pork from the roasting tin and place on a chopping board.

Using two large forks, ‘pull’ the tender pork flesh into small pieces and place in a bowl.

Warm the barbecue sauce in a small pan, then stir into the hot pulled pork to coat.

Pile the pork into white rolls and serve immediately.

Serve with coleslaw on the side or a crisp green salad.

Drink of the week

Martell With its distinctive, arch‐ shaped bottle, Martell is a powerful symbol of inspiration, testimony to Jean Martell’s visionary spirit.

Combining the elegance of the Borderies with the power of the Grande Champagne growth, Martell is an outstanding extra old (XO) cognac which bears the hallmark of the Martell style.

A spicy, rich crescendo starting with the mellow elegance of the Borderies, followed by the intensity and tact typical of Grande Champagne eauxdevie.

Martell XO has a golden amber with dark copper and mahogany highlights.

Its nose has black pepper, coriander and red berries with rich fruit flavours like fig chutney and compote, almonds and walnuts.

The taste is rounded and fruity on the palate, followed by the finesse of eauxdevie from Grande Champagne, a long and silken finish.

It is best enjoyed neat or with a splash of water.

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Ask Tinu

Tinu Agbabiaka Certified relationship expert 0817 313 7189 info@pclng.org, botl@pclng.org

Love agreements

T

his means agreements you make regarding your relationship. Depending on your expectations for your marriage, they could be Positive Agreement (great loving marriage) or Destructive Agreement (distant cold marriage).

Love agreements are/can be renewed periodically (daily, weekly, monthly). It should not be a “once for all” promise. It should be taken one day at a time to build love and intimacy. While the most important

commitment expressed through marriage vows still persists, love agreement should be encouraged on a daily mode, in order for it not to slide into failure and discouragement when either party slips.

According to Douglas Weiss, there are seven different love agreements and they are as follows: Faithfulness – I will be faithful to my spouse at all times and in all circumstances.

Patience – I will not try to change things about my spouse that I don’t like, but will modify my behaviours that annoy my partner.

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Close Up

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A good novel is like a universe – Okey Ndibe At the second edition of the Ake Art and Book Festival (AABF) in Abeokuta, Ogun State, last month, Okey Ndibe featured in a book chat on his latest book, Foreign Gods Inc. Assistant Life Editor, TERH AGBEDEH, was at the exciting gathering where Ndibe talked about how the idea for the book came to him, among other issues.

W

here did the idea for your book, Foreign God’s Inc, come from?

The original animus impetus was a story a cousin of mine who owned a shop in Cambridge Massachusetts told me that the statue of a deity in my hometown had disappeared. If you are a writer and you are presented with such an intriguing development, you want to understand it. As one great novelist said, what a writer does essentially is to see just the mere tail of a huge beast moments before it disappears into the jungle, and just from the tail, you are able to construct for the reader the entire monster. This story so seized me. Who could have taken this deity? It was returned finally, but it didn’t lessen my fascination; so I decided to explore that narrative. Initially, I wanted to write a novel where there would be a fiery Pentecostal pastor who encourages his congregants to go steal the deity and destroy it, to show the superiority of his own God over the deity. But about 60 pages into the novel, one day it hit me and I said: wow, what about if there is a shop as it were, a god shop either in London or in New York that buys and sells these deities and certain objects from different cultures of the world for a lot of money? And how about if there is an immigrant Nigerian, who, like my immigrant here, Ike Ozondu, has been to school in America and has studied economics and has got a very good degree in economics and his desire is to get a job in the corporate world. But he spends years looking for this job without getting one. And part of the problem initially is that he doesn’t have a green card. Once he has a green card, he finds out that his accent, which is particularly strong, stands in the way of his getting a job and so has a life as a cab driver until he reads a magazine story about this gallery called Foreign Gods Incorporated that buys and sells deities for a lot of money. He remembers that back in his hometown there is this god that used to be the god of war for his people. He feels there are no wars anymore, so the deity’s offices were no longer urgent; hence he makes the decision to embark on this adventure to steal the statue and sell it to the gallery.

Where did the name of the god, Ngene, come from?

Anyone who is Igbo will know that any Igbo community would call any stream Ngene. So, Ngene is a name that stands for stream, though not in every community.

In my hometown, there is actually a deity called Ngene.

The deity that was stolen, which was returned, is called Ngene.

How about the town in the book?

When I was growing up, there was a town which seemed so mythical to me. I had a friend whose father was a transporter and he went to Utonkon. So I was so fascinated because Utonkon seemed to me to be a fairyland. So when I started writing fiction, my first novel has the same Utonki, so it is a kind of adaptation of Utonkon.

What theme in this book do you want readers to pay more attention to?

Any writer should refrain from being a dictator of a reader’s response. Any reader who reads my work becomes a co-creator of meaning. When you read a work of art, you see things in the work that sometimes even the author was unaware of. So I will not be tempted to stipulate how my novel should be read. I think that a good novel is like a universe; with different parts. So there is the immigrant part, there is the extended story about the idea of greed, there is the subject of the ways in which we consume, especially one another’s illusions. There is a fascination with the idea of the way we turn everything, including the sacred into commodities. In the novel, we find that the one religion that keeps standing at the end of the novel is a religion of money. So, it is everything. I think if I am going to prescribe at all, I would say that it is a universe rather than the one tiny aspect; the universe is what I will encourage readers to look at.

While researching the book, did you come across people that are doing this as a business?

It is interesting that when I started writing the novel, I was teaching at Trinity College, and I offered to give the faculty, my colleagues a reading. When I read the opening of the novel, one of them said, “yeah, I know what inspired it”. It turned out that The New Yorker magazine had just written a story, I think, about an Indian businessman who was trafficking in Budha heads and selling them for a tonne of money in Europe and America and had been arrested. So he thought I had seen that, and that was what inspired me. I wasn’t aware. I thought I was writing something that was so out there imaginatively, that there was no replication in life, only to find out that somebody had beaten me to it and was actually dealing in gods.

Subsequently, a Nigerian friend of mine read a section of the novel and told me that in Marlboro, Massa-

chusetts, there was a man who owned a shop where he sold African deities. He said he had been there and was disturbed by the atmosphere; the air was very heavy and smelly and that they had to run out of there.

So, here, I was thinking that I had invented this idea of a shop that sells gods, and people had beaten me to it. When the novel came out and it was getting all the reviews in January and February, some young men went to a community in Anambra State and stole a major deity.

They were making away with it in a car when the police caught up with them. I think they must have read the reviews and didn’t realise that it is a novel that is made up and must have stolen this deity to sell it to this foreign gods in America and make money.

I remember at a media event in New York arranged by my publisher and I said, “I want there to be good food”, which is usually Nigerian food for me. So we chose a Nigerian restaurant in Brooklyn and there was an old Yoruba man there drinking and who wanted to know what was happening. I told him what the book is about and this guy got so angry. He said, “where is the guy; I will kill him. He is an idiot”. I was not afraid to tell him that I made it up, because he could have slapped me.

Did you receive any criticism for this book?

If you are a writer and you write a book, and it doesn’t receive any criticism, then you ought to be worried; it means you have written something really boring. Like a good person, nobody is complaining about you, but you are not an interesting person. You have to make people uncomfortable; some people would say, this aspect of the novel rubs me the wrong way. Others will say, that is what I love about the novel. That is the stuff of greatness. On the whole, I have received extremely positive reviews, but there is criticism, then there is ignorance. There is a Nigerian reviewer who basically accused me of plagiarising Chinua Achebe. To prove this point, he finds some proverbs in my novel which he finds in a few of Achebe’s novels, and he finds Ngene and says there is Ngene in Arrow of God. It was on facebook and I wasn’t going to respond, but somebody called me and said “you are being killed on facebook”. I went back and people were saying, “Okey, this novel oyibo people are praising, so he just copied it? He is a thief?” So I had to write a response where I educated this guy on something I thought that would be self-evident that no writer, even one as great as Achebe, owns proverbs.

Every day in village gatherings, people are using the same proverbs, so before I use them, I have to call Achebe and say: please sir, can I re-use (that proverb)?

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TheNiche on Sunday December 14, 2014

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TEMITOPE DAVID-ADEGBOYE

ibilade@gmail.com t.adegboye@thenicheng.com 0708 479 6140

Glamour at Future Awards 2014 Celebrities strutted the red carpet during the 2014 edition of Future Awards.

They exuded charm and poise as always.

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December 14, 2014

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Rules of wearing heels

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ost ladies love heels and there are a number of reasons why they enjoy wearing it. While some feel more confident like the attention it gets them, others simply enjoy how heels flatter their bodies by making them appear more

slender.

While there are many different styles of heels that woman can choose fromsuch as pumps, stilettos, and wedges, there are certain rules to wearing and looking great in heels.

Here are some rules that would help you avoid wobbling in them and then gracelessly fall off!

• Start with flats or really low heels: Don’t assume that you can walk on heels just by watching people do it.

Start with about 2-3 inches (5.1-7.6cm) and then walk your way to 3-4 (7.610.2cm). Get used to one before you move to the other.

• Walk in your right size: You will never walk comfortably in shoes that are not your size; either they are too big or too tight. Find out your right size.

• Avoid buying online: If you can, always buy from stores so you can try out the heels to see if they are comfortable to walk in. Buying online does not give you that chance and size may differ when you get your purchase.

• Walk from heel to toes: How you take your steps on heels matters. Some women walk like they are marching. When you walk on flats, you walk resting all your feet on the ground but with heels, place your heel to the ground first followed by your toes after which you move your weight forward as if you’re walking on your tip toes, then push forward to the next step.

• Don’t wear heels for too long: Wearing heels every day of the week is so wrong. Let’s not forget, too much of everything is bad. Wear your heels at most three times in a week.

Also, once you are on heels, please, any opportunity you get, grab a chair and sit down. Relax your legs. Never stand on heels for more than five minutes. Wearing heels often can lead to chronic foot and back pain.

• House to venue, venue to house: Ladies, if you don’t have a car or a cab man or a boyfriend who could come to pick you from your house to the venue, please, get a very cute flat pair of shoes, sandals or slippers. And when you get to the event, change shoes discreetly.

• Practise at home: Take a mirror and walk from end to end in front of them at home before you wear your heels outside.

Make sure you have perfected grace and confidence before you step out.

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TheNiche on Sunday December 14, 2014

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Who is Tanzania’s Idris?

What’s between Seyi Shay and Ice Prince?

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anshak Zamani, popularly known as Ice Prince might have moved on after a failed relationship with Ghanaian actress and model, Yvonne Nelson.

Ice Prince came out recently to tell the public that he dated Miss Nelson, but hit the rocks because she was a very busy person.

However, it seems Ice Prince has found a less busy, yet classy and beautiful woman, who perhaps holds him as the centre of her world.

Earlier this week, Deborah Oluwaseyi Joshua, popularly known as Seyi Shay, a Nigerian artiste and songwriter, posted the picture of herself and Ice Prince all-loved up with this caption: We cannot but believe they are in Love.

Omawumi expecting second child?

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hen it comes to keeping private matters private, Omawumi Megbele, a Globacom and Malta Guinness ambassador popular known as Omawumi, has managed to do well.

Dating back 2011 when fans realised Omawumi was pregnant, she did not disclose the paternity, even after fans went haywire on her. She even did not let it bother her.

Just recently, she unveiled her baby’s father, Tosin Yussuf – one time co-owner of Zamunda Night Club, Eti Osa, Lagos. She secretly wedded him with no public notice. Apparently, she is also pregnant as seen in this picture with Basketmouth, the comedian.

But, if the the recent picture of Omawumi with Basketmouth taken in Cape Town is anything to go by, then it is a matter of time before we say congrats to her - a second time.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs Yussuf.

Idris

I

dris Sultan is the 2014 Big Brother Africa Hotshots winner, who has become $300,000 richer.

He represented his home country, Tanzania, in the house.

Just 21 years of age, Idris describes himself as smart, charming, funny, and flirty. He believes he is highly creative as a photographer from Arusha in Tanzania.

A lover of books, he reads anything by Dan Brown and enjoys watching The Colbert Report, Drunk History, The Daily Show and The Ellen Degeneres Show on TV. He is also a lover of pop and R&B music, with favourites from Chris Brown, Michael Jackson, Usher, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Lana Del Ray and Nina Simone.

Idris sees the best from every successful person he meets and learns from them. His mother has influenced his life the most, and he is most proud of the respect he has earned by showcasing his skill and creativity in photography.

He was inspired to enter Big Brother Hotshots by his desire to inspire people and make a name for himself.

He has no doubt done just that.

Idris saw off the challenge of 25 other housemates through nine weeks of extravaganzas, weekly tasks, ‘freeze’ challenges and an epic prank in true Big Brother style. Picking himself off the floor after the announcement, Idris told IK he was feeling exhausted after the “long ride”.

“Big love to everyone in Africa. I have so much love out there. I am going to give back every single day,” Idris added.

MultiChoice launches DStv Now

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ultiChoice launches a new app, DStv Now, that allows subscribers to enjoy unregulated access to their premium programmes and content on DStv. Sports, movies, series and so much more are now available anytime, anywhere.

DStv Now is a new app across Africa that allows subscribers to watch live TV, enjoy DStv Catch Up and view the TV Guide from their mobile phones and tablets.

The mobile app is currently on offer to DStv Premium subscribers with a PVR or Explora decoder, on iOS and Android tablets and mobile phones through 3G, 4G or Wi-Fi internet connections.

There are also select live TV channels to watch on your mobile device and tablet, with an eight-day TV Guide showing live programming on all DStv channels.

Event

TheNiche on Sunday

December 14, 2014

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Adewale Ojeleye 0803 921 2470 adewaleojeleye@yahoo.com

Children of deceased, Lanre Samson (left), Kemi Leke Bamtefa (middle), and Gbenga Samson

Head of Finance South African Airways, Joy Onyeadi (right), and Airport Manager, SAA Nigeria, Segun Osinibi

Managing Director, Touchdown Travels, Dayo Adeola

Abiodun Fagbire (left), and mother Ester

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Pa Samson Ayinla Fagbire laid to rest South Africa Airways (SAA) Sales Manager, Nigeria/Benin Republic, Kemi Leke Bamtefa on Friday November 28 buried her dad, Pa Samson Ayinla Fagbire. The funeral service held at St Paul Christ Church Aladura, while the reception took place at Yu-Dee Event centre, Gowon Estate, Ipaja Lagos.

Chief Executive Officer, Corporate Leisure, Abiodun Jaji (left), and Country Manager, South Africa Airways, Thobi Duma

Officiating ministers at the funeral service

Cross section of guests at funeral service

CEO, Super International Travels, Bisola Shobayo

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nicheEntert

TheNiche on Sunday December 14, 2014

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Making of showbiz politicians

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HEN practitioners in the Nigerian entertainment scene decided to seek political office in this current democratic dispensation, there was a long list, including: Julius Agwu (comedian), Kate Henshaw (actress) and Desmond Elliot (actor/filmmaker). Others are entertainment mogul, Ben Murray-Bruce, actress Funke Adesiyan, as well as singers Abolore Akande (9ice), Kenny St. Best (KSB) and Tony Tetuila. Bob Manuel-Udokwu, Dayo Adeneye (D1), Yemi Solade, Debola Dabo, Kenneth Okonkwo, Sadiq Isa and Jim Iyke also made the list.

But as things heated up, the wannabe politicians started to fall out of the race like dominoes. But there were those who did not budge, even as the going got tough with the primaries to decide standard-bearers for their desired offices started to take place.

The primaries have been done with, and those still standing are Murray-Bruce, Elliot and Adesiyan.

Desmond Olusola Elliot was the first to clinch his ticket for the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the party’s Lagos State House of Assembly primaries. In the Surulere Constituency 01, which ticket Elliot picked, the incumbent, Kabiru Lawal, was said to have stepped down for him. Elliot was able to pull support from women and youths in the constituency, who endorsed him.

The endorsement is said to have come because Elliot has been very active in the constituency, awarding scholarships to youths, providing free health insurance for the elderly and empowerment programmes for the widows and single mothers, among others.

Another practitioner aspiring to be a lawmaker, Funke Adesiyan, won Oyo State House of Assembly primary. Like Elliot, she contested on the platform of the APC. Tony Muonagor (Tony One Week), who has been a lawmaker at the Anambra State House of Assembly on APC’s platform, got the ticket for his party to vie for the same position. Incidentally, that is the same seat Bob Manuel-Udokwu is vying for on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), which primaries was declared inconclusive as at press time.

To cap up the winners of the primaries is former DirectorGeneral, Nigerian Television Authority, NTA and founder of Silverbird Group, Murray-Bruce, who clinched the ticket at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to contest the Bayelsa East Senatorial District in the 2015 general election.

It was, however, not the same story for KSB, who contested in the primaries to represent Ikeja Constituency, as she lost the 2015 bid to Folajimi Mohammed, son of National Publicity Secretary of APC, Lai Mohammed.

D1 lost the bid to represent his Odogbolu Constituency at the Ogun State House of Assembly.

Also to have lost the primaries are Kate Henshaw and Afro folk singer, 91ce. The singer, who was on the APC platform, lost to Akeem Oyewunmi, a legal practitioner and son of an Ogbo-

moso high chief.

Kate was gunning for a chance to represent the Calabar South/Akpabuyo/Bakassi Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives on the platform of PDP. Kate was defeated at the primaries which held on December 6 in Calabar, Cross River State.

She announced her loss on her twitter handle, saying the election had been conducted in an orderly manner. She went on to congratulate the winner, while thanking those who supported her.

Apart from Julius Agwu, who is said to have officially withdrawn from the governorship race of Rivers State, the other entertainers earlier mentioned in this report seem to have allowed their ambition to fizzle out. Perhaps, they have learned their lessons from this present dispensation and will prepare better next time around.

Funke

AVRS: Light in the dark tunnel of audio-visual rights administration

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ntil the recent licensing of the Audio Visual Rights Society (AVRS) by the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), producers of audio-visual works in the country never counted on getting proceeds on their productions beyond the shelf-life of such works. But change is in the offing with this epoch-making licensing of the AVRS by the NCC after series of consultations with the industry that lasted close to four years.

The Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and the film industry in Nigeria have worked tirelessly to bring this about, so that there can be light in this dark tunnel that has allowed exploiters a leeway to feast on audio-visual works. Going forward, producers of audio-visual works can reap from their sweat, even while they are in retirement, as long as those works continue to be exploited.

Filmmaker and Chairman of the AVRS Board, Mahmood AliBalogun, said on December 2 in Lagos that the first step in the AVRS journey started in April and September 2012, when the

participants decided to establish a CMO (Collective Management Organisation) for film and television rights holders.

Back then, he explained, a small preparatory working body of nine persons was established.

It was a no-brainer among the nine that Ali-Balogun coordinated the work, which included preparing a blueprint for stakeholders by September 30, 2012.

“The plan was then submitted to the joint platform of various stakeholders for discussion and decision, with the aim to have necessary structures in place by December 2012. At the September 2012 meeting, concrete steps were taken towards the establishment of a joint CMO. Memorandum and Articles of Association were presented, discussed and agreed in principle.

“The name of the CMO was decided to be AVRS. A national workshop was held on May 13, 2013 at the premises of NFC in Ikoyi, Lagos. The aim of the workshop was to discuss issues necessary for the next step in the formation of AVRS. Participants were also enlightened on the work of CMOs and the rights and responsibilities of members by representatives from WIPO and NCC,” Ali-Balogun said.

The filmmaker further said that what is unique about AVRS is that the royalties will not only go to the producer or executive producer, depending on who the owner of the work is.

“The whole gamut of professionals involved in the film work would be entitled to royalties as they accrue. I mean some of the people who are often ignored, like the writers, directors and other technical hands will be entitled to earnings from their works under the AVRS scheme. The actors would be classified according to who played the lead character and who played supporting lead character. So AVRS recognises everyone involved in the production. And registration is free of charge,” he stated.

There is no doubt that there is a lot of work to be done, especially in terms of creating awareness about AVRS among stakeholders. But the short history of the organisation proves it is up to the task.

At the moment, AVRS has a general manger in the person of Eme Akiba-Eyo, while Ali-Balogun heads the board of 15 members consisting of nine financial partners and five creative partners drawn from the various guilds in the audio-visual community in Nigeria as the chairman.

tainment

TheNiche on Sunday

December 14, 2014

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with Terh Agbedeh

Shuga 4 to premiere in June

T

he fourth season of the award winning television series, Shuga, will premiere in June next year.

This was made known at a launch for the sex and relationships drama and multimedia campaign that had cast and crew in Lagos.

Among those at the event were Senior Vice President & Managing Director, Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) Africa, Alex Okosi; Executive Director, MTV Staying Alive Foundation, Georgia Arnold; and director of the Nigerian leg of the series, Biyi Bandele.

“MTV Shuga is a powerful series that addresses issues that are important to everyone. We are very proud to bring another season of this high quality drama to Nigeria, which will not only encompass incredible on-screen storytelling but also engaging event activations designed to heighten its impact,” said Okosi.

Arnold echoed that when she said they are excited to build on the global impact of Shuga 3, which aired to more than 550 million households in Africa, Europe, United Kingdom, United States of America, Asia and the Caribbean via a total of 88 TV broadcasters, including 44 from Africa.

“We look forward to extending the incredible reach and resonance with this new series

O

Song: Depending on my mood, I listen to classics from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

Music video: I’m not a fan of music videos because they are all about sex, money and drugs.

Movie: Films are getting too violent for me.

Book: That will be The Narrow Path.

Naeto C

Okezie Morrow, Maria Okanrende and Emmanuel Ikubese and multimedia campaign, leveraging the power of Shuga to connect with youth audiences on topics vital for their health and well-being,” she said.

Produced by the MTV Staying Alive Foundation and MTV Base, it is in partnership with the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), U.S. President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Targeted at Nigerian youths, the multi-layered MTV Shuga campaign will include a six-part TV series, a radio drama, an MTV Shuga comic book, and intense digital and social media engagement.

A new focus for 2015 will be an increased

emphasis on promoting HIV testing, in partnership with the Elton John AIDS Foundation, with the goal of encouraging 25,000 youths to get tested, motivated by a series of special MTV Shuga on Tour festivals nationwide in March 2015. The campaign will also include a peer-topeer education drive that uses the MTV Shuga TV programme as a tool for stimulating dialogue about, and changing attitudes to, prevalent public health issues.

Created in 2009, Shuga was based in Nairobi for the first two seasons. Aired on MTV Base (DStv Channel 322), BET International, STV, AIT, NTA and iROKO TV, the third series of Shuga (2013) moved the action to Nigeria.

competition will hold a day before, on December 22.

Other events include: Santa’s grotto and Christmas Eve fireworks, Children’s Christmas party, Club Night/ DJ Battle Finale and Raffle Draw.

The big one is the Lagos Countdown concert & New Year’s Eve countdown on December 31, which will go on till January 1.

Managing Director of LASAA, George Noah, said: “We are hoping to give Lagosians and visitors a Countdown experience like never before.” He further stated that the agency is better positioned to host this year’s event based on its experience over the last two years.

Lagos Countdown is an annual event by the Lagos State Government. The first edition was held in 2012 at the reclaimed Bar Beach stretch, Victoria Island.

he maiden edition of the Belle of African Nations (BOAN) pageant, scheduled to take place this month, has been postponed till the International Women’s Day in March 2015.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Platinum Entertainment, organisers of the event, Olayinka Edu, disclosed this in a statement made available to TheNiche.

“Having thoughtfully and care-

Born Naetochukwu Chikwe, on December 17, 1982, Naeto C is a hip hop artiste, perhaps one of the most educated in the country, who has pitched his tent with music in recent time.

Among his awards are MTV Africa Music Awards 2008 (Best New Musician), Channel O Music Video Awards 2009 (Video of the Year) and MTV Africa Music Awards 2009 (Best New Artiste).

Born to the Kema and Herbert Chikwe household with roots in Owerri, Imo State, Naeto C began listening to music at a very tender age in a house full of music and won many competitions as a young poet.

New Music

‘Werk’ by May7ven May7ven has released the single titled ‘Werk’. Produced by Mictizzle Beatz, who is signed to her label, the track fits perfectly in the genre of Afrobeat, dance and hip hop, complete with a bass heavy, tantalising house remix by the House Boyz.

After running a three-month online competition that had her hashtag, #WERK, trending, May7ven picked a cover art design by the winning fan to reflect her Africanised, eclectic and cosmopolitan style.

Location

Misplaced Desire L-R: Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Manager NB PLC Patrick Olowookere, MD LASAA George Noah, Lagos State Commissioner for Information Lateef Ibirogba

Why Belle of African Nations pageant was moved to Women’s Day

T

Tunde Kelani

Birthday

Lagos Countdown 2014 events begin n Friday, December 5, Star lager beer, in collaboration with the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA), officially announced plans for the third annual Lagos Crossover Festival, which has since kicked off on December 8 and will hold events till January 1, 2015 in Lagos.

Among the events scheduled to take place from today are: Karaoke Night, at the Bar Beach from 8pm.

December 17 and 18 will host the Festival of Light, while December 20 and 21 will be Disco Night.

On December 21 and 22 will be Movie Night. The next date will be dedicated to children when they engage in a dance competition.

That is not the only competition in the countdown, as a photography

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fully considered the disadvantages of hosting Belle of African Nations in December 2014 as initially planned, the organisers and sponsors of the panAfrican beauty pageant have decided to postpone the events till March 2015, with the camp starting on March 8, which is the International Women’s Day,” Edu said.

Considering the nationwide elections coming up in February 2015 and the festivities of December, Edu said, BOAN might not get the kind of atten-

tion and international recognition we wish for.

“The choice of the International Women’s Day to kick off is to give the pan-African beauty pageant the kind of attention and recognition such a day commands, since our vision is in tandem with what the International Women’s Day stands for,” she said.

While thanking all who have continued to support BOAN, Edu regretted any inconveniences the postponement may cause them.

Misplaced Desire, a romantic comedy about two couples with the desire to possess the impossible, stars Alex Ekubo, Juliet Mgborukwe, IK Ogbonna, Mary Uche and a host of others. Produced

by Dabby Chimere, it is directed by Okey Ifeanyi for Dabz Movie Production.

Alex Ekubo and IK Ogbonna on the set of Misplaced Desire

TheNiche on Sunday December 14, 2014

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Ola-Williams’ footprints in Abeokuta

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ne of the visitors to the recentlyconcluded Ake Arts and Book Festival (AABF) in Abeokuta, Ogun State, was the teacher, actor, director and playwright, Yinka Ola-Williams. Formerly Lagos-based, it was not a surprise to find the Institute of International Education (IIE) grant recipient at the gathering, considering that he is a lover of the arts and now based in Abeokuta.

Ola-Williams is putting to good use the grant, which came through the Ford Foundation with which he trained in drama at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and business creativity at the Felix Meritis European Centre for Arts, Culture and Science, Netherlands.

Apart from his love for theatre, which he is actively pursuing, he released two works this year. The first a little book titled, Commentary on the Four Lepers: A New Perspective on Science and Spirit, as well as a video and song called ‘The Happening’ in which he performs.

Commentary on the Four Lepers takes the story of the Biblical four lepers, further examining the subject matter of God, Jesus, man and science in order to change the general perspective on this.

‘The Happening’, which is more or a continuation of the book, is inspired by Pastor Paul Adefarasin’s sermon titled ‘Dream Dawn’.

Ola-Williams, who said he had fallen in love with the sermon and consequently internalised it to a point of recalling it from memory, explained that it was while he was in The Netherlands that the idea of recording it came to him. He wasted no time in getting Dumnac Goulet (who did the music) and Galahad (who directed) involved.

Asked if he got permission to use Adefarasin’s ‘Dream Dawn’ in the project, and the reply is in the affirmative.

Speaking further about himself, Ola-Williams, who at some point had worked at the National Theatre in Lagos and as the business development manager at Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, said the new works did not indicate that he was bidding theatre farewell.

“For the last eight months, I have been looking for a space that we can call a theatre in Abeokuta where 100 people can sit,” said the chairman of the Ogun State chapter of the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP).

Asked whether he has considered the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto in his search, Ola-Williams’ response is that it is owned by government, explaining that not much happens there after the annual Ake festival.

“It has become an event centre. And that is the situation in most Cultural Centres across the country. The thinking is not professional; rather it is political. It kills the industry. It needs a private venture intervention. Government alone cannot run the sector, but they can’t give us land to build the theatres,” he lamented.

At the National Theatre, Ola-Williams was in

Arts

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REVIEWS&PREVIEWS

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Ola-Williams charge of the section where the focus is on children’s theatre. He worked with children in primary schools and ran an educational development programme that took theatre on tour from one school to another. While that lasted, secondary school students benefitted, in the sense that the project each year dramatised a recommended text for the junior and senior secondary school levels.

“Macbeth and The Merchant of Venice

were produced for students who would learn and their understanding of the texts would be aided. It was very lucrative,” he said.

He decried the fact that some of these students have left behind the love of theatre, since they are not encouraged after school, and partly blamed the brands which spend huge budgets on television reality shows rather than invest in a venue for theatre productions.

Cassava Republic launches romance imprint N

igerian publisher, Cassava Republic Press, will tomorrow December 15, release the first six titles in its new romance imprint, Ankara Press.

“We are thrilled to be launching the first titles in our Ankara Press list,” said publisher, Bibi Bakare-Yusuf. “The six authors – Oyindamola Affinnih, Sifa Asani Gowon, Amara Nicole Okolo, Amina Thula, Chioma Iwunze-Ibiam and Ola Awonubi – are rising stars, and a great deal of work has gone into making sure that these sizzling stories will appeal to the modern African woman.”

She explained that the mission is to project the image of a confident, stylish, ambitious and cosmopolitan African woman.

Bakare-Yusuf, who stated Ankara Press with the aim of publishing ‘a new kind of romance’, said part of that projection is reflected in the company’s name, Ankara, which evokes both a sense of timeless tradition and stylish modernity.

The idea, she said, is to challenge romance stereotypes and empower women to love themselves in their search for love, romance and wholesome sex.

Ankara Press is a fresh new voice publishing romantic fiction for the African market, and is devoted to publishing easy-to-read novellas with African settings, storylines and characters. The Ankara Press imprint launches with six new titles, set in locations as diverse as Lagos, Jos, Cape Town and the Obudu Mountain Resort in Cross

River State. A Tailor-made Romance, Black Sparkle Romance, A Taste of Love, Love’s Persuasion, Finding Love Again and Elevator Kiss comprise the first six titles in the series.

The books will be published initially as e-books, easily downloadable to mobile devices and available on the Ankara Press website tomorrow.

Ankara Press is currently seeking authors for its next batch of romances, to be published in 2015. It is looking for strong, original writers who can tell fast-paced and engaging stories and who will allow African women to see the best version of themselves in print.

Finding Love Again by Chioma Iwunze-Ibiam tells the story of the trajectory Kambi’s life takes after a botched wedding. A broadcaster by day and performance poet at night, Kambi accepts a commission to write a poetry collection. Two weeks to the deadline, she takes time off from her broadcasting job for a vacation at the Obudu Mountain Resort. The vacation is a surreptitious affair; she hopes to complete the collection without any distractions from a stalking ex-fiance who has been trying to woo her again. Beba Alex, the CEO of a mining company and recently, a winery, is in search of a fiance to present to his father. A chance meeting with Kambi at the Terrace Restaurant opens up new vistas for them both. Kambi remembers him as the kick-boxer who rescued her from being raped and Beba remembers her as the gorgeous girl who awakened him and disappeared.

TheNiche on Sunday

Arts

December 14, 2014

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In-depth study of selected genres in Nollywood

Ayakoroma (2nd right) at the Abuja launch of the book

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he book, Trends in Nollywood: A Study of Selected Genres by Barclays Ayakoroma, Executive Secretary, National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), and published by Kraft Books Limited, Ibadan, was presented to the public in Lagos on December 2.

The event took place at the Cinema Hall 2 of the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos.

Having been presented in Abuja earlier, the event was the Lagos leg of the launch of the 365-page book published this year.

Below are excerpts of the review of the book by Professor Emmanuel Dandaura: The search for an alternative to oil as the mainstay of the Nigerian economy has become even more crucial with the prevailing falling price of oil in the international market. Of all the options available to Nigeria, Nollywood, one the most active of Nigeria’s creative industries, holds the greatest promise.

The United Nations has identified world trade in the creative industries sector to be 3.4 per cent, with an annual growth rate of 8.7 per cent. This gives the industry the fastest growth rate globally. In 2012, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) rated Nollywood as the world’s second largest film industry, with its potential annual revenue of N522 billion; over 2,000 movies produced per annum and a captive viewing audience of over 200 million across Africa and beyond.

A recent British Council-funded creative industries pilot survey in Lagos, which I had the rare privilege of superintending, showed that combined, Nollywood, fashion and music contributed N2,547,300,490.26 during the reference period with 61 per cent of the total Gross Value Added (GVA) derived from the Nollywood industry alone; the fashion and music industries contributed 26 and 13 per cent, respectively. The survey also indicated a steady rise in Nollywood’s contribution to the GVA from 2010 to date. This first and perhaps, for now, the only empirical evidence on the economic performance of Nollywood moves the argument from the idea of mere economic ‘potential’ of Nollywood to more concrete, measurable economic contributions.

However, one major challenge that has threatened the rapid

development of Nollywood over the years has been the mismatch between scholarship and practice. Whereas there is an appreciable improvement in the quality of productions from 1992 to date, scholarship appears to be lagging behind. Herein lies the significance of the contributions of this enriching publication by Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma, titled, Trends in Nollywood: A Study of Selected Genres.

I am convinced that the scholar and critic, through their critical writings, extend the lifespan of an artistic product. History has shown that creative works or indeed any remarkable human activity for that matter, which is not documented or interrogated by critics who are knowledgeable in the subject matter, will be forgotten sooner than later. I therefore commend the author of Trends in Nollywood and urge more scholars to help Nollywood live longer by interrogating its products and activities of its players in scholarly publications like this.

Ayakoroma’s book x-rays the evolution, development and thematic preoccupation of Nollywood movies, particularly in the first 15 years of the industry. The author’s choice of very accessible style, lucid language, full colour illustrations, in-depth analyses, and bold prints on cream bond paper, makes his book a reader’s delight any day.

The book is broken into five parts. Part One provides the context of the evolution and development of cinema in Nigeria. Part Two, entitled ‘Studies in Genres in Nollywood’, establishes the theoretical framework. Parts Three, Four and Five give the author’s taxonomy and critical evaluation of the diverse genres in Nollywood, using relevant case studies.

The author begins with a historical perspective of Nollywood. The reader learns from the opening chapters that Nollywood is a child of circumstance, having emerged from the unfavourable economic and social climate that saw the decline of locally-produced television soap opera and prohibitive cost of producing Nigerian movies on celluloid. The author recalls that the harsh policies of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) in the 1980s also provided Nollywood its first crop of ‘discontented’ experienced independent television producers and directors, who saw in the video format a viable alternative which emboldened them to call the bluff of the then NTA

management with its stifling policies.

The marriage between these television producers/directors and some adventurous traders gave birth to Nollywood, which has today become a commercial success. The industry offers Nigeria’s teeming youth alternative employment, either as actors, crew members or marketing players, and has become the country’s accidental cultural diplomatic tool.

Being a product of his doctoral research, Dr. Ayakoroma seeks to establish in this book the symbiosis between the production context of any movie industry and its different film movements or genres. The author’s analysis goes beyond the superficial chronicle of stylistic and formal qualities of the selected movies. In addition, he offers the average reader easily digestible information on prevailing political, socio-economic, technological and ideological contexts within which the movies were produced. The book analyses the factors that drive the mutations of genres in Nollywood, from its early preoccupation with rituals to its more profound exploration of burning social issues and its recent drift towards more researchdriven historical themes.

The major trends in the industry highlighted by the author include the phenomenon of cross-over television directors/producers; the metamorphoses of some executive producers into producers/directors to cut costs, lopsided gender representation, the dominance of piracy, stereotyping and type-casting, bandwagon effect in terms of production approaches and its concomitant cultural misrepresentations, weak ideological foundation of the industry, and the overwhelming influence of the Igbo traders turned executive producers on the creative freedom of the movie directors, the impact of the crave for quick profit on the choice of some genres considered more cost-effective as against the epic genre, which requires more financial investments, inter alia.

The beauty of this critical publication is the invaluable insight it offers the reader into the social and political history of Nigeria.

As refreshing as reading this book is, the critical reader might demand for more in terms of wanting to see actual screen shots that ‘speak’ key actions in the various movies analysed in the book in addition to the portraits of Nollywood stars generously printed in full colour.

My reading of this book also agitates my mind further about the urgent need for comprehensive mapping of the Nollywood industry to establish its actual composition, character, size and net contributions to the Nigerian economy, which has today been adjudged the largest in Africa, with one of the highest global annual growth rate of seven per cent. Such a study will correct the current disconnect between this sector, and the organised private sector (OPS). The latter is not able to evaluate, in statistical terms, the net potentials of Nollywood; thus, any investment in the sector is classified as high risk; thereby denying Nollywood the needed support from the major capital markets or the OPS. The involvement of these major financiers is one way to free the industry from the strangulation it faces in the hands of the electrical/electronic traders who are its core investors till date.

Surely, on the strength of my thorough reading of this book and deep consideration of its contents, I have no reservation recommending this book to all who seek to understand the full value of Nollywood. The organisation and style of the book makes for interesting reading. As a critical scholarly work, the hypothesis was well framed and properly investigated; the analysis thorough, comprehensive and academically enriching. The work is anchored on relevant theoretical frames; its method of enquiry is sound, factual, objective and intellectually provocative. The language used by the author is lucid, engaging, effective, resounding, meaningful and refreshing. The book deserves the attention of all Nollywood professionals, who desire to break fresh grounds. It is a valuable asset to film scholars, Nollywood fans and even casual lay readers. The proof of the pudding they say is “in the eating”. So I urge you to get your copy today.

• Professor Dandaura is pioneer Head, Department of Theatre and Cultural Studies, Nasarawa State University, Keffi.

DIFF 2015 calls for entries

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he Durban International Film Festival (DIFF), which will celebrate its 36th edition from July 16 to 26, 2015, has opened call for entries.

According to the organisers, only films completed in 2014 and 2015 will be considered, and there is no charge for entry. Submissions will be accepted with either a DVD screener or an online screener. All submissions must be entered via the DIFF Visitor Page online. In order to submit a film, an account needs to be created if this has not already been done in previous years. The deadline for all entries (short films, documentaries and feature fiction films), including delivery of screeners, is March 20, 2015.

The extensive seminar and workshop programme featuring local and international filmmakers and industry professionals will include the eighth Talents Durban programme (July 17 to 21), in cooperation with Berlinale Talents, and the sixth Durban FilmMart (July 17 to 20), in partnership with the Durban Film Office, as well as various other streams of programming.

Specifically for 2015, organisers said, programming will include a focus on climate change, as well as films that explore our relationship to the earth’s changing ecology.

“We are very excited about receiving a wealth of challenging and high quality films from around the world,” said festival manager, Peter Machen.

“We also welcome engagement with current and potential partners who support the development of cinema in Africa and beyond. Such collaboration is a major part of the festival and helps to provide filmmakers and the public with a programme of brilliant films and a solid development programme.”

Presenting over 250 screenings of cutting-edge cinema from around the world, with a special focus on films from South Africa and Africa, the festival exhibits films in a diversity of venues around the city. DIFF is the premiere platform for the launch of African films and a key gateway to the African film industry. The festival also includes a local and international awards component.

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TheNiche on Sunday December 14, 2014

Faith

www.thenicheng.com

The Experience Lagos: Seeing off 2014 in great fashion

Worshipers at The Experience

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hose who were at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), Lagos, for the ninth edition of ‘The Experience Lagos’, on Friday, December 5, have a story or two to tell. Some of the world’s most popular Gospel artistes ministered in songs live at an event with the theme ‘One God, One Voice’.

TheNiche counted as much as 14 local and international artistes mount the stage to perform in praise of God. Arguably the largest gospel music concert in Africa, among artistes who ministered at the concert were popular worship leader, Don Moen; multiple Grammy Award winner, Donnie McClurkin; and Jamaican gospel-reggae artiste, Chevelle Franklin.

Others include Frank Edwards, Chioma Jesus, Sinach and Angela Christie.

At the pre-event conference, the foreign artistes expressed joy that they could make it to Nigeria for The Experience Lagos. According to Moen, who was featuring at the event for a seventh time, “Worship transcends generations, cultures, differences and ethnicities and the theme, ‘One God, One Voice’ expresses that perfectly.”

McClurkin said he had learned so much from Nigeria, especially the diverse praise songs from various parts of the country he had visited and his numerous opportunities to minister at The Experience Lagos.

Hours before the event, worshippers gathered at the TBS in their thousands, with the aim of praising and worshipping God with one voice.

The evening began with Sammie Okposo who sang alongside the Lagos Metropolitan

Gospel Choir of the House on The Rock church. This was followed immediately

by Freke Umoh from Akwa Ibom, whose deep ethnic renditions moved the crowd to dance. Onos Ariyo’s prophetic rendition of ‘Everything has Changed’ resonated with the crowd, who lifted their hands. And when Midnight Crew mounted the stage, attendees had an opportunity to praise with some of their popular songs, especially the one used to hail God as the king he is, ‘Igwe’.

Then, it was the turn of American saxophonist, Angela Christie, who was making her debut at the annual end of year event. Hers was a session of praise and worship, and the attendees connected with her as she rendered several songs, including popular ones.

Chioma Jesus and Sinach, who also ministered for the first time at the hugely popular concert, received a warm welcome from the crowd as they led sessions of praise and worship, which won’t be forgotten in a hurry.

Several men of God from various denominations across the country also prayed for peace and healing of Nigeria, and by extension the world.

At the end of the event, attendees were full of praises for the organisers, with many calling for another similar concert, even before December next year.

For the Convener of the event, Pastor Paul Adefarasin, the biggest fulfilment of The Experience Lagos was leading men and women in their thousands in worship and praise and to an experience with the Most High God, as he testified having had several of those life-changing encounters himself.

PDP Lagos governorship candidate, Jimi Agbaje (left); Pastor Sam Adeyemi (2nd left) and Abimbola Fashola

TheNiche on Sunday

December 14, 2014

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Catholic community honours new clerics

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GreaterGrace Israel Oladele

Celestial Church of Christ, Genesis Model Parish Intl', Alakuko, Ogun State 0705 993 6738, 0803 405 2106, 0805 979 8010 meetgenesis1@yahoo.com BB PIN : 2B674CCE

Physical wife

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Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Adewale Martins

By Jude Kenneth

Senior Correspondent, Lagos

hree newly-ordained professed Catholic clergy, Rev. Fr. Francis Iwu, Rev. Sr. Roseline Ebelechukwu Reuben, and her sibling, Rev. Monk Rock James Mary Reuben were on Sunday, December 7, accorded a grand reception by the Catholic Community of St. Thomas of Villanova Abata, an outstation of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Parish, Coker Orile, in the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos.

In his brief opening remarks at the occasion, first vice-chairman of the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC), Abata outstation, Anslem Anyanwu, who doubled as the chairman of the occasion, eulogised the three new servants of God for choosing to work in the Lord’s Vineyard instead of opting for earthly pleasures.

He described their “emergence from our community” within one year as a good development, adding that it is symbolic to the growth of “our young church”.

In congratulating the celebrants, the priest-in-charge of the outstation, Rev. Fr. Kingsley Akan, said the young outstation is lucky and should thank God for blessing it

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with three servants at a time.

He noted that while Francis Iwu was ordained a priest on July 19, 2014 by the Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria, Most Rev. Dr. Augustine Kassuga; Roseline Reuben and James Mary Reuben took their final vows (professed) as a reverend sister and reverend monk on November 1 and 15, respectively.

In their citation read by PPC Secretary of the outstation, Mrs. Caroline Obi, she described Iwu as a God-fearing and humble man, who, after his secondary education, opted to enter the seminary with a view to working in the Lord’s vineyard.

Dwelling on virtues of Sr. Reuben, who is the fifth child of her parents, Obi said that she studied mass communication at the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State, after which she opted for religious life. She is currently on a mission in Cameroon where she is the Communication Director for Membe Diocese and the Provincial Communication Coordinator for the ecclesiastical province of Bamenda Cameroon.

The monk was described as an active legionary and was actively involved in the teaching and preparation of catechumens for the sacraments of the church. He was said to have encouraged children to enrol in the catechism classes and other activities of the church.

on’t waste the resources God has deposited in you All forms of slavery begin in the physical before translating to other forms. Let us stop believing that the foundation of our problems are demonic, witchcraft or from an evil world, when we are the very cause of our problem.

Israel went into slavery for 400 years because God declared it long to their forefather, Abraham, in Genesis 15:1114, that a time will come when his descendants will go into slavery in strange land.

That was predicted and it happened.

The sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt was a divine plan.

And when it was time for God to deliver them, he raised Moses as a deliverer.

Israel left Egypt physically by the mighty hand of God, but the slavery mentality they were used to left with them. Can you imagine that with all the great miracles witnessed by Israel for them to be saved from the hands of their enemies, they still didn’t believe God? They exhibited slavery mentality in the wilderness by murmuring and complaining about every little challenge that came their way. They still preferred the onions and cucumbers of Egypt to the precious manna they were being fed with in the wilderness. No wonder many of them could not make it to the Promise land, except Caleb and Joshua.

As Christians, many of us have literally enslaved ourselves because we prefer mundane things we see around us to the divine plan of God for our lives.

Some of us deliberately put ourselves in slavery. What do we say of many

Africans, especially Nigerians, who are obsessed with travelling abroad, not minding whether it is God’s plan for their lives? Many Nigerians, who were making waves here on the average, sold all they had here and travelled abroad.

Today, they are now slaves to their decisions because many of them are ashamed to come home, having seen that they could not achieve anything over there.

Awake from your sleep and slumber you lazy folks and get serious about your life.

What don’t we say of those staying with their friends or relatives and refuse to be independent because they are afraid to take up responsibility for their lives. There are still men and women who are still faulty at 40 years of age.

Living with people? They prefer the free accommodation, feeding and clothing to the realisation of their God-given potential. Such people will not leave unless they are sent away, disgraced and humiliated.

Prayer points Every satanic chain of retrogression, be broken in Jesus name.

I break every borrowed shackles of slavery. Lord, deliver me from the chains of stubborn slave masters.

Every inherited seed of slavery in my life, jump out by fire and thunder. Lord, deliver me from every spirit of servitude in the name of Jesus.

Oh Lord, let every door shut against my deliverance be shattered into pieces.

I destroy every power subjecting my life and destiny to slavery in Jesus name.

Church Bulletin St. Dominic’s Yaba Nine Lessons and Carols St. Dominic Catholic Church, Yaba, Lagos, will hold its 2014 Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols today (December 14) inside the Church by 1pm.

All the 10 choirs under the parish’s Musical Commission as well as guest choirs will present at least two songs each. Among the songs to be presented by the Central Choir led by Cornelius Ogar and Danlami Baba (both music graduates) is the anthem ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem’.

RCCG Lagos Province 6 Praise Night The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Lagos Province 6, presents Praise Night with the theme ‘Just like a Dream’ on Friday, December 19, by 9pm. The programme, which will take place at the Branches Parish, Queens Barracks, Apapa, Lagos, will feature Dvessels from Makurdi, Ralph the Saxophonist, Okey Jazzy, Ablstring, and many more.

Treasure House’s special thanksgiving

Treasure House invites all to its special thanksgiving service themed ‘Grace unleashed’ on Sunday, December 14, at the Church auditorium, Oluyole Estate, Ibadan, Oyo State. Ministering are Yemi and Mayokun Aladeniyi.

RCCG Lagos Province 12 Christmas Carol Convener, Paul Adefarasin and wife, Ifeanyi, at The Experience

The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Lagos Province 12 choir presents Christmas Carol 2014 with the theme ‘Praising the Shepherd of my soul’. The programme will be held on Sunday, December 21, by 2pm at Babs Ogunwole Street, new Oko-Oba, Abule-Egba, Lagos. Pastor David Omunagbe and other men of God will be ministering at the event.

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TheNiche on Sunday December 14, 2014

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Becoming

Before the general election…

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t is exactly two months to the next general elections to elect our next president. Now, we know the candidates of the major parties.

Any and all other challenges we may have and are facing lies squarely at the face of who will lead us, assemble a team and articulate solutions to such problems.

We are not short of people who have the capabilities and competence to rule this nation and can actually make a positive impact on this nation.

What Nigeria needs is a simple, compelling and purposeful plan implemented and executed with a deep sense of sincerity.

Being generous to people and flashing money around should no longer be the prerequisite for governing Nigeria. We don’t want anyone to just feed some of the masses for a season and think that by doing so he has a right to their hearts and soul and therefore he should take over the presidency or governorship of a state. We need people who would be honest with us in Nigeria and who would really try to lead and govern this nation according to equity, fairness, the rule of law and the fear of God. Anybody who is going to rule Nigeria in 2015 must come to Nigerians and tell us his vision, his ideas and where he is taking us to. He should tell us how he is going to achieve those plans for us. This is the time for us to know what our potential leaders have in mind to do for us. We want to listen to people that

the best

Ituah Ighodalo

Senior Pastor, Trinity House Zion Center e-mail:pastorituah@trinityng.org

have researched the issues, the problems and the challenges of this nation. We want that person that understands Nigeria and Nigerians and understand the place and context of Nigeria in the comity of nations.

We want that person who has a plan, a purpose, a vision, a direction and who has a heart for this nation; someone who will take this nation from where it is to where it should be. We don’t want business-as-usual anymore in this nation. We have too much at stake and we have too much to lose.

Nigeria is one of the most blessed nations in the world. Yet because we have consistently had at the helm of affairs people who have neither plans nor thoughts, we are wallowing in abject poverty. For example, 69 per cent of Nigerians still live in abject poverty, while the gap between the rich and the poor widens. According to reports, eight out of 10 Nigerians still live in poverty and the growth in the economy did not translate into better living standards for the population.

Nigerians surely must be tired of struggling for light, struggling for water, struggling for jobs, struggling for food, struggling for transport and of dying on a daily basis because of lack of medical care and from road accidents.

Governing Nigeria requires a thorough understanding of the nation, the different peoples, their needs and aspirations. It requires careful thought, planning and a lot of consultation. It requires setting up machinery that will take many adverse needs and opin-

ions into consideration. It requires foresight, effective and efficient planning. It requires a thorough understanding of Nigeria’s potential, its vast resources and the opportunities it provides.

There must be a willingness to leave the past and move into the future. Change cannot happen if the people are stuck, unwilling to move forward. Processes in our educational, religious, electoral, legislative and governance systems that will bring about change must be put in place. We must be ready as a people and as a nation to endure the hardships and the consequences that the change will bring about.

Change is not always easy. People naturally will always want to remain in their comfort zones. They have to be forced to change their thinking, their attitude, their way of life. We must be faithful as a nation to such changes.

I think it is possible to have an organised society, to have a responsive government and to have a responsible people and to begin to do things the way they should be done. Nigeria has the potential to rise. A new set of leaders and thinkers who will engender a new mindset, re-orientate and re-educate the citizenry, and act as a voice of reasoning and pressure point must be sought out, trained and developed.

Nigeria has the boldness and character to rise to the top, but lacks the moral fibre, as corruption and greed is quite rampant and must be rooted out. Needless to say, Nigeria is moving at a painfully slow pace with a desperate need for improvement.

God is love (5) Kingdom Revelation

Marvelous Kalu The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, Ikotun, Lagos Prayer link 0704 625 7908

“I give you a new commandment: love one another. Just as I loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 14:34).

The great theme of love in Biblical context is so extensively wide that it deals with various aspects of human relationship with God, most often in covenant terms, and of course the relationship of love in sentimental perspective. This is love in action by human standard.

However, the Deuteronomic law of love focuses on the legalistic interpretation of love and its spontaneous application, not as a matter of force, but as an issue of obligation and loyalty expressed in a covenant relationship.

Love here is an action that carries the candour of goodwill and sincerity of purpose driven by love itself.

Here love thrives better in an atmosphere of mutuality and respect for one another and for other values attached to human life. This is why love in all its imperatives seek to protect the interest of the other person. A society not governed by the above truth is doomed. Therefore, the emphasis of Christ Jesus on

love for one another is fundamentally tied to the above revelation. In our message this week, we shall be focusing on the moral and divine response of humankind towards God’s love, by loving one another.

The above connotation of love is in accord with other Biblical usages of the term ‘love’. For instance, in marriage, love carries the obligation of fidelity and loyalty between husband and wife. It is this element of loyalty and trustful compromise in a covenant relationship that are reflected when love, as a spontaneous sentiment, cannot be forced; instead it freely recycles itself on the wheel of moral rejuvenation and convivial spirt of mercy, trust, care and gratefulness.

Love is required in Deuteronomic law (Deut. 6:5) as Israel’s liege duty to the God who has entered into covenant with His people. The love of God is indeed often intertwined with the sacrosanct keeping of His covenant and command (Deut.11:1). This, therefore, is the sense in which Jesus challenged the apostolic church of Peter’s time to first and foremost love Him (Christ) and then keep His commands because obedience proceeds from love. “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments”

(John 14:15), and to love one another; “I give you a new commandment; love one another, just as I have loved you, you must also love one another” (John 13:34).

The derivative force, which triggers the expression of love, actually hinges on God’s demand to love through Jesus Christ who is the express representation of God’s love. This is what gives credence to the statement of Jesus in our warrant text above. Our compliance to God’s commandment is synonymous with our compliance to the moral and spiritual demands of His love towards us.

The command to love assumes a more intense appreciation when we understand that love, in its natural meaning, is the natural response of the Church or the individual person to the love of God so wonderfully bestowed by God Himself upon the people whom He has chosen. To therefore fail in this response would be to have unjustly forgotten the unique relationship in which the Church stands to Jehovah.

Loving one another as a command

by Christ remains the greatest task of the Church today. The preaching of the Gospel expressly finds fulfilment in this obligation. It is the

sole of evangelism and core value in the Church’s agenda for the 21st Century world. The measure of relevance, which Church exerts on society, is dependent on the degree of selfless application of love for perishing souls out there. The presentation of the Gospel, and its receptive value is driven by love as its content.

Our moral response to the command to love one another is a sine qua non towards building a wicked-free society, a society where wickedness against human life is absent. When people’s heart are ruled by moral and divine forces of love, the issue of insurgence and terrorism will be unheard of.

Brethren, as we earnestly long for the emergence of Christmas (season of love), we must respond to the imperatives of God’s love by loving one another in keeping with the commandment of Christ Jesus whose advent and birth we commemorate. The expression of love in this sense goes beyond mere exchange of material gifts, to the expression of indiscriminate goodness of God to all creation. Love, in all ramifications, is protective.

Our love for one another must seek to protect the overall good of our fellows.

Health

TheNiche on Sunday

December 14, 2014

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Why you should avoid energy drinks

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nergy drinks are popular, partly because they often claim to be a quick, easy way to feel alert, energetic and “on top of your game”. However, experts warn that the next time you are looking for ways to get energy, think about alternative ways before you buy energy drinks.

Consuming excess amount of everything is harmful, especially this type of drinks. So instead of solely relying on sugar and caffeine to get you through a busy day, take a walk or drink plain water to feel more natural and long-lasting energy.

Side effects If you were not already aware, energy drinks have some extremely serious side effects. Some of the side effects are: agitation, tremors, stomach upset, chest pain, dizziness, seizures, insomnia and even heart attacks. Just because they are easily available and look innocent enough does not mean that they can’t do some serious harm.

Stress and anxiety In fact, one of the most convincing reasons to stop drinking energy drinks is that they can cause increased anxiety and stress. Some energy drinks are actually found to contain more caffeine than is advertised on their labels. Too much caffeine has been known to cause jitters and the chronic stress, and a racing heart from massive amounts of caffeine is not all that comforting either.

High in sugar Besides providing with artificial energy, these drinks typically contain a lot of sugar. Some drinks are known to have an average of 15 teaspoons of sugar.

Aside getting the dreaded sugar crash, sugar can leave you dehydrated and, as it is also known, suppress the immune system, increase inflammation, lead to tooth decay and weight gain.

Mood changes If you regularly consume energy drinks, you may want to think carefully about your beverage choice.

Studies have shown that those who frequently drink the stimulant caffeine have been known to have reduced serotonin levels. This substance is known as the feel-good neurotransmitter. A depletion of this hormone has been linked to low mood, anxiety and depression.

Task organs Another danger of energy drinks is that they can be tasking on your organs.

Your heart, liver, brain, digestive tract and kidneys are all working as if you are in a flight or fight situation and ultimately get drained from all the work. Energy drinks trigger your organs to react as if they are in a dangerous situation, so you can imagine how bad it can be.

Insomnia While you might like the sudden surge of energy and vigour when you are trying to make it through a tiresome afternoon, it is not so helpful when you are ready to turn in for the night. Such drinks can cause you to lose out on deep and restful sleep at night, so that you end up turning to it again the next day. Quit the cycle and get energy in more natural, safe ways through workout, water and healthy snacks.

Cost These days, people are pretty much cash-strapped. Energy drinks can end up costing you so much per year or even more. The average energy drink can cost you between N250 and N300. So if you have got a daily habit, you are spending enough money to snag yourself whole lot new shoes, clothes and other fabulous items.

Artificial sweeteners Diet or low calorie energy drinks tend to use sweeteners such as aspartame.

In response to the ever-growing obesity problem, companies began producing versions without sugar of their energy drinks some years ago. A serving of their sugar-free flavours only cost 20 calories, but the bad news is that the aspartame used to sweeten this kind of drinks can be even worse for you than sugar.

Artificial flavours and colours Most energy drinks on market shelves are not made from real juice, so they need artificial colourings and flavourings to make them taste and look more appealing. You will be terrified to know that certain energy drinks flavours are full of toxic chemical colouring.

Manufacturers use several different food dyes, but one of the most common is red, even those which are not red. It has been tied to reactions ranging from migraines and headaches to temper tantrums, dizziness, aggressive behaviour, hyperactivity, uncontrollable scream-

ing and crying, nervousness, kicking, inability to sit still or concentrate in children.

Adrenal fatigue Some people become tired after caffeine intake. This is a symptom of adrenal fatigue when the adrenalin system of your body becomes overtaxed by constant high caffeine consumption.

The answer is not to increase caffeine even more, but to reduce its amount, detox and get the adrenal glands back to a normal state. Remember, it is hard to choose a safe dose because it varies from person to person and according to individual tolerance.

B Vitamins This vitamin is one of the ingredients in almost every energetic drink. It is certainly beneficial to take recommended daily ratio, but more than 34mg of B3 or niacin can cause flushing of your skin.

Consumption of 2999 or more can result in liver toxicity. More than 99 mg of B6 can cause sensory nerve problems such as burning sensation and skin lesions.

Ginkgo Biloba Gingko is some kind of herb and can cause some minor side effects in different people. These effects vary from headaches, nausea and diarrhoea to dizziness, heart palpitations and restlessness. What is more, ginkgo biloba can interact with other medication such as anti-depressants and blood thinners.

One recent study found that this herb caused thyroid cancer in research.

L-Theanine This amino acid is derived from green tea and most energy drinks and shots have begun putting so-called green tea extract in their beverages. It can produce a different type of alertness than caffeine and there has been no scientific evidence of it causing adverse side effects.

Some people have reported feeling lightheaded after consuming a dose of more than 299 mg of L-Theanine.

Allergic reactions The most common energy drink ingredient, caffeine, can lead to several allergic reactions such as rash, itching, hives, swelling of the tongue, mouth, face or lips, difficulty in breathing, tightness in the chest, and vomiting.

• Culled from www.healthyalberta.com

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MentalHealthClinic Dr. Charlotte I. Nwigwe (FMCPsych) Consultant Psychiatrist charlottenwigwe@yahoo.com 0802 334 9113 (SMS only)

Post-traumatic stress disorder

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oing through a traumatic or frightening event or witnessing it can be distressing and can leave long-lasting consequences on the individual.

Some of these events have occurred recently in our country, Nigeria, such as the various bomb blasts in the Northern part of the country, with body parts scattered everywhere, leaving a lasting memory in the minds of those left behind.

The recent bombing at a government secondary school in Yobe State is a reminder of such. People who go through traumatic events have difficulty adjusting and coping for a while, but after a while will overcome those experiences and continue with their normal daily routine.

But sometimes, there could be persistent flashbacks of the events, nightmares, anxiety and uncontrollable thoughts about the event which could last for several months or even years and ultimately affect the person’s functioning. Such a person could be described as having post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Examples of events that can cause PTSD are serious road accidents, violent attacks such as rape or robbery, military combat, witnessing violent deaths, being held hostage, terrorist attacks and natural disasters such as severe floods, earthquakes and tsunamis.

PTSD can develop immediately after someone experiences a disturbing event or it can occur weeks, months or even years later. When it occurs immediately after the traumatic event, it is referred to as an acute stress reaction. PTSD is estimated to affect one in three people who have a traumatic experience, but it is not known why some people develop the condition while others don’t. But lack of support from family and friends after a traumatic event could predispose an individual more to having PTSD. People who have had depression or anxiety in the past are also more susceptible. And having a family history of mental illness can also increase ones chances of developing PTSD after exposure to a traumatic event.

Studies done have also shown that people who develop PTSD have abnormal levels of stress hormones and that they continue to produce high amount of stress hormones even when there is no danger.

Symptoms of PTSD include: re-experiencing the traumatic event over and over again through nightmares and flashbacks, pain, sweating and trembling, feelings of isolation, irritability and guilt. There could also be emotional numbing and avoidance of people or things which might remind them of the event, distancing themselves from work, people or hobbies.

Finally, there could be hyper arousal with the person always feeling ‘on edge’ and having difficulty relaxing.

Hyper arousal leads to irritability, problems sleeping and difficulty concentrating.

PTSD could lead to the development of depression, phobia, drug and alcohol abuse and other physical symptoms. This disorder can affect children who have been exposed to traumatic events. They also have similar symptoms as in adults: having difficulty sleeping and distressing nightmares, loss of interest in activities and physical symptoms like headaches and stomach aches.

However, there are some features which are more specific to children such as being unusually anxious about being separated from parent or guardian, bedwetting and re-enacting the traumatic experience during play.

Treatment of PTSD can come with good outcomes, even when it develops many years after a traumatic event. It involves a combination of psychological intervention and the use of medication. It is also important that immediately after any event, such individuals connected in one way or another with it be assessed and followed up, even months or years after.

54

TheNiche on Sunday December 14, 2014

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Kiddies

Arena

Temitope

David- Adegboye ibilade@gmail.com t.adegboye@thenicheng.com 0708 479 6140

Historical Personality

Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi (1924–1966)

Brain tickler I have a large money box, 48 centimetres square and 42 centimetres tall. Roughly, how many coins can I place in my empty money box?

Just one, after which it will no longer be empty.

I turn everything around, but I cannot move. When you see me you see you! What am I?

Mirror

Invention Insulin

Before the discovery of insulin medication, diabetes was a feared disease that most certainly led to death.

In October 1920 in Toronto, Canada, Dr. Frederick Banting, an unknown surgeon with a bachelor’s degree in medicine, had the idea that the pancreatic digestive juices could be harmful to the secretion of the pancreas produced by the islets of Langerhans.

Early in 1921, Banting took his idea to Professor John Macleod at the University of Toronto, who was a leading figure in the study of diabetes in Canada. Macleod didn’t think much of Banting’s theories. Despite this, Banting managed to convince him that his idea was worth trying. Macleod gave Banting a laboratory with a minimum of equipment and 10 dogs. Banting also got an assistant, a medical student by the name of Charles Best. The experiment was set to start in the summer of 1921.

Banting and Best began their experiments by removing the pancreas from a dog.

In January 1922 in Toronto, Canada, a 14-year-old boy, Leonard Thompson, was chosen as the first person with diabetes to receive insulin. The test was a success. Leonard, who before the insulin shots was near death, rapidly regained his strength and appetite. The team expanded the testing to other volunteer diabetics, who reacted just as positively as Leonard to the insulin extract.

The news of the successful treatment of diabetes with insulin medication rapidly spread outside of Toronto, and in 1923 the Nobel Committee decided to award Banting and Macleod the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Major General Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi was a Nigerian soldier.

He seized power in the chaos that ensued from the first military coup in Nigeria and served as the Head of State of Nigeria from January 16, 1966 until he was overthrown and killed on July 29, 1966 by a group of Northern army officers who revolted against his perceived tribalistic government.

He was born on March 3, 1924, in Umuahia-Ibeku, present-day Abia State, Nigeria.

When he was eight years old, Ironsi moved in with his older sister, Anyamma, who was married to Theophilus Johnson, a Sierra Leonean diplomat in Umuahia.

Ironsi subsequently took the last name of his brother-in-law, who became his father figure.

At 18, Ironsi joined the Nigerian Army against the wishes of his sister, on February 2, 1942 and was admitted at Eaton Hall, England. He also attended Royal Army Ordnance Corps before he was commissioned as an infantry officer with the rank of Lieutenant on June 12 , 1949.

He soon returned to Nigeria to serve as aide-decamp (ADC) to John Macpherson, Governor General of Nigeria, and he was assigned as equerry to Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Nigeria in 1956, for which assignment he was sent to Buckingham Palace to train.

In 1960, he led the Nigerian contingent in Congo.

There he single-handedly negotiated the release of Austrian medical personnel and Nigerian troops when they were ambushed by Katangese rebels.

For this, he was awarded the first class Ritta Kreuz Award. He also single-handedly confronted a mob in Leopoldville, disbanding them. This and many other exploits earned him the name “Johnny Ironside”, a corruption of his name “Ironsi” with reference to various British military historical parallels.

On the January 14, 1966, soldiers of mostly Igbo extraction led by Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu eradicated the uppermost echelon of politicians from the Northern and Western provinces. This and other factors effectively led to the fall of the First Republic. Though Ironsi, an Igbo, was purportedly slated for assassination, he effectively took control of Lagos, the federal capital.

With the president, Nnamdi Azikiwe, also an Igbo, refusing to intervene and insuring the continuity of civilian rule, Ironsi, effectively at gunpoint, forced the remaining members of Tafawa Balewa’s government to resign. He then made the Senate president, Nwafor Orizu, another Igbo who was serving as acting president in Azikiwe’s absence, to officially surrender power to him, staging a coup of his own and ending the First Nigerian republic.

On July 29, 1966, Ironsi spent the night at the Government House, Ibadan, as part of a nation-wide tour. His host, Lt. Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi, Military Governor of Western Nigeria, alerted him of a possible mutiny within the army. Ironsi desperately tried to contact his Chief of Army Staff, Yakubu Gowon, but he was unreachable.

In the wee hours, the Government House, Ibadan, was surrounded by soldiers led by Theophilus Danjuma. Danjuma arrested Ironsi and questioned him about his alleged complicity in the coup, which saw the demise of the Sardauna of Sokoto, Ahmadu Bello.

The circumstances leading to Ironsi’s death still remain a subject of much controversy in Nigeria, His body and that of Fajuyi were later discovered in a nearby forest.

TheNiche on Sunday

December 14, 2014

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55

Kiddies Arena StarKid Name: Toyosi Abioro Age: Nine years School: Vigforms Nursery & Primary School, Ile-Ife Class: Basic 4 Career goal: Medicine Best colour: Orange Best food: Rice and egg

Be our StarKid: Send your child's full-sized photograph and details to ibilade@gmail.com.

Poem

Dirty Face Where did you get such a dirty face, My darling dirty-faced child?

I got it from crawling along in the dirt And biting two buttons off Jeremy’s shirt.

I got it from chewing the roots of a rose And digging for clams in the yard with my nose.

I got it from peeking into a dark cave And painting myself like a Navajo brave.

I got it from playing with

coal in the bin And signing my name in cement with my chin.

I got if from rolling around on the rug And giving the horrible dog a big hug.

I got it from finding a lost silver mine And eating sweet blackberries right off the vine.

I got it from ice cream and wrestling and tears And from having more fun than you’ve had in years.

This Is Our End You can stand there and smile you can sit there and laugh but you can’t trick me I know it’s a mask You’re trying to lie to me and everyone else but why is it that you’re lying to yourself?

You can calmly sit there and try to look cool but I know your emotions and I know you’re a fool I know inside you you’re feelings rage The suspense builds with the turn of a page By day you’re one person by night another

and neither of them have anything to do with each other I’ve watched you sink farther from your heart and all of this just tears me apart I sit here and cry, for you not for me What you’ve become I wish you could see No words could I use to help me explain what it does to me to see you in pain You’re not there anymore my dearest friend I hate to say this but this is our end

Be our poet or story teller: Send your poems and stories to ibilade@gmail.com.

56

TheNiche on Sunday December 14, 2014

Tribute Literary Salute for TAA Ladele

By Olutayo Irantiola

Y

oruba language enthusiasts recently gathered in the premises of the late Pa Thomas Akindele Adeniji Ladele to celebrate his demise in a night of spoken words and dance strictly in Yoruba language tagged, ‘Asale Asayan Oro’, to give a befitting burial to the late writer. It was an event garnished with Literary Salute like it is done in the military.

Welcoming people to the occasion, Abraham Iyiola Ladele, an architect, revealed that the event was designed to portray what their father stood for culturally while he was alive. He noted that his father’s demise is a challenge for others to take the rightful position to keep the culture aglow anywhere in the world.

“Baba Ladele has passed on and he handed over the baton to us with the challenge that this culture must not die. This celebration is largely artistic and it would be an entertaining evening that would spur cultural renaissance,” he added.

The chairman of the event, Oyeleke Odoje, said that the event is throwing a challenge to the Yoruba writing community to learn to celebrate the early writers both while they are alive and even in death.

He continued, “Baba Ladele is a colossal Yoruba writer and we must treat him as such; we cannot afford to commit him to mother earth without adding some literary funfair. Some of his works that would be showcased tonight are aspects of culture that he had worked upon. Soldiers give gun salute to their veterans; we are giving literary salute to the writer.”

While speaking in a chat with the Programme Secretary on the selection of the performers, he said, Baba Ladele was a man of distinction in all areas of human endeavor and those performing were different areas.

He said:, “The performers for the event include, his former students, one of which is Mr. Kunle

Afolabi, Retired Deputy Director, West African Examination Council, Ghana; Mr Sola Akande, a Yoruba cultural and CEO, Yew Prints, Ibadan; Students of the Yoruba Language Society from the University of Ibadan and Adeyemi College of Education, Oyo, African Concept Troupe, Ibadan and his grandchildren also.”

The atmosphere was filled with chants such as ‘Ijala’, ‘Rara Sinsun’, ‘Esa’ readings were done from books he authored and different Yoruba dance steps to the admiration of everyone present.

Ladele, the author of Je N lo Gba Temi, Igba Lode, Ibi Aye Nyi and other cultural books. He passed on at the ripe age of 94 in the month of August, 2014.

He was an author and scholar.

Baba Ladele, as he was fondly called by many people, was one of the first elite from Okeho. He is one of the living legends who have the raw knowledge of political and social development of Okeho.

Born on August 18, 1920 at Iyalode compound, Bode, Okeho, He was educated at Baptist Day School, Okeho, Baptist Day School, Iwo, Baptist College, Iwo, Government Teachers Training College, Ibadan and the University College Ibadan (now the University of Ibadan).

As a teacher, he worked in various schools before his retirement from the civil service. He was the pioneer headmaster of Baptist School, Iwere-Ile, Area Headmaster, Baptist School, Okeho, History master, Durbar College, Oyo, among others.

He authored four Yoruba literatures: Igba Lo de, Jen logba temi, Igbi Aye nyi and Eku Iyawo.

He was President, Okeho Literate Union, Okeho District Progressive Union, Member, Oyo Premier Club and member, Igbimo Okeho.

He was appointed Justice of Peace in 1987. He was sort after by many leaders from in and around Oke-Ogun. He passed on at the age 94 on August 21, 2014.

• Irantiola is a Lagos-based public relations practitioner

www.thenicheng.com

57

57

TheNiche on Sunday

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BUSINESS UNUSUAL

TheNiche

FINANCIAL NICHE

December 14, 2014 PERSONAL FINANCE MARKETING NICHE PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

December 14, 2014

BUSINESS

www.thenicheng.com

INFLATION Inflation month RATE Inflation rate Kelechi Mgboji Assistant Business Editor 0803 469 0996, 0811 181 3047 kckmgboji@yahoo.com Goddie Ofose Senior Correspondent 0811 675 9746 goddie2fose@gmail.com

MONEY SUPPLY (Trillion)

October 2014 8.1%

COMMODITIES SUMMARY

PAGE 64 Silver

Tin

Platinum

PER OZ

$17.05

TROY OZ

$59.95

PER BARREL

Brent Crude $63.68 PER BARREL

Creative life returns to 2014 LAIF

»

$1,223.54

WTI

MARKETING NICHE

Out of banking hall, passion turns Jimoh into millionaire in four years PAGE 59

OIL PRICE INDEX

Broadmoney (M2) 16,129,685.98 Narrow Money (M1) 6,481,771.35

Business Unusual

Gold

$09.24 PER LB

GRADE A

$1,231.00 $3.03

PER OZ

Copper

PER LB

Nickel

$07.33

Wheat

$606.00

Lead

»

Palladium

Exchange Rates

$0.90

$815.00

Cocoa

$2,891.00

PER OZT

N-$

N-£

N-€

RATE

RATE

RATE

167.5

262.72

How LAWMA is winning the battle against filth, by Oresanya Ola Oresanya is the Managing Director of the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA).

In this interview with Special Correspondent, DADA JACKSON, he bares his mind on a number of issues, including the road map for LAWMA, its challenges, and private sector participation (PSP) in waste disposal.

R

ICT

on Sunday

oad Map

Since assuming office, I have striven to draw a road map for the agency.

LAWMA has positioned itself as one of (if not) the best waste management agencies in Africa by virtue of our commitment to quality service in waste collection and management.

The agency has a road map which we intend to complete by 2020. We have achieved about 80 per cent of our projection and so you can appreciate the enormous work we have at hand.

With the road map in place, we are able to articulate our programme with a view to meeting the challenges at hand.

So far, we have not deviated from the guidelines.

Vision of LAWMA With the year gradually coming to an end, the vision of the agency in ensuring improvement in the collec-

tion and transportation of waste in the state I can say unequivocally has been achieved to a very large extent. We have been able to extend our frontiers by going into the hinterland.

Lagos is fast approaching the status of a mega city and therefore the volume of waste that would be generated is bound to rise. Our mandate entails ensuring a cleaner and filth-free environment.

Challenges LAWMA is facing serious challenges in slum settlements but we are striving to improve on strategy in dealing with this problem. I can assure you that we remain undaunted in the quest to improve on slum settlements.

It is also important to stress that in these cluster settlements it is not easy to manage waste but we remain committed to ensuring that we do the right Continues on PAGE 58

Oresanya

206.87

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TheNiche on Sunday December 14, 2014

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Cover 'How LAWMA is winning the battle against filth' We are the first agency (I stand to be corrected) to engage the services of the physically challenged in community service.

We engage the services of some physically challenged persons to help in sweeping bridges. You find some of them on pedestrian bridges in Ikeja, Onipanu, and Palmgrove, just to name a few. They are on the payroll of the agency.

Plans for the riverine areas

Oresanya

Continued from PAGE 57 thing in respect of waste collection, disposal, and management; no matter the challenges we are confronted with.

I believe very strongly that being poor does not mean you have to be dirty. It is high time our people erased the mentality that because you are poor, you must be dirty. I think it does not jell. You can be poor and still be clean. As the adage goes, “Cleanliness is next to Godliness’’.

Projection In nutshell, LAWMA is very determined to generate electricity from waste.

Position on PSP operators and cart pushers The PSP operators scheme was introduced in order to create an environment for those who have the knowledge of waste collection and disposal to be part of ensuring a cleaner environment.

PSP operators also help to service the hinterland because LAWMA may not be able to reach all the nooks and crannies of the state.

It is rather unfortunate that the agency has been receiving complaints about some of these operators who are not performing their duties as expected, but that is not to say that we don’t have those ones that know their onions.

Those who patronise cart pushers are not helping the state government because cart pushers, after collecting refuse, dump them anywhere.

Some even dump them in canals thereby blocking drain channels. This is part of the reason for flooding after rainfall.

Those ones who fall below our benchmark will definitely be sanctioned and those that are performing will be encouraged to put in more of their best.

Because of the stringent measures LAWMA has put in place in respect of the activities of PSP operators, there is no way they won’t function with the best practices. It is also important to note that with time and adequate exposure, they will perform at optimal level.

But let me quickly mention here that with a scheme of well over 500 operators there is the tendency for some of them to be non-conforming. In case of any complaint, our number (5577) is available to members of the public.

As for cart pushers, Governor Babatunde Fashola has outlawed their activities in the state, hence Lagosians are advised to stop patronising them.

Those who patronise cart pushers are not helping the state government because cart pushers, after collecting refuse, dump them anywhere. Some even dump them in canals thereby blocking drain channels. This is part of the reason for flooding after rainfall.

My appeal is that instead of patronising cart pushers Lagosians should patronise PSP operators by paying a token for their services.

LAWMA has intensified marine waste collection in the riverine areas of the state, particularly on the Lekki and Badagry coastal lines in order to ensure that they are clean at all times.

The agency has discovered that over 20 black spots of waste dumps are along the shore lines. This, we found out, is as a result of the commercial activities of sand miners, local fisher men, and other business operators on a daily basis.

Dumping of refuse indiscriminately along the shorelines is very dangerous as it affects water quality, disrupts marine commercial activities, navigation by security agents, and has negative impact on tourism and general aesthetics, as well as environmental and health effects.

The LAWMA marine waste evacuation project commenced in 2010 with Lagos Island because it is a central business district (CBD). The scheme has now extended to other areas of the state as a result of its success.

The marine waste disposal initiative was put in place to complement the efforts of the agency in maintaining a cleaner environment. The areas being covered include Ipakodo in Ikorodu, Iddo, Snake Island, and Oworonshoki, just to mention a few.

The programme will certainly continue and LAWMA’s advocacy team shall equally step up an enlightenment campaign on proper waste management and the health implication of indiscriminate dumping of waste.

Staff welfare and employment for the physically challenged We have done extremely well. This is not tantamount to blowing one’s trumpet but the truth must be told, as it were.

The agency has since my assumption of office taken the issue of staff welfare to the next level.

LAWMA staff are well remunerated. This is predicated on the nature of their job.

Another thing we have done is that our road sweepers

now face on-coming vehicles instead of what obtained in the past where they had their backs turned to on-coming vehicles. This is for them to be alert to any unusual development and quickly avoid imminent danger.

The agency has also put in place what we call “hazard allowance” for our road sweepers in case of any untoward development.

Another unique thing is the introduction of “mechanical sweepers” between 12 midnight and 4am.

Without sounding immodest, I believe we are the first agency (I stand to be corrected) to engage the services of the physically challenged in community service.

We engage the services of some physically challenged persons to help in sweeping bridges. You can find some of them on pedestrian bridges in Ikeja, Onipanu, and Palmgrove, just to name a few.

They are on the payroll of the agency.

This is a way of encouraging them and also to alleviate their situations. We have been able to put smiles on their faces, and by so doing make them feel to be a part of the society instead of subjecting them to ridicule.

LAWMA will continue to give those that are physically challenged succour in its own little way.

Why a brand ambassador Recently we decided to have an ambassador for LAWMA in the person of a young boy of about 10 years, John Bosco.

This is a way of encouraging the youths to be conscious of their environment. The choice of John was arrived at because of his concerted efforts at ensuring that the environment is kept clean at all times.

When other young boys and girls see what he is doing in propagating a clean environment they too will be motivated to do the same.

So far, we have achieved our objective in this direction and hopefully, other youths would key into this lofty ideal.

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December 14, 2014

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Business Unusual

59

Thinking outside the business box?

Contact 0811 181 3047 kckmgboji@gmail.com

Out of banking hall, passion turns Jimoh into millionaire in four years

Some of Jim Herbal products

Jimoh displaying AMEN's best product award 2014

By Kelechi Mgboji

Assistant Business Editor

B

anking industry boom could not quench the entrepreneurial passion in Mikail Jimoh, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Jim Products, manufacturers of herbal cosmetics household products.

He graduated in banking and finance from the University of Lagos (UNILAG) in 1991. After his National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) service, he had a stint with Nichebel Merchant Bank where he earned over N25,000 per month.

Being a banker with all the perks that go with the job, Jimoh could be said to be comfortably engaged.

That notwithstanding, he resigned in 2004 and to manufacture a range of herbal products that earned him Products of the Year 2014 Award by the Association of Micro Entrepreneurs of Nigeria (AMEN).

He desired to create jobs in a country where the majority struggle for a few employment vacancies.

He did not want the passion to die without putting it to the test.

"If you have the passion for manufacturing as an entrepreneur and you remain in paid employment, you're like a fish out of water. A fish will always survive in water. When it is out of water, it is bound to suffocate and die," Jimoh told TheNiche.

The Jim Aloe Vera Dental Powder is his flagship product. He calls it his cash cow. He has 20 other products, all registered with the National Agency for Food and Drug Admin-

istration and Control (NAFDAC), including Jim Herbal Toothpaste, Jim Herbal Skincare Soap, and cream. He plans more herbal based products.

Herbal lineage as motivation While in the banking job, Jimoh manufactured the products on a skeletal basis at weekends. He started manufacturing in his apartment when he noticed the high demand for the products.

As at the time, there was no mobile telephone and it was difficult to know when customers paid into his account. He went on leave from his day job and never returned; he was enthralled by the huge demand for the products.

Jimoh said he has herbal practice in his lineage which he integrated into cosmetics production. He acknowledged that he is not a chemist or scientist; he only acquired the technical know-how and infused his in-house knowledge to get the formula for the production.

Start up capital His start up capital was his salary of N25,000. His wife and their first son, now a university undergraduate, were his only employees, offering services he could not afford to pay for.

Driven by a common passion, Jim, his wife, and son worked late into the night to get the products ready for supply to customers the next day.

"That was how we grew the

company and the initial capital by multiples. Subsequently we started to engage workers gradually.”

But due to incessant harassment by the police and customers' debt burden, everything went down the drain. He was left with only the credit he was yet to recover from customers.

However, his wife rose to the challenge and became his prop in the time of distress. "My wife fired me back to reckoning with N1,500 she gave to me. I went to Ojota and picked materials and resumed production.”

GROFIN relief Jimoh expressed regret that Nigerian banks are only fair weather organisations willing to partner only entrepreneurs that are already successful.

But what the banks failed to do, a non governmental organisation based in South Africa, called GROFIN Nigeria, did it with ease.

GROFIN granted him a credit facility of N76 million without collateral.

"They have done what Nigerian banks will never do. Today I have a factory of international standard at 8, Kalejaye, Sango Otta, Ogun State.

“The complex was co-financed by GROFIN. They brought in a lot of equipment from India for our use.

In addition, they have been quite supportive.”

Police harassment Before his products got NAFDAC registration, there was a lot of

intimidations from the police. In one instance in 2010, he slept at Alagbon police, Lagos cell for three days on allegation of manufacturing bombs.

"That experience boosted my morale and not dampen it as detractors wished.”

He said the police shut down his factory and he paid N300,000 and was issued with a receipt before he was discharged.

Nightmare police stations Jimoh narrated that several police stations in Lagos had a field day with him. He said they detained him and extorted huge sums of money from him. On occasions when he was not around, police arrested any of his staff they met.

He was detained by the police at various locations and they invaded his factory on spurious allegation that he was manufacturing ammunition and explosives devices.

"They (police) would cook up charges and whisk away my staff each time I wasn't around. I would go and present self and asked them to release my staff.”

Police capitalised on the fact that the products had not been registered by NAFDAC. But they beat a retreat the moment he got NAFDAC registration.

Police stations where he was locked up included Ilepo, Alakoko, and Area F. At the time, he was based in the Cement area of Lagos, along the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway.

Employees Jimoh currently has 75 employees in his factory. He expressed regret that Nigeria’s business environment is structured in favour of established entities without room for start ups.

He said when he went on a business trip to Ghana he saw government officials encouraging and persuading entrepreneurs to bear with them if their product registration was delayed.

This, according to him, is a remarkable departure from Nigeria where government officials exploit entrepreneurs for having products not registered with NAFDAC.

Advice to aspiring entrepreneurs Looking back to where he started and how much he has achieved by dint of hard work, Jimoh said his wish is to come back to the world as an entrepreneur.

He advised aspiring entrepreneurs to be passionate about the business they have in mind, because when the chips are down, it is the passion that propels.

He also advised his colleagues in AMEN to remain steadfast in doing genuine businesses, never to be deterred by police harassment, and to be focused and dedicated to achieve their aspirations.

Above all, he urged them never to lower the quality of products because that is what serves as their unique selling point to beat competition.

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Financial Niche

CBN loses control of naira stability •As interbank lending rate jumps 43.5%, overnight rate 70%

By Kelechi Mgboji

Assistant Business Editor

T

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may have run out of steam trying to stabilise the naira even as interbank lending rates jumped to 43.5 per cent on Friday, December 12.

"Strong demand for the dollar from some offshore investors selling down their positions on the equity market has continued to exert pressure, but regular intervention by the apex bank has been able to provide some level of support for the naira," one dealer said.

Besides, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) sold about $200 million to some banks on Wednesday, in the effort to reduce the volatility in the market.

In spite of these interventions, the CBN could not help the naira to a relatively stable level as volatility fluctuated between extremes of N182 and N184 in official market, and N185 and N187 at parallel market.

Although the local currency traded at N182.12 to the dollar on December 12 compared with N180.10 the previous week, it exchanged at the average of N185 to the dollar all through last week.

At the parallel market, it hovered around N185 and N188 to the dollar as bureau de change (BDCs) operators in Lagos had a field day across different locations where they plied their trade.

On Broad Street and other points on Lagos Island, Allen Avenue, and Awolowo Road axis of Ikeja, BDC operators offered to exchange at between N186 and N188 to the dollar.

However, dealers predict it is likely to trade within tight range this week, sustained by dollar flows from oil companies and intervention by the central bank.

Interbank lending rates rose sharply to 42.5 per cent on December 12 from 30 per cent last week, following a large

CBN withdrawal to meet banks' cash reserves requirement (CRR).

The bank has mopped up N868 billion from the banking system over the last two weeks to meet the CRR. The apex bank last month hiked the CRR on private sector deposits with commercial lenders to 20 per cent, from 15 per cent, to support the local currency. It also raised interest rates by 100 basis points to 13 per cent.

Overnight rates spiked to 70 per cent on Tuesday, December 9 as banks scrambled for cash to cover their positions but eased by Thursday after N150 billion of treasury bills matured.

Analysts insist that the CBN risks destroying the economy as high interbank rates will constrain credit growth and could create bad loan problems for lenders.

The balance that lenders hold with the central bank closed at a debit of over N100 billion, compared with N45 billion in preceding week.

The secured Open Buy back (OBB) traded at 40 percent on December 12 compared with 30 percent last week, while overnight lending closed at 45 percent, against 30 percent last week.

The OBB rate is 27 percentage points higher than the central bank's benchmark rate of 13 per cent.

A senior dealing member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), who did not want his name on print, said the CBN and the managers of the economy have run out of ideas.

According to him, CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, should not have promised a gradual reduction of interest rates when he assumed office on June 2, saying he demonstrated poor understanding of the financial system in which he has been actively involved.

At the equities market, there were palpable anxiety over the fate of the market as performance indicators point towards another round of market crash if nothing is done to lift the sliding stocks market.

The NSE All Share Index recorded un-

E

According to Olowo, access to finance has been identified as a key growth factor in the development of MSMEs globally.

He reiterated that MSMEs are known to be the major drivers of economies around the world and it is on this premise that Ecobank based its commitment to financing and supporting this budding sector in Nigeria.

He said Ecobank is the bank of choice in Nigeria for MSME’s financing. He said this year alone, the bank has embarked on various initiatives that supports aggressive growth in some key sectors that includes agriculture, import business finance, amongst others.

On how Ecobank relates with the MSMEs, Olowo said Ecobank has adopted a “risk sharing asset creation,” that enables the financing of businesses with less stringent collateral requirements; renewable Energy financ-

CBN Exchange Rates Date Currency Buying(NGN) Central(NGN) Selling(NGN) 12/11/14 US DOLLAR 167 167.5 168

POUNDS STERLING 261.9562262.7405 263.5248

EURO 208.0653 208.6883 209.3112

SWISS FRANC 173.1467 173.6651 174.1835

YEN 1.4108 1.4151 1.4193

CFA 0.2964 0.3064 0.3164

WAUA 242.9445 243.6719 244.3993

YUAN/RENMINBI 26.982 27.0633 27.1445 RIYAL 44.4918 44.625 44.7582

DANISH KRONA 27.9755 28.0593 28.1431

SDR 244.4045 245.1363 245.868

Closing Market Prices of December 12, 2014FGN FGN Bonds Description TTM Price Bid Yield Change % Price Offer Yield Change % 13.05 16-AUG-2016 1.68 97.50 14.75 0.46 97.65 14.64 0.46 15.10 27-APR-2017 2.37 101.05 14.54 0.20 101.20 14.46 0.20 16.00 29-JUN-2019 4.55105.00 14.45 0.12 105.30 14.37 0.12 16.39 27-JAN-2022 7.13 109.05 14.31 0.31 109.35 14.25 0.31 14.20 14-MAR-2024 9.25 100.00 14.19 0.29 100.30 14.13 0.29 10.00 23-JUL-2030 15.61 77.90 13.41 0.02 78.20 13.35 0.02 12.1493 18-JUL-2034 19.60 92.00 13.30 0.00 92.30 13.26 0.00 Emefiele

precedented loss by 7.42 per cent week on week (WoW) to close on Friday at 30,763.38, while Market Capitalisation depreciated by 7.42 per cent to close at N10.156 trillion. At this close, investors have lost over N4trillion this year.

Investors' sentiment remained bearish all through the week and all the performance indices drifted lower with the exception of the NSE ASeM Index that rose by 2.05 per cent. And the market returned negative on all trading days last week to peg year-to-date (YtD) return at -25.57 per cent.

Ecobank gets award for SME support cobank Nigeria has emerged winner of the 2014 SME Excellence Award at the Nigerian SME Awards hosted by the SME Business Platform. The SME Business Platform is a capacity building forum for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria.

The SME business platform is the proprietary rights owner of SME Digest, a radio talk show on capacity building for SMEs on Inspiration FM; the SME Digest Magazine; the Enterprise radio (an online radio programme); and the SME financial forum which is a quarterly interactive / training forum organised for SME operators.

Receiving the award on behalf of the bank, Head, SME and Value Chain Banking, Ecobank Nigeria, Sunkanmi Olowo, thanked the organisers for recognising the bank.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

ing for which Ecobank is currently the pioneer bank in the country.

The bank had initiated in collaboration with the USAID, UNDP and several other multilateral organisations various schemes to develop the Renewable Energy sector. The bank has also proposed the launch of an SME club, that would provide necessary advice and other financial tools and non-bank support services designed to support and grow SMEs. Only recently, Ecobank was recognised as the number three bank in the area of strong SME lending, and number four in the area of transactional banking for SMEs in a report generated by the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC), a subsidiary of The Pan Atlantic University in conjunction with KPMG. The report was generated from a survey conducted on over 3,000 entrepreneurs across the country.

Treasury Bills Maturity Date Change %

Discount Bid Discount Offer

Yield

Yield Change % 12-Mar-15 13.50 13.96 -0.22 13.25 13.70 -0.22 14-May-15 11.62 12.21 -0.66 11.37 11.94 -0.66 03-Dec-15 13.25 15.22 -0.07 13.00 14.89 -0.07

Money Market

Open-Buy-Back (OBB) Overnight (O/N)

Rate (%) Change (%) 18.17 1.33 19.08 1.17

FX

Bid Offer Change (%) Spot($/N) 179.50 179.60 -1.32 The Fixings of December 12, 2014 NITTY Tenor 1M 2M 3M 6M 9M 12M

Rate (%) Change (%) 13.9127 -0.12 14.4170 0.04 14.4555 -0.05 15.1434 0.50 15.1527 0.46 15.3760 0.63

NIBORFAQs Tenor Rate (%) Change (%) O/N 25.3767 8.04 1M 17.1004 0.57 3M 17.2844 0.84 6M 17.5356 0.51 NIFEX

Bid Offer Change (%) Spot($/N) 181.5000 181.6000 0.09

TheNiche on Sunday

December 14, 2014

www.thenicheng.com

Personal Finance S

61

Stanbic IBTC Bank, SURE-PMCH partner on cash transfer tanbic IBTC Bank, in partnership with the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Project, has launched Moni for my Phone, a cash transfer platform designed to enhance financial inclusion and boost Nigeria’s cashless policy.

It is part of a programme being implemented in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and 17 states in support of SURE-P MCH’s demand-side intervention in the

health sector.

The service, rolling out in selected primary healthcare centres across the country, will enable rural women living in rural areas and hard-to-reach locations to receive cash through Stanbic IBTC’s mobile money service.

This is intended as an incentive for greater accessibility and utilisation of maternal and child health services.

Speaking at the launch at Dobi Primary Health Care Centre, Gwagwalada, Abuja, the Executive Director of Personal and

Business Banking at Stanbic IBTC Bank, Obinnia Abajue, said the partnership is another major way to leverage evolving technologies and partnerships to enhance value propositions and bring affordable financial services closer to Nigerians.

The service will leverage on Stanbic IBTC Bank’s bulk payment solutions to transfer money seamlessly and instantly into mobile money accounts.

“We are very pleased to partner with SURE-PMCH Project on this strategic initiative. The partner-

ship will help in actualising our goal of enhancing access to mobile money services by more Nigerians through the Stanbic IBTC mobile money platform.

“This collaboration provides another entry point for fast and convenient means of sending and receiving money, and further demonstrates our commitment to continuously deliver innovative products and solutions, part of which includes enhancing the robustness of our mobile banking and mobile payments systems.”

Ado Muhammed, the Executive

Director and Chief Executive Officer of National Primary Health Care Development Agency said SURE-PMCH builds on the gains of the Midwives Service Scheme (MSS) and utilises a combination of supply and demand-side interventions to provide health services.

States where the programme will be implemented include Abia, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Delta, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Enugu, Kaduna, Kogi, Niger, Ogun, Oyo, Sokoto, Taraba, and Zamfara.

Sterling Bank expands ATM points, POS terminals

By Kelechi Mgboji

Assistant Business Editor

S

terling Bank lives up to its billing as one-customer bank as it closes 2014 with 700 automated teller machines (ATMs), and 5,000 point of sale (POS) terminals for customers.

The bank is thinking of cushioning the impact of the reintroduction of N65 ATM charge by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Remote-on-Us ATM

transactions.

Sterling Bank’s ATM points stand at 585 but it plans to expand them to 700 in the New Year with 5,000 POS terminals.

According to the bank, the increase is in response to the request of customers nationwide, stressing that additional ATMs Galleries will be put in strategic locations and a robust infrastructure to support the expansion is already in place.

Remote-on-Us transaction occurs when a card holder goes to

the ATM of a bank other than his own bank to make a withdrawal. The card holder will be charged N65 after making three withdrawals from such ATMs in a month.

The bank where his account is domiciled is responsible for the payment of the charge.

Sterling Bank Group Head of Strategy and Communications, Shina Atilola, disclosed that it has commenced roll out of ATMs nationwide.

His words: “We have almost

doubled our ATM count between December last year and September 2014. We started the year with 300 ATMs but aim to close the year with about 700.

“This would involve additional deployments at existing locations, partner locations and ATM galleries.”

He said customers need to know that beyond cash withdrawals at ATMs, they can confirm their account balances, do transfers (inter and intra bank), pay utility bills and buy DSTV

and mobile telephone air time.

“As a financial institution poised to enrich lives, Sterling Bank will continue to maintain high quality ATM services by supporting the inter-operability of the payment system in the country.

“We will continue to deploy more ATMs to promote the cashless policy of the CBN and ensure that our customers are provided with enough platforms to transact their financial transactions.”

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TheNiche on Sunday December 14, 2014

www.thenicheng.com

M toring New car sales hit 10-year record 2.46m in 2014

D

By Kelechi Mgboji

Assistant Business Editor espite global economic downturn, sales of new cars have remained on course to record high in 10 years with 10 car models of Ford Fiesta, Volkswagen Golf, Vauxhall Corsa, Ford Focus and Volkswagen Polo emerging as best-selling models in November 2014.

Other brands in high demand at the end of last month included Nissan Qashqai, Vauxhall Astra, Nissan Juke, Audi A3, and Mercedes-Benz C Class, in that order.

The Press Association, quoting the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), reported that 173,327 new vehicles were registered in November, an 8 per cent rise on November last year.

This took the figure for the first 11 months of this year to 2,310,237, a 9.4 per cent increase on the total for January-November 2013.

This was the 33rd month in succession that new sales have risen and the SMMT predicts that, with just the December sales to come, the year-end total for 2014 will be around 2.46 million, making it the best year since 2004.

SMMT Chief Executive, Mike Hawes, said: "Six months after the record was broken for consecutive monthly growth in new car registrations, the market continues to march on.

"Today's figures are an indication of the continuing economic confidence that is driving the new car market, with business, fleet and private registrations all showing strong rises in the month. We expect a more stable market in 2015."

Ford Fiesta

Ford donates 26 Rangers to communities in 2014 •Builds homes for less privileged; donates $50,000 to charity

Ford Ranger

By Kelechi Mgboji

Assistant Business Editor

W

ith over 20 community and social projects initiated by Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA), its employees spent more than 5,600 hours to touch lives in a much bigger way than ever in 2014.

Ford’s spokesman, Alisea Chetty, confirmed in a statement that Ford donated 19 Ford Rangers to 12 colleges and two schools around South Africa for technical training, contributing to the automotive industry's skills development.

The statement, which was emailed to TheNiche, quoted FMCSA President and Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Nemeth, as saying: "These vehicles also represent the latest in

engineering technology and we hope to make a difference and assist learners keep up with the latest developments in the automotive industry."

Ford also donated six Rangers to Entokozweni in Pretoria; Reakgona (Limpopo); Easy Aid (Centurion); Ransom (Pretoria); Compass Care Centre (Pretoria), and UPliftment Programme (Cape Town).

It also announced $25,000 in environmental grants for Angola, which was used to place recycle bins in Luanda; an equal sum for Nigeria to combat pollution by planting more than 100 trees in Lagos.

"Ford's involvement with the community goes beyond mere compliance, but embraces the heart and soul of everything we stand for," Nemeth said.

Its flagship community event tagged ‘Global Week of Caring’ held in September yielded the biggest participation and impact as over 710 Ford employees, dealers, spouses, and retirees participated in the community event.

Two Ford Transits were deployed to assist in the delivery of over 100,000 presents at orphanages and children's homes around the country.

Projects also included building new homes, improving existing ones, helping those infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, providing physical therapy for people with disabilities and planting gardens for the elderly.

"Whatever the project, we all found ourselves inspired by the simple act of giving back, touching people's lives and offering comfort and hope.

"The response was amazing and, apart from the increase in projects, we have steadily increased the number of employees

that get involved."

In October, Ford joined the Santa Shoebox Project to assist in making this festive season a little brighter for some of Southern Africa's orphans and disadvantaged children.

The annual Careers Day at Ford South Africa saw students from various outreach schools in Johannesburg, Entokozweni in Mamelodi, as well as employees' children being hosted at Ford's assembly plant in Silverton and the Struandale engine plant in Port Elizabeth.

The project saw more than 100 students spending the day at Ford to learn more about career opportunities.

Ford South Africa donated four engines to Coega for its training centre in Port Elizabeth.

The Ford Struandale Engine Plant (SEP) provided two of its 3,2-litre, five-cylinder Duratorq TDCi and two of its 2,2-litre, fourcylinder Duratorq TDCi engines to the Coega Skills and Training Development Centre.

Employees at both the Silverton assembly plant as well as the Struandale engine plant donated clothing and blankets to charities in Pretoria and Port Elizabeth as part of Ford's annual Winter Drive campaign.

The company established the Ford Wildlife Foundation (FWF) in October as part of its commitment to environmental sustainability.

The programme supports 15 projects with vehicles, covering every aspect of conservation and environmental education. To date over R30m has been invested by the Foundation.

FMCSA has been supporting the Medicos Special School and SOS Children's Village with annual donations for more than 20 years.

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December 14, 2014

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63

M toring

Honda, nine others recall 7.8m vehicles over airbag malfunction

Toyota Prius

Honda City 2013

By Kelechi Mgboji

Assistant Business Editor

H

onda is leading nine other automakers in a massive recall of vehicles with airbag malfunction, where faulty inflator can send metal and plastic shrapnel into occupants if the front passenger airbag deploys in a crash.

Ten automakers from different countries on three continents are affected in the incidents of airbag malfunction involving model years

spanning 2000 to 2011. With five million units of Honda vehicles affected, the recall, which began in June 2013, saw the figures expanding to 7.8 million this month.

"Honda takes the issue extremely seriously. We are taking immediate corrective action, and we continue to fully cooperate with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to resolve this matter," Rick Schostek, Executive Vice President of Honda North America, said in a statement.

The latest list of recalled cars affects BMW, Chrysler (including Dodge),

Ford, GM (including Pontiac and Saab), Honda (including Acura), Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan (including Infiniti), Subaru, and Toyota (including Lexus).

Takata Corporation, manufacturer of the safety device, has since admitted the malfunction in a statement earlier this year but suspects high humidity plays a role in the problem.

While the manufacturers continue to serve recall notices to most owners, Toyota and BMW have advised keeping the front passenger seat clear of occupants until a dealer inspects the car for a faulty inflator and, if

there is one, replaces it.

Takata's airbag recalls took the centre stage in April 2013 when four Japanese automakers, Toyota, Honda, Mazda, and Nissan recalled more than one million cars in the United States.

In June 2014, Toyota expanded the 2013 recall, which originally included 766,300 cars, because the involved serial numbers provided by the supplier were incomplete. Today, Toyota's airbag-recall total amounts to 877,000 cars.

Less than two weeks after Toyota increased the figure of its affected

models, Honda, Mazda, and Nissan expanded their airbag recalls by more than a million additional cars.

BMW, Chrysler, and Ford announced their own recalls immediately thereafter, all for the same Takata airbags.

In July this year, Subaru announced an airbag recall for some 8,600 cars, and by August expanded the recall figures. Today, it has recalled about 17,500 cars over Takata's airbags.

Toyota further expanded the recall size in October, and a few GM cars joined, too.

Ford throws Christmas for less-privileged across Southern Africa •Conveys 110,000 gift parcels with Santa Shoebox

F

By Kelechi Mgboji

Assistant Business Editor ord Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) has put its commercial vehicle muscle to good use this festive season.

It teamed up with the Santa Shoebox project to bring a little bit of Christmas cheer to thousands of children at orphanages and children's homes across Southern Africa.

A total 109, 930 gift parcels were delivered this year by volunteers tasked with transporting thousands of gift-filled and wrapped shoeboxes to kids in need in South Africa and Namibia, Ford said in a statement.

The statement emailed to TheNiche said two Ford Transits were enlisted to the good cause, covering 7,911 kilometres from the start of the campaign on October 23 until the last gift was delivered on December 10.

"Ford assisting with Santa Shoebox project and spreading the festive joy to children

who need it most has been an absolute privilege for us," said Alisea Chetty, FMCSA Corporate Communications Manager.

"It demonstrates Ford's willingness to Go Further, while the Transits offer the kind of space, durability and reliability that one can really depend on.�

The Transit Van and Transit Custom, both powered by Ford's proven 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine, have a combined load volume of 15.5 cubic metres, which provided enough room to accommodate more than 1,400 shoeboxes at a time to be transported to those in need.

"Covering 7,911km in a month is certainly no child's play," said Santa Shoebox National Project Co-ordinator, Irene Pieters.

"We are privileged to have had Ford as a sponsor this year and are in no doubt that the kind contribution of two Transit panel vans contributed greatly to our continued sucTwo Ford transits conveying the gift parcels, insert the parcels cess."

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TheNiche on Sunday December 14, 2014

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Marketing Niche

Creative life returns to 2014 LAIF

•DDB pips Insight to first place •X3M maintains third spot •Nigeria’s creative ads to win Cannes soon, Odigbo predicts

“We plan having entries and participants from the West and Central African sub region for LAIF 2016. This has greater implications for funding and logistics but, hey, we need to keep breaking boundaries.

That's what makes live worth living.” he stressed.

Winning international laurels

From left: AAAN Vice President, Kayode Oluwasanya; former AAAN President, Bunmi Oke; AAAN President, Kelechi Nwosu; APCON Registrar/CEO, Bello Kankarofi; APCON Chairman, Lolu Akinwunmi; and former AAAN President, Funmi Onabolu; at the event.

By Goddie Ofose

Senior Correspondent, Lagos

N

igeria’s advertising industry never experienced as much creative spark as it did in 2014, as its reward system, tagged Lagos Advertising and Ideas Festival (LAIF), raked in

The ninth edition received kudos for both organisation and quality entries.

Ikechi Odigbo, LAIF board Chairman and DDB Managing Director, said it was rich in creativity and festivity, but “I see plenty of room for improvement, especially in terms of logistics, to ensure a seamless awards event.”

18 gold, 50 silver, and 55 bronze medals from 710 entries.

Insight Communications based in Ikeja, which had topped the medal’s table for eight years, was dethroned by DDB based on Victoria Island.

The almost three-year-old X3M Ideas, managed by one of the country’s creative advertising eggheads, Steve Babaeko, improved on its medal hull but remained stuck in third, its position in the last two editions of the awards.

Lekan Fadolapo, Executive Secretary of AAAN, organisers of the awards, announced that DDB came first, Insight Communications second and X3M Ideas third.

The awards also recognised young creative persons, and 24 employees of Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) member agencies competed in the Young LAIFERS category this year.

The winners include gold – Segun Akeredolu and Jephah Nwabuisi (Insight Communications); silver – Uduak Akpan and Ebuka Anyasie (X3M Ideas); and bronze – Elemode Oladunni and Grillo Adebiyi (Noah’s Ark).

Past LAIF Analysts had dismissed previous LAIF editions as uninspiring in an industry driven by creativity.

Winning a gold medal was rare.

There was an edition in which no

entry merited a grand prix. LAIF was that bad.

But the ninth edition received kudos for both organisation and quality entries.

Ikechi Odigbo, LAIF board Chairman and DDB Managing Director, said it was rich in creativity and festivity, but “I see plenty of room for improvement, especially in terms of logistics, to ensure a seamless awards event.”

Creativity The 2013 awards produced 18 gold medals but 124 were won in 2014. Insight Communications won 44, DDB 32, and X3M Ideas 13.

The grand prix was won by DDB, which also won seven gold followed by Insight with four and X3M with 2, and Noah’s Ark 141.

Centrespread, Lintas and Yellow Bricks one gold medal each.

Odigbo noted that competition is helping to improve the quality of advertising. With new agencies giving established ones a run for their money at pitches and creative awards, no one can rely on past victories and reputation.

“I personally believe the creative quality of the entries for this year was superior to last year’s.

Let's hope the upward trend will continue with subsequent editions. Overall, there is still a lot of room for improvement, just not enough entries worthy of gold,”

Advertising helps client build brand and improve the bottom line, and the excitement that comes when works pick honours is boundless.

Babaeko reiterated that “winning is good, and to consistently improve is exciting but building our clients’ businesses is the ultimate goal for us as an agency.”

Odigbo noted that “Saka Ports for MTN and Mouka Active Rest works by DDB Lagos, apart from clinching the grand prix and several gold medals at LAIF, have already won international awards at the Loeries and African Cristals.

“This is a huge first for Nigerian advertising and goes to show that Cannes is not such a long way off if we give priority to developing work that is not only original in creativity but authentic to our culture and context.”

Creative budget Stakeholders believe that budget is not a factor to award winning advertising works, but it is a necessity. Small budget project, or shoestring budget project as it is called, often comes up tops in international awards because it compels deep thinking.

“Necessity, they say is the mother of invention. A limited budget should inspire us to develop disruptive creative advertising that can make an impact and break through the clutter without requiring a heavy media budget,” Odigbo explained.

This is not to say that big budget projects do not earn recognition, said Abimbola Koyi, a communication lecturer in Lagos.

LAIF abroad Nigeria is the biggest Africa advertising market. But the continent does not have a known reward

system, which makes some players to canvass the expansion of LAIF to other African markets.

Odigbo disclosed plans by the leaders of AAAN and LAIF to make the awards bigger in future, with richer seminar content and broader geographical reach and appeal.

“We plan having entries and participants from the West and Central African sub region for LAIF 2016. This has greater implications for funding and logistics but, hey, we need to keep breaking boundaries. That's what makes live worth living.”

Inroads by X3M Ideas X3M Ideas proved to be the most consistently improving agency in Nigeria with another sterling performance at LAIF for the third year running.

In 2012, it debuted with one gold, two silver, and one bronze, coming third on the medals table.

It maintained the third position in 2013 with one gold, two Silver, and one bronze.

Its awards and winning entries in 2014 include • Special gold award – best use of new media. Etisalat (Can you hear me; gold award – TVC banking and investment.

• Diamond (You need a new bank); special silver award – best use of media.

• Etisalat (Hold yourself); special silver award – radio petroleum Oando (Engine Music); special silver award – best use of communication radio.

• Etisalat (Easy Cliq Face off); silver award – TVC miscellaneous – Dangote Cement (Jealous) and bronze award – TVC banking and investment – Verve (Live, Love and Share).

But Babaeko insisted that “being third or whatever is not good enough for us, this is because the agency was set up with a mindset to be the number one agency.”

TheNiche on Sunday

December 14, 2014

www.thenicheng.com

65

Marketing Niche Differentiate destination brand, SA expert urges FG

O

By Goddie Ofose

Senior Correspondent, Lagos ne key to a successful nation branding is to separate it from government communication programme, according to Wendy Tlou, Chief Marketing Officer of Brand South Africa.

She explained at the second Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN) annual public relations gold medal lecture that the inability to separate the two distinct functions can hamper nation brand building project.

Drawing from South Africa’s experience in building “Brand South Africa”, a project marketing and communication programme she spearheaded, Tlou noted that while government’s activities and achievements can support nation brand building, having the managers of that process to also act as mouth pieces of the government can be counter-productive.

She said: “The secret of successful destination marketing lies in separating national communication from government communication. The mistake we all make is to assume that government is the only source of information about the country. Government is a great source of information in terms of how it is running the country; it is From left: PRCAN Secretary General, Tola Odusote; Vice President, Muyiwa Akintunde; Tlou; PRCAN President, John not however the only source.

Ehiguese; Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) National President, Rotimi Oladele; PRCAN Treasurer, Moji “The role of government is to Saka; and PRCAN Ex-Officio, Chido Nwakanma; at the lecture. communicate the steps and programmes, what service delivery it is putting in place to ensure that the lives of the citizens are improved every single day, while the of the citizens, who then naturally John Ehiguese, Mediacraft Assosuccessfully turned their country role of the nation brand builders become the project’s ambassadors. ciates Chief Executive Officer and into a destination for tourism and is to position the country to the “At the heart of nation brand PRCAN President, said there are investment. So we said to ourworld as a destination for tourism building must be the people of the lessons to learn from South Africa selves that perhaps there are some and investment, irrespective of nation. If the people are not conwhich has successfully turned itself lessons we can take home from what administration is in power at vinced to buy into the dreams that into a tourism and investment desthem. any particular point in time.” the country is selling to the world, tination of choice in Africa.

“Hence the choice of Wendy Tlou said although ‘Brand South the whole effort will be nothing His words: “The choice of this Tlou, who happens to have been Africa’ is the brain child of former but a waste of resources.” year’s theme was informed by the deeply involved in the whole proPresident Thabo Mbeki and also Tlou recalled that one mistake simple fact that over the years our cess in South Africa.” reports directly to the Presidency, Brand South Africa made at the country Nigeria has made several The annual public relations gold it operates independently as a priinitial stage was to ignore South efforts at destination marketing, but medal lecture is a thought leadervate enterprise.

Africans themselves – the citizens, it does appear those efforts have ship initiative of PRCAN to stimuShe argued that building a sucbusiness organisations, civil organ- not been particularly successful. late public discourse on national cessful nation brand is not about isations and the media – and to run “On the other hand, South Afriissues that have direct bearing on geographical location but about off, trying to sell their country to cans who came out of the harrowNigeria’s economic, political and the people in that location, and the ing experience of apartheid have social well-being. government must obtain the buy-in the international community.

Tic Tac rewards ‘Shake & Share’ promo winners

T From left: CFAO General Manager (General Import and Distribution), Ibrahim Sanusi; Adewoye Olanrewaju who represented Ejimole; and Adediran; at the ceremony.

hree winners have emerged from pan Nigerian Tic Tac brand activation project, “Shake and Share” Promo, which was floated to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the mint brand produced by Ferrero, a leader in the confectionary market.

Winners of the grand prize of iPhone 6 include Buoyant Ikor (Lagos), Loveth Ejimole (Port Harcourt), and Okokon Ita (Lagos).

During the roadshow, organised by Route 712 Agency, Tic Tac promoted a special promo picture contest “shake and share” that offered consumers the opportunity to win 3 Apple iPhone 6.

Consolation prizes included Samsung smartphones, Limited edition Tic Tac T-Shirt, face cap, key holders, flash

drives, pen and free Tic Tac product.

Announcing the winners at Protea Hotel, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos, Ferrero Country Representative, Adewale Adediran, said the initiative is to show appreciation to consumers for their consistency toward the brand.

He explained that Tic Tac understands the role consumers have played in the journey to attain the milestone, hence the need give back.

Tic Tac is available in two flavours that include mint and orange and is offered in a plastic package format of 33 pills at N70.

Over 180,000 consumers participated in the roadshow, which lasted between October 13 and November 21.

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ICT

Search tech firm passes 100m users

•New intelligent, predictive features transforms phonebook

By Goddie Ofose

Senior Correspondent, Lagos

T

ruecaller, a search technology firm that has transformed phonebook to make it more intelligent and useful, has announced the launch of a new Truecaller on Google Play.

The new update focuses on predictive style features, which suggests who to contact based on call history, time of day, and place, making it convenient, so you never have to leave the app to find the right contact information.

Already one of the world’s fastest growing start ups, Truecaller also announces that it has surpassed 100 million users globally, and has doubled its daily new users in less than three months.

Consumers use Truecaller to identify unknown numbers, block unwanted calls, and search contact information among people and businesses. It receives more than 1.5 billion search requests per month.

Empowering users with a smarter and more personal mobile phone experience, Truecaller aims to solve a huge pain point for consumers who use their phonebook on a daily basis, but often need to go outside of their app to find useful information.

Similar to how Google has combined information and intelligence, Truecaller uses proprietary search technology and social graph, and combines it with hundreds of different sources such as Yelp! and social networks to create a smarter way for users to access current informa-

tion across all social channels, platforms and devices.

Truecaller uses algorithms to personalise searches and suggest relevant contacts you might want to get in touch with based on call history, time and place.

As an example, at 5pm before you leave from work, Truecaller might suggest you to call home, if that is what you would usually do at that time and place.

The app is redesigned to provide easier discovery and simpler navigation, and rebuilt to make it much lighter in terms of memory consumption. The new Truecaller includes the following features: Receive Suggested Contacts: Truecaller can now predict who you may want to reach and make suggestions based on call history, time, or location. The more you use it, the smarter it gets, and the app will help do the work of knowing who to call so you no longer have to scroll through unnecessary tabs.

Complete Contact Profiles: Truecaller keeps your phonebook up to date with relevant information by adding social media profiles and photos so you have all the contact information you need in one central place. Users can choose how they are being displayed in their friend’s Truecaller phonebook by updating their profiles.

Smarter Search and Discovery: Now you can search within your contacts as well as names and numbers beyond your existing phonebook with an extensive list of more than 1.5 billion contacts.

There is no need to switch between searching for people inside and outside of

your phonebook or constantly updating the information, as Truecaller provides the most relevant and personal results.

Easily Place Calls and Send Texts: A new user interface makes staying connected easier than ever before. Once a user profile is pulled, you just need to swipe left to text or swipe right to place a call. This one-step process makes it so easy, you can stay in touch faster and more conveniently.

“This is the first step we are taking to make Truecaller more intelligent and personal. We’ve made these advancement to save time for our users and make their lives less complicated when they want to get in touch with someone,” said Alan Mamedi, Truecaller co-founder and chief executive officer.

“Our ambition is to make your mobile phone smarter and become part of your mobile daily habits.”

He said Truecaller is committed to leading with product innovation that makes the lives of its users easier than ever before.

In October, the company received $60 million in funding from leading VC firms Sequoia Capital, Atomico, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, and launched its intelligent dial pad app Truedialer. It now has more than two million users.

Truecaller 5.0 is available for Android only at the moment and is free to download from Google Play.

The Truecaller app is also available on iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Nokia feature phones.

The free Truedialer app is available on AndroidWindows Phone.

Glo enriches roaming with free incoming calls, lower rates

G

lobacom has offered subscribers free incoming calls in all destinations when they travel outside the country, in a bid to enrich roaming experience on its network.

Subscribers who travel outside the country can also make calls at lower call rates, as part of multiple promo packages.

The offer, called Glo Unlimited Roaming, enables subscribers to receive calls on their lines free for 15 days outside Nigeria.

Globacom Head of Glo Gateway, Steve Stretch, explained that the offer comes with a subscription fee of N2,500 for a validity period of 15 days.

Besides, subscribers will enjoy up to 60 minutes of outgoing calls at N100 per min-

ute. It also includes 15 free SMS and ability to browse the internet at 15 kobo per kb.

The roaming plan is available in 27 countries, among them the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Netherland, South Africa, UAE, Sweden, India, Spain, Switzerland, Canada, Brazil, and Cameroon.

“There are plans to extend it to more destinations,” Stretch said.

Glo subscribers can enjoy free incoming calls up to a fair usage of 60 cumulative minutes during the 15 days validity period. After the free 60 minutes of incoming calls, normal roaming incoming call rates for the specific roaming location will be charged.

“When a subscriber exceeds the fair usage limit and still has adequate balance in his account, the plan will be renewed

automatically by deducting the subscription fee and extending the validity by another 15 days.

“Where the renewal is done within the 15 days validity period, the unused balance can be carried forward.”

Globacom has also launched two other promos, Glo Overload and Glo Allawee.

Glo Overload enables subscribers to instantly get 200 per cent bonus airtime every time they recharge with N200 or more after dialing *200# to opt in, 200 per cent bonus data on purchase of data plans of N2,000 or more and an opportunity to be 100 times richer every time they recharge with N200 or more.

Glo Allawee gives new subscribers N18,000 worth of free airtime.

Quick Read Natures Gentle Touch empowers youths with professional skills International hair care brand, Natures Gentle Touch, manufactured by Recare, recently graduated some students from its hair training institute.

Recare Chief Executive Officer, Ramesh Hullur, said the nine months’ intensive training empowers students with theoretical and practical skills to establish financial sustenance in the beauty and personal care industry.

He disclosed that the institute was established to bridge the gap in hair care services in Nigeria and students are exposed to modern styling equipment and experts, who take them through courses in cosmetology, trichology, and professional development.

Recare Field Education Manager, Daniel Komlan, said the institute aims to redefine hair care services in the country.

“We realised that there were no professional trained hair stylists and as a result many women were suffer-

ing from different hair and scalp problems. We decided to formally train stylists and develop products to help solve these problems,’’ he explained.

Natures Gentle Touch Hair Institute provides students with the knowledge and skills to elevate the hair care services industry to international standards. Its graduates also have the potential to make impact in other fields beyond the salon.

They are employable in the media industry as beauty care experts or product development executives in cosmetic companies.

One of the graduands, Oluwatobi Sangonuga, said “it is a privilege for me to have participated in the nine-month training. The training has sharpened my artistry skills and given me a treasure that no one can take from me.

“I am very happy that I participated and hope to establish my business someday.’’

NB introduces ACE to cover new market Nigerian Breweries (NB) has introduced “ACE”, its first ever ready to drink (RTD), into the market.

The company, at a trade briefing in Lagos and Port Harcourt, unveiled the “Passion Apple Spark" variant of the sparkling alcoholic drink and assured the media and key distributors that it will satisfy consumers.

NB Marketing Director, Walter Drenth, said at the Lagos event that ACE is a groundbreaking creation which focuses on aspiring and daring youths who want to live the good life within their means.

Said he: “This is another major achievement for Nigeria Breweries which has become a leader in innovation with the launch of several consumer focused products over the years.

“ACE Passion Apple Spark is an exciting combination of spirits and natural

apple flavour and can be shared among friends and family at different occasions.

ACE is the first ever sparkling alcoholic drink from Nigerian Breweries and Passion Apple Spark, the first of the ACE series.

"The product is made with 5.5 per cent alcohol and Natural Apple flavour in a unique designed 33cl bottle, which will change their game during that moment of truth. We are very excited about ACE because we are changing the game.

“People can now taste a high quality RTD for a very affordable price and enjoy their moment.”

Drenth said the product symbolises the cool and trendy lifestyle for young individuals. "It’s a great innovation. One that we at Nigerian Breweries are very proud of, and we are confident our young and vibrant consumers will appreciate.”

Mr. Chef launches 'Awuff Now, Now' promo Mr. Chef, a culinary brand, has flagged off its “Awuff Now, Now!” customer reward promotion, described as a bumper reward scheme for all customers countrywide.

Bayswater Industries Managing Director, Piyush Nair, explained that Mr. Chef launched the promo to sustain its excellent relationship with loyal customers not just by offering them quality products but by giving them instant rewards.

The promo is open to all customers who get instant free gifts with every purchase of Mr. Chef beef and chicken-flavour seasoning cubes.

"This is 'jara' for all our customers. It will last until December 31, 2014. It is a reward promo to celebrate the fruitful relationship

between Mr. Chef and our teeming customers all over Nigeria in a manner that makes everyone a winner," Nair said.

"If our customers buy 'Now Now', it is only right for them to win 'Big Big'; without raffle draws and certainly, ‘No Go Come’.

‘Awuff Now, Now' makes everyone an instant winner."

Every carton of Mr. Chef's beef or chicken seasoning contains a free pack of 100 cubes in addition to instant gifts that include biros, exercise books, cutlery sets, trays, face caps, towels, aprons, T-shirts, radio receivers, and mobile phones.

Other gifts include Kia Rio cars, trips to Dubai, generators, LED TVs, and refrigerators contained in scratch cards in the cartons.

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LBA 2014: Who wins Player of the Season award?

U-23: Taiwo counsels Siasia

H

ead coach of the national Under-23 football team, Samson Siasia, has been enjoined to be focused and ready to listen to objective criticism, if he wants to succeed in his new task.

In a telephone interview with TheNiche, former Team Manager of the defunct Julius Berger FC of Lagos, MacTony Taiwo, said Siasia is not a new-comer in the coaching circle, as he is familiar with the terrain and knows his onions.

“I see him doing well and achieving success in his new task, but he should be focused and ready to listen to objective criticisms.

“He should not be rigid in his decisions, but should be open and fair to all the players invited to camp irrespective of where they come from.

“He should give every player a chance to prove themselves. If they are actually good enough, they should be given a place in the team in the interest of the country,” Taiwo said.

Meanwhile, Siasia has warned players who intend to play for the team not to bribe anybody in a bid to secure a place in the team.

His words: “Do not give money to either my assistants or any agent with the hope of making this team. If I find out, the player(s) will be dismissed from camp. I did not mandate anybody to collect money on my behalf. Anyone who falls prey to such cheats will be sent out of camp forthwith. Money cannot buy you a place in my team. Instead, your talent and discipline will take you to the top of your career.

“As long as you hold the passport of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, you are eligible to play for this country. I was spotted and selected through this type of process. I'll also like to give young ones like you the chance to play for our country. It is your country, too.”

Siasia said he has been fair

December 14, 2014

to all who have taken time to try out their luck with the team, adding that Nigeria is blessed with so much talent.

“I'm overwhelmed with the turnout of players for the screening exercise,” he disclosed.

Turning to the invited foreignbased players, Siasia said there would be no sacred players, as only their fitness and form would determine their stay in camp.

According to him, “You can only secure a place in the team with dedication, hard work and discipline. Nobody is superior to another player in this camp.”

He applauded all the players and advised those who could not make the team to try harder, as not all players who turned up would be selected.

So far, Aminu Umar of Samsunspor FC (Turkey) and Samuel Ayinoko of Angelholms FC (Sweden) have arrived the Dream Team VI camp for screening.

The team will go on break for the yuletide on December 20 and will reconvene on January 4, 2015.

Siasia has the assignment to raise a squad that will qualify Nigeria for the men’s football event of the 11th All Africa Games (taking place in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo in July 2015) as well as the CAF U-23 Championship (taking place in DR Congo, also next year). The team is also expected to represent the country in the men’s football event of the 2016 Olympic Games through the CAF U-23 Championship.

The first hurdle is an All Africa Games qualifying fixture against Gabon, with the first leg away in Libreville towards the end of February, and the return leg in Nigeria early March. The winner of that fixture squares up against the winner between Zambia and Madagascar in late March.

The U-23 team failed to qualify for the London 2012 Olympic Games, but did grab a silver medal in 2008 in China under the supervision of Siasia.

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Much ado about Yomi Peters

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Golf

Why we sponsor golf tournaments, by Heritage Bank

M

anagement of Heritage Bank has explained the rationale behind its sponsorship of golf tournaments in the

country.

The Managing Director of the bank, Ifie Sekibo, who spoke in Port Harcourt at the end of the 2014 Port Harcourt Amateur Open Golf Championship, now called the Heritage Cup, said the bank decided to sponsor golf tournaments because of the need to preserve and promote the historical legacies of the nation.

Sekibo, who was represented by the Regional Director of Heritage Bank (South South), Emeke Anene, said golf players share common characteristics of tenacity and drive with the bank.

He noted that the Port Harcourt Golf Club, established in 1928, is one of the oldest in the country, and that there was need to re-invigorate it to keep the legacy.

He said: “For a player of golf, you must possess some characteristics: you must be tenacious and have a drive, which is part of Heritage’s DNA. We are tenacious people.

Also, if you were here last year, they gave a history of Port Harcourt Golf Club, which is one of the oldest in Nigeria, having been established in 1928.

“Our bank, Heritage Bank, too is about history and legacy. So, golf seems to be one sport that we can identify with; and the Port Harcourt Golf Club is a legacy of the development of golf sport in the country. That is why we chose to identify with Port

Harcourt Golf Club.”

He further noted that the bank was not concerned about profitability in the sponsorship of the game, but in adding value to the lives of the people.

“The fact is that for us sponsoring the tournament, it is not about profitability. It is about adding value. It is about value creation and that is what Heritage is all about. We want to invest in people; we want to invest in the people of Rivers State where we also occupy to do business. We are also going to do it next year. In fact, we are going to be here as long as the club wants us to be part of what it is doing,” he said.

Sekibo also maintained that the focus of the bank would always be on innovations and the need to grow small businesses with a view to growing the economy.

“Apart from wanting to drive business in terms of innovation, our focus has been on SMEs (small and medium enterprises) because we believe that is the niche if we want to grow as a nation. We want to create wealth, and in doing that, we need to start from the cradle, which SMEs represent,” he said.

Meanwhile, the club has commended the bank for its support for the development of the game of golf in the country.

Captain of the Port Harcourt Club, Golf Section, Adokiye Ikpoki, noted that the growth of the sport had been hampered by the dearth of sponsorship, and commended the bank for reviving the game through its sponsorship which has been on for two years.

Golfers on the Course He said: “We are grateful to our title sponsor, Heritage Bank, for its continued generosity, as it supports this tournament for the second year in the series.

“As much as we know that this beautiful game of golf has grown in popularity and appeal globally, I can say without equivocation that the progress made in Nigeria has been quite lacklustre.

“We commend Heritage Bank for daring to be different in supporting this tournament, clearly working for

the progress of golf in Nigeria.”

The Chairman, Organising Committee of the 2014 edition, Abiye Amakiri, also said sponsorship was a major challenge to the development of the game.

Said he: “The major challenge we are facing is sponsorship. What we achieved today, we could not have achieved if we did not get sponsorship.

“Under the military, it was easier because most of the military administrators played golf and they could assist us directly or give us references

to corporate bodies that could sponsor us.

“Today, most politicians are not golfers, and it is affecting us in terms of sponsorship. Thank God that some corporate bodies have come to our rescue. That is why we thank Heritage Bank among other corporate sponsors.

“Heritage Bank has been fantastic in sponsoring golf. We hope that more corporate bodies will emulate the bank in sponsoring and encouraging people to play golf.”

Basketball Lere Wolves wins Cage Masters Streetball •Coach Adelanwa awarded

L

ere Wolves Basketball team has emerged champions of the maiden edition of Cage Masters Basketball Competition after defeating star-studded River Dragons Basketball team in streetball competition at the Cage, Rowe Park, Yaba.

The winning team, comprising Adebayo Alaba, Buge Bake, Kenneth Ezirim, Yinusa Babatunde, Adeola Ayeni and Chigozie Udeh, defeated River Dragons by 21-18 points in an exciting final which attracted notable basketball personalities.

The six-a-side street championship, which featured 12 teams, saw the champions smiling home with N200,000 while the runner-up got N100,000.

The organisers, Metropolitan Basketball Foundation, bestowed a special award to a reputable basketball coach, Alabi Adelanwa, for his contribution to basketball over the decades.

Top official of the Foundation, Yemi Latona, said he and Babadehinde Ogunbiyi were inspired to organise the two-day street basketball championship following lack of regular tournaments, unlike during his youthful days when there were regular basketball competitions across the country.

Latona, who explained that the move will encourage private individuals and corporate bodies to delve into sponsorship of a basketball competition, said subsequent editions of the tournament would be much better, as the organisers work hard to improve the standard.

He said: “We will put in place machinery that will see us organise a better championship next year.

This is the maiden edition and we intend to improve in the organisation of the championship every year.

“We are impressed with the standard and performance of all the players from the 12 teams and hope they will do better next year.”

Participants at the tournament

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Football

LBA 2014: Who wins Player of the Season award?

A

s this year’s League Bloggers Awards (LBA) holds on Monday, December 15, at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Ikeja, Lagos, the spotlight will be the winner of the Player of the Season award.

Already, the long list has been narrowed down to four players namely Peter Ebimobowei (Bayelsa United), Mfon Udoh (Enyimba), Emem Eduok (Dolphins) and Kingsley Bobby Sokari also of Enyimba.

Nominees would be vying for awards in 16 categories, including the Highest Goals Scorer, which has automatically gone to Udoh, the Enyimba striker who scored 23 goals in the season under review.

There is also the category for Manager of the Season where four coaches, Paul Aigbogun (Warri Wolves), Ladan Bosso (Abia Warriors), Okey Emordi (Kano Pillars) and last season's winner, Mohammed Baba Ganaru, now with Nasarawa United, will vie for honour.

Other categories include Fair Play Award, Best Use of Social Ebimobowei Media (for clubs), Best Website, Best Designed Jersey, Best New Goalkeeper (NPFL), Best Draft from Development Team, Best Development Team, Best New Player, Best Goalkeeper, Best Foreigner, Best Promoted Team and Best National Team Player.

LBA Business Manager, China Acheru, explained that the organisation consulted independent persons, journalists, players and coaches as well as administrators in reaching the list of final nominees.

He said: "It was a process where we had to talk to players and coaches personally and sample who and who they believe deserved to be on the shortlist.

“Of course, these are the major actors in the league and we got divergent views. We also had to talk to some of the journalists with vast knowledge and experience in covering the league and a handful of former administrators on the nominees.

"After the process, we also had to look at performances and disciplinary records of players, coaches and clubs during the season to arrive at our final Briefs

Udoh

O

Sokari

Emordi plans to quit Pillars

Kano Pillars Head Coach, Okey Emordi, has said he could call off his services with the Nigerian league champions despite leading the Northern club to clinching their fourth domestic league title early November.

Emordi, who joined Pillars in January, said he is likely to walk away due to the threatening spat of terror attacks in the Northern region of the country in recent times.

Enyimba insists on Ikhana

Eduok

3SC sticks to players fficials of newly-promoted Nigeria Premier League (NPL) side, Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) of Ibadan, have promised to stick with the players that gave them promotion ticket to the Premier League when the new season begins next year.

However, Media Officer of the team, Jubril Arowolo, said that does not mean some new players would not be signed on for the new season.

He said: “Our players are presently on holiday and very soon they shall be recalled for the start of the new season.

We are going to stick with basically most of the players that guided us back to the Premier League. But we are not unmindful of some areas that are in need of fortification. We shall do that before the start of the season.”

Briefs

He promised that the team will return to top flight with a difference, after securing a ticket to the elite division.

The Oluyole Warriors got demoted to the lower league two seasons ago, after some dreadful performances both home and away. However, the club clawed its way back to the Premier League from the nationwide cadre.

According to him, the former league champions will not let mistakes repeat itself, as they will do all it takes not to get demoted again.

"We are grateful to God for guiding us back to the Premier League. It was not easy at all in the lower league, we must agree, and it only took the grace of God for us to achieve our set target at the beginning of the just-concluded season,” he added.

Two-time African champion, Enyimba International FC, has maintained that it has no plans to ditch Coach Kadiri Ikhana for former coach, Salisu Yusuf.

General Manager of ‘The People’s Elephant’, Jude Anyadufu, dismissed media reports that the club will replace Ikhana, who led it to retain the Federation Cup.

Bature rues missed continental ticket

N

asarawa United forward, Yaro Bature, has spoken of his disappointment at his club's failure to pick one of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) clubs competition tickets.

The ‘Solid Miners’ needed a win on the final day of the season against Warri Wolves at home, but could only get a point against the determined ‘Seasiders’.

Speaking on the season under review, Bature said it was a disappointing experience to have missed out on the continental ticket on the last day of the season before their fans, having been in contention since the commencement of the season.

He said: "It was very painful. Expectations were high, but we could only manage a draw, which was not good enough.

“On the other hand, we are grateful to God for where we finished. If you consider that we barely escaped relegation last season, the season under review was a huge improvement and I hope we build on that next season."

Bature, who has been called up by Coach Samson Siasia to the national U-23 team, couldn't hide his excitement at the prospect of wearing national colours.

"I am excited by the call up; it’s the dream of every young player to wear the national colours. It is also good for my career progression," declared the former City Of David (COD) United winger who scored four goals and made 10 assists in 31 games in his debut season in the NPFL

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Tribute

Much ado about Yomi Peters

F

ootball was never the plan the parents of Yomi Peters had for him while he was growing up. While in secondary school at St. Finbarr's, Akoka, Lagos, Yomi was neither allowed to touch football nor go near the field, as his parents preferred him facing his studies.

His parents wanted him to become a lawyer or a medical doctor.

But Yomi also had his other plans, which he quietly worked towards attaining.

Yomi would later gain admission into Government Trade Centre (now Technical College, Akoka) where he got trained in refrigeration, air-conditioning and housewiring. His preference at the Trade Centre was to study and become an electrician, but fate foisted refrigeration and air-conditioning on him.

In 1968, after his programme at the Trade Centre, Yomi got a job as a maintenance man at Mandilas and Kalabari, a firm known for airconditioning business. At the time, he had moved out of his parents' home and rented a small apartment in Ayilara Street, near Ojuelegba, Surulere.

It was about that time they helped Mandilas and Kalabari form a football team known as M and K FC, which came about due to the existence of Leventis owning a team too. In the same year, Yomi won the Okotie Eboh Cup and met Austin Akosa, who later became a member of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA).

During that period, M and K was a Division 4 team in the Lagos Amateur Football Association (LAFA).

But it had the chance to play in the Oba Cup, which is open to clubs in the four divisions back then.

Yomi Peters, alongside his M and K teammates, had the chance to face the big teams like Stationery Stores, PWD, ECN, Railways, Leventis and Police back then. It was during one of such matches that Stores’ fans recommended him to the founder and owner, Israel Adebajo.

Interestingly, the young footballer was still working as a maintenance man at Mandilas and Kalabari, while he was being persuaded, for five years, to join Stores.

Adebajo would even call up Yomi to help in repairing or maintaining his air-conditioners.

But the Stores founder did not let-up and kept pushing Yomi, and even gave him cash gifts.

Sadly, the day he agreed to play for Stores in 1969, after his mother had given him the blessing to play football – with Adebajo present in the small meeting, the Stores owner passed on.

Heart-broken by the death of Adebajo, and also ready to keep to the gentleman's agreement with the Stores founder, Yomi later resigned at Mandilas and joined Stores.

With Yomi, Stores won virtually every trophy in sight in Lagos. It also won the National Challenge Cup (now the Federation Cup) in 1981. Yomi played alongside stellar names at Stores like the late Haruna Ilerika, Francis Ukot, Sani Muhammed, Tony Igwe, Ben Ajibode, Mohammed Lawal and Yakubu Mambo.

However, in his later years after football, he was no longer the same man that put fright in the faces of

Peters

opponents on the pitch, as age and illness took toll on him.

Despite winning lots of matches and individual battles on the field of play, he lost the fight against cancer and died at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) on the morning of Wednesday, November 26, 2014.

Dotun Coker, a member of the Lagos State Football Association, describes the last moments of Peters thus: “I was surprised when I arrived at his bedside at the hospital to find him on oxygen. This took me by surprise because when we spoke about 2am that fateful day, he never showed any sign he was going to die.

“And few minutes later, he

changed and what I saw was not a good sight to behold. The body depreciated and I knew something was wrong. He eventually gave up the ghost at exactly 8.55am."

On Sunday, November 23, Peters was among Legends of the Federation Cup honoured by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos, during the cup final of the oldest football competition in the country.

But he was represented by his wife, since he was in bed battling for his life against cancer.

Akosa, the man, who first met Peters in his playing career, gives an insight into why he became famously nicknamed Kwango.

"That name had to do with an

incident involving him (Peters) and (Bolaji) Okubule (then a referee).

He head-butted Okubule and since then he earned the name Kwango.

“But Peters was a fantastic man, a true gentleman. For football, he gave everything, and on the pitch he was always something else and oppositions feared him for that," Akosa said.

Peters' nickname comes from a famous Congolese professional wrestler, Johnny Kwango, known for his head-butts.

He has, no doubt, left his footprints in the sands of football pitches and will always be remembered as “one of the most passionate footballers of his generation,” Akosa concluded.

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December 14, 2014

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Football

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Champions League’s draw sets Nyon agog

N

yon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland will be agog on Monday, December 15, when the stage will be set for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 draw with cup holders, Real Madrid CF, among eight past winners involved.

Two seeding pots have been formed: one consisting of group winners and the other of runners-up. No team can play a club from its group or any side from its own association.

The draw will be conducted by UEFA General Secretary, Gianni Infantino, and UEFA Director of Competitions, Giorgio Marchetti, assisted by final ambassador, Karl-Heinz Riedle.

Seeded group winners will be away in the round of 16 first legs on February 17 and 18, on February 24 and 25, and at home in the return matches on March 10 and 11, as well as March 17 and 18.

The draw for the quarter-finals will be held on March 20 with the semifinal line-up drawn on April 24.

Real Madrid are seeded after a superb group stage run

Group winners A: Club Atlético de Madrid (ESP) Can play: Basel, Leverkusen, Arsenal, Manchester City, PSG, Schalke, Shakhtar Qualified as: champions, Spain Top scorer: Mario Mandžukić with five goals Last season: runners-up (1-4 v Real Madrid CF, Lisbon) Previous European Cup best: runners-up (1974, 2014) • Atlético won their three home group games with 10 unanswered goals.

Runners-up A: Juventus (ITA) Can play: Madrid, Monaco, Dortmund, Bayern, Barcelona, Chelsea, Porto Qualified as: champions, Italy Top scorer: Carlos Tévez three goals Last season: group stage/UEFA Europa League semi-finals Previous European Cup best: winners x 2 (1985, 1996) • Juve are hoping to get to at least the last four for the first time since making the 2003 final.

B: Real Madrid CF (ESP, holders) Can play: Juventus, Leverkusen, Arsenal, Manchester City, PSG, Schalke, Shakhtar Qualified as: holders/third place Spain Top scorers: Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo five goals each Last season: winners (4-1 v Club Atlético de Madrid, Lisbon) Previous European Cup best: winners x 10 (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014) • With six wins, Madrid finished 11 points clear at the top of their group, equalling the record margin for the competition.

B: FC Basel 1893 (SUI) Can play: Atlético, Monaco, Dortmund, Bayern, Barcelona, Chelsea, Porto Qualified as: champions, Switzerland Top scorer: Derlis Gonzalez two goals Last season: group stage/UEFA Europa League quarter-finals Previous European Cup best: quarter-finals (1974) • Breel Embolo became the sixth youngest scorer in the UEFA Champions League with the first goal in Basel's 4-0 home win over PFC Ludogorets Razgrad, aged 17 years and 263 days.

C: AS Monaco FC (FRA) Can play: Juventus, Basel, Arsenal, Manchester City, Schalke, Shakhtar Qualified as: runners-up, France Top scorers: Aymen Abdennour, Fabinho, João Moutinho,Lucas Ocampos one goal each Last season: not in Europe Previous European Cup best: runners-up (2004) • Monaco conceded just one goal, the lowest total in the group stage.

C: Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER) Can play: Atlético, Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Porto Qualified as: fourth place, Germany/play-offs Top scorer: Son Heung-Min 3 Last season: round of 16 (1-6 agg v Paris Saint-Germain) Previous European Cup best: runners-up (2002) • Leverkusen have gone out in the last 16/second group stage in all four of their UEFA Champions League seasons since reaching the 2002 final.

D: Borussia Dortmund (GER) Can play: Juventus, Basel, Manchester City, Paris, Shakhtar Qualified as: runners-up, Germany Top scorer: Ciro Immobile four goals Last season: quarter-finals (2-3 agg v Real Madrid CF) Previous European Cup best: winners (1997) • Dortmund will hope having the final in Germany will be a good omen having beaten Juventus in Munich in the 1997 decider.

E: FC Bayern München (GER) Can play: Juventus, Basel, Arsenal, Paris, Shakhtar Qualified as: champions, Germany Top scorer: Thomas Müller, Mario Götze three goals each Last season: semi-finals (0-5 agg v Real Madrid CF) Previous European Cup best: winners x 5 (1974, 1975, 1976, 2001, 2013) • If Bayern get to the final, the game in Berlin would be their 300th in the European Cup. F: FC Barcelona (ESP) Can play: Juventus, Basel, Leverkusen, Arsenal, Manchester City, Schalke, Shakhtar Qualified as: runners-up, Spain Top scorer: Lionel Messi eight goals Last season: quarter-finals (1-2 agg v Club Atlético de Madrid) Previous European Cup best: winners x 4 (1992, 2006, 2009, 2011) • With his hat-trick against APOEL FC on matchday five, Lionel Messi became the outright all-time UEFA Champions League top scorer.

G: Chelsea FC (ENG) Can play: Juventus, Basel, Leverkusen, Paris, Shakhtar Qualified as: third place, England Top scorers: Didier Drogba, Cesc Fàbregas, Eden Hazard,Nemanja Matić, John Terry two goals each Last season: semi-finals (1-3 agg v Club Atlético de Madrid) Previous European Cup best: winners (2012) • Chelsea were group stage top scorers with 17 goals.

H: FC Porto (POR) Can play: Juventus, Basel, Leverkusen, Arsenal, Manchester City, Paris, Schalke Qualified as: third place, Portugal/play-offs Top scorer: Jackson Martínez five goals Last season: group stage/UEFA Europa League quarter-finals Previous European Cup best: winners x 2 (1987, 2004) • Porto's opening 6-0 win against FC BATE Borisov was a club record for the competition.

D: Arsenal FC (ENG) Can play: Atlético, Madrid, Monaco, Bayern, Barcelona, Porto Qualified as: fourth place, England, play-offs Top scorers: Lukas Podolski, Alexis Sánchez, Danny Welbeck three goals each Last season: round of 16 (1-3 agg v FC Bayern München) Previous European Cup best: runners-up (2006) • This is the 15th season in a row that Arsenal have made it past the initial group stage but they have lost in the round of 16 four years running.

E: Manchester City FC (ENG) Can play: Atlético, Madrid, Monaco, Dortmund, Barcelona, Porto Qualified as: champions, England Top scorer: Sergio Agüero five goals Last season: round of 16 (1-4 agg v FC Barcelona) Previous European Cup best: round of 16 (2014) • City had just two points after four games but beat Bayern 3-2 (having been two down) and AS Roma 2-0 away to advance.

F: Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) Can play: Atlético, Madrid, Dortmund, Bayern, Chelsea, Porto Qualified as: champions, France Top scorer: Edinson Cavani five goals Last season: quarter-finals (3-3 agg v Chelsea FC, lost on away goals) Previous European Cup best: semi-finals x 1 (1995) • Paris were piped to first place in Group F with Wednesday's loss at Barcelona.

G: FC Schalke 04 (GER) Can play: Atlético, Madrid, Monaco, Barcelona, Porto Qualified as: third place, Germany Top scorer: Klaas-Jan Huntelaar three goals Last season: round of 16 (2-9 agg v Real Madrid CF) Previous European Cup best: semi-finals (2011) • Schalke overtook Sporting Clube de Portugal on Wednesday with victory at NK Maribor as the Lions lost at Chelsea FC. H: FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) Can play: Atlético, Madrid, Monaco, Dortmund, Bayern, Barcelona, Chelsea Qualified as: champions, Ukraine Top scorer: Luiz Adriano nine goals Last season: group stage/UEFA Europa League round of 32 Previous European Cup best: quarter-finals (2011) • Adriano's nine goals equalled Cristiano Ronaldo's group stage record from last term. A record eight of them came against one club, FC BATE Borisov.

Candour's Niche

14:12:2014 www.thenicheng.com

Ikechukwu Amaechi ikechukwuamaechi@yahoo.com i.amaechi@thenicheng.com 0805 506 9065

Under Obasanjo’s watch

F

ormer President Olusegun Obasanjo released his autobiography, My Watch, on Tuesday, December 9 at the Lagos Country Club, Ikeja.

He defied an Abuja High Court order obtained by a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Buruji Kashamu, barring him from releasing the book. Rather than obey the order, Obasanjo wanted Justice Valentine Ashi sanctioned.

The judge had ordered that the book launch be put on hold over claims by Kashamu that the three-volume series contained details of a libel case involving a drug trafficking allegation Obasanjo made against him, which is already before the court.

Obasanjo’s excuse that the book had been published before the order was made is as ludicrous as it is bizarre. But that is quintessential Obasanjo, who has no respect for others, who revels in desecrating hallowed institutions.

Holding him in contempt of court, Ashi on Wednesday, December 10 gave him 21 days to demonstrate why he should not be punished for publishing the book.

“The fact that the book was published in November is irrelevant. As long as the substantive suit is not yet determined, no party is entitled to publish or comment on material facts that are yet to be decided on by the court,” the judge said.

I have not read the book, but excerpts published on the internet show that it is essentially an ego trip.

As a former president, his autobiography should be a historical document, based on issues and rooted in facts; but just as he did in My Command, his account of the civil war, he displayed a lack of generous spirit in My Watch.

He portrayed himself as the only saint in Nigeria. Nothing buttresses this more than what he wrote about the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, his successor.

He accused Yar’Adua of persecuting former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, because of Ribadu’s refusal to marry his daughter and for his romance with a lady whom Taminu Kurfi, an official of the

Yar’Adua administration, was dating.

“It was revealed, for instance,” Obasanjo claimed, “that Tanimu’s main reason for wanting to fight Nuhu to a standstill was the allegation that a woman he was interested in marrying was showing more interest in Nuhu!

“I understand that Tanimu, in the end, married the lady and I wondered if that would be the end of the war of attrition against Nuhu.

“This was about the same time that Umaru encouraged Nuhu to marry one of his daughters, an idea which Nuhu spurned.

Could that have been partly responsible for Umaru’s fury?”

Obasanjo also alleged in the book that the fight between former Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nasir el-Rufai, and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Baba Gana Kingibe, was over the infidelity of one of Kingibe’s wives.

“The Kingibe case as revealed is quite similar to Tanimu’s, as

a woman is at the centre of it also. Nasir el-Rufai was accused of knowingly harbouring a boyfriend of one of Kingibe’s wives in his guest house, where this wife and her boyfriend would meet.

“If Nasir chose to make his house available to his friend out of hospitality, one wonders if he could also determine which guest, male or female, his friend would receive. It would have been a different case if Nasir himself was accused of dating Kingibe’s wife.”

Obasanjo wrote all this despite the fact that his son, Gbenga, divorced his wife in 2008 after deposing in a court affidavit that she slept with his father (Obasanjo).

Memoirs are supposed to be encompassing; so, Obasanjo should have recounted in the book what transpired between himself and his daughter-inlaw.

How else can one explain his narrative of his encounter with

governors who came to see him after the Governors Forum election debacle other than sheer mischief?

“Two governors from the (PDP) – Liyel Imoke of Cross River and Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State – and Godswill Akpabio from Akwa Ibom State by himself, came to me in Abuja, appealing to me to intervene in the situation of the Governors Forum, particularly in the disagreement within the PDP governors.

“Akpabio said starkly in his frank and outspoken manner: ‘We have messed up and don’t leave us alone. For me, I don’t want to go to jail and my children are too young. I will report our meeting to the President.”

In Obasanjo’s usual style, every Nigerian is a liar, a thief or incompetent, except himself.

You wonder what he actually achieved in all the years he ruled the country.

It is obvious that My Watch is Obasanjo’s last desperate attempt to damage President Goodluck Jonathan politically and make him unelectable in 2015. His timing of the launch on the eve of Jonathan’s nomination by the PDP was deliberate.

Obasanjo intends to use the book to inflict mortal damage, hence his choice of words and narrative.

He wrote: “Jonathan is lacking in broad vision, knowledge, confidence, understanding, concentration, capacity, sense of security, courage, moral and ethical principles, character and passion to move the nation forward on a fast trajectory.

“Although he might wish to do well, he does not know how nor does he have the capacity to.

To compound his problem he has not surrounded himself with aides sufficiently imbued with the qualities and abilities to help him out.

“Most of them are greedy hangers-on or hungry lackluster characters interested only in their mouths and their pockets.”

Obasanjo branded Jonathan the most corrupt leader Nigeria ever had.

“In the area of corruption … under Jonathan we seem to have gone from frying pan to fire. If in the past corruption was in the corridors of power, it would seem now to be in the sitting room, dining room and bedroom of power.

“If what is called ‘corruption’

is stealing, under the watch of Goodluck Jonathan, then government has become legalised and protected robbery.”

Then, Obasanjo threw the sucker punch, describing Jonathan as an inept, ineffective, inefficient, careless, clueless, callous, insensitive, and a selfish leader.

Most times when you hear Obasanjo talk, you wonder if he is not the same man who ruled Nigeria for eight years. I have been wondering if he could have allowed anyone to write this kind of book about him when he was in power.

Obasanjo forced Audu Ogbeh to resign his chairmanship of the PDP because Ogbeh chastised him over the role he played in the kidnap of Governor Chris Ngige.

I remember the instability in the Senate and how he orchestrated the impeachment of about four Senate presidents.

Obasanjo chased out the founding fathers of the PDP, which was formed when he was in prison. I remember the do-ordie elections that he foisted on the country.

I remember the unexplained political assassinations, including the killing of his Justice Minister and Attorney General of the Federation, Bola Ige. I remember the illegal impeachment of governors, including Joshua Dariye of Plateau State and Rasheed Ladoja of Oyo State.

Obasanjo used the EFCC to hound political opponents. I remember how, he, a man who came out of prison, wretched and almost broken, became one of the richest Nigerians alive today after eight years in power as president, and I wonder where he got the money.

If Obasanjo had allowed the people to be the pivot of our democracy, we wouldn’t have had a Yar’Adua/Jonathan presidency in the first place. He used his eight-year tenure to enthrone political imposition and gangsterism. Yet, he has the guts to throw stones.

I don’t blame him. I blame the system that has tolerated him for so long.

What Obasanjo has done with his new memoirs is to challenge others to document their own account, and expose him for what and who he is – as General Alabi Isama did in his book, The Tragedy of Victory, which eviscerated Obasanjo’s war memoirs.

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