NSA compounds INEC'S woes

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DANGER TO FEBRUARY 14 ELECTION

NSA compounds INEC’s woes •Logistic challenges emerge •Jega’s plan for free, fair polls in trouble •960,000 election-day staff needed Continues from Pg 1 FCT, Abuja, that the INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, had summoned an emergency meeting of Resident Electoral Commissioners, RECs, penultimate week, to review the Commission’s preparedness for the election, as well as look into areas requiring urgent attention. Conscious of legal latitude, INEC was said to have called an emergency meeting to review its operations on Monday, January 26, 2015, with the notice sent out a week earlier, based on the executive assessment of readiness for the election by its Board. The assessment by INEC’s Board had identified some challenges with meeting deadlines and was going to share it with the wider body of policy implementers who also had their concerns based on their field assessment on the level of preparedness. Given this background, all the Commission’s stakeholders were shocked to hear the NSA make reference to possible postponement without consulting with the electoral body.And whereas an INEC insider disclosed to Sunday Vanguard that “but for the statement of the NSA which they claimed gave a colouration of politics to the issue, INEC was possibly going to make its own independent adjustment to the time-table, to avert a repeat of the postponement of election after already deploying personnel and materials as was the case in 2011 when there was a shift from 2 April till Thursday the 4th and again shifted to the 9 th of April - that postponement was necessitated by the failure of contractors to meet supply schedules”, another source within the Commission made Sunday Vanguard to understand that indeed the NSA may have been doing his job innocently, “the Commission Chairman was already adamant just as was the case in 2011 when the nation was sent on a wild goose chase only to return to the path of sanity by eventually postponing the election”. The latter source further insisted that the NSA with his bird’s-eye view of the security situation in the country may have just attempted to try to try to shield the Commission from public opprobrium regarding the laxity to effectively distribute PVCs since last year by preempting the issue of postponement.Sunday Vanguard was made to understand that that issue is still one of the key challenges identified by the INEC Board assessment. Another technical problem that is emerging include the fact that although the electoral body, on its part, has placed orders for the production of ballot papers, it was restrained by the legal window which was tied to the outcome of the party primaries and the window for substitution of candidates which only terminated on December 30, 2014. After the primaries and substitution were done, the Commission had to compile the outcomes and confirm with the parties, as indicated by development of January 26, 2015, which saw INEC, through a press release, dropping some parties candidates for not meeting the legal requirements of Section 187 of the constitution, with reference to nomination of running mates for the gubernatorial election. By that development, it was clear that the Commission’s final list of parties involved in the election and their candidates was only just being finalised, and therefore “the Commission could not have ordered for definitive ballot papers without such crucial information”. “Taking the latter development into account”, the usually dependable INEC source continued, “it means that the production of the ballot papers was only just ordered. This is a process which is outside the full scheduling control of INEC. Caught between legal constraints from the Electoral Act and Constitution, as well as the technical challenges from contractors engaged with the production of ballot papers, result sheets, electoral forms and envelopes that are currently being customized, to enhance the fidelity of the process, and the inability of politicians to move them from one polling area to another, INEC is currently faced with a heavy burden to meet the February 14 date, without organizing a shambolic election”. According to the very server INEC official, “Professor Jega is bent on organizing a free, fair and credible election but his hands are currently being tied by the politicians who are playing games with the integrity and fidelity of the process”.Had those been the only challenges confronting INEC, opinion would still have been divided.Worse to come is the fact that the Commission, the source continued, “is yet to commence training of election-day personnel for the polling unit activities. This is more serious when it is considered that a new technology - the electronic card reader authentication - is being introduced to the

THOUGHT FOR TODAY WRITE DOWN YOUR VISION —4

By Richard Eromonsele

Now,you have written down your vision,what next do you do?Do you just fold your hands?This is where most of us miss it.The truth is that lying by the side of the river will not fetch us the water,we have to go in there,if we really need the water.As it is with water,so it is with our vision.In order for our vision to become a reality,we must be prepared to give it our all.We should be ready to give it our time,put in a lot of effort,invest all our intellect ,be ready to persevere and above all,be patient for our effort to yield result...

T A S T E Y E G L L O A N G O L A V I A W L A S T H A D N G L E A X E K I D O L O T U A M B I D A O H M S A T E N T A L K E D E A E D R E S S T L O N U W A T C H S U A L E S S O N O U R G E B O O S T A R O Y O N E T O M A T O Y O N X T O A L L A S K S P L A Y E D O V E N S I M I D E M P L O Y

•From left: Dan Akpovwa, publisher of Abuja Enquirer; Mr Owolabi Kamson; Akinwunmi Ambode, All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate for Lagos State; and Mr Remilekun Eyesan, at the dinner organised by old boys of Government College, Warri, in honour of the APC candidate. process.”This means that massive number of people, braving the risk of a fatally thousands of NYSC, post- INEC personnel also have to flawed election. The source NYSC and federal civil be committed to the then warned:”if it goes ahead servants as well as lecturers ongoing distribution of despite these lapses, have less than 15days to be PVCs, particularly to those politicians may now take recruited, indoctrinated and who were registered in the advantage of the lapses. It is Voters quite possible that the technically trained to Continuous handle these devices and Registration exercise Commission may have possible contingencies that expected to be delivered to actually fallen into a grand may arise if there are the country this week, just a trap which was intended to technical failures when week to the election - these force it to stick to the timeusing this innovative will need to be received, table, so that the plans to out, before strengthen the process cannot devices.”Stemming from sorted that, the source disclosed, distribution nationwide to be perfected”. One of the main issues “is the number of ad-hoc appropriate registration personnel that are required areas in 120,000 places, and INEC had to worry about is due to the need to create the problems arising from the constraint of meeting the distribution legal requirement with more accreditation points or the simultaneously addressed”. regard to the time-frame for voting points. Due to these diverse conducting the election. In This arose because many Sunday this connection, unlike 2011 polling units now have 1,000 challenges, to 2,000 voters, which Vanguard discovered that when it had to go to the require being broken into the Commission was National Assembly, the more points of accreditation already considering what to Commission had some time which insiders call voting do to address then, before the within which adjustments to points. “ As a result of this”, NSA compounded the the time-table can be Sunday Vanguard was told, issues, that appears to have accommodated in line with “each polling unit may now now barred INEC from Sections 76, 132 and 178 of require not less than eight taking such decision for the Constitution, which are to personnel instead of four p o s t p o n e m e n t the effect that “the National that were previously needed. independently only because Independent Electoral Commission shall it may not want to be seen ”When this is multiplied by the power to conduct 120,000 existing polling as being dictated to by the have not earlier than units, it means that the government through the election, 150days and not later than NSA. As things stand, the Commission may need to 30days before the expiration recruit about 960,000 ad- source declared, “this may of the term of office of the last hoc personnel nationwide now result in the holder of the that office”. being within the next two weeks Commission Under this time-frame-the and train them on normal stampeded into going Commission had the 28th of electoral processes and the ahead with the presidential April, 2015 as its maximum added technical challenges election despite the worries time bar, which means it has many electoral enough time within its own related to the card reader by that have been highlighted Commissioners nationwide. allowable time-frame under Most are yet to receive the Constitution without above. “In addition to the critical materials required reference to the National requirement to train this for the election. Assembly. The Commission may be

APC welcomes Presidency’s denial of pushing for election shift, but... he All Progressives Congress (APC) has welcomed the statement by the Presidency/PDP that they are not behind the ongoing campaign for next month’s general elections to be shifted, saying both must now back up their words with action by cutting off the funding for the surreptitious campaign immediately. In a statement issued in Ilorin, yesterday, by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said having seen that the election-shift campaign has been rejected by Nigerians, the Presidency and the PDP have wisely backed away from it, that is if they can be trusted to mean what they

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say. However, it called on all Nigerians, as well as local and international observers who have started arriving for the elections, to closely monitor developments as the elections approach, because the Presidency and the PDP have proven time and again that their words are not their bond. ‘’Election is a process, not a one-day affair. That is why we are delighted that some foreign observers have already arrived for the Feb. 14th and 28th polls. Now they must pay a very close attention to the preparations for the elections, the relentless campaign to shift the polls, including through the use of pseudo analysts and the sponsorship of a rash of court cases seeking to stop the presidential candidate of the

APC, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, at all costs”. The APC said. ‘’We know their last joker is the court, amid the unpleasant rumours that a pliable Judge has been procured with millions of dollars to disqualify our candidate. But we strongly believe that the judiciary will do all that is possible to keep its integrity intact and not be a party to desperate efforts to scuttle the elections and trigger a constitutional crisis.” The party also called on local and international observers to take note of the threats of violence emanating from a section of the country ahead of the elections.

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•From left: Oyo State Labour Party candidate,Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, Alhaji Kunle Sanni and President,Muslim Umah of Southwest,Prof Daud Noibi during Akala meeting with Oyo State Muslim Community held at Mosque/ •From right: Bride's father, Barr John Ndukauba; the bride, Dr Ngozi Adefala; the groom; and mother of the bride Dr (Mrs) Kate Ndukauba, at the new Islamic centre, Bodija Estate, Ibadan,Oyo State. couples wedding ceremony.

PDP wants APC moderated presidential debate (PDPPCO) is insisting on the participation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari in a live television debate with President Goodluck Jonathan. Director of Media and Publicity of the PDPPCO, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, in a statement, yesterday, in Abuja, said that the PDP was ready to attend any debate, anywhere in the country with the APC candidate even if that debate was organised by the APC’s spokesman Lai Mohammed, and the APC itself, as long as it would be televised live. Buhari had said he would not participate in the debate being organized by the Nigeria Election Debate Group (NEDG) for 14 presidential candidates and their running mates. The APC candidate alleged bias because, according to him, the organisers of the debate were federal government agencies and parastatals. “The decision of the APC not to participate in the debate organised by the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) on the grounds of alleged bias is baseless and absurd. The decision of the APC to boycott the debate provides ample evidence of their cowardice and their unrelenting contempt for the Nigerian people,” Fani-Kayode said. “The truth is that the electorate would like to see the presidential candidates of all the political parties square up in a television debate to answer questions on their blueprint for governance and national development. “The PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation is interested in our candidate, President Jonathan, engaging General Buhari in a robust and lively debate so that both men can speak about issues like corruption, insurgency, the fight against terrorism and the economy all of which are areas in which Buhari has grounded his unjustifiable and misfortable with anyone else handling and organising the debate and since they keep alleging bias on the part of any sensible and impartial organizer, we challenge them to organise the debate themselves. As long as the debate is live and they will allow our candidate to speak his mind on all issues, without any interruption and without cutting him short, we assure them that we will attend. Our candidates-President Jonathan and his Vice President, Architect Namadi Sambo will take up the gauntlet and join issues with them anywhere in this country and at anytime as long as the Nigerian people can witness the event live and as long as it is done openly for the world to see. “We know that they may have a few challenges with the English language; so, if they like they can even conduct the debate in vernacular: we would be prepared to pay for a translator or an interpreter just so that they could understand the proceedings. Whenever they want to organise such a debate and wherever they choose as the venue, we will be there, as long it will be televised live. This is because we believe that under any circumstances and in

By Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin HE presidential can didate of the All Progressives Congress,APC in the February 14 election, General Muhammadu Buhari, said in Ilorin, Kwara State capital, yesterday, that the party, after research, has decided to rejuvenate farming and mining in such a way that it would provide massive gainful employment for youths if elected into office. He also said that he would block all means of corruption in Nigeria and use the resources to provide scholarship, qualitative education, gainful empowerment and infrastructure development. The presidential campaign team, which arrived Ilorin International Airport around 10.15 am, could not reach the palace of the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Zulu Gambari, is about fifteen minutes drive away, until after over two hours because of the tumultuous crowd that besieged the convoy which forced the campaign team to embark on a long trek to the palace. The venue of the campaign,Metropolitan Square, along Asa Dam Ilorin, was equally thronged by a crowd of party supporters who had gathered as early as 9am awaiting the arrival of their guests who did not arrive the venue until 1.55pm. The well attended campaign ended around 3.45pm. Speaking at the palace of Emir of Ilorin, Buhari said, “The APC has iden-

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•‘Why Buhari should participate’ HE Peoples Democrat chievous attacks on our every situation President T ic Party Presidential candidate. Goodluck Jonathan will Campaign Organisation “Since the APC is not com- give Buhari the thrashing of

Buhari: Our farming, mining programs will create jobs tified these problems and wherever we go, we repeat these fundamental problems Nigeria is going through, of insecurity, of the depletion of the economy and corruption. From the airport to here, we saw the faces of hundreds of youths and it is believed that 60 per cent of the youths in Nigeria are unemployed whether they have finished school or not. “Our talented children who don’t have opportunity to go to schools, whose parents cannot afford to send them to schools, we will cooperate with the local governments to have a scholarship system where talented Nigerians could be identified and properly educated”. Responding Emir said, “General Buhari is not a visitor to Ilorin, he has been associating with us, we have been associating with him in Ilorin and the emirate and in fact the whole of Kwara State with his renown with our son, General Tunde Idiagbon. They are like twins in effect both in effect and outside office.’’ ‘’ I worked with him around 1976, he was then the governor of then Northeastern state comprising now about six states and he was the coordinator to divide the north east into three-Borno, Gongola and Bauchi. So he had to swear in the Permanent Secretaries who had been deployed into these divisions. I was lucky to be among one of them as Solicitor-General for Gongola. Little did I know I would continue to meet him? ‘’I thank God that I met him; he is a man of honour. The first time he realized I was in Maiduguri was when I attended the council which he was presiding. And then he asked the Secretary, “ who is that young man, they said Zulu Gambari from Ilorin”. He asked, what is he doing here. Then General said, what is his rank? They said, “Senior State Counsel”. He said, “That is not a rank, go and give him a title. Is there no other rank there (in the judiciary)? They said there were Attorney-General, SolicitorGeneral. He asked, after that, what else? They said DPP , he said, then go and give him for the mere fact that he has come all the way from Ilorin. ‘’So he is a man of justice, he wants to do justice. Nigeria, the whole country is looking forward to you to do justice. You have a very heavy responsibility as you rightly said. To get there is nothing but to be safely and attentively there. It is almost dinosaur that he would get there having been there before but your task is very heavy.” The National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, who caught rapt attention of the tumultuous crowd with his political razzmatazz in Yoruba dialect reminded Nigerians of the promise President Goodluck Jonathan made to provide jobs for the unemployed youths when he asked the Interior Minister Abba Moro to exploit money from poor Nigerians and instead of jobs he provided deaths and nothing was done about it. Tinubu said February 14,2015 is a golden opportunity for all Nigerians to change the destiny of this country once and for all by voting for Buhari and his running mate, Professor Yemi Osibajo, and indeed all the party’s candidates in order to effect the much desired change. The leader of APC in Kwara state, Dr Bukola Saraki, excitedly said going by the unprecedented crowd of party supporters, Kwarans had spoken that they are going to vote for Buhari and all APC candidates. The Director General of the presidential campaign, Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, castigated the administration of Jonathan for mismanaging Nigeria’s economy and looting the nation’s treasury, stressing that February 14 is the last opportunity for the Nigerian elite to change the destiny of Nigeria from bad to good and that they must not miss it.

his life in any frank and open discussion about his record in public office.” Meanwhile, Labour Party (LP), yesterday, urged Buhari to participate in the debate. The party said Buhari’s participation in the debate will dismiss doubts on his ability to administer the nation. In a statement by its National Secretary, Mr Kayode Ajulo, the LP pointed out that the debate would help put issues in proper perspectives, devoid of propaganda. According to him, “the excuse given by the APC candidate that the organisers were Federal Government agencies is not tenable because INEC too by law is a Federal Government agency. It then follows that if Buhari should boycott the debate, then he ought to also boycott the election since it is being organised by a federal agency (INEC).” The party scribe noted that the expectations of Nigerians and the international community will be dashed if Buhari should stay away from the debate. He stated that the major contenders in the election should take advantage of the debate platform to clear all doubts about issues raised against them by their opposition.

Nigeria’s future is here — Prof Anya

By Chris Onuoha HE President of Ndig bo Lagos and a member of the 2014 National Conference, Prof. Anya Oko Anya, has urged voters in the coming elections to cast their votes for President Goodluck Jonathan for another tenure, saying, “The future of Nigeria is here, we can feel by touch. We have to sustain it, and not truncate it midway.” Addressing a mammoth crowd of people who defied rain to attend the unity rally organised by the South East - South South United Assembly (SESSUA) at the weekend, held at the training pitch

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of the Nigerian Institute of Sports, National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, Anya said it is important to return the sitting president to ensure that his milestone achievements are taken to a logical conclusion. More important reasons he gave for his preference for Jonathan is the need to give him the chance to implement the outcome of the National Conference. He expressed fear that if Jonathan is not returned, the resources expended on the National Conference would have been wasted, stressing that his successor may not implement the resolutions to the letter.

He reminded voters that the foundation for the future of the country has been laid by the Jonathan’s administration and ought to be allowed to consolidate the transformations he has committed himself to in his first tenure. Addressing the South East - South South United Assembly members drawn from all the local governments in Lagos, the President General of SESSUA, Oliver Akubueze, urged the gathering to drum up for support for Jonathan for a land slide victory in the South West during the polls.

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NPAN’s presidential debate holds Tuesday presidential debate leading up to the February 14 election, being organised by the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), will hold on Tuesday. The debate is scheduled to take place at the Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja. Already, President Goodluck Jonathan has accepted to participate in the debate, a statement said last night. In a letter dated January 14, 2015, to the initiators of the

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From left:Mr Boboye Oyeyemi, Corps Marshal and Chief Executive of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC); Mrs Chidinma Chidoka; Chief Osita Chidoka, Minister of Aviation and guest lecturer; Prof. Benjamin C. Ozumba, Vice Chancellor, University of Nigeria Nsukka [UNN] ;Mrs Chinelo Ozumba & Chief of Obosi, during a lecture to mark the 44th convocation of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka [UNN].

Postponing polls is call to chaos and anarchy —Oba of Benin •Says Binis will not play second fiddle in future FG

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM, Benin-City

HE Benin monarch, Oba Erediauwa, yesterday, warned that the call for the postponement of the forthcoming general elections is a call to chaos and anarchy. He predicted that the elections will be peaceful, but warned supporters of both President Goodluck Jonathan and Gen.Muhammadu Buhari to stop utterances capable of creating tension in the country. The Oba spoke through the Benin Forum, an umbrella of all Binis at home and in Diaspora, led by the Esogban of Benin Kingdom, Chief David Edebiri. The BF is the mouth piece of the reverred monarch. In a statement signed by Edebiri and General Secretary of the Forum, Barr. Henry Ogbodu (SAN), the monarch also urged the Binis in Edo South to ensure that they

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pick their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to ensure that they vote candidates of their choice, asserting that the Binis as a race “ can no longer afford to play the second fiddle in any future Federal

Government in Nigeria”. “ The Forum frowns at the activities of few antidemocratic forces who in recent times called for the shifting of the elections to a future date citing the on going distribution of the PVCs

as a reason for such a mischievous call. The Benin Forum emphatically calls on the relevant authorities to ignore the unpatriotic suggestion which to all intents and purposes is a direct invitation to chaos and anarchy. The election must hold in February 2015 as scheduled to save our nascent democracy”, he said.

debate - Channels Television, ARISE Television as well as THISDAY and Guardian Newspapers Limited - on behalf of NPAN. Senator Ahmadu Ali, Director General of the Jonathan/ Sambo 2015 Presidential Campaign Organisation, said the President “has accepted to participate in the debate”, the statement said. According to the statement, while General Buhari Campaign Organisation has indicated - in principle that it would also participate in the debate, no official letter has been received from them at press time. The statement went on: “President Jonathan and Major-General Mohammadu Buhari were formally invited to the debate. In a letter dated January 11, 2015 to both presidential candidates and delivered the same day, the organizers noted that “too many of the troubles we now face stem from governance: decisions

made behind closed doors, regulations removed when no one was looking, or reckless actions and impunity across the polity.” The letter added: “Our nation is strongest when our elected leaders are accessible and accountable to its citizens, explaining decisions and answering tough questions. That standard of openness and transparency must start long before Election Day on February 14, 2015.” “The organizers include ALL member organizations of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria, Channels Television and ARISE Television. And footage will be made available LIVE to all broadcast stations as well as on social media:Twitter, Facebook and Google. The audience for the debate will include civil society groups, youth groups and other stakeholders. Attendance at the debate will be strictly by invitation”.

EFCC records 126 convictions

BY FRANCIS IGATA he Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has disclosed that it recorded a total of 126 convictions in 2014 on corruption cases pending in courts. The agency said the figure was higher that the 117 convictions it secured the previous year. Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, Head, Media and Publicity of the EFCC, who addressed the media at the commission’s zonal office in Enugu, described it as “a feat in

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the light of the shenanigans that goes on in the Nigerian judicial system. “This, to all intent and purposes is a healthy progression that should be applauded. Obviously, there is something that the EFCC under Lamorde has gotten right with investigation and prosecution of cases, and the commission is poised to sustain this momentum with a view to recording more convictions this year”, he said. On its current efforts, he said the commission remained committed to

see that cases pending in court were disposed of as quickly as possible. “God willing, and if the strike by the judicial workers permits, the commission is expecting judgement in the N25 billion money laundering case instituted against Michael Igbinedion, younger brother to former Edo State Governor Lucky Igbinedion and one Eboigbodin, on Friday January 30”, the EFCC spokesman said. “In the same vein, a Federal High Court in Abuja is expected to rule in the extradition

proceeding initiated against Emmanuel Okoyomon, a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Security Minting and Printing Company”. While noting that the challenges of finance,

frivolous applications by defence counsel were hampering the activities of the anti-graft agency, Uwujaren disclosed that the Commission was benefiting from global partnership against corruption.

Onuesoke condemns Danjuma’s call for arrest of Ex-N’Delta militants Onuesoke, has condemned the call b y General Theophilus Danjuma (rtd) for the arrest of exNiger-Delta militants, Tompolo, Asari Dokubo, Boyloaf and Kingsley Kuku, for allegedly making war calls should President Goodluck Jonathan fail at the forthcoming polls. Condemning the utterances of the retired general while addressing PDP supporters and members of the Urhobo he President General of Urhobo Nation for T Okowa 2015, Chief Sunny Nation for Okowa 2015 at Warri, Delta State, Onuesoke described the call as a call for the arrest of the people of the Niger Delta. Onuesoke argued that while Danjuma and notable northerners have been unable to fish out and arrest those behind the activities of Boko Haram in the North, they are

Rivers judicial workers suspend strike

BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME, Port Harcourt

ATIONAL body of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN, has suspended the eight months old strike of the Rivers State chapter of the body. National Publicity Secretary of the body, Comrade Kayode Igbarago, who announced the suspension yesterday in Port Harcourt, said members of the local chapter should resume work tomorrow. Igbarago also appealed that members of the union in the state should not be victimized in any C M Y K

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way. He explained that the decision to call off the strike was taken at a meeting of the National Executive Council of JUSUN on January 26 in Abuja. “The national body has after careful investigation been convinced that the State Branch has not compromised the struggle in any form. Furthermore, after careful and exhaustive deliberation, NEC considered the assurances and commitments made by various security agencies in the provision of adequate security in and around the court premises in Rivers State, which was

at a point in time a target of violent at. These attacks had sent unimaginable fear and tension to the minds of the court workers and other court users”, the JUSUN scribe said.. It would be recalled that

the state chapter proceeded on an indefinite strike action July 9 last year due to crisis in the judiciary over the appointment of a substantive Chief Judge for the state.

2015: We must not return Nigeria to Egypt —Obanikoro, Kuku, Eradiri, others

BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE former Minister of State (Defence), Senator Musiliu Obanikoro; Special Adviser to the President on Amnesty Programme, Kingsley Kuku, some Niger-Delta leaders and clerics, weekend, warned the electorate against returning Nigeria to

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the dark days of dictatorship. Speaking at the National Theatre, Lagos during a prayer session by NigerDeltans in the South-West for President Goodluck Jonathan, they said Nigeria had come a long way in the last 16 years of unbroken democratic rule, insisting that efforts must be made to

deepen democracy instead of losing the gains. To deepen democracy, improve governance and continue with a polity where all Nigerians are deemed equal and no one is seen as a second class citizen, they urged Nigerians to re-elect President Jonathan, who is running on the banner of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

instrumentality and sponsorship of bigots.

moving far away to the Niger Delta calling for the arrests of ex-militants who have been peacefully executing their civil right obligations of freedom of speech and association as guaranteed by the nation’s constitution. He said Danjuma was not making statements about the evil of Boko Haram that was ravaging the North-east, killing and maiming Christians, burning churches and destroying assets of easterners in the North all through the

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 1, 2015, PAGE 9

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PAGE 10—SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 1, 2015 Minister, both Trustees of the PDP , who have been totally sidelined and humiliated (to use the words of Dr Alex Ekwueme, the father of the PDP) on account of the total reliance of the PDP and Jonathan on the incumbent governor of the state. In addition to the two are other Elders of the state, who have decided to boycott the President’s visit. When it happens, it will be the first time, since 1998, for the real leaders of the PDP in the state to be absent when the party’s leader is visiting. It will also signal their collective intention to distance themselves from the campaign for Jonathan’s re-election. Akpabio deserves no blame in this respect. Most politicians, if control. Jonathan, who, incidentally, had shown no inclination towards acquisition of absolute power, or has been hampered by forces beyond his control, has become hostage to several governors and party leaders who are not so constrained. He had yielded the control of the party in their own domains. And, for three years, the arrangement had worked and has allowed him to concentrate on orchestrating his own second term bid – almost from the day after he was sworn-in in 2011. Unfortunately, time, a powerful corrupting element in human affairs, kept ticking away. By January last year, each of the governors scheduled to vacate office on May 29, 2015, became a “lame duck” gover nor. Those who, hitherto, were cowed by their wide powers, and who were politically opposed to them, started to move against them. And, in states where the governor does not belong to a dominant ethnic group, like Delta and Akwa Ibom, the other ethnic groups combined to fight the governor. Meanwhile, Jonathan and the PDP Central Working Committee, which had become hostage to the governors, were either not aware of the dilemma which confronted them, or believed in the assurances of the it has the two of them side by side and embozzed across was” Great Men” below that was;”Great Team, Change agent. To the point and no posing. Whoever, quality assured this poster of Jonathan did him a great disservice. Anthony Olanrewaju Awotoye popularly known as Tony Tetuila, former member of the REMEDIES. Anthony also uses his alias so I ask: will the real Anthony please stand up. He of the blonde hair and occasional blue contact lenses now wants to join the gold rush to the house of assembly. The

Before Jonathan visits Akwa Ibom State “Never put all your eggs in one basket.” Anonymous. HAT piece of advice for people all the way down in the value chain of the poultry industry was prelude to the modern management principle of always having Plan B. It was a lesson I learnt in 1970, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, immediately after securing a loan to purchase a house for my family. My former wife, like all the others, had depended on one plumber, admittedly the best in the County, to fix our pipes. The problem was that, this “genius of a plumber ” was also everybody ’s favourite fixer. He became a “god” to all his customers. That was until one day, I stumbled upon another plumber, not so good, but proficient and sufficient for most purposes; and above all considerate of the feelings of all customers. I took him home to solve a problem which had driven us to

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acclaimed Father of Akwa Ibom state (he and General Akpan (rtd) were the arrowheads of what became Akwa Ibom), as well as Chief Don Etiebet, former Petroleum Ministr y and the minorities active to develop interest in politics. Here in the UK, we are approaching a general election in May and one of the campaign posters with Dave Cameron says:

Election posters: The good, the bad and the very hilarious “But the vain man did not hear him. Vain men never hear anything but praise.” ? Antoine de Saint-Exupéry S we hurl towards the 14th of February election, it is becoming fever pitch and almost irrepressible. You could not miss the campaign posters all around the place as several political parties jostle for positions in already saturated surfaces. There have been problems with posters and defacing of opponents’ posters and accusations flying right, left and centre. The posters are on the high streets, highways, public buildings, private buildings and overheads. There are posters pasted everywhere that even one goat seems to be enjoying eating a Buhari poster. Things got so bad that the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency, L ASAA, threatened to sanction any candidate and individual who contravenes its guidelines on the use of election campaign materials in the state. There has been a lot of mischief going on that the police boss said nobody has the right to pull down posters, banners or

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billboards of any politician or political party, regardless of the party. He said: “Anyone doing so is infringing on the rights of the people to reach the right candidates, stating that the Electoral Act 2010 as amended in section 100(2) stated interalia that state apparatus, including the media shall not be employed to the advantage or disadvantage of any political party or candidate at any election”. I don’t think it will put a stop to hoodlums who keep removing the posters. So back to the posters, I believe most have missed the brief of what a political poster is supposed to convey; it should be a message and it should appeal directly to potential voters. If you remember the Barak Obama’s “Hope” campaign poster captured the imagination of many young voters, the message was simple: Hope. Nothing more, nothing less. Of course, it also did help that he is enigmatic, erudite and engaging . The strapline was not bad either: Yes, We Can. And boy! Obama was as good as his word. He made young people

Let’s stay on the road to stronger Economy. Strapline; “More People in work. 760,000 More Businesses. The Deficit Halved”. So, a poster should convey a message and reinforce the political message that it needs to be communicated to the electorate. It has to decide who are their target, are they communicating to passersby or motorists? Whatever the case, the message has to be brief and to the point along with the image representing the individual or the idea. I have to endure for the sake of the readers, I do believe it is all for a good cause. I must tell you that I haven’t laugh that hard in ages. Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha, once a governor of Bayelsa State and former boss of GEJ, the very same who jumped bail in Britain,the very same who had been charged with money laundering. So in his poster, he is vying for the senate and it says he is “tested and trusted”. Oh, at the bottom of the poster it says” pardoned for service”. What service?

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distractions for three days, while waiting for “genius”. He did it in less than one hour. “Number 2”, as he was soon called by several of our neighbours, whose plumbing problems he also fixed that day, soon relieved several households of the tyranny of “Genius”. It is a lesson which has remained with me for ever. And, anybody in charge of anything, household, council, club, state, company or nation, should always ensure that they never become totally reliant on one individual in the management of that part of their estate. President Jonathan has not officially visited Akwa Ibom State as this column is being written on January 22, 2015. He will soon be there. Irrespective of whether he had gone there before this piece is published or after, one fact will be recorded on that day. The Akwa Ibom State he will visit, which was once regarded as one of his

safest states in the 2015 elections, would have become a keenly contested territory. Once, almost hundred per cent PDP , the party now faces serious challenges from people, who until this year, were considered life-long PDP members. Among these are Obong Victor Attah, former Governor and

Akwa Ibom State he will visit, which was once regarded as one of his safest states in the 2015 elections, would have become a keenly contested territory

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allowed, want total control; they are all “dictators” in varying degrees. Circumstances and their own personal inclinations determine how far they will go in the quest for ultimate Prison service or service to his greed keeping the large size of the state revenue? Make of it what you will but really should he be trusted when he has been tested he is not to be trusted. By the way, he is smiling with hand cupping his chin. There are many more of this hand chin going on as you will read later. I have no problems with actors plying their trade but there seems to be foray of many of these thespians going into politics, many have and they did well; Ronald Reagan, president of USA, Arnold Schwarzenegger, he was a

governors that they would deliver their states. But, delivering a state in 2011 is quite different from doing the same thing in 2015. In 2011, Jonathan’s endorsement was almost total in the Niger Delta. Even a dunce now knows that the same level of performance cannot be guaranteed – even in Bayelsa. As things stand, right now, the President will be extremely lucky to obtain a majority in Akwa Ibom State. The vote will not be against Jonathan, as a person, but, to register the feelings of the people of Akwa Ibom State that the President had placed all his hopes in one man – who is no longer popular with the majority of the people belonging to the three ethnic groups. Certainly, the stadium will be over-full. Money and residual political power will ensure that public servants, contractors and hired crowds will provide the illusion of acceptance. But, a person who is forced by powers beyond his control, to speak in support of the President, will tell the truth on Election Day. By then, Jonathan will be in Abuja waiting for the verdict – which might go against him. The alienated leaders are up in arms against a party they formed but which had been hijacked from them. to himself than the people he wants to serve. Sooner said that it is very sad that Jona does the same, when he added Ebele to his name but I have seen another poster where (he rests his chin on his hand ) he changes his middle name to Azikwe. This is a ruse to show that he has affinity with voters of certain places. So Olusola has leant the trick; that in order to garner support change your name and say it in your poster that you are one of them. How I wish it was that easy but I guess, it seems all you have to do is to change traditional attire of the place and you become one of Us! It only took several poses, suave, sartorial elegance and an additional name so you too can be anyone you want to be! Only in Nigeria! “9ice Abolore Adegbola Adigun Alapomeji Ajifolajifaola Akande, one of his posters it says that “ change is inevitable ! Well, he learns fast. He dons a pin stripe suit and a dickey bow tie and then in another, he sit on a very imposing chair with mismatching attire while gazing seductively in his stylises posters. Offing Kate Henshaw is no doubt, a very beautiful woman she has brains as well. Too much make up and it seems to be about her appearance rather than the message. She is also a Nollywood actress, vying for the House of Representatives. It seems it is about being pretty and doing absolutely nothing and waits for some gullible people's vote because you are one of them

A poster should convey a message and reinforce the political message that it needs to be communicated to the electorate. It has to decide who are their target

former Governor of California and Clint Eastwood,Mayor of Carmel and they did well. I am not sure that the crop of Nigerian actors are cut from the same cloth. It is evident that they are not rushing in because they are altruistic, it is because they are getting on the gravy train as they must have told them that there is money and loads of it to be had. Angela Davis once said; “What this country needs is more unemployed politicians”. That would be an improvement. So here is the roll call of the good, the bad and the hilarious One of the ones I like is the Buhari and Osinbanjo,

poster was very much in your face and I suspect of good advice, he had a more sombre poster. He tells us that he is one of us then that must be true then. Desmond Elliot also an actor and director a veteran of 200 films and a number of television shows and soap operas. Desmond Elliot, has come under fire when his poster revealed additional name; “Oluwashola”. His posters has got to be seen to be believed. I must admit he looks very dapper and he scrubs well but this is not a fashion show. And his poster tells us DOE (his initials) for the change we desire. Not sure it is believable and he seems so

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SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 1, 2015, PAGE 11 irrational. The point to be made is that each head of our societal institutions involved in the election process should have been brought into the peace accord to assure the nation that threat to peace would not originate from any sector. Media heads for instance, should have been asked to sign the peace accord and assure the nation that they would neither give certain candidates political leverage during elections nor help to publicize hate campaigns. Let no one suggest that leaders of such institutions cannot in reality cage all their members to embrace best practices in their fields. This is because the argument would clearly expose the futility of asking Presidential candidates to sign an agreement that would presumably bind their followers. As the history of elections in Nigeria has shown, no politician is ready to lose an election and no follower will allow the loss of his party in his own polling booth, ward or constituency. As a result, we can hardly avoid violence no matter the number of peace treaties signed. Indeed, there are some elements that ordinarily relish violence hence the high level of threats in the polity in recent times. How does any leader manage such elements? The unfortunate posture of otherwise popular leaders advantages that might help him during the elections. One of them is the fact that a significant proportion of the electorate, especially those between nineteen and forty years, do not have firsthand knowledge and experience of the state of the country when Gen. Buhari ruled as a military dictator from December 31, 1983 to August 27, 1985. Moreover, the memories of many of those old enough to know what happened then have become dulled with the passage of time. But the advantage of time on Buhari’s side could be a disadvantage as well, since human beings tend to forget the good more easily than the bad. Besides, the situation of things within Nigeria and in the like Governor Fayose of Ekiti has not helped matters. The disowning of such posture by Jonathan’s campaign team was good but it is certainly not enough. The PDP should have compelled Fayose to apologize to the nation for his hate campaign. The failure to do so implies that some followers are beyond the control of their leaders or that party leaders do condone intemperate language by their followers, the celebrated peace accord notwithstanding. So, how are we sure that those who signed the accord intended to stand by it in a nation where leaders are hardly honest with what they say? The conduct of no less than two serving governors leaves the question in the air. One of them in his first term told his people to stone him if he ever seeks reelection. He is about to conclude his second term without reference to his erstwhile pledge. The second one averred that he would never seek reelection because he would make the best use of one term. To simplify his position, he used the example of a school system where it is only those who fail that need to repeat. Interestingly he fought and got a second term without ‘ repeating’. Why then should anyone be too sure that the peace accord would be honoured? We can only hope that those who are genuinely committed to peace would discourage attacks on flexibility and consensus building approach to issues of vital public concern required from the President of a fractured pluralistic country like ours. Gen. Buhari acceptability is predicated on his reputation as a disciplined and incorruptible soldier with the courage to fight corruption to a standstill. But is that reputation really based on solid objective evidence or is it a lingering placebo effect of his jackboot treatment of selected second republic politicians? When Gen. Buhari and his cohorts took over from Alhaji Shehu Shagari, a sizeable percentage of Nigerians felt that corruption and indiscipline by politicians have reached unprecedented levels. Consequently, they welcomed Buhari and his cohorts and expected the new regime to deal with corrupt politicians, revamp the economy, and alleviate the sufferings of the masses. The centrepiece of Buhari’s draconian government was the War Against Indiscipline (WAI) which had two components. The first one was the setting up of military tribunals, which handed hefty prison terms to corrupt politicians. Secondly, Buhari tried to instil “displine” among Nigerians, especially through enforcement of the queuing culture and regular environmental sanitation. Naturally, for a people weighed down by the burden of corruption and expectant of positive change from the military rulers, Buhari’s strong-arm tactics was very popular at the beginning. But as time went on, people started feeling suffocated by the draconian decrees, individuals during electioneering as such attacks are veritable sources of violence. That is not what our people desire now. Of course, Nigerians would be better off if the candidates can restrict their campaigns to what they intend to do for us than what their opponents did or failed to do. Unknown to politicians, the average Nigerian citizen is not as gullible as they think because our people now know which character evidence to rely upon. They are also beginning to fully understand the nature and scope of violence especially from the current testimony of Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi state that those who stoned the convoy of President Jonathan during his campaign in the state were organized to do so by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. While it is hard to believe that the Minister who is himself a member of the same ruling party as the Governor and President could do that, we are however sensitized into realizing that whenever a violent incident is recorded, no one should simply conclude that it must be the handiwork of a political opponent. Incidents of inter party violence may never be less than the intra party ones. Thus, if we really wish to make political violence a thing of the past, we must make politics less lucrative, otherwise peace talks would be nothing more than leaving substance to pursue shadows. selective injustice and highhandedness of his regime. Decrees 2, 4, and 20 which, collectively, severely limited freedom of expression and led to the execution of three drug offenders retroactively, would always be remembered as instruments of oppression and brutality. As we observed earlier, projection of Buhari by APC as a no-nonsense disciplined and incorruptible Nigerian has the unintended effect of drawing close attention to his activities while in public office. The Igbo has an adage that says, onweghi onye enyochara ike ya ana agaghi ahu nshi, which in English means “there is no one whose anus, upon examination, does not contain some excrement.” Thus, it has transpired that Gen. Buhari is not as squeaky clean as APC supporters claim. His critics point to the $2.8 billion and N25.7 billion scandals as evidence that Buhari does not have the capacity to fight corruption: they also argue that his overemphasis on imprisonment of corrupt politicians instead of articulating plans for establishing and strengthening institutions that would make corruption harder to perpetrate successfully means that he has lost touch with the evolving character of graft. Some commentators have pointed out, and largely correctly, that Gen. Buhari is excessively pro-North and Islamic in his orientation to provide enlightened leadership for Nigeria. This point is extremely important, considering the complex pluralistic nature of the country.

Can Abuja Peace Accord stop political violence?

OLITICAL events of the last one month in Nigeria seem to place doubt on the workability of the recent accord signed by our political leadership. First, the accord was not comprehensive as it tended to rely on the existing erroneous impression that the only cause of election violence in our clime is the desperation of politicians. While not playing down on that because it is certainly a prime factor, it is obviously incorrect to think that it is the only factor. To do so would suggest that we do not as a nation appreciate the dubious roles of some agencies and their operatives in elections. For instance, what the officials of the Independent National electoral Commission (INEC) can do and have always done to facilitate violence cannot be wished away. Thus, we should have included the INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega among the signatories of the Abuja peace accord in the hope that he would stop his

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officials from colluding with anyone to instigate political violence Leaders of our security services particularly the Inspector General of Police should also have been made to sign the peace accord. Is it not instructive that ballot boxes are still snatched at bye elections where the police is sometimes over-provided to secure the election? By

do cause violence in Nigeria. Are we unaware that some candidates who are deprived of justice on the basis of technicality often resort to extra judicial means to ventilate their grievances? Interestingly, many of the grievances are genuine- a typical example being the imposition of party flag bearers at the expense of real winners of party

PhD, Department of Philosophy, University of Lagos,

Notes on the upcoming national elections (1) s the time slated for the upcoming elections draws inexorably closer, politicians and their supporters are doing all they can to ensure victory at the polls. Expectedly, the major focus is on the presidential elections, because whoever is elected President automatically becomes the highest political office holder in the country. That is not to say that other political offices, such as those of the governor and membership of the legislature, are unimportant. The fact is that the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria grants the President extraordinary powers over the affairs of the country, albeit within certain constitutionally defined limits, which implies that his or her successes and failures would have serious consequences nationwide. In addition, emphasis on the 2015 presidential election is accentuated by the sharp contrasts in personality and antecedents of the two leading contenders, the incumbent President, Goodluck Jonathan, and Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, who are contesting under the platforms of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) respectively. It would be recalled that

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Leaders of our security services particularly the Inspector General of Police should also have been made to sign the peace accord. Is it not instructive that ballot boxes are still snatched at bye elections where the police is sometimes over-provided to secure the election?

not inviting the Chief Justice of Nigeria to sign on behalf of all judges that partisan decisions would not be made before and after voting day, we merely failed to recognize that bad judges; and they are many,

primaries. As our people say, an elder must allow a child he has beaten to cry. Thus, to expect that persons who were cheated out of a contest would, without violence, accept their fate with equanimity is

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this is the fourth attempt by Gen. Buhari to become President in an evolving, crisis-prone democratic setting: his last attempt was in 2011 when he contested as flag bearer of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and lost to President Jonathan. Presently, it appears that Buhari’s chances of victory are better than it had ever been, particularly because, for survivalist reasons, some very wealthy agbata ekee politicians with a lot influence in the media have been working tirelessly to rebrand the former military dictator. Secondly, the narrative of change by the APC resonates with many Nigerians disappointed and disillusioned by what they consider, rightly or wrongly, as President Jonathan’s inability to fight corruption, reinvigorate the economy and crush the Boko Haram insurgency. However, APC is gradually becoming a victim of its own momentum: its propaganda of change has triggered a harsher searchlight on the antecedents of Gen. Buhari, Bola Tinubu and other stalwarts of the party, which reveal that APC cannot be the change agent Nigeria needs at this time. For example, if APC were truly progressive, instead of relying too much on the purported anti-corruption qualities of one man, Buhari, it ought to have

articulated effective and implementable strategy for solving Nigeria’s greatest problem, the burdensome unitarist political structure imposed on the country by the military dictators. Indeed, before the emergence of APC, some of its chieftains from the South-West pretending to be Awoists became politically popular based on their advocacy for “true federalism.” Now, these quack Awoists have abandoned the main plank of Awoism: they are pusillanimous on the issue of true federalism now probably because they do not want to offend prominent Northern members of the party, including Gen. Buhari, since the Northern

If APC were truly progressive, instead of relying too much on the purported anti-corruption qualities of one man, Buhari, it ought to have articulated effective and implementable strategy for solving Nigeria’s greatest problem, the burdensome unitarist political structure imposed on the country by the military dictators

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establishment is averse to any political arrangement that might jeopardise the movement of resources from the South to the North. In my opinion, Gen. Buhari’s electability would have improved appreciably if his party has shown serious commitment to political restructuring of the country along federalist lines as the foundation for tackling the hydra-headed problems of national development and genuine transformation. Objectively considered, Gen. Buhari has some

international community generally has changed dramatically from what it was when Buhari was in power as a military ruler such that he would find it extremely difficult to cope with the new challenges facing the office of a civilian President accountable to the legislature and to Nigerians as a whole. In this connection, Buhari’s critics point out that his rigidity, strong military orientation and unalloyed loyalty to feudal Islamic Northern establishment are inimical to the kind of

To be continued

PAGE 12—SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 1, 2015 millstone on its neck. With a fierce, terrorist onslaught at its borders and international waters, and increasing domestic insecurity, it seems to me quite clear that a deep recession will deepen the gloom and weaken Nigeria’s prospects of containing mass revolt. This possibility must be avoided, and it is imperative for the elected president to explore lateral and horizontal policies to stem a potential collapse of the state. Here in sum are, in my view possible agenda for the new or incoming government. Nigeria needs a very revolutionary fiscal policy that would galvanize internal production, absorb our excess human capital, and stem the possibility of new, mass layoffs. A massive reform of Nigeria’s national education policy should, as a matter of urgency invest heavily in technical and craft education. It is imperative to rebuild Nigeria’s Technical Colleges, and upgrade the Polytechnics, and offer retraining possibilities to millions of University graduates who are currently unemployed. It is imperative to reform and re-orient the National Directorate of Employment (NDE). This is one of the more brilliant ideas of the Babangida administration which did not live up to its possibilities. NDE is currently overbureaucratized, and static. It is actually very busy doing nothing. But the NDE requires new imagination, and could be instrumentalized and used as the fulcrum to expand Nigeria’s national production capacity. The NDE should establish new field offices and partner local authorities to expand direct training programs; establish new modern workshops with contemporary tools nationwide, and design new training programs, protocols, and business incubation platforms. NDE should also design new, young business partnerships, start-ups, and young entrepreneur programs, and must get the banks to open up credit and loans schemes/facilities for these new businesses guaranteed by a Federal Loans program, while it provides strategic technical monitoring for growth. To put it plainly, the new government must have a radical work policy. It could review and adopt the model of the American “new deal.” Whoever wins this election must move quickly to stem the rising tide of discontent and despair, the result of multi-digit national unemployment. It is a far more dangerous threat to national security than Boko Haram. To balance the compass of the Nigerian administration and its capacity to deliver real value, two important, strategic reforms must take place: whoever wins this election must embark on deep-level reform of the Civil Service and of the National Police Service. Civil service reform and Police reform are imperative on two critical levels: Nigeria cannot develop, or sustain development, without a highly skilled, modern civil service; nor can it establish clear law and order without a highly technical, well-led, properly educated, and properly-oriented National Police system. Nigeria’s police service is colonial and antiquated, and its civil service, inefficient and decadent, and this is why we have serious corruption in the public system. The Civil service is the “thinking arm” of the state, andthe office of the Chief Secretary of State (Secretary to the Federal Government) is the engine house of government policy. The capacity of that office must be expanded and strengthened; and I would, were I to have the ears of either man to be elected president, seek out and recommend a guy, by the name, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, currently SG of the Nigerian Labour Congress, as the secretary of state. Why? Because he has intellectual heft - he is a highly trained Economist, a specialist in international and domestic trade, with broad research and administrative capacities. Whoever is elected President must look for Dr. Ozo-Eson.He must also review Nigeria’s Defence and National Security policies, create or expand the Research and Development Arm of the Ministry of Defence, and connect it to a national Research and Development platform or grid that would synergize national defence and national security with researches in Nigeria’s National Universities, Polytechnics, Research Centers and Institutes. Nigeria must quickly embark on the development of its own domestic national defence tools/equipment program, and save money, and reduce the corruption associated with international arms procurement, as well as create jobs for Nigerian designers, Technicians, and Engineers. Besides no nation, desirous and serious about its own freedom, can afford to trust or depend on another nation to supply its means of self-defence. This is imperative.

hoever wins this forthcoming elections, will contend with profound challenges, and there is no doubt about that. Two of the critical challenges have to do with Nigeria’s economic security and the security of its homeland: the first, essentially, will be the challenges in grappling with massive revenue loss that might necessitate new, biting, austerity measures that will be a throw-back to the middle and late 80s. The dip in global oil prices and its impact on Nigeria’s revenue profileis not the only problem Nigeria has to deal with going forward. There is the tricky situation of market loss – the market for Nigeria’s oil, according to experts in the oil trade, has dried up significantly. In the past, oil prices might fall, but there would still be demand for Nigeria’s oil, and sales – in spite of the shortfall- would fund our credits. This situation is different. The United States, once Nigeria’s chief importer of oil, is now so flush with its own oil, so much indeed that it is talking now of exporting rather than importing. Since the oil embargo of the 1970s, the US oil production and strategic national reserve has never been flusher, particularly with its discovery of huge reserves of Shale oil. Nigerian oil exporters on the other hand have attempted to remedy

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this by shifting sales to the burgeoning Asian market – to China and India – two rising global behemoths. The problems is that the Chinese and the Indians are finding Angolan oil more to their liking. So, Nigeria is producing oil, but the market is shrinking. It is bound to shrink further, these experts say, with developments in alternative energy coming increasing on stream. These were scenarios built long ago for Nigeria’s policy makers and political leaders, which demanded that Nigeria made strategic long term investment like the Norwegians, and create rainy-day reserves that might shield it from the shock of inevitable revenue loss. Nigeria did not. This is not to sound alarmist, but Nigeria is in for very difficult times ahead, and the winner of the coming election must better brace up to the fact and the dreary reality of these challenges. These facts of Nigeria’s dismal revenue prospects and its implications, and the ways and means either of the parties and the candidates aim to address them, should have been at the center of the current national political and electioneering debates. Neither of the parties, nor any of the candidates has however directly addressed this looming and quite serious situation; none of the

The Age Thing IFE happens to the wicked and the kind and we will all age as the years pass by. Its a constant struggle dealing with the limitations that age hoisters upon us as we get older. When you are young you take many things for granted and assume that you can do any and everything just because you want to. Its often very humbling to find that the limitations that age brings just cant be surmounted, we all have to make peace with our our older bodies and jaded minds. Exercise is great, it helps mobility and keeps you fit but it wont wont bring your twenties back, neither will plastic surgery! I put up an old photograph of myself on the dressing table and the sole purpose was to ginger me into being more physically active and more disciplined in my diet and its been over a year where I may have gained even more weight. A friend saw it and started laughing; she knew what I was hoping for C M Y K

The difference between the young and the old is just the direction or should I say motivation behind their drive. The young have a body they are just growing into, it's closely tied with their sense of identity and they are motivated to keep and make it attractive. The old on the other hand tie identity with achievement and unlike the young they already know that a great bank balance trumps a great body. What the young take for granted like fitness, agility and most especially time, the old want to buy.

The age of contentment that brings acceptance is in my view the best thing about getting older. Its true that I wouldn't mind the willpower and stamina of the younger me but I wouldn't go back to my

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and she gently chided me to embrace the reality I have and the body that comes with it. I actually don't agree, losing weight or being perfectly fit is not a physical issue its a mental one and thats where we all age the most. The age thing is all in the mind and my mind has chilled out; it's not sending enough angst/will power to get me to punish myself in the gym to get the fitness level I desire.

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Agenda for the new president

parties seems ready with any fresh insight, or ideas, or any actionable blueprint that could guide the debate; Nigerians, including our

Nigeria needs a very revolutionary fiscal policy that would galvanize internal production, absorb our excess human capital, and stem the possibility of new, mass layoffs

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journalists, seem rather totally obsessed with their various cults of personalities, and have refused in any of the campaigns to ask deep questions, and seek clear answers about the darkening plains of Nigeria’s political economy. The projections are dire, I should report now, and it will be refreshing to get the Buhari or Jonathan campaign to answer this question: in the face of dire revenue forecasts, and in the stark prospect of a fragile purse, what means are available to this nation to stave-off a looming national economic crisis and a long recession? Nigeria steps into the second decade of the 21st century with a large

Most of us in middle age would be willing to pay some young person to exercise for us if we could then transfer the benefits to our ageing bodies. My twenty something self prided herself on doing a 7 kilometre run 5 days a week; exercise took up at least 2 hours of my day! I still do exercise but I struggle to do 4 kilometre walks and will cancel altogether if any excuse makes itself available. Not only do I lack the stamina of the young, I also don't have the will. Back in the day, I would race up the stairs of a high-rise building if I couldn't get to the gym, I would do sit-ups in confined spaces, walk instead of drive where possible but not anymore. The almost zero will power and stamina is what is most damaging in this age thing.

twenties for all the tea in china! There is a simple truth behind my lack of stamina and its a strong sense of self and an identity. Adults who are well rounded and mature are not insecure or desperate for approval or acceptance of their appearances and their choices, so running a 7 kilometre everyday regime to keep fit is ludicrous when one is not

The age thing has me riled up by the loss of an ability that made me feel special. In my younger days I was an exceptionally good driver for two reasons, I didn't drink and I had what my friends called Super hero vision. A specialist detected some abnormality in my eyes as a child and he thought that could explain my ability to see and read in the dark. Some years

The difference between the young and the old is just the direction or should I say motivation behind their drive

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training for a competition. While the young dine on adrenalin, adults dine on grace; we want a lot of things but we are willing to work towards it, wait for it and where not possible give up on it. The young are never willing to work towards anything, wait for anything or even gracefully give up on anything; they live on a diet of instant gratification and everything and everyone is against them if they don't get their way. I have a sneaky suspicion that the stamina I used to have had a lot to do with pent up frustrations and aggravation that were mostly self inflicted.

after I turned 40 I had been very upset that I needed glasses to read and had not been amused when ophthalmologists explained it as part of the ageing process but I could still see in the dark. I made to reply a text this past week and I honestly could see nothing; yes it was dark but that rule had never applied to me before so I was rather peeved. I have always taken that ability for granted and I feel its loss like something was stolen from me! It didn't help that I received very little sympathy from my loved ones as they mostly thought that seeing in the dark was abnormal and normal was what I had become.

I was motivated to write this to see if I am alone in feeling like I am losing abilities to age and wondering what lies ahead should Jesus tarry? I hit 50 in a few years and I can honestly say I am happy with my lot physically; yes I could be fitter or even more limber but all in all, I would say not bad. I cant blame my absentmindedness on age as I have always been forgetful. I tend to live in my head or should I say thoughts so my attention is hardly ever focussed on any particular thing. My publisher once shared a joke on age that has stayed with me for a decade. He said " What we used to desperately struggle to do, we can barely muster enough energy to even think about when we get old". Those words have a deeper meaning to me now, its like my mind sends a memo to my body on the slowest transport to get it to move, and my body grudgingly and creakingly moves in obedience. These days its commonplace to see babies you bathed getting married, even my son is taller than I am; at times it feels like I shrunk and he became a giant! Its all good though, that diet of grace that God provides feeds my soul with contentment and it will help me accept the new reality of whatever evolution the age thing continues to unfold.

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Vanguard, FEBRUARY 1, 2015, PAGE 13

•Jonathan

The Jonathan million job agenda

BY HENRY UMORU, KURE, the Ondo State, literally stood still on Wednesday, as supporters of President Goodluck Jonathan’s second term aspiration stormed the Democracy Park to witness the turn of the state’s presidential campaign of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP . As early as 7.30 am, a mammoth crowd of PDP supporters had converged on the well decorated venue of the campaign rally with beautiful balloons of PDP colours to receive the august visitor. Present to witness the campaign of the PDP presidential candidate, in the state were politicians, party leaders, stakeholders, businessmen and women, diplomats, market women, students, among others. Also there were those who belonged to different political parties during the last gubernatorial election in Ondo State. Jonathan was there with Vice President Namadi Sambo; PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu; Muazu, Director- General, PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, Dr. Ahmadu Ali; members of PDP Board of Trustees, BoT; and national leaders of PDP . On hand to recieve Jonathan and his team to Ondo State were the state governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko; members of the Ondo C M Y K

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Asst. Political Editor

Politics is about people and I cannot be a leader if I fail to do what my people want

State PDP Working Committee; the Zonal Working Committee of the party Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, Hon. Kingsley Kuku; the Chief of Staff to the President, Brig. Gen. Jones Oladehinde Arogbofa, rtd; a former PDP governorship candidate and ex- National Legal Adviser of the PDP , Chief Olusola Oke; business Mogul, Chief Jimoh Ibrahim; among others. Mimiko had declared the day as a public holiday to allow civil servants and students to attend the campaign rally. Before Jonathan spoke to the crowd, former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi; Mimiko; Ali; Kuku; Oke; Sambo; Muazu had spoken. When it was time for him to speak, Kuku, who said he was speaking to corroborate Mimiko who had spoken for the state, stressed that Ondo was for the PDP and the President, adding that in those days, election in the state was between the Labour Party, LP , and the PDP and come the day of his birthday, February 14, the people of Ondo will vote for Jonathan and congratulated him in advance. The presidential aide, an Ilaje indegene, disclosed that peace has returned to the state chapter of the PDP as leaders, stakeholders have buried the hatchet to ensure victory for the President and the PDP in next month’s elections, adding that correction must be made so that

original members of the PDP before Governor Mimiko returned are carried along if there must be true and genuine reconciliation. He boasted that he would do everything for the re- election of Jonathan even as he was optimistic that the president will win the election landslide. Addressing the crowd of PDP supporters, Jonathan said he was overwhelmed by the large turn out of people at the rally, just as he promised to empower the young people and that his administration would increase funding for education, nurture small and medium scale industries in the country. He promised to create two million jobs yearly if he emerges the winner of the Feb- ruary 14 presidential election and that over 1.8 million Nigerian youths enter into the unemployed market yearly, saying that the two million jobs he proposed to create will cater for the teeming unemployed youths on yearly basis. The President, who declared that his administration will focus on education, agriculture and youth empowerment, stressed that the transformation agenda of his administration will be boosted during his sec- ond term administration to develop the youths through education. According to him, as an educationist, he knows the importance of education and could not afford to rubbish the sector. Jonathan explained that his administration had em- ployed several youths pointing out that his government has provided elec- tronic libraries in many prima- ry and secondary schools in the country. “Politics is about people and I cannot be a leader if I fail to do what my people want,”he stated. “I appeal to all Nigerians to vote for the PDP in the forth- coming general elections in order to enjoy better living. We are ready to strengthen youths through education and devel- op our economy beyond the imagination of any individual or group of people.” The President spoke on the unresolved crisis among major leaders of the party in the state. While calling for the support of the People of the people of Ondo State, Jonathan as- sured that he would do every- thing within his capacity to ensure that the internal crisis within the state chapter of the PDP ends. He added that all the factions of the party in the state will soon become one. The President told the warning party leaders. Jonathan pleaded with Jimoh Ibrahim and Oke to work with Mimiko. If they fail to work together as a team, he warned, the opposition may take advantage of that which will not augur well for all in the state. The President said, “ For the PDP family, I use this platform to state that we will work hard to make sure that Jimoh Ibrahim and the governor join hands together and talk about the interest of the state”. Also addressing the rally, Sambo said Jon- athan was building a better coun- try for all Nigerians to benefit, noting that the achievements of the PDP led government in Nigeria cannot be over empha- sized. In his remarks, Mimiko boasted that Jonathan remains the best person to lead the country and that his level of education and knowledge would take the country to higher heights. As the PDP continues the presidential campaigns head ahead of the general elections, many Nigerians think it should dwell more on issues by telling them what the government has done in the last three and a half couple years, why the people must vote for Joanthan and the PDP and what the Party plans to do if elected the President of the country.

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Our three-waychange agenda for Nigeria — Buhari T hey are ubiquitous. Yes, give it to them. And in an apparent show of strength and superiority, they filed out en-masse, last Thursday, to announce to Nigerians and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, that change was imminent. BY LEVINUS NWABUGHIOGU Venue was Samuel Ogbumudia Stadium, Benin-City and the event was the presidential campaign rally of the All Progressives Congress, APC, that sprawled to Edo state. Ordinarily, nothing would have made the rally flashy as the mammoth crowd, which defined it, has become a phenomenon since the political campaigns came on stream almost a month ago. Yet the Benin event was different. Why? Obviously, the crowd there was not a rented one. It was a willful act by a people who have natural inclination for change. This was observed by the writer who walked the streets of Benin in the early hours of Thursday. The event, billed to commence by 11 am, started gathering momentum as early as 7am and, amid the traffic jam that characterised the morning period, people surged on towards the stadium such that the popular Ekenwan Road almost became impassable. The sun was scorching. But the people defied it and emptied themselves into the stadium. On their lips came the words “sai Buhari”. This, alone, could stamp an appreciable impression that PDP was either dead or not on the ground in the state. Edo is an APC state. But it used to be PDP . Adams Oshiomhole, a former leader of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, and an APC chieftain, became governor in 2008 after a long post-election legal voyage that kicked PDP’s Oserhimen Osunbor out of office. Since then, superior argument has continued to place the legacies of Oshiomhole in the lead to the admiration of the residents of the state. And so, Thursday was the day to “flex” their muscles. This, perhaps, informed the cheers that greeted the governor when he was called up to the podium to make his speech. Dignitaries Like every other rally of the APC, the dignitaries that graced the occasion towered. Amongst them were APC presidential candidate, General Mohammadu Buhari; vice presidential candidate of the party, Professor Yemi Osinbajo; National Chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun; National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu; a former governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi; deputy governor of Edo State, Dr. Pius Odubu; a former Minister of State for Works, Engr. Chris Ogienwonyi; and APC candidates in the C M Y K

state. Those earmarked for speeches were handy and, in their separate presentations, urged the people to reject the PDP and embrace APC both at the state and of course, the national levels. To them, PDP has underdeveloped the country while 16 years of its rule has been a waste. The nation has not had it so rough: infrastructural decay, high rate of unemployment, poor education, corruption, drastic drop in electricity generation are all the outcomes of the PDP government, they reasoned. But, according to them, here comes the morning. They begged the people for their votes. Below were the presentations. Ameachi was the first to speak. He came hard on the PDP . He submitted that the PDP government has failed the Southsouth as, according to him, was admitted by President Goodluck Jonathan during his campaign rally in Port Harcourt on Tuesday. “The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from the South-south admitted that he has done nothing for the Southsouth. So, do we trust him to do anything? I have told you before that any development you see in the South-south was done by the Hausa/ Fulani. Our President has spent six years but was unable to do anything”, the Rivers governor said. “Our President, who is our son has failed for six years and has done nothing. All he has done was to enrich himself and others and our responsibility is to get a good President who will do good for us

•Buhari and for Nigeria. “He said ‘I have done nothing and if you vote for me I will do something’ while in my campaign in Rivers State, I said I have done this and that. I never said I will do if you vote for me. Is that not the right thing? Anywhere he goes after six years, he would say ‘I will do if you vote for me’ instead of saying “I have done.” So we will vote out I-will-do-President. If we said we would do something, we stand by that. “ Any government that is campaigning on failed promises will be voted out because as the government is seeking for a second term, you must show us what you did before. You cannot continue to lead on promises.” change when General Muhammadu becomes the President of the Federal Republic. This afternoon, I speak only to two or three issues. “The first issue. There is something different about this year ’s election. It is not a choice really between parties. It is a choice between those who can do it and those who have shown that they can’t do it. 16 years ago when PDP captured power in Abuja, I was the President of the NLC and I speak with authority that the level of power supply was about 50% out and 50% in. We were told that were generating 4,000 megawatts of electricity. The promise was that in six months, PDP will fix it. But they thought tomorrow was far. It is 16 years now. As at this morning, power generation has dropped to about 2,600 megawatts. But even this one is only for statisticians. “For the great people of the great Benin Kingdom, there is no light. The people of this state are being compelled to pay for light that is not delivered. They call it fixed charge which is paid with fixed darkness. They auctioned national assets including investments made by Edo State government in power supply in the procurement of transformers for extension of electricity to the rural communities. They insist they must extort money from the people. Even the palace of the Benin Kingdom is running on generator. You are paying bills for darkness. For 16 years in this state, the only thing we have after we have harassed them is that they started surface dressing the Benin highway, the road that was constructed by military government. No new road. “In this state, there were no schools. Our children were being taught in classrooms without roof. Today we have built schools. We have restored light to Benin. We have built six lanes across the city. We have death decisively with the problem of flooding and erosion in this city. “We asked the PDP to provide money to support our effort to deal with flood and erosion. They refused. The President gave money to neighboring states under the PDP . But they didn’t give us. But we voted for him the last time but we now know that those votes have not been rewarded. This President has not treated us as his brothers. So, now, we will vote for change. We will vote to replace darkness. We will vote for a man who will not allow our children to be

Jonathan is not our brother—Oshiomhole

So, APC’s intentions, which have been very well articulated in its manifesto and which will be modified from time to time, are to tackle the three fundamental problems we have that we recognized throughout

Oshiomhole spoke so passionately about the development of his state. According to him, the era of godfatherism is gone. His words: “We are so excited that you are here to speak directly to your people the message of change and Edo is an example of the story of Nigeria. Six years ago, after ten years of PDP misrule, this state was like an abandoned misused vehicle: No tyre, no tube, no engine . Our people were told that the state is a civil service state, that, we are not a major oil producing state and that it is not anybody’s fault. “The godfathers ensured that the winners were declared losers both at primary and the main elections. Our people told me only one man was in charge. And, indeed, he was in charge. I brought a message of hope along with a few of my colleagues who were convinced that anything that is evil in the eyes of God and in the eyes of decent men and women cannot stand for ever. But it can stand only to the extent that people give up hope. And I said, from my trade union training, the oppressor is in trouble when the oppressed get organized and stop agonizing; the oppressor will go. I told them the vote could count and that we could liquidate the godfathers and banish them from the land. And they said I was not a politician, that they will teach me a lesson today, we are their lecturers. They failed the test of one man, one vote. And once we liquidated their rigging machine, they now behaved like over cooked vegetable. They have lost their voice and, as we speak, they live on political oxygen provided by forces outside this state. “The way Edo has changed, that is how Nigeria will

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Our three-way-change agenda for Nigeria — Buhari Continues on page 14 defrauded by the Ministry of Internal Affairs where our youths were asked to pay money contrary to labour law that prohibits collecting money from people in the name of employment. “The issues you will decide on February 14 are straight forward. Do you want to vote for a party that has run down our refineries in Warri? Will you vote for a party that has failed to revive the Port Harcourt refinery? Will you vote for a party that could not revive the Kaduna refinery?. This is where the statement by Governor Ameachi comes in. The gap between promise and delivery. They promised 16 years ago to revive the refineries. NNPC said they will fix them in six months. They have given them billions of dollars to fix the refineries and it was all pocketed.” General Muhammadu Buhari and Professor Osinbajo have been endorsed by Adams Oshiomhole. Will you follow him or not? It is about time you replace darkness with light. The only way is for you to embark on common sense revolution.” suffering from today. So, APC’s intentions, which have been very well articulated in its manifesto and which will be modified from time to time, are to tackle the three fundamental problems we have that we recognized throughout. “The first one is insecurity. There is nothing that we can do without security. So, our priority, firstly, is to secure the country. Second is unemployment. The youth of this country are more than 60 percent of the population and whether they are in school or not, they are not employed. This is extremely dangerous for the country. “There is also the problem of corruption which is responsible for so much wastage of the resources which can be properly utilized especially for education. There is nothing you can give people better than qualitative education. “ APC government, by the will of God and Nigerians, from the 30th of May this year, we will make sure we remove insecurity from the North-east to Badagry, from Sokoto to Cross River and from Daura to Port-Harcourt. We are going to remove insecurity. “ About jobs, the quickest way we can give jobs, whether there is education or not, is to make sure we empower farmers by giving fertilizer and other inputs. The third thing to do which is very important is to try and get the financial houses to give soft loans to traders and small manufacturers so that they can fortify their businesses and employ more people to produce goods and services. “Lastly, we we will try and solve the problems that are disturbing you, especially erosion. The resources required to control erosion in Edo alone are enormous not to talk of the south eastern states. The APC government will do that. This is an undertaking. “We are going to make sure we rehabilitate infrastructures. When PDP came into power, NEPA was producing more than 4,000 megawatts. Today, after PDP government has expended 20 billion US dollars, we are producing less than that. So, before they kill Nigeria and kill us, we better vote out the PDP . “We urge you to hold your permanent voter cards on election day, come out and enmasse and make sure PDP is constitutionally killed in Nigeria.” Though most people especially ardent supporters of the PDP will submit that crowds do not automatically translate into votes, many are also ready to say that the sea of heads in Edo cannot be wished away. For the PDP to win Edo, they will need to do more than just a day’s work to recapture the minds of the people. But for now, Edo is APC and APC is Edo.

Tinubu asked Nigerians to embark on common sense revolution. His words: “General Muhammadu Buhari and Professor Yemi Osinbajo are men of great commitment and responsibility. In the last six years when Comrade Adams Oshiomhole came here, have you not seen change? Have you not seen critical and radical development? Are you not seeing change in the schools? Are you not seeing change in the infrastructure?

Replace darkness with light—Tinubu

Oyegun told the rally the time for change has come: He said: “What would you do to the government that has not provided jobs? What do you do to the government that has failed to secure your lives? The time for change has come and my good people of Edo, I want to thank you for coming out in such numbers to welcome the agents of change, to welcome the face of change, to welcome the captain of the boat of change, to welcome that man of courage, to welcome that man of consistency.

Time for change has come—Oyegun

We will end insecurity, create employment, give qualitative education —Buhari

Last line

Buhari highlighted his programmes for Nigeria to the crowd. He stated: “You have suffered physically and materially more than all of us standing here as a result of 16years of PDP misrule which every household is

By Wole Mosadomi Doctor Oluwole Oludaisi Aina is the Chairman of the Governing Board of the National Roots Crops Research Institute, Umudike, Abia State. He is contesting election to represent Osun Central Senatorial District on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In this interview, Aina speaks on his aspiration. Excerpts: HAT attracted you into politics. Every human being is a politician. Even in your home, you are a politician. I love my community and I believe that if you are not in the scheme of things, you cannot help your people. One of the things that made me pitch my tent with the PDP was because I saw growth and a good promise for this nation in the party. I joined this party in 1988 and I have been working inside it to help my people. After I retired from my business in 2010, I took a decision that what I wanted to do was to serve God and humanity but I discovered that if I sit down at home, the opportunity I have as a single person would not help. I had to be in active politics and that is why I came out; my people also prevailed on me. Infact, between September and October last year, there was tremendous pressure mounted on me by the leaders of my party and my community to come out and vie in the senatorial race. After I consulted with people and my family and after fervent prayers, I saw that God was releasing me to go into it and here I am. I was victorious in the primaries even without any C M Y K

I don't need to be in APC to win senatorial seat in Osun — Olu Aina political structure. What is amazing is that you were born in Minna and later you went to Kaduna and of late Abuja. But you were able to come to your home state to defeat those who had been on the ground for years. What was the magic? The magic is simply: I did not keep away from my people. My father lived in Minna from 1958 until he died in 2005. He was running from home from witches and wizards. He had an imaginary belief that people were pursuing him all over but when I grew up and gave my life to Christ, I realized that there is nothing anybody can do to me if God does not allow it. So, I started coming home because I must have a root. My children must know where I come from, I didn’t want to give them history. I began to come home and I found out that what my father was running for was not in existence. So I have been coming home since 1995 and I have not had any incidence of witch or wizard. This has given me the opportunity to identify with my people. In my community today, I am the chairman of Iresi Zenith which is the highest policy making organ of my town under the auspices of Iresi Progressive Union. I have been the Chairman for the past eight years. I have resigned from that position twice because my tenure expired and, despite the fact that I resisted tenure elongation, my people refused. So with these windows of bring the register of the members of the APC, I will tell you that 7080% of them were the people who came from PDP simply because they did not get space in PDP . They eventually jumped to APC. They have either contested one position and lost at the primaries and they ran to APC. So, saying PDP is a wrong party is a misconception of people who lack knowledge. PDP is the best party in the nation because it has done so well for the people but an average Nigerian is ungrateful because we don’t see good things in our leaders and it is high time we stopped rejecting our leaders. I am in the right party and there is no mistake about this. Defection from one party to another especially at any point of provocation is becoming rampant. What do you say about this? The problem we have in this nation is that some politicians don’t have political ideology. Defecting from one political party to the other to me is a politically irresponsibility. When you contest a position, it is only one seat. Even if one hundred people contest, only one person will win that position. Others should be able to work together to achieve victory for our party but, today, you see a lot of people running from one party to another once they lose the primary. I see it as political prostitution and political irresponsibility. It shows that such people don’t know anything apart from themselves because of their selfishness. We, especially leaders, should grow beyond this and remain within our parties to build it together even if we lose election. That is where I am different. Are you saying that even if you lose election at whatever level, you cannot defect. Where am I going? I am not a political prostitute and I am not an irresponsible person. So if I lose, I will still remain in PDP to win various seats at the state and national levels. As you are vying to go to the Senate, what are your plans for your people if you eventually win? My mission is to represent my people very well. I am going to be an effective legislator. Secondly, I am going to wage war against poverty and hunger and that has started. Between August and September last year, I distributed a total of 30,000 cassava stems to farmers in Osun Central and those cassava will be ready for harvest in May – June this year (2015). So food will be abundant. I am going to do more to encourage our farmers to benefit from all the policies of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. You are so optimistic of victory at the polls. Are you not afraid of rigging? Rigging? It will be very difficult for any party to rig the coming elections at whatever level. But if anybody or party rigs, they will be exposed; so I am not afraid of rigging.

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•Dr. Olu Aina opportunities I have, I have identified with my people. We set up the Iresi College of Technology. I used my connections in Abuja to get the accreditation of the school and we have done a lot of other things for the community and, today, we have a replica, that is a substation of the institute where I am the Governing Board Chairman established in Iresi, Osun State. The foundation stone was laid on the 6th of December last year by President Goodluck Jonathan. With all these, I come home regularly to identify with my people in order to get in touch with them. It is said that as loved as you are, you unfortunately belong to a wrong party – PDP , since the people of the state are predominantly APC. What steps are you taking to win the election. Being in power does not make them to be the right party. If you

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ELECTIONS: Nigeria will remain one after all the noise — Ashimolowo Tele-evangelist and Senior Pastor of Kingsway International Christian Centre, KICC, Rev. Matthew Abiodun Ashimolowo, is not known for sensational prophecies. However, in this encounter with Sunday Vanguard in his hometown Ode-Omu, Osun State, during his New Year party for widows, the cleric, besides speaking on his younger days in the army barracks, 34-year-old marriage and private university under-way, spoke on the February general elections and the need for the Presidency to fish out fifth columns fuelling terrorism in the country. By Josephine Agbonkhese he much anticipated 2015 has come but men of God seem to differ on what it holds for this nation; what has God told you? Globally, there will be a shaking; there will be earthquakes in some places, famine in places that never knew famine and flooding in places where they were least expected. For Nigeria, it’s a very crucial year. The Lord showed me who will win the presidential election but I will not mention it because I have to be politically neutral. But when the president is announced, 20 percent of a certain part of the nation will not agree. But, after negotiation, there will be submission. There will be no war except riots from people who don’t like the result. But, eventually, because this nation has a prophetic mandate that says we are one, they will submit. In fact, people think Lord Lugard made a mistake, but I tell you, if he hadn’t come, there’s no way we would have had over a thousand ‘tribes’ together. We’re really not tribes but nations because that word ‘tribe’ is a racist word. Wales is only about a million people and yet they call them a nation. And then they call Yoruba who are 27 million a tribe; Igbo, 18 million, a tribe. For us to have many nations that made up Nigeria, it was God that made it happen. That prophetic mandate remains. Anyone who is going to incite people to divide this nation will lose his chance because Nigeria will remain one after all the noise. Also, some politicians will be shocked that nobody is ready to die for them. There will be peace in Nigeria. I see a man who would one C M Y K

Marriage is ‘giving’ and ‘forgiving’. I believe God sent me to the right person, so, she knows how to work with my imperfections while I also work with hers. She’s brought me a lot of joy and has become the greatest asset in my life. I sometimes wonder if I would have been able to live with anyone else. What’s your advice to intending couples? Please don’t focus on just the physical. That’s what magazines and entertainment media focus on and it can be very misleading. Everyone of them is talking about body and body shape but a guy may be a six pack and still be an empty package. You need someone who has something upstairs and knows where he is going to. Was there a time you felt like backing out in the early years of your marriage? If anybody will be honest with you, they will tell you that usually, the first five years of any marriage can be ‘stupid’. That’s the basic word. You behave stupid because you’re so selfish. Every now and then you’re covering your terrain until after five years when you realise you really have no terrain to cover. The greatest thing is to marry somebody you love and ‘like’ because love only is not enough. You grew up in the barracks, were you a stubborn chap in your childhood? On the contrary, I wasn’t a stubborn person. I was extremely brilliant. I had a teacher back then in primary five who felt I was too brilliant for my age and began to introduce me to libraries, televisions and radios because she recognised the anointing for media I had even as a primary school pupil. I located her recently and began to celebrate her; bought her a car and more. You’ve just joined the list of private university owners. Tell us more about that university? The King’s University is based in Ode-Omu, Osun State, and has been through so much. We are awaiting our license and are among the last nine that have just been approved by the National University Commission. Presently, we are on the table of the Federal Executive Council, awaiting final approval to take-off.

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day rise, between now and ten years. He will turn the fortunes of Nigeria round and Nigeria will look like one of these advancing nations, like the United Arab Emirates, the current breakthrough in India and China. Does that foreseen peace also mean there will be an end to Boko Haram? Boko Haram is a hydra, a snake with many heads. We’re cutting one head and that’s why the other heads show up. If you know the hydra in the story of Achilles, you’ll notice every time the head of that snake was cut, two others grow. Boko Haram will still be around because there is need for a robust approach. There is need to deal with the fifth column in the system empowering it. I’m 62-year-old and I was born in the barracks. I know when Nigeria fought the civil war and my father fought there. In fact, he died in Biafra, by the Asaba bridge. But I can tell you Nigerians, there were only five battalions when Nigeria fought a threeyear war and yet the war came to an end. It was massive. How can you fight a bunch of riffraffs, with the number of soldiers you have, and then they hold you to ransom? There is a fifth column selling Nigeria to them, giving them petrol, money and continuous ammunition. My mother used to say that when a child keeps throwing stones and he is not exhausted, there is a supplier in the corner. Our prayer will be that our government will be bold enough to accuse and bring evidence that shows who the fifth column is, either inside or outside the system.

•Ashimolowo... There will be no war

You do not suspect foreign aids; maybe other countries? The only foreign aid to Boko Haram, in my opinion, are the weapons that escaped Libya during the revolution and came down South. Other than that, it will be people who believe in the advancement of the religion of Islam but do not realise that, in the process, they are funding the wrong people. You’ve been married for 34 years now and these days we have a high rate of divorce, even amongst famous men of God; what’s the secret of your successful marriage? Well, the greatest secret of success in my marriage is the fact that my wife and I have chosen to love one another in spite of everything, to accept each other, to stay together and to accept that we are one.

The only foreign aid to Boko Haram, in my opinion, are the weapons that escaped Libya during the revolution and came down South

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Why I no longer manage Niyola — Isioma Osaje sioma Osaje is a talent manag er and publicist who used to manage the Toh Bad crooner, Niyola until some months back when the duo fell apart. Contrary to several speculations and expectations the separation was not born out of any bad blood but out of Isioma’s desire to move from tilling the field in music to movie. “I no longer work in music and I am focusing on only Nollywood now” she said. When she was reminded that there seems to be more money in music than movies, she retorted: “Maybe, but my heart is in Nollywood and it earns more for Nigerians across the board than music. Music makes only the artiste rich. Nollywood makes the actors, crew, distributors, marketers and more, rich. In the Nigerian music industry, the only people honestly getting paid are the musicians and the record labels, that is, if they have successful acts. Managers of artistes signed to labels, don’t get much unless it is a big act like Wizkid. Because most labels take 50%, some 60%. Band members are paid peanuts. It doesn’t employ a lot of people. In Nollywood a producer makes money, pays his director, pays his crew, and pays his •Niyola actors. And for managers, because there is no record label, more money is made” she said.

I’m getting ready for marriage this year - Mimi Orjiekwe hen Nollywood actress and model, Mimi Orjiekwe, was starting out on her journey into acting, her father was totally against it while her mother grudgingly supported her. Their reason was simple: would their only daughter ever get a decent man to marry? But when their worst fears were beginning to play havoc with their imaginations, Mimi got engaged to Charles Billion, a dashing movie maker who has been rocking the damsel’s world. Their engagement stunned the media, with some even getting pretty trigger-happy to report the couple has married in secret. Couple of years down the line, wedding bells is still to be heard for Mimi and Charles. But days back, Mimi told Potpourri she is not a damsel in distress. She went on to tell us her marriage plans are very much on course. Saying this year maybe the year Charles does the needful “Maybe, maybe not, I don’t really know because it’s not people’s business, it’s my business. When I decide to walk down the aisle, I will walk down the aisle but we talked about having a wedding this year. I just hope I bring out my time for it because I’m extremely busy this year. It’s something I want to do but it’s not something I want to rush because I don’t want to get in and get out like so many people do. But right now I think we’re getting ready for it this year ” she said. The Enugu-born ravishing beauty also disclosed in the chat that she is a PDP person and affirmed that her vote would be for Goodluck Jonathan and stated reasons for her choice. “Yes, I support Jonathan because I don’t know, I just don’t like Buhari. He can’t be putting up with corrupt people in the country and be telling us he’s coming to fight corruption when those standing behind him are very corrupt. Tinubu, Amaechi, and so many of them, I’ve not seen anything good about them so what is going to make us believe they are going to fight corruption when they come?” she declared.

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I’m not sexually active – Bukola Adeeyo retty Yoruba actress, Bukola Adeeyo, who rode into the film industry in 2008 on the wings of gangling Odunlade Adekola, has given an insight into what her sexual life is like. The fair-skinned Oyo State born, Abeokuta bred actress told Potpourri she is not a virgin but has little time for sex. “I am a very busy type that I seldom have time for things like that. Besides, I am not married but I do have sex once in a while. I am not sexually active and not a sex tool, so I do not have what will make a man come back for sex” she said. But Bukola is like every woman who yearns for a man but maintains sex is not what she has on her mind all the time like a nymphomaniac. She however admits that pre-marital sex is a good way of getting marriage together. “Pre-marital sex has its positive side. There is acceptance from your peers, pleasure and the fulfillment of sexual desire. The negative side is that it is against our norms and values, unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases STDs and guilt”, she explained’ Bukola has featured in many blockbuster Yoruba films and currently got nomination alongside five others as Nollywood’s New Bride in the MAYA Awards.

Health is key, says Gbenga Adeyinka on NEILS Ace comedian, Gbenga Adeyinka, unveiled alongside 2Face Idibia, DJ Jimmy Jatt and Yemi Solade as ambassadors for Nigerian Entertainment Industry Health Trust Fund (NEIHTF), has expressed optimism for the fund, charging entertainers to take their health seriously. “As entertainers, our health is key. And it’s important that we safeguard and make arrangement for eventualities. This is why I’m proud to be a goodwill ambassador of Nigerian Entertainment Industry Health Insurance Scheme (NEIHIS). If you are a Nigerian Entertainer please avail yourself of NEIHTF. It will help when we are indisposed. begging for alms when chips are down will no longer be tolerated as the scheme is meant to eradicate all of that”; he tweeted after the inauguration. Following the demise of Muna Obiekwe, the crew of Nigerian Entertainment Industry Lecture Series (NEILS), initiators of the Nigerian Entertainment Industry Health Insurance Scheme (NEIHTF) and Nigerian Entertainment Industry Health Trust Fund (NEIHTF) have accelerated the implementation of the Nigerian Entertainment Industry Health Insurance Scheme (NEIHIS) and the inauguration of the Nigerian Entertainment Industry Health Trust Fund (NEIHTF).

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• Bukola Adeeyo

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Eye-popping confessions that won loud ovations

BY KEHINDE AJOSE

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hese days, people care more about what their favourite celebrities have to say, than what Mr. President has to say. It’s called star power. Celebs have our undivided attention and whatever they say can go viral in a twinkle of an eye. In no particular order, here are ten of the most daunting, eye-popping confessions made at one time or another that set the social media into pandemonium.

A mad man grabbed my bum in the public - Didi Ekanem idi Ekanem is fast gaining popularity for her bum than for her acting talent. And the actress who recently starred in Uduak Oguamanam’s Jump and Pass isn’t too pleased about that. She recently revealed this in an interview with Showtime Celebrity. In her words:” As much as I love it so much, I just wish people would focus more on my talent than my bum. All the concentration out there is on my bum not my talent. I would honestly wish •Didi Ekanem people to see me as a talented actress not a sexy one. But my bum is not allowing people to see me deep down, to see the person and the talent”. When asked by one of our reporters the craziest thing a fan has ever done to her , she boldly replied :”Craziest thing? A mad man actually grabbed my bum in public while I was walking on the road. That’s like the craziest thing, what else can possibly be crazier than that? I was just passing, I wanted to get something and next thing, he just walked up to me and grabbed my bum from behind. When I turned, he was still holding it like a mad man and I screamed, I ran, left my shoes and everything. People just stood there and they were just laughing”

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I am not bothered if I don’t get married - Seyi Shay lessed with a melodious voice that can calm weary nerves, Seyi Shay is one diva who has a rare combination of talent and sex appeal. The Murda star knows all the tricks when it comes to hitting the right musical notes. But she doesn’t particularly see marriage as a do or die affair. She reveals this in an interview: “I’m not bothered if I don’t get married because I would rather have a man that will be with me forever, the value of marriage has been washed up dead. And the way everybody is getting married and divorcing makes it not a big deal to be together anymore. I’m with someone I’m happy with and I don’t know if we would be life partners, but for now I’m happy with him”

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Music has got me fame but no fortune -ModeNine eteran rapper Modenine is considered one of the best rappers you can find in this part. On the flipside, he hasn’t enjoyed much commercial value from his craft. The Hip-Hop icon who has won The Headies Lyricist on the roll a couple of times has this to say: “Music has got me fame but not fortune. The kind of song I do is hip-hop in its pure essence and the truth is that most Nigerians do not like it. I can eat three times in a day; I am not hungry but I am not as comfortable as I would love to be. However, the book has not ended, so let’s see what happens. Music has got me more fame than fortune.”

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ike or detest him, Timaya is one artiste who’s got the recipe for connecting to his fans. From Everybody call me Timaya to Ukwu the the Bayelsa star keeps hitting the bull’s eye when it comes to his music. However, he has disclosed in an interview that vulgar songs are the ones that make him richer. “Whether you agree or not, the fact is people like bad things. We talk about bum bum everywhere in the bum bum video. A lot of people condemned it, yet in six months, it has more than 13 million views. Who is deceiving who? I didn’t go the vulgar way because I wanted to rebrand, but that’s what pays. That’s what makes me richer. I’m not doing it because you need to hear something good. The problem is that Nigerians love to pretend “he thundered.

Vulgar songs make me richer -Timaya L

•Timi Dakolo

I wanted to run mad the first time someone gave me N100, 000 -Timi Dakolo nB singer, Timi Dakolo is known for his soulful songs but unknown to many, the Iyawo mi singer, was once beaten by the blows of life. According to him, “The first time someone gave me N100,000, I wanted to run mad. That was after a show. Subsequently, someone else gave me N1M, and I could not sleep that night. I couldn’t wait till

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•ModeNine

morning to rush to the bank and deposit it before it disappeared. I thought something would happen to me or even the money. To us, it was big money. Growing up was not easy; it was an experience and a preparatory phase of my life. It taught me to work hard. I believe more in hard work than talent” he revealed.

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SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 1, 2015, PAGE 19 Onikoyi68@gmail.com

If you call me a sex symbol, you are not lying - Flavour Nabania t is better to flaunt your sex appeal than to have nothing to show off. This seems to be Flavour’s principle. The contemporary highlife artiste who has a knack for showing off his sexy physique on social media revealed in an interview why he loves to show off his physique. Hear him: “If I am not doing music, I love to walk out and when I do that, I am confident enough to show my body on my social media accounts. If you call me a sex symbol, you are not lying. I feel it is a good thing for people to believe in themselves and be confident. I believe in hard work and it shows in my music and the way I walk out at the gym. I exercise a lot and take out time to keep fit and maintain my physique”

Why I don’t wear pants -Baby Blanche ue to the kind of clothes she likes to wear and is comfortable in, Baby Blanche has revealed in an interview with Showbiz that she hardly wears panties when she’s going out. “I love all kinds of lingerie that make a woman feminine because I’m a woman, but I hardly wear panties. This is not because I don’t want to wear them but because the clothes I love to wear wouldn’t permit me to,” she told Showbiz. “I try as much as possible to act as a lady and not to let my panty lines show just because I like to wear dresses that hug my figure. So if I wear clothes and the outline of my panty is glaring like that I don’t like it,” she explained. “Being a lady is not only about wearing makeup and Brazilian hair but also comprises the propriety of whatever you’re wearing,” says Baby Blanche. She adds that she does not worry much about thoughts that she may be sexually assaulted by unscrupulous men because she makes sure she doesn’t go to awkward places at awkward hours.

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•Baby Blanche

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Men negotiate how much they will pay to have sex with me -Afrocandy udith Mazagwu a.k.a Afrocandy is one entertainer who won’t stop surprising us every now and then. The soft porn actress disclosed to one of our reporters, a memorable experience she has had with her male fans. “The only experience I had so far was when some guys would start jerking off while talking to me on the telephone. Even some men would call me and start negotiating how much they would pay to have sex with me. I would just start laughing at them. Men are like babies, little things get to their brains” she said.

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•Afrocandy

I would rather do sex toys -Joju Muse

er name might not ring a bell, but the actress popular for her role in Tinsel is candid when it comes to her view about sex. In an interview with icampus Magazine she said she prefers using sex toys than having multiple sex partners. “Sex is sacred and it’s not something you just do or something you just open your legs to do. It’s not that easy for me. I would rather do sex toys. Sex has a lot involved. It has emotions, attachments, spirituality. Sex is supposed to be sacred. It’s supposed to be a ritual for me. It is a thing two people indulge in because anybody you sleep with, there is a connection. You are connecting with them. Then, how many people are you going to sleep with? How many people do you want to now have sex with? It means if you are going to be delivered, you’d have a lot of bondage to break. That is even more stressful. It means you will fast extra and pray extra and for heaven’s sake, you don’t even know who your partner has been sleeping with. So, if he now decides to keep two more sexual partners and that partner decides to keep two more extra partners; two extra partners times two more extra partners, you know, it goes a long way. That is why sex is sacred to me and it shouldn’t be abused” she said.

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Fans almost tore my shirt -Sean Tizzle •Sean Tizzle s a superstar Sean Tizzle attracts female attention just like honey attracts bees. The Loke Loke crooner once revealed an encounter he had with some of his female fans in London. He puts it this way: “Na tear dey won tear my shirt; I no know why I enter crowd oh for London. Dey won tear my shirt for Coko bar “

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PAGE 20, SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 1, 2015 Onikoyi68@gmail.com

Room 027 was a mistake – Collins Onwochei As a matter of fact, we need to applaud Nollywood. Even though people criticize our movies, yet Nollywood has attracted international recognition and has projected the country’s image positively

say, ‘Room 027 was a mistake, because it didn’t represent my faith which is key. It’s not all about money and fame, but guess what? The devil is crazy! Do you know that in my almost 20 years of being in this industry, I’ve not gotten the kind of attention that Room 027 gave me? But I won’t repeat it again. Having been in the industry for a long while, how would you rate Nollywood? s a matter of fact, we need to applaud Nollywood. Even though people criticize our movies, yet Nollywood has attracted international recognition and has projected the country’s image positively. We are doing great and we can do better.

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•scene from room 027

oom 027 threw the whole of Nollywood into a frenzy when clips of the film emerged online in 2013 for its explicit scenes of sex and nudity. The culprits in the film, Collins Onwochei, Tony Umez and Chinelo Ememchukwu have since had to answer many questions for their roles in the film. Though the dust seems to have settled but there are echoes of questions still looming. In this chat, Onwochei comes clean with his role in the movie.

BY JULIET EBIRIM

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What aspect of the industry would you like to see changes? Nollywood needs the support of the government. We don’t have constant power and people expect good movies. You might be shooting a film and the light goes off, it destabilizes everything. The elements that help to make a good film should be in place, you can’t shoot a good film with sound coming from a power generating set in the background. It’s the government’s responsibility to put all these in place. If we have all these and government support, our pictures, technicalities and quality of production will improve. But I think we are doing well at the moment. Do you have plans to go into politics like some of your contemporaries? For now, No. You’ll realise that most of the actors that are going into politics have paid their dues and they have attained some level of financial stability from the gains of the industry. I’m going to be honest about my financial achievements. Popular, yes, maybe; but financial gratification, no. I need to be financially gratified. I want my creative input in Nollywood to bring me the kind of endorsements and monetary benefits that come to my peers. I need to have that kind of stability before thinking about politics. I’ve not conquered yet. I need to conquer my territory and be financially stable before talking about improving the whole society. I think that’s what service in politics is about. What has kept you from achieving this all these years? The industry dictates, I don’t. If God says it’s time, it is. Even the Bible says, “Every good thing comes from God”. My time will come.

What have you been up to lately? ’ve been doing a couple of movies, though in the last ten years, I’ve been doing more of behind-thescene jobs because I’ve also grown to become a senior artiste in Nigeria. We started Nollywood, I was part of the first three films that was produced in Nollywood and I’ve been on since then, even though I branched off into other things that were still related to entertainment. I’ve produced my own movies and I’m also into events.

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celebrity marriages break up. So I try to separate my entertainment life from my family life. That doesn’t mean that I indulge myself in immoral affairs in the industry. When I’m at home, I’m no longer an actor, I’m a husband, I take care of my kids and spend time with them. My children’s welfare matter more to me than hanging out in clubs spending extravagantly. I’m a domestic person. How many kids do you have? I have a lovely wife and four beautiful kids; three boys and a girl. How did your wife react to your role in ‘Room 027’? Badly, like every woman would. Room 027 was a big experiment for me. A lot of

You’re getting younger by the day...... (Cuts in) That’s because there is peace at home. There are a lot of intrigues and stress in the industry, that’s why you notice that most

Nigerians have criticized me and understandably so, because we are very protective of our culture and values. Nudity is not part of our culture. It is cheap publicity to sell a movie by doing some sexually explicit scenes. The original idea was to do a story that the whole world can connect with. I didn’t want to do a movie that has a girl going to the bathroom without her clothes on. It doesn’t make sense. We watch foreign movies and we see how they do these things. We see them making love and nobody frowns at that. If you check statistics, Spartacus was one of the most viewed series that came into Nigeria. Millions of Nigerians viewed Spartacus and nobody complained about the nudity and violence. I felt I could tell a good story, I didn’t do a

pornographic movie or soft porn, I wanted to tell a story with a touch of reality, but it backfired and I won’t do it again. I understand the Nigerian market and besides a lot of people are looking up to me. As a filmmaker and as a creative person, we work within the means of our creativity, but it backfired. It isn’t something I want to do again. How did it affect your family? won’t say it affected it, but my wife did not like it because we are Christians and she felt I didn’t have to do that kind of story. I was even suspended in the department I work in church. I am active in church, that’s not to say I’m a holy man. I genuinely love God even though I have my weaknesses and might sometimes get carried away by the flow in the industry. I belong to the protocol team in church. So if I have a budget for Room 027, I won’t do that kind of story again. But again, life is a learning process. As a filmmaker, I look back and

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SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 1, 2015, PAGE 21

Being taken for granted? H ave you ever felt like you are being taken for granted in a relationship? Do you find yourself being taken for granted all the time, be it by your lover or your friends? Love, as happy and blissful as it seems, can still be a minefield of confusions, if you are unaffectionate, your partner may think you don’t love them and if you are too giving, your affections and your giving nature could be taken for granted. Do you ever wonder why some people get taken for granted so easily, while a few others are never taken for granted? The truth is, not all of us get taken for granted and almost all the time, it’s just a few kinds of people who get taken for granted all the time, by everyone around them. Every relationship always starts with insecurities and confusions. Does my partner really love me? Am I good enough for my partner? Will they ever leave me? Even if both of you are madly in love with each other, you may find these questions floating in your mind every now and then and it’s this insecurity that makes you try harder to woo them all the time. Even if both of you are dating already, you want to be reassured in love, because uncertainty just drives you crazy. But as the first few weeks turn into months or years, you may start to feel more reassured in love. And you may start to realize that your partner really does love you and may not leave you for anyone else. And it’s at this point, that lovers start taking each other for granted. It’s at this point of time when gestures and expressions turn into expectations and demands. When you start to believe your partner would never leave you because they are so much in love with you, your mind starts to take it easy and you may not try hard to woo them or impress them. Not all lovers take each other for granted, but most people do, even if we don’t realize it. Ever since both of you started dating, you may be doing something special for your partner all the time, like planning a surprise birthday party or cooking them a hearty four course dinner each time they come home and at some point of time, your partner may turn this romantic gesture of your affection into an expectation. If you plan an elaborate birthday party for your partner every single year and surprise them with a big gift on each birthday, you save for months to afford it and one

BY ONOZURE DANIA

birthday, you decide to take it easy and just take your lover out for dinner at a fancy restaurant, you may still find that your partner may be slightly annoyed with you! And that’s a clear case of being taken for granted in the relationship. Does that mean you have stopped being affectionate to your lover? No, it only means you need to start letting your partner know just how much of an effort you are making each time. Don’t be a martyr. You may think being a silent martyr works because your partner would understand just how devoted and loving you are someday. But it doesn’t always work that way. Your partner may realize it at times, and at other times, they may not. And you’d just end up disappointed. When you are being taken for granted by your lover, it all caring and Godfearing guy, aged 25-30 for a relationship. 08144331290 •A lady, 46 and a mother of one in Edo state and employed, needs a man, who is a widower or divorce for marrage,aged 55-70. 0810287093 Searching Male •Prince, needs, a, sexey and rich, lady, aged 17-25. 08050861586 • Oluwaseun, 32, 4.2ft tall, chocolate in complextion and resides in Lagos, needs a God fearing lady, aged 26-33, for a serious relationship that will lead to marriage, tribe is not a barrier.08146932924. •Joe, 32, graduate, self employed from Imo state, but resides in Asaba, needs a lady who is beautiful, funloving, decent, employed and a graduate, aged 24-27, for a relationship. 08062492968 •Alfred, 29, employed needs a lady, aged 22 and above for marriage.07082309282,08160124385, BB Pin 7e106, •Lanre, 5ft tall, employed, from Ogun state, but resides in Lagos, needs a Yoruba lady, aged 30-38, for a serious relationship. 07063728533, 0901348952 •Cy, resides in Lagos, needs a serious minded employed lady, for a serious relationship. 08032439371 •Ola, 42, fair in complexion employed and resides in Ibadan, needs an employed lady, aged 30-40, for a serious relationship.08172328248 •Temidayo, 40, a businessman, from Ibadan, needs a lady, aged 33-40, who is God fearing for a serious relationship. 08026138581 • Wisdom, from Delta state, needs a caring lady, aged 3031, for a relationship. 08135795042 • A guy, needs a fair in completion, lady, for a relationship, from Warri delta state.08067030806, 07087451286, 08067030868 •Enitan, 36, 5.7ft tall, a business man, from Ondo state, needs a lady, aged 26-35, for marriage. 08039365369 •Ernest, 34, 6ft tall, chocolate in

starts with your overwhelming silent love, and your partner’s lack of reciprocation and increase in expectations. You have every right to expect your partner to treat you with the same love and affection that you shower upon them. And the day you start to believe that you need to do more to win their affection or to hold on to them, that is the day they start to take you for granted. We are not all saints and any of us could feel just a bit disappointed now and then when it comes to expectations from a lover. But there is a thin line between taking your gestures for granted and taking you as a person for granted! If your partner starts taking you for granted, they may not care enough for you or they may treat you like you don’t deserve their love or attention, all because they believe they are too good for you or that you’d never leave them no matter what they do because you need them so much more than they need you. complexion, self employed, God fearing and resides in Benin, needs a God fearing, beautiful, loving, caring, educated and employed lady, aged 44 - 45, for a romantic affair.08026269532, ernstjo@yahoo.com •Babalola, 36, single, needs a religious Yoruba muslimlady,aged 30, for quick marriage. 08170141833, 08087074640, 08138856900 Sugar Cares Searching Female •Nikki, a student, from Anambra state, but resides in Benin, needs a rich sugar daddy who can take good care of her financially. 08088995835 •Gift, 26, a student, from Delta state, needs a very rich sugar daddy that can take care of her finacial needs. 08144352010 Searching Male •Lawrence, handsome, 6ft tall, fair in complexion and resides in Lagos, needs a rich, sexy and pretty sugar mummy, for a serious relationship, aged 35-55. 08100987907 •Babatunde,28, loyal, carring, romantic and resides in Lagos, needs a romantic and wealthy sugar mummy, aged 30-60, for a relationship. 08052352493, 08176516694 •Francis, 25, a student and resides in Asaba, needs a well to do sugar mummy. 08166813756 •Femi, 36, needs a rich and caring sugar mummy, for a relationship.07062775437 • Adams, 29, chocolate in complexion handsome and resides in Lagos, needs a decent, rich and good looking sugar mummy, aged 3055.08063411390 • Obinna, from Imo state, needs a sugar mummy who resides in Lagos, for a serious retionship. 08067635096 •Ifeanyi, 34, a student and resides in Asaba, needs a suger mummy.07060937313 Stephen, handsome, intelligent and resides in Lagos, needs a sugar mummy of any age. 08030984675

Networking/ Sponsorship •Faith, an O level student, needs someone to sponsor her university education. 09095364534 •Rita, 18, a student, average height, from delta state, needs a kind hearted Nigerian to buy her a laptop.08189448618 Links •Kwentua, wants to link up with Queen. Onyesom, whom he worked with at Nigeria Customs service, Tin can lsland in mid 1980s. 08137428084 •Someone wants to link up with Nwaobasi Livingstone Nnamdi, who isfromMbawsi town in IsiAlaNgwa in then Imo state, they parted after their university graduation. 07054430377 Friends Searching Female •Melody, Intellegent, beautiful and friendly, needs friends. 07037091845 •Lizzy, 19, from Delta state, needs male and female friends, aged 19 and above. 07037414762 •Tessy, needs a male friend, who knows the meaning of friendship, aged 26- 30. 08051421866 Searching Male •Lewis, 23, fair in complexion, tall and needs friends who are God fearing.08166634793 •A guy, tall, employed and resides in Lagos, needs a dark in complexion, slim female friends. 08179057008 •Darlington, 45, needs a sexy lady, aged 18-25, for friendship,

needs nice female friends. 08080621831, 08115659553 •Kachi, 29 and resides in PH, needs a cute and sexy lady for friendship.07086644846 •Hanry,29, needs a female friend, aged 19 and above. 08054851555 • A guy, lonely, needs friends,aged 18 -50. 08067156122 Lovers Searching Female •Nina, 25, sexy and bursty, needs a hot and funloving man, for a serious relationship. 08066396534 •Jenny, 25, tall, simple and beautiful with an outstanding body and lovely personality needs a big, strong, reliable man to call her man 08103264298 •Nathasa, 26, dark, eloquent, with good character and homely girl need a very loving, kind and generous man aged 45 and above to shower her with love 09096702693 •Nikky, 35, big, fair, bold and very beautiful with a good comand of English language and Godly background needs a strong man aged 50 and above for a erious relationship that could lead to marriage 08181073394 •Marvel, 29, extremely beautiful with kissable lips and flawless body and exciting personality needs a man aged 45 and above for a lasting union 08061395059 •Vivian, resides in Benin, needs a tall and hard working man, aged 33- 35.08103605071 •Rita, 25, sexy and bursty, needs a hot and funloving man on bed for a serious relationship. 08066396534 • Chiazo, chocolate in completion,busty, beautiful and

•Amos, 42, nice and friendly

within Lagos. 08137428084

resides in Benin, needs a guy, aged 23-26, for a serious r e l a t i o n s h i p . 07017466901,08160995683 •A lady, 22, needs a sexy man, for a serious relationship. 08104859639 •Peace, 45, a widow , resides in Abuja and into business, needs a man for relationship, aged5060.08173878205 •Matina, 35, God fearing and a single mother, needs a man,from Edo,or Delta state, aged 38 and above,who is ready for marriage this year.0 8l66723407, 08072412210 •Treasure, 28, needs a well to do man, for a relationship that can lead to marriage. 07018810431,08168224742 •Nicki, 25, sexy and bursty, needs a hot and funloving man, for a serious relationship. 0806639653 •Angelina, 24, a student and sexy, needs a man who is Godfearing,for a relationship.08148568562 •Comfort, 25, needs a man urgently in her life. 08104859639 • Blessing,23, student, employed and also a mother of one but single, needs a God fearing man who is responsible for serious relationship. 09038726884 •Precious, 30 and God fearing, needs a God fearing man, from Edo or Delta state , aged 35-45 who is ready for marriage. 08156370208, 08106817679 •Pat,38,mother of three,God fearing and needs a God fearing man,from Edo or Delta ,aged 45,and above who is ready for marriage. 07032868530, 08051969651 •Egovin, 20, resides in Delta State, needs a rich, handsome,

DISCLAIMER! Dear readers, please note that we neither operate, nor are we an affiliate of any match–making agency in or outside the country. Any reader who transacts business with any one claiming to be our agent does so at his/her own risk. Our mission is only to provide a platform for social networking. Also note that neither Vanguard, nor Yetunde Arebi will be liable for any error in the publication of requests which may result in any form of embarrassment to any member of the public. We therefore request that text must be sent through at least one of the numbers for contact. This notice is necessary to enable us serve you better in our refreshingly different style. You can send your requests to 33055. For enquiries, text or call 08026651636 C M Y K

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Email: vanguardwoman@gmail.com

BY JOSEPHINE AGBONKHESE

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RS Nike Ijeoma is the Executive Director of Change Managers International Network, an organisation that has since 1989 pursued vigorously the education of girls in Nigeria, particularly in the north. In this inter view, she debunks claims that girls involved in suicide bombing in recent times are doing so in allegiance to Boko Haram’s religious extremism. How far have you gone with making your objectives reality since 1989?

Girls detonating bombs are coerced by Boko Haram —Nike Ijeoma, Director, Change Mangers Int’l Network *Nike Ijeoma

We’ve continued to be a strong voice. We actually go to rural areas to ensure girls are sent to school. We’ve seen quite a lot in the course of our work. For example, we’ve been to primary schools in Lagos State where students have neither tables no chairs but sit on tyres. What we do is source funds to develop these schools. We also train teachers to ensure they are developed enough to adequately develop children. We have a president in person of Mrs Felicia Onibon. We also work in the area of gender development but focus strongly on education because we believe it is a primary

These girls are unaware of what they have on them but they have been kidnapped and therefore do not have a say.

agent of development for women, girls and the society at large.

It’s so sad. I mean, it’s a very big contrast for us. You know, we go to stay-at-home Muslim women and encourage them to let their children go to school. You can imagine such a mother being told that the child she managed to allow to go to school got kidnapped in school. It’s so sad and helpless because the situation is not one we can stop by ourselves. We can only generate

Is the ongoing kidnap of school girls not a setback to your work?

awareness and get government to be more proactive.

That’s appalling because I tell you, these girls do not know what is happening. They (Boko Haram) just load them with bombs and ask them to move.

What do you think of women and girls who now go about with explosives?

have on them but they have been kidnapped and therefore do not have a say. They cannot say no. Of course, no one wants to die!

That’s what I know. We’ve done a lot of interviews and research in the north through our workers over there. These girls are unaware of what they

Is that what you think or know?

We have women who have been kidnapped for long and have been married to members of Boko Haram. So, some of these women, when told to go lure girls, cannot refuse because they know these men are high-handed.

But security agents have allegedly arrested women who recruit these suicide bombers, meaning these girls voluntarily choose to die as suicide bombers...

FG urged to end detention of women in hospitals nationwide …as Folake Oduyoye is finally laid to rest

BY JOSEPHINE AGBONKHESE HE Federal Government has been urged to show more commitment towards reducing maternal mortality by ending all forms of detention concerning maternal healthcare bills in hospitals nationwide. This call came at a rally/ lecture on maternal mortality which preceded the final burial of Folake Oduyoye, a 35-year-old mother of four who allegedly died of pulmonic complications in December 2014, while in detention at the Lagos University Teaching HospitalLUTH in Lagos over inability to offset a N1.5 million bill. Recall that late Folake had been in detention for 43 days C M Y K

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while her husband, a smallscale printer, went in search of money to no avail. He later pleaded to be allowed to pay in instalments but was said by the Acting Chief Medical Director of LUTH, Prof. Chris Bode, to have provided no worthy guarantor. The rally which took off early Thursday morning at the entrance gate of the teaching hospital comprised hundreds of men and woman who chanted songs of solidarity, condemning LUTH’s inhumanity and the Nigerian government’s laissez-faire attitude towards issues of maternal health. Women’s rights activist cum Executive Director of the Women Advocates Research & Documentation CentreWARDC, Dr Abiola AkiyodeAfolabi, who, at the rally, gave

LUTH a 14-day ultimatum to declare and release all women still in detention, as well as compensate the Oduyoyes or face legal action, spoke with eyes full of tears at the lecture. “Nigeria accounted for 25 per cent of maternal deaths in sub-Saharan Africa in 2014. We are calling on government to reduce the number of women who die needlessly because an estimated 144 women loss their lives daily. Government must show political will, especially in the coming budget. “In fact, with the kind of fund and budget Nigeria already has, this should not be happening. Our government claims to be very committed to the Millennium Development Goals-MDG and MDG-5 addresses the issue of maternal health. We

are also aware that through the Sovereign Wealth Fund, Nigeria is collecting a lot of money to support women in hospitals. “So, we are using Folake’s case to demonstrate a whole lot of cases because this is the norm almost all around the country. We have news from UBTH in Benin, Enugu and more. This is one reason many women go to traditional birth attendants; they know they will be detained if they cannot pay their bills. “Folake Oduyoye will not die in vain because she is representing every Nigerian woman who should not be allowed to die in this manner. Besides, Section 35 of the constitution is very clear; the only authority that can detain anyone is the court,” Dr Abiola said.

Over the years, we’ve been round the country, training women so they will know how to lobby and present themselves in ways that men will give them the needed opportunity. Now, we’re focusing on enhancing female participation with an international group, the 100 Women Lobby Group, which is working worldwide to promote women in governance. The group was first launched in Nigeria when Mrs Josephine Anenih was Minister for Women Affairs. It however went into oblivion after she left office. We’ve relaunched it with the current Minister for Women Affairs two months ago and I am the South-West Coordinator in Nigeria. We have people in every state. We are among accredited observer groups by INEC for the coming elections. We have young volunteers willing to monitor the elections.

You said earlier that you also promote gender development; what are you doing concerning women and the upcoming general elections?

SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 1, 2015, PAGE 23

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Why can’t an older woman flaunt her legs?! ome few weeks back, I wrote about how a handful of senior girls are often inappropriately dressed at parties, failing to admit glamour for them has passed its sell-bydate. A few readers were outraged by my views whilst some believed women over 50 shouldn’t ‘flash’ their boobs and legs. “They ought to dress with the appropriate decorum befitting their age”, observed Lesly. “After the age of 50, ladies should wear clothes to the knee or just below. I am much more elegant; of a similar age and would never contemplate being seen in a ridiculously young apparel. What has happened to elegance and dignity? What some of these senior girls wear in the quest to hang on to their youth would not even look good on someone half their age – they’re all deluded women living in the past!” “How sad that bruising commentary should be directed at women who dare to be different, old or young”, observed Lara, a cosmetologist. “This extraordinary flowering of prejudice that blossoms whenever older women show off their legs is notable for two things – how often it happens and the depth of

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hypocrisy exposed. While younger women with terrible legs – and I’ve seen some shocker, including 20-somethings in tiny denim shorts exposing mountainous thighs bearing glaciers of cellulite – can run around baring all without as much as a raised eyebrow, things are very different for ladies like me. Any woman who reaches her 50s, however svelte or begulling, seems to be prejudiced from even so much as flashing a knee. “Tell me Candida, what century do critics like you live in? With all your racy write-ups, one would have expected you to be more broad-minded. It would seem that young women inhabit the world of your current group of pop tarts (or are they stars really?) Who exposed all manners of acres of flesh, while older women are expected to all but return to the Victorian age, complete with floor sweeping dresses to disguise any semblance of curve. The hypocrisy is particularly interesting since there is a constant deafening of chorus of complaints from women as they age, that they become invisible. Yet, when a woman I n her 50s dares to h int at her sex appeal, she’s victimised. “I’m all for cheering her from the roof tops. Why? After all, sexuality is

women, however good the legs. It looks aging and would show up all manner thread veins and bumps on the upper leg if you get too close. But she could still be a little adventurous. “I am in my late 50s and

“Far from being denigrated, fashionably

important to all female. Granted, any sensible woman knows we can’t hold on to the allure we had in our 20s, and 30s, but turning 50 doesn’t mean we do not long for the turn of a head or a two-lingering glance. Becoming a middle-aged woman doesn’t mean the flint in your age is deadened for ever. Certainly, at some point during these years, we hand over the torch of sexuality to our daughters, but still that does not mean we have to become sexually redundant!”

adventurous `senior girls’ should be applauded as torchbearers for women who do not wish to define themselves by their birthday”, wrote Gemima. “She is perennially wellappointed, well-turned out and always appropriate. All of us who aspire to something other than a lifetime in midi-length skirts and flowing kaftans should cheer these `senior girls’! Admittedly, wearing short skirts with killer heels does not work for older

blessed with good legs. I still wear short skirts but with care – I wear skirts three or four inches above the knee, but only with flattering leggings. Too many inches of a bare thigh however slim, make the sheep start to bleat. It screams that the wearer is trying to look young, as opposed to smart. And I’m sure this is what these bitchy commentators portrayed in your column believed the senior girls are trying to be – youthful rather than sprightly. But I assure you they’re not clinging to youth. They’re simply displaying their glamourous side. What’s wrong with that? The prejudice that says an older woman can’t display her legs, even if they ’re super model worthy, is not just cruel, but way past its sell-by date! It is hypocritical to insist 50-somet6hings aren’t old’ only to criticise them for not conforming to an old-fashioned stereotype. “Candida, instead of

denigrating and criticising senior girls, we should get behind them. All power to those glamourous wears, I say!” I was still weighing the views of the she-should put her-young-clothesalways brigade to the nice-legs shame – about the face crowd when a friend I was seated next to at yet another party told me she’d been avoiding making eye contacts with her sisterin-law. Why? She would be forced to walk over to her and say hello. The sister-in-law did better than make eye contact, she sent one of the waiters to say hello to her? Grudgingly, my friend stood up, tottering on heels that made her wobble as she tried to walk. Virtually begging for me to be her prop, she clung to me like a limpet as she made to where he r sister-inlay

sat with a group of her friends. The next day, another friend rang. “I see your friend was drunk again at yesterday’s party!”, she said. What gave her the idea? “I saw her hanging on to you for dear life. How much champagne did she guzzle?” I rest my case!

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Winding down after work VEN the journey home has contributed its share in the overall tiredness of the work day. What with all the anxiety over the slowmoving traffic. Once home you probably go straight to the kitchen for a snack or collapse into a chair for some television viewing. You are just too tired. Now, just as there is the need to start off the day with energy-releasing exercises so there is the need to wind down after work. A fruit to assuage hunger while dinner gets ready is okay. What will not do is a poor combination of food groups which will only put even more stress on your back and exhaust you even more. Another thing, digestion is not helped when eating is done while one is nervous or excited. We must always try to induce a feeling of calmness in ourselves before settling down for a meal. For some people a little vigorous exercise does the C M Y K

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good job of dispelling work-time worries and providing a new burst of energy. For those not in the mood for energetic work-outs, some stretches like the plough pose, the head-to-knee pose which rely mainly on the forces of gravity - such that all you do is assume the posture, take it easy and breathe. No one is asking you to be a Jumping Jack Flash for fifteen minutes. A little mercy on your fatigued body. But I tell you what. You will be sweetly surprised to find out that simple mild stretching exercises like those mentioned are improving the way you look and feel. And the practice of the dead man’s pose, for say fifteen minutes after these exercises will spell astonishing repose of body and mind. The practice of proper winding down will even set up the body for a good night’s sleep. Or you will find you are not too tired to tango as the case may be!

traction muscles cost you a lot of energy. Once you learn to replace contraction with relaxation of your muscles you save energy for better things. * Improve your digestion: Your internal organs are held in place by muscles. When your muscles are well-toned, they provide better support thereby assisting the functioning of all vital organs. * Better your body tone: Muscles work in antagonistic pains, when one is contracted the other is relaxed. When a muscle is always tensed the antagonist becomes flaccid and bulgy resulting in undesirable physical distortions such as a bulging belly and thighs and sagging bottom. Relax tensed muscles and the flaccid ones will have a chance to tone-up and your overall body tone will improve. * Return of youth grace: With a toning up of weak muscles and getting rid of extraneous muscle tension there is an im-

The plough

Head to knee Posture What stretching does for you * Stress relief: In a difficult situation your body resorts to the ‘fight of flight’ response, contracting muscles in readiness. The situation gets over but you forget to relax the muscles. Gradually, this tenseness to stress becomes the norm so that you do not even notice that you are tense. With tension there is a restriction in movement and a loss of youthful agility. * More energy: In con-

provement in the alignment of your skeletal system. This improved posture means you move with a lot more grace and ease. Here is a ‘hump’ and ‘dip’ exercise for the small of the back. Kneel down with the hand on the floor without moving the body forward or backward, breathe in dipping the waist till the small of the back is hollow and at the same time raise your head. Breathing out raise the waist drawing in the stomach and dropping the head. Repeat consecutively 4 to 5 times. While you sit on the heels lean forward and support the head on the fists, placed one on the other. Never you neglect the condition of your spine. Keep it supple and flexible - always.

Yoga Classes STARTED Physical Therapy Centre @ 32 Adetokumbo Ademola, Victoria Island Lagos. 9.00am — 10.00am on Saturdays

P AGE 24 — SUND AY Vanguard , FEBRUARY 1 , 2015 SUNDA

bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk 08056180152, SMS only

Mama’s boys who refuse to leave their cushy homes! s soon as Fred entered the university, his parents encouraged him not to come back home to settle after his degree. “They wanted me to be independent and fend for myself ”, he said. “After that was what I did”, he said. “So why is today ’s young men, even when they leave home, keep coming back? I have three sons aged between 28 and 22 and they are perfect examples of these failed fledglings, now popularly referred to as `boomerang children’. They’ve dipped their toes in the waters of the real world, and have all come scurrying back”. Fred’s sons are certainly not alone in choosing to remain at home. Statistics show that a lot of men aged 20 and 34 still live with the4ir parents. According to Frank Furedi, a professor at the University of Kent: “Parents molly-coddling their children are to blame for this `boomerang’ generation. “I agree”, said. “And I’m guilty as hell. With my sons, it began as soon as they were born, with endless treats. As a parent, I was far too nice. My own mother and father were remote and old-fashioned. Adults were people who commanded respect and fear. I’d never have dreamt of being on firstname terms with my older relatives unlike now that everyone is a pal. “My wife and I deluged our sons with toys and videos. We took them with us on trips abroad, enjoying their company. We’d hoped that by giving our children a great childhood, they ’d have a rich (in experience) launching pad from which to shoot off into grown-up life. I particularly had not expected any one of them to take a look at grown-

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up life and think: `steady on, I’m not going there”. But that’s exactly what all three of them have done. While they all left home in their late teens, - two of them for university and one to join the Air Force – they ’ve all flown back to the next. “To be fair, it is a very nice nest, posh and comfortable in an upmarket area of Lagos. Sadly rather than being king of my castle, I awoke one day to discover that with three grown-up sons at home, I’d turned their personal carer, doing absolutely most things for them while my now very large boys are only too happy to take up residence in their childhood bedrooms. This extended adolescence is hell for us, their parents. I’ve reverted to being cross and shouting. My wife, who’s more than guilty of spoiling these brats, feels she has to defend them from my snarling. Why do I get so cross all of the time she asks? Well, it’s because I’m cross! I thought by now we’re in our 60s, my wife and I would be free of the responsibility and costs of parenthood – but the bills I pay every moth to keep these boys in the life to which they ’re accustomed is mindboggling. “There was no sign of this hell to come when our eldest finished school and joined the Air Force. His base was quite a distance from where we were and my wife and I would visit him often, take ohm out for meals and bring home his washing. The same with his two siblings whose universities were hundreds of miles from where we were. Yet once a month my wife would persuade me to go with her to visit, spending hours in the car. We would fill their fridges and clean their kitchen. I’d end up

taking his friends for a treat at a restaurant. “I had foolishly believed that once the children had shaken off their indolence and had had a taste of an independent life, they would at least branch out on their own and shake off their silly slinging parents. But being an adult these days is awful, my sons tell me. Crippling house rents, high unemployment and low wages. Who could thrive in these conditions? Look at today ’s youths: struggling to pay for their education; no jobs except unpaid “ work experience”; no hope of getting a mortgage without that massive deposit first; the need for mothers and fathers to both work to make ends meet, so who raises the

children? “The very least oldies can do, I suggest, is help to provide for children and grand children, not squat selfishly on everything and use up what resources are left to plan your funeral!. Because, believe me, these spoilt brats don’t know the meaning of a decent burial! Out of desperation though, you could plan your escape. Build yourself a nest egg then run away from home!” African Magic (Humour) A businessman was getting ready to go on a long business trip. He knew his wife was a flirtatious sort with an extremely healthy sex drive, so he thought he’d buy her a little something to keep her occupied while

he s gone. He went to a store that sold sex toys and started to look around. He thought about a life-sized sex doll, but that was too close to another man for him. He was browsing through the dildos, looking for something special to please his wife and started talking to the old man behind the counter. He explained his situation. “Well, I don’t really know of anything that will do the trick. We have vibrating dildos, special attachments, and so on, but I don’t know of a thing that will keep her occupied for weeks except ...” and stopped “Except what?”, the man asked. “Nothing, nothing”. “C’mon, tell me! I need something”. “Well, sir, I don’t usually mention this, but there is the Voodoo Penis?” “So what’s up with this Voodoo Penis?” he asked. The old man reached under the counter and pulled out a very old wooden box, carved with strange symbols and erotic images. He opened it, and there lay an ordinary-looking dildo. The businessman laughed and said “Big damn deal. It looks like every other dildo in this shop!” The old man replied, “But you haven’;t seen what it’ll do yet”. He pointed to a door and said, “Voodoo Penis, the door ”. The Voodoo Penis miraculously rose out of its box, darted over the door and started pounding the key hole. The whole door shook wildly with the vibrations, so much so that a crack began to form down the middle. Before the door split, the old men said. “Voodoo Penis, return to box!” The Voodoo Penis stopped, levitated back to the box and lay there quiescent once more. ‘I’ll take it!”, said the businessman. The old

man resisted, saying it wasn’t for sale but finally surrendered to N250,000 in cash and an imitation Rolex. The guy took it home to his wife, tole her it was a special dildo and that to use it, all she had to do was say “Voodoo Penis, my crotch”. He left for his trip satisfied that things would be fine while he was gone. After he’d been gone a few days, his wife was unbearably horny. She thought of several people who would willingly satisfy her, but then she remembered the Voodoo Penis. She undressed, opened the box and said, “Voodoo Penis, my crotch!”. The Voodoo Penis shot to the crotch and started pumping. It was absolutely incredible, like nothing she’d ever experienced before. After three mind-shattering orgasms, she became very exhausted and decided she’d had enough. She tried to pull it out but, it was stuck in her, still thrusting. She tried and tried to get it out, but nothing worked. Her husband had forgotten to tell her how to shut it off. Worried, she decided to go to hospital to see if she could get help. She put her clothes on, got in the can and started to drive, quivering with every thrust of the dildo. On the way,another incredible orgasm made her swerve allover the road. A police officer saw this and immediately pulled her over. He asked for her licence, and then asked how much she’d had to drink. Gasping and twitching, she explained, “I haven’t had anything to drink, officer. You see, I’ve got this Voodoo Penis thing stuck in my crotch and it won’t stop screwing me! The officer looked at her for a second, shook his head and in an arrogant voice replied “Yeah, right … Voodoo Penis my ass!”.

Princewill Nosa Ogbomo, 08077003592 despisco_4sky01@yahoo.com OUR column to express your loving thoughts in words to your sweetheart. Don’t be shy. Let it flow and let him or her know how dearly you feel. Write now in not more than 75 words to: The Editor, Sunday Vanguard, P.M.B. 1007, Apapa, Lagos. E.mail: sunlovenotes@yahoo.com Please mark your envelope: “LOVE NOTES" Loving is not how you forget, but how you forgive.It's not how you listen,but how you understand.It's not what you see,but how you feel and it's not how you let go but how you hold on.

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My Angel, I have such a hunger for you, Honey! I want and need you in my life to make me whole. I love hearing your voice and sharing sweet moments together. I want to spend my life with you and grow old together. Be safe for me,Love!

to love again, though time and chances never give me the space to be with you. But I do know definitely that you are the best. Loving you always is what I will always do. I adore you. James N Okonkwo C (Freesoul) ngesinaj@gmail.com 08138055800

True meaning of love

CENT OBAMA +2348061379003

Loving you

Honestly speaking dear, you really give me reason

Love is like playing the piano. First you must learn to play by the rules, then you must forget the rules and play from your heart. Chris Onunaku. 08032988826/08184844015.

LOVE IS A PIANO,

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 1, 2015, PAGE 25

BY CALEB AYANSINA

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EFORE, it was the issue of extra-judicial killing or police brutality that was so rampant. Today, it is like some members of the armed forces have joined the act, brutalising those they are paid to protect. Recently, pandemonium engulfed Kabayi area of Mararaba, Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, following sporadic shooting by some soldiers because two officers in mufti, after failing to identify themselves, were prevented from passing through a road that was blocked, due to construction work. The incident compelled workers of CGC Nigeria Ltd, a Chinese construction company, in Mararaba, to abandon their work and run for their lives, after sustaining various degrees of injury from the soldiers. One of the workers, Joshua Dauda, from Maurwa tribe in Southern-Kaduna, Kaduna State, while speaking to Sunday Vanguard, said his being alive was by divine intervention, as one of the soldiers cocked the gun, pointing it on his head and ready to blow it off, after beating him mercilessly. “He was annoyed that his Oga collected the gun from him, shouting, ‘ You for allow me make I blow him off, this bloody civilian,” Joshua recollected on his sickbed at the Kabayi City Hospital. Narrating his ordeal, Joshua said the day began like any other day at the Kabayi Road linking Aso ‘C’ Road in Mararaba. The road had been under construction since last year, but, sometimes, the company, after seeking understanding of the Nigeria Police, blocks the road, to avoid accident while construction work is going on with heavy duty machines. On the fateful day, according to him, the company blocked the

Abuja irate soldiers nearly killed us — Construction workers road as usual with a policeman and some workers monitoring the blockage, to prevent road users from running into the machines. He said people approached them, and they told them to take another route, as it was not safe for people to compete with ‘working caterpillars’. The whole work was going on smoothly, according to him, until the arrival of two-young men carried by a motorcyclist ‘Okada’. Joshua said that the police officer told the ‘Okada-man’ that construction worker went on.. “When the policeman held the Okada-man, they all moved to beat the policeman and my colleagues moved against them. “So, one of them (solders in mufti) started beating one of my boys. The boy was bleeding and he was still hitting him. I now rushed to him (soldier in mufti), and said, ‘Oga, you are beating this man. Look at him, he is bleeding, will you kill him?’ “He (soldier in mufti) said, do I know who he was. I said I didn’t know him because he didn’t identify himself. He said, ‘ Okay, you will know me now’. So, he pounced on me and my boys resisted him, telling him that I was not ready to fight him, but to make peace. “The other man ran away and mobilized other soldiers, and they started shooting. That was when we knew they were soldiers. “The other soldier who had been with us all the while said I was the one that mobilized my boys to attack them, because I told him not to kill the boy. “He rushed into the vehicle brought by the soldiers that had been mobilised, brought out a gun, hit me with the gun and I fell down, and he was still kicking me on the ground. Then he cocked the gun and put it on my head to pull the trigger, but his ‘oga’ that wore uniform rushed to him, and pulled the gun away from my head, raised it up and released bullets to the air.” When Sunday Vanguard contacted the Mararaba Police Station, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Superintendent Emega John, confirmed the incident, describing it as a ‘minor issue’ that had been resolved.

The other man ran away and mobilized other soldiers, and they started shooting. That was when we knew they were soldiers there was no thorough fare, as construction work was going on, but the two passengers on the Okada (soldiers in mufti), instead of identifying themselves for them to know that they were security operatives, ordered the ‘Okadaman’ to crush the policeman, who was in front of the motorcycle, an action that infuriated other workers. “There was an ‘Okada-man’ carrying two people. They didn’t wear uniform and they did not identify themselves. The policeman blocked them and they told the ‘Okada-man’ to crush the policeman,” the

• Joshua David ... On his sick bed

The day Osanebi empowered Ndokwa East

BY OYIBOSOCHUKWU MIKE NWABUEZE

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emocracy has long been accepted as the government of the people, by the people and for the people. Similarly, politics has been defined as who gets what, when, and how, while a recent school of thought has defined politics simply as the game of life. In Nigeria, the common complaint has been that most representatives of the people in the three tiers of government, whether elected or appointed, are usually disconnected from the grassroots only to surface after three or four years to canvass for votes during elections. In Delta State, the scenario is completely different with

Hon. Friday Ossai Osanebi, the Deputy Chief Whip and member representing Ndokwa East Constituency in the Delta State House of Assembly who, in his first outing on campaign, declared: “I am ready to serve my people” and has, so far, lived up to his promise. Even before his election in 2011, Osanebi, as a young entrepreneur and youth leader, had commenced the empowerment of youths in Ndokwa East, Ndokwa West, and Ukwuani Local Government Areas of Delta State as the President of Ndokwa National Youth Movement Worldwide. In that capacity, Osanebi distributed motorcycles and cars, which the young men converted to commercial use and were able to sustain a living with their families and

dependants. On assumption of duty as a lawmaker, he expanded this philanthropic gesture to women, widows, the elderly, the physically challenged and basically took over the care of inmates in the orphanage homes across Ndokwa nation. Since 2011, Osanebi has ensured that every quarter, he sustained the distribution of various empowerment packages, including the award of scholarships to all strata of Ndokwa community. He has donated over 70 motorcycles, over 150 cars and has completed all constituency projects earmarked for Ndokwa east constituency between 2011 and 2014. As schools resumed in January 2015, the lawmaker decided to lift the burden off some parents and guardians

by distributing educational materials such as exercise books, school bags and food packs to over 1, 000 primary and secondary schools in Ndokwa East Local Government Area. Osanebi, on Saturday, January 17 added colour to the governorship campaign of the PDP flag bearer, Senator (Dr.) Arthur Ifeanyi Okowa, when he visited Aboh, the headquarters of Ndokwa East Local Government Area. It was empowerment galore, as Okowa commissioned the two Jeeps, fourteen cars, one mini bus and ten motorcycles donated by Osanebi as the high point of the PDP campaign rally at Aboh. One of the Jeeps was given to His Royal Majesty, the Inawai of

Onyah kingdom, the youthful king who had four years ago conferred the title of Eze-Udo (Ambassador of Peace) on. Osanebi in recognition of his numerous philanthropic gestures to youths and the needy in the society. The vehicles were later presented to the beneficiaries, which spread across the 20 state wards in the local government, amidst cheers, jubilation, prayers and praises for the lawmaker. If performance by way of attracting dividends of democracy and empowering the constituents is anything to go by, then Hon. Friday Ossai Osanebi may well be coasting home to victory in a landslide on his re-election as member representing Ndokwa East constituency in Delta State House of Assembly.

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dly did the people or the despoiling antics that Ironietoric of decapitaria became louder ry headed into the celebration of its on in 1914. Now han one month to sidential election phere of gross innd occupation of local governments th East by insurecessity for a cauaged elections and ath assumes the ority ever.

2015 elections: How to ma Nigeria the winner (2)

desire to carry th guilt for not havin to care all that tim and 99s that the creasingly soun grieved, we looke move on clutchin empathy milk les on those who show

and the squabble outcomes have alhistorical threats tence as a single d Nigeria. These e all the more cause they are innked not to fights populace but to of the same by the te.

/65 and the 1993 and out among the ng posed the highf existential threat because political ed up deep primorns to fan the emr own political inof those times the ed out so dramatiagically; ultimatein the 1960s poed to the death of million people in geria, and loss of y political actors and. Nigeria’s exreat sadly cost so that many considdless blood that iritually crying out nce like the blood ose brother Cain ontinues to cry out o the Bible.

than sterling

•Oby Ezekwesili....The history of democratic elections in Nigeria is tumultuous and our record less ed for the upkeep of the federation. That the rest of Nigeria failed to empathise at the pain that environmental devastation and poor translation of the share of the rent into local development was doing to the Niger Delta was yet another case of “let them suffer their pain. Where were they when we also were crying?” Not even the brutality visited on Ken Saro Wiwa who to his eternal credit would be considered the one who died that his region may live elicited the kind of empathy that neighbours who are not even friends show to one another in moments of tragedy. Everyone simply moved on as we managed to find ways to pacify the people of the South South in order to continue rummaging the deep wells in their communities. How about our kindred from the Middle Belt. All the agitations of being marginalised that their vocal leaders of clans used to cry out about as

Historical landmarks Then the 1993 election aftermath became the turn of the people of the West to suffer what many still call the worst electoral theft in the history of elections in Nigeria. The annulment of that election drove the country into multiple timelines and tranches of crises that culminated in the death of the winner, the exiling of many of the advocates for his cause which were mainly people of the same region with a sprinkle of people like yours sincerely from other regions, the repression and threats visited on the people of the South West. While all that lasted, all other regions mostly looked on and moved on even though most of them had in fact voted the protagonist in that adjudged free and fair election that bucked the religious, ethnic and regional divisions. The ingrained attitude of “it is the turn of the Yoruba’s to suffer their own pepper ” fertilised the grudging deficit that ultimately saw to the as-

e to seize on the the Civil war to h for Nigeria’s rite from country to he failure of politass all over again. a people simply d move on from cidal scale of tragarning absolutely m the multiple erriggered the pocould we not have r most momentous to discuss openly living together in hat won at the cost blood letting of the We not only did ied but golden oput we actively disy open lamentae lasting anguish the memories of

In between all the historical landmarks of our political history, we had the South South in severe agitation deriving from the agony they felt that their region was neglected despite it being

And then came a termath of the 20 mingled with the effect of institutio tion that made it a once capable Ni tary and security ment to weaken. T our Military took the point of havin the capacity to “ r began as a rag t bandits. The arm gents exploited t spirit of the co gained serious gro ically, psycholog began killing, ma stroying and abdu tians and Churche the rest of peo looked on as it di them. As the insu duced that enou was not being felt of Nigeria, they their focus and ar fensive against AN does not believe in ideology they hol abduction of 276 y en of Chibok com Borno who were se by poor parents them for a more pr ture became our w Fifty seven of the aged to escape the by rare courage lea the Daughters of N captive in the ene over 283 days now abduction, althou all attuned to the killings that were b ed, yet the level o acts that our kin North East were l own to suffer and result of what has ter of an “invisib not fully register i inations.

However even w verity and massi assaults that the are inflicting on wh nities in the Nort sisted for our att rest of Nigeria con as far removed in heart as possible.

from page 26

the North East and of our Northern ny among the rest imply refuse to be to invest any em-

thy deficit — the eel the pain of othfact become an Art people of the winy called Nigeria. ith which citizens refusing to be matters that they e “problems of othwere not there for they also were in es a syndrome. I e acceptance of portunity to Suffer Among the categerians of that ilk pent more time atse of us who bee Chibok Girls and he North East dee not only from the ate but all of us as usually scornfully today?” ” is a question that root of the “full ciranguish and lossgerians of all reve suffered simply g and failing to e another ’s pain. ry of diverse peove not managed to mmon Identity as or fifty four years ger continue with t that distributes und equally withing to offer relief. w that the have uffered anguish pathy from the rest times even if at ales of tragedies. e that as a people d this to go on w say to those ho stand aloof still esent agonizing hren, what more for before you reumanity now that ings have gone

the people of Nigeria must persist in demanding that all the candidates that seek their votes should DEBATE a number of most pressing issues that will determine the path that the country will thread in the next four years and foreseeable future. As a citizen who is part of a civil society that straddles all persuasions, demography and geography I lay out some of the pillars of the New Nigeria on which many of us as citizens would like to hear those who seek to receive our mandate to lead and not rule us after the 2015 elections. Candidates should be compelled by citizens to elaborate on the following seven critical pillars for moving Nigeria from Country to Nation:

active office we can a nation by demand who seeks to lead u vince us of how they us and not just Nige tity— the Winner. A Ibrahim Mohamme survival of a nation the good its leadersh to bear on the peop tion. In his opinion guaranteed continuo if her citizens wall poverty especially tion is identified a potential human a resources that guar ness.

•Oby Ezekwesili win! The pretense of Nigeria “ winning” in the last fifty four years has actually been the victory that the elite which adorn our country to the North, South, West and East of the country have appropriated to themselves over the rest of Nigeria. What the political elite has cleverly done over the years of poor governance is to exploit the alienation of Citizens to their own power which they possess according to President Roosevelt as people who vote to confer legitimacy on their leaders. Aristotle expanded on the supreme power of the citizens as though he had our country with 69% of our citizens in the poverty bracket in mind when he asserted “In a democracy the poor will have Where are the leaders not rulers who are angry at the implosive effect of corruption on our mores, our institutions, our resources, our vision, our essence? Where are the leaders and not rulers who are strategically grieved that the rest of the world ponders at the dismal progress that a country of one of the most gregariously talented people has made when compared to its possibilities? Where are the leaders and not rulers who see the People and not the free rent from oil, gas and minerals as the real endowment that will take Nigeria to the top of the economic league tables? Where are the leaders and not rulers that will not only send high sounding tributes to the historical Nelson Mandela and quote Martin Luther King in speeches without learning a thing or two from them? Where are the

1. A Nigeria GOVERNED strictly by adherence to the Rule of Law and the constitution. 2. A SECURE AND PEACEFUL NIGERIA with ABIDING TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY. 3. A Nation of CITIZENS RESOLVED TO WORK TOWARD an inclusive society through UNITY IN DIVERSITY. 4. A Nation of STRONG, TRANSPARENT AND ACCOUNTABLE INSTITUTIONS FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE. 5. An ECONOMICALLY PROSPEROUS NATION OFFERING EQUAL OPPORTUNITY TO ALL CITIZENS TO THRIVE, COMPETE, CONTRIBUTE AND SHARE IN ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT. 6. A NATION THAT NEGOTIATES A NEW SOCIAL CONTRACT BETWEEN CITIZENS AND THE STATE. 7. A NATION THAT EVOLVES AND ADOPTS ITS OWN TOOLS OF SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY FOR CITIZENS PARTICIPATION IN GOVERNANCE. Citizens can commence entry to the winning space by listening to candidates who can persuade us on how they plan to mobilise Nigerians and our networks of support around the world to evolve a society with the seven features. The culture of Debating and Contesting ideas in healthy tolerance of dissension should have taken root immediately after our independence elections of 1959. We failed to learn those skills which are the heart of a maximizing the unity and value in diversity. Other diverse societies have so much to teach us in the manner they resolve differences so that they mitigate against dis-

Nigeria’s victory has robbed the people Nigerians- of their own victory. Of what benefit is it to a people of a country that has kept “winning” since the last 101 years and yet remains an entity that (even after surviving the kind of genocidal civil war that mangled other countries) has failed to rise into the stature of a Nation? more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of the majority is supreme”. So as one who is aware of the power of my voting right, here are a few of the questions I shall be seeking answers those who seek our votes in order to lead us. Where are the leaders not rulers that are ready to sacrifice their personal pursuit of power for the PEOPLE of Nigeria? Where leaders and not rulers who will at the end of the 2015 elections grow in stature not in posture to mobilise ALL Nigerians to openly discuss our pains, failures and hopes and to disagree and then agree without feeling judged? Where are the leaders that are finally ready to lead us into that long postponed journey from country to nation? As citizens ponder their choices for the 2015 elections they must for a change think of themselves as Nigerians who now need to

rious times that on suffered, the this single entity eria however conwin.” So while Daicrafting this topic, How can Nigeria er ” ——and I conble desideratum — say that merely geria to win again ugh! Nigeria has past but see where

victory has robbed

Bringing all these session today, wh Roosevelt suggests tion is that the outc democratic election the people that vo leaders in a position that they cannot in losers. Indeed, how chose a winner poss a loser? In the ide ducted elections sho the best candidate demonstrated thoug sage, their character their priority issues cus that they are w the deepest problem people are most ea that they are winner should lose election in ALL the 2015 ele rians can produce w are close reflection that those that WE them would solve t of the Nigerian socie to be the ones dire those problems. Tha biosis of Democra ship between those those they voted for gitimacy for their mocracy according charming form of g full of variety and d dispensing a sort o equals and unequals ident Roosevelt co BIG IDEA of the Ci or her vote by statin racy cannot succeed who express their ch pared to choose wis safeguard of demo fore, is education.” Education. Yes. Vo devoid of primordi Those leanings ma cal elite and not N Winners. Citizens d long time to educat on the issues as the already upon us. enough time for o which Daily Trust i redirect the energie didates of the 201 at all levels of fede political contests t that would make geria but Nigerian NERS of the 2015

PAGE 28—SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 1, 2015

DIASPORA

Dell removes price barriers in enterprise flash adoption

By EMEKA AGINAM ffort to overcome cost barriers that have hampered of broad a doption

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enterprise flash storage arrays has started yielding the expected results as Dell has removed price barriers for enterprise flash adoption. Accordingly, the the global availability of new enterprise class Dell Storage all-flash array (AFA) configurations has been tagged at the relative price of $25,000. With this development, Dell offers customers the lowest entry price for an all-flash midrange solution by any major vendor. “For years, price has been the number one barrier to enterprise flash adoption, and we are knocking down these walls to make the high performance, reliability and smaller footprint of flash practical for almost any workload,” Robin Kuepers, storage Marketing Director, Dell Europe, Middle East and Africa, (EMEA), said, adding that, “As Dell continues to bring down the cost of enterprise class storage, we now offer customers the industry’s easiest to use and lowest cost entry point into mid-range, all-flash enterprise arrays.” This is even as customers continue to recognize Dell’s flash leadership, with the company being selected as the top choice for deploying enterprise flash/SSDs for the second consecutive year, according to an October 2014 SSG-NOW independent survey of more than 300 global IT leaders. “Dell’s ability to disrupt the storage industry with its extremely attractive and low entry price for its allflash storage offerings is made all the more impressive by its inclusion of enterprise-class features and functionality,” Mark Peters, senior analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group, said. According to him, “Given the overall value proposition—which is bolstered by Dell’s renowned Copilot supportit users around the globe should certainly give consideration to Dell when looking for AFA solutions”. For Carmen Andreoli, Director of infrastructure and IT at ELEAD1ONE, a leading provider of webbased automotive dealership software, “We were interested in the Dell Storage SC Series, and decided to start in our corporate office and call centre with the SC4020 Flash-Optimised Solution that auto-tiers among writeintensive SSDs, readintensive SSDs, and 7.2K HDD,” “We stood-up the SC4020 in less than a day and then completed an entire online migration of our virtualized environment without any downtime in

less than 24 hours. The SC4020 has exceeded our expectations – in both excellent performance and overall ease of use. Dell’s Data Progression software lets the array do what it needs to do to optimise drives for performance and cost, and frees up hours of our time every month.” Andreoli informed that both new AFA configurations are based on the Dell Storage SC4020 array, which includes 24 drive bays and dual controllers in a 2U chassis, plus all standard software, options, installation and three-years of Dell Copilot support. Customers, Andreoli added may continue to expand their Dell Storage SC4020 AFA as an all-flash solution by adding additional read-intensive or write-intense drives or

achieve additional cost savings at any time by automatically moving cold data to one or more optional tiers of traditional spinning disks. The new Dell Storage SC4020 AFA configurations, according to Dell offer an economical starting point for all-flash performance to support a wide range of applications and workloads. Dell is now shipping two options: The Dell Storage SC4020 Entry-Level AFA single-tier configuration includes six 480GB read-intensive SSDs for a total of 2.8 terabytes of raw capacity for an advertised street price of $25,000 The Dell Storage SC4020 Flash-Optimized AFA multi-tier configuration provides even faster write performance, while continuing to optimize cost.

Of lies, desperation and propaganda n recent times and especially as months turn to weeks and weeks to days in the run up to this month's general elections a new trend has been noticed among Nigerian politicians and their followers. Observers have reported the "charged up" political atmosphere. The situation has changed from what it was a few months ago. It seems the tag "casual" that was initially placed on the nature of campaigns has now been replaced. The tone and "texture" of everything has changed. What started as a “cruise control” for some of the candidates seem to have been too early to call. They have realised this and to forestall a defeat, they are exhibiting acts that can only be described as desperate. The rallies are changing too. The politicians and their supporters are desperate now. They are not hiding this. The slogans shouting at the rallies say it all. They are becoming more of “cries” of war than the usual party slogans. And as the D-Day is fast approaching, there is no more room for Nollywood actors and actresses on the podium. The time for drama is gone. But for a few "tired legs" footballers there is little room on the podium to remind Nigerians why they were no longer household names. The battle line is now clearly drawn. It is a battle for the soul of Nigeria. And the two major political parties are putting themselves up as saviours of the country. In one corner is the opposition party, which throughout its 4th Republic existence keeps changing in “nomenclature” while gathering (it seems) steam to "chase out" the incumbent. The cornerstone of the party's manifesto is "change". While on the other side is the self styled “biggest” political party in Africa. The longest reigning political party in Nigeria's democratic history. The unique selling word for the party is "continuity" - that no need to "rock the boat". The other 'minor' political parties are merely waiting for miracle that will take their candidates to Aso Rock. As we journey towards February 14, some backers of the candidates are showing how desperate they are. They are gradually shedding the "gen-

I

Africa has opportunity to secure future of mobile Internet— Hope

tlemanly" toga they had "pretentiously" adorned themselves with before. It is as if they had retreated to their "bunkers" to re-evaluate their strategies and came out with propaganda as the tool for winning. They therefore have carefully and systematically replaced the word “campaign” with “propaganda”. In rallies, traditional media and social media networks, the political parties are trying to outdo each other. They definitely are strictly keeping to the Oxford Dictionary definition of propaganda, which is “ideas or statements that may be false or exaggerated and that are used in order to gain support for a political leader, party, etc.” Have we not noticed of recent that there are many lies, rumours and half truths that are paraded in the media, social media

•Mortimer Hope

irector, Spectrum and Public Policy Africa, Groupe Speciale Mobile Association, GSMA, Mortimer Hope that Africa has a rare opportunity to secure the future of the mobile Internet. He stated this while speaking on the African Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s Union’s third preparatory meeting for the ITU’s World Radio Communication Conference 2015, WRC-15, noting that “At WRC-15 in November 2015, decisions on spectrum allocation made will define mobile connectivity well into the next decade. According to him, “Exponential growth in the use of mobile phones, tablets and other wireless devices accessing the Internet is putting intense pressure on existing spectrum allocations in Africa” and that “unless governments choose to grant mobile operators access to sufficient spectrum, countries across the continent will miss out on the substantial socioeconomic benefits that mobile broadband delivers.” He said: “It is therefore critical that governments and regulators take the opportunity that WRC-15

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BY EMEKA AGINAM & JONAH NWOKPOKU

provides to take strategic and decisive action on spectrum allocation that will safeguard the future of mobile broadband in Africa. Policymakers need to act urgently to deliver all the undoubted advantages that the mobile internet provides to citizens throughout the continent.” At the ATU preparatory meeting this week, the GSMA published the findings of a new report developed by Frontier Economics, which has highlighted the substantial economic benefits of reallocating Cband spectrum, which is mainly used for delivery of satellite services in Africa, to mobile. According to the report, access to C-band spectrum for mobile services will decrease marginal costs for mobile operators, leading to lower prices for mobile broadband in Africa. For example: Nigeria’s benefits range from US $2.2 billion to US $4.6 billion (57 times the cost of migrating existing services) while Africa’s benefits stand at US $511 million to US $1.1 billion (13 times the cost of migrating existing services). In addition, the total estimated revenue to African governments through mobile industry taxation and the auction of spectrum licences is approximately US $13 billion.

Wth what is being witnessed in the country among the incubents and their opponents, it is glaring that service is not the motivating factor for contesting networks? These are handiworks of politicians and supporters who would go any length to win elections. The trend is same. Facts are distorted and shared daily as truth. Pictures are manipulated and shared as originals. Everybody has turned to video producers, as we make and share video clips that are either full of lies or half truths. Some hitherto reputable broadcast stations have thrown professionalism to the dogs, as they join in the "show of shame." Although this election will not be the first in the country's history to be won or lost based on propaganda, it is, however, going down in history as the most fought based on lies and half truths. What we are witnessing right now is not descent campaign but "high volume" propaganda.

Political leaders descending so low to “encourage” lies as truths, trying to hoodwink the populace. We, the masses, seem not to mind though, as we also have our own share of the blame. There are “citizen” reporters all over the places, sharing lies and half truths in their blogs. Nigerian bloggers are born every minute trying to “fill the gaps” for mainstream journalism. However, the danger is that these “citizen” journalists, because they are not regulated, are doing more damage to the art of reporting or writing than any other group. They have become dangerous mouthpieces for “senseless" politicians who seem not to care for anything apart from their ascendancy to power. How long shall we go before majority of Nigerian politicians realise that elections into public offices is not a matter of do or die? If only we can change the psyche of these politicians, that it is all about service and not the luxury of the post or office, may be there would be sanity. However, with what is being witnessed in the country among the incubents and their opponents, it is glaring that service is not the motivating factor for contesting. The concern is not with the politicians though. It is the followership. Nigerian political supporters are known to be die hard fanatics, who only see the good in their leaders and are ready to “violently” defend anything negative said about them. When properly “tuned” and “wired” they can go to any length. They are very “inflamable” at any slight prompting. We are witnesses to the aftermath of unguided statements by some politicians before, during and after elections in the past. What happened during the Second Republic in some states of Nigeria is still fresh in our 'history', We could not have hastily forgotten what happened in some of the Northern states after the 2011 Presidential Elections. Let us appeal to the politicians to calm down. And to the supporters, they should realise that the country is bigger than an individual, group of individuals or a political party. To observers, what happens before, during and after the February 14, 2014 will determine the future of this country. We are seeing what is happening now, we do not know what would happen on or after the Election Day. But one thing is glaring, Nigerian politicians still have so much to learn and to tAke in on elections process.

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 1, 2015, PAGE 29

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PAGE 30—SUNDAY, Vanguard, FEBRUARY 1, 2015

Punch controller’s dad celebrates 70 .

Fundraising f or Anglican for Grammar School

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he 70th birthday of Elder Joseph Abiodun Falode, father of Mr, Adeyeye Joseph, the Controller, Publications, Punch Newspapers, held at St. Peter ’s Anglican Church, Idimu, and reception followed at D’Cubicle Event Centre, Isheri-Olofin, Lagos. Nearly all the management and editorial staff of Punch newspapers graced the occasion. Photos by Bunmi Azeez

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agos Anglican Grammar School, Surulere, Lagos, rolled out drums to mark its 60th anniversary. As part of the celebration,the school held a thanksgiving service, fundraising and award presentation to recognise some deserving staff of the school who have distinguished themselves in service to the school.

Elder Joseph Abiodun Falode, wife, Caroline, with grandchildren. L- R: Mrs. M. Olukemi Akin-Ajayi , Principal, Lagos Anglican Grammar School, Surulere, Lagos, Chief ( Mrs ) Leila Fowler, receiving LASMAB Award from Prof. (Mrs ) Modupelola Omoegun Chairman, Board of Governors, LAGGS, while Ven. Ayo Olusa, the Executive Secretary LASMAB. looks on.

L-R: Chief Ajibola Ogunsola, former Chairman, Punch newspapers; Mr, Adeyeye Joseph; Mr. Depo Adesina, Editor-in-Chief, Guardian; and Sir Ademola Osinubi, MD, Punch.

L-R:Mr. Ola Oresanya, MD, LAWMA; Sir Ademola Osinubi; Mr, Adeyeye Joseph; Mr. Azubuike Ishiekwene, GMD, Leadership Newspapers and Mr. Bayo Alabidun

Delta, Edo beauty queens’ visit MEMBERS of the Finest Girl in Edo and Delta States Beauty Pageant and their sponsors, Purely Event Modelling Agency, visited the Correspondents Chapel of the NUJ inEdo State ahead of the competition held January 25, 2015.

L- R: Mrs M. Olukemi Akin-Ajayi, Dame Jane Ejueyitchie-Oroye and her husband, Mr Joseph Oroye receiving 'Meritorious Service Award' from Ven. Ayo Olusa

L-R:Mr. Dotun Falua, Mrs. Abosede Falua and Mrs. Gbemisola Nwanze.

Pharmacists f ete A gbaje fe Agbaje A dinner was held by pharmacist friends of Jimi Agbaje, Lagos State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP , to garner support for him. Leading the roll call of guests were top members of Pharmaceutical Association of Nigeria. Photo by Lamidi Bamidele

Exxon Mobil boss’s daughter marries

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he first daughter of Chairman of Exxon Mobil Asia and Africa, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, Miss Nkem Kachikwu, married the love of her life, Mr. Evans Jakpa at Kachikwu’s residence in Onicha Ugbo at the weekend. The traditional wedding took place at the Odogwu’s residence, Eden Retreat, Onicha Ugbo, Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State.

The models and management of Purely Event Modelling Agency led by its Chief Executive Officer, Andy Blueborn and Greg Ebhomiehen, the event manager.

Mr. and Mrs Evans Jakpa C M Y K

Models from Edo and Delta

L-R: Pharm. Olumide Akintayo, President, PSN,Pharm Jimi Agbaje; Pharm Adesanmi Popoola, Chairman of the occassion and Pharm Ahmad Yakassai, Chairman, Organising Committee

SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 1, 2015, PAGE 31

When Itsekiris hold Annual Thanksgiving

*The Olu of Warri, HRM. Ogiame Atuwatse II, arriving at the Foursquare Gospel Church for the Iwere annual thanksgiving service.

*Rev. Sam Aboyeji praying for the Olu of Warri, HRM Ogiame Atuwatse II, the Royal Family, the Warri Council of Chiefs as well as political leaders represented by Senator James Manager and Hon. Daniel Reyenieju. PHOTOS: KPOKONA OMAFUAIRE

*The Queen praying during the thanksgiving service. *The Crown Prince of the Warri Kingdom, Emiko, and his wife, Princess Tsola.

“THERE is no more beautiful sight in all this world than to see a family praying together. There is real meaning behind the oft-quoted ‘The family that prays together stays together.’” —President Thomas S. Monson HE last Sunday of every year has been set aside by the Itsekiri Kingdom as a day of thanksgiving to God for the passing year when all citizens are expected to gather at the Palace to reverence Almighty God. Thousands of gaily dressed Itsekiri citizens and their friendly neighbours last Sunday joined the Olu of Warri, His Royal Majesty, Ogiame Atuwatse II, for a church thanksgiving service at the palace in Warri. The colourful ceremony kicked off at the Foursquare Gospel Church located within the Olu Palace (Aghofen), with an opening prayer, immediately followed by Itsekiri Praise Anthem (A Yiri Oritse Ene). The Praise and Worship (Uyiri biri Usen) session followed when His Majesty, Ogiame Atuwatse II, Olu of Warri in his royal splendour walked in at 10.45 a.m.

*Senior Pastor of the Foursquare Gospel Church, Rev. Sam Aboyeji and Chaplain of Warri Kingdom, Aghofen, Warri, Chief (Prof.) Mark Erumi.

The event attended by Hon. Daniel Reyeineju, Hon. Olivia Agbajoh, JFK Omatsone, Senator James Manager among others, featured some corporate prayers for the King and his family, Council of Chiefs, the Kingdom, their neighbours and the state in general. A renowned Pastor Chris Okotie read the only Scripture from I Chronicles 29:6-19 in Itsekiri language and Chief Brown Mene preached the only sermon where he enjoined all Itsekiri indigenes to always give thanks to God, because `He is worthy to be praised’. He told all groups in the Kingdom to make a declaration, saying: "Oh God, I thank you for all Who are. Blessed be Your name." Rev. Lucky Imene led the Pentecostal intercessory prayer session for the Olu, his chiefs, Delta State and the nation in general, stressing "every leader ordained by God is unique and makes history. Let us pray for our King, that, as he makes history, no weapon formed against him shall prosper. History must remember him. Every king has what is written about them. Every king must bring a change that he will be remembered for. It's not time to criticise our leaders, its rather time to pray for them," he enjoined them, stressing that all enemies of the throne shall grow weaker and weaker. District Overseer/Senior Pastor of Foursquare Gospel Church, Rev. Sam Aboyeji said one of the secrets of success of the Itsekiri nation can be traced to the culture of constant thanksgiving to God, adding "if you go through the American history, it is the same. Any kingdom that appreciates God will equally be appreciated. Any person who appreciates God will be appreciated." Continuing, Rev. Aboyeji said the Olu is in support of the thanksgiving service, stressing "it means a lot to him and that is why he comes personally. Its something that can be seen by everybody, because, but for God, the Kingdom would not have been what it is today. When we look at our lives or institutions around us and we see positive things happening beyond our explanation, you can only acknowledge that God must be behind it."

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*Senator James Manager in warm handshake with Hon. Daniel Reyenieju.

*The Royal Voices of Foursquare Gospel Church, Aghofen, Warri ministering.

----Sam Eyoboka

*SUPPORT THE PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS IN NORTHERN NIGERIA C M Y K

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I support Jonathan because he believes in Nigeria’s unity — IBB •’How Boko Haram can be defeated • Explains why he has not re-married money in the bank and say it was saving it or you meet some of the demands of the situation at that time. Considering that you ruled Nigeria for some eight years, do you take any responsibility for the state of Nigeria today? Well, you take responsibility for anything either good or bad – that is what leadership is all about and I think so far, as far as I am concerned, I take full responsibility for what we did. Would the June 12 issue be something that when you look back you regret? History will one day come and apportion blames to various actors in the whole saga. There are a lot of people today in this country who supported what we did at that time. What was the rationale behind the annulment? We discussed the security situation and we were worried about putting up a government that would not last. What were the conditions that raised those concerns? There was this security problem that was dicey and the only people who could tell you what could happen were those of us in government, we the practitioners of violence by our profession. We knew there was a high level of frustration in the society which could provide a very fertile ground for a coup d’etat. But in the end that was what happened because … (Cuts in) In the end we were right because we speculated rightly. Was it a plan? No, it couldn’t have been a plan. Don’t forget that there was a speculation by prominent people in the country who were saying at that time that the worst civilian government was better than

n this interview, former military president, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, clarifies his position on his statement suggesting that he is in support of the re-election bid of President Goodluck Jonathan. Babangida also speaks on the murder of Dele Giwa in 1986, the Interim National Government, ING, Sani Abacha’s coup and the loss of his long time companion and wife, Maryam. Aired last Wednesday on Channels TV, the interview was an episode in the current affairs programme, STWK (Straight Talk With Kadaria), anchored by Kadaria Ahmed. Excerpts: I Do you support President Jonathan’s attempt at reelection? Firstly, I appreciate the fact that he came to visit me and, during our discussion, I found him to be a man who believes in the unity of this country and I did allude to that and I said I found him to be someone who has a very strong belief about the unity of this country. Those of us who fought the civil war – I still carry a bullet so I have a permanent reminder in me - anything that relates to Nigeria’s unity, we get impassioned about it. So what I said is that the President believes in the unity

of this country and any other person who believes in the unity of this country should support the President to keep this country one. So, as far as the 2015 elections are concerned, President Jonathan has your blessing Well, as far as 2015 is concerned, all the presidential candidates – 14 of them – have my blessings. The only difference is (and I did mention it) that I have not been able to read what they have offered to this country and I am going to do that and whoever offers what I’m looking for, I am going to vote for. What exactly did you mean when you said that if what you read in the papers these days is anything to go by, then your administration was saintly? I am an avid reader of Nigerian newspapers, so when I read a statement like $16billion spent trying to provide power for this country or somebody kept under his bed N300m, if what I’m reading is true, then we were angels. Not because you did any spending or because your level of spending was less or because you didn’t touch public money? We did have a regulation. You can’t, for example, keep more than ‘X’ amount of money

So what I said is that the President believes in the unity of this country and any other person who believes in the unity of this country should support the President to keep this country one in your vault or in your safe. We followed strictly the financial regulations and now it boggles my mind how somebody could put N300m under his bed. I once removed a governor for N300,000, because he overspent what we had given him as limit on security. But that didn’t mean that your government was squeaky clean because there was the Okigbo report about the over $12b oil windfall that was allegedly squandered by your administration. First of all, may his soul rest in peace (Sani Abacha). The report was from 1986 to 1994, a period of eight years. By the time the late Pius Okigbo submitted his report, he said between 1986 to 1994, $12.4b accrued to the Federal Government. Nobody could deny that. Out of that amount, he said $1.4 or thereabouts came in during the Gulf War. But, if you had done your home work well, you would know that the war lasted three months and there was no way you could make $1.4b in three months at the rate of $12 or $10 per barrel, producing about 800,00 per day. The government did not indict anybody, neither did the report indict anybody. He was an acknowledged economist and what he said is that ‘X’ amount of money would have accrued into the reserves. The government had an option to either go and put the

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Continued from Page 34 this contraption (Interim National Government, ING). The reason for that question was based on what you said about the coup issue because when you left, you did not retire General Abacha, a man who had been a central player in many successful coups and you left him in charge of the army more or less. That is why I asked if it was a plan for him to take over? When we established the ING, we wanted to give it teeth; so whoever was in power would believe that it had backing. So it never occurred to you that he (Abacha) wanted the number one job for himself? It never crossed my mind quite honestly. So when he executed this coup, what did you think? It didn’t come to me as a surprise because all of you in this country at that time gave him the wherewithal to do it. I’ve always said a coup will always succeed if there is frustration in the society and that frustration was seen and orchestrated at that time, if you remember, coming from very prominent people, that this contraption was not better than the worst civilian government, and some of us knew at that time that if a coup happened, Nigerians would jump into the streets to welcome it. So, why didn’t you retire Abacha knowing that there was a fertile ground and you had a coup maker… (Cuts in) If there had been pressure on the ING for an election in six months’ time, Abacha would not have found it easy to stage a coup. Given the fact that Nigerians wanted a government they elected and not the contraption you put together, why did you find it difficult to understand why Nigerians would not line up behind it? I tell you what happened before that contraption came about Now you are calling it contraption by the way? (Laughter). No I like the word. I’m very fond of that word. At that time in the whole of this country, you can go and check it, there wasn’t a single voice that said ‘let’s take a chance with the ING, let’s give it a chance if it would work’. But it didn’t have legitimacy because they were not soldiers and they were not elected civilians I governed for eight years,

IBB: Muslims should rise and fight insurgents using decree. That contraption was given a constitution and that constitution was supported by a law. It was legitimately done as is done all over the world. You were away when the Abacha coup happened. But when you came back, did he get in touch? We did discuss and he took his time to explain to me what happened. Did you give him any advice on how to run government or how soon he should hand over to civilians? Those were things which he knew very well because he had been part and parcel of the administration for eight years; he knew the political actors in the country and he went ahead to call them, explaining to them what had happened, trying to legitimize what he had done and, believe it, there were a lot of politicians who supported him because he talked to them. Are you surprised at how his government became one that was very repressive and he became known, perhaps, as one of the worst dictators Nigeria had ever known? Yes and no. Yes because people would see him as a military person and

My greatest source of pleasure now is seeing my grand children coming to me to say good night or when they return from school and they come to greet me. It reminded me of my time when I was growing up

far as you know, what has been the specific benefit that we’ve got? I think it helped us to push our foreign policy on issues that were of common concern because immediately after that I recognized Israel, knowing the feelings of the Islamic countries about Israel. I went ahead single-handedly to recognize Israel when everybody in the OAU went against it; we stuck to our gun; so if you accuse me of joining OIC, you must also accuse me of normalizing relations with Israel We are in a situation in the country today where we have insurgents with a warped version of Islam which they claim they want to foist on the nation in some states. Do you think these sorts of decisions are the sort of things that plant seeds on the minds of some people claiming to want to promote one religion above another? I’m glad you used the word ‘warped’. What is happening now is something that Nigerians should rise and fight against; Muslims should rise and fight against it because some people are spoiling the name of Islam, and this is not what Islam stands for. Given the fact that we are a nation of different ethnicities, wouldn’t it have been better to pursue policies that would not divide us along religious lines – and this is even outside the Boko Haram insurgency? I grew up here in Minna

secondly he was a man of limited words, you could not predict him. No, because he had worked with us, worked with other people, had a good knowledge of how the system worked, how to keep security in the country. These were things that he knew and you could not deny him those things. In 1986, you decided that Nigeria’s status as an observer at the Organisation of Islamic Conference, OIC, should change to become a full member knowing that Nigeria has an almost equal population of Christians and Muslims. Nigeria went into the OIC as an observer in 1973 under General Yakubu Gowon and I went in as a full member in 1986. That was a simple foreign policy decision that we took. It was a tool to enhance our

foreign policy. But the view of the ordinary Nigerian is that to be in OIC meant you were an Islamic country. And Nigeria is not an Islamic country. So why take us in there? That has been proved wrong. Again, this is the beautiful thing about this country because people speculate a lot. As at the time we went in there, there were countries that were there which were not Islamic countries. I was quite surprised by the outrage that followed that decision because people translated it to mean that our government wanted to make Nigeria an Islamic country which is stupid. We had a Constitution which stated clearly at that time that no religion must be made superior to another. In the years since then, as

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‘How Boko Haram can be defeated’ Continued from Page 35 and there is where we call a mixed court where you find a Christian, a Muslim and an unbeliever, yet three of them will sit together to preside over cases which touch on traditions of the different groups and this we have been doing damn well. Everyone has a religion and you keep to it; even Islam frowns at imposition of the religion on others. The question I’m driving at is that if, perhaps, we don’t pursue public policies that further strengthen the division that already exists, could we perhaps have had a better chance of making it as a nation and not one divided along ethnic and religious lines My answer to that is yes. So any regrets about taking Nigeria into the OIC? No! You don’t see that as a policy capable of further dividing us as a nation even though, by your own admission, Christians complained? By your reaction, as a generation, it would be better not to toe those lines because they are very sensitive. It has been done before and the consequences were not so good for the country. We had a civil war. Nobody would like to have a war again. The good thing is that from 1970 till today, I have never come across people who believe in the division of this country. So, in your view, no regrets because we are learning from your mistakes? The answer is yes! What should we do about Boko Haram? The first thing is that people must believe that this affects Nigeria generally and not just a part or just a religion. Like the civil war, the whole country was mobilized against secession and there was unity against he secession and I think we must accept that this problem is a Nigerian problem and everybody should come together to fight this phenomenon. In practical terms, how do we begin to build unity so that Nigerians can see the problem as a Nigerian problem? First of all, the leadership at all levels must be mobilized against Boko anything that goes wrong they will like to blame it on somebody and the fact that everybody in the media said I knew about it never came to me as a surprise at all. What about the role played by Major Bashorun, did that come as a surprise to you? I stumble on the information in one of the papers that he wrote a book. But I have always maintained one thing: I know the young man very well but I don’t join issues with people to whom I am senior. Was he upset with you and, therefore, would want to make you look bad? That is his business, not mine. Why? Because I believed then and I still believe now that it is the surest way of promoting the peace and stability of Nigeria and it worked. So, let’s institutionalise it. It’s just like the Land Use Act, it is in the Constitution. Some people may not like some aspects of it but it is there; so you have to work round it. As a young soldier, did you ever envisage that your life would take the path it has taken? As a young officer, my intention was maybe not the commander of a unit, so I was looking at the rank of a major or a Lt-Colonel, comparing the size of the Nigerian Army at that time. But fate dealt you a different hand, how do you feel about that? I feel gratified and I feel nice that while I planned, God had His own wish on His subjects. You lost your long time companion and wife, Maryam, in December 2009. What has life been like without her? She was a real companion who got to understand and accept me for what I am and tried to make the best of me and that is what I am missing. She was the one who would look at me and say ‘you’re wrong’ and I had to accept and bury my pride and I will say ‘sorry, you’re right’. That is the sort of counseling I am missing now. How much time do you spend with the children and grand children to try and fill the vacuum that she’s left? The children are doing very well and they have become a sort of friends to me. We sit down and talk and sometimes we disagree. My greatest source of pleasure now is seeing my grand children coming to me to say good night or when they return from school and they come to greet me. It reminded me of my time when I was growing up. Many had thought that by now you would have remarried? I will tell you an interesting story. There was a woman I was joking with and I said, ‘Okay, why don’t you marry me?’ and she said, ‘No I won’t’. And I asked her why? She said, ‘I am not sure I can spoil you the way your wife used to spoil you; so don’t put any idea into my head’.

•Babangida Haram. At the political level, people should watch what they say and the religious leaders also have a role to play just as the businessmen must be involved. Once Nigerians see that everyone is mobilized against the insurgency, no one would want to step out of line. Nigerians have to be mobilized and that would make it easier to win the war. From a military point of view, are you surprised at the performance of our military against Boko Haram? What you should be asking is that is this the same military of Nigeria that has been exceptional all over the world – in the Congo, Tanzania, UN operations, ECOWAS operations? The question really is that by all accounts, the army you served in was a formidable army; so what did you people do that time that appears different from what is going on now? When I was 22 as a 2nd Lieutenant, I had been told that I had no other country to die for except Nigeria, but now you’ve got 18 year olds or 19year olds or graduates asking ‘ what is this Nigerianness they are talking about?’. They wouldn’t give a damn and, therefore, you have to do a re-orientation to bring this patriotism back. Could it not be that some of us can say Nigeria had been good to us, so we had no option than to be committed. But you have the young ones today, say, of 30, who would be asking, ‘what the hell’ because they have had to fend for themselves one way or the other? They don’t see what the country has done

The leadership at all levels must be mobilized against Boko Haram. At the political level, people should watch what they say and the religious leaders also have a role to play just as the businessmen must be involved

At the time of Giwa’s death, did you order any investigations at all into the circumstances of the killing? It could have been prejudicial because you guys in the media went to court and I couldn’t have ordered anything because the matter was already in the court. There were very good lawyers and activists pursuing that case; so we allowed the courts to try the case. Aren’t you curious as to who killed Dele Giwa? He was fortunate because he belonged to the journalism profession and the media kept the issue alive up till today. The issue of Dele Giwa, Alfred Rewane and Bola Ige would remain and people will like to pin it on somebody. Is there any chance that some rogue elements in your government, without your knowledge, could have decided to teach Dele Giwa a lesson because he was critical of your administration? I have maintained that I dominate my environment and my environment relates to the people I work with, people who work with me, people I relate to. I am fairly well-informed about things before they happen or immediately after they happen. Do you have any regrets at all about your time in office? I had a good time in office and would continue to be grateful to Nigerians for supporting me during that period and, if there is one thing I would have loved to do differently (not regretting), it would have been to make it constitutional that Nigeria should have a two-party state.

for them. Shouldn’t government start by providing for the people and making them responsive to the needs of patriotism? Government would have to take responsibility, I agree. You’ve repeatedly denied having any knowledge of the murder of journalist Dele Giwa, but because you were the military head of state at that time and because your former press secretary, Debo Bashorun, alleged hat you knew about it, many Nigerians are a bit skeptical about what you have said. Do you understand why they have been skeptical? It is because they think I was the head of government at that time and I knew that

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C

hief Don Etiebet is a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a member of the Board of Trustees of the party. In this interview, he bares his mind on the state of the nation, preparations of INEC ahead of the February elections and the peace pact signed by President Goodluck Jonathan and General Muhammadu Buhari, among other presidential candidates. He also talks about what he describes as a conspiracy of silence by the PDP leadership over the outcome of the governorship primary in some South-south states. Excerpts: BY GBENGA OKE As we move closer to the general elections, there was a peace pact between President Goodluck Jonathan the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his All Progressives Congress (APC) counterpart, General Muhammadu Buhari. How far do you think this peace pact will go especially with the candidates of the parties getting personal? Considering the peace pact that was agreed by Mr President and the opposition leader, General Buhari, I want to tell you that it is commendable. I believe we have to start somewhere as a nation; to get the two most prominent presidential candidates, incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan and General Buhari, to agree to that peace initiative, put their pen to paper, it means that they have good intentions for Nigeria, they have good intentions to conduct free and fair elections, they love Nigeria more than their aspirations. Without peace, there is no Nigeria. So I commend them but the main point is implementation of that peace plan. If it is not properly implemented, there might be issues arising from it. As we prepare for the elections, to some people, it is winning or nothing. Some people already had the mind they want to win elections even if the environment is not conducive for their will, they will go all out to do anything to ensure victory at the elections. The two presidential candidates have laid down a good example, but the bulk of the job lies on President Jonathan to ensure the peace pact works because he is the President and Commander-inChief of the armed forces. The police and the military remain a major factor in the conduct of free and fair elections and Mr. President himself has been harping on peaceful elections. He has gone further to say there must be one man, one vote; one woman, one vote; one youth, one vote. What can be more commendable from an interested party? The President himself is an interested party and he has

Jonathan re-election bid may run into trouble in S/South — Don Etiebet •Accuses party’s leadership of conspiracy of silence •’How to make peace pact work’ to call those who call themselves chief security officers of the states to be careful about their conducts during the elections. He should also call the police and every security agencies in the country to be non-partisan because, whether you like it or not, politicians will want to use the security agencies to perpetrate evil during the elections. So the security agencies should ensure this one man, one vote, which the President propounds, is a reality and it’s carried out. I will use this opportunity to plead with the President and Nigerians to ensure the security agencies do what they are meant to do during the elections and they should eschew partisanship, they should not allow themselves to be used by anybody against any opponent because that is where trouble comes from. The two presidential candidates have signed a pact to maintain peace during the elections but violence can start involuntarily when somebody at the polling booth perceives that the police has been used against the interest of an opponent and they have used it to announce a wrong result. So when this kind of thing happens, the violence can be involuntary and spontaneous. So it is not a matter of we saying it, it is about walking the talk. Some Nigerians think that this election, if the President wins, some part of the North gone ahead to tell Nigerians what the conduct of the elections must be. What is left now is whether his doctrine will be translated to the field because that is where the election is done. What is left is whether some of the leaders in various states like the state governors will give peace a chance because they are the field marshals in their various states. Do they tie themselves up to what the President has said? Will they follow what the President has ordered? For example, you have a governor who says he is the chief security of the state and, by virtue of that, he believes he can control the security at the state level, can he control them and use them to his own advantage against the opponents? You go down to local government, the local government chairman will say I am the chief security officer of the LG, therefore I can control the police in my LGA. The question is that will they want to use the security agencies to their advantage during the elections? If they do, will the elections be free and fair. The most important thing is for the President might go up in flames and if the opposition candidate wins, the boys might return to the creeks in the Niger/Delta. What does this impression portend for the nation putting in mind the peace pact that has just been signed? The situation today has polarized many into all kinds of groups and it is very unfortunate and it is not funny at all and the potentials for trouble are very much there. Arising from the scam of primaries that took place in the country in all the parties, people are starting to grab the last straw they have, and they can find this straw in ethnicity or religion or anything that they have and in all kind of things they have in voicing out their discontent in the process of choosing their leaders. All these things are the results of the injustice that the people have seen rearing its head particularly from the results of the primaries in various states across Nigeria. So it a very dicey situation and the only panacea to it is free and fair elections which the President has propounded for a very long time which again they have agreed to give peace a chance.

FEBRUARY POLLS

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•Chief Don Etiebet

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Continued from Page 37 I can tell you that Nigerians are peace loving people but the most important thing is that for that peace accord to work, the law must be followed. If these elections are done properly, free and fair, you will see that the loser will concede victory immediately when he knows all the ingredients, all the parameters were free and fair. I can tell you that the loser will be ashamed to make noise once he knows the elections were conducted properly, what would they complain about? The only problem is if they complain against injustice, they now start to take sides and the North will now say if somebody does not win, there will be problem. Then the South will say if this person does not win, there will be problem. During our time, there was nothing like that, I am from the Southsouth and I can tell you that we in the South-south had always supported the core North in elections. In those days when there was polarization between the Igbo, the Hausa and the Yoruba, we were the stabilizing force. But today, the thing has polarized into the action of if it is not this, it will be that. I believe strongly that if this election is conducted freely and fairly and if the security agencies do not allow themselves to be used to cheat other persons, there will not be opportunity to complain about anything talkless of giving violence a chance. I pray and we all must pray and follow the advice of the President and he must ensure the advice gets to the field marshal who will be playing a major role during the elections. The President must ensure that message is passed down to those who call themselves security officer of the state and we are seeing examples of partisanship in some states already. Truly these security agencies are human beings and they have preferences from party A or B, but they should realize Nigeria comes first. In some states where the governors are bent on forcing their way down the throats of the people, that is where some of these problems might arise , that is why the President needs to warn some of these people that Nigeria is bigger than anybody, that Nigeria is bigger than any party or any interest group. Very thick clouds are enveloping Nigeria today and every part of the world is looking at what Nigeria will do during and after these elections; the ECOWAS, the African people and the international nations are all watching. So I believe that no sacrifice is small or big enough to ensure these elections are peaceful. If any of the two presidential candidates is quick to congratulate the winner, there will be peace after the elections. I have a personal experience in this regard. In 1997, I formed a political party called NCP and we had elections and we use it to win the first local government elections against the UNCP . My party won that election and because of that I was arrested; when my

`Jonathan re-election bid may run into trouble in S/South’ supporters in Sokoto and Kano heard that I was arrested and that the elections results were being changed, they started taking buses and moving down to Abuja. Gwarzo was the National Security Adviser at that time, he told me to tell my supporters to go back home because if they came to Abuja, I would be held responsible. I sent a message to them I was fine and that my supporters should go back and that the results of the elections will be rectified. They were surprised I was winning elections even in Kano against the wish of General Sani Abacha. So what I am trying to say is that Nigeria is bigger than anybody, leader or party. Therefore, we should tell our supporters to accept whatever the results of the elections are, but first, the elections must be free and fair. The first people to warn are the governors of various states; let people’s choice prevail and let them be given the opportunity to choose their leaders. If the elections are held in a peaceful environment, results are free and fair and results declared properly, there will be no problems. If on the other hand, the results are being changed at the collation centre, people have their right to say that is not the result declared at the field. That is why INEC has a crucial role to play in this election; the future of this country depends on INEC’s conduct. The adhoc staff, local returning officers, those are the people Jega should ensure they are not partisan and they should be careful about inducements from anybody. Those are the people who the future of this country is in their hands. We should be very careful about the conduct of these elections. For example, a situation where governors go round the local governments to inspect what is happening should be abolished. Why should they do that when they are interested parties in the election.? These are practical things that happen that bring about violence. Having talked about the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), how do you view the preparation of INEC ahead of the elections? INEC has published that there are over 68million PVCs already gone out and they have promised that, by the end of this month, all PVCs would have been given out. I want to believe that by the end of this month, they would have sorted out this issue. If by the end of this month, INEC has not been able to do as they have said, we can start attacking them. They have the responsibility of conducting the elections and they have to do so in a manner that will not cause chaos. I don’t envy them; they

•Chief Don Etiebet

have a lot of work to do. But like I said before, anybody that is an interested party should be removed. INEC needs to educate their adhoc staff because the inaction, omission or commission of one of the electoral officers at any of the polling booth may spark off controversy in this country. So everything rests on INEC and since they say they are doing everything within their power to conduct free and fair elections, then we will keep our fingers crossed. The card reader will do a lot of work in reducing malpractices we experience in Nigeria. The elections are here and facts have shown that the opposition is gaining more ground by the day. Considering the problems that persist in various states led by the PDP government, what are the chances of the party and President Jonathan? I will like to say that the chances of Mr President depend on the people, it is the people that will vote for Mr President but I am afraid of the aftermath of what happened in the PDP primaries particularly in the South-south and even some other parts of the country. There was no proper conduct of the primaries in the Southsouth; even in my own state of Akwa Ibom, the guidelines for the conduct of the primaries were not made available and, consequently, many people became annoyed. In my state for example, 24 aspirants came out and paid about N400million and, when they went for the primaries, there were no delegates list and they asked the official that came from Abuja, ‘where is the delegates list which will be used for this primaries?’, he said accreditation had been done in the Government House and nobody knows the delegates list which was used and party members maintained they were not going to take part in such an election because there was no delegates list and no accreditation and that was on the 8th of December. On the 9th of December, 22 of them went to Abuja because one of them had gone to APC and the other one was the favoured candidate of the governor. In Abuja, they submitted a letter to the Chairman of the Appeal Panel which was headed by the Chairman of the party,

Those scam PDP primaries have jeopardized the President’s hold in the zone, a zone where he should have been having 100 percent untainted votes cast to stand on to go to the other zones

we have all these problems, because the governors have gone to tell Mr President that they will be the ones to win the election for him and that is why they refused to allow the primaries to hold properly. So a lot of work has to be done to assuage the people of the South-south who are annoyed because of the problems arising from the primaries. Why has Akwa Ibom refused to find a solution to its own problems when in places like Delta and Lagos, the PDP aspirants have been able to come together and solved their problems. Why has the Akwa Ibom PDP aspirants refused to find a common ground? The aspirants are PDP members and they believe that the PDP leaders should attend to their problems. There are bonafide members of the PDP in Akwa Ibom when we took the party there in 1998 and the state has always been 100percent PDP state but actions like what the present governor did has polarized the state. We need to understand that these 22aspirants have a lot of followers and they come from every part of the state and their grouse is that they were not allowed to participate in the primaries. The delegates list were produced at the Government House, many have written letters to the national leaders of the PDP complaining and nobody has considered it fit to respond. So these people are annoyed. I have been holding them for five weeks in Abuja and stopping them from moving to another party by telling them that the national leadership will see to their problems but up till now, nobody has answered them because the governor has gone to Abuja to tell them to forget about the 22aspirants, that he will win the elections in the state for Mr President. How is he going to win the elections? Is he planning rigging? The conspiracy of silence by the leadership of the PDP is what is infuriating the 22aspirants the more. That somebody like me who is also a founding financial member of the PDP in 1998, I was going for the Presidency of the party then and everybody knows me for that, I have written petition to the national leadership of the party that there were no primaries in the state.

according to the party guidelines which say you must turn in appeal under 24hours. They stayed there till the 19th of the month without seeing the national leadership of the party, the national leadership of the party refused to entertain their complaint and the appeal panel has not met to call them. So what do you expect those people to do? And they are strong supporters of the party in a state like Akwa Ibom which is 100 percent PDP . Don’t you think they have followers or you want to tell me that the followers of one person is better than the followers of these 22aspirants because he is supported by the governor? The answer is no because I am from that state, so things like that will cause some problem and I expect the South-south to be the zone on which the President will stand on to face other zones. So I am saying those scam PDP primaries have jeopardized the President’s hold in the zone, a zone where he should have been having 100 percent untainted votes cast to stand on to go to the other zones. If you go to Rivers State, you and I know what is happening there, Delta already has its issues, all because the primaries were not conducted in a manner that gives the party internal democracy. So where the foothold of Mr President is in tumult, I am afraid he will not get the maximum votes he is supposed to get to face other zones. And

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2015 ELECTIONS:

The police are prepared for all scenarios — Abubakar Adamu, Enugu CP Murder allegation: ‘My Story’

BY KINGSLEY OMONOBI s the 2015 elections draw near, stakeholders, including INEC and security agencies, have been dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s to ensure the elections are credible and violence-free. In this interview, Enugu State Commissioner of Police and one time Vice President of INTERPOL Worldwide, Abubakar Adamu, speaks on the police preparation and other issues. The 2015 elections are around the corner. How is Enugu State preparing? We are prepared for the elections because we realised that for us to be ready, we (the police) must know what to do before reaching out to other stakeholders like politicians and INEC officials. On our own part, we are engaged in training, both physical and mental. On the physical aspect, we are giving our officers training on the use of batons, arms and crowd control measures based on the electoral laws. As I am taking to you, the training is ongoing at the Mobile Squadron barracks. We have also had a workshop with all the senior officers that will supervise the junior ones. W e brought in facilitators and lawyers. Even the Attorney General of Enugu State was there and gave a presentation. Some public relations officers also came and spoke to us on expectations on security and the police performance during elections. We even invited our AIG in charge of the Zone. We are having another stakeholders meeting to which we have invited all the security agencies, INEC and the leaders of all the political parties to rub minds and address all the challenges. At the meeting, we will discuss what we want from politicians and hear what they want from us. INEC will be there to brief politicians and security agencies. So we are ready for the elections. It will be unfortunate for anybody or group to try to cause problems during the elections because we are adequately prepared and, when I say we are prepared, I mean we are prepared. How have you been able to tackle the security challenges in Enugu State since assumption of office? When I assumed office in Enugu in May 2013, I met some security challenges in the state. There were issues of kidnapping, armed robbery, child trafficking and other heinous crimes but, with the support of the state governor, we were able to get the resources we needed, in order to fight crime like vehicles. We were able to use the resources to block all the entry points in and out of Enugu State. With the co operation of the Neighbourhood Watch, we have been

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relating with and traditional rulers who were able to identify where these criminals are; where they come from and we came out with strategies to address kidnapping, armed robbery, murder and other heinous crimes. Enugu is currently the safest state in the country. Crime level is almost near zero as you can see. During Christmas and New Year festivities, there was influx of people from all over the country and even beyond and there wasn’t a single armed robbery or a heinous crime. People were moving freely and some of them called us to express gratitude that the state was quiet and they enjoyed their stay. The strategy we used is the collaboration with stakeholders and the Neighbourhood Watch. We developed a culture of working with informants; if anything happens, the informants are able to give us accurate information. There has always been this dearth of useful information from members of the public. How have Enugu people cooperated with you to tackle the challenge? The use of phones by members of the public to provide information for the police has been very successful. When I came, I spoke to journalists and other stakeholders and we gave out our telephone numbers. So people call to give us information on what is happening and, because of the strategy of deploying our vehicles to strategic areas within the state, if information is given in a particular area; if a crime is committed or about to be committed, we just ask the patrol team that is within that area to get to that scene. In order to bring more sanity to the environment and also in the hinterland where the communities have problems with the Fulani herdsmen, we were also able to call all the chairmen of the local governments in the state together with their traditional rulers, the leaders of the Fulani in the communities plus the heads of the Neighbourhood Watch. They all sat down in our conference room and we discussed where problems are coming from and proffered solutions. We have representatives of the ‘Igwes’ and union officials in our security committee; every week they sit down and discuss security situation in each local government

Abubakar Adamu

and they give me feed back from their deliberations. Recently, there was the story making the rounds that you and your men were behind the murder of someone in Enugu State. What happened? There were two communities engaged in land dispute. A report was made by a leader of one of the communities that a group of people came with guns to attack his community, shot their vehicles and they managed to escape. The three vehicles were found to be destroyed by this group of people. So they now went to the police station at Nwani and reported. But by the time the police went to the scene, they discovered that nobody was there except a corpse.. The DPO picked the corpse and deposited it in the mortuary. In the process, he saw a telephone on the body and he used the phone to call some numbers to identify the body. According to the DPO, the people he called who picked, he told them that if they knew the owner of the telephone, they should come to the police station as there was an issue with the person. No one came. In essence, a body was found on the side of the people who attacked this other community but they didn’t go to the police to report that one of them was either killed or missing. Rather, the other group that was attacked with guns went to the police and reported. So the police was looking for the other community. Instead of them to go and report to the police that one of their members was dead, they now ran out of the state. They were nowhere to be found in the state; only for us to hear that they went to Abuja to address a press conference accusing the CP of conniving with the people they wanted to kill; that the CP murdered their person. On that day I left Enugu because we had the IG conference to attend while in Abuja. I heard that these people went to address a press

It will be unfortunate for anybody or group to try to cause problems during the elections because we are adequately prepared and, when I say we are prepared, I mean we are prepared

conference. It was when I came back that I asked the DPO to get the parties. I asked each party to narrate their story which they did and the question we asked the party where the corpse was from is why didn’t they report the case to the police when they found out that one of their people was killed? There was no answer. I told them that justice will be done; that proper investigation will be conducted to know exactly what happened, that whoever was responsible will be punished and charged. So I referred the case to the state Criminal Investigation Department. The case has been investigated. I told them we were going to do medical examination to determine the cause of death and, before the autopsy by a police pathologist, we will allow each party to bring its own pathologist to witness that there was no foul play. At the end of the autopsy, we discovered the guy died a natural death; he died of heart attack. Their lawyer, the person accusing us, Sunday Ayanwu, listened to the interview we had with all the parties and, at the end of the day, he apologised to me, that he didn’t get the facts initially like the way he got it there. I told him ‘you can’t go to the press and malign me and now come and apologise to me; you have to address the press where you make the complaint earlier and state the real facts’. Up till now, he hasn’t done so. They claimed that I have confiscated their land but you know land is not a moveable property, you can’t carry land from one place to the other, and, if there is a piece of land, you can’t claim it unless you have proof of ownership. I told them that they should take me out of it; I haven’t bought land from anybody. During the interview with the two parties where their lawyer was present, one ofthem said he sold the land and the buyer said he bought the land. Mr. Ayanwu read it and apologised. So the false accusation against me of murder is just to tarnish my reputation.

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Vanguard, FEBRUARY 1, 2015

he travails of Nigerian born Secretary General of Organisation of African Trade Unions Unity, OATUU, Comrade Owei Lakemfa, have been ascribed to international conspiracy. Lakemfa, elected OATUU Secretary General at its Algiers conference on December 7, 2012 by 43 African countries, replacing another Nigerian, Comrade Hassan Sumonu, was suspended from office on November 29, 2014 at an OATUU extra- ordinary executive committee meeting in Accra, Ghana. Events before and after the suspension have indicated the suspension of Lakemfa may have been a fall out of what was described as concerted efforts by international forces to subjugate African labour unions and the dominance of the international trade unions and their voices in Africa. Giving insight into the plot, immediate past Secretary General of OATUU, Sunmonu, in a petition to the President of OATUU, a Ghanaian, Francis Atwoli, insisted that Lakemfa should be commended and not vilified for insisting on the right thing in the interest of OATUU. Sumonu did not only fault the way the November 29, 2015 OATUU extra-ordinary executive committee meeting was conducted. He argued that it was done specifically to victimize Lakemfa. According to Sumonu, “ recall that at the OATUU EXCO meeting in Nairobi, 16-17 October, 2014, during the debate on the report of the Secretary-General, Comrade Owei Lakemfa, the three other members of the OATUU Secretariat, Comrades Emmanuel Nzunda, Arezki Mezhoud, Assistant Secretaries General and Comrade Ibrahim Abrar Ibrahim, Treasurer General, circulated several documents containing several allegations against the SecretaryGeneral. The Nairobi meeting heard the Secretary-General’s response to all the allegations. The Nairobi meeting asked that one of the documents being circulated by Comrades Nzunda, Arezki and Ibrahim be expunged from circulation and given to you, Comrade Atwoli, to shred. “The Nairobi EXCO reaffirmed the decision of the 9th of March, 2014 Algiers General Council that Comrades Arezki, Nzunda and Ibrahim were not entitled to receive housing allowance because they were living in official OATUU residence in Accra. Because the Nairobi Exco meeting did not have enough time to deal with the other problems facing the

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BY VICTOR AHIUMAYOUNG

‘Lakemfa, a victim of international conspiracy’ President from South Africa, Comrade Rose PUTSELETSO, drew your attention to it and you promised to do something about it. What did you do as OATUU President? In your presentation to the Accra Extra-Ordinary EXCO meeting, you accused the Secretary-General of violating the OATUU Constitution for rightly taking measures to protect OATUU funds in the bank, while pouring encomiums on those who engaged in criminal fraud to empty the purse of OATUU. I would like to respectfully remind you of the legal precept that says, “Those who come to equity must come with clean hands. “Also, as a devout Christian that you are, I would like to remind you of the Biblical saying “Judge ye that ye be not judged”. I would like to also remind you of the African proverb that says, “It is a wicked elder who hears only one side of a story and gives judgment”. “At the Accra meeting, you sent two OATUU Advisers and OATUU Permanent Representative in the ILO and UN office in Geneva, Comrade Lellouma Diallo, out of the meeting, to which we were all invited, at great cost to the OATUU. We all complied, because of our respect for the office of President of OATUU. I had the feeling that you did not want the members of OATUU EXCO to listen to alternative view or advice. We know we are not voting members of EXCO, but your action is in bad taste and is contrary to African tradition. At the Accra Meeting, you were the accuser, Prosecutor and Judge of OATUU Secretary-General, Comrade Owei Lakemfa. His suspension from the office of OATUU Secretary-General is against natural justice and trade union ethics. “You got the Accra meeting of EXCO to suspend the Secretary-General, and then set up a ‘ fact-finding committee’, to find what? To rationalize the injustice committed against Owei Lakemfa? I strongly advise that a meeting of the OATUU General Council be urgently convened in the first 2 months of 2015 to resolve the problems deliberately created to destroy our pan-African OATUU, which God forbids.”

•Comrade Owei Lakemfa

•Comrade Hassan Sumonu

OATUU Secretariat, it accepted your suggestion to set up an ad-hoc committee, under your chairmanship, to look into the outstanding problems confronting the OATUU Secretariat. This adhoc committee met at the end of the Exco Meeting. “The members of the ad-hoc committee are: Comrades Francis Atwoli (OATUU President); Alex Bonney, Mohammed Abuzeid’ Elamin Mohammed, Osman (Vicepresidents); 3 OATUU Advisers-Comrades Hassan Sunmonu, Demba Diop and Micheal Besha; and Comrade Lellouma Diallo, OATUU permanent representative to the ILO and UN office in Geneva. The four members of the OATUU Secretariat, Comrades Owei Lakemfa, Arzeki Mezhoud, Emmanuel Nzunda and Ibrahim Abrar Ibrahim, were all present to answer questions from members of the ad-hoc committee or clarify certain matters. The ad-hoc committee came out with a unanimous 10 points way forward plan to resolve the problems confronting the secretariat. One does not have to be a constitutional lawyer to know that an ad-hoc committee, established by an organ of a body, cannot usurp the authority of the organ that sets it up. In Article 17 of the OATUU Constitution, the organs of OATUU are: The

Congress, the General Council and the Executive Committee.” Continuing, Sumonu said, “In your opening address to the Accra Extra-ordinary meeting of the OATUU Executive Committee (EXCO), you wrongly referred to the Nairobi ad-hoc committee as Sub-Committee of the OATUU EXCO. I drew your attention to it that there is no organ of the OATUU called Sub-Committee of the Exco. I also informed the Accra meeting that the Nairobi ad-hoc committee report and recommendations should simply be submitted to the Accra meeting for its consideration and action. Instead of doing that, Comrade President, you wrongly informed the Accra meeting that the Nairobi EXCO approved the report and recommendations of the ad-hoc committee. This is not true and I pointed this out to the Accra meeting. You went to the extent of threatening that you would resign as OATUU President if what you proposed was not accepted by the Accra meeting. “I consider this to be blackmail on your part, which is not fair to the other members of the Exco. “Comrade President, you did not truthfully brief the Accra meeting of what happened after the Nairobi meeting. Let me remind you that some few days after the Nairobi meeting, the Beijing

You got the Accra meeting of EXCO to suspend the Secretary-General, and then set up a ‘ fact-finding committee’, to find what? To rationalize the injustice committed against Owei Lakemfa?

International Trade Union Forum took place. In Beijing, Comrades Nzunda, Arezki and Ibrahim not only distributed the document the Nairobi EXCO asked to be stopped from circulation, but they also mounted serious campaign of calumny against Comrade Owei Lakemfa and the OATUU. OATUU’S Vice-

SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 1, 2015, PAGE 41

AMID BATTERED NAIRA

More local industries are closing shop – MAN

BY UDEME CLEMENT

s the crisis in the economy took a new dimension with the Naira falling from N188 to N200 per Dollar, foreign lenders are reducing credit to Nigerian banks by suspending medium credit lines due to low oil price and uncertainty in the economy. Mr. Ikpong Umoh, the Chairman, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Toiletries and Cosmetics Group (T and C), spoke on the state of the economy and what government can do to prevent the economy from going into recession. What is the implication of the fall of the local currency from N188 to N200 per Dollar? The reality is that Nigeria’s economy may go bankrupt if the Federal Government as well as all sub-national governments do not urgently put measures in place to revamp the manufacturing sector for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to thrive. This is a serious issue and must be well handled for the entire economy not to collapse. The oil price is still declining, showing that the revenue accruing to our economy is low. This means with the budget benchmark of $65, the 2015 budget already has some deficits. Government should look at areas like importation, where foreign exchange is used to bring in goods, to ensure that items manufactured locally must not be allowed to come into the country. That way, the local industries would grow and expand their operations across the country. Influx of imported products must be stopped, notwithstanding the treaty Nigeria has signed with ECOWAS. Resuscitating SMEs and manufacturing firms is the only way through which we can prevent our economy from going bankrupt, because manufacturing sector if adequately revamped has the capacity to create thousands of jobs and generate revenue. Our government should look at China, Japan and other countries. No economy survives without building the industrial sector. For example, look at soap producing industries, cosmetics and other SMEs that were making waves in Nigeria all closing shop due to harsh operating environment, excessive charges from regulatory agencies and lack of infrastructure. It has been observed that about 90 percent cosmetics products in our market are imported. Why do we have foreign cream and soap everywhere when we have local SMEs that can produce these items here?

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The growth of our economy as a country depends on the productivity of our local industries and not on foreign investors. How many factories have the foreign investors built in Nigeria so far?

That is the real problem and government is not taking this issue seriously, because government continues to give incentives to super markets, so they use global listing to import these items that local SMEs can produce. So, part of the problems is that government grant foreign firms waivers to bring in such items to the detriment of local SMEs. With the crisis in our economy now, I think this is the right time for government to review those waivers to create a level playing ground for local industries to grow, because foreign firms are here to do business, to make money and go back to their countries. But local manufacturers are those who can build our economy. What would you advise government to do, especially now that deposit banks are not willing to support SMEs following the uncertainty in our economy? The uncertainty in the economy is affecting every sector including the banking industry. So, banks are trying to shore up their operations. Government rather than making policies that are capable of killing SMEs should help the industry to prosper. For example, government must look at the activities of the regulatory agencies like Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and other agencies. This is important because some of these agencies are killing SMEs. Instead of nurturing and helping SMEs to grow, they exploit them through multiple taxations. Now, for a manufacturer to bring it a new machine, he must pay SON N300, 000 service charge, if not, he would not be allowed. How many small scale operators can afford that amount? You see that the regulatory agencies have

•Mr. Ikpong Umoh become revenue generating agencies. This calls for urgent government’s intervention because the industry is over regulated. In advanced countries, regulatory agencies are funded by government and their primary focus is helping SMEs to grow, but in Nigeria, the agencies are killing the SMEs by imposing so many charges on them, such that small businesses are forced to close shop.

There is speculation everywhere that Nigeria’s economy may go into a recession with the way things are going now, even the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is threatening to revoke operating licenses of banks due to speculation in the forex market. What is your take on this? We must be realistic about the state of our economy, because if we are not pragmatic about building

agriculture, SMEs, manufacturing and the non-oil export sectors generally, the economy can collapse. For instance, many countries are discovering oil and that is sending a signal that we must not depend on oil revenue anymore. U.S is now drilling shale oil and they are also into what is called Horizontal Drilling system, where you can stay in Lagos and drill oil from Abuja. So, with these discoveries in the oil and gas sector globally, which country would come and buy crude oil from Nigeria. So, there is a serious danger ahead, and government can avert it by growing the industrial sector. Do you also realise that government grant certain waivers to foreign firms to enhance influx of Foreign Direct Investments into the country (FDIs)? We are not discouraging

FDIs but we are saying that government must encourage SMEs to grow for our economy to be stable as well. We should not put so much emphasis on FDIs to the disadvantage of local SMEs. The truth is that, foreign investors are here to work and recoup their investments by making money. The growth of our economy as a country depends on the productivity of our local industries and not on foreign investors. How many factories have the foreign investors built in Nigeria so far? What are they doing now to help our economy since the crisis in the oil industry started? You can see that we are just deceiving ourselves by killing our local industries. We must face the fact that we are the people to build our economy and not foreigners. In the last few years, over 130 SMEs have closed shop, you can see how our economy is fast going under, and it would continue if government does not intervene. With the deficit in 2015 budget and the crisis in the economy now, do you think government would go into more debt by borrowing money to run the economy? See, we must not continue to deceive ourselves. Even if we are going into borrow in the short term to finance capital projects, how long are we going to borrow? This is the question that we must answer. The Federal Government is trying in the area of agriculture now, so let the States and local governments help in building the economy by putting in place programmes for industries to thrive. Federal Government must not carry the burden alone. All tiers of government must generate revenue to run the economy. The artisans must be encouraged to be active in the economy as well.

Group protests hike in electricity tariff

BY PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

usiness owners under the aegis of Cooperative Business Society of Abuja, CBSA, have protested the astronomical hike in electricity tariff in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja. The group who described the actions of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC as inimical to economic and business growth in Nigeria, said the hike was a flagrant disregard to the Multi-Year Tariffs Order as contained in the National Electricity R e g u l a t o r y Commission, NERC,

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guideline, and a set back to business growth, especially with world economy facing turbulent time and coming a few days to the general election Recently, the AEDC jacked up the Abuja electricity tariffs for businesses from N22.08 to N35.03 per kilowatts for commercial power consumers in the FCT, an increment of about 58 per cent. The group in their objection letter and petition signed by 25 heads and managers of business entities that formed the cooperative group, stated: “We the undersigned business society group in Abuja hereby objects to the sudden increase by 58.55 per cent in electricity kilowatt from N22.08 to

N35.03for commercial power consumers in the FCT. According to the multi-year tariff order for the NERC, the maximum electricity increase for 2015 is five per cent. “We are shaken by this blatant disregard to the commission’s guideline and total lack of interest in the business operating in the capital city. Many businesses have collapsed under the ever increasing weight of cost of operation and harsh economic environment. We are already struggling to keep our head above water as our businesses groan under the austere economic situation in the country.

PAGE 42—SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 1, 2015

Edo as the most tax friendly state

BY YAKUBU ALIU

T has been established that one of the best ways to create an enabling environment for business and the private sector and enthrone economic fairness amongst citizens is to make taxation friendly. This, of course, includes confidence building in the taxpaying public; it also relates to the modus operandi of the tax authority, and, more importantly, how the tax revenues are deployed in terms of the provision of quality infrastructure. Once this is achieved, production costs and cost of doing business would be significantly lowered and the profitability of firms boosted. However, the efficiency, effectiveness and transparency of revenue collection also have an important role to play towards the creation of a sound business environment that encourages the private sector to willingly come forward to fulfill the civic duty of paying tax without resort to coercion or legal processes by the government. It is in the light of the foregoing that we must situate the significance of the report submitted to the National Economic Council (NEC) by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN). The 96page report, titled: ” MAN Presentation on Multiple Taxation Across the Country at Various Levels and its Effects on the Manufacturing Sector’s Productivity,” comprehensively surveyed the business environments of the 36 states of the federation, including the FCT. It singled out Edo as the most tax friendly state in the federation and showed that while majority of the states in the federation impose taxes and levies above the 19 taxes approved by the Federal Government as contained in the Taxes and Levies (Approved List for Collection) Act cap T2 LFN, 2004. Indeed in Edo,

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manufactures pay altogether 16 taxes and levies while some states impose up to 97 taxes and levies on them aside those imposed by local governments. The report concluded that majority of the states operate harsh tax environment characterized not only by double/multiple taxation but by a cumbersome process of assessment and collection and without mechanisms for redressing inequities. Before the advent of the Oshiomhole administration, arbitrary collection of taxes and levies through illegal ticketing was common in Edo. These activities were exacerbated by outright extortion because they were carried out by groups and individuals not recognized officially as tax collectors and funds so generated were hardly remitted to the treasury. However, recognizing the critical place of taxation both for augmenting internally generated revenue (IGR) and creating the enabling environment for the productive sector of the economy, the state government made it a priority to put an end to the indiscriminate and haphazard multiple taxation and the diversion of tax revenues to private pockets. The government started by first streamlining tax operations. The action alone has the effect of creating a predictable and optimal environment for business and drastically reduced down wards the tax rate payable. To reinforce this new direction in tax administration, the state government proceeded to implement far-reaching reforms covering the legal, institutional and regulatory environment for tax assessment and collection. The government not only overhauled the Edo State Internal Revenue Service (EIRS) under Chief Oseni Elamah as Executive Chairman, but also enacted

increase in tax compliance through simplification of procedures, and the expansion of the tax net through continuous update of the tax database. All these have, no doubt, improved performance in revenue collection quite considerably, including lowering of the defaults rates and under-remittance by over 80%. Overall, tax payment in Edo is now made easier, it’s a total break from the past in which people paid taxes with tears, and could hardly see the result in terms of the provision of amenities and infrastructure. As a consequence, the IGR was upped from N280 million monthly to about N2 billion in 2011. It has now stabilized around N1.5 billion monthly owing to the series of reliefs granted to low income earners to cushion the effects of hardships occasioned by some policies, notably, the removal of subsidy on petroleum products in 2012 and the attendant inflationary pressures. Yet, there are huge potentials for growth in the coming years and the EIRS is not resting on its oars.

•Chief Oseni Elamah

Overall, tax payment in Edo is now made easier, it’s a total break from the past in which people paid taxes with tears, and could hardly see the result in terms of the provision of amenities and infrastructure the Revenue Administration Law, which gave strong legal backing to the reforms in 2012. This law was a watershed in tax administration in Edo, underscoring the determination of the people’s centred administration of Comrade Oshiomhole to breaking the mold, including the repositioning and professionalization of the EIRS. On its part, the EIRS, under the leadership of Elamah, has been working tirelessly to discharge its mandate. It introduced innovations and incorporated elements of international best practices in tax administration in its operations. It also sought ways to deepen tax culture in the state through concerted sensitization and public engagement of the citizens of the state. The EIRs also implemented measures that included the modernization of the tax collection processes; the restoration of confidence of the taxpaying public through a credible conflict resolution mechanism (the Tax Assessment Review Committee, TARC); the

Promasidor may replicate Quill Awards in countries of operation if…… —Head, Legal & PR

Edo as the most tax friendly state in the federation is the culmination of the vision of the Comrade Governor and his unyielding support to the EIRS. The verdict from MAN, as the leading private sector body in Nigeria, has punctured the partisan reading of some individuals that negatively portrayed Edo as a high tax jurisdiction to score political points. It is now clear that in state, taxation is not only optimal; it is purposeful and not burdensome. The MAN’s endorsement surely is an ample testimony to the current administration’s strategic efforts to make Edo the hub of investors and entrepreneurs operating in the commercial, industrial and other productive spheres of the national economy through the instrumentality of taxation. The report has, indeed, said it loud and clear that the reforms put in place in the last six years are working and positively so. The state government under the current administration is ever more committed towards sustaining its developmental strides through the judicious utilization of tax payers’ money.

…Calls for entry

BY PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

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romasidor Nigeria Limited, organizers of the Quill Awards say they may replicate the award in other countries where it operates if it gets it right in Nigeria, as it calls for entry. While relying to questions from reporters, Head, legal and Public Relations, Mr. Andrew Enahoro, said that for now others winners of the award will continue to attend the skill acquisition programs at the Lagos Business school, LBS, aside the overall winner who will attend the Thomson

Foundation, United Kingdom. He also stated that stories published between May 1st 2014 through April 30, 2015 can be entered for the 2015 edition of the award. Continuing, Mr Enahoro while reiterating his company’s commitment to the Nigerian economy , promised that Promasidor will continue to recognize and reward excellence in the journalism profession because of the pivotal role of Journalists in the society. “We are committed to continue to grow the awards as a professional platform of

assessment, recognition and reward for outstanding journalistic work. These awards seek to remind journalists of the importance of their role I society and to society, the need to encourage professionalism and appreciate outstanding work,” he added. On his part, the Managing Director, Olivier Thirydisclosed that the 2015 edition will feature 7 categories –Best report on Nutrition, Best report of CSR and Industry, Best report on Education, Best report on Children, Feature Writer of the Year, Brand Advocate of the Year, and Best Photo story of the year.

L-R; Mr Emmanuel Efuntayo, National Treasurer; Dr. Mary AdeFosudo, board member; Chief Olabintan Famutimi, National President and Alhaji Abayomi Adigun, Vice President; all of the Nigerian American Chamber of Commerce at a press conference announcing activities for the 2015 edition of the Chamber’s US Trade Mission, held at the Chamber’s secretariat in Lagos.

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 1, 2015, PAGE 43

C M Y K

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Guber poll: PDP chieftain advises UPU CHIEF TAIN of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Tony Erukeme has called on the leadership of the Urhobo Progress Union, UPU, to allow Urhobo people vote for any governorship candidate of their choice among the three major political parties in the state. Erukeme who advised the Chief Joe Omene'sled UPU not to put all her eggs in one basket, explained that there was no time in the history of Urhobo nation where all sons and daughters had belonged to one political party. He said it was a good decision by the leadership of the union to have brought to the public domain, the Urhobo voting strength, but said it will be wrong if all Urhobo risk their future by voting for only one political party instead of voting their conscience. Erukeme who urged the leadership of Urhobo Progress Union, UPU to equally endorse the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP , Sen. Arthur Ifeanyi Okowa, the same manner they have adopted President Goodluck Jonathan, said that is the only way the Urhobo will benefit more.

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SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 1, 2015, PAGE 45

Panic in the Senate over the workability of the 2015 budget

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru Budget estimate is an annual ritual encapsulating expected income generation and expenditure within a specified time. It is an essential ingredient for planning and allocation of resources for the overall development of a country or an organization. As a constitutional provision, the executive arm of government, through the Presidency at the national level or the governor at the state level, articulate the budget proposal for any fiscal year and send it to the legislative arm for scrutiny and passage. The expected income through the nation’s natural resources and the internally generated revenue are key factors that determine the size of the budget which in turn will stimulate development and provision of infrastructures as well as cater for the workforce. However, the 2015 Appropriation Bill or budget projection has become a source of worry to the National Assembly, especially the Senate, following the dwindling price of oil in the international market which has, for long, been the main determinant of the nation’s budget. Nigeria, since after the discovery of oil around 1956, has remained a mono-product economy, solely depending on oil for its development and growth. With the fall in the global oil price, Nigeria’s 2015 budget

has been drastically affected and the development has generated uneasy calm within the ranks of those saddled with the responsibility to ensure that the country has a workable budget estimate. Ordinarily, the budget is expected to have been passed before the end of the year, but this is not the case in Nigeria as the 2015 Appropriation Bill is still an issue of concern. President Goodluck Jonathan had directed the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to lay the budget estimate before the National Assembly in obedience to the Constitution. The Federal Government, in October 2014, had proposed a benchmark of $78 per barrel for the 2015 Appropriation against the $77.5 per barrel in 2014. Government in the 20152017 Medium T erm Expenditure Framework, MTEF, and FSP also has the oil production projection at 2.2782 million per barrel daily, which was lower than the 2014 oil production projection of 2.388mbpd. Government explained that the reduction on the oil production per day was a reflective of lack of new investments in the oil sector due to uncertainties owing to delay in the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, while the exchange rate was pegged at N160 per dollar. The document noted that the rising US oil output has had a negative impact on the nation’s oil sales and that crude oil prices had hovered around $110/b in the last three years despite

Ordinarily, the budget is expected to have been passed before the end of the year, but this is not the case in Nigeria as the 2015 Appropriation Bill is still an issue of concern OPEC’s production disruptions. “This is because almost all the oil production lost over the past few years has been replaced by the US shale boom and increased Canadian production. Consequently, the value of US import of Nigeria’s crude dropped by about 69 percent from $38 billion in 2008 to $12 billion in 2013. “It is estimated that crude oil production in the US would average 9.3 million barrels per day in 2015-its highest level since 1972. This would put further pressure on oil price,” it stated. Jonathan, again in November, 2014, transmitted the revised 2015-2017 MTEF and FSP , of $73 per barrel against the initial proposal of $78 to the National Assembly to reflect the economic realities in view of the global crash of the oil price from over $100 per barrel to less than $80 per barrel. In the revised MTEF-FSP document, the 2015 budget estimate was reduced from the initial proposal of N4,82 trillion to N4,66 trillion against N4,724.69 in 2014 The exchange rate was increased from N160 per dollar to N162, while the oil production projection remained at 2.2782 million per barrel daily, which is lower than the 2014 oil production projection of 2.388mbpd. In December 2014, the President again slashed the budget to N4.357 trillion while the benchmark was reduced to $65 and the exchange rate N165. ‘No iron-clad guarantees’ In the budget estimate presented to the National Assembly in October 2014, Jonathan proposed N4.817 trillion with the oil benchmark put at $78 per barrel. He later cut it to N4.7 trillion with the benchmark at $73 per barrel and for the third time revised the oil benchmark to $65 per barrel with the total budget size of N4.4 trillion as against N4,724.69 trillion budgeted in 2014. He explained, “Given further developments in the international oil market, which have necessitated further revisions, amendments have been made to some parameters as well as to some fiscal estimates in the MTEF . “ As you know the first MTEF with the budget benchmark of $78 per barrel was submitted to the National Assembly on 30th September 2014, and discussion on the MTEF and budget construction based on

those estimates began with the relevant Committees of the National Assembly. “However, shortly after that first submission, oil prices began to fall precipitously leading to a revision of the oil benchmark price in the MTEF to $73 per barrel which was resubmitted to the National Assembly on the 18th of November 2014. “Following this, the decision of OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) on their meeting in Vienna on the 27th November 2014, not to cut production to support the price led to further precipitous fall in the oil price to below $70 per barrel. “This led, one more time to another downward revision of the benchmark price to $65 per barrel and the revised MTEF which was again submitted to you on 2nd of December, 2014. The uncertainty surrounding the global price of crude oil and its continuous fall has occasioned delays in both the submission of the final MTEF and budget estimates and we thus request your kind consideration of both these items together in view of our national budget calendar. “We would like to confirm that having submitted these budget estimates, we are not proposing further revision of the oil benchmark price. Though prices continue to be extremely volatile and present and trend further downwards, there are indications based on price intelligence we have this time that prices may range between US$65-US$70 per barrel in2015. “Nevertheless, we will like to emphasize that there is no iron clad guarantee where oil prices are concerned due to numerous underlining global geo-political factors that are outside our control and unpredictable. “Should prices fall below the range; the country would have to make further adjustments.” But as at last Wednesday when the budget proposal passed second reading in the Senate and was referred to the Finance and Appropriation Committees for further legislative actions, the oil price had further crashed to about $46. Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, Alhaji Ahmed Makarfi, said the budget would not be considered based on the parameters as submitted by the executive arm but on the realities on ground. Unrealistic estimates Leading the debate on the budget, described as deficit and unrealistic by many of the senators, the Senate leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, stated that the budget estimate was predicated on $65 benchmark and N165 exchange rate. The senators who spoke said it was unrealistic going by the drastic fall of oil price in the international market and that passing the budget with such assumption would lead to a deficit budget where huge sums would be borrowed to finance it. They noted that the budget was a budget of caution and austerity measure where Nigerians were required to fasten their belts. Continues on page 47

PAGE 46— SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 1, 2015

BY PETER DURU, MAKURDI arely two weeks to the general elections, political activities in Benue State are gaining momentum with the two notable parties in the state, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP , and the All Progressives Congress, APC, making subterranean moves to outdo each other. The fact is not lost on anyone that the battle for the control of Benue is a straight fight between Governor Gabriel Suswam who is anchoring the PDP warchest, and Senate Minority Leader, and a former governor, Senator George Akume, of the opposition APC. These arrow heads of their respective parties in the state are determined to prove their mettle. Their concern, first and foremost, is to take control of the state by winning the governorship election. This accounts for the much interest the race for who becomes the next governor of Benue has continued to generate. The PDP is under the firm control of Suswam with support from Senate President David Mark and the Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro. Meanwhile, the ruling party has thrown up Prince Terhemen Tarzoor as its gubernatorial candidate while a former Minister of State for Trade and Investments, Dr. Samuel Ortom, emerged, amid intra party wrangling, as the candidate of Akume and the APC. With the emergence of these candidates, the rivalry between the two political lords is heating up the polity. The reason for this is not far fetched, in the event the governor fails to deliver his candidate, his modest achievements in the last 91 months as the chief executive of the state would be confined to the dust bin of history. If on the other hand Akume loses out in the race, the light in his political life could go extinct because his relevance in the scheme of things would inevitably take a tumble. Hence, the question on the lips of close watchers of the unfolding drama is, who blinks first in this intriguing battle for Benue? Whereas the race for the control of Benue would not be won on a platter, events of the past few weeks could provide an inkling as to where the pendulum may swing. While the PDP seems to be enjoying some level of unity and cohesion among its members including those who lost out in the recently held party primaries, same cannot be said of the APC. Some days ago, when the campaign train of the APC’s presidential candidate, Gen. Mohammadu Buhari, berthed in Makurdi, it became obvious that all was not well

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•Mark

•Suswam

•Abba Moro

•Gemade

•Ortom

•Akume

THE BENUE BATTLE

David Mark, Suswam, Moro join forces against Akume, Gemade, Ortom in Benue South, Mr. Madaki Ameh and renown student unionist, Daniel Onje, are still laying claim to the ticket. These issues are major challenges for the opposition and, if not properly resolved before February 14, the party may be facing the prospect of a major defeat in an election that may turn out a one way traffic for the well funded and organised PDP . The PDP appears to be enjoying the brouhaha in the opposition with the unrestrained defection of the PDP members into the ruling party. While welcoming defecting members of the APC from across the state to the PDP , at the party’s zonal campaign rally in Makurdi, Suswam declared that “a party like the APC that cannot put its house in order just few weeks to a major election, is certainly on a failed mission.” Suswam continued, “As far as we know, there is much desperation among APC members and it’s an early signs of despair and failure which is watering the grounds for the eventual victory of the PDP in Benue state and the country at large.” “Today, we are witnessing consistent defections from the APC to the PDP in Benue state because of the imposition of candidates especially the former PDP Minister, Dr. Samuel Ortom, on the APC as its governorship candidate.

with the party in the state. On that occasion, most of the leading members of the party who contested in the botched governorship primary of the APC in Benue were visibly absent at the rally. Mr. Emmanuel Jime, Senator Joseph Wake, Prof. Steve Ugba, among others, failed to show up at the rally in protest against the alleged imposition of Ortom on them by Akume and the party, as it’s gubernatorial candidate. The insinuation is that this aggrieved group of persons may deploy their clout across the state to work against APC as a way of getting back at the party and the masterminds of the alleged imposition. In fact, the issue of imposition of candidates has somewhat became a source of deep rooted acrimony in the APC. Besides the Benue North West where Akume holds sway, the dust raised after the alleged imposition of a former PDP stalwart, Senator Barnabas Gemade, on the party in Benue North East is yet to settle while

The PDP appears to be enjoying the brouhaha in the opposition with the unrestrained defection of the PDP members into the ruling party

“Ortom claimed i pushed him out of PDP . How can I do that to a man I contributed immensely to his political growth and popularity? “He left on his own to join the APC out of desperation because he wanted to be governor but failed to pick the governorship nomination of the PDP which Terhemen Tarzor won in a transparent exercise. “He was immediately imposed on the APC and its members by the leadership, as governorship candidate without partaking in the party ’s primaries, despite the vehement opposition of other leading members. “If he Ortom claimed that the primaries conduct by the PDP in Benue state was skewed forcing him to decamp, how then would he describe the manner he was imposed on the APC by his leader which is currently tearing the party apart? “His maneuvering was a clear indication that he had been with the opposition from the onset but was pretending to be a member of the PDP , but we are also grateful to people like him because the crisis in the party is watering the grounds for the victory of the PDP .” Meantime, Akume and the opposition have continued to be self-asserting in their campaigns across the state. At the flag off of the APC statewide campaigns at the RCM Primary School, ZakiBiam, Ukum local government area, the senator justified the choice of Ortom as the candidate of the party. He said although it was the concensus of the majority of the people that the next governor of the state should come from the Masev, Ihiarev and Nongov geopolitical axis, he subscribed to the position of the late J S Tarka that both the Tor Tiv (Tiv paramount ruler) and governor should not come from the same lineage at the same time. According to him, this is why he opted for Ortom instead of Jime. He explained that political parties were like rivers that needed to be boosted through several means including dredging by welcoming new members otherwise they would become extinct with time.

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 1, 2015, PAGE 47

Panic in the Senate over the workability of the 2015 budget Continued from page 45 Makarfi told his colleagues that with the realities on ground, it would take time for the committee to come up with a more realistic benchmark. He explained: “Even though it is based on a benchmark of $65 which surely is not realistic at the moment, it only provides N387billion for capital development which is over a trillion off what was budgeted for last year. “So, this is not a budget you can look at as an expansionist budget. This definitely is an austerity budget - a belt tightening budget - but equally it should be a wake-up call that we must not continue to rely on financing public expenditure based on oil revenue which is highly volatile. “We have to look out to other areas of getting revenues to the coffers of government and that is a long and tedious work on itself. There is also the average exchange rate of N165. “These are key parameters of the benchmark used to produce the budget but it is actually out of tune with reality. We must cut down on cost of governance. When we say cutting down on cost of governance, we are not saying that you have to lay-off workers, but areas of wastage and other areas you can make adjustments that you can cut down on cost of governance. “We have to equally, holistically, look at what we have been saying times without number that MDAs that achieve their revenue are paying what they like and declaring what they like that would be coming to the public consolidated revenue. It is high time we have a comprehensive review of the legislations creating these MDAs so that we can have a lot non-oil revenue into coffers of government to fund the activities of government. “What I am saying is that it is a very trying moment. I support that we take it at the second reading stage and pass it to relevant committees but the caution is that it is more likely going to shrink than expand. “Therefore, it is not a budget to see where we can add this or that; it is a budget for further belt tightening. The onus is on us to actually save the public finance by passing appropriate MTEF and a budget that we can finance.” Wake-up call The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the plenary, commended senators for waking up to their responsibilities, adding that the development was a wake-up call to the nation following the challenging times of economic recession and the downward trend in the oil revenue the country was facing. Senator Victor Lar, Plateau South said, “Whether we like it or not, all top government officials and political office holders must make sacrifices by cutting down considerably, the cost of governance in 2015 as part of the belt tightening measure that we should undertake to be able to implement the budget.” Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Senator Ita Enang, noted that there had always been loopholes from the government agencies who always generate money and keep the money without remitting to the Federation Account. Senator Enang said, “There is no point allowing the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Maritime Agency and Communication Commission to generate money and keep without putting it in the revenue account. “I celebrate the fall of oil so that we can go back to see the amount of money generated by these agencies and determine the 20 per cent they should spend and the 80 per cent they should transmit to the Federation Account. We should go back to these instruments”. On how countries that do not produce oil survive, he said, “It is through money they generate internally. Where is the Excess Crude Account? The benchmark was $73 per barrel but oil sold over $100 per barrel. Where is the excess crude share of the Federal Government? We are guilty because I raised the alarm that no money from the excess crude should be expended without the consent of the National Assembly. “My submission is that since we signed the 2014 Appropriation Act, there has not been application for supplementary budget. The President should therefore fund the 2015 budget with the reserve from the Excess Crude Account.” The Deputy Senate Leader, Abdul Ningi, said the present economic realities called for caution in the preparation of the budget, but regretted that he did not see the caution in the letters of this budget, while Senator Ayogu Eze called for the expansion of the economy so as to put it on the path of sustainable growth. Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi said the assumption upon which the budget was prepared was totally exaggerated which he said implied that the expenditure that the committees were asked to look at were expenditures for which there would be no money to finance. He said the reason there will be no money to finance those expenditures was that “right now there is the grossly exaggerated assumption that the price of oil is $65 per barrel. We know that the price for oil, as we speak, is in the threshold of $45 to $46 per barrel. “Therefore, the budget we are sending to committees is in deficit of $28 per barrel of monies that will not come and the expenditure the committees to review. It is a pity that our committees may end up doing these work two times - to review the existing projections which are based on unrealistic oil pricing, “It is also on record that Nigeria has not done 2.7million barrels per day - not in 2014, not in 2013 and I don’t know the empirical basis for which this volume of production is being projected. So we are shooting ourselves in the feet with a double barrel gun, an exaggerated benchmark price and an unrealistic volume of production and on the basis of which expenditure has been planned. “This is clearly a deficit budge. Let us call it by its name and let us know where the deficit is going to come from. What is the basis of financing the deficit? I think that is what we should be talking about. I am not even sure given the current oil prices; the entire projection for our capital budget is not already eroded. “We will be lucky in 2015, if Nigeria is going to be able to finance its recurrent expenditure from oil revenue.” For now, it is difficult to work with what government has presented as budget unless a serious surgical operation is done on it.

The Goodluck Jonathan Agriculture revolution

BY OLAYINKA AJAYI HE Goodluck Jonathan administra tion has in the four years been in power. Though there have been flaws, successes and giant leaps, it is sad that some Nigerians tend to focus more on the setbacks. Interestingly, the Jonathan administration has been silently transforming Nigeria from its dark ages of underdevelopment to a 21st century economic and political force So many sectors of the nation’s economy have been touched by the administration, but the agricultural sector has been boosted and the perception that it is not just as a means of livelihood, but more as a business. Over the years, the distribution of fertilizers has remained a racketeering business for some group of persons. Overtime, farmers have had to lament the poor handling and management of the fertilizer distribution because past governments failed to nip the racketeering in the bud. To corroborate this, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, lamented

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that between 1980 and 2010, the Federal and State governments spent over N873 billion on fertilizer subsidies. He disclosed that out of this amount, Nigeria lost N776 billion to corruption and fertilizer racketeering within this period. As a way of curbing the racketeering syndicate in the distribution of fertilizers, the minister said the introduction of Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing Systems for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has de-risked lending to the agricultural sector. According to him, under the GES, 4.2 million farmers have received seeds and fertilizer in the 2013 farming season, adding that about 20 million people have been impacted through the GES initiative. Adesina said banks lent N3.5 billion to seed and fertilizer companies in 2012 under the GES for example, an amount that has increased to over N20 billion in 2013. With this remarkable feat, Nigeria has reduced its food imports by over 40 per cent as of 2013, moving the country closer to self sufficiency in agriculture. As a matter of fact, Nigeria is the world’s largest produc-

The transformation from rustic farming to mechanized agriculture which requires empowering local farmers to adopt modern and costeffective technologies is now vigorously pursued er of cassava with an output of over 45 million metric tonnes in 2014 according to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The transformation from rustic farming to mechanized agriculture which requires empowering local farmers to adopt modern and cost-effective technologies is now vigorously pursued. The Ministry of Agriculture is working towards engendering improved quality and distribution of fertilizers; marketing reforms; innovative financing and developing commodity

exchange; research and development; competitive exchange rates; and development of storage infrastructure. These new measures are aimed at liberating the country from food insufficiency and making it a major food exporter in the nearest future. Interestingly, the National Economic Management Team has unveiled an Agriculture Transformation Agenda (ATA) which has the capacity to generate over 3.5 million jobs. “To ensure food security and create wealth, 11 commodity value chains: rice, sorghum, cocoa, maize, soybean, oil palm, cotton, cassava, livestock, fisheries and horticulture, have been formulated as part of plans to achieve huge increase in production, starting from 2012,” he said. The government is also assisting companies to raise funds from banks to finance input purchase with about N30 billion earmarked for the programme in this year. In addition, government has agreed to pay 10 per cent achievement fees for companies meeting 100 per cent of supply of seeds and fertilizers to farmers. As part of fixing the challenges in the sector, the Nigeria Incentive Based Risk

Sharing System for Agriculture Lending (NIRSAL) is expected to leverage N450 billion from banks into agricultural value chains. Marketing Corporations are being established for selected agricultural value chains to coordinate the production, investments, grades and standards, market price stabilization, among others for selected value chains in Nigeria. These efforts are geared towards realizing the government’s target. To ensure that the target is met, the Agric Ministry has developed four key principles in executing the programmes. The first principle called ‘subsidiarity ’ touches every part of the country ’s agricultural value chain would simultaneously. The second approach, involves working within a framework of strategic partnerships with the private sector, civil society and particularly farmers. The third principle is to treat agricultural endeavour as an investment which must generate return like any other viable business, while the fourth focuses on using bottom-top approach to engender accountability and delivery of results in the entire programme.

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PAGE 50 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 1, 2015

BY OLAYINKA AJAYI

Veteran politician and sec ond republic governor of the old Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, sees ominous signs ahead of the February polls and warns they should not hold. In place of the elections, he is canvassing a unity government. You once predicted that the February elections may not hold. Many people now seem to agree with you. But first, what is your view on the allegation that the presidential candidate of the opposition APC, Major General Muhamadu Buhari (rtd), is not qualified for the election based on the questions raised on his secondary school certificate? The allegation is stupid and foolish and mere politics to tarnish the image of a retired general and the Nigerian Army. Gen. Buhari has explained this to the satisfaction of all reasonable people. First; he has secondary education. In other words, he attended secondary school with his last exam written with five credits. Second, he swore to an affidavit to the fact that he had secondary school education which should ideally end the issue. But Buhari merely presented a statement of result in place of a certificate, and even the statement of result has Mohamed, rather than Muhammadu. What do you make out of that? What is the difference between Mohamed and Muhammadu? He had classmates who attended same school with him. Second, he attended military schools. His accusers ought to have confirmed his result before being absorbed into the army. Third, he has contested election in Nigeria at least three times. And each time, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, must have looked at his credentials. Why should we now hear that he is not qualified? Do you see this as some gimmick from the ruling party to discredit the general ahead of the presidential election? Absolutely! That is the main reason behind such blind distraction from the ruling party. What do you make of the agitation for the February elections postponement even as international election observers say they will not monitor the election in the North-east due to high level of insecurity? It is quite obvious that with the manner the ruling party and the main opposition are going about it, the elections will not be peaceful, free and fair, if they hold come February unless we want to repeat the same mistakes and give room for massive rigC M Y K

‘February polls Should not hold’ •Proposes national unity government •Says jonathan, buhari are splitting nigeria ging. Many people have don’t have the permanent voter cards. So what kind of elections are we running with most people not participating? With the insinuation of violence before, during and after the presidential election and, specifically, the attacks on the convoy of President Jonathan, who is also the candidate of the PDP in the election, in some northern states, do you see the peace agreement signed by all the presidential candidates holding water during and after the elections come February 2015? The clashes during campaigns by supporters show that such peace agreement will not hold. For example, PDP supporters from the South met and declared that if Jonathan does not return

Balarabe musa warns

President Jonathan and Gen. Buhari, Nigerians are now divided so much so that PDP will not campaign in the North peacefully and the APC will not campaign in the South without fear. This is another justification for the postponement of the elections until peace is established in Nigeria. Under this situation, it is absolutely impossible to have free, fair and credible elections. It is an avoidable risk and should not be taken. The Constitution gives room for the postponement of the elections and I think this should be followed. The other thing I think should be followed by the PDP and the APC and other political parties is to answer the call for national unity government that will involve all political parties. Interim government has constitutional implication, but a government of national unity is patriotic and has no constitutional implications. Once they agree, it is easier to constitute a unity government before or after the elections. I strongly recommend this for the sake of our peaceful coexistence as a nation. If it is before the elections, it should be led by the ruling PDP . They should control about 50% of the government, 25% should go to APC being the major opposition and 25% should go to other political parties. If it is after the elections, the winning party should control 50% of the relevant positions and the major opposition occupies 25% while other political parties control 25% according to their relevance in the political structure in our country. This will bring about hope and peace because all political parties are fully represented in governance. Do you see the APC agreeing to this unity government as they openly kicked against any idea of election postponement as suggested by the security adviser to the president? What hope do they have to win the February presidential election in the face of the ongoing attacks by the supporters of the PDP and the election can easily be rigged because their candidate has signed the peace agreement with the PDP? Will they take opposition beyond the limit because they have lost? Unity government is better than the risk the APC is taking. If the situation continues, PDP will rig the election and declare its candidate the winner. This is what they have always done, and they will continue with it and there is nothing anybody can do. If unity government can be embraced by political parties, Nigerians will rally round it and there will be peaceful coexistence among all the regions.

The other thing I think should be followed by the PDP and the APC and other political parties is to answer the call for national unity government that will involve all political parties

as President via the February polls, there will be problem for Nigeria. And some of the supporters of the APC also said that if Buhari does not emerge, there will be problem. In this situation, the agreement is fruitless and the chances of free, fair and credible elections are limited. What in your view is the way forward? The attack on President Jonathan’s convoy during his campaign in the North is another proof that there will be violence despite the peace agreement. As it is now, members of the PDP have accused supporters of the APC of disrupting PDP campaigns in the North while in the South, PDP supporters are said to be disrupting APC campaigns. In other words, because of

SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 1, 2015, PAGE 51

Akwa Ibom: The Udom unity drive HE PDP gubernatorial campaign that was flagged off in Akwa Ibom a little over two weeks ago in Uyo, has continued to witness unprecedented crowd of supporters who obviously have bought the message of hope, of job growth, of industrialization, poverty alleviation and human capacity development which the standard bearer-Mr. Udom Gabriel Emmanuel has been preaching at campaign stops. From the sandy shores on Eastern Obolo, to the shoreline of Oron, to the raffia city of Ikot Ekpene or the soothing waves of Atlantic Ocean, in Eket, the people of Akwa Ibom state have been enveloped in a symphony of hope, of continuity and have repeatedly affirmed that never again shall they be confined to the margins of existence in the greater Nigerian enterprise. The unstated theme of the campaign appears to be anchored on unity and this is particularly so, given the antics and machinations of the G22 comprising former aspirants have were roundly defeated at the primaries by Mr.Emmanuel, but who refused to concede defeat and had, until recently, when they came back to Uyo made Abuja their base where

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they gave an impression of disunity within the ruling party. “ As you can see here, the People Democratic Party in Akwa Ibom is united and is committed to ensuring the election of Udom Gabriel Emmanuel as the next Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State. Whoever that is not here, therefore is not on ground” Senator Effiong Bob a leading political leader from Uyo Senatorial District had told the teeming crowd of supporters at the start of the campaign rallies in his native Nsit Ubuim Local Government area. Senator Effiong Bob it would be recalled was one of the arrowheads that kicked against zoning, but once the party zoned the gubernatorial ticket to Eket Senatorial District, , as a loyal party man, he had to abide by the party’s decision. At every campaign stops, the elders of the party have come resplendent in nicely made uniforms and their presence has reinforced the fact that all those who matter, have returned to the party. “ Akwa Ibom state is a decidedly PDP state and we will ensure that it remains so in the foreseeable future. We will deliver the state to the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, to

our flag bearer, Udom Emmanuel” another chieftain from Oron had told me at the campaign grounds in Oron last Friday, January 23, 2014. In a carnival like atmosphere and with songs, dances and a deeply infectious air of conviviality and bonhomie from Nsit Ubuim, to Eket, from Obot Akara to Ikot Ekpene, from Nsit Atai, Okobo, and from Oron to Orue Offong Oruko, from Ukanafun to Oruk Anam and from Uruan to Asutan Ibesikpo, down to Eastern Obolo and ikot Abasi, speakers after speakers pledged to work for the election of Udom Emmanuel and expressed satisfaction in his skills-set as a tested technocrat, with proven private sector credentials who will take the developmental strides to another level. “Look at the failing oil prices and how it may negatively impact on the Nigerian economy, we believe Akwa Ibom is exceptionally lucky to have someone with the background of Mr. Udom Emmanuel, a man who had acquitted himself well, and rose to become an Executive Director of Zenith Bank. We need him now to use his contacts within the national and international financial

•Udom addressing the rally. systems to draw investments to the state and he has promised to do just that. This is not the time for wholesome reversal of the developmental strides that were started by Gov, Godswill Akpabio, as the other side has promised, but to creatively deploy the resources of the state to move it forward.” Chief Okpon, a party stalwart from Uyo Senatorial district had emphasized. At campaign rallies, Mr., Udom Emmanuel has continuously emphasized his policy thrusts on industrialization and job growth, of building capacity. “We will work hard to create jobs for our teeming youths through industrialization and building capacity and we promise to hit the ground running immediately I am sworn in by the grace of god on May 29, 2015” Udom had enthused as he addressed the people of Eket Federal Constituency. With the crowd that has been thronging the PDP rallies, it is clear and obvious that the Udom Emmanuel’s bandwagon is blowing the state like wild fire and as an observer, Mr. Ekpo said “Akwa Ibom state is a thoroughly PDP state, and if I were on the other side of the political divide, I will be very sad, seeing the degree of unity and popularity that the Udom Emmanuel candidacy has engendered.”

Ambode: A harvest of goodwill N what was an obvious boost to the image of Mr Akinwumi Ambode, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, his fellow old students at the Federal G o v e r n m e n t College, Warri, Delta State paid glowing tributes to him and projected him as someone clearly qualified to steer the affairs of Lagos. The event took place on Wednesday, January 14, 2015, at the Civic Centre and was tagged: ‘ An Evening with Ambode.’ It was an occasion to formally introduce Ambode to the corporatecommunity. So it was a grand event which was well attended and overflowing with dignitaries. In what could be said to be the high point and a display of excellence at the event that dragged till late in the evening, Ambode’s citation was read by former chairwoman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mrs. Ifueko Omoigui Okauru, who was one of his classmates. So, people listened with rapt attention as she read out the profile of the man APC is putting forward for the governorship in Lagos State. Recounting Ambode’s record of performance as Lagos State A c c o u n t a n t General, Okauru recalled that “Under his watch, the State Treasury Office was revolutionised which could be seen in the way the Lagos State finances were raised, budgeted, managed and planned,” as she attributed it why the state’s budget performance is at an average of 85% annually. “He ensured payment of civil service staff salaries before the end

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2015: Anioma nation for Jonathan — Ebigwei

BY TONY NWANKWO As President Goodluck Jonathan campaign train moves into Asaba, Delta State, in continuation of their quest for votes across the country, the people of Anioma nation and their cousins across the Niger are in celebratory mood. The Presidential election of February 14, is seen in these quarters as a clash of the titans. Speaking in Asaba, the coordinator, Anioma Nation for Jonathan and national organiser of South-South Peoples Assembly, Dr. Sylvan Ebigwei (MON), said no stone will be left unturned to give the President and his entourage a rousing welcome in the State on February 4. “We are ready to receive the President and his campaign train, the people are prepared to receive their son, the President, and will accord him a hero’s welcome. He has done well, his achievements are there for all to see. He has represented us well as President of the Federal Republic and we have no doubt that given his remaining four years as provided in the Constitution he will achieve more. He has brought peace and development, there have been no political assassinations. We will use the opportunity to reassure him of our commitment to his Presidency. The PDP has roots here and we are never swayed by detractors”, Ebigwei, president emeritus, Aka Ikenga said.

•Ambode of the month, payment of running cost by first week of each month and introduced end of the year package and special/specific welfare for staff. He launched the e-payment platform for the monthly staff salaries. He renovated the State Treasury Office, created conducive working environment, introduced a corporate dress code and provided laptops for all directors for ease of work”. Upon retirement from civil service, Ambode established Brandsmiths Consulting Limited in 2012. The company has in its portfolio numerous blue chip organisations in addition to consulting for federal, state and local governments on the modalities for the transition to the new International Public Service Accounting System and other financial advisory services. Conclusively, the general position of Ambode’s friends was that politics aside, “ Ambode is a stickler for high performance who does not make decisions based on race, gender or religion.” When it was time for Ambode to speak, he enthused that his ambition to be the governor of Lagos State is traceable to his journey in life and achievements, which he linked to his appointment as a prefect from his days at FGC Warri, a responsible he said opened him up to the role and responsibilities of good leaders. He said his vision for Lagos is to facilitate unprecedented development in the state. He promised to ensure a 24-hour commercial city, free education for children to secondary school level, free lunch for junior school, massive inner city road construction and maintenance, equality of opportunity, youth empowerment with emphasis on entertainment and sports.

Gbaramatu youths condemn call to arrest Tompolo he youths of Gbara matu in Warri South West local gover nment area, Delta State, have condemned the call by former Defence Minister, General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (Rt), for the arrest of High Chief Government Ekpemupolo over recent war threats by the ex-Niger Delta militants. Comrade Timi Oluba, a youth leader in Gbaramatu, who spoke on behalf of the youths yesterday in Warri, noted that Tompolo has not committed any offence for which he should be arrested.such statement was

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meant to intimidate Tompolo for supporting the reelection of President Goodluck Jonathan on February 14. According to him, “ Tompolo is most respected and responsible Ijaw leader who is committed to the development of Ijaw nation, therefore, any attempt to undermine Tompolo shall be resisted by Ijaw nation”. “We see the call made by General Danjuma to arrest Tompolo and others as clear oppression and a hidden agenda to deny President Goodlcuk Jonathan victory on February 14”.

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APC is confident of victory in Edo — Inegbeneki

By Simon Ebegbulem, Benin-City Chief Francis Inegbeneki is the senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo Central. In this interview, he says the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is jittery and consequently looking for excuses for the postponement of the February general elections. He points out that all APC candidates in Edo State are battle ready for the elections, saying that while the APC in the state is confident of victory due to the developmental strides of Governor Adams Oshiomhole, the PDP candidates have nothing to campaign with. Excerpts: HAT prompted you to aspire to represent Edo Central in the Senate? I want to go to the Senate to join other progressives to make laws that will better the lives of Nigerians. There are areas that I will like to focus on in line with the manifestoes of my party. I believe that we have to address the issue of true federalism because the center is too powerful. Power is concentrated so much at the center, that is why you see the desperation with which people are gunning for powers. We must give powers back to the states or regions. We must allow states to control their resources and pay tax to the Federal Government, that is what will bring back the practice of true federalism. However, I am glad that our party the APC chose somebody like Muhammadu Buhari as our presidential candidate. That will tell you that when we talk about change, the APC is sincere about it. We had money bags as presidential aspirants but our people jettisoned them to elect some body they believe will make the difference. I believe that this man with impeccable character will help fight corruption in this country. Buhari will make sure that people no longer steal and go scotfree. As a matter of fact, I will liaise with other progressive senators to make laws that will stop corruption in Nigeria. If corruption is not checked, we are doomed as a nation, and before you know, it we will be poorer than these small African countries. And for us to fight corruption vigorously, there must be a special court to try people. This special court will be given a time limit to try cases and all those found guilty are dealt with. Today, all the corrupt people in the country are walking freely with their loot, nothing is happening to them; this must stop. We have to make laws that will check corruption. People see Edo Central as a PDP dominated area. How optimistic are you to clinch victory, especially when you have people like Chief Tom Ikimi among others against you? Edo Central used to be a PDP dominated area but we broke that jinx during the last governorship election when Governor Oshiomhole won in all the 18 local governments in the state. The APC won in all the five local government areas in Esan land and, shortly after the governorship election, we also won elections in the five councils during the local government elections. So that jinx has been broken and come February 14, APC will clear the votes in Esan land. Esan people are now wiser; if you don’t marry two wives you will not know the difference. The Esan people have married two wives, they now know the difference between the PDP and the APC. We have compared the decamped with him. PDP , APC chances With the developmental strides of Governor Adams Oshiomhole in six years in office, I can tell you that Edo people will vote for APC in all the elections. Forget the nonsense Dan Orbih, their state chairman, says in Benin. They are not on ground. Just like it happened during the governorship election when Oshiomhole won in the 18 local government councils, it will happen again. The PDP may get pockets of votes but it will not help them. And we are aware that the PDP has started playing pranks again but we are going to beat them to their game. We heard that they are buying PVCs from our aged parents, they offer them N5,000 and buy PVC. They resorted to that because they know we are going to beat them with a large margin. They are going about buying PVCs to destroy them. We have asked the police to help us arrest these people. On our part, we have beamed our searchlight on them; whoever we catch we will take to the police for prosecution. The PDP knows that they have no place to hide any more. Even at the federal level, initially, they said Buhari has no certificate, the man brought out his certificate; the next thing was that it was forged. Now they are looking for how to postpone the elections but it will not work. The time is up for the PDP , they should be preparing their handing over note by now. Look at what Oshiomhole has done in six years in Edo; what is the PDP going to tell the people apart from telling lies and the people are wiser now? Edo PDP has nothing to campaign with. And there is no Federal Government project in Edo that is why they are dead in the state.

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•Chief Inegbeneki 16 years of the locusts of the PDP regime and the six years of APC under Oshiomhole. Our people have been able to differentiate between light and darkness. Since the coming of Oshiomhole, we have seen electricity in Esan land, we have seen water, we have seen red roof schools, we have seen roads, these are the dividends of democracy our people have been craving for. Do you think that now that we have found a saviour in Oshiomhole, the Esan people will abandon all we have benefitted and vote for PDP? It will mean that we don’t want progress in Esan land. If you come to Esan land today, every rally we hold, you will see hundreds of PDP members decamping to APC, they have seen that the PDP ship is sinking. Esan land can no longer be referred as a PDP strong hold because APC is in control of the local governments, the state government and we have evidence of dividends of democracy. So by the grace of God, when we will win the February 14 election, and Buhari will be declared winner, it will be bye bye to PDP . And talking about Chief Ikimi, I heard him boasting that he will win, that is arrant nonsense. Where can they win? If you watch the rally that was held in Igueben, his home town, few days ago, you will observe that thousands of PDP members decamped to the APC, and many are still willing to move. After the February elections, the world will know that people like Ikimi are spent forces. They have outlived their usefulness. Chief Ikimi got a political appointment during military regime, but that does not make him a politician. He may have joined in the formation of APC with the true progressives but today I can tell you he has lost his political relevance in Esan land. He did not lead the Esan people correctly and that was why when he decamped from the APC to the PDP , nobody followed him except one person. If he was actually a true leader, the whole of Igueben would have

Elder Asu Beks, President of Ijaw Media Forum and Publisher of Maritime Journal, Shipping World, recently, turned 61. The decorated veteran journalist and social commentator bares his mind on issues ahead of the February 2015 elections. Excerpts: On the polls LL Nigerians, including President Goodluck Jonathan yearn for change. All patriotic Nigerians, including Jonathan, yearn for a better Nigeria. In fact, I can say without contradiction that no Nigerian, living or dead, yearns for a better Nigeria than Jonathan. Or is that not what is on the lips of majority of Nigerians? But while change remains the only permanent thing in life, we must be wary of those fake apostles of change. Some of these modern day apostles of change could actually be agents of the devil whose only mission is to rubbish our modest achievements as a people and as a nation. If restoring the rail tracks, bringing agriculture to the

The change Jonathan’s re-election will bring — Elder Asu Beks front burner, the unbundling of the Power Holding CN, returning our airports to their glorious past are not change, then I wonder what change connotes in a 72 year old’s rusty mind. As a man from the oil and gas rich Niger Delta region, my take is that change must be total. Change means all federating units in Nigeria must contribute to the centre. At the monthly federal allocations meetings, every state must bring its contributions to the centre. You cannot keep back your resources and feed fat on the resources of the other states or regions. Change to me means that a particular region cannot tell us they are “born to rule” and as such must always produce the CG of Customs, the MD of NPA, the GMD of NNPC, the FCT Minister, the Chief Justice of the Federation. In other words, the change should and must be all encompassing and total. We can no longer continue with an era of “baboon dey work, monkey dey chop”. No one region should be treated as second class citizens. That is the change Nigerians yearn for, not this futile attempt at reviving a rickety car parked for 32 years that should be consigned to the junkyard. On Jonathan's presidency For any discerning mind, the circumstances which brought in Jonathan as President are enough indication that it was the Lord’s doing. It was never about good luck as many Nigerians have erroneously ascribed to this Presidency. What God gave to us when the late President Yar ’Adua passed away in 2010 was what our Creator in His own wisdom decided we needed as a people. Yes, it may not have been the choice of all of us, as was evident in the power play when it became evident that the chances of Yar’Adua returning to his desk at the Villa were very becoming slimmer by the day. It was not a situation any one of us prayed for, but, at the end of the day, the inevitable happened. Given the circumstance under which he came into office, Jonathan has had a relatively open administration. He realized early in the life of his administration that it was the goodwill of all Nigerians, including some members of opposition parties that saw him through during those trying times and not good luck. Ironically, the northern oligarchy, as represented by the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), has been the most critical of his administration. Expectedly, the South West, which dumped their candidate for Jonathan in 2011, has been bitter that there practically is nothing to show in terms of political appointments under the present dispensation to compensate for their support for him. And this may have fuelled the animosity between Jonathan and Senator Bola Tinubu. Jonathan has not done badly in terms of his score card since he took office about six years ago. Transformation in the power, sports, aviation, agriculture, education, oil and gas sectors, among others, are there for all to see. But it appears the distraction caused by the Boko Haram insurgency, especially the abduction of the Chibok girls, have taken the shine away from his modest achievements. The opposition have, for all intents and purposes, capitalized on the few lapses in the insurgency war to paint the ruling PDP as a party that can no longer guarantee the

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The Urhobo Youth Rally for Jonathan, Okowa RHOBO youths, under the aegis of Urhobo Youth Leaders Association, gathered at the Petroleum Training Institute Conference Centre, Effurun, Delta State, to endorse Dr Goodluck Jonathan and Senator Ifeanyi Okowa to emerge president and governor respectively in this month’s polls with a promise to campaign from door to door to actualize their dream. Chairman of the occasion, Dr. Steve Oru, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, appreciated the Urhobo youths for the rare support given Jonathan’s second term bid, adding that the youths are the foundation of every society and represents the engine room and future of our society. President of the group, Chief

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Francis Arhiyor, in his remark, said the Urhobo youths agreed to support Okowa and Jonathan because the PDP has delivered dividends of democracy to the people. “Through the transformation agenda, President Jonathan delivered dividends of democracy to the people. The price of petroleum product has been reduced while he turned the country’s economy to one of the greatest in the world. We urge the National Assembly to approve the Petroleum Industry Bill and also finance the NDDC and the Niger Delta Ministry, to enable them deliver on their mandates. We will never support regional terrorist”, he said. While expressing his satisfaction with Urhobo youths’ turn-out at the event, Oru affirmed that Urhobo is the

*Dr Steve Oru, Dr Darah, others at the rally fifth largest ethnic nationality in Nigeria, noting that he was not surprised by the large attendance at the ceremony. He stressed that owing to their population and ideological vision, any candidate supported by the Urhobo youth will win the election. Prof. Godini Darah, lead speaker of the rally said the rally was organised to support PDP and Jonathan for a second term. “It is an auspicious season for the people of the Urhobo nation and the electorate in Delta Central. The senatorial district with over one million registered voters is the centre of political gravity in Delta State. No government can perform well in Delta State without the support of the Urhobo people”. He said, “President Jonathan deserves to be re-elected because he has excellent records of performance. He is the first minority politician from the Niger Delta to govern Nigeria. He has achieved more than any other regime in Nigeria since Nigeria’s independence”. He went further: ”In the area of roads and highways, over 25,000 km constructed/repaired,including the Effurun-Patani section of the East-West highway. Railways are recovered; a new standard Abuja-Kaduna line to be completed soon. The LagosCalabar railway to be constructed will pass through Urhobo communities of Oghara, Sapele, Effurun, Okuokoko, Agbarho, Ughelli, Evwreni, and Ughwerun. Second Niger Bridge in progress; Delta is a beneficiary of the project. Agriculture has yielded abundance, with 15 million farmers engaged; food import reduced by 50%, and rice revolution in progress. The Nigerian economy has grown steadily; it is the largest in Africa and the 26th in the world. President Jonathan and the PDP administration are trusted by international investors and world leaders. This is why many foreign investors are coming to Nigeria. The Jonathan administration has launched an industrial revolution programme and the implementation should benefit Urhobo area”.

The change Mr President's re-election will bring Continued from page 52 security of Nigerians. But most Nigerians are far from being fooled by this campaign given the fact over 70 percent of the top notchers of the APC are decampees from the PDP . On the fight against corruption which, is one area Mr. President has not demonstrated enough political will, it is the thinking of most Nigerians that too many corrupt public office holders are being given cover. Nigerians want to see an assertive President Jonathan who would not be afraid to bark and bite, and would step on every big toe that has not played by the rules. I would expect Mr. President to, if the need be, use some of these corrupt officials as the proverbial sacrificial lamb. If he does so, even within days to the election, his rating would rise astronomically and this means more votes at the polls. But one thing Nigerians cannot take away from President Jonathan is his simplicity. Jonathan is God-fearing, humble, compassionate and does not want to run the affairs of Nigeria like an emperor. He has allowed all arms of government operate independently. On Buhari Buhari, in my opinion, is anything but the change the over 170million Nigerians yearn for. At 72, this frail looking retired army general cannot withstand the rigours of the office as President. As an army general and former Head of State, he is used to dishing out orders. As President, he would have democratic institutions such as both chambers of the National Assembly and the judiciary to contend with. He does not have the patience of a Jonathan who is not used to arm twisting any arm of government to do his bidding. What experience is GMB bringing to the table? What has he been engaged in since he left office as Head of State almost 32 years ago? Was he an employer of labour? What managerial experience is he bringing to bear? Is his disputed school certificate enough qualification to prepare him for the challenges? Or are we going to rely on his dictatorial credentials as what qualifies him for this plum job? Is there a possibility that his party men were deceived into believing that he was fit and proper for the job? On June 12, IBB, Abacha and Buhari Many Nigerians have not forgiven GMB for his tyrannic reign after he aborted the Shagari administration in December 1983. If the IBB and Abacha regimes were offshoots of Buhari’ s military regimes, then it is certain that GMB should take full responsibility for interrupting our democracy, which but for that criminal act would be coasting towards an uninterrupted 40 years, as well as the hundreds of lives lost to the June 12 crisis. On US and the fight against Boko Haram When the September 9/11 incident happened, the whole world, including Nigeria, rallied around the US. But what do we get in return since the Boko Haram intensified their activities in the North East in the last couple of years? No one country in the world has been able to fight terrorism single handedly, but ironically, that is what the US wants us to do. These days, it has become very difficult to differentiate between the official comments of the US State Department and APC’s Lai Mohammed on what the Jonathan administration is doing or not doing about Boko Haram. Even the multi-national forces that promised all manners of support and assistance after the Chibok girls abduction have since gone underground. These days, it is common place to hear US officials complain about Nigeria’s ill-equipped, poorly motivated and poorly trained solders as being no match for the better trained and motivated Boko Haram fighters. How laughable could this be. Is this not the same Nigerian Army whose solders acquired their trainings in the best military academies in the world, including the US? Is this not the same Nigeria military that has been involved in major peace keeping operations around the globe in the last five decades? Is this not the same military who the US and its allies have had a lot of defence cooperations with on several occasions? It is very unfortunate that the US would abandon Nigeria, a country that is very strategic in America-Africa relations, at this very critical period. But I am happy the Jonathan administration is set to call the bluff of the US and other western nations, and seems set to open new frontiers of cooperation in the eastern bloc such as China. But one lesson to learn from the US reluctance to support Nigeria in the fight against insurgency is the fact that the world has become a global village and countries such as the US cannot claim to know it all. With or without them, the Jonathan administration is surely winning the battle against insurgency, even though the expectation of Nigerians is that the President ought to have done more.

S-South group backs president outh-South Democratic Vanguard for Goodluck Sambo has enjoined all Deltans to vote for President Goodluck Jonathan for his functional transformation agenda even as it says the Okowa/Otuaro Peoples Democratic Party,PDP , ticket holds the best for Deltans. Messrs Friday Martins and Frank Sologidi, National President and Delta State Coordinator respectively of the group, extolled the development disposition of Senator James Manager reflected in the Bomadi bridge,

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the Bomadi Gbaregolor Ogriagbene Torugbene roads. Other projects, the group said include the bridge linking Gbaregolor Esanma to Ezebiri Communities, NEPA project in Bomadi and several NDDC projects too numerous to mention. The duo who spoke at the PDP governorship campaign rally in Bomadi, praised Engr. K. O. Preyor, Bomadi representative in the Delta State House of Assembly for his performance and assured that PDP will get 100% votes in Delta South Senatorial District.

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Onoriode hails his emergence sellable candidate that will ease the party’s work in their campaign across the twenty five local government areas of the state. Onoriode who said he inaugurating the Core Delta Youth for Okowa on behalf of the Delta State PDP , charged all members of the group to carry their campaign to all nooks and crannies of the state to ensure that all PDP candidates, from the Delta State House of Assembly to the presidential election emerge victorious.

HE Delta State Director of Youth Mobilization of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP , Hon. Sunday Onoriode Eromedoghene, has said that only candidate like Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, governorship standard bearer of the PDP can break through all ethnic barriers in the forthcoming general elections. Onoriode, who made this statement while inaugurating a group, Core Delta Youth for Okowa in Asaba, headquarters of Delta State, said the group and the party were lucky to have a

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The Centrist war in February: Why Buhari is the answer VIEWPOINT

BY PATRICK OBAHIAGBON

VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF

APC-led Federal Government will bring good governance

HE 2015 presidential election campaigns and unfolding events are simply sublime and ridiculous.Some of the events are very entertaining. But in this game, some must lose and some most win. But the facts of the presidential campaigns are that the struggle for power in the political landscape is basically an intra-class struggle as left forces that would have been canvassing alternative sociopolitical and economic system totally opposed to the present neocolonial dependent capitalist system are in retreat, if not totally eclipsing. And so, the field is left open for centrists of the left and centrists of the right. But, the odds favour the All Progressives Congress (APC) which took a great deal of

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effort, resources and time to build a coalition, which is now a behemoth, a movement waiting to redefine Nigeria in the history of progressive politics. The APC, of course, is left of the centre in the ideological spectrum. The core of the party comes from the foremost progressive wing of the Nigerian ruling class, famous for its political progressivism. The core progressive elements and leaders of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria–the likes of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu,Ogbeni Rauf Arigbesola, Babatunde Fashola, Lai Mohammed,Chief Bisi Akande, and numerous others have demonstrated progressive politics since the return of democratic rule in 1999. These progressive elements, who, today, shape the political direction of the South West forged a great coalition with the progressive elements in the South South such as the fire spitting and fearless Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomole,the inimitable Rotimi Amaechi, and the spartan Chief

Odigie Oyegun, etc,with a progressive linkage to the South East, with leaders like Ogbonaya Onu, Chris Ngige, Rochas Okorocha and other great progressives from the Igbo nationality. To crown the new political direction, these progressive minds linked up with the progressive wing of the political class in the North-West, North East, and the North Central Zones such as Chief Audu Ogbe,Senator Bukola Saraki,Malam El Rufai,Governor Kwankwanso and a host of others. The very focused political behemoth that came out from the coalition of the ACN, ANPP , APGA and CPC is the APC. Now, there is going to be a shift from the ultra–conservative centreright control of the Nigerian state since independence. The point should be made that some progressive elements who had opportunity to exercise executive powers, starting from Chief Obafemi Awolowo to the Fasholas, Oshiomholes, Aregbesholas, Kwankawasos, Amaechis of today

have demonstrated that power can be used for the upliftment and development of the citizens. These progressive elements have demonstrated that governance can be creative and lives can be transmogrified . Today, the governance in all the APC states are creative, progressive and peoplecentred. In Edo State, for example, governance is people-centred, creative and courageous. The development that has taken place in Edo since Oshiomhole assumed office is outstanding. The progressives focus on the people and are able to do so because they are more enlightened, and are prepared to disseminate such enlightenments and progress to the people. At the center, the progressives are set to bring about social welfare to the citizens, and transform their lives. The progressives will promote mass education, create opportunities for all citizens and make life better for all. The progressives will create wealth and that all will be well; that there will be no war. Nigeria, they both declared, will not break. These two men of God played the role of fathers of the nation. They have raised the hope of the nation of a peaceful election. Bishop David Oyedepo displaced an unusual disposition. It is possible he might have offended some members of his church who are not members of PDP , as well as some that might have been disappointed by his strange declaration on President Jonathan. Oyedepo made open declaration more provocative than that of Father Mbaka of Enugu Catholic on the end of the road to Goodluck Jonathan’s reelection. ”Anybody that stands on your way to re-election, we shall open the gate of hell on those who oppose you”. Till now, Oyedepo has not denied the statement. Is Oyedepo unaware that not all those in his church nationwide are PDP members? It is time to call our men of God to order. The priest in the temple of God must not descend to the arena of politics. When Osun election was approaching, some of this men of God prophesied that Governor Rauf Aregbesola would be kidnapped. Some even declared

ensure its fair distribution to all citizens. The PDP conservative centre-right government has dragged the country to a failed state status. The progressives, who have demonstrated that power can be used for development and transformation in the various states where the APC is in power, should naturally run the country if the country is to develop. APC governors have shown that development is possible. The Buhari presidency will guarantee good governance, development and genuine transformation. Given the caliber of fertile, cultivated and social democratic ideologues in the leadership of the APC, it is obvious that there is light at the end of the tunnel. General Buhari/Professor Osibanjo presidency will bring about the pan Nigeriana of our dreams.

* Obahiagbon is the Chief of Staff to the Comrade Governor of Edo State. that he may lose the election. At the end of the exercise, Aregbesola’s abduction never happened. He won the election with a landslide. How will Oyedepo answer any of his students at the Covenant University, Ota, on his statement on the coming election, as a father, Bishop, and Chancellor of the University? The February general election will come and go, but the nation must remain. Our politicians and religious leaders must watch their words and actions. Nigeria cannot afford another bloodshed in any form because someone wants power. Power belongs to God, and the Bible told us that God gives power to whom He will. Why the do-or-die over power that is transient? Where is General Sani Abacha ? Where is Muhamar Gaddafi? How about Mobutu Sese Seko and Idi Amin? One day, history will be read that you were once a leader, but one thing you cannot take away from history is that your contributions will also be examined, whether it is good or bad and your children will be told about all you have done or left undone.

One election, two platforms VIEWPOINT

By Yomi Obaditan, Osogbo

VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF

Politicians and religious leaders must watch their words ahead of polls HE general elections coming up in the next two weeks are like having an election with two platforms. There is the popular platform of the politicians, and that of the men of God who descended to the arena of partisan politics and it appears the future of our politics will depend on these actors. From the beginning of mankind, God has always sent his prophets to the people to warn or to bless, depending on what was at stake. So, almost in every godly society, such men of God are revered. As we have genuine men of God, atimes it is a bit difficult to emphatically point out the fake ones. Prophet Ayodele, in January, revealed what the February elections will look like. Ayodele told us there will be rigging in 775 local government council areas instead of 774. If that was all, one would not bother about this holy man of

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God, but he foretold the inability of INEC to conduct election in no-go areas of Boko Haram. Even Jega now needs no prophet to tell him that elections may not hold in some parts of the North East. An attempt to capture Maiduguri by Boko Haram is likely to make the prophecy come to pass. APC and PDP , he claimed, will share the North’s votes. The other states to be won in the South-South and South West he enumerated. Even Labaran Maku, in his days as Minister of Information, may say the same thing. Fayose can tell you as a member of Deeper life Church that the Holy Spirit has revealed to him that PDP will win hands down in Ekiti, not minding the numerous Buhari’s billboards that have been pulled down here and there in the state. Ayodele, not Fayose, seems to be trying not to hurt the two leading parties in his prophecy. But how can a man of God fear men than He that sent him. God he said is tired of APC and PDP , yet he went ahead to say that should Jonathan win, there will be no peace. The question for the man of God is: What do you want to disclose that you are reluctant to

say? Not done yet, he said: “Even if Buhari wins, he can’t put an end to insurgency”. It appears the man of God, like Balam, might have seen something afar, which he fears to divulge. At the same time, he said Jonathan’s inauguration will be stopped, as he will be taken to court. It appears the man of God does not want to offend either of the parties, but those who can see beyond their noses know the direction the election may go. Lastly from Ayodele, the elections he said will not be one hundred per cent free and fair. That is a fact in issue. Even mama “there is god oo” knows that the election cannot be totally free and fair. Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain, after the Assembly, advised INEC to postpone the elections but the electoral body declined, began to tell his members of the impending doom upon politicians and non-politicians. If all that men of God could utter on the February elections is doom, one wonders where the men of God will take refuge when the day of God’s wrath come. Pastor E.A. Adeboye and William Kumuyi have assured Nigerians

*Obaditan lives in Osogbo.

Jonathan’s remarkable transformation in transportation VIEWPOINT

By Lateef Salako

VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF

Infrastructural strides of the Federal Government N 2011, when President Goodluck Jonathan told Nigerians that he was going to work with the template of an Agenda for National Transformation, Nigerians who had been at the receiving end of past failed promises simply dismissed it as another paper work that won’t deliver results. Few years down the line however, with the reality on ground now, it is obvious that even the President did not anticipate the amazing result his administration has now achieved. The administration has over- achieved especially in the area of transportation/ aviation. Before we proceed, a little peep into the

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past will help. Before the advent of this administration, the country’s airports were a form of eyesore, the infrastructure was far below average standard. The environment was not neat. Nigerians travelled within the country with the fear of air crashes which were a bit common. Regulatory authorities were not strengthened to do their job. No country took Nigeria serious and no serious agreements were signed. Hajj operations wee cumbersome and Nigeria was not regarded in the comity of nations doing the aviation business. The roads were not equally safe. They were death traps. LagosIbadan expressway, Lagos- OreBenin expressway, KanoMaidugiri road, Enugu- Port Harcourt road, Abuja- AbajiLokoja road etc were sources of pain and anguish for individuals and families. There was no hope

for the second Niger Bridge just like East- West road was abandoned. Just like magic, the sad story has now changed within 4 years. Through extensive rehabilitation, 83 percent of Nigerian raids are now safe and motorable. There is no government which has built or rehabilitated more roads than this administration in the history of Nigeria, in a single year. Over 2,000 km of Federal roads were either built or rehabilitated in 2013 alone. The administration is reconstructing and expanding key commercial arteries like the BeninOre-Shagamu, Lagos-Ibadan, Enugu-Port Harcourt, KanoMaiduguri and Abuja-AbajiLokoja Highways. Under President Jonathan, approximately 90 Road Support Service locations have been established to provide first response to road accidents and robberies

Courtesy of Jonathan’s transformation, the massive second Niger Bridge project is on course while the much- talkedabout east- west road is wearing a new look. In the area of aviation, 22 federal airports have been remodeled. Under President Jonathan, Nigeria has achieved and maintained US Federal Aviation Administration Category-1 Certification – the highest standard for Air Safety. Under this administration, 6 Airports strategically located close to Nigeria’s food baskets have been established as Cargo Airports for air shipment of perishable goods. In the rail sector, the government has rehabilitated and revived the Lagos-Kano Rail Service – enabling cheaper movement of people and heavy freight between Lagos and Kano. The Kaduna-Abuja rail line has

been built from start to finish. It is the first phase of a 25-year railway development plan that has been ranked among the top 100 infrastructure projects in the world. In the area of water transportation, several inland ports and the dredging of key inland waterways have seen waterways passenger traffic grow by 400% and inland waterways cargo volume grow by 100 percent. While we must admit that the basic reason why Nigerians are rooting for Jonathan in the upcoming election is the remarkable achievements he has recorded in key areas of the economy, job creation, automobile sector, agriculture, education etc, the area which the present administration has invested more time, energy and resources and achieved most is transportation and general infrastructural development. •Salako writes from Ikorodu, Lagos

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 1, 2015,

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VIEWPOINT

By Francis Ehigiator

VIEWPOINT IN BRIEF

Flaws in an attempt to revise history EADING through a syndicated story without byline on Thursday, January 29, 2015 at page 11 with the headline: “Anenih ‘ll fail again in Edo, says Oshiomhole” At a rally of his party, All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekpoma, to revise the political events that happened in the old Bendel State in the defunct Second Republic. I guess, he decided to do that after assessing the potential and actual damage the PDP had done earlier on at a rally in Edo Central where the daughter of the late former governor of the State, Professor Ambrose Ali, had, in an emotionladen voice, called on the people to reject the APC’s presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, at the poll. Her argument was clear: Buhari clamped her father in detention, following his military coup that terminated the Second

The Ali-Anenih story: Oshiomhole as a modern-day revisionist Republic and Ali was denied medical treatment, which eventually led to his demise. It is a documented fact of history that Buhari clamped all the civilian governors at the time in detention, tried and jailed them, both the corrupt and incorrupt ones, for donkey’s years. Buhari came on board with a macabre sense of vengeance to settle scores with the politicians whom he saw as corrupt; even though his regime too had his shortcomings, otherwise, General Ibrahim Babangida would not have toppled him. But it was disingenuous for Oshiomhole to now posit that the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP , Chief Tony Anenih, played a role in Ali’s incarceration. I can understand that desperation had motivated the governor ’s barefaced adventure because he wanted to minimise the collateral damage that the support Ali’s daughter gave to Jonathan has done to Buhari’s candidature in the state. Pray, was that the reason he weaved the Ekpoma falsehood? Does Oshiomhole not know that many Nigerians are on top of the events that shaped that era? Now, how on earth could the comrade governor say that Anenih, who was then Chairman of the NPN in the old Bendel State, played a role in the incarceration of Ali? He must have been extremely desperate to tar Anenih with a brush of malfeasance just to counter the PDP masterstroke pulled by the prominence given to the narrative of Ali’s daughter. And, perhaps, in a bid to attack the basis of incredulity that his narrative might evoke in his listeners, he had cleverly made up a nexus in a bogus claim of a contract awarded by Ali to an unnamed leader (a top notch member of the PDP today) who did not do the job. If anyone, apart from Oshiomhole, believes this story, he or she would believe anything. I know that Oshiomhole himself does not believe his story because he knows in his heart of hearts that he was being dishonest. Ali was governor on the platform of Unity Party of Nigeria while those who ensured his defeat were in NPN. Is Oshiomhole saying that Ali gave contracts to his political opponents? Can Oshiomhole do that? I sincerely believe that at the time the people of old Bendel State voted out Ali, he (Ali) was not in a position to give out contracts to any NPN leader. It was the people of Bendel State, as it then was, that rejected Ali and his minority party, the UPN, at the poll; and voted massively for NPN and its governorship candidate, General Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia. And when that civilian administration under President Shehu Shagari was overthrown by Buhari who threw wide his dragnet for political actors, Ali, Anenih and Ogbemudia were all caught and detained. So, if Anenih played role in Ali’s detention, what was Anenih himself doing in detention? The comrade governor should not take our people for fools. A majority of us are educated and can reason logically. He cannot rewrite this history because even if many of our people do not know or cannot remember the events of the time, this narrative of his simply beggars description. I expect that our governor will attempt more revisionism as electioneering intensifies in the days ahead because desperation is in the air and he is indeed consumed by it; which is understandable but not excusable. * Ehigiator contributed this piece from Benin City via f_ehigiator@yahoo.com

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NAF ready for polls

By Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin HE Nigeria Air Force (NAF) has expressed T its readiness for the movements of election materials to all designated centers across the country, during the general elections and that it is prepared to tackle headlong challenges that might arise in the course of the national assignment. Air Officer Commanding, Mobility Command, Air Vice Marshal Bassey Nyoyoko, said this in Ilorin, Kwara State capital during his official visit to the Ilorin Unit Mobility Command to confirm the state of the logistics and the officers ahead of the elections. Nyoyoko, who assumed duties about a week ago, is in charge of Nine Mobility Commands covering Lagos, Calabar, Minna, Ilorin, Warri, and Yenagoa among others. “I have come because of the elections that are fast approaching. I have covered five units so far, and i can tell you that the Nigeria Air Force is ready for the elections .I have come to see for myself the logistics on the ground here and ensure that the officers are configured for the assignment. And based on what i have seen here, i am satisfied, ‘’he said. While addressing the officers in Ilorin, Nyoyoko urged them to be security conscious more than ever before because Nigerians are looking up to them for a bail out from the current security challenges the country is facing. He also charged them to delete their pictures from Facebook because it undermines their security obligations to themselves and the civilians they are protecting. ‘’For those of you who put your picture in Face Book, go and remove it because it is not security wise. It undermines your security responsibilities to yourself and the country. These days you have to be more security conscious and take all the needed precautions”, he said.

By Henry Umoru HEAD of the February 14 presidential election, nine candidates may today step down for their Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, counterpart, President Goodluck Jonathan. As part of the moves to actualise this and work for Jonathan’s re- election bid, the nine presidential candidates were said to be meeting with the National Unity Group (NUG), a coalition of interest groups working for the re-election of the president. Disclosing this to journalists yesterday, Secretary of NUG and

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‘9 presidential candidates to step down for Jonathan’ National Vice Chairman of the PDP , South-South, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, explained that the group was meeting with nine political parties fielding candidates for the presidential election with the possibility of stepping down for Jonathan. Flanked at the briefing by a former governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezife, a former governor of Edo State, Senator Oserheimen Osunbor, and Senator Chris Ukpabi, Ojuogboh, who, however, refused to mention the parties involved so as not to jeopardise the discussion, said that they were incubating the process, adding that the entire meeting was geared towards achieving unity and development for the country. According to him, at the end of yesterday’s meeting, the presidential candidates would get across to their supporters and return for today’s final meeting where the deal would be sealed. Ojuogboh, who noted that the group appreciates the support the North has given Jonathan, stressed that, before now, there were insinuations that the president will not be accepted in the North as well as his posters and bill boards, adding that northerners must should come out and vote for him without any fear of intimidation, harassment or molestation. PDP , the All Progressives Congress, APC, and twelve other political parties have candidates for the presidential election.

AU Mammah, consumate banker, bows out HIEF Augustine U g o c h u k w u Mammah is dead. He passed on early last month after a protracted illness. Until he retired in 1991, Mammah was Deputy General Manager of the defunct Cooperative & Commerce Bank (CCB) .His remains will be interred on Friday, February 6, at Mpam Umoho Ekwerazu, Ahiazu – Mbaise, LGA - Imo State after a funeral mass at Christ the King Catholic Church, Mpam Umoho Ekwerazu, Ahiazu – Mbaise.

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Anambra: APGA reps candidate to equip constituents against poverty

By Lekan Bilesanmi HE All Progressives G r a n d Alliance(APGA) candidate for the Njikoka/Dunukofia/ Anaocha Federal Constituency, Anambra State, Mr Dozie Nwankwo, has assured the citizens that he is going to the National Assembly to attract democracy dividends and poverty alleviation materials that would improve the quality of life in the area. Nwankwo, popularly known as ‘Onye Ndozi’ -the repairer, stated this at Enugwu-Agidi during his campaign tour of the electoral wards in his constituency. The young politician, who started philanthropic works right from his secondary school days, is an according to Chief Sam Oraegbunam, a chieftain of the party, experienced politician and close to his people. He said: Nwankwo is a man of the future whose kindness and act of benevolence has made him a household

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name all over Anambra state. We are lucky to have accept to run for any elective position. He will do well, having done so much for us form his personal resources. We anticipate a lot of development and other goodies from both the Federal and state governments when he wins and start using the leverage and the instrumentality of his new anticipated position/ office to attract democracy

dividends and poverty alleviation to the people of the area. So far, he has given out scholarships, free medical treatment for more than 60,000 constituents annually, skill acquisition, soft/revolving loans for businesses, Keke to more than 400 youth, women/ youth empowerment, widowhood support and more than 600,000 free exercise books to pupils annually.

Deaconess Egbuna Remembrance HE one year remember and thanksgiving service in honour of the late Deaconess Miracle Egbuna takes place at the Living Souls Baptist Church, Diya Gate, OPIC Estate, Agbara, Ogun State, today. She died January 14, last year.

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DESOPADEC Commissioner Ominimini dedicates achievements to Uduaghan

By Ephraim Oseji ELTA State Oil Producing Area Development Commission ( D E S O P A D E C ) Commissioner representing Ughelli North and EthiopeEast Local Government Rt (Hon) Ominimini Obiuwevbi, has dedicated his achievements to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan. Ominimini made the

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declaration while addressing newsmen after he presented notebooks and furniture to schools in the area. He received commendations for his completed projects which included water supply, roads, electricity, housing, education and energy. He reassured the people that Uduaghan was finishing strong, maintaining that without the support and

administrative competence of the Uduaghan government, he would not have achieved so much. Ominimini, who commissioned two electricity projects in Ethiope-East LGA, commended Uduaghan for motivating workers by paying their salaries and allowances as and when due, adding that Delta workers were satisfied with their governor.

•Late Deaconess Egbuna

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SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 1, 2015---PAGE 57 sam.eyoboka@gmail.com

08023145567 (sms only)

FEBRUARY POLLS:

Why some Christians won't vote

By Sam Eyoboka XPERTS in political engineering have advanced several reasons why citizens should exercise their franchise at elections. In the Americas and Western Europe where democracy had taken firm root experts believe that as soon as a citizen attains adulthood, he/she gains certain freedoms including the all important freedom to vote at elections. According to them there are many reasons why people should participate in the electioneering process. The reasons include: Government control, personal freedom, taxes and funding. A breakdown of the reasons which may not be applicable to the Nigerian situation indicate that the individual ballot has the capacity to enable the citizen to have a control of the government; exercise the ability to decide his/ her own level of freedom; deciside on the merits and drawbacks of tax hikes to governments during elections and sometimes the individual's

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vote makes decisions regarding the funding of public institutions like schools and museums. Whereas advanced democracies of the world had used their electoral commissions, which had over the years developed into independent institutions that arouse public interest in the electoral process and their involvement in the process of electing political leaders, voter education in this clime is still at its rudimentary stage. Thirteen days before the next presidential elections millions of Nigerians are yet to receive their permanet voters cards, one crucial elements that can restore public confidence in the electoral process and encourage active public participation in the process especially in a year that more and more Nigerians are enthusiastic in the process. A nation with over 35 million adult illeterates, it is still doubtful how majority of our rural dwellers, who are essentially unleterred, will cope with the new computerised system of voting adopted by the Independent

*Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, CAN National President National Electoral Commission, INEC without a massive voter education on local televisions and radio stations demonstrating how the system works. Nevertheless, this piece is not about shortcomings of INEC. Rather, it is about the growing number of Nigerians who will be disenfrachised for one reason or the other. The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming (advent) of Jesus Christ. The denomination grew out of the Millerite movement in the United States during the middle part of the 19th century and was formally established in 1863. Among its founders was Ellen G. White, whose extensive writings are still held in high regard by the church today. Much of the theology of the Seventh-day Adventist Church corresponds to common Protestant Christian teachings such as the Trinity and the infallibility of Scripture. Distinctive teachings include the unconscious state of the dead and the doctrine of an investigative judgment. The Seventh-day Adventist Church, is a major denomination with a significant presence in Nigeria and has been a partner with Nigeria in her developmental efforts. Unfortunately, this group of Nigerians has again and again been disenfranchised in elections, which are usually held on Saturdays, a holy day of worship for the church and other Sabbatarians in the country. In a telephone interview during the week, the President of the church and pro-Chancellor of the Babcock University, Pastor Oyeleke Owolabi reiterated their demand from the Federal Government for elections to be shifted from Saturdays to weekdays, as it is done in America and other developed countries of the world. Pastor Owolabi, like other presidents before him, expressed disappointment that a country

ALL FOR PEACEFUL ELECTIONS

From left Apostole Babatunde Odele and APC, Vice Presidential candidate, Pastor Yemi Osinbajo during a prayer session for peaceful election put together by Civic Consciousness Initiative a non-governmental organization of Christians leaders held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos on Tuesday.

like Nigeria can be so insensitive to the plight of over five million Sabbatarians in the country, threatening to drag the Federal Government to court to enforce their rights to vote for candidates of their choice. According to him, Saturday is the day of their worship just as Sunday and Friday are set aside by other Christians and Muslims respectively to wirship, stressing that more than five million members of Sabbatarians gather on that day to worship in over 3,500 branches in the country, including the days of the elections. The cleric therefore appealed to the Federal Government to consider the plight of such a huge number of Nigerian citizens who are being disenfrachised and denied the opportunity to elect their leaders, by declaring a public holiday and conducting elections on weekdays. He also used the opportunity to appeal to other Nigerians to collect their permanent voter's cards to enable them exercise their franchise. Prophet Ezekiel Osuchukwu is a presbyter of one of the several Sabbatarian churches in Nigeria. Asked how many churces fall under the group, he could effectively answer the question knowing that there are more than 200 founders in Nigeria, noting that in Lagos alone "we have Anthony Okeke in Ketu, we have someone like Egbule in Satellite Town. In Imo State, we have House of Sabbath Mission under Bishop Benson Okorie. We have Onabuchi who is the founder of Grassroots Sabbath Nation. There’s Committee of Hearing owned by late Michael Onacheze before they chose Victor Anwuzia. There’s Samuel Inobi from Inobi. We have Sabbath Nation by Dada Nwanka. There are so many of them." According to him, Saturday is all about worship. "We cannot leave our worship to go and vote and even if there is restriction of movement...as Sabbatharians, at times members begin their worship from 4:00 p.m. on Friday evenings till 4:00 p.m. on the Sabbath day." To Prophet Osuchukwu, Sabbatarians will appreciate if the Federal Government can consider giving them an opportunity of voting any other day besides

*From left, His Eminence Sunday Ola Makinde exchanging greetings with Rev. Wilson Badejo, Archbishop Magnus Atilade, chairman, CAN, Lagos State, Apostle Alexandar Bamgbola, and Prof. Idowu Sobowale during the prayer session for peaceful elections.

We do not lobby, vote for political parties or candidates, run for government offices, or participate in any action to change governments

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Saturday to vote, "there’s no how we can leave our God and go to vote. It’s against our worship. If they can give us another day, that will be better. If they can arrange the elections for another day, we can follow up because I have my voter’s card." The story of the Jehovah's Witnesses is different. There are over 362,000 Jehovah Witnesses in Nigeria but sadly they will not participate in the electioneering process though a large number of them have registered and have their PVCs. According to the Jehovah Witnesses Media contact for Nigeria, Mr. Paul Andrew, the number of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Nigeria today is put at a little over 362,000 (as at August 2014). Why do Jehovah’s Witnesses maintain political neutrality? Sunday Worship findings revealled that Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide remain politically neutral for religious reasons, based on their interpretation of Biblical teachings. "We do not lobby, vote for political parties or candidates, run for government offices, or participate in any action to change governments. We believe that the Bible gives solid reasons for following this course. We follow the example of Jesus, who refused to accept political office. (John 6:15) He taught his disciples to be “no part of the world” and made it clear that they should not take sides in political issues. (John 17:14, 16; 18:36; Mark 12:13-17)." According to a post in the JW website: "We are loyal to God’s Kingdom, which Jesus spoke of when he said: 'This good news of the Kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth.' (Matthew 24:14) As representatives of God’s Kingdom, commissioned to proclaim its coming, we remain neutral in the political affairs of all countries, including the one where we live. (2 Corinthians 5:20; Ephesians 6:20)." There are pockets of Christians including internally displaced persons, IDPs across the nation who for one reason or the other may be cowed into withdrawing from the exercise. In parts of the North, reports reaching us indicate that Christians in areas dominated by other religious groups are already being denied the opportunity to educate their kith and kins on how to vote and the direction to go on election days. A Christian voice in Bauchi told our reporter that indications abound that Christian will not be allowed to vote anybody of their choice freely the way it is expected. "Nobody will be free as a Christian in Bauchi town to vote for the party he/she wants. It is not possible. We have already foreseen that and that is why we are taking time to pray. We are calling on God to intervene in the ugly situation," the cleric spoke on behalf of several Christians.

*SUPPORT THE PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS IN NORTHERN NIGERIA C M Y K

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Rich men don’t run Have you ever seen a rich man running before? God forbid! Rich men don’t run. They stroll. Rich men don’t run after anybody. Men run after rich men. If a rich man wants to talk to some man in the street, he simply sends his servant to get him. But this particular situation is different and peculiar. One of the richest Nigerians is running madly after Jesus in the street. When he finally gets to Jesus, what does he do? That is the most incredible part. When he gets to him, he falls down on his knees and pleads with him. You don’t mean it! The Governor gets on his knees on the road in front of everybody? Yes, he does. What does he want? Obviously, he wants something only Jesus can give him. The rich young ruler is a representative Christian. He is a wonderful child of God. His heart is in the right place. He is not slothful in business. He is fervent in the spirit; serving the Lord. But there is a need in his life and it is urgent. There is a need in his life, and it is great. It is a pressing need. So pressing, he forgets he is a big man. So pressing,

he forgets he is a rich man. So pressing, he forgets he is wearing a white lace agbada and the street he is kneeling in is muddy and dirty.

Seeking Jesus I know you have run after a bus before. It was the first bus in a long while, and you just had to catch that one. I know you may have run after a woman or man before. You were head over heels in love. But have you ever had to run after Jesus? Have you run after him and the quicker you ran; the faster he walked? Have you ever run after the Lord until you were completely out of breath? Have you ever run after the Lord, until you made a complete fool of yourself? Have you ever run after the Lord, until you lost your dignity, your pride and selfrespect? Have you ever run after the Lord until you became completely broken? Have you ever run after the Lord, naked and not ashamed? My prayer is that you would find it in your heart to do so today that you might inherit the kingdom of God. Orthodox Christians can’t

Adeboye, Oritsejafor, others gather to pray for peaceful polls franchise and shun every attempt by

BY SAM EYOBOKA

HEAD of the 2015 general elections scheduled for next month, eminent Pentecostal ministers from within and otherside the country are expected to gather in Lagos from February 4, to offer fervert prayers for peaceful election and cessation of insurgency in every part of the country. Addressing newsmen yesterday in The Redeemed Evangelical Mission, TREM, Anthony Village, Lagos, the LOC chairman of the 13th national biennial conference of PFN, Pastor Austen Ukachi though Nigeria is reputed to be a very religious nation, yet deliberate actions of men to underplay the leading role of God in their affairs, is circumspect. According to the LOC chairman, "this conference will afford us the opportunity to pray for the nation to fall under the tutelage of God the Holy Spirit for a turnaround. Great men of God from within and outside Nigeria have agreed to speak the Word of God and lead us in series of prayers." Ukachi maintained that the activities evil men had given rise to the series of negative indices of Boko Haram insurgency, corruption in almost every facet of our nationhood and other vices, noting, however, that eminent preachers like American Morris Cerullo, CAN president, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, RCCG General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, presiding bishop of TREM, Bishop Mike Okonkwo have all agreed to intecede on behalf of the nation. Other ministers include Rev. (Dr.) Mercy

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*SUPPORT THE PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS IN NORTHERN NIGERIA C M Y K

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ESUS is walking down the road, and there is this strange man in flowing white agbada running after him. The man is running like a mad man. He is running and shouting. What could possibly be the matter? But wait a minute. The man running after Jesus is no ordinary man. Would you believe it; he is actually the Governor of the Central Bank? He is the one reported by Forbes Magazine to be the one of the richest men in Nigeria. What then is the meaning of this? How can a man of that stature be running madly down the road?

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ONE THING YOU LACK (1) Have you ever run after the Lord, until you lost your dignity, your pride and self-respect? stand people who run after Jesus. They are uncomfortable with them. They believe they are overdoing things. Never mind that Bartimaeus is blind. Is that why he should be crying after Jesus like that? Is he the only one with a problem? Of course, we all have problems. Sister Fernandez, take it easy now. Lord Jesus, please send her away; she is making a nuisance of herself. Just think of that woman who comes to Jesus kneeling down and kissing his feet. She is washing his feet with her tears and wiping his feet with her hair for heaven’s sake. Don’t you think that is a little much? Could you really do that? My Lord, King David, do you think it is dignifying for the king of Israel to be dancing like that? Your Excellency, you made such a fool of yourself before every Tom, Dick and Harry. Sister Bisi, how idiotic you were in church today, crying and rolling on the ground. Don’t you have any selfrespect? Were you not concerned about indecent exposure? If you are one of those who justifies yourself before men, then the move of the Holy Spirit is not for you. God only honours those

I desire from you: I want to spend eternity with you. Please don’t let me miss this common salvation. Please don’t let me despise this unspeakable gift of God. Let your mercy rejoice against your judgement in my case. Please Lord; let me not fail to inherit you. Help me to labour to enter into your rest. Let he who thinks he stands take heed lest he falls.

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Presumptuous Christians Our representative Christian, the rich young ruler, wants to know what he needs to do to inherit eternal life. But, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Jesus tells him: “You know the commandments; how about trying to obey them?” Have you tried fulfilling those requirements and succeeded? Haven’t you, O great Christian, already discovered that you could not do what God requires? Why are you here asking for more things to do? Have you done those ones you already know about? The man is a Christian; so he should not have been so ignorant of the ways of the Lord. He should have come to Christ in defeat. He should have come saying: “Lord Jesus; I have tried my very best, but alas, have come short of the glory of God. I have done all I can, but to no avail. I have tried not to get angry, but have lost my temper. I have tried not to be covetous, but could not help but wish I were the one who got a new car and not my brother. I have tried to remain pure in heart, but could not help but look at a woman lustfully.” “I need you to help me. I need you to deliver me. Lord Jesus, what can you do for me? How can you deliver me from this bondage to sin?” CONTINUED

who honour him, and he honours them with himself.

Seeking the Kingdom The rich young ruler, the Governor of the Central Bank if you will, runs after Jesus like a mad man. When he finally catches up with him, he goes down on his knees in the muddy street. What does this man want? Clearly, he wants something money cannot buy. The man does not ask Jesus for bread. He does not ask him for fish. He does not ask for long life. He does not ask for even greater riches. He does not ask for the life of his enemies. He is not looking for a wife, for a job, for accommodation, or for promotion. He is not looking for signs and wonders. This man has one big desire; he wants to inherit eternal life. How badly do you want eternal life? Do you want it badly enough? Open your mouth and tell the Lord. The kingdom of God suffers violence and the violent take it by force. Tell the Lord, should you come today don’t leave me behind. I am going on the first flight. Father; one thing

Ezekiel (CPM), Bishop David Oyedepo of Winners Chapel, Apostle Pearl Kupe from South Africa, Rev. Felix Meduoye of Foursquare Gospel Church as well as delegates from different parts of the country. Pastor Ukachi said the theme of the three days programme which will feature plennary sessions is; "Ïn the power of His Spirit," noting that the Lord had inspired the leaders under the theme in the "overall good of the nation, the peoples and indeed the Church, moreso in this auspicious period of political electioneering processes, into the the 5th Season of National Political Revolution of the current Republic". "We will trust the Lord for the elections to be smooth, fair and to build Nigeria of our dreams. We use this medium to appeal to the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega and his associates in the INEC to be above board in the fear of the Lord, in the interest of our nation and posterity, as they conduct the elections," he stated. The PFN therefore called on the electoral body to issue the remaining permanent voters cards PVCs to theor rightful owners, to avoid de-enfranchising elegible voters, from the process. To the politicians, PFN says "it behoves on our politicians on all divides to be patriotic and abide by the rule of the rule of the game as spelt out in our electoral laws. They should eschew political violence and sharp practices. No Nigerian blood should be sacrificed on the altar of political ambition." Similarly, the PFN spokesman urged all Nigerians to ensure that they collect their PVCs and vote for the candidates of their choice, saying they must exercise their

politicians to recruit them as thugs. Last year, after a fruitful and rewarding National Executive Council meeting of the

PFN held at its secretariat in Lagos, the president, Rev. Felix Omobude announced a 3-day fasting and prayers from October 2, which involved all churches and ministries under the aegis of the fellowship, as well as other Christians. It was to arrest the unprecedented siege on the nation and the wave of violence that has enveloped the nation.

Why I rejected Rolls Royce gift ---Pastor Bakare ORMER CPC vice presidential candidate and founder of Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare has declared that he earnestly yearns for a better Nigeria where good governace, equal distribution of the nation’s resources amongst others for all citizens. The former running mate of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) made this remarks while ministering during the inauguration and commissioning of Grace and Glory Chapel in Ikeja, Lagos, while giving reasons why he rejected a car gift for his 60th birthday. Pastor Bakare said he was not interested in becoming a local champion in a city of the blind, recalling that, some persons brought him a 2015 model of Rolls Royce during his 60th birthday which, he said, he out rightly rejected, adding that he was not in need of such exotic car while majority of Nigerians are wallowing in poverty. “I want to see good governance. I want to see discipline. I want to see equitable distribution of resources. I want to see the poor being educated. I want to see a nation that works," Bakare said.

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Continuing, he said: “I don't want to be a local champion in a city of the blind. I am not in need of a 2015 model of RollsRoyce which was presented to me as a gift. “I was sitting at home one day and they brought in a brand new 2015 Rolls-Royce into my house. My 60th birthday was coming. I looked at it, kai! This is awkward. When you open your car, your door goes this way, its own door goes that way. It clears the way so that there is nothing blocking your way. "I saw a button. They said: it is an umbrella sir. It is on every door in case it is raining, you just push it and the umbrella comes out. I said: Na wa o. Then I said: Oya, leave this place. “Where is the road that I will ride it upon? My heart is not in things like this. I asked my son to take a photograph of the brand new car as a proof,” the controversial pastor noted. Bakare also averred that poverty has made most Nigerians to believe that anybody without a jet has not arrived, adding that majority of those who bought jets can no longer maintain such jets and are busy leasing them out.

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 1, 2015, PAGE 59 japhdave@yahoo.com 08066625505

ByJAPHET ALAKAM & CHRIS ONUOHA DRAMA

rtists are known all over the world for using anything around them to address some of the problems in the society, since they have no power to fight and always draw their sword in the theatre and this was what young Ibukun Fasunhan did with his new play titled Maybe Tomorrow, which was presented last week at the nations culture home, Terra Kulture, Lagos. The atmosphere was clement and auditorium designed to suit the play and as expected the place came alive again as theatre lovers from all walks of life trooped to the venue to have a glimpse of what the play offers. The play written by Soji Cole, directed by Ibukun Fasunhan and produced by Eclectique Theatre; a production outfit, aimed towards creative approaches to stage plays highlights the issues currently facing the Nigerian society, and how best to resolve it. It takes the audience through several satirical and comic moods with creative directing and acting styles, which vitalizes theatrical experience. The play also discusses various

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Maybe Tomorrow tackles societal ills in the nation Policemen. The highly suspenseful; high paced drama that speaks about the past, present and future presented the audience some of the sharp reasons required to effect a change in the society. The story line hinges on the show of authority, coercion, law defiance and seemingly cold understanding of the meeting of two long lost friends who had fought side by side during the civil war. Ordinarily, the police interrogation room is surely not the best of venues for such an encounter, especially when one is the suspect and the other is the chief interrogating officer. This was the playwright brought to bear in the play and with a mixture of the elements of theatre production , he was able to give the audience much needed entertainment they asked for. Speaking about the play, Ibukun Faseun, the director

•A scene from the play issues facing the Niger Delta, and the issue of complacency on the part of the Niger deltan youths, and exploitation of the masses. The play is apt for this period due to some issues of bad leadership it highlights in the play. It featured two of the best stage actors in Nigeria; Kenneth Uphopho (Director of Saro the Musical 2), and Patrick Diabuah (Laitan of Saro the Musical 2). The play is centered around two characters Kenule Ododo (Patrick Diabuah), and Adolphus Wariboko (Kenneth Uphopho). The play also features Samuel Animashaun and Ossai Franklin as

of the stage play said that he feels fulfilled on the entire outcome of the show, from the quality of the production to the positive reaction from the audience. “Judging from the issue of the moment, election period coupled with the security and insurgency, I felt I need to put something that will be appealing which the society will appreciate, different from the usual comedy and comic drama they are used to. This is something different that leaves them without their thinking caps on and I am happy that it is successful.” Also speaking about the play, one of the fans said, “Being a ‘silent’ activist, “Maybe Tomorrow”, is a play that I have always admired since the playwright gave it to me to read four years ago and hoping it is sharp enough to effect a change in the society. I was inspired to choose this play, based on the several unrest facing the country, and the fact that stage producers for the past years, have filled the stage with comic plays, instead of addressing some basic issues in the society. As such, being the first play I would be producing, I see it as a matter of necessity to contribute my own quota to addressing these issues by staging ‘Maybe Tommorrow’, which leaves the audience with their thinking caps on

In Ilara Mokin, Minister pledges support for private sector devt of culture and tourism

By JAPHET ALAKAM TOURISM

ourism, Culture and National Orientation Minister High Chief Edem Duke has pledged the support of the Federal Government for private Investment in Tourism Development. The Minister made the pledge when he visited the massive Smoking Hills Golf Course and Resort in Ilarin Mokin, Ondo State recently. The 18 hole Golf Course is owned by the Chairman of Elizade Nigeria Chief Ade Ojo who is a native of Ilara Mokin. Accompanied on the visit by the Artistic Director of the National Troupe Mr. Akin Adejuwon, the Minister used the opportunity of the visit to call on other well meaning individuals and groups to invest in the development of tourism in the country. The Minister who was impressed with facilities at the golf course and resort noted that tourism, apart from offering good returns on investment; create jobs and other opportunities for the investor and the community. Also the Minister noted that the tour to Ilara Mokin has afforded him the opportunity to appreciate some of the attractions that Chief Ade Ojo has developed so as to find ways of helping in its promotion and development. Chief Ade Ojo who received

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•Akin Adejuwon, Artistic Director of NTN, Edem Duke, Culture and Tourism Minister and Manager of Hills Golf Course Ilara Mokin the Minister and the Artistic Director of the National Troupe of Nigeria later took the Minister on an inspection round the gold course and resort. Done with the golf course, Chief Ojo led the way for a tour of Elizade University owned too by Chief Ojo. On his impression of the visit, the Minister who had earlier noted that the Jonathan administration has encouraged a relatively stable culture and tourism environment in the country described the experience of the visit as ‘overwhelming’. He said ‘the environment, the undulating hills, the smoking hills and indeed the experience is completely overwhelming. I think this is a programme and a project, which not only the Federal Government of Nigeria will provide the support in terms of infrastructure, working with the state government, but we will do our utmost to ensure

The environment, the undulating hills, the smoking hills and indeed the experience is completely overwhelming

that, that is possible. When I see the opportunities here for tourism, hospitality and cultural development, I see the synergy not only of this golf course but also a synergy and a circuit that can be built around most of the tourist sites in Ondo state and neigbouring states like the Ikogosi Warm Spring which is not too far away from here. And I see the various towns and communities around here providing the source for the development of local cuisine and the service industry that will bring value. I also see the University providing the opportunity for young people to grow into golf and the potential of having an inter university circuit. I see a great opportunity in this resort, not only to grow championship golf tournament and golfers but also an opportunity for professional retreats by organizations that will like to develop strategy sessions and then go out to play a game of gulf and enrich their own experiences”. The Minister also see the possibility of other events in the state running into days so that tourist can experience the warmth and splendour of the golf course and resort. In his words The Minister commended Chief Ojo for his interest in the promotion of education, tourism and culture. He acknowledged Chief Ojo support for the annual Ondo Mare festival and for his support for the production of Kunle Afolayan’s big budget movie ‘October 1’, which was shot on location in Ilara Mokin.

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SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 1, 2015, PAGE 61

PDP PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN RALLY IN KADUNA The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP presidential campaign rally held yesterday in Kaduna Photos by Olu Ajayi & State House From left: President Goodluck Jonathan; Emir of Zazau, Alhaji Shehu Idris, and Vice President Namadi Sambo, during the visit of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation to the royal father before rally.

: Some emirs at the palace of the Emir of Zazau, during the visit of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation to the royal father.

PDP supporters at the rally

From right: President Goodluck Jonathan,his wife, Patience, with Vice President Namadi Sambo and his wife, Amina

APC PRESIDENTIALCAMPAIGN RALLY IN KWARA The All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential campaign rally held yesterday in Ilorin, Kwara State. Photos: Joe Akintola, Photo Editor From left: Former Governor of Kogi State, Prince Abubakar Audu; APC vice presidential candidate, Prof . Yemi Osinbajo; the presidential candidate, Gen Muhammadu Buhari, and Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed being given the governoprship candidate flag.

From left: Former Kogi State governor, Prince Abubakar Audu; APC Vice presidential candidate, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo; the presidential candidate, Gen Muhammadu Buhari, and Senator Bukola Saraki,former governor of Kwara State.

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General Muhammadu Buhari waving to the crowd.

APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (right), and Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa

PAGE 62 SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 1, 2015,

Australia Open

Djokovic, Murray slug it out in men’s final ovak Djokovic did enough to beat defending champion Stan Wawrinka in a semifinal match that lacked the intensity of their recent five-setters, setting up an Australian Open final against long-time friend and rival Andy Murray. The top-ranked Djokovic beat Wawrinka in a peculiarly seesawing 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 match Friday night to ensure two members of the socalled Big Four will meet the season-opening Grand Slam final. Djokovic has a 100 percent winning record in finals at Melbourne Park, claiming his first Grand Slam title here in 2008 and winning three straight years from 2011 before his streak was ended in the

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quarterfinals last year by Wawrinka. The previous three Grand Slam meetings between Djokovic and Wawrinka had gone five sets, including two at the Australian Open that lasted a combined nine hours. Unlike those, though, the Friday night encounter was relatively muted and Wawrinka even described it as “Strange. Not the best, for sure. Djokovic has beaten Murray in seven of their last eight matches and is 15-8 overall, but they’re level in Grand Slam finals with two wins apiece — Djokovic in Australia in 2011 and ’13 and Murray at the 2012 U.S. Open and Wimbledon in 2013.

Winner...Serena Williams (R) of the US accepts the winner’s trophy from ANZ CEO Mike Smith after victory in her women’s singles final match against Russia’s Maria Sharapova on day thirteen of the 2015 Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 31,

Serena too sharp for Sharapova S ERENA Williams won her 19th Grand Slam title, continued her unbeaten run in six Australian Open finals and extended her

decade-long domination of Maria Sharapova with a 6-3, 7-6 (5) victory

despite a hacking cough on Saturday night. After celebrating prematurely on her third match point, letting her racket go before hearing a let call to what she thought was an ace, Williams had to quickly re-gather her composure. “I thought, `Wow this is it, I did it, only to hear let. I was like, `OK Serena!’” she said. “I was very disappointed, because Maria was playing so well. I thought she’s going to try to hit a winner now. She’s goes for broke on match point.” Top-ranked Williams took a deep breath and fired another ace — her 15th of the set and 18th of the match — and this time the celebration was real. She jumped around like a little child, bouncing up and down, before shaking hands with Sharapova at the net.

AFCON: Guinea coach laments Ebola stigmatization UINEA’s Africa Cup of Nations dream survives against all odds and Ebola taunts As Guinea squad prepares for quarterfinal clash with Ghana, coach Michel Dussyer tells how players were treated ‘like they had the plague’ in qualifiers for this year ’s tournament The footballers of Guinea say they were exiled and made to feel like they had “the plague” because of the presence of Ebola in their country when they played their qualifying matches for the Africa Cup of Nations. Members of the squad have told how they were stigmatised and abused. “We don’t want you here, you have the virus,” airport workers told them as they landed – even though most had flown in from Europe where they play club football. “Ebola! Ebola!” rival fans shouted at them. “I could understand them being cautious, but it was too much,” said Kamil Zayatte, the captain. “Uganda was C M Y K

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the worst. Usually we travel with 50 people – players, managers, medical staff, coaches and so on – but they told us we could have only 18 players and four

coaches, and we had to make an official protest. “Then they locked us away in a private compound with a military guard. We couldn’t even go on to

the street. The supporters screamed at us ‘Ebola! Ebola!’ It was terrible.” The team’s French coach, Michel Dussuyer, said some treated the players “as if

they were like the plague”. Against the odds, however – and despite not being allowed to play a single qualifying game on their own

territory – Guinea earned a place in the finals, which are now taking place 2,000 miles away from their homeland, in Equatorial Guinea.

Gervinho boost for Ivory Coast VORY Coast and pre-tournament favourites Algeria go head-to-head in what has the makings of a classic quarter-final. The Elephants have yet to hit top gear and know they will have to raise their game against the leading side in Africa according to the Fifa rankings. Neutrals will be hoping for a repeat of the 2010 quarter-final encounter between the teams in Angola, when the Ivory Coast led 2-1 going into injury time only for Algeria to equalise before triumphing 3-2 after extra-time. H o w e v e r, I v o r i a n

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Forging Ahead...Democratic Republic of the Congo’s forward Yannick Bolasie (L) vies with Congo’s defender Boris Moubio Ngonga during the 2015 African Cup of Nations quarter final football match between Congo and Republic of the Congo in Bata

Pinnick takes charge of Ghana, Guinea clash RESIDENT of Nigeria Football Federation, Mr. Amaju Melvin Pinnick will be Match Commissioner of Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations quarter final clash between Ghana’s Black Stars and Syli Nationale of

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Guinea at the Nuevo Estadio do Malabo. The Match 27 of the 30th Africa Cup of Nations was concretized only after the drawing of lots, which saw Guinea emerge the lucky team at the expense of Eagles of Mali.

1976 runner-up Guinea and 1972 runner-up Mali had finished on equal number of points and goals scored in their Group D, and also drew the clash between the two teams, necessitating drawing of lots in Malabo on Thursday.

coach Herve Renard will settle for a solid defensive display from his side. For all the attention given to captain Yaya Toure and an attack led by Wilfried Bony, it was their defence which particularly impressed in We d n e s d a y ’ s 1-0 defeat of Cameroon which took the Elephants through. “There are not many teams in the world who are capable of attacking all the time. At international level Spain have been able to play that way and today maybe Germany too. But we are not Germany, we are Ivory Coast,” said Renard.

SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 1, 2015, PAGE 63

Egwero, others cry over training funds

BY BEN EFE S the commencement of 2015 athletics season draws near, top Nigerian athletes are lamenting over lack of funds, that will enable them to prepare for the World Championships and All Africa Games. At the moment, most Nigerian elite athletes are lying low and somehow putting up basic training on their own, but according to sprinter Ogho-Oghene Egwero things are extremely difficult and he is only hoping to get grants promised by the Delta State Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan. He stated that he and other of his colleagues of Delta state origin were promised by the governor as part of his human capacity development project, but quite a number of the athletes have not been able to access the funds. “It is very important that we get this grant as promised by the governor. We need to train and this costs money, right now I feel very frustrated and unable to concentrate,” said the athlete. Also speaking was long jumper Stanley Gbagbeke. He added that all efforts to see that the grants are released to them had met a brick wall.

Rivers Sports Commissioner faults Sambo on Adokie Amesimaka stadium HE commissioner for Sports in Rivers State Fred Igwe has carpeted the Vice President Architect Namadi Sambo for criticizing the structural features, especially the pillars at the Adokie Amesimaka Stadium,

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“The governor had directed the Delta State Sports Commission to facilitate the release of grants. But up till now we haven’t gotten a dime. We need to train

not just for the All Africa Games and World Championships, but all also for the national sports festival,” Gbagbeke said. The director-general of the Delta State Sports

Commission, Mr. Victor Onogagamue when contacted was hesitant to speak on the matter, but when pressured a bit further, he said that Egwero is no longer in the services of the sports commission, hence he was not paid his entitlements.

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NBSA begins journey to 2020 Olympics

BY JACOB AJOM ASEBALL and Softball is expected to make a return to the Olympics in 2020. In line with that, the Nigeria Baseball and Softball Association has declared its readiness to ensure the country ’s flag flutters among other nations’ at the 2020 Olympic Games. Speaking at the inauguration of the technical committee yesterday in Lagos, Chairman of the NBSA, Victor Fingesi said in view of the enormous task ahead of the association, the technical committee needed to swing into action immediately. “Our target is the 2020 Olympic Games which we hope to qualify to represent Africa with our baseball and softball teams. But we are not unaware of the tough opposition from countries like South Africa and Uganda,” Fingesi said. He observed that the

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Kun Aguero lifts David Silva after the equaliser against Chelsea

association was geared towards organising refresher courses and clinics for coaches and umpires, and competitions for the sport to spread to states other than where the game is popular at the moment. He appealed to corporate Nigeria to come to the aid of the association as the task before them was enormous. “For corporate Nigeria to come in they would need visibility. We have to push baseball to all parts of the country and we will start from schools.”

insisting that the sports complex conformed with world class multi-sports standard. The Vice President,Namadi Sambo had at the Peoples Democratic Presidential Campaign Rally in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state criticized the structural features at the Rivers state governmentowned Adokie Amesimaka Stadium. Fred Igwe also slammed the Vice President for drawing comparison between the Adokie Amesimaka Stadium and the Akwa Ibom International Stadium, Uyo. The Rivers State Sports commissioner said Adokie Amesimaka Sports Complex,which boasts multi-sports facilities was a class above Akwa Ibom International Stadium in terms of design, size and availability of facilities. He said the 40-thousand capacity sports complex was ninety-percent completed, and will be commissioned before the end of the current administration in Rivers state.

City hold Chelsea HELSEA remain five points clear at the top of the Premier League after a 1-1 draw with second-placed Manchester City at Stamford Bridge. Loic Remy put Chelsea ahead just before halftime from close range after an uneventful opening, but the visitors went into the break level

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after David Silva turned home Sergio Aguero’s effort. Chelsea legend Frank Lampard made his first appearance back at his old club in the 77th minute, but could not alter the scoreline as both sides cancelled each other out in a nervy encounter.

Command Day Sec Sch Inter House sports: Rhinoceros House wins medals.rd Stallion House RUE to their pregames boast, Rhinoceros House has emerged winner of the 2014/2015 Command Day Secondary School, Nigerian Army Cantonment Ikeja Inter House sports competition. The winner garnered 17 gold 18 Silver and 14 bronze medals to emerge tops. The second place was won by Tiger House which garnered 14 gold, 17 silver and 5 bronze

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Emenika Continues from BP Nazar Boncuk popular across Turkey is an amulet believed to protect against the evil eye. The practice of using a crystal blue eye dates back to Central Asia, during the ages of the shamanic Tengrism era. If it believed that you have been cursed by evil eye one method that can be used to rid oneself on the effects of it is a ritual called ‘Kur_un Dökme’. The ritual involves a kur_uncu (the person taking the nazar off you) who heats up the kur_un (lead) over the stove. The kur_uncu then sits you down, covers you up with a blanket, and pours the lead in a bowl of water, causing the water to splatter and the lead to take various shapes and forms. The process is believed to get rid of negative energy and lift the curse.

Continues from BP

Aluko in it,” said Aluko, who scored both goals as Nigeria crashed out of the qualifiers with a 2-2 draw against South Africa. “You just wish you could be there. It is awful to miss out and that is how we will all feel if Hull are not in the Premier League next season. “If you taste something, to have it taken away from you is painful. That is one of the worst things that can happen in your life.”

in the qualifiers for one of world football’s highlights. Aluko, a veteran of previous tournaments, has caught as many games as possible on television and he admits it has been a frustrating experience. However, it is also one that he intends using in Hull City’s fight against relegation from the Premier League. “Watching the African Nations has been like watching the Premier League before you play

placed 3 with 9 gold, 10 silver and 8 bronze medals while Palm House with 6 gold, 7 silver and 10 and Dragon with 5 gold, 8 silver and 3 bronze medals placed 4th and 5th respectively. Speaking at the closing ceremony, the school commandant, Lt. Col. Joseph Eduoku said it was a keenly contested competition and congratulated all the participating houses. “We are all winners.”

DR Congo Continues from BP and Joel Kimuaki headed in a third. Mbokani rounded off the win, stroking home after a counter-attack. It capped a remarkable fightback from DR Congo who looked to be heading out of the competition when they were two goals down just after the hour mark.

A tepid first half, in which Congo were unable to assert themselves at all, ended goalless and there was no sign of what was to follow. DR Congo had a strong shout for a penalty immediately after the break and then Bokila smashed a shot against the bar from 12 yards.

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SUNDAY Vanguard, FEBRUARY 1, 2015

It’s frustrating watching Afcon on TV — Aluko AILING to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations was bad enough at the time for Sone Aluko. But the past couple of weeks

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have really brought home to the 25-year-old just how much Nigeria are missing out after being knocked out Continues on Page 63

Emenike performs ritual to lift curse UPER Eagles forward, Emmanuel Emenike underwent a Turkish spiritual cleansing ritual to lift a curse that he believes has been placed on him.

•Aluko

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Emenike is reported to have complained that his energy is out of sync after being cursed in Nigeria and that it has had a detrimental effect on his performances on the field. “My energy is not right, something is wrong, I just need a goal to get back to form,” Emenike was quoted as saying by Milliyet. The 27-year-old striker underwent a ritual called ‘Kur_un Dökme’ which is carried out when it is believed that an evil eye is upon you. The evil eye is the name for a curse or sickness transmitted by someone who is envious, jealous or wishes harm on someone. The evil eye belief is that a person can harm you and your property by a malevolent glare, usually given to a person when they are unaware. There are a number of precautions that can be taken to prevent evil eye. The blue

•Emenike

Continues on Page 63

R Congo fought back from two goals down to beat neighbours Congo and reach the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals. Ferebory Dore volleyed Congo in front and Thievy Bifouma drove in from a

Afcon 2015: DR Congo stun neighbours D Continues on Page 63

rebound to make it 2-0 either side of DR Congo efforts that hit the bar. In a 16-minute spell DR Congo’s Dieumerci Mbokani slotted in to give them hope, Bolika fired in an equaliser

TOUGH: Congo’s forward Bifouma Thievy (L) vies with D R Congo’s defender Chancel Mbemba during the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations quarter final match in Bata, yesterday. DR Congo won 4-2. Photo/AFP

City hold Chelsea —Page 63 Results 4 7 5 6

CROSS WORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1.House of Reps Speaker (8) 5. Assistant (4) 7. Praise (5) 8. Upright (4) 9. Lantern (4) 11. Tradition (6) 13.Lagos masquerade (3) 15. Exclamation (2) 16. Pig’s nose (5) 18. Agent (3) 20. Glitters (6) 24. Forward (5) 25. Nigerian state (6) 27. Boring tool (3) 29. Ghanaian fabric (5) 31. Perform (2) 32. Oshiomhole’s state (3) 34. U.S. currency (6) 36. Vow (4) 38. Musical quality (4) 39. Inclination (5) 40. Eager (4) 41. Damages (8) DOWN 1. Sample (5) 2. Niger state town (4) 3. Observe (5) 4. Lecture (6) 5. Everyone (3) 6. Use (6) 10. Inquires (4) 12. Carpet (3) 14. Colour (6) 15. Resistance unit (3) 17. Coax (4) 19. Rollicked (6) 21. Hatchet (3) 22. Satisfied (4) 23. Nigerian state (3) 26. Cry of derision (3) 27 . African country (6) 28. Endure (4) 29. Child (3) 30. Spoke (6) 31. Adorn (5) 33. Baking chambers (5) 35. Asterisk (4) 37. Possessed (3) 1 2 3

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8 11 13 14 15 16 20 21 22 24 25 27 28 29 30 31 34 36 37 39 40 41 26 17

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Hull City C/ Palace Liverpool Man United Stoke City Sunderland West Brom Chelsea

0 0 2 3 3 2 0 1

Newcastle Everton West Ham Leicester QPR Burnley Tottenham Man City

3 1 0 1 1 0 3 1

Afcon 32 35 38 33

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Bundesliga Freiburg Hamburger Mainz 4 0 5 E/ Frankfurt Cologne Paderborn 1 2 0

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